A/N Please Read: And here we are People! New Chapter of The Merlin's Cup! Sorry guys I have to change back to the Two weeks schedule which means two chapters in a month. This will be until the end of this year, I will move to Chapter per week in January!

Guest: No Hermione is not Part of the Harem.

Galagon17: I will try my best to return to that as soon as possible

Narutotheunchained: Thanks Man here you go!

This is going to be a long Story that will introduce new characters and expand the Wizarding World! To those who came here after reading Griffin's Prophecy, the interlude story by the name of The Summer of 1995 is there and has some important stuff hence I recommend reading it.

This chapter is Betaed by Dbaker02 and Toasty Gentleman

Other Schools arrive at Hogwarts!

"Dialogue"

"Dialogues in Different language"

'Thoughts'

(Visions)

*Dreams*

{Written Letter}

{Spell Casting!}

Now without any more meaningless drabble! On to the Chapter!


⨳⨳※※※~First Day With Guests~※※※⨳⨳


Hogwarts, Oct 2nd, 5:00 AM

The next morning, Harry woke up to find that he was sleeping between Daphne and Susan, with his arms wrapped around both their waists. At least that's what he thought until he left something soft in the palm of his hand that was wrapped around Susan. He gave it a squeeze, which got him a throaty moan from the sleeping redhead.

His still-half-asleep brain was so taken with the sensation that he played with the soft fleshy round object in his palm for a few minutes, savoring the softness and firmness until the redhead groaned, "No, Harry, it's too early to play..." as she nuzzled into his chest.

This brought his brain to full alertness as he finally realized that for the last few minutes he was playing with Susan's tit! But unlike before, he wasn't opposed to it or ashamed of where his hands were, so being a gentleman, he retrieved his hand.

He smiled and kissed the crimson-haired witch's crown hair before doing the same for the blond witch on his other arm before he slowly and carefully extracted his hands from under both his fiancees as he got out of bed to do his morning ablutions.

After 20 minutes, dressed in his workout clothes, he saw his fiancé cuddling together on the bed. The scene brought a smile to his face as he left the room as silently as possible.

After a few minutes of stretching, he started his first lap around the lake. He started with a slow pace to conserve his energy, which he learned during the summer. Just as he was ending his lap he saw the American champion sitting on the ground with his head in his hand

"Hey, good morning," he said, stopping as he got closer.

Steve grunted, "How the hell are you so chipper this early in the morning!? And please don't talk so loudly." The hangover is a bitch! falling back on the lawn.

Harry answered with a smile on his face, "I am used to waking up early and you should take the hangover potion it will right you up in a minute"

"Why didn't I think of that?" Steve let his hand fall beside him as he wondered to himself before slowly getting on his feet, adding, "Anyway, I am here, might as well get done with my workout," moving his head side to side.

Harry shrugged, "Sure that can clear your head too" as they both started jogging.

"So did you enjoy the party last night ?" He asked

Steve shrugged, "Yeah, but not more than a girlfriend. She loves to dance. Other than that, we drank till lights out, so yeah, it was a fun night in my books. What about you?" He looked at his companion.

"It was fun," he replied, adding with a grin on his face, "I danced with other female champions and made good friends with them. I introduced them to my favorite drinks and foods they did same in return, I didn't step on their toes so I guess it was a good night"

Steve chuckled, "Yeah, that sounds good, better than me. I had to put up with Becca and Miller's bickering all night long. It just got worse when they got drunk. I have never been more grateful to have Emily by my side than last night."

Harry smiled, asking, "So how long have you been together?" He continued, " You and Emily."

Steve got a blissful smile as he reminisced, "Oh, since our 5th year, but we were friends from the first year." Well, she was friends with my sister first, but soon we became a group of three, and then Caleb joined. I fell for her in our 3rd year, but it took me two years to work up the courage to ask her out. asking, "What about you, someone special in your life?"

Harry shook his head, saying, "Oh no, I haven't had time to think about all that, so no." He didn't like lying, but he understood the need to keep his private life just that private.

Steve gave him a stunned look before commenting, "I really thought you were with someone, but I guess I was wrong." He stopped, "I am done for today, all the way." Allol is making me sluggish. I will see you later, bye man, "as he took off in the direction of the castle.

Harry completed his run and made his way back to the castle to join the ROR for the rest of his workout and sword training. After reaching the, he walked back and forth three times, which was now a routine. Entering the room he took out, he looked around and saw a dummy in the straw grass covered with cloth. He made his way towards the dummy and started with his daily training.

After about an hour and a half, he made his way back to his room, covered in sweat from head to toe. He was eye candy for every female that he passed by in the halls.

After making his way down to the Grand Hall, he made his way to the Gryffindor/Koldovstoretz/Castleobruxo table, greeting his friends, saying "Hey, Good morning!" as he sat beside Neville.

All three of them greeted him back before he turned to Neville, asking, "So Mate, had fun last night?" which earned him a blushed nod from the boy beside him, which made him chuckle.

Across him He admonished him, "Leave him alone, Harry; he is clearly tired from last night's activities," which caused Neville to flush and try to hide his face behind his head on the table, which caused the other three to laugh.

