The Return to Hogwarts

Led by the professors, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted outside the castle, which relaxed the face of the tall woman who had entered the hall, her radiance softening into an elegant smile. She walked toward Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine, extending a hand adorned with many glittering jewels.

Although Dumbledore was also tall, he hardly bent over when kissing the hand, while Professor Blaine even stood on tiptoe.

On such an occasion, Dumbledore had to act as the face of Hogwarts. So, after the polite greetings, Amosta smiled and took a half step back, standing beside Dumbledore. But after exchanging a few pleasantries with Dumbledore, Madam Maxim showed no sign of ending the conversation. Her large, dark, watery eyes fixed on Amosta.

“I heard about the terrible attack in Beauxbatons, Blaine—”

Mrs. Maxim said in a low voice,

“I had several students there at the time, and they came back and described the scene to me. Your magic is awe-inspiring, Blaine—”

The ground was completely silent as the young wizards listened intently to their conversation. Many of them proudly raised their chins after hearing the astonishingly tall headmistress of Beauxbatons express her respect to Professor Blaine.

"yes--"

Amusta was a little surprised that Mrs. Maxim would bring this up in this setting. He blinked slightly in astonishment, then smiled.

“You already saw that in Paris, didn’t you, madam? I’m quite adept at bluffing.”

"Oh, no!"

Some of the girls at Hogwarts grumbled in dissatisfaction.

But Dumbledore and Mrs. Maxim chuckled. Mrs. Maxim seemed pleased and stepped aside, exposing Beauxbatons' visiting young wizards to everyone's view.

"They're so particular!"

Lavender exclaimed enviously, for she noticed that the Beauxbatons students' uniforms were made of silk, a luxurious aristocratic air that contrasted sharply with the young wizards of Hogwarts.

"Yes, compared to them, we really look pathetic!"

Parvati glared at Professor McGonagall, who had just ordered her to remove the butterfly hair clip from her head, her only adornment.

"Absolutely stupid—"

Hermione said in a low voice, her tone quite disdainful, it was unclear whether she was referring to Lavender and Parvati, or the group of Beauxbatons students.

Harry had to admit that while the young wizards from Beauxbatons looked splendid, their attire was clearly inappropriate, as they couldn't very well wear a wool sweater under their formal silk school uniforms. And the late October temperatures at Hogwarts weren't going to be accommodating to any desire for self-expression; the young wizards from Beauxbatons were shivering, and several had wrapped themselves tightly in silk headscarves to ward off the cold.

"Mr. Blaine!"

Just as the young wizards of Hogwarts were discussing the Beauxbatons students' attire, the lead witch, who had emerged from behind their headmaster, suddenly ripped off her headscarf, revealing her true face, and her cascading hair fell down. A flash of silver light streaked across the dimly lit field.

hiss--

A collective gasp erupted from the Hogwarts contingent, as many students stared incredulously at the curvaceous female student, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets!

"That's amazing!"

Ron said in a hoarse, surprised voice,

"This girl... wow, she's really something else!"

“Ah, it’s you, Miss Delacour—” Amosta pursed her lips and smiled, “Welcome to Hogwarts.”

Perhaps dissatisfied with Amosta's cold and formal greeting, Hibiscus, who had attracted countless gazes, twitched her pert, glistening nostrils in displeasure.

"Let's catch up later, Hibiscus—"

Mrs. Maxim kindly interrupted Fleur before she could speak.

Perhaps the young wizards at Hogwarts see Professor Blaine every day and therefore don't fully grasp his current status in the wizarding world, but it's a different story for the young wizards at Beauxbatons. The epic duel on Quidditch final night had already propelled Amostrath Blaine to legendary status.

Mrs. Maxime led her students into the foyer first. Every Beauxbatons who passed Professor Blaine looked at him with awe and curiosity. The young wizards who wore turbans all took them off so as not to appear disrespectful.

Every Hogwarts student who witnessed this scene felt immensely proud.

“If Dumbledore were smart enough—” Draco chuckled to himself in the Slytherin phalanx, “he should step down right now.”

Draco's words resonated with the Slytherins, who all wished Dumbledore would be gone so that Professor Blaine, a Slytherin alumnus, could take over.

"Quiet--"

Standing behind the Slytherin phalanx, Severus Snape listened to the discussions among his students, flicked a few strands of hair from his forehead, and spoke lazily, though there was almost no command in his tone.

Ron reluctantly looked away only after Mrs. Maxim and her students had disappeared from sight, and many boys, like him, sighed in disappointment. Now, they had to wait for Durmstrang's men to arrive, and people began to speculate whether Durmstrang's men would use fire dragons to pull their carriages.

They stood there waiting for Durmstrang's people to arrive. It was so cold that even the young Hogwarts wizards, wearing thick cloaks, were shivering. The young wizards gradually lost interest in their discussion and just hoped to welcome their guests as soon as possible.

Harry looked longingly toward the Quidditch pitch. Normally, he should be at the Quidditch pitch at this time to do his daily running exercises, especially in this cold weather. He was eager to get some exercise to warm up instead of standing there like an idiot.

