Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 99: Ilvermorny's invitation, test and training

It seemed that Vaughn understood.

Crouch began talking to Vaughan about North America.

He said, "I've also been paying attention to North American issues in recent years... Don't look at me like that. After all, I'm the Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. This is my job."

"The North American No-Maj government is indeed trying to crack the power of wizards, but countries around the world know that they actually started in the 2s and 30s. Decades have passed, and there has been basically no progress. No-Maj..."

Crouch paused. "I'm still used to talking about Muggles... Muggles without magical powers simply can't understand the power of wizards. Their so-called science does have its merits. I've studied it in detail. Yes, the power of nuclear weapons is astonishing, but that's all."

When it comes to the most terrifying technological achievement of Muggles, the nuclear bomb, Crouch has neither the ignorant contempt of ordinary wizards nor the fear of Muggles.

Instead, they spoke in a rather distant manner, as if they were just chatting about a new large toy.

Vaughan knew that this alienated attitude was precisely the true attitude of the knowledgeable people in the wizarding world towards Muggles and Muggle creations.

All because, Muggles can't do magic!
The longer he was exposed to magic and the deeper he went on the path of magic, the more Vaughan understood how vulnerable Muggles were when facing wizards.

One fact that must be acknowledged is that the technology used by Muggles in weapons is indeed incomparable to that of wizards in terms of pure destructive power.

However, the problem is that since the elimination of ancient magic, the modern spell system developed by wizards has abandoned the concept of power supremacy and turned to diversified development.

Let’s use some of the most common spells in the wizarding world as examples.

First, the Oblivion Charm and the False Memory Charm!
This pair of spells combined allows a wizard to modify the memories of others at will, especially the Memory Charm, the effect of which is almost permanent.

Even for wizards, the only means to deal with these two spells are brain occlumency and counter-spells. Among them, the Oblivion Spell is not very effective in counter-spells because it clears the memory too thoroughly.

And what about the Muggles?
In the eyes of wizards who have mastered memory magic, their skulls are almost equivalent to public toilets, which can be entered at will without any defense.

As far as Vaughan knows.

Among the magical incidents handled by the Ministry of Magic every year, at least hundreds of them are caused by wizards using memory magic on Muggles - the Oblivion Charm is regulated by the Ministry of Magic, but the Dream Charm and the Nightmare Charm are not prohibited.

Even the strictly restricted use of the forgetfulness spell has actually been rampant for a long time.

Under the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes of the Ministry of Magic, there is an organization called "Memory Deletion Command", which is the office location of the memory deletion officers.

Since the implementation of the International Statute of Secrecy, after hundreds of years of evolution, the once inconspicuous memory cancellation officers have expanded year by year in modern times when Muggles witness magical accidents frequently.

Today, the Memory Deletion Command has become one of the institutions with the largest number of staff in the Ministry of Magic, second only to the Auror Office. In peacetime, the role of Aurors has been greatly reduced, while handling magical incidents and maintaining the Statute of Secrecy have become the focus of the Ministry of Magic.

Of course, another important reason is that the current Minister of Magic, Mr. Cornelius Fudge, comes from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and this department is considered to be his direct line.

The job of a memory eraser, as the name suggests, is to erase the memory of Muggles who accidentally witnessed or experienced magical events, so that they forget everything they saw and experienced.

This method has become the Ministry of Magic's main means of dealing with magical accidents in recent years. Even though wizards all know that the Oblivion Charm is a spell that can easily get out of control, facing the unguarded minds of Muggles, it is difficult for wizards not to choose this simplest method.

In addition to memory magic, there are also spells involving the soul, such as the Confusion Curse, the Muggle-Repelling Curse, and the Imperius Curse.

These magics are defenseless against Muggles.

Especially the Confusion Spell.

"In my past life, in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Gattler Grindelwald used the predicted nuclear explosion to hype up the Muggle threat theory, but that was just his method."

