He looked curiously at the enormous steel ocean liner in the distance. "So this ship was built by wizards?"
"Yes, at least sixty percent of it was wizard-made." The white-haired executive committee member smiled as he spoke. "But once it was finished, the Muggles regretted it."
"Why?"
The white-haired executive committee member blinked. "Because there are traces of magic everywhere aboard it—self-closing lavatories, brooms that sweep on their own, ghost dancers invited to entertain the passengers... The Muggles couldn't understand the wizards' good intentions. They thought the ship was haunted. Hahaha!" (The real Queen Mary had long since been retired; only its name was borrowed here.)
Lupin laughed as well.
At the same time, he understood that this white-haired executive committee member was probably another person hoping to side with Vaughn.
How did that saying go again?
How could two unfamiliar wizards quickly grow closer?
By complaining about Muggles together, of course!
Vaughn understood it too. He withdrew his gaze and looked at the executive committee member following carefully at his side, his smile warm and gentle. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Oliver Yaxley?"
"Yes, Chairman."
The executive committee member named Oliver Yaxley smiled even more deferentially. As if mentioning it casually, he said, "My great-aunt is Lysandra Yaxley."
Lupin had no idea what that name meant.
But Vaughn understood the moment he heard it. This was a "relative"!
Lysandra Yaxley had married Arcturus Black II, and they had three daughters. One of them, Cedrella, married Septimus Weasley, and they had a son named Arthur Weasley...
Among pure-blood families, connections could always be traced through such winding turns.
Vaughn had long grown used to it. He nodded knowingly, then naturally accepted the man into his circle. "By seniority, I should call you Uncle..."
"No, Chairman. Just call me Oliver."