People's attention was captured by the sudden appearance of a giant squid and later by the creature, each one with wide eyes fixed on their feet.
That's what they call "the power of invisibility".
The enormous giant squid was impossible to see in its entirety, but the later appearing creatures could be clearly seen by people.
They were a group of creatures with human upper bodies, faces, and fish tails. They looked like mermaids in mythological stories, but unfortunately, these extraordinary creatures had nothing to do with beauty.
Through the ice, people could vaguely see that their skin was grayish iron, their green hair was long and tangled. Their eyes were yellow, their teeth yellow and incomplete, and a necklace of coarse ropes strung with eggs.
It's a mermaid!
As Professor Brevin's golden menu flew automatically to each table, the older students had already told their neighboring tablemates the answers.
Mermaid.
Ron lowered his voice and slightly leaned his head to face Hermione.
"What is that?"
Ron thought Hermione would be able to answer this question, but after waiting for a while, he didn't hear any explanation at all. He turned his head to look at Hermione and saw her frowning, her gaze jumping over the table in front of her towards the mermaids, as if deep in thought about some problem.
"What's wrong, Hermione, have you discovered something?"
"Oh, nothing--"
The mermaids finally convinced the giant squid not to interfere with the wizards' celebration, and they left together. Hermione finally shifted her gaze back, but there was still a glint of thought in her eyes.
"I've just realized what the mermaids are."
Halfway through her explanation, Hermione suddenly realized and quickly stopped herself, because there were other warriors and magical officials sitting beside her!
Harry heard Professor Dumbledore recite the names of the dishes from the menu, and immediately, corresponding food appeared in front of him. Those who witnessed this scene began to imitate, and Harry also copied Professor Dumbledore's style to serve himself a portion of Hungarian red wine goulash.
Perhaps due to the previous coldness and surprise consuming too much of their energy, the young wizards began to eat heartily. However, those sitting at the main table were more concerned about their appearance and adhered to the etiquette of dining.
A feast, where participants can indulge in a delicious lunch and a rare spectacle, but as organizers cannot be so carefree.
Alastor's "status in the wizarding world" and seniority allow him not to worry about such things, but Amos cannot do so. Throughout the entire banquet, he maintained a polite smile while listening to Ludo Bagman's chatter. He should have reported the plan for the banquet to the Ministry of Magic long ago, so that journalists from the Prophet's Daily could be arranged to record the scene of them creating this ice fortress. At the same time, Amos also had to pay attention to whether the little warriors at the main table and their colleagues on the staff table were enjoying their meal.
To his surprise, the warriors who should have enjoyed people's envy seemed not to be very happy. In fact, most of them were not happy at all.
Cedric Diggory, the "official" warrior of Hogwarts, and the Asian girl from Ravenclaw got along very well. During the meal, they often leaned in close to whisper to each other. Chao Zhang, with her unique gentleness and beauty typical of Eastern women, was frequently amused by Cedric's antics, while handsome and charming Cedric did not hide his admiration in his eyes directed towards her.
Alastor certainly would not have failed to notice the romantic tension between Cedric and Cho Chang, who had been students under him for so long.
But it was a pity for Harry. Alastor still remembered that during one class, Harry had stolen glances at Cho for no less than 48 times, even the ‘hate iron not steel’ glances thrown by Hermione beside him multiple times, he didn't notice.
Just like now.
Harry may not have noticed himself, but he always looked at Cedric and Cho Zhang while lowering his head to eat.
Fleur, on the other hand, did not pay attention to Harry's little actions. In fact, she was also distracted.
Just as Harry was secretly watching Cho, Fleur would pretend to listen to Madame Maxime, but her attention was actually elsewhere. Her gaze towards herself wasn't as angry as before, but rather carried a hint of resentment.
Fleur and Harry, two who seem to be at odds with each other. From this perspective, they are quite suitable for pairing together.
From the message Fleur had Harry pass, Alastor was well aware of what Fleur had planned.
By circling Hogwarts' most popular boys to her side, Fleur probably wanted to prove her charisma in this way. Alastor understood her "hard work," but only.
The atmosphere between Hermione and Ron's pairing was also very subtle.
Hermione's backpack was not just a physical burden she carried, as the banquet progressed, her gaze towards Ron became increasingly confident. The problem lay with Ron.
This young man seemed unable to shake off his self-doubt.
He sat there, every movement revealing a sense of restlessness and unease.
No matter the gaze of the little wizards below, or the brilliant Hermione by his side, it brought immense pressure to Ron.
To be honest, from Alastor's perspective, this little son of the Weasleys is not less excellent. But his excellence is deeply buried within him, while his appearance compared to his friends and siblings beside him, is relatively ordinary. Moreover, perhaps due to the environment he grew up in, Ron always habitually compared his shortcomings with others' advantages. This further increased his inner anxiety.
He had long lived in an environment where he was overlooked, and the feeling of inferiority still ran deep in his bones.
To cure this, the best way is to continuously receive encouragement and adoration, gradually building up their own confidence. Unfortunately, being surrounded by two outstanding young people like Harry and Hermione means that he will continue to be overlooked.
The atmosphere between Viktor Krum and Daphne Greengrass was harmonious.
As a star of the Quidditch world, Viktor Krum naturally knew how to maintain his image in public, and Daphne Greengrass, from the Greengrass family, was also adept at this. They maintained an appropriate distance and had a polite conversation.
But Viktor seems to have the same problem as Harry and Fleur, his eyes occasionally wandered over to Hermione.
And what Alastor found somewhat perplexing was that Krum's gaze seemed to be constantly avoiding him. Did this young man have such deep prejudices against himself?
The banquet was lavish, but once everyone's hunger was satisfied, their attention shifted from what they were eating to gazing at Professor Brian. When Alastor noticed even Madame Maxime was responding frequently to Hagrid's eager gaze, he smiled slightly and, after exchanging a few words with Dumbledore, got up from his seat.
He waved his wand, and all the tables slowly sank to the ground, followed by the rise of a massive stage from below.
A clear piano appeared under a pine tree, still ice-transformed, and its keys automatically played a melancholic waltz in the hall.
"Then--"
Alastor glanced at the warriors beside him who were clearly becoming tense.
"Ladies and gentlemen, are you all agitated now?"
(End of Chapter)
