𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 → 𝒸. 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓁𝑒𝓎

⤷ 14| BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early —

"Brilliant!" Angelina said. "It's History of Magic last thing on Friday! He won't get to bore us to death!"

Students will return their bag and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.

"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan said, emerging from the crowd, his eyes gleaming. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him . . ."

"Cedric?" Angelina repeated, looking at June. "I didn't know he wanted to enter."

Juniper shrugged. "Neither did I."

The appearance of the sign in the Entrance Hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where June went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the Tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.

Juniper noticed, too, that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subject, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Filch was behaving so ferociously to any student who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics.

Other members of staff seemed oddly tense, too. Harry told her that Professor McGonagall had lost her patience with Neville.

When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts house — red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teacher's table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, Eagle, badger and snake united around a large letter 'H'.

"They really outdid themselves," Alicia said as they looked around in wonder.

Juniper hummed in agreement and the three of them sat down at the Gryffindor table and filled their plates.

"Today's going to be a nice day," Angelina said.

And she wasn't wrong. There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even History of Magic was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter.

When the bell rang early, Juniper, Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George and Lee hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled into their cloaks 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," Professor McGonagall said, "first-years in front . . . no pushing . . ."

They filed down the front 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.