"I see..."
Vid wasn't surprised at Will's resentment and ingratitude, only feeling it was a pity for Remus.
He paused for a moment, intending to say something, but then realized that the man before him was speaking honestly only under the influence of the Magic Potion. Neither rebuke nor mockery would elicit any reaction, let alone repentance.
Thinking this, Vid felt a bit bored. He leaned back against the chair and said calmly:
"Tell me about 'him,' the one who gave you all a dream and someone you're willing to follow wholeheartedly—who is he? What's his name?"
"We... we call him the Leader... sometimes, Alpha."
Will's face showed a look of reverence, murmuring: "He's like a father, guiding us forward. He made us realize that our existence has meaning..."
The man rambled on and on, all praises and worship for this "Alpha," without any substantial content.
This poor fellow seemed to have only these grandiose but empty words in his head, lacking any meaningful strategies.
Vid frowned and interrupted him, asking: "You've met him, right? What does he look like?"
"He... he looks about forty or fifty years old, very handsome, very charismatic... brown hair, and on his arm, there's... there's a... butterfly tattoo..."
Will's speech became increasingly labored, and suddenly his body jerked forward, straightening as if pulled by an invisible force, then fell back with the chair crashing to the ground, struggling painfully, letting out short, sharp cries from his throat.
Vid "saw" black mist pouring from Will's teeth, eyes, and nails, wrapping around his body like spider silk, tightening more and more.
He knew it was some kind of deadly curse.
In normal vision, Will seemed stricken by an illness, his face suddenly turning a mix of blue and white, trembling as though shivering.
The curse seemed to be weakening the power of the Veritaserum; Will's eyes suddenly cleared a bit, and he looked at Vid with longing, struggling to say: "Save... save..."
Vid squatted halfway down, looking at the bloodshot-eyed man, and said:
"This is the curse put on you by Alpha. Once you reveal secrets, the curse's power will kill you..."
He looked into those protruding eyes and softly said: "I can save you. But after lifting the curse, you must become my spy."
Upon hearing this, the dying Will's eyes suddenly widened; he looked at Vid with resentment, clenching his teeth tightly and refraining from asking for help anymore.
Amidst the man's relentless convulsions, the chair clattered against the ground, the sound gradually diminishing until it was quiet.
Vid closed his eyes briefly and stood up.
"Meow——"
A soft, kitten-like meow came from behind.
One after another, furry little heads peeked through the door, with a few kittens sitting there, looking at their master.
These were Vid's poppet creations, indistinguishable from real cats.
Vid walked over, picked one up in his arms, and rubbed its ear.
One kitten walked over, gently nudging the person on the ground with its soft paw, then turned to look at Vid, meowing softly.
"Dead meow~"
"Hmm, let's send him to the spiders for a snack," Vid said in a rather unhappy tone.
Then a few kittens bit onto the clothes or chains, dragging both man and chair out with clattering sounds.
Vid sat quietly for a moment, sorting through the recent unpleasant events in his mind, clearly sensing the potential chaos that a butterfly's wing could stir.
Why are there more and more forces that weren't mentioned in the original story? Why has the situation become increasingly complicated?
In the seven years of Harry Potter... and even nineteen years after, it seemed there were only Voldemort and his Death Eaters as enemies.
But now, more and more forces hidden beneath the surface are being uncovered.
Vid closed his eyes and thought for a long time, gradually locking onto a reason in his heart.
—The Friendship Book.
The revolutionary change a portable and cheap communication tool brought to society was enormous... Wizards already had many communication methods before, but fireplace calls, the Two-Sided Mirror, and owls each had their own inconveniences.
As for Dumbledore's Guardian God messaging, it was something only a handful of people possessed.
The Friendship Book broke the isolation and constraints caused by wizards living reclusively. Its portability and efficiency allowed nearly synchronized transmission of information, causing many things to develop more quickly and covertly.
Meanwhile, due to Vid's influence, changes always started from the British Magic World, creating a magical convergence effect, with conflicts and contradictions seemingly gathering towards this island, primarily driven by interests.
Before, except for certain large-scale events, ministries of magic from different countries wouldn't communicate frequently.
Magic schools were as if separated by invisible barriers, neither communicating nor competing with one another, and the Triwizard Tournament, which once broke such barriers, had stopped for centuries.
Everyone was growing wild yet freely in their own little domains.
However, now, things were different.
Vid recalled going to find Will and seeing customers from different countries in the Magic Workshop.
Why did they come?
—To purchase the Flow Mirror.
This product had just been launched, and news reached as far as Brazil, nine thousand kilometers away, and they immediately responded.
Wizards, who once self-sustained and mostly had no interactions, were no longer secluded. The distance between them was rapidly closing, and the isolation caused by national and regional boundaries was being dismantled, with the era's storm silently gathering strength.
Vid, for now, had only glimpsed a corner of it all.
He felt a subtle pressure from the chaos he foresaw, and then he adjusted his mindset, slowly putting down that pressure.
Problems will always arise... and always need to be solved.
But the most important thing at the moment is to ensure the safety of his family.
Outside, the crunching sounds from the spider's cage had already ceased, and a group of Acromantulas was fighting over the remains of a comrade.
A few kittens sat nearby, watching with curiosity. Mops and brooms swung swiftly, cleaning the floor once more.
Vid's wardrobe space was becoming more lively.
However, he had originally intended to create a fantastical world like Mr. Scamander's, yet now the space held only a dozen or so Magical Creatures, most of which were Vid's Alchemy creations.
Vid glanced at the once-crowded spider cage, now a bit more empty, then quickly left the wardrobe space.