Looking at the Durmstrang students wrapped in heavy fur cloaks, Rhys could not help thinking of an old acquaintance from long ago.
Since the school had been founded by that old friend, his first impression of the Durmstrang students was quite favourable.
"We live in a castle as well. Ours isn't as grand as Hogwarts Castle, but our grounds are extremely vast…" Some Durmstrang students had already begun chatting with the Slytherin students.
Listening to them, a faint smile appeared on Rhys's lips.
Of course Durmstrang had been built as a castle. In the frozen wastelands of Northern Europe, thick stone walls were excellent at keeping out the icy winds that blew in from the Arctic Circle.
As for why the castle had not been built on the same scale as Hogwarts, that had been his suggestion to Nerida Volkanova.
Back then, after seeing Hogwarts Castle, the young witch had wanted to build a magical school with a castle just as large.
Rhys had talked her out of it.
After all, Hogwarts had been an enormous undertaking. Without a helper like Godric, even half a lifetime might not have been enough for Nerida Volkanova to complete such a structure.
And a castle that large would consume a tremendous amount of energy for lighting and heating, placing Durmstrang's finances under tremendous strain. A smaller castle was simply more practical.
Nerida Volkanova had accepted Rhys's advice and managed to finish Durmstrang Castle in less than a year.
Later, she had even wanted to invite Rhys to teach her students, but he had been occupied with teaching duties at Hogwarts and politely declined, merely providing Durmstrang with some textbooks and magical books.
"Hello, may I know your name? I'm Poliako Hosorn, a seventh-year student from Durmstrang."
Stretching his neck over, a Durmstrang boy struck up a conversation with Astoria.
"Astoria Greengrass," Astoria replied, not particularly interested in the conversation. Out of courtesy, she simply gave her name.
When my ancestors followed Lord Salazar Slytherin and helped found Hogwarts, Durmstrang didn't even exist. Telling you my name is already generous enough.
"Oh, the ancient and sacred Greengrass family! My ancestor, like yours, once studied magic under Lord Slytherin. After graduating, however, he moved to Northern Europe and settled on the Scandinavian Peninsula."
Upon learning that Astoria was a descendant of the Greengrass family, Poliako's eyes widened, and he immediately began trying to establish a connection.
Clearly, Astoria's bloodline was highly regarded among the students of Durmstrang.
Durmstrang was essentially a larger version of Slytherin House. It placed great importance on bloodlines and was quite tolerant of Dark Magic. This had been the school's guiding principle since its foundation.
After all, its original purpose had been to monitor Northern Europe and ensure that the worship of the gods would never return to those lands.
Thus, they required both reliable students and powerful magic.
Astoria responded with a polite smile.
Since his ancestor left for Northern Europe after graduating, his abilities must have been limited. He was hardly comparable to her own ancestor, Dragonheart Adrian.
She was mistaken, however, because the ancestor of the Hosorn family had actually been sent north by Rhys to assist Nerida Volkanova.
The moment Poliako mentioned his surname, Rhys immediately remembered that former student of his.
'Hawthorn... what a distant memory.'
Rhys had indeed once taught a student named Hosorn, though he had never fully acknowledged him the way he had Adrian.
After the boy graduated, Rhys felt his abilities were respectable enough and wrote a letter to his old friend, recommending that the young man work for her.
Unexpectedly encountering a descendant of another old acquaintance was a pleasant surprise.
Just as Poliako was about to continue chatting with Astoria, Dumbledore arrived at the staff table accompanied by the headmasters and headmistresses of the other schools.
The visiting school leaders took their seats one after another, while Dumbledore remained standing.
Gradually, the Great Hall fell silent.
"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, ghosts, and honoured guests," Dumbledore said with a smile, looking down at the students below.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope, and believe, that you will spend a comfortable and enjoyable year here."
"The tournament will officially begin at the end of the feast. But before everyone enjoys tonight's banquet, I must welcome a special group of guests. They are individual contestants who, despite not belonging to any of the Eight Great Schools, still aspire to participate in the World Youth Wizard Championship!"
With that, Dumbledore drew his wand and gave it a gentle wave.
Out of thin air, a long table equal in length to those of the four Hogwarts Houses appeared in the Great Hall. It was furnished with golden tableware and candleholders, and more than a hundred chairs had been neatly arranged beside it.
Compared to the fierce competition within the major magical schools, the requirements for entering as an individual or as a member of a magical organisation were much more relaxed.
As long as one registered with the British Ministry of Magic beforehand and passed a simple magical proficiency test proving that they were indeed a wizard, they could participate.
Because of this, some rejected students from other schools had even exploited a loophole by having themselves expelled and then registering as individuals or through magical organisations.
And some had actually managed to pull it off.
Even so, the number of independent contestants was fewer than a hundred, not much different from the number of competitors from the schools.
After the table had been prepared, Dumbledore raised his voice.
"Please welcome the independent contestants!"
Footsteps echoed from the side chamber previously used for the Sorting Ceremony.
Mr Henry from the Ministry of Magic and Ludo Bagman appeared first, followed by a large crowd.
"Please come forward and introduce yourselves to everyone…" Dumbledore certainly wasn't about to let the independent contestants simply sit down. That would have been far too discourteous.
The contestants entered the Great Hall one after another, either alone or in groups, standing before the staff table and announcing the organisations they belonged to.
"Heraklion-Patras United School of Magic…"
"Mahabodhi Temple…"
"Longhu Mountain…"
The independent contestants entered in succession, and the queue in the side chamber gradually grew shorter.
Finally, a burly red-haired man entered the Great Hall with seven young wizards in tow.
They were the last of the independent contestants.
The smile that had remained on Rhys's face all evening disappeared the moment he saw the man's face.
Standing before the staff table, the red-haired wizard swept his gaze across the students in front of him. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
In a loud, resonant voice, he declared:
"The Secret Society! Godric Gryffindor, accompanied by seven young initiates of our order, has come to participate in the tournament!"
The Great Hall instantly fell silent.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI