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Chapter Text

It was unusual for Crowley to start a meeting or to actually involve himself in any Housewarden matter unless it effects the school’s reputation.

Yet here he was.

Crowley took a look around the table to see that all of the Housewardens were present, except...

"Is Malleus Draconia not present again?"

"Oh, he lost the track of time." Lilia appeared out of nowhere.

Well, if Lilia is here than they can begin.

Crowley grinned. "As you know, we managed to get a mirror gate to open to Yuu's world and return her home. But, as it turns out, in Yuu's world there are also magical schools and they will be hosting a tournament to determine which school is the best. So of course I signed up the Night Raven College."

Crowley quickly threw a stack of document at the meeting table, said "Decide who will go!" and vanished.

The first to pick up the documents were Riddle and Azul, both known for their academic prowess but also the fact that one lives by the rules and the other by finding loopholes in any document.

"It would seem that the tournament is between four schools including ours and will last at least a whole academic year." Riddle stated as he read through the first document.

"There will be three tasks in which our chosen champion will compete." Azul continued, as he read the rules of the tournament. "What about our competition? Anything of note?"

"From the looks of it, there aren't any non-human species present in any of their school photos." commentates Vil, as he skimmed through every schools' profile.

"Then, Savanaclaw is not going." Leona spoke. "If you think that I will lead a bunch of beastmen in a world where there aren't any, you are wrong."

Lilia hummed. "For the same reason, it would be for the best if Diasomnia isn't chosen to represent the Night Raven College, either."

That was a good point. From what Yuu told them, magic isn't something she encountered, so it would stand to reason that magic isn't something a whole world knows but a select few.

And if the population of people who are aware of magic is small, there would be no reason to exclude other magical non-human species. Either they don't exist even in that world's magical world or they are excluded from attending any of these schools.

Whether prejudice and discrimination or just ignorance of any other species, it would not bode well for the Night Raven College to sent someone who could not fit in that world's mold, for they would ask too many questions that they would rather leave unanswered.

"Ignihyde also isn't going." Idia's voice rang from the tablet. That came as a surprise to exactly no one. Ignihyde students are all technology geeks and are at their happiest in front of a screen. They are also mostly introverts or just like to do their own thing. Competing in a tournament with a huge media spotlight is not something that would appeal to them.

"Scarabia would be happy to go!" Kalim exclaimed. A whole other world to explore and compete in a cool magical tournament in something he would rather not pass on.

Azul pushed up his glasses. "Maybe you should ask Jamil about it first. It is said that competitors often died during the tasks, and while I doubt that they are a match for the Night Raven College, we wouldn't want Jamil to overwork himself again with Scarabia’s preparations."

Kalim flinched, he didn’t miss Azul’s remark. The memories of Jamil’s overblot were to fresh for that. It didn't occur to him...

If something happened to him, the blame would fall on Jamil...

He trusted and cherished Jamil more than anyone else, and maybe Azul was right. He caused him a lot of problems by just being himself, and if him sitting this one thing out would lessen Jamil's burden even a little...

"No. You're right. It would be for the best if Scarabia also doesn't compete." Kalim wasn't as chipper anymore, he didn't want to burden Jamil with his complicated feelings, and he knows that they should address what happened between them through all the years they spent together. Yet, he can't bring himself to change the status quo.

He is afraid if he pushes a little bit to hard, he might never fix his relationship with Jamil.

Vil seeing the tense atmosphere, decided to say his piece to hopefully finish this meeting on time. "Pomefiore isn't going to be competing either."

He didn't offer an explanation, but it was obvious. If Pomefiore went they would lose valuable time which they could use to better themselves and it would be a chaos to bring his dorm in that unhygienic looking and half-decomposing castle.

He saw the photos. It looked like any generic castle but obviously no one bothered to renovate and refreshed the place, so it looked worse than it probably was. But he is not taking any chances, he knows a safety hazard when he sees it.

"And that leaves only Heartslabyul and Octavinelle." Azul mused.

"It would seem so." Riddle read through all of the documents and the tournament didn't seem all that hard. It would require someone with enough magical knowledge and craftiness to win.

"Why don't you go, Riddle?" Azul offered.

"Why? Don't you want it, Azul?" Riddle asked, his eyes sharpening. Azul usually didn't pass on an offered chance of forming more contracts with easily manipulated students.

"You are a skilled duelist, your magical power is also impressive and you have enough political awareness to smoothly go through any given situation."

And he would be gone for a whole year, leaving Heartslabyul students susceptible to Azul's contracts. "If you form any contracts with my students while I'm not around, I will find a way to get back at you, Azul."

Azul put a hand on his cheek, playing up his ‘hurt’ feelings. "My, that came out of nowhere. But you have nothing to worry about, after all we all want only the best for the Night Raven College."

Azul also didn't want to go. He was a still embarrassed about his real octopus form, and if any task involved getting into the water, it would be unpleasant to show it to judgmental otherworlders. But he isn't going to broadcast that fact to other Housewardens, it's better for them to think that he has some other plans involving contracts than that he is susceptible to public scrutiny.

And also the fact that from the documents the tournament seemed to include physical exercise and he is not very good at those. He supposes that he could ask the Leech twins if they wanted to compete, but that would still force all three of them to leave the Mostro Lounge in someone else's hands for they wouldn't part ways for anything of this magnitude.

He could already imagine the profits going down. It's better to sit this one out. It's not like that tournament is going to grant him any additional points in Twisted Wonderland even if he decided to go. It would be a waste of time.

Riddle sighed. "Then, Heartslabyul is going. I'll see with the Headmage Crowley if it would be possible to use magic mirror to come and go between Twisted Wonderland and Yuu's world on more frequent occasions."

With that they finished with Crowley's task and then argued about something relating to some students causing trouble with other dorms, and that escalated. So they prolonged a meeting for another hour and half before finally ending it.

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Dumbledore stared at the letter from the Headmaster of the Night Raven College, a magical school he hasn't heard off before.

The Ministry of Magic was the one who decided to organize the Triwizard Tournament, and they are the ones who decide if another school should attend.

His hands are tied. This school is going to compete. He only hopes that this isn't another ploy from Voldemort. Suspicious things have been happening. It would seem that he is preparing for something big.

While Dumbledore isn't exactly elated for this tournament, he will allow it. He can create countermeasures to ensure that nothing goes wrong and that the only ones who will be able to participate are the students of age.

He even invited Moody. With an auror of his experience and vigilance, no one will be able to make a move without him noticing.

He hopes that he is paranoid in vain, but life taught him that those instincts are usually right, so he shouldn't ignore them.

