Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 199 Rapidly Growing Strength
“Mr. Weasley”.

Matthew, who was jogging over, greeted them.

Vaughn nodded to him: "You've worked hard. The residual magical fluctuations in the space are very strong. Has someone else escaped?"

“Yes, I tried my best to control them, but those…” Matthew hesitated for a moment before continuing, “those materials don’t understand anything, they can’t even communicate. You’re right, they… just look like humans, but in reality, they are some kind of animal… no, to be precise, they are moving tools.”

Matthew's expression was somewhat complicated.

As a werewolf, he was no stranger to this kind of talk.

This is how wizards used to describe werewolves that went out of control during a full moon.

If he could, he certainly wouldn't want to use the words the wizards had once used to humiliate him to describe another group.

but……

As I followed behind Vaughn toward the plains, I looked at the expressionless but frantic "wizards" in their iron cages.

He simply couldn't think of any other words that could accurately describe them!

Ignoring the hesitation in Matthew's tone, Vaughn asked as he walked towards the experimental area, "How many escaped? What were they done with?"

“Two. I’m sorry, sir, but to avoid further damage, I had to use some dark magic… They are badly injured and have been temporarily placed in the cultivation area, where they are being kept alive using the bio-culture tanks you made.”

As they spoke, the two had already walked into the middle of the densely packed iron cages.

Upon seeing the two approach, the wizards in the cage became even more agitated, banging on the cage with tremendous noise.

Vaughn drew his wand:

"Silence!"

The powerful magic spread out in an instant, and wherever it passed, the sound seemed like a tangible ripple, which was harmonized and smoothed out by an invisible force.

In Matthew's perception, it seemed as if all the sounds in the world had been suddenly pulled out of another space, and all the sounds disappeared from his sight.

The world before my eyes turned into a terrifying silence.

The body, accustomed to the presence of sound, automatically adjusts, and tinnitus appears, but it subsides in the blink of an eye.

All the noise completely disappeared, and Matthew felt a little dizzy.

"Mr. Weasley is getting stronger and stronger..."

he thinks.

These days, he has been staying by Vaughn's side. Ever since he finished studying the fire dragon, he has noticed that Vaughn's strength seems to have suddenly entered a period of rapid growth.

At first, the magic suddenly felt very heavy, as if the magic within Vaughn had suddenly become much stronger.

Subsequently, Vaughn's spell levels also began to rise rapidly for some unknown reason.

Just like the "Silence Curse" right now!
The Silence Charm is a relatively obscure spell in the magical world, because there are many similar spells.

For example, the Silent Mantra (to stop people and animals from making sounds), and the Ear-Blocking Mantra (to make sounds within a certain range unclear), etc.

These are the spells that mainstream wizards choose to learn and master, for no other reason than that they are simple and easy to use.

This is probably the main factor behind the rapid development and popularity of modern spell systems in the last few centuries.

The Silent Curse can "block" the mouths of people and animals, preventing them from making sounds, while the Ear-Blocking Curse creates a low buzzing sound within a certain range, interfering with normal sound sources.

Compared to these two, the principle of the Silence Spell is much more "advanced"—it works by smoothing out sound waves!

Correspondingly, the more advanced something is, the more complex and difficult it is to master.

Even in the well-established knowledge system of Muggle society, acoustics is a rather large and complex discipline, let alone in the magical world where the classification of disciplines is quite chaotic.

Muggles have various instruments and equipment to analyze sound waves and use sensors of different frequencies to distinguish them, but wizards in the magical world can only learn this spell through trial and error and exhaustive exploration...

After all, humans don't have bat ears!

What puzzled Matthew was that after the battle a few days ago, Vaughn stayed in the briefcase space for a while, and when he came out, he began to try using the Silence Spell repeatedly, and his progress was rapid.

Thinking about it, he secretly glanced at Vaughn beside him.

On Vaughn's face, which was expressionless but grew increasingly handsome with age, his eyes now shone with a pale purple light.

It was a magical aura; almost all spells that affect vision produce a similar effect.

Matthew was very familiar with the spell that this glimmer of light represented.

Extrasensory Charm!
"But was that really the Extrasensory Charm...? Mr. Weasley seems to be using it to practice the Silence Charm, but I remember that the Extrasensory Charm can't achieve the effect of observing sound waves, right?"

Matthew, the only member of the entire Vaughn team who had completed a Muggle middle school degree (but dropped out) and had the best understanding of basic physics, couldn't help but wonder.

Ignoring Matthew's wandering thoughts.

Because at this point, in Vaughn's eyes, the world had become an amorphous abstract painting.

The objects detached from their original forms and appeared before his eyes as constantly moving light fields.

