Chapter 6-Hogwarts School
"What are you going to write?" Lilly asked.
Tuesday pulled out a peice of parchment and her black feather quill.
"He needs to know about Dudley," Tuesday answered, "Oh by the way, here's his latest letter, if you're interested..."
Tuesday handed Lilly her newest letter from Dudley and read as Tuesday wrote her note back to Adam:
Adam,
I know you still have feelings for me, and I am very happy that you do. I also accept your apology about last year. I might go back out with you...but I won't. I have a boy friend already and he lives in England, near where my mother lives. I'm sorry that we can not get back together. Besides it would be really difficult anyway, seeings as how I am leaving for Hogwarts and the Triwizard Tournament tonight. Much love from, Tuesday
"Here, tell me what you think," Tuesday handed the note to Lilly, who read it quickly.
"I'll go give it to him," Lilly said, "I'll meet you upstairs."
"Right," Tuesday gathered her things and hurried back upstairs to the dorm room. Hilzary was there already. She was sitting at her desk doing some homework, her quill scratching quickly against the parchment.
"Hey," Tuesday greeted her.
"Hello...leaving tonight?" Hilzary asked, not looking up from her work.
"Yeah."
Tuesday began gathering up everything and shoving it into her trunk.
"Oh...by the way, your toad's under the bed," Hilzary said.
"Thanks."
Tuesday reached under her bed and scooped up Purdu and placed him gently into a little basket with a clasp.
"Wouldn't want you escaping on our way to Hogwarts," Tuesday said to him.
She looked up and noticed Hilzary looking at her too, they smiled at each other akwardly.
"It must be exciting, going to Hogwarts," Hilzary began.
"Yeah...but the sad part is, we're taking the ship to Hogwarts," Tuesday said.
"The ship's great," Hilzary said.
"I know it is," Tuesday went on, "But...we have to steer it ourselves."
Hilzary giggled just as Lilly burst into the room, grinning.
"Well, I gave it to him!"
"Did he say anything?"
"Nope but he'll be pretty damn surprised when he reads it!"
"Good," Tuesday said coldly, kneeling back down beside her trunk and folded another set of her robes.
At seven o'clock that evening, Lilly, Tuesday, and Nik were standing and waiting eagerly in the entrance hall. They had just finished dinner, at which Professor Karkaroff had made the announcement that he was leaving for the rest of the year and that Professor Sicilus would be put in charge. The other nine students, most of whom were seventeen and older, were in the hall too. Professor Karkaroff came in after about ten more minutes. He was holding a very thick book.
"This," he smiled at the twelve students, and held up the book, "Is the key to your education for rest of this year. It is a book, yes, it may look like an ordinary book but that's not what it is. Each of you will have one of these and inside it are your lessons for the year. Assignments, tests, everything is in this book. Final exams are in this book. Just because the thirteen of us will be at Hogwarts this year does not mean you are exempt from any school work, only the school champion will be, when whomever is chosen on Halloween night. Now, on the ship you will be sharing a cabin with one other person. The name of that person will be inside of the book once I give it to you. When we arrive at Hogwarts tomorrow night there will be a feast, and then another on Halloween. While we are staying at Hogwarts we will be sleeping on the ship, but you may feel free to explore Hogwarts castle. Spare class rooms will be provided for our use and the school's library will most likely be the best place for you to complete your work. If there are no further questions, come up, get your book, and we will board the ship."
Grumbling, they grabbed their new assignment books and made their way out onto the dark grounds and back to the ship.
"We're rooming together of course!" said Lilly as they walked to the water front.
"I'm with that Jonathen kid Ivette was going on about. What joy this will be," Nik mumbled.
Tuesday didn't say much as they walked. By the way it seemed here on, the trip to Hogwarts that had sounded so brilliant and fun didn't feel as cool as it had way back in September.
They boarded the ship and Professor Karkaroff reminded them all how to steer the ship using their wands. Then he bustled off to his cabin. The twelve students rowed using magic and it wasn't so bad.
They rowed for a long time, chatting non stop about the tournament and which of them would most likely be chosen as Durmstrang champion. Tuesday tuned everything out and just kept waving her wand.
Tuesday couldn't wait until they arrived at Hogwarts the next day.
"This one or this one?" Lilly held up two sparkly butterfly clips to her blonde hair.
"I don't know..." Tuesday sighed from her spot on her bed. She was tired from all the rowing. Karkaroff had announced that they would be at Hogwarts in an hour, so they could rest up during that time.
Tuesday completely understood how Lilly wanted to impress the Hogwarts students when they arrived.