For all of his magical power and knowledge, he is still just an old man with a lot of sins on his coincidence. That usually clouds his judgement, that's why he failed Tom...

He isn't sure if it's going to get worse, but he has to prepare, for he will not be able to do what is necessary when the time comes.

The students shall are his first priority. He will ensure that nothing happens to them or any member of Hogwarts staff.

But now he has to make an announcement. He is sure that most of the students are going to be overjoyed.

This year is the first Quadruple Tournament in history, after all.

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The whole Hogwarts was buzzing with the excitement. They are going to house a Quadruple Tournament, which was never done before. It used to be only Durmstrang, Beauxbatons and Hogwarts, but now there is a fourth school called Night Raven College.

No one has ever heard of it. The purebloods owled their families and they still came up with nothing.

Hermione was taking it hard. She hated not knowing something and this time library was of no use. She couldn't find anything about it.

Ron and Harry were kinda worried about Hermione, but decided to just shrug it off. When the schools come in October, she can ask them any questions that will hopefully quench her academic thirst for knowledge.

They did think that it was kinda weird that no one knows about the fourth school, but decided not to worry about it until the time came. The Ministry and Dumbledore wouldn't allow them to compete if they were sketchy.

Chapter Text

It was finally the day when they will meet the other three schools. Everybody was discussing how they think that they will arrive. Some said by the portkey, and some were a bit more imaginative.

They gathered near the Black Lake to watch and the first thing they saw was a carriage in the sky being carried by the flying horses. That was Beauxbatons, judging by the crest. Their students and their Headmistress Madame Maxime were greeted by the Headmaster Dumbledore and were escorted into Hogwarts.

The next was an enormous ship emerging from the Black Lake with Durmstrang insignia. Harry didn't manage to get a full look, but they looked though. They were also greeted and ushered inside.

And finally, the Night Raven College came. From the water emerged two black horses who were pulling a black carriage that was historically used to transport coffins.

Wait...

This one was also carrying coffins. The students watched as the carriage stopped and as the coffins got magically lifted into the air, and then lowered onto the ground.

Suddenly, all five coffins opened up, and from within rose up five figures dressed in purple and black robes with golden details. Their faces were covered with hoods, so the only thing distinguishing them was the height difference.

The shortest one began to lead the other four to Dumbledore who greeted them and asked "Is your headmaster going to join us?"

The short one answered "Headmage Crowley is unable to attend today, we apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to come to me."

And with that they also went inside.

-------------------------

The Hogwarts students gathered into the Great Hall, other schools haven't come in yet, but they were all everyone talked about.

"It was a bit freaky rising up from the coffins." Ron commented.

"It was." Harry agreed. Other schools were mostly normal as far as the magical schools go, anyways. But the Night Raven College combined what Beauxbatons and Durmstrang did and took it a step further.

"I am just glad that I can finally see what they have to offer. None of the books even mentioned them, so they must either be a new school or a very secretive one." Hermione said. She was incredibly hyped to learns something new about Wizarding World, but it still pissed her of that she couldn't find anything about the Night Raven College.

Harry hummed. "That is suspicious, but let's hope that they are just eccentric."

"And that they don't learn the dark arts." Ron added.

He got weird looks from both Harry and Hermione. "What? Rising from the dead is a typical dark arts activity, it's weird that they would choose to copy that."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "You're right, maybe we should ask them some questions to figure out what exactly were their intentions."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it since Dumbledore started speaking.

"Welcome, dear students! As you have seen, we are pleased to welcome our sister schools of magic, and I hope you will make them feel welcome and show them our Hogwarts hospitality. Now, without further ado, presenting Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their Headmistress Madam Maxime!"

The doors of the Great Hall opened, and in entered beautiful girls in light blue uniforms and a big woman dressed in a fancy coat. The girls did a little choreography routine with silver and blue butterflies flying around them.

Once they introduced themselves, they took their seats at the Ravenclaw table.

The boys were drooling as they caught the sight of them, and one girl in particular seemed to cause the most envy from the girls.

"Now, our friends from the North, Durmstrang with their Headmaster Mr. Karkaroff!"

In entered a bunch of tough looking men, who did an impressive training routine with their stuff, after which they joined the Slytherins at their table.

They caused quite a lot of excitement because among the Durmstrang students was Viktor Krum who was a star Quidditch player.

"And lastly, the Night Raven College!"

The five dark clothed figures entered with the shortest one leading the other four. They took a few steps then stopped at the start of the tables.

The leading figure had a scepter in hand which they waived around and then slammed onto the ground.

Several things happened at once. The strong wind started blowing, causing quite a lot of people to close their eyes. Then it calmed down a little as it gently carried rose petals-which unexpectedly materialized-across the Great Hall.

And most shockingly, the Night Raven College students now wore different outfits. Wizards were usually all about bright colors, but this was something that they have never seen before.

The leading boy looked delicate and had a blood red hair with a crown on his head. His outfit was a mix of red, black, white and gold. He wore a long cape like the one royalties usually wore. His waist coat was mimicking a skirt and there was a half painted rose pinned just above his heart. And the craziest thing that wizards saw were high heels which clicked and clanked as the boy continued his way towards the Headmaster.

The other four had uniform-like look which complimented the leading boy. They each had a card suit painted on their faces and they all wore a serious expression.

They walked just behind the shortest boy who held his head high with confidence oozing off of him. He held himself with grace that could only belong to someone of noble blood.

When they came in front of the teachers' table they did a curtsy, turned and joined the Gryffindors at the their table.

Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look. They could all tell that they were thinking of the exact same thing. They're eccentric.

Before they could start talking, Dumbledore encouraged all Hogwarts students to sing the school anthem, which was rather unimpressive after the display from the other three schools.

Finally, after that was done and the feast began, the Golden Trio had time to observe the Night Raven College students who sat not to far away from them.

They seemed so stoic at first, but after they sat down and started talking, they seemed more like a rowdy bunch.

"Man, I'm starving!" exclaimed a boy with a heart painted on around his eye, as he showed a bunch of different food on his plate.

"Ace, mind your manners, we are guest here and represent not only Heartslabyul but also the Night Raven College as a whole!" the short boy with a crown said with a strict expression.

"Yes, Housewarden." Now named Ace answered with an annoyed grimace, and he looked ready to retort back but held it in.

"That was an impressive spell, Acey!" Said the boy with a diamond painted on his face. He had a cheery tone and a bright smile.

"With how much Housewarden has been nagging me to perfect it for the performance, it better be." Ace said, but his face was now adorned with a smug look, he was shining with pride.

