A/N: Hello everybody! Thanks for checking out this story, it means a lot to me. I don't think this ideas been used before, so here you go. The plot's going to build up at my own pace, it won't be too fast. Any confusion regarding this update will be cleared up in due time.

Station Nine and three quarters was bustling as usual on its busiest day of the year. Wizards and witches rushed around the station, in hurry as usual. Mrs Weasley was smothering Ron and Harry in a flurry of hugs and kisses, deaf to their protests. The train gave another loud hoot as the pair of them jumped onto the train with Hermione close behind them.

'C'mon, lets find an empty compartment.' Said Harry as he walked along the train, heavily conscious of the whispers that followed him as he did his best to ignore it.

The trio soon found an compartment occupied by only Neville and Luna. Neville was wearing a shirt which was quite large for him and he smiled as soon as Harry entered. He shifted over so that Hermione could sit.

'Hello, Harry.' Luna greeted him serenely as he sat down alongside her with Ron. She was wearing a striking yellow attire and looking at him with spiral glasses which rather gave her the impression of an owl.

'Hi, Luna.' Harry replied cheerily.

Ron just gave a brief nod in her direction, not doing much to conceal his impression of the girl. He turned back only to find Hermione looking at him reproachfully.

'What!?' Ron exclaimed.

Hermione did not deign to reply. Instead, she turned to Luna who was busy taking off the wrapper off several chocolate bars and neatly piling them up beside.

'Luna!' Hermione said, 'How are you? And what are you doing with these…' Her voice trailed off as the wrappers came into focus.

'I'm fine.' Luna replied happily, 'I'm collecting these wrappers as a safeguard against Dingy Wombats. They can be really disconcerting if they get into your eye.'

Hermione didn't know what to say but carried on, 'And these… chocolate wrappers keep them away?'

'Yes.' Said Luna.

Ron let out a snort which he quickly converted into a very obnoxious sneeze.

'Sorry.' He said, though he sounded far from it, 'I think one of those Wingy Dombats got into my nose.'

'Dingy Wombats.' Luna corrected him absentmindedly, once again focused on the task at hand.

There was silence in the compartment till Neville nervously spoke up,

'Do you know what's going on at school this year?'

Hermione instantly responded,

'What's going on?'

'I don't know.' Neville said embarrassedly, 'I thought you or Ron might.'

Ron looked at him curiously,

'You know what? I think Bill actually hinted something exciting's going to happen this year.'

A spurt of laughter came from the door, which was followed by more and more chuckles until they finally stopped.

'Are you done, Malfoy?' Harry said coldly. Draco Malfoy, along with his two goons, was standing at the doorway, with the usual sneer on his face.

'I can't believe you don't know what's going to happen.' Malfoy said, continuing as if he hadn't heard what Harry said. 'My father told me all about it.'

'I couldn't care less about what your father said.' Shot back Ron, 'Now get out of my face.'

Draco turned to Ron. 'Gladly.' He said,' Its not like you have much of one.'

He went out of with a sneer and a bang of the door.

'Now that we're done with that,' Started Hermione and the rest of the journey passed as it usually does. The great, imperious sight of Hogwarts caught even the seventh years by awe and before they knew it, the golden trio were one again seated in the Great Hall. Green, yellow, blue and gold flags hung from the ceiling as thousands of candles floated in front of them. The teachers looked much the same seated at their table along with a usual vacancy of one particular seat. The vast hall gave off a homely feeling which was like by everyone.

'Welcome!' Intoned Dumbledore once the sorting was done and everybody was waiting for the meal, his voice reverberating through the hall. 'This promises to be another great year of education for some, and not such a great year for others. Indeed, in some ways this year will be unique in an aspect which… forgive me, I will explain in detail afterwards. I have always found that a well-fed audience is far more responsive and satisfied than a hungry one.'

With a clap of his hands the food appeared on the table and the students began to tuck in voraciously, the sound of chattering spreading throughout the Hall. The headmaster presided with a wise, slightly smiling face which quickly vanished.

He had just remembered that he had forgotten to stock up on his Sherbet Lemons for this school year.

'Reckon its something exciting?' Ron asked between two mouthfuls of food.

Harry gave an eloquent shrug.

After they were done Dumbledore clapped his hands once more as the food vanished.

'Very good, very good.' He muttered, smiling benevolently at the expectant audience.

'Straight to business then. It is my pleasure to announce that our school has been invited to participate in the Triwizard Tournament this year hosted by the most prestigious school in France - Beauxbatons'.

This announcement was received by several forms and degrees of disbelief.

'Hogwarts was supposed to host it!' Shouted out Malfoy from the Slytherin table in fury. Several students also seemed to be asking about if anybody knew anything about Beauxbatons or the Tournament.

Dumbledore seemed to catch the general gist of the confusion.

'Ah, I will clear any doubts you have if you would just allow me.'

Instantly the hall fell silent.

'First of all, the Triwizard tournament is a competition in magic between 3 students of the 3 most most prestigious schools of magic in Europe - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Each school will have its own school champion. As Mr Malfoy so astutely pointed out, the competition was supposed to have been hosted by our school. However, since some disturbing evidences of attempts at sabotage have been found since, the Tournament organisers shifted the venue to Beauxbatons. Hogwarts will be taking along an entourage of twenty of its brightest students to France, mainly from the sixth and seventh years. Interested students may give their names to their respective Heads of Houses.'

