Authors Note
I've recently found myself coming back to this story and have decided that I want to keep writing it and finish it the way I did when I started it. After looking through the story that I had written so far, I didn't think it was a strong start point to be working from even though I still really liked the ideas and wanted to write them out to their fruition. As such, I've decided to restart the story here with this and will be clearing the original 3 chapters. I've worked writing into my schedule so I'll be able to keep updating and writing this story. I hope I don't annoy too many people restarting but I would rather start over 3 chapters in and come in with a stronger story than regret not starting over 10 chapters in. I will be changing some of the early story but I will be continuing with ideas such as an original (as far as I know) set of Triwizard Tasks. I'll definitely be looking closely at reviews and feedback to make sure I'm not compromising or losing the things which made this story interesting at the start, as well as for the motivation it definitely brings. I think that covers my overall thoughts coming back into the writing world and I hope everyone will come on this journey with me in this story again and help me improve as a writer to create the best story for the reader.
~Sylfyre
Harry Potter lay sleeping peacefully, his dreams filled with a peaceful and hopeful future. Occasionally he would make a slight sound in his sleep though the roar of his best friend Ron Weasley's snores across the room from him. Harry had been able to leave the Dursleys quite quickly this year thanks to the efforts of the Weasleys. Fred and George had been heavily responsible for this thanks to their efforts two years earlier. Harry had received a letter from the Weasleys inviting him to their home, which Harry had readily accepted. He had been unsure as to how they would convince the Dursleys to let him leave after his return to a room that doubled as a cage, but this had proven not to be an issue when Harry reminded the Dursleys what had happened last time he was unable to leave from the caged room easily. After that, the Dursleys had rushed to get him out of their home. Harry had caught the Night Bus to the Leaky Cauldron where Arthur Weasley had me him and returned him to The Burrow, and the comfortable and happy home it was. That comfort was not however to last as the door to his and his best friend Ron's room cracked and slowly began to open. Aside from the barely concealed snickers and the occasional creak of the floor, there was nothing to alert Harry or Ron that the door had been opened while they slumbered peacefully.
"3…2….1….now!" twin voices whispered in unison before tapping fireworks which exploded throughout the room in a detonation of light and noise which all but threw Harry out of his bed, stumbling around while Ron just sat himself up in bed, looking around confused from the sudden light in his room. That confusion quickly disappeared as the familiar laughter from Fred and George Weasley filled the room and the lights spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY on the wall in flowing colourful lines.
"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" came a roar from downstairs of the Weasley mother, overriding Ron's simultaneous roars at his brothers. Harry was still trying to blink through to figure out what happened, reaching out for his glasses and fumbling to get them on his eyes. When he finally managed to, the first things he saw was his best friend, his two favourite pranksters being yelled at by their mum, his other best friend Hermione Granger standing in the door next to Ginny Weasley and his happy birthday sign on the wall. It was definitely the perfect beginning to a birthday and as far as Harry was concerned, the best beginning to a birthday he had ever had. After the household had finally calmed down from the twins decision to act as Harry's personal alarm clock, and everyone was able to enjoy a delicious breakfast from Mrs Weasley of sausages, eggs, bacon and toast. Mrs Weasley as always kept Harry's plate loaded up despite his protests though he was fortunate enough Ron was happy to help keep Harry's plate manageable. Finally, it came to presents. Harry had not grown up expecting nor getting presents so it always floored him when he received them. Harry had received a small cake with an attached hippogriff feather. Harry hadn't been able to help but smile and had needed Ron and Hermione's help to ward off questions as to who it was from. The Weasleys had gotten Harry a package full of sweets, from chocolate frogs through to every flavour beans through to liquorice wands.
"We'll be all set for the train ride now Harry." Ron stated happily. From Hermione, Harry received a medium sized leather bound book which, when Harry opening it and looked inside had been drawn up in Hermione's neat handwriting in a template that Harry could use when learning new spells in class. There was a place for the spell, it's pronunciation, wand movements, what the spell did and a notes section.
"We're coming into our O.W.L. Years Harry, we really need to get better at our studies if we want options for our final years." she insisted to Ron's groans.
"Bloody hell Hermione, we still have a whole year till then, Harry and I will study harder with you then, won't we Harry?"
