Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 163 Visitors from Afar

"You want us to walk around the school wearing this badge that says 'vomit'?" Ron looked at Hermione incredulously, as if she were a troll.

"I'll say it again, it's SPEW!" Hermione's voice was filled with barely concealed anger.

"Okay, okay! It's SPEW!" Ron said weakly, but still showed no intention of wearing the badge.

Hermione ignored him and continued to explain the association's purpose and goals.

"Then why don't you ask Thea to join this association too?" Ron suddenly asked from the side.

Hermione pursed her lips, and after a long pause, she said, "Her schedule is very full, she hardly has any free time, plus she has to go to Professor Moody's for tutoring..."

"So you're planning to start with us?"

Ron raised his voice, as if he had finally found a weakness in his fight with Hermione.

"I didn't!" Hermione's eyes reddened with anger, but she still stubbornly insisted.

For a moment, no one spoke, until Hedwig's arrival broke the awkward silence.

After Harry finished reading Sirius's letter aloud, Ron excused himself and left the common room early, saying he wanted to rest.

Hermione... are you alright?

Harry's joy at the prospect of his godfather's return was somewhat dampened by Hermione's red eyes.

"...It's okay, Harry, I'm tired, I'm going upstairs too!"

After saying that, Hermione ran straight to the girls' dormitory as if she were fleeing.

"Sigh!" Harry sighed, then climbed the steps to his dormitory with a gloomy expression.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

When everyone started complaining about the amount of homework, almost all the professors gave this answer: "Your OWL exam is just around the corner—"

Even Professor Snape threatened to poison them and make them brew the antidote themselves.

Just when everyone was worried that Snape would poison them, a notice arrived that immediately cheered them up.

"Representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 30th. Afternoon classes will end half an hour early—"

Some of the young wizards couldn't help but cheer, thanking them for escaping a terrible Potions class.

“…Gella?” Thea looked at the girl beside her with a puzzled expression. “You don’t look well. Did you not sleep well last night?”

Gella quickly snapped out of her daze and said in a relaxed tone, "Yeah, I had so much Transfiguration homework. I stayed up late last night."

Didn't you finish the paper that Professor McGonagall assigned you at the library the day before yesterday with Draco and the others?

Thea felt a slight pang in her heart, but still went along with what the other person said, "You're lucky. I remember you have Professor McGonagall's class this afternoon, right?"

“Yes, the first period this afternoon!” Gellar said casually, without giving anything away.

After returning to her dormitory that evening, Thea took out some stationery and planned to write a letter to her Uncle Lucius.

"Dear Uncle Lucius:

I would like to ask you to help me look up Gella Rozier's background before she transferred schools, including her family situation, her friends, and the reasons for her transfer.

I hope you can reply as soon as possible.

Dorothea Black.

Thea put down her quill and stared at the still-wet ink on the letter.

It wasn't that she was being paranoid, but rather that Gella's attitude toward the Triwizard Tournament, or perhaps toward Durmstrang, was unusually strange. Coupled with her unique experiences, this made Thea pay extra attention to her actions, especially any unusual ones.

With that in mind, Thea quickly sealed the package and prepared to mail it the next day.

-

October 30th arrived quickly, and Professor Snape's already gloomy face grew even more so because the last class in the afternoon ended half an hour early.

Under Professor Snape's death ray, Slytherin appeared unusually quiet compared to the excitement and commotion of the other three houses, each afraid of being the one to run into the line of fire.

"I heard Krum is coming too, did you know?"

While Snape was wandering around Gryffindor, Daphne, anticipating that he wouldn't be back anytime soon, quietly approached Thea and said...

"Maybe, but he's still in school?"

Thea was somewhat surprised, after all, the other person's appearance... was exceptionally mature.

"Of course! He's only 18! Perfect age to participate in the competition!"

Daphne slapped Thea's shoulder excitedly, "And he's from Durmstrang!"

Draco chimed in, "My dad originally wanted me to go to Durmstrang, but my mom didn't want that; she wanted me to go to a school closer to home..."

Seeing the smug look on the young master's face, Thea, though not understanding, still skillfully soothed him, saying, "Indeed, Aunt Cici can't bear to let you go to such a far place..."

As time passed, the young wizards' patience gradually wore thin. Just then, Dumbledore's voice suddenly rang out: "Ah—if I'm not mistaken, the representatives of Beauxbatons have arrived!"

"Where? Where?" Many anxious voices rang out from the crowd. The young wizards looked around until a sixth-grade student pointed to the distant horizon and shouted, "Look there!"

Everyone followed the direction he was pointing and saw a colossal creature flying over the Forbidden Forest. It was a huge, light blue carriage drawn by twelve winged horses, each as large as an elephant.

"Oh!"

After a deafening roar, the car door was opened.

A boy in a light blue robe jumped off the carriage, bent down, groped around on the floor, and then opened a golden spiral staircase.

He respectfully stepped aside, and a gleaming black high heel—as big as a child's sled—emerged from the carriage, followed closely by a woman.

The woman was dressed from head to toe in a black satin gown, and her neck and large fingers were adorned with many exquisite opals, the gems of which, like her dress, were not of ordinary size. Dumbledore began to clap, and the students joined in.

She walked toward Dumbledore with a composed and graceful smile, and Dumbledore straightened up and kissed her hand: "Dear Mrs. Maxim, welcome to Hogwarts."

After the pleasantries, Dumbledore ushered Beauxbatons' students inside, and soon Durmstrang's students arrived as well.

The first thing everyone saw was a long, dark bar-like object slowly rising from the center of the vortex.

Then, a large ship, which looked as if it had just been salvaged, rose out of the water.

"Snapped!"

A wooden plank was laid on the lake shore, and the people on the boat gradually disembarked.

Soon after, as they approached the group, the man leading them, dressed in a fur different from the others, greeted Dumbledore warmly:

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

“Excellent, thank you, Professor Karkaroff.”

Dumbledore returned the handshake.

After exchanging pleasantries, Karkaroff called out the name of a student behind him, "Viktor, come here... You don't mind, do you, Dumbledore? Viktor has a bit of a cold..."

Almost all the young wizards had their eyes glued to that tall and strong figure.

That's—Krum!