Sorry Sorry Sorry. Honestly, suffered some major writers block, got taken away from the internet, then had a heap of work to do. So sorry.
Note: Bulgarian
French
Multilingual people.
Katherine was up early the next day. Normally she'd wait for the girls to get up, however, in the interest of ensuring she was there when Fred, George and Lee attempted to put their names in, she woke them all and left. She made it their before the boys, which was fair as she was awake earlier than normal.
She'd actually woken up earlier than most, even with a number of people waking up before normal to catch people putting their names in.
She was glad she had woken so early as she soon saw just what happened when underage students put their names in. She had to laugh as she watched a Ravenclaw girl, Faccet, leave the hall with a long, white beard. She was soon followed by Summers, a boy from Hufflepuff. This seemed to deter the other yearly rising students who were underage and had been considering putting their names in.
She watched the Durmstrang students entering their names, looking for a familiar face. It was hard though, considering a few of them were still buried under furs, and they all seemed content not to make a big deal of putting their names in. It was expected of them, after all, it was really the only reason they were here.
When Harry, Ron and Hermione came in she greeted them with a smile and Hermione came to stand beside her. They both knew the twins were going try to enter, and even if Hermione was upset with her about the S.P.E.W they could share their disapproval, though Katherine's was a resigned disapproval.
She grinned as she saw Fred, George, and Lee hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited. She was one of the few in the hall who knew what was going to happen. It was going to be hilarious.
"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Just taken it."
"What?" said Ron.
"The Aging Potion, dung brains," said Fred.
"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."
"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.
"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."
Fred, George, and Lee ignored her. Katherine snickered and patted her on the back consolingly, leaning over to murmur; "Oh, he has."
"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then - I'll go first -"
Katherine watched the pair with a smile. Only just managing to hold back the huge 'cat that ate the canary' grin that she knew was threatening to burst forth.
Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.
When George let out a yell and followed his brother into the ring Katherine almost fell out of her chair from silent laughter. Sometimes she questioned the – rather limited – wisdom of the pair.
The next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot- putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.
The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.
After Dumbledore had explained what had happened and the boys were moving towards the Hospital wing, only to pause and give Katherine curious looks. Katherine just waved them off.
"I'm going to wait for the girls," she explained. The twins shrugged and continued on their way, followed by a still laughing Lee. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed into the Great Hall and Katherine continued to lean up against the wall. The girls would want to know where the boys were anyway. If they noticed in the excitement of Angelina putting her name in.
Katherine hadn't seen the twins since they'd headed towards the hospital wing. That was never good. Then again maybe it was set up to take a while to go away. Either way, she was both enjoying the silence and getting fidgety from boredom.
"Нямаш представа за какво говоря. Това е изключително оживен," a feminine voice suddenly sounded. You have no idea what I'm saying. It's incredibly hilarious.
Katherine turned towards the voice curiously, wonderingly why one of the Bulgarian students would be amused by someone's lack of understanding. When she saw a familiar figure – average height with reddish-brown, shoulder length hair – talking with Alexander Barker of all people, she reacted without really thinking it through.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked. Barker, having already looked rather put out, caught site of her and looked like he'd rather be stuck in the twins' latest prank than right where he was.
"Oh, hello, another Hogwarts student," the girl greeted rapidly in Bulgarian, a smile tugging at his lips, "Double the fun. They really should teach you some languages here. Not my problem though. What'd you do to him anyway? He looks like he wants to die."
"I speak Bulgarian," Katherine replied blankly raising an eyebrow, "As you should know."
"Why would I…" the girl paused, looking her up and down, "Katherine?!"
"Who else?" Katherine asked with a grin, knowing full well that Ivana Draganov could speak English. They had been friends for a long time, their father's doing business together and all. Ivana's dark green eyes lit up excitedly and she let out a loud, happy noise before grabbing Katherine and forcing her into a tight hug.
"Katherine! Where haff you been? I haff been looking for you!" she declared, pulling away to hold her at arm's length, "Ve must seek out Danton. He sent me vord he vould be here. Unlike some he keeps in contact."
"I keep in contact," Katherine replied, only to be interrupt by Barker.
"You speak English?" he demanded in a furious tone.
"Ah," Ivana blinked at him, "Veil, yes. That vas rather vong of me. It was fun, however."
"Don't worry, he's not the greatest company anyway," Katherine shrugged, turning away and pulling Ivana with her, "So, Danton's here?"
Ivana nodded excitedly. She had always been the energetic type. Making one Danton Bonheur and excellent complement to her personality wise.
…
"Danton!" Ivana called excitedly, rushing over to where she'd spotted the blonde, leaving Katherine blinking behind her, she could still hear her friend though, "Come, I haff found Katherine and ve have not seen each other in so long."
"We have not," agree a patiently amused French accent as Danton was forcibly dragged away from other Beauxbatons students. His golden blond hair was neat, as usual, and he'd gone through the expected growth spurt since she'd last seen him, making him about a head taller than the twins, and surprisingly built. He looked like he could give some of the Durmstrang students a run for their money. His hazel eyes were still ridiculously patient as he allowed Ivana to drag him over with a small, amused smile.
