The morning sunshine was warm but not scorching, accompanied by a gentle breeze, making the small garden particularly pleasant. The roses, pink, white, purple, and red, were blooming in a riot of color, with layers of petals stretching freely, exuding a vibrant vitality.
The young man in hospital clothes sat on the garden bench, gazing at the scenery in front of him, with a touch of longing and confusion in his eyes.
The gray-haired father stood beside him, bending down and asking with concern, "How do you feel? Is there any discomfort?"
The young man smiled weakly and said, "Dad, I'm fine, I'm just a bit tired."
"If you're tired, let's go back to the ward." The mother, also looking weary, tried hard to smile and said, "These flowers will bloom for a few days, we can come back tomorrow to see them again."
"Let's go back then." Supported by his parents, the young man stood up and slowly walked out of the garden, suddenly saying, "I feel like eating hot pot."
"Sure." The mother choked up, quickly wiping her tears with the back of her hand, and said, "When you get better, we'll have hot pot, barbecue, and taste all the foods you want to try."
"Okay, taste them all!" The young man took a couple of steps and suddenly said, "If I... if I don't get the chance, you go and taste all the delicacies for me, that's also good."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The father said sternly, "The doctor said your condition isn't serious. As long as you follow the treatment, you'll gradually get better. You must hold on, do you hear me?"
"I hear you, I hear you..." The young man dragged out his words helplessly and said, "It's just talk! Dad, you really, why so serious."
"Mr. Gray! Vid Gray!"
— Who's calling?
Oh, it turns out they're calling me...
Vid, leaning against the garden pillar, shifted his body, knowing someone was calling him from outside, but he didn't want to leave just yet.
He pretended not to hear, followed the three of them for a while, listening to their hopeful talk of travel plans after the young man's recovery, as if the dream could really come true.
Suddenly, Vid heard a blurry voice, as if it were transmitted through a wall—
"I'm sorry, master," said the Cube Poppet, "If this doesn't work, we'll have to bring Dumbledore."
— Dumbledore?
The mention of this name dispelled Vid's reluctance to dawdle. He was about to walk out the door when suddenly he felt as if struck by electricity, his whole body twitching, instantly sitting up from the bed, gasping for air.
"Great, it really worked!" Zoe cheered, "I thought Mr. Gray had been put into a coma by some Dark Magic! It's so good that you're awake!"
Vid: "..."
Seeing his master exuding an aura of being forcibly awakened, the Cube Poppet didn't dare to boast, extending its mechanical claws to grab the other poppets "clack clack," then quickly darted back to the wardrobe space.
Vid silently watched their backs, grinding his teeth audibly.
"Mr. Gray, hurry up and pack," Zoe tugged on Vid's sleeve, saying, "Or we'll miss the train."
Vid slowly exhaled and said, "Thank you, Zoe, I'll be quick."
After Vid finished freshening up, the diligent house-elf had already sent his luggage to the train. Vid was too lazy to catch the carriage outside the castle, so after saying goodbye to Zoe and the house-elf, he put away the wardrobe space, opened the window, and transformed into a Peregrine Falcon, flying out directly.
The Hogwarts Express was parked at the platform, with quite a few students already on board, and carriages coming from the school in succession.
Vid flew a circle around, about to find a secluded spot to turn back into human form, when he saw a compartment window open, and Michael leaning by it, waving at him.
Vid tucked his wings and dove over. Michael quickly moved aside, and the next moment, the Peregrine Falcon flew through the window, transforming into the familiar classmate.
"I should have called you when I was leaving."
Seeing a few tufts of hair sticking up on Vid's head, Michael couldn't help but laugh, saying, "I thought you were researching Alchemy somewhere or had business with Dumbledore. Turns out you just overslept?"
Vid straightened his hair and sighed, "I had a very long dream last night."
"Must have been a super good dream that made you reluctant to wake up?" Michael said casually, flipping through his pet poppet to pass the time.
Vid froze for a moment, feeling a sudden emptiness in his heart, forgetting to speak.
The compartment door was pushed open with a bang, and Theo's voice came in before he did, "Harry didn't see Vid this morning either. He's going back to that Muggle aunt's house for the summer. I guess Vid is still at school, should we tell the professor..."
He saw Vid then, but the inertia of language still let the last word float out of his mouth: "… once."
Then Theo realized: "Vid? Did you leave early this morning?"
"No, this guy overslept and just hurriedly flew over," Michael teased.
Vid raised his hand and waved in greeting.
"Luckily we didn't miss the train," Leian said, closing the compartment door behind them, sitting down with Theo, "Otherwise we would have worried the professors."
"Why worry about alerting the professors?" Michael said proudly, "Which professor doesn't like our Vid?"
They all laughed together.
The train let out a long whistle, then slowly started, pulling away from the station, and Hogwarts castle gradually faded from view.
"I heard Professor Trokka has resigned too, is it true?" Leach asked.