Chapter 204: “Nurmengard’s Difference”
Chapter 204: “Nurmengard’s Difference”
The huge stone statue stepped on the field of Nurmengard. A burst of dirt rose, and a huge shadow enveloped the students below.
Despite the shock in their eyes, none of Nurmengard’s students changed their posture as long as they saw their principal standing in front of them. Instead, they stood up straighter.
Sean had been watching them from the window. He had a strange expression on his face.
He has yet to notice much difference from the academic exchange last year. But he has verified his original thought. Nurmengard is really the Magic Military Academy.
However, Professor McGonagall was urging everyone to form a group, and Sean hurriedly left.
According to the previous instructions, the Hogwarts students formed four groups according to their houses and walked out of the stone statue.
However, compared with Nurmengard’s students, the Hogwarts students were like a group of wandering soldiers. They even temporarily adjusted their posture so that they would not be tripped on something.
The students on both sides became serious.
Hogwarts saw the gap between the two sides, and the already vigilant mentality became even more vigilant. Nurmengard students became serious because of the shocking huge stone statue. After all, it is a famous school with a thousand years of history and a strong background.
Before the two parties formally met, the atmosphere was a bit heavy. Even heavier than when Nurmengard came to Hogwarts.
Grindelwald walked up and enthusiastically shook hands with Professor McGonagall and Professor Lockhart, who led the groups.
Yes, Lockhart came here. Sean felt that it might be that Professor Dumbledore thought Lockhart’s class was useless, so he might as well lead the group.
Grindelwald’s enthusiasm moved Lockhart, and he held the other’s hand firmly.
“Mr. Grindelwald, I am so glad to meet you. I heard that your school does not have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Then I recommend my books. They are – Aw!” He hurriedly let go of his hand. Just now, a tingling pain suddenly spread to the palm of his hand.
Grindelwald patted Lockhart on the shoulder and said with a smile, “I am very satisfied with the curriculum of my own school, Professor Lockhart. I think Hogwarts should utilize your talents more.”
“Oh, that’s what Professor Dumbledore told me!” Lockhart said proudly.
However, Grindelwald ignored Lockhart. He passed the professor and opened his arms to the Hogwarts students, “Welcome! Hogwarts’ proudest children!”
Harry, next to Sean, muttered, “Mr. Grindelwald is not what I imagined. He looks kind and friendly. Well, he is good-looking, at least, he is the most good-looking old man I have ever seen.”
Sean shook his head.
Grindelwald waved his hand, and the bronze gate of Nurmengard Castle, engraved with dragons and phoenixes, opened.
“The dinner is ready. Let’s go inside so we can continue.”
He waved his hand, and the Nurmengard students, who had kept their eyes on the ground behind them, stepped in unison. All the students turned around neatly and walked into the castle.
After all the Nurmengard students walked in, Professor McGonagall threw a look at several prefects, and she straightened her pointed hat.
“Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. Enter in order, Remember, keep your calm.”
The students glanced at each other and became tense. They consciously arranged the group more neatly and walked towards the castle.
Nurmengard’s castle is obviously more fortified than Hogwarts. All the buildings here are tall and steep, and the walls seem to be some kind of dark stone bricks.
Passing through the bronze gate, Sean was surprised to see that the interior of the castle was extremely spacious. It doesn’t have all kinds of classical decorations like Hogwarts. Except for armor placed on the wall, there are no oil paintings and green plants.
The style inside the building is also simple and elegant. The red carpet on the stone corridor seems to have just been placed. Sean guessed that it was probably to welcome the Hogwarts students.
Following the brand-new red carpet, they came to the Great Hall. The door here was also made of bronze, and the center of the door knocker was Nurmengard’s school emblem, which was the phoenix and fire dragon surrounding the Deathly Hallows logo.
When they stood still, the door opened slowly. On the door, fire dragons and phoenixes danced. The Deathly Hallows was not divided into two halves by the opened door.
The triangle moved up and then gradually disappeared, the circle expanded to the entire range of the door frame and then slowly turned there. The vertical line in the center stayed in place and then elongated, becoming a door frame.
Strangely, the vertical line is slightly inclined to the right. The door has a strange and irregular beauty. As the Hogwarts students approached, the line became straight again.
The Nurmengard students were already sitting at the long table in the hall. There were only two long tables inside. In the end, there was a professor’s long table, just like Hogwarts.
Sean saw that the main seat and the chair Dumbledore was sitting on were very similar.
The Gryffindors looked at each other. They formed into two rows and walked in with their heads held high. Percy gently crushed the thing Professor McGonagall gave him in his arms.
A deafening lion’s roar resounded throughout the hall, and a majestic lion appeared in front of the Gryffindor students. Its mane is a throbbing scarlet flame, and its eyes glow with fire. After running around in mid-air, the lion turned into flames, and the emblem on the chests of the Gryffindor students’ uniforms shone brightly.
“Oh, that’s cool.” On the long table on the right, a first-year student from Nurmengard looked at the Gryffindors’ performance.
Behind the Gryffindors, the Hufflepuffs also stepped into the Great Hall.
Similarly, a huge badger appeared. Its neck and face were in black-and-white patterns, its body was all black, and its small eyes exuded a reassuring and steady light.
Khaki-yellow lights were shining and dancing under its feet. After wandering around the hall, the emblems on the chests of the Hufflepuffs also shone.
Then, the Ravenclaws entered.
After a clear and penetrating eagle cry, the bronze-colored giant eagle spread its wings and soared. It displayed superb flying skills. Its tail feathers had a dark blue light, and those light particles sprinkled the entire hall.
