They Shook Hands: Year Four (Original Version)

Dethryl

Story Summary:
Harry Potter's new life with his godfather, Sirius Black, is the stuff his best dreams were made of. As they turn 12 Grimmauld Place into a real home, Harry finally gets to hear all about his father and mother. At the Quidditch World Cup, Harry learns of the upcoming Triwizard Tournament from Mr. Lucius Malfoy. Back at Hogwarts, there's treachery afoot, as Harry is named as a fourth Champion. Can his reputation recover from what the other Houses are saying? Who will stand with him? Who will stand against him? Tasks of immense danger loom, and dark shadows are gathering again. How can Harry survive with life and limb in peril? Will Harry ever be the same again?

Chapter 10 - Visitors

Chapter Summary:
October has arrived, and the Hogwarts gossip mill is churning full-tilt. Harry continues to improve his illicit Transfiguration skills, and his reputation for Arithmancy continues to win him respect. Padma Patil tracks him down, and the result is a study date. Lost in pleasant memories, Harry discovers he can't get in to the common room. But there's no need to fear; Professor Snape is there. When the guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrive, Draco shows off his skill with the German language. The result? A personal introduction to Viktor Krum, Bulgaria's star Seeker! Professor Dumbledore explains the Triwizard Tournament, but why does Headmaster Karkaroff react so badly to both Harry and Professor Moody?
Posted:
08/29/2009
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Author's Note:
All chapters are posted on Schnoogle. All chapters and some juicy extras are posted on



They Shook Hands : Year Four

An alternate (but realistic!) universe Harry Potter fic
by Dethryl

Chapter Ten - Visitors

October came around in short order. The weather turned cooler, and the sky was more frequently full of stormy clouds. On several occasions, the Slytherins were cold enough to resort to the Self-Warming Charm that they had learned from Professor Snape in their first year to counter the chill of the dungeons' stone walls. As always, it was gratifying to see the Gryffindors huddling close to their bubbling cauldrons for warmth.

Any satisfaction Draco got was always short-lived, for Ron Weasley took every opportunity to tell the story of the "Amazing Bouncing Ferret". On several occasions, Harry had needed to intercede as Draco furiously ordered Crabbe and Goyle to pummel Weasley.

At least the Gryffindor was forced to keep his mouth shut in Potions. He took personal offence at having to work so close to the Slytherins. He glared at them through every lesson until yelled at by Professor Snape to pay attention.

Harry and Draco continued to partner, as did Pansy and Jenna. Blaise sat closest to the classroom door now, working by herself. Harry tried his best to stay resolute, but sometimes he would catch her gazing at him wistfully and it would make him feel like such a heel.

Tim continued to have a bad attitude. He rarely spoke to any of the lads any more except to talk about school-related things. He and Blaise were as thick as thieves lately, scoring perfect marks on every assignment.

Harry's regular circle was pretty slim these days. It was always Harry, Draco, Pansy, and Jenna together in the library, Herbology, or at the Slytherin table for meals. Millie, Crabbe, and Goyle were always face down in books about magical creatures. Hagrid had exciting tastes but was a poor teacher. He was better at his subject than Lockhart had been, Millie joked, but there was still a lot to learn independently if they were to be prepared for the O.W.L.s.

Most evenings were spent in the common room, and Harry deliberately sought out Ginny Weasley to keep himself informed as to her well-being. He was determined to be more diligent in his responsibility towards her, especially now that Percy was no longer at school. Ginny, Laine and Lucas Slater, Arcen Bulstrode, and Michelle Holt routinely joined the four fourth years to exchange gossip.

Professor Snape caught some fifth year Ravenclaws boys cheating on an examination, a scandal that cost their house seventy-five points and the pair a month of detention. Additionally, Professor Binns was drafted to give them both a series of lectures on ethics, held every Sunday morning at half-six.

Ravenclaw's misfortunes continued as no less a personage than the Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater, was discovered snogging with Gryffindor's Tyler Jackson in the staff room. Gryffindor lost forty points, but Clearwater was stripped of her gold badge. A poor example to other students, the Deputy Headmistress had declared, and Margaret Rosier was selected to replace her.

Harry and Draco continued to lift weights every day, even if it was for as little as twenty minutes. They were lifting roughly the same mass, though nowhere near the league of Crabbe and Goyle. Tim, who had never joined their workout, routinely denounced Muggles and scuttled off to the library whenever they pulled out the weights.

