Hogwarts' dark and gloomy castle can be seen from the windows of the Hogwarts Express, the journey is almost over, and most students have already changed in their uniforms, ready to trample the old stones of the Wizard School of Magic. Excitement is boiling up from the different cars, mixed with the nervousness of the first year who aren’t sure what to expect from the upcoming year in the famous school.

Miyeon, seated in a car mostly filled with 7^th years, is watching the familiar landscape of Scotland welcome her once again for her last year at the wizard school. Unlike most students, she doesn’t feel the spark of excitement like the previous years, she doesn’t expect much from this year as she is scared to be disappointed. She only wishes to spend warm moments with the people she loves.

One of them currently sleeping on her shoulder. The younger girl has been traveling for a full day already, coming straight from Taiwan where she spent her holidays with her family. Shuhua only managed to stay awake for an hour, enough time to tell Miyeon about her summer and to hear some of Miyeon’s before falling asleep from the tiredness of her long trip.

Miyeon gently caresses Shuhua’s cheek to wake up the sleepy girl.

« We are almost at our destination. Wake up now, so you won’t have a sleepy face during dinner. »

Shuhua groans, hides her face in Miyeon’s neck, and refuses to pull away when the older girl tells her to wake up a second time. Miyeon lets her a few more minutes, before starting to tickle Shuhua’s side. Shuhua immediately lets go of Miyeon and gives her an angry look in response.

The Hogwarts Express reaches the station of Hogsmeade minutes after Shuhua comes back from the restroom in her Gryffindor uniform. Miyeon arranges the tie for her as Shuhua always seems to forget how to tie it properly during the summer. The two friends are among the last ones to exit the train; they hold hands on their way to the carriages.

« Hi! Long time no see! »

Miyeon and Shuhua turn around, only to find Minnie and Soojin coming their way. Miyeon waves happily to the two, while Shuhua rolls her eyes – not a big fan of Minnie. Miyeon lets Minnie wraps her in a tight hug. Shuhua doesn’t let go of her hand.

« Hello, Shuhua. How are you? It has been a while, hun? »

« Two months. »

Not enough if you ask Shuhua. The Gryffindor has always disliked seeing Minnie and Miyeon interact together. Miyeon and Minnie are in the same year and share a good amount of classes together to Shuhua’s biggest displeasure. They have their inside jokes and study for exams together.

« Minnie and I hang out together this summer. »

Shuhua wants to roll her eyes but smiles instead. It explains why the two seem so close suddenly; when they left Hogwarts last year, Minnie and Miyeon were not on hugging terms. Shuhua knows how careful Miyeon is of the people she lets close to her.

« Hello, Shuhua. »

Shuhua turns to the voice. Soojin, Minnie’s best friend, has been standing silently while Minnie was greeting them. She smiles kindly to Shuhua, and the younger responds with a smile of her own. The carriage arrives, and Minnie steals Shuhua’s place next to Miyeon, forcing her to sit next to Soojin.

Shuhua listens to the conversation between the two in front of her with a deep frown on her face. Soojin next to her is silent, not that Shuhua realized as she is busy being angry at Minnie. She wants to push the girl away from Miyeon, she wants her to shut up about her summer spent between London and Thailand, she wants Miyeon to stop laughing at Minnie’s funny stories, she wants-

« You have chocolate on your cheek and your shirt. »

« Huh? »

Shuhua turns abruptly toward Soojin, surprised to hear her talk suddenly, she had almost forgotten about her. Soojin grabs her wand from the leather scabbard attached to her right leg and puts the tips of her wand on Shuhua’s white shirt. The girl murmurs a spell, and the chocolate stain disappears, leaving the shirt perfectly white.

« Thank you. »

« Come closer. »

Soojin pulls Shuhua closer to her by the tie, making Shuhua open her eyes big. The girl rubs the chocolate on Shuhua’s cheek, she looks at her work for a moment – a blush colors the Gryffindor's cheeks –, and she finally lets go of the tie. Shuhua thanks her again with a small voice. Too focused on being reunited with Miyeon, she had forgotten how disarmed she feels when she is this close to Soojin.

Shuhua sits as far away from Soojin as possible, she faints to be enjoying their surrounding but the night is so dark it is impossible to see anything. Her ears can’t avoid the conversation Minnie and Miyeon are having, she wishes for the ride to the castle to be faster, so she can finally escape to the Gryffindor table even if it meant being away from Miyeon.

Miyeon takes Shuhua’s hand in hers, letting Soojin and Minnie enter the Great Hall before them. The two friends find a spot away from the crowd of students, they know they still have a few minutes before the ceremony starts.

