Chapter 868: A Pleasant Surprise
Chapter 868: A Pleasant Surprise
Ever since the announcement on the Daily Prophet that representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving at Hogwarts at 6 pm on Friday, October 30th, the house-elves in Hogwarts Castle had been bustling with activity. In addition to their usual tasks, they were also tasked with giving the entire castle a thorough cleaning. It was only natural that everyone wanted to present their best face to their guests.
Unfortunately, as this was the first time in many years that Hogwarts was hosting guests from other schools, the professors couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, causing them to overlook a very important detail. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students would be spending the remaining half of the term at Hogwarts, rather than just a few days. This ample time would allow them to thoroughly understand the true situation at Hogwarts.
"You're right, this whole situation has everyone's nerves on edge," George said, observing the raging Argus Filch, and had to admit that Albert's words rang true. It wasn't just Filch; the other professors were also on edge, and the reason for the caretaker's anger was that a student had forgotten to wipe their shoes clean.
There had been several similar incidents lately, with a few girls being scared into hysterics and sent to the hospital wing.
"You can't expect everyone to keep a clear head like Albert," Fred said with a strange expression on his face. "You have no idea what happened in Transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall seemed to think that every student at Hogwarts should be as exceptional as Albert, astounding the representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang with the level of teaching at Hogwarts. I remember what Albert used to say about this sort of thing."
"Ahem, Professor McGonagall just doesn't want to see Hogwarts being looked down upon," Albert coughed lightly and explained, "In fact, many people like to put down others to make themselves look better."
"What you say is always so philosophical, but people usually don't like hearing it," said Lee Jordan, placing a hand on Albert's shoulder. "I think people would rather hear you talk about the other schools."
"I don't know much," Albert shook his head.
"But you know them, and you know people from there, right?"
"Nowadays, people only talk about who will be Hogwarts' champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and what kind of tasks there will be. I dare say you know the most about the students from the other schools, and any little tidbit you share would satisfy everyone's curiosity." Lee Jordan persuaded, certain that Albert knew a lot of inside information that he rarely shared with them.
"In fact, we're curious too," Fred and George chimed in together, "You have no idea how much speculation there is about how the students from the other schools will arrive at Hogwarts."
"What's there to guess?" Albert found them rather boring.
"It's intriguing."
"There are many theories, such as using Apparition, Portkeys, or even riding on broomsticks or taking the train," George found these speculations unreliable and asked tentatively, "I remember the last time you went to the Magical Schools Potions Championship, you rode in a…?"
"A Thestral-drawn carriage, Hagrid was our driver," Albert ignored the whispering girls and headed straight into the Great Hall, looking for a seat to eat, "Beauxbatons will probably arrive by carriage, they have large flying horses in their school that are suitable for pulling carriages."
"What about Durmstrang? I've heard their reputation isn't very good. Apparently, they teach Dark Magic," Lee Jordan recalled the intelligence he knew.
"I've heard that Viktor Krum is a student at Durmstrang," Angelina joined the conversation.
"Isn't Viktor Krum already graduated?" Fred was surprised, everyone had assumed Krum had graduated long ago, otherwise, how could he have played in the Quidditch World Cup?
"He hasn't graduated yet. I heard from a friend at Durmstrang that Viktor Krum will also be participating in the Triwizard Tournament. He's likely to be Durmstrang's champion. You know, Durmstrang is counting on Viktor Krum to change the school's international image," Albert lowered his voice and secretly shared some information with his friends, but he didn't expect his words to cause an uproar at the Gryffindor table.
"Really? Viktor Krum is coming to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament and will be Durmstrang's champion?"
Someone shouted out loud, causing students from other houses to turn their heads. The news spread like wildfire through the Great Hall, and it was clear how popular Viktor Krum was.
"Now you know why I didn't want to talk about this," Albert was speechless and didn't expect such a fuss over this matter. He drew his wand from his pocket and waved it lightly, silencing the noisy Great Hall, and people found that they could only speak in hushed whispers.
"Don't be angry, Millerva. Isn't this Silencing Charm clever?" Professor Flitwick said with a smile to his colleague.
"You're right," Professor McGonagall sighed as she looked at the whispering crowd below.
"You've been too tense lately," Professor Sprout soothed, "I'm sure the other schools can't possibly produce a student as outstanding as Mr. Anderson."
"Mr. Anderson is indeed exceptional, but the more exceptional a student is, the more they tend to disregard school rules," sneered Professor Snape.
"What do you mean?" asked Professor Moody.
"As far as I know, Anderson and his friends have been testing magic spells on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, leaving it in disarray," Snape glared at Moody, "If you go there, you'll see traces of their magic tests all over the place."
"In fact, there isn't a good place to practice magic in the school," Professor Moody dismissed Snape's words, "At least they haven't used those spells on other students, have they? I remember a time when many Slytherin students enjoyed testing their hexes on others. Compared to those unruly individuals, Mr. Anderson is like an angelic child. I really don't understand what you have to complain about."
"Angelic child?" Snape found this laughable.
In previous years, Slytherin students had frequently been victims of malicious attacks. While there was no evidence linking Albert to these incidents, Snape was certain that Albert was somehow involved. Even if he hadn't done it himself, he had undoubtedly helped plan them, as only Albert could pull off something so flawless. The Gryffindor students, on the other hand, were all brawn and no brain.
And, Snape also knew that Albert and his three friends all had the bad habit of wandering around in the middle of the night.
