Chapter 187: Arriving at Beauxbatons

Amidst the clanking sound of the train and the low discussions of the children, this magical steam train gradually left the British Isles and headed toward the European continent.

And in the increasingly low voices, Harry also gradually entered dreamland. This time he dreamed that those Death Eaters were practicing Animagus; Voldemort turned into a snake, Bellatrix turned into a poisonous spider, Malfoy turned into a ferret, and the large Crabbe and Goyle turned into a tomato and a potato. Only then did he realize that this should just be an unreliable dream and had nothing to do with the real Death Eaters.

In the morning, as soon as Harry opened his eyes, he couldn't wait to shake Luo En awake and pull him to the window. The two of them stared wide-eyed at the fantastic scenery.

It was the boundless sea, and the train was traveling steadily on the sea surface. The morning sun sprinkled on the surging Atlantic Ocean. Harry opened the window and felt the sea breeze blowing on his face. The coolness mixed with a hint of saltiness made him wake up instantly.

"Is this the sea? It's my first time seeing the sea." Luo En said blankly.

"It's my first time too, and this is my first time going abroad." Harry was also attracted by the seascape with almost all his attention.

"Are you up?" Zhang Qiu's voice came from outside the door.

"Let's go, let's wash up and then go eat." Harry pulled Luo En out.

On this train full of seventh-year students, the three of them naturally formed a small group, ate a breakfast that was neither good nor bad in the dining car, and then chatted idly while blowing the wind of the English Channel in the carriage.

"Speaking of which, the makeup technique is truly amazing." Harry said, talking about a relaxed topic. "I saw Pansy the other day, and she was actually much more normal; she looked just like an ordinary girl."

"That's natural, she has become our living signboard," Zhang Qiu said, ignoring the vomiting expression Luo En made. "Even an ugly monster like her can become delicate through makeup; girls can't help but start fantasizing about how beautiful they will be after putting on makeup."

"But there is a type of person who can't, I mean, those who are overly obese," Zhang Qiu continued. "They must lose weight first."

"By the way, I heard that the headmistress of Beauxbatons is over nine hundred pounds," Luo En said. "It's hard to imagine; she probably has to use a Levitation Charm to assist when she walks."

"But I heard that she is a strong and confident person, which is much better than the headmaster of Durmstrang, Karkaroff," Harry said. "He is a Death Eater, and a Death Eater who betrayed his colleagues to escape punishment; it is known to everyone."

"Do you think he knows that the Dark Lord has been resurrected?" Luo Si asked.

"Judging from the fact that he didn't run away, perhaps he doesn't know yet," Harry scratched his chin. "But there is another possibility; he cooperates with our plan so unsparingly, perhaps it is because he hopes that we can defeat the Dark Lord and allow him to continue living in the sun."

"If he really does this, then you should recognize him as someone who has abandoned darkness for light and is willing to set things right," Zhang Qiu interjected. "As long as a person does the right thing, it is worthy of praise, no matter what his purpose is."

"Who else is competing? Donald represents Ilvermorny, we are already familiar with that," Luo Si continued. "But what about that Kodo-something-sky? I know almost nothing about it."

"Their headmaster is a confidant of Yanayev, Fedot Yevgrafovich Vaskov, generally referred to as Headmaster Vaskov," Zhang Qiu stated what she knew. "Most of the teachers are middle-aged women, and there are more female students than male students. Oh, by the way, they are divided into houses according to their majors."

"Divided into houses according to majors?"

"Yes, students need to choose one of six major directions in their third year, and then receive the corresponding course schedule for different houses according to their different choices. But there won't be much difference between different houses, just different courses. Everyone still wears the same school uniform and lives in the original dormitory—but you can apply to change dormitories; the school is very relaxed about this."

"That's interesting, so what are the six major directions?" Luo En asked.

"The most popular one is the Institute of Ritual Magic, which is also the top magical technology of the Soviet Union," Zhang Qiu said without hesitation. "Followed by the College of Potions and Herbology, the College of Charms and Mathematics, the College of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration, and the College of Soul and Spirit."

"That's only five," Luo En counted with his fingers.

"Oh, the last one is the College of Marxism," Zhang Qiu said with a complicated expression. "It can't be said that it doesn't teach knowledge related to magic at all, but at most it just touches upon it lightly."

"Then what do they teach?"

"They teach people how to manage wizards. Almost all officials in the Soviet magical world come from this college." Zhang Qiu winked at Harry, and he understood instantly; she might have been assigned to this college last year, so she almost didn't learn any useful magical knowledge.

