Chapter 173: The “future” And A Torn Wizarding World
Ajinbad understood what Vaughn meant!
“…No technology appears out of thin air; it must have traces of evolution… The research and development of technology also requires a large number of samples and consumables…”
He muttered Vaughn’s previous words.
That’s right!
Firstly, is it possible for America to crack the secret of the soul?
Ajinbad dared not say it was impossible, but it was too difficult. For thousands of years, countless exceptionally talented wizards in the wizarding world had failed in the “cracking the soul” pit.
The most famous living figures are Nicolas Flamel and Albus Dumbledore!
It can be said that in the mainstream view of the wizarding world, the soul involves magic power, magic, mystery, and even the essence of this world.
This is also one of the reasons why he and the Federation were so urgent and fearful when they learned about “artificial wizards.”
If his previous mood was like falling into darkness and enduring torment, then at this moment, as Ajinbad repeated Vaughn’s words, he seemed to see the light again.
To the extent that in his eyes, all the bloody diagrams on the parchment spread before him suddenly became lovely.
His eyes, looking at Vaughn, sparkled with spirit: “How great is this possibility?”
Vaughn shrugged, somewhat speechless: “How can I be sure, but it seems to be the most likely and easiest to implement option right now, isn’t it?”
Yes!
Ajinbad understood Vaughn’s meaning. The possibility mentioned by Vaughn was no different from before in terms of investigation direction.
Both were investigating the traces of “technology research and development evolution,” meaning experimental consumables.
The difference was that the consumables previously identified were missing wizards, while Vaughn’s new idea identified… Magical Creatures!
He excitedly stood up, pacing back and forth, and said emotionally: “Yes, yes, if we assume the technological route you mentioned, then the consumables needed for research are no longer limited to wizards. Various magical creatures are also consumables… Compared to the sensitive factor of ‘missing wizards,’ the transaction and flow of magical creatures are much more transparent. Investigating the transaction records of magical creatures will not arouse suspicion from others, as it is a normal market behavior!”
Since the Statute of Secrecy was enacted, to avoid the activities of magical creatures attracting Muggle attention, almost all magical creatures have been incorporated into habitats and dispersed in conservation areas worldwide.
Today’s global wizarding world relies on magical creatures and herbs as the cornerstone of international trade. No normal country can maintain or develop without publicizing various trade data, otherwise, supply and demand will become imbalanced!
As for whether Vaughn might be wrong?
Ajinbad didn’t care at all; no matter how wrong it was, it was better than having nowhere to start!
“Mr. Weasley, your hypothesis is excellent, excellent!”
Ajinbad praised repeatedly, feeling his mind suddenly open up, and he could no longer sit still: “I must tell the Federation your hypothesis… You have helped us greatly, and you have shown us a glimmer of hope from the most fearful and worst possibility. Of course, the situation is still quite bad. Muggles mastering magic is already terrifying… I must go back and chat after I’m done with everything!”
With that, he walked out.
“Babajide, don’t forget your promise, you still owe me one condition.” Vaughn, watching him leave, reminded him.
Ajinbad readily agreed: “No problem, please believe in the credibility of myself and the Federation, as long as your request is not too excessive!”
He left in a hurry.
Having received the promise, Vaughn also sat back in his chair with satisfaction, waved his hand, and summoned the diagrams of magical organs from the werewolf and fire dragon that he had previously shown Ajinbad, staring at them, lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard Lupin enter.
“I saw Ajinbad leave looking very happy.” Lupin carried a tray with prepared tea and pastries.
All of Vaughn’s favorite flavors.
Obviously, he knew that Ajinbad’s mention of afternoon tea was just an excuse to send him away, so he only prepared Vaughn’s and waited outside.
“He exchanged a future condition for a deduction that is crucial to him and the Federation.”
Vaughn casually summarized the previous events to Lupin.
Lupin was a little surprised: “Mr. President, have the Muggles of America truly mastered magic through magical organs?”
“Possibly, just possibly… What are you looking at me for?”
