war and peace

On the morning of October 10, when they went downstairs for breakfast, they found that the auditorium had been newly decorated.On both walls hung huge silk banners depicting the coats of arms of the various colleges.Above the teacher's desk hung the largest banner with the Hogwarts coat of arms on it.

That day, almost no one was paying attention to the class, and everyone was thinking about the possible appearance of the students from the other two schools whom they had never met, and how they would get to Hogwarts.The last class on Friday was Potions class, and Professor Snape finished class half an hour earlier without hesitation, as if he couldn't wait.Of course, Harry thought he didn't want to see Voldemort sitting with him.

Before dinner, Professor McGonagall led the Gryffindor students out of the auditorium, walked down the steps, and stood in line in front of the castle.Students from the other three colleges were also waiting aside led by their deans.The moon had already risen, shining on the crowd trembling with excitement below.

"I heard that the principal of Durmstrang has changed?" Harry did not participate in the discussion of his classmates about the other two schools, but turned to Tom to confirm.

The dark-haired boy glanced at him. "What?" When did his boy care about such things?

"He's a Lestrange, if I remember correctly? I don't care how he reacts when he sees you," Harry said quickly, lowering his voice, "during his stay at Hogwarts, I just hope he can pretend he didn't see me and you, okay?" He'd seen how the Death Eaters treated Voldemort—if Durmstrang's headmaster had kissed him and Tom or bowed when he landed. If so, it is estimated that it will become the headline of the "Daily Prophet" tomorrow.Slytherins are trouble enough...

Tom couldn't help laughing, he knew what the boy meant in the middle of hearing it. "But you have to get used to it," he said deliberately slowly, "this is a gradual process..."

"We'll talk about that later! It's definitely not now!" Harry was a little anxious, he had already seen a large black shadow flying towards them from above the Forbidden Forest in the distance.Put it off for a while, and he can always think of a way to deal with it in the future.

Tom raised an eyebrow, satisfied that Harry's eyes filled with his reflection. "Well then..."

Beauxbaton's carriage landed with an earth-shattering bang, firmly attracting everyone's attention.Madame Maxime and her students got out of the car, and Dumbledore stepped forward to meet them.Harry heard several people gasping for air, probably shocked by Madame Maxime's bulk.They exchanged a few words, and then Madame Maxime led the shivering girls into the castle.

Not long after, the black lake stirred up waves more than ten feet high, and there was a deep and large eddy—the representative of Durmstrang also arrived.They all wore thick fur cloaks and filed up the slope in the light cast by the castle vestibule.

"Dumbledore!" The leading man shouted enthusiastically, "old man, long time no see, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you, Professor Lestrange," Dumbledore replied.

Labastan Lestrange, like his brother, had thick, dark brown curly hair, and was not tall, but thinner.Harry noticed that he greeted Dumbledore with a wide smile on his face, but nothing in his eyes.As for Dumbledore, his glasses were so reflective that Harry couldn't see his eyes clearly.

A group of Durmstrang made their way to the front of the castle.Harry saw Labastan Lestrange's eyes wandering through the crowd, and finally fell on Tom.Great, just what he wanted...Harry thought, Professor Roald wasn't out, maybe it would be a distraction... He or they could have another headline soon...

Lestrange quickly looked away, however, and turned sideways, leading the students behind him out of the wind (Harry felt as though he were staring at Snape in the process), and continued Say hello to Dumbledore.Harry breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that Tom didn't move, just blinked very slowly.

The crowd behind them suddenly began to commotion.Many people were pointing and pointing, mixed with excited discussions.Harry turned his face back to Durmstrang's and found himself facing a familiar face.

Neville next to him pulled Harry's arm hard: "Harry—it's Krum! He's greeting you!"

What he said was true.The owner of that face saw Harry, his thick black eyebrows relaxed, and nodded at him.Harry smiled back reflexively.Although newspapers and magazines reported him overwhelmingly after the Quidditch World Cup, and the reactions of Hogwarts students were sensational, he always felt a little unreal; but at this moment, Krum's initiative Well, let him finally understand his true state now.

The atmosphere suddenly became heated, and the eyes of the Hogwarts students seemed to be glued to Viktor Krum.On his way through the foyer and into the Great Hall, Harry saw quite a few people frantically looking for quills.When he and Tom walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down, many people were still looking up at the Durmstrang representatives standing at the door of the Great Hall, looking for a seat.

"Flattered, huh?" Tom asked him coldly.

Harry froze for a moment, then realized what he was talking about. "No, I just realized it..." After he explained, seeing Tom's half-smile expression, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth: "Aren't you even jealous of this, huh?"

Tom snorted disapprovingly: "You smiled at him..."

Harry was about to say something, but the people around him started screaming again.Displeased, he turned his head to see what was going on, only to find that Krum had sat on the other side of him.He hurriedly turned his head to look at Tom, only to see that the black-haired boy had already looked away.Hermione, sitting across from him, gave Harry a helpless look when she saw this situation.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Viktor Krum." A hand was stretched out in front of Harry, and Krum's voice was hoarse, as if he had a cold.

Harry also stretched out his hand, "Hello, Harry Potter... Well, you can call me Harry." He smiled kindly, and at the same time felt Krum's hand in the jaws of his mouth. There is a thin cocoon rubbed out with a broom, and he has an immediate feeling of intimacy for him.

Krum also smiled, showing his white teeth: "You can also call me Viktor. Well...you are not what I imagined..." He seemed a little shy.

