They were studying Gellert Grindelwald in History of Magic - a topic which had stirred considerable excitement when it was announced. Every student seemed to have some pre-conceived conception of how Hermione ought to react to the mention of her imprisoned guardian, and from what she could tell, she failed to meet them all.
Of course, she didn't enjoy researching the depths of his depravity, but it wasn't like she was unaware of Grindelwald's crimes. If anything, it was the historical inaccuracies that irritated her, more than the subject matter.
'Another A, Miss Gorlois.' Binns drifted past her desk. 'Remarkable recall of events, but you cannot cite 'my brother was there' as evidence for fabricated facts.'
Hermione grumbled irritably and snatched at her essay, reading through it to try and figure out which facts she might have included that were not mentioned in the history texts.
'The exact date of the collapse of the Grindelwald fortress is unknown. The coven in power at the time did not notify anyone of the event until several days afterwards when the executions of the rebellion leaders of the time were announced.' Binns continued.
Hermione didn't bother to argue. This was not the first time she'd known things that had been lost to time and she knew by now that arguing with the ghost was impossible. By their very nature, ghosts were unchanging. Either way, her OWL would be marked by someone with the ability to connect her name to events, and take into account the accuracy of her primary source. That was the only exam that mattered in the long run.
With the prospect of the international guests arriving soon, even the fascinating interpretation of the Russian Revolution and it's effect on Grindelwald's psyche couldn't hold her attention. She spent the lesson alternately doodling in Norse runes and staring at her watch until the bell finally rang, releasing them from their class early.
Immediately, excitement swept the classroom and everyone jumped to their feet and hurried away to their dormitories to pick up their cloaks and formal hats. Hermione had had the foresight to make sure that her hair was done up in a style that could be worn beneath her pointed hat, so she was the first to leave the dormitory, whilst Pansy Parkinson was still wailing over how it made her chin look pointy.
Like her, Theo had been very quick to pick up his belongings, so they were among the first to reach the entrance hall. Snape billowed over to them, looking particularly greasy with freshly combed hair. He made them start a line for their year group, arranging the sixth years behind them, then swooping off to frighten a first year girl into removing her ostentatious diamond earrings.
It took half an hour for all the students to arrive, being counted in by their heads of house. Finally, the last red-faced Ravenclaws had made it down from their distant tower and the students were led out to the rolling lawns and made to wait in the growing gloom. Over in the Gryffindor section, Ginny waved. She'd done something very pretty with her hair and some black ribbons around the base of her hat to disguise the unattractive dunce-cone shape.
Ten minutes after the students were all arranged, a gaggle of adults spilled from the castle. Bagman was distinctive in his striped yellow and black robes, and Fudge wore his green bowler hat. Umbridge teetered behind the minister, followed by a tall and gaunt looking man that Hermione vaguely recalled was called Crouch. The heads of houses separated from the bulk of the students and went to join the rest of the teachers in a small huddle in front of the ranks of students.
Still they waited. Before long, a large, milky crescent moon began to rise over the forest and a deep purple flush started creeping up and over the sky.
'Should have known Europeans wouldn't be on time.' Theo grumbled good naturedly, checking his watch. It was half past six.
Then, something moved in front of the moon. Squinting, Hermione was able to make out a dark speck, which quickly grew into the familiar shape of a carriage, pulled by winged horses. Except it was bigger than any carriage she'd ever seen; it was pulled by no less than twelve horses, and although they were coloured and winged like Abraxans, she quickly realised that they were almost as large as Sleipnir.
The carriage landed heavily in front of the students, rattling over the uneven ground as the horses folded their wings and decelerated to stop with the door right in front of the assembled teachers. There was a moment of awe stuck silence as the Hogwarts students took in the ornate powder blue carriage with it's gilded scrollwork, then the door popped open and a boy jumped out, pulling out a ladder, then drawing back to let out the passengers.
Hermione was positioned so that she could see straight in through the doorway, so she was one of the first in the school to catch sight of the massive woman that appeared from within. She was easily as tall as Hagrid; so tall that even Dumbledore, who was by no means short, barely reached her shoulder. She was a dressed in a lavish satin robe, accentuated with flashing opals which only served to make her seem even taller.
Immediately, Dumbledore started clapping and the rest of the school quickly followed suit. The Headmaster's words were lost to the applause, but it fell silent in time for Hermione to distinctly hear the rich, French accent of the Beauxbatons Headmistress as she instructed him on how to care for her beasts. Meanwhile, a number of students filed out of the carriage, looking tiny in comparison to the veritable giantess leading them. Hermione had seen Beauxbatons robes before, on her trip to Paris a couple of years ago, but they'd grown even floatier since then and the students were already shivering, despite having only been out in the Scottish air for a couple of seconds. None of them looked particularly happy to be there.
The conversation wrapped up between the two school heads and the Beauxbatons contingent filed into the castle to warm up, leaving the Hogwarts students to wait in the cold again.
They didn't have to wait long. Barely ten minutes after Hagrid arrived to lead away the horses and carriage, one of the Gryffindor boys noticed a disturbance in the lake. Hermione rose up on her tiptoes, just in time to spot a long, black pole shoot up from the depths, followed by another, then a moment later a ragged, billowing sail, emblazoned with the crest of Durmstrang until finally, a large sailing ship was gliding towards the bank. It was vaguely skeletal in appearance - the timbers glistened in the moonlight and the portholes glowed with eerie light.