Upon successfully casting the Silence spell, a message popped up at the bottom of the system panel:
[Multispectral Vision Spell LV2 (2/16)] ↑
The number 2/16 inside the parentheses slowly changes to 3/16.

In the battle a few days ago, he temporarily used the spell development module to synthesize a spell for observing the nuclear explosion site, and his proficiency in it is rapidly increasing.

Because he's been using it frequently these days!

Although its primary purpose is to observe the movement of electromagnetic waves, unlike other wizards, Vaughn's thinking on the use of spells is never limited to a single functional area.

Yes, the Multispectral Vision Spell can only see electromagnetic waves.

But looking at it from another angle, is there any substance that can escape electromagnetic waves?
No!

Even the sound is not working!

Sound and light are coupled; the movement of light generates sound pressure, and the movement of sound also causes changes in light.

The Silence Spell was something he quickly mastered over the past few days by using the Vision Spell to directly observe the movement of electromagnetic waves, and by indirectly capturing, analyzing, and understanding the laws governing the movement of sound waves through photoacoustic coupling and the mapping of photoacoustic spectra.

And this is only the beginning.

As his spectral mapping skills deepened and his experience grew, he planned to use this knowledge to study ultrasound and infrasound, exploring the high-frequency and low-frequency applications of sound waves, which held considerable promise.

It can be used for both detection and destruction!
Of course, that's not a reality yet.

With the help of the memory mage's powerful memory ability, Vaughn transferred the memories of changes in the sound wave spectrum that he had seen during the use of the Silence Spell into the Memory Archive, where they were automatically organized into a spectrum diagram.

However, his main attention was still focused on the two seriously injured people that Matthew had mentioned.

After walking a distance through the now-silent iron cages to the training area, Vaughn saw the two Purifiers and sighed in disappointment.

The two were struck by some kind of curse.

It was almost cut in half horizontally, with all the internal organs of the abdominal cavity exposed.

The other one had shrunk so much that it was no longer human-like. A powerful curse had corroded her body, and even the potion in the cultivation tank that was supposed to sustain her life had turned gray and lost its effectiveness.

"Matthew, you should be gentler!"

Matthew scratched his face.

"Sorry, sir."

"Fine, I know you had no choice... but there's only so much material, it's very precious..."

Vaughn sighed, suddenly understanding why the Ministry of Magic's first thought upon discovering Azkaban and the Dementors was to convert it into a prison.

They even went so far as to "hire" Dementors as jailers!

Looking back now, Dementors, which feed on emotions, are practically natural wizard jailers, since the magical world has no means to restrict magic.

Even if the wand is taken away, many wizards can still cast spells without a wand.

He's already overwhelmed just by imprisoning some purgers, let alone normal wizards.

Yes, these wizards imprisoned in cages are the "Purgers" summoned by Jack Graves a few days ago.

The Purifiers' defeat was sealed the day they fought, when Vaughn opened the teleportation portal, bringing the Allied forces into Boston, and then used Akinbad to hold back the resurrected DeSantis.

After all, the coalition forces have Vaughn!

Although his magical abilities are not yet sufficient to deal with legendary wizards, he can still easily bully these "lower" wizards.

According to post-war inventory, the Allied forces captured a total of 86 "purifiers," some slightly wounded and others seriously, while approximately 40-50 "purifiers" died or went missing.

This doesn't mean that someone escaped.

The so-called disappearance is simply because the body and remains could not be found!

As the two were talking, one of the cages in the iron cages covered by the Silence Curse silently exploded, and the Purifier who had been imprisoned inside rolled out.

The spell, cast at close range, broke through the iron cage. The power of the curse inevitably affected him, and under the bright moonlight, the escaped Purifier was covered in blood.

But with the help of the moonlight, Vaughn and Matthew could clearly see that his blood-smeared face actually had no expression.

There was no pain, no anger, no hatred.

His arm, almost blown off, swayed back and forth as he stared blankly at Vaughn and Matthew, moving away in the opposite direction.

Matthew instinctively drew his wand, and a dark, ethereal light flickered at the tip. He paused, seemingly remembering Vaughn's sigh.

The brewing dark magic dissipated, and Matthew temporarily switched the spell:

"A black dragon emerges from its cave!"

A wisp of black thread shot out from the tip of the staff, and began to expand the moment it touched the air. By the time it reached 20 feet away, the black thread had expanded into a giant python.

Upon seeing the giant python, Vaughn, who had initially intended to intervene, suddenly stopped and instead maintained his Vision Charm to observe silently. The "Dragon Emerging from its Cave" technique is a very famous and widely circulated form of dark magic.

