The way things developed left Hermione a little disappointed. Instead of studying Voldemort's blood further, Vaughn took out another bottle.
This bottle was filled with blood. It looked thick and bright red, and seemed even more active than Voldemort's blood.
Hermione gave Vaughn a strange look, wondering whether fighting Voldemort had affected her boyfriend somehow, or left him with some hidden aftereffect.
The old Vaughn had never made a habit of collecting all sorts of blood!
Noticing Hermione's peculiar look, Vaughn did not know whether to laugh or cry. "This bottle of blood is going to be the main focus of my research," he said with a touch of exasperation.
"Voldemort's blood will only serve as a reference."
Vaughn had never expected to figure out all the spells Voldemort had cast on himself-the ones that had left him neither human nor ghost-from a few drops of blood.
That simply was not realistic. It was true that his blood contained the power of dark magic and ancient magic, but that power was far too weak.
A Legendary Wizard was not a god, let alone some mythical creature. How much value could a few drops of blood really hold?
"We?" Hermione picked up on the key word in Vaughn's remarks, her eyes holding both confusion and anticipation.
Vaughn smiled and nodded. "That's right. This will be a special research project, with just you and me taking part." "Hmm-we might need to find a consultant as well, but not yet."
Hermione's eyes grew brighter and brighter. For all sorts of reasons, the time she and Vaughn could spend alone together had kept shrinking throughout this school year.
Now that the Potions Exchange was nearing its end and the plan targeting Voldemort had been brought to a decisive close, perhaps Vaughn would not be