Outside Hogwarts Castle, a dense crowd had gathered. Nearly the entire school had come out to wait for the guests' arrival.
The other two schools competing in the Triwizard Tournament were about to arrive.
Compared with the Halloween feast, the arrival of two other wizarding schools on the same level as Hogwarts was obviously far more exciting to the students.
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. One was a wizarding school in France, Nicolas Flamel's alma mater. The other was located in the far north of Europe, a magical school buried in ice and snow all year round.
Beauxbatons arrived in a flying carriage drawn by Abraxans, the most precious breed among winged horses. The carriage itself had an Undetectable Extension Charm on it, making the interior extremely spacious. More than a dozen beautiful young women in uniform stepped down from it, all graceful and strikingly curvy.
The last to descend was a woman nearly three meters tall. She was Beauxbatons' current headmistress, Olympe Maxime.
Durmstrang, on the other hand, arrived aboard an ancient warship enchanted with water-traversing magic. The ship could pass through all manner of waters, and had left many legends behind in the Muggle world.
They had come here directly from the Arctic Ocean.
More than a dozen sturdy young men stepped off the warship, led by their headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, wrapped in a great cloak and holding a staff.
While the Hogwarts students crowded around the arrival of the visiting schools like wide-eyed bumpkins staring at zoo animals, Dumbledore and Grindelwald were also watching the people from the two schools from afar in the headmaster's office.
"Do you sense anything?" Dumbledore asked Grindelwald beside him.
"There's a strange feeling, but I can't tell who it's coming from. On the surface, they all look normal." Grindelwald shook his head after sensing for a moment.
"Is it Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
"Doesn't feel like him. I only sensed a trace of unusual magic, but it has nothing to do with Voldemort," Grindelwald said. "It may just be power they brought with them."
"So Voldemort didn't plant anyone among them? Hard to believe he'd pass up an opportunity like this," Dumbledore said.
"That only proves how confident he is in his own power. No scheme or trick can compare to absolute strength." As Grindelwald said that, he suddenly thought of Leonard.
He wondered whether that boy really understood the power of an Eternal Wizard, and whether whatever schemes he had in mind could actually accomplish anything.
With that thought, he expanded his senses and picked up Leonard in the crowd, along with a group of ravens observing the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.
Leonard was also observing them, but... his focus did not seem to be the same as Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's.
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, only to suddenly notice Leonard lifting his head in the crowd, as though he were looking right back at him.
He noticed me?
Interesting. This little fellow was even more interesting than Grindelwald had expected.
...
"So that's... Grindelwald? Is this the power of an Eternal Wizard? It feels even more outrageous than it did back at the tower."
Leonard lowered his head, his expression unreadable.
The power of an Eternal Wizard...
He would have it too, very soon.
"Leonard, look. That girl from Beauxbatons. Oh, Merlin, I think I'm in love." His roommate Ernie slapped him on the shoulder and shouted excitedly.
"I remember you said the same thing when you saw Ginny Weasley," Leonard said.
He glanced toward the center of attention in the crowd. Sure enough, the person Ernie was talking about was Fleur.
Fleur spotted Leonard at a glance and smiled at him, then turned away and put on a cool expression as she dealt with the Hogwarts students crowding around her.
"She smiled at me. Do you think she's into me?" Ernie shook Leonard, utterly infatuated.
Leonard rolled his eyes and ignored Ernie's lovestruck nonsense, looking instead toward Durmstrang's headmaster, Karkaroff.
"So that's what an Einherjar feels like..." A cold glint flashed through Leonard's eyes.
This Karkaroff was probably one of Odin's people, sent here to gather information.
Then again...
Leonard remembered that this man had once been one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, and a traitor besides.
There was probably no need for Leonard to do anything. Voldemort would most likely take care of him himself.
"The only question is when Voldemort plans to launch his full assault." Leonard drifted off slightly as he connected to the Blood Grapes spread beneath Hogwarts.
By now, the Blood Grapes had hollowed out a vast stretch of land under Hogwarts, extending across a radius of a hundred li.
That range was far greater than Grindelwald's magical detection.
Within that range, Leonard sensed Death God's magic drawing closer, creeping toward Hogwarts like a layer of mist.
He seemed to be probing the limits of Grindelwald's perception.
It looked like Voldemort was fully prepared. Given his nature, there was no way he would rest until Hogwarts was taken.
"Ahhh! It's Viktor Krum, the greatest Seeker in the world!" Ernie let out another groundhog-like shriek. "He was the one who caught the Golden Snitch in the final of this year's Quidditch World Cup!"
Speaking of the Quidditch World Cup, that major plot point, which should have caused a massive uproar, had already been completely distorted by Leonard's interference.
...
The pure-blood Death Eaters who had originally been dissatisfied with the new Muggle Protection Act had all been wiped out by Leonard. Lucius Malfoy, the organizer of that world-shaking demonstration, had long since betrayed Voldemort.
So this year's Quidditch World Cup had been rather dull. It was just Quidditch, and nothing else, so Leonard had not even bothered to go.
Viktor Krum, hailed as the greatest Seeker, was even more popular than Fleur. It was not only girls. Male Quidditch fans were even more over the top, and even quite a few pretty Beauxbatons girls kept sneaking glances his way.
Viktor Krum was long accustomed to this sort of scene. He waved with effortless ease and even signed autographs for some of his more fanatical admirers.
The welcome was lively and festive, as if heralding the grand opening of an exciting Triwizard Tournament.
But among the three headmasters of the schools participating in the tournament, it seemed only Maxime of Beauxbatons was truly paying attention to the competition itself.
Dumbledore quietly arrived and began making final checks by approaching the students from the two visiting schools. Grindelwald followed at his side, his masterful Disillusionment Charm flawless.
Durmstrang's headmaster Karkaroff stood beside Viktor, but his gaze was fixed far off in the direction of Hogsmeade.
"This Triwizard Tournament is going to be very interesting."
Standing in the crowd, Leonard watched the expressions on the three headmasters' faces, a strange light flickering in his eyes.