Chapter 103 Weasley Electric Company: The Change Begins
As Fred continued to wave his wands, they stretched and extended in the air, gradually shaping into regular, flat strips.
On the other side, George used the same incantation to suspend the mithril mercury mixture in mid-air. As a liquid metal, the strong surface tension of the mithril mercury mixture allowed it to naturally transform into a sphere with almost no manipulation.
After Fred molded the gelatinous substance into a rubber strip, the twins exchanged a glance:
"Are you ready, George?"
"Ready, Fred!"
"Let's begin!"
The two shouted, their eyes wide, staring intently at the rubber strip and the spherical mithril mercury in mid-air, and swung their wands forcefully.
Because of the excessive force, their faces turned bright red, and their cross-legged posture even became somewhat deformed, with their buttocks slightly raised.
Hermione couldn't help but cover her mouth, afraid she would burst out laughing, because what she was seeing was simply too much to bear—the twins' faces were flushed, their buttocks raised, and the posture was far too undignified.
The two continued to wave their wands frantically, but did not cast any spells.
The girl regretted not bringing the camera from home, and she decided that she would definitely remember to bring it when she was in second grade!
Hermione was actually a little disappointed. She was very smart, and although Vaughn hadn't explicitly said anything about her feelings, she had guessed that she didn't seem to have any talent for alchemy.
Because she can't see the symbols.
She knew that Fred and George were definitely using alchemy now, and the reason she felt their postures were strange was because she couldn't see them.
And Vaughn, who was next to her, could obviously see it.
Hermione looked up at Vaughn, who had suddenly grown taller recently, and was still staring intently at the twins. She asked in a low voice, "How is it?"
"It's tough," Vaughn replied, "but the symbols are collapsing, so progress is going relatively smoothly."
In Vaughn's vision, as the twins used alchemy, the light spots surrounding their bodies, which were strangely lacking in spatial sense and had no "sphere" shape at all, but were only "round" in shape, trembled and gradually collapsed towards the center.
They eventually converged into a ball of light within the two individuals.
With his limited knowledge of alchemy, Vaughn didn't know how it was done; perhaps it was the flow of magic, or some kind of alchemical technique.
In short, the light flowed like a babbling brook from their abdomens to their arms, through their wands, and finally into the rubber strip and mithril mercury, respectively.
When the light was fully injected and the "circle" reappeared on the surface of the rubber strip and mithril, the twins gasped for breath, finally relieved.
But the two of them still dared not delay, because there was one last step.
Fred and George continued waving their wands, and with their incantations, the rubber strip curled inward, while the mithril mercury suddenly split into many small balls the size of soybeans.
Hermione was finally able to see this scene, but to her dismay, when Fred waved his wand again and the mithril mercury balls stretched and deformed as if preparing to outline symbols, even the mithril mercury disappeared from her sight.
She finally understood why Fred hadn't shown her the symbols... because they were useless!
All she saw was that the rubber strip controlled by George curled into a cylindrical shape, and then, as if it had hit something, something invisible began to merge into it. The originally pure white rubber strip suddenly showed a faint gold color, as if it had been painted with gold paint.
Vaughn, who had been watching silently, raised his hand.
The silent, weaponless levitation spell grabbed the wires from the ground. The twins, already exhausted and pale, nodded to their younger brother and controlled the newly created insulation layer to cover the wires, wrapping, joining, and cutting them.
Finally, a roughly 30-inch-long wire, its surface shimmering with a pale golden hue, fell to the ground.
The twins were already panting heavily. George lay down directly on the floor, while Fred still had some energy. He rummaged through his and George's bags and pulled out a small diesel generator and connectors, handing them to Vaughn: "This is what you provided to us back then. We've modified it using the same method. Vaughn, you can try it yourself. George and I really can't do it anymore!"
Looking at their exhausted appearance, Vaughn asked, "Did you use magic to complete the alchemy at the end?"
This kind of exhaustion is usually a consequence of excessive magic consumption.
"Of course, alchemy is magic too, my foolish brother!" George retorted helplessly.
"How dare you! How can you talk to the boss like that?" Fred "reprimanded," then chuckled, "We're counting on the boss's satisfaction to support our business!"
Upon hearing this, Vaughn, who was helping Hermione, who was feeling a bit down, to connect the generator and light bulbs, said, "Don't worry, if the experiment goes smoothly, I'll provide you with the funds to open a magic trick shop."
The twins exchanged a glance.
George, who had been complaining, grinned obsequiously, "Well, dear brother, we don't want to run the magic trick shop anymore, but of course, we'll still make some prank props for fun every now and then..."
Vaughn, who was on the line, glanced at them but didn't stop.
"You said back then that once we figured out a way to solve the problem of magic interfering with electricity, we wouldn't want to go back to Magic Tricks Studio... You really are our genius brother, you were absolutely right!"
"Nonsense, a monster like you dares to dream of understanding the mind of a genius?"
"Your way of flattering is too blatant, Fred. It's not elegant at all. Unlike me, I keep my admiration and respect for my brother completely in my heart!"
"you..."
While the twins were bickering, Vaughn and Hermione had already connected the wires. Vaughn gently pressed the start button, and the generator roared to life.
He and Hermione stared intently at the electric light, while the twins on the other side stopped bickering.
Four pairs of eyes watched as the generator's tracks began to spin rapidly, and the motor, covered in a layer of golden rubber, began to tremble.
Suddenly, the golden wire vibrated and emitted a faint magical halo, like the aurora borealis.
At the other end of the wire, the lonely light bulb flickered a few times.
The next moment, a dim yellow light shone in the Room of Requirement, where a brazier and torches were placed for illumination!
Gazing at the light, so different from the magical flames, Fred murmured, "Vaughn, you were right, we've found a greater pursuit..."
While Vaughn and his team were conducting experiments in the Room of Requirement.
The principal's office is also on the eighth floor, located at the end of the corridor, and can only be reached by a staircase.
Dumbledore was instructing Snape: "Severus, you need to find a way to pressure Quirinus, create a sense of urgency in him, and make him enter the facility at the time we've agreed upon... Most importantly, make sure Harry finds out about all this!"
Snape's face fell, looking displeased. "Excuse me for being blunt, Dumbledore, although I thought Quirrell was a fool back in school, especially a few months ago when he failed at his Halloween heist and was stopped by Potter, Granger, and Vaughn, and he still dared to stay, which amazed me with his stupidity, but..."
He emphasized, "However, I think as long as you're in school, he can't take any more risks. After that, the Master... the Mysterious Man tormented him for a long time... the Mysterious Man is down on his luck now, but undeniably, he's still cunning, clever, and vigilant!"
"For at least the past few months, I haven't been able to find out how he managed to keep his life afloat... even though you and Vaughn have already taken all the unicorns away."
Snape looked somewhat confused when this was mentioned.
Investigating how Voldemort sustains his life has been the focus of his work for the past few months. Theoretically, Voldemort's choice to drink unicorn blood suggests that unicorn blood may be the only way.
However, in the past few months, Snape has not found any unusual transactions involving unicorn blood, whether in the open Knockturn Alley or the underground districts. Unicorn blood is cursed and has a very limited scope of use. In addition, unicorns are rare and are considered a rare commodity in the entire wizarding world.
If someone buys these products frequently, given his status as a potion master and his connections, it's impossible that he wouldn't be able to investigate.
Dumbledore's deep blue eyes, observing the confusion and anxiety in Severus's expression, suddenly led him to ask, "Severus, don't you want Tom to be resurrected?"
Snape said impatiently, "Of course not, nobody wants him back..."
