January, February, March. April, May. June, July, August. September, October, November. The year took its time to take a full revolution to the most wonderful time of the year, December. The Triwizard Tournament, long-awaited by many, had finally come around. So had the Yule Ball, along with its dizzying, dancing daydreams.
The other international schools made their mark, precisely on December 1. Durmstrang Institute, with its large sailing ship, cruised up to the Hogwarts docks. The Durmstrang students, in military fashion, strode through the Great Hall, playing with fire. This astonished many of the Hogwarts students, who weren't used to this kind of display. The Ilvermorny students flew in an enchanted version of the Knight Bus, suited to the school's needs.
The Ilvermorny students were split into groups based on their ability to perform. The gymnasts and popular girls were situated at the front, the smart girls that could perform charms in the middle and the girls with neither of these talents placed at the back so the Headmaster, Professor Fontaine, could humiliate them to his heart's content.
The gymnasts were particularly skilled in their field, twisting and turning ever so flexibly. The charms girls enchanted, birds, bees, butterflies and hearts, dazzling the audience. The no-talent girls just smiled and waved, utterly shamed throughout the school. One of these no-talent girls caught Newt's eye, and she smiled nicer and waved quicker to him than to other students.
"They are good!" Leta thought to herself, impressed. "Better than I'll ever be..." her thoughts suddenly clouded with self-doubt. She quickly flicked her finger at her wrist several times, using the art of mind-body psychology to stop the thought from overwhelming her mind. This was successful. She continued to look at the crowd with awe.
The Hogwarts students sang their school song, with Dumbledore as the conductor. All the Slytherins were unwilling to participate except for Leta who sang with great pride with the other three houses.
The Goblet of Fire rested in the Great Hall for any student over 17 to compete in. Dumbledore himself cast an age line around the Goblet for any of the younger students to try and cheat their way in.
"The Triwizard champions shall be announced in one day!" Dumbledore spoke to the crowd with his booming voice, "May you honour your school with pride and glory!"
The crowds of students all cheered excitedly, anticipating the event of the year.
"Crack! Snap!" The Headmaster had disapparated, a splash of red confetti left in his wake.
A murmur of excitement Mexican waved its way through the Hall, with many students from Hogwarts throwing their hats in the air, flying like frisbees. Ilvermorny just giggled and laughed at their competitors, as if they thought Hogwarts wasn't taking it seriously. Durmstrang honestly looked like they didn't take any notice, or were acting too composed to bother noticing.
Theseus dragged Newt aside sometime after the meeting, as he noticed something peculiar going on with his younger brother. Strange behaviour for someone who was only interested in animals. hehe
"Hey Newt, I noticed something today," Theseus commented calmly.
"What was it?" Newt asked, bewildered and bemused.
"What have I unknowingly done now?" he thought, trying to rapidly retrace his steps, his eyes darting from his shoes to the floor to Theseus and back again.
"I just saw you looking at one of those Ilvermorny girls."
"Everyone else was!" Newt remarked. "We have to greet other schools. It's impolite not to!" he huffed.
"Well, you greeted this one girl in a particularly nice manner," he smirked as he watched Newt's cheeks turn a slight shade of pink.
"Y...Yeah." he squeaked. "And what does that mean to you?"
"Well, I think it's your time to shine. You know, true colours and all…" he playfully smiled. "Perfect timing for it too, with the biggest and best social gathering of the whole year to make it happen!" he winked.
"Stop making it so pressured for me! Social events aren't easy for me, as you know! I can't even talk to you for more than twenty minutes without freaking out!" his eyes continued darting incredibly fast now, breaking eye contact whenever he had the chance.
"Well, you should make a name for yourself! I hate to break it to you, but EVERYONE knows that you're that awkward, nerdy, antisocial kid." Theseus remarked, trying to give him the best advice he could.
This obviously failed as tears welled in Newt's eyes, the tears he was holding inside himself his whole life, finally burst thanks to his brother. His whole body started shaking now, the anxiety and nervousness overpowering the optimism and happiness tried ever so hard to keep inside him.
"O… Ok..." he trembled. "I'll try, but if whatever I do doesn't succeed, don't start calling me by that label, that horrid label I don't deserve." He was quivering even more, but spoke with a somewhat fierce tone, attempting to gain composure, the drive of the plastered label coursing through his thoughts.
"I'm sure, whatever you do will be satisfactory," he commented with a teacher-like voice. "Now go get 'em!" he exclaimed, like a proud parent, as he shook his brother's hand. Newt was taken aback but accepted the gesture with gratitude.
The shaking decreased as Newt suddenly felt the world wrap around him like a gentle cloth. He walked briskly back to the Hufflepuff common room as day turned to night, night turned to dreams and dreams turned into what felt like a reality.