Chapter 35: It's Begun
Okay, this was half done, so I finished it. The hiatus is still in effect for this story.
HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS
It was now going on Halloween, and the other schools were due to arrive any minute. The whole school, bar Filch and Spike, were there to greet them. Even Rick was there, riding on Minerva's head. Everyone was looking around to see where and when they would come. They were all fidgeting, like the other schools were just going to pop up any minute. The teens and children were nervous and excited at the same time. The staff was moving through them and fixing collars and generally straightening the clothes of the nervous kids.
"Look!" someone cried, pointing to the sky.
There, on the horizon, was a coach straight out of Cinderella. It was white and gold, round in shape and very, very large. It was pulled by the biggest horses Harry had ever seen. They had wings, and he'd never seen that either.
"I wonder how much it takes to feed them," he said to Hermione, who was standing beside him.
"I don't know. A lot I'm sure," was her reply. "I wonder how they all fit," she said, tilting her head as if to work it out.
"Magic," Harry said with a grin, and smiled harder when she hit him.
The woman who emerged from the coach was taller than Hagrid. The students were all dressed in linen uniforms of blue and white. They were looking calm and serene, but Harry could see that they were just as nervous as the Hogwarts students, judging from the way their eyes were moving in a wary manner.
Pleasantries were exchanged, though there was a confused look on the lady giant. She didn't say what was on her mind but continued to greet her hostess.
Soon enough the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic students had been greeted and ushered inside, since they had not dressed for the weather. Harry thought they should have been more prepared, that only made sense. Then he remembered that magicals didn't have common sense.
Durmstrang Institute arrived by boat, which caused the giant squid to swim off in the other direction. The man who emerged was a dour man who sneered at McGonagall. Xander growled at him, and the man backed off. There was a curt discussion, but nothing overly rude. And they too were soon ushered inside, even though they were overdressed for the climate. They seemed like a good group if a bit standoffish. At least they weren't complaining like the French did.
The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students followed them in and soon everyone was seated. The French were with the Ravenclaws, and the Bulgarians were with the Slytherins.
Sal was ecstatic. When they first had built Hogwarts, there were no other schools. So, he was eager to find out how these other two were run. Though from the sour looks on the Heads' faces, he knew getting into a pleasant conversation would take some hard work. Still, he was a determined man.
The Olympics back in his time were comprised of Hogwarts students and the wizarding public. It was mostly tournaments on spell crafting and spell casting. Somewhere along the way, it all changed to what it is now. He didn't like that it was now deadly, and Joyce had slept through most of the changes. Had she been awake, she would have stopped it. The way it was before was safer and more interesting to the crowd. Now, it was a political thing.
"Quiet please, everyone," McGonagall said as she stood at the podium. "Quiet please," she said again a bit louder, this time with her wand tapping on a glass. The Hall calmed down. "Thank you. Now that the other schools have joined us, we can bring in the Goblet of Fire. Mr. Filch, if you please," she said to the caretaker, who nodded and left the room.
"While he is fetching the cup, let me introduce the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madam Maxime," she said, and the giant of a woman stood up, getting an applause from her students, and most of Hogwarts. The Durmstrang students did nod their heads in acknowledgement. "And from Durmstrang, Headmaster Karkaroff." He too stood, but he glared at the student body, so his applause was minimal. Even his students didn't clap for him.
"He must be an arse," Harry said to Neville, who chuckled and nodded.
"As for the rest of the people behind me, I don't need to introduce Albus Dumbledore. The other two men are Bartemius Crouch and Ludo Bagman. These five people will be the judges for the tournament. They have no disciplinary powers over Hogwarts student body. However, you will treat them as honored guests," McGonagall said, giving the students a firm look.
Just then Filch came in carrying a large wooden box. It was gold crusted and had gaudy decorations all over it. Argus carried it up to the front of the Head Table and set it on the post that was there for that purpose. He then moved to stand at the back of the room. Spike was there as well, but he blended better in the shadows.
