Over the next couple of weeks Harry would settle in quite nicely. He continued to excel in his classes, with Professor Selwyn even having him study through a completely different curriculum than the others. He had said there was little point in wasting both his and Harry's time, so they might as well start Harry on higher materials. It was not the same as the fifth or sixth year curriculums, but rather seemed an odd combination of the two with maybe some seventh year material and some other stuff that Selwyn himself knew. In addition to Battle Magics, Harry took Transfiguration, Charms, Creature Studies, Magical Theory, Potions, Arithmancy, Rituals, and History. Overall, potions was his worst class and took the most effort for Harry. Thankfully Professor Dragonov was patient and always available for help. Most of his classes he had been taking for the last couple of years, but it was the first year that Rituals was available, and it was quite different. Their Professor, Sigrunn Alfsson, was beyond ancient and yet you could almost feel the magic around him. He had a shaved head that was dotted with what seemed like tribal tattoos, but on closer inspection the ink was constantly changing. He had a beard of gray that while long, was far from the archetypical wizard's beard, but rather was formed into two throngs and would look more at home upon a viking or other mediaeval man. His opening speech revealed the mystery and limited knowledge wizards truly knew about magic.
"Rituals are older than the use of wands, and as varied as the cultures that dot the earth. There are rituals that take seconds, some that span years. Some are benign and call for little more than your intention or will, and others call for the blood of hundreds, or those of your greatest enemies. I will be teaching you the nature of Roman, and Northern European, specifically Norse, rituals, but you can find many more across the world. Rituals as a whole are taught very little, and out of the major 11, Durmstrang is one of three to offer a course. Due to the unknown nature and lack of knowledge, often rituals are seen as dark and evil. Which some undoubtedly are, but there are some that are their opposites. So be careful, and be known if I hear of you using any of the knowledge I teach you irresponsibly, you will answer me." Some of the students had chuckled at this, as the professor was small and old and some thought he was joking, but his glare quickly stopped those thoughts. And, so Harry began delving into the new world of rituals.
Besides classes, Harry had played a few pick up quidditch games, and while he tried his best he was always beaten to the snitch by Durmstrang's famous Viktor Krum. While Krum always beat him, Krum would always laugh and encourage him. Krum was a good guy, and would help Harry learn new tricks when he had the time. Also, the duelling club was always one of Harry's favourite past times. Since last year's event, many of the current sixth years wanted to duel him to regain their status, and yet he maintained that as well as giving many seventh years a run for their money.
During that time Harry had written to Dorea, and she had written back and had assured him that it would be fine. Any interaction with the Potters would be negligible, she assured him, few would recognize him as having a familial connection. Harry had to agree with that; he looked quite different to when he first arrived with his aunt or even to his first year. He no longer wore glasses, now preferring muggle contacts, and his hair was cut short, making it look less messy. With his changes to his black hair and glasses, and even the way he held himself, his appearance seemed to say Pureblood Black, over Muggle-raised Potter. So, Harry no longer felt an extreme concern, but rather a distaste of being forced into the situation. It could not be helped though.
And so it was on October 24th that Harry and the other members of the delegation bid farewell to the school and their friends. Accompanying the delegation were Highmaster Kirillovich and Professors Selwyn and Albu. Before leaving Harry had been given assignments and expectations by nearly all of his other professors, except Professor Alfsson, who only gave him a book and told him to read. Harry was starting to get excited, and yet he would miss his best friends Alexey and Arianna, both of whom fell short of the top four from the year.
The trip to Scotland was quick, taking only a few hours by the ship, and as they pulled into the loch near Hogwarts you could feel the excitement in the air. The castle of Hogwarts stood tall on the hill side, and its many towers and tall spires created a sense of wonder that even the older students could not hide. They made port next to a little dock and were greeted by the Hogwarts student body, faculty, and Headmaster. Albus Dumbledore did not disappoint in his long grey robes, sweeping white beard, and twinkling eyes. Much like Professor Alfsson, you could feel the magic around him. The Highmaster was the first to disembark, followed by Professor Albu and the seventh years, with the remaining students falling into line by years and Professor Selwyn bringing up the end.
