Renee POV
On October 30th, our last class of the day was cancelled to give us time to get ready to present ourselves to the students from the other schools.
"It's silly," Sandra said. "Why would they even care about us? It's only the sixth and seventh years who'll be entering, anyway."
"I don't know," Tomasz argued. "I'm glad the school cares about our image."
"I've heard they've got some attractive students," Gill said. "I mean, why would they come if they were ugly, everyone would just laugh if they were chosen. Stay close to me, Renee."
Sandra frowned but didn't say anything.
Snape stormed up to us. "Ruddernot, front of the boys' line, we need to put our best foot forward for the other schools, in all years, and I've been told you take your studies seriously."
Snape directed Tomasz to stand in front of Draco Malfoy. Neither one looked happy about the arrangement.
"Bellis, back of the boys' line, in front of Goyle," Snape barked.
"But-" Sandra protested, but Snape cut her off.
"Ballias, did I give you permission to speak? You will not make a good impression on the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students if you speak out of turn. Back of the girls' line, in front of Miss Moon. Sanderson, on her right."
I noticed that Kaylee was at the front of the third year girls' line, and I scowled. I was convinced the other wizards would much rather get to know someone who stood up to authority than a literal murderer. Again, though, it didn't matter. We weren't exactly the counterparts of the guest students.
Past the boys' lines were the Hufflepuff girls. Clara was standing at the far left end of her line, a place of honor I'm sure she deserved. From the Slytherin boys' lines, Gill was glaring daggers at her. I raised my eyebrows. I thought he and Clara got along okay. Behind her was Hannah Abbott, and her counterpart in the fourth year boys' line was Ernie Macmillan. Clara's male counterpart was Tomasz's cousin Franklin. Cedric led the first Hufflepuff boys' line, which didn't surprise me, as he was Head Boy, even though Snape had placed Head Girl Stacy Ballias second in the line for the Slytherin seventh year girls.
On the other end of the room, Hermione stood at the front of the fourth year girls' line, and Ginny in front of her as the face of the third year girls. Next to her was Demelza, and then Rachel and a few other girls I didn't know.
Harry was at the head of the Gryffindor fourth year boys line, and I wondered at that. Certainly his academic skills weren't bad, but I wondered if his placement wasn't primarily for show. After all, he was the "boy who lived," and the other schools would know about him. In front of him stood Nolan, Tomasz's other cousin. I was surprised to see Nico near the back of his line, until I realized he was urging his classmates to go ahead of him. That kid did not like the spotlight.
The older Gryffindor girls were represented by Angelina and Angelica Johnson for the sixth and seventh years, respectively. Cassius Warrington represented the Slytherin sixth year boys, but even he'd become more polite over the last few years.
I glanced over at Ravenclaw, where Luna stood near the middle of her line. I didn't know the girl at the head of the third years, but the fourth years were led by a girl who I thought might have been called Mandy Brocklehurst.
All around the room, I noticed familiar faces at the heads of their lines, and Sandra, Lily, and I were stuck at the back because of unfair bias from our head of house. I groaned inwardly.
The professors paced back and forth around the lines, reminding students to tuck in their shirts or stand up taller. Snape approached me.
"Sanderson, Ballias, a word, if I may."
"Yes, sir?"
"It has come to my attention that you, Sanderson, are particularly fond of inviting yourself to tables that other than where you belong, and of inviting others where they do not belong."
I held his gaze, and Sandra started to say something, but I stepped on her foot.
"In front of the foreign students, we need to present a neat and united front, and this means a united Slytherin. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," I said quietly.
"Good." Snape smiled nastily, and I found myself staring at the nostril hairs of his overly large nose. I turned away.
"If you violate this and invite to the Slytherin table any student from another house, or sit at another table's house," Snape continued, "I will take fifty house points from each of your companions involved. Is this understood?"
Both Sandra and Lily gasped behind me, and I scowled. "Fifty points?"
"Yes, fifty, and instant detentions for all members involved. Separate detentions."
I groaned as Snape skulked away. "What am I going to do?" I whispered to Sandra and Lily.
"I'm sure I could find a way to get spare robes that we can deck out in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff colors for whenever you want to sit with them," Sandra said quickly. "Or I can try a color-changing potion or spell. Or there's always polyjuice."
"No," I said firmly. "He's going to know. Besides, we can't just make polyjuice potion, and I highly doubt they sell it at Hogsmeade."
Sandra frowned, thinking. "Moody probably has some. We could steal it."
"Let it go," I muttered, shaking my head. I wasn't going to steal from an auror! "I'll live."
People around the room were speculating about how the foreign students were going to arrive, and I would much rather think about that.
People were whispering about portkeys and apparition, and the more dramatic ways the foreign students could arrive. "I bet they'll just take the train," Lily shrugged. "Or apparate through Hogsmeade. It's not-"
She was cut off by Dumbledore saying "Unless I am much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches."
The whispers grew more frantic as people stared out the windows. "There!" a Gryffindor boy yelled. "It's a flying house!"
We stared toward the windows as a gigantic powder-blue carriage made it toward us on the back of six gigantic white-gold palominos. The horses landed with a crash that made a few people jump, and then the carriage followed with a thud.
A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back and bowed respectfully as a foot the size of a child's sled appeared.
