The dark gray, slimy body squirmed forward in the dark and damp farmland, and the usually familiar spinach and cabbage seemed as gigantic as castles.
It crawled slowly among them.
The sun was about to rise, and it didn't want to be exposed.
Suddenly, the leaves above its head were parted, and a giant child leaned over to look at it, exclaiming, "Look, a snail!"
"No, it's not. It's a slug," said another even taller giant, pinching its soft body with tongs and lifting it up.
"Slugs with antennae can be used to make Scabies Potion," the giant said. "But first, we need to dry it out."
The giant placed it under the sun. The scorching sunlight burned its back, and it felt like it was about to be scorched to death. It struggled and writhed desperately, gasping in pain...
Vid woke up with a start, tearing off the quilt wrapped around him. With a wave of his hand, the candle beside the bed lit up.
He touched his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat.
His mouth tasted unbearably bitter, and as he spat out the leaf, sure enough, the third Mandrake Leaf was also missing a corner.
Although Vid knew that the "slug" thing was Professor Morry's joke, it was too terrible that he actually dreamed of turning into a slug while sleeping at night.
Surely it couldn't be... a prophetic dream?
Vid immediately drew back the curtains and got out of bed, looking around his dormitory, waving his magic wand—
Dozens of sheets of parchment flew up, enlarged, and stuck to the walls, gradually revealing images of eagles soaring in various positions on the blank paper.
"Snap!"
The candlestick turned into an eagle perched on a branch.
"Snap!"
An eagle-shaped relief appeared on the wardrobe.
"Snap!"
Cloud patterns twisted around the legs of the desk, with a dozen eagles spreading their wings on the desktop.
The view was filled with pictures of eagles as far as the eye could see.
Vid snorted in his heart.
Get lost, slug!
He's a Ravenclaw. If he transforms, it will be into an eagle!
After self-hypnotizing for about ten minutes, Vid lay down on the bed again.
...
The weekend was the day Vid had arranged to meet with Machioni.
The weather was unusually good that day. Most people couldn't wait to rush to the game field, with some shouting loudly: "Vid, let your Insect Legion make a move too!"
"Yeah, yeah! We've prepared several strategies just waiting to defeat them!"
"I'm telling you, I've gotten used to the ugly looks of spiders and cockroaches, and I'm not scared anymore!"
Vid checked the time; there was still a while until the agreed meeting time, so he made an "OK" gesture.
This time, it was Professor Flitwick who took over the referee's high chair.
Seeing Vid, he said happily, "Oh, ever since I became a referee, I haven't seen the Insect Legion yet! Everyone says it's the most interesting part of 'Battle Royale'!"
Vid was puzzled. Who spread such rumors? Did they really find it all that amusing when they're so frightened that they wet their pants?
He felt puzzled but didn't hesitate in action. Just as he was about to find some insects from the leaves, Fred handed over a glass jar.
"Already prepared for you!" Fred smirked and said, "Let those who haven't seen it be shocked by the monsters!"
Vid glanced inside and was speechless instantly.
Besides the usual ants and spiders, the jar also contained flying moths, ugly monster mantis, fat white silkworm larvae, slender centipedes, and... a gray-black slug.
Slug?
Vid silently looked at Fred.
The red-haired Weasley winked at him, saying, "How about it, pretty good, right? I went to a lot of trouble to find these."
Professor Flitwick peeked inside, nodded, and said, "Indeed, very impressive! Such few students are a waste."
He stood up, waved his magic wand, enlarging the game field's fences several times over, and many students who were watching outside became participants.
Including the Weasley Twins.
"Eh? Eh!" Fred was dumbfounded.
"Wait, I want to get out." Several Gryffindor students who were causing trouble shouted and ran away.
"Snap!"
The glass jar shattered, and the insects enlarged, enlarged, enlarged...
The three-meter-tall monster mantis tapped its forelegs, letting out a bizarre cry.
The slug wriggled, crushing a stunned student underneath its body, covering him in slime.
"Aaaaah—"
The horrified screams echoed throughout the school.
Vid felt a bit better.
...
When the second game started, the number of participating students was unprecedentedly low.
The insects, having reverted to their original forms, had already hidden. Several Hufflepuff students repeatedly asked Vid, confirming that the Insect Legion wouldn't strike again before cautiously running inside together.
Many students, so traumatized they couldn't get back up, lay on the playground collecting themselves, with some quietly crying. Vid felt no guilt as he walked through the crowd, heading back to the castle.
He planned to go to Hogsmeade Village, though it figured that others wouldn't have the energy to sneak out of school for a while.
On the eighth floor, Harry was the only one in the Room of Requirement.
Vid was a bit surprised.
Harry, knowing what he was wondering about, said, "I wanted to ask about the progress of Lupin's case, so I didn't go to the game field… good thing I didn't."
He said with lingering fear.
Vid chuckled.
The two of them used the Disappearing Cabinet, arriving in a flash at Lupin's house. Machioni was already there, sitting on the sofa in the living room, drinking tea and chatting with Lupin.
"Remus! Mr. Machioni!" Harry greeted warmly, "Is there any progress on the case?"
"It's being publicly tried next Friday," Lupin said with a smile, "Mr. Machioni brought over the documents... our chances of winning are quite good."
"That's great!" Harry cheered, then hesitated, saying, "I… uh… um… can I…"
"I'll check with Dumbledore to see if you can be excused from classes that day so you can attend."
Lupin understood his stammering and said gently, "I think Dumbledore can understand how important that day is to you. It's far more significant than a single class."
Harry was thrilled.
Machioni chuckled slyly.
"The Boy Who Lived," "The Savior of the Magic World," the boy who lost his parents due to that betrayal, sitting in the gallery.
His inclinations, his likes and dislikes, and those clear green eyes would undoubtedly exert an invisible influence on the decision-makers.
This was an honorable strategy.
It was just unknown what the rumored "godfather", supposedly mad Sirius, would feel when he saw that scene.
Letting Harry and Lupin discuss the details of his attendance, Machioni nodded at Vid, and the two moved to the study.
Machioni asked curiously:
"Vid, the alchemy work you mentioned last time you were going to show me—are you finished with it now?"