"Vid!"
Before Vid could respond, he heard someone calling his name from behind.
He turned around to see Fred and George with grass on their heads, smelling of dragon dung, looking weary as they walked over from the direction of Hagrid's Hut.
"Fred, George?" Vid asked curiously, "What have you two been doing early this morning?"
"Oh, we were a bit curious about the carriage brought by the Magic Institute last night," Fred said.
"—eager to feed the old man a piece of bread," George chimed in.
"—and got caught by Professor McGonagall."
"Do not mess with the guests' transport, Mr. Weasleys! Why is it always you two?"
George imitated Professor McGonagall's stern tone: "Gryffindor deducts twenty points! Go see Professor Hagrid after dinner; he has some work he needs your help with!"
"—maybe some work would burn off your excess energy!" Fred concluded, then opened his hands: "And then we went to fence the Divine Talisman Mat—"
"—cleaned up the stinky dragon dung of three dragons!"
"—and an elephant! Do you know how big a pile it can make at once?"
"Hold up!" Vid quickly made a stop gesture, frowning: "I'm about to have breakfast, gentlemen!"
"I'm just going to gnaw on a carrot this morning," Fred lamented.
"I think you guys need to head back to the dorm and take a bath." Vid said with a blank expression.
"Alright, that's good advice." George said, reaching out: "Vid, lend me the broom, I really don't have the strength to climb stairs."
Vid's broom hadn't been sent back to the dorm yet, so he handed it to Fred, watching the two brothers ride one broom, wobbling as they flew towards Gryffindor Tower, their unsteady trajectory making one worry they might fall out of the sky.
Luckily, the Weasley brothers' flying skills were solid, and they eventually managed to squeeze into Gryffindor Tower.
Vid entered the castle to find the Goblet of Fire sitting on a stool in the center of the entrance hall. If it weren't for the blue-white flames burning inside, its rough craftsmanship would have been unappealing.
At this moment, the Durmstrang students were lining up to vote, looking serious and acting decisively, while the Ilvermorny students were waiting behind them.
Each name tossed into the flames caused them to turn red quickly, spitting out sparks.
At some point, Theo and Leian also arrived at the entrance hall. Seeing Vid, they walked over, arms full of parchment.
"Vid, did you see Hermione this morning?" Theo asked.
"No, why?" Vid asked.
"Great, take a look at this." Theo handed Vid a sheet of parchment.
Vid glanced at it, finding Hermione's new pamphlet, using lively text and pictures to introduce the situation of House-Elves, various injustices they faced, and rare instances of elves standing up against abuse from wizards, finally calling everyone to treat House-Elves kindly.
Then Leian coughed, reciting like a script: "Dear friends, every life is worth respecting, including House-Elves. They also yearn for care, yearn for respect, loyal and capable House-Elves deserve all this!"
"Treat them well for more loyal service; abuse them, and they will tire of work, even leading to escape and resistance! Improving their wellbeing benefits both them and us!"
"We suggest starting small: give House-Elves sufficient food and water, provide them with a comfortable place to rest, let them wear decently, and do not force them into unwilling tasks..."
Vid smirked: "Are you helping Hermione distribute pamphlets? How did she convince you to help her?"
Leian looked up at the ceiling, while Theo smiled wryly, "I don't know how it happened, we just ended up doing it somehow."
"Well, her current approach is better than her previous plans." Vid folded the pamphlet and put it in his pocket.
Both groups had finished casting their votes, so Vid casually tossed his parchment in too, walking into the Great Hall with Theo while chatting.
His actions were so natural and casual, completely different from others who were either solemn or ostentatious, even those walking beside him like Theo didn't notice, still discussing Hermione's S.P.E.W.
"Hermione says this is a great opportunity, with all the schools gathered, we can spread awareness on improving House-Elf treatment worldwide."
Theo said with some frustration: "Of course, I think her idea is good, but others always treat us like lunatics and fools."
Leian, however, said: "Persisting in the right thing, even if considered crazy, doesn't matter—I never understood why Hermione was a Gryffindor, but now I finally get it."
Upon entering the Great Hall, everyone found it already decorated in Halloween style, candlelight overhead emitted a green glow, a large group of live bats flew around the ceiling, and hundreds of pumpkin-carved figures were placed in various corners of the hall.
Mando and the Magic Institute students were already having breakfast, but this time, the dining hall hadn't prepared various foreign flavors for these students, leaving many frowning at their plates of roasted potatoes or steak with disdain.
Vid and his friends casually sat at the Hufflepuff table, Macmillan leaned over saying: "See those Magic Institute students? Heard the youngest among them is only thirteen!"
"Thirteen and competing?" Leian asked, surprised: "Aren't they afraid of danger?"
"Don't underestimate those from that school, heard they enter at seven. So, while they sound thirteen, they've studied magic for nearly twice as long as us!"
Macmillan said, with a solemn expression: "That thirteen-year-old has donned a gold robe too!"
"Gold robe?" Theo didn't understand.
"At the Magic Institute, only those excelling in all subjects get their robes turned gold...now understood?" Macmillan explained.
Theo thought for a moment then said: "But I think Victor Krum is even better."
"That's because you're only noticing the big star and ignoring the others."
Hanna Aber also said mysteriously: "Uagadou has a student, at least two meters tall, seems like he could punch a Tebu Warthog dead, looks nearly thirty, also competing this time."
"And Ilvermorny's Stella Piquelli, rumor has it she's the niece of the American Magic Congress President, very skilled in magic as well…"
The group fervently discussed various schools' "seed players", Vid couldn't fathom how they gathered so much information in just one night.
But these names weren't unfamiliar to him. The information Antoine previously provided had already marked out students most likely to become champions in each school.
Technically speaking, these students couldn't withstand a single blow from the Flame God. But this competition was broadcasting live to the entire magic world, Vid couldn't just turn his opponents to ash in the arena.
His gaze slowly swept past several tables, many suddenly felt a chill down their spine, as if being marked by some natural predator.