Diplomacy with Fangs
"Ah, right. Viktor, please come over and stand somewhere warmer," Karkaroff said suddenly, turning around to look at one of his students. Upon hearing his name, the boy nodded at once and approached with calm steps, drawing the attention of everyone present, a mix of mild surprise and excitement as he stepped into the light.
It was Viktor Krum, some students said with enthusiasm when they recognized the Durmstrang student's face.
With a faint, proud smile, Karkaroff gave Viktor a friendly pat on the shoulders. "Viktor is a bit under the weather. I hope that does not bother you," he said, looking first at Sirius and then at Madame Maxime, as if from that very moment he already felt victorious over Hogwarts and Beauxbatons for having a student of such renown.
"Oh, that is quite unfortunate. He should move closer to the warmth of the castle. We asked our guests to remain in the carriage for the same reason. They may not be accustomed to the English cold, but since we are about to go inside, it would be best to call them," Madame Maxime said with a gentle smile, before turning to one of the Beauxbatons students, who quickly went into the carriage to notify them.
Meanwhile, Karkaroff raised an eyebrow with faint mockery, waiting to see who she might bring out to compete with his prized student.
"Oh, it seems we can finally step out. It was starting to get a bit boring waiting inside," a male voice said with an amused tone.
A handsome man with blond hair and a striking appearance stepped down calmly. He wore clothing of unmistakably high class, and his confident gaze lingered for a moment on Hogwarts Castle with clear appreciation. "Look, Penny. The castle is still the same as it was six hundred years ago," he said with amusement. He did not seem to be more than thirty years old, yet his words carried the weight of someone far more ancient.
Behind him emerged a beautiful woman of nearly the same age, wearing a blue dress that matched Beauxbatons' colors. She smiled softly before looking at the castle. "Well, they really have kept it the same," she commented with a faint smile.
"Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, we are about to enter the castle, so it would be best if you joined us," Madame Maxime said, presenting them naturally. "Oh, right. You may not know this, but these are Mr. Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle Flamel, who have come to accompany us to watch the competition," she added, smiling toward Karkaroff, who stood there with his mouth open, completely incredulous and confused.
"What? Nicolas Flamel? How can that be…?"
"Oh, it should not be that much of a surprise, should it? After all, Mr. Nicolas Flamel is the greatest alchemist of all time," Madame Maxime added, cutting him off before he could finish the question. His expression was utterly baffled, and for a brief moment his gaze fixed on Nicolas, who seemed genuinely amused by how events were unfolding.
"It is a pleasure," Sirius said to both of them, with proper manners, as if he were already aware of their newly youthful appearance, which indeed he was. "I never had the pleasure of meeting you, but I had heard about your new… appearance, from my godson," he added softly.
"Oh, yes. You are little Harry's godfather," Perenelle said with a cheerful smile.
"And where is he now?" Nicolas asked, looking toward the crowd of students with a mischievous grin.
"Harry, are you not going to come and greet your teachers?" Sirius said, turning and directing his gaze toward Harry and his group.
Harry looked at his godfather with a cold expression for a moment, before stepping out from the Hogwarts group, followed by Draco, Hermione, and Daphne. All of them wore slightly annoyed expressions toward Sirius, yet were clearly happy to see Nicolas and Perenelle.
"Master, Mistress, it is a pleasure to see you both in such good health," Harry said in unison with the others, his manners impeccable.
"I already told you to stop that," Perenelle said, moving closer and giving each of them a warm hug, clearly delighted.
"Master, I missed you. I thought you were enjoying yourselves in the Bermudas," Daphne said, hugging her enthusiastically.
"Yes, but we could not miss this festival," Nicolas added, glancing at Harry, well aware that this was the true reason Madame Maxime had smiled earlier.
Meanwhile, Karkaroff watched Harry and his group with a deep frown, his gaze growing increasingly fixed on the boy.
"Oh, perhaps you do not know him, but this is Harry Potter, my godson and a student of Nicolas Flamel, as well as the one who defeated your master," Sirius said, never taking his eyes off Karkaroff.
Karkaroff's eyes widened as he stared at Harry, who returned the look for a brief instant upon hearing the word "master."
There was something dangerous in the child's gaze, something uncomfortably close to fear, even if he refused to accept it, and it made him avert his eyes almost at once.
"Ahem… as I was saying before, Viktor is a bit unwell, so…"
"Oh, right. How rude of us," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Let us go in, let us go in," he added quickly, beginning to guide everyone inside.
