Hey, it's me! Here's the next chapter in this saga! Review!

Chapter 25

The rest of the winter break seemed to fly by for Gohan, who alternated between training, relaxing, and hanging out with Jenny, who seemed to be as wild and ambitious as he was. They had become a couple after the ball, although he hadn't told anyone yet. And, he was still pondering the events that had taken place during the Yule Ball, and the letters that still laid in his trunk. He was actually considering it. His mother probably wouldn't care. After all, education was education, no matter where it was. Although, he hadn't mentioned the letters to Harry, Hermione, or anyone else. Besides, he had other problems to worry about, such as the golden egg. Jenny had winched when he had shown the egg to her.

"Ouch. Same thing happened when Fleur tried." She frowned as they walked along the lake's edge.

"You think I would have found out the answer by now." Gohan growled in frustration as he turned the golden egg over in his hands.

"You'll…" Jenny trailed off.

"What?" Gohan asked.

"Is that Krum?" she asked with surprise. Gohan turned to see Krum standing on the edge of the ship floating in the middle of the lake. Then, he dived in.

"He… does know that it's winter, right?" Jenny said with surprise.

"Hey, don't forget, Drumstrag is from up north, so the water's probably a lot warmer for him than us. Not to mention it's good for training." Gohan frowned

"Hmph. Reminds me of when a bunch of us snuck out and had a bonfire on the beach. Someone dared a bunch of Jeffersons to jump into the water. I swear, we had to chip them out afterwards." Jenny laughed. Gohan smiled.

"You always know what cheers me up. " He smiled. Before he knew it, the school year had started up again, with several strange occurrences. The first, was that Hagrid had seemingly gone missing. Now, his classes were being run by a woman called Grubbly-Plank, who, Gohan had to admit, was quite good at her job. At least they didn't have to take care of those blasted skewerts anymore. Ron and Hermione were refusing to speak to each other. Something to do with a fight during the Yule Ball. Another thing Gohan noticed was that people were glancing at him, and not just students. He passed Flitwick talking to McGonagall, and both professors glanced at him as they passed. However, Gohan found out the reason soon enough. Around the beginning of Febuary, after a gueling lesson with Snape, he walked into the common room, feeling exhausted. As he sat down, a few first year girls stared up from a copy of the Daily Prophet and stared at him. Ron seemed to be glaring daggers at him from a chair, while Hermione just looked uncomfortable. Harry glanced at him, and kept playing exploding snap with Videl.

"You're still not mad at me for snogging your sister, are you Ron?" Gohan asked with a smirk. Ron snorted.

"Aw no, mate. You're the Hogwarts Heartbreaker, after all. How long before you're done with Griffin, huh? Who's next? Bones? Abbot? Lovegood?" Ron sneered.

"RON!" Ginny hissed at her brother.

"Who I date is none of your business, Weasley. And how do you know about Jenny?" Gohan snarled as his eyes flashed red. Harry and Hermione looked at him with a bit of nervousness.

"Is it true, Gohan?" Gohan blinked and turned to see Colin and Dennis Creevy staring at him.

"Is what true?" Gohan asked.

"You know, that you're leaving Hogwarts." Gohan choked on his drink. Now people were staring at him.

"What?" Where'd you hear that?" he sputtered.

"I didn't believe it when I read it, Gohan. She writes such trash." Hermione frowned as she handed a copy of the Daily Prophet to Gohan, who pulled it open and gaped at Skeeter's article. The first thing he noticed was a picture of himself, with a smirk on his face.

"Well, it seems our prestigious school isn't enough for current Triwizard Champion Gohan Son, who accepted acceptance letters from both Drumstrang and Beaubaxtons during the Yule Ball. Not to mention, he was discussing an application to the American school George Washington academy with exchange student Jennifer Griffin, who is the daughter of the current United States President, Warren Griffin. Is she simply her father's pawn to make Gohan a new symbol for the United States? And while we're on that subject, it seems that Gohan Son and Miss Griffin are the newest couple. But, I bet the bigger question is, how long will this one last? It seems that Gohan Son is a notorious name among the young women of Hogwarts. Last year, several sources informed me that he was involved with a member of his own Quidditch team, a Katherine Bell, to be precise.

