Nowadays, the Wizard Village during Hogsmeade weekends is much livelier than before. Whenever students are allowed to leave campus, vendors from all over swarm to this tiny village.
In this all-Wizard domain, Apparition is unrestricted. Vid walks the streets, often seeing vendors with small carts dropping in from the sky, and before they land, the shouts from the Magic Horns have already started.
Just like back at the Quidditch World Cup Camp, many tents have been added to the open areas around the village. As the spring breeze blows past, the bells hanging from the tents jingle melodiously.
On some tents, Vid sees slowly rotating "holographic portraits" of Victor Krum, Harry Potter, Natalia Petrova, and others... including himself, of course.
It could even be said that portraits of "Vid Gray" directly occupy half of the camp, with two-thirds showcasing his merperson form.
"Look at this," Michael nudges Vid, teasingly saying, "You're a big celebrity now, Vid!"
Vid gives him a silent white-eyed glance, worriedly touches the badge on his chest, and only after confirming it's in place does he breathe a sigh of relief.
Hogwarts is like a closed-off Ivory Tower, blocking out all conflicts, disputes, competition for interests, and clamoring sounds outside the castle walls, allowing them to study peacefully within the school.
Even after hosting the Triwizard Tournament, with students from several other magic schools, things quickly returned to tranquility following an initial period of curiosity and excitement.
The three champions from Hogwarts aren't the type who enjoy boasting. After the second task was completed, Harry and Cedric were surrounded by their respective houses for a while, but Vid left early and returned late for a week, leading students eager to discuss the second task to lose interest quickly, and everything seemed unchanged, as if nothing happened.
But once outside of school, the wave stirred by the two events becomes strikingly clear.
The live broadcast of the competition, every detail unfolds under the watchful eyes of millions of spectators, revealing any subtle magical fluctuation, every perfectly performed spell, without any concealment, to the world audience.
No deceit, no flukes, only strength is the universal language.
In this context, audiences naturally developed a huge enthusiasm for the tournament. After the first task, it was right around Christmas, and during the cold winter, people stayed home, so this enthusiasm wasn't quite visible.
But now, with the second task over and temperatures warming up, many take the opportunity during Hogsmeade weekends to "chase stars," some tabloid journalists with cameras keenly watching every Young Wizard moving through the crowd.
Krum seems to lack awareness of his changing popularity, leaving openly, only to be surrounded by people, unable to move, his face becoming increasingly sullen.
"Excuse me! I have an appointment, please let me through!"
Krum angrily tries to drive away the people around him.
However, the journalists become even more enthusiastic: "An appointment? Is it with a girl? Mr. Krum, did you meet someone special during this competition? Would you like to introduce her to us?"
Krum wants to explode, but his ears unknowingly blush.
"Hey! Why are you surrounding students? Dumbledore didn't permit this!"
Hagrid charges in like a tank, quickly driving away the journalists, rescuing the bothered Krum.
Some of the eliminated champions also receive a fair share of attention, especially Fleur, who is practically the focus of the cameras. Even though she doesn't look well now, people are eager to capture her angry appearance.
Of course, many are determined to find Vid, not just journalists, but also his newly minted fans.
Compared to the other champions competing, audiences have more recognition for Vid's abilities. Vid notices many Wizards from other countries hanging his picture on their tents or wearing little Vid statues around their waists.
These small wooden carvings can even walk around, elegantly waving their Magic Wand.
—Who would make his personal image into a statue?
Vid's heart rises with anger and embarrassment, as if a phrase suddenly flashes past his ear:
"We might need to use your image for promotion... Don't worry, I won't short you a single Knut on the payment..."
—Who said that?
Could there be anyone else? Naturally, it's Machioni!
He vaguely remembers Machioni casually mentioning this after discussing the construction details of Little People Country.
At the time, Vid thought Machioni was just going to do what he normally does—label it "Vid Gray invented and certified" as a guarantee of quality—so he nodded without asking further questions. After all, Machioni always does this.
Thinking carefully, the recent financial report indeed showed a strange increase, but Vid confirmed Remus had reviewed it, so he didn't spend extra time on it.
However, the night before going out, Vid received a message from Antoine—
"If you don't want to be watched like a monkey once you go out, it's recommended to disguise your face. Of course, if you enjoy being the center of attention, then make sure to dress nicely. By the way, the robe from the last ball was quite nice."