Fairy Tail was at its highest point of fame and glory. Not only had they become the only ones to have ever survived an assault by Acnologia, they were the newly crowned champions of the Grand Magic Games and played a critical role in taking down the seven dragons that attacked Crocus. The most powerful guild in Fiore, none capable of matching them and the legends about their members growing and growing. They had fought, shed blood and tears to reach this point and now they were enjoying the fruits of their labors, drinking and enjoying life. It was this same reputation that brought the British wizards to invite them for their Grand Magus Tournament in an attempt to prove their superiority.
While the mage council hated dealings of any sort with Britain mainly due to the arrogance of their wizards and the ridiculous demands they put up occasionally, the request to have Fairy Tail join the Grand Magus Tournament was immediately processed and approved. For them, it was like hitting two birds with one stone; they would be rid of some of the most destructive members of Fairy Tail, even if just for a little while and the council couldn't deny Fairy Tail's strength and was aware of their strong conviction and beliefs. It was extremely likely they would butt heads with the Englishmen and it would be a means to teach them a lesson in humility they sorely needed.
They would never know what hit them
It was time. The three other groups that would be participating would be arriving soon, Harry noted nervously. The Durmstrang Institute, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Fairy Tail Guild would be the competitors he would be up against in the newly established Grand Magus Tournament, and honestly he was scared stiff. The only reason he had submitted his application to be part of the Hogwarts Team was because Ron did so too and he wanted to support his friend. He hadn't expected to actually get selected when so many other students older and more experienced had entered their names as well. Hell, he believed the main reason he was selected was due to the fame behind his name, if the Boy-Who-Lived was participating in this tournament it would bring in a lot of public support. Out of all the selected members of Team Hogwarts, he suspected only half were selected fairly. Because how else would Draco Malfoy of all people managed to get selected only along with several other pureblood heirs who never displayed any particular talent in their subjects? No, he believed they probably bribed their way onto the team for the sake of the glory.
Sighing, he shook his head. Harry wasn't interested in the Tournament as a whole and wanted to just have a normal school year while being kept out of the spotlight. But no, it was just utterly impossible for it to happen like that. He was sick and tired of being treated the way he was, given the incompetence of most of the Hogwarts staff centering the rampant bullying within the school and being treated like a savior one minute and the up and coming dark lord the next. Hermione had spent much time within the library after hearing about the Tournament and had brought up fact after fact of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, but to her shock was unable to find anything about Fairy Tail and spent much time complaining to him about it. Dumbledore had announced in front of the school that the Fairy Tail Guild was the most powerful mage guild within Fiore, the capital of magic, but had not went into too much detail about them. Harry had spent some time pondering the matter and always ended up at the same stupid question;
Do fairies really have tails?
Fleur Delacour had held hopes that this tournament would allow her to meet a few people that would not be affected by her Veela allure or not hate her for possessing it. But stepping out of the carriage that Headmistress Maxime insisted they use to not look bad in front of the other schools, glancing at the crowd of Hogwarts boys all staring and making fish eyes at her told her that it was not happening.
'At least this tournament allows me to escape most of the idiots around Beauxbatons' she thought glumly, only vaguely hearing Maxime greeting Dumbledore and her decision to stay outside and wait for the other schools.
'Of course, wait outside in this freezing cold weather wearing only these thin blouses, what a genius idea' She rolled her eyes, silently snorting as she watched some of the drooling boys. Staring at the Durmstrang ship that rose out of the lake a mere few minutes later, Fleur would be one of the first to admit that their entrance was far more impressive than Beauxbatons. A horse drawn carriage versus a ship capable of traveling underwater? There was honestly no competition. But watching as the Durmstrang students disembarked from their ship, she met the eyes of Viktor Krum and was surprised to see the same soul deep weariness that was reflected in her own eyes. Fleur understood why only a few seconds later when their Headmaster started lavishing praises about him in front of Dumbledore, he was the same as her; constantly in the center of attention, unable to connect properly with other people, trapped in a situation out of their control. She noted how he wasn't staring blankly at her either, and hoped that she would be able to befriend him.
'Now, all that's left is this Fairy Tail'
They were the representatives of one of the all magical countries and was said to be the most powerful guild in the nation. Fleur had heard tales and legends about those; how they practiced a completely different type of magic, how they didn't need wands to cast…
I want to see the truth behind those legends of yours
When Viktor Krum stepped off the Durmstrang ship, he looked around and saw the same scene as always. A crowd all whispering and gaping at the sight of him, scrambling in search of objects to request him to sign. All the things he hated.
