Chapter 245: Bubotuber and Blast-Ended Skrewt
The next morning, the storm had ceased.
When Ethan and the others arrived at the Great Hall, the ceiling was still a dismal, cloudy sky, with large masses of greenish-grey clouds constantly rolling.
At this time, many young Wizards had already arrived in the Great Hall.
Only now, they were no longer discussing the Quidditch World Cup or the canceled Inter-House Cup.
Even the destruction of Gringotts was no longer a concern.
Everything they talked about was related to the Triwizard Tournament.
Yesterday, Dumbledore had introduced this inter-school tournament, and even those who didn't understand much had gone back to ask their classmates about it.
Now, most of them knew the significance of the Triwizard Tournament, and each one was eagerly anticipating the competition.
Especially being chosen as the champion to represent Hogwarts—wouldn't that prove oneself to be the most outstanding student at Hogwarts?
Of course, there was a prerequisite: being over seventeen years old.
Passing by the Gryffindor table, George and Fred, along with their roommates, were discussing how to cheat and change their age to participate in the competition.
The moment he saw Ethan, Fred immediately stood up and jogged over to Ethan.
They also really wanted to participate in this Triwizard Tournament, but unfortunately, they were a few months too young.
Unlike the Twin, Cedric, although also a sixth-year, was over seventeen and thus eligible to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.
The Twin were quite annoyed about this, even almost sending a letter home last night to ask their dear mother why she hadn't given birth to them a few months earlier.
If that had been the case, they wouldn't need to come up with these cheating methods now.
"Ethan, do you have a way to bypass Dumbledore's age restriction?"
They had discussed it for a long time just now but couldn't come up with a solution, but that didn't mean Ethan couldn't.
Of course, if Ethan also had no solution, then they wouldn't need to consider it anymore; they'd just go back to bed.
"Although the champion of each school is chosen by the goblet of fire, due to the age restriction, Dumbledoremust have made arrangements, which are still unclear and difficult to counter."
"But there's also a simple and effective method: have your father go to the Ministry of Magic and change your birth dates. Just say he was drunk and filled in the wrong date."
Just like in the Muggle world, Wizards' birth dates need to be registered, and the probability of registration errors due to various circumstances is not low.
Changing one's age is not a big deal, especially in the Wizarding World; if you have some connections with the Ministry of Magic, a simple greeting is enough.
Arthur is at least an office head; if he steps forward, there are basically no issues.
As long as the age is changed in the Ministry of Magic's registry, Dumbledore's magic, even if set, should have difficulty taking effect.
Because the Ministry of Magic really has many contractual spells that limit age, Dumbledore should also have borrowed some of those things, and once the age change is successful, they will naturally not be restricted.
"That, my dad probably wouldn't agree!"
George and Fred exchanged glances; this method was indeed simple, but it required their father's involvement.
Given their father's attitude towards Dumbledore, the probability of him helping his two sons trick Dumbledorewas infinitely close to zero.
"Then drink Ageing Potion, and then insist you're an adult."
Ethan wasn't sure if this would work.
Taking Ageing Potion could change one's appearance, muscle condition, and even bone age.
But whether it would be effective against contractual spells, Ethan really couldn't be sure.
"Okay, we'll go prepare the Ageing Potion now."
George also felt this was more reliable.
And he seemed to have seen this Potion somewhere; he would go find it now and brew it himself.
George was quite confident in his Potion-making skills; even if it was difficult, there was still over a month, which was enough!
After parting with the Twin, Ethan came to the Ravenclawtable and sat down.
Ethan had already decided whether or not to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.
Even a house-level Wizard Duelling Tournament could yield achievement rewards.
Now, for this Triwizard Tournament, as long as he won, the rewards would naturally be substantial.
Just for these rewards, Ethan had to go through with it.
Moreover, it didn't have to be that troublesome; the simplest Confundo was enough for Ethan to cheat and participate.
Others could only use tricks against Dumbledore's magic, but this did not include Ethan.
While eating breakfast, he looked at this year's class schedule.
It was no different from last year, all the same classes.
Electives could be changed, but Ethan still chose Care of Magical Creatures, Divination Class, and Ancient Runesthis year.
Only the class times had changed slightly from last year.
And today, the morning was Herbology Class and Care of Magical Creatures, and the afternoon was Divination Class.
After a quick glance, Ethan put down the schedule and focused on enjoying his breakfast.
At the same time, the Great Hall windows were opened, and hundreds of owls flew in through the open windows. Ethan used a small magic to protect this area, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to eat breakfast.
Where the owls flew, feathers and droppings fell everywhere; young Wizards had complained about this for countless years, but Hogwarts just wouldn't change.
Every day, during breakfast, owls were allowed in to deliver letters or items.
Even the Ministry of Magic, which initially used communication owls, later switched to paper airplanes, and then to wizard mailboxes.
In Ethan's perception, an owl was flying towards him, and Ethan directly extended his right hand.
Then the item clutched in the owl's claws automatically flew into Ethan's palm.
The owl was already accustomed to this scene; it immediately turned around and flew out the window.
This kind of thing, it and several other owls in the shop, had experienced countless times in the past.
Moreover, unlike other Wizards, although it felt very close to him, he had never once offered the owl nuts or dried mouse meat, not once.
Anyway, it had never heard any of its colleagues say they had eaten food given by him.
Therefore, it naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to fly over and lick his face.
Ethan didn't immediately open the item in his hand.
Ethan knew what it was; it was nothing more than the magazines and newspapers he subscribed to.
After starting school, these things were naturally sent to Hogwarts.
"Ethan, can I see it?"
Terry, sitting next to Ethan, looked at the item in Ethan's hand with interest.
He also knew what it was, after all, for the past few years, owls had delivered these to Ethan every morning.
At the same time, Terry himself did not subscribe to any newspapers or magazines.
These things were not cheap, and they also required special owl delivery.
Although he had earned some money because of Ethan, he had no other sources of income, so he naturally saved where he could.
Besides, after Ethan finished reading, he wouldn't need these things anymore, and they could read them whenever they wanted, just a little later.
"Mm!"
With a nod, Ethan tossed the package over.
Although Ethan ate quickly, the large portions naturally required more time.
Terry took the newspaper, immediately flipped open The Daily Prophet, and began searching.
He didn't find any news about the Triwizard Tournament, so he started looking for reports on Gringotts.
To gossip and join in on others' conversations, one naturally needs to know more things.
As a result, Terry read these newspapers and magazines even more seriously than Ethan.
After breakfast, Terry put away the newspaper and handed it to Ethan.
The group walked towards the grounds outside the school.
The first class was Herbology Class, held in the greenhouses outside.
Walking through the damp vegetable patch, when they arrived at Greenhouse Three, Professor Sprout was already waiting there.
After the class bell rang, Professor Sprout showed the whole class a plant.
Speaking of plants, it didn't really look like one; it looked more like a black, slimy, large slug, emerging straight from the soil.
And each one was wiggling slightly, with many shiny large lumps on their bodies, seemingly filled with liquid.
Ethan had dealt with this kind of thing before: Bubotuber, a rather rare Potion ingredient with a wide range of uses.
Of course, this wasn't in Potion Class, but when Ethan was privately concocting a Potion, he dealt with this stuff.
The main thing was to squeeze out the pus from its body.
