A Nexus Devil

Jake was thrilled and hoped he would be chosen for the tournament. That money would be a game-changer for him! He asked another student when they would find out who got picked. They said it would be announced at dinner later that night.

Jake decided he had explored enough for now and went to the library to learn some quick spells. He couldn't believe he hadn't learned any magic yet, even after spending the whole day at a magic school. That had to change!

Entering the library, Jake was amazed by the huge collection of books. The titles promised knowledge and power.

He was determined to make the most of his time and learn some spells. He quickly grabbed a few beginner's spell books and sat down at a nearby table.

As evening approached, Jake reluctantly closed his books, satisfied with his progress. He made sure to return them to their proper places and headed to the Great Hall for dinner, filled with anticipation.

The Great Hall buzzed with excitement as students filled the long tables. Jake found an empty seat at the end of the Gryffindor table, drawing curious glances from some of the students who hadn't seen him before.

A girl with bushy brown hair, sitting across from him, started bombarding him with questions. "Who are you? Are you a new student? I didn't know Hogwarts had transfers. Where did you go to school before? Do you know any cool magic?"

Fortunately, a red-haired guy who looked a little younger than Jake interrupted her. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, Hermione. Give the bloke a chance to respond.

You're going to scare him away from our table." The younger girl blushed and offered a small apology.

"Hey everyone, I'm Jake," he said, trying to calm the curious stares. "I just arrived today and don't know which classes I'll be taking. I'm really behind on Magic compared to everyone here. I only found out about magic yesterday."

Upon hearing his last line, the whole table expressed their shock. A brown-haired boy with glasses spoke up next. "What? You didn't know magic existed until yesterday, but you look older than us. How is that possible?" he asked.

Jake sighed. "It's a long story that I don't really want to get into right now, if that's okay. Just know that I'm here for now, and I'm ready to learn,"

Jake said, giving a thumbs up to all the Gryffindors who were listening in, most of whom still looked bewildered.

The glasses-wearing boy spoke again. "Whatever you say, man. Oh, and by the way, my name is Harry. Harry Potter," he said, his last name sounding reluctant, as if he were ashamed of it or something.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, then," he continued. "You already got my introduction, and the girl who spoke up first to you is the smartest witch of her age, Hermione Granger.

Sitting next to her is my best mate, Ron Weasley, and next to him is his sister Ginny." Jake noticed the younger red-headed girl blushing and looking away when Harry mentioned her name.

Jake thought to himself, 'Seems like someone has a little crush.' He found it slightly adorable.

Suddenly, an absolutely massive feast appeared in front of everyone, interrupting their conversation. It was some of the greatest food Jake had ever seen in his life! Conversations at the table died down as everyone started digging in.

"This is absolutely amazing and delicious," Jake thought to himself. "Magic school kicks ass!"

About 10 minutes later, once everyone was mostly satisfied with the delectable food, the conversation resumed.

"So, mate," Ron Weasley said to Jake, "you just transferred in, right? So, do you know about the tournament and everything going on? The legendary Triwizard Tournament? It's going to be epic.

" Suddenly, a look of depression crossed Ron's face. "It sucks that I wasn't able to enter, though. I could have really used those thousand Galleons."

Jake was confused. "How come you couldn't enter?" He asked.

"You just got here, so you probably don't know, but only people who are of age, which means 17 years old, can enter the tournament," Hermione answered for Ron.

"Yeah, we tried to enter, and it totally backfired on us," one of the twins chimed in from a few seats down the table. "We did grow some super awesome beards, though, because of that age line Dumbledore put around the Goblet."

"I hope one day we can grow awesome beards like that naturally," the other twin said excitedly.

"That's strange," Jake remarked. "I was able to enter the tournament just fine, and I'm only 16." He glanced around at the shocked expressions of the people at the table.

"What? That's not fair!" One of the twins exclaimed. "We're 16 too, and it didn't let us enter. Did you have some type of counter magic against Dumbledore's age line?" he asked.

Jake shrugged. "I don't even know what an age line is, buddy. I literally just walked up to that fire cup and threw my name in. A bunch of people around me cheered, and that was that."

"Wait, really!?" Ron eagerly asked. "Hey, maybe Dumbledore's age line accidentally wore off, and he was able to enter! If that's the case, I still have a shot. They're not going to start drawing names for 10 minutes.

I've got to go enter my name now!" With that, Ron jumped up from his seat and bolted down the hall at full speed, presumably heading towards the Goblet to enter his name.

Not only him, but a group of other younger Gryffindors that were nearby listening in followed suit, presumably with the same intention.

Jake watched the younger Gryffindors rush off and shrugged. "Well, I hope it all works out for them, and they get to enter the tournament too," he said. "They shouldn't be excluded just because they're a little younger. That doesn't seem fair."

"It's not about fairness," Hermione interjected. "It's about keeping them safe. This tournament is supposed to be super dangerous,

so only older students who know a whole bunch of strong magic should enter. Otherwise, they could get hurt." She continued to voice her concerns, justified in her mind.