Chapter 380: Gathering of Five Schools
Chapter 380: Gathering of Five Schools
A new week arrived, the last week of October. The professors, as if by unspoken agreement, accelerated their lessons to make room for the upcoming tournament.
Moodi's class was still filled with terror. "I can smell the scent of cowards", he said in class. At the time, he was preparing to cast the Imperius Curse on the students one by one. Moodi, with his intact eye, looked at the students menacingly and said in a low, sinister voice, "You will find that the more you try to escape, the more danger will find you... Yes, it always has a particular fondness for cowards."
When he raised his wand, the young wizards all trembled.
Only Harry showed resistance to the Imperius Curse. "You have the makings of an Auror! Potter, show them what you can do!" Moodi shouted, casting the Imperius Curse on Harry four times in a row. Only after Harry completely broke free from the curse's influence did Moodi move on to the next student.
After class, Ron and Neville supported each other as they walked out of the classroom. Both had received similar treatment; under Moodi's control, Ron performed an energetic dance, while Neville executed a series of impressive gymnastics moves.
"Who does that paranoid lunatic think he is?" Ron grumbled, rubbing his thighs.
As they passed a group of second-year young wizards, these students stared openly at Hermione, discussing her shocking performance on the open ground last weekend without any reserve.
"That fire phoenix... it burned all her hair off..."
Hermione's face showed a mix of happiness and embarrassment. "Do they have nothing better to do?" Even in the Library while doing homework, she couldn't escape the intense gazes. When she refused the third group of students asking for her autograph, one of the young wizards huffed in dissatisfaction, "What's there to be so smug about?"
Hermione said incredulously, "Am I being smug?"
"You look like you've been hit with a Cheering Charm", Ron said, not without a hint of jealousy, "all smiles and sunshine."
"Truly terrifying..." Hermione paused, then sighed deeply. She looked at Harry seriously and said, "I admire you a bit, Harry."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.
"I just... have some thoughts", Hermione said. "Think about it, I've only recently gained a bit of fame and already feel a bit elated. You've been dealing with this kind of attention for three years without showing any unusual behavior."
Harry stammered, "That's because I don't think fame is all that great... Okay, to be honest, sometimes it feels pretty good."
"Even when you're misunderstood?" Hermione looked at him deeply and asked. Over the past few days, she had experienced the downsides of sudden fame, realizing what it was like to be the center of attention.
She suddenly remembered how, in their second year, Harry had been suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin after revealing his Parseltongue ability. Many classmates had avoided him, whispering behind his back.
"You have us", Harry said.
Ron shrugged, "What weird topic are you discussing? Come on, let's go find Fred and George Weasley. I saw them head to the owlery; maybe the ageing potion has arrived."
Harry wanted to check on Hedwig, and Hermione thought a bit of fresh air would be good. They gathered their things and left the Library.
As they passed the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they saw two goblins emerging from the woods. They were carrying a wild boar on their shoulders, heading toward the Ilvermorny encampment. When they saw Harry and the others, the goblins murmured in a strange language.
"Guess what they're saying", Ron asked.
"Who knows, maybe they're just curious", Harry said, looking in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. From his position, he could only see the roof of a tall building, with four animal statues standing at the corners. The one facing them was a thunderbird, its wings spread as if about to take flight, somewhat resembling the bronze eagle of Ravenclaw.
"Do you think this year's tournament will involve a thunderbird?" Ron asked curiously.
"Thunderbirds are no easy opponents. They are storm's favorites. Even without their magical abilities, their ability to fly alone makes them formidable for champions", Hermione said, not very optimistic.
The owlery was a round stone room perched high up. As they endured the "sobbing" draft and the smell of owl droppings while climbing the stairs, they heard the twins' footsteps descending.
"He can't hide from us forever; it's not a small amount of money!"
"Right, I wonder if sending a letter will work. Maybe we should hand the letter to him directly; he'll have to come, won't he..." As they turned a corner, George stopped talking, surprised to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"What are you three doing here?" Fred asked, eyes wide.
Ron didn't answer, staring at the twins. "Who's hiding from you?"
"Hope that silly brother of yours can stay out of our way", Fred said unhappily.
