Chapter 172: Voldemort, The “pragmatist”
And that arrogant self-confidence, the silent yet omnipresent threat, all made Remus particularly annoyed!
He knew his mindset was off. How others behaved arrogantly was their business. As the Vice President of WAC, Vaughn’s subordinate, he should view everyone and everything calmly and rationally. After all, WAC didn’t have the luxury to be capricious.
But as soon as he thought about the suitcase space, how the other party used various excuses to subtly pressure Vaughn into so-called “cooperation.”
Thinking about the undisguised contempt when they talked about werewolves made him feel rage brewing in his chest!
Especially after coming out of the suitcase space, when he brought the delegation from the Ministry of Magic to find Matthew and register him…
“Will he bite?”
“Why take this guy out of an iron cage?”
“Hey, someone cast a Cleaning Charm on him, he’s so scruffy, looks absolutely dreadful…”
“Height… eye color… hair color… Mr. Lupin, can this werewolf talk?”
“Mr. Lupin, please tell Mr. Vaughn Weasley again, this werewolf… alright, this Mr. Matthew is not on the reported list, so Mr. Weasley is responsible for all his actions. Please keep his every move in check to avoid any undesirable outcomes.”
Remus didn’t know how he managed to endure it.
He only knew he was about to lose his mind from anger.
After sending those people from the Ministry of Magic away, he realized his clenched fists had dug their nails into his palms.
In over 30 years, he had never encountered so many detestable people, even more so than that madman Voldemort—at least Voldemort had flexible standards when it came to “discrimination.”
Half-bloods, Mudbloods, werewolves, Veela, goblins, etc., were all trash to him, treated equally. But if they were willing to kiss my robes and join me, then… it wasn’t impossible to negotiate!
It was all about pragmatism!
Compared to Remus’s righteous indignation, Matthew’s demeanor was much calmer.
“I’m already used to it,” Matthew said, looking at the blood seeping from Remus’s palm, clutching a few books, unfazed even as the Ministry of Magic people bustled around him like they were measuring cargo. His tone was devoid of emotion. “This is how the world treats werewolves, whether they’re English or Yankees.”
Only Vaughn Weasley is different!
He thought.
In Matthew’s eyes, Vaughn Weasley was undoubtedly not kind, perhaps even cold and unfeeling, with a heart as hard and cold as iron. But it was precisely such a person who wouldn’t discriminate or treat people differently.
Because in his eyes, everyone was the same; it wasn’t race that distinguished people, but their usefulness!
In a sense, this was also pragmatism.
“Don’t you feel any anger at all?” Remus found Matthew’s calmness incredible.
“No.”
Matthew shook his head. One of the reasons he was willing to submit to and try to get closer to Vaughn, to increase his own value, was that he really wanted to see if Vaughn’s promise, mentioned in his speeches, that werewolves could live in the sunlight, could actually come true!
Beyond that, everything else was trivial.
Remus, who had never experienced true hardship and had very simple social connections from childhood, couldn’t understand this way of thinking. Just as he couldn’t understand why Vaughn could tolerate Michael Graves.
Leaving Matthew, with whom he couldn’t connect, Remus hurried back to the suitcase space.
The space was still bright and sunny, the large magical experiments suspended in mid-air were still ongoing, only the Norwegian Ridgeback, already dismantled into countless pieces but still alive, its terrified, tragic roars gradually weakening.
When Remus rushed back, Vaughn was recording and analyzing this phenomenon:
“…The Ridgeback’s evolution tends towards omnipotence. Compared to other Fire Dragons, it has the most magical organs, not only distributed throughout the lungs and spine within the thoracic cavity but also in areas where other Fire Dragons have not evolved, especially in the bones…”
“The magical organs within the bones provide the degenerating muscles of the Ridgeback with a completely different life support and energy supply system. Furthermore, this system is highly interconnected; any damage or decomposition to the bones will cause it to rapidly decay…”
Swish!
