Crimson lightning illuminated the horizon, briefly turning the area bright as day.
Everyone could clearly see a dark shape streaking like lightning from the eastern mountains towards the airborne Thunderbirds and Horned Serpent.
After that piercing cry, both magical creatures had entered a state of panic.
The Horned Serpent sensed danger through animal instinct, while the Thunderbird... experienced absolute domination!
The red lightning dispelled the original thunderbolts in the sky.
Among the Slytherin ranks, Astoria gasped softly, "Mia!"
The students all looked at her when, suddenly, Malfoy's eyes widened as if struck by a realisation. "Wayne's Thunderbird!"
In an instant, it was as if a floodgate of memories had opened. Gazing at the dark silhouette approaching in the sky, the older students recalled that Quidditch match from two years ago.
"Wayne, your bird is massive!" Toby stared dumbfounded at the three magical creatures now gathered in the sky.
The corner of the young man's mouth was harder to suppress than an AK-47. "That's a given."
Mia beat her wings, positioning herself before Ilvermorny's banner-bearing procession, looking down imperiously upon the Thunderbird and Horned Serpent.
Bathed in lightning, her golden feathers shimmered radiantly.
Her gaze was disdainful, like a sovereign ruler of thunder.
With wings spread, her span exceeded twenty metres.
Before her, Ilvermorny's Thunderbird appeared as pitiful, helpless and weak as a chick.
The overwhelming aura forced the two magical creatures into continuous distressed cries as they stumbled to land on the broad lawn. The house they'd been pulling crashed to the ground with a "duang", followed by panicked shrieks from within.
Professor McGonagall couldn't suppress a smile, glancing back at the young man in the queue who was whispering with Hannah.
The villa's front door burst open as a hand gripped the frame, followed by a grimacing face.
It was a middle-aged wizard dressed in a smart grey suit and tie. Were it not for his dishevelled state, he might have passed for a Wall Street elite among Muggles - no one would guess he was a wizard.
"Blast it! Have you two forgotten how to pull a carriage? You nearly killed us!" The man complained to the Thunderbird and Horned Serpent, but when he looked up and met Mia's piercing stare, he instantly fell silent.
The ferocious aura made his legs feel unsteady.
Fortunately, Dumbledore stepped forward to ease the tension.
"Professor Fontaine, welcome," said the elderly wizard warmly, extending his hand for a shake.
"Ah, Professor Dumbledore! The last time we met was at the International Wizarding Conference two years ago. You're looking well." Fontaine managed a smile as he shook hands, then asked awkwardly, "Since when does Hogwarts keep a Thunderbird?"
"Oh, this enchanting lady? She isn't school property, but a student's personal pet," Dumbledore explained with a smile. "Today she's perhaps particularly excited to see others of her kind."
"Y-yes, of course." Fontaine's smile grew even more strained.
Returning a student's pet? You're having a laugh.
This Thunderbird looked fiercer than the Thunderbird King in Arizona – no student could possibly have tamed it!
"Children, come out now!" Fontaine called into the building. Soon, students in Ilvermorny uniforms filed out, though their expressions were visibly shaken, clearly frightened by the recent incident.
Their gazes towards Mia held admiration and longing, but mostly frustration.
Fontaine felt equally frustrated.
He'd intended to intimidate Hogwarts and showcase Ilvermorny's heritage.
Instead, they'd made a spectacular mess.
Many American wizards actually harboured grievances against Hogwarts.
Due to their similar house systems and the founders' British origins, the international community often jokingly called Ilvermorny "Hogwarts' American branch".
For Fontaine, who aspired to develop the school into the world's finest magical institution, such jokes were intolerable.
That's why he'd worked tirelessly to get Ilvermorny included in the Triwizard Tournament.
Defeating Hogwarts and other schools to claim the championship would skyrocket both his and Ilvermorny's prestige.
Yet their first move had backfired spectacularly. Just this ferocious Thunderbird's presence had reduced their two prized creatures to trembling quails.
"How many people did they bring?" Toby muttered in awe. Five minutes had passed, and they still hadn't all emerged.
"My apologies, Dumbledore. We've brought rather more people, but it couldn't be helped." Fontaine finally managed a faint smile. "This is already a streamlined delegation. With three thousand students at Ilvermorny, selecting just two hundred of the most outstanding was quite the challenge."
