Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As Fourth Year begins and both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang head for Hogwarts, what will the reveal of the Goblet of Fire bring? Will Harry be forced into the Triwizard Tournament? What Magics will Harry be exploring? Will anyone else figure out their 'right question'? Will Harry sit still in Hogwarts with Fleur around, or will he still wander off to who knows where to satiate is unending curiosity?

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Chapter 31 – Accomplishment, Understanding, Arrival

September second fell on a Friday this year. As such, the students of Hogwarts were eating their breakfasts and preparing for their first day of classes in the Great Hall. As was normal in the mornings, the Hall was filled with owls delivering mail shortly after breakfast had begun. One particularly beautiful snowy owl glided towards the Ravenclaw table and flapped her wings twice to stall her momentum before landing softly between Harry's plate and the platter of food closest to him on the long table.

"Prek!" Hedwig chirped at Harry, holding her leg out with an envelope tied to it.

"Good morning, Hedwig." Harry smiled at his owl, giving her a few gentle pets as he took the letter from her. He moved water and a bit of his bacon into the air for Hedwig to enjoy with barely a thought as he opened the letter and started to read.

Luna looked curiously at the letter as she enjoyed petting Hedwig as the owl finished off the bacon. "Is it good news?"

Harry gave Luna a smile. "Brilliant news, Luna!" He chuckled as he showed her the letter. "My 'Potter Potion Pills' have passed all the tests and stringent safety evaluations from St. Mungos. The top Healers in the country have certified them as safe and effective and are hoping to work out a royalty deal with me to legally produce and sell them."

"Congratulations, Harry!" Hermione beamed at her best friend, happy for the success of his newest creation. Not that she'd ever doubted him, of course. He'd proven time and again that when it came to Magic, Harry Potter's understanding was not to be doubted. It was why Hermione still kept her 'Potter Potion Pill' that Harry had given her on her person at all times, just in case of emergency.

"That's another accomplishment, right?" Luna smiled at Harry, happy for her 'big brother'.

Harry chuckled lightly as he nodded. "Indeed, it is." He watched Hedwig fly off; no doubt headed for the Owlery to get some rest. When it came to bringing Harry mail from home (where the letter from St. Mungos had originally been sent) Hedwig was always firm in being the one to deliver it. "Now that it's been approved, I'll have to teach Daphne the recipe and see where she takes it in the future as a Healer." Harry smiled, fully believing in Daphne and the path that she'd chosen for herself.

"I wonder if the news will be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow or the day after?" Hermione pondered as Harry passed the letter from St. Mungos to her so that she could read it.

"Probably tomorrow, knowing the Prophet." Harry wondered if they'd just write the article as a boast about him (and ostensibly how good he made Magical Britain look with his many accomplishments). Or if it would be spun to insinuate that he was trying to change the longstanding Healing Arts by turning away from traditional potions. 'I'll just have to wait and see, I suppose.'

After breakfast, Harry greeted Daphne, Tracy, and Astoria as they all headed for their classes. With a grin he held the letter out for Daphne to read.

"So, when are you going to teach me, Harry?" Daphne asked with a small grin on her lips. She was doing her best not to let her cheeks burn at the thought of spending time alone with Harry as he taught her how to make the Potion Pill.

"We could do it after class today. It's only mildly complex now that the recipe has been proven to work." Harry waved off the complex brewing required to make Potion Pills.

Tracy snickered at Harry's lackadaisical attitude. "For you, sure. But think about us normal people, Harry."

Harry chuckled at her quip. "I did. That's why I went through all the hard work of making the recipe myself."

"So humble." Daphne deadpanned at Harry.

"Aren't I?" Harry grinned, only to get a swat from both Daphne and Hermione.

-Lunch-

"How was Runes and Arithmancy, Hermione?" Harry asked as Hermione showed up a couple of minutes after he and Luna had arrived.

Hermione set her bookbag down before sitting next to Harry. "It was interesting. We started on Wards today and are learning the orders of runic sequences." She started making her plate with a smile. "I really like how ordered and neat both Runes and Arithmancy can be."

Luna giggled at Hermione's enjoyment of the Branches of Magic that focused on mathematics and script. "Are they your favorite classes now?"

"Favorite electives, yes. Not sure about favorite class overall." Hermione grinned at Luna before focusing on her food.

