Hey everyone! I'm just so pleased with the results of this story so far! I really do appreciate the feedback! This time I tried to limit the amount of dialogue I took out and I really hope I didn't make any spelling mistakes this time. Sorry I didn't update sooner I'll try to update more often from now on I promise. Tell me what you guys think!
Once the trio had climbed inside, they walked together towards the back of the train and piled into an empty car. Harry piled his trunk on the shelf above his bench, and because of Hermione's height, Ron helped Hermione stash her belongings next to his. After they both had settled comfortably, they began to converse.
"I wonder how fast this year's gonna go." Harry sighed.
"Who knows?" Asked Ron, smiling. As long as we're together it's gonna be totally awesome!"
As Ron said this, an old witch came by their car with a little cart full of various candies and drinks. Harry pulled two gold galleons out of his pockets.
"Three butterbeers please." Said Harry to the witch.
The witch took his money and handed him three bottles. Harry thanked the witch and handed one butterbeer to each of his friends. Harry popped the cap off of his and began to raise it into a toast.
"To the best year ever!" He said, enthusiastic.
Ron smiled. "Let the butterbeer flow!"
Hermione gave Ron a skeptical look. "You better not be drunk by the time we get back to Hogwarts." She said.
"Don't worry," he replied. "After all, it's just one bottle!"
Hermione rolled her eyes but Ron continued.
"So Harry," he said, sipping his butterbeer. "Do you have any plans? You know, any besides the ones we talked about in Flourish and Blott's."
Just by his face, Harry could tell that Ron was trying to get him to say something.
"Well...err..." mumbled Harry hesitantly. "I thought maybe this year I'd talk to Cho."
As if almost on cue, Cho Chang walked past them, headed towards the witch with the candy trolley. Harry stared into space and began to drool.
"Snap out of it Harry!" Hermione said, clapping her hands above his head, the Weasley way.
Harry said something super intelligent like, "errrhuh?"
"No way dude!" said Ron, excidedly. "That would be way to awesome."
Hermione elbowed Ron in the stomach. "Well, I'm excited that we're finally back to learn everything that we can! It's great to come back to where we started."
Ron rolled his eyes. He wanted to argue that studying wasn't something to look forward too, but at that moment the train stopped.
"Here we are!" said Ron, happy for an excuse to stop talking to Hermione.
"Alakazam!" exclaimed Harry. Ron stared at him, confused.
"Muggle term." explained Hermione. Ron nodded to show he understood.
"This is totally awesome!" he said with an even happier grin on his face.
After all the students had settled in to their according house tables in the great hall. None other than the great headmaster himself, stood up to the podium.
"I welcome all of you to Hogwarts!" He said with a booming voice. "Welcome back to school!" He smiled, and his twinkling eyes were visible to each and every one of the students.
"Did anyone know that here at Hogwarts we have a hidden swimming pool?"
Several of the students gave him strange looks, but he continued on nevertheless.
"Welcome hotties, nerds, and tools!" he exclaimed. "But now that I've got you here at Hogwarts, I'd like to go over just a couple of rules."
A few of the students groaned. Though because of Dumbledore's poor attempt at rhyming, or the fact that rules were involved Harry didn't know. Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes from across the room.
"My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am headmaster of Hogwarts. But you can all call me Dumbledore. Of course, you could call me Albus if you wanted detention." He turned his gaze to the other side of the room. "Just kidding, I'll expel you if you call me Albus."
Several students laughed but Harry had a strange feeling that what Dumbledore said wasn't a joke. Dumbledore's gaze turned towards Harry.
"And a special welcome to my favorite student, Mr. Harry Potter." He said in a booming voice.
Ron began cheering while simultaneously retrieving a snack from his pocket.
Dumbledore continued. "He defeated Voldemort when he was just a baby. He's even got that little lightning scar on his head to prove it."
Looking over at the Slytherin table Harry could see Malfoy's face turning a bright red.
"And another very special welcome to our newest addition to Gryffindor...Mr. Ginny- oops." Said Dumbledore recognizing his mistake. "Excuse me, Ms. Ginny Weasley."
Ron being the encouraging brother that he was started booing.
"Umm..yeah I'm a girl." Said Ginny standing up. "And aren't we uh... supposed to be sorted by the uh...sorting hat?"
"Well umm...a funny thing happened to the sorting hat. He actually got hitched with another piece of enchanted magical clothing. So he, and the scarf of sexual preference, won't be back until next year." Dumbledore replied.
Ginny began to sit back down as she smiled understandingly.
As an attempt to explain himself, Dumbledore continued talking. "Basically I've been putting anyone who looks like a good guy into Gryffindor, putting anyone who looks like a bad guy into Slytherin, and the other two can just go wherever the hell they want I don't really care."
Cedric jumped up from the Hufflepuff table across the room.
"Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders!" He said with a huge, goofy, but somehow dazzling smile.
"What the hell is a Hufflepuff?" Asked Dumbledore.
Cedric kept smiling like an idiot for a few seconds. Then he shrugged and sat down, still smiling. The great hall burst into a fit of giggles.
"Anyway, it's time for me to introduce my very good friend, and our own potions professor, Mr. Severus Snape."
An eruption of clapping came from the Slytherin table as Dumbledore backed out of the way.
"Aw man..." Began Ron, "Snape! I hoped they fired that guy!" he said between mouth fulls of noodles.
"Why? What's wrong with Professor Snape?" Said Ginny.
"Oh nothing, he's just awful." Replied Ron, using two wands as chopsticks to grab another fist-sized bite of noodles.
As if on cue Professor Snape emerged to the front of the podium with a peculiar look on his face.
"C'mon Ron he's really not that bad-" Began Harry.
"Harry Potter!" Interrupted Snape with an even funnier voice than his face. "Detention!"
Harry began to stand up in protest. "What?" he asked.
"For talking out of turn." Said Snape. He stared at Harry until he had sat all the way down into his seat. "Now before we begin I'll be giving you all your very, very, first," he paused for dramatic effect. "...pop quiz."
All the students began to groan. Or at least, all the student except Hermione who was silently celebrating.
"Can anyone tell me what a portkey is?" asked Snape.
Hermione raised her hand as high into the air as it could go and began shaking it.
"Yes Ms. Granger?"
"A portkey is an enchanted object that when touched will transport the ones or one who touched it anywhere on the globe decided on by the enchanter." She said. Although she said it so fast it sounded like on giant word.
"Very good." Said Snape, impressed. "Now can anyone tell me what foreshadowing means?"
Hermione's hand shot up into the air again and began to wave.
"Yes Ms. Granger?"
"Forseshadowing is a dramatic device used in which a important plot point is mentioned earlier in the story to return later in a more significant way." she repeated in the one word fashion she had last time.
"Perfect!" Said Snape, impressed again.
"What was a portkey again? I missed that one." Asked Ron, who was STILL eating.
"A Portkey is something that when you touch it, it will transport you anywhere." She answered.
Though somewhere in the middle of that Ron had mumbled "Oh never mind..."
Snape continued, pacing across the stage where the podium was.
"And remember, a portkey can be any seemingly harmless object, like a football, or a dolphin."
Another hand shot up, this time it belonged to Lavender Brown. "Professor?" she asked in an annoying voice.
Snape pointed at her "Yes?"
"Can like, a person be a portkey?" She asked.
"No, that's absurd." Said Snape. "Because then if that person where to touch themselves..." (Snape looked accusingly at Ron.) "They'd be constantly transported to different places. A person can however be a horcrux."
"Uh, what's a horcrux?" Harry asked without raising his hand.
"I'm not even going to tell you Harry, you'll find out soon enough." He said mysteriously.
Harry shouldn't have asked, no one really ever tells him anything anyway.
"Professor what is the point of this quiz?" asked Hermione, annoyed that their surprise test had gone off topic.
"Oh no point in particular...just information that everyone should know." He pointed at a random student ahead. "Especially you.
"Now, moving right along there are four houses in all. Gryffindor. (a round of cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table.) Ravenclaw. (more cheering.) Hufflepuff."
Cedric Diggory yelled from the top of his lungs, "FIND!"
"What?" asked a confused student from behind.
"...and Slytherin." Snape said at last.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle did a rehearsed handshake.
"Now traditionally, points are given for good behavior and deducted for rule breaking. For example, 10 points from Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table moaned in confusion. And another "What?" came out of Harry.
Snape ran up to Hermione and pinched her cheeks. "For Ms. Granger's excessive baby fat."
"Thanks Hermione." Echoed Ron and Harry.
Snape ran back to his podium. "Traditionally the house with the most points at the end of the year would win the house cup. However we are doing things a bit differently this year. Here to introduce is our very own professor of the dark arts, professor Quirrel."
A man in black robes with a suspicious red turban and extra large back emerged to the podium.
"The house cup." began Quirrel, his voice a bit shaky. "A time honored tradition. For centuries-"
"Go home terrorist!" hollered a voice from the Slytherin table.
Quirrel ignored the voice and continued. "For centuries the four houses of Hogwarts have competed for the honor and glory of holding the title of house champion." His hands shook with his voice as he spoke. "But where does this competition come from? And what are the roots of the tradition?"
Hermione raised her hand, and without being called on, hollered the answer. "The house cup began with the first generation of Hogwart's students."
Quirrel looked at Hermione for a minute. "That was a rhetorical question." he said.
"Granger!" boomed Dumbledore from behind Quirrel. "Quit interrupting! Twenty points from Gryffindor!"
