A huge, iridescent golden Snitch lay sparkling on the lawn in front of them. Its gleaming wings, layered and spiny, hovered with the speed of a hummingbird's. Nine other students lounged in the shadow of the enormous construction, waiting for them. To Sirius's disgust, most of them were Slytherins. He scowled at Lucius Malfoy, whose nose was healed and his eyebrow regrown. Funnily enough, he noticed, a third of the company were Blacks: himself, Regulus, Andromeda, and Narcissa. Andromeda smiled at him kindly; alone of all the Blacks Sirius knew, Andy was sweet and understanding, and Sirius got on with her well.
"Our party is now complete," said Dumbledore serenely, "And now, let us set off, so that we may arrive there for the morning." In his usual sedate step, he approached the giant Snitch, which was easily three times as tall as he was, and placed a hand on the intricate swirls inlaid across the giant ball.
A door appeared, where there was nothing before. James breathed something that sounded like "Flesh memories" beside him. Moony looked at the other two, his eyes shining.
"That's really impressive magic," he said softly. "To create something of that size, that will actually carry people and fly."
"We don't know if it can do that yet," Sirius pointed out. "But if it's Dumbledore, I'm sure it can." Silently, Dumbledore beckoned his students with a long finger. Excitedly, the twelve students stepped over the giant Sntich's threshold. Sirius's mouth fell open.
It was a thousand times bigger inside than it was out. The floor was perfectly flat, but the walls curved around them. A spiral staircase spun up through the middle of the floor, and above, they could see several floors flying off it. The whole place had a warm, golden glow and felt very homely. On the floor they were on now was grouped an odd assortment of armchairs and beanbags and low-slung tables.
"Professor," Sirius said wonderingly, "It's amazing." Professor Dumbledore chuckled.
"It is, isn't it? I must admit I'm rather proud of it. There are four floors above this one; the first three you see are for your own accommodation. There are four beds on each. I had assumed that you ladies would all choose to stay together, but now I see that, oddly, all of you are from either Slytherin House or Gryfindor House, so you may choose the sleeping arrangements as you will..." He kept talking, but Sirius stopped listening. He caught, out of the corner of his eye, Regulus giving Laura a look that plainly said where he wanted her to sleep. Sirius scowled.
In the end, however, the girls did decide to sleep together on the middle floor. Sirius and James rushed up to the top floor to claim it for themselves, Moony and Frank, leaving Rudolphus, Regulus, Snape and Malfoy to make themselves comfortable on the lowest of the sleeping floors. The very top floor, Dumbledore informed them, was his own and not to be entered by anyone else. Then they peered out the door to see what looked like the whole school on the lawn in front of them, waving them off as the giant Snitch, with a beat of its flimsy-looking wings, lifted off the ground and began to fly away.
They were off.
It was mid-afternoon when Dumbledore descended from the top floor. "It seems that we have arrived in France a lot earlier than I expected," he said, in a ringing voice that silenced the buzzing students. "We will be landing on a beach in about five minutes," he continued, and Sirius, James and Moony exchanged gleeful glances, "Feel free to wander around if you will, but Muggle clothing must be worn at all times. I must impress upon all of you," his eyes twinkled as he surveyed the Marauders, "the importance of Wizarding Secrecy." Then there was the slightest bump, and the Snitch hit the ground.
The twelve people poured out, the four Marauders laughing and screaming happily. They stripped down to their boxers unashamedly, shouting challenges back to the Slytherins, who followed suit hurriedly before all eight boys rushed down to the line of the sea and disappeared beneath the waves. Looking back, Sirius saw Lily and Andromeda hesitate as Laura looked at them, then his cheeks flushed as she began to strip too. Narcissa gave them a haughty look before stalking away. The three other girls made their way down to the water.
"What're you looking at?" The voice was only an inch from his ear; soft, threatening. He turned around, leaning away from Regulus.
"Who said I was looking at anything?" he said sullenly.
