"D-Don't give me that look."
Corvus Malfoy ignored those words and continued to smirk at his fellow classmate beside him. The very classmate who was shivering in her Beauxbatons robes, all finely made silk, and not at all appropriate for the weather that the Scottish Highlands had. It was damn cold, and no one had believed Corvus when he suggested that they bundle up.
"My dear Fleur, a better man would not say I told you so, but alas I am not a better man. I told you so."
The glare that he got was half hearted and didn't at all intimidate him as Fleur Delacour was actively shivering and Corvus was completely warm. Who knew a bear fur coat and some actual clothing would work so well? Madame Maxine was still speaking to Dumbledore about the horses and that was holding up the show. Corvus scanned the crowd of Hogwarts students who were all present at the entrance of the school, searching for two faces that he would recognize. Regrettable, he didn't spot them, but he was sure that they'd be inside more likely than not.
"W-Why is it so cold h-here?"
"This is the Scottish Highlands after all. Its also soon to be winter, so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some snow in the next couple of weeks." Oh, the way that Fleur's face dropped at that was almost comical.
"Why would anyone willingly go here?"
"British sense of bride." Corvus shrugged, watching as his fellow Beauxbatons students all desperately tried to warm themselves up as their Headmistress continued to talk with Dumbledore. "And not a smidge of bullheadedness. Something of which I lack, as I made the smart decision of not going to this dump."
That had truly been a struggle to get his parents to agree to. More so his father than his mother, as Lucius Malfoy still held to the belief that no future Lord Malfoy could attend any school other than Hogwarts. His mother, Narcissa Malfoy, had knocked some sense into the man after five years of Corvus saying that he'd be attending Beauxbatons. Corvus was still proud with himself that he'd been able to do it that easily.
"Your siblings go here, no?"
"Yep. It'll be good to see them again and… oh for god's sake just get in here already." Corvus opened his bear fur coat so that Fleur could share some of the warmth. Something that the French girl did with enthusiasm, snuggling into the warmth and hastily pulling it close.
Several of his classmates looked on enviously and Corvus simply shrugged. They should've taken his advice and worn actual clothes.
Finally, Madame Maxine finished her talk with Dumbledore and their group was moving into the school itself. There were only about a dozen in their little group, and all of them didn't even spare the Hogwarts' students a glance in their haste to get inside for warmth. Corvus took the opportunity to actually look on, and he found a certain boy with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead standing next to a red headed boy and a girl with not so bushy hair. Good to know that the Golden Trio was still around.
He spared them no more than a glance as he walked inside. He'd been here once before and now on returning, he found that it was less impressive. Even after all the cleaning that had certainly been done, the place wasn't as awe inspiring as it used to be. Though, that might have had to do with Beauxbatons just being a nicer looking school, and the fact that the weather was better in France added to it. This place was dreary and cold, and yet it was the height of British wizarding.
Oh, that didn't matter for now though as the group of Beauxbatons students made their way into the Great Hall, and Corvus spotted two blond haired students sitting at the Slytherin table. Of course, they wouldn't be outside greeting the visiting schools, but that was hardly out of the norm. Didn't want to look too desperate after all and Malfoy pride ran through all three of them.
Cassiopeia Malfoy watched as her twin brother's head whipped around at the sound of a very familiar accented voice.
"Draco! Cela faisait si longtemps que je n'avais pas pose les yeux sur toi!"
Before her brother could even react, an older boy wearing a bear fur coat over his Beauxbatons uniform landed on the bench next to him and had an arm wrapped around his shoulder. Their older brother had a full smile on his face and a twinkle in his grey eyes, his blond hair cut very short. Draco of course struggled in the embrace for a moment before simply sighing and letting it happen. He was also blushing slightly, and Cassiopeia stifled a giggle with her hand.
"Mon beau garçon... les années n'ont pas été gentiles."
Cassiopeia failed to keep her giggle in at that though. Draco looked utterly confused and that made her laugh even more. Oh, her brother must be regretting his choice to not keep up with his French studies. Cassiopeia, who had kept up her studies, knew exactly what their brother was saying, and by the knowing grin and the wink that Corvus was sending her, he knew that as well.
They didn't get to see their brother often, only during holidays when he could travel back to Britain from France. Corvus always brought something fun with him, gifts, or new magic to show off, and Cassiopeia didn't doubt that he had something special up his sleeve for this as well. It wasn't every year a Tri-Wizard Tournament happened.
