Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 548 Could It Be Him?

Though she glared at Evan, Hermione did not seem angry.

"Now that you have regained your composure," she said quickly. "You will see that Dumbledore has arrived and the party is about to begin."

Hermione was right. Evan turned to see the teachers entering the Great Hall, making their way to the head table and taking their seats.

Bringing up the rear were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime, the heads of the three magical schools.

As their headmistress appeared, the Beauxbatons students stood up.

Some of the Hogwarts students chuckled. However, the Beauxbatons group seemed quite undisturbed and did not sit back down until Madame Maxime had taken her place to the left of Dumbledore.

Evan knew that Beauxbatons was much more controlled compared to the more laid-back atmosphere of Hogwarts.

All the teachers sat down, Dumbledore remained standing, and a hush fell over the Great Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and... above all... guests," said Dumbledore, smiling at the foreign students. "It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be comfortable and pleasant."

One of the Beauxbatons girls, still holding a handkerchief around her head, let out a clearly disdainful laugh.

"That girl is a nuisance. No one is forcing you to stay!" Hermione whispered.

It was evident that she was upset by the girl, and Evan quickly offered her some reassuring words.

There were many others who shared Hermione's thoughts, and all were surprised by the behavior of the Beauxbatons girl. They did not know what kind of education they received at that school. Beauxbatons was very hostile toward Hogwarts.

The same had been with Evan the last time. A word and a blow, these French!

As for the Durmstrang students, they did not show hostility so directly, but they were also not focused on listening to Dumbledore's speech. They seemed more interested in the golden tableware on the table, wondering if it was indeed made of gold.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the tournament will officially open at the end of the banquet," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down, and Evan saw Karkaroff immediately lean forward to engage in conversation with him.

The next second, the plates in front of them were filled with food as usual.

The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have outdone themselves; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than they had seen before, including several clearly foreign ones.

"What is that?" Colin asked, pointing to a large dish of some kind of seafood stew next to a huge kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse," Hermione said. "It's French; I tried it in the summer holidays before last. It's very rich."

Upon hearing her words, everyone helped themselves to some.

Only Ron had not moved yet; he had been staring intently at Fleur, his gaze fixed on her.

"Eat now, Ron, it will soon cool down!" Harry nudged him.

"Oh," Ron replied, reluctant to look away, and served himself some blood pudding.

The Great Hall somehow seemed much busier than usual, although there were barely about twenty additional students; perhaps it was because their uniforms in different colors stood out prominently against the black Hogwarts robes.

The Beauxbatons uniforms were light blue, and the Durmstrang students wore robes of a deep blood-red under their furs.

Hagrid slipped into the Great Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the banquet. He slid into his seat at the end, near the long Gryffindor table.

Hagrid greeted Evan, Harry, Ron, and Hermione with a heavily bandaged hand.

"Are the scarabs doing well, Hagrid?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"No problem, they're thriving," Hagrid replied happily.

"Yes, I bet they are," Ron whispered. "It seems they have finally found a food they like, haven't they? Hagrid's fingers!"

No one paid attention to him because someone else entered the Great Hall, Mr. Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch, Percy's immediate boss.

Bagman headed over and sat down next to Professor Karkaroff, while Mr. Crouch took a seat beside Madame Maxime.

Evan gazed at Crouch. Could this man be under the Imperius Curse now?!

However, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, neither did Crouch appear to be under the Imperius Curse. He remained exactly as usual.

His meticulous appearance was beyond the comprehension of common folk.

He seemed to sense Evan's gaze, and Crouch suddenly lifted his head to meet it.

Evan quickly averted his gaze. He had been pondering this for some time. If Barty Crouch intended to assume another person's identity to enter Hogwarts, besides the students, he could also pass as his own father, which was highly probable.

As one of the judges, Barty Crouch had access to all aspects of the tournament.

With the assistance of Carewell disguised as Moody, his mission could be easily executed.

And Barty Crouch Jr. knew his father's habits very well, so there was no need for unnecessary worry.

Even if there were any abnormalities, with Mr. Crouch's status at the Ministry of Magic, they could be easily resolved.

Detection artifacts such as the Marauder's Map were ineffective against him, and there was no need to worry about being discovered.

In that case, could Barty Crouch Jr. be Mr. Crouch?

Once the golden plates had been cleared, Dumbledore rose once more. An enjoyable tension seemed to fill the Hall now, and all were anticipating the next program.

Everyone suppressed their excitement and stared intently at Dumbledore.

The same was happening with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students, and none were as distracted as before.

"The time has come," said Dumbledore, smiling at the crowd of expectant faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. I would like to say a few words of explanation before bringing out the chest..."

"What?" Harry muttered.

"I don't know!"

All were puzzled except Evan, who knew it referred to the Goblet of Fire.

"... before clarifying the procedure we will follow this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who are unfamiliar with them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation..." there was a timid applause, as many did not know Mr. Crouch, "... and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps due to his fame as a Beater, or simply because he appeared much more amiable.

He acknowledged it with a jovial gesture, while Bartemius Crouch neither smiled nor greeted when his name was announced.