The short, stout wizard jumped three feet into the air. Ignoring Vaughn completely, he turned on Lupin and began swearing furiously:
"Merlin's bloody soles! You bastard! You pile of dragon dung! How dare you tell him my name?!"
Lupin opened his mouth to explain—
But Vaughn tapped the table lightly.
Ripples spread outward.
A magical wave enveloped the table, as if a thin veil had been draped over the space. Light bent and twisted, leaving Vaughn and the others as nothing more than blurred silhouettes to everyone else in the pub.
Sound was distorted as well, reduced to an indistinct, low hum.
Behind the bar, Aberforth—who had been half-heartedly wiping a glass with a filthy rag while secretly watching—snorted irritably.
A wizard staring at the rag for a long time finally said, "That looks disgusting. Why don't you use a Cleaning Charm?"
Aberforth glared. "Either drink, or get out."
The wizard flushed red but fell silent.
The Hog's Head had been famous across England for generations—a grey market hub since before the last century. Any establishment that could operate openly in Hogsmeade without Auror interference was clearly no ordinary tavern.
Inside the Barrier
Mundungus Fletcher reached out curiously, poking at the warped light around him. A heavy, precise sensation flowed back through the magic.
He turned to Vaughn.
"Soundproofing, light distortion, anti-detection… and several effects I don't even recognize. A beautiful composite charm—silent, wandless, and with Auror-level magical output."
He swallowed.
"I think I know who you are."
"Oh?" Vaughn raised an eyebrow.
"In my decades alive, I've met very few wizards capable of this at your age—and in recent years, only one."
"The inventor of Wolfsbane Potion. The youngest Potions Master. A Wizengamot member. Founder of the WAC."
"Vaughn Weasley."
Mundungus's squat frame and tangled beard made him look like a clown—but now his body was visibly tense.
Vaughn smiled faintly. "You seem very well-informed, Mr. Fletcher."
"Your reputation travels fast in the black market," Mundungus replied stiffly. "Many underground apothecaries take pride in selling potions brewed by your own hand."
"Oh?" Vaughn asked lightly. "And what sort of reputation do I have down there?"
"Genius. Powerful. Mysterious," Mundungus said quickly. "That's the consensus."
A coward, certainly—but a survivor.
People like Mundungus, who lived in the shadows and dealt with monsters daily, understood better than anyone whom they could offend—and whom they absolutely could not.
And Vaughn Weasley belonged firmly to the latter.
The Memory Extraction
"Mr. Fletcher," Vaughn said softly, tapping the table again, "you know why I'm here, don't you?"
Cold sweat broke out on Mundungus's balding head.
"Yes—yes, of course! But please listen, Mr. Weasley, I didn't know those Dark wizards would go that far—"
Tap.
The sound echoed directly inside his mind.
His words cut off instantly.
Vaughn's brown eyes, flecked with gold-red light, flared blue.
Ripples spread again. Mundungus's vision blurred.
He knew immediately—
His mind was being invaded.
He reached for his wand—
And froze.
His body no longer obeyed him.
Then—
Darkness.
When he came back to himself, he saw Vaughn calmly twirling a silver strand between his fingers.
His memory.
For a split second, rage surged—
Then it died.
Mundungus knew, with absolute clarity, that resistance was pointless.
To a wizard, memory was everything—identity, secrets, selfhood.
But survival came first.
A heartbeat later, Mundungus was smiling again.
"Of course I don't mind," he said ingratiatingly. "I was just about to apologize. The two werewolves who came yesterday—they were working for you, weren't they?"
"If I'd known, I'd have done my utmost to help!"
"You're smarter than I expected," Vaughn remarked. "At least when it comes to knowing when to yield."
Lupin twitched. He strongly suspected that remark was meant for him as well.
Vaughn glanced at the memory strand—still tainted with Dark Magic residue—and chose not to read it.
Instead, he asked calmly:
"Who were the Dark wizards that injured my people?"
Mundungus took the hint instantly.
"A gang that crossed over from France. Six of them. Led by the Conard brothers."
"—Cough!"
Lupin nearly choked.
Vaughn smiled faintly. He knew enough French to understand the joke.
"That surname is fake," Mundungus added with smug certainty. "The French don't have our sense of self-deprecating humor."
"They're probably Beauxbatons graduates. The rest are untrained hedge wizards. Ruthless. Lawless."
"And you follow rules?" Vaughn asked mildly.
Mundungus grinned. "Old Dung knows when respect is due."
"Where are they?"
"Cornwall," Mundungus said immediately. "I'll take you."
The Time Curse
Moments later, the three stood in a coastal village in St Ives, Cornwall.
Rain fell beneath thick, heavy clouds.
Vaughn surveyed a pristine white house with a pale-gold roof.
"That's their base," Mundungus said eagerly. "Perfect cover—tourists everywhere."
"I'll knock," he offered quickly. "Explain things. Negotiate compensation—"
"Negotiate?" Vaughn asked flatly.
"Talking to corpses is pointless."
He summoned the system.
System Interface (Updated)
Host: Vaughn Weasley
Magic Capacity: 584 (Average adult wizard: 500)
Talents:
Spellcasting 8
Dark Magic 6
Transfiguration 8
Potions 10
Herbology 6
Alchemy 6
Divination 2
Spells:
Occlumency Lv5 (MAX)
Shield Charm Lv5 (MAX)
Disarming Charm Lv5 (MAX)
Banishing Charm Lv5 (MAX)
Legilimency Lv3 (21/32)
Disillusionment Charm Lv3
Sectumsempra Lv3
Apparition Lv3
Curses:
Reanimation Curse Lv0
Blight Curse Lv0
Awakening Curse Lv0
Aging Curse (Tempus Edax) Lv2 (7/24)
Ancient Magic:
Soul Theft Charm Lv0
Alchemy: Lv0 (3/20)
Reputation: 19
Knowledge flooded his mind.
Seconds passed.
To Lupin and Mundungus, Vaughn merely paused—
Then power erupted.
Rainwater recoiled outward as Vaughn raised his wand.
"Tempus Edax."
Time devoured matter.
The curse struck silently.
The building aged decades in seconds.
Paint peeled. Stone cracked. Rust bloomed.
Then—
It collapsed.
Six wizards screamed.
Armor charms failed.
One staggered forward—
And aged into dust before hitting the ground.
Bones shattered.
Silence returned.
Aftermath
Lupin stood frozen.
Mundungus trembled.
Vaughn lowered his wand, expression unchanged.
"I'll return first," he said calmly. "You two—cast Muggle-Repelling and Confundus Charms. Make sure nothing draws attention."
"Yes! Of course!" Mundungus agreed immediately.
As Vaughn vanished, one thought burned in his mind:
The Aging Curse was far stronger than expected.
And something within him—
Had changed.
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