We had made it to the Friday of our third week at Hogwarts, and the first task was drawing near. The buildup of excitement was expressed everywhere we went. People were getting used to the three different schools, and so interactions between uniforms became more prominent. Ana had been the first to make a friend from Durmstrang, followed closely by Mila who was never far behind.

How the pair could make friends with Durmstrang boys when they were always with us was a mystery.

Jacqueline, Gisele and I had Potions for our last class of the day, and were told to meet the rest of the group in the courtyard afterwards.

"I bet we're meeting Ana and Mila's friend today," Gisele joked, casting her gaze at two Durmstrang boys in their grey uniforms walking ahead of us. Jacqueline and I exchanged looks before breaking into smiles.

We turned the corner where the open windows looking into the courtyard cast sunlight onto the stone hall, illuminating a glimpse of familiar red hair in a Gryffindor uniform.

Ginny didn't see me at first as she was listening intently to a Ravenclaw boy with dark features who I did not recognize. When she did look up to laugh, she caught me staring, and quickly waved, her blushing cheeks betraying her.

Making a mental note to ask her about this boy later, I simply waved back and kept walking.

Mila and Rosalie were waiting for us near the left entrance to the courtyard, where Ana stood only a few feet away, talking intently to three Durmstrang boys that towered over her. Following Gisele, Jacqueline and I slowly marched forward and joined Mila and Rosalie. Mimicking polite smiles, the group of us joined Ana and the new faces as they turned.

"Girls," Ana said in French, stepping forward. "This is Ivan that I've told you about," she motioned to the shortest of the lot, who wasn't that short at all. Ivan had quick set eyes that sunk into his head and a tough jaw line that made his profile striking. Unlike his friends, Ivan had a buzz cut like that of Viktor Krum.

His other friends, Aleksi and Ivo, weren't as striking, noted with Ivo's weak jawline that made his face fall flat and the other having a nose far too big for his face. But while Ivo was pained with a receding hairline in his future, Aleksi had a full head of dark hair that curled in the back.

After taking a once over of the three, all I could think of was how Ana and Mila managed to get into a conversation with them. I turned out of habit to tell Marie but saw only Gisele beside me. Where was Marie?

"You speak French?" Gisele questioned, taken aback as Ivan grinned confidently, mid-conversation. His two friends looked on completely oblivious to what was going on making this entire conversation awkward. All I wanted to do was abandon ship. Attractive foreign exchange students would be one thing, but these three were not that. And I saw no reason to keep my attention on them when I could be doing something much more worth my while.

"I was raised by a French nanny," He explained in very butchered French that had Ana and Mila look overly pleased. Jacqueline and I exchanged looks that Ana caught sight of. "My friends here," He added turning to the other two who looked up at being addressed, "don't speak it, but Aleksi can speak English vell, huh?" He started speaking a stark contrast of a language that I assumed was Bulgarian to the boys before turning back to us with a grin.

"And does Ivo know any English?" I asked, rubbing my side where Ana had just elbowed me. Turning to taller of the three, I watched as Ivo gave a solemn nod but said very little else. Great. He's mute.

This isn't awkward at all.

"He can understand more than he can say," Aleksi explained, turning my way assuredly.

"What year are you?" Rosalie asked as I turned from the dark eyes watching me to a crowd that had entered from the other end. Draco was there, alongside Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Blaze and Pansy.

Lovely. Just add to my day, why don't you, karma.

"Fifth years! Can you guess how old we are?" Mila questioned excitedly, causing Jacqueline to mutter darkly under her breath. I tried to mask the intense need to cringe.

"Third years? Are you really?"

"No not at all. Jacqueline and Gisele are fourth years," Ana explained, pointing to her friends in question.

I glanced back to the other end of the courtyard and watched as Draco hoisted himself onto one of the tree branches while Pansy threw leaves at him. Attention seeking, much?

"Ve vere told to take an English test in order to come here," Aleksi explained, gaining my attention again. He was looking curiously from me to the Slytherins behind us. He must have seen me staring off.

