Grindelwald's prophecy was not just a few vague words, but pictures.

Fifty years ago, he saw the moment of nuclear weapons explosion and the terrifying power brought by the development of Muggle technology. Now, he saw another picture, more mysterious, but not without information.

The white curtain and death easily reminded Cyrus of the Hall of Death in the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic.

Whether it was the original novel or the movie, the Hall of the Dead left a deep impression on Cyrus, especially when Sirius disappeared at the other end of the archway and headed to another world amidst the fluttering white curtains.

As for the darkness...

'Could it be Voldemort?' Cyrus pondered.

Grindelwald's mouth suddenly curled up, but it was stiff, as if the skin was forcibly pulled into an arc. He seemed to have guessed what was in Cyrus's mind and said softly:

"Voldemort is a very talented and crazy man. He will not just collapse like this, we all know this, the key is how he returns after this failure."

Prophecy is never a power that can be used arbitrarily. Even the most gifted wizards can only see fragments. Grindelwald saw Voldemort return from death, but he didn't know how he did it.

His unique eyes stared at Cyrus, as if he had countless words to say.

In fact, he had not revealed a crucial piece of information about the prophecy, which was why he finally decided to leave Nurmengard.

"I know you plan to defeat Dumbledore in front of the whole world, and I can help you," said Grindelwald.

"What's your purpose? Is it just because I intend to break the Statute of Secrecy?" Cyrus raised his eyebrows. He didn't think Grindelwald was a generous and helpful wizard. "The world I want is different from the world you want."

After all, Grindelwald is a very ambitious and aspiring man. Although everything he did before was extreme, it was ultimately for the greater good, but the object of this benefit is the wizarding community.

Cyrus is not so noble, he is acting in his own interests.

At most, he would just put wizards and muggles below himself, so that they could be as equal as possible.

"It's been fifty years. I no longer care about those things." Grindelwald said sadly.

Time will wear away a person's ambitions, especially the past fifty years when he sat in Nurmengard, every day and night, making him immersed in the pain of the past.

Compared to being deserted by friends and family, the world is actually not that important.

Cyrus looked at Grindelwald and had to say that the conditions proposed by Grindelwald were very tempting. With such a powerful ally standing by his side, he would not be afraid even if Dumbledore held the Elder Wand.

"But I refuse."

"You refuse?" Grindelwald seemed to have not expected Cyrus to refuse him. He was a little surprised, and every eyebrow he raised was saying it was incredible. "Aren't you afraid that I will turn around and join forces with Dumbledore to deal with you? Breaking the Statute of Secrecy will inevitably cause turmoil, and he won't want to see rivers of blood."

"It seems more valuable to me to defeat the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald and the greatest wizard Albus Dumbledore at the same time." Cyrus smiled confidently.

His purpose is to let the whole world see his strength, and the stronger the reference point, the better.

The combined pressure of Grindelwald and Dumbledore on Cyrus was indeed enormous, but now that he had completely mastered the ancient magical powers and the legacy left by Morgana, he might not be unable to give it a try.

But this is only one of the reasons.

Another reason why Cyrus was not so willing to cooperate with Grindelwald was that Grindelwald had a bad reputation. If he went with him, he would naturally be labeled as Grindelwald's extreme and evil.

Although fifty years have passed, people may have forgotten what Grindelwald looked like, what he said, and what he did, but they will always remember how Grindelwald made them feel, the fear he brought them, and will never forget their hatred for him.

"You have chosen the most difficult path." Grindelwald frowned.

"Then let's wait and see." Cyrus smiled faintly, and then completely stopped communicating with Grindelwald. He sat up straight again, and the frozen time suddenly melted as if spring had arrived.

After a while, there was a noisy sound outside the hall, and more than a thousand wizards followed Dumbledore and other professors and walked in. Cyrus saw Harry and the others waving to him in the crowd, so he responded with his eyes.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, gentlemen." Behind Ms. Maxime followed a group of witches in blue costumes, dancing like elves. Of course, there were also a few wizards, but they were not so eye-catching, especially under the gorgeous appearance of the half-blooded charm girl Fleur Delacour.

The magic in her blood attracted the attention of almost half of the wizards in Hogwarts, and the other half who were not attracted were all witches.

However, this trick has no effect on powerful wizards, especially on monsters like Cyrus, whose magic resistance is comparable to that of a fire dragon.

"The French wizards' sense of time is really disappointing," Cyrus said sarcastically.

This made all the students of Beauxbatons a little unhappy. Fleur's sister Gabrielle glared at Cyrus angrily, her cheeks puffed up like a puffer fish.

But no one objected, after all, Cyrus was telling the truth.

Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Maximus, originally planned to let the students sit in the Slytherin seats, but after discovering that it was already full of Ilvermorny students, he had no choice but to let the students go to Ravenclaw.

Now, all the teachers and students were finally seated, but Cyrus noticed that there were a few empty chairs in the faculty seats.

Dumbledore stood in front of a golden podium carved with an eagle, and waited until the entire hall was completely silent before he began his usual brief speech.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and - especially - distinguished guests. I am very pleased to welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope and believe that you will feel comfortable and happy here." He paused and continued, "The competition will officially begin at the end of the banquet. I now invite everyone to eat and drink as much as you can, just like at home!"

