chapter 34

After the couple had finished their run around the Black Lake, Hope made her laps in human speed so she could stay with Daphne as they ran. Both her Werewolf and Vampire sides shared a peaceful compromise as they ran with their Mate and Daphne had suggested shifting into their animal forms to run during some of the nights.

As they entered the Slytherin dormitories Hope followed Daphne and the blonde glanced back at the other girl. "What? I've never been in your room before."

Daphne rolled her eyes as she opened her door and Hope walked in with her girlfriend.

"Hey Daph. Where were you this-- morning?" Tracey asked her roommate as she was grabbing her uniform, she stuttered when she saw Hope.

"Professor Flitwick has me doing morning runs for exercise. Apparently I'm falling behind in comparison to Hope. So now I get to wake up around 6am to run. Oh the joy." Daphne answered with a snarky tone.

Hope sent a playful glare Daphne's way.

"Baby." The Tribrid teased the other girl whose eyes widened comically at the term.

Hope sensed around the room with her magic, trying to locate the hidden bathroom. Sea-blue eyes stared at the bookcase and tilted her head with a smile.

"Alright. You've seen our room. Now leave so we can get ready." Daphne ordered her copper haired Mate as she held the door open.

Hope glanced back at the other two Slytherin girls and held up a finger. "In a moment. Could you shut the door for a second?"

Daphne tilted her head slightly in suspicion but closed the door.

"What are you doing?" The blonde questioned the other girl with furrowed brows.

"Well you two are the only Slytherins I actually like. So I thought that I would find your en-suite bathroom." Hope replied with a smile as she looked back at the two girls, "Now you don't need to go to the communal bathroom anymore."

Daphne heard the wording the other girl used. "We don't? You found it?"

Hope hummed. "I need a little help moving this bookcase. The door to the bathroom is behind it."

The Tribrid pulled her wand out of her wrist holster.

"Wanna help get your own bathroom?" Hope cheekily smiled at Daphne.

Daphne shook her head in amusement before drawing out her own light brown wand. The blonde looked at the Slytherin martyr for a second before they both raised their wands at the bookshelf, the girls called out together, "Wingardium leviosa."

The piece of furniture lifted only a few inches off the ground and they moved it to the side before placing it down.

The copper haired girl placed her hand on the apparent bare wall. The wall shuddered momentarily as the door appeared under Hope's hand causing Tracey to gasp in shock.

"I hope this helps and," Hope brought her index finger to her lips and made a shushing noise, "It would be best not to mention this to anyone, otherwise you'll just have a group of Slytherins annoying you about how you have a bathroom."

Tracey frowned at the other girl before arguing half-heartedly. "But wouldn't it be better to let all the students have their own bathroom. I mean no one should have to use the communal bathroom. It's embarrassing and degrading."

Hope sighed. "I know. But how many Slytherins would willingly let me into their dorm rooms to break the concealment charm on the door?" Hope asked the brunette thoughtfully.

Tracey blinked and turned her gaze to the ground in shame whereas Daphne answered, "Now? Zero. But you are unlocking the bathroom in my sister's room."

The blonde arched an eyebrow at Hope deliberately before opening her door.

"Okay?" Hope replied slowly as she walked out the door.

"Perhaps you should join me when I remove the charm from your sister's room. Otherwise I don't think she'd let me in." Hope pointed out.

"Sure we'll go after we shower. Now shoo. I'll see you in 20." The Greengrass Heiress motioned the other girl out of the room.

Thankfully Astoria's roommate had already made her way out to the Great Hall leaving the younger Greengrass alone. Hope had telekinetically moved a dresser out of the way and removed the concealment charm from the room.

"Hope?" Astoria called out before she could leave and Hope turned around to face her sister-in-law. "Could you take down all the concealment charms on the dormitory bathrooms?"

Hope chuckled slightly as she looked over to Daphne.

"You're the 3rd person to ask me this Stori." The Tribrid sighed, "I'm planning on removing the concealment charms, but no one will let me into their rooms. So the only way I can remove the spells is to use the Slytherin Wardstone. But I can only use the Wardstone when no one else is in the common room. But Dumbledore and Snape know this, so they leave someone here throughout the day so I can't alter it anymore."

Astoria frowned. "So there's nothing you can do?"

"Eventually I can. But I would need to wait until I announce myself as Lady Emrys. Then I can break all the spells in the entire common room, any hidden rooms or items will be visible." Hope explained.

