Hi everyone! This is my first time uploading to ffn. I hope you enjoy. X-Posted from AO3.
It began with a cup of tea - and Albus was not one to turn down a cup of tea, especially if it meant getting out of the muggy heat of a summer afternoon. He found himself in Mrs Bagshot's sitting room, clutching one of her ornate teacups and wondering if it would be appropriate to ask her for another lump of sugar. Sweetening charms never did it for him, never worked like the real thing.
"Next year is a big year," she said, gazing at Albus over her own cup. "Your last, too, isn't it?"
Albus nodded. He was already mentally preparing his answers to the questions that always followed this one - Yes, ma'am, I'm preparing to take N.E. in every subject but Divination, never quite had the knack for it -
"Even if it weren't," she continued, "I'd expect you to enter, of course; a young wizard as accomplished as you are already, why, there's no doubt you'd be chosen!" Her face twisted into a bright smile, ruby-red lips pressed together.
"I'm sorry," Albus said, "but I'm not sure what you're talking about. Chosen for… what, exactly?"
Her free hand flew to her mouth. "Why, I had no idea they hadn't told you yet! Do they want you to come in unprepared?" At Albus's startled look, she finally elaborated, a glint in her eyes: "The Triwizard Tournament, son, it's being held at Hogwarts next year! And you'll be entering, there's no reason not to."
Albus took a deep breath in - and then exhaled, all at once. "Mrs Bagshot," he said, carefully, pulling his collar from his neck with a long finger, "please forgive me if this is rude, but - isn't it, well, dangerous? Didn't someone die? If I recall correctly - which I usually do - the contestants in this tournament are terribly prone to dying."
"But that was all years ago, and I've been told it's safer now, they'll make sure of that." Mrs Bagshot chuckled like it was of no concern to her - and why would it be, since she wasn't the one who would be urged by every teacher and student to enter? Of course Albus wanted to. He also wanted to keep his limbs, and maybe make it past the age of seventeen.
Even with every doubt circling through his mind, Mrs Bagshot lowered her tone and insisted, suddenly serious -
"Listen, Albus, if you can't make it out of that tournament alive, nobody can."
12 August 1898
Dear Albus,
Thanks for the letter; I appreciate being in the loop on these sorts of things. The Triwizard Tournament, then! I told my family. They can't wait to see you win. Don't even try to argue this one; you'll be doing Hogwarts a big favor by competing. Whatever people they bring in from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang won't know what hit them.
Hope your birthday was fantastic. I wish I could've been there to celebrate with you. Since you're finally of age, drink plenty of firewhisky and do lots of magic. (I'll pretend you weren't already doing both!)
Lots of love,
E.
P.S. Congrats on Head Boy! I bet Selwyn's pissed.
The Beauxbatons students arrived first, in shimmery blue satin and looking thoroughly out of place among the dark grey mass of the Hogwarts student body. Albus smiled thinly at the two boys who had taken the seats across from Elphias and him, while wondering if either of them would end up being the champion for their school.
It was best not to get ahead of himself. He hadn't even entered his name yet, much less been picked. Of course, he had done a bit of research on how the Goblet picked the contestants - and he had to admit he had a decent chance - but arrogance at this stage would be unwise. No, arrogance at any stage would be unwise.
One of the boys leaned over to the other and whispered in French, "What are we waiting for? I'm starving - I wish Maître Segal had let us eat on the trip beforehand."
The other, who had the beginnings of a beard despite looking young, smiled wryly. "But Lionel, eating before a feast would be rude!"
"What's rude is making us wait this long for food," grumbled Lionel, as the boy next to him started to laugh. "I hope the headmistress herself is preparing it for us, or I'll be seriously disappointed."
"What's rude," Albus interrupted, in smooth, unfaltering French, "is insulting my school while you're sitting right in front of me."
The boys glanced at each other nervously, both obviously taken aback.
Elphias pulled the corners of his mouth down when he noticed the shift in tension, but had seemingly made the wise judgement call not to point it out. It was then that Professor Mole appeared at the front of the Great Hall, not looking too pleased, and waited for the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students to quiet down.
"As I'm sure many of you have noticed, there seems to have been some sort of mishap with the Durmstrang students," she said, and the shoulders of every student seemed to drop. "I have not received word about their whereabouts yet, but for now, I think it best that we begin dinner without them. I will continue to attempt contact - "
Her words were swallowed by the sound of a gigantic mass of water hitting the side of the castle. For one fleeting moment Albus was afraid that the wave would break through the glass windows, but they held up, no doubt magically enforced. Nearly every student at the Hufflepuff table leapt from their seats and ran over to the windows to get a closer look at what had just happened; the teachers were not far behind.
