Chapter Text
Platform 9 ¾ was overrun with students hurrying this way and that, scrambling to say their final goodbyes to their families while making sure they had all of their luggage before they boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Akaashi stood near the edge of the busy platform, watching the people scurrying to and fro as his mother fussed over him. She straightened out the folds in his clothes and fixed his hair as she ran through her mental checklist of things she deemed necessary for his survival of another year at Hogwarts.
“And you’re sure you packed all of your books? Enough parchment? Do you have extra quills? You always seem to be snapping the ends off of them so make sure you have extra.”
“I’ve got everything, Mother. I double-checked before we left this morning.”
“Well it’s better to be safe than sorry, that’s what I always say!”
Akaashi sighed. He appreciated his mother’s concern, but her incessant nagging coupled with the hustle and bustle of the train platform weren’t doing him and his impending headache any favors.
“I think I’ll be alright Mother. You don’t need to worry so much.”
His mother frowned. “I’ll always worry, you know that Keiji. I’m your mother after all.”
“I’m already in my sixth year. I’m not a little boy anymore.”
His mother gave him a pointed stare with those deep green eyes that mirrored his own.
“Nonsense. No matter how old you get, you’ll still be my little Keiji. Don’t you remember your first year when you smacked into the wall leading to the platform because you were so nervous, and then you—“
Akaashi really wasn’t in the mood to hear the dramatic retelling of his first time on Platform 9 ¾ for the fifth year in a row. It was not his most fond memory. His eyes searched around frantically for some sort of escape, and they eventually landed on a head of tall, black and white streaked hair.
“Ah, there’s Bokuto-san. I really should get going Mother, I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Koutarou! I haven’t seen him in ages, where is he? I need to ask him to-“
Akaashi interrupted her a second time by wrapping her in a tight embrace. He wasn’t sure what his mother wanted to see Bokuto for, but he didn’t really want to stick around long enough to find out.
“Thanks for seeing me off, but I really should get going.”
His mother sighed and muttered something about children never wanting to hang out with their parents anymore. She patted his cheek lightly.
“Promise you’ll send me an owl as soon as possible.”
“I promise.”
She pulled him in for one last hug before quietly whispering, “I love you Keiji. Take care of yourself.”
Akaashi gave her one final squeeze.
“I will.”
He began to push his cart away in the direction he saw Bokuto before feeling an incredibly ominous aura as soon as he turned around.
“...I love you too Mother.”
The aura disappeared and with a shudder, Akaashi quickly made his way toward the train. It was somewhat odd though, how much his mother had nagged him before he left for Hogwarts this year. She usually didn’t send him off with more than a kiss on the cheek and a promise to send her an owl as soon as he got settled in, and the thought worried him a bit.
He pushed his cart through the thick crowd, doing his best not to get jostled around too much by the people around him. Despite his careful cart maneuvering, he almost hit at least three people with his cart, muttering quick apologies as he hurried past them. An owl screeched at him when he accidentally walked a little too close when he leaned over to avoid two children running by.
He hated this godforsaken train station.
After handing his luggage over to one of the train conductors, he went to find Bokuto, who was standing a few feet away, regaling Hinata with a story of one of his summertime adventures.
Bokuto noticed him almost immediately and greeted him with a large bear hug. Akaashi felt his face heat up just a tiny bit as he returned the embrace.
“Akaashi!” Bokuto exclaimed as he loosened the hug to look at Akaashi with his large golden eyes. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“It’s been about two weeks since we last saw each other Bokuto-san.” He and Bokuto had met up multiple times over the summer, since they only lived about two hours away from each other.
“Ah, right…” Bokuto replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Although it had only been two weeks, Bokuto already looked a bit different than he remembered. His skin had a bit more of a tan, he looked down at Akaashi from a little higher than before, and he filled out his figure just a smidge better. Akaashi felt his cheeks start to redden again as he realized he was staring.
“Akaashi-san, it’s great to see you again!”
Akaashi looked over to see Hinata practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, not seeming to mind his conversation being interrupted at all. Akaashi gave him a small smile, half gratitude for the distraction and half because he was simply glad to see the orange-haired boy.
“It’s great to see you too Hinata.”
“I have so much to tell you! See, my mom’s owl that I’ve been using for the past few years kinda died this summer, and that sucked,” Hinata explained animatedly.
“That’s… unfortunate. I’m sorry for your loss,” Akaashi said, put-off somewhat by Hinata’s upbeat tone.
“Yeah, it was pretty sad. Natsu cried a lot. But here’s the thing! About a week before today, my parents surprised us with a gift out of nowhere! I bet you’ll never guess what it was.”
“An owl! A great horned owl!” Bokuto guessed with absolute certainty, enamored with Hinata’s emphatic storytelling.
Hinata shook his head. “Nope! Even better! It was a crow! Natsu and I decided to name him Tobu. I brought him with me this year too. You can meet him once we get to the castle. We had to get him there early because he doesn’t do well in busy places.”
Well, that was something Tobu and Akaashi had in common.
“You decided to name him “fly”?” inquired a quiet voice next to Akaashi. Akaashi started a little, not noticing the new presence next to him until that moment.
“I sure did! Why, is there something wrong with that Kenma?”
Kenma just stared at him for a moment and shrugged before turning back to the Switch he held in his hands.
“Your gaming console still works here?” Akaashi asked curiously. Electronic devices didn’t usually agree with places that have high amounts of magic present. The train station for a wizarding school should surely have set it off.
Kenma shrugged. “I’ve been tinkering with this all summer. It probably won’t hold out for very long once we get to Hogwarts, but I figured it was worth a shot,” Kenma explained quietly.
“That’s so cool!” Bokuto and Hinata yelled in unison.
Kenma winced a little at the sudden burst of noise, but he gave them a small nod in response to the compliment.
Behind the small group, the Hogwarts Express let out a loud warning whistle, and the other students began filing onto the train, eager to snatch up seats for themselves and their friends.
“The train’s going to leave soon. We should go find seats before the train compartments all fill
up,” Akaashi said.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, and they made their way through the thick crowd and boarded the train, walking through the narrow hallway until they found an empty compartment.
The train began to move a few minutes after they had taken their seats, and they settled in as the journey to Hogwarts began.
Across from him, Bokuto and Hinata began to chatter excitedly about this year’s quidditch tournament, and Akaashi quietly reminded them to get out their money for the snack trolley before leaning back in his seat. He still felt on edge, and he took a deep breath to try and quell his nerves.
“You look like you just ate a sour candy,” Kenma remarked beside him, powering off his Switch.
Akaashi sighed softly. “The train station was really getting to me today. I have a bit of a headache now.”
Kenma gave him a small look of empathy before turning to look out the window.
“Before we even got to Hogwarts? That might just be a new record.”
Akaashi looked out the window as well before letting out a sigh. He thought back to his mother’s overly concerned behavior once more. The unease he felt after the encounter still stuck with him.
“I don’t think it’s the train station that’s really bothering you,” Kenma said quietly, rummaging through the small blue bag he brought with him.
Akaashi’s eyes widened a fraction. Kenma’s ability to practically read his mind never ceased to amaze him.
“My mother was nagging me quite a bit at the station. That’s all.”
Kenma gave him an appraising look for a moment before pulling out some snack money. Kenma knew his mom well enough to know that was out of character for her, but Akaashi breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t say anything else.
Akaashi leaned his forehead against the window and closed his eyes, aiming to get a little sleep before they reached Hogwarts.
His mind drifted to his interactions with his mother on the train platform for what felt like the hundredth time since he had said goodbye. His mother was one of the few among witches and wizards that actually seemed to be able to use Divination magic successfully. Maybe she had seen something when she was using her crystal ball a few nights back.
Akaashi really hoped that wasn’t the case. If it was, she must have seen something very troubling. It took a lot to rattle his mom.
This train of thought, however, was getting him nowhere. He instead decided to try and focus on something else. At first it was the cool feeling of the window against his skin and later the sounds of the train moving along the track.
He eventually settled on Bokuto’s voice as he and Hinata spoke about something Akaashi was too drowsy to make out. He eventually drifted off, lulled to sleep by the deep tones of his owl-like friend.
—————————————————————
Akaashi awoke to someone gently shaking his shoulder.
“We’re about to reach the station,” Kenma told him softly, putting the book he was reading back into his bag.
Akaashi rubbed his eyes and attempted to fix his mussed up hair, though without a mirror he could only hope it looked presentable. He saw that his friends had already changed into their robes and went to change into his own before they reached their destination.
Once they made it to the station, the small group battled their way through the crowd and onto the platform. Almost immediately, Bokuto’s face broke out into a huge grin and he waved excitedly.
“Iwaizumi! Daichi! Over here!” He yelled, still waving his arm.
Said students quickly discovered the source of the noise and made their way through the crowd to where Akaashi and his friends were standing a few feet away from the train.
“Hey guys, good to see you,” Iwaizumi said with a small smile, and Daichi nodded and greeted them with his own warm grin.
Bokuto quickly pulled Daichi into his and Hinata’s earlier conversation about the upcoming quidditch tournament.
“Our players have been working really hard these past few years. Hufflepuff has no chance this time around,” Bokuto said triumphantly. Hinata quickly launched a fiery rebuttal, and Daichi looked on with an amused look on his face, not wanting to pick between his fellow Gryffindor quidditch teammate Bokuto and the energetic Hufflepuff that was Hinata.
Iwaizumi watched them for a short while before turning to Akaashi and Kenma.
“So how were your summers? My mom was constantly nagging me to stop spending so much time playing quidditch and to start studying for NEWTS,” Iwaizumi recalled with a grimace. Akaashi smiled a bit internally, remembering how Bokuto complained endlessly about his own mother demanding that he sit down everyday to study Charms over the summer.
“My summer was nothing special. My mother and I went to New York for about two weeks to visit my father, but that was the only real highlight,” Akaashi recalled. Akaashi’s father worked for a magical creature conservatory that was based in New York, and he and his mom only got to see him a few times a year.
“Mine was average as well,” Kenma said, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.
“I would take New York over studying History of Magic any day,” Iwaizumi replied with another small grimace.
Akaashi let out a small chuckle.
“It’s really not all that special. It’s so crowded it’s hard not to get swept up in the crowd. We ended up three blocks away from a restaurant we were walking to at one point,” Akaashi recalled before his expression took a more sour turn. “And don’t get me started on the rats.”
Iwaizumi laughed. “Well I guess that’s one thing London and New York have in common.”
Iwaizumi paused for a moment, glancing around them to see if anyone was close enough to overhear their conversation, and when he deemed it safe, he motioned for Akaashi and Kenma to lean in closer.
“Did you two notice anything strange while we were at the train platform?”
Akaashi frowned a bit, but the only thing he could really remember was the owl that had squawked at him for no reason.
“Well, I did notice a few Ministry officials here and there, if that’s what you’re talking about,” Kenma replied.
“So you saw them too!” Iwaizumi exclaimed, looking relieved. “I thought I was going crazy, but there were quite a few of them, huh?”
“They could just be seeing off their children,” Akaashi pondered thoughtfully.
Iwaizumi shook his head. “In full uniform? Doesn’t seem likely.”
“None of the ones I saw were with any kids. They looked like they were in the middle of something,” Kenma added.
The crowd around them began to thin, and Daichi glanced over at the retreating figures before turning back to his friends.
“We should probably find a carriage before they leave without us,” Daichi said, motioning to the already departing carriages in the distance.
“We have to hurry! Yachi said they’re serving a new kind of pie this year!” Hinata told them excitedly.
With that, everyone was reminded of their empty stomachs, and they quickly made their way onto one of the last carriages still left. It was a tight fit, but they all managed to squeeze onto one carriage.
They all discussed the upcoming school year during the short ride to the castle, all thoughts of their previous conversation abandoned in favor of discussing the change in staff Hogwarts would have this year. Apparently, last year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had quit over the summer.
“That’s a real shame. Professor Minako really wasn’t that bad. How long did this one last again?” Daichi asked.
“2 years,” Iwaizumi grumbled. “I now owe Makki 5 galleons.”
Their conversation continued on like this, darting from teachers to elective classes to the students that had apparently tried to break into the castle over the summer.
“Who was dumb enough to try that?” Akaashi asked with a grimace.
Bokuto shrugged. “No clue, some third-years I think. I heard they have detention with Professor Washijo for the entire first term.”
There was a collective shudder among the occupants of the carriage. The Potions professor was one of the most feared figures on campus for his devotion to perfectionism and strict disciplinary measures.