Yet it was perfectly expected since he was a international quidditch star player. He sighed, thinking back to the days past where wasn't all the attention and fame focused upon him, being dragged around for interviews and autographs. Where he was just Viktor Krum, a boy playing the sport he loved. Where there were no expectations or the need to win at all costs. Just being able to play the best you could, playing for the sake of it rather than victory or defeat. Viktor sorely missed those times, and seriously regretted the choice he made to accept the invitation from the scout, believing he could do what he loved at the professional scene. He was wrong and now suffered the consequences.
Listening to Karkaoff heap praises upon him in front of the Hogwarts Headmaster only annoyed him further, it was as if he was some sort of circus animal with the way he was being treated. Glancing around in search of something that would calm him down, he was surprised when he caught the eye of a blonde Beauxbatons student who had a look in her eye that mirrored his own. The utter exhaustion and desire to escape.
Viktor felt some hope flicker within his heart, perhaps he finally found someone he could befriend and be acknowledged as something more than Viktor Krum, international quidditch star? Viktor heard Karkaoff proclaim they were to wait outside for Fairy Tail and his thoughts shifted to the foreign mage guild. He was actually interested in meeting them, since he heard quidditch was not played inside Fiore and thus it would be unlikely that they knew of his reputation. But he would wait and see, being the representatives of a whole nation meant they were likely to be similar to the politicians he had to deal with occasionally. Though he had this strange feeling that he would be completely wrong in his assumption.
I look forward to meeting you in person… Fairy Tail
When Fairy Tail arrived at Hogwarts, it caused a major spectacle. Why? Because they choose to arrive in a gigantic airship that looked like a flaming dragon. Standing at a hundred feet tall, almost entirely coated with blood red metal plates that were constantly emitting burning flames, it was nearly a perfect replica of the dragon Atlas Flame except with the Fairy Tail symbol emblazoned into its side. The Atlas Flame II was specially commissioned by Master Makarov in order to celebrate and commemorate the first human who managed to ride a dragon in over a thousand years. While that was the official reason he gave, Makarov just wanted to have a cooler form of transport as compared to having to take the train or walking. I mean, even Blue Pegasus had Christina and Sabertooth their private magic four wheels! It was like admitting that their guilds were better than his and he utterly refused to do so. So the Atlas Flame II was created for the express purpose of showing off and its maiden voyage would be ferrying the guild members to Hogwarts. Makarov felt incredibly proud of himself when he stepped out of the airship and saw all the jaw dropped expressions of the gathered crowd and knew he had succeeded in his endeavor.
Dumbledore was the first to shake himself out of his stupor and ran forward to greet Makarov while the awe struck expressions stayed on the students faces. The airship was unlike anything they had ever seen before, living within a society completely dependent on magic as compared to the unique blend of magic and technology within Fiore. It could never have been create just by using science or magic alone, and the students were all amazed by the sight of it, especially one bushy haired girl who started babbling about the impossibility of it all much to the annoyance of her friends.
"How? Building a construct in such an awkward shape would mean that it would be impossible for it to take flight under scientific means, but it's impossible for it to be powered by magic since electronics malfunction around high magic concentrations so…"
"Hermione can you just keep quiet already, I wouldn't be surprised if they have some sort of advanced technology we don't so just leave it at that" Harry snapped, finally losing his patience. It had been a long week, dealing with Ron's jealousy about how he was hogging all the glory once again despite only joining on his request had frayed his nerves and he didn't have the patience to deal with Hermione's lectures as he normally would. Clutching his head in frustration, he wondered why he was friends the duo once again. He actually couldn't figure out why since keeping up said friendship required him to sacrifice so much time and patience without having the feel of real friendship in those acts. Sometimes he thought it was just because he didn't have any other friends within the castle that made him submit to this supposed friendship. Hermione was looking at him with an outraged expression and had started into yet another charade much to his annoyance. Turning back to the airship, he caught of sight of his first glimpse of the Fairy Tail members, and summarily laughed out loud. He didn't know what he had expecting but it definitely wasn't the sight of two boys wrestling on the ground before being punched by a fiery red head before starting to lecture them. Despite her actions resembling Hermione so much, there wasn't that sense of tension that he always felt that the duo didn't want to be there or her to leave them alone. There was this warmth, this sense of friendship that his relationships lacked. Harry's heart ached at the sight and he turned his head away, striding off towards the castle against the sound of laughter from the group. Taking one last glance back, he saw the two boys had gotten up and acting like clowns in front of the red head, inciting chuckles from their guild mates surrounding them, but all of them held a content smile upon their faces. He turned back, unable to continue looking as only one thought ran through his mind.
