quot;Oh, don't worry. You won't be killing me. Oh…there is probably one more thing I should've mentioned. Your friends managed to repair that cannon before I killed them."

"I have a counter offer for you Aurra. You let the little one go out that front gate right now and vow that neither you nor any of your comrades will follow her…and I'll let you all go. Decide to keep her prisoner…and I will kill every one of you down there."

All around her, the bounty hunters started to laugh out loud, even Sing seemed to crack a smile for a second. "I like you, whoever you are." Aurra laughed into the comm. "It's almost too bad that we'll have to kill you."

"Shit!" Aurra shouted, her eyes darting up to the corner cannon which had begun swiveling around. "Everyone take cover!"

Maris barely had time to comprehend what was going on before the only shuttle in the base exploded in ball of fire. Then there was nothing but pandemonium as the base exploded in a barrage of yelling and blaster fire as the hunters all trained their weapons onto the mounted gun. The fight lasted for only a few scant seconds before a second explosion rocked her and all of the hunters ceased firing. "Get some men up there!" Sing shouted at no one in particular. "I want to know that bitch is dead! And get some more men on the walls! The Jedi will be here soon!"

Trying her best to look behind her, Maris felt her stomach drop as she gazed at the destroyed emplacement. 'I– I didn't even know her…and she gave her life for me…'

"Screw this Sing!" One of the hunters yelled, marching up to her cage and putting a blaster through the bars. "You promised us an easy run. Well I'm done! The bounty on a dead Jedi Padawan is almost the same as the bounty on a live one! I'm taking this little bitch with me now before those Jedi com-"

The hunter's head snapped back as Sing quickly drew her blaster and put a single round right between the man's eyes. "Look at it this way boys." Sing laughed. "Fewer men…fewer cuts! Now get your asses moving before those Jedi get here or I will– what the fuck is that noise?"

Maris didn't need to strain her ears to figure out what Sing was talking about. In fact, she doubted that anyone within a klick or two of the base could hear what they were hearing. A loud almost…howling noise like from some sort of canine beast was echoing from all around the base making it impossible to place where it was coming from. The howling grew and grew until the point where Maris was forced to try and cover her ears to block out the sound when it…stopped. And then there was nothing but silence.

"Check the perimeter!" Sing shouted into the silence. "The blasted Jedi must've turned the wildlife against us! Someone get their ass over to-"

A high pitched cry of agony swept through the area before ending just as abruptly as it came. Then something landed right next to Sing and her small band of hunters. It was one of the hunters that'd been up on the wall. Using her foot, Sing flipped the man over, and it was all Maris could do to not lose what little was left in her stomach. The man looked like…like he'd been mauled by a beast of some kind.

More screams quickly followed as the hunters began scrambling while trying to take aim at something that was…running along the walls. "What is that thing?" One of the hunters cried out.

"Who cares?" Another shouted back as he leveled his rifle at…whatever it was. "Just keep firing and– ah!"

A blur of…yellow almost white passed over her cage, snarling as it ran headlong into the hunter who'd just been yelling and carrying him off somewhere.

'What kind of beast is that?' Maris wondered as the beast moved to fast for even her eyes to follow as it tore, literally, through the ranks of the bounty hunters. 'I've never even heard a beast that moves almost faster than the eye can follow.'

Within minutes the battle, if it could even be called that, was over. And the only hunter left standing was a bleeding Aurra Sing who was holding onto her shoulder that'd been ripped open by the beast's claws with one hand while her other held her blaster out before her. Spinning around in a tight circle, Maris almost gapped at the expression on Sing's face. She was scared. No…terrified.

"Where are you?!" Sing shouted into the empty base, only to receive no reply in return. "Come out now!"

The mass of white and yellow landed behind Sing who, despite her obvious terror, pivoted on her heel and brought her blaster around. The creature simply swatted at Sing's hand, its claws cleaving the blaster in two before one the claw lashed out and grabbed Sing by the throat and picked her up off the ground.