Soon after, the procession of carriages all reached their final destination. Warm light spilled out of the hundreds of windows around Hogwarts, and the school looked as inviting as it did every year. Akaashi felt his heart warm a little at the prospect of another year in this castle.
They continued inside as a group until they reached the Great Hall. There were four long tables, one for each of the houses, and most were already teeming with dozens of hungry students. Glowing lanterns floated high on the ceiling, which overlooked the busy dining hall along with the enchanted ceiling that reflected the night sky.
Bokuto, Daichi, and Iwaizumi headed over to the Gryffindor table while Hinata spotted Yachi making her way to the Hufflepuff table and quickly ran to join her. Akaashi and Kenma walked to the Ravenclaw table, nodding to their fellow housemates as they sat down.
“How many first-years do you think we’ll get this year?” Akaashi asked Kenma, who had pulled out his Switch and was currently testing to see if it remained functional inside Hogwarts’ walls.
“I don’t care as long as they aren’t as loud as the ones from last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually slept in the common room every night,” Kenma recalled with a grimace.
Kenma’s frown quickly turned into a more triumphant look as he started up a game on his Switch and found that it worked like normal. Whatever modifications he had made over the summer had proven to be effective.
Akaashi chuckled and looked to the front of the Hall at the long table where the teachers were all seated. He quickly picked out an unfamiliar face, who he assumed to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
The man had straight, shoulder-length brown hair and was practically expressionless. Akaashi couldn’t make out his facial features that well from his seat near the middle of the long Ravenclaw table, but something about the professor unnerved him. He didn’t have much time to linger on it though, because the new first years were soon brought out to be sorted.
Watching the new students get sorted into their houses was always something Akaashi looked forward to. Something about seeing the unsure looks on their faces disappear as their respective houses cheered for them after the Sorting Hat made it’s announcement always warmed Akaashi’s heart.
Before long, all of the new students had been sorted, and Headmaster Ukai stood up to deliver his beginning of the year speech.
“Welcome students, to another wonderful year at Hogwarts. I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new first-years, and I wish you all a wonderful school year. Hogwarts has the best faculty and student body of any wizarding school around, and together they will make your time here a very memorable one, although I suppose I am a bit biased,” the Headmaster said with a chuckle.
“However, our first-years are not the only new additions to our castle this year.”
Headmaster Ukai motioned to the table behind him, and the unfamiliar teacher Akaashi had been observing earlier stood up and greeted the room with a friendly smile.
“I would like everyone to give our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Kiyoshi Akio a warm welcome.”
The Headmaster began to clap, and the rest of the hall was quick to join him. Professor Akio gave a small nod before sitting back down in his seat after the clapping died down.
“Now, I want our older students and new ones alike to keep in mind that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits…”
Akaashi was quick to tune out this part of the Headmaster’s speech. He had heard this spiel five times already, and he didn’t think he needed to be told about the dangers of the Forbidden Forest again. He had no interest in going near it if he could help it.
“...Now I know all of you all are eager to begin feasting on the wonderful dinner our lovely kitchen staff has prepared for you, but I hope you will bear with me for a moment longer. I have one final thing I would like to share with you.”
There was a collective groan that arose among the students in the Great Hall. Even Akaashi himself was starting to get a bit antsy. He hoped this announcement was important.
The old man paused for a moment, waiting for the students to settle down with a stern look on his face.
“There is an old Hogwarts tradition that has ceased to occur for the past few decades. However, a couple of close colleagues and I have decided that it is time to begin it once again.”
The Headmaster paused once more, this time for dramatic effect before revealing his big announcement. He spread his arms open wide before making his declaration.
“Hogwarts will be hosting the first Triwizard Tournament in sixty years!”
There was a beat of silence before everyone began talking at once, equal bits of confusion, excitement, and anticipation. They eventually began to quiet down, eager for more details.
“Students from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute will be arriving at Hogwarts in one month’s time. After that, one champion from each school will be chosen to compete in the legendary Triwizard Tournament.
“More details will be revealed after our guests have arrived. Please be mindful of the tournament preparations that will be occurring over the next few weeks and do your best to cooperate with the wizards and witches that will be working to make this tournament a success.”