“Uh, I…”
Lupin’s mood was somewhat complicated; this kind of technology was unheard of.
On the contrary, Vaughn didn’t find it strange. Since Muggles recognized genetic coding over 40 years ago, they had been trying to unlock the mysteries of the human body.
In his previous life’s world without magic, they still created the first cloned sheep in the 1990s.
In this world, if there were magical organizations involved in Muggle research, gene engineering would have developed even faster, and Vaughn was not surprised at all.
Because magic could do many things that Muggles couldn’t!
Taking human body research as an example, Muggle scholars needed many steps to observe the functional movements of human cells in their normal state. They had to extract a large number of cells for special cultivation and staining, and then simulate the human body environment.
Not only was the success rate low, but there were also limitations—cells were not independent systems, each performing its own function without relation to others.
They were linked; the enzyme produced by A dominated the behavior of C, and the potential difference of B might be related to DEFG and so on.
However, these technological limitations and difficulties were not insurmountable problems in the face of magic!
Like most wizards, Lupin, who knew little about Muggles, couldn’t quite understand Vaughn’s calmness. He asked his question:
“Mr. President, aren’t you worried about Muggles mastering magic?”
“Why should I worry?”
Vaughn retorted.
“For…” Lupin hesitated, unable to speak.
But Vaughn knew he could speak, but the logic behind it made him embarrassed to say it—if Muggles could also use magic, what would wizards do?
Undoubtedly, magic was the only thing wizards had over Muggles that allowed them to feel superior.
No matter how close a wizard was to Muggles, they possessed this sense of superiority!
No wizard could imagine what life would be like if, one day, everyone in the world could use magic.
Including Lupin!
He only had to think about it to feel ashamed and pessimistic, believing it would be a hellish future…
Unlike Lupin’s worries.
If, in the future, everyone in this world could use magic…
Vaughn felt that he would definitely be very happy!
In his opinion, the progress of any knowledge, technology, or era could hardly be attributed to one or a few people.
Great figures in individual fields of knowledge were indeed great, like the theoretical physicists in the Muggle world such as Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, and Pauli.
They did propose some great theories and hypotheses that broadened people’s horizons.
However, without countless scientists who followed, designing various experiments to prove or disprove their theories, any great theory would remain mere fantasy on paper.
It was precisely because of these “nameless individuals” that ordinary people were unaware of, that Muggle technology could advance by leaps and bounds, progressing at a breathtaking speed!
In Vaughn’s view, scientific development （ is indeed important, Vaughn also classifies magic as science ）, but quantity is equally important.
He never forgot his goal.
Magic!
The true nature of the world!
And, truth!
On the road to truth, the more companions there are, the greater the probability of approaching the truth.
Therefore, Vaughn did not comfort or guide Lupin because his ideas were completely different from Lupin’s; what Lupin feared was precisely what he looked forward to.
Vaughn gazed at the diagrams of magical organs spread out before him, lost in thought.
Ever since he first encountered magic, Vaughn had wondered what the physical differences were between wizards with magic power and Muggles.
The diagrams before him contained anatomical drawings of Muggles and wizards, which were the product of his own efforts to answer his questions.
The final result was disappointing, but he did not give up on the idea of magical organs.
It wasn’t until he was studying werewolves that he discovered an extra organ harboring the werewolf virus within the werewolf’s body!
From then on, he began to conceive of generating or implanting magical organs in the human body, and he even came up with a name for the magic obtained from implanting magical organs.
It was a concept taken from a game he played in his previous life—spell-like!
It implied that this was not magic bestowed by knowledge, but merely similar!
He placed great hope on this concept. As mentioned before, traditional wizards instinctively feared the monopoly of losing magic, but he was happy to see it.
So that night, when he saw the memory of the Purifiers from Oliver, who brought the fire dragon, his first reaction was joy!
Then curiosity.
However, after thinking about it for two days, Vaughn felt a bit disappointed again.