'It's the Hermione!' She breathed, because she was intimately familiar with the ship. A painting of it decorated the mantel in her grandmother's home, with it's distinctive figurehead - unusual, because it wore flowing white, like an angel. And that was before she'd spent days aboard, decorating it with protective enchantments and spells. She had no idea how it had fallen into Durmstrang's hands.
Whilst she was preoccupied by the spectral ship that she'd rescued years ago, the Durmstrang students had disembarked and made their way up the steep hill to the assembly of Hogwarts teachers. They were dressed in full, formal uniform with their thick red jackets and cloaks over their left arms. They all carried their duelling staffs, as if the furry bulk of their uniforms wasn't intimidating enough already.
The headmaster, dressed in white, greeted Dumbledore, then went to follow the Beauxbatons contingent into the castle, only for one of the larger students to suddenly stop.
'Fräulein Gorlois!' Victor Krum tugged off his fur hat, suddenly becoming recognisable as he greeted her with a sweeping bow.
'Herr Krum!' Hermione fought down a blush as every eye in both schools suddenly focused on her. She heard the name Grindelwald muttered several times down the length of the line. A moment later, the Durmstrang headmaster barged through, drawing himself up next to Krum to peer down his nose at her.
'Is this the girl, Viktor?' The man snapped in German.
'Yes. Professor Karkaroff.' Krum replied dutifully. Karkaroff's large nose wrinkled and he sneered.
'She is small, like a mouse.' He finally decided. 'A mouse that thinks it is a bear.'
'She also speaks German.' Hermione grumbled at his retreating back, as the Durmstrang headmaster swept off up the castle steps. She glanced back up at Viktor to see that he looked amused. 'I'll see you inside.'
Krum gave a respectful nod of farewell, then followed after his headmaster, the rest of the students hurrying to catch up. A moment later, the Hogwarts line began to fold and the black-clad students crowded in after them, immediately turning into the great hall. The Beauxbatons students were already seated at the Ravenclaws table, perhaps having mistaken the blue decorations as representing them. As Hermione took her seat, the Durmstrang students, who had previously been congregating uncertainly about the door, trailed over and took seats at the Slytherin table. Immediately, Hermione felt the envy of every quidditch fan in the school turn on them. Ron Weasley looked almost green as one of the Beauxbaton girls pulled off her hat and allowed a waterfall of silvery hair to flow down her back.
'You have a nice castle.' Krum commented, glancing up at the enchanted ceiling as they shrugged off their many layers of fur and thick wool.
'We do.' Hermione acknowledged. 'Of course it is not so cold, so we can have windows.'
'And you all eat together.' One of the younger students piped up, eyes roving over the massive assemblage.
'We have seperate rooms for study too, and common rooms.' Hermione added, remembering the ground floor common room of the Durmstrang towers, where the entire year group gathered for meals. 'The classrooms are above ground too, but most are indoors.'
They continued trading off the differences in their schools, and Hermione quickly found herself updated as to the changes in the Durmstrang curriculum since she'd attended in 1895. They'd not only dropped rituals, as she'd been informed earlier in the year, but had also dropped Witchcraft and Sorcery. In exchange, they'd gained a more focused course on the Dark Arts for fifth years and above, along with mandatory quidditch lessons. Duelling had become an optional second year subject, although very few students didn't take that elective.
The arrival of the ghosts caused a fair bit of excitement among both schools of visiting students; like Hermione, they were clearly accustomed to the practice of having dedicated ghost wings in old properties, which allowed the undead to partake of activities, such as eating rotting food, that did not appeal to the living. She'd been shocked to learn that the practice was unheard of in Britain; most families had ghosts exorcised, which made Hogwarts an oddity merely for having ghosts. Nobody had ever considered building an area specifically to accomodate them.
'Do you think she's a Veela?' Theo eventually interrupted the smoothly flowing German conversation between Hermione and the Durmstrang students. She glanced up to see him looking at the Beauxbatons witch with the silver hair. Across the hall, boys were oogling her inappropriately, but she seemed more irritated than flattered by the attention.
'She iz.' Krum confirmed in heavily accented English. 'She iz Fleur Delacour. She iz ze daughter of my Mutter's friend.'
'Ze effect vill not be so bad if ve use ze... how do you say hugrlind?' One of the Durmstrang students volunteered, glancing at Hermione for help with the translation.
'Occlumency.' The High Priestess offered.
'That explains Weasley.' Theo scoffed, jerking his chin at Ron, who was carefully arranging the French desserts on his table so that they were in clear view of Fleur Delacour. The observation prompted several rounds of snickers, and they spent pudding enjoying the various attempts around the hall to subtly gain her attention. One Hufflepuff quidditch player had rolled his robes right up to his shoulders, so that his meagre arm muscles bulged out of the constrictive roll of fabric.
Finally, the plates were cleared and the attention of everyone in the hall shifted to the head table; apparently even the appeal of a Veela was not enough to distract from the excitement of the Goblet of Fire being revealed and the rules of the competition being explained.
They were dismissed to an immediate roar of sound as students discussed the age line and the younger Hogwarts students began trying to plot a way around it. The Durmstrang students, all of whom were overage, looked amused.
'Do you have classes tomorrow?' Krum asked, bending down so that he could be heard. Hermione quickly replied in the affirmative. 'Perhaps you should come to the ship afterwards then. I would like to meet your friends.'
Hermione agreed, letting him know the time that her lessons finished before allowing herself to be swept up with the rest of the departing Slytherins. The Durmstrang students shrugged their furs back on, then used their size and bulk to forge a path back out to grounds.