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

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

"Triwizard Tournament," Aerith looked at the board, muttering. She put her hand around Tifa's waist, drawing closer to her, whispering in her ear, "Tomorrow's 31st."

Tifa took a deep breath, "I know…you don't have to remind me."

"I can't wait to watch," Aerith grinned, "It's going to be so hot."

"Please…can we not talk about that?" Tifa was red, like a tomato, feeling her eyes burn.

The two of them made their way to the next class, and Cloud was already sitting there with Angelina sitting on his desk. He noticed them, and she followed his eyes to look, waving high, calling them over.

"Hey, Tifa! Are you going to compete for being the Hogwarts Champion?"

"Huh?" Tifa stopped, hearing the question of her classmate, and shook her head, "No. And Cloud is not either."

It wasn't the first time they had been asked this; it was a question they had been asked a thousand times. She saw the disappointed expression and walked over to Cloud and Angelina.

"You should participate. I am sure one of you two would get selected?" Angelina raised her eyebrows.

"No, not interested," Tifa shook her head, "Did you read the notice?"

"Ohhhh! Yes! We were talking about that! Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be here today! I heard the boys at Durmstrang are hot!"

Aerith stood behind Cloud, resting her palms on his shoulders, "Couldn't be hotter than Cloud."

"Can I have him?"

"No."

"Then let me talk about hot boys."

"Right here," Cloud voiced his presence, only to be ignored. Or he thought so.

"Oh, right. I heard Beauxbatons have Veela's…you better be careful with your boy. Or he might go off."

"Mm, I doubt it," Tifa gently stroked Cloud's head like he was a puppy, and he slapped her hand away.

"Don't."

Angelina giggled when she felt a push forward and an arm around her neck.

"Whatya laughing so much about?"

"Right, share."

"Teasing Cloud."

"So, the usual," Lee sat down on the chair beside them, making a tired smile.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, nothing…."

"QUIET!"

"Him again," Angelina gave Mad-Eyed Moody a look, curling her lips, "I don't like him."

"Yes! I am not here to be liked! Miss Johnson! Now sit on the chair!!!"

The day went by slower than others because of the hype in the air, and everyone was discussing the Triwizard Tournament, who was entering their name, and who wasn't. Fred and George were still finding ways to enter their name since there was an age limit. Only 17 and above.

"Are you three not joining in?"

Cloud looked at the food on the table, saying, "Don't know. I never discussed that. Also…we don't know our age…are we 16 or 17?"

"I am 17 for sure," Aerith grinned, "I am old than both of them."

"I would have guessed younger," Lee Jordan curled his lips, getting a glaring look from Aerith.

"Me too," George exchanged a high five with him, and Fred tried to reach, "Me three."

Angelina looked between them, "Me four."

"Well, I am!" Aerith insisted, "Tell them!"

Tifa looked away with a don't ask me to look on her face, and Cloud maintained the brooding look as he leisurely chose what to eat today.

Aerith became red, seeing her friend's snickering looks, "I'll prove it to you! I'll put my name, and that should prove it, right. There has to be a magic that could tell age, right?"

"Ok, that's going too far. You don't have to."

"No, I am doing," Aerith said, though others still didn't take her seriously.

"Go, girl," Angelina laughed, and the rest of the day soon went by. In the evening, they all came to the hall and followed Professor McGonagall with the prefects to the front of the castle, looking for the welcoming guests.

They looked over the darkening grounds with nothing in sight and had to wait longer.

"Can you see anything?"

"Yeah," Cloud answered Tifa, looking much farther than others with his enhanced sight, "It'd be here in a minute."

Now that he said it would be a minute, the wait was longer than before, and it ended with someone shouting beside their ear, "There!"

"It's a dragon!"

"Don't be stupid! It's a flying house!"

Cloud had seen it, and he could see much more clearly. It was a gigantic, powder blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant. A few seconds later, the carriage also landed, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large fiery eyes.

It didn't take long before the doors opened, and a young boy jumped out. He fumbled, looking for something in the carriage, and unfolded golden steps. Everyone saw a shining high-heeled shoe emerging, almost the size of a child's sled, and from there came a woman, larger than even Hagrid.

