A/N: thanks for the reviews!
Maddy: I can't promise you that there won't be any cliffhangers, sorry. :)
star queen: I'm not much of a Malfoy fan, either, but I believe that even he deserves a second chance, so I'm giving him more of a role in this story than in TGSoHH.
Moony Lover: oh, sorry, I fear I don't understand it again – how do I do the cursiva words and how do I make them appear in ffnet? I remember someone had problems with stuff like writing this way – do you have the same problem? Because if yes, then I cannot help you – maybe your computer doesn't transform your word document properly into HTML format, I don't know. Do you study German? (you said bitte…:) Oh, of course I do love chocolate! About Ginny bleeding and Dan becoming a squib… well, first Gin believes that it was caused by her helping Malfoy, but later it will turn out to have another reason. That one also comes in chapter 17 (I guess now everyone's waiting chapter 17 very much…)
Hobbit Feet: no, Fluffy doesn't like to have Malfoys for dinner… and even Norbert has a better taste :) Um, what does BBQ mean?
Arif: fried chicken? Yummy… No, sorry, but the Potters are definitely staying in England.
Nefertiri: WHAT??????? Where have I said anything like people becoming wizards very late in life? I only said what Rowling said: that wizards live longer than Muggles! You must have misread something, I guess. Daniel will be one year old at the end of this story.
Tlaka: no, Ginny isn't going to be tempted… now.
AmandaPanda: I also know a couple of people whom I used to hate when I was a child, and now they're really nice! Strange, huh?
veronik: yes, there'll be one more flashback about their seventh year (and it'll be an extremely hilarious one :)
GinnyPotter387: why was Draco jealous? Because he likes Ginny, who belongs to Harry. That's so simple. Why was he mean again? Because it was the only way he could make Ginny believe that he didn't feel anything for her.
X_Tow_Naga: good news: my best friend just got a scanner, so I got the H and G in the prefect's bathroom pic scanned (though I could only send it to you in a word document, because the jpg format is extremely big and I don't know how to make it be smaller). So if you want me, I'll send it to you. And now, to your questions (you always have so many!): I'm not sure that Lily will ever call Gin 'mother' – I think it's cute that way, but I might change my mind. Read the second half of my answer to Moony Lover about Ginny almost losing Dan. Why did Pomfrey let Draco stay there? You know the Hogwarts matron: she likes fussing over people and only lets them leave the infirmary when they're totally healed. Draco was feeling quite well, but I suppose that Pomfrey was playing the over-protective again. Why didn't she cast a charm around Gin's bed? Well, why should she have? She didn't think that anyone would try and do something nasty to her – really, why would they? Ginny was over the crisis then, so she didn't need to be separated anymore. And you know Draco: even if there had been a charm around Ginny's bed, it wouldn't have stopped Draco. If our Draco wants something, he gets it (almost always:) Why didn't they prohibit Harry from taking the cloak into the school? I don't think they'd do it: Dumbledore is the headmaster, and he was the one who gave the cloak to Harry to use it well. Thus he wouldn't forbid him to wear it, would he?
Aurumlupi: sorry, but there's simply no opportunity in the next nine chapters to make the Dursleys have a role. But I promise that you'll see them again in chapter 17 (and at the very end of the story as well. I simply love making fun of them!)
PepsiAngel: 70 kilos? About 150 lbs, I guess (but I'm not sure I converted it all right.) Anyway, just imagine Draco being tall and lean, looking like any normal guy, and IMHO tall guys (if they're not fat but not too skinny either) are about 70 kilos.
jennyKT: Tom Felton is really hot, but I think Dan Radcliffe is even hotter – just seen the movie for the eighth time :)
LilBit: glad to see you again!!! OH, heavens! You gave up fan fiction for the whole 40 days of Lent? You DO have a great willpower, then! I for one always forgot not to eat meat on Fridays, although I did have the intention of giving up meat, but… I don't have that much of a willpower, and I'm a bit forgetful in this respect, hehe… I really envy you, I'm not this strong!
Amen, Lana Potter, aurora riddle, teacherchez: read my answer to Moony Lover (the second half of it).
