Chapter 163: Fire Dragons, Kirin, And The Eastern Wizarding World
Lupin couldn’t imagine what that scene would be like.
The wizards’ resistance to the Rappaport Law was actually because of two Muggles!
Including the awakening of equal rights awareness, it was also because of Muggles.
Pure-bloods and half-bloods, actually uniting for a wizard from Muggle origins…
Combined with what he was now seeing in the newspapers about the situation in America, he felt as if he were listening to a fairy tale!
But inexplicably, Lupin felt a faint impulse in his heart.
It was the life instinct’s yearning for fairness, a resonance with resisting injustice!
In his mind, he seemed to see a Woolworth Building filled with people, a protesting crowd, banners and streamers everywhere—
Laws can suppress nature, but one day it will awaken again!
He was very familiar with that feeling, just like last year, when he and many other werewolves responded to Vaughn’s call and appeared in Diagon Alley!
Unfortunately, that impulse and yearning were quickly extinguished by Vaughn’s next words.
He heard the young man say coldly and dryly: “…But ironically, within two years of the equal rights movement achieving results and the Rappaport Law being abolished, the fate of the Wizard Pioneer Movement Organization proved the correctness of the Rappaport Law – they were betrayed by some Muggles and arrested by the Muggle government!”
“…”
The epic emotions surging in Lupin’s chest came to an abrupt halt.
He never expected such a result.
His throat felt dry as he swallowed a few times, and he finally managed to ask in a hoarse voice, “Are these things you’re talking about all records from that time?”
“No.” Vaughn shook his head, “These are all my speculations. My basis is that in 1967, the Wizard Pioneer Movement Organization gradually disappeared one by one, and the news of several young leaders of the pioneer movement who shone brightly in the equal rights movement could no longer be found.”
“In 1968, the Muggle Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.”
“In the same year, the already abolished Rappaport Law was reinstated…”
As Vaughn read out pieces of information that seemed unrelated but were deeply connected, Lupin’s heart grew heavier.
When Vaughn finished speaking, he sighed and asked, “If according to your logic and the information you’ve listed… were those Wizard Pioneer Movement Organizations truly betrayed by Muggles?”
Clap clap!
In response to Lupin, Vaughn clapped gently, looking very pleased:
“That’s right, Remus. Don’t blindly follow others’ conclusions. You need to try to extract key points from limited information yourself and think about it from multiple angles.”
“Uh…”
Lupin was stunned for a moment. Vaughn’s praise didn’t make him feel better; his heart still felt heavy.
Even after the short dinner, he hadn’t emerged from his thoughts.
Vaughn didn’t return to his room. Instead, he went on deck, enjoying the sea breeze under the moonlight, waiting for the group transporting fire dragons.
Lupin accompanied him, hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. President, what is the real truth behind the reinstatement of the Rappaport Law? Was it Muggles, or…?”
“I don’t know either. The Magical Congress didn’t reach any conclusion back then.” Vaughn said, then smiled, “However, didn’t America already tell you the truth?”
“…”
Hearing this, the newspapers he had read over the past period of time flashed through Lupin’s memory.
The Magical Congress deliberately allowing the situation to deteriorate.
The resurgence of Third Salem.
In his daze, he seemed to see two sets of hands, which theoretically should not have intersected, tacitly covering the horizon, above the continent whose outline was faintly visible.
Lupin, who had glimpsed the complexity and dirtiness of politics for the first time, was speechless.
He then remembered what Mundungus had complained to him half a month ago:
“You’ve always lived in an ivory tower, Remus!”
The ship sailed slowly.
The distant land resembled scenery irrelevant to the horizon, parallel to the ship, slowly receding.
In the more distant direction, where the sun set, a faint glimmer of light contrasted with the dark background, shimmering beyond the mountains.
Gradually fading.
Accompanying Vaughn, Lupin was still contemplating the issues in America. After all, they were about to set foot on that land tomorrow. Although everyone in the delegation was psychologically prepared for the danger, their focus differed.