Now that the beast was standing still, Maris could finally get a good look at it. It was tall, at least one and half times taller than even Master Ti. It was also covered in hair from its head to its toes. It was definitely a canine species of some sort. But…she had no idea what to even call this creature. Sing, in a last ditch effort, pulled a knife out of her boot and made to stab the beast in the neck. But the beast caught her arm mid swing and twisted, snapping the bones in Sing's arm as if they were nothing more than a twig.

"What…are…you…creature…?" Sing managed to get, despite the hold the beast had on her throat.

With a growl the beast's arm jerked once, snapping Sing's neck as easily as it broke her arm before tossing the now dead bounty hunter off to the side as if she were nothing more than a piece of trash.

It was only as Sing's body hit the ground that Maris finally realized the situation that she was in. She was locked in a cage. With a creature that just tore through nearly two dozen bounty hunters without taking a scratch. And she didn't have her lightsaber or access to the Force. Well…she did now that no one was around to hold the controls to her collar. 'Please…please don't notice me nice little beast.'

Her pleas went unheard as the beast turned its head towards her and lumbered over to her cage. "Oh…shit." She whispered as the beast bent over, making it so that the two of them were eye to eye. "Calm down Maris…it hasn't attacked you. Yet. Just…clear your mind. Remember what Master Ti taught you when dealing with dangerous animals. Calm yourself. Reach out through the Force and make a connection."

Reaching out with the Force she tried to make a connection with the beast, and was thrown back both literally and figuratively as the strange creature threw her out of its mind. While she was still reeling from the repulsion, the creature leaned back on its haunches and… 'Is that creature…laughing at me? No. It can't be. But…but that's the only way I can describe that noise its making.'

"Hey!" She shouted, not caring about how ridiculous she looked yelling at a…well whatever it was. "Stop laughing at me! This isn't funny you know!"

What happened next was completely beyond Maris but the creature before her started to…shift. Change. The creature started to whimper as its hair started to retract into its body, even as said body began to shrink down to a more normal size. Its face completely changed as the snot pulled back to form a more human like face. Within less than a minute the process was done. And where there was once a hulking creature sitting before her…now there was only Aela. A very naked Aela.

"Well hey there Maris." Aela smirked as if what had just happened was the most natural thing in the world. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?"

It was all too much for Maris. Without warning her brain shut down as her eyes rolled up into the back of her head as darkness claimed her.

Sitting in the tent within the Howling Wind, Aela was staring down at her hand as she experimentally opened and closed her fist. Leaving Earth had proven to be quite the blessing to both herself and Remus, as once they were outside of Earth's atmosphere the moon no longer held her sway over their curse. They both could transform at will. And even better, once they transformed they retained their minds. She had no doubt that once they returned to Earth and let the packs know about this, they would be lining up in droves to leave Earth.

But despite all of the benefits leaving Earth given them, there was still one not so minor setback. The pain of the transformation was still there. In fact, seeing as how they retained their minds perfectly, even more so than when using the Wolfsbane potion, the pain was actually worse because the mind knew exactly what was happening to the body.

"Does it hurt?"

Turning her head, Aela nodded at Asajj before motioning for her to take the seat next to her. After her rescue of Maris, the others had demanded to know what she'd done. So, figuring that showing was better than just telling, Aela had transformed in the middle of the small galley. The look on just about everyone's faces, including Asajj and Quinlan who'd at least known that they could transform, was fairly priceless. The only ones who seemed to be completely at ease with them was, amazingly enough, Shaak Ti. Thankfully enough no even fainted this time.

After she changed back, Remus then spent the next hour or more telling everyone about lycanthropy and all of its sordid history and how Nox believed that the curse was a variation of the Rakghoul plague. The one aspect that he had to stress more than any other was the fact that despite their savage appearance, both of them were completely in control of their actions when they transformed. At least while they were away from Earth that was.

"Extremely." She answered as the former Sith took her seat. "The transformation actually hurts worse now than it did back on Earth. And I've done it twice now in less than twenty-four hours."

"Why?" Asajj asked, not necessarily pressing but clearly curious.

