As Beauxbatons’ flying carriage makes its final approach towards Hogwarts, they realize they are the last to arrive, as, upon arrival at the gates, they are standing in line, and guided by Hogwarts’ headmaster, Dexter Fortescue.

  But in front of them are a dozen students wearing fur hats, capes and blood red robes. That is, the Durmstrang equivalent to their very own short list. Dexter then warns the 25 students about to attend a deferred sorting ceremony on October 30, after school:

  “Because, for sorting purposes, you’re all considered mid-year transfer or exchange students, a special ceremony is held privately in my office. While you’re at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points!”

  Dexter refines his list of attendees for the extraordinary sorting ceremony, so that all 25 are sorted in alphabetical order, as is usual for the regular sorting ceremony. He returns to his office to fetch the Sorting Hat, and then calls the first name:

  “Paulinho Almeida!”

  Paulinho is then made to don the Sorting Hat, whose decision is very fast. “Gryffindor!”

  Paulinho goes into the office to fetch his schedule and supplies list. Then a Serbian Durmstrang student comes right up, as called upon by Dexter.

  “Relja Cvetic!”

  Relja, coming from the Smederevo sanjak, dons the Sorting Hat, who doesn’t even give a comment on him while wearing it. “Hufflepuff!”

  “Alejandra Diaz!” Dexter calls the third student to wear the Sorting Hat as Relja collects his schedule and supplies list.

  “Oh… this is not easy; you seem to be very hard-working, but at the same time, you seem to be a little too willing to break the rules…”

  Hufflepuff and Slytherin. This personality test given out during the first day of English lessons told me it was a tossup between these two houses. So while, initially, I didn’t believe the test to have any accuracy, it might be a fluke, Alejandra starts thinking while the Hat is about to reach a decision.

  The Sorting Hat finally decides. “Slytherin!”

  And, after the first 3 students get sorted, they collect their schedules and supplies lists so they get ready to go to Tomes and Scrolls the following day, under their own headmasters’ supervision. Which is an exceptional situation because neither Visigny nor the wizarding settlement closest to Durmstrang (which sits on the border between Denmark-Norway and Sweden) carried any of these in stock.

  “Thierry Pirenne!”

  “This one’s easy, Gryffindor!” the Sorting Hat announces to him, and then Thierry gets his very own supplies list.

  In a sense, it’s easier to sort Triwizard Tournament hopefuls than incoming first-years because their personalities and what they really value is much less subject to change, the Sorting Hat starts thinking, while the deferred sorting ceremony continues. But older students tend to consider preexisting relationships more, and sometimes express preferences based on that.

  But just before Nurcan’s turn arrives, another Durmstrang student arrives:

  “Britta Steinberg!”

  “Hufflepuff!” the Sorting Hat yells at her, before Britta gets her supplies list.

  “Nurcan Topkara!”

  “Your mind is obviously good, but at the same time I can see a burning ambition within you…”

  Damn it… the latter comment sounds too much like Slytherin, and Alejandra is already sorted as one! Also, neither Karakalem nor Beauxbatons had houses, and had more cultural diversity than I believe this place might have. That might have made me, to an extent, more culturally aware than some wizards my age, Nurcan deliberates with herself as she prays that the Sorting Hat doesn’t accidentally reveal her past actions as a Revolutionary somehow.

  “Not Slytherin… please?”

  “Ravenclaw!”

  So she overhears the final student, another Durmstrang delegate, being sorted as she collects her schedule and supplies list so that, tomorrow during the day, she can go buy the books on it.

  “Heinrich Umberger!”

  “Slytherin!”

  Once all 25 students’ schedules and supplies lists are collected, they stay outside the Great Hall, grouped by institution, while Dexter arrives. He gets to the other end of the Great Hall, in his corpulent, red-nosed glory, where the Goblet of Fire’s bejeweled casket awaits.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the students from Beauxbatons Academy!”

  The 13 students enter the room, with Luc and their headmaster behind them, cross the Great Hall in its entirety, and pose in front of the Goblet of Fire’s casket.

  “And please welcome the students from Durmstrang Institute!” Dexter announces after the 13 Beauxbatons students get seated in a section reserved to them for the day, at one of the back corners of the Great Hall.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  After the Durmstrang delegation makes its way to the front of the Great Hall, and poses in front of the they get seated at its other back corner. Its headmistress, Jadranka, is standing on Dexter’s left, while Armand stands on his right. The rules for the Triwizard Tournament are about to be announced:

  “For each of the three tasks, there’s going to be a total of eight judges, with the headmasters being automatically on the jury. However, please be advised that, when a given school’s champion is competing, its headmaster cannot score him or her, and five of the eight judges are from countries no contestant is from, with no country having more than one judge, the highest and lowest score being dropped!” Dexter talks about the scoring aspect.

  Past editions of the tournament were criticized for their lack of professionalism and integrity. As usual, the headmaster of the host institution is also the head of its organizing committee. But this I vow: on my honor as Hogwarts’ headmaster, this shall be the best edition of this tournament! Dexter ruminates while the Goblet of Fire is brought out of its bejeweled casket.

  “The Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the Tournament, please write their name on a piece of paper, and throw it in the flame before this time on Wednesday!” Dexter announces to the crowd. “Do not do so lightly. If chosen, you’re obligated to see the tournament through to the end. Therefore, you must be absolutely certain that you’re ready and willing to play before you put your name in the Goblet!”

