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The sorting had gone well and the introduction of Moody as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor went off without a hitch. He garnered many looks and whispers from the body of students.
Then Dumbledore had stood up to speak after that.
"Well now that we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: The Triwizard Tournament. The Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single student is selected to compete."
Cheers and excited shouts rattled across the great hall.
"Now let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint-hearted. Eager though I know all of you will be able to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "Students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive in the next week or so, and on Halloween we will have the Champion Selections. An impartial judge will decide which students, are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school and a ten thousand galleon personal prize."
There was a noticeable increase in chatter around the room. The headmaster held up his hands for silence.
"However the heads of the participating schools, myself included, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an agreed restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – that is to say, seventeen years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below Sixth and Seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion."
Harry felt rather relieved that there could be no possible way for him to be drawn into the Tourament and focused on his classes.
Moody's Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were run similarly to his training sessions back at the bastion. Just with less the mortal peril and pain.
"Aye, let's dispel a few myths. Can anybody tell me what the unforgivable curses are?"
Hermione shot her hand up to answer but Moody selected another student.
"The Imperius, Cruciatus and Avada Kedavra Curse also known as the killing curse."
Moody nodded "Aye, ten points to Ravenclaw. Why are they unforgivable?"
A boy from Hufflepuff stood "Because they are evil dark magic."
Moody looked at him "Wrong, five points away."
The class almost as one broke out in shouts of derision. Moody turned to the class room. Harry smiled and winked at Moody.
"Avada Kedavra " he hissed and a swirling green beam of light launched from his stave and dropped a fly out of the air. Everyone gasped.
"Contrary to popular belief it is not illegal to use these spells. The Imperius was designed as a an effective means to subdue and control magic resistive beasts like dragons or kelpie as it bypasses the creatures hide. Up until twenty years ago it was being taught in sixth year, Care of Magical Creatures."
The class, aside from Harry, sat in frozen stone silence. He had heard this speech before.
"The Cruciatus was created by a Chinese mage eons ago as a way of debriding wheat and rice when cast against the grains it will agitate and shuck the stalks also works well as a corn deseedment."
Another layer of silence was added to the room.
"The killing curse is what it says on the bottle. Created in Rome from a more powerful version it was used primarily as a humane method of ending the lives of cattle before they were slaughtered."
Moody smiled
"It is only a crime and a serious crime at that, to use those spells against another intelligent creature or being and today we are going to learn to cast them."
"So you missed out on being Defence Against the Dark Arts professor again this year." Harry beleaguered.
"Shove it." Snape snapped.
"What was this potion called again?" Neville enquired.
Snape sighed dramatically "Mister Moxum's Opportunistic Initiative and Radically Difficult Two Minute Noodle Soup, made in thirty seconds."
"Why does it take four hours to make then?" Harry grinned causing Snape to fluster
"This is a technical potion exercise, a master level one. Mister Moxum was the greatest portion mater to ever redefine potion making. He believed that it was skills one could use in every day cooking that would enhance potioneering."
"Got to admit it takes skill to turn mouldy bat wings, green mountain goat tongue and fish tears into chicken noodle soup." Harry prodded causing Neville to laugh.
Snape rolled his eyes "Impossible, you cretins the four hundred and seventy three ingredients, prepared and brewed following the six thousand intricate steps all come together to create the wholly unmagical, perfectly edible and delicious chicken noodle soup."
"But I don't even like chicken noodle soup." Neville whined.
Harry grinned "Not to worry Nev next week we will give Madam Greengrass's ten thousand step guide of turning dessert sand into drinkable water, a go."
"Oh that is some damn fine soup." Neville commented pushing aside the small cauldron.
Snape smiled pushing his own aside.
"So," Harry coughed wiping his mouth "I back it in something awful will occur to me and it will have to do with this Triwizard thing."
"Undoubtedly..." Snape sneered waving his wand and sending the remains of their nights work back to where they belonged.
Neville pulled out a selection of fruits from his pocket while Harry placed a pitcher of pumpkin cider on the table from his own.
Snape drew several glasses from his table and with deft hand peeled and squared the selection of appetising items.
It had become a sort of ritual of theirs, after their late night potion session to sit back and converse.
"I bet Ron twenty sickles that you will be fighting off a dragon." Neville noted "he says it has to be a Nundu this time around."
Snape sipped his cider before speaking "While I consider myself above such trivial matter the heads of house have a wager going along similar lines."
"Oh do tell." Harry chortled sliding a small cube of meat to Jasper who had slithered out of his sleeve and onto the table.
Snape smiled his deliberately smug grin he used during class " Filius thinks you will be attacked by a mass of harpies, utterly ridiculous. Pormona thinks something large like a troll or giant will show up and try to crush you. Minerva is of the opinion that a hydra will miraculously appear out of the great lake."
Harry winced "And may we ask have you deemed worthy to waste galleons on?"
The potions professor straightened himself. "A Sphinx."
Neville snorted cider out his nose and began coughing furiously.
"But we are nowhere near Egypt." Nym wrote in the diary.
She waited a moment for his reply to appear.
"I know right, all the others wagered on things likely to occur but he bet on a long shot and to bring a Sphinx to Hogwarts would take deliberate planning."
Nym nodded to herself "Yeah, you don't exactly walk down a corridor and find yourself in Egypt."
She paused again and saw his long fluid script appear. "He knows something I back it in..." Space "So how was your day?"
Nym sighed and began writing about her new post.
"The Goblet of Fire! Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Halloween night. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, The Triwizard Tournament has begun!"
Once the two other schools had arrived in mid-October and had assimilated well into the routines of Hogwarts (albeit with great showmanship). The announcement of the Goblet of Fire occurred.
It had been an exciting few weeks of watching who was brave enough to at least put their name into the goblet.
Many a means of bypassing the age ward had been employed.
Age potions being the most common. But since the ward read subjective age and not the physical age they failed spectacularly.
You couldn't ask another to put your name in as it would simply turn to ash and you could not use a spell to levitate your name across the barrier.
In fact the closest anybody came to cheating had been a first year Slytherin girl, who by using a long metal pole with a tapered spike at the end where she had attached her piece of parchment to.
She had simply walked into the great hall mid dinner on the eve of Halloween, in full view of everyone and entered her name by means of reaching over the age restriction line by means of the pole.
A round of applause had erupted and she was awarded twenty points by professor McGonagall when the Goblet had taken the piece of paper without turning it to ash.
However a moment later the Goblet had flared and a single leaf of paper floated out of it and into Dumbledore's hand.
"My dear it reads, congratulations on entering your name however while cunning and ingenious in nature, qualities needed to be a champion. You are too young. Better luck next time."
The girl had curtsied and walked out the hall without a further word.
Harry would keep an eye on that one.