For the ordinary committee members, they only needed to be vigilant and deal with possible dangers.
As the only Vice President in the delegation, Lupin felt he couldn’t be like an ordinary committee member. He hoped he could do his best to clarify the positions of various factions within America.
On one hand, to know oneself and the enemy, one couldn’t let them attack you while you didn’t even know who they were or why they were coming.
On the other hand, one must guard against others. Although the delegation was invited by Ilvermorny, they couldn’t just accept their word for it – they said they were targeted by other organizations for protecting students, but was that the truth? Were there other reasons behind it?
However, the conflict in a country, and a conflict that had persisted for 200 years, was overwhelming. The more he thought about it, the more tangled the clues became.
After thinking for a while, feeling his head spin, Lupin began to sort out his thoughts again.
First, let’s analyze from the perspective of factions.
Currently, the situation in America should be divided into four factions.
1. The Magical Congress, controlled by pure-bloods, which is nominally still the only legal official institution in America, with its sphere of influence concentrated on the East Coast and adjacent states!
2. Various civilian wizarding armed forces. This part is quite chaotic, with some mainly composed of half-bloods, some representing wizards from Muggle origins, as well as various ambitious individuals and strange characters.
3. The Purifiers. Previously, the Daily Prophet sporadically reported some news suggesting that the Purifiers, who were thought to be extinct, had reformed an organization called Third Salem and were active in various states in America.
The credibility of related news is uncertain because the chaotic situation in America has greatly hindered the dissemination of news and information, making it difficult for the outside world to grasp the detailed situation within America.
This is the main reason why Ajinbad led the Federation delegation to North America – the Federation hopes to understand what the current state of affairs within America is.
4. The Muggle government!
After recording this, Lupin hesitated.
The speculation that the Muggle government might also be entangled in this quagmire in America was Vaughn’s view.
He was unsure if reality was truly like that.
From the information he could currently access, over the past year, the Daily Prophet had reported some news about American wizards being captured by the Muggle government and subjected to human experiments.
But frankly…
Muggles? Capturing wizards? Human experiments?
Don’t be ridiculous.
Any wizard would not believe it if they heard it!
This is no longer the Middle Ages. The reasons for the witch hunts in the Middle Ages were complex.
One important reason was that the casting conditions for ancient magic were too harsh.
Casting ancient magic successfully required a large number of spell materials and tedious rituals.
There were several famous cases in the Middle Ages that recorded wizards whose spell materials were stolen by Muggles and whose rituals were disrupted, leaving the wizards at their mercy.
It’s different now. Since the 17th century, the global magical community has vigorously developed and promoted the modern spell system.
Convenient and fast spells greatly enhanced wizards’ self-preservation abilities when facing Muggles!
To say that Muggles still persecute wizards now… individuals may exist for various reasons, but mass events are absolutely impossible to happen again!
Lupin shook his head.
Instead of listing the Muggle government as a separate faction, he was more inclined to believe that the Muggle government might just be a supporting party behind the Purifiers.
He thought for a moment and connected items 3 and 4 with a line.
Finally, Lupin hesitated again before writing “Ilvermorny” on the parchment.
Based on the information currently available, Ilvermorny does not seem like a separate faction. Among the many divisions and contradictions causing the current situation in America, Ilvermorny does not support any viewpoint; they are neither partial to pure-bloods nor to half-bloods or Muggles.
They simply protected all students who remained at the school, preventing them from being affected by the disasters outside.
Lupin put a question mark after the name “Ilvermorny.”
He was learning to use Vaughn’s method, trying to abandon his existing conclusions, and preparing to collect information independently to propose doubts.
Time passed quietly.
When the new moon rose over the western sea.
Lupin, who was still thinking and making revisions on the parchment, heard Vaughn say:
“They’re here.”
Lupin looked up and saw nothing on the sea surface bathed in moonlight.
This was natural. How could a wizard blatantly fly onto a ship full of Muggles? He cast a spell to pierce invisibility on his eyes.
Magical vision brought the auras of all things into his sight.
