I received several glares as I made my way to the end of the long starting line. The Firebolt which I was carrying was obviously very intimidating to the rest of the competition, but I strode confidently on, my broom slung casually over my shoulder.

"Hey, Wronski!" Several people turned to stare as I ran up to my best friend Arnold Meyer. "Good to see you made it this far in one piece!" he yelled, clapping me on the shoulder. I took my place next to him, reached into a pocket in my robes and pulled out a cigarette, offering Arnold one before I lit mine with my wand.

"Three hundred miles is a piece of cake," I told him after a drag on my cigarette. "Dragons, I can deal with. Competition—," I gestured to the rest of the wizards and witches, "not a problem."

A small elderly witch who stood on the other side of me tugged on the sleeve of my robe. I turned to her with a questioning look.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she said kindly, "but I believe I heard your friend hear call you 'Wronski'?"

I grinned proudly. "That's right. I'm Emmelie Wronski, the granddaughter of Josef Wronski, the famous seeker!" The woman looked very pleased.

"Ooh! I can tell already that you're marvelous on a broom, but what about the dragons? How to you intend to get through them?" I laughed and took another drag on my cigarette.

"I work in Romania with dragons," I told her. "Dragons are just another day for me." The woman's eyes were wide by now with amazement. I noticed that everyone around her was listening in on our conversation and I was pleased with their reaction.

Arnold poked me hard in the arm. "Ouch!" I yelped turning to him. "What do you want?" He pointed his finger towards the crowd. I squinted a bit, but I could see a head of flaming red hair. "Charlie!" I yelled excitedly. He heard my yell and waved at me. "I can't believe he came!" I squealed to Arnold.

"Confidence," he reminded me out of the corner of his mouth. I stopped my foolish chattering and regained my composure as a wizard climbed to the top of the tower next to the starting line.

"Wizards and witches, mount your brooms!" he bellowed, his voice magically louder. I readied myself on my Firebolt. "On you marks, get set," with a loud bang, he sent green sparks in to the air with his wand.

They were off.