Hermione was surprised when she learned the plans had changed.

"Snape made them change the tasks," Ron explained. "He said it was decided too far in advance, and it was basically inevitable that the champions would figure out what they were supposed to do and how exactly to do it ahead of time."

"I understood that to be part of the competition," she responded, changing something on one of her assignments. Three grams of aconite in distilled water to a phial...

"The other Headmasters were fine with it, but Snape hates cheaters. Apparently he got old Crouch on his side."

"I imagine that would do it," the bushy-haired witch decided, exhaling. "I wanted to see if he had ever been a member of Umbridge's faction in the Ministry, but his position was essentially a demotion. I had been under the impression his methods caused him to fall out of favor after the death of Voldemort-" the Gryffindor wizard flinched almost imperceptibly. Well, he's in the process of getting over it. "-sort of like how the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan became controversial after they reduced a former seafaring empire to a non-threat."

"Drop what on- when was this?"

"Right. Basically there was this enormous war, no one you know would have fought in it, and I don't expect it will ever come up in History of Magic, but it started with Japan invading China in the late thirties, it involved quite a few counties, and they surrendered with the Americans bombing two major cities and the Soviets closing in from- anyway, the atomic bombs were experimental explosives that could destroy entire cities, and they killed between a hundred and two hundred thousand people."

"So everyone was in favor of it while the war was on, then once it was over they stopped to consider what it meant?" he asked, apparently working on one of his own assignments, though he might have been drawing something. "Did they forget the bombs were why they won?"

"It's not as if they forgot, it's a fallacious way of thinking called historical determinism-"

"I know some of those words."

"Once the Allies won, they thought that victory had been inevitable, that they always would have won, no matter what kind of strategic decisions they made. A mainland invasion would have resulted in millions of Japanese deaths, as well as Americans and Australians dying in the attempt, which ethical philosophers seriously expect them to ignore." The Soviets would likely have taken a large part of Japan if they had been allowed to finish the war, which was likely the reason the Japanese chose to surrender to the Americans instead.

Ron seemed to be thinking, which he rarely stopped to do with his assignments, at least as far as she knew.

"I don't know much about that war, and I really don't know what I might've done, but I can see the similarities," he said at length. "You seemed like you were saying there was another thing, though."

"His son was arrested as a Death Eater," she said, standing up. We'd better go to the stands. The Task will start soon, and if we can't do anything for Cedric, we can at least show support.

"Did he catch him?"

"No, it was reported by Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang. He was arrested for being a Death Eater himself." Ron snorted. He seemed to know where they were going.

"Bet Crouch'd do anything to get back at him. Cost him his job and forced him to put his own blood in Azkaban."

Hermione contemplated the notion as she and Ron made their way out to the Quidditch Pitch, where the Task was being conducted. She was not sure where Hannah and Terry were, but it was possible they would be catching up on work. Since Christmas holiday ended, the teachers had nearly doubled up on what they had been handing out the previous term, perhaps as a mechanism to cut down on fighting in the corridors. She had not seen Draco or any of his friends in days, which was well enough, but their studying might actually be more concerning than patrolling the school looking for fights.

On the way to the Pitch she could have sworn she heard a scream, but it seemed no one else noticed. Someone really would have reacted- wouldn't they?

The stands were a cacophony of people's voices, some of them in loud conversation, some of them in louder conversation to talk over the others, and some of them shouting obscenities, though she could not be sure of their direction. I know they put the teachers in their own box so they don't have to listen to us, but they could stand to do something about the noise.

From what their neighbors, Marietta and Cho had determined, the Champions would be tasked with beating each other in a race around the school, on broomsticks or whatever other flying implement they desired.

"Damn, Malfoy's going to get Evan a Firebolt," Ron predicted as soon as he heard. He did talk once about some brooms being faster than others. She noted that Cedric favored a broomstick, which made sense for him as a Quidditch player, though Fleur would be using one of her school's flying horses.

It appeared, however, that the Heir of Slytherin had not shown up.

"He was winning by a considerable margin before," Cho commented. "Perhaps he decided he did not need to come back. He is like a tiger, lying in wait for the perfect time to strike." Hermione might have grimaced, but it did not make it to her face.

Below them, Crouch and another official could be seen asking the other contestants, then looking up to the faculty box, from which Karkaroff responded with an upturned hand, something he likely knew would be visible to all. If he really never shows up- they have to remove him from the competition, right?

The last few weeks had been fraught with investigations about where a few of the students have gone. The body of Ioseb Brdzola had been discovered, and from residual magic, to the trained eye it appeared some kind of duel had taken place. She and her friends had been suspected after a handful of the more active members of the conspiracy, but the most intense questioning yielded no results at all. Evan was among the missing, a matter of increasing concern for the Slytherins and Durmstrang students.

