Lizzy found herself absolutely loving the proceedings of the competition. There were, indeed, some trying moments involving bits of pageantry, as Felicia had warned, but she could not complain on the whole.

The opening ceremonies involved a demonstration from each country's champions. Lizzy, Darcy, Sophia, and Josiah executed the spells they had practiced flawlessly, weaving together their various streams of light, puffs of smoke, and conjured apparatuses to display an image of an Aethonan. With a final wave of the wand from each of the four champions, the spectral horse began beating its wings and flew away as the crowd applauded.

It did not take long for Lizzy to decide their demonstration was underwhelming.

Representatives from the Navajo tribe in America seemed to be able to convince the very ground upon which they stood to do their bidding, and their wands were made of bone.

"It is a very carefully guarded secret that no one but their wandmakers know," said Flitwick in response to Lizzy's question of how such a thing would work.

Champions from China showed off a zouyu. Lizzy thought the creature was absolutely breathtaking and could not wait to tell Hagrid about it.

Members of the Zulu tribe in Africa wore clothing that seemed to be made almost entirely of beading. When they danced, the beads crashed together in different combinations that produced apparitions of a variety of creatures from their homeland. They finished their display by transforming into a rhinoceros, lion, zebra, and ostrich.

"They're animagi!" Lizzy burst. She knew her observation to be blatantly obvious, but could not hold it in.

"It's quite a common course of study at Uagadou," said McGonagall, her beady eyes trained on the creatures that walked off the stage in a graceful and orderly fashion. "I have been trying to convince the Ministry to open an exchange program with the school for years."

Lizzy was suddenly very hopeful that there would be a lightning storm soon so she could take her Animagus potion and find out what form she would take.

Throughout the rest of the ceremonies, Lizzy was lucky to see a myriad of creatures she had never dreamed she would gaze upon. Saw wands of unique materials she would not have been able to imagine. Heard a variety of ancient languages; while any witch or wizard could use any language possessing magical power to cast their spells, they were often most successful when using the language associated with their place of origin.

"Oh, I could die happy now, I am sure!" Lizzy told Darcy as he walked back to their rooms with her.

"I would ask that you not make the attempt," said Darcy.

Lizzy laughed. "Just because I could die happy at this moment does not mean I have any intention of doing so!"

"Dueling doesn't start for another day yet. We have all of tomorrow to ourselves," said Darcy. "How would you like to spend the time?"

Lizzy found herself overwhelmed with the possibilities. "I couldn't possibly decide! There are so many things I would like to see more of! Do you think one of the champions from Poland would be willing to show me how they conjured those flowers? Could we find someone to interpret for me so I might talk with the Brazilians? How is it possible that a people have managed to adapt to living in the frozen tundra?"

Darcy laughed, disrupting Lizzy's questions that would have been endless, otherwise. He kissed her hand affectionately. "Perhaps, my dear, it might be best for us to simply wander and take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself?"

Lizzy agreed such was probably a wise plan just as they were approaching the door to the room she shared with Sophia. "Goodnight, Darcy," she said with a serene smile.

"It gives me such great happiness to see you so excited, yet at peace," Darcy told her with a brilliant grin of his own. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, bid her goodnight, and retreated to the room he and Josiah had been assigned.

Four days and fifteen duels later, Lizzy still felt fresh as a daisy. All her long nights at the Ministry, extended study sessions, and practice duels with Felicia and Flitwick had built up her endurance considerably since her last tournament.

She and Sophia wandered the marketplace that had popped up around the site of the competition with Bavishni. Josiah and suffered an impressive blow to the head in his last duel and was resting. Darcy still had another duel before he was finished for the day.

"There is only one earring of each style here, Bavishni," said Sophia as she examined a display of jewels. "Is it customary in India to only wear one, or are these samples?"

"These are not earrings," Bavishni explained with a smile. She tapped her bejeweled nose as explanation.

Sophia clamped a hand over her own nose as if to protect it as she bent over the display again.

"Do they have a meaning, Bavishni?" Lizzy enquired as she picked up a ruby set in gold. "Or are they simply decorative?"

"It serves many purposes," Bavishni answered. Lizzy thoroughly enjoyed the way Bavishni's voice lilted through English with her native pronunciations. "Many girls get them when they are of age to marry, and it is said that jewels on the left reduce pains associated with being female. Many also believe it protects against vashikaran – being controlled."

