Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 86: Treasure House and Learning Apparition

Early in the morning, Vaughan woke up from his sleep.

There were already tinkling sounds coming from the kitchen downstairs. It was Shanshan busy with housework. Since the day before yesterday, this little elf had burst out with surprisingly enthusiasm.

"Mr. Weasley cured the young master, and the mistress can finally rest in peace. Winky will repay Mr. Weasley on behalf of the mistress!"

This is the phrase she repeated the most in the past two days.

After washing up in the bathroom on the second floor, it was just dawn.

Vaughan walked out of the small building, breathing in the morning air filled with the fragrance of dew and soil, and walked around this Muggle community.

In order to conceal the existence of his son, Crouch naturally chose a place to live that was sparsely populated and secluded.

There is a park next to the community. Vaughn followed the path, crossed the rolling hills of the park, and even saw a private golf course on the other side.

The investment in the construction of such places that serve the wealthy is always full of humanity. Look at the wide lawn across the wall, sparkling in the morning light rising in the east, and the lush green belt that blocks the view of the outside world.

Vaughan nodded.

What a great place!

After checking the time, Vaughn returned to the Crouch family. Winky had already prepared breakfast. Seeing him, she greeted him warmly, "Dear Mr. Weasley, Winky made your favorite pie, beef sauce with peas."

"No potatoes?"

Vaughan expressed his deep hatred for potatoes, the English people's favorite!
Winky, who had evidently taken careful note of his likes and dislikes, said enthusiastically, "Of course not. Winky gave all the potatoes to the master!"

At the dining table, Crouch, tucking his napkin in, looked at the small portion of pie and the oversized portion of French fries on his plate, lost in deep thought.

Vaughn was quite happy with this breakfast. To be fair, Winky's cooking skills were quite good, at least much better than Molly and the house-elves at Hogwarts.

This made Vaughn suddenly feel that there was nothing wrong with buying an elf...

After dinner and a cup of English breakfast tea, Crouch went to work and Vaughan also started his own "work".

Led by Winky to the basement, little Crouch was sitting quietly in an iron cage, motionless.

Winky looked at him and asked with sobs, "Mr. Weasley, when can the little master come out? Winky has already cleaned up the room for him. He hasn't slept in a warm bed for a long time and he must miss it very much..."

"It still needs to be observed, Winky."

Vaughan replied, pulling out his wand and transforming a chair into a soft woolen cushion, then sat down opposite Crouch Jr.

Knowing that "Reverend Mr. Weasley" was treating the little master, Winky didn't dare to disturb him any further and quietly Apparated away. Vaughn also adjusted his mood and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in Hogwarts.

Hogwarts as remembered by Barty Crouch Jr.!

A hazy white light belonging to memory enveloped the ancient castle. Vaughn looked around and found himself at the covered bridge leading to the Forbidden Forest at the back of the castle.

There was nothing else around except a thin, seemingly introverted boy sitting on the edge of the high covered bridge, with his legs stretched out, looking at the cliff and lake below.

Vaughn walked up to him and said, "Barty, are you looking at the scenery again?"

The boy raised his head, looked at him, then lowered his head again: "Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore."

That's right, in little Barty's eyes, Vaughn was Dumbledore, this was the image he appeared in yesterday.

The boy before him was the personality of Barty Crouch Jr.—a memory within a memory, devoid of intelligence and unable to communicate.

So Vaughn used a personality costume to control and mask Barty Jr.'s true personality and trapped him in his memories.

Vaughn is trying to see if he can get Barty Jr. to open up in this way.

He still had no idea how to reverse a soul that had been corrupted by black magic. For the time being, he could only try to see if he could indirectly influence the personality through memory, and then trace back to the essence of Barty Jr.'s dark side from the personality.

This idea came from Vaughan's experience practicing the Patronus Charm.

Dumbledore believed in the "power of love", which is not an empty talk. In the magical world, spells such as the Patronus Charm use "love", or in other words, the beautiful and positive side of a person.

Vaughan also believes that no one is born evil and that everyone should have a pure place in their heart.

The Pure Land is difficult to transform. Vaughn believes that it is the opposite of darkness. If it can be found and its power can be called upon, it may be able to play a role in fighting the corruption of black magic.

It’s just that the “pure land” in some people’s hearts may be suppressed very weakly due to factors such as their growing environment, black magic, etc.

So faint that it is difficult to find.

Little Barty is not Harry, who lacks life experience. He is a middle-aged man with memories accumulated over 30 years, which are as vast as the sea in his spiritual world. Not to mention, his mind has long been distorted by black magic.

