Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter Universe, be it characters, setting, or other information. That all belongs to JK Rowling and the respective movie companies. Thank you for taking time to read this. Updated and beta read by haphne24

As Harry finished packing, he began to feel as if he was forgetting something. He pondered and finally it came to him; his wand! He grabbed it from his nightstand, quickly feeling the warmth spread through him again, just like the first time.

Harry remembered being nervous. It wasn't often that he and his aunt went to Diagon Alley. Once she had told him the truth about his family, how they were still alive, not dead in an accident, he had wished to never see them, and so he and his aunt rarely went to English magical locations, but rather to other nations, especially France and Germany. However, this time his aunt insisted that they get his wand from Ollivanders, since she said they made the best wands in Europe, better than the many French wandmakers, the only one coming close was Gregorovitch, but he was still second best to Ollivander. Thus they had headed out on Harry's eleventh birthday.

As soon as they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, they made their way quickly to Ollivander's. Harry was very nervous keeping his head down following his aunt through the alley. Once they arrived Dorea pushed Harry forward into the store. Harry looked around noticing the many different shelves and cubbies in the room, suddenly an old man with long wavy hair appeared. The man smiled upon seeing Harry's aunt.

"Ah, Dorea Black! How nice it is to see you again, what can I do for you?" The man quickly inquired.

"Now Garrick, it is Dorea Potter, and has been for quite some time, as you well know. I have brought my nephew Hadrian Black to get his wand."

"Ah, Hadrian Black you say… I must say you look much more a Potter than a Black." Before Harry, or Dorea, could respond the man quickly summoned a floating tape measure which soon zipped about Harry. "Now, young Mr. Black, which is your wand hand?" Harry quickly indicated his right and soon the tape was measuring everything about his hand and arm; length, width, circumference, everything. "Dorea, I never did learn what your core was...It is rosewood, 11", no?"

"Close, Garrick. Rosewood 10 ¾", with Unicorn Hair. It has served me quite well."

"Ah, yes, good for healing, I am sure. Now, Mr. Black try this one Holly with Dragon Heartstring 10", good for barriers." And, so it began for nearly half an hour Ollivander would bring out different wands; sometimes stating the wood and core and what would excel at and sometimes not. At one point, he had brought out one that he seemed quite hesitant to take out. Handing Harry the wand, Ollivander had said it was Holly with a Phoenix core. Harry had thought he might have felt something, but Ollivander had quickly taken it back. Eventually, Ollivander had brought a long dark wand. Starting from the base, the pommed oval, egg like; the grip was twisted, not overly so, but enough for the same chord to fully twist twice over about three inches; then for about two inches were nordic or celtic knot designs; ending in a long straight edge. The wood was very dark, almost black, and with polishing it would certainly appear so from a distance. The pommel of the wand looked fairly plain, but on a deeper look one could see some strange winged horse creatures engraved. They looked almost like skeletal pegasus. "Ah, this is not one of mine, but rather one of the last of my father's. Blackthorn, 13", with thestral hair for the core. My father even engraved the beasts on the wand. Good for most magics, certainly more of the martial areas." And, with that he handed the wand to Harry. Instantly the wand emitted silver and dark red, almost burgundy, sparks. Harry was overcome with a feeling of rightness and comfort; almost as if he had been missing one of his senses and it had just come back. Looking up, he saw both Ollivander and his aunt Dorea looking at him. "Very nice, Mr. Black. That is an extremely strong wand there; I do not often use Thestral hair myself, very finicky wands they make. Coupled with Blackthorn...well that one is a very… silver-lining wand. For Blackthorns give the sweetest fruits after the harshest frost!" And, with that comment both Harry and Dorea were left slightly confused. They paid for the wand and left the shop.

When they were about three shops down they heard Mr Ollivander call out as someone entered his shop, "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Potter! Why just some minutes ago your aunt and her neph…" The shop's door closing cutting of the rest of the speech, and Harry and Dorea quickly left the area.

Harry's daydreaming was quickly cut off with a, "Master Black must hurry. Mistress is sayings you needs to be leaving now." Harry turned to see Milsey, their house elf staring up at him.

