When Vid opened his eyes again, he felt as if the exhaustion soaking into his bones had been completely dispelled.
The dark blue velvet curtains were not entirely drawn, and through the gap, the dense night outside was still visible.
A bright morning star hung in the black sky, indicating that there were still two or three hours left until sunrise.
Vid rubbed his eyes.
He woke up feeling a bit dazed, realizing after a moment that he had slept from the morning of the previous day until this early dawn.
At this moment, he was not in a shabby hotel in the United States, nor on a buzzing airplane.
He lay in his dormitory, the bed as soft as ever, the air as calm as before. The room was warm, the bronze and blue drapes loosened and hanging down, the bookshelf stuffed full of books, arranged almost the same as when he last left.
The wardrobe stood quietly in the shadow at the foot of the bed like a silent guardian, and Vid found that he couldn't even remember having it unfolded before he went to sleep.
The whole room was incredibly tidy, clearly having been meticulously cleaned by the house-elves. Even before he had been awake for long, a tray appeared on the bedside table—
A large cup of steaming milk, golden toasted bread, crispy bacon and eggs, and a bowl of cinnamon-sprinkled oatmeal.
These weren't dishes you'd see every day on the Hogwarts menu, but they were certainly Vid's favorites.
Vid smiled gently and said, "Thank you... was it Zoe, Phil, or Habi?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of soft pops sounded in the air!
Three house-elves appeared almost simultaneously, their big eyes filled with excitement.
"It was us! We prepared it together!" Habi impatiently said, "Made it the way Mr. Gray likes!"
"Vid Gray is back!" Zoe said in a soft voice, happily stamping her feet: "Zoe is so glad!"
"Wonderful... truly wonderful..." Phil quietly said, twisting the edge of his tea towel, eyes moist.
Vid looked at their almost spinning-with-joy expressions, opened his arms, and teasingly said:
"It's been so long since we last met... Can I ask for a reunion hug?"
This made the house-elves freeze for a moment, their eyes first showing astonishment, then flooding with even more overwhelming emotions.
The next second—
"Bang!"
The three little ones almost simultaneously rushed into Vid's embrace, slowing suddenly as they neared, cautiously giving a hug, then, as if scalded, their whole faces flushed red.
They looked as if they might instantly burst into flames.
With tiny cries of alarm, the house-elves vanished without a trace.
Vid held his arms open for a moment before he chuckled and slowly lowered them.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Vise rushed out of the wardrobe in a bit of a panic, "I thought I heard someone scream?"
His eyes quickly scanned every corner of the room.
"It's nothing." Vid looked at the face identical to his own and said, "It's just that Zoe and the others came by."
Vise let out a sigh of relief, "Those house-elves? I hardly ever come across them... They always clean the room while I'm out."
He then turned to Vid, eyes curved in a smile, and said, "Welcome back, master."
The expression made him look very much like Vid smiling lightly.
But the next instant, that face showed a troubled look: "But seriously, being human is really tough—especially dealing with all sorts of social interactions, it's such a hassle! Being a poppet is much more comfortable."
He murmured to himself about the many perilous moments he'd faced, as if recounting the thoroughly taxing ordeal of the past few months of human life.
Vid: "..."
Not wanting to discuss the comfort levels of humans versus poppets, he got up and walked to the washroom. After freshening up, Vid donned his uniform, sat at the table, and said as he picked up his breakfast:
"So, tell me, what happened at the school while I was away? Anything I should pay special attention to?"
Vise immediately straightened his body, retrieved a thick notebook from the shelf, and said, "I recorded everything in here, including yesterday's activities."
Vid ate his toast, flipping through the records page by page.
For years now, he had a knack for being elusive. Since being allowed by the professors to arrange his own curriculum, even his fellow Ravenclaw classmates rarely saw him, let alone others.
So, in acting as him, Vise simply did not attend classes—since being in class with classmates would easily expose his lack of magic power.
His presence was anchored at a few key points—
Everyday, Vise would appear at irregular times at the long tables in the Great Hall, going very early for breakfast and very late for dinner, eating and leaving swiftly, giving almost no one a chance to speak with him.
At lunchtime, Vise would accompany Michael, his quick-witted and talkative friend who naturally handled interactions with others, with Vise only needing to occasionally throw in a word.
Most of the time, he merely needed to put on a furrowed brow in deep thought for people to assume he was pondering an Alchemy conundrum, making even a greeting feel like an intrusion.
Moreover, Vise would attend some collective events, like Quidditch matches or the Halloween feast.
He himself was a smart poppet, with many memories of Vid's school life, deftly handling situations without revealing any flaws.
Dumbledore had evidently briefed the professors beforehand, as nobody approached "Vid" about his total absence from classes, though a few professors had sent "Vid" some notebooks with a suggestion to "take a look when he had time."
Additionally, in the months Vid was gone, Hogwarts was extraordinarily peaceful, even more so than the same period in the original story, with no intrusions, serious injuries, or meddling Ministry of Magic officials.
...
Finishing the last sip of milk, Vid also finished reading the notebook.
Raising his eyes, he looked at the patiently waiting poppet and softly said, "Thank you, Vise. It's been thanks to you during this period."
"Haha, you're welcome." Vise happily said, "By the way, how about taking another day off today? I can continue to cover, and I promise no one will notice!"
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Vid's mouth, "Not afraid of the hassle?"
Vise stood up, bowed slightly, and with a raised eyebrow, smiled, "The complaints are just to make you smile. No matter when, easing your burdens is my reason for existing."
"Thank you for your kindness, Vise." Vid smiled, gently shaking his head, "But... there's no need."
He looked out at the familiar yet somewhat strange scenery and softly said, "Having been away so long, I'd like to see the school I've missed... and my friends."
"Understood." Vise nodded, speaking lightly, "Then, I wish you a pleasant day, master."