If you think I own them, you should seriously see about getting your head
checked.
Sorry this chapter took so long.
I really really really like reviews.
I also really really really like the people who have reviewed so far.
I also like Natalie for betaing this.
*denotes French*
There is quite a bit of French in this chapter, so to prevent any mistakes with machine translation and stuff, since I don't speak French, I just put the stuff that is supposed to be in French in English and surrounded it with **. Just pretend it's really French. :-D
That being said.
*****
"Sanguinis," Oliver called.
"Here," William mumbled, waving slightly at Oliver.
"Weasley," Oliver said.
"Specify," Ron, George, Fred and Ginny all chorused. Oliver never looked up from his clipboard.
"You're all here," Oliver muttered, making four checks on his clipboard. "Potter?"
"Here," Harry laughed.
"Chasers?" Oliver asked.
"Don't we get names?" Alicia asked.
"One, two and three," Oliver said, glaring at Alicia.
"I'm one!" Angelina insisted.
"No fair, I play center," Alicia cried.
"Which means I should be one," Katie announced. "because I play right and when facing us, starting with me would be the most logical progression."
"And you three are all here too," Oliver laughed. "Hermione?"
"Here Oliver," Hermione said, waving at the coach.
"And Mal," Oliver's sentence trailed off. He looked up at his team gathered in the entrance hall of Hogwarts.
"I'm here, Oliver," a voice from the stairs called. Everyone turned to look at the fallen keeper standing on the stairs.
"You're awake," Oliver exclaimed.
"And Dumbledore has given me permission to travel with the team. I can't play because I'm still quite breakable, but I can go," Draco explained. He took the remaining steps to stand with the team. William held out his hand and Draco gave him a quick and very easy high five. Draco winced as he pulled his left hand back towards his body.
"Exactly how breakable are you?" Oliver asked.
"Very," Draco muttered, glaring at Oliver.
"So how do you plan on portkeying to France, and what happens if you break any more bones when we're there?" Oliver asked, leveling an equally menacing glare at Draco.
"You're on your own to figure out the port key, you are the coach after all. And I've got all of the potions and things Madame Pomfrey says I need to finish fixing my bone density and my touch," Draco said. "And she also insists that Granger is quite proficient in healing broken bones." Draco glared over at Hermione.
"If you're not reasonable to Hermione, then she's not healing anything you happen to break, and I won't either." Oliver said, glaring at Draco.
"Ron, punching Malfoy would very likely break every bone in his body," Hermione said before Ron or Draco could make a comment.
"So?" Ron asked, looking down as innocently as possible at his best friend.
"If the pair of you don't stop it right now, you're going to run laps," Oliver threatened. He ran a hand over his close-cropped brown hair and shot an exasperated look at his clipboard.
"I'm the trainer, Wood, you can't make me run laps," Hermione reminded the slightly scatter-brained coach.
"Oh, right," Oliver looked back to the lifeline of a clipboard he held in his hands. "Who are we waiting on?"
"No one unless the rest of our entourage is meeting us here rather than outside the gates," Harry said, rubbing a fist across his sleep-logged green eyes.
"Entourage?" Ron asked, quirking an eyebrow at the smaller boy. Harry shrugged and smiled up at his best friend.
"Makes us sound important," Harry explained.
"Okay, so we've got nine uniforms, eight brooms." Oliver paused momentarily. "Wait. Why do we only have eight brooms?" He looked up from his inventory list to his team.
"Do you really see me being able to fly anywhere?" Draco asked, subtly reminding Oliver of his injuries.
"Right," Oliver muttered. "Does everyone have black socks?"
"Yes, Wood," the team chorused.
"I've checked and double checked the equipment at least 15 times already! We have everything!" Ginny assured the panicking coach.
"Did you really?" Hermione asked, impressed by the girls effort.
"Sure, why not?" Ginny laughed, shrugging nonchalantly to the older girl. She pulled at the front of her best black school robe and ran a hand over her carefully styled red hair. "Do I look okay?"
"Gin, chances are the first time you see Braeden, you'll be lying in a pile on the ground with the rest of us. You're not going to have much control over your outfit," Hermione laughed. She hauled the large black medic bag onto her shoulder. "I swear. Madame Pomfrey packed an entire potions cabinet in here!"
"RON!" Harry and Ginny chorused before Ron could say anything about potions and certain Slytherin team members. Ron cracked a bright smile down at his friends.
"This is great!" He claimed. "I don't have to make nasty comments anymore because you lot know what I'm going to say before I say it!"
"Why black socks?" Fred asked, two full minutes behind everyone else in the conversation.
"They never get dirty," Oliver muttered, not realizing how far the conversation had progressed.
"Entourage, school gates," Harry gently reminded the coach. Oliver tucked his clipboard into his black leather messenger bag, pulled the bag over his left shoulder, and turned to face the team.
"Okay. Everyone grab your stuff, shrink it and put it in your pockets. Then we're going to go catch the carriages to the gates," Oliver instructed. The entire team, trainer and manager headed towards the assorted pile of bags and brooms lying in the corner. Fred and George both clamped hands to their respective crotches.
"Oliver!" George screeched.
You can't really expect us to!" Fred continued. Both boys looked more than properly appalled.
"Weasley!" Oliver spat. "Serious! Please!"
"Go ahead Wood, give us the speech about how we're representatives of Hogwarts and we've got to behave," George suggested. Fred nodded in identical agreement.
"No, Mr. Weasley, I'm here for that," a voice form the top of the stairs said.
"Good Merlin, the man is omnipresent!" George cried. He covered his head with both of his arms and crouched on the floor. Fred nudged his twin twice with his left foot as the rest of the team turned to face Dumbledore.
"Good luck," Dumbledore said. "As Mr. Weasley said, you are representatives of Hogwarts and I expect you all to be on your best behavior. I also, however, expect you all to win, so if you need to do anything to loosen up before the match, I suggest pranking a Professor," Professor Dumbledore trailed off. "I probably shouldn't tell you that."
"Oh come on, Professor Dumbledore!" Fred cried.
"Tell us!" George finished Fred's sentence.
"No, I shouldn't. Go, have fun, and bring back a victory for Hogwarts!" And with that, he was gone as mysteriously as he had appeared.
"And that was officially creepy," Fred announced as he placed his shrunken broom and luggage into his pocket.
"Are you all ready to go?" Oliver asked.
"Come on Oliver, or we're going to be late!" Ginny insisted. She turned on her heel and stomped out of the castle. Her red hair flickered in the bits of the early morning sunlight that slipped in through the castle door when she opened it.