"Runic sequences are basically giving written instructions to Magic to act in a certain way." Harry commented after swallowing his mouthful of food. As a well-known and well-studied Branch of Magic, Harry had naturally looked into it growing up. "But I've always wondered if Runes weren't being overly complicated as well." Several Runes, when imbued with Magic, could produce the effect related to the rune with nothing else required, after all.

Hermione shook her head once. "The complexity is how you make more intricate effects take place, Harry. You wouldn't expect a Ward to work with only a single Rune, right?"

"Maybe not a Ward of any complexity, no; but simple effects can manifest with a proper Rune and just a bit of Magic." Harry said before taking a sip of his tea. "Runes and other magical scripts are, in general, just the written forms of spells. A clever way for a Witch or Wizard to use a spell that they don't actually know how to cast."

Daphne, Tracy, and Astoria sat down across from the trio of Ravenclaws. The three Slytherins had become such a common sight during meals at the Ravenclaw table, that no one batted an eye at it anymore.

"What're you three talking about?" Astoria asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Runes and how they function in relation to spells." Harry and Hermione answered at the same time, both looking at each other for a second afterwards. Harry grinned at Hermione, while Hermione smiled as her cheeks went slightly pink.

'Are we going to start finishing each other's sentences soon?' Hermione wondered in her mind, fidgeting just a little in her seat at the idea of it. Her parents did it fairly often and always seemed happy (often sharing a quick kiss) whenever it happened.

"Nerrrds…" Tracy teased with a silly expression on her face.

Daphne grinned at her best friend, the two sharing a quick laugh at Harry and Hermione never giving their scholarly pursuits a rest.

"You said something about Witches and Wizards using spells they don't know, right?" Astoria asked Harry as she picked out what she wanted from the food on the platters nearest her. "How?"

"With Runes…or runic sequences?" Luna answered, looking at Harry for confirmation.

Harry nodded to her with a chuckle. "Yep." Seeing the curious looks on his friends' faces, Harry explained after a second to think of a good example. "Take a broom, for example. I eventually figured out self-flight, after a bunch of trial and error to create the spell. But since no one else seems to have figured it out, they invented the flying broom to do it for them. A broom is a Flight Spell that any Wizard or Witch can use, and they don't have to have any idea about the Charms work, runic sequences, or spells that make the broom fly."

Daphne and Tracy nodded as they understood the example easily. Luna smiled at Harry for the explanation. Astoria took a moment longer before her eyes lit up with understanding.

"I get it!" Astoria smiled brightly. "So enchanted items are just ways to use spells without having to learn them!"

"That's a simple and concise way to say it, Tori." Harry agreed with a laugh.

Unnoticed by the others as they continued to eat was the way Hermione was looking deep in thought, even as she continued with her lunch. 'Enchanted items are spells that any Witch or Wizard can use… A spell performed by an object instead of a person… But aside from brooms…what else is there that performs a spell on its own? Why not ANY spell? Even complex Magic can eventually be written out with runic sequences according to Professor Babbling and all the books that I've read for class. Getting the Arithmancy correct in relation to the Runes is the only really difficult part…' Hermione's mind was filled with various thoughts and ideas for the rest of lunch. She definitely had things to look up in the library later, enchanted items and their functions being one of them.

"So, Daphne, Tracy, how was Professor Moody's class?" Harry asked the two Slytherins, since they'd had DADA before lunch.

"Pretty similar to Professor Shacklebolt's classes from last year." Tracy said before a grin crossed her face. "Just WAY more intense!"

Harry cocked an eyebrow at that.

Daphne continued when it looked like Tracy was going to drag it out for longer than necessary. "Professor Moody focuses on 'what Wizards can do to each other' as he calls it. Today's class was focused on the most common Hexes and Curses used by Dark Wizards." Daphne ignored the pout that Tracy was directing at her for ruining her fun of keeping Harry in suspense. "We even had a brief overview of the Three Unforgivables. No demonstration aside from the Imperius curse on a spider though."

"Well yeah, not like a retired Auror is going to be using the Cruciatus or the Killing Curse." Tracy said with a scoff at the idea of it.

"Sounds like it might be interesting at least." Harry had actually been considering asking Professor Moody to just skip DADA now that he had his Mastery in the subject. 'But if he's actually going to share decades of knowledge on obscure and even 'Dark' spells, it might just be beneficial to check out his classes.'

