Appearance

Unlike the atmosphere of individual Academic Exchange with Newmontgard, the entire castle was filled with a joyful atmosphere because of the arrival of this day.

The Four-School Tournament, a grand event between School of Magic, is enough to keep young men and women so excited they can't sleep.

In class, no one paid attention; everyone was thinking about the arrival of people from Newmontgard, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang that evening. Even Potions wasn't as unbearable as usual, because it ended half an hour early.

When the bell rang early, all the students hurried back to their respective college's Common Room. As instructed, they put down their bags and textbooks, changed into their newest cloaks, and then rushed through the corridors and across the Entrance Hall to the main entrance.

Even with Hermione's urging, Sean was among the last students to arrive at the scene.

"Sean, I told you to hurry up," Hermione said, sounding annoyed. Little White Flower secretly licked the magic lollipop from her sleeve and then smirked at Sean.

Sean shrugged. "It's not assembly time yet, and besides, there was no mention of the Prefect being responsible for maintaining order this time..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Professor McGonagall's voice rang out.

"Prefect, maintain order in your respective colleges and get the lines in order."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Sean in a show of defiance. Sean shrugged, stepped out from the crowd, and began to command the Ravenclaw team under Professor McGonagall's instructions.

After a period of commotion, the students lined up in neat rows. Professor McGonagall stood at the front, looking at her students with satisfaction. She glanced around and said in Sonorus Charm, "Children, this is a grand event that Hogwarts is hosting together with other schools. I hope you will always remember the honor of being Hogwarts students and not let other schools look down on you, understand?"

"Knew--"

"Very good," Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction. "Please follow me, first-year students at the front. Do not crowd or make noise... Prefect, continue to maintain order..."

They filed down the steps and stood in a line in front of the castle. It was a cold, crisp evening, night was falling, and a bright, translucent moon hung in the sky above the Forbidden Forest.

Sean stood beside the group, casually putting his hands in his pockets, gazing at the sky and the Black Lake.

The younger students around me were discussing it quietly.

"How do you think they'll get here? By train?"

"Probably not, considering how far it is. At the speed of the Hogwarts Express, it would take several months to get there, right?"

"That Flying Broomstick? Or some kind of flying mount?"

"But it's so cold. You must be frozen stiff after riding Flying Broomstick for so long."

"You're right, I think it might be something like Apparition or Portkey..."

"But teleportation magic is not allowed within the Hogwarts campus, and even visitors from other schools must abide by this rule, right?"

"Perhaps other schools also have a Giant. I heard from an upperclassman that when they went to Newmontgard for Academic Exchange, one of the castle towers turned into a giant Stone Giant— "

"Oh, that would be awesome!"

As Sean listened to the students' conversation, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The way a school makes its entrance often reflects its strength, and Sean has always believed that there is a saying that makes a lot of sense.

It's always like this—when everyone gets together, they can't help but want to show off...

Just then, Dumbledore was standing in the back row with the other teachers, shouted—

"Ah! If I'm not mistaken, Beauxbatons ' representative has arrived!"

At Dumbledore's voice, the students immediately looked anxiously in all directions.

Sean then looked up directly at the sky.

Someone pointed high up. "There!"

A colossal creature, much larger than a Flying Broomstick —or a hundred Flying Broomstick —was rapidly skimming across the deep blue sky, Accio toward the castle, growing ever larger.

As the enormous, dark creature swept through the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and was illuminated by the castle window lights, they saw a huge, powder-blue carriage Accio toward them. It was as big as a house, and twelve winged horses, all with Abraxan and each as big as an elephant, pulled it through the air.

In the distance, on a field that had long been cleared out, Hagrid was waving two huge signs vigorously.

The carriage descended rapidly, and the driver saw Hagrid. The massive convoy of carriages roared toward Hagrid —after a deafening crash, Hagrid, who had fallen to the ground, rose amidst a cloud of dust, the carriage having nearly thrown him over.

The huge car door was emblazoned with the Beauxbatons School Crest, two golden crossed wands, each with three stars emanating from them.

The carriage door was pushed open, and a boy in a light blue robe jumped down from the carriage. He bent down and groped around on the floor of the carriage before opening a golden spiral staircase.

He jumped back with utmost respect, Sean saw a shiny black high heel emerge from the carriage—the shoe was as big as a child's sled.

A woman of astonishing size stepped out of the carriage; she was even a little taller Hagrid and looked like a silver-white wall—she was dressed in silver-white clothes today.

Contrary to Sean's expectations, the headmistress of Beauxbatons had a rather pretty face, much gentler and more beautiful than Hagrid's rough and wild features.

Dumbledore began to clap, and the students joined in, many standing on tiptoe to get a better look at the woman.

Her face relaxed, a graceful smile blooming on her lips. She extended a Winky hand (adorned with opal rings almost the size of Dove eggs) and walked toward Dumbledore. Though Dumbledore was also tall, he barely bent down to kiss the hand.

"Dear Madame Maxime," he said, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore," Madame Maxime said in a low voice, "I hope you are well."

"I'm fine, ma'am. Welcome to you and your students."

"Thank you—my students—"

Madame Maxime beckoned behind her, Sean looked in that direction as dozens of men and women disembarked from the carriage.

"There seem to be quite a few more students than I remembered..." Sean thought to himself.

The students who came down did not approach without Madame Maxime's order, but stood silently beneath the carriage. They were not wearing cloaks, and their clothes appeared to be made entirely of silk, gleaming softly in the dim light.

