Note: Thanks you for the reviews. More please. Here's chapter 11. Enjoy!!!
The next few weeks flew past and before they knew it, the big day had come. The Great Hall was full of chatter as everybody spoke of the arrival of the guests. Even the teachers were talking intently about it. Harry, too was excited about the arrival but it brought back painful memories of Cedric. Before he could think any more, Dumbledore stood up, causing the school to go silent instantly.
'By now you should know that we will be expecting guests who will be with us till the end of the school year. The Quidditch Tournament will comprise of three teams from each school. You should also know that we have decided the three that will go into the tournament. They are, Gryffindor (the hall erupted with clapping), Hufflepuff (more clapping), and Slytherin (a smattering of claps). These houses will take on the best of Beaubaxtons and Durmstrang and try their best to reach as far as they can, hopefully into the finals. The winning team will get a solid gold trophy, ten thousand Galleons prize money...and an added bonus.' At this, the hall went deathly quiet. 'The winning team will progress into the junior Quidditch World Cup.'
Everyone began to clap madly at this revelation. Harry and Ron looked at each other in ecstasy and clapped as hard as possible. 'Imagine going against the best of the best in the world! That would be bloody brilliant!', Ron exclaimed. Hermione, however, didn't find it as interesting as the rest and just listened.
'The World Cup will take place at the end of this year during your summer holidays and if a Hogwarts team gets in, you all are cordially invited to watch.' More clapping followed this announcement. Harry especially was happy as this meant that if they won, he didn't need to stay with the Dursleys at all.
After breakfast, they went for Defense Against the Dark Arts where they spent the next hour and a half practicing on their Strangulation Curse, which was now getting even more powerful as they were beginning to master it. Then it was off to the dungeons where Snape was in a fairly good mood and didn't have a single criticism to make. After lunch, they climbed up to the North Tower where they had a good lesson with Professor Trelawney, who had returned during the previous week. She had changed so drastically that everyone except Parvati and Lavender were enjoying her lessons. 'I can't believe that she has changed. She's so different now!', she was heard to exclaim that afternoon. Ron decided not to open his mouth and retort because he knew that it usually amounted to him getting told off.
That evening at half past six, the entire school got ready and waited for their guests to arrive. As usual, the Beauxbatons delegation arrived in their powder blue carriage drawn by massive palomino horses. Harry knew that Hagrid would love to take care of them. Madame Maxime stepped out of the carriage and was cordially greeted by Dumbledore. He ushered them inside so that they could warm up. Now the school waited for the Durmstrang delegation. Minutes past and nothing happened. Then suddenly, a great swooping sound was heard. They looked up to the heavens and saw a monstrous looking bird flying overhead. It made a swift landing in front of them and they noticed that there was a huge metallic cylinder on its back. 'Oooh, just like an aeroplane', exclaimed Hermione. 'What's an aeroplane', asked Ron with a quizzical look on his face. But Harry shushed him and continued watching the bird. Then, a great hole appeared at the centre of the cylinder and the Durmstrang students stepped out of it before hopping down to the ground. They were led by a man that oozed regal brilliance and sophistication with every step he took. He was a middle aged man who had a wisp of brown hair in a sea of white.
'Matthaus, how nice to meet you finally. I was wondering whether I would see you today', Dumbledore said. 'Always a pleasure to be here, Albus. How I've missed this castle and all it's hidden passages', replied the man. Everybody laughed at this comment, even Lee Jordan, who was reminded of Fred and George.
'I trust that you are tired after a long journey and wish to eat something', said Dumbledore. The man nodded in agreement and they were led to the Great Hall. 'I guess that this calls for more seats.' Dumbledore said and magically conjured up two extra tables and countless chairs with a wave of his wand.
The students promptly sat down. Harry saw Ron looking frantically to see whether Krum was among them but there was no sign of him. 'Maybe he graduated.' Ron said. 'Hey Hermione, what ever did happen between you and Krum?', asked Harry. Hermione sighed and said 'we broke up after I went to see him at his castle in Bulgaria. He said that I was too possessive. Oh stop it Ron!', she exclaimed at Ron, who was sniggering at her.
Just then, Dumbledore stood up and began to speak. 'Welcome to the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I do hope that you will enjoy your stay here for the rest of the school year. As you should know, you will be playing the tournament here in Hogwarts and you will have the right to use the Quidditch pitch to train. However, to prevent your training sessions from clashing, please do see Madam Hooch.' He pointed at the Quidditch teacher so that the students knew who she was. 'Hogwarts teams will have their trainings from Friday to Sunday every week. The rest of the days are yours.' Dumbledore then sat down and the feast commenced.
The plates suddenly were filled with food of every kind of food. Even though the other schools had been here two years previously, it never ceased to amaze them whenever it happened.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore stood up and the hall went silent. 'Now that you have enjoyed your meal, you will be led up by the prefects to your dormitories. Beauxbatons students will be staying in their carriages and the Durmstrang students will be staying in Gryffindor Tower. Extra beds have been prepared for our guests and they will be your roommates for the next few months. Goodnight all.'
The students filed out of the hall in two straight lines and were led by Ron and Hermione. The Durmstrang students trailed behind them as they climbed the ever-changing stairs. The other students also marveled at this as they had never seen stairs as this before.
As they entered the common room, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with one of the Durmstrang students. 'Hello, I am Erik Dirkoff, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Harry Potter.' Harry was somewhat surprised that he knew his name, but then he remembered that everyone in the wizarding world did. 'Nice to meet you, Erik. Hope to play you in the tournament.' Erik smiled and returned to the line-up. 'I wonder how they select the teams in each group. Surely not by the Goblet of fire.' Harry said to Ron. 'I guess we'll know soon.' Ron replied. Harry knew that he too was thinking about the drawing process. 'Maybe it's like the Champions League drawing process', said Dean, the avid West Ham football fan. 'What's the Champions League?', asked Ron with a puzzled look on his face. 'I'll tell you later.', said Dean, chuckling.
They climbed up to their dormitory and were surprised to find seven more poster beds in their room, which had magically expanded to accommodate the extra beds. The Durmstrang students went to their designated beds, which had their trunks next to it, and began to change into their pajamas.
Once they had all changed, they got into bed and went to sleep. However, Harry wasn't sleepy so he spoke to Erik, who wasn't sleepy either. As the hours passed, they got to know more about each other, and Harry felt that Erik was just as close a friend as Ron and Hermione were to him.
They finally bade each other goodnight and went to bed at around midnight. Harry, who was really tired, was thankful that he didn't have any nightmares that night.
The next morning, Harry woke up to bright sunlight and was surprised to see an owl perched on his bedpost. He quickly wore his glasses and removed the note from it's leg. It was from Hagrid.
Dear Harry,
I was wondering if you were able to come over to my cabin at around 3 O'clock. I want to speak to you about a few things. Reply me as soon as you get this.
Hagrid.
Harry replied 'ok, I'll be there' and sent the owl on it's way. He wondered what Hagrid wanted to speak to him about. He then went down to breakfast where he met Ron and Hermione. He was tucking into a plate of toast and eggs when the post arrived. Hedwig landed on the table and he retrieved the copy of the Daily Prophet from her leg before offering her some toast. He took one look at the front cover of the Prophet and nearly choked on his toast. He quickly handed the paper to Ron and Hermione to see and their reactions were almost the same as Harry's.
Peter Pettigrew arrested at graveyard. Peter Pettigrew, who was presumed killed sixteen years ago by the deceased
Sirius Black, was arrested yesterday evening at a muggle graveyard.
Apparently, he had been retrieving some remains from a grave for his
master, the elusive Lord Voldemort, who was reported to have returned.
