Chapter 123: Snape’s Malice And Summer Plans
Captured and humiliated by the resurrected Voldemort, he was subjected to all sorts of torture, making life worse than death!
Ron trembled with fear.
Harry was helpless against his friend’s fear, but he could do nothing. Who would have thought that Quirrell, who was bullied by everyone, would be the Dark Lord?
He continued to share secrets he heard from Vaughn: “…Also, we’ve been misunderstanding Snape all along… Professor Snape…”
“You call that old bat ‘Professor’?” Ron, who had been terrified a moment ago, was so surprised by the nickname that he immediately forgot his fear. “Did Vaughn cast the Imperius Curse on you?”
Harry rolled his eyes, looked up at the blue sky above the castle, and thought about the story Vaughn told him about Snape and Lily Evans. He sighed, “Snape is a pitiable man, Ron…”
“Forget it. You pity a viper, and a viper won’t pity you. Maybe Snape had his reasons, maybe his story is tragic, but that doesn’t stop him from hating you, Harry. I saw through him long ago; he practically wishes you were dead!”
Harry didn’t comment on Ron’s words.
In the story Vaughn told, he saw a man who loved but could not have, and retreated but could not let go, his words overflowing with regret and pain.
Therefore, even though Vaughn said that Snape’s hatred for Harry stemmed mainly from James Potter and that this hatred could not be resolved.
But because Snape loved Lily Evans with all his heart.
Harry, who also loved his mother and yearned for her childhood experiences, couldn’t bring himself to dislike Snape.
This is probably a form of loving someone by association, isn’t it?
However, the fact proved that Ron’s “prediction” was very accurate when it came to judging Snape’s character.
In the afternoon, during Potions class.
As the class began, Harry, still lost in thought from yesterday’s conversation, was caught by Snape.
“Ah—Harry—Potter, our famous The Boy Who Lived—”
Snape moved through the cold basement, his robes creating a chilling wind. He tilted his head slightly, drifting like a ghost to Harry’s seat, and looked down at him with disdain.
“I see you are lost in thought. May I ask what earth-shattering, sensational questions you are contemplating?”
In the past, Harry would have been furious and confronted Snape, taunting him, and then had points deducted by Snape.
But now, Harry felt that he and Snape might be able to get along peacefully.
So he politely stood up, ready to admit his mistake: “I’m sorry, Professor, I got distracted…”
Then, his words were interrupted.
“Oh, the great Potter is daydreaming in my class—” Snape’s cold, indifferent, dark eyes stared intently at Harry, but he asked Malfoy, who was sitting behind Harry, “Mr. Malfoy, please tell me, is it because my lecture is not lively and interesting enough, or has the great The Boy Who Lived already become a Potions Master and no longer needs my teaching and explanations?”
Malfoy, understanding the implication, replied with a wicked grin, “Perhaps Potter has learned it all, Professor. He can get full marks without listening to your class!”
“No, Professor…”
Harry’s attempt to retort was drowned out by Snape’s drawn-out tone: “Very—good! Then, let me test you, Pott—er!”
He glanced at Ron, who was sitting beside Harry, trying to shrink his shoulders and wishing he could disappear under the desk to avoid attention.
His cold gaze swept over Ron’s conspicuous head: “Tsk tsk—Ron Weasley, I heard you were humiliated by a fire dragon and completely buried in its dung, causing you to be poisoned and swollen all over… Potter, what potion can achieve the same effect?”
Ron’s face turned red under the strange gazes of everyone around him, while Harry looked bewildered: “I… I don’t know, Professor…”
On the other side, Hermione raised her hand high.
Snape ignored her and said rapidly, “It’s Swelling Solution. So, Potter, what are the specific ingredients of Swelling Solution?”
“Uh…”
“Its ingredients are bat spleen, dried nettle, and pufferfish eyes!” As he spoke, Snape stood directly in front of Harry’s desk, his tall figure looming over Harry with an oppressive presence. A hint of mockery gradually appeared on his expressionless face: “Tsk tsk, look, Mr. Potter doesn’t seem to have learned anything. However, this arrogant attitude is very much in the style of The Boy Who Lived.”
