The meeting in the West Tower lasted an entire day and finally ended late that night.
This was mainly because most of the morning had been wasted on Barty Crouch reading out the Ministry of Magic's opinions.
Overall, though, the meeting went smoothly, apart from the interruption Hagrid had brought.
After the meeting, Barty Crouch and Umbridge did not leave. Instead, McGonagall arranged for them to stay at Hogwarts.
As representatives of the International Exchange Department and the Ministry of Magic, they would participate throughout the Potions Exchange.
Walking down from the West Tower, Dumbledore warmly invited Vaughn, "My dear boy, would you like to come up for a cup of tea?
"I've been earnestly studying Chinese tea-making with Li."
Vaughn refused without a moment's hesitation. "Once you stop putting syrup in green tea, I might consider it."
"How can you bear to deprive a centenarian of his only pleasure?" Dumbledore looked deeply aggrieved.
Vaughn decided he had been mistaken. Perhaps Dumbledore really had learned a thing or two about "tea-making." He gave him a sidelong look. "Your only pleasure? What about those pink nightgowns? And bullying your dear Chosen One?"
"Er..." Dumbledore choked, then blinked. "You and I are accomplices!"
Vaughn pursed his lips, unwilling to argue with the old man. A strange spherical surface appeared behind him. He stepped backward and vanished into it.
Only after the sphere disappeared did the smile slowly fade from Dumbledore's face. He frowned thoughtfully.
During their conversation that morning, he had probed further into Vaughn's attitude toward China.
It was difficult to imagine how Vaughn, who had hardly ever left England, could know so much about Chinese culture and even have such an extensive command of the language.
If Dumbledore remembered correctly, passing through the South China Sea on the return journey