Chapter 266: Welcome
Chapter 266: Welcome
Potions class ended half an hour early that afternoon. Ignoring Professor Snape's sour expression, everyone hurried back to their dormitories to drop off their backpacks and textbooks, put on their cloaks, and quickly rush down the stairs to the entrance hall, where they lined up under the direction of their Head of House.
What is the Triwizard Tournament? It is a competition filled with camaraderie. It is a stage for friendship, where the abilities, willpower, skills, and wisdom of the participating wizards are showcased. In this competition, every participant is a champion. They challenge their limits, surpass themselves, and realize their value. It also provides a platform for all wizards to interact, striving for the peace and prosperity of the wizarding world.
All of the above is official Daily Prophet rhetoric. The true purpose of the competition is simple: the participants must defeat their opponents to earn Honor Points for their school. Victory is paramount, and as for friendship—well, Liam thinks that cheating has become a tradition, and friendship is merely a byproduct.
After taking attendance and ensuring everyone was presentable, Professor Mcgonagall led the students in a line to the clearing in front of the castle. The Scottish Highlands in late October were already quite chilly, but the curiosity about the guests temporarily overshadowed the cold.
As the sky darkened, Dumbledore, standing at the back, called out, "Ah! If I'm not mistaken, the Beauxbatons representatives have arrived!"
Liam soon saw a monstrous creature flying toward the castle from above the Forbidden Forest, just as Mr. Weasley had said at the Quidditch World Cup final in the camp: "It's always the same—whenever we gather, we can't resist showing off a bit..."
Not only do individual wizards do this, but wizarding schools are no different. Just as ordinary people compare their lives when they haven't seen each other in a long time, wizarding schools also can't escape this tendency. Unlike the subtlety of Eastern cultures, the Triwizard Tournament's participating schools openly display their strengths to show off their school's heritage. For example, the Alchemy Banners Liam saw in the hall are part of this display.
Naturally, Beauxbatons could not be an exception. In the sky, Beauxbatons had already made their grand entrance: a lavish carriage.
The enormous, pale blue carriage was as big as a house, pulled by twelve winged horses, each as large as an elephant. These were Silver-Maned Horses.
From Liam's perspective as an Alchemy Master, the carriage itself was a single Alchemical Product, equipped with flying and dimensional compression functions. When he switched his vision to the Magic version of Eagle Vision, he could see the carriage shimmering with a significant amount of Magic Aura, indicating that it likely had powerful magical attack and defense capabilities. Most importantly, the Magic Aura on the side of the carriage formed the initials N.F., which stood for Nicolas Flamel's name.
It made sense, given the close relationship between Beauxbatons and the great Alchemy Master Nicolas Flamel. It was natural for this Alchemy Master to create a carriage for the school.
However, what truly demonstrated Beauxbatons' heritage were the horses pulling the carriage. Setting aside how Beauxbatons managed to gather a dozen of these extremely rare Silver-Maned Horses, just considering that these creatures, as large as elephants, only drink pure malt whisky gives an idea of the cost of maintaining them. Unlike the one-time investment in the carriage, these horses require continuous funding.
Liam felt like he had just bitten into a lemon as he looked at these things. After all, even though he had already opened pathways to several worlds, the resources he had were still far from enough to afford such an extravagant setup. Of course, Liam understood that this was the result of centuries of accumulation at the School, something entirely different from his sudden rise to wealth.
The carriage flew lower and lower, and finally, the horse hooves, the size of platters, landed with a loud thud, causing a stir. In this Kung Fu, a small, agile boy jumped down from the carriage, his finger pressing against the carriage floor. As a golden ladder appeared, the boy immediately jumped back and bowed respectfully.
The carriage door opened, and a towering woman stepped down. Liam immediately recognized her as Madam Maxime, though she would never admit it.
Liam could understand her reluctance. Even in France, where Wizards with mixed blood are relatively more accepted, having the blood of giants, who are often seen as evil and foolish, is still not something the public can easily tolerate.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Madam Maxime and her students were escorted into the School's Great Hall to warm up, leaving the Hogwarts staff and students to continue braving the cold night wind as they awaited the arrival of the Durmstrang delegation.
Fortunately, the wait was not long. A sound similar to that of a toilet flushing echoed through the air. A grand, ornate ship, reminiscent of the legendary ghost ships, emerged from the water and sailed toward the shore.
This ship was just an ordinary magical vessel, its magical aura paling in comparison to the Beauxbatons carriage. However, considering that the Beauxbatons carriage was a one-of-a-kind, while Durmstrang had a high mountain lake with several dark, ghostly ships, the comparison seemed more balanced.
Soon, the Durmstrang ship docked, and the silhouettes of Wizards began to move as they descended from the ship in an orderly manner. It was only late October, but the cold weather made the thick fur coats of the Durmstrang students seem overly heavy. However, the furs also made them appear tall and imposing.
Watching the former Death Eater Karkaroff greet Headmaster Dumbledore with exaggerated enthusiasm, Liam felt a sense of unease. He wondered what Voldemort had seen in Karkaroff to make him a trusted follower.
Fortunately, Headmaster Dumbledore, a man of a hundred years, had seen it all before. He shook hands with the silver-haired man and replied, "Very well, thank you, Professor Karkaroff."
As they shook hands, Karkaroff surveyed Hogwarts, "Dear old Hogwarts", he said, looking up at the castle with a smile, "It's wonderful to be here, wonderful indeed—Viktor, come warm yourself up! You don't mind, do you, Dumbledore? The weather is simply too cold—"
Although his words were warm, his eyes remained cold and sharp, creating a disconcerting contrast that made everyone who saw it feel uneasy.
However, the arrival of Viktor Krum stirred excitement among the Hogwarts students. Many of them, especially on the way to the Great Hall, hoped Krum would autograph something for them. Liam overheard a girl asking Krum to sign her hat with lipstick.
Liam could only shake his head at the fanatical behavior, and Hermione found it equally absurd.
Finally, Liam settled into his seat at the Gryffindor long table, ready to enjoy a hearty meal. After being chilled by the cold night wind for over an hour, he felt both cold and hungry, in dire need of some warmth and sustenance.
(End of Chapter)
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