Before the curfew, Vid took Carrel to Gryffindor Tower and pointed out the various classrooms they passed along the way.
At the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room was the Fat Lady in a pink dress. As they approached, she asked, "Password?"
"I don't have Gryffindor's password, but I can find someone to bring you in," Vid said.
"No need." Carrel smiled and waved his hand, "Percy told me the password, I can go in myself."
"Oh." Vid glanced at him and said, "I should go back too, get some rest, so I won't be late tomorrow."
"Okay." Carrel nodded.
So Vid left, and as he turned around, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he had soft-heartedly agreed to Dumbledore, Vid quickly realized that he might not be suitable for the task Dumbledore handed over to him.
Vid felt he wasn't as suave as Michael, not as kind as Theo, nor as genuine as Leian, and did not have the lively enthusiasm of the Gryffindors.
Dumbledore expected him to inspire Carrel, which was really asking the wrong person.
"I should go and chat with Violet, either tell me the password or leave!"
After walking a distance, Vid vaguely heard the Fat Lady's complaints.
He turned around and saw Carrel still standing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, waving happily when he saw Vid looking back.
The torches in the corridor always seemed to lack adequate illumination, with people in the distance appearing to stand perpetually in darkness.
Vid waved his hand, this time truly walking away.
"Password?"
The Fat Lady impatiently prompted again.
"Fortuna Major." Carrel finally responded to her.
He watched in amazement as the portrait swung open, revealing a large hole in the wall. He entered through the doorway, into the circular common room furnished with plush armchairs, where the fire roared in the fireplace, and golden and red drapes hung from the ceiling.
The common room was bustling with students doing homework, playing chess, teasing pets, practicing magic, creating a lively atmosphere.
Carrel stood at the entrance, watching for quite a while.
He kept observing everything before him.
Until Percy Weasley finally noticed him.
"Johnson!" Percy's eyes lit up as he squeezed through the crowd to approach.
"What?" Angelina shouted.
"I wasn't calling you!"
Percy replied loudly, then had to change his address:
"Carrel, you've finally arrived! I have your class schedule for tomorrow, and your dormitory assigned by the school is upstairs on this side, follow me..."
Carrel silently followed him, his gaze inevitably scanning the necks of those around him. He licked his lips as if he were very thirsty, his Adam's apple moving up and down.
"Here we are, this is your dormitory."
Percy opened a small door, revealing a reasonably spacious single room inside.
The room contained an orange wooden desk, an armchair, a thick and soft bed, with deep red curtains hanging from the ceiling, and a long-handled brazier among the bedding for warmth.
—Although it was only early autumn, the castle was already somewhat cold at night, and many students were wrapped in scarves.
"If you're missing anything, you can ask me or any of the Prefects, or you can write to Devis and Bans' shop in Hogsmeade—they sell various magical equipment."
"If you need Muggle items, the shop can help with purchases too."
"Okay, thank you," Carrel said.
After Percy left, Carrel entered his room to take a closer look, then noticed a small bottle of fresh blood in what he initially thought was a vase on the desk.
Carrel sniffed and murmured to himself, "Goat."
He stood for a while, then suddenly laughed again.
"Hogwarts."
...
Walking down the corridor, after a distance, Vid couldn't help but look back again.
This time, there was no one behind him.
The long corridor resembled a deep tunnel, always appearing overly eerie and silent inside the ancient castle when no students were present.
He recalled what Dumbledore had told him—
The headmaster disguised himself as a regular Auror to hunt down some vampires and pretended to be defeated by them, allowing them to lower their guard.
After a series of cat-and-mouse pursuits, the vampires thought they had ditched their pursuit and, seeking to heal and temporarily rest, went to their temporary base in the UK.
Soon after, the base was gone.
Several hurriedly fled, and after another game of chase, they led the headmaster to their base in France.
That base also disappeared.
But this time, two adult vampires died, one fled, and the remaining young one was brought back by Dumbledore.
Carrel was still a minor, giving him a huge advantage when facing a wizard like Dumbledore. Although he resisted hard, in Dumbledore's eyes, it probably wasn't much different from a child's tantrum.
However, among a group of equally underage young wizards who had not mastered the Sunlight Charm, the threat of a vampire was self-evident.
"Don't worry about him biting anyone."
Suddenly, a voice arose beside him.
A very old house-elf stood not far away, with moonlight streaming through the window, illuminating his silver-white eyebrows.
"Mr. Relf," Vid paused, then said, "Good evening."
He knew this house-elf, although Relf appeared very elderly and small in stature, he possessed powerful magic, even able to carry Vid across the Atlantic between the UK and the US.
Previously, when the Ministry of Magic was capturing Sirius, it was Relf who transported Vid from the United States back to the United Kingdom.
Moreover, he was old yet wise, deeply respected and revered by the many house-elves at Hogwarts. Vid had heard his name more than once from Zoe and others.
This was a "Dumbledore" among the house-elves.
"Good evening." Relf spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "Since Dumbledore dared to bring him into the school, naturally, he arranged comprehensive measures to ensure the students' safety, so you don't need to worry."
"May I ask, what kind of measures?" Vid asked.
A vampire's feeding instinct is inherent, and even a Magic Contract may not completely restrain such behavior.
For instance, an Unbreakable Vow is technically breakable, albeit at the cost of death.
As long as there is sufficient determination, nothing in the world can truly bind a person.
Then, Vid heard the house-elf before him say, "It's me."
He was momentarily stunned.
Relf raised his eyes and looked at him gently, saying, "I once watched werewolves exit the school via secret passages at night, and I've seen you stay almost the entire night outside on the terrace."
"I follow Dumbledore's orders as your guardians."