The Triwizard Tournament: Back in Black

Hospitality comes in different forms. You may be invited to a party by good friends who have gone through all the ups and downs with you, but you will leave them with a nasty feeling of coolness in your soul. After all, in fact, you were invited for the sake of decency, and you accepted and agreed. That's kind of disgusting, right?

And other times, you knock on a stranger's door and leave only the next morning with a new best friend, if not your soulmate, completely forgetting why you knocked in the first place. People weren't expecting you here, but they were glad to see you.

Perhaps in order for people to talk about your hospitality for a long time, it is enough to sincerely rejoice at the arrival of guests. And now two guests emerged from the funnel of magic in the Lovegood garden, the most hospitable family in Britain.

"Ugh, never liked long distance apparation." Remus exhaled, letting go of Danil's hand. From the forests of Ireland to northern Scotland it wasn't close, but it wasn't far enough to justify using a portkey.

"I could carry us without too much shaking." Danil grumbled in response. "As far as Luna's house is, that's for sure, and who would see us here? You're so paranoid, Remus."

"You sound like James who just learned to apparate."

"Who?"

"Harry's father – James Potter. Doesn't matter, you don't get along with my nephew anyway." There was no accusation behind his words, only slight notes of sadness.

Shrugging his shoulders, Danil went to the door of the house and raised his hand to knock, but they had been waiting for them here for a long time.

The door swung open on its own and a miniature hurricane of bright paper and bright light exploded into the faces of the guests. Danil had to blink - which he did not do as often as before – for the black spots to disappear from his field of vision. He may have blinked away the confetti, but he'll never know.

"What–"

"Surprise!" With a huge smile on her face, Luna jumped into Danil's arms and hung on his neck. "You have grown up again, Danil Khromov. I thought that now I would at least reach your chest, the carvosants said that it would be so. Apparently, they deceived me."

Mantis, who appeared on Luna's shoulder, jumped onto Danil's clothes and quickly climbed onto his head, taking his place of honor. The little bugger sat on his bald head and grabbed it with all his limbs so as not to fall.

"Apparently so." Danil answered abstractly, he was not the only one who changed over the summer. "What does Xeno feed you?"

Luna, in just a couple of months, has grown by leaps and bounds. She became taller and no longer looked like an underfed child. It felt like puberty hit the girl like a high-speed train. Her face had lost what little baby fat it had, making her look older. And feeling a pair of soft orbs on his body, Danil had no doubt that the girl had only grown upward.

"Corn, it's good for you." Luna released Danil's neck from her hands and jumped to the ground. "Hello, Mr. Lupin, would you like a cup of coffee? With corn, of course."

"Of course..." he agreed hesitantly, entering the house.

The interior of the house had not changed at all since their last visit, parts of various animals hung on everyone's display, furniture of irregular – or too regular – shape had not moved an inch. Even the stains on the tablecloth remained in place.

Xeno said that even if you move something, in a couple of days this thing itself will return to its place. 'If you add something new, it is better to immediately decide where its place will be,' he said. 'The altered stasis charm in the refrigerator is broken, I'll fix it later.'

He didn't fix it.

"Ah, Remus, Danil, happy to see you," he said, crossing his eyes and actually looking at both of his guests. "Sit down, now I'll set the table, while Moonbean tells you the latest news."

The guests looked at the girl in bewilderment, and Mantis nodded importantly from his head. Apparently even the small magical animal considered the news quite important.

Raising her chin importantly towards the ceiling, Luna began to speak.

"The ministers of France, England and Bulgaria have jointly decided to revive the Triwizard Tournament!" She said pathetically, as if she was reading, as if she was reading the headline of an article from a newspaper, which was most likely the case. "Hogwarts was chosen as the venue, Dumbledore was very dissatisfied, even when they announced the introduction of an age limit."

"Sounds familiar." Danil muttered, turning the name of the Tournament in his head. "Oh, right..." The events of the fourth book were close and Potter must again find himself in the middle of a web of events. "Write in the next issue of the Quibbler that Potter will be included in the Tournament as one of the participants."

"It's already done, Potter gets into different stories every year." Luna sighed sadly.

"You know, you're talking about my nephew here." Remus muttered. "But I wouldn't be at all surprised if everything turns out that way. It's strange luck for him."

Danil did not say that Harry could write books about luck; most likely they have already tried to publish a book here, and maybe more. Moreover, in his world there were at least seven of them.

"Mead, tea and coffee with a plate of corn." Xeno arrived in the living room, levitating drinks behind him.

As everyone sat with their drinks in their hands – and Remus with an entire cob of boiled corn – Danil asked the question that had been on his mind for the past couple of days.

"So, what about the final Quidditch game of the season? I've never even seen a game."

Xeno perked up, remembering a couple of things in his pocket.

"Oh, it's at the end of the month, we already have tickets. It's free for the press, just like you."

Xeno put some strange icon on the table and pushed it towards Danil. It was a well-made badge depicting a pen and inkwell covered in gold. True, the pen moved from the invisible wind, as if it were not covered with metal, and ink splashed inside the inkwell.

"Apparently I'm part of the Quibbler's headquarters as an employee?"

"Author and inspirer of sensational articles. Part-time." Xeno nodded to himself. "Now you are just a trainee, to become a full-time employee, you need to gain experience."

The boy looked at the gold-covered badge, thinking about something of his own. The programmer-designer wasn't needed in the world of wizards unless he made himself necessary. If he had just been a designer, or a regular artist, then his future would have been assured. But the wizards haven't gotten around to computers yet. Maybe somewhere in Japan or China technomagic is already being developed, but in England they didn't even think about it.

