Albus yawned, stretched out his legs, and stared out the window. It was almost pitch black outside due to the dark clouds that covered the sky, so opaque that hardly any light could get through. Wind and rain whipped at the sides of the Hogwarts Express, and the thunder was so loud that it completely drowned out the roar of the train.

“Are we almost there yet, Al?” Lily asked, looking up at him. She and Hugo were building a tower of Exploding Snap cards on the floor of their compartment.

“I dunno,” Albus muttered. “It’s too dark. I can’t see a thing.”

“Look harder,” Lily suggested. Albus opened his mouth to respond, and then closed it with a shake of his head. He looked out the window again and stared off into the distance.

It was the beginning of his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. For some reason, he just couldn’t come to accept the fact that after this year, he would never be coming back to the castle he loved so much. He mulled the thought around in his mind. No, he thought. I’ll be back. I don’t know how I know, but I will come back.

“Are you okay, Al?” Hugo’s voice brought him out of his reverie.

“Hm? Oh. Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just . . . last year,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, we’re going to miss-” The card tower exploded just as the compartment door slid open. Rose walked in and dropped into the seat next to Albus, throwing a quick disapproving glance towards her brother and cousin laughing on the floor.

“I just got back from doing my patrol. It’s going to be a rough year,” she sighed.

“Immature first years?” Albus asked with a grin.

“Yes. I hope we weren’t this bad when we first came here. They won’t even listen to prefects!”

“Don’t worry. We weren’t. We were the quiet first years. The ones who were always terrified of being in trouble. We were perfect little angels,” Albus laughed, and then he made a sweet, innocent face. Rose jabbed him in the arm, but also smiled. Then a voice suddenly announced that they would be arriving at the school in fifteen minutes.

“We’d better put our robes on,” Albus told the others, still laughing. Lily and Hugo quickly cleaned up the cards that were left, and they all set about gathering up their things and putting on their robes. Once that was done, they all began pulling down their trunks, and, in some cases, pets. Albus, Lily, and Rose had all gotten pets around the same time, and, since they were so close, had found the need to give them related names. Albus had named his barn owl Apollo, Lily’s barred owl was named Artemis, and Rose’s sleek black cat had been given the name Athena.

Fifteen minutes later, right on time, the train pulled into the station, and the four of them shuffled out. The train was crowded, so it was hard to move around. Several Slytherin students were violently forcing their way off the train. A path suddenly opened up to the right. Albus tried to get through at the same time as another student, and they crashed into each other.

“I’m sorry,” Albus said. The person turned around, revealing themselves to be none other than Scorpius Malfoy.

“I take that back. I’m not sorry at all,” Albus grumbled.

“Just watch where you’re going, Potter,” Scorpius snapped in response, before he quickly walked away.

Once they finally got off the train, they dropped off their luggage to be brought up to the castle and ran to one of the remaining horseless carriages, eager to get out of the rain.

“Poor first years!” Rose cried once they had gotten in. “The boat ride to the castle is going to be rough!”

“I thought you didn’t like the first years,” Albus reminded her.

“Still! They shouldn’t have to endure that!”

“Do you think they’ll even take them across the lake if the weather is this bad?” Hugo asked.

“Probably. They could put enchantments on the boats to keep them dry,” Albus suggested. The carriage reached its destination then, and they hopped out and sprinted into the castle.

It was nice and warm inside the Great Hall, a huge contrast to what was going on outside. Albus looked up. The enchanted ceiling was covered with clouds that mirrored the ones outside. They too were dispensing rain, only this time it didn’t reach their heads, cut off by invisible barriers.

Albus, Rose, Lily, and Hugo took their seats at the Gryffindor table and were quickly joined by their cousins Louis, Fred, and Lucy. The Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander, waved at them from the Ravenclaw table. Little by little, the long house tables began to fill up, and the buzz of conversation filled the room. Students were excitedly catching up with each other, discussing what they did over the break, which classes they were taking this year, how their favorite quidditch team was doing.

“I’m hungry,” Hugo moaned several minutes after students had stopped filing in. “When is the sorting going to start?” As if on cue the great doors opened, and Hagrid walked in, a small group of drenched first years following along in his wake. Albus leaned across the table towards Hugo.