"You can't wait a whole year to get into good study habits Ronald!" Hermione answered, shock evident on her face at the thought. "And Harry won't be doing that will you Harry?" Harry was saved from being caught in the middle to Fred and George entering the room.
"Right then, birthday quidditch Harry?" Fred asked.
"Gotta get those birthday bludgers Harry." George added. At Harry's look he continued "they're like birthday kisses, but we didn't think we'd get away with snogging you so…" the second twin trailed off with a wicked grin, grabbing Harry and dragging him out to the backyard despite his protests, with Ron in tow, leaving Hermione and Ginny to roll their eyes at the boys.
"Harry! Ron! Hurry up and collect your things!" Molly Weasley shouted as she scrambled about making sure everything was ready for the rush to the Hogwarts Express in the morning. She had finished collecting the necessary supplies from Diagon Alley while the boys had played Quidditch. Hermione was already nose deep in the new copy of the standard book of spells and Ginny had dropped off Fred and George's as she went to her room. Harry and Ron came inside still discussing Quidditch and how the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. While it was still a few months away it was still the first major sporting event Harry had ever known or cared about and he definitely couldn't wait to get there and enjoy it, especially with the seats Mr Weasley had been able to get.
"Thanks for getting my books Mrs Weasley" Harry said, thankful he had been able to convince her to use the money he had given her. Mrs Weasley had been like a mother to Harry, but that didn't mean she had to cover his costs too. Harry knew he had a small fortune and that money was never going to be an issue while he was at school, but the Weasleys were not as well off as him, something Harry regularly felt guilty of having come from having very little himself at the Dursleys. He and Ron collected their new books and raced upstairs to pack their trunks. While they were unpacking, a book fell from between the pages of Harry's new The Standard Book Of Spells Grade 4. Harry glanced at it and frowned as he flicked through it. The SwordsWizard's Guide To Duelling the book was titled. It was fairly thing, predominately full of moving illustrations and some paragraphs of text. Harry double checked the list but could not find the book on the list.
"Hey Ron, did you get any extra books that weren't on the list?" Harry asked. Ron shook his head in answer.
"No, same as normal. Why did you?" Harry couldn't say why he did it, but the next moment he was shaking his head telling Ron he hadn't and putting the book away in his trunk. Harry knew the book was new with his book of spells and didn't belong to the Weasleys. Harry thought it looked interesting. Harry's only experience with duelling so far had been watching Snape against Gilroy Lockhart which Harry had to assume was nothing close to a normal duel. He wondered back to the the diary in his second year but dismissed it as different. Harry hadn't felt any magically strange attraction to the book, more of an interest in the subject matter. Hermione had been telling him he should try finding new interests to learn about, hoping she could grow better study habits in him and this seemed like a good chance for him to do just that. Harry also knew that if he told Hermione she would jump straight on it and do a lot of the research for him, taking some of the excitement away and if he told Ron, Harry knew Ron would just tell Hermione. After a moment, Harry decided it was better to just keep this one little secret to himself for now. With his trunk packed, Harry closed the lid and locked it.
Despite packing the night before, as always the morning was chaotic at the Weasley house with people's various items showing up around the house and people remembering extra items they would need for the coming school year. The twins certainly made the process even more challenging as well as interesting in their eternal battle with their mother to sneak as many fireworks, stink bombs and other pranking supplies as their could past her. Finally they were all able to get everything together and sent everyone through the floo system. Harry was more prepared this time around, though he still landed hard on his face when he had to exit. They were able to walk straight onto the platform without having to worry about the fake wall and load everything onto the train after many hugs and goodbyes to the Weasley parents. Harry Ron and Hermione said their goodbyes to the others and split off to find themselves a cabin. They got one near the back as had become their relative norm and Harry breathed a sigh of relief as they made it safely onto the train. Harry hadn't fully accepted that he would be able to have a regular train trip to school yet but he still found himself holding tightly onto that hope as best he could. He knew there weren't going to be dementors this year since Sirius had been sighted far away and the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had drawn the line with the Ministry of Magic with regard to putting the monsters around the school after their 'reported' attack on Harry the year before. In reality, the Dementors had been attempting to give the dementors kiss to Sirius and had targeted Harry as well when he had tried to repel them with his Patronus charm. Of course the Ministry had been forced to accept and remove the dementors before they were swamped with letters from parents fearful for their child's safety. However the train began to move under Harry, Ron and Hermione who had somehow kept their cabin to themselves. A few first years has looked in through the glass but had not been brave enough to go in and talk to the-boy-who-lived. Harry knew it would happen eventually, there was always a spike of his fame with the first years but the longer Harry was able to avoid the spotlight the better in his mind. As the scarlet train raced towards Hogwarts Harry hoped he would have a year free from Voldemort and being caught up in plots within the school. His mind flashed back to a Nightmare about Voldemort he'd had prior to going to the Weasleys. Harry had written to Sirius and Dumbledore about it, with Sirius saying as long as Dumbledore had been told not to worry about it too much and to let him know if it had happened again. Dumbledore had not replied other than to thank Harry for letting him know and to continue to do so. Despite Harry's concerns, the trio of friends made it safely to the castle with little incident. Even Draco Malfoy had been too busy terrorising first years to annoy Harry. As Harry sat down to the opening feast and watched the sorting, he had a good feeling about the year ahead.
