The Return to Hogwarts

Amosta's brow twitched.

"We seem to have plenty of time, so why do we need to get to Paris today?"

"The purpose of the Triwizard Tournament is to enhance mutual understanding. Tonight, the Federation will host an internal reception, which must be attended by representatives from the Ministries of Magic and schools of the three countries."

After saying this, Barty Crouch glanced at the wall clock, then stood up and straightened his suit collar.

“We should go, Ludo—and Dirk, you didn’t just find out today that Cuthbert took leave, did you? Why didn’t you figure those things out sooner?”

“Things are always changing, Mr. Crouch.”

"Claisway said unhappily,"

"Just like last night, who could have predicted that a heavy rain would cause us so much trouble?"

After learning that a dozen scaffolders had been sent to St. Mungo's from a corner of the collapsed stadium, Old Batti's face turned ashen. This was no small matter. First of all, the families of these employees would not let the ministry off the hook until they received a sufficient number of Galleons. The Daily Prophet's report was also enough to give the ministry a hard time.

If he didn't have to go to Paris right now, he would definitely have talked to Connelly and Dolores about the aftermath.

"Hurry up!"

Barty Crouch gave orders to everyone in a curt tone.

"While I can still leave."

The feeling of traveling through a fireplace is like being placed in a violently shaking sieve. For wizards like Amostella, who can quickly change their location in battle using Apparition, or wizards like Barty Crouch, who often need to visit foreign ministries of magic or negotiate foreign trade orders, there is nothing that is uncomfortable.

But for Ludo or the not-so-young Cuthbert, this is bad enough.

After both of them rushed out of the fireplace, they collapsed onto the floor. Cuthbert vomited all over a bright, seamless wool carpet, causing the waiter in the lavishly decorated room to frown deeply.

“Oh—I’m starting to have some doubts about my choice, Ludo—”

Having suffered a great ordeal, Cuthbert struggled to his feet, panting heavily, and said weakly,

"This is even worse than Muggle transportation!"

"Believe me, Cuthbert—"

Having the stamina of an athlete, Ludo recovered first. He rubbed his slightly overweight belly and looked on with a wistful expression.

"Muggle transportation. Oh, I tried it once when I was playing in a tournament, and it was a nightmare!"

After leaving the room where he was being received, Cuthbert picked up his suitcase, said a hurried goodbye, and left, seemingly eager to begin his vacation.

They were now in the hotel lobby. The sound of flowing water outside caught Amusta's attention. He turned his head and looked at the Eiffel Tower, a Parisian landmark that looked like a giant, which was shining with golden light under the rising sun.

Amosta withdrew her gaze and instead looked around the hotel with a slightly peculiar expression.

Paris—a city that was neither familiar nor unfamiliar to Amosta—but he had never heard of such a hotel.

The hotel's decor has a strong 'fairy style'.

In the center of the circular hall stands a massive marble column supporting the main structure of the hotel. Amosta wasn't particularly knowledgeable about history, but he still recognized that the reliefs carved on the column depicted a battle between fairies and wizards during the goblin rebellion in 1612. Of course, for the fairies, it was a 'holy war,' but unfortunately, it didn't end well.

The welcoming wall was a stone wall that stretched straight to the ceiling. Many niches were carved out of the rough stone wall, which contained alchemical creations from prosperous magical civilizations all over the world. Of course, the creators of these precious magical items were all fairies.

Numerous details suggest that the owner behind this magnificent hotel is a fairy.

"I was quite startled when I first came here!"

Previously, Ludo Bagman had been discussing matters with Cuthbert, but now he finally had time to talk to Amosta.

As the heads of the Ministry of Magic, whether it's Barty Crouch or Amelia Burns, you can easily sense the 'authority of a superior' from their words and actions when you interact with them.

But Ludo Bagman is indeed a bit different.

Crouch went to check in, and Ludo noticed Amostella looking around at the hotel's furnishings. He jumped over, put his arm around Amostella's shoulder, and said with a grin,

"Those greedy goblins wouldn't let go of any opportunity to make big money. They built a hotel specifically to serve wizards who came to the International Wizarding Federation on business. Moreover, they donated a sum of money to the French Ministry of Magic, so this hotel is also the French Ministry of Magic's designated hotel for entertaining VIPs."

Ludo Bagman clicked his tongue, but then he changed the subject, staring intently at Amosta.

"I think I overheard you guys discussing a 'security plan' in Barty's office earlier. So, Barty, are you feeling a bit resentful?"

Chapter 395 Igor Kakarov

2023-07-30

Chapter 395 Igor Karkarov

“Well, Mr. Crouch does indeed believe that the ‘security plan’ submitted by Hogwarts is not perfect.”

Amostá was not used to being too close to people. He put his hands behind his back, pretending to admire the artifacts in the niches of the stone wall, and naturally shook off the arm that Diludo Bagman had on his shoulder.

"Ah ho!"

Ludo seemed pleased to hear Barty's dissatisfaction with Hogwarts's plans. He hopped and skipped behind Amostella again, ignoring Amostella's helpless expression, and put his arm around his shoulder once more. His frivolous manner showed no sign of the composure and shrewdness expected of the director of a major department in the Ministry of Magic.

"That's just how Batista is. He demands perfection in everything, and he won't allow even a single punctuation mark to be used incorrectly!"

