Unlike the "calm" professors, the young wizards were practically vibrating with excitement. The feeling of being led by Tom Riddle in such a grand display was intoxicating! Surely, they'd looked incredibly cool upon landing – infinitely more impressive than arriving in a flying carriage.
"How did that feel?" Tom Riddle asked quietly, a smile playing on his lips as he stood beside Dumbledore.
"Very good indeed!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. He could already picture Madame Maxime's expression. He now understood why other headmasters enjoyed making such elaborate entrances when visiting other schools.
Even if this was just a welcome, the thought of Hogwarts' entrance overshadowing the others filled Dumbledore with glee.
...
The enormous flying carriage touched down on the frozen surface of the Black Lake. The towering Madame Maxime emerged, followed by the students of Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Professor Dumbledore."
"Madame Maxime."
Dumbledore smiled and stepped forward to greet Madame Maxime with a kiss on the hand. "Welcome to Hogwarts!"
"..."
That old buzzard, smiling so smugly? Madame Maxime returned his smile, though it appeared strained.
At that moment, the Delacour sisters, standing behind her, smiled and winked discreetly at Tom Riddle. The headmasters were speaking, so they had to resort to subtle greetings.
The Hogwarts students, especially the young boys experiencing the pangs of first crushes, were utterly captivated by the Beauxbatons girls, particularly the Veela sisters.
Naturally, then, they noticed the Delacour sisters' clandestine greeting. Following their gaze…
No way? Professor! Are you trying to kill us all?!
The boys at Hogwarts were already miserable enough, feeling like they attended an all-boys school. Surrounded by such brilliant girls, they felt inferior and accepted their fate…
Now, he was denying them even the chance with girls from other schools!
It was truly… sob…
Actually, it wasn't just the boys at Hogwarts; the girls were equally dismayed. They already had enough competition; now, these foreign beauties wanted to compete with them too?!
"…"
Harry Potter, standing behind Tom Riddle, glanced at his lovesick classmates, then at the disturbingly charismatic Tom Riddle. Hmm… perhaps Tom Riddle truly could solve the issue of adolescent infatuation, single-handedly, at both schools.
Wait! Beauxbatons is supposed to be an all-girls school, right? They shouldn't have puppy love problems there, right?
...
The two headmasters, oblivious to their students' inner turmoil, were more concerned with, "Where are Igor and the others? Durmstrang Institute is terribly late."
As if on cue, a massive black shadow emerged from beneath the ice of the nearby Black Lake.
Bang! Bang! ...
The massive shadow repeatedly struck the ice, but it stubbornly refused to break.
The two headmasters exchanged silent glances. "..."
They both recognized the shadow's form.
This was Durmstrang's usual entrance: emerging from the depths in an enormous, shipwreck-like vessel.
But, unexpectedly, someone had frozen the lake beforehand!
"..."
Dumbledore cast a silent spell to shatter the ice.
Splash! Splash...
A massive, dark gray wooden ship, resembling an ancient shipwreck, surfaced from the lake.
Half a minute later…
"Who?! Who froze the lake?!!"
Igor Karkaroff, humiliated and feeling tricked, stormed off the boat. "Don't let me find out who it was! Otherwise…"
Karkaroff's gaze swept the crowd before settling on Tom Riddle, who was staring intently at him.
Tom Riddle raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"..."
??!
Karkaroff's legs threatened to buckle, but his survival instincts kicked in.
"Of… of course not!"
Karkaroff forced a strained smile. "The ice on this frozen lake is impressively solid; clearly, a miraculous feat only a wizard with terrifyingly powerful magic could accomplish! Even Dumbledore probably couldn't do it. The only one I can imagine… Professor Tom Riddle, you must possess such ability, right?"
He recalled writing to Tom Riddle before the Triwizard Tournament. Tom Riddle had told him not to overact and to address him as "Professor Tom" at Hogwarts.
Truth be told, if it weren't for Tom Riddle's request, he would have immediately dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness.
"This lake is frozen to perfection!... Blah, blah, blah… Professor Tom Riddle, you must have done this for… Blah, blah, blah… I am utterly impressed… Blah, blah, blah…"
It had to be said, Karkaroff's survival instincts were truly remarkable; he never repeated himself when it came to flattery.
Even Durmstrang's students had never seen their headmaster act this way. In their minds, Karkaroff was stern and quick-tempered.
Finally, Tom Riddle waved his hand dismissively. "Go on, Dumbledore is calling for you."
Hearing this, Karkaroff breathed a sigh of relief. Who could understand? I almost died right off the bat—it was too thrilling!
"Dumbledore? Oh! Professor Dumbledore!"
Immediately obeying Tom Riddle's words, Karkaroff hurried off. "I'll go then. Please, call me anytime if you need anything!"
"..."
The others were unsure what to say about Karkaroff's behavior; after all, he was a headmaster.
But then again…
Harry Potter pondered carefully, then leaned close to Malfoy and whispered, "He looked quite like Fudge just now, and Fudge is the Minister of Magic, isn't he?"
Malfoy's eyes widened slightly, and after a moment's reflection, he nodded in agreement.
...
Back to the three headmasters…
"Albus!"
"Igor!"
The two headmasters shared a strained hug.
Karkaroff's attitude towards Dumbledore was noticeably different than before.
Dumbledore had witnessed Karkaroff's behavior, but he wasn't surprised.
Karkaroff acted this way precisely because he knew Tom Riddle might actually kill him.
"Let's return to the Great Hall first, then we'll announce the Triwizard Tournament."
Dumbledore offered Karkaroff a way out, not mentioning the earlier spectacle.
On the way back to the castle, Madame Maxime addressed Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, my horses have traveled a long way and require rest."
"I understand, Madam Maxime."
Dumbledore, as if expecting this, replied, "Our gamekeeper, Hagrid, will certainly take good care of them."
...