Moutohora Magic Academy
For the first time since Gabrielle had left the docks in Liverpool, she was actually enjoying being on board a boat. Whilst many of the other passengers had shut themselves in their cabins, or sat in the lounge looking green, Gabrielle was stood on the foredeck with her arms splayed out wide, and her hair streaming out behind her like a platinum curtain. For lack of any better term, their ship was flying. Going beyond the Magic's Edge and into the tunnels had pushed the Queen's Gambit to such a speed that the bow was completely out of the water. The ship shot along the watery tunnels, shooting past smaller boats, weaving in and out of large, slow cargo ships, and racing other ocean liners carrying people to far flung destinations.
The Queen's Gambit had moved into what Gabrielle assumed was the main tunnel that connected to all others. If you were to stand out on the promenade deck, you wouldn't be able to see from one side of the tunnel to the next. Large signs overhead signaled exits for North Africa, Asia, and South America. The Queen's Gambit however, sailed off down a large tunnel that bore the sign 'Oceania'. After perhaps an hour of sailing at high speed, past exits for Fiji, Samoa, and Indonesia, the ship turned hard, taking an exit marked 'Australia and New Zealand'. The ship had begun to slow, and the funnels began to throw out a heavy, multicolored smoke. Gabrielle cling on tightly to the barriers as she felt the ship struggle, as though it were trying to make it to the top of a very steep hill. Her ears began to pop, and the ship rattled towards a bright light at the end of the wide tunnel. Finally, just when the ship seemed as though it would slow to a complete stop, the bow broke through into clear, fresh air. The ship pitched violently as the bow settled into the water once more, and the ship began to steam out of the network of watery tunnels below. The air here was noticeably warmer, and as Gabrielle shrugged off her jumper, she turned to see other passengers emerging from inside the ship in their shorts and t-shirts. The ships tannoy announced their arrival.
'All guests disembarking in Moutohora Island should prepare for arrival in thirty minutes time. Please have your documents ready for inspection. Your luggage will arrive ahead of you. On behalf of the captain and crew, we hope you have had a pleasant voyage with us, and we hope you will travel with us again soon.'
Gabrielle returned to her cabin and gathered her things. The start of the Tournament had begun much sooner than she had expected, and despite a number of nights spent with Regina practicing all kinds of spells, Gabrielle did not feel ready to be a part of Team Hogwarts, let alone be its Captain. In the back of her mind she still had doubts, and questioned why the Goblet of Fire had picked her. She was a transfer student, lagging behind her classmates in everything but charms class, and aside from being very good at Quidditch, wasn't well known for doing anything at the school. But Gabrielle had forced these thoughts to the back of her mind. Moaning about how unfair her situation was would not help things now. In no time at all, she would be in New Zealand for the start of the tournament, and the school expected her to lead them.
Gabrielle kept this train of thought going throughout the whole journey across the water to Moutohora Island. It was a small, very green looking place only accessible by using the small ships tenders, which carted people off the ship twenty-five at a time. The Hogwarts team were one of the last groups to be taken off the Queen's Gambit, and by the time Gabrielle and her friends were zipping through the pristine blue-green waters of Boulder Bay, the Queen's Gambit had been completely overshadowed by a much larger ship called the S.S Philadelphia. The American team were decidedly less discreet about their arrival, zipping across to the island on broomsticks and disappearing within minutes whilst the Brits pottered over in their small tenders.
Finally, Gabrielle set her feet onto the soft white sand of Moutohora Island. The first thing that struck her was how much it looked like something from a postcard, with lush green forest upon the hill, and pristine white sand, and unspoiled waters by the beach. The second thing that struck her was how very alone they were. The ships tender had dropped them at the beach and left them there, and now the only sounds to be heard were the small puttering of its engine in the distance, and the faraway call of birds in the forest. Just as the murmurs had broken out from the students, a small, blonde woman appeared from between a gap in the trees. She walked to Professor Breckinridge and greeted him warmly, giving him a small hug and a peck on the cheek. Then, she turned to the rest of the students.