"Ah! Sergey, welcome, welcome. Olympe has already arrived and taken her students in," the Highmaster and Headmaster shook hands, and began to walk up towards the castle. The Hogwarts students parted, letting Harry's schoolmates follow through. While passing, Harry could not help but observe the differences in uniform. The Hogwarts students all wore black robes, almost indistinguishable except for different little crests over the heart of each, He spotted four different ones, a green snake, a yellow badger, a red lion, and a blue eagle. Harry knew of the different houses, yet he could see many of the others looking at the crests perplexed. The Durmstrang uniforms were much more martial to the Hogwarts ones; Deep burgundy in colour, they wore a knee length robe over black shirt and pants with high black dress boots. On top of that they wore a half-cloak which reached their elbows. Entering the castle and then their great hall they were greeted by both more students, both Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, and an openness and brightness quite foreign to Durmstrang. The ceiling was enchanted to reflect the outside sky and drew much attention. Harry and the others were shepherded over to the Slytherin table, while the Beauxbatons students were already seated with the Ravenclaws.
"Welcome Beauxbatons and Durmstrang! We hope to get to know you well over the coming months, and look forward to learning from you," Harry knew that not many of the students knew English, so he had started translating Dumbledore's speech into Russian for those around him. The others who did speak English did the same. Due to the multitude of different nationalities Russian was used for all classes at Durmstrang, and was the lingua franca of the school. Dumbledore continued explaining the rules of the tournament, about the three tasks, the reward money of a thousand galleons, and the age requirement. At the end of his speech the Goblet of Fire was brought out and he placed the age line around the Goblet. Once finished with that, the Headmaster began the feast.
During the feast Klaus, a sixth year who regularly duelled Harry, turned to him and said, "So, why do they all wear different robes? It is like Hogwarts is made up of four schools, no?"
"Kind of, the school is split into four houses, different dormitories basically. They share classes, but I believe they compete in extra curriculars. The lions at the other side are Gryffindors, next to them in the yellow and black are the Hufflepuffs, the eagles are Ravenclaws, and our hosts are the Slytherins."
"Then you sat at the wrong table, eh Harry? Though it is weird for their bird not to be a raven..."
One of the Slytherins, a boy who had pale skin and bright blond hair looked up at them, glancing to Harry asking in Russian, "Why are you at the wrong table?" The boy seemed almost insulted, as if Klaus had been saying his table was not good enough. Not wanting to offend the students, Harry responded in English.
"It is because of my nickname. Some call me the Raven, he was just referencing the Ravenclaws." That seemed to appease the boy, who looked surprised at Harry being English.
"Oh, why do they call you that? And, are you from England? Why did you not come to Hogwarts?"
"Ah...they told me that due to my house's family crest, it has a raven on it. I am English, but my aunt decided to send me to Durmstrang due to the different courses offered." That answer was vague enough, and would most likely not offend the Slytherin boy.
"That makes sense, my father almost sent me there, but my mother didn't like the thought of me being so far away." With that the boy seemed to think for a moment, "I am Draco Malfoy, by the way. You said a raven, the only English family with a raven are the Blacks, no?"
"Yes, my name is Harold Black. But, call me Harry." The boy, Draco, immediately had a look of confusion on his face when Harry mentioned his name.
"Black, but whose son are you? My mother was a Black, Narcissa, so we must be related. But, the only remaining Black is Sirius, and I would have known if he had a son."
"Oh, my father was his brother Regulus. He died before I was born, and when my mother grew ill she brought me to my aunt Dorea, who raised me." Draco's surprise increased dramatically. Regulus had a son? He was sure no one knew about that, His mother would surely want to know that. And, an aunt Dorea? The only Dorea Black he knew of had married a Potter.
"Dorea? The same Dorea who married a Potter? Didn't she die?"
"The same, and no she is still alive and doing quite well. Uncle Charlus died before I began living with her. She tends to mostly keep to herself, and is not to involved in English society." That seemed to give Draco something to think over, for he was quiet for several minutes until a girl next to him asked him to introduce her. Draco then introduced her and others in his year. There was Pansy Parkinson (the girl who asked), Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Millicent Bulstrode. Harry then introduced those around him and started speaking with everyone. He found out that they were the same age as himself, and quite polite. Many of them had questions about Durmstrang, which Harry tried to answer as best as possible, and then he would translate for his schoolmates who had questions.
Once the supper was over, everyone began to leave the hall and that was when Harry had his run in. As he and most of the other students were leaving another student ran into him from behind. Turning his head he came face to face with Henry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. They boy glared at Harry and seemed to blame him. Harry didn't say a word, just turned and walked out.
"Jeez, he was rude?" Harry heard a voice say as he left.