'Why has the wizarding world continued to live its life at a leisurely pace, without any sense of urgency about being destroyed by Muggles, all these years after the invention of nuclear weapons? Because after the invention of nuclear weapons, wizards realized that it was just another tool made by Muggles.'

"In the eyes of Muggles, all tools are inanimate objects, but wizards are different. In the eyes of wizards, everything has aura, so some spells are not limited to intelligent life or inanimate objects, such as the Confusion Charm!"

Vaughn's thoughts were somewhat scattered.

The Confusion Charm can not only confuse and manipulate a person, but also confuse and manipulate an object. In the "future", Barty Crouch Jr.'s Confusion Charm confused the Goblet of Fire and sent Harry into the Triwizard Tournament.

A Muggle nuclear weapon is certainly terrifying, but as a tool, it can be affected by the Confusion Charm like any other tool.

Imagine a wizard, maintaining a Muggle-Repelling Charm, walking into a Muggle nuclear weapons base as if on a picnic and casting a Confounding Charm on a nuclear bomb.

With just one spell, control of the Muggle's most powerful weapon was taken away...

Crouch had no idea what Vaughan was thinking. His expression was grave. "So, the wizards' retreat and the advancement of the Statute of Secrecy were never due to fear of Muggles, but were caused by a combination of factors."

He did not elaborate on what the so-called "multiple reasons" were. It has been exactly 300 years since the birth of the Statute of Secrecy (the International Statute of Secrecy was enacted in 1692), and everything that happened in the past is now a distant past.

However, if this scope is limited to pure-blood families, then the mentality of the pure-blood families in cooperating with the implementation of the "Statute of Secrecy" is still easy to summarize - compared to enslaving Muggles who are "useless" and "have no magic power", it is obviously most in line with their ideals to sever the connection between Muggle society and the magical world and let magic belong to pure-bloods forever.

This is probably the unanimous opinion of pure-blood families around the world, otherwise the Statute of Secrecy would not have appeared 300 years ago.

The same is true of the North American wizarding world, which evolved from England and copied almost all of its systems.

"So the essence of the current North American conflict is still that the pure-blood families are exploiting the Statute of Secrecy in an attempt to restore the purity of magic."

Crouch said, "Most of the threats and persecutions against wizards by the Muggle government are self-produced. I dare say that the pure-blood families in North America are probably the masterminds behind the tragic examples mentioned in Isabella's letter."

"On the one hand, they promote the Muggle threat theory and strictly enforce the Statute of Secrecy. On the other hand, they sell intelligence about Muggle-born wizards to the Muggle government, creating persecution and intensifying conflicts among themselves."

"……Probably."

Vaughn nodded. As a man of mature thinking, he was not afraid to speculate on anything involving politics with the greatest malice.

However, what Vaughn didn't understand was why Crouch said this to him?
Soon, he got the answer.

"The reason I'm telling you this is because I want to tell you that you don't need to try to get Isabella back through the pure-blood families or Dumbledore and I. She's caught up in this huge vortex now, and none of us who are on the outside have any good solutions."

"Even the Watchers organization she's joined now, I'm afraid they're not clean either. These organizations that issue death threats to pure-blood families as soon as the conflict becomes public are either stupid or evil. They might even be tools used by some radical families to 'persuade' other pure-bloods."

"Plus, there's a conflict between her last name and the Graves family. If we intervene rashly, it could very well backfire."

Hearing this, Vaughn was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

He just hadn't thought about it before, but when Crouch mentioned it vaguely, he immediately realized it.

It is difficult for humans to unify their goals and ideas. Perhaps all pure-bloods in the world want to drive out half-blood and Muggle-born wizards, but differences are inevitable in specific actions.

There are so many pure-blood families in North America, and it is certainly impossible for all families to want to achieve their goals using such radical methods as now.

Where there are radicals, there are naturally conservatives.

Vaughn recalled Isabella's letter about the pure-blood families who had received death threats. He then looked at Crouch, "Do you suspect the radicals are using organizations like the Watchers to force the conservatives into action? Like Graves?"

