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The rest of the holidays dragged slowly. Al had received a letter back from Harry and Draco, ensuring her they hadn't been harmed at the match. She'd gone to Diagon Alley by herself to get her new school things - apparently she was old enough now. Al knew the real reason though; it had come to be her parent's least favourite trip of the year. So they sat in a muggle tearoom near the Leaky Cauldron while she enjoyed an afternoon out shopping.
One item on the list caught her attention: dress robes. She didn't normally need them and wasn't sure exactly what they were. Madame Malkin had been had been more than happy to help and she soon selected some navy-blue velvet robes with little gold stars adorning the hems.
At long last, it was the first of September and Al and her parents arrived at King's Cross station. "Ten thirty exactly," her Pa said, checking his watch, "You can make your own way to the platform, can't you?" he said, and Al nodded.
"Oh sweetums," her Ma said, sweeping her into a hug that resulted in lots of kisses, which Al allowed - she wouldn't have to put up with it for a few months anyway, "You're growing up so fast." Al quickly made her getaway before her Ma burst into tears.
Within five minutes, Al was hauling her trunk (which she'd cast a feather-light charm on at the end of last year), down the train, until she spotted a familiar brown head buried in a book. "Hello you," she said to Theo as she drew the door aside.
"Al!" he said, bookmarking his page, "How was your summer?"
"It was alright, nothing fancy," she confessed, "Yours?"
But Al never found out how Theo's summer went, because a sudden squeal disrupted their conversion and Al was forced into a bone-crushing hug that rivalled her Ma's. "Al! Merlin's beard, I have so much to tell you!" Daphne said, grinning from ear to ear. There was a small cough from beside them. "Oh, hi Theo," Daphne said, her cheeks going pink, "How were your holidays?"
But yet again, Theo couldn't answer because the door rolled open, and in strutted Draco, looking smug as always. "You look like you've had a run in with a Weasel," Al noticed, "What happened?"
"Can you believe it? Their Father works at the Ministry and the Weasels don't know about the tournament!" He said as if it was the funniest thing ever.
"You've been spending too much time with your Father, Draco," Theo said, picking up his book again.
Draco spluttered and Al took it as an opportunity to speak, "What tournament?" she asked.
Draco rolled his eyes, "The Triwizard Tournament? Don't you read my letters?" Come to think of it, Al did remember something about a tournament being mentioned.
"So, what is it?" she asked.
"Three wizards or witches from each of the schools Hogwarts, Beaubatons and Durmstrang each compete in a serious of dangerous tasks in order to win 1000 galleons and eternal glory," Daphne explained excitedly.
"How many previous winners have their been?" she asked.
"Two hundred and thirty four," Theo told them without looking up.
"And can anyone name one?" she asked. The compartment remained silent, save for the rattle of the windows. "So this eternal glory stuff is a load of rubbish then?"
"No!" Draco protested, outraged. Al raised her eyebrows and he backed down.
"The tournament's not the exciting bit," Daphne said, placing her hand on Al's arm and grinning again, "At Christmas, we get to have a ball!" Daphne spent the next hour or so describing how she was going to do her hair and makeup and getting Al to brainstorm some ideas for herself as well. It was actually quite a fun way to pass the time, she thought. Draco seemed to disagree, and complained of boredom the whole time until the lunch trolley came.
After lunch, they all changed into their school robes and played a few games of exploding snap before getting bored and agreeing to remain quiet so they could all have a nap. That silence lasted no more than a minute and a half, before Daphne whispered in Al's ear, "So, who are you taking to the ball?" Theo groaned and opened his book again and Draco muttered something about 'Longbottom' so Al threw a leftover cauldron cake at him.
When they finally arrived at Hogwarts, it was tipping it down as per usual, so the group hurried into a carriage. Theo was about to close the door when a blonde head bobbed in and sat down with them - a young Ravenclaw by the looks of it. Daphne sighed distastefully and Draco laughed, "Loony Lovegood? You can walk!"
Al had to admit, it was a pain having her sat there - it meant they couldn't talk - but she wasn't doing any harm. "Shut up, Draco," she told him playfully and giving him a scuff around the head, "You're always like this at the end of the holidays."
Draco looked put out, "Yes, well, do you know who thinks it's good to have character?"
"Your father," his three friends said in unison.
"Actually, I was going to say my mother," he said smugly.
The sorting took way too long, but finally the feast began. Al ate quickly and thoroughly enjoyed her chocolate cake. Dumbledore stood up and gazed around and the hall fell silent. Al mostly tuned out his speech. Fanged frisbees...out of bounds...Quidditch cup. She zoned back in when there was an uproar from the various Quidditch fans. "He's cancelled Quidditch," Theo informed her due to her puzzled look. She saw the faces of Fred and George gaping and shocked.
"This is due to an event that will be beginning this October. I have great pleasure in announcing..." but he was interrupted by a loud banging of a door in the corner. In stalked a grumpy-looking man, with a frizzy mane of hair and a scar down his face. One of his beady eyes was missing, and was replaced with a magical blue one that whizzed around in all directions. But for the wizarding world, he seemed fairly normal.
"Is that Mad-Eye-Moody?" she heard people whispering up and down her house's table.
"Auror," Theo mouthed. That would make sense - it seemed there were a lot of dark families sat at her table. Dumbledore happily introduced him as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, which most of the older years had guessed, having had a new one every year.
"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued, "This year Hogwarts will be hosting a very exciting event over the course of the year. The Triwizard Tournament!"
"You're JOKING!" Fred Weasley shouted from the other side of the room. Everyone laughed. Dumbledore continued with an explanation about what it entailed, said something about an age restriction. Al mainly zoned out because, exciting though it was, she didn't often listen to Dumbledore. She found him quite boring.
Finally, the feast ended, and the Slytherins trailed down into the dungeons. Al shivered, "I forgot how cold it got," she said, and the people around her murmured in agreement. Al and her dorm mates stayed up a little later than they should have that night, chatting and eating sweets. Al sighed wistfully, feeling all warm inside. She loved Hogwarts.