B.Q. Book One: Princess of the Blacks

Chapter 16: The Goblets of Fire

That would have been more interesting if I were able to see what happened, Jen muttered internally as the Hogwarts students and their three hundred guests trooped into the Great Hall. As it was, she had been in the back of the crowd, which left the other schools just outside her sense's range and forced her to rely on Tracey's descriptions. The Beauxbatons contingent had arrived in a carriage supposedly straight out of a fairy tale, complete with winged horses – Abraxans, one of the older Hufflepuffs had said – and had a very unusual Headmistress. The mossy texture of the enormous woman's core reminded her of those rare visits to the continent Elsie had taken her on when they traded with a Spanish giant colony. In fact, now that she thought about it, the gatekeeper and Care professor had the same trait; his core was just so stale that it was difficult to tease it out. If weren't a near-impossibility, she'd think he never used magic!

Durmstrang, on the other hand, possessed a sailing ship that could apparently teleport between bodies of water if their arrival in the Black Lake was any indication. The lake was completely landlocked, so there was no way they could have sailed, even under the surface, to their ultimate destination. If their unique method of travel wasn't enough, one of the students was some famous Quidditch player, Crumb or something. Their Headmaster wasn't nearly as imposing, just a normal man.

And here we are on the ground, she thought idly. Soil, sea, and sky, how poetic.

She joined the other Ravenclaws at their table, which, along with the Gryffindors', had been moved towards the center of the hall. Taking a seat on the outer side so as to avoid any public confrontations with Potter-worshipers, she noticed the French moving to the table between her House's and the Slytherins' while the other Europeans – many seemed to speak German, but she also recognized some Russian and what she thought might be Swedish – found places at the empty table between the Badgers and Lions.

Dumbledore remained standing after all the students were seated. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghouls and guests. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to Hogwarts, and I trust your stay will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will officially open at the end of the feast, but until then, eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

Dinner was an adventure. The elves had decided to make the guests feel more comfortable by providing dishes from their countries of origin; at least, that was her supposition as she lifted a serving of rabbit from a platter as it passed her. She was one of the few who did, however, most seemingly satisfied with eating food that was familiar.

The foreign students were the same way, as twenty minutes after the feast began, one of the Beauxbatons students came over to where she was sitting. "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"

It took all of Jen's control not to show the loathing and lust that suddenly filled her. She had no idea why she felt that way, but her instincts were screaming at her to teach the French tart her place, to rip the girl's limbs off and shove her head between her legs...

With a sharp mental jerk, she wrenched her thoughts back to a semblance of normality. She combed through the satiny weave of magic she could now feel emanating from the older girl and quickly found the subconscious compulsions dancing through it. French descent and a natural aura that inspires desire in men and jealousy in women, she has to be Veela. It wasn't mentioned in Bellatrix's book, but being bisexual must cause their innate magic to consider me both competition and prey, hence the conflicting emotions. "No," she said, concealing any hint of her earlier impulses, "feel free to take it."

"You do not mind?"

"Not at all. Honestly, I've never been very fond of fish." Clams, however, are another story entirely.