LupinsLover: yes, Malfoy is in love with Ginny – more about it later. Read my answer to Moony Lover (the second half of it).
Mikey: sorry, no Hagrid in this one.
Pataliamon: Beautiful Bill is a writer I made up. He lived in India in the 19th century and wrote four books about Indian wizardry. He is Hermione's favourite writer (and he's very handsome).
Grizabella: no, I really don't know this Vegita, but I'm not asking either :)
apple pie: what did Tatyana get to know from the Sphaera Inferi? You'll get to know from chapter… um… (Agi looking it up)… 28. (sorry :)
phoenix6545: the 'enamoured dragon' referred to Draco. (You know that draco means dragon in Latin, and in last chapter he kind of fell in love with Ginny – though it might have happened earlier, but he only realised it in last chapter.)
AgiVega's GREATEST FAN: do you know that your name made me blush? :))
PUNKsarcasm: ooops, you caught me! Harry DID live in an own room! What a mistake! Silly me! Anyway, we could say that he lent the cloak to Colin, who kept it in his dorm, so Harry needed to climb up to Gryffindor tower to get it :) Yes, sledge is the British word for sled, but sleigh also means the same. There are two words for it.
spangle*star: I have read the HP books 7 times in Hungarian and 3 times in English (and now
I'm reading HP1 in German). IMHO means In My Humble Opinion.
LilGinny: maybe :)
Harrysgirl: why did Malfoy go nice? Because he realised that he was in love with Ginny. Read my answer to Moony Lover (the second half of it).
thebiggesthpfan: can't tell you that :) sorry :)
Julie: I believe that witches and wizards develop quicker than Muggles.
PadmeSkywalker: ah, it's always nice to see old reviewers! Welcome back!
Lilith Ceridwen: I don't think that Draco ever liked Voldie. Lucius maybe did, but not Draco.
xenocide: thanks :) yeah, that pairing is possible :)
Hayley Mills: no, Draco isn't my fave, but I like him. To teach you Hungarian? Well, we could talk about it – send me a mail! :)) Thanks for volunteering to help me with English, but most people say it's okay that way (though I know it's not perfect).
BlueIce: oh, you poor thing! What an evil brother you have!
TO EVERYONE: PLEASE, DON'T GET MAD AT ME IF I DON'T ANSWER YOUR REVIEW, BUT I ONLY ANSWER REVIEWS THAT ASK SOMETHING INTERESTING, ALTHOUGH I HIGHLY APPRECIATE ALL REVIEWS, EVEN THOSE THAT ONLY SAY: "HEY, IT'S GOOD!" ANYWAY I REALLY COULDN'T ANSWER EVERYONE, BECAUSE THEN THE A/N SECTION WOULD BE LONGER THAN THE ACTUAL CHAPTER! PLEASE, FORGIVE ME AND UNDERSTAND!
Chapter 8
Vendetta
The day following the selection of the three champions you couldn't hear anything else at Durmstrang but gossips about the tournament. People came up with such weird ideas for the tasks, that polar bear-hunting didn't even sound ridiculous anymore.
"I bet they'll make them catch penguins." Graham Pritchard said at breakfast.
"Are you out of your mind?" Natalie McDonald replied. "You can't find penguins on the Arctic only on the Antarctic!"
"Who cares?" the burly Slytherin shrugged. "Let's ask our champion." he pointed at Dennis who approached the table. "Hey, Creevey!"
"What, Pritchard?" Dennis sat down across him.
"What will be the first task?" Malcolm Baddock – another Slytherin – asked.
"Dunno. They didn't tell us. All they said was that we'd have to find a very special and rare plant that has magical powers."
"A plant? Is that all? Finding a damned plant?" Pritchard sneered. "Anyone, even a filthy little Gryffindor like you could cope with that."
"Thanks for the encouragement. I feel a lot better." Dennis grimaced. "Anyway, Krum and Dumbledore said it'd be a dangerous task… I mean the search. But first of all we'll have to make research in the library. We have to find out what we'll have to look for so that we can prepare."
"I don't think it'd be so difficult to find out about that plant." Eleanor Branstone stated. "I mean there aren't too many plants around here in winter."
