Chapter 1266: Vid’s Decision

In the temporary silence, Rolf thought: Is it my turn to speak?

If it were only Vid, Rolf could speak freely; but when other members were sitting nearby watching them, he inexplicably became nervous.

Moreover, Luna was sitting beside him.

Rolf didn’t want Luna to think he was a coward who dared not speak at critical moments.

Nor did he want his reasons to seem too mundane, so dull that others wouldn’t even be interested in listening.

After pondering for a moment, the boy swallowed and said, “I… I want to join because I want to become stronger.”

“Our family… can access many wild Fantastic Beasts. Lately, they’ve been becoming restless; some mother beasts have even killed their own young.”

Rolf’s words instantly captured everyone’s attention.

The boy recalled the scene he saw, clenched his fist, and said:

“I think their actions are cruel, but my grandfather told me… it’s because the mother beasts believe the current living environment is extremely harsh, unsuitable for the young ones to grow up healthily, hence the decision.”

“It’s not cruelty, but a kind of… alternative protection by the animals, a desperate choice at a dead end.”

“The last time such a situation occurred on a large scale was… was when the Mysterious Man was rampaging across the United Kingdom.”

“My grandfather told me not to worry, as long as I’m studying peacefully at school. But I… I’m afraid new disasters might happen…”

“So I’m hoping to be like him, to become someone who can be relied upon.”

Rolf raised his head, his gaze sweeping around the room before finally landing on Luna.

The girl was looking at him, her eyes filled with a hint of curiosity and focus.

Rolf blushed, a certain thought in his heart becoming even more resolute.

Vid remained silent for a moment, lightly tapping his fingers on the armrest, once, twice, the rhythm was slow.

After quite a while, he spoke:

“So what you want is actually to continue as before—learning various practical Magic Spells and strategies against enemies?”

The three nodded simultaneously.

This synchronized movement seemed rehearsed, and Vid, watching them, curved his lips slightly.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking recently—maybe I should apply to Professor McGonagall…”

He paused for a moment and said, “…to restart the Magic Spell Study Group.”

Astoria’s eyes immediately lit up, Rolf showed disbelief and delight, and even Luna couldn’t help but lean in a bit, the daze in her eyes completely gone.

“Really?” Ron asked in surprise, “But this year, there’s the O.W.L.s exam; where will you find the time?”

Vid joked, “Time is like water in a sponge, it will come if you squeeze it.”

He looked at the three younger students.

“Actually, I’m very glad—you all acknowledge my Magic Spell studies and want to continue learning Magic Spells with me.”

“Learning should not start because a competition begins nor end because a competition finishes… It’s a lifelong matter, it should never slack off at any time.”

The three burst into bright smiles.

…

“Are you really planning to apply to Professor McGonagall?”

When only two people were left, Michael frowned and asked Vid, “If, like last time, you need to leave due to urgent matters, what will you do then?”

“Then, a certain professor will have urgent matters to find me, and some of you can help organize the activities, just like before,” Vid said.

Michael was still full of doubts; he knew Vid was never a fan of such crowded events.

At this moment, Michael noticed Vid flipping open a notebook, stopping at a page:

[Two shadows compete for the extinguished sun, one shadow crawls out from the grave…]

“Isn’t this Professor Trelawney’s prophecy?”

Michael instinctively asked.

Then, he took a closer look and noticed the difference: “If I remember correctly… this prophecy seems to differ from Ron’s previous account?”

“Hmm, he misheard a few words.” Vid, looking at the prophecy he had copied, suddenly said, “Michael, what do you think… ‘the extinguished sun’ refers to?”

Michael raised an eyebrow and said, “I remember you said before, prophecies are unreliable, you can’t depend on them. When you believe in them, you often fall into their trap.”

Despite his words, he leaned over and silently read through the notebook’s contents twice more, then frowned:

“What it can symbolize is simply too much… But combining with later words like ‘power of creation,’ ‘golden cradle,’ ‘kingdom,’ it should be hinting at the old order… or Confidentiality Law?”

Thinking about the Witch Pure Party’s previous slogans, Michael hesitated and added a possible interpretation.

“I used to think like that,” Vid said, “I even suspected it was hinting at Professor Dumbledore… If some people want to establish a new order in the Magic World, they first need to remove Dumbledore as an obstacle.”

“So the sun must ‘extinguish’…” Michael nodded and then affirmed, “But now, your thought has changed.”

“Hmm.” Vid responded with a sound and said, “Lately I’ve been thinking… could there be something… that indeed looked like the sun before.”

“It’s just that, due to certain reasons, it lost power, went out, fell asleep.”

“And now, some people are trying every means to ‘feed’ it, to rekindle it?”

Michael was silent for a while and then spoke, “I don’t quite understand… Did you discover something?”

“Perhaps… but I haven’t figured it all out myself yet.”

Vid closed his notebook, placed it back on the bookshelf, and said, “The thought of restarting the Magic Spell Study Group didn’t just arise because of Rolf and the other three.”

“I’ve thought about it for a long time, I’m certain it’s something I should be doing now.”

“Firstly,”

He raised one finger and said, “We are not some secret society that needs to hide; we’re merely a student group for discussion and study.”

“Keeping secret does us no good and instead puts us on a ‘high-risk individual’ list.”

“Using the Magic Spell Study Group as a buffer, appropriately showing the nature of the SSC, is a form of protection for us all.”

“Otherwise, if the Ministry of Magic issues documents to impose constraints and set obstacles for all collective activities targeting one student group, we’ll become more passive.”

Michael silently nodded, deepening his dislike for Percy and the Ministry of Magic even more.

“Secondly,” Vid said, “some hidden forces might target Hogwarts. If a battle truly comes… we’d best be prepared for danger.”

Michael’s heart skipped heavily.

He looked at Vid and, for a moment, caught a fleeting something… or emotion deep in those gray eyes.

Suddenly, Michael felt a tightness in his throat, a chill down his spine, as if a cold hand was slowly caressing down from the top of his head.

He resisted the urge to look back, nodded, and said, “Alright… since you’ve decided, then go and apply. I believe Professor McGonagall won’t oppose.”