McGonagall went to the box and tapped it with her wand, causing it to open and show a large golden goblet.
"This is the Goblet of Fire," she said waving her wand over the cup, making flames shoot up. "It will judge who will participate in the tournament. Only those over seventeen years of age will be allowed to enter. I cannot stress this enough. The tasks will be filled with danger. Make sure that you are willing to face anything before you enter." She then floated the goblet up so that everyone could see it.
There was some ohing and awing, and then she put it back on the pedestal.
Xander stood from his chair but stayed at the table. He held up his hands for quiet, and when that didn't happen, he let out a piercing whistle. "I told my students this," he said when they all looked his way, "and now I'm saying it again. Do not put an underage wizard's, or witch's, name in. I will see you persecuted to the fullest extent of the law." His yellow eyes giving him an intimidating glare.
"Do not threaten my students," Karkaroff said, standing as well, only he was glaring at Xander.
"I'm not. I'm warning them. If they heed my warning, then they have nothing to fear. Sit down before I kick you out," the wolf-eyed man said, turning his glare to the Russian. He knew the man was an ex-Death Eater, which he didn't think was true. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, in Xander's books. Snape had proven that. Still, he had passed the wards, so he had to give the man a benefit of the doubt.
"'ho are you?" Maxime asked, towering over the two men. "'hy is Dumblydore not presiding over zis event?" she wondered, looking at the man in question.
Albus was going to say something, but Xander beat him to it. There was that ever-blasted twinkle in his eyes.
"McGonagall is now the headmistress; I am the owner of this school, and Joyce is the school. We run this place together," the Head of Security explained, causing all the newcomers to look at him again. "Dumbledore has retired but will be a judge that no longer has any say over this school," he added, making Dumbledore's twinkle dim.
"I am more than happy to participate in the tournament as a judge," the old man said, making most of the student body cheer. They didn't know the reason the old man 'retired' but most thought it was because he was old. Xander didn't sway them from that notion.
"There are a few more rules of this school that must be abided by," Xander said, wanting to get it all clear now. "The Forbidden Forest is forbidden. It is no longer dangerous, but we have residents there that would prefer it if students did not wander in their back yard." He looked around to see that everyone was paying attention. "Never go there at night. We can't find you in the dark. If you do, one of the residents will find you, but it will be hard, even with their greater senses. So just don't.
"We have a dragon pen, and a Cerberus. If you want to see them, you must get a teacher, or me, or Harry. They are tame, but they are also animals with animal instincts. If you go there without taking precautions, then you will be a fault for any damage to your person. Our teachers, or Harry, know how to handle the dragon. She is not to be tormented in any way," he added, once more glaring at the foreigners.
"You 'ave a dragon?" Maxime said aghast.
"She was raised 'ere," Hagrid said, looking at the woman with a bit of a dopey look.
"That's right. She's like a mascot," Joyce said, then waved for Xander to continue.
"There will be no bullying in this castle. At all. If I catch you, you will be sent home immediately. I don't care if you are the champion or not. If you are picked and sent home, you will be transported back in time for the events. You don't need to stay on the grounds to participate," he added, making sure that they knew he meant business.
"Now see here," Karkaroff started, only to land hard in his chair, as Xander pushed him down with a thought.
"I'm not asking a lot. Only that you behave yourselves here as if you were the guests that you are," Xander said, glaring at the Durmstrang Headmaster. "I want you to have fun, and get to know our culture, as we would like to know yours. If you follow the rules, you will have a great time here at Hogwarts," he said, causing the Hogwarts student body to cheer.
Harry gave a knowing look to his friends, and they all nodded back to him. They would try to get to know these new people, if only to see that they left with a good impression of their school.
"A few more things," Xander added as an afterthought. "You will note that there is electricity here at Hogwarts." He pointed to the chandeliers that were hanging from the roof. They were dimmed right now, so that the night sky could be seen. "We have a movie night for those that are caught up on their studies. If you don't know what a movie is, ask one of the students, or professors. There are phones that you can call home from if you are muggleborn. Though, there are a few others that have them now. Again, ask a student. The teachers are all equipped with the latest in computers. I am sure they will share their knowledge with some of you."