"They didn't even bother to hide it. Snogging everywhere." Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin 4th year, told me herself. Despite Ms. Bell's claims to me that it ended mutually, it seems more likely that he ended it and went on to the next young witch to catch his eye. During the Yule Ball, he was seen snogging a younger witch, Miss Ginerva Weasley.

"In plain sight of everyone! While he was on a date with someone else! Then, he just walked off, leaving her there with her mouth open! Smirking like it was his bloody birthday! What a pig!" Miss Elyse Thompson, a 6th year Ravenclaw, informed me. Gohan gulped at this point. If Ms. Weasley saw this, she would kill him. He gritted his teeth and kept reading.

"Where do Mr. Son's problems stem from? Perhaps from his abandonment issues due to his wild and reckless father. And, we should be careful. If he can break the Goblet of Fire, how long before he turns against us? How long before our greatest hero… becomes our greatest foe?" Gohan roared with rage as his hands glowed, causing the paper to literally burst into flames.

"Gohan!" Hermione yelped.

"Tell me you lot don't actually believe this trash! Now Ravenclaws are joining in?" he roared with rage. Ron was the first one to answer.

"I find it a little funny that you didn't bother to mention the letters or your new girlfriend." He snarled.

"It was none of your business! If I want to date again, do I need your permission?" Ron snarled.

"Kissing my sister like that? You've got nerve!" he snarled. Ginny hissed as she walked in front of Ron.

"Ron! I don't care at all. I found it quite nice, actually. Besides, you don't see Fred and George acting so crazy!" Ginny snarled.

"I gotta agree with her." Fred frowned from his spot.

"Try telling mum that. She reads Rita Skeeter all the time." George countered.

"What's your problem, Ron? You think you're everyone's judge? What, jealous that you couldn't get a date on your own? I had to help you! Even Neville got a date on his own!" Ron turned red with rage.

"Gohan, this is the work of that horrid woman! First she writes about me, then Harry, you, and look at what she's done to poor Hagrid!" Hermione protested. He snarled as he gnashed his teeth.

"Don't drag my sister into your mess." Ron snarled. Ginny looked mortified as she stared from her brother to Gohan.

"You know what your problem is, Ron? You can't get a girl, so you drag the rest of us down with you." Gohan snarled at Ron, who snarled back.

"You know what you're missing?" Then, Gohan sneered as he pulled out a brown bag from his pocket.

"Money." He sneered as he opened it and let the galleons fall down, hitting the carpet.

"Money is power, Ron. Who do you think a girl would rather go out with? A rich, handsome looking guy? Or a penniless moron like you?" Gohan smiled, getting gasps in response. He sneered as he picked up a galleon.

"Here. I think you just made more than you do in a year." He sneered as he flicked the galleon, landing at Ron's feet.

"Gohan!" Hermione gasped.

"Not cool, mate!" Seamus gaped. Fred and George looked shocked, while Ginny gaped.

"You sound like Malfoy." Gohan turned to look at Harry.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"You heard. That's exactly what Malfoy sounds like. What's wrong with you, mate? You're changing, and not into something good. I liked you better before." Harry said. Gohan snarled as he clenched his fists.

"I'm fine, Harry! I need to go clear my head. I've still got it." Gohan muttered as he walked towards the portrait hole.

"At least my dad's still around." Ron smirked. The room went silent as Gohan turned to look at Ron. Fred and George let out low whistles, while Ginny looked shocked. Dean and Seamus backed up, and the first years looked like they simply wanted to get the heck out of there. Several students turned and sprinted up into their dorms. Even several of the portraits ran out of their frames.

"What? Did? You? Say?" Gohan asked as he stood in front of Ron.

