"Ding," a bell rang, and the countdown on the blackboard instantly disappeared, while the classroom door slammed shut with a "bang."
The loud crash startled the students, and then they saw the curtains in the classroom start to move, forcing them to scatter and evade, soon getting separated.
The curtains seemed to have been cast with the Quietening Charm, as the voices of their companions swiftly became distant once they separated, and their surroundings began to grow extremely silent.
Each person seemed to turn into a solitary island.
Some tried to hurriedly navigate the curtains to reunite with friends, but all they encountered were layers upon layers of curtains, making them wonder—is the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom really this large?
It felt as if they had fallen into another space.
Then, someone heard a rustling sound nearby, as if a small shadow was appearing behind the curtain...
...
At this moment, Vid had already figured it out: "There's been the Undetectable Extension Charm cast in the classroom?"
He was so familiar with this spell that he could recognize it from experience even without utilizing an alternate vision.
"Haha, I knew you would find out."
Professor Flitwick said happily, "I told Serra before, you're an expert in this area!"
"It's temporary," Professor Abigail said with a grin, "I'm applying to Professor McGonagall to renovate the Basilisk's Chamber of Secrets, maybe you could plead for me?"
"It has nothing to do with pleading—renovating the school's Chamber involves many considerations, and there's no allocation provided by the school's budget for this! Plus, there's ensuring student safety for entering and leaving the Chamber."
Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"Well, isn't this an experiment?"
Professor Abigail shrugged and said with a laugh, "Also, thanks to Vid, I didn't expect him to make all the Poppets of Magical Creatures I needed so quickly, otherwise, today's show would only be the Boggart."
"Why not?" Professor Flitwick enthusiastically suggested, "The mix of real and fake makes it fun."
Professor Abigail: "...Seems so!"
The two happily joined forces to bring the Boggart, while Professor McGonagall pretended not to see.
Vid silently took out the Poppets one by one from the bag, issuing more detailed orders for them—
For instance, each student can only be attacked by one monster, no gang-ups; no attacks on certain key parts, no maiming, no urination or spitting on students...
Listening nearby, Professor McGonagall felt a drop of cold sweat slip down her forehead.
After the last Poppet grew larger and went off with a sneer to find a target to attack, Professor McGonagall pondered and chose to ask the one thing she couldn't accept:
"Vid, your Poppets...will they really publicly...you know..."
Vid sighed helplessly.
"They have similar moves during simulations."
"But..." Professor McGonagall still found it incredible: "Whose thoughts did you implant in them?"
"To mimic Magical Creatures, this time I chose some real Magical Creatures—who knew there'd be such side effects."
Vid said thankfully, "Luckily, these are not for sale, otherwise they definitely wouldn't sell."
—So does student mental health not need consideration?
Professor McGonagall wanted to ask but felt she couldn't criticize the free donation of Vid's hard-made Poppets to the school.
Forget it, it is what it is.
The attacks by Magical Creatures inherently have no limit, allowing students to experience it early might be good...to prevent them from panicking to the point of dropping their Magic Wand at the mere touch of a creature...
Professor McGonagall thus persuaded herself to set aside her concern for student well-being.
As Professor Abigail and Professor Flitwick arrived with a large box using the Levioso Spell, Vid had already arranged the Flow Mirror's parent mirrors, with several mirrors suspended before him, showing scenes from different corners.
At Professor McGonagall's hint, one lens continuously followed Draco Malfoy, to prevent this Slytherin from causing any trouble.
Vid then selected some exciting segments to recompose into a new video recording. Based on this, Professor McGonagall would apply for more funds from the Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors to reconstruct the Chamber.
...
Draco Malfoy hadn't noticed the extra pair of eyes overhead.
He pulled aside the layers of curtains before him, unable to see anyone, but encountered a Grindylow, breaking its claws before fleeing.
Draco felt irritated, with a faint sense of fear growing inside.
Suddenly, a tall figure appeared ahead, seeming somewhat like Blaise.
Excitedly, Draco ran over, lifting the curtain, and froze.
"Dad...Dad..." Draco stammered, "Why are you here?"
The tall figure before him was none other than Lucius Malfoy.
Lucius turned around, coldly staring at Draco as if he were an eyesore.
"Dad?"
Draco asked softly.
"Draco!" The Lucius before him angrily said, "You've tarnished the family's honor, unworthy to be a Malfoy! Get out! I don't have a son like you!"
The man roared, striding closer, suddenly resembling Professor Snape, driving Draco into a hurried retreat, and he suddenly turned to run.
—What's going on? Why is Dad saying this? Am I not his son? Could it be because of the Crabbe incident, so...
Draco panicked internally.
—No matter what Dad says, Mom definitely won't agree. Yes, as long as I find Mom...
Draco didn't know where he was running, summoning a giant black snake with his Magic Wand, which bound a suddenly appearing Red Cap, then turned a corner where he again saw a familiar figure.
Narcissa Malfoy bowed, wiping her tears, crying:
"I'm sorry, Draco... Actually, you're not our real child, you're someone we picked up from a Muggle's trash bin... You're a Mudblood..."
"We've found our real child, you...return to your Muggle parents..."
"No, impossible, I'm not! I'm not a Mudblood!"
Draco shouted incredulously, unwilling to listen further to his mother's words, turned, and ran.
Curtains, curtains, and still curtains...
As Draco began to sense something was wrong, he saw another figure.
This time, he saw Narcissa lying in a pool of blood, her face unnaturally pale, her gray eyes staring blankly at Draco.
Draco: "Ahhhhh—"
...
"Vid?" Professor McGonagall called unhappily.
"It's not me, Professor," Vid said. "I don't know what's up with Malfoy; he keeps returning to the Boggart's location each time."
"Why are the curtains moving..."
Professor McGonagall trailed off as she noticed Professor Flitwick's embarrassed expression.
"Sorry, that's me."
Professor Flitwick said apologetically, "I wanted to guide him to the outskirts, but for some reason, the more I blocked, the more he headed this way..."
Professor McGonagall: "..."
She sympathetically glanced at Draco Malfoy in the mirror, saying, "Take the Boggart away...they haven't learned how to deal with such creatures yet."