Vid waited a while longer. Nothing followed, no further explanation; the parchment remained silent, as if he could see, on the other end, the old man's grave and wordless expression.
Vid was not surprised; he only let out a quiet breath.
Faced with this kind of sudden situation, even Dumbledore needed time to investigate, to think and weigh things.
If, the very moment he received the message, he had been able to immediately resolve the confusion in Vid's mind and tell him what to do next, Vid would actually have found that more frightening.
He picked up his Quill and added a new line on the paper:
[I'll keep watching. If I find anything new, I'll contact you again.]
This time, Dumbledore replied very quickly:
[Do not touch that space Madam Grey showed you again. Otherwise, at the moment you see it, it is very likely to notice you as well—what I mean is, the real you.]
Vid was silent for a few seconds, then wrote:
[I understand.]
After a pause, he wrote on the parchment:
[Professor, do gods and demons truly exist in this world?]
After quite a long time, handwriting slowly surfaced on the parchment:
[I don't know.]
Only three words, and then a long stretch of blank.
Just when Vid thought it was over, ink continued to appear:
[But a very long time ago, there did exist some beings whose power far surpassed anything we can imagine—perhaps human, perhaps not.]
[To the people of that time, what difference would there be between them and gods or demons?]
This time, the Friendship Book truly fell silent.
The line had already vanished from the parchment, but Vid still sat in the armchair, unmoving for a long time.
Gods?
Demons?
The Deathly Hallows.
The Department of Mysteries.
The fissure between life and death.
The Philosopher's Stone…
Countless words crossed and swept through his mind, stirring layer upon layer of ripple.
Vid suddenly felt a bit thirsty. He picked up his cup and took a drink of water, then put away the Friendship Book, let Vise and the others continue checking the materials, and walked out of the wardrobe space himself.
Outside the window, the eastern sky had already begun to show a faint, pale-grey light; only today the sky was still heavy and overcast, so that sliver of brightness was not very obvious.
Vid put on his coat and left the dormitory. He was just walking down the spiral staircase when he heard a burst of commotion in the common room:
"Hey! Look, they're here!"
"Where?"
"Quick, look that way! Over by the main gate!"
More footsteps sounded, and there was the scrape of chairs being pushed back. Then someone asked in surprise, "Who are all those people?"
Vid quickened his pace, walked down the stairs, and saw seven or eight students crowded in front of the southwest windows, some of them standing on tiptoe to peer outside.
Vid walked over. A lower-year student saw him and hurriedly tugged at his companion; the two of them shifted aside, giving Vid a small but precious share of the window.
He thanked them softly, then looked down.
Standing atop the Ravenclaw tower and looking down, the entire front courtyard of the castle was laid out before him. The surface of the Black Lake shimmered with tiny waves in the morning light, and the fresh green just sprouting on the lawn looked as though it had formed a fuzzy carpet.
In front of Hogwarts's main gates, Filch was laboriously pushing the doors open. Several people stood before them; the one in the lead had a head of red hair, a back held ramrod-straight, and was lanky and tall.
Obviously Percy.
Beside him were four adult Wizards, both men and women, all in uniform black Robes; but they were too far away, and their faces could not be seen clearly.
As soon as the doors opened, the few of them strode toward the castle's main building, leaving Filch behind. The Wizards barely seemed to spare him a glance.
The caretaker stood there with his key ring in hand, looking stunned, as if he couldn't tell whether he ought to close the gate first or lead these "guests" inside.
Just then, another figure hurried out of the castle—thin, hair in a bun, walking with particular briskness.
Professor McGonagall.
She stepped quickly out through the doors and met those Wizards right at the steps.
Those Ministry of Magic Wizards stood together like a black wall. By contrast, Professor McGonagall looked especially slight.
They exchanged a few words; then Percy and the four Wizards followed Professor McGonagall and went into the castle together.
The students at the window whispered to each other:
"They're from the Ministry of Magic."
"No kidding, you can tell from the Robes… Are they here to be Special Envoys too?"
