Karen laughed at Nikholas' response to having to sit with the Slytherin house. She felt bad for his burden of being in the Slytherin house, though she felt absolutely certain now that Dumbledore would allow him to change houses if he so desired. After all, she remembered the day Harry Potter had got sorted. The hat seemed seemed to believe with everything in it that he belonged in Slytherin, and yet he ended up in Gryfindor. Having heard from Harry that he had specifically asked the hat to not put him in Slytherin, she had the sudden urge to believe that Nikholas would have the same privilege, he should. "I think it will work out." She said, confidence was clear in her voice. She realized that Hermione Granger had also asked not to be placed into Ravenclaw, although Karen thought she would have done as good in that house with the brains that she had. She looked at the Slytherin crest on Nikholas' robes and shook her head. Whatever was that sorting hat thinking? She blinked as a drop of water dripped off her bangs and into her eye. She wondered how long it would rain, she didn't fancy walking the small path to the castle in this downpour. The the carriage had soon come to an abrupt stop, and she heard people in the front of them complaining about the rain. She sighed, "I think its time to get off." Karen said, her smile was a mix of dread and excitement. Ginny laughed seeing Karen's expression, "At least we don't have to walk a long ways. Its only about five minutes away now." Karen nodded and shrugged and watched students who were right behind them jump off the carriages with their hoods up and run through the rain. Karen had completely forgotten about the hood on her uniform and immediately she lifted it over her head. She felt weird wearing a hood, she generally didn't like anything on her head other then her Gryfindor hat that she wore during the winter. Karen bent down to grab her things, in which she would drop off at the entrance of the school. Everyone's belongings would be in their dormitories, which they would go to after the big feast. "I suppose so." Karen said frowning slightly.

Karen got off the carriage and stood there for a moment. She squinted as a small blob of people walked passed them, snickering about something. She glared at them as she recognized the voice of Malfoy, she half expected him to turn around with his little gang and start a fight. But to her pleasant surprise they did nothing. She relaxed, and realized she had drawn her wand instinctively. She put it back in her pocket and turned back to the others, her tension fading. "Are you guys coming?" She asked them, she could barely hear herself speak through the pounding of the rain on the hood of the carriage. Ginny looked rather hesitant to expose herself to the rain, but began gathering her things. Within a minute of standing in the rain, she was absolutely drenched. Karen took her mind off of the rain and imagined the food that she would soon be right before her eyes . Food, she suddenly realized how hungry she was. She didn't eat anything since breakfast which seemed days ago now.

Nikholas grinned a bit at Karen's words, really hoping it would. Or, perhaps, he could at least get a chance to present his case to the headmaster and that old patchy hat. He really wished that his house transfer would work out alright, regardless of what ever house he would be placed into. "I hope so." was all that he could muster to create a response, noticing that they were nearing. They would have to get off soon. Nikholas was excited, yes, but he was also dreading what was to come, having to sit with his own house, that awful lot. Letting out a soft sigh, he rubbed the back of his head, a nervous habit of his, before flipping his cloak's hood up and grabbing his things. Again looking up at the dark, looming shadow of Hogwarts, he wondered what he had really signed up for with his school transfer, really wishing that he wouldn't regret it.

Nikholas then noticed Karen was already waiting for himself and Ginny outside, and stepped out of the carriage, not really caring about getting wet, nor about his snickering housemates. They gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, as well as the urge to whip out his wand and hex the lot of them, but he restrained from doing so. Aguamenti. Oh, that would have been a fun spell to cast just then, showering the lot of them in even more water than they were already soaked with. Still, he stopped himself from doing so. Tonight, he believed, may be miserable enough anyways. He was hungry, however, so as the three approached the castle, he couldn't help but be excited to eat. As they entered the gates, Nikholas' gaze hungrily devoured everything in sight, smiling as he was finally able to see parts of Hogwarts first-hand. It was seriously unreal. His maddening hunger wouldn't be appeased anytime soon, though, or so it seemed.

As Nikholas approached the Great Hall, a woman in a witch's hat and black cloaks approached the group of students that were trying to enter, "Mr. Regaldy? Nikholas Regaldy?" The group shook their heads, whispering among themselves as they passed on through to the lengthy hall. Nikholas nearly gulped, unsure of who she was or what she wanted. "Oh, where is that boy?" She was going to go on asking when Nikholas gave Karen and Ginny a quick wave before approaching her, "Yes ma'am? I'm Nikholas Regaldy." The woman looked at him for a moment, "Ah! I'm afraid that there was a horrible mistake with your transfer papers, come along, please." Nikholas shot an almost scared look back over at Karen and Ginny, unsure of what that meant. Are you kidding me? I... I can't go back to Durmstrang now. Maybe it's just a minor detail. Kayla had been in the group behind her cousin's, looking almost concerned as she watched Professor McGonagall whisk away her cousin. What the-? Ah, well. She then shrugged and smiled, resuming conversation with her friends.

Karen watched as Ginny and Nikolas got out of the carriage. Impatience now surged through her as they began walking towards the castle. The walk wasn't very long, but she was relieved when she saw Hogwarts great doors right before her. She glanced at Ginny who looked as ready to enter as she did. Karen almost let out a laugh at how soaked Ginny was, why hadn't she bothered to put her hood up? Food was all that she could think about, she didn't feel like waiting for the first years to be sorted, although this was something she always looked forward to. She sighed, being held up by a crowd of students. Hurry up! She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, when she opened them she realized she had been left behind. She sprinted to catch up with Ginny and Nikholas. "Did you get lost?" Ginny asked laughing, Karen nodded with a playful eye roll and laughed with her as they entered the castle. Karen took in a deep breath, how good it was to be back. As she walked through the crowd, she caught sight of Michael who seemed to be chatting with Kayla.

Many students were lined up in the Great Hall, attempting to get through to the dining hall. But Professor McGonagall was going up to each of the students and asking for a certain person. She looked at Nikholas for a moment, realizing that she was asking for him and then she frowned wondering what was going on. She and Ginny waved absently, with confusion stuck to their faces as he went to McGonagall. What on earth is going on? Karen thought as McGonagall announced that there was something wrong with his transfer papers. "Well, I hope everything is okay." Ginny whispered, seeing that student in the room had gone quiet with the same. "You may continue on." McGonagall said firmly, walking away. Karen hesitated, her thoughts the same as Ginny's. She was unsure whether she wanted to head into the dining hall or not.
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Claire Delcrene waited with patience, her former headmistress from the Beauxbaton Academy of Magic stood by her in silence. Claire had no idea what was going on, all she knew is that she had been pulled into this room by a proffessor. What her name was, or what she taught at Hogwarts was beyond her, this being her first year. But things weren't seeming very promising at the moment. The witch had found her just as she had entered the Great Hall and told Claire to follow her. So here she stood, awkwardly with next to her headmistress, Madam Maxime, who towered over her. She remembered hearing something about another student being transferred from Durmstrang, and she wondered if he was being hit with the same surprise as she. She walked over to a large window, every step she took was full of gracefulness. Her deep blue eyes stared out into the darkened grounds of Hogwarts, with some straining of her eyes she noticed the vague outlining of the ship she had caught glimpse of on the train although she had no idea what it had been there for. The small group Ravenclaws she sat with on the Hogwarts Express seemed to be just as clueless, though Claire remembered Madam Maxime mentioning something big would be coming to Hogwarts this year. But she didn't mention anything about her own school showing up at until now. She hadn't seen any of her dear veela friends, but Maxime had informed her of their presence.