"Hello Danton," Katherine greeted with a smile. Danton, most likely due to habit, reach for her hand, giving it a small kiss and her a small smile.
"Hello Katherine," he greeted in return, "I see you 'ave been entertaining zee masses."
"You insult me," Ivana pouted, "and vithout even a kiss."
"My 'umblest apologies," Danton chuckled lightly, taking her hand and giving it a kiss as he had Katherine's. Ivana gave an over the top curtsy, Katherine rolled her eyes, and Danton acted as thought that was exactly how she should have responded.
Danton, in stark contrast to Ivana's excessive energy, was quite quiet, preferring to keep his amusement private so as to get more out of it. It had taken Katherine a while to work that out when they'd first met. She hadn't been over fused at the time, with them all being about five. She hadn't seen the pair since before her mother's death, though they exchanged a few letters each year.
"I see you were serious when you spoke of your 'air," Danton noted, looking at Katherine's flaming red hair.
"I know," Ivana nodded, "I did not recognise her at first. Vould you believe? Our little book vorm a trouble maker."
"I seem to remember 'er causing some trouble when we were younger," Danton raised an eyebrow.
"Vhen ve vere younger she vas not so blatant," Ivana tutted, as though correcting his entire view of the world.
"I am still here you know," Katherine pointed out, "And it's not like I planned to have my hair dyed bright red in my first year of school."
"Oh, yes, I vish to meet your friends," Ivana announced. Katherine vaguely contemplated what would happened it she introduced the manic ball of energy that was one of her longest friends to the mischievous minds that were her best friends.
"Not a chance, Ivana."
"Katherine! Where have you-"
"Shh!" Katherine commanded harshly, cutting off Fred's question as she forced the pair back into the secret passage way they were coming out of. The twins gave her confused looks, but were familiar enough with the need to hide from someone that they didn't speak.
"Come on Danton!" an accented female voice shouted as footsteps rushed past the tapestry that hide the passage.
"Zis is ridiculous," a male voice responded, though from the sound of it he was following at a more sedate pace.
"What was that?" George asked after a moment.
"And where have you been all day?" Fred added.
"I could ask you the same thing," Katherine pointed out, "You two never reappeared after going to the hospital wing, I got busy."
"We were at lunch," Fred pointed out doubtfully, "Were you so busy you didn't eat?"
"Uh, I, might have been dining with the French," Katherine muttered.
"You were… what?" Fred asked blankly.
"I was eating with some of the Beauxbatons students," Katherine shrugged, climbing out of the passageway, "I couldn't find you guys, I pissed off Barker and I had lunch in the Beauxbatons carriage. How was your day?"
"Do not forget zee part where you ran off to avoid introducing Ivana to your friends," someone added from beside the passageway entrance.
"Evil French man," Katherine exclaimed loudly jumping away from him, and straight into the twins who had climbed out behind her.
"Need you insult me?" Danton asked with a raised eyebrow, then glance at the twins, "Are these the friends you were so eager for us not to meet?"
"Do you think it is a good idea for Ivana to be spending quality time with Hogwarts' two biggest trouble makers?" Katherine challenged, slipping into French without thinking about it.
"Perhaps not," Danton allowed, inclining his head to her, "Do you plan to introduce me to zem?"
The twins seemed to be thing the same thing, standing beside her with raised eyebrows. Katherine knew she should have tried harder not to let them meet. She'd been distracted by lunch. It had been a fair bit fancier than what Hogwart's usually provided.
"Fred, George, this is Danton Bonheur. Danton, the Weasley twins."
"A pleasure," Danton greeted, offering his hand. After a moment, and Fred receiving a light kick in the shins from Katherine, the boys each shook his hand. Katherine could see the evaluating look in the elder boy's eyes and had to fight not to roll her own eyes. Why did she always end up with friends with an unnecessary protective streak?
"Danton! Vhere did you go?" Ivana's voice called, just around the corner.
"Oh, hell," Katherine cursed quietly. Ivana came into view and her eyes immediately lit up at the site in front of her.
"I knew you vould find her!" she exclaimed excitedly, "You vere alvays beating us at hide and seek."
Danton merely raised an eyebrow at her. Katherine sighed again.
"Fred, George, this is Ivana Draganov," she offered, "She's one of the Durmstrang students."
"Right," Fred and George nodded together, eyebrows furrowed.
"How'd you become friends with two of the foreign students in one day?" Fred asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't," Katherine answered, "I've known these two for years."
"Yes, ve had her first," Ivana nodded, grabbing Katherine in a hug from behind, making her sigh, again, and roll her eyes.
"Get off me Ivana," she commanded, bushing the other girl away from her, "Our families work together. It was kind of expected that we end up friends."
"Vorked out surprisingly vell," Ivana nodded, moving herself from Katherine's side to go between the twins, throwing an arm over each one, "Now, I vish to meet Katherine's friends, and as it is about time for dinner, they vould be in your Great Hall, yes?"
