Chapter 346

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-Great Hall-

After the students from both schools arrived we all went to the Great Hall, where my friends and I sat, waiting for the Headmaster's speech to begin.

"I think this is the first time I've seen the Great Hall so full" Padma commented as she looked around.

And she was right. The Great Hall was almost full of students, who were talking and whispering excitedly, expectant for the start of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Same as in the canon timeline, the Durmstrang students sat at the Slytherin table while the Beauxbatons students sat at our table, much to my unhappiness.

And I say this not because I don't like the French students, since I don't even know them to form an opinion about them, but because for some reason Miss Delacour decided to sit a few seats away from me.

And I knew she sat so close to me on purpose, since she stared at me as soon as I entered the Great Hall with my classmates, and she waited for me to sit down so she could choose her seat.

I didn't know why she was paying so much attention to me, and in fact I didn't want to know, preferring to keep her and her mysterious thoughts away from me along with her uncomfortable allure.

"So, do you have any idea how the champions will be chosen?" Stephen asked in a low voice, leaning across the table as he looked at us.

"I don't know, maybe they choose the champions based on their grades" Michael suggested.

"Hmm, I don't think so" Lisa said, "I think choosing champions based on the grades they get isn't a very practical way"

"Well, then maybe they use some spell" Michael shrugged.

"It's possible" Terry nodded, before turning to me, "What about you Ethan, any ideas or suggestions?"

"Maybe the champions will be decided after a dispute" I replied without thinking much.

"Oh, a dispute?" Luna, who was next to Sue, asked excitedly, "Like a competition of who can eat the most pudding or collect the most mandrake leaves?"

"Err... Yeah, something like that" I nodded slowly.

And listening to me, Luna just smiled, now interested in the tournament.

"I don't know, Ethan. A dispute between all 17 year old students from the three schools would be very complicated" Sue said after thinking for a while.

"Well, I don't know how the champions are going to be chosen, but if Ethan is really going to try to be one of them he's going to need to figure out a way to get past the Headmaster age line" Anthony said, looking at me.

"Don't worry, I have some ideas on how I'm going to get around this age line" I said, without explaining anything, making my friends look at each other curiously.

And my friends couldn't ask me questions because the Headmaster started talking, making everyone silent.

And as he spoke I noticed that there were 6 extra chairs at the staff table, with two of them being occupied by Madame Maxime and Karkaroff, and looking at the other four chairs I was confused.

From what I remembered, there should have been 4 chairs instead of 6, where the other two were for Mr. Crouch and Bagman, but now there were 2 more chairs, and I wanted to know who they belonged to.

But as I thought about this the Headmaster continued speaking, saying a few words of welcome to the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang before beginning the feast.

As soon as he sat down again, the tables were suddenly filled with food, and looking at the table in front of me I could see several typical dishes from France and Norway, which was probably the country where Durmstrang was located.

"Humm, is this supposed to be a Boeuf Bourguignon?" one of the Beauxbatons girls snorted in disdain, looking at the dish in front of her as she chatted to her two friends in French, "Even my most useless cook could do better" she said dismissively.

'She must think that no one here knows how to speak French' I thought, looking at the snobbish girl, who was complaining to her equally snobbish friends, 'But knowing people like her, maybe she just doesn't care'

"Some of these dishes are strange," Stephen muttered, poking a mussel on the plate in front of him with his fork.

"I agree" I snorted, "But you better not let those French girls hear you, or they might end up making you the first victim of the tournament, even though it hasn't started yet."

And hearing me, Stephen looked at the snobbish trio from before, and seeing their contemptuous looks he shuddered.

"Right..." he said.

"You know, I have a feeling they're talking bad about us," Terry commented, also looking at the three girls, with a suspicious expression on his face.

"You have no idea" I said, putting some Ratatouille in my mouth.

"Yes, I really... Wait, do you understand what they are saying?" Terry asked me in surprise, not knowing I could speak French.

And I was going to answer him, but then my senses picked up four magical signatures, with two of them being powerful, therefore very noticeable, suddenly appearing at Hogwarts.

'What are they doing here?' I asked myself confused, recognizing the two powerful magics as Nick and Penny's.

After a while I felt the two weakest magical signatures arriving in front of the doors of the Great Hall.

The doors then opened, and passing through them were Mr. Crouch and Bagman, who went to the staff table and sat down on two of the 4 chairs that were empty.

'Wait, two chairs are still empty, and Nick and Penny arrived at Hogwarts at the same time as Mr. Crouch and Bagman... So does that mean the other chairs are for them?!' I asked myself, somewhat shocked.

''But why? They did not participate in the organization of the tournament, and from what I know of them, they do not like to get involved in these political matters'' I thought, looking down as I tried to find an answer to these questions.

And as I thought about it a memory came to mind, and the memory was of the day Penny and Nick returned to their house, where I was saying goodbye to them.

And I remember very well Penny saying that we would meet sooner than I expected, in a way that made it clear that she was hiding something from me.

'So that's what she was talking about? At that time, was she already planning to come to Hogwarts?'

And I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that the dessert had already been served and that the feast was ending, and it was only when the Headmaster stood up again that I was brought out of my reflections.

"The time has come" the Headmaster began to speak, smiling as he looked at the concentrated faces of all the students in front of him, "The Tri-Wizard Tournament is about to begin, and I would like to explain a few things about the tournament and its rules before of the casket being brought..."

"But first I would like to introduce everyone to Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of The Department of Magical Games and Sports"

And what followed was some polite clapping for the two guests, with Crouch remaining silent while Bagman waved to everyone with a jovial smile.

I was also clapping my hands, but my attention was on the magical signatures approaching where we were.

And as soon as the two magics stopped in front of the Great Hall I turned to look at the large doors, tense and somewhat excited, but above all these feelings I was also curious.

"And besides them I would also like to introduce to all of you two distinguished guests, who were chosen as ambassadors by the International Confederation of Wizards to represent them in this tournament" the Headmaster continued, and I could feel his joyful feelings.

But I was paying more attention to his last sentence.

'Wait! Ambassadors?! Represent the International Confederation of Wizards in the tournament?!' I exclaimed in my mind, looking at the Headmaster to see if he wasn't lying.

But he didn't say anything else, pausing as he looked at the doors of the Great Hall that had been opened.

And passing through the large doors, with calm looks and faint smiles, were a man and a woman who were very familiar and dear to me, attracting everyone's attention with their imposing and dignified appearance.

"Here they are, two of the greatest wizards in existence, and the best Alchemists in the world... Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel!"

'What the hell is happening?!'

End.

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