The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

The sky was dark, night was falling, and a white, translucent moon was already hanging over the Forbidden Forest.

The black lake is as calm as a mirror. The breeze passes by, causing ripples in circles. Invisible water vapor melts into the cold and humid air, bringing with it the smell of earth and grass, which is refreshing.

Dumbledore had his hands folded in his beard, with a faint smile on his lips. Anyone who looked at him would say he was gentle, polite, and affable. Led by the principal, the staff of Hogwarts stood in a row on the shore of the Black Lake to welcome the arrival of other schools in the competition.

"Minerva," Dumbledore's lips didn't move much, but his dissatisfied murmurs were heard by several professors around him, "Can't we put the greeting place in the entrance hall, at least there won't be a cold wind blowing there?"

Professor McGonagall stared intently at the sky above the Forbidden Forest without even looking at him: "Do you think that's polite in Hogwarts?"

"No one will say that Hogwarts is rude to your face..."

Dumbledore was glanced at by Professor McGonagall, his voice gradually weakened, and after coughing, he returned to the gentle and polite appearance of the old headmaster.

Professor Sprout, who was standing nearby, wanted to remain silent and pretended not to hear anything. Professor Flitwick thought this was too blunt. He cleared his throat and asked, "Hey, where's Severus? Why didn't you see him?"

"The last period is his Potions class. He probably has some things to deal with."

"Where's Hagrid? Why haven't you seen him?"

"Oh, my prefect told me there was a little bit of trouble in Hagrid's class."

"..."

Staring at the gradually darkening venue, the eager excitement of the young wizards at Hogwarts gradually faded away. The venue was still the same as it was before, silent and peaceful, without the shadow of any strange wizards.

"It's chilly."

Loren muttered, putting his hand under the hood of the girl's magic robe, sucking in the warmth stored here, "I have been standing here for almost half an hour. I almost want to go back to the castle."

Hermione also sighed, leaned her upper body back, and leaned against Loren to relax her sore calves.

"Come on, there!"

A sixth grade student suddenly shouted, pointing his hand towards the sky above the Forbidden Forest.

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and saw a small black dot flying across the dark blue sky at high speed, flying towards the castle and gradually getting bigger and bigger. When the dark thing flew into the light range of the castle, the little wizards finally saw what it looked like and let out bursts of surprise and cheers.

"Is it a fire dragon?"

"Don't be silly, it's a house flying!"

Twelve silver-maned horses flapped their broad wings, covering a large area of ​​the sky. They were bigger than hippogriffs, and they were almost catching up with the elephants, pulling the pink-blue carriage carriage. With a heart-breaking noise, the carriage crashed to the ground.

The square carriage is covered with luxurious decorations. The plant vines are carved from silver, and the eyes of animals are filled with golden brilliance. The most eye-catching among them is the emblem printed on the door, two golden crossed wands with protrusions from the front. Three bright stars appeared.

Amidst the thumping of horse hooves, the car door opened and a shiny black high-heeled shoe stuck out.

Seamus gasped: "Oh my gosh, she's so tall."

Only one foot is longer than the entire body of many little wizards. The burly woman in black velvet poked her head out, but her face was unexpectedly handsome. Her olive face had a pair of dark and bright eyes, and her nose Pointed.

"Dear Madame Maxime."

Dumbledore came forward with a smile on his face, held the thick hand covered with luxurious opals, and kissed the back of the shining pearl hand. He raised his head and said warmly: "Welcome to Hogg Watts.”

This scene was so weird that the little wizards collectively shivered.

"Dumbledore, I hope everything is well with you." Ms. Maxim's voice was low.

"Very good, thank you."

"This is my student."

Everyone present looked at the dozen or so little wizards who came down from behind. Judging from their appearance, they were all around eighteen or nineteen years old. They were wearing clothes made of fine silk, and they were all trembling slightly in the cold wind.

They were also as curious about Hogwarts as the little wizards at Hogwarts. A dozen little wizards from Beauxbatons looked up at the thousand-year-old castle not far ahead, with awe on their faces. look.

"Karkaroff," Ms. Maxim paused, "and Fontana, are they here?"

"They will be here any minute. Would you rather wait here to greet him, or would you rather go in first and warm up?"