-Defense Against the Dark Arts ~ Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff 4th Year Class-

The rather haggard form of Alastor Moody stood before the class and introduced himself to the students. His scarred face, magical false eye, and the prosthetic leg made for a rather intimidating Wizard to be under the scrutiny of. "Alastor Moody, Retired Auror, Ministry Malcontent, and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." He turned and wrote his name on the chalkboard for all the students to see. "I'm here because Dumbledore asked me to be, end of story. I won't be back next year, so hopefully you'll all learn enough this year to make it through your O.W.L.s next year." Moody made it clear, without saying it aloud, that he knew how disjointed the DADA class was at Hogwarts. "I believe in a practical approach to Defense Against the Dark Arts, so don't expect much in the way of written assignments."

That got more than a few sighs of relief from some of the class.

"Miss Brocklehurst, put that away." Moody said without turning to face the class.

Mandy Brocklehurst's eyes widened as she put away a small box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that she'd pulled out of the pocket of her robes. "Can he see out the back of his head?" She whispered to her desk mate.

"I can also hear across classrooms!" Moody raised his voice, shooting a look at Mandy, making her go silent. The magical false eye swiveled about in the eyepatch strapped to Moody's head.

'A magical eye that can see through physical objects, or just the user's own head?' Harry wondered about the abilities of Moody's prosthetic. Tonks had mentioned that her old mentor when she'd been a cadet was paranoid to an almost ridiculous degree. Being able to see behind him or through physical objects would both be in-character from what Tonks had said. 'I'm sure that I can find out in time.' That was already an interesting little find and they hadn't even started with the actual lesson.

With the class properly cowed, Moody began his lesson. "We'll start with the Three Unforgivable Curses, as the use of any single one of them on another person will get you a one-way ticket to Azkaban." Moody tapped the chalkboard with his walking cane where he'd previously written 'Unforgivable Curses'.

Throughout the lesson, Harry was very much aware of how Moody's eyes (both his remaining real one and the magical prosthetic) seemed to watch him. Not letting it bother him, Harry did as he usually did in classes by helping out with terms or spell mechanics that other students were having problems with as they went over the Three Unforgivable Curses all the way down to common Curses and Hexes that Aurors were guaranteed to see while performing their duties.

Once class ended, Moody held Harry back. A quick bark to leave from the grizzled man sent the rest of the students scrambling out of the room.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked once they were the only two in the classroom.

"I've heard from Dumbledore that you're quite the prodigy, Potter." Moody nodded once to the High Sorcerer. "You've accomplished quite a lot in the last few years. If you want to self-study in my class, you have my permission." Moody didn't beat around the bush at all. "Or, if you'd like, I'll take you on as my Professor's Assistant during classes and you can help me out with teaching a bit." He grumbled something under his breath that sounded vaguely like 'too soft on children' to Harry.

Harry thought about it for a bit before replying. "Would I need to know the course material before each class, Professor?"

Moody snorted once. "Aye, Potter. I'll make sure to give the lesson plan to you a few days in advance. If there's anything you need to know to be able to help, tell me before it comes up in class."

"Alright, I don't mind helping out from time to time, sir." Harry accepted the unofficial position of Professor's Assistant. "Could I ask a few questions right now?"

"Is it about the false eye?" Moody knew it was just based on how Harry glanced at the prosthetic once while asking.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, I can see through my own head." Moody answered the unasked question. "Yes, I can see through some physical objects." He answered the second question before Harry could ask it.

"I see." Harry hummed with a small grin on his face. "A bit of a risk with so many girls in the castle, isn't it?"

Moody gave Harry a flat look that wiped the grin off the teen's face. "I can see through one layer, the outer robes, that's all this eye is made to do. I wouldn't want to see what some Wizards and Witches have under their clothes anyway." His expression didn't change, but Harry winced slightly anyway as the thought of seeing through Snape's robes bounced off his brain once.

"Can I ask who made it?" Harry questioned about the false eye.

"Full of questions, aren't you?" Moody drawled at Harry's curiosity.

-Harry's Practice Room ~ After Classes-

"Why are there so many steps…?" Daphne nearly gaped as Harry showed her the recipe for his Potion Pill. "Eight days… Two-hundred-fifty-five stirs in alternating rotations while adding the final ingredient… And you can only use ingredients with proper Magic development?" She knew of certain potions that were incredibly difficult to brew, at least from books, and Harry's recipe was definitely up there, even though it used mostly readily available ingredients and not anything incredibly rare, or prohibitively expensive, or outright illegal. "Are you sure there's not a simpler method?"

