"Roronoa, you are a complete disgrace to us," Draco muttered, walking ahead.
For once, Ron didn't object to his name being mispronounced and just kept his head down, accepting the lecture.
Ron had actually come to his senses not long after he started imitating a duck, but his quacking sounds and actions had been a very real display for everyone to see.
The most embarrassing thing was that when you compared him to the others, he came up short.
Out of the six fourth-year members of the Disciplinary Committee, the first five were barely affected, but he went straight to quacking.
Anyone would be mortified by that.
"Don't be so careless next time. Remember... in a battle, no one will give you a chance to prepare." Dudley patted Ron on the shoulder.
Ron's face turned beet red, and he buried his head even lower, his neck completely disappearing as his head sank into his shoulders.
That day, the Hogwarts professors looked extremely busy. Even during class, they seemed rushed, and Professor McGonagall was even distracted a few times. The castle caretaker, Mr. Filch, wasn't catching students either; instead, he was holding cleaning tools and meticulously scrubbing every single tile as clean as he could.
Two young witches who forgot to wipe their shoes before entering the castle were scolded mercilessly by Filch.
It seemed to signal that something big was about to happen...
However, when they asked the professors, they all kept a unified silence.
This only made the young wizards and witches even more curious.
Following the principle of "if you don't know, ask Dudley," Harry and his friends found Dudley.
Sure enough, they got their answer from Dudley—the Triwizard Tournament was going to be held at Hogwarts this year.
"The Triwizard Tournament, so it's the Triwizard Tournament after all." Hermione looked startled at the news; she had had a faint suspicion herself.
Harry and the others weren't sure what the Triwizard Tournament was and immediately asked her.
The Triwizard Tournament was established about seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest magical schools in Europe, held every five years.
Well... while it was called a friendly competition, the contents were actually quite dangerous, and a moment of carelessness could be fatal. The last Triwizard Tournament had been canceled because of too many deaths.
At dinner time, everyone should have been sitting in the Great Hall enjoying the exquisite and delicious food, but today the professors personally led them outside the castle, lining them up in columns by year.
A chilly autumn wind blew, and the Hogwarts students shivered in the cold. Night gradually fell, and a pale, translucent moon hung above the Forbidden Forest, with stars filling the entire sky, looking absolutely beautiful.
Many of the students from wizarding families had already heard the news from home, while only those from Muggle families were still in the dark.
"You know, I was supposed to attend Durmstrang Institute..." Draco said to Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing next to him. "This is a good chance to see if their skills are as, well... interesting as the rumors say."
Durmstrang places a lot of emphasis on Dark Arts education and doesn't forbid students from studying them.
When they say it's not forbidden, it's just not as forbidden...
After all, in the century before last, Durmstrang had expelled a student for studying Dark Arts...
"I'm more curious about Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. I hear that school is full of handsome guys and beautiful girls."
Pansy hugged her arms and leaned against her best friend, Daphne.
Beauxbatons is located in a valley in France where it feels like spring all year round, and the environment is said to be very beautiful, not inferior to Hogwarts. Durmstrang, on the other hand, is located in a cold, northern region, so the students who attend school there are generally rougher, both in personality and appearance.
"Ahem..." Draco cleared his throat in dissatisfaction. "Hogwarts has the most handsome guys."
His expression was so obvious, he might as well have pointed at himself and said, "The handsome guy is right here."
Pansy glanced at him, rolled her eyes, and shrugged.
Pansy's best friend, Daphne, protested. "Absolutely no one can be as handsome as Mr. Dursley or as beautiful as Miss Granger."
Her words were met with a chorus of agreement from the surrounding Slytherin students.
"Mr. Dursley and Miss Granger are the best."
No one noticed Astoria Greengrass, hiding behind her sister, giving Draco a shy glance.
Ravenclaw...
"Miss Madison, it's a bit chilly. Would you like to wear a coat?" a young wizard offered, with a hint of flattery.
As soon as he said that, a chorus of dissatisfied voices immediately rang out around them.
"Use mine."
"No, use mine instead."
As the center of attention, surrounded by countless young wizards, Madison looked as if she hadn't noticed them at all, looking up at the sky with an expression of disdain. "Hmph, a despicable fellow is coming."
At almost the same time, Dudley also looked up.
"They're here."
A massive object was streaking across the deep blue sky, flying towards Hogwarts Castle.
Was that a house flying?
The students exclaimed in surprise.
As it got closer, everyone could finally make out what it was.
It wasn't a house; it was a carriage as big as a house, pulled through the air by twelve winged horses. They were all silver-maned horses, each about the size of an elephant.
True Abraxan horses...
They had a golden body, silver manes, and fiery, jewel-like eyes.
They were incredibly handsome.
'Maybe these horses can carry me?'
Dudley's eyes shimmered as he looked at the tall Abraxans.
They were probably one of the few rare magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest.
The carriage slowly landed, and the surrounding students immediately made some space. A golden spiral staircase descended to the ground.
A shiny black high-heeled shoe emerged from the carriage.
Next, the students witnessed the most shocking sight ever: a gigantic woman stepped out of the carriage.
Just how big was she?
'That woman is even bigger than Dudley!'
Harry almost popped his eyes out. He had never seen such a tall woman. If he had to find a comparison in his memory, perhaps only Hagrid could be compared to her.
No, perhaps Hagrid was half a head shorter.
Dumbledore walked forward and enthusiastically greeted the 'female giant.' His six-foot-plus height made him look like a child in front of her.
At least he was past her knees, though.
This female giant was the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madame Maxime.
Following Madame Maxime from the carriage were dozens of Beauxbatons students, both male and female, all around seventeen or eighteen years old, which would be the equivalent of a sixth or seventh year at Hogwarts.
"Mr. Dumbledore, has Karkaroff arrived?"
"He'll be here soon."
"I hope not too late. He's already late."
Madame Maxime frowned, clearly very unhappy about Durmstrang being late. She had arrived on the dot, and anyone later than her was just late.
Beauxbatons is not an all-girls' school, and Durmstrang is not an all-boys' school.
They are both co-ed, just like Hogwarts.