V. THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
Upon arriving at Hogsmeade Station, Sirona, Roger and Caroline rushed towards the black carriages, the lanterns on them swaying as the wind and rain picked up. Roger was just about to close the little wooden door behind them when it was yanked back open.
"No, absolutely not!" Roger exclaimed as the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan forced their way into the carriage. "There's no room for all three of you as well!"
George ran a hand through his dripping hair as he and Lee sat on either side of Caroline, having to squeeze onto the small bench seat.
"Well, I think it's cosy," he said. "Besides, we had to come keep our two favourite Ravenclaws company — and you as well, I suppose."
Roger frowned at this, and the carriage started to move before any more protests could be made. It was a cramped ride up to the castle as Sirona ended up sandwiched between Fred and Roger. She twisted her black hair, wringing the water from it and watching it hit the wooden floor. Fred stretched his arms — though, there really wasn't enough room to be doing such — and rested an arm on the back of the bench, wedging his hand between Roger's and Sirona's shoulders, pushing Roger just a smidge closer to the side of the carriage. Sirona bit back a small giggle at Roger's scowling face.
"Fancy meeting you here," Fred said to Sirona with a grin as though they hadn't purposefully entered their carriage by force. Sirona narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"What do you want?"
Fred gasped dramatically, placing his other hand to his chest.
"I'm hurt. Why is it that you think I want something?"
"Do you not?" she said, her eyebrows raising in an amused manner. "I have three little sisters; I'm quite good at figuring out when someone wants something from me. Spit it out."
"As a prefect and someone proficient enough in Potions to halfway impress Snape, you could theoretically gain access to Snape's personal stores, yes?"
"Theoretically," she said, tilting her head to the side.
"So, if I happened to have a list of ingredients that I needed to procure — things one wouldn't find so easily in a standard Hogwarts' potion-making kit — you might be able to obtain said items?"
"What's in it for me if I do?" Sirona asked, and Fred's mouth fell into an overexaggerated pout.
"All the favours I've done for you, and you won't do one for me without something in return? I thought we were friends, but now you've stooped to exploitation. Isn't that against some sort of prefect honour code?" he asked, flicking the little badge on her robes.
"I'm sorry, who's exploiting whom?" Sirona said, letting out a disbelieving laugh. "Besides, any and all favours for you go against the prefect honour code."
"It's not just for me; it's for George too."
"Well, I shall be needing twice the reward then," she quipped.
"You're supposed to talk her down, not up," George said.
"What d'you even need me for anyway? Sneak off to Hogsmeade and buy your own ingredients with all that money you won from Bagman," she said. Fred bristled at her words, clearly angry about something Sirona was not privy to.
"Will you help us or not?" he asked in a clipped, impatient tone, causing Sirona to raise a brow as she scowled at him.
"Oi, Weasley, watch the attitude," Caroline told him. "That's my best friend you're talking to, that is."
"Yeah, it's not her fault, Fred," George said, and Fred sighed, slouching in his seat. Sirona's scowl softened a bit at the semi-defeated look on his face.
"Talk to me about it all later," she said, getting the hint that they didn't want to talk about whatever it was in front of her friends, "and then I'll let you know."
"You're an absolute pushover," Roger said, rolling his eyes. Fred frowned and lifted his hand that had been resting on Sirona's shoulder to flick Roger hard on the ear.
"If I'm not allowed to talk to her that way, then you most certainly aren't, Davies."
"Oh, be quiet, the pair of ya," Sirona said, lightly elbowing Fred in his ribs.
When the carriage came to a halt, the six of them jumped out of the little door and ran up to the castle, the sound of their shoes tapping up the stone was almost drowned out by the rain and howling wind. Once inside the castle, Sirona did her best to wring out the bottoms of her robes, but she was still dripping droplets of water onto the castle floor just like the rest of the students as they entered the Great Hall.
