Chapter 869: The Truth
Chapter 869: The Truth
For Hogwarts, the visit from the representatives of the other two schools was indeed an important occasion.
In preparation for the esteemed guests, the Great Hall of Hogwarts had undergone an overnight transformation. Silk banners adorned the walls, reminiscent of the annual end-of-year feast.
However, this time, the banners of all four houses were hung, and behind the teacher's table was the largest banner bearing the Hogwarts coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a serpent intertwined around a large letter 'H'.
As Albert entered the Great Hall, he could hear whispers all around, and the air was thick with an expectant joy, especially since someone had leaked the news of Krum's impending arrival, adding to the excitement.
As Albert passed the Ravenclaw table, he overheard a group of girls discussing their plans to ask Krum for his autograph later that evening.
However, Albert paid little attention to such matters, as neither he nor Isabelle were fans of Quidditch, nor were they interested in Krum's autograph.
At that moment, Albert's mind was occupied with refining his plans. The next two days were undoubtedly critical. Both Peter and Barty Jr. would employ unknown means to prevent him from participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Nonetheless, as long as someone else threw his name into the Goblet of Fire, it would be valid, even if he didn't do it himself.
"What are you thinking about?" Hannah asked as she sat down next to Albert.
"It seems someone doesn't want me to participate in the Triwizard Tournament," Albert said nonchalantly.
"What?" Hannah was momentarily taken aback.
"Albert is likely to take the spot of some other hopeful, and there are those who don't want him to shine." Lee Jordan, who had been perusing the Prophet, suddenly interjected. "By the way, you'd better be careful these days. I heard from Fred that they recently sold another batch of Love Potions. Apparently, quite a few girls are hoping to try their luck with Krum."
"If Professor McGonagall finds out about this, she'll definitely put Fred and George in detention," Hannah said, unable to imagine the embarrassing situation that would arise if Krum were to be affected by a Love Potion.
"No, those two rascals didn't sell the Love Potions under their own names. They used the name of a joke shop, which means people technically bought them from an unknown shop outside of school, and it has nothing to do with them," Lee Jordan explained, sneaking a glance at Albert.
"I really don't understand what they plan to do with those Love Potions," Hannah said, finding the whole idea absurd. She had, in fact, also heard girls discussing the idea of giving Albert a Love Potion.
"They could spend an entire day on a date with their crush or get him to invite them to be their dance partner," Lee Jordan replied without hesitation.
"And then get thoroughly hated once the effects wear off?" Hannah shook her head. "Moreover, do they really think that after the person recovers from the Love Potion, they'll still be willing to dance with them? I think it's more likely they'll be furious!"
"That's right, using a Love Potion will only make people angrier," Albert agreed. "But... those girls might not truly like... Krum. They're attracted solely by his fame!"
"Although what you say makes sense, and there are indeed some girls like that," Hannah consoled, "I think most of them genuinely like you."
"It's my honor, but I already have someone I like," Albert said gently.
"Yeah," Hannah murmured, "that's why they want to buy Love Potions and find a chance to go on a date with you."
"You really are enviable," Lee Jordan said with a twitch of his mouth. "As expected, girls like famous and handsome guys."
"After all these years, you finally admit that you're not good-looking enough?" Fred and George suddenly appeared, patting their friend's shoulder in consolation. "Don't be discouraged, Jordan. It's not your fault that you're not handsome enough."
"Shut up," Lee Jordan glared at the twins and struck back mercilessly. "You two haven't found girlfriends either."
"We don't need them, at least not for now," Fred and George replied.
That day, almost every student was distracted, unable to focus on their lessons as their thoughts drifted to the evening's events. Professor Flitwick, however, was considerate enough to forgo the Charms class and instead provide them with a history lesson on the Triwizard Tournament, which everyone found fascinating.
In the afternoon, the entire school was dismissed early, and all students were required to put down their bags and books and don their wizard robes before lining up in the entrance hall.
