Chapter 71: Followers And Lupin
In the afternoon, Fudge contacted Vaughn again.
At Vaughn’s request, the meeting place this time was set in Hogsmeade.
Vaughn had never been to this wizarding village closest to Hogwarts, and only students above third year were allowed to visit on weekends with parental permission.
After Christmas, the snow still hadn’t stopped.
The entire Hogsmeade was covered in falling snow, and with the cold wind blowing, there were hardly any people around.
The few wizards who came to visit were mostly huddled in the Hog’s Head Inn or the Three Broomsticks, and it was to the Three Broomsticks that Fudge took Vaughn.
Perhaps because Vaughn was young and Dumbledore wasn’t there to “watch menacingly,” Fudge seemed very relaxed. He even exchanged a few teasing remarks with the beautiful and mature proprietress of the Three Broomsticks.
If this were a few years later, Ron would definitely have tried to fight Fudge.
Madam Rosmerta led the two to a private room. As Fudge took off his cloak, he instructed:
“My dear Rosmerta, please bring me a jug of Butterbeer, and some drinks and snacks for this child. We have some matters to discuss, please ensure we are not disturbed, will you?”
“Certainly, Mr. Minister.”
Madam Rosmerta agreed, glancing curiously at Vaughn.
While Fudge wasn’t paying attention, Vaughn winked at her, which amused the lady, and she kept peeking back even after leaving.
Fudge kindly motioned Vaughn to a chair, then sat opposite him, hands clasped, and asked gently, “Child, have you made up your mind?”
“Yes, I agree to hand over the ownership of the recipe and the Wolfsbane Potion to the Ministry of Magic!”
Vaughn nodded, “But I have one request.”
“Please, speak, child.”
Fudge showed his joy. He needed Vaughn, the inventor of the potion, to endorse him. As long as Vaughn agreed and his request was not excessive, he would fulfill it.
“I would like to know if the location for the Order of Merlin’s awarding ceremony for me, two days from now, can be changed?”
“Hm?” Fudge paused, but then replied:
“Of course, the awarding ceremony doesn’t have a fixed location. Where would you like to hold it? Hogwarts?”
Vaughn shook his head, “I want to hold it in Diagon Alley!”
Fudge couldn’t quite understand, “Why?”
“You know about the Muggle press conferences, right? I want all werewolves to receive the potion. Since I’ve decided to hand over full authority to the Ministry and you, I thought, why not announce this news at my awarding ceremony? Invite more people, more media, and turn it into a press conference so everyone knows. After all, the Wizengamot Court is a solemn place, perhaps not suitable for such matters.”
Vaughn finished explaining his thoughts in one breath, just as Madam Rosmerta entered with drinks and snacks.
Vaughn took a sip of his drink, then raised his cup to Rosmerta. Rosmerta touched her face with a peculiar expression – she had actually been teased by a child today!
Fudge was still contemplating. He certainly wasn’t suspecting Vaughn’s motives at this point.
From the beginning, he hadn’t considered this child a rival.
He was thinking about the “press conference” format. If, as Vaughn envisioned, more people and media were involved, wouldn’t the impact of the matter be even greater? Perhaps it would even spread internationally?
By then, the inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion would clearly support the Ministry’s promotion of the “Werewolf Registration Act,” granting the Ministry sole authority over the Wolfsbane Potion…
Fudge’s breathing suddenly became rapid.
He imagined himself surrounded by camera flashes, the surging public opinion pushing his reputation to its peak, and his rivals coveting his position scrambling in his radiance!
“No, this needs careful planning…”
In just a moment, Fudge, sensing the opportunity, could no longer sit still. However, he patiently and gently said to Vaughn, “Child, I cannot reply to you immediately. I need to discuss it with the Ministry. But rest assured, I will try my best to fight for you!”
With that, he left in a hurry.
Vaughn drank his beverage by himself. Before long, Madam Rosmerta returned, smiling, “Young man, Minister Fudge instructed me to look after you. Would you like more drinks? Or perhaps I can help you buy some candy from Honeydukes?”