At the head table, Dumbledore stood up from his throne chair in the middle and made his way to the podium. As he spoke, the hall went silent as everyone was paying attention to him.

"Good morning, everyone! Before we start our day with breakfast, I would like to make some announcements. I would like to inform the champions and teams that the schedule of all the events will be attached on the board outside, along with the practice schedule of quidditch teams for the use of the quidditch pitch. The wand-waving ceremony will take place on the 6th, and the first event will be the Dueling Tournament, followed by the start of the Quidditch tournament on the 10th. This once again gained thunderous applause from the hall. "

The FIRST task will take place on the 31st. Thank you. That's all for now. Good day." before he made his way back to his throne chair.

On the Gryffindor table Harry groaned. "Great, it seems we have a very busy day ahead of us."

Across him Daphne rolled her eyes. "Calm down, you don't know who is going to face whom!" So don't waste your time worrying about it, just eat and relax."

Harry nodded. "Yeah you are right it may not be us but I still think we should increase our practice time."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "That's not a bad idea, but you should keep in mind not to overwork in the days before the match. the team should rest a day before the match so if you have a match on the 6th you will only have two days to practice for it."

Harry groaned, "I hope that's not the case! I really want to observe others first and than make a strategy according to that."

"I bet all the other team captains are thinking the same as you," Neville commented.

"And that's all we're going to talk about. Now finish your breakfast" in a stern tone, which made her boyfriend nod furiously.

After finishing their breakfast, both boys rushed out along with the huge crowd to see the schedule for the year, while Hermione and Daphne followed them behind them, but instead of going to the notice board, they walked to Susan, who was standing in the corner talking with Hannah.

Seeing the crowd in front of the board, Harry groaned. "Damn it! Why are there so many people here? "

Beside him, Neville snorted. "Well Harry, it's students of all eight school teams looking for the schedule that affects them too!"

Harry gave a sarcastic smile. "Oh gee Nev what will I ever do without you"

"I know!" Neville said, reflecting the smile.

Shaking his head, Harry tried to look at the schedule from the back of the crowd, but it was of no use. Sighing he turned to Neville suggesting "Let's wait for the crowd to clear out."

As they both moved to join the girls in the corner, Daphne rolled her eyes, commenting, "Took you gentleman a long time," sarcastically making the other girls giggle as the boys got flushed a little from embarrassment.

He moved towards Susan, greeting her. "Good morning, Sue!" and giving her a peck on the cheek.

She gave him a coy smile, saying, "Oh, I know you had a great morning, Harry~~~~" a little huskily.

He got red, knowing what she was insinuating as he answered, "Umm... Yeah, I had a good workout today," trying to deflect the question.

But Susan was nothing but persistent as she nodded, saying, "Oh I hope so. After all, you had so much energy." in a husky voice making a shiver run down his spine.

Observing both of them, Daphne raised her eyebrow, asking, "So what did I miss?"

Harry shook his head, answering, "Nothing!" in a high, squeaky voice as he tried to keep his embarrassment to a minimum.

The redheaded witch giggled as she leaned over to Daphne, whispering, "Oh yeah, it's nothing, just someone having a case of sleepy wandering hands." It was still loud enough that Harry was able to hear it and turned a cherry red.

Daphne went eyes wide and chuckled at her fiance's red face before she noticed the crowd on the board thinning. "Come on. The crowd is gone". She smiled, seeing Harry take a sigh of relief as all of them moved towards the board.

On the wooden board, on a large piece of parchment:

X—X

The Merlin Cup X Schedule!

(BY INTERNATIONAL WIZARDING CONFEDERATION)

X—X

DUELING TOURNAMENT

OCT 6TH

Russia vs Egypt

28th

Hogwarts vs Ilvermony

November 19th

Greece vs Japan

December 11th

China vs Brazil

January 2nd

_vs_

24th

_vs_

February 15th

_vs_

March 9th

_vs_

30th

_vs_

April 21st

_vs_

May 13th

_vs_

June 5th

_vs_

Final Match

26th

_vs_

X—X

QUIDDITCH TOURNAMENT

October 10th

Hogwarts vs China

30th

Ilvermorny vs Brazil

November 21st

Greece vs Russia

December 12th

Japan vs Egypt

January 3rd

_vs_

22nd

_vs_

February 12th

_vs_

March 7th

_vs_

29th

_vs_

April 20th

_vs_

May 12th

_vs_

June 3th

_vs_

Tournament Finale

25th

_vs_

X—X

THE MAIN TOURNAMENT

October 31st: First Task

December 20th: Second Task

February 8th: Third Task

March 31: Fourth Task

May 20th: Fifth Task

June 30th :Sixth Task

X—X

Harry gave a sigh of relief. "Well at least we will have some advantage in the Dueling tournament"

Hermione patted him on the back, saying, "Yeah, that's the best you can hope for. Forget about Dueling for now, focus on the Quidditch"

He nodded saying, "Okay let's just get to the transfiguration. I don't want to be late, come on, I will meet with coach Hewitt."

Susan nodded, "Yeah, we have Double Potions, so we should also be going," to Hannah before turning back to Harry, "See you later Mr. Handsy," with a coy smile and leaving him red.

