Whoever it was that had invented them hadn't been lying when they named them Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. Every lesson was exhausting to the point of being nasty, and each piece of homework even nastier and more exhausting!
There wasn't even Quidditch to look forward to, having had it put off this year owing to the Triwizard Tournament! This was a fact most would rather forget, but were constantly reminded by Louis Weasley, who stomped about the castle with his broom between his legs, holding a sign saying "BRING BACK QUIDDITCH OR I'LL BEATER YOU UP!" This, however, was stopped soon enough, when a haggard looking Professor Kopf chased him up the entire Grand Staircase after he started trying to play indoor Quidditch and accidentally hit the portrait of Sir Cadogan. As the knight roared and brandished his blade, the Headmaster hastily confiscated a red-faced Louis' broomstick and put him in detention.
One fact that seemed branded on everyone's mind was the fact that Rose Weasley had disappeared. Her gaggle of Gryffindor friends could be seen hovering around, looking a little lost without their leader. Even some of the teachers were distraught at discovering her absence. Professor Slughorn nearly broke down in tears when he asked the class who invented the Wolfsbane Potion, and instead of seeing the usual hand thrust into the air, all he was met with were bemused students. It seemed rather strange that not even the staff had been told of her expulsion.
However, only a very select few (and unselect, as Scorpius knew – he didn't really understand why Timmy had been told so easily by Hugo, but he decided to let it slide) knew about the real reason the Weasley hadn't returned to school that term.
As the days stretched into weeks, favourites for the Tournament were becoming apparent. Hufflepuff, seemingly desperate to make up for their previous attempt, had taken to worshipping Molly Weasley (granted, she wasn't such an embarrassment as the rest of her house, and came from a much respected family). Ravenclaw had idolised Lysander Scamander, who possessed none of his mother's lunacy and many believed him a cert to win. Lorcan had a tendency to gag when he saw first-years chasing after his twin brother asking for autographs. Strangely, Gryffindor were hoping for winners to run in the family – Albus Potter was being bombarded by fangirls, and he was often seen exasperatedly trying to revise his Transfiguration while surrounded by shrieks.
And, to no one's surprise, Slytherins champion was to be Scorpius Malfoy. With careless good looks, reasonable enough brains and no sense of right or wrong, he was already placed on the winner's podium in all of his house's eyes.
A few rather pathetic students could be seen waving posters advertising themselves, but these were the ones who didn't have famous parents to set them in their stride. It would have been sad, had anyone actually cared.
Curiosity was aroused as October drew to a close - stealing the last dregs of autumnal sun and throwing rain relentlessly onto the grounds of Hogwarts – when the students surged into their Common Rooms to find a parchment pinned to their notice board reading:
The students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang shall be arriving on Saturday, October 31st. Hogwarts students shall meet the delegations in the Great Hall. Please arrive by no later than 6pm for dinner
Many Slytherin students had trouble reading the next sentence, for it had been crossed out and underneath written:
Or we'll look really bad.
And beneath it had been drawn a picture of Professor Kopf getting chased by his hat.
Saturday dawned wonderfully overcast. If they were going to welcome foreigners to Britain, they deserved to experience it at its most authentic – with a torrent of rain.
Despite being Hallowe'en, there was a noticeable absence of grotesque pumpkins pulling faces, and a rather obvious overload of shining suits of armour and glistening banisters. Were these students or inspectors coming to the school?
Filch spent a large proportion of the day sweeping up sweet wrappers from the floor as the pupils insisted on celebrating Hallowe'en. In the end, if he so much as saw a student's jaw move, he would practically choke them until they spat out their sweet and turned out all of their pockets.
Scorpius and Lorcan spent almost the entire day out in the school grounds, waiting anxiously for the arrival of the Veelas from Beauxbatons. Many of the girls who secretly harboured crushes on the two kept shooting them resentful glances. They struck rather an image – the two blonds sprawled out lazily beside the lake...and probably would have impressed the French girls, if a bug hadn't crawled onto Lorcan's lap and, in a state of panic, the boy hadn't leapt into the air, lost his balance and tumbled into the water, dragging Scorpius with them.
