17. BE OUR GUEST

Soon enough, there had been signs posted up all around the school, announcing the arrival of the delegations of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang for the Triwizard Tournament.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early.

Students will return to their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.

"That's a bloody week away." Bianca looked over at the couple stood beside her.

"Oh yeah, this is all so exciting. I can't wait." Elara muttered, rolling her eyes. No matter how many people assured her that it was good she couldn't compete, she still wasn't happy. Even her father had sent over a letter, well, more like a howler.

He had said that he was so glad she couldn't put her name in, because she would literally wipe the floors with the other competitors, and also he didn't think a bloodbath was something people would want to see. He also -very loudly- congratulated her on her relationship with Theodore, and now the whole school knew she was dating him, teachers, elves and ghosts included.

"Oh come on El, you've been moping for weeks." Bianca looked over at her best friend, who rolled her eyes and crossed her hands over her chest.

"I'll stop moping when I want to stop moping." Elara continued. "This is unfair, its discrimination. I won't accept this. Just because we're younger, doesn't mean we aren't capable. We should be allowed to compete if we have parental permission. I should go on a strike."

"Whoa, maybe let's not, Lara." Theodore's eyes widened as his girlfriend began muttering strategies and spots of weakness in the system and the staff.

"Snape would be a good target."

"Oh, I won't deny that, but maybe don't go on a strike. I'll help you get back at him if you want." Theodore offered. Both him and Bianca linked their arms with her, and dragged her away from the sign and towards the Great Hall.

"No, it's alright. I know you don't really want to. I can ask Fred and George to help me prank him. Maybe I'll get Harry involved too, Merlin knows that kid needs to have more fun." Elara shook her head.

"Promise you won't rebel and go on strike?"

"Promise." She kissed his cheek. "And I promise I'll stop moping, Bia." She kissed Bianca's cheek before skipping over to the Gryffindor table, her robes flying behind her.

She got to the red and gold table and sat down beside Harry and opposite the twins. "Hello Gryffindorks."

"El!" They all whined, leading to her grinning.

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist."

"What are you doing here?" Harry questioned. He turned to face her and hugged her

"Well, I came here to ask if Fred and George could assist me in something?"

"Always El." George grinned.

"Just gotta say the word." Fred had an evil smirk on his face.

"I want to prank Snape, and I want you guys and Harry to help." Elara proposed. Hermione gasped from her place beside Harry.

"Harry, don't."

"Oh come on, Hermione, live a little." Elara winked at the bushy haired girl. "We won't get caught, and if we do, I'll take the blame. Come with us, Hermione."

"No, I've got Arithmancy homework to do." The fourth year responded.

"Enjoy it, and don't be afraid to ask Theodore for help if you need it. He takes that horrendous subject too, and he'd be glad to help you."

"Thank you El. If I do get stuck, I'll look for him."

"He'll be either in the library, the Slytherin common rooms or near the lake." Elara supplied the information. "Anyways, I'll see you three after dinner, bring the cloak and map Harry. We'll need those." And with that, she fluttered her fingers and left.

Throughout the following week, the school had been getting ready for the arrival of the guests. "Honestly, if they don't accept us with our dirty portraits and suits of armor, then they can fuck off." Elara said aloud one day as they walked down the corridor, looking at all the clean paintings and shining suits or armor.

The morning of October 30th, when everyone headed to breakfast, there were some drastic changes in the Great Hall. Massive silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a house. Scarlet with a gold lion for Gryffindor, sapphire with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, canary yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and emerald with a silver serpent for Slytherin.

Behind the teachers table was a banner bigger than the other four. It bore the Hogwarts coat of arms, lion, eagle, badger and snake all around the letter H, and the school motto underneath. Elara sat down at the table and looked up at the snake. "Merlin, that looks nice." Bianca and Theodore had yet to arrive, and the only reason she got here first was because she couldn't sleep, and so woke up super early, and went to the hospital wing to get an energy potion.

Adrian Pucey sat down beside her. "Hey El."

"Oh, hey, Adrian. What's up?"

"Not much really. Just thought I'd tell you what I overheard the other day. Dumbledore and Snape were talking, and I think you're going to be Quidditch captain next year. I just wanted to wish you luck. It's my last year, but I'll try and come to one of the matches."

"Oh." Elara looked shocked. "Thank you Adrian, and good luck on your N.E.W.T. exams. We'll miss you."

