Lupin was very efficient. By noon the next day, he informed Vid that he had already purchased the Disappearing Cabinet from Borgin and Burkes.
Meanwhile, Vid borrowed the Disappearing Cabinet from the castle from Professor McGonagall under the pretense of researching Alchemy. He promised that he was aware of the dangers and would not recklessly enter to study it.
The Disappearing Cabinet was a black and gold interwoven cabinet, with many Ancient Magical Runes and various intricate patterns carved onto it. The ancient magic allowed for a wondrous passage between two Disappearing Cabinets, enabling people to instantaneously move between them, even at Hogwarts where Apparition was forbidden.
In the plot, the Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts through this passage, and Dumbledore died that night.
Vid used a Shrinking Spell to bring the Disappearing Cabinet to the Room of Requirement and took time for experiments. He communicated with Lupin through the Friendship Book, placing various items into the Disappearing Cabinet and then retrieving them from the other side.
The first few experiments went very smoothly—apples, bread, cushions, buckets. Everything went in and came out perfectly intact.
Lupin then suggested conducting experiments with live creatures—mice, rabbits, Dwarf Pig Monsters... Gradually getting closer in size to humans and transitioning to creatures with magic power.
The thirteenth experiment encountered an issue.
Vid had a feeling something was wrong the moment he opened the cabinet door. Inside, he found a breathless Dwarf Pig Monster.
[Vid: It's dead.]
[Lupin: What happened?]
[Vid: No wounds, but its breathing stopped. You can check on the other side.]
Vid closed the cabinet door again, and Lupin opened it to find the icy cold corpse of the Dwarf Pig Monster. He moved it out for a careful examination.
[Lupin: The body is very cold, as if it has been dead for at least three or four hours. There are strange cracks on its skin, and its bones have become as brittle as biscuits. It seemed to have gone to a strange place the moment the door was closed and then died there.]
[Lupin: Vid, the Disappearing Cabinet is more dangerous than we thought.]
[Vid: I understand. Let's pause the experiments. I'll first see if I can repair this cabinet.]
Putting down the pen, Vid couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
He thought the Disappearing Cabinet was only broken by Peeves during Harry's second year, but he hadn't expected it was already damaged before that.
He focused intently on the Disappearing Cabinet, and gradually, countless golden Magic Pattern Circuits surfaced like flowing water. Complex layers of magic circles overlapped, with hundreds of Ancient Magical Runes entwining the Disappearing Cabinet like chains.
Tiny flaws, incomplete patterns, weathered Runic Language, seemingly corroded magic power...
The damaged parts of the Disappearing Cabinet were slowly identified by him.
...
Umbrella House.
After practical training ended, everyone was applying bruise-healing ointment. Harry asked, "Vid seems quite busy these days? He only comes to the Umbrella House once every three or four days."
Each visit, he spends about an hour teaching them a new spell, guiding everyone through any difficulties in their studies, and then quickly disappears again.
"Yes," Michael said helplessly. "That Alchemy Professor seems to have given Vid a very difficult assignment. He rarely even comes back to the common room lately, always off researching Alchemy somewhere else."
The Cleaning Crab clattered over, collecting the cotton balls and cleaning the floor.
Everyone's eyes involuntarily followed it for a bit, and after the crab returned to its shell nest and settled down, they left the Umbrella House. As they went down a flight of stairs, they unexpectedly encountered someone.
"H-hello there..."
Professor Quirrell also seemed startled by this encounter. With an awkward smile, he extended his hand and timidly greeted his students.
Michael, Hermione, and Leian reflexively bowed their heads as if very respectful, saying, "Good evening, Professor."
Harry and Theo, on the other hand, greeted openly, "Hello, Professor Quirrell." Neville, a step behind, hurriedly added his own greeting.
As they were about to part ways, Harry added, "Hang in there, Professor! You're really brave!"
Professor Quirrell gave a short, nervous laugh, waving his hand slightly.
"You..." Hermione stared intently at Harry, her eyes seemingly filled with countless words.
Theo directly asked, "Harry, do you think Professor Quirrell is... um... brave?"
——There wasn't a more timid professor in the entire school.
"You don't understand," Harry said deeply, as if harboring many secrets. "Professor Quirrell is fighting against evil; he's really incredible."
Theo and Neville, though they didn't quite understand, nodded vaguely. The others exchanged a look of indescribable expression.
"Keep an eye on him. Don't let them approach again," Michael said in a low voice.
Everyone silently nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility on their shoulders.
...
Harry was unaware of the others' concerns. As usual, he returned to the dormitory joyfully, shared what he learned today with Ron, played a game of Wizard's Chess, and then went to bed.
But for some reason, his scar on his forehead was faintly aching tonight. When everyone else had fallen into dreamland, Harry remained awake. So he wrapped himself in his coat and sat by the window, gazing at the starry night outside.
Suddenly, a shadow swept across his vision. Harry reacted and realized—it was someone flying across the sky on a broom!
Who was that?
What were they doing flying around the school in the middle of the night?
Without a second thought, Harry grabbed his Nimbus 2000, flew out the window, and jumped off from the eighth floor of the castle on his broom!
He quickly descended through the air, soon gaining altitude again, circling in the sky. He discovered a silhouette by the Black Lake. Harry swooped down from high above, closing in to find that it was Vid standing there.
"Hey, Vid," Harry landed his broom and approached, asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Harry?" Vid turned his head, also a bit surprised. "It's so late, and you're not asleep yet?"
"I can't sleep," Harry touched his forehead scar, saying, "For some reason, I'm having a bit of a headache today—could be Snape cursing me from the bottom of the Black Lake?"
Vid glanced at the lightning-shaped scar, then answered the previous question, "I was about to head back to sleep when I saw what seemed like a person with white hair here... but as I flew over, they disappeared."
He wasn't sure if the figure he saw tonight was the same as the one he saw months ago, but for some reason, Vid constantly felt intrigued by this matter.
Maybe because it was too far away, he never caught sight of that person's name.
Harry scratched his head, not giving much thought, guessing, "Could you have been mistaken?"
"Perhaps."
Vid didn't argue. He noticed Hagrid carrying an oil lamp and accompanied by his hound Fang, heading into the Forbidden Forest under the cover of night.
"Looks like Hagrid's still awake too," Vid said.
"Probably off to feed Norbert?" Harry said offhandedly.
"Norbert?" Vid suddenly turned to look at him.
"Yes! Oh, that's the baby dragon. Hagrid named it Norbert," Harry explained. "It's growing bigger, too big to stay in the cabin, so Hagrid moved it to a cave in the Forbidden Forest."
Vid was surprised, "Hasn't it been sent away?"
Harry sighed helplessly, "Hermione's tried persuading him several times, Ron mentioned his brother Charlie in Romania studies dragons and could take Norbert... but Hagrid can't bear to part with it..."
"Roar——-"
From within the Forbidden Forest, a loud roar suddenly echoed, and a jet of fire burst forth, shooting straight up into the sky!