Claire sighed, what had went wrong? Why was she dragged in here like this? She had only just began to adjust to her new surroundings. She had been looking forward to a new year, a new life, really. She had been sorted into Ravenclaw, which was little surprise to anyone who knew her, although she liked to be modest about her cleverness. Claire let out a sigh, her robes still soaked from the rain, but she managed to keep her long silky blond hair dry thanks to the hood attached. She couldn't deny that she found the Hogwarts uniforms more suitable for inclement weather then the Beauxbatons silky blue dresses. Hunger gnawed at Claire's stomach, as it had since she had gotten of the train. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was from all the excitement, that was until she had to say goodbye to her new friends whom she watched jealously proceed into the dining hall. She turned to Maxime, impatience clear in her following words, "When is this woman going to return?" Maxime merely shrugged, but Claire sensed she wasn't telling her something so she turned her gaze back to the window and spoke not another word.

Before being whisked away by the insistent female professor, Nikholas would grin at Ginny's joke, letting out a small laugh himself. What had took her? Shrugging that thought off, he quickly followed after the woman who summoned him, noticing Kayla and Michael talking. He raised an eyebrow at them in curiosity, but said nothing, not wanting to keep the professor, who looked to be in a bit of a rush, waiting. The darted down several hallways in silence, other than the occassional, "Do move along, Mr. Regaldy." when he started straying off. He couldn't help that, really. The castle simply entranced him, and he wished to look at just about everything that they passed by. It took quite some time to reach the headmaster's office, or so the walk had seemed quite long to Nikholas, who had been walking in silence and wonder. Once entering the headmaster's office, Nikholas immediately noticed another student accompanied by the headmaster of Beauxbatons. Had they messed up both of their transfers? That just seemed a bit sloppy, really.

McGonagall gave him a little push to usher him into the room, being that he had stopped dead in the doorway. Nikholas was a bit taken back, but said nothing in response, walking into the room and standing awkwardly next to the other student. Not wanting to be rude, he bowed his head a little at her, "Hello." He said simply, accent thick, but understandable enough. He would then straighten back out, looking about the curious room. He saw many odds and ends, but among other things, oen thing stood out to him, and it was sitting on the shelf just to the right of him. Turning to it, he damn near had a fit, "You! You blasted thing, why?" The sorting hat was sitting here, and it didn't seem to have a reply to that. McGonagall quickly approached the patchy piece of fabric, placing it onto Nikholas' head. "I'm afraid it was bewitched by a student last year. Mind you, we didn't catch the stuednt until you were both sorted. Karkaroff won't be joining us right now, but some of your teachers suppossedly insisted you had been sorted unfairly, Mr. Regaldy, so we wished to try this process again with the both of you."

Nikholas looked up at the wretched thing upon his head, eyeing it with disdain. Do it right this time, please. "Please, eh?" Yes. Please. I don't belong with that awful lot, and you should know it! You're in my mind for heaven's sake! The hat laughed, "Yes, I see that. Hmmm..." Nikhoals waited quietly in anticipation, only to hear exactly what he wished not to. "Sly- Haha, no. You didn't like that, did you, young man?" Nikhoas tensed, only to relax again, frowning. You damn near gave me a heart attack. Again the hat chuckled, "Acceptionally bright student... fine manners, loyalty towards friends- and girls you've just met, and your future career? I know it. Gryfindor, it is!" Nikholas smiled brightly, slipping out of his robe immediately as he was presented with a new one by the woman professor. The hat was then plopped right down onto the female student's head, Nikholas watching quietly, now bright-eyed and surprised. He had expected to be placed in Gryfindor the first time round- he would admit that- but after being told he was to be a Slytherin, beign placed into his right house was a great, and happy, surprise. McGonagall didn't expect him to wait there for her, however: "Young man, you may continue on down to the Hall, now." Nikholas stood there hesitantly for a moment, unsure of which way he was supposed to go, but he hurried out on his own nevertheless, bowing towards the woman once he was just outside of the doorway.

Re-entering the Great Hall, Kayla immediately gave a cry of surprise, seeing her cousin in robes with Gryfindor's cret. Practically jumping up, she ran over to him and hugged him tightly, much to his surprise. He laughed a bit, not wanting to cause a scene, "Let's.. go sit, yeah?" He gently prompted Kayla to let him go, and she did so, still smiling brightly up at him. Taking his forearm in a good grip, she led him on over to the section of the table with her friends, not giving him a seat, but making him stand next to her. Clearing her voice, she properly introduced him, "Nikholas, my cousin." Kayla then continued a broken conversation with a girl sitting on one of her sides. Nikholas stood there awkwardly for a moment before looking around the table for Ginny and Karen, or an empty space to sit, for that matter.

Karen grinned, watching McGonagall drag him away. Even after Karen and Ginny had been told to proceed, they stood there with looks of utter confusion on their faces before slowly heading into the Great Hall. When they entered the large room, Karen payed little attention to the sudden boom of hundreds of students conversing with one another. She had been more preoccupied with the ceiling above her, which never seized to amaze her, not even after five long years. At first glance, it appeared that there was no ceiling at all, for it looked every bit like the sky outside; cloudy and rainy. Although the rain never seemed to touch any of the students. Fixing her gaze slightly, still walking forward, she saw hundreds of candles floating above everyone's heads, being held up by nothing but magic . "We could sit here." Ginny suggested, and Karen immediately found her way back to reality and saw that Ginny was pointing to a couple empty seats surrounded by people she knew. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat across from them. Ginny took a seat next to her twin brothers, Fred and George who waved at Karen. Karen cracked a smile at them before sitting down next to Ginny. She hoped Nikholas was alright, after being dragged away by McGonagall.

Meanwhile, Claire stood in the headmaster's office merely staring off into space. She had been standing there for ten minutes now. She turned around, ready to speak to Madam Maxime again but was lost for words as her eyes found a beautiful creature that sat on a gold colored perch. A phoenix, she thought in awe. She had only ever read about them from the books she was given to read in class. She passed Madam Maxime, who looked over to her with a curious expression upon her face, and walked slowly to the magnificent bird that noted her presence with calm, peaceful black eyes. It had a marvelous mixture of red and gold feathers. Claire reached a hand out to the phoenix with slight smile on her face, but frowned as the door to the room opened suddenly and she withdrew her hand that had been inches away from touching the phoenix's head. At first, all she could do was stare, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, she saw a boy had stopped abruptly at the doorway. She smiled slightly as McGonagall gave him a firm shove into the room. She eyed his Slytherin robes and tilted her head, Slytherin...She had heard bad rumors about Slytherin, and was thankful she herself hadn't been sorted into that house. She wasn't exactly happy to of been in Ravenclaw, she would have much rather of been in Gryfindor, but the sorting hat ignored her request. It wasn't that she didn't like her housemates, no that wasn't the case at all. Yes she was clever, more then most at her old school in fact. But she was not the first transfer from Beauxbatons to be sorted into Ravenclaw. Most people at her school were smart and open-minded and possessed many qualities of a Ravenclaw, but she felt a thirst for adventure, to try something new. Gryfindor altogether sounded more interesting then her current house.