Dennis shrugged. "We'll see."
"I just hope you win the tournament, Dennis." Natalie said in a rather loud voice, casting a side-glance at the Slytherins. "I couldn't stand if that pompous Beauxbatons guy won!"
"Uh, Guillaume?" Dennis chuckled. "Yeah, kind of a weirdo. Reminds me of a chap I saw at Harry's party in July. What was his name… Gilded?"
"Gilderoy." Eleanor said, blushing.
"Uh-oh, Ellie, you have a crush on Gilderoy Lockhart!" Natalie chuckled. "Or rather on Guillaume Lochar?"
Eleanor flushed even more. "Who wouldn't have a crush on him? He looks soooooo good…" she sighed, eyeing the French champion who was sitting at the adjacent table, laughing about something. All his 32 teeth glittered in the morning sunshine.
"I guess you're not the only one who has a crush in here." Natalie told her friend.
"Who else?" Eleanor asked.
Natalie pointed at a dark-haired girl at one of the tables closest to the staff table.
"What? Krum's sister?" Eleanor gaped. "Why do you think she also likes Guillaume?"
"Not Guillaume, silly." her friend laughed.
"Who then?" Dennis asked.
"Watch her a bit." Natalie replied with a wicked smile. "Look at her eyes getting all misty while fixed on…"
"Harry." Dennis declared.
"Exactly. Harry."
"Woohoo, this will be interesting!" Eleanor giggled. "I wonder whether Harry already knows about his new groupie…"
"I don't think so." Baddock grunted. "He seems too occupied with playing the role of the lightning-rod between professor McGonagall and Dumbledore."
Dennis nodded with a half-smile. McGonagall and Aberforth's relationship hasn't seemed to have improved – no, on the contrary. It has become definitely worse since their little incident on the 'skating rink'. Aberforth continued behaving as nonchalantly as ever before, which only made Minerva become even more of an icicle than she'd been ever before. She was reluctant to talk or listen to him – their relationship got reduced to the level of Aberforth saying "Hello, dear Minerva, how pretty you look today!" and McGonagall replying "Good morning" and rushing by.
"Well, I'm off to the library." Dennis stood up. "Have to start the research."
"Ask professor Weasley. She'll surely help you with those books." Eleanor suggested.
"Yes, definitely ask her, Creevey." Baddock sneered. "You'd never figure it out on your own."
Dennis pretended that he hadn't heard anything and left.
* * * * *
McGonagall, having finished her breakfast, stood up from the table. So did Aberforth. Before he could tell her anything, Madame Maxime stepped to him and called him aside.
McGonagall heaved a sigh of relief: the Beauxbatons headmistress 'saved' her from Dumbledore. She headed for the door when something occurred to her and she doubled back. Maxime was animatedly gesturing to Aberforth, but must have been talking in a hushed voice, since Minerva didn't hear a word.
The man replied something and Olympe departed.
"I have a feeling that she was asking you about the first task." McGonagall stepped to Aberforth with a strict expression. "I seriously hope that you managed to keep your big mouth shut."
"Big?" the man looked amused. "Actually I haven't spilled the beans to Olympe, dear Minerva. No one, but Viktor, Harry and me know about the first task… I guess."
"If you would only stop calling me Minerva, Mr. Dumbledore…" she furrowed her brow. "We aren't on first name terms, are we?"
"Oh, you are no fun, Mrs. McGonagall. Or is it Miss?"
"Miss, of course." Minerva snapped.
"No wonder." Aberforth shrugged.
"What?" she raised an eyebrow.
"That you're still a miss, Ms. McGonagall. You're as cold as this place."
"And you think you're the one to apply some heat?" she crossed her arms.
"Me?" he laughed. "What a funny idea… but you may never know… I might get interested." he winked at her.
"Why, you half-witted, scruffy-looking… Santa Claus!" she sputtered.
"Santa Claus? That's cute." Aberforth straightened himself proudly. "I have some reindeers, after all. Good that you mentioned it, I have to visit them, the poor dears must be devastated, they haven't seen me for days!"
"Good for them." McGonagall replied coolly.
"Tut, tut." Aberforth shook his head.