Crouch nodded. "From a political perspective, there's no irreconcilable contradiction between radicalism and conservatism. The difference between the two lies solely in their different positions and the speed of their actions. This isn't unchangeable; it just requires external pressure..."

This external pressure can come from the so-called "mob groups" composed of North American Muggle wizards, or it can come from... other countries!
Vaughan's mind suddenly became clear.

Crouch was right. Under the current circumstances, it was indeed not appropriate for him and Dumbledore to show up. Even if any forces outside North America wanted to intervene, the situation in North America would immediately become unknown.

Radicalism usually means it is easy to get out of control, and with the current powder keg-like state of the North American wizarding world, if it gets out of control, it is very likely to lead to - war!
Thinking of this, Vaughan felt a little headache.

Originally, he thought that the chaos in North America was far away from him. Although he had paid some attention to it before, he did not feel it in reality. Unexpectedly, the fire of chaos suddenly burned near him.

Because he suddenly realized that Crouch's previous long speeches expounding on the essence of the North American situation were probably not just because of Isabella Rosier.

really.

When Vaughn asked, Crouch's serious face twitched a few times, but he still took out a thick parchment envelope from his pocket.

He handed the envelope to Vaughan and said dryly, "Actually, I don't think you should get involved in this mess. Without Dumbledore in the North American wizarding world, the influence of pure-blood families reaches deep into every aspect. There's only one place they find it difficult to interfere with, and that place has now become a gathering place for half-blood and Muggle-born wizards, and it's also the place where the most serious conflicts in the North American wizarding world occur..."

Vaughan looked at the envelope.

There was a large coat of arms printed on the envelope. It consisted of crossed ribbons and four animal figures. For a moment, Vaughan thought he saw the shield of Hogwarts.

In the world, there are four animals used in heraldry. Apart from Hogwarts, there is only another magic school that was created in imitation of it.

Crouch said the name in a dry voice: "-Ilvermorny! Yesterday, the International Confederation of Wizards handed me their invitation letter, inviting you to travel to North America during the summer vacation to participate in academic exchanges on potions and discuss the possibility of establishing a branch of the Werewolf Affairs Committee in North America!"

Listening to Crouch's words and looking at the letter, Vaughn was stunned...

……

Vaughan returned to Hogwarts at night.

He had just walked out of Professor McGonagall's office when he was caught by the twins.

Today, the twins are in dire straits.

Given that Ron had previously tried the drug on himself and achieved excellent results, earning him a three-day holiday, the twins' skipping school candy business not only reached all seven grades in Gryffindor, but also expanded its customer base to other colleges.

Even in Slytherin, which has the worst relationship with Gryffindor, many 5th and 7th grade students could not bear the academic pressure and secretly placed orders.

As a result, once the news broke, Gryffindor's clients did not push him too hard because they were in the same college.

The Hufflepuff badgers were always honest and simple-minded. At most, they would urge the twins to pay back the money, and then they would wait patiently for the twins to pay back.

But Ravenclaw and Slytherin are not so easy to fool, especially Slytherin. Those guys always try to disgust Gryffindor for no reason, and now they are so self-righteous.

As soon as the get out of class was over, Malfoy took his two followers and several fifth-year "victims" and hung a banner in front of the entrance of Gryffindor Tower.

It reads "Weasley owes debts and red-heads drink blood and sweat."

The classes were noisy either. He bribed several Slytherin students in the same grade as the twins to make them wear enchanted armbands in class and repeatedly demonstrate the words on the banner.

Although there was no physical attack or bullying, this humiliation, which was comparable to social death, broke the twins' defenses far more than any actual harm.

So when Vaughn saw the two, he almost didn't recognize them - their red hair was a mess like a chicken coop, their faces were pale and haggard, and they no longer had their usual lively and optimistic appearance.

The two looked at Vaughn eagerly.

After what happened today, their ambitions had completely collapsed under the oppression of their creditors and the humiliation of Slytherin.

Their frequent saying, "A Weasley never breaks his word," suddenly became a joke.