I wish I could have friends like that…
After the feast ended in, in which several students attempted to approach the Fairy Tail members with questions on the tip of their tongues had their questions answered in a way that left them questioning all they knew about magic. Lacrimas? Magic Containers? Caster and Holder Type Magic? They just gave up after since the answers they received brought more questions in their mind than answers. Dumbledore stood up and amplified his voice with a mild Sonorus charm, calling out
"May I have your attention please? Now once again, I welcome our esteemed guests to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I hope you would enjoy your stay here for the next five months while forging new bonds and learning new things to take home. Now about the Grand Magus Tournament."
"As you all know, the Grand Magus Tournament will take place in five separate events where competitors are grouped into teams of ten each. During each event, the competitors must select a representative to fulfill the task presented to them and depending the task itself, the number of representatives may vary. Now, the competitors need to be briefed on the events and thus when your Headmaster or Headmistress calls your name step into the room before you. " He instructed as the audience starting cheering for their respective schools.
"Madam Maxime, if you would?"Dumbledore asked, gesturing her forward.
"Of course, the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic has selected the following people to represent itself, in no particular order; Fleur Delacour! Michele Eliane! Marcelle Lucie! Juliette Chevrolet! Arielle Armelle! Claudia Bianchi! Cristina Vespucci! EléonoreLorette! Lilianne Eustis and finally Rebecca Blanc!" The group of females rose in a graceful fashion and walked elegantly into the room amidst the catcalls and whistles from the male students.
"Headmaster Igor?"
"The Durmstrang Institute declares the following as its champion; Viktor Krum! Poliakoff! Naum Milan! Ilarion Anastasiy! Ivailo Simeon! Petya Stanislav! Nayden Petar! Boyko Lazar! Doncho Ilarion and Branimir Rumen!" The Durmstrang students formed perfectly straight rows with Viktor at the head, bringing forth cheers for the quidditch star as they filed into the room.
"Master Makarov?"
"Fairy Tail's Team will comprise of namely Natsu! Erza! Lucy! Gray! Wendy! Gajeel! Laxus! Mirajane! Freed and Gildarts! And you idiots better not cause any unnecessary damage you hear me!" He received a plethora of acknowledgements but none of them sounded particularly serious about the order as the mismatched group stepped into the room though several wondered at the familiarity Makarov seem to hold with his guild members using just their first names.
"Well," Dumbledore smiled as attention returned to him "Last but not least Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has named the following to represent the four houses. Harry Potter! Cedric Diggory! Draco Malfoy! Angelica Johnson! Cho Chang! Daphne Greengrass! Lucian Bole! Adrian Pucey! Roger Davies and Zacharias Smith!" Given the outraged and disgusted expressions the school had made towards some of the students, not everyone was particularly happy with the selected members but dutifully cheered as the said group entered the room with half of them, Draco Malfoy in particular wearing smug smirks.
"Now, the first event will take place an hour after breakfast tomorrow but details will not be revealed until the event proper. Prefects, please note that competitors are excused from curfew today and today only to allow them time discuss their strategies for the event and that is all for today. Now, off to bed you go!" Dumbledore announced before dismissing them.
Inside the competitors room, the competitors stood in their own groups, some listening others not as Bartemius Crouch droned on and on about the history and reasons behind the restart of the tournament.
"In an effort to bring the two societies closer together after the tragic split that happened many years ago…"
Natsu yawned, not bothering to hide his boredom at being subjected to the lecture, which caused Erza to put him into a headlock and quietly berate him about his behavior.
"Pay attention, this could be important," She hissed as Gray started snickering much to Natsu's chagrin but was too scared to do anything with Erza looming right before him.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity Bartemius finished with his speech and Ludo Bagman quickly took over. "Now that we've got the dry stuff out of the way, let's move on to the more important details. The tasks that each of you will have to challenge!" Ludo smiled gleefully as he watched the suddenly much more attentive crowd.
" Now, there will be five events spread over the course of five weeks, with the first event taking place an hour after breakfast tomorrow. The tasks are designed such that each of you will get your chance in the spotlight, and will be kept hidden from you until the event proper begins." As the expressions on the crowd's faced suddenly shifted to frowns, he hastily added
"But there's no harm in giving you a hint, I can tell you the name of the first event and let you draw your own conclusions from there. The organizers of the Grand Magus Tournament have named the first event as…" He paused as the crowd waited with bated breath.
"Dragon Slayer."
And the room burst into chaos.