George explained, "There were actually some masked figures in black that night who were planning trouble, but Dumbledore detected their plan early. They were caught before they could do anything, but then the mascots started attacking people, and those guys took the opportunity to escape."
Fred chimed in, "So, if Malfoy's dad was one of those masked figures... and then, while escaping, he accidentally ran into the Alliance, who were doing who knows what nearby..."
"To prevent secrets from leaking, those people took Lucius Malfoy." George winked. "That's why he suddenly disappeared, and why the Malfoy family didn't dare to publicize it."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Ryan asked softly, "Is it possible... that Malfoy's father was actually killed back then? His body destroyed... and that's why he couldn't be found anywhere?"
His tone held a mix of sympathy and worry.
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"It's possible, but not very likely," Michael said. "That's Lucius Malfoy. Even if it's for their family's wealth, those people would keep him alive, at most making him suffer a bit."
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then..."
"Why are you sympathizing with Malfoy's dad?" Ron said dismissively. "Do you know how many bad things he did before? That guy used to be the Mysterious One's right-hand man!"
Wade: "..."
Hearing them, if he hadn't kept in touch with Drayne and others himself, he would have believed that Lucius Malfoy had been captured by the Alliance.
But Wade knew very well that after dealing with the Killing Forest, the Alliance had already returned to Grey Castle. However, the Vampire's situation was indeed as everyone discussed.
Garr Troka hadn't actually done many bad things before going to prison. He had only smuggled some goods that the Ministry of Magic didn't allow into the country, and he was also rumored to have stolen things.
These actions were naturally illegal according to the Ministry of Magic's regulations, but to the Alliance, he was just a petty thief.
Garr was under Voldemort's curse and had to do his bidding.
After falling into Grindelwald's hands, Wade didn't know what the old man was thinking, but he actually helped lift the curse. The cost was that Garr nearly lost half his life.
In fact, if he wasn't a Vampire, he might be dead by now.
After the curse was lifted, Garr cleverly latched onto the Alliance, tearfully begging to join. However, he couldn't do much at the moment; his condition still needed to recover.
Sirius's Wand, on the other hand, had been mailed back by owl, not even through Wade, but directly to the Black Family, which made Sirius and Lupin worry and discuss it for several days.
But Lucius Malfoy's disappearance seemed truly strange to Wade.
He wasn't caught by the Alliance, nor was he with Barty or Voldemort—the person engulfed by the flame, though Wade couldn't clearly see his face, his build wasn't that of the elder Malfoy.
So... could that person have hidden himself?
Wade stroked his chin, unsure.
The chain reactions caused by the butterfly effect were increasing, tiny disturbances were constantly being amplified, and the original plot was becoming less and less reliable as a reference.
Just like Barty Crouch Jr., Wade still didn't understand why that person had broken free from his father's control early.
The trolley witch passed by, and everyone bought a lot of snacks, piling them on the table. This would be their lunch.
"My dad says we should be wary of the Alliance," Ginny said quietly, holding a pumpkin pasty. "He says they definitely have bad intentions."
Harry nodded. "Sirius said the same thing."
"Anyway, it doesn't really concern us much, and I don't care what happened to Malfoy's dad."
Ron tore open a Chocolate Frog wrapper, grabbed the frog before it could jump out, and said, "All I want to know now is what's going to happen at school this year."
Everyone looked at Wade.
Wade put down his carrot juice and said, "I've heard some rumors, but Dumbledore will also announce the news publicly at the latest by tonight's feast."
"We want to know now!" the Weasley Twins said in unison.
"Alright." Wade didn't care about the Ministry of Magic's so-called secrecy regulations. He asked, "Do you know about the Triwizard Tournament?"
"I know!" Hermione said eagerly. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History. It was a competition founded over seven hundred years ago. Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, the three largest magic schools in Europe, held a friendly competition every five years. Each school would choose a champion, and the three champions would compete in three magical tasks!"
"Every five years? How come I've never heard of it!" Harry asked strangely.
Wade explained, "Because the death toll was too high, the competition was later discontinued."
"Death toll?"
Hermione repeated, astonished, because the book hadn't explained why the Triwizard Tournament was stopped.
She looked around and saw that the others didn't seem to share her feeling, but were all excited. Even the usually shy Ginny looked eager.
"Is the Triwizard Tournament going to be revived?" Fred leaned forward, asking eagerly. "Then I definitely have to participate! I want to be the Hogwarts champion!"
"Hey, then we'll be rivals this time!" George chuckled, bumping his shoulder.
"It can't be said that the Triwizard Tournament is being revived—because the name of the competition has been changed to the Magic School League."
Wade looked at them and said, "Transportation and communication hundreds of years ago can't compare to now. The Triwizard Tournament used to be just a self-amusement for three European schools, but this time, more schools will participate."
"More?" Harry's eyes widened. "Are there many magic schools?"
"Not counting small local academies or family-run magic academies, there are a total of eleven famous magic schools."
Wade said, "It's said that the Ministry of Magic worked for over a year to prepare for this competition. Just two months ago, the last magic school also decided to join."
"Merlin's beard! We're going to face opponents from magic schools all over the world?" The twins exchanged glances, their expressions excited and fanatical.
"How does the competition work?" Hermione asked nervously. "What are the tasks? It must be very dangerous, right? Didn't you say many people died before?"
Wade shook his head. "That part's truly a secret. We probably won't know what the events are until right before the competition."
"I wonder how they'll select the champions," Fred said. "Either way, I'm definitely going to enter!"
"I wonder if what we've learned is enough," Ron said, looking at Harry. "What do you think? It'd be amazing if we could participate, wouldn't it?"
Harry grinned, a little embarrassed to voice his desire, but he secretly wanted to be a champion and win the trophy for Hogwarts.
Wade turned his gaze to the window. Rain slanted against the glass, and occasionally, lightning flashed across the sky, momentarily illuminating the rolling hills in the distance.
There was something else he hadn't mentioned—
Given the dangerous nature of the competition, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic had once considered setting an age limit for competitors, only allowing students seventeen and older to sign up.
However, due to the efforts of certain individuals, this rule ultimately didn't pass, and there were significant changes to the competition's regulations and the number of participants.
—No age limit, no school limit. As long as you qualify, anyone has a chance to participate in the Magic School League, featuring eleven magic schools!
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