Claire smiled politely as Nikholas bowed his head and greeted her. She realized the moment he spoke that he was the Durmstrang transfer. So he was sorted into Slytherin most likely in the same manor I was sorted into Ravenclaw. She wondered if he was against the house he was sorted into. I would rather die then be sorted into that house. She thought to herself with a shudder. She had sat near the back of the train, where most of the Slytherins were seated. From everything she heard from the Ravenclaws to the discussions she overheard the Slytherins talk about, they didn't seem like the best lot to hang around. Claire bolted around as she heard Nikholas' raised voice, and couldn't help but frown at the familiar old hat herself. At McGonagall's next words, she felt herself brighten a little. She glanced at Madam Maxime with a smile appearing on her face, Madam Maxine returned with a warm smile and nodded. Claire's smile spread into a grin and she turned back to McGonagall who placed the hat on Nikholas' head. She almost laughed as McGonagall told them about someone bewitching the hat. So that's why it didn't listen to a word I said.

She listened to what the hat had to say to Nikholas, and wondered suddenly if the sorting hat would even resort her into a different house. Maybe it would remain insistent on her staying in her current house. She watched as the sorting hat began the process of resorting Nikholas, and all of the sudden she felt nervous. She glanced back at the Phoenix as if hoping it had an answer to all of her problems, when at last the sorting hat yelled, "Gryfindor!" She gulped, taking her hair out of its pony tail and let it fall wherever for the time being. She walked up to the sorting hat giving a quick smile to Nikholas before the old hat blocked her view of everything. "Ah, so we meet again, Ms. Delcrene!" Said the sorting hat, "And I shall take it you didn't appreciate the house I put you in as well?" Well, now that you mention it. Claire thought to herself, she had completely forgotten that the hat could read her thoughts. "You don't wish to be in Ravenclaw, although I dare say it would suit you perfectly. You're intelligent, open-minded--" She cut it off with a sharp thought No, anything but Ravenclaw. I don't want to stay in that house.Her thoughts momentarily lingered on the house that the hat had just called out for Nikholas."Gryfindor, eh?" Er...Perhaps.It was merely a thought. Which was obviously a lie and the hat knew it. The hat seemed to be contemplating. Claire frowned, Look, I don't care what you put me in, just get me out of Ravenclaw. She made her thoughts sound final. The hat shifted on her head, and she couldn't help feeling victory was near. "Ah, well then." She could tell the hat wanted to have her remain in Ravenclaw, but after a brief moment of silence it yelled, "Gryfindor!" Claire jumped up out of the chair and beamed at Madam Maxime, who smiled warmly at her, she didn't seemed surprised at all as McGonagall handed Claire her new robes. Of course she's not surprised. Claire had been held bent on making Gryfindor from the moment she was told she was going to Hogwarts. McGonagall dismissed her and she ran out of the office, her spirits now lifted with excitement.

Running down the spiraling stairs that head led her to the headmasters office she slowed to a walk as she reached the Great Hall's doors. She suddenly realized that she knew no one but the three Ravenclaws she had spoken to on the Hogwarts Express. Maybe she should have listened to the sorting hat... What if her new housemates weren't kind to her, or didn't welcome her? But this surely wasn't the time to worry about that. As she entered the Great Hall she could see Nikholas hugging a younger girl. She had half the mind to walk up to him and introduce herself more properly then she had done before, for he seemed to be being left out as the girl started talking to her friends. She decided to move forward, for she was standing awkwardly at the edge of the long Gryfindor table doing nothing but staring. As she passed Nikholas she gave him a nervous smile, half hoping that her new housemate might follow her. She continued walking, feeling a sting of frustration as she edged closer to the end of the table, no open seats. Claire was well aware of the dozen of heads that turned in her direction, gawking at her, but she kept her head up high and tried ignored them, this was something she expected and often had to deal with. She was part veela, so naturally her appearance was out of the ordinary compared to other witches. Most of her school had veela blood coursing through their veins. She almost laughed as she visualized would react when her former classmates making their entrance. How are they going to make their entrance, I wonder. She stopped abruptly as she realized she was near the end of the table, so she looked around once more, she was much to shy at the moment to ask anyone to make room for her.

Naturally, at this point of awkwardness for him, Nikholas now almost regretted not waiting for the Beauxbatons transfer student back in the headmaster's office. She hadn't exactly introduced herself, and McGonagall had shooed him off directly afterwards, so to speak, so he didn't feel bad about it, but it would've been nice to enter the hall with someone in the same situation. They could've talked. Maybe. Nikholas eventually spotted the girl he had just met in Dumbledore's office walk into the hall, smiling at her as he noticed the Gryfindor robes. So she had been in the wrong house as well? He did not stare at her, as he noticed many others were, his mind was more focused on finding seating. He had already spotted Ginny and Karen at a full table, so eventually, he resorted to walking down the length of table to find a seat. On the way, he passed the girl, doing the same as he, and returned her nervous smile with one of his own before watching her walk further down the table. Should I... follow after her? He paused, in though, then very nearly shook his head, No. Bad idea.

Nikholas found some empty room near the end of the table, enough for one or two people if the second year girls occupying it wouldn't mind scooting over a couple of inches. Nikholas would approach the girl sitting on that end, bowing his head a bit as she noticed him. He'd then smile politely, "Would you mind if I sat here?" The girl's face flushed, gawking at him a bit. He smiled warmly at her, now realizing how the Beauxbatons girl must feel. The few other girls at that table nodded quietly, simply staring at him. Nikholas sat down nervously, unsure of why they were so quiet, then looked over at the girl who was looking for a seat. She was still very close, should he? Well, it was only common courtesy of him. Clearing his voice, Nikholas hoped to get her attention, for she was only a yard or so away. If he did earn her attention, he would simply pat the seating space next to him, smiling in a warm manner.

Claire turned around to the neighboring table, cringing at the sight of the Slytherins. She saw a blond haired boy, one that she had seen on the train sneering at her. Her eyes grew cold and she turned away from his gaze feeling slightly uneasy. She then saw the Durmstrang transfer student asking a group of girls if he could sit with them. She noted how alarmed the girl whom he asked looked, and she smiled sadly knowing exactly what it was like. She looked away from the scene to look once more for a seat and found none vacant. With a sigh she heard someone clear his voice, and looked back over and saw the Durmstrang boy sitting down with an open seat next to him, patting it with his hand. Claire returned his smile and walked slowly over to him, it would be better then standing around..The second years stared up at her with wide eyes, "Hello." She said, her eyes made contact with him, rather then any of the girls who seemed absolutely speechless by the both of them. She sat down next to him and gave a sigh of relief, "My names Claire, sorry I didn't say much back in the headmaster's office. I was a little nervous." She admitted with a quick laugh, hoping that her french accent was easy to follow. She glanced at the girls and smiled at each of them a little awkwardly. They smiled back very briefly and slowly started up, or continued, a conversation. "So you were transferred from Durmstang then?" She asked, trying to strike up a conversation. She was slowly beginning to feel more comfortable. Now that she had finally found a seat, it seemed that things were starting to settle. She looked forward to the feast she had been told about, and wondered how long it would be until it started.

Claire looked up as suddenly everyone in the room went quiet. Professor McGonagall stood in front of all the tables. A single chair sat next to her, and sitting motionlessly on the stool was the sorting hat. First years were lined up in front of McGonagall, many of them looking rather afraid of the old hat. She couldn't blame them, having gone through, probably, a longer process then they would be going through. McGonagall spoke, and her voice echoed across the Great Hall, "First years, you will now be sorted into your houses." Claire watched as she grabbed the sorting hat from the chair. "When I call your name, you will come forth and sit on this stool. When you have been sorted, you will then go to the table in which your house sits." With that, McGonagall called the first student, whom was a short scrawny boy with short brown hair. He appeared rather pale as he approached the stool. To Claire's surprise, the hat barely touched the boy's head longer then a couple seconds before it yelled out, "Hufflepuff!" The boy ran jumped off the stool and ran over to his table. "I wish it would have been that simple for me." Claire muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. These kids had no reason to be nervous.