Just for the sake of having other people to talk to, Harry and Draco had invited Lucas and Arcen to join the little club. After some initial hesitation and quietness on their parts, they quickly became quite the outrageous additions. Jeremiah Goodwinter had been invited as well, but he politely declined, citing other obligations.

At least twice a week, Harry snuck off on his own to some secluded corner of the castle to work on his Animagus training. He was now able to grow his hair, extend his fingers, change his legs into those of a chicken, and he'd decided on his own to try turning his arms in to wings. Black feathers, he'd decided, like a mighty bird of prey. So far it was going pretty good, though the picture in his head of what animal he would look like was growing stranger by the day.

With his Transfiguration going rather well, Arithmancy had gotten extremely difficult. Professor Vector had a very loose notion of what defined "pre"-algebra, and they were presently struggling with determining the order of operations of very involved equations. Harry normally did quite well in the subject, having been exposed to "Muggle maths" before the age of eleven, but even he was now confounded at times. Still, his previous reputation at the subject stuck with him. Everyone thought Harry earned top marks.

"Hi, Harry," Padma Patil said as he approached the Great Hall for dinner one night. She was standing to one side of the door, leaning against the wall. She had removed her uniform pointed hat and was busily braiding her long hair.

"Hi, Padma. What's new?"

"You're still pretty good at Arithmancy, right?"

"I suppose."

"Harry, we'll see you at the table," Draco said. He put his arm around Blaise's waist and continued walking, guiding her past the pretty Ravenclaw. Pansy linked arms with Blaise, and the blonde was escorted into the Great Hall protesting, "Let go of me. What's wrong with you?"

Harry silently thanked his friends' foresight and smiled warmly at Padma. He hadn't talked to her much at all since his birthday party. The few minutes between classes were hardly conducive to meaningful conversations.

"I've really been having problems with this one question on the homework," Padma confessed. "I keep coming up with a different answer every time. Terry breezed through it all, Mandy copied off of Terry, and Michael and Su's answers don't match. I'm stuck, and none of the uppers will help us. Do you think we could study together tonight after dinner?"

"I'll help you with Arithmancy if you can help me with Charms," Harry replied. "Because you're charming."

Padma smiled, showing her pearly white teeth. "I'm quite good at Charms," she said calmly.

"Excellent."

"I'll see you in the library, then."

"I guess you will."

Harry watched her go into the Hall with a bemused expression plain on his face. He'd just made a date with the prettiest girl in school. The lads were never going to believe this. Heck, he barely believed it himself.

As he sat down to eat, Draco nudged him in the side with an elbow. "What are you so happy about?"

"Padma just asked me to study with her."

There was a strangled gasp from several seats away.

"Good show, Harry. Smashing. Get lots of studying done."

Harry felt himself start to flush. The dinner hour was filled with more ribbing from Draco, Jenna, and Millie. Goyle and Crabbe jumped in to defend Harry, and Pansy took his side as well. Blaise and Tim sat apart, ignoring everyone else.

After a quick trip back to the dungeons to retrieve his bag, Harry pushed open the doors of the library to see Padma sitting at the first table with her nose in a book. She glanced up as the door shut and quickly got to her feet. She held a finger to her lips, cautioning him to absolute silence before motioning towards one of the stacks with a toss of her head. Harry nodded. Padma picked up her bag and led him to the opposite side of the room, around a sharp corner, and along the stacks of books on the various goblin wars to a small table under a glowing lamp.

"This is my favourite spot in the library," she said. "It's so secluded, and I can get tons of reading done. I need complete silence to read."

"I can read just about anywhere," Harry replied. "I can tune it all out if I'm really in to the book."

"Lucky," she said wistfully.

"Well, if you had to share a dorm with Crabbe and Goyle, you'd learn to tune out as well," Harry quipped.

"Not so lucky," Padma laughed. "I'd go mad if I had all that. We Ravenclaws like the quiet." She reached in to her bag and drew out the neatest notes Harry had ever seen. "Nose in the books and all."

"I saw you at Wand Smasher; I think you're secretly a party girl," Harry accused. Padma had done quite a lot of wild dancing that night. "You just pretend to be a good little study bug."

Padma giggled. "Oh stop it," she said. "You're going to get me thrown out of my house. I must keep up appearances after all."

