Miss Granger's inadvertent remark gave Rhys an extremely poor first impression of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
What was the matter? Was Slytherin House really that embarrassing to them?
If the staff and students of Ilvermorny could hear Rhys's thoughts, they would undoubtedly reply: Yes, very embarrassing.
The absence of a house similar to Slytherin among Ilvermorny's four houses was partly due to the fact that North America had never embraced blood purity ideology to the same extent as the British magical world, nor had it produced numerous pure-blood families with centuries of history. But at the root of it all, the connection to Slytherin House was indeed inseparable.
The founder of Ilvermorny, Isolt Sayre, was a Hogwarts graduate. She had an aunt named Gormlaith Gaunt.
The surname "Gaunt" alone was enough to show that Gormlaith was a staunch believer in blood purity.
However, James Steward, the man who founded Ilvermorny alongside Isolt Sayre, was a Muggle. When Isolt fled her aunt's home, she also took with her a Gaunt family heirloom, said to be Salazar Slytherin's own wand.
One could easily imagine the ferocious conflict that followed.
That was the moment when Ilvermorny came closest to destruction, but in the end, Isolt Sayre defeated and killed her aunt.
Born from such a background, it would have been stranger if Ilvermorny had held any affection for Slytherin House. From its very foundation, the school rejected blood purity ideology and was widely recognised as one of the greatest magical schools, known for its democratic spirit and willingness to teach anyone. Naturally, there was no house whose ideals resembled those of Slytherin House.
Rhys knew none of this.
He only knew that Rowena and Helga had heard Hermione's explanation.
Seeing the two of them trembling as they desperately held back their laughter, Rhys felt terrible.
Ilvermorny's Headmistress, Seraphina Picquery, was a witch who looked even older than Dumbledore. After exchanging a few words with him, she led her students, all dressed in blue robes accented with crimson, into formation alongside the other schools.
At this point, the eight most prestigious magical schools in the world had gathered together to participate in this grand occasion for the wizarding world.
Seeing that the final school had arrived, Karkaroff stepped forward and flashed a warm smile.
"Dumbledore, my dear old friend, it seems everyone has arrived!" he said in his smooth, syrupy voice. "So we can go inside now, can't we? Viktor is getting a bit hungry."
As he spoke, he beckoned Viktor Krum to step to the front of the Durmstrang formation.
Karkaroff was doing this deliberately.
He wanted to use the opportunity to show off Krum and give the other schools a little Durmstrang shock.
Look!
The legendary Seeker Viktor Krum is a Durmstrang student!
Do you have a student this outstanding?
When the teachers standing nearby heard the phrase "old friend", their eyebrows twitched violently.
Wait, who are you exactly?
How can you call Dumbledore your "old friend"?
Are the two of you really that close?
Before long, after carefully observing Karkaroff's expression and mannerisms, Rhys concluded that the man was doing it deliberately. He was clearly trying to latch onto Dumbledore's prestige. Using an intimate form of address to indirectly elevate his own status was a fairly common tactic. After all, Dumbledore could hardly respond with, "Mate, who are you?" in a setting like this. He could only play along.
"Of course," Dumbledore replied warmly, maintaining a courteous but distant demeanour. "We have indeed prepared a magnificent feast."
"Excellent." Karkaroff said no more and simply signalled for his students to head towards the castle.
But Dumbledore smiled and stopped them.
"Let's enter in order according to who is closest to the entrance, otherwise the lines will turn into complete chaos." As he spoke, he waved to Seraphina Picquery, who was standing at the edge, and gestured for her to proceed.
Seraphina Picquery returned the smile and, without standing on ceremony, directly led Ilvermorny's students into Hogwarts Castle.
Having lived as long as she had, she knew Karkaroff's true nature all too well and naturally disliked people like him. At the same time, she could not help but sigh inwardly. Durmstrang, which had once dominated Northern Europe and nurtured a ruthless figure like Grindelwald, had truly declined.
After his attempt to cut the queue was politely rejected, Karkaroff's smile became noticeably strained. He strode back to the front of the Durmstrang delegation and stopped reminiscing with Dumbledore.
The schools entered Hogwarts Castle one after another.
Seeing the students from the visiting schools repeatedly gasp in amazement as they stepped inside, Rhys wore a broad smile.
With over a thousand years of history, Hogwarts Castle was undoubtedly one of the jewels of the magical world. Those foreign wizards fortunate enough to witness its splendour were truly blessed.
Of course, the students of Hogwarts would soon prove that they were worthy of such a magnificent school.
Hogwarts' formation was next to those of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, so the three schools entered the castle almost one after another.
As the students marched through the Entrance Hall and headed towards the Great Hall, Karkaroff quickened his pace and quietly caught up with the Hogwarts professors, striking up a conversation with Snape at the back of the group.
After chatting for quite a while, he reached out and affectionately squeezed Snape's left arm before returning to fuss over Viktor Krum.
The moment Karkaroff touched his arm, Snape's expression visibly darkened.
Although the addition of seven more schools brought in many new faces, each school was limited to thirteen contestants, so even including the accompanying professors, fewer than a hundred extra people had arrived.
For the Great Hall of Hogwarts, accommodating another hundred or so people was hardly a challenge.
When Rhys and the others entered the Great Hall, they discovered that the students from the other schools had already found seats.
The students from Ilvermorny and Castelobruxo had chosen the Gryffindor table at the far end. The Wagadou delegation had settled at the Hufflepuff table. Beauxbatons students sat together with Ravenclaw, while Durmstrang, which had followed behind the Hogwarts procession, had chosen Slytherin.
As for the representatives from Koldovstoretz and Mahoutokoro, they simply sat wherever there were empty seats rather than gathering around a particular house table.
Durmstrang's choice brought smiles to the faces of the Slytherin students, because Krum was sitting with them as well.
And if one looked deeper, it was also because the philosophies of Slytherin House and Durmstrang School were rather similar.
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