The announcement was received by so much excitement that the students almost missed the dramatic entrance of their new Defence again Dark Arts teacher - Retired Auror Alastor Moody.

Soon the crowd dispersed to go along to back to their respective dormitories. The Gryffindor Trio slowly made their way back to the tower.

'What d'you think about entering, Harry?' Ron said excitedly.

'I don't know, Ron.' Harry answered tiredly,' I think I'll like a bit of rest this year. You know, away from the excitement.'

'But this is HUGE, mate! Think of the glory if we win this!'

'I don't want it. And we aren't even going to get selected to go to France anyways.'

Ron opened his mouth but Hermione beat him to it,

'I think Harry's right. I remember reading about this in a book. Each school has only one champion nominated by it. And I remember Dumbledore saying they were only going to take sixth and seventh years for trying.'

Ron deflated a bit,

'But still,' he said,' I'm going to give my name to McGonagall.'

Th days passed swiftly passed as Harry discovered he was doing significantly better in classes. All Ron could talk about was the tournament and Harry started to find it a bit annoying over time. He took to spending less time with him and instead devoted more time to his studies as magic continued to fascinate him and never threatened to bore him. He started to understand what Hermione, as a muggleborn, saw in it.

Expectant students submitted their names for the delegation and bets were placed on the favourites. Of them, the main focus was on a few Ravenclaws and Cedric Digorry from Hufflepuff. Angelina Johnson was the favourite from Gryffindor to be the champion.

Almost a month passed before Harry found himself in the Transfiguration classroom, struggling with a particularly complex variation of stone to marble transfiguration. Hermione kept giving him unhelpful hints until he hit upon the correct approach. He had to focus more on the composition than the colour. Later, he realised that was what exactly what had been shouted at him him minutes before. He finally succeeded in the transformation and looked up see that he was only the second one to achieve it after Hermione.

Suddenly, a Ravenclaw, Cho Chang, entered the room and gave a note to McGonagall.

'Mr Weasley, Mr Potter, Miss Granger, you are excused from the remainder of this class. I think Miss Chang will guide you.'

The three got up confusedly and followed Cho out of the room.

'What happened?' Asked Harry.

'Dumbledore wants you in his office. He said he likes Fizzing Toffees.' Cho said, growing slightly pink. She quickly hid her face and exited quickly around the corner of the corridor.

'Dumbledore.' Said Hermione,' I wonder why he wants us.'

'Your guess is as good as mine.' Harry answered. Ron merely walked on with a determined air that he would not have to wait long to find out.

'Fizzing Toffees.' He said to the stone gargoyle in front of the headmaster's office.

They parted to show the way inside. The office was as eccentric as usual to the current headmaster's tastes. An assortment of whirring, spinning instruments were scattered on the table and throughout the office. Fawkes, the flaming red phoenix, trilled a little from his perch. Dumbledore received them with a slightly troubled look on his face.

'Anything the matter, sir?' Harry asked politely.

Dumbledore shook his head,' Nothing you need worry about. There is just one problem which I keep forgetting to rectify. You only reminded me of it.'

The three took the three seats that had been conjured for them as Dumbledore motioned them to sit down.

'As I was saying, there is only one pressing concern. I am, as you know, in the habit of offering one my sweets to anyone who comes to my office. However, I am afraid, I forgot to top up my supply this year and have woefully been left with 2 Sherbet Lemons when there are three of you. It is most troubling to my conscience.'

'It's alright, professor. We don't want any.' Ron spoke up hurriedly.

'It is not the act of wanting, but rather the act of offering that counts, Mr Weasley.' Dumbledore eyes twinkled through his half-moon glasses.

'But no matter. We shall come back to it at some other time. Now you must tell me Harry,' the white bearded wizard said,' if you would like to come with me to France.'

Harry was taken aback.

He said, 'But sir, I don't want to participate in the tournament. Am I not a bit too young?'

Dumbledore beamed at him, 'That you are, Harry. But my intentions for taking you are quite different. I have been warned of a danger inside Hogwarts as Voldemort grows stronger. It is the reason the tournament was shifted to Beauxbatons.'

'Is he after me? Voldemort, I mean.'

The old wizard nodded gravely, 'In a way, yes. The other students will not be harmed. Just as a precaution, I would like to have under my eye; if you consent, of course.'

'I…' Harry looked around him, 'I'm not sure I want to go when my…'

'I anticipated the request.' Dumbledore interjected,' Which is why I have taken the liberty of calling your friends along with you to my office. Anything else, Harry?'

Harry shook his head mutely.

'Very well then. Are we agreed, Mr Weasey and Miss Granger?'

Hermione looked like Christmas had come early while Ron's mind drew imaginary pictures of him winning the cup. He nodded furiously.

'Yes, professor.' Said Hermione.

'Alright, I would prefer it if you kept this to yourselves. Necessary excuses shall be provided to your classmates at a later time. I will then expect to meet the three of you beside the Great Lake at 7 o' clock sharp tomorrow morning.'

'Tomorrow, sir?' Harry repeated.

'That is correct.'

With a wave of his hand they were dismissed.

Ron's joy knew no bounds as he almost skipped the entire way to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Harry seemed in a pensive mood while Hermione tried to cheer him up.

'What happened Harry?'

'Nothing.'

'You don't look very happy. We'll be going to France! I've only been there once with my parents. It's very pretty. You should be excited!'

'I don't know, actually. Of course I'm excited, but it doesn't feel fair somehow.'