Now, they just want to get the deposit back as soon as possible. In the afternoon, the two had contacted the store where they had purchased the raw materials before, trying to get them to buy them back.

But distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. Besides, once the raw materials are in and out, don't even think about getting a refund at the original price. Now their only hope to fill the gap is Vaughn.

Unfortunately, Vaughn has no time to care about them now.

Ignoring the twins' attempts to curry favor, Vaughn sent them to the Room of Requirement to wait, then hurried to the principal's office.

Dumbledore opened the meeting with dessert as usual, and Vaughn refused again without hesitation. He then shook his head regretfully, unfolded the invitation Vaughn handed him, and took a look:

"Oh—an invitation from Ilvermorny is truly rare. The North American wizarding community is very closed. They have always disliked paying attention to other countries and magic schools, always wanting to live their own little lives behind closed doors..."

This was a well-known fact. Vaughn didn't want to hear him ramble on, so he interrupted, "What do you think Ilvermorny is planning?"

Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes as bright as the moon outside the window: "It is obvious, Vaughan, you have made the world see the potential of werewolves. Ilvermorny hopes to recruit werewolves with you!"

"If werewolves are considered magical creatures, then they are likely the most widespread species in the world... Sorry, please forgive my old man's pedantic and stubborn ideas, but I always unconsciously exclude werewolves from the human race."

"That's understandable. After all, you're over a hundred years old, buried up to your eyebrows."

Vaughan, who was already used to Dumbledore's catchphrases, said sarcastically.

Dumbledore smiled and said nothing. He continued, "Lycosis—oh, I almost forgot you wrote a paper about it, renaming it the werewolf virus... Anyway, the unique mechanism of the werewolf virus makes it almost impossible for the werewolf population to expand."

"Even if there have never been werewolves in a place before, as long as there is one werewolf there, he can quickly infect a whole group of people."

"America is the hardest hit area by werewolves. This is related to its development history. You who are familiar with Muggles should know that when Muggles develop colonies, they don't use normal labor. Instead, they use slaves, criminals, and death row prisoners."

"This is true in Muggle society, and in the wizarding world as well. However, compared to the huge Muggle population, the small number of wizards would be a huge waste to use to develop colonies. So, some people at the time targeted werewolves."

"The werewolf virus is undoubtedly a disaster for Muggles and wizards, but in the eyes of some people, it is not completely useless. At least when they transform and go crazy on a full moon night, they are the most efficient killing machines. Their bodies are strong and ruthless. Apart from magic, almost no weapon can hurt them."

"Any life in front of them can only be slaughtered at will. What's even more terrifying is that as long as some powerful wizards are sent to intervene to prevent them from completely killing all lives, as more Muggles are scratched and bitten, the werewolf virus will spread, and this killing machine will become more and more powerful..."

Dumbledore sighed as he spoke. "In order to explore America, wizards at the time hunted werewolves and vampires across Europe and sent them there. It's hard for us today to imagine the chaos and bloodshed that America was in during that era."

Vaughn was a little stunned.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered a movie he had seen in his previous life, "Lincoln, Vampire Hunter", a bizarre movie that magically changed American history and portrayed the Civil War as a war between humans and vampires.

The scene described by Dumbledore suddenly gave him the illusion that he had traveled through time again.

Seeing his stunned expression, Dumbledore shook his head. "I know you find it ridiculous, but in that era, everyone was crazy. The New World, the new land, trade, gold... the interests drove everyone in Europe to become devils."

"Since the birth of wizards, there has never been an era as crazy as that time. The current history of magic is vague about what happened back then, but from the details we can judge that the birth of the Statute of Secrecy was not just due to the Muggle witch hunt."

"Including the several wars fought by Muggles in the Americas, they were most likely related to the eventual loss of control over werewolves and vampires in the Americas... The wizards back then chose to bury everything, but some traces cannot be erased. For example, the werewolf population in the Americas is far larger than that in Europe."