"Should be," George nodded.
"Excellent," Ivana grinned, pulling them along as she moved down the hall, which was actually impressive considering their height advantage, "So, I hear you are pranksters, yes?"
"Dear Merlin, Hogwarts is doomed," Katherine groaned. Danton just chuckled beside her, easily following her down the hall, chuckling again when she called out; "Let the twins lead the way! It'll take us hours to get there if you try to find it!"
…
Ivana and Danton easily joined the group at the Gryffindor table. Which, Katherine felt, had more to do with Ivana's knowledge of Quidditch – and Victor Krum – than anything else. She had to wonder what it said about her that all her friends were so Quidditch obsessed.
She didn't dwell on it long, as Danton and Ivana had to go sit with their own schools before the champions were chosen. Harry, Ron and Hermione came in shortly after, sitting a couple seats away from their group.
"Any second," Lee whispered.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."
Katherine looked towards Ivana as the cheering started up. Ivan caght her eye and shrugged, mouthing 'figures'. Katherine chuckled at that, before frowning thoughtfully. Was that how the goblet chose the champion? Whoever was the most well know? Or maybe who would put on the best show? It was some really interesting magic either way.
"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"
"Oh, she was at lunch," Katherine informed the group through the cheering, snickering slightly, "Look at the other girls."
"Well, that's demeaning," Angelina said, making a face as she watched a couple of the Beauxbatons girls crying.
Katherine caught sight of Danton watching the proceedings without any disappointment, and he seemed a tad amused by the girls from his school. Likely he didn't have much interest in entering. He wasn't fussed with attention one way or the other.
"Just us now," Lee murmured. Fred and George had started chanting 'Angelina' quietly, making the girls struggle to hide their laughter.
They all looked back towards the front as another tongue of flame shot out and and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.
"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"Why?" Fred and George wailed dramatically, though with amused smiles on their faces. Katherine smiled as well, the Diggory's didn't live to far from the Burrow; apparently the twins had hung out with him a bit when they were younger. They still got along, feeling about last year's Quidditch match aside.
It didn't really matter though, as no one heard them over the cheering of the Hufflepuffs. Eventually the Hufflepuffs quietened down enough for Dumbledore to be heard.
"Well, at least we've got a decent champion, even if it's not Angelina," Katherine pointed out quietly, smiling at her friend.
"Honestly I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or relieved," Angelina smiled back, " I mean, it would have bee…"
Angelina was interrupted as the goblet shot out a forth tongue of flame, drawing the attention of the whole hall. Everyone was deathly silent as Dumbledore grabbed the bit of parchment and stared at it for a moment.
And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out - "Harry Potter."
"No way," Fred and George breathed, turning to look at Harry in awe. Katherine turned as well, feeling concern rather than awe.
This would not end well.
"I'm not going," Katherine said bluntly, "I refuse to throw a party for the fourth year who's now in a dangerous tournament far more trained wizards have died in."
"Don't be so dramatic Kat," Lee rolled his eyes.
"Besides, it's not like Harry's never done anything dangerous before," Fred pointed out, "Besides, Gryffindor has a champion, we need to celebrate."
"Have fun then," Katherine shrugged, "I'm still not going to the kitchens with you. I'm tired."
"Whatever you say Katty," Fred rolled his eyes. Katherine watch him, George and Lee split off from the group, slipping into a secret passageway.
"You ok, Kat?" Angelina asked, looking concerned.
"Fine," Katherine assured, "It's just… he's the same age as my brother, and, we're not really close but we've hung out, at the Burrow and stuff. It's just, the Tournament is organised for of age students. Harry's been through a lot, but this? This whole tournament is just, insane."
"Well, that's dramatic," Alicia pointed out.
"Think about when we were in fourth year," Katherine commanded, "Now ask yourself if you think you would have stood a chance in this kind of thing at fourteen."
"Ok, point," Alicia conceded.
"But, they won't let him compete, will they?" Katie asked.
"Binding magical contract," Katherine shook her head, "I read up on it. The goblet has one of the most powerful magical contracts on it. Those rival Unbreakable Vows. Likely he'll have to compete. If the goblet set up the contract then refusing to do so would risk his magic and, likely, his life. May even effect the other champions if it's powerful enough."
"And when were you going to tell me this?" Angelina asked, looking horrified, "I could have been one of those champions."
"Honestly I didn't think about it," Katherine shrugged, "I figured anyone who was chosen would want to compete, so it didn't matter."
"I suppose," Angelina said quietly, "So, what are you going to do if you're not joining the celebrating."
"Go to bed probably," Katherine shrugged with a light sigh, "I am tired. Besides, between the twins, Ivana, and all the homework we have this year, I'm going to need the rest."
The girls laughed, agreeing and giving her their sympathies. Katherine smiled and laughed along with them, though she made a mental note to talk to Hermione. She couldn't stop thinking about if it had been Theodore instead of Harry, and the thought terrified her.
At least Harry had Ron and Hermione.
I will strive to do more next time. Sorry again for the long wait.
Please let me know what you think!