"I am ready Milsey, just on my way down actually, but thank you for coming to get me." As Harry reached for his case Milsey quickly grabbed it and popped away. Harry smiled as he made his way downstairs; when he had arrived he had tried to continue doing the chores the Dursleys expected of him, scaring Milsey and ever since she would try to minimize the amount of work Harry did around the house.

Opening the door, he found his aunt as always standing next to the fireplace. She didn't look her 74 years, in part due to wizards and witches aging slower, but also due to her lifestyle and healthy living. To a muggle she would look to be in her 50s. She had her long black hair elegantly done, and was wearing traditional wizarding robes. She smiled as Harry came in and kissed his cheek.

"Now I want you to be careful this year, and remember, do not let your grades slip. I love you, and show everyone the greatness of the Blacks and England."

"Yes, Aunt Dorea. I love you, too; I will see you at Christmas." With a parting kiss, Harry grabbed some floo and called out the international portkey station. Just as he stepped into the green flames, Harry heard his aunt say something; he didn't hear everything exact, but it sounded almost like "maybe sooner". Perhaps she was talking to herself about something else. While largely withdrawn from the outside world Dorea Potter still had connections in most of the magical governments, and would help get support for certain policies or laws.

The trip to Durmstrang was a slight hassle for Harry. First, he would floo to the international portkey station, get the Portkey to the German ministry, and from there he would take the portkey to Lubeck and wait for the ship Skithblathnir to arrive. He would then take the ship to the ancient fortress that served to house the institute. Harry knew that the school was in the north of Scandinavia, but unsure of where exactly. The Skithblathnir was sailed by the Professors of the institute and would make port in several ports along the Baltic before heading north. Harry had once asked why they went to some ports over others, and had been told they were the cities that had once been part of the Hanseatic League and in medieval times the ship would pretend to be a merchant shop from the north. The Skithblathnir would move much faster than a normal one and would make it to several cities in a few hours and back to Durmstrang in the same day.

The Skithblathnir would pull into a little bay that opened to the ocean from the north. Inside the bay there was a little harbor that housed the ship during the year. Looking south,one could see three mountains. The first was nearly directly south of the dock, with the slope of the mountain starting almost at the edge of the water, the second mountain was right behind the first, with the third to the southwest. As the students disembarked they would take carriages pulled by granian horses. The path skirted the edge of the first mountain. At the base of the second mountain there were several buildings: the creature studies building, several greenhouses, and the quidditch field. To the east of the two mountains was one of the many lakes that dotted the area.. About halfway up the mountain Durmstrang rose out of the mountain. The walls and towers came straight out of the steep slope, with only one small path leading up to the gate. The mountain was extremely steep, especially near the castle; for 30 feet below the castle the mountain was nearly vertical.

The castle itself was dark gray, almost black. Its walls were nearly forty feet tall and 15 feet thick. The ten great square towers were visible and intimidating; one in each of the four corners, two beside each gate, and one where the inner walls connected to the outer walls. The outer gate was shifted to the west while the inner gate was shifted to the east. Once inside the gates the first thing you noticed was the great hall. Located at the back of the fortress, built into the side of the mountain, the great hall looked like a gothic cathedral. Giant, ornately carved doors depicting great wizarding battles, the latest being Grindelwald's duel with Dumbledore. To the west of the hall was the barracks, which was the dormitory for the students, and while it did not appear to be able to house all the students, it descended into the mountain, having rooms for all students. It followed the gothic look, and was a two story (above ground) square building. To the north of the barracks was the potions and herbology building, which had a small greenhouse attached. North of that, against the inner walls, was the theoretical building, which housed arithmancy, astronomy, magical theory, and history of magics: the building was one of the taller ones, being four floors, with the top having glass roofs for astronomy. To the east of the great hall was the runes and rituals building, which was built into the mountainside as well. To the south of that was the Amphitheatre, which housed art and music classes, and a full theatre; it was a semi-circular building like old greek ones, but was enclosed due to the elements. South of that and nestled between the inner and east walls was the battle magics building which housed both a dueling ring and stage, but as well as a full arsenal to defend the castle should it ever be attacked.