« Are you okay, Shu? »

« I don’t want you to spend the whole year ignoring me for Minnie. »

« Oh, Shu. You know you are my favorite person, right? »

Miyeon squeezes Shuhua’s hand three times before heading to the Great Hall where they have to go their separate way. Miyeon to the Hufflepuff’s table and Shuhua to the Gryffindor’s. They agree to meet after the ceremony to catch up more.

« Shuhua! Come here! »

Shuhua lets Yuqi squeeze her in a tight hug, the girl is overly excited about being back at Hogwarts to see her friends again. Shuhua lets herself be squeezed, sure that at least one of her bones cracked from the strength of her friend.

« I didn’t see you on the train. »

« I am sure you were too busy with Soyeon. »

« you. »

« Soyeon! »

Shuhua rolls her eyes at the duo. She sits down between Yuqi and Soyeon to prevent any disaster from happening. The two love each other and enjoy showing it by teasing each other until one of them goes too far and tries to kill the other. Shuhua knows they never will, but the intensity of their exchange can be quite impressive, and she doesn’t want to deal with it on her first day back at Hogwarts.

Yuqi drops it quickly, she has too much to share with Shuhua from not having seen her the whole summer. Shuhua listens carefully to her friend’s excited monologue. Soyeon on her left has placed her hand in Shuhua’s under the table and squeezes it three times to tell the girl she missed her too. Shuhua squeezes three times as well.

Soyeon and Yuqi are one of the most unexpected friendships. The two met on the train during their first year, Yuqi was very curious about Soyeon’s fashion sense and spent the whole train ride asking questions to the poor girl. Soyeon, too happy to have found someone who wasn’t thinking she was weird because of her clothes, answered the many questions. Yuqi was very nervous before going under the Sorting Hat, she told the Sorting Hat to place Soyeon in the same house as hers, and the Hat did just as she asked him.

Soyeon always had been told she would end up in Slytherin because of the dark aura she carried around her. When the Sorting Hat was put on her head, she was surprised to hear it think for a whole minute. Her eyes found Yuqi at the Gryffindor’s table with her hands joined together wishing for her to be a Gryffindor as well. Soyeon asked the Sorting Hat to put her in Gryffindor, and even when the Hat told her Slytherin would be a better choice, she told it to do as she asked him.

That is how the two started their friendship. Soyeon who is as dark as Yuqi is bright. While Yuqi is the mood maker of the room, always ready to have fun and go on adventures; Soyeon is quieter, has a way to find trouble, and refuses to follow the rules. The most seeable proof is the black beanie she wears every day on top of her head. On it is proudly pinned the Gryffindor emblem and – despite Shuhua and Yuqi’s disapproval – a Death Eater’s symbol.

Shuhua remembers meeting them in Gryffindor's common room, one night she was having a difficult time finishing her homework. She has always been terrible at Defense Against the Dark Arts; Yuqi and Soyeon helped her. Yuqi has a great understanding of magic, and Soyeon is surprisingly good at explaining things in the simplest ways. Shuhua kept on meeting them around the school, the two friends recognizing her, and Yuqi being the friendly person she is invited her to hang out with them more often than not. It helped that Soyeon liked Shuhua from the very beginning and that Shuhua never thought Soyeon was a weirdo despite the rumors going around.

At the end of her second year, Shuhua could count Yuqi and Soyeon as true friends. Her best memories had a lot of the two Gryffindors despite Soyeon's natural tendency to find trouble at every breath she takes, and Yuqi’s recklessness.

« How is Miyeon? »

« Good. I didn’t get to see her this summer. We caught up a bit during the ride. »

« I heard there will be something big happening this year. Did she tell you anything about it? »

« I actually slept during most of the ride… »

Yuqi groans. Shuhua turns toward Soyeon for more explanation, even if it isn’t out of the ordinary for Yuqi to ask about Miyeon, the two aren’t friends in any way. Often, it has something to do with the fact that Miyeon’s father is close to the Minister of Magic. Soyeon explains there is a rumor going around that there will be an event happening this year.

« I will ask her about it after the ceremony. »

« Speaking of it. »

They all turn toward the teachers’ table. A stool has been installed at the front of and the Sorting Hat is ready to put all the first years in their House. Shuhua remembers the experience being quite long in her case, Soyeon complains about having to sit there for almost two minutes, but Shuhua’s sorting took almost five long minutes.