Hermione sighed. Trust Harry to think of fairness when they had practically been given a trip to Beauxbatons with no strings attached. Well, three students would probably miss out because of them. But, oh well, it was no fault of theirs.

The common room's fire burned brightly as usual while a few students lounged about on the sofas.

'G'night Harry.' She said just before she went up to the girls' dormitories.

'Night 'Mione.' He said after her.

It was morning as the sunlight streamed through the small windows into the dormitories.

'Ron' Harry shook his friend, pausing momentarily to push back his glasses, 'Its already six-thirty! You need to wake up!'

The red-headed boy simply groaned. He got another push before he came to his senses. Ron rolled over on to his back and shakily sat up on his bed. He pushed the hangings aside and stumbled a bit as he got this feet. Harry muttered a curse as Ron promptly fell down in a heap. His friend's face completely white.

'What happened, mate? C'mon, we need to get you to the hospital wing.' Harry said.

Ignoring Ron's protest, he half dragged and half assisted Ron as he took him to Madam Pompfrey. Thankfully, not many students were about and the Marauder's Map came in useful to avoid unwelcome company. The dreary corridors soon gave way to the clinic.

Madam Pompfrey was immediately alert.

'Oh dear, oh dear.' She said and began casting diagnostic spells as soon as Ron was in bed.

'What happened?' She looked sharply at Harry. Harry gave a somewhat garbled account of what had happened that morning.

'No matter.' She said once he had finished, 'You can go back to classes now.'

Harry was a bit taken aback and tried to remain calm as he asked her,

'But… but can't you fix him right now?'

All he got was a cold glare, 'My dear boy, if I could I would have already. Unfortunately, your friend has got an illness called Fingroit, a mild form of Spattergroit. It will take him at least a week or two before he can even think about getting out of this bed.'

'But… but the tournament.' Harry spluttered at the same time as Ron, who seemed to have recovered partially, made an effort to get to his feet.

'I… I can do it.' Ron said weakly, his face becoming almost purple with the effort.

Madam Pompfrey looked at Harry as if he had grown a second head,

'Surely you don't mean the Triwizard…' She stopped herself abruptly at a sudden movement from Ron, 'And you, young man,' She poked her wand at Ron's chest, 'don't even think of moving from here until I say so - tournaments or not.'

She looked around for Harry but he had already gone. Gone after saying a quiet 'goodbye' to Ron.

Harry was confused to say the least. A twinge of pity remained in his heart for his friend, but he wasn't as disappointed as he would have expected himself to be. Refusing to let his emotions grow any stronger, he fairly sprinted out to the grounds just before the clock struck seven. The solitary boy found a group of students, the Headmaster and Professor Mcgonagall assembled near the Lake as he thankfully slowed his pace. As he approached, he noticed somebody arguing with Dumbledore who was patiently listening and apparently refusing him something.

At a closer look, Harry noticed that 'somebody' was Draco Malfoy.

Dumbledore seemed to magically know that he had arrived as he turned back with an indiscernible look on his face,

'Harry, I am glad to see you here in time. May I assume that Mr Weasley is on his way?'

Harry sadly shook his head and explained briefly what had happened.

'Fingroit…,' Said Dumbledore thoughtfully, 'It is very rare, I must admit. This is altogether an unfortunate incident. He will take at least 2 weeks to recover. We will have to go without him.'

A gleeful look came onto Malfoy's face.

'There, professor.' He said, barely concealing the triumph in his voice, 'You can't refuse me now.'

'No,' Replied Dumbledore gravely, after a moment's thought, 'I suppose I cannot.'

He waved his wand as a huge ornate double decker bus came into view. Harry heard Mcgonagall give an almost imperceptible sigh.

'We used this bus the last time around, Albus.' She said.

'And so we will do again.' Was the reply.

The students patiently filed onto the red bus. Harry had found Hermione and they settled themselves into seats on the second deck of the bus near the back. Once everybody was inside, the door shut themselves with a bang.

'On we go, Hagrid.' Said Dumbeldore, after another flourish of his wand.

'All righ', Headmaster!' Shouted back Hagrid from the enlarged driver's seat. The bus silently lifted off the ground and into the clouds.

'I still thin' we should've used Dragons. They go a lot faster.' Said Hagrid in his usual dialect. Dumbledore only chuckled.

Minerva Mcgonagall, now stand in Headmistress, walked slowly back across the dew covered grass towards the castle, 'Take care of the students, Minerva.' He had said just before he went, 'The school can take care of itself.'

She wondered what exactly the enigmatic white-bearded wizard had meant by that. Regardless, she was going to do her best - even if Dumbledore had prohibited use of his office.

Her left eye twitched irritably.

Meanwhile, high up in the clouds, Hermione patiently explained to Harry how exactly Malfoy had managed to worm his way into this trip. It seemed Malfoy had somehow come to know that they were leaving for France that day, inspite of the secrecy maintained. He had come fully prepared to leave Hogwarts and had been trying to convince the headmaster that he was more worthy than the students who were going. He had been refused point blank.

But after that, there was the small matter that Ron could not go and no other student could be called in time to leave for France.

Harry was livid when he heard this.

'He did this!' He almost shouted, 'Ron's not coming with us because of Malfoy!'

Hermione had anticipated this outburst and had accordingly put up a Quietus charm in their vicinity in advance.

'It does seem a somewhat fortunate coincidence for Malfoy.' Hermione agreed calmly, 'But we can't be sure, Harry.'

