George explained, "There were actually some black-clad masked men planning to cause trouble that night, but their plan was detected by Dumbledore ahead of time. They were caught before they could do anything, only to escape when the mascots started attacking the crowd."
Fred continued, "So, if Malfoy's father was one of those masked men... and then accidentally ran into the Witch Pure Party while trying to escape..."
"To prevent the secret from being leaked, those people took Lucius Malfoy," George blinked. "That's why he suddenly disappeared, and the Malfoy family doesn't dare to make it public."
The crowd was silent for a while.
Leian softly asked, "So is it possible... at that time, Malfoy's father was... killed? Body destroyed... so that's why he hasn't been found..."
His tone carried a touch of sympathy and concern.
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"That's possible, but unlikely," Michael said. "That's Lucius Malfoy. Even for their family's wealth, they would at least keep him alive, perhaps make him suffer a bit."
Leian sighed in relief. "That's good..."
"Why feel sorry for Malfoy's father?" Ron said dismissively. "Do you know how many bad things he's done? That guy used to be a reliable assistant of the Mysterious Man!"
Vid: "..."
Listening to their conversation, if he hadn't been in contact with Delaine and others all this time, he might have thought Lucius Malfoy was captured by the Witch Pure Party.
But Vid knew very well that after resolving the Killing Forest, the Witch Pure Party had returned to Gray Castle, although that vampire's situation was indeed as discussed.
Gall Trocar didn't do much bad before going to prison, only smuggled some goods not allowed by the Ministry of Magic, and reportedly stole some things.
According to the Ministry of Magic regulations, these actions are certainly illegal, but to the Witch Pure Party, he's just a petty thief.
Gall was cursed by Voldemort and had to work for him.
After falling into Grindelwald's hands, it's unknown what that old man thought, but he helped remove the curse at the cost of Gall almost losing half of his life.
If he weren't a vampire, he might be dead now.
After lifting the curse, Gall cleverly clung to the Witch Pure Party, tearfully applying to join, but currently still can't do much as he needs to recover.
Interestingly, Sirius's magic wand was mailed back via owl, not through Vid, directly sent to the Black Family, causing Sirius and Lupin to worry for days.
However, Lucius Malfoy's disappearance seemed really strange to Vid.
He wasn't captured by the Witch Pure Party nor with Barty or Voldemort— Vid didn't see the person's face devoured by the flames, but from the build, it wasn't Malfoy Senior.
Could it be... that person... hid himself?
Vid touched his chin, feeling uncertain.
The butterfly effect was causing more chain reactions, with slight disturbances continuously magnified, making the original plot less reliable.
Just like Barty Crouch Jr, Vid still didn't understand why he managed to break free from his father's control in advance.
A trolley witch passed by, and the crowd bought a lot of snacks to pile on the table, marking their lunch.
"My dad said to be wary of the Witch Pure Party," Ginny interjected quietly with a pumpkin pie in hand. "He says they surely harbor ill intentions."
Harry nodded, "Sirius said the same."
"Anyway, it's not our concern, and I'm not interested in what happened to Malfoy's father."
Ron ripped open a chocolate frog package, grabbing the frog trying to jump out, saying, "I'm just interested in what's going to happen at school this year."
Everyone looked at Vid.
Vid put down his carrot juice, saying, "I've heard some news, but Dumbledore will reveal it at tonight's feast."
"We want to know now!" The Weasley twins said in unison.
"Alright." Vid didn't care about the Ministry of Magic's confidentiality rules, and asked, "Do you know about the Triwizard Tournament?"
"I know," Hermione quickly said. "I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A History,' it's a competition established over seven hundred years ago. Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, the three largest magic schools in Europe, hold a friendship competition every five years, selecting one champion from each school, to compete in three magical events!"
"Every five years? I've never heard of it!" Harry asked curiously.
Vid explained, "Because there were too many deaths, the competition was discontinued."
"Deaths?"
Hermione repeated in shock, as the book didn't explain why the Triwizard Tournament was stopped.
She looked around, seeing others didn't share her feelings but were all getting excited, even the usually shy Ginny seemed eager to participate.
"Is the Triwizard Tournament going to be reinstated?" Fred leaned forward, eagerly asking, "Then I must participate, I want to be Hogwarts's champion!"
"Hey, we'll be competitors then!" George smilingly bumped his shoulder.
"Can't say it's reinstating the Triwizard Tournament—because the competition's name has changed to the Magic School League."
Vid looked at them, saying, "Thousands of years ago, transportation and communication couldn't compare to now. The Triwizard Tournament used to be just a piece of fun among three European schools, but this time, more schools will participate."
"More?" Harry's eyes widened, "Are there many magic schools?"
"Not considering small regional academies or family-type Magic Academies, there are eleven famous Magic Schools worldwide."
Vid said, "It's said the Ministry of Magic has been busy preparing for this competition for over a year. Two months ago, the last Magic School decided to join."
"By Merlin's beard! We'll face opponents from magic schools worldwide?" The twins exchanged a glance, their expressions a mix of excitement and eagerness.
"What's the competition like?" Hermione nervously asked, "What events will be held? It must be dangerous, right? Wasn't there a lot of deaths before?"
Vid shook his head, "That part is truly confidential. Maybe until right before the competition, we won't know what events will be held."
"Wonder how they select the champions," Fred said, "Anyway, I'm determined to participate!"
"I wonder if what we've learned is enough," Ron looked at Harry, "What do you think? Wouldn't it be great if we could participate?"
Harry grinned, feeling a bit shy to voice his desire but secretly wanting to become a champion and win the cup for Hogwarts.
Vid turned his gaze to the window, with raindrops slanting against the glass, occasionally illuminated by lightning, revealing the undulating mountains in the distance.
There was one more thing he hadn't mentioned—
Given the competition's dangerous nature, participating schools and the Ministry of Magic wanted to set an age limit, only allowing students aged 17 or older to register.
But due to certain maneuvers, this rule didn't succeed, and the competition's rules and participant numbers underwent significant changes.
——No age limit, no school restriction, as long as eligible, anyone can participate in the eleven Magic Schools League!