Transition

When Old Dumbledore asked, Vaughn neither agreed nor refused.

He suspected the old man was trying to steer him toward something—Dumbledore's reputation in that regard was hardly stellar.

But at the same time, he did not want to give up the chance to get acquainted with Newt.

A well-traveled Magical Creatures expert would be a great help in broadening Vaughn's horizons.

In a sense, Vaughn was also a Magical Creatures... materials expert!

For instance, Demiguise hair, Horned Beast Explosive Fluid and horns, Dragon blood, Niffler pouches... he knew these potions ingredients sourced from Magical Creatures like the back of his hand, but he had never seen the living creatures before.

As his research into the Magic Extraction Method deepened, Vaughn sometimes wondered what the materials he used to extract Traits had been like when they were alive. How had they come into being within Magical Creatures?

This even led him to a profound, scalp-tingling question:

How exactly had the first Wizard in this world come into existence? Were Magical Creatures the Source of Magic? If they were dissected and their Magic Power and bodies examined, could the answer be found directly?

Just thinking about it made him unable to suppress his interest!

After returning to the Slytherin Common Room, Vaughn excitedly recorded what he had seen and thought about that day in a diary.

The fragrance of knowledge and truth was so intoxicating. Surely Mr. Newt would support his cause?

Far away in Dorset, Newt, who was preparing fruit for a herd of Unicorns in the Basement, suddenly sneezed.

"Strange, could I have caught a cold?"

Tina snapped, "Maybe Dumbledore is going on about you again!"

Whether Newt had caught a cold was unclear, but the next day, a sudden influenza outbreak swept through Hogwarts.

Large numbers of Young Wizards, red-eyed and sniffling, lined up on the Second Floor of Hogwarts.

Based on previous years' experience, Madam Pomfrey made an accurate judgment and prepared a huge cauldron of Energy Potion in advance.

This potion was highly effective against influenza, but like all potions, in order to balance its Traits and complete the ritual, its auxiliary ingredients gave it a small side effect.

It made smoke come out of people's ears!

The moment Vaughn stepped into the Great Hall the next day, he saw a spectacular sight—

The little heads of several hundred Young Wizards looked like boiling teapots, puffing out steam.

The smoke enveloped the long tables of all four Houses.

Fred and George happily weaved through the crowd, using their Wands to turn the steam into all sorts of ridiculous shapes.

Even the professors at the teachers' table were not spared. Professor Flitwick's pointed ears, likely inherited from Goblins, produced a piercing whistle as smoke streamed from them due to their unusual structure.

"This is so interesting, Filius!" Dumbledore cried happily. He took a sip of Energy Potion as well, then covered his mouth and tried to imitate him.

Then Snape, seated between the two of them, became the unfortunate one. Billowing smoke completely obscured his face, leaving only those pitch-black eyes visible as they glared coldly and murderously at Dumbledore.

When Vaughn arrived at the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron were sneaking glances at Snape and snickering.

"Look, he wants to eat Dumbledore alive," Ron whispered. "What a shame the flu didn't go after that disgusting old bat."

Then he saw Vaughn sit across from him and point a finger at him. "Guoguo Tea, bring Scabbers to me!"

"Meow—"

Guoguo Tea, who had not had a toy in a long time, leaped excitedly onto the table and pounced on Ron as his face abruptly went pale.

"Don't catch Scabbers, you rotten cat... Help—"

Watching Ron scream as the "little kitty" pinned him to the floor, clutching his pocket as he fled in terror, Harry suddenly felt fortunate that he had just taken a sip of Pumpkin Juice and had not had time to badmouth Snape.

Hermione had caught a cold too.

White smoke drifted through her bushy hair from her ears, making one wonder whether she might actually be a steamer basket.

She hugged a hefty tome and leaned close to Vaughn, asking him about Transfiguration.

After receiving an answer, she hurriedly asked another question.

Vaughn had more talent for Transfiguration than she did, so he naturally learned faster. He also received extra instruction at Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Club, so answering her questions took little effort.

As he had said before, he was very patient with cute Young Girls.

"...During Transfiguration, firm willpower is important, Hermione. Or rather, every spell requires your emotions to be clear enough and strong enough."

"This does not mean you should keep your mind calm. That would actually have the opposite effect. What you need is only a limited degree of calmness. For example, when turning a button into a beetle, it is certainly important to analyze the button's structure and construct the beetle's structure in your mind, but you must also generate a powerful desire to succeed in the transformation. Keep repeating that thought. The stronger it is, the easier it will be to succeed."

Vaughn explained his own insights.

Magic in this world was simply that unreasonable. Its foundation was somewhat like wishing something into reality, similar to the manifestation known as "True Name" in some fantasy works from his previous life.

Magic was not a cold product that could be reduced to formulas. It was instead an emotional expression, which was why Wizards' feelings were so intense. Even if some Dark Wizards went mad, they could still cast Magic successfully.

As long as they did not have an emotional disorder!

But Vaughn believed that everything in the world had its own internal logic.

Even beneath seemingly chaotic appearances, there had to be objective laws governing their existence.

The only question was whether anyone would discover them.

This was another subject he had set for himself beyond Potions when he began planning his life years ago—

The essence and laws of Magic!

However, this subject was a little too grand and distant.

Of course, Hermione had no idea Vaughn harbored such lofty ambitions. For this studious girl, her greatest concern right now was still her schoolwork.

After asking question after question, Hermione hugged her book and looked at Vaughn hopefully. "Exams are coming soon. I feel like I still have many weaknesses. Vaughn, can I study with you often from now on?"

Before Vaughn could answer, Harry, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise beside them, could not help asking in surprise, "Exams are coming soon? Aren't they still far away?"

Hermione glared at him. "Still far away? We've already been in school for several weeks! With weekends deducted every month, and sleep deducted too, how much time do we actually have left for studying..."

Her torrent of words left Harry staring blankly. He only felt his leisurely time abruptly shrink as urgency crashed over him, as though wasting even one minute would make him grow old and die on the spot.

Even after breakfast, when he returned to the Gryffindor Common Room with Ron, he still had not recovered.

The disheveled Ron locked Scabbers in his cage. Seeing Scabbers trembling with fear, Ron said heartbrokenly, "That awful Vaughn, that awful Guoguo Tea. They scared so much fur off Scabbers again. My poor little guy will be tormented to death by them one day."

Then Ron sadly realized that he did not seem all that angry, as if he had already begun getting used to the life of being bullied alongside Scabbers.