"According to the International Confederation of Wizards, there may be tens of thousands of werewolves and thousands of vampires throughout the Americas... They are all problems left over from hundreds of years ago."

At this point, Dumbledore paused and added, "This is investigative intelligence from 60 years ago. At that time, Grindelwald was wreaking havoc in North America. In order to find out his whereabouts, the Federation was able to force the Magical Congress to open its borders. Since then, the Magical Congress no longer allows the Federation to interfere. No one knows what the situation is like now."

After saying this, he gazed deeply at Vaughn with his bright blue eyes. "But it's conceivable that the werewolves in North America must be a huge force, so powerful that they could very well determine the situation in North America. And your wolfsbane potion and the Werewolf Affairs Committee could very well be the key to that situation!"

Vaughan was speechless.

Of course, he understood what Dumbledore meant. Considering the information revealed by Crouch, he knew that the main conflict in North America at present was the conflict between pure-blood families and half-blood and Muggle-born wizards.

In this conflict, Ilvermorny chose to shelter half-bloods and Muggles, which forced it to stand on the opposite side of the pure-blood families.

Using one magic school to fight against all the pure-blood families, not to mention Ilvermorny, even Hogwarts with Dumbledore can't do it.

So, Ilvermorny began trying to win over magical creatures.

This is not the first time that this magic school has done such a thing. When it was first founded, it had tried to win over Pukki, a magical creature with a similar bloodline to fairies, who was short, had gray skin, and possessed powerful magic.

If that were all, then Vaughn would have no reason to hesitate. He could just accept the invitation and go to North America to expand the Werewolf Affairs Committee, spread its reputation, and rescue Isabella at the same time.

However, if the werewolf becomes the key to the situation, then the problem will be more serious.

At the very least, those pure-blood families would certainly not sit idly by and watch tens of thousands of werewolves join the Ilvermorny camp. It was hard to say what measures they would take.

I saw Vaughn frowning and thinking, hesitating.

Dumbledore regained his smiling expression and said, "My dear, there are still three months until summer vacation. You can take your time to think about it."

Vaughn rolled his eyes at him. "Are you gloating?"

"No, no, no, I just find it very interesting. As you progress faster and faster on the path of magic, it seems that nothing can embarrass you anymore."

This old bastard!
Vaughn asked impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense, what's your advice?" "I have no advice. If it's just from the principal's perspective, I would advise you not to go. What happens in America has nothing to do with Europe, and you, a student, shouldn't be put in danger."

As he spoke, Dumbledore smiled: "But I am not just a headmaster, and you, Vaughan, are not just a student!"

……

Vaughan had no idea what Dumbledore was talking about.

He was too lazy to ask more questions. This old man loved to be a riddle teller and was used to playing crazy and stupid. No matter how hard he asked, he would not get anything out of him.

Vaughan was not discouraged by not getting any advice from Dumbledore. He had to make his own decision on such matters. Besides, Dumbledore was right. There were still three months left, so he could think about it carefully.

At the very least, it is necessary to take advantage of this time to catch up on the history and related events of the North American wizarding world and understand the situation there.

But that won't start until tomorrow.

At present, Vaughan also has to deal with his two older brothers and show them his younger brother's "care"!
The corridor outside the House of Requests.

Following Vaughn's instructions, the twins arrived early and paced back and forth anxiously.

Across from the tapestry, Guo Guocha squatted by the wall, staring at the twins moving back and forth with his huge round eyes. The door of the Room of Requirement had already appeared above his head.

Because of Vaughn, the two knew about this magical place a few months ago. However, Vaughn often came here to practice magic and read books, and the twins, who did not dare to disturb their younger brother, did not come here often.

If it were any other time, they might have explored it out of curiosity, but unfortunately, the two of them were now so preoccupied with their thoughts that they had no time to spare, and they were even too lazy to pay attention to Guo Guocha.

After pacing for a while, the twins suddenly stopped, looking depressed.
"Fred, I think our good days are over."

Fred sighed, "Yeah, George, the last person in the family who was willing to support our research, may not support us today!"

