I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC

Hello guys, Badger here. I hope you are well today. Whilst writing this chapter, I had an idea for another story, though still debating whether I should post chapters for two ongoing stories at the same time and I am still currently writing draft chapters for said story. If you guys are interested though, I could post the first chapter and if you guys like it, I can alternate between the two stories. Let me know in the review section. That is all for now, read on and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 44

The other schools and Animagi

A few weeks had passed and it was time for the other two schools to arrive. As everyone made their way to the Great Hall, they noticed something flying in the sky. As it got closer, people saw it was a carriage being pulled by a small group of Pegasus. Everyone watches in delight, as the carriage made its way down to the ground, with Hagrid signalling where it should go, though he did have to move out the way to avoid being hit, when the carriage came to a stop. The students' attention was averted, when there was a deep rumbling sound, from the deep embodiment of the ocean, before a large ship, like that of a pirates floated up to the top of the water.

"Now that is something you don't see every day" James commented, as he watched the ship approach the castle

"Do you think the ship has enchantments to stop students and teachers from drowning?" Harry asked "Because that doesn't look safe"

"I imagine they do" James replied, as they followed after the rest of the school, as they made their way back to the Great Hall.

One thing that immediatley caught Harry's attention was that the four House tables seemed to be longer then usual. In fact, the entire Great Hall itself looked as if it had grown. No doubt with the use of room expansion charms. James nudged Harry slightly, so he would keep walking, where they then sat down at their table. There were quiet conversations across all four tables, as everyone began to settle down in their seats, before Dumbledore called for everyone's attention.

"Now, seeing as we are all settled in, I think its time we welcome the other schools" The aged Headmaster said, his eyes twinkling "No doubt, you saw them arrive…first, give a warm welcome to the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their Headmistress Madam Maxime!"

Applause rang across the room, as the doors opened, where a group of girls dressed in silky blue uniforms dance up the aisle, releasing dozens of butterflies across the hall. Many of the male student population wolf whistle as they make their way down, though they didn't seem to care. Though Harry noticed one particular student that many people had their eyes on. A girl with long, platinum blonde hair that could be mistaken for silver and bright, shining sapphire blue eyes. Harry noticed the male population of students seemed to go glassy eyed and drool at the sight of her. Everyone besides him and James.

"Is that girl a Veela?" He asked, whispering quietly to James

"I'm thinking so" James replied, though said nothing more

The school cheered and applauded when the Beauxbatons students, at the end of their dance, where they proceeded to sit amongst the Ravenclaw students, whole welcomed them, brightly. Everyone's attention was then shifted to the schools headmistress, where they just stared in shock at the sheer size of her. She was twice the size of Hagrid!

"Madam Maxime" Dumbledore greeted, politely kissing the ladies hand

"Professor Dumbledore" Maxime curtsied "A pleasure to meet you at last"

"The feelings mutual" Dumbledore smiled "I look forward to seeing what competition you bring to us"

"As do I" Maxime smiled in return "I don't wish to be a bother, but our the Pegasus have travelled a long way and they will need attending to"

"No need to worry" Dumbledore replied "Our groundskeeper Hagrid will see that they are fed and watered"

Hagrid nodded in response, looking at the Headmistress a bit starry eyed. Madam Maxime seemed happy with the response and sat with the rest of the professors, where Dumbledore then addressed the school once more.

"Of course, they aren't our only visitors" He said "Please give a warm welcome to the proud sons of Durmstrang and their High Master Igor Karkaroff!"

A large group of older boys entered the Great Hall as everyone began to applaud, each one brandishing a large staff, which created sparks when they bashed them on the ground. They proceeded to show of a little, by doing flips and tricks where one student also stood out from the rest.

"Oh my god!" Ron exclaimed "That's Viktor Krum!"

Everyone proceeded to turn their gaze to the famous Quidditch Seeker from the Quidditch World Cup, who didn't look happy with the unwanted attention and sent a small glare to the red headed boy. When Durmstrangs performance was over, they proceeded to sit at the Slytherins table, much to Ron's anger, where Krum sat opposite Harry.

"Good afternoon" He said, in a thick Scandinavian accent

"Good afternoon" James replied "I look forward to the Tournament"

"As do I" Krum said, a small smile on his face, before he quickly put on an emotionless look, as he turned to face the front, where Igor and Dumbledore met.

"Albus" Igor greeted

"Igor, good to see you" Dumbledore replied, as they gave each other a friendly hug

"I must say, I am looking forward to the Tournament" Igor grinned "I trust you will not disappoint"

Dumbledore merely smiled in response, as Igor sat amongst the other Professors, before he stepped back up onto his podium, where Argus Filch brought in something covered in some kind of drape.

"I would like to welcome again the other two schools" He said, addressing the students "I'm sure you all know about the Tournament…eternal glory awaits for the student to win the Triwizard Tournament…in order to do this, three students must participate in three dangerous tasks…for this very reason, the Ministry imposed a rule that no student, under the age of seventeen is allowed to enter themselves into the Tournament"

It didn't take long for boos and shouts of outrage rang across the Great Hall, most notably the Weasley Twins and even Ron.

"Silence!" Dumbledore roared "The Ministry's decision is final, and I agree, we don't want to risk any young child getting injured…or killed, in such a dangerous Tournament…especially when up against students several years, their senior"

The Great Hall was silent as the students pondered the aged Headmasters words, who took the opportunity to remove the drape, revealing a large silver goblet, emitting a blue flame, which immediatley drew in everyone's attention.