Harry was aghast, 'What's there not be sure about? Malfoy wants to come, he can't. Then some student who is actually going mysteriously gets an illness which will confine him to bed for weeks. Voila! Enter Malfoy. Exit Ron.'

Hermione tutted impatiently, 'No, Harry. I'm almost sure he's not guilty. For one thing, he can't make someone have Fingroit and for another, he couldn't have known that Ron was going to France.'

With a feeling that she had convinced Harry, she leaned back in her seat in a satisfied manner.

For a moment, Harry was stumped. But he shot back with an argument that no one else was benefitting from it. Hermione responded by saying that Ron's illness could have just been, and probably was, an unfortunate coincidence.

The rest of the journey passed in peace with Harry also attempting to make friends with a few of the older year students - most of whom he found quite nice. The seats elongated into beds for the night as Harry fell asleep while watching the solitary light from the tip of Dumbledore's wand.

Next morning they found themselves flying over green and ice-capped mountains.

It was a spectacular sight. Hagrid adventurously flew a bit lower while reassuring the others that the bus was invisible from the outside. Harry could almost see the patterns on the leaves as they rushed from his sight. Poignant green valleys and sparkling blue lakes passed by as suddenly a pure white palace came into view. It was surrounded by vast lawns on every side, which was interspersed by the occasional fountain. Narrow, shingly paths between the gardens spread out in all four directions from the palace.

The bus went lower and lower as Hagrid brought the vehicle to a halt on the ground with a screeching of brakes. A collective sigh of relief came from all the students. Dumbledore led the way as everybody else followed him out of the bus. Harry exited with a slightly awed look on his face as his ears met the sweet sound of falling water from a fountain behind him.

The entourage of Hogwarts was met by a group of students all dressed in blue. In front of them of them was a giantish lady who greeted Dumbledore with a smile.

'Good morning, Dumbly-dorr!' She said in a slightly gravelly voice.

Then she turned towards the students from Hogwarts.

'Welcome to Beauxbatons!' She said impressively, spreading her arms wide and giving them a huge smile.

A pattering of feet followed as everybody entered through a majestic archway into the main building. Hermione almost squealed in delight, the architecture was exquisite. Harry curiously looked at the other students from their school, - they were all talking excitedly in French or accented English. Some of them even pointed at him, whispering amongst themselves. Harry pushed a lock of hair in front of his scar irritably - it appeared that people had heard of him even in France.

He switched his attention back to the school. It was more of a palace rather than a castle like Hogwarts. It was also markedly less 'magical' than Hogwarts, Harry noted with some pride.

They eventually came to a vast space near the middle of the building. One huge table stretched across its length which was made out of marble. The Hogwarts students settled near the centre while those from Beauxbatons sat in a haphazard manner. Madame Maxim took the chair at the head of the table. There was space for three chairs as Dumbledore sat on her right.

Harry sat with Hermione close to a couple of French girls.

'What do you think of it?' He asked his bookish friend as they ate a very heavy breakfast.

'Its amazing!' Hermione gushed, 'Its even better than described in the books. I must find the library.'

Harry smiled, 'Yes, but I prefer Hogwarts.'

Hermione frowned, 'I suppose I do too. But I need to know more before I can decide.' She cut off abruptly. 'Look at Hagrid.' She said.

Harry turned to where she was looking. It seemed like Hagrid was saying something to Madam Maxime who was getting angrier by the second. Hagrid seemed oblivious to it. He carried on excitedly.

The Headmistress eventually stood up and shouted something at Dumbledore who in turn said something to Hagrid. The half-giant eventually resigned himself to walking away with a noticeably hurt look on his face.

'Wonder what that was about.' Harry remarked once the ruckus had subsided.

'We can ask Hagrid later.' Said Hermione.

After breakfast, a problem presented it to themselves.

'Where are we supposed to go now?' Said Hermione, 'Do they give us rooms or something?'

Harry shrugged when he noticed the two girls who were sitting beside him getting up. Hermione caught the movement and approached the them with a mischievous smile on her face.

'Excusez - moi.' She said in the best French she could muster, 'My friend here wants to ask you something.'

Harry found himself under the eyes of two very pretty red-haired witches.

'I…' He faltered as caught the large blue eyes of one of them. She giggled a bit. Harry immediately recollected himself. He was not going to make a fool of himself.

'I well, I don't speak French.' He started.

The blue-eyed girl looked at him curiously, 'I speak a bit of English.' She said.

'I just wanted to ask if you know where the students from other schools will be accommodated.'

'You are from 'Ogwarts, non?' She asked. Harry nodded.

'I know the place. I will show you. It is in the west wing.' She said and shooed her friend away.

'My seester.' She said in reply to Harry's questioning glance.

'Let us go.' She motioned for Harry to follow. Harry came obediently. The words had been on the tip of his tongue that he would find the way himself but he found that he couldn't form the words.

'I'm Aurelié.' The girl said as Harry fell in step with her.

'Harry Potter.' He responded with a wary glance at her. She showed no outward signs of recognition.

'Do you like it here?' She asked, just to break the silence.

'I do, it's very beautiful. But I think I prefer my own school, though its nothing like yours.'

'I suppose we all do.' She answered diplomatically, tilting her head to one side.

They talked about a few of their shared and diverse interests for a while before Harry finally asked the question he had been longing to.

'I suppose,' Harry stole a sideways glance at the girl, 'I suppose you couldn't tell me where the Quidditch pitch is?' He said hopefully.

Aurelié gave him a half-amused smile as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

'I can.' She said, 'But I will not.'

