Warnings: Cursing, worldbuilding, politics

Chapter One

Hogwarts was never boring.

Khun had found that out when he'd been shunted here, rather than Beauxbatons or hell, Mahoutukoro even. Even Slytherin, noted as the most cunning and clever, had its utter idiots sometimes, and they made things exciting. Not that Khun was a shining example of good behavior, but he could at least pretend he had nothing to do with half of it. He worked to keep his nose clean in spirit at least. That had to count for something.

So it was very easy for him to say that he was not involved with whatever nonsense Xiaxia and Dan had done to the Great Hall doors at the end of last year. Nope, not him. He was crashing after OWLS. They had no proof. Professor Gustang could glare at him all he wanted, he wasn't gonna say a thing.

Besides, the ride up to the castle had been stormy and gloomy and an absolute disaster. He hated two things about Hogwarts: Slytherin politics (or any house politics for that matter) and their uniform cloaks lacking hoods. That felt like an obscene design flaw.

He settled down on his seat, casting drying charms on himself and pulling a comb from his pocket. He thanked Merlin that the ceiling above was just an illusion, or he'd have walked out.

Ran settled next to him, drenched like a drowned blue rat. Khun took pity on him and flicked a few drying charms on him if only so he didn't have to hear him grumble or try to electrocute himself dry. That was some humiliation that no one deserved. Ever.

"... Thanks."

Khun shrugged and didn't say a word. He wasn't going to get another one of those for at least another three months.

He passed him a spare comb and went back to fixing his own hair. Which nearly got ruined by a familiar, drenched arm trying to wrap around his shoulder. He dodged and Shibisu's hand nearly sprayed onto Ran. Lucky for all of them that didn't happen.

"Hey Khun!" Shibisu said cheerily, undeterred. "Looking posh as ever."

"That is the worst greeting I have ever heard," Khun allowed but nodded at him anyway. How they had become friends was basically very good bribery and Shibisu having more brain cells than most of his year. Also getting a break from Rak and his needless antics was a plus. "Go back to your table." Before the purebloods eat you.

"In a minute man, geez." Shibisu crossed his arms. "The teachers are super antsy this year. Did you hear anything?"

"Bits and pieces," Khun allowed. More than that but he'd never tell Shibisu. There were some surprises that needed to be experienced in person. Like everyone not knowing this. "They'll probably announce it tonight." He could guess why the whole thing made the teachers antsy, but now that he was looking at the staff table, Lero-ro and Quant looked irritated, Hansung almost seemed less smug than usual and…

"Oh god," he said before he could stop himself. "Professor Evankhell is smiling."

Shibisu and Ran followed his eyes and Shibisu paled. "I'm gonna go find Hatz and tell him to make me an urn."

"You're in love with his stupid clay pots."

"They have culture!"

Khun tried not to roll his eyes. "Just get out of here."

Shibisu huffed and fled to the Gryffindor table in a sprint. Thank god he was in his uniform because the last thing the school needed was eggplant tracksuit number 39 before the year even started.

Khun sat back down and waited, watching the rest of the hall fill up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Laure slouch in and slump sans blanket. It was probably to avoid the rain,, but damn he couldn't look any more miserable if he tried.

"Evening, Khun-ssi," greeted a voice as he turned to check that Shibisu was now back at the Hufflepuff table with Amigochaz. He quickly smoothed his face to a neutral expression. "Good summer?"

"... Rachel," Khun said after a while, turning to face the blond girl. He frowned a bit. "It wasn't bad. New robes?" He remembered her last set as second-hand, fraying at the edges and short at the sleeves, her new school tie a stark standout in comparison..

She smiled a bit, pressing a hand to her heart. "Yura got them for me."

"Fancy," he said dryly, trying not to consider vomiting. "How was your summer?"

He and Rachel played a horrible game of how much hate could they give each other politely every day. When they were the only ones in the same class that had an attempt at a brain cell they paired with each other out of sheer necessity. Everything else? A competition and Khun could confidently say he won them all.

"Weirdly quiet," she admitted after a while. "I hardly saw any of the others this time around, which meant it was peaceful, but there's nowhere to go out there."

"Hmm. Got all your homework done at least."

"Look, not all of us can get away with glaring Professor Hansung in the face during OWLs."

Aguero didn't even deign that with a response. Screw the head of Slytherin House.

He didn't even know why he disliked her, but his instincts on these things were, if not correct, often very close. It was something in her face, and how the few people who were loyal to her all seemed to lack something in some way. He remembered Apple dragging Michael off of him one day in Quidditch practice for grabbing the snitch or something. He couldn't remember what it was about now.

Still, they tolerated each other at most and that was enough for him. It was better than Hoaquin. He almost pitied those siblings.

Almost.

Ran grunted beside him. "Can they hurry up? It's cold in here."

