บท 471: Chapter 470 "Uninvited Grindelwald"

It was Gellert Grindelwald.

The old man stepped firmly on the grass with his hands behind his back. He greeted everyone happily.

Sean's eyes widened for a moment. Isn't he still under the invisibility cloak on his island?

Moreover, the current principal of Nurmengard is Vinda Rosier. Although external factors caused the change of the principal, the principal position has changed.

However, Sean immediately thought that Grindelwald, as the chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards, was unable to be present in person for several reasons. So, his followers often took the Polyjuice Potion to impersonate him temporarily, and Sean has done this before.

The Grindelwald in front of him should not be the real him.

Nurmengard's shocking appearance stunned the Hogwarts students for a moment, and it wasn't until Dumbledore walked forward that they applauded.

"Oh, Albus, my old friend." Grindelwald had a happy smile on his face.

"Gellert, I thought you wouldn't come." Dumbledore also greeted him with a smile.

Sean watched them from behind, and it felt unreal for a while. Since that night in Paris, Grindelwald and Dumbledore have almost broken up. Grindelwald was extremely dissatisfied with the fact that Dumbledore didn't trust him but went to cooperate with the Returners.

Dumbledore also seems to have a source of distrust toward Grindelwald: the terrible truth hidden behind the Blood Pact. Sean cannot figure out how to resolve the grievances and hatred between the two.

When the two greeted each other, Sean didn't know how to describe his mood for a while. However, it was this greeting that made Sean sure that the Grindelwald in front of him was not the real one.

The world's gaze still needs to be concealed. Grindelwald will not walk out of the island carelessly, and Grindelwald greets Dumbledore enthusiastically but in a different way.

Only people who are very familiar with him, like Sean or Dumbledore, can notice it. Another person who could also detect it was Nurmengard's current principal, Vinda Rosier.

"Professor Rosier, long time no see. How are you?" Dumbledore greeted equally warmly.

Rosier smiled back, "Very good. Thank you for your concern, Professor Dumbledore."

"I didn't know you would come." Dumbledore raised his doubts in a timely manner. It seemed that he didn't know that Grindelwald would come.

Rosier smiled and explained, "He thinks that such a grand event as the Quadwizard Tournament is not only a matter of each school and the Ministry of Magic of each country, but also the International Confederation of Wizards should pay more attention. In fact, he is the chief referee."

Dumbledore laughed, "Gellert, the temporary change of personnel caught me off guard."

"Albus, the Quadwizard Tournament is important. As the newly appointed chairman, I have to take care of it. It won't trouble you much, right?"

"Of course not, Gellert."

"That's good, but I still have to apologize. As the chief referee, I shouldn't be on Nurmengard's team. After all, I am the former principal of Nurmengard. I hope you can forgive my selfishness. But don't worry, I will judge fairly."

"Of course, it's not something I have to worry about. Let's welcome the Nurmengard school."

After the simple exchange of greetings, under Rosier's gesture, Nurmengard's students stepped forward. It was still the same as what he had seen before: everyone stood upright, and the high-necked windbreakers and standard boots were meticulous.

Sean tilted his head and looked over, just in time to meet the eyes of a chubby boy. It was Hugo, one of the original members of the Golden Dawn and Sean's suspected candidate for Gluttony.

Except for the usual contact with the Golden Dawn mark, he and several members of the Golden Dawn in Nurmengard have never met. After a few years, Hugo has completely grown bigger.

Hugo also saw Sean, who still maintained his straight posture. Although his figure looked a little weird, he blinked quietly at Sean as a greeting.

Sean smiled and waved his hands and saw other members of the Golden Dawn. Ian, a master of distraction who likes top hats and playing cards, is used to blinking frequently, but after seeing Sean, his eyes blinked faster. He seemed to be expressing his excitement in this way.

Minsk, who comes from a family of Russian brokers, is now in the sixth grade. She put on a pair of glasses and looked confident. Another one was Patricia is also on the line, this girl is quite aggressive. After seeing Sean, she boldly threw him a wink.

Sean smiled helplessly and waved his hands. He has always had nothing to do with Patricia.

In addition to the members of the Golden Dawn, Sean also met several familiar faces, including Daniels, the president of the Nurmengard Student Union, who recruited students with Sean during the summer vacation. Standing right in front, Daniels seems to be a popular candidate for the Nurmengard delegate this time.

All the students from the three schools arrived at Hogwarts, and the welcome party was about to start. The Hogwarts students all returned to the Great Hall to discuss what they had seen and heard, while the guests who came from afar needed to make some preparations.

After half an hour of talk, Dumbledore tapped his wine glass lightly.

"Everyone."

When there was no sound in the Hall, he clapped his hands lightly, "Let us welcome guests from afar."

Dumbledore yelled, "Beauxbatons!"

The door of the Hall opened, and Beauxbaton's students, who put on their uniforms, entered in a line. Whether it was the boys or girls, they all had confident looks and smiles on their faces. Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle, danced lightly and came to the front.

Accompanied by the dance, each of Beauxbaton's students walked forward in small steps, and silver butterflies flew out of their uniforms and gathered in front of Gabrielle. There was a silver light flying around, when everyone reached their positions, Grabrielle's jump caused the silver light to explode, and Beauxbaton's school badge appeared in midair.

