This time, with Dumbledore, the two of them arrived in the town in the blink of an eye.
The feeling of Apparition was uncomfortable, but Vid had already learned how to adjust himself during the rapid transfer. After a few deep breaths, he recovered from the dizziness and nausea.
"Feeling better?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes." Vid nodded, looked around, switched the scenery in his mind from what he had seen above, and then headed towards the path on the right.
"This way, I remember the inn should be in this direction."
Apparition always comes with a loud "crack," and even if the caster is Dumbledore, he can only reduce the sound but not make it disappear completely.
Vampires have keen hearing; to avoid being discovered by them, Dumbledore set the Apparition landing point two or three hundred meters away from the inn.
Afterwards, the two of them cast the Disillusionment Charm, Masking Spell, Muffliato, and other spells to hide themselves and walked along the concrete road in that direction.
On the way, Vid lowered his voice and told Dumbledore everything he had seen and heard before in detail.
"I've never fought vampires before, I'm worried I won't handle it well... Moreover, if they turn into bats and a few escape, it might cause trouble in the future..."
Dumbledore's appreciative voice seemed to come from the air:
"Yes, caution is right, I'm glad to see you didn't rush in recklessly."
"There's a spell specifically to deal with vampires; it's not in our textbooks, but if you enter the advanced Spell Class, you have a chance to learn it from Filius."
"What spell?" Vid asked.
Dumbledore said, "Sunlight Charm, also known as 'Embrace the Sun'."
Vid recalled for a moment and said, "I've never heard of it."
"Of course, because this spell is now classified as a Forbidden Curse, and the Ministry of Magic prohibits schools from teaching it to students—because it can cause severe harm to non-wizard half-humans—namely, vampires, threatening their safety."
Vid was momentarily speechless.
The safety of vampires is important, but isn't the safety of a wizard encountering vampires just as important?
Dumbledore seemed to know what he was thinking and slowly said, "I once heard Nicolas Flamel say that over five hundred years ago, vampires were unprecedentedly powerful."
"At that time, the Muggle society had rampant plagues, and many wizards were infected. Vampires, being strong, good at hiding, and unafraid of viruses, thus developed their kin on a large scale, becoming a disaster."
"Muggle churches once mobilized large numbers of knights to eliminate vampires worldwide, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. Wizards also fought against vampire harm, but among vampires, there were some with great magic power... Eventually, many wizards had to hide with their families... hiding among Muggles."
"But with the emergence of the Sunlight Charm, wizards finally gained the power to combat vampires, changing their disadvantageous position completely."
Vid listened quietly to these contents that would not appear in textbooks, then raised his own question: "I remember vampires merely dislike sunlight but are not unable to operate in it."
"Indeed. But the light emitted by the Sunlight Charm is hotter and more intense than gentle sunlight; it's said that facing it is like being thrown into a frying pan for vampires, yet it causes no harm to most other creatures," Dumbledore said.
Vid summarized, "So now vampires have become a minority that requires protection."
"Indeed. After prolonged killings and sacrifices, in the 17th century, the International Wizarding Union and vampires reached an agreement, ending the history of war and mutual slaughter."
"Vampires claimed the Sunlight Charm caused cruel persecution to their kin, strongly demanding that the International Wizarding Union prohibit wizards in each country from learning and using this spell."
"Meanwhile, wizards strictly limited the vampire population's growth, enacted various laws."
"Such as prohibiting vampires from attacking humans and half-human intelligent creatures, forbidding them from attacking livestock raised by humans, and they must drink blood from livestock they raise or purchase, and every vampire needs to register with the Ministry of Magic, among other regulations."
Vid: "..."
Undoubtedly, by the final stage of the war, vampires had likely been hunted to their last resort by Muggle armies and wizards, forced to concede and sign various "unequal treaties" to obtain the protection and acceptance of wizards.
Regarding the restriction on learning the Sunlight Charm, it wasn't wizard associations' compromise, but victory's "human rights" declaration.
In fact, the dissemination and learning of this spell have never stopped.
Newspaper articles often appear advocating the Ministry of Magic should completely eliminate vampires.
There are also wizards openly proud of becoming "Vampire Hunters"—although they might never encounter a real vampire enemy their entire lives.
Like Lockhart, who once described in his book how he traveled with a vampire onboard and "friendly exchanged," finally transforming the vampire to only eat lettuce.
Lockhart's book sold very well, but vampires tolerated it without causing trouble for that peacock.
"How is the Sunlight Charm?" Vid asked.
"Remember the incantation: Akayas-Tomio. When using the spell, you must hold a belief of protection, not slaughter. Then you need to wield the magic wand like this—"
Dumbledore said, gently flicking his fingers.
Although he didn't reveal his form, a faintly glowing arc appeared in the air, demonstrating how to wield the wand with this spell.
Vid silently memorized it, repeated twice in a low voice, but didn't actually release the spell.
"It's best not to use it in crowded places—" Dumbledore chuckled softly: "You know, it's illegal."
Vid also chuckled.
Undeniably, doing "bad things" together is easier to generate a sense of belonging than doing good things together.
At this moment, they already saw the inn, and though Vid, being short, could only see the lit window, not the people inside.
Simultaneously, he also saw the Peregrine Falcon standing next to the owl—it looked like a slightly larger pigeon from this angle.
Whether it's an illusion or not, Vid vaguely felt he heard the principal chuckle.
He silently turned dark-faced, feeling embarrassed for his past self.
Dumbledore changed the topic: "The kid inside, is he the friend you were missing? I remember his name is Carrel Johnson."
Vid emphasized, "He is Carrel Johnson, but not my friend—never was, and still isn't."
Dumbledore glanced at him and asked, "What happened?"