Neville had smug smirk on his face saying, "Well what goes around comes around"

Harry didn't reply as they started in the direction of the transfiguration classroom with his friends following behind him.

Ministry of Magic, Head of DMLE Office

Once again Amelia, Bellatrix, and Fleur were sitting together with every privacy ward in the office for maximum protection from eavesdropping and spies.

Amelia took out a file that was recovered by Andromeda from the archives, saying "This is what Andy found about Lord Charlus and Dorea Potter" as she passed it to Fleur to read and catch up.

Ending it Fleur looked back up at her asking " So did you find anyzing about 'zis 'Ealer, Robin McAllister?"

Amelia shook her head, "No, that's not the thing. There is no record of anyone by that name. It's like he never existed, and if he did, someone made sure that there was no paper trail that could help anyone track him down."

Fleur gave a hesitant nod, informing, "Papa did some discreet inquiries. He found that someone matching the description of Madame Black named Teressa Nox passed through the international portkey and then took another portkey, which was to Switzerland, but there is no way to know if the portkey was taken to its destination. Papa, hit a dead end as he found no record of any one under that name in the list of immigrants."

Bellatrix gave an understanding nod, saying, "That's a clever tactic to move your prisoner around. You book a portkey to a destination as a distraction and go to another. If they thought someone would come looking around for the prisoner then I think we would find multiple such occurrences in all our neighboring countries."

Amelia gave a frustrated sigh before her eyes widened as she looked around the folders, saying, "I have something! Look, the goblins keep records of the family members who are alive, right? So all we need is for Bella to go to Gringotts and check for the surviving family members by blood, and then at least we know that she is alive and well. The next thing we need to do is for one of us to go to the countries and investigate on the ground."

Bella stood up saying, "I will go…"

Amelia shot down the idea immediately, saying, "NO! You are not! None of us are! Look, I know this is important, but there is very real danger of you know who comes after you! So none of us are going anywhere."

Bella snapped in frustration. "Then what do you suggest we should go to Bones?! Aunt Dorea is out there with no recollection of her family living a fake life crafted by an old goat to have control of Harry's life!"

Amelia growled back "Do you think I'm unaware of that, Black? But it will all be for nothing if we endanger even one of us in our recklessness. It will expose our plans, and the goat will become more cautious than he already is! So calm the hell down, Bellatrix, we will figure it out!"

Fleur nodded, saying, "Oui, I had a plan in my mind. I was thinking of writing my Grand-mere to come 'ere for Yule. Zan we can ask for 'er 'elp in ze finding Madame Black."

Bellatrix raised a single eyebrow, and asked, "How will she help us in the investigation?" which got a nod from Amelia.

Fleur smirked, saying, "Well she has the vast resources in all the countries in the form of Veela reserves who report to her as she is the Veela Queen and has been for the last 200 years," casually, as if it was a normal thing.

"WHAT!" Amelia and Bellatrix exclaimed.

The young Veela chuckled, saying, "Oui, Grand Mere turned 200 yesterday, but hand Maman at the age of 140. Due to her extreme fertility, she only slept once with a man in her life because she distrusts men in general. She only did it to fulfill the obligation of have an heir to her throne,"

The stunned witches recovered quickly as Amelia asked, "So you are saying that Apolline is a princess and the next Veela Queen? And that makes you technically Princess."

Fleur nodded, saying, "Oui, and by that extension, Papa is a Prince. But we are getting off track! Grand mere is coming to judge if 'Arry is worthy enough for me, and for some reason, she is excited to meet him. So when she comes to visit I will ask for her help with the investigation."

Amelia looked conflicted as she asked, "Are you sure she will help us? I mean what if she refuses because of her distrust in man or she thinks that Harry is not worth it."

Fleur nodded in understanding "Zat is a possibility but zis is our only option to find Madame Black so I zink it's worth taking ze risk"

Bella nodded, saying, "Yeah, well, we have hit a dead end on our end, so we have to take another route, or at least we can try. I think we can look in the black library for some rituals to locate our blood relatives"

Amelia raised her eyebrows, saying, "You know that blood rituals are illegal by law, right, Bellatrix?"

She sighed, "I know Amelia! We can explore other ways to locate Aunt Dorea and keep the ritual as a last resort if everything fails. I know it's illegal but it's intention that matters cause out there is my family and someone important to Harry Bear, so I will do anything it takes"

Amelia appeared conflicted because she was already working outside the law, and dabbling in the dark arts is not only illegal but also dangerous. But she also wanted to find her fiance's last living family member and reunite them, so she sighed, "Okay, but it's a last resort after we exhaust every single possible lead!"

Bellatrix nodded, saying, "I just want you to consider it, that's all!"

Amelia turned back to Fleur, saying, "Write your grandmother and invite her for yule at the Manor. Me and Bella are leaving for Hogwarts to see the preparations for the tournament. If your father finds anything inform me on the mirror and keep your eyes out for any danger lurking around in shadows"

Fleur nodded before saying, "When are you going to 'Ogwarts'?" Her hesitance was clear on her face.