"When do you plan on doing that Hope? You've never mentioned it." The willowy brunette asked.

"This year. Sometime between Hallowe'en and the Yule Ball. Because I will be going to this Ball with your sister, so I'll need to be Lady Emrys when I publically ask Daphne to the Ball."

Hope removed her Emrys ring from her right index finger and placed it in her pocket while cloaking it with as many concealment charms as possible so Moody's mechanical eye Crouch had stolen from the real retired Auror, couldn't pick up any trace of her House ring.

The auburn haired girl shared a look with Daphne and she gave a subtle nod as the Ravenclaws and Slytherins walked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Professor McGonnagall was already in the classroom with a stern look on her face and her arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"Let's not dilly-dally then. Everyone in! Ravenclaws first. Alphabetical order. Move!" The scarred professor slammed his cane on the floor causing the group to jump in surprise as they moved in a single file line and the Slytherins sat down at their desks waiting for their turn.

Hope sat on her own at the front as she kept a very close eye on 'Moody' as he went through a very quick run through on how to protect themselves from the Imperius Curse.

"The best way to avoid this Curse is simply not to be hit by it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Faux-Moody called out strongly, making everyone flinch at the volume.

"Other than that, you need to have a strong-will and mind. Imperio!" He casted suddenly at the first person in the line, Terry Boot.

Hope watched as each of the students' eyes glazed over and 'Moody' commanded them to do silly little actions like jumping jacks, push-ups (which no one was actually able to perform properly as Witches and Wizards normally don't participate in physical education) or tap dancing.

Professor McGonnagall watched the proceedings with a scrutinising eye as she rolled her wand in her fingers, just in case she had to step in.

When 'Moody' moved onto the Slytherins first up was Millicent Bulstrode who sung 'I'm a little teapot' which made Hope pursing her lips and looking away for a moment to compose herself as the image of a tall, butch girl singing a nursery rhyme was an interesting visual.

Crabbe, Davis, then Goyle were next. The two boys seemingly had no resistance, while Tracey Davis did manage to hold out for a moment but eventually she was tap dancing to a tune only she could hear.

Daphne was next and she stood with her hands clasped in front of her body as she stared stoically at the professor as he pointed his wand in front of her face and called, "Imperio."

Hope's body tensed up violently as she had her White Oak wand in her hand, magic was literally coming off of Hope in waves of determined fury.

As she watched, Daphne's body didn't become pliant like she saw everyone else do and instead she heard her Mate's transcendent voice. "Do you wanna try again? I know some men your age start to develop performance issues."

Hope couldn't help herself and she snorted as she brought up her hand without her wand in it and laughed into it, amusingly enough, Hope was not the only person laughing in the class as they watched 'Moody' become red in the face at the Heiress' words.

McGonnagall had a look of pure shock on her face when she saw that the Imperius Curse had absolutely no effect on the Slytherin girl.

Professor Moody cleared his throat as raised his wand again and cast the Unforgivable Curse again, but once again nothing happened.

Daphne shrugged her shoulders. "So what now Professor?"

Crouch grinded his teeth at the response and outcome from the daughter of the Greengrass legacy. Barty was pissed that he couldn't use the elder Greengrass daughter against Marcus Greengrass, but thankfully he still had another Greengrass he could manipulate. However he could only perform the Unforgivable Curses on the 4th year students and above, with how effortlessly this Greengrass threw off or wasn't even bothered by the mind controlling Curse, he had no idea if the younger girl had the same mental defences.

"You can sit down, Greengrass and know that you are possibly one of the luckiest people on the planet. Having such powerful mental shields that protect you from the Imperius Curse. It's impressive. You should be proud." 'Moody' begrudgingly admitted before calling Malfoy to the front.

Malfoy may have lasted roughly 5 seconds before succumbing to the Imperius Curse and clucking like a chicken.

Hope was next, as 'Moody' lifted his wand, Hope raised her own wand up and called out, "Expelliarmus." Knocking Faux-Moody's wand into the air and catching it quickly, shocking everyone in the class.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing Mikaelson!" The Professor yelled at the girl.

Hope gave the Professor an unimpressed look before answering, "Protecting myself."

The Professor continued to glare at Hope while she held his wand and Hope rolled her eyes. "Really? Why would I literally stand still while someone cast an Unforgivable Curse on me? It makes no sense. So I fought back like I do in Duelling. I was taught by my family not to stand still and to take the fight to my opponent first."

