Although Rita Skeeter seemed quite unhappy when she left, Vid didn't care about the anger she showed.
Being a Ravenclaw himself, he knew very well that when Ravenclaw was truly angry, they wouldn't shout like Gryffindor, but rather keep silent, plotting something big.
He flipped through the parchment in his hand and found a series of recent events related to Dark Magic.
However, since the UK is currently in a special period, the Ministry of Magic strictly manages all news that "might cause undue panic among people," and most of it hasn't been reported.
If Glennaf Forest hadn't been so close, perhaps that rapidly aging woman wouldn't have entered people's sight.
In the information Skeeter provided, it seemed that unusual events were happening all over the world.
For example, in Japan, a trading center similar to Diagon Alley suddenly saw a large number of dangerous Dark Magic tools appear, some of which even entered Muggle society, causing quite a few horrifying incidents.
In Brazil, a few recently graduated students discovered a bizarre creature made from stitched animal corpses during their graduation trip, which the local Ministry of Magic forcefully explained as "a black bear wearing other animals' fur as decoration."
A group of Dark Wizards held a gathering in Bulgaria, resulting in the deaths of two innocent Muggles;
The United States captured a mad Dark Wizard attempting to "recreate obedient Dementors";
The Egyptian Ministry of Magic rescued two illegally trafficked Veela, and during that time, discovered an incident where a high-ranking Ministry official attempted to steal from the local Department of Mysteries.
While the British Ministry of Magic was busy preparing for the competition, Dark Magic activities were happening frequently worldwide, with Dark Wizards popping up like moles—catch one batch, and soon, more would emerge.
Vid was pondering the cause of this phenomenon when he suddenly heard the sound of the classroom doorknob turning.
He stuffed the parchment into his backpack and had just stood up when he saw Professor Flitwick push the door open, smiling at him.
"Vid, why are you still here? You'll miss dinner if you don't head to the hall soon."
"It's okay, I can still go to the kitchen," Vid said with a smile. "The House-Elves will always warmly welcome all guests."
"Haha, you kids always manage to uncover the school's secrets in no time."
Professor Flitwick chuckled, showing no criticism of Vid's intention to break school rules.
He gestured at the door, and when Vid approached, he kindly said,
"I know you like to be alone, but be cautious these days. Some people would stop at nothing to win, and they don't have the principle of not bullying the weak."
"Don't worry, Professor," Vid replied. "I can protect myself."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Vid... They checked your magic wand today, didn't they?"
Professor Flitwick couldn't help but bounce a little as he walked, as if he were very excited.
"Evaluating and misleading your opponents is a critical strategy, and it's rare that they now misunderstand your abilities. You might as well go along with their expectations and appear... more ordinary."
Vid nodded slightly, "I understand... I should hide my strengths to reduce the risk of being targeted."
"Exactly," Professor Flitwick whispered, "It's not just during regular activities; even in the first two matches, if possible, you should hold back... If your aim is to win, just not getting eliminated is victory enough in the early stages."
Vid earnestly said, "I'll remember that, Professor."
Professor Flitwick seemed worried that Vid, driven by youth and a need to prove himself, might prematurely reveal his strength, making him a target for others during the competition.
But Vid didn't feel this burden at all; he preferred it when others underestimated him.
At times like this, Vid admired Cedric—Hufflepuff had a natural trustworthiness in the Magic World. As long as he wore that black and yellow scarf, most people assumed he was honest and good.
But as for Ravenclaw?
People always believed in Ravenclaw's intellect but doubted their morals.
At Hogwarts, if Slytherin didn't firmly hold the hatred, Ravenclaw would have a hard time getting along with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
...
Vid felt that Professor Flitwick was probably very pleased to see him striving for the honor of their house, showing more and more kindness to him.
Of course, it wasn't that Professor Flitwick was unkind before—initially, he regarded Vid as his prized pupil; recently, his gaze seemed more like a doting father watching over his beloved youngest son.
After being gifted another bag of costly chocolate candies by Professor Flitwick, Vid felt a bit helpless, thinking that if he accidentally missed the championship trophy, Professor Flitwick might cry.
Vid found it a bit perplexing because their head was not known to be particularly focused on honors in the past.
It could only be said that the allure of the championship of the Magic School League surpassed all expectations.
During the preparation for the competition, Vid occasionally met with Natalia and other Alchemy enthusiasts in the library, discussing the lengthy and obscure theories of Alchemy, exchanging alchemical tomes longer and duller than dictionaries.
Meanwhile, Rita Skeeter's report on the league was published, with Hogwarts' three participants occupying only a small section; the front page was largely taken by a solo photo of Fleur Delacour.
Clearly, Rita had discovered the key to traffic—when the news itself isn't sensational, an astonishing beauty becomes the focus of intense attraction.
It was easy to imagine that this issue of the Prophet Daily wouldn't have low sales; some might even buy several copies at once—one to read, one to collect, and another to show off.
During the wand inspection, Fleur Delacour had mentioned that her grandmother was a Veela, and the core of Fleur's wand was her Veela grandmother's hair.
Skeeter had gathered information from somewhere, and in the second page of the newspaper, she created a poignant, praiseworthy love story starring Fleur's grandparents, complete with a photo of the pair below.
For a while, the entire school buzzed with discussions about "the union between humans and Magical Creatures," "how humans rank in attractiveness from a Veela's perspective," and "how to win a Veela's favor."
—Even though Veela had once attacked a camp, many conveniently forgot this, showing an awe-inspiring level of tolerance.
People only avoided these topics in Fleur's presence to avoid upsetting her. However, without these discussions, the beautiful girl was often in a bad mood regardless.
The two weeks seemed to flash by, and in the blink of an eye, the first task was almost upon them.