It wasn't even midday yet when Harry emerged from the passage of the One-Eyed Witch. Normally, given that it was a Friday, he'd be in classes, but there were extenuating circumstances.

As usual after visiting his two veela lovers, he was in a fantastic mood. It was the third time since his first clandestine visit there that'd he'd managed to get down to the village. If there was one small disappointment in his visit, it was that no, or very little, progress had been made in determining the unique nature of what was happening to them. I haven't even seen Iliyana since that first time.

Still, he took a great deal of pleasure in any time spent with Anya and Orina. They were quickly becoming more than just his lovers but his closest friends. He would've stayed down in the village with them even longer, but today more than any other day, his absence would've been noted. The two foreign schools were set to arrive sometime after lunch… hence the dismissals from class.

Like the rest of the school, Harry was excited for their arrival and what it actually meant. The tournaments start soon. I swear the leadup to Halloween has never felt so long. Hopefully, nothing ridiculous happens this year.

Looking around the corridor, Harry made sure that there was no one around to witness his quite blatant rule-breaking. Even underneath the invisibility cloak, he thought that it was best to be cautious. The corridor was non-descript for the massive castle, just one of the many unused rooms was across from it. Finding that the coast was clear, he pulled the cloak from his shoulders and hid away in his bag.

As he passed the door to the room just across from the passage, it opened, much to his surprise. Susan leaned against the doorway, with a tiny, mischievous smile on her face. Her school uniform was in far from pristine condition, her yellow and black tie loose around her neck and the top few buttons of her blouse undone to show off just a hint of her impressive bust, "Hey there, Harry. Fancy seeing you here."

"Hey Susie," he returned her smile. While he certainly hadn't been expecting her, that didn't mean he wasn't pleased to see her, "What brings you to this part of the castle?"

She took one step out into the corridor and grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him inside the room, "Oh not much, just you."

"Me?"

Leaning up, she kissed him on the lips heatedly. Her hand went to the nape of his neck and she scratched her fingers there making him shiver. She hummed her affirmation as she pulled away, "Yep, waiting for you. Didn't manage to catch you after breakfast, but saw you headed this way. Unlucky me, the passage closed behind you as I was coming round the corner."

"So, you waited hours for me? Alone?"

"I waited, yes," Though she deliberately ignored the second part of his question, "I enjoy spending time with you and we haven't had… well any good chance to spend time alone since our fun down in the basement."

"Sorry about that," Harry said. Despite his willingness for a repeat, the opportunity hadn't presented itself.

"Oh don't apologize," Susan said with a shake of her head, "We've both been terribly busy. I thought about inviting myself along to your practice sessions with Sue," there was something in her eye that made him think her mind went to something… illicit, "but, I don't know her nearly well enough, and I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding," he told her. Granted, they'd been getting up to more than just dueling practice, at least some of the time that they spent together. He'd eaten the Chinese witch's delicious quim twice more, though they'd had more practices than that. And it's always so adorable how embarrassed she gets to ask. Because she certainly hadn't beaten Harry since that one and only time, she was forced to ask him. And always so politely too.

"I'll keep that in mind." Susan said, leaning in to kiss him along the jaw, "But right now, I have something else I'm thinking about."

"Oh, you do?" Harry's hands dropped to her hips and pulled her a bit closer.

Sue giggled lightly, "Hmmm I definitely do. I'm curious though, where did you go down that hidden passage? Visiting one of your other lovers?"

Oh, how right you are. Harry swallowed, knowing that anything less than the truth would be unfair to her and his other lovers, "I was in Hogsmeade. Visiting the Three Broomsticks." Despite their best efforts, the two young veela had yet to find more permanent accommodations.

She was still nuzzling against his neck, "And…"

"I was visiting Orina and Anya." That caught her attention.

REDACTED

Seemingly from nowhere, Dumbledore's voice echoed in the room, but it was happening everywhere in the castle at once, "All students to the entrance hall to greet our guests."

Harry slapped Susan's bum, "Looks like you wouldn't've had the time to clean me up anyway." All three laughed at that and dressed quickly. When they left the room a few short minutes later, no one would have been any the wiser to their activities in the room.

When they reached the enchanted staircase, a sea of students, mostly Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, were descending but stuck thanks to one of the stairs turning. They joined the throng of people almost entirely unnoticed and headed to the Entrance Hall.

All of the professors were waiting for them. Harry parted ways with Daphne and Susan telling them, "I'll see you girls laters." He gave them both a kiss on the cheek and was happy to see the smiles it brough to their lips.

Each of them joined their own houses. Harry noticed Daphne join Tracey, who was looking between him and her friend and wiggling her eyebrows. Daphne slapped her on the arm discreetly and he had to admire the way she didn't even start to blush.

"Everyone, uniforms in place… yes, you too Mr. Weasley. Fred and George, nothing funny or I swear you'll will spend the next three year cleaning every nook and cranny in this castle." McGonagall was fussing. The twins saluted her because even they weren't foolish enough to test the woman on that threat.

They walked in lines out of the castle. It was a crisp October afternoon in Scotland. The sun just peaked through the clouds as they all waited anxiously for the arrival of the other schools. Harry felt someone poke him in the side and he looked to his left to see Ginny smiling at him knowingly, "So, where were you?"

"Dueling practice… with Susan and Daphne." He lied easily enough. No one was paying them any mind, though he still talked quietly lest any unwanted eavesdroppers were nearby.

