Ferdinand was about to put the tools back in the box, but paused, turned his head, and looked at his wife's profile.
Fiona was watching Vid's silhouette casting spells by the flower bed, her eyes, always brimming with smiles, now clearly reflecting worry and unease.
Ferdinand suddenly realized that his wife was not as completely ignorant of everything as she appeared. She too sensed the urgency behind their son's unusual actions during this holiday, an urgency left unspoken.
—In that world untouchable to them, surely some situation was changing drastically, even to the point where Vid felt danger, and thus was devising ways to build a defense for the family.
Ferdinand paused for a moment, put down the tool in his hand, reached out to embrace Fiona's shoulder, and softly said:
"Of course, dear."
Ferdinand's gaze also shifted to Vid, saying, "Our son is more intelligent than we could imagine. He knows what he's doing and has the capability to do it."
Fiona leaned against her husband's shoulder, exhaled lightly, without saying a word.
"Well, don't you know our child by now?"
Ferdinand said with a smile, "If the situation became so dire that even he wasn't confident, Vid would surely make sure we move to a safe place first."
Long ago, Vid jokingly discussed with them: if the Magic World's Dark Lord ever returned, they could move their whole family to another country, and they even seriously debated which country would be the safest.
During Voldemort's strongest reign, he ravaged only this island, failing to extend his terror across Europe, let alone other continents.
Although Vid seemed to mention it casually at the time and never brought it up again, Ferdinand never thought Vid would completely forget that "contingency plan."
Thus, since he hasn't proposed that ultimate strategy now, it means the situation is still under control.
Upon hearing this, Fiona finally showed a smile, "Yes… If it really came to that point, he would certainly do that."
On the wall beside them, a small figure sat atop a clock, resting his chin in his hands, thoughtfully gazing out the window.
...
In the dead of night, while the Greys were asleep, the kitchen door quietly edged open, and a figure slipped out.
Soon followed by a second, then a third…
By the fireplace, Dobby had just thrown a fresh log onto the fire when he suddenly heard something, his big ears twitched, and he turned around sharply.
The flickering firelight stretched the shadows of three figures on the steps long, wavering on the wall like monstrous beasts.
Dobby asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Only to see Coco opening her arms, walking up along the stair's handrail, Ali standing on tiptoes below the steps reaching up, and Reina reaching out from above to pull Ali.
Six eyes met Dobby's gaze in the air, and the three Little Demonic Puppets shrieked a little, shouting softly, "Run quick, we've been discovered!"
Then, instead of sneakily heading upstairs, they sprang like squirrels between the rails and walls, turning into blurred, fleeting shadows as they darted upstairs and vanished into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
Dobby stood where he was, still holding a fire poker, blinked at the now empty stairs.
He knew those three little ones were playing their own rule-based games again, sighed deeply, shook his head in resignation, and then puffed out his chest, proudly feeling mature and reliable.
Meanwhile, the three Little Demonic Puppets had rushed upstairs, directly landing at Vid's door. Coco in front collided with the door panel, followed by Ali and Reina huddling into a bunch, bumping into Coco with a thud.
With a squeak, the door, which was only slightly ajar, swung open.
"Ah, Master, I didn't mean to…"
Coco hastily explained, but upon looking up found the bedroom silent, the bed empty, only the curtain in the wardrobe space slightly swaying.
As they picked themselves up from the floor—
"Jingle jingle, jingle jingle…"
A crisp and faint bell sound chimed in the stillness, emanating from a golden Bell by the cabinet door, "Oh, you three, sneaking into the master's room at midnight, what's your intention?"
Coco placed her hands on her hips, looked up and said, "We want to see Master."
Ali quickly interjected, "Yes, yes, we came to see Master."
Reina added, "Mr. Bell, please announce us."
"Hmph, Master already knows."
Bell shook, saying, "You better have something important! If you're here just to bother Master about breakfast for tomorrow, once the Broom is back, I'll have it spank your backsides!"
Unfazed, Coco reached out to pinch her cheeks and made a funny face at Bell.
Bell: "..." Not feeling provoked at all, but rather finding it endearingly cute.
Meanwhile, Vid had already lifted the curtain and emerged, his figure appearing tall in the dim room.
He then bent down, placing the three little ones in his palm, asking, "So late, what's up?"
Coco and Ali nudged each other, eventually Reina stepping a tiny bit forward, gesturing with her tiny arms, saying:
"We want to become stronger too."
Coco and Ali nodded vigorously together.
"Coco can also protect Master!"
"Ali wants to be helpful… Ali too can be a line of defense."
"I see…" Vid reached out to stroke their little heads, his gaze soft as he said, "I can make some adjustments and optimizations for you, the process might be a bit uncomfortable, want to give it a try?"
"Yes please!" Coco eagerly replied, "Whatever Master does, it'll surely be the best modification."
"No, no, Coco." Reina shook her head knowingly, saying, "This isn't modification, it's upgrade… We're upgrading into more powerful Puppets!"
Vid looked at them, a smile flashing in his eyes, "Alright, then upgrade it is."
He led the three Little Demonic Puppets back into the wardrobe space, the curtain gently swaying, Bell softly producing rhythmic tapping sounds, akin to music.
Meanwhile, silently from within the curtain emerged some other little creatures—
Geckos, their shells glinting coolly, crawled along the walls to the ceiling, accompanying rustles soon disappearing from sight.
A nimble little snake slithered through the crack under the wooden door, winding around and finally slipping into the gap along the floor's edge.
Following was a team of beetles, their wings vibrating as they flew out of the bedroom, some heading for the curtain box, some hiding in the gaps on the bookshelf, and some staying on the chandelier's arm.
Lastly was a slow-moving spider, it came to the eaves and seemed to want to build a web, but when blown by a cold wind, hesitated for a moment, retracted its legs, curled into a ball, and tucked itself into the gaps in the eaves.
Dobby also returned to his little bedroom, patted the fluffy pillow, pulled open the small blanket, climbed in, sighed with satisfaction, closed his eyes, and awaited the arrival of another wonderful tomorrow.
Everything returned to silence.