They all heard McGonagall's cry of "PEEVES!" causing them to turn and look, but none of them moved back to the entrance hall. Though she was curious and was technically obligated to help out the teaching staff due to her prefect status, Sirona just wanted to sit down and start drying off; besides, like Roger, she didn't believe prefect duties should start until classes did.
The three Ravenclaws went one way, and the three Gryffindors went the other. Sirona walked between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, trying to find an opening for her and her friends while also discreetly looking for Cissonia — a force of habit from being a big sister that she hadn't seemed to shake yet. She caught sight of the blonde-haired girl as she spoke excitedly with her friends. Sirona smiled before pulling her attention back to the Ravenclaw table as Caroline found them a seat near the middle. As they sat down, Roger shook his head, water flying off the tips of his hair like a wet dog. Sirona and Caroline both shielded themselves as he laughed at them.
"You're already drenched. What does it matter?" he asked as Caroline started to fuss at him, causing one of their ever-so-common arguments, which Sirona typically tried to stay out of.
Sirona leaned her elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand, her face upturned to look at the hundreds of floating candles above them. Above those was the enchanted ceiling, and though Sirona knew it was meant to reflect the sky outside, she couldn't ever remember it looking quite this stormy as dark clouds swirled around it ominously. Still, she didn't think on it for too long as her eyes danced around the Hall, skimming for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and not finding them anywhere.
Odd, Sirona thought as she scanned the staff table once more. She turned to her friends to ask their opinions on the matter, but they had somehow landed themselves on the topic of Quidditch.
"It's the most beloved sport of the magical world!" Roger was saying, disbelief in his voice over whatever Caroline had said to him. "One point six million witches and wizards can't be wrong!"
"I'm only saying that I don't fancy it as the best sport out there," Caroline defended. "Besides, that's not even an accurate number. Secrecy laws in many countries prevent us from knowing the actual population of the magical community around the world, so that number is probably nowhere close to accurate. Besides, there are plenty of countries without a national Quidditch league, so perhaps it isn't the most beloved sport in the magical world but only the most mainstream."
"Most mainstream, most beloved, same difference!"
"It most certainly is not!"
Sirona rolled her eyes, figuring that it wasn't worth it to ask them a question and risk being dragged into the frivolous disagreement. Caroline and Roger often butted heads, and Sirona felt certain that if it hadn't been for her, the two would have hardly spoken to each other over their years at the school.
The two finally stopped their bickering as the doorway of the Great Hall was suddenly filled with a long line of first years, following Professor McGonagall. The poor students had been drenched to the bone and were shaking. Sirona immediately scanned the line for her sisters, her eyes only landing briefly on the small boy who seemed to be draped in the groundskeeper's giant moleskin overcoat. The Bordeaux twins were behind said boy, whispering to themselves excitedly, not caring about the rain and the cold. Though, Damara looked to be doing most of the talking, per usual.
"Merlin, there's no way you can't claim them as sisters, is there?" Roger said, spotting the twins. "Spitting image."
All of the Bordeaux children took after their mother, with their sharp, angular faces, so it would be easy to put them all in a crowd and have a stranger pick them out going off of facial features alone. The twins had dark hair like Saegon and Sirona, so the similarities were even more striking between them, but Cissonia and Zacharus both had lighter hair. Cissonia had gotten her hazel eyes from her father, and Zacharus had green like Gus. The twins had been the only Bordeaux children to receive their mother's sparkling blue eyes.
"They radiate chaotic energy," Caroline said, causing Sirona to smile as Roger rolled his eyes.
"Are you still pretending you can read energies? What a bunch of horse manure."
"Well, you're half-right," Sirona said. "Damara's the chaotic one; Damona's more subdued."
Caroline gave Roger a cheeky grin as though Sirona's semi-confirmation had proven her mystical abilities. He shook his head as Professor McGonagall placed a three-legged stool in front of the first years; Sirona looked at the old, patched wizard's hat that sat atop it and grinned, remembering her own Sorting. She'd been so nervous back then. As the Sorting Hat began its song, Caroline closed her eyes and took a deep, dramatic breath.