Harry grinned at her. "What? Already giving up, Daphne?"

Daphne's eye almost twitched. "I didn't say that I was giving up. I asked if there was a simpler method."

"Given that this recipe was the only one that I came up with that even had a chance at working, and I haven't made any other recipes yet…no." Harry snarked a little.

"Prat." Daphne said with a little huff. "Well, no time like the present." She started filling the cauldron in front of her with water. "I guess I should count my blessings that the stirring can be done with a self-stirring rod and I don't have to be here every eight hours on the dot."

Harry laughed at Daphne's little sigh of relief. "That's the spirit, Daphne!"

Daphne wouldn't admit that she was thrilled to be spending this time alone with Harry as he showed her how to prepare the ingredients properly to get the most out of each one. 'Not quite a date. But I'll take it.' She thought to herself with slightly red cheeks.

-Weekend-

"Harry, can I ask a question?" Luna smiled at Harry as they were practicing spells outside while they still had warm weather.

"Of course." Harry returned her smile, always having time for his 'little sister'. "Do you think you know your 'right question'?" He had been wondering if Luna would ask, given that she'd had her own interpretation of Magic for a while now.

Luna tilted her head slightly. "Maybe, but I just wanted to ask if you'd teach me how to make those cute spirits." She beamed at Harry, referencing the Kooni that he'd shown his friends after learning the basics of Onmyōdō in Japan from Yasashī.

Harry laughed and pulled Luna into a hug. "Never change, Luna."

"Do I need to know wandless Magic to learn how to make the spirits?" Luna asked.

"No, wandless Magic isn't necessary to learn Onmyōdō, it's not a wand-reliant Branch of Magic to begin with." Harry assured her with a smile. "Shikigami range from simple to very complex though, so it might take you a while."

Luna looked determined to learn, which looked rather cute on the short blonde. "Can I make Magic into a friend?"

Harry blinked at Luna's question. With a fond smile he patted Luna's head and gently ruffled her long hair a little. "And that…is the right question."

"It is?" Luna looked at Harry curiously.

"What is your interpretation of Magic, Luna?" Harry asked, hoping that she'd see why she'd managed to ask the right question.

"Magic is whatever it is and whatever it wants to be." Luna said with a small smile.

Harry nodded at her interpretation. "I still like your interpretation of Magic too. So, if you interpret Magic as whatever it is and whatever it wants to be… Why couldn't you make it your friend?" He grinned at her.

Luna perked up after a second to think about it. "Oh! That makes sense!" She laughed brightly, making Harry smile at how happy she was at this moment. "Can I make a bunch of those…Shee-key-gah-mee as friends?" Luna sounded the foreign word out to try and familiarize herself with it.

"You could." Harry nodded with a chuckle. Trust Luna to not care about power, or being the greatest Witch of the Age, or anything so grandiose and ambitious. All Luna wanted was to have her friends and make more friends, being happy and emotionally content was enough for her. Exploring Magic and its mysteries as one would explore a new friendship was a very interesting take on Magic that Harry felt fit his 'little sister' perfectly. "How about we start with the basics of Onmyōdō and work our way up to Shikigami?"

"Okay!" Luna giggled happily at getting to learn how to make Magic her friend.

"How did she ask the right question without even trying?" Hermione asked, making Harry and Luna turn to her. The brunette was looking at Luna in confusion, wondering how the younger girl had figured it out by accident.

Astoria only smiled at Luna and gave her friend a quick hug. "Congratulations, Luna!"

"Thank you, Astoria." Luna smiled back just as brightly. She turned to Hermione with the same smile. "I meant to ask the question, but I didn't know that it was the 'right question'…does that still make it an accident?"

Hermione had to stop and actually think about that. She'd asked Harry a plethora of questions over the last couple years. Any time that she felt like she'd come to an understanding of Magic, she would go ask Harry what she thought the 'right question' would be. She'd just never been right.

"Luna's interpretation makes for an interesting insight and a different way of looking at Magic. It was only a matter of time before she eventually asked the 'right question' whether she was trying to or not." Harry said with a shrug. "If she wants to learn all of her spells wandlessly now, I'll teach her. If she only wants to learn Onmyōdō to a level where she can make a bunch of Kooni, then that's fine too." He pulled Luna into a one-armed side hug with a smile. "Exploring the mysteries of Magic isn't about becoming the most powerful or gaining the most recognition. It's about looking at Magic through your own interpretation of it and exploring it in a way that resonates with you."