He nodded and turned back to his friends, leaving the dark haired girl sat there, still in shock. She felt a hand land on her shoulder. "El. Hey. El? You alright, sweetheart?" Bianca asked, sounding concerned.

Theodore spoke up. "Lara?"

Elara snapped out of it, and turned to face her friends. Theodore was sat opposite her, and Bianca beside her. "Merlin's beard, Adrian just told me he heard Dumbledore and Snape talking, and I might be Quidditch captain next year."

Bianca squealed and tackled Elara to the ground in a hug. The pair lay on the stone floor, laughing as the brunette hugged her friend. They sat back up and on the bench. "I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!"

"It's not confirmed." But there was still a smile on her face.

Theodore grabbed her hand and laced their fingers. "I'm so proud of you, Lara."

"Thank you, Theo." Her eyes softened.

Later that day, when the time came, they all went back to their common room, dropped off their bags and fixed themselves up, before walking outside the school. Elara ran a hand through her hair as she stood between Theodore and Bianca. She then produced a dark red lipstick that she had hidden in her robes and ran it over her lips.

"Bia. Does this look alright? It's dark and I haven't got a mirror." Elara turned to her best friend.

"Looks sexy, El."

"Exactly my point." Elara grinned. She stuffed the lipstick back into her robes and grabbed Theodore's hand, lacing their fingers together as they looked around, waiting for Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

Suddenly Dumbledore spoke up, "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

This caused students all around to look in different directions. "Where?"

"There!" A student in Elara's year yelled, pointing up.

Something large, much larger than a broomstick, or a hundred broomsticks was approaching. People began spouting their theories, and they made Elara laugh.

"It's a dragon!" A first year called out.

"Don't be stupid, It's a flying house!" Another first year yelled. That guess was more accurate. When the object got closer, they could see it was a giant, powder blue, horse-drawn carriage, that was the size of a large house. It was being pulled by a dozen winged horses, each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew backwards as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed, and then, with an almighty crash, the horses' hooves hit the ground. Mere seconds later, the carriage landed too, and the horses tossed their heads and rolled their large, fiery red eyes.

"Oh wow." Elara looked in awe at the horses. "They're gorgeous."

A boy in pale blue robes jumped out of the carriage, and students got a glimpse of the coat of arms emblazoned across the door (two crossed, golden wands, each releasing 3 stars). The boy bent down, messed with something and then stepped back as golden steps unfolded.

A large black heeled show stepped out, and following after was a large woman, not large in the sense of weight, but large as in she was very tall, taller than even Hagrid. Elara could hear several gasps, but most people remained silent as it was disrespectful.

The woman stepped into the light, and now everyone could see what she looked like she had an olive-skinned face, large black eyes and a beaky looking nose. Her hair was drawn back in a knob at the base of her neck, and she was dressed from head to toe in black satin, paired with a gorgeous pearl necklace at the base of her neck, and matching rings on her fingers.

Dumbledore began clapping, and many students followed his lead. Her face relaxed, and she smiled, walking forward to Dumbledore and extending a hand. He took it, and kissed it, not even having to bend. "My dear Madame Maxime." He greeted. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

So that was her name, Madame Maxime. She replied back saying, "Dumbly-dorr." Her voice was deep, and hearing the name the French woman had for her headmaster caused Elara to giggle quietly. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you."

"My pupils." She waved a hand behind her carelessly, and Elara could see now a dozen boys and girls, all around her age and maybe older. All of them dressed in what looked to be fine silk. They looked like they were freezing. "'As Karkaroff arrived yet?"

"He should be here any moment. Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think. But ze 'orses-" She began.

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other.. charges." Elara shuddered, thinking of the Skrewts that he had introduced recently.

But Madame Maxime still wasn't sure. "My steeds require forceful 'andling." She didn't think Hagrid would be able to manage them. "Zey are very strong."

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job."

"Very well." She replied. "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses only drink single-malt whiskey?"

"It will be attended to."

"Come." She ordered her students, and the crowd parted to allow her and her students to enter the school. They all stood there for a while, shivering as a cold breeze blew over them. Suddenly a noise came from somewhere.

Everyone grew silent. It grew louder. It was an oddly eerie noise that was drifting toward them from the darkness. Muffled. It sounded as though a vacuum cleaner was moving along a riverbed.

"The lake! Look at the lake!"