When Corvus got a poke in his side did Cassiopeia realize that her older brother wasn't alone. There was a Beauxbatons girl right next to him and she was still partly in his bear fur coat. She had the uniform that the other Beauxbatons students had, all that thin blue silk, and that little scarf and muffler. The most striking thing about her though was just how… beautiful she was. Cassiopeia felt her mouth go dry all of a sudden and she couldn't look away from the other girl.
"Ah, its good to see you Draco." Corvus said and finally released Cassiopeia's twin from his embrace. "Cass, good to see you healthy and hale as well. Oh, and I should introduce you all to Fleur Delacour here, poor thing's forgotten her coat."
"Hello." The French girl, Fleur, said in accented English as she gave Corvus a halfhearted glare. She also snuggled into Corvus' warm coat again and Cassiopeia watched as Corvus simply opened his arm up to allow for more room, doing so almost unconsciously. How long had they been a thing? Were they even a thing? If they were a thing, mother was going to love this!
"It sems like they all forgot their coats." Draco said as he looked at the Beauxbatons students as they took seats at the Slytherin table. Corvus quirked an eyebrow at his fellow classmates, but other than that he didn't seem surprised. The other Hogwarts students were starting to come into the Great Hall now that it seemed that Durmstrang had arrived.
The Gryffindors were obviously giving the Slytherins somewhat dirty looks at having the French students sitting next to them, but Cassiopeia just ignored it all. It didn't really matter where the foreign students sat, they probably didn't even have the stupid house system that Hogwarts seemed to love so much. As if the color of one's tie and the animal that the house had represented one's personality and inclination for the rest of their lives.
Complete rubbish to Cassiopeia.
"Ah, the French are a stubborn people." Corvus said, his English accented with a French lilt. "Especially this one here."
"S'il ne faisait pas si froid, je t'enverrais un sort." Fleur said in French as she pulled at the bear fur coat. Cassiopeia grinned at the words. If it weren't so cold, I would hex you.
"Anyway, how's life at Hogwarts been going for you two. Are my favorite Slytherin and Ravenclaw still hanging in there?" Corvus asked.
"Everything's going fine Corvus." Cassiopeia said. "We're passing all of our classes and Draco's not even insulted Potter yet this year."
Draco shot her a betrayed look but that soon disappeared as Corvus' arm was once again around his shoulder.
"Good job reining it in Draco." Corvus said and gave Draco a quick peck on the cheek, much to the younger Malfoy's consternation. "No need to harass the little lightning boy any more than the press to do him. Daily Prophet do not like him one bit."
"You get the Daily Prophet in France?" Draco asked.
"They are an international paper Draco." Corvus said it as if Draco was an idiot for not realizing it.
"Are you going to put your name in for the tournament?" Cassiopeia asked. Knowing her older brother, he might do just that to give their father a stroke.
He flashed her a smile but didn't answer the question. Fleur and Draco also looked at him and received none either. Cassiopeia couldn't say if that was more Slytherin or Gryffindor of him. All she knew was that her brother was unpredictable, and his years in France wouldn't have toned that down, so Hogwarts was in for a storm.
Draco Malfoy didn't like to be surprised.
He was a Slytherin, and all Slytherins were supposed to be cunning and good with subtlety, so he should have seen any surprise come from a kilometer away.
Yet, he was utterly surprised when his brother had arrived at Hogwarts and hugged him. He was even more surprised at the French student glued to his brother's side, or more appropriately, his bear fur coat. Great-Great-Aunt Cassiopeia had gifted it to Corvus when he first enrolled into Beauxbatons, and it's been with him ever since. But that little fact wasn't surprising, the true surprise had come after the Durmstrang students had walked into the Great Hall.
It was only after all of the other Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students had taken their seats. Many had looked disappointed at the fact that the French students had chosen to sit at the Slytherin table, but Draco saw it more as they were just following Corvus' lead, and since Corvus had made a be-line for them, it was only natural. The Durmstrang students had gathered around the doorway to the Great Hall, waiting for their own Headmaster to accompany them.
Draco knew that Viktor Krum was among the Durmstrang students who had come for the tournament. What he didn't know was that his older brother already knew Viktor Krum. When the Durmstrang students entered the Great Hall in a rather unified group, Viktor Krum was the first to break from that group, and he did it at the sight of Draco's brother.
"Viktor!"
Draco hadn't even noticed when Corvus had stood from the Slytherin table and made his way towards the entrance of the Great Hall. He didn't notice how Fleur Delacour had also stood and accompanied Corvus. Draco could only watch with the rest of the quidditch fans who were at Hogwarts as Corvus Malfoy called out to the Seeker of the Bulgarian Quidditch Team as if they were friends.