Nikholas smiled in return as the Beauxbatons transfer came to sit with him. He wouldn't have been terribly upset if she had decided to sit elsewhere, but he had had a hard time finding a seat himself, so he was just being mindful. "Hello." The nervous smile of his quickly turned friendly as she introduced herself, nodding a bit in understanding of her words. He himself had been nervous, remembering that McGonagall, he had just heard the professor's name, had had to push him into the room. "That's alright," he let out a small laugh, "At least McGonagall didn't have to push you in. I'm Nikholas, it's a pleasure to meet you, Claire." He bowed his head the slightest bit in her direction, before straightening back up as Claire asked her question. Her accent was easy enough to follow, and no one had had trouble understanding him so far, so he believed that they were doing quite alright at 'fitting in', even with the wandering eyes that occassionaly seemed to make their way over to rest on them. "Yes, I am." He didn't have a problem associating himself with his old school, which he did, after all, still have a good amount of respect for. "And you're from Beauxbatons, right?"

When Professor McGonagall got up in front of the dining tables, Nikholas' gaze went to focus upon that end for a while, smiling as the first first year was sorted. The lucky kids didn't have to be sorted twice, but they were, however, sorted in front of teh whole school. He heard a mutter from Claire, smiling, but not granting her eye contact as he replied, his eyes fixed upon the sorting ceremony for now. "At least we did not have to go through it publicly." At least, he hadn't. Nikholas didn't think she would have had to either, but he wasn't quite sure. Suddenly another house name was called, "Gryfindor!" Most of the table clapped, which Nikholas joined in on, smiling a bit as the girl raced on over to sit at the end of the table. His gaze then went to rest on Claire as he waited for an answer to his question.

Claire let out a laugh when Nikholas mentioned McGonagal pushing him, "Yes, I remember that." She said, the memory turning her smile into a grin, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." She said, now smiling warmly. She nodded her head as he announced that he was indeed the Durmstrang transfer, it was nice that she didn't have to go through this whole transfer thing by herself. Already she was feeling much more comfortable about everything really, she should have known that a new face showing up the Gryfindor house, other then the normal first years, would have caught people's attention. Before she could confirm Nikholas' question the sorting ceremony had begun. She heard Nikholas mutter something after her her own comment, she nodded and looked at him for a moment, "Yes, that is true." And then watched the new Hufflepuff student zoom over to sit with his new housemates. It was nice to not have an audience when she was being sorted, except for her headmistriss. It must of been very uncomfortable to be sitting up there with room full of eyes staring each kid down. Then she seized the opportunity to answer the question Nikholas had asked as the next student was sorted into Gryfindor,"Yes, I'm from Beauxbatons." She said turning her eyes back on Nikholas momentarily and smiling. So much was happening that she had almost forgot to answer.

After the ceremony had come to a close there was much talk among the students for a couple of minutes. She felt rather sorry for the first years that had gotten sorted into Slytherin, they would probably end up being as mean and nasty as any other Slytherin by the end of the year. Why do they even have that house? She turned back to Nikholas, "I wonder what will happen next." She said, hoping the feast would start soon. The girls sitting around them looked up at both of them and Claire smiled at them once more, "Hello." was all she could say and to her surprise, a couple of them smiled at her, but didn't seem to have it in them to answer back. Claire suddenly couldn't wait to see her friends from Beauxbatons, but she wished she knew where they were. Why weren't they sitting among the Hogwarts students? She glanced around the room, but saw nothing but black robes. The room suddenly got quiet, and her eyes found the headmaster of Hogwarts standing before everyone.

(YA! Go Dumbledore! And his beard!)

Nikholas relaxed in his seat, now content with his surroundings. Claire seemed nice enough, and it was encouraging to know a few people within his house, even though they were all female at this time. The girls sitting around them didn't seem to be able to or want to speak to them, for whatever reason, which was odd, but he ignored that fact, still smiling at the people surrounding him politely. He was about to further his conversation with Claire when the headmaster, Dumbledore, he believed, stood and cleared his throat. Nikholas' full attention was gathered by the man immediately, eager to hear what he had.

Standing before the multitude of students in the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore straightened up, a small smile coming to the aged face of the still-lively man.

"So! Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."

He went on to explain that Mr. Filch, the Hogwarts grounds' caretaker, had posted a noticed of quite a few magical prank items that are restricted at Hogwarts. He then warned all students, especially first years, that entering the Forest was strictly forbidden, and that visiting Hogsmeade was restricted to all students below their third year. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was introduced, Alastor Moody, the auror. The name rung a bell, sparking Nikholas' curiosity, but it only held his attention for a moment. A chorus of 'boos' broke out as he explained that the interhouse Quidditch Cup would not be held this year, Nikholas joining in in this disappointment, frowning at this news. He had played at Durmstrang, and he had intended to keep it up here. However, before he could get too disappointed, Dumbledore went on to explain the reason for Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' presence: the Triwizard Tournament.

Nikholas could've sworn he felt his heart flutter at those words. He knew what they meant, he had heard more than enough about previous versions of this tournament, making a bright smile come to him. Oh, he would have to join. The excitement he felt as Dumbledore went on to explain its rules, how to apply, and the basic premises of what he expected, just kept building. Whispering broke out amongst the masses, but Dumbledore continued, silencing the crowds a bit. "Without much further ado, please, let us welcome the fair ladies of Beauxbatons!" The massive double doors at the end of the room fluttered open with a whistle, leaving Nikholas to turn towards them in curiosity and excitement. His friends would enter soon, he was sure. After seeing his friends again, he was certain he would feel a hell of a lot less anxious to start the school year.

Claire listened intently as Dumbledore began his speech, a smile appeared from the corner of her mouth as he mentioned the ban of magical prank items. It surprised her that students had gotten away with it this long, for her school had been very strict about it. At the mention of the Dark Forest, she narrowed her eyes, wondering what sort of creatures resided in the forest and hoped that she would never find out. As he focused on the new Defense the Dark Arts teacher, she stared at the man who sat at the staff table, whom Dumbledore pointed at. At first sight, Claire was absolutely alarmed by his appearance. More or less for the fake eye that he wore that was in constant motion, she immediately wondered how he lost his eye but her thoughts were intervened as he announced the bit about Quidditch being canceled this year. Many people booed in around the room, and she was surprised to hear Nikholas join in as well. Near the end of the table, Karen nearly stood up in her seat from the shock at the announcement "But why?!" She said loudly, how could they cancel Quidditch?! Claire merely blinked, she was never into Quidditch, although her school wasn't exactly big on the sport either so she stood there and waited for the headmaster to hold up his hands, silencing everyone and continued talking. The next thing Dumbledore spoke, she felt herself pale. She couldn't believe her ears.