Bella smiled saying "Oh we are going at 6th to see the preparation of the security along with Dora"

Amelia knew what Fleur wanted to hear so she ended the veela's suffering saying "You can visit him at 10th and at every future event as a spectator"

Fleur smiled at her before asking, "Wait, is the audience from outside allowed zis year?"

The Redhead nodded, "Aye, that's the reason almost every country is contributing to the security along with ICW specialists in the mix. As we are hosting this year I am in charge of managing them which is guaranteed to give me a headache"

Bellatrix shook her head, "That's why you have me, boss. If anyone tries anything funny, I will straighten them up, "with a dark smile on her face.

"I pity ze poor batards who irritate you two!" Fleur said with shudder as she stood up, saying, "Well, I will take my leave now. See you back at the manor, Au Revoir!" as she left through the floo.

Russian Champion Suite, Tower of Champions

Natasha was on cloud nine! She finally met Harry and he was just as she thought he would be. No, he was even better than she ever imagined. She thought he would be a shy, scrawny teenager with a brave heart and a brilliant mind.

Oh, he was all that and more. He was a handsome wizard, but not scrawny at all! He was a fairly muscled teen with thick, messy black hair and brilliant emerald pools for eyes hidden behind his wire-framed glasses. She said he was a gentleman to her last night, and they had more things in common than she initially thought.

But somewhere deep inside her, she was hurt as she realized that he had no recollection of who she was or that they had met before. Those were her thoughts as she lay on her bed just an hour before lunch.

Just than a knock on her room door brought her out of her thought as she sat up on the bed and straightened her clothes saying "Come in"

The door opened to reveal Polina and Andre entering the room. Polina took a seat beside her on the bed while Andre sat on the chair that was directly in front of the fireplace in her room. She turned to her childhood friend, asking, "So what did you find out?"

Polina gave her a nod and started "Well it's all mixed opinions about Mr. Potter among the populous of the Hogwarts student, some say that he is the most powerful wizard after Dumbledore while majority has believes him to be the next dark lord"

Natasha nodded, "You know what I think about rumors? The half of it is almost always the opposite. So what I heard is that he is the most powerful wizard since Dumbledore and the best person anyone can hope to befriend. So no more here say tell me about his years at Hogwarts, his friends and all those important things"

"Well, then, buckle up because there is a lot to unpack about your crush and possibly future husband," Natasha teased lightly, continuing, "To begin with, I talked with multiple students, all four houses, and they all had different opinions about Mr. Potter. Gryffindors are divided into some love and some hate. Hufflepuffs are mostly silently supportive towards him, while Ravenclaws are mostly jealous of him because he suddenly became one of the top students in the academic rank, just behind Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass. Mark that name for later. The last is the house of Slytherin, which is a house of pureblood children and a supporter of the Dark Lord. They hate him because he is the reason for the demise of the Dark Lord!"

"Mark that name for later."

Natasha nodded, saying, "So Gryffindors and Slytherins are the major threats to him, while Hufflepuffs might be useful in the future as contacts for Ravenclaws, we will see. Andre, anything you want to add?"

The boy shook his head saying "Net Princess and I agree with your assessment"

Polina continued, "So Mr. Potter started his schooling in 1991. The first impression of him that everyone has is of a scrawny little boy who hid from people and avoided large crowds. For the first month, he was rarely seen in public, only for classes. He was a below-average student in his first year. His first friends were Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger"

Natasha nodded saying "I know Hermione but I don't know this Ronald Weasley"

Polina nodded, saying,"There is a reason behind that as well, which I will tell you as I go on. Just don't interrupt me, okay?" Now where was I? Oh yeah, after that... "

After she ended, Natasha got a better understanding of what kind of a person her Harry was, but that also came with tons and tons of questions. The kind only Harry could answer, which meant she had to be patient with him. She was now also nervous that he was already involved with the French champion from last year.

Natasha nodded, saying, "Okay, that means there are multiple enemies around Harry and only a few friends. The Dark Lord is back and I believe it because Harry is not a liar, which means he has the eyes of multiple parties on his back with both good and bad motives. If the way I am thinking is right than his godfather is trying to make a political base that will support him when the time comes"

Andre had a grim expression on his face as he said "I can hear the drums of war from afar Princess, one which will be fought with Mr. Potter in the middle of it all"

Natasha nodded in tandem saying "I knew it well before I came her Andre and when the storm comes I will stand with him to face it"

Andre shook his head, "You have your own war to fight, Princess. I just got the report from our network that the Duke is gathering his allies and meeting with the clan of magical creatures. Her Majesty thinks he is planning something big but there is no evidence to take action against him so she is waiting for him to make a mistake that she could capitalize on"

Natasha nodded, saying, "I know Andre and I am loyal to my kingdom as I am in l..." She paused in mid-sentence, blushing crimson red, and laughed before finishing, "As much as I like Harry!"

Polina smirked saying "Oh we already knew that Princess so you don't have to tell us again and again, unless you are reminding yourself the you LIKE Mr. Potter"

Natasha blushed and looked at the grandfather clock in her room saying "Oh look it's time for lunch let's go"

"Someone is eager to see meet Mr. Potter" Andre teased

The redhead princess snapped, saying "Shut up Andre!" as all three of them walked out of her room, making their way to the Grand Hall for lunch.

Brazilian Champion Suite, Tower of Champions

Adrianna sighed in exhaustion as she sat on her bed, keeping her book satchel by her side as she fell back on the queen-size bed.

She, just like every other school champion, was glad that she was not the first to compete, but that took a secondary interest in her mind right now, as for the most part of the day, her mind kept going back to the Hogwarts Champion and her new friend, Harry Potter.

He was not the only friend she made at the party last. Since last night she met the American and Greek but kept her distance with the Japanese champion cause to her he was just a snobby little brat.

She was yet to meet the Russian champion but knew that she was the heir to the throne of magical Russia but didn't have the same air of superiority and arrogance around. It was more of a nobility with a welcoming aura around her.

But she was only second to Harry, who was a very interesting person and someone she found surprisingly easy to talk to. He was a good teacher, which was evident from the way he taught her how to dance in mere minutes last night. She also found his friends pleasant to be in the company of, especially Hermione, who was too much like Maria.

He was polite, kind, and considerate of others. In other words, he was a perfect English gentleman. Still, he was still immune from his own hormones, which was evident in the way he looked at her backside when she left the party, which made her feel weirdly proud and happy.

She knew it was a strange feeling, but she ignored it for the happiness of befriending someone new without feeling awkward. Her train of thought was broken by a screech from the window. She sat up and looked only to find Tulo sitting on the windowsill.

A smile made its way onto her face as she ran to the window sill, saying "I never thought I would ever be so happy to see you, you damn bird." As she moved to take the letter tied around the toucan's leg, she only received a strike from the bird. Her reflex kicked her and she retracted her hand just in time to miss it.

"Oh you damn fiend! You want something to eat, don't you glutton? " She snapped at the bird before turning and making her way to the fruit basket, where she got a guava and offered it to Tulo . As the bird tried to eat it, she took it back with an evil smile, saying "EH! Eh! Letter first"

Tulo barked at her, which could be translated to "snap" before he offered her his leg. With a victorious smile, she untied the letter and left the fruit on the sill.

She opened the letter excitedly, reading

'Hola, Hermana

How are you and how is Hogwarts treating you? Before you answer, please take care of Tulo! He had a long flight.

Nothing new here, just a normal day. In the Amazon, so you don't have to worry! It's a short letter. I was just missing you, so I wrote to you, and also, Tulo wanted to have a flight, so I thought why not send a letter.

Anyway, write to me whenever you are free and take care of yourself!

With love,

Maria'

Adrianna chuckled, ending the letter by saying "My little sea star misses me!" with her eyes tearing up. She wiped her eyes and set the letter on the table before glancing at the clock in her room only to see it was nearly fifteen minutes to lunch, and so she left her room, making her way to the great hall.

Great Hall

"That was exhausting," Daphne commented as they were making their way to the great hall for lunch.

Harry sighed saying "Yeah, but interesting too"

Hermione smirked, saying, "Because you are already much better at conjugation from your summer training!" a little heatedly.

Neville nodded, saying, "Yeah, and you were already best in the practical part before that! "Both of you," he continued, gesturing at Harry and Daphne, "are in your own leagues!" This made the boy blush with embarrassment while the blond witch puffed her chest with pride.

Hermione continued the teasing. "Yeah, you conjured a perfect tea cup on the first try yesterday and today you vanished Professor, whole table and chair," making her brother blush in embarrassment, which made the other two laugh.

(At the same time, back in the Transfiguration classroom, Minerva Mcgonagall sneezed hard, which made her realize that she was missing her pants. She went eyes wide in realization and after a minute of thought she concluded at it was the result of Harry overpowering his vanishing charm which made her blush crimson red as she thanked magic her students didn't notice it)

Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry looked at Hermione, who had a thoughtful expression on her face, which was a sign that her wheels were turning in her mind, and then suddenly he watched as a smile came on her lips. He could literally see the light bulb over her head light up as she smirked at him before turning to Daphne and whispering something in her ears.

"Hola Everyone!" Adrianna greeted them as she took her seat next to Daphne.

Harry greeted her back, saying "Hello Adrianna!" with the other three following him.

"We didn't see you in the morning for breakfast, or late at night yesterday?" Daphne asked curiously.

Adrianna smiled, shaking her head, "No Senora, I turned in early last night but I was tired from the journey and Harry here thoroughly taught me how to dance last night, which resulted in me waking up a little later than my usual 5:30," getting a nod of understanding from Daphne, who went back to serving herself. "So how was your morning?" she asked.

Hermione answered, "Oh nothing special. It was mostly a regular day with some excitement mixed in, although it was fun to learn the vanishing charm in transfiguration," to which Neville nodded along.

Harry shrugged, answering, "Well, my morning started with laps around the lake house. Steve joined in after the first lap. We talked a little before he went inside, I finished the workout and than mostly it was a normal day in the world of magic"

Adrianna gave a polite smile. "I had a good morning here. It was a little too cold for my liking, but the view of the lake was worth it!"

Harry hummed in agreement, "I know it was the reason I started working out in the first place," with mirth in his voice.

Just then, a voice greeted him from his left, stating, "Privet! Harry, Hermione, and Daphne! Senora Diaz!"

All of them turned to see Natasha, who took a seat beside Harry, who smiled and greeted her back. "Hello, Natasha good day to you"

"Thank you. I would like to introduce all of you to my friends. "This is Andre Volkov," gesturing towards the late teen boy, "His betrothed and my childhood best friend, Polina Novak," to the blond witch who gave a polite smile, "And Elga Furik," the dark blond girl who winked at him playfully.

Harry greeted them, saying "Nice to meet you all!" as they all took seats around the table.

Adrianna Smiled saying "Good day to you Ms. Romanov"

Natasha smiled, saying, "Good day to you too, and before you ask Harry, my morning was just as normal as it could be! I really hate having small talk with friends so let's just start with what is everyone's favorite music genre?'

Her question stunned everyone to silence only for a moment before all of them laughed at the abruptness of her question, which gained the attention of all the students in the Grand Hall.

Harry wiped his cheek, saying, "Oh! That's a good one, and to answer your question, I like all music that is not too loud. "

Daphne answered next "I like classical music. My mom is a fan and the records keep playing in our house throughout the day since I could remember"

Natasha nodded, keeping her poise, asking, "Oh I love the classics too. My personal favorite is the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. What abou yout?"

Daphne smiled saying "Oh I love Tristitia et anxietas by Willian Bryd"

Natasha beamed at her "We will talk more later" with her eyes sparkling with interest before she turned to others asking "What about you guys? to the rest of the group"

Hermione chimed in saying "I love the Beatles, they are muggle music band"

Harry nodded, saying, "Yeah, I have heard about them. Dora told me that was her second favorite after Weird sisters"

Adrianna chimed in saying "I like Samba music it's more of a festive kind of music but I love how upbeat it is and added benefit you can dance however you want, no being prim and proper"

It made Harry smile, and Neville broke his silence with, "I love to attend orchestra with my gran, it's a Yule Ritual." This reminded Harry of his date with Amelia, and he made a mental note to speak with Neville about it later.

Natasha smiled at the boy that she hadn't met asking "Oh that's my mother's favorite too, I am sorry I didn't quite catch your name"

Neville turned bright red in embarrassment as he introduced himself, saying "Oh gran will kill me for this! Sorry for forgetting my manners, Neville Longbottom it's nice to meet you"

"Don't worry, it's okay and, as I was saying, my mother loves the orchestra too, but honestly, it is too boring for me." Natasha commented

Harry gave a confused look asking "Umm….. I thought classical music and opera is one in same"

Natasha and Daphne shook their heads while Hermione sighed informing, "Harry, Classical music is a main genre while Opera music is it's sub genre"

Natasha nodded, saying, "Yes, I like the opera, which is way different than the orchestra. Orchestra is a symphony created by a conductor guiding people playing multiple instruments while opera is story driven piece of music"

Harry gave a nod of understanding before commenting, "Well, music is all about expressing what you feel right there in that moment and enjoying yourself." That being said I would love to try hear to all those genre's sometime and even learn an instrument"

"Oh, do you have a preference?" Andre asked

The Black haired teen shrugged saying "No I will try to find what suits me better"

Elga got a mischievous smile on her face as she nodded, saying, "Oh, you can start with the piano. Princess is a magician on the keys!" I don't think she would mind teaching you in her free time, would you, Princess?" with a wink.

Natasha fought the blush that was trying to creep up on her face with occlumency.

Harry shook his head, saying, "It's a great offer, but I don't want to impose myself on you. After all, all of us have too much on our plate with the tournament, so..."

Before he could complete, Natasha cut him off, "I would love to teach you Harry, and it won't be imposing as we have a year of tournaments. It would be nice to have something to distract our minds in between. After all the goal is to increase the international cooperation, so I would to be glad to teach you"

Natasha was going to hex Elga later before hugging her because while she put her on the spot in front of Harry, she, like her personal cupid, made sure that for the whole year she had a way to spend time with him in the guise of learning piano.

After a minute of contemplation, Harry nodded, saying, "Okay, if you are sure that I won't impose." With a small smile on his face, he went back to his lunch.

After that, it was only 5 minutes later that lunch ended and Harry made his way out of the great hall only to see the whole Hogwarts Quidditch team waiting for him.

Cedric smirked, saying, "Took your time, didn't you, Captain?"

Harry smiled "Well what can I do when are guests are such a conversationalist" he saw the smirk on twins face he stopped them saying "Come on guys coach must be waiting for us, you can tease me all you can later"

The twins grinned, saying, "Aye! Aye! Captain!" As they made their way to the quidditch pitch, everyone laughed.

After ten minutes of walking, they all arrived at the pitch, only to notice that the spectator stands had changed to resemble those seen during the World Cup. The change has made the quidditch pitch look bigger without even mentioning the four new locker rooms built all around the pitch.

"Woah! When did they do all this?" Chloe remarked looking at the structure in awe.

Mia mused, "Well they could have made it in the night when no one was around with the help of goblins. My father told me they are excellent builders." as all of them entered the Gryffindor locker, which now had a Hogwarts crest in place of the house crest, with all four house animals animated in it.

