Pheonix

The Triwizard Tournament

Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive, the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale. Leaning against the window, Asura could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain. Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Brook and Asura jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with its magnificent marble staircase.

They slipped and slid across the entrance hall and through the double doors on the right, it was there they split off. Brook and Asura to the right and the trio to the left.

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed in 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 here. 

"Hope they hurry up with the Sorting. I'm starving, " Asura heard Draco mumble.

Asura giggled, "you know that never happens."

The blond just huffed and put his head on the table before him, "i need a nap."

"We all do babe."

Asura looked up at the staff table. There 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 Asura couldn't think who else was missing.

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

"Maybe they couldn't find anyone."

"Wouldn't be a surprise."

"Oh hurry up," Pansy moaned, beside Asura, "I could eat a hippogriff. "

"How ladylike of you dear, " Asura chuckled.

The girl just flipped her off in response to her comment causing laughter to erupt from the surrounding snakes.

Soon enough the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Minnie was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. The new students appeared to have swum across the lake rather than sailed. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school.

Minnie now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty patched wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:

A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fin.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!