"Really?" Ginny asked innocently, "Not Sue? I'm sure she'll be very put out when she hears that she was left out."

"Sue's not the only person I practice dueling with… as you well know." He really hadn't meant the double-entendre but, it certainly came out that way.

She snorted out a laugh, "Oh, don't I know it." He was saved from having to tell her anything further as a murmur went up in the crowd. In the sky, a dozen massive, winged creatures were descending toward the ground. Behind them was a quite large, powder-blue carriage.

"Pegasus?" He asked no one in particular.

Of course, Hermione was nearby and happy correct him, "Abraxan actually, from the size of them."

"See it's that sort of useless knowledge that's going to win you the academic tournament, Hermione." Harry teased her. I guess they want to make a dramatic entrance.

"Oh, piss off." She huffed. When Ron stifled a laugh beside her, she slapped his shoulder.

"Oi! He's the one who said it! Slap him!" He protested.

"Weasley!" McGonagall hissed at him, and he quickly shut up. They all watched as the carriage landed with surprising grace considering how quickly it'd been moving. Every student who climbed from the carriage was dressed in light blue robes of fine silk, for the boys and girls alike. Though the design was different depending. There were at least sixty of them, maybe seventy when all was said and done.

The woman that followed them out of the carriage was a truly massive woman. She was as tall as Hagrid, but surprisingly graceful. She wore robes of black satin, and opal jewelry. Her hair was dark, and her skin a sun-kissed olive. Despite her size, or because of it depending on the person, she was a good-looking woman.

The boys and girls waited until she was at the head of the line before following her up to the castle. As they neared, Dumbledore approached the large woman and Harry noticed that Hagrid was staring, "Madame Maxime, a pleasure to see you again."

"Dumbleedore," her accent was thick, "'Ogwarts iz as imprezzive as ever."

"Welcome to the students of Beauxbatons!" He called out. Many of the French Academy's students were pretty if not outright gorgeous, though Harry had long suspected that was at least partially related to magic. There were far more gorgeous witches per capita at Hogwarts than he would expect to find out in the Muggle world.

Harry heard Ron mutter something that caught him off guard as he scanned the students, "She's an angel… an absolute angel." He groaned in pain though when Parvati stomped on his foot and glared up at him.

Looking around, Harry found that almost every boy near him and the boys from the other houses as well all seemed fixated on one particular girl in the throng of Beauxbatons students. They were arranged from youngest to oldest and she was one of the upper years, and she was near the back.

Her eyes were a piercing blue and doe-like. Her hair was an eye-catching platinum blonde. It didn't look as though she wore a bit of makeup, and yet she quite clearly didn't need it either. She had high-cheekbones, and full lips on a heart-shaped face. And all of that before you even came to her body. Curves in all the right places, hugged by the powder blue uniform. Her breasts were big and firm, and he would wager that much like she lacked a need for makeup, she had no need for a bra either. Her thighs looked slim, but strong and her hips were wide and womanly.

A stiff wind blew and caused her and the rest of her classmates to shiver. Northern Scotland isn't the south of France. Did anyone think to have them use some Warming Charms?

It seemed that Dumbledore noticed though, as his wand was in his hand. With a wave, they all looked considerably more comfortable. Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore gestured for the students to enter the castle, "Hogwarts hospitality is yours, Madame. Please go inside while we await Durmstrang."

"Mila 'as not arrived yet?" As if in answer, a ship appeared in the Black Lake.

"I daresay that is her now, my dear."

No one was paying the school heads any mind though. There were jealous looks being thrown at the unnamed Beauxbatons student from every girl whose boyfriend couldn't take their eyes off her, and lustful gazes from nearly every boy regardless of their relationship status. It didn't seem to faze her one bit as they started making their way into the castle. To Harry, there was only one reasonable explanation. I'd bet everything I have in Gringotts that she's at least part veela.

Looking to his left, he found that Ginny was staring at her too, but it wasn't as absent as others in the crowd, "See something you like?" He asked her with a wink.

Ginny shook herself and glanced at him, "I wouldn't say no… that's for sure." Harry chuckled heartily at that. But then, stopped when he felt there was an intense look being directed his way. When he looked up, he found that the young woman he'd just been discussing was staring at him with her brow furrowed as she passed them by.

"Looks like you're the only one who got her attention," Ginny whispered to him, as a couple of the boys around him turned to look at him irritably, "Not that that's anything new." He glared at her, but she just wiggled her eyebrows up at him unrepentantly.

They didn't need to wait long for the students of Durmstrang to disembark their ship. They seemed trained almost like a military regiment for the whole thing. They wore fur cloaks over blood-red robes and had fur hats on their heads. They're certainly better equipped for the cold of Scotland.

They were led by a woman who looked no older than thirty-five. There was a scar on her cheek, and her dark hair was in a braid. Her mouth was in a thin line as she approached, but she smiled as she reached Dumbledore. They hugged like old friends, and Dumbledore gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Mila, you had a safe trip?"

"Rough seas off the southern coast of Norway, but fine other than that." He couldn't pinpoint her accent, but he knew it was certainly Scandinavian of some kind. She clapped a hand on Dumbledore shoulder, that looked hard enough to knock a weaker man over, "Come, we're hungry. No use standing out here all day." The Durmstrang students followed their Headmistress in, followed by the Hogwarts students.

As they passed beneath the doors of the Great Hall, Harry leaned down to Ginny and said, "I think I may have underestimated just how interesting this year is going to be." The snort of laughter he received in return told him that she agreed.