The twins are very smart, with excellent IQ and EQ.

Before, the two of them were only concerned with finding a way to settle the accounts without giving it much thought. Now that they had calmed down and thought carefully about Vaughn's attitude, they had to pessimistically realize that Vaughn, who had always supported them, might give up on them this time.

"It's all your fault, George! Why did you show off in front of him those days? You knew very well that our dear brother was narrow-minded!"

"Shut up! You were the one who said we should show our petty-minded brother what we've accomplished!"

"Don't talk nonsense, I didn't say that."

"Then neither did I."

In between their daily blaming and bickering, the twins would remember something and stealthily glance up and down the corridor to avoid any petty-minded individual appearing.

Then they looked at Guoguocha again.

"Is it looking at us?"

"Um……"

"I heard Kneazle is very smart. What if it complains?"

"Are you stupid, Fred? The Kneazle can't talk, and it's a half-blood!"

"Right!"

Guo Guocha's round eyes, with pupils shrunk into a slit, reflected the twins pacing back and forth, sighing.

Listen to them discuss:

"How about...we threaten him with his relationship?"

"How can I threaten you? Mom is dying for us to find girlfriends at school. She's been preparing our prom dresses since we started school!"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should be more assertive and negotiate with him. Yes, we did make some mistakes this time, but the fault isn't ours! It's the school that's suppressing us. I firmly believe that once this hype has passed, the Skipping Class Candy series will be a huge hit!"

"Then you better be tough later, don't kneel down just because he scares you."

"Hehe, are you talking about yourself, George?"

The two men sneered at each other and argued sharply, but soon they were arm in arm and huddled together to whisper for a while about their response strategy after Vaughn arrived.

More than ten minutes later, a series of crisp footsteps appeared in the darkness of the corridor.

Not long after, Vaughn walked over in the dim light of the torches in the corridor. He frowned slightly and seemed to be immersed in some trouble. He didn't even greet the twins. He directly picked up the Guoguocha who greeted him, opened the door of the Room of Requirement, and walked in.

Only after entering did his voice come: "Come in!"

The twins signaled to each other, reminding each other to be tough and not to act rashly, before following each other into the Room of Requirement.

The room was summoned by the two when they were pacing back and forth outside. It was an ordinary abandoned classroom with almost no furnishings.

When the two walked in, they saw Vaughn pull out his wand and point it at the ground. An old table turned into a chair with a backrest. The magician walked to Vaughn with a clatter and helped him sit down.

Vaughn picked up Guo Guocha and looked at the twins.

Before he could speak, the twins, who had just been warning each other to be tough, rushed to Vaughn, hugged his thighs on both sides, and accused him in unison:
"Dear brother, I want to report George (Fred). He just said you are narrow-minded!"

The two were stunned for a moment, then glared at each other:

"Damn liar George, I knew you had bad intentions when you said that just now!"

"Aren't you the same? You tempted me to belittle my dearest brother and tried to destroy our relationship!"

Guo Guocha squatted on Vaughn's legs, holding his front paws, shaking his head left and right, curiously watching the twins teasing each other, and then meowed at Vaughn.

After hearing this, Vaughn tilted his head and looked at the two of them with a half-smile: "I heard that you two want to be tough on me?"

The twins looked at Guo Guocha, who was still holding her paws and looking curious, and said awkwardly, "It... no, can she talk?"

Vaughan smiled but said nothing.

Of course Guo Guocha couldn't speak, but in fact he had woven a personality suit on Guo Guocha, which could collect everything Guo Guocha saw and heard, and when Vaughn approached, it would convey some simple information to him, and could also be read by him using Legilimency.

The specific effect is somewhat similar to the innate Legilimency in the magical world.

It's just that those born with Legilimency cannot control themselves, and anyone's divergent thoughts will be absorbed by them. The technique developed by Vaughn can only absorb the thoughts of the existence implanted by his personality.

This was originally a technology he developed to continuously monitor little Batty's mental world. Later, he discovered that it could be used on pets, allowing him and his pets to communicate across languages.