Walking inside the great hall, Harry noticed Highmaster Kirillovich. Kirillovich was a very stoic individual, with his short cropped goatee and shaved head; he was intimidating for most of the students. His numerous tattoos covered not only his arms and neck, but head as well, further strengthened this feeling, but it was his eyes that truly scared people, they were pale grey, almost bordering on white, and seemed to search one's soul for its weaknesses.

Harry remembered when his aunt had found out a former death eater Karkaroff had been highmaster. That quickly changed fairly quickly and Sergey Kirillovich ascended to the position. The highmaster was strict, but fair. He was very well liked by the students, especially after the almost tyrannical-rule of Karkaroff. Along with him were the other professors: Ana Albu, professor of transfiguration; Miroslav Draganov, potions; Ilanna Andersen, herbology; Ander Weissman, magical theory; Wulfgar Thorsson, charms; Daniel Selwyn, battle magics; Layla Varlamov, history of magic; Simon Rodriguez, astronomy; Vanessa Konig; creature studies; Samuel Kielholz, arithmancy; Abdul Alhazred, runes; Joseph von Marienberg, art and music; and Sigrunn Alfsson, rituals.

While usually quite reserved, many of the professors seemed almost giddy. Harry had not seen the faculty behave similarly before; it was quite unnerving. Once everyone settled into their seats, and the first years were seated at the front of the hall, the headmaster began to speak.

"Greetings students, I welcome one and all. To those of you who are joining us for the first time, take a look around you, not only your professors, but your peers behind you will help you succeed here and grow to be great. However, know that we expect you to be diligent and studious, temperate and inquisitive, resourceful and ambitious. There are many secrets here in our fortress, some you will be shown, but many more you must search and find yourself so be prepared, for your education now begins. For those of you who are returning, you know the expectations placed upon you snd, as always strive for success." That would be the normal speech before the meal, and just as everyone was about to start eating the Kirillovich continued, "This year a great chance for Durmstrang has presented itself. For this year, we here at Durmstrang, and our cousins of Beauxbatons Academy and Hogwarts School, will be competing in the Triwizard Tournament." With those words students quickly began whispering to themselves and those around them. The Triwizard Tournament! They all knew of it, of course. It was well known for both its high death rate, and the fierce competition it brewed between the three schools. Just as the conversations were starting to gain ground the Highmaster continued, "This will be the first time the competition has been held in two centuries, and it has been decided to be held at Hogwarts this year, so come October myself and several other professors will lead a delegation to Hogwarts school to compete and observe the tournament. Know this, there will be an age requirement for competing, with only those of majority being able to enter into the tournament," At this the whispers began again, mostly from people who would not be 17 by October, "However, we will be taking four students from years 1 through 6 to observe and participate in the other activities scheduled besides the tournament. The top four students will be taken, now you may eat."

With that, the students began to eat and talk about the tournament. Harry mostly kept quiet, having not seen his friends at his table. His thoughts on the tournament were quite mixed; he liked the idea of bringing glory and respect to his family and his school, but the age limit, and that it was taking place at Hogwarts effectively destroyed that idea. He had no wish to go to that school, though the top four ranks from the lower years did present an issue, he knew he was at the top spot from the previous year; his escapade at the end of the previous year insured that.

Not only had he beaten every third year in Battle Magic, Professor Selwyn had forced Harry to duel not only the fourth years, where he had again beaten everyone, but also the fifth years, which had similar consequences. Ultimately, Professor Selwyn had a middle ranked sixth year duel Harry, which Harry quite definitively lost, which ended his rise. However, Harry had grown to have quite the following. Before he had been known as the quiet studious kid, who while did well, was not someone to be feared, but since he had earned a reputation and was feared, not only by those of his grade but the students of the two he had defeated.

Sighing, Harry believed he would indeed be going to Hogwarts for part of the year. He would need to write to Dorea, see what she suggested. With that, Harry concentrated on his food and upcoming studies.