The woman that owned the cart said something to Bavishni in the language Lizzy had learned to recognize as Hindi.

"What did she say?" Lizzy asked interestedly.

Bavishni grinned devilishly. "Lakshmi asks if you want it and offers to put it in for you."

Lizzy's wide eyes pivoted quickly between the jewel in her hands, Bavishni, Sophia, and the shopkeeper. "You cannot be serious!"

"It only hurts a little," said Bavishni with a shrug. She said something to the shopkeeper and they both laughed.

"What now?" Lizzy asked somewhat irritably after Lakshmi had said something else to her guide.

"She says she thinks an emerald would look better on you and would likely be more appreciated by your man," Bavishni answered unabashedly.

Lizzy dropped the nose ring and her jaw simultaneously. She was brought back to her senses by Sophia beginning to cackle beside her.

"It would be a fun experiment," Sophia said while drying her eyes. "Darcy barely looks away from you, as is. I should become quite rich, I think, if I were to start collecting bets on how many things he would run into if you did get a jewel put in your nose."

Lizzy mumbled unintelligibly as she took her time collecting the fallen ruby. She cleaned the item as best she could, put it back in its proper spot, thanked Lakshmi, and headed off, forcing Sophia and Bavishni to move on with her.

As she lay in bed that night, Lizzy played her time spent at the cart with the nose rings again and again. She thought about all that Bavishni had said the jewelry meant, and she realized she liked the idea immensely.

"Are you sure about this, Lizzy?" said Sophia anxiously. "We were told to represent England honorably!"

Lizzy sat on a stool offered her by the kindly shopkeeper and smoothed the skirts of her latest dueling robes. "How can my participation in such a well-honored tradition of our host country misrepresent our homeland?" she asked reasonably.

"It can do so very easily!" Sophia objected. "When you return with that in your nose, people at the Ministry will think you wild!"

"People at the Ministry are determined to look down on me no matter what," said Lizzy offhandedly. She observed with great interest as Bavishni discussed the options of jewels with Lakshmi.

"You parents would be upset, surely!" Sophia tried a different tactic.

"Now you have convinced me," said Lizzy gravely. She waited until Sophia had started to relax before smiling mischievously. "I will definitely go through with this."

Sophia groaned anxiously and ran her hands down her face. "Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you!"

"I shall be sure everyone knows I made this decision against your explicit advice," Lizzy assured.

"Which one, Lizzy?" Bavishni interrupted, opening her hand to Lizzy to show three choices.

All boasted emeralds. One was nearly the size of Lizzy's eye, and she discarded it immediately. The remaining two were more to her tastes. One was a reasonable size and set in silver. The smallest was set in gold. "That one, I think," Lizzy decided, pointing at the gold setting. She had caved on allowing an emerald over a ruby as it better suited her complexion, but was determined she would not sport strictly Slytherin colors.

Bavishni began a running translation as Lakshmi drew her wand and spoke as she prepared for the installation of Lizzy's oddity. "She is cleaning the jewel now. Next, she will bring it to a point. You will begin taking deep breaths with your eyes closed and during one of those, Lakshmi will set the ring. Another charm will blunt the end and prevent it from accidentally falling out."

Lizzy watched carefully as Lakshmi chanted and waved her wand over the jewel. When Lakshmi picked it up again, she showed Lizzy the pointed tip, then nodded to Bavishni.

"What if I want to watch?" Lizzy asked impulsively upon sighting a mirror.

Bavishni conferred with Lakshmi, who shrugged and flicked her wand at the mirror so it hovered right before Lizzy's face. "She thought you might be made uncomfortable," Bavishni offered as explanation.

Lizzy shook her head firmly. "I am not afraid," she said.

Two flicks of Lakshmi's wand saw Lizzy's nose set with an emerald.

Grinning widely, Lizzy turned to Sophia. "Well, Sophia? What do you think? Shall we pick something for you?"

"Merlin, no!" Sophia burst, then laughed nervously. "I am not so adventurous as you, Lizzy."

Darcy pressed his handkerchief to his cheek as he made his way across the competition grounds. Having finished his last duel of the day in which he fought a young woman from Portugal, he was eager to tend to the wound that had reopened several times since he had acquired it that morning in his first duel. Flitwick had advised against doing anything more than wiping the blood away while he continued to compete, as the mark served as a sort of badge of courage.

"Oh, hello, Darcy!" Sophia greeted when Darcy entered the building that housed them. "How did your duels go today?"