"Because back on Earth the curse is in full effect, and part of the effect is becoming a beast in both mind and body." She answered before reaching over and picking up the bottle of firewhiskey and taking a pull directly from the bottle. "I didn't realize how much of a blessing that was actually. The pain on Earth is muted because the mind is busy transforming as well and can't necessarily process what is happening to the body. But out here? We retain our mind so nothing is muted. Imagine feeling your bones breaking, elongating and healing over. Imagine how it feels to have your internal organs reorganize themselves. Imagine how it feels for your skin to be stretched over your new body. Imagine feeling all of that at once for nearly twenty agonizing seconds. The only upside is that the transformation from man to beast and vice versa is significantly faster."

"That sounds…incredibly unpleasant." Asajj nodded as she took the bottle from Aela so she could take a pull as well. "How did you become one of these…what did you call them? Wearwolfs?"

"Werewolves." Aela corrected. "And well…I didn't become one by choice. No one in the right mind would become one by choice. We're the outcast of one society and a myth in the other. We're hated and despised by just about everyone except for those like us. As for how I became one…well let's just say that if I'm ever to tell you that particular tale…then we're going to need more firewhiskey than this."

Hearing a low cry, Aela immediately got to her feet, ignoring the cries of protest from her joints, and made her way towards the small crib in the room of she shared with Remus. "Easy there little guy," she cooed, picking Luke up from his crib. Luke fussed in her arms for a moment before reaching out with his hand at her.

Grabbing the bottle off the dresser, she put the tip in Luke's mouth and the child instantly quieted as he started to drain the contents. "You seem to be a natural at that," Asajj remarked as she came back into the common area. "Do you and Remus have kids of your own?"

"No." Aela said shaking her head as she took her seat once more with Luke in her arms. "Having children for werewolves is…dangerous and hard. The curse or virus or whatever you want to call it, that made us what we are greatly reduces our ability to procreate. With a non-werewolf it is possible to have a kid. But you also run the chance of the child inheriting the curse. But it is almost impossible for two werewolves to have a child together. And if they did, then the child would be born a werewolf. And trust me…this curse is not something you want to see if a child. Kids have been known to die due to the transformation. Although there used to be a werewolf, who had an unhealthy habit of spreading the curse to children. Thankfully Nox put an end to that."

An awkward silence fell over the two of them after that as neither woman necessarily knew how to move on from that bright piece of knowledge. Mercifully, their awkwardness was cut short as the tent flap rustled as Shaak Ti and her apprentice Maris entered. And where mone awkwardness ended, another one began as Asajj and Shaak Ti both kept shooting untrusting glances at one another. Apparently the two had not shared the most pleasant of pasts. Which was understandable considering they'd been fighting on opposite sides of the last war.

"Aela…Ventress." Shaak Ti greeted the two of them with a bow of her head before moving towards the kitchenette area of the tent.

While the ship did have galley, it was hardly equipped to feed two people let alone nearly a dozen. And as the other tent lacked a kitchen area, the tent that was being used by Remus, herself, Asajj and Quinlan had been converted into a galley as well. The four remained completely silent as Master and Apprentice made their way into the kitchen area where each grabbed a tray and filled it with a small amount of food before coming back and around and sitting down near to the two of them. Aela couldn't help but notice that Maris had purposefully put Shaak Ti between the two of them when they sat down.

"You know, I'm not going to bite you." Aela smirked, making the young girl jump slightly. "I only bite people for two reasons. One, you're my enemy. Or two, you're Remus and I'm feeling rowdy. And seeing as how you're neither of those two, you have nothing to worry about."

Maris flushed slightly as she averted her eyes and focused on her food. "Must you always talk so brashly, Master Aela?" Shaak Ti asked.

"Yup. It's fun rattling the cages of people who are too uptight. Merlin knows it took me awhile to get through to Remus. I swear that man was more uptight about sex than a damn Yank." Aela smirked at the Master. "And knock it off with that whole 'Master' bit. I'm not a Jedi, or a Sith. Or whatever you want to refer to yourselves as. I'm Aela; nothing more and nothing less."

"As you wish, Aela." Shaak Ti responded, taking another bite of her small meal before nodding to the child in her arms. "The child…it is Anakin Skywalker's, is he not?"

