Rosen looked at the calm demeanor of this fourth-year student, coldly walked over, and cast "Reparo" on the door hinges.

The light of the Spell flashed, Vid shook the door again, and this time it didn’t make a piercing noise.

He nodded with satisfaction towards Rosen and turned to leave.

In a twist of fate, Rosen squinted and took a closer look at the soles of Vid’s shoes as he walked away.

There were some marks from normal use, indicating Gray hadn’t used some excessively strong Scouring Charm on his shoes.

But there was no fine black ash, meaning he really wasn’t in the pipe just now.

He breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze to the storeroom, which looked more capable of hiding people.

...

With a bang, the floppy-eared rabbit disappeared from the floor, replaced by Draco Malfoy.

He was almost unrecognizable, his original skin color obscured by black smoke, his robe wrinkled as if trampled by a Troll, even iron rust and grime filled his nail creases.

"Wasn’t your Illusion Gummies supposed to last just a short time?"

Still maintaining his student appearance, Antoine asked curiously.

While others were searching, he took the chance to slip away from the team and came to find Vid.

Vid said, "The ones I have aren’t."

"Did you keep a special batch for yourself, like when you transformed into a Merperson?" Antoine asked eagerly, "Can you mass-produce them?"

Vid glanced at him and said, "Last time, I added Gillyweed to the gummies; this time, it’s Night Chestnut. Ordinary materials can’t produce this effect."

Antoine calculated his treasury and regretfully said, "Then forget it, just pretend I didn’t ask."

"Why help me, Gray?" Draco asked, gritting his teeth as he climbed up from the ground.

"If unwilling, you can still go back and tell Perth Rosen loudly that you’re the one eavesdropping."

Antoine pointed with irritation, "Go ahead! We won’t stop you from turning yourself in."

Draco’s face froze, somewhat embarrassed, "That’s not what I meant..."

Suddenly, he realized something, looked at Antoine, and frowned, "You’re not Bletchley... Who exactly are you?"

Bletchley is a member of the Slytherin Quidditch Team, and the appearance Antoine took after using Polyjuice Potion, allowing him to sneak into Rosen’s Dark Magic Study Group. Draco was somewhat familiar with this person and noticed something off after speaking a few words.

Of course, he realized it because Antoine wasn’t hiding it at all.

Antoine smiled and blinked, "Guess who I am then?"

This expression surprisingly had a touch of Dumbledore’s style, making Draco involuntarily take half a step back, his spine rigid.

Without waiting for his answer, Antoine wasn’t disappointed. He patted Vid’s shoulder and said, "You guys chat slowly, I’m leaving first."

Vid nodded, watching him leave.

When Antoine passed beside Draco, he suddenly reached out and touched his hair, causing Draco to react like a startled rabbit, retreating two consecutive steps with a big movement.

Antoine chuckled, spreading his hand, with a little gray creature lying in his palm.

"There was a lizard on your head, I took it away for you, no need to thank me."

Draco stared wide-eyed as that strange "Bletchley" walked out of the room, turning his gaze to Vid, "Who exactly is that guy?"

Vid asked in return, "Why should I tell you?"

Draco’s expression instantly froze, seemingly just realizing his relationship with Vid Gray wasn’t exactly great.

But compared to Rosen and the others chasing him, and the inexplicable "Miles Bletchley" who replaced the real Bletchley, Vid Gray seemed more amiable and reliable, making him instinctively treat Vid as an ally.

While Draco was silent, Vid examined his face drenched in cold sweat, seeing the lingering terror in his eyes, he paused for a moment and asked, "Why did you run just now?"

"Huh?" Draco hesitated for a moment, instinctively concealing the Cruciatus Curse learning by Rosen, ambiguously saying, "Because they were chasing me, of course..."

Vid glanced at him and said slowly, "I meant... wasn’t the Necromancy Association a gang you joined before? Why would you peek at their magic learning, and then flee when discovered?"

Draco’s pupils suddenly contracted, his mind struck like lightning, ears buzzing, cold sweat sliding down his spine.

He heard Vid Gray calmly say, "After all, you’re Malfoy, I imagine if you walked straight out and said you wanted to join, Perth Rosen wouldn’t refuse."

Draco’s throat suddenly tightened, his gaze roamed Vid’s face, searching for clues to deduce—how much did this person actually know?

"That fake Bletchley told you?" he asked dryly, "Do you know what they’re doing? Or... Are you one of them too?"

A thought uncontrollably emerged—could Vid Gray not be satisfied with creating a Magic Spell Study Group teaching "White Magic," and secretly manipulated Perth Rosen to form a "Dark Magic" intensive class?

The thought was absurd, but perhaps it was Vid Gray’s tone, or an inexplicable aura about him, giving the boy before him an exceptionally strong "puppet master" vibe.

Vid asked in surprise, "Why should I join such a low-level gang?"

Draco couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After several bouts of tension and relief, he felt mentally and physically exhausted.

Draco also lacked the energy to confront others as before; he tugged at his sweat-soaked tie, hesitated for a moment, then spoke the truth:

"Actually, Moaning Myrtle took me there... I wanted revenge on those who bullied me; she told me some in the school teach Dark Magic. I thought... I thought learning it would let me instill fear in others again..."

"Before you went, didn’t you know it was the Necromancy Association?" Vid asked.

"How would I know?" Draco laughed bitterly, "I’ve barely contacted them since... Since my father got into trouble, they don’t seem to want to deal with me much either..."

Vid: "Did you not know before the Necromancy Association taught Dark Magic?"

Draco said, "We previously... were actually just using the Dark Magic title to learn slightly excessive spells. For instance, curses, and some Evil Curses..."

"Including the Entrail-Expelling Curse?" Vid added.

Draco stiffly said, "They said it was a Prank Spell... might also be considered a Medical Spell. When I used it, the one teaching me the Spell didn’t know the consequences would be so serious..."

"That’s what they told you?" Vid raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Do you believe that?"

"... Anyway, I didn’t expect they now actually began learning the Unforgivable." Draco forcibly changed the subject, "This is really..."

Recalling those rats’ tragic state, he couldn’t help but shiver, belatedly breaking out in a sweat.

"Now you know." Vid asked, "Do you still want to join them again?"

Draco suddenly raised his head, his gray eyes meeting Vid’s.

"I... I won’t..."

Draco took a deep breath, his voice trembling, "I can’t... I can’t do such things..."

The eyes of tortured creatures flashed in his mind again, desperate and painful, along with Rosen and the others’ excited and twisted expressions, akin to evil spirits.

At that moment, Draco even felt a vague doubt about his parents—

Did he always admire and respect his father; did he once torment others while following the Dark Lord like that? Torturing living people?

Would his mother... do that too?

Vid smiled, "That’s good..."

He tucked away his Magic Wand and walked past Draco, saying before leaving, "Fix yourself up before you go out. Otherwise, you’ll immediately reveal you’re the one who spied when you step out."

The door closed, Draco turned his head, seeing his reflection in the glass:

The dust on his face washed by cold sweat, as if rolling in coal ash and then crying out loud.

But compared to the filthy appearance, the emotions in those eyes shook him more—

Gray eyes filled with the fear and weakness he didn’t want to admit, like a beast cornered to desperation, still forcefully holding onto the last shred of dignity.