Ethan could clearly see the disgust flashing in the eyes of many students when they saw this thing.
No one had expected that the first class of the school year would be about such a disgusting thing.
But then, Sprout's words made everyone even more despairing.
"Bubotuber."
Professor Sprout told everyone cheerfully.
"You need to squeeze them by hand; you need to collect their pus."
"What?"
A gasp sounded, and everyone looked over, only to find it was Seamus Finnigan from Gryffindor.
Professor Sprout thought he hadn't heard clearly, so she immediately explained:
"Pus, collect its pus. It has extremely high value, so don't waste it. Listen, you need to collect the pus into these bottles."
"Oh, and put on your dragon-hide gloves. Undiluted Bubotuber pus can cause unusual damage to the skin."
Subsequently, Professor Sprout demonstrated again how to correctly squeeze the pus from a Bubotuber.
Although the young Wizards were a bit reluctant, they still put on their dragon-hide gloves, preparing for today's lesson.
Don't think that Professor Sprout is easy to talk to and doesn't lose her temper; if you don't follow her instructions and disrupt the class order, Professor Sproutwill not be soft when deducting points.
But as everyone squeezed, they found it quite interesting.
Especially when a lump was squeezed, a large amount of viscous yellowish-green liquid would spray out, and although the smell was a bit unpleasant, there was a sense of satisfaction.
Later, Professor Sprout didn't even need to remind them; everyone was scrambling to squeeze the Bubotuber.
By the time class was almost over, several bottles of Bubotuber pus had already been collected.
As the dismissal bell rang.
After leaving Greenhouse Number Three, the young Wizards did not return to Hogwarts Castle, but instead followed the sloping lawn towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Last year, Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class, although a few lessons were not ideal.
But overall, it was still good and quite popular with the young Wizards.
When the young Wizards arrived, Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand holding the collar of his giant hound, Fang.
On the ground at his feet were several open wooden boxes, and as the young Wizards approached, a strange clattering sound entered their ears, along with faint explosions.
Ethan immediately covered his forehead in pain.
This summer holiday, due to the Quidditch World Cup, Ethan hadn't visited Hagrid.
Hagrid wasn't interested in Quidditch either, so he naturally didn't go to the game.
This led to Ethan not reminding him, and he still managed to create this crossbreed of a Manticore and a Fire Crab.
Although Ethan had never seen its appearance, he knew from the description in the original work that it was a dangerous and extremely ugly creature.
Letting the young Wizards raise this thing, it was likely that the little popularity Hagrid had painstakingly accumulated last school year would be squandered.
Indeed, if he didn't supervise, and Lupin didn't come to teach, Hagrid still had a long way to go to become a qualified Professor.
But now that Hagrid had created this thing, it was too late to say anything.
Ethan knew Hagrid's personality; he wouldn't abandon these little guys unless he had been stopped from the beginning.
Led by Hagrid, everyone arrived at the teaching grounds.
Then, Hagrid opened the boxes and allowed the young Wizards to come and see the little creatures they were about to interact with.
The young Wizards were quite curious about this and all gathered around.
"Gross!"
Hermione's roommate, Lavender Brown, shrieked and jumped back a few steps.
This thing was truly disgusting; not only Lavender Brown, but the other young Wizards, although they didn't shriek, also made disgusted gestures.
It was so disgusting that the word 'ugly' couldn't even describe it; it was like a deformed, shelled lobster.
It was grayish-white and slimy, with many legs sticking out haphazardly, and its head was nowhere to be seen.
There were about a hundred in each box, each about six inches long, crawling over each other, bumping into the sides of the box in a dazed manner.
In addition, these disgusting things emitted a very strong smell of rotten fish and shrimp.
Every now and then, a Blast-Ended Skrewt would shoot sparks from its tail, and with a soft pop, the Blast-Ended Skrewt would propel itself forward a few inches.
Compared to this, the Bubotuber in Herbology Classlooked absolutely lovely.
And Hagrid seemed not to have noticed the young Wizards' discomfort, still speaking in an excited tone:
"These are newly hatched babies! You can raise them yourselves! We can make a big project out of this!"
The scene immediately went cold.
The young Wizards looked at Hagrid with incredulous eyes.
"Why should we raise them?"
In the silence, a brave soul stepped forward and immediately refuted Professor Hagrid.
Only when he stepped out of the crowd did they realize it was Ron.
Hagrid looked at Ron with some difficulty, unsure how to explain for a moment.
"What I want to ask is, what are they for?"
Ron just wanted to use this method to attract the attention of his classmates, which is why he was showing off at this moment.
Harry and he had fallen out, and everything he did was alone; Ron was tired of living like this.
"That's for next class. Today, you just need to feed them. But I've never raised them before, so I'm not sure what they like to eat. For this, I've prepared ant eggs, frog livers, and green snakes. Take a little of each and see if they eat it."
Hagrid didn't know how to explain either, so he could only awkwardly change the subject.
Ron couldn't press him further on this, otherwise, if it led to points being deducted, he would be facing the cold stares of his classmates right at the start of the school year.
Then it was class time, but this class was a complete disaster.
Various accidents and complaints kept erupting.
Some young Wizards even openly stated that they should not have chosen Care of Magical Creatures this year.
Chapter 246: An Alternative Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
Time flew by, and it was now Thursday.
Harry had also arrived at Hogwarts and begun his academic life for the semester.
Nothing special had happened these past two days; everything was as usual.
However, if there was anything that happened, there was indeed something.
Seamus Finnigan's special exploding charm once again appeared in Charms Class and Transfiguration Class.
This morning, Neville once again burned through a cauldron.
But by now, everyone was already used to it.
Many young Wizards were guessing how many cauldrons Neville would burn through by the time he graduated.
As of the beginning of fourth year, six cauldrons had already been lost at Neville's hands.
In response, Snape could only punish him by making him process Potion ingredients for him, in addition to deducting points.
Of course, Snape wouldn't give Neville anything too complex.
It's unclear if Snape was retaliating against Neville, knowing that he had a toad as a pet and treasured it, yet he punished Neville to come at night to cut open long-horned toads and remove their livers.
After lunch, it was time for the first Defense Against the Dark Arts Class of the school year.
Last year, Professor Lupin was quite popular, which led many young Wizards to have some expectations for this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at the beginning of the school year.
But the moment they saw Moody, their expectations for this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class vanished.
Indeed, someone like Lupin was an exception.
Although many young Wizards knew Moody's identity through their classmates' introductions—a very old Aurorwith quite impressive achievements, rumored to have caught half the Death Eaters in Azkaban—
However, with his neurotic appearance, few young Wizards believed he would teach well.
Upon arriving at the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classclassroom, many young Wizards had already arrived ahead of time.
However, the atmosphere was exceptionally solemn, and they were all pretending to read their copies of *Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Protection*.
There was none of the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere of other classes.
Ethan, however, felt nothing about this; he simply left the Ravenclaw group and sat with the Slytherins.
Defense Against the Dark Arts Class wasn't like other classes that required grouping; as long as it wasn't a practical class, Ethan had been sitting in the Slytherinsection for the past two years.
As the class bell rang, Moody's distinctive thudding footsteps came down the corridor.
Soon, Moody walked into the classroom, looking as bizarre and frightening as he had at the opening feast, and as he moved, his claw-like wooden leg could be seen peeking out from under his robes.
