Chapter 218: A New Semester at Durmstrang

Chapter 218: A New Semester at Durmstrang

The campus of Durmstrang is very large, but most of it is lake. The teaching buildings are located discontinuously on each piece of land in the lake. Students need to row boats to travel between the four-story castle and buildings such as the botanical garden and the dueling field.

Of course, if you are a person who is confident in magic and dares to challenge the cold and surprising green lake water, you can choose to dive there.

Durmstrang's snow-covered landscape and ever-bitter cold wind were very different from Hogwarts. Perhaps because of the difference in environment, the students there were not like most of the pale wizards Della had seen. Regardless of gender, they were generally tall and had ruddy faces.

Because Nordic wizards speak so many languages, except for the Black Magic Research class which is taught in German, all other courses in the school are taught in English. The school also encourages communication in English. Although Della is in the group that speaks German, she still feels at home with this.

What is even more heartwarming is that the students of Durmstrang also have to eat at the four long tables in the auditorium, and the tables are strictly divided. Students can only eat at the long tables they are supposed to sit at, because their table allocation is purely based on grades.

There are four long tables in Durmstrang, from left to right, namely the Departure Table, the Achievement Table, the Glory Table and the Honor Table. The Glory Table and the Honor Table are slightly shorter than the first two tables.

The Departure Table is a table where every freshman has sat. People at the table can basically only take basic courses in various subjects. If you also sit at the Departure Table in your last year, you can graduate, but your diploma will be very simple.

Students on the Achievement Table are eligible to take advanced courses in most subjects, and their diplomas will have fancy gold-stamped lace.

Students on the Honor Table can take about half of the advanced courses in the subject, and will receive an additional gorgeous white gold medal upon graduation.

The Honor Table is only open to those who are talented or capable of taking Black Magic Research classes. In addition to the gold medal, a small number of people can get a letter of recommendation for joining the Black Magic Research Society from the professor upon graduation.

At the full-grade party for the new semester after Christmas, the students filled four tables and they all noticed the two unfamiliar faces next to Principal Karkaroff.

The first one to be affected was Della Riddle. The face of this black-haired girl was not unfamiliar to them. After all, there was a time when newspapers were full of large-scale photos of her, looking thin and calm.

Della Riddle in the photo is already very charming. Her beautiful face and elegant temperament are of course not to be mentioned, and her coldness and gentleness are subtly combined, making her appear arrogant and kind, like an exotic princess.

To some of them, Della was indeed a de facto princess in terms of power and status.

The other face was beyond their expectations. No one knew who the tall, beautiful girl with a pair of affectionate dark green eyes was. Some excited boys did not have time to think about whether the girl who appeared next to Della Riddle had any special identity, and could not help whistling at Sadolin.

Sadolin never understood this, so she was not shy. She just looked towards the source of the voice and saw many pairs of eyes staring at her. She immediately felt happy that she could look at the world without restraint. Her eyes unconsciously revealed some affection for the world. The boys she was looking at blushed and shouted again.

"Quiet!" Karkaroff slammed his cane to the ground, trying to suppress the students' chaos, fearing that Della would be dissatisfied with the noise.

Della pulled her thick leather coat closer, smiled and shook her head at Karkaroff, indicating that she didn't mind. Karkaroff immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but his pace was still faster. He respectfully led Della to the front of the honor table.

"Thank you for your care, Principal Karkaroff." Della first gave Sadolin a look to signal her to sit down, then smiled politely at Karkaroff and sat down as well.

Even though he knew that Della was just being polite, Karkaroff, who had never received respect from the Dark Lord, blushed slightly. He smiled widely, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and waved his cane as he walked up to the front podium. "After a holiday, I think you all have become a little out of line!" He scolded the people for the noise, and the audience booed.

"Hello, Miss Riddle," a boy who looked to be her own age, sitting behind her, spoke to her as Karkaroff gave his less than inspiring speech. "I'm Recor Jonas."

"Jonas?" Della quickly looked around at the chestnut-haired, thin-cheeked, but bright-eyed Lei Keer in front of her, and smiled slightly, "Mr. Jonas gave me a gift that suits my heart very well."

"It is an honor for my father and the Jonas family to satisfy Miss Riddle." Raycor said with a smile, and his eyes quickly glanced at Sadolin beside him.

This glance was not for Sadolin's beauty, but for all the jewelry on her that came from the dressing table.

Necklaces, tiaras, rings, bracelets, all of them.

"Oh, Sadolin, you should also thank Mr. Jonas." Della called Sadolin in a gentle voice.

The pretty Sadolin first looked at Della, then at Della's signal, she looked at Raycor, showing a toothless smile that Maggie taught her. She didn't know why she should thank the boy in front of her, but what her master asked her to do couldn't be wrong, so she expressed her gratitude to Raycor without hesitation, "Hai-Sa (Thank you)."

Sadolin's snake language made the smile on Leikel's face stiffen for a moment. His eyebrows twisted slightly in a tangled way, and then his smile became bigger, but there was still a little wrinkle between his eyebrows, making his smile look a little bitter. "The Jonas family is also honored to enhance the beauty of this young lady."

Little Jonas's social skills are not very good yet, but since he can sit next to her, his status and ability in school must be pretty good.

Coming to a new environment, Della habitually evaluated the boy in front of her. She chatted with Raycor for a few more words, guiding the boy to introduce Durmstrang in his eyes. Sadolin, who did not receive any more orders, turned her head obediently and continued to happily look at the bright world that finally opened up to her.

"Finally, let us express our warmest welcome to the two new students, Della Riddle and Sadolin Slytherin!" Karkaroff's unpopular speech came to an end. He stretched out his arm holding the cane and pointed proudly at Della and Sadolin who were sitting over there.

