Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 551 A Clear Departure

As the following day was Saturday, the majority of students would typically rise very late.

Yet, Evan rose early. Last night, he had promised Gabrielle to show her around the Hogwarts campus.

Hogwarts was exceptionally quiet in the early morning, and Evan followed the empty corridor to the castle's door.

The sky was slightly dim, the sun had not yet risen, and there was no wind blowing outside.

In the distance, the Durmstrang ship floated lightly on the lake, shrouded in a cloak of mist.

Last night, due to the darkness, it couldn't be clearly seen; now it appeared even more monstrous!

It resembled the ghost ships often depicted in stories, with eerie black and dark green embellishments. Its reflection on the water was grim, like a skeleton.

Though it looked dreadful, Evan would like to visit it if he could.

The ship was imbued with much magic, including dark magic. Many of the magical designs and reactions were unfamiliar to Evan. He wanted to study and investigate, but Durmstrang would definitely not invite him.

Evan averted his gaze and crossed the lawn by the lake towards Hagrid's cabin.

The gigantic light blue carriage of Beauxbatons had been parked two hundred meters from Hagrid's main door. The flying horse elephants that had pulled the carriage were now grazing in an improvised pen next to it.

Not far, near the pumpkin patch behind Hagrid's cabin, dreadful explosions and thunderous noises could be heard from time to time.

It was the restless Blast-Ended Skrewts that were now going wild trying to escape from Hagrid's care.

Now, each skrewt was almost three feet long and had even started killing each other.

Hagrid had to put them in sturdier wooden crates, but this had very little effect.

Evan circled Hagrid's cabin from a distance. As he reached the carriage, he saw Gabrielle.

She was crouched in the aisle like a kitten, it seemed she had been waiting for Evan for a long time. She wore dark blue wizard robes, and her waist-length solid hair seemed to shine in the morning sun.

With a charming smile on her face, her eyelashes fluttered as she gazed at Evan fervently. This made her look very lovely, giving Evan a warm and comforting feeling.

"Speak softer, my sister is still asleep inside," Gabrielle said softly, gently pressing her finger to her lips.

Behind her, Evan could see that the interior of the carriage was very luxurious, very much in the style of Beauxbatons.

Gold and red were the main hues. Beyond the aisle, there was a large living room.

Inside, there were small rooms where the boys lived, and the girls all lived upstairs.

Gabrielle rose carefully, perhaps because she had been crouched for a long time, she trembled as she exited the carriage.

She was afraid to touch the carriage's glass door, so the wind chimes wouldn't ring and disturb the people inside, and she was about to fall...

Evan hurried to support her, and they fell heavily together.

The ground was very soft, and the fall didn't hurt, but Evan felt the girl's tiny body even softer.

Now, Gabrielle was lying completely on top of him! Where was this going to lead?

They gazed at each other and could feel each other's breaths, and the girl's face blush became evident.

She quickly got up off Evan and repeatedly apologized. She was extremely embarrassed.

Evan didn't know what to say to Gabrielle either. It seemed like she was deliberately trying to take advantage of his fall.

So, they both set off towards the castle in a slightly nervous and peculiar atmosphere.

Evan and Gabrielle visited Hogwarts Castle along the other side of the lake, and soon the atmosphere returned to normal.

Evan introduced the surrounding scenery to Gabrielle. They chatted very happily, and Gabrielle was full of interest in everything. She and Evan also agreed to visit Hogsmeade, a rare purely magical village.

Then, the topic naturally shifted to the Triwizard Tournament and the champions.

Madame Maxime asked the Beauxbatons students to go to the castle after breakfast and put their names in the Goblet of Fire.

They were rigorously selected at the school; even Nicolas took part in the assessment, and finally, a dozen of the best young wizards and witches were chosen.

Of course, Fleur was the strongest of them all, not by chance, she would definitely become the champion of Beauxbatons. Otherwise, Gabrielle wouldn't have followed her to Hogwarts.

She wasn't old enough. It was Fleur who asked Madame Maxime to let her come with the delegation.

Gabrielle, who had no concerns at all, simply took this trip to Hogwarts as a stroll. She could see Evan and witness many new things.

When she found out Evan wasn't going to be a champion, Gabrielle had a slight look of disappointment on her face, but then quickly reassured Evan.

"My sister said you are extremely strong, and your power has far exceeded the level of young wizards. You don't need to participate in the tournament to prove anything!"

Evan was not allowed to participate in the tournament. Besides his age not meeting the requirements, both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang also excluded him from the tournament. Fleur must have known this before saying so.

"By the way, your sister doesn't seem very pleased with me. She didn't talk to me much last night," said Evan, recalling Fleur's behavior the night before.

"That was deliberately exposed for everyone to see. After the events of last term, the students at school didn't have much appreciation for you. Many people wanted to fight you or something!" hastily said Gabrielle, "But the girls really think highly of you. They kept talking about you last night..."

Her voice grew softer and her face slightly flushed.

Obviously, she was embarrassed to tell Evan that he was the subject of private conversation among the girls.

Seeing Gabrielle's cute expression, Evan suddenly felt an urge to joke with her.

"Now that you're in contact with me, aren't you afraid of what other people at school would say?"

"I'm not afraid. I don't care what they say," said Gabrielle, lifting her head to look at Evan. The girl's serious and bright blue eyes were enough to move anyone's heart.

Evan held his breath and gazed at Gabrielle, his mind blank.

They locked eyes for a moment before reacting.

Gabrielle quickly lowered her head, her face reddening to the root of her neck, as red as a ripe apple.

Looking at her, Evan didn't know what to say, and the tense atmosphere was unsettling.

To relieve the discomfort, he quickly raised his head and looked around.

They had unconsciously walked around the castle for a long time. Now they were in the secluded grove next to the castle. And there were only the two of them...