"Follow the manager. Chasers, you're in a carriage with Ginny. Fred, Ron, Hermione and Harry, go together, and George, Draco and William, you're with me. Weasley, quit staring at me like that. It won't kill you to be separate for a few minutes." Oliver said. The team all turned and rushed towards the doors of the castle. Oliver hurried after them and clambered into the last carriage in the line.
"Night night!" Fred announced as soon as his black robed butt his the seat of the carriage.
"Fred, you don't have time for a nap," Hermione scolded, slipping into the seat next to her boyfriend. She dropped her medic bag onto the floor at her feet.
"Geeze Hermione, what do you have in there?" Harry asked, nudging the oversized bag with the toe of his black leather boot.
"Just call me Mary Poppins," Hermione said with a smile. She pulled her brown hair down from the loose ponytail she had put it in. It cascaded down her shoulders in thick amber waves. Fred nestled his head on her shoulder and inhaled deeply before closing his eyes.
"Fred, you really don't have time for a nap!" Hermione scolded. The carriage took off with a satisfying lurch.
"At 5 a.m., there is always time for a nap," Fred mumbled sleepily.
"Why are we awake and leaving at the arse crack of dawn any way?" Ron asked.
"I think they're probably worried about us missing school," Hermione said.
"Why are they worried about us missing school? They're sending teachers with us!" Harry cried.
"Really Harry, how thick can you get?" Hermione asked. She tried to adjust Fred's head to a more comfortable position on her shoulder, but failed miserably. She only succeeded in causing herself to slump down in the seat.
'What?" Harry asked. He drew his right knee up to his chest and rested his chin just on the crest.
"Don't you find it odd that the Boy Who Lived is traveling out of the country and our teaching staff consists of two Aurors and Gringott's best curse breaker in at least two decades?" Hermione asked. She shoved Fred away from her shoulder and he fell against the other side of the carriage.
"He's not really asleep," Hermione muttered, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She stretched out and propped her feet on the seat between Harry and Ron.
"Actually, knowing Fred, he probably is," Ron laughed, kicking his brother lightly on his shin.
"So wait. Dumbledore is afraid for my safety in France when at school I live in the same tower as the heir of Voldemort's sister and play Quidditch and have classes with his brother?" Harry ranted. Hermione cast a quick spell to cancel Fred's hearing of anything Voldemort related.
"You know Harry, the way you said that makes it sounds like Astrid is Voldemort's sister's heir," Hermione commented offhandedly.
"You know Hermione," Harry mimicked, "I don't remember Dumbledore saying anything about sending us an English professor."
"Shove it Potter, or you're not going to need the Aurors," Hermione spat, mimicking Astrid's infamous scowl.
"Hermione, you've been hanging around Astrid too long," Ron declared, smiling at his friend.
"Speaking of her, what do you think Oliver will do about her older brother?" Hermione questioned.
"Make him portkey and let him break every bone in his body!" Ron said rather decisively. He ran a hand through his red hair, causing it to stand up on end. He leaned back in his seat and stretched his feet into Fred's lap. Fred never moved.
"Do you want to deal with Astrid if that happens?" Harry asked.
"Okay, no," Ron admitted, smug look vanishing from his face.
"Maybe Bill or Ms. Arabella or Tonks could apparate ahead and cushion the ground and the walls around where we're supposed to land," Harry suggested. He pulled his glasses off of his face and tucked them in his robe pocket before scrubbing both eyes lazily with his fists.
"Don't you need those?" Hermione asked, watching the path of the glasses from her friends face to his pocket. Harry shrugged in a non- committal way. He laced his fingers together in front of his chest and then inverted his hands so his palms faced Hermione. All of his knuckles and both shoulders popped loudly. He sighed loudly and dropped his hands back to his knees.
"They are bloody useful, but its too early for them," Harry admitted. Blinking his eyes twice at the very fuzzy Hermione.
"Want me to do the charm I used at Halloween?" Hermione volunteered.
"Certainly," Harry replied, looking directly at Hermione through wide green eyes. Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at Harry. She muttered a charm and suddenly his vision was perfect.
"Why don you do that during matches?" Ron asked.
"Because," Hermione replied. "Only vision correction spells done by a certified Ophthalmologist wizard are legal in match play, and I'm not certified in Ophthalmology." Ron blinked twice and shook his red head at his friend.
"English," he muttered.
"She's not certified to fix eyes so I couldn't play in the match if she did," Harry translated. The carriage lurched to a stop, almost throwing Fred into the floor. He sat up and rubbed a hand over his fuzzy red hair.
"Are we there yet?" he asked. Harry peered out of one of the small windows situated near his head.
"It seems so," he replied. He laced his fingers together and rested the back of his head in his palms, pulling his shoulder blades together in yet another stretch.
"I bet Ginny is about ready to drive the chasers crazy with all of her talk of Braeden," Hermione laughed.
"If the chasers were smart, they pulled her into a Quidditch conversation before she could start in on Braeden," Fred mumbled. He pushed open the door of the carriage and stumbled into the early morning sunlight. Ron and Harry quickly followed him. Fred turned and helped Hermione from the carriage. She reached back in and pulled out her gigantic medic's bag and slung it carefully over her shoulder. Fred laced his fingers through hers and gently pulled her over to where Oliver stood, with Bill to one side and Draco to the other. Bill's arm was wrapped protectively around Arabella. Tonks stood to the other side of Arabella. She had curly blonde hair that hung just past her shoulder blades, and blue-green eyes set in an early-30's face.
"Come on, everyone, gather around here," Oliver instructed. Fred instantly ran to George's side, dragging Hermione with him. The twins stood next to Tonks. Katie and the other chasers joined George, while Harry and Ron slid into the circle between Alicia and Sanguinis. Ginny stepped up between Bella and Tonks.
"First I want to introduce you to your teaching staff," Oliver began. "This is Professor Bill Weasley, his wife Professor Arabella Weasley, and Professor Nymphadora Tonks." Tonks waved cheerfully at the students while Bill and Bella just smiled.
"Who are they?" Tonks asked, nodding at the students. Oliver pointed at each student as he said his or her name.
"Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, Hermione Granger, George Weasley, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, William Sanguinis and Draco Malfoy."
"Oh goody!" Tonks exclaimed. She bounced twice on her toes and clapped her hands together several times, much like a child at Christmas. Oliver looked sternly at Tonks, who immediately calmed down.
