Pranking hearts

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. It was right after they all were finished eating. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."

"Do you think we will finally find out what is going on this year?" Angelina who was sitting next to Rhea whispered to her. The girls, Angelina and Alicia managed to steal Rhea from the twins. Much to their dismay. But the girls needed to talk amongst themselves. And Alicia somehow found out about Rhea's little runaway with Cedric Diggory and she needed details. That's how the girls spent most of the train ride to the school. Talking about everything, which was getting on Rhea's nerves but she didn't want to be mean to her friends.

"I would like to know too. My mum was dragging me through shops just to find me a formal dress..." Alicia groaned, rolling her eyes. The other two girls looked over at her with raised eyebrows. Alicia was the one who would be crazy about shopping. She loved it, if it could be proclaimed a new sport of Hogwarts, Alicia would be the Captain and the legend.

"Are you kidding?" Rhea asked in disbelief.

"No, it was terrible. I couldn't pick one and my mother clearly doesn't understand new trends." Alicia complained causing both girls to roll their eyes. That was more believable. Rhea didn't have the opportunity to go shopping for a dress with anyone but her father told her that she shouldn't worry about that. So she suspected that he had something in mind already.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office if anybody would like to check it." Rhea glanced over at the twins who high-fived. Proud smiles on their faces since they were the ones causing mayhem with those things last year. It was bound to get banned after what they did with it to Filch. Although he had to appear serious Rhea swore she saw the corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitch. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below the third year."

"It's the same old. I would have thought we would learn some shocking news by now." Lee complained from across from them. Dreadlocks pulled together in a ponytail to prevent them from falling into his face. The twins both agreed by nodding their heads while the girls just shrugged.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Rhea could hear Harry gasp from a few seats away. They locked eyes, Rhea shaking her head in disbelief. She wanted to see Angelina in the spot of the captain. Although Rhea was originally offered the spot by Oliver she insisted he should give it to Angelina. It wasn't because Rhea wouldn't want the position but Angelina wanted it more. 

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy, but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts..." But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black travelling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swivelled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of blonde almost white hair, and then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Rhea jumped slightly in her seat. Never been a fan of storms or lightning. The lightning had thrown some light onto the face of the man. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head so that all they could see was whiteness. Rhea shuddered at the sight. Looking over at Angelina who was cringing as well.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it. He seemed to be making some inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side. The stranger sat down, shook his hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students. It was an unsettling sight for many students. Especially Rhea had her doubts about the man.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody." It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

"Are we liking this?" Alicia whispered to the two girls.

"No." Both Rhea and Angelina said at the same time, eyes fixed on the new professor. Dumbledore cleared his throat, to gain the attention once again.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" Fred shouted loudly. Rhea rolled her eyes at the vociferous behaviour of her best friend. But at the same time couldn't help but smile, because he was simply incredible. It was the gift of the Weasley twins, they weren't even trying and everyone just eased up around them. The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. It was a mystery how they did it. With their careless attitude and ability to joke about everything, they were like a light, illuminating the darkness of reality.

"I am not joking, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said with a chuckle, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar." Fred grinned seeing as he got Dumbledore to almost tell a joke before Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. "Er...but maybe this is not the time...no..." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament...well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely," Dumbledore explained what the Tri-wizard tournament was about.

The whole time he talked about three tasks. Eternal glory and things as such, the twins were as if in a trance. With subtle looks communicating with each other which made Rhea nervous. And the prize was clearly something the twins would want to pursue their dreams. Which made it all more dangerous.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred whispered to the group of friends, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. He locked eyes with Rhea who didn't look too enthusiastic about his ambitions. But he dismissed it quickly.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, effectively shushing the uproar of conversations that erupted in the Great Hall, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age, that is to say, seventeen years or older, will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This..." Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious..." is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I, therefore, beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."

I giant stone fell from Rhea's chest. She was sure if either of the twins would get themselves in the tournament that they would most likely get killed there because of recklessness. They were not the ones to be paying attention too often and work hard on solving things. Hence the reason why Rhea helped them with homework because once something wasn't working up to their advantage it was not necessary. It was mainly with Fred than George. The guy had the attention span of a fish. Rhea just didn't want them to die in horrid death, either of them. That's why she was so glad that they would be turning seventeen in April and not sooner.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

***

A month of waiting was quick to pass. Rhea had fully emerged in her studies already. If it weren't for twins always pestering her about helping them with the Aging potion she would have said that the month of September was the calmest one she ever experienced. But she really could do without the twins always asking her to make the potion for them. She already expressed her disagreement with the tournament, yet the twins weren't very considerate of her concerns.

Angelina and Rhea were walking down the hall when they noticed a group forming in front of the windows. Chattering crowds, excitedly watching outside. It wasn't quite ordinary for the students to be admiring the outsides from the windows. Usually, everyone was in a rush to get to their classes, or this time to Great Hall since the feast was about to start.

