Lessons began and everyone was hesitantly excited for their first DADA class. Professor Lupin having been moved to History of Magic was a beloved change that no one would complain about (except in the sense that they now had to pay attention and study), but they also would have liked to have a competent professor in Defense more than one year in a row. Mad-Eye Moody was known to be eccentric at best and a disastrously mentally ill, paranoid war veteran at worst.
Moody turned to the group of students, his eye buzzing around in his socket to gaze at each of them. His face morphed a wide, manic grin and he took a long swig from his flask, shuddering as it went down.
"Unforgivable Curses, who wants to see one!?"
Harry cheered.
While the young necromancer was hardly going to throw a fuss about having illegal curses demonstrated on children, being immune to the Imperius himself, the other, normal children were much less enthused. How was this legal? Hermione grumbled and made a note to complain.
The only solace was that Moody favored Harry immediately, perversely fascinated that he was able to withstand the commands of the Imperius with no issues. This meant that the other children were safe from his unorthodox teaching style. Neville in particular, who did not appreciate the hands-on training, was grateful that Harry took the brunt of the Professor's focus. Still, seeing the two of them engaged in a heated discussion about the pros and cons of casting the Cruciatus Curse made Neville extremely uncomfortable. The strangeness of Moody reminded him of Harry - the weird, dark, foreboding feeling one got in his presence. It rolled off of Moody too, in the strange gleam in his eye and the feral smile as he tortured a spider. Neville made concerned eye contact with Malfoy of all people, as the two boys seemed to be the only ones truly aware of how inappropriate this lesson plan was.
Their international guests arrived on the first of October. Beauxbatons arrived on a flying house pulled by horses and Durmstrang in a teleporting pirate ship. Ron looked about ready to swoon head over heels for Viktor Krum but otherwise, the welcoming ceremony was mostly formalities and adults making small talk. The feast was lively and full of chatter with the new students milling about in small groups amongst all four tables. Hermione found herself surrounded by a group of foreign students as she was one of the few who could speak their languages fluently. The poor girl was clearly overwhelmed with the attention. But, Ron, ever the gentleman, kindly offered the seats next to them and spent an uncomfortable amount of time staring at the pretty French girls. Luna meanwhile, held several students hostage as she asked them questions about the French government being overrun by werewolves.
Harry let the conversation flow around him and settled into people-watching.
Finally, as the dinner dishes were being replaced with piles of desserts, the highlight of the evening began as Dumbledore gathered their attention.
"Welcome, once again to all of our visitors. Welcome!" Dumbledore introduced the adults - some ministry officials, including Minister Fudge, a sickly-looking man named Crouch, and a suspiciously cheerful Ludo Bagman as well as the heads of the other schools, Maxime and Karkoff. A large, ornate cup was revealed with appropriate dramatic flare.
"You will have one week to enter your name. The Champions will be decided by the Goblet, and the first task will take place in late November. I remind you once more that entering your name is not a decision you should make lightly. Should you be chosen, you will be bound to a contract and forced to compete."
Dumbledore then discussed the less deadly events. There would be, in addition to the main tournament, some smaller events held throughout the year that anyone could participate in. Academic and Quidditch competitions would be team events hosted on rotating weekends. The dueling competition had perhaps fewer restrictions and safety precautions than was wise, but that was also what made it exciting. Lastly, the music and art competition was a talent show done at the end of the year where everyone had an opportunity to share their work. Most people were a lot less enthusiastic about that one but the school had the frog-choir and painting clubs, so it made sense to include something for all three categories of students - jock, nerd, and artist.
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