After screaming again, the bronze giant eagle directly hit the ceiling, the light scattered, and Sean felt the emblem on his chest cool slightly.
Finally, the Slytherins strode in with their heads held high.
Every time they took a step, there was a gloomy green light spreading from the soles of their feet. Then, a huge silver python appeared out of thin air.
The giant python let out a low hissing sound, and its green eyes scanned everyone. It was swimming slowly on the ground. Suddenly, the giant python opened its huge mouth and turned back to bite the Slytherin students.
The Slytherins held their heads high, allowing the giant python to pass through their bodies, turn into silver mist, and penetrate into their respective emblems.
After the students from the four Hogwarts houses were all seated, Grindelwald clapped his hands lightly and stood up.
“Amazing.” He clapped his hands lightly with a warm smile on his face.
“I have always believed that wizards need to learn from each other to improve. For example, like me,” Grindelwald smiled happily, “I learned some lovable qualities from your school’s principal, that is, ‘Show, Don’t Tell’.”
“Let us welcome again the arrival of Hogwarts students!” There was a loud but not enthusiastic applause in the auditorium.
Grindelwald applauded. He looked at the crowd and spread his hands with a smile, “Now, let us enjoy tonight’s dinner!”
On the long table, various delicacies appeared on the plates.
Nurmengard is worthy of being a school that accepts every kind of student. It is the English food prepared to suit the Hogwarts students’ taste and whole European dishes. Sean can even see some food from all over the world.
Sean took a roast duck to the plate and was surprised to find it tasted authentic. It seems that Nurmengard’s enrollment scope is wider than he imagined.
The hall became lively, and English with various accents kept ringing in Sean’s ears. He even heard the other students speaking in different languages.
Beside him, Hermione was still observing the emblem on Daisy’s chest. Her face was full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
“What kind of magic is this? Is it a combination of multiple spells?” She muttered.
Daisy puffed out her chest. Her face was bitter.
“Hermione, haven’t you seen enough? I’m hungry…”
“Oh, sorry. Let’s eat now.” Hermione looked away reluctantly, and she took some food.
Sean shook his head with a grin. Hermione loves learning too much. However, the Hogwarts students were all excitedly discussing what had just happened.
“It’s so cool. I can’t believe we used to be ashamed of ourselves coming here.”
“You idiot. What we do now is definitely going to be worth it!”
“That’s right, we can’t embarrass our house and Hogwarts!”
Sean chatted with his friends while tasting various delicacies. After everyone was full, dessert came up. Sean took a few sips of a cup of Nepalese milk tea. After taking a few sips, Sean looked up at the teacher’s desk.
Coincidentally, Grindelwald also looked over him. He raised his glass to Sean from a distance and winked. Sean had no choice but to raise the milk tea cup and nodded, then quickly retracted his head.
Although Dumbledore said that Grindelwald had no ill intentions towards him, Sean always felt that this old man was extremely good at doing things that were just plainly suspicious.
Frankly speaking, Sean is a little afraid of Grindelwald. This old man doesn’t play cards according to the rules and always plays some tricks.
What he didn’t notice was that on the long table on the right, a brown-haired boy was staring at Sean gloomily.
“Bach, is that the kid who did dirty on your brother?” A girl next to the boy asked casually.
“Hmph,” the boy known as Bach licked his lips, “Although he is my brother, he is too stupid. However, the honor of the Hoffman family must be safeguarded.”
The girl raised the corner of her mouth a little, “But the professors won’t allow you to do that, you know? Don’t look at me. I’m not interested in helping you, and I don’t want to go to the dungeon again.”
Bach raised his brows, “I’m not as stupid as my brother. We have half a semester to ‘get along well’.”
Sean was drinking milk tea and suddenly received a thought from Dave.
“Sean, that thing you put in my place is starting to spin and light up.”
“I know.”
Sean used an item from his lottery draw that could detect danger. Not a few people in Nurmengard are hostile to him, and this item had been shaking throughout the whole day.
Of course, Sean hopes that those who come to seek trouble with him will be smarter. Sean will go to Grindelwald for help if he is driven into a corner.
When the last bit of dessert was gone, Grindelwald stood up again.
“Before you get sleepy from your rest bellies. Let me say a few things, mainly to our guests.”
“In Nurmengard, the basement floor is not allowed to enter without the teacher’s permission, and the same is true for the castle’s top floor. Starting tomorrow, Hogwarts students, you will follow the classes like the other Nurmengard students.”
“Nurmengard doesn’t add or deduct points, but we have personal daily evaluation points. If you don’t pass, there will be a little penalty at the end of the period. Don’t look at me like that, children. Your principal had agreed with me to be also given this kind of treatment.”
“We can talk about the daily evaluation thing later.”
“In addition, all areas of Nurmengard’s library are open around the clock. Similarly, the dueling classroom and the infirmary are always available around the clock for you.”
Now, the Hogwarts students couldn’t help but to whispering each other. The dueling classroom is always open to everyone.
Sean licked his lips with interest. He kind of needed a real fight right now to improve himself a bit, and Nurmengard was giving him a good option to beat one or two of them.
Grindelwald smiled and continued, “Now, Hogwarts had chosen one boy and one girl from each grade to come to my office as a student representative. I will hand over the Nurmengard School Rules to these students later.”
Without waiting for the students to speak, he continued to say, “For the first grade, you, you…”
The tip of Grindelwald’s wand danced with light, and before the two first-year students could react, the symbols of a dragon and a phoenix appeared around the emblems of their uniforms.
“As for the second grade, it’s both of you.”
Grindelwald pointed to Sean and Hermione.