Author's note: Chapter 1 has had some light editing done, and Deputy Headmistress name has been changed as well following some feedback. If you started reading the story when Chatper 3 was published, this should not affect you.
Nothing had happened for the first few weeks of the year - nothing more interesting than the first couple of days, anyway. Harry figured that Dumbledore was right when he said that there was no way they could have known they were at Durmstrang - no matter how far or high he had flown during their first Quidditch practice, he could not see a single sight that pointed towards them being in another location. Apart from the Durmstrang professor who enjoyed spending her mealtimes at Hogwarts, which had the students wonder if she even taught anything, their school year went on as normal. That was, until the morning when Hagrid delivered his class on Hippogriffs, which ended with Malfoy paying a visit to Madam Pomfrey.
During lunch, Harry was watching over the Slytherin table, noticing that not only Malfoy was missing from his usual spot, but Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be seen either. Come to think of it, Harry didn't remember seeing them next to Malfoy in the Care of Magical Creatures class either - but then again, maybe for some strange reason, they were both off sick that day? No, couldn't have been, they were like Mafoy's ape-shaped to
"I know Malfoy's gone, but Crabbe and Goyle?" he whispered towards Ron and Hermione.
"Probably with him, fluffing his pillows." Ron said, without looking up from his plate.
"Or concocting a way to spin everything into making it Hagrid's fault." Hermione added.
"Don't get too hung up on it, Harry. We all saw what happened and can vouch for Hagrid - us three, and all of the Gryffindors too, I bet. It was obviously his fault, you could bloody see it from miles away! I bet you even some Durmstrang students could vouch for it!"
"Why would you think they would be on Hagrid's side?"
"Come on Harry, Hagrid's taken care of their creatures, it's the least they can do." Ron answered.
Hermione tapped Harry's shoulder, perking up.
"I can figure out one more reason- look!"
Hermione wasn't the only one who noticed the commotion, but was among the first to realise what exactly had happened.
Accompanied by low thuds with every step he took, a dark-robed man burst in the Great Hall, robes billowing behind him as he carried what Harry assumed were two gigantic trash bags. For a moment, he thought it was Sirius Black himself, before the man came to a halt in the middle of the Great Hall and dropped the squirming trash bags, allowing the students to take a better look at him. Harry looked towards Dumbledore, who raised himself up, yet did not seem alarmed in the slightest.
That's when Harry realised that was not Sirius Black - his long hair and beard, albeit the same colour as Black's were nicely kept, and he had old, almost faded tattoos on his upper cheeks, tattoos too old to be Black's. Once his heart stopped beating in his throat, Harry moved to see what the wizard had carried in, and as the trash bags started moving, more and more students realised that contorting and trying to escape their own robes, the wizard had dropped on the floor of the Great Hall, no one else but Crabbe and Goyle themselves.
Catching up with him, a flutter of silver robes joined the man. Karkaroff put a hand on the man's back as he reached him,
"Well now, one day in, and we have already caught these two trying to sneak into Durmstrang. Luckily it was our dear Professor Hayk here who found these wandering around, and thankfully for them, he is a man who minds his business and simply brought them back." he patted the professor's back, who turned around on his heels and left silently.
Harry watched Hayk leaving, noticing that he stopped by the doors, next to a half-obscured figure dressed in similar dark robes.
"Whose are these two young gentlemen?" Karkaroff spoke up, as Crabbe and Goyle sat on the floor, unsure what to do as they were the centre of attention.
"They are in my House." Snapped stirred himself up, and Dumbledore joined him, leaving the table as he approached Karkaroff. The three were close to the Gryffindor table, and Harry, Ron and Hermione, among other Gryfindors, were able to listen in without much difficulty. They had noticed a slight raise of eyebrows in Karkaroff's eyes as he must not have realised they were Slytherin students, and Harry watched the Head Boy of Slytherin put his hands on his head, rubbing at his face.
"Well, now, I would like to think, Karkaroff, that our young students here were simply trying to get accustomed to the new premises and must have gotten lost." Dumbledore spoke calmly. "Of course, we will reprimand them accordingly. If you would like to join me in my office, we can discuss more alongside this matter."
"Now, now, now, Dumbledore, do not get me wrong - It is the first time, and we could forget this as simply a warning that it could be what would happen from now on. Our Professor has also made an unsightly spectacle of these two- "
The half-obscured figure, which Harry now realised had been Pann listening in, joined the Great Hall as well, clearing her throat.
"Warnings without punishments are like Pick-Me-Up tonics to a dead man, Igor. If you two were my students… the sheer nerve!" Pann grumbled, looking down at Crabbe and Goyle. "Get yourselves off the floor, the both of you, have some dignity!"
Under everyone's eyes, Crabbe and Goyle got themselves up, and scampered towards the Slytherin table. The Gryffindor table couldn't help but try their best to stifle their laughter, and Harry couldn't help but notice Snape looking like he was gritting his teeth as he was attempting to stare down Pann.