"You could have made a less of a mess with the roses, some managed to hit me in the face." A blue-haired guy with a spade said.

"Hey, that's-" and then they bickered, as the guy with a clover gently shook his head with a fond smile on his face. The diamond guy sweatdropped and the guy with a crown didn't acknowledge them, but had a tick on his forehead.

Fred and George were first to address the group, doing their usual thing with fulfilling each other's sentences.

"Hello."

"We-"

"Welcome-"

"You-"

"To-"

"Hogwarts!"

"My name is Gred."

"And I'm Forge."

They finished with a smile.

The one with a crown answered, keeping his face stoic. "It is our pleasure to attend. My name is Riddle Rosehearts, and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

"No need to be so formal, we Gryffindors are all friendly!" Fred said, trying to get the guy to loosen up a little.

"Forgive me, but as the Housewarden of Heartslabyul and the current highest authority figure representing our school, I can not be any less formal." Riddle answered without much fanfare.

"What exactly does Housewarden of Heartslabyul mean?" asked George.

The other Gryffindor students were also paying attention, they didn't exactly know how to breach the topic with this mysterious school so they were thankful that the Weasley twins took the initiative.

Harry, together with Ron and Hermione, was also paying attention. They were trying to figure them out. But seriously? 'Housewarden'. Warden like a prison guard? Were their houses like prisons? Did their school look like a prison? To be fair their initial aesthetic was gloomy with coffins, but this current one was just really...eccentric.

Riddle sighed, then waived his hand to the side. The guy with a clover answered. "A Housewarden is a person in charge of their house, ours is named Heartslabyul, and if I got it correct yours is Gryffindor."

"So they are like a prefects?" asked another Gryffindor student.

"Depends, what do your prefects do?" counter asked the clover guy.

"Each house has two prefects, they patrol the corridors, give our detention to misbehaving students or deduct House points, and help out other students."

The clover guy hummed. "I suppose it is similar, each Housewarden is responsible for their own house and is its ultimate authority. That includes punishments, organization of events, academical performance of their students and other things."

Hermione pursed her lips. Did that mean that a Housewarden had the same authority as the Head of the House? That's absurd! One single student shouldn't have that much power over other students. That could easily be misused.

As if sensing that this could snowball into a lot of questions, the clover guy decided to change the subject. "We have been having this discussion for a while, and I still haven't introduced myself. My name is Trey Clover."

The guy with a diamond on his face perked up. "Oh! We're doing introductions! The name's Cater Diamond, but feel free to call me Cay-Cay!" His voice was enthusiastic, he put two fingers in a peace sign and smiled widely.

The blue-haired guy introduced himself next. "I'm Deuce Spade-" and then got interrupted by the Ace. "And I'm Ace Trappola!"

"Hey! Don't interrupt me!"

The two then proceeded to squabble for a good minute or two.

"Ace! Deuce!" a sharp voice rang out. It was Riddle, his eyes narrowed. "If you don't start behaving yourselves it will be Off with You-"

Cater intervened. "Riddle-chan, why don't we calm down for a second, I'm sure that those two will behave." At the last part he sent a pointed look to Ace and Deuce.

Riddle took a deep breath. "Right."

Trey then put a piece of cake in front of his Housewarden. "Why don't you try some of their traditional sweets? If you like any of them, I could go and ask for a recipe."

Riddle was quiet, but his eyes were now looking at the offered plate with want. "I suppose it would be rude to not try any of their traditional cuisine."

Trey looked satisfied with himself.

As Riddle took a bite his face became filled with joy, his eyes sparkling like a little kid in front of a toy store. A total contract from his demeanor from a few seconds ago.

It was actually kinda cute.

But the Golden Trio still had a lot of questions, so they decided to pry a little with Hermione taking initiative.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger, and those are my friends Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." she said, pointing at them as she introduced them.

There was a noticeable lack of reaction at Harry's name, which was both good because Harry didn't want to deal with unnecessary amount of attention, and weird because people usually have some kind of reaction. It could range from amazement, wonder and worship to anger and disgust, but NRC students didn't react at all. It was like they considered him as just another normal student.

"We were wondering if you could tell us about Night Raven College, I went through the whole Hogwarts library and didn't manage to find anything about it." Hermione continued.

"Well duh. That's the whole point." Ace rudely said.

That left Hermione speechless. She was trying to start some kind of conversation, and this just shot her down exponentially.

"Well, he is correct." Cater jumped into the conversation. "NRC's location is supposed to stay hidden, and only invited students may come, and even then we don't know the exact location of the school."

"How does that work?" asked Ron. "You have to know how to get there, right?"

"No actually. A carriage picks you up and you stay unconscious until you arrive to the school." Deuce joined in the conversation as well.

"That seems really unethical!" Hermione cried out. Did NRC really put their students in comatose state just so that school can stay hidden? Did that also mean that they are less open to muggleborns if they promote such secrecy?

"No. It's practical." Ace said rolling his eyes. They were warned by the Housewarden that they aren't allowed to mentions magical mirrors, so they decided to focus on the carriage with which they came here.

"Do you have to be in coffins while you ride the carriage?" Ron asked since he couldn't quite forget their very interesting arrival.

"There are a lot of important people there, so secrecy means safety, Kay~" Cater said, pointedly ignoring the question.

"Hey, what's with the weird get up?" Dean decided to ask. That was the question everyone else wanted to ask, but thought it might me to rude to spring up as the first thing they say to the new school.

"This is just a uniform for out house." Trey said simply, he didn't want for all of invasive comments to set Riddle off, so better to shut them down quickly.

While Riddle had gotten a lot better since his overblot, Trey didn't think he would be thrilled to have to entertain a crowd of squabbling children who question every little thing they do.

Riddle is already used to authority, and NCR students don't really involve themselves into things that don't personally affect them. Just from this brief interaction, Trey could already tell that Hogwarts students are the type that has to butt in everyone's business.

"Ok, but why is it so weird-"

The Heartslabyul students were saved from further questioning by Headmaster Dumbledore signaling for everyone's attention.

"Now that we have all been wined and dinned, I'm happy to tell you that all students who are 17 years old and wish to compete in the tournament, can candidate themselves by putting their name into the Goblet of Fire which will decide our future champions."

Dumbledore then presented the Goblet of Fire to the Great Hall. It had a very cool design with blue lights illuminating against the black metal surface of the cup.

"The Goblet will be stationed here in the Great Hall. You have until tomorrow dinner time to put your name in, and then the Goblet will choose the champions. Also, don't forget to write down your school besides your name. Have an enjoyable evening."

With that Dumbledore finished his speech, and students slowly started to disperse.