I felt faint. The only female giants I've ever seen were Ariana and Morgana in fake Laestrygonian form, and this woman looked nothing like them, but I was shocked as she presented her students, who all stood nervously behind her, wrapped in fur coats. I wished Clara was there, because the whole ordeal made me nervous. I glanced over at the Hufflepuff group and saw her looking at me intensely as well. I waved and gave a nervous smile.
Clara smiled too, and the woman started to walk up to the castle, her students trailing behind her. Many of my classmates wanted a better look at the woman, but I was more interested in the foreign students. Sandra was probably right that they wouldn't really pay attention to us younger students, but I still hoped some would at least look at us.
There were a few dozen of them, all looking around nervously. At the very back stood two girls who caught my eye. They were whispering together, standing apart from the rest of the crowd. One was tall, with hair the color of moonlight. She looked vaguely familiar, although not enough to place her. Her friend was a lot shorter, with wavy hair that was pure silver, and that shined in the entrance hall candles.
As they walked past, people whispered. There was something alluring about the taller girl. People attempted to get a better look at her, and Lily whispered to Sandra and me, "I think she's part Veela."
The girl was pretty, of that there was no question, but she was also hanging back, with only her one friend, and she wore a tight frown. Her friend whispered something to her, and she brightened slightly.
My mind wandered to my mother, and what it meant to be her child. There were people who only noticed me for my beauty, and I'd seen and heard from some of my sisters that that only worsened as they got older. I wondered briefly if that was the case with the Veela girl in front of me.
Even so, I payed more attention to her friend. There was something about her that excited me. I'd only ever seen hair that color on Lady Artemis, at the Winter Solstice last year. The girl's steel blue eyes danced as she scanned the room. For a brief moment, her eyes met mine.
I tried to look like I wasn't staring, but the girl brightened, maybe happy to be noticed. She waved shyly in my direction, and I glanced around. Surely she wasn't waving to me. But nobody else seemed to be looking at her.
I was still thinking about the girl as the Durmstrang group arrived, this time coming up from a boat in the black lake. They were bundled in even warmer clothes, and most of them wore heavy frowns. In short, they were very unimpressive - at least until Sandra gave me a hard nudge in the ribs.
"That's Krum," she hissed. "I had no idea he was still in school!"
I looked where she was pointing, toward the leader of the group, who appeared to be the headmaster. Beside him was a stocky boy who walked at an awkward angle. He certainly did look like the Bulgarian Quidditch player. Judging from the frantic whispers and scrambling for quills, it was clear other people saw the resemblance as well.
Sandra dug through her handbag, then turned to me. "You haven't got a quill on you, have you?"
I could summon my sword, but I decided it wasn't a good idea. Besides, I didn't know if that would even write. "Sorry."
"Do you think he'll sign my bag in lipstick?"
I turned away from her. All of this was really overwhelming, and I needed to focus on something else. Maybe Clara's birthday present or something. Anything.
Dumbledore dismissed us to our seats, and I glanced longingly at the Hufflepuff table. I turned to glare at Snape, who was making his way up to the head table with the teachers. I had no doubt he would make good on his promise if I sat anywhere else tonight.
I sat down between Sandra and a vexed-looking Gill.
"Don't let him see you, Renee, you're the most beautiful girl in the room and if he finds that out-"
"What?" Sandra snapped. "Are you saying he's some kind of paedophile? You're thirteen, Gill, aren't you taking this a little too seriously?"
The Durmstrang students made their way over to our table, and Sandra couldn't contain her excitement. I noticed the rest of the Quidditch team was sitting together, which wasn't surprising considering most of them were older students, but Draco had made his way to them as well, and they were all beckoning to Krum. He sat down with them, and some Durmstrang students who I guessed were other Quidditch players followed suit. Draco smirked, then glanced over at me. He raised his eyebrows.
Sandra followed my gaze and gave a little squeal of excitement when she saw I was being asked to sit with Krum.
"Go!" she squealed.
Gill grabbed my wrist. "You're not going anywhere near Krum or Malfoy," he snapped.
"The entire Quidditch team is there," Tomasz argued. "What do you expect her to do?"
Aside from Draco, only Adrian Pucey and Cassius Warrington, two chasers, actually looked on board with the idea of having me join them. Marcus Flint, the Quidditch captain, glared at me. Krum and a few other Durmstrang students noticed none of this as the other team members bombarded them with questions.
I stood up. Tomasz was right, I was a member of the Slytherin team, and I deserved a place with them tonight.
"I'll see you guys tonight. I think I should go over there, though."
Sandra smiled. "Ask him for an autograph."
"Sands, we have all year," Tomasz admonished. "Let him just sit and talk, Quidditch player to Quidditch player, or whatever he wants to do tonight."
"Don't stay too long," Gill muttered, resigned to the fact that I was going. "I don't like the way Malfoy looks at you."
I brushed off Gill's comments. I knew he was just worried for me, but he did have a funny way of showing he cared.
Draco had saved me a seat between himself and Adrian, and I sat down carefully. I was wearing one of my mom's gifts, the warm and cute sweater from the Quidditch World Cup day. I felt a shiver pass over me as I neared the group, and instinctively I knew my hair was neat, without a strand out of place. I'd need to remember to bring back some dinner to scrape into the fire as an offering to my mom tonight.