"We did too," Rosalie explained, adding how she and I were Americans. Ivo's brows shot up and Ivan looked toward Rosalie and then to me curiously.

"Americans at a French school?" I glanced away in time to catch Marie walking up the step and waving me over. Taking that as my chance to escape, I walked off as Rosalie explained where she came from. Without another word, I was by Marie's side.

"Where've you been?" I asked, nudging her side affectionately. She merely waved behind her vaguely.

"Around. That must be them, then," Marie commented, changing the subject. She nodded toward the Durmstrang boys who had turned their attention to Mila speaking. "Ana's friends."

"Yeah. Ivan, Aleksi and Ivor. Turns out one of them speaks French though I can't remember if it was Ivor or Ivan." Marie gave me an amused look before turning away from the girls.

"You don't sound impressed." I shook my head, chuckling.

"You didn't miss much, though I assume that was on purpose," I said giving her a knowing look. Marie shrugged.

"Just don't tell Mila."

"Don't tell me what?" Mila was walking towards us with the rest of the girls beside her. I saw the last of the boys leaving the courtyard before turning back to Marie with a smirk.

"Uh, if I tell you, that would ruin the surprise."

"Nice," Jacqueline quoted from the back as Rosalie giggled. Mila looked at us suspiciously.

"Well, you missed our chat with Ivan, Marie. He speaks French and has two great friends that are tall enough for you. And his friend Aleksi speaks English though he didn't seem that pleased when you left rudely Ava. How could you?"

"Um," I started unsure of how to respond. Marie looked just as uncomfortable though thankfully we didn't have to answer.

"Why so tense, Potter?" The girls and I turned toward the tree where the obnoxiously loud voice radiated from. Harry, who had just entered the courtyard, turned grumpily toward Malfoy in the tree. Suddenly I felt very interested in watching the show.

"Popcorn time," I muttered before taking a few steps forward to get a better look. The rest of the girls followed on curiously. Some other Hogwarts natives, who knew what a mix Potter and Malfoy meant turned their attention slowly towards the boys.

"My father and I have a bet, you see," Malfoy began. Harry looked like he just wanted to avoid more attention and so tried to keep walking. "I don't think you're going to last ten minutes in this tournament." Potter stopped and turned.

"What's going on?" Mila asked, turning to me confused.

"Ava's boyfriend is starting a fight," Marie said smugly before doubling over from the harsh jab I angled to her stomach. Through clenched teeth, I put a finger to my lips and ushered the girls to watch.

"He disagrees," Malfoy continued, before dropping down to the ground. "He doesn't think you'll last five."

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy-" Potter snapped back and I watched as he threw discreetness out the window and promptly pushed Draco back amongst his friends starting to round on them.

"He's vial and foul, and you're pathetic." Harry turned on his heels and started to storm off while I watched Malfoy's face contort.

"It's like they're five year olds..." Jacqueline remarked comically.

"But wait, there's more," Marie added remarkably nonchalant as we watched Malfoy grab his wand from his cloak and direct it at Potter's back. I knew I was too far away to warn Potter, and even if I wasn't, technically this wasn't any of my business. If he was smart, Harry would have just kept walking instead of confronting Malfoy.

But rather than a spell erupted from Malfoy's wand, someone yelled from the entrance to the courtyard and shot a spell directly where Malfoy once stood.

Or rather, where a ferret now stood, in a squeaking mess.

"He didn't..." Gisele started as Ana cupped her hand over her mouth and Mila started to giggle. A wizard I could only assume had to be a Hogwarts Professor, moved with such speed into the courtyard and toward Harry who was notably phased by the sudden outburst.

The wizard, older than most with a removable eye zooming in every other direction, had his wand drawn out and angled toward the ferret that was trying desperately to escape.

"I'll teach you to curse somebody when they're back is turned!" He growled and with a quick motion of his wand, the ferret zoomed up in the air, screaming petrified.

