Vid glanced at the bread in his hand and asked, "Can you get used to this stuff?"
The students around them thought they were discussing the difference between food from the two countries, but Carrel understood—Vid knew he was now a Vampire.
He said in surprise, "I heard the headmaster values you a lot, turns out it's true!"
Then he shook the bread in his hand and said, "Don't worry, although this doesn't quite suit my taste, I can manage to fill my stomach. Dumbledore also mentioned the kitchen would prepare special food for me."
"Why?" Michael said indignantly, almost yelling.
Vid and Carrel glanced at him simultaneously, then turned away.
"Where are you staying?" Vid asked.
"That I don't know... How many people are in your dormitory? Can I join you?" Carrel asked.
"Impossible," Michael said. "You're a Gryffindor; you have to stay in Gryffindor Tower."
Carrel looked at him, pretending to get up: "Then I'll go ask the headmaster and see if he can make an exception for me."
"That's impossible," Vid also said, "According to school rules, you need to stay in Gryffindor Tower."
"Alright," Carrel sat down again and said with a smile, "Hopefully, there aren't too many people... Being too cramped will make me uncomfortable."
Despite Vampires being able to feed on animal blood or blood stored in hospitals, what they yearn for the most is fresh, warm human blood.
Vid thought, there probably isn't a professor more tolerant than Dumbledore in the world, first bringing a Werewolf into the school, and now a Vampire.
He said, "Third-year Gryffindors' male dorms are just full. The school should arrange a single room for you."
"That's good... By the way, tomorrow I have Muggle Studies, Transfiguration Class, and Magic Potion Class. How are the professors for these classes, are they easy to get along with...?"
The two chatted casually about studying at Hogwarts, seemingly no different from regular friends.
At first, people around were taken aback by Carrel's actions, but seeing him and Vid knew each other, they felt they understood, and gradually paid no more attention.
Michael was the only one who slightly furrowed his brow.
No one noticed when Luna Lovegood, sitting diagonally across the table, suddenly stood up with her plate and quietly walked to the farthest spot from Carrel like a little shadow.
Unlike the starting banquet, after dinner, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall didn't speak again as students sprawled out in groups.
"Carrel Johnson," Percy came over again and said, "Come with me, I'll take you to your dorm."
"Does it have to be now?" Carrel asked back, "Curfew time is still a few hours away, isn't it?"
"Huh?" Percy froze, as besides his pair of younger siblings, he had never encountered a lower-year student challenging him directly.
This year, he's the male student president at Hogwarts, often acting on behalf of professors in managing students, rendering him unused to being challenged.
—Of course, excluding the Weasley Twins.
Before Percy could get angry, Carrel said, "Sorry, I transferred from the United States and I'm not familiar with the school's regulations."
His words extinguished the unkindly fire that hadn't yet kindled in Percy.
"—Can I find you by eleven o'clock? I heard Gryffindor has a common room... Until then, I want to catch up with long-lost friends."
Carrel glanced at the badge on Percy's chest, saying, "I hope my insignificant request gains your permission—President Sir."
Percy's brow lifted slightly, he straightened his chest and said generously, "Alright... Eleven o'clock, don't be late."
After Percy left, Carrel turned his head, blinked, and with a smile of satisfaction said, "Done!"
...
When dinner ended, it was not yet dark.
Carrel wanted to take a tour of the school, Vid initially planned to familiarize him with tomorrow's class routes, but Carrel suggested they check out the outside of the castle first.
"You can explore classrooms anytime, but it'll be dark soon," Carrel said.
Vid couldn't understand: "Can't the lawn outside be seen anytime?"
Despite his words, Carrel insisted, prompting Vid to stand up from his seat.
By now, the sunset already hung atop the distant mountain peak, casting deep shadows over the entire Forbidden Forest. The Maze also appeared grander; a line of students queued at its entrance.
Vid suddenly recalled he hadn't visited the Maze in a long time.
"Vid, did your headmaster assign you a task? Like taking care of me as a new student?"
Carrel suddenly said, "I always feel you're somewhat unwilling to deal with me."
Vid had thought he was too carefree to notice, paused, then said, "As long as you don't suddenly freak out and try to jump off the tower, everything else seems fine to me."
Upon hearing this, Carrel was momentarily stunned and then burst into laughter, almost crying from laughing. As his stomach ached, he sat on the grass.
"Hahaha... so this is how you always saw me... Hahahahaha..."
Vid stood by, patiently waiting for him to finish laughing before asking, "Is it that funny? You're thirteen now, you should know jumping from a twenty-meter tower could kill someone."
He couldn't understand: "You'd drag me to death and laugh about it?"
Carrel wiped his tears and lifted his head, saying, "Ordinary people indeed could die... But we're Wizards!"
Vid was stunned, frowning but silent.
Carrel wiped his face and said, "It's also my fault... perhaps the pain from a broken leg was too much, I forgot to explain to you."
"When I was seven... once I was nearly hit by a car, and in an instant, I found myself atop a church."
"Back then, of course, I didn't know what Magic was—I thought I had Superpowers and could fly—I wanted to show you."
"When I came to find you, you know what I saw? You were reading a book, trying to reach a cup of water beside you... The cup was at least one foot away, yet as you reached out, it slid over by itself..."
Vid strained his memory but couldn't recall anything like that.
All he remembered was having never shown any exceptional abilities before receiving Hogwarts' acceptance letter, nor knowing of Magic's existence.
Carrel seemed aware of his thoughts, he laughed and said, "You didn't know, right? Because you did it unconsciously."
"I saw that scene, thinking we both had Superpowers. But when I told you, you thought I was reading too many superhero comics, even told me there weren't any Superpowers in the real world..."
"I wanted to prove it, yet couldn't manifest the ability... Then I deduced, perhaps facing mortal danger triggers the Superpower..."
This conclusion stemmed from superhero comics.
Carrel was typically a man of action; upon thinking it, he immediately did.
"So you dragged me to the lighthouse, hoping to stimulate our powers?" Vid said coldly. "Did it never occur to you we might die if we fell?"
"I did think! I laid out lots of straw..."
Carrel sighed, "After you left, my plan was to fly down first, so when you got to the bottom of the tower, you'd see me standing there coolly, and believe me."
"But the result was that I broke my leg... Haha, how could I fail so miserably..."