“Okay. No enchantments then.” They both shook with silent laughter as Rose glared at them.

“It’s not funny! They must’ve been terrified!” she hissed. They both made a face at her and then turned back to watch the sorting. The young Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Edward Daniels, brought out the three legged stool and placed the Sorting Hat on top of it. Everyone waited for a moment before the hat opened its tear at the brim and said:

“This school was founded centuries ago,
And I was lucky to be there,
As young witches and wizards,
Hurriedly came from everywhere.

They wanted to gain knowledge.
They wanted to be taught.
And so Hogwarts school began,
An event I haven’t forgot.

The sorting process began,
As a result of competition.
Slytherin chose first.
He wanted those with great ambition.

Gryffindor chose the brave,
While Ravenclaw chose the wise.
Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
They were all the same in her eyes.

But how would the students be sorted,
Once all of the founders were dead?
That is when Gryffindor had an idea.
He took me off of his head.

The founders gave me the power to think,
So I could sort you all.
And this is why we are gathered together,
Tonight in the Great Hall.

So put me on your head.
Your true character is what I’ll see.
I’ll take a peek inside your mind,
And tell you where you should be!”

Everyone burst out into applause as the sorting hat finished its song. Professor Daniels pulled out a scroll of parchment.

“When I call your name, please come forward so we can sort you into your respective house.

“Adams, Lachlan!” A confident-looking boy with russet colored hair stepped forward and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. There was a pause before the Sorting Hat opened its brim wide and yelled:

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Albus cheered with the rest of his house as they welcomed their first new member, and then the sorting proceeded. Most of the first years looked anxious and scared when their name was called, while others seemed excited.

“Donovan, Kate!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Evans, Courtney!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Harris, Deandra!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Hurry up already!” Hugo moaned. “I’m hungry!” Rose kicked him under the table.

“Shh! Pay attention!” she whispered.

“Keane, Aurora!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

Brayden Knox and Nick Shepherd both went on to become Gryffindors, followed by Reyna Stewart who became a Slytherin. Gryffindor gained yet another member when Alex Swift was called up. Then:

“Truman, Kadmus!” A small boy with copper hair and freckles walked up to the hat, hesitated, and put it on. He sat there for no less than two minutes before the hat sorted him.

“GRYFFINDOR!” Kadmus hopped off the stool and trotted over to the Gryffindor table with a huge grin on his face. Then he turned to face the rest of the remaining group, and he suddenly looked nervous.

“Truman, Kahill!” A boy identical to Kadmus went up and eagerly placed the hat on his head. The hat had barely touched his head before it yelled, “GRYFFINDOR!” Kahill nearly sprinted to the table to join his brother.

The sorting passed quickly after that, and finished with Dameon Wolfe being sorted into Slytherin. Professor Daniels moved the stool out of the room as Professor Longbottom stood up and said, “Let the feast begin!”

The golden plates in front of them bloomed with all sorts of foods, and everyone cheered.

“Finally!” Hugo shouted as he shoveled mashed potatoes onto his plate. Rose scowled and shook her head.

And so everybody ate and ate and ate. And when they thought they couldn’t eat anymore, desserts appeared, and they suddenly found that they were ravenous again.

Once everyone had had their fill, the food gradually disappeared, and Professor Longbottom stood up again. Everyone fell silent.

“Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts! To all of the first years, I wish you good luck as you begin your journey of magical education. To all of the older students, especially to the ones who will be leaving this year, let’s make this year the best of all of your years here at Hogwarts. I can already guarantee that it will definitely be the most memorable.

“A very special event is going to take place this year. It will be filled with suspense, excitement, and possibly even sorrow. You will laugh, and you will cry. You will cheer, and you will groan. But in the end it will all be worth it, because each and every one of you will have witnessed history. We have decided to put our own spin on the event, something that has never happened before.

“You see, this year, Hogwarts will once again play host to the Triwizard Tournament.”

*Disclaimer*
I do not own J.K. Rowling’s amazing stories and characters. I am merely using them for my own amusement and hopefully yours.

