Sweet Revenge

Foreign Schools Arrive and Viktor Krum Isn't All That Bad

In a flurry of winged horses, an overweight blue carriage swoops far to close to the ground for Harry's liking; the backlash of wind literally blows off his favorite scarf. 

When the Abraxans settle down (although they still stomp occasionally), a coat of arms is visible on both sides of the royal blue carriage. It is of two crossed wands, each emitting sparks under which is a banner saying (in golden embroidery), L'Académie de Magie Beauxbatons.

The doors bang open and the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, Olympe Maxime (Harry had done his research beforehand), strides out in all of her glory. Literally. The woman is ten feet tall and decked out in rich reddish-brown velvet robes with fur lining and silver detailing that trails a meter behind her. She has at least sixteen opal rings on each hand and she wears a necklace made of real pearls and ivory. 

Behind her, in rows of three and four, girls and boys in the Beauxbatons official uniform trot. The girls are wearing sky blue silk dresses while the boys have blue dress shirts and slacks. All the students wear short shawls draped over their shoulder of the same color and tilted blue hats.

The Headmistress stops in front of Dumbledore, causing the rest of her entourage to stop as well.

Dumbledore, who is seriously outsized by said lady, kisses her very large hand and manages to look every bit as ridiculous as she does glorious. 

          "Madame Maxime, it is a pleasure to host you and your school at Hogwarts this year," he states. 

          "Vous aussi, Monsieur Dumbly-door," she responded regally. 

In the background, Hagrid was drooling. Harry wrinkled his nose in response. 

Just then, the surface of the Black Lake began to ripple, causing larger-than-normal waves to crash onto the shore. Everyone's attention was diverted. What appeared to be a spiraling vacuum of water was forming in the middle when, a ship's mast broke the surface. A grandiose, old ship burst out of the water, shaking shining droplets from its helm. As the ship dipped its bow, the largest canvas sail Harry had ever seen unfurled from somewhere along the networking. It fell, whipping the water from its folds. The Durmstrang Coat of Arms was stitched with painstaking care onto the yellowing sail in dark red thread. If you looked close enough, there were silhouetted figures walking about on the deck and the ship was slowly steered close enough to shore. 

Fifty or so boats were lowered into the water using the ropes knotted at the sides of the ship and the students (who had been acting as the members of the crew) got in and pushed off. When they reached shore, they formed into units, military-style. The boys had brown trousers and shirts paired with tall black dragon-hide boots. They wore red jackets (which were crossed in front with brown stitching) with an off-shoulder cloak lined in brown fur. Each male held a wooden staff. The girls had scarlet blouses with black leather belts. They wore brown, knee-length skirts and the same dragon-hide boots just with their hair drawn back in tight buns. 

Overall, they looked very imposing. Suddenly, as if they truly were an army, they parted, allowing two men to come through. One in front of the other. The one in front was old with a graying goatee and a patch of bald skin on top of his head. He wore a black Ushanka and silver, close-fronted robes lined in black fur. He, too held a staff of a lighter color than his students on top of which sat (in gold) the Durmstrang Institute crest. 

This was Igor Karkaroff, once convicted Death Eater (Harry knew for sure that he had been) and Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute for Magic. 

Behind him, another person strode. He was in the regular Durmstrang uniform, only instead of the red regalia, he wore a brown fur overcoat and a black Ushanka, like the Headmaster. He held no staff but managed to look even more intimidating than his fellow students.