"Ve all vant Viktor," a Durmstrang boy was saying. "Our competition is not like that at Hogwarts, with houses, but ve have teams. Ve have to rotate out players so that each team gets a chance vith Viktor."
"Doesn't that go against the purpose of having teams, Albrecht?" Marcus Flint said gruffly. "What's the point of beating the other team only to have your best player go to your opponent's team next?"
"It is fun, that is all," said a girl. "If ve vant fair competition, ve cannot use a professional player for only one team."
"That's one way to look at it," I said, jumping into the conversation. I was happy to see other girls at this end of the table, even if I was the only one on the Slytherin team. I knew the other house teams had a fair amount of girls, and had played against them a few times, but I was the only one on the Slytherin team. "But that must mean you all support each other as a school, and you aren't as divided."
"Ve do," Viktor said sullenly, but there was an undertone of something else in his voice. I glanced at the people around me to see if they'd noticed, but nobody made any indication that they had.
I scanned the room, wondering how Nico was faring with the influx of new people, wishing I could be sitting over at the Hufflepuff table, or the Gryffindor table. Snape had made it explicitly clear that that was not to happen, and that Slytherins would be the only ones unpunished if I did.
I continued to make small talk with the Durmstrang students about Quidditch, and I also sampled a variety of foods from around the continent, but I wasn't really paying attention. I wished I'd stayed with my friends at the other end of the table.
My gaze strayed over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron was making an obvious effort to be noticed by Krum. Hermione said something to him, than noticed me looking. She made sure I saw her rolling her eyes, and I let out a small giggle.
"Vot is funny?" asked another Durmstrang girl, noticing me. She followed my gaze.
"I heard Snape threatened your friends with expulsion if you sat together," Marcus Flint said haughtily.
I snapped my head to him. "Who told you that?"
Flint just shrugged.
The feast took altogether too long after that. I was relieved when Dumbledore finally spoke. Somehow, I had failed to notice Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch sit down at the staff table. If I were with Sandra and my other friends I'd feel comfortable asking why they were here, but I didn't with this crowd, especially with all the Durmstrang students.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable," the headmaster welcomed.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and I heard a scoff from somewhere. I followed the sound and noticed the two Beauxbatons girls from earlier. The shorter one was shaking her head at the taller one, and she whispered something to her friend. The veela girl nodded slowly.
Why had they come, I wondered, if they didn't think they'd like it here?
Dumbledore introduced Bagman and Crouch, and then began to explain about the procedure for entering the Triwizard Tournament, including the age line and the impartial judge. The sixth and seventh years from Hogwarts and Durmstrang around me looked at each other importantly.
"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as a champion must write their name and school clearly on a slip of paper and drop it in the Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore explained as Filch brought out a casket with flaming goblet inside. "Aspiring champions will have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the 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 who wish to enter."
Dumbledore then explained how he would be putting an age line around the goblet to deter any underage students from entering. There were murmurs of frustration throughout the Great Hall.
Dumbledore's final words were a word of warning to take entering the tournament seriously, because if your name was selected, it was a binding contract. I shivered at those last words, even though I already knew that from my research on the tournament.
As we dispersed for the night, I broke off from the Slytherins and made my way over to the Hufflepuffs. Since we hadn't had the best luck on Halloween night in the past, with Mrs. Norris's petrification our first year and Sirius's break-in last year, Clara and I had decided it would be better if we celebrated her birthday tonight, so I was planning to stay over at Hufflepuff with her. I was looking forward to our sleepover, and to the day we would spend at Hogsmeade the following day with our other friends. It would be Luna and Ginny's first time there as well, and we were going to let Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville show us around. Technically, I had been there before, but only Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Clara knew that.
I'd already talked to Sandra, and she would cover for me tonight. I waved to my friends as I stepped away from the table, and Gill scowled.
Clara POV
Neither the Durmstrang nor Beauxbatons students had chosen to sit with the Hufflepuffs, a fact that didn't actually matter much to me. I listened to the girls in my year gushing over Krum for as long as I could take, and then turned to the conversation between the fourth-years, which was all about how they were convinced that Cedric would be Hogwarts champion. I frowned slightly. I honestly didn't care that much about the competition. For the first time, I would have a year to relax, a year that was not solely focused on Harry and Renee in dangerous situations. Maybe even a year where Voldemort wouldn't do anything crazy to the school, and I could focus my efforts on the coming war in New York.
I met Renee halfway between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables, and we snuck out a back exit. I felt slightly bad for Harry as he was recognized by all of Durmstrang as who he was, but also glad Renee and I hadn't been with him at the time. I simply wasn't in the mood to think right now.
Renee wore an almost hidden frown, but I knew her well enough to recognize it.
"Did something happen?"
"Snape," she seethed. "He said he'd take fifty points from Hufflepuff of Gryffindor if we were caught sitting together or with the others. Nothing from Slytherin, of course, his own house can do no wrong.
I let out a slow breath. "Hoo boy."
"I don't see how he can do that," Renee ranted. "I mean, it's not like camp, where we're not allowed to sit together, by rule of the gods. There are no official rules, in fact. Not that I'm aware of, anyway. I'm sure it would all be in Hogwarts: A History if there were. Maybe I'll eventually have to give that book a read. Sandra offered to pull the wool over his eyes, but she can't trick him forever."