Filch could attest to that.
Unfortunately, he had never been able to catch them red-handed.
Also, he had heard that the restricted section of the school library often lost books, and still, the culprit couldn't be found. He suspected that Albert was somehow involved.
Moreover, someone had dared to sneak into his storage room and steal ingredients. Not many people could steal from under his nose, and Snape suspected that Albert was the damn thief; only he had the guts to do it.
Well, Snape basically blamed Albert for all the unexplained incidents that had occurred in the school.
However, he wasn't wrong about Albert. Indeed, the boy was directly or indirectly linked to many of those mischievous incidents.
The problem was that they couldn't find any evidence.
"You seem to have quite an opinion of Mr. Anderson," Moody said, his eyes fixed on Snape. "Is it because Mr. Anderson is a Muggle-born wizard? But, I suppose that's not surprising."
"Moody," Professor McGonagall said, feeling that Moody's tone was a bit strong, causing not only her but also the other professors to frown.
"You probably don't know that quite a few people in the British wizarding world are quite unhappy about his Muggle-born status." Moody revealed a 'you-didn't-know-that' expression, "Not long ago, Cornelius Fudge messed up the Wizenagamot British Youth Award that should have been given to Mr. Anderson. Our minister's excuse was that he was already an adult and didn't meet the age requirement for the award."
After saying this, Moody's face showed a weird expression.
The professors frowned, of course, knowing what that award meant. In fact, it had been a long time since a wizard from Hogwarts School had won this award.
"Because he's an adult?" Professor Sprout asked incredulously.
"It is said that the Wizenagamot British Youth Award is only awarded to underage wizards, and Mr. Anderson became an adult last month." Moody smiled, making his face look even more sinister.
"But... if Mr. Anderson could be awarded the Wizenagamot British Youth Award, doesn't that mean he wasn't an adult at the time?" Professor Flitwick glanced at Snape and frowned as well. He suddenly understood a little better why Moody would be so upset about this matter.
"The Ministry of Magic blocked the award. If you've ever worked for the Ministry, you know that some things need to go through a process, so... you know." Moody stared at Snape and said softly, "Those guys don't want a Muggle-born wizard to become too famous. They would even rather not have those international champions because it would only make them look incompetent and shame them."
"How dare he award himself the Order of Merlin, First Class." Professor McGonagall trembled, "Other countries are envious that we have such a genius, envious that we have won numerous international championships, and yet our Ministry of Magic treats our genius and hero like this. They are outrageous, I must go find Dumbledore."
Watching Professor McGonagall's departing back, a smile played on Moody's lips.
It was almost time to begin their plan.
It wouldn't be difficult for Wormtail to return to Hogwarts. He could easily sneak in by turning into a rat.
After all, who would specifically pay attention to a rat? There were plenty of rats in Hogwarts Castle.
Before that, he needed a wand, and this wand had already been quietly prepared for him by Barty Jr. and hidden in a very secluded place.
So, Peter had indeed easily sneaked into the castle through the secret passage outside the school and quickly retrieved the wand.
Next, Peter needed to be patient and wait for the opportunity to curse Katrina. He needed to use the Imperius Curse to control Katrina and also alter her memory to make her fall in love with Albert.
Yes, this was Barty Jr.'s mischievous plan.
Because Albert's girlfriend was Katrina's sister, and Katrina wanted to take Albert away from her sister, she had used a Love Potion on Albert and had done something indescribable with him.
Because of this incident, Albert had unfortunately missed the vote to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.
The simultaneous disappearance of the two would inevitably lead to speculation, and the students of Hogwarts would undoubtedly be more concerned about the matter between Albert and Katrina than the fact that he had missed the selection for the Triwizard Tournament. No one would suspect that there was any conspiracy behind it.
After all, the Weasley twins had privately sold a large number of Love Potions, and quite a few girls had bought them. They all wanted to make Albert drink the potion and invite them to the Christmas ball.
It was just that Katrina's approach was more bold and radical.
As for how to hide the two of them so that no one could find them, Peter also had a suitable location, thanks to the information provided by the Dark Lord. There was an unknown and secluded room on the eighth floor, a place even Peter hadn't known about.
The plan was perfect, with almost no loopholes.
If only Peter hadn't been noticed by Albert.
Unfortunately, the moment Peter appeared in Hogwarts, Albert received a panel task:
A Pleasant Surprise Many people in Hogwarts believe that you will become the school's champion in the Triwizard Tournament, but some people do not want you to represent Hogwarts in the competition. They plan to stop you from participating and qualifying for the tournament, and you are to give those who try to hinder you an unexpected surprise.
Reward: 5000 experience, 1 skill point, randomly obtain one skill from the target (surprise value over 70% will change to obtaining a designated skill from the target. Surprise value: 0%), character favorability +10.
"This is indeed a pleasant surprise!" Albert stared at the Live-Point Map, raising his eyebrows slightly, "So, Peter sneaked into the school to stop me from participating in the tournament? But, how do they plan to do it? Will they knock me out and hide me somewhere, or modify my memory, or use the Imperius Curse to control me and make me give up the competition voluntarily?"
Albert felt that these methods were a bit unreliable and would easily be noticed by Dumbledore.
"I wonder what approach they will take?" Albert really wanted to go find Peter and get the answer straight from him.
However, if he secretly altered Peter's memory and Voldemort noticed something amiss, it could easily be exposed. That wouldn't be a good idea.
(End of Chapter)
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