"No, you are different, Severus." Dumbledore interrupted his explanation, his expression calm: "I've noticed that you've always retained the Dark Mark, and you've never given up your admiration and identification with Tom, but you don't want him to be resurrected… because you know that Tom will definitely hurt Harry!"
In the corner, Snape instinctively took a step back, hiding his arms and face where the candlelight couldn't reach.
It was as if this would allow him to continue keeping his secret.
An unspoken silence filled the air.
After a long while, Snape's indifferent, almost venomous voice, like the slithering of a viper, finally came from the darkness: "I don't have time to play your boring emotional counseling games. If you have nothing else to say, please allow me to take my leave. My time is precious!"
Dumbledore's eyes, as blue and distant as the sky, were fixed on Snape for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.
The previously heavy atmosphere suddenly lightened.
He laughed heartily: "Just kidding, dear Severus, why take it so seriously? Okay, let's get back to the previous topic."
"Of course I know how cunning Tom is, so I will use a reasonable excuse to disappear from 'Hogwarts' for a while."
"What reason?"
"Some time ago, the International Wizarding Federation sent an invitation letter to Vaughn to visit North America for academic purposes. They also wanted to discuss the proposal to establish a North American branch of the Werewolf Affairs Committee. Vaughn and I have temporarily put this matter aside."
As he spoke, Dumbledore blinked: "However, since it is an important international invitation, we can't just keep not responding. Mr. Vaughn Weasley plans to formally contact the North American side through official channels in a while. It would seem quite reasonable for me, as the headmaster, to accompany him!"
Snape's face twitched; the old man always had a way of tricking people.
However, upon closer examination, this reason is indeed reasonable.
It's rare for Hogwarts to produce a student with international renown, so the headmaster will definitely accompany him throughout the process, and the official correspondence will not lack media coverage.
In this way, one can keep track of Dumbledore's movements simply by reading the newspaper every day.
Even if the mysterious person is very cautious, they will most likely put aside their suspicions.
But he couldn't help but question, "Then how are you and Vaughn going to get back...?"
As soon as he spoke, Snape felt a pair of burning eyes staring at him. He looked in that direction and saw an ugly bird that looked like a chicken staring at him with wide eyes next to Dumbledore's huge desk.
Dumbledore smiled and said, "You should know your former master, Severus. He was a genius, but it was precisely because he was too genius that he became arrogant. He looked down on everyone except himself and me, let alone magical creatures."
"Tom probably never imagined that Hogwarts' Anti-Apparition Charm would be ineffective against magical creatures."
Snape fell silent again.
Based on his understanding of the mysterious man, it was clear that the mysterious man was not only unable to think of it.
Even if such a thing is discovered, the other party will not use the magic of magical creatures.
Tom Riddle's pride in bloodlines and wizardry is an obsession that is hard for ordinary people to understand. In a sense, he can be called the most persistent person in the world in upholding the purity of wizardry.
In his view, only wizards deserved to possess magic; anything else was heresy.
After a moment of silence, Snape nodded and asked the same question Vaughn had asked not long ago: "I understand. What is the specific date of the plan?"
"Two weeks from now would be a good time. By then, the setup will be complete, and the students and professors will be in the busiest phase of the semester, everyone will be like a tightly wound spring. Most importantly, after Harry finishes his challenge, he will still have plenty of time to enjoy the fun of learning... Severus, you must have prepared a sumptuous after-school meal for him!"
At this moment, Snape, who had been keeping a straight face, finally showed a slight smile.
Just as he was about to share his plans for Harry's studies with Dumbledore, he saw Dumbledore suddenly look up.
Those deep blue eyes shone with a bright light.
It was as if one could pierce through the heavy doors and magical protection of the office and look directly into some unknown place.
"Dumbledore?"
"Ah..." Dumbledore snapped out of his daze, the light in his eyes dimming. "What did you say, Severus?"
Snape asked in confusion, "What did you just see?"
Dumbledore didn't answer immediately. After a moment's thought, he replied in an uncertain tone, "Light... the light produced by the collision of two completely different civilizations. It's very faint, but it seems to contain some possibilities..."
Snape: "...Speak like a human being!"
Dumbledore regained his composure and smiled: "I'm sorry, Severus, that's the most human way I can think of."
In the process of solving the problem of magical interference with electricity, the twins gained a deeper understanding of electricity, an energy source that has permeated the history of modern Muggle technology.
And the technologies that Muggles have developed over the centuries based on electricity.
This greatly broadened their horizons.
The perspective on Muggle items is no longer superficial; instead, people are beginning to try to set aside their wizarding mindset and understand more deeply from a Muggle perspective: what principles a Muggle technology product applies, what functions it achieves, and why it was developed.
The feeling of first encountering a new field is so fascinating that the twins no longer want to run their beloved magic trick workshop and are now obsessed with electricity and mechanics.
This was originally Vaughn's goal as well.
He always understood that beneath Fred and George's mischievous exterior lay not playfulness, but rather a strong curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
However, the two did not receive proper guidance in the past—Arthur and Molly were undoubtedly successful parents in terms of interpersonal skills and moral education.
However, they are not very good at guiding their children's learning, or rather, with more and more children, their energy is inevitably scattered.
The older children, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, were alright, but starting with the twins, they were already somewhat left to their own devices, and Ron was simply a poor student.
To change Fred and George's future, they can't be allowed to continue down the same old path. Vaughn has no prejudice against making prank gadgets; in peacetime, it's a skill that can make a living.
The problem is, the future is not peaceful.
Having lived two lives, Vaughn knew very well that teenagers were at their most rebellious, and forceful intervention and change would often only have the opposite effect.
That's why he deliberately concealed the news that the school was going to crack down on truancy and sugar, watching the twins fall into a deep pit and accumulate huge debts. Then, step by step, he guided them to use their curiosity and thirst for knowledge in the places he had planned!
Like right now.
"Vaughn, what do you think about George and I starting a Weasley Electric Company?"
"Producing electricity?"
"Magic electricity!" Fred emphasized seriously, highlighting the selling point concisely. "Of course, the current products may only include things that are easy to modify, such as wires and lights."
Vaughn remained noncommittal, only saying, "So, how are you going to price it? I just noticed that you used about 4 ounces of mithril powder to modify a 30-inch section of wire. If I remember correctly, mithril powder is currently 20 gallons per ounce."
a bolt from the blue!
The twins were completely stunned.
Vaughn didn't directly reject the idea, but simply shook his head: "If you really want to start an electric company, then your technology needs further improvement. You need to reduce the amount of mithril powder you use, or find a cheaper alternative. Otherwise, with a 1-inch wire costing nearly 3 galleons, no wizard can afford it!"
With just one sentence, the twins were devastated, their faces turning ashen, a sight that even Hermione found hard to bear.
Noticing that she wanted to speak, Vaughn shook his head slightly at her.
Hermione had no choice but to hold back as Vaughn continued to "attack" the twins: "But I'm rather pessimistic about finding a substitute. I believe you've tested all the materials I provided. If there were other options, you wouldn't have thought of using mithril. After all, even if you don't know the price, you should know that it's a very precious magical metal."
Upon hearing this, Fred hung his head dejectedly: "Yes... we initially wanted to try to reduce the effects of magic, but later found it wasn't ideal. We accidentally tested mithril, which led to our current approach."
George, however, took a different approach. He stared blankly at the generator and wires, which were covered in mithril-mercury rubber, and asked in a trembling voice, "One ounce of mithril powder costs 20 gallons... Vaughn, what is the total price of the experimental materials you provided us?"
Vaughn the Rich Weasley said calmly, "It's 2,000 Galleons in total. It would probably take me months to earn that much just by selling potions."