Although Vaughn did not study it due to concerns about the corruption of dark magic, he had seen it in many materials related to dark magic.

The notes and documents all agree on one thing: it's easy to learn but difficult to master!

It's easy to learn because, as a form of black magic, beginners don't need much magic power or extreme emotions. These two points are the most difficult obstacles to overcome for almost all black magic.

The difficulty in mastering this spell lies in the fact that it involves many complex concepts and may even touch upon the deeper mysteries of the magical world.

Most notably, the "mishap" created by the spell is not actually an inanimate object, but a kind of life—

In Vaughn's memory, a few months into the "future," Malfoy would summon Oolong to fight Harry during Duel Class.

Then, Harry was able to control the snake using Parseltongue.

Parsleyan is both magic and language; its control is command-based, provided that what it controls can understand it.

This shows that Oolong is not a fictional creature; it possesses wisdom and knows how to obey!

“Infrared light, the dragon is indeed a living being…” Vaughn continuously lowered his vision level using the switching spell, watching the giant python and the Purifier it was chasing gradually turn into two colorless orbs of light, lost in thought:
"The same spell only summons a small snake for Malfoy, but for Matthew it summons a giant python. This drastically different effect might mean that this magic is more complex and mysterious than any of the records I've read about it..."

It's quite obvious!
Magic cannot create things out of thin air, let alone create life. Only extremely advanced transfiguration can transform inanimate objects into living things—something even Vaughn cannot do.

If Malfoy could learn Oolong Out of the Cave, Vaughn didn't think that a second-year student like him could master any advanced Transfiguration.

Since it's neither creation nor transformation, the remaining guesses are quite simple:

The blunder was summoned!
Summoning magic is not uncommon in the magical world. From simple things like clear water flowing like a spring to powerful spells like summoning, they all involve the transfer of real-world objects.

In a world where Muggles are now ubiquitous, is there really a place where so many "oolongs" live for the "oolongs to come out of their caves"?
Or perhaps... they didn't come from Earth?
Vaughn's thoughts were somewhat scattered.

Beside him, Matthew, piloting the giant, python-like Oolong, had already caught up with the Purifier. The Oolong's massive body slid along the ground, and with a roll, it wrapped itself around the Purifier's legs.

Then, strangulation!

Within the range of the Silence Curse, no sound came from within, but the instantaneous twisting and deformation of the Purifier's legs, which were constricted by the giant python, made it easy to imagine that the bones in his legs were probably shattered.

Even the most resilient wizard would immediately lose the ability to resist when faced with the excruciating pain of shattered leg bones.

But those who purge are different!
He is still fighting and struggling.

The flames of the explosion burst forth in the distance, and Matthew watched with a headache as the Purifier used a wound-for-wound method to blow up the idiot.

Then, dragging his muddy legs, he continued crawling!

It seems that there is no concept of fear at all.

In fact, based on Matthew's observations during his time assisting Vaughn with the experiments, the "Purgers" truly had no concept of fear.

Matthew even doubted whether they could even generate thoughts of "fear" or "dread" in their minds.

As soon as he acquired the Purifiers, Vaughn began studying them immediately.

Although we haven't gone too deep yet, some relatively "simple" checks are enough to draw some conclusions.

Through Vaughn's account, Matthew learned that Vaughn's initial guess was correct; the Purifiers were indeed artificial wizards, and Vaughn had discovered a series of magical organs within them that could not exist in humans.

Their spellcasting abilities rely almost entirely on these organs, rather than on spells, wand gestures, and emotions like those of normal wizards.

Secondly, the purgers were in a state of extreme confusion.

According to Vaughn, their level of intelligence is probably only equivalent to that of arthropods!
"Damn..."

Matthew was somewhat annoyed, and a violent emotion welled up inside him.

But soon, a cool sensation spread from his brain, and his mind cleared up. Matthew, who had just raised his wand in anger and rage, suddenly came to his senses.

It started again.

A restlessness originating from deep within the body!
He glanced at the sky subconsciously. The magical moon in the suitcase space hung high, with thin, veil-like clouds drifting by, giving the crescent moon a hazy glow.

Matthew knew that what affected him was not the crescent moon of magic, but the moon of reality.

"Tomorrow is the full moon, remember to take your medication as prescribed."

Matthew heard Vaughn's voice and turned around to see Vaughn, who had been staring at the giant python with a gleam in his eyes, seemingly observing something, but had already come to his senses.

The wand twirled between his fingers.

Matthew didn't see the movement clearly at all, but he sensed a surge of magical energy shooting out. In the distance, the wounded and berserk giant python opened its snout wide, silently hissing, and lunged at the Purifier who was still stubbornly crawling on the ground.

