Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

As Vid’s words landed, scenes of their last meeting replayed in Carrel’s mind in an instant.

It was undoubtedly Vid speaking; that feeling, something without a soul like a Poppet, couldn’t be imitated.

So when was the switch made?

He recalled the moment Vid emerged from the shadows... the dazed stretch of road... and those few seconds where he had his back to Vid outside the cabin...

Looking back, it seemed every moment was an opportunity to swap, but Carrel no longer wanted to participate in this guessing game.

He stood still, not even interested in Byrd’s angry, questioning gaze, only feeling as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss, limbs turning cold and stiff.

In the moment Carrel dazed out, Gall caught sight of the Poppet’s smile, feeling a sudden shiver and rushed out the door, barging past Carrel.

The other Vampires showed no interest in the conversation within the room, scattering similarly, turning towards the windows and doors.

But the door Gall had just burst open suddenly slammed shut with a ”bang,” a red light flashed, and the Vampires who followed hit it like a steel plate, bouncing back.

The Vampires trying to escape through the windows suffered the same fate, sitting dazedly on the floor, gazing desperately and savagely at the magically sealed door.

”Wizard! It must be a Wizard’s doing!”

”Are we already surrounded?”

”Byrd, do you have any plans? Use any means you have!”

”Escape through the roof!”

The Vampires scattered to find other exits, some trying to break the walls, others persistently ramming doors and windows, and some running upstairs to escape from the attic.

Of course, some Vampires rushed towards Vid the Poppet, trying to take a hostage or something, but when the knife pointed at the Poppet, it was met with its smiling, indifferent backhand driving it deeply into its own heart.

Where its heart should be, a knife was inserted, and the Poppet, with a casual tone, said:

”Are you serious? This is no different from threatening your master by breaking a broom at home. I am a Poppet, you fool. I may be killed, but as a hostage, I hold no value.”

The scruffy Vampire retreated in shock, finally realizing his efforts were futile, ignored the ”broom,” and turned to join the group running upstairs.

The Poppet turned its gaze to Byrd, looking for a few seconds, then once again showed that seemingly polite, yet eerily creepy smile.

”Seems you’ve run out of options... Honestly, you’ve been lurking in Hogsmeade for months, gathering so many Vampires, Dumbledore has been worried you were planning something big—”

The Poppet, seeing Byrd seem a bit puzzled, added: ”Like attacking the school, abducting students to convert them secretly, partnering with Muggle armies to concentrate fire on the school—so he’s been watching you for a long time.”

Byrd was taken aback.

Even a Poppet indistinguishable from a human was terrifying enough, but the fact that ”Dumbledore has been watching them all along” was downright chilling.

”So it was just kidnapping... I have to say, you do have foresight, but you’ve underestimated your opponent.”

As the Poppet spoke, people who had stormed the attic came rushing down again, bypassing the Poppet and Byrd, joining the crew bashing the doors and windows.

Carrel, who was standing by the door, was thrown aside by other Vampires who resented him for not realizing the switch, grabbing him and hurling him away.

Carrel crashed heavily against a cluttered shelf, then hit the floor with a ”bang,” not getting up for a long time.

Byrd, unwilling to yield: ”Dumbledore’s guarding outside? But the news I got was he had a meeting with Beauxbatons’ headmaster today! Such high-level commitments can’t be canceled lightly!”

”Oh, actually, Dumbledore can cancel. Of course, such action seems disrespectful, so he’s indeed not here...maybe in a few more minutes?”

As the Poppet spoke, it glanced at the time, then looked up to find Byrd drawing his Magic Wand, pointing at the wooden door and shouting: ”Defodio! Defodio!”

The magic light flickered across the wooden door, but it did not shatter as expected.

Because at this moment, outside the door, were multiple elite Wizards casting a Spell. And though Byrd knew some magic, his level was nowhere near that of Wizards who received formal magic education.

Yet, under everyone’s joint attack and Byrd’s Spell, the wooden door finally showed a few cracks.

Numerous Vampires revealed joyful expressions, shouting loudly: ”One more time, three, two, one!”

”Bang!”

The entire wooden cabin shook as if it were about to be uprooted from the ground by this group of people.

”Defodio! Defodio!” Byrd waved the Magic Wand with a ”whoosh.”

The Poppet, smiling, said: ”How thrilling, making it feel like we’re the villains in a movie.”

”We?” The only one not involved in breaking down the door, Carrel, climbed up from the ground, wiped the blood from his forehead, turned his head to the Poppet and asked, ”Who are you talking to?”

The Poppet, with a smile, said: ”I previously told you that hearing a heartbeat doesn’t mean I’m alive. You should also realize, even if you don’t smell anything, or hear—”

An identical figure slowly emerged from behind the Poppet, holding a Magic Wand, its gray eyes devoid of warmth, its face lacking that mechanical smile, looking down at them with an air of alien benevolence, like a god from another realm.