Vaughn propped his chin on his hand, gazing at her beautiful, mature face, and smiled, “Madam, don’t trouble yourself. Please look into my eyes.”
“Wh…”
As Vaughn subtly waved his wand and whispered a spell, a faint glint flashed in his eyes. Madam Rosmerta’s smile froze. After a moment, she straightened up expressionlessly, listening to Vaughn whisper in her ear:
“Now, don’t show any abnormality. Go open the back door and bring the person waiting outside to me.”
“…Yes!”
Memory Magic, truly a terrifying thing.
Legilimency alone could manipulate one’s memories at will, no wonder Dumbledore was unwilling to teach it before.
With a slight sigh, Vaughn took out a piece of parchment and wrote on it with his wand:
“When the back door of the Three Broomsticks opens, follow her.”
Soon, a reply came from the other side: “Yes, sir!”
Then, he put away the parchment and took out a notebook, flipping through it. Inside was the next phase of the Wolfsbane Potion’s research and development plan.
After previous testing, Vaughn discovered that once the werewolf virus infects someone, it’s very difficult to eradicate completely. The curse’s power within it might involve the Soul Domain.
Anything involving the soul is troublesome. Therefore, in the next stage, Vaughn will temporarily cease pursuing a complete cure for werewolves and instead attempt to weaken the contagiousness of the werewolf virus, ideally solving the problem of werewolf transformation during the full moon.
Only by preventing werewolves from transforming during the full moon can their situation improve.
While he was thinking, he heard movement from the stairs.
Vaughn silently counted the footsteps. Besides Madam Rosmerta, there were four other people.
He put down his notebook. Shortly, footsteps stopped at the door. Rosmerta pushed it open, quietly stepping aside, and four raggedly dressed people walked in.
The first two, upon seeing Vaughn, showed excitement. Vaughn also smiled and greeted them, “William, Barnaby, my friends, you’ve done very well!”
Barnaby was already in tears. He knelt before Vaughn and kissed his robe, “Sir, I saw your efforts in the 《Daily Prophet》. I’ve gathered over 200 werewolves for you, and they are now in London!”
This werewolf, who lost his parents at a young age and wandered in the wilderness, had a simple heart. He gave his all to anyone who was kind to him.
Since leaving that day, he had been the most active among everyone in searching for wizarding werewolves and the most in contact with Vaughn.
Especially after seeing the news published in the 《Daily Prophet》 yesterday.
Compared to Barnaby, William White was much more reserved. He took off his hat and bowed slightly to Vaughn. After greeting him, he turned to introduce the two behind him, “Sir, these are two wizarding werewolves. They have been helping us contact you. This is Mr. James Brown, and this is Mr. Remus Lupin…”
“Hm?”
Vaughn, who was comforting Barnaby, looked up at the mention of the name and glanced towards the thin, dishevelled figure to William’s left.
Vaughn ruffled Barnaby’s hair and asked him to rise. Although it might not be a good thought, he felt like he was petting a large dog… Living in the wilderness for a long time might have made Barnaby lose some of his humanity.
With strange thoughts swirling in his mind, Vaughn remained outwardly composed. He looked at the two wizarding werewolves.
James Brown was a young man wearing tattered robes. It was evident he tried his best to appear like a wizard, but his patched, ill-fitting robe only accentuated his destitution and hardship.
Vaughn sensed him carefully. The magical aura on him was mixed and weak, even less than that of a third-year Hogwarts student.
All of this indicated he was a Wild Wizard… one who hadn’t attended school or received formal magical education.
Among the community of werewolf wanderers, such individuals were not uncommon.
Their werewolf virus was usually inherited from their wizard father or mother.
The werewolf virus could be transmitted from mother to child. If both parents were werewolves, their offspring would be born as werewolves. If only one parent was a werewolf, the offspring might be a werewolf. （Lupin had once worried that his child with Tonks might be a werewolf.）
Their parents generally came from other countries and were not registered with the local Ministry of Magic, or wizard parents from the local area had deliberately concealed their and their children’s information.