Then, he changed the subject, "Of course, that was the price of my potions before. Since I developed the Wolfsbane Potion and obtained the 2nd level Merlin Medal, the potion shops I cooperate with have taken the opportunity to raise the price of my products. Now it only takes a little over a month."
"Well!!!"
George clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
Fred, standing beside him, was ashen-faced: "...So, we've burned over 1,000 Galleons of yours during this time?"
"To be precise, everything that was already provided to you has been burned by you!"
"Then... then let me ask, is this money something you provided to us free of charge, or a loan, or an investment?"
Vaughn smiled and countered, "What do you think?"
What else could you think?
Fred wanted to shamelessly ask for it to be free, but knowing his brother as he did, the other party was at most making an investment; free? Don't even dream about it!
The twins looked at each other, on the verge of tears.
They knew Vaughn's money was hard to come by; 2,000 Galleons, if considered a loan, would probably be something they could never repay in their lifetime at the current rate.
If we're talking about investment... that's even more terrifying. In the end, will Weasley Electric Company be owned by Weasley or... wait a minute?
Oh, so they all share the surname Weasley. Never mind then!
The naturally optimistic twins started behaving themselves again.
They fawned over Vaughn, massaging his shoulders and feet.
"My dear brother, we know you would never push your older brother to his death. The wires are expensive and can't be sold, but you must have a way to make them useful."
"That's right, everyone knows that in the Weasley family, only our dear Vaughn is the smartest. Fred and George are just baboons who've never seen a tiger!"
"Yes, yes, Percy is even worse, he's not even worthy of carrying your shoes!"
Enjoying the twins' attentiveness, Vaughn automatically ignored their "petty" behavior of always trying to flatter Percy, and after hanging on for a while, he finally took out a few things from his bag.
"Your technology is too expensive to be used in electrical wires, mainly because electrical wires are used in large quantities. However, if it is used in electronic products, it can significantly reduce secondary costs!"
Fred and George, who were massaging each other's shoulders and feet, peered curiously at the machine Vaughn pulled out: "What is this?"
Before Vaughn could answer, Hermione recognized it: "A V8 cassette player? A home projector?"
Seeing the twins' confusion, Hermione quickly explained the abilities she knew to them.
Upon hearing the concept of video recording, the twins looked puzzled: "Isn't it just a moving picture? What's so special about that? We've both learned how to mix developing solutions. We can make any photograph move."
"It's different!" Hermione exclaimed seriously. "Photos in the wizarding world only move for a few seconds, while these Muggle electronic devices…"
She turned on the V8 camera, took out a cassette tape, pointed to the small box, and said, "One tape like this can store 60 minutes of video. Just a dozen or so tapes are enough to record your entire day's life and experiences. Then, using the projector next to it, you can show it to 10 or 100 people. You can also make copies..."
The twins gradually understood: this is what Muggle movies use!
But they still couldn't imagine where this kind of thing would sell. Who would want to see what a stranger did in a day? Were they trying to trick people into making Muggle movies?
It wasn't until Vaughn pointed out, "You can start by finding a small goal to try and get everyone to accept it. For example, in a week, there will be the last Quidditch game of the semester. This important moment will determine whether Gryffindor or Slytherin will win the championship this year. Not only students care about it, but many parents and even graduating seniors are also concerned."
"But it's hard for them to come back specifically to watch. If you can set up the equipment and film it... then you'll have no trouble selling the videotapes and projectors. With this demonstration, why worry about no one trying it?"
bite!
These words were like a wake-up call; the twins' eyes lit up instantly!
......…
"In a week, or to be precise, in eight days, it will be the day of the competition. Friends, it's the most important competition, it's about all the sweat and effort we've put in throughout the year, and it touches the hearts of every Gryffindor!"
Early in the morning, Hermione was carrying books to the library when she passed by the courtyard and saw Wood standing on the platform of the courtyard fountain, shouting to the team members below, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
Unfortunately, his teammates weren't very accommodating.
Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson were whispering to each other, seemingly discussing something girly. Harry stared blankly at the Ravenclaws on the other side of the courtyard, as if his soul had been stolen away.
Arya Spinnet was looking at Wood, but Hermione felt there was something wrong with the way she was staring at Wood's head.
Given that she was a ball chaser, Hermione dared not think too much about it.
The twins went even further; they simply huddled together by the fountain, using the steps as a desk, discussing things with each other while scribbling and drawing in their notebooks.
Upon seeing Hermione, the twins immediately abandoned Wood and the rest of the team, rushing over to stop her:
"Hermione, we were just about to come find you in a bit!"
"Come on, help us check if this circuit diagram is correct? Muggle cameras may look unassuming, but they're really complicated!"
"Yes, yes, Hermione, you're Muggle-born, so you definitely know more than us. Help us out."
Hermione was speechless: "Fred, George, not all Muggles understand Muggle technology..."
The twins were very puzzled: "But all wizards have magic!"
"..."
Although it was a fallacy, it sounded really reasonable, and Hermione couldn't think of a way to refute it for a moment.
It took Hermione quite a while to finally make the twins understand that Muggle technology, like the sciences of magic, also has specialized sub-disciplines.
The twins were a little disappointed, but they still didn't let Hermione off the hook. At least Hermione had actually used the camera and projector and was familiar with their functions, so the two begged her to help them use them.
He then said he was about to follow Hermione to the library.
"Weren't you in a meeting? Wood has been glaring at you ever since, he looks furious!"
The twins nonchalantly said, "Never mind him, he's been driven crazy by OWLs lately (Wood was in fifth grade when Harry was in first grade)."
"Why do you think he called us to the courtyard for a meeting so early in the morning?"
"Oliver Wood, this guy actually thinks he can have super training every day for the next week. Does he think we don't know? He just wants to skip class!"
"Did you see Spinnett's eyes? She wanted nothing more than to rip Wood's head off and use it as a Quaffle!"
Hermione was speechless; she had initially felt some sympathy for Wood.
Dazed and confused, Hermione followed the twins away, still able to hear Wood shouting, "Friends, my dear comrades, I implore you not to be influenced by those two Weasleys, they have fallen into depravity..."
Then, Angelina Johnson, unable to contain herself any longer, yelled, "Shut up, Harry, Arya, grab his legs!"
As Hermione turned the corner of the courtyard veranda, her last glance revealed Wood, the goalkeeper who wasn't particularly tall or strong, being held by the neck like a little chick by Angelina, the Chaser, while Arya and Harry clung to his legs.
They laughed and cheered as they threw Wood into the fountain...
That was perhaps one of the few times in recent times that they could laugh heartily and easily.
Although Wood's motives were not pure, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was actually under a lot of pressure. Slytherin was currently leading in total points and was much more relaxed. Even if they lost the last game, the final result would still be uncertain under the total points-based system.
In contrast, Gryffindor simply cannot afford to lose; they need to win by a large margin to secure victory.
As longtime rivals, the Gryffindors know best how difficult Slytherin is. What's most worrying is that recently, Vaughn, whom the Gryffindors consider a major threat, has also started to frequently participate in Slytherin's special training sessions.
I spent more than two hours this morning explaining in detail the various functions of the camera and projector to the twins.
In the afternoon, Hermione appeared at the Quidditch pitch to cheer on the Slytherins.
She sat in the Ravenclaw stands, her eyes glued to Vaughn as he flew at high speed through the air, her hands clenched tightly to her chest, gripping her robes tightly, and occasionally letting out a gasp like the other girls around her at Vaughn's dangerous maneuvers.
This greatly displeased Ron, who had sneaked over with Harry and Wood to "spy on the situation":
"Which side is she on?"
Madam Pomfrey's medical skills were always a source of both love and hate for the young wizards. They loved her medical authority, and every professor accepted the sick leave certificates she wrote.