"Good afternoon!" She beamed, "my name is Professor Michelle Taylor, and I am the headmistress of Moutohora Magic Academy." Gabrielle could scarcely believe it, the woman in front of her looked to be in her late thirties, hardly old enough to be a headmistress. "Allow me to be the first to welcome you to our beautiful island. Be sure to make yourselves feel at home here. Now, if you will kindly follow me, I will show you the way to our school!" With that, the woman hopped away into the gap between the trees once more, beckoning the students to follow her up a winding, narrow path through the trees.
"Moutohora, sometimes known as Whale Island, was once a very powerful volcano," the headmistress called back, still walking up an ever steepening path, "of course, we have long since hoodwinked the muggles into believing it is still very active, and have had the island classified as a wildlife refuge, so generally, we are left well alone here." Gabrielle was trying her hardest to peer up the path, trying to catch some glimpse of where a magical school might be kept, but all that seemed to lay ahead was dense forest, and the winding, narrow path.
"Some of you might well have heard of our very famous Moutohora Macaws, who play Quidditch down between the two peaks. But as I'm sure you'll soon find; they are only a small part of our island's history. Welcome, to Moutohora Magic Academy!" As soon as Professor Taylor spoke the words, the forest seemed to clear away in front of their eyes, opening up into a vast clearing. As they walked further in, Gabrielle could make out large tents, each bearing the flag of a country that would be competing in the tournament. She located the Union Jack waving proudly above a tent nestled between Team Japan, and Team USA. Secretly, Gabrielle wished for a French Tricolore to be flying beside it. There were a few students milling around, some talking to the other schools, but generally the camp was quiet. It seemed as though not all of the teams had arrived just yet.
Further in was a large campfire, which was much busier, with students of all ages bustling around it. These must be the Moutohora students Gabrielle assumed, and by the looks of the large hot stone that sat at one side of the fire with large pieces of sizzling meat, it was lunchtime, and they were having a barbecue. Dotted around the large fire in a sort of semi-circle were three wooden buildings that looked like residence halls, dominated by a large much larger, more ornate building that looked like pictures Gabrielle had seen of Maori meeting houses. It was a large, reddy-brown, triangular building, with a central pillar which was covered in ornate carvings, and topped with a small statue of an old, mean looking wizard brandishing a large staff.
A man in traditional dress stepped out from the largest house, and laid down a small branch at the foot of Professor Breckenridge. The Hogwarts Headmaster bowed deeply, and picked the branch off of the ground. "Welcome, students of Hogwarts, to Moutohora Magic Academy!" Professor Taylor called out from the porch of the large house. "It is an honor to host you, and your colleagues from around the world. May this tournament provide us all with fun, friendship, and great memories!"
"Headmistress Taylor," Regina called out, just as the headmaster had instructed her whilst on board the Queen's Gambit, "we thank you for hosting our school. May we be as gracious guests as you are hosts. Please accept this," she said producing a large golden coin bearing the Hogwarts crest, "as a gift from our school to yours." The Headmistress reached out and took the coin, and beckoned them forward into the school, instructing them to first remove their shoes. Inside of the building was one incredibly large room, filled with row upon row of plush couches that all faced toward a center stage. the room was adorned with carvings, paintings, and tapestries that chronicled the history of Moutohora Island. The floor was blanketed with a plush red carpet, and any small piece of bare wall was a rich mahogany wood that seemed to make the vast room seem almost cozy. Gabrielle looked around in wonder, as did the rest of the Hogwarts students. The place was as silent as a church, and to Gabrielle, this seemed correct, as the building felt very much like a sacred space.
Headmistress Taylor took to the stage as the Hogwarts contingent was beckoned onto the plush sofas. "Welcome to Moutohora Magic Academy. You are currently sitting in our main building, this is where we have our school assemblies, important meetings, such as this one, and where we teach some of our classes. You may have noticed that we are quite a small school; this is our only classroom, as most of our lessons are taught outdoors. Whilst you are here, we would like to welcome you to take part in our classes, some of which may be entirely new to you.