Now it was my turn to put a hand over my mouth as the thought dawned on me that that white ferret was Malfoy. Other students were now fully watching the scene, with the likes of Diggory and his friends laughing up a storm at the sight. A ring of both foreign and domestic students circled the scene, drawing the attention of McGonagall.

"You stinking-"

The ferret went up high in the air and then summersaulted down gracefully making Rosalie choke on her laughter.

"Cowardly-"

Up the ferret went.

"Scummy-"

We watched McGonagall appear on the scene followed by Pansy who must have rushed to get her.

"bunch of-"

"Professor Moody! What—what are you doing?" She demanded as she rounded near the flying ferret.

"Teaching." The word dawned on McGonagall's face, causing her to gawk from Moody to the ferret in question before asking, "Is- is that a student?!"

"Technically it's a ferret." Unable to compose myself any longer, I let out a laugh before hanging off Jacqueline who was watching the scene with peak interest and a growing smile.

"Merlin, I'm glad I got on that carriage," Jacqueline mused as she watched Moody throw the ferret down Crabbe's pants.

"No!" Gisele gasped in horror, though her smile betrayed her as she tried to cover her mouth, watching Goyle try and get the ferret out of his friend's pants, only to get his hand bitten.

McGonagall promptly drew out her wand and when the ferret had made an appearance on the ground after returning from his journey down his friend's pants, she returned Malfoy to his rightful body.

Now looking an absolute mess, but back to himself, Malfoy glared darkly at Moody, who sensing the threat started after the boy. Malfoy promptly dashed, yelling behind him "My father'll here about this!"

"Is that a threat?" Moody demanded, rushing at such a speed to catch the student while McGonagall called after her coworker. Malfoy and his gang raced around the tree to avoid Moody and then started toward the group of us students.

"IS THAT A THREAT?"

"Professor Moody!"

"I can tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, boy!" I watched as Malfoy ran past us, hoping he would catch sight of my friends and I laughing, but rather I caught Nott's eye who's gaze sparked familiarity before he disappeared with Malfoy and only Pansy calling out for him.

McGonagall was now giving Moody a lecture, prompting the rest of us students to disperse.

"Damn, show's over," A Ravenclaw called out ahead of us while a group of Hufflepuffs started talking rapidly between giggles over what they had just seen and a group of Durmstrang boys were laughing together. Even a few seventh year Slytherins seemed bemused.

"Is every school fight here like this? Because if so, I'll gladly transfer," Jacqueline exclaimed as we made it out of the courtyard.

"You'd have to learn English first," Gisele stated practically but Jacqueline didn't seem to care.

"Can you imagine Isabeau turning into a ferret? She'd never see the light of day again; she'd be so mortified," I asked, chuckling at the growing image in my head. But all I saw was Malfoy's mortified expression on the rattled ground.

"I see Isabeau as more of a pigeon. A big, stupid, pigeon."

"Somehow I see a ferret being funnier," Ana mused, causing more laughter from us just as we turned out of the hall and into the pasture where some Slytherins with broomsticks over their shoulders slowly walked up short of us. One of which was my brother, and another was Sam, though she was very distant from Theo, who was in deep conversation with his friends.

"What are you laughing at?" He questioned, cueing us to rely what we saw. Even as Sam kept walking, acting uninterested, the moment the words ferret and Malfoy were mentioned together in a sentence, she was all ears.

While not all Slytherins care for Malfoy, there is a sadly high percentage that do, and came with vengeance after the hilarious "accident". Based on pure chance, both Harry and Hermione happened to be mentioned in an article written by a Ms. Rita Skitter in the Daily Prophet. Such a paper didn't reach my eyes until that weekend when I caught Ginny on our way to Hogsmead, the first village visit of the semester. To say I was excited to see the sights of Hogsmead was an understatement. My friends on the other hand did not see the appeal.

"I have a copy of the paper if you want. It's horrible, even mum believes part of it," Ginny explained, as she started to ruffle through her bag as we walked. Why she would bring her bag to Hogsmead was a question I did not ask, though Rosalie was looking at it questionably. Finally, Ginny found it and pulled out her copy with a picture of Harry's face plastered on the front, looking highly uncomfortable.