"You stay away from her," Regulus snarled. Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever," he dismissed. He was a little wary of the older boy. Laura reached them as Regulus began to wade away.
"What's happening?" She asked in her accent. Regulus shook his head and reached for her hand, but she pulled it out of his reach. "No, what's happened?"
"I glanced back to see if you guys were following, and he jumped at me and told me I wasn't allowed to look at you." Sirius said. He knew he'd done more than glance, but the way she looked at him said that he was possessive to a fault. It didn't surprise Sirius in the least. Regulus looked as if he was about to retort, maybe even strike out, but at that moment a wave hit the three of them, and Regulus, unprepared for it, was swept away while Laura somehow ended up in Sirius' arms, her wet singlet clinging to his bare chest.
"Sorry," she laughed awkwardly, pulling away from him. He laughed too and began to turn away, but she childishly splashed him in the face. Minutes later they were splashing each other and pushing each other over, Lily, Andromeda, James and Moony had joined in, and Regulus was nowhere to be seen. The golden Snitch had faded into the clumps of tussock grass littering the dunes, and Dumbledore, with his long silver hair and beard, was busy attempting to light a fire. Then stocky Rudolphus Lestrange got caught in the middle of a splash aimed at Lily, and soon all the Slytherins were involved, jumping and splashing until the light began to fade.
Suddenly he caught sight of Regulus and Laura, wrapped so tightly around one another that Sirius could hardly tell where one ended and the other began. He saw James, a huge smile on his face as he helped Lily up in the aftermath of a wave. Suddenly he felt alone, and felt tears creep up behind his eyes. He fought them back until it hurt.
Professor Dumbledore called them in at that moment, and shivering with a cold none of them had been able to feel before, they traipsed in to where Dumbledore had managed to create a blazing fire. Rudolphus, a haughty but generally cheerful boy, shook Sirius' hand. "That was fun," he said genially. "I can't believe you're not in Slytherin." Sirius forced a smile. He wandered over to a spot slightly away from everyone else, waving to James and Moony to signal that he wanted to be alone for a minute. He sat down heavily in the sand and waited for the moment to pass.
"Sirius," came the voice floating up from the direction of the camp. He looked up; Laura, a towel draped over her shoulders like a fluffy shawl, stood by him, her dark eyes concerned. He smiled. The movement felt strange on his face after fighting back tears so viciously.
"Hey." She smiled back in a relieved manner as he spoke, as if she had expected him to bite her.
"What're you doing?" He turned his eyes back to the wavering sun before tears could push at his voice again.
"Nothing." He knew he sounded sullen as the words escaped his lips. She gave one of her tinkling little laughs.
"You know it's physically impossible to do nothing." He nodded shortly, not trusting himself to speak. "So what're you doing?" she asked again.
"Nothing much."
The breath that came from her was almost, but not quite, a laugh. He looked up at her. It was meant to be funny. She sat down in the sand next to him. "Where's Regulus?" he asked, more bitter than he had intended. The look she gave him was skeptical.
"Who cares?" He knew she didn't mean that she didn't care, but that he shouldn't. "What happened between you and him, anyway? You seem to hate each other more than just the usual Gryfindor/Slytherin rivalry." He took a breath, unsure what to say.
"He was my brother."
"Was?"
"I disowned them when I moved out." She made an 'oh' sort of nose and finally stopped her intense scrutiny of his face and looked out at the sun over the shimmering sea.
"That's why you two seem so alike." There was a pause – Sirius disagreed with this but he didn't know what to say. "Why did you move out? If, you know, you don't -" he waved away her fluffing apology.
"They hated me because I was different." Sirius meant to stop there, but found that words rushed to spill out of his mouth. He had to tell somebody. "Because I didn't hate Muggle-borns or support Voldemort. Because I was put in Gryfindor." He found his voice rising and fought to keep it down. "I don't think I'm like them at all. I hate them – the way they think they're better than everyone else and walk around with their noses in the air as if people they disapprove of are dirt on their shoes. The way they pick on people that can't defend themselves. I got sick of being the lamb under the lion's paw. So I moved out."