Although Pettigrew is unwilling to speak about his involvement with the Dark Lord, the Ministry of Magic will be placing him under a lie-detection
test using Veritaserum. The test is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Harry finished reading the article and glanced at the Slytherin table. He noted with a small smile that most of the Slytherins, including Malfoy and his cronies, were furious about the article.
Harry scanned the rest of the paper but found nothing else of interest so he threw it aside and continued with his toast. Just then, Professor Mcgonagall rose up and announced that she wanted to see that Quidditch players who were in the tournament. One by one, they rose and followed her to a room at the side of the Great Hall.
'As you all should know by now, the tournament will start on the 2nd of January and will comprise of nine teams from the three schools. The schools will be evenly distributed into three groups that will comprise of one team from each school. The first two teams in each group will progress into the quarter-finals, where they'll play their drawn opponents. The best four will progress into the semi-finals, where they'll again be drawn against a team. The final will be between the two winning teams and the winner will progress into the junior Quidditch World Cup in June next year. In the case of a tie after the snitch has been caught, the game will go on to a penalty shootout and the winner will be decided. Now, the team that gets through to the World cup will not only represent their school, but their country. The winner of the World Cup will hold on to it's crown for another four years before the next world cup. The winning team will win one million Galleons and worldwide recognition.'
At that announcement, the students, including Harry, had theirs mouths agape. One million Galleons! That was more money than they had dreamed about. Ron was positively awed. As Ron's family were poor, the staggering sum of money involved fuelled Ron's determination and after the announcement, he called a team meeting.
'Listen team, we want to win this competition very much and to achieve it, we need to work extra hard. Our Quidditch trainings will be three hours on Friday and five hours on Saturday and Sunday, you got that?', said Ron. The others nodded and surprisingly, there were no protests. Harry assumed that they too were determined to win the money.
They decided to start training the next morning and so they were told not to over-exert themselves today. Harry, Ron and Hermione then proceeded back to the common room to do their homework, which had been piling up over the week. They noticed that the workload did increase as they got closer to their N.E.W.T. examinations. Deciding not to frustrate Hermione and finish their homework partially due to the fact that they would be too tired tomorrow after training. They spent the next few hours finishing various essays and charts. 'There, all done', said Harry, who had just finished an essay about the Draught of Endless Pain for Snape. He believed that he could at least get an 'E' for the essay as he had researched it thoroughly, much to Hermione's delight.
'I'm glad that you're making an effort to do your homework properly, Harry.', she said that day. Harry just smiled and went over to talk to Seamus and Dean. After a while, he remembered that he had to meet Hagrid and so he rushed off to his cabin.
'Thought that you weren't coming, Harry' said Hagrid with a smile. Harry smiled back and stepped into his cabin where he was ambushed by Fang the boarhound, who slobbered all over Harry. Hagrid shooed Fang away and brought Harry to his feet before sitting down at the table and serving Harry a cup of tea.
'So, how have you been, Harry. I haven't seen you around in a while. Is everything alright?' he said. Harry nodded and replied that everything was fine and that he was just busy. 'So, you've got into the Quidditch tournament, eh? That's good news. I've always wanted to ride a broomstick, but I was...er, well...a little on the large side you know.' He finished with a shy look on his face. Harry snorted in laughter and was soon joined by Hagrid. They spent the next three hours catching up and talking about the tournament. Then it was time to go back up for dinner and so Hagrid and Harry headed back up to the castle.
Dinner was a lively affair as Dumbledore provided some festivities. The candles burned with different colours and many doves flew around the hall. Chamber music was also provided and the school sang to some of their favourite tunes. Dinner was then ended in spectacular fashion with a fireworks display. Harry wondered whether the fireworks were courtesy of Fred and George and concluded that they probably were as the sky exploded with a myriad of colors.
They then went back up to Gryffindor Tower and found the notice saying that there was a Hogsmeade visit on Saturday afternoon, after their Quidditch training. They then went up to their dormitories and changed into their pajamas before hitting the sack. As Harry drifted off, he smiled to himself. It was indeed going to be an interesting year.