“Whether the Purifiers are backed by the Ministry of Magic or not, and whether the technology they use is the magical organs I envisioned, based on the current trend, they should not have succeeded yet… Those Purifiers are probably just half-finished products!”
This is simple logic; one can understand it by putting oneself in their shoes.
What were the Purifiers doing in the memory submitted by Oliver?
Without a doubt, they were slaughtering wizards!
Everyone’s attention was focused on the identity of “Purifiers,” and they had a preconceived notion—Purifiers should slaughter wizards.
History of Magic recorded it as such.
But no one considered who was behind those Purifiers?
Why would the people behind them slaughter wizards?
No matter what pretext a slaughter is carried out under, be it populism or venting anger, these are just reasons given to the lower echelons. The higher echelons issue orders for only one reason—they feel that the power in their hands is insufficient to completely control those who are to be slaughtered, so some must be eliminated first!
Then the problem arises:
Assuming the technology for artificial wizards has succeeded, would the forces behind those Purifiers lack combat power?
It takes at least 7 years to train a wizard to adulthood through traditional methods. Under the efficiency of an industrialized assembly line, the forces behind them would not have to worry about “losing control” or similar issues.
The appearance of slaughter proves they lack confidence, which is why they are taking advantage of the current chaotic situation in North America to stir up trouble and eliminate the active forces!
However, even if they might not have succeeded, it doesn’t mean it’s without value!
Thinking of this, Vaughn revealed a smile.
In fact, just as Ajinbad suspected, Vaughn knew better than anyone how terrifying the concept of “artificial wizards” was.
Even if the Federation hadn’t approached him, after finishing the side quest, Vaughn had planned to personally search for the “Purifiers” and study the technology on them.
It could only be said that the Federation, which proactively sought him out, was even more nervous and fearful than he had anticipated!
This was the reason why he was willing to cooperate with the Federation…
…
The Federation’s efficiency was very high.
Perhaps the Woolworth Building, which was impenetrable, did give the Federation a headache, and the method Vaughn proposed, investigating the trade of magical creatures, seemed very feasible.
So, before evening, Ajinbad had successfully persuaded the Federation and obtained authorization.
He came again. When he reached Vaughn’s room, he saw two Aurors squatting dejectedly at the entrance of the suitcase. The witch among them, whose hair kept changing, held a toad with a look of disgust.
“Ha, Kingsley Shacklebolt, right? I remember you. You attended a Federation meeting with Dumbledore… And at the last WAC conference, I noticed you providing security.”
Ajinbad, who had persuaded the Federation and saw progress in the investigation, greeted the black-skinned wizard with obvious African ancestry among the two Aurors with a good mood.
Kingsley forced a smile: “Vice President Ajinbad, hello, long time no see.”
“What are you doing here…” As he spoke, Ajinbad noticed the toad in the witch’s hand again, “…Oh—is this the witch who was cursed by Weasley last time? Has it not been undone yet?”
Kingsley’s smile turned bitter: “Yes… there might have been some misunderstanding, or Ms. Umbridge trespassed into Mr. Weasley’s room, so she was cursed again not long ago…”
Hearing this, even the “heart of stone” Ajinbad couldn’t help but look at Kingsley with sympathy.
He could almost imagine the pressure faced by this poor Auror Squad Leader—Aurors were law enforcement officers with the power to stop any malicious attacks against innocent wizards, especially when the perpetrator was his superior!
As for that Umbridge, forget it. Ajinbad had watched the fun from afar the day she was turned into a toad.
If it were when Ajinbad was young, he would have long ago cast a death curse at her pretentious and unreasonable behavior.
Patting Kingsley’s shoulder sympathetically, Ajinbad asked, “Don’t worry too much. Weasley might just be angry in the moment; he’s not a malicious person…”
He said this casually; he didn’t believe it himself.
In Ajinbad’s mind, Vaughn Weasley was second only to Dumbledore in being difficult to deal with!
Kingsley obviously knew this, and his expression grew dimmer.
After a brief chat, Ajinbad went inside.
As one of the Vice Presidents of the massive Federation and the head of the delegation investigating the United States of America, his time was very tight.
If the Shacklebolt family didn’t have African ancestry and good relations with many Pure-blood families in Africa, he wouldn’t have wasted his time stopping to waste words with a mere Auror.
Watching Ajinbad step through the entrance to the suitcase space, Nymphadora, chewing gum, asked, “Kingsley, why didn’t you ask him to speak up for you? He seemed quite decent to you.”
In fact, just last month, Nymphadora had been calling Ajinbad an old fox.
The reason was naturally that Ajinbad had been targeting Vaughn at the time, and she considered herself a friend of Vaughn.
But now…
Thinking of Vaughn’s cold shoulder to Kingsley these past few days, and her own repeated attempts to see Vaughn only to be blocked by Lupin, Nymphadora snorted with displeasure.
She wasn’t stupid; she knew Lupin must have been instructed by Vaughn.
So, not only had her impression of Vaughn plummeted these days, but she also didn’t give Lupin a good look.
Sensing Nymphadora’s petulance, Kingsley sighed: “We’ve only met a few times, he can’t help me. And Tonks, I must remind you, whatever problems Vaughn Weasley and I have are between us; you shouldn’t get involved.”
“You are a friend of my mother and me…”
“Isn’t Vaughn your friend too?”
“He hasn’t been since he started giving you a hard time!” Nymphadora said, a little wronged and a little sulky. After a pause, she added, “Of course, Hermione and I are still friends.”
Kingsley chuckled.
Although Nymphadora’s statement was heartwarming, as an elder, he subconsciously advised: “Don’t be so willful. In interpersonal relationships, if you always judge others’ behavior based on your own likes and dislikes, your social circle will only become narrower. When thinking about a person, you should consider it from their perspective and why they did it.”
Saying this, as if feeling that this simple lecture lacked impact, Kingsley changed his approach.
He took out his wand and cast a silent “Muffliato” on the plump pink toad Nymphadora was holding.
Having been transfigured for over a week, the side effects of turning into an animal were starting to show. Umbridge, whose behavior was increasingly like a real toad, didn’t even react to the curse.
In Nymphadora’s palm, she blankly blinked her eyelids.
Having “silenced” the extraneous people, Kingsley looked at the bewildered Nymphadora and questioned: “Why do you think Vaughn Weasley has been giving me such a hard time?”
Nymphadora opened her mouth to say something, but as the words reached her lips, she paused.
That’s right, why?
In the young girl’s impression, Kingsley and Vaughn had gotten along well during their previous few encounters, and Kingsley had even helped Vaughn.
And in her understanding, Vaughn was not someone who was inherently mean-spirited or turned on people like a flip of a switch.
Seeing her hesitant expression, Kingsley felt a little gratified—at least she wasn’t as thoughtless as when she first came under his command.
“You might think that Vaughn and I might have had some conflict, but I’m telling you, we haven’t!” Kingsley said. “Vaughn’s difficulties are not because of any problems in our personalities or views. On the contrary, it’s because he values me!”
“…Ah?”
Nymphadora’s eyes widened, and her gaze involuntarily flickered to Kingsley’s head, as if suspecting a malfunction there.
“Kingsley, do you know what you’re saying?”
“I’m not confused.” Kingsley brushed away Nymphadora’s hand reaching for his head, rolled his eyes, and then sighed: “I know, he wants to win me over, but I’m still hesitating. He’s also noticed this, so he’s pressuring me. It’s not because of any conflict, but a matter of position… The times have changed, Tonks.”
He looked at his old friend’s daughter with a wistful expression.
Nymphadora’s innocence and clear likes and dislikes were certainly good personality traits.
However, having gone through a bumpy life, growing up with implicit exclusion and discrimination, Kingsley hoped that she would take fewer detours in the future.
Even if what he taught her might make her less pure!
But as he said, the times have changed!
If it were a year ago, Kingsley would not have taught Nymphadora these things because, although the English wizarding world had various problems, the overall environment was peaceful.