"Now as you know, we have a situation here," Oliver said. He glanced at Draco before turning his attention to the rest of the team. "To avoid killing Draco, I'm going to ask Tonks or Arabella to apparate ahead and cushion our landing grounds."
"I can't," Tonks declared. "I don't tend to be accurate on cross country apparition." Oliver looked expectantly at Bella.
"I will!" Bill cried before Bella could answer.
"Don't be daft Bill, he asked me," Bella said.
"But the baby," Bill said, looking down at his wife. He instantly turned red and clamped his hand to his mouth.
"BABY!" all of the younger Weasley siblings chorused. Bill and Bella both nodded. Bill was still the infamous Weasley red, while Bella clasped both hands protectively on her lower abdomen.
"Okay. So Bill is going to apparate ahead and cushion the landing grounds," Oliver said. Bill nodded and disappeared with a pop. "Now I want the twins to stand on either side of Draco."
"Why us?" George asked.
"Because you two are the most identical and therefore the most stable," Oliver replied. George and Fred dropped the hands of their respective girlfriends and trudged over to where the blonde keeper stood next to the coach. Oliver pulled out his wand and pointed it at the trio, muttering several spells. When he finished, he pocketed the wand and turned back to the group. George tried to step away from Draco but found he was inexplicably pulled back towards the boy.
"Draco is incased in a cushion or sorts, anchored to the two of you. Only one of you will need to hold onto the port key, as the other two will be pulled along due to the spells. The charms will prevent Draco from breaking any more bones as long as something doesn't fall directly on him. The cushion is also charmed to keep the pair of you from falling onto him, so don't even try it," Oliver explained. He held out a crumpled piece of paper to the center of the group.
"Everyone put a finger on this," he instructed. The team, Bella and Tonks crowded in, all reaching for the ball in Oliver's hand. Fred reached for the paper while Draco and George watched nervously from just behind him. Harry looked warily at the piece of paper before stretching out his left hand so his fingers rested just on the edge. Ron, noticing Harry's slight apprehension, placed his right hand on Harry's shoulder and moved the smaller boy closer to the center of the circle. He didn't move his hand from his friend's shoulder. Oliver glanced down at his watch.
"Three. Two. One." at the end of the countdown, a familiar tug issued behind everyone's navels. Ron's hand never slipped from Harry's shoulders. Draco and George flew along behind Fred. In a sudden jarring second, the team and their entourage bounced to a stop on a fluffy pillow-like ground.
"How'd I do?" Bill asked. Ron let go of Harry shoulders and took a step backwards. William struggled to move out of the tall redhead's way. The bouncy floor caused William's knees to buckle and he stumbled a moment. Before he could completely regain his balance, he cascaded backwards directly on top of Fred. William and Fred tumbled to the ground, pulling Draco and George with them. As William fell he twisted to his right and ended up lying squarely on Draco's shins. Two loud cracks sounded from beneath the keeper.
"BLOODY HELL GET THIS DUMB FUCKER!" Draco began screaming at a ridiculously high volume. Oliver pointed his wand at Draco and muttered a spell, cutting off Draco's voice.
"William, get off of his legs! You're not an ogre!" Oliver commanded.
"What?" William asked, confusion evident in his deep voice. He struggled to his feet and bounced away from Draco.
"You were fast on your way to grinding his bones so finely you could bake bread," Oliver explained. Draco still lay on his back in greenish brown grass howling expletives at the top of his non-existent voice. He looked quite like a fish out of water. On either side of him, the Weasley twins struggled to stand. Bill fired off a countercharm that allowed his brothers to leave their enemy's side.
"Hermione?" Oliver questioned. He raised an eyebrow at the fifth year trainer.
"Giants," Hermione said. "Giants do the bone bread bit, not ogres."
"Who cares? Heal our cheerleader!" Oliver commanded. Draco stopped his silent tirade to shoot Oliver a look that said he'd like to see the older boy dead.
"Oh, right," Hermione slung her medic bag from her shoulder and flung herself to the ground next to Draco.
"Weren't we supposed to meet a Beauxbatons delegation here?" Harry asked. He stood at the edge of the group, one hand on his wand pocket. He glanced nervously from Hermione and Draco to Ron to Oliver to a palace in the distance then back to Hermione and Draco.
"Delegation?" Ron laughed. "Beauxbatons is sending a delegation to meet our entourage!"
"I'm not kidding!" Harry snapped, glaring at his best friend. Ron's laughs trailed off and he shrugged.
"Professor Dumbledore advanced the time on our portkey a bit because he half expected something like that," he pointed to Hermione and Draco. "To happen." Harry shrugged but didn't move his hand away from his wand or stop looking around.
"Do I look okay?" Ginny asked. Ron cracked his knuckles and looked over at his baby sister.
"Down boy!" the twins chorused. Ron immediately ran a hand over his hair and the other over his robes.
"Oliver, give him his voice back," Hermione instructed, never looking up from her work on Draco's legs. Oliver did as the younger witch commanded then crouched next to the fallen keeper across from the trainer.
"How do you feel?" the young coach asked.
"Just. Bloody. Fucking. Peachy," Draco's response came through gritted teeth.
"Is he okay?" Oliver asked. Hermione looked up from Draco's legs and shoved her wand hastily into her robe pocket.
"How's your cast holding up?" she asked her classmate. Draco brushed his fingers across the thick white plaster coating his entire right arm.
"It's a bloody pain in my ass!" He announced.
"So do you think you can stand?" Hermione questioned. Draco stumbled to his feet, almost falling into Oliver. He never asked for help.
"I'll take that as a yes," Hermione said, rising to her own feet. She tried to ignore the air of superiority radiating from the tall blonde.
"Be careful," Oliver scolded the keeper. Hermione snapped her medic bag shut and pulled it onto her shoulder. She headed over to stand with Ron and the still paranoid Harry.
"Look," Angelina said, pointing off towards the palace.
"If those are our guides then this is our lucky day," Alicia laughed. She instantly smoothed her school robes then ran a hand over her chocolaty brown ponytail.
"Is it him?" Ginny asked, squinting at the minuscule figures. She instantly began fidgeting with her hair and her robes. "Is it him?" The group approaching the Hogwarts team consisted of a tall boy flanked by a pair of girls. All three were blonde, but the girl on the left had Malfoy- blonde hair while the other two leaned more to the dirty-blonde end of the spectrum.
"Wow," Alicia muttered, eyeing the boy. "I think I found the French eye candy." Ginny ran her fingers through her wavy red hair. The boy stepped away from the pair of girls. He broke into a run, light blue robes fluttering behind him.