"You heard me." Ron smirked. In one motion, Gohan slammed his fist into Ron's face, sending him tumbling back into the couch. The crack of Ron's nose could be heard through the room. He grunted as he held his nose, already gushing blood.

"I'm clearing my head." He muttered as he stomped out of the common room.

"I hate to say it, but you asked for it, Ron." Videl frowned as she crossed his arms.

"I agree, Ron. While Gohan's behavior was outrageous, so was yours!" Hermione added. Fred and George snickered, while Ginny simply sighed as she handed Ron a napkin.

"Here. It has a charm to absorb as much blood as your nose can spurt out. You did deserve it, though." Ginny frowned. He gaped at her.

Meanwhile…

"Arrogant git…" Gohan muttered as he stalked through the halls, ignoring the glances he got. When he saw Katie talking with a group of her friends, he stopped.

"Katie!" Katie frowned in confusion as she turned to look at him.

"It's fine, guys." She frowned. Her friends nodded nervously before walking down the corridor towards the Common Room.

"What the hell did you tell Skeeter?" he hissed as he stared at her. Katie gulped.

"Look, I saw the article. I know, it's pretty bad." She frowned.

"It makes me look like a womanizing, evil, mentally disturbed sociopath! What the hell did you say?" he hissed. Katie sighed as she massaged her forehead.

"Look, she approached me as I was leaving the First Task. She asked me about our relationship. Was I supposed to lie? I told her that we saw each other for a few months, and we ended it mutually before school ended last year. How was I supposed to know that she was going to write what she did?" she asked. Then, she frowned at his hand.

"Why do you have blood on your hands?" she asked.

"Oh, I smashed Ron's nose." He answered as he wiped his hand. Katie gaped at him in shock.

"You what? He's your friend!" Gohan snorted.

"Was. He's a jerk. Even Hermione thinks so." Gohan snorted.

"So? Angelica and I fight, but we're still friends. Gohan, I do know this. You are acting different. You're not the same guy that I dated last year. This tournament is… changing you. " Gohan groaned.

"Not you too! Don't tell me, you're going to say that Hogwarts is no different than any other school!" he groaned.

"Well… obviously, that's not true. Each school is different. I know people can be stupid, but that's something you find everywhere. Gotta run." Gohan watched Katie head off towards the common room. He sighed as he stuck his hands in his robes and stalked past a group of first years chatting.

"Gohan, wait!" Gohan turned in confusion to see one of the first years from the group standing in front of him, looking nervous. He took in her features quickly. She had black hair, a thin body, and tanish skim, like she was out in the sun a lot. She was wearing her class robes, which bore the Ravenclaw symbol.

"Do… I know you?" he asked. She frowned.

"No. I'm April. April Thompson." Gohan felt a bolt of recognition.

"Like Elyse Thompson?" he asked with a hint of anger. She gulped.

"Yes, she's my sister. I read the article, and wanted to apologize for what she told Rita Skeeter." Gohan frowned.

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah. You see, back when she was in third year, she dated a 5th year Gryffindor boy." Gohan felt understanding.

"Bad break-up?" he asked.

"Yep. Turns out he was cheating on her the whole time with a bunch of girls. She was… really bad off." Gohan frowned.

"Doesn't give her the right to open her mouth." He frowned.

"I know, I tried to talk to her. She wants Cedric to win. This tournament is causing far more harm than good, in my opinion." She said nervously as she walked with Gohan.

"You're telling me." He smirked.

"Well… I don't care what anyone else thinks. I think that you're a good person. I read that you got letters from those other schools." Gohan narrowed his eyes.

"Your point?" he asked. She gulped, before answering.

"What I'm trying to say is… just give Hogwarts a chance. I know everyone's acting like jerks, but it will go away. I just want to say… I believe in you. You're a hero and a good person, and always will be." Then, she took off down the corridor, leaving a surprised Gohan.

"That was strange…" he frowned.

Strange, right? Remember that girl. She'll play a critical role later on, Read and Review!