"I won't betray your secret identity. Promise," Harry said. "As long as you give me some of your notes to study, or use a mimicking charm for me."

"You're such a Slytherin," Padma said, shaking her head ruefully. "Is that why you're so good at Arithmancy? Calculating?"

"You got it," Harry said. "And maths isn't so bad. It's just logical. Once you understand the rules, you'll be fine. Unless you're like some Ravenclaws who prefer to resort to other methods?"

"Oh no," she said hastily. "I'm no cheater."

"You don't want to volunteer to spend more time with old Binns?"

"You mean like Dallas and McKay?" Padma asked. "I think they're lucky to escape with their lives."

"Of all the places to try cheating, why Snape's class?" he asked rhetorically. "Potions is something you either know it or you don't. You can't fake it."

"I don't know, and they're not talking."

Harry and Padma did eventually get some studying done. He was able to show her how to properly apply a square root, and she instructed him on the Summoning Charm. Her answers now matched his, and he'd been able to call a book to himself from down the length of one whole aisle. She mentioned a Nightvision Charm, a spell that sharpened one's eyes to take total advantage of any amount of light, but she wouldn't tell him how to cast it. Harry was sure that it would be good to know the next time he went roaming after curfew, though she claimed it was for studying late.

As the bell tolled ten minutes to curfew, they hurried from the library to the main stairs.

"I'm going up," Padma said. "And I know you're going down."

"Yeah. This was fun." Harry wondered if he should try to kiss her goodnight. "We should do it again some time." By Merlin, had he just asked Padma on another date?

She beamed at him. "That would be very nice. You really have a way of explaining things simply."

"Next week then?"

"Sure."

"Well then," Harry said shakily. "I guess I'll see you in Herbology then." He'd just repeated himself. What a simpleton he must sound like. Well, she'd liked that he'd explained things simply, so there!

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Padma."

They stood there, staring at each other. Had she just tipped her head ever so slightly? Her lips looked so soft. Before his brain even registered his sudden decision, Harry leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Her mouth was as soft as it looked. Though she was startled for a half-second, she cupped his face with one hand and smooched him back with spirit. It lasted only a few moments, but it was enough to leave Harry breathless.

"Well," Padma said simply, her own breathing coming a bit heavier. "Good night."

She hurried up the stairs, and Harry watched her go. When she was out of sight, he threw a leg over the banister and slid down to the entrance hall. Ducking into the dungeons, Slytherin territory, he sauntered down to the common room with a spring in his step and a stupid grin on his face. What they'd done would be obvious to anyone who cared to look at Harry's face, so he carefully composed himself before speaking the password.

"Quidditch champions," he said, hoping his voice didn't sound too excited.

The door didn't move. "Quidditch champions," he said again, a bit louder. The wall had never had trouble hearing him before. Still, nothing happened.

Had they changed the password? His friends would never let him get locked out accidentally, so if the password had been changed, this was a jolly good prank on their parts.

Was he in front of the right wall? He'd been caught up in remembering every detail of the night, analysing the things that had made Padma smile and frown. She liked Charms, horses, and preferred her curry spicy. Could her kissing have made him so dizzy he was talking to an ordinary stone wall?

Harry turned around and retraced his steps to the Potions laboratory. No, he had gone the correct way. The password must have been changed. Despite himself, Harry grinned. He wished he'd been in on this one. He wondered who the ringleader was.

"Mister Potter!" came Professor Snape's ringing voice. "It is after curfew. Explain yourself immediately."

Harry turned to face his Head of House, his relief feeling like a cool drink of water on a sunny day. Professor Snape could solve his problem succinctly. As the joke went, Professor Snape was good at everything. Now Harry could get back to his common room, and he wouldn't even lose points for being out after curfew.

"I'm locked out, sir. I thought I knew the password, but the wall won't open."

Snape peered at him quizzically. "I have not been informed of a change in password. We are still the champions, are we not?"

"Yes, sir."

"For which we have you to thank," Professor Snape said with a nod to Harry. "Very well, let us investigate this mysterious wall."

Harry followed closely behind as Snape stalked purposefully down the stone corridors to the wall that hid the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

"Quidditch champions," Harry said. The wall did not respond.

"Quidditch champions," Snape echoed. The wall still did not move.

"The true Slytherin knows there is more than one way to gain entry," Snape said to the wall, as though expecting a reply. "Well, this is a puzzle, isn't it? Mister Potter? Pay attention."

