A Visitor from Afar

The History of Magic was the last class of the afternoon. Because class ended half an hour early, everyone rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

Kyle and Kanna returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room, changed into cloaks that were only worn at the Christmas party as instructed, and then went to the Entrance Hall with the others.

Professor Sprout lined them up at the entrance to the Great Hall, with the first-year students at the front and the rest following behind...

Kyle noticed that Professor McGonagall next to him was scrutinizing everyone's attire.

"Weasley, put your hat on properly..."

"Finnigan, fasten your cloak..."

"Patil, take that ridiculous thing off your head!"

Once all the students had arrived, Professor McGonagall glanced at the time, then led them out the gate to the front of the castle.

The moon was already hanging over the Forbidden Forest, and many of the younger wizards stood there shivering, whether from excitement or the cold, it was hard to tell.

Where the professors couldn't see, everyone lowered their voices and whispered among themselves about how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be coming.

"I think it's Apparition," Fred said. "Just imagine, a bunch of people suddenly appearing in the field in front of the school—that's going to be interesting."

"I think it's unlikely." Cedric shook his head. "Hogwarts forbids Apparition. They can't possibly go to the front door and then walk over."

So I think it should be Broomstick. Don't forget Durmstrang's Viktor Krum is a Quidditch star; riding a broomstick would maximize his fame."

"Do you know how far Durmstrang is from here?" George exclaimed dramatically. "Only a fool would ride a broom that far... I still think Apparition is more plausible. Maybe Professor Dumbledore has already lifted the restrictions at the school."

George couldn't help but raise his voice a little as he spoke, which Professor McGonagall heard. She turned around and gave him a stern look.

"Ah, if I'm not mistaken..." Dumbledore, standing in the back row, exclaimed loudly, "Beauxbatons ' representative has arrived!"

Kyle looked up and soon spotted a huge, light blue carriage above the Forbidden Forest.

The carriage was ridiculously large, looking like a house, and was pulled by twelve winged Abraxan soaring through the air.

Unlike the Thestral, the Abraxan, although it also has wings, still resembles Abraxan in appearance, and is much larger, looking like an elephant.

In the blink of an eye, the carriage landed on the ground with a deafening roar... As they got closer, the Abraxan looked even bigger; the students in the first two rows weren't even as tall as one of the horses' legs.

Then the carriage door opened, and a boy in a light blue robe jumped down and opened the golden spiral staircase underneath.

Then a shiny black high heel emerged from the carriage.

"Oh my God!" Cedric gasped, finally understanding what Kyle meant.

This Madame Maxime was incredibly large, standing three or four meters tall; probably only Hagrid in the entire Hogwarts could rival her.

Dumbledore began to clap, and the students joined in.

First, there were the big guys, even the principal was like that, and many people started to wonder... Could it be that Beauxbatons are full of big-breasted students?

Just think about it, if they were to Triwizard Tournament against a student who is two or three meters tall, could they really win...?

Fortunately, this did not happen, and none of the students who got off the carriage afterwards were large.

One of the students, whose head was wrapped in a scarf, got off the carriage and immediately turned his gaze toward the Hogwarts students at the castle gate, as if searching for something.

Upon seeing Kyle in the crowd, she immediately waved excitedly.

Kyle also stretched out his arm and waved. There were too many people around, and he was in the middle towards the back, so this was the only way he could greet them.

"You know him?" Kanna blinked.

"Hmm." Kyle nodded. "Do you remember I had a friend in France?"

Kanna thought for a moment, "The person who sent you the France chocolates?"

"Yes, that's her, Fleur Delacour," Kyle said. "We met at Nicolas Flamel's house, where Madame Maxime hinted that she would also be participating in the Triwizard Tournament."

Kanna looked up, trying to get a better look, but by then the students had already moved up to Madame Maxime's side, completely blocking her view.

"Look, look at Black Lake..."

Just as the two principals were speaking, someone suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone immediately looked over, and huge splashes of water appeared on the once calm lake surface.

"Something's coming out of there!" George blurted out instinctively.

"Looks like Karkaroff is here too," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Perfect timing."

Madame Maxime nodded. She had originally intended to take the students to the castle to warm up, but since Durmstrang's people had already arrived, she didn't bring it up again.

Soon, a black mast rose from the lake, followed by a magnificent ship.

It just looks very strange, like a shipwreck that has just been salvaged. This is probably what a legendary ghost ship looks like.

But undeniably, this design has a unique charm; at least Fred and George were mesmerized.

"It's so cool..." Fred whispered to George, "What do you think about turning the Weasleys' Joke Shop into a ghost ship too?"

"Ha, we're on the same page," George said with a laugh.

"Oh... look at that person!"

At this moment, another commotion arose in the crowd, and this time it was louder than the previous ones.

"My God, I can't believe it, it's Krum!" someone exclaimed excitedly.

As the most famous Quidditch player to date, Viktor Krum has a large following among students, and he was recognized as soon as he stepped out of the cabin.

Everyone's eyes turned to that direction, so much so that no one paid attention to the person walking at the very front.

Karkaroff, the principal of Durmstrang, was tall and thin with short white hair and a small goatee, and he looked very shrewd.

"Welcome, Headmaster Karkaroff," Dumbledore said, stepping forward with a smile.

"Dumbledore!" Karkaroff opened his arms warmly. "How are you, my dear old friend!"

"Excellent." Dumbledore hugged him.

Then Karkaroff went to Madame Maxime's side and gave her a kiss on the hand.

The three headmasters chatted warmly for a while, and then Dumbledore led them into the castle.