"BRAEDEN!" Ginny squealed.
"GINNY!" the boy shouted. Ginny didn't move towards the boy but fisted her hands in her robes to keep the excited clapping to a minimum.
"That's Braeden?" Alicia asked, looking incredulously over to Hermione, Harry and Ron. Nine nods answered her questioned.
"That's baby Weasley's man," Angelina confirmed.
"You know, baby Weasley won't apply to Ginny for much longer," Fred said, turning to look at his oldest brother and sister-in-law.
"Yeah, Fred, about that," Bill laughed nervously and curled the end of his ponytail around his right index finger. "If you could refrain from telling mum about that until Bella and I have a chance, I'd really appreciate it."
"How much would you appreciate it?" Fred asked, quirking his left eyebrow at his brother.
"I'll buy you ice cream," Bill offered.
"How much?" Fred asked.
"Florean Fortescue's never-ending cauldron in Dragon Tracks," Bill said.
"Dragon Tracks is my favorite!" Ron exclaimed.
"Peanut Butter Fudge?" Bill questioned.
"That's mine," George laughed. Bill sighed and looked at his brother, willing him to help.
"Mint Chocolate Chip?" finally came another guess.
"Mine," Ginny laughed, not taking her eyes off the quickly approaching figure.
"Butter Beer?" Harry's hand shot into the air. Bill shrugged.
"Mermaid Food?"
"That would be mine," Hermione laughed.
"I give up!" Bill declared.
"Strawberry," Fred laughed.
"I suppose I have to buy the rest of you lot ice cream too," Bill said, looking at his two brothers, sister, and pseudo siblings. The five nodded solemnly back at him.
"Me too!" Tonks cried. "I want quadruple chocolate with chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles and little chocolate cookie pieces!"
"Did you catch that?" Bill asked, looking back at his wife.
"Never ending cauldrons of Dragon Tracks, Peanut Butter Fudge, Mint Chocolate Chip, Mer. Food, Butter Beer, Strawberry, and Tonks' creation," Bella muttered.
"Right," Bill said, nodding.
"When is the baby due?" Hermione questioned.
"August," Bill announced.
"September!" Arabella insisted, glaring at her husband.
"BRAEDEN!" Ginny shrieked. The boy skidded to a halt just in front of his girlfriend. She immediately sprang into his arms, clamping her arms around his shoulders. He spun her around several times. Her legs flew out behind her due to the speed of their spinning. The pair staggered to a stop and Braeden dropped a chaste kiss on her left temple before returning her to a standing position. The pair of girls finally caught up with Braeden. One was one other than Fleur Delacour. The other was only a few inches taller than Astrid. She had the type of skin that would have been tan at any time save mid February. Her hair was the color of broom straw, but very shiny and stick straight, hanging to the middle of her diminutive back. Besides being short and small boned, she was also muscular, built much like a gymnast. Her sparkling grey-green eyes shifted from Ginny and Braeden to Bill Weasley then Oliver before back to Ginny and Braeden. She didn't look the least bit excited about that particular development. The girl's eyes finally fell on Draco and she looked considerably happier.
"Braeden?" Fleur asked, coughing politely to get the boy's attention. "Weel you pleeze eentroduce us to your freendz?" Braeden stepped away from Ginny, wrapping her hand in his.
"Certainly Madame Delacour," Braeden said. Fleur quickly delivered several sentences in French and the other girl suddenly looked as though she understood. Braeden looked down at Ginny.
"*This is Ginny Weasley, manager for the Hogwarts team.*" The Hogwarts team immediately looked puzzled at Braeden's use of French. "I'm introducing you guys so Fleur doesn't have to translate," Braeden explained. He pointed at Hermione.
"*That is Hermione Granger, my cousin. Next to her is Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother, and then Harry Potter.*"
"'Ello, 'Arry," Fleur squealed, waving at her fellow tri-wizard champion.
"*Those guys are Fred and George, Ginny and Ron's other brothers, and that's Angelina Johnson,*" Braeden explained. He looked directly at Katie and guessed her name. She nodded so Braeden continued with his introductions.
"*That's Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet.*" He looked over at Bill, as did the girl.
"*That's Bill Weasley, another of Ginny's brothers.*"
"*Are you crazy or just stupid?*" The girl asked. She never moved her eyes off of Bill.
"*She has two others,*" Braeden replied, "*And that's Arabella Weasley, Bill's wife.*" He shot a very pointed look down at the short blonde. Her gaze instantly re-settled on Draco.
"*I'm guessing that's Tonks, and that's Oliver Wood.*" Fleur landed an almost predatory gaze on the young Quidditch coach. Braeden pointed at William Sanguinis.
"Right-o, mate!" Tonks said after Hermione whispered a translation to the oldest-looking professor. Braeden rolled his eyes at the woman.
"*That's William Sanguinis and that's Draco Malfoy. I broke his jaw!*" Braeden finished.
"*Good thing you didn't do any damage to that gorgeous face,*" The still nameless girl muttered.
"*I understood that, Granger,*" Draco spat, glaring at the older boy and wisely choosing to ignore the girl's statement. Braeden instantly turned bright red while Fleur and Hermione laughed and everyone else simply looked puzzled at Draco's use of French.
"*Introduce me,*" the girl demanded, glaring at Braeden.
"Hogwarts," Braeden turned to face the team. "May I introduce Fleur Delacour, assistant charms professor, and Calliope Lestat, Beauxbatons' team seeker." Calliope gave a small smile and wave to the group, while Fleur simply smiled.
"Calliope and I are going to be your guides while you're here at Beauxbatons. You'll meet the rest of the guys and Genevieve later," Braeden said. "But first I need to know, do any of you besides Hermione and Malfoy know any French?"
"The rest of the guys and Genevieve?" Ron questioned.
"Luc, Alexandre, and Genevieve, our chasers, and Giovanni and Marius, our beaters," Braeden explained. He still looked at the team, waiting for an answer to his question concerning possible language problems.
"Vous êtes plus beau qu'un rongeur sans des dents le jeudi prochain," the twins chorused. Calliope purpled in an attempt to hold in her laughter. Braeden, Hermione and Fleur laughed outright, while Draco glared at the middle two Weasley's.
"Guys, you just lost your French speaking privileges," Braeden laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes and Fred and tapped him lightly on the back of his head.
"What exactly did they just say?" Ginny asked.
"You don't want to know," Braeden replied, shaking his head and pulling his girlfriend towards the palace.