As he said these last few sentences, Sirius suddenly saw, in his mind, him and James standing over Snivellus Snape, sneering cruelly as Wormtail cowered in the background. He felt sick.
It was a while before either of them spoke. "You are like them, you know." Although her voice was soft, it still intruded on the silence like the peal of a gong. He looked at her. "You think you're better than them because you're different, and that's what makes you the same."
For many long minutes, the two of them sat staring out across the sea. Then, in a climactic movement, the darkening, distant sun hit the furthest edge of the ocean. Sirius swore he could almost hear the non-existent impact echo across the beach. Laura sighed and settled her back against his chest. "You're not all bad, though." He looked down at the top of her head, feeling warmth rise in his chest.
"Is this a dream?" he asked.
"Why should it be a dream?" she replied, and Sirius almost detected a note of irritation in her voice. Warily, he tried to continue as if he didn't notice.
"Well, it's either a dream or a miracle," he said.
"Why do people find it so hard to believe in miracles?" she said, sitting up and looking at him. "Especially wizards."
"Maybe it's because the things that Muggles term 'miracles' are commonplace for us," Sirius tried.
"Some of the best miracles are commonplace," she said softly, sighing and turning her face to the sea. "Look at this." Sirius sat up to follow her gaze. The sun was half-submerged in the dark water, the few clouds scattered through the sky a perfect orange, contrasting strongly with the cobalt sky. He couldn't help but smile. "Before I came here, this was my magic. This happens every day, and it's never the same." The expression on her face was pure joy. "This is a miracle, don't you think?" Shaking his head in wonder, Sirius murmured his assent and lay down. She followed. "Miracles happen everyday, and we're too busy to see them. Too busy being scared of spiders to notice how amazing their webs are. Too busy rushing off to work to make the world a better place to notice just how beautiful it really is without us." Sirius shifted his hand slightly until it touched hers in the sand.
"I can appreciate that," he said quietly, rolling over so he was facing her. "And I'm not afraid of spiders," he added jokingly. She rolled to face him as well, propping her head on her hand again. She smiled softly.
"Good," she almost whispered. Sirius gently leaned forward, moving his face closer to hers. Her deep brown eyes flickered down to his lips and back to his eyes. He suppressed a shiver as a thrill ran through him, took a breath...
"Laura?" The voice from outside their bubble broke in with all the delicacy of a filing cabinet; she jerked away from him and looked up at the speaker.
"Regulus!" she cried, jumping to her feet. Sirius scrambled upright. His brother's stare was outraged, mistrustful. It was the stare Regulus gave him all the time, but now it was so much worse because Sirius really cared about the thing his renounced elder sibling had just snatched away from him. The darker of the two broke the gaze and turned to Laura.
"I came looking for you," he said softly, reaching out and drawing her close. "What were you doing with him?" He said 'him' as if Sirius was a piece of filth, but he was used to that too. She accepted the embrace, looking awkward.
"He's my friend, Reg. We were just talking." Regulus turned his eyes back to his brother.
"I don't trust him."
"Well, I don't feel anything like brotherly love for you, either," Sirius snapped back. Laura sighed heavily, her head bowed.
"Sorry, Sirius," she said sadly. "Come on, Reg, let's go back to the camp." And she led him away, his gaze lingering until she pulled it away for a tender kiss. Scowling, Sirius turned away and shuffled over to sit with the other Gryfindors.
Early the next morning, Sirius woke up. The sun was already blaring down on him, and as he rolled over, sand sticking to his Muggle shirt, he saw that James, Moony, and a few of the Slytherins were also sleeping around the burnt-out fire. He sat up slowly and gave James a thump in the stomach with the back of his hand.
James coughed, snorted, and then jumped to his feet in a sudden movement that almost sent Sirius sprawling. "I'm up!" he cried, waking most of the others around the fire. He looked down at Sirius, who stood up coolly and hauled Moony to his feet.
