WhiteElfElder: Oh yes, hmm, Harry and Draco a team, now that would turn the world upside down. Who would think that Draco would prank after all?
Penny is Wise: Draco is not always as smart as he needs to be with certain people.
Krikanalo: Thank you so very much, I had fun writing that duel!
Staretoile: I could put in some duels in later chapters.
The Meeting of the Schools:
Harry was having a good year, he still had gleefully testified against the Dursleys, making sure to not embellish anything about his time with them and stating the facts. There was not a dry eye in that court when he was done testifying and oh how they looked so pale and knew they were so very dead. They had been kept in isolation "for their safety" during the trial, which did not go on very long as halfway through they pled out. Both got twenty to thirty years, for child abuse, theft and attempted murder. Harry smirked as they were lead out, hopefully they went straight to open population, the prisoners would love to show them how much they hated child abusers. Dudley had tried to talk to him but Harry told him to stay away from him if he knew what was good for him and that was that, he had his revenge and could go on with his life.
He had been interviewed by one Rita Skeeter, who had taken an oath to tell the truth in her article or Harry would sue her. The story had been in the Daily Prophet all of it, how Harry had been raised, how his teachers and many of the neighbors had taken good care of him. How when he found out about the Dursleys getting his money he snapped, and following the law he did not use magic. No instead he beat his uncle to a pulp with no magic, and put the man in the hospital. It was one Severus Snape who found Harry in a jail cell, well cared for with the guards being kind to the young teen. How Harry would, on his fifteenth birthday be emancipated but until then he was a ward of Hogwarts. He tried not to smile as he remembered seeing Dudley, pale, clad in olive drab watching his parents carted off. So the abusers brought so low…
"Potter what has got you so happy?" Draco snapped as he stood by him.
"I hear the Beauxbatons girls are lovely." Harry replied.
"So are the Durmstag." Draco replied.
"Yes, but the Beauxbatons are more likely to not hex you if you ask them out." Harry replied, "why exactly are we standing by year?"
"Professor Moody." Terry Boot, a cheerful Ravenclaw boy in their year said, "sure he wants to see if we can keep our cool."
"He can go shove it." Zacharias Smith, a moody Hufflepuff in their year said, "remind me again why he is teaching?"
"He is good at his job, and just think, they get the curse off the defense post and he might stay!" Blaise said a sinister smile crossing his face.
"Good luck with that." Neville said.
They were interrupted as they saw a large carriage flying towards them with large winged horses pulling the large powder blue carriage. All proper decorum was forgot for a moment as both boys watched in amazement as Beauxbatons showed up first with a dozen winged horses pulling a rather large coach behind them.
"They're Abraxan!" Draco said in awe, "the most powerful winged horse there is!"
"Ah there we go, that explains the size of the carriage a bit, though of course I am sure the Beauxbatons students will stay there." Blaise said smugly.
He said this as the carriage had landed and a student in silk light blue robes got out of the carriage, lowered the step and he bowed low to the lady who stepped from the carriage. Madam Olympe Maxime was very tall, as tall as Hagrid but very lovely too. Her black satin gown hugged her shapely form and her long glossy black hair was done up on her head in an elegant bun. She saw Dumbledore at once and, much to the surprise of most of the students she walked so lightly and gracefully it looked as if she were floating. Dumbledore took her hand and kissed it lightly and both turned to the lake while the twenty Beauxbatons students came to stand by the Hogwarts students.
"Look at Hagrid, what has he done to himself?" Draco asked as Hagrid came up with his beard carefully braided and his hair tamed and tied back as best he could.
"I am surprised it took you this long to notice Draco." Hermione said primly, "he has been that way since the world cup."
"He was there?" Draco asked alarmed.
"Yes, he helped with getting things set up and met with madam Maxime there." Harry said trying not to look smug at knowing something social Draco did not.
"I think I liked the old you better Potter." Draco growled.