The Professors shared a glance as the girl's reasoning was sound, Hope's strong but calm voice also added, "I thought you would be proud Professor Moody. Afterall I took your advice of 'constant vigilance' to heart."

'Moody' gave a low groan before holding his hand out. Hope placed the other man's wand in 'Moody's' outstretched hand. "Very well. You are right. No one should just let someone cast an Unforgivable on them. It's suicidal. So good job. But don't do that again. You know that this is part of the class and therefore sanctioned by the Ministry. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir." Hope replied as she returned her wand to its holster and stood up straight but leaving her body limber, arms kept loosely at her sides as she smirked at the Professor cheekily.

Hope saw a microexpression of a sneer on the Professor's face before he called out, "Imperio."

Hope felt a light poke on her mental barrier and frowned slightly before focusing her gaze on the angry Professor whose jaw dropped when he saw that this Slytherin girl could also protect herself from the Unforgivable Curse as well.

"Imperio." He called out again, but stronger this time.

The light auburn haired girl felt a little push on her wall but there was no chance that 'Moody' would ever be able to produce enough magic to bust through Hope's shields.

"It seems that I'm also one of the luckiest people on the planet along with my Duelling partner." Hope mentioned as she turned away and walked back to her desk with wide eyes staring at her back, especially from the rest of the Slytherins as they thought she would have no mental walls.

Hope slipped her Emrys ring back onto her finger and watched as the rest of the Slytherins had their go. Nott was next showing some resistance but was overcome by the spell just like Malfoy, Parkinson was singing 'who let the dogs out', which had Hope pursing her lips again, trying not to laugh. Crouch must be having fun when he picks some of these commands Hope thought before Zabini, the last student finally had his turn.

When Blaise fell under the Imperius Curse after maybe 10 seconds, 'Moody' had him do a very stereotypical Italian accent that just sounded wrong coming out of his mouth since she's heard Blaise slip into his native tongue over the years when he was frustrated with some of his schoolwork.

Hope cringed slightly at the 'Mario' Italian sounding accent before locking eyes with Padma next to her who was also frowning before burying her head into her arms as she folded them over the desk.

Over the next few weeks, during their Duelling class Hope and Daphne were discussing the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes as well as the rest of their classes. Both girls were at the top of all of their classes.

Hope was getting better at Astronomy over the years and even Professor Sinistra noticed this, along with Daphne's artistic talent as the Greengrass Heiress was starting to draw constellations, once Hope had off-handedly mentioned why she stays behind for a few minutes after each lesson.

Nothing has changed with all of their core subjects, Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration and Potions. DADA was a work in progress since each year they got a new teacher, it was normally hard to gauge if the Professor will be good or not. Apart from all the yelling and shouts of 'Constant Vigilance' while trying to scare everyone, Barty Crouch Jr was actually a decent teacher, almost as good as Lupin, although he was more insane.

Hope was reading up on treaties between the Magical Communities during History of Magic because she needed to learn what these treaties were about. Before she made an accidental mistake for not knowing something the Queen of the Werewolves or Princess of the Vampires should be aware about and cause international conflict between the species. Daphne was also looking into this as well once Hope mentioned that she would most likely become an advocate for the Magical Community.

In her research she came across the 'Treaty of the Sky and Atlantis' which was about the Merpeople staying out of the Veela's territory, the sky and the Veela staying out of any bodies of water where the Merfolk were located. Hope had copied this and sent a copy to Daphne during History of Magic once Tracey had fallen asleep.

The girls wrote down dot points about this treaty, realising that someone from one of the mentioned communities can enter the other's, but it requires permission. When Daphne asked Hope about this, if Dumbledore requested permission and Hope just shrugged, unsure of the answer.

As for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, Hope was finding both classes easy since she already knew how to create spells and that for Ancient Runes, Sheda notified Hope and Daphne during the first week that even though they learn 2 more Ancient languages for this class they always return to Viking Runes since they are the most powerful.

The two girls still managed to join Sheda a few times every week, once a week Daphne would make a cut across her palm and angling it so the blood dripped into a cup for Sheda to drink from before Hope healed it with a spell she learnt from Perenelle's notebook she gave to Hope for her first Yule.

The school had their first Hogsmeade trip in mid October, Hope convinced Daphne to try her hand at apparating and they ended up in Moscow. They spent the day there exploring the cathedrals and some of the heritage sites like the Red Square, the Botanical Garden of Academy of Sciences and also the Church of Ascension before returning back to school as they only had about one and a half hours to explore.