"I believe that is a hundred points each?" she spoke in a low voice, moving her gaze from Snape to Dumbledore.
"Two hundred points from Slytherin, professor, indeed." Dumbledore spoke calmly, as if he had not had what Harry knew surely were the two thickest students breaching his most important rule that year, and invited them both to join him in his office. Almost outside of the Great Hall and the students' view, Harry watched as Karkaroff lifted his hand and put it on the back of Pann's neck, whispering something curtly before he left with Dumbledore, leaving her standing on her tracks for a moment, before she disappeared from his view as well.
Snape turned on his heels as they left, and pointed towards Crabbe and Goyle, asking them to stand up and follow him. Hermione was sure she was able to hear him utter 'appropriate punishment', the prospect of which brought Harry and Ron enormous smiles on their faces.
"Did they really think they could fit in Durmstrang?" Dean Thomas asked amused.
"They look too dumb to fit anywhere outside of a circus." Seamus added.
"You saw how they got carried? Sacks of potatoes!"
"They really don't seem to care too much about Slytherins-"
"Did you see how much that guy looked like Sirius Black?" Harry interrupted Neville, wondering if anyone else noticed the similarity, yet to his surprise, no one else seemed to care much, and they returned back to talking about Crabbe and Goyle. Dean took a look at his Daily Prophet, murmuring that there's been no sightings recently, and Ron and Hermione just looked at each other.
"Thought he looked more like Snape. They both seem just as joyful to have at a party." Ron shrugged.
They continued their dinner, shooting looks every now and then towards the Slytherin table, who seemed oddly quiet for the first time since they found out that Durmstrang were hosting them.
"How do you think Snape's going to punish them?" Hermione asked interested, but no one, not even Percy, had ever heard of a case of Slytherins actually having any sort of detention with Snape.
"How do you think he'll punish us for the points those two lost?" Ron's question raised groans from the table, as they all knew just how spiteful he could be.
The next day, Snape did indeed seem off. To Harry's surprise, while he didn't deduct any points for Malfoy's lateness, he was more abrupt than usual with Crabbe and Goyle, snapping at them several times for the tiniest mistake, in the same manner he usually reserved for Neville.
Harry and Ron scowled at each other as Malfoy was simply allowed to sit down - if it were anyone from Griffyndor, especially either of them, they'd be looking at ten points deducted per minute. However, it was to be expected, Harry figured. With two hundred points deducted so early in the year, it would probably be a long time before Snape would wish to even think about deducting even a point from his own House, and Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he'd be even harsher, if possible, with deducting from other Houses.
And his intuition proved correct, when at the end of the lesson Snape deducted ten points from Gryffindor for Hermione helping Neville.
"Unbelievable, and after what Crabbe and Goyle did-"
"It's fine, Ron, there's still plenty of time to get ten points back, before you even know it. Two hundred for Slytherin though…" Hermione mused as they were walking alongside the other Gryffindor students, led by Professor Lupin. To the students' surprise, he led them away from their class and textbooks into the staffroom.
The staffroom, a long, panelled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for two figures. Snape was in an armchair, and at a distance from him, sat with a long, thin pipe, was Pann, lounged on one side of a tattered sofa the colour of Professor Lupin's robes. The students' entry seemed to have stopped their conversation, and Hermione whispered that maybe she was checking to make sure Crabbe and Goyle really got punished. Judging by Snape's scowl, Ron and Harry both agreed that may have been just it. As the class filled in, she continued idly smoking, and Harry noticed, for the first time, that she was looking at the students, and appeared to measure each of them from head to toe individually. He was already prepared for the barrage of questions as her eyes met his, yet there was no apparent reaction from her as her eyes focused for a moment on his scar.
Professor Lupin prepared to close the door, when Snape shot up.
"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." With a nod towards Pann, he got to his feet and strode past the students, not before warning Professor Lupin in regards to Neville, and asking him not to entrust Neville with anything of difficulty, and reference the incident in Potions where Hermione helped him.
Neville went scarlet as Harry glared at Snape, and his nerve to not only bully Neville in front of the entire class and deduct points, but now do it in front of other teachers as well.
"I wouldn't worry too much, dear." The students turned as Pann spoke, addressing them directly for the first time. As opposed to yesterday, when she bellowed orders at Crabbe and Goyle, her tone was now calm and kind, reminding Harry of how she spoke about magical creatures that first night in Hagrid's hut. "See, our craft was never made to be insular. From our beginnings, we were built to help each other advance. It's how wizardry reached its peaks. Surely, you have been taught that, yes?"
"We covered it last year in Professor Binns' class. About how wizardry back in the day was known by different names, and how much it differed from how we know it today. Back in ancient times, more accent was put on different aspects that did not involve wands. Back then, wizards used more potions, and alchemy, and rituals, and a lot of things had to be done in groups-" Hermione said in one breath, seemingly not able to stop herself until she realised that the question was not aimed at herself, and realised she was speaking out of turn.