Professor Mole made her way towards the nearest window and squinted out for a moment, even amid the sudden noise. Then she turned back around and surveyed the Hall with narrowed eyes, until at last her gaze landed on Albus. For a moment they stared at each other across the room - and then she smiled and beckoned him over.
"The Durmstrang students are here, aren't they?" Albus observed when she was finally within earshot. Professor Mole still had the same tired smile on her face - but her eyes were fixed on him fondly.
"I believe they are - and I expect they may need help drying off."
Albus, the head girl Adeline Crouch, the headmistress, and the Heads of Houses rushed outside. The ground was spongy and wet, as if it had been storming for days. It was not difficult to find the Durmstrang students, even in the dark - they had, after all, arrived on a massive ship, which had turned up in the Black Lake. The man standing before them was, surprisingly, beaming.
"Had a bit of a rough trip, but it's nothing a few charms and glasses of firewhisky can't fix!" he called, descending from the ship as if he were light as a feather.
"Glad to see you and your ship made it in one piece, Hallberg," Professor Mole said, and Albus could tell she was more than a little bit relieved. "Why don't you bring your students inside? We were just about to start the feast."
"We've still made it in time for food? That's the best news I've gotten all day," remarked one of the boys, and the rest laughed. The headmaster of Durmstrang - Professor Hallberg - made a face like a grimace, but in the dark, it was hard to tell.
It became apparent that they were all wearing bloodred cloaks when they jumped down to the ground, and thankfully they seemed to be dry as well - likely they had been inside the ship when it had turned up. Albus and Adeline, as head students, had been tasked with giving any visitors to the school a brief tour, so they led the Durmstrang students inside while the headmasters talked outdoors.
"As you will be spending the year here," Adeline began, her hands stiffly clasped together in front of her, "we would like to make you feel as welcome as possible. Hogwarts is an ever-changing building, so you may have trouble finding your way around at first. However, please know that our staff and prefects will be happy to direct you wherever you need to go."
She was met with a mixture of blank stares and automatic nods, but, in typical Adeline fashion, was undeterred. Albus had always admired that about her. He knew many thought her rude, but after he had gotten to know her, he realized it was just the way she was. She never overdid things; she was to-the-point and didn't care if it wasn't enough for some people.
Albus tried his best to hurry the tour along, knowing that everybody was waiting impatiently for the feast to start. He skipped taking them to the library altogether since it was on another floor, and Adeline frowned to herself when she noticed. After giving them a glimpse of the moving staircases, he reminded them that they would be here all year and that there was no need to reveal it all on the first night, was there?
"Hear, hear," said the boy in the back, and the twenty or so Durmstrang students laughed again. In the light, Albus could see him better - he was average height, built strong, with wavy blonde hair and a grin that seemed to fill his face. He seemed to love the attention that came from telling jokes, and in fact didn't look angry at all when he saw Albus staring, just turned his eyes on him and gave him - a wink? No, it had to be a trick of the light.
Yet as they made their way back to the Great Hall, a fair amount more spiritedly, he trotted up next to Albus and tapped him on the shoulder. Albus turned to look down at him and saw him holding out a hand; somewhat startled, he took it.
"You're Albus Dumbledore, right?"
Albus raised his eyebrows. He had gained a name for himself in Britain, especially after working with the Wizengamot, but the idea that a Durmstrang student knew him was unexpected.
"How did you know?"
The other boy chuckled, probably at his expression. "Don't be alarmed. Professor Hallberg told us about you. He wanted us to know what we would be going up against."
Unfortunately, this only disturbed Albus more, but he kept the emotions from reaching his face this time. "I'm… flattered," he said finally. "And your name?"
"Gellert Grindelwald," the boy said, almost with a touch of pride. "I'm hoping I won't have to compete against you now - you're not what I expected."
"How do you mean?"
Gellert opened his mouth to respond, then seemed to think better of it. Eventually he said, "I expected someone like you to be more arrogant."
But I am, Albus wished he could admit. He had known Gellert would say that - everybody expected him to be arrogant. It was a nice surprise for them when he downplayed his own achievements, avoided mentioning his Outstandings, pretended he didn't think he was better than his peers. Could the other seventh years even be considered his peers anymore? Most of them had nowhere near the amount of experience or power that he did. He was their Head Boy, not their friend.
"You seem very…" Gellert hesitated. "Mature. Charming."
Albus felt himself freeze.
They were at the doors to the Great Hall, and Adeline was taking hold of one giant handle. Albus' eyes flickered from her to Gellert before he grabbed the other one and pulled the door open. He was aware of everybody in the Great Hall twisting their necks in order to see the Durmstrang students for the first time, but he was more aware of the fact that his heart was beating faster than it had been before.
Gellert glanced back at Albus for just a second before he followed the others. He didn't say anything, just wore the same satisfied grin. And Albus, only for a moment, wished he could smile as confidently, as freely, as Gellert did.