I listened as Renee talked, knowing she just needed to rant.
"And then Gill, well, I know he loves me, but he has a funny way of showing it. Draco asked if I wanted to join the Quidditch team at the table today, because they were talking to Krum and the other Durmstrang Quidditch players, and he all but forbade me from going. I mean, he acts like he's marking his territory or something, and I'm his territory. Sandra had to remind him that we're thirteen, for the gods' sake."
"He what?" I burst out. "Renee, maybe you and Gill need a break. You're a strong and independent girl, it's not like you to have a boy make your decisions and depend on anyone else to speak for you. I'm glad Sandra's there to help, but you shouldn't need her help. This isn't you, Wren."
She looked up at me. "You really think so?"
"I don't know." I lowered my voice as we approached the Hufflepuff common room. "I would ask your mother for guidance, you know she's the expert on these things."
Renee's shoulders slumped. "I don't want to get her involved," she insisted. "It's my first relationship, except for all those fake boyfriends we had in grade school. I want to say I can handle it without the literal goddess of love on my side. Besides, she has the war to worry about. Hey, wanna play Wizard's Chess?"
I could tell she was trying to change the subject, but I also didn't want an argument. "Sure."
I woke up to a loud tapping on the window. Beside me, Renee rolled over sleepily on her favorite blue body pillow, but jumped up as I made my way over to the window. We'd played board games and talked about everything under the sun until past midnight last night, when Renee had reminded us that we wanted to be up early to get ready for Hogsmeade and that coming to breakfast would be important, as we wanted to see who entered the tournament. She had looked at me sadly, knowing she would have to sit at a separate table from me the next morning, and every morning following.
I expected to see Dusk at the window, and she was there, but flanked by quite a few other owls. Hedwig was there, as was Ron's owl Pig, and an impressive-looking eagle owl that might have been Draco's Nightmask. A few of the others looked to have the mark of the Athena cabin, so I recognized them as coming from my friends at camp.
"Wow," Renee breathed as she rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes. "Our friends went all out for you this year, Clara."
I grinned. I'd been consistent at writing to my friends back home about what was going on, and I was happy to see letters in what looked like Percy's messy scrawl and Annabeth's concentrated, tiny print.
"I'll look at them later," I said. "Except this one, I'll see what our family has to say."
I took a gold envelope from Dusk and patted her on the head. I gave each of the owls a treat from my bag, and they all flew away, leaving their packages and a handful of feathers on my bed. I'd never received this many owls at a time, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I thought about the war.
My family had sent me a package, which I put to the side to read their letter, a hand-drawn card made by my oldest brother.
Clara, I read in David's flowy script, we wanted to wish you a happy birthday and give you some updates on what's been going on here. There's a tornado system like we've never seen ravaging the Midwest after an explosion on the west coast, and Tony worries it's not natural.
Attached is a letter from him, he said it was for your eyes only. He's receded into himself a lot and mostly only talks to me and occasionally the twins these days. He says our parents and Steven don't understand what's going on, and he brings the air mattress into my room most nights because he's uncomfortable sharing a living space with Steven. He told me to tell you not to open it on your birthday, because he doesn't want you to feel bad or worried for him on your special day. I'm not so worried about him to disagree, but I am nervous. I hope you'll be able to help him more than I am; I think he sees himself as part of your worlds after what happened last summer.
I hope I'm not worrying you with all this. Our parents are concerned about him as well, and I don't know if I can keep making excuses for him.
Anyway, I don't want to spoil your day. Wishing you all the best, with warm regards to Renee as well.
David had signed the note with a heart and his name in what looked like calligraphy, and the rest of the family had signed the card as well. I figured David might have had everyone sign it before writing the note, as he wasn't the type to expose anyone's business. I passed the card over to Renee.
She scanned it, and her eyebrows shot up. "You should read it now," she whispered. "What if he's in trouble?"
I shook my head. "I believe David," I said. "I'll look at it tonight. I bet at least three of our camp friends will confirm about the weather phenomena as well."
Renee nodded solemnly. "Let me know what's going on. I try to write, but the words never come out. The only people I've been successful in writing to is Clarisse, because she would pulverize me if I didn't, and Thalia, because words come easier with her." She looked apologetic, and also guilty, like she was trying to hide something. I decided not to dwell on it.
Renee helped me into the badger dress she had made for my birthday our first year, and we set off for breakfast.
Renee POV
There was a holdup in the entrance hall when we made our way to breakfast. All the Beauxbatons students were lined up, holding slips of paper. One by one, they put their name in the goblet, beaming with pride as they did so.
Once again, I noticed the veela girl and her silver-haired friend hanging back. Madame Maxime stood a little ways off, surveying her students, and those two girls especially.
The silver-haired girl stood with her hands on her hips, the slightest of frowns playing across her almost perfectly symmetrical face.
As the Beauxbatons students were blocking the entrance, Clara and I had no choice but to watch the them enter.
Finally, the line thinned, and most of the students made their way into the Great Hall for breakfast. The two girls were the only ones left.
Clara pulled on my arm, but there was something compelling about the girls. The silver-haired one gave her friend a little nudge, and the veela girl took a small step toward the Goblet of Fire. She put her paper in hastily, then jumped back, as if burned by the fire.
