CHAPTER 6:

ARRIVAL AT HOGWARTS

As beautiful and graceful and magnificent the carriage drawn by the Abraxans was, Fleur couldn't help but think they were trying a touch too hard to impress the students of Hogwarts with their entrance. She had remarked to that effect to Madame Maxime, who had shot an annoyed glance at Fleur. Still, Fleur had advised those who were coming to bring cloaks and scarves. She hadn't actually been to Hogwarts, but her father and Harry had indicated that it would be cold, to say the least.

Marie, as they flew through the air, was humming a song from a movie from last year. It was some weird American Muggle thing called The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Marie was humming a song called This is Halloween. Appropriate, given that Halloween was tomorrow. Audrey was reading a book on the history of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, with Fleur looking at the pages occasionally. At the moment, they were looking at how the last proper Tournament ended, which was during a Task that involved catching a Cockatrice. Three of the judges were injured when the beast went on a rampage.

As much as she wanted to participate, if only to make her name known, Fleur had misgivings about the organisation of the Tournament. Marie was right in her crude assessment of Bagman's abilities: the man couldn't organise anything properly. He was all grand gestures, but he didn't care about the little details. Fleur was reminded of some of the attitudes of the Kings of France, when they demanded something, and everyone else was left scrambling to fulfil those wishes. Bagman was considerably more pleasant, but he was still an imbecile. The Tournament was meant to be safer than before, but how much safer could it be with a brain-damaged individual like him in charge?

"We're approaching Hogwarts," Madame Maxime called from her seat. "Compose yourselves, and remember your decorum and deportment. We are the representatives of Beauxbatons, and we will not disgrace the name of our establishment."

Soon, they landed, a bit roughly (so much for decorum and deportment, Fleur thought acidly), and Michel, one of the boys, scurried out and unfolded the steps. Fleur watched as Madame Maxime left the carriage, and then led the procession of the students to the door of the carriage, waiting for the Headmistress' signal. As Maxime talked, though, Fleur sighed. Maxime's English was very heavily accented, and Fleur liked to think that her accent, while still present, was not as thick. She would certainly not pronounce 'Dumbledore' as 'Dumbly-dorr'. Then, once Maxime gave the signal, Fleur led the others out. There were a dozen students from Beauxbatons who had made the delegation. She was surprised that her friends made the shortlist that meant they could participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but she was glad of it.

The Hogwarts student body and staff were all gathered to see them. Fleur caught a glimpse of Harry and his friends, and saw, more clearly, her father. He shot a reassuring smile in their direction.

Madame Maxime was told to leave the Abraxans in the care of Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Fleur remembered Harry speaking of the massive man, and wouldn't be surprised if he was half-Giant, like Maxime. Madame Maxime was touchy about her heritage, though, and understandably. There had been a minor scandal when she had been appointed Headmistress of Beauxbatons.

They were summoned to join Maxime and the Hogwarts students and faculty in trooping to the Black Lake. It was a magnificent-looking lake in the moonlight, Fleur felt. The night was a beautiful one. Shame it was so damnably cold!

The entrance of the Durmstrang students was, admittedly, a good one. A vortex seemed to appear within the Black Lake, and, in a reversal of convention, a ship emerged from rather than being consumed by the maelstrom. A shame the ship looked so grim and ugly, like they had hired the services of the Flying Dutchman, Fleur felt.

The Headmaster of Durmstrang, despite his affable air, was someone Fleur took an instant disliking to. Igor Karkaroff had a honeyed tongue, but eyes as cold as the Arctic. She was considerably more cheered to see Viktor Krum with them: his chivalry had not been forgotten by her. According to his headmaster, Krum had something of a head cold, so the three schools hurried back indoors. Fleur was grateful: even given the cloak, she was still cold. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she heard some foolish Hogwarts girls discussing whether Krum would sign something for them in lipstick. Krum looked about as comfortable with his celebrity as Harry did.

