Vid said regretfully, "It's a pity, I can't—due to material limitations, if they were to transform, they could only turn into bats the size of a small car. So I gave up on Transfiguration and just added a function for them to release small bats."
Professor Abigail looked at the vampire puppet that had been thrown to the ground. It gracefully got up, bowed, and returned to the lineup of puppets.
Several vampire puppets clapped their hands, and bats flew out with a flurry, heading directly toward her face. In the instant that Abigail's attention was diverted, four of the puppets suddenly disappeared from where they were.
Professor Abigail was momentarily stunned, looked around, and found that some of these little fellows were hiding under the table, hugging their knees, others were hiding behind the curtains, one had leapt onto the top of the cabinet like a cat, and another was hanging in the corner of the ceiling like a giant spider.
Abigail: "..."
"Alright…" she said, holding back a laugh, "In the wild, these would be quite useful."
"Additionally, there are four trolls, consider them a bonus."
Vid took out a box containing four little green trolls, who were angrily brawling with each other.
"Because these guys are too smelly, I won't release them. The Shrinking Spell will wear off by tomorrow morning, so if you don't have a place to keep them yet, remember to recast the spell in time—these guys are actually three to four meters tall."
"Alright."
Abigail accepted the unexpected gift, watching as one of the trolls sat on a companion and then used a stick to knock on its head.
Another troll was pounding hard on the box, glaring angrily at Abigail and grunting, as if wanting to come out immediately.
She put the box down and took out a bulging money pouch to hand to Vid.
"This is for the cost of making the puppets. If it's not enough, I can add more," Professor Abigail said sincerely.
Vid took it, the hefty weight almost causing him to lose his grip.
He didn't refuse and instead stuffed it into his backpack, "It's enough. If there are issues with the puppets in the future, you can also come to me."
Abigail naturally agreed.
...
After Vid left, Abigail first set an alarm for herself so she wouldn't forget to cast the Shrinking Spell on the trolls in time. She then realized that those vampire puppets were still hiding.
She clapped her hands and said, "Come back."
The puppets bounced back over.
Abigail examined them.
In fact, the characteristics of these were very distinct—
The playboy goes without saying, there was another one that looked like a young girl with white hair, cold and very adorable, even without saying a word, her watery eyes could captivate anyone at first glance.
The other two were more ordinary in appearance, the one on the left had a very friendly smile, while the one on the right resembled a mushroom, always wanting to hide in dark corners, with a very weak presence.
Abigail was amazed in her heart.
She didn't understand how Vid was able to make these puppets seem almost as if they had souls, so vivid, with such distinct personalities.
In contrast, the organization-crafted puppets were like idiots, some would stumble after walking a few steps, some would even aim cannons at their own base.
And the puppets made by Aslan Magic Workshop looked a lot like real creatures, but buying a few more for comparison would reveal that their behaviors were relatively rigid and unable to execute very complex commands beyond their understanding.
They were just advanced Wizard's Chess pieces.
So those puppets are pets, but they can't serve as "soldiers"—the size limitation is only a small part of the reason, more importantly, they lack something.
Something... that would give them more "intelligence."
Only the puppets made by Vid's own hands are truly unique, they can serve as family, friends, mentors, housekeepers, and also become excellent soldiers at the same time.
It's said that among the puppets sold at Aslan Magic Workshop, a small portion are made by the inventor himself.
But that damned workshop never states which is which and hides them among innumerable ordinary puppets, as Easter Eggs, waiting for some lucky customer to eventually purchase them.
In this moment, Abigail truly understood the leader's orders—compared to Vid Gray, all puppet-making techniques became completely insignificant.
This young man... his brain and his alchemy techniques are the true priceless treasures.
Abigail strongly doubted that even if they sent all these mature puppets back to the organization, those alchemists would have the ability to replicate them.
She couldn't comprehend why there was such a vast difference between people?
...
In truth, Abigail didn't know that when Vid created puppets—or any alchemy items—it was like assembling building blocks with instructions, and if he did something wrong, he would receive an immediate alert.
At first, Vid's alchemy level was limited, partly due to a lack of proficiency and partly because he couldn't fully comprehend the magic power traces and runes he saw, and thus couldn't accurately replicate them.
But after three years, Vid had built a solid foundation in alchemy, now rarely encountering runes he couldn't understand, which meant his alchemy skills skyrocketed to levels unimaginable by ordinary alchemists.
After leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office, Vid returned to the Room of Requirement and then expanded the wardrobe space.
Upon entering, the golden-red firebird immediately flew over, approaching Vid, chirping with a mix of discontent and playfulness.
"I know you don't want them to leave, but they were ordered by someone else."
Vid patted its head from a distance, the gentle sweeping airflow making Mikhail squint slightly.
It cooed again, its eyes showing a look of grievance.
Vid understood and said, "It's quite lonely, isn't it? Don't worry, this place will become lively again soon."
Mikhail accompanied Vid in circling the wardrobe space.
Previously, the place was bustling, with so many puppets it was dazzling, and Vid himself couldn't even figure out how many puppets he had thrown in there.
However, those puppets had previously participated in battles on the island, with even brooms and dustpans enthusiastically rushing out, ultimately all becoming inert artifacts under the influence of the strong magnetic field.
Normally, under such circumstances, it only required reinjecting thoughts to "revive" them.
But later, an Obscurus rampaged across the island, and in the chaos where Muggle soldiers dropped plenty of bombs to combat it, not even reinforced concrete buildings could survive, let alone delicate puppets?
Afterwards, Vid was sent back to school by Professor Snape, and while the Ministry of Magic was cleaning up the battleground, Professor Flitwick helped Vid recover some puppet remnants that were still recognizable.
At this point, repair was no longer possible, one could only reduce them back to raw materials and remake new puppets.
Despite the wardrobe space still having buildings and furniture, trees and beaches, and a few magical creatures, it felt empty.
Vid looked at it and thought of how, every time he came in before, he was joyfully greeted by the pumpkin carriage wanting to take him for a ride, the teapot that always sang with steam, the broom that swept every corner clean, and the maid who was always tending to the garden, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"It will be fine." He assured Mikhail, "It won't be long before you have many companions again, just as we can further plan and redo this space."
Vid had always envied Scamander's suitcase space, and so when he first built his wardrobe space, he had been imitating Scamander's style, integrating various sceneries, using the Atmospheri Charm to create different climates, and even kept some magical creatures inside.
But later on, Vid placed most of the magical creatures into the Maze, some were returned to the Forbidden Forest, and they were replaced by an increasing number of puppets.
Then, he expanded places for his own rest, alchemy and Magic Potion brewing, storage...
As various buildings filled in, some unnecessary climate areas were moved by Vid to the edges and corners.
Gradually, the wardrobe space seemed a bit incongruous, with its functions mixed and chaotic.
Looking at this space now, Vid's thoughts became much clearer.
He was not Scamander, what he needed out of the space, naturally differed from Scamander's mission of Protecting Fantastic Beasts.
He intended to transform this space into something he truly needed.