'Why ever not?' Harry protested.

No reply followed. She refused to say even another word before they arrived in front of large door which had 'Guests' written on it in huge black lettering.

'This is where you will stay.' She told Harry and paused for a moment. 'I will meet you here at 8 tomorrow morning to take you to the Quidditch pitch. You will be there, won't you?' She looked at Harry sweetly.

'Ye…es, of course.' Harry stuttered back.

'Okay then, I must go now. Bye 'Arry!' She said as she turned back with a slight whirl of her blue robes.

'Bye Aurelié.' Harry said, not having the heart to point out that it was Harry, not 'Arry.

Hermione nudged him slightly as they found themselves inside a huge corridor with numbered doors all across the walls.

'Well done, Harry.' She said, 'On the first day too. Ron would be jealous.'

Harry looked at her while blushing slightly,' I don't think it's like that. She just wants to show me around the place.'

'And how does that account for her not having even acknowledged my presence all this while?'

Harry shrugged, a dismissive look on his face.

'I'm not complaining.' He said as he shut the door on which the word 'Harry' had appeared as soon as he had touched the doorknob.

It was not noon yet.

Dumbledore was a wise man.

Popular belief was that he put on the appearance of a senile, ageing old wizard in order to hide his true power from potential enemies. But this was not true. He was actually a senile, ageing old wizard.

The only difference between him and other wizards was that he made considerably less effort to hide it. Which did not in any way diminish his prowess at magic. Such was the genius of one Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He was, at this very moment, looking thoughtfully at one of the various instruments he made a point to carry wherever he went. This particular object had been passed down to each Headmaster for generations. It alerted him when any serious harm was intended towards any one of the school's students. It was at this moment, spinning madly - which was not a good sign. Not a good sign at all, thought Dumbledore. He had a very good idea of exactly which one of his students it was referring to.

'Harry Potter.' He said out loud. He went back to thinking deeply. It seemed like all he could do these days.

The table was entirely filled at lunch as the Durmstrang continent had since arrived by ship. They were entirely clad in black and brown travelling cloaks accompanied by their sinister looking Headmaster Igor Karkaroff. The students noticeably sat a little way away the other schools', preferring to be left alone. A questionable incident had taken place on their arrival when quite a large number of dark objects had been detected by the palace wards. They had to then submit themselves for scrutiny when all the 'dark' items - blood quills, cursed rings and the like- had been carefully confiscated and disposed of. The Durmstrang students had shocked expressions and the general defence was that 'it vas only for a harmless prank.'
Some adopted slightly constipated looks which they explained away as seasickness.

Hermione sat listening to Harry as his idol sat but ten metres away from him.
'Viktor Krum... Do you think he'll talk to me, give me some Quidditch related advice maybe?' Said Harry with an awed face, looking at the famous seeker.

By some twist of fate, Draco had ended up sitting two places beside Harry.

'Yes, Potter.' He said with a sneer, completely disregarding the fact that the question clearly wasn't meant for him, 'Of course he'll talk to you, why don't you try and see?'

'Oh yeah, Malfoy?' Shot back Harry, firing up 'And I suppose you'll be best buddies in a couple of minutes? Why don't you give it a shot?'

Draco smirked at him in a very arrogant pureblood manner.

'Watch and learn, Potter.'

He slid off his seat and confidently approached Krum, somehow managing to find some place to sit beside him. To his horror, Harry found Krum turn around and say something to Draco who instantly gave superior look towards Harry.

Suddenly, to Harry's delight, Krum pushed Draco off the seat in a very humiliating manner.

There seemed to be some kind of commotion near the back end of the hall. Krum, as the rest of the Durmstrag, had got up in a frenzy. In fact, everybody seemed to getting up and gravitating towards the back. A few cheers came from there. There was almost a deafening thud of footsteps as Harry looked desperately around for Dumbledore. He was not to be found, as was Madame Maxime. Only Karkaroff was present, lounging at the table, with no interest in what was going on around him.

'Hermione!' He said excitedly, falling in with crowd,'C'mon, let's go!'

'Oh, I'm not sure, Harry. Don't you think it could be a bit dangerous?' She replied worriedly.

Harry only made an incredulous expression and dragged Hermione to her feet. He pushed her in front of him but soon lost her in the crowd.

He still surged ahead, determined to find out what was going on. Amid the multitude of people, he suddenly found himself falling forward. He grabbed the thing closest to him, which was the shirt of the person who tripped him. They fell down in a heap, his head mere inches from the wall.

He felt a weight, quite a soft weight, land on him which quickly rolled off. As the dizzying feeling dissipated, he dimly saw an outstretched hand towards him which he refused and pushed himself to his feet, quite unaware of the shocked expression on the person's face. He stood up straight and looked directly ahead, quite unable to focus on what was in front of him.

'Ere' The person said in a distinctly female, French voice, 'Let me help you.'

She then proceeded to take his glasses from him and tapped them with her wand.

'You can see me now, can't you?' She said, looking at him worriedly as the world spun back into focus for Harry. He found himself looking back into a pair of deep blue eyes which seemed to almost draw him in. Her pale blonde hair had an almost silvery sheen to it. Her features exuded perfection. Something made want Harry to go closer, but he withheld the urge. It would surely be disastrous.

Suddenly, afraid that he had let his gaze wander a second too long, Harry quickly replied,

'Yes, thanks for, you know, repairing my glasses.'