Ron wanted to ask more, but Fred and George Weasley each put an arm around him. "Didn't you want the ageing potion? It arrived yesterday. We'll give it to you when we get back." With that, they left, one in front and one behind.
"They're definitely keeping something from the family", Ron said, looking at their backs. "But it seems like someone owes them money." He quickly shrugged it off and said hopefully, "I wonder what the ageing potion tastes like? I hope it's better than the Polyjuice Potion..."
Hermione said coldly, "You haven't given up on that idea, have you?"
"Of course not. Are you going to report us, Hermione?" Ron said with a grin. "We have to try it... Professor Mcgonagall said the Champions don't have to take the final exams. That means no matter how we mess with our homework, we won't have to worry about low grades... It would be a year of peace!"
Hermione glared at him. "So you want to be a Champion just to avoid homework?"
"Of course, there's also a substantial prize."
They returned to the common room, and Ron groaned on the table. "There's so much homework this year. Professor Mcgonagall assigned an essay on hedgehog transformations, Trelawney wants us to predict the astrological forecasts for next month, Snape is forcing us to study antidotes—he even hinted that he might poison us! Professor Binns always gives a lot of homework—goblin rebellions... who cares about what happened hundreds of years ago? And Professor Flitwick, he's given us three reference books for the Accio charm. Even Hagrid is making us observe the blast-ended skrewts every other day. Did you hear that? He wants us to watch creatures that shoot fire out of their butts, and he talks about them like they're a bunch of well-behaved puppies..."
"Just think, if you become a Champion, you can get rid of all this." He looked up, his face filled with longing.
Hermione and Harry ignored him; they knew he would eventually stop complaining. Hermione took out a small book and started muttering to herself, while Harry held the two-way mirror to talk to Sirius Black.
"I'm fine... my scar isn't hurting, maybe it's just psychological... yeah, the other three schools are coming, I wish you could see it... hey, Kreacher, what? Uh, sure, the locket goes well with your bald head... happy Halloween in advance..."
Sirius's irritable voice came through the mirror. "Damn it, Felix won't let me use his office fireplace! There's no one as ungrateful as him!"
In the evening, Neville brought back some news: the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations were arriving.
...
The delegations from the two schools arrived on the same day, as if they had coordinated, with less than an hour between them.
Having experienced the welcome for the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogwarts was well-prepared, and even Filch's eyes weren't as bulged as they had been, perhaps because no young wizards were making the same rookie mistakes again.
The weather had turned cool by late October, and the students gathered on the steps outside the entrance hall, waiting for twenty minutes. Finally, the Beauxbatons delegation arrived, flying in a giant powder-blue carriage. The carriage was as large as a house, pulled by twelve winged silver-maned horses that soared through the air.
The students looked up in amazement. With a bone-chilling crash, the carriage landed. "Cool! A hard landing!" Seamus said, until Madame Maxime emerged from the carriage, stepping down the golden stairs to stand before them, and he drew a sharp breath.
"Goodness, she's so tall!"
Dumbledore and the professors led the applause, and then Dumbledore kissed Madame Maxime's hand. After some pleasantries— "Has Karkaroff not arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.
"He's a bit late", Dumbledore said with a smile.
Madame Maxime snorted and muttered something under her breath. The professors and nearby students heard her clearly say, "Putting on airs."
"Would you prefer to wait here for him, or would you like to come inside and warm up?" Dumbledore asked, as if he hadn't heard.
"I'll go inside and warm up", she said, bowing slightly. "My horses have fiery tempers—they need strong handlers, and they only drink pure malt whisky."
"Rest assured, our professor of magical creatures will take good care of them", Dumbledore said.
Madame Maxime smiled gracefully and nodded to the professors. When she saw Felix, her smile became more genuine. Then, she sternly addressed the Beauxbatons students. "Follow me inside."
The Hogwarts students made way, watching as she led about a dozen students up the steps into the castle, whispering among themselves. The Beauxbatons students were dressed in elegant blue silk uniforms, and a few particularly slender girls had their heads wrapped up.
Dumbledore turned his head and whispered, "Felix..."
