As time passed, the light outside the windows gradually dimmed—they had already been in the sky for most of the day, and now it was evening.
It seemed that even after taking to the air, the Hogwarts Express was still nowhere near as fast as a real airplane. Logically speaking, the distance from Britain to Northern Europe should have taken no more than three or four hours at the absolute most. But in terms of comfort, the train was far beyond any ordinary plane—Avada had even taken a short nap on it out of habit, had already gone to the dining carriage for dinner, and was now sitting by the bed, quietly listening to the low rumble of the train while studying methods for separating soul fragments...
"Attention, all students, attention, all students please."
Suddenly, Dumbledore's low, elderly voice sounded in his ears. The first word had been very soft, not abrupt enough to startle him, and only afterward did the voice gradually become clearer, as though Dumbledore were standing right in front of him.
"We will likely arrive at Durmstrang in about ten minutes. Please straighten your clothes and gather in the first carriage. And remember to dress warmly—this place is probably even colder than Hogwarts."
'We're almost there.'
Avada focused himself, quickly straightened his clothes, splashed some water on his face to wake himself up a bit, and then opened the door and stepped out. By now, quite a few students were already making their way down the corridor toward the meeting carriage. After nodding greetings to a few familiar faces, he joined the line and briskly passed through the corridor and the dining carriage before arriving once more at the meeting room.
Dumbledore was already seated at the long table, smiling and nodding at the students, whose expressions all showed varying degrees of excitement.
"Look outside,"
he said, without repeating yet again all the usual reminders about manners and appearance, instead raising a hand and pointing through the window.
"That is Durmstrang's guide."
Everyone turned to look out into the now completely dark window, and sure enough, within that pitch-black reflective surface they saw a single striking point of light.
"All we need to do now is head toward that point of light, and we will be able to enter Durmstrang's range."
Once he had confirmed that all the students were present, Dumbledore gave a wave of his hand. The light in the window immediately began shifting rapidly until it disappeared beyond the frame—he had not adjusted the train's direction until now.
At that moment, Avada suddenly felt his body lighten, and a sensation of weightlessness shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. At the same time, the faintly visible clouds outside the window began moving rapidly upward, until another expanse of radiance appeared once again in the darkness beyond...
"We have arrived."
Dumbledore smiled and pointed to that broad spread of light covering the ground below.
"That is Durmstrang."
The Hogwarts Express descended rapidly and finally touched down when it was still some distance away from that stretch of light. Everyone inside the carriage could clearly feel the jolt. After that, the train behaved just like any ordinary locomotive running on the ground, puffing out white steam that was barely visible under the night sky, gradually slowing as it approached Durmstrang Castle. At last, with a loud whistle, it came to a complete stop beside a wide lake.
"All right, champions,"
Dumbledore's expression grew a little more formal as he lightly adjusted his robes.
"Let us get down and go meet our friends from Durmstrang."
With that, he walked first to the carriage door, and once it opened, he was the first to step out. The students behind him then followed in orderly fashion.
"Hiss..."
The instant Avada stepped through the carriage door, a blast of cold air hit him head-on, making his ears ache immediately. And in a formal setting like this, it would hardly be appropriate for him to pull out his wand and cast a warming charm on himself—good thing Dumbledore had warned them beforehand.
And once he had fully stepped off the train, the shape of Durmstrang Castle came into view.
Though it was somewhat blurred beneath the cover of night, one could still vaguely make out that the castle was not as tall and majestic as Hogwarts Castle. Judging just by the number of lit windows, the building appeared to have only four floors. But if one turned one's head and looked to either side, it became obvious that the structure was astonishingly wide. Rather than a castle, it looked more like a fortress.
That was probably meant to reflect Durmstrang's teaching style, with its special focus on Dark Magic, dueling magic, and war magic.
And at the place where they had disembarked, there was already a large group of people waiting for them. At the front stood a crowd of mature or elderly adults, while behind them were many younger faces standing on tiptoe, trying their best to get a good look. At the head of both groups, Dumbledore was warmly speaking with a middle-aged wizard who wore a goatee.
"Dumbledore!"
The moment Igor Karkaroff caught sight of him, he strode forward enthusiastically and held out his hand.
"My dear old friend, how are you?"
"Excellent, thank you, Professor Karkaroff."
Dumbledore replied with a smile, shaking his hand. The two of them really did seem like old friends who had not seen each other in years. There was no sign at all that one of them was a former Death Eater, while the other currently carried the soul of that former Death Eater's old master...
"Oh, the moment I see you, I am reminded of my beloved alma mater..."
Karkaroff seemed to speak with deep nostalgia.
"To be honest, I was almost tempted to give Hogwarts the chance to host this Tournament, just so I might revisit those old places myself—but as you know, that Tournament from a century ago is far too painful a memory for Durmstrang. So the moment I heard that the competition was being revived, I decided that I would restore the honor that Durmstrang deserves. After all, this is where I belong now, is it not?"
"That is a remarkably responsible decision."
Dumbledore responded pleasantly, then shifted the subject.
"And Beauxbatons? Have they arrived yet?"
"They arrived about five minutes ago. They've already gone inside the hall to warm themselves up—you'd best head in as well."
Karkaroff enthusiastically beckoned to the Hogwarts group, signaling them to follow him.
"This train—oh, isn't this the Hogwarts Express? It can fly? I never knew it had that function when I was a student!"
"Just leave the train here. It won't be in the way at all, and it's still fairly close to the castle... You're planning to live in it, yes?"
"Thank you very much."
Dumbledore nodded politely, then took the lead in following Karkaroff's steps. The students behind him also naturally formed a line and followed, entering the entrance hall of Durmstrang one by one...
(End of Chapter)