Chapter 99: "Unexpected Encounter and a Sweet Revenge"
"Unexpected Encounter and a Sweet Revenge"
—----Remember to follow my other novel: ["One Piece: The Fairy of Justice"]
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POV Stephen:
Today, we were all waiting outside the castle under the cold of the night. Although it wasn't winter, today was especially chilly.
"Can you turn that off?" Natasha said as she approached us, who were gathered around a small campfire we had made to stay warm.
"But, Nat... Professor Flamel, it's cold," Wanda said as she held her hands near the fire.
"Do you want us to freeze to death?" Tony said, annoyed, as he brought his stick, with a marshmallow at the tip, closer to the fire.
"Guys, I brought more chocolates," Fred said, approaching with a smile.
"And I brought the cookies," George added, emerging behind his brother.
"Want one, Nat?" I asked as I handed a snack to Natasha, who had been eyeing us with annoyance, but in the end, she gave in and took one.
Meanwhile, the other Gryffindors around us were happily roasting their marshmallows.
"Natasha, you're supposed to control them, not join them," Grandma Perenelle said, appearing behind Natasha, looking angry. But when she looked behind me, her fury increased. "Nicolas! Why are you here too?" she said angrily, seeing Grandpa Nico having fun with us.
"Haha, it's fine, Grandma. Anyway, the other schools haven't arrived yet," Wanda said, defending Grandpa, who, when caught, almost choked on his snack.
"Sure, Professor Perenelle, join us," Sirius said, who was also among the students.
It wasn't until the voice of reason came storming toward us with fury.
"Pack up this party right now and get ready to welcome the other schools!" McGonagall said, glaring at us.
With the complaints of a few students, we ended up putting out the fire, but we continued eating the snacks, at least until the first school arrived.
By the way, Professor Dumbledore was also eating one, but he hid it when Professor McGonagall looked in his direction.
"What's wrong, Harry? Nervous?" I asked when I noticed Harry was quieter than usual.
"No. I'm just thinking about the fugitives," Harry said seriously, recalling the people who had escaped, especially Peter Pettigrew.
"Don't worry. You'll probably see them soon. It's certain they'll come for you," Loki said, appearing behind Harry and scaring him.
This made Harry visibly worried.
"Don't listen to him, kid," Tony said, patting Harry on the shoulder with a smile.
"So, you think they won't come for me?" Harry asked, calming down a little.
"I didn't say that. They'll definitely come for you," Tony said, still smiling, "but we're here. Don't worry."
"Something's coming from the sky!" a student said, making everyone focus on the approaching point.
After a few seconds, we could see what it was: a beautiful carriage pulled by a bunch of winged horses heading towards us.
The winged horses were called Abraxans. They were huge, completely white, and had a pair of majestic wings. According to the Dictionary of Beasts, they loved pure malt whisky.
After circling around in a kind of presentation, the carriage descended and landed a few meters from us.
The coachman quickly got down and approached the carriage door to open it.
A huge woman descended from it, even taller than Hagrid. It was none other than Madame Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons.
Dumbledore quickly approached to welcome her.
"Professor Dumbledore," Madame Maxime said respectfully, with an elegant greeting.
"Madame Maxime," Dumbledore greeted warmly, with a smile.
"Has Karkarov still not arrived?" Madame Maxime asked, noticing the absence of the other school.
Just as Dumbledore was about to respond, a large movement in the nearby lake caught everyone's attention.
Suddenly, a large black boat emerged from the bottom of the water as if nothing had happened.
"Looks like he's here," Dumbledore said, patiently waiting for the other headmaster's arrival.
It was supposed to be Igor Karkarov, but when he saw who was leading the students, Dumbledore could not have been more surprised.
He didn't even know if he should draw his wand and be on guard, because the headmaster wasn't anyone else but Gellert Grindelwald, who was approaching with a rather friendly smile.
Not only that, but Grindelwald looked so young that, if someone said he was his son, it would be completely believable.
"Albus, it's been a long time," Gellert said, greeting him with a handshake, leaving Dumbledore in complete confusion.
"Gellert, what are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked, coming out of his stupor as he reached for his wand inside his robe, without drawing it, so as not to alarm the students.
Seeing Dumbledore's defensive stance, Grindelwald calmly smiled.
"Relax, Albus. Most of my magic is sealed, I can barely float a feather. And above all, I have a magical contract that allows me to only see the magical world, but not interfere," Gellert said to reassure Dumbledore.
Hearing this, Dumbledore quickly turned his gaze to Stephen, while Nicolas approached for a moment and whispered something in his ear with a rather mischievous smile.
After hearing what Nicolas said, Dumbledore visibly became frustrated, but at the same time, he calmed down, while Stephen greeted him with a smile.
Sigh "It's good to see you again, Gellert," Dumbledore said as he returned the handshake to Grindelwald.
Madame Maxime was aware of the new headmaster of Durmstrang but helped Stephen see Dumbledore's surprised expression.
"Shall we go in? It's quite cold," Maxime intervened in the encounter between the two men.
"Of course," Dumbledore said, gesturing toward the path.
