In her view, Vaughn's words had naturally been nothing more than a joke.
So she did not linger on the topic and instead asked, "Will Mahoutokoro take part in the Potions exchange event?"
"They will. The Central Academy of Qi Refining is the hardest to win over. As long as they agree to join, all those schools with ambiguous attitudes will rush to come aboard—Mahoutokoro especially."
Cho Chang was very clever. With only a little thought, she understood that Vaughn was treating the Central Refining Academy like bait. The countries and schools that were curious about it, or afraid of it, would never dare let it have too easy a time.
This left Cho Chang feeling rather conflicted.
After pausing for a moment to compose herself, she slowly said, "An owl brought a letter from my father this evening. In it, he said he was very pessimistic about this event you're organizing, because your ambitions are too great. He also thinks you've underestimated the contradictions and conflicts between different schools."
Cho Chang came from a wizarding family, so her father was naturally a wizard as well. He had been following this matter ever since the Daily Prophet published news of Fudge and Dumbledore negotiating with China at the start of term.
Clearly, he was not a supporter of the Potions event.
"My father said that the Central Refining Academy and Mahoutokoro could never coexist peacefully—Mahoutokoro especially!"
Vaughn merely smiled and asked in return, "Why should I care about them?"
"Hm?"
"Quite a few people have raised the same concern with me today. During the Wizengamot hearing, some old wizards who had lived through wars asked me the very same question."
"But you're all mistaken about one thing. The event I'm holding is a Potions exchange. We're here to conduct research,