"We do not 'ave such zings in France," Maxime said as if she was just insulted.
"Then you don't need to use them," Xander snapped back, so far both the Heads were rude and stuck up. He wasn't sure if they would be able to be friendly. It was like they came just to prove they were better than everyone else. Like they had a chip on their shoulder. He shook his head from those thoughts and continued. "There will be extra security while you are here. They are to be treated with respect. They can, and will, banish you from the castle if you are caught breaking the rules. That goes for my minions as well," he said, with a smile.
That caused many of the Hogwarts students to laugh, while the foreigners looked around confused. The man seemed to be feared and well liked at the same time. The Bulgarian students took that into consideration and thought well of the man. The French were unsure what to think about his speech.
"That's all I have to say." With that Xander sat down and waved to Minerva to take over.
"Tonight, and tomorrow, you will be able to put your name in," McGonagall said, addressing the student body and visitors, and bringing the subject back to the tournament. "There will be many precautions in place in case you get it into your head to cheat. There will be an age line, and Joyce has volunteered to watch the cup all day and night," she warned, pointing out Joyce, who stood and smiled. "There are more, but we will not be telling you at this time."
"Okay, enough about the tournament, let's eat," Xander said from where he was seated, he waved his hand and food appeared.
The feast was different than any that Hogwarts had experienced before. There were many dishes that they had never seen. Harry was more than happy to be the guinea pig and scooped up as many new foods as he could handle. Hermione was just as willing to eat foreign food, having already tried a few in her trips with her parents. The rest of the table watch the two fourth years sample the fare. When Harry and Hermione groaned with satisfaction, the watchers grabbed some of the new food as well.
The rest of the feast went well. One of the Beauxbaton girls came to get the bouillabaisse, causing many of the males to go all goofy. Hermione was annoyed at that, but Harry, who was unaffected, thought it was funny as hell.
McGonagall once more gave a small speech that pretty much repeated her earlier one, and then everyone was sent to their common rooms, or coach, or ship, as the case may be.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
"You don't think anyone can get passed Joyce, do you?" Hermione asked the pacing Xander. He hadn't stopped since they got to the 'house'. She was worried that he was going to exhaust himself.
"Would you feel better if you're down there too?" was Harry's question, knowing that his dad hated waiting for something to happen.
"No, I'm sure that Joyce will do a great job, and yes, I would feel better," Xander answered the kids, though he didn't stop pacing.
"Why don't you go then?" Neville asked, not liking how nervous Xander was making him, just by his behavior alone.
"I think I will," the older man said, and then left the 'house'.
"Damn, he's really concerned," Harry said, ignoring the smack Hermione gave him for cussing.
"You would be too, if you thought your son was going to be forced into something dangerous," the bushy-haired girl said, looking at the door where Xander had left.
"Oh, believe me, I know. I'm nervous too. I just know that if something does happen, then Dad, Joyce or McGonagall will stop it. It kinda makes me glad that Dumbledore retired," the dark-haired teen said, waving away the thought of the danger. He trusted the people in his life.
"You should call them Professor, or Headmistress," Hermione chastised, her brow puckered in disapproval.
"I do, to their face, but they're not in front of me, so it doesn't matter," Harry said, looking at her like she was pushing it.
"It's simply respectful," she argued, though her tone was lighter.
"And I said, I do respect them to their face. It isn't disrespectful to not say their title when they are not around," the teen rebutted.
"No, I know you're right. It's just habit by now. I'll try to stop doing that," she said, looking at the two quiet teens watching them and blushed. Xander and her dad had sat her down earlier that summer and talked to her about her nagging. They said it was fine to remind people once, maybe twice, but more than that was nagging, and no one liked nags.
"No, I get it. I'm sorry for getting miffed," he said, giving her a one-armed hug. "I'm nervous, is all."