The heads of houses walked among the students, inspecting their appearance to ensure there were no embarrassing outfits that would bring shame to Hogwarts.
Once the lines were formed, Professor McGonagall led them out to the castle lawn to await the arrival of the other schools' representatives.
As a prefect, Albert was placed in the second-to-last row, alongside the other prefects and the student council president. Behind them stood the professors, and everyone felt uneasy, whispering softly among themselves.
After an unknown period of waiting, someone finally spoke up, and once the floodgates opened, the chatter flowed freely. The professors didn't seem to mind, as they, too, engaged in quiet conversations.
"I heard that the other schools don't only admit wizards from their own countries like Hogwarts does. So, how do they unify their language of instruction?" Cedric asked quietly, directed at Albert.
"Beauxbatons Academy of Magic primarily uses French, while Durmstrang Institute uses Bulgarian," Albert explained.
"Is Durmstrang in Bulgaria?" Hannah asked.
"Durmstrang is in Scandinavia," Albert replied.
"The Scandinavian Peninsula?" Hannah was puzzled. How could Durmstrang, located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, use Bulgarian as its primary language?
"Its approximate location should be near the border of Sweden or Norway, but the exact location is unknown," Albert added. "The first headmaster of Durmstrang was Bulgarian."
"How do you know so much about this?" The Hufflepuff prefect couldn't help but ask.
"If you had a friend from Durmstrang, you'd know a lot too," Albert replied.
"You really have a wide range of friends," the Ravenclaw prefect next to Katrina teased. "Will your friend be participating in the Triwizard Tournament as well?"
"She's already graduated from Durmstrang," Albert said.
"Was it her who told you that Viktor Krum would be participating in the Triwizard Tournament?" Cedric asked.
"Yes, we met at the Quidditch World Cup, and Katrina was there too," Albert said, noticing that the girl had been daydreaming since earlier.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Katrina murmured, not saying anything further.
"How did you two meet?
Someone asked curiously,
"Someone I met at the Potions Championship last time," Albert replied.
"How was the Potions Championship? I heard that many schools participated."
"What do you think? When a bunch of people from all over the world get together, communication becomes a big problem. It's hard enough to find someone you can chat with for a few minutes."
"So, is it a lie that the purpose of the Triwizard Tournament, as recorded in 'Hogwarts, A History', is for young witches and wizards to forge friendships?"
"Those records are probably partly true, but I'm more inclined to believe that the Triwizard Tournament is more about schools showing off to one another." Albert said with a smile, "Just like the flashy tents at the Quidditch World Cup."
"I like that comparison." Said Cedric.
"We uphold the principle of competition first, friendship second."
"Friendship first, competition second," Professor McGonagall corrected.
"Because everyone wants to win." Albert explained, "This directly leads to cheating becoming a traditional part of inter-school competitions. In fact, there are often some unpleasant incidents in Quidditch matches, and even the World Cup is no exception."
"Mr. Anderson." Professor McGonagall glared at Albert disapprovingly.
"Was there cheating in the Potions Championship as well?" Penelope asked curiously.
"Yes, if you had read the reports from that time, you would have found out..."
"That's enough, Mr. Anderson." Professor McGonagall reprimanded.
"I'm just stating the facts." Albert shrugged, unconcerned by Professor McGonagall's warning gaze, "During the Potions Championship, the contestants are informed of the content of the competition before it begins. Of course, it's generally not allowed, but as long as it's not done openly, it's fine. Though I think it's not very useful, maybe because we didn't cheat that much. As far as I know, some contestants figured out the content of the competition months in advance and underwent special training specifically for it."
All the prefects stared at Albert, mouths agape. What he was saying far exceeded their imagination; they had never thought that inter-school competitions could be like this.
"Sometimes, when you peel back the layers, that's what you find." Albert continued, unfazed by Professor McGonagall's warning glance, "Believe me, the Triwizard Tournament contestants will definitely know the content of the tasks in advance, and with the help of their respective headmasters, they will prepare strategies accordingly. In fact, this has been the case with all previous Triwizard Tournaments. However, our batch of champions might be a bit unlucky."
