The whole morning, everyone was distracted during classes.
In the Herbology class, Anthony nearly squeezed the Bubble Bean Pod to burst.
During Magic History, no one listened to Professor Bin's hypnotic lecture, and naturally, no one fell asleep; the entire classroom was filled with flying notes.
The Ancient Magical Runes class was, as usual, extremely difficult, as if the professor hadn't received notification of the tournament; students not paying attention were punished with double-length essays.
Vid turned back time to attend Divination class, which turned out to be a complete disaster.
Because halfway through Professor Trelawney's class, while she was having everyone gaze into crystal balls, she burst into tears unexpectedly.
She clutched her scarf tightly, burying her face in it, emitting a sharp cry, her frail body trembling violently.
"Professor, are you alright?" Gryffindor's Lavender Brown cautiously asked.
Trelawney cried for quite some time before wiping her nose and saying in a hoarse, pained voice, "I saw it... I saw the fate of the sinner..."
She suddenly rolled her eyes, speaking in an unnaturally trembling voice: "Ludo Bagman... his wealth will dissipate like quicksand... his lies will face cruel retribution... everything he values will turn into nothingness!"
Vid, hearing the resentment in her voice, knew this wasn't a true prophecy, but the students in the classroom were obviously frightened, even the most skeptical students froze in place.
"Ludo Bagman..." Harry gulped, looking at Ron said: "I remember he's... the host of the World Cup?"
Ron nodded solemnly: "He's also my dad's colleague."
"Pro... Professor?" Padma's sister—Pavarti, asked in awe: "Is this a prophecy?"
"Yes... yes..." Trelawney wiped her tears with a handkerchief, sobbing: "It's just... too painful... his death was so tragic..."
The classroom immediately erupted in whispers.
"But I remember seeing him in the newspaper this morning." Someone said uneasily: "If Ludo Bagman died tragically, there would definitely be reports, right?"
"Fool, this is a prophecy!" Another student said with absolute belief: "Professor Trelawney saw the future with her Celestial Eye!"
Professor Trelawney seemed extremely distraught, crying to the point of speechlessness. Immersed in her emotions, the rest of the class naturally couldn't proceed.
After the sensitive and neurotic professor finally calmed down, the class bell rang as well, and Trelawney hoarsely announced the end of class.
"I never knew Professor Trelawney was so close to Mr. Bagman." A student said upon leaving the classroom: "The incident hasn't even happened, and she's already heartbroken as if her own lover was going to die."
"What do you know! It's because the professor is very kind!" Lavender defended her favorite professor loudly: "Even if it were someone else, Professor Trelawney would still be pained at seeing his death!"
—Is that so?
Vid turned his head and saw Trelawney quietly murmuring while wiping away tears. From her mouth movements, it was clear she was saying: "Liar... he'll die without a burial place..."
Vid: "..."
Poor Professor Trelawney... bet on the World Cup and got fooled by Balman's Leprechaun Gold, didn't she?
He shook his head, feeling both sympathetic and amused. As he prepared to leave, he saw the large crystal ball beside him and paused.
Vid remembered the prophecy he made up offhand during last term's final exam.
—Wait... could it have some connection to this?
But on second thought, his "prophecy" wasn't wrong in the first place, and he didn't encourage Professor Trelawney to gamble, either.
So the one at fault was primarily Bagman for scamming money, then the greedy Professor Trelawney. What did it have to do with the innocent student Vid Gray?
Vid suppressed that vague, inexplicable feeling and walked out of the classroom.
...
By evening, the bell rang, and students hurried out of the castle, wearing their cloaks. The deans and prefects organized the students into lines and quickly did last-minute tidying.
Professor Flitwick stood atop a high step, his gaze sweeping over his students.
"Mr. White, your hairstyle looks like you've just been in a fight—why don't you tidy it up?"
"I know you're diligent, Miss Jones, but now is not the time to read. Let me send it back to where it belongs."
With a girl's annoyed cry, Professor Flitwick lightly waved his magic wand, sending the book flying back to Ravenclaw Common Room.
"Mind your appearance, children, and maintain your manners. Of course—" Professor Flitwick said in a lively tone: "No need to be overly modest, after all, Hogwarts is the best."
Everyone chuckled quietly, proud and happy. However, shortly after, Professor Flitwick received a glare from Professor McGonagall and immediately became serious again.
After the students lined up and stood in front of the castle, night had fallen. The full moon hung high, and the air became increasingly cold.
"The time is near." Michael murmured: "Who do you think will arrive first?"
No sooner had he spoken than a red triple-decker bus appeared out of thin air, speeding across the calm surface of the Black Lake, leaving a huge spray in its wake.
With a swift drift and screeching halt, the bus stopped in front of the castle gates, its neon sign flashing "Ilvermorny Express Bus."
The door opened, and a lean middle-aged wizard stepped off calmly. He wore a deep red robe, and his eyes seemed very sharp.
In a blink, his face lit up with a warm smile: "It's been so long, my dear Albus! How have you been lately?"
"Seeing you is wonderful, Agilbert." Dumbledore embraced him and said, "Welcome to you and your students to Hogwarts."
As they spoke, a group of students also got off the bus, wearing red and blue uniforms. They looked pale, and some even retched, seemingly not much fond of their own bus.
"Seems like we're first." Agilbert looked around happily and said, "That's great, I knew our bus was fast."
"Indeed it is." Dumbledore nodded, while Harry cast a sympathetic glance at the students.
Vid observed the students, his eyes lingering on one boy for a moment before looking up at the sky.
A large carriage was swiftly crossing the sky above the Forbidden Forest, flying towards Hogwarts Castle, with twelve silver-maned horses spreading their wings, sparkling in the moonlight.