Moody, upon entering the classroom, naturally saw the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class textbooks in the young Wizards' hands.
"Put those things away,"
Moody said, leaning heavily on his walking stick as he struggled to the front of the desk, then sat down.
"You won't be needing these textbooks in this class."
Upon hearing this, the young Wizards happily put away the textbooks on their desks, immediately assuming that this new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, like Lupin before him, would be taking them on a practical lesson in the first class.
Then, Moody took out the roll book, shook his head, and began calling names.
His normal eye moved down the list, while his magical eye constantly swiveled, staring at each student who answered, as if to see right through them.
This put immense pressure on the young Wizards.
After the last young Wizard answered "Here," Moody put away the roll book in his hand, a grim smile on his face as he looked at the young Wizards below.
"I received a letter from Professor Lupin; he described the situation of this course."
"Last school year, you mastered a lot of basic knowledge on how to deal with Dark Animals, and learned how to deal with Boggarts, Red Caps, Hinkypunks, Grindylows, Kappas, and Werewolves, right?"
The young Wizards nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Their impression of Moody improved by a tiny bit; at least he wasn't an unreasonable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor like Snape, and he even bothered to ask about their learning progress. It would be even better if his appearance wasn't so terrifying.
"Just knowing how to deal with Animals isn't enough; you should also learn how to deal with spells."
"Therefore, I'm going to give you a taste of what Wizards do. I have a year to teach you how to deal with Dark Arts."
Hearing Moody say this, a hint of excitement flashed in the young Wizards' eyes.
He was a legendary Auror, and they had originally thought it would be just another class, but they hadn't expected that in this very first lesson, he was already preparing to teach his students his true skills.
The young Wizards had no doubt that Moody possessed some methods for dealing with Dark Arts.
"Spells, they come in many forms, and their magic varies. According to the Ministry of Magic's regulations, I should be teaching you various counter-curses."
"What illegal Dark Arts curses look like, that's knowledge for sixth-years, but Professor Dumbledore has greatly praised your courage. He believes you can handle it, and in my opinion, the sooner you understand what you're up against, the better."
"It's like something you've never seen before; how can you protect yourself from it? When I'm speaking, you'd best put that thing away, Miss Brown."
Lavender Brown, who had been called out, nearly jumped, her face flushed red.
Just now, she had been showing Parvati a well-drawn horoscope chart under the table.
Clearly, her actions had all been seen by Moody's magical eye.
He had started to greatly admire that old swindler Trelawney last year, and this year after school started was no exception; he would run to the Divination Classclassroom to eat lunch every day.
"So… does anyone know which curses receive the Ministry of Magic's most severe punishment?"
Although Moody's magical eye was still intently fixed on Lavender Brown, he himself didn't pay much more attention to the matter.
At the same time, upon hearing Moody's words, several hands shot up—this was an easy question!
This question had appeared once in Defense Against the Dark Arts Class a few years ago. Although everyone already knew the correct answer, as they had grown older, they were not as scared as they had been back then.
After looking around, Moody's wand quickly pointed to a target.
"Imperio, Avada Kedavra, Crucio—these Three Unforgivable Curses!"
Ron quickly stood up and answered Moody's question.
The reason he was so eager was also to earn Gryffindorsome points and try to change his image in everyone's minds.
"Very good answer, Gryffindor gets five points!"
Moody didn't disappoint Ron and gave him five points.
However, the applause Ron had hoped for didn't materialize, which was quite unusual compared to previous habits.
Although Ron was a bit put out, he couldn't say anything at the moment and could only sit down dejectedly.
"The Three Unforgivable Curses, that will be the content of my lesson today."
Saying this, Moody struggled to stand up on his prosthetic leg, then opened the podium drawer and took out a pre-prepared glass bottle.
Inside the glass bottle, three large black spiders were ceaselessly crawling.
Moody reached into the bottle, pulled out one spider, and placed it on his open palm so everyone could see.
Then he pointed his wand at the spider and whispered, "Imperio!"
Ethan was more than familiar with this spell; it was indeed quite useful.
In Ethan's opinion, Moody's current level still had considerable room for improvement.
And this spider leaped off Moody's palm, suspended by a thin thread, and began swinging back and forth, like it was on a high swing.
It stiffly straightened its legs, then flipped backward, breaking the thread. It began doing somersaults in circles on the table and tap-dancing under Moody's control.
The young Wizards watched this comical scene, each of them bursting into laughter.
Moody scanned the laughing young Wizards and said with a stern face:
"You find it very amusing, don't you?"
"Would you like it if I did that to you?"
The laughter abruptly stopped. Just now, Moody had uttered the name of the spell, Imperio.
These were the Three Unforgivable Curses. Practically no young Wizards had ever truly seen this spell before, but they had all heard of its fearsome reputation.
Moody controlling the spider just now was indeed very funny, but if it were used on them, "you're breaking the law, you know that?"
Looking at the subdued young Wizards, Moody continued his lesson.
"Under the influence of my Imperio, it will be completely under my control."
"I can make it jump out the window, or drown itself, or jump down the throat of one of your classmates…"
As he spoke, Moody even demonstrated the spider to everyone, which was now curled into a ball and constantly rolling around.
Only this time, no one was laughing.
"Many years ago, many Wizards were controlled by the Imperio, and at that time, it truly drove the Ministry of Magic crazy. They had to distinguish who was acting under duress and who was acting of their own free will."
"Of course, the Imperio can be resisted. I will teach you the method, but it requires very strong personal will, and not everyone can master it."
0 Requesting flowers
After the introduction, Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the glass bottle.
"Do you know the remaining two Unforgivable Curses?"
With Ron's previous point-earning action, even more hands went up this time.
There was no other way; as for the Unforgivable Curses, if not all students knew them, at least more than half did.
It was just that for various reasons, they didn't dare to speak up.
Ethan had already mentioned it many years ago, and Ronhad just earned points for it. What was there to be afraid of now?
Moody randomly picked a Hufflepuff young Wizard and got the correct answer.
Of course, he also gave him five house points.
"Now, I will demonstrate the remaining two Unforgivable Curses."
"First is the Crucio!"
Saying this, Moody again took out a spider from the glass bottle and placed it on the podium.
Perhaps it was due to extreme fear, but this spider remained motionless after it appeared.
And to allow the young Wizards to see more clearly, Moody even used an Enlargement Charm on this spider.
This caused the spider to inflate like it had been blown up, becoming the size of an adult's fist.
After doing all this, Moody faced the crowd and aimed his wand at the spider:
"Crucio!"
The moment it was hit by the curse, all the spider's legs retracted, pressing tightly against its body, and it constantly flipped over, while its body violently convulsed, swaying from side to side.
And Moody still hadn't removed his wand; the Cruciocontinued, and the spider began to tremble all over, convulsing even more violently.
Ethan could see Neville's body also trembling along with the spider. Not only that, he was tightly clenching the table in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide open, filled with fear.
He should have no memory of that time, when his parents were tormented by the Crucio. Neville's grandmother had even used a Memory Charm on him to make him forget that bad memory.
Now it seemed this action was completely wrong.
The Memory Charm had not had any effect. Neville's fear from that time was already deeply engraved in his heart, and it had also made Neville's mind somewhat inferior to ordinary people's.
Moody also noticed Neville's unusual reaction and immediately lowered his wand.
