Different

voices

The rest of the train ride was anticlimactic, the quartet spending most of the ride talking about what might happen during the school year. It was raining when they got off the train, and Peeves decided that it would be a great idea to throw water balloons at students as they came inside. Ron was unlucky enough to get hid by one, and Hermione was almost pulled down to the ground by Professor Mcgonagall, who almost fell while trying to stop the poltergeist.

"Never a dull moment," Harry chuckled as he and Claire parted ways. As always, Claire sat by herself at the Slytherin table. Draco sat next to Pansy, an uncomfortable look on his face as she made it obvious that they were a couple. Claire knew that Draco could barely stand the girl, so she didn't quite understand how they were together unless his father had something to do with it. The sorting took forever, but Claire didn't mind because it gave her time to look around. There didn't seem to be a new professor at the table to replace her father but Dumbledore didn't look too concerned.

"Hey, werewolf girl!"

Claire blinked in surprise as a new person slid in front of her. Adrian Pucey was the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team, and everyone knew that he was rude. His whole group fo friends stood behind him as he sat down in front of her.

"C-can I help you?" Claire asked.

"Yeah," Pucey said with a smirk. "Go back home to your mutt of a father."

Pucey and his friends all started to roar with laughter, but none of the professors noticed because the food had appeared. In an act that shocked even herself, Claire just rolled her eyes at the lame taunt and started making her plate.

"Didn't you hear me, you mutt?" Pucey asked, his voice unsure. His friends all looked confused because they expected Claire to run out of the room in tears, but she had done a lot of growing up over the summer.

"I did," Claire confirmed, not even looking at them. Pucey let out a shocked breath and tried to cover it up with another insult, but Claire just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you have more important things to do?"

"I'll get you out of here one day, mutt," Pucey threatened. Claire just rolled her eyes and tried to ignore her shaking. Pucey and his friends stalked back to their seats and Claire was finally able to release her breath. A quick look around showed that no one else seemed to have noticed the interaction other than Draco, who sent her a confused look. Claire just shrugged and went back to eating.

Claire hadn't stayed in her own dorm for a while, so she was nervous about the night, especially since Pansy was always so rude. She couldn't stop shaking the whole night and she just wanted dinner to be over so she could go hide, but Dumbledore stood up and cleared off all the plates.

"I regret to inform everyone, but the annual quidditch season will not occur this year," Dumbledore started. Shouts of protest went out across the whole room, and Claire frowned in disappeared. She had considered trying out for the team, even though she probably wouldn't be able to actually compete. "Instead of quidditch, Hogwarts will house the TriWizard Tournament."

A hush fell over the students for a few seconds and then the room erupted again. Claire had heard stories about the tournament before, and it didn't seem like a good idea. They were usually filled with death and injuries. She knew that the ministry had always turned down the idea of the tournament due to its high death rate, so she couldn't understand why they were suddenly acting as if if was ok.

"We will house students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons and they will be arriving in October," Dumbledore continued. "In order to enter, you must be seventeen years of age. An impartial judge will choose the person the most worthy from each of the schools. The winner of the tournament will receive a thousand galleons."