Chapter 137: Bad News And Good News
Hermione was even more envious.
He quickly shook hands, then couldn’t suppress his curiosity, staring at Tonks’s hair while asking her how she controlled this natural ability.
Tonks was outgoing and a typical social butterfly. She didn’t mind Hermione’s thirst for knowledge at all, and the two chatted animatedly.
Glancing over and noticing two girls getting along so well, Kingsley chuckled at Vaughn, “This one, she’s the most rebellious intern I’ve ever had, a real headache.”
“That’s called personality, Shackle… please, my laboratory is upstairs.”
“Alright… Mr. and Mrs., please don’t bother yourselves, it’s just a formality, you two have important matters to attend to.”
The first impression most people had of Kingsley Shackle was that he was a serious wizard.
But Vaughn knew that this Pure-blood Shackle family, rumored to have African wizard ancestry, was one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and was actually quite a smooth operator.
Or rather, a politician!
In Vaughn’s memory of the future, this Auror seemed to have a low profile, yet he also seemed to be present in every situation.
When the Order of the Phoenix was reorganized, he was recruited by Moody and officially became a member of the Order of the Phoenix; he was not an original member of the Order.
When Fudge refused to acknowledge Voldemort’s return and manipulated public opinion to smear Dumbledore and Harry, he remained by Fudge’s side, passing intelligence and cleaning up Harry’s messes.
He also participated in the later “Battle of the Department of Mysteries,” the “Seven Harrys operation,” and so on.
The most outrageous thing was that after experiencing so many events, and with everyone else, including Moody, dead, this guy was completely unharmed.
He was even able to pass intelligence to Harry and the Weasley family with a Patronus Charm amidst the dire situation of Rufus Scrimgeour’s death…
Not to mention, after the great battle, this guy ascended to the position of Minister of Magic!
A quick review like this shows he’s no simple man.
Of course, whether Kingsley was a schemer or a opportunist, Vaughn didn’t care; in fact, he preferred interacting with such people.
Because whether scheming or opportunism, both are driven by desire, and a person with desire will have “weaknesses,” will understand compromise and cooperation.
Correspondingly, Kingsley Shackle also “liked” interacting with Vaughn. Vaughn keenly noticed this—normally, detecting a small thing like a trace of magical fluctuation wouldn’t trouble a seasoned Auror like Kingsley so much.
Their skills should be applied to more important cases, such as investigating and combating persistent smuggling, which is both rewarding and profitable.
Unless, of course, the seasoned Auror himself was willing to personally oversee such a minor matter.
The hint Kingsley casually made earlier, that he was receiving pressure from the Minister of Magic, seemed plausible at first hearing.
After all, as time went on, it was now all over the Ministry that on the 15th, the dear Minister was expelled from the Wizengamot by a member, Mr. Vaughn Weasley, for disrupting order!
A 50-year-old wizard, and the Minister of Magic.
Expelled by a 12-year-old young wizard…
Ministry employees couldn’t stop laughing when discussing this joke, so one could imagine how furious Mr. Fudge must be with Vaughn now.
With such a background, Kingsley’s frequent appearances made sense—Fudge was seeking personal revenge!
As a tool for personal revenge, Kingsley, who also appeared as a victim, while “forced” by the Minister and bound by duty to obey orders, also expressed goodwill to Vaughn, even openly stating it was “routine.”
If Vaughn hadn’t known about his future extensive resume, anyone else would have undoubtedly developed a favorable impression of him.
Considering him a conscientious and responsible person, but also kind, just, and adaptable.
But, what was the real truth?
Vaughn, as he led Kingsley Shackle to the attic for “routine checks,” mused playfully, chatting with this deeply hidden old fox:
“…I personally really admire you, Mr. Weasley…”
“Call me Vaughn,” Vaughn said kindly.
“Alright, you can call me Kingsley too, I like friends to call me by my name, it’s friendly… I didn’t get a chance to ask in the past few times, are the potion experiments you’re conducting an improved version of the Wolfsbane Potion mentioned in the newspapers?”