"Yeah, I guess you were right before Ron; Durmstrang is dark. I mean just look at where they sat, with the Slytherins." Before Harry could lose his temper he walked out of the room and back to the Skithblathnir. Once he got back to the ship Harry took a seat, and thought about his encounter. He had done the right thing, he didn't engage, and he did not draw attention. And, all things considered for a first encounter with the boy-who-lived, that had not been terrible. Harry's concerns about appearance were now totally destroyed. Harry looked nothing like Henry. Henry had longer, browner, unkempt hair which seemed to go all over the place. Henry's eyes were brown, and we wore large circular glasses as well. No, overall the meeting was a good thing. With that realisation he went to sleep.
The next day Harry and the other Durmstrang students began to make their way up to the castle for breakfast. When they arrived, the hall was held only a fraction of the numbers from the night before, with only a few of the Hogwarts professors being present, and only some Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs so far. The Beauxbatons students had yet to arrive, so the Durmstrang students decided to sit with the Ravenclaws. Conversation was slow to start, but eventually those that spoke both English and Russian were able to get the conversations going. It seemed that the Ravenclaws were known for their studious nature, which caused Klaus again to comment on it being the right table for Harry. Harry laughed and smiled. As they were eating more students began to wander in. Some of the Beauxbatons students sat with the Ravenclaws and durmstrang students, others sat with the Hufflepuffs. When Draco and his year-mates walked in, he nodded to Harry and then continued to his table. The last large group to arrive were the Gryffindors. While some of the house had arrived earlier, the majority including Potter and his friend were the last to arrive. As the meal began to end, Dumbledore began to rise once again and addressed everyone.
"Good morning! In the spirit of the tournament and the forging of bonds between our great school, I have offered to let the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students accompany students of the respective years to the classes for the day. I believe that both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang brought four students from the lower years, correct?" With a nod from Kirillovich and Maxime, Dumbledore continued, "Good, good. Let's see today is Tuesday, so let us have the Durmstrang students accompany Slytherin and Beauxbatons with Hufflepuff?" This time Dumbledore looked to an older strict looking woman, who thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Ah splendid, Severus. If you could assign a student from each year, the same Pomona, and we shall be off." With that a small rotund lady and a tall, severe looking man in black descended and started calling out names. The Highmaster soon joined and directed them to their Slytherin counterparts. It worked out that all but two of the years had someone who spoke English. So, Professors Selwyn and Albu decided to accompany those that did not.
Harry was pleased, Draco was the student chosen for his year, but most of the people he had been introduced to the previous night were there as well. Harry quickly introduced them to his classmates. With him were Adriaan de Vries, Havel Bruzek, and Marcsa Szabo. Harry was friendly with the other three, but they had different sets of friends. Adriaan was a genius at potions, herbology, and creatures. Havel was a battle magics enthusiast like Harry, and they were friendly rivals. Marcsa was dreaming of being an alchemist, so she was great in potions, astronomy, and transfiguration. Overall, all four were a strong representation.
"So, first we have Charms, followed by Transfiguration, then lunch. After that we have our electives, which you will come with me to Care of Magical Creatures, and ending the day with Defense of the Dark Arts. sounds good?" Harry translated Draco's schedule, and everyone nodded. They all took those classes, or their equivalents, so it should be fine. With that they headed off to charms.
Harry had to admit he liked the bubbly little charms teacher, who reminded him of a less stern and more friendly Draganov. He was very helpful and very excited to be having guests. Once they got started, Harry was a little disappointed that they were only doing the summoning charm, as they had covered that at the beginning of the year. But, Harry and the others just observed, with them occasionally helping those around them. The class was shared with the Ravenclaws, and seemed like a mostly standard type of class. Harry did notice they spent more time on the theoretical than Durmstrang tended to, but that was of little consequence.
The next period was transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs and Beauxbatons. Adriaan spoke French so he was excited to be able to interact a little more. The strict woman from the morning was the professor, and she seemed very knowledgeable. She would have fit well in at Durmstrang with her no-nonsense approach, and Harry and the others felt very comfortable. They had been transfiguring porcupines into pincushions, which was again something they had already done as well. Just like charms, Hogwarts spent more time on the theoretical framework than Durmstrang. When Adriaan asked about how it compared to Beauxbatons, he said they were about the same as Hogwarts so far. After class they headed back to the hall for lunch. Once there Harry and the others joined Draco and his friend for lunch.
"Draco, do most of your classes give so much time to the theoretical aspect?" Draco looked at Harry and nodded, looking kind of curious as to where this was going, "Doesn't that get repetitive with your magical theory course? Won't you end up repeating most of it?"
"Magical Theory? We don't have that...wait I think you can take that after O.W.L. 's like alchemy if you want. Are you saying you take that now?" Harry was surprised by this, and once he translated for the others they were quite surprised as well. Marcsa asked about what classes were mandatory for the Hogwarts group, and they were all surprised that Arithmancy was not and yet astronomy was. It seemed very odd. It made sense now why they had to do so much theoretical work as well, they didn't have a class for it.