His words provoked further astonishment.
Hogwarts had barely over a thousand students – Ilvermorny had three times that?
"Perfectly normal. America's population dwarfs Britain's," Wayne shrugged. "Proportionally speaking, three thousand is actually low."
Many Muggle-born students nodded – he had a point.
Britain's population stood around sixty million, while America's two hundred fifty million was four times larger. Proportionally, the numbers made sense.
Finally, Ilvermorny's last two students emerged.
A boy and a girl. The girl had golden curls and a haughty expression, maintaining distance from her companion. The boy wore an icy expression, only nodding slightly when he saw Fontaine.
"Allow me to introduce our two most outstanding students, Cassandra Worley and Blaze Wilkinson."
Dumbledore smiled warmly in welcome. The named students murmured polite greetings, their demeanour markedly respectful.
Even across the Atlantic, Dumbledore's reputation carried weight. Many wizards regarded him as an idol.
"Let's wait a while longer. Our friends from Uagadou will arrive shortly." Dumbledore and Fontaine chatted amiably, like old companions.
Among Ilvermorny's ranks, Cassandra kept scanning the Hogwarts contingent, searching for a familiar figure. But the crowd was too large, and the night too dark to see clearly.
"Worley, what are you looking for?" Wilkinson asked curiously, noticing her odd behaviour.
"None of your business. Can't I just look around?" Cassandra snapped impatiently, her irritation boiling over.
That damned bastard had only replied to one of her three letters and hadn't even mentioned the huge incident during summer break. It was infuriating.
"Achoo!" Wayne suddenly sneezed.
"You're not catching a cold, are you?" Cedric turned his head with concern. "If you are, stay away from me. Don't infect me and ruin my chances of becoming champion."
"Piss off." Wayne pushed him away with a dark expression.
Professor Sprout glanced back, and the two immediately straightened up.
The guests from Uagadou didn't keep everyone waiting much longer, finally arriving at Hogwarts.
Again, from the direction of the Forbidden Forest, this time without any unusual signs in the sky, but with rustling sounds and the roars of wild beasts emerging from the trees.
Just as students began to think the magical creatures in the forest were revolting, a horde of animals burst forth.
Cheetahs, rhinos, brown bears, wolves, lions.
A stampede of creatures that had no business being in the Forbidden Forest charged forward, led by a hippopotamus that—to everyone's astonishment—transformed into a black man in white robes with a greying beard.
"Albus, Fontaine, apologies for our slight lateness," he called cheerfully in heavily accented English.
One by one, the animals behind him also shifted into human form, arranging themselves into two neat rows. Had they not all been dressed in white, they'd have been invisible in the darkness.
Dumbledore and Fontaine stepped forward. "Zaka, you're not late at all. Though this entrance was certainly... unexpected."
Dumbledore extended his hand, but Zaka was too enthusiastic, pulling both him and Fontaine into crushing hugs.
Fontaine rolled his eyes, the stench of sweat threatening to make him vomit his breakfast.
"I believe this trains the students, no?" Zaka said brightly. "From Burkina Faso, Benin, Central Africa, Chad, Egypt, then across Europe—they've gained much experience along the way."
"You actually walked the entire distance?" Fontaine asked, shocked.
"A combination of Transfiguration and foot travel. Older students carried the younger ones. We caused some minor troubles, but fortunately avoided Muggle government attention. Most fortunate."
"That's... quite the journey," Dumbledore said lamely.
"Not at all," Zaka flashed a gleaming smile. "Though we are rather hungry. Our provisions ran out five days ago."
Their conversation wasn't quiet—Zaka in particular had a booming voice.
Upon hearing that the Uagadou students had literally run all the way from Africa, the Hogwarts and Ilvermorny students were stunned.
The spectacle of so many beasts transforming en masse had already left them reeling. Professor McGonagall's mental alarms blared, instantly elevating Uagadou's threat level to maximum in her assessment.
With such advanced Animagus mastery, they'd be formidable competitors...
At this moment, Dumbledore gestured for them to proceed, and the three walked into the Great Hall. Hogwarts students entered first under the guidance of their professors, followed by Ilvermorny, then the students from Uagadou.