“Yes, Kingsley.” Vaughn sighed, fabricating a story, “But it hasn’t gone smoothly, as you know, I’ve failed several times in a row.”
Kingsley’s expression was sincere, “Don’t sigh, Vaughn, it’s normal for such a great potion to be difficult. You’ve already achieved what many people can’t in a lifetime. As I said, I admire you for donating the recipe for free and establishing WAC!”
As they spoke, they arrived at the attic.
As Kingsley had said, he was merely performing a routine check. He briefly glanced at the experiment bench in the attic and the scattered medicinal herbs on it, then paid no further attention.
Instead, like the past few days, he stayed in the attic, making small talk with Vaughn about inconsequential topics.
However, today, he suddenly started complaining about how hard the Aurors’ work was:
“…The wizarding world has been at peace for too long. Nowadays, besides catching smugglers, Aurors basically deal with trivial matters. Oh, I’m not saying peace is bad, but the Aurors’ efforts don’t match their professional expectations.”
“Take Nymphadora Tonks downstairs, for example. Speaking of which, when you enrolled last year, she had just left Hogwarts. She took the Auror exam immediately after graduation and passed with flying colors.”
“But such an excellent young woman has to spend her prime years in endless drudgery. According to regulations, Aurors need 3 years of training before they can officially start working… Alas, in the most brilliant years of a person’s life, how many 3-year periods are there?”
Kingsley Shackle looked wistful.
Vaughn’s lips curved into a smile, and he added helpfully, “Yes, especially for girls, their most vibrant and youthful years are spent in solitude… Ah, I suddenly have an idea. What do you think about WAC cooperating with the Auror department and borrowing some Auror interns to intern at WAC?”
Kingsley looked “surprised,” “How did I not think of that? This is a great idea. And WAC is mainly involved in international business now. These young people can broaden their horizons by going abroad, which is much better than staying in the British Isles all the time. What a brilliant idea, Vaughn!”
When it came to acting, who was afraid of whom?
Vaughn then feigned difficulty, “However, Mr. Scrimgeour might…”
“Oh, I can persuade him about that,” Kingsley said. “It’s just some interns, I’m sure Rufus will agree.”
Heh—
Vaughn chuckled inwardly. He now understood that Kingsley Shackle bringing Nymphadora Tonks over today was not accidental, but deliberate.
The plan was to place Tonks in WAC!
He didn’t know what Kingsley’s relationship with Tonks was, but he assumed it was the convoluted connections within Pure-blood families.
Even Vaughn couldn’t escape this.
Yes, Tonks downstairs, in terms of Pure-blood relations, was also a “relative” to Vaughn.
Before her marriage, her mother was Andromeda Black. Andromeda had an aunt and a great-aunt who, after marrying, were known as Lucretia Prewett and Cedrella Weasley, respectively…
To Vaughn, Kingsley’s request was quite ironic.
Of course, it wasn’t ironic towards Kingsley.
It was ironic towards the wizards from ordinary families in the wizarding world!
Although busy entertaining the Granger family recently, Vaughn hadn’t slacked off at work. Therefore, he had already learned from Lupin that the recruitment at Hogwarts had not been ideal.
Those wizards from ordinary families, their eyes were always blinded by prejudice, and they feared the threat of lycanthropy.
Even if Vaughn and WAC presented opportunities before them, they didn’t seize them.
On the other hand, Pure-blood families, once they sensed “prospects,” immediately ignored the so-called dangers and rushed to bet on them.
First, there was Travers, who, after witnessing Vaughn’s achievements and influence on Dumbledore, immediately sent his grandson.
Then there was Shackle, who, perhaps due to the distinctive family traits, dared not come openly but, upon sensing Fudge’s weakness again, quickly sent a direct family member to foster goodwill and place a descendant who was a Metamorphmagus.
Comparing the two, it was no wonder that the influence of Pure-blood families in the wizarding world never waned.
Vaughn readily accepted Tonks, which made Kingsley Shackle very happy. Thus, naturally, as he was preparing to leave, he “accidentally” revealed some Ministry goings-on.