As Vaughn was recording, a system panel popped up before his eyes, and the number indicating the progress of the side quest quietly changed:
【5/10】
Vaughn paused, not particularly surprised. Although Fire Dragons are diverse, they are, after all, just different evolutionary paths within the same system.
For a Fire Dragon like the Ridgeback, which has no specific specializations, it shares many structural similarities with other Fire Dragons. For Vaughn, who had already completely “dismantled” four Fire Dragons, its secrets were not too difficult to unravel.
“Already halfway through…”
Vaughn pondered, then instructed Remus, who was anxiously standing nearby since entering, “Remus, contact those families again later and urge them to send the other four types of Fire Dragons as soon as possible. Also, add one more Tree Bee.”
Remus instinctively agreed.
Then he hesitated and asked, “Mr. President, you…”
Vaughn knew what Remus was going to ask. “Still dwelling on what just happened?”
Remus opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t.
“Do you feel my attitude was a bit too weak? Faced with Graves’s threat, I didn’t offer a strong rebuttal?” Vaughn asked with a smile.
Remus remained silent.
“Because his threats are all real, and I haven’t yet found a way to resolve the difficulties he mentioned… A foreign country, equally unfamiliar populace, the Ministry of Magic, a political group that cannot be ignored, and those various civilian organizations, some with clear demands on the surface, others hidden beneath, with unclear true intentions…”
“This is different from England. In England, we had Dumbledore, Amelia, Barty Crouch. During WAC’s creation, they provided us with political protection and allowed us to have a voice and gain popular support.”
“Here, it’s a complete mess. Until I find a way to break through… Yes, Remus, Graves’s so-called threat is actually a fact. We, who possess the Wolfsbane Potion, are indeed like children waving a pot of stew in a busy marketplace.”
Remus was stunned by his words.
“What is our purpose for coming to America?”
“Uh… to develop the North American branch of WAC…”
“Yes, our purpose here is to bring WAC’s system and benefits to North America, which means establishing institutions here… So, with this objective as the premise, can we ignore the Ministry of Magic? Can we ignore those civilian armed groups?”
“…No…”
Of course not!
WAC’s mission is to change the living environment for werewolves centered around the Wolfsbane Potion, to manage and develop them. Since it’s about management and development, they can’t possibly gather everyone in a remote mountain area and play house in an uninhabited place, right?
What WAC needs is to help werewolves reintegrate into society, and then, by leveraging the improvement of werewolves’ social status and voice, in turn help WAC expand its territory.
In this process, interaction with other forces is inevitable!
Then, how many forces and organizations would be willing to stand by and watch werewolves rise, rather than simply swooping in to carve them up while they are still weak?
Remus estimated and felt his scalp tingle.
Even if he believed in human goodness, reality… usually yielded the opposite result!
Vaughn transmitted the memory of his conversation with Bruce Essex from yesterday to Remus. After reading it, Remus shivered—in his opinion, these people in North America had gone mad!
Perhaps the long-term high-pressure rule of the Ministry of Magic, the bottomless maintenance and enforcement of the 《Secrecy Act》, and the recent leniency, had completely burned out everyone’s sanity.
All they thought about now was revenge and killing!
Would such people have long-term plans? Would they understand “cooperation for mutual benefit”?
No!
Just by putting himself in their shoes, Remus could imagine that these people, who had gone to extremes, would only notice the temptation of the Wolfsbane Potion for werewolves, and the fact that werewolves, a marginal group not normally considered, could gain so much combat power if controlled.
They would notice how much combat power could be gained out of thin air if they were controlled!
Only at this moment did Remus understand why Vaughn, while appearing impolite to Michael Graves, or rather, to the Woolworth Building that Graves represented, had not firmly refused, but instead, under threat, said he would “consider.”
A firm refusal would mean completely falling out with the Ministry of Magic.
In that case, with wolves in front and tigers behind, WAC’s chances of entering North America would likely be stillborn before they even began!
Remus’s throat bobbed with difficulty, and he asked painfully, “Mr. President, must we only choose the Ministry of Magic?”
After much thought, this seemed to be the only remaining possibility!