The Heartslabyul students followed Riddle who rose first from the table and headed towards the teachers' table.

Riddle approached Professor McGonnagal. "We were told that a room will be prepared for the students of the Night Raven College, would you please guide us to it?"

McGonnagal nodded and then introduced herself as the Head of Gryffindor house and a Deputy Headmistress.

"My name is Riddle Rosehearts and I will be acting as the highest authority figure and representative of the Night Raven College so if any issues arise please direct your concerns to me."

Riddle finished his introduction with a curtsy as befitting of someone from the Queendom of Roses whose traditions and manners were inspired by the great Queen of Hearts herself.

My, how polite. Thought McGonagall, not used to such a formal greeting that was usually only performed between the pureblood families.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you to Hogwarts." McGonagall answered back after a moment of consideration. It was better to respond to such a greeting in kind. "And now, if you'll follow me, I'll give you a short tour and show you to your rooms."

Just before she started walking, Riddle spoke up. "Vice-Headmistress McGonagall, if it's not to much of a bother, would you please get us a copy of Hogwarts rules so we can better accommodate to your way of learning?"

And considering too. McGonagall thought. The Night Raven College must be a high class learning institution if these are the students they produce.

(Being referred by the title of Vice-Headmistress also stroked her ego a bit. Usually, her efforts as the Deputy Headmistress don't get acknowledged.)

"Why it is not a problem at all." She smiled back at them. Maybe her own students could learn something from the visiting ones.

God knows that some of them need a lesson in good behavior.

Chapter Text

All it took was one tour of a castle-which lasted for two hours before they were finally led to the room where they would be staying-and Ace was already done.

They had to remain all prim and proper in front of the old lady unless they wanted Riddle to blow a gasket.

Well, Ace was not looking forward to continuing that charade.

Sure, he agreed to it because Riddle said that they'll get less chores around Heartslabyul if they go and foster good relationship with the 'wizards'.

Apparently, they call themselves 'wizards' and 'witches' which sound a dumb when compared to a title of a mage.

Eh, whatever.

Less chores for just talking with this bunch is not such a bad deal.

And maybe Riddle also mentioned that it would be wise to go to their library and learn about what is considered normal around here and learn some new spells or something.

Now, Ace hates being looked down upon so no way he's gonna let those 'wizards' make fun of him just because he doesn't know something they think he should know about.

However, that would mean he would actually have to go through the library and study...

Yeah, no way.

He'll learn as he goes through conversation with other students. Cater seems to be of the same mind if his complaints about the task were anything to go by.

It's not like they should be the ones to study.

Riddle is the only one who should actually look through what this world has to offer since he'll compete in this tournament.

(Not that there was any questions about who should compete, Riddle is unbeatable dualist.)

And considering how intelligent and studious he is, he'll memorize their whole library by the end of the month.

So Ace see's no reason to hit the books. Sure, he might go through some of them if the topic interests him, but he'll not go out of his way to study when he has enough of stuff to study back at Night Raven College.

If he thought that he might have a peaceful and carefree year, he would have been deadly wrong so it's a good thing that such a thought never crossed his mind.

Not only does he have to do chores, attend and study for the classes at NRC, he also has to do the same in the world that's not even his!

Sure, he doesn't actually have to attend and study at Hogwarts, but Riddle insists that it would help him in making good connections.

Like any of that is going to even matter!

He's from Twisted Wonderland, not from Earth. Whatever he does here is not going to affect him back at home in any way.

That is, unless Riddle finds out and collars him for whatever transgression he's committed.

Though, skimming through the list that the old lady gave Riddle before she left, that's not going to be much of a problem.

Thankfully, the rules were normal. Not that he was going to bother going along with any of them if it goes against what he wants to do.

He'll just claim that he was still unfamiliar with all of the rules, and can he pretty please be forgiven just this once.

He's cute, and add a little bit of puppy dog eyes...

He'll get away with it, without a problem.

(Perks of being a younger sibling, he had time to perfect the act. Though, it doesn't work against Riddle as well as he'd hoped or like at all.)

Still, going back and forth between Hogwarts and Twisted Wonderland is going to be exhausting!

"Adeuce! Come on!" Cater called out. "We set up the mirror!"

Ace would have probably fought the annoying nickname if he wasn't as tired as he was, so he settled for the sarcastic "Yeah, we're not blind."

The magic mirror that will transport them from their world to this one was put on the wall that looks directly at the door.

Not that there was anywhere else to put it since the six beds took up almost all of the space.

(And six? Did they expect the Headmage to share a room with them?)

You can tell that this place was arranged last minute since it didn't look very fancy and only had bare necessities prepared.

Then again, after spending some time in the Ramshackle, everything else looks great in comparison.

Ace, stifled a yawn as he stepped through the mirror. He can't wait to get back to his bed in the Heartslabyul.

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What do you think of the other schools?" That was the most asked question within the Gryffindor house.

Generally speaking, the consensus was that Beauxbatons was the most elegant one, and that any other quality of that school got overshadowed by sheer beauty of its members.

The girl Fleur Delacour was especially the hot topic.

On the other hand, Durmstrang is being talked about as the school for strong wizards (some rumors say even dark), but the focus is mostly on the star Quidditch player Viktor Krum.

Being a student and a star Quidditch player at the same time was a high achievement, and no one doubts that he'll get chosen as one of the champions.

And lastly...

No one really has any idea what to do with the Night Raven College.

Their first impression was that they must study the dark arts. Their first outfits kinda mimicked the Death Eaters' only fancier, and since their attack on the Quidditch World Cup was recent, no one missed the similarities.

However, that impression only lasted until they magically changed into another set of clothes.

Not only were they really colorful, they were also really weird. There was an obvious theme to them, but the wizards weren't sure what exactly it was and the students themselves didn't explain anything other than that it was their dorm uniform.

Though, they did use some high class magic. Elemental magic with wind, summoning magic for roses and transfiguration magic to change all of their outfits.

They must have practiced it a lot. (Which makes their Hogwarts school song that much lamer.)

They did come off more as eccentric than anything, with all of the bickering between two boys with a heart and a spade, the chatty diamond guy, calm club and their leader with obviously pureblood heritage judging from his demeanor.

Still, it makes them all more curious to find out more. Especially the Gryffindor trio who is famous for sticking their noses into things that they shouldn't.

"I can't believe that Viktor Krum is at our school!" Ron excitedly said. As a big Quidditch fan, he and Harry were more preoccupied with the fact that they might have a chance to talk to one of the best seekers in history.

"Honestly, Ronald! Is Quidditch all you can think about?" Hermione asked, exasperated. Quidditch wasn't her thing, and she was feeling left out. Also...