Therefore, after these children’s magic awakened, alchemical marvels like the “Book of Admissions,” which recorded children with magical talent, did not include them, so they could only learn magic from their parents.
This naturally led to a wide disparity in the skill levels of Wild Wizards.
James Brown seemed very excited. He awkwardly bowed to Vaughn, “Thank you for your compassion and generosity, Mr. Weasley!”
Vaughn nodded at him, “You’re welcome, Mr. Brown.”
Vaughn then looked at Remus Lupin. He was a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man, much like William White. His wool coat was almost faded, and his face bore several fierce scars. However, his demeanor was gentle, with a hint of melancholy, as if he were deeply troubled.
He also stepped forward and, mimicking William and James, bowed. Compared to James, he was much more reserved.
“Hello… Mr. Weasley!”
Vaughn could feel Lupin subtly scrutinizing him, examining his red hair, seemingly guessing his identity and his intentions.
What a vigilant and righteous fellow!
Vaughn chuckled. He ignored Lupin’s unspoken scrutiny and turned to Barnaby and William, “How many people have you gathered in total? Are the arrangements satisfactory?”
“Over 600 people in total, sir. After contacting you yesterday, we accepted another tribe. They are all waiting in a park in the suburbs now. Remus and a few other wizard gentlemen have cast spells on our tents, giving us ample space and keeping us hidden from Muggles.”
“Very good,” Vaughn nodded. He took a small pouch from his satchel and handed it to Barnaby, “There are several tens of thousands of pounds in here. Take care of them.”
These pounds were accumulated from selling potions over the past few years. Pounds were practically worthless in the wizarding world. Gringotts, the only place that exchanged pounds for Gold Galleons, had a limited quota for Muggle-born wizards from Muggle families each year due to a contract with Hogwarts.
Vaughn used to occasionally allow a batch of potions to be settled in pounds to purchase Muggle equipment. At those times, the potions would be snapped up quickly—it was said that Gringotts had sold a lot of “waste paper” during those opportunities.
Barnaby awkwardly said, “We haven’t used the money you gave us last time yet…”
“Take it. I heard from you before that many of you have children with you. Buy them some food!”
“…” Barnaby no longer refused and quietly accepted.
Having resolved the “funding” issue, Vaughn continued, “I called you here for another matter. The location has been roughly decided. Before you came, the Minister of Magic basically agreed to my request to hold the awarding ceremony in Diagon Alley, at ten in the morning, two days from now. You can go there in advance through the Leaky Cauldron… Mr. Brown, Mr. Lupin, please lead the other wizard gentlemen and be responsible for organizing everyone, alright?”
James Brown’s nose flushed with excitement at the thought of leading a group of over 600 people in such a significant event, and he quickly nodded, “No problem, Mr. Weasley.”
Remus Lupin also nodded.
Barnaby, being Muggle-born, and William had no objections to his arrangement.
They rubbed their hands excitedly, simultaneously delighted by the prospect of free Wolfsbane Potion and anxious about whether it would truly come to pass. Their fates had never been in their own hands!
Vaughn gave them a few more instructions. Seeing that it was getting late, he let them leave.
As they quietly exited through the back door of the Three Broomsticks, Barnaby whispered to Lupin, “Lupin, I wanted to say this earlier, you should show more respect to Mr. Weasley.”
Perhaps those with simple minds were more sensitive, and he could sense that Lupin seemed to have some reservations about Vaughn.
This displeased Barnaby. He didn’t like Lupin much to begin with. Lupin had actively sought them out to join their group. A few days prior, when he was persuading a tribe in Yorkshire, this fellow suddenly appeared.
The others, seeing that he was a wizard, agreed to let him join. But soon, Barnaby discovered that this fellow was intentionally or unintentionally probing Vaughn’s intentions.
If not for the fact that they couldn’t use the Floo Network and needed someone to Apparate them to Hogsmeade, Barnaby would never have let Lupin tag along.