To his surprise, Vaughn shook his head decisively. “I will cooperate with anyone, but not with the Ministry of Magic. No one understands Yankees better than I do. Don’t be fooled by their eloquent words and generous offers; in reality, these people are masters of breaking promises and are notorious for hypocrisy, being strict with others but lenient with themselves!”
This wasn’t exactly stereotyping.
It was that in Vaughn’s past life, America had shown the world what true chaos looked like through various shameless means.
Yankee culture and ideology had long been led astray!
Including the magical world of America in this world—which other country internationally maintained racial segregation （Rappaport Law） for decades?
Remus blinked. Besides the Ministry of Magic, who else could it be?
Ilvermorny?
Don’t be ridiculous. Yes, Vaughn leading the WAC delegation to visit North America was at the invitation of Ilvermorny.
But within WAC, no one thought cooperating with Ilvermorny was a good choice.
It was merely a magical school; it was already at its limit to protect a few thousand students, so it was impossible to expect it to provide any positive assistance for WAC to establish itself in North America.
On the contrary, WAC was actually there to clean up Ilvermorny’s mess. If WAC could truly establish itself in North America, they would definitely have to help them resolve their current predicament as a thank-you for introducing WAC through official channels.
Another option eliminated.
Thinking this, Remus suddenly had an idea. He looked at Vaughn. “The Federation?”
Vaughn, still gazing at the magical experiment suspended in mid-air, neither denied nor answered, but often, silence meant assent.
Even though Vaughn actually didn’t want to choose this option!
He hadn’t forgotten that his purpose for coming to North America was to have WAC expand its influence, as a bargaining chip for future resistance against the Federation’s interference!
Unfortunately, things had changed a bit too quickly…
The complexity of the North American situation had exceeded not only Vaughn’s expectations but also the Federation’s imagination!
…
The wizards from the Ministry of Magic had left not long ago. Remus was still contemplating the pros and cons of cooperating with the Federation while helping Vaughn with the magical experiment when…
Ajinbad, who couldn’t wait any longer, barged in.
This African elder, who usually appeared aggressive and seemed ready to devour anyone, had been frowning frequently these past two days, making him look much more troubled and gentle.
Upon meeting, he jokingly said to Vaughn, “Dealing with the Ministry of Magic must have been tough, right? I heard that fellow Michael Graves, with his passive-aggressive tone, almost held his wand to your throat, forcing you to yield.”
Vaughn, who was organizing documents, glanced at him. “So you sent people to follow when the Ministry of Magic arrived, just to watch the fun?”
“No, no, no.”
Ajinbad repeatedly denied it. “I was worried you might lose your temper and accidentally kill him… Honestly, those people from the Woolworth Building, even a good-natured old man like me sometimes wants to cast a Killing Curse on each of them, and be done with it.”
After complaining, he naturally turned to Remus and said, “Remus, go prepare some afternoon tea for me and Vaughn, English style, extra sugar. I like it sweet.”
“…” Remus was speechless and looked at Vaughn.
Vaughn waved him away.
After Remus left, Ajinbad eagerly said, “Although I know you would never compromise, I still want to warn you, never believe a word those bastards from the Woolworth Building say. They are a bunch of scoundrels, devils!”
“If you’re going to cooperate with them, you might as well come to me. At least I have no intentions towards you or WAC right now. Even if I did, it would be after your influence wanes in the future.”
Vaughn didn’t readily believe his words.
Although based on recent interactions and Dumbledore’s assessment, this old African wizard was indeed a straightforward person.
However, his straightforwardness and honesty came with conditions.
Just like at the previous WAC meeting, when Ajinbad demanded a debate and promised to support Vaughn unanimously, this seemed to be the principle he followed.
Therefore, Vaughn didn’t say whether he agreed or not, but asked, “What are your terms?”
“Very simple, I want you to investigate the Purifiers with me!”
Reality often has many uncontrollable factors.
A little over a week ago, when Ajinbad booked passage on the “RMS Queen Mary,” he never imagined that Dumbledore and Vaughn would shamelessly use him as a shield.