The Triwizard Tournament he said? Many people around the room whispered amongst themselves. Claire turned to Nikholas, lost for words. So this was why the two schools were coming to Hogwarts this year. Claire shook her head in disbelief, but she felt electrified with excitement. She had heard of the tournament, she heard many great things about it. But never, never did she think for a second her school would be involved in it. Before Claire knew it, he announced the Beauxbatons and everyone turned their heads to the entrance of the Great Hall, because suddenly a group of girls came walking in. Claire was absolutely hypnotized as she watched her former classmates walking gracefully down the isle in their dresses which were a light silky blue color, their entrance was slightly different then she expected. She cracked a smile as they stopped in the middle of the isle and performed a beautiful piece of magic that consisted of bright blue butterflies appearing out of thin air, fluttering around them for a few seconds before disappearing. Many boys down the isle looked at them intently as if they were the most stunning beings they ever lay eyes on. Silly, She thought in amusement watching them pass her. She recognized many of her friends so far, but none of which seemed to notice her. The last two she recognized was a girl by the name of Fleur Delacour, whom seemed to be the center of attention as the group came to a close, her younger sister Gabrielle showing off with cartwheels next to her, Madam Maxime close behind them. The whole room clapped and cheered, and Claire smiled and joined everyone. Show offs, she thought and saw Madam Maxime walked up to Dumbledore and spoke in a loud booming voice. "Dumbledore, how good it is to see you!" Dumbledore bowed his head, "Likewise my friend!" And with that, he spoke again his voice loud against the number of students still bickering about the Beauxbatons. "And now, please welcome the sons of Durmstrang!" Claire looked back towards the entrance once more.

Nikholas relaxed his thoughts for now, trying to push the Triwizard Tournament to the back of his mind. He would apply, no doubt, but was unsure of what his competition at this school would be. Back at Durmstrang, he knew he was bright, but Viktor Krum was also very skilled in numerous ways. At Hogwarts, he hardly knew anyone, so he was unaware of whether or not he had a chance of becoming his new school’s champion. Besides, he had heard the anxious whispers surrounding him, so he didn’t doubt that a massive amount of students were going to apply to the contest.

As the door opened, Nikholas watched the gracious ladies of Beauxbatons enter the hall, their movements a great surprise to him. He had known nothing but sturdy, yet fluid, movement for most of his life, being at Durmstrang, so this was most definitely new. Of course, they were female, and that itself was very different. He watched, not quite staring, finding the ladies to be entrancing, to say the least. Grinning as he saw the butterflies, then turning away, Nikholas not caring to stare at their buttocks as they scurried towards the front of the room, like he saw many guys were doing. He shook his head a little at this, knowing how he’d feel if his sister was one of the girls. It was just disrespectful, in Nikholas’ opinion. However, as they finished their entrance with acrobatics, he clapped, smiling before turning to face the door once again.

Nikholas was more than happy to see familiar faces once again as the group of Durmstrang students entered in a tight, orderly formation. The boys were all clad in formal brown uniforms, some sporting furs, each with an ornate cane which they paused every so often to gently rap against the floor in a preconceived rhythm, sparks flying up as they did so. In the back, Viktor Krum strode alongside their headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, who looked just as stern as always. Once about halfway through the hall, a number of six or seven students began to run, performing tumbling and acrobatic stunts as they stopped to line up along the front of the hall, two students stopping in the center to lean down and produce dragons from fire that they blew out of their wands.

Nikholas observed quietly, not too surprised, recognizing several people he knew as they passed him as well as some techniques used. They were typical of the school, really. Whispering did break out, though, especially when Krum entered, most concerning the Quidditch World Cup that he participated in and debating whether or not he’d enter the contest. Nikholas knew for a fact that Viktor would. Some of the female students stared up at the men in awe, many of which looking at Krum, earning an amused smile from Nikholas. They’re probably loving this attention. Snapping out of his daze, he turned to look at Claire, excitement about the tournament again coming back to him, “So… are you going to enter the tournament?”

Claire stared at the entrance, and as the group of Durmstrang walked in she felt her self caught of guard by how different they were from the Beauxbatons. There movements much less flowing then the group before them, she gazed up at them in slight awe as they paused nearly in front of them, tapping their canes which produced sparks every time they hit the floor. Completely opposite... Although she had to admit they were impressive, and good looking, she heard some of the girls at the table giggling. Looking around, a lot of the girls from all houses seemed absolutely entranced by their presence, Claire had to suppress the smile threatening to appear on her lips. They continued on, and she watched as two of the boys performed a bit of magic that she had never seen in her life. The fiery dragon was blown out of one of the Durmstrang student's wand and she watched in amazement. She was almost standing up in her seat to get a further glimpse of the fire creature before it disappeared. "Wow," She murmured, almost wishing they had been taught that sort of magic in Beauxbatons. Before she had time to make a comment on them to Nikholas, her eyes found one last Durmstrang student that lingered behind the group. She recognized him immediately as the famous Bulgarian Quidditch player, Viktor Krum. He goes to Durmstrang? She though as Krum stormed past everyone, she was surprised how much looser the Beauxbatons were compared to Durmstrang.

When Nikholas spoke, she turned to him quickly almost forgetting that he was there. Claire considered his question for a minute, the tournament now returning to her mind. The tournament, she could barely hold in the sudden excitement that flowed back into her. She almost wished that she was still in the Beauxbatons so she would have a better chance of getting in, but in answer to Nikholas', "I think I will, actually. It sounds dangerous, but I think I could handle it." She said grinning. The thought of becoming one of the three champions to compete for the Triwizard cup just sent shivers down her. "How about you?" She asked, this will be a year to remember. She wondered if the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be taking classes at Hogwarts, even if that wasn't the case she was thankful to have people she knew at Hogwarts.

Not too far away, Karen sat talking animatedly next to Ginny, "Oooh, I want to enter the tournament!" She said, she couldn't imagine how exciting it would be. She grinned at Fred and George Weasley who were causing a big scene, Well, they're excited.. she said, imagining the two of them making it into the tournament and looked over to Ron who looked irritated, "I'm only a couple months too young!" He cursed, and Karen felt slightly amused. Dumbledore had made it clear that no one under the age of fifteen could enter the tournament. "It's not the end of the world, Ron." Hermione said, only to be snapped at by Ron who seemed held bent on entering somehow. Karen shook her head, and stood up, gazing at the Slytherin table to see if there was any sign of Nikholas but only to be interrupted by Dumbledore once more. He began explaining about the object in which people would place their names in to be considered as one of the champions; The Goblet of Fire. There would be one champion from each school that would fight for the Triwizard cup. Now, with a simple wave of his wand at a golden statue that stood behind him, it appeared to melt away, revealing a golden goblet with bright blue flames arising from it.

Nikholas smiled at her answer, understanding her viewpoint on it. Yes, he knew it would be dengerous, but the excitement? The thrill of it? He wouldn't miss an opportunity like that. He was already set in his decision, "Of course, I am." he let out a small laugh, "Wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like this." The thought of danger didn't bother him too much, in fact, he had accepted that his future choice of career would involve daily danger. He was aspiring to become an auror, so the chance to test his skills as well as how well he kept calm in danger would be perfect, it seemed. Again, he partly found himself wishing he was part of Durmstrang during this part of the year. Nikholas was enjoying Hogwarts greatly so far, but what it came down to is his thoughts on his chances of becoming the school's champion. At Durmstrang, Krum was the leader of the student body in physical abilities, but Nikholas was among the top academic wise, and not too far behind Krum when it came down to physical strength. So, perhaps last year, he would've had a greater chance. Of course, not only did he know very few people here, but there was one person in particular whom he would guess to be on top. Harry Potter. He had yet to meet the boy, but he had heard plenty about him from not only the tie between him and 'He who must not be named', but also from Kayla.