It was only after I sat down across from Gill, poured myself a glass of apple juice, and bit into a freshly-baked pumpkin-cream cheese muffin with chocolate chips that I realized the silver haired girl hadn't put her name in.
Before we could walk away, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked up. The older boys were whispering conspiratorially and all the boys were laughing. Hermione wore a thin, exasperated smile.
"Morning," Fred said brightly. "We've just done it."
"One drop each," George added, matching his brother's grin.
"You know Dumbledore will have thought of this," Hermione admonished.
The older boys shrugged.
"Aging potion," Hermione whispered to us. She gave Clara a hug. "Happy birthday."
Fred stepped up to the Goblet of Fire with a piece of paper in his hand. He looked toward the Great Hall, where the doors were open, and I suspected he wanted people to see this. A few people at the Gryffindor table watched egged him on.
He stepped over the barrier and tossed his paper in. When nothing happened after a moment, George leapt after him.
The next moment, there was a loud, sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as if they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. Lee Jordan stepped back as his friends landed painfully on the cold stone floor. They started to stand up, but there was a loud popping noise, and they both sprouted identical long white beards.
For a moment, the twins gawked at each other and pointed, and then everyone else in the entrance hall started laughing.
"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to a few others who decided to age themselves up a bit. I must say, though, none of their beards are as impressive as yours."
Fred and George stood up, laughing heartily, and started to walk away, but not before a posse of Gryffindor girls made their way past, talking and laughing. I recognized the Johnson sisters, Alicia Spinett and Katie Bell from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and a girl whose name I thought might have been Leanne Worth. The Johnson sisters stepped up to the gold circle while their friends watch. Angelina smirked at Fred and George as she and her sister dropped their names in the Goblet without consequence.
In much higher spirits than we had been coming from Hufflepuff, we made our way to our respective tables.
Clara POV
"Have ve met?"
A broad-shouldered boy in bloodred wizard's robes paused by the Hufflepuff table and stared at Kat.
Kat started to shake her head, but then the boy's eyes landed on the nametag sewn into her robes. He gasped.
"You are a Rybalzat?"
"Do I know you?" Kat asked in a small voice. On her left, Callie and Rebecca exchange a confused glance.
"I had hoped I vud find you here," the boy said excitedly. "Ve thought you vud go to Hogvarts."
"I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The boy held out his hand. "I am Mikhail Lebedinsky. I cannot believe you are here, Katarina."
Kat narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but… how do you know me?"
By now, people up and down the table were staring. Emma and Lucy were whispering about something, and Rebecca crouched down, as if ready to fight the Durmstrang student.
The boy fumbled in his pocket. He pulled out a chain, which had a locket attached. The locket was in the shape of a triangular eye. It looked familiar, but I had no idea where I'd seen it in the past.
He pressed a button on the locket and it sprang open. "Your parents vent to Durmstrang." It was not a question, more of a statement. He gestured to the photo inside the locket, a clipping of six people having a snowball fight in front of a dark fortress. The picture was moving, of course, and a man and a woman glanced up, smiling. Another man wore a more sour expression, and he looked almost familiar.
It was Kat's turn to gasp. "You knew my parents?"
Mikhail shook his head. "They vere my parents' close friends, at the school" he said. "Ve never found out vot happened to them."
"They said they moved when they got pregnant with me, because they didn't like the Dark Arts reputation of the school, even if they managed to escape it."
Mikhail raised his eyebrows. "That is vot they told you?" He frowned. "Are you going to the village today, Katarina?"
"Of course."
"Vill you meet me there, and ve can talk more about vot happened, as I understand it?"
Kat looked around at us. The five other Hufflepuff girls her age, including me, wore a variety of facial expressions: perplexed, nervous, curious. I realized I was the only one who looked at what the older boy was saying as an opportunity.
"If we can come with her, and we do it in a public place," I said firmly as Kat floundered for words.
She glanced at me gratefully. "Yeah, like the Three Broomsticks."
"Just as long as Karkaroff vill not hear," the boy said quietly. "But yes, you are all velcome to come."
"Wren, you don't have to join us," I said. I stood between her and my Hufflepuff same-age peers, waiting in line for the Heads of House to stamp our permission forms. Kat, Rebecca, Callie, Franklin Morrison, Jasper Dylan, and a boy named Tyrone Jones were whispering excitedly in front of me. Lucy and Emma had shook their heads when Kat asked them if they would join us, claiming they would rather use their first trip the way it was intended. I'd noticed that Lucy tensed up around the boy, and Emma did whatever she did, but it was no great loss. Sometimes, I felt bad that Callie had to be their roommate instead of ours.
"I'm coming," Renee insisted. "I said I'd spend the day with you." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Also, I could charmspeak him if anything goes badly.
Sandra, Tomasz, and Gill were behind her. "I'll come as well," she said. "My family is old blood, he'll behave with me around."
"Me too," said Gill, gripping Renee's arm.
"Listen, I'd love to, but Nolan and I were going to check out that new wizard games shop and arcade." He looked around and spotted his Hufflepuff cousin talking to Rebecca. "Tell Frankie where we are," he said loudly.
Franklin stepped away to stick out his tongue and blow a raspberry at his cousin. I rolled my eyes, along with Sandra and Renee. "Boys," Sandra muttered.
"I would never embarrass you like that, Renee," Gill said solemnly, and I felt my jaw clench. Sandra closed her eyes tightly for a moment and let out a long breath.