Tonight, you will meet the students of our school at our welcome barbecue, and you will be sorted into one of our three school houses. Whilst here, your house will be like a second family, and whilst we will enter into the spirit of competition, know that your house will always look after you as if you were one of our own." The headmistress went onto explain that at Moutohora, everyone started their school journey as part of Kororā, the house of the little blue penguin, a house for those more timid students who like to stay as part of pack. This house was usually filled with first and second year students. As students begin to grow more self-confident and begin to explore their own interests, they move into Ahoaho, the house of the dolphin. Finally, students who are ready to begin their journey out into the world, and have become well-versed in the magical arts, move into Kākahi, the house of the killer whale.
"Every house at Moutohora represents a special and significant part of your journey to becoming a great witch or wizard, and no-one should attempt to rush into Kākahi," the Headmistress said to the students, "after all, the best part of the journey isn't the end, its everything that happens along the way."
After their orientation, the Hogwarts team was shown to their tent, a large tepee-like structure which had been magically enlarged to comfortably accommodate the team, and all of their spectators, complete with a kitchen, lounge, dining room, and separate dorms for the girls and boys. Gabrielle had wanted to go out and explore the island immediately after unpacking her things, but Professor Breckenridge had instructed all of the students to wait inside until the welcoming night barbecue. Whilst they were waiting, Gabrielle and the rest of the Hogwarts team poured over the many books and magazines that had been placed in their tent, attempting to learn as much as they could about the school.
The magic academy of Moutohora had been founded by a wizard named Napo Harangi, depicted by the severe looking statue atop the main building, in the late 1700's. For many years, the school had struggled to keep itself hidden from muggles as they ventured to the island for whaling operations, and mining, before the New Zealand Ministry finally secured the island in 1965. The Moutohora Macaws did indeed play professional Quidditch on the island in the small dip between the two peaks of the island, and the New Zealand national team were often seen here holding training camps in between tournaments. Aside from the schools obvious sporting achievements, two of New Zealand's' Ministers for Magic had attended Moutohora, as well as four international dueling champions and one Wizards Chess Grandmaster.
After the hours had passed, and the sun had begun setting over the peaks, a large conch shell sounded to let all the students know that the barbeque was about to begin. Lazily, the students began to pull themselves out of armchairs and bunks and filed out of the tent towards the large fire they had seen earlier in the day. A large crowd had already begun to grow around the campfire and Headmistress Taylor sat on a very large log with the guitar in her hand. Following the actions of the students already there Gabrielle grabbed a plate and stood in the queue for what was on offer at the barbecue. As she stood, she was approached by a tall blonde girl perhaps a couple of years older than her, who introduced herself as Zoey Phillips. The girl felt familiar to Gabrielle, but before she had managed to work it out for herself the girl asked, "you were on the French team at the World Cup, weren't you?" Gabriel nodded recognizing the girl as the captain of the American team who she had beaten in the final.
"You must be from Alma Aleron then," Gabrielle replied, "I'm Gabrielle, Captain of the British team."
"It's funny, having a French girl captain a British team. There must be more to you than Quidditch, although your scores say otherwise."
"What were your scores?" Gabrielle asked, already starting to become irritated with the girl. What did her scores matter? Nobody, except the organizers, knew what tasks were coming.
"Four out of five for everything," Zoey replied, piling her plate high with meat from the barbeque, bit disappointed not to get a five for at least flying, but at least we were consistent, my teammates and I have the same scores."
"Did anyone get all fives?"
"Not that I know of, but see that kid over there?" Zoey subtly nodded towards a very skinny brown boy with a smattering of wispy beard hair and dark eyes huddled with a couple of others, looking quite unsure of himself, "That's Akil Ibrahim, from that Egyptian School, he's the only one in the tournament to have gotten a five for magical ability."
"He doesn't look like the type," Gabrielle said, trying to imagine this skeletal Egyptian teenager conjuring the most amazing spells. "Have you met all of the other teams?" Zoey shook her head.
"Just you, and one of the Greeks. They are not a very chatty people. I've been reading a lot of news though, apparently Rio Hamomoto is the captain of the Japanese team." Gabrielle nearly dropped her plate.
"As in Rio Hamomoto the Quidditch player? Seeker for the Japanese National Team, beat Viktor Krum to the Snitch in the Semi-Final of the World Cup?"
"That's him," Zoey nodded, "So you're not even best Quidditch player in the tournament."