The next few weeks flew past and before they knew it, the big day had come. The Great Hall was full of chatter as everybody spoke of the arrival of the guests. Even the teachers were talking intently about it. Harry, too was excited about the arrival but it brought back painful memories of Cedric. Before he could think any more, Dumbledore stood up, causing the school to go silent instantly.
'By now you should know that we will be expecting guests who will be with us till the end of the school year. The Quidditch Tournament will comprise of three teams from each school. You should also know that we have decided the three that will go into the tournament. They are, Gryffindor (the hall erupted with clapping), Hufflepuff (more clapping), and Slytherin (a smattering of claps). These houses will take on the best of Beaubaxtons and Durmstrang and try their best to reach as far as they can, hopefully into the finals. The winning team will get a solid gold trophy, ten thousand Galleons prize money...and an added bonus.' At this, the hall went deathly quiet. 'The winning team will progress into the junior Quidditch World Cup.'
Everyone began to clap madly at this revelation. Harry and Ron looked at each other in ecstasy and clapped as hard as possible. 'Imagine going against the best of the best in the world! That would be bloody brilliant!', Ron exclaimed. Hermione, however, didn't find it as interesting as the rest and just listened.
'The World Cup will take place at the end of this year during your summer holidays and if a Hogwarts team gets in, you all are cordially invited to watch.' More clapping followed this announcement. Harry especially was happy as this meant that if they won, he didn't need to stay with the Dursleys at all.
After breakfast, they went for Defense Against the Dark Arts where they spent the next hour and a half practicing on their Strangulation Curse, which was now getting even more powerful as they were beginning to master it. Then it was off to the dungeons where Snape was in a fairly good mood and didn't have a single criticism to make. After lunch, they climbed up to the North Tower where they had a good lesson with Professor Trelawney, who had returned during the previous week. She had changed so drastically that everyone except Parvati and Lavender were enjoying her lessons. 'I can't believe that she has changed. She's so different now!', she was heard to exclaim that afternoon. Ron decided not to open his mouth and retort because he knew that it usually amounted to him getting told off.
That evening at half past six, the entire school got ready and waited for their guests to arrive. As usual, the Beauxbatons delegation arrived in their powder blue carriage drawn by massive palomino horses. Harry knew that Hagrid would love to take care of them. Madame Maxime stepped out of the carriage and was cordially greeted by Dumbledore. He ushered them inside so that they could warm up. Now the school waited for the Durmstrang delegation. Minutes past and nothing happened. Then suddenly, a great swooping sound was heard. They looked up to the heavens and saw a monstrous looking bird flying overhead. It made a swift landing in front of them and they noticed that there was a huge metallic cylinder on its back. 'Oooh, just like an aeroplane', exclaimed Hermione. 'What's an aeroplane', asked Ron with a quizzical look on his face. But Harry shushed him and continued watching the bird. Then, a great hole appeared at the centre of the cylinder and the Durmstrang students stepped out of it before hopping down to the ground. They were led by a man that oozed regal brilliance and sophistication with every step he took. He was a middle aged man who had a wisp of brown hair in a sea of white.
'Matthaus, how nice to meet you finally. I was wondering whether I would see you today', Dumbledore said. 'Always a pleasure to be here, Albus. How I've missed this castle and all it's hidden passages', replied the man. Everybody laughed at this comment, even Lee Jordan, who was reminded of Fred and George.
'I trust that you are tired after a long journey and wish to eat something', said Dumbledore. The man nodded in agreement and they were led to the Great Hall. 'I guess that this calls for more seats.' Dumbledore said and magically conjured up two extra tables and countless chairs with a wave of his wand.
The students promptly sat down. Harry saw Ron looking frantically to see whether Krum was among them but there was no sign of him. 'Maybe he graduated.' Ron said. 'Hey Hermione, what ever did happen between you and Krum?', asked Harry. Hermione sighed and said 'we broke up after I went to see him at his castle in Bulgaria. He said that I was too possessive. Oh stop it Ron!', she exclaimed at Ron, who was sniggering at her.