Ludo said cheerfully,

“But I dare say your contingency plan is flawless. By the way, Amosta, is this your first time in Paris? Paris is truly a wonderful place. These French people really know how to enjoy life. If I were you, I wouldn’t bother with those tedious reports.”

It's a workday, and we're at work right now, but not far away, along the shimmering Seine, many Muggle men and women are leisurely strolling with coffee in hand, and many people are swimming in the Seine.

The pace of life here is indeed much more relaxed than in the UK.

Amosta watched the laughing and joking young people, a bitter smile playing on his lips. Having lived two lives, he no longer had the leisurely mindset to enjoy life.

Ludo Bagman chattered on and on in Amosta’s ear, recounting the wonderful encounters he had when he came to Paris to compete in his youth, but Crouch interrupted his fond reminiscences after completing the registration procedures.

“We live on the seventh floor. I had lunch delivered to our room. We’ll spend the rest of the day revising the ‘contingency plan’.”

Barty Crouch kept a close eye on Amosta, as if afraid he might be swayed by Ludo and neglect his duties.

This hotel, designated by the International Wizarding Federation and the French Ministry of Magic for receiving guests, enjoys brisk business even on ordinary days. Amosta, Barty, and Ludo are all conspicuous individuals, let alone the three of them together.

Earlier, many people had already been watching Ludo and Amosta as they were talking. Now that they were about to leave the hall, many wizards who recognized them rushed over to talk to them and hoped to get their autographs.

Two particularly enthusiastic Quidditch fans even chased after the elevator, but were forced to retreat under Barty Crouch's cold, hard glare.

“Don’t be so cold, Barty—” Ludo clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. “We came here precisely to promote friendship between different magical civilizations. You should be more friendly to these international friends.”

Ludo's words made some sense, but Barty Crouch remained silent with a sullen face. Amosta had a feeling that Barty didn't seem too willing to talk to Ludo, especially not in front of him.

The hotel is laid out in a cylindrical shape, with all the rooms built around the huge central pillar. Opposite the elevator doors, the murals engraved on the stone pillar depict the final battle of the Fairy Holy War, in which the Fairies, based at the Pig Head Bar, are struggling to resist the onslaught of the wizard army.

The seventh floor is the highest floor of this hotel. Standing on the circular platform on the seventh floor, Amosta noticed that there was something carved on the ceiling. After examining it carefully, he found that it was a map, marking the approximate locations of all Gringotts around the world. At the center of the map was the Gringotts headquarters in Paris, not far from the Louvre.

Batty led Amosta and Ludo a short distance to the right of the elevator lobby, and then stopped in front of a room.

Amos Tower also stayed for a time at a hotel where the British Ministry of Magic entertained guests, but that hotel was actually run by Muggles and had little to offer beyond its luxury and comfort.

But the French will enjoy much more.

The moment the door was opened, even the well-traveled Amosta was slightly surprised.

He had expected to see a spacious room, decorated with gilded diamonds and extravagantly luxurious furnishings, but reality was far more exaggerated than he had imagined.

Inside the room, a hidden paradise unfolded before Amosta's eyes. In the center of the courtyard, a lawn home to many elegant peacocks stood a striking fountain sculpture. On either side of the clean and tidy stone path, two rows of lush sycamore trees guided guests to a three-story, snow-white villa nestled in the quiet woods.

Amosta looked up at the sky, where a softly glowing orb hung in the position where the sun should be around four in the afternoon. A few pristine white clouds made the boundless sky appear even more azure.

"These French people know how to enjoy life!"

Amosta couldn't help but sigh.

"Staying here for one night isn't cheap--"

Ludo said to Amosta with great interest,

“If you’re not an invited VIP, you’ll have to pay for your own accommodations here—two hundred Galleons a day. Oh—if the ministry weren’t so determined to secure the honor for the organizers, Barty wouldn’t have agreed to pay that much, would he?”

"It's nothing to worry about, Ludo—"

"Barty Crouch said impatiently,"

"I want you to realize that even Albus couldn't easily defeat those two schools, which is enough to show how serious the situation is. If we can't ensure that the proposal we submit is reliable enough, then we're completely doomed!"

"I'm not entirely sure what efforts we've made before--"

Amosta suddenly said.

"But have you tried another approach? I mean, have you tried to get in touch with the committee members privately?"

"Oh, you slippery fellow—"

Ludo immediately burst into laughter.

"Trying to bribe the review committee, is that it? The minister has given Bati that kind of hint, but that's impossible, isn't it?"

"why?"

Amostachie said.

“The councilors selected to join the judging committee have all signed a magic contract and cannot receive any benefits from the three parties involved in the competition.”

Paris said coldly.

"Thank goodness for this regulation, otherwise, Beauxbatons could have started preparing the match venue directly."

Amostah smiled noncommittally. Having signed so many contracts, he knew all too well that magical contracts only appeared fair; in reality, the vast majority of magical contracts had plenty of loopholes to exploit.

Just as Amosta had predicted, revising the contingency plan would probably still be a task for him and Barty Crouch alone, as Ludo wouldn't be able to help. In fact, after putting his luggage in the room, Ludo made an excuse to leave, which Amosta and Barty were actually quite happy about. Neither of them wanted someone constantly nagging beside them while they were working.