"Sir!"

Snape drew his wand and sharply traced a square in the air. He stabbed in the lower corner of that square and made a motion that reminded Harry of the turning of a page. A blue glow began to emanate from the stones.

"Interesting. And very creative. I must discover who placed it, if only to award points," Snape murmured. He waved his wand again, and the glow disappeared.

"Mister Potter! Wand out." Harry drew his wand. "Delineate the wall." Harry traced a rough square in the air in front of the wall. "Cast the Detection Charm you learned at the beginning of your third year." Harry did so, moving his wand in the same arc Snape had. The stones began to glow blue, just as they had for the Potions Master.

"Well done, Mister Potter. Now, feel the vibrations of the warding? What does it tell you?"

Harry hadn't done horrible at this Charm, but he'd not been top of the class either. Revealing the presence of magic was one thing; identifying it was a whole other Snitch he'd never caught. He peered intently at the blue glow, willing himself to see deeper than the light, trying to see the very pulse of the magic itself.

Sweat broke out on his brow, though the corridor was chilly. Sound, he thought, it had something to do with sound. Normally magic had something akin to music associated with it. Not this, though. There was a peculiar quietness to this magic.

"You do see it," Snape said approvingly. "Now do you know what it is?"

"Is it a Silencing Charm, sir?"

"It's something better. This barrier is designed to repel sound. The force of your voice speaking the password is literally not reaching the wall to trigger the magic that opens it. As I said, creative. Fortunately, a barrier is relatively easy to collapse. Observe."

Snape stabbed his wand at the centre of the wall and began to trace small circles with the tip. The blue glow Harry could still see began to whirl too, and gradually it all concentrated to one tight spot, which Snape flicked off the end of his wand liked one might a fly. The ball of energy, which was plainly visible now, cascaded along the hall to the junction, where it took a sharp left and disappeared.

Harry looked up at his Head of House with an inquisitive look. "Where did you send that, sir?"

"The staff room. It will doubtless be blamed on the Weasley twins, as is everything that happens in this school."

Harry wasn't sure Snape wasn't joking, and he was pranking the other teachers, so he asked another question instead. "Who could have done this, sir?"

"Any student with a sufficient knowledge of runes. You yourself could do it if you applied yourself. I leave it to you to handle your friends. If it turns out to not have been them, inform me, and I will make inquiries. Good night, Mister Potter."

"Good night, sir. Thank you."

"You are most welcome."

* * *

Dear Harry,

Greetings from the outside world! Moony asked me to pass on his salutations as well. He's been dropping by every other day to check on me, even though he tries to pretend it's entirely coincidental. Why he needed to immediately know what size shoes I wear is beyond me. Even assuming he really did need to know, an owl would have sufficed. He's up to something, I just don't know what. His justifications have been getting flimsier by the day.

It's awfully boring not having anything to do. The cleaning is done, even the library. This dreary old house is quite empty and quite quiet without you. I thank Merlin every day that I don't have to listen to Mother, but the silence can be oppressive. I've listened to all the music you left behind. Then I went shopping and told Mortimer to give me all the albums for all the most popular singers, bands, whatever they are. There's loads of new music, and now I can share it with you. I miss our weight-lifting sessions. How's that going, by the way? You might be ready to increase your total weight quite soon, so keep at it.

I just might happen to find myself in Hogsmeade come November, so we must meet. Three Broomsticks will be a bit boisterous (it always is), but Hog's Head has lousy food. Maybe we should sneak off to London and hit up the Leaky. I've taken to dining there once a week. The steak special is superb.

So how goes the hunt for a new girlfriend? Has either of those two Hufflepuff girls shown any more interest? Any Ravenclaws or Gryffindors looking a bit better these days?

Harry felt the blood rush to his face. Padma was a Ravenclaw, and her equally pretty twin sister was in Gryffindor. But there was no way Sirius could know!

Always aim high with girls. I once dared your dad to get the Head Girl to go out with him. Well, we were in fifth year at the time. Head Girl was a very attractive Hufflepuff who somehow looked good in yellow and had just broken up with her boyfriend. Prongs was a star Chaser on the Quidditch team, and she was a bit of a fan. Hufflepuff's Cup chances had been dead last since their last captain finished school, so when he started talking to her in his Quidditch robes after they'd just trounced Slytherin, she perked up immediately. Well, two weeks later, he asked her out to a fancy dinner at Hogsmeade. Sure enough, she said yes. She finished school and went on to be a sports agent, but he dated the Head Girl for near on three months. Of course that didn't win him any points with your mother.