Dumbledore went on to explain the deadline for entry into the tournament as the students seemed to calm down, but Nikholas found himself uncapable of paying attention to anything following that. A girl had come up and hugged him tightly from behind, pulling him close against her. She was crouched down, so she really didnit attract much attention, but he was genuinely caught off guard. Turning around in a hurry, blush fresh on his face, Nikholas ended up smiling at the girl behind him as she released him from the embrace. His surprise would be clear, as he whispered "Victoria! But-- I thoiught you were a... a..." The girl, now named Victoria, who looked to be not much younger than Nikholas, smiled in amusement. She was clad in Ravenclaw apparell, had her hair tied sloppily in a bun, and reading glasses that looked nearly brand new. She was pretty, sure, but she was an obvious bookworm. Her whispered reply was much more relaxed, "A muggle?" Victoria nearly laughed, "Well, I knew you went to Durmstrang. Anyways, introduce me to your friends here later. I've got to go-- Things to do, people to see." Ruffling his hair up a bit, she went on to creep on down the isle, seemingly unnoticed by the still-speaking headmaster. Nikholas stared at her in awe. That was his neighbor in the muggle world, much to his surprise, and he hadn't the slightest idea that she was a witch. Hell, she nearnly gave him a heart attack just now! Was he really that unobservant?

Claire smiled and laughed, she figured that the answer to her question was obvious. No one in their right minds would miss a chance like this. "Nor would I." She said, she could use some excitement in her life, and the opportunity of this occasion in particular was something she wasn't willing to just pass. Even it if was a bit dangerous, which she was well aware of the dangers that lie in the Triwizard Tournament. But what's life without a little danger? She smiled at the thought, she wondered who in Beauxbatons would be entering the Tournament. Probably Fleur, she thought to herself. Aside from Fleur's abnormally good looks, she was very talented in the magical arts, one of the best in her school. But Claire turned her thoughts away from that, for it didn't matter that she wasn't in Beauxbatons right now. She would, in the long shot, have a better chance of making it in as a Hogwarts Champion, which didn't bother her a bit. How cool would it be to go against someone from her own school.

Claire listened to Dumbledore as he began to speak again, though her focus was slowly ebbing away. All she could think about was the Triwizard Tournament, she wanted to put her name in the Goblet of Fire as soon as he was done speaking. In fact, why wait? Couldn't he just stop talking so all students who desired to enter could line up to put there name into the mysterious goblet? She turned to Nikholas whom was suddenly being hugged by a girl, he seemed rather shocked by her presence. She watched, but didn't speak to the girl, trying to give them some privacy. But she did notice that she was in Ravenclaw, the house that she would have been in if she had not been resorted into Gryfindor. From what she saw, Victoria, as Nikholas had just called her, seemed to be rather pleasant. Although she did seem to belong in Ravenclaw judging by her bookwormish appearance, but Claire just smiled at that as the girl as she spoke one last sentence and hurriedly walked down the isle. "I take it you were under the impression she was a muggle then?" Claire said looking at Nikholas' shocked facial expression and giving out a quick laugh, but she couldn't help it.

Nikholas was a bit dazed after that unexpected visit, many questions coming to him at once. Since when was she...? Well, wait, how did she know that I was? He frowned the slightest bit at that thought, not fancying the fact that she had been so clever as to figure that out about him without him noticing. Made him feel very foolish, really. Then, shaking his head a bit, he smiled again. Nikholas supposed that what mattered was that he was now aware that he knew yet another person at this school, which just made him relax and feel more at home. What year would she be in, anyways? He then looked over at the Ravenclaw table, And what is that lot like? Nothing like Slytherin, I'm sure, but... Nikholas' thoughts were interrupted by Claire's question, which caught him off guard after that odd experience. Letting out a small laugh, Nikholas smiled and nodded, almost embarrassedly.

"Yes," Nikholas paused, not blaming Claire for laughing, but feeling the need to explain himself after being humiliated like that. It was just silly that he hadn't noticed... Well, alarming actually, to tell the truth. "She's been a good friend of mine for quite a while now. I was under the impression that her and her family were muggles, but.... I suppose not..." He then grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head absent-mindedly. "I'd never had the reason to suspect otherwise, I guess." Then shrugging, and letting out a small sigh as he lowered his hand again. "Ah well." he murmured, again looking up at the head of the table to listen to Dumbledore conclude his speech. He was interesting, indeed, that man. (For starters, that beard of his made Nikholas quite jealous... JK! :D) Of course, he hadn't expected any less, from what he'd heard from Kayla about their headmaster as well as what he'd seen in Dumbledore's office. As the headmaster stopped speaking, he rose both of his hands into the air and, voila! There was the massive gourmet feast that Nikholas had been waiting anxiously for. Smiling from the sheer delight of sating his hunger, Nikholas observed it for a moment, recognizing a wide variety of English delicacies, as well as a few surprising examples of French and Swedish cuisine. He felt his mouth water at the mere sight of all that fresh food, and after a moment or so of letting the girls at the table get a head start of plating themselves, Nikholas began to slowly gather pieces of food for himself as well. Talking broke out amongst the student body, Nikholas again sparking conversation as he turned to Claire with a question, "What year are you in?" He couldn't believe that he hadn't asked earlier, but they had only had a limited time to talk so far.

Claire nodded her head, amusement clear upon her face. "She lives in the muggle world?" She said, wondering if her family were muggles. Perhaps she was a muggleborn, not that it really mattered to her. A witch was a witch, no matter what their blood status was. "Is her family muggles?" She asked casually. It seemed weird that the girl's parent's were also a witch and wizard, why on earth do live in the muggle world? It wasn't that she was against the muggle world at all, she had no reason to be against them. She hadn't known very many muggles, because she had never really traveled out of the wizarding world until much recently her adventure to the King Cross Station to get to the Hogwarts Express. She had known some muggleborns, although there weren't many at Beauxbatons. Turning away from her thoughts, she turned her attention back to Dumbledore as he made a final announcement before an huge assortment of food filled the tables up. The juicy smell of chicken flooded her nose as it appeared right be for her on a large platter along with many other varieties of food, the hunger that gouged at her stomach was worse then ever. As she started shoveling food onto an empty plate she looked up at Nikholas as he asked his question. Her eyes widened, "Oh, I never did tell you, did I?" She laughed and then added, "I'm in my 5th year, what are you in?" She had completely forgotten about telling him what year she was in, or even asking what year he was in. After everything that had happened in the last hour it was easy to forget the little things.

Claire ate in silence for a couple minutes, getting lost in the foods delicious flavor. She was used to having opening feasts, but the food was usually in smaller quantities. So the amount of food that was sprawled all over the tables was overwhelming. Although she saw similar food to what she would eat at Beauxbatons, which was comforting. She looked up and glanced at the girls across from her who were talking about Severus Snape and shuddered at their words. He didn't seem like the nicest person in the world, and she didn't fancy taking potions with him either. Claire turned to Nikholas, "I sure hope this Professor Snape isn't as bad as he sounds." She said frowning slightly. She wondered how strict the other teachers at Hogwarts were, she realized after a moment that she had already met the transfiguration teacher as was told as the lady was dragging her to Dumbledore's office.