"Why?"
"I think Headmaster Dumbledore won't consider helping our champion to cheat. He's too noble."
Everyone sneaked a glance at Dumbledore, who didn't seem upset at all. Instead, he nodded slightly at Albert, seeming rather pleased that someone thought highly of his character.
"We believe in the ability of the Hogwarts champion, and I'm sure he can win without resorting to cheating." Dumbledore said gently.
"Don't be angry, McGonagall. In fact, what Albert said is not far from the truth." Professor Moody sneered, "Don't expect Karkaroff and Maxime to be any nobler. They will tell everything to their champions and try to help them score as highly as possible. That's the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. However, I agree with Dumbledore. I believe Albert can beat their champions and show those guys what we're made of!"
The prefects exchanged glances, feeling somewhat disappointed about the true nature of the Triwizard Tournament. They never expected there to be such underhanded dealings involved. If it weren't for Albert's revelation, they would have remained in the dark.
"Albus." Professor McGonagall seemed to want Dumbledore to get them to stop talking about this. Some things were best left unsaid.
"Ah! If I'm not mistaken, the representatives from Beauxbatons have arrived!" Dumbledore pretended not to hear her.
Upon hearing the headmaster's words, the group fell silent for a moment before erupting into excited chatter as they noticed the approaching dark shadow in the sky.
Soon, a massive object was swooping down towards the castle, growing larger in their field of vision.
It was a huge powder-blue carriage pulled by twelve winged horses. The carriage landed with a rapid, abrupt motion, like a car without brakes, creating a loud noise on the ground that startled all the students.
A woman as tall as Hagrid descended from the carriage, and Dumbledore led the welcoming applause as he quickly stepped forward to greet the representative from Beauxbatons, offering her a kiss on the hand.
Beauxbatons Academy had sent thirteen male and female students, all of whom wore silk robes and exuded an air of fairy-tale charm.
After a brief exchange between the two headmasters, the students from Beauxbatons were the first to enter the castle to rest.
Albert seemed to spot a few familiar faces among the Beauxbatons group.
"Your friends?" Hannah noticed a woman with a headscarf waving at Albert.
"Maybe, she's probably just being friendly." Albert didn't recognize the woman.
"I think she's definitely waving at you. She must be someone you know." Cedric also felt that the woman seemed to know Albert.
"Look over at the lake!"
Someone shouted, immediately capturing everyone's attention.
The entire student body turned their gaze towards the distant lake.
At that moment, a huge whirlpool had appeared in the center of the lake, and in the midst of everyone's astonished gazes, a black mast slowly rose from the water's surface.
It was an extraordinary ship, slowly emerging from the lake. It looked rather peculiar, resembling a ghostly vessel that had just emerged from the depths. After leaving the water, the ship began sailing towards the shore and dropped anchor in the shallows. Instead of fearsome skeletons or ghosts, students from Durmstrang disembarked.
Leading them was a male witch, none other than Durmstrang's headmaster, Karkaroff.
Dumbledore stepped forward and warmly greeted Karkaroff as he approached.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Karkaroff proudly summoned Viktor Krum to his side, seemingly to introduce him to Dumbledore.
Viktor's appearance completely ignited the atmosphere, and the crowd erupted into a frenzy, nearly carrying him up the steps in their enthusiasm.
"Hypocrite." Moody said disdainfully as he watched Karkaroff's retreating back, "Maybe Dumbledore should have brought you along, then Karkaroff wouldn't have had the chance to flaunt his prized student."
As Albert entered the Great Hall, he noticed Krum and his Durmstrang classmates still gathered at the entrance, seemingly unsure where they should sit.
"I'm curious, though. Why aren't they asking you for autographs?" Hannah teased Albert as she watched the students surrounding Viktor Krum, clamoring for autographs.
"I think it's fine as it is."
(End of Chapter)
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