It was interesting that Danil found a job when he was not looking for one at all. In his world, all he did was look for the next order or a new client, freelancers may be paid well, but rarely if luck is not on your side. And he hadn't even been here a year before he found himself an official position in a fairly well-known newspaper, although a little out of his specialty.

How long ago did he write his last line of code? How long ago did the dog lovers' website stop working in another world?

"Maybe it's for the best..." Danil muttered, pinning the badge on his chest to his clothes. He never really liked programming anyway. "I'll write a couple of articles about creepers. Or about the Vex with elder guardians, I remember enough of the creatures."

"Are these creatures widely known in Russia? I haven't heard these names before." Xeno asked with undisguised interest.

"Oh, you were talking about creepers – exploding descendants of plant mutants, right?" Luna said flipping through her notebook. "But I haven't heard about the ancient defenders yet, who are they?"

After thinking a little, Danil began to tell what he remembered about various Minecraft mobs. Fortunately, he remembered enough. For the Lovegood duo, he was a treasure trove of new information, full of gold. After all, no one here either knew about such monsters – or they had long been forgotten. Danil did not reject this possibility.

Remus, who was simply sitting nearby and listening to his student's 'crazy nonsense', shivered at the descriptions of some of the creatures. What a detailed story about the habits of the ancient defenders was worth. It was surprisingly easy to believe that there was a fish in the world that could kill you with one long look. As well as the fact that they could become the inspiration for the creator of the first basilisk – Herpo The Foul.

It was better not to know about what lives in caves deep underground, according to Danil. He was going to write an article about these creatures himself.

In the evening, a thoughtful Remus apparated into his house, leaving a fairly tired Danil in the care of Xeno. He was given a guest room where Billy was waiting for him. Luna and Xeno remained in the kitchen like hospitable hosts.

"He seemed to like his new position." Xeno started. "The boy needs a distraction, otherwise his mind will become a breeding ground for wrackspurts."

"I think he got upset without noticing it." Luna answered.

"Yes?" Xeno glanced towards the stairs, focusing his gaze on one point for the first time that evening. "... maybe so. Life is a difficult thing, where everyone faces many challenges. He simply had to deal with much more than an ordinary person can withstand. With the right support from good friends, he can cope."

The eldest Lovegood glanced at his daughter with a sly squint, but she didn't even blush.

"Everyone needs good friends."

Xeno sighed; it was hard being a single father. Especially when your daughter is also a Lovegood, it's not for nothing that people say that they are all quirky.

"What do you think Ravengers eat? Danil never said."

"Probably meat. Maybe even people."

"People aren't tasty, there's no point in eating them. It would be better if they ate corn."

-=-=-=-=-=-

Little Hannington has long been a dilapidated and half-abandoned village, inhabited only by those who had no other choice. Once upon a time, this place glowed with life and greenery, but they were replaced by destruction and oblivion. The few residents who still inhabited the area preferred not to linger on the street. The places here were not good, as if cursed.

A black dog, more reminiscent of a wolf in its size, ran along the cold ground. In his teeth, the dog clutched a knot that rang with every step he took.

People learned to find this dog a mile away on the very first day of his appearance. The predator was visible from afar; not everyone could survive an encounter with him. This was far from an ordinary dog ​​or wolf; a Grimm came to the village, his name was Padfoot.

Grimm ran down the street without much ceremony and turned towards the Riddle mansion. Having ducked through the open gate, he – already hidden from prying eyes – turned into his human form, again becoming Sirius, formerly Black.

He didn't look like someone who had escaped from Azkaban just a year ago. Dressed in dark robes, clean-shaven and neatly trimmed. Sirius gave the impression that he had just left a reception with the Queen of England. Grimm generally recovered quite quickly, and those who ate the flesh of wizards – even faster. Only a bunch of things in his teeth spoiled his image.

Entering the abandoned mansion, Sirius stretched out and picked up the bag; he would not dare appear before his Lord in an inappropriate manner. A long snake crawled past his feet, at which the man smiled, the Lord already knew about his presence.

"Padfoot, you're already back..." came a hoarse, weak voice, "my only friend who comes on time."

"My Lord." Sirius got down on one knee.

Lord Voldemort looked pathetic. The once great wizard was reduced to the status of a homunculus. The turned, fragile body of the baby served as a container for a soul completely unsuitable for him. The disfigured, snake-like face was proof of this.

"I have collected what is needed for our mission. The blood of an ancient vampire–"

"I know what I ordered you to bring." Voldemort interrupted him. "They're useless to us now, but you did a good job, well done Padfoot."

The Dark Lord's words flowed like honey mixed with tar: sticky, sweet and slightly tart. He constructed his words strangely, as if he wasn't sure what to say next. But it would be a mistake to assume that Voldemort's mind was not fine; it was as sharp as ever.

"Soul Catcher, were you able to get it?" The Dark Lord muttered.

"Yes, my Lord." Sirius nodded, taking a strange thing out of the bag.

The Soul Catcher was somewhat reminiscent of the Dream Catcher. A round hoop made of wood held in the center an intricate network of threads and thin ropes holding red gems. The pattern was somewhat reminiscent of a black web with red drops of blood, each of which contained the soul of a wizard.

"Good, very good..." Voldemort clenched his weak fist. "All that remains is to wait for the performer, you must stay at my side."

Somewhere behind the door a floorboard creaked, and then Nagini's hiss was heard. Voldemort smiled.

"Nagaini, my sweet, have you met our guest?" The snake's hissing sounded even louder. "Even so? What kind of hosts will we be if we don't give him a warm welcome? Padfoot, meet our guest."

Sirius's wand was in his hands faster than the intruder could blink.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The guest's body crashed to the ground, the older man no longer breathed, and was no longer a guest. Now he was nothing more than dinner for Nagini.