Hope praised Daphne on her apparition skills, Daphne had blushed and asked if they could go into Hope's room tonight for a little fun. Hope felt like she should have said no to keep the masses guessing, but she missed her Mate too much and agreed.

The Consort of the House Emrys, was ever so thankful that Hope had possibly the strongest privacy spells working that night as Daphne was not quiet. Not even in the slightest. Hope had fucked her into bed for the 3rd time that night before Daphne had asked for a reprieve, but instead of actually taking a break, the blonde ate the other girl out as she loved Hope's woodsy taste.

After another round of their love-making Hope was trailing her nails gently along Daphne's back causing goosebumps to appear as the other girl purred into the pillow.

"It's getting closer. The Tri-Wizard Tournament. My Lady Emrys reveal to society. Sirius' trial… Fleur. Things are going to change very soon." Hope thought aloud as she rested her head on the pillow behind Daphne before throwing over an arm to pull the blonde back into her.

Daphne snuggled back into Hope, "I know. Although I'm not worried about most of those items. We have plans for just about all of them." The Heiress murmured quietly.

"Except Fleur." Hope mentioned sleepily as she yawned.

Daphne hummed in agreement.

"Except Fleur." The blonde repeated before taking a relieved breath, "However the good news is that the Delacour's can't pressure you or Fleur into anything with the Flamel Debts."

"Yeah. I still need to tell them that once I stop hiding in the shadows."

Hope waited a few moments as she considered her thoughts. "Would you like to spend this year trying to court Fleur with me… After the First Task?"

Daphne turned around so she could look at the Tribrid. "Why the First Task?"

"That's when I plan on announcing myself."

The blonde cupped the auburn haired girl's jaw and brushed over her cheek with her thumb. "Why not during the Goblet of Fire?"

Hope bit her lip slightly. "Just in case my being Lady Emrys causes the Tri-Wizard officials to change the Tasks to make them harder for someone like me. Most of them would have seen me in action as Lady Emrys from the Quidditch World Cup. I'm too powerful for this Tournament and they would know it. But after the First Task, the Second is already in motion and won't be able to be altered due to the reward from the First Task."

"The Golden Egg?" Daphne confirmed as Hope nodded.

"It's a slight shame though." Hope met Daphne's icy coloured eyes as she raised an eyebrow at the blonde's words and she continued, "I kinda wanted to flirt with Fleur earlier than November or December."

"I never said we couldn't flirt. I just asked if you would like to court her after the First Task."

The girls shared a salacious smile before Hope had to send Daphne away for the night before the other Slytherin girls began to speculate about their time together.

On the 30th of October the students were called out of their classes to watch as the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang made their grand debut. To begin with, everyone was looking all around wanting to see just how the forgein schools would arrive, some were getting bored as they had been standing in the cold biting wind for almost 30 minutes.

Eventually a Gryffindor boy, Lee Jordan, the Quidditch announcer called out as he pointed into the sky, "Look! Up there!"

Every head shot up to look in the direction Lee was pointing, "What is that?", "Is that a bird?" "A plane?" Came some of the responses from the crowd.

Hope scoffed as she was able to see the carriage being pulled behind 6 flying horses known as Abraxans due to her enhanced vision, but the girl kept quiet as the horses took the carriage down lower towards a section of the school grounds that had been levelled off earlier in the week.

The Headmaster must've been aware of how the delegations would be arriving, to have asked Hagrid to level a part of the school grounds so the Beauxbatons could make a smooth… Well honestly, it would be a bumpy landing no matter what Hope summarised, as she noticed the speed that they are descending at.

"That's going to be a rough landing." Hope murmured as she watched Hagrid duck hazardly to avoid being sideswiped by the carriage as it passed his head.

Susan looked skeptical as she had watched Abraxans land in the past without any difficulty while Hannah just nodded along with a majority of the Muggleborns and some Half-Bloods around them as they heard Hope's comment.

The horses made a sharp turn causing the carriage to look like it was about to detach from the reins and go flying into the Forbidden Forest.

"Remind me never to ride in that thing." Justin Finch-Fletchley mentioned with a pale face as he brought a hand up in front of his mouth and blanched strongly, "Dear God! Just watching that thing makes me sick."

"Trust me Justin, you're not alone. See this is the reason I hate flying." Hope commented as she gave Susan a pointed glare.

"Wuss." Came the banter from the red-head girl as she rolled her eyes at her flying impaired friend.