'It was my pleasure, Harry…' Her voice had a faint questioning tone to it. Harry was confused, then suddenly realised.

'Of course, my scar.' He quickly pushed a lock of hair over it.

'I'm sorry.' Said the girl sympathetically, 'I know how it feels.'

'Oh, I didn't mean to… to say that aloud.' Harry said hurriedly 'But… but what do you mean by saying you know how it feels?'

'Maybe some other time.' She replied and turned back.

'Wait!' Said Harry, 'I didn't catch your name.'

She turned back slowly, smiling a little,

'You can call me Fleur.' She said before quickly joining her friend who was watching them with a curious look on her face.

Harry stood like that for a few moments. He found the girl distinctly pretty, although a trifle arrogant in her manner. But he supposed he shouldn't judge her on one meeting. The thought of meeting her again seemed quite appealing to him.

But he shook himself out of his musings, once again looking across to gathering at the rear end of the hall. He slowly walked across, knowing that there was no way he could get to the front. A huge circle seemed to have formed around a clearing. Suddenly a magnified voice came from the middle, 'PLEASE MOVE AWAY FROM HERE!' To Harry's pleasant surprise, the crowd parted in front of him as it formed a bigger circle.

He could now see what was going on. Two wizards stood there, wands in their hands and facing each other. Confidence oozed from them. One of them reminded Harry of Gilderoy Lockhart. His smug smile was especially reminiscent.

'Who are they?' He asked an older Beauxbatons student standing beside him.

'Mr Durant, our Defence professor and Pierre, an old student of our school.' Came the curt reply.

Harry noted the Mr Durant similarity in appearance to Lockhart, though it was very probable that the similarity ended there.

The atmosphere was crackling with anticipation.

'How many times have I told you Pierre? Don't come back to this school.' The silky voice of the Defence Professor was punctuated by a short spell after each word he said.

Pierre's green shield shimmered in front of him. Not a crack showed on it.

'I will do as I please.' He said back in a pleasantly firm voice. He had black eyes and brown hair accompanied by a stiff posture.

'You know you don't want to do this.' Warned Durant.

'I think I do.'

'A duel it is then.'

They briskly walked a few paces away and faced each other. They bowed and instantly a red 'Stupefy' came fizzing towards Durant. A cloud of smoke erupted where he was. Pierre stood waiting as three identical beams of light rushed towards him from the fog. He deftly sidestepped and the smoke suddenly vanished. Durant stood there with a slightly impressed look on his face.

'You've improved.' He said, while lazily deflecting a Reducto.

He suddenly burst into action as lights began to fly around the place. A golden ring around them prevented any students from getting nearer. Intricate chain of spells were weaved with ease as gashes appeared on the duellers' arms and face. It was clear that things had become serious when a stray spell burst a section of the wall into pieces.

Amid the action, the huge marble door to the hall suddenly spread wide open. Dumbledore entered majestically,

'WHAT is going on here?!' Madame Maxime shouted from beside him.

The old wizard had meanwhile closed his eyes and was concentrating hard at something. Suddenly, amidst the duel, the two wands of the duelists right flew from their hands into the hands of Dumbledore. The faces of Durant and Pierre were a sight to behold. They were beyond enraged and their faces shifted between being outraged and astonished at Dumbledore's display of power.

The student crowd quietly and orderly dispersed under the commanding stares of their superiors. They reluctantly shuffled back to their seats at the table. Harry was pleased to find Hermione in one piece.

'Fantastic, wasn't it?' He asked eagerly.

'Disastrous would be more like it.' Replied Hermione drily, 'Although I would be interested to know how Dumbledore did it.'

Harry quietly muttered 'Spoilsport' under his breathe. He then silently watched on as Madame Maxime gave a formal apology to the visitors. It clearly hurt her pride, but she recognised that some things had to be done.

'I'll be going to the library after lunch.' Announced Hermione.

Harry shrugged,' I'll be around, I guess. I think I'll attend some of the classes.'

'That's a good idea. You better find some fourth years you can ask.'

Harry nodded and got up with a slight spring in his step.

'I think I'll attend the defence and transfiguration classes.'

The classrooms were bigger than Hogwarts was the first thing Harry noticed. It also had a few windows which opened to the lawns outside the school. A cool breeze floated in, blowing a few sheets of paper and pens away. They used pens, Harry noticed. Real muggle pens. It was unusual, but he liked it. He took a seat near the front of the class with a quiet, studious looking guy with enormous front teeth. All the talking subsided as their Transfiguration teacher walked in. He was very professional looking person who seemed to look right through people, which was a very unnerving experience.

'Today we will be learning how to transfigure wooden objects into identical metal ones. Beware of loosing focus during the transfiguration, in which case you will not succeed. It is all about intent and how you direct it.'

He continued to expound on the theory behind it which Harry found quite refreshing. Mcgonagall would usually just explain the basics and leave them on their own to figure out the rest. He had done this particular transfiguration and was interested to see how the students of Beauxbatons would react.

It turned out that not a single person was able to do it. Harry looked curiously at the boy beside him,

'Here, I think you're trying too hard.'

The boy with jutting out teeth looked back at him defiantly, 'That ees what I am supposed to do.'

'Maybe you should try to do… do it as you feel it.' Harry offered.

The boy scoffed - but sure enough, after a minute or two silver spots began to appear on the wooden box.

He still carried the same defiant face but it noticeably softened.

Harry walked away from the fairly uneventful class. Defence was next. If Mr Durant was anything like he had seen, it promised to be more than interesting. He slowly walked along the marble corridor with his hands in his pockets.

