Snape and Lily's daughter

Wizarding schools

The other day, when Grace arrived at the entrance hall, she saw that it was difficult to pass through, since there was a crowd of students standing around looking at something.

They were all standing around a large notice fixed to the marble staircase. Melia, who was the tallest of the five, with a little effort managed to read the notice aloud so that the others would know what it was about.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early...

"Cool! We're going to miss the last class of the week!" Megan said.

"It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!" Ron said.

Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast. Melia finished reading.

"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff said. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him..."

Upon hearing Cedric's name Grace's eyes and those of several other girls began to glaze over.

"Cedric?" Ron asked.

"Diggory," Harry said. "He must be entering the tournament."

"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?" Ron said.

"He's not an idiot. You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch." Grace said.

"I've heard he's a really good student — and he's a prefect." Hermione said.

"You only like him because he's handsome," Ron said to Grace.

"Excuse me, I don't like people just because they're handsome! A good example is our friendship!" Grace said.

For the next week, all anyone talked about was the tournament. Rumors flew from one student to another like a contagious disease: who was going to be the Hogwarts champion, what the tournament required, and what the students at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from them.

Grace also noticed that the castle was undergoing a thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been brushed out. The armor was suddenly shining and moving without creaking.

The teachers also seemed more tense.

"Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!" Minerva said.

When they went downstairs for breakfast on October 30, they discovered that the Great Hall had been ornamented overnight. Large silk flags hung from the walls, each representing a House of Hogwarts.

Grace and her friends went to sit at the Slytherin table when Grace overheard the older students talking about the tournament and the judges.

"Who are the judges?" Grace asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel." Selina Rosier answered.

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. When the bell rang early, Grace went to her dorm to put her things away, then put on her cape and ran downstairs with her friends to the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Follow me," Snape said. "First years in front..."

They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle.

"How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?" Blaise asked.

"I doubt it," Grace said.

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Draco suggested.

"I don't think so... not from that far away..." Grace said.

"A Portkey?" Blaise suggested. "Or they could Apparate — maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"

"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds." Grace said.

They scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quite as usual.

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers —

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" many students said.

"There!" a sixth year yelled, pointing over the forest.

Something very large was flying at high speed.

"It's a dragon!" a first year shrieked.

"Don't be stupid... it's a flying house!" Dennis Creevey said.

Dennis's guess was closer... Suddenly the students came upon a huge blue chariot being pulled by twelve winged horses.

The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower. A second later, the carriage landed, a boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, and unfolded a set of golden steps. Then a huge woman gets out of the carriage, she was as big as Hagrid. Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too.

"My dear Madame Maxime," Dumbledore said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," Madame Maxime said in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," Dumbledore said.

"My pupils," Madame Maxime said, waving behind her.

Grace noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teenss, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks.

"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," Dumbledore said. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," she said. "But ze 'orses —"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them."

And then Madame Maxime and her students entered the castle.

The Hogwarts students continued to stand still, now shivering a bit from the cold. Most people were looking up at the sky waiting for Durmstrang.

"Can you hear something?" Ella asked.

"The lake!" Megan yelled. "Look at the lake!"

There was some disturbance on the bottom of the lake where bubbles were forming. And then, right in the middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared.

"It's a mast!" Grace said.

Slowly the ship came out of the water. And then, a short time later, the Durmstrang students got off the ship.

"Dumbledore!" Durmstrang's Headmaster said. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said. "How good it is to be here, how good... Viktor, come along, into the warmth... you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

Karkaroff made a sign for one of his students to come forward.

"It's Krum!" Blaise said.