HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

For the next two weeks, Snape did not see West again.

However, Ilora (West's cat) would come to the cellar every now and then to deliver letters to Snape, filled with cheesy apologies and declarations of love, along with a precious herb or potion ingredient.

"Stars may dim, and the blooming period will be fleeting, but your embrace is my eternal haven..."

Snape skimmed through the letter, tossed it aside, took a few deep breaths, then picked it up again, folded it neatly, and put it in the drawer.

A stack of letters was piled up in the corner of the drawer, and there were even Ilora's tiny teeth marks on the envelopes.

"Meow." Ilora lay on the table, affectionately rubbing her head against Snape's clothes.

During the year West was away from Hogwarts, Snape took care of her for a semester, which is why she was particularly fond of Snape.

Snape ruffled Ilora's fur, and Ilora looked up at him with her round, green eyes, which inexplicably reminded him of someone.

Snape only realized during Potions class that West might not be at Hogwarts.

He even asked Harry, who seemed to know nothing, "Professor, West didn't tell me anything, but he's definitely not at Hogwarts."

Was she avoiding him? Snape's face darkened, but when he touched the strange stack of love letters in the drawer, he dismissed his suspicions.

Besides Snape, others also had their eyes on West.

"Where the hell did West go?!" Harry strode out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, irritated.

Hermione and Ron followed behind him.

Ron was puzzled. "Hey, bro, you can't be serious, it's only been a few days since you last saw West?"

Harry was unsure whether he should tell Hermione and Ron about Moody, but West's disappearance made him uneasy, and he was always afraid that the plan would go wrong.

"Why are there so many people?" Hermione suddenly exclaimed.

The lobby was packed with people. Students crowded around a large notice at the bottom of the marble staircase.

Ron, being the tallest of the three, stood on tiptoe and read the words aloud to Harry and Hermione.

It turns out it was news about a three-way battle for supremacy.

Representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive at Hogwarts on October 30, and afternoon classes will end half an hour early.

Ron cheered. Because it was Potions class in the afternoon.

Snape was in a bad mood lately and forced them to concoct an antidote, threatening to poison one of them on Christmas to test whether the antidote they made would work.

"Merlin's tights, hopefully Professor Snape will forget about the poisoning!" Ron sighed.

On the afternoon of October 30th, West still did not return to Hogwarts.

The students, organized by the dean, lined up and went to the lobby to welcome the delegation from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

Harry and his friends were discussing how the two schools would be connected to Hogwarts.

"A train? A broom? Or a door key?"

"Your guesses are all too outrageous, aren't they?" Draco quietly squeezed next to Harry. "That's so vulgar, it has no class at all."

Harry's gloomy mood eased considerably upon seeing Draco's golden head, and he asked with a smile, "So what do you think, Draco?"

Draco was about to speak when Snape turned around and glared at him fiercely. Draco shrank back and rejoined the Slytherin group.

The crowd suddenly erupted in excitement.

A huge, powder-blue carriage, as big as a house, flew towards them from above the Forbidden Forest, pulled by twelve winged horses.

The carriage slowly descended to the ground, and a woman who appeared to have giant blood got off, followed by twelve or thirteen male and female students.

"Mrs. Maxim, welcome to Hogwarts." Dumbledore stepped forward and kissed Maxim's hand.

As the two were talking, a large ship rose from the lake.

The students erupted in cheers once again.

"It's Durmstrang's delegation," Hermione observed their attire and quickly came to the conclusion.

After Durmstrang's principal, Karkaroff, disembarked, the three principals gathered together and exchanged pleasantries.

"That's Krum!" Ron's eyes widened as he stared at the student following behind Karkaroff.

He was tall and wore a fur cloak.

Harry knew that Ron liked Krum a lot, and he even collected Krum posters.

Ron looked stunned. "One of the best Seekers in the world! And he's still a student!"

The delegations from both schools, together with the students of Hogwarts, walked through the foyer toward the Great Hall.

When Harry and his friends sat down at the Gryffindor table, Beauxbatons' classmates chose to sit next to Ravenclaw, while Durmstrang had already taken his seat next to Slytherin.

Many people were eager to surround Krum and ask for his autograph, and it would be even better if they could chat with him for a bit.

Even Ron, the lion who always kept his distance from Slytherin, had tried to run to Slytherin's side several times.

Hermione glared at Ron several times before she finally calmed him down.

Harry saw Draco leaning over to talk to Krum, and his face darkened just like Hermione's.

Hermione: "Ridiculous."

Harry: "Ridiculous."

Hermione noticed that there were four extra chairs in the teachers' section. After Mrs. Maxim and Karkaroff sat down, there were two empty chairs.

She was a little confused. "Weren't there only two more principals?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the auditorium doors opened again, and Barty Crouch Sr. walked in, accompanied by a man with long red hair.

All eyes were on the two of them—primarily on West, of course.

Harry dropped the spoon from his hand onto the table. "What's going on?"

West didn't use dark magic to rejuvenate himself; he returned to his adult appearance, tall and handsome, with his long red hair tied up and wearing a black fitted suit that perfectly outlined his slender and powerful physique.

A dull thud came from the Ravenclaw table as books fell to the ground, and Harry saw several Beauxbatons girls and boys instinctively adjusting their bow ties.

It's fair to say that if Harry and the others hadn't already seen West in this state, they wouldn't have been able to recognize him.

At least Pansy and Blaise didn't recognize him.

Pansy stared blankly at Blaise and said, "I need all the information about this man within three seconds."

Blaise, feigning being dumped by a heartless woman, shook Pansy's shoulder. "Wake up, Pansy!"

West and Crouch walked toward the teachers' table.

West nodded to Dumbledore, then sat down next to Snape.

Snape, regaining his composure, looked at West in astonishment and whispered, "What the hell are you doing?!"

West quietly squeezed Snape's hand and winked. "You'll find out soon enough."

Snape wanted to say something, but seeing that most of the students' eyes were on them, he quickly shut his mouth, turned his head away, and pretended not to know West.

Harry ate his dinner absentmindedly.

During this time, a girl from Beauxbatons took the fish soup from their table.

The girl drew the attention of all the boys at the Gryffindor table—except Harry, who was looking down, seemingly lost in thought, occasionally glancing up at Draco as if hoping he would pick up on something.

Unfortunately, Draco and Krum were having a pleasant conversation and had no time to pay attention to Gryffindor, let alone notice Harry's gaze.

Ron snapped out of his daze and said to Hermione, "Merlin! That girl! It's a Veela!"

"Shut up!" Hermione snapped for some reason, and Ron reluctantly shut his mouth.

When everyone had almost finished eating, Dumbledore tapped his wine glass with a silver spoon to quiet the noise in the Great Hall.

"Let me introduce our two guests! This is Mr. Barty Crouch, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic."

Sparse applause rang out in the auditorium.

"This is Mr. Somerset, the sponsor of this competition."

Dumbledore looked at West with a smile.

Thunderous applause suddenly erupted in the auditorium.

Perhaps it was because West was stunningly beautiful, with an innate elegance in every gesture. Her face seemed to possess a magic, making people unable to look away, afraid to even blink for fear of missing something.

West raised his glass, smiled, and nodded in acknowledgment.