"Are we seriously not going to talk about the Night Raven College?"

The fact that she still couldn't learn anything about them was infuriating.

Sure, they said that the clothes they wore were an uniform for their house, so she knows that their school is at least separated into houses, and that the person in charge of them is called a housewarden.

(Even though she couldn't fathom why one student should have the same level of authority as the Head of the House.)

She guesses that their theme must be related to the playing cards considering that four of them wore cards suits: spade, club, heart and a diamond. Only the leader didn't.

(Just one more way to make sure that he stands out.)

They also seem to enjoy bright colors considering that none of them had their hair colored in usual colors. Sure, Ace and Cater had orange hair, which-while rare-is normal.

But the other three sure didn't. Green, blue and blood red.

It must be some kind of style. She has seen bright colors being used in distinct fashion styles in the muggle world.

And they do appear eccentric enough for that to be the case.

They're extremely good at magic. Witnessing their introduction was the proof enough.

It's weird that no one has ever heard of them if they teach wizards of such great magical capabilities.

She wants to ask them more questions, but they were so rude the first time she asked. Either they're as stuck up as Malfoy or they shut down her questions because they have something to hide.

Which is why it's so infuriating that Ron and Harry don't seem to take her concerns seriously.

"What is there to talk about?" Ron counter-asked.

"What is there not to talk about!? They appeared out of nowhere, they're cast some powerful spells, their school puts people unconscious to transport them to school, they didn’t want to elaborate on some of their answers…" Hermione listed her reasons.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, not sure how to tell her that there is no point in discussing them since they don't know anything about them.

(Though, some of her reasons did make sense. Seriously, who puts people unconscious just to transfer them to a school? Why not use trains like normal people? Or Floo Powder? Or literally anything else?)

Also that they might not be up to anything dark despite their first impression.

(Which now that they think about it might be because they wanted to be dramatic rather than wanting to represent something dark.

Cause why would one announce their dark affiliations right off the bat?)

There is probably some kind of good explanation for all of their questions, they just haven't learned it yet since their first and only conversation lasted only as long as the dinner did.

At least, Harry hopes that that's it. He hasn't had the best track record with new appearances at Hogwarts.

(Just look at all the crazy professors he had in the last three years.)

Then again, between three schools it's hard to point fingers about which one is gonna cause trouble this year.

And there's going to be trouble for sure. He had weird dreams about Voldemort whole summer so it's obvious that there is something going on behind the scenes.

Not that he can do anything at the moment.

Though the feeling of unease has yet to leave him.

"Hermione, while we don't disagree, there is nothing to go off of as of now." Harry said, trying not to anger her.

"Yeah, 'Mione, relax!" Ron added, unconcern about angering her.

"Hupf!" Hermione huffed, very much not pleased that she wasn't being taken seriously. "I'm going to the library!"

And then she stormed away.

"Be back before curfew!" Ron yelled back at her, mostly to annoy her since she's usually the one to nag them about the curfew and other rules, even though in the end she joins them in breaking the very same rules.

---------------------------

After making their way back to Heartslabyul's dorm and bidding ‘Good night.' to Ace and Deuce, Cater, Trey and Riddle held a private meeting.

The first thing the Housewarden did was ask for their opinion about the situations thus far.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much to go off on." Trey commented as he fixed up his glasses.

"Yeah, Yuu could only tell us so much about her world, and even then she doesn't know about the magical parts." Cater scrolled through his phone trying to find if he wrote anything of note about what he observed at Hogwarts.

"True." Riddle nodded in acknowledgment. "Still, that is enough for us to successfully navigate through her world without having to rely solemnly on Headmage Crowley's information."

"Ah, that's why you chose Adeuce!" Cater exclaimed. It made sense now, they would of course know the most and be the most accustomed to the fact that they are going to be in another world because they've gotten so used to Yuu.

And here Cater thought that Riddle chose his favorite card soldiers to accompany him only due to favoritism.

(Riddle tries to deny it, but it's very clear who his favorites are.)

Should not have doubted him. Riddle never does anything half-assed. He always puts his everything in anything he does.

Riddle nodded once again. "Headmage Crowley gave us only the bare minimum of required information to get through this tournament. I dare not allow anyone but myself to compete, however I'll need you to gather as much information as you can."

Riddle turned towards Cater. "Cater, I would like for you to go through the student body and report anything you may find."

"Sure thing, Ridds!"

"Trey, while occasional appearance is a must, I'd rather you manage our dorm during my absence while we deal with the other world."

"You can leave it to me." Trey answered, and then pointed out another problem. "However, I do have concerns about the magic mirror. While I'm sure that it works great, we have to think about outside interferences. What is someone decides to mess with it?"

Riddle sighed. "It is a possibility."

"Yuu-chan has another mirror if this one breaks so at least we won't be stuck in that world." Cater commented and then straightened up once he found what he was looking for at his phone.

"A little of topic, but did you notice the similarities between students at Hogwarts and people from the Queendom of Roses?"

Both Trey and Riddle blinked in surprise and then looked at each other before focusing back on Cater.

"I take that's a no..." Cater trailer off. "Well, you probably wouldn't notice, but they had the same accent as someone from the Queendom of Roses would, as well as the way their lips moved when they pronounced the words."

"So you're saying that-"

"The Queendom of Roses and Hogwarts students speak the same language? Yeah."

"Then the translation spell is unnecessary." Riddle said, a little lost in thought.

It makes sense that Cater would be the one who would notice since he moved around a lot when he was a child and encountered a lot of different languages.

While Riddle knew quite a few languages due to his mother's teachings he never had a chance to practice with a native speaker, not like Cater did.

(The students of the Night Raven College mostly speak Common while on campus since the lectures themselves are in Common, and Riddle didn't exactly have friends to speak other languages with before his overblot.)

"Should we remove the translation spell?" Trey asked.

"No. Let's keep it for a while longer until we can be certain that they are indeed one and the same."

"Do you want me to test for the other languages too?" Cater could definitely rope in some of the wizards into a friendly conversation and ask for a chance to practice speaking in another language.

Riddle gave an affirmative nod.

"Now that I think about it, their cuisine was similar enough that it wouldn't be out of place if someone presented it as a food from the Queendom of Roses." Trey put a hand on his chin.

"It would seem that there are more similarities than we initially thought." Riddle mussed.

"Okay, hear me out, but what if like, that country was an alternative version of Queendom of Roses?" Cater theorized. "What was the name of their country again?"

"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." At least, that's what it said in the documents that Crowley gave to the Housewardens.

