After our visitors made their way inside we followed in after. We were barely at walking speed with the large crowd of Hogwarts students all wanting to get into the warmth of the Entrance Hall. As we reached the castle I removed the part of Draco's scarf that was over my mouth but left the rest of it on. Daphne on the other hand took hers off completely and returned it to Theo. Draco's scarf was soft and comfortable; I really liked it. I knew I had my own but it's not easy finding a scarf that's simple and soft at the same time. All the ones my mother ever bought me were either a very bright color or had glitter on them or something. After fourteen years one would think she would get the hint that not everyone likes shiny things as much as she does. Well, maybe Daphne…
"Can I keep this?" I asked turning to Draco. He made a face at me. I wouldn't be surprised if he had guessed I was going to ask. Maybe that's why he hadn't wanted me to have it. But he gave it to me anyway; Draco always did have trouble saying no to me.
"No" Draco answered blatantly, extending his hand so I give him the scarf. Well sometimes he had trouble saying no to me.
"Why not?" I pouted not moving in the slightest to take his scarf off.
"Because its mine" he sighed and slowly put his hand back down.
"It could be my Halloween present" I offered with a smile but he frowned in return.
"We don't get gifts on Halloween" Pansy remarked loudly next to me.
"Don't you think it's about time we did?" I replied though it's not like I was talking to her or anything.
"Katerina" Draco groaned not wanting to argue anymore but not wanting to give me his scarf either. I smiled at his aggravation.
"But it's pretty!" I exclaimed, rubbing part of the scarf against my cheek. Draco rolled his eyes at me and looked ahead.
"Come on, Malfoy, let the girl have your pretty scarf" Blaise teased, turning around to smirk at Draco. With the crowd of students all around us it took a second for me to place his voice. He was a little ahead of us, almost at the entrance of the Great Hall, but still close enough to hear.
"This is none of your business, Zabini" Draco snapped back. Blaise laughed at him then turned back around to push his way past some of the other students. Draco looked back to me as if it were my fault Blaise had heard. I made a pouty face at him, again, which made him sigh at me, again. "Fine, keep it!"
"Yay!" I cried happily and gave him a quick hug. Quick mostly because he pulled out of it so fast. Draco walked ahead to stand next to Theodore and Pansy followed after him. Daphne came to take Draco's place next to me.
"Do you ever not get something you want?" Daphne asked as I played with my new scarf.
"I don't think so, no" I answered honestly as we finally made our way into the Great Hall. She smiled at my simple reply.
"What is he doing?" I heard Blaise ask the boys as they watched the twins' friend, Lee, jumping up and down by the Gryffindor table. Draco just shook his head and turned towards our table to find a seat.
"I think he's trying to get a look at Krum" Theo suggested stepping between a couple of third years who looked to be doing the same thing as Lee.
"Well he is really cute" Daphne smiled as we caught up to them. Theo turned to smile at her
"I don't think that's why he wants to look."
"You don't know that" Daphne grinned playfully taking her seat.
I laughed as I sat down across from her. All the students began to take their seats at their house tables. Everyone but the Durmstrang group that is; they were all standing in the doorway unsure of where to go. Even the Beauxbatons students had moved to sit with the Ravenclaws. They were still clutching their scarves and shawls in an attempt to keep warm. After a moment of thought the Durmstrang students began walking to our table.
"Hi, long time no see, Krum" Draco called looking slightly smug to have been picked over other houses.
"Hi" Daphne greeted in a shaky voice as he sat next to her usual chair in front of me. Vik smiled politely at her, making her and a few other girls next to her giggle. Next to him Daphne was watching him intently. But she wasn't the only one. Plenty of girls seem to be practically swooning.
Among the Durmstrang bunch I saw the same familiar faces as outside. I knew the faces though I had forgotten most of the names. The only ones I remembered were two; Vik and Bobby. That was mostly due to the fact I had really liked one and really disliked the other.
We received a variety of hellos from Durmstrang.
"Doing well for yourself I see, Vik" I smiled as he turned back from his group of fangirls. He looked at me for a second as if his eyes were adjusting and then smiled.
"You look different than I remember you, Katerina."
"That's because last time you saw me I had yet barely hit double digits" I replied as Daphne turned to give me a disbelieving look, probably for not telling her we knew each other. But we hadn't actually spoken in a very long time. My brother graduated when I was around ten so I probably hadn't seen Vik since before then. I didn't keep in touch with many, or any, of the Durmstrang students after what happened. The few that I had talked to had only aggravated me so I stayed away from the rest.
"Are all the ceiling enchanted?" I heard a boy next to Draco ask. He and a few others were looking up at it. They looked curious and confused. It was normal that, when first seeing it, to think there was no ceiling. Some others were looking at the gold goblets and plates on the table slightly impressed. Mostly because they had expected less of Hogwarts, I'm assuming.
"No just this one" Theodore answers glancing up. "It's meant to mimic the sky outside, including the weather conditions. All except for the rain, hail, and the occasional storm."