Hope poked out her tongue at the other girl and the Hufflepuffs around them laughed joyfully.

A battering clang brought the Hufflepuff's heads back to the carriage as they watched as older students dizzily made their way out of their transportation. All the Beauxbatons students seemed to have shivered as they exited the carriage as they looked to only be dressed in light blue thin-threaded clothing.

Hope shook her head slightly at their choice of clothing before realising that it would have been Dumbledore's job to make sure his guests were informed about what items they should bring with them. Hope sighed silently as she tried to locate the white-gold hair of her Veela friend.

Another shout came from Sheamus Finnegan, his strong irish accent coming out vigorously, "Look! In the water!"

Most of the students ran over to the bannister to see a log sticking out of the Black Lake. All the sudden a roaring crash of water is heard as a warship surfaced to glide along the Black Lake, water was cascading off the hull of the ship in steady rivers as it slowly made its way to the edge of the lake to dock.

Daphne had managed to appear next to Hope while everyone was still 'oohing' and 'ahhing' at the spectacle shown by the Bulgarian students.

"Is that ship going to be a problem for us doing our laps around the lake?" Daphne curiously asked as she crossed her arms over her chest disinterestedly.

Hope looked at Daphne for a moment before looking back over to the ship. "It shouldn't. If it does, oh well. We'll just double back."

The blonde threw her head back and groaned theratrically. "I hate you."

Hope turned her head back to her Mate, "No, you don't." The time-traveller responded simply.

The girls heard footsteps coming and turned around to see a very, very tall woman, nearly twice the size of Hagrid.

Obviously no one at this school had heard of manners as they heard many murmurs around them stating how tall she was.

Dumbledore weaved his way through the crowd as he stood in front of Madam Maxine, politely taking the back of her hand and laying a chaste kiss on the back before letting go.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Madam Maxine and your delegation of students." The elderly man offered with a grandfatherly smile.

"'Zank you for having us, Dumblydoor." Hope's eyes widened as she heard Madam Maxine's very thick French accent and she pursed her lips tightly together as she turned around to see a group of Gryffindor's snickering at the broken english.

Thankfully Dumbledore doesn't laugh and just continues as peacefully as he could. "Of course. It's always a pleasure. However, perhaps we should let your students into the castle to get warmed up?"

Maxine looked back at her shivering students before sighing heavily. "Zat would bee a 'onderful idea. It zeems my students were unprepar'd for the colder 'eather."

She moved to shuffle her students into the castle and Hope saw a glimpse of white-gold hair entering the castle, but the girl was looking back in Hope's direction and waved.

Hope smiled and waved back before her attention was drawn to the second delegation and shouts of "Viktor Krum is here." The loudest being from Ron Weasley.

As Dumbledore was greeting Igor Karkaroff, Hope heard the Weasley twins bantering back and forth, "Do you want the honors brother?" "No, brother. I do believe it's your turn."

The auburn haired girl smiled before she slithered through the few rows to stand next to the Weasley twins. "What's up Gred? Forge?" The girl whispered from beside them causing them to jump.

The boys cackled as they drew Hope into a one-armed hug, "Well if it isn't our favourite Slytherin." One of the boys said before the other continued the sentence, "Still pranking those no good Slytherins in your year?"

Hope chuckled as she subtly cast a zapping charm on the boys, "Eep." They exclaimed together before jumping away from the young prankster.

The Weasley twins and Hope had somehow managed to forge a friendship after they wouldn't leave her alone during some of the House Quidditch matches and she started to prank them to get them to leave but instead of leaving, they were impressed and curious on how she was able to get past the wards Lady Emrys had erected.

Hope explained how she didn't actually want to hurt anyone with her pranks and she realised she made a fatal error in her Wardstone if she was able to prank people but she managed to convince the boys not to tell anyone and that she would help out on occasion since no one would suspect the Slytherin Muggleborn with the wards in place.

The devilish Weasley twins accepted and with that they formed a strange friendship.

"Always up to no good boys, now who's going to light this firework?" Hope asked with a grin.

The boys shared an identical grin before offering the firework to the Slytherin girl. "Light it up, Mikaelson."

Hope's eyes widened at the firework in her hands before shrugging and flicking out her wand, "Incendio." She whispered into her air and a spark of heat came out of her wand, igniting the fuse and throwing it back to the boys as they stumbled to catch it and played a game of hot potato as they flung it back and forth between them.

