Hogwarts: What wicked thoughts could a little wizard possibly have?

Chapter 43 Transition

When asked by Old Deng, Vaughn neither agreed nor refused.

He suspected that the old man was trying to lead him on something—Dumbledore's reputation in this regard was really not good.

But at the same time, he didn't want to give up the opportunity to get to know Newt.

A knowledgeable expert on magical creatures was very helpful in broadening Vaughn's horizons.

In a sense, Vaughn is also a magical creature... a materials expert!

For example, the fur of the Invisible Beast, the explosive fluid and horn of the Venomous Horned Beast, the blood of the Fire Dragon, the pouch of the Niffler... He knew these magical potion ingredients derived from magical creatures like the back of his hand, but he had never seen a living one before.

As his research into magic extraction methods deepened, Vaughn sometimes wondered what the materials he extracted were like in their living form. How did they come into being within magical creatures?

This even reminded him of a profound, chilling topic:

How was the first wizard born in this world? Are magical creatures the source of magic? If we dissect them and observe their magical abilities and physical condition, can we find the answers directly?

Just thinking about it makes me interested!

Back in the Slytherin common room, Vaughn excitedly recorded his observations and thoughts of the day in a diary.

The fragrance of knowledge and truth is so intoxicating; I'm sure Mr. Newt would support his cause.

In faraway Dorset, Newt, who was preparing fruit for his herd of unicorns in his basement, couldn't help but sneeze.

"That's strange, could it be that I've caught a cold?"

Tina said irritably, "Maybe Dumbledore is talking about you again!"

It's unclear whether Newt had a cold, but the next day, a sudden flu outbreak struck Hogwarts.

A large number of young wizards, with red eyes and runny noses, lined up on the second floor of Hogwarts.

The experienced Mrs. Pomfrey, based on her accurate assessment of previous years, prepared a large pot of stimulants in advance.

This potion is very effective at treating the flu, but like all potions, its ingredients, used to harmonize its properties and complete the ritual, cause it to have a slight side effect.

It'll make your ears smoke!

The day after Vaughn stepped into the auditorium, he was greeted by a spectacular sight—

The heads of hundreds of little wizards, like boiling teapots, were spewing steam out.

The long tables of the four colleges were shrouded in smoke.

Fred and George happily weaved through the crowd, using their wands to transform the steam into all sorts of funny shapes.

Meanwhile, the professors in the faculty section were not spared either. Professor Flitwick's pointed ears, which were likely inherited from fairies, emitted a loud, long screech as he exhaled smoke due to their peculiar structure.

"How interesting, Felius!" Dumbledore exclaimed happily, taking a sip of his energy drink and then covering his mouth, trying to imitate him.

Then Snape, sitting between the two, was in trouble. The billowing smoke completely obscured his face, leaving only his dark eyes staring coldly at Dumbledore as if he wanted to kill him!

When Vaughn arrived at the Gryffindor long table, Harry and Ron were stealing glances at Snape while chuckling to themselves.

"Look, he'd love to eat Dumbledore alive," Ron whispered. "What a shame the flu didn't find that wretched old bat?"

Then he saw Vaughn sit down opposite him, pointing at him and saying, "Fruit Tea, grab Blemish over here!"

"Meow—"

Guoguocha, who hadn't had a toy in a long time, excitedly jumped onto the table and pounced on Ron as his expression suddenly turned pale.

"Don't scratch Banban, you stinky cat... Help—"

Watching Ron scream as "Little Kitten" pinned him to the ground, clutching his pockets and running away in a panic.

Harry was suddenly glad that he had just drunk some pumpkin juice and hadn't had a chance to say anything bad about Snape.

Hermione caught a cold too.

The white smoke emanating from his ears swirled among his disheveled hair, making one wonder if it was a steamer.

Holding a thick book, she approached Vaughn and asked him to teach her about Transfiguration.

After getting the answer, he quickly asked another question.

Vaughn was more gifted in Transfiguration than her, so she learned faster and received extra help from Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Club. Answering her questions was effortless for her.

As mentioned before, he is very patient with cute little girls.

"...During the transformation, a firm will is very important, Hermione, or rather, any spell requires your emotions to be clear and strong enough."

"This is certainly not about keeping your mind calm; that would be counterproductive. What you need to do is maintain a limited level of calmness, like turning a button into a beetle. It's important to analyze the button's structure and build the beetle's structure, but you also need to generate a strong idea that you want to successfully transform the button, and keep repeating that idea. The stronger the idea, the easier it is to succeed."

Vaughn shared his insights.

The magic in this world is so unreasonable; its foundation is somewhat like wish fulfillment, which is similar to the phenomenon called "word magic" in some fantasy works from my previous life.

Magic is not a cold, formulaic product; rather, it is an emotional expression. Therefore, wizards are full of emotions, and even some dark wizards who have gone mad can still successfully use magic.

As long as there are no emotional disorders!

But Vaughn believes that everything in the world has its own internal logic.

Even seemingly chaotic phenomena must have their own objective laws governing their existence.

The only question is whether anyone will discover it.

This was another research topic he set for himself, besides potions, when he began planning his life a few years ago.

The essence and laws of magic!

However, this topic is too broad and distant.

Hermione, of course, had no idea that Vaughn had such ambitions. This studious girl was currently most troubled by her studies.

Finally, Hermione, clutching her books, looked at Vaughn expectantly and asked, "The exams are coming up soon, and I feel like I still have a lot of weaknesses. Vaughn, can I study with you often in the future?"

Before Vaughn could answer, Harry, who hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Exams coming up soon? Isn't that still a long way off?"

Hermione glared at her: "Is it still early? We've already been going to school for several weeks. After deducting weekends and sleep time, how much actual study time is left each month...?"

Her barrage of words left Harry speechless, his leisure time suddenly shortening and a sense of urgency washing over him, as if wasting even a minute would mean instant death.

Even after finishing breakfast and returning to the Gryffindor common room with Ron, he was still in a daze.

Ron, covered in dust and dirt, locked Scabbers in the cage. Looking at Scabbers trembling, Ron said with heartache, "That wretched Vaughn, that wretched Fruit Tea, they scared Scabbers so much that they're shedding fur. My poor little guy will be killed by them one day."

Then Ron sadly realized that he didn't seem too angry, as if he had begun to get used to the life of him and Banban being bullied.