"Yes, they're here!" Dumbledore shouted along with the other teachers as they stood at the back row.
"Where?" many students asked eagerly, looking in different directions.
"There!" a sixth-year student yelled, pointing above the Forbidden Forest.
A colossal creature, much larger than a flying broomstick—perhaps even a hundred broomsticks—soared rapidly across the deep blue sky towards the castle, growing larger and larger.
"It's a dragon!" a first-year student screamed, overwhelmed with excitement.
"Don't be silly... it's a flying house!" Dennis Creevey said.
Dennis's guess was closer to the truth.
As the massive dark object swooped from the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, illuminated by the lights of the castle windows, they saw a huge powder-blue carriage flying towards them.
It was as large as a house, pulled by twelve winged horses soaring through the air. They were all Abraxan horses, each nearly the size of an elephant.
The carriage descended lower, rapidly and with incredible speed.
The students in the front three rows hastily stepped back—then, with a thunderous crash, the hooves of those horses landed on the ground, each the size of dinner plates.
In the blink of an eye, the carriage landed as well, vibrating on its enormous wheels, while the golden horses shook their massive heads, their fiery red eyes rolling.
On the door of the carriage was a crest—a cross of two shimmering gold wands, each topped with three stars, the coat of arms of Beauxbatons.
In the next moment, the door opened.
A boy in a light blue robe jumped down from the carriage, bent down, and fumbled on the carriage floor, then opened a golden ladder.
He respectfully took a step back, and a shiny black high-heeled shoe emerged from the carriage—a shoe as big as a child's sled.
Following closely behind was a woman, so large in stature that she resembled a small giant.
Thus, the reason for the carriage and the giant horses was now self-evident. Several people gasped in astonishment.
When the woman reached the foot of the steps, she turned around and looked at the wide-eyed crowd.
As she walked into the light spilling from the entrance hall, they saw her handsome olive-skinned face, large and dark watery eyes, and a very sharp nose.
Her hair was pulled back in a shiny bun at the nape of her neck.
She was wrapped in a black velvet dress from neck to toe, adorned with many exquisite opals around her neck and thick fingers.
Dumbledore began to clap, and the students followed suit, many tiptoeing to get a better look at the woman.
Her face relaxed into an elegant smile as she extended a shining hand towards Dumbledore.
Though Dumbledore was tall himself, he hardly had to bend to kiss her hand.
"She's really tall," Hermione sighed. "Apart from Hagrid, I've never seen anyone as tall as her."
"That's for sure," Alaric explained. "She's Madame Olympe Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons. Like Hagrid, she's a half-giant, which explains her height."
"Oh, a half-giant becoming the headmistress of Beauxbatons," Hermione admired her.
"I've heard that Beauxbatons is the only wizarding school in France. The famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel graduated from Beauxbatons. Madame Maxime is truly remarkable."
Hermione's admiration was justified.
Wizards have always been proud, looking down on any magical creatures other than themselves, especially low-intelligence creatures like giants.
Therefore, as a half-giant, Hagrid has always been prejudiced against by those conservative pure-blood wizard families.
In this context, Madame Maxime becoming the headmistress of a wizarding school was indeed a remarkable achievement.
"You don't need to envy her," Alaric patted Hermione's head reassuringly.
"As a Muggle-born wizard, you're already more powerful than most wizards today. I believe your achievements in the future will surpass Madame Maxime's."
"Don't pat my head all the time," Hermione didn't buy it and shook her head impatiently. "I'm not a child anymore. Also, weren't you just praising yourself earlier?"
"—Caught red-handed."
After Madame Maxime, about twelve or thirteen male and female students had also descended from the carriage, standing behind Madame Maxime now.
Judging from their appearance, they were probably around eighteen or nineteen years old, each slightly trembling.
This was not surprising, as their robes seemed to be made of exquisite silk, and none of them wore cloaks.
Several students had scarves or head scarves wrapped around their heads.
They all stood in the enormous shadow cast by Madame Maxime, gazing up at Hogwarts with wary expressions.
However, among them, Alaric immediately recognized the Delacour sisters, Fleur and Gabrielle, with their beautiful silver hair which was quite distinctive.
He nodded to them, and because Alaric was standing relatively close and had a very outstanding appearance and demeanor, the sisters noticed him immediately and smiled at him.
But Cho Chang keenly noticed something was amiss.
"Do you happen to know people at Beauxbatons?" she asked tentatively.
—How should I answer this?
"...Yes."
"They are... girls?"
—Why are you so clever?
"Not saying anything means you're agreeing."
"Although I don't know how you know them, introduce them to me later. Girls recognized by you must be outstanding."
—The tone is as gentle as ever, but there seems to be something meaningful behind it. When did little Cho Chang learn to be so insidious?
Unknowingly, Alaric felt a hint of danger—of course, that was impossible, but he would indeed have to spend a lot of effort to reassure the girls around him.
Especially Cho, who had only confirmed her relationship with him about two months ago, was deeply immersed in love and applause.
During these two months, every weekend they went to the mansion located in Hogsmeade and spent some quality time together.
Sometimes they even sneaked into the Chamber of Secrets occupied and transformed by Alaric.
Although the girls were mentally prepared for Alaric's philandering, the appearance of the Delacour sisters at this sensitive time made Cho Chang's reaction quite normal.
On the other side, Hagrid took on the task of taking care of the winged horses, while Madame Maxime led the students into the castle.
Next up was the wait for the Durmstrang Institute.
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