Everyone's heads turned towards the Black Lake. The surface wasn't smooth anymore. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center, great bubbles were foaming on the surface, and waved were washing over the muddy banks. Then in the middle, a whirlpool appeared, and what seemed to be a long, black pole began rising slowly.

Slowly, a ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal loo, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began gliding towards the bank. Then, there was the sound of an anchor being tossed down, and a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People began getting off, and as they drew closer, Elara could see they wore heavy cloaks, which lead her to believe they came from somewhere cold, unlike the students of Beauxbatons who had come from France, where it wasn't nearly as cold as Scotland.

The man leading them wore sleek, silver furs that matched his hair. "Dumbledore!" He called out. "How are you, my dear fellow?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff."

Elara's eyes widened as she turned to Theodore. "Karkaroff! That's Igor Karkaroff! The guy they were going to send to Azkaban for being a Death Eater, but they didn't because he gave them names!"

"Oh shit." Came his response as his eyebrows raised.

"Dear old Hogwarts." Karkaroff spoke, smiling up at the castle, but it was a cold smile. "How good it is to be here, how good... Viktor, come along, into the warmth... you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

As the student stepped forward, people began gasping, and Elara looked confused. She stood on her tiptoes and looked over people's heads before she let out a gasp of her own. She dropped to her feet. "Bianca, Theo, that's Viktor fucking Krum."

"Are you being serious?" Theodore's eyes widened as he looked up, and when he saw the guy, his mouth dropped open.

"Wh- holy shit. El! Krum! Oh my god!" Bianca squealed quietly.

But before they could approach him, he followed his headmaster past the throngs of people and walked into the castle. When they all walked inside, Elara could see the students from Beauxbatons had taken their seats at the Ravenclaw table.

The Durmstrang students sat at the Slytherin table, and Krum was right beside her cousin Draco. Elara walked up to them, and sat down beside Draco, with Bianca opposite her, and Theodore beside Bianca. "Hi, I'm Elara Black. Pleasure to meet you." She held her hand out to the famed Quidditch player, and he shook it.

"Viktor Krum."

Elara looked around, and she could see Ron at the Gryffindor table going crazy. She winked at him before getting a napkin and taking her lipstick out. She turned to Krum again. "Hey Viktor, mind doing me a favour?"

He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "See that red head going crazy over there?" She pointed at Ron, who sat down quickly. When Krum nodded, she continued. "He's a huge fan, would you mind signing this for him?"

Krum nodded and took the lipstick from her hands, before signing the napkin with it. "Thank you so much." She tucked the napkin back into her robes, took the napkin in her hand and made her way to the Gryffindor table.

When she got there, she was pulled down by Ron, and Harry, Fred, George, Ginny and a ton others surrounded her. "You talked to Krum!"

"I did. He's very nice." Elara smiled. She handed Ron the napkin. "You're welcome." Before leaving, she kissed Harry on the head and then headed back to her table and sat down beside Draco.

"I see Ron took that well." The blond boy snickered.

"Totally." She laughed.

When Dumbledore appeared with Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, the hall grew silent. As soon as the other two sat down, Dumbledore began speaking. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and most particularly guests." He beamed at everyone, and Elara rolled her eyes. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

A few Beauxbatons students snickered. "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home." Then he sat, and as soon as he did Karkaroff started talking to him.

The food that appeared on all the tables seemed to be a lot more than usual, and Elara could see some foreign dishes among the usual ones. Elara stuck to her normal food, but she could see Krum grabbing both.

Once they all finished eating, Dumbledore stood once more, and Elara noticed that Ludo Bagman, and Barty Crouch had joined them at the staffs table.

"The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

People applauded. "And Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." There was more applause, and Bagman waved, while Crouch didn't. "Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament, and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts. The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch approached, carrying a wooden chest encrusted with jewels. People began murmuring and muttering excitedly.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman." Dumbledore began. Elara watched as Filch placed the chest on the table in front of the headmaster. "They have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways...their magical prowess – their daring – their powers of deduction – and of course, their ability to cope with danger."

The Hall grew silent now. "As you know, three champions compete in the tournament. One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: The Goblet of Fire."

And now, Dumbledore took his wand out and tapped the casket three times. The lid opened and Dumbledore reached in and pulled out a large wooden cup. It didn't look that spectacular other than that it was filled with blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet on top of it.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it in the goblet. Aspiring champions have 24 hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage students yield to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line."

At this reminder, Elara groaned once more, and rested her chin on her palm as she pouted, listening to Dumbledore continue. "Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."