𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 •°𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴

[5]

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The Hogwarts Express left London and now all they could see were hills and forest.

Sara and Nico found an compartment for themselves and they were trying to guess what kind of defense against the dark arts teacher they would have that year.

'Hopefully someone like Lupin will show up and stay in this school more than a year,' Nico suggested.

'Yeah I hope so too, I wouldn't get through a day if someone like Lockhart shows up,' Sara sneered.

'Yeah you are right, I wouldn't either,' he laughed.

'Hm what about Quidditch, I wonder who's going to be captain this year,' she thought.

'Angelina for sure, she's the eldest so Wood probably made her captain,' Nico said and Sara nodded.

'Yeah probably.'

Then the lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Sara bought a bunch of chocolate frogs and other sweets.

'What about that event my parents are talking about but are not actually talking about?' Nico wondered, serving himself with a chocolate frog.

'Believe me, I'm just as confused as you are, only if they would of told us more things,' Sara replied while she was trying a Bertie Bott's every flavour bean. 'Oh no, pepper!'

Sara fell asleep, her head resting on Nico's shoulder. Later she felt his head resting on hers and she opened her eyes. They were both asleep.

As they got off the train, a certain'FIRST YEARS!' yell got to their ears and they turned to find Hagrid near the lake. He waved at them,   he had a very large smile on his face. They waved back, struggling to keep rain from falling on their faces.

'We should hurry up and find a carriage,' Sara muttered.

'Yes! This way we are going to turn up wet,' Nico said and they hurried up to the carriages through the crowd of students that had the very same idea.

Luckily they found one pretty quick and they didn't have to fight against the rain.

Leaning against the window, Sara could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain.

They were hurrying up the stone steps into the castle.

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in there.

They rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione. At the staff table seemed to be rather more empty seats there than usual. Hagrid, of course, was still fighting his way across the lake with the first years; Professor McGonagall was presumably supervising the drying of the entrance hall floor, but there was another empty chair too, and Sara couldn't think who else was missing.

'Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?' Hermione asked, who was also looking up at the teachers.

They had never yet had a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who had lasted more than three terms. Sara's favorite by far had been Professor Lupin who had resigned last year. Sara looked up and down the staff table. There was definitely no new face there.

'Maybe they couldn't get anyone!' Harry said, looking anxious.

'Oh hurry up,' Ron moaned, beside Harry, "I could eat a hippogriff."

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall.

The sorting had started, there was cheering after each of them were sorted.

'Oh hurry up,' Ron moaned once in a while, massaging his stomach.

After the sorting ended professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

'I have only two words to say to you," Dumbledore told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in. "

'Hear, hear!' Nico, Harry and Ron said loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes.

Sara immediately started to laugh.Nearly Headless Nick watched mournfully as they loaded their plates.

The rain was still drumming heavily against the high, dark glass. Another clap of thunder shook the windows, and the stormy ceiling flashed, illuminating the golden plates as the remains of the first course vanished and were replaced, instantly, with puddings.

When the puddings too had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet again. He welcomed them warmly back but Sara was close to a mental breakdown when he announced that the Quidditch House Cup was canceled due to an event that was going to take the entire school year. Nico looked even more devastated than Sara, Harry and Ron were still shocked and Fred and George were throwing angry looks at Dumbledore.

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Sara had ever seen. Every inch of his skin seemed to be scared and his eyes were frightening; one was small, black and beady, the other one was bright blue, spinning ceaselessly.

Dumbledore introduced the man as Alastor Moody and Sara remembered Amos Diggory's head that had been sitting in the middle of the flames in the Weasley's fireplace, telling Mr. Weasley about Moody's situation.

'As I was saying,' Dumbledore said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still in shock after professor Moody's arrival,' we have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.'

Immediately everyone forgot about Moody who was sipping on a hip flask and ignoring the pumpkin juice that was in front of him. With the speed of light, excitement spread through the crowd of students that were soon disappointed when the headmaster announcement, that only students that are seventeen would be allowed to participate.

'I don't have a great feeling about this,' Sara said so that only Nico could hear her.

'Yes, me neither.'

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───