"Bang—bang—bang—"
His heart was pounding violently, the soaked clothes clung to his body, chilled to the core by the cold wind.
Since Vid's rebirth, this was the closest he had come to death.
Don't be fooled by the plot where first-year Harry Potter easily deals with the amulet version of Voldemort as if it's a game. That's because he has the magic left by his mother protecting him. If Vid were in his place now, even with ten times more spells than Harry Potter, he would undoubtedly be dead if Voldemort discovered him.
Vid, reborn, wasn't too afraid of death. But he could accept dying for a great cause or to protect those he loved, but he couldn't accept dying for such a ridiculous reason—silenced for inadvertently overhearing the antagonist's secrets, dying like some insignificant side character, quietly and ingloriously.
Fearful of encountering Quirrell after leaving here, Vid hid on this secluded platform for a long time, unintentionally falling asleep against the wall. By the time he suddenly awoke, he realized it was almost dawn, and the sky was still very dark.
The Quidditch Pitch had long been empty, and in the vast campus, only a silver-haired adult wizard strolled by the Black Lake—probably a professor, but not Dumbledore, as Dumbledore has a long white beard.
Vid couldn't see the person's face clearly, but he didn't care, as long as it wasn't Quirrell. He leaned on the wall to stand up, feeling dizzy, his body swaying involuntarily, nearly losing balance.
Uh-oh.
Vid thought to himself, reaching to touch his forehead—didn't feel much heat because his palm was also astonishingly hot. Each breath scorched his nostrils, giving Vid the illusion that if he placed an egg nearby, he could cook it with his own body heat.
Vid crawled through the window into an empty classroom, dragging his weary body towards the infirmary. Most of the portraits in the corridor were asleep, but a red-haired young wizard idly leaned against the frame, his eyes lighting up with curiosity when he saw Vid, asking, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"
"Why aren't you back in the dormitory tonight?"
"Madam Pomfrey probably hasn't woken up yet! Want me to wake her for you?"
"Haha, just kidding! There's no portrait of me in her bedroom."
"Why don't you speak? Respond to me, I'm so bored being awake alone."
Vid had no energy to acknowledge him, but the red-haired wizard persistently followed him through several frames, chattering away endlessly without feeling awkward due to the lack of response—his real self must be a hopeless chatterbox.
Until a lengthy corridor devoid of portraits appeared ahead, the red-haired wizard reluctantly gave up. He shouted loudly from afar, "You must have few friends with that personality. Come find me when you get better, I can chat with you!"
Vid's headache was splitting, almost wanting to pry open his own skull, and the wizard's chatter further annoyed him, dispersing most of his attention. By the time Vid noticed there was another set of footsteps in the corridor besides his own, it was already very close!
—Just a corner away!!!
Vid suddenly froze.
He instinctively wanted to dodge, but his sluggish body didn't react in time.
"Bang!"
The footsteps approached…
"Bang!"
The world seemed to shrink in front of his eyes, his vision turned blurry, only his hearing remained sharp.
"Bang!"
A figure appeared from around the corner.
"What's wrong, child?" someone asked him.
But Vid's mind seemed like a rusted cog, and he took a long time to respond.
"Oh, your fever is quite severe." The person lightly pushed him. "Come with me, child—come this way—luckily my office is nearby."
Silver hair swayed before his eyes, looking somewhat like Dumbledore, so Vid lowered his guard.
…
A few minutes later, Vid cradled an empty cup, his ears continuously emitting steam, and he dully stared at the wizard in front of him, giving him a silly appearance.
The sudden arrival in the corridor wasn't the Quirrell he feared, nor the Dumbledore he imagined, but a stranger wizard. He looked at least eighty years old, wearing a deep blue robe, neatly combed short silver hair without beard. Noteworthy was that under his robe he wore Muggle shirt and trousers, with his tie perfectly knotted—a feat difficult for most wizards to achieve. In his breast pocket was an unusually styled gold-rimmed pair of glasses.
When this wizard appeared in the corridor, he saw Vid in poor shape and took him to his office, also offering his Energizing Potion. Must say, much better than the infirmary's concoctions—after drinking it, Vid's groggy head instantly cleared, apart from still venting steam from his ears, everything else was fine, and he saw his surroundings clearly.
It was a circular room, illuminated as bright as daylight by more than a dozen magical lamps of various sizes. Many strange and interesting little items crowded the shelves and tables, including a slowly rotating golden hourglass; a dozen small crystal balls strung on silver wires, their colorful lights breathing, dimming and brightening; and an incredibly realistic miniature estate on the cabinet beside, inhabited by thumb-sized people and an even smaller dog living inside, drawing water and cooking meals.
The room also contained some Muggle technological creations—fridge, oven, TV, computer, washing machine, even a disassembled car engine.
This was undoubtedly the strangest room Vid had ever seen.
The wizard who brought him was fiddling with a radio, soon a woman's enthusiastic voice emerged from it—
"Dear listeners, busy wizards, good morning! A beautiful day begins with 'Magic Time.' Today is still your favorite Glenda Chittock hosting the program. First, let's enjoy Setina Wobek's new song—'You Stole My Cauldron, But You Can't Have My Heart'..."
"Oh, lucky I didn't miss it, it's my favorite radio program," the wizard muttered, kindly smiling as he turned to ask, "Feeling better, child?"
"Yes, I'm much better, thank you for your help, sir." Vid cautiously inquired, "May I ask who you are—"
"I'm the Alchemy professor, Terence Morry," Professor Morry smiled. "If in your fifth-year O.W.L.s exams you achieve 'Outstanding' in Spellcasting, Transformation Technique, and Ancient Magical Runes, and at least 'Exceeds Expectations' in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Magic Potion, you can advance to my class in the sixth year. You enjoy Alchemy, don't you, child?"
He glanced down, Vid noticed "On the Diversity of Species" partially protruding from his bag. He tucked the book back, saying, "Yes, Professor, I'm learning Alchemy by myself."
"For you, this content might be a bit premature. You should begin with foundational texts like 'Magic Word Sound Chart.'"
"I've memorized 'Magic Word Sound Chart' entirely, sir. Along with 'Magic Rune Collection,' 'Rune Dictionary,' and 'Ancient Magical Language Introduction.' I've also read Mr. Nicolas Flamel's 'Alchemy Basics' and 'Alchemy Analysis.'"
Professor Morry was stunned.