They resented that her medical skills were too good; as long as it wasn't a life-threatening serious illness, she could cure it very quickly.
Ron, who was electrocuted, only stayed one night at the school hospital. After the effects of the relaxant wore off, he was kicked out of the hospital by Madam Pomfrey. Yes, he was only allowed to stay one night because of the strong effects of the relaxant. The damage caused by the electrocution itself was cured by Madam Pomfrey with a bottle of White Dictamnus Essence.
Ron didn't actually want to be discharged from the hospital.
The reason he stubbornly followed Harry and Wood to spy on military intelligence in the afternoon was because he didn't want to go back to Gryffindor Tower.
Starting this morning, some scoundrel spread the word that everyone is jokingly calling him "Out-of-Control Warrior" or "Jet Hero" whenever they see him...
There is no friendliness whatsoever in the relationships between people.
That's so vicious!
Ron simply couldn't stay in that kind of environment.
Wood sniffed uncomfortably. He couldn't help it; having heard the same rumors, he couldn't help but feel that there was something strange about the air whenever he saw Ron. So, there was always a Harry between him and Ron.
However, he agreed with Ron's dissatisfaction. He said seriously, "Granger's stance is indeed very problematic. This morning she even instigated Fred and George to study Muggle stuff. Her intentions are very impure, aren't they, Harry?"
After waiting a while and not hearing Harry's reply, Wood looked over and found Harry staring blankly at the stands: "Harry?"
"ah?"
"What are you looking at? You're drooling."
Harry's face flushed red, and he hurriedly wiped his mouth: "No, nothing, I was just spacing out..."
Wood and Ron, who had never been in a relationship, naturally wouldn't notice that Harry's gaze was constantly fixed on an Asian girl in the stands.
Wood repeated what he had just said seriously, and said to Harry with concern, "Harry, do you know what the Weasley twins and Granger are doing? I'm very worried about their condition. You, and Ron, you are their friends and family. If you have time, please ask them and try to persuade them."
"Harry, this is our best chance yet, I really want to win!"
Hearing Wood's words, Harry looked at the Ravenclaw stands again, at the Asian girl who was staring intently at Vaughn's figure.
He just felt uneasy.
Not only does Wood want to win, he also... really wants to win!
Harry seemed distracted all afternoon, but he kept Wood's instructions in mind and prepared to persuade the twins, who were up to something again.
In the evening, Harry, who had spent half the day wandering around Hogwarts alone—Ron had run away to Hagrid's Cottage—finally found Fred and George in the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
I have to thank Guoguo Tea.
As he passed by the second floor, he happened to see Guoguo Tea taking a walk.
Harry had already witnessed how clever Fruit Tea was last year, so he tried asking Fruit Tea to help him find someone. Not long after he left the second floor, he saw Filch, that annoying cat, and Mrs. Lorris came looking for him.
Mrs. Lorris was very aloof and dismissive of his dried fish, but unlike before, she didn't let out a chilling scream when she saw him. Instead, she led the way.
Harry followed Mrs. Lorris to the eighth floor and saw a doorknob appear on the wall opposite the tapestry of the trolls beating Barnabas. He realized that Fred and George were hiding in the Room of Requirement.
I knocked on the door, and sure enough, one of the twins opened it.
He was startled to see Mrs. Lorris squatting in front of the door.
Seeing Harry, she breathed a slight sigh of relief: "You scared me to death! I thought it was Filch, that Squib, coming after me."
"A dud?"
He casually explained the meaning of Squibs to Harry, a wizarding novice and academic underachiever, and then pulled Harry inside: "You've come at the right time. We were just looking for you. Come and help us test the machine. After that, we need to talk to you about our collaboration."
"Machinery? Testing? Collaboration?"
Harry, his head full of questions, was dragged into the Room of Requirement.
The room inside was neither the training ground Harry was familiar with, nor Vaughn's favorite study, but an empty classroom.
At this moment, the center of the classroom was filled with parts and instruments. A machine was emitting black smoke and making a roaring sound. Many golden wires were connected to it, and the other end was connected to other instruments.
In the farthest distance, there was a huge curtain, taut with a frame, that looked like it was made of metal.
About 10 feet away, directly opposite the screen, the other twin was fiddling with a strange-looking machine, asking without turning his head:
"Who is George?"
"It's Harry, Fred. We were just saying we wanted to invite him."
Upon hearing this, Fred immediately looked up at Harry expectantly: "Harry, this is truly a gift of fate. We were just about to come find you tonight... But let's not talk about that now. Come on, help us test the filming."
Harry looked completely bewildered: "Filming?"
To his surprise, Fred and George were even more astonished: "You don't recognize these things? Cameras? Projectors? Hermione knew exactly what they were, but you...?"
Camera? Projector?
Harry, who was excluded from the Dursleys' household from a young age and had no chance of participating in family entertainment, only occasionally heard the term on television.
He stared wide-eyed at the strange-looking instruments and lights in front of him... Wait a minute!
Harry suddenly noticed something he had just overlooked. He looked at the lights on the instruments, the scattered light bulbs around him, and the machine belching black smoke and making a loud noise, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Electricity! You guys made electricity at Hogwarts?"
Even the worst student, when he enrolled last year and discovered that Hogwarts was still using torches and braziers for lighting, Harry asked why they didn't use electric lights.
And he learned from Ron—Ron said he also learned it from Vaughn—that Hogwarts magic interferes with electricity.
Harry had originally thought that he would spend his seven years of school life surrounded by old-fashioned torches and braziers!
Seeing the long-lost electric lights, Harry was so excited he almost forgot his purpose, but thankfully he remembered:
"You've been doing this lately? No wonder Wood said you're not focused on training at all. Let me give you some advice."
The twins exchanged a glance and shook their heads: "Compared to what we're doing now, none of that matters. Since you don't recognize these things, let me show you."
As they spoke, they picked up a small machine from the ground and pointed it at Harry.
"Look here, Harry."
Harry, who knew nothing about the machine, did as the twins instructed, striking a few poses. After a while, the twins stopped, turned on the small machine, and took out a cassette tape.
"The footage we just shot didn't turn out very well."
"Yeah, I didn't expect that someone who grew up in Muggle society would have no knowledge of Muggle technology at all. He filmed like a complete idiot."
"It doesn't matter, we're just testing it out now."
"Actually, I think it's quite meaningful. For example, we could give it a name like 'The Savior's Foolish Moment,' which should attract attention."
"Wow, you're a genius, George!"
Harry had a bad feeling, but he couldn't figure out what the problem was.
He stared blankly as Fred put the tape into the machine facing the screen.
Soon, as Fred turned the roller-like structure on the machine, a beam of light shot out from the machine and shone on the silver-gray screen 10 feet away.
Then, to Harry's surprise and embarrassment, he saw himself on the screen, looking blank and like a fool.
But along with it comes a sense of novelty.
This was the first time he had seen himself from another angle, not in a photograph or a mirror, but with the same quality as when he had once glanced at a television and seen a movie theater scene on TV.
Whether watching a movie or appearing in a "movie," this is Harry's first time!
After watching for a while, he looked at the twins: "Is this... a movie?"
The twins nodded repeatedly: "You could say that."
"See, Harry? Wood has no idea how great the things we're doing are. We're bringing technology into the wizarding world, so that wizards can also enjoy the benefits and convenience of technology."
"That's right, we've decided to film the entire Quidditch match a week from now and distribute the footage to every household so everyone can see Gryffindor's prowess!"
"It also lets everyone see how Harry Potter, the savior of the wizarding world, turns the tide and directly conveys your glorious image to people's eyes and hearts."
"So, Harry, how about we team up?"
