The initial narrative was that this world likely held many secrets we had yet to uncover.
As we proceeded, we pursued and explored, indeed finding mysterious traces—wonderful creatures previously undiscovered. Further along, there were people waving wooden sticks and the like.
Then we made contact with a real wizard, gradually beginning to film the existence of magic, showcasing its wonders to fulfill people's fantasies, and finally revealing the wizarding society itself.
This extended to exposing that wizards had a Ministry of Magic, an organization akin to Muggle government, which had always coexisted with us... Hmm, that was the step the Muggle society had been progressing through.
Now, it had advanced to delving deep into the wizarding world, visiting magical competitions among young wizards.
The first match wasn't even live but recorded, to ensure no issues arose. The governments of both worlds chose to conduct this phase tentatively. If the first match went without incident, these tapes would be publicly broadcast on television.
During the matches, the revelatory reports were already unfolding continuously.
"Welcome," Harry said to the three people stepping down from the Thestral carriage at the road junction near Hogsmeade, close to Hogwarts. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and you, Dudley."
"This is... Hogwarts..."
Aunt Petunia stared in a daze at the massive castle perched on the distant cliff and the enormous totem beside it, murmuring in awe.
"Unbelievable! Boy!" Uncle Vernon climbed down from the carriage edge, eyes wide as he shouted, "A castle! You've got yourself a castle!!"
In Vernon's eyes, a castle was synonymous with money and status—and a lot of money at that.
"Only while I'm fulfilling my duties as headmaster," Harry explained briefly. "I hope this trip is enjoyable for you. Oh, and you're welcome to watch my match."
The Dursleys had come to Hogwarts at Harry's invitation; he had even sent a Thestral carriage specifically to pick them up.
"Oh, it's been quite pleasant... at least far better than that damned bus," Uncle Vernon said, snapping out of it and scratching his belly. "Ha! Everyone's talking about magic and wizards now—from the office to the neighbors. I haven't met a single person who doesn't love discussing it; they're all obsessed."
"They'd never imagine we've truly entered the magical world," Aunt Petunia added, no longer screaming at the mention of magic like before—instead, her face lit with excitement.
"So there's really an invisible animal pulling the carriage for us?" Dudley glanced at the castle a few times before turning his attention back to the carriage. He excitedly reached toward the empty space in front, groping around. "My God! I touched it! It really exists! So skinny! I think I felt its bones! Harry! What does it look like? Can you make it visible?!"
"Those are Thestrals! Right? I know about them!" Aunt Petunia also reached out, cautiously touching the empty space in front of the carriage, then twisted around excitedly toward Harry. "I heard about these... magical creatures from Lily. They're called that, aren't they?"
"Yes, Thestrals," Harry nodded with a smile. "Only those who have seen death can see them, but honestly, that's just one way of putting it—I'm sorry it's not the start of term; I couldn't have you ride the Hogwarts Express. I know you were looking forward to that, Aunt Petunia."
"I've seen dead people too, but why can't I see them?" Uncle Vernon immediately said. "Dear, can you?"
"No," Aunt Petunia replied with regret. "But why?"
"Perhaps because... there's still a difference between death and the dead," Harry thought for a moment before saying. "But I do have another way to let you see them."
As he spoke, Harry drew his wand and waved it. Suddenly, white snowflakes began falling over their heads, but they didn't drift freely—instead, they seemed conscious, drifting toward the Thestrals' bodies in scattered points.
Eventually, two hollow Thestrals outlined by intermittent white snowflake dots appeared in the air, though everyone knew they weren't truly hollow.
"There are two?" Uncle Vernon exclaimed in amazement. "And they have wings!"
The tiny snowflake points delineated the Thestrals' forms in exquisite detail, even revealing their gaunt, sunken ribs.
"They're pure black creatures," Harry said softly. "Maybe turning the snowflakes black would make them easier to imagine."
He did it instantly, and the white snowflakes turned black, though the shapes remained the same.
"Wow," Dudley couldn't help but admire. "They look even cooler now."
Harry's magic allowed the Dursleys to see the Thestrals' movements, so they watched somewhat timidly as these seemingly fleshless, gaunt monsters bent their enormous heads, as if sniffing lightly in front of them.
"Off you go. Hagrid's prepared your favorite treats. Good work," Harry said with a smile, patting the Thestrals' heads.
As his magic dissipated, the two Thestrals pulled the carriage toward Hagrid's hut. The Thestrals raised at Hogwarts were all Hagrid's treasures.
"Come on. You can stay in the Great Totem during the matches—that's my office—er, the huge totem with horn decorations next to the castle," Harry led the way.
"Yeah, I figured," Uncle Vernon shrugged. "No one but a freak like you who likes wearing horns on his head would go for that style of building."
It had been a long time since Harry heard the word "freak" from Uncle Vernon, but this time, it carried none of the old malice.
"You can wander Hogwarts as you like. Hermione's parents will arrive soon too—they're Muggles, so you can explore together."