Wizards lived the same lives as they had decades ago, like walls blackened by torch smoke, appearing old and decaying, but beneath the bad surface, the interior was still solid and stable.
But all of this changed this year with the sudden emergence of Vaughn Weasley and the WAC…
Thanks to his upbringing, Kingsley, who was sensitive to things, increasingly perceived the undercurrents brewing throughout the English wizarding world due to the impending establishment of the WAC, as summer approached.
Newspapers, magazines, radio… all media platforms were hyping the significance of the WAC’s establishment and the challenges it would bring.
As if an invisible hand was pulling the strings, he saw wizards who used to indulge in pleasure no longer amused themselves by teasing their poor Muggle neighbors. Instead, they wielded quills, either angrily, excitedly, indignantly, or passionately, throwing themselves into this sudden and grand debate.
The debate itself was not problematic, but the opposition resulting from it was!
Kingsley was personally observing, watching as the debate about the WAC, for some reason, inexplicably involved the Statute of Secrecy from the angle of “werewolves entering Muggle society leading to the exposure of the wizarding world.”
And then, through debates and arguments, he drew the bewildered Pure-blood families into it!
When the Pure-blood families instinctively defended their own interests—the Statute of Secrecy—the situation suddenly spiraled out of control, and opposition unconsciously arose!
And it was irreversible.
Because those who had opinions about Pure-bloods discovered for the first time that there were so many people who disliked Pure-bloods as they did.
And because the Pure-bloods discovered for the first time that there were so many people in the wizarding world who were hostile to them and whose interests were contrary to theirs!
This trend made Kingsley very uneasy.
Although currently, both the so-called “Progressives” and “Conservatives” were intentionally restraining themselves and not extending the debate or disagreements to a deeper level, they were basically still bickering around the WAC—
The emerging “Progressives” were still quite timid and didn’t want to overly stimulate the sensitive nerves of the Pure-bloods.
The “Conservatives” were similar; they were suddenly pulled into the vortex, and their internal rhetoric and ideology were not yet unified.
However, how long could this situation last?
Kingsley dared not make a quick judgment.
But he knew very well that such “balance” and restraint would not last forever!
Recalling the Pure-blood banquet hosted by the Malfoy family before the WAC conference, which even high-profilely invited Babajide Ajinbad, Kingsley’s heart sank.
That banquet indicated that the Pure-bloods had reacted.
But the way they reacted was not what he wanted to see…
They invited Babajide Ajinbad and Cornelius Fudge, but did not invite Weasley, nor any well-known non-Pure-blood individuals!
These families that had ruled the wizarding world for thousands of years, just like a long time ago, when facing threats, instinctively first distinguished between insiders and outsiders, then formed alliances, rather than choosing measures such as negotiation or consultation.
Muggles call this behavior path dependence.
It means that once people make a certain choice, whether it is good or bad, they will habitually and repeatedly follow that choice.
It’s as if they have entered a point of no return!
Kingsley couldn’t understand the principle behind that Muggle theory; that was the job of philosophers. He only knew that the choice made by the Pure-bloods this time was a big problem.
Perhaps they didn’t notice.
Perhaps they noticed, but the inertia of path dependence made them unwilling to leave their comfort zone, so they subconsciously ignored that this time was different from before.
Last time, when the Pure-bloods of England united and led the “Witch Hunts,” they held all the discourse power.
Ordinary wizards were scattered across various regions and didn’t even have channels to obtain information, so they inexplicably fell into the vast ocean of Muggles!
But now, there are newspapers, radio, and magazines, and more importantly, the invisible hand guiding everything has, through the debate on whether to support the establishment of the WAC, silently but clearly divided the factions!
Over the past few months, those seemingly boring and meaningless, protracted disputes have actually made non-Pure-blood wizards understand who their friends are and who stands against them.
They just haven’t realized how to handle this suddenly acquired “group power.”
Kingsley was very pessimistic.
