The Potion Princess

The Goblet of Fire

Despite the fact that Audra never really manages to get very fussed about things that the rest of the school seems to find exciting, she can't help but be impressed by the Durmstangs and the Beuzbatons arrival.  It is not every day that you see a large carriage touch down with only a rattle, pulled by giant horses and vacated by an even larger woman, followed by the most beautiful witches and wizards that she had ever seen, all of them with the grace of a trained ballet dancer.  And then, like they were determined to out do the others, the Durmstang's enormous boat had risen from the water without much more than a few ripples, all of them coming down the steps smothered in furs and impressed expressions on their faces as they stared up at the castle. 

There was a little bit of fanfare when Viktor Krum emerged, staring sourly at the ground and limping a little as he walked.  Audra did not miss that he was the clear favorite, disappearing under his headmasters arm as he was ushered inside in front of all the other students.  She can not pretend that she is not impressed over being only a few feet away from the youngest seeker n the league (and arguably the best), but she does not join in the excited whispers of Fred and George, who were now trying to catch his eye in a way that reminded her of when they were all much younger and much less weighted down. 

She settles down at the Slytherin table, which seemed to be crammed tighter than usual, and watches interestingly as Dumbledore greets the new headmasters like old friends.  Audra was paying such close attention that she did not notice the boy at her side until he started speaking, and even then, Emmeline had to elbow her in the ribs to make her respond.  "Can ve sit here?"  The boy, who was admittedly quite handsome, gave her what she supposed was a charming smile and gestured down to the other end of the table to where his school mates were sitting.  "They have ran out of room."

"Sure."  Audra scooted even closer to Emmeline, as if that was possible, and the three Durmstrang boys sat down on the bench, staring up at the roof with interest. 

"How did you make it look vike zat?"  He asked, accent thicker in his interest.  "Or is it real, and vere is just a charm to keep the veather out?"

"Um, see, it's a rather complicated charm, and the whole account of it is in Hogwarts, A History by Bathilda Bagshot, I'm not sure if you've read it, but basically...."  And Audra was off, waving her hands as she explained, and then he asked about the portraits and the founding fathers of Hogwarts, and she asked about Durmstrang.  Apparently it was much colder in Durmstrang, and somehow his coat found its way around her shoulders.  It was quite warm, and she had a sneaking suspicion that the pockets were lined in unicorn hair, meaning that she was sitting next to a very wealthy boy indeed.

"It seems that you do not remember me."  The boy, Damien, said, smiling a little sheepishly.  "I must not 'ave made that big of an impression, vut I certainly remember you."

"We've met before?"  Audra asked, stunned.  She was sure she would have remembered a guy who new his way around spells as well as this one did, and yet it did seem that he had an easy air of familarity about him.  She had been under the impression that he was just this friendly with everyone.  "When?"

"The Vorld cup?  You vere there, vere you not?"  He grinned now, and she became aware that he was sitting much closer to her than she would normally allow, and realized that it hadn't bothered her one bit.  "There had been a party, and, vell, it's ony natural that you vould not remember, you had a lot of firewhiskey by that point."

He trailed off, looking very embarrassed at this point, but Audra suddenly knew what he was talking about.  "Oh Merlin.  Oh, I remember that, I just didn't know it was you!"  She buried her face in her hands for a moment, letting out a stream of giggles, and on the other side of her, Emmeline choked on her pumpkin juice.  "Look, I'm sorry, but,"