Hermione and Astoria couldn't find anything to say to that. It was a very 'Harry' thing to say, and both of them once more realized just how different Harry's mindset was when it came to Magic.

Luna, eager to begin learning to make 'spirit friends' as she called Shikigami in her thoughts, lightly tugged on Harry's arm to get his attention. "What's first, Harry?"

Harry let out a playful snort at Luna's impatience. "The first thing to go over is the Five Phases. They're the five traditional elements of Eastern philosophy: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water."

Even if Hermione didn't really have any interest in Onmyōdō, she still paid attention as Harry began his first lesson with Luna.

Likewise, Astoria happily sat nearby Luna and listened as well, wondering if she'd ever figure out her own 'right question'.

- October 30th ~ Welcoming Feast-

It was a rather chilly evening in Scotland as the Hogwarts students stood outside of the castle awaiting the arrival of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons contingents that were coming for the Triwizard Tournament.

"Did they forget what Warming Charms are?" Harry cocked an eyebrow as he saw a large number of students shaking in the cold night air. The entire faculty and student body of Hogwarts were waiting for any sign of the visiting schools. Harry had cast a Warming Charm on himself a few minutes into the wait. Luna and Hermione had copied him, and he saw a few others not shivering either. A good number of them were Upper Years that had done the obvious. "Well, let's fix that." With a grin he focused on the area around the gathered students and cast a wide area Warming Charm.

"Huh?"

"Hey, it's not cold anymore!"

"I thought Warming Charms only worked on one target at a time?" One of the Seventh Years that had cast their own Warming Charm said to the student standing next to him.

Dumbledore chuckled quietly, though it was heard in the rather quiet evening air. "Fifteen points to Ravenclaw, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, sir." Harry replied as he watched those that had their own Warming Charms cancel them and enjoy the 'area warming' that Harry was providing.

"Hey look!" Someone from Gryffindor shouted with their hand pointed towards the sky. Everyone's attention focused on a small dot in the waning light of day as the object drew closer.

Closer and closer the flying object got until everyone could see it was a massively large carriage being pulled by equally large, winged horses! The carriage got closer and began to descend. Harry was pretty sure that he heard Hagrid call the large horses beautiful. They looked to be Abraxans, which meant that no normal man would be able to guide them. The large Magical horses could easily drag a dozen or more full-grown men around without trouble. The carriage landed with the thundering of the Abraxans' hooves and the sharp thud of the carriage's wheels hitting the ground.

When the carriage came to a stop, the door opened and a teen boy, dressed in the blue uniform of Beauxbatons, tapped his wand on the doorframe. A set of metal steps unfolded from beneath the carriage and the young man stepped down them before standing off to the side. The next person to appear from the carriage was a massive woman, easily as tall as Hagrid, maybe taller, and with a statuesque build that made her look imposing. She walked down the metal steps and took a few steps forward before the next students emerged in two lines. One line was entirely girls, while the other line was all boys. Harry noted that the girls' line was a bit longer than the boys' line and wondered if that was intentional for this visit to Hogwarts.

"Madame Maxime, lovely to see you again." Dumbledore smiled brightly as he greeted the large woman. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"It has been a long time, Dumbledore." Maxime replied back with her own smile down to the old man. Her French accent was noticeable, but it was clear she spoke English well enough to not mispronounce words or names. "It is warmer than I remember. A spell, perhaps?"

Dumbledore nodded to Maxime. "Indeed. A large area Warming Charm provided by Mr. Potter."

Maxime's eyes moved over the Hogwarts students, stopping when she saw the familiar face from many a newspaper article about his varied accomplishments. "Please give him our thanks for the comfort."

"Of course, I'll make sure to pass along your regards." Dumbledore agreed with a small nod. "Please make yourselves at home while we await Durmstrang's arrival." Dumbledore offered genially. "Mr. Filch will lead you to the Great Hall; the Ravenclaw table will welcome your students with open arms."

"Thank you, Dumbledore." Maxime nodded as she led her students up the stairs following after Mr. Filch.

The surly caretaker had actually dressed up a bit for the occasion and was trying his best not to sneer at MORE students coming into Hogwarts. Instead, he motioned for Maxime to follow him before turning and heading inside.

Harry looked over the Beauxbatons students and caught Fleur's eyes. The two smiled at each other warmly and Fleur even winked at him. Harry grinned and shook his head as he heard the boys around him start acting up from just the passive Allure of Fleur and the other Veela among the Beauxbatons students.