Harry was bewildered and blushing, his breathing becoming heavy as he seemed to connect the dots. He no longer cared about Wood's instructions and simply asked, his face still red, "You mean you're planning to collaborate and film me? Like the main character in a movie?"
Chapter 104 "Ether" and an Initial Exploration of Alchemy
That night, Harry returned to the Gryffindor Tower, his face glowing.
He told Ron, who had been waiting for him, about Fred and George's plan to film next week's Quidditch game, and said, "They want me to be the lead. You know what a lead is, Ron? It's the guy with the most screen time..."
Ron had been taken to the movies by Vaughn when he was very young—though it was thanks to Ginny—so he certainly knew what "the movie's protagonist" meant.
Looking at Harry's flushed face, he felt as if he'd been doused with a bucket of lemon juice, and said in a sour, dry voice, "Congratulations, Harry."
Harry said modestly, "It's nothing special, and it's a lot of trouble. Fred and George want to put a camera on my broom, but I'm still hesitant because I'm worried it will affect my flight."
puff!
Ron felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest, and suddenly noticed that Harry's glasses were reflecting light so brightly that he couldn't look directly at them.
He couldn't help but ask maliciously, "So, how are you going to explain this to Wood? You promised him you'd persuade Fred and George to focus on Quidditch, but you've gotten yourself involved."
Harry wasn't in a hurry.
"Don't worry, we're working on persuading Wood to cooperate. In a movie, there are always supporting characters as well as main characters, right?"
Hearing this, Ron felt his mouth start to ache and suddenly lost the desire to chat. He muttered, "Well, I wish you all the best. Harry, it's getting late, I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep now."
Immersed in his excitement, Harry didn't notice his friend's strange behavior. There were always a few days each month when Ron would act a little unusual, and he was used to it.
Lying in bed, Harry thought about the filming equipment he had seen that day, and the bright prospects the twins had described.
Another sleepless night.
Meanwhile, Ron, who was in the bed next to him and claimed to be very sleepy, was actually suffering from insomnia.
Envy and jealousy were like bothersome mosquitoes, keeping him restless and unable to find peace. Including today, a question has been troubling him for many years.
Why are there always people around him who highlight how incompetent he is?
hateful!
The next day, Ron realized that his jealousy from the previous night had been troubling him for far too long, as he walked out of the Gryffindor Tower and into the Quidditch pitch with dark circles under his eyes that were almost identical to Harry's.
While he watched with schadenfreude as Harry and the twins tried to persuade Wood, anticipating how Wood would resist and reprimand them.
Ron was surprised to find that they had actually convinced Wood...
There's really nothing strange about that. Harry is the most important person on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the core of the team in Wood's eyes, and the talented Seeker he waited four years for.
As long as Harry insists, he's willing to do anything to keep the team's darling Wood in check!
Otherwise, why would the usually shrewd Fred and George think of recruiting Harry and even promising him a leading role?
Their purpose wasn't just to create hype by using Harry's "savior" title, but also because Harry himself was very useful at Hogwarts.
It can be used not only to persuade Wood, but also to persuade the professor!
On this day, Ron witnessed firsthand the amazing feats of his two older brothers, who led Harry to first capture Wood, and then Madam Hooch (the flying professor and Quidditch referee) and Professor McGonagall.
In the evening, under the supervision of Mrs. Hodge and Professor McGonagall, the twins began to try to install cameras on the flying broom.
"This is an innovation, team members..." Professor McGonagall announced to the Gryffindor team members on the field. She glanced at Ron on the sidelines and added, "...and the students watching, the two Weasleys will record the entire match using instruments mounted on their brooms. According to their plan, this will leave valuable video footage of next week's match."
"If we win, it's an honor for us; if we lose, it allows us to clearly see what mistakes we made on the field and what we can improve. So, I hope everyone can get used to the existence of these little instruments as soon as possible."
This is a scam!
Ron, standing on the sidelines, was screaming inside!
Yesterday Harry clearly said that Fred and George were planning to make a movie and then sell it!
But the professor clearly couldn't hear his inner voice. After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she gave the twins a relieved smile—she had always worried that the two children would go astray and become the next Joko Widodo.
So in the afternoon, when they brought out the modified Muggle camera, she was a little angry.
But after they finished explaining their ideas, and with Harry adding further explanations, Professor McGonagall immediately gave her the nod and agreed.
What wonderful children! Not only have they returned to the right path, but they have also used their wisdom to contribute to the Quidditch cause in Gryffindor!
Of course, not everyone agrees with the twins' idea.
For example, Aria Spinnett protested, "Professor, this is unfair. These things could affect our flight, and putting them on our brooms will put us at a disadvantage in the competition!"
"Don't worry, Miss Spinnet," Professor McGonagall reassured her. "I'll go see Professor Snape in a bit and discuss with him about installing these devices on the Slytherin team as well. If Professor Snape doesn't agree, then I won't force Gryffindor to install them!"
Spinnett reluctantly agreed.
In her opinion, Snape, that cold-hearted old bat, would never agree to such a thing.
But the truth is, she is still too young!
Snape wasn't really interested in cameras, but he knew that Vaughn had supported the development of these devices, and more importantly, he was very confident that Slytherin, led by Vaughn, would defeat Gryffindor.
So that evening, when faced with Professor McGonagall's request, he readily agreed, and even suggested:
"The match footage must be made available to the public. I suggest the school rent a shop in Diagon Alley and broadcast the match 24 hours a day, so that all wizards can see our famous Harry Potter!"
The proposal was too outrageous and was rejected by Professor McGonagall.
However, she agreed to Snape's request to privately purchase a projector to show game recordings at Hogwarts.
Vaughn didn't receive the news until the next day.
In recent days, he has paid almost no attention to the twins' career, letting them do whatever they want, and even Quidditch training has become a routine matter.
Having returned to school for more than two months, he has intensively caught up on missed courses and review progress, and other matters do not require his attention for the time being—for example, the Werewolf Affairs Committee is currently conducting international negotiations, mainly handled by Crouch and Remus.
The only hope for saving Isabella is Ilfamoni's academic invitation, but Dumbledore has temporarily put this matter aside.
So recently, his attention has shifted back to his own interests and hobbies.
The exploration and pursuit of power and knowledge!
"system!"
In the dimly lit and empty training room of the Room of Requirement, as Vaughn silently chanted, a semi-transparent system panel appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Vaughn Weasley]
[Magic Scale: 484 (500 for a typical adult wizard)]
[Talents: Charms 7, Dark Magic 6, Polymorph 8, Potions 10, Herbalism 6, Alchemy 6, Divination 2 (Maximum 10)]
[Spells: Occlumency LV5 (MAX), Ironclad Charm LV5 (MAX), Disarming Charm LV5 (MAX), Flight Charm LV5 (MAX), Levitation Charm LV5 (MAX)... Legilimency LV3 (15/32), Illusion Charm LV3 (7/16), Divine Shield LV3 (3/24), Patronus Charm LV2 (3/16), Apparition LV2 (2/12)...]
[Alchemy LV0 (0/20)]
[Potions: "Vorn Beauty" series, "Vorn Hair Care" series, Wolfsbane Potion, etc...]
[Reputation Points: 0]
[Main Quest ②: Help Slytherin win the House Cup at the end of this school year (in progress)]
[Reward: 1 Talent Point, 50 Scale Magic]
[Side Quest 3: Research all the magic of the dragons and figure out their basic principles (Activated)]
[Reward: 100 Scale Magic Power, Spell Development Module]
Compared to two months ago, when he had just returned to Hogwarts, received the Philosopher's Stone, and acquired the talent for alchemy, Vaughn's spells have improved significantly.
With five max-level spells, Levitate and Divine Shield have reached LV3, and Levitate is nearly halfway to LV4. This level of Levitate is probably already among the top in the magical world.