At this point, the spider's legs also relaxed, but it was still twitching continuously.
Moody then restored the spider to its normal size and placed it back into the glass bottle.
"As you can see, being hit by the Crucio causes extreme pain. If you want to torture someone, this spell is the first choice."
At the same time, Moody also took out a third spider.
"The last, and most powerful, curse, Avada Kedavra… the Killing Curse."
Saying this, Moody placed the spider he had taken out onto the table.
Perhaps the spider sensed something, as it desperately crawled forward, as if it was extremely eager to escape far away from Moody.
Despite this, Moody calmly raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A green light illuminated the dim classroom. When the green light dissipated, the spider had flipped over, lying on its back on the table, with no visible injuries, but it was undoubtedly dead.
Several students desperately held back their shouts. This Professor was simply insane, using the Killing Curse right in front of them.
If it had veered off course slightly just now, thinking of this possibility, many young Wizards' legs began to tremble.
"There is currently no counter-curse for the Killing Curse, nor any way to resist it. So far, only one person has escaped this curse, and he is sitting right in front of me now."
Everyone followed Moody's gaze to Harry, which made Harry feel a bit awkward.
Then Moody began a detailed explanation of the Three Unforgivable Curses.
He genuinely wanted to teach everyone about these Three Unforgivable Curses.
It was just that Ethan was a bit regretful that he didn't hear the line, "You can all take out your wands, point them at me, and utter the Killing Curse. I suspect I'll only get a nosebleed at most."
Otherwise, Ethan would have stood up and tried a "Chomp the Gourd" on him to see if he would only get a nosebleed.
When class ended, as soon as the young Wizards left the classroom, various discussions immediately erupted like a bursting dam.
Most students spoke of the curses and the three unfortunate spiders with awe.
At the same time, Neville was also kept behind by Moodyfor a long time.
Chapter 247: Daring Moody
The date came to October 30th, which was the eve of Halloween.
As usual, the young Wizards who arrived in the Great Hall early in the morning found that the Great Hall had been redecorated overnight.
However, there were some differences from previous Halloween decorations; mainly, some Halloweenelements were removed, such as bats and dark clouds.
Huge silk banners hung on the walls, each representing a Hogwarts house: Gryffindor had a golden lion on a red background, Ravenclaw had a bronze eagle on a blue background, Hufflepuff had a black badger on a yellow background, and Slytherin had a silver serpent on a green background.
Behind the staff table hung the largest banner, bearing the Hogwarts crest: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake linked together, encircling a large letter H.
This made it appear particularly formal.
In addition, days earlier, every corner of the corridors had been meticulously cleaned by Filch, and even every statue and suit of armor had been polished.
Even the young Wizards were required to clean their shoes.
It was fortunate that there was no Quidditch House Cup this year, otherwise this period would have been the eve of the first match, the peak training time for the Quidditchplayers of the four houses.
During this time, it would have been almost impossible to clean the corridors.
As for the reason for doing so, the young Wizards were all aware; Dumbledore had mentioned it long ago.
Today was the day the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would arrive.
Of course, this also meant that the Triwizard Tournamentwas about to begin, and Hogwarts's champion would soon be chosen.
Regarding this, discussions about the Triwizard Tournament had become even more intense among the young Wizards during this period.
The main topics were: who would compete to be Hogwarts's champion, what events the tournament would include, and how the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students differed from them.
Besides that, there were also discussions about cheating methods, such as how to bypass the age restriction to participate.
After all, there were only about one hundred adult Wizards at Hogwarts; all seventh-years were adults, while only a small portion of sixth-years were.
Among the remaining young Wizards, quite a few wanted to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.
Ethan still prepared for class as usual after breakfast. Although they were welcoming students from two other schools today, classes still had to be held; only the last class would end half an hour early.
During this time, apart from Care of Magical Creaturesand Defense Against the Dark Arts, other classes were no different from before.
Especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Moody was truly teaching them the Unforgivable Curses.
In addition, he also cast an Imperio on every young Wizard.
Naturally, there were young Wizards who objected in class, but Moody stated that this had been permitted by Dumbledore.
Therefore, during one class, all the fourth-year young Wizards were subjected to Moody's Imperio.
Ethan was no exception; it was just that Moody's Imperiohad no effect on Ethan.
After all, Ethan possessed mental resistance, plus various Buffs for wisdom and thought, making it almost impossible for him to be affected.
Moody was momentarily stunned when his Imperio failed, but he didn't dare to say much more.
When class ended, Ethan specifically checked on Cassandra and Hermione, confirming that their Imperios had been lifted.
At the time, Ethan even wondered if Dumbledore was getting senile, to actually agree to such a request.
He truly wasn't afraid of causing trouble that he couldn't resolve in the end.
If Ethan were to have Rita Skeeter stir up public opinion in The Daily Prophet, and then have the little Wizards fan the flames, Dumbledore would definitely be in a difficult position.
After all, some pure-bloods were indeed quite hostile towards Dumbledore, and the faction led by Fudge in the Ministry of Magic also really wanted to undermine Dumbledore's reputation.
If they united, Dumbledore would definitely face severe consequences.
Allowing a Professor to use Imperio on students, no matter what Dumbledore's reasons were, it was indefensible; it was simply not allowed.
Under normal circumstances, using it on a Wizard would lead to Azkaban.
During the Wizarding War, although Barty Crouchpushed for the allowance of using Unforgivable Curses on Death Eaters, there was still considerable resistance.
Now, using it on underage children who were still in school would undoubtedly result in a life sentence.
At that time, Moody would retire in Azkaban with those he had captured, and as for Dumbledore, given his status, he certainly wouldn't go to prison, but losing his position as Principal of Hogwarts would make him too uncontrollable.
For this reason, Ethan only considered it for a moment before giving up.
After all, if Dumbledore, freed from his shackles, decided to go to Nurmengard, it would be a huge spectacle.
This wasn't impossible; if he wasn't at Hogwarts, Dumbledore had nowhere else to go, his only brother had fallen out with him, and he had no other relatives; the only one with whom he might still have a special emotional connection was in Nurmengard.
Considering these factors, Ethan didn't stop Moody's classes, and the other little Wizards didn't think about any of this.
This meant that although Moody's class was very unpopular with the little Wizards, everyone still had to attend.
This was a compulsory class, unlike an elective where you could just drop it if you didn't want to take it.
Of course, Moody still had some sense of propriety; he didn't use Crucio or Avada Kedavra on the little Wizards to let them experience it.
Compared to him, Hagrid was a bit better.
But his class was also extremely disgusting.
It was still about raising Blast-Ended Skrewts, and after each class, they had to write essays.
Moreover, these things grew very fast; in two months, they were already as big as Fang, and at the same time, they posed a certain danger to the little Wizards.
It's just unknown whether the little Wizards were deliberately or accidentally careless, but in two months, under the "careful nurturing" of the little Wizards, the Blast-Ended Skrewts successfully reduced their numbers by two-thirds.
But even so, there were still dozens of them left.
One could only say that these creatures truly lived up to their name as Animals; their vitality was strong.
Today's first class was Charms Class, but everyone was distracted during the lesson.
Somehow, a rumor had spread that Beauxbatons would bring beautiful girls, while Durmstrang would bring Viktor Krum.