"Corvus!"
Everyone watched with some amount of awe as Corvus Malfoy and Viktor Krum grasped each other by the hand and embraced, not a small amount of back slapping and hearty laughs given, smiles on their faces. Draco could faintly hear Cassiopeia snickering about his shocked state, but he couldn't quite care at the moment. He could only watch with everyone else as Viktor Krum, the best Seeker in the world, embraced his brother. The two of them then spoke some words that the rest of the Great Hall couldn't hear before Viktor gave a nod and then greeted Fleur Delacour.
Draco was still in that state of shock as the Durmstrang students took seats at the Ravenclaw table. He was still in shock as Headmaster Dumbledore arrived with the rest of the staff, including the two visiting Headmasters from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. He faintly noticed that the Beauxbatons students stood as their Headmistress arrived and only sat when she did.
He was only knocked out of his shock when Corvus snapped his fingers in front of his face.
"Only longer and that look might just become permanent." Corvus said, a grin on his face.
"You know Viktor Krum?!" Draco hissed out as he came back to reality.
"Of course." Corvus simply shrugged, and Draco felt the table shift a little as Gregory Goyle dropped his head to the wood, the boy having fainted. "We took a trip to Bulgaria one year and I had the opportunity to meet him. We hit it off."
"That might be an understatement." Cassiopeia said. The Headmaster was speaking in the background, but Draco couldn't care less for what the man was saying, for he had just been hit with too much information, and he didn't know how to feel about it.
"You could have told me you knew him! I could have met him too!" Draco said.
"Well, I didn't want to throw his game off for the World Cup, and since we're all here you can still meet him." Corvus said. "He might even come for the Yule Ball this year."
Draco was sure he would have fallen out of his seat if not for Theodore Nott's shoulder, the other Slytherin looked shocked as well, but not as much as Draco was. Viktor Krum, at the Malfoy Manor, talking about his quidditch experience. Oh, Morgana and Circe, was this a dream?
"Do you know who that bloke is?"
Harry Potter looked towards the Slytherin table and at the Beauxbatons student that Ron was pointing at. The student in question had short blond hair and silver colored eyes, a large bear fur coat draped over his shoulders, and was sitting next to the Malfoy twins. He had also greeted Viktor Krum like they were close friends!
"I don't mate." Harry said with a shrug, still a little shocked at it all. That mystery student who had greeting the Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker also had what Harry would say was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen nearly glued to his side, or most specifically the bear fur coat. That damn thing stood out like a sore thumb amongst the black robes of the Hogwarts students and the blue silk of the Beauxbatons students.
"Hermione?"
"I don't recognize him either Ron." Hermione said, not even looking at the Slytherin table, instead more focused on the Dumbledore's speech about the tournament.
"Why does he look so familiar?" Ron wondered.
"Because that's the Malfoy twins' older brother." Neville Longbottom said.
"Old brother?!" Harry and Ron exclaimed in unison. It was a little too loud and they got some odd looks in response.
"Did you guys not know about him?" Neville asked.
"I think that's rather obvious Neville." Hermione said. "Going off of the looks on their faces. I am a little surprised that the Malfoy twins have an older brother who doesn't go to Hogwarts though."
"It looks like he's with the Frenchies." Seamus Finnigan said. "He's got the blue robes and everything."
"How come Malfoy never said anything about that?" Harry asked more to himself than to the others. Malfoy had always been a right pain in the arse and not once did he mention an older brother. Neither of the Malfoy twins had.
"It probably wasn't important enough to bring up." Neville shrugged. "Though I can't imagine why."
"Clearly this is a more personal situation than we know or should know for that matter." Hermione said.
"But he knows Viktor Krum!" Ron said.
"Malfoy's older brother knows Viktor Krum like I know Ron, Hermione." Harry said. "How's that not at all shocking?"
"You two put too much into quidditch." Hermione said.
The three of them didn't notice Dumbledore had finished speaking until the food appeared in front of them. Harry noted that there were several dishes that weren't normally present. It seemed that the house-elves in the kitchens were going all out for Hogwarts' guests.
"How could you not care about quidditch?" Ron said as he started to put food onto his plate. "You were at the World Cup with us."
"Yes, and it was no different than to quidditch games here, just a lot louder." Hermione said.
"Can you believe her?" Ron asked as he leaned over to Harry.
