#283 - Chapter 283: First Arrival at Ilvermorny

Saturday morning, five o'clock, New York, the sky was pitch black.

Chuck Stan stood at the airport arrival gate, his face full of resentment.

So damn tired!

A respected Auror like himself, unable to even get a good sleep in the morning, and now he had to come pick up these British wizards.

These damn Brits really know how to make things difficult.

I really want to crack open their skulls and see what these stupid guys are thinking.

As wizards, instead of using Portkeys, they insist on taking Muggle airplanes.

Don't these damn guys know that using Muggle transportation increases the risk of exposing magic?!

Hopefully, they weren't stupid enough to wear wizard robes on the plane.

Chuck's gaze drifted to the electronic display screen from time to time, the time clearly showing that there were still at least ten minutes before the British flight landed.

He rubbed his hands, not because he was cold, but because he was annoyed.

He had originally planned to sleep in a bit on Saturday, or have a decent breakfast.

But now, he could only stand here, waiting for those British wizards to leisurely stroll out of the cabin, and then step forward and put on a smiling face like a bartender.

He could almost imagine these British wizards speaking in a proper London accent, saying, "Muggle technology is so interesting!"

"This trip is full of novel experiences!"

Just thinking about having to exchange pleasantries with those guys on such boring topics made Chuck feel like he was going crazy.

What a waste of time!

British wizards, who like to be particular about appearances, insist on making a fuss about such unseemly things, which is really puzzling.

Aren't Portkeys easy to use?!

All the other magic schools obediently arrive at the designated location of the Magical Congress of the United States via Portkey.

Only you, Hogwarts, are special.

Chuck glanced at the screen, maliciously guessing in his heart.

Hogwarts, ha ha, a fallen noble!

It's been so many years since they participated in the International Potions Championship. These people probably didn't even think about winning the championship when they came, but rather took advantage of this opportunity for a publicly funded trip.

Well, who told them they had a wealthy professor? This little bit of travel money is just a drop in the bucket.

About half an hour later, Chuck finally saw the target figures walking out.

He quickly straightened his body, changed his expression, and greeted them with his most enthusiastic smile.

"Professor Swann, welcome from afar, you've worked hard."

"I am Chuck Stan, an elite Auror."

"Just call me Chuck. Next, I will be responsible for leading you to the Magical Congress of the United States to complete wand registration and magical immigration procedures."

"Please follow me."

Sebastian nodded and, together with Snape, led the students to follow.

Under Chuck's guidance, the group arrived at the Woolworth Building.

This building is the location of the Magical Congress of the United States. Its exterior looks like an ordinary skyscraper, but it is actually a building shared by Muggles and wizards.

After passing through a hidden revolving door, the group arrived in a magnificent hall with a cathedral-like ceiling.

"Welcome to the Magical Congress of the United States," Chuck said with a hint of pride in his voice.

He casually mentioned as he walked that the Magical Congress had moved five times—from the Appalachian Mountains to Williamsburg, then to New York, and now settled in this skyscraper.

Chuck led them to a wand permit issuing hall, where several congressional staff members were already waiting to process wand registration and immigration procedures for each visiting wizard.

After a tedious registration process, Chuck took out a box containing worn-out shoes with a relieved smile.

"Welcome again to the American wizarding world. These shoes are the Portkey to Ilvermorny. I wish you all a pleasant competition."

Seeing that it was almost noon, Sebastian simply took the students for a stroll around New York, and by the way, had a delicious meal.

After lunch, the group came to a secluded alley and used the Portkey to arrive at the gate of Ilvermorny.

Seeing Sebastian and the others appear, a middle-aged wizard with a full beard immediately greeted them.

"Welcome to the best magic school in the world—Ilvermorny. I am William Smith, the Potions Professor here."

As he spoke, he stretched out his arms to Sebastian.

"Sebastian, I received the information from the Ministry of Magic this morning. Why are you only showing up now? You've kept me waiting."

Sebastian hugged the person and then said with a smile.

"William, I didn't expect that you, the director of the Potions Department, would personally greet us. It's really flattering."

"It's not like you don't know the efficiency of your American Magical Congress. It's already good that we were able to get here now."

"Here, I need to correct what you just said. The best magic school in the world is obviously Hogwarts."

"Are you sure?" William said jokingly, "Since I became a professor, I have never seen Hogwarts students at the Potions Championship. Don't be too blindly confident, open your eyes and look at the world."

"Tch—" Sebastian scoffed dismissively, "We were just affected by the war, and the professors in the school couldn't spare the energy to lead the students to participate in the competition."

Damn it, he came up and poked at his sore spot, not knowing the principle of not hitting someone in the face.

The last time Hogwarts participated in the Potions Championship was when he was in his sixth year at Hogwarts.

The originally scheduled participants were Snape, Lily, and himself, but after the Christmas holidays, Snape and Lily parted ways and were not in the mood to participate in the competition again.

Therefore, the last Hogwarts participant was only himself, a lone seedling.

Fortunately, he lived up to expectations, defeated students from various schools, and brought the Golden Cauldron back to Hogwarts.

This William was the runner-up at the time.

Although they were fierce competitors on the field, after the competition, the two of them established a deep friendship because of the competition.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows: "What are you showing off, you loser? Since we Hogwarts have appeared, then the championship must be ours."

"Don't be arrogant. I lost to you at the Potions Championship back then, but now my students will definitely win back."

William said confidently, stretching out his arm in a gesture of invitation: "Come with me, I'll take you to rest."

As he walked, he introduced the upcoming arrangements to the Hogwarts crowd.

"Today, a total of four schools have arrived, namely Uagadou, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and you, Hogwarts."

"Tomorrow morning, the two schools of Castelobruxo in Brazil and Mahoutokoro in Japan will come. As for Koldovstoretz in Russia, they did not sign up this year."

"So, the welcome banquet will be held tomorrow night, and there will be some special programs waiting for you guests."

"Tomorrow during the day, Ilvermorny will arrange for some students to lead your students to visit the school."

"As for the rest of today, you can have a good rest, and someone will arrange for dinner to be delivered."