"It's better to keep warm, but those horses-"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teachers will be happy to look after them..."

Harry and Ron, who arrived in a hurry and were out of breath from running all the way, happened to hear the last sentence. Looking at the rune horse that was larger than an elephant, they opened their mouths in surprise and asked eagerly.

"What horse?"

"Where's Hagrid?"

Loren and Hermione, who heard the sound, turned around and saw the two of them, and moved to the side to make room.

"These are Beauxbatons' magic horses. That is Beauxbatons' principal, Madam Maxime. Hagrid is looking after the squid." Loren introduced it very completely, "Don't worry, my dear friend, You didn’t miss anything.”

Harry and Ron both rolled their eyes and squeezed into the front row to watch the fun. Ron whispered: "Look, the lady in front, she is so beautiful, isn't she?"

"I think we met her the night of the Quidditch World Cup."

"Come on, we saw a lot of wizards that night."

"..."

Watching Professor McGonagall leading the Beauxbatons teachers and students into the castle, the place became silent again, with only the sounds of the rune horses snorting and stamping their hooves.

Hermione suddenly asked: "Did you hear anything?"

Before he finished speaking, a suppressed rumbling and sucking sound gradually approached. The sound seemed to come from underground, causing ripples to appear in the black lake. The ripples gradually turned into water splashes and waves, causing the lake surface to tremble endlessly until it reached the center of the lake. Suddenly a large whirlpool appeared.

A black mast rose from the center of the whirlpool. Slowly, an extraordinary large ship rose out of the water. The iron shell covering the whole body was covered with decayed black stains. Only the portholes shone with a misty light. , like the eyes of a ghost.

As the anchor settled and the bridge was erected, the little wizards finally saw the principal of Durmstrang. He was a tall and thin man with short gray hair and a goatee with curls at the end. Revealing a thin chin.

"Dumbledore! My dear old fellow, how are you?"

Karkaroff's voice was high-pitched but not harsh. Instead, it had a mellow and sweet feeling. He shouted to Dumbledore from a long distance away. But when they got closer, the little wizards realized that although he was smiling, his eyes were full of indifference.

"Dear old Hogwarts, it's so good to be here, so good -"

"Duwu——"

"Duwu——"

His voice was interrupted by the sound of whistles one after another. A large vehicle with a simple appearance and bright yellow color gradually approached from the distant hills. The heavy front of the off-road vehicle and the square body of the bus have sharp and angular lines, tough and square.

There is a yellow sign hanging on the top of the driver's window, with the words "School Bus" clearly written on it.

The bright yellow school bus went over the mountains and ridges, and kept rushing into the woods and rocks, but it did not hit anything. The branches and stones automatically jumped out of the way when the school bus drove by, and returned to their original positions when the school bus passed by. .

There was actually a tall and strong oak tree that had no time to jump out of the way. When the school bus was about to hit it, it suddenly flashed and passed through the obstacle... A group of young wizards watched dumbfoundedly as the school bus passed through the hills and woods and came to the crowd. before.

The little wizard looking out of the car window met the eyes of the little wizards waiting at the venue, with the same curiosity and surprise flashing in their eyes.

There was a dull sound of brakes, the school bus stopped, and a red stop sign popped up on the side.

A middle-aged man with a friendly face got out of the car, wearing a black windbreaker and a golden Goldie knot on his chest. Gilbert Fontana looked around, and when he saw Dumbledore, his face showed a smile. Warm smile: "Mr. Dumbledore, long time no see!"

"Fontana, we just met during the summer vacation." Dumbledore shook his hand and turned to introduce, "This is Principal Karkaroff of Durmstrang, I think you have already met him. "

"Yes, it was Principal Karkaroff who invited us to participate in the competition. Thank you very much."

"Don't say that, it was Ms. Maxim's idea too."

"..."

The little wizards are not interested in the pleasantries of adults. They are even more interested in two popular means of transportation - a giant ship that can travel across the ocean and travel underwater, and a school bus that travels across mountains and ridges.

"I really want to go up and sit there..." George read out the thoughts of many little wizards.

When looking at these two things, I also saw students from Ilvermorny and Durmstrang.