Of course, the twins didn't understand such advanced things. Apart from their interest in alchemy, these two guys were always mediocre in other aspects.

But at the same time, their alchemy is indeed interesting.

Thinking about this, Vaughan opened his bag and took out a candy for skipping class.

Many people think that these candies developed by the twins are potions. In fact, they have little to do with potions, but are a kind of alchemy.

A magical effect created from "nothingness" using "ether" and potion materials.

Vaughn didn't know alchemy before, and his knowledge of the twins' talents was limited to their imaginative thinking and their love of pranks.

It was not until he was finally able to understand the introductory books on alchemy that he realized that the twins' seemingly unreliable level of alchemy actually contained more possibilities.

It's such a waste for them to use it as props for pranks.

Vaughn looked at the twins, paused, and said, "I heard from Hermione that you wanted to borrow money from me to pay off the deposit?"

Fred and George nodded.

Vaughn smiled, reopened the bag, and while searching, he asked the twins, looking anxiously at him, "What can you give me to help you?"

"Uh……"

The two looked at each other. It was not that they could not accept the "sacrifice", but they did not know what they could do to help Vaughn.

Vaughn didn't expect them to answer. He rummaged through his bag for a moment and pulled out a small box. He opened it and found two Muggle light bulbs inside.

Fred and George had seen these things before; Dad had taken the front and rear lights off the car when he was working on it.

The two men looked at the light bulb and then at Vaughn, confused.

Vaughn didn't say anything, but continued to rummage through his bag, finding the lamp holder, wires, and batteries, and assembling them.

The twins watched his movements in silence.

The two were no strangers to these things. Influenced by Arthur and Vaughn, they had often come into contact with things from Muggle society since childhood, and had even personally modified many Muggle technological products.

Once Vaughan is assembled, screw the bulb into the socket and turn on the switch.

The light bulb is not on.

One of the twins then "kindly" reminded him, "Dear brother, Hogwarts is full of magic. It will cause great interference to the magnetic field. Muggle technology items cannot be used here."

Vaughan nodded, thanking him for the reminder. "Thank you, but if I remember correctly, I told you this when you first started school. The radio you bought at that time was broken, and you thought you were being ripped off by a Muggle profiteer."

"..."

The twins scratched their faces at the same time, feeling a little embarrassed, and quickly changed the subject: "So, dear brother, what do you want us to do?"

Vaughn stopped mocking them. Looking at the light bulb he had assembled, he stated his plan: "I hope you'll put aside those mischievous ideas for now and use your knowledge of alchemy to make lights usable at Hogwarts. Or maybe just abandon Muggle electricity and research the creation of magical lamps!"

"……what?"

The twins looked at each other.

For both of them, making prank props is like their faith and soul, and it would be difficult for them to give it up, even if it is only temporarily.

But now they had something to ask of Vaughn, and they didn't dare to refuse outright. After a while of hesitation, one of the twins, it wasn't clear if it was Fred or George, spoke up and argued:

"What's the point of this? Hogwarts has magical braziers and oil lamps, and we also know lighting spells..."

Before he could finish his words, Vaughan interrupted him: "More than a hundred years ago, Muggles also had oil lamps and gas lamps, so why did they invent electric lights?"

The twins were a little confused. They were not yet at the age to think about such questions, so naturally they could not answer why.

Vaughn didn't want to lecture them about some grand principles, so he simply said, "Anyway, I only have one request. Now, how much does it cost to pay off the deposit?"

Seeing their brother's firm attitude and no room for negotiation, the twins finally faced reality and knew that this time, they could no longer get away with it by throwing tantrums and making trouble as usual.

"12 Galleons."

The two men slumped their shoulders, looking gloomy, but they didn't say anything random. They proactively added, "Just give us four Galleons. We're processing the raw materials we bought earlier, so we should be able to get eight or nine Galleons."