This made many Quidditch enthusiasts and perverts quite excited, leading to them having no mood for class.
Today's last class was Potion Class, and with half an hour left until dismissal, everyone had already cleaned their cauldrons and, the moment the bell rang, scattered in an instant.
Ethan calmly returned to his dormitory first, and by the time he arrived outside the Hogwarts gate, the area was already packed with people, with Prefects from each house desperately trying to maintain order, but unfortunately, it was useless.
It was still chaotic, with little Wizards gathered in twos and threes, discussing something, completely ignoring their respective Prefects.
After all, the title of Prefect was just a title, with no real power; although they could deduct points, they could only manage their own house, but if a Prefect deducted points from their own house members, what would the other students think?
So far, only Percy Weasley liked to constantly mention that he was a Prefect, and he actually did deduct house points from his own house, and he also liked to report to the Professors.
This made him very unpopular in Gryffindor, and other Prefects, being naturally understanding of social dynamics, none dared to do such a thing.
Of course, Percy had already graduated, but Ethan didn't know if he had joined the Ministry of Magic yet; he hadn't paid attention, and the Twin hadn't mentioned it.
But it was highly likely that he hadn't, as he was far less outstanding after that incident.
At this moment, Professor McGonagall and others also arrived to welcome the exchange personnel from the other two schools, including their Principals, so it was naturally impossible for only students to come.
Looking at the noisy scene, Professor McGonagall's face immediately darkened.
"Line up by house."
"Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."
Parvati Patil, who was called out, frowned unhappily but still feared Professor McGonagall's authority and reluctantly removed a large butterfly hair ornament from her braid.
Subsequently, Professor McGonagall pointed out a few other little Wizards whose attire had some issues.
After confirming there were no problems, she continued: "Please follow me, first-year students in front… no pushing…"
Following behind Professor McGonagall, everyone filed down the steps and stood in line in front of the Castle.
It was a cold, crisp evening, night was falling, and a pale, translucent moon already hung over the Forbidden Forest.
The time had also reached six o'clock, and the little Wizards began to whisper and talk.
Since they were arranged by house, and different years stood in different positions, Ethan naturally could only stand with his roommates.
"Ethan, will they use a Portkey to come later?"
"To be honest, I've never used a Portkey, and I haven't even seen one yet…"
They had waited for almost an hour, and Terry was still as energetic as ever.
"Unlikely, I've never seen a Portkey at Hogwarts."
Ethan really hadn't seen a Portkey at Hogwarts, though in the fantastic beasts and where to find them movie, there seemed to be such a scene, and the goblet of fire also seemed to count as one.
But besides that, there really didn't seem to be any others.
"Then how will they come? They can't possibly take a train, right!"
When he said this, Terry and the few Wizards nearby who heard him laughed.
Whether pure-bloods born into the Wizarding World or Muggle Wizards, they knew basic geography: Great Britain was an island separated from the European mainland by a large sea, no matter which school they came from.
Could a train run on the sea?
There weren't even tracks.
"Hogwarts has carriages pulled by Thestrals, and Beauxbatons also has corresponding Animals pulling carriages, Abraxan horses. I wonder if you know about these?"
Speaking of appearance, Abraxan horses completely outshone Thestrals.
Ethan had also ridden Abraxan horses, brought by Slytherin; they weren't exclusive to Beauxbatons, there were still some wild herds outside.
They were more stable than Thestrals, not slow, had excellent stamina, and were easier to tame.
For Wizards, they were indeed a very impressive mount.
"How do you know?"
"I know girls from Beauxbatons, do I need to tell you that too?"
That one sentence silenced the Wizards around him.
Ethan's butterfly effect hadn't reached Beauxbatons yet.
Hogwarts opened on September 1st, and Beauxbatonsalso opened. At their opening feast, the Triwizard Tournament was also mentioned, and Fleur immediately sent Ethan a message.
At the same time, Beauxbatons also began to select a portion of adult Wizards to travel to Hogwarts.
Fleur was also selected, just like in the original story.
In fact, just now, when Ethan was in the Ravenclawdormitory, checking his wizard mailbox, Fleur had messaged him that they had already mounted the Abraxan horse carriage and were on their way.
"What about Durmstrang?"
After the silence, Terry asked again.
"I don't know, I don't know any girls from Durmstrang!"
Terry fell silent again. So if there were no girls, you wouldn't know, right!
Looking at the bored Ravenclaw students around him, Ethan thought for a moment and decided to reveal a little information.
"Durmstrang, I really don't know how they're coming, but their school can teach Dark Arts; they don't have Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, they have Dark Arts Class. Of course, some forbidden ones are still not allowed, and they focus heavily on practical combat. We'll definitely be at a disadvantage in the competition."
This was also why this Triwizard Tournament didn't have any Wizard dueling events.
Otherwise, in a real fight, Cedric would most likely not be a match for Krum, and as for Harry, forget it!
When he wasn't fighting Lord Voldemort, Death Eaters, or Draco, his plot armor wouldn't be of much use.
After hearing Ethan's words, some of the Ravenclawstudents around him also fell into thought.
They also knew their own shortcomings; there hadn't been any decent Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor in recent years.
Lupin was good, and his classes were interesting, but he only taught for one year, and what he taught was mostly how to deal with Animals.
How to protect oneself from the opponent's Dark Arts in a battle with a Wizard, they really hadn't learned much useful knowledge about this.
Moody seemed to be teaching these things now, but just by looking at his teaching content, one would know what kind of nonsense it was.
"It's a pity there's an age limit, otherwise, if you went up, victory would surely be Hogwarts's," Michael sighed from the side.
Not to mention Ethan's past achievements at Hogwartsand his undisguised use of Dark Arts.
Just recently, it was reported that Ethan dealt with so many adult Wizards at the Quidditch World Cup; even a different Professor couldn't do that!
But such a strong competitor was disqualified.
Otherwise, victory would be a foregone conclusion.
"Just bypass the restrictions, haven't you learned that after all this time at Hogwarts?"
"As long as your violation isn't discovered, it's not a violation."
"At that time, no matter what their selection method is, as long as you can bypass it and find a loophole, you can naturally become Hogwarts's champion."
Chapter 248: Beauxbatons Arrives
"Find a way to cheat, and bring us along!"
Hearing the familiar voice from his side, Ethan turned his head.
"Why are you here?"
Everyone was supposed to be standing in their respective house lines now. Although they had been waiting for a while because the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang hadn't arrived yet, and things were a bit relaxed now.
But that wasn't a reason for you two Gryffindors to run over to Ravenclaw to chat, was it!
"We just saw it was lively over here!"
Fred said nonchalantly.
They just saw that the Ravenclaws were practically huddled together listening to Ethan say something, which made them incredibly curious, so they secretly slipped away from their line and came over.
"Do you really want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament?"
Ethan asked, surprisingly serious.
In the original story, the Twin wanted to participate in the Triwizard Tournament for the one thousand Galleon prize money.
Without Ethan's intervention, they would have been paupers, and their only few dozen Galleons would have been swindled by Ludo.
With only a little over a year left until graduation, they didn't have nearly enough Galleons to open their dream Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
It was for their dream that they wanted to compete in the Triwizard Tournament.
But now, what they had earned by following Ethan was far more than one thousand Galleons, and they had also made a small profit by following Ethan at the Quidditch World Cup.
