Albus cursed internally. He couldn't possibly deny Jake's request. Reluctantly, he put on a fake, happy smile and replied,
"Of course, my boy! Hogwarts is always open to students who wish to learn. And since you are a half-human, you are more than welcome to study here. Welcome to the school!"
Jake beamed with excitement. Learning magic sounded absolutely fantastic, and the prospect of not having to return to his mediocre foster home in Philly made it even better.
Plus Jake was apparently 20ish years in the past so his foster home probably didn't even exist yet. "That's awesome!" he exclaimed. "So, what do I need to do, sir?"
Albus chuckled, relieved that the brother of the Devil wouldn't end up in Slytherin, which could have caused a myriad of problems. "Normally, most students require a wand to use our magic," Albus explained. "
But due to your lineage, you won't need one. That's taken care of. We can have your school robes delivered by tomorrow, so that's no problem either. The only thing we need to decide is your house affiliation.
Normally, our Sorting Hat determines that, but I think you can choose whichever house you prefer." Albus elaborated, "The four houses are Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw."
Jake thought those names sounded kind of silly but maybe it was a British thing who knows. "So what's the deal with the four houses? What do they stand for?" Jake asked. He wanted to know more about them to find out which one he best fit in.
Albus actually chuckled at that question and he had a fun way to answer. "Well it's been said sometimes in American terms that the Slytherin house would be what is known as the goth kids. Gryffindor would be the jocks.
Ravenclaw are the Nerds, and Hufflepuff is just pretty much everyone else!" Albus always loved explaining it like that, plus it always pissed off Snape when he referred to Slither in his goths! It's not his fault they spent all day being dark and broody in the dungeons…
Jake considered the descriptions for a moment. He quickly realized that the goth kids in
Slytherin House wouldn't be his fit, and he didn't identify as a nerd either. Being labeled as "everyone else" in Hufflepuff didn't appeal to him either.
As a part time boxer he qualified as an athlete. So, he decided that he would align himself with the jocks in Gryffindor. "I suppose I'll join Gryffindor then, sir," Jake announced confidently.
Albus nodded, content with Jake's decision. At least the brother of the Devil wouldn't end up causing trouble in Slytherin House. That could have created a host of complications. He assured Jake that everything would be taken care of by tomorrow.
With a sigh of relief, Albus left the infirmary, granting Jake the freedom to explore the castle. He also mentioned that the school was currently hosting two other schools for an ongoing tournament, but that Jake needn't worry about it for the moment.
Little did Albus know that his statement about not worrying would prove to be quite inaccurate...
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Jake decided to explore the castle based on Albus' advice.
While he was exploring, Jake came across a bunch of students gathered in a crowded hallway. They were cheering as some students approached a fiery goblet.
Curious about what was going on, he approached a fellow Hogwarts student who seemed to be from Ravenclaw, based on his robes. Jake thought the student, being a bit of a nerd, would know what was happening.
"Hey, fellow Hogwarts student," Jake greeted the Ravenclaw boy. "I'm Jake. What's everyone gathering around for, and what's up with that big cup on fire?"
The Ravenclaw student gave Jake a weird look, like he hadn't seen him at the school before. But he still responded, "Hey, I'm Ryan, a sixth-year Ravenclaw. Haven't seen you before. Did you miss the opening feast this year?"
Jake laughed and replied, "Actually, I just transferred here today. It's a long story involving teleportation magic. I won't bore you with the details."
"Okay, sure," Ryan said, still a bit confused. "Well, if you're new, let me tell you. We're having the Triwizard Tournament. That cup over there is how you enter. You write your name on a piece of paper and put it in."
"A tournament? Sounds cool," Jake said. "So, what's it all about? Is there a prize or something? Like, do you win anything special?"
Ryan got excited and said, "Yeah, man! The best student from each school gets chosen to compete. We don't know the challenges yet, but they're supposed to be really epic.
And you know what? The winner gets a thousand Galleons!"
"A thousand Galleons? What's that?" Jake asked, not knowing the currency.
"Oh, right," Ryan interrupted. "I can tell you're from America by your accent. They don't use Galleons there, right? They use something like dollars, I think?"
"Yeah, dollars," Jake confirmed. "So, Galleons are money?"
"Yep, they are!" Ryan exclaimed. "And a thousand Galleons is like 10,000 British pounds."
Jake couldn't believe the huge prize for the tournament. What kind of rich school was this!? He didn't want to leave if they were giving away that much money.
Being broke his whole life as an orphan, he had to enter the tournament. That amount of cash was mind-blowing!
Ryan nodded and said, "That's all you have to do. Oh, by the way, you have to be 17 to enter... Oh, he's gone already. Well, he'll be fine, I'm sure."
Jake searched his pockets and found an old receipt that would work as paper. He borrowed a quill from another student and wondered why they still used quills instead of pens. "Whatever, wizards," he muttered to himself.
Jake confidently walked up to the Goblet of Fire, put his crumpled receipt with his name into the fire. The students around him clapped and cheered.
Some of them were confused because they didn't know him, even though he was wearing Hogwarts robes. But he didn't care about that.