In the stone basin, there was a full basin of emerald green liquid, the surface equally smooth.
Dumbledore reached out but was unable to touch the liquid. He used some complex spells to test it, muttering something silently, then after a long time, withdrew his magic wand.
Looking at Vid quietly waiting beside him, Dumbledore said, "This liquid cannot be separated or scooped out, nor can spells make it disappear or transform, even a hand cannot reach in..."
"In this case, Vid, how do you think we can discover its hidden secret?"
Vid said, "Drink it."
Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed, that is the only way."
"Earlier when Regulus attempted to attack Sirius, I saw traces of a curse on him, the same as the liquid in this stone basin."
Vid said softly, "Before he died, he must have drunk a lot of this liquid."
"Voldemort does not see his subordinates as his companions, but to treat a once faithful young man like this..."
Dumbledore did not finish, he shook his head pityingly, and conjured a crystal goblet with his hand.
Vid frowned and said, "You're not planning to drink it yourself, are you, Professor?"
"Oh, I want to see its effect."
Dumbledore said casually, "Compared to you, my magic power can better resist the damage from dark magic. Besides, I believe Voldemort probably wouldn't want to immediately harm someone who came to this island."
"So you're taking this risk based merely on a guess?"
Vid said disapprovingly, "Why don't we move the whole basin and handle it outside?"
"I'm afraid not, Vid," Dumbledore said, "I think you also noticed that this stone basin, stone pillar, and everything on this island is tightly integrated with the lake and cave. Unless we have the ability to move everything in the cave at once, we can't take the stone basin out."
"There's no urgent crisis requiring us to sacrifice ourselves," Vid suggested again, "We could find a heinous criminal to drink it—there are plenty in Muggle prisons."
Dumbledore gazed deeply at him.
"Doesn't sound very in line with worldly morals?" Vid said frankly, "Professor, I don't possess your sense of righteousness and goodness. If someone has to be sacrificed, I'd rather choose a criminal over someone I know."
Dumbledore was silent for a while before saying, "No... Vid… you think too highly of me."
"I can't say I have much pity for a death row inmate, I've seen too many innocent lives cruelly harmed... I have also harmed others."
"But even so... I absolutely do not believe in sacrificing others for one's own goals, even if it's a bad person."
"Vid, the weight of life is much heavier than we think... Even killing for justice damages one's soul."
"Voldemort cares nothing for this, he fears death but sees others' lives as insignificant. But he was wrong, Vid, he made a very big mistake, leaving his soul riddled with holes."
Vid subconsciously thought: Wasn't Voldemort splitting his soul to create a soul artifact?
Then he realized, according to Dumbledore's words, even without a soul artifact, when Voldemort killed someone, his soul had already changed, though he was unaware of it.
And then he understood, even if Dumbledore might have originally done so, at this moment he was here.
Vid, in Dumbledore's eyes, was a gifted but morally ambiguous child ready to stray at any moment.
The words and actions of those around him would influence his view of the world.
He was watching.
So Dumbledore would never use the method of sacrificing others to accomplish goals, even if it was the path of least resistance.
Vid sighed and said, "I understand, but I want to try my method, is that okay?"
"Of course." Dumbledore said.
Vid opened his bag and a stern-faced man jumped out from inside.
He landed only the size of a palm, but then, under the effect of the enlargement charm, the poppet quickly "grew", and in an instant, was as tall as Dumbledore.
After he knelt on one knee to salute, he silently took the goblet from Dumbledore's hand and drank it all in one gulp.
Vid immediately looked at the stone basin but found the liquid level seemed unchanged.
Then came the second cup, the third cup...
After five or six cups, the poppet's movements grew increasingly slow, and finally, he sighed deeply and said, "So hard to drink..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the poppet dropped its head, stiff like a stone. Vid poked it, but there was no response.
The magic pattern circuits on it had become a chaotic mess, even the nature of the materials seemed to have changed. Even if Vid injected consciousness into it again, it couldn't move.
Vid and Dumbledore exchanged a glance.
Then, he opened the wardrobe space and went inside, soon emerging again, holding a plump gray pig.
"Pig?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes." Vid said, "It's not one of those ordinary breeds Hagrid raises. Allegedly, it has a sixteenth of Tebu Warthog's blood, so it also has faint magical power."
Vid touched the pig's sharper than usual ears and its broad, flat nose, about to cast a spell but remembered something.
"Professor Dumbledore—" Vid said, "Transfiguration can turn people into animals, can it turn animals into humans?"
"Hmm?" Dumbledore was completely caught off guard by this question, and only after a pause did he say, "Magic can indeed do it, but after transformation, its essence remains that of a warthog."
"That works fine. If it really turned human, I wouldn't have the heart to act. But I suspect this magic potion might require a person or humanoid creature to drink it."
Vid tilted his head to gesture at the little pig and said to Dumbledore, "Professor, would you mind?"
"...Fine."
Dumbledore, both amused and exasperated, followed Vid's intent and pointed his magic wand at the pig.
Under the glow, the pig struggled in panic, its limbs elongating, its nose and ears shrinking, the tail gradually disappearing in the transformation.
A few seconds later, a plump man in a gray robe sat on the ground.
On its bald head was only sparse yellow hair, a pair of small black eyes still holding panic, a mouth both flat and wide, as if capable of swallowing a child in one bite; limbs short and thick, belly round and bulging.
It didn't look like a pig anymore, but resembled a person transformed from a toad spirit squatting on the ground.
"Humaww—"
It opened its mouth, emitting a strange sound.