Chapter 241: Big Crisis

As the teachers and students of Hogwarts entered the Great Hall together with the students from Durmstrang, the fervor surrounding Krum among them had considerably subsided.

However, there was an exception. Draco Malfoy still sought to get close to Krum. 

He harbored a strong dislike and fear towards Alaric, and thus extended his animosity towards Cho Chang, who often accompanied Alaric.

Therefore, Krum, the Seeker for the runner-up team, became an object of his admiration.

Alaric and her friends sat down beside the Ravenclaw table, while the students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats next to them. 

They sat down and looked around the Great Hall with gloomy expressions on their faces.

On the other side, Viktor Krum and his Durmstrang friends had already taken their seats beside the Slytherin table, with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looking rather pleased with themselves. 

The Durmstrang students were taking off their fur cloaks and looking up at the starry, black ceiling with interest. 

Two of them even picked up golden plates and tall wine glasses, handling them carefully as if fascinated.

Meanwhile, the Fleur sisters from Beauxbatons, who had kept their faces concealed with scarves and veils, had now dropped their disguises to reveal their faces and all their silver hair.

Their Veela heritage and charming allure immediately captured the attention of all the males present.

Many boys' faces flushed red instantly; they opened their mouths as if to speak but only emitted strange little noises, as if their throats were blocked, staring at them as if they had never seen female classmates before.

"She's a Veela!" Hermione whispered to Alaric. 

"At least a half-veela. Otherwise, everyone wouldn't be staring at her like idiots. I remember Veela don't affect you, right?"

Definitely, her words sounded a bit sour.

Her jealousy was about to erupt the next moment.

Fleur, the elder of the half-veela sisters, suddenly stood up and walked towards Alaric, warmly embraced him, and kissed his cheek.

"Long time no see, Alaric," she looked into Alaric's eyes with her deep blue eyes and smiled.

"Did you already know about the Triwizard Tournament when you said goodbye? I was really surprised when I heard you were coming to Hogwarts."

"Of course," Alaric responded with the same courtesy amidst the jealous glares from the boys. 

"And I'm sure you'll be one of the representatives in the Triwizard Tournament."

Cho Chang rolled his eyes at Alaric, while Hermione pinched his thigh under the table.

"Oh, thank you for your praise," Fleur seemed to notice their little action and smiled even more charmingly.

"But if you participate in the Triwizard Tournament, we'll all be running for you, won't we?"

"Well then, you can be happy," Alaric subtly moved his leg away, saying calmly, "I don't intend to participate in the Triwizard Tournament."

"True, why would the Triwizard Tournament interest you? After all, you're the one I've set my eyes on..."

Fleur intentionally made her words ambiguous, "Besides, thanks to you last time, Gabrielle also misses you."

"Yes, big brother, long time no see." Beside her, a younger silver-haired girl stepped forward and embraced Alaric, kissing his cheek again.

Alaric felt that if looks could kill, the jealous glares from the boys could slay dragons right now, and Hermione and Cho Chang's eye rolls could level the entire Great Hall.

The resentment in the air was thick...

Next, the actions of the Delacour sisters became bolder and bolder. 

Fleur politely exchanged a few words with Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot sitting across from Alaric, and the two boys obediently gave up their seats like dumb geese.

So they sat directly opposite Alaric without any hesitation.

Before dinner, Filch added four chairs to the staff table, and when all the students had entered the Great Hall and sat down at their respective house tables, the faculty members came in. 

They walked to the main table and sat down one after another. Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime walked in last. 

When the students from Beauxbatons saw their headmistress appear, they quickly stood up. Several Hogwarts students couldn't help but laugh. 

But the Beauxbatons representatives didn't seem embarrassed at all until Madam Maxime sat down on Dumbledore's left side, they sat down again. 

Dumbledore remained standing until the Great Hall gradually quieted down.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and especially our esteemed guests," Dumbledore said with a smiling gaze at the foreign students.

"I am delighted to welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope and believe that you will feel comfortable and enjoy your time here."

The plates in front of everyone were piled high with food as usual. 

The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have done their utmost because there were many foreign dishes today compared to usual.

Alaric didn't know about others, but he was sure the Delacour sisters must be enjoying themselves at Hogwarts. 

During the feast, they chatted and laughed with Alaric, and the laughter hardly ceased.

Beside Alaric, Cho Chang and Hermione exchanged a glance of mutual understanding and enmity, silently communicating.

"Where did these two women come from?" Cho Chang's eyes expressed this.

"I think he mentioned meeting a half-veela at the Wizard Chess Tournament before." Hermione's eyes conveyed this.

"They do look very beautiful!"

"After all, they are half-veela."

"And they are sisters!"

"It feels dangerous!"

"They are indeed formidable opponents."

"No, we have to be cautious."

"Yes, we need to ally ourselves!"

"We can't let these two inexplicable women succeed!"

Unconsciously, the two girls reached a consensus, which was really commendable.

During the dinner, the two empty seats were just filled. Ludo Bagman sat beside Professor Karkaroff, while Percy's superior, Mr. Crouch, sat beside Madam Maxime.

In fact, Alaric hadn't seen Ludo Bagman for a long time since the Quidditch World Cup ended. 

It seemed that the gambling game he hosted had lost a lot of Galleons. He was now dodging debts everywhere. 

Alaric remembered he owed himself, Hermione, and Penelope a large sum of Galleons.

With Alaric's abilities, Ludo Bagman couldn't possibly escape this debt. Perhaps he would spend the rest of his life trying to raise money to repay this debt.

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