Of course, what he couldn’t have imagined even more was that just over a week later, he and the Federation he represented were becoming closer and closer to Vaughn and the WAC delegation.
Clearly, their relationship hadn’t genuinely improved.
Conflicts still existed, but compared to the unescalated conflicts, the threat posed by the emerging complex situation in America was more pressing.
So pressing that Ajinbad had to seek comfort in numbers!
“I need WAC’s help, Weasley.”
Ajinbad looked at Vaughn with sincerity in his eyes. “As I said before, both the Federation and WAC are outsiders in the United States of America. Here, our strength is limited.”
“Although, nominally, you and I are only here for investigation and visits, you, I, and various factions in the Federation all know that our investigations and visits are not harmonious and will infringe upon their interests… No one will sit idly by. It’s foreseeable that we will encounter many difficulties.”
“In this external environment, if the Federation and WAC continue to act independently as before, it will not only scatter our already limited resources here but also potentially lead to overlapping investigation directions, greatly slowing down efficiency. Therefore, I hope that both sides can unite, at least for the duration of our stay in the Federation, to form a de facto alliance, integrate resources, and advance and retreat together!”
Ajinbad’s expression was resolute. “Especially regarding the Purifiers!”
Compared to his decisiveness, Vaughn’s attitude was somewhat ambiguous. “Your proposal has significant implications, making it difficult for me to decide… While you’re right that uniting would make it easier to concentrate our strength, our objectives differ. For instance, regarding the Purifiers you mentioned, they have no conflict with WAC…”
“Weasley!”
Before Vaughn could finish, Ajinbad interrupted him. The old wizard’s expression became even more serious. “You are a renowned Potions Master. In related research, you understand better than I do, or better than those Muggle experts the Federation found, that if Muggles truly master artificial…”
He paused, calming his agitated emotions before managing to say the next words with difficulty. “…master the technology to create wizards… what a disaster that would be for us.”
“Under a flood, where can there be a place of peace? Yes, the Purifiers have nothing to do with you now, but I believe you’ve seen their extreme ideology in history books. They want to eliminate all magic… As a wizard, can you sever yourself from magic? And what about those werewolves under your command, can they cut themselves off from magic?”
“If the Purifiers are indeed as we suspect, then those people will eventually target you!”
Vaughn lowered his gaze; no one could see what he was thinking.
Or, was this just a deliberate tactic to gauge the situation?
Ajinbad didn’t know.
He didn’t believe that Vaughn Weasley couldn’t grasp the simple logic he had presented. In their few interactions, the most profound impression Vaughn had left on him was his meticulous mind, strong strategic vision, and far-sightedness.
If Muggles could truly “create wizards,” Ajinbad didn’t believe Vaughn could miss the immense disaster that this intelligence implied!
A disaster that could engulf the entire wizarding world, from which no one could escape unscathed!
To see the problem clearly, yet be ambiguous when he proposed facing it directly, meant he was either a fool—and Vaughn was clearly not a fool.
Or, he had an ulterior motive!
Therefore, Ajinbad deliberated for a moment, looked into Vaughn’s eyes, and said, “What conditions would I need to offer to gain your support?”
Across from him, Vaughn finally smiled, a cunning and slyness within it that, for a moment, made Ajinbad think he was looking at Dumbledore:
“You’re being too formal. In any case, the Federation has a certain seat in WAC, so we can be considered sister organizations. Helping you solve your troubles is what I and WAC should do. Talking about conditions… that’s not something I would say; it’s you who is actively and voluntarily offering!”
The sudden shift in tone at the end almost made Ajinbad’s brain short-circuit. He said with a dark expression, “Do you want to sign an agreement and put my words in writing?”
Vaughn smiled and shook his head. “Of course not, I trust you.”
Saying this, he seemed to have forgotten that he had just said, “difficult to decide,” less than a minute ago, and skillfully steered the conversation back to the Purifiers, asking:
“How do you want to begin?”