"Almost everyone around you is drenched," Rachel reasoned, squeezing her ponytail out and making a puddle on the floor. Ran raised an eyebrow at her and then turned away. There was a brief flash of darkness in Rachel's face, but it fell away fast enough. Good. He didn't want to throw her across the room without proof it was definitely an accident.

The doors began to creak and Rachel hurried to a spot down the end of the table. Thank Merlin.

He settled in his seat and watched Professor Mazino lead the little first years in. They were already small, but they were practically minuscule behind Urek Mazino, one of the most terrifying Transfiguration masters in recent memory. He was grinning wide and a hair sharp like always. The great red hawk in him itched to soar above them and show the entire school his superiority and that they should be proud to have him as their professor. Sometimes Khun agreed. Otherwise he wanted to run away from too powerful hair ruffles. Weirdo.

He led the students to the dais where the familiar ratty form of the Sorting Hat resided on a stool. It was slumped over in the low awestruck sound of the room, waiting for the most dramatic moment to break into song like it was every year. The song was never boring at least.

"Did everyone after me go to Beauxbatons?" Ran grumbled, looking for blue hair and finding none.

"Everyone but me and you went to Beauxbatons in this group," Khun corrected without moving his mouth. "They think they're being neutral."

Ran let out a snort as finally Professor Mazino paused at the steps and waited.

Professor Jahad was there when Khun looked up at the staff table and had not been the last time he checked, but that was how their enigmatic headmaster behaved. Fingers in every pie, left the running of the school to Professor Gustang, etc etc. It was more of a surprise that he was here at all.

The hat opened its brim wide and began to sing:

"Long ago was a special time, when magic was unbound

And turned the world around.

Humans held it under lock and key

Its perils for all to see.

Four friends guided souls long departed

A task now left to me.

Will you be of Godric, great and strong

But blinded by his justice?

Will you be of Helga, kind and true

But lost to the tides of man?

Will you be of Rowena, wise and determined

But caught in folly and words?

Or will you be of Salazar, proud and clever

But eaten by fear and love?

I will tell you these things,

Plucked from your mind like fruit

But know I question every time

For discord grows unchecked

Hogwarts stands a bastion true

But rots with ivory graves.

The outside waits for welcome,

And our inside does not shine.

Oh children, do not falter

Open your arms wide.

Wherever you stand, however you shine,

The choice is yours, not mine!"

There was silence in the hall for a long time. Then the professors began to clap and students picked up scattered applause.

"It's a bit nuts," someone said down the table, who sounded like one of his dormmates. "There hasn't been a dark lord active in decades."

"I mean, there's that Luslec guy," someone else said. "He might be dead though. Too bad."

Khun muffled a snort as the first name was called. Gods did he wish he was with more creative people than this. Or at least people who could pretend they weren't interested in the bare minimum of dark arts. At least go all in, you cowards.

Still, that sounded like a warning of some kind. The hat wasn't exactly unknown for it, all the songs were in the library and you could chart magical Britain's history based on that alone. But he couldn't quite think of what could possibly merit a warning yet. The last actual acting Lord had been Phantaminum, and he was somewhere supposedly in Korea. Of course that didn't mean much. Was this year going to be that bad?

He clapped along as students were sorted, unbiased and ignoring the glares of dozens of sheep eyes.

Soon enough, it ended, which was good because he could hear Ran's stomach. They looked at their plates in anticipation.

Then a chair scraped back and the headmaster rose to his feet to speak. Khun caught Shibisu's wide eyed glance from across the hall, and shrugged his shoulders.

The man was tall. He dwarfed the back of the chair with ease, and his golden hair was a frightful mess of yellow. He looked down, literally and figuratively, on the whole room. Dressed in reds and clothes like old robes, it was clear he didn't give a single damn about the world around him and what they thought. But then, if you got a title of "Savior" of something, you could probably get away with it.

"Students of Hogwarts," he said in his steady and unflinching voice. "I'm afraid I'll have to keep you from your meal for just a bit longer."

Drama queen, Ran mouthed and Khun twitched his mouth.

"This year, due to extenuating circumstances, Hogwarts will be playing home to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, for the Triwizard Tournament."

The room rippled, except every rich person looked smugly at their friends, like see what you would know if you had money and status? Idiots.

Maschenny had been a fourth year when the last one happened and had come home on break singing of dragons nearly eating people's heads and a ball of idiots tripping over Veela. He really wondered about his sister sometimes. But still, she'd made it sound interesting at least. Still, he wouldn't turn seventeen until after the selection was done, so it was definitely not worth the concern. He didn't even think he'd like to join anyway. There was reckless gambling, and there was the Triwizard Tournament.

At least it'd be funny to watch people try to get in it.