"Race you to the water," he said. The other two exchanged hesitant glances, then, without warning, took off in a sprint. Sirius cursed and then shot after them laughing as some of the groggy Slytherins began to get to their feet.
The water was frigidly cold, but it woke Sirius up with a shock as he waded in up to his knees, just behind James and ahead of Moony. He whooped with a joy that struck him suddenly, a joy in living, in being here, in being alive. He splashed James in the face, laughing aloud at the way he spluttered and coughed. James splashed him back and he still couldn't stop laughing until Moony reached them and plunged straight into Sirius' back, sending him coughing into the brine. After he came up, he pushed Moony back in and laughed again.
A cold voice spoke in his ear. "In a good mood today, are we?" Sirius spun round, his 'good mood' evaporating faster than the water off his skin under the hot morning sun. Regulus stood behind him, looking like he used to in the summers when the two of them shared a house. Like he was trying to pick a fight – and that look screamed to Sirius to run away. "What did Laura say to you last night?" he said threateningly. Sirius frowned.
"Nothing I'd share with you," he replied, and tried to edge past him. It should have been easy owing to Regulus's Seeker's build; light and athletic, but he reached out and caught the collar of Sirius' wet shirt. "You keep your hands off my girl, you little rat," he whispered.
"Like I was going to touch her anyway," he retorted, pushing at the older boy. Regulus, caught off balance, slipped and fell backwards into the foamy water. Sirius snorted and waded back into shore to join Moony and James, both of whom had scarpered at the first hint of trouble but were now snorting with laughter. They patted him on the back and the three of them rushed into the Snitch, all the way up the stairs (making Narcissa screech as they passed the second floor) and waking up Frank as they reached the top and began to strip off their wet Muggle clothes and don their school robes. Noisily.
"Will you boys please shut up?" came Lily Evans' voice from the level below. James immediately stopped trying to slap Sirius with his wet shirt.
"Sorry, Evans," he said, his voice deepening as he spoke. "Good morning." She only grunted back, which made his face crumple a little. "Ouch," he said, quieter so that only the four Gryfindor boys could hear. "My self-esteem."
"Yeah," said Sirius ruminatively. "I'd have low self-esteem too if my nose was that big." James threw his top at Sirius, who dodged. Moony let out a bark of laughter, causing Sirius to pick up the shirt and throw it at Moony. "Honestly, though, mate," Sirius continued, fighting the laughter out of his voice, "Any bigger and we'll have to call you Snivellus." James laughed half-heartedly and pulled his robes over his head. Moony gave Sirius a look before shimmying his own threadbare robe on.
"And then you'll have to wear bloomers," chipped in Frank, fully dressed. "Shall we go down?"
"Race you," said Moony casually.
"Are you sure?" asked Sirius in mock-surprise. "Seeing as you're so good at losing?"
James looked from one to the other. "I'm in!" he yelled suddenly and took off. Sirius hotfooted it down the spiral staircase after him ("Hi Evans, Bye Evans" yelled James as they passed their floor) and tripped spectacularly on the second-to-bottom stair and landed sprawled on top of James. Moony, going too fast to stop, tripped over their tangled legs and fell too. Frank expertly skirted the pile.
"Good morning, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore's silvery voice came from one of the straight-backed chairs around a large and laden table.
"Food!" said James eagerly, trying to shove the other two off him and failing. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Laura step carefully between Moony's outstretched legs. She caught Sirius' eye and smiled. Moony carefully extracted himself from their heap, leaving Sirius free to jump up energetically. James made a big show of being hurt as he shuddered to his feet, but Sirius could tell that he wasn't.
"Miss Allbright," Dumbledore continued serenely, "Could you go and rouse the other ladies in our party, please. We are about to depart and it would be best if they have breakfast first. Mr Snape," he continued, making Sirius jump; he hadn't seen Snivellus there, hunched in an armchair with his hooked nose buried in his copy of Advanced Potion Making. Snivellus jumped too at the mention of his name, the book falling from his hands with a thud. "Could you do the same with the rest of the boys please." The two left the room, Snivellus shooting Laura a mistrustful glare as she attempted to engage him in conversation.
