"Well, this guest certainly comes bearing ill will!"
Dumbledore smiled easily and asked curiously,
"Beauxbatons just arrived, so I had Klein show them around the castle and get them somewhere warm. Igor, what do you want with Klein?"
"Well, heh... The first Grindelwald was a student at our school, after all. I was just curious."
Karkaroff gave a dry chuckle, tugging a few times at the little curly goatee on his gaunt chin.
His eyes darted around. Then he beckoned to someone behind him.
"Krum, come here a moment."
Krum?
Wait, Viktor Krum was here too?
Harry, Ron, and the other students who knew Quidditch well couldn't help exchanging startled looks.
This...
Wasn't he just asking for trouble?
"Hmph."
At the headmaster's words, Viktor Krum reluctantly stepped out from the back of the group.
Compared with a month ago, he looked a little thinner.
He was still just as tall, but had lost a lot of weight.
It seemed the breakup of the Bulgaria Quidditch Representative Team had hit him hard.
"This is the world-famous Albus Dumbledore, Krum. Hurry up and greet Mister Dumbledore."
Viktor Krum was Igor Karkaroff's favorite student. After the crushing setback at the World Cup, Karkaroff was always looking for a way to help his treasured student save face.
He hadn't expected Dumbledore to be so shrewd and send Klein Grindelwald away first.
"Oh."
Krum answered listlessly and looked at Dumbledore.
"Hello, Mister Dumbledore."
"Hello, Viktor."
Karkaroff's little scheme amused Dumbledore.
What?
With Klein here, Karkaroff thought he could get revenge for his student? Did he think the old man was that mild-tempered?
Even if the old man were deaf and blind, Karkaroff would probably have no idea how he died if he went up against that boy.
Thinking about it, I really am a good