Whether Dumbledore had orchestrated this matter was no longer important; after all, they had no way to find Dumbledore and verify whether their suspicions were correct.
Harry accepted Professor Moody's kind intention, but he had no plans to use his flying talent in the first task.
Before going to bed that evening, Harry spoke with Veratia once more through the crystal ball.
"Wednesday is the first task," Harry said, cradling the crystal ball. "How have you been lately? Busy?"
Veratia naturally caught the subtext in Harry's words. She said regretfully, "I'm sorry, Harry. I've been really busy lately… You know, after the merger of the two Ministries of Magic, there's a mountain of things to handle. I really can't get away."
"Oh."
Harry was a little disappointed, but he understood Veratia. The Ministry couldn't function without her.
Cheering himself up, he asked again, "Have you decided on a name for the Ministry after the merger?"
"The German Ministry of Magic," Veratia said with a faint smile. "After all, we're all Germans, and we speak German. Naturally, it should be called the German Ministry of Magic."
"But since the two countries have merged, why not call it Greater Germany?" Harry asked curiously.
As expected, this suggestion earned Veratia's high approval.
"That's a good idea," she said. "Greater Germany… Hmm, I'll submit this suggestion to Minister Rosier and let her discuss it in a meeting to make a decision."
The next day in Divination class, Ron had specially prepared a question to ask Professor Trelawney.
"Beyond your line of sight…" Professor Trelawney intoned, her eyes tightly shut, muttering mystically. "Do not let stray thoughts disturb your mind…"
"Professor," Ron raised his hand.
Professor Trelawney suddenly opened her eyes. Interrupted so abruptly, she looked far from pleased.
"Mr. Weasley," Trelawney said. "May I ask what you need?"
"Here's the thing, Professor," Ron said, glancing at Harry, then at Neville and Seamus, who were both looking expectant. "I know you have profound expertise in divination, so I wanted to ask about the Triwizard Tournament. Do you think Harry—Harry will become the ultimate champion?"
What a brilliantly mundane question. In one sentence, it drew the attention of every student in the classroom.
Professor Trelawney froze for a moment upon hearing the question, then broke into a smile.
"Oh, my dear," she said vaguely. "You mean for me to predict the Triwizard Tournament…"
She lifted her head, and under the gaze of the entire class, her eyes grew gradually deeper.
Lavender Brown, sitting behind Hermione, suddenly let out a giggle. Last year, she had genuinely believed in Professor Trelawney, but after a series of unreliable predictions, she now treated Trelawney's prophecies as a joke.
"Regrettably, regrettably, my dear," Professor Trelawney suddenly lowered her head and said to Ron. "I'm sorry, but the Triwizard Tournament seems unrelated to Mr. Potter—hmm, based on the relative positions of Mars and Saturn, those born in July face a great danger of sudden, tragic death."
"So you're saying Harry's going to die?" Hermione could barely hold back her laughter.
"I'm only saying there's such a possibility for those born in July," Professor Trelawney said, clearly unwilling to dwell on the topic. "Trust my prediction, Miss Granger—hmm? Have you chosen my class?"
Only then did she belatedly notice Hermione in the classroom. Ever since their big argument in class last year, Hermione had dropped Divination and hadn't selected it again in fourth year.
"I'm just concerned about Harry, Professor," Hermione said with a forced smile. "Could you check for any other omens? Like omens about Harry?"
At the mention of omens, Professor Trelawney grew visibly excited.
In the realm of omens, she still considered herself an authority.
"Of course, of course!" Professor Trelawney said, giving Harry a deep look. "Of course there are omens—I see it, I see it… Among us, there is a traitor…"
"Who is it?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"Anyone could be. His duplicity is never surprising," Professor Trelawney said in a chanting tone. "You must keep your eyes open. This traitor might be the very person you think could never betray…"
"So you've said nothing at all," Harry suddenly spoke up. "Can I take it to mean that someone who ate a sandwich for breakfast has eaten one more sandwich than someone who didn't?"
Stumped by Harry's retort, Professor Trelawney fell silent.
She suddenly sat down in her chair, her beetle-black eyes dim and lifeless, as if she had lost all her dreams. She looked utterly dejected.
The classroom fell into a hush, so quiet that even the students' steady breathing was clearly audible.
No one wanted to break this rare silence. After all, if it were broken, who knew if Professor Trelawney would start spreading more "omens."
Though her divinations were inaccurate, no one wanted to hear her say, "You're going to die."
After a while, she sighed and announced the end of class.
"You might have hurt her feelings," Seamus said from the ladder as they climbed down from the classroom.
"Oh, I don't think she's hurt," Ron said with a sarcastic laugh. "I think she's just embarrassed at being called out."