Madame Maxime spoke to Dumbledore again, finally mentioning her twelve enormous Abraxan drank only single malt whisky— Dumbledore assured her that Hagrid would take excellent care of the animals.

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Madame Maxime waved her hand, and the group of Beauxbatons students quietly walked over and followed behind her. They crossed a path cleared by the Hogwarts students and headed into the castle.

"Wow..." someone exclaimed softly.

At the front of the student line, two girls, one tall and one short, deserved this gasp.

With a face like the finest gemstone, impeccable features, and a graceful figure, her long, silvery-white hair was dazzling. The girl at the very front was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

The girl next to her, who was slightly shorter, was equally stunningly beautiful.

Most of the boys stared wide-eyed.

Sean knew who they were: Phoebe Delacour of Beauxbatons, and her sister Gabrielle. The two sisters, whose beauty, inherited from their Veela mother, immediately drew attention.

What stole the spotlight was the increasingly loud sound.

The enormous Abraxan stamped their hooves restlessly and snorted heavily—not far away, a suppressed rumble and sucking sound, like a giant vacuum cleaner moving along the riverbed.

"There! In the Black Lake!" a sharp-eyed boy exclaimed.

The once calm, mirror-like Black Lake began to churn violently. A disturbance arose beneath the surface, and huge splashes of water rose to the surface as waves crashed against the damp shore. Then, right in the center of the lake, a massive whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had suddenly been pulled from the bottom of the lake...

A mast emerged from the dark lake water.

Slowly and majestically, the large ship rose above the water, Winky in the moonlight. Its appearance was bizarre, like a skeleton, as if it were a recently salvaged shipwreck. The portholes flickered with a dim, misty light, looking like the eyes of a ghost.

Finally, with a splash, the large ship emerged completely, bobbing on the undulating water, and began to sail towards the lake shore. A moment later, they heard a splash as an anchor was thrown into the shallows, followed by a thud as a plank was laid across the shore.

A group of people walked across the deck and onto the cobblestone path of Hogwarts.

The students clapped and looked over curiously. Dumbledore stepped forward and shook hands warmly with the man at the head of the group.

"Dumbledore!" the man called out enthusiastically as he walked up the slope, "How are you, my dear old friend?"

"Excellent, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.

Karkaroff's voice was melodious and sweet. When he stepped into the light shining from the castle's main gate, they saw that he was as tall and thin as Dumbledore, but his white hair was short and his goatee (with small curls at the ends) did not completely cover his thin chin.

Sean narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the Durmstrang headmaster, a Death Eaters who now had close ties with the Returners.

Karkaroff greeted Dumbledore laugh, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth and a wide, enthusiastic smile. However, even from Sean's distance, he could see the coldness in Dumbledore's eyes.

Moreover, just as Sean was observing, Karkaroff seemingly unintentionally turned his gaze, and Sean eyes met.

Karkaroff didn't pause at all; after a brief moment of eye contact, he naturally looked away.

He was looking for me just now... Sean sneered inwardly.

This man, even more fickle than Lucius Malfoy, has clearly become someone else's tool.

Sean shifted his gaze slightly to the other Durmstrang students.

Behind Karkaroff, a burly boy drew gasps from many students.

"Krum, it's Krum!" Sean heard Ron shout.

"What? Viktor Krum from the Bulgaria Quidditch national team? The world's number one Seeker?!"

More gasps rang out, and no one paid attention to the conversation between the two principals anymore; all eyes were on Krum.

Sean glanced at them briefly before looking away, turning his gaze to the others.

Durmstrang also has a large number of students, with a rough estimate of over sixty.

They looked cold and resolute, exuding an aura that made people want to back away.

Sean scanned everyone without any attempt to hide his gaze, and a boy with a buzz cut noticed Sean's stare.

The boy grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

Arrogant and ruthless—that was Sean's first impression of the boy. Then, he saw the boy give him a thumbs up.

Then it swept across his throat horizontally.

The blatant provocation made Sean smile slightly. The boy was standing behind Karkaroff and next to Krum, and seemed to be the second-in-command among the students.

That's interesting...

Sean turned his head away and stopped looking at the other person; he was waiting for the last team to appear.

Just as Karkaroff and Dumbledore finished their pleasantries, Durmstrang's students had just met Hogwarts ' students.

A rumble of thunder sounded—

Without any warning, a torrential downpour, accompanied by lightning, suddenly began.

Strangely, the rain didn't wet anyone present, as if a line separated the heavy rain from the normal venue.

Amidst the rumbling thunder, a dazzling red light suddenly flashed in the distant sky.

The flames spread rapidly, the rain began to evaporate, and thick water vapor rushed into everyone's view like an instant fog.

Then, flames suddenly erupted, and mist billowed up wildly. The students, their eyes wide open, finally saw what lay beyond the mist.

It was a huge Fire Dragon, a dragon made entirely of flames.

The Fire Dragon flapped its enormous fiery wings, completely evaporating the surrounding water vapor, and then let out a deafening roar as it pounced towards the ground.

The students in the front row were so frightened that they all took several steps back, staring in terror at the enormous object.

The Fire Dragon stepped onto the ground, and a burnt smell emanated from the grass. Then, in just a moment, the Fire Dragon vanished.

An old man emerged from the flames.

"Ha, Hogwarts!" he laughed.