Finally, after the feast was over, Dumbledore stood and gazed out over the students and the chatter in the hall died down to a low hum.
"Good evening to all our students, both new and old. Welcome to Hogwarts and welcome to your home for the year. I trust that you will all enjoy yourselves and work hard at everything endeavour you undertake. A reminder from the caretaker of the castle that running in the halls is prohibited as are stink bombs, fireworks of any kind and many other items all of which may be seen on the list attached to his office door." Dumbledore paused to gaze out over his glasses, a twinkle in his eye as he saw the Weasley twins look at each other and grin. Dumbledore wondered for a moment if the announcement he made each year would ever impact them. He knew it wouldn't. "This year, Hogwarts has been chosen to host the rebirth of a legendary event. The Triwizard Tournament!" after a moment, those who had come from wizarding families began to whisper furiously to each other.
"What's the triwizard tournament?" Harry hissed to Ron. Hermione looked over and answered at Ron's shrug.
"It's a competition between schools Harry. Each school has a champion and they complete tasks throughout the year."
"Between schools? You mean there are others?" After saying that sentence, Harry realised how silly he had to sound. Of course there were others, it just wouldn't make sense that Hogwarts would be the only school for magic in the world. Hermione looked like she was about to begin listing schools to them pair when Dumbledore spoke over them.
"Students from the Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute will be joining us for the year and I ask that you all take this opportunity to make bonds and friendships with these new students. Hogwarts will be playing host to different cultures and new students, as well as playing representative of Hogwarts for the year. I encourage all of you to make those friendships which will be available, knowing that one day in the future, they may be a relationship you will want to or need to call upon." Harry smiled at the thought of meeting students from overseas and other countries. Dudley had been talking about going overseas with his school after seeing how an exchange student at his school had been so popular. The thought crossed his mind if he was famous overseas or not. Before he had a chance to ask Hermione Dumbledore was continuing, saying the other students would be arriving tomorrow and all students would be meeting at 4pm. As he ended the speech to applause and the school song, Harry followed his house upstairs to the top of the castle, through the portrait and into his long awaited 4 poster bed. It didn't take long for the boys to fall silent and snores take over the silence.
Fleur Delacour smiled and thanked her headmistress as she was handed a piece of paper. She along with most of the other girls her age would be heading overseas this year to England from France to participate in the Triwizard Tournament at a school called Hogwarts. Fleur, though she disliked English food was excited about the prospect of being able to represent her school and herself in the tournament as something more than just a quarter veela girl as she often was called out as at Beauxbatons. Fleur had not been able to control her allure, a veela power which full blooded and even half blooded veela were generally able to control. Fleur however found it much harder to control her allure either to suppress or even direct it.
