The space inside the wardrobe was far from the small world Vid imagined, only slightly larger than the Umbrella House, and the room was empty, with nothing decorative inside.
What Professor Morry wanted to "see," of course, wasn't these surface things.
He didn't have eyes like Vid, but he had his own method to inspect the magic pattern circuits within—
Layer upon layer of ancient magical runes formed a structure as intricate and perfectly balanced as a beehive;
The undetectable extension charm, linked like chains, was complex and orderly, simple yet neat;
Hundreds of spells resembled individual vortices, ensuring the stability of the structure while leaving ample room for expansion.
This was just a prototype.
But it was taking root and sprouting in the most perfect posture, growing tender leaves. Professor Morry scrutinized its veins, almost seeing the moment it would grow into a towering tree.
After coming out from inside, Professor Morry looked at Vid and said with a smile of appreciation, "There's nothing more about the Undetectable Extension Charm that I can teach you, Vid."
Vid did not hide his joy and showed a delighted smile.
This made him look more in line with his age than usual.
"Any plans for summer vacation?" Professor Morry asked again.
"Reading, studying, nothing else," Vid said.
Professor Morry pondered for a moment, frowned, and said, "Students can't use magic during the summer. That makes learning inconvenient for you. And you live in a Muggle district, so casting spells will immediately be detected by the Ministry of Magic..."
"Actually—" Vid explained, "I plan to stay at home for a few days and then rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron. That way, I can bypass the Ministry of Magic's monitoring of the Trace."
Professor Morry nodded slightly and said, "That's one way… but not a good one. Tom Senior is decent, but that place often has people of unknown background. A kid staying in a pub is neither safe nor a good environment."
"Mr. Lupin can stay with me. He still needs to teach me Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Vid said.
"Lupin?" Professor Morry snorted, "That's exactly what worries me!"
His opinion of werewolves is deeply rooted, never granting true trust.
"How about this, you go home first—" Professor Morry thought for a while and said, "I'll talk to Mr. Scamander and see if he's willing to have you visit."
"Newt Scamander?" Vid's eyes lit up, "You mean—"
"Yes, I bet you'd like to see his magical suitcase." Professor Morry smiled, "No one is better than him in the use of spatial and atmospheric charms."
In Vid's excited eyes, Professor Morry continued, "Just so you know, he likes Steven very much, and Steven has talked to him about you—yes, mentioned you several times—Mr. Scamander has a good impression of you too."
When leaving Professor Morry's office, Vid still felt his heart beating fast, his eyes sparkling with energy, and even his steps were especially brisk.
Newt Scamander.
To Vid, this person used to only be the protagonist of the "Fantastical Beasts" series of movies, kind, gentle, and shy, hardly ever looking people in the eye. He loved magical creatures and was loyal to Dumbledore, ready to risk everything for the old headmaster.
Upon entering the Magic World, Vid discovered that Newt left a significant mark in modern magic history. His magical suitcase, his outstanding performance in the two Wizard Wars, and his lifetime efforts to protect magical creatures were all recorded in history books.
It even included—that he once caught Gellert Grindelwald.
This is a man full of legendary colors, although he might not desire such fame.
...
Walking out of the Astronomical Tower, Vid finally opened the Friendship Book.
Earlier messages had disappeared—understandably, he had been in Professor Morry's class for almost two hours.
The recent message was from Padma.
[Padma: They went to the forbidden area on the fourth floor.]
[Vid: Padma? Where are you?]
[Padma: Merlin! You finally saw the message!]
[Padma: I'm outside the fourth-floor hallway.]
[Padma: It's getting close to curfew, and Filch's cat keeps staring at me. I think I even saw Peeves just now… What should I do? Dumbledore is not here… No one returned…]
Even from the messy words, one could feel the girl's fear and worry.
[Vid: Wait for me.]
Vid quickly went to the main tower and, while passing the entrance hall, diverted to the Great Hall and packed some bread and roasted meat. Filch stood at the entrance hall entrance, looking unhappily at those students still dining.
Vid nodded at him and said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Filch."
Filch was slightly surprised, staring at Vid suspiciously as if guessing what mischief he was up to.
But Vid quickly walked past him.
He reached the corridor on the fourth floor, where Padma was pacing nervously outside the forbidden area, occasionally peeking around like she was afraid of being noticed for any large movements.
Not far at a corner, Mrs. Loris was crouched on the ground, staring at her gloomily. Hearing Vid's footsteps, she turned her head to look over here.
Vid tossed two small fish snacks to Mrs. Loris and walked over to Padma.
"Vid!" Padma looked as if she was about to cry. Her clothes' hem was crumpled in her hands.
"Don't worry." Vid handed her a sandwich and asked, "Have something to eat… Did you notify the professors?"
"Michael looked for Professor Flitwick, and he said the Philosopher's Stone was safe and that we shouldn't worry, just enjoy our days without exams."
Padma's tone carried a hint of resentment towards the professors.
"Professor McGonagall told Harry the same; she also warned us not to stir up trouble, or we'd lose lots of points. Professor Sprout is teaching fifth-year students, so we had no chance to talk to her."
Padma quickly finished speaking, holding the sandwich without appetite.
"What about Professor Dumbledore?"
"He received an urgent message from the Ministry of Magic and went to London."
Padma said tearily, "We don't have his Friendship Book, so we can only send a message by owl, not knowing when he'll get it… Maybe by the time he returns, it'll be too late."
"Don't worry, remember what we talked about before—about Hogwarts, Dumbledore knows everything."
Vid comforted her.
After retrieving past memories through the Pensieve, Vid was more certain that during Harry's first year, Dumbledore controlled the school entirely, and what Quirrell thought was an opportunity was merely a flaw Dumbledore let slip intentionally.
—The underground "challenge game" was the real "final exam" left for Harry and his companions by Dumbledore.