Vid was silent for a moment before speaking:
"When I was seven, he dragged me out of school, insisting on taking me to a fun place—only for us to end up on top of a lighthouse, where he urged me to jump off."
Dumbledore furrowed his brow. His eyes, which had shown a trace of regret as he looked inside at the child, now reflected only coldness.
"You didn't tell your parents?" Dumbledore asked. "They seem to think you two get along well."
"I didn't jump."
Vid explained, "Of course, I wouldn't do something so foolish. I turned to leave. But as I was going down the spiral staircase, I suddenly heard the sound of a crash—"
Vid paused for a moment and said, "—he had jumped down himself."
Now Dumbledore didn't know what to say.
He initially thought the child was inherently wicked, but he hadn't expected it to be sheer stupidity.
Anyway, there was still time, so Vid went ahead and finished the story.
"I thought he was dead and quickly ran out to check, only to find that he had landed on a haystack and fortunately just broke a leg."
"I carried him to a nearby clinic, but after that, we were no longer friends."
To this day, Vid still couldn't comprehend Carrel's thought process, but because of this incident, he drew a definite line between them.
Before the lighthouse jump, they could barely be called friends. Afterward, Vid only thought of him as a troublesome kid from his father's friend's family.
However, Carrel seemed to believe they had forged a 'life and death friendship,' often coming over to play until they moved away, leading Ferdinand to think they had a good relationship.
Because in the end, it was Carrel who jumped from the lighthouse and broke his leg. The kid was at least honest enough to take all the blame, without implicating Vid.
Besides, their fathers had always maintained a good relationship, with business ties built on mutual trust and support.
So in the end, Vid also kept the true story from his parents, never mentioning that Carrel had dared him into a deadly act, and merely drew an invisible line in his heart.
Two bats flew in under the cover of darkness, and both Vid and Dumbledore fell silent.
They watched the two bats fly into the guest room, and shortly after, four figures left in haste.
Soon after, the Peregrine Falcon turned back into human form, turned the golden Hourglass, and vanished instantly.
Vid unconsciously felt somewhat relieved.
The past him had returned to the earlier past; at this point in time, only one "Vid" remained, removing the need for hiding.
However, as Vid prepared to follow those Vampires, Dumbledore suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder, forcibly dispelling Vid's Disillusionment Charm.
Vid exclaimed in surprise, "Professor?"
"You should go back to rest, Vid," Dumbledore said. "If I'm not mistaken, you have two elective classes tomorrow morning at nine."
Vid could hardly believe it, "You just taught me a spell!"
"Yes… but I taught you the spell so you'd know how to protect yourself the next time you meet such enemies, not so you can confront them now."
Dumbledore dispelled the Disillusionment Charm, appearing before Vid, looking down at him gently:
"Fighting Vampires is not the same as participating in a challenge match, not to mention you haven't truly mastered the Sunlight Charm."
"Vid, you're still young; you don't need to face the world's harsh sides too soon."
"Moreover, there's a huge secret behind these people that I need to spend some time investigating. But you don't have the time to run around with me."
"—Go back."
Dumbledore said firmly.
—That isn't what you said when you sent Harry to deal with Voldemort.
Vid thought to himself, glaring angrily at Dumbledore.
He didn't understand why, when he had already destroyed several of Voldemort's Soul Artifacts, dealing with a few Vampires warranted leaving him out. Vid didn't believe Dumbledore's words were out of concern for his safety...
And as for attending classes—even more reason to dismiss it—the Headmaster knew full well that most courses posed no challenge to Vid. Besides, he could use the Time Turner to catch up on sleep, so he needn't worry about missing class.
So what could it be?
Suddenly, Vid was slightly moved, his eyes flashing.
"I get it," he said gloomily. "I'll go back to school."
"Promise me, you won't quietly follow," Dumbledore said.
"I'm not the Weasley Twins…" Seeing the Headmaster was serious, Vid reluctantly agreed, "I promise."
Something promised is not easily broken.
Only then did Dumbledore believe him and strode off in the direction the Vampires had departed, his body changing color and soon vanishing entirely from Vid's view.
Vid sighed and didn't follow them, transforming instead into a Peregrine Falcon and flying back to school.
He had figured it out, Dumbledore didn't think that facing merely four Vampires was beyond his protection. Nor did Dumbledore doubt his ability or character.
He simply didn't want Vid involved in a potentially bloody battle.
A scene of bloodshed, of once-living beings struggling in the throes of death—that was what Dumbledore didn't want him to witness again.
This was different from Voldemort's Residual Soul and the Inferi, as Vampires bleed, scream, plead, or curse, potentially going from lively to lifeless in a snap.
Witnessing such a process could shock an ordinary person tremendously, and some could even develop severe psychological issues as a result.
This was what Dumbledore felt he shouldn't face right now.
Who knows what the bearded man told Dumbledore, the Headmaster knew of his experience using spiders to deal with thugs, yet still treated him like a child.
Vid felt helpless, but he couldn't possibly argue with Dumbledore—No worries, I've experienced it before, more than once. My psyche's healthy and won't be affected.
Back at school, Vid naturally made the most of his time, resting for a few hours. The morning was packed with classes, but it wasn't until he finished Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon that he found time to practice his new spell.
The Room of Requirement transformed into a gloomy stone room, resembling the Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. Vid stood before the mirror, practiced a few times, and finally mastered the correct way to cast the spell.
He raised his Magic Wand—
"Akayas-Tomio!"
The wand's tip burst with a brilliant, blinding white light, instantly illuminating the entire room.
The light beam sliced through like sharp blades, like searing heatwaves, inundating the room, reflecting and refracting, leaving hardly any shadow.
Even Vid's back was brightly lit.
This fiery light conveyed no stinging burns, however. It simply felt overwhelmingly warm, like a source of powerful and gentle strength.