Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

With the books we brought out from the Scriptorium, I felt like we were going to have something to read for the following decade or more. We spent most of the days going through them after homework, and I felt at home immediately. It was just like when I first got here, our time in the library… with the difference, we spent it in our tiny 'home,' in the old divination classroom. By now, it was completely refurbished by us, and we had desks, bookshelves, and even beds set up. It happened many times that we were past midnight when stopping and sneaking back to the Common Room was a hassle, so… we slept here. Close to each other… it was bliss.

What ended this brief calmness was when preparations were beginning to be made for welcoming the soon-to-arrive delegations of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. While it fell on mostly the fifth-year students and up, I was called to the Headmaster's office one afternoon.

"You know why I called you, don't you?" Severus Snape asked me, looking out his window, watching the lake and its calm surface.

"About the competition, I guess. I know that I am expected to perform well."

"You are expected to win."

"..." Well… I guess, but thanks for putting that on my shoulders and ensuring I get it. "I know my role, Headmaster."

"Every school will send out two competitors. Only your position will be fixed from the two, so whoever your pair will be, I expect you to work with her."

"I just hope they will think the same way!"

"Make them! We can't nudge the Goblet two times, but we will ensure that only capable witches put their names in!"

"Okay." I shrugged as I didn't know what to say to that. The thought of working with someone I didn't even know made me uncomfortable. Then I thought about something, but the Headmaster interrupted my thoughts.

"The delegation will arrive tomorrow. The school will line up on the grounds and welcome them. I want you to pay close attention and take this seriously. You already gathered a bit of infamy around your name, so they will know about you."

"I did?"

"What's the surprise for, Conrad?" Snape asked and turned towards me with a smile that I couldn't tell if it was mocking me or not. "The youngest killer in a century is worthy news everywhere!"

"Wasn't that Malfoy?"

"Both of us know that what happened to Professor Umbridge was your doing." He said softly, making my body flinch and my back sweat. I couldn't tell how much he knew… and if he knew, HE for sure did!

"..."

"From now on, I want you to be on your best behavior. Stop sleeping in the Divination Classroom. There won't be time to play around anymore!"

"Y-yes…" I gulped… damn it?! How long does he know that? Does he know about the Scriptorium? Our visit to the Chamber of Secrets? Or… damn, damn, triple damn! I knew we shouldn't have used the Chamber! It surely has been under surveillance since its opening!

"I wasn't reprimanding you." He continued, seeing my face turning white, "As a Death Eater… you are not a student. Not just a student… But I am warning you to behave. I expect more from you than from Draco. Got it?"

"Yes…"

"Good. Now go!"

With that excuse, I was gone from his office, not wanting to stay any longer, afraid that he would read something out of my mind without me realizing it. When I told it all to Quincy, she was shocked but not as worried as I am, mainly because we were not questioned, detained, or anything like that. So far, we were in the clear.

"That reminds me!" I exclaimed, holding her hands. "Join me in it!"

"What?" She asked, blinking her eyes, not getting it.

"The competition! I don't want to pair up with someone I don't know! Put your name into it, and if I am lucky, we can do it together!"

"I… I did think about it…" She murmured, squeezing back on my fingers, smiling, "I was going to ask you what you think about that!"

"I think that is a great idea! I just hope it works! Heh… put a little blood on the name when you drop it in! Let that Goblet have a taste and know you are special!"

"Heh, I'm not!" She blushed but chuckled nonetheless.

"I could argue with you on that… but oh well~! I won't! But believe me, when the other schools arrive, you will see that I am right because they will feel it, too!"

…
….

When the day arrived, we were told to gather in front of the school and present a strong face for the school. Us, the Slytherins, were foremost, followed by the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, while at the back stood the Hufflepuffs. I didn't know what we were expecting or waiting for… Will they come by carriage? Brooms? Apparition? Or what? Well, the weather, at least, was nice. It was still cold but sunny, and as I was thinking about it, looking towards the sky, watching how the setting sun was painting it redder and redder, I noticed it. Something was flying towards us, descending from the clouds, leaving a trail behind it.

"Hey…" I elbowed Quincy, who too quickly spotted them.

"A carriage?"

Yes. It was a giant carriage, the size of a house, pulled by two… dragons? No matter how I looked, those beasts were huge, red dragons. Now, that was an entrance! As they got closer and closer, more of us recognized it, and after taking a round above the castle, they slowly descended, halting an empty space around a hundred meters away from us.

"That's the Beauxbatons's crest…" Quincy whispered to me, pointing at the carriage with her eyes. "Coming with dragons? This is a clear show of force!"

"That I agree with…"

From our side, it was the Headmaster and the four Houses' leaders who walked out, namely Professor Slughorn, Lockhart, Wormtail, and Grubbly-Plank. Looking at Wormtail, I felt he was more nervous than usual. His classes were always mediocre; I rarely paid any attention to either him or what he was teaching us… If anything, he had no respect amongst most students, not even his own house.

"I totally forgot that there was a change…" Quincy murmured, tilting her head.

"About what?"

"Lockhart was made head of Ravenclaw, his old House, while Professor Grubbly-Plank had been raised to be Head of Hufflepuff."

"Is that a good thing? Or was she punished?" I asked with a soft sigh, but now I understood why Lockhart was strutting about in a black and blue, fancy robe. It made sense.

The carriage's door opened when they got close, and a man stepped down. He looked to be old… yet not. The longer I looked, the more confused I got. I couldn't tell if he was young, strong, and healthy or if he was old, as he had long, white hair reaching down to his shoulders. I didn't need to be reminded that it was the legendary alchemist, Nicolas Flamel, who created the Philosopher's Stone and now also served as his old school's Headmaster. By all accounts, he was almost 700 years old… That alone spelled danger, as even if he had the elixir of life and could live almost forever, there are many possibilities for one to die. Be it sickness, war, or treachery. The fact he survived for this long was already telling.

"So he is that friend... or mentor of Dumbledore?" I whispered as we watched the Headmaster greet the delegation.

We couldn't hear what they were saying, not that we were really interested in, as most of us watched the girls and boys coming out of the carriage. They were... beautiful... and I mean both. Not in the sense that you would fall in love, no. They were... elegant. Regal. Aaaaand... yes, some of the girls were extremely beautiful, I can't lie.

"Hmph..." Quincy snorted beside me, making me flinch, reemerging from my sudden stupor. Looking at the side of her face, I decided to remain silent. It was... the better choice.

When the carriage emptied out, and I counted them, there were 50 people in total... but I only saw five adults, including Nicolas Flamel, and none seemed familiar or someone of the Order. I wanted to speak when, with a loud crash, we all looked towards the lake and saw a ship emerging from the depths of it. It was like a submarine or the legends of the Flying Dutchman. After all the water was pushed off the deck and out of the drainage holes on the side, we started seeing people emerge, emanating a robust and warrior-like aura, coming ashore on small rowboats.

"Hey..."

Now, it was my time to be a bit jealous because, for a moment, I saw Quincy's eyes light up... Of course, I wasn't angry. I get it... their entrance and the way one strong-looking guy was standing at the end of the small boats, holding a flag with their crest on it, billowing in the wind... it looked heroic.

With a sigh, I looked at the two groups, and then my eyes wandered around on our side. They did know how to make an entrance, be it dragons or coming ashore like some kind of invading army... yet we were standing here like sticks in the mud. Pathetic. Somehow... At that particular moment, I felt I was itching in my heart to get into this competition and show what we could do!