Just then, Dumbledore stood up and began to speak. 'Welcome to the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I do hope that you will enjoy your stay here for the rest of the school year. As you should know, you will be playing the tournament here in Hogwarts and you will have the right to use the Quidditch pitch to train. However, to prevent your training sessions from clashing, please do see Madam Hooch.' He pointed at the Quidditch teacher so that the students knew who she was. 'Hogwarts teams will have their trainings from Friday to Sunday every week. The rest of the days are yours.' Dumbledore then sat down and the feast commenced.
The plates suddenly were filled with food of every kind of food. Even though the other schools had been here two years previously, it never ceased to amaze them whenever it happened.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore stood up and the hall went silent. 'Now that you have enjoyed your meal, you will be led up by the prefects to your dormitories. Beauxbatons students will be staying in their carriages and the Durmstrang students will be staying in Gryffindor Tower. Extra beds have been prepared for our guests and they will be your roommates for the next few months. Goodnight all.'
The students filed out of the hall in two straight lines and were led by Ron and Hermione. The Durmstrang students trailed behind them as they climbed the ever-changing stairs. The other students also marveled at this as they had never seen stairs as this before.
As they entered the common room, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with one of the Durmstrang students. 'Hello, I am Erik Dirkoff, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Harry Potter.' Harry was somewhat surprised that he knew his name, but then he remembered that everyone in the wizarding world did. 'Nice to meet you, Erik. Hope to play you in the tournament.' Erik smiled and returned to the line-up. 'I wonder how they select the teams in each group. Surely not by the Goblet of fire.' Harry said to Ron. 'I guess we'll know soon.' Ron replied. Harry knew that he too was thinking about the drawing process. 'Maybe it's like the Champions League drawing process', said Dean, the avid West Ham football fan. 'What's the Champions League?', asked Ron with a puzzled look on his face. 'I'll tell you later.', said Dean, chuckling.
They climbed up to their dormitory and were surprised to find seven more poster beds in their room, which had magically expanded to accommodate the extra beds. The Durmstrang students went to their designated beds, which had their trunks next to it, and began to change into their pajamas.
Once they had all changed, they got into bed and went to sleep. However, Harry wasn't sleepy so he spoke to Erik, who wasn't sleepy either. As the hours passed, they got to know more about each other, and Harry felt that Erik was just as close a friend as Ron and Hermione were to him.
They finally bade each other goodnight and went to bed at around midnight. Harry, who was really tired, was thankful that he didn't have any nightmares that night.
The next morning, Harry woke up to bright sunlight and was surprised to see an owl perched on his bedpost. He quickly wore his glasses and removed the note from it's leg. It was from Hagrid.
Dear Harry,
I was wondering if you were able to come over to my cabin at around 3 O'clock. I want to speak to you about a few things. Reply me as soon as you get this.
Hagrid.
Harry replied 'ok, I'll be there' and sent the owl on it's way. He wondered what Hagrid wanted to speak to him about. He then went down to breakfast where he met Ron and Hermione. He was tucking into a plate of toast and eggs when the post arrived. Hedwig landed on the table and he retrieved the copy of the Daily Prophet from her leg before offering her some toast. He took one look at the front cover of the Prophet and nearly choked on his toast. He quickly handed the paper to Ron and Hermione to see and their reactions were almost the same as Harry's.
Peter Pettigrew arrested at graveyard. Peter Pettigrew, who was presumed killed sixteen years ago by the deceased
Sirius Black, was arrested yesterday evening at a muggle graveyard.
Apparently, he had been retrieving some remains from a grave for his
master, the elusive Lord Voldemort, who was reported to have returned.
