"I've got to meet one of them!" Damien said determinedly. "Hayden, mate, how about you and me sneak out of here and find those girls?"
"Sounds good," Hayden grinned.
"But," Aly said grinning wickedly, "What about Kylie? And 'Mandy'? You wouldn't want to hurt their feelings, would you?"
"Come off it," Damien said, flushing. "It's not big deal."
"So," Bella grinned, "When Amanda finds out that you've been trying to snog a Beauxbatons girl, it'll be 'no big deal?'"
"And I'm absolutely sure Kylie won't mind, even though she'd fancied you for ages and it'll more than likely break her heart?" asked Aly.
"Shut it!" Hayden said. "That's not fair!"
"Hey, look," Damien said, changing the subject. "Something's happening to the water, you see it?"
"Yeah," Hayden replied, determinedly not looking at Aly or Bella. "Take a peek."
Aly looked around a sixth year and watched the water slowly turn into a whirlpool. Soon, a great big mast rose out of the water, and soon followed a huge ship.
"Whoa."
The ship sailed to the shore of the grounds and halted. The door opened and a man with a black goatee and a long fur coat stepped out, looking quite haughty.
"Dumbledore!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to him.
"Karkaroff!" Dumbledore said warmly. They shook hands.
"Boys! Out here, now!" Karkaroff called. The bunch of boys dressed in warm fur coats emerged from the boat, one of them being Viktor Krum.
"There's the man himself," Bella said dreamily. "Are you sure you haven't got anything?"
"No," Aly replied. The boys made their way through the crowd, oblivious to the gaggling girls.
"I don't see what's so attractive," Amanda said while the boys stepped out of the boat. "They all have really thick eyebrows."
"I definitely see something attractive in those Beauxbatons girls," Char grinned. Amanda rolled her eyes. She watched the boys walk through the crowd. One boy caught her eye and grinned. Amanda frowned and turned around to face the lake. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She whirled around and met electric blue eyes. He grinned.
"Michael!" she exclaimed. Michael pulled off his hood and grinned. He hugged her.
"Hey! I missed you," he grinned.
"Me too! How's Durmstrang?" Amanda asked, looking him over.
"Great, just great," he said warmly. The crowd started moving towards the castle. "You?"
"Peachy. Fourth year is a load of work, though."
"Ha. All we do is work out, play Quidditch, and try and please the teachers," he smirked. Amanda frowned as they walked up the steps.
"Win any Quidditch games?"
"There is not quidditch this year."
"What?" Michael exclaimed.
"The Triwizard Tournament means no quidditch cup this year," Amanda explained.
"That's terrible. How'd you do last year?"
"Great, actually. It's funny because my cousin Michael Straum replaced you, so it was almost like you were never gone," Amanda grinned. "We won the Cup last year."
"Brilliant! I wish I was there to see it," he said wistfully. They entered the Great Hall.
"I'm sitting at the Gryffindor table," he announced. "I could care less if Alyusha gets mad."
"Who's Alyusha?"
"My friend. He said that I'm supposed to sit next to him at the feast."
"But you'd prefer to sit at the Gryffindor table against his wishes?"
"Sure." They grinned and sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"So, explain to me, how can this guy just jump back into her life like they're long lost friends?"
Damien stared ahead angrily.
"Um, I really can't explain that, Damien," Bella shrugged.
"She and Michael were great friends second year, though," Aly added. Hayden nudged her.
"Stop playing devil's advocate!" he hissed.
"I can't help it," she answered. They walked into the Great Hall and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Aly took a seat across from Michael on the other side of the table. She grinned.
"Michael."
"Aly! Hey!" he exclaimed happily. "It's great to see the lot of you!"
He shook hands with Hayden. "How're you doing, mate? Durmstrang not treating you too hard?"
"I'm alive, so..." Michael grinned, "I guess they're doing alright."
"Miss Hogwarts food?"
"Yeah...all we eat is meat."
Amanda grinned at Hayden.
"Damien," Michael said politely. "How're you, mate?"
"Perfectly fine, thanks," he said stiffly. Michael forced a smile, and then talked to Aly.
"So, Amanda tells me you won last year?"
"Of course, let me tell you this awesome move..."
Amanda stared at Damien and crossed her arms. She leaned forward.
"Control your attitude."
"Yes, mother."
Dumbledore stood up and announced the start of the feast, wishing all of the students luck in the tournament, and to enjoy Hogwarts.
Aly and Amanda chatted it up with Michael, who talked about his life at Durmstrang, and how much he missed Hogwarts. After the feast, the students were dismissed to their dormitory for sleep.