The current Headmaster of Hogwarts had silvery hair and a beard hanging down to his waist, a pair of half-moon spectacles perched on his hooked nose.
He had clearly arrived in a hurry, still wearing a crimson robe typical of a Wizengamot member with a silver "W" embroidered on the chest, covered by a black cloak, giving off a mysterious yet fashionable appearance.
"Professor Dumbledore!"
Harry was grabbing a cupcake from the fridge to fill his stomach and hurriedly swallowed it upon seeing Dumbledore, almost choking himself.
"Fortunately, Vid came up with an idea, and the Ministry of Magic gave up on capturing Sirius, Fudge and his men left a few minutes ago."
Lupin said, using "Aguamenti" to get Harry a glass of water, then invited the Headmaster to sit down, asking:
"Would you like a glass of honey mead, sir?"
"Oh, is it honey mead from the Three Broomsticks?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course."
"Then please do pour me a glass."
Dumbledore sat on the sofa, speaking with a hint of regret:
"That's a bit unfortunate, I thought I could catch up with Fudge! So... what clever strategy did you use to persuade him? From what I know, Fudge is not someone who easily gives up his objectives."
"Well... about that..."
Vid touched his nose and briefly recounted the previous events.
Lupin poured the honey mead into several transparent glasses, the honey-colored liquid exuding a sweet aroma with a faint hint of alcohol.
He waved his magic wand, and the glasses floated to each person automatically.
"I also get one?" Harry asked in surprise.
"This honey mead has a very low alcohol content, almost like a beverage. You can have a glass too," Lupin said.
Harry took a small sip, feeling it was like a beverage, sweet and tangy with the unique aroma of honey, very tasty.
As he listened to the others talk, he slowly finished the entire glass of honey mead.
Vid, having said he was thirsty before, held the drink-like honey mead, taking two sips after saying a few words. By the time he spoke about Fudge and the others leaving for the second time and the final blessing from the black-skinned Auror, the glass in his hand was also empty.
Lupin noticed, finding the children's gluttony amusing, and waved his wand to refill their glasses.
After Vid finished speaking, Dumbledore's mouth lifted, and a smile filled his blue eyes.
"A very clever method, avoiding any conflict yet helping Sirius escape the doom of prison—Vid, you always surprise me."
"Indeed, I was already prepared to cast a spell... who knew just a single sentence could really make Fudge leave,"
Lupin said with some surprise as well.
"...I thought you might not be too happy, Professor Dumbledore," Vid hesitated for a moment and said honestly.
"Oh? Why?" Dumbledore asked.
"Because the first time to drive Fudge away, I had Sirius borrow the name of the Witch Pure Party and Grindelwald..."
Vid admitted.
He was able to know the slogan from when the Witch Pure Party was rampant, of course, thanks to the small private lessons Dumbledore gave him. He also knew of the complicated relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
His grey eyes looked slightly troubled at Dumbledore, as if worried he might be hurt by this.
Dumbledore was startled for a moment, then laughed and said:
"Fudge is afraid of such big troubles, so he will certainly hesitate. Once he realizes his suspicions are baseless, he will naturally back down."
"Your approach was correct—using the limited information you had to cleverly protect those around you—I'm very proud of you, Vid."
"Oh... thank you."
Vid bowed his head, holding the glass, pondering for a while.
There was a question he knew he shouldn't ask, but it felt like an urge in his heart, constantly pushing him to voice it.
"Professor Dumbledore," Vid said, "If you think Grindelwald's desire to break the Confidentiality Law was wrong back then, is it the right choice now?"
Dumbledore hesitated again, thinking for a while before answering, "Nobody is absolutely right, Vid. But instigating war and harming the innocent is certainly wrong—in the warmth of peace, a wizard's civilization can better prosper."
"Oh..." Vid responded lukewarmly again, and Dumbledore suspected he wasn't really listening because Vid's next sentence was, "Professor, I remember you had red hair when you were young."
"Indeed." Dumbledore, sensing something amiss, sighed and said.
"Oh... are you related to the Weasley family?" Vid asked.
Dumbledore: "...Red hair isn't a special race, and not all red-haired people are related to the Weasley clan."
Vid: "...Oh."
Harry blinked, pointing at Vid and lowering his voice to ask Lupin, "What's up with him?"
"...Drunk?"
Lupin, puzzled, looked at the empty glass in Vid's hand, wondering aloud, "This honey water doesn't have high alcohol content!"
"Anyway, he probably needs some sleep now, I'll take him to the bedroom."
Dumbledore stood up, waved his wand, and the sofa Vid was sitting on began levitating slightly, then slowly floated.
Harry quickly led the way: "My room's upstairs!"
This house had the same layout as the Dursleys', with only three rooms that could serve as bedrooms—Lupin had one, Sirius had one, and Harry also had one.
Because the Ministry of Magic had strict monitoring in this area, Lupin and Sirius couldn't casually use The Undetectable Extension Charm to expand the space, or they might really receive two tickets to Azkaban.
Although Harry had been staying at the Dursleys' recently and hadn't been able to spend the night in this house, his room was already filled with clutter, with Harry's assignments, textbooks, Quidditch models, and wizard robes all over the place.
He embarrassedly ran into the bedroom ahead and quickly started tidying up, stuffing all the clutter into the closet.
Vid didn't seem to notice he was being moved; he looked like he was sitting on an escalator ascending the stairs while continuing to ask seriously—
"Professor, do you think abolishing the death penalty is correct?"
"—If the British Magic World still had the death penalty, Sirius would have died twelve years ago with no chance to clear his name."
"Professor, if you could turn back time, back to your younger days... would you make the same choices as you did in this life?"
"—I don't think so; I have many regrets I would want to change, but life doesn't give us do-overs."
"Professor, can you Apparate to the Moon?"
"—No, such a long distance would be fatal even for me. Besides, there's no air on the Moon and no way to breathe."
Vid's questions were strange, but Dumbledore patiently answered them all, then gently settled him onto the bed in the bedroom and covered him with a blanket.
"Rest well, Vid," Dumbledore said kindly. "You seem very tired today."
"Dumbledore!"
As he was about to leave, Vid suddenly sat up, swept his hand, and the closet space clicked and clicked open in the center of the room.
Dumbledore turned back, surprised at this sight.
The wardrobe door suddenly banged open, and several poppets dragged a bearded man, retreating as they emerged.
"This is one of the werewolves who kidnapped the Alchemist."
Vid finished saying this, collapsed back onto the bed, pulled the blanket up to his chest, and fell asleep in seconds.
The poppet cats left in the room glanced at each other, then quickly darted into the closet space, and the massive wardrobe swiftly folded back into a small pencil case on the floor.
Dumbledore: "..."
After a while, the Headmaster picked up the pencil case from the floor, gently placed it beside Vid's pillow, and "floated" the bearded man out.