Dark magic made most of his memories seem plausible, full of strangeness and danger.

This period of life at Hogwarts was a relatively stable memory that Vaughan had finally found.

Vaughan sat down next to the boy and patiently talked to him: "When people are troubled and in pain, they always like to find a quiet place to think alone and lick their wounds... Barty, what's bothering you?"

Little Barty didn't answer. He stretched out his legs on the covered bridge and swung them slowly in the air.

After a long while, he asked, "Principal Dumbledore, we are in my dream now, right?"

"Hmm? What makes you think so?"

"Because I remember that you never communicated with me privately, but these past two days, no matter where I went, you always appeared in front of me..."

Vaughan remained calm. He stuffed Barty Jr. into this memory in an attempt to turn this memory into Barty Crouch Jr.'s dream.

People are usually irrational when they are dreaming, and this is also the time when they are most likely to let down their guard.

He smiled gently and said, "Of course, Barty, you can treat this as a dream, a delusion. Here, you can tell me anything you have, anything you think."

Little Barty looked up at him, was silent for a while, and said in a low voice:

"I failed the test and my dad was mad... He demanded that I get 12 Os in the OWLs, but I didn't do it."

OWLs are the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. Generally, you can pass with an A (Acceptable), the next level is E (Exceed Expectations), and the highest is O (Outstanding).

"But you passed 12, which is quite remarkable."

Vaughn imitated Dumbledore's tone. He looked at little Barty with a dark, probing look in his eyes and said, "In my coaching career, only Tom Riddle has achieved better results than you!"

As the name Tom Riddle appeared, the depressed little Barty suddenly covered his head.

Vaughn asked with concern: "Barty, what's wrong?"

"Principal... my head hurts..."

As Barty's headache worsened, the sky suddenly became overcast.

Vaughan looked up at the clouds that suddenly appeared. They were dark and pressing down from the horizon, with flashes of lightning flashing among them. They were soon approaching the sky above Hogwarts.

Thunder rumbled overhead.

Vaughn remained calm, which was intentional. Little Batty's personality was just obscured, not his memory was erased. As long as someone who impressed him deeply and whom he had strong emotions for was mentioned, his memory would be awakened.

There is no doubt that Voldemort holds a special position in Barty Jr.'s heart.

Vaughan's eyes lit up slightly, and his voice became soft, full of trustworthy intimacy: "Barty, do you remember Tom Riddle?"

At his voice, little Barty's eyes became blank.

"……Remember……"

"What do you think of him?"

"He... is more like my father than my own father..."

"So, are you willing to open your heart to him? Tell your master, the Dark Lord you adore most, where your happiness and joy lie?"

"I……"

Little Barty held his head again and groaned in pain.

Vaughn pinched his chin and forced him to look at him, the glimmer in his eyes growing stronger. "Barty, look who I am?"

Little Barty was confused for a moment, and then ecstasy appeared on his young and tender face.

He suddenly hugged Vaughn's legs and said, "Principal? Master? Is that you, Master?"

"Yes, little Barty, answer my question, where is your happiness and joy hidden?"

"Okay, Master, I think... I think... I'll remember it..."

The dark clouds in the sky dissipated, and amid Barty Jr.'s neurotic murmurs, the Hogwarts in his memory was once again shrouded in a hazy light.

Vaughan took a step back, and the scene suddenly changed, and he appeared in front of Crouch's ancestral home.

The door of the old building was wide open. The room was no longer pitch black, but filled with the same hazy light as the Hogwarts Castle just now.

In the middle of the room, Barty Crouch Jr. stood with his eyes closed in his adult form.

His eyes rolled violently, as if he was experiencing a deep and intense dream.

A human-shaped mist ball was entwined on him like a parasite. Strands of mist extended from the surface of the mist ball and penetrated deeply into Barty Crouch Jr.'s body.

As little Barty's eyeballs moved more and more frequently under his tightly closed eyelids, a thread of mist was drawn out of his body.

What followed was a memory scene shrouded in black mist.

In that scene, Little Barty and several others were waving their wands and chanting a spell at a couple at their feet. The sound of the spell was transmitted through the black fog with some distortion:
"Heart-breaking and bone-cutting!"

The couple screamed in agony, but Little Barty was excited, angry, and enjoying the torment: "Longbottom, tell me, where have you hidden my master?" The couple did not answer, or rather, Little Barty did not care whether they answered or not.

He just wanted to hear their screams!
"Heart-breaking and bone-cutting!"