"Not like a savior? Or not like a Chaser?" Harry said. "You don't look like a world-renowned star either!"

The two looked at each other, and both felt that their estimates of each other were too conservative, and their smiles grew wider.

Dumbledore had already begun his welcome speech, with Lestrange and Madame Maxime sitting on either side of him.Harry noticed that Lestrange did not sit next to Dumbledore, but left an empty seat.He was sitting next to Professor Roald in a strange posture, with his head half bowed, his back straight, but trembling, as if he was sitting on a chair with only half his buttocks.

Soon, the banquet began, and the table was suddenly full of food.Harry scooped himself a bowl of bouillabaisse, and another bowl, which he kept next to Tom.Hermione gave him a knowing smile and took the spoon from Harry's hand.Tom looked at his bowl, and still said nothing, but began to drink his soup slowly.Krum on the other side was a little strange, but he covered them up politely.

About 10 minutes into the banquet, two more people came in at the door of the auditorium, which explained why there were still two vacant seats in the teacher's seat.Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch—Harry squinted, and Crouch looked very good, with a healthy, full complexion and a brush-brushed beard.It doesn't look like his son's death left much of a mark on him, does it?Maybe you will breathe a sigh of relief and have a better life...

Just at this moment, a voice rang out: "Excuse me, do you still eat this dish of miscellaneous fish soup?"

Harry and Krum turned their heads together.Harry remembered the episode, and he'd seen Fleur too, so the long silver hair and blue eyes didn't surprise him.But Ron, who was diagonally opposite, was different. He blushed and stared straight at her.

"Okay, here you go," said Harry, handing her the plate.As he turned, he noticed that Hermione was still preoccupied with the creme brulee in front of her, not paying attention to his side.

"Thank you." Furong paused suddenly.She stared at Harry's face as if she finally recognized who he was.And Viktor Krum has turned back to continue eating his dinner, but his chiseled profile is still very obvious.Fleur came back to her senses and thanked again: "Thank you, Ali Potter." Then she gave Harry a sweet smile, and carefully carried the tray back to Ravenclaw's table.

Harry unconsciously touched his face.He turned and looked carefully at Tom's face again.He looks the same as usual, but it's impossible...

At this time, the second dessert was served, and Krum didn't seem to be very interested in them.He put down his knife and fork and began to question Harry. "Actually, I've always wanted to ask you a question, um... Harry."

"Huh?" Harry had to take his attention off Tom a bit, he had a good impression of Krum.

"I've seen all the World Cup matches you've played in..." said Krum, his dark eyes a mixture of excitement and confusion, "seems like you're always going to spot the Snitch the first time—" Harry thought Say something, and Krum gestured to indicate that he hadn't finished, "My own feeling in the final also confirmed this point - when I did the Ronski fake move, although you followed me, you were early. Did you realize it wasn't true?"

It turned out that his mind had been seen, Harry thought. "I thought I was pretending pretty well?" he had to admit helplessly.

"Because your braking time is too timely, almost the same as mine... I felt that my every move was within your expectations. And your speed is faster than mine, which can be clearly seen later... ..." Krum said a little regretfully.After all, he lost the game, regret is for sure.

Harry had to admit that Krum was worthy of being a world-class Seeker.It was difficult for him to guarantee that if he hadn't watched the previous Quidditch World Cup final between Bulgaria and Ireland, he would still be able to do so with ease.And Krum said everything was right, his judgment on the situation of the game and the ability of the opponent was very timely and accurate.

"But to be honest, I'm convinced that I lost." Krum's tone was very sincere, "I hope I can still compete with you..."

"Me too, and you're nice too—you're too humble." Harry fidgeted a little, his old feeling of cheating resurfacing.His eyes fell to the corner of the auditorium, where Filch, the porter, was standing waiting.

"Maybe there will be a chance soon," Harry said, quickly suppressing the embarrassment in his heart, looking at the box in the shadows. "Triwizard Tournament..." No matter what, he was determined to win the trophy.He'd already written to Sirius, and now he needed a little fact to corroborate what he said.

When everyone had eaten and drunk, Dumbledore stood up.He introduced the two Ministry officials first, and then asked Filch to bring up the large jeweled case.The auditorium was silent, and everyone was staring at the teacher's seat.Dumbledore took out the wooden cup and put it on the lid, and then told everyone that all students who want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament must register within 24 hours.

"Due to the new competition restrictions, I hope that students who are under the age of 17 but have submitted a qualified application form will come to the front with a slip of paper with your name and school written on it." Dumbledore said and took out the A roll of parchment, "Students who have read their names, please throw the note into the Goblet of Fire—you will sign up under the witness of the referee."

Most parents seemed to share Mrs. Weasley's view, and very few qualified.So when Harry stepped forward and dropped the parchment into the blue-white flames, countless eyes followed him.The tongue of flame devoured the paper in an instant, suddenly rose and turned red, and then returned to its original state.

Amidst the cheers, applause, screams, and slapping on the table of the Hogwarts students, Dumbledore lowered his eyes to look at him, thoughtful in the blue light.Behind Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall had a serious face.Harry also saw Professor Roald giving him a slight nod.Beside him, Labastan Lestrange looked him up and down indiscriminately, maintaining a rather cautious attitude; on the other side, Snape was always lacking in facial expressions (as if he was always like this in front of the Dark Lord) , But worry seemed to flash in the depths of the dark eyes.