Vid lifted the door curtain and saw Sirius at once.
He leaned against a pillar not far away, with a campfire lit in front of him, his gray eyes staring at the flames, lost in thought. The clothes he wore were the set of wizard's robe Dumbledore had conjured for him when he returned to human form.
Upon hearing a sound, he raised his eyes and asked, "Finished talking?"
"Hmm." Vid replied, walked over and asked, "Have you been waiting for me here all along?"
"Tonight's camp is not very peaceful." Sirius pointed to the tent of the Ministry of Magic not far away, "Also happened to listen to their arguments—way more interesting than Muggle stand-up comedy."
"Still arguing?" Vid couldn't help but turn his head to look. The tent was quiet now, perhaps because they cast a silent spell.
"Not anymore, because they just fought—you really should've seen that scene—"
Sirius said, "The Bulgarian Minister of Magic, like a wild boar, slammed Fudge out of the tent, then a plump woman rushed out and jumped on the Bulgarian Minister, nearly suffocating him."
Vid truly regretted missing the scene, sighed and said, "If only they fought a bit later... Didn't any reporters capture it?"
"Hard to say." Sirius said with schadenfreude, tilting his chin to signal Vid to look at the sky: "FMC dispatched quite a few of these things to capture everything, perhaps those two ministers will be on Flow Mirror tomorrow!"
In the night sky, a blue bird sat atop a tent nearby, its eyes unblinking, staring at the Ministry of Magic's tent.
These days, people in the magical world generally knew that this kind of bird was FMC's shooting Mother Mirror, very flexible and nimble, often capturing explosive images.
It was said the Ministry of Magic had urgently established some news department, creating various laws targeting Flow Mirror's broadcast content.
Machioni was smart in this regard, his focus always being on making money rather than stirring up any public opinion war, hence Flow Mirror's content rarely involved politics or sensitive topics, mostly being light-hearted, humorous, or various Muggle films.
If Fudge passed some law, Machioni wouldn't arrange any critique in Flow Mirror programs; but two ministers of the Ministry of Magic fighting bare-handed?
This type of news is too interesting, he certainly wouldn't miss it.
Vid smiled knowingly.
Sirius didn't ask what Vid discussed with Dumbledore but instead offered a warning similar to the principal's—do not easily trust unfamiliar magical creatures, the Weasley Family being a precedent.
Vid couldn't say he had any assurances but obediently nodded in agreement.
Upon returning to the tent, the sky was already slightly bright. Many people in the camp were packing up tents, rushing to find Portkey keeper Basil, hoping to leave the campsite quickly.
Seeing the long queue, Vid stopped and said, "I'm not going with you."
He looked at those wizards arguing while holding their children and said, "This incident should soon be broadcast on Flow Mirror, I must return home before my parents worry."
Sirius stared at Vid for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, reached out and ruffled Vid's hair, saying, "Alright, go home smartly too, stay safe."
"Moody lives next door to my house, he's probably the world's most vigilant wizard." Vid said with a smile.
He returned to the bedroom, simply packed his belongings, and as Harry and the others seemed to be still asleep, he left unannounced, directly Apparating.
The camp was far from Vid's home, for safety, he Apparated twice before returning to the town.
Worried that the gunshot-like crack during Apparation might shock his parents, Vid first appeared in a nearby alley before heading home.
As he pushed open the door, the living room light immediately lit up, followed by Fiona almost flying out the door, embracing Vid tightly, her body trembling slightly.
"Thank God... you're alive... you're finally back..." Fiona said in a trembling voice, her eyes red.
Vid only felt those arms were strong enough to embed him, gently patting his mother's back and softly saying, "Alright, alright, I've come home, I'm perfectly fine..."
"It's good you're safe, we'll talk inside."
Ferdinand pulled Fiona aside, holding his wife and son strongly, leading them inside the house.
The living room Flow Mirror was broadcasting the scene of the Irish Little Goblins going mad. Flow Mirror currently didn't use any shielding means, the bloody images directly crashing into one's eyes, the screams were also clearly audible.
"It's actually over, these are previous scenes, supposedly now all the little goblins and Veela have been controlled, the Ministry of Magic is investigating the cause of their madness."
Vid sat down and casually said, "We stayed in Sirius' tent all the time. You know, ancient magical families always had powerful defensive spells, so from start to finish we didn't encounter any attacks."
"That's good." Fiona patted her chest, sighing in relief: "I was so scared... Afraid that something happened to you."
Vid, surprised, touched the communication pea still in his ear, to ensure he hadn't inadvertently missed any communication, he asked:
"Since you were worried, why didn't you contact me? I thought you were asleep and unaware of the camp's situation."
Ferdinand, sitting beside him, said helplessly: "I said the same, but your mother worried that calling at this time might interfere with you."
Fiona said earnestly: "In movies, there's often a plot like that, isn't there? The protagonist fighting the enemy, or sneaking into a dangerous place, suddenly plunging into fatal danger because of a phone call."
"So she preferred worrying terribly, but steadfastly refused to put you in such crisis."
Ferdinand chuckled, glancing at his wife, obviously finding her behavior very adorable.
Now with Vid safely home, the couple had the mood to joke, skillfully avoiding the evident casualty incidents at the camp, merely discussing the just-finished World Cup match.
FMC had live-broadcasted the entire match this time, allowing those who couldn't be there in person to thoroughly enjoy watching.
As they spoke, Vid yawned. Noticing he hadn't slept all night, Fiona urged Vid back to his room to rest.
Once hearing the upstairs room door closing, the air in the living room suddenly quieted, the smiles on the Greys' faces also vanishing.
"Ferd, I somewhat regret sending him to Hogwarts." Fiona leaned against her husband's shoulder, speaking very softly: "Time and again... So dangerous! He didn't get caught up this time, but... next time?"
——Didn't get caught up, did he? Not necessarily.
Ferdinand thought as he recalled his son's gaze.
In the process of a boy turning into a man, the things he experiences and the changes in his awareness are all reflected in his eyes.
Ferd didn't voice his suspicions, pulling his wife into his embrace, whispering: "I know, we all know the magical world is very dangerous, but did you see Vid's eyes when he's learning magic? He loves magic and likes the friends he's made there."
Fiona's tears welled up in her eyes but she nodded in agreement: "Yes... I remember Vid seemed thoroughly bored at regular school... He had a few classmates to play with but was actually distant from everyone..."
"So... perhaps he's destined to be in the magical world, we can't deprive him of his happiness."
Ferd gently clasped Fiona's hand, saying: "Even if we can't keep protecting him, we must have faith in him, support him... respect Vid's choice, whatever difficulties arise, we will always be by his side."
Fiona nodded, closed her eyes, burying herself deeper into her husband's embrace. Ferd lowered his head, kissing her forehead.
At this moment, the Flow Mirror screen turned into snowy static, flickered for a few seconds, then switched to another dark scene.
Ferd knew this was the Witch Pure Party again seizing FMC's signal, crafting their own public opinion propaganda. Habitually, he raised his eyes, prepared to see what news the Dark Wizards concocted.
Suddenly, Ferd sat upright, feeling his limbs grow cold as he stared at the image in the Flow Mirror—
Countless towering trees, like ancient Demon Gods, thunderously charged at the stadium sparkling with lights.
And in-between, only dozens of wizards stood aligned, forming what seemed to be a fragile and powerless wall.