Future Nostalgia / Harry Potter Fanfic

Arrival of Drumstrang and Beauxbatons

Other members of the staff seem oddly tense too.

"Longbottom, kindly do not reveal you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Drumstrang!" Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one particularly difficult lesson, during which Neville had accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus.

Estella glanced up as Hermione went off on a tangent about house-elves. Some people, like Neville, had paid up just to stop Hermione from glowering at them. A few seemed mildly interested in what she had to say but were reluctant to take a more active role in campaigning. Many regarded the whole thing as a joke.

Hermione stopped arguing with Fred and George as Harry pulled Sirius's reply from Hedwig.

"Why does he want you to change owls?" Ron asked in a low voice.

"Hedwig attracts attention," said Hermione at once. "She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever he's hiding. I mean, they're not native birds, are they?"

Estella turned to Harry, "You can use Lun; he's already dropped off a letter to my father, so he's free."

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air. Nobody was attentive during lessons, being much more interested in the arrival of the people from Beauxbatons and Drumstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Estella hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their robes, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Weasley, straighten your hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.

"Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front, no pushing."

They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Estella stood in front of Harry, her back leaning against his chest, instilling a feeling of warmth between the two who were unable to have any alone time. Given Estella's height, Harry was able to see right over her head without trying. Hermione stood next to Estella, quietly whispering to her as Ron and Harry talked.

"How do you reckon they're coming? The train or Apparition?" Ron asked, checking his watch.

"Ron, you can't Apparate inside Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently.

"Alas, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

A gigantic, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soared toward them pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage door, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectively. Almost immediately followed by a very large woman, the largest any of them had ever seen.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.

A dozen boys and girls, all by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing by Madame Maxime, the giant women. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their roves seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks.

"Can you hear something?" said Ron suddenly.

Estella listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed.

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the lake. Some disturbance was taking place in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks, out in the middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had been pulled out of the floor of the lake.

"It's a mast!" Harry said to the three of them.

A few moments later, they heard a splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the blank.

People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes.

"Dumbledore!" said the man leading them up to the castle. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.

Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice, his hair was white and short. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

"Viktor, Killian, come along, into the warmth...you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold and won't go without Killian..."

Karkaroff beckoned forward two of his students. As the boys passed, Estella caught a glimpse of the scowling and thick eyebrows and a grinning, good-looking individual.

"Harry! Harry, it's Krum and Gallagher!"

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