The students at the three tables were silent for a moment, and a few voices of disbelief were heard from the middle, "Slytherin?" No one thought that the girl would have such an unusual and famous surname. After a brief silence, some of the quick-witted people applauded, and then the whole venue burst into applause.

Della turned her head, nodded, smiled and glanced around, noticing that amidst the seemingly enthusiastic applause, there were also quite a few people who were looking at her gloomily with their arms crossed. This was a very normal phenomenon, and Della expressed her understanding and had no intention of making a fuss about it.

"My speech as the principal has ended," Karkaroff was very satisfied with the enthusiasm shown by the students below. His thin face with slightly protruding cheekbones turned red again. "Next, according to tradition, the final winner of the duel last semester, Dmitry Isaev, will give a one-minute speech as a student representative." He emphasized the pronunciation of "one minute".

Isaev?

Della thought of the book "Mud, Dirt and Land" which she had read several times. The author of this book was also named Isaev.

A burly boy with short black hair and a tough face stood up from the honor table. Many students began to cheer and make a fuss. It was obvious that Isaev was quite popular.

Demetrius walked up to the podium, also wearing Durmstrang's thick leather coat, but through his slightly open collar, it could be seen that his clothes underneath were thinner than those of most people present.

Of course, he might have been wearing so little because it was hot enough, but Della could see that his leather jacket was very old and had lost its luster. It looked like an antique that had been around for decades.

"It's only in my second semester that I have the opportunity to speak in public in front of the freshmen. I think you must have heard of my reputation." Dmitri was not at all stage fright. He smiled and began his speech in his slightly tongue-twisting English, performing more at ease than the highest-ranking principal of the school. However, the departure table he called out to heard a booing sound made up of childish voices, which clearly showed that they were quite dissatisfied with him.

Karkaroff's face in the audience also didn't look so good. He gritted his teeth, took out his pocket watch and started counting.

"I have many reputations, some of which are glorious. I am a member of the Honor Table and have won the Arena Championship for four consecutive years." Dmitri was not affected by the boos and still smiled slightly. "There are also some things you think are not glorious. For example, I am a wizard with impure blood who came here a year before Headmaster Karkaroff took office. Even now, I am still promoting the slogan of getting close to Muggles on campus."

"whispering sound--"

"Get off!"

Someone at each table started shouting. Karkaroff gripped his pocket watch even tighter and subconsciously looked towards Della. He heaved a sigh of relief when he didn't see any disgusted expression on the girl's face.

"But I personally think that the last two are the most glorious and praiseworthy things I have done," Demetri continued. "Muggles are never a concept that should be criticized, and Muggle blood is never something to be ashamed of."

"Just like what my grandfather said, the word 'Muggleborn' is dirty water that was thrown out artificially. However, the influence of this dirty water is not limited to Muggles and Muggle blood. I must admit that this concept designed by the so-called upper class is very clever. It makes those Muggles who explore their land and the capable Muggle-blooded wizards who may replace them the cognitive bottom of the wizarding society. They rely on this to build identity and consolidate their wealth status."

"But if they abandon better jobs or more convenient products for them because of a concept, won't the wizarding society suffer any loss? When deceived wizards resist social progress because of a concept, they are only protecting the interests of the so-called upper class."

Della raised her eyebrows when she heard this. She looked up and down at Dmitri, who was getting more and more excited as he spoke. She thought there was nothing wrong with what he said, but Durmstrang, which only accepted pure-bloods, was not the right place for him to give such a speech. After all, not many people could listen seriously to his grandfather and his theories.

But Della admired his courage. In a campus that had once produced Grindelwald and now had the Dark Lord's daughter, Demetri could still make such a speech publicly, which was better than most people.

“But this status quo caused by groundless concepts and unreasonable rules is not difficult to break. All it takes is a piece of land, a piece of land where everyone can stand without caring about any attached identities—” Dmitri’s voice became louder and louder.

"One minute is up!!" Karkaroff used amplification magic on his throat, but was unable to suppress Dmitri's passionate voice.

"By then, all discrimination and exploitation will disappear!" Dmitri raised one arm straight up, his mouth opened and closed with a wide range, making his cheeks even redder, and his eyes shone with amazing brilliance, "We hope that Durmstrang can become such a land, and anyone is always welcome to join us!"

The audience suddenly burst into cheers. Della looked over and saw that some of the cheering people were students who were dressed as simply as Dmitri. They waved their fists and shouted excitedly.

But unexpectedly, there were other people at each table who clapped with red faces. They looked different from Dmitri in terms of clothing, but there was a similar glow in their eyes.

Della turned her head and looked at Dmitri who was driven out by Karkarov. Her eyes met with this boy who was a head taller than the tall and thin Karkarov. Della did not see any disgust towards her in Dmitri's firm black eyes.

Oh, and that last 'anyone' Dmitri mentioned included Della Riddle.

Della had a higher opinion of Dmitri. She was instantly sure that this boy was not trying to be different or to attract attention, but was truly promoting his beliefs and trying to make the world a better place.

It's a pity that they have different positions on the surface. Even if Della is interested, she can't get too close to Dmitri.

In fact, she was quite curious to see Dmitri's theory being widely spread in the wizarding world. It was true that such a theory had never been widely spread in the wizarding world before.

The first thing that was preached was to keep a distance from the Muggle world, then came Grindelwald's wizard supremacy, and then Voldemort's long live pure blood.

It's unoriginal, inhumane, and a step backwards.

Tsk.

Della wants to read Mud, Dirt, and Land again.