Nikholas nodded at the first question, "Yes. My family has a vacation house there, in the muggle world. She and her family live just down the street." he replied with a smile. At the second question from Claire, he actually had to stop and think. He wasn't sure about that. He had never had any reason to suspect that her family had witches and wizards in it, not that there was much difference between muggles and magical people in his eyes, but they had never used or spaok of magic before. So, in reply, he simply shrugged his shoulders a little bit, "I'm not sure." He then waited another moment for the answer to his question, smiling in happy surprise . Not only had he now met three of his housemantes, whom where all very nice and had decent senses of humor as far as he knew, but two of which were also in his year. from hat he'd heard from his cousin, Kayla, that meant he had a veryg ood chance of them being in his classes. Nikholas smiled warmly, "That's a coincidence... I'm a fifth year as well." He then focused his attention partially upon the food he had begun to add to his plate, eating slowly to fully savor the gourmet delicacies, some of which he'd never seen ebfore in his life. The food at Durmstrang had been plentiful, sure, but they didn't offer such variety. That accompanied by the fact that most of this food was from another completely different area than Durmstrang made him really grateful for this satisfaction to his hunger.

Nikholas, too, had heard rumorss of most of the professors, mostly from Kayla, but also the mention of Snape from Karen and Ginny on the train. The head of Slytherin, potions teacher, and a notorious Gryfindor-point-docker. Letting out a soft sigh, Nikholas shook his head a bit, then grinned half-heartedly. "I hear he's absolutely dreadful." he stated bluntly, "But... I do hope that was an exaggeration. In any case, my cousin who goes here, she told me he was the only professor we really need to worry about. Surely the others aren't half as bad, right?" He tried to be optimistic about potions class, especially since he needed that class to become an auror, but he seriously doubted that it would be fun with Severus Snape as a teacher. Nevertheless, he looked forward to starting classes tomorrow, knowing that Snape would surely be the worst professor made him wary of only that specific class. He was nearly finished with his food by now, and noticed several others around them leaving the Hall in packs to go to their homerooms. A thought suddenly came to Nikholas concerning the dorms. Where... where are they exactly? He supposed he'd find them without a problem if he simply followed after a pack of Gryfindors after he was done.

Claire nodded, listening to what Nikholas had to say. She wondered, for a moment, what it would be like to live in the muggle world.the most experience she had ever gotten with the muggle world was the traveling to Kings Cross Station to cat h the Hogwarts Express. It would be weird to not use magic, for it was not allowed to be performed in front of muggles unless it was absolutely needed. She lingered in thought for a couple moments before brightening up at Nikholas' reply to what year he was in. "Well that is rather coincidental!" Claire said with a quick laugh. "Both transfer students get sorted into Gryfindor and then we both end up in the same year." She couldn't help but feel a wave of relief,this meant that she might have classes with someone she knew. Sure she knew a couple Ravenclaws, but they weren't in her year. "Well, I hope we have some classes together. It would be nice to know someone." she said, smiling. *As she went to grab more food, she realized how stuffed and content she was beginning to feel. She had never had a feast quite like this. All of the sudden, she wondered where the Gryfindor common room was located at. What would the dormitories be like? She felt the sudden desire to fall into a deep sleep.

Claire cringed a little, she couldn't help it. She couldn't deny how much she wished it was an exaggeration, but alas she knew it wasn't. She could only hope that Snape would cut her some slack, and Nikholas as well, considering they were as new to Hogwarts as the first years. "Well, it does appear that this Snape is someone you would avoid." She said bitterly. She didn't look forward to taking potions with the foul git. Claire nodded, brightening up, "Yes, well *if *they're not, I will demand Dumbledore to take me off of this transfer program." Claire joked lightly, although she doubted very much that any of the teachers could be worse then Snape. She then noticed that the feast had ended, "Where do we go now?" Claire asked. Just then Karen came running up to them, she had her eyes on Nikholas and her eyes were glowing, "You got into Gryfindor then?" Claire just stared at Karen, having never seen her in her life. Claire almost opened her mouth to introduce herself to the girl, but was beat to it. "Hello I'm Karen , I've never seen you here before." Karen said with a friend voice. Claire smiled shyly, "That would be because I am a transfer student." Claire said, and when all Karen did was stare for a brief second, looking a little dazed, Claire added, "From Beauxbatons." Karen laughed, "Wow, two transfers!" Karen said in excitement, "Both in Gryfindor!" Claire laughed, Karen seemed to be very friendly.

Nikholas smiled in agreement with her comment in hoping they had classes together. It really would be nice to know at least a couple of people in his classes. And, in his thoughts of the other person in consideration, Karen, he looked about the table once, but did not see her. He then tossed that thought aside, figuring that he'd see her later in the dormitories or, perhaps, their classes tomorrow. Nikholas was just about to answer Claire's question, which he hadn't the slightest clue about himself, when the answer seemed to come running right up to them. Karen. Nikholas smiled up at her enthusiastically, "Yes, I did! Glad I won't be stuck with that lot anymore. That would've been perfectly dreadful." he replied happily, referring to the Slytherins. He would have introduced Claire himself, but Karen beat him to the introductions, so he let it be. He simply watched quietly as they were introduced to each other, smiling, seeing that they seemed to get along fine, though he had been sure that they would. Both were very friendly girls, after all, and he hadn't seen either be be anything but civil. Well, not including Karen's Slytherin encounter on the train, but that had been completely understandable.

Nikholas smiled a nodded at Karen's last exclamation, letting out a small chuckle himself. It really was an odd coincidence, but he wasn't going to be one to complain, he was enjoying Hogwarts so far, and took his transfer from Slytherin as a blessing. That was when the burning question of the time came back to him: What were they supposed to do, now that the feast was finishing up? Go to their dormitories? Was it curfew? He had so many unanswered questions, it was ridiculous. Where was the Gryfindor common room, anyways? Nikholas frowned a bit as he realized how little he knew about the school's schedule, and how simple things at Hogwarts worked. A thought struck him quickly. He has lucky he had met Karen, for he was sure that she would know these things. "Karen, what exactly are we supposed to be doing now?" he asked, hesitantly.

Karen turned to Nikholas after she finished talking to Claire, and appeared a little caught of guard, "Oh!" Karen said and laughed. She probably forgot we were new here., Claire thought smiling as Karen continued, "Well, next we head to the Gryfindor Tower." Karen said cheerfully, causing butterflies to errupt in Claire's stomach. She couldn't wait to get to the Gryfindor common room, she just could imagine what it was like. Gazing around the room, she realized that almost everyone was gone, except for a rather large group of people that surrounded the Goblet of Fire. It hit Claire right then how much she wanted to put her name in that goblet. She didn't want to wait until the following day, hell she wasn't sure she could wait. She looked up at Karen, "Are you going to enter the tournament?" She asked. Karen shrugged, "I'm not really sure." Her voice was hesitant, "I wanted to at first, but I'm not sure I want to go into a tournament as dangerous as this one." Claire nodded, her words were understandable, as Claire felt that way at first herself. But at this point it wasn't something that mattered, not anymore. This was a once in a life time event, and what was a tournament without a little danger? That's what would make the Triwizard Tournament so exciting.

After a couple moments of silence, Claire asked, "So when do classes start up?" She asked, she couldn't wait for classes to start up, but was slightly deflated at the thought of OWL exams. Beauxbatons did their OWL exams in their sixth year, so the thought of taking them a year early was rather unnerving. Karen answered, "We wont get our class schedules until tomorrow, plus it's Saturday. We get weekends off." Claire brightened at Karen's words, but felt a jump of excitement at her next words, "Plus it will give you two time to explore Hogwarts." Claire nodded animatedly, she had been looking forward to this for a while now. She hadn't got a very good glimpse at the castle from the outside because of the darkness that seemed to engulf it. "That does sound like an idea." Claire said grinning. "Well, I suppose we'd better get going then. I'll lead you guys up to the tower!" Karen seemed over joyed at the idea of showing them to the Gryfindor tower. Claire was about to respond to Karen but then something hit her and she turned to Nikholas, "I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to enter my name into that goblet tonight. I cant wait." Claire said with a quick laugh.