"You can't say that," Hermione said nonchalantly. "Isn't divination just like that? Using vague words so you can interpret them however you want…"
"That's not entirely fair," Harry said, spreading his hands. "After all, Trelawney's great-grandmother was pretty impressive—Cassandra Trelawney, the famous Seer of her time."
"Maybe," Hermione said, suddenly turning materialist. "Compared to the nebulous art of divination, I trust deductions based on facts. That's real science."
On Wednesday morning, Harry had his final class before the tournament.
It was Professor Binns' History of Magic.
History of Magic was as boring as ever. Professor Binns' voice seemed to possess some kind of magic; even a top student like Hermione couldn't resist dozing off in class.
Of course, Professor Binns was fairly lenient about students sleeping in his lessons. He was remarkably tolerant of it.
Or perhaps he simply didn't care.
After all, History of Magic was just about learning some magical history. It wasn't an important subject like Charms. Study it if you want; if not, so be it.
Besides, Dumbledore wasn't paying him a salary. Why bother?
At noon, the school announced that classes were canceled, and the first task of the Triwizard Tournament would begin in the afternoon.
Everyone was buzzing with excitement, chattering animatedly. Some kept coming up to Harry to wish him luck or offer words of encouragement.
Harry barely managed a couple of bites before thanking them. His eyes kept wandering, searching for Cassandra.
He was really hoping Cassandra would come over and say something like "be careful" or anything else. Even if she held her head high and said, "I've prepared a pile of tissues to cry for you, Potter," he could accept it.
In his imagination, Cassandra was proud and tsundere, but in reality…
"Oh, Potter."
Cassandra's voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Harry looked up and met Cassandra's beautiful eyes.
She was wearing a fitted green jacket today, with a white shirt underneath. Compared to Poppy and Veratia, she didn't have a chest she was particularly proud of—just a flat expanse like a cat's scratching post…
But her legs were stunning—long, fair, and straight. Harry had touched them.
Harry lowered his gaze and saw the knee-length skirt Cassandra was wearing. For warmth, her long legs were clad in black knee-high cotton socks, but her skirt was too long for Harry to tell if they were knee-highs or tights.
"What are you looking at, Potter?"
Cassandra's voice carried a teasing lilt.
She wasn't angry at Harry's brazen gaze; in fact, she was rather pleased.
The silly boy was finally catching on. That was a good thing.
"Looking at your legs," Harry thought—and said.
Scarhead.
"Oh, so you still have the leisure for that," Cassandra said with mock disdain. "I thought you'd be nervous. Looks like you're not taking the first task seriously at all—"
"Not exactly," Harry said, lifting his head. "I was nervous, but after seeing you, I'm not anymore."
Nearby, Ron, Seamus, and the Weasley twins all sucked in a breath.
Learn from him. The Savior not only excelled at spells, but his smooth talk was truly admirable.
At Harry's words, a flash of satisfaction crossed Cassandra's eyes.
"Hmph, you only know how to say pretty things," Cassandra said, sitting beside Harry. "Poppy already told me about—you know. I believe those little lizards are no match for you, Harry… If you get charred, I won't cry for you. I'll laugh very loudly."
"Alright, so you have a lot of faith in me," Harry said with a shrug. "Looks like our friendship has stood the test of time."
Cassandra asked with a mocking smile, "Just the test of time?"
"And more," Harry said, politely smiling at Colin, who was taking his picture, then turning to Cassandra. "You must have heard the news, right? The most explosive news recently… I really can't imagine why the German Ministry of Magic and the Austrian Ministry of Magic suddenly announced a merger…"
"That's none of our business," Cassandra said indifferently. "That's Grindelwald's own affair. She wants to rebuild Greater Germany, but it's a pipe dream—I don't think the Muggles or the American Magical Congress will sit idly by and let her mess around like this."
"You don't need to worry too much," Cassandra continued. "For a prodigy like her, causing trouble is her natural talent…"
"…"
"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked.
"I don't know what to say," Harry sighed. "Maybe you're right. Worrying about Veratia isn't what I should be doing now. I should focus on the Triwizard Tournament."
"That's right, Potter," Cassandra said, satisfied. "I hope you win. I've already prepared a reward for you—"
"What is it?" Harry's expectations soared.
Cassandra's reward… Was she going to reward me…?
But Cassandra didn't answer. Instead, she raised a finger and pressed it to Harry's lips.
"Don't ask," Cassandra said with a faint smile. "If you know in advance, there won't be enough surprise. Don't you think, Mr. Potter?"
"Fine," Harry said with a shrug. No asking, then. The results would come soon enough anyway. The reward wasn't going anywhere.
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