"Hurry, now, dears! We don't want to miss the train!" Mrs. Weasley yelled over the crowd to her children, Harry, and Hermione. They hurried through platform 9 ¾ to get to the Hogwarts Express. Hermione and Harry, on Hermione's suggestion, boarded the train to give the Weasleys some privacy with their parents, knowing there would be words of love and other private family moments.
Hermione sat down in a compartment alone with Harry and took out a huge book to read.
"School work already Hermione?" Harry complained mockingly.
"Don't be dim it's a free read." Hermione smiled back.
The door opened to their compartment. They both looked up to see a boy with dark hair and Hufflepuff robes enter. "Are you Hermione Granger?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah." Hermione replied, eyeing him. "Why?"
"Sorry." he extended his hand. "How rude of me. Excuse my manners, I'm Mark."
"Oh." Hermione shook his hand politely still not understanding why this older Hufflepuff was talking to her.
"I'm Cedric's friend," he explained sitting down next to Harry. "He's told us all about you." That made Hermione blush embarassingly and look out the train's window to try and hide it.
"Tormenting Granger, eh?" laughed Cedric as he came in after Mark and sat down next to Hermione. "Isn't it great fun?"
"No, Mark was just introducing himself," Hermione swatted Cedric jokingly.
Harry looked thoroughly awkward and uncomfortable. To him this must seem like a very weird exchange. But it had become normal for Hermione, the joking and all that. Hermione and Cedric had been talking and seeing each other for a month since the World Cup incident. Although, nothing had happened in the way of kissing. They hadn't even discussed that. They just seemed to be friends, very close friends. Which was annoying Hermione a lot. But she had to try and remember her mum's old saying, 'You get what you get and you don't get upset.' Although that was supposed to be applied to food or toys not relationships.
"I'm going to go find Ron. It's getting a bit crowded in here." Harry got up. Hermione looked at him guiltily. In response to that he corrected his statement, "Don't worry about it. I'm going to go find Ginny."
"You mean Ron?" Hermione had caught him. She knew something was going on with them.
"Yeah." Harry blushed and hurried out.
Cedric eyed Mark curiously and Mark just smiled back innocently. Then two other boys roughhoused their way into the compartment, hitting each other relentlessly. One had dark hair and sparkling blue-green eyes. The other was a blond. The dark haired was introduced as Peter and the other boy was Dave. Then Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot came in.
"Hi guys." they smiled.
"Oh, Hermione," Susan beamed at me, "we're so happy to have another girl. All their Quidditch talk was knocking us off our rockers."
"Yeah. Good to see you Hermione." smiled Hannah. Hermione felt quite overwhelmed by Cedric's friends. Not so much the girls because she knew them. Hannah was a nice, shy girl who always wanted to please her teachers and do her homework properly. But she was a scatterbrain. Susan was a smart and confident girl except when it came to any kind of interaction with Slytherins. Also her aunt, Amelia Bones, works at the Ministry. But Hermione knew nothing of Cedric's guy friends - who she found quite intimidating.
"I'm so sorry but I best be going. It was nice meeting you all." Hermione said excusing herself. She still felt bad about Harry having to leave. "Ron and Harry will go bonkers if they don't have me to help them with their summer assignments they still haven't finished."
"Pity to see you go," said Peter. "You're a great bird. But we'll see you when you're done?" Hermione stumbled slightly over her next few words for she'd never been called a 'bird' before. But Hermione didn't see anything offensive in Peter's eyes. He smiled extending the invitation to see them again.
"Sure. If I ever get them to concentrate and actually finish their work." Hermione said, faking an annoyed tone, which earned her a few chuckles.
"I'll walk you out," said Cedric getting up, he was so polite.
"I have a prefects' meeting later," he explained when they were standing outside the compartment. "So I might not see you until later. Save me a seat in a carriage?"
"Sure." she replied parting ways to find Harry and Ron.
When she found them they were sitting in a compartment with Ginny and Neville.
"Hi." Hermione said coming in to sit next to Neville. "How's your ride been so far?"
"Pretty good." smiled Ginny. Then Hermione noticed Harry clutching his forehead.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, concern bubbling up inside of her, as Neville shoved the Daily Prophet in her face. She lost her train of thought as she grabbed the Prophet from Neville and stared at the front page. It was all about The Quidditch World Cup incident. Hermione skimmed it over quickly making mental notes. Then she looked up to address Harry.
"You need to tell Dumbledore that your scar is hurting." Hermione instructed in a mother-like tone not unlike Mrs. Weasley's. "And the dreams. This could be serious."
He looked like he was going to argue but then he didn't. "Fine, but I'm sending a letter to Sirius first," huffed Harry.
When the train had stopped and they all boarded the carriages Hermione had forgotten all about saving a seat for Cedric and had just rode up with Luna, Neville, and Ginny. The carriages didn't arrive at the school until after dark. Everyone found their seats in the great hall. The ceiling's sky was dark and cloudy with a promise of a storm.