Harry simply shrugged. Hermione hadn't come around to quidditch yet, and it seemed like she wouldn't any time in the future. It was a losing battle to try and get her interested in the sport. Besides Hermione's lack of interest in quidditch and Viktor Krum, the meal went as normally as it usually did. There were some interesting food choices around, and that was especially prominent in the… interesting looking French dishes, but Harry tried them anyway. It wasn't everyday they had visitors from France. There were also some Bulgarian foods about, and Harry noted that Ron nodded his head as he tried some of it.
"Do you know why Malfoy's older brother doesn't go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked Neville, who seemed to know more about the situation than anyone else.
"Not really. I just know that he goes to Beauxbatons." Neville shrugged.
"Maybe he's there for the girls." Dean Thomas added. "Seems like it's working to."
They all looked over towards the Slytherin table and quickly found the older Malfoy in his bear fur coat. There was that very pretty Beauxbatons girl sitting next to him and on the other side was Draco Malfoy. Cassiopeia Malfoy's back was facing them, but her silver blond hair was unmistakably Malfoy in coloring. It was also obvious as Cassiopeia was one of the only Ravenclaw students who regularly sat at the Slytherin table. All four of them seemed to be speaking and laughing about something.
"You think they're together?" Ron asked. Harry's best friend was blushing slightly.
"I'd bet galleons on it." Fred Weasley called from his spot.
"I wouldn't be surprised either." George Weasley followed up. "Very pretty for a Malfoy."
Lee Jordan chocked on his food and while several others looked towards the Weasley twins, Harry Potter remained focused on the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy had an older brother who was apparently a Beauxbatons student. The guy was an unknown, and everyone seemed to have forgotten that the even existed, but here he was now.
This Tri-Wizard Tournament was turning out to be more interesting than he first thought.
"I know that look."
"Oh? And what look am I giving you?"
Fleur Delacour watched as Corvus rolled his eyes. The dinner in that poor excuse for a Great Hall was over and they were back inside the carriage. The food hadn't been great, but the house-elves had made an effort, and some of it wasn't half bad.
"You're trying to look as if you don't have some plan in the works." Corvus wasn't even looking away from the book in his hands.
"Have I become so predictable?" Fleur asked as she snuggled up to him. The carriage may have been charmed to remain warm in this frigid Scottish weather, but Corvus always ran hot like a furnace, and the veela in her needed the contact and the warmth.
"Everyone on this little trip wants to throw their name into that goblet." Corvus said, turning the page of his book with a flick of his finger. "Everyone wants to enter themselves into that tournament and win fame, willing to risk bodily harm for it as well, and you never were good at letting anyone else have the spotlight."
Fleur pouted at that, not that Corvus saw it. Maybe she did have a liking to the spotlight and the attention, but who wouldn't? She knew she was beautiful, being a quarter veela just added to that, and she was a skilled witch as well. The Delacour name held weight in France, and everyone respected her father. She was always in some amount of spotlight. This tournament would allow for her to stand out and gain her own fame.
"Its dangerous Fleur. People have died in the past, and knowing Hogwarts, someone is most likely going to die in this tournament as well." Corvus continued.
"You have nothing to fear for me." Fleur said. "And Viktor can handle his own."
"Speaking as if you and Viktor are already the champions?"
"Who else would be? You aren't planning to put your name in, are you?"
Corvus didn't answer, but he was clearly thinking. Fleur could almost see the gears turning in his head. She knew that Corvus was a good wizard, he held top marks in nearly all of their classes, but he also didn't go out of his way to show off. He had a love for flying, but didn't play on the quidditch team, much to Etienne's consternation. He had convinced his own British parents to let him attend a French school, he had known from a young age that it was what he wanted to do, and it worked out so far.
If Corvus put his name in, Fleur didn't doubt that he would be chosen. She didn't know if she wanted that to happen or not.
"I don't want to see you get hurt Fleur, and if you put your name in, you may very well."
"Oh, so you do care for me." Fleur smirked as she pulled the book out of Corvus' hands, making his page before setting it aside. "So very protective, aren't you?" She moved so that she was straddling his lap and Corvus simply looked up at her with a somewhat bemused grin.
"Is this really how you intend to spend your first night in Great Britain?"
"Why of course."
Fleur silenced any reply he might have with her lips. She felt Corvus chuckle and grin against her lips and one hand came up to her waist while the other moved through her long blond hair. She didn't have to use the veela allure on Corvus to get him going, and he was always mysteriously resistant to it, but that just made it all the more enjoyable.
If nothing else came out of this trip to the Scottish Highlands, she'd get so spend more time with Corvus as well as meet his family. So, it wasn't all that bad.