We made our way to the front of the line, where Sprout was waiting for us. "Enjoy your first time in Hogsmeade." She winked at Renee. "Legally, I mean."
It was an unusually warm day for Halloween, and we walked around in a large group. I'd hastily told Harry, Ron, and Hermione what had happened at breakfast.
Kat wore a hard frown, like she was concentrating on something.
Renee led the group, since she'd been here and knew where the Three Broomsticks was. When we reached the building, which had an emblem of its name hanging above the door, the building was packed. Because we were all in our street clothes, I couldn't tell who was from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, or Hogwarts, and I liked that we could just go out as students.
Mikhail was sitting alone at a fairly large table, but I wasn't sure if it would fit all of us even so.
He raised his eyebrows as we approached. "There are more of you than at breakfast."
Sandra and Tyrone were already pulling a table next to the one where Mikhail sat.
Mikhail gestured to the seat across from him for Kat, and Rebecca and I sat down on either side of her. She looked at us gratefully. I returned her smile. I knew better than anyone what it was like to need your friends and roommates by your side.
Renee placed herself on my other side. On her right, Gill clung to her arm. Beside him, Sandra wore an unreadable expression. Tyrone, Franklin, Jasper, and Callie took seats on Mikhail's side of the table. Mikhail introduced himself to the newcomers, and we went around and said our names.
Madam Rosmerta noticed all the action at this side of the building and came over to take our orders.
"Get the iced butterbeer," Renee muttered. "Best drink I've ever had."
Gill stood up. "Two iced butterbeers, please, and a Halloween special cupcake as well.
"Gill, I can pay," Renee muttered.
"Nonsense. Today is about me treating you like the princess you are. You promised, remember?"
I narrowed my eyes. Renee hadn't said anything about this when we made plans with the others.
"Gill," Renee hissed. "Not now."
"Well," Rebecca said pleasantly, "if Gill is going to insist on paying for Renee's meal today, then I must insist on paying for my two roommates. Clara, today's about you, because today's your special day. And Kat, you're the reason why we're all here right now. So don't even try to refuse."
"Thanks, Bec," I whispered so that only my roommates could hear. She had done a good job of diffusing the tension in the moment, and we both knew that was her true reason for her offer.
Mikhail played with his napkin, looking unsure about whether he should be telling Kat and everyone else the information he'd invited us here to discuss.
"Katarina," he said finally, "what have your parents told you about their childhood at Durmstrang?"
"Erm," said Kat. "Er, can you please just call me Kat? Katarina has always sounded too, well, foreign."
"Oh." Mikhail frowned. "I'm guessing your parents did not tell you much about your name origin, then."
Kat stared at him blankly.
Mikhail sighed. He glanced around the room, and I got the distinct feeling there were certain people he wanted to make sure were not in hearing range. Then he pulled the photograph out of his locket.
"Engorgio," he muttered, and the photo expanded. I gasped as a girl in the photo threw a snowball at a boy. The woman had the same puffy, white hair that cascaded down Kat's back, while the man had her sea-green eyes.
Another boy stepped into the frame, this one with Mikhail's stocky frame and broad shoulders. The boy waved.
Two girls stepped into view beside the boy. They both put their arms around him, and then he jumped. The girls grinned and ran away, and then another boy stepped into the frame. He was skinny, with sideburns and the beginning of a goatee. He looked almost familiar, and Mikhail scowled.
Franklin raised his eyebrows. "Is that Karkaroff?"
"The very same," Mikhail said grimly. "He, my parents, your parents, and Katarina Zelinski were in the same year at school. Katarina vos my father's cousin."
He gestured to one of the girls who had put their arms around his father. She turned around, as if aware that she was the subject of our conversation.
"It started as only the five of them," Mikhail explained. "Karkaroff… he vos not vith the same group, if you know vot I mean."
"So he ran with a different crowd?" Kat asked?"
"Yes, that's it. He vos sometimes not a nice person. However, I believe he and Katarina met over the summer and started, vot is the word? They vere…" he made a kissing face.
"They were dating?" I supplied.
"Yes, that is it, thank you Clara."
I nodded.
"They vere dating," Mikhail continued, puzzling over the word. "She brought him into our parents' group. My parents, and yours, Katarina, alvays said she trusted him too much. She believed he had changed, but one day he got her away from the group. This vos in the 1970s, ven Voldemort vos just beginning to gain a lot of strength here in England."
Around the table, there were gasps as Mikhail said the name. "Don't you know not to say it?" Gill snapped.
"Gill," Sandra admonished. "Not everyone thinks the way you do! Besides, he's not from around here!"
Renee laughed nervously at the exchange between her two friends, and Kat took the opportunity to look at Mikhail. "What happened?"
"Your English is very good, Katarina. It is almost as if you were born here."
"I was, remember?"
Mikhail smiled. "Oh. Right."
Renee tapped my knee. I nodded, Mikhail was definitely stalling.
"Mikhail, you were saying?" she said sweetly, and I knew there was charmspeak involved in the words.