The reason for this progress is that he invested all the reputation points he earned over the past two months into spells, instead of giving them to the newly acquired alchemy.
The reason was the same as when he first activated alchemy. This was an unfamiliar and more idealistic discipline, and he hoped to experience and explore it step by step from the basics.
Over the past two months, the more Vaughn studied the theories of alchemy, the more he realized that modern alchemy might very well be pointing to his ultimate pursuit—the nature of the world and the origin of magic!
At least in theory, that is the case.
For example, the first page of an introductory book to alchemy describes the world in its original state, calling it "One" and "Great Reality".
Alchemists believed that all things were born from His division; it was after He dispersed like sunlight that the universe, spacetime, matter, energy, and spirit gradually became what they are today.
These descriptions are not plagiarized from any mythological creation myth. As a fundamental theory of the discipline, it shares a similar position with the popular explanation of how the universe came into being under the Muggle Standard Model of physics.
However, in the Muggle Big Bang model, the universe was originally a point mass, a pot of boiling, thick soup of particles.
In the "model" of alchemy, they gave Him a more humanized definition.
Even this definition wasn't made arbitrarily.
It's because of "ether"!
Ether, also known as the spirit of the universe or the soul of the world... Vaughn doesn't like this name. It's too mysterious and difficult to understand, and it gives people the illusion that "ether" has free will.
In fact, after reading a large number of alchemical theory books over the past two months, Vaughn found that the "ether" he saw was more like an objective fact than some kind of indescribable super life form!
In Vaughn's view, magic is also a science, an ordered knowledge formed by a verifiable explanation of the form, organization, and so on of objective things.
Rather than a completely idealistic mess of chaos.
Interestingly, when Vaughn used scientific thinking, discarding the various embellished and anthropomorphic descriptions of "ether" in alchemical books, and mixed it with Muggle physics to verify it, he suddenly discovered some "coincidences".
In alchemical theory, "ether" fills the entire universe and is the connection between all things.
This concept also appeared in Muggle science. In the 17th century, a Muggle mathematician named Descartes first introduced the concept of "ether" into physics!
Yes, for centuries, from the 17th century to the early 20th century, "ether" was a top concept in Muggle physics.
Because many scientists, like Descartes, who opposed the motion of matter at a distance, believed that the universe must be "filled" with some kind of matter that could transmit gravity and light like air transmits sound.
They believed that the substance was ether!
For example, the famous Maxwell's equations (which theoretically unify electricity and magnetism) introduced the concept of ether in an attempt to define its properties.
Of course, these Muggle etheric theories were refuted by a Muggle named Albert Einstein in the early 20th century.
For decades afterward, Muggles believed that the ether did not exist and that the vacuum was empty.
However, here comes the more interesting part.
Vaughn can't remember the exact year, but it should be in the late 1990s when Muggles will discover evidence of the accelerating expansion of the universe for the first time. When they observe the "remnants" of supernova explosions, they will find through calculations that those supernovae are farther away than expected.
Before that, the scientific community believed that the universe was expanding at a constant or increasingly slower rate, and that one day in the future, when the "force" generated by the Big Bang dissipated, the universe would collapse again.
A few years from now, Muggles will abandon their current thinking, revive the concept of ether (now called dark energy), and believe that the vacuum is not empty!
"The reason Muggles go through so much trouble is that they cannot observe the aether. They can only indirectly measure and calculate to prove the existence of an invisible and intangible repulsive force in the universe, which drives the universe to expand at an accelerated rate!"
"But in the eyes of wizards, the accelerated expansion of the universe has always been a certainty."
Vaughn pondered, his fingers tracing the worn pages of a notebook lying on his lap. The flickering light of the magical flames illuminated the ornate handwriting, recording the notes of a wizard who had traversed the ether over 200 years ago:
"...Here, the concepts of time and space have been lost, but I can still sense that the ether is still growing. Father of all things, Great One who has become one with my soul, where is your end?"
Vaughn ran his fingertips over the words, turning the thick notebook to the last page:
"...Compared to 60 years ago, the ether has become much more vast. It's like an inflated soap bubble, swelling in the void, which is terrifying. Great Father, if He continues to expand like this without end, what will become of the world? Will the spacetime scale of light become longer and the world become darker? Or will everything become thinner and energy and temperature become lower and lower? Or... will everything be torn apart?"
Very interesting!
Vaughn looked with great interest at the seemingly unfounded musings on the paper.
More than 200 years ago, wizards "predicted" the possible end of the universe by traveling through the ether, and these predictions are strikingly similar to those made by Muggles in the future!
Therefore, in Vaughn's view, ether is not some illusory "spirit" belonging to the world, but a real and existing substance!
A substance that can combine with the wizard's spirit, allowing the wizard to gain a more macroscopic and microscopic perspective!
Ether allows people to have a more macroscopic perspective as well as a more microscopic one, which seems somewhat contradictory.
Actually, that's not the case.
Here I need to explain the definition of "spirit".
Many alchemists believed that any real object in the world possessed two states:
One is a real entity, which is the manifestation of intelligent life living in reality, and also the physical phenomenon of matter existing in reality.
The other is the spiritual body, which alchemists observe through the ether. The ether connects all things, so it can be the embodiment of a life's memories, emotions, and will, or it can be a physical concept such as the length, width, and height of a stone.
Does this distinction look familiar?
"Classical mechanics and quantum mechanics, the macroscopic world and the microscopic world!"
When Vaughn first saw an alchemist from over 100 years ago classifying the states of matter in a notebook, this thought immediately popped into his mind.
More than 100 years ago, alchemists already had a basic understanding of quantum mechanics.
Unfortunately, they failed to develop and expand it.
Vaughn opened another notebook, a gift from Dumbledore, whose owner had lived more than 90 years earlier.
He spread the notes on his lap, familiarly flipped through a few pages, and densely packed words came into Vaughn's view:
"...The things seen in the ether are completely different from reality. The experience of traveling through it is like a dream, and dreams are usually illogical. Mountains, water, rocks, trees...these familiar objects become completely unfamiliar in the state of the ether."
"It's hard to describe the feeling, it's like... they became some kind of illusory existence. Looking at them, it was like watching a clumsy Muggle showing a movie. The film reel was spinning too slowly, so the things kept jumping and breaking in my eyes. What do Muggles say? Right, dropped frames..."
He was quite a fashionable wizard, over 90 years ago, when movies had only just been invented!
This description perfectly captures the characteristics of the microscopic world—in the macroscopic world, everything we observe undergoes a continuous process of change.
For example, when an airplane flies past, whether it flies from left to right or from right to left, its flight is a continuous motion.
In the microscopic world, the aircraft would move instantly, "leaping" right before your eyes, just as described in the text.
However, for decades, research on the "spiritual body" has been limited to this. Alchemists have only subjectively summarized the "spiritual body" based on their own state within the ether and then stopped paying attention to it.
Instead of investigating why what they saw could teleport so instantly, they subjectively and idealistically concluded that—
Vaughn's gaze swept over the last part of the text:
"Are these bizarre and fantastical things just the dreams of the great?"
Vaughn didn't know who the first wizard to describe ether as the soul of the world was, but there was no doubt that the guy completely misled later wizards.
Of course, it may also be related to the fact that wizards have difficulty understanding microscopic movements. Compared to observing why a tree loses frames by looking at it through the ether, observing something more macroscopic is obviously more attractive to wizards.
As mentioned earlier, wizards have come to realize that the "spiritual body" encompasses the physical concept of all things.
According to Vaughn's more Muggle-scientific understanding, the so-called "spiritual body" is more like the "quantum information" of all things observed in the etheric state.