Under the glow of thousands of candles, everyone could finally see the faces of the Uagadou students clearly.
Black—but a riotously colourful black.
Light brown, dark brown, pure black, glossy black, matte black, satin black.
Though Hogwarts and Ilvermorny also had black students, theirs were ordinary blacks, unlike the distinctively varied shades of the Uagadou students.
"Oh no, they all look the same to me," Hannah said, her scalp prickling. "What if I call someone by the wrong name?"
"Don't worry, you can tell them apart by their hairstyles," Wayne replied, his lips twitching. "Notice how their hairstyles are all wildly different? Aside from the bald ones, the rest are pretty easy to distinguish."
"Oh, you're right! That's a relief." Hannah scanned the crowd carefully and sighed in relief once she confirmed it was true.
Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore rose to his feet.
"Ladies, gentlemen, ghosts, and most especially, our honoured guests," Dumbledore said, beaming at the assembly.
"I know you must all be famished, but I am simply overjoyed—young witches and wizards from around the world gathered here at Hogwarts, soon to engage in passionate exchanges and friendly competition."
As he spoke, he even removed his glasses to wipe away a glistening tear at the corner of his eye. "What I mean to say is... welcome! Now, eat!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a feast rivalling the start-of-term banquet appeared on the tables. The ravenous young wizards immediately dug in.
Though Wayne had snacked earlier, he hadn't eaten much, and standing around had long since burned through that. He piled a plate high with chicken wings.
Normally, Hufflepuff was undoubtedly the house most ferocious about mealtimes, but today, they met their match.
Uagadou had only brought a hundred students, but they attacked the food as though they intended to eat Hogwarts out of house and home. The dishes were vanishing at a visibly alarming rate.
They didn't seem like competitors here for a tournament—more like refugees fleeing a famine.
This was nothing short of a challenge to Hufflepuff's pride, so many of the badgers quietly picked up their pace, sparking an unspoken competition between the two groups.
When it comes to eating, Hufflepuff bows to no one!
At the High Table, the seats on either side of Dumbledore had been given to the two headmasters. Zakari, like his students, was wholly occupied with eating and had no time to spare for Dumbledore or Fontaine, leaving the two of them to converse alone.
"You say that Thunderbird belongs to Mr Lawrence?" Fontaine asked, surprised.
"I heard Lafferty mention it. If it's the one taken from the reserve, it would only be four years old now?"
"Mr Lawrence's research into lightning-based magic is profoundly advanced—far beyond my own understanding. Perhaps there's some connection there."
Dumbledore was heaping praise on Wayne, and Fontaine nodded in agreement.
By now, Wayne's reputation had spread worldwide following the chaos at the Quidditch World Cup. Fontaine had read Rita Skeeter's reports and had no reason to doubt it.
"Thank goodness he isn't competing. It would crush the students' spirits."
"I shared that concern, which is why I invited him to serve as a judge instead."
The two headmasters exchanged smiles, the atmosphere thoroughly congenial.
An hour later, the food on the tables vanished, and Dumbledore rose once more.
"The hour grows late. I hope everyone gets a good rest tonight. Additionally, Castelobruxo will arrive on Monday morning, with the other three schools following on Wednesday, in preparation for the selection of champions."
"Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, would you kindly escort our guests to their accommodations?"
Professor McGonagall nodded and, together with Professor Flitwick, led the two headmasters away from the high table.
The other students also prepared to return to their common rooms, with the Hufflepuff badgers being the slowest—each one stuffed to the brim.
Still, they had valiantly upheld their house's gluttonous reputation, having nearly cleared the tables of all food.
Wayne guided his barely mobile roommates through the entrance hall and was about to descend the stairs when a voice laced with resentment reached his ears.
"Wayne, aren't you going to explain why you took so long to reply?"
"I wrote you three letters this summer, and you haven't responded to a single one!"
Hmm?
Toby and Norman, who had been nearly asleep, instantly perked up at this, turning towards the source.
A blonde girl in Ilvermorny's green robes stood with arms crossed, glaring at Wayne with palpable indignation.
Not just them—nearby students all pricked up their ears, their footsteps slowing to a hundredth of their usual speed.
Drama?