Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived

Chapter 8: Rising Expectations and Raising Questions

The Late Arrival

Durmstrang Institute of Magic, Aug. 25 th

Arriving just outside of Durmstrang's wards, Harry put his trunk down on the ground and took a moment to reorient himself. As soon as the dizziness that accompanied international Portkeys passed, he began to follow the dirt path that lead to Durmstrang. Harry absentmindedly noted that, while not very aesthetically pleasing, the Kautokeino province was a much more tolerable place during the summer than the winter. The temperature was pleasant and Harry spotted a few students relaxing by one of the nearby lakes.

As he crossed the outer wards, Harry couldn't help but grin when he saw the school itself. While Durmstrang looked like a fierce and imposing structure during the winter, it was much less so during the summer. The school was surrounded by green grass and had to have thousands of birds lazily perched along the roof. The sight certainly diminished Durmstrang's mystique as a cut-throat school for the dark arts.

"Harry!" a booming voice called from above.

Looking up, Harry smiled when he saw Viktor hovering about a hundred feet above him on his broom.

"Viktor, it's good to see you," Harry said as Viktor swooped down from the sky. "Thanks for the birthday present. I'll make sure to wear your junior national jersey when you're playing in the world cup someday."

"I'm sorry for not getting you something better, Harry. I know you're not the biggest Quidditch fan, but between the traveling, daily practices, and games I wasn't able to shop much."

"It was a great gift, Viktor, don't worry about it. How did your team do this summer?"

"I outplayed the other Seeker on our team in every practice, but the coaches still went with Peja. He's been on the team for four years, and they felt he understood the offense better." Viktor scowled angrily. "He caught the Snitch only once in the first seven games, and we won only twice. The coaches seemed content with keeping Peja at Seeker, even though my own teammates had all but demanded that I take his place.

"So what did you do to him?" Harry asked knowingly.

"Whatever do you mean, Harry?" Viktor asked innocently.

"Viktor, please. When it comes to Quidditch, you're more ruthless than Calypso in a duel."

"You know me too well, Harry." A dark smirk appeared on Viktor's face. "Peja suffered a rather grievous training accident during a scrimmage a few weeks ago. I was feinting, and poor Peja hit the ground going full speed after a dive of over 500 feet. He broke over 20 bones and fractured his skull. The Healers ruled him medically unable to play for the last five games of the season."

Harry shook his head. "Remind me never to play Quidditch with you Viktor."

Snorting in amusement, Viktor said, "As if I could ever get you onto the pitch, Harry. We won four out of our last five games, and I caught the Snitch in every game. The coaches were really impressed."

"Good for you. I'd love to hear more, but I've got to unpack," Harry said. gesturing to his trunk.

"You are just getting here?"

Harry nodded. "My Portkey arrived less than 15 minutes ago."

"Then you had better hurry up. The welcoming feast is going to be starting in a few hours," Viktor warned.

"But it's not even noon. Why is it starting so soon?"

"Sometimes I forget that you aren't older, Harry. This will be your first welcoming feast, won't it?" Viktor asked rhetorically. "The welcoming feast takes a very long time. First, Karkaroff will make staffing announcements. The first years are then introduced as a group, but a list of first years that tested into an advanced class is also read off. The list includes the student's name, where they are from, and what classes they tested into. That typically takes a very long time. Next, each teacher will announce the students who gained the rank of Master in each of their classes. They will explain why they chose that student's final project as the best, present an award, and take a photo with each student. Finally, the students who finished last in every class are announced. Some professors simply announce the student who finished last, while others spend a good deal of time mocking the student's final project. After all of that is finished, the feast begins."