Chapter 1831: Durmstrang
Chapter 1831: Durmstrang
By the time the Thestral-drawn carriages from Hogwarts arrived in the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, night had already fallen, and large snowflakes were slowly drifting down from the sky.
Hagrid, who had never been to Durmstrang, could only patiently wait for someone from the school to guide them.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Soon, someone on a flying broomstick was heading their way.
The moment the person arrived beside the Thestral-drawn carriages, they couldn't help but complain to Hagrid, "You're several hours late, and everyone is starving because of you."
"Sorry, we had some issues on the road that delayed us. I'm sure someone must have informed you in advance", Hagrid apologized dryly.
If the person had been more friendly, Hagrid might have felt guilty, but given their attitude, Hagrid felt he was already being quite polite.
Moreover, after the Triwizard Tournament, few professors at the vast Hogwarts were interested in such matters.
"Follow me!"
The person didn't say anything more and flew ahead to lead the Thestral-drawn carriages.
It wasn't clear if the person was deliberately leading them in circles, but after about half an hour of flying, they finally landed on an open field at Durmstrang.
The welcoming ceremony had been canceled hours ago.
The students at Durmstrang weren't stupid enough to wait for their arrival in the cold night air.
"This place is freezing!"
James, wrapped in a thick cloak, was looking for Alice in the crowd.
She was also wearing a bright red cloak and was whispering to Hagrid. They seemed to be observing the Beauxbatons hippogriffs, which appeared to be struggling with the cold climate.
"This place is much smaller than Hogwarts. The castle only has four floors, and there can't be many students", James said as he approached Alice. "I wonder how Beauxbatons is doing?"
"Follow me!"
Professor Mcgonagall led the group toward the nearby Durmstrang castle.
The Great Hall here was somewhat similar to Hogwarts, but the ceiling wasn't enchanted. It was lit only by torches, making it dark and oppressive.
Because Hogwarts was late, the welcoming feast hadn't started, and the students from both schools were clearly annoyed.
"Who would think they'd make their castle so gloomy? Can't they at least add some magical lights?"
Daphne, feeling the unfriendly gazes of the surrounding students, was certain they weren't welcome here.
It wasn't entirely their fault, though. Anyone who had been hungry and cold for hours would be in a foul mood!
Unlike Hogwarts, Durmstrang didn't have houses. The Great Hall had two long tables, and the school had reserved seats for the "distinguished guests" in front of them.
The welcoming ceremony was brief. The headmistress of Durmstrang gave a short speech before moving straight to the feast, knowing everyone was starving and didn't want to listen to more talk.
To be honest, the food here was quite ordinary, with a limited variety and a strong Swedish and Norwegian flavor.
Alice immediately recognized the famous Swedish meatballs and smoked salmon.
What disappointed Alice was not finding the emperor crab she remembered.
"I don't understand why they like to eat cold food", Daphne complained, poking a cold meatball with her fork. The only dish that appealed to her, the seafood soup, was also cold.
"Hogwarts used to serve similar food at our feasts", Alice said, not having high expectations for the welcome feast. Thanks to Albert's influence, the current Hogwarts menu, both in variety and taste, was far superior to what it was a decade ago.
After the welcoming banquet, it was time for the Goblet of Fire.
In light of the fourth champion incident during the last Triwizard Tournament, the headmasters of the three schools unanimously chose the most conservative method: having all candidates who wished to participate cast their votes at the same time.
Well, each school had already decided on their champion beforehand. This was just a formality to make the tournament appear more "democratic."
Everyone was clearly aware of this, so there were no surprises until the Hogwarts students returned to their camp in a blizzard. Discovering they had to set up camp in such terrible weather left them in particularly foul moods.
Especially Hagrid, who found that the Durmstrang delegates couldn't see the Thestrals, so the amount of fresh meat they had prepared was far from sufficient. Moreover, Durmstrang was so cold that they had to build makeshift stables out of snow to protect the Thestrals from the freezing ground.
While organizing people to help, Alice overheard Hagrid and Madame Maxime complaining about Durmstrang's unreliability.
That night was truly unpleasant. Even though their tents were well-insulated, they still woke up several times from the cold.
The Beauxbatons students, who were staying in the carriages, fared no better. They were even less resistant to the cold than the Hogwarts students.
Nelida Vokanova, the headmistress of Durmstrang, also looked displeased. It seemed they had not considered that the students from the other schools would be completely unaccustomed to such harsh weather.
As a result, they left a very poor first impression. (They had been busy building stables until late into the night.)
It was said that Nelida Vokanova contacted the Ministry of Magic that very day to secure a large number of warming items for these cold-sensitive "guests."
After all, they would be staying here for a long time, and the temperature would continue to drop. Who knew if their "guests" would decide to turn around and leave because they couldn't bear the cold.
Fortunately, the champion selection during the Halloween feast went off without a hitch.
If there was any issue, it was that only one girl from Hogwarts stepped forward to put her name into the Goblet of Fire, as if the Hogwarts students had all tacitly agreed that she would be their champion.
This lack of pretense left the students from the other schools utterly stunned.
Especially when the British students started cheering for Anderson, many began to suspect they had fallen into a British plot.
Albert Anderson's reputation was enormous. Although Alice was just his daughter, as the widely recognized successor, she was clearly no ordinary student. Otherwise, why would the Hogwarts students hold her in such high regard?
Particularly because the delay in Hogwarts' arrival the previous night was due to Alice, and Nelida Vokanova had even begun to doubt whether she should host the Triwizard Tournament this year.
However, there was no going back, especially after the names of the champions from the three schools were announced by the Goblet of Fire. The tournament was now unstoppable.
Hogwarts' champion was, of course, Alice.
Beauxbatons' champion was a handsome young man named Matthew, whose entrance caused a chorus of screams from the girls.
Durmstrang's champion was a cold and aloof youth, reportedly the famous dueling champion of Durmstrang. However, his entrance lacked the impact of the previous two, which was truly bizarre.
(End of Chapter)
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