Although Dumbledore hasn't truly reached the level of creating matter like a god, he can influence the changes and motion of matter through his own will.
Before this, Vid only knew of one kind of person who could do similar things —
A child who experiences magic surges.
For instance, Harry in the original book, without holding a magic wand, blew Aunt Marge into a balloon just because of his anger, something he couldn't have otherwise accomplished in his normal state.
But magic surges are just accidental. As wizards mature and their understanding of the world becomes more complete, they become unable to change the material world through emotions and thoughts.
Everyone can only familiarize themselves with magic spells and perform magic through fixed spells and gestures, amidst constant practice.
Almost all wizards are like this.
Dumbledore is the only exception Vid has ever seen.
Even now, closing his eyes, he seems to be able to see that extremely shocking, spectacular, and beautiful scene.
Dumbledore, in his vision, seemed to be glowing, countless golden threads and rings filled the originally vast and dark chamber.
Rubble and stones slightly floated in the air, the giant snake parted, every drop of blood flew according to that man's will, forming intertwined trajectories between the material world and magic, like star bridges spanning through the air.
Vid always thought that he had come a long way on the path of magic, further than any student at Hogwarts.
But now, he realizes that he is merely like a baby taking its first steps.
Far, far ahead of him, there is another person's towering back.
...
The experience of challenging the thousand-year Basilisk in the chamber naturally became the hottest topic at Hogwarts for a while.
All the students involved retold the story tirelessly, from different angles, in different ways, repeatedly mentioning it until everyone was fed up.
Harry and Neville, who ended the battle, were particularly regarded as heroes by most students, and the Gryffindors, led by the twins, composed a song of praise for the two —
"Dark abyss, the Basilisk roars.
Fangs flashing, eyes already blind.
He —
Champion Longbottom, fearless,
Wielding a longsword, surged forward bravely.
He —
Star of Salvation battles life and death,
Leaping down boldly, hard to stop..."
They made noise in the common room for a whole night, and it wasn't enough. Early the next morning, they paraded with both of them, from Gryffindor Tower to the entire path leading to the dining hall, the catchy song echoed.
Soon, even students from other houses could sing it.
For the first time being noticed by classmates, and not with criticism and mockery, Neville was at first so bewildered that he almost jumped off the tower.
However, after adapting for a morning, he had gotten used to singing along with everyone.
The story of the Basilisk spread outside the school, and piles of letters delivered by owls arrived at Hogwarts, all protesting against the school's professors for ignoring student safety.
But soon, the parents learned that no participating children suffered casualties, and injuries like common fractures could be healed by Madam Pomfrey in the blink of an eye, as easily as a cut finger.
As a result, the protests died down, and then gossips began to discuss how strong Hogwarts students actually were, hinting between the lines that Dumbledore had grand plans.
But the Headmaster completely ignored these external comments.
He did not have Harry close the Chamber of Secrets door again; instead, he left it open, even allowing the younger young wizards to go in and take a look.
The long pipes still retained their original damp and musty style, but after the students slid through them hundreds of times, the pipes became cleaner than the floor scrubbed by little crabs.
The shattered stone walls and pillars, the floor with pits everywhere, and the statue of Salazar Slytherin himself remained as they were, some places still showing traces of blood.
However, the visitors no longer had the chance to pick up scales here, so a few days later, part of the rubble secretly disappeared, even small animal bones in the outer corridors diminished a bit.
Although the Basilisk's body had been tucked away into the professors' private storerooms, Dumbledore left the snake shedding temporarily; every young wizard entering was startled, then stood beside it, imagining how dangerous and intense the challengers' battle had been that day.
Colin Creevey and Rolf Scamander became the most popular people in the school — because everyone wanted to have their photo taken in front of the snake shedding, and they had cameras.
Half a day later, Vid's camera was also borrowed by Michael.
As he led a group of girls, including the Padma sisters, towards the Chamber of Secrets, they happened to run into Professor Snape.
The group was so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe, but surprisingly, Professor Snape said nothing, just passed by.
During this period, because he obtained most of the thousand-year Basilisk's body, Professor Snape was in exceptionally good spirits.
All he thought about day and night was how to utilize these materials, which potions to concoct, with no time to care about what new pranks the school's little trolls might be up to.
Aside from Professor Snape, Moaning Myrtle also felt unprecedented joy.
This ghost, who always stayed in the bathroom crying all day, had never seen so many students walking around on her turf!
While complaining that her home had turned into a tourist site, she happily chatted with the students beside her and suddenly emerged from the walls or the snake shedding to scare everyone as they entered the Chamber of Secrets.
She almost seemed to become a second Peeves.
Soon, a photo of the snake shedding appeared in the Prophet Daily, sparking another wave of heated discussion.
Machioni took the opportunity to launch a batch of snake-shaped poppet pets, which quickly sold out.
Before they knew it, the end-of-term feast arrived, and before the meal, Dumbledore announced the awarding of points to the students of the various houses who participated in the Chamber of Secrets challenge.
As expected, Gryffindor won the House Cup; the scores of the other three houses were closely matched.
This time, even Slytherin had no significant objections to the result, and when cheers filled the dining hall, a small portion of students at the Slytherin long table politely clapped along.
"Dark abyss, the Basilisk roars. Fangs flashing, eyes already blind..."
Gryffindors hammered the tables, singing loudly, while Dumbledore smiled and conducted for them, and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also joined in the chorus.
Goyle: "Dark abyss, the Basilisk roars..."
The boy unconsciously began to sing along, catching Malfoy's eye, who stared fiercely and snapped, "Shut up!"
Goyle, startled, immediately closed his mouth.
Though Crabbe was out of immediate danger, he was still at St. Mungo's Hospital and hadn't come out yet.
Goyle now felt somewhat afraid of Malfoy.