"But, don't they teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?" For Hogwarts students, this course has a very strong sense of presence.

"No, because it's a school," Zhang Qiu said. "Most boys are more keen on joining the army and learning magical knowledge related to the Dark Arts or defense in the army."

"This is very reasonable, and also very Soviet," Harry commented.

"Hey, this is good news, which means the champion of Kodo-something-sky is likely to know nothing about dueling," Luo En said gleefully. "We have a great advantage."

"You're overthinking it; the vast majority of girls have at least one brother in the army," Zhang Qiu poured a bucket of cold water on him. "That will be a formidable enemy for Harry."

"Yes, and Krum, he shouldn't be underestimated either," Luo En added.

"I have a way to deal with Krum." Harry avoided the topic vaguely; after all, throwing a match wasn't something glorious.

The train drove from the sea onto the European continent after lunch and arrived at the destination of this trip, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in southern France, before dinner.

Harry saw a group of magnificent buildings like a palace, surrounded by lush forests, appearing quiet and beautiful in the bright sunshine.

"Dear students, we have arrived at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic," Deng Buliduo's voice sounded in every corner of the train. "Now please change your clothes first and wait in the carriage; we will enter Beauxbatons together at dinner time."

The Hogwarts Express stopped on the lawn behind the side of the palace, right next to the forest surrounding Beauxbatons. Harry instinctively felt that this might be the Forbidden Forest, and couldn't help but feel a hint of curiosity in his heart.

Just as he was looking at the large lake in the forest, a strange thing happened. A black, long pole-like thing slowly rose from the center of the vortex, followed by ship sails, masts, decks, and portholes, and the huge skull sculpture at the bow.

Finally, with the splash of the anchor dropping, a group of people walked to the shore along the wooden board. Leading them was a man wearing a silver-white fur cloak. He put his wand to his neck and shouted loudly: "Deng Buliduo! My dear old friend, how are you?"

"Great, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Deng Buliduo replied loudly. "Now let's take the students in together!"

Soon, Deng Buliduo directed the students to get off the train one by one, letting them line up in two rows from shortest to tallest. Needless to say, standing at the very front were naturally Harry and Zhang Qiu, who were the youngest. Luo En stood behind Harry; his height should have been further back, but Deng Buliduo didn't care about this slight incongruity.

The Durmstrang students stood side by side with them. Harry noticed that they were all wearing a kind of fur cloak, with the fur on it messy and tangled, unlike Karkaroff's which was smooth. In their team, standing at the very front was a boy with a conspicuous hooked nose and two thick eyebrows. Without Luo En poking his arm hard, Harry had already recognized that figure; it was Viktor Krum.

"Beautiful Beauxbatons," Karkaroff said while walking to the very front of the team with Deng Buliduo. "It's so good to be here, Deng Buliduo, and it's so good to see you..."

While they were exchanging pleasantries, Harry noticed that Karkaroff's voice was round and sweet, with a hint of flattery. When he walked in front of Harry, he saw that this was a tall and thin person with short white hair and a curly goatee; perhaps he was not young either. Or, judging from his thin chin, yellow teeth, and cold and sharp eyes, this was a middle-aged man who had been prematurely aged by the Dark Arts.

The two headmasters led their respective students into the main entrance of the palace, passed through fountains and ice sculptures, and walked into the Great Hall. Harry noticed that it was very similar to the Great Hall at Hogwarts, also having a magical ceiling and four long tables. However, it seemed that Beauxbatons had no obvious division of houses; the students were wearing exquisite silk robes of the same style, sitting at the tables and looking curiously at the guests.

"Oh, Harry, did you notice?" Luo En whispered. "Their girls are wearing high heels."

"And the socks are very thin; they look like silk stockings that only adults wear. I can't believe their girls wear them like this in the first year." Harry sighed.

"Do your eyes only know how to look at girls?" Zhang Qiu said with dissatisfaction. "Pay attention to the professors."

Harry turned his gaze to the staff table with a guilty conscience. Only then did he notice that Madam Maxime, who was rumored to be nine hundred pounds, might really be that heavy, because she looked taller than Hagrid. She had a pair of watery black eyes on her huge face, a sharp nose, and her black satin robe was dotted with many luxurious opals, looking very handsome.

This headmistress, who was twelve feet tall, stood up, and more than half of the staff table was shrouded in her shadow. "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, spirits, and—especially—distinguished guests." Madam Maxime looked at the student team with a smile. "It is with great joy that I welcome you to Beauxbatons. I hope and believe that you will feel comfortable and happy here." ===== CHAPTER 188 =====