Harry Potter 04 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

eyebrows.
    ‘Er – why not?’ said Harry.
    ‘There’s traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets,’ said Hermione matter-of-factly.
    ‘Come off it,’ said Ron, starting to laugh. ‘Durmstrang’s got to be about the same size as Hogwarts, how are you going to hide a dirty great castle?’
    ‘But Hogwarts is hidden,’ said Hermione, in surprise, ‘everyone knows that … well, everyone who’s read Hogwarts: A History , anyway.’
    ‘Just you, then,’ said Ron. ‘So go on – how d’you hide a place like Hogwarts?’
    ‘It’s bewitched,’ said Hermione. ‘If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a mouldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE.’
    ‘So Durmstrang’ll just look like a ruin to an outsider, too?’
    ‘Maybe,’ said Hermione, shrugging, ‘or it might have Muggle-Repelling Charms on it, like the World Cup Stadium. And to keep foreign wizards from finding it, they’ll have made it Unplottable –’
    ‘Come again?’
    ‘Well, you can enchant a building so it’s impossible to plot on a map, can’t you?’
    ‘Er … if you say so,’ said Harry.
    ‘But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north,’ said Hermione thoughtfully. ‘Somewhere very cold, because they’ve got fur capes as part of their uniforms.’
    ‘Ah, think of the possibilities,’ said Ron dreamily. ‘It would’ve been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident … shame his mother likes him …’
    The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved further north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Harry bought a large stack of Cauldron Cakes for them to share.
    Several of their friends looked in on them as the afternoon progressed, including Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom, a round-faced, extremely forgetful boy who had been brought up by his formidable witch of a grandmother. Seamus was still wearing his Ireland rosette. Some of its magic seemed to be wearing off now; it was still squeaking ‘Troy! Mullet! Moran!’ , but in a very feeble and exhausted sort of way. After half an hour or so, Hermione, growing tired of the endless Quidditch talk, buried herself once more in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 , and started trying to learn a Summoning Charm.
    Neville listened jealously to the others’ conversation as they relived the Cup match.
    ‘Gran didn’t want to go,’ he said miserably. ‘Wouldn’t buy tickets. It sounded amazing, though.’
    ‘It was,’ said Ron. ‘Look at this, Neville …’
    He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack, and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum.
    ‘Oh, wow ,’ said Neville enviously, as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand.
    ‘We saw him right up close, as well,’ said Ron. ‘We were in the Top Box –’
    ‘For the first and last time in your life, Weasley.’
    Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Evidently they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar.
    ‘Don’t remember asking you to join us, Malfoy,’ said Harry coolly.
    ‘Weasley … what is that ?’ said Malfoy, pointing at Pigwidgeon’s cage. A sleeve of Ron’s dress robes was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train, the mouldy lace cuff very obvious.
    Ron made to stuff the robes out of sight, but Malfoy was too quick for him; he seized the sleeve and pulled.
    ‘Look at this!’ said Malfoy in ecstasy, holding up Ron’s robes and showing Crabbe and Goyle. ‘Weasley, you weren’t thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean – they were very fashionable in about 1890 …’
    ‘Eat dung, Malfoy!’ said Ron, the same colour as the dress robes as he snatched them back out of Malfoy’s grip. Malfoy howled with derisive laughter; Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly.
    ‘So … going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There’s money involved as well, you know … you’d be able to afford some decent robes if you won …’
    ‘What are you talking about?’ snapped Ron.
    ‘Are you going to enter?’