He saw a shadow in the deep seawater below the cruise ship, and several colorful light clusters were rushing towards the surface.
Those were wizards’ auras.
“Remus, disperse the Muggles on deck.”
Vaughn instructed.
Lupin nodded. “Yes, Mr. President.”
The light of a spell shone behind him, and the bustling crowd gradually dispersed.
Perhaps disturbed by the spell, several Federation wizards from the receding crowd walked against the flow. Seeing Vaughn and Lupin, they stopped, but didn’t leave, instead observing from a distance.
Vaughn ignored them and walked to the ship’s railing, facing the sea breeze.
The wizard auras from under the sea quickly rose to the surface.
They paused for a moment, as if identifying. Soon, they flew over.
“Mr. Vaughn Weasley?”
It was four wizards dressed identically, wearing black robes that concealed their gender. The leader, riding a broom, glanced at Vaughn’s red hair, bowed slightly, and asked.
“It is I. Have you brought the items?”
The person nodded. “Only six heads have been brought. The Welsh Green Dragon, the Hippogriff Black Dragon, the Australian Green Dragon, and the Chinese Fireball Dragon are not yet in hand due to supply chain tightening.”
“Tsk!”
Lupin, who had just returned after dispersing the Muggles, heard Vaughn let out an impatient sound:
“The first three are because of Fudge?”
The black-robed wizard leading them nodded slightly. “Yes, Fudge somehow detected that we were acquiring fire dragons and caused some trouble… However, please rest assured, we have resolved this issue and will deliver the remaining fire dragons as soon as possible.”
Vaughn said no more, only asking, “The Green Dragon, Black Dragon, and Green Dragon are from within the British Commonwealth, so it’s understandable that Fudge would interfere. What about the Fireball Dragon?”
“There have been some changes in East Asia. The quadrennial Kirin Festival is approaching. To prevent illegal poaching and smuggling of Kirins, security has been very strict recently, especially for valuable magical creatures like fire dragons. Various procedures require strict inspection, so it will take some time.”
“Kirin Festival?”
“Yes, they call it… luo, tian, ta, jio?”
Hearing the black-robed man’s awkward pronunciation, Vaughn paused for a moment before recalling the corresponding four characters from distant memory:
Luo Tian Da Jiao!
The magical world in that East Asian country is more mysterious internationally than the magical world in Africa. They developed their own philosophical theories based on magic very early on. The core of that philosophy, the idea of seclusion and the desire to detach from the secular world, even predated the introduction of the International Confederation’s Secrecy Act by nearly 2000 years.
Of course, they don’t call it magic there, but “Qi”.
Those who cultivate Qi are not wizards or sorcerers; they are called Qi Practitioners.
Therefore, from another perspective, those Qi Practitioners are the most thorough enforcers of the Secrecy Act in the world, not even wanting to meet their international counterparts.
As a result, very little is known about them internationally.
Over the years, other countries have only known that every four years, that East Asian country holds a grand event called “Luo Tian Da Jiao.”
This grand event is somewhat similar to elections in European countries. However, their elections do not rely on votes from the wizarding populace, but on the selection by a magical creature.
The Kirin!
The purest creature in the world!
It can also see through complex human nature and look directly at the brilliance of human nature hidden beneath layers of pollution, selecting individuals with the purest and most precious character.
The East Asian Qi Practitioners believe that only those chosen by the Kirin can lead them.
Therefore, Luo Tian Da Jiao is actually a convention where Qi Practitioners ask the Kirin to choose their leader.
Vaughn sighed helplessly, “How long will it take?”
“Soon. I’ll urge the staff stationed there to handle it as quickly as possible. Please rest assured, as per your request, we purchased the fire dragons through legal channels, and all the paperwork is complete, so there will be no accidents.”
Such comfort could not alleviate Vaughn’s displeasure.
However, when encountering such a situation, it was indeed not their fault.
Vaughn tilted his head and gestured to Lupin, “Go get the suitcase.”
“Yes!”