"He is." Aela nodded, taking the bottle away from the little guy as he'd fallen asleep with it still in his mouth.

"So…Kenobi told you all then." Asajj commented. There was no mockery in her voice like Aela half expected there to be. Instead…she spoke as if it were a simple fact and nothing more.

"Yes, he did." Shaak Ti nodded, placing her meal off to the side. "Rex is…not taking it well. He was assigned to Master Skywalker quite frequently during the Clone Wars and grew to respect him immensely. It is such a shame. One of the greatest among the Jedi has fallen to the Dark side and is now beyond our reach."

"Be careful how you word that." Aela growled. "Nox, while no longer a big bad Sith is definitely not 'Light' either. But she is still a better person than any follower of the light that I've had the unfortunate pleasure of running into. And just so you know, I'm considered a big bad 'dark' creature as well. So be you best watch your words. Dark, does not mean evil."

Shaak Ti stared at her for a moment expressionlessly before nodding. "If I offended, then I apologize. It was not my intent."

"Good," Aela said in a slightly calmer voice. "Just watch yourself with that kind of talk. I might not know everything there is to know about you Jedi and the Sith. And honestly I don't judge people on their titles. I judge people on who they are. Not what they are. You best remember that. Course Remus would argue that one should be judged by their choices."

"Of course." Shaak Ti nodded once again, seemingly lost in thought.

"You're…you're quite defensive of this S– umm…this Nox." Maris stumbled over herself. "Um, not that that's a bad thing of course! I'm um…just wondering…"

"What she did to earn my respect?" Aela asked, to which Maris nodded slowly. "It's not just my respect she's earned. I don't think there's a single werewolf on Earth that wouldn't lay down their lives for her if she asked us to do so."

"Why?" Asajj asked curiously.

"It has to do with how she 'recruited' the werewolf tribes." Aela explained as she gently rocked Luke. "Before she came, we were considered to be the outcasts of society. Dark creatures that were unfit to even be seen in public or to even associate with. Merlin's balls, there were even some organizations over the years that formed with the sole purpose of killing us. Not trying to cure us. But to kill us because of something we had no control over. But then everything changed when Nox came around."

"What did she do?" Shaak Ti asked, seemingly genuinely interested.

"She got Remus to call together a meeting of the different packs in Britain." Aela explained, thinking back to when just before Nox took over. "There were three pack leaders at the time. Myself, some arsewipe I don't even remember and Fenrir Greyback. Our former alpha…and one of the biggest bastards you'd ever meet. He alone nearly brought the werewolf hunts back thanks to his actions. Moving past that, Nox basically played him like a fiddle. Challenged him at a time when he would be at his physical peak and at a time when he still retained enough of his mind to use magic. She even let him name the terms to the duel. He agreed, they fought…and Nox completely destroyed him."

"So Nox killed your former leader, and that is why you follow her." Shaak Ti stated, rather than asked.

"No." Aela said, shaking her head. "I said that she destroyed him. She didn't kill him. Instead she let Remus have that honor."

"Honor?" Maris questioned.

"Of killing that bastard. And trust me, there was a long line of people queued up to end him." Aela responded dismissively. "But for Remus…it was more personal. When Remus was young, his father said some rather unflattering things about werewolves in general. Fenrir took offense. And in retaliation turned Remus, who was still just a child, into a werewolf. So being able to kill the man that destroyed so many lives including his own…it was vengeance and justice in one go. And trust me, Fenrir destroyed a lot of lives. Especially children's."

Pausing, Aela brought Luke back to his crib and laid him down before returning to the others so she could continue. "After Fenrir died, the second alpha tried to charge Remus. And Remus ended up killing him in one pass. After that, leadership fell to me. And I submitted to Nox and Remus. And frankly, it was the best decision I've ever made. Nox brought all of us together and gave us jobs at her factory and even had a small town built for us. And before you say something, don't." Aela added, seeing the wheels in Shaak Ti's head turning. "We knew that she was using us. And in turn we were using her. She might still be using us, but frankly we don't care. And that's because she gave us something that all of us have longed for but forever been denied."