The Headmaster smiled. “I’m sure you all are very excited. This will be a wonderful opportunity to build strong relationships with your foreign peers, and for one of you it will be a chance to achieve eternal glory and proudly represent your school. But, for now, I feel I have kept you from your dinner long enough. Enjoy your meal, and I wish everyone a fantastic year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
With that, plates of food appeared on the four long tables in the hall, but they were hardly the center of attention.
“Well I guess that explains why the Ministry people were at the platform,” Kenma mumbled, stabbing his fork into a piece of chicken that had appeared before him.
Akaashi rubbed his temples. His dreams of a quiet sixth year had just been ripped into shreds and thrown into the wind. He glanced over at Kenma who gave him an amused look, no doubt knowing exactly what was going through Akaashi’s mind.
Well, at least he had the new flavor of pie Hinata mentioned earlier to temporarily ease his woes.
—————————————————————
Akaashi walked with Kenma outside to the greenhouses the next day for his first Herbology class of the year. Like he had expected, the focus of most people’s conversations as they walked in weren’t as much on plants as they were on the announcement from the day before.
“Are you going to enter the tournament?”
“I heard they brought in dragons for one of the tournaments at Durmstrang!”
“I’ve heard Beauxbatons girls are cute as hell!”
Akaashi just sighed. He had to admit, he was pretty curious about the tournament as well, but he hoped it wouldn’t be like this for the rest of the month until the other students arrived at Hogwarts. Rumors like these tended to spin out of proportion fast.
He spotted an empty bench a few feet away from them and the two Ravenclaws quickly took their seats and set their bags down.
“Everyone seems to be pretty excited about the tournament,” Akaashi observed, looking sideways at Kenma.
Kenma shrugged. “I mean it’s a pretty big deal. I wish they would have waited a few weeks before making the announcement though,” Kenma muttered. “It’s hard enough adjusting to 9 a.m. classes without people constantly raving about an event they barely know anything about.”
Akaashi gave him a look. “When did you wake up over the summer?” he asked, a tiny bit afraid of what the answer might be.
“2 p.m., but I didn’t usually sleep until 4 a.m…” Kenma replied, rubbing his eyes that were still laden heavy with fatigue.
Akaashi blinked. He wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. He was equal parts impressed and concerned. This did explain why Kenma was a bit grumpier than usual though.
“Are you going to enter your name for the tournament?” Kenma asked, taking out a few pieces of parchment and his ink and quill.
Akaashi thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
“I don’t think so. I don’t really think that kind of thing is for me,” he replied while taking out his own note-taking materials. He had played Quidditch for a few years prior and that had been too much for him. He couldn’t imagine how much of a toll something like the Triwizard Tournament would take on him.
Kenma nodded. “It feels like it would be a lot of extra work. Not to mention the whole student body breathing down your neck the whole year.”
Akaashi felt sorry for whoever ended up being chosen to compete. It felt like something Akaashi would have nightmares about.
Pretty soon after, the Herbology teacher, Professor Nekomata, started their first lesson of the year, ignoring the questions students shot at him regarding the tournament.
“I know little more than you all about what’s going on. However, I do know plenty about plants, and I would be happy to tell you all about them.”
He motioned for all of the students to join him at the front of the greenhouse to take notes while he explained to them the differences between Devil’s Snare and Flitterbloom.
As Akaashi noted down the slight color difference
between the two plants, even though he tried to immerse himself in the lecture, his thoughts drifted back to the tournament again. Was that what his mother had seen in her crystal ball?
He hoped that was all it was. As long as he didn’t enter the tournament, he would be alright. Sure, the castle halls may be a bit more packed and reporters might be everywhere during the actual competitions, but that wasn’t anything he couldn’t deal with.
He turned back to the lesson as Professor Nekomata prodded the Devil’s Snare with a stick, and it quickly latched on and snapped it in half with a loud crack. He did the same to the Flitterbloom and it barely budged.
“As you can see, despite their similar appearances, Devil’s Snare and Flitterbloom don’t share much else in common, like the tendency of Devil’s Snare to latch onto anything it touches. Now, let’s review how to deal with Devil’s Snare quickly and efficiently if you were to encounter it outside these walls…”
Akaashi jotted down notes as the professor taught his lesson. He looked over at Kenma and saw him struggling to keep his eyes open. Akaashi smiled a little. He really didn’t have anything to worry about. As long as he didn’t enter his name for the Triwizard Tournament, he would be absolutely fine. Probably.
