The idea of having to house two schools due to the Triwizard Tournament was daunting, to say the least. There he stood, watching as his own peers filtered into the grand hall for a welcoming feast before the other two schools would make their introductions. Yuuri had only heard stories of the Triwizard Tournaments, for there where very few and very far in between. His great grandfather was a student at Hogwarts when the last had happened and he hadn’t been selected that year.
He shuffled past a few students and eventually found the seat that was saved for him by Yuuko and Takeshi. They both shared the same year as Yuuri and lucky for him, they had also been sorted into the same house. Yuuri did little meandering socially because of that. He didn’t seem to mind too much. These two were company enough.
When the headmaster began to speak, Yuuri honed in on spec or discoloration on the table as he picked lightly at his robe. His mind would dwell elsewhere until he heard the loud bang of Durmstrang’s students. Painfully torn from himself, Yuuri lifted his chin and inspected the scene with lifted brows. His mouth dropped a bit in awe at the sight of deep reds and elegant furs. He was even impressed by the shine of the staff in every hand.
Then, his eyes would linger up the staff of the leading male and his stomach would sink when he found that the male was silvery haired and fair skinned. When the school flooded into the center path and they came to their appropriate spot, Yuuri would find that the leader would also have some of the bluest eyes he’d ever scene. Swallowing hard, Yuuri tore his gaze from the highly adorned group and lean towards Yuuko. “Those guys seem pretty scary, huh?” he seemed sheepish in his attempt to poke fun at her, but she seemed to feel a completely different emotion.
“They’re so handsome!” she cooed, grabbing at both Takeshi and Yuuri’s hands. “Did you see them? Strong shoulders, sharp jaws-- wow~!” she giggled, soon silencing herself when the headmaster announced Beauxbaton. Yuuri would turn once more and his eyes would light up at the sight of many beautiful French girls and some very attractive French boys.
The gentle blues seemed to soften his eyes and the gentle sparks of magic emitted from their hands. Paper cranes filtered up into the air before disappearing completely. Yuuri could hear the ‘ooo’s and ‘ahh’s of everyone at the table. These schools had made fantastical first impressions and what would the Hogwarts students bring to the table?
Yuuri slowly got up, trying to resist the temptation to groan as the starting note sounded and soon everyone was singing -- some better than others. Yuuri was one of the lesser talented ones when it came to singing. He was too soft and he complained that his mouth would water a little too much when conjuring up the words. He fixed his glasses out of habit when they finished and quickly seated himself.
The dinner was grand as usual. Yuuri finished a little too stuffed and needed a good while before getting up to his feet. He had some assistance from Takeshi before he patted him on the back and mentioned seeing him in the common room later. Most of the students had filed out, but as Yuuri looked around the room, he noticed the same silvery-haired Durmstrang student.
“Ah-... hey!” Yuuri called out, walking over to the older student. He felt very stupid for coming up to him for no particular reason other than to compliment... something about him. There was even a presence about him that was vaguely similar to the Beauxbaton girls. It was a feeling of just wanting to be near the person -- almost intoxicating in a sense. “I... I just wanted to welcome you to Hogwarts and,” he started fidgeting with his robe and even his palms began to moisten with sweat. Why was he so nervous? This guy was a stranger. Nameless. “I think your schools presentation is more appealing than ours. I’m jealous,” he admitted, scuffing a foot lightly on the hard floor beneath it. He visually tensed, as if a timer went off and he needed to tend to the oven before everything burned. “A-anyway! I should go. I hope you love this school as much as the students here do... Good-bye!”
And he was off. His heart was racing, but he didn’t dare to scamper away. He walked with his head high and pace maybe a little too fast. Yuuri didn’t look back either. He’d made a fool of himself in the purist form. If he were lucky, he wouldn’t encounter him again. Unless he was in the Triwizard Tournament -- then Yuuri would most likely just watch him from a far in the large herd of students.
But he wouldn’t look back.
