AN: Hermione makes some conjectures at the beginning of this chapter about Harry and how he was able to shake the Imperius so easily. She brings up that he might have ADHD, and while he might, be aware that this is the opinion of a fourteen/fifteen year old girl who's done a week of binge reading in between studying for classes, not a professional. Self diagnosis is valid, but it should be done after a LOT more research than Hermione put into it. Does Harry have ADHD? I have no clue. I'm not qualified to make that call. But yeah. Just remember that these are the opinions of a teenage girl after a week of research between her obsessive studying for classes, so closer to like a day or so of research.
The days passed, and Hermione practically disappeared outside of classes, which all of Les Amis knew to mean that she was researching something or other intently. Almost a week after the Unforgivables lesson Hermione showed up at the library where they were all studying and plopped down in the empty chair.
"What, no pile of books?" Ron teased.
"Oh, I learned a spell recently that lets me expand the space inside of my bag infinitely. It's made research much easier."
"You learned a new spell and you haven't taught me?" Draco yelped.
"I only learned it this week, calm down. Now." She turned to Harry. "I've been thinking about how you got out of the Imperius and I think I've discovered how. You managed to escape the Imperius by having ADHD."
Harry was silent for a moment, looking at Hermione. "Having what now."
Hermione snorted. "ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. You're easily distracted and you need to always be moving, basically. But since you're so easily distracted, it made it easy for you to throw off the Imperius."
Harry didn't say anything for another minute, and then he shrank down in his chair. "You mean the Dursleys were right about me?"
Draco gaped at him for a moment before he very quietly spoke. "What exactly were they right about." It wasn't a question, even though it seemed like it should have been.
"About me being an attention seeking delinquent," Harry whispered.
"That is not at all what I said, Harry," Hermione said firmly. "I said that you're attention is easily stolen by things, not that you seek attention. If anything, you avoid attention like the plague itself."
Neville nodded. "Yeah. The only attention you like that I've seen comes from people you know and like, or from people who are paying attention to you, and not your name."
Ginny lightly punched his arm. "You're not an attention seeking delinquent Harry. If anything, you're an attention avoiding delinquent."
Harry laughed weakly and sat back up. "Thanks Firecracker. Now, we really need to finish this essay. Moody may be a horrid instructor for teaching fourth years the Unforgivables but I don't want to actually fail his class."
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The day of the other schools' arrivals finally came, and the whole school gathered out on the front lawn to welcome them. It was a chilly day about a week before Halloween, and most of the students had had the foresight to bundle up in warmer clothes. The students chattered for a few minutes before the guests arrived, then a seventh year girl shouted and pointed at the sky. Harry glanced up and saw a large dot growing closer by the second. Before long it took shape as a large carriage pulled by horses with wings. Harry thought it was brilliant.
When it landed, a very tall woman, even taller than Hagrid, stepped out of the carriage, followed by a gaggle of young adults in powder blue uniforms. The giant lady was introduced as Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons. The young adults were the students over seventeen. They all seemed to defer to one girl in particular, a beautiful young woman with silvery blonde hair and deep blue eyes. For some reason Ron couldn't take his eyes off of her, and Hermione did not look happy about it.
Another shout came from over near the lake and everyone whirled around to see a ginormous ship erupt out of the Black Lake. It docked and a group of students walked out in fur lined red uniforms, with what Harry assumed was the Headmaster in white. After Professor Dumbledore greeted them, everyone headed inside, where each Hogwarts house split off to discuss their part in the greeting at the feast that night.
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The Hogwarts students filed into the Great Hall, except for the Quidditch students. Neville watched quietly as Professor Dumbledore made his speech about the new schools coming to visit for the year. It was relatively informative, Beauxbatons was a very formal school and all of the students took a type of classical dance, usually ballet or occasionally figure skating, as well as etiquette lessons. Durmstrang students, on the other hand, took classes related to dueling, focusing on strength rather than flexibility.
As Professor Dumbledore finished, the door opened a crack, allowing Filch to poke his head in. Professor Dumbledore smiled genially and gestured. "And now, the lovely students of Beauxbatons!"
The first students walked in and began doing ballet up the center aisle. As the first half danced through, the floor turned to ice beneath their feet, and they were followed by students on ice skates. Most of the skaters did relatively simple looking steps that Neville guessed were not as simple as they looked. Butterflies fluttered around them, conjured wandlessly in an impressive show of magical prowess. The last skater, the girl everyone seemed to follow, skated out and immediately did a jump that even Neville knew was much more difficult than it looked. Butterflies fluttered from her feet in shades of fiery red and orange. Neville wasn't the only one gaping as the ice melted behind her where the butterflies touched.
As the Beauxbatons students sat at the Ravenclaw table, Neville glanced over at the Slytherin table. That part of the show was going to be the most delicate. He saw the sixth year designated for the second part of the potion begin their part as Professor Dumbledore announced Durmstrang.
With a very impressive march to the front, the Durmstrang students rhythmically slammed staves into the ground, giving off sparks with each hit. When they reached the front, one of the female students suddenly had torches from seemingly nowhere, and she began to juggle them as a male student blew on one of their fire sticks, making animal shapes out of the fire while the other students did flips around them. Neville was suitably impressed and clapped along with everyone else, watching the Slytherins trade to their fifth year student for their potion.
"And now," Professor Dumbledore said grandly, "Our very own Hogwarts!"
Neville stood with his House, grabbing his plant from beside him. As the Hufflepuffs gathered together, they all looked at Neville, as they had planned. He closed his eyes and felt for the magic of the plants around him, grounding himself as he carefully coaxed the plants in the direction he wanted them to go. He felt like he was the sun, pulling the plants to face him and grow towards him. When he opened his eyes to the gasps around him, he knew he had done what he had intended. The vines the Hufflepuffs had brought to the feast were now growing in the outer shape of the Hogwarts crest.
Four Gryffindors stood up next and pulled out blocks of wood. With a flick of their wand, they had each transfigured their block of wood into one of the animals of each House, and they flew, stalked, crawled, and slithered over to their respective spot, where they froze.
Neville looked over nervously as the Slytherin first year now working with the potion put in the last ingredient. Then, the potion exploded.
Luckily, this is what they had intended, and as the potion fumes cleared, the crest was now the right colors in the right places, with the animals in each place the opposing color of the house. Finally, four seventh year Ravenclaws stepped up and lit a firework each. When they exploded, they looked like the founders, each in their usual pose, next to their respective crest on the full Hogwarts crest. The oohs and ahs at the display made Neville grin, before a piercing whistle drew his eyes upward, where the House Quidditch teams swooped in and did a few maneuvers. Neville would have to remember to ask Harry and Draco if they had flown in through the ceiling later.
Once all the displays were through, everyone took a seat at their House tables, with Beauxbatons sitting with the Ravenclaws and Durmstrang sitting with the Slytherins, to hear the rest of the announcements about the Tournament.
AN: You guys will never know how tempted I was to end it at "Then, the potion exploded." and make you wait for at least a week to see the rest of it lmao. Luckily, the person I'm writing this with is kinder than I am, so no cliffhanger today lol.
Distributor note: no im not, i was egging her on to end it there, its just while reading it with the surrounding paragraphs, it felt way too abrupt so I suggested to get the whole display written in one chapter. Not kindness, just flow, i am just as dubious as the author herself if not more.