Fleur looked around the Great Hall with interest. True, it had nothing on Beauxbatons in her opinion, but it certainly had a charm all of its own, she thought. The enchanted ceiling was a nice touch, she felt. The seating had been arranged ahead of time: Beauxbatons students would be seated with the Ravenclaw students, while the Durmstrang students would be seated with Slytherin. She noted Draco Malfoy trying to ingratiate himself with Krum, who looked unimpressed. Krum and Fleur's eyes met, and for a moment, Krum indicated Malfoy with his eyes, as if to say, I'm surrounded by idiots and sycophants.

Fleur nodded, and then, once actually seated, turned to the girl next to her, a Hogwarts student of Asian extraction. "Bonsoir. I am Fleur Delacour," she said.

The girl smiled. "Cho Chang."

Some introductions were made, before the Beauxbatons students stood in respect as Madame Maxime entered. A few Hogwarts students laughed, but Fleur ignored them. Madame Maxime deserved respect. So too did Dumbledore, despite his appalling taste in clothing and his mask of a doddery, eccentric demeanour. He was, after all, the one who vanquished Grindlewald. Once Maxime was seated, the Beauxbatons students did so too.

Dumbledore then said, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and, most particularly, guests." He beamed at both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang's respective delegations. He certainly had a commanding presence, despite his colourful robes. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

Had her father not managed to instil a sense of enjoying novelty and tolerating discomfort, Fleur may very well have laughed disdainfully(1). She took Dumbledore's comment, instead, with a sense of respect, as they were guests in his demesne. Of course, this was no holiday. They needed to take classes here in addition to witnessing the Tournament. And one of their number would, of course, be participating in the Tournament.

"The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" Dumbledore concluded.

Fleur was pleased to note that the French dishes were cooked to perfection. Clearly, someone had been tutoring the House Elves of Hogwarts. Even so, she became a little irritated when she couldn't find some bouillabaisse within easy reach, and the others had taken what bowls had come through. Eventually, she decided to try the Gryffindor table.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were there, and thankfully, there was an untouched bouillabaisse near Harry. Hermione was enjoying some herself. "Excuse me, Harry, may I have the bouillabaisse?" Fleur asked.

"Sure," Harry said, pushing it over to Fleur.

"It's a very good one," Hermione said to Fleur in French. "It tastes just like the one I had in Marseilles."

Fleur smiled. "Thanks, Hermione. I trust your parents are well?"

"Yeah, though they were a bit frightened by what happened at the World Cup," Hermione admitted.

"Not surprising. Pity they didn't catch enough of those bastards," Fleur murmured. Then, to Ron, she said, in English, "Audrey brought over a Go board for you. She wishes to play later."

Ron, who was still affected slightly by her allure, shook himself from his daze. "Oh, really? Thanks."

To Harry, Fleur said, "We shall talk later, mon ami." And she carefully took the bowl of bouillabaisse away, careful not to spill any on her robes.

As she got back to her seat, she noticed a Ravenclaw girl of thirteen with dirty blonde hair and protuberant eyes looking at her curiously. In fluent French, the girl said, "You make a nice couple. It's nice to see two hearts and minds with less Wrackspurts than usual. But that's because of your bond."

As Fleur blinked, Cho chided, "Luna, please don't annoy Fleur."

"No, no, she did not annoy me. She just said something…strange, that is all," Fleur said.

"Well, Luna often says strange things," Cho remarked. "She's eccentric."

"I like to think that I add a pinch of strangeness to Ravenclaw, like a spice," Luna said in fluent French. "Besides, too many people think too narrowly."

"You'd like my father, then," Fleur said.

"Oh, he's still conventional, but at least he saw further than some last year," Luna remarked, looking at Hercule Delacour where he was seated. She then frowned as a pair of new arrivals entered the Great Hall. "The Wrackspurts are really infesting those two," she commented.

Fleur saw who the newcomers were. Baum and Bagman. Baum looked harried and tired, while Bagman looked as ebullient and imbecilic as before. In French, to Luna, she said, "I don't think Wrackspurts are infecting Bagman, whatever those are. I think that is Bludger-induced brain damage."

Luna laughed, and said, in English, "That's probably true."

Fleur shook her head, and as she returned to her bouillabaisse, she said to Cho, "That man Bagman is an imbecile. I saw his organisational skills, or lack thereof, firsthand at the Quidditch World Cup. I mean, if we are trying to be inconspicuous in a Muggle area, why would he dress up in his Quidditch robes? He looked like an oversized wasp!"

