"Welcome all to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is a pleasure to see all the old faces and the new ones," Minerva said with confidence after the sorting, "We have a few notes before we eat. Mr Filch had requested I remind you all that magic in the halls is banned, though after last term I was surprised. A list of those items that are contraband in the school can be found in the caretaker's office. The Forbidden Forest is as it is named, forbidden to all. This term I have the misfortune to state that the Quidditch Cup will not be occurring…"
"WHAT?" Came the screams from most of the students.
"Silence!" The witch called out, waiting until it was quieter to continue, "As I was saying, it will not be occurring due to the TriWizard Tournament taking place…"
Once again she was interrupted by many loud murmurs but none more than the Weasley twins exclaiming, "You've got to be joking!"
"I am not, nor do I like the idea of the barbaric event being held, let alone on this castle's grounds. Unfortunately neither myself, the Head of the DMLE, nor the Minister were able to prevent it from going through, or moving to another one of the schools. So on October 30th representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang shall be arriving, and from them until the 31st the Goblet of Fire shall be present to take names of those who wish to participate," Minerva spotted the many underage faces light up and quashed that instantly, "Due to the danger involved, and the many deaths, it has been decided that only those who are of age can compete, meaning over 17 as of Halloween. There will be precautions put in place to prevent all of you who try to defy that ruling, so save your time and hope that none of the tasks kill you as they have in the past.
"On a lighter note, we have the privilege to host a student from another school here this term. Miss Penny Hill comes to us from Olympus College in Greece, a student of nature, so you will not see her with a wand. She shall be sitting in on classes whilst here and I expect each of you to show her what Hogwarts is all about," Minerva watched as the satyr rose and waved from the Gryffindor table, sitting with Neville, Faye and Luna, "And with that said, tuck in!"
All around people were clamouring for food, the demigods watching their protectors grab a large bowl of untouched salad, eating from that, knowing she was vegetarian. Smiling as they watched her seamlessly join into conversations with the others, they were positive this would be a good thing, and went about eating their own meals.
Looking down the few seat to the Headmistress' seat, Hermione asked, "Ma'am, what security has the Ministry supplied for the tournament?"
"Amelia and Tonks were adamant on residing in the castle as soon as the goblet arrives, and they are calling in former Aurors to assist. Arthur would have like to place active Aurors on site but with the hiring freeze only just lifted, and half of their numbers replacing the Dementors at Azkaban, they are stretched tight," the witch looked thoughtful for a few minutes, "Perhaps I can ask the centaurs to assist in patrolling the forest."
"Minerva, you will only get a polite response from Firenze, the rest of his herd have already attempted to hurt Hermione and I after we were found in their territory. If you truly require more protection, why not utilize the house elves? They are bound to Hogwarts and as it is their home, will defend it is they are given the freedom to," Alex suggested.
"I will be sure to talk to them about that Harry"
"Think we should suggest the goblins?" Hermione whispered.
Pursing his lips in thought, Alex shook his head, "No, but I would like to get my hands on a couple of those scanners that the French have. Perhaps Minister Weasley will get some if we were to suggest them, he probably hasn't even heard of them."
"Or we could forgo that and simply ask Fleur to bring some along when she arrives. Chances of her not coming are little to nil."
"I knew there was a reason I loved you, so smart, it's a wonder you aren't Athena's daughter instead," the wizard joked lightly.
Poking his side, the brunette stuck her nose in the air haughtily, "I don't know what you mean, I'm obviously the elegant daughter of Poseidon. You though, you could be confused for the son of Dionysus."
"Wine, celebrations and ecstasy, yeah, that's a real insult to a teenage boy Mia," Alex wiggled his eyebrows before returning to his food, his girlfriend huffing lightly, though squeezing his hand beneath the table.
At the Gryffindor table, Penny was having the time of her life, talking to her newly found friends, especially Neville as he had an affinity to nature as she did, "So you assist Pomona in the greenhouses often?"
"As often as I can, she wanted me to take my OWLs last year but I didn't feel ready," the wizard blushed lightly, "I think I'll just take my exams at the same time as everyone else. Do you have greenhouses at your school?"
"No, we have the entire area as one large greenhouse, because we all gain power from nature and to store it away would be counter-productive," Penny was grateful for those brochures from the school she was meant to be from, "Though one does have to be careful where they graze, I've had the misfortune of coming across poison ivy while feeding, that was unpleasant."
A soft giggle came from beside her, Luna knew that Penny wasn't from where it was announced, as she was the only student to know about the demigods, "That would have been uncomfortable."
The quartet joked around, even when she was leading the demigods to Camp Half-Blood; Penny hadn't truly been this free to joke, always on the lookout for the next monster or a cop who was following up a shop-lifting complaint. And even though only one student knew the truth, it didn't negate the number of people who were utterly fascinated at the teen, and not simply because she was a satyr, but because she was from somewhere else and they wished to learn more about where that was.
Looking up to the staff table, she spotted the demigods watching her with a grin, so toasted to them with her goblet of pumpkin juice, and received the same back, "Yes, this is going to a very interesting assignment, one that Chiron will be getting some choice words over."