Selene, who had been watching everything with interest from the professors' section, moved slightly closer to Wanda and whispered,
"He looks a bit like an idiot, but he is learning quite a lot about politics, don't you think? He can even use his godson. Tsk, tsk, tsk, that kind of godfather…"
Wanda did not give it much importance. She knew that kind of comment between them far too well, so she simply smiled faintly.
Of course, that was because she knew Harry would pay him back sooner or later.
The look Harry gave his godfather for a brief instant, that same cold gaze paired with the faint smile he had shown while speaking to Karkaroff, was enough to send a slight chill down Sirius' spine. Even so, he did his best to ignore it.
All the students began to move, following the headmasters as they entered the castle in long lines.
As Karkaroff walked on, observing every corner of the castle with a serious, scrutinizing gaze, he started to notice something strange. For some reason, the Beauxbatons students seemed to get along remarkably well with those from Hogwarts. Some were even surprisingly close, far more so than his own students with Hogwarts', aside from a few, who had been accepted to attend his school two years earlier.
The following year, he had refused to send exchange students under any circumstances. And now, seeing the relationship between Beauxbatons and Hogwarts, it began to seem that this had been precisely the reason.
"Oh, this will be truly entertaining. It is always exciting to see how the three schools try to pretend they get along, while at the same time wanting to claw each other's eyes out," Nicolas said with amusement, as he watched the three headmasters conversing calmly, though in a clearly false manner.
"Master, were you present at the previous tournaments?" Harry asked with some interest.
"Oh yes, at a few of them. But I stopped attending because of all those foolish deaths in the name of honor," he replied, shaking his head. "Although now it seems they want to avoid that and have put quite a few rules in place, so I thought I might lend a hand to make sure everything is safer," he added.
"And of course, I want to see you all participate. I would not miss it," Nicolas said.
"Mmm… but I am not planning to participate," Harry said calmly.
"Neither am I," Draco added, just as composed.
"Me neither," Hermione said, shaking her head.
"Ehhh… I thought we were going to compete to see who would be Hogwarts' champion," Daphne said. "If not, there is no fun in it, so I will not participate either," she added right away.
"You are not participating?" Nicolas asked in surprise. He had assumed that at least one of them would be chosen as champion. In fact, there was no doubt that if they put their names in, they would be selected before many others.
"Well, it just sounds…"
"stupid,"
"risky,"
"annoying,"
the three of them said, except for Daphne.
Those words made Nicolas laugh, because they suited them perfectly.
"That is fine. Of course it is fine. Even if Nicolas is here to help, it will surely still be dangerous. It is better not to enter and simply watch; it will be fun," Perenelle said, supporting the children. "Ah, by the way, I still have not greeted your mother," she added, looking around before spotting Wanda walking alongside Selene, Susan, and Narcissa, and then went to join them.
Seeing Perenelle leave, Nicolas stepped a bit closer to Harry and Draco. "Are you sure? I think you could be quite popular with the girls," he said with a grin, winking at them.
Hermione rolled her eyes upon hearing her teacher, while Daphne laughed, clearly amused.
"Master, I think you are talking to the wrong people. They do not need it," Daphne said playfully. "They are professional playboys."
Draco and Harry looked at her for a moment before shaking their heads.
…
Everyone finally reached the Great Hall, the atmosphere shifting back to something more solemn and calm. The Durmstrang students took seats at the Slytherin table, while those from Beauxbatons sat alongside the Ravenclaws.
Meanwhile, the headmasters seated themselves on either side of Sirius, and Perenelle and Nicolas took places near Wanda, Narcissa, Susan, and Selene. Although the hall was beginning to fill with voices, a sense of expectation seemed to hang in the air as they waited for Sirius to speak.
Harry, glancing at his godfather, did not really expect much, especially considering how Sirius' first words as headmaster had gone during the welcome dinner at the start of the Hogwarts term.
"Ehh… well, I will explain everything later. Let's eat," Sirius said, as if that were all, before sitting down proudly.
He gave a light clap. Professor McGonagall, who until that moment had been watching a nearly perfect Sirius as headmaster, immediately brought a hand to her forehead. They had come so far, and he ruined it at the most perfect moment.
This made the Hogwarts students laugh, doing their best to keep from laughing out loud.
Harry simply wore a look that said, "I knew it," as the dishes began to appear on the tables.