Chapter 261: The Three Schools
Chapter 261: The Three Schools
While everyone else at Hogwarts was captivated by Madame Maxime, Sherlock, who had already met the Beauxbatons headmistress, did not express the same level of surprise at her appearance as the others.
So when the little girl hiding behind Madame Maxime waved at him, Sherlock noticed it right away.
He and Fleur, whom he hadn't seen in over a year, exchanged a glance.
During that time, the girl had sent him a letter almost every one or two months, recounting her recent experiences and amusing stories from school, as if trying to develop a pen pal relationship with Sherlock.
However, Sherlock's replies were few and far between, countable on one hand. When the girl herself approached him, Sherlock felt a bit guilty and responded with an awkward smile, waving back at Fleur.
Silke, who had been standing beside Sherlock, seemingly indifferent but actually keeping a close eye on him, naturally noticed this exchange.
Her expression didn't change, but her light golden eyes, hidden behind the black ribbon, caught the sight of the delicate face in the shadow of Madame Maxime's massive form.
"Do you know a Beauxbatons student?"
She asked abruptly.
Sherlock had no qualms about it. He shrugged, clapping along with Dumbledore for the newly arrived Beauxbatons students and their headmistress, and said in a low voice:
"I told you before, during the summer when I met you, I took Harry on a trip to France. That's when I met her."
"Are you close with her?"
"Reasonably so. Remember those owls that would deliver exhausted letters to me every so often? Those were from Miss Delacour."
Speaking of this, Sherlock tilted his head to look at Silke, who had spoken fewer words to him in the past few days than she did tonight, and asked curiously:
"Why do you ask?"
At this, Silke pressed her lips together and fell silent, leaving Sherlock's question unanswered.
But Sherlock didn't mind; Silke's peculiar temperament was nothing new to him.
After Fleur gave Sherlock a distant wave, she followed the Beauxbatons group into the castle.
The Hogwarts students and teachers, however, had to stay to welcome the guests from Durmstrang.
They had only just escorted the Beauxbatons students into the castle when the magic school from the northernmost part of Europe made an equally impressive entrance.
They arrived on a ghostly-looking sailboat that emerged from the depths of the Black Lake!
The large ship anchored in the shallow waters of the Black Lake and extended a plank to the shore. Led by a middle-aged wizard in a black robe with a goatee, the Durmstrang guests made their way to Hogwarts.
Even before they approached, everyone heard a hearty voice.
"Dumbledore! My old friend, how are you?"
Dumbledore, standing not far from Sherlock, smiled. He subtly turned his head to meet Sherlock's gaze before stepping forward to greet the middle-aged wizard with a goatee, shaking his hand.
"Excellent, thank you, Professor Karkaroff", he replied with the same enthusiasm.
Their conversation was like that of old friends who hadn't seen each other in years and were now reunited.
However, Sherlock, who had been staring at Karkaroff ever since he appeared, saw none of the genuine warmth or excitement in Karkaroff's eyes. Instead, they were filled with coldness and sharpness.
Karkaroff, who looked very different from the man Sherlock had met at the Leaky Cauldron over a decade ago, now exuded a smoothness and cunning that had been absent before.
Karkaroff put on a show of reminiscing about Hogwarts Castle, then called over a Durmstrang student with a flourish.
At that moment, the entire student body of Hogwarts realized who this student was.
Viktor Krum, the Seeker of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team, who had performed exceptionally well despite losing in the recently concluded Quidditch World Cup.
Dumbledore accompanied the last arriving guests into Hogwarts Castle, and the chattering Hogwarts students, who were whispering excitedly and trying to get Krum to sign their robes, followed them into the Great Hall.
"Wow! Wow! It's Krum! Harry, I can't believe it, such a great Quidditch player is actually a student!"
Hermione was unimpressed by Ron's overreaction and rolled her eyes.
"It's just a Quidditch player. Why are you so excited?"
She held her head high as she walked past three sixth-year girls who were eagerly chatting and asking Krum to sign their robes, unsure if he would agree.
Ron was equally incredulous at Hermione's lack of enthusiasm.
"Just a Quidditch player? Didn't we watch the Quidditch World Cup together? Didn't you see his amazing performance in the match?"
Hermione was growing impatient with Ron's fangirl behavior and decided to ignore him, turning to Harry instead.
"What about the friend you mentioned, the one you met in France with Professor Forrest? Is she here today?"
Harry shook his head. Fleur, who was not used to the cold air in Britain, had been covering her head with a scarf and hadn't specifically greeted him, so Harry hadn't seen her.
"She probably didn't qualify to come."
As they talked, they entered the Great Hall.
Although the Great Hall had been newly decorated for the arrival of the guests from the other two magical schools, no additional tables had been added to facilitate better interaction among the students of the three schools.
When Harry and the others entered, the young wizards from Beauxbatons had already chosen to sit at the Ravenclaw table.
After a moment of hesitation, the Durmstrang students also took their seats at the Slytherin House table.
Ron, now a fangirl, was disappointed. He glared at Malfoy, who was talking to Krum, and grumbled to Hermione and Harry like a jilted lover.
Dumbledore stood on the high platform and welcomed the guests from the other two schools.
As he delivered his welcoming speech, Hermione's attention was drawn to a girl at the Ravenclaw table, one of the Beauxbatons students. The girl, whose face was obscured by a scarf, caught Hermione's eye.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
