Lillian Evans: Harry Potter's Sister(Sort Of)

Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where I went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who is going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.

I also notice that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus filch, was behaving so ferociously to any student who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first year girls into hysterics. Other members of the staff were all be tense too.

"Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple switching spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!" Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one particularly difficult lesson, during which Neville had accidentally transplanted his own ears into a cactus. When we went down to practice breakfast on the morning of the 30th of October, I found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk bangers hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts house: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger and snake united around a large letter H. Killian and I were walking over to sit with Harry, Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table. They were sitting with the twins who, once again, and most unusually to everyone else, were sitting apart from everyone and conversing in low voices. I knew that the twins were talking about ways to get back at Bagman.

Minnie was standing at the door, and turned to me when I walked in before I could go sit down.

"You and Killian are going to be sitting at the staff table for tonight and tomorrow," she told me.

"Is there anywhere you would like to sit?"

"I would like to sit beside Sirius," Killian said, appearing behind me. "And I am sure that Lilly would want to sit on my other side, next to whoever sits next to Professor Sprout."

"Very well," Minnie said. "Have a good day Ms. Evans, Mr. Peverell."

"It's a bummer, alright," George was saying gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, will have to send him the letter after all. Or will stuff it into his hand. He can avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding you?" Ron said, sitting down next to them.

"Wish you would," Fred said, looking irritated at the interruption.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," George said.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" Harry asked them. "Thought any more about trying to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," George said bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."