Both Rhea and Angelina scurried towards the windows, mouths falling open when they saw the giant carriage with these large white flying horses. It was a truly mesmerizing sight. Figures clad in light blue uniforms exited the carriage one by one. All of them looked so elegant and noble. They were sure to be the students from Beauxbatons.

The remarkable show hasn't ended quite yet. Next thing they knew an enormous boat emerged from underneath the surface of the lake. The appearance of the massive vessel got Rhea to just stare in awe. Completely oblivious to the fact that the twins had joined the group and were now standing next to her.

"What are you gawking at Black?" Fred's voice asked from next to her, forcing her to tear her eyes from the lake involuntarily, to look at her friend. An unimpressed look set on her face when she gazed at him. "You hate boats."

"I never said that." The blonde said, arms crossing over her chest. Fred smirked down at her, head tilting to the side.

"Sure you did. In the first year when we went with the boats across the Black Lake." Fred reminded her with a laugh. "You were clinging to the side of it for dear life."

"That's 'cause you and George were rocking the boat. I was worried we would tip over." Rhea said with a frown. She hated when Fred would tease her about things that happened in the past. Especially when he was the reason for her actions. Fred sighed contently, remembering the past.

"Ah, good times." Rhea rolled her eyes at his attitude.

"Oh shut up." She groaned. Looking around she noticed Angelina disappeared off to somewhere and so had most of the group that was previously by the window. Actually, it was now only Rhea and Fred standing by the window that didn't provide any mesmerizing view anymore.

"I was meaning to ask..." Fred started, inching closer towards the girl. Rhea shook her head, ducking past him and getting on her way to the Great Hall.

"Save your breath, I'm not helping you with that dumb potion." Rhea dismissed him quickly entering the Great Hall. Fred raced behind her to steal a seat right next to her. When the two sat down, every single Hogwarts student seemed to be awaiting the other schools to come inside with batted breath.

"Have you seen how they came in? As if the place belonged to them." Alicia frowned, rolling her eyes. She was unnaturally pessimistic about the matter, while Katie next to her seemed to be beaming with happiness. A giddy smile on her lips as she kept on switching from staring at the table and at the door. Though most of the time she was glued on the door.

"I don't know, all we saw was them exiting the boat and..."

"No, I mean the French folks. So stuck up I can't believe it." Alicia set what seemed like a permanent frown on her face.

"Hate to point out the cruel truth but there are only like three or four guys here with Beauxbatons. It's mostly just girls." Rhea pointed out, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"I was talking about the girls they are..."

"Beautiful..." Katie breathed out surprising mostly everyone around her. The group of friends looked over at her. Rhea had a knowing smile on her face while Alicia looked almost mortified.

"And that is the problem, see? They will take all of my targets away. Most of the guys are already drooling around for them. Filch will need at least two buckets to clean up the hall after the feast." Annoyance was far too clear in Alicia's voice.

"You referring to men as targets is not offensive at all, Al," Lee muttered with an eye roll, gaining supportive glances from the other two male members of the group of Gryffindor sixth years. Also, the two girls, Angelina and Rhea, were quite questioning the strange word choice of their roommate. But before anyone could question Alicia's behaviour even more the Headmaster of Hogwarts spoke. Gaining the attention of the students.

"...Now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress Madame Maxime." A group of girls dressed in blue dance up the aisle and release butterflies into the air. You could see two or three boys among the girls, blending in nicely with their same-coloured uniforms. Practically every male eye was stuck on them.

When Rhea looked over at Fred she rolled her eyes noticing that the ginger was practically forgetting how to breathe just because he was watching the blue silky skirts of the beautiful girl that was passing by them. Frowning, with a slight hurt feeling inside her stomach Rhea turned away, eyes catching onto Katie who was staring at the girls with a faint red tint on her cheeks. Rhea smirked to herself, finally understanding Katie's obsession with the door. 

"And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master Igor Karkaroff." In the Great Hall rushed a bunch of bulky guys with thick coats. Rhea raised an eyebrow at the surge of confidence that entered the Great Hall with them. The impressive work with fire they displayed was quite breathtaking but none of them appeared to be Rhea's type.

"Found yourself a husband somewhere?" Fred asked, not so subtly bumping into her shoulder. It was almost as if he was trying to get her to stop paying attention to the guys from Durmstrang. "I'm not sure if they are in for a conversation, look a bit more into the physical acts." Fred teased some more, knowing how uncomfortable Rhea was with a topic like this.

"If you are looking for a French dictionary to speak with one of those Beauxbatons models I can land you one of my old ones and don't worry I'm sure most of them don't know how to form complex sentences so you should be good," Rhea said with a forced smile, turning to look at the ginger next to her. The boy processed what she had said, letting a smirk tug at the corner of his lip.

"Touche, Black," He said approvingly. The two of them grinned at each other before turning to the feast. Since the Beauxbatons girls were seated with Ravenclaw and Durmstrangs somehow decided to sit by the Slytherins, everyone could start eating. Many students were having a silent conversation, discussing who was going to try and enter the tournament tomorrow.