Vid returned to the dormitory and found an unexpected visitor—a House-Elf dressed in a tea towel standing in the middle of the room, its large gray-green eyes staring unblinking at him, giving him quite a start.
Vid nearly cast a Spell in surprise, relaxing only after seeing who it was: "Zoe? What brings you here?"
House-Elves usually take pride in not appearing in front of their masters, so apart from the kitchen, Vid had never seen the school's House-Elves before.
Zoe twisted her long fingers, clearly nervous, and said in a delicate voice: "Vid Gray did not have dinner, Zoe is a little worried. Zoe knows it is not right to appear, but Zoe came anyway. Zoe wants to know if Vid Gray is feeling unwell."
"I'm fine," Vid said, half-squatting down: "It's just that the Trolls stink, and I've lost my appetite."
Zoe said seriously: "But not eating is bad for your health. Vid Gray gave Zoe a gift, which Zoe likes very much, and Zoe cares about Vid Gray's health, not wanting him to go hungry."
House-Elves have a funny way of speaking, always using third person to refer to themselves and others, even face-to-face.
Vid looked at Zoe, and a tiny pumpkin carriage hung from her waist, its lantern flickering.
"Alright," he sighed: "Could you please get me some fruit? No jams or puddings, just fresh fruit. I'll have some after I've taken a bath and then go to sleep."
"At your service, sir!" Zoe happily nodded, and with a "pop" she disappeared from the room.
When Vid emerged from the bathroom with steam still clinging to him, he saw a basket of fruit on the table—apples, pears, bananas, a few strawberries, and a bunch of gleaming green grapes, all clean with beads of water on them.
Vid picked up an apple and took a bite, full and juicy, feeling deeply moved.
In his previous life, his mother insisted on a healthy diet, believing one should eat twelve types of foods daily to ensure adequate nutrition, with fruits and vegetables being the most important, sometimes not repeating for an entire month.
Reborn, the food at Hogwarts was much richer than at home, but mostly consisted of roasts and sweets, with very few vegetables, cooked in monotonous ways, and fresh fruit was never seen on the long tables.
In this moment, Vid made up his mind: after graduation, he wants to visit the East—Magic is the wings of miracles, but the future lies in the East.
Furthermore, there are mystical powers in that world as well, and perhaps he could see more wondrous sights.
...
Padma's joining the SSC went smoothly, and no one raised any objections. After all, this young lady was not only smart and elegant but also exceedingly beautiful, with deep eyes filled with emotion, causing Theo and others to blush a little inadvertently.
Hermione had been spending more and more time on her studies because Vid made her feel a lot of pressure—during the most recent Transfiguration Class, Vid successfully transformed a rat into a beautiful little teapot, with lines so delicate it seemed fresh off the shelf, and Professor McGonagall loudly praised Vid's Transfiguration skills, saying his current level could earn him an "O" in the end-of-term exam.
Hermione also knew that Vid's owl brought him a complete set of the "Standard Spells" and "Intermediate Transfiguration Technique" from Diagon Alley. Thus, even though Hermione was already the best first-year student in Gryffindor College, she still felt her progress was lagging, studying so intensely that she became irritable and snapped at Ron several times—since she knocked out the Troll, Ron had never again complained or gossiped behind her back.
Now Ron actually looked forward to Hermione guiding him because he found out that Hermione was always right. But Hermione finally corrected her tendency to be a know-it-all, trying to turn a blind eye to various rule-breaking behaviors among Gryffindors, slightly improving her popularity in the college. Especially with Harry, they were almost friends now.
Vid could almost hear Hermione's complaints every day: "With a whole weekend at hand to do the homework, all they manage is a title! And when it's time to hand it in, they start panicking, saying—Hermione, please let me copy your homework!"
"So, did you let him?" Vid asked while writing.
"Of course not!" Hermione wrinkled her nose, saying disdainfully: "What good is copying homework? But I did agree to help check it over once he's finished!"
"But Hermione—" Padma asked perplexedly: "Wouldn't that be more trouble for you?"
Hermione looked at her incredulously: "That's how you learn!"
The two girls exchanged glances, then tacitly skipped over the topic.
When Padma finished her homework, only Neville was still biting his pen, continuing to work hard. She stuffed her parchment back into her bag, her steps light, and walked around the partition wall—Vid had added a sky-blue partition wall to the Umbrella House recently to avoid spell practice from disturbing classmates doing their homework, dividing the room into two sections with a one-to-three ratio, with a Quietening Charm added in between.
On the other side, there were two rows of targets set up in the classroom, mostly worn out, beyond the salvation of Repairing Charms, but still usable. The entire end wall was covered with mirrors so Vid said it would be easier for them to correct their postures anytime.
Michael repeatedly used "Incendio" to set the targets aflame, then quenched them with "Aguamenti." Theo alternated between using "Defodio" and "Reparo" to torment his target. Hermione was casting Tarantallegra on a spider, its long legs dancing wildly in the air.
Leian was casting "Petrificus Totalus!" at a gray mouse poking its head around.
The mouse's body suddenly stiffened, with only its tail slightly twitching. Moments later, it shot out, and with a "bang," turned mid-air into a small piece of twig.
"For the Petrification Spell, make a circle centered on the wrist, and the turn needs to be sharp and fast."
Vid waved his Magic Wand, and the twig floated in mid-air. He tapped it with the wand's tip, and it transformed back into the mouse.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Vid demonstrated once, the mouse's paws and tail suddenly clinging to its body, stiff as a board, its black eyes seemingly shining with fear.
It "thumped" onto the floor, entirely like a piece of stone.
Vid lifted the Spell and let Leian continue practicing, then walked over to Padma and asked: "Do you want to learn Glisseo first, or practice other Spells?"
"Um—" Padma stuck out her tongue, embarrassed, and said: "Actually—I'm still not very good at the Repairing Charm—"
She waited for Vid to show a "this is a big trouble" expression, but he just lightly tapped the nearby target with his Magic Wand, and the wooden target instantly split down the middle.
Vid said: "Then start with the Repairing Charm, and let me see your level first."
When Padma raised her Magic Wand, her arms trembled slightly.
—She suddenly realized that she might have just made the most correct decision since entering school.
She was sure she could learn a lot here!
"—Reparo!"