  I might have a 3/32 chance of competing, but so does Durmstrang’s Ottoman finalist. So there seems to be 3 people who each have a 3/32 chance of competing. But I worked so hard to be here, and here’s my shot at glory that transcends policy positioning, Nurcan is reminded of the announcement at the start of the school year: Une dernière chose: une fois à Hogwarts, tous les membres de la liste courte doivent déposer leurs noms dans la Coupe de Feu, qui fera la sélection finale!

  Which makes Nurcan, and the other 12, share a piece of paper on which to write their names, and cut it accordingly. At that point, they all put their names in the Goblet, and then return to their assigned houses’ dormitories.

  After that, the 25 newcomers follow their respective houses’ prefects to be shown their ways around the school. Nurcan is then going with about a half-dozen students on a tour of the school, so hopefully she won’t get lost for the next 8 months.

  Once the tour ends, and Nurcan returns to Ravenclaw Tower, she realizes that Hogwarts’ accommodations, while still comfortable, feel heavier and less luxurious than those of Beauxbatons, especially the blankets. And yet, she starts crying, not because of the difference between beds, but because of how she feels about the Triwizard Tournament.

  She starts venting, loosely translated from Turkic: “If I fail to get chosen by the Goblet tomorrow, will I have failed the Sultan? Or the Revolution even? I feel like my entire future rides on this tournament!” she starts crying.

  “I didn’t understand anything!” her neighbor points out. “In English, please!”

  Nurcan reverts to speaking English with a Turkish accent, while introducing herself to the girls with whom she’ll share her dorm for the next 8 months. “I’m Nurcan, and you?”

  “Everyone else is asleep right now, but I’m Vaidilute!”

  “Vaidilute, not feeling bad about not making it to the Triwizard Tournament is one thing, but I don’t live in a vacuum!”

  More than ever, keeping quiet about the Revolution is essential, until I’m forced to do or act otherwise! I can feel like it’s going to be a long 8 months, and there’s no telling whether being chosen by the Goblet of Fire would be my lifeline as a Revolutionary or, on the contrary, be my undoing… Nurcan feels on the verge of a panic attack before going to bed.

  The following day, while Luc is working in Hogwarts’ kitchen as a guest pastry chef, baking millefeuilles for Hogwarts students to sample later, Armand takes the 13 Beauxbatons finalists to Hogsmeade, and more specifically to Tomes and Scrolls.

  Oh man, it seems like the Ministère des Affaires Magiques really is in it to win, this time around, and, unlike last time, they understand that finalists are also students, too! They want to ensure people can compete without having to worry about paying for it! Armand thinks while he distributes the Galleons he obtained from the local Gringotts branch, by exchanging bezants, to the students.

  At the same time, they know the clock is running out, and, starting November 1, they are going to live out their lives as if they were ordinary Hogwarts students, house points included.

  But then Relja is about to question Nurcan in Turkic, feeling like something’s fishy with her:

  “Are you aware that The Rise of Miss Irad-I Cedid is banned at Durmstrang?” Relja asks her.

  Nurcan gasps. “Irad-I Cedid? Why would Durmstrang ban The Rise of Miss Irad-I Cedid? Is it banned because I’m Muggle-born, or because it’s advocating for Muggle tax reforms?”

  I never expected to hear about the Irad-I Cedid so far away from even Serbia. However, I can’t take for granted that no one here knows about it just yet! Nurcan ruminates as she tries to understand why Durmstrang would ban The Rise of Miss Irad-I Cedid, and then resume talking to Relja in Turkic.

  “Until proven otherwise, you’re the only one here who know about the Irad-I Cedid!“

  “Think about it for a moment. How likely is it for a half-blood or pure-blood wizard to even advocate for Muggle tax reforms in the first place?” Relja asks her.

  “I knew pure-bloods tended to be less attuned to Muggle affairs, but they would instead push for other kinds of Muggle tax reforms, which are likely to be quite different from the Irad-I Cedid! So I wouldn’t say they wouldn’t push for Muggle tax reforms per se, but the devil is in the details!”

  Because of Relja, Nurcan is the last of the 13 Beauxbatons finalists to get to the textbooks she needs to get through the next 8 months.

  That night, the students are, once again, assembled in the Great Hall at dinner time, this time they sit with their respective houses.

  “The moment we’re all waiting for, the champion selection!” Dexter announces while he uses nonverbal magic to dim the Great Hall’s lights.

  The flame of the Goblet turns red, signaling that a champion’s name is about to come out.

  Nurcan starts hyperventilating. If my name is drawn, I feel like I will have to carry the burden of the Revolution into the tournament, even if I die trying! But I must be prepared for the very real possibility that I don’t make it!

  “The Durmstrang champion is… Britta Steinberg!” Dexter announces.

  As Britta comes forward, under the applauses of both Hufflepuffs and the other Durmstrang students, Nurcan keeps hyperventilating, as the 3/32 she assumed were her odds for the past 3 months have just doubled, now that Relja’s name hasn’t come out. So, in her mind, she went from being middle of the pack to one of the favorites.

  Once again, the Goblet’s flame turns red as a slip of parchment comes out. “The Beauxbatons champion is… Thierry Pirenne!”

  Thierry comes forward under the applause of the other 12, along with Gryffindors.

  I was underpowered. Even with my odds doubled to 3/16 at the very last moment, I didn’t expect much, I hope the Sultan understands just how stiff the competition was to even make it as a champion, and that I did what I could! Nurcan attempts to rationalize her loss. But now that she can no longer compete in the Triwizard Tournament, she feels strangely relieved that she won’t be caught into the crossfire.