Ajinbad took a deep breath, forcing himself to forget the frustration of being “blackmailed.” “This is another reason I came to you for cooperation. The think tank has basically confirmed that those Purifiers are not naturally awakened wizards. The judgments of several experts researching Muggles are similar to yours—they are likely products of Muggle genetic engineering!”
“There is no doubt about immediately launching an investigation into the Purifiers, but the question now is, where should we start?”
The old wizard’s brow furrowed. “This actually relates to the current situation in the Federation. How did the Muggles in America develop the technology to create those wizards?”
Vaughn nodded. This was a question he had clearly considered. “Exactly, any technology cannot appear out of thin air. Its evolution will inevitably leave traces. From conception to preparation to experimentation, it consumes a large amount of consumables during the process… just like when I developed the Wolfsbane Potion!”
Besides various herbs, what else were the consumables needed for the Wolfsbane Potion?
Werewolves!
Then the “consumables” for developing artificial wizards would naturally be wizards!
The two exchanged a look.
Ajinbad sighed. “In the United States of America, who has the ability to provide a large number of wizards? Wizards are all named and known. If they disappear, it’s impossible for no one to notice. Who can cover up public opinion about the continuous disappearance of wizards?”
Without much thought, the answer became clear—
The Ministry of Magic!
Ajinbad’s mouth was bitter. He had waited in the hotel lobby for Vaughn to return early this morning because he hadn’t slept all night, having been on conference calls with the Federation.
Yes, the Federation did not reject the convenience brought by Muggle technology; they had already adopted Muggle devices for their office work!
Ever since he heard the think tank’s suspicion falling on the Ministry of Magic during the phone call, Ajinbad felt his head spinning.
Vaughn understood his distress and teased, “If it’s really as we suspect, then I can only offer you my sympathy. Investigating the governing government of a country… Ha!”
Never mind whether it could be done, the first step itself was a maze!
To investigate those suspected artificial Purifiers, the “missing wizards” clue was a very good starting point.
As long as they could trace the whereabouts of these missing wizards, the rest would be easy.
But the problem now was, if “artificial wizards” was a plan led by the Ministry of Magic, the act of investigating missing persons itself could alert the Ministry of Magic!
This was determined by the nature of the Ministry of Magic.
It was different from organizations in the general sense. Organizations usually had a single core objective. For example, companies were for profit, WAC was for werewolves, and the initial Federation was solely for maintaining and supervising the enforcement of the 《International Secrecy Act.
The core objective influenced the organization’s behavior.
Companies only cared about profit; anything else was irrelevant to them. WAC only cared about werewolves; whether vampires or goblins lived or died… what did it have to do with me?
Correspondingly, if you investigated vampires or goblins, WAC wouldn’t even notice.
Only governments are different!
They didn’t have a clear objective, or rather, maintaining their own existence was their objective. Anything that could affect their existence, they would intervene!
To put it concretely, it was like a giant, boundless octopus, its tentacles reaching into every facet of the land, everything operating under its shadow, within the rules it set.
In a sense, it could be considered an unfathomable, completely closed system.
Any probing of this closed system could only be done in two ways: either infiltrate it, or tear it apart and expose what it encompassed!
Tearing apart the Ministry of Magic was clearly impossible.
Vaughn thought for a moment and asked, “Why not use the spies the Federation has placed within the Ministry of Magic?”
Hearing this, Ajinbad glanced at him.
Vaughn teased with a hint of dissatisfaction, “Don’t tell me you haven’t done such things. In today’s world, the Federation’s only competitor is the various major powers. You dream of dismantling them.”
Facing Vaughn’s taunts, Ajinbad felt no shame—the Federation’s objectives were facts, and there was nothing to hide.
He just felt a bit regretful. “Of course, we’ve tried to infiltrate. Don’t laugh, the Federation’s attempts to place spies have never succeeded… You still don’t understand the Woolworth Building.”
“It’s quite pure. Unlike in England where power is divided—legislation and justice are handled by the Wizengamot, and the Ministry of Magic governs—here, the Ministry of Magic is the sole federal institution. It doesn’t even have two houses like Muggles; it’s a unicameral system. In the entire Congress, there are only 12 surnames. The spies we sent simply couldn’t get in!”