After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs that seemed to come from nowhere, ("But they can't," complained a confused Moony, "Food is one of the exceptions to Gamp's law of Elemental Transfiguration!" The others rolled their eyes.) the Snitch rose into the air again, cloaked by Dumbledore's Disillusionment Charm, which only lifted when they became lost in the glare of the sun. There were no clouds in the azure sky. Sirius had come to think that the French were allergic to clouds, because there were never any to be seen. He was growing more and more restless, less content to just sit there with James and mock Snivellus, less content to ignore Moony's looks shot from the other side of the room.
Then there was a bump. "Goodness me," said Dumbledore softly. "This thing does travel fast, doesn't it?"
It took another moment for Sirius to realise what Dumbledore had meant. They had arrived.
"All right, students, please make sure your uniform is immaculate – Mr. Longbottom, that won't do at all! Miss Allbright, would you straighten him up, please? Thank you," Professor Dumbledore said, sounding slightly nervous. "I trust I don't have to tell you to be on your best behavior for the duration of our stay at Beauxbatons." He placed his palm gently on the side of the gleaming Snitch, which gave way beneath his long fingers. He and the twelve students stepped out into the heavy sunlight.
Sirius had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. It was like a fairy garden from Muggle storybooks Moony had shown him. The air was light, the garden they stood in littered with glittering fountains and exquisite statues. The whole place was made more magical by a light mist that seemed to hang over it all. It seemed like a place where students could lose themselves and their troubles.
"Isn't it beautiful?" breathed Laura from beside Sirius. Frank appeared on her other side, his askew collar fixed and his hair smoothed.
"Eet ees, no?"
The voice came from the mist in front of them, deep and throaty yet still feminine. The body that followed it was even more beautiful than the garden; a woman with olive skin, blond hair and piercing blue eyes that rivaled Dumbledore's.
"Madame Mayet," Dumbledore said smoothly, walking towards him and extending his hand. As she drew closer, Sirius saw that she was a tall, curvy woman, wearing a loose, floaty dress. Behind her, a huge group of pupils emerged from the mist. She smiled at him.
"Dumbledore," she pronounced. It came from her mouth slightly distorted due to her thick French accent. "My pupils," she said lightly, waving a hand. The few hundred girls and boys, also clad in loose, floaty robes, bowed and curtseyed. They seemed like a strictly raised bunch, Sirius observed.
After a little bit of conversation between the head teachers, a rumbling sound became audible through the delicate garden. Minutes later, an enormous ship emerged from a space behind the biggest of the fountains, which seemed to have several birds bursting out of a cage embedded in the steady stream of crystalline water. "How original," said Dumbledore dryly, in a voice that clearly said that the opposite was true.
"Yes, the Durmstrang people are set in tradition," remarked Madame Mayet exotically. "No doubt they will arrive the same way next time." Dumbledore smiled as people wearing thick robes poured out of he dark ship. Their headmaster was a small man with big presence.
"Dumbledore! Mayet!" he said, his deep voice booming around the airy garden. Mayet smiled and graciously extended a hand to the man. Then, beaming, she turned and clapped her hands. At the sound, the hundreds of students began to file in an unnaturally orderly way towards the palace. Sirius found that there was no other word to describe the building; it was more delicate than a castle, and seemed like a fairy queen's dwelling. He, James, Moony and Frank exchanged glances before following them.
Inside, the palace was even more exquisite than outside. Glittering statues stood in corners and as centerpieces to the spacious rooms. Sirius found that his breath was taken away - everything was so delicate, so royal, as though every student was a prince or princess.
As they sat down in a huge hall littered with tables, draped with lacy white tablecloths and vases of flowers, (Sirius heard some of the Durmstrang students make noises of disgust) Madame Mayet stood in the center of the room, like the most beautiful statue of them all. Sirius noticed that the Beauxbatons students had not sat down, but where instead standing with their eyes riveted on their Headmistress. Each of the tables seated around twenty students, but the slightly higher, fancier-dressed table in the middle was larger and already had what must have been all of the Beauxbatons teachers sitting around it. Unlike Hogwarts, amazing, mouth-watering smells were already wafting from benches around the room that were already laden with food.