Becoming extremely rich was impossible, but opening a joke shop was certainly within their means.
As a result, Ethan now had no idea if the Twin genuinely wanted to participate in the Triwizard Tournament or if they just wanted to join in the fun.
Hearing Ethan ask this, George and Fred exchanged glances.
Did they want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament? Of course they did.
At this age, who didn't want to stand out?
But was it necessary? It didn't seem so!
They weren't short on a thousand Galleons now; the reason they wanted to cheat to participate was mainly due to the atmosphere's influence.
Moreover, even if they cheated, if only one person was truly chosen, it wouldn't be either of them.
Not to mention that if there was no cheating, Ethan would 07 participate, and even without cheating, if his brothers were old enough, they probably wouldn't be able to beat Cedric.
Putting aside his research on prank products, Cedric was genuinely better than him in terms of knowledge learned at Hogwarts.
Ethan looked at the two who didn't respond and had a good idea of their thoughts.
"Unless absolutely necessary, participating in the Triwizard Tournament offers no real benefits. Of course, if you are very confident in your abilities, then that's another matter."
"The Triwizard Tournament was stopped for so many years precisely because there were often casualties during the events."
"For example, in the most recent Triwizard Tournament in 1792, the Basilisk that was supposed to be the final challenge went out of control. Not only were the Triwizard Tournament champions injured, but even the Principals of the three schools serving as judges were hurt."
This year's Triwizard Tournament truly had the potential for fatalities, and Ethan naturally didn't want the Twin to participate.
Even for Cedric, Ethan would use a Confundo to remove his name.
Since the fake Moody could use a Confundo to ensure Harry's name was selected, there was no reason why Ethan couldn't use a Confundo to remove a few names.
As for Harry, Ethan didn't plan to interfere; after all, he could cheat when facing Lord Voldemort.
"A Basilisk!"
Fred's smile stiffened slightly. Although he knew there would be some dangers in past Triwizard Tournaments, he hadn't expected to face something like a Basilisk.
This was an XXXXX-rated Animal; even though he hadn't seen one, its danger level was self-evident.
Suddenly, George remembered what Charlie had told him during the summer holidays.
"Perhaps it won't be long until we meet again."
Now Charlie had graduated, and he and Fred were studying at Hogwarts. Even if the Triwizard Tournamentwere held, he was far away in Romania and might not even have time to come and watch the competition.
Moreover, during the summer holidays, they didn't even know there would be a Triwizard Tournament.
Charlie wasn't like him and George, who enjoyed pranks; there had to be a reason for him to say that.
Considering his work at the Dragon Sanctuary, it was easy to guess.
Due to his work, he would be coming to Hogwarts this school year.
This would definitely involve bringing Dragons. Past Triwizard Tournaments required dealing with Animals, and this year's would likely be no exception. It was highly probable that one of the tasks this year would involve Dragons.
Thinking about facing a Dragon, Fred shivered involuntarily.
At that time, he was afraid of being swallowed whole by a Dragon.
He wanted to tell Ethan this news now, but there were too many people, so it wasn't appropriate.
This news was leaked by Charlie, and if it had any negative impact on him, it wouldn't be good. Fredimmediately decided to tell Ethan about this using the wizard mailbox when they returned later.
"Mr. Weasley!"
Just as Ethan was about to say something else, Professor McGonagall's icy voice came from the front.
She had just relaxed for a moment, giving the Little Wizardss behind them a chance to unwind.
Goodness, they had already run into the other house's team.
They were truly bringing her honor!
George and Fred's faces instantly froze. They didn't dare to look back and immediately scurried back to Gryffindor's spot.
The Little Wizardss around them in Ravenclaw, however, were unaffected and continued discussing past Triwizard Tournaments.
In the Ravenclaw common room's library, there were some records of Triwizard Tournaments from two or three hundred years ago, and quite a few people had read them.
The sky grew darker, and the cold wind made the Little Wizardss shiver. Many Little Wizardss also grew increasingly impatient.
"Ah! If I'm not mistaken, the Beauxbatons delegation has arrived!"
Suddenly, Dumbledore, who was standing with the other Professors, exclaimed loudly.
This immediately drew the attention of all the Little Wizardss.
"Where are the Beauxbatons people?"
The Little Wizardss asked, looking around.
A sixth-year Ravenclaw suddenly pointed to the sky above the Forbidden Forest and shouted loudly:
"Over there!"
He had just heard Ethan say that Beauxbatons was arriving by Thestral. Since he had seen Thestrals, he naturally knew they could fly, so he assumed they would come from the sky and had been watching the sky.
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing. It was an enormous object, swiftly moving across the night sky, flying towards the Castle, gradually growing larger and larger.
"It's a Dragon!"
The voice seemed to come from the Gryffindor first-years.
"Don't be silly, it's a flying house!"
Indeed, it looked like a house. As the massive, dark object swept over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, illuminated by the lights from the Castle windows, what came into view was a gigantic pale blue carriage flying towards them.
It was as large as a house, pulled through the air by twelve winged horses. They were all silver-maned, and each horse was about the size of an elephant.
Many Little Wizardss on the Ravenclaw side immediately realized that these were Thestrals; they looked much better than the other Thestrals.
Before long, the carriage flew lower, descending with incredible speed. Students standing in the front three rows quickly retreated—then, with a deafening crash, the horses' hooves landed on the ground with a thud, each the size of a dinner plate, shattering the marble floor.
The carriage, now steadily stopped, still had its wheels vibrating. The silver-white steeds shook their massive heads, their fiery red eyes darting around.
Before the Little Wizardss could gather around, the carriage door, emblazoned with two golden crossed wands, each with three stars emerging from it, opened.
A boy in light blue robes jumped out of the carriage, bent down, fumbled for something on the carriage floor, and then opened a golden spiral staircase.
After doing this, he respectfully leaped back, and everyone saw a shining black high-heeled shoe extending from the carriage. This single shoe was as large as a child's sled, followed by the appearance of a woman of truly rare size.
This immediately made the Hogwarts Little Wizardss think of Hagrid. Could this also be a half-Giant?
Otherwise, why would she be taller than Hagrid? She didn't look as muscular, but compared to an ordinary adult male, she was far superior.
And no one could withstand her; besides a Giant, probably only Hagrid could fight her.
Seeing this, Ethan once again admired Hagrid's father.
If a half-female Giant was like this, wouldn't a pure-blood be even larger? How did Hagrid's father manage that back then?
Unfortunately, no one could explain this question to Ethan.
Soon, the enormous woman fully emerged from the carriage.
She was quite attractive, with her hair combed back and tied into a shining bun at the nape of her neck. She was clad from head to foot in black satin, and expensive opals glittered at her throat and on her thick fingers.
Her attire perfectly exemplified what it meant to be a wealthy woman.
However, not everyone had the ability to partake in such a soft life.
As the female Giant approached, Dumbledore began to clap, and the students followed suit, many standing on tiptoe to get a better look at the woman.
Her face relaxed into an elegant smile, and she extended a gleaming hand, walking towards Dumbledore.
Standard French greeting etiquette, which Dumbledorenaturally knew.
However, although Dumbledore was also tall, he barely had to bend down to kiss her hand, making it less than perfectly standard.
"My dear Madam Maxime," Dumbledore said with a smile, "welcome to Hogwarts."