"Still better than you," Gabrielle replied venomously. Zoey laughed, evidently happy to have brought out Gabrielle's competitive side. "Besides, it's not a Quidditch tournament is it?"
"No, but I bet he's really good at magic too."
"Well I guess it'll be you versus him for; 'who's the best at everything?' What do you suppose the first task will be?"
"Something athletic," Zoey replied confidently, "all the students here are huge." Looking around, Gabrielle couldn't help but agree that the students in the simple t-shirts that bore the Moutohora logo did all seem to be rather muscular. Gabrielle hoped she would at least have a chance to fly. After some more small talk about the tournament, Zoey left to re-join the Americans, and Gabrielle found a secluded spot a little away from the fire to reflect. The Moutohora Headmistress was sat close to the fire and pulled an acoustic guitar across her lap and gently began to play. The fire, which had been blazing when the students had initially gathered around for their food, gradually dipped to a low flame, as if following the mood created by the guitar playing. Gabrielle felt strangely peaceful and wondered if perhaps the headmistress was actually casting a spell whilst she played. Gradually, students dropped themselves in small groups on the grass to watch the headmistress play.
"Tomorrow," she called out softly, "everyone will find out the details of the first round of the Tournament of Champions." The flames of the fire suddenly swelled again as students whispered excitedly amongst themselves "and in the following days, the round will be contested after classes have finished. Whilst we are in competition with each other, I would invite our foreign visitors to observe as many of our classes as they wish. In our short time together, there is much we can learn." The Headmistress didn't speak again but continued playing long into the night as the students conversed, ate, and drank. Sometimes she would up the tempo, and people would dance around the fire, and other times slowed down whilst the dancers took a break. Eventually, Professor Breckenridge called the Hogwarts students back to their tent and ordered them to bed. In the girls' tent, Gabrielle sat with Regina and Natalie discussing the events of the night.
"I got speaking to Emirico and Ileana Silva, twins from Castelobruxo," Regina said as she pulled on her pyjamas, "Absolute herbology nuts, it was quite boring actually, I don't think they will be much trouble unless tomorrow involves potting Mandrakes."
"I wouldn't be too quick to judge," Gabrielle replied, and told them of her conversation with Zoey about the Egyptian boy, Akil. He really looked like a starving street kid, but going by scores, he was perhaps the most powerful wizard in the tournament. Gabrielle felt more out of her depth than ever after speaking with Zoey, between Akil the Egyptian wand master, and Japan's superstar Seeker Rio Hamomoto, Gabrielle was sure that the other teams would also have lots of hidden talents.
"We aren't actually too bad off," Natalie said, as if sensing Gabrielle's internal doubt, "the papers, and that American girl, make our team sound worse than we actually are. You sprinted through that assault course without using magic, it didn't help your score, but it showed a lot of impressive skills that weren't being measured, and I don't know much about Quidditch, but you're supposedly the best player at school, so you're top notch at flying."
"But what if the tasks aren't in the air? They're more likely to be something complicated and dangerous, like in the TriWizard Tournament. What do I do then?"
"Turn to your teammates." Regina spoke in a wise tone, "You've been so worried about how you stack up with the other competitors, you've forgotten that the whole tournament is a team event. Natalie and Joshua might not be so good at flying, no offence," Regina added quickly, turning to Natalie, who waved her off, "but they weren't chosen because of how well they fly. They were chosen because of how well they can perform magic, the variety of magic they can perform, and because when put together, the three of you are supposed to be the best team Hogwarts can produce."
"How can you be sure the Goblet of Fire picked correctly?"
"It chose Cedric Diggory." Regina replied bluntly, "he was the best student in the school. He won the tournament with Harry Potter before You-Know-Who killed him. That can't happen to you." Regina was right of course, You-Know-Who wasn't around anymore, and so what happened to Cedric couldn't happen to her, but this didn't comfort Gabrielle in the slightest. Gabrielle went to sleep that night wondering what could happen to her. Over the course of the next few days, she would come to find out.
Authors Notes
Hi,
During these difficult times I hope that you and your families are safe and well. Please enjoy the chapter.
IronManRidingaNimbus.