“…Minister Fudge is very concerned about your actions. Since he learned two days ago that you failed in your potion development and triggered the trace, he tried to have the Wizengamot prosecute you for violating the Seal of Secrecy, but Ms. Bones refused. Ms. Bones believed your research was beneficial to the wizarding world and constituted a special circumstance.”
“But Minister Fudge didn’t give up… I heard that when you were developing the first version of the Wolfsbane Potion, you purchased werewolves on the black market for research?”
“Yes,” Vaughn admitted frankly. Such things couldn’t be hidden. As long as he needed to research, and as long as someone cared to investigate, they would eventually find out.
However, he wasn’t worried either. The moral standards in the wizarding world were different from Muggles; or rather, in the eyes of most wizards, werewolves weren’t considered people at all.
As expected, Kingsley, upon hearing Vaughn’s admission, showed no surprise, merely nodded and warned, “Then you need to be careful recently. Minister Fudge consulted some potioneers yesterday, and then he ordered the Aurors to prepare for a sweep of the black market.”
“According to the plan, the operation will begin the day after tomorrow. He is determined this time to clean out the black market in one go, and he specifically requested it to be a regular occurrence… At that time, black market trade will be severely hit, and you probably won’t get research materials for a long time!”
This was indeed bad news.
After seeing Kingsley off, Vaughn wrote a letter and handed it to Zhu Weiqiong—because he had to send invitations to the purple-robed people frequently lately to maintain good relations, Vaughn had specifically brought his home owl.
The letter was for William White. In it, Vaughn asked him to suspend contact with black market merchants and dark wizard teams and to sever ties so as not to be caught in the Aurors’ sweep the day after tomorrow.
That would give Fudge an excuse.
Fortunately, Vaughn had always been prepared for this, which was why he had entrusted the matter of purchasing werewolf specimens to werewolves themselves and had not appeared in person.
Otherwise, given the integrity of those black market merchants and dark wizards, once caught, they would absolutely betray him without hesitation in order to escape.
After finishing these matters, Vaughn found it somewhat amusing.
It seemed that his outburst last time had completely put Fudge at odds with him.
This development was completely different from his past-life memories. In his memory, Fudge at this time should have been in a phase of overconfidence after breaking free from Dumbledore’s “control.”
He confidently began attempting to flaunt his power to the entire wizarding world.
So, during the summer holiday, he initiated an inspection campaign of dark magical items, and the entire story of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” revolved around this grand inspection.
It was precisely because of the grand inspection that Lucius Malfoy wanted to get rid of the diary Voldemort had given him.
Of course, Lucius was a professional villain; even when discarding the diary, he didn’t forget to carry out his scheme—to frame Harry, preferably with several more students dying, so he would have an excuse to exercise his powers as a Governor and expel the detested Dumbledore!
It was also for this reason that Dobby made his appearance.
His thoughts delving into the memory archives, he relived his past-life memories. Vaughn rubbed his chin and sighed, “The plot has been changed quite a bit by me…”
Now, Fudge had been thoroughly embarrassed in every encounter with Vaughn.
Naturally, he couldn’t be overconfident.
Even less could he be so overconfident as to launch an inspection of dark magical items. In the wizarding world, everyone knew that Pure-blood families possessed the most dark magical items.
The current Fudge only managed to hold onto his position with the support of Pure-blood families who opposed Vaughn, Dumbledore, and WAC.
He would be mad to target the Pure-blood families.
“Without his grand inspection, there would be no Lucius Malfoy’s scheme against Harry, and thus no Dobby preventing Harry from going to school… It’s completely unrecognizable!”
However, Vaughn wasn’t too concerned about the “plot” changing.
He was more curious about how fate would guide everything back to its rightful course if his past-life knowledge was a harbinger of destiny.
Or rather, what was the theme of fate for the second year?
The opening of the Chamber of Secrets was definitely not it, as the Chamber had almost no connection to the eventual outcome of Voldemort’s resurrection and return.
Therefore, the answer was obvious.
“The theme of fate for the second year is that diary, the exposure of Voldemort’s Horcrux!”
Vaughn thought, “Should I then take some time to go to Malfoy Manor and snatch that diary?”
But he just thought about it.