Cheers and applause can be heard. Dumbledore continued to shout, "Durmstrang!"

The sound of canes tapping the ground was the first signal of Durmstrang's appearance. They were wearing fur coats with their chests open, and each was looking straight ahead. While walking toward the Hall, they struck the ground with a rhythm similar to a war dance.

The canes create sparks on the floor, and the huge sense of oppression is a greeting from Durmstrang. They walk forward with low grunts and stand still abruptly. A student takes out his wand and raises it to his lips. The flames spiral up into the air, severely burning Beauxbaton's school badge, and the badge belonging to Durmstrang dances violently in the air.

"Numengard!"

There was no sound, no movement. The Nurmengard students walked in two rows. Their movements were in unison, except for the sound of boots hitting the ground; there was no other movement, and they showed an imposing manner.

As they walked forward. Everyone present could feel that a huge magic power was rapidly forming in the Hall. The Durmstrang's badge trembles.

A voice can be heard, and the flame badge in midair wailed and dissipated, but the flame did not disappear but was absorbed. Then, something suddenly exploded. The flame was endowed with new magic, turned into a golden-red fireball, hit the wall, and spun rapidly.

Golden-red flames surrounded the entire Hall. Daniels walked out of the line, raised his wand, and waved lightly. The golden-red flames that illuminated the entire Hall were split into two pieces. The roar of the dragon and the cry of the phoenix sounded together, and the golden-red flame quickly returned to its place.

The symbol of the Deathly Hallows emerged, surrounded by fire dragons and phoenixes.

Dumbledore clapped his hands.

"Students of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Nurmengard, welcome to Hogwarts!"

There was thunderous applause.

"Ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and especially honored guests," said Dumbledore, looking at the students with a smile, "it is with great joy that I welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope that you will be comfortable and happy here."

"The Tournament will officially begin at the end of the dinner," said Dumbledore. "I invite you all to enjoy the food as much as you like in your own home."

Dumbledore sat down, surrounded by Grindelwald and Karkaroff. Sean saw that Karkaroff seemed to want to go up and talk, but when Grindelwald made a move, he didn't seem to dare to do anything. Beside the teacher's table, there were still two empty chairs, as if they were waiting for someone to come in.

"Interesting..." Sean chuckled lightly.

A mountain of food appeared on the plate, and the students all ate it up. Halfway through the meal, the atmosphere in the Hall became lively, with students from other schools rushing around to talk and discuss from time to time.

"Hey, Sean, did you see that pair of sisters?" Fred and George came together at some point.

Sean raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, what's wrong with him?"

Fred gave a grin, "The boys are all obsessed with it, especially our brother."

Sean looked in the direction Fred was pointing at, and sure enough, Ron was looking at Fleur obsessively.

"What a stupid boy," George sneered, "I've asked about it. The older one is Fleur Delacour, and the younger one is her sister, Gabrielle. Both of them have Veela bloodlines."

"Obviously, but aren't you two also obsessed?" Sean teased.

The twin gave him a surprised look as if Sean had said something terrible.

"Don't be stupid. Although Beauxbatons has beautiful women, Durmstrang has Krum, Viktor Krum!"

"I see." Shawn shrugged. He knew that Quidditch fanatics like them were more interested in him.

Hermione frowned, "It's a bit weird; I read the introduction of the Bulgarian Quidditch national team that Krum is indeed a good Seeker. But according to the official information, he should have graduated."

"Oh? Krum is now an eighth grader?" Sean asked curiously.

"According to the information, it seems so."

"Huh." Sean looked at Krum and then at Fleur, so according to Hermione, should Fleur also be an "eighth grader"?

The two who were supposed to graduate participated in this competition as current students. It seems that Beauxbaton and Durmstrang are pushing it a little bit.

He doesn't know how Dumbledore and Rosier agreed to this matter.

Fred suddenly shouted, "Look, is that person from the Ministry of Magic?"

Sean heard the words and looked. A man and a woman came in one after the other, and Dumbledore stood up and greeted them. During the period, Grindelwald turned his head, and Sean saw that the two people from the Ministry of Magic had obvious doubtful movements.

Sean secretly smiled.

When the dinner was over, Dumbledore stood up.

"Please allow me to introduce two new guests to you: Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic." The woman with a stern face stood up and nodded.

"This is Ludovic Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports in the Ministry of Magic."

Mr. Bagman received much better applause than Ms. Bones. Thanks to Umbridge, Hogwarts students are not impressed with the Ministry of Magic these days.

Under Dumbledore's signal, Filch carried a box forward.

"As you already know, there will be twelve students participating in the tournament," Dumbledore continued calmly. Three of them will represent a school. We will grade them according to the quality of each stage they complete. At the end of each stage, the team with the highest score wins. The one who will select the delegates is the Goblet of Fire."

Having said this, Dumbledore drew out his wand and tapped three times on the lid of the box. The lid creaked slowly open. He reached in and pulled out a large goblet. The goblet itself was unique. It was filled with dancing blue and white flames.