"And what's that?" Maris asked, genuinely interested.

"A chance at a normal life. Something that no one else would give us. And because of that, all of us will follow her to hell and back without blinking an eye." Turning towards Shaak Ti, she held up a hand forestalling whatever the Jedi Master had been about to say. "Now I can see that my story didn't necessarily impress you. I'm sure you consider the whole tale barbaric or uncivilized and frankly, I don't give a damn. Where we're going, you need to drop these preconceived Jedi notions that you all seem to have. Kento, Mallie, Ahsoka…bloody hell even the other two Aayla and Yoda have managed to let go and embrace some of our ways and teachings according to Nox the last time we talked. But if any of you don't think you can handle it, then let us know right now and we'll drop you off somewhere and leave you to the tender mercies of this 'Empire'."

She was probably being too hard on the duo, but frankly, she didn't give a shit. Aela was sore and tired, both physically and magically. And she didn't feel like beating around the bush with these two. Amazingly enough though, Shaak Ti merely nodded her head. "We will adjust Ma– Aela. As Master Yoda has said before, we must follow and trust the Force. And if this is where the Force has led us, then so be it."

"And um…well speaking of that…can you maybe teach us some of what you guys did yesterday?" Maris asked, her voice picking up like a runaway dragon as she spoke. "I mean, if you want to that is. Not that I'm pressing or anything. But it would be nice to learn how you created that shield, or how you did that whole thing where you transformed the ship into that creature! That was amazing! How did you do that anyway? Wait…where's Remus? He's the one who-"

"Padawan." Shaak Ti said firmly but with little heat in her voice. "Calm yourself young one."

Ducking her head, Maris muttered a soft, "Sorry." Before once again turning and not meeting Aela's eyes.

Laughing, Aela could only shake her head. "Well will be teaching you all some of what we know." That perked up Maris, and even Shaak Ti seemed interested. "Or rather Remus will be. He's the actual teacher between the two of us. Unfortunately though, your true education will have to wait until we're back on Earth."

"Why?" Shaak Ti asked.

Pulling out her wand, Aela twirled it around her fingers for a moment before tossing it over to Shaak Ti. "That's why," she said as the Master inspected her wand carefully. "Magic and the Force, when you get right down to it, are the same thing. But where they differ is in their application and how one channels magic, or the Force. In the case of witches and wizards, we use foci like wands or staffs, or hell even swords on occasion, to help manipulate magic into what we want. Some of the really powerful among us can do this without foci, but that takes decades, maybe even a century of intensive study."

Running her fingers along the length of the wood, Shaak Ti's eyes narrowed in concentration. "I can sense the Force within this…but it feels like this stick…wand…is rejecting my presence."

"That's not surprising." Asajj answered as Shaak Ti handed the wand back to Aela. "Apparently these wands of theirs are rather...peculiar. They're not sentient, but they choose who they want to have wield them. And since we can't do what they can without them at the moment…there's not much they can teach us."

"There's always magical theory." Aela countered before smirking. "And besides, Yoda managed to do quite a fair number of spells without a wand after seeing them performed only once or twice. Are you telling me that you're not as good as a Jedi Asajj?"

Laughing at the glare Asajj was sending her way, Aela got up from her seat, cracking several joints in the process, before turning towards the room she shared with Remus. "But that will be for another day. After all…we've got a long journey ahead of us. But right now I'm too tired and sore to even think straight. So…wake me only if the ship is about to crash."

Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry watched the doors to the Great Hall with the rest of the student body as they all waited for their guests to arrive. Or rather, come into the school that is. They'd already arrived a few hours prior, the contingent from Beauxbatons had arrived in a large carriage that was being pulled by nearly a dozen winged horses while the contingent from Durmstrang arrived in an old worn down ship that surfaced in the middle of the lake like a submarine. But even though the other two schools had been on the premises for a few hours, they'd yet to leave their modes of transportation.

The Great Hall had been decorated extensively in preparation for the feast. The house banners hung at both the front and back of the hall while just behind the Headmaster was a large Hogwarts banner. All of the students had cleaned up as well. He still remembered McGonagall making one of her rare appearances in the Gryffindor common room the other night saying that all of them had better be on their best behavior. Although her gaze did linger on the Weasley twins longer than anyone else in the room.

