Vid hesitated slightly, then walked in under the gaze of Malfoy Senior and Big Crabbe.
"Vid?"
Dumbledore came forward, "I presume you've brought what I asked for?"
Vid said, "Yes."
His words shifted Big Crabbe's attention, while Narcissa Malfoy kept her hand on Draco's back, silently comforting him.
But Vid could feel Lucius Malfoy's cold gaze fixed on him.
Like a chilling water snake.
"Dumbledore..."
Malfoy said coldly, "Why invite irrelevant people in? I haven't heard that Vid Gray is also involved."
"You've come at a perfect time."
Dumbledore said, "Just today, Vid launched his new invention—"
At these words, aside from Snape, the other adults turned their eyes to the boy.
"—he's improved the Two-Sided Mirror technology, creating an alchemy product that can record visuals. What do they call it? ...Oh yes, it's a Magic Television."
Dumbledore nodded to himself as if just remembering, then looked at the two families present.
Draco's face slowly turned pale.
Dumbledore said, "Mr. Malfoy Jr. is exceptionally resistant to having Priori Incantatem performed on his magic wand... of course, I'm merely a headmaster and lack the authority to enforce this."
"Although the Minister of the Ministry of Magic is likely in the hall at this moment, you've also refused a fair verdict from Ministry officials or Aurors. Since that's the case, we can view the events as recorded by the Flow Mirror."
"What are your opinions?"
He asked, kindly leaving the decision to the parents of both sides.
Malfoy's eyes flickered.
He hadn't received any invitations for the Hogwarts challenge nor heard any rumors about the "Flow Mirror" and didn't know if Dumbledore's invention was genuine.
But since the inventor was Vid Gray... the likelihood of it being real was high.
Even if such an invention existed... how likely was it that it just happened to capture Draco and his group's conflict?
If they insisted on not showing it, it would certainly prove their guilt; yet, if it was recorded...
Without evidence, they could still deny it, claim it was Dumbledore's conspiracy to divide them, or say another student hid behind this. But with solid evidence, the Malfoy family would face great consequences.
Malfoy weighed his options, not looking back at his wife or son.
Narcissa had always indulged Draco, and he knew his son well enough—seeing Draco for the first time at school, Malfoy knew the boy had indeed caused a major incident.
Before he could decide, he heard Crabbe say hoarsely:
"I'm troubled, Dumbledore... I too want to know who did this to my Vincent."
Malfoy looked at Crabbe, seeing his usual lackey now with a sullen expression, avoiding eye contact and not wanting to convey his thoughts.
Malfoy's heart sank.
"Of course, as the victim's father, your opinion must be respected in handling this."
Dumbledore turned to Vid, speaking in a calm tone, "Thank you, Vid."
Vid stepped forward, enlarged a Sub-Mirror to the size of a full-length mirror, then took out the Mother Mirror, touched the mirror surface with his magic wand, lightly incanted a spell, and the images on the mirror quickly rewound.
The others watched the Sub-Mirror, the images flickering dazzlingly before suddenly showing some familiar figures, then playing at normal speed.
Vid lowered his magic wand, put the Mother Mirror into his pocket, and stood aside.
Suddenly, Professor Snape glanced over, his eyes shifting slightly, signaling Vid to leave the Mother Mirror and then leave quietly.
Vid pretended not to see, kept his hands in his pockets, and silently moved aside, minimizing his presence.
The headmaster of Slytherin, cloaked in black, had a terrifyingly cold expression, but Vid didn't meet his gaze again.
Vid was also curious about how this happened... and how it would ultimately be resolved.
This time the Poppet Bird capturing the scenes was a bit far, the Sub-Mirror echoed with the rustle of leaves in the wind, the flapping of the bird's wings, distant indistinct screams and cries, but their words were unclear.
There were magical methods to amplify certain sounds, but at that moment, everyone seemed to forget, just frowning at the mirror images.
A group of six appeared as if they had just escaped the pursuit of some monster, running frantically. Daphne suddenly stumbled, and the others stopped to help her, then paused to catch their breath.
They appeared quite disheveled, and the atmosphere among them was strained.
After a short rest, Vincent Crabbe began arguing with Draco, which turned into shoving and then a full-blown fight.
Despite Draco's usual arrogance, his skinny frame was no match for Vincent's bulk.
Tall and hefty Vincent could easily pin Draco down with his weight, punching with gritted teeth and fury.
The others pulled them apart, with Zabini and the others seemingly rebuking Vincent, but Vincent suddenly shouted at them, and looking grim, they let go of him.
Daphne and Pansy tried to intervene, but in the boys' rough scuffle, Vincent inadvertently elbowed Daphne's face, causing her to fall with a bloody nose.
A House-Elf suddenly appeared like a ghost, ignoring the brawling boys and helped away a bleeding-nosed Daphne.
Pansy was also knocked down but quickly jumped up to shove Vincent, fiercely shouting something.
The girl was actually not unattractive, but when fierce, she looked wild and intimidating, momentarily stunning Crabbe.
Just then, Draco, who hadn't yet risen from the ground, suddenly looked up, pulled out his magic wand, and shouted, discharging a black light that struck Vincent.
Vincent's actions and anger seemed to freeze, his expression twisted with agony, before he suddenly collapsed without warning.
On the spot where he fell, something that should have been pixelated suddenly appeared, blood spreading outward.
Pansy screamed, the others were all shocked, utterly unable to react.
In contrast, Draco was even more panic-stricken. He dropped his wand and kept retreating fearfully.
"Enough!"
Malfoy Senior suddenly stood, pointed his magic wand, making the Sub-Mirror's image vanish.
Dumbledore sighed deeply, watching Draco with an indescribable look.
"Entrail-Expelling Curse..."
He slowly said, "I don't recall the school teaching you that spell."