Pann nodded, pointing her pipe at Hermione in agreement, and Harry swore that under her thick hair, the Durmstrang professor winked.
Behind them, Snape had already closed the door, and the students looked at each other with unease as Professor Lupin advanced, agreeing and continuing that he hoped that Neville would help him with his first task 'for the advancement of the lesson'. Pann stood up as Professor Lupin approached a wobbling wardrobe, and went towards the staff room door, bowing her head lightly towards Professor Lupin as she wished him a fun lesson.
"I've had a peek in there already, professor, I hope you don't mind. Curiosity and all…" she said as she opened the door, and she turned to look towards the students, slightly amused. "If that is what you are covering today, I wish you all good luck, and a piece of advice - be clear-minded and focused."
As they finished their lesson and departed towards the Great Hall, Harry couldn't help but wonder what the Boggart would have shown him- the Grim, maybe, ready to bite and maul him to death? The Basilisk, ready to kill him? Or even-
"Sirius Black." he finally decided.
"Really, mate? You-Know-Who's not even in the mix?"
"Oh- I… I guess so, yeah. Him too. But after what you mum and dad said about Black… what if he is after me?"
Hermione was sifting through the Daily Prophet as Harry spoke, before putting it down disappointed.
"There's no news of Black, well, nothing new, no sightings or anything. It's like he vanished."
"Do you think he was a Durmstarng student? Maybe he's going back- well, coming back." Ron stated, looking around the Great Hall as if he was expecting Sirius Black to pop from the skies as he spoke. "Maybe that's why Durmstrang agreed to host Hogwarts - If Sirius Black was a student, then he must know how to come there, and then from there right to us. Maybe that's why they don't even want Slytherins sneaking in, if they are preparing for his arrival."
"Ron, that's- " Hermione was ready to continue with how ridiculous it was, however she stopped in her tracks, not able to really pinpoint which part of it was ridiculous. "Well, we'd need to find out if Sirius Black was a Hogwarts or a Durmstrang student. Because if he studied at Hogwarts, your point is moot."
"Maybe you should ask Pann yourself, since you two got so chummy in Lupin's class."
Hermione's cheeks flushed red, and she pursed her lips, stuttering a response that was sure to be filled with language she rarely, if ever, used before.
"Or, Ron, maybe-maybe you should-"
"Or-" Harry paused and stopped their bickering, and pulled out a corner of his Invisibility Cloak only for them to see. Pann was seen walking around Hogwarts often enough that surely she must have been travelling between the two schools at least twice a day. "We could try to go in ourselves in Durmstrang, and check Ron's theory."
Hunched over the table, the rough outlines of a plan started to bud, when Dumbledore stood up, and the three realised that Karkaroff had somehow sneaked in the Great Hall while they were discussing, and was standing next to Dumbledore. Focused on trying to discern Karkaroff's expression, Harry only started listening mid-way, only enough to understand that because there had been no sightings of Sirius Black recently, there have been plans drawn to allow all students third year and above to continue their Hogsmeade outings, with some additional rules which would be communicated by Heads of Houses.
"We are also happy to announce that several teaching exchanges will happen across the year between both Hogwarts and Durmstrang staff, to develop both of our ways of teaching. You may see some Durmstrang professors observing some of the classes you are in, however please do not consider this a disruption as much as an opportunity to learn more from our hosts, and allow them to learn more about just what a wonderful and welcoming place Hogwarts is.
Which brings me to an even more exciting announcement, which, professor, if you would wish to present it, since it is your class..." Dumbledore turned towards Pann, who appeared surprised to have been called and have to make an announcement to hundreds of students which she had so far avoided looking or interacting much with.
"Ah, thank you, Headmaster… that is, er, very kind." she pulled an unruly curl behind her ear to look better at the students, before clearing her throat. "Right. Every year at Durmstrang, we run a model of the International Confederation of Wizards in my class as a project, and the students have decided this year that they wish to explore some laws relating to the governance of some of the top wizarding schools across the globe.
They have asked me if they could actually have one Hogwarts student representing Hogwarts, and both Headmasters have approved my request." she turned towards Karkaroff and Dumbledore, and bowed her head slightly, before turning again. The more she spoke, the more comfortable she became, and Harry swore she saw her eyes light up the more she spoke about Hogwarts. "We would need one student, preferably a seventh-year, ideally someone interested in wizarding governances and policies, to represent their school at our model ICW. They would not miss any classes, and I have been assured by your Headmaster they would be rewarded appropriately and handsomely when it comes to House Points. Of course, that is if they prove themselves up for the task."
A flurry of hands rose up, and murmurs arose from all tables, to the extent that most students could neither see nor hear what had been decided until Dumbledore clapped his hands once loudly to get everyone's attention, and announce the chosen student to represent Hogwarts, visit Durmstrang, and spend time with their students.
"Mister Percy Weasley."