Then he strode back to his seat, with Cyrus and Grindelwald sitting on either side of him.

Next it’s time to eat.

Obviously, for this competition, even the kitchen of Hogwarts has changed its appearance. The house-elves have learned more tricks, and many French dishes have popped up, and some American food is also crowded on the table.

Cyrus picked up a beef burger and washed it down with a Coke on the rocks.

At first the students were a little reserved, but after a while they became lively.

The students of Durmstrang took off their thick velvet robes. Their school uniforms were blood red. The star player Viktor Krum attracted many eyes. Even Ron and Harry turned their eyes away from Cyrus and Malfoy and came to Krum enviously.

Ginny and Hermione weren't that crazy about Quidditch players.

At the Slytherin table, the eldest master Malfoy wanted to look for his two friends, but Goyle and Crabbe both had stern faces, as if they had no intention of acknowledging him.

Their parents, like Malfoy, had not crossed the flames, and now they had already treated Draco Malfoy as a traitor. Barty Crouch Jr.'s decision to let Lucius go undercover would not be known to everyone.

Malfoy was obviously not in a good mood after being rejected by the person he thought was his "friend". He sat back in his seat sullenly and ate some other food without saying a word.

At this time, several other guests arrived.

The person who opened the door of the hall was an old wizard who seemed to be several years older than Dumbledore. He was hunched over, leaning on a cane, and walked with a trembling gait.

Behind him, followed Graves, and a few wizards that Cyrus didn't know very well. Except for the old wizard, the others were not very old, or they could be said to be in their prime.

As they entered, they immediately noticed Grindelwald and their expressions became much more serious.

In reality they were the elite Aurors sent by the International Confederation of Wizards to fight against Grindelwald, though of course no one was stupid enough to try to arrest him yet.

These people just came to confirm the situation and see if Grindelwald was still alive as the Magic Congress guessed. If so, it means that they might face another war! "Albus, long time no see." The old wizard in the lead didn't seem to care much about it. Seeing Dumbledore, he seemed very happy and spoke some unclear language.

Surprisingly, Dumbledore not only understood, but also responded to him in the same language.

"Welcome, Babajid." Dumbledore stood up enthusiastically, hugged him, and pulled him to sit down. Then the two of them switched to English.

"I didn't expect that you would restart the Triwizard Tournament. If I had known this earlier, I would have let Vagado participate as well." He said regretfully, and then greeted Cyrus and the principals of the other two schools respectively.

"Hello, Mr. Akinbade." Cyrus also politely returned the greeting.

He remembered the identity of the old man.

In the original book, after Dumbledore's death, he took over as the president of the International Confederation of Wizards. Although he was not mentioned in the original book, he is obviously a wizard with powerful magic.

The dinner party is still going on.

After a long while, the golden plates with food residue on the dining table were cleared away, and Dumbledore stood up again and walked to the front of the dining table.

"This moment has finally arrived," he said excitedly, and then introduced Babajide Akinbade and several other wizards who would serve as referees to all the young wizards.

The British Ministry of Magic also sent people over, and Buckman from the Department of Magical Games and Sports continued to serve as the referee. After all, as the host, it was impossible for them to hand over all matters to the International Confederation of Wizards.

"Mr. Bagman has worked tirelessly over the past few months to arrange the tournament, as have our friends from the Magical Congress. If it weren't for them, this tournament wouldn't be as grand as it is today," said Dumbledore. "They will form the judging panel with me, Professor Sellers, Professor Rosier, and Madam Maxime to judge the efforts of the champions."

In name, the headmaster of Durmstrang is still Vida Rosier.

"Filch, bring the box up here."

The lame Filch pushed a wooden box to the center of the hall with difficulty. A thousand pairs of eyes stared at the box curiously, and Barty Crouch Jr.'s gaze was surprisingly greedy.

Dumbledore did not open the box immediately.

"There are three events in this year's competition, which will be held at different times throughout the school year. They will test the warriors in many different aspects... and I'm glad that we have made some different changes to the rules. In the past, only three wizards could participate in the competition, but now, each school will have three warriors."

He raised his finger, and the little wizards looked at him with more longing.

"The warriors may need to unite as one, or they may have to fight on their own. We will grade them based on the quality of their completion of each competition item. After the three items are completed, the warrior with the highest score will win the Goblet of Fire."

"And the one who chooses the warrior will be the most fair referee," he walked to the side of the box, put his hand on the old wooden board, and with a wave of his hand, the board fell to the sides, revealing the things inside.

It was a large, roughly carved wooden goblet that looked unattractive, even ugly.

But the blue-white flame in the cup was so bright that it attracted everyone's attention.

"Every student who wants to run for the Champion must write his name and school name on a piece of parchment and throw it into this goblet," Dumbledore continued. "Aspiring Champions have 24 hours to register. Tomorrow night, Halloween night, the goblet will choose the name of the Champion it thinks best represents the four schools."

After Dumbledore finished speaking, Cyrus saw little Barty lick his lips excitedly, looking like he was ready to make a move.

Not only him, but everyone with ulterior motives was plotting their own conspiracies under the illumination of the flames.

(End of this chapter)