The Sorting took a while during which Yuqi complained three times about how angry she was. Soyeon threatened to make disappear forever once if she continued, and Shuhua gave a warning look to her friend. Once Mr. Bancroft, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, has finished his welcoming speech, the food finally appears on the table.

« I am so hungry! »

Shuhua rolls her eyes at Yuqi’s behavior. Soyeon helps Shuhua to get the dishes situated too far from her reach as students are often so scared of Soyeon that they obey her every word. Shuhua thanks her, filling her plate with the warm food – she realizes she may be as hungry as Yuqi is after all.

« There hasn’t been any announcement. It may have been only rumored. »

Yuqi shrugs, too focused on eating. Shuhua turns to Soyeon, but the girl doesn’t have more information to offer. Shuhua decides to search for Miyeon. It isn’t hard to spot the Hufflepuff, she always sits in Shuhua’s field of view, unfortunately, her attention is always taken by the many people trying to talk to her. Shuhua wonders how she manages to breathe with all the constant attention on her person.

Shuhua sighs, she will have to wait for the end of the Feast to talk to her friend.

Once the Feast is over, the plate disappears, leaving the four long tables empty and revealing the wood which has been until then covered by a table cloth at the color of each house. Shuhua understands something is going on when Mr. Bancroft is standing right in front of all of them, waiting for the attention of all students.

« I hope everyone has eaten to their stomach’s content. As I have all of you gathered for a few more minutes, I have a last announcement to make before I let you all walk to your dorms. This year, Hogwarts has decided to see things big, to show the world what our students are capable of, and to test the knowledge you have acquired. »

Shuhua searches for Soyeon’s hand under the table, not liking the tone of the speech. If one thing she has learned ever since she stepped into the wizarding world is that wizards are crazy human beings, completely unaware of how dangerous things can be even if – many –others died before them. Her eyes are searching for Miyeon, but instead finding Soojin who is already looking at her. She quickly looks away, uncomfortable holding the other girl’s gaze.

« After a long discussion with the Minister of Magic, Hogwarts has the pleasure to host its own Magical Tournament! »

A loud cheer from the students – and even some teachers – greets the announcement of the Headmaster. Shuhua frowns, she has no idea what this Magical Tournament exactly is, but if it needed a discussion with the Minister of Magic before taking place it surely is something dangerous.

« Unlike other years, no other school will participate along Hogwarts. This will be a tournament among Hogwarts students on our ground! »

Everyone rises to their feet, clapping and cheering for the announcement. Yuqi is jumping around, giving high-fives to the Gryffindors next to her, she even turns around to do so with the Ravenclaws sitting being her.

Shuhua turns to Soyeon, and the girl understands she is completely lost. Soyeon explains some years ago, the Triwizard Tournament involving three wizard schools was held every five years. A champion from each school was selected and had to compete in three magical tasks. Unfortunately, the tournament hasn’t been held in years due to the Ministry of Magic judging it too dangerous after the death of many participants over the years.

Saying Shuhua is shocked by the explanation is an understatement. Unlike Yuqi and Soyeon, she isn’t a fan of the constant danger the wizarding world seems to be all about. Her two Gryffindor friends tell her it is because she is a muggle-born, and so everything seems dangerous for her. But Shuhua is sure wizards are just too used to the constant danger they are in to realize how crazy they are.

After the announcement, everyone is so excited that it is easy for Shuhua to slip away in direction of the Viaduct Courtyard where she waits for Miyeon to join her. It is one of their many spots, hidden from Entrance Hall by one of the columns, they smile when they see each other. For now, the Prefects are busy taking care of the first years so they have time.

« Did you know about the Tournament? »

« My dad has been talking about it all summer. »

Shuhua nods, obviously Yuqi was right. Miyeon gets Shuhua out of her thoughts as she wraps her work robe around Shuhua’s shoulders; now that the night has fallen the wind is colder and she doesn’t want the girl to be sick. Shuhua wraps her arms around Miyeon’s waist to be closer.

« Are you going to participate? »

« Do you want me to participate? »

« Soyeon said a lot of students have died during the previous Triwizard Tournaments. »

Miyeon smiles when she sees worries coloring Shuhua’s eyes, she can’t help but press her cheek against Shuhua’s, finding her adorable. She is very much aware that Shuhua believes wizards are crazy, but she is thankful for how Shuhua still tries to understand.

« Yuqi and Soyeon want to participate. »

« I didn’t expect less of them. »

« I don’t want to. »

« I know. I know you think it is dangerous, but it is also a great challenge. You are a great wizard, you know that, right? I think you shouldn’t judge the Tournament so negatively, and maybe even consider participating. »