The brisk Halloween weather didn't bother Fleur much. She couldn't really say the same for her schoolmates as they clutched onto their slim slips, while some pressed their faces into their scarves as they anticipated the chill that was sure to seep into their clothes the second they stepped out onto the grounds of Hogwarts. As usual, Fleur rolled her eyes at the other witches' behavior.
The carriage rocked and bumped as they hurtled down through the clouds. The humungous castle that was Hogwarts became visible as the several rather large Pegasus broke through the thin clouds. Fleur leaned forward to get a closer look, and could barely just make out the small dots huddled together just before the entrance. Obviously the students. Fleur leaned back as the ride became bumpy once more.
She could hear the excited buzz going on around her, but paid the other French students no mind whatsoever. Large hooves pounded against the ground, and less than a second later, the loud sound of the wheels crashing after them followed by the rattling of the windows echoed throughout the schoolyard, and in Fleur's head. The vibration shook through her feet, and up her legs, so that explained why she didn't necessarily stand right away; her legs were too jelly-like and wobbly to support her weight.
The door to the enchanted carriage burst open, and a frazzled wizard scrambled out to release the golden steps. Madame Maxime was close behind him, and wordlessly stepped onto the Hogwarts grounds. The faint murmurs and gasps of the British crowd reached Fleur's ears even as she was glued to her seat. It suddenly grew quiet as the Headmistress strode forward, signaling her students to follow.
Fleur quickly stepped out of the carriage to take in the sight of gawking faces and nervous looks of innocent, little first years. She barely paid attention as Madame Maxime and the bizarre Headmaster of Hogwarts greeted each other as if they were merely catching up over a spot of tea. Her eyes skimmed over the small first years, nervous second years, confused third years, curious fourth years, amused fifth years, mischievous sixth years, and excited seventh years.
Her eyes were suddenly drawn to an awkward trio standing close together just before her. A lanky redheaded boy was positively drooling over seeing her, while a bushy haired girl and a skinny boy wearing glasses were as close as could be without drawing too much attention... but Fleur saw the way their hands brushed over the other, almost tentatively. An amused smile almost found its way to her lips, but the order to head inside from her Headmistress stopped any smile or grin in its tracks.
Fleur would be lying if she said she didn't find any relief from the torches built into the walls of the entrance hall. The flames warmed her up nicely. Again, she rolled her eyes at her schoolmates' overdramatic shuddering as they wrapped themselves in their slips and scarves more tightly. Honestly, the cold wasn't so bad. It would bring her great amusement to see them in the winter time. A small chuckle bubbled in her throat at the thought, prompting a few heads to turn in her direction.
Before any of them could question her sanity, a shout was heard outside. Every head turned to the lake bordering Hogwarts. The whirlpool seemed to be spinning in the water, but was that something protruding from the opening? Suddenly, a huge boat was bobbing along the surface of the lake, and was steering towards land. Voices broke through the silence as a plank was thrown down, and several severe looking boys bundled nice and tight underneath fur coats crossed over, and marched across the yard.
The Headmaster followed with a crazed look in his steely eyes. He smiled a cruel, yellow smile as he strode behind his students with... Viktor Krum? Hushed, yet excited whispers followed them as they stopped in front of Dumbledore.
"Ah, Karkaroff! Nice to see you here at Hogwarts!" greeted Dumbledore pleasantly. Sometimes Fleur questioned his senses. Karkaroff responded with a false smile.
"It is nice to be here, although I must say, this is... quite different than the fine school of Durmstrang." remarked the stony-faced man. Dumbledore chuckled heartily.
"To each his own, wouldn't you agree Madame Maxime?"
Madame Maxime tensed as the attention of Karkaroff was brought over to her. She nodded curtly at the Headmasters. Dumbledore, sensing the tension thickening between the other two, clapped his hands, and broke the silence.
"Very well then, I think it would be in the best interest of our students to head inside the warm castle!" he said. "After all, it would do us no good if our students were bedridden with numb feet and head colds!"
Slowly, the crowd shuffled inside the building, and into the Great Hall. The Durmstrangs fell into step with the students wearing green and silver ties and scowls. Fleur hesitated, and glanced around. Ultimately, something told her to follow the students who were also wearing bits of blue. Once everyone was planted in their seats, Dumbledore cheerfully took his place at the podium in front of the long table that the staff was seated behind. He cleared his throat to gather the attention of everyone in the room, but it didn't really matter. Everyone's attention was firmly planted on him anyways.