"I won two, lost another, and came to a draw on the other two," Darcy answered. "Where is Elizabeth?" he asked. She and Sophia might as well have been joined at the hip for all the time they had been spending together since coming to India.

"She's around here somewhere," Sophia said evasively.

"Bennet, what have you done?!"

Darcy whipped around at hearing McGonagall's rather shrill tones. Elizabeth came running at him with an impish grin upon her face. She grabbed his arm and pulled him after her.

"Come on, come on!" Elizabeth urged as she led Darcy back out onto the street. "We can't let her catch us!"

"How is it possible that you've managed to upset McGonagall so badly?" Darcy asked without breaking stride.

"You'll see in a minute," Elizabeth giggled.

Darcy rolled his eyes humorously and continued to follow where Elizabeth led until she finally stopped on the outskirts of the competition site. "Now will you tell me what you've done to set McGonagall against you?" he asked as he breathed heavily to regulate himself.

As a response, Elizabeth turned, exposing the whole of her face to him for the first time since they parted in the morning.

Darcy felt his breath hitch as he noticed the gem on the slightly red and swollen half of Elizabeth's nose. "That is new," he said as he stepped closer to her without realizing it. It was as if the emerald had cast a rope around him and pulled him in.

"Do you like it?" Elizabeth asked, suddenly anxious.

"Like it?" Darcy said lowly. He did not know that he would ever be able to explain why, but he found the sight of his beloved with such an adornment was the most enticing thing he had ever laid eyes on.

"Yes," Elizabeth said smally. "What do you think?"

"The only reason," Darcy said hoarsely, "I have not taken you into my arms to show you my approval is that I fear I would not be able to control myself." He tightened his hands clasped behind his back to the point of pain, though he continued to gaze at his beloved with unconcealed desire. Before his good sense could be overrun, he continued, "We do not have to go face McGonagall just yet, but I think we ought to be in a more populated area than this for the sake of my sanity."

Blushing violently, Elizabeth obliged by leading Darcy back into the densely populated marketplace.

Dinner turned out to be quite the interesting affair. Felicia had burst into hysterical laughter the moment she saw the emerald protruding from Lizzy's nose. Flitwick took it all in with mild interest and hardly any surprise. McGonagall was sullen throughout the meal and made various comments leaving no one in doubt of her opinion that Lizzy had acted very rashly and foolishly. Josiah had looked at Lizzy's nose from multiple angles and asked after the process. Sophia had stayed as quiet as possible, desperately hoping no one, especially McGonagall, would ask after her role in the affair.

"You are aware how this will be perceived back home, Miss Bennet?" Flitwick asked after everyone had settled at the table.

"It will cause quite the shock, I am sure," Lizzy answered.

"How do you plan to address it?" Felicia asked, dabbing at her eyes with her napkin. She had only just regained control of herself.

"What do you suggest?" Lizzy asked in turn.

"Take it out!" McGonagall immediately replied.

Under the table, Darcy crushed Lizzy's hand in his own, though his face remained impassive.

"No, Professor, I'm afraid that isn't an option," said Lizzy. She squeezed Darcy's hand in reassurance and he relaxed his grip.

"I think it will be acceptable to leave it be as long as we are here," said Flitwick. "Before we leave, I will teach you and Mr. Darcy the appropriate variant of concealment charm. It'll be up to you, Mr. Darcy, to make sure Jane Bennet knows it."

"I expect such a charm will be in constant use at Hogwarts, Miss Bennet," said McGonagall sternly. "Many of the younger girls look up to you, you know. I'm sure you have some grandiose reason for doing what you have, but the others will misinterpret it."

"Yes, Professor," Lizzy conceded. She was assaulted by a wave of guilt. How could she tell Lydia and Kitty to behave, then go and do as she had? What kind of example did that set?

"You've got some work to do to get back in McGonagall's good graces," Felicia whispered to Lizzy as the professors turned their attentions to Josiah and Sophia.

"She can't stay angry with me for long," said Lizzy. "That being said, I know I have quite the task ahead of me."

Felicia leaned forward to look at Darcy. "And what is your opinion, Mr. Darcy?" she asked with a suggestive twitch of her eyebrows.

"My opinion is insignificant," said Darcy unconcernedly as he set uttapam onto both his and Lizzy's plates. "Miss Bennet's nose is hers to do with as she pleases."

