November wasn't as interesting as Ari expected. Some kids wore these horrible buttons that said "Potter stinks". Ari didn't. Summoning spells were fun once Ari finally mastered it. He loved watching objects come flying to him and wondered if he could use it in sports. Ari missed a Hogsmeade weekend, but he didn't really care about that.
Towards the end of November, Ari joined his friends in watching the first task of the tournament. Ari was horrified that the champions had to face dragons. He ended up covering his face for most of the task, but his friends told him everything that was happening.
"Why would anyone want to deal with a dragon?" Ari asked once the task was over.
"They're cool," Terry said. "What's not to like about them?"
"They're dangerous," Ari responded.
"True," Michael agreed, "But it was fun to see the champions get past them. I wonder what I would have done if I was a champion."
"Die?" suggested Ari. "Get burned? Get turned into dragon food?"
"All good suggestions," Terry agreed, "and they're not even too hard to implement. Just stand there and do nothing, and that's what would happen."
In December, Professor Flitwick announced that Hogwarts was having a Yule ball. Ari was a bit put off by the giggling of the girls in his class. He didn't see why they were so interested.
Ari was surprised to hear that most 4th years were staying in school for the holidays. He was looking forward to going home and was happy not to be in school for the ball.
At lunch that day, Padma asked him if he's looking forward to the ball. Ari was shocked as he never spoke to any of the girls in Hogwarts unless it's absolutely necessary.
"I'm going home for the holidays," Ari said. "I always do. The ball doesn't interest me."
"Can't we tempt you to stay?" Lisa asked.
"I have no reason to stay," Ari explained. "I don't celebrate X-mas, and I don't dance with girls. Therefore, there is nothing for me to do here."
"Not even with me?" Mandy asked hopefully. Ari put his head on the table and kept it there for the rest of lunch. The rest of the afternoon, Terry and Michael teased him about having three girls who want him to take them to the ball. Ari did his best to ignore them and sat with Kevin and Stephen for the rest of the day.
The next evening, Ari sat with Michael and Terry in the common room, playing exploding snap. When an unfamiliar girl from another year came over and mentioned the ball, Ari excused himself and went upstairs to bed.
Ari was so happy to be home for the holidays. He told his family how crazy Hogwarts is now. His parents were horrified at a school having a ball.
"They never did anything like that in my day," Tatti said.
"It's because of that stupid tournament," Ari told him. "It's a tradition."
"It's too bad you can't take a year off from Hogwarts and stay in yeshiva," Mommy said, "but you would fall too far behind in your schoolwork."
"I don't know why I have to go to Hogwarts to begin with," Ari complained.
"So you can defend yourself and others," Tatti told him. "We've been through this enough times. Besides, you seem happier there than I was."
"It's not bad," Ari agreed. "I'm just so fed up with this stupid ball. I'm happy that when I come back to school, it will be over."
January was cold and snowy. Ari once again missed a Hogsmeade weekend, but he didn't really miss it, as he wasn't so sure he would have wanted to go anyway.
In Charms, Ari was learning banishing charms. It was lots of fun, and Ari was starting to enjoy Charms almost as much as Arithmancy.
In February, people were trying to guess what the next task was for the tournament. Ari hoped that it wouldn't be as bad the first task, but wasn't very optimistic.
On February 24, Ari sat with Michael and Terry in the stands. They were all surprised to see Harry Potter arriving at the last minute. They listened as Ludo Bagman announced that the champions have an hour to recover what was taken from them.
"What do you think it is?" Terry asked.
"I don't think its right to take other people's things," Ari commented.
"Is there anything you think is right about this tournament?" Michael asked.
"Obviously not," Ari answered. "Otherwise, you would have heard about it by now."
They watched as Cedric and Fleur both used bubble head charms and Victor did a partial transfiguration into a shark. They couldn't figure out why Harry was just walking in the water until his appearance changed and he disappeared under the water.
"What was that?" Ari asked.
"We'll find out after," Michael said. "I wonder what's valuable enough to justify going in that lake."
It was boring to sit there when they couldn't see what was under the water. Ari wished there was a magical version of a video camera that could show them what's happening. Finally, when it was almost an hour, Fleur turned up in tears, empty-handed. She was rushed to the medical tent. Cedric returned next holding Cho, the seeker from the quidditch team.
"They used people as hostages?" Ari said. "That's so wrong! Cho didn't enter the tournament, and what's going to happen to Fleur's hostage?"
Michael and Terry shushed him and watched as Victor returned next with a Gryffindor girl. Finally, Harry returned with a red haired Gryffindor boy and a little girl with silver hair.
"I guess that's what happened to Fleur's hostage," Terry said. "Someone else saved her."
The next few days, everyone was asking Cho what it was like to be a hostage. She admitted that she was sleeping the whole time and was told that she will be okay. Padma Patil informed everyone that Ron Weasley is telling everyone about how he was kidnapped and fifty merpeople beat him into submission before tying him up.
"Trust a Gryffindor to try to make a mountain out of a molehill," Kevin said.
Most of the Ravenclaws decided that Ron's story was entertaining even if it wasn't true.
Ari missed another Hogsmeade weekend in March. For a week after the Hogsmeade weekend, there were lots of howlers at the Gryffindor table. Ari still thought howlers were ridiculous.
Ari was starting to enjoy Moody's classes. This was the type of thing he came to Hogwarts for; to learn how to deflect hexes. Ari asked about muggle weapons and was disappointed that Moody didn't know about guns and bombs.
Ari spent most of the time between Purim and Pesach doing his homework. He was happy to go home for Pesach. He sometimes wished he could spend Pesach with his family in Liverpool, but since Tatti was an only child, Oma would have nobody to have the seder with if they went.
After Pesach, everyone was busy studying for exams. Ari had fun practicing the spells he learned this year, did some Arithmancy work, and reviewed Ancient Runes. He didn't make himself crazy the way some of the other Ravenclaws did with nonstop studying.
Ari was surprised that the History of Magic exam was on Shabbos this year. He told Professor Flitwick who told him he can either take it Friday afternoon or Sunday morning.
Ari knew the last task for the tournament was starting not long before Shabbos was over. He requested permission to return to Hogwarts Sunday morning instead, as he was missing part of the task anyway.
When Ari returned the morning of the 25th, it was to the news that Cedric Diggory died in the last task. There were lots of rumors about how he died. Some people were claiming that creatures in the maze killed him; some said that Voldermort himself killed him, and some said that Viktor Krum killed him in order to prevent him from winning.
When Ari went home the next Shabbos, he told his family that a boy in school died during the final task. They all felt sorry that someone so young died, although Tatti insisted that the boy knew there was a chance of that happening when he entered the tournament. Mommy yelled at Tatti that there is something seriously wrong with his attitude, but Tatti insisted that people shouldn't put themselves in dangerous situations.
At the end of the year feast, Dumbledore announced that Voldermort killed Cedric. Ari found himself crying during Dumbledore's speech. He didn't want to believe that the dark rasha was back, but saw no reason why Dumbledore would lie about it. He felt like Hogwarts should at least be safe, but Cedric was killed at Hogwarts, so maybe it wasn't so safe.
Ari sat with Michael and Terry on the Hogwarts Express. They were discussing what they would do if you-know-who ever attacked the school while they were there. Michael seemed to think that running was the best option; Terry felt that he could fight you-know-who himself, and Ari said that the main goal should be rescuing the younger students. They continued to discuss strategies until the train reached the station and Ari found himself back in Scotland with his family. He hoped the summer would be calmer than the school year.