Wade opened the book and once again saw the illustration of the killer forest.
Gnarled black trees blotted out the sky, and the Dark Wizard casting the curse was just a tiny speck in the picture.
Thinking about it carefully, when he first had that dream, was it really just an association triggered by this image?
Closing his eyes and recalling, the sound of rain, the splash of water droplets, the smile on the Wizard's face, and the corrupt, damp smell of the forest—it was all so vivid, real, and concrete.
The second dream… corpses were everywhere, one of them hanging upside down from a banyan tree, fresh red blood dripping down.
As for the third time, in a desolate landscape, there were also broken pine trees.
In all three ominous dreams, there was a consistent element, which couldn't be a coincidence.
Wade then remembered what Sirius had said:
"The Ministry of Magic will also seal all relevant information, to prevent any addle-pated fool from imitating it."
Imitating…
Even if he was overthinking it… what if his suspicion came true…
Wade thought for a long time, then finally picked up the book and went out.
…
With a *bang*, the vendor with the cart suddenly appeared, the cart filled with all sorts of peculiar merchandise: badges that loudly called out team members' names, national flags that could play the national anthem, miniature statues of star players that walked around on their own, and panoramic binoculars of various designs.
"Look! Krum!" Harry excitedly grabbed a statue, then turned to his friends and said, "He flies brilliantly, he's the best Seeker in the world."
Ron had already watched the semi-final recording on the Streaming Mirror; he was also a Krum fan, so he didn't hesitate to take out his pocket money to buy one, then drooled over the panoramic binoculars.
"Here!" Harry bought one for him, saying, "Without these binoculars, you'll miss a lot of great moments."
"No way." Ron's face turned red. "That's too expensive."
"Just consider it an early Christmas present from me!" Harry said with a smile.
Only then did Ron accept it gracefully.
…
"Splosh."
Wade stepped into the mud, which felt soft and sticky like glue. His expression stiffened, then he pulled his foot and shoe out of the muck.
"Be careful," Antoine reached out and pulled him, saying, "Some places in the forest look normal on the surface, but there might be pits several meters deep hidden underneath. You could fall in if you're not careful."
Drayne, seeing him struggle through the journey, frowned and said, "I remember in the book Mr. Grindelwald gave you, there's a type of wandless flying magic. You should take some time to learn it."
"—Wandless Dark Magic," Wade emphasized. "In The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic, this silent flying magic is considered Voldemort's signature. Even if I knew how, I couldn't just use it casually."
"It's just us few right now, and you've even had Polyjuice Potion. Are you still afraid of being discovered?" Antoine said.
"I have an easier way."
Wade reached into his pocket, pulled out a deeply dyed black Cloak, which, when unfurled, settled lightly on Wade's shoulders, then carried him gently into the air.
His feet weren't completely off the ground; instead, the pressure on the ground was as light as a bouncy ball. With just a slight push off the ground, he could glide a considerable distance.
The Cloak could carry Wade into full flight, but Wade always felt that would sacrifice maneuverability, making it less convenient than his current method.
He instantly put about ten meters between himself and Antoine, then turned back and waved, signaling for them to follow.
Antoine watched Wade's swift speed, elusive figure, and ground-skimming mode of movement, finding it incredibly eerie. Coupled with that waving gesture, Antoine immediately thought of many ghost stories he'd heard before.
He turned to Drayne, "And that kid still dares to call wandless flying the mark of a Dark Wizard?"
Drayne couldn't help but crack a smile.
…
Cheers and shouts erupted in waves. The entire stadium, with nearly a hundred thousand spectators, had almost every seat filled.
Because the top-level box offered a better view, at Harry's invitation, the SSC group, along with Ron and Ginny of the Weasley Family, all followed him to Sirius's box.
"My goodness, there are only a few of you, and you're occupying such a huge box?" Fred was the first to plop himself into a seat, shaking his head as he said, "If I'd known this, I would've come days ago."
"Didn't Mr. Weasley get tickets for a top-level box too?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Oh, don't even get me started," George said, sitting on Fred's other side. "That box was filled with Ministry of Magic officials besides us, even the Bulgarian Minister for Magic was there, and the Malfoy family too."
"Percy loved it," Ron grumbled. "I think he could live there for life."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Ryan opened a bag. "I brought drinks and snacks. Anyone want some?"
"I do." Michael asked, "Do you have Chocolate Frogs?"
"Of course."
"Oh, right…" Theo looked around and asked Harry, "When is Wade coming over? And Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin?"
"Sirius said he had something to do tonight, and Remus just ran into an acquaintance; he'll be here soon. Wade messaged me half an hour ago; he said he didn't want to watch the match anymore," Harry explained one by one.
"What?" Padma said in surprise. "This is the World Cup final!"
"Wade also went back to the tent to read during the last semi-final between Bulgaria and Egypt," Harry said, unperturbed. "Though the view really wasn't great then… but for him, reading is probably much more interesting than Quidditch, isn't it?"
"Well, that's just like Wade," Michael said. "He usually didn't watch the matches when we were in school either."
"Don't let my grandmother hear that," Neville said, shrinking his neck. "Otherwise, she'd have plenty to say."
Laughter filled the box as everyone shared snacks and waited for the match to begin. The atmosphere was incredibly relaxed.
...
In the forest, the giant spruce trees stood silently. Antoine lowered his Wand and said lightly, "Good, no abnormalities. Wade, it seems you were overthinking it."
"I haven't found any trees affected by a Dark Curse on my side either," Drayne said, approaching from another direction. "Maybe your premonition wasn't about this forest, or perhaps it will only come true sometime in the future."
"Or… a dream is just a dream," Antoine said, looking back at the stadium, which appeared particularly massive in the dark. "The match should have just started; we can still make it if we go now."
Wade was speechless. He looked up at the spruce tree in front of him, golden Magic Marks and faint glow faintly visible in his pupils.
Dense Magic Marks were wrapped tightly around the spruce like a spiderweb. And they called that no abnormalities?
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