Sorry this chapter took so long.
I really really really like reviews.
I also really really really like the people who have reviewed so far.
I also like Natalie for betaing this.
*denotes French*
There is quite a bit of French in this chapter, so to prevent any mistakes with machine translation and stuff, since I don't speak French, I just put the stuff that is supposed to be in French in English and surrounded it with **. Just pretend it's really French. :-D
That being said.
*****
"Sanguinis," Oliver called.
"Here," William mumbled, waving slightly at Oliver.
"Weasley," Oliver said.
"Specify," Ron, George, Fred and Ginny all chorused. Oliver never looked up from his clipboard.
"You're all here," Oliver muttered, making four checks on his clipboard. "Potter?"
"Here," Harry laughed.
"Chasers?" Oliver asked.
"Don't we get names?" Alicia asked.
"One, two and three," Oliver said, glaring at Alicia.
"I'm one!" Angelina insisted.
"No fair, I play center," Alicia cried.
"Which means I should be one," Katie announced. "because I play right and when facing us, starting with me would be the most logical progression."
"And you three are all here too," Oliver laughed. "Hermione?"
"Here Oliver," Hermione said, waving at the coach.
"And Mal," Oliver's sentence trailed off. He looked up at his team gathered in the entrance hall of Hogwarts.
"I'm here, Oliver," a voice from the stairs called. Everyone turned to look at the fallen keeper standing on the stairs.
"You're awake," Oliver exclaimed.
"And Dumbledore has given me permission to travel with the team. I can't play because I'm still quite breakable, but I can go," Draco explained. He took the remaining steps to stand with the team. William held out his hand and Draco gave him a quick and very easy high five. Draco winced as he pulled his left hand back towards his body.
"Exactly how breakable are you?" Oliver asked.
"Very," Draco muttered, glaring at Oliver.
"So how do you plan on portkeying to France, and what happens if you break any more bones when we're there?" Oliver asked, leveling an equally menacing glare at Draco.
"You're on your own to figure out the port key, you are the coach after all. And I've got all of the potions and things Madame Pomfrey says I need to finish fixing my bone density and my touch," Draco said. "And she also insists that Granger is quite proficient in healing broken bones." Draco glared over at Hermione.
"If you're not reasonable to Hermione, then she's not healing anything you happen to break, and I won't either." Oliver said, glaring at Draco.
"Ron, punching Malfoy would very likely break every bone in his body," Hermione said before Ron or Draco could make a comment.
"So?" Ron asked, looking down as innocently as possible at his best friend.
"If the pair of you don't stop it right now, you're going to run laps," Oliver threatened. He ran a hand over his close-cropped brown hair and shot an exasperated look at his clipboard.
"I'm the trainer, Wood, you can't make me run laps," Hermione reminded the slightly scatter-brained coach.
"Oh, right," Oliver looked back to the lifeline of a clipboard he held in his hands. "Who are we waiting on?"
"No one unless the rest of our entourage is meeting us here rather than outside the gates," Harry said, rubbing a fist across his sleep-logged green eyes.
"Entourage?" Ron asked, quirking an eyebrow at the smaller boy. Harry shrugged and smiled up at his best friend.
"Makes us sound important," Harry explained.
"Okay, so we've got nine uniforms, eight brooms." Oliver paused momentarily. "Wait. Why do we only have eight brooms?" He looked up from his inventory list to his team.
"Do you really see me being able to fly anywhere?" Draco asked, subtly reminding Oliver of his injuries.
"Right," Oliver muttered. "Does everyone have black socks?"
"Yes, Wood," the team chorused.
"I've checked and double checked the equipment at least 15 times already! We have everything!" Ginny assured the panicking coach.
"Did you really?" Hermione asked, impressed by the girls effort.
"Sure, why not?" Ginny laughed, shrugging nonchalantly to the older girl. She pulled at the front of her best black school robe and ran a hand over her carefully styled red hair. "Do I look okay?"
"Gin, chances are the first time you see Braeden, you'll be lying in a pile on the ground with the rest of us. You're not going to have much control over your outfit," Hermione laughed. She hauled the large black medic bag onto her shoulder. "I swear. Madame Pomfrey packed an entire potions cabinet in here!"
"RON!" Harry and Ginny chorused before Ron could say anything about potions and certain Slytherin team members. Ron cracked a bright smile down at his friends.
"This is great!" He claimed. "I don't have to make nasty comments anymore because you lot know what I'm going to say before I say it!"
"Why black socks?" Fred asked, two full minutes behind everyone else in the conversation.
"They never get dirty," Oliver muttered, not realizing how far the conversation had progressed.
"Entourage, school gates," Harry gently reminded the coach. Oliver tucked his clipboard into his black leather messenger bag, pulled the bag over his left shoulder, and turned to face the team.
"Okay. Everyone grab your stuff, shrink it and put it in your pockets. Then we're going to go catch the carriages to the gates," Oliver instructed. The entire team, trainer and manager headed towards the assorted pile of bags and brooms lying in the corner. Fred and George both clamped hands to their respective crotches.
"Oliver!" George screeched.
You can't really expect us to!" Fred continued. Both boys looked more than properly appalled.
"Weasley!" Oliver spat. "Serious! Please!"
"Go ahead Wood, give us the speech about how we're representatives of Hogwarts and we've got to behave," George suggested. Fred nodded in identical agreement.
"No, Mr. Weasley, I'm here for that," a voice form the top of the stairs said.
"Good Merlin, the man is omnipresent!" George cried. He covered his head with both of his arms and crouched on the floor. Fred nudged his twin twice with his left foot as the rest of the team turned to face Dumbledore.
"Good luck," Dumbledore said. "As Mr. Weasley said, you are representatives of Hogwarts and I expect you all to be on your best behavior. I also, however, expect you all to win, so if you need to do anything to loosen up before the match, I suggest pranking a Professor," Professor Dumbledore trailed off. "I probably shouldn't tell you that."
"Oh come on, Professor Dumbledore!" Fred cried.
"Tell us!" George finished Fred's sentence.
"No, I shouldn't. Go, have fun, and bring back a victory for Hogwarts!" And with that, he was gone as mysteriously as he had appeared.
"And that was officially creepy," Fred announced as he placed his shrunken broom and luggage into his pocket.
"Are you all ready to go?" Oliver asked.
"Come on Oliver, or we're going to be late!" Ginny insisted. She turned on her heel and stomped out of the castle. Her red hair flickered in the bits of the early morning sunlight that slipped in through the castle door when she opened it.