"Enjoy the show boys, I know I will." The copper haired girl laughed as she effortly weaved her way back to her previous spot.

"What are you laughing about?" Came the curious voice from the Indian Ravenclaw girl, Padma.

Hope held up a hand, fingers outstretched and started counting down as she dropped a finger with each count.

When she got to one, her friends around her cringed slightly in fear as they didn't know what was about to happen. A thrill came from behind the group as they saw a streaking firework shoot up into the sky.

As the fireworks exploded in the sky, everyone looked up to watch as the colourful explosive began to form a string of glittering, fiery words, 'Welcome to Hogwarts! Home of the Weasley twins. Enjoy your stay.'

A round of applause came from a majority of the Hogwarts students while a few chuckles came from the Durmstrang students and the Hogwarts Headmaster gave a polite clap before calling out, "Thank you Fred and George Weasley, for your warm welcome and kind words."

The red-headed twins bowed dramatically as they threw their arms over each other's shoulders as they rose, grinning the entire time. The Headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madam Maxine was still outside and gave a slow clap while looking absolutely perplexed at the entire situation.

Eventually everyone made their way inside the castle, the Durmstrang students went off in a different direction as well as the Giant woman or at least part Giant woman as Maxine walked off to find her students.

All the Hogwarts students walked into the Great Hall and situated themselves into their respective houses. Hope made her way over to the Slytherin table and sat down at the very end of the table, closest to the faculty table.

"What the hell are you doing here at our table?" A disgruntled Slytherin boy in one of the years above her sneered at her.

Hope turned to face the other boy. "Trust me, this isn't what I want either. But the rules in Hogwarts: A History state that we have to sit in our respective houses when there are visitors at the school."

The possible 7th year students' eyes widened as he groaned before forcing all the younger students away from the disgraced Muggleborn girl. Some of the kids complained but followed the boys', Cassius Warrington, Hope recalled suddenly, unspoken rule since it was one of the new rules the Slytherins tell each new year was to ignore, disrespect or taunt the Muggleborn girl.

"Same rules as before, stay down here and don't make a sound. Maybe we can just pretend the end of the table doesn't exist." He grunted at the girl as he walked off.

Hope hummed as she nodded her head as she believed that this interaction was possibly the nicest any Slytherin has visibly been in public.

"Sure thing." She murmured to herself as Professor Dumbledore walked up to the podium. The entire student body was already facing the Headmaster, awaiting for him to begin his announcement.

The elderly man cleared his throat and placed his frail hands on the podium, bracing himself as he leaned forward. "Ah, a good evening to all of you. As you know we have received some guests earlier today and I hope that you all show them the integrity and passion that Hogwarts has to offer."

"So without a further ado. I'd like to welcome the lovely and charismatic students from France. Please welcome the delegation from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their Headmistress, Madam Maxine." Dumbledore announced with a flourish and outstretched hand aiming towards the doors to the Great Hall as they opened with a loud bang.

Two rows of students mainly consisting of women with some men scattered throughout the masses strode through the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables as they flauntered gracefully down the walkway.

Some of the girls winked at some of the boys from Hogwarts as they walked past causing some of them to nearly fall out of their seats in lust.

"Bloody hell!" Came the loud bellow from Ron as Herminoe and Harry hid their faces in their hands as they groaned in embarrassment.

Hope chuckled into her hand as she watched as so many Hogwarts students near the Veela or as it turns out, Veela's plural, according to Hope's senses. She sensed 4 Veela's in the group from Beauxbatons, out of the lot she could feel Fleur magic more fiercely than the other Veela's, more powerful and more passionate.

Fleur's gaze managed to find Hope very quickly before giving a smirk in her direction as she reached the front of the Great Hall before being ushered by her classmates to the Ravenclaw table.

"Excellent. Now please welcome the charming and formidable students from Bulgaria and their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff. The delegation from the Durmstrang Institute." The frail man at the podium called out, trying to break through the Veela's allure on his students.

The Durmstrang students paced through the doors with near military precision with staves in their hands. As they marched down the aisle they cracked the staves against the stone floor, striking up sparks and leaving soot on the ground with each thump of wood.

There were cheers and chants of "Krum!" coming from all four tables, however the green and silver table was a bit more reserved, only murmuring to one another than shouting out and embarrassing themselves. Snape actually looked slightly pleased that his table wasn't acting like a bunch of dunderheads.