Shortly after the Beauxbatons students had entered the castle, someone else called out.

"What's that?!" A younger student questioned as the Black Lake began to churn and throw up waves.

Everyone watched as the water roiled before beginning to swirl around into a massive whirlpool. From the whirlpool a large sailing ship began to emerge. The bow and figurehead rose over the edge of the whirlpool. Then the main body of the ship breached the water and the whole vessel tilted forward and landed on the lake. The ship bobbed violently for a few moments before it sailed right up to the edge of the lake and then dropped anchor. The gangplank was lowered and a man in a large fur coat began walking down the ramp. He was followed by students all wearing the same red uniform. Each of the young men had a fur-lined cloak over their shoulders and a staff in their hands.

"Albus, it has been too long!" The obvious Head of Durmstrang greeted Dumbledore with a smile.

"Igor, good to see you again." Dumbledore returned the warm greeting and the two men gave each other a brief hug with a strong pat on the back. "The Beauxbatons students are already inside. We can join them and get the Welcoming Feast started."

"They came to Scotland in the autumn in those thin uniforms, didn't they?" Igor gave a rough laugh. "Though it seems to be unseasonably warm for this time of year."

Dumbledore shook his head once. "Just a Warming Charm cast on the area to accommodate our guests, Igor."

Igor nodded with a grin as he motioned his students to follow him.

Harry noticed that there were only male students among the Durmstrang group and briefly wondered if Durmstrang was a male-only school. He also heard someone exclaim 'Blimey! It's Viktor Krum!' but didn't bother pinpointing who as he saw the famous Quidditch player right behind the Durmstrang High Master when the visiting students entered the castle. Once the Durmstrang students were inside, the Hogwarts students were led back into the Great Hall by their Heads of House.

Once the Professors were all seated, aside from Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster stood to his full height and spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard by the entire Great Hall. "Welcome, Durmstrang! Welcome, Beauxbatons! Hogwarts is pleased to have you with us once again for another Triwizard Tournament!" All of the students and Professors applauded the visiting schools to welcome them. "As is the longstanding tradition of the hosting school, we'd like to welcome our guests with a show of Magic to entertain you before we feast!" That got all of the students talking, wondering if Dumbledore himself would be showing off some of his famous skills. "As always, the Magic displayed will be from one of our best students." His twinkling eyes met Harry's and the High Sorcerer realized what the Headmaster wanted.

'He couldn't tell me this beforehand because…why?' Harry sighed when a light shone down on him from above. 'Huh, I didn't know Hogwarts had the capability to mimic stage lights.'

"I think he wants you to perform the show, Harry." Luna offered helpfully, but the way she was smiling and barely holding back giggles made it obvious that she was amused by her big brother being literally put in the spotlight.

"So it would seem." Harry let out a sigh, already feeling all eyes in the Great Hall on him. He stood up and left his seat and with a wave of his hand his regular Hogwarts robes turned into resplendent robes fit for a great Wizard of high standing. The colors of the robes shifted from the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw, to the green and silver of Slytherin, the black and yellow of Hufflepuff, and then the red and gold of Gryffindor. A large, wide-brimmed pointed hat appeared atop Harry's head a second later, making many of the First Years point at Harry after seeing the hat again. It too cycled through all of the House colors in time with the robes. On the back of the robes was the Hogwarts crest.

Harry raised his hands up to around shoulder height, both palms facing the high ceiling. Flames shot into the air from his right hand, while water burst forth like a geyser from his left hand. The two elements twisted through the air, taking the form of snakes and perfectly mimicking their serpentine movements. When the fire snake and the water snake came together, they exploded into a cloud of thick steam. The steam split further into a flock of eagles that flew around the Great Hall before bursting into leaves that quickly formed into badgers which scampered around and between all of the student tables. Before anyone could touch them, they exploded into confetti that was shimmering red and gold. The colorful confetti became lions that strutted proudly between the long tables before being consumed into sparkling flames and disappearing

With a large grin after seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Harry clapped his hands together, the sound louder than it should be given the excited murmuring buzzing in the Great Hall, and his entire body glowed with a myriad of colors similar to a kaleidoscope. The ever shifting colors and designs seemed to bleed off of Harry's form and into the very air around him, quickly covering the entire Great Hall. Only a second later and everyone gasped as they found themselves in a new area: they were all atop the Hogwarts Express. The whistle blew and everyone, even the Professors all looked towards the large doors that led into the Great Hall, but instead of the doors, they saw the front of the train as it puffed with smoke from the smokestack and began to move down the rails.