"The...red one," Tuesday answered.
"Red one? But I held up blue and green," Lilly said.
"But red will go better with our robes," Tuesday pointed out.
Lilly shrugged, put the two clips down, and put the red one into her hair. Lilly was wearing a sparkly red sleevless turtleneck, a black belt with a golden belt buckle, and black jeans with red glitter on them. Tuesday was wearing a black hoodie and black and red bondage pants.
"Wake me up when we're there," Tuesday said queitly. She tucked herself into her blankets.
Lilly smiled at her, "Homesick already?"
"No," Tuesday snapped, "More like sea sick."
"Tuesday! Hey wake up hon!" Tuesday heard Lilly's voice drift through her sleepiness.
She sat up and opened her eyes.
"We're there already? We can't be!" cried Tuesday. But she felt it. The ship was no longer moving.
"Come on! The ship's stopped!" Lilly grabbed Tuesday by the arm and helped her out of bed.
Tuesday still felt groggy and wanted more sleep. She desperatly wanted something to drink and her stomach was growling.
"Here," Lilly threw Tuesday her fur coat and put on her own.
"How do I look?" Tuesday asked hurriedly as she and Lilly ran down the ship's halls to the main hall where the other students were. Professor Karkaroff was waiting for them there too.
"Like you just woke up," Lilly answered truthfully.
"Oh thanks," mumbled Tuesday. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to fix it as well as she could without a mirror. She pulled on her fur over her robes and hoodie.
"Everyone ready?" Professor Karkaroff beamed at his students and opened the door.
They descended silently down the wooden plank. Tuesday rubbed at her eyes and strained to see through the nighttime darkness. The cold October air hit them all swiftly and the air felt great on Tuesday's warm face. They were moared on a lake that was in the shadow of a gigantic castle, a castle much, much bigger than Durmstrang. Beyond them was the castle grounds and a dark forest. The outline of a sea of students was standing near a shimmering icy blue pumpkin coach, next to some golden horses.
The twelve Durmstrang students followed their headmaster into the light coming from the castle. Professor Karkaroff led the way up to a very old man with a long silver beard.
"Dumbledore!" he called to the old man, "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"
Tuesday suddenly felt very shy, being in the prescence of a lot of students and people she didn't know at all.
Professor Karkaroff shook hands with the man known as Dumbledore.
So this was Dumbledore, Tuesday thought, staring up at the two headmasters, This is the man the Dark Lord fears so terribly much...
"...Viktor, come along, into the warmth...you don't mind Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..." Professor Karkaroff was saying.
Tuesday glanced up and watched as Viktor Krum departed from behind her and followed Professor Karkaroff past the group of Hogwarts students. The rest of their group followed them too, Lilly chatting non stop along the way into the Hogwarts castle.
"Tuesday this is so cool isn't it? We're actually here! We're actually finally here!" she shreiked.
"Hey, hey I'm here too!" added Nik.
Tuesday gazed slowly around the entrance hall they were in. She knew at once that this castle was way bigger than Durmstrang. They followed Karkaroff into what appeared to be the Hogwarts dininghall, that looked almost nothing like their own. There were four long tables set up, where all the Hogwarts students were taking seats. Lilly, Nik, Tuesday, Krum, and the other Durmstrang students stood akwardly around the doorway.
"Where do we sit?" Tuesday asked Lilly, who just shrugged.
"Let's all just sit together," Nik said, "How about over there? That's where everyone else is going."
They followed their fellow students to the nearest table. Viktor sat down first, then Tuesday, then Lilly, then Nik. They all sat in a row on the long bench. Tuesday tried not to stare too much at the students they were sitting with. She was feeling incredubly shy.
"Hey Viktor," a pale blonde boy sitting across from Viktor spoke up, "Great Cup wasn't it? Of course I was rooting for Bulgaria, and I saw you in the Top Box, that's where I was sitting."
"Oh?" Viktor said. He raised his eye brows for a moment.
"My name's Draco. Draco Malfoy. And these two are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle," the boy introduced himself and gestured to the boys on either side of him.
"I'm Lilly," Lilly said loudly, "This is my best friend Tuesday and my boyfriend Nik."
"Oh," Draco Malfoy said absentmindedly, then he turned back to Viktor.
"Friendly lot these people are," Tuesday whispered to Lilly.
They took of their furs and sat on them.
"Holy shit look at these!" Nik was busyily examining his golden plate and goblet.
Tuesday giggled and caught a glimpse of the ceiling, which was enchanted to look like the night sky outdoors.