************************************

The Great Hall burst into a roar of conversation. Some were yelling their excitement while others were screaming disapproval. Hugo was cheering while Lily looked as if she didn’t know what all the excitement was about. Rose was muttering under her breath. Albus caught the words “dangerous”, “Cedric Diggory”, and “out of their minds”. Over at the Ravenclaw table, the Scamander twins were yelling about Quidditch being cancelled. Professor Longbottom allowed this to carry on for all of five seconds before he stepped in.

“Quiet down! Quiet down! What happened to Cedric Diggory during the last tournament was indeed very tragic. But Voldemort is now dead, so we are confident that the same situation will not repeat itself. Although, we are keeping the rule intact that you must be seventeen to enter. It is merely a precaution in case something does go wrong.

“Now, as for Quidditch, that is the surprise that we have planned for you. You see, the Quidditch season will not be cancelled this year, although it will be a bit different than what you’re used to. Instead of having our four houses play against each other, Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons will each put together a team of the seven best Quidditch players their school has to offer. Then, throughout the course of the year, they will play each other in the first ever interscholastic Quidditch competition!” Several people cheered at this. “You will be notified as to when try-outs will be held.

“Going back to the Triwizard Tournament, for those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament is a competition between three schools: Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. For each school, a single champion is chosen to compete and represent their school. Each champion will participate in three very dangerous tasks. They will be tests of strength, bravery, and, of course, magical skill. It is a very exciting and suspenseful competition. I’m sure all of you will enjoy watching it. Now, I’m sure that you are all tired. First years, prefects will show you to your common rooms. Everyone else, I expect you know where to go. Off to bed!”

With that, Rose immediately stood up and shouted, “First years over here!” Louis, the other Gryffindor prefect, soon joined her in rounding up the new students. Hugo gave an exaggerated yawn.

“We should get out of here fast. Don’t want to get stuck in staircase traffic,” he told the other two. Albus and Lily both agreed, and the three of them stood up and exited the hall. They navigated their way around the grand staircase, jumping trick steps and avoiding large masses of slow-moving students, and before they knew it, they were standing in front of the very familiar portrait of the Fat Lady.

“Password?” she asked.

“Ah,” Hugo sighed. “I forgot to ask Rose what the password was.”

“Don’t worry,” Albus said, stepping forward. “She told me. Gurdyroot.” The portrait swung forward to admit them, revealing a large room decorated in red and gold. Albus, Lily, and Hugo stepped in smiling, glad to be back in the familiar room.

“Well, goodnight,” Lily murmured, and she walked away towards the girls’ dormitories. Albus and Hugo headed for the boys’. Hugo reached his first.

“See you in the morning,” he muttered.

“G‘night,” Albus grunted in response. He then proceeded to head up to his own dormitory. It was empty. Albus quickly changed, then hopped into bed. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep. That night, he dreamt he won the Triwizard Tournament.

********************************

Rose Weasley awoke with a start. There was sunlight shining into her eyes and blinding her. What time was it?

She jumped out of bed and almost fell flat on her face. What a great start to the day that would have been. At least it would give her an excuse if she was late for class. That would be even worse considering she was a prefect.

Throwing on some clean robes and snatching her bag out from under her bed, Rose hurriedly got ready and bolted out of the room. She almost tripped again on her way down the stairs, but was relieved to see her cousin Roxanne lounging in the common room.

“Hey, Roxy,” she said. “I’m not late am I?”

“Not at all,” Roxanne replied. “You only missed everyone else by a few minutes. They all headed down for breakfast.” Rose nodded her thanks and left the common room, this time walking at a more leisurely pace. Everyone must have gone down to breakfast because there were few people in the hallways. Most were just first years who were lost. Rose kindly told them where to go. She became irritated though when she was forced to confiscate a fanged Frisbee form a group of second and third year boys.

“To early in the year to be causing trouble,” she muttered to herself as she walked away.

The grand staircase was also fairly empty when Rose reached it. She began to make her way down when she paused. The sound of voices talking and possibly yelling reached her, but it was too loud to be coming from the Great Hall. She quickened her pace and almost forgot to jump a trick step. It was when she reached the vestibule in front of the Great Hall that she learned what the ruckus was.