“After all, The Boy Who Lived killed the Dark Lord at a young age, although—no one has ever seen it!”
Snape, looking down at Harry, a hint of malice overflowed in his usually vacant eyes. He whispered softly, “Heroes should receive preferential treatment and favoritism, even if their abilities may not match, right, Potter?”
Harry didn’t know how he left the Potions classroom.
When he came to his senses, he was already on his way to the Dining Hall, with Ron chattering beside him:
“…I told you the old bat isn’t a good person. You shouldn’t have any illusions about him, Harry. Vaughn trusts Snape because he’s a Slytherin, and the old bat naturally has a good impression of him, so we can only believe half of what he says about Snape…”
Harry gave a bitter smile. He had to admit that Ron made sense, but he still argued, “Maybe it’s because the hatred is too deep. I heard from Vaughn that my father used to bully him…”
“Vaughn also said that Snape called your mother a Mudblood, Harry! You shouldn’t project your longing for your parents onto Snape, who was their contemporary. You saw for yourself that he hates you. I think it’s best to maintain our current relationship with him—an annoying professor and a mischievous student. After graduation, we’ll never see each other again, perfect!”
At this moment, Ron seemed incredibly insightful and wise.
Then, a passing first-year Slytherin made him lose his composure: “Hey, Weasley, what did the Professor mean when he said you were humiliated by a fire dragon and buried in its dung?”
Ron’s face turned red, and he stammered, “Th-that was a fire dragon…”
“Oh—so it means what the Professor said is true?”
“Slander! Slander!”
Amidst Ron’s angry shouts, the Slytherin boy ran away laughing. When he turned back, a curious Harry delivered another blow: “Yeah, Ron, I forgot to ask you, what exactly happened between you and that fire dragon that made your whole body swell up like that?”
Ron stammered, “N-nothing happened, it was a fire dragon after all…”
Then came words like “I had to think about surviving” and “You didn’t want me to die fighting the fire dragon, did you?”, which significantly improved Harry’s somewhat gloomy mood.
Finally, Ron complained, “I was sent to the fire dragon, and Vaughn must have done it on purpose. Do you know whose fire dragon it was?”
“I know, Nobeta.”
Harry said. When he traveled back in time, he had already realized it was Nobeta when he saw Vaughn holding the dragon in its hatchling stage.
Ron huffed, “I bet Vaughn and Dumbledore have been planning this trial for a long time. Remember when we used to bully Nobeta and he pretended to stop us? I was wondering then when he became so meddlesome. Now I think about it, he must have planned for Nobeta to get revenge back then!”
“Maybe…” Harry wasn’t very interested; he hadn’t been retaliated against by Nobeta anyway. “I’m more curious about how Vaughn plans to deal with Nobeta.”
Ron’s expression was grim, “After the trial, he’ll send it to Romania, right?”
…
“Squawk!”
In the Slytherin dormitory, in Vaughn’s room, Nobeta let out an unpleasant cry, attracting Guo Guo Cha’s attention.
The giant cat leaped lightly onto the table, its bright eyes fixed on Nobeta on the table. Its thick paws pawed cautiously at the little fire dragon’s head.
“Hiss—”
Nobeta opened its mouth and made a hissing sound like a snake, as if to threaten.
It opened its mouth wide, its neck bulging, and a fiery red light flickered beneath its scales—
The next second, its head was pressed to the table by Guo Guo Cha, and its breath was naturally stifled.
“Meow~”
Guo Guo Cha narrowed its eyes, very pleased. Nobeta struggled furiously, but unfortunately, having returned to its hatchling state, it had long lost the power it had in the painted world.
It had returned to the state it was in just a few days after hatching, pitiful, weak, and helpless; cats would bully it!
“Alright, Guo Guo Cha, stop bullying Nobeta!” Hermione struggled to pick up the big cat and affectionately nuzzled its furry cheek.
Guo Guo Cha looked helpless and could only watch as its “toy” quickly got up, wobbled to the ground, and then scurried to Vaughn’s feet, climbing up his trousers with its paws and into his arms.
