Y/N's POV

The eventfulness of our first DADA lesson was still in many of our minds. Moody had proven himself as a very intriguing Professor. When we arrived in the entrance hall, we found ourselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large sign that had been placed at the foot of the marble staircase. Me, being the tallest, stood on tiptoe to see over the heads in front of us and read the sign aloud to the others:

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY-

"Brilliant!" said Ron. "It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"

-STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.

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

"Cedric?" said Harry blankly as Ernie hurried off.

"Diggory." I said. "He must be entering the tournament."

"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?" said Ron as we pushed our way through the chattering crowd toward the staircase.

"He's not an idiot. You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch," said Hermione, "I've heard he's a really good student - and he's a Prefect."

"You only like him because he's handsome," said Ron scathingly. At Ron's comment, I felt something flow through me, something along the lines of jealousy.

"Excuse me, I don't like people just because they're handsome!" said Hermione indignantly.

Ron gave a loud false cough, which sounded oddly like. "Lockhart!"

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 I went: the Triwizard Tournament.

When we went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, we 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 teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

All throughout the day, no one could concentrate since later that day, students from two other schools would be arriving. Finally, we managed to escape Potions early and made our way to the Common Room to get ourselves ready.

We 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.

"Nearly six," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates, "how d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," said Hermione.

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky.

"I don't think so...not from that far away." I said.

"A Portkey?" Ron suggested. "Or they could Apparate - maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"

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

We scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quiet as usual. Then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teacher.

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

"There!" yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large, much larger than a broomstick - or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks - was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.

"Don't be stupid...it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey.

Dennis' guess was closer. As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, we saw a gigantic, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward us, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew backwards as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed - then, a second later, the carriage landed, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads.

I just had time to see that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms before it opened.

"My dear Madame Maxime," Dumbledore said, "welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dort," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice, "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime.

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

"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore, "would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime, "but ze 'orses-"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore,

"Come then," said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then-

"Can you hear something?" I said suddenly.

We listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward us from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling sound.

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

From our position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, we had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water - except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks. Then, what seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool.

"It's a mast!" I said to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. People were disembarking; we could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. Their headmaster, so I assumed, started making his way towards Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore!" the man called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied. When Karkaroff reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling, "how good it is to be here, how good. Viktor, come along, into the warmth...you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, I caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. I didn't need the punch on the arm Ron gave me to recognise who it was.

"Y/N, it's Krum!"