"See! A Kingdom as opposed to a Queendom."

"We don't have enough evidence to either affirm or deny that theory." Riddle pointed out.

"It's hard to say, there are a lot of differences from country to country, and I don't doubt that there are even more between two different worlds." Trey said his piece, and then thought of something else that has been bothering him.

"Say, why did Crowley sign us up in this tournament in the first place?"

Cater rolled his eyes. "When has Crowley done anything that made sense?"

"It would not surprise me if he was trying to promote our academy as the best of the best, however doing so in another world does seem pointless." Riddle answered. "If he has another goal in mind, he hasn't shared it yet."

"Great." Cater said sarcastically. "So all we have so far is 'Go and win!'"

Trey fixed his glasses and let out a sigh. "That indeed, doesn't leave us with much direction."

"We can only gather as much information as we can in preparation to anything that might come up later down the line." Riddle stated in a serious tone. "However, let's go back to the original topic."

"I plan to put on some enchantments on the magic mirror so that no one can access it without speaking the correct password to allow the travel between the two worlds."

"Uuu, good thought!" Cater exclaimed.

Trey nodded in agreement. "Riddle, what kind of password did you have in mind?"

"Why the rules od the Queen of Hearts, of course. Tomorrow the password is going to be the first rule, the day after the second and so on." Riddle said with a smirk.

"Ah." Cater and Trey sweat dropped and exchanged glances. That sounded about right.

Good thing that I know first 350 rules. Thought Trey.

Poor Adeuce, now they'll actually going to have to learn the rules. Cater was laughing at them in his mind until it occured to him that he'll also have to brush up on his knowledge of rules.

It would probably be for the best if he just downloaded a file with all of the rules listed from first to last.

----------------------------------

The night was tranquil.

The halls silent.

The students were asleep.

(All of that made the loud moving thumps more prominent.

Yet, they still went unnoticed.)

The only source of light within the Great Hall was coming from the Goblet of Fire.

The blue fire rose as a shadowy hand put a piece of paper into the flames.

A champion has been registered.

Chapter Text

"Is she still at it?" Ron asked and then continued to stuff his mouth with food.

"Yes." Harry answered as he put himself another serving of mushed potatoes.

Hermione has been trying to find the Night Raven College students since she first opened her eyes in the morning.

Except, they haven't showed up for breakfast nor now for lunch.

To be fair, they could have ordered the room service. The house elves are really accommodating.

But Hermione didn't think so.

She is convinced that they haven't showed up because they have something to hide.

Sure, it's possible. But worrying about it won't change anything, but when they tried to tell her that she got hissy at them.

So now Hermione is too busy to eat because she's trying her best to look through every single person currently present at the Great Hall to find if any of the five NRC guys are there.

And even after the lunch ended, there was no trace of NRC students, so they decided to hang out in the Great Hall while the other eligible ( aka of age) students put their names is.

It was unanimously decided that the time between lunch and dinner would be when everyone will candidate themselves for the tournament.

It's the best time since the classes were mostly held in the morning with only several exceptions.

But more importantly-and probably the reason why the Great Hall is currently packed-the Weasley twins announced to everyone who would listen the time when they'll successfully cross Dumbledore's age line and candidate themselves.

To cut to the chase...

They failed.

But at least Hermione managed to distract herself by commenting on how it was obvious that they would fail since it's Dumbledore who set up the magic line.

And she would have continued her lecture to the twins were it not for the loud laugh that made her stop in her tracks.

Sure, everyone was laughing at the twins and their newly grown beards, but this voice belonged to-

She turned around.

Ace was hunching over, trying to keep balance from all the laughing, to his left was Cater holding a phone and a few steps in front of both boys was Riddle with scrunched eyebrows and a displeased expression.

They were dressed differently from the night before. The black suits with red ribbons, a crest in the shape of a black and red heart on their arms, a red gem on their breast pocket-

Wait...

A phone!?

Do they have working technology!? At Hogwarts!? But the books say that muggle technology doesn't work because magic makes technology go haywire, so how!?

"I'm so glad I caught this scene! It's gonna get so many likes!" Cater commented as he made his way over to the cup along with Ace and Riddle who put a piece of paper with his name in the cup.

Cater took a picture of the cup and then turned to Ace. "Acey, make sure to stay out of the line~!"

"Tch!" Ace turned up his nose and put both of his hand on his hips. “Like I'd want to get anywhere near that thing!"

After which he boastfully added. "Honestly, everyone should just quit right now since our Housewarden is gonna win the whole thing!"

"Ace, manners." Riddle said to him, but didn't deny his claim.

They sure were arrogant.

The others who heard Ace's proclamation didn't take his words lying down. Each school shouting that their school is going to win and that they shouldn't be so cocky.

But then one voice asked a question that made others take another look. "Wait, you guys can dress normally?"

"Of course we can." Cater answered, and then brought two fingers in a V sign near his eye and winked. "I'll have you know, NRC is famous for it's impeccable fashion sense."

No doubt about that.

They went for three different themes for each of their uniforms, and in comparison to Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang who had one, it really showed that they dressed to leave an unforgettable impression.

"Ace, Cater, let's take our leave. We have done everything that we needed to do." Riddle said and then started to leave with the expectation that the other two will follow.

"Wait! I have a few questions for you!" Hermione yelled as she got up from her seat and ran after them.

But Riddle didn't even turn around or slow down his walking pace. "My time is of essence, I have no time to indulge silly questions."

Cater sent her a look that said 'sorry'. "Tough luck, hun."

"But-"

"We do have more important things to do, so buzz off!" Ace rudely exclaimed as the doors of the Great Hall shut into her face.

How rude!

-----------------------------------

Harry and Ron did their best to calm down seething Hermione.

They even offered to go to the library with her and actually study.

She declined.

And that just proved to them that she was beyond furious. Hermione they know would never say no to a trip to the library.

In the end, they had to give up and just watch as she seethed. (Especially when the NRC students showed up at the end of the dinner just moments before the champions were about to be announced.)

The excitement was high and Dumbledore just fanned the flames with his dramatic speech and intonations as he announced who the Goblet of Fire chose.

"Fleur Delacour!"

The Beauxbatons (and some boys who found Fleur very charming) applauded as she made her way towards the champions' room.

"Viktor Krum!"

Durmstrang, several Slytherin students and other Quidditch fanatics jumped at the chance to show their appreciation for the best seeker.

"Riddle Rosehearts!"

The four NRC students-once again dressed in their dorm uniform-excitedly applauded even though everyone knew that only their leader put his name in the goblet so there was no chance of the champion being literally anyone else.

"Cedric Diggory!"

