Jade joined all of the other Eaglesclaw students on the front lawn
the next morning, waiting for their conveyance to get to Hogwarts
school. Everyone was wearing their most ceremonial robes and dresses and pants, looking their very nicest. She pulled her long spiral curls back into a ponytail to keep it
out of her face, and her arm ached where it had been bruised yesterday
during Alana's Quidditch game.

At halftime, the Magical Melody
Choir went out onto the pitch to perform. Half of the choir sang the
Bear Fight Song, and half sang the Owl Fight Song, first one at a time,
then overlapping slowly, until each side got louder and louder and
everyone, including the fans, was screaming along. It was their classic
routine, swapping out the four different house fight songs according to
the Quidditch teams playing.

It was going great, her voice sounded
fabulous, and the performance was almost over. But a wayward Bludger
broke its way out of the box and started whipping around the field.
Everyone screamed and ducked, but it brushed the edge of Jade's arm. She
was fine, except for a plum-colored bruise the size of of a Snitch on
her arm.

Back in the present, West joined Jade, grinning. "Our performance yesterday was epic!"
she cheered, arms high in the air in an Alana-esque gesture of victory.
"Sorry about your bruise, and everything, but did you hear how loud
everyone was cheering? They loved us!"

Jade laughed. "West, they
always love us. Do you know how many times we've done halftime
performances? The routine never really changes, but they like it anyway." She contemplatively rubbed her arm and sat down on top of her trunk.

West shrugged. "Sure, but I think the flying Bludger made it better." She walked away to join a group of her Lammasador roommates.

Jade scanned the crowd, searching for Jack. She saw blue eyes, saw blonde hair, saw cheeky grins, but none of them ever combined the way she needed them to.

"Boo," said a boy's voice behind her, and she jumped involuntarily. It was him, it was Jack, smiling softly at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Hey," she said, blushing at him. "You can sit down, if you want to." She patted the edge of her trunk, and he obliged.

"Listen, Jade," Jack said, running a hand through his spiky hair. "I...I wanted to talk to you about something important. I've been thinking really hard, and I just don't think that this is-"

He was thankfully interrupted by Headmaster Thornbeck, who was standing atop a large tree stump. "Students of Eaglesclaw! In just a few moments, we will be departing for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please pay strict attention to what you are about to be told." He lifted a small cloudy orb, blips of colorful light swirling around inside. "This is a travel orb. Smash it at your feet and shout the location to which you want to travel, and it will encase you in the bubble and take you there." He smashed the orb at the toes of his loafers. It shot pale smoke around him.

"Hogwarts School!" The smoke encased him in an ethereal-looking bubble, which shot into the sky and emitted flashes of light before disappearing in a crack of lightning. Jade cheered along with everyone else as their heads of house distributed orbs to each student. Jade smashed her orb on the ground and yelled, "Hogwarts School!"

The feeling that ensued was not far from the feeling she got when she floated and glowed, but cooler, and she couldn't see. Her heart was pounding and her lungs were filling up with fog. Her eyes watered, and she used all of her Occlumency skills to keep herself from lighting up and shooting fireballs. The bubble tumbled and twisted, her stomach flipping with every motion. She covered her head so that her hair wouldn't get messed up. The last thing she wanted to do was look foolish and sloppy in front of two schools, especially Beauxbatons.

The other schools competing in the tournament were Hogwarts, naturally, and Beauxbatons from France. Hogwarts was even older than Eaglesclaw, full of distinguished learning and ancient ghosts. Gretchen Grizzleheart, the founder of Eaglesclaw and of Grizzleheart house, had gone to Hogwarts herself and been a Hufflepuff. The students had a reputation for being powerfully intelligent.

Beauxbatons, on the other hand, was sophisticated and higher-class. There were certain blood and status requirements to enter the prestigious all-girls wizarding academy. The girls there all had perfect manners, perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect grades, perfect everything really. They made a good name for themselves just by their appearances, as some people said that Beauxbatons girls were snotty and conceited. Regardless of their reputations, Jade didn't want to look like a messy child in front of them.

The bubble began to drop, and she had just enough time to magic her hair up into a nice bow before the bubble hit the ground and exploded in glassy shards and fireworks. Her emerald green ceremonial robe-dress swirled around her, and she sparkled with radiance in the light. The Hogwarts students, clothed in their smartest robes and looking awed, applauded as each student touched down, robes whirling, skin shimmering. It must have been the bubble effect, but they looked really and truly magical.

On the left side of the field was a group of girls, clad in powder blue uniforms, complete with attractive hats. Beauxbatons, most likely. They were all gorgeous, talking in clusters and laughing haughtily. Jade immediately felt spurned, but figured she could at least attempt to make friends with them. She waved at one of the friendlier-looking girls, one with auburn hair and the deepest brown eyes Jade had ever seen. The girl beamed and returned her wave.

Everyone entered the Great Hall, and the Grizzlehearts were sent to sit with a house called Hufflepuff. Lammasador was assigned to the Gryffindor table, Snowbeak to the Slytherin, and Merdock to the Ravenclaw. Beauxbatons had their own table. As the Merdock kids passed, Jade flashed Jack an optimistic smile, which he returned distractedly. There was a blonde girl in a powder blue uniform who had her hand on his shoulder and her head thrown back in laughter, and he was beaming down at her.

Jade looked over to Alana, but she was nowhere in sight. The seat beside her, which had been occupied a moment before, was empty.

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, rose to his feet. "Welcome, students of Eaglesclaw and Beauxbatons, to Hogwarts! We are so happy that you could join us here for what promises to be a wonderful event. Of course, the Triwizard Tournament is not just about competition, it is about strengthening the relationships between schools. I hope that you will all enjoy this year of getting to know everyone."

He prattled on about the rules of the tournament, but Jade was preoccupied with searching for Alana.

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

The next evening, Jade sat back at the Hufflepuff table. Alana hadn't been present at lessons or meals, and so Jade had to sit next to a Hufflepuff girl named Hannah Abbott. She was nice, but Jade really missed her best friend. They were going to announce the names of the students selected to participate in the tournament in just a few moments, and she was excited to hear which of her fellow students was going to lead Eaglesclaw to victory.

Professor Dumbledore stood. "I will now read the names of the three champions for the schools." He flicked his wand, and a piece of paper shot into the air. "The champion for Beauxbatons is...Fleur Delacour!" A blonde girl stood and smiled a smile full of false modesty.

"The champion for Hogwarts is...Cedric Diggory!" A handsome boy rose from the Hufflepuff table, and several of the girls sighed in admiration.

The goblet of fire coughed, and another piece of paper with Hogwarts insignia flew into the air. "Harry Potter?"

There was a murmur in the crowd as a dark-hair boy with glasses rose in confusion. "Me?" he asked, pointing to himself in confusion.

Dumbledore looked shaken, but continued nonetheless. "And the champion for Eaglesclaw is..." The final piece of paper fell into his hand. "Jade Pevensie."