"Follow the manager. Chasers, you're in a carriage with Ginny. Fred, Ron, Hermione and Harry, go together, and George, Draco and William, you're with me. Weasley, quit staring at me like that. It won't kill you to be separate for a few minutes." Oliver said. The team all turned and rushed towards the doors of the castle. Oliver hurried after them and clambered into the last carriage in the line.
"Night night!" Fred announced as soon as his black robed butt his the seat of the carriage.
"Fred, you don't have time for a nap," Hermione scolded, slipping into the seat next to her boyfriend. She dropped her medic bag onto the floor at her feet.
"Geeze Hermione, what do you have in there?" Harry asked, nudging the oversized bag with the toe of his black leather boot.
"Just call me Mary Poppins," Hermione said with a smile. She pulled her brown hair down from the loose ponytail she had put it in. It cascaded down her shoulders in thick amber waves. Fred nestled his head on her shoulder and inhaled deeply before closing his eyes.
"Fred, you really don't have time for a nap!" Hermione scolded. The carriage took off with a satisfying lurch.
"At 5 a.m., there is always time for a nap," Fred mumbled sleepily.
"Why are we awake and leaving at the arse crack of dawn any way?" Ron asked.
"I think they're probably worried about us missing school," Hermione said.
"Why are they worried about us missing school? They're sending teachers with us!" Harry cried.
"Really Harry, how thick can you get?" Hermione asked. She tried to adjust Fred's head to a more comfortable position on her shoulder, but failed miserably. She only succeeded in causing herself to slump down in the seat.
'What?" Harry asked. He drew his right knee up to his chest and rested his chin just on the crest.
"Don't you find it odd that the Boy Who Lived is traveling out of the country and our teaching staff consists of two Aurors and Gringott's best curse breaker in at least two decades?" Hermione asked. She shoved Fred away from her shoulder and he fell against the other side of the carriage.
"He's not really asleep," Hermione muttered, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She stretched out and propped her feet on the seat between Harry and Ron.
"Actually, knowing Fred, he probably is," Ron laughed, kicking his brother lightly on his shin.
"So wait. Dumbledore is afraid for my safety in France when at school I live in the same tower as the heir of Voldemort's sister and play Quidditch and have classes with his brother?" Harry ranted. Hermione cast a quick spell to cancel Fred's hearing of anything Voldemort related.
"You know Harry, the way you said that makes it sounds like Astrid is Voldemort's sister's heir," Hermione commented offhandedly.
"You know Hermione," Harry mimicked, "I don't remember Dumbledore saying anything about sending us an English professor."
"Shove it Potter, or you're not going to need the Aurors," Hermione spat, mimicking Astrid's infamous scowl.
"Hermione, you've been hanging around Astrid too long," Ron declared, smiling at his friend.
"Speaking of her, what do you think Oliver will do about her older brother?" Hermione questioned.
"Make him portkey and let him break every bone in his body!" Ron said rather decisively. He ran a hand through his red hair, causing it to stand up on end. He leaned back in his seat and stretched his feet into Fred's lap. Fred never moved.
"Do you want to deal with Astrid if that happens?" Harry asked.
"Okay, no," Ron admitted, smug look vanishing from his face.
"Maybe Bill or Ms. Arabella or Tonks could apparate ahead and cushion the ground and the walls around where we're supposed to land," Harry suggested. He pulled his glasses off of his face and tucked them in his robe pocket before scrubbing both eyes lazily with his fists.
"Don't you need those?" Hermione asked, watching the path of the glasses from her friends face to his pocket. Harry shrugged in a non- committal way. He laced his fingers together in front of his chest and then inverted his hands so his palms faced Hermione. All of his knuckles and both shoulders popped loudly. He sighed loudly and dropped his hands back to his knees.
"They are bloody useful, but its too early for them," Harry admitted. Blinking his eyes twice at the very fuzzy Hermione.
"Want me to do the charm I used at Halloween?" Hermione volunteered.
"Certainly," Harry replied, looking directly at Hermione through wide green eyes. Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at Harry. She muttered a charm and suddenly his vision was perfect.
"Why don you do that during matches?" Ron asked.
"Because," Hermione replied. "Only vision correction spells done by a certified Ophthalmologist wizard are legal in match play, and I'm not certified in Ophthalmology." Ron blinked twice and shook his red head at his friend.
"English," he muttered.
"She's not certified to fix eyes so I couldn't play in the match if she did," Harry translated. The carriage lurched to a stop, almost throwing Fred into the floor. He sat up and rubbed a hand over his fuzzy red hair.
"Are we there yet?" he asked. Harry peered out of one of the small windows situated near his head.
"It seems so," he replied. He laced his fingers together and rested the back of his head in his palms, pulling his shoulder blades together in yet another stretch.
"I bet Ginny is about ready to drive the chasers crazy with all of her talk of Braeden," Hermione laughed.
"If the chasers were smart, they pulled her into a Quidditch conversation before she could start in on Braeden," Fred mumbled. He pushed open the door of the carriage and stumbled into the early morning sunlight. Ron and Harry quickly followed him. Fred turned and helped Hermione from the carriage. She reached back in and pulled out her gigantic medic's bag and slung it carefully over her shoulder. Fred laced his fingers through hers and gently pulled her over to where Oliver stood, with Bill to one side and Draco to the other. Bill's arm was wrapped protectively around Arabella. Tonks stood to the other side of Arabella. She had curly blonde hair that hung just past her shoulder blades, and blue-green eyes set in an early-30's face.
"Come on, everyone, gather around here," Oliver instructed. Fred instantly ran to George's side, dragging Hermione with him. The twins stood next to Tonks. Katie and the other chasers joined George, while Harry and Ron slid into the circle between Alicia and Sanguinis. Ginny stepped up between Bella and Tonks.
"First I want to introduce you to your teaching staff," Oliver began. "This is Professor Bill Weasley, his wife Professor Arabella Weasley, and Professor Nymphadora Tonks." Tonks waved cheerfully at the students while Bill and Bella just smiled.
"Who are they?" Tonks asked, nodding at the students. Oliver pointed at each student as he said his or her name.
"Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, Hermione Granger, George Weasley, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, William Sanguinis and Draco Malfoy."
"Oh goody!" Tonks exclaimed. She bounced twice on her toes and clapped her hands together several times, much like a child at Christmas. Oliver looked sternly at Tonks, who immediately calmed down.