Vaughn ignored him and pulled out a small bag of gold coins. "Here are 20 Galleons. This will cover the purchase of your materials, as well as your future research expenses... You're familiar with my personality. This time, I'm serious. Not only will I monitor your progress regularly, but I'll also set a deadline for results. I hope you can complete this research before the end of summer vacation, whether it's solving the problem of electric lighting at Hogwarts or creating a magic lamp."

"Then I will no longer restrict you from developing prank props. I will even fund you until 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' is established... although in my opinion, by then you will probably no longer look down on the magic shop!"

The twins hummed vaguely.

The Magic Tricks Shop is their lifelong pursuit and career, how could they just give it up?

After taking the money bag handed over by Vaughn, the twins were finally able to settle their debt, but they were not happy at all. It was not only because of their brother's coercion, but also because the time set by Vaughn was too tight.

One of the twins decided to try harder. "Vaughn, it's impossible to finish it during the summer vacation. We've never conducted research in this area before. You need to give us some time."

The voice just fell.

They saw Vaughn take out a rather simple-looking radio made entirely of wood. As Vaughn turned on the switch, the rustling sound of the broadcast immediately came out.

This is the magic radio!
Products that combine magic with Muggle technology are rare in the wizarding world, including radio stations that come with radios. They are also the crystallization of magic and technology. Magic replaces electricity, but can restore the same effect and will not be distorted by the magical magnetic field.

This thing is not rare. The Weasley family has one, and Molly often uses it to listen to gossip and interesting stories.

"Whether it's using alchemy to protect electromagnetic fields from being distorted by magic, or using magic to replace electricity, this radio has applications. With a finished product like this for you to disassemble and learn from, I believe that a simple electric light problem shouldn't be difficult for you!"

Seeing their brother's complete preparations, the twins, reaffirming his attitude, reluctantly agreed.

Only after leaving the Room of Requirement did the twins discuss in a low, angry voice, "Look at how thoroughly he's prepared. Money, technical products, research ideas... I bet, George, he's been coveting us for a while."

"That's right, Fred. This cunning guy must have been hiding from us on purpose this morning. He wanted to make us suffer so that he could exploit us!"

"Damn capitalist!"

"That's right, Fred! But... I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight, ah..."

Touching the small purse, the heavy gold Galleons inside made the two of them feel extremely relieved. Although they paid the price of their freedom for it, the feeling of being chased for debt was even worse.

The twins sighed with relief as they walked further and further away. Guo Guocha, who squatted at the door and watched them leave, wagged his tail, turned around and went back to the Room of Requirement. He jumped onto the legs of Vaughn, who had opened his notebook and was writing something down, and meowed at him.

Vaughn tilted his ear, then smiled and rubbed Guo Guocha's head:

"Oh, don't worry about them, Guoguocha. I just want to smooth out their character flaws and make them focus. Also, I don't want their talents to go to waste."

"Meow~"

"No, I respect their hobbies, but reality is not a fairy tale book, and the magical world is not as safe as it seems. As a wizard, you can have hobbies, but you can't give up the right path because of them. That will only hurt them in the end."

Guo Guocha didn't say anything else, but just rubbed Vaughn's chin affectionately, then jumped off him and lay down beside him to rest.

Vaughan continued writing in his notebook.

What he said to Guo Guocha was indeed his idea. He didn't think so before, until he got the talent for alchemy, then he truly realized that the twins' talent in alchemy was actually quite extraordinary.

Especially the series of skipping class candies they developed this time, which uses alchemy to achieve the effect of magic potions, taking a different approach and showing a unique idea.

He used to think that the twins were too free and wild inside, which was not a good thing. Now he naturally didn't want to see them continue to waste their talents on evil ways.

He planned to guide them back to the right path, both to prevent them from repeating the same fate in the future and in the hope that someone could help him.

Thinking of this, Vaughan paused the tip of the pen he was writing on his notebook.

He suddenly recalled Dumbledore's ambiguous attitude towards whether he should accept the invitation to go to North America.

"...That old fellow, wouldn't he have the same idea? He wants to test and train me?"

(End of this chapter)