Dumbledore greeted the woman, taking her to the entrance as her students came out, standing in her shadow, shivering. While the Beauxbatons went inside to warm up, a mast came out from under the water, and then the whole ship revealed itself, causing the students at Hogwarts to cry out in surprise.

"Cloud, I want that," Aerith pointed towards the ship, grinning excitedly.

"Ok," And Cloud accepted her request.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can manage that," Cloud lightly nodded, promising her.

"You are the best," Aerith hugged his arm, sticking close to him, gazing towards the ship that came from under the sea. Once the ship docked itself and the student of Durmstrang came out, there was another uproar, "Look! That's Victor Krum!"

"Blimey! Ron must be going crazy right now!"

"You seem to be," Tifa smiled, leaning forward to look at Angelina, who laughed with a knowing look.

The crowd of students followed after the Durmstrang and sat down at their tables while students from other schools were looking for their places.

Fred and George, sitting beside Cloud, abruptly stood up, patting Lee's shoulder to make him sit, and then called out loud, "Here. Over here!"

"Huh?" Cloud was following them with his gaze much like others when he realized what they were doing, "No—"

Fred and George rested their hands on his shoulder, maintaining the smile, laughing, "Come on, Cloud. That'd be so disrespectful to our guests!"

Cloud furrowed his brows in displeasure as the girl came over, sitting down beside him. She was about to ask him to shift, to make place for her sister, but her sister already sat on the other side.

"Thank you."

Cloud pressed his lips, knowing why the Twins did that, and looked up at Tifa and Aerith. But the two didn't take the bait, making the twins click their tongues and look for a place to sit nearby, asking a few students to make do. They went to the other side, wanting to see Cloud's uncomfortable look.

Angelina softly laughed, "You want to sit here after that?"

"Please sit," Tifa smiled, but that smile caused them to shudder, and they ran back to Cloud's side.

"Should I?" The Beauxbatons girl asked when Aerith shook her head, "No worry. They will sit on the floor."

"Hey, guys," George pleaded when Dumbledore cleared his throat, and Professor McGonagall shot them a look. The two of them hastily made others shift, taking place, and sat down.

Dumbledore nodded, beaming, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most particularly – guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

Cloud looked over his shoulder to the Ravenclaws table, where one of the Beauxbatons girls clutched her muffler and let out a mocking laugh.

"Sorry."

He turned his gaze back to the tiny, embarrassed voice, looking at the girl, younger than the others, about Hermione's age. She was still shivering, embarrassed on top of that, "Cold?"

"Not used to…I-I am Gabrielle Delacour…that's my Sister…Fleur Delacour."

"Cloud," Cloud raised his right hand, brushing against her scarf, and a blue flame rose, covering the whole scarf, "Cloud Strife."

"Gabby!" Her sister stood up, filled with worry, attracting others' eyes, but her Sister was still marveling at the fact that the fire didn't burn her. She patted the fire, and it didn't burn her at all.

"What iz this magic? It's warm but not burning, and it's soft…like hot water?"

"Mr. Strife," Professor McGonagall's voice wasn't far behind, criticizing, but this time it almost seemed that she was hiding the pride.

Professor Dumbledore talked with the others at the table, informing them of the magic. He suggested, saying out loud, "Mr. Strife. Could you…cover the edges of the table for our guests?"

Cloud looked at Dumbledore, who raised his eyes, nodding, and Cloud knocked on wood, causing a blue fire to spread across the edges, jumping from the corner from one table to the other until it was on all five tables.

"This is a special magic, created by Mr. Strife; it's fire but acts like water, warm water in this case. You can tough it, and the heat won't burn you," Dumbledore smiled, touching the fire, which seemed to be like pudding, "What I love about it is how squishy it is."

He got more than a few gazes and cleared his throat, "Enjoy your meals."

Fleur sat down, slightly embarrassed as she touched the fire, which slid across her palm like a soft cushion or fur, "Amazing…we saw magic like this…you…are? Cloud?"

"Cloud Strife, right?" Gabrielle heard his surname when Dumbledore said they all heard the sound of a fork being slammed into the table.

"Now, it's starting," Fred and George whispered to those around them, but everyone heard them.

"Cloud's always sweet on girls," George grinned.

"No…actually…he's sweet on children," Aerith corrected them, smiling, "Right, Tifa?"