Hogwarts cheered. Cedric is popular and always ready to help others no matter the house so even Slytherins couldn't be angry that he became the champion.

But no one was as enthusiastic as the Hufflepuff house who will finally have a chance to shine. Finally, they'll be celebrated for once and nothing can ruin the mood-

"HARRY POTTER!"

Silence filled the Great Hall. No one expected for Hogwarts to get another champion and no one was happy about it.

The gazes of students turned hateful. This was not what anyone wanted, and Harry Potter was once again in the middle of another spectacle.

Go figure it would be him.

Harry grew pale as everyone around him started to yell in indignation.

It was all incomprehensible to him, the only words that managed to get to him were ironically enough from the NRC students.

"This is against the rules, right?" Deuce asked his upperclassmen.

Cater and Trey exchanged worried glanced.

"Yeah..."

"Riddle's gonna be pissed!" Ace exclaimed, half amused and half annoyed because now they'll have to deal with angry Riddle who just might be in the mood to berate him for his low grade in the last history exam.

"Harry Potter! Come to the front!" Dumbledore yelled, and then gestured that he should make his way to the other champions.

Harry got up, and walked a little unsure. The judging looks from everyone were making him even more uncomfortable.

Just why was he being forced to do a walk of shame for something that wasn't his fault!?

It would have been even worse if Cater-the NRC student with a diamond on his face-didn't put his hands on his shoulders and pushed him along, making him focus on something other than the pressure from the crowd.

"Kiddo, you really got yourself caught in a pickle." Cater said, and then turned to Trey who also joined them on their way towards the champions' room. "Are you gonna tell her Majesty or should I?"

Trey sighed as he fixed his glasses. "I'll tell him the details."

Harry could only assume that they were referring to Riddle, though it was odd to him that they would call him "her Majesty" since he was neither a girl nor a royal. Then again, maybe he's wrong, it's not like he knew much about them.

As much as the presence of the two NRC students helped him in calming down, it all went to naught once he met the eyes of the four champions.

The confusion was prominent, and Harry could only be grateful that Cater stepped up and took the burden of informing them of what had just occurred.

"Hi! First of all congrats on becoming champions, I'm sure everyone is very proud! But, eh, you see..." Cater then manhandled Harry to the front which Harry was less grateful for. "The Goblet made a little error, so this baby student's name was also pulled out."

Harry could only stand there stiff as a board as the other champions started to angrily ask him questions that he had no answers for, the only one who didn't outright yell at him was Riddle who was too busy listening to whatever Trey had to say to him.

Still, Harry didn't miss that even Riddle was becoming more and more enraged by the second.

The professors soon started to pull in, and not only did they not help the situation, they made it even worse.

All Harry could do in his defense was say that he truly didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire and that no he has no idea how it could have possibly ended up in there.

Not even Dumbledore's presence brought much peace, everyone was too busy arguing and showing their dismay at the situation.

That was until...

"SILENCE!" A firm command and a sound of the scepter slamming into the ground brought everything to a halt.

"Are you all not capable adults? You should act with manners befitting your station." It was Riddle who spoke with his head held high and a posture that demanded attention and respect.

The adults and other champions seems to have taken such scolding to heart and started to straighten up a bit to show that they too are dignified adults and not bickering like children.

Just when Harry started to hope that things might calm down and the situation might get fixed now that they're no longer focused on accusing him for something that he didn't do, Riddle pointed the tip of his scepter at him and asked: "You! How old are you!?"

Harry was startled, but answered anyway. "14."

"You represent a school with an already chosen champion, you're age is below the one we agreed upon, and therefore you're the most unqualified to be a champion. For the punishment of going against the established rules you should at the very least be kicked out of the tournament and your participation invalidated."

Harry liked that punishment. Let's go with that-

"We can't do that." Dumbledore said.

Of course, that would be too easy. Harry should have expected such a reply.

"Pray tell why not?" Riddle turned his stern and unimpressed stare at the Headmaster of Hogwarts. It was obvious to everyone that Riddle was basically saying 'Choose your next words carefully.'

"Once chosen by the Goblet of Fire the champion is magic bound to participate." Dumbledore answered with a grim look of his own.

"And you failed to mention that to us before!?" Riddle asked with anger evident in his voice, but then he took a deep breath to calm down and continued: "Nevertheless, the situation at hand is your fault for not being cautious enough and for not putting more serious measures in place. You're incompetence is noted."

A little harsh, but no one could disprove his words. Though, as some professors were opening their mouth to say something, Professor Moody cut in "The kid is right."

"The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object and only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could've hoodwinked it. And that's way beyond the talents of a fourth year which obviously points to a foul play." Moody was a famous Auror so his words were taken with much more seriousness than those of a foreign student.

Though, not by all.

"You seem to have given this quite a bit of thought." The accusations in Karkaroff's voice were hard to miss.

Not that Mad Eye Moody took that laying down. "It was once my job to think as dark wizards to, you would do well to remember that, Karkaroff."

"That doesn't help, Alastor." Dumbledore said, and then asked Barty Crouch for his opinion on the matter.

"The rules are absolute, the boy has to compete." Everything from Barty Crouch's expression pointed to how that decision pained him. No on was under any illusion that a 14 year old could get through this tournament unharmed, not even famous Harry Potter. "He has no other choice."

Harry's heart started to beat even more erratically than it did before. This couldn't be happening! Why did it have to be hi-

Before he could spiral even more, a hand landed on his shoulder. "Could you please write your name on this piece of paper?" It was Cater.

As he was about to say 'no, his name on a piece of paper was what got him in this mess in the first place', he took in the serious expression on Cater's face. The cheerful smile that he's been spouting up till now was gone.

Well…there was no way things could get worse even if he does sign it now, so he did.

Having gotten what he wanted, Cater sent a look to Trey and Riddle's direction. Whatever the message was, they got it.

"Mr. Dumbledore, do you still have the piece of paper with Harry's name?" Trey asked.

A little curios with where this was going, Dumbledore handed it to him. The action caught the eyes of everyone else in the room.

Trey lifted the piece from the Goblet and Cater joined him and right next to it put the paper that Harry signed just seconds before. It very quickly became clear that they looked nothing alike.

"See, tots not the same!" Cater then offhandedly said: "And that's not even taking into account that the kid looked as shocked as everyone else when his name was pulled out!"

This finally seemed to have completely shifted their accusatory gazes from Harry to the unknown culprit.

Seeing the shift, Riddle took the reigns. "I would suggest making everyone sign Harry's name and compare it to the signature from the Goblet, but there would be no point. The culprit would not be brainless enough to not see through it and change his signature accordingly."