Mikhail blinked. "Right. Vell, ven the man vith the name you don't like me to say gained influence, he did not look to the other schools for support at first, only at Hogvarts. At Durmstrang, there vos a sort of cult of Grindelvald. This vos Karkaroff's group ven he vos not vith our parents and Katarina. This group heard of the man gaining support in England, and they pushed Karkaroff into seeing vot vos vot. At that time, Katarina Zelinski vos also looking for answers, and she knew something about the man in England that she did not share vith any of us. It vos too risky, she said. Karkaroff met the Englishman and joined his group at the pressure of his other friends at Durmstrang. Von day Karkaroff accidentally let slip to them that Katarina knew some secret, and he ordered him to find out vot she knew through any means necessary.
"Like I said, he got her apart from our parents and demanded to know. He took her into the voods by our school and he tortured her. I do not know if he ever found out the information the Englishman wanted him to get from her. They ver in their seventh year then, about to leave the school. Nobody could prove he did it, so he got off. But my father, he saw the Englishman's Mark on his arm ven he vent looking for his cousin. He found her in the voods. She vos dead then. Karkaroff vos there, and then he apparated away. But not before my father saw the Mark."
"The Dark Mark, you mean?" Kat asked.
Mikhail nodded solemnly. "I am sorry, Katarina. I should not have told you everything like this."
Silent tears fell down my friend's cheeks. "I never knew," she said. "My parents, they never talk about Durmstrang. They said I was named after an old school friend, but they never elaborated. I know my mom got pregnant with their first child shortly after they finished school, but my she had a miscarriage, and then a few more through the 1980s. They finally sought help via a Muggle fertility doctor when nothing at St. Mungo's was working, and I was born in 1991. My brother Aleksandr was born three years later, and my sister Joanna two years after that. They wanted to come here because both Grindelwald and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were known to fear Dumbledore, and they determined that to be a protection they wanted their children to have."
"Aleksandr and Joanna are your brother and sister? But those are my parents' names!"
Kat stared at him for a moment. "I wonder why they never told me."
"I first learned ven I vos about your age, fourteen. But your parents ver scared. They did not vant to risk anything happening to their children at Durmstrang. That is the reason my parents say they do not communicate anymore."
"I wish I'd known," Kat said again. "Was it hard to continue going to school knowing your headmaster had killed your aunt?"
"My mother is on the board of governors. Many of them do not approve of Karkaroff as headmaster. They suspect his past, and they try to remove him. He thinks he is safe in his position. But yes, I do vorry sometimes."
"If they had told me, maybe we could have grown up knowing each other," Kat said, suddenly shy.
"Vell, ve are here now," Mikhail said. "I think I vill not be champion for Durmstrang, vith Viktor in the running, but maybe this is the reason I came here. This village, Hogsmeade… I have never been here, but I hear it has a rich history. Maybe you could show me around?"
Kat glanced at Rebecca, and Rebecca nudged her under the table. Next to Mikhail, Callie mouthed, "do it!"
I stifled a giggle and nudged my friend as well. "I'd love to," Kat said after a minute. "It's my first time here, though. Maybe we can explore this together?"
Mikhail smiled at her and stood up. "I vud like to make up for lost time ve could have been friends growing up," he said eagerly. "Shall ve look around the village?"
"I'll go with you," Rebecca and Callie said at the same time. They giggled as the four of them stood up to leave.
"I've gotta jet," Franklin said. "Hey, Sandra, my cousins said they were going to the arcade, right?"
"Yep."
Franklin stood up, and Jasper and Tyrone followed him out.
I was now alone with the three Slytherins.
"Did the trio want us to meet them somewhere?" Renee asked me.
"You're meeting them?" Gill spat. "You promised you'd let me take you out, Renee!"
"I told you yesterday that I would spend Clara's birthday with her!"
"You spent last night with her! Today is our day. You promised." He gripped her arm.
"Gill…"
"Come on. My family's come here on vacation a few times, so I know all the best spots, including a few little known shops. There's this frozen yogurt place…"
He steered her away, and she tried weakly to shove him off. "Gill, I made no such promise. You insisted. It's Clara's birthday, and-"
"Come on!" Gill shouted, attracting the attention of other customers and Madam Rosmerta. "Let's go, before you make a scene!"
He reached over and knocked over Sandra's water glass, but from another angle, it looked like Renee did it and not him. Madam Rosmerta walked calmly over to the table.
"Miss Sanderson, I must ask you and your friends to leave if you are going to continue to behave this way," she said firmly.
"Come on, Renee," Gill insisted again, and he pulled her arm.
People were staring now in earnest. For a moment, Sandra and I just stood there. When I looked up, Renee and Gill were rounding a corner. I considered following them, but then realized nobody wanted me around anyway. She had clearly chosen him over me; she could have fought harder for us to get along. My Hufflepuff friends had gone off with some guy mixed in with Kat's personal history, and while I was happy for her, I knew Rebecca was wrong. It wasn't my special day at all. None of my friends had bothered to notice it beyond this morning.
I found myself walking away from everything, and was only slightly surprised when I realized I was deep within the village, at the Shrieking Shack. I sat down on a flat rock. It was a lot less creepy now that I knew the history behind it. People called it the most haunted building in London, but there was no way anyone believed that if it was only built thirty years ago. In the traditional sense of the word, Hogwarts was fifty times more haunted, and was founded a thousand years ago. Nico would find this funny.
I hadn't really planned on going anywhere, but I didn't know if I wanted to stay here, either. I closed my eyes.
Clara!