"You have no argument from me, Fleur," Cho said.

Luna nodded. "Common sense is an oxymoron."

Fleur tittered. "Indeed."

Fleur found herself enjoying the company of Cho Chang, her friend Marietta Edgecomb, and Luna Lovegood. While Cho and Marietta were more conventionally intelligent, Luna, though something of a fantasist, also had some surprisingly good insights and lateral thinking. And her command of French was excellent. The strange girl had confided in Fleur that her father frequently took her travelling, as he was a noted cryptozoologist, as well as editor and publisher of The Quibbler, a tabloid magazine. Fleur, despite Luna's strangeness, actually liked the girl. Shortly after Luna finished off the pudding (Fleur declined to have some), they were soon engaged in an interesting discussion about the Sirius Black case when Dumbledore interrupted.

He introduced Baum and Bagman, and said that he was to explain how the Champions were to be chosen impartially. He soon asked for the action of a man by the name of Filch, a decrepit old Squib who, according to her father, was at best, an ornery and bitter old man who was supremely jealous of the students of Hogwarts for having magic when he didn't. Filch brought out a casket encrusted with jewels, and very old. The casket was placed on a table in front of the High Table. Dumbledore explained about the tasks, as well as the Champions. He finally concluded by saying, with theatre, pomp, and gravitas, "The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector…the Goblet of Fire."

With that, Dumbledore tapped on the chest with his wand three times. The lid opened slowly, as if about to unleash something deadly. In truth, what Dumbledore plucked out was surprisingly unimpressive on first glance: a large roughly-hewn wooden cup. Then again, few such items were filled to the very brim with blue-white flames that danced and capered in an eerie manner. Closing the casket, Dumbledore set the Goblet of Fire on top, using it as a makeshift plinth.

He then announced the arrangements. The Goblet would be placed in the Entrance Hall with an Age Line around it to prevent younger students from entering. Aspiring Champions had 24 hours to place their name within the Goblet, and those chosen would be announced tomorrow night. Dumbledore then pointed out that to enter the Tri-Wizard Tournament was not a decision to be taken lightly, as it bestowed a binding magical contract on the Champions chosen. They were meant to see the Tournament through to the very end.

Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, Fleur noted that the Weasley twins were plotting something. Fleur rolled her eyes. She knew that the two redheads were smarter than they seemed, her time with them at the Quidditch World Cup proved that. But bypassing an Age Line cast by one of the greatest Wizards of this century? It'd take a miracle. Plus, would they really wish to enter such a dangerous event?

She met Harry's eyes, and he smiled, and mouthed, Good luck. She mouthed, Thank you back at him. Now, she needed to work up the resolve to enter. It was expected of the full delegation, but Fleur felt she needed to make sure she was ready…


Later that night, Barty Crouch Junior made his way over to the Goblet of Fire. Ostensibly, he was, as Moody, to check on the security procedures. In truth, he was about to undertake the first key step of the plan.

It was enjoyable, he reflected, to teach the students about the Unforgivables. He was even impressed with how Potter managed to throw off the Imperius, and he took a small perverse delight in freaking out Longbottom by demonstrating the Cruciatus Curse on a spider, though he played the part of a concerned teacher, and gave Longbottom a Herbology text, albeit one that might prove useful for the Second Task. It was on Mediterranean water plants, and it might sow the seeds for Potter to use Gillyweed for the Second Task.

Quietly, he cast a Confundus charm, the strongest he could manage, on the Goblet. Then, he placed a slip of paper with Potter's name on it. Through the Confundus charm, the Goblet would be fooled into thinking there were four schools, and not three.

The Goblet seemed to accept the slip of paper, and Barty allowed himself to sigh in relief. With any luck, come tomorrow night, the downfall of Harry Potter would begin…

CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Fleur's at Hogwarts, and Barty has just set things up for Harry being entered.

1. Keep in mind that this Fleur is slightly different from the haughtier one of canon. She did laugh disdainfully in the original novel. However, her father, along with her experiences so far, have tempered it somewhat.