"Enough, Poliakoff!"
Surprisingly, it wasn't Sherlock who interrupted the Durmstrang student Lucas Poliakoff.
It was their headmaster, Karkaroff.
Karkaroff looked at Poliakoff with gloomy eyes, showing no courtesy despite the fact that he was a Triwizard Tournament champion. He said coldly, "Don't reveal any more secrets, or this charming young lady will know where we are!"
Hearing Karkaroff's words, Dumbledore's eyes sparkled behind his half-moon spectacles. He glanced subtly at Sherlock, then smiled and said, "Igor, guarding secrets so closely, people will think you don't welcome visitors!"
Karkaroff opened his mouth wide, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Dumbledore, we all want to protect our private territories, don't we?"
Without waiting for Dumbledore's response, he continued like a machine gun, "Don't we need to carefully guard the temple of learning entrusted to our care? Shouldn't we take pride in being the only ones who know our school's secrets? Shouldn't we keep these secrets?"
"Oh, I would never dare claim that I personally know all of Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," Dumbledore replied amiably to Karkaroff's rhetoric.
"For example, just this morning, when I took a wrong turn on my way to the bathroom, I found myself in a beautifully appointed room I had never seen before. The room was filled with all manner of exquisite and luxurious pots.
But when I went back to investigate more carefully, I discovered the room had disappeared. I must keep a close watch for it. Perhaps it can only be entered at five-thirty in the morning, or perhaps it only appears during a crescent moon. Of course, it might also be when someone looking for a bathroom has a particularly full bladder."
Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione understood immediately. Obviously, Dumbledore was referring to the Room of Requirement.
Just as Gemma had once said, this room appeared and disappeared, only showing itself when truly needed. But whenever it appeared, it would always be arranged according to the needs of the person seeking it. Dumbledore needed a bathroom, so it became a lavatory.
But since Dumbledore didn't know the correct way to enter it, naturally when he returned to search for it, he couldn't find it again.
However, Lucas Poliakoff didn't try to talk to Cho Chang again this time as he had just been reprimanded by his headmaster.
Fleur Delacour was criticizing Hogwarts' decorations. "This is actually nothing much," she said, looking around the star-studded walls of the Great Hall with contempt.
"At the Beauxbatons castle, our hall is filled with ice sculptures at Christmas. Of course, they don't melt—like huge diamond sculptures, sparkling throughout the hall. And our food is also top-class. We also have a wood nymph choir that serenades us while we eat. We don't have these ugly suits of armor along our walls, and if any mischief-making ghost broke into Beauxbatons, they would definitely be driven out, just like this." She spoke while impatiently slapping her hand on the table.
Hearing this, Cedric couldn't help but frown. After Fleur finished speaking, he slowly put down his silver fork, looked at Fleur with a smile and said, "Miss Delacour, please allow me to share a different perspective."
Fleur seemed surprised, as if she hadn't expected Cedric to directly contradict her. Cedric's tone was steady, neither offensive nor lacking in strength.
"The ice sculptures and nymph choir at Beauxbatons Castle certainly sound extremely wonderful, undoubtedly unique magical spectacles. I fully believe in your school's splendor, but—" He looked around the star-studded hall, his gaze sweeping over the magical light flickering on the walls.
"Hogwarts' charm lies in a different kind of depth. The ugly armor you mentioned are precisely witnesses to a thousand years of history, silently guarding the stories of countless generations of students.
Though our sky is an artificial magical dome, it faithfully reflects the changing weather outside, allowing us within these ancient stone walls to feel the changing seasons and varying weather. This close connection with magical history and resonance with natural magic is an irreplaceable part of Hogwarts."
Seeing Fleur frown, he didn't stop but continued, "I think rather than comparing which is better or worse, we could say that Beauxbatons displays French-style exquisite romance and splendor, while Hogwarts radiates Britain's ancient simplicity, solidity, and mystery. Each has its own captivating qualities, and both are precious treasures of the magical world."
Cedric's words were sincere and persuasive, drawing nods from champions of both Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. Just then, a voice that sounded somewhat casual interjected.