The head table had also been expanded to fit four more seats. Two of which had already been taken. Both of whom Harry recognized from the Quidditch World Cup although for two very different reasons. The first was Ludo Bagman and the other was Barty Crouch, the same man who wanted to arrest Harry, Ginny and Ahsoka after the attack on the camp.

While he was sitting and waiting, Harry reached into his robe and lightly touched the letter from Ahsoka that was within the inner pockets of his robes. He already knew its contents, which wasn't a surprise considering that he'd read it at least five times since he received it three days ago. The two had struck up a correspondence ever since he'd left for school. They would talk through their mirrors at least once a week and they would write to one another at least once a week as well. Luckily, Hedwig actually seemed to enjoy the flight between the temple and Hogwarts, despite the fact that Harry was still unsure as to the exact distance between the two.

In the latest letter she told him that Remus would be returning by Halloween, and that he would be bringing with him two Jedi Masters, members of the Jedi Council no less, one Jedi Padawan and Luke Skywalker. That wasn't all that she had to say. Apparently, and he wasn't quite sure just why she'd done this, but Ahsoka had asked his mother to train her as if she were a Sith Apprentice. And while Harry could understand why she'd done it, after all he'd gone through the training as well, he still shuddered at the memories. Sith training was not for the faint of heart. And while he knew that Ahsoka was strong, she'd fought in a galactic wide civil war for at least two years, the thought of her having to endure that type of training still made him uneasy.

And speaking of training, Harry still wasn't sure just how he and his little group of Guardians were still going to continue on with their own training. With the Master-Apprentice relationship more formalized within their group, time in the Room of Requirement had been divided up based on Master-Apprentice pairings so they could have more one-on-one training sessions.

For those who had their Masters here at school it was easy enough, for those whose Masters were at the Temple however it was not so easily. That was of course until his mother had sent him a parcel that had a highly enchanted mirror within. When they'd first activated it, they'd been amazed. Somehow, his mother had managed to enchant a regular communication mirror into holocom. And it wasn't just limited to the one holding it. Anything within a twenty-foot radius of the mirror was represented in the opposite mirror.

The mirror allowed Astoria, Hannah, Tracey and Ron to have some one on one instruction with their respective Masters. On the weekends they would forgo individual training and have a group session. But now with so many students coming in for the rest of the year, several unused classrooms were being emptied out for so that they could be used. While that normally wouldn't have been a problem, it became one when most of the classrooms that were being prepped were on the seventh floor of the castle.

"Merlin, how much longer are they going to make us wait?" Ron grumbled across the table from Harry.

"It's called 'showmanship' Ronald." Hermione commented as she flipped another page in the book she was reading next to him. "Despite Dumbledore's whole speech about creating camaraderie between schools, this is still a competition. The other schools are going to try and intimidate us and each other and are probably setting up some grand entrance to do just that."

"Right," Ron nodded. "I knew that."

"Sure you did Ron." Ginny grinned as the doors began to open on their own. "Well…let the show begin."

The doors were still opening when the first of the Beauxbatons students sprung into the hall. Literally sprung. Flipping head over heels and cartwheeling down the middle section while using their magic to aid their acrobatics. It was almost like a carnival. Once the acrobats were halfway down the hall, the next wave of students from Beauxbatons came. They were all dressed immaculately in blue and grey silk robes. And coming in just behind the students was without a doubt the largest woman Harry had ever seen. She had to be at least part giant because she easily matched Hagrid in terms of height.

As the students passed them by, Harry's attention was drawn to one of the girls as she passed. It wasn't so much the fact that she was pretty, which she was, beautiful in fact, but rather it was the more than slight pressure he felt against his mental barriers as she passed that drew his attention.

She was a Veela. Or at least part-Veela in any case. And if the pressure against his barriers wasn't a dead giveaway, the way all the boys in the school automatically started drooling after her as she passed them by was. "Now that's just not fair." Ginny grumbled. "Using a Veela to distract everyone."