"Yes, I'm sure you are entirely indifferent," said Felicia, barely restraining from another bout of laughter.

"How is your foot today?" Darcy asked as he and Elizabeth wound their way through the marketplace. Everyone had the day off dueling so the champions could enjoy a well-earned rest and have opportunities to learn each other's skills. Five days of dueling had seen each contestant enter the ring twenty-five times. In her last duel, Elizabeth had leapt and landed strangely on her foot, causing it to swell impressively. Darcy thought the day of rest had come at a most opportune time.

"It is as though I never did anything to harm it," Elizabeth answered. "Felicia did some different spells on it and had me take some potions."

"Felicia now, is it?" Darcy asked interestedly.

"She said Sophia and I might call her by her Christian name outside the ring," Elizabeth said. Suddenly, she had to fight a smirk. "She said I earned the right after withstanding McGonagall's rage."

Darcy smiled and agreed. McGonagall had barely spoken to Elizabeth for several hours after discovering the nose ring, but had not been able to withstand her endearing animagus student for long. She still grimaced every time she saw Elizabeth's nose, but had at least stopped taking advantage of every chance to call Elizabeth a fool.

"I notice you were not angry, Mr. Darcy," said Bavishni with a smirk to Elizabeth. She had come along with the couple so she could translate.

"Why should I be angry?" Darcy asked as casually as he could manage. He pointedly avoided looking at Elizabeth's nose.

"Miss Lizzy originally considered a ruby," Bavishni continued. "Perhaps we should see if Lakshmi can switch it out."

"Don't change a thing," Darcy suddenly said harshly.

Bavishni's grin only widened. "Has it been explained to you what it means?"

"Oh, that looks lovely!" Elizabeth said, perhaps a little louder than necessary, as they approached the campsite that had been set up by one of the African peoples that had sent representatives. Each group that came had their own dwellings reminiscent of their homeland. This building looked to Darcy as if it was made of mud.

Darcy took in the scene with a grimace. "It seems rather savage to me."

Elizabeth glared up at Darcy. "Just because they are different does not mean they are wrong or lesser, Mr. Darcy," she said hotly. She turned determinedly to Bavishni. "Could you ask your counterpart if we might be introduced?"

"What is it about all this that has caught your attention?" Darcy asked quietly, still absorbing the vastly different people before him while Bavishni spoke with their guide.

"The colors," Elizabeth said, and she nodded to a young man with his back toward them while he worked at a loom. She suddenly drew her brows together and looked crossly at Darcy. "You will be civil to him, will you not?"

"Does he know what it is to be civil?" Darcy said as his eyes glided along the thatched roof.

"If you are determined to look at him the same way Lady Catherine looks at me, you may go on your way," Elizabeth snarled.

Darcy visibly started at being compared to his aunt. "I am not – "

"You most certainly are," Elizabeth challenged, crossing her arms. "His people live differently from you, and so you think they are worth nothing. Well, sir, I do not like such an attitude at all and think it quite stupid and small-minded. Not becoming of a Ravenclaw, at all!"

"They have agreed to meet," Bavishni announced, indicating for Elizabeth and Darcy to join her by her countryman.

"Well, Darcy, what will it be?" Elizabeth asked shortly.

Darcy straightened his spine and held his arm for Elizabeth to take, then led the way to Bavishni. In a quick moment of reflection, he realized the utter truth of what Elizabeth had said and decided he very much did not want to think the same way his aunt did. He was determined to be everything pleasant and do his Hogwarts house proud.

"This is Kripal," Bavishni introduced her counterpart, "guide to the representatives of the Ashanti tribe in Africa."

Through Bavishni, Kripal introduced Kobina, the man at the loom, to Lizzy and Darcy. Kobina, as it turned out, was not alone at the loom, but had a boy of four sitting in his lap. Lizzy was shocked to learn the young boy was Kobina's son, for he could not be older than twenty. He also had a newborn daughter that he and his wife had left with family back home.

"Does his wife travel with him?" Lizzy asked Bavishni as Kobina's son stared at the buttons on Darcy's robes. She smiled indulgently at the boy.

Bavishni asked Kripal in Hindi, who then asked Kobina in his language, and the response traveled back the reverse way.

Kobina's wife, who was an animagus that took the form of a hornbill, had gone out in search of something or other and would return later. Lizzy asked if she might watch Kobina work at the loom for a while, and he acquiesced. A few words from him had his son grabbing various strips of cloth from a nearby basket in vibrant shades of blue and green. Lizzy delighted in listening to Kobina instruct his son in their native tongue on how to start a fresh pattern.