'Harry!' Hermione suddenly shot around the corner towards him, waving a piece of paper towards him. Harry stepped back, a bit unsettled.

'What's the matter?'

'I can't believe this! It's about Hogwarts.' Hermione said excitedly. Her cheeks more flushed than usual from running.

'What?!'

'Look at this.' Hermione showed Harry the piece of paper. 'It says that Hogwarts is the only school in the entire world which uses house elves.'

'House whats?' Said Harry, clearly puzzled.

'Elves.' Hermione enunciated clearly, 'Here, read this.'

She shoved the bit of paper into his hands.

'Hogwarts,' Harry read, 'The premier school of Britain, thought to be situated in Scotland, has devised a completely novel method of catering to the needs of its large student populace. It has been obtained from a reliable source that house elves are employed for meeting the daily requirements of the castle, …It has the largest population of house elves in a single accommodation in all of Europe.'

'This!' Hermione shoved her finger onto the line that Harry just read, 'Can you imagine, Harry? The food we eat, the mess we make in the common room - the house elves take care of all of it!'

Harry nodded confusedly, 'That's good, I guess.'

Hermione irritably turned over the paper and showed it to Harry,

'Read this! It's written here that the house elves aren't paid for their work. Not a single penny. It's all slave labour. Can you believe it?'

As a matter of fact, Harry could believe it. The kind of things he had come to expect from wizards matched exactly with what Hermione said. But he couldn't say that to her face.
But she had already continued talking,

'But this book is pretty old. I'm sure Dumbledore pays them, don't you think so?' She said.

'Ye-es.' Harry said unconvincingly.

'I'll have to ask him. Remind me to do that, Harry.'

She would have gone on to say more but Harry interrupted her.

'I… umm, Hermione.' He said apologetically, taking a quick look at the non-existent watch on his wrist, 'I have to go to another class, I'll get late. I'll see you around.'

He quickly retreated around a corner, trying not to laugh at Hermione's incredulous and slightly annoyed face. He walked quickly, trying to locate the classroom.
But soon, despite the clear instructions he had been given, he was lost. He kept walking around the place, trying to elicit some English from a few of the students he , with a relieved sigh he noticed Aurelie walking in front of him.

'Aurelie!' He said, falling in step with her, 'I need your help.'

Aurelie looked at him with a pleasant smile on her face.

'Harry, I didn't expect you so soon.' She gave a small emphasis on the word 'soon'.

Harry grew slightly red.

'No, its just that I can't find the defence classroom.' He said.

'You want to attend Mr Durant's class?' Aurelie asked in a slightly surprised tone.

'Yes.' Said Harry.

'I don't think you'll want to.' She said, after a moment.

'Why not?'

'It's just,' Aurelie shook her head, 'You'll find out. Come with me. I'm going for defence right now too.'

Harry looked at her in astonishment.

'You're in fourth year too?'

'Yes.' She said, 'Why? You look surprised.'

'Nothing.' Harry mumbled, 'You just look older.'

Aurelie gave a slight tinkling laugh.

There was an aura about the Defence classroom that Harry just couldn't grasp. It was slightly dark, lit only by a few lanterns and… majestic, for the lack of a better word. There was a huge space cleared front of the class for duelling and the seats were arranged in a semi-circular fashion around it at a slightly higher level.

Harry took a seat at the front alongside Aurelie, much to her amusement.

'You could've sat anywhere and you choose to sit here.' She teased him.

Harry stumbled at a few words before speaking,

'It's just that… you're the only person I know in here.' He said.

He only got back an amused look.

'Relax, Harry,' Aurelie said, 'I'm only teasing you. Both of us know why you wanted to sit here.'

This time, Harry wisely kept his mouth shut.

Mr Durant walked inside in a black cloak in a way strangely reminiscent of Snape. But he unfastened the cloak and kept it on a chair afterwards. The room grew silent with expectation as Mr Durant's eyes roved over the group of students. He kept making little comments as he looked at each student. He said it without much force, but somehow it carried throughout the room.

'Very good Michel, you've haven't forgotten to practice this time around, have you? And you, Sophia - looking as charming as ever - but lets hope your spells are just as potent. Ah, Mr Black - I see you've finally done us the favour of attending my class.'

The little stream of observations continued until they came to a stop on Harry.

'And who's this here? I don't recall seeing you here before, young man. What's your name?' Mr Durant asked, his voice dangerously prosaic.

'Harry Potter.' Came the reply. Harry was sure the man knew his name but still purposely made him say it.

'Ah.' Said Mr Durant softly, 'Le garçon who lived, isn't it? You are one of those who came from Hogwarts, I expect. I've heard only sixth or seventh years were brought. But then, you've always been quite exceptional, haven't you?'

Silence intruded upon the gathering but Harry was not forthcoming with a reply.

'Alright then, let's see what you're capable of.' Said Mr Durant.

He whipped out a wand as fast as lighting and shouted out 'Stupefy!'. Almost as fast, Harry's green shield was shining in front of him. But no spell hit it. The professor had not cast any spell at all.

'Very good.' Said Mr Durant, almost to himself. 'You may sit down.' He told Harry.

Harry sat down, a bit puzzled, wondering if he had done the right thing since no spell was cast at him. But he had a small feeling of pride at being able to produce the Protego so quickly.

'That was marvellous, Harry! Did you see that look on Mr Durant's face?' Aurelie said in amazement.