"What?"
"You are not as cold as this place. Colder. You could really use a guy to warm you up."
"You can be sure that that guy isn't you!" she replied haughtily.
"Why, Ms McGonagall?" Aberforth asked gently. "I could close you into my arms and warm you up very nicely."
"Me? In your arms?" she snapped. "The only way I would jump into your arms is if a yeti chased me!"
"A yeti?" he scratched his head. "Hard to arrange… but we'll see…" he winked at her again and walked away.
* * * * *
On his way up to his room Harry got lost again. He wished he had a marauder's map about Durmstrang, too. But unfortunately he didn't.
He saw Catherine the Great in a painting on the second floor – she was rather occupied with buttoning her shirt and re-adjusting her hair. A man, half-naked, half-wrapped in a blanket, stretched and yawned on the bed behind her back.
"Hello, your majesty." Harry greeted her. "Could you please tell me the way to my room?"
"Go two floors up and turn left on the corner then turn right on the next one." Catherine replied, a bit flushing. She beckoned Harry closer and whispered: "Do I look okay? Akakiy Akakiyevich doesn't have a mirror."
"You look absolutely perfect, majesty." he assured her and headed for the staircase. He climbed the stairs and arrived on the fourth floor where he accidentally walked through the ghost of Ivan Ilyich.
"Oh, sorry! Didn't see you were there!" he apologised.
"Oh, never mind." the ghost replied with a suffering face. "I don't care what people do to me… not anymore. They never liked me in my life, either…"
"Oh, that's sad."
"You have no idea how sad it is!" Ivan Ilyich burst out. "I could somehow endure people's disrespect for me, but this pain, this pain is unbearable!"
"What pain?" Harry asked.
"The pain in my left side! Terrible!" the ghost whined.
"I never knew ghosts could feel pain." Harry said.
"Of course we can! Not all of us, but I, personally, can! Of course the others say I'm imagining it – just a phantom pain, they say, but they don't know anything!" Ivan clutched at his side as though some really excruciating pain had been torturing him.
"Can… can I help somehow?"
"Yes! Get Gerasim!"
"Who?" Harry blinked.
"My valet!"
"Valet? Sorry, I don't know your valet, sir."
"What? Haven't you heard about me and my story?" Ivan Ilyich raised his eyebrow.
"Er, no. Sorry."
"I'm sure you aren't interested, either." Ivan sighed. "Not that it would surprise me…"
"But I'm interested…" Harry didn't want to hurt the ghost's feelings, having learnt of the case of Moaning Myrtle.
"Really?" Ivan's eyes gleamed as he enthusiastically clasped his hands. "So, where should I start?"
"Well… at the beginning, I guess."
"With my birth? Er… I don't remember that part..." Ivan shook his head. "Sorry, young man. I know you are interested in it, but I cannot tell you anything about my being a baby… so I think I'll start with the day when I decided to hang a new curtain on the window…"
"Oh, c'mon, Ivan, leave this poor guy alone!" the ghost of a pretty young woman floated out of the wall. "Don't bore him to death!"
"But he said he was interested, Anna!" Ivan protested.
"Still, leave him alone." she turned to Harry, stretching out her hand. "Hello, young man, I'm Anna Karenina, pleased to meet you."
"Hullo." Harry held out his hand to shake her when he realised that her hand was intangible. "Er, sorry."
"Never mind." the woman's ghost waved. "I always forget it myself… I still feel alive, though it happened a hundred years ago…"
"What?" Harry asked.
"That she died." Ivan replied.
"Oh. I see. Well, my name is Harry Potter. I'm from Great Britain."
"Great Britain? Quite far away from here." Anna stated. "How have you come here?"
"By the school bus. Pity that we couldn't use the Hogwarts Express."
"Trains!" Anna Karenina squealed. "I HATE trains!" she burst into trains and floated away.
"Oh, my, what have I said?" Harry frowned. "What's wrong with trains?"
"That she died under one." Ivan replied. "Killed herself because of Count Wronsky."
"Who? Joseph Wronski? The famous Polish Quidditch player who invented the Wronski feint?"