Karkaroff shouted out some instructions to his students, pointing in the direction of the Slytherin table before glaring at the retired Auror for a moment, the scarred man feinted forward suddenly causing the former Death Eater to nearly trip over his own feet as he took a very wide, deliberate route as far away from Moody as possible as he sat awkwardly next to Professor Babbling who was subtling glaring at the other man.

"Wonderful!" Came the exuberant exclamation from the front of the Great Hall gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "Now that we are all seated. I can explain to all of you how the students from each school will be selected for the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

A pattering of feet rushed down the aisle as Mr Filch limped down at a quick pace before coming to a halt next to Dumbledore and whispered in his ear before the elderly wizard nodded and sent the caretaker back out of the hall.

The Headmaster cleared his throat as Mr Filch was dragging a large rolling box back down the pathway he just ran down earlier, slowing to a stop beside Dumbledore with a feral grin before running away again. "This is how we select our Champions for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The Goblet of Fire!"

Dumbledore used his wand on the box, dissolving it from the top, all the way down to the ground, revealing a large brass looking cup sitting on top of a sliding block.

There was a collective sound of gasping as the Goblet of Fire was uncovered. Hope stared at it with a startling fascination before looking around the crowd to see what their reactions were. There were many looks of greed, thoughtful consideration, pride and amazement.

"As I had mentioned to my students at the beginning of the school term, only as-of-age Wizards and Witches can submit their name into the Goblet of Fire. To ensure this," Dumbledore moved his wand in a circular motion, a white wispy spell trailed out of his wand like smoke, creating a perfect circle around the Goblet of Fire.

"I've placed an age line around this magical artefact. Stopping anyone under the age of 18 from entering and it also neutralises any spell used to manipulate it or bypass it."

Hope pursed her lips together in humorous disbelief as she realised that he didn't mention one of the most simple ways to bypass the age line, but she kept her mouth shut and thoughts secure as she wanted to surprise Daphne.

"Know this. If you enter your name in the Tournament. There's no going back." The elderly Headmaster warned before clapping his hands twice, signalling the beginning of the feast as the Hogwarts Elves teleported all the food into the Great Hall.

Instead of the traditional British food Hope was now accustomed to there were some pasta based foods that were highly recommended in France as well as some bread and pastries from France and the Mediterranean. Hope scanned down the table until she saw some beignets in front of Daphne and she made a whining sound through their mental bond. Daphne visibly smirked before promising that she would save some beignets for Hope for later.

Hope served herself a mixture of all the different food types as she enjoyed trying new foods and flavours. As she leaned forward she noticed a pot of what she assumed was bouillabaisse by the stench of fish wafting out of the container.

Before she could start eating though, a pleasant smell of lavender and jasmine accompanied by lust showed up in front of her and the angelic voice caused Hope to smile lightly. "Hello Hope. May I join you? My favourite dish is in front of you and my classmates have already hogged the bouillabaisse on my table."

"Sure."

Hope shuffled down the seat to make room for the other girl at the very edge of the table. "Sit next to me. They might leave you alone if you're at the end of the table."

"That's very considerate. Thank you." Fleur mentioned with a faint blush as she walked around the table and sat next to Hope.

"I'm kinda surprised that you are not sitting next to Daphne." The golden haired girl murmured quietly into the other's ear.

Hope switched to French as she replied just as quietly. "No one here knows who I am. So why would a no named Muggleborn girl be sitting with a Pureblood Princess? Also well done with your English."

"Thank you." Came a reply from the Veela just as Myrddin burst into the Great Hall in a flash of flames.

Fleur's mouth dropped at the appearance of the midnight coloured Phoenix who seemed to be scolding some of the blue and bronze students picking on a blonde haired girl. But what really had the Veela reeling was that she could sense the Phoenix' magic and it matched or pulsed in sync with the girl sitting next to her. Fleur's eyes widened.

Hope could sense a change in the woman next to her after Myrddin showed up and the Beauxbaton students were all gushing over the majestic bird, who puffed up his feathers smugly and proudly. As Hope turned to face Fleur, she saw a look on the flawless face of the Veela that she could only identify as pure gratitude.

Hope's eyes furrowed for a moment as she thought about why Fleur would look at her with gratification written all over her face before something randomly clicked in the Tribrid's head.

"Fuck! You recognised Myrddin's magical aura with Lady Emrys magic. Didn't you?" She groaned quietly in defeat.

Fleur nodded slightly before licking her dry lips, "Yeah. But only because I know what I'm looking for. I don't know if my friends will be able to pick it up."