A large group of people formed a circle around two students who were brutally attacking each other. Some of the students in the crowd were laughing while others yelled “Fight!” Rose was shocked that no teachers were intervening as she pushed her way through the crowd. Once she had made it to the edges of the fray she didn’t know whether she was shocked or unsurprised. The two combatants were none other than Albus and Scorpius Malfoy.

Gathering up some of her Gryffindor courage, Rose threw herself into the feud, attempting to wrestle her cousin and his enemy apart. Hugo suddenly showed up next to her and helped to yank Albus away from Scorpius who readily backed away with a slight smirk. It was clear who had won the scuffle. While Albus’ nose was swollen and bleeding, and it was clear he had taken several blows to the face, all that Scorpius had was a cut lip. His smirk became more prominent as Albus kept trying to break away from the two people holding him back so he could attack again.

“Albus! Al! Stop!” Hugo was shouting.

“ALBUS! KNOCK! IT! OFF!” Rose shrieked. It wasn’t until Hugo shook him violently that Albus stopped struggling. He glared at Rose, then pushed through the crowd and stalked off.

“Make sure he gets to the hospital wing,” Rose told Hugo. “Curse him if you have to. I’ll be up in a bit.” Hugo nodded and ran off calling Albus’ name. Rose turned to Scorpius who was still standing there looking faintly amused. “And you,” she growled. “You leave him alone.”

“He started it,” Scorpius argued.

“I don’t care who started it,” Rose snapped. “This feud has been going on for too long. End it. Now get out of here, Malfoy.” Scorpius grinned.

“Yes, your highness,” he said. He then gave a deep bow and left. Rose rolled her eyes and turned to the crowd.

“Hey! Show’s over!” she yelled. A few people groaned, but the crowd otherwise dispersed. Rose headed for the hospital wing.

When she entered, the first thing she saw was Albus sitting in a chair while Madame Pomfrey tended to his wounds. Hugo was lounging in a chair nearby. A wave of relief washed over her. She thought that Albus might give Hugo a hard time about going to the hospital wing.

Once the nurse was finished fixing him up, Rose confronted him.

“What. Was. That,” she snarled. Albus ignored her. “Al, this needs to stop. You promised your parents that you wouldn’t get into fights with him anymore. They’re sick off it. I’m sick of it-”

“I’m sick of it,” Hugo added.

“What I promised my parents is none of your business,” Albus snapped. “You’re not involved in any of this.”

“I’m your cousin! That automatically makes me involved! Besides, your parents weren’t the only ones who hated Scorpius’ father! My mum and dad weren’t too fond of him either! But you don’t see me and Hugo starting fights!” Albus ignored this.

“It’s my problem. Leave me alone.” And with that, he got up and left.

*************************************

The rest of the day passed without much event. Albus was now stubbornly avoiding Rose and Hugo, instead choosing to spend his time with Fred and Louis. They sat in a corner of the common room, laughing and telling jokes. Albus seemed to be in a better mood. Rose, however, was not.

“Calm down,” Hugo told his sister for the third time after she viciously turned a page in her charms book, almost tearing it completely out.

“He’s just so frustrating!” Rose hissed in reply. “He’s been doing this since our first year here! When is he going to grow up?!”

“It’s not just his fault. Scorpius-”

“Never starts the fights, and you know it!”

“But he doesn’t mind throwing insults at us in the hallways,” Hugo pointed out.

“Not us. Just Albus. Hm . . . I wonder why?” she added sarcastically.

Lily, who had been quietly reading a book, looked up skeptically and said, “Why are you so set on defending Scorpius? He may not necessarily start the fights, but he does participate in them.” Rose scowled at her.

“There wouldn’t be any fights to begin with if Albus hadn’t started them! This is all his fault! And that’s why I’ll defend Scorpius!”

“Uh-huh,” Lily murmured, and she averted her attention back to her book.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rose snapped, but Lily just ignored her. Rose rolled her eyes and fell silent.

Slowly, the common room emptied and Hugo bade them goodnight.

“We should go to bed, too,” Lily suggested with a yawn.

“Yeah,” Rose replied. “I’ll need all the rest I can get. Who knows what fights I’ll have to break up tomorrow?”