I'll let you get back to studying now, but I'm thinking about you. Be safe and be vigilant. Give my greetings to your friends. Hear from you soon.

Love,

Padfoot

Even the ribbing he'd taken from Draco about coming in after curfew couldn't ruin Harry's good mood once Regal delivered the letter from home. He pulled out a bit of parchment and a quill and began scribbling a reply telling Sirius all about his study date with Padma and his adventure in getting shut out of the common room (by a smirking Tim Nott, it turned out!), and his magic lesson with Professor Snape. With the animosity Harry had sensed between the pair, the more examples of good behaviour he could exhibit, the better.

Harry was just signing his name when there came a hammering sound from the entrance hall, and those students in the Great Hall rose to their feet and shoved through the doors to read the announcement Mister Filch had just nailed up.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON SUNDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. STUDENTS WILL ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.

* * *

Even though choir practices had been held every Tuesday and Thursday since the start of term, the Sorting Hat had declared at the last rehearsal that it would not embarrass the school by putting up "such a slovenly bunch of tone-deaf sloths" to sing a welcome to arriving foreign visitors, which had many grumbling unhappily. Harry didn't mind though. Lots of the choir's initial talent had finished school in the past two years, and their numbers were dwindling.

Hogwarts had done herself up properly anyway. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls of the Great Hall, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around the double doors, apparently unsure about where they should sit. The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads.

"Oi, Durmstrang!" Draco called out. "Meine Freunde, warum setzen wir uns nicht bei uns zu Tisch und genießen unser Mahl zusammen?" Draco's pronunciation was very careful and precise. He didn't look entirely certain of himself, but apparently his words were comprehensible.

The red-robed students looked over. Krum nodded sharply. "Wir sitzen hier." He sat down across from Draco, and his fellow Durmstrang students took seats of their own.

"Draco Malfoy," Draco said, leaning across the table to shake hands with Krum. "My brother Elan spoke of you. He went to Durmstrang for his last two years of school."

"That is vie you look familiar," Krum grunted, his voice rumbling with his guttural accent.

"Such a pleasure to meet you. You've chosen the right folk to sit with, I assure you. Allow me to introduce you to my best friend, Harry Potter."

Krum didn't bat an eye at Harry's name, and he grunted what Harry assumed was a greeting. He stuck out his hand, though, so Harry dutifully shook it. Don't talk about Quidditch, he told himself. He's just another student.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," he said to Krum. He looked up at the other Durmstrang students, who were pulling off their heavy furs and looking up at the starry black ceiling with expressions of interest; a couple of them were picking up the golden plates and goblets and examining them, apparently impressed. That fit with everything Elan had ever told them about the stern Institute's lousy chef.

Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his mouldy old tailcoat in honour of the occasion. Harry was surprised to see that he added four chairs, two on either side of Dumbledore's.

"But there are only two extra people," Harry said. "Why's Filch putting out four chairs. Who else is coming?"

"Probably nobody very interesting," Jenna quipped.

When all the students had entered the Hall and settled down at their House tables, the staff entered, filing up to the top table and taking their seats. Last in line were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh.

"Snobby French vache!" Pansy hissed. "Feel free to leave!"

"Do we honestly have to put up with them all year?" Tim demanded scathingly.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down, and Harry saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation.

The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Harry had ever seen, including several that were definitely foreign.

The Great Hall seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though the two schools had brought only a dozen students each. Perhaps it was because their differently coloured uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts' robes. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing robes of a deep blood-red that Harry had first seen when Elan was sent off two years ago.

Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and reached for his goblet with a very heavily bandaged hand.

"Skrewts must've gotten 'excited'," Millie snorted. "That what he says when they try to murder us."

At the staff table, the two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Ludo Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch was next to Madame Maxime.

"What are they doing here?" said Harry in surprise.

"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" said Draco. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

"The Weasley twins have a pool going," noted Miles Bletchley, Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, as he elbowed Draco to the side and stole a seat.

"Hey! Cobbing!"

Harry thought he saw Krum twitch a smile at that.