"I'm sensing that they'll be in separate houses," she said in a whimsical voice.
"I'm sensing that you're an idiot," Roger retorted.
Sirona waved them both off with her hand, motioning for them to be quiet so that she could watch the Sorting in peace. Once the hat finished up, McGonagall began unrolling her scroll and calling out names alphabetically. After Dennis Creevey, the boy who'd been swallowed whole by Hagrid's coat, was Sorted into Gryffindor, it was finally the twins' turn.
"Cromwell-Bordeaux, Damara!"
Sirona watched as the eldest twin walked up to the stool in a self-assured manner, grabbing up the Sorting Hat and cramming it on her head without hesitation. Damara had always been a very impatient person, and all summer she'd been trying to figure out which house she would end up in. Now, she was finally getting her answer.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Now there's been a Bordeaux for every house," Roger said as Sirona smiled as she watched her little sister walk excitedly to the Gryffindor table; the Weasley twins were clapping and cheering especially loud as Damara was welcomed with open arms to the table, and Sirona had to stop herself from thinking about all the trouble Damara might get in under Fred and George's tutelage because Damona's turn had arrived.
"Cromwell-Bordeaux, Damona!"
Damona was more cautious as she approached the stool, picking the hat up and holding it at arms' length as she sat down as though it might shout out her house before she even put it on. She lifted it to her head and dropped it, the brim covering her eyes. The Sorting Hat took just a bit longer than it had with Damara, but it finally shouted,
"RAVENCLAW!"
Sirona jumped to her feet and cheered in a manner that put the Weasley twins to shame. She, Saegon and Cissonia often quarrelled over which house was superior. None of them truly believed in all of that "this house is better than that house" crap, but it arose out of sibling rivalry, and Sirona was certain that she'd finally won that battle. After all, Ravenclaw had now raked in a total of two Bordeaux children, whereas the other houses only had one.
Sirona could already hear Saegon's voice in the back of her head, "That doesn't prove anything!" And maybe that was right, but she was still going to write him a letter about it, rubbing it in his face as soon as she got to her dorm that night. For now, she settled for welcoming her sister to the Ravenclaw table, making Caroline slide over so that Damona could sit beside her.
"Welcome, little eagle," Caroline said happily, extending her hand to the younger Bordeaux. Damona managed a small smile, shaking Caroline's hand a little timidly.
"As the second Ravenclaw of the family, you are now obligated to tell Saegon and Cissonia how much better our house is than theirs," Sirona told her sister in a faux serious tone. "Damara as well. House loyalty trumps twin loyalty."
Damona quirked a brow.
"Says who?"
"Your prefect, that's who," Sirona said, shooting her a grin.
"I told you, didn't I?" Caroline said. "I said that I sensed that they'd be in different houses, and look at what's happened!"
"That doesn't prove anything!" Roger exclaimed. "Sirona's only told us all about them for years now. It doesn't take an expert to know that they've got differing personalities!"
Sirona rolled her eyes as the bickering started back up between her friends.
"Rule number one when picking your friends, Mona, pick ones that don't hate each other, or you'll be listening to this for the next seven years," she told her sister, who only smiled.
"We don't hate each other," Roger said, sounding offended at the accusation.
"Just because we don't agree on every little thing doesn't mean we're not good friends!" Caroline added.
"You agree on nothing," Sirona exclaimed.
"That's not true," Roger said dismissively.
"Name one thing you've ever agreed on," Sirona prodded.
"We seem to agree on whenever you're being a right —" Caroline looked down at Damona and clamped her hands over the younger witch's ears "—bitch." She removed her hands from Damona's ears as Sirona scoffed and Roger chuckled.
"A point well made," he said.
"Did she cover my ears just to say 'bitch'?" Damona asked, causing Sirona to smile.
"Yeah, all those words have been used before at the Bordeaux residence, so no need to hide anything here."
Damona smiled, remembering something she found particularly funny.
"Zach called Gus 'cunt' the other day," she said.