"The chosen students and representatives from both schools have been patiently waiting to greet you," Jahad continued, ignoring the scattering whispers. "We will select from those who will be seventeen by Halloween, as is tradition, using the Goblet of Fire, much as the other schools have done. This year, you will dine, study, and reside with these students, exchanging information of culture and forming long-standing bonds. The winner of this tournament will receive one thousand Galleons, glory of the victors and a year's scholarship to the university of their choosing."

Khun had not heard that. A full year was more valuable than any galleons, it meant escape. It meant freedom, it meant a future for so many underprivileged students or something similar. Holy shit. Why give that prize now? He was sure it hadn't happened at the last one.

He glanced at Rachel and immediately looked away. She looked hungry.

"Now," Jahad said in that quiet, uninterested voice. "Please welcome the students of Beauxbatons and their headmistress, Garam Jahad."

Fucking nepotism. No one said it, but Khun could tell everyone who had gotten their head out of their ass saw it for what it was.

The doors creaked open and a woman with silver hair strode in. Despite the thinness of the overcoat and the soft greys and blues that were edging towards translucent due to the rain, she didn't even seem chilled. But then again, she was the only Jahad princess to stick it to their current headmaster and not die or go insane, so she had a clear ability to not give a damn.

Behind her trailed at least ten people, some of which he recognized. A young teen with silver hair and red eyes, a taller one with glasses and a goofy grin, a blond chubby fellow with yellow hair and purple eyes (sounded like Shibisu's penpal from last year), what looked like a Yeon of all people -

Khun sucked in a breath, but that was all.

Kiseia. And Maria. He cast a glance at Ran, whose face had paled. Oh this was going to be hell. Please let Maria not be the Champion. Please. He would never hear the end of it.

The last he recognized was a girl in heels, dressing in blue and flaunting the shortness of her skirt because she could. Her gold-orange eyes flicked around the room and then rested on Anak at the Gryffindor table.

"Headmaster," said Garam, interrupting the way Khun's heart was racing still. "May I present my students who qualified for the trip and my champion, Endorsi Jahad."

Jahad dipped his head, and reality slammed into Khun's head as Endorsi curtsied to him.

Jahad Princesses were an unofficial but highly competitive battle of adoptive children to seek their current headmaster's legitimate powers beyond his work running the school. They were to be his heir in every sense of the word and no one had succeeded in reaching the top for a multitude of reasons.

This explained so much about the song this year. This was going to be a Slytherin political nightmare. A former princess, a current competing princess, and another princess in Hogwarts. What else could show up here?

"I think we may need to consult that seppuku guy about urns," Ran said.

"I have taste," Aguero replied, but he was starting to regret having that.

The Beauxbatons students went to the Ravenclaw table and Endorsi sidled up to Laure, who actually opened his eyes for five whole seconds before closing them. They must be in an alternate timeline.

"And now," said their headmaster, watching the open doors with glimmering orange eyes. "Please welcome deputy headmaster Jinsung Ha and the students of Durmstrang."

Khun froze, blood chilling again. Only in Durmstrang was Jinsung Ha allowed anything. He made the competitions for a seat as a princess look like playing in a kiddie pool, for a muggle reference.

Though, that cheap perm of his did not sell him very well. He strode in, leading a good ten students or more into the room and he knew none of them on sight. All of them were dressed in red and black and with fur coats. Though there was an actual first year in there, which… did not make him feel good. But a pair was walking arm in arm in the middle of the group seemed to catch the most attention. On the right was a young woman with red hair and he heard about seven people whistle softly at the sight of her. Animals, he thought before he caught the eyes of the second.

Shit.

Long dark hair tied in a ponytail with… was that a wand, slightly taller, looking almost delicate in those robes... oh shit. Khun took a deep breath and let it out. He was not a person swayed by looks normally, he was better than that, but there was something interesting there. Something magnetic.

Ran nudged him, breaking his stare. He pointed and Khun followed his eyes to Rachel, who was milk white and was also looking at the long-haired newcomer. Like she had seen a ghost.

"Jahad," greeted Jinsung with all the cares of a man who was probably high and the sheer informality of it made Khun want to spit laughter. "May I present our students and our Champion, Jue Viole Grace."

What.

Jue Viole Grace was the name of someone who had survived a blood ritual as a child and went on to make the magic his own. Hunted for his life, rumors stated he was a genius with magic and had even held one of the Thirteen Month magical weapons and not died.

Jue Viole Grace released the redhead's arm and saluted once. "Sir," he said softly, somehow clear over the rumbling thunder.

Jahad's expression was unreadable and somehow, that was the most terrifying thing in the world. "Welcome, to all of you," he said quietly. "Come, sit and eat. It has been a long journey."

And he sat down, rather anticlimactically.

And then Durmstrang's students turned to the Slytherin table, almost as a mass.

Oh no, Khun thought. He could feel his sixth year spiraling quite out of control as he sat there.

A/N: You know I had to do at least one. This is for khunbamweek day 2!