Just then Spike came in the room. "Wot are you kiddies doing now? Getting into mischief?" he asked, sitting on one of the empty chairs. He slouched down in that boneless way of his.
"No, we're just talking," Neville said, throwing the other man the remote. "We'll get out of your way," he said out loud, but told the others to just let the vampire watch his shows in his head.
Not needing any further nudging, they left Spike to his idiot box. They knew Sal would be up here soon. And while they liked both men, their taste in TV shows left a lot to be desired.
They went to the kitchen to finish homework and the talk of the tournament was left for another time.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Xander made his way to the cup and saw Joyce standing there with Alastor. They were chatting amicably. It made him feel better that everyone was taking this seriously.
"Joyce, Alastor," he greeted as he conjured a recliner. He sat in it and shifted to get comfortable. He was going to be here a while. "Alastor, you want one?" he asked the scarred man.
"Sure, I can do it myself, but it won't last long," Moody said, never one to turn down comfort. His peg leg was not easy to stand on.
Xander waved his hand, and two more chairs came into view. Joyce and Moody sat, turning the chairs to be around the cup. They could see each other and the goblet.
"What other precautions are we taking," the Xandman wanted to know.
"Well, there's the age line, and me," Joyce said, crossing her legs and settling further into the chair. "Then we're going to check each name as it is entered. Physically, I mean."
"Good precautions," Xander agreed, and then started talking about small stuff until he and Alastor fell asleep.
No one came that night, and soon it was morning and Joyce woke the two men. "Get up, sleepyheads," she said, shaking Xander's shoulder.
"I'm up," he groused, and then looked around. "All clear?" he asked, shaking the sleep from his head.
"All clear," she said, a huge smile on her lips.
"Good," Alastor said, standing up from the chair and walking around to get the kinks out.
It was about that time that students started showing up. There were a few seventeen-year-old Hogwarts students that had slips of parchment in their hands. They were very cautious about approaching the three adults.
Many of the other students were watching to see how it was done. It had been the topic of conversation all morning. They knew better than to piss Xander off and were wondering if he would blow up at anyone. Not that he was a bad man, just that he had a temper. However, every single one of them knew he'd protect them with his life, so he was forgiven for it.
"Come on," Joyce said as she beckoned them over. "We won't bite," she added, glaring at Xander as if he was going to contradict her.
"We will be checking the names on those slips, though," Xander said, getting up from his chair and making all of them disappear. They didn't need to sit now.
Slowly Cedric Diggory approached and handed his slip to Xander. The man looked at it, and he rubbed his fingers together to make sure that it was one slip. He read the name and then smiled at the teen. "You're the first," he said, dropping the slip into the goblet.
The flames shot up and a cheer exploded from the crowd, and Cedric raised his fist in the air in triumph. "Yes," he crowed and then went to his friends. They all slapped him on the back and gave their congratulations. They then turned to see who else would enter.
Seeing that the process was painless, the rest came and entered their names. It was not a long line, as many were more than willing to just watch.
Durmstrang students were next. All of them entered, it was the only reason they were there after all. They marched up to the cup and one by one were allowed to drop their names in.
Beauxbatons were last to enter. And they were all quite cautious as well. Xander was an imposing man. There were a few that batted their eyes at the strong man, but he ignored them as they were all far too young for him.
When all the visitors were done, Xander addressed the crowd. "This goblet will stay here, and you can enter until dinner tonight. The competitors will be announced before the feast," he said, amplifying his voice to be heard.
The crowd cheered and then went about their day. The visiting schools wandered around Hogwarts taking in the differences and commenting on the good and bad. There were a few stuck up girls from the French school that were making snide comments. The Hogwarts students were unhappy about that.
Xander was not impressed with the whole thing. The visitors were all rude to a degree. He hoped that if he ever took his kids anywhere that they would all be on their best behavior. He would reprimand anyone who wasn't, if he and his were guests, but it seemed that the other Heads were encouraging this conduct. He would have to keep an eye on them.