"Well, Mr. Crouch does think that the 'security plan' submitted by Hogwarts is not perfect."
Amosta was not used to being too close to people. He put his hands behind his back and pretended to admire the cultural relics in the stone wall niche, naturally getting rid of Ludo Bagman's arm on his shoulders.
"Ah ho!"
Ludo seemed very happy to hear that Barty was dissatisfied with Hogwarts' plan. He jumped up and ran behind Amosta, ignoring Amosta's helpless expression and once again put his arm on his shoulder. , his frivolous appearance completely failed to show the stability and authority that a director in charge of a large department of the Ministry of Magic should have.
"Barty is like that, he demands perfection in everything, even if a punctuation mark is used incorrectly!"
Ludo said cheerfully,
"But I dare say that there is nothing wrong with your plan. Speaking of which, Amosta, is this your first time in Paris? Paris is such a good place. These French people are really good at enjoying life. If I were you, I wouldn't care about those boring reports."
Today is a working day, and it is time to go to work. But not far away, by the sparkling Seine River, many Muggle men and women are taking a leisurely and comfortable walk with coffee in their hands. There are also many people swimming in the Seine River. .
The pace of life here is indeed much more relaxed than in the UK.
Amosta looked at the young people laughing and laughing, with a slightly bitter smile on his lips. Having lived in two lifetimes, he no longer has such a leisurely attitude to enjoy life.
Ludo Bagman kept chattering in Amosta's ear, telling him about the wonderful encounter he had when he came to Paris to compete in the city when he was young. However, Crouch, who had completed the registration formalities, interrupted his beautiful memories.
"We live on the seventh floor. I will have lunch delivered to the room. We will spend the rest of the day correcting the 'plan.'"
Barty Crouch kept his eyes on Amosta, as if he was afraid that he would be seduced by Ludo and abandon serious matters.
This hotel is designated by the International Federation of Wizards and the French Ministry of Magic to receive guests. Even on ordinary days, business is very good. As for Amosta, Batty and Ludo, each of these three people is very conspicuous to the outside world, let alone the three of them appearing as a group.
A while ago, many people had already stared at Ludo and Amosta who were talking. Now they were about to leave the hall. Many wizards who recognized who they were came over to talk to them, hoping to Get their signature.
Two fanatics who particularly loved Quidditch even caught up with the elevator, but Barty Crouch stepped back with a cold glare.
"Don't be so cold, Barty -" Ludo smacked his lips dissatisfied, "We are here to enhance the friendship between different magical civilizations. You should be friendly to these international friends."
What Ludo said made some sense, but Barty Crouch just had a sullen face and said nothing. Amosta had a feeling that Barty seemed unwilling to talk too much to Ludo, especially, in front of yourself.
The layout of the entire hotel is cylindrical, and all the rooms are built around the huge pillar in the middle. Opposite the elevator door, the mural engraved on the stone pillar is the end of the Goblin Jihad. They rely on the Pig Head Bar as their base and are working hard to resist. The impact of the wizard army.
The seventh floor is the highest floor of the hotel. Standing on the circular platform on the seventh floor, Amosta noticed something carved on the ceiling. He examined it carefully and found that it was a map with markings on it. The map shows the general location of all Gringotts locations around the world, and the center of the map is the Gringotts headquarters in Paris, not far from the Louvre.
Barty led Amosta and Ludo to the right side of the elevator hall for a short distance, and then stopped at the door of a room.
Amosta also stayed for a period of time in a hotel where the British Ministry of Magic entertained guests, but that hotel was actually run by Muggles. Apart from luxury and comfort, there wasn't much to mention.
But the French enjoy it much more.
The moment he opened the door, even the well-informed Amosta couldn't help but be a little surprised.
He originally thought he would see a spacious room filled with gilt and diamond decorations, and the decoration style was luxurious and extravagant, but the reality was much more exaggerated than he imagined.
There was actually a cave in the room. A green courtyard appeared in Amosta's sight. In the center of the courtyard, there was an artistic fountain sculpture standing in the middle of the lawn where many elegant peacocks lived. On both sides of the clean stone path , planted with two rows of lush plane trees, leading the residents to a three-story, snow-white villa located in the quiet forest.
Amosta looked up at the sky. A ball of light emitting soft light was hanging where the sun should be around four o'clock in the afternoon. A few flawless white clouds make the boundless sky even bluer.
"These French people know how to enjoy themselves--"
Amosta sighed involuntarily.
“It’s not cheap to stay here for one night-”
Ludo said to Amosta enthusiastically,
"If you are not an invited VIP, you will have to pay out of your own pocket if you want to live here, two hundred gold galleons a day. Oh - if the Ministry is not bound to win the honor of the organizer, Barty will not agree to pay this Money, isn’t it?”
"It's nothing, Ludo--"
Barty Crouch said impatiently,
"I hope you realize that Albus couldn't defeat those two schools easily. This is enough to show that the situation is serious. If we can't ensure that the plan submitted is reliable enough, then we will be completely out of luck!"
"I'm not sure what efforts we have made before--"
Amosta said suddenly,
"But have you tried another option, I mean, trying to deal with the committee members privately?"
"Oh, slick guy—"
Ludo immediately chuckled,
"You want to bribe the review committee? The minister also gave Barty such a hint, but this is impossible, right?"
"Why?"
Amostaqi said.
"The members selected to join the review committee have signed a magic contract and cannot receive any benefits from the three parties involved in the competition."
Paris said coldly,
"Thankfully there is such a rule, otherwise Beauxbatons can directly start preparing the competition venue."
Amosta smiled incredulously. Having signed so many contracts, he knew that magic contracts only looked fair. In fact, most magic contracts had a lot of loopholes that could be exploited.
Just as Amosta had predicted before, he and Barty Crouch would probably have to do the job of revising the plan. Ludo couldn't help. In fact, Ludo was putting his luggage in. After entering the room, he made excuses and ran out. Amosta and Barty even liked to see this. Neither of them wanted to have someone nagging next to them while they were working.
Neither Amosta nor Barty Crouch left the hotel room during this day. After enjoying an authentic French lunch, Amosta spent half an hour in the room. Wandered around the courtyard.
Working with Barty Crouch was absolute torture for Amosta.
The only consensus that the two sides can reach is to keep a distance from each other. Therefore, except for topics related to the plan, the two sides basically have no unnecessary communication.
The time came to 5:30 in the afternoon, and there was still half an hour before the dinner started. Amosta put away the preliminary plan, and took out a dress that he had not used once in many years from his suitcase. He began to tell himself, after all, he not only represented himself now, if he ran to the reception wearing an old wizard robe, Hogwarts would inevitably be laughed at.
"The reception will be held on the second floor. We can't be late."
Barty, who was wearing a black evening gown that had been ironed without a trace of wrinkles, walked quickly across the courtyard towards the door. Behind him, Amosta, who was adjusting his tie, asked casually,
"So, what about Ludo, doesn't he need to participate?"
"Oh, I think he's already there."
Barty Crouch said in a slightly sarcastic tone. He walked to the entrance of the room that stood abruptly on the stone path and opened the door of the room. At this time, a man happened to pass by them and heard the movement. The man glanced casually from the corner of his eye, and then stopped.
"ah--"
The tall, thin man with a goatee in front of the door looked a little unnatural on his face, but then he bared his yellowed teeth at Buddy, opened his arms and showed a greasy smile,
"I didn't expect to see you here, Barty."
"Hello--"
Barty Crouch nodded stiffly,
"Karkaroff--"
(End of chapter)