The air exploded, Lupin vanished, and soon returned with a suitcase.
The subsequent fire dragon handover was naturally handled by Lupin. Vaughn beckoned and took the leading black-robed person aside:
“What exactly is the situation in America?”
As he spoke, he noticed that the Federation wizards who had been watching from afar were approaching.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Ajinbad.
This tall, dark-skinned old wizard had a unique racial advantage in the darkness, and Vaughn almost didn’t notice him.
Making eye contact with Vaughn, Ajinbad grinned, his white teeth seeming to float in the air. “Engaging in any illegal activities?”
The black-robed person glanced at Vaughn, who remained silent, and replied, “It’s a legal transaction, with verifiable paperwork. Mr. Ajinbad, would you like to inspect it?”
“That’s not necessary. I trust President Weasley!”
Ajinbad walked closer with a smile. “I just heard you discussing the situation in America? Would you mind if I listened in?”
Vaughn smiled thinly. “If I say I mind, will you leave?”
“Don’t be so stingy! Look, you’ve used me and the delegation as shields all the way. I haven’t said anything. Now you have a channel to get some intelligence about America, share it with me as compensation. That’s not too much, is it?”
“…You truly are Albus’s old friend!”
“Thank you. Young people value face. Once you get old, you’ll realize that those empty reputations are useless.” Ajinbad, implicitly mocked by Vaughn, was unconcerned.
“Child, continue your conversation. I’ll only listen to what you allow me to hear.”
The black-robed person glanced at Vaughn. Seeing Vaughn nod slightly, he said, “You’ve requested too much complex information. Where do you want to start?”
Vaughn didn’t hesitate. “First, tell me Isabella Rosier’s whereabouts.”
“Apologies, Mr. Weasley, we haven’t found her.”
The black-robed person delivered bad news immediately, but not entirely. He continued, “We went to the mailing address you provided, but it had been completely destroyed, leaving only ruins. There were traces of magic everywhere at the scene, suggesting a large number of wizards raided it. The good news is, we found two survivors hiding in a nearby village. According to them, your friend Ms. Rosier escaped.”
“We followed the clues they provided and investigated further. Currently, we can confirm that she is alive and has not left America. We speculate that she may be trying to sneak into Canada via Minnesota, but the plan may not go smoothly.”
“The day before yesterday, a family member we sent to investigate in Minnesota rescued a wizard. He said the border was full of Purifiers…”
“Purifiers?”
Ajinbad, who had been quietly listening, said with a heavy voice.
The darkness prevented Vaughn and the black-robed person from seeing his expression, but he must have been frowning.
Seeing that Vaughn didn’t object, the black-robed person replied, “Yes, Mr. Ajinbad. The Purifiers are not just rumors fabricated by the Daily Prophet. They, and Third Salem, do exist.”
“…”
Ajinbad seemed shocked by this news. He was silent for a moment and then asked, “Have you seen them? What is their organizational structure like? How large are they?”
“You’ll see for yourself… Mr. Weasley?”
The black-robed person drew his wand, asked, looking at Vaughn, and upon receiving Vaughn’s permission, placed the wand tip against his forehead.
It was evident that his memory magic was not very skilled, as the act of extracting memories caused him pain, making his hand tremble.
Fortunately, he completed it.
The black-robed person handed the silver thread hanging from his wand tip to Vaughn. It was as light and fragile as a wisp of smoke, as if it would dissipate with a single gust of wind.
Ajinbad opened his mouth, about to say something.
Then, Vaughn snapped his fingers, and a mist emanated from his robe, spreading quickly and enveloping the three of them.
Afterward, the silver thread drifted down, was captured by Vaughn’s magic, and merged into the mist.
Soon, a memory scene, simulated by illusions, appeared before the three of them.
The beginning of the memory was very explosive.
The first-person perspective was likely from a hidden corner. The surroundings were old apartment buildings common in American big cities, and the center of the view was also an apartment.
It was probably late at night, and the sky was dark.
Several wizards, dressed in robes and seemingly security personnel, patrolled outside the apartment.