"How could you call a man so dedicated to teaching his son savage?" Lizzy asked Darcy quietly without taking her eyes off of Kobina's son as he struggled with the delicate work.

"Forgive me for speaking so cruelly, Elizabeth," Darcy urgently whispered. "I did so without thinking and am now mortified by such. I'm grateful for your open and cheerful ways, for this is, indeed, a very rewarding experience."

Lizzy turned briefly to smile at Darcy, but could not stand to keep her gaze from Kobina and his son for long.

In the next hour, Lizzy and Darcy exchanged a variety of facts and anecdotes with Kobina with the help of Bavishni and Kripal. They learned that Kobina was weaving kente cloth and that the design he had been working on when they first came upon him was to be a gift for his wife's aging uncle. Lizzy, in response, told Kobina about the robes she had gifted Lydia. Kobina had seven siblings, said he was sorry Darcy had only one, and delighted in swapping stories with Lizzy about the troubles they had gotten into with their siblings as children.

Before too much time had passed, Kobina's son got bored of weaving and entertained himself with Darcy's walking stick, instead. Lizzy's heart warmed when Darcy began showing the young boy how to hold it like a sword, and even grabbed a nearby stick to use himself. She had laughed delightedly when Kobina's son proved he already had some sort of weapons training by jabbing Darcy in the gut as if with a spear. Kobina had scolded his son good naturedly and assured Darcy was well before resuming his weaving.

When Lizzy and Darcy made to leave, Kobina offered Lizzy the brilliantly patterned blue and green cloth on which he had been working.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly!" Lizzy exclaimed, trying to hand it back to Kobina.

"He insists," Bavishni said after conveying Lizzy's objection and waiting for Kobina's response. "He says you might consider it a thank you for – for Darcy instructing his son, if you must."

Lizzy was very skeptical of Bavishni's hesitation regarding Darcy, but decided right then was not an appropriate time to address it. She thanked Kobina and waited to leave while Darcy exchanged a goodbye. At Kobina's insistence, the men shook left hands; it was a sign of goodwill and trust among his people. Bavishni exchanged goodbyes with Kripal, and the party set off.

"The Spaniard I fought yesterday suggested going a few bouts of fencing," Darcy said after a while of walking and watching with Lizzy. "They are quartered just a little further west of here, I believe. Would you mind?"

"I was not aware you spoke Spanish," Lizzy said.

"I don't," said Darcy, "but he and I both speak enough Italian that we were able to converse."

Lizzy stated she had no objection to watching Darcy fence with someone more competent than herself or Albert and, when asked, Bavishni professed her interest in the art, as well.

"Why did you hesitate?" Lizzy asked Bavishni quietly after Darcy introduced them to the Spaniards and took his place across the one named Raphael. "Back with Kobina, about Darcy?"

"Kobina assumed Darcy to be your husband," Bavishni shamelessly explained.

"Oh," was all Lizzy could think to say. She realized later that she took no offense at the assumption.

As the days progressed, Elizabeth acquired a host of fascinating trinkets and learned a great many spells in a variety of languages. In addition to the nose ring and kente cloth, she received moccasins from a tribe in America, feathers from an Aztec headdress, a golden armband from the Greeks, traded the outer layer of her robes for a Korean hanbok, and several others.

When Darcy came upon her just after she had her hair styled by a champion from Norway named Solveig, he had very nearly lost control of himself again, just like when he had first seen his beloved with her nose ring. When Solveig's brother Bjorn, also a competitor, had offered to show him how to properly throw an axe while Elizabeth did Solveig's hair, he had eagerly accepted the distraction.

Darcy briefly worried for Elizabeth safety when, after meeting some champions from the Ottoman Empire, she had come back to their quarters with elaborate patterns on her hands.

"Bennet!" McGonagall had exclaimed upon laying eyes on her student.

"It's temporary, Professor!" Elizabeth hurriedly assured, quickly hiding her hands behind her back.

McGonagall sighed resignedly and twitched her hand in request of Elizabeth's. "You're sure this is not permanent?" McGonagall asked as she examined the intricate dye.

"Absolutely," Elizabeth answered. "The henna will start to fade in about two weeks."

"We will be back home before then," McGonagall said flatly, looking at her student over her glasses.

