The Day Before the Competition

Time flew by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.

However, to the surprise of Ivan and the others, the wizarding world was very peaceful these days, and the school classes went on as usual.

Even during Potions lessons, Snape rarely gave them trouble, but his face was as dark as ever, as if Dumbledore had given him a new assignment.

As the end of term approached, the atmosphere in the castle became so tense that the library and lounge, which had been empty earlier in the afternoon, were suddenly packed.

As champions, Ivan and Harry had more on their plate, as they had to prepare for the upcoming third match.

Hermione was just as nervous as they were, having spent the last few days sorting out the spells that might be needed for the match and ensuring that Ivan and Harry had mastered them.

"Professor Moody once said that the final match will be held in a large maze, in which some clever traps and dangerous magical creatures will be placed as a test… and that other champions may attack you!"

Hermione gave Harry instructions on how to play the game and advised him to practice the offensive charms listed in his list so that he was prepared to fight his opponents in the maze.

Harry kept nodding, but seemed distracted throughout.

Ron patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Stop thinking about You-Know-Who, Harry! For all we know, it was just a bad dream you had, and it's been over two months, and You-Know-Who would have done something if it had!"

"It couldn't have been a dream, Ron!" Harry retorted. "I didn't even know who Barty Junior was at the time, but I heard Voldemort mention his death. Do you think that's possible?"

"But even if that's true, there's nothing we can do about it right now. You might as well think about the game in a few days…" Ron said with a smirk.

Harry did not reply, understanding that Ron was right.

In fact, his peace over the past two months had caused him to question the dream's veracity, fearing that his words would be wasted on the professors.

With this in mind, Harry sighed and turned his attention to the long list of spells he had mastered over the past two months, although he was still unfamiliar with high-end charms like the Armour Charm.

Ivan, a fellow champion, was much more relaxed.

He had mastered all the basic magic on the list years ago, and his graduation exams had never been a problem for Ivan, so he was the most relaxed person in the lounge, carefully flipping through a Daily Prophet.

The incident with Barty Junior had put Ivan on his guard, and he placed a great deal of importance on information. Reading the newspaper had become a daily habit for him, as he did not want to miss out on crucial information.

Recently, however, the Daily Prophet had been full of stories about the Triwizard Tournament, other than gossip. There was not a single mention of Barty Crouch's arrest, and Ivan guessed that Fudge must have kept it quiet.

After flipping through the pages for a while, Ivan, expecting to see a lot of gossip today, was caught by something on one of the pages.

Ivan threw the Daily Prophet on the table and pointed to a column of news. "Take a look at this!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all glanced at it curiously.

"A Muggle was attacked by a jinx three days ago?" Hermione asked, bewildered, after reading the news.

"Yes! And it happened in that village by the sea!" Ivan said confidently.

The Daily Prophet did not state this explicitly, but Ivan was able to make a rough estimate based on the familiar background in the photograph.

"Peter and Voldemort must be on the move. Let's go and tell Professor Dumbledore!" Harry threw down the book he was reading in excitement and started to run.

Ivan pulled him back and said helplessly, "No need, Harry! You don't think Professor Dumbledore doesn't already know that, do you? Remember, the Professor has people watching the place!"

"Perhaps it was Professor Dumbledore who drove You-Know-Who away!" Hermione suggested.

"So you're saying your plan is ruined?" Ron was delighted. He had been frightened by the news that You-Know-Who was planning to bring back the village.

"It's not that easy!" Ivan shook his head solemnly, thinking that Dumbledore and Voldemort had not yet met.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Voldemort to escape from Dumbledore in his half-dead condition, and the Daily Prophet did not mention any signs of wizarding combat.

This meant that Lord Voldemort was still lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

After two months of inaction, Ivan thought it likely that Voldemort was looking for a suitable moment to strike, such as the day the Goblet of Fire's final match began!

Dumbledore, as referee of the Triwizard Tournament, would remain at Hogwarts that day to preside over the tournament, and Voldemort would presumably be much more relieved to be rid of Dumbledore.

The attack might have been a test, but it remained to be seen how the members of the Order of the Phoenix dealt with it.

While they were discussing this, an owl flew through the opening in the window, circled the lounge, and flew straight at Harry, dropping the envelope on the table.

Harry deftly opened the envelope and extracted the parchment inside. He was extremely excited when he read the letter.

"Who sent you the letter? What did it say?" Yvonne asked curiously.

"It's Sirius! He said in his letter that the Ministry would invite the families of the champions to watch the third match, and he's going to be there that day, too!" Harry exclaimed happily.

"That's good news!" Yvonne smiled, wondering if Alicia would come. She seemed to hate Dumbledore and was always unhappy about going to Hogwarts…