"You know who I am? Completely? Damn Veelas and their sensitivity to magic."

The silver eyed girl gave a small chuckle.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? How did I not figure out you were the person who saved me at the Quidditch World Cup? You are Lady Emrys… and Heir Flamel… Sweet Merlin! You could take the Wizarding World by storm if you wanted to." The Veela thought aloud in a murmur.

Hope rolled her eyes at the insinuation.

"No, thanks. Too much paperwork." Came the snarky reply before the coppery auburn haired girl snatched a beignet off of Fleur's plate.

"You're welcome to the bouillabaisse but I consider this payment."

Fleur's jaw dropped in mock-outrage.

"How dare you steal off of my plate, you heathen!" The golden haired girl couldn't maintain the stern look on her face and started to smile.

Hope chuckled as she took a very deliberate slow bite of the savoury dessert and chewed noisily while she made indignant sounds which were downright scandalous.

The girl sitting next to the Tribrid looked wide eyed at the scene before shaking her head vigorously. "Evil little tease."

A smirk was the Veela's only response and she blushed lightly before turning to look down the line of the table at the disbelieving stares and the glazed over lustful looks. "Ah. I see why you choose to ignore everyone if this is the reception you get."

"Actually the lovesick looks are new. It's a little bizarre seeing those stares in my general direction." Hope mentioned in an unsettled tone as she spared them a quick glare before returning back to her meal.

Fleur looked slightly put-out as she sat next to Hope, playing with the food on her plate before Hope sighed and faced the other girl. "Fleur, for the love of God, please stop acting so stiff. Your magical aura is all over the place and it's giving me a headache."

The Veela flinched ever so slightly before she turned to Hope suddenly.

"Sorry. I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to act around you." She shyly admitted.

Hope turned to face her companion, meeting Sheda's curious gaze over Fleur's head, smiling slightly at the Ancient Runes Professor who returned the smile and nodded at her, showing the part Vampire's trust in the Tribrid.

"You told me to give you a chance at the Duelling Competition and I plan on doing exactly that. You've already figured out that I'm keeping my identity a secret, so just keep doing that. And because no one knows about my double life apart from a handful of trusted individuals. I'm hoping to include you in the pile, but I need some time. I hope you understand?" Hope informed the other girl with a look of hopeful expectation of potential trust.

"Of course I understand." The older girl remarked immediately. "Besides, why would I betray you? You saved my life. I owe you a Debt, even if my father isn't aware of who exactly he owes his Debt to, I still have to follow the rules of engagement for a Life-Debt."

"Like how the Flamel Heir had to show up at the Yule Ball last year?" Hope teased cheekily.

Fleur gave Hope an unimpressed expression and huffed out an uncomfortable "Yes."

Over the course of the night the two girls chatted amicably with each other as they shared some stories about their youth, Hope telling the older girl about living in New Orleans and travelling into the French Quarter with her family, Fleur about the sites of France and their magical counterparts.

Hope had asked Fleur if she was planning on competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament which the Veela proudly announced she was and that she truly wished to become a Champion so she could prove herself to her classmates that she wasn't only here because of her Veela heritage.

The Tribrid smiled at Fleur.

"I believe you'll be the Champion for your school." Hope mentioned with a knowing smile.

"Who do you think will be your school's Champion will be?" Fleur asked the younger Duelist curiously.

Hope leaned over to Fleur's ear and murmured. "Me."

The girl with the white-gold hair furrowed her brows at Hope before blurting out. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Hope smirked as she stood up, getting ready to go to bed as the rest of the students were also starting to leave for the night. "Well I guess you'll just have to stick around to find out. If it makes you feel any better, not even Daphne knows how I'm going to enter my name."

"Are you sure it's safe?" The other girl asked carefully, worried about Hope's safety.

Hope narrowed her eyes slightly at the other girl, wondering if Fleur was threatened by her or worried for her safety, however as it turned out, Hope's Werewolf side could sense the harpy-esque creature was just worried about her.

So the Tribrid softened her facial features before smiling at the Veela. "I'm sure. Trust me."

She confidently replied, "Just remember how legendary my performances have been so far. I think I'll be fine."

A look of realisation flashed across Fleur's face at those words and she looked away in embarrassment. "Uh, right… Sorry, would it be bad of me to say I forgot?"

Hope gave Fleur a cheeky smile before laughing at the Veela's sheepish face. "Not bad, actually. More like refreshing, knowing that you are able to forget something like that and treat me normally."