#464 - Rain and umbrella

Vede felt that once he got to school, time seemed to speed up. It began to flow by in weeks, and in the blink of an eye, Monday had turned into Friday, followed by the weekend.

Students preparing to go to Hogsmeade had already put on their gloves and scarves and were waiting at the school gate.

"Don't forget the Boggart training, Vede!"

As he jumped off the carriage, Michael waved and shouted, then walked away with Harry and the others.

Vede smiled and nodded, then saw Kariel also waving goodbye to his Gryffindor friends, yawning as he walked towards Vede.

"Damn it!" Kariel put his hands in his pockets and complained, "This weather is damn cold!"

"If you didn't take off a sweater to look cooler, you'd find today's temperature quite comfortable," Vede said with a smirk.

"I'm stronger than you, they say I look like a bear when I wear too much—my home is a little further away."

Kariel led Vede along the path between the houses, towards the edge of the village.

"Who are 'they'?" Vede asked from behind.

"Just... girls."

"Then you should find someone who appreciates your strength, instead of trying to please a bunch of girls who laugh at you for looking like a bear," Vede said, "Besides, they won't think you look cool with less clothes, they'll just think you're silly."

"I was kidding... I'm not actually cold," Kariel stubbornly said.

"Your snot is about to freeze out," Vede ruthlessly exposed his pretense.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two of them froze for a moment, suddenly feeling like they were back in their childhood.

Back then, Kariel was always doing silly things that others couldn't understand, and Vede, who was dragged out to play with him, would complain from the side.

Kariel mostly knew that Vede was right, but because he thought it was interesting, he did whatever he wanted, generally without considering the consequences.

So after a day of playing, Vede would still be clean, but Kariel would often have bruises and scrapes, and couldn't even explain how he got them.

But those days were really happy!

Kariel's pace slowed down, and when a wooden house almost completely obscured by tall trees appeared at the end of the field of vision, he suddenly stopped.

"Vede?"

"Hmm?"

"I said you could bring a few friends... why didn't you?"

"I'm a guest to begin with, it wouldn't be good to bring other guests without an invitation, right? Besides, Michael and the others already have plans for today."

"Did you notify... did you tell any professor?"

"Why would I need to notify a professor to play at your house for half a day?" Vede's voice sounded a little surprised, "Kariel, what exactly do you want to say?"

"It's nothing."

Kariel walked forward with his head down, but after a few steps, he realized that the footsteps behind him hadn't followed.

He turned his head and saw Vede standing in place, the shadows of the houses on both sides cast down, as if he was about to be swallowed by the darkness, but his light gray eyes were like they had been washed by moonlight, calm and bright.

The morning sun shone on Kariel's body, but he couldn't feel the slightest warmth, only a piercing chill that froze his hands and feet.

Kariel forced a smile and asked, "Why aren't you walking, Vede?"

"Do you want to talk to me, Kariel?" Vede said, "Right now, right here... is there anything you want to say?"

Kariel was silent for a moment, and asked, "...Say what?"

"I don't know... perhaps anything."

"Don't avoid the important points, you know what I mean, Kariel," Vede said calmly.

In an instant, scenes of conversations with Dumbledore flashed through his mind.

...

That old man, who rarely showed his face except during meal times, wasn't just sitting in the headmaster's office writing letters, reading newspapers, and playing with figurines. Behind the scenes, he did many things that others couldn't imagine—

Presiding over the Wizengamot's trials, helping the Ministry of Magic solve various problems, investigating Voldemort, blocking Grindelwald's power expansion... and of course, investigating a certain vampire student.

"Vede, I believe Kariel should already be aware of certain problems, such as his current parents not being his real parents."

Dumbledore sat in a high-backed chair, with pity on his face, and sighed softly.

"I originally intended to tell him the truth before the holidays and help him completely get rid of that so-called vampire family, but Kariel refused."

"He has other plans in his heart, unwilling to let me know, and unwilling to shake off that fake couple. I feel that the child seems to want to do something very dangerous."

"Then what do you plan to do, Professor?" Vede asked, "Wouldn't it be simpler to directly kill that adult vampire couple?"

"Be patient, Vede, the vampires seem to be gathering. And I also want to give that child a chance... he's not even fourteen years old, he should have a chance to correct himself."

...

"This is an opportunity, Kariel," Vede said, "Once we enter that house, perhaps everything will be different. But now, you can still turn back."

Kariel suddenly laughed: "You still notified Dumbledore, didn't you?"

"Of course."

"Do you know he has things to do today? He will be too busy to spare any attention."

"I trust Dumbledore."

"Ha! Trust! It must feel good to have the most powerful wizard in the world at your beck and call." Kariel sneered, "I really envy you, Vede. Why has misfortune never befallen you?"

"Is that what you think?" Vede asked calmly, "Just because you were caught in the rain, you hope I don't have an umbrella either?"

Kariel hadn't heard this saying before, and was slightly stunned when he heard it, quickly understanding, then gritting his teeth and saying, "If you had experienced what I have experienced, you might not be able to be as calm as you are now, Shakespeare!"

"I'm not as ignorant as you think, Kariel," Vede said, "If I were in your place, I would definitely take revenge, but I would never pass the tragedy on to my friends."

"Revenge?" Kariel said angrily and unconvinced, "What's the use of revenge? It changes nothing!"

"Is there any benefit to obeying those people's commands?" Vede retorted.

Kariel's nostrils twitched, his expression particularly angry, but he didn't continue to argue.

"I'll return the words to you, Vede—you still have a chance to turn back now, you better run faster, because my enthusiastic friends will catch up with you soon. Or you can continue forward, but I want to remind you that the Dumbledore you believe in may not always be able to protect you."

The two looked at each other, wands peeking out from Kariel's sleeves.

He seemed convinced that Vede would definitely take him down first, his whole body tense, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

After an extraordinarily long few seconds, Vede suddenly walked out of the shadows of the corner, past Kariel, and towards the old wooden house.

Kariel was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.

Now it was Vede in front again, and Kariel behind, he looked at this back that seemed to be completely unguarded against him, his eyes struggling more fiercely than ever before, his fingers slightly curled, wanting to raise them several times, but then putting them down again.

It seemed like just a trance, and the wooden house was already close at hand.

This house didn't know how many years of wind and rain it had experienced, the walls looked crooked, but it miraculously stood still. The garden was overgrown with weeds, with only a thin path leading to the door.

Vede vaguely felt that someone was watching him, turned his head to look, but only saw the rough window frames.

Across the wooden walls, he couldn't see the names of the people inside, but then, a slightly plump woman came out.

She was wearing an apron, her hands clasped together, dressed like a maid, smiling and saying, "Oh, dear Kariel, and this handsome young guest, please come in... they've been waiting for you for a long time!"