The students (both foreign and local) were ushered into the Great Hall. There was a small scuffle in the front of the line as many Hogwarts students tried, I repeat, tried, to get either Durmstrang, or Beauxbatons to sit with them.
To their displeasure and disappointment, the Durmstrang made themselves at home at the end of the Slytherin table, Beauxbatons mingling with the Ravenclaw students. Harry could see Evelyn's ear tinged red from the Gryffindor table.
She must be so jealous to see Viktor Krum sitting right next to her disgraced twin. To be honest, Harry was more than happy to see Krum outright ignoring the 'Girl-Who-Lived'.
The Great Hall was much crowded than expected, Draco was sitting to the right furiously talking with Krum, with Blaise as a translator. (Apparently, Blaise did know some Bulgarian).
Harry glanced around the hall, only to find that most of the Hogwart's students (and Beauxbaton's) were eyeing the famous Quidditch player, in other words, attracting too much attention to the Slytherin table. Something Harry was not familiar with.
"In Durmstrang, we don't have this type of decorations." Krum stated in his broken and heavy Bulgarian accent, taking off his fur coat.
"Hey isn't that Bagman and Crouch?" Daphne pointed out to the table, where two very familiar faces sat on the top. Umbridge was sitting as far away as them, it was clear that there was some sort of unresolved tension between the three ministry workers.
Draco pulled away from his conversation to squint at the table, and nodded, before turning back to chattering with Krum.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
Harry tuned out the rest of the speech, instead focusing on staring at the Head Table, trying to make sense of the strange tension around it.
"Harry is an amazing Quidditch player as well, aren't you Harry?" Alec poked his shoulder, causing the raven to turn his attention away from the unresolved question to face his friends.
Harry hummed in confusion.
"I mean he is a seeker for the first year, and then he became a chaser." Draco continued on to list down the achievements of Harry.
"Really? You must be the youngest Quidditch player ever." Krum hesitated in between words, but Harry didn't take it to heart. Krum was most probably still struggling with English, thus the long spaces between words.
All of a sudden there was a loud fury of clapping, Dumb-as-a-door must've finished his boring speech.
Food began to magically appear on the golden plates, earning several astonished and amazed looks from the foreigners, who were obviously not used to it.
"In Durmstrang, we do not have this fancy food." Viktor Krum commented on the amount of food layed in front of him.
"That is definitely one of the reason why Hogwarts are higher on the list of magical school than-" Before Alex could finish his sentence, Draco had swiftly delivered a hard kick to the Australian's shin.
Once the dinner is over, the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students made their way to the Entrance Hall, where they will be returning to their own residence. Harry had slipped away from the Slytherin Group and headed to second-floor girl bathroom, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Open" Harry hissed in Parseltounge as the sink opened up to reveal the entrance.
Walking down the clean stairs, (apparently the house elves had kept the chamber clean), he heard a few joyful voices in one of the offices.
"Harry! Good for you to join us! We were just about to have a short duel!" The Gryffindor founder, Godric, said from his seat, raising his wand above his head.
Rowena, who stood next to Godric, all but ran towards Harry, pulling the 14 year old into a hug.
"Rowena, good to see you too." Harry said, choking at the tightness of the hug.
"Pull away Rowena darling, you might as well suffocate the poor boy." Helga said, not looking up from her book.
"How are you my little snake? You've been doing well haven't you?" Salazar asked, ruffling his hair.
Harry nodded at the other questions, before turning back to Godric. "A duel I hear?"
"Salazar and I decided to have another duel. We haven't done it in a while."
The 5 made their way to the duel room, hidden in the shadows of the chamber. Thankfully, the dueling chamber was warded with several advanced privacy spell, if not... well let's just say the first World War would sound like nothing compared to this.
"Bow to your opponents, and you may start on the count on 3." Rowena took her spot as the referee of the fight.
Immediately, the two supposed rivals jumped into action, their wands sparkling as the duo blasted spells at one another. There were several notable spells, Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Confringo, but no spells last severe damage to the other.
"It's been a long time since I watched this." Harry whispered to Helga, not eager to disturb the fighting duo.
"I remember how you tried to sneak down after your bed time when you were 7 to watch them fight." Helga chuckled at the good memory.
Indeed, Harry had tried to sneak down more than once, and it all ended with a good scolding from Rowena and Helga, while Godric and Salazar fought in the background.
The duel ended quickly with Godric on the floor, a wand pointed to his neck.
"Do you yield?" Salazar asked, blood dripping out of a small wound in the side of his head.
Godric nodded furiously, and the wand was removed from the throat.
Harry cheered at the results of the duo, while Helga fretted over the two injuries.
He really missed them.
~
By the time Harry arrived in the Slytherin common room from the impromptu visit to the Chamber of Secrets, everyone was already fast asleep, besides for a certain Daphne Greengrass.
"Where have you been?" Daphne asked, more like demanded.
"Out." Harry answered simply, trying to get to his dorm room, but was blocked by the girl.
"Out is not an answer Harry."
Harry sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine, I went to visit the Chamber of Secrets. Happy?"
Daphne finally stepped aside, before grabbing Harry's hand.
"I heard from Luna that tomorrow is going to be a bad day. I hope you get yourself ready. I don't want to see you hurt."
Harry grinned. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
And with that, Harry headed up the stairs, leaving a bewildered Daphne on the foot of the stairs.
A/N: I AM BACK! yay! First of all, this chapter is dedicated to @Luna12Lovegood12 who asked for a scene in which a duel happened. (I'm sorry if it didn't fit your expectations, I'm not very good at describing fights as you can see). If anyone has a certain scene in which they want to appear or just a suggestion, you can pm me, or leave a comment.