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The sky was dark, but the stars danced along the sky gently and shone brightly to create light in the absence of the sun, below were the students of Hogwarts, anxiously awaiting for the other three schools to arrive.
James Potter laughed at his cousins joke, although it was shared every year, James still laughed, laughed for the nostalgia, to make his cousins ego ever so bigger, and to have a good laugh. The entirety of the Great Hall seemed to be laughing, whether it be from a joke, or someone choking on pumpkin juice, the student body laughed separately in unison.
"I can't believe it's already October!" Lily Potter smiled over, "And that the other schools are coming any second now!"
"Three sickles I can get with one girl from every school," Fred Weasley II whispered, leaning towards James.
"Five sickles you get rejected by two out of three," James countered, before Fred agreed confidently.
"I really wonder what the other schools are like," Rose Weasley pondered, her gaze travelling upward as she imagined.
"Well, the Durmstrang kids probably walk around like this!" Fred stood up, hunching his shoulders forward and began clunking around, acting as if he was heavier than he was.
"And Beauxbatons is probably something like," Hugo Weasley smiled, standing up and impersonating a ballerina impersonating a French accent, "I vwill not go on ze date with zyou Fred 'easley!"
"Ilvermorny will probably just be a bunch of wannabe rockstars," James laughed, "all too full of themselves and probably dumber than Hugo!"
"Hey!"
"Sorry Hugo," James clapped his cousin on the back, "I just know that Ilvermorny won't be much of a problem, they're not any real competition."
"You know that there founder was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin, right?" Rose asked, "So they must at least hold some form of respect, my mother told me all about it when she learned about Ilvermorny coming."
"I'm still not worried, HOGWARTS FOR THE WIN!" Fred yelled, standing up on the bench.
"Mr. Weasley please take your seat before I deduct points from Gryffindor!" McGonagall yelled from the headmistress chair.
The hall returned to its usual liveliness. Students laughing and talking, catching up from the previous eight weeks of vacation and few weeks of classes. James looked around, soaking in the sight, starting at the train ride, he began taking everything in. It was his last year at Hogwarts, and although he wouldn't admit it, he didn't want to leave. He didn't have anything that was "for sure" waiting for him outside of Hogwarts. Hogwarts was his home.
Then the doors swung open, a chilling breeze whispered through the air, flowing through everyone's hair, and extinguishing the candles. A steady beat then filled the air, someone, multiple someone's, had been beating the ground with the butt end of what could have been a broom or staff.
That's when the sparks began to fly, reigniting the candles overhead and illuminating the path between tables. That's when the students revealed themselves, adorned in red and furs, the students from Durmstrang began their entrance. Confidence radiating them like they were stars, Fred shrunk in his seat as a particularly large boy marched past. The boys, who Fred had commented looked more like grown men, and the girls, daunting and intimidatingly beautiful, made their way past the Hogwarts students, a select few performing charms to ignite certain candles to burn brighter and stronger, and others displaying unbelievable strength and acrobatic skills.
Intimidation and strength were the best words for the Durmstrang students.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Professor Krum," McGonagall said as she approached the man, whom she had met when he was young.
He returned the exchange and brought the witch into a friendly embrace.
"Everyone, please welcome the Durmstrang Institute of Magic and their headmaster, renowned Quiddtch player and past Triwizard Champion, Victor Krum!" McGonagall announced, prompting applause which started slow, most students still in some form of shock from the pure confidence every one of the Durmstrang students displayed.
Again, the doors of the Great Hall opened and as if a wave was gently rolling onto the beach, students dressed in a gentle magnificent blue floated into the hall. The Hogwarts students had all moved their attention to the new group of students from Beauxbatons.
Unlike Durmstrangs heavy and powerful march, the French students glided between the tables, twirling and smiling dazzlingly. Butterflies and doves and other ethereal types of animals and creatures danced through the air and faded into the night sky. Many of the boys and girls were slack jawed as they watched the enchanting students moved past them.
A blonde girl, with particularly stunning eyes danced past the Gryffindor table, her movements graceful and precise. She transfixed the boys, and even some of the girls as she past them.
"Dibs!" Fred, James, and Hugo whispered as soon as she escaped ear shot.
McGonagall then introduced the French schools Headmistress and thanked them for coming. The blue school and the red school stood on either side of the hall, as they waited for the third and final school to arrive.
That's when the doors opened for a third time, letting the final school into the crowding hall. It was as if they were a mix of the other two schools and Hogwarts, their uniforms were the same style as Hogwarts: ties, buttons ups, sweaters, pants or skirts, and dark robes, but held the colours of the other two schools: blue and red.
There weren't as many students from Ilvermorny as there were from the other two schools, but they still did their best to dazzle the rest. Five students walked down the four aisles, following each herd was a different animal that had been conjured up from magic: a Thunderbird; Wompus; Puckwudgie: and a Horned River Serpent.
James' eyes were transfixed on the serpents herd, noticing they all had a serpents crest on their robes. As they were passing, his eyes met with a girl with brown eyes. She stumbled over her feet but kept walking past, averting her gaze from James, who now couldn't help but watch her. As her brown curls bounced, and she regained her graceful strut and he watched.
"Anna, it's lovely to finally meet you in person!" Smiled the Hogwarts headmistress, as the two school heads hugged each other, "Students, please welcome, for the first time in history, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to the Triwizard tournament!"
The applause was loud and deafening, and James saw the "clumsy-girl" take another look over, the pair holding their gaze before she looked away. The three other schools moved to sit down, and James watched as she and two other Ilvermorny students sat with the Ravenclaws, her back turned to him.
"Fred," James said, "you can have the blonde. I revoke my dibs."
"Success!" Fred threw himself into the air, speaking louder than expected.
"Mr. Weasley!"
"Sorry Mickey-G!"
"Five points from Gryffindor!" She already looked exhausted from Fred and James already had a new interest in someone.
