Never Trust A Snake

Chapter Twenty-three

'Arrivals'

The students of Hogwarts sat in the Great hall, eagerly anticipating the announcement. Those who knew about the tournament, were awaiting the arrival of the other schools. Their excitement had spread to every other student. Anticipation filled the Great Hall as the new first years began their sorting. When the final first year had been sorted, and the feast was over, Dumbledor stepped forward to begin his announcements.

"Now that we are all fed and watered, I must inform you that Hogwarts will play host to-" his speech was cut off the the starry ceiling of the Great Hall swiftly becoming stormy. Large bolts of lighting arced down from the sky, illuminating the figure of a man. The hunched-over man pointed his wand to the charmed ceiling, uttering a spell that returned it to the usual starry night. Without any further words, the man limped towards the staff table. Without the flashes of lightning and roars of thunder, Hadrian was able to concentrate on his face. It was etched with scars that ran from forehead to chin, with one glass eye held in place by a leather strap.

"Mad-eye Moody," Hadrian chuckled softly. Moody was a prominent member of the order, undoubtedly under Dumbledore's command. His presence would make the year much more interesting.

"Ah, yes! May I introduce Professor Moody. He will be assisting Professor Potter with Defence against the Dark Arts. They will take turns in teaching the lesson for fourth years and above, whilst younger years will remain with only Professor Potter." Dumbledore announced, his eyes twinkling, as Moody took a seat at the table. Whispers had already began circling the students, no doubt about his appearance or past.

"With that out of the way, I will continue. Hogwarts will play host to an exciting event over the coming months. The TriWizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year" Dumbledore continued, his final statement causing an erruption of noise from the students. Most muggle-born or half-blood students seemed confused by this news, however their confused faces must have caught Albus' watching eyes.

"The TriWizard Tournament was established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the largest European schools of wizardry. These schools included Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion will be selected to represent each school in three magical task. The tournament occured every five years, until the death toll grew too high." Dumbledore's explanation turned into white noise as Hadrian thought of the prospects of the Tournament. It was the perfect opportunity. He could test his own abilities whilst making connections to those outside of Hogwarts. If chosen, the tasks would also provide as a useful reminder to those who opposed him, just how powerful he was.

"Good thing were seventeen! We can enter!" Blaise whispered with glee as his turned towards the others. His voice cut through Hadrian's thoughts, just in time for them to begin leaving.

Once they had left the Great hall, and we're heading towards the dungeons, Hadrian turned to Draco. Yet, under his gaze, the blonde quickly began talking to Pansy. Hadrian let out a sigh, Draco was still ignoring him. For what reason, he didn't know.

***

It was finally the day that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived. The students of Hogwarts were lined up in front of the castle. The group of Slytherins stood in silence as they awaited the arrival of the schools. For the most part, it was a pleasant comfortable silence. However, the occasional eye contact made between Draco and Hadrian led to a period of uncomfortable figgeting and everted glances. Hadrian efforts to talk to the boy had been unsuccessful. With the TriWizard Tournament drawing near, a private talk between the two seemed even more unlikely.

"Aha! The delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" Dumbledore called out cheerily, pointing towards the sky. As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the forest, the students were able to see it clearly. It was a large, blue horse-drawn carriage, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses.

The students drew back as the carriage soared lower, landing at a tremendous speed with a loud crash. Out of the carriage emerged a large woman. She was dressed elegantly, and emitted an aura of authority. She was followed out by groups of boys and girls, each wearing light blue robes.

"My dear Madame Maxine, welcome to Hogwarts!" greeted Dumbledore as he strode towards her. After a short talk between the two, the Beauxbatons headmistress and students were led inside the school. Theo, Draco and Pansy eagerly began discussing the new arrivals as Blaise and Daphne kept watch for the Durmstrang students.

"Those horses were gigantic,"
"Wonder if that oaf, Hagrid, will be able to take care of them,"
"Speaking of the half giant, didn't Madame Maxine, was it?, Look pretty large aswell?" The two rambled back and forth, with Hadrian listening amused, until Daphne let out a gasp.

A mast had begun to rise from the smooth surface of the water, that their position overlooked. Slowly, a ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the faint moonlight. Once the ship had emerged entirely, it began to glide towards the bank. The silhouettes of people disembarking could be seen, attracting the eyes of every student.

The man leading them, their headmaster, wore a sleek, silver cloak unlike his students.

"Dumbledore!" He called out heartily as they neared the school.

"Ah, Professor Karkaroff!" Dumbledore responded just as cheerily. After their greeting, the students were finally ushered inside the castle. The cold gleam of the moonlight was left outside as they returned to the warm, brightly lit castle.

The students walked back to their tables, now intensely discussing the arrivals of the schools and those within the schools. The Beauxbatons students had chosen to sit with the Ravenclaws, whilst the Durmstrang students had chosen none other than Slytherin.

A recognizable face sat down across from Hadrian, other Durmstrang students following his lead.

"Victor Krum, what do I owe the please?" Hadrian smirked, watching the Quidditch player pull off his thick fur cloak. The other Slytherins had begun mingling with the foreign students already.

"Ha! You look like the leader around here. What do I call you?" Krum barked out in amusement, offering his hand out as a gesture of friendship.

"Hadrian Black," Hadrian revealed, shaking Krum's hand as his eyes travelled to the staff table. The Potter's, Dumbledore and Karkaroff had been watching their interaction. This year was going to be interesting.

***

"I saw magic in his eyes. Dirty, dark, beautiful magic."