"How?!"

"We're still sitting, right?!"

Harry could only grin as the illusion showed a shortened version of the ride on the Hogwarts Express, the passing countryside and the view of the Scottish Highlands on a bright sunny day.

The visiting Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students spoke rapidly (many in their native languages) as they got to experience riding the Hogwarts Express to the castle.

The illusion pulled into Hogsmeade Station and the entire Great Hall followed the winding rocky path down to the boats in the dark evening, getting on boats -one for each long table and one for the Professor's table- and sailing across the dark surface of the lake before seeing Hogwarts in all of its glory, with every window lit up and the moon hanging high in the sky above. More than a few people ducked their heads as the illusion passed under the ivy-covered rocky overhang and the boats docked onto the rocky shore. The illusion took them up the stone steps and through the doors, across the hall and then the large double doors of the Great Hall opened and more than a few people audibly gasped as if they expected to meet themselves on the other side of the doors.

Wooooossshhh

The illusion faded away and everyone saw that they were in the Great Hall, not having moved from their original places at all.

Harry stood in the middle of the Hall, still in the resplendent and shifting robes. With a grin he placed his hand on top of the pointed hat and took it off his head, holding it to his chest as he bowed at the waist. With a laugh he tossed the hat aside and it burst into glowing silvery mist. The resplendent robes did the same and the shimmering mist spread across the entirety of the Great Hall in a wave making everyone smile, even if only for a moment as pure positivity touched them.

Harry had undone his initial conjuration and turned the leftover Magic into a weak version of the Patronus Charm, the silvery mist was the happy emotion required for the spell given form by Magic and touching it was similar to a Cheering Charm, if not as potent.

The applause and cheers that erupted from all of the students, and more than a few of the Professors, nearly deafened Harry as he returned to his seat.

"Well done, well done, Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore applauded even as he amplified his voice with the Sonorus Charm. "And with that amazing spectacle for our guests, we now begin the Welcoming Feast!"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, every golden platter, bowl, and pitcher on all of the tables filled with food. There was the standard fare that Hogwarts always served, along with many dishes that the students had never seen before. The exclamations of surprise and even a few cheers from the visiting students made it easy to figure out that the unknown dishes were regional cuisines from the various countries that both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons took their students from.

"That was amazing, Harry!" Hermione praised him with a bright smile.

"It was fun!" Luna beamed at him happily, clearly having enjoyed the entire impromptu performance.

Harry laughed warmly. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all school year!"

Seeing more than a few of the guys near them going silent and just staring, Harry grinned.

"That was most impressive, mon chéri." Fleur praised from behind Harry, her voice light and filled with warmth.

"Thank you, Fleur. I do have my moments." Harry looked at Fleur with a smile. "Did you come to sit with me?"

Fleur raised one delicate eyebrow and a teasing smirk played on her lips. "Non. I wanted to know if you are finished with the Bouillabaisse?" She motioned to the fish soup sitting on the table near Harry.

"Ah!" Harry placed his hand over his heart dramatically (just like Sirius had shown him growing up). "My heart! To think I would be struck down by a beautiful Witch like so many great Wizards before me!"

Luna giggled brightly at the 'performance'.

Hermione let out a playful sigh. "Six out of ten, to over dramatic." She laughed when Harry shot her a faux betrayed look.

"Make room for me, mon chéri?" Fleur stopped the teasing to ask.

Harry moved over a bit, Luna happily scooting over on his opposite side as well to make room for Fleur.

"Merci." Fleur smiled as she sat down next to Harry. "It has been too long, Harry."

"It has indeed, Fleur." Harry agreed before both smiled at each other and laughed lightly at being back together again.

They all started to take food for themselves and Harry, Hermione, and Luna all happily tried anything that Fleur recommended to them. The four chatted about what they'd been up to since the start of the school year and Fleur (for the first time in person) congratulated Harry on the success of his Potion Pills.

"But 'Potter Potion Pills'? I didn't know you had such a love of alliteration, mon chéri." Fleur laughed softly, the sound warm and bright, making everyone that heard it smile a little.