Too troublesome!
He wasn’t Harry Potter, so why be so proactive? Anyway, the remnants that could help Voldemort resurrect were now in his hands—Peter and Barty Crouch Jr.
Voldemort, a mere wisp of a soul, struggled even to sunbathe. Let’s show some mercy to the old man!
Using his remaining kindness to convince himself not to meddle, Vaughn refocused his attention on the development of the Wolfsbane Potion.
Without werewolves for research, the progress would indeed be slower.
However… it was almost the end of July, and his current focus was awaiting the grand assembly to be smoothly elected as the first president of WAC. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
Anyway, he was idle.
Then, two days later, he received a message that stunned him, sent by Fawkes the phoenix:
【Vaughn, I’ve found a clue about a Horcrux. Return to Hogwarts quickly, Your loyal, Albus Dumbledore! 】
After receiving Dumbledore’s letter, Vaughn returned to Hogwarts using the Floo Network from Diagon Alley.
During the summer holidays, the Floo Network entrance at Hogwarts was only open in Professor McGonagall’s office.
She was responsible for managing the Floo Network system in the castle and had the highest, and only, authorization.
When Vaughn emerged from the fireplace, he saw the serious and responsible Deputy Headmistress, impeccably dressed as she had been before the holiday.
“Professor, how are you feeling lately?” Vaughn greeted her.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and said dryly, “Quite well… If you and Albus don’t cause trouble, I’ll be happy all year!”
“Professor, whether I cause trouble or not isn’t up to me, you should manage Albus more. Look, he won’t even let me off during the holidays.”
“…He says the same about you!”
After entering the summer holiday, the castle fell into a rare silence for the year.
Even the professors were on holiday at home; only a few who had nowhere else to go, or considered the school their home, remained in the castle.
Professor McGonagall was one of them.
In fact, no one knew where Professor McGonagall lived; everyone only knew she was Scottish, a deduction made from her accent.
Beyond that, she was unmarried and childless; her life seemed to consist only of Hogwarts, her students, never straying from them for a moment.
Compared to her conscientiousness.
Professor Trelawney, who also remained at the school, though unmarried and childless, considering the school her home, did so for an entirely different reason.
As Vaughn and Professor McGonagall headed to Dumbledore’s office, they encountered her on the fourth floor.
In broad daylight, she was thoroughly drunk, hugging a suit of armor and caressing it. The sight, which was unbearable to witness, made Professor McGonagall’s forehead crease.
Lest Trelawney make any more undignified displays.
Professor McGonagall sent her away, then explained to Vaughn, “Sybill is rather eccentric. You haven’t taken her class yet, so you might find her behavior strange, but I must say, Dumbledore trusts her!”
“And what about you, Professor?”
“…I’m not someone who likes to gossip about colleagues,” Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, emphasizing first, then saying with a grim face, “But I believe hiring Sybill as Professor of Divination might be Dumbledore’s most serious mistake!”
Her prejudice against Trelawney was evident.
Vaughn, however, knew that Sybill Trelawney was not as incompetent as she appeared. In fact, she was likely the only Seer remaining in the English wizarding world.
It was only for an unknown reason that her prophetic abilities were unstable, causing her to act like a lazy fraud.
Vaughn smiled, making no comment on Professor McGonagall’s prejudice, and merely added, “Albus’s judgment has always been questionable… You must have heard about Gilderoy Lockhart’s case, right?”
“Yes, child, the newspapers are still discussing that case as of today. I must say, no matter how unreasonable Fudge is, any truly discerning person understands that you exposed a great fraud and restored many people’s reputations.”
Vaughn brought up Lockhart, not to hear Professor McGonagall praise him.
He spread his hands to Professor McGonagall, “But as far as I know, our dear Headmaster once wanted to invite Gilderoy Lockhart to be the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts!”
“…”
Upon hearing this, Professor McGonagall’s face visibly flushed red.
It was from anger!
She exclaimed in shock, stammering, “He… Has he lost his mind?”