"Welcome! Welcome!" called Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. "I am honored to have the two great schools of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang in our midst. I do hope you all enjoy your stay, and Hogwarts is up to your standards."
A few Beauxbatons girls scoffed and muttered insults in French. The Durmstrangs remained silent as they carefully scrutinized every inch of the Great Hall and the gold platters placed in front of them. Fleur could see the bushy haired girl from before glowering at her scoffing peers, and she withheld a small grin. Dumbledore's booming voice dragged her attention back towards him.
"I am sure most of you," his eyes glanced over his every student in the Hall, "are aware of what exactly why tonight is taking place, but I shall make sure everyone is up to date. There was once a tournament that took place, and rivaled between three schools. However, due to the extreme danger, and, regrettable, deaths, it was long ago cancelled indefinitely."
Murmurs were spreading now, and Fleur even leaned in to hear this part better.
"Yet, here we are, and this tournament is back on, and I am highly honored to have it hosted hear at Hogwarts." exclaimed Dumbledore. "There are two staff members at the Ministry of Magic in our presence, and they are to be on the judge's panel during the Triwizard Tournament."
All eyes turned to the two completely different men seated at the staff table. One was radiating excitement as he bounced in his seat. He quickly flung himself to his feet once Dumbledore introduced him as Ludo Bagman. There were several claps for the boisterous wizard. Next to him sat a rigid man with a thin mustache that matched his hair. His face was tense, and the muscles in his cheek twitched. He introduced as Barty Crouch Sr., and a few polite claps praised him. Fleur's eyes immediately crossed over to a mangled-looking man with scars and a bizarre eye that whirled around in it's socket. It landed on Fleur, who stared right back before slowly glancing away.
"As all of you know, and as I have said at the beginning of the year feast, no one under the age of seventeen," his eyes were full of amusement as they landed on twin redheads that reminded Fleur of the drooling boy outside who were grumbling angrily to themselves; "Is allowed to enter their name for a chance of being chosen to participate in the Triwizard Tournament."
The grumbling died out, and Fleur could see the calculating expressions on the whispering twins' faces. Fleur briefly wondered about all the trouble those two have undoubtedly gotten into. Fleur's eye quickly caught the one of the bushy haired girl. She offered the younger witch a polite smile, but all she received was a suspicious narrowing of the eyes from the girl before she looked away. Disappointment blossomed in her chest without warning, but Fleur shook it off and barely paid attention to the rest of Dumbledore's speech.
"Now, to present the decider of the champions!" he said. The twins were grinning wildly like madmen as they craned their necks to gaze over the sea of students.
Fleur, too, was searching for the one who would decide who the three champions were going to be. A goblet was wheeled out in front of the staff table. Fleur was perplexed, as was the rest of the crowd, but suddenly blue flames roared to life inside, cutting off the confused voices, turning them to gasps of astonishment. A startled intake of breath came from Fleur as well, and her eyes widened in curious excitement.
"I present to you, the Goblet of Fire! Yes, yes, by the confused looks you are all wearing, I see I must explain further." chuckled Dumbledore goodheartedly. "Whoever desires to enter their names must write their full names on a piece of parchment along with their age and school name. They must then drop the parchment into the fire, and that will be all.
"However, I am required to warn you that those of the faint of heart should steer clear of entering, for once you enter your name, there will be no going back." warned Dumbledore seriously. It was the most serious Fleur has seen him in her short time at Hogwarts. His expression stayed that way for a few seconds before a warm grin crossed over his frown, and scratched it away. "Enough of this, I believe we are all very starved, if I do say so myself! Let the feast begin!"
The golden plates miraculously filled themselves of food of all sorts. Fleur was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few of her favorite French delicacies piled high in front of her. She reached out to spoon herself a helping of Bouillabaisse onto her plate, only to find it all gone. Apparently it wasn't only her favorite. She shot her classmates a dirty look before she hoisted herself off the bench. Her eyes zoned in on the Bouillabaisse at the table of students wearing scarlet and gold just in front of the bushy haired girl that shot her a scrutinizing look, the skinny, dark-haired boy with glasses, and the drooling boy with flaming red hair.