"Seeing as we still have so much left to discuss, how about we continue that at the staff meeting?" Riddle suggested.

The Headmasters, the Headmistress and the rest of the professors agreed, each already telling their champions that they should go to bed and leave the rest to them.

Only champion that’ll go to the staff meeting will be Riddle since he was given the authority to do so by his own Headmaster.

"Trey come with me, Cater go with Harry and tell Ace and Deuce to go back to the dorm if they haven't already. Don't wait for us, this will take a while."

Cater once again began pushing him. Harry would have probably fought it, had NRC students not helped him quite a lot this evening.

While everyone else was pointing fingers at him, they were the only ones who decided to try and fix the situation without immediately painting him as the one at fault.

Even Riddle's so called 'punishment' was just giving him an out.

If only that had worked.

Just then, Harry caught Cedric's eyes and tried to apologize. "Cedric, I didn't mean-"

"I know, Harry." It was said half-heartedly, lacking Cedric's usual spark. Even if he believes that Harry truly isn't at fault, he still ruined his moment. Why wouldn't he be angry?

"What a mess..." Cater let out a tired sigh, and then turned his attention to the poor kid who got himself caught in the center of the aforementioned mess. He was even younger than Ace and Deuce (who had thankfully already left, likely not wanting to get involved with this). "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Yeah, I wouldn't either if I was in your shoes." How should he brighten up the kid?

Oh! Here's an idea!

"Wanna play games with me on my phone?"

Harry blinked at him a few times in confusion as he watched Cater pull up his phone and it worked. "I don't have enough energy to even question why it works."

Cater just laughed. "So...is that a no?"

"...What kind of games do you have?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this one." With that Cater exploded into chatter as he showed him how to play some of the games he had.

Harry didn't recognize any of them, but them again it's not like he has access to internet neither at Hogwarts nor at Dursleys for different reasons.

Though, it did help him relax. And for the first time this evening since his name got called, he actually smiled.

-------------------------------------------

The meeting was going as well as he expected, that is to say: not at all.

Dumbledore was at his wits’ ends. Madam Maxime and Karkaroff were more concerned about it being unfair to their own champions than to investigate who was responsible for this situation in the first place.

Moody was already on the case, trying to investigate for any other clues (besides the signature) that could point to the culprit.

Severus was mumbling incoherent insults towards Harry, as usual.

McGonagall was worrying for Harry’s safety, but offered no solution as to how to proceed next.

The only one who seemed interested in setting the record straight was the NRC representative Riddle Rosehearts with the help of his friend Trey Clover.

“You still think that a 14 year old is proficient enough in magic to accomplish such an endeavor?” Riddle asked Karkaroff who was doing his best to once again deny the implications of what Harry’s involvement in the tournament meant.

Riddle might not know it, but Karkaroff is an ex-Death Eater who did his best to completely desert Voldemort and everything connected to him. However, since there was a Death Eater attack on the Quidditch World Cup and now this, it’s becoming a lot harder to deny that Tom is doing his best to once again rise to power.

“Well, why would anyone want to put his name in? He’s just an unimportant brat, but since he has to compete might as well level the playing field with another name pulling.” Karkaroff was really trying to shift the attention from what everyone was probably thinking.

A Death Eater would have a reason to go against The Boy Who Lived, the defeater of Voldemort.

Try as he might to deny it, he qualifies.

“At best this is an ill mannered joke, at worst a coordinated attack on all the participants, and you would risk involving even more innocent students?” Riddle’s gaze was sharp, his words cutting. There was no way that anyone would argue against his point when he said it like that.

“You might be right, but that still doesn’t make it fair towards other schools.” Madam Maxime pointed out.

“There is no might, I am right, and your refusal to address the dangers of this situation puts all of your students in jeopardy, including my own.” Riddle slammed his hand against the table. “I will not allow your negligence to bring them harm!”

Seeing as Riddle was about to go on another rant about how irresponsible all of them were, Trey decided to cut in. “As unfair as it might be, involving more students will bring more harm than good, so why don’t we just focus on preparing our champions, trying to find the culprit and tightening our security? Is that something we can all agree on?”

And agree they all did.

Dumbledore let out a sigh. Why are the most responsible and wisest people in this room two 17 year old children?

Riddle-having calmed down enough that he won’t immediately start scolding all of them for their incompetence and inaction which led them here-rose from his seat and left them all with a warning. “I will lead my own investigation. Pray you aren’t responsible.”

Dumbledore had to hand it to them, Mr. Rosehearts and Mr. Clover managed to get other hardheads to agree to the course of action that they thought was best.

Not that Dumbledore disagreed. The two boys proposed everything that he was also thinking about, but they had something that he didn’t.

The power of a bystander.

Karkaroff and Madam Maxime wouldn’t take Dumbledore’s words to heart because they think that he would try to put in a favour for Hogwarts and stop them from getting an advantage as well.

However, the Night Raven College was also wronged and yet they sided with Harry, or more specifically they are absolutely convinced that there is a treat and are ready to take action to have it stopped.

As grateful as he is towards them for stepping up and improving this horrible situation, he still couldn’t help but listen to the small voice that doubts.

The Night Raven College suddenly inserted themselves into this tournament even though no one has ever heard of them before, and that’s just impossible for a school.

Even if it was newly built there would still be students who went there or parents who brag how their kids are going to such a good school.

It can’t be a coincidence that they would show up now, right after the Death Eater-attack that hasn’t happened for over a decade-and then suddenly Harry is part of a deadly tournament.

And they just so happen to side with him which would as a consequence make Harry have a more positive opinion of them, especially so because almost everyone is angry at him for getting his name pulled out.

And the name of the leader….

Riddle.

If he didn’t know that Tom hates his birth name, he would have thought that making one of his followers take his name in an attempt of infiltration would have been too much on the nose.

And Mr. Rosehearts isn’t just anybody. His demeanor screams pureblood, his manners elegant, every time he spoke he was decisive and firm, he never backed down even in the face of a Headmaster with much more experience and influence than him, but also…

Every action that he made pointed to the fact that he expected that his words would be followed without question, that he is the one in the power to decide what happens next, that his word is law…

For such a young boy to have that much arrogance…

There has to be a reason for that, and he only hopes that it isn’t a sinister one.

He wants to believe that the Night Raven College truly is just a harmless school, and that he is just a paranoid old man, but…

Isn’t he in this situation because he wasn’t paranoid enough?

No matter what he does now, he has to be cautious. After all-as Mr. Rosehearts pointed out-it’s not only his life that’s on the line, but that of his students as well.