"The Goblet of Fire" Dumbledore spoke "A remarkable object, made with magic that's sadly been lost over the last few centuries…any student wishing to enter into the Tournament only need to write their name on a piece of parchment an place it in the goblet, before Thursday night…be forewarned, once you've entered your name, there is no going back…as of now, the Triwizard Tournament has begun"

Over the next few days, many students had placed their name into the Goblet of Fire. Even those who were underage. In order to stop those who weren't seventeen, Dumbledore placed a ward around the Goblet called an 'Age Line' preventing those who were underage from even stepping through into the Goblet. Harry found it amusing to watch. The most hilarious of all, was Ron Weasley, who was given a potion to make the Age Line believe him to be seventeen. When he passed the ward, Ron smugly put his name in the Goblet, loudly proclaiming that everyone was now looking at the Hogwarts Champion. That was when there was a burst of magic that came out of the Goblet, hitting Ron, giving him white hair and a beard. He had to see Madame Pomfrey to get it sorted and lost Gryffindor 50 points for disobeying the rules. Currently, Harry sat with James, Daphne, Susan and Luna, as they did some studying for the year.

"So…" He spoke up "Who are the current favourites for Hogwarts Champion?"

"Cedric Diggory and Angelina Johnson seem to be the most popular right now" Susan replied "Angelina seems very determined to be chosen, if the rumour is true"

"I believe Marcus Flint thought about putting his name in, but decided he would stick to playing Quidditch" Daphne added "I think Malfoy even thought about trying to trick the Goblet, but chickened out when he saw what happened to Ron"

"Same with Michael Corner" Luna spoke "He thought about tricking the Goblet too…was boasting about it at one point, but stopped after Ron tried to do the same thing"

"Someone like Malfoy wouldn't last five minutes" James said, not looking up from his book "A shame really, the world would be better off without him"

The squawk of an owl averts their attention, where they see Loki flying toward them, a letter in her beak. She stops in front of James, who takes the letter from her, stroking her feathers softly, before she flew off again. Harry watched as James opened the letter, eyes widening when he sees James discreetly put to vials of a potion into his pocket, as he read the contents.

"What's the letter?" Daphne asked

"The Albrights" James lied "Ever since I moved in with Sirius and Harry, we've been sending letters to each other more often"

Daphne nodded, seemingly believing the response, but Harry knew better. When the others were busy studying, he leaned closer to James, speaking in hushed tones so the others didn't hear.

"Were those what I thought they were?" He asked

"Yes" James replied "Sirius also asked that we inform him of our forms, so they can discreetly get us registered…we'll take the potions tonight…remember Sirius said it had to be done at midnight"

Harry nodded and the two went back to their studying. However, the both of them were way to excited about becoming an Animagus to truly concentrate on the words written on the parchment in front of them.

That night, a figure entered the Great Hall, where the Goblet of Fire stood, the blue flame lighting up the room. They waited until the whole castle was asleep. Now that everything was quiet, it was time. Gripping the pieces of parchment in his hand, he approached the Goblet, where he threw them inside. The flame in the goblet increased in size, the blue glow turning red, as the heat in the room rose, before it went back to normal a second later, the small blue flame flickering softly. Smiling to themselves, the figure left the Great Hall, making sure to remove any possible evidence of their presence.

Harry and James sat on the floor in their dorm room, facing each other, cross-legged. It was a few minutes to midnight and the two of them had removed the Mandrake leaves from the roof of their mouths and placed it inside their potion, where they allowed the two to mix together. The two of them were excited, but kept their cool.

"Is it time?" Harry asked

James checked the time and nodded, seeing it was exactly midnight. They proceeded to drink the potion, where their vision was filled with flashing images. Harrys eyes were filled with images of fur that was a sandy brown, eyes that were a golden orange like a sunset and sharp claws perfect for climbing and gripping onto prey. For James, he saw feathers which were as black as the midnight sky, talons that were sharp to grip onto ledges and dark, piercing eyes, capable of seeing great distances. When the images passed, they both winced in pain, as their bodies began to twist and reshape itself. Harrys back twisted, as a tail grew and fur grew all over him, whilst James shrank in size, as feathers sprouted out on his arms and his feet morphed into talons. The two boys were soon replaced by a cougar and a crow. The two danced around each other, before Harry let out a meowing scream, and James made a cawing sound, as he proceeded to fly around the room. The two spent a while messing around in their animal forms getting used to their ability, before they transformed back, grins on their faces. They knew Sirius was going to be proud, when they told him.

There we go, new chapter. The two other schools have arrived and Harry and James are now Animagi. I spent a while looking through spirit animal meanings, to find suitable animal choices, and here they are:

Harry - Cougar= If the Cougar is your spirit animal, it is an indication that you have come into your own power. Now it is time to take the lead of a situation. Now is the time to be strong. The Cougar is here to let you know that now is the time to leap into all the opportunities made available to you. Using the power of intentions, be clear with your purpose and define where you are heading.

James - Crow= If you spirit animal is a Crow, it is because you are brilliant. You can solve the most complex of problems as if they were kids' riddles. You would also make an excellent witch or wizard thanks to your problem solving skills and fast thinking. People might feel like you are an arrogant or a selfish person, though that isn't true. It takes you some time to open up and reveal your real personality. So, they will all eventually realize that you are, in fact, warm-hearted and kind.

Do you guys agree with my animal choices, or at least see why they were my choices for their character? If you disagree, I would like to hear what animals you would have made them and the reasons as to why. Also, give me ideas for names. As we know, The Marauders gave themselves names when they became Animagi, so I would like to hear what names you think would suit Harry's and James' animal forms.

That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you in the next one.

Badger out