"Omigod! Look at the ceiling!" she gasped.
"Wow!" Lilly cried, looking up too.
"I could definetly get used to this," Tuesday said, as she gazed around the room. She noticed that all the Hogwarts students were wearing robes of black and another set of students who were sitting at the table next to them were wearing shiney light blue robes that appeared to be made of silk. Tuesday figured they were the third school's delegations, Beauxbatons Academy.
"I could too. That ceiling is so beautiful," said Lilly, and then she added so that only Tuesday could hear her, "And so is that Draco Malfoy kid."
Tuesday looked at him again. He was still talking to Viktor about the World Cup. He was pretty good looking.
When all the students had settled into their seats, the staff entered the dininghall, and sat down at a top table that was for teachers, like at their school. Lastly came, Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and then a very large woman who Tuesday supposed was the Beauxbatons headmistress. When their headmistress came in, all the Beauxbatons students stood up and only sat down once again when the large woman had taken her seat. The other teachers all sat down except for Dumbledore who stayed standing up.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and guests," Dumbledore said, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
He sat down and the plates on their tables all filled with food.
"Yummy!" cried Tuesday, "I forgot how hungry I was!"
"Does the food appear on your plates at Durmstrang too?" Draco asked her.
Tuesday looked up, just to make sure he was really talking to her and not Viktor again.
"Yeah it does," she answered, starting to dig in, "That was no surprise, but may I ask...what are the four tables for?"
"We're seperated into Houses here. This is Slytherin you're sitting at. Then there's Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Griffindor way over there," Draco explained, "You're lucky. You're sitting at the best House right now."
"Is that because you're in it?" Lilly asked playfully. Luckily, Nik didn't hear because he was too busy stuffing his face with as much food as he possibly could.
Draco smiled at her, "My father wanted me to go to Durmstrang. He knows your headmaster."
"Yes, Karkaroff's awesome. He made me a Prefect this year," Tuesday told Draco.
Draco was very interested in Durmstrang, so Tuesday, Nik, and Lilly didn't mind telling him all about it. Soon after, the desserts came and they ate what they could, finally when all the plates were cleared of the food, Dumbledore stood up once again.
Lilly, Nik, and Tuesday turned around in their seats so they could see him better. They were excited, the Triwizard Tournament was about to start!
"The moment has come," Dumbledore said, "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket, just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
"Who are they?" Lilly asked over the applause.
"I have no idea," Tuesday replied as she clapped too.
"Mr. Bagman and and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts" Dumbledore paused and then said, "The casket, then, if you please Mr. Filch."
A scruffy looking man walked up to Dumbledore clutching a large, crude, wooden chest that was glittering with jewels.
"I wonder what that's for," Lilly whispered to Tuesday excitedly, who couldn't take her own eyes off of the chest and it's beautiful jewels.
"What does that stupid box have to do with the tournament?" wondered Nik.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore went on (Mr. Filch placed the jeweled chest on a table in front of Dumbledore), "and they have made the necassary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways...their magical prowess-their daring-their powers of deduction-and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."
"Wow," muttered Nik, "Sounds pretty rough."
"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament. One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
Everyone in the hall watched with anticipation now, as Dumbledore took out his wand, tapped three times on the casket, the lid opened up, and he took out an equally crude looking wooden goblet that was filled with bright blue and white flames.
"Ohmigosh!" murmured Tuesday under her breath.
Next, Dumbledore placed the flaming goblet carefully on top of the casket.
"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school cleary upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," Dumbledore went on to explain, "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all thos wishing to compete."
Dumbledore then explained about the Age Line he was putting around the goblet and about the dangers being impressed on whomever was chosen as their school's champion. Finally, Dumbledore dismissed everyone for bed and Tuesday and the other Durmstrang students rose from their table too. Professor Karkaroff came down from where he was sitting and beckoned for them to all follow him back out to the ship.
"Back to the ship then," he said, then he looked back at Viktor, "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?"
Viktor shook his head and put his furs back on.
"Professor, I vood like some vine," spoke up Cameron Poliakoff, another seventh year, in a hopeful tone.
Tuesday and Lilly both giggled as Professor Karkaroff snapped back at him, "I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff. I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again," (Lilly and Tuesday laughed even harder, finally with Nik joining in too) "disgusting boy---"
Professor Karkaroff turned and led the Durmstrang students up to the door.
"Thank you," Karkaroff said as some of the Hogwarts students had stepped back to let them pass.
Suddenly, their headmaster halted in his tracks and his students stopped too.
"What?" Lilly asked loudly, glancing around.