Lupin vaguely replied. As they walked out of Hogsmeade village, he suddenly patted his pocket and slapped his forehead, “Oh no, I think I dropped my wand on the way. I’ll go back and look for it. You guys hide near the Shrieking Shack for now, and I’ll find you later.”
“You…”
William held Barnaby back and gazed at Lupin for a moment, then nodded, “Alright, we’ll wait for you.”
As Lupin turned back, he added, “Lupin, hundreds of people are waiting in London, all hoping for a resolution. This is the first time in years I’ve seen werewolves unite for a common goal, instead of fighting each other. Do you understand?”
Lupin’s retreating figure paused, but he ultimately remained silent.
He returned to the Three Broomsticks, gently pushed open the door he had deliberately left ajar, and tiptoed upstairs.
The door to the private room was closed. Lupin silently cast “Alohomora.”
The lock mechanism clicked open under the power of the spell, and the door swung open a crack.
Lupin peered inside and saw Madam Rosmerta, the proprietress of the Three Broomsticks, sitting expressionlessly in a chair, while Vaughn held his wand, casting a spell at her head.
Magic extracted wisps of semi-transparent memories from her head. As Vaughn’s wand flickered, those threads twisted and changed, and some unclear images were pulled out, slightly altered, and then put back.
“It really is Legilimency, Memory Magic…”
Thinking this, Lupin’s eyes turned cold. He pushed the door open and pointed his wand at Vaughn’s back.
Vaughn, who was modifying Rosmerta’s memories, didn’t seem surprised at all, and simply said, “Just a moment, almost done.”
“I recognize her. I noticed something was off about her when she opened the door for us… What did you do to Madam Rosmerta?”
Pointing his wand at Vaughn, Lupin said coldly, “Your current actions are a disgrace to the Weasley name. Do Arthur and Molly know about this?”
Vaughn ignored him.
With the flick and tremble of his wand, the last wisp of memory was modified. He carefully manipulated the spell, slowly inserting them back into Madam Rosmerta’s mind.
Once everything was complete, he let out a sigh of relief, “Adult memories and thoughts are indeed much more complex.”
He leaned close to Rosmerta’s ear and whispered, “My dear, go downstairs. Down to the first floor. The private room upstairs has already been served drinks and snacks. If you want to take a nap while there are no customers, what just happened was just a strange dream while dozing…”
“Yes… dozing… dream…”
Rosmerta murmured in repetition and walked out of the private room.
Vaughn watched her leave, then turned to Lupin with a sense of accomplishment and smiled, “My Memory Magic isn’t too bad, is it?”
“…” Lupin’s expression became more serious, his wand pointed steadily at him, trembling slightly from the force.
“Hmm, I thought you would have cast a spell to stop me just now.”
“That would have only harmed Rosmerta. I know a bit of Memory Magic too!”
Vaughn shrugged, took a sip of his drink, and then stared curiously at Lupin, “Listening to you just now, you actually know my parents… Ah, right, I almost forgot, you were part of the Order of the Phoenix.”
The Order of the Phoenix was a secret society established by Dumbledore to combat the Death Eaters.
After Socket Man was killed by a one-year-old Harry 10 years ago, the Order of the Phoenix disbanded.
Due to Molly’s frequent pregnancies, Arthur and Molly did not join the first Order of the Phoenix, but they had close ties to it. Even Molly’s two brothers, Fabian Prewett and Gideon Prewett, joined the first Order of the Phoenix, but were killed by five Death Eaters before the war ended.
Lupin frowned. Had Arthur and Molly told him?
“Don’t frown, my dear Remus,” Vaughn smiled. “My parents haven’t told us about the past. I have other sources of information… Would you like a drink? This Butterbeer hasn’t been touched yet…”
“Enough!”
Lupin interrupted him sternly, “State your purpose, Vaughn Weasley. Don’t try to deceive me with the same rhetoric you used to trick William and Barnaby.”
“Hmm—” Vaughn pondered, “So, you think I was deceiving them?”