"Yeah," Tifa took the fork out from the table, smiling, "Sorry…I don't know what overcame me."

"Aghhh!!!! Ahhhh!!!!" A screaming voice caught their attention, distracting them from the situation around.

"That's?"

"The Malfoy boy? What did he do?"

"I think he used fire magic to get rid of my flames since Dumbledore said these flames act like water?"

"Oh, did he burn himself?"

"What happens when you overheat water?"

"Ouch," Angelina winced, curling, "That one has far too much pride for his good."

"That's all he has," Lee Jordon laughed.

They watched as he was guided out of the Great Hall, and once the plates were wiped clean, Dumbledore smiled back at the eager upturned faces, "Time has come. I want to explain a few words before we bring in the casket. Let me introduce those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation."

Cloud politely clapped, much like everyone else, looking towards the other person introduced.

"Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

This time, the applause was much louder, and Dumbledore continued, "Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament, and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge champions efforts."

"Champions…the person who would be selected? One from each school, right?" Cloud confirmed since he didn't have any interest, and Lee nodded.

"Will you…be entering your name," Gabrielle carefully asked, and Cloud shook his head, "No."

Fleur was slightly relieved but tried not to show it, though her little sister was visibly disappointed.

Dumbledore continued with the explanation, but Cloud was busy looking at Tifa, who looked back at him. He apologized, and she nodded, mouthing, 'I understand.'

The two kept talking to each silently, through their eyes, lips, and body language, and others around them started to notice. They would have paid more attention if Dumbledore wasn't telling about Goblet, Champions, and the Challenges.

"Yes!" Aerith jumped on her feet, causing everyone to look at her, and she sat back down with an awkward blush and much excitement.

Cloud and Tifa looked up, "What?"

"Age line! That way, we'll know!"

"Oh, ok," Cloud shook his head. He didn't understand why Aerith was keen on proving that she was older. But her zeal didn't die overnight, the following day, she barged into his room, waking him up earlier than usual, and they usually woke up earlier than others, and pulled him and Tifa to the Great Hall where the Goblet of Fire was.

"Hey, Eri, it's dangerous. Why would you even want to put your name in?"

Aerith took a deep breath, turning to face them, "Ok…this is a bit embarrassing…but I love seeing you play outside, and I love watching you get the praise, and I am proud of it."

"You are envious? I find that hard to believe?"

"Not envious, Cloud…but recently, when we were thinking about leaving Hogwarts, I felt…you both did so many amazing things, and I…I was kind of useless."

"You are anything but useless, Eri," Tifa hastily shook her head.

"I know, but…before we are done with Hogwarts…I want to have one…wonderful, unbelievably awesome memory," Aerith softly smiled, shifted her eyes away from them, "And I want to prove that I am older than you two."

"Ok," Cloud gently nodded, "This time…we'll cheer you on."

Aerth curled her lips in a sweet grin, "Yeah!"

"You know you will be chosen among many?"

"Yeah, if Dumbledore and Voldemort were to put in their names, then I would have been doubtful if she could be chosen or not," Cloud shrugged.

"Aw, Cloud, thank you for believing in me," Aerith grinned, hugging him, apologetically looking at Tifa since she knew how vital tomorrow was to her.

Tifa shrugged, smiling, "So, are you going to put the name in? If after all that…you got repelled?"

"Don't say it," Aerith stopped her right there, taking out a chit with her name from her coat. She took a deep breath, taking one step inside the Age Line, squeezing her eyes shut, waiting for a repulsive force, but nothing happened. She slowly opened her one eye, peeking outside, and carefully threw the chit in the Goblet. It got burned by the blue fire and settled inside.

She stepped out of the age line, still stunned, and patted her cheeks, "I did it…."

"Yeah, you did," Tifa hugged her, whispering something in her ear that lifted the burden of guilt from Aerith's chest. The three of them sat down in a corner, waiting for others to come, and they did one by one, from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and even Hogwarts.

"Cloud…did you put your name in?"

"No, I did not," Cloud answered Cedric, who became even more nervous.

"Will you?"

"No."

"Oh!" Cedric put his hands together, relieved, and his supporters in the Hufflepuff let out a relieved sigh, celebrating.

"That's rude," Aerith curled her lips, doing the company's paperwork. "Yeah," Tifa turned the page, agreeing with her, and turned the few pages in Aerith's file, "Cloud, give me yours?"