Turning back to the piece of paper, Fleur carefully wrote her name in as beautiful a script as she could manage. Madame Maxime walked around the girls, scrunching up names which weren't elegant enough and handing fresh papers to those who had not written it to her standard. Fleur understood that Maxime was trying to show the school off as much as possible, no doubt all the schools would be. Fleur had always had neat handwriting since calligraphy had been a skill she learnt with her mother as a child. Passing on the first go she was able to leave after Maxime gave her the approval and had tapped the paper with her wand to maintain it's crispness. Fleur left the room, heading to her dormitory to prepare for the long trip tomorrow. As she walked, she imagined being called out as the triwizard champion for her school and then going on to win it. People acknowledging her for herself rather than some heritage was a dream and hope of Fleurs. She had pride in her heritage as a veela but also pride in herself which was often put second. The thought that she might win Madame Maxime's second special prize if selected only furthered her desire to be the Triwizard Champion for Beauxbatons.
Viktor Krum entered Igor Karkaroff's office aboard The Kraken, Drumstrang's most imposing vessel. Karkaroff smiled at the young seeker as he entered.
"Viktor, my boy. Are you prepared for the tournament?" Karkaroff walked around the table to stand in front of it. Krum simply nodded in response. He had never had the highest level of patience for the headmaster who often had used him for his fame to showcase the school.
"I am, though our champion has not yet been chosen. Headmaster." Karkaroff's eyes narrowed for just a moment before returning to normal.
"Of course not Viktor, though I am sure the goblet will make the right decision." Karkaroff handed Krum a folded piece of parchment with a smile and nod, dismissing Krum. Rum turned and walked out quickly as his large frame would let him. He tucked the fold paper in his pocket and continued back to his post at the helm of the ship. Karkaroff had informed the men that he would be writing everyone's names on their respective pieces of parchment and spelling them shut as well as waterproofing them. He claimed this was to protect their entries and ensure everyone was able to enter, though Krum and the rest of the students believed it was so that Karkaroff could pick his champion. Krum grimaced, knowing he would be the one selected. The rest of the parchments would most likely be blank when the Goblet of Fire undid the spells to read the names, it would end up with a lot of extra parchment to burn. As the ship began to sink underwater with wards holding the water at bay from taking the students and the deck, Krum felt his competitive streak beginning to kick in. He hadn't originally cared to compete in the tournament. Now he all but knew he would be, he was feeling that desperation to win which had pushed him to the top of the quidditch league despite his age. The feeling grew strong as the ship propelled itself towards Hogwarts.
Karkaroff watched as his iconic student walked out and his favourite student walked in. Karkaroff smirked as the boy walked up to him and held a piece of paper out to him.
"My name is on this parchment." the boy stated. Karkaroff faltered slightly.
"Of course everyone's name is on their respective parchments Gregory." Karkaroff lied smoothly as he could. It was not smooth enough for the steely eyed boy across from him. Gregory's arm flew out, gripping Karkaroff's forearm firmly. Karkaroff winced at the pain that shot up his arm, but did not cry out. After a moment, the paper was plucked from his hand and his arm released.
"It was not a question. High Master." Gregory turned and strode out, Karkaroff grinning at his favourite student.
Harry stood on the sprawling grounds of Hogwarts, gazing out absently into the sky. Their first day back had been very normal so far, with double charms to start the day and Hermione earning their house some points for mastering the charm first, through to Neville being yelled at for melting his cauldron in potions and losing points. Students were standing and looking around for any sign of the arriving other schools. It took longer than it should have given all the eyes scanning the area for someone to notice all the bubbles rising from the lake before the Durmstrang ship burst forth from the water and came in to land. The Hogwarts students could see men exiting the ship down the ramp. They were dressed in scarlet uniforms, being led by a man in a stark white version. As the man arrived to greet Dumbledore his students lined up in militaristic rows behind him. Harry could hear people saying the same name over and over.
"Is that Krum?"
"Krum!"
"He's still in school?"
"Do you think he'll sign…"
Harry finally saw Viktor in the lines. Ron was pulling on his arm, babbling about the youngest professional seeker in the world while Hermione stamped on his foot trying to shut him up. Finally Dumbledore gestured from the front and Karkaroff began to lead his school through the aisle the crowded Hogwarts students had made. No one noticed Dumbledore's gaze following one of the Durmstrang students, the concern evident in his eyes.
