CHAPTER 1

It was a hot afternoon. Hermione Granger was busy staring into Viktor Krum's eyes as the sun set over a crystal clear sea. They had just spent the entire first day of July in Hermione's sixteenth year touring around Bulgaria; Hermione had finally decided to take Viktor's offer and visit his homeland. She could feel him leaning into her, and decided that kissing him wouldn't be a bad thing. Just then, a letter dropped in between them.

"Erm," mumbled Hermione, blushing furiously, " I guess I better open that."

Viktor shifted his feet awkwardly. "I better go see what's for dinner," he scowled and began to slump back to his manor, mumbling to himself in Bulgarian.

When Hermione saw that Viktor was inside the manor, she looked at the envelope. It read:

Miss Hermione Granger

The Lake By Krum Manor

Varna, Bulgaria, Europe

"This better be good…" Hermione growled as she opened the letter.

"Mmm…Mrs. Malfoy, this soup is delicious," Pansy Parkinson complimented Narcissa Malfoy on her cooking, as she sat as straight as she possibly could, and tried to smile in a polite manner. She found it harder and harder not to keep glancing at Draco, Narcissa's son, a sixth year just like her.

Pansy considered herself the luckiest girl in the world at this moment. Not only did she have the most cunning (and good looking) Slytherin at her side, but Pansy was also a guest in the renowned Malfoy Manor, sitting at a lavish dinner table with Narcissa, the wife of the infamous Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, and Draco, the heir to the Malfoy fortune.

Pansy was quite nervous, and wanted to make a good impression on the pureblood family, especially Draco, who didn't know she considered him more than a good friend.

Before she realized what was happening, a shabby, old barn owl flew lopsided into Pansy's head, dropping a letter into her soup bowl.

Pansy caught a glimpse of Narcissa's disapproving sneer and Draco's snicker before she quietly excused herself from the table, clutching the slightly soup-dampened letter.

Once she was in the richly decorated corridor, Pansy began to examine the letter, which was oddly from Dumbledore. Pansy was angry with the old fool for interrupting her socially important dinner, but curiosity made her read on.

To Cho Chang, playing Quidditch was one of the few ways she could release her stress as a seventeen-year-old. She especially loved playing on her community Quidditch team, where she played Seeker.

It was a fairly sunny day, excellent game conditions. Her community team was playing against another inter-city team in the region's semi-finals. It had been a good game so far, and her team was up by twenty points, although she hadn't seen any sign of the Snitch yet.

Suddenly, Cho noticed a gleam of golden light atop the opposing goal post. Apparently, so did the other Seeker. With her sleek black hair flying behind her, Cho raced toward the Snitch. The other Seeker didn't have a chance.

Cho's knew her team had won as her fingers closed over the Snitch –as well as…a letter?

Once Cho was safely on the ground, she hastily stuffed the letter into her pocket. She didn't give the letter much thought until after the celebration, when she was back in her bedroom. She recognized the Hogwarts seal immediately, and quickly tore open the letter, scanning it over:

Dear Ms. Chang…

Hannah Abbott was having a hard time reading her over-the-summer homework, "The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6," with all the noise around her.

Mrs. Abbott was in the kitchen, cooking dinner, and Hannah's eldest sister, Beatrix, was helping her. Hannah was quite fond of her sister. Beatrix was already out of Hogwarts, and had a steady job in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Transportation, giving out Apparating licenses at the Apparition Test Center. She wasn't married yet, though – with her wavy blonde hair and perfect complexion, Beatrix tended to go through a lot of boyfriends in small amounts of time.

Hannah was supposed to be keeping an eye on her younger brother and sister, but she was trying to multi-task by doing her homework at the same time. Eleanor, 11, and Oswald, 9, were involved in an intense game of Gobstones. Every time one would squirt at her, Eleanor would scream and Oswald would start laughing. Eleanor would be starting Hogwarts this year, and the whole family had high hopes for her to continue the family tradition of being in Hufflepuff House.

Hannah was starting to lose her concentration, which only made her cheeks even pinker than they usually were, which looked physically impossible. Suddenly, an owl flew in through the open window, carrying a letter. Hannah tugged at her blonde curls angrily – she already had too many distractions, and didn't need one more. However, the owl headed straight for her and dropped the letter in her lap.

Mrs. Abbott and Beatrix didn't seem to notice. Eleanor and Oswald cast shifty glances at Hannah, but quickly returned to their game. Hannah didn't bother to look at whom the letter was from. She anxiously tore it open, and was quite surprised at its contents.

Dear Ms. Abbott…