Listening to Vid's words, seeing that cold curve at the corner of his mouth, Dumbledore only now felt just how surging the anger and disappointment was that had been pent up in this young man's heart all along the way.
According to Moody and Lupin's reports, Vid had conducted himself with exceptional propriety and calm throughout his trip to the United States.
Faced with provocation and crisis, he never once lost his composure from beginning to end, nor did he show any sharp hostility; his maturity was simply unlike someone of his age.
Only at this moment did Dumbledore understand—
Vid was not un-angry; he simply knew very clearly that an impulsive outburst in a foreign land was utterly useless and would only throw his group into an even more disadvantageous position.
He behaved with restraint because he saw too clearly and thought too thoroughly; thus he suppressed all his flames of rage beneath a calm exterior, speaking and acting as little as possible, trying his best to keep trouble within a certain range.
Yet the anger that comes with this clear-headed understanding is far deeper, and far more searing, than simply striking back after being insulted.
However, what Vid said next made Dumbledore realize that he had still thought too shallowly of the youth before him.
His deliberations were far more far-reaching and meticulous than Dumbledore had assumed.
Vid went on dissecting the situation coolly, his voice carrying an insight that surpassed his age:
"Ordinary Wizards in the United States generally harbor hostility toward Muggles and remain segregated from Muggle Society. But the irony is that their social culture is saturated at every turn with the influence of Muggle Society!"
"As for both governments… compared with the lower classes driven by emotion and hatred, the 'elites' of the ruling strata always keep their gaze fixed on the weighing of interests."
"If Muggle dignitaries truly coveted the power of Magic, how much use could it be to occasionally capture a few Wizards of uneven talent and lock them up for study? The efficiency is far too low, while the risk is high."
"By contrast—working with forces inside the Wizard government, isn't that simpler, more covert, and also the most profitable?"
Dumbledore pressed his fingertips together, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes, and asked softly in return:
"Then… if the upper echelons of the Magic Congress cooperate with the Muggle Government, what is the point? To accelerate the demise of the Wizarding World, so they can commit slow suicide?"
Vid had clearly already thought this question through; he shook his head, his gaze sharp:
"No, Professor."
"Just as you said before, the greatest strength of Muggles lies in their population base, enormous beyond imagination. And a vast population…"
He paused slightly, then said, "Means an equally vast market, means endless profits… and a life of luxury beyond what ordinary people can imagine."
"My friend Machioni once lamented in anguish that the strict constraints of the Confidentiality Law had cost him tens of billions of customers. In the eyes of a businessman like him, that is no different from guarding a gold mine while being forced to starve."
Vid's voice took on a chill of biting sarcasm as he said:
"Machioni at least still thinks about earning those tens of billions of Muggle coins through his own efforts, but some people… perhaps they've seen a far more convenient way of raking in wealth, one that only requires… selling off some secrets of their own kind."
"Not everyone in high office possesses long-term vision; some don't even think about how they'll survive tomorrow, nor do they care about their descendants. All they can see are the unprecedented, immense profits they can seize right now!"
"Perhaps… this is where the foundation of their cooperation lies."
"So, pinning our hopes on an investigation by the American Magic Congress, or expecting certain Auror elites of the British Ministry of Magic to uncover anything, is no different from covering our own eyes and ears and waiting for others to weave a pretty lie to deceive us."
"By the time, someday in the future, all the problems piled up beneath the surface erupt, it may already be beyond saving!"
"Professor, I don't want to hand my fate over for others to decide, and you can't leave this place, so… I'll go! I trust only my own eyes!"
Dumbledore listened quietly and did not speak for a long time.
He found himself unable to refute Vid's analysis, and equally unable to reject his request.
Vid's considerations were even more realistic than Dumbledore's own, and he saw even more clearly that naked greed in human nature.
No balance of pros and cons was needed, no ideological dispute, no entangled love or hate—just the simple, short-sighted yet astonishing profit-seeking instinct of certain people in high places.
So cold as to verge on cruel, yet so true that it was impossible to refute.
This speech caused Dumbledore's attitude to waver. Yet as a Professor, he still had his concerns.
Looking at the student before him—so excessively young, yet already having faced the deepest darkness of the world repeatedly—there was a complex, indescribable glint in Dumbledore's eyes.
His voice was low, threaded with a barely perceptible sigh, as he said:
"I do not doubt your analysis, but Vid… you are still a student. The very purpose of Hogwarts' existence is to allow children of your age to study and grow in peace."
"These burdens should not be placed on your shoulders too early; they ought to be borne by us adults."
Sirius and Remus had both said the same thing to Vid.
But…
"Professor."
Vid said sincerely, "With all due respect, there is little left in the standard curriculum at school from which I can learn anything new."
He had no intention of bragging; there was not the slightest trace of youthful arrogance in his words, only a cool assessment grounded in fact:
"And my abilities, I daresay, are not inferior to those of most adult Wizards. Especially in 'survival' and 'self-preservation,' I am confident I've already surpassed the vast majority of people."
"Besides, as a Ravenclaw, gauging the situation and keeping myself safe are practically instincts for us. Even if I truly encounter some danger that I cannot overcome by force, you can trust this much—I at least have the ability to retreat intact and return to Hogwarts alive!"
Even someone as steady as Dumbledore could not help the slight twitch at the corner of his eye at this moment.
The highest form of modesty is this: using the plainest words, as though unaware one is being modest at all, to say things that would make an enemy explode with rage.
Listening to Vid, it sounded almost as if he had already planned to scramble back in one piece before he even set off.
But thinking of those dangerous Spells he had mastered, the flames that had burned the Demonized Forest to ashes, and those Poppets of which no one had any idea how many there actually were…
Even Dumbledore, if Vid were on his guard, could not say for sure that he would be able to keep him.
It seemed… there really was no need to worry overly about Vid's safety; rather, one should be concerned for the stability of the American Magic World…
Recalling his earlier considerations—
One must not confine a child at one's side; one has to let him go to face storms and choices, to give him room to burn freely, even to the point of burning himself, so that a tiny spark can truly grow into a force that sets the prairie ablaze.
Dumbledore sighed softly and asked, "What is your plan?"
Vid couldn't help but smile and said, "[Vid Gray] will still be attending classes at school, and I… I will be an ordinary person travelling alone to the United States."
"I suppose… for a tourist, the United States can't be a perilous land bristling with danger at every turn, can it? The Scourers and the Magic Congress won't pay attention to a Muggle, and my movements will be free…"