As they emerged, coughing and spluttering, their robes spilling waterfalls, a shocked Professor Lycon gave them so loud a telling-off that students sitting in the silence of the Library started and spun around, looking for the source of the noise. After they were sent to change and dry, they started feeling rather resentful to the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
Strangely, the arrival of the two schools didn't happen before 6pm, so the Hogwarts pupils were left on the edge of their seats inside the Great Hall, straining their ears for any noise. Many were rather put-out that they couldn't see whatever grand arrival was occurring soon.
Suddenly, the doors burst open, and Kingsley Shacklebolt swept up towards the teacher's table. Then, he turned and faced the students. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, will you please welcome the students of Durmstrang Institute!"
Stamping could be heard echoing in the Entrance Hall. Every head turned to face the arrivals.
What looked like a horde of walking furs stormed into the Hall, their formation so stiff that they could have been an army. This suspicion only heightened as the tallest fur of all stepped forward and yelled. "Attention!"
Every single student straightened up immediately, apart from one boy who stumbled over his robe. The Headmaster turned his head slowly to the boy. "UP!" He grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to his feet. Then, seeming to pretend it hadn't happened, he pivoted to face the teachers and led his students on a march through the Hall.
It was strikingly impressive, the way every foot fell in time, and the strange chant they chorused as they moved. All of a sudden, they halted.
"Drogan Esöb!" Professor Kopf leapt off his seat and sprinted round the table to shake hands with the Headmaster. Much to the joy of the Hogwarts students, he was about two heads smaller than Esöb and had to look up to see him, causing his hat to fall off.
"Stolidus Kopf." The Durmstrang Headmaster inclined his head, taking Kopf's hand. A lot of the pupils started, having never heard their Headmaster's full name. Everyone had thought he was called Stoli. Weird enough name as it was. Why did everyone have such strange names? Surely Esöb was allowed though, he was foreign.
"Wer are the Beauxbatons students?" Esöb asked, shaking off his hood, causing every one of his pupils to copy him. He spoke with a heavy accent that no one could really place.
"On their way...in fact, here they are now!"
Once again, every student swivelled round to stare towards the Entrance Hall. This time, the boys were rewarded. So much so, that Scorpius choked on the sweet he'd snuck in (gathering suspicious glares from Filch) and had a small coughing fit, Lorcan not helping as he thumped him on the back.
Leading the procession were two girls so beautiful, they really couldn't be considered human. Behind them, attracting the gawp of every single girl in the Hall (all of the boys were a little focused on something else) was a woman of gargantuan proportion. Many of their parents who had been around at the time of the previous Tournament had told them about this woman. Madame Maxime. They never thought they'd see her up close. Well...you couldn't see all of her if you were too close. She was huge!
A trickle of students followed in the wake of their Headmistress, but very little attention was paid to these few boys and girls, who all looked absolutely terrified. Esöb stepped aside to let Professor Kopf attempt to kiss Madame Maxime's hand...though it involved much struggling and jumping until eventually he managed. "Olympe! What a pleasure!"
"Likewise." She smiled then her eyes settled on something at the end of the staff table. Every one followed her gaze to see a very red-faced Hagrid giving her a small wave.
"I really hope they sit over here!" Lorcan said breathlessly, forgetting all past grievances as he stared in awe at the Beauxbatons students (he'd noticed more than just the first two girls now, and liked what he saw).
"Shut up, you buffoon, stop waving your arms around or they won't!" Scorpius snapped.
The Durmstrang students had already settled themselves at the Gryffindor table, and many of the girls were already fawning over the boys. The girls from Durmstrang were a little over-shone by those from Beauxbatons – they all had a bit of an eyebrow problem.
"I don't believe it, they're coming over!" Lorcan gasped. He looked like Christmas had come early as the silk-robed students settled themselves on the Slytherin table. He nearly knocked over his glass in his haste to make room for a particularly pretty girl, who gave him a wide smile and he almost fainted.
Scorpius was a little more nonchalant, pretending not to notice as a girl sat beside him. Lorcan, however, gave him a wide-eyed stare and mouthed "That's one of them!" Malfoy presumed he meant the girls who had entered first – that, or one of the mole people! But it was more likely the first.
A few moments passed in which Scorpius sat smugly basking in the jealous glances from the boys of the other houses, until suddenly he accidently leaned too far back and nearly toppled off the bench. Before he could hit the floor, a pair of hands grabbed him.
"Thanks!" He gasped, straightening up and then realising whose hands it had been. The girl was staring right at him. His jaw dropped. Rose.