"Welcome to the Durmstrang Institute!" Dumbledore declared to the clapping and cheering Hogwarts Students. Some of the students took advantage of the applause, grinning and looking about at the other school. Krum looked ahead and followed his headmaster into the halls. As the last students stepped into the castle students turned, peering out at the new ship and searching for any sign of the other school. There were a few moments when murmuring would pass through the crowd at bubbles in the lake, however then the giant squid would make it's presence known and dive back down into the depths. Harry found himself looking up at the sky, wondering when he would next be able to take his Firebolt out to fly when he saw a movement in the sky. Harry was the first to notice despite the roaming eyes looking for their approaching visitors thanks to his time as a seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team. It didn't take long however for other students to notice the carriage flying through the air pulled by massive winged horses. Harry couldn't quite understand how such a large and fast moving object could come to such a sudden short stop on the Hogwarts grounds and put it down to some sort of magic that slowed them down quickly and safely. When the carriage had come to a stop towards the edge of the forbidden forest, The carriage door opened and a woman stepped out, walking towards the castle, followed by two lines of girls in blue dresses. The Hogwarts students had never seen anyone dwarf their headmaster quite as spectacularly as the Beauxbatons headmistress was, barely reaching out for Dumbledore to kiss her hand. Murmuring again buzzed quietly between the students, this time between the sexes as the new girls waited in line behind their headmistress while she spoke with Dumbledore. Some of the girls were wearing hoods with heavier winter cloaks over their silky uniforms. As one girl removed her hood, the noise level suddenly dropped dramatically.
Fleur Delacour was used to being stared at, especially by males who were either not used to veela charm or simply could not control themselves around it and would end up looking upon here with dead eyes and drooling mouths. She had developed a habit of not paying attention to crowds of people staring at her. Harry found himself entranced by the girl and her beauty. The way her long blonde hair shone in the afternoon light, her long legs and thing waist, Harry even thought her face was beautiful despite the less than pleased look she wore on it now. Harry was wondering if he would be able to correctly use the summoning charm they had begun in charms to get his firebolt and whisk her away when he felt a voice in his head. Muttering she wouldn't be interested, it didn't matter. Harry felt himself coming down from the high and looked around, becoming confused by his classmates. He looked over at Hermione who seemed to have just clicked to something. Pulling Harry slightly closer to her she whispered hurriedly in his ear
"Harry are you ok? How do you feel?" Hermione asked, looking into his eyes as if she was a doctor checking her patient.
"Yeah I'm fine Hermione, what's going on?"
"Harry, she's a veela! Or partly is anyway." Hermione stated as if it was obvious. Noticing Harry's blank look at her she explained. "She's part magical creature. Veela have this thing called the allure Harry. It enhances natural desires people would have towards them on a major scale. Look at Ron you can see it!" she proclaimed with some disgust in her voice. It was true though. Ron was drooling and looking like he was flexing under his wizard robes and Harry heard him talking loudly about his quidditch achievements. The Headmistress and Dumbledore walked into the hall, with the ladies in blue following. Harry noticed how everyone was following the blonde girl with their eyes. Harry remembered the feeling and could understand the attraction. He didn't think he was under her allure now, Hermione's didn't seem to think so either. Harry was still stuck thinking how gorgeous the girl was. His thoughts were interrupted by several loud cracks. Spinning around, Harry saw smoke rising from the end of Professor McGonagall's wand. The disapproving look on her face, coupled with the loud spell broke most of the students out of their stupor and began shuffling into the hall for the evening feast. Harry walked next to Hermione trying to understand what had just happened. Ron wandered along next to them, seemingly in his own world still from the veela allure.
"Hermione, why wasn't I effected by the allure like Ron and the others?"
"Well from what I've read," Hermione began as if in class, "the allure builds people's innate emotions. So lots of the boys here like Ronald, start trying to show off. The dangerous part of it for the veela however is other women and their jealousy. It was mentioned a few times in the book about witches attacking veela to keep them away from their husbands. They are considered quite the…well…they aren't considered particularly favourably by wizards outside of their ahh…entertainment value. I guess the allure didn't get a proper grip on you Harry." Harry nodded in understanding, despite Hermione's surprisingly stumbled explanation. He felt bad for the veela girl and wondered if that had something to do with the unhappy look on her face. Harry knew he had been subject to the ups and downs of going for one of the most popular guys in the school through to one of the least. He had learnt that hardest during his second year when everyone believed he had been the heir of Slytherin and wondered what it would be like to talk to her, if she would be able to relate and understand. He shook his head with a small smile. She was definitely in a league of her own.