Harry just grinned and turned his attention to the lake where a sound much like a plug being pulled came. He watched as first a mast came to view then another and finally the sails and a wooden ship came to view. It floated gracefully to the small dock set up for it and several strong boys built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle tied off the boat. The stood to both sides as a man in white robes trimmed with sliver fur walked off the boat and up to Dumbledore. Harry did not like him at all, he was tall, with neatly trimmed black hair and goatee that did not hide his weak chin. Yet it was not his looks that made Harry uneasy, there was something dark and evil about him that made Harry feel on edge.
"That is Igor Karkaroff." Neville said, "it is rumored he was a death eater."
"Rumor nothing, he was." Ron muttered darkly by him.
"Ah there is Victor Krum!" Harry said brightening up, "I have been writing him, I hope he can give me some Quidditch pointers."
The students walked into the school and Harry watched as the Durmstag students went and sat at the Slytherin table and the Beauxbatons sat at the Ravenclaw table. There were only forty more students than normal, a small fraction of the hundreds of Hogwarts students, yet the powder blue and blood red robes made it seem like quite a bit more. There were several chairs set up at the front not just for the heads of the foreign schools but for the new head of the international magical cooperation Daniel Meeks, a stern dark haired man with pale green eyes and a silver left arm. The minister was here but not Ludo Bagman, he had been sacked and was headed to Azkaban after it was found out he had stole money to pay off his debts to the Goblins.
Things were changing in the ministry, Fudge was not a strong man but he had started to do what was needed for the people. The Children's Welfare department was given the funds they needed to help the children, and with the seizing of the funds of the now ended line of the Lestrange family they could build a magical orphanage. Fudge had done his own investigation of the Dursleys and found the muggles he talked to (with Kingsley with him to make sure he did not mess up, er was protected well) he found most people did not like the Dursleys and were glad they were in prison now. He found muggles were not much different than magical, they had the good and bad just as the magical world did.
Harry nodded to Victor Krum who nodded back, both boys had become friends after the cup and Victor had a great since of humor and was very smart. He acted far stupider and more thick than he really was in public, but in private he was a witty, very smart and all around great guy. He did not go for pureblood superiority and in fact had even stated that Durmstrag had tried to keep all non-purebloods out of their school but the ICW actually threatened to take their accreditation away from them. They still did not allow muggleborn but they were taking a step in the right direction. Even if they did have Kararoff as the headmaster, Harry thought that was more to keep him out of trouble as it did not seem that he really ran the school himself but that was his teachers and the like.
"So who do you think will end up in the tournament?" Fred asked taking a seat on the other side of Harry.
"Yes Harrikins?" George added smiling sweetly at Hermione who glared at him, "hello Hermione sorry about the sweet, it was not meant for you."
"How is sitting going boys?" Hermione asked.
"Painful." Fred said.
"Yes, not the place for boils, clever, potions helped but not much." George added, "you did not have any lasting harm, same beautiful Hermione as always."
"Well I might have had Madam Pomfrey shrink my teeth a bit." Hermione said, "well a bit more than they were before I got that teeth growing sweet from you two."
"Really?" Fred said, "but Hermione you were beautiful before!"
"Flattery will not get me to not be mad at you." Hermione said.
"Chocolate brought by Dobby?" Fred asked.
"Mates don't try bribing Hermione, not a good idea." Harry said.
"No, bribes are fine, then you can buy me chocolates, and have Dobby screen them and give them to me." Hermione said, "then you might have my forgiveness."
Harry remembered back to the unfortunate incident, Fred and George had left a sweet out, next to one that was Hermione's. She might not have a lot of sweets (her parents did not allow a lot in their home) growing up but she did like them every once and a while. She had picked up the wrong one and ate it. It caused her teeth to start growing and she had to be rushed down to the hospital wing. Fred and George had paid for that and still were a week later. Harry smirked and tucked into the feast before him wondering who was going to end up in the tournament.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
So there is that, a fun chapter with the schools meeting and all here. Yes Harry and Draco can now be civil, but barely. Neville has a backbone and well Fred and George are lucky to be alive after their stunt with Hermione.
Please do review, I do enjoy them!