“Quite possibly,” Vaughn said malevolently. “Professor, I suggest you strictly supervise Albus’s appointments in the future and stop him from being so whimsical. Look, he invited Quirrell in the first year, and he wanted to invite Lockhart in the second year… Honestly, perhaps his subjective intentions were not wrong, but he just had bad luck. But twice in a row with bad luck…”
Vaughn didn’t finish, but it was enough for Professor McGonagall to draw her own conclusions.
The Deputy Headmistress certainly understood that Vaughn might have a retaliatory motive in saying this, but what he said was also the truth.
Dumbledore’s luck in inviting professors had indeed been poor. Quirrell alone led to Voldemort’s possession, and then there was the great fraud Lockhart… Professor McGonagall shuddered to imagine how chaotic Hogwarts would be next year if Vaughn hadn’t stepped forward to expose that fraud!
Therefore, on the way to escorting Vaughn to the Headmaster’s office, Professor McGonagall’s expression remained grim.
Even when they reached the Headmaster’s office and Dumbledore cheerfully invited her to have some Honeydukes sweets, she gave him a stern glare and left without a word.
Once he understood the reason, Dumbledore was helpless, “I only mentioned it to you in passing. He applied on his own initiative, and I didn’t agree to him at the time.”
Facing the old man’s aggrieved look, Vaughn remained noncommittal.
Old Dumbledore hadn’t agreed at the time.
But without his intervention, if the old man couldn’t find a new unlucky soul—no, a Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts—this year, he would still accept Lockhart’s application.
Thinking of this, Vaughn asked, “You still haven’t found a Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for the new school year?”
Upon hearing this question.
Dumbledore couldn’t help but get a headache. He rubbed his temples, “It’s difficult… For so many years, the entire wizarding world has known that the Defense Against the Dark Arts post is cursed by Tom. No professor can last more than a year. Now, everyone shies away from this position; no one is willing to come.”
“Have you considered canceling this course and giving it a different name?”
Old Dumbledore shook his head, “It’s not that simple. Firstly, I’m not sure if Tom’s curse targeted the specific position of ‘Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts’ or the teaching concept of ‘Defense Against the Dark Arts.’ If it’s the latter, then it’s practically impossible to circumvent.”
“Secondly, the course names at Hogwarts cannot be arbitrarily changed. Any modification requires review by the Board of Governors and approval from the Ministry of Magic, as it relates to students’ graduation exams and future employment choices. This is a major reform.”
“And I believe you are more aware than I am of the current relationship between the Ministry and us.”
“…” Vaughn pursed his lips and proposed another method, “There’s one more way. Since others cannot withstand the curse, I think you could consider teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts yourself and then hiring an assistant. The curriculum would be set by you, and the actual teaching would be done by the assistant, which might circumvent the curse.”
“Well, even if it can’t be circumvented, you would bear the curse, greatly increasing the assistant’s safety. This should alleviate many people’s concerns!”
Dumbledore’s beard twitched, and he looked at Vaughn with disbelief, as if he couldn’t fathom such ruthlessness!
“Why are you looking at me? Trying it wouldn’t cost you a single coin. This Defense Against the Dark Arts course is truly going to rot if it continues like this.”
“…Why don’t you try?”
“I’m not the Headmaster!”
Upon hearing this, Dumbledore paused and replied with an enigmatic expression, “Do you want to be Headmaster?”
“…”
Vaughn remained silent. After a moment, he turned his head to look at the sleeping portraits on the wall, enchanted to rest. “Let’s get down to business. Where did you find the clue about the Horcrux?”
Alas—
Dumbledore sighed inwardly and no longer dwelled on it, changing the subject. “Albania!”
“You should still remember that last year, I was tracking Quirinus’s whereabouts and eventually discovered he met Tom in Albania… Speaking of which, I should thank you for that, Vaughn, for your reminder at the time.”
In the evening, Hogwarts Castle was bathed in the twilight.
Without boisterous, running students, the time in the entire castle seemed to slow down, everything encapsulated in amber, still and quiet.
The dim evening sun shone through the windows of the gallery. Dumbledore and Vaughn walked slowly through the seemingly frozen light and shadow.
Vaughn did not respond to Dumbledore’s “thanks.”
