Chapter 1:
Russian ~ because I do not speak the language and do not trust Google Translate
October 20th
Draco watched the carriages land in front of the school, the black leads snorting and tromping the ground. He found it ironic that the school that snubbed all things dark would have what most consider dark creatures pulling their carriages. Then again, most of Hogwarts students were sheltered and have never witnessed death, unlike most of them at Durmstrang.
Tired of watching, Draco turned away from the window and looked at Alexei. "Shall we go change, Lex?" he asked to the other man, "Karkaroff wants us in our full uniforms for the feast."
Alexei nodded with a grimace. Their full uniforms consisted of the regular maroon turtleneck, brown trousers, and knee-high, black dragon hide boots, plus red, military-like jackets and matching fur-lined capes. The cape was very bothersome, mostly due to the fact that it had to be slung over one shoulder. It made doing the most standard things difficult.
The two men headed up their dormitory to change.
.-
When they entered the Mess Hall, there was a noticeable change. The normal seven student tables had been moved to make room for two more tables, one for each of the visiting schools.* Draco and Alexei walked to their table, sitting down. Once everyone was settled, Karkaroff rose from his seat. The hall was instantly silent. All the focus was on the headmaster.
"As you all no doubt saw, the other schools are here," he said, then switching to English, "Now, let us greet our guests from France: the students of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic." He motioned to the back of the room, and the door opened.
Students in baby blue, fluttery robes. They split into two lines, walking down the sides of the room. Then, the students drew their wands and conjured multicolored ribbons of light. Those strands danced over the heads of the Durmstrang students. Draco just watched impassively. It was a moderately impressive display, but very flashly and pointless. Utterly useless. He looked to Alexei and saw the same thoughts reflected back at him. They looked back up at the ribbons and watched them slowly wink out. The pair dutifully clapped, like the rest of their school mates.
Karkaroff greeted the Beauxbatons' giant of a headmistress. The woman went to sit on the headmaster's left and her students went to the first of the empty tables. Karkaroff remained standing. He looked at the students before he spoke again. "And, now, from England, our friends of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy."
Draco turned to look at the closed door, finally interested. He wanted to see what the school had in store. His mother had wanted him to go to Hogwarts, to be closer to home, but his father had the final say in his education. Draco was glad he was going to Durmstrang; he never would have learned the things he did in the English school.
He frowned when two figures dressed in dark gold robes slowly opened the large doors. He had thought the Hogwarts' uniform robe was black. The hoods of the robes were up, hiding the pairs' faces and gender from the watching students. The two nodded to each other, and the one of the right drew its wand. With a silent wave, a badger made of colored gas appeared above the open doorway. A double line of students in black robes with yellow badges appeared under it. They walked to the left side of the hall and stopped. The badger followed them and paused above their heads, looking around curiously. Draco leaned close to Alexei's ear. "Hufflepuff," he whispered, "the loyal, the trusting, the weak." Alexei chuckled.
Their attention was drawn back to the doors as the figure on the left conjured a raven, also made of gas. Again, two lines of students in black robes, with blue badges this time, entered the ball and moved down the right side. The raven flew above their heads, circling when they stopped. "Ravenclaw," Draco whispered, "the crafty, the witty, the intelligent."
The shape that erupted next out of the right hand side figure's wand was a large snake. Students with green badges smirked as they walked it to the left, the snake slithering and hissing over their heads. Draco smirked as well. "Slytherin: the sly, the cunning, the manipulative," he said, "I would have been one of them, if Mother'd had her way."
Alexei laughed softly, answering, "That sounds like you, but they do not seem cruel enough for your tastes." Draco laughed as well, turning back to the door.
The left hand side figure raised its wand, and a magnificent lion leap from the tip. Lines of students with red badges walked beneath the proud beat to the ride side of the hall. "Gryffindor," Draco said with a sneer, "the brave, the noble, the idiotic." He spotted a redhead amongst the Gryffindors and his sneer deepened. "A Weasley," he muttered, "How dreadful." Alexei glanced at him, confused. "Blood feud," Draco clarified. His friend nodded in understanding.
Draco caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned back to watch the pair in gold. They had taken a step towards each other so their shoulders now brushed. They raised their wands out in front of their chests, and Draco realized they were opposite of each other: the one on the left right-handed, the one on the right left-handed. As one, they moved their wands in mirror images of the other, weaving intricate patterns. Above the students, the gas creatures began to spiral towards the center of the room, getting faster as they moved closer together. The creatures collided with a bright flash. When everyone regained their sight, they saw the crest of Hogwarts suspended in the air.
The younger students started clapping immediately, the older ones soon joining in. The pair pulled off their golden robes with a flourish, sinking into deep curtsies. When they rose up, green and blue badges were seen on their black robes. They made their way to their respective houses as an ancient wizard walked up to greet Karkaroff.
Alexei leaned into Draco. "I think those girls are the 'us' of that school," he said as the English students settled at the table next to theirs, "though I do not think they are as ruthless as we are."
Draco tilted his head as he studied the black haired beauty. "We shall see," was all he said before Karkaroff started to address the hall.
*the Mess Hall, as I imagined: drawings/d/1CvjScJSrLabxPCaFglgozDCL13eqNpdZV6I-qA6WfrU/pub?w=960&h=720