Rain lashed against the leaves, streaming down slender branches as the small tree swayed in response.
The man gently touched the treetop, a satisfied yet cold smile playing on his lips.
He was entirely enveloped in a dark raincoat, revealing only a small part of his face, making it impossible to discern his features.
Around him, countless tall trees stood, like silent, giant guards, or perhaps a tight cage.
The man seemed to say something, but it was inaudible; only his mouth opening and closing could be seen. The only sound was the patter of rain hitting the puddles on the ground, creating ripples.
Suddenly, a root, thick as a giant python, slammed heavily onto the ground with a "splat," sending water splashing everywhere and making one instinctively recoil a step.
With that step back, it was as if he'd stepped into thin air. A strong sense of weightlessness surged, and his body gave a sudden jolt. Wade woke up.
He lay in bed, still feeling the heart-pounding sensation of an uncontrolled fall.
It took a few seconds for Wade to realize that the sound of rain wasn't just in his dream but was truly drumming in his ears.
An entire night had passed, and the rain still hadn't stopped.
He swiped his hand forward, and a string of golden characters appeared in the air, displaying the current time.
[07:05]
It was seven in the morning. Kreacher should have breakfast ready by now. He wondered if the match was over and if Lupin and the others had returned.
As Wade thought this, he got up and dressed, his mind unconsciously recalling the strange dream he'd had before waking.
A rainy night, giant trees, a black-robed Wizard.
Perhaps it's just thinking about something all day and then dreaming about it at night?
Wade glanced casually at his desk and saw that Quidditch World Cup History, which he'd been reading for entertainment before bed, was still open. The page featured a simple black-and-white illustration that looked just like what he'd seen in his dream.
Next to it, a title was written in black font—
[Attack in the Killing Forest]
...
"Young Master Wade is awake! Kreacher has already prepared breakfast!"
Seeing Wade, Kreacher eagerly greeted him and even pulled out a chair for him when Wade reached the table.
Wade looked at the empty long table and asked, "They're not back yet?"
"Master, Young Master Harry, and Mr. Lupin have not returned, because the match is not yet over."
Kreacher said, "Kreacher has already delivered breakfast to them. Young Master Wade, please have your breakfast!"
Wade nodded, asking no further questions.
After breakfast, he left the tent and found the campsite still very quiet. Only a few government staff members were patrolling, and some parents with young children were preparing breakfast.
Most children couldn't stay up all night to watch the match, so their parents likely took them back to the tents to rest early last night. In fact, besides the match, camping itself was quite enjoyable.
The sky still hadn't cleared. Gray clouds hung low, and fine threads of rain fell endlessly, splashing up pearl-like drops of water.
The children, wearing raincoats, giggled and splashed through the muddy puddles, bouncing around like a group of snorting piglets.
Wade stood outside for a while but didn't return to the tent to continue reading. Instead, he headed towards the match venue.
—It wasn't out of curiosity about the match's outcome; he knew Bulgaria would ultimately win.
Wade just wanted to know what condition the players of both teams were in after being drenched in rain all night. Would the audience still be as enthusiastic as before?
He walked past tent after tent when he suddenly stopped at a tent made of stitched furs.
Thinking of his paranoia last night, Wade couldn't help but find himself a bit amusing. He instinctively walked over, intending to take another look at the small tree that had startled him.
However, the area next to the tent was empty.
Wade paused, looking at the brown-gray animal tail hanging by the door, then at the unique, hand-stitched pattern, confirming this was indeed where he had passed last night.
He looked down and found a small muddy pit next to the tent, now filled with rainwater, rippling with concentric circles.
It was somewhat similar to the scene in his dream.
But who would be so bored as to pull up a tree in the campsite?
Wade looked around, seeing the smoke from cooking fires wafting through the drizzle, feeling a bit speechless.
Could it be that someone woke up early to cook, was too lazy to find firewood in the forest, and just used what was nearby?
Although, theoretically, this type of tree couldn't be ignited, magic could easily defy common sense.
Wade glanced at the grayish-green forest in the distance again, then walked towards the stadium.
At the entrance, the ticket checker leaned against the wall, bleary-eyed, and waved Wade through without much scrutiny.
He went up the stairs, pushed open the box door, and found that both adults looked drained, but Harry was still very excited.
"You came at just the right time, Wade," Harry said happily. "The visibility is much better now. I think they should catch the Golden Snitch and decide the winner very soon!"
Really? They look like they're about to pass out.
Wade looked at the pale-faced athletes and asked, "You've been watching the match all night? Didn't get any sleep?"
"What? Of course not!"
Harry said without hesitation, his binoculars glued to the two Seekers, especially Krum from the Bulgarian team.
The eighteen-year-old athlete displayed exceptionally skilled flying and an astonishingly tenacious competitive spirit. Even though he hadn't caught the Golden Snitch yet, he had already become Harry's idol.
"What about you, Wade?" Sirius yawned, asking, "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Pretty well, slept straight through till morning. I even had a strange dream about the Killing Forest," Wade replied casually.
"The Killing Forest?" Harry, busy as he was, managed to cock an ear slightly, asking curiously, "What's that?"
"That was the most infamous match in Quidditch World Cup history."
Sirius, it turned out, knew something about it too. He perked up, eager to share with Harry:
"About two hundred years ago, I remember it was the final between Romania and New Spain. A bad-tempered Romanian player, after clashing with his teammates, the referee, and his opponents, and seeing his team had no hope of winning, simply colluded with a Dark Wizard and cast a Dark Curse on the entire forest."
Lupin also knew this history. He continued, "It's said that back then, the trees in the forest suddenly came alive, surging towards the stadium, trampling everything, causing countless deaths and injuries. The person who cast the Dark Curse didn't escape either; they were killed by a violent Spruce Tree."
Harry stared for a moment, imagining the horrific scene of an entire forest of trees charging into the crowd and slaughtering people. For a time, he even forgot to watch the match.
He murmured, "...You call that 'bad-tempered'?"
Wade asked curiously, "What Spell did that person use? It had such immense power."
"Who knows?" Sirius spread his hands, saying, "Such a dangerous Spell must have been classified as a Forbidden Curse at the time, forbidden for anyone to learn. The Ministry of Magic would also seal away all related information, to prevent any other hot-headed person from trying to imitate it."
—That's right, it should only be sealed away, not completely destroyed.
Wade instinctively thought.
In the 19th century, large-scale Witch Hunts had ended, with only sporadic persecutions in some remote areas.
But the Ministry of Magic would always keep that Spell. In case there was another large-scale war, and the Wizarding side was at an absolute disadvantage, then all the forests in the world could become the "soldiers" of the Wizarding World.
The only problem was that these "soldiers" sounded like they wouldn't distinguish between friend and foe, and would kill Wizards too
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read ***+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский
Or Translate for free at : https:// randomtranslator.com/translate
Join our Discord: https:// discord.com/invite/XXUR9nkjwa
-----------