Haley Potter and The Goblet Of Fire

Just a Peaceful Year and the Veela Detective!

During dinner, Professor Dumbledore's announcement about the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts filled the air with anticipation. Haley couldn't help but sarcastically think, "Oh, joy! Dangerous magical tasks that could potentially get people killed! Just what I needed to spice up my school year."

As Dumbledore continued to explain the details of the tournament, the Triwizard Tournament, a competition involving Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, hadn't taken place for a century due to a high death toll. Haley couldn't resist a wry grin, thinking, "Oh, fantastic! Let's bring back a tournament that was paused for a century due to mounting death tolls. Because history has taught us nothing, right?"

Dumbledore revealed that champions would be chosen from each school on Halloween to compete in three magical tasks. Hogwarts would also host students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang throughout the year, with strict age restrictions to ensure safety.

As the visiting schools made their grand entrances, Haley observed the elegance of the Beauxbatons carriage, drawn by winged horses, and the towering Madame Maxime, Beauxbatons' headmistress. The contrast between the shivering Beauxbatons students, dressed in fine silk, and the Durmstrang students arriving in a skeletal ship from the lake, provided some comic relief.

Haley couldn't help but tease Ron when he was awestruck by the presence of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian national team's Seeker. She remarked, "Oh, Ron, my dear friend, I hope your admiration doesn't lead you to swoon like a fangirl." earning a groan from Ron.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" 

He sat down, and Haley saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation. The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Harry had ever seen, including several that were definitely foreign. 

"What's that?" said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

 "Bouillabaisse," said Hermione. 

"Bless you," said Ron. 

"It's French," said Hermione, "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice." 

"I'll take your word for it," said Ron, helping himself to black pudding.   

One of the Beauxbatons students takes off her scarf and asks Ron to pass the bouillabaisse (fish stew). She's lovely, a long sheet of silvery-blond hair falls almost to her waist. She has large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth. 

Ron is instantly enchanted and we use that word literally, because the girl looks like a veela.

"I think she is a veela" Ron muttered almost unconsciously.

 The unexpected veela encounter stirred up a wave of amusement:  Is it called enchantment because they're under a spell or because Ron's brain is completely entangled?

Midway through the feast, two distinguished figures, Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch Sr., assumed their positions at the faculty table. It was apparent to Hermione that they were there to play pivotal roles in judging and overseeing the impending Triwizard Tournament. As the feast concluded, Dumbledore introduced the centerpiece of the event, the Goblet of Fire, the impartial arbiter that would select the champions.