"Dumbledore, I hope you are well."
Madam Maxime replied in an equally deep voice.
"Very well, thank you!"
After a few more pleasantries, Madam Maxime casually waved a huge hand behind her.
"My students!"
Just now, the Little Wizardss had only been staring at Madam Maxime, after all, she was an unusual Giant like Hagrid.
Only then did they notice that about a dozen or so female students had disembarked from the carriage and were now standing behind Madam Maxime.
That's right, the rumors were true; all who came this time were girls, and the only boy was the one who had just gotten off to open the door.
From their appearance, they were all around eighteen or nineteen years old, and each was slightly trembling, clearly prioritizing style over warmth, and it was also inappropriate to cast warming spells on themselves in public.
This was not surprising; the Scottish Highlands at this time of year were quite cold in the evening, and snow was a normal occurrence. They wore only robes that seemed to be made of exquisite silk, and none of them wore cloaks.
Among these people, Ethan immediately spotted Fleur. She was secretly waving at Ethan.
Besides her, he also saw a short girl mixed in with the group.
Gabrielle, how did she get here?
Fleur hadn't mentioned it!
Gabrielle hadn't said anything either. What was going on?
Fortunately, Gabrielle didn't rush over in front of everyone, otherwise Ethan's reputation at Hogwartswould have fallen another notch.
"Has Karkaroff arrived?"
Madam Maxime asked. She had deliberately arrived a little late; after all, most of her delegation were girls, and they deserved some special treatment.
"He could arrive at any moment."
Dumbledore could only bluff.
Originally, both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were scheduled to arrive promptly at six o'clock.
Now it was almost seven, and Beauxbatons had just arrived. Durmstrang hadn't even sent a message; who knew when they would show up.
However, when Dumbledore saw the shivering Witches behind Madam Maxime, he immediately said:
"Would you prefer to wait here to greet him, or would you like to go inside and warm up first?"
"Let's warm up."
Madam Maxime quickly made her choice. Although she didn't feel the cold, her students didn't have her physique.
But she still had concerns:
"But the horses..."
Thestrals were Beauxbatons' signature, and they had to be properly arranged for.
"Don't worry about that. Our Care of Magical CreaturesProfessor will be delighted to look after them. He'll be back once he's dealt with a small problem."
For Hagrid, Dumbledore wasn't confident about other matters, but entrusting the care of Animals to him was always the right choice.
"Those horses are very spirited and strong. This..."
Madam Maxime was somewhat doubtful that the people from Hogwarts could properly care for these Thestrals. At Beauxbatons, they had dedicated personnel caring for them, and even then, injuries were frequent.
They weren't well-behaved pets; anything that needed to be done had to be clearly stated beforehand, otherwise, whether the Thestrals or the Hogwarts Care of Magical Creatures Professor got injured, it wouldn't look good for anyone.
"I assure you, Hagrid is perfectly capable of handling this task."
Dumbledore still wore a smile. Any Animal from the Forbidden Forest could completely overpower these Thestrals.
It would be a miracle if there were any problems. Besides, Hagrid's only advantages, apart from high defense, were his strength. It's hard to say who would win in a test of strength between the two.
"That's good. Oh, and these horses only drink single malt whiskey!"
Madam Maxime reminded him again.
After explaining everything, Madam Maxime led her students up the stone steps through a passage that the Hogwarts crowd had cleared for them.
Chapter 249: Karkaroff's Pride
The cold wind grew more biting. The older students were fine, as most of them knew a warming charm.
But the younger Little Wizardss, even wrapped in their Wizard robes and wearing hats, were now shivering slightly from the cold. The Professors had no choice but to cast spells on the younger Little Wizardss.
Otherwise, if a widespread cold outbreak occurred tomorrow, it wouldn't just be embarrassing in front of the incoming Durmstrang students and the newly arrived Beauxbatons girls.
Even Madam Pomfrey would be furious. If such consequences arose, Dumbledore would definitely receive a scolding.
They still hadn't arrived, making the Hogwarts students wait for one or two hours. It had to be said, their airs were truly grand.
These two, they didn't even regard Dumbledore, the highest mountain in the Wizarding World, in their eyes.
Dumbledore also bore some responsibility; if he had used a tougher approach, would these two dare to give such a show of defiance?
For example, if Lord Voldemort were the Principal of Hogwarts, would they dare to be late?
They were clearly taking advantage of the fact that Dumbledore wouldn't fuss over such matters.
In the night sky, the Little Wizardss looked up eagerly.
All around, there was an even deeper silence, with only the howling of the cold wind and the snorting and stomping of Madam Maxime's Giant horses.
Suddenly, a gurgling sound echoed in everyone's ears.
It was like the sound of bubbling water, as if something was emerging from beneath.
Many people had already reacted and immediately looked towards the Black Lake.
Since the Hogwarts teachers and students were standing on the lawn to welcome Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, they had a clear view overlooking the surface of the Black Lake from here.
At this moment, the surface of the Black Lake suddenly became restless; there was a commotion under the water in the center of the lake, huge splashes rose to the surface, and waves crashed against the wet shore.
Then, right in the center of the lake, a large whirlpool appeared, as if a Giant plug had suddenly been pulled from the bottom of the lake.
A long, dark, pole-like object slowly rose from the center of the whirlpool, capturing everyone's attention.
At first, everyone thought it was caused by the Giantsquid.
The Giant squid living in the Black Lake would break through the ice to sunbathe when the Black Lake froze every winter, and many Hogwarts students had witnessed it firsthand.
If it wanted to, it could indeed create such a large commotion.
But upon seeing the ship's mast, it was clear that this could not be the Giant squid.
"This is a mast!"
"Did Durmstrang come from underwater?"
"I don't know!"
...
Amidst the discussions of the young Wizards, the ship's sails, rigging, and deck gradually emerged, until the large ship completely rose out of the water, shimmering under the moonlight.
At the same time, the young Wizards also clearly saw the appearance of the ship; it was quite peculiar, as if it were the wreck of a sunken ship that had just been salvaged, its portholes flickering with dim, misty glows, looking like the eyes of a ghost.
After surfacing, this large ship, suspected to be a ghost ship, bobbed on the turbulent waters of the Black Lakewith a splash, and began to sail towards the shore.
A moment later, with a splash, an iron anchor was thrown into the shallow water, and then with a thud, a gangplank was laid on the lake shore.
Through the silhouettes cast by the porthole lights, it was clear that the people inside were disembarking.
Unlike Beauxbatons, which was almost entirely female, all of those who came from Durmstrang this time were male Wizards, and quite large ones at that.
However, when they got closer and walked into the light cast by the Great Hall entrance across the lawn, they realized that they only appeared large because they were all wearing a type of fur cloak with shaggy, tangled fur, which created the illusion of bulk.
The man leading them towards the Castle, however, wore a different kind of fur, silvery-white, soft and smooth, like his hair.
Igor Karkaroff, Ethan recognized him at a glance, if he had some ability.
Despite being quite cowardly, his ability was absolutely beyond reproach.
Due to being a Death Eater, after being arrested by Moody, in order to escape living with Dementors in Azkaban, he made a deal with Barty Crouch, who was then the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to identify many hidden Death Eaters.
After succeeding, he was released from prison, but he could no longer make a living in Great Britain.