She was even more surprised when a confused-looking young wizard appeared next to Crouch and the other Champions, as though he had come from nowhere at all, and just as the last call was given. Shock filled the audience, though a handful of the faculty, notably Headmasters Snape and Karkaroff, were not remotely surprised.

"Explain this!" Crouch called, visibly annoyed at the greatest distance. He had a wand to his neck, which she assumed amplified his voice. "How does your student simply Apparate as a fourth-year with no prior instruction, unless you intend to tell me you have been teaching him illegally?"

The Durmstrang Headmaster responded with a bored look. I really have no idea whether it's illegal or not to teach Apparation in Durmstrang, though Crouch even in his former position would not be the one to enforce that law. There is, however, the matter of an underage wizard performing it.

"The Goblet of Fire forms a binding magical contract," the former Potions master muttered at length, his own wand to his neck. "For those of you who did not understand the meaning of the word 'binding' the first time, there is absolutely no way of... violating the contract. Wherever young Evan was before, he is here... now." I suppose I should be glad he did not call the official a dunderhead or anything like that.

"The Ministry will not suffer an excuse for underage Apparation!" Crouch rejoined. "It is plain to everyone here-"

"No Apparation has taken place, you utter buffoon," the Headmaster snarled, having lost his patience. Hermione had a difficult time blaming him, since he was being subjected to the same attitude Ebony had taken with her. "Perhaps you should try Apparating silently if you think it possible." The majority of the students were scared into silence, though someone was openly laughing. "Perhaps you should ask your son about the difference between an Unbreakable Vow and a magical contract that is literally unbreakable."

The event started more or less without further ado. Though Ron and Snape had not exactly been the best of friends, seeing Crouch humbled by someone who had not only been a Death Eater and extensively studied the dark arts, but had by all appearances gotten away with it, proved to be quite the amusing experience for the young Gryffindor. The Ravenclaw did not share his enthusiasm.

"What?" he asked as Crouch was explaining the rules of the Task for Evan's benefit.

"Those were Slytherins laughing..." she started.

"So?"

"With Malfoy missing, and their hero being embarrassed by the former Head of Slytherin... what do you think the conspirators are going to do?"

"Attack their common room? I mean, they were beaten once before..." His brow furrowed. "They'll have been working on their tactics. It'll be worse than before."

"It'll be a coordinated effort," Hermione concurred as the champions took off, magical screens with a teleprojection charm showing their positions. Evan had not taken off yet, as he did not possess a flying implement, which raised some measure of complaint. The debate starting about whether or not it was fair that he lacked one swiftly became academic as he took off, without appearing to cast any sort of charm. I would think there are spells for independent flight somewhere in the world, or possibly in the world of dark magic. The feat seemed to impress other spectators more. I suppose I can't eliminate the possibility he's simply kept aloft by his own arrogant refusal to obey the laws of physics.

"I mean, if they've got this bastard defending them, who knows?" Ron suggested, perhaps hopefully, perhaps just as a general observation. It was a bizarre thought that it would be the Heir of Slytherin saving the proverbial day.

"I doubt he's interested in defending anyone," she said, staring at the screen. Evan was gaining on Fleur, who was only slightly trailing Cedric, and only slightly because of his familiarity with the castle and the grounds. I suppose there is a good reason the location of the Tournament rotated, historically. He created a flame whip with his wand and attempted to take out the horse's legs with it, though the animal skillfully cantered around the lashings. The rider was less passive, casting a chopping hex back at the other champion. The vertical burst of spellfire missed its target, but the message was received by the spectators, if not the target. From the response among the Beauxbatons students, Hermione decided there was a good chance the spell was more commonly used on the continent. It was perfectly justified in this context... he did just try to kill her.

Cedric seemed intent on staying ahead, shouting a few less than dangerous jinxes out behind him, not caring whether or not they hit. There seemed to be something of a kinship between him and the French champion, or at least a lack of murderous intent, but he desired to win all the same. I imagine he could not have profited much from our assistance. Her eyes went wide.

"Ron, did Professor Snape interrogate you about the disappearances?"

"I mean, yeah, 'course he did. He got all of us at some point. Why?"

"There's a chance he used Legilimency on you."

"How do you figure?" Evan had gone under Fleur and was gaining on Cedric.

"Well, everyone knows cheating is part of the tournament. The issue with that is that you can't put what everyone knows on the stand and have it explain who is cheating and how, so it's not worth anything. If, however, he used the mind arts to determine who had cheated and how, he would either punish the offending students or subvert their efforts."

"I find it hard to believe he knew Hannah and I tried to help Cedric win and decided not to punish us."

"He could have known some of his favorites were helping Evan cheat."