Madame Mayet sat down. as one, the hundreds of students filed out to the benches around the side. Two girls, one tall and breathtakingly beautiful, the other smaller and delicately pretty, approached the table where Sirius and the other Hogwarts students sat.
"Bonjour," said the tall one smoothly. The Hogwarts people looked at each other edgily.
"Bonjour," replied Laura cheerfully. Sirius looked at her in surprise. "Je m'appelle Laura." The girl looked down at her.
"Victiore Eris," she said, her voice strangely cold. She's trouble, that one, Sirius caught himself thinking.
"I didn't know you spoke French," Sirius told Laura.
"I can't really," she replied calmly. "Just the basics." The smaller girl smiled, genuinely, and her voice was as delicate as her face when she spoke.
"I'm Echo," she said in flawless English. "Welcome to Beauxbatons Academy. Follow us, the food is over here." She smiled, and Sirius thought jealously that her smile was directed mostly at Regulus. Then the two girls turned and walked away, and, hesitantly at first, the Hogwartians followed.
James and Moony rushed ahead, but Sirius took his time and found himself standing next to Andromeda in the queue. She smiled at him, her almond eyes softening. "Sirius," she said seriously. He murmured something that could serve as a greeting. "Your... your friend Remus," she began shyly, "Is he seeing anyone?" Sirius's eyes widened in surprise.
"Moony? Are you kidding? He's in love with his study, girls don't stand a chance." Andy's haughty-looking face fell. "I... I reckon you could, you know, win him over if you tried, though, Andy," he corrected hastily.
"You think so?" she asked, her eyes shining. "Thanks, Sirius," she said and gave him a warm hug. He grinned at her. "Good luck," he called at her retreating back.
The food, although many dishes were ones Sirius had never even heard of before, was excellent. Victoire Eris and Echo, the two girls, sat with them and Echo kept up a reasonably good conversation. When Laura asked her how long she had been speaking English, however, she looked confused. "I... had to learn so I could speak with you," she said haltingly. She was spared the trouble of speaking further by Madame Mayet standing up at the table in the center. Immediately, all the Beauxbatons students leaped to their feet, but she waved them back down and began to speak.
Sirius couldn't understand a word she was saying. It was all in rapid French. "Um, she says, welcome to our international students, and, um... no, she's lost me," said Laura. Regulus took her hand, opposite to the Marauders at the circular table. Echo took over the translation.
"She is just introducing our teachers to you that will be judging the competition," she said. "And she is about to show us the... impartial, I think the word is, selector of the champions for the Tournament." Sirius looked excitedly up at the tall woman. This was his chance to show them all, in front of Regulus and Narcissa, that he was better than just a Black gone wrong. This was his chance to win Laura from Regulus.
"She is saying that the selector is called... the Goblet of Fire," said Echo, surprised.
"That doesn't sound like a person," James murmured.
"Of course it's not a person," Moony shot back. "A person can be biased, can't they? Are you saying you didn't read anything into the Tournament before you came?" The other two shook their heads.
Two boys in the blue Beauxbatons robes rushed into the hall, carrying between them a heavy-looking casket. "That's it," Frank breathed beside Sirius. "The Goblet of Fire."
The brazen cup hissed and spat as blue flames danced over the rim. Sirius swallowed. He could feel heat emanating from the bronze Goblet, even though he stood at least three feet away from it.
It was his turn. He clutched the tiny scrap of parchment in his sweaty hand. Sirius Black, Hogwarts. He took a deep breath, fighting back fear. What if the Goblet just spat his name back out? He could see Dumbledore's disappointed face already, see Regulus's mocking sneer...