"Between gloves and a few charms, no one will be any the wiser," Elizabeth reasoned.

"It is a pretty pattern," McGonagall finally said reluctantly, releasing Elizabeth's hands. "Are you determined to cause me to have an apoplexy before we leave?"

Elizabeth smiled somewhat sheepishly. "I am determined to enjoy myself to the fullest."

Felicia, Bavishni, and Sophia all suddenly burst into laughter.

Elizabeth whipped around instantly, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What?" she demanded.

"Oh, nothing, Lizzy," said Felicia a little too lightly. "Absolutely nothing! Come, let us go! The French have invited us to dine with them."

"Put on gloves, Bennet," said McGonagall quickly.

"I hardly think this will cause scandal after you've seen what Rochelle has done," said Elizabeth, and she left without covering the dye on her hands.

"What was so dreadfully amusing?" Darcy asked Sophia lowly as the group got ready to leave.

Sophia's eyes sparkled. "Bavishni told Felicia and me that henna tattoos like Lizzy's are usually given to brides in preparation for their wedding."

Darcy was determined to trace the patterns on Elizabeth's hands as often as he could before they started to fade.

After McGonagall was introduced to Rochelle, who had agreed to having part of her head shaved by Solveig, she ceased complaining about whatever quirks Elizabeth took up.

The last days of the competition proved very challenging for Lizzy. She had made a great many friends and was incredibly sad to leave them. Kobina's son had cried when his father told him he would likely never see Lizzy or Darcy again. Lizzy and Solveig, who had regularly styled each other's hair, exchanged locks. Solveig had immediately braided Lizzy's hair into her own.

Each nationality gave another demonstration at the closing ceremonies, though many included flairs they had learned from new acquaintances and made the whole spectacle just that much more breathtaking. Five duelists were recognized for having the highest number of wins and were awarded a variety of prizes, including pieces of honor to take back to their governments. Neither Lizzy, Darcy, Josiah, nor Sophia were in the top five, but they ranked decently overall and could find no cause to complain.

The most trying goodbye for Lizzy was the one she shared with Bavishni on the day of departure.

"Oh, you must come visit!" Lizzy told Bavishni, holding the other girl's hands as she made her demand.

"Perhaps I can manage it as a trip with Abhijay once we are wed," said Bavishni. "I will miss you, Lizzy."

"I hope Abhijay knows what a lucky man he is," Lizzy said. She kissed Bavishni affectionately on the cheek and received one in turn.

"He is as aware of his good fortune as your Mr. Darcy is," Bavishni answered with a grin. "You will write to tell me of your wedding."

"Bavishni, nothing is set in – "

Bavishni held up a finger to interrupt Lizzy. "You will write me."

Lizzy rolled her eyes in good humor. "I will write to you, whatever the reason may be."

"It seems so strange to be heading home," Sophia remarked as their carriage took to the clouds. "How can we ever explain all we've seen?"

"I don't think we can," said Josiah. "Everyone at home will think us mad if we try to tell them of the things we saw and the things we did." He looked teasingly to Lizzy and said, "You especially!"

Lizzy only sighed and began tracing one of the fading patterns on the back of her hand. "I wish there was a way people at home could easily experience what we have. What greater understanding there would be between people of differing magical cultures! How much we could learn from each other! The things we could do!"

"Perhaps, someday, England might host the international competition," Josiah ventured. "Think of how many Indians were involved and influenced because the competition was on their land. Maybe, just maybe, one of you can make it into the Ministry high enough to see it done."

"One of us?" Sophia asked indignantly. "Why not you?"

"I prefer fighting dragons to politicians," Josiah readily explained. "Peizhi said he might be able to invite me to work on some Fireballs with him in China in a few months. I hadn't considered my career when I got involved with the competition, but it looks like the career will be helped by it, anyway."

"Well, there's not enough money in the world that could get me to go to work for Cornelius Fudge," Sophia declared. "Lizzy, Darcy, it's up to you."

"Oh, absolutely not," Lizzy laughed. "Darcy's uncle is the Earl of Matlock, however, so perhaps we might convince him to aide us."

For at least two hours, the four champions of England conspired how they might manage to convince the Ministry of Magic to host such a massive event. By the time they settled in to sleep, they felt satisfied with their ideas and plans for action.

Author's Note

! Lovelies, I have been WAITING to share this chapter. Please, pretty please with a cherry on top, share your thoughts with me. :)