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"You are entering a crucial period of your magical education!" Professor McGonagall told them, her eyes gleaming authoritatively behind her square glasses. "Your O.WLS exams are fast approaching—"
“We don’t take the O.WLs exam until fifth grade!” Steve said angrily.
"Perhaps that's true, Steve, but trust me, you need to be fully prepared for 2.9! In this class, only a few can ever turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. Well, maybe we'll also need to add a short paper on the principles of transformation."
The young wizards wisely kept quiet and didn't argue further. Why waste time complaining about something whose outcome was destined to remain unchanged?
On the other hand, Professor Binns is teaching them about the ghosts of magical history, and this week he has assigned them to write a paper on the goblin rebellion of the eighteenth century.
Professor Snape pressured them to research an antidote. They dared not be careless, for Professor Snape hinted that he would poison one of them before Christmas to see if their antidote would work.
Professor Flitwick then asked them to read three more books in preparation for learning summoning spells.
This kind of life kept the young wizards spinning like tops, constantly busy.
Only when news of the upcoming three-way competition between the other two schools spread throughout the campus did they finally escape from their seemingly endless academic life.
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Chapter 304 The Arrival of Beauxbatons
One day, when Levin and Hermione were heading to the Great Hall for dinner, they found they could no longer move forward.
A large group of students gathered at the foot of the marble staircase, looking at a large notice.
The student closest to the notice read it aloud so that Levin and Hermione could hear it clearly.
Representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive at 10 p.m. on Friday, October 30. Afternoon classes will end half an hour early.
This announcement was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.
The news quickly spread throughout the school, and everyone was talking about the two schools, speculating about how they differed from Hogwarts.
However, regardless of the comparison, most people firmly believe that Hogwarts is the best.
Students in every college eagerly hope that someone from their college will become a warrior and bring glory to the college.
After it was determined that the strongest student, Levin, would not participate in the selection, several senior students from almost every college became popular candidates.
Among them, Cedric is considered by many to be the most likely to become a Warrior.
This Hufflepuff sixth-year student has long been considered one of the best students at Hogwarts.
Levin is not included; he has already fallen out of this category.
He is gentle, friendly, and helpful. He is also a key player on the Quidditch team, the Hufflepuff prefect, and consistently ranks first in his grade. His only weakness is Cho Chang of Ravenclaw.
He's the perfect "other people's child" (or someone else's child).
In order to leave a better impression on the guests, the castle underwent a thorough cleaning.
Several portraits that previously looked dirty have now been cleaned and are looking brand new.
The figures in the painting have all changed into brand new clothes, no longer looking as tattered as before.
The fat lady of Gryffindor even learned a new song because of it.
She enthusiastically explained that this was specially prepared for the guests.
Hopefully, the young wizards who have come from afar won't be scared away by her singing.
The armor in the corridor was polished until it shone, and it no longer made that teeth-grinding creaking sound when it was in motion.
The school finally decided to give them some lubricant.
Filch became extremely irritable.
He would fly into a rage whenever he saw a student forget to wipe their shoes clean. On one occasion, he even frightened two first-grade girls so much that they had a hysterical fit.
He also suggested to the principal that a special hygiene program be implemented, requiring the participation of all young wizards.
Specific measures include:
There must be no trash in the trash cans in the break room, nothing on the table, and no clothes in the wardrobe.
Young wizards are not allowed to stay in the dormitory or lounge; they must stay in the library.
Dumbledore, of course, could not agree to such an obviously idiotic clause.
Not only Filch became impatient, but the professors at Hogwarts also seemed to be infected by some kind of magic and became much more irritable.
During a Transfiguration class, Neville Longbottom tried a Transfiguration Charm, but things went wrong, and he ended up grafting his ear onto a teacup.
This mistake enraged Professor McGonagall, who unusually spoke sternly, "Longbottom, please have mercy! Don't let the other houses see your weakness and realize that you haven't even mastered a simple conversion spell!"
"You should look at Levin! He learned this magic in his first year!"
When Hermione told Levin about it, he explained:
"This time, it's not just the warriors from the three schools competing; other schools will also bring some students and professors to attend classes with all the students at Hogwarts. So, this is not just a competition between warriors, but also a contest between several schools."
Levin's words spread quickly, and the students were in an uproar.
On October 30th, when Levin arrived at the auditorium for breakfast, he discovered that the auditorium had been completely transformed overnight.
Huge silk banners hung on the wall, each representing a house in Hogwarts.
Behind the faculty seating area hung the largest banner, featuring the school emblem composed of the representative animals of the four colleges, which stood out prominently.
