The rest of September passed without fault, save for a rather nasty incident that occurred in the Defence Against the Dark Arts corridor two weeks after the start of term feast. Fred and Roxanne, twin children of George and Angelina, were both Gryffindor seventh-years, friends of James and Lysander, and had been described by their teachers as 'worse than that Fred and George pair' when they began planning a ruthless prank together. The incident in question had involved an unpleasant third-year Slytherin being hit by a curse from Roxanne, and, while onlookers watched with delight, the third-year flew the length of the hallway and was blasted through the wall on the other side. It had taken a total of three Aurors, five Healers and fourteen staff members to repair the damage and set the boy right again.
Needless to say, the Weasley twins had been given detention; the respect they earned from their fellow students, however, was paramount. The twins were just short of being celebrities in Hogwarts - something that Fred loved and Roxanne hated (her reasoning being that it was a right pain not being able to go from class to class without being bombarded by worshipping first-years). Despite this, they still succeeded in upsetting at least three-quarters of the staff each year with their fabulous and inexplicably dangerous pranks and practical jokes.
James and Lysander, both of whom, what with being good friends with the twins, tended to be involved largely in each prank pulled, found the school year's first drama highly amusing. At least, James did. Lysander, on the other hand, was not impressed in the slightest when the headmistress personally called him out of Potions to interrogate him to see whether he knew anything about the event.
Their friend's slight annoyance did nothing to stop Fred and Roxanne - the pair had no qualms in beginning to plot their next great display; on the morning of the third of October they assured those around them that their plot was close to fruition.
"It had better not be," grumbled Hugo Weasley. Although being normally good-natured and friendly to his cousins, he had been the unfortunate victim of one too many practical jokes pulled by the twins over the four years he and Lily had been at Hogwarts. He was not looking forward to another. "I say, where's James? Isn't it his birthday today?"
Fred and Roxanne frowned and looked at each other. Lily, who was sitting beside Hugo eating cereal, raised an eyebrow.
"I think," began Fred, "we saw him, after he left the dormitory this morning, heading towards the library."
Lily spat out a mouthful of cornflakes.
"The library?" she gasped, as Hugo handed her a napkin and she wiped the table clean. "Since when did James go to the library?"
Fred waved a hand vaguely in the air. "He said something about seeing Rose Weasley. He'll probably be here soon."
Lily nodded her head slowly with dawning comprehension; the twins went back to shadily discussing their secret plans for their next prank.
A whole ten minutes passed before James Potter, along with Lysander, finally entered the Great Hall for breakfast. In this time Hugo had filled Lily in on the answers to their Astronomy homework - which the latter had conveniently 'forgotten' to do, and which was due tomorrow evening - and Fred and Roxanne had stolen ten salt-shakers and were moving them around the Gryffindor table with their wands, muttering darkly to each other as they sorted out blueprints and notes.
"Happy birthday, James!" Hugo said at once as James took a seat next to his sister, looking every part eighteen. His red hair was dramatically swept to the side as though he had finished running a race (though his cheeks were devoid of redness) and he stroked a hand over his chin as though checking for any stubble he may have missed when shaving. Lily gave him a large hug; Hugo procured a large parcel, which had 'Happy Birthday, Jaymz' scrawled across it in untidy handwriting, out of his rucksack; Fred and Roxanne murmured a hurried 'Hello' to Lysander and James before continuing to manoeuvre the salt-shakers around the table.
"This," said Hugo, referring to the present he gave James, "is from me and Rose," he informed his cousin, as the seventh-year ripped it open eagerly.
Inside laid a book. James groaned loudly, and Hugo blushed delicately. Lily and Lysander both laughed.
"This isn't just any book," Hugo, having noticed James's excitement had faded away, hopped up onto the table and pointed at the novel with pride. "This is a Quidditch book!"
James was halfway into his new book by the time, three weeks later, when the delegations for the Triwizard Tournament arrived. He was surprised to find it was actually interesting. James tended not to read much; he preferred flying and messing around to any homework. Nevertheless, he had dived into Quidditch Through The Ages with a newfound eagerness that was uncommon of anyone but Rose herself.
The students of Hogwarts were at dinner that night, each on their respective house tables, when Professor McGonagall raised a hand for silence.
James, who hadn't said a word all through the meal, much to the annoyance of Lily and Lysander, who sat with him, put his book down and looked up with dazed interest.
"Well, what do you know," Lily said sarcastically. "James has put down his book."
James pulled a face at his sister; she stuck out a tongue in reply; Professor McGonagall coughed pointedly towards the Gryffindor table.
"Thank you, Miss Potter," she said dryly, her sharp eyes scanning the rest of the Great Hall expertly. "Without further ado – Mr Malfoy, please stop that inane laughter!"
All eyes turned to the Slytherin table, at which Scorpius Malfoy indeed sat. He had been attempting to produce the manic laughter that was usually created by villainous comic book characters, much to the delight of his peers. Professor McGonagall, however, was not amused.