"Now as you know, we have a situation here," Oliver said. He glanced at Draco before turning his attention to the rest of the team. "To avoid killing Draco, I'm going to ask Tonks or Arabella to apparate ahead and cushion our landing grounds."
"I can't," Tonks declared. "I don't tend to be accurate on cross country apparition." Oliver looked expectantly at Bella.
"I will!" Bill cried before Bella could answer.
"Don't be daft Bill, he asked me," Bella said.
"But the baby," Bill said, looking down at his wife. He instantly turned red and clamped his hand to his mouth.
"BABY!" all of the younger Weasley siblings chorused. Bill and Bella both nodded. Bill was still the infamous Weasley red, while Bella clasped both hands protectively on her lower abdomen.
"Okay. So Bill is going to apparate ahead and cushion the landing grounds," Oliver said. Bill nodded and disappeared with a pop. "Now I want the twins to stand on either side of Draco."
"Why us?" George asked.
"Because you two are the most identical and therefore the most stable," Oliver replied. George and Fred dropped the hands of their respective girlfriends and trudged over to where the blonde keeper stood next to the coach. Oliver pulled out his wand and pointed it at the trio, muttering several spells. When he finished, he pocketed the wand and turned back to the group. George tried to step away from Draco but found he was inexplicably pulled back towards the boy.
"Draco is incased in a cushion or sorts, anchored to the two of you. Only one of you will need to hold onto the port key, as the other two will be pulled along due to the spells. The charms will prevent Draco from breaking any more bones as long as something doesn't fall directly on him. The cushion is also charmed to keep the pair of you from falling onto him, so don't even try it," Oliver explained. He held out a crumpled piece of paper to the center of the group.
"Everyone put a finger on this," he instructed. The team, Bella and Tonks crowded in, all reaching for the ball in Oliver's hand. Fred reached for the paper while Draco and George watched nervously from just behind him. Harry looked warily at the piece of paper before stretching out his left hand so his fingers rested just on the edge. Ron, noticing Harry's slight apprehension, placed his right hand on Harry's shoulder and moved the smaller boy closer to the center of the circle. He didn't move his hand from his friend's shoulder. Oliver glanced down at his watch.
"Three. Two. One." at the end of the countdown, a familiar tug issued behind everyone's navels. Ron's hand never slipped from Harry's shoulders. Draco and George flew along behind Fred. In a sudden jarring second, the team and their entourage bounced to a stop on a fluffy pillow-like ground.
"How'd I do?" Bill asked. Ron let go of Harry shoulders and took a step backwards. William struggled to move out of the tall redhead's way. The bouncy floor caused William's knees to buckle and he stumbled a moment. Before he could completely regain his balance, he cascaded backwards directly on top of Fred. William and Fred tumbled to the ground, pulling Draco and George with them. As William fell he twisted to his right and ended up lying squarely on Draco's shins. Two loud cracks sounded from beneath the keeper.
"BLOODY HELL GET THIS DUMB FUCKER!" Draco began screaming at a ridiculously high volume. Oliver pointed his wand at Draco and muttered a spell, cutting off Draco's voice.
"William, get off of his legs! You're not an ogre!" Oliver commanded.
"What?" William asked, confusion evident in his deep voice. He struggled to his feet and bounced away from Draco.
"You were fast on your way to grinding his bones so finely you could bake bread," Oliver explained. Draco still lay on his back in greenish brown grass howling expletives at the top of his non-existent voice. He looked quite like a fish out of water. On either side of him, the Weasley twins struggled to stand. Bill fired off a countercharm that allowed his brothers to leave their enemy's side.
"Hermione?" Oliver questioned. He raised an eyebrow at the fifth year trainer.
"Giants," Hermione said. "Giants do the bone bread bit, not ogres."
"Who cares? Heal our cheerleader!" Oliver commanded. Draco stopped his silent tirade to shoot Oliver a look that said he'd like to see the older boy dead.
"Oh, right," Hermione slung her medic bag from her shoulder and flung herself to the ground next to Draco.
"Weren't we supposed to meet a Beauxbatons delegation here?" Harry asked. He stood at the edge of the group, one hand on his wand pocket. He glanced nervously from Hermione and Draco to Ron to Oliver to a palace in the distance then back to Hermione and Draco.
"Delegation?" Ron laughed. "Beauxbatons is sending a delegation to meet our entourage!"
"I'm not kidding!" Harry snapped, glaring at his best friend. Ron's laughs trailed off and he shrugged.
"Professor Dumbledore advanced the time on our portkey a bit because he half expected something like that," he pointed to Hermione and Draco. "To happen." Harry shrugged but didn't move his hand away from his wand or stop looking around.
"Do I look okay?" Ginny asked. Ron cracked his knuckles and looked over at his baby sister.
"Down boy!" the twins chorused. Ron immediately ran a hand over his hair and the other over his robes.
"Oliver, give him his voice back," Hermione instructed, never looking up from her work on Draco's legs. Oliver did as the younger witch commanded then crouched next to the fallen keeper across from the trainer.
"How do you feel?" the young coach asked.
"Just. Bloody. Fucking. Peachy," Draco's response came through gritted teeth.
"Is he okay?" Oliver asked. Hermione looked up from Draco's legs and shoved her wand hastily into her robe pocket.
"How's your cast holding up?" she asked her classmate. Draco brushed his fingers across the thick white plaster coating his entire right arm.
"It's a bloody pain in my ass!" He announced.
"So do you think you can stand?" Hermione questioned. Draco stumbled to his feet, almost falling into Oliver. He never asked for help.
"I'll take that as a yes," Hermione said, rising to her own feet. She tried to ignore the air of superiority radiating from the tall blonde.
"Be careful," Oliver scolded the keeper. Hermione snapped her medic bag shut and pulled it onto her shoulder. She headed over to stand with Ron and the still paranoid Harry.
"Look," Angelina said, pointing off towards the palace.
"If those are our guides then this is our lucky day," Alicia laughed. She instantly smoothed her school robes then ran a hand over her chocolaty brown ponytail.
"Is it him?" Ginny asked, squinting at the minuscule figures. She instantly began fidgeting with her hair and her robes. "Is it him?" The group approaching the Hogwarts team consisted of a tall boy flanked by a pair of girls. All three were blonde, but the girl on the left had Malfoy- blonde hair while the other two leaned more to the dirty-blonde end of the spectrum.
"Wow," Alicia muttered, eyeing the boy. "I think I found the French eye candy." Ginny ran her fingers through her wavy red hair. The boy stepped away from the pair of girls. He broke into a run, light blue robes fluttering behind him.