Although Pettigrew is unwilling to speak about his involvement with the Dark Lord, the Ministry of Magic will be placing him under a lie-detection
test using Veritaserum. The test is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Harry finished reading the article and glanced at the Slytherin table. He noted with a small smile that most of the Slytherins, including Malfoy and his cronies, were furious about the article.
Harry scanned the rest of the paper but found nothing else of interest so he threw it aside and continued with his toast. Just then, Professor Mcgonagall rose up and announced that she wanted to see that Quidditch players who were in the tournament. One by one, they rose and followed her to a room at the side of the Great Hall.
'As you all should know by now, the tournament will start on the 2nd of January and will comprise of nine teams from the three schools. The schools will be evenly distributed into three groups that will comprise of one team from each school. The first two teams in each group will progress into the quarter-finals, where they'll play their drawn opponents. The best four will progress into the semi-finals, where they'll again be drawn against a team. The final will be between the two winning teams and the winner will progress into the junior Quidditch World Cup in June next year. In the case of a tie after the snitch has been caught, the game will go on to a penalty shootout and the winner will be decided. Now, the team that gets through to the World cup will not only represent their school, but their country. The winner of the World Cup will hold on to it's crown for another four years before the next world cup. The winning team will win one million Galleons and worldwide recognition.'
At that announcement, the students, including Harry, had theirs mouths agape. One million Galleons! That was more money than they had dreamed about. Ron was positively awed. As Ron's family were poor, the staggering sum of money involved fuelled Ron's determination and after the announcement, he called a team meeting.
'Listen team, we want to win this competition very much and to achieve it, we need to work extra hard. Our Quidditch trainings will be three hours on Friday and five hours on Saturday and Sunday, you got that?', said Ron. The others nodded and surprisingly, there were no protests. Harry assumed that they too were determined to win the money.
They decided to start training the next morning and so they were told not to over-exert themselves today. Harry, Ron and Hermione then proceeded back to the common room to do their homework, which had been piling up over the week. They noticed that the workload did increase as they got closer to their N.E.W.T. examinations. Deciding not to frustrate Hermione and finish their homework partially due to the fact that they would be too tired tomorrow after training. They spent the next few hours finishing various essays and charts. 'There, all done', said Harry, who had just finished an essay about the Draught of Endless Pain for Snape. He believed that he could at least get an 'E' for the essay as he had researched it thoroughly, much to Hermione's delight.
'I'm glad that you're making an effort to do your homework properly, Harry.', she said that day. Harry just smiled and went over to talk to Seamus and Dean. After a while, he remembered that he had to meet Hagrid and so he rushed off to his cabin.
'Thought that you weren't coming, Harry' said Hagrid with a smile. Harry smiled back and stepped into his cabin where he was ambushed by Fang the boarhound, who slobbered all over Harry. Hagrid shooed Fang away and brought Harry to his feet before sitting down at the table and serving Harry a cup of tea.
'So, how have you been, Harry. I haven't seen you around in a while. Is everything alright?' he said. Harry nodded and replied that everything was fine and that he was just busy. 'So, you've got into the Quidditch tournament, eh? That's good news. I've always wanted to ride a broomstick, but I was...er, well...a little on the large side you know.' He finished with a shy look on his face. Harry snorted in laughter and was soon joined by Hagrid. They spent the next three hours catching up and talking about the tournament. Then it was time to go back up for dinner and so Hagrid and Harry headed back up to the castle.
Dinner was a lively affair as Dumbledore provided some festivities. The candles burned with different colours and many doves flew around the hall. Chamber music was also provided and the school sang to some of their favourite tunes. Dinner was then ended in spectacular fashion with a fireworks display. Harry wondered whether the fireworks were courtesy of Fred and George and concluded that they probably were as the sky exploded with a myriad of colors.
They then went back up to Gryffindor Tower and found the notice saying that there was a Hogsmeade visit on Saturday afternoon, after their Quidditch training. They then went up to their dormitories and changed into their pajamas before hitting the sack. As Harry drifted off, he smiled to himself. It was indeed going to be an interesting year.