Because he knew that the “Progressives” would one day understand that the power given by factions was not just a light and seemingly useless “Progressive” label.
It was also a pass for a large group!
And this “one day” might have already arrived. Among the “Progressives,” there must be ambitious individuals or those sensitive to politics.
In their eyes, the Malfoy family’s banquet was a signal.
It marked not only the Pure-bloods’ intention to unite again but also that they finally had a reason to shatter the naive fantasies of some within the “Progressives.”
Don’t expect the Pure-bloods to compromise!
They have united again!
The stories of the “Witch Hunts” and the “Statute of Secrecy” are unfolding once more!
Kingsley could almost imagine how those people would use the banquet hosted by the Malfoys, and with what reasons and excuses, to create panic and anger, forcing all “Progressives” to engage in a grand confrontation.
The Pure-bloods made a bad move.
They handed the key to resistance into the hands of those who were itching for chaos and conflict to descend!
And such a future is what Kingsley meant by “times have changed.”
Kingsley couldn’t even determine which was worse, the pessimistic future he foresaw or the period of Voldemort’s rule over a decade ago.
Voldemort’s reign was undoubtedly bloody and terrifying.
But the confrontation between the two factions would probably not be much milder.
Because the land he currently stood on was a clear example. Look at the United States of America; the division between Pure-bloods and non-Pure-bloods had almost split the country.
This is simple logic: once a confrontation begins, it will not end easily. Anger will destroy reason and create slaughter.
And slaughter will turn into hatred!
Hatred will make both sides unable to brake, even if they wanted to, and they will not compromise until one side is completely annihilated.
The thoughts swirling in his mind made Kingsley tremble slightly, not only because the bloody future terrified him but also because he knew that he himself had been drawn into it earlier than anyone else.
How did the “Progressives” emerge?
No one could answer this question clearly… except for the person who pushed it forward!
Vaughn Weasley…
Thinking of this name, Kingsley’s breathing quickened. This guess was just a guess. At least on the surface, the “Progressives” seemed to have developed gradually, a concept that emerged step by step through debates.
There was no evidence to prove any connection between those debates and subtle instigations and Vaughn Weasley.
The Vaughn presented to everyone was just a person they would mention during debates and arguments. You could say his actions caused problems, but you couldn’t say he created the problems—
The Pure-bloods were the ones creating problems!
At least, that’s what the “Progressives” thought.
Only Kingsley knew his guess was not wrong. This was something he figured out after realizing he was being targeted by Vaughn and thinking through Vaughn’s intentions for a long time!
Apart from himself, no one knew how terrified he had been when he realized the hidden truth behind it.
This was also the reason why he had been hesitating and hadn’t responded.
But…
Looking at the suite he was in, looking at Umbridge in Nymphadora’s hands, Kingsley smiled bitterly. He had finally made a choice.
“From now on, everyone will have to make a choice,” he said to the oblivious Nymphadora, meaningfully and vaguely: “It’s just that the basis for choice will no longer be black and white, but position, and taking sides… Tonks, you need to change your mindset quickly.”
Otherwise, there would be no good end!
Even if you consider yourself a friend of Vaughn and Hermione.
…
“…Next, I will notify the Federation’s operatives stationed in the Federation to come and rendezvous. How is your side?”
“That group from last time will bring me fire dragons in the next two days. I’ll have them cooperate with you.”
Inside the suitcase space, the moonlight was alluring.
The magical moonlight was slightly dim and not perfectly round, as Vaughn had just finished a full moon experiment.
Powerful magical energy still lingered in the air, causing the moonlight to “drift” in patches like viscous fluid throughout the space.
As wizards, both Ajinbad and Vaughn felt comfortable in such a high-magic environment, including the tree bee that always accompanied Vaughn like a pet.
Hearing Vaughn’s words, Ajinbad nodded. He glanced at the tree bee and casually asked, “Why do you still need fire dragons? Don’t we have a ready one here?”
“Goo—”
The tree bee immediately raised its head, its vertical pupils fixed on Ajinbad.