"What?" the ghost blinked. "No. That was another Wronsky. Eh, never mind. So, where was I? Yeah… I decided to climb the ladder and hang and a new curtain on the window…"
* * * * *
"What are you reading with such interest that you don't even hear one's footsteps?" Krum asked.
Hermione looked up. "Oh, just some book I found in your library. Pretty interesting."
"What?" Viktor looked at the title of the book. "Nah. Russian Myths and legends. Or I'd rather call them fairy tales."
"There are lots of legends – for example the Greek ones – that have real events in their background." she replied. "And these legends are really so interesting… For example this legend about the wizard twins, Aaron and Anor."
"Ah, silly tales." Viktor waved, sitting down next to her.
"But truly amazing." Hermione insisted. "Anor froze his brother so that he could be the leading wizard of Russia… then killed his father, who, before dying, sent Anor into a coma-like sleep. And the other story about the golden fish in Durmstrang's lake! Wonderful!"
"Oh, c'mon, Herm-own-ninny," Krum slipped a bit closer to her. "There's no magical golden fish in this lake at all. Legends tell about one living in the lake, but it's codswallop, in my opinion. Still… if you are interested in stuff like that, I could tell you old Bulgarian tales that my parents used to tell me when I was a small child…" he slipped his arm around her. "…I'd tell you tales, wonderful tales, Herm-own-ninny…"
"Thanks." she stood up. "But Snow White and Cinderella are nice enough for me."
Krum also rose to his feet. "No tales, then. Something else?"
"What else, Viktor?" Hermione crossed her arms.
"Maybe… do you feel like visiting the wizarding quarter of St. Peterburg or Murmansk with me? You could buy something nice for your family there… Christmas is coming, after all."
"Well…" she bit her lip. "I've been considering going there, but even if I go, I'm going with Harry." seeing the disappointment spread on Krum's face, she added: "I have already been to the wizarding marketplace at St. Petersburg, but Harry hasn't, and I suppose he'd also like to make purchases for the holidays. And now, if you will excuse me…"
Viktor looked after the departing woman and heaved a deep, resigned sigh.
* * * * *
Half an hour later Ivan finished his tale about himself falling down the ladder, hitting himself and getting very-very-very ill. At first Harry tried to show sympathy, but later on all he managed to do was nod and insert an "uhum" and a "yeah" every now and then.
Thankful for getting away from the ghost, Harry continued his way up to his room. As he turned right on a corner, something (or rather somethings) black and furry jumped upon him.
"Hey! Geroff!" he yelled, ripping the two pogrebins off himself.
"Vendetta!" cried one of them (must have been a multi-lingual demon), pulling a long, sharp knife out from behind his back.
"Easy does it!" Harry reached into his robes to get his wand… and didn't find it!
The first pogrebin menacingly swished the knife, gaining on the young man. The other one triumphantly flipped something long in its hand, then threw it away – far away enough for Harry not to be able to get to it without getting knifed by a bloodthirsty furball.
"Hey, let's discuss this, guys…" Harry backed against the wall. "Er… you don't speak English, huh? Only Russian and Italian?"
The pogrebins didn't seem to be in talkative mood – not to mention that the second one also pulled out a dagger from somewhere – did they have pockets? Harry wondered.
The two demons backed Harry to the wall of the corridor, viciously snarling and gnashing their teeth. Harry didn't have anything to defend himself with. He felt the cold of brick against his back, his eyes made a quick journey around to find something – anything to help himself… and then he saw it: in an arm's-length there was a torch on the wall. Harry didn't hesitate: he snatched it out of its bracket to threaten the demons away.
However, he never had time to see whether pogrebins were afraid of fire or not, because the wall he was leaning against suddenly moved: a part of it came into life and sucked Harry in.
A/N2: sorry, I really hated Ivan Ilyich, that's why I made fun of him – excuse me, Mr. Tolstoy… eh, by the way, Anna Karenina also belongs to Tolstoy, but I like that story, so Anna is going to be a decent ghost. Akakiy Akakiyevich belongs to Gogol.
I used (in a re-written form) a couple of lines from Star Wars EP5, The Empire Strikes Back – I hope good ol' George Lucas doesn't mind.