A sharp shout cracked like thunder, making many Hogwarts students flinch on instinct.
Professor McGonagall strode over with a grim-faced Karkaroff behind her. The commotion had clearly drawn them both there.
Professor McGonagall looked furious. Her students had gotten into a brawl with students from another school. What would people think of Hogwarts when word got out?
She stepped briskly between the two groups, her gaze sweeping over every student like a blade. Dazzling silver light shot from the tip of her wand and blasted a deep trench between the two sides, startling more than a few students.
"Will someone tell me exactly what happened here?"
Cedric put away his wand and stepped forward. "Professor, we were just by the lake—"
The reason the two schools had come to blows was simple.
Hogwarts students were used to relaxing by the Black Lake. Since it was a day off, a group had naturally gone there for a stroll.
They had been doing the same thing for months without incident.
But Krum happened to be training there today. Some Durmstrang students decided the Hogwarts students had come to "gather intelligence" and tried to drive them away.
The Hogwarts students were on their own grounds. Why would they let a group of visitors chase them off?
The visitors' attitude had been nasty, too. It took only a few words for an argument to break out.
"They were spying!" a Durmstrang student shouted, clutching his still-smoking robes. "Krum was training in the Black Lake, and they pretended they'd come here to relax. They were really trying to sneak a look!"
"Sneak a look?" Harry frowned. "We didn't even know Krum was training in the lake. This is Hogwarts. We can come here whenever we want. Why would we need to sneak around?"
Harry's firm