The little wizards of Ilvermorny were dressed in blue and raspberry robes, with the same kind of knot tied on their chests, but some tied it crookedly, while others tied it in a neat triangle intersecting shape.

"Goldie's Knot." Hermione introduced in a low voice, "It is said to be in memory of the founder of Ilvermorny, Ms. Aesop Seal."

The little Durmstrang wizards on the side looked very big because they were wearing thick fur cloaks.

Seeing the eye-catching hooked nose and two thick, black eyebrows, Harry and Ron widened their eyes in unison and exclaimed in unison: "It's Krum!"

…

The feast is in full swing.

Loren happily enjoyed the new French cuisine that appeared on the table, beef bourguignon, scallops St. Jacques, foie gras, French baked escargots...

Although the house elves at Hogwarts are skilled in cooking and can make even British cuisine delicious, there are gaps in some things from the beginning that even their craftsmanship cannot make up for.

Hermione sipped the French fish soup, but her mind was obviously not on the food. Her beautiful brown eyes were staring directly at the two unfamiliar faces at the guest table, Ludo Bagman and Barty. · Crouch.

"Loren, do you think Mr. Barty Crouch's face is too pale?" Hermione asked hesitantly. Before he could speak, she shook her head and started asking herself, "Maybe he has a cold. , the temperature has started to cool down recently, doesn’t Krum also have a cold..."

Loren nodded.

Five new seats were added to the guest of honor table. The principals of the three schools, Ludo Bagman from the Sports Department, and Barty Crouch from the Department of International Magical Affairs Cooperation, had a great time chatting with Dumbledore, and raised their eyebrows from time to time. Drink from the cup.

"Principal Fontana." Crouch raised his glass and touched it with Fontana. His smile was light but polite. "Ilvermorny brings the most students. It's hard to take care of you alone. Why don't you bring more students?" A professor?”

Fontana took a sip of red wine, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Forget it, a professor who just arrived last semester left without saying a word. The school is short of manpower."

"Left suddenly?" Crouch asked doubtfully, "Could it be that the new professor didn't know enough and felt that he was not qualified for the teaching position, so he resigned voluntarily?"

Fontana shook his head: "That professor is very knowledgeable and knows a lot about No-Majs. Except for his somewhat extreme teaching philosophy, everything else is very good..."

Crouch glanced at Dumbledore, and the smile on his face broadened.

The principal sat at the guest seat, and the little wizards from the three schools sat at the four academy tables.

Durmstrang's little wizards were chatting happily with the Slytherin students, and the presence of Viktor Krum made the Slytherins even more eager.

The young wizards of Beauxbatons sat on the long Ravenclaw table. The Beauxbatons girl at the head shone in the candlelight, with long silver hair like a waterfall hanging down to her waist, and her slender waist was gracefully curved. , a pair of big blue eyes that make people unable to take their eyes away.

Ron turned his head with difficulty, his face flushed with excitement: "Hey, I obviously wanted to see Krum, but I unknowingly stared at that girl. That girl is really extraordinary!"

Harry was silent for a moment: "Have you ever thought that it's not the girl's problem, it's your problem."

There were more people coming to Ilvermorny, and they were divided into two groups, one group sat in Hufflepuff, and the other group sat in Gryffindor.

"The Horned Water Snake House likes reading and studying, the Thunderbird House likes adventure, and the Goblin House cultivates kind-hearted people... This sounds like our Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff!"

A group of young Gryffindor wizards enthusiastically surrounded several Ilvermorny students. Lee Jordan excitedly waved his fork and looked at the boy wearing a blue robe beside him: "What about you? What college is it, Graves?”

The young wizard named Graves smiled and said, "Cat Leopard Academy advocates power. Which academy in your school is it similar to?"

Lee Jordan's smile froze, as if he couldn't speak: "S-Slytherin..."

"Stop teasing him, Graves."

The little witch named Bute chuckled softly: "The strength that Cat Leopard Academy advocates is not just power, but also physical strength. The most important thing is that Cat Leopard Academy advocates warriors who maintain peace. Li, this is like You Hufflepuff meets Gryffindor."

Lee Jordan breathed a sigh of relief, and the little wizards around him also smiled again.