As is well known, quantum information can be transmitted faster than the speed of light and over long distances.
Vaughn continued flipping through the notebook, and soon another passage appeared:
"In a distant world, perhaps a few stars have been annihilated. The waves they released were so dazzling and terrifying. It was a cataclysmic disaster. Even though I know they are very, very far away from the solar system, and it may take hundreds of millions of years for their death light to reach Earth, it doesn't stop me from being terrified by their cries!"
"But even such a terrible disaster cannot cause the slightest ripple within the ether. Great Father, so great and vast, we are as insignificant as bacteria, as Muggles say. Can I really find your secret if I spend my whole life searching for it?"
"About the origins of magic, about the secrets of symbols, about the truth of everything..."
Vaughn traced the last sentence over and over with his fingertips, then closed the book and pondered. He had lost count of how many times he had read this passage.
It reveals a lot of information, such as why past alchemists did not continue to specialize in "spiritual bodies"—because they were studying some grander propositions.
This made Vaughn feel that they had chosen the wrong path, and while he felt regret, he was also horrified by the fear and despair between the lines.
Because what those alchemists wanted to study was also his ultimate ideal!
It's obvious that those people in the past all failed!
And then there's that last sentence about the secret of symbols...
This is the main reason why Vaughn has been focusing on studying alchemical theories for more than two months, but has not dared to try meditation or traversing the ether.
Alchemists sought to understand the secrets of the symbols, but more so, they wanted to know the underlying principles.
Unlike Vaughn, his first consideration was the origin of the symbol.
If, as he suspected, the "spiritual entities" that alchemists saw through the aether were indeed the quantum information of all things, then the so-called symbols were tools, or rather... authorities, to help alchemists perform miracles—modifying quantum information!
What Vaughn feared was—
Who created this authority? And who "gifted" it?
Alchemists generally agree that it was a gift of "ether," but from Vaughn's perspective, he hopes it wasn't; otherwise, the outcome would be even worse!
Vaughn sighed. He always preferred to plan carefully before acting, and if possible, he would like to resolve his doubts and concerns before deciding whether to contact Ether.
Unfortunately, after searching through countless books for two months, I still haven't found the answer!
"Are you still thinking about alchemical symbols?"
Dumbledore's voice came through.
When Vaughn looked over, he saw the principal, dressed in a brightly colored bathrobe, holding Phoenix Fox in his arms, just emerging from the corner after his apparition appeared.
He looked at Vaughn with a smile, his tone somewhat teasing, as if he were making fun of him.
Vaughn retorted irritably, "Haven't you ever felt any fear?"
"No!"
"Stop bragging. If you don't have it, why don't you dare show me your notes?"
"It's inconvenient because it keeps a lot of my little secrets."
"For example, your little secret that keeps you tossing and turning, unable to eat or sleep, and scared to tears by the mastermind behind it all?"
When arguing with Vaughn, Old Deng rarely came out on top. Of course, he always thought it was because he wasn't wicked enough, thick-skinned enough, too honest, and didn't want to stoop to the level of a kid.
Dumbledore walked over to Vaughn, picked up the notebook, flipped through it, and then sighed:
"If I had known these notes would cause you to hesitate, I would never have given them to you in the first place."
"Even without them, I would still question the origin of the alchemical symbols."
"You still cling to your quantum information theory? Why can't you, like other wizards, acknowledge the personification of ether?"
Upon hearing this, Vaughn countered, "So do you think it's better to consider ether as merely an objective phenomenon, without the concept of free will, or to view it as a concept of a person with joys and sorrows?"
"Well..."
Dumbledore was speechless for a moment, then chuckled.
"Humans are too terrible; it's better to treat it as an objective phenomenon."
Vaughn snorted: "I knew it, you must have struggled with this when you were young too."
The wizard who doesn't dwell on things has long since become a believer in ether.
This time, Dumbledore did not refute it again.
He sat down beside Vaughn, bent his knees like him, and looked out at the empty training ground. He said slowly, "But fear and hesitation are pointless, my dear. You'll never understand the true nature of the ether without actually experiencing it..."
Vaughn interrupted him, saying, "I'm not as cowardly as you think, Albus. I was actually planning to start my first meditation today."
"Ah...I noticed you've been hesitating..."
"That's about weighing the pros and cons and building up mental strength. Unlike some Gryffindor students who act impulsively and then regret it later, Slytherins prefer to be planned and prepared, considering all possibilities before taking action."
A certain headmaster, who was from Gryffindor and had done many foolish things in his youth, including eloping, stroked his beard speechlessly and muttered, "That's why I don't like Slytherin, they're cold."
"Furthermore, Ravenclaw has the same mindset, which is why you see, Ravenclaw always produces some bad guys, Quirrell, Rita Skeeter..."
"..."
Dumbledore coughed lightly, not wanting to continue the topic, and instead asked, "So, when would you like to begin?"
Vaughn pulled out the incense he had prepared: "If you hadn't shown up, I might already be traveling through the ether by now!"
"Should I apologize to you?"
"Instead of apologizing, let's get down to something more practical." Vaughn, who had a knack for capitalism, invited, "I once read in some notes that when alchemical apprentices began their meditations, the mentor would usually accompany them throughout, guiding them into the realm of ether... What a coincidence that you arrived just as I was about to meditate. It must be fate that has made you fulfill your responsibility as a mentor!"
Old Deng was dumbfounded; the shamelessness of the boy in front of him was almost on par with his own...
After a brief moment of surprise, he readily agreed—this was the first time he had seen Vaughn offer his help, and his tone became cheerful as a result: "I'd love to, darling."
It must be said that, despite his unreliable nature, Dumbledore is still the strongest living white wizard. His full head of white hair and beard that reaches his chest alone can give people a strong sense of security.
He looks very intelligent.
Having agreed, Dumbledore immediately assumed the role of mentor, watching as Vaughn lit incense, a calming fragrance slowly wafting out, while he gave instructions:
"You're very well prepared. The essence of alchemical meditation is to empty your mind and make it easier to concentrate. When you first start, it's necessary to use some external means. Was the incense your idea, Fred and George?"
"Yes, they said it works very well."
"Oh, you can try more. Next time I suggest you drink a big cup of honey; at least it feels good to me... By the way, have you come up with a meditation item yet?"
Alchemy is undoubtedly a form of magic, and like other forms of magic, it requires the power of emotions, which is fully reflected in its meditation methods.
Alchemical meditation is not simply about emptying the mind, but about having a strong desire to construct something in the mind that cannot exist in reality while emptying the mind.
The more surreal, the better.
He lit the incense, sat down in the most comfortable position next to it, and nodded: "I've got the idea, it's a Klein bottle!"
The Klein bottle is a topological concept, a non-orientable topological space. As its name suggests, it looks like a strange bottle. Oddly enough, its neck curves back, passing through the body of the bottle and connecting to a large hole at the bottom.
Looking at the simple diagram Vaughn had casually drawn, Dumbledore asked curiously, "This thing can't possibly exist in reality?"
"Impossible, because the neck of a real Klein bottle doesn't pass through the body of the bottle, but connects to the bottom of the bottle from a four-dimensional perspective, so it actually passes through space... This can only be done by distorting space from a four-dimensional perspective."
"Oh, you're just like a Muggle scientist, Vaughn!"
"Thank you for the compliment. May we begin?"
"Of course." Dumbledore adjusted his posture as well, fulfilling his duty as a mentor, and reminded him, "But before we begin, I must warn you, Vaughn, your thinking is too rational. I don't know what you mean by quantum information. What I must remind you is that what you will see after entering the Aether is not cold mathematical or physical formulas, but a drastically changing, bizarre world… It's hard to describe in words, just as all the notes you've seen say, the experience of traveling through the Aether is like a dream…"
He said gravely, "And often, they're nightmares!"