"It's very nice" a girl commented smiling up at it. In the Durmstrang castle they didn't have things like these. They focused more on the studies than appearances so, from what I remember, their castle wasn't as elaborate as ours. Their grounds were far better though.
"After a while you kind of get used to it" Blaise mumbled resting his head on his fist waiting for the dinner to begin.
Once all the students were settled the staff came out; they moved to sit on the top table. The visiting headmaster and headmistress joined the Hogwarts professors. When Beauxbatons' headmistress appeared all of the Beauxbatons students stood up and waited until she sat before they did. A few of the other students laughed but they looked unembarrassed of what just happened.
"Why were they just standing there?" Daphne asked looking at the Ravenclaw table as they sat back down.
"It's a sign of respect" Theo answered her.
"Then why don't we do that?" she wondered turning to Professor Dumbledore.
"Because we don't respect our headmaster" Draco answered smirking as he saw me trying to stifle a giggle.
"Oh yeah."
"Is he bad?" Vik asked her. Daphne gave out an abrupt and nervous laugh again so I decided to answer for her.
"No, I actually think he's a good headmaster, but I wouldn't go as far as to say I respect him" I said truthfully. Albus Dumbledore had a reputation for being an outstanding wizard, and I approved of his position as our headmaster, but I didn't respect him. There are very few people who I would say I respect.
"That's because you're selfish and disrespectful" Pansy mumbled as if to herself but made it loud enough so that we could hear her.
"I do not disagree with that statement" I smiled in reply. A few of the students in our table laughed. Pansy rolled her eyes at me.
"Do you respect your headmaster?" Daphne asked looking around at the Durmstrang lot but leaning into Vik. I was pretty sure she mostly wanted to have him look at her rather than to actually hear him talk.
"I vould say ve are pretty much on the same boat as you ven dealing vid our headmaster" one of the other Durmstrang boys answered as several others nodded in agreement.
"So we're not so different; you're all selfish and disrespectful too" I smiled and they laughed again. Pansy made a face at me.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and—most particularly—guests," Professor Dumbledore's voice announced to the hall smiling. We quieted down to see what he wanted. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust your stay here will be comfortable and enjoyable"
A derisive laugh came from one of the Beauxbatons girls since she clearly disagreed with the statement.
"Don't complain when you're the one who didn't realize silk needs layers to keep the colder weather out" Daphne muttered with a slight glare in her direction. It was funny to see how seriously she took things involving clothing and such. Dumbledore continued his speech as if he hadn't heard the laugh.
"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!"
With that our headmaster sat down and the feast began. Food appeared on the plates on the table as usual, except not. The food served was different than usual. Besides the fact that there was much more of it there was also a greater variety than normal. For our foreign guests they brought in some foreign foods. So at least we had more options. The Durmstrang students began taking off their furs to make themselves more comfortable. I liked their robes a lot better that way though the color was a little too bright for my taste.
"See, I told you, everyone's robes are better than ours" Daphne pouted making a few of the Durmstrang group laugh.
"Vell your robes are still nice and… simple" one of the girls smiled giving one of the backhanded complements they sometimes gave. I remembered my brother would always have some form of sarcastic remark to say when he was told something like that. He fit in really well at that school…
"I like your scarf" another of the girls said to me, probably wanting to make up for her classmate's behavior.
"Thanks" Draco grumbled next to me. I giggled since technically it had been his scarf until a number of minutes ago.
"Ignore him" I said patting Draco on the head gently. "He gets grumpy when he's hungry"
"Shut up" he hissed at me and took an angry bite of his chicken.
"See" I said and a few of them laughed again.
With that we began to eat. Up on the staff table I saw Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman walk in and move to sit on either side of the visiting headmaster and headmistress. Since they were involved in the organization of the even I assume they wanted to witness its events. Or at least the significant ones like the meeting of the three competing schools. For the second course different sets of deserts showed themselves. Again there was a larger variety than usual. Once all the plates were clean Dumbledore stood again.
"The moment has come" said Dumbledore smiling at the large amount of students all staring up at him. "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 will be following this year. First let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Game and Sports."
We greeted them with applause, though it was much louder for the latter. Not many cared for magical cooperation, especially those our age. I applauded as well but I still didn't care for either. Crouch was boring and serious which, in plain, bored me. Bagman still made me think of him as insincere and with gambling issues. While he had been a famous beater that time was past him. I do remember my brother liking him though, but as a player not as a person, which was a big difference.
"Mr. Bagman 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." There was a sudden stillness of joy at the word "champions". Dumbledore smiled at the students. "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
Our caretaker Filch started approaching holding a large chest, wooden and encrusted with what looked like jewels. It looked really old. A murmur rose of excitement as the students watched it go. Filch placed the thing on the table before Professor Dumbledore as he once again spoke.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman and they have made the necessary 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 powers of deduction, and, of course, their ability to cope with danger"
The Great Hall suddenly filled with a silence of excitement. Either that or the others were thinking the same thing as me; our headmaster just needs to get on with it.