"What the-" I began, looking at it. "I thought Harry was avoiding attention, not prompting himself to newspapers!"

"He isn't" Ginny corrected as she brushed past a group of passerbyers. "That article was supposed to be about all of the champions. The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons champions are merely mentioned, both misspelled too and Cedric isn't even mentioned. Hufflepuff is having a field day. Ella was just saying how-"

"Are you seriously listening to a Hufflepuff's rant against Harry? I thought you liked him?" Ginny acted affronted by my accusation but only showed it with a crossed jaw while Marie, who had remained silent through this transaction, hit me in the back.

"I do, or rather did. It-it's complicated." The dark haired Ravenclaw boy flashed by my mind.

"Look," Ginny said, hesitantly, eyeing my friends, "I get that you're upset with Sam and find all this change here... different, but don't blame it all on Ella. She's nice and she thinks Rita Skitter is just stirring the pot unlike the rest of her house."

"Oh," I said back meekly to Ginny's stare. Her gaze turned back to the newspaper.

"You can keep that. I'm sick of it." We waved her off as she headed in search for the rest of her group while I directed my friends toward the Three Broomsticks to go over the newspaper in detail over butterbeer.

The article in question was a sob rag about Harry's backstory and how entering the tournament only further increased his fears on death after his parents untimely passing. Like Ginny said, the other champions were barely mentioned and Hermione was brought up, though not in the way I had expected.

"His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle- what the hell is this bull?!" I exclaimed, tossing the paper across the table, nearly taking down Rosalie's butterbeer.

"Sounds like Harry is dating Hermione. Why is that a problem?" Mila asked, unconcerned.

"Because they're not. They're just friends," Marie explained, taking a sip of her own drink while I glanced at the group of giggling girls walking past us. Viktor Krum must be nearby.

"So what, the Hufflepuffs are going to be a bit upset? Ivan and his friends don't seem to care about press and we all could care less if Fleur gets more press coverage."

"Yeah but I can bet money that those lowlife Slytherins are going to use that article to annoy Harry," I explained, worriedly.

"And he will deal with it. He's not a baby, Ava," Jacqueline prompted. Fair point.

"I guess I just find this unfair for Hermione. She gets enough hell from Slytherin already. I bet Pansy is going to have a field day over that statement about Hermione's stunning looks."

Marie seemed to agree while the others continued with their drinks, unconcerned.

I didn't have to look fair to see I was right. The following Monday, after a wonderful time in Hogsmead, most of us (Ana and Mila were busy chatting up Ivan) caught sight of Pansy being Pansy after second period.

"Stunningly pretty? Her?" Pansy squeaked to her giggling friends as they passed Hermione trying to read on one of the bench's outside the Herbology houses. "What was she judging against? –A chipmunk?"

"Let me at her," Jacqueline muttered darkly in French as we made our way through the pathway, nearing the Slytherins. Pansy saw us first and looked up at us, expectantly. But rather than stop to talk to Pansy, I made a sharp turn around her and made my way to Hermione with my friends following suit, all speaking in gibberish French while casting dirty looks, Pansy's way. To say we were obnoxious is an understatement. And of course, everyone saw us and Pansy had nowhere to hide her humiliation so she stomped off with her friends following behind.

I had just sat down next to Hermione who had watched this unfold rather dumbfounded, when my gaze caught Sam watching from across the hall. A small smile was on her face but it wasn't a taunting one like before.

It was her characteristic smile. A smile given out when she was enjoying what she saw. And in this case, she had just witnessed her old friend spite Pansy Parkinson in the most characteristically Fountaine way possible: with indifference and a pack of social climbers on her tail.

-
Hello there :)
Things are looking up on my end, and I hope the same goes for you lovely readers. We have finally reached the ferret chapter (took long enough). I'll see you all soon!

-WG-