My eyes jolted open and I glanced around warily. No, I thought, it must have been the wind. Nobody cared enough about me to follow me out here.
I heard footsteps and heavy breathing. Maybe I was wrong about this place being haunted. I closed my eyes again.
"There you are! I was worried when you ran off!"
It was a female voice, and I felt the weight of another body on the rock. "Are you okay?"
"Why do you care, Sandra?" I recognized the voice even without looking.
"I don't approve of their relationship lately either, you know."
I allowed my eyes to open slowly, but looked away from the Slytherin. "She didn't even resist him."
"That's not what it looked to me," Sandra said quietly.
"Last night, she asked me for advice." Why was I telling Sandra this, anyway? "I said I thought they could use a break. But now…"
"I'm glad you told her that. She trusts you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, alarmed.
"I know you and she have known each other since you were really little. I know there are certain things she tells you, as well as Potter, Granger, and Weasley that she doesn't tell me or Gill or Tomasz. I know the nature of your friendship with the Gryffindors is different than Renee's with us, or yours with your roommates and Callie, Lucy, and Emma."
"And you're okay with that?"
"When you grow up with siblings, you know that people have different support circles; that you can't be someone's everyone, nor can you expect one person to be yours. Growing up with cousins as close as siblings, Tomasz learned that too, but Gill, an only child, has trouble seeing it. His family is respected, but not in the same way as mine or Tomasz's. The social circle of his parents is not one he feels at home in."
Now I was interested. "What do you mean by that?"
Sandra shook her head. "I'm not really allowed to talk about it, unless he or anyone else in the group chooses to share the information."
"The group?"
She offered me a sad smile. "Sorry."
My body felt less tense than it had a few moments ago. "It's okay. I understand." I paused for a moment, then said, "Why did you come after me, though? You have other friends."
"It's your birthday," Sandra said simply. "Nobody deserves to be alone or upset on her birthday."
"Gill certainly doesn't see it that way."
A shadow fell over Sandra's face. "You've heard about the groups that wizards form for early education?"
I nodded. "Ginny told me a bit."
"Like the Weasleys', with the Diggorys; Lovegoods; and Fawcetts, ours was based on proximity, although not all are. My family and Nolan's were Ministry families, and the Ruddernots and Morrisons lived in the area as well. When Nolan was kicked out his parents claimed Mr. Avery's sisters and their husbands were communist liberals who couldn't see the good in the world, and their son was too soft-hearted and would end up failing in life. But that's another story.
"Anyway, Tomasz's extended family, as well as the Bellises, Johnsons, and Patils lived in our general area. As children, we all played together freely with my sisters and the Johnson sisters as the group's ringleaders. Stacy and Angelica are actually best friends, although they interact less at school than they do at home.
"When we were four or five, we started group schooling with adults in the community, where we learned basic skills like math and reading, as well as wizard identifications of the world around us. My groups made frequent trips to Diagon Alley because of our proximity. But the Johnson sisters and Patil children were in a different group than the rest of the neighborhood, and Gill was supposed to join their group too. He was a very sedentary person, and he only ever saw himself as part of one group. His thought process was along the lines of, because we were all in the same year, he didn't need to talk to anyone else. Again, this was likely a side effect of being an only child.
"As we grew up, he became clingy, especially to Tomasz and his cousins. As the only girl surrounded by four boys, I played pranks on them a lot with my sisters, and the Johnson sisters and Patil twins when they were around. Tomasz and Franklin would then guide me on how to pull better pranks on them in the future. Gill and Nolan would watch and listen and end up learning just as much as I did. It turned into an all-out prank war by the time we were nine or ten, and sometimes we weren't even sure who was on what side. That as much as anything is what shaped our House placements."
"Sandra, your childhood sounds great," I said. "But why is it relevant to me?"
Sandra laughed. "Sorry, I got carried away. My point was that Gill was the same way as a child, and he just doesn't get social circles and how they vary. Tomasz and I have tried to work with him on this, but he just doesn't get it.
"I'm sorry. I'm definitely talking too much. But like I said, it's your birthday. Why don't I show you my favorite places, somewhere I know we won't run into Renee and Gill."
"If you're sure we won't see them."
"Gill told me about his plans with Renee today, and they'll definitely be doing some things that are far more high-end than where we're going. I've been here with my sisters and the Johnson sisters a few times. We call it Bargain Alley, although it's really just called South Street. There are thrift shops and fair trade goods, and there's usually an open-air market. That, and nothing is expensive, not like the main areas. Come on, you'll love it.
I stood up, my head spinning, and glanced around. We were still alone by the Shrieking Shack, which was definitely not haunted. Sandra offered me her hand, and I took it almost without thinking about it. Clearly, I didn't have to worry about her relationship with Renee affecting mine, or about her behaving in a similar way to how she had two years ago. It was clear that Sandra and I were on the same side.
A/N: Well it looks like I still didn't write the Goblet of Fire scene. This time I got carried away in the lives of my OC's, but I still hope you enjoy the chapter. Hopefully this will allow me to be more concise in my next chapter and include the Goblet of Fire scene and the fallout after Harry's name is chosen (basically everything leading up to the first task) all in one chapter.
Even if this wasn't what you expected, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm happy to be giving Clara some more Hogwarts action again, you know how little I tend to do that.
Thanks for your support!
~ Celia