No one there would tolerate him, so he could only go abroad to find a way to survive, and he even managed to become the Principal of Durmstrang.
One must know that he started anew after going abroad, yet in just over a decade, he became the Principal of one of Europe's three major magic schools; this position is coveted by many.
Don't underestimate the social status of the Principals of these three magic schools in Europe; although they have little real power, their connections and influence are absolutely top-tier.
It's just that upon his return this time, he had quite a few old acquaintances at Hogwarts!
"Dumbledore! My dear old friend, how are you?"
Karkaroff, walking up the slope, called out enthusiastically, feeling an inexplicable sense of pleasure in his heart.
When he was struggling in Great Britain, he was terrified of encountering Dumbledore; wherever Dumbledoreappeared, he would hide far away, but now Dumbledorewas appearing before him, and he had to greet him—you tell me, isn't that satisfying!
"Very well, thank you, Professor Karkaroff."
Dumbledore's expression was a bit stiff, completely different from his attitude towards Madame Maxime.
Although both of them had given him a cold shoulder, Dumbledore didn't care about such things, but he was still a little bothered by Karkaroff's identity.
He was different from Snape; Snape still had love in his heart, something more important than his own life.
Karkaroff, on the other hand, was opportunistic and a coward, not even a qualified Death Eater.
As a shrewd person, Karkaroff naturally noticed this, but he didn't care.
He stepped forward and grasped Dumbledore's hand.
"Dear old friend, Hogwarts."
But he was looking in the direction of Hogwarts; indeed, he also graduated from Hogwarts, and never expected to return one day, and as the Principal of Durmstrang.
At this moment, the young Wizards also saw his appearance: tall and thin, similar to Dumbledore, but his white hair was very short, and he had a goatee with small curls at the ends, revealing a lean chin not completely covered.
In response to Karkaroff's actions, Dumbledore did not give any reply; Dumbledore naturally saw through his intentions.
The more expression he showed, the more triumphant Karkaroff would become.
Dumbledore's coolness did not make Karkaroff feel awkward; after calling Krum over, he led his students, along with the young Wizards of Hogwarts, through the entrance hall towards the Great Hall.
However, during this process, the young Wizards on the Hogwarts side frequently looked at Krum, many still discussing something in hushed tones.
There was no helping it; Quidditch was simply too popular in this world, and many people regarded Krum as their idol.
Upon arriving at the Great Hall, the young Wizards of Hogwarts naturally returned to their respective house tables.
But the Durmstrang students were still gathered at the entrance, and the Beauxbatons students were also standing assembled in the Great Hall.
Ethan waved to Fleur and Gabrielle, signaling them to come over.
"Ethan, don't tell me the Beauxbatons girl you know is her?"
Terry looked incredulously at the person Ethan was waving to; just as Krum's appearance captivated the attention of all Quidditch enthusiasts.
Fleur's entrance also captivated the attention of all the male Wizards at Hogwarts.
"That's right, so you understand!"
"Got it!"
Terry sighed, this was for his love that ended before it even began.
There was no way around it; as a roommate, he knew Ethan's appeal to girls; if he liked them, they couldn't escape.
However, if this one didn't work out, he could still ask Ethan to introduce him to other Beauxbatons girls; he had seen several pretty ones just now.
Terry, dreaming beautiful dreams, immediately got up, but as he was leaving, he also pulled Michael and Genealong.
Suddenly, the three seats to Ethan's left became empty.
Fleur, seeing Ethan wave, also responded with a joyful wave back.
Then, with a smile, she said something to her classmates, and before long, the Beauxbatons students collectively came to the Ravenclaw long table.
Except for Fleur and Gabrielle who came and sat by Ethan, the other girls also found empty seats and sat down.
Fleur first greeted Cho Chang, who was to Ethan's right, and then began to converse quietly with Ethan.
Cho Chang also switched places with Gabrielle at this time.
So now, both of Ethan's sides were occupied by part-Veela.
"Gabrielle, how did you come?"
"Madame Maxime brought me; when she was visiting my home…"
Fleur immediately began to explain from the side; Madame Maxime was her mother's best friend, and they were also senior and junior students back then. Because both were half-bloods, they had been good friends since their student days.
Although Madame Maxime did not admit to having Giantblood, many people were well aware of it.
For this reason, as the Principal of Beauxbatons, Madame Maxime also took great care of Fleur.
When Madame Maxime visited the De la Cour family last week, Gabrielle clamored and insisted on going to Hogwarts, so her mother had no choice but to ask Madame Maxime for help.
With Madame Maxime taking care of her, there was nothing to worry about. Although the Triwizard Tournament had certain dangers, Gabrielle was not a participant; at most, she was a spectator, so there was no risk at all.
It was just that her father's face was quite unpleasant!
Ethan's actions also attracted the attention of many young Hogwarts Wizards, who were all gritting their teeth with jealousy.
Do you have to be like this? It's one thing to monopolize the high-quality ones at Hogwarts, but you don't even let go of those from other magic schools!
Meanwhile, Viktor Krum and his Durmstrangschoolmates had already taken their seats at the Slytherin table.
In response, the Slytherins were quite arrogant; quite a few had just invited Durmstrang, but they ultimately chose their side.
Draco immediately started conversing with Krum, and incidentally, gave Harry a triumphant look.
After all the students were seated, the staff also came in from outside, and took their respective seats.
Walking in last were Professor Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime; they were following Dumbledore. Filch had just added two chairs beside Dumbledore's seat.
However, as soon as Madame Maxime entered the Great Hall, the Beauxbatons students immediately stood up.
Faced with this situation, several Hogwarts students couldn't help but laugh; Hogwarts didn't have this rule.
But the Beauxbatons students did not seem embarrassed at all, and only sat down again after Madam Maxime sat down to Dumbledore's left.
At the staff table, after Karkaroff and Madame Maximehad both sat down, Dumbledore remained standing. Seeing this, the young Wizards gradually quieted down.
"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, ghosts, and especially our guests. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope and believe that you will find yourselves comfortable and happy here."
Dumbledore smiled as he looked at the foreign students below, and after scanning the room, he spoke again:
"The Tournament will officially begin at the end of the feast. I now invite everyone to eat and drink to your heart's content, as if you were in your own homes!"
As Dumbledore finished speaking, the plates in front of everyone were, as usual, piled high with food.
The House-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; the abundance surpassed even the Christmas feast, with a dazzling array of dishes laid out before everyone, including almost all European cuisines.
Ethan didn't know how well the Durmstrang side ate at this feast.
But the Beauxbatons Witches were all quite satisfied with their meal, especially the French fish soup; it wasn't even enough for them.
Meanwhile, during this mealtime, Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch filled the two empty seats next to Dumbledore.
Ludo had only received this news after the Quidditch World Cup ended, and had reported it to Ethan at that time.
At the same time, he had been selected as a judge.
As for Barty Crouch, as the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, his presence was required for such international exchanges.
The Quidditch World Cup wasn't just keeping Ludo busy; Barty Crouch was also working overtime.
It was just that their arrival didn't attract much attention!
As usual, after dessert, the golden plates were wiped clean again.
Dumbledore also stood up at this point.
A mix of excitement and tension seemed to permeate the Great Hall; Dumbledore had just said that the Triwizard Tournament would officially begin after the feast, so everyone looked at Dumbledore with nervous anticipation.