"Why would he do anything with that? He's got to be on his side. I mean, have you seen him with Karkaroff? They're practically-" he gestured in the general direction of the staff box, where the Headmasters were seated neutrally, eyes forward. Madame Maxine looked as though she would be anywhere else. "Well, they're not best mates or anything-"

"Dumbledore trusted him and he hates cheating. Whether or not he manages to punish a few cheaters, he won't suffer the victory being determined that way. So he allows the cheaters about whom he does not know to continue to think their plans will work until the day of the Task, at which point he and the other Headmasters change the plan."

Ron seemed to accept her way of looking at it, though not without reservation.

On the magical screens it appeared that Evan was trying the same trick with Cedric, having correctly identified approaching from below as the best strategy, if not by much. The broomstick seemed to be the fastest, and the three of them were nearing the Whomping Willow, which gave her a moment of hope. Cedric's been here the longest, while Evan was here barely two years-

"Shit," the Gryffindor next to her muttered as the Heir managed to hit Cedric's broom with a flaming arrow, to which he responded by raising a shield charm in front of the flier, who might have died had he not avoided it with a cackle. The tree swung out at the flying horse, but Fleur seemed to take advantage of her position above Evan by casting an explosion curse behind him, forcing him into the swinging branch. With the Durmstrang Champion flying backward through the air, to the loud objection of a significant amount of the audience, it appeared the remaining contestants were intent on keeping it civil between them, but Cedric's broomstick was suffering from the fire arrow. I couldn't hear the incantation from this distance, but it was not something he learned on this island.

A bleeding Evan was apparently unwilling to give up, or at least seemed intent on making the other contestants suffer, sending a wave of energy after Fleur as he caught up to a delayed Cedric, receiving only a stunning spell to the face. You can't really cast a shield charm effectively if you're moving forward. A moving shield has a chance of serving the intended purpose, but it breaks your concentration.

The race ended moments later with Fleur in the clear lead and lingering doubts in Hermione's mind.

If Professor Snape really used Legilimency on me, it has to have something to do with the note Mafalda gave me.

Only two days ago, the young Slytherin had handed her a handwritten note, saying that she, Hermione, had given it to her to be returned after she was questioned. She had since checked the parchment for curses, and over time she had it out of the girl that there had been nothing unusual about her request, other than its nature, which was obvious. No explanation was given for why I was to be given the note, apparently from myself. Ron's foray into the Department determined there are no Inspectors, so I'm only going to have to keep telling myself that eight or nine more times.

She sighed as the pair of them rose, neither caring to hear the new point totals. I should really remember I have more important work, both academically and consequentially. This whole Tournament is a matter of a thousand galleons- though if I'm being honest with myself Evan's sudden appearance won't leave me alone.

The Goblet being or forming a binding contract was something she could reasonably understand, but the limits of the theory seemed entirely uncertain. The magic seemed to have the power to contradict other magic, in order for it to be an absolute contract. The confused state of the Heir suggested that he had expected to be anywhere else, perhaps having used magic to conceal his position.

Making her way out of the stands, she heard a commotion forming outside through the thin walls, if they could be called that.

"Tell me you heard that."

"Yeah," Ron answered, wand out. He nodded and they went out slowly, not wanting to arrive too early to the scene. Don't be Hannah or Terry. Please God don't be Neville. Her thoughts did not calm as they made it outside through the crowd of students, evidently responding to the same sound, though whether to investigate or flee she could only guess.

When at last they had a clear view, the teachers had already arrived, ordering or forcing the crowd back by magic, Professor McGonagall raising a circular shield around the scene.

A Slytherin witch, one of the Carrow girls to the best of her knowledge, knelt with her wand above her head in a circle of mangled, groaning, screaming students. Some of them were from Hufflepuff, others might have been Beauxbatons, but it was all the teachers could do to contain the panic. Hermione grabbed hold of the young Gryffindor, pulling him to the front.

"Your Head of House- your former Head of House will hear about this attack on fellow students as well as our guests as soon as he arrives-"

"Please, Professor, she might have been attacked herself!" she interjected, making other heads look at her.

"Were there any witnesses?" the Transfiguration teacher asked, not concealing the implication.

"Well, we reckon it might've been likely..." Ron started, trailing off. He probably doesn't like being brought along for moral support. "I mean, with Malfoy and the others gone, not that we'd heard anything about it..." He pointed at the bodies, most of them actively being healed by one wand or another. "Well, how likely is it she just attacked them- what is it, a half dozen on one?"

"I take it, then, that you and Miss Granger intend to speak in Miss Carrow's defense. If that is the case-" She stopped her explanation, perhaps deciding to work out the details herself. "I truly hope you know what you are doing, and you realize the consequences of your actions. War politics acquaint one with the strangest bedfellows of all."