Soon after lunch they headed out with Draco, and a few of the others. Daphne, Tracey, Theodore, and Blaise all left for their arithmancy class. Draco sighed as they approached a little hut that had students gathering outside of it. Once there Harry saw that this class was with the Gryffindors, and unfortunately Henry Potter was in this class. It seemed Draco and Potter did not get along at all, and they started trading barbs. Harry and the others just quietly watched until the redhead with Potter, Ralph, Rick, R-something, had pointed at them and called them all evil mini dark lords. Harry would have let it go, but the others knowing something had been said about them had demanded a translation. Once Harry translated it, Adriaan and Havel calmed down slightly, shrugging off the comment., Marcsa, however, was incensed. Her grandfather had died fighting Grindelwald, and to her R-something had just compared her to him. Her wand was out and a flash and she angrily started towards the redhead. Harry tried to calm her, but she had switched to her native Hungarian, and Harry had no idea what she was saying. Thankfully the professor, a huge looking man arrived and his deep voice cut through to Marcsa, and she put away her wand.
For the class they were taking care of something called Blast-Ended Skrewts. They were small disgusting creatures that seemed very dangerous. Overall this class was very different from their Creature Studies, and speaking with Draco, it seemed a portion of their Creature Studies was in the Hogwarts Defense class. Thankfully the class ended and they headed up to the school for said Defense. Once they arrived they entered a classroom, again with the Gryffindors, to find a grizzled, scarred, one-legged, one-eyed man waiting for them, Once everyone sat down he introduced himself as Alastor Moody, a name that even the Durmstrang students were aware of.
"Today we are going to be going over the imperious curse. We went over the three unforgivables yesterday so today we will be going over how to fight the imperious off."
With that a bushy haired Gryffindor sitting with Potter asked, "You mean you are going to cast it on us?"
"Yes I am. If you are uncomfortable with that then you may watch, but you never know what might happen, and this way you will know what it is like to fight it under a controlled place. Now you are to do anything to stop me from controlling you. Any questions?" As Harry had been translating this Havel turned and asked what he meant by anything. "Anything, I am sure I can handle whatever you students can dish out. Any other questions? No. If you are watching go to the side of the room, those that are participating line up."
With that everyone got into line. Harry and the others were at the back with Daphne and Blaise, the other Slytherins being mixed in the line. So far no one had done much to fight it off and every student had ended up jumping on top of the desk. One student, a chubby Gryffindor, had halted for a second before complying. Eventually it reached Potter who sort of fought it off, eventually half jumping and hitting the desk. Moody was very pleased and tried Potter again who didn't move this time. It continued on with every other student jumping until it reached Harry.
"Impe-" Before the man could finish the word Harry had his wand out and had sent off several spells, two cutting curses, a bone breaker, and a disarm. The disarm was silent, and the others whispered to give little away. The Professor was shocked for a second before diving out of the way. As Moody did so, Harry cast spells to conjure a foot thick wall between the two and then continued with his barrage. Eventually Moody began responding with spells of his own and Harry was forced back a little. But it continued for several minutes, with Moody getting more and more involved. The Hogwarts students were quite impressed, never seeing someone their age fight so expertly. The Durmstrang students were used to such. Eventually Moody was able to disarm Harry with a successful chain that had concealed the disarm behind several nastier curses. Harry dealt with the curses, but didn't notice the disarm. Once Moody had his wand, he cast imperio this time. It now was a mental battle, and Harry started hiding behind his occlumency shields. As Moody began ordering him to jump, he began to break out into a sweat, eventually Harry's shields were strong enough and he broke the imperius.
"By Merlin, that is how you do it! Is that what they are teaching at Durmstrang these days? What was your name, boy?"
"Harold Black, sir" At the name Black several of the Gryffindors looked up. Mostly the purebloods. Most notably it was Potter and Moody who were the most surprised.
"Black you say? Who was your father?"
"Regulus, sir. He died during the war. I live with my aunt Dorea." Moody's magical eye zipped to Potter and then back. Henry was looking even more confused.
"Hmm...Well, good job, good job. Now who here can tell me what was good about Mr. Black's defence?"
"He didn't wait for you to curse him sir?" The bushy haired girl once again.
"Also, he grouped his spells into chains like you, and he whispered them?" Daphne this time,
"Yes to both. Muggles have a saying, a strong offence is the best defence. And Mr. Black just showed the truth to that. Rather than just stand and wait to be cursed he took the advantage. The greatest defence to the imperius is to not get cursed in the first place. Now Mr. Black care to explain how you broke the imperious?"