Meanwhile, the students from Beauxbatons began to disembark from the carriage.
"Excited, little brother?" Wanda said, looking at Stephen with a teasing smile.
"I'm fine," Stephen replied, trying to show that he was calm.
"Oh, really?" A voice sounded behind them, surprising several students.
"She's beautiful," said one of the Gryffindor boys, looking at the newly appeared Fleur, who had surprised everyone by removing an invisibility cloak.
"Shit," said Stephen, almost running off upon seeing the angry face of his girlfriend.
"If you take one more step, you'd better not come back," said Fleur with a smile on her face, though not in her eyes.
Stephen looked at Wanda, trying to understand his girlfriend's anger, but Wanda just gave him a mocking look. In that moment, Stephen realized it was her fault.
"Whatever it is, it's Wanda's fault," said Stephen to defend himself, while Wanda put on an innocent face and looked at him as if she were being unfairly accused.
"So, forgetting my birthday is Wanda's fault?" asked Fleur, staring intently at Stephen.
"What are you talking about? I sent you…" Stephen fell silent when he remembered that he had asked Wanda to send the package to Fleur, as he had to leave because of a problem with the fugitives.
He quickly looked at Wanda, who just then took out a candy with a familiar wrapping. The package that was supposed to reach Fleur had been filled with chocolates and candies Fleur loved.
Then, he realized why there were always wrappers lying around Wanda: she had been eating Fleur's gift box.
"It looks like we need to talk," said Fleur as she dragged Stephen away under the gaze of everyone. Stephen simply followed her, dejected, knowing it was his fault for not making sure the package had arrived.
"Haha," Wanda laughed, satisfied that her evil plan had worked, as it was her revenge for Stephen repeatedly calling her fat.
"It looks like you and I also need to talk, Wanda," said Daphne, looking at her seriously as she realized what she had done. "Interfering in a couple's business to make a joke isn't good."
"What?" said Wanda, looking at Daphne with fear as she was also dragged away.
"Did you see, Harry? Never fall in love," said Tony, watching how his brothers disappeared.
Meanwhile, under McGonagall's command, all the students returned to the castle and headed toward the dining hall.
Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore had to officially introduce the invited schools, which would make a presentation.
"For now, let's welcome the students from Beauxbatons and their headmistress, Madame Maxime," said Dumbledore as the dining hall doors opened.
The students from Beauxbatons led the way, making a soft gesture of greeting to the sides as they approached the podium. Several dancers performed a presentation that left the students enchanted, especially the boys.
After the performance, all the students stood up to give a loud applause, while the women of Hogwarts simply clapped without much enthusiasm and glared at the boys in annoyance.
Then, Madame Maxime greeted Dumbledore and the other professors again before sitting in a chair specially placed beside Dumbledore.
Dumbledore raised his hands to calm everyone and introduced the Durmstrang school.
"Now, our friends from the north. Let's welcome the proud sons of Durmstrang and their headmaster... Gellert Grindelwald," said Dumbledore, pausing for a second when mentioning the headmaster's name.
After the introduction, the students from Durmstrang entered proudly, hitting large staffs against the ground, causing sparks to appear at their feet. They then ran toward the podium and performed a dance similar to breakdancing, spitting fire in a much more eye-catching presentation than Beauxbatons'.
To finish, Viktor Krum entered with seriousness and firm steps, not looking at anyone, while the students—especially Ron—were excited to see him.
Grindelwald entered calmly and, instead of heading toward Dumbledore, went directly to the Slytherin table under the watchful gaze of everyone, especially Dumbledore.
"My beloved children, how are you?" he said, seeing Loki and Tony, who was sitting next to his brother, knowing his father would do something like this.
The Slytherin students weren't bothered by his presence, as their parents had sent them letters asking them never to disturb the Grindelwald brothers.
"Hello, old man. You look good," greeted Tony casually.
Loki nodded at Gellert as a greeting.
"Although I'd like for you to go to Durmstrang, it seems Hogwarts will be more fun, especially this year," said Grindelwald as he patted both of them on the shoulders and then headed back toward Dumbledore.
Meanwhile, the Slytherins didn't say a word in front of Grindelwald, but they looked at him with fanatical eyes. In particular, their gazes were directed at their children.
"That old man did it on purpose," said Tony, annoyed, as he walked back to his seat in Ravenclaw. He didn't care about being the center of attention, so Loki felt annoyed that he had left him alone.
Gellert approached the professors with a friendly smile and said,
"Thank you for taking care of my children… and their siblings," he added, also looking at Nicolas and Perenelle.
Several professors felt a bit awkward. Although Grindelwald couldn't use his magic at full power, his aura of power was still palpable.
"Don't worry. After all, they are now part of my family as well," Perenelle replied calmly, unshaken, showing an aura even stronger than Grindelwald's.
"Haha, that's good," said Grindelwald as he sat in his chair on the other side of Dumbledore.
Dumbledore signaled for the food to appear, displaying dishes from the other countries.
While the students from Beauxbatons mixed with the ones from Hogwarts, the Durmstrang students preferred to sit with the Slytherins.
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