After a long while, Ron finally couldn't hold back and spoke:
"...Hey, Harry. If I didn't pass, I didn't pass. Honestly, I wasn't that eager to join anyway. You know, when you're with them, it's always about discussing homework or practicing spells, boring to death... Not joining is fine too, less trouble."
Harry's mind was filled with troubling thoughts—
That baby whose face he didn't see reminded him of Voldemort who once also became a baby, along with the time magic and the vague images in his mind, Vid's transformation over these times...
Hearing Ron's words, he was initially stunned, and then suddenly reacted—Merlin! He actually forgot to tell Ron such an important thing!
Just an hour ago, this was still the thing that made him happiest and most focused!
Harry hurriedly flipped over and sat up, pulling open the bed curtain and said urgently, "No, Ron! Listen to me—You passed, unanimously passed! You're officially in, Vid even got that house-elf Zoe to prepare a table and bookshelf for you!"
After a pause, he quickly added, "Congratulations, Ron. Everyone thinks you're great, no one objected!"
In the darkness, Ron's four-poster bed fell into dead silence.
A few seconds later, the red-haired boy suddenly bounced up from his bed, pulled open the curtain and asked excitedly yet skeptically, "Really passed?"
"Yeah!" Harry nodded affirmatively, "That's the result. If you don't believe it, ask Neville and Hermione tomorrow morning."
Ron already believed it, and he was immersed in a feeling suddenly becoming somewhat empty; only after a while, joy slowly surfaced from his heart.
Hugging his quilt, he sat dazed on the bed for a while before suddenly asking suspiciously, "Then why did you look so worried when you came back earlier?"
Harry was stumped by the question.
He threw himself back onto the pillow, gazing at the pattern on the canopy top, and all kinds of troubling thoughts surged back into his mind.
Harry wished to discuss it with his friends, but the matter of the baby was Vid's secret, and without Vid's permission, he shouldn't be talking about it casually.
"Ron," Harry said softly after a moment, "Have you heard any news recently about someone being harmed by time magic?"
"Time?" Ron said, puzzled, "Why ask this... I haven't heard, maybe ask Hermione tomorrow?"
Harry sighed, placing his hands behind his head, "I suppose that's all we can do."
Ron didn't think much of it, and he lay back, wrapping himself in the quilt, finally allowing a smile to form in the darkness.
Harry thought for a while, then said in a low voice, "Ron, haven't you noticed, Vid seems... heavier?"
After the excitement, Ron was already enveloped by the quickly arriving sleepiness, and hearing this, he answered without thinking, "Did he gain weight? I don't think so?"
"I don't mean physical weight." Harry said helplessly, "It's... some other things, making him look different from before..."
"Oh, like that... hum... hum... I've... I've already had enough to eat..."
On the other bed, Ron fell asleep within seconds, occasionally muttering indistinctly.
...
After two or three days, Vid had already re-adapted to Hogwarts' learning life, no longer wanting to draw his magic wand when someone suddenly appeared behind him, nor did his mind suddenly flash with the image of corpses of all his classmates.
He attended a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, taught by Neville's father, Frank Longbottom.
"In previous lessons, we talked about how to fight various dark creatures, and how to defend against enemy attacks. But in real combat, I believe the most important thing is not how many enemies you defeat, but whether you and your companions can survive until the end."
Frank stood at the podium, with old scars of various sizes on his body, yet his gaze remained firm and bright.
His teaching, like himself, was practical, clear, and not fancy at all, but it managed to firmly grip everyone's attention.
"Today we are going to learn a blood-stopping spell that can be life-saving in battles."
"The incantation for the blood-stopping spell is 'Wolenera - Salertur," typically used for severe lacerations caused by dark magic spells, stronger in effect than the healing spell 'Sanguis - Sisto' we learned earlier."
"The pronunciation of the spell must be steady, clear, with a commanding tone; any stuttering or hesitation will weaken the spell's efficacy..."
Frank taught everyone the spell a few times, breaking down the syllables carefully, further explaining the meaning of each component of the blood-stopping spell in Latin, along with the logic and composition principles of the spell.
"Only by understanding the bones of the spell can you better control it!" Frank concluded.
He then demonstrated how to wave the magic wand, and brought out a wooden mannequin, casting a spell that made the mannequin bleed non-stop, while students approached sequentially to treat it.
"Wolenera - Salertur!"
Pansy Parkinson waved her magic wand, causing the mannequin's wound to tear open twice as much, with blood gushing out like a fountain; Pansy screamed and leaped back!
Meanwhile, the mannequin let out a very pained shriek, its head tilted, then it stopped moving.
Frank didn't criticize, he simply said expressionlessly, "Unfortunately, the patient died, next."
He waved his wand, restoring the mannequin to its original state.
Pansy, with a dark face, walked heavily away from the front.
"Promise me, Pansy," her classmate Millicent turned around earnestly and said, "If one day I'm injured, don't save me, let someone else come, okay?"
Pansy glared at her and then turned her gaze to Draco Malfoy as he stepped onto the stage.
Malfoy pursed his lips, pointing his wand at the mannequin, "Wolenera - Salertur!"
The glow of the spell was much softer than Pansy's; although the bleeding didn't completely stop, the rate of blood flow visibly slowed down significantly.
Frank glanced at it, objectively appraising, "Very good, you just need more practice."
Malfoy gave him a look, then went off the stage without a word.
Next, it was Ravenclaw's students' turn, and the first one thrust to the front was Vid.
Upon seeing him, a very subtle change flashed across Frank's eyes as if he suddenly gained a different temperature.
Vid stood still, holding up his magic wand:
"Wolenera - Salertur!"
A milky white halo enveloped the wound, and the gushing blood stopped within seconds, the edges of the laceration began to mend and close.
The classroom fell silent for a moment, then Ravenclaw students applauded, and some looked at Slytherin with pride.
"Very good." Frank smiled faintly and said with restraint, "Complete hemostasis, smooth healing process, magic power control is very precise—the spell is perfect. Next!"