Colin hadn't thought that Hogwarts could get any more exciting. It was a school of magic after all, and he, him, the little muggle boy who always got picked last for sports at primary school and was a bit of a quiet case, was a wizard. So was his brother, Dennis who was in his second year at the marvellous establishment, a year below his brother. Dennis was now sitting a few students down from him at the Gryffindor table, listening to Dumbledore's welcoming speech which was very much more interesting than usual. The Triwizard Tournament had come back to the wizarding World and was coming to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Granted, Colin knew nothing about the tournament, having never heard of it before, seeing as it had been cancelled hundreds of years ago due to the level of danger it included and the fact that Colin was from a muggle family. Dennis caught his eye and beamed at his big brother before joining in on the excited chatter with the second years surrounding him. Colin grinned back before searching the long table for the only other person which interested him. His eager eyes fled the length of the table before settling on the fourth year boy who sat between two of his best friends, a lanky red-head boy and a bushy-haired girl. Harry Potter was one of the most famous wizards of their time and Colin could not believe that this skinny boy with the round glasses and the skewed glasses had defeated the darkest wizard to ever live…and that when he was just a baby. It was remarkable. Colin couldn't help but be starstruck. Harry Potter was so much more interesting…so much more real than the other celebrities he'd seen on the television at home in the muggle world.
Colin tuned back into Dumbledore's explanation to catch the last few details about the tournament. Groans emitted from nearly every student as the headmaster announced an age limit of seventeen. Not that it bothered Colin. He was just grateful to be able to take part in the supporting of this great wizard event. He loved magic.
After the glorious feast, the students filed out tiredly, some chatting manically, others whispering secretly, all about the tournament Colin guessed.
"Colin! Colin!" a small voice called eagerly.
The third year Gryffindor glanced around into the oncoming crowd of students and saw Dennis squeezing through excitedly. His eyes lit up as he managed to career over to his brother.
"Colin! I can't wait for the Triwizard Tournament!" he squeaked. "Who do you think will be the Hogwarts champion? I didn't know there were other magical schools!"
"Hey Den. Neither can I. I don't know. I hadn't heard about the other schools either!" Colin beamed back and they chattered excitedly on their way to the common room.
Harry was nowhere in sight as Colin entered through the portrait hole but he thought he saw a fleeting glance of red hair disappear up the staircase and suspected that he was already in his dormitory. Colin felt an excitement building up inside his chest as he bade goodnight to Dennis and followed his fellow-third years up to his dormitory. As the other boys settled for bed and drew the curtains around their four posters Colin delved his hands to the bottom of his trunk to find his notebook which he had to admit was more like a diary than anything else. It wasn't private. It was more like a daily account of the wizarding world through Colin's eyes to show to his parents when he got back home, so he could tell them all about the amazing wizardry he'd been up to. He took out an old quill and an ink pot and set himself down on the edge of his bed to write.
'My first day back at Hogwarts and things are more exciting than I remember. Professor Dumbledore announced that Hogwarts is holding the Triwizard Tournament' this year. It's a really dangerous tournament where three schools compete against each other and one person from each school takes part. I really hope ours is Harry…although there's an age limit of seventeen and Harry is only fourteen. I really want him to be the champion. He would be fantastic. Dennis is excited too. I had garlic mashed potatoes with sausages for dinner and a 'hearty glass of milk' as dad would say. Good night.'