Entering the room, they looked around only to see it was completely changed! In the middle of the room was a large table with a miniature model of the pitch and fourteen pieces on the side. On the left side of the room were seven wooden displays with their team uniforms and brand new brooms.

The jerseys were black with trims of all the four house colors and logos of the sponsors, with customized protective gear for everyone on the team made as per their specification, needs, and position they play.

while their brooms were all the same. The brand new Crimson Arrow from the company that made the Firebolt. Whereas Firebolt was made of ash wood and birch twigs, Crimson Arrow was made with redwood and twigs of aspen, along with goblin metal work seat and the leg rest. It was the fastest broom, as it was made of lighter wood than that of the Firebolt.

On the right side was a couch between two doors, which were to the restrooms for both girls and boys. On the same side, there was a medical bed with a potion cabinet.

"Ah, finally here; did you forget how to get here, or what?" Coach Hewitt grumbled before shaking his head. "Anyhow, you are here, and I don't want to waste any more time! Now come over here we have to discuss the strategy"

"Ah warm as always, Coach!" Harry said sarcastically, making everyone chuckle as he moved towards the table.

Hewitt smirked, "And you are late as always, kid! Now pay attention! As you all know, the opponent we are facing is the Chinese Quidditch team. They are internationally ranked 6th in the U-17 league. Their strength is in their speed and the quick passing of the quaffle, which makes it impossible to follow who is in possession."

Harry quirked his eyebrow saying "So they are fast and have quick to pass the quaffle, we can handle them with our intervention play and bludgers"

Gwenog shook her head, pointing out, "You could if you had an experienced chaser on the team! Speed is not a major factor, but team coordination is the key if you want to win Potter! "

Hewitt nodded, "Now as Jones said, our play for this game will be the intervention play and trying to keep the possessions of the quaffle. You three are good, but you are not completely in sync and you will need to make your own moves as the tournament goes forward, to Mia, Chloe, and Scarlett. The three chasers nodded.

Hewitt turned to Cedric, saying, "Diggory, you have to practice on the hoops. You need to be more comfortable around them, You and chasers are to practice every morning until the match day"

Cedric nodded, saying, "Will do it, coach!"

Hewitt looked at the Twins "You two need to come up with beater plays. You both have amazing coordination and imagination, so use that. Also try using the high and low play"

Fred nodded saying "Don't worry coach…"

George "We got this..."

Hewitt turned to Harry and was thinking about the whole game before he asked, "Anything you want to change captain?" sarcastically

"Well, I think chasers can practice with Katie, Alicia, and Angelina to improve their game, while I can work with Cedric and Twins to play a 4th chaser in case we need to change the gameplay in the middle of it," Harry said, nodding. It will also offer us an advantage of surprise and throw them off their game"

Gwenog nodded with an appreciative smile while the coach said, "It's a sound plan, but remember no plan survives contact with an opponent, so all of you have to be ready and flexible out there on the pitch. Now get your gear on and march your arses on to the field! "

"Aye Coach!" The team yelled as they went to get ready for the practice.

Greek Headmistress Suite

The headmistress of the Olympian School of Magic sat in her chamber office, nestling a cup of hot chamomile tea in her lap as she reflected on various schools and their champions.

There was one that she had a prior opinion of, that being an Egyptian school. And the opinion was of weariness because she was aware of the reputation of the headmaster, Apophis Tafeef, the world-famous dark wizard hunter. Though it was not that fact that made her worry, it was his loyalties that she was worried about, because it was also known that he was selfish and always seemed to get what he wanted with his shrewd mind.

Among the other schools, the Japanese school, which was purely because of how rude the champion was to the host champion at the welcoming ceremony. Though she was not there to witness it, if the rumor were true, then he was an uppity little brat and the Headmistress was appreciative of his action, which made her think what kind of bullying culture that school had.

She liked the Russian Headmaster as he was a man of honor. The way he talked about his students and their achievements with pride in his voice. It was evident that he shared her weariness and annoyance with two schools for the same reasons. She found in him a good partner to converse with during lunch and dinner.

She adored the elderly headmistress of Brazil, who had so many stories to tell about her youth, along with the weird foretelling knowledge she had, which led her to think that she was a seer. The Brazilian champion was a girl with ambition, mischief, and, more than anything, a will to explore the world.

The Headmaster of the Chinese school was poised and relatively silent, not talking until someone asked him a question, as she didn't know much about the gentleman and nothing about the Champion of China.

The Headmaster of Ilvermony looked like he was back home if the way he talked about the school was anything to go by. The Champion of MACUSA was a fine, energetic youth who was trying to make something of himself.

And finally, there was the host school where she was living. The Headmaster of Hogwarts, the Chief Warlock of Britain and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald.

The older gentleman was nothing if not cordial and jolly when he talked about the current affairs with his friends from Egypt, the USA, China, and Japan, who were all either his friends or admirers on followers.

Then there was the Champion of Hogwarts, the youngest champion in the tournament and the boy who lived, Harry James Potter. He was an object of attraction for her, which was something new for her.

He was a teen with polite manners and the most beautiful emerald eyes she had ever seen. But they weren't just beautiful, they hid an ocean of power behind them, which he had little control over yet was not broadcasting in his aura.

She observed him in the morning only to see he was at the center of a group that consisted of Russian and Brazilian champions along with his friends, talking animatedly about something.

Before she could think anymore about the Hogwarts there was a knock on the her chamber door which brought her out of thoughts as she looked at the door saying "Come in"

The door opened to reveal her champion along with her girlfriend. Cassandra asked "Good evening Headmistress Thea, I hope we are not late"

She smiled, saying "No Ms. Valentine and Ms. Aetos, you are perfectly on time as always. Please take a seat." She gestured towards the seats in front of her.

As they did, she offered some tea, which they accepted with their smiles. As Thena poured them tea, she asked, "So how are both of you adjusting here?"

Cassandra smiled, saying, "It's colder than home, but other than that, it was a pleasant day." We haven't talked much to other students other than Harry's friends and other champions, but it's our first day, so that's natural, "as she took the cup and added a single cube of sugar."

Dimitra scoffed, "Most of them are either prudes who are offended by our relationship, while others are interested in knowing how it works with us in our bedroom," as she took her own cup.

Her comment caused Cassandra to cough on as she was taking a sip of her tea, making it spill, which made Thena chuckle at it, saying "Ever classy Ms. Aetos" while her champion glared at her girlfriend.

Thena asked, "So how was your meeting with the other champions?"

Cassandra sighed saying "Well they are all different, Japanese one is rude little brat, Egyptian one is mostly cordial but wasn't interested in new people, American one is among the good ones along with Russian, Brazilian and Chinese but the best was Harry who played the perfect host to us"

Dimitra nodded saying "Basically he did what was expected of him"

Thena smiled, saying, "There is a difference in the way things are done, Ms. Aetos. You can either do it with irritation inside with a fake smile, or you can just think of it as your duty and enjoy it" as she offered them some biscuits.

Cassandra nodded, "I think he enjoyed it, but he is a little shy around new people and not comfortable in a large crowd." Last night though he was among the crowd he stuck to corners with no one but his friends surrounding him"

Thena raised her eyebrows, asking, "Oh, that's an interesting observation, Ms. Valentine. Anything else you would like to share with us?"

Cassandra took a bite of the orange almond cookie along with a sip of her tea before saying "No but he is interested in learning about weapon forging and how to fight with spears, I offered to teach him in my free time if it's okay with you"

Thena smiled, saying, "Of course you can, but be cautious because it's still a competition and I don't want you to have your attention diverted because of something like a training competition." Other than that, you can do what you want in your free time. I myself am thinking about inviting Mr. Potter for tea"

Dimitra smirked saying "I will keep her in the check Ma'am don't worry about it"

Thena smiled saying "Please see that you do Ms. Aetos as Ms. Valentine here has habit of losing track of time when she is having fun spar in the ring"

"Hey!" Cassandra whined with a pout on her face, which the other two chuckled at.

Thena smiled her saying "Oh so are you saying we are wrong in are assumption, Ms. Valentine cause I think Mr. Bouras of Zeus Familia would like to differ"

Cassandra blushed and huffed saying "In my defense he was a bullying my house mates he deserved to be send to the infirmary"

Dimitra smiled, saying, "Oh I know, but he wasn't the only one was he?"

Cassandra said, "It's not my fault if everyone tries to challenge me for glory, and also, I have a reputation to protect," with a smug look on her face as she took a sip of her tea.

Dimitra queried her right eyebrow, saying, "I think someone is forgetting who taught her to fight in the first place" in a challenging tone.

"Don't be like D; there's nothing wrong with being second best in school!" Cassandra teased further.

Dimitra smirked, "Well, it seems someone needs a lesson in humility. What do you think, Headmistress?"

Thena, who was watching the couple's banter with amusement, smiled and said, "I concur Ms. Aetos, Ms. Valentine should be taken down a notch just on the side of don't want her to hurt herself by walking around with such a huge head"

Cassandra gave a childish huff, saying, "Hey, I am not big-headed or overconfident, I am just confident!"

Dimitra chuckled saying "Yeah that's what confident people say"

Thena smiled saying "Okay ladies as much as I enjoy our tea time together it's getting late and I have some work to do as such I have to cut short our evening here, I am sorry"

Cassandra smiled saying "It's okay Ma'am we understand" as she finished her cup of tea and sat it on the table standing up"

Dimitra nodded, saying, "Also I have a gorgeous arse to kick in the ring!" Then, as they made their way out of the room, Thena heard a loud slap and a squeak, which made her chuckle.


A/N: Okay how was it? was it up to the mark? was it worse than before? Tell me I want to know it all!

Harry's unblocked core 60 (It didn't change since June. I thought about unlocking it during his vacation but then it came to me that he needs to acclimate with his current core first, so I scraped that idea)

Next Chapter: Wand Weighing and Press Conference

Stay tuned and I will see you next... Sorry guys I have to change back to the Two weeks schedule which means two chapters in a month. This will be until the end of this year, I will move to Chapter per week in January!

Drakpacer Out!