Triwizard Tournament

[PhoenixAscendant]

It would certainly be a culture change from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, but if nobody from the previous two schools enter, I'm thinking the Goblet would be intelligent enough (it is an object under some extremely sophisticated magic) to know that the other schools would be taking their place. If not, it was Confunded once...

Heh, yep. If it was Confunded once, it could be Confunded again. The first backstory I had written says that the Triwizard Tournament was reinstated in 2012, and that tournament took place at Beauxbatons. It worked, no one died, so they think they can continue it. They come back to Hogwarts in 2017, and it's off to Durmstrang in 2022.

It was reinstated to promote unity between the European schools, and the security measures were heightened. For example, there are a dozen highly trained wizards, in addition to the judges, on the sidelines of the task area, in case monsters go on the rampage. That's all the wizards it takes to Stun a dragon, so they should be able to deal with most other things. Do you think this is plausible?

However, I could see other schools entering instead. My picks would be a Chinese school, an American school, an Australian school, an Egyptian school, or a Greek school. Which ones do you think would be most likely to enter, if Durmstrang or Beauxbatons decide not to come?

[Karaley Dargen]

I think if you pick a different school than Beauxbatons/Durmstrang, make it a European one. My reasoning here is that a) I think it would be hard for a large group of students to travel across half the world (like from America or China for example), and b) I don't really see a school this far away actually interested to join. They might have their own competitions, and maybe have never heard of the Triwizard, and the schools are just... really far away other schools. I don't really see why they would bother..

So, I think it would be best if you went with the Greek or Egyptian school as a replacement - that gives you tons of Rowlingesque options too because of the whole mythology there is to explore.

However, because of the very long tradition, you'd have to give a good explanation on why you're introducing a new school instead of sticking with the old ones. Oh, and don't forget to research how those people would speak English (like the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students all have those accents)

[OliveOil_Med]

I know there was a discussion about different schools particiapting in the Triwizard Tournament before, and is was discussed that maybe it was possible that the schools were split into tiers depending on how famous they are, and the Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang are just all in the same tier.

If you do decide on different schools, make sure they are ones from countries where the cultures are vastly different from the British one, and vastly different from each other. Just for the sake of keeping things interesting and fresh. And if you do choose to have different schools participate, make sure you do a lot of work on developing the school, its structure, and its history, rather than making it just this random place in Romania that even you, the writer, don't know very much about.

[PhoenixAscendant]

Hmm...I think I'll stick with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I can see them coming back, and it really doesn't seem like there are any other good schools close enough. But now I have a new problem. Where is Durmstrang?! In Goblet of Fire, it is made clear that Durmstrang is somewhere in the north, so it's cold. But there's not much more information. So is it in Germany? Norway? Russia? Somewhere else? Help please.

[Karaley Dargen]

I think Germany is too far south to explain the fur coats and the bathing in ice cold water... I always thought it was somewhere near the Russian/Finnish border, maybe as far north as for example Greenland's lowest tip is, too. Mind, you don't have to go all the way to the north pole, but I would at least place it on the same degree of latitude as Scotland. Maybe you find a place that would fit in the extended area around St. Petersburg. You could look up in GoF what it says about the weather (like - in the winter it's too cold to fly brooms, or something like that? and the water of the Black Lake in freezing Britain weather would likely feel warm to him... Ron, I think, even mentions a glacier, though I wouldn't trust him on that matter)... anyway, look up what it says about the weather and then look what place has similar weather and a large enough countryside, because the grounds are said to be huge, aren't they.

[sorrow_of_severus]

I guess I'm the only person here who thinks that the Triwizard Tournament would be started again, especially so soon after the disaster of Cedric's death. If the tournament hadn't been held regularly for hundreds of years because of deaths during the normal course of the tasks, do you think they'd start being held regularly only eighteen years after the kidnapping of two champions during a task and the subsequent murder of one of them?

[ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor]

I guess I'm the only person here who thinks that the Triwizard Tournament would be started again, especially so soon after the disaster of Cedric's death. If the tournament hadn't been held regularly for hundreds of years because of deaths during the normal course of the tasks, do you think they'd start being held regularly only eighteen years after the kidnapping of two champions during a task and the subsequent murder of one of them?

I tend to agree, though I think, should the tournament be reinstated, they would radically alter the format of it, because dragons and killer mazes is probably not an ideal activity for school age children, no matter how talented they are.

Hmm...I think I'll stick with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I can see them coming back, and it really doesn't seem like there are any other good schools close enough. But now I have a new problem. Where is Durmstrang?! In Goblet of Fire, it is made clear that Durmstrang is somewhere in the north, so it's cold. But there's not much more information. So is it in Germany? Norway? Russia? Somewhere else? Help please.

The location was kept secret on purpose to discourage visitors, both wizard and Muggle alike. I would say that, as Karaley said, northern Russia near Finland, or possibly smaller nation/states like Estonia, Lithuania, or Latvia, right off the Baltic Sea, which is directly below Finland and to the Northeast of Poland. From what I know of Polish weather patterns, fur coats in the winter are definitely a possibility, not to mention the craploads of snow they would get from being next to the sea. Just a thought.

[Equinox Chick]

Krum is Bulgarian of course, and Grindelwald is German (I think) so it has to be somewhere in that area.

Regarding bringing the tournament back. I still think they'd do it. I think they could even make a thing about it being held in Cedric's memory. His mum mentioned how happy he was to be taking part. I don't think they'd bring it back lightly, but it was a unifying force between the European schools. A lot of foreign wizards came back for the Battle (led by Charlie, I think).

[OliveOil_Med]

You should read Tim the Enchanter's Für Das Größere Wohl if you want to get a good idea of what Durmstrang is like, as well as the geography of it.

He depicts it as something of an international school with students coming from Germany, Russia, and Eastern Europe, and even as far away as Italy, Spain, and Denmark (I named the Danish character, actually: Sille Lind)

Anyway, Tim imagines Durmstang being in the mountains between Germany and Poland, which would certainly account for the cold weather. I personally imagined it being in northern Belarus, but it's something you will have to contemplate for yourself.

[PhoenixAscendant]

Northern Russia sounds like a definite possibility. It's very cold and probably empty enough to hide a gigantic school (remember, the grounds are huge).

Regarding bringing the tournament back. I still think they'd do it. I think they could even make a thing about it being held in Cedric's memory. His mum mentioned how happy he was to be taking part. I don't think they'd bring it back lightly, but it was a unifying force between the European schools. A lot of foreign wizards came back for the Battle (led by Charlie, I think).

Held in Cedric's memory. That's a cool idea, and quite likely. I'll remember that.

I tend to agree, though I think, should the tournament be reinstated, they would radically alter the format of it, because dragons and killer mazes is probably not an ideal activity for school age children, no matter how talented they are.

Yeah. When I read about the dragons in Goblet of Fire, I was just like "What! Dragons! Are they trying to kill the champions?!" But there's a new policy on monsters. No creatures that are rated XXXXX. That means no dragons. There's not going to be another maze either. New tournament means new tasks.