Vaughn watched the entire torture process with an expressionless face, and then stuffed the memory scene back into little Batty's body.

"Failed again... This time, my guidance was more successful than yesterday's Dumbledore-like inquiries. I quickly induced Barty Jr. to recall his memories, but it wasn't what I wanted."

"His mind, twisted by black magic, has even distorted his very definition of emotions... His current happiness and joy are a perverted pleasure derived from killing and torture, and have nothing to do with the 'Pure Land'..."

Thinking about this, Vaughn was not discouraged.

As he told Crouch, this is a long-term project and he doesn't expect to find a solution quickly. All current attempts are trial and error to accumulate experience for the future.

Vaughn took another look at the personality armor that was parasitic on Barty Jr.'s real personality.

Just two days later, it has turned gray.

Calculating silently, Vaughn exited Batty Jr.'s mind and returned to the basement.

Barty Crouch Jr. still sat unconscious in the huge iron cage. Vaughn took out his notebook and recorded the experiment.

"The fourth experiment failed. It can be confirmed that the corruption of the Dark Arts is comprehensive, even the definition of emotions has become distorted and distorted... For the next experiment, you can consider choosing Mr. or Mrs. Crouch."

Having written this, Vaughan paused.

Wouldn't it be inappropriate to use the dead?
However, this conscience only lasted for a moment before he threw it behind his mind.

"...Mrs. Crouch might have played a more positive role in Barty Jr.'s life. Next, I'll try to find memories related to Mrs. Crouch..."

"The personality suit still needs further improvement, especially in terms of pollution prevention and filtration. After less than three days, the personality suit implanted in Barty's brain has begun to show signs of corruption. This time is too short, whether it is used for treatment or personal use, it is far from enough..."

Vaughan wrote down his observations and thoughts from the experiment in a 5 or 6-page notebook.

After a short break, we started again.

It didn't stop until the evening.

When Crouch came back from get off work, he had just come out of the basement and was constantly searching through the heavily polluted memories of Barty Crouch Jr. It was certainly a very hard job, but it was not without rewards.

For example, magic!
After dinner, I wanted to see my son Crouch, but before I could say anything, I heard Vaughn say, "Barty, do me a favor tonight."

"what?"

"I wanted to learn Apparition. Yesterday, I found your son's memory of him practicing this magic in his brain. Then I remembered that I had actually forgotten to learn it."

Vaughan had indeed forgotten, mainly because he had been in Hogwarts. Hogwarts, including a large area around it, was shrouded in an anti-Apparition spell, making it completely unsuitable for studying.

Crouch was speechless. He hesitated for a moment, "Should we wait for a while? This is a Muggle neighborhood. Even though I deliberately chose a secluded place, there are still a lot of Muggles..."

Vaughan interrupted him, "There's a golf course nearby. I went there this morning and checked it out. It's very private, and there are no Muggles around at night. It's perfect for me to practice."

After a pause, he added, "By the way, I also need to practice the Fiery Curse and other minor curses. Little Barty's brain is really a treasure trove of dark magic... By the way, you can cast the End of All Curses, right?"

Crouch was tempted to say he wouldn't.

Apparition was one thing, but he actually wanted to practice dark magic... He couldn't imagine what would happen if there was an accident like loss of control.

But...he can't refuse Vaughn now!
At night, Crouch went out again and came back with a few bottles of potions.

They come in a kind of eyedropper bottle that's so small it only holds about a mouthful of the drug.

"This is Baixian Essence, a very powerful healing medicine..."

Crouch tried to introduce it.

Vaughan interrupted, "I know what it is, Barty. Don't forget, I'm a pharmacist."

"Oh... I always forget... your age always makes people... sorry!" Crouch said dryly.

Vaughan picked up a bottle of white savory essence and held it up to the light to examine it.

Looking at the scarce essential oil in the small dropper bottle, which was soaked with leaves and roots, he looked a little disdainful: "Poor craftsmanship, how much did you spend?"

"...10 Galleons."

"Tsk!" Vaughn hesitated to speak.

He knew why Crouch prepared the dill essence. It was to prevent the occurrence of splitting, which was the most dangerous accident when practicing Apparition.

Specifically, the Disapparition spell is successful, but only part of the wizard's body is teleported away, while the other part remains in place or flies away to an unknown place.

From ancient times to the present, countless wizards have used their blood and lives to prove the dangers of splitting. Their various bizarre ways of splitting have even been compiled into a thick book in the magical world.

Dictambu essence is currently the best known choice for dealing with separation. Its raw material is Dictambu - different from the Rutaceae plant of the same name known to Muggles, the Dictambu that can be used to extract the essence is a magical herb with magical properties.