"Simply in terms of food, France does indeed have its unique qualities." Sherlock pointed at something on his plate with his fork, his gray eyes sweeping past Fleur, the corners of his mouth bearing a subtle smile. "For example, their escargot—the balance of butter, garlic, and herbs is handled quite exquisitely."
Hearing this, Fleur couldn't help but tremble slightly. As they say, the speaker may not intend it, but the listener takes it to heart.
She completely didn't understand why Sherlock would suddenly bring this up at this moment. Although what Sherlock said was all factual, she always felt that Sherlock wouldn't speak without purpose.
Because of this, when Cedric mentioned the comparison of the two schools' characteristics, she could still maintain her surface arrogance, even with a hint of dismissiveness in her eyes.
But when Sherlock's voice rang out, especially when he mentioned French food, she always felt he was looking at her with a half-smile.
At this moment, Fleur seemed to be instantly pulled back to that scene by the Black Lake when she was mercilessly exposed. "Of course, France's culinary achievements are indisputable art." After this sentence, she no longer commented on Hogwarts' decorations.
Since Harry and Hermione already knew Fleur's secret from Sherlock, seeing her expression, they weren't surprised. After saying that, Sherlock no longer paid attention to Fleur, and his gaze began to survey the hall.
Apart from eating, Krum's eyes remained on Hermione throughout. Since hearing that Hermione said Krum had invited her as his dance partner, this reaction was naturally not surprising at all. Toby Thorsen and Lucas Poliakoff were talking in low voices, occasionally stealing glances at Cho Chang. These three men's dance partners were all Durmstrang ladies, currently all looking quite indignant.
The situation with Roy Levan and Fili Laverna was more normal. Both were conversing softly with their partners, who were from Hogwarts. Sherlock recognized the girl as Ravenclaw and the boy as Hufflepuff.
Besides this table, what naturally attracted his attention most was the big fellow like Madame Maxime—Rubeus Hagrid.
Today he wore that ugly furry brown suit again. Since he wasn't a member of the judging panel, he was currently sitting at the same staff table as the other professors. At this moment, he was looking up at the head table, his gaze containing only Madame Maxime.
Professor McGonagall was talking with Professor Sprout, both looking very happy. This was natural—their prized students had not only been selected by the Goblet of Fire as Triwizard Tournament champions but had also taken first place in the first task, making quite an impression.
Professor Snape was coldly staring at Karkaroff with his sinister gaze, but his reaction ability was very sharp. When Sherlock's gaze swept over, he almost immediately withdrew his gaze and made only fleeting eye contact with Sherlock.
Professor Lupin was the complete opposite of Professor Snape, always showing that gentle appearance. When he saw Sherlock's gaze, he not only smiled slightly at him but also waved his hand. As for Professor Flitwick—sorry, even Sherlock could only see a pointed hat at this moment.
"Her-her-mi-own." Just then, Krum finally gathered his courage. He looked at Hermione, seeming to want to say something to her.
"No, I'm called Hermione," Hermione said somewhat surprised but still very politely.
"Her-mi-oh-nee?"
"Forget it, just call me Granger," Hermione said after glancing quickly at Sherlock.
However, Krum refused to compromise, continuing to practice, and Hermione let him be. After a while, they finished eating everything.
Dumbledore stood up, asking the students to stand as well. He then waved his wand, and all the tables whooshed to the walls, leaving an open space in the middle. Next, he conjured a high stage against the right wall, with a drum kit, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and several organs on it.
At this moment, wizards with particularly thick hair, wearing deliberately torn black robes, crowded onto the stage together. The audience immediately burst into enthusiastic applause.
"They're here!"
"They really came!"
"It's the Weird Sisters!"
"They actually invited them!"
Obviously, this musical group had many fans in the magical world. When they picked up their instruments, the applause throughout the hall was like thunder.
Just then, the lanterns at the other tables all went out. The champions and their partners stood up one by one. At this moment, everyone realized something. The Christmas feast had ended. Taking its place was today's main event—the Christmas Ball.
"Hogwarts champions, please enter—" Mr. Bagman said excitedly. "It's performance time!"
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