Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 542 Next Guests

Evan was not as composed as Caresius, and the swift race he had just completed had depleted most of his strength.

He slid slowly off Buckbeak's back and felt his knees trembling. Now, all his muscles ached, and even his breathing burned.

Buckbeak turned his head, his large amber eyes inexplicably gazing at Evan, who clung desperately to his body.

Evan smiled bitterly and asked Buckbeak to depart.

He walked slowly toward Hagrid's hut. Though extremely weary, the rewards of this expedition were beyond imagination.

Having witnessed powerful magic, Evan decided to shift his research focus. He would delve into ancient magic and the magic recorded in The Book of Abraham, to grasp the magical theory involved as soon as possible.

Evan sat in Hagrid's hut for over an hour, sipping tea and discussing topics related to raising Blast-Ended Skrewts.

He did not know what the ultimate fate of the Blast-Ended Skrewts, Fire Crabs, and the Manticore within the ruins would be, but in a collapse of such magnitude, they must all have perished.

If Hagrid were to know this, he would surely weep sorrowfully.

As it was almost five o'clock and the sun was setting slowly, Evan dragged his weary body back to the castle.

He had barely entered the castle's Entrance Hall when he saw a large group of students, all bustling around a prominent sign that had been placed at the foot of the marble staircase.

"What has happened?" Evan asked, Ernie MacMillan from Hufflepuff House at his side, emerging from the crowd with bright eyes.

"Just a week away!" exclaimed Ernie excitedly.

"Just a week away from what?"

"The Triwizard Tournament!" Ernie quickly replied, trembling slightly with excitement. "The school has just announced it. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive at 6 o'clock in the evening on Friday, October 30th. Classes will end half an hour earlier. Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and gather in front of the castle to welcome our guests before the Welcoming Feast."

"Oh, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are coming?!" Evan was spellbound. Time had passed so swiftly.

He had recently received a letter from Gabriel informing him that the Beauxbatons students were ready to depart.

It was not surprising that his sister Fleur had excelled in the school's internal primaries and was highly regarded by Headmistress Maxime. Gabrielle had also become the only junior student from Beauxbatons with the opportunity to visit Hogwarts.

"Evan, there you are, I haven't seen you all day. Where have you been?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione emerged joyfully from the crowd, having just finished reading the announcement.

"I went to see Professor Moody to ask him some questions about the course," Evan stated simply.

"Alright, I'm off!" said Ernie. "I wonder if Cedric knows about this. I'll go tell him."

"Cedric?" Ron said puzzled as Ernie hurried off.

"Diggory!" clarified Harry. "He must be participating in the tournament."

"I remember. That bloke, Hogwarts' champion?" Ron frowned as they made their way through the chattering crowd to the Great Hall.

"He's not a bloke. You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch," Hermione said. "I heard he's actually a very good student... and he's a prefect too."

From her tone, it seemed that being a prefect settled the matter.

"Ah, really?" Ron furrowed his brow, as if he wanted to argue with Hermione.

But in the end, he said nothing. Since the last incident, the two had been treading carefully around each other.

During the following week, as Evan focused on magical research, noticeable changes occurred in the castle.

Now, wherever they went, it seemed there was only one topic of conversation: the Triwizard Tournament.

Rumors spread from student to student like highly contagious germs: who would strive to be Hogwarts' champion, what the tournament entailed, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from them, and so forth.

Evan was naturally a popular candidate for Hogwarts' champion, although he did not meet the 17-year-old standard set by the three headmasters.

However, there were still many who believed he would find a way to compete and become a champion.

After a period of heated debate, this rumor came to an abrupt end.

The news that Evan would not be a champion to compete in the tournament came from the Gryffindor circle.

Feeling both distressed and grateful for Evan, the young wizards also mentally selected the strongest students.

Most older wizards who were seventeen seemed to believe they had the potential to become champions.

As everyone discussed it, the castle was undergoing an extra thorough cleaning.

Several dirty portraits had been scrubbed much to the dismay of their subjects, sitting in their frames huddled, murmuring grimly, and frowning as they felt their faces blush.

The armors suddenly gleamed and moved without creaking.

Argus Filch, the caretaker, watched from the entrance of the auditorium every day while eating. He behaved so fiercely towards any student who forgot to clean their shoes that he terrified a couple of first-year girls into hysteria.

Other staff members also seemed oddly tense, trying to make everything appear in the most perfect state.

When they came down for breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they discovered that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight.

Huge silk banners hung from the walls, each representing a Hogwarts House: red with a golden lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver snake for Slytherin.

Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the coat of arms of Hogwarts: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

Evan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Colin, and Ginny looked around and sat at the Gryffindor table.

Next to them, Fred and George were, once again, seated unusually apart from the others, conversing in hushed tones.

Ludo Bagman was avoiding them, and the letters the twins had written to him some time ago were returned to them intact.

"It's a bother, indeed," George said grimly to Fred. "But if he doesn't want to speak with us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll sneak it into his hand. He can't avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding them?" Ron asked curiously, approaching and sitting beside them.

"No one, hopefully you would," Fred said, looking irritated by the interruption.

"What's a bother?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy brother like you," George replied.