"Without further ado," she repeated, keeping a close eye on the Slytherin side of the Great Hall, "I present to you Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, a school that has existed for over seven hundred years, and their Headmistress, Jacqueline Lejeune!"
The massive oak doors to the Great Hall opened with care, and about a dozen teenagers, male and female, walked in; all sporting the same pale blue silk uniform. Behind them, a tall, majestic looking woman followed. The Beauxbatons students were all classically beautiful, but there was one girl in particular who emitted a graceful radiance that was extremely rare.
"It's Dominique!" Lily hissed at her brothers and Lysander, all of whom had been staring at the girl with spellbound awe. Upon realising that she was, in fact, their cousin, James and Albus turned away. Lysander, on the other hand, bearing no relation whatsoever, continued staring at her.
He wasn't the only one: every other male student in the Great Hall had their eyes upon the girl called Dominique, who perched with her classmates on the Ravenclaw table as Madame Lejeune greeted McGonagall.
Dominique Weasley was the middle child of Fleur and Bill; and despite both her siblings attending Hogwarts she had preferred to go to her mother's old school, Beauxbatons Academy. She was quiet and studious, so whenever her cousins visited Shell Cottage for Christmas they didn't see much of her thin figure - she kept herself to herself when possible and was only really close to Rose, who was also what their cousins called a 'nerd'.
Victoire, the eldest sibling, had graduated from Hogwarts a few years previously; and Louis, the youngest, should have still been sitting at the Hufflepuff table had he not been expelled - along with Lorcan Scamander, Lysander's twin brother - for an incident involving a mandrake, a Muggle chainsaw, and a highly suspicious looking onion. He was sort of an idol to James and Lily, because despite his unconditional kindness he and Lorcan had been almost - almost being the operative word in that sentence - the best pranksters in Hogwarts; only losing out to two certain redheaded twins.
Professor McGonagall shook the hand of Madame Lejeune and directed her to sit down at the staff table; before straightening up and clearing her throat loudly.
"May I please have your attention?" she commanded, noticing the display Dominique Weasley's beauty was inadvertently causing. "Mr Scamander, if you do not stop watching the Ravenclaw table I will be forced to demand your departure from the Great Hall."
Lysander, who was normally a model student, blushed bright red as Lily and James laughed at him. The rest of the students shared a snigger or two at Lysander's expense, with the exception of the Beauxbatons teenagers, who stayed firmly facing the front.
"Please welcome our friends from the North," Professor McGonagall continued, once the Great Hall had quieted down, "Durmstrang Institute, and their Headmaster, Pyotr Vulchanov!"
The doors to the Great Hall opened again, this time with an unnecessarily loud bang, causing most students to jump violently. One Beauxbatons boy got such a shock he knocked over a flask of pumpkin juice, which promptly soaked his entire front.
"Mon Dieu!" he screamed, standing up and attempting to wipe his robes clean. Professor McGonagall and Madame Lejeune both glared at him.
"Is there a problem?" Pyotr Vulchanov asked icily, but nobody answered - instead, they were all taking in his rather frightening appearance. Vulchanov was thin and upright in stature; he had beady black eyes which radiated coldness. His smile was more of a sneer, revealing rows of sharp, pointed teeth, and his small grey goatee was neat and trimmed. The Durmstrang students all peered around him to see what was going on within the Great Hall.
Vulchanov snapped his fingers and the teenagers instantly straightened up; each wearing the same blood-red robes with heavy fur cloaks.
One Durmstrang girl's uniform was particularly shabby; she reminded the students of a young child who had been playing in the dirt all morning. Nevertheless, the other teenagers looked sharp and ruthless, as though they had prepared themselves for war.
They marched in, an orderly gang of red, and assembled themselves on the Slytherin table. Scorpius Malfoy glanced at them with fright and inched himself away slowly.
"Welcome," Professor McGonagall said warmly, holding her hand out for Pyotr Vulchanov to shake. He ignored it and sat down next to Madame Lejeune, examining the goblets and plates with a scornful expression on his bony face. Professor McGonagall looked very taken aback, but turned back to her students and guests to address them.
"To the Hogwartians," she called, "I hope you help our guests settle comfortably into the castle. They will be here for the duration of the Triwizard Tournament, and I would strongly suggest you graciously allow them to adjust their customs as they see fit. Rudeness, as we very well know -" here the headmistress gave a very pointed glare back at Pyotr Vulchanov, who was scowling at any student who caught his eye "- will not be tolerated at Hogwarts. And to our guests: welcome to Hogwarts!"
Professor McGonagall waved her hands for the students to briefly talk amongst themselves whilst she swept from the Hall with gusto and returned a few seconds later, hovering a large casket in front of her with her wand. The Great Hall fell silent of its own accord as each person closely watched the headmistress, who opened the casket and carefully withdrew a large cup.
"The Goblet of Fire," she explained, to general awe. "Any student of age who wishes to take part in the Tournament shall merely write their name on a scrap of parchment and place it in the goblet. Once your name enters the Goblet, you cannot go back - it is not a decision to make lightly. You have tonight, ladies and gentlemen, to enter the Triwizard Tournament."