"I don't think that was their intent Ginny," Hermione corrected her. "She's more than likely a half-Veela. And according to everything that I've read, they have trouble controlling their allure until they reach their age of maturity. Which for a Veela is eighteen, not seventeen like it is in the wizarding world. She probably can't help it."

"At least Ron isn't drooling this time around," Ginny smirked, making her brother flush.

Ron didn't have the chance to retort, because right behind the Beauxbatons students came the contingent from Durmstrang. The best way to describe them was that they were the polar opposite of the Beauxbatons. They marched in unison, side by side almost like they were in a military marching formation. But despite their gruff and somewhat intimidating entrance, it was the last two to enter that immediately commanded everyone's attention. Or rather, one of the two that entered.

"Blimey!" Ron hissed, "That's Viktor Krum! What's he doing here?"

"Obviously he plans on competing." Harry shrugged as he watched the Quidditch legend walk by. Harry knew that the man was young to be playing professional Quidditch, but to still be in school?

Once the entrance of the two schools was complete, the individual students broke up and made their way towards empty spots at the House tables in the Great Hall. More than a few girls and boys were clamoring to try and get Krum to sit next to them, but he ignored them all before walking towards the back of the hall and sitting down at the Slytherin table where he promptly ignored everyone around him. He wasn't the only one to be receiving attention either, just about every other boy, and even some of the girls, in the school were trying their best to get the French beauty and half-Veela to sit with them as well. But just like Krum, she ignored everyone before finding an empty spot at the Ravenclaw table and taking a seat.

Rising from his spot at the head table, Dumbledore coughed loudly while spreading his arms. "Students of the wonderful academies of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, I welcome to Hogwarts!" He announced joyfully, causing a polite round of applause to spread throughout the hall. "It is my hope that while you all will enjoy your stay with us for the rest of the year as we come together for the first Triwizard Tournament to be held in many, many years! Classrooms have been prepared for all of you so that you may complete your studies and should you have any questions, our wonderful staff here at Hogwarts will be more than happy to help you with whatever you need. Now then…before we feast let us proceed onto the very reason why you are all here!"

With a single clap of his hands, a large stone pedestal appeared on the dais before the professors and headmasters. Atop of the pedestal was a large gold and jewel encrusted goblet that was perhaps a foot tall and a hands length or so across at the top and the sides of the goblet were as clear as glass.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Goblet of Fire!" Dumbledore announced before clapping again. This time a spark appeared just above the goblet before it expanded into a billowing flame before settling down slightly so that blue flames could just barely be seen over the rim of the goblet. "Starting now and until our Halloween feast tomorrow the goblet will be lit. Should you wish to participate in the tournament, you need only to write your name down on a piece of parchment and toss it into the fire. Tomorrow the goblet will choose one champion from each school to participate.

"Now, I must caution you all. Firstly, only those who are at least seventeen or older will be able to participate. And for those of you who think that you can get by this stipulation, let me end that here and now. I will be placing an age line around the goblet as well as several enchantments so that you cannot simply throw your name in from outside the line. Also, the Headmasters and Professors will be guarding the goblet at all times from now until the selection.

"Secondly," Dumbledore continued, "placing your name into the goblet is voluntary, however once your name comes out of the goblet you will have no choice but to participate. Now that we have all of that out of the way…let the feast begin!"

With a loud clapping of his hands, food appeared from nowhere across all of the house tables. But as Harry automatically reached out to pick out something, his hand stopped. Nearly half of the food on the table was decidedly not British as he'd become accustomed too. And he wasn't the only one who noticed either. "Bloody hell," Ron gaped as he idly poked at one of the many dishes on the table. "What is that?"

"Boullabaisse." Harry and Hermione both said at the same time.

"Bless you." Ron responded, making Harry shake his head.

Sighing, Hermione dished out some of the food onto her plate. "We didn't sneeze Ron. Boullabaisse is a French seafood stew. It's actually quite good." She accented her point by taking a bite of the portion she'd placed into a bowl while Harry dished himself out a small portion as well.

"I'll take your word for it." Ron grumbled as he picked over the dishes, trying to find one that he could identify.