"I've told you that that's not funny, and you're lucky I don't know which one of you buggers taught him that word," Sirona scolded, but Damona just rolled her eyes.
"It was kinda funny," she pressed, giving Sirona a knowing look that told the older girl that she knew exactly how funny she'd found it. Apparently, Sirona hadn't hidden the laughter in her voice well enough when she'd scolded them all the first time.
After a kid name Kevin Whitby was sorted into Hufflepuff, the Sorting Hat was whisked away, and Dumbledore rose from his seat.
"I have only two words to say to you: Tuck in."
"Finally," Roger said, picking up a fork as the golden plates before them filled with food.
The four of them piled their plates with food, eating and talking as the storm outside the walls of the castle raged on, lighting the enchanted ceiling up with streaks of lightning as the windows rattled from the booming thunder. Once everyone had had their fill — Sirona patted her stomach a little in remorse; she always went overboard on the Start of Term Feast — Dumbledore rose to his feet once more.
Sirona only half-heartedly listened to the beginning of his speech. She normally only paid much attention to whoever the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was.
"Mara's packed almost all of those things," Damona said as Dumbledore rattled off the addendums to Filch's ever-growing list of forbidden objects.
"Of course she has," Sirona said, sighing a bit.
"Technically, if she finds a place to keep them that's outside the castle, she wouldn't be breaking any rules. He only said they were forbidden inside the castle, not the grounds," Damona said thoughtfully.
"What did I say about finding loopholes for her?" Sirona scolded.
"Well, someone's got to," Damona complained. "How else is she supposed to stay out of trouble?"
Sirona was about to open her mouth to respond, but she caught the second half of Dumbledore's current sentence.
"—Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."
"Excuse me?!" Sirona said loudly as Roger gasped, too shocked to form words.
"This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy — but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts—"
Sirona was about to complain about how no one cared about whatever lousy event the school was forcing on them — they couldn't take Quidditch away — however, around that time, the doors of the Great Hall banged open, coinciding with a particularly loud bit of thunder. She would have thought the storm had somehow managed to blow open the doors had it not been for the man standing in the entrance.
The stranger limped down the Great Hall towards the teachers' table as everyone watched curiously. He face was heavily scarred and mangled, and Sirona had a difficult time looking away from the big, electric blue prosthetic eye that seemed to be whirling in all different directions, completely independent of the man's other eye. He walked right up to Dumbledore, who seemed rather unfazed by this interruption, and shook the headmaster's hand as they exchanged words.
Dumbledore motioned for the man to sit at the empty chair at the teachers' table, and the man did just that, pulling a plate of sausages towards himself and inspecting them before beginning to eat as though he hadn't just waltzed into the castle unannounced.
"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody," Dumbledore said by way of explanation.
The only applause came from the groundskeeper and Dumbledore himself. Everyone else just stared on at the man silently. This didn't seem to bother Moody as he pulled a flask from his cloak and drank from it.
Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain the students' attention.
"As I was saying, we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
Caroline's eyes snapped from Moody back to Dumbledore in a heartbeat.
"The what?" she exclaimed at the same time Fred Weasley's voice sounded off from the Gryffindor table, "You're JOKING!"
Almost everyone laughed at the outburst, including Sirona and Roger, but Caroline remained too transfixed on the announcement.
"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley; though, now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer . . ."
Caroline groaned.
"Oh, get on with it, old man," she said under her breath, and she didn't have to wait long because McGonagall cleared her throat in an attempt to get the headmaster back on track.
Sirona listened carefully as Dumbledore explained the Triwizard Tournament for those students who had never heard of it. Growing up in an all-wizarding family, Sirona was already privy to this competition. According to her mother, they had a great-great-great uncle in their family that had been chosen to participate as a Beauxbâtons champion before it was discontinued; he hadn't won his tournament, but he had also not died, which seemed to be something the Bordeaux family was extremely proud of according to Sirona's mother.
"This is amazing," Caroline said as she hung on Dumbledore's every word about how the tournament was being reinstated. "Can you imagine competing in something so grand?"