Sirius was already waiting in the Great Totem. As Harry's godfather, who saw himself as his guardian, he couldn't miss his godson's stellar performance.
In fact, he was eager to watch Harry crush the competition.
"Vernon Dursley," Sirius said at the Great Totem's entrance, arms crossed as he eyed the family.
It had been a long time since his release from prison, and he knew what kind of life Harry had endured with them. Though they'd normalized under Harry's influence, that didn't erase what they'd done.
"Don't just stand there, Sirius," Harry said calmly. "Bring out the grill. Hermione's parents will be here soon; we need to prepare a feast to welcome them."
"...Fine, since you said so," Sirius reluctantly stepped aside. "Come in."
"Uh, thanks?"
The first wave of Muggles entering the magical world in groups were mostly the wealthy, powerful, or well-connected. The Ministry of Magic had dispatched personnel to watch them, preventing accidents from touching things they shouldn't.
Add in the ticket-buying wizards, and Hogwarts' grounds became chaotic. Wizards were used to chaos, but to Muggles, it was overwhelming.
The first match was about to begin.
The arena was packed on all sides. Wizards and Muggles alike held monocular telescopes, allowing them to capture every subtle move of the champions clearly.
Muggle spectators each had one too.
In one corner of the lowest arena field lay a massive dragon—a Hebridean Black from the Hebrides, native to the British Isles. More aggressive than the Common Welsh Green, with extreme territorial instincts.
Magical protections lined the central field's edges and overhead, so the dragon couldn't see the dense crowd of human spectators; otherwise, it wouldn't stay so calm.
A brooding mother dragon would eliminate any moving life around her, even nipping at passing goats.
The competition arena was magically expanded, not a flat empty space but terrain with mountains, rivers, forests, deserts, and more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what we see now is the competition arena crafted by wizards for their young champions. Can you imagine an empty space of just one thousand square meters expanding more than double in a few breaths? Those forests, grasslands, mountains—they appeared in mere breaths. This reporter witnessed wizards waving their wands to achieve it effortlessly—this is a miracle! It's magic!"
"...Hebridean Black—that's the species of the black dragon below. I can't fathom these colossal beasts lived in our world all along, coexisting with us, yet we never discovered them..."
"..."
Muggle TV reporters waved their hands frantically like mad, gesturing at the bizarrely sized arena, the dragon below, or the packed audiences.
Though it was recorded, they acted as if live—that's professionalism.
"Everyone! Welcome to Hogwarts!!!"
Harry's voice, amplified by magic, thundered across the arena. Honestly, Harry wasn't sure how many cameras were on him; he only knew the flashes hadn't stopped since earlier.
Ragehorn was nearly blinded by them.
But he had to act unfazed.
"Welcome to the Triwizard Tournament!!!"
Every word from Harry drew tidal waves of cheers—these were unamplified voices, but combined, they roared like a tsunami.
Harry gave the opening remarks, followed by the Minister for Magic's speech, and finally the Muggle Prime Minister's—tedious but necessary.
"...The resurgence of elements and proliferation of magic have made it impossibly difficult for the wizarding world to hide as before. Muggles have even grown accustomed to objects in their homes suddenly coming alive..."
"...The Statute of Secrecy has utterly failed, and we will find our place in this new world..."
"...We have restarted the Triwizard Tournament... to serve as a bridge for mutual understanding between the two worlds..."
Scrimgeour was increasingly ministerial; he no longer spoke like the head of the Auror Office but like a true politician.
"...Thanks to Headmaster Potter, Headmistress Maxime, and Headmaster Karkaroff for their cooperation... And let us welcome our special guests... British Muggle Prime Minister Jim Hack... French Muggle Prime Minister Casimir Perrier..."
As host, Scrimgeour introduced the two Muggle primes to the wizards. Hack waved enthusiastically, face flushed with excitement; Perrier was the same. They knew that even if they left office in a few years, their names would be etched in both societies' histories as the first points of contact between wizards and Muggles.
The five judges were introduced to all. As the audience sighed in relief at the leaders' speeches ending, the match finally began.
"Eighteen champions. The first nine to compete are the student champions from our three schools. Their task is to pass by the dragon—I expect you've all seen the nest—and retrieve the fake golden egg from among the dragon eggs."
Ludo Bagman had volunteered as commentator. As a retired Quidditch star, his lively personality suited the role.
"This is no easy feat. Our Muggle friends don't understand dragons' power, so let me explain: subduing an adult dragon requires at least a dozen elite adult wizards working together. A brooding mother is at her most aggressive."
"Notably, for this first task, we transported eighteen dragons from around the world—I must say, managing them has nearly bald my colleagues. They gave their all to keep these beautiful beasts from fighting each other—oh?! We can see our first student champion has entered the arena!"
"First up is Hogwarts' champion, from the ancient Hufflepuff House!!"
"Cedric Diggory!!"