"Figured I'd offer a teammate the chance to lose money with the rest of us," Bletchley continued.

"You play the game?" Krum inquired.

"Miles Bletchley, Slytherin Captain," Bletchley said, offering his hand.

"Vich post?" Krum ignored the hand.

"Keeper."

"You vould make better Beater."

Bletchley blinked, and his hand fell to his side. "I've got two great Beaters. Bole-"

"I saw them ven I came in. They are good, yes, but brute strength only is so much."

Bletchley looked like he might fall over. "I should switch to Beater? But my team-"

"I do not say you should do anything. I merely make ein observation."

"I- I- Thank you," Bletchley blurted, sticking out his hand again.

Krum endured the frantic pumping for a second, then he pointedly picked up his fork and shoved a huge bite of steak in to his mouth.

Several of the more silly Slytherin girls fluttered their eyelashes at Krum. Nobody was so silly as to approach, but plenty of them wanted to, if Harry had an opinion.

"These girls, they are so dumm," Krum said, reaching for the roast, which was pink and juicy. "I have not even taken a breath of fresh air before I am svarmed under. Das Maedchen da, asked me to sign her hat in lippenstift."

"You must be used to it, though," Draco said conversationally.

"I vill never get used to being under ein magnifying glass," Krum grunted. He cut another slice of meat and began to chew it.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean of dinner and dessert, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Harry felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mister Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" - there was a smattering of polite applause - "and Mister Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likeable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry thought he looked strange in wizard's robes. His toothbrush moustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore's long white hair and beard.

"Mister Bagman and Mister Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued. "They have examined the instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year and have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways: their magical prowess, their daring, their powers of deduction, and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

The Hall fell absolutely silent. It seemed nobody even dared to breathe.

"Mister Bagman and Mister Crouch will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts. The champions will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks, and the champion with the highest total will win the Triwizard Cup, a thousand Galleons, glory for their school, and bragging rights for the rest of their life.

At the mention of the prize, the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mister Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students. Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before the Headmaster. Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open.

"The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire!"

Dumbledore reached inside the chest and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it in to the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," Dumbledore continued, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

The Slytherins stood, and the Durmstrang students followed their lead. The guests waited for direction, and the hosts, showing their best manners, kept them company. Headmaster Karkaroff bustled up to his students presently.

"Back to the ship, then," he said. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?"

Krum shook his head as he pulled his furs back on. "Professor, I vood like some vine," said one of the other Durmstrang boys hopefully.

"I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff," snapped Karkaroff, his warmly paternal air vanishing in an instant. "I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy."

"Gutennacht," Krum said to Harry and Draco.

Karkaroff looked carelessly at whom Krum had deigned to speak to and froze. He stared at Harry as though he couldn't believe what he was looking at. Karkaroff's eyes moved slowly up Harry's face and fixed upon his scar.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," said a growling voice from behind him.

Professor Karkaroff spun around. Mad-Eye Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye glaring unblinkingly at the Durmstrang headmaster.

The colour drained from Karkaroff's face as Harry watched. A terrible look of mingled fury and fear came over him.

"You!" he said, staring at Moody as though unsure he was really seeing him.

"Me," said Moody grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move along."

Without another word, Professor Karkaroff swept his students away with him. Moody watched him until he was out of sight, his magical eye fixed upon his back, a look of intense dislike upon his mutilated face.

"Well, don't just stand there," he barked after a moment, startling them all. "Get off to bed."

He limped away. Harry stared after the old Auror, amazed at the extent of his hostility. He barely noticed as Professor Dumbledore approached with Mr. Crouch.

"No, Dumbledore, thank you kindly for the offer, I must get back to the Ministry," Mr. Crouch was saying. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment. I've just managed to find an assistant who comes highly recommended, so I'm feeling a little less deluged, but I despair of ever finding my desk again."

"Travel safely, Bartemius. We will see you soon."

to be continued...


You can join my Yahoo group Deth By Fanfiction to participate in an open forum for discussing all things about this fic. Chapter updates go out here first before I post to Schnoogle. Many thanks to my loffly beta readers, Elle, Aerion, and Mike. This fic would not be possible without Elle and all her tireless work. She's working on Green With Evil again, her Percy POV picking up from Halloween in TSH Y2. I'll let you all know when it's finished. I myself am plotting a Ginny POV over the same time period. I know some people at least would want to read that.