"It must be that Percy Weasley couldn't handle us, so he dragged in reinforcements from the Ministry!!"
"Seriously? That's embarrassing, isn't it?"
Vid's gaze darkened slightly.
Indeed.
From registration up to now, it had only been three or four days at most.
To go running back to the Ministry of Magic for help the moment he hit a setback was, in other words, basically admitting his own incompetence and stupidity… That was beyond embarrassing.
It didn't fit Percy Weasley's style.
That guy had sharpened his head to wedge himself into the Ministry, practically one step away from carving the words "upwardly mobile" onto his face.
He could not fail to understand—
That this kind of "tattling to the teachers" tactic was only endorsed from above while one was still a student; as one of the Ministry's rising stars, how was doing this any different from cutting off his own career path?
So those people…
Vid watched the direction in which that group had disappeared, frowned slightly, then turned and walked toward the stairway.
…
"I'm very sorry to disturb you on a Monday morning, Professor McGonagall."
Percy wore a well-mannered smile and said, "I didn't expect that in just the short two or three years since I left, there would be so many problems among the students at the school."
"Because the number of student reports has far exceeded expectations, I can't properly handle all the work on my own, so the higher-ups decided to send some additional people to assist me. Here are the papers…"
Percy handed Professor McGonagall the documents stamped with the Ministry of Magic's seal, and added, "…I hope I can count on your understanding and support."
Professor McGonagall glanced over the documents in her hand, then gave Percy a long, searching look, before turning her eyes to the people behind him.
"Professor, I'm Wen Williams." The blond man dipped his head slightly and smiled. "Do you remember me? I graduated from Hogwarts fifteen years ago."
"Of course I remember." Professor McGonagall nodded. "Your marks were excellent; you earned certificates in seven subjects, six of them 'Outstanding'."
Williams's smile widened a little. "I'm very glad you still remember."
"Marina Evans." The woman with light brown skin introduced herself second. She held out her hand, smiling broadly. "I'm a Gryffindor—when I was in school, you were already my Head of House, Professor McGonagall."
"Long time no see, Marina." Professor McGonagall shook her hand as well; the lines of her face seemed to soften a little.
The third person was named Linden Miller; he had been a Slytherin, and now he was taciturn, saying nothing more.
The last Witch was younger than the others, looking about the same age as Percy. She had long, dark-brown curls, a pointed chin, and delicate features.
"The Professor definitely doesn't know me." The Witch smiled. "My name is Terra Lewis; I graduated from Beauxbatons and only joined the Ministry of Magic last year. This is my first time at Hogwarts…"
She lifted her head, simple excitement on her face. Her amber eyes sparkled, and as she spoke she couldn't help glancing around, saying, "This place is beautiful; it truly deserves its reputation as the legendary Hogwarts!"
"Thank you." Professor McGonagall smiled. "Beauxbatons is beautiful as well; those magnificent castles leave a deep impression."
"Ah, Hogwarts is different!" Terra said brightly. "Every stone here feels like it has a memory!"
"All right, Terra."
Williams cut her off, gave Professor McGonagall an apologetic nod, and said to his colleague:
"You'll have plenty of time to appreciate it slowly later. For now, let's get down to business. We have a huge pile of work to deal with!"
Percy nodded. "I sent word ahead; I imagine there are already lots of students lining up outside the office…"
His voice broke off.
The long corridor was unexpectedly empty today, with none of the bustling scene from last Friday.
Percy looked awkward for a moment, then quickly said, "The students must have mixed up the time, or they're busy in class. We'll handle the previous reports first."
He waved his Magic Wand, and with a snap the lock sprang open.
Percy pushed the door and stepped inside. He looked up—and his feet stopped again.
The desk in the office was utterly bare; not a single report was in sight.
Percy opened his mouth, then shut it again. After a long moment he opened it once more, looked helplessly around, and asked:
"…Where are my registration forms?"
"Ah, looks like we don't have any work today after all," Terra said lightly. "Can I go take a walk around the grounds now?"