"I used my occlumency shields and waited for you to wear yourself down sir."
"Occlumency! Another thing they teach at Durmstrang? Ah nevermind. Let us see if your classmates are as good." With that Havel started, and like Harry he opened with an attack. However, Moody was prepared for it this time and quickly beat Havel down and then imperiused him. He did better than most of the Hogwarts students, not quite as well as Potter. Next was Adriaan who while decent in battle magic, was nowhere near Harry, or even Havel's skill was quickly beaten and imperiused. He did the same as most of the Hogwarts students.
Finally Marcsa was up, and R-something made some comment right before she started. She didn't know what he said, but she understood it was directed at her. So as soon as her match started she transfigured a wall. Then she quickly transfigured a box around Moody, and then lastly a hole beneath him. Moody fell into the classroom below, which happened to be Professor Flitwick's charms. Moody landed on his desk startling not only the little teacher, but the class as well. To only further confuse the poor charms class, Moody started laughing uncontrollably and yelled that their class was dismissed. It was nearing four, with supper not until six, so Harry and others left their Slytherin guides and headed to their ship to catch up on their own school work. Marcsa was still angry about the Gryffindor boy, but being the only one to beat Moody had helped her mood.
For supper, they again made their way to the great hall, but on entering the Durmstrang students were greeted with hushed whispers, curious glances, and outright stares. It was slightly unnerving. Harry and the others quickly settled in at the Slytherin table, where they were receiving the least amount of stares. As they sat down, Draco appeared next to them.
"Why is everyone staring at us?"
"The defence against the dark arts lesson spread." Upon seeing Harry's continued questioning look, Draco elaborated, "Yours and the other's fights with Professor Moody have hit the rumour mill."
"Okay, but why are most people staring at me and not Marcsa? She was the one who dropped Moody down in that charms class."
A response was quick, but surprisingly came not from Draco, but Daphne, "Well, the fact that you are a Black and managed to hold off Mad Eye for as long as you did has created quite the storm."
Arnond, a third year Durmstrang student who knew English, then voiced his opinion, "So the Raven is making himself known here as well?"
"The Raven?"
"Yes, Harry here is our Raven, the Raven of Durmstrang. He earned the name when he beat not only last year's fourth, but the fifth year students in duels." Draco looked surprised and almost a little angry.
"I thought you said the name was just because of your family."
Arnond smiled, "Is that what he said, well the Raven is very modest. But, no, the nickname came from Odin, the old norse god of war and battle. He was also known as the Raven God. So when Harry here made his mark, some started calling him the Raven God, but it got shortened to just the Raven. The family connection was also a reason I guess, but it was more secondary." With that the Hogwarts students nearby seemed to look at Harry in a different light. Harry felt almost like on display and tried to focus on his meal. Just as everyone was about to leave, Professor Dumbledore once again stood and addressed the crowd.
"Good evening. I hope you all had your fill. Before you trot off for the evening Professor Flitwick has an announcement." Dumbledore then sat down, making way for the little professor to address the school.
"Ah. In light of today's activities and the rumours of one of today's defence classes," everyone's turned to look at Harry for a moment before returning to Flitwick, "I have had several students approach me about starting a duelling club once again. I know that this was attempted two years ago, but since it is a functioning club at both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, I thought we could try it again. I have spoken with Professor Selwyn from Durmstrang, and he has agreed to help run the club for the year. It will be led by myself and him, and all students, from all three schools and every year are welcome to attend. We will be hosting the first session tomorrow night. Thank you and good evening." With that the conversations erupted across the room. Harry was quite relieved; he had been sad that he would not be able to continue with the club this year, but now that there was one here it would be good.
When the durmstrang students arrived back at their boat, Harry, Reinhard, and Illyana were called to Professor Selwyn's cabin.
"I called you three, to inform you will be helping run and teach tomorrow evening. You three are well versed in duelling, and since most of the Hogwarts students have had little formal training or experience myself and Professor Flitwick thought we would need the extra hands. I have spoken with Madam Maxine and she said she would speak to her three best duelists as well. Any questions?" When the three shook their heads, they were dismissed. As Harry was almost at the door, he turned back to Selwyn.
"Professor, wouldn't it make more sense to have another seventh year?"
"Black, you are my third best duelist. You may lose to some of the other seventh years, just due to their higher quantity of spells, but your actual duelling skills are superb. Now get out." With that Harry left, with a smile.