"Mrs. Maxim looks almost the same as she did a few months ago, and the little wizard she brought is very energetic—"

Amosta said softly.

“I agree with you, Amosta—”

Dumbledore said with a gentle smile.

Chapter 555 Banquet

2023-10-25

At least in terms of grabbing attention, Durmstrang's visitors made an entrance just as impressive as Beauxbatons'.

How did this ship get here?

As a magnificent ship fully emerged from the Black Lake, gleaming like a ghost ship under the bright moonlight, Neville asked in a tone of great astonishment,

"Black Lake is not connected to the sea!"

“They certainly didn’t come here by normal means—” Hermione pondered, frowning. “I guess this ship can change size and then teleport to the nearest waters.”

"Cool!" Simo exclaimed, drawing in a sharp breath.

People on the ship were disembarking, and Harry and his friends could see their silhouettes as they passed through the porthole lights.

Harry noticed that they were all about the same size as Crabbe and Goyle. Then, as they drew closer and stepped into the hallway's light along the lawn, Harry realized that their large size was due to the fur cloaks they wore, the fur of which was tangled and disheveled. However, the man leading them toward the castle wore a different kind of fur: silvery-white, soft and smooth, much like his hair.

"Dumbledore!"

As the man walked up the slope, he called out enthusiastically, "My dear old friend, how are you?"

“Excellent, thank you, Professor Karkaroff.”

Dumbledore's eyes gleamed with a deep blue light, and he smiled gently.

Karkaroff's voice was mellow and sweet. He was tall and thin like Dumbledore. After walking in, he looked up at the Hogwarts Castle standing in the darkness and smiled with emotion, but there was no smile in his eyes. They remained cold and sharp.

Karkaroff lowered his head, preparing to ask if Beauxbatons had arrived, even though he had already noticed that the twelve Pegasus horses and the huge carriage with Beauxbatons' insignia were parked not far away. Then, as he looked down, he noticed that in the brief moment he was distracted, a person had emerged from behind Dumbledore, smiling at his team as well, but he hadn't noticed while climbing the hill.

"Ah, Professor Blaine, I was wondering why I hadn't seen you!"

Karkaroff grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "How have you been lately?"

"Professor Karkaroff has been wasting his time—"

Amos chuckled.

"You are still as humble and courteous as ever, Professor Blaine—"

Karkarov strode over.

“Even if you did something so amazing. Oh, come and see, Viktor, this is the Amosta Blaine you’ve been talking about for months!”

Karkarov waved to a group of burly men behind him, then looked at Amosta.

"Ever since he saw you at the Quidditch match, this kid has been obsessed with you and can't stop thinking about you!"

Viktor Krum!

“My God, can you believe it, Harry!” Ron’s ears turned bright red with excitement. “It’s him, it’s Krum, the guy we met at the World Cup. He even called Dad to come to our rescue. Oh, that’s incredible! He’s Durmstrang’s representative!”

Without Ron needing to remind him, Harry had already spotted Krum, with his striking hooked nose and thick, dark eyebrows, in the Durmstrang crowd.

Just like the students at Beauxbatons who felt a mixture of awe, curiosity, and admiration upon seeing Professor Blaine, many of the young wizards at Hogwarts were swept up in the same emotions upon hearing Krum's name. They jostled forward, eager to get a good look at the boy who was speaking respectfully to Professor Blaine.

At this moment, Harry noticed that Hermione remained calm, seemingly unsurprised that a world-class Quidditch star would appear in Durmstrang's ranks, so he voiced his question.

Have you forgotten?

Hermione said calmly,

"That night, before Krum parted ways with us, he told Blaine that he was a student of Durmstrang, and I guess he certainly wouldn't give up on becoming a warrior of Durmstrang."

Harry frowned and thought for a while, but too many things had happened that night, and he didn't have Hermione's good memory, so it was impossible for him to remember how Krum introduced himself to Professor Blaine.

By the time the deans had led their students back to the Great Hall with the Durmstrangers, the Beauxbatons were already seated at the Ravenclaw table. After a brief commotion, everyone found their place.

Many of the young wizards, including Ron, were so busy trying to decide whether to look at Viktor Krum or the stunningly beautiful witch Beauxbatons.

"That girl is a Veela!"

Ron's choice was Fleur, he said to Harry in a hoarse voice.

"Tell me, how did Professor Blaine come to know her?"

"do not know!"

Hermione gave Harry a sharp answer to the question, "Maybe, like you, you got her attention with a silly expression!"

Ron didn't reply; he was still staring intently at Fleur, who was looking at Professor Blaine at the faculty dining table with great interest, seemingly not hearing what Hermione was saying at all.

"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies, ghosts, and—especially, our distinguished guests who have come from afar," Dumbledore said with a smile, looking at the foreign students.

"I welcome you to Hogwarts with great joy, and I hope and fully believe that you will feel comfortable and happy here."