I'm going to speed the timeline up a bit. With that in mind, let's get back to it

October 13, 2006

Ilvermorny

The deadline for entering the Tri-Wizard Tournament was only two days away, and Kate, even with constant badgering from Tony, Abby, and McGee, was still unsure if she wanted to enter her name. Sure, eternal glory sounded nice and all, but Kate had also done her research on the Tournament, including the death toll, from both competitors and judges. The most recent, of course, having been in the most recent Tournament in 1995, which had resulted in the death of a student and the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, for crying out loud. But still...

She couldn't sleep, for some reason. Looking at her watch, she saw that the it was about 430am. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but the effort was proving to be futile, so she got out of bed and dressed, making her way out of the Wampus Common Room and down to the dining hall. On her way, she passed the sign-up sheet for the Tri-Wizard Tournament and noticed that there were thirteen names on it, including Abby (Name thirteen), McGee (Name two), and Tony (Name one). Their words still echoed in her head.

"Come on Kate," Tony had said. "Eternal glory? Plus a thousand Galleons prize money? You're nuts not to sign up!"

"It is an exciting thought," McGee had agreed.

'Yeah," Abby chimed in. "Besides, aren't you always saying that you're tired of just blending in? This is the best way to show that you're not just another face in the crowd.'

Sighing, she realized that she couldn't let her friends go to England, especially Hogwarts, on their own. Quickly making sure that nobody else was around, she quickly scribbled her name on the sheet.

Hogwarts

Slytherin Common Room

Not for the first time, a duel had broken out in the Slytherin Common Room. Malachi, sensing that the duel was about to pop off, had quickly left to get Ari, who showed up just as hexes and jinxes started flying. Growling in frustration, he produced his wand and shouted, "PROTEGO," throwing a strong shield between the two combatants.

"Now," he said, once he had calmed down a little, "What is going on here?"

Both guilty parties started talking at once, until Ari silenced both of them with a wave of his wand.

"One at a time, please. I will lift the Silencing Charm on one of you, and then the other. Do you understand?"

They both nodded, and Ari removed the charm on the student to his left first. The student took a breath and then started.

"Malachi was helping me with my Herbology essay when Rivkin came over and called me a Mudblood for the fifth time this month. I couldn't let it go anymore. So I stood up to say something, but he threw a hex before I could open my mouth, let alone pull my wand."

Ari rounded on the other student, Fifth-Year, and newly-minted Slytherin Prefect Michael Rivkin. Ari had noticed that Rivkin still held onto the old ideals, even going so far as to loudly voice his disdain for Muggle-borns and Squibs in the Great Hall and with his friends (Or so Ari had heard). To complicate matters, Rivkin was also trying (and failing, much to Ari's delight) to court Ziva.

Putting his personal feelings for Rivkin aside, Ari removed the Silencing Charm and asked, "Rivkin, is this true?"

Rivkin puffed his chest out and replied, "Somebody needs to remind these Mudbloods of where they stand."

"FURNUNCULUS!" The student that Rivkin had insulted cast a strong enough curse that Ari's Shield Charm broke. The curse hit Rivkin full in the face, causing him to break out in painful boils.

Ari snapped. After performing the counter-curse, he aimed his wand at both students and yelled, "EXPELLIARMUS!" He caught both wands and said, "You idiots should count your blessings that I did not put Body-Binds on both of you. Now, come. We are going to see Professor Slughorn."

"I did nothing! This Mudblood-"

Rivkin was cut off when Ari pointed his wand at him and muttered, "Langlock! Now, both of you, move."

Ari frog-marched both students out of the Common Room and up to Slughorn's office. Along the way, they ran into Slughorn, who was making his way from the kitchen.

"Professor!" Ari called out, making Slughorn jump. "A word, please."

"Merlin's beard!" Slughorn exclaimed, clutching his chest. "Mister Haswari, please don't sneak up on me like that." He saw the two students with Ari and asked, "What happened here?"

"Another duel," Ari responded. "Mister Rivkin decided to insult Mister Barrett's blood status and then proceeded to attempt to curse Mister Barrett. I had to Disarm both of them and glue Mister Rivkin's tongue to the roof of his mouth because of this."

Slughorn looked aghast. He had heard that Rivkin was behaving in an unsavory manor, but had not been presented with proof until now. Sighing, he told his three students, "Follow me." He led them up to the seventh floor of the castle, up to a gargoyle statue. "Wronski Feint," he said. The gargoyle stepped aside, revealing a spiral staircase. Slughorn and the three Slytherins climbed the stairs and entered the office, where Professor McGonagall sat at her desk, apparently waiting for them.

"Thank you, Horace," she said. "I will take it from here."

"Yes, Headmistress." Slughorn bowed his way out of the office, leaving Ari, Barrett, and a still-muted Rivkin with McGonagall.

"Well?" McGonagall's nostrils flared as she removed the jinx from Rivkin. "An explanation, please."

Barrett and Rivkin began yelling over each other again, leading to McGonagall Silencing both of them.

"Mister Haswari?"

"Headmistress, I was summoned to the Slytherin Common Room by Malachi Ben-Gidon because Mister Rivkin and Mister Barrett were dueling," Ari explained. "When I got there, I put a Shield Charm between them while I found out what happened."

"And what happened?"

"Rivkin instigated by calling Barrett a Mudblood. He attempted to curse Mister Barrett before Barrett could draw his wand. Rivkin repeated the insult in front of me twice, to which he was cursed by Barrett. I disarmed both of them and glued Rivkin's tongue to the roof of his mouth." Ari placed both students' wands on McGonagall's desk as he finished the story.

McGonagall rose from her desk and walked over to Rivkin. She pulled the Prefect badge off of his robes and said, "Mister Rivkin, you are relieved of your duties as a Hogwarts Prefect. You and Mister Barrett will both receive detention, and fifty point from Slytherin for both of you. Mister Haswari, I recommend that you and Professor Slughorn make a list of students you believe are worthy of this badge."

"Yes, Professor."

Beauxbatons

Ever since the Tri-Wizard Tournament had been announced, Pierre LeBeau had been manic. His name was the first on the list to sign up, which scared off many other possible competitors, as they knew how he could be. Now, he strutted through the castle, noticing that there were still more than thirty names on the sign-up sheet for the Tournament. Growling with frustration, he made his way out onto the grounds and to the Quidditch pitch. He grabbed his broom from the broom shed and took off, flying around the pitch until nightfall. He landed and stored his broom, strutting back into the castle. He saw that the names on the sign-up sheet had grown to fifty.

"Merde," he muttered. ("Shit.")