That hateful lizard!
Guo Guo Cha watched as Hermione held its paws and clapped, cheering for Nobeta’s actions, and snorted impatiently.
And that clingy, childish witch!
Hermione, of course, was unaware of Guo Guo Cha’s feelings towards her. After playing with the big cat for a while, she had to put it down. Then, looking at the hatchling dragon acting spoiled in Vaughn’s arms and making unpleasant noises, she asked, “Vaughn, what are you going to do with it?”
Vaughn, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to attention, “Nobeta?”
He shook his head, “I haven’t decided yet. I plan to go to Romania this summer.”
As he spoke, he glanced at the hatchling dragon, which was staring at him intently, seemingly afraid of being abandoned.
Fire dragons are highly intelligent. Their size determines their complex brains. They are not beasts without intelligence; on the contrary, as the most powerful magical creatures individually, fire dragons are social beings with simple but multi-layered social structures.
These creatures, once at the top of the food chain, form groups of varying sizes based on factors such as kinship, gender, and species.
The smallest unit is usually a family group consisting of a mother dragon and a few young. These family groups form community groups with other family groups, which then merge with other community groups to form the largest populations!
Population division and regional clustering are also characteristic of fire dragons.
Vaughn hesitated, not because he didn’t know how to arrange for Nobeta, but because of a task he had—
【 Side Quest ③: Research the magic of all fire dragons and understand their basic principles（ Activated）】
【 Progress: 0/10】
【 Reward: Magic Power Scale 100, Spell Development Module】
After the test plan for Harry and the series of experiments conducted during this opportunity, with no more external affairs to worry about, Vaughn could finally devote time to planning his entire summer break, which would begin in a month when the semester ended.
He had just been contemplating these issues.
He needed to create a relatively clear order for the tasks he needed to accomplish—as his magical strength and influence increased, Vaughn found that more and more matters required his personal attention!
First, the development of the Werewolf Affairs Committee.
Over the past few months, the Werewolf Affairs Committee had been undergoing intense construction. Although he had given up half of the committee seats to the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards to counter Fudge and ease relations with Dumbledore,
the committee’s main purpose was, after all, to manage werewolf affairs, and werewolves formed the majority of the committee, with most of them leaning towards Vaughn.
According to the process, the first full meeting of the Werewolf Affairs Committee would be held around the end of July, at which time the management team would be determined.
Vaughn intended to run for President!
This was a given.
Vaughn had created the WAC （ Werewolf Affairs Committee ） himself, not to pave the way for anyone else.
He had preferred to bring in Dumbledore rather than let Fudge get involved, as he did not want to relinquish control over werewolves.
He himself had no interest in power, but the problem was that the things he wanted to do required the cooperation of power.
And the current world was a world of peace. Both Muggle society and the Wizarding World had stable power bases in this peaceful environment. He could only focus his attention on marginalized groups like werewolves, who were usually overlooked.
Of course, werewolves actually had great potential. The easily transmissible nature of Lycanthropy and its harm to social order meant that werewolves were widely distributed and could not obtain social status, making them easy to rally.
This was why Vaughn had decided to make the research and development of the Wolfsbane Potion his “stunning” work.
Now, it was time for him to reap the fruits of his power!
Thinking this, Vaughn sank into his Mind World again and marked the election matters in the Memory Archive.
Next were the System Tasks. This was the first time Vaughn had an urgent desire to complete a system task. His goal was certainly not the increase of 100 Magic Power Scale, but the “Spell Development Module”!
As he delved deeper into the field of magic, Vaughn now clearly realized that his perspective on the world was vastly different from that of normal wizards.
The Wizarding World was never short of young wizards from Muggle families, but their family background did not cause significant differences in their concepts. After all, they entered school at age 11, and during the crucial years of concept formation, they were always exposed to things in the Wizarding World.
Muggle society’s technological development was rapid, while the Wizarding World still used oil lamps, which was a very realistic example.