"Look," Nik nudged Tuesday hard and Tuesday stared ahead and couldn't beleive her eyes.
Harry Potter was only a few feet in front of her. He's here...he's here at Hogwarts...Tuesday's thoughts were racing. She hoped Harry didn't notice her with the other Durmstrang students. Harry Potter knows who I am...I am his cousin's girl friend...and...She noticed Poliakoff pointing at him...
"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," said a strange voice from behind them all.
Everyone shot around and was staring at a man with a mangled face and a chunk missing from his nose. He was leaning on a staff. Lilly uttered a silent scream.
"You!" cried Karkaroff.
"Me," said the man, "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."
The Durmstrang students followed Professor Karkaroff back out onto the chilly grounds and back over to the ship, chattering non stop about the feast that they just went to.
"This place is magnificent!" gasped Lilly, "It's got everything, good food, cool people, and it even has Harry Potter!"
Tuesday couldn't help but laugh, even though for some reason, she felt very scared.
The next morning, Tuesday and Lilly woke up late. Tuesday woke up, startled for some odd reason, and then quickly realized where she was.
"Morning!" Lilly cried when she noticed that Tuesday was awake. Lilly was standing over at the sink in their cabin room of the ship, doing her make up and straightening her pale blonde hair.
"Hey," Tuesday said weakly, sitting up in bed, "It's kinda cold," she mumbled.
"Damn straight," agreed Lilly, "But it's not that bad off. Durmstrang's much colder."
"What are we supposed to do today anyway?" Tuesday asked Lilly. She got out of bed and rummaged through her trunk for some clean clothes and robes.
"Everyone else went up to the castle already for breakfast," Lilly informed her, "We could go to I guess and then maybe find a place to start our work books. The feast doesn't start until about six, but we're leaving the ship at five."
Tuesday grinned, "The feast sounds fun!" Then she realized something about last night. Harry Potter. I should have known he want to Hogwarts...lives in England after all...
"Lilly..." Tuesday began slowly, as she began fixing her hair, "Do you think that Harry Potter would possibly tell Dudley that I'm here?"
"I don't really know Tuesday. I've never met Harry Potter."
"I have," Tuesday sighed, "I just don't know what to do."
"Talk to him," Lilly suggested.
"Talk to him...?"
"About how you feel about his...ah, Muggle cousin?"
"Yeah, Dudley's his cousin."
"That is so weird," said Lilly.
Twenty minutes later, they found themselves sitting back in the Great Hall with Nik at the Slytherin table they were at the previous night. Since it was Saturday, not as many people were there at the same time.
"Where's Viktor?" Lilly asked Nik.
"Already put his name in the Goblet, I watched him do it," Nik told them.
"Go figure," commented Tuesday, "I knew he'd try for it. He is Head Boy right? And Karkaroff's favorite..."
"Hey Tuesday," said Lilly, "If you were of age would you have put your name into the Goblet of Fire too?"
Tuesday shrugged, but tried considering it.
"We do know a lot of dark arts..." Tuesday said, "I bet that'd help us with the tasks. Whatever those tasks are."
"Where do you guys want to start on our homework?" Nik asked the two girls, "We could just stay here and do it."
"Fine."
They pulled out their thick workbooks out from their bags and turned to the pages that had that day's lesson on it.
Lilly chuckled, "I bet we won't be getting much homework done this year."
"I agree. With the Triwizard Tournament going on...I doubt it," said Tuesday.
She looked back down at her workbook, but the Triwizard and her lessons weren't the only things she had on her mind. She was thinking about Harry and Dudley. Would Dudley still love her if he knew she was binded by the magical world? Tuesday thought about this all through the next hour as she, Nik, and Lilly practiced some spells for their Hex Studies class. Tuesday and Lilly took notes about ancient flying games using their Quidditch Through The Ages books, and finally they got to their Study of the Dark Arts homework which was to do some research about the Cruciatus Curse.
Tuesday, Nik, and Lilly found their way to the school library without much difficulty (they had to ask a few Hogwarts students where to go) and found a table nearby where Viktor Krum was sitting, poaring over his workbook, which was bigger than their fourth year ones.
They spent most of their afternoon in the library doing research, then Tuesday decided to write some letters. One for her mother, one for her father, one for Dudley, and one for Ivette. She purposely left out the fact that she had seen Harry Potter at Hogwarts in her mother's letter and her letter to Dudley was pretty short. There wasn't much interesting things for her to write about, since she knew nothing about Muggle boarding schools.
By dinner time that night, Tuesday was still worried about everything.