"It rolls off the tongue." Harry grinned unrepentantly for the simple, but marketable, name of his creation. "Making them isn't too difficult, Daphne got it right on her first try." That had been a happy day for the future Healer, and she'd even hugged Harry and kissed his cheek before she could stop herself. "Now she's pulling a Hermione and almost burying herself in Herbology, Potions, and Healing texts to try and work out a new version of her own."

Hermione didn't look amused. "Will you stop calling it that…"

Harry looked at Hermione with a smile. "…maybe."

"Prat." Hermione slid forward on the bench and kicked Harry's shin under the table.

"Oi!" Harry grimaced and rubbed his shin, nearly putting his chin on the table to be able to reach.

Fleur laughed at the antics between the two before she sipped from her goblet. It was nice to have friends here at Hogwarts already. Had she been here and known no one, she definitely would've stuck to the other Beauxbatons students almost exclusively.

After the desserts disappeared sometime later, the Welcoming Feast began to die down. It was as the last of the students turned their attention to the Professors' Table that Dumbledore stood up again. Everyone listened and watched attentively as Dumbledore had Mr. Filch bring in a case and open it. The Headmaster withdrew a wooden goblet from within and placed it on a pedestal so that all could see it. Harry's eyes (glowing just slightly with his Mage Sight spell) quickly took in the simple-looking object.

'That's interesting. The Magic reminds me of the Magic that is infused into every part of Hogwarts. That thing must be ancient.' Harry thought to himself before ending his spell.

Dumbledore went on to explain that the Goblet of Fire would be the impartial judge that would pick the three Champions that would compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry and Fleur's hands found each other's under the table and entwined their fingers as they listened. Harry wouldn't mind looking over the Goblet in greater detail, especially after it ignited magical blue flames within itself, but knew he probably wouldn't get the chance to do so.

"An Age Line? That's a Ward, if I recall correctly." Harry whispered to Fleur after Dumbledore told the students in the Hall how the Goblet would be protected against underage students.

"Oui, one that is impossible to fool." Fleur whispered back. "It will prevent anyone below the set age from crossing it, no matter how they try and disguise themselves."

After the explanation on how the eligible students would submit their names to the Goblet of Fire, the students were ushered off to bed.

"I'll see you in the morning, mon chéri." Fleur smiled warmly at Harry as they were about to separate for the night.

"I'll meet you at breakfast, Fleur." Harry agreed with a smile of his own.

Fleur kissed both of Harry's cheeks before leaving, her deep blue eyes not breaking from Harry's green until she passed through the doors leading out of the castle.

"Ready for bed?" Harry asked as he walked with Hermione and Luna up the stairs towards Ravenclaw Tower.

"Yes." Luna yawned cutely and leaned on Harry a little.

Hermione nodded, hiding her own yawn behind her hand. "I think I'll sleep well tonight. I'm looking forward to tomorrow." It would certainly be interesting to watch everyone submitting their names after classes tomorrow. Everyone anywhere close to Fred and George had already heard them talking about finding a way to enter since their shared birthday was only a couple months away.

"It should be interesting." Harry agreed with Hermione as the three of them continued up the stairs, which seemed to be behaving tonight as they didn't change and move as the students were walking up them. 'I want to look at this Age Line up close.' Harry thought in the privacy of his mind. It sounded like an interesting bit of Magic. 'If a paper with my name on it happens to end up inside the Goblet of Fire, well… That's just an accident.' The prodigious Spellcrafter barely kept the little grin off his face as he walked towards Ravenclaw Tower.

-End Chapter-

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Potter Potion Pills are on the market! Woohoo! Time to make some money!

Daphne is learning to make them and wants to improve them too! Yeah!

Hermione seems to be reaching some understanding of her own as her curiosity is piqued by Runes and Arithmancy and an idea that she had after she talked about things with her friends. It figures that Hermione would like the Branches of Magic that're the most 'orderly' and structured, huh? What could be taking up part of that intelligent mind so fervently?

Luna asked her 'right question'! Woo! Go Luna!

What does she want to learn? Grand Magics? Arcane secrets? A spell to make pudding?

Nope.

Luna wants to learn Onmyōdō so that she can make Shikigami friends! Literally wants to make friends with Spirits and Magic itself! So very Luna, isn't it?

Harry has accepted an unofficial position as Professor Moody's TA. Will that lead to something? Or is everything on the up and up?

Will Hermione's secret fantasy be fulfilled? Hehehe~

Fleur has arrived at Hogwarts! The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! But what is Harry himself about to do?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!