Normally, wizards from Muggle families graduated every year. They entered society and should have, to some extent, brought the convenience of technology into the Wizarding World.
But the reality was that there were very few. Clearly, their concepts had actually been assimilated by the Wizarding World!
This led to an embarrassing situation for Vaughn—when he wanted to conduct research in a modern, efficient, and methodological way, he found himself lacking “tools.”
For example, tools capable of observing magic, and even spells to aid research.
Because previous generations did not have his scientific thinking, they naturally did not develop “tools” specifically. For example, Muggles could use many methods to analyze materials, such as pyrolysis, X-rays, magnetic resonance, gas-liquid chromatography, scanning electron microscopy, etc.
But in the Wizarding World, they were still observing with the naked eye… When Vaughn studied the properties of potion ingredients, he had to resort to crude and inefficient magic dissolution, a period that left a deep impression on him.
If it weren’t for the allure of profit, perhaps the Scarping Revealer （ Spell to identify potion ingredients ） might not have appeared.
For the research to proceed smoothly, the development of “tools” had become a top priority.
However, spell development usually took a long time. The appearance of the “Spell Development Module” was undoubtedly an important shortcut for Vaughn to solve his problems.
This was also why he was hesitant about Nobeta’s fate.
In the Memory Archive, Vaughn hesitated for a long time before finally putting the plan to “complete the system task” aside.
He still had to think about it.
The task required 10 types of fire dragons. In the current world situation, fire dragons were basically kept in protected areas by the magic ministries of various countries. It was extremely difficult for private individuals to obtain even one fire dragon, let alone 10!
Especially ferocious dragon species like the Hungarian Horntail and the Norwegian Ridgeback, it was practically impossible for private individuals to research them. Nobeta might be the only research material he had…
Nobeta, still making hoarse, spoiled noises, suddenly shivered…
“Next is saving Isabella. I must go to North America.”
Vaughn placed the “trip to North America” after the “WAC President election.” This matter could not be rushed. The situation in North America was very complex. The invitation from Ilvermorny could wait until after the first WAC meeting to be decided.
Only when he became President of the WAC would the visit to North America be legitimate. He did not want to agree to any unclear academic visit, which usually represented unofficial matters.
However, visiting as President of the WAC would have a significant difference in meaning, equivalent to an official state visit.
“Next is the R&D plan for Wolfsbane Potion 2.0. This can be placed after the system task. If I successfully develop ‘tools’ using the ‘Spell Development Module,’ my R&D progress will be greatly accelerated, much more efficient than the current exhaustive method.”
“Finally, and most complex, is the issue of WAC’s development…”
Vaughn fell into thought.
WAC’s current organizational structure was very fragile. The Wolfsbane Potion had only been developed for less than half a year, and the survival of werewolves in the Wizarding World had not fundamentally improved—the wizarding population of England, only tens of thousands, could not accommodate over 1,600 werewolves at once!
Currently, most werewolves were still working in Muggle society under the leadership of werewolf wizards like Remus Lupin, barely managing to survive.
But this did not solve the most important problem. Werewolves needed the Wolfsbane Potion every month, and the potion required Gold Galleons to purchase.
Regarding this issue, Vaughn had initially thought of two solutions. One was to rely on himself and Dumbledore for loans to help WAC establish an internal foundation, which would then exchange the gold obtained from trading in Muggle society for Galleons with Gringotts.
The other was to transfer the trading rights of the Wolfsbane Potion to WAC, allowing WAC to generate revenue through international trade of the Wolfsbane Potion.
However, Vaughn was not particularly satisfied with either of these plans.
The former had other intentions, and the latter was only a transitional option.
He needed werewolves, not to find a group of freeloaders to serve, but to contribute to his cause and ideals.
Werewolves were undoubtedly high-quality labor. While the werewolf virus cursed them, it also greatly optimized their physical condition.
Most notably, even werewolves transformed from Muggles could observe and come into contact with magic, similar to Squibs!
They had very weak magical reactions!
While thinking, Vaughn circled “WAC Development Issue” heavily in his Memory Archive, placing it before “WAC President Election.”