"I'll take care of it", Felix said. He looked at the carriage, his eyes glowing with a silvery light. The horse-sized creatures with fiery red eyes suddenly froze. Moments later, they lifted their plate-sized hooves and walked toward Hagrid's Hut in unison.
"By the way, don't forget the pure malt whisky", Dumbledore said, raising his hand to pull a note from the thin air. The note drifted and stuck to the forehead of the lead silver-maned horse.
The note flapped in the wind, making a rustling sound, looking quite peculiar. Professor Mcgonagall pursed her lips, her expression growing stern.
"Ah, just waiting is a bit boring", Dumbledore said. "Felix, does your 'Future World' company have any new products? I read in the newspaper that you recently signed a contract with the Weird Sisters..."
"It's for the magic phonograph. They will help produce the first batch of records. I suggested to Remus that he make the product as small as possible, preferably one that can project magical images. However, we've encountered a few minor issues, and I urgently need some valuable advice."
The two began to discuss, and the professors and students, who were bored, perked up their ears to listen. Soon, the professors joined in, and time passed.
Another half-hour went by, and even the students in cloaks found it hard to bear the cold, shivering in the wind.
"How much longer do we have to wait?"
Draco Malfoy complained, quietly drawing his wand and casting an Engorgement Charm on a beetle. He then kicked the beetle, now the size of a rat, away. A short while later, a scream came from nearby.
He grinned, then suddenly stared at the distant Black Lake, where a whirlpool had formed.
At that moment, Lee Jordan shouted, "Look at the lake!"
Draco snorted and squinted to get a better look. The previously calm center of the Black Lake erupted with a massive splash, like a boiling cauldron. Then, a huge mast rose from the whirlpool.
It was a strange-looking ship, as if it had been a wreck at the bottom of the sea for centuries and was finally brought to the surface. The hull was riddled with holes, and the portholes glowed with a faint phosphorescence. When the ship docked, a group of people dressed in heavy fur cloaks disembarked, with only the man at the lead wearing a special silver-white fur.
He had a goatee that curled upward, was tall and thin with sunken cheeks and deep-set eyes, prominent cheekbones, and slightly upturned eyebrows, giving him an air of deep cunning.
"Dumbledore!" the man called out enthusiastically as he walked up the slope, "My dear old friend, how are you?"
"Very well, thank you, Professor Karkaroff", Dumbledore replied.
He led everyone to the Great Hall, where the house-elves had prepared a sumptuous dinner.
The banquet gathered students from the four schools. When it was mentioned that the Wagadu contingent was still wandering in some remote mountains, Headmaster Karkaroff of Durmstrang grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"They're putting on airs! Making everyone wait for them! You know, Krum had a cold before we left, and I told him, 'Hang in there, the hard times are just beginning...'"
"They will arrive by Halloween at the latest", Dumbledore said gently. "If your student is unwell, Professor Karkaroff, the Hogwarts Hospital Wing can assist. Madam Pomfrey is very professional."
...
That night, the deep blue sky, dotted with stars, was shrouded in dark clouds, and the moon was hidden behind thick layers. A bright bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder, and cold rain began to drizzle down.
In the Ancient Runes Office, Felix was wrapped in a woolen cloak, sitting on the sofa with Niffler Warren, watching a movie. Niffler stared intently at the projected screen, so engrossed that it didn't notice when Felix quietly took the Galleon from its hand.
After the movie, Niffler climbed into its cradle bed and settled comfortably on the velvet.
"Good night."
"Chirp!"
Meanwhile, a few mountains away, a group of figures stood atop a peak, gazing at the majestic Hogwarts Castle.
"Push harder! This storm is nothing. We'll arrive before dawn."
A high-pitched voice said. He suddenly leaped from the peak, transforming into a large bird with iron-gray wings, sweeping over the steep cliffs and circling in the valley.
"Hoo!"
Another figure rolled and transformed into a sleek leopard. In a few bounds, it covered a hundred feet.
Then, a long trunk rose high, and an African elephant with broad ears and silver tusks walked down the dark brown slope with graceful steps, the sharp rocks beneath its feet as smooth as a flat surface.
"The young ones are in high spirits. The training seems to have had a significant effect", an old, frail voice said. A small witch sat on a flying carpet, grinning widely.
(End of Chapter)
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