The next second, the Purger was sent flying back, the giant python scraping past its afterimage as it crashed heavily to the ground.

Smoke and dust billowing!

The python sent back signals of pain and frenzy, and Matthew's head throbbed in waves, but a cool sensation lingered in his mind.

Seeing that Mr. Weasley himself would have to intervene, Matthew felt somewhat ashamed:

"Excuse me, sir..."

"Take some time to review the white magic I learned at Hogwarts, and try to use black magic as little as possible in the future."

“Yes!” Matthew replied, noticing Vaughn turning to leave with the Purifier, he quickly followed: “Are you going to conduct an experiment? Please wait a moment, sir, I…”

"You should rest today!"

Vaughn interrupted him, "Go back and drink another dose of Wolfsbane Potion, but be careful not to let your emotions fluctuate too much. The first version of the potion is not a panacea, and you still need to control yourself to some extent, especially since you will be experiencing the transformation process of consciousness for the first time, which will be quite painful."

"But you might not be able to handle it all by yourself."

"Call Kingsley over in a bit and have him keep me company," Vaughn said casually as he walked toward the other experimental area. Then, remembering something, he instructed, "Tell him to bring Essex along."

Essex?

Matthew paused for a moment before remembering who Essex was.

The unfortunate wizard who was discovered and captured by Vaughn the very day they arrived in America.

They were also the first host they came into contact with who was parasitized by "DeSantis"!

……

Essex has almost lost track of time.

After being captured by Vaughn Weasley and brought back to Boston, he was thrown into a room where people took away all his spare wands and magical items.

In fact, when he first woke up and found himself imprisoned in a Muggle hotel by Vaughn Weasley, he was prepared to be severely tortured.

He knew that Vaughn Weasley had invaded his mind, but he trusted DeSantis and believed that Vaughn Weasley was absolutely incapable of uncovering his inner secrets in the face of DeSantis's mental defenses.

That cold-blooded and ruthless little... wizard, he didn't kill him, he must have wanted to extract information from him.

He is ready to fight a fierce battle!
As a true warrior who wholeheartedly disregards life and death, his past hardships have given him the confidence to persevere.

But... no!
There was no interrogation, and no torture!

After they threw him into the room, they cast a spell to seal the doors and windows, cutting off all his ability to communicate with the outside world, leaving not even a clock or a mirror.

He had no idea how many days had passed, nor did he have any concept of night or day.

He was accompanied only by darkness and silence.

However, that tranquility was not pleasant. At first, it was alright to be on edge, as I was preparing for possible interrogation.

When the time for three or four meals passes, the omnipresent silence turns into torment.

He began to hallucinate.

Eyes that have been in darkness for a long time appear as if countless lights have exploded, creating a series of light spots.

Then I also developed hearing problems. I kept hearing rustling sounds in the room, but when I listened carefully, it seemed like there was nothing there.

Then, even the thigh that he had lost due to the split began to experience phantom pain. Of course, he didn't find his thigh, but in the endless darkness, he often felt that his leg was still there, but every time he touched it, there was only air.

Essex suspected she was going crazy...

He didn't know when it started, but he actually began to look forward to the food delivery person coming over, because that person would temporarily break the seal and walk in step by step carrying the food tray.

The heavy, steady footsteps were so pleasant to hear, even the harsh sound of him slamming down his plate sounded so melodious!
Although that person never spoke to him and never responded to his shouts.

Moreover, he was never punctual—once, while waiting for that person to arrive, Essex unleashed a powerful will and silently counted down three meals at a steady pace, with no discernible pattern to the timing of the meals.

But Essex still hopes it will come!

Only when He comes, in these days of no light, no sound, as if pressed to the bottom of the sea, slowly decaying, will there be a glimmer of hope.

Today was no different. Waking up from a nightmare in a cold sweat, Essex crouched at the food delivery gate, hoping for a glimmer of light.

The nightmare was so terrible that he was groping around in the thick darkness in his dream, completely forgetting what light looked like!
Time slipped away in the tedious, anxious wait.

At one point, a noise came from outside the door.

Essex, who had been exhausted from the long wait, suddenly sprang to her feet as if she had been injected with adrenaline.

He listened intently to the pleasant, heavy, and steady footsteps as they approached, hearing a clattering sound, but not the usual sound of plates shattering on the floor.

what happened?
No food delivery? Are they not planning to open the gate?
Essex pounded on the door impatiently, her voice hoarse:

"Why didn't you smash your plate? How could you not smash your plate? Please, just let me hear a sound! Just one sound, I'll do anything you want!"

The clattering sound outside the door stopped abruptly.

(End of this chapter)