"Thanks Hermione." echoed Harry and Ron for the second time that day.
"As I was saying..." continued Quirrel, obviously annoyed about the interruption. "When the tournament first originated it was one of a completely different sort. One champion from each of the four houses would complete a series of dangerous tasks, or challenges. The winner would not only win the house cup they would also win the eternal glory."
"Kind of like a house cup-" began Hermione, this time not even bothering to raise her hand. "er..no, like a triwizard tournament!"
"Yes," replied Quirrel. "sort of like the triwizard tournament, except no, not like that at all." He said disapprovingly. "There are four houses." he began to explain. "How can it be a TRI-wizard tournament with four teams?"
Hermione continued anyway. "But professor, if I remember correctly, the house cup was disbanded after one semester after one of the students was killed during the first task."
"Yes! It is very dangerous but the rewards far outweigh the risks." replied Quirrel, as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Professor I don't think you heard me I just said somebody died!" Hermione said, obviously offended.
Dumbledore's voice boomed across the great hall. "Hermione Granger shut your ungodly, lopsided mouth and quit interrupting! Twenty more points!"
And again for the third time that day, Harry and Ron replied with a frustrated "Thanks Hermione."
Dumbledore continued, "God! For the cleverest witch of your age, you really can be a dumb ass sometimes."
Laughter emerged from the great hall. Hermione sunk into her seat, ashamed.
"Ten points to Dumbledore." Said Dumbledore proudly.
"Yes," Quirrel continued, "yes it will be very dangerous but the winner will be remembered as a hero for ages to come. And as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, I believe this practical application is exactly what the curriculum needs to-"
Quirrel bent backwards as a large "ACHOO!" emerged from behind him. Dumbledore began to glance up and down at Quirrel suspiciously.
"Did your turban just sneeze?" he said.
"W-what?" said Quirrel stuttering. "No."
"I could have sworn I heard a sneeze coming from your direction but your mouth wasn't moving." Dumbledore insisted.
"No!" said Quirrel. "That was simply a fart, excuse me."
The students in the tables began to laugh.
Another "ACHOO" emerged from Quirrel. He began to back up, as he did so a searing jolt of pain prickled Harry's scar. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow" he exclaimed.
"I must be going." Said Quirrel, not noticing Harry's pain. He then began to start leaving again when another "ACHOO" sounded off. "That was simply a fart, please excuse me." Said Quirrel walking off.
Dumbledore returned to the front of the podium. "In accordance with the newly resurrected House Cup a champion from each house will be selected to compete." Said Dumbledore. So Snape, would you do us the honors please?"
"Yes Headmaster." Said Snape, bearing a large golden trophy.
The great hall became dead silent, and Harry noticed that most students were hanging on the edge of their seat.
"First, from the Ravenclaw house..." Snape pulled out a yellow card. "Miss Cho Chang."
Cho stood up excitedly "Oh my gawd I won! I can't believe they called me!" She then sat back down, super excited that she was chosen.
"And next from Hufflepuff..." continued Snape, pulling out another yellow card. "Mr. Cedric Diggory."
Cedric bounced off of his seat. "Well I don't find this surprising at all." he said with a dazzling smile.
"I find it perfect!" Exclaimed the excited Cho. "Now I can spend time with my beloved boyfriend."
"I'm glad as well my darling." Cedric replied, kissing her on the forehead.
"From the Slytherin house..." Snape pulled out another card. "Draco Malfoy!"
Malfoy immediately jumped out of his seat and began running towards Harry.
"Ha! I finally beat you didn't I Potter? What do you think of that huh? I'm the champion this time!" Said Draco, sitting in Harry's lap and then falling off of him onto the floor.
"Draco!" Bellowed Dumbledore. "Would you sit down you little shit? 'Champion' is just a title.
Draco dusted himself off and ran back to his seat amongst the Slytherins.
"And Finally from the Gryffindor house!" Snape pulled out another card. "Oh my," said Snape mischeviously. "Well isn't this curious? The one person in all of Hogwarts who I have a well known grudge against, is suddenly in a tournament where he may very well" (Snapes voice changed to an Australian accent) "lose his life."
Neville stood up and raised his hand into the air. "If it's me, I'd just like to apologize now to all my fellow Gryffindors for losing."
Snape glared at Neville. "Sit down you inarticulate bumble," He turned back to the notecard. "It's Harry Potter."
Ron began throwing his fist into the air and celebrating for his friend with loud cheering.
"So here they are folks, the four Hogwarts champions, I want all of you to start preparing immediately, because the first task is in two months, and it could be anything. So let's get to it!" he said beginning to leave.
The students from the tables rose and began to head to their house dormitories, cheering mostly for Cho, leaving Draco to cheer on himself.
Oh well, that was a bit more improvisation added then I would've hoped, but please continue to review, and/or add this story to your favorites! I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP.