The next day, Hermione woke up to a very clear morning. The sun was shinning and there were only a few cotton-white clouds etched across the blue sky. Her dormitory was very busy and crowded when she started to pack her things into her trunk. Lavender and Parvati apparently tried to pack everything into their trunk and duffle bag. Ginny had already finished and she left for the Great hall for breakfast. Hermione followed, cradling the purring Crookshanks in her arms. Harry and Ron were sitting at the Gryffindor house table with Dean, Seamus, Fred and George. Harry had Hedwig sitting on his arm as he had his quill out, writing as though he did not want to be spotted. Ron was looking over his shoulder at what he was writing.
Hermione approached them, and let Crookshanks down onto the table in front of Harry just as the twins told a joke making Dean and Seamus roar with laughter.
"What is he doing here?" asked Ron in disgust, spotting Crookshanks, who narrowed its beady eyes at him, "You better watch out, Harry, or Hedwig might be that flee-bitten cat's breakfast."
"Oh, don't" said Hermione, "Crookshanks doesn't mean to bug anyone."
"Yeah, Ron," said Harry, finally looking up from what he was writing on, "I saw that flee-bitten cat eat spiders for you."
Ron grinned, perhaps because he was pleased to see Harry in such a good mood when they would be leaving in less than an hour. Hermione couldn't help but grin too.
"What are you writing?" she asked Harry, sitting down next to him. He put down his quill, and passed her the role of parchment he had been writing on:
Snuffles,
I hope this reaches you before you go anywhere. You asked me to keep you undated on what was happening here, and I bet this is going to sound pretty much like last year's letters. I'm in another tournament called the Tournament of Demontarity and it's being held at a school I (not even Hermione) have never heard of. Have you ever heard of Dryconderoga? Everyone at Hogwarts is leaving today for Dryconderoga this time to watch me make a fool of myself in front of two other schools. The other school is Nockdernia, and I haven't heard of that one either.
-Harry
P.s- Have you ever heard of someone named Silversmith? He's our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. He's really weird and he made a fool out of me the other week in class saying Voldemort used all those stupid unforgivable curses on me.
"Stupid unforgivable curses?" asked Hermione, handing the letter back to him, "They didn't seem stupid last year when Moody set the Imperius curse on you."
"Yes they were," said Harry, "They were when he set them on me. He wasn't Moody anyways."
"And he tried to murder you after you got out the maze," muttered Hermione quietly.
"Better him than Voldemort, isn't it?"
Hermione looked terrified at the very idea. That and she cringed when he had said you-know-who's real name. Before she could say anymore, Harry stood up with Hedwig still on his arm, and headed towards the nearest window. He tied Sirius's letter to Hegwig's leg, let the owl nip his ear in a affectionate way, and Hedwig stretched out her great wings to take off through the open window high above them. Ron, apparently, had heard what Harry had said before.
"Imagine what would happen if Vicky got the Imperius curse set on him!" he said, purposely changing the subject, "I'd bet if you tell him to jump off a cliff, he'd do it!"
Ron was howling with loud laughter now, attracting the attention of several first years strolling towards the portrait. Hermione went red in the face.
"I don't like him anymore, Ron, so stop!" she yelled, not aware Harry groaned at what looked like another fight against her and Ron, "And you know it!"
"Really?" Ron asked, grinning stupidly, "I thought you fancied him."
Hermione bit her lip, her face burning.
"I never fancied Victor…um…Krum!" she shrieked, "You haven't got a clue who I fancy!"
Hermione drew a great, heaving sigh as though this settled the matter. She turned to Harry, who was watching her and Ron with his arms folded and his eyes narrowed to slits. She tried to hide the fact that her face flushed magenta. Ron gasped.
"I do now," he said triumphantly, looking from her to Harry. Hermione frowned, letting her hands fall limply to her sides. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Hey, Isn't that Fleur?" he gasped suddenly, pointing across the common room. Ron took an excited leap, and screamed.
"Where?" he said wildly, his wide and uneasy eyes darting around the room. Harry sneered.
"Sorry," he said wickedly, "It must have been one of the Veela, spying on you again."
Hermione couldn't help but smile as it was Ron's turn to blush. Even the few Gryffindors who were listening snickered.
"Funny, Harry," said Ron, grinning, "You're a real card."
But as he finished, the rest of the Gryffindors were coming down the spiral staircases, looking eager and excited. They poured out of the common room through the portrait, a few waving at Harry as they passed.
"I think we have to go now," said Ron, grinning wider than before, "We better get going."
"Isn't Dumbledore going to put you into a special group or something?" Hermione asked Harry as they and Ron joined the Gryffindors thronging into the Great Hall.
"I dunno," said Harry, looking around the other heads that were in front of him, "I'm not going anywhere."
"I reckon we'll get there the old fashioned way," groaned Ron beside Hermione, "On the train."
"I don't think so," said Harry, as they climbed down the marble staircase, "Wouldn't it be odd to have train tracks to wherever where going just for a month? It's not worth it."
This excited Ron even more. It was only common sense, which, thought Hermione hysterically, Ron had nothing of. It looked like they were the last to leave the castle, and the Gryffindors in front of them who had already passed through the oak doors, sounded amazed. And when Harry, Ron and Hermione passed through the doors, they could see why.
The same carriages that every Hogwarts student arrived in at the beginning of the year were in front of them, linked together by nothing. There were hundreds of them, all floating in mid air on the lawn in front of the castle, most of them occupied with excited students. But this wasn't what amazed Hermione. The carriages were no longer pulled by invisible horses, but something almost twice as tall as the castle itself- an enormous, black, fully-grown dragon. On it's back was Hagrid, looking as though he was having the time of his life, with the chains in his hands that wrapped around the Dragon's front.
"Whoa," said Ron, flabbergast, as he watched the scaly dragon thrash its head, fire sprouting out of it's nostrils, "I told you we could get there by dragon! Score one for me…"
Hermione wasn't listening. She was watching the enormous dragon pound it's feet into the ground, making huge scratch marks in the grass from its claws, and she felt the ground beneath her feet shake tremendously.
"It looks a lot bigger close up, doesn't it?" she said quietly, unaware her mouth was still hanging open in awe. Harry didn't have the same reaction. He did have to get around a dragon before. They walked down the slopping lawn to where Professor McGonagall was harassing Neville, who had his cloak on backwards, and Lee Jordan who tried to sneak his enormous spider along with him. She looked particularly panicky about their arrival, just like last year when Durmstrang and Beaux Batons arrived at Hogwarts.
What it looked like was all the teachers had the first five carriages closer to the Hungarian Horntail, and the students behind them. Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed into an empty carriage while Neville, Dean and Seamus climbed into another behind them. Fred, George, and once Professor McGonagall had climbed into a carriage with Snape, Dumbledore and Flitwick, Lee Jordan joined the twins, and waved at them from a carriage in front of them. Only a few more teachers were coming down the hill now: Professor Trelawny, Professor Sprout and- Silversmith.
"Why does he have to come," groaned Harry sitting beside Ron and across from Hermione, "Can't he stay here and make a fool out of someone else?"
"It seems everyone's going, doesn't it?" said Hermione, looking out the window at the last of the Ravenclaws joining everyone else in the carriages, "Everyone's nearly on."
A small explosion of excitement let off in her stomach, possibly out of nerves. And at that moment, their carriage shot forwards, almost knocking them out of their seats. Hermione leaned out the window, watching the castle float out of view. Then, she heard pathetic screams of horror coming from the carriage behind them; it became obvious Neville was afraid of heights. Harry stuck his head out the opposite window to see what was wrong.
"Neville, don't look down!" shouted Ron, screwing up his face to stop laughing. Dean and Seamus were yelling too, trying to get Neville to stay calm. Ron was howling now, watching the carriage behind them shake and shudder.
Most of the time, Hermione sat gazing out the window at the Hungarian Horntail that was pulling all the carriages at the front. It's wings slowly propelling up and down, making a loud rushing sound that carried through all the carriages. It was quite pleasant once you got over the shock of seeing a Hungarian Horntail. Harry was on the same side as her, he too looking out at the surroundings. Ron was going on about something Hermione couldn't hear, and she had her doubts if it was anything but Quidditch.
"Wonder how far Dryconderoga is, eh Harry? Eh?" he asked excited, and Harry smiled. Ron seemed more excited than Harry was, and it was then when Hermione realized that was easy. Harry was surely depressed or even frightened; he was chosen for the school champion two times in a row, after all. But when she looked over at Harry, he didn't look too worried. He was merely staring out the window at the dragon ahead of them, elbows on the sill and it seemed as though his eyelids were slowly shutting.
After what seemed like five hours later, the sky was quickly turning into a deep purple with stars plastered across the sky. Now, below them, was only the same dense forest they had been flying over the last hour. Ron had fallen asleep and now had his head on the seat he was sitting on. He kept snoring and occasionally making mumbling sounds as if he were talking in his sleep. As for Harry, he didn't move from his spot at the window to the right of Hermione. He had his arms folded on the window and his head buried in his robes, but Hermione couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. He shifted his weight from side to side a few times, but never looked up.
Hermione sat watching him with misty eyes for a few minutes before looking through her bag and taking out a book: Transfiguration for the Advanced. She was careful when Ron ever moved or fidgeted; she had a sickening feeling that if he ever saw her with this book, she knew she'd never hear the end of it.
She focused her attention to her book, blocking out the roaring from the Hungarian Horntail at the front of the carriages. She read a few lines and became deeply immersed between the pages:
…Usaul the Unusual was known for Transfiguring unusual magical things with Muggle contraptions, like telephones and television sets. Many people believed Usaul had a knack for inventions. That was a matter of speaking. Usaul combined the use of a toaster with the looks of a turtle. This did not turn out the way he had hoped for when he tried to slip anything into the turtle's shell, Usual would end up with second degree burns because the turtle could breath fire. Usaul was charged a five hundred-galleon fine from the Ministry of Magic. Serves him right…
Hermione laughed very quietly, hoping not to attract attention. It hardly mattered. One particularly loud screech from the dragon at the front made her jump, and to her horror, Ron and Harry stirred. Without hesitation, she tucked her book away in her bag before Ron looked up tiredly. Hermione pretended she was sleeping herself.
"Hey," she said, looking down to the ground, rubbing her eyes, "Look! Down there!"
Leaning over, Hermione could just see a rather large parliament-like palace with lots of towers and turrets just below them through the dark. Dryconderoga was at the edge of a steep cliff with a roaring sea around it. It was completely surrounded in forest. This had to be Dryconderoga. It was the first building they came across in hours.
"The front," said Harry, pointing at the ground, "D'you think they are the students?"
Hermione hadn't realized this. About a hundred people in cloaks were crowded around at the front of the palace, some reaching as far as the forest. They were unmoving and it became apparent they were watching them in the sky in amazement.
"Dunno," said Ron, eyes wide. At that moment, the dragon let out a shrill, ear-piercing roar, and Hermione watched, as though in slow motion, each carriage point down towards the ground, following the Dragon. They started floating towards the ground. Hermione looked behind her, and grinned. Seamus, Dean and a reluctant Neville were staring down at the ground, and gave a holler of excitement.
As all Harry, Ron and Hermione were staring out the windows, Dryconderoga and the people on the lawn drew closer, and soon enough, they jumped when they hit solid ground. Hermione looked around and saw that they had landed on the beautiful green lawn in front of the palace a ways off from the people outside of the palace. Her stomach gave an excited jolt.
At once, the front carriages that held the professors emptied, and with much hesitation, the whole of Hogwarts students did the same.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" squealed Hermione as she followed Ron out of the carriage, "New school, new students-"
"-new library," interrupted Ron, smirking as Harry climbed out after Hermione. She glared at him and furiously opened her mouth to tell him off until Harry stepped in between them.
"Don't start," he muttered involuntarily, "I'm not going to let you act they way you do at Hogwarts."
He couldn't say much more as the swarming crowd of Hogwarts students that had climbed out of the carriages pressed in on them and pushed them forwards.
"Don't- hey, watch it!" barked Ron enraged and aimed a blow at a Ravenclaw who had been pushing him until Harry dragged him away by the ruff of his shabby robes. They marched up the slopping lawn and approached the students encircled around from the entrance of the school with the teachers in the lead. Hermione stared at the students watching them in interest and whispering in unison. They each wore robes of a dark burgundy brown and on the chest of each student was a patch with their school's emblem of two snakes curled around a silver sword. Hermione caught Harry's eye, and they raised their eyebrows.
The Dryconderoga students at the front where mainly staring at Dumbledore with large eyes, who was at the front of the long line. The Hogwarts students came to a halt when Dumbledore stopped in front of a young wizard at the doors of the palace.
"Professor Slaton Siamoen, how are you, my dear comrade?" said Dumbledore merrily, extending his hand to the wizard who just as happily shook. Hermione thought this wizard looked a bit of an over-done look about him. He had shoulder length blond hair and perfect teeth that shinned brilliantly in small beams of light coming from the torches on the pillars. He wore bright, green robes that clashed badly with the palace, and the longest fingernails she had ever seen. His fingers were toped off with several silver rings.
"Albus Dumbledore, we meet again," the wizard said in a wheezy voice like he hadn't used it for days, "Brought your champion?"
"Yes, I did indeed," replied Dumbledore, stroking his beard, "Has Kohl arrived yet, if you don't mind me asking."
Siamoen gave out an excited laugh, and his smile grew.
"Yes, I do believe so," he said dryly after he composed himself, "They are waiting in the hall. They arrived thirty minutes ago."
Ron snorted, fighting the urge to break down and laugh. Hermione impatiently punched him in the ribs, and he doubled over, grinning.
"Yes, so sorry, Slaton, we are a bit late," said Dumbledore in a mid sigh, and Siamoen laughed again, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"No, no, dear me, Albus, It's quite alright," he said, "Come inside and sit your students down. Warm yourselves up! It's getting quite cold."
Dumbledore nodded, and Siamoen led the way through the giant double doors. Slowly, Harry, Ron and Hermione started shuffling forwards with the crowd. The long line of Dryconderoga students followed behind the stragglers at the back.
"They look kind of…er…obedient, don't they," said Harry inaudibly, so only Ron and Hermione could hear him, "Think how many rules they could have here."
"I don't want to," laughed Ron, making a face, "Oh no! What if they have a 'no library time at three in the morning' rule?"
Hermione glared at him, and stuck her nose in the air. Harry's shoulders fell as he exhaled noisily. It was just like Ron wouldn't shut up, and they had to put up with it for nearly two months.
They walked through the doors into a vaguely lit entrance hall. Hermione almost thought she were back at the Quidditch championships she went to last year; there was green everywhere. To her far right was an enormous fireplace with green flames that was the only light that was in the hall. Towering above them were stained glass windows with green drapery on the sill, and over the doorways that evidently led to altered parts of the school. There were two sculptures of what looked like Basilisks at the doorways where they were going through. Hermione thought she went momentarily blind or she had some kind of green layer over her eye.
"What is with this place?" said Ron, watching the stone Basilisk with terrified eyes, "Creepy."
Hermione turned red, and she was just about to snap.
"Ron, don't make fun of other cultures!" she hissed, "There are other ways people decorate! Honestly, haven't you read Hogwarts, a History?"
"Why do you even bother to ask, Hermione," said Harry tonelessly, shaking his head. Hermione looked away, blushing slightly. She pretended to become interested in the Great Hall they were walking into. She sighed in relief. It was almost just like the one at Hogwarts, except everything was covered with green hangings, and there were only three long tables that were occupied with students. The table on Hermione's far left was holding the other school's students, which must have been Nockdernia. Hermione smiled. In a way, they looked very odd. Each person wore a different colour of robes, either neon green, orange or even pink. Ron ruptured with mirth, and he wasn't the only one. Harry broke up too, along with Lee Jordan, Dean and Seamus.
"Shut up," said Hermione furiously, although she was smirking.
"All right, you Hogwarts chaps, find a seat, and rest your tuff," called Siamoen merrily over the sea of heads. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the only vacant table, which was in the middle. They marched down the row, and sat near the middle, while the others sat down from them. The Dryconderoga students filed along the row, and sat at a different table. Hermione noticed they and the Nockdernia students were watching them in interest.
"They don't look very nice, do they," said Hermione softly to Harry on her right, "They don't talk much."
"Yeah, that's good," he said just as quiet, "Just as long as they don't make badges that say 'Potter stinks' on them, I'm happy."
Hermione smiled brightly, regardless of everything, but then spun around. Lights came on at the front, and they focused on a small stage she hadn't seen before. Siamoen climbed up, stood in the middle, and raised his hands for silence. The hall went dead quiet.
"Welcome to Dryconderoga, my fellow Hogwarts and Nockdernia students and staff," he started, beaming at the crowd, "You may call me Professor Siamoen, for those of you who do not know me. I am the current headmaster of Dryconderoga," he paused, and raised a hand, "Lets give a welcome to Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."
Hermione looked around at where Siamoen was pointing, and saw Dumbledore stand up from a round table at the front. Beside him sat McGonagall and to Hermione's disgust, Silversmith. Other professors she didn't know sat opposite of Dumbledore. The hall burst into applause, the Hogwarts table louder than the rest. He smiled, nodded, and sat back down. Siamoen extended a hand over to the longer side of the table.
"And Professor Kohl, headmistress of Nockdernia," he announced. Kohl stood up from her seat, and waved her hand in a mysterious fashion. Hermione was surprised. She looked somewhat like Trelawny, rings, bangles, and all. She had waist-long white hair tied back with a purple sash, and loop earrings that just grazed her shoulder. She wore a putrid colour orange dress robes with another sash tied around her waist, and there was a Peacock feather sticking out of her head shall. She looked very proper, but amazingly kind. With one last wave of her hand at the applause she received, she sat back down at the staff table.
"And now, we shall met each school's champions."
…~'*'~…
A/N: Do you realize how happy you people are making me, writing so many awesome reviews? Thank you SOOOOO much! I had to cut down my story so I could post another chapter because so many people wanted me to hurry. And guess what? I made up all those new names! Even the Usaul the Unusual part! (I'm so proud! BAWWWWW!!) I'm not sure if they're from somewhere, but if they are, they belong to the people who made them. Hermione even gets a bit jealous over a certain new person who comes into the next chapter. The next chapter will come quicker than this one. I promise. Thank you! ^_^;