Vid took out the Unicorn Feather Pen, and Professor Morry examined it for a moment, the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes relaxing:
"Very good, the Magic Text is as stable as it was last week. This quill won't fail for at least five years."
He put down the quill, took out an exquisite wooden box, and winked, saying, "This time we will look at a brand new material. I assure you, even that lad Machioni couldn't get this for you."
Vid's eyes lit up; he was indeed a bit curious.
Machioni has always been incredibly resourceful, capable of procuring even forbidden items like African Tree Snake Skin (one of the ingredients for Polyjuice Potion), and could get Vid a whole box for his unrestricted use.
What could there be that even Machioni couldn't obtain?
As the wooden box opened, the bottom was lined with thumb-sized pebbles, and Vid almost thought this was what Professor Morry wanted him to see.
He looked up at the professor's mysterious smile, observed carefully, and finally spotted a thin thread above the stones.
Vid picked up the nearby tweezers, carefully clamped the thread to examine and asked, "What's this?"
Professor Morry didn't keep him in suspense and directly said, "This is rumored to be the hair of a Forest Fairy."
"...Forest Fairy?"
Vid was only familiar with the Nymph of the Lake.
In fairy tales, even someone as powerful as Merlin was imprisoned by a Nymph of the Lake named Vivian.
Of course, just like the story "Merlin is a Cambyon (half-demon) born of a nightmare and a mortal woman," these tales are considered embellishments to Merlin's stories, and only children fully believe them, while most approach them with skepticism.
At this moment, examining the hair that was as delicate as spider silk, Vid looked at Professor Morry with inquiries in his eyes.
The old man smiled and said, "I didn't pull this from a Forest Fairy, so whether they exist or not, I don't know."
"But a quill made from this hair has a very magical effect—it can translate the language of animals in the forest into text that the user can understand."
"Any animal?" Vid couldn't help but ask.
"That depends on you," Professor Morry smiled. "I've seen the most talented person produce quills that could translate the languages of twelve types of animals. If it's you, I'd think you could at least reach that level."
A sound came from the corner: "Gorgle gorgle gorgle..."
The water had boiled.
Vid got up, picked up the kettle, and poured hot water into a teacup, where slender tea leaves swirled and danced in the water.
He sat down and asked, "Can this hair be used repeatedly?"
"Of course not," Professor Morry chuckled. "But each time you only need a tiny bit."
He gestured with his fingers to show the length of "a tiny bit," roughly a fingertip, and then leisurely added:
"If you fail, I can let you retry up to three times."
Vid smiled and said, "Then I'll aim to succeed in one go, to avoid wasting such precious materials."
"Forest Fairy's hair" is indeed extremely precious, and Professor Morry wouldn't even let others touch it.
But to Vid, he smiled and said, "Don't speak so definitively; this material is very sensitive and likely to fail. A setback is inevitable, and practicing a couple more times is fine."
He waved his Magic Wand, and the chalk on the side of the blackboard immediately jumped up and began writing, producing remarkably accurate illustrations.
Professor Morry said, "Forest Magic requires the affinity of moonlight, and besides the hair, you need to collect six materials..."
As he read the text on the blackboard, Vid had already ingrained the content in his memory.
Just like Magic Potions, most alchemy materials can't be used directly but require intricate processing: cutting, grinding, air drying, calcining, baking, soaking...
Sometimes an ordinary-looking "stone" might have undergone dozens of processing steps.
Forest Fairy's hair is such a troublesome thing, due to its high sensitivity, any mistake in the process—no matter how slight the temperature increase or a few seconds less in processing—could ruin the material completely.
So that afternoon, Professor Morry didn't let Vid do any production; instead, he spent the entire time teaching him how to handle materials and the final alchemy steps.
"Remember to start crafting in complete silence and when the moonlight is abundant."
Professor Morry advised, "When you resonate with nature in your heart, you'll know—then is your optimal moment."
"Thank you, Professor, I've noted it all."
Vid put away the notebook filled with pages of notes and nodded earnestly.
Professor Morry recollected those students who commit the same mistake in their ninth attempt despite emphasizing the key points eight times, contrasting them with Vid before him, and couldn't help smiling comfortingly.
If every student were like Vid, how wonderful that would be!
Morry couldn't help thinking.
He took a sip of his tea, about to let Vid leave for dinner. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed the boy's somber expression as he tucked the notebook into his backpack.
"What's the matter?" Morry acutely sensed something amiss, slightly furrowing his brow, "Is something troubling you?"
"Nothing."
Vid smiled bitterly, clutching the backpack's shoulder strap, his fingers visibly pale.
"Can't say?" Professor Morry pressed, "This insecure expression isn't like you—what happened?"
Vid spoke with rare unease, "Well... yesterday we arranged the audience seating; it seems this competition is of significant scale, and many countries' Ministry of Magic may send representatives to watch. So I..."
"You're worried about failing?" Morry asked.
"Yeah," the boy whispered, "Even if others fail, people can understand. But if I fail... if Hogwarts doesn't win the championship... I fear the whole world will mock me..."
Professor Morry chuckled softly.
He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, speaking gently, "Silly boy, you're carrying not Hogwarts' honor but your own bravery."
"And what if you lose? Just stepping onto the stage already surpasses ninety-nine percent of others!"
"True defeat isn't losing the championship, but being bound by fear, limiting the courage to pursue. As long as you've given your all, regardless of the outcome, no one will mock you, and this castle will always be proud of you."
"And..."
He straightened Vid's collar, saying, "I believe my student is more excellent than anyone, and you should believe this as well."
Feeling the weight on his shoulder, the boy took a deep breath and, when he looked up again, his gray eyes were confident and determined once more.
"I understand... I won't disappoint you!"
...
"Clack!"
As the sound of the door closing echoed, Vid's face showed no signs of doubt, vulnerability, or emotion.
He stood at the door, instinctively turning his head, looking at the solid wooden door, his gaze returning to its usual calm and composure.
The parchment in his arms was warm, as Antoine's message came timely:
[Antoine: How's it going? Have you discovered anything?]
After a moment, Vid wrote back:
[Vid: No, I haven't found anything suspicious.]
[Antoine: Then let me tell you my findings—your Professor Morry has been gradually selling off most of his assets over the past two years, including his shares in Nimbus Broomstick Company.]
[Antoine: Anyone would know that this is the golden goose; even if you sell the old house, you shouldn't sell it. I can't figure out his reason for doing so.]
Vid's heart sank, closing his eyes briefly, and asked: [What about the other person you're investigating?]