To start off the evening all the teachers introduced themselves, which was for the first years since everyone else knew mostly all the teachers. But Hermione noticed one teacher missing. It seemed like it was Defense Against the Dark Arts that was missing. Which shouldn't have come as a shock to her because that position seemed to be cursed. They'd had problems with it for ages, long before Hermione had been in school, according to Hogwarts a History.
Next was the sorting ceremony. Starting off with the hats song and ending with the last first year being sorted. The first year with the last name farthest down in the alphabet was the last first year to be sorted, as per usual.
When all was finished Dumbledore stepped up to the podium to give his speech.
"I hope it's not long this year," cried Ron. "I'm bloody starving!"
"Shhh." Hermione shushed Ron putting her finger to her lips so she could listen to their headmaster's speech. Hermione couldn't believe how incredibly rude and immature Ron could be sometimes.
"This year, I'm afraid to say we will host no Quidditch," explained Dumbledore. Hermione's heart lifted whilst her friends' sank. It was a relief to know she wouldn't have to worry about her friends getting hurt all year from bloody brutal Quidditch. She hated having to sit through the games and worry her friends would be hurt. Throughout the Hall, not everyone shared the same feeling. Most of the hall erupted in boos and cries of anger.
"Well, he just ruined my year with two words," exclaimed Ron throwing up his hands in anger dramatically.
"Quiet!" commanded Dumbledore loudly but calmly. Then he joked. "There is reason for this madness. This year Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Triwizard Tournament. One student shall be selected from each school. But I will explain more once our guests arrive." It was then that Hermione noticed Filch had been running up the aisle to whisper something in Dumbledore's ear. Then he ran all the way back.
"And now, allow me to introduce to you, the lovely ladies of Beaubauxton Academy for Girls and their Headmistress Madame Maxine." announced Dumbledore and the doors were flung wide open. What seemed like millions of French girls dressed all in blue ran in. Enchanted blue butterflies fluttered all around the room as the girls danced. Ron stated at them with wide eyes. He sighed a few times. Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust as most of the guys in the room were drooling at the girls. Most of the girls resembled Veela, Hermione observed, but she was sure they weren't Veela. At least they weren't fully Veela. A pang of fear erupted in her stomach out of nowhere. She turned to see if Cedric was staring like the rest of the male population at Hogwarts. To her utter surprise he was laughing with his friends and eating, he barely seemed to notice there presence. Him and his friends only seemed to notice the girls as much as it was polite to.
"And now Durmstrang Academy and their Headmaster Igor Karkaroff." announced Dumbledore. At that point dozens of young men walked through the door banging their sticks on the ground. Sparks flew out of the bottom of the sticks with every bang. Then they dropped their sticks and ran forward doing a wide variety of break dancing moves.
"It's… him," squeaked Ron.
"It's Victor Krum," said Harry in utter amazement. Hermione turned her head and they were right. There he was walking forward wearing the same serious expression he wore the day Ron bumped into him on the way to get water. Hermione could have sworn he winked at her and then kept walking forward to take his seat with his classmates next to the Slytherins. But she must have been imagining things. Just like she had been imaging the whole ordeal with Cedric.
"Now, as I was saying," Dumbledore continued at the podium growing solemn, "this tournament is not for the faint of heart, so be weary. Anyone who wishes to enter need only sign their name on a piece of parchment and place it into the goblet before Halloween. Now everyone, we do have a few rules. Mister Barty Crouch, head of the department for Magical Games, will explain." Everyone clapped politely yet bored as Crouch stepped up to the podium.
"Now due to some," he paused, obviously thinking of the right word, "Hazards, we have set an age limit this year. You must be seventeen or older to enter," announced Crouch shortly. This was meet with a bunch of boos and screaming of dislike not unlike the reaction following the Quidditch announcement.
"Well, I don't think they like that." Hermione muttered sarcastically to Ginny. She giggled.
"No, they didn't." she replied, her giggles quickly replaced by a frown. Hermione realised, Ginny was a Quidditch player also. Ron and the Weasley twins amongst those who were booing the loudest.
"Silence!" screamed Dumbledore then he started to rattle on about other affairs. But he had lost his students' attention with that exciting news. Lightning cracked the enchanted ceiling's sky and they were sure to be rained on any moment now, which regained most of the attention. None of the people in the Great Hall wanted to get soaking wet. Before they were all to be drenched a wand was pointed at the ceiling, silencing the thunder and stopping all the rain. The wand belonged to a short plump man with a peg leg who was dressed in all brown. His face was unmistakable. It bore an eye patch with a fake eye inside of it that seemed to be able to move around on its own free will. Dumbledore walked up to the man and shook his hand, smiling.
"This is Professor Moody," announced Dumbledore. "Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"That's Mad-Eye Moody the ex-Auror," explained Dean Thomas in awe.
"Dark wizard catcher." replied Ron.
"Alright." called Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!" With that Ron dug in like a pig on a farm at mealtime. Hermione disgustedly looked away and glanced over at Cedric who was staring at the glowing Triwizard Cup with sheer determination. Hermione got a horrible feeling come over her stomach and she found that she couldn't eat a bite.
Writer's Notes:
Hope you liked the chapter!