“This memory comes from a survivor. He’s a wild wizard, like the wizards in the image. He was hired by an illegal safe house to provide security services. Those people were the visible guards, and he was the hidden sentry. This is also why he survived… and because of this, he witnessed the entire Third Salem raid on the safe house!”
The black-robed person explained.
At the same time, the previously peaceful memory scene before the three began to change.
The battle began suddenly!
It was a fireball falling from the sky!
Initially, it resembled a relatively bright star, but soon, in the eyes of the survivor providing the memory, it rapidly enlarged and approached.
Whoosh—
The fireball plunged straight down, trailing a long fiery tail.
The wizards guarding the apartment outside immediately sensed something unusual. They drew their wands, but before they could utter any spells, various spells suddenly appeared from the surrounding darkness.
Red light, electric currents, flying arrows…
Those people were instantly engulfed. Thus, without any obstruction or warning, the massive fireball struck the roof and penetrated it!
For about 1 second, the memory scene was as quiet as if nothing had happened.
But the next second, the 8-story apartment building, from the roof to the 4th floor, the building body constructed with Muggle steel and concrete, suddenly bulged like mud bubbles stirred up from a swamp.
Then—
Boom!
An explosion, a deafening sound.
The flames expanded violently, illuminating the night sky.
The terrifying destructive power instantly tore apart the upper half of the apartment building, and countless people died in their sleep.
Smoke and dust billowed, mixed with the falling debris from the ruins, creating a deafening sound below.
The wizards living on the lower floors, who had miraculously escaped this strike, awoke. Screams and coughs echoed from the smoke, interspersed with flashes of spells.
But their “luck” was only for so long.
The three saw from the survivor’s memory that one black-robed wizard after another “walked” out of the night.
Ten, twenty, thirty…
In an instant, dense black-robed wizards surrounded the apartment building, which had almost become ruins. As one of them fired an Illumination Charm into the air.
The battle resumed.
Countless spell lights, mixed in color due to proximity and almost indistinguishable, spewed from the wands of the black-robed wizards, penetrating the smoke and rubble.
It was a one-sided slaughter!
The light of the Full Body-Bind Curse flickered like a dense camera flash in the smoke. Some were quickly extinguished, while others, more powerful, lasted only a few breaths.
Those people desperately rushed out.
But they were quickly defeated, Disarming Charms, Stunning Spells… and, patches of ghastly green light!
The black-robed wizards were like cold, ruthless life-reaping machines, advancing and retreating in an orderly fashion, intercepting, dividing, surrounding, and pursuing.
Short cries echoed in the night sky, quickly returning to silence.
Before long, the battle was over!
The final scene of the reconstructed memory showed the black-robed wizards riding broomsticks and flying carpets, circling over the city. Small teams, like diligent bees, detached from the group to clean up the battlefield, handle bodies, while more teams carried something and slowly flew over the Muggle buildings.
The memory ended.
The mist that enveloped the three gradually dissipated.
But for a moment, none of the three spoke.
After a long while, Ajinbad finally exhaled with a hoarse voice, “Those people didn’t look like wizards!”
“I think so too,” the black-robed person agreed. “Although it’s not good to say this, and it’s a bit self-deprecating, as everyone knows, wizards are emotional people because they need emotional casting. That’s the polite way of saying it. To put it bluntly, wizards are quite temperamental.”
“I’ve watched this memory many times after I got it. Did you notice? They didn’t say anything the entire time, no communication, no idle chatter, not even any unnecessary movements… This is incredible for a wizard, like…”
Seemingly unable to find a suitable comparison, the black-robed person faltered.
Vaughn waved his hand, and the mist and illusions reappeared.
He tilted his head, looking at the black-robed wizards in the image, and tapped his chin, continuing, “They were like Muggle machines, obeying orders precisely, acting methodically.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to say, machines!”
Like Vaughn, Ajinbad, watching the scene again, pondered and asked, “Is this the only memory? Is there more corroborating evidence?”