"This is grand and all, really," Roger said, "but they can't just cancel Quidditch."
"Oh, shut up, Rodge," Caroline quipped.
"The heads of Beauxbâtons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."
"A thousand Galleons," Caroline repeated in a somewhat dreamy voice. "Well, I've got to enter now, haven't I?"
Roger shot her an incredulous look.
"You won't play Quidditch, but you'll enter the Triwizard Tournament?" Roger asked.
"I don't not play Quidditch because I'm bad at sports and physical exertion," Caroline bristled. "I just think it's boring is all."
Roger opened his mouth to argue, but Sirona waved a hand at him, shushing him so that she could listen to Dumbledore. It seemed as though the school and the Ministry were imposing an age restriction, and only those that had turned seventeen would be allowed to enter. While that excluded her and Roger, whose birthdays were both during the second half of the school year, it did not exclude Caroline, who would be turning seventeen at the end of the month. Sirona looked over at her friend, who now had a determined look on her face, one which worried Sirona immensely.
"The delegations from Beauxbâtons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"
People scrambled to their feet as they made to exit the Great Hall, eager to get to their dormitories. Luckily for Sirona and Roger, the new fifth year prefects had been tasked with the duty of escorting the newest students to the common room, though Damona still stuck close to her sister. As they climbed the staircases up to Ravenclaw Tower, Caroline seemed unable to stop talking about the upcoming tournament. Sirona and Roger exchanged concerned glances between themselves.
"You're, like, actually serious about this?" Roger asked. "You're really going to try and enter?"
"Well, why shouldn't I?" Caroline asked. "I'm just as good an option than anyone else from Hogwarts."
"I'm not saying you aren't," Roger countered. "It's just dangerous is all."
"Yeah, Care," Sirona added. "People have died, a lot of people in fact, so many people that they stopped it all together."
"You're a bunch of hypocrites. You both play Quidditch, and loads of people have died playing that," Caroline pointed out.
"Not at Hogwarts," Roger said, though after thinking on it for a second, he added, "that I've ever personally heard of." The addendum was probably for the best as, given the school's age, Sirona was almost certain that someone at some point had in fact died playing Quidditch at Hogwarts.
"It's sweet of you to worry, Rodge, but you heard Dumbledore; it's supposed to be safe now or whatever," Caroline said dismissively. "Besides, could you imagine the look on my father's face if I entered the tournament and actually won? Now, that'd be something I'd like to see."
Roger rolled his eyes and Sirona sighed. Caroline was the youngest of the three Becker children. Her older sisters had both been very successful during their time at Hogwarts and afterwards as well. Caroline, who was more laid back than her older sisters, was often reprimanded by her father, who liked to compare her to her sisters. Sirona didn't think that this was especially fair; Caroline was brilliant. Sure, she had some issues with things she didn't find particularly useful (i.e. History and Astronomy), but she was smart, and Sirona had no doubt that Caroline could do whatever she set her mind to.
As they entered the Ravenclaw common room, they were greeted by the familiar sight of the domed, starry ceiling and the arched windows. Sirona heard a tiny gasp from Damona, who was looking at the many books that lined the walls of the niche in which the marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw resided.
"Do try not to read them all your first year," Sirona advised her little sister in a teasing manner.
"Well, I'm absolutely exhausted," Roger said after a rather large yawn. "See you at breakfast tomorrow. Goodnight."
"'Night, Rodge," Sirona and Caroline said in unison before deciding to head up to their own dormitories.
As they passed the first year dorm, Sirona said goodbye to her sister, who seemed nervous to open the door.
"You'll be fine," Sirona assured her. "Just be yourself, and you'll make friends in no time. I promise."
When they finally made it to their own dorm, they quickly got themselves ready for bed, and Sirona fell onto her mattress, curling up under the covers as she yawned sleepily.
"'S' good to be back," Sirona muttered as she closed her eyes, and Caroline gave a noise of agreement as she settled into her own bed.