Its own magic gives it super healing effects, which can help wizards heal wounds quickly when separation occurs.

The premise is that the wizard can find his separated bodies and put them back together.

This is also the reason why Vaughn asked Crouch to help him practice Apparition. Although Vaughn thought it was unlikely that he would split into two, if there was someone to help watch over him, at least the worst situation could be avoided.

Late at night, Vaughan took Crouch to a place he had chosen, a golf course not far away.

The stadium was already dark as it was approaching midnight, and the Muggles had already gone home from get off work.

But the two cautious people deliberately chose a relatively remote and flat lawn, walked around it, and waved their wands to cast spells such as exorcism spells and safety guards to prevent Muggles.

After casting the spell, the two returned to the center of the lawn. Crouch said self-deprecatingly, "The Ministry of Magic has regulations that to learn the Apparition Charm, wizards must be adults and need to be instructed by a designated instructor licensed by the Ministry of Magic... I broke at least 20 laws today!"

Vaughan shrugged. "The day you brought little Barty out of Azkaban, you broke every law in the Ministry of Magic!"

Crouch shut his mouth in frustration.

After a long while, he asked dryly, "Anything else to prepare? Should we start now?"

"Nothing to prepare, let's get started!"

After more than a month of experience, Vaughn slowly discovered that as the Armor Spell and Disarm Spell reached the maximum level 5, there were actually some subtle hidden effects beyond the two spells.

Casting any spell requires the use of magic power and emotions. The two full-level spells gave Vaughn a lot of similar experience out of thin air.

Now, he can mobilize his magic power faster than before, and his emotional output is more stable than before.

The specific manifestation is that he is now less likely to make mistakes when casting spells.

This would be a big help for him in learning new spells, so there really wasn't much to prepare.

Crouch nodded, walked about three meters away, and drew a circle on the grass with his wand: "The most important trick to Apparition is the three Ds. The first one is Destination."

He pointed to the circle he had drawn next to him and said, "Now, focus your attention on this circle. Don't waver, hesitate, or get distracted. Let it fill your vision and your mind..."

Vaughn listened attentively. Confidence and arrogance are two completely different attitudes. Even though he thought he was ready to learn spells, he still listened carefully.

And this kind of content is not difficult for him as a master of memory magic.

Soon, Vaughn followed Crouch's instructions, cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts, and focused all his attention on the circle with a diameter of about one meter, firmly imprinting its existence in his mind.

"The second is determination. Mobilize your emotions, the desire to occupy this circle, the determination and resolve to traverse space, flooding your entire body, leaving no room for even the smallest corner..."

Listening to Crouch's explanation, Vaughn easily summoned the corresponding emotions, and all other emotions were suppressed at this moment.

He only felt desire and determination surging from his brain.

Thoughts and emotions affected the body at this moment, and the heart pumped violently, pushing blood to all parts of the body.

The body feels slightly hot, and the brain is clear, but also a little dizzy due to the excitement.

His hearing gradually became hazy, and he heard Crouch say the last D: "Deliberation. Are you starting to feel your whole body getting hot? Now, release your magic power, raise your wand and spin it on the spot. During this process, pay attention to maintaining your current emotional state and the flow of magic. Pay attention, deliberation, don't be too tense or relaxed, be sure to be steady and calm... Listen to my command, count to three, one!"

Following Crouch's instructions, Vaughn released his magic power and spun on the spot.

When Crouch said "one", he had just turned around calmly and smoothly.

Then, something incredible happened. In Vaughn's perception, he "saw" ripples around him as he rotated. The waves were not caused by air or magic, but by another kind of thing, which might not have any material or energy form at all, but was a conceptual thing.

"space……?"

The thought flashed through my mind.

"two!"

Vaughan was concentrating, trying to control himself, with focus, determination and composure, and he spun faster and faster.

The ripples around were becoming stronger and stronger, with a frequency so fast that it looked like the surface of water being blown by gusts of wind, or like a transparent plastic plate that had caught an iron ball falling from a high altitude, denting and bouncing back, and constantly vibrating.

"three!"

As Crouch's last voice fell.

Vaughn's rotation and the ripples around him seemed to have broken through a critical point at that moment.

crackling——

The "space" was shattered, and Vaughn felt as if he had crashed into a narrow pipe. Everything in front of him quickly became bizarre, everything was stretched and twisted, and the whole world seemed to have turned into a huge washing machine.

And he was in the middle of it, spinning madly around a center.

(End of this chapter)