Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 507 The Triwizard Tournament

After listening for a while, Hermione stood up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slammed it shut, shutting out Malfoy's voice.

"Do you really think Durmstrang would have been more suitable for him?" she said angrily. "I wish he had gone there, then we wouldn't have to put up with him."

"I recall that Krum is also from Durmstrang!" Ron said. "I did my research."

"What, Krum is also from there?" Harry looked slightly surprised. "But Sirius said earlier that the school had a bad reputation..."

"To be precise, it has an utterly dreadful reputation!" Hermione said disdainfully. "According to a Magical Education Assessment in Europe, they place a significant emphasis on Dark Arts. Many dark wizards graduated from there."

Of course, Durmstrang's tolerance for the Dark Arts had its limits.

If there were young wizards growing up to be like Grindelwald or Voldemort, they would also take actions to deal with them.

In history, Grindelwald was expelled from Durmstrang because they could no longer tolerate his disorderly and increasingly malevolent research into Dark Arts.

"But Krum seems to be good. By the way, where is the school?" Ron asked, "In which country?"

"Somewhere in Nordic Europe, I suppose it should be near Scandinavia," Evan said. "I have seen descriptions of the landscape around their school, which fit very well with the Scandinavian environment. It's the largest and highest-altitude peninsula in Europe. There are vast snow-covered forests for long periods, extensive snowy fields and glaciers, as well as the polar starry sky."

"Evan, you are very insightful; you can analyze a lot of information and deduce a lot," exclaimed Hermione, "I was just speculating that Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north, in a very cold place, because they have fur capes as part of their uniform."

"That sounds intriguing. Think of the possibilities," dreamily said Ron. "It would have been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident... Too bad his mother cares for him..."

"You better mind your own business, Weasley."

Before Ron could finish, Draco Malfoy appeared at the door. Behind him were Crabbe and Goyle, his huge thuggish cronies, both of them seemingly having grown at least a foot over the summer.

Evidently, they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door.

"Step out, Malfoy, we didn't invite you," said Harry coldly.

Malfoy ignored him. He glanced fearfully at Evan sitting by the window, then turned back to Ron.

Ron's words had clearly greatly angered Malfoy, and he was not ready to leave yet.

"Weasley, what's this?" he asked, pointing at Pigwidgeon's cage. A sleeve of Ron's robe hung from it, swinging with the train's movement, the lace-cuffed sleeve very conspicuous.

Ron tried to hide the robe, but Malfoy was quicker; he seized the sleeve and pulled.

"Look at this!" Malfoy exclaimed, showing Ron's robe excitedly to Crabbe and Goyle, "Weasley, you weren't planning on wearing this, were you? I mean... it was all the rage around 1890..."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Ron said, the same color as the robe as he snatched it back from his grasp. Malfoy laughed with sneering laughter; Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly.

"So... are you going to enter, Weasley? Will you try to bring some glory to the family name? There's money involved too, you know? you could afford some decent robes if you win..."

"What are you talking about?" Ron retorted sharply.

"Are you participating?" Malfoy repeated, looking at Harry, who was also glaring at him. "I suppose so, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"

"Explain what you're talking about or leave, Malfoy," said Hermione annoyed, above Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4.

Upon hearing Hermione's words, a joyful smile spread across Malfoy's pale face.

"Don't tell me you don't know?" he said delightedly. "Weasley, you have a father and a brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My goodness, my father told me a long time ago... he heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But of course, my father is always associated with the Ministry's elite. Perhaps your father is too clueless to know. He's not entitled to know, Weasley, yes... yes... they probably don't discuss important matters in front of him..."

"Of course, we are aware of the Triwizard Tournament!" Evan interjected, "And we also plan to participate in it and become champions of Hogwarts. If that bothers you, feel free to ask."

When Evan's words reached Malfoy's ears, the expression of joy on Malfoy's face came to an abrupt end, leaving him comically stunned. He took a step back, his horrified gaze as if just realizing Evan's presence there.

Naturally, Malfoy dared not make any remarks about Evan's words. Both his experiences from the past year and the shocking and horrifying image of the World Cup were etched in his mind, never to be forgotten.

He gestured to Crabbe and Goyle, and the three of them vanished together.

Ron stood up and slammed the sliding door so forcefully that the glass shattered.

"Ron!" Hermione said disapprovingly, drew her wand, murmured "Reparo," and the glass shards melded back into a single pane on the door.

"I've had enough of him!" Ron said angrily. "Dad's always connected to important people in the Ministry' Dad could move up at any moment. He just likes where he is..."

"Don't let Malfoy get to you, Ron, it's not worth it," Harry said.

"Him! Get to me? As if that were possible!" Ron said resentfully. He grabbed one of the few Cauldron Cakes left, made by Mrs. Weasley, and crushed it into a pulp.

"Well, Evan, what is this Triwizard Tournament you just mentioned about?" Hermione turned to Evan. "Is that what you've been discussing? I wish I had heard it..."

Harry and Ron also focused their attention, gazing at Evan with curiosity.