“There were too few survivors, and even fewer who personally witnessed the Purifiers and survived. As you saw, these guys are ruthless and don’t spare any wizard within their line of sight… they don’t even leave their bodies!”
The black-robed person’s voice was grim.
Ajinbad asked no further questions and said to Vaughn, “Can you copy this memory for me?”
“No!” Vaughn flatly refused.
Ajinbad did not show surprise. His previous question was just a trial. Clearly, Vaughn Weasley was not someone to be easily persuaded.
Fortunately, the people he dealt with were generally not easy to persuade, so he skillfully said, “I can exchange it for something else.”
“Oh? What?”
“I plan to disembark in Boston. The delegation can accompany us then, and I can offer you protection for a while longer.”
“How long is this ‘while’ you’re referring to?”
“All the way to New York. During this time, you can act with us to investigate the current situation in America, and intelligence will be shared.”
Ajinbad was not as crude as he appeared. He was actually very good at analyzing the root of existing problems and then using that to propose cooperation that could not be refused.
Just like at the WAC conference last time, he used the unanimous vote to lure Dumbledore and Amelia into agreeing to a debate with Vaughn.
Ajinbad naturally understood that Vaughn and the WAC delegation, having dared to come to America, had prepared for attacks.
But then again, as long as one was rational, no one liked to be in danger.
Combat was not a tea party; people died!
229. Indeed, after making his proposal, he looked up at Vaughn, who was staring at the illusory scene, and after a moment of thought, nodded and reached into the mist to grab a few times.
230. Soon, a crystal-clear silver thread formed in his palm.
231. “Amazing memory magic,” Ajinbad exclaimed.
232. This was a sincere compliment.
233. Even he, an old wizard at the age of 80, could not replicate a memory by simply molding with his bare hands as easily as Vaughn.
234. Even the memory seemed to have physical substance, lying in Vaughn’s palm.
235. Ajinbad admitted he couldn’t do it.
236. He drew his wand, wrapped the silver thread Vaughn handed him around the tip, and left the mind world. Memories were very fragile, and only a wand could temporarily preserve them.
237. The transaction was complete, and Ajinbad felt a bit pleased.
238. But upon seeing the disciplined black-robed wizards in the mist-rendered memory scene again, he had to suppress his joy.
239. “Fearsome discipline, fearsome execution… Although I knew that the Purifiers could not be completely eradicated, I never imagined they would develop such immense power. How do you think they achieved this?”
240. “…Too little information, currently unclear.”
241. Vaughn’s fingers brushed through the mist. The memory scenes, under his manipulation, were decomposed “frame by frame” like edited video files.
242. Forming fragmented scenes, yet more convenient for observing details.
243. But as he said, there was indeed too little information to draw accurate conclusions.
244. Only a shadow of unease loomed in his heart.
245. Muggle government… Purifiers…
246. With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the mist, storing the memory in his mind, and nodded to the black-robed person, prompting him to continue, “Do you have any speculations about Isabella’s current whereabouts?”
247. “Yes, she definitely won’t go to the Minnesota border again. Currently, there are two possibilities for her whereabouts: one is to detour further north. There are many blind spots where the US and Canada border that the Purifiers cannot cover.”
248. “The other possibility is related to you. The establishment of WAC and the news of your leading a delegation to America have been published in several newspapers. If Ms. Rosier’s situation is not too difficult, and her news channels are not too blocked, she would definitely see it in the newspapers.”
249. Their team speculated that this possibility was the greatest.
250. As long as Isabella Rosier saw the news of Vaughn’s arrival in America in the newspaper, she would definitely come to meet him.
251. Hearing this, Vaughn glanced at Ajinbad.
252. The old wizard’s dark face showed a “kindly” smile. “After we disembark in Boston, we can hold a press conference.”
253. Hmph!
254. An old fox!
255. Vaughn knew very well that the elder was being so nice to him mainly because he wanted to continue cooperating with him – the existence of the Purifiers probably made the old wizard feel very insecure!
256.