"BRAEDEN!" Ginny squealed.
"GINNY!" the boy shouted. Ginny didn't move towards the boy but fisted her hands in her robes to keep the excited clapping to a minimum.
"That's Braeden?" Alicia asked, looking incredulously over to Hermione, Harry and Ron. Nine nods answered her questioned.
"That's baby Weasley's man," Angelina confirmed.
"You know, baby Weasley won't apply to Ginny for much longer," Fred said, turning to look at his oldest brother and sister-in-law.
"Yeah, Fred, about that," Bill laughed nervously and curled the end of his ponytail around his right index finger. "If you could refrain from telling mum about that until Bella and I have a chance, I'd really appreciate it."
"How much would you appreciate it?" Fred asked, quirking his left eyebrow at his brother.
"I'll buy you ice cream," Bill offered.
"How much?" Fred asked.
"Florean Fortescue's never-ending cauldron in Dragon Tracks," Bill said.
"Dragon Tracks is my favorite!" Ron exclaimed.
"Peanut Butter Fudge?" Bill questioned.
"That's mine," George laughed. Bill sighed and looked at his brother, willing him to help.
"Mint Chocolate Chip?" finally came another guess.
"Mine," Ginny laughed, not taking her eyes off the quickly approaching figure.
"Butter Beer?" Harry's hand shot into the air. Bill shrugged.
"Mermaid Food?"
"That would be mine," Hermione laughed.
"I give up!" Bill declared.
"Strawberry," Fred laughed.
"I suppose I have to buy the rest of you lot ice cream too," Bill said, looking at his two brothers, sister, and pseudo siblings. The five nodded solemnly back at him.
"Me too!" Tonks cried. "I want quadruple chocolate with chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles and little chocolate cookie pieces!"
"Did you catch that?" Bill asked, looking back at his wife.
"Never ending cauldrons of Dragon Tracks, Peanut Butter Fudge, Mint Chocolate Chip, Mer. Food, Butter Beer, Strawberry, and Tonks' creation," Bella muttered.
"Right," Bill said, nodding.
"When is the baby due?" Hermione questioned.
"August," Bill announced.
"September!" Arabella insisted, glaring at her husband.
"BRAEDEN!" Ginny shrieked. The boy skidded to a halt just in front of his girlfriend. She immediately sprang into his arms, clamping her arms around his shoulders. He spun her around several times. Her legs flew out behind her due to the speed of their spinning. The pair staggered to a stop and Braeden dropped a chaste kiss on her left temple before returning her to a standing position. The pair of girls finally caught up with Braeden. One was one other than Fleur Delacour. The other was only a few inches taller than Astrid. She had the type of skin that would have been tan at any time save mid February. Her hair was the color of broom straw, but very shiny and stick straight, hanging to the middle of her diminutive back. Besides being short and small boned, she was also muscular, built much like a gymnast. Her sparkling grey-green eyes shifted from Ginny and Braeden to Bill Weasley then Oliver before back to Ginny and Braeden. She didn't look the least bit excited about that particular development. The girl's eyes finally fell on Draco and she looked considerably happier.
"Braeden?" Fleur asked, coughing politely to get the boy's attention. "Weel you pleeze eentroduce us to your freendz?" Braeden stepped away from Ginny, wrapping her hand in his.
"Certainly Madame Delacour," Braeden said. Fleur quickly delivered several sentences in French and the other girl suddenly looked as though she understood. Braeden looked down at Ginny.
"*This is Ginny Weasley, manager for the Hogwarts team.*" The Hogwarts team immediately looked puzzled at Braeden's use of French. "I'm introducing you guys so Fleur doesn't have to translate," Braeden explained. He pointed at Hermione.
"*That is Hermione Granger, my cousin. Next to her is Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother, and then Harry Potter.*"
"'Ello, 'Arry," Fleur squealed, waving at her fellow tri-wizard champion.
"*Those guys are Fred and George, Ginny and Ron's other brothers, and that's Angelina Johnson,*" Braeden explained. He looked directly at Katie and guessed her name. She nodded so Braeden continued with his introductions.
"*That's Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet.*" He looked over at Bill, as did the girl.
"*That's Bill Weasley, another of Ginny's brothers.*"
"*Are you crazy or just stupid?*" The girl asked. She never moved her eyes off of Bill.
"*She has two others,*" Braeden replied, "*And that's Arabella Weasley, Bill's wife.*" He shot a very pointed look down at the short blonde. Her gaze instantly re-settled on Draco.
"*I'm guessing that's Tonks, and that's Oliver Wood.*" Fleur landed an almost predatory gaze on the young Quidditch coach. Braeden pointed at William Sanguinis.
"Right-o, mate!" Tonks said after Hermione whispered a translation to the oldest-looking professor. Braeden rolled his eyes at the woman.
"*That's William Sanguinis and that's Draco Malfoy. I broke his jaw!*" Braeden finished.
"*Good thing you didn't do any damage to that gorgeous face,*" The still nameless girl muttered.
"*I understood that, Granger,*" Draco spat, glaring at the older boy and wisely choosing to ignore the girl's statement. Braeden instantly turned bright red while Fleur and Hermione laughed and everyone else simply looked puzzled at Draco's use of French.
"*Introduce me,*" the girl demanded, glaring at Braeden.
"Hogwarts," Braeden turned to face the team. "May I introduce Fleur Delacour, assistant charms professor, and Calliope Lestat, Beauxbatons' team seeker." Calliope gave a small smile and wave to the group, while Fleur simply smiled.
"Calliope and I are going to be your guides while you're here at Beauxbatons. You'll meet the rest of the guys and Genevieve later," Braeden said. "But first I need to know, do any of you besides Hermione and Malfoy know any French?"
"The rest of the guys and Genevieve?" Ron questioned.
"Luc, Alexandre, and Genevieve, our chasers, and Giovanni and Marius, our beaters," Braeden explained. He still looked at the team, waiting for an answer to his question concerning possible language problems.
"Vous êtes plus beau qu'un rongeur sans des dents le jeudi prochain," the twins chorused. Calliope purpled in an attempt to hold in her laughter. Braeden, Hermione and Fleur laughed outright, while Draco glared at the middle two Weasley's.
"Guys, you just lost your French speaking privileges," Braeden laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes and Fred and tapped him lightly on the back of his head.
"What exactly did they just say?" Ginny asked.
"You don't want to know," Braeden replied, shaking his head and pulling his girlfriend towards the palace.