That day, none of the professors lectured as usual.
They used this time to give the young wizards a detailed introduction to the other schools, while subtly hinting that they should not embarrass themselves in front of the teachers and students of those schools.
Otherwise, they wouldn't dare to guarantee what they might do.
In the evening, when the bell rang, all the students came to the door in order.
The hallway was packed with people, and the prefects from various colleges and Filch were working hard to maintain order.
"Don't crowd, line up!" Professor McGonagall shouted.
He then turned his gaze to Ron and Parvati, and sternly reprimanded them:
“Wesley, straighten your hat! And Miss Petit, you need to take that ridiculous thing off your hair.”
Ron quickly adjusted his hat, while Parvati frowned unhappily but still took a large butterfly headdress off the end of his braid.
Some people in Ravenclaw also wear outlandish costumes, with Luna being the most extravagant.
This time, as always, she was a loner, wearing a shimmering silver dress.
The dress seemed to be made of countless mirrors pieced together, like a moving rainbow, radiating colorful brilliance whenever she moved gently.
In addition, she wore a pair of very unique carrot earrings.
The two small radishes, adorned with emerald green leaves, were threaded with gold thread and gently hung on her earlobes.
Professor Flitwick was much more easygoing than Professor McGonagall, cheerfully praising her beauty.
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall ran over to Ravenclaw.
Levin thought she had finally lost her temper and made a move on Luna.
Unexpectedly, the other person grabbed Levin's wrist and pulled him to the front of the line.
“You are the finest wizard at Hogwarts, Levin,” she said, straightening the boy’s robes, “and one of the organizers of the Triwizard Tournament. You are the face of Hogwarts.”
She's treating him like a living advertisement.
But yes,
Apart from Krum, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang really couldn't find any other minor wizards whose fame could rival Levin's.
So, Zhang Qiu, the prefect, stood happily next to Levin.
She glanced at the time and said, "They should have arrived by now... How did they get here? By express train?"
“Maybe it’s a flying broomstick? No… that’s too far off.” Hermione guessed. She had also been pulled to the front row by Professor McGonagall, which was clearly a form of recognition for her. “Maybe it’s a Portkey?”
Levin shook his head. "There's no need to guess anymore, because Beauxbatons' men have already arrived."
Hermione and Cho Chang were stunned for a moment, then looked in the direction Levin was pointing and could vaguely see a black dot appearing on the horizon.
"What are those? A group of winged, hippogriff-like creatures?" Zhang Qiu squinted, trying to see clearly.
But the distance was too far, and he couldn't see clearly at all, so he could only guess.
The young wizards around them also noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky and looked up at it.
The black dot on the horizon was getting bigger and bigger. Gradually, everyone could clearly see a huge object passing through the clouds, flying lower and lower over the forbidden forest, rushing towards them!
"Oh my god, what am I seeing? A castle flying in the sky!" a first-year student screamed in astonishment.
“Fool, that’s clearly a carriage, a flying carriage!” another senior wizard retorted excitedly.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the enormous creature had already flown above them.
It was a pale blue carriage, as big as a house, adorned with many ornate decorations. A badge on the door looked like two gleaming, crossed golden magic wands.
It was pulled into the air by twelve winged, silver-maned horses, each about the size of an elephant.
These horses looked very strong, with blood-red eyes, and were pulling the carriage down quickly.
“Those are winged horses, a type of winged horse,” Levin explained to Hermione. “Speaking of 793, they are distant relatives of the Thestrals at Hogwarts.”
“I’d rather Hogwarts kept some wyverns,” Hermione complained. “At least they can see.”
A large shadow fell over the students below. The young wizards in the front row hurriedly took a few steps back to avoid being hit, but before they could stand still, the ground shook violently—a huge carriage landed less than a meter in front of them.
Then, the carriage door opened, and a boy in a light blue robe jumped down, fumbled to open a golden spiral staircase, and then a richly made-up middle-aged witch stepped out of the carriage.
When they saw her, all the students present gasped in shock, including Levin!
Because this witch was so tall, of all the people Levin had ever met, only Hagrid could rival her in height.
However, her elegant and noble temperament was something Hagrid could not match.
She was Mrs. Maxim, the headmistress of Beauxbatons.
Dumbledore walked forward, clapping, and the young wizards joined in.
He gently took the other person's hand and gave it a kiss.
Levin realized that he had initially intended to give Mrs. Maxim a hug.
However, after considering the height difference between them, he wisely chose to give up.
“Dear Madam Maxim,” he said, “welcome to Hogwarts.”