Vid spread out the map, searching carefully.
At this time, most students were dining in the Great Hall, and only a few remained in their dormitories.
Vid found the Gryffindor common room and carefully distinguished between the few black dots there.
Alicia Spinnet... Geoffrey Hopper... Cormac McLaggen... Dean Thomas... Peter Pettigrew...
Found him.
Vid watched the tiny black dot.
Perhaps he was sleeping; the little black dot representing Peter Pettigrew remained motionless. Dean Thomas, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth and soon left the dormitory.
Then Peter's black dot began to move, heading purposefully to a location, then stopped again.
Vid guessed, maybe it was sneaking snacks from the students; after all, Ron couldn't possibly give a rat much food.
Or maybe it was reading the newspaper, checking if the Death Eaters had any hope of resurgence.
Vid left the map on the table and turned to the shelves by the wall.
This once bare wooden shelf had been filled with magic potions now, with glass bottles of various sizes neatly arranged and labeled with rectangular tags.
The colorful magic potions in glass bottles emitted faint mists, some with ominous black glows.
Vid's gaze flicked over the labels one by one.
Polyjuice Potion, Shrinking Potion, Scabies Potion, Enlargement Potion, Life and Death Potion, Dittany, Blood Replenishing Potion, Confusing Concoction, Aging Potion...
Besides these, there were Poisonous Ginseng, Aconite, Heartbreak Grass, Poison Horned Beast Powder, Poisoned Bird Feather, Lead Powder, Arsenic Ore...
The toxic substances were mostly raw materials.
After all, their textbooks wouldn't teach students how to brew poisons. Even the use of Aconite or Mandrake was for their medicinal value.
However, most poisons didn't require much processing; just a small pinch of powder could be deadly.
Vid examined them, pondering for a moment.
No Veritaserum.
It wasn't that he didn't want it; as a banned drug, it wasn't possible to obtain it through official channels, and Vid certainly wouldn't send Ferdinand to a place like Knockturn Alley to buy potions for him.
In the library, only the Restricted Section might have the formula for Veritaserum.
...
"'Strong Potions'?"
Madam Pince carefully examined the slip of paper and the flamboyant signature of Lockhart on it, asking, "Mr. Gray, this is a very dangerous book."
"Yes, I know," Vid replied. "I will study the beneficial parts carefully."
"Alright," Madam Pince grumbled, "Professor Lockhart is far too free-wheeling, approving anything for the students..."
She strode into the Restricted Section and soon returned with a thick book that looked moldy, handing it to Vid.
Vid took the book but didn't leave immediately, instead asking, "Did Professor Lockhart approve any other restricted books for students?"
"A lower-year Slytherin student borrowed 'Ultimate Poison Magic'!" Madam Pince said disapprovingly. "He really has no sense of propriety!"
"That student... could it be Draco Malfoy?" Vid guessed.
Madam Pince's fleeting expression confirmed his suspicion.
However, the librarian sternly said, "Don't snoop around, Mr. Gray. I won't divulge student secrets."
...
"Stay away from Slytherin recently, especially Draco Malfoy."
During the Umbrella House activity, Vid warned everyone, giving Michael a pointed look.
"What's up?" Harry asked.
"He got a book from the library, 'Ultimate Poison Magic'," Vid said. "I suspect he might be learning some dangerous dark magic to use it on someone."
"Speaking of..." Hermione looked at Harry and Neville. "Malfoy hasn't been bothering you guys lately, right?"
"Nope," Harry said, puzzled. "He joined the Slytherin Quidditch team, and I thought he'd definitely strut around for a while!"
Leian said, "Malfoy's been having a tough time recently. I once saw him arguing with some Slytherins beside the dungeons, almost getting pushed by Crabbe."
The Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms are quite close, so they often encounter Slytherin students.
"That's strange," Harry said, confused. "Crabbe's always been Malfoy's lackey, hasn't he?"
Padma hinted, "Maybe he doesn't want to be a lackey anymore?"
Michael raised his eyebrows, ready to say something, but Vid shook his head at him.
"Leave Slytherin alone," Vid tapped his palm with his wand, asking everyone, "Have you mastered the Stunning Spell?"
"Of course," everyone nodded affirmatively.
Hermione eagerly asked, "Are we learning new spells?"
Vid shook his head, "In practical magic, less is more, but it must be what you're most familiar with. Ideally, it should be cast without thinking, without incantations, or even without a wand!"
"Wordless and wandless?" Theo muttered, "That's really difficult..."
"That's our future goal," Vid said.
"For now, our task is simple — draw your wand in the shortest time, successfully cast spells while dodging, and ensure you hit your target."
"How are we training?" Michael was eager to try. "Same as before, practical practice?"
Vid shook his head, "What we did before wasn't practice, just stationary spell throwing."
"To really learn spell usage, let's play a game."
He smiled as if he had something mischievous in mind.
"What game?" Neville swallowed nervously, asking.
Vid grinned warmly.
"Battle Royale!"
...
"Hey, Vid, you guys are here!"
The Weasley Twins patted the fence next to them, raising a hand in greeting.
Hagrid was trimming the head-high bushes nearby and waved happily when he saw them.
Next to Hagrid was the pumpkin patch, with many pumpkins growing over a meter tall.
"Wow, they're huge!" Neville couldn't help but marvel.
Harry hadn't visited Hagrid for a few days, and didn't expect such a big change in his vegetable garden, asking, "Hagrid, how did you make them grow so tall?"
"It's the Enlargement Charm, right?" Hermione turned to Vid, asking, "Are we training here?"
"Yes, this environment is great. Launching a surprise attack from behind the pumpkins is hard to defend against, right?"
Fred, leaning on a smaller pumpkin, laughed.
"The ideal place would be the Forbidden Forest, but Hagrid won't let us in, not even on the outskirts!" George said regretfully.
For Vid, the Room of Requirement would be even more ideal, as it could simulate various environments.
But as long as Peter Pettigrew was still in the school, he didn't want to share this secret with Harry and the others.