Regarding his concerns, Vaughn said he was prepared: "Albus, the quantum world is not cold and impersonal; it is bizarre and beyond our comprehension. By the way, there is an unproven theory among Muggles that consciousness is a quantum phenomenon."
"I had previously imagined that the dreams and thought processes of intelligent life might manifest within the ether, so I am not surprised that I see traveling through the ether as a dream."
Quantum theory is not very friendly to an old man whose functions are beginning to decline. Old Deng's head was a little sore from listening to it, and he could only give a dry evaluation: "Uh, quantum sounds like a good thing... Anyway, let's get started, I'll go with you."
Upon hearing this, Vaughn slowly closed his eyes.
With the help of incense, his body and mind began to relax, and his thoughts gradually became empty and blank. He hadn't been completely unprepared over the past two months; he had practiced this kind of meditation preparatory exercise many times, but he hadn't yet taken the final step—
Construct meditative objects with strong intention.
This step doesn't actually require practice; as a wizard, manipulating emotions has almost become second nature to him.
As Vaughn instinctively mustered a strong will and successfully visualized the Klein bottle in his mind, a strange feeling suddenly spread from the inside out.
He felt as if he had turned into a wisp of smoke, lightly detaching himself from the ground.
"It's a success!"
Stepping from the material world into the ether is so easy!
Vaughn gently opened his eyes, and a strange world slowly unfolded before him—he was still in the training grounds of the Room of Requirement.
But everything that came into view changed. The floor, the walls, the mannequins—they all looked as if they had been covered with countless layers of glass with drastically different translucency, turning gray. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that countless phantom images were intertwined and "flickering" on their surfaces.
The colors also changed; all objects lost their original colors and instead emitted a rainbow-like glow, with distinct layers that overlapped in one place!
This is ether; it is not another world, another space.
It completely overlaps with reality, and is more like another state of the real world.
Vaughn tried to take a step forward, and then he floated up.
Immediately, a note I had once read came to mind:
"In the ether, many things we know lose their meaning: time, space, gravity... We can fly with ease, although in reality, flight itself has no meaning..."
Vaughn couldn't quite understand the last sentence yet, but he had already grasped the meaning of the preceding sentence.
He "looks" at his own body; he doesn't need to move at all—he can see it directly!
Interestingly, his body, like the surrounding floor and mannequins, had countless "flickering" transparent phantoms appearing on its surface, making him seem as if he were shrouded in a layer of hazy mist, beneath which were distinct yet overlapping colors.
"Every object is composed of elementary particles. What we see in reality are their macroscopic appearances, but in the ether, their true nature begins to reveal itself?"
Vaughn raised his hands to his eyes, looking at his palms, which were also gray yet subtly shimmering with iridescent colors, and pondered:
"These phantom images, perhaps they are the trajectories of the basic particles that make up my body? Those overlapping colors represent the light waves that my body absorbs and reflects? After all, the color of real objects actually comes from the wavelength of reflected light."
"So, I am now a cluster of elementary particles?"
Just as he was observing and thinking, a gray figure appeared out of thin air behind him.
Just like "seeing" his own body, Vaughn could "see" the figure without turning around.
He savored this unique perspective, recalling his notes. As mentioned earlier, many things in reality lose their meaning in the ether, and clearly, direction is also meaningless.
"Albus?"
When Vaughn asked the question, he realized that he hadn't actually made a sound; what he was conveying was his thought process.
The process of speaking in reality seems to be omitted here. Thoughts no longer need to be transmitted to the language center, nor do they need to be translated by the language center and then transmitted to the vocal cords, nor do they need to vibrate the vocal cords to produce sound.
After figuring out the reason, Vaughn realized that his Occlumency technique was still working—without it, the surroundings would definitely be filled with his "noisy" thoughts.
"Magic can be used in the ether..."
Vaughn noted this point down, something that wasn't mentioned in the other notes. After all, they were mostly the notes of established alchemists, so it was normal for some basic knowledge to be omitted.
On the other side, the grey figure representing Dumbledore nodded in response: "It's me, Vaughn. How are you feeling?"
"I'm not quite used to it yet." Vaughn stretched his arms and legs, and with just a thought, he floated a distance away. "...Many real-world processes are omitted here, and the body's movement mechanisms become dispensable. Movement, walking, and shifting can all be accomplished by simply thinking about it...It's a very strange feeling!"
In addition, Vaughn noticed that he was teleporting "by leap" and that Dumbledore was doing the same.
Even when they were standing, not only when they were moving, but also when they were just standing, their bodies and the phantoms on their bodies kept "flickering", as if they were "leaping" every second.
When applied to "visual perception," this situation is undoubtedly very strange. As mentioned in the previous note, it's like watching a movie with dropped frames, where the characters' movements are different every second.
"Quantum is really interesting..."
Having previously heard Vaughn talk about quantum theory, Dumbledore now re-examined his hands and body, and reconsidered this phenomenon that he had long been accustomed to.
"This phenomenon puzzled many alchemists hundreds of years ago. They could not understand why the spirit body would become so strange after entering the aether."
"So how did they finally explain it?" Vaughn wondered. Even if the alchemists didn't understand the microscopic world and gave up on further research, as researchers, they would certainly give a seemingly reasonable explanation.
Dumbledore's head blinked comically from side to side, as if shaking his head: "At that time, the theory of the 'Creator' had become the mainstream thought in alchemy. Almost all alchemists believed that the Creator 'One' split into all things, and we are just an insignificant part of His body, incomplete. Therefore, the 'flickering' of our spiritual bodies is because we are missing the part that makes us 'continuous' and 'perfect'."
Upon hearing this, Vaughn seemed to realize something: "So the 'Golden Soul' hypothesis was later developed?"
"That's right."
The Golden Soul is a higher life form predicted by modern alchemy. Modern alchemy believes that it is impossible for a substance to possess all the properties of matter at the same time in the universe (only a creator can do this, but the appearance of a creator would inevitably mean that the universe would return to chaos), so a perfect physical body does not exist.
The ultimate direction of life will be to break free from the imperfect material form (physical body) and exist, evolve, and complete independently as the spirit (soul), infinitely approaching a state of perfection.
That was the ultimate life they imagined, and the ultimate life they hoped a wizard could reach!
Whether the "Golden Soul" can truly be realized, or whether it is a hoax... Vaughn, a novice just beginning to learn alchemy, would not arrogantly express his opinions.
He is still in the learning stage. He previously combined ether with quantum theory to facilitate understanding and to analyze ether from the perspective of another knowledge system.
However, this does not mean that he believes he has grasped the truth.
The collision and integration between different knowledge systems is not about simply and crudely replacing one with the other. Attempting to completely incorporate magic into the existing scientific system, or to completely express the scientific system through magic, is a foolish thing.
Having received the answer from Dumbledore, Vaughn didn't ask any more questions. His mind "sparkled" as he pondered, "Does ether always coincide with reality?"
"certainly!"
"So what we see in the ether is the other side of reality?" he asked curiously. "If I go out now, what will the people I see look like? Will they be like the two of us, gray, spiritual beings, or some other state?"
Upon hearing this, Dumbledore laughed heartily: "That's why I said, Vaughn, no matter how much theory and notes you read, you can't understand what aether is like without experiencing it firsthand... Of course not, remember? Time and space lose their meaning here. When you leave here, in a sense, you're no longer at Hogwarts!"
Vaughn was somewhat taken aback. He looked around and asked, "Then why are we still in this room after entering the Aether?"
Dumbledore smiled: "My dear, is this really still the same room?"