Nikholas smiled, mind a bit dazed as Karen answered his question. So they would be getting to see the Gryfindor common rooms sooner than he thought. He liked that thought. His mind wandered off from there, pondering what the coomon room may look like, what the rooming situations were, what their other housemates were like. The thoguth then struck him that, while Karen and Claire may be staying near eachother in the dorms, he would mostlikely be staying around the guys in the house. That made him a bit nervous, being that the only actual guy he'd met from Hogwarts was Draco Malfoy, that horrid snob. The other part of him was excited, though, to meet more new people at this school. More than anything, he hoped he'd be easily accepted by the student or students he'd be made to room with. As he floated back down to reality slowly, he nodded in response to Karen's undecidedness on the option of entering the tournament. Nikholas understood her reasoning, and could respect it, but he himself had already made a solid decision. He was going to enter that tournament if it were to be the last bloody thing he did. The thought of it simply enthralled him, so he couldn't help feeling like that.

Nikhoals again smiled brightly as the fact that they had the weekend off to explore was brought up, "Sounds good to me." he said simply in reply, before his gaze wandered over to the goblet. While he did want to see their common room, he couldn't help but wish to enter now. He was just about to bring that to their attention before Claire did so herself. He smiled, laughing and nodding, "Yeah, you read my mind., i was thinking about the same thing." Slipping a small pocketbook from his robes, he tore a piece of parchment from it, then slipping out a quill, the quill wrote his name on it for him. Nikholas looked down at the piece of parchment, and excited smile coming to him, as he read the lettering that mimicked his hadwriting: 'Nikholas Regaldy.' Then, looking at Claire, he would gesture towards the pocketbook, "You need a piece of parchment, or a quill?" Kayla was sitting at the end of the table near the goblet, watching students put their names in. She cast a glance at Nikholas, seeing the parchment in his hands, and her facial features contorted into that of worry.

Claire grinned as Nikholas spoke and she watched him take out his quill and some parchment. Karen looked at the both of them tilting her head, "You're going to enter now?" She asked, Claire could of sworn she heard a trace of worry in her voice. Claire looked at Karen, "I don't think I could wait another minute." She said, and then looked over to Nikholas who had finished writing and asked her if she needed something to write on. "Yes, please." She said with a faint smile she said gently grabbing the quill and writing her name in very neat cursive. She looked at it when she had finished and then looked at Nikholas, "Well, I'm ready." She said putting the quill down on the table. She then stood up and stretched before looking over to the goblet again, what few people were left in the room seemed to be staring at the goblet with admiration. Claire noted a girl that was glancing at Nikholas, she recognized her from earlier before the ceremony had started. She seemed rather worried for some reason.

Karen sighed, "Well, you two best be off then." She said gesturing to the goblet with a lazy hand. She remained seated, looking up at Claire with a grin on her face. Claire grinned back. There were many things she was looking forward with Hogwarts, but this dominated over everything. If she got into this tournament it would probably be the most exciting thing that would ever happen in her life. She couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to throw an opportunity like this for a silly reason such as danger. To her, that was what made it so thrilling. A couple Ravenclaws walked passed them one turning her head and smiling brightly at Claire, catching her off guard. She recognized her from the train. "Claire!" She said and stopped, the girl appeared absolutely shocked as she spotted the Gryfindor crest. on Claire's robes. "What happened? I thought you were in our house?" She said in confusion. Claire shrugged, "I got resorted." Claire said a little impatiently, she didn't feel like chatting at the moment. "Oh.." The girl said frowning a little, then she looked over to Karen and Nikholas and smiled. Karen smiled back and laughed, "These two are going to put their names into the Goblet of Fire." She said grinning. The girl's eyes widened, "Really?" The girl said glancing up at the goblet and then back at Claire. Claire smiled a little, the parchment with her name on it gripped tightly in her hand.

Nikholas smiled, willing offering up his parchment and quill. Again his gaze went down to the piece of parchment he had printed his name on, excited bubbling in his stomach. He felt like a mere child at Christmas that was about to open their first present. He was ridiculously giddy, though he dare not show it except with a happy and excited smile. He was planning on waiting for Claire before approaching the Goblet, but it was taking a bit of time, with the questoning ravenclaw and all. He did wait for a mintue or so though, noddding once as the question of whether they were entering was turned onto them. Then, after answering the girl's question, and casting a glance at Karen, he slowly mde his way down the isle towards the legendary goblet.

Nikholas didn't dare look at Kayla now, nor anyone surrounding it, not needing any discouragement or anything as he went through with teh application. He looked at Dumbledore's age line for a moment before taking a deep breath. Striding right up to the Goblet of Fire, square-shouldered, back straight, facial features confident- Nikholas tossed the piece of parchment with his name written on it into the goblet's flame. Then, stepping back, he listened to a few cheers erupt. Smiling, Nikholas turned to see a few recognizable Durmstrang students who had stayed behind to admire the goblet, all of which clapping and cheering in a ridiculous manner. Nikholas laughed, then walked over and greetde them with high fives and shoulder claps before turning back around to wait for Claire. He felt a small tug on his sleeve and looked back to see Kayla, looking rather upset. "If you are admitted, I'll never forgive you." Nikholas smiled at her gently, placing both of his hands upon her shoulders, "And if you never forgive me, I'll have to go mad." Kayla stared up at him for a moment or so before slowly smiling and giving him a little shove. "Piss off." Nikholas simply smiled in reply.

Claire followed Nikholas slowly, all of the sudden surprised that she was going through with this. All around them, people stared, including a couple Beauxbatons who seemed to have stopped talking about whatever they were discussing as soon as they saw Claire approaching the Goblet of Fire. The awkward silence continued as Nikholas reached his hand up to the goblet to submit the piece of paper into it. As soon as he did so, a group of guys burst into applause. She turned her head to see a few Durmstrang boys whooping and cheering for Nikholas and couldn't help but feeling a wave of nerves wash over her for a brief second. If she got into this tournament, there was no turning back. She would have to go up against her old school as well. She shook out of her thoughts as Nikholas left the goblet to converse with his Durmstrang friends. She slowly raised the hand in which she held the piece of paper with and dropped it into the goblet, and jumped a little as people clapped. Claire smiled a little and watched as her two Beauxbatons friends ran over to her, and greeted her in French. As soon as Claire glanced back at Nikholas she heard the girl tell him to piss off and she tilted her head not sure if she should be amused or not.

Claire talked to her friends for a few minutes, discussing the tournament excitedly. She was not surprised in the least when she was told of Fleur Delacour entering the tournament. Before they could talk any longer Karen was at her side, "Sorry...But we really should be going to Gryfindor tower now." Claire looked at Karen and then around the room, surprised by how empty it was. It must of been late, she hoped they weren't breaking any rules by being out this late. Claire glanced at Nikholas, wondering if he would come with them, Karen seemed to read her mind and ran over to Nikholas. Claire noted how exhausted she suddenly felt, she couldn't wait to get some sleep. She turned back to her friends and said her goodbyes to them. As they walked away, she felt a wave of annoyance when she realized she hadn't asked them where they would be sleeping. Shaking her head, she walked slowly over to where Karen and Nikholas were and waved at the group, not sure what to say.