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"Weaslon, you are simply our disgrace."
Draco walked in front, muttering nonstop.
Rarely, Ron did not argue back because his name had been mangled. He honestly lowered his head and accepted the scolding.
In truth, Ron had recovered his senses not long after imitating a duck, but those quacks and movements had truly been displayed in front of everyone.
The key point was comparison.
Among the six fourth-year members of the disciplinary group, the first five had been basically unaffected. When it came to him, he had immediately started quacking.
Anyone would find that embarrassing.
"Do not be that careless next time. Remember, in battle, other people will not give you time to prepare."
Dudley patted Ron on the shoulder.
Ron's face turned bright red, and he buried his head even lower. His whole head almost shrank into his shoulders, and his neck could no longer be seen.
That day, Hogwarts professors looked extremely busy. Even during lessons, they seemed hurried. Professor McGonagall herself lost focus several times. The castle caretaker, Mr. Filch, no longer went around catching people. Instead, he carried cleaning tools and carefully wiped every floor tile inside and out as clean as possible.
Two young witches who had forgotten to wipe their shoes before entering the castle were scolded by Filch until they looked as if they had been drenched in blood.
It seemed to signal that something major was about to happen.
However, when they asked the professors, everyone uniformly kept silent.
This made the young wizards even more curious.
Following the principle that if one did not know something, one should ask Dudley, Harry and the others found him.
Sure enough, Dudley had the answer: the Triwizard Tournament would be held at Hogwarts this year.
"The Triwizard Tournament. It really is the Triwizard Tournament."
Hermione's face turned uneasy. In truth, she had faintly guessed this already.
Harry and the others were not very clear on what the Triwizard Tournament was, so they quickly asked her.
The Triwizard Tournament had been founded around seven hundred years ago. It was a friendly competition between the three largest magical schools in Europe and was held every five years.
Well, it was called a friendly competition, but in reality, its tasks carried considerable danger. One careless mistake could cost a life. The last Triwizard Tournament had been discontinued precisely because too many people had died.
At dinner time, everyone should have been sitting in the Great Hall enjoying fine food. Today, however, the professors personally led them outside the castle, arranging them into several columns by year.
The autumn wind was cold, and the young wizards of Hogwarts shivered in it. Night gradually fell. A pale, translucent moon hung above the Forbidden Forest, and stars filled the sky. The sight was beautiful.
Many young wizards from wizarding families had already heard the news from home. Only young wizards born to Muggle families were still in the dark.
"You know, I was supposed to attend Durmstrang Institute."
Draco said to Crabbe and Goyle beside him, "This is a good chance to see their ability and whether they are as... interesting as the rumors say."
Durmstrang valued education in the Dark Arts. The school did not forbid students from studying Dark Magic.
Or rather, it did not forbid it very strictly.
After all, a student had once been expelled from Durmstrang in the previous century for studying Dark Magic.
"I am more curious about Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. I heard that school is full of handsome boys and beautiful girls."
Pansy folded her arms and leaned beside her good friend Daphne.
Beauxbatons was located in a valley in France where spring seemed to last all year. Its environment was said to be extremely beautiful, not at all inferior to Hogwarts. Durmstrang, by contrast, was located in the far north and stood in bitter cold, so the young wizards who studied there were generally rougher, both in temperament and appearance.
"Ahem."
Draco cleared his throat to express dissatisfaction.
"Hogwarts has the most handsome boys."
His expression was only one step away from pointing at himself and saying, Here.
Pansy glanced sideways at him, rolled her eyes, and spread her hands.
Daphne protested at once.
"They absolutely cannot be more handsome than Mr. Dursley, and they cannot be prettier than Miss Granger."
Her words received a burst of agreement from the young Slytherins around them.
"Mr. Dursley and Miss Granger are the best."
No one noticed Astoria Greengrass hiding behind her sister and looking at Draco shyly.
Ravenclaw.
"Miss Madison, the weather is rather cold. Put on a cloak."
A young wizard spoke to Madison with a somewhat ingratiating tone.
The moment he finished, dissatisfied voices sounded around them.
"Use mine."
"No, use mine."
As the center of attention, Madison, surrounded by countless young wizards, seemed not to notice. She looked at the sky with disdain.
"Hmph. Someone annoying is coming."
Almost at the same time, Dudley also raised his head.
"Here they come."
A huge object swept across the deep blue sky at high speed and flew toward Hogwarts Castle.
A house was flying?
The young wizards cried out in surprise.
As it drew closer, everyone finally saw what it was.
It was not a house. More accurately, it was a carriage as large as a house. Twelve winged horses pulled it through the air. They were Abraxans, each roughly the size of an elephant.
True winged horses.
They had golden bodies, silver manes, and eyes like flaming jewels.
They were extremely handsome.
'Maybe these horses could pull me?'
Looking at the tall winged horses, Dudley's eyes flickered.
Winged horses might be among the few rare magical creatures the Forbidden Forest did not have.
The carriage slowly landed, and the young wizards nearby immediately made space. A golden staircase unfolded to the ground.
A shiny black high heel emerged from the carriage.
Next, the young wizards saw one of the most shocking sights of their lives. A gigantic woman stepped down from the carriage.
How big was she?
'This woman is bigger than Dudley!'
Harry's eyes nearly popped out. He had never seen such a tall woman. If he had to search his memory for someone comparable, perhaps only Hagrid could compare.
No, perhaps Hagrid was still half a head shorter.
Dumbledore stepped forward and warmly received this "giantess." His height of a little over six feet made him look like a child before her.
At least he reached above her knees.
This giant woman was the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madam Maxime.
Several dozen Beauxbatons students followed Madam Maxime down from the carriage. There were boys and girls, all around seventeen or eighteen, roughly sixth- or seventh-years by Hogwarts standards.
"Monsieur Dumbledore, has Karkaroff arrived?"
"He will be here shortly."
"I hope he will not be too late. He is already late."
Madam Maxime frowned. Clearly, she was very dissatisfied with Durmstrang's lateness. She had arrived precisely on time. Anyone later than her could only be called late.
Beauxbatons was not a girls' school, and Durmstrang was not a boys' school.
Like Hogwarts, both were coeducational.
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