Harry felt her approaching, which was the only reason why he wasn't surprised when a soft voice spoke just behind him. "Excusez-moi. Etes-vous– pardon me. Are you done with the bouillabaisse?"

Turning in his seat, Harry came face to face with the half-Veela French beauty that every male in the school was still ogling. If he thought her allure pressure was a slight push on his mental shields as she just walked by, then staring at her in the eye was like a wrecking ball. "Of course," Harry smiled before moving aside slightly so that she could reach the pot. "Nous sommes fini avec le bouillabaisse."

The French girl blinked at him at his usage of French before staring at him in confusion, all the while the pressure on his mental barriers from her allure didn't relent in the slightest. After only a slight moment of awkwardness, the girl nodded before reaching across him and spooning herself a helping of the stew. "Merci." She said with a slight bowing of her head.

To which Harry responded with, "Avec plaisir, Madam, comment appelez-vous Madam?"

"Mademoiselle, Monsiuer Potter. Je m'appelle Mademoiselle Fleur Delacour." The young woman responded with a smile before turning around and walking back to her seat amongst the Ravenclaw's.

When Harry turned back around in his seat, he was met with the awe struck face of just about every male within a twenty foot radius of him. "What?"

Ron was the first one to break the silence. "Blimey Harry…where did you learn to speak French?"

"That's what amazed you Ron?" Seamus gapped from down the table. "Harry here just talked to the finest lass in the world and got her to smile at him. And your question is where did he learn French?"

"Um, Seamus. You do realize that we are all still here right?" Lavender stated as she pointed to the girls at the table.

Seamus instantly blanched and started to stutter. "Well…what I mean is that– um…help?"

"Sorry mate." Harry laughed. "You dug your own grave on this one."

Leaving his roommate to try and stutter his way out of the corner he'd backed himself into, Harry returned to his food. "So…Fleur Delacour hmm? She's quite the looker." Ginny hummed beside him. "What do you think Hermione? Do we need to tell Ahsoka about this new development between Harry and a French girl? Maybe we can slip something into his weekly correspondence with her."

Harry nearly spit the stew out of his mouth. "Hey!" Harry growled. "Nothing happened. We were just talking."

"Who's Ahsoka?" Dean asked, as he and Seamus turned back towards him. "You meet some dame over the summer Harry?"

"Did he ever." Ginny smirked evilly. "Our dashing hero here ran in and quite literally swept her off her feet. Just like a knight in shining armor. He then spent the rest of the summer by her side. Didn't you Harry?"

"You've got a girlfriend Potter?" Seamus smiled, no doubt seeing a way out of the corner he'd backed into as he spoke loud enough to get Lavender's and Parvati's attention.

"What's she like?" Lavender pounced, her face eager for any new gossip. "I don't remember any girl named Ahsoka here at school. She a muggle or magical?"

"And you write to her every week!?" Parvati gushed. "How romantic!"

'Oh Ginny…you are so going to pay for this.' Harry cursed as he sent Ginny a withering look. "Ahsoka is…well she's unique that is for sure. And yes she is quite magical and incredibly powerful to boot. But she doesn't go to Hogwarts."

"What?" Seamus asked, his head tilting to the side before his eye lit up. "Harry mate…are you seeing an older witch?"

"She's only two years older than me." Harry said quickly. "And she's privately tutored, so odds are that you won't meet her here at school. And besides what do you care Seamus. After all…apparently every woman pales in comparison to Fleur according to you."

Lavender and Parvati, who'd been hanging onto his every word, immediately turned towards Seamus. "That's right Seamus." Lavender growled as Seamus paled. "Mind explaining that comment once more."

Seamus sent him a betrayed look, but Harry merely shrugged and turned back to his meal. "You know you're going to pay for that right Ginny?" Harry said lowly at Ginny.

"What?" Ginny said, looking thorough confused. "I'm just trying to help you Harry."

"Help me? How exactly are you trying to help me?" Harry asked back.

Ginny just stared at him for several long moments before shaking her head and going back to her food. "You're as clueless as my brother Harry."