Someday, I will own something of great value. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

I'm back (obviously, or I wouldn't be writing this...)

The Other Schools

"Draco, is that Viktor Krum?"

He blinked. "Yeah. Didn't think he was still in school. Lucky, getting into Durmstrang..."

"Yeah, but it would be horrid to live somewhere that cold, look at those cloaks." Ryua shuddered, as usual just a little bit too cold for comfort, especially with the thought of living at Durmstrang. "They look more cheerful than Beauxbatons though, look at them."

When the Hogwarts students sat down at their tables, they were quite pleased to be selected by Karkaroff to share their dinner space. Relieved to see some faces he recognized, Krum shuffled along to sit between the Malfoys. "I saw you at the Cup, yes?"

"Yes, we were up in the top box. I'm Ryua,"

"And I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Ah. Twins?"

"Yep!" they said in tandem. They didn't speak like that too often, only when they had similar interests. In this case (and most often), that was quidditch.

"Yes. I am very pleased to meet you. Vould you pass me those... those... vat do you call them..."

"Rolls?" Ryua proffered a basket of warm buns and a dish of butter.

"Yes, thank you much." Once you got over Viktor's thick accent, he was actually really a good conversationalist. Of course, the fact that quidditch terms didn't change much from language to language helped some. He was quite impressed to learn they were both on the house team ("It is interesting that you haff women on your team, is very progressive") and spent much of the meal describing various broom stunts and the like.

"Who'd ever have thought Viktor was such a cool guy?" Draco enthused as they descended the stairs to their dorms. "I mean, he's not just good a quidditch..."

"Yeah, he's really cool." Ryua had enjoyed having someone to talk to over dinner. It wasn't something they did much at home, and most of the Slytherin House was pretty short in the conversation department. "D'you suppose they'll be staying the entire year?"

"Probably, Karkaroff's one of the judges, right?"

"Cool."

A week later, everyone was waiting in the Great Hall after supper, staring fixedly at the Goblet of Fire perched on the Head Table. Viktor had dropped his name in a few days ago, although he had politely refused Draco's requests to add theirs in too. He'd said, "It's vorth more than the thousand galleon prize to put someone else's name in. Karkaroff vould not be amused, yes?" Being whose children they were, Ryua and Draco understood. Karkaroff hadn't been a particularly outstanding Death Eater, but that didn't mean he was the soul of gentleness and forgiveness either.

"The champion for Durmstrang is... Viktor Krum!" Although secretly no one had doubted this result, everyone cheered quite exuberantly as he made his less than impressive way up the Great Hall. "And for Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacouer!"

"What are you staring at, Draco? Pansy'll get jealous."

"I'm not staring at anything...I, uh, I'm just making sure I'm applauding in the right direction..." he said rather lamely. Ryua snorted in disgust as her brother's eyes followed Fleur's gently swaying body up the aisle between them and the Ravenclaw table.

"...Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore's voice rang out. "

Diggory? No way, how'd he get picked?" Draco shook off his dreamy look in the blink of an eye, replacing it with disgust.

"No idea." Neither of the twins really liked Diggory, as he had been the captain of a rival quidditch team last year.

"Well it could be worse, at least it's not a Gryffindor..." He trailed off as the Goblet flared for a fourth time, flicking another piece of parchment up into the air.

"Harry Potter." Every head in the hall turned to look at the Gryffindor table, where Harry was sitting as if thunderstruck. "Harry, up here, if you please..."

"How did he get his name into the goblet?" Draco hissed.

"No idea." And I plan to find out. "He doesn't look very happy, does he?"

"...no, he doesn't." Draco said, sounding surprised. "Wonder why?"

Ryua thought on that for the entire evening, not really paying any attention to the textbook sitting open in front of her. The chance at the Triwizard, the prize of a thousand galleons... why isn't Harry happier? She set down the quill that she'd been twiddling uselessly between her fingers for the past twenty minutes. It couldn't be that he'd be afraid, could it? He's a better wizard than that...

"So, what are you thinking about?" Ryua jumped. Blaise had just plunked down opposite her.

"I, I... er..." He smiled that irritatingly charming smile of his at the fact that she was so tongue-tied. Great. That arrogant little cuss, he thinks I'm besotted with him now... although really she just didn't think it was a good idea to discuss her thoughts on Harry Potter in the Slytherin Common Room. Although... "Just thinking about how a little snot like Potter got into the Goblet of Fire."

"Yeah." He's buying it, thank Salazar... "He's better than most people believe, I think. Either that or he's just plain lucky."

"I bet luck's a big part of it, although he does have a few skills."

"Wonder how he got those living with a bunch of muggles?"

"Hmm, probably Granger. She's always reading a lot, probably trying to make up for being a mudblood (Sorry, Hermionie...)"

"Yeah, probably. As much as I hate to say it, it seems to be doing some good. Not as much as bred in, good natural magic, of course," he added hastily.

"True," Am I actually having a halfway decent conversation with Blaise? Maybe he's not so bad after all... Well, we'll just have to see if he keeps this up.