This was not because it needed to be dealt with immediately, but because the problem was too complex and vast. The preliminary preparations alone required a lot of advance planning, and some matters also needed to be coordinated with the “WAC President Election.”
Not to mention that some of Vaughn’s other ideas were also incorporated.
For example, using the gold from Muggle society to impact the Wizarding World’s Galleon system!
“The Wizarding World has been too isolated for too long. The result of rejecting exchange and competition is being far surpassed by competitors （Muggles）. This situation is not entirely due to the Statute of Secrecy, but also because the Wizarding World’s abundant material resources give wizards enough confidence to ‘isolate themselves’!”
Undoubtedly, magic was a magical means.
Even when flipping through “History of Magic,” even in the most difficult times, wizards never experienced famines that the Muggle world had struggled with since ancient times!
Both ancient magic and modern spell systems had mature “tool” solutions for solving food problems.
The most typical examples were the Growth Spell and the Enlargement Charm.
The former could make non-magical plants （crops, etc.） grow and mature in a short period, while the latter could enlarge a normal pumpkin to the size of a house!
Yes, magic could not change the essence of matter, but it could change the quality of objects!
And when it came to crops and cash crops related to food and clothing, the essence was obviously not important; quality （yield） was the most important.
Food and clothing were fundamental survival issues. Once wizards conquered them, they naturally reduced their reliance on Muggles. They didn’t need Muggles to produce grain, cotton, wool, silk, and other light industrial raw materials, and the goblin-provided metal industry.
So why would they be interested in interacting with Muggles?
The current Wizarding World was like being covered by a stubborn turtle shell, and this turtle shell was woven from an excess of material resources.
Unless this shell was broken, no reform would be effective—you couldn’t expect a group of people who were well-fed and had no survival worries to voluntarily step out of their comfort zone!
“I feel so evil…”
Looking at the phased goals he had listed under “WAC Development Issue” in the Memory Archive, Vaughn exclaimed insincerely.
Then he detached himself from the Mind World.
When he regained consciousness, Hermione was playing with Nobeta, and Guo Guo Cha was squatting nearby, looking impatient.
Seeing Vaughn come back to his senses, Hermione dropped Nobeta and asked, “Vaughn, are you done thinking?”
She knew Vaughn had built a Memory Archive in his Mind World. When they studied together before, she often saw Vaughn “spacing out” alone and had long been accustomed to it.
“Yes,” Vaughn nodded, “I’ve made some plans for what to do next.”
Upon hearing this, Hermione’s eyes lit up, “Summer plans?”
“Yes.”
The girl suddenly became shy and coyly asked, “Then… when do you plan to start the plan you mentioned about bringing my parents to The Burrow for a visit this summer?”
Ah…
Vaughn suddenly realized that he had completely forgotten about this.
The truth was, no matter how exquisite Memory Magic was, and how clear and foolproof the organized memories were, humans would still overlook “less important” things due to a lack of focus.
He quickly sank into his Mind World and marked “Invite the Granger family to The Burrow” in the area of the Memory Archive that recorded important to-do items.
Then he quickly returned, the whole process taking less than a second, without any delay in the smile on his lips: “Of course, as soon as summer begins, I’ll come to your house to pick you up!”
“Won’t that interfere with important matters?” The girl asked coyly and “feigning concern,” “I saw in the newspaper that Ilvermorny invited you for an academic visit to North America…”
“Summer is long, that’s not urgent!”
Vaughn returned to his Mind World again and placed “Invite the Granger family” above “Trip to North America.”
“And the Werewolf Affairs Committee, I heard the first meeting is soon?”
Never mind, I’ll put the invitation at the very top; maximum importance!
Vaughn said with an unchanged expression: “It’s fine, the werewolves trust me a lot right now, so I don’t need to spend too much energy focusing on it. I’ll definitely have time to spend with you in the Wizarding World!”
Hermione smiled sweetly. Having received a satisfactory answer, she could finally relax and begin their Hermione-style date routine—
“Then let’s start reviewing!” She took out her textbook from her satchel and said earnestly, “There’s less than a month until the exams, and there are still many books to read!”