He steeled himself, took a step forwards and dropped the parchment into the flames. There was a slight roaring sound as the dancing tongues of fire licked higher, turned mauve, then red - then settled down again to become their usual turquoise. He'd done it.
Sirius let out his breath, hardly noticing he'd been holding it in, then stepped back to where the rest of the Hogwartians stood. James patted him on the back and Dumbledore smiled. Echo, who was still standing with them, said "Well done," softly.
"Are you going to put your name in?" Regulus asked her as he stepped closer to the fiery Goblet. She shook her head sadly.
"I cannot be with you and enter," she said. "I would much rather make friends among you than enemies, due to harsh competition." Sirius snorted and caught Laura's eye. She smiled at him. She had volunteered to put her name in first, showing the bright enthusiasm that she seemed to give all matters in life. Sirius found that entrancing, more so than anyone he'd ever met before. Flames briefly obscured her face as Regulus's name was accepted into the Goblet. Sirius turned away.
"Remus?" It was Andromeda's voice, timid, nervous. He turned to look at her in surprise.
"Andromeda?'
"Andy, please." Remus looked blown away with the attention she was giving him as she edged nearer.
"Andy, then." A smile twitched the corners of his thin lips as they began to chat. Sirius and James exchanged glances and left them alone.
"Moony and Andy?' said James incredulously.
"She seems really keen on him," Sirius remarked. "It'll be good for him, you know, get his mind off all the schoolwork he's missing." James snorted. Sirius looked back to see that Echo was talking animatedly to Regulus as Laura stared after him, twiddling a strand of hair absently. He felt happier.
Days flew by in quick succession. Echo and Victoire Eris gave them a tour of the school on their second day. Sirius noticed that Victoire gave James a lot of attention, while Echo seemed to enjoy spending time with Regulus the most out of all of them. It was the evening of their third day when Madame Mayet announced that the Goblet was ready to make its decision. Sirius and James sat up in their seats, Victoire on James' other side flicking her blonde hair seductively out of her face. Sirius pretended not to see Lily Evans scowling at the French girl. Mayet was speaking French again, and Echo was frantically trying to translate her rapid speech. Suddenly the Goblet on the table flared red, the flames shooting to a great height. Mayet ducked a little, and caught the charred scrap of paper in an olive-skinned hand. She smiled as she read the name.
"The French champion is..." translated Echo in a hushed voice. "Phillipe Yvain!" a tall, well-muscled boy stood up from one of the tables near the center of the room. He was handsome, with loosely curled sandy hair, a straight nose and vivid blue eyes. he looked like quite the hero, and judging by the number of people cheering him on from all around the room, he was the school favorite. He made his way up to the table where Mayet stood regally, smiling down at him like a mother to her favorite son.
The Goblet spluttered and flared again, and Mayet caught the parchment, burnt around the edges, and read it out again. When she spoke this time, it was not in French, but in some guttural tone. The Hogwartians all looked at Echo expectantly. "I don't know," she said apologetically. "I do not speak that language."
"The Durmstrang champion, isn't it obvious?" said Lily quickly, in time to hear Mayet speak the name of the champion.
"Lochlin Raiden!"
"My goodness, he looks angry, doesn't he?" remarked Echo as the boy stood up. Indeed, Sirius saw, his thick eyebrows were contracted in a frown across his harsh, angular face. He didn't look like someone to mess with.
The Goblet flared once more and the most charred parchment yet coughed up from its depths. Mayet caught it expertly. Sirius, James and Remus shared excited glances.
"And the Hogwarts champion," she said in her deep, throaty voice. Sirius's stomach twisted obscurely. He glanced across at Laura, and saw that the hand she held clenched in Regulus's was white-knuckled. "is Mister -" her voice was cut off by an enormous crash as someone on the other side of the hall knocked a vase off a table, and all the Marauders heard was the end of the sentence: "-Black."
Triumph surged through Sirius's body. Sure it was him, he stood, but Regulus had stood also, and the two brothers stood facing each other across the wide table, scowling and snarling like tigers over a piece of meat.
