Chapter 1262: It Saw Me

In the dark, Vid heard his heart pounding wildly, each beat seeming like it would leap out of his throat.

The back of his pajamas was already soaked with sweat, and when he got up, he felt a chill.

Vid held his forehead, sat on the bed for a while, then asked, “Is this what you saw?”

In the bedroom, where he was alone before, a pearl white figure stood silently.

Madam Grey stood in front of the window, her back to the bedroom, her body glistening with a cold light in the night, her long hair cascading smoothly down her back.

Upon hearing Vid’s voice, she didn’t turn around, merely continued gazing at the night’s Black Lake, then gently nodded.

“The eyes in the dark… What is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then, the force pulling you back, have you understood it before?”

Madam Grey’s shoulders trembled slightly, she turned around, her hesitant eyes falling on Vid’s face.

“I only realized it for the first time as well,” she said, “This castle… seems to be conscious.”

She paused for a moment, her gaze again moved to the outside, landing on the distant tower.

Vid then realized that Madam Grey’s gaze outside was not to admire the scenery or simply daydream, but rather to search for something.

Her gaze wandered, she slowly said, “However… this is actually quite normal.”

“In the era when I was alive, it was said that on some ancient things, extraordinary power indeed emerged.”

“The castle must be like this… A thousand years, countless children lived here, every brick of the wall is soaked with magic power.”

“Then naturally it remembers… It remembers the laughter that once echoed here, remembers those young and vibrant lives, remembers…”

Madam Grey’s voice suddenly disappeared.

But Vid knew what she was going to say—

Hogwarts also remembers Madam Grey, remembers her alive, remembers her growing up here, remembers the long years she wandered and waited here…

Remembers she’s not “Madam Grey,” but rather the founder’s daughter, Helena Ravenclaw.

So when the power from the abyss was about to devour her, the castle pulled her back.

Vid silently watched her, seeing Madam Grey unconsciously leaning towards the castle’s walls.

That posture, very much like a child who lost their parents finally finding something to rely on, so they followed closely beside.

He got out of bed, walked to the table, poured himself a glass of water.

The water in the cup was still warm, he drank a few sips, letting the warmth slide down his throat, even the vague twitch in his stomach eased.

Vid turned back, looked at the ghost: “I’ll report all this to Dumbledore—if that’s what you want me to do.”

Madam Grey nodded, softly said, “That’s good.”

Vid thought she would leave now, holding the water cup, already prepared to say goodbye, yet saw Madam Grey opened her mouth, then closed it, looking conflicted and somewhat hesitant.

Half of her body was already submerged into the wall, but the ghost seemed unaware, just nervously licked her lips.

After a while, she finally spoke softly:

“I originally… I originally didn’t want to say these things…”

“These are not related to me, I don’t like Dumbledore, I don’t like anyone… I’m already dead, the dead shouldn’t care about the living…”

“But Hogwarts…”

Her voice trembled a bit, saying, “Hogwarts is my home. If it’s destroyed, I don’t know where else to go.”

Vid remained silent, his finally calmed heart started “thump thump thump” again.

Madam Grey continued, “I truly don’t know what the thing in the dark is, but I know that red mass of light… or rather, I can feel…”

She gazed at Vid, those once very beautiful eyes on the ghost, making one feel cold without reason.

Madam Grey slowly said, “…it’s despair.”

“Not from one person, but from dozens, hundreds of people dying simultaneously, erupting with intense fear, pain, despair…”

“Under normal circumstances, this kind of emotion would gradually dissipate, especially in places where people come and go, no matter how much emotion, it would quickly disappear.”

“But some people… some people gathered it, extracted even purer ’emotion.'”

Vid’s pupils slightly contracted, “Extract?”

He murmured, “How is it done?”

Madam Grey softly said, “There’s always magic to achieve it—if a wizard truly wishes to do so.”

“Emotion… Emotion is the oldest, most dangerous, and most unpredictable force in the magical world.”

“Happiness can be extracted, fear can be refined. Only love… love is the only force that cannot be touched.”

“I believe… it’s exactly because those deceased spirits were extracted into extremely pure despair, this refined mysterious power, almost like an offering, awakened that entity in the darkness.”

“You need to alert Dumbledore—ask him to come back quickly, and be sure to be careful.”

Madam Grey, filled with fear, her voice pressed incredibly low, “It saw me… perhaps it saw Hogwarts too.”

…

The Umbrella House was warm and cozy, the fire in the fireplace crackling, making the whole room feel like a comfy cocoon.

Leian sat in the corner reading a book, Michael was busy writing a letter, and Theo buried his head in homework.

In the spacious area cleared for practice, a few magic wands waved, the light of spells flashing from time to time.

“Expelliarmus!”

“Protego!”

Neville’s wand tip shot out a beam of red light, the spell hitting the transparent barrier ahead.

That barrier maintained for less than two seconds before being shattered by the Disarming Spell.

“Clang!”

A soft sound, Ron’s wand was disarmed, arced in the air, clattering to the ground by Leian’s feet.

Even Ron himself was knocked over by a force, lying on the ground, limbs flailing, his backhead landing on the mat.

“Ouch!” Ron wailed, “What kind of Disarming Spell is this, it’s clearly a Bludgeoning Spell!”

Neville hurried over, pulling Ron up from the ground, somewhat nervously said, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t control the strength well…”

“Huh? You mean you originally planned to go easy on me?” Ron rubbed his sore backside, glaring, “Your words are even more hurtful!”

“Is… is it so? I didn’t mean that…”

Neville scratched his head, clumsy, not knowing what to say.

“Ron, your wand.” Leian handed the wand over.

“Ah, thanks.” Ron took the wand, frowned, looked at it for a moment, puzzledly said, “No, I clearly learned the Iron Armor Spell at the Magic Spell Study Group before, why couldn’t it block anything just now?”