Harry muttered a small 'I don't know.' but inside that feeling of pride grew. He hadn't done much, but for what it was worth, Mr Durant would know that he wasn't completely inept.

Meanwhile Durant had already started teaching,

'Today, my lesson will consist of two parts. For the first part you are required to pair up and practice the disarming spell.' He stopped for a moment, looking at the incredulous faces of his students.
'No, I am not mad, I assure you. I expect you to be relatively proficient at this particular spell; or at least, you should be. But this time your aim will primarily be not to cast it, but to defend against it. For the lack of a better word, immunise yourself to it. Have you ever wondered why so few duels end with the wand flying out the owner's hand? It is because, with considerable experience, one can become so attuned to their own wand that disarming techniques will become obsolete against the wizard. The wand will resist to go away from the wizard. But I talk of something far beyond you. I want you to practice with a very low powered disarming spell. Cast the spell as carelessly as you can. Your partner will not attempt to block it but rather focus on his/her own wand. Try your best to not let it slip out of fingers.'

He directed a wry smile towards his students.
'Let's see what you can do.'

Then he flicked his wands as the chairs and tables all vanished.

'I trust you kept your wands on your person, as any sensible wizard should. Else you will have to wait until the end of the class. Anybody who has done so may leave the class and come to collect his/her belongings after it over.'

He waved his wands as the doors opened, allowing a bit of light to come in.

'No one?' He asked, his eyes roving over the students, 'Mr Black?'

Mr Black gave the professor a baleful look and walked out of the room. The doors shut with a bang.

'Well, this should allow you to pair up completely.' Mr Durant said and suddenly gave a short, silky laugh.

Nobody else even smiled.

'Get to work, then. I will be watching.' He said as everybody obediently got into pairs and stood about five feet away from each other. Mr Durant had been correct, there had been no odd one left.

Harry focused on his wand and motioned Aurelie to start. He gripped his wand tightly. But nevertheless, inspite of how weakly the spell had been cast, his wand landed ten feet away on the ground.

He picked his wand up and looked at motioned Aurelie to cast again with a determined look on his face. His knuckles grew almost white as he clutched his wand only for it to tremble a little before falling to the ground, but not as far away.

They continued this way for quite some while before Mr Durant called out.

'Exchange your roles, please.'

Aurelie smiled charmingly at Harry. 'Looks like its my turn now.'

Harry looked at her amusedly, 'You know, its not easy.'

'I noticed.' She motioned around her at all the others who were having as much, if not more difficulty than Harry did.

Harry shrugged.

'Okay, then.'

True to his word, her wand went soaring into the air.

Mr Durant took this moment to arrive on the scene.

'So, let's see how you two are faring.'

'Not very well, sir.' Aurelie said dejectedly.

'I wouldn't expect you to,' Said Mr Durant, 'Only a wizard of very caliber could be expected to even partially resist it.'

Aurelie frowned towards Mr Durant.

'If it's so hard, why are we doing this at all?'

He sighed, 'Your magic, dear girl. I said earlier that as you practice this, your wand will become more attuned to your wants and respond better than before. As a result, your spells will become stronger and more precise. It is very important to keep trying, trust me.'

Aurelie nodded in understanding, appreciating the depth of what she was doing.

'Okay then, show me how far you've reached.' He said.

Harry got into position and shot a very weak 'Expelliarmus' towards his counterpart. She, as instructed, did not block it. Her wand predictably flew out of her fingers.

Mr Durant went on to explain how it was more of her focusing on keeping the wand to herself rather than gripping it tightly that mattered.

Harry was slightly fascinated by the entire proceedings. At Hogwarts he had never yet had a teacher whose career was based on teaching Defence. It was always somebody whose profession was never teaching, and even they wouldn't stay for more than a year.

It was interesting to see how teaching was done in France. It was refreshing, to say the least.

After another half an or so, Mr Durant called the proceedings to a halt. Everybody heaved a sigh of relief as they picked up their wands for one last time. The drill had quite inexplicably exhausted everyone even though there was not much physical or magical exertion involved. The desk and chairs came back once more as the students collapsed wearily on their seats. The obsidian walls gave off a slight flicker from the torches as Mr Durant spoke up again.

'You have done well.' He said in a voice that indicated he wasn't completely satisfied.

'You see, a point I want to make is - this is important.' He said gravely, 'Understand this, I cannot emphasise enough on how important this is for wizards and witches of you age. It will enhance your magic. It will bring improvement in all aspects. I want you to arrange a partner and practice this whenever you can.'
He looked into everybody's eyes one by one. 'We will do this once every week for the rest of the year and I will gauge how much you have been practising.'

'And now,' He continued, ' to come to the second part of today's lesson. This should be…ah, more restful for you but I expect the same amount of concentration you have shown until now. Understand that I will be making some effort to show you how a duel should be fought and exhibit certain tactics that are commonly used nowadays. Today morning's debacle should not serve as a basis for your knowledge of duels. I have asked one of my best students to assist me in instructing you by acting as duelling partner. Please welcome - Fleur Delacour.'

Fleur emerged from the shadows at the back of the class dressed in blue duelling robes and hauntingly beautiful to Harry's eyes.

A/N:
If the chapters are going to be as long as this, don't expect quick updates. Most of all, I'll love to read your reviews and know what you thought of this. Just tell me how it was, I don't mind anyone pointing out my mistakes. Reviews give me the motivation to write more. Thank you for taking out your time to read this.

- Notyou21