—————————————————————
The rest of the day passed by without anything out of the ordinary happening. He went to his Potions class, had lunch with Bokuto and Daichi, and then headed off to Charms before making his way to the Great Hall once again for dinner.
He sat with Hinata, Bokuto, Kenma, and Yachi at one of the long tables, near the dining hall’s entrance. Akaashi sat next to Bokuto on one side while Kenma took the seat next to Hinata on Hinata’s right on the opposite side of the table, Yachi occupying the seat on Hinata’s left, and the blonde Hufflepuff girl gave them a kind smile when they sat down.
Bokuto gave Akaashi a large grin after he settled down next to him.
“Hey ‘Kaashi and Kenma made it! Oh, Hinata, tell them about what happened in your Care of Magical Creatures class!” Bokuto said excitedly.
Hinata immediately turned to Akaashi and Kenma and began telling them about how his professor had been teaching them about Bowtruckles, small, green wooden creatures, when the one Professor Naoi had to show them picked the lock of its cage and escaped.
“You should have seen his face when Yamaguchi told him it was missing!” Hinata giggled. “He said he borrowed it from a friend and we had to spend the rest of class looking for it.”
Hinata leaned a little closer and glanced around before motioning Akaashi and Kenma to lean in.
“It turns out Tsukki caught it and had it hidden in his sleeve the whole time. But he told me not to say anything so don’t tell anyone,” Hinata whispered.
“Well I didn’t really expect you to keep it to yourself in the first place but you could at least check and see if I’m nearby before saying anything,” quipped a deadpan voice right behind Hinata.
Hinata let out a small shriek and quickly whirled around and was met with a tall, sneering Tsukishima.
“Well, that wasn’t a very nice thing to do in the first place! Our first Care or Magical Creatures class ended early because of you,” Hinata retorted.
Tsukishima shrugged. “It’s not my fault the little twig got out. We just happened to form a little friendship is all,” Tsukishima smirked.
“Yeah, the Bowtruckle crawled into Tsukki’s sleeve itself. Tsukki was even a little scared of it at first!”
Tsukishima gave the freckled boy next to him a deadpan look.
“Shut up Yamaguchi.”
“Sorry Tsukki!”
With a final careless wave, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi headed further down the hall to sit with some of their fellow Slytherins.
Hinata turned back around and frowned.
“Tsukishima always comes up with some sort of excuse. He didn’t even get in trouble when he pulled the Bowtruckle out of his sleeve,” Hinata grumbled. To be fair though, Professor Naoi wasn’t really as fond of punishment as some of his fellow professors. He was probably just relieved to have the creature back.
Bokuto was quick to lean over and pat Hinata on the shoulder.
“Cheer up little man! There won’t be any time for excuses on the quidditch pitch!”
Bokuto quickly pulled Hinata into a conversation about the tryouts that would be happening in a few weeks. Akaashi smiled softly at him. It always amazed him how Bokuto was able to lift people’s spirits with just a few energetic words. He may have his off days, but he was a beacon of light for those around him all the same.
Akaashi internally cringed at himself after thinking that. When had he started getting this sappy?
His eyes drifted over to where Kenma was playing a game on his Switch. Hinata seemed to notice at the same time, and he and Bokuto were quick to express their earlier amazement from back at the train station once again. Kenma didn’t seem to mind, and angled his Switch so that they could both better see what he was playing.
Akaashi turned his attention away to Yachi, who was sitting across from him. She had her nose in a book, and she startled a bit when Akaashi asked her about it.
“Oh, I was just reading about the Triwizard Tournament. I figured if it’s going to be coming here, I should at least know a little about it, you know?” Yachi said, setting the book on the table and flipping it around so she could show him one of the illustrations in the book. It depicted a wizard standing tall in the middle of an arena, facing a giant with only his wand in hand.
She continued to tell him facts about the tournament as they ate, and although the tournament wasn’t something he liked thinking about, he enjoyed the conversation all the same. He enjoyed Yachi’s company, and maybe the knowledge of the past tournaments would be beneficial to him at some point.
He glanced over at all of his friends and he felt a warmth that slowly eased all of his anxious thoughts out of his mind. Whatever he had to deal with in the future, it would work out as long as he had these people by his side.