“If you can’t get into Congress, what about the subordinate departments?” Vaughn asked.
Ajinbad shook his head. “Same. Those pure-bloods aren’t stupid. They know they’re playing with fire by oppressing half-bloods and so-called Mudbloods. Therefore, any department of the Ministry of Magic prioritizes recruiting pure-blood wizards. They also have anti-theft measures in place internally, and conduct irregular mental checks on staff several times a month… Alas, it’s like an iron wall!”
Saying this, he smiled wryly. “If I hadn’t thought of any other way, I wouldn’t have come to you. It’s partly because I need WAC’s local resources, and partly because…”
He glanced at the experimental area in the distance, where the dragon carcasses, already shattered beyond recognition and magically preserved, lay.
And in several large cultivation tanks, surrounded by various liquids, were werewolves barely clinging to life.
Ajinbad withdrew his gaze. “…we need to leverage your research and insights to see if we can find other breakthroughs.”
That’s what he said, but he didn’t hold much hope.
Because too little intelligence was known.
Even regarding those suspected artificial Purifiers, they only learned about them from a piece of memory. They had no captives for research, nor any clear and effective clues.
What technology was used on those Purifiers, and whether they could crack the technology and discover something, were all unknown.
So Ajinbad’s main hope this time was to unite WAC, especially the power of the families that Vaughn controlled, to participate in the investigation.
At least, to find out where the Purifiers came from!
But what Ajinbad didn’t expect was that after hearing his words, Vaughn pondered for a moment and suddenly said, “I have noticed a possible direction. Compared to directly investigating missing persons, the difficulty might be much lower, and the Ministry of Magic might not even notice!”
Huh?
Ajinbad suddenly looked up, eagerly asking, “What is it?”
Vaughn ignored his eagerness and slowly said, “You should know that I’ve been experimenting with werewolves and Fire Dragons recently to develop the Wolfsbane Potion…”
Hearing him suddenly shift the topic to research, Ajinbad’s eyes were about to burn with impatience.
However, he also knew that Vaughn wouldn’t speak without reason, so he could only patiently listen to Vaughn:
“…You’ve followed my thesis, so you should know that as early as the beginning of the year, I confirmed that the main cause of Lycanthropy is the Werewolf Virus. It parasitizes the infected individual, developing into a new gland. Once the full moon arrives, the gland activates, guiding the werewolf’s transformation and spreading the virus.”
Saying this, Vaughn beckoned, and a stack of parchment floated over, unfolding one by one before the two of them.
A quill followed, dancing across the paper and highlighting key points as Vaughn spoke:
“…This is what that gland looks like. And this is the result of my recent research on Fire Dragons… Please look, these several dissected Fire Dragons also possess magical organs. Poison Fang Dragons, Longhorn Dragons… although their shapes and functions vary, all creatures capable of using magic have similar organs.”
Ajinbad patiently examined the diagrams recorded on the paper.
He looked a bit confused. “What are you trying to say?”
Vaughn didn’t answer him but summoned a few more pieces of parchment that looked rather old and said slowly, “These are anatomical diagrams of Muggles and wizards. Every time I compare them, I wonder, why don’t Muggles and wizards have these things inside them?”
Hearing this, Ajinbad impatiently blurted out, “Muggles have no magic power, and wizards’ magic comes from their souls. What’s the big…”
He suddenly stopped, his eyes gradually widening.
Vaughn’s leisurely voice echoed in his ear, “Yes, wizards’ magic comes from their souls, but the exact principle has never been figured out by any wizard for thousands of years. The only thing we can confirm is that a wizard’s body is no different from a Muggle’s, which is also one piece of evidence that magic originates from the soul.”
“A principle that no wizard has been able to understand for thousands of years – can American Muggles figure it out? That’s a big question mark.”
“So, we can hypothesize one possibility: those artificial wizards, their magic and magical power do not come from their souls and knowledge like wizards, but rather, someone has created new magical organs within them, similar to those of werewolves and Fire Dragons.”