Just as she began walking away from her table, the empty plate of her favorite food filled itself once more. Fleur blew a strand of hair out of her eyes with an exasperated puff. Oh well, I'm already on my way. For some reason, she wanted to make a good impression on the bushy haired girl and her boyfriend. Of course Fleur didn't know about that for sure, but she was part-Veela... she knew about romance and things of the sort. If only I was the love expert when it came to my own life. She physically shook her head to rid her mind of those sort of thoughts just as a seed of depression blossomed deep within her chest. Her fingers itched by her sides to find release, but she was in public. Surely she knew better than to shame herself right then and there?
Reality forced upon her once again when she heard the impatient clearing of the throat. Fleur's eyes snapped up to meet the brown eyes that shown with slight contempt mixed with confused curiosity. The boy wearing glasses was staring between his classmate and the French witch. Fleur offered him a polite smile, and planned to do the same with the boy across from them, but her eyes froze on the lightning-shaped scar clear as day on his forehead.
"I, uh... oh." mumbled Fleur incoherently. Harry shrunk away from her gaze, and she noticed the anger flaring on the other witch's face. Trying quick to redeem herself, Fleur rushed to get to what she originally came over for. "I am terribly sorry! I meant to ask if you were finished with the Bouillabaisse."
To her utmost disappointment, the redheaded boy answered instead. "Take it! It was delicious!"
"Oui... It usually is, is it not?"
After standing there awkwardly for a moment, Fleur found no reason to stay. Of course, Harry Potter's wizard friend was more than ready to shrug aside to allow her room on his side of the table, but why stay somewhere where the majority didn't wish for your presence? A flicker passed over the witch's face. Could she have picked up on Fleur's disappointment that managed to leak into her voice without her consent? Well, if she did, she didn't say anything to put the older girl at ease.
With a silent sigh, Fleur gripped the bowl tightly as she made her way back to her table (Ravenclaw, she found out) to begin eating.
...
The dishes cleared out as the feast was over with. Stomachs were full, and eyes drooped as the ceiling above darkened. Even just by looking at the complete replica of the sky, Fleur knew it would be windy when they made their across the grounds to reach the carriage. With a sigh, Fleur leaned her cheek against the palm of her hand, thoroughly bored out of her mind.
Dumbledore rambled on about after-feast announcements, but Fleur honestly couldn't care less. She knew what she had to do to enter herself into the tournament, she knew how classes were going to proceed during the duration at Hogwarts, and she was certain that she wouldn't step foot in the castle again lest it be for meals or to bury herself in books from the notorious Hogwarts library.
Fleur closed her eyes, and sighed heavily, absolutely ready for bed. Her eyes were bleary, but she reminded herself she wanted to rush to tear a piece of parchment and scribble her information onto it for the goblet. She opened her eyes, and blinked rapidly to rid the sleep from her eyes. She looked around the Great Hall- and completely froze.
H-How? Her body felt like ice was pumping through her veins, and she could swear she paled to the point where it was noticeable on her fair skin. Almost like flipping a switch, the ice melted, and her nerves and limbs were on fire. Fleur wasn't sure if she blinked at all during this whole intense moment. Her mouth was opening and closing on its own accord, and in that moment, Fleur couldn't bring herself to really care if anyone noticed her bizarre behavior.
She didn't care if Dumbledore was winding down and signaling it was bedtime; She didn't care that her classmates were calling her name to get her to follow them back, She didn't care that they eventually grew exasperated and gave up, leaving her sitting there with only herself; In this one moment, the only thing that mattered at all was the pair of stormy gray eyes that were staring back at her with confusion.
Suddenly, all thoughts of entering the tournament (not that she wouldn't enter) banished from her mind. Because sitting right there, gazing back at her like she was a psycho, was the girl she lost so long ago. There was the girl who handed her the magazine that she (quite humiliatingly) packed with her for the trip. But no one had the right to judge her! No, if she were to die here, not that she cared before, at least she had the comfort of The Quibbler with her. It was only fair to herself. But that didn't seem to matter because her mate was right there within reach!
But wait... she couldn't possibly act on it, not with her being such a young age. No, she had to befriend the girl first, and then, over time, maybe she could finally get what she wanted. She'd get her happiness.
A/N: Okay, so this might not exactly match up with the books, but this is mainly going to be my own storyline. You can obviously tell the ships, but seeing as Luna is so young, they won't get together for a while... I do have plans that extend to DH, so she should be old enough before I wrap everything up.