Lupin snorted, “Otherwise? I heard Barnaby recounting your words. You told them that Fudge has ulterior motives, that the Ministry cannot be trusted, and that once the Ministry controls the Wolfsbane Potion, everyone will become a puppet of politicians.”
“Was I not speaking the truth?”
“Fictitious truth!” Lupin said angrily, “These are things that haven’t happened yet. You’re just using them as an excuse to achieve your hidden agenda!”
Vaughn did not get angry or defend himself against his questioning. Instead, he retorted, “Remus, then please tell me, have you signed the ‘Werewolf Registration Act’?”
Lupin was speechless.
Of course, he hadn’t signed it, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been living in seclusion in Yorkshire.
“You should know what that registration entails. It’s different from the Muggle one. It not only records your images and names, but also your magic and wand, your blood and hair, and includes magical oaths…”
As Vaughn spoke, his smile deepened. He looked at Lupin with interest, “The ‘Registration Act’ has been around for many years, but it has never been implemented, Remus. Please tell me why?”
What else could be the reason? Any werewolf who signed the registration act would never have freedom again.
Their very lives would be in the hands of the Ministry. For wizards, blood and hair were enough to fulfill the requirements of some ancient curses!
Unless the werewolves were fools, no one would sign!
Vaughn continued, “Yes, what I told Barnaby and the others were my speculations, but Remus, do you really think it’s impossible?”
The series of rhetorical questions left Lupin speechless. He had neither the standing nor the confidence to guarantee that the Ministry wouldn’t act that way!
Seeing Lupin lost in thought, Vaughn maintained his amiable and composed demeanor, gesturing with his hand, “Please come in and sit. If you have any questions, we can discuss them.”
Lupin did not respond immediately.
The air was quiet, save for the crackling sound of flames licking firewood in the fireplace.
After a long pause, Lupin said with a cold face, “You still haven’t answered my initial question. What did you do to Rosmerta?”
There was nothing to hide about that.
Vaughn stated frankly, “A bit of hypnosis and memory modification. She has some relationship with our dear Minister Fudge, and I can’t let her know about our meeting.”
Hearing this, Lupin finally lowered his wand, “Then why did you send the stray werewolves to Diagon Alley? Have you considered what might happen if those poor souls march in Diagon Alley? What if they come into conflict with the Ministry or the Aurors…”
“There won’t be a conflict with the Aurors!” Vaughn interrupted his questioning.
“What?”
“You’ll know when the time comes,” Vaughn said with a slightly wicked grin, then leaned back in his chair, “I am not hiding my purpose. I just want the wizarding world to see the living conditions of stray werewolves. I hope to fight for a fair outcome for werewolves. If you want to talk about selfish motives…”
He thought for a moment, “Does making myself more famous count?”
“…”
A question mark slowly formed in Lupin’s mind, but he could tell Vaughn wasn’t lying.
He was momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Of course, he could raise his wand again and cast a spell, but what then?
Recalling William’s words on his way back, after a long hesitation, Lupin opened his mouth, wanting to say many things, but they wouldn’t come out.
His mind was in chaos!
To Vaughn, who was smiling at Lupin at this moment, the entire world appeared black and white, with only Lupin’s human silhouette radiating the glow of thought.
That light was twisting and chaotic, intense mental activity churning the colors into a tangled mess.
After watching for a while, he ushered Lupin out, “Go back, Remus. William and the others are waiting for you. When you get back, try to set aside your prejudice against me first, observe those stray werewolves carefully, and then decide if you still want to question me.”
“Or, you could consider why they, ordinary wanderers like Barnaby and William, would listen to me just because I asked them to convey a message?”
“That’s all for now. I look forward to our relationship changing the next time we meet. You must understand, I really dislike people pointing wands at me…”
With that, Vaughn raised his hand and gently waved it.
The air suddenly vibrated, and a solidified mass of air pushed Lupin out of the private room. The door slammed shut with a bang, and the mass of air dissipated in the corridor, creating a few seconds of gusting wind. It wasn’t until the spell completely vanished that Lupin managed to stand steady.
He looked at the closed door in astonishment:
“Was that… Evanesco?”