"What are you looking for?"

"I am…looking for…." Tifa turned over a few pages, going back to first, running her eyes over the words and numbers, "This. I was wondering what price should we set for NY Local Businesses."

"Price…yeah. That part I always have trouble with," Cloud muttered.

"I know…you can't find an honest person nowadays. Then it's better to find ten dishonest ones and then haggle the price," Aerith pointed out, grinning, "Let me handle the price part."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Hm?" Aerith looked at Ron, Harry, and Hermione, "Oh, work."

"Magic?"

"High-Level Arithmancy."

"Uh…no interest!" As Harry, Ron looked away, who wanted nothing to do with it, but Hermione seemed interested.

"Want help?"

"It's better if you don't," Tifa said, "There are no rules that a Wizard or Witches can't start a business in the Non-Magical World, but if they do, then they can't use magic or let anyone become suspicious. If they do, then the Magical World's Government can interfere."

"Ok…you started a business?"

"Yeah," Tifa closed the file, "So, in case we might get in trouble, in future. Please don't."

"Now, I am interested," Hermione sat down, "What business?"

"It's a small Private Security Company, Avalanche Inc."

"You use magic for this business?"

"No," Tifa patted Cloud's palm to attract his attention, "Your wand?"

"You can't hold it," Cloud refused, and it ticked Hermione off more than it did Tifa.

"Just give her the wand."

"Someone's cross," Aerith blinked, and Ron smirked.

"Because of the Beauxbatons girls. Hermione feels outclassed. She has been angry ever since they came."

"It's not that!"

Cloud raised his head from the files, and the metallic black wand appeared in the palm of his hand, "Here."

Hermione's attention got pulled towards him, and she raised her eyebrow, looking towards the wand.

"Try picking it."

"Go on," Tifa smiled at her, and Hermione tried to pick up the wand, but she couldn't.

"It's heavy," She pressed her lips, furrowing her brows, fixing her eyes on the wand, wrapped her palm around the front, and tried again. She grit her teeth, barely able to lift it, and the moment she moved it an inch away from his palm, it disappeared, reappearing in Cloud's palm.

"What happened?" Harry curiously looked at the phenomenon, asking, and he wasn't the only one.

"Right, I had seen that before, never understood," Angelina sat down near them, asking, "Oh, Good morning."

"It's my wand…it weighs about 79kg, and it's enhanced in a way that only I can pick it up," Cloud let go, and it disappeared from their sight.

"7-79?!" Ron nearly jumped out of his seat in shock hearing that number, and he wasn't the only one. They wouldn't have believed it if others didn't see Hermione's red palm and her wrist.

Cloud hesitated, stopping before turning the page, "You are prettier."

"Pardon?" Hermione saw him looking toward her, and she assumed he was talking to her for a moment.

"The two from yesterday, they might have the charm…Veela, I think. But even with all that…they aren't prettier than you," Cloud gazed into her eyes, "Others will see that too."

Hermione's face turned pink, burning, and she focused her eyes on the book, "Who asked you!"

Angelina sighed hotly, "Tifa. It will help if you put your stamp on this one, with those eyes and silver tongue. I might snack on him myself."

Tifa ran her fingers through Cloud's hair, meeting his gaze with a smile, "That's the problem. He doesn't flirt…and I think so too. Hermione's pretty."

Ron was about to open his mouth again, but Harry covered it. He knew now was not the time, or Hermione would never talk to Ron again.

Angelina sighed, giving Tifa a look, "If only you were a bitch. This would be much easier. I bet Hermione agrees with me."

"I don't!" Hermione's face became even pinker, causing Aerith, Tifa, and Angelina to laugh and Cloud to look away, to hide the smile.

"Stop teasing her," Aerith giggled, and Angelina stood up, "Any of you want to put your name in before those two idiots try the potion?"

"I already did," Aerith raised her hand, and Angelina clicked her tongue, sitting down.

"You are not going to put in? I thought," Harry looked towards the chit in Angelina's palm.

"With Aerith in?" Angelina mockingly laughed, "Not even Dumbledore might stand a chance with that. These guys don't know what they are in for."

Harry wasn't sure why she said that; he thought she was exaggerating, but then that happened.