He understood that the old man was deliberately bringing it up.
Ever since he learned that Vaughn possessed a Death Eater who “knew many secrets,” Dumbledore felt enlightened, and many of his previous doubts seemed to be answered.
Such as the aforementioned, Vaughn’s pointing him to Albania—of course, at the time, Vaughn had indicated a broader area, encompassing the entire Balkan Peninsula.
Previously, Dumbledore hadn’t understood why Vaughn was so certain Voldemort was hiding in the Balkans at the time?
Vaughn’s claim that the Balkans were a gathering place for dark wizards was rather far-fetched.
The Balkan Peninsula was indeed chaotic, with dark wizards from all over Europe active there, but precisely because of this, it was even more puzzling.
After Voldemort became a wisp of a soul, he didn’t even dare to stay in England and didn’t trust his own followers. Why would he dare to go to the lair of dark wizards?
Wasn’t he afraid of being imprisoned by some evil dark wizard?
A residual soul couldn’t be killed, but no one could guarantee that conclusion was entirely accurate. Based on Dumbledore’s understanding of Voldemort, he shouldn’t have the courage to test such a fate!
Seeing that Vaughn was ignoring him, Dumbledore didn’t mind and frankly stated, “In fact, before you inadvertently gave me that information, the first place I ruled out was the Balkan Peninsula. That place didn’t align with my understanding of Tom’s personality.”
“But the truth was, I did eventually find traces of Tom parasitizing various small animals in Albania. This frustrated me for a long time… I realized I might have never truly understood him!”
“That frustration led me to not think carefully about why Tom went to Albania for a long time. It wasn’t until recently, when I went to the forest where Tom had lived again, that I once again found the carcasses of small animals he had parasitized.”
“It’s hard to understand, he went back again. It was then that I truly sensed something unusual—what was it about that forest that Tom was so fond of?”
“It felt like an injured animal instinctively returning to its most familiar place, as if it felt safe there… But how could the Albanian forest give Tom such a feeling? His entire life was spent in England; he had never lived or been active in any other country…”
Tap, tap…
Their unhurried footsteps echoed in the dim corridor.
Vaughn listened quietly to Dumbledore’s narration, sensing the confusion and doubt in the old man’s heart at the time.
“I initially still thought I didn’t understand him enough and began to trace his life trajectory, but there was no gain. Tom disliked places outside the British Isles; or rather, he was a perfectionist. Before conquering England and seizing great power to realize his ‘ideal,’ he wouldn’t waste his energy on another country.”
“I realized my line of investigation was wrong. Perhaps Tom’s fondness for the Albanian forest wasn’t due to some grand events he experienced there; perhaps it was simply a small matter, insignificant and unrecorded, but one that had a profound impact on him… For example, something related to a Horcrux!”
As he spoke, Dumbledore’s footsteps gradually came to a halt.
Vaughn looked up and noticed they had reached Ravenclaw Tower. Inside the tower was a serene courtyard, said to be Rowena Ravenclaw’s favorite spot.
She enjoyed the sun slanting into the courtyard and liked to sit amidst the dappled shade and gentle breeze, contemplating magical matters.
Just like now.
The setting sun’s residual light filtered through the glass dome at the top of the tower, refracting multiple times, filling the entire courtyard with a dim, yellow glow.
In the distance, a ghost stood at the highest point of the tower, gazing intently at the courtyard below, filled with an amber luster.
She was the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw’s ghost, a lonely soul who never wished to communicate with anyone.
Vaughn looked at the Grey Lady and said to Dumbledore, who was merely gazing from afar, seemingly not wanting to disturb her, “It seems you’ve really found a clue.”
“So, you’ve always known?”
Dumbledore lowered his head, his blue eyes behind his crescent spectacles gazing at Vaughn, “Knowing that the Grey Lady is Helena Ravenclaw, knowing that for the sake of wisdom, she stole her mother Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem, and was eventually pursued by the Bloody Baron and accidentally killed in the Albanian forest?”
“My dear, no wonder you always liked coming to Ravenclaw. Everyone was fooled by you, thinking you were fond of the young witches from Ravenclaw…”