"As you know," Dumbledore continued his unbelievably long speech, "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"
Professor Dumbledore took his wand out of his robes and tapped the jeweled casket three times. Its lid slowly creaked open, as if wanting to torture the already impatient students. He reached inside and pulled out a large and roughly cut wooden cup. Blue and white flames looked to fill the glass, which I'm guessing is how it got its name. Dumbledore placed the cup atop the once again closed casket for everyone to see.
"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it in the goblet. Aspiring champions have 24 hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of 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 those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross the line.
"Finally I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all!"
Now we could finally leave. I was surprised that The Triwizard Tournament had actually bored me a little. But that was mostly due to the long speech. Too much of a good thing can end up being very bad. We all stood up ready to go back to the dungeon. For a moment the same problem as outside happened. With all the students all trying to reach the Entrance Hall we had no choice but to slowly wait for everyone to flood out. It passed a bit too slowly but we surely made it to the doorway. And before we were completely out the Durmstrang headmaster found at the Slytherin table.
"Back to the ship, then" Professor Karkaroff said as he reached his students. Though, by his position, it looked like he was only talking to one in particular. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?"
Vik shook his head as he pulled his furs back on. His face looked slightly embarrassed by all the attention. You'd figure he would be used to that kind of thing by now. Then again he was a sweet guy and knowing him he felt bad for getting special treatment.
"Professor, I vood like some vine," one of the other Durmstrang boys mentioned hopefully. I had to try not to laugh at that.
"I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff" Professor Karkaroff snapped to his non-famous student. "I notice you have dribbled food all over the front of your robes again, disgusting boy"
Professor Karkaroff stayed and walked with his students towards the door. We reached the doors out of the Great Hall at the same time as the Gryffindors. Seeing them Professor Karkaroff froze, looking particularly at Harry, and his scar. It took me a second to remember Harry was considered a big deal to some people. But seeing him so much around the grounds one forgot about it, kind of like what Blaise had said about the ceiling. Frozen in place the line froze blocking my way out. When I saw Moody approaching I decided to slip out. I didn't want to deal with him so I walked past the very distracted bunch and out into the Entrance Hall. A few students followed my lead, just before Professor Karkaroff blocked the way.
"Vas that Harry Potter?" Vik asked coming to join me. I nodded in reply.
"It's not as big a deal as you would think" Draco muttered looking away. I patted his head again and smiled at him. He turned to me hastily. "Will you stop doing that?!"
"No" I teased and stuck out tongue at him. He huffed and narrowed his eyes annoyed which only made me smile more.
"Well I'm tired so I'm going to bed" Blaise said with a yawn. "Nice to meet you, and good job at the World Cup, Krum"
"Thank you" he replied as Blaise left without another word. Vik turned back to us but stayed quite for a little while before speaking. "It vas very nice seeing you two again."
"You too, though I remember you being a lot more talkative" I admitted. Vik smiled at me. I thought about it for a second and realized why that was. He had always been quiet with those he didn't know well. It was true he and Draco had seen each other quite a few times when he visited but I had been at his school at least 3 times a week when we were younger. And whenever I wasn't with Nikolai I was usually with Vik. "Hey, Deedee, go to bed"
"What? Why?" Draco asked sounding a little annoyed. I gave him a look which was enough of an answer for him. He sighed, probably too tired for the day to argue, and raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, stop giving me that look. Nice to see you again, Krum."
"It's strange to see you two still spending time together" Vik commented almost as soon as Draco left, confirming my suspicions of his silent behavior. "Most people start to drift apart over the years but you haven't changed"
"Really? I was hoping I'd be nicer" I joked, though a little honestly. He laughed and nodded a little.
"I always thought you were nice. A little spoiled maybe but nice."
"Oh, well thank you" I smiled glad he was being honest. It was no secret I was spoiled, especially back then, but it was pleasant to know someone besides Draco had thought I was nice. From the corner of my eye I saw Professor Karkaroff had finished with conversation, or whatever he had been doing with Moody, and headed our way. "Well, good night and you're all free to sit with us again for breakfast."
"Thank you, I vill see you tomorrow" Vik said with a wave as I walked away. His headmaster reached him and they disappeared from view as I walked down the steps to the dungeon. He was just as I remembered him; a nice kid.
Wow, my fake accents suck ( ._.)
Anyway, just an FYI, I've decided to condense some of the earlier chapters down so there won't be so many (cus seriously this is about to be 86!). So I don't know how many it will go down to… I've been thinking about doing this for a while but since not everyone is up to speed with the last chapters I thought it might be confusing. That and it'll probably mess with the reviews… But I will anyway because seriously 86! So yeah just a heads up in case you try to go to chapter 75 and there is no chapter 75… Alright so see y'all next chapter and hopefully you have a good day.