Vaughn: “…Okay…”
…
Yes, less than a month remained until the end of the first academic year.
Time passed so quickly, in a rush, that if one wasn’t careful, it slipped away like water through one’s fingers, never to return.
Compared to the self-motivated Hermione, Harry and Ron were more slow-witted.
It wasn’t until early June, when Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions classes simultaneously held unannounced quizzes that simulated the specifications and content of past years’ upgrade exams,
that the two lagging students suddenly realized that the exams were only three weeks away!
“Merlin! What have we been doing lately? Where did the time go?”
In the Gryffindor Common Room, looking at the large A （Acceptable）, P （Poor）, and D （Dreadful） on the three pieces of parchment, Ron exclaimed, covering his head.
Beside him, Harry’s and Neville’s and Seamus’s grades were not much better. Poor Seamus, for some inexplicable reason, could turn any spell into an explosion spell, resulting in grades of a huge T （Troll） in both Charms and Transfiguration!
This grade was already the lowest possible in the current examination system; it couldn’t get any lower, otherwise…
“I was clearly listening carefully…” Neville’s face was pale, and he trembled.
“Heh heh, I’m tired…” Seamus, who had once again caused an explosion in Charms class at noon and was still covered in soot, was showing signs of mental instability.
Harry also looked resigned: “What have we been doing lately? That’s a great question. Let me think. You’ve been pestering me to talk about what happened there, or arguing with everyone who mocked you… For a whole week, Ron, we haven’t put any effort into studying.”
Harry could almost see his fate three weeks from now—
The famous Harry Potter, failing to advance in his first year and becoming one of the few students to be held back in recent years!
How glorious! That was an achievement even Marcus Flint hadn’t unlocked!
He suddenly felt extremely fortunate that Dumbledore had forbidden them from publicly discussing their experiences in the painted world. Otherwise, Harry couldn’t imagine how disorganized he would become with everyone’s attention on him.
This couldn’t go on!
Harry told himself that the Philosopher’s Stone incident and the trial were over. He could no longer be endlessly immersed in past events.
He sat up straight and looked at Ron seriously, “We need to find Hermione, Ron. Now, only she can save us!”
Ron’s expression was also solemn, then he slumped his shoulders dejectedly, “It’s difficult. She’s been hanging out with Vaughn all day, reportedly helping him treat his injuries.”
“Vaughn’s injuries aren’t healed yet?”
“They should be soon…”
…
“This is the last dose!”
In the Potions Office, Snape’s icy voice made the basement, which had officially entered summer, devoid of any heat. His equally cold expression made one suspect that the potion he was handing over might contain suspicious ingredients.
Hermione took the potion and politely thanked Snape, “Thank you, Professor, you’ve worked hard.”
Snape impatiently flicked his hair and sneered as he watched the young girl help Vaughn remove his bandages, pouring half the potion onto the wound and drinking the other half.
“Does it hurt to apply the potion like that?”
“Oh my, I feel pain just watching!”
The girl’s gentle and affectionate greetings and heartbroken exclamations made Snape’s expression increasingly unpleasant. He looked around his familiar basement, which was no longer filled only with the intoxicating scent of medicinal herbs, but also with the sour smell of love!
How detestable!
Hermione clearly didn’t care about the office owner’s feelings. She precisely divided the potion into two: half she carefully fed to Vaughn to drink, and the other half she applied to the wound.
Over the past week, the wound had still shown no signs of healing.
The power of the curse stubbornly lingered around the wound.
The good news was that after a week of effort by Vaughn and Snape, and targeted potion concoctions, the black, spiderweb-like patterns near the wound had faded considerably.
At this moment, as the last dose of potion was consumed, Vaughn let out a long sigh of relief, as if suddenly freed from some shackle, a feeling of ease surging from the bottom of his heart.
In that feeling, he looked down.
He saw the black network of lines clinging around his wound receding at a visible rate.
A faint black mist flowed out from the hole bitten by the snake on Vaughn’s hand.
