There had been a great deal of planning that went into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Months of effort, negotiation and preparation – all meant to result in a smooth and safe competition. Anyone examining that effort would have though it impossible that anything drastic could go wrong. However, it was becoming clear that when Harry Potter was in the vicinity, all bets were off.

The uproar that followed the announcement that Harry would be the fourth Tournament champion was considerable. While there were several students supported the idea that a rogue could beat the system, many more were getting sick and tired of Harry's antics. A considerable smear campaign was building up, with Harry as the target.

Eric was, admittedly, glad that the heat was pointed elsewhere. Glad, that is, until he found Harry hidden outside of the dungeon entrance to Corvin's classrooms. Eric's concern that Harry was searching for him quickly vanished, though. He wanted the spot for the same reason that Eric picked it originally; it was secluded.

Although he was sure that Harry would have rather been left alone, Eric had to get past him. "Hey – how are you doing?"

Harry didn't bother to turn around. "Go away."

"Love to, but you're in my sulking spot. You need to find your own."

He turned to Eric, his eyes burned red. "I didn't enter the tournament!"

Eric shrugged. "I never said you did."

Harry blinked twice. "You believe me?"

Eric sat across from him. "Harry, I've lived in this castle for most of my life; I've seen a lot of strange things and met stranger people. I've also met a lot of students and have gotten to know how they think based on how they act. If you were the type of student to break every rule just because you wanted to, I'd know it.

"You're a magnet for trouble: you've been so for your whole life and you know it. If something bad is going to strike Hogwarts, you're in the middle of it. It's not your fault, but you bear the brunt of the damage because, by intent or accident, you end up involved. You've got too much initiative."

Harry growled back, "But I didn't do anything!"

"Doesn't matter, you're stuck where you are." He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him towards the stairs. "Look; I've got a secret trap door down here leading to a plethora of evil experiments – zombie albino ferrets, bloodsucking demon bats, the usual. If I let you see what I'm doing, I'd have to kill you. However, let me assure you that not everyone in the school is out to get you. If you run out of people to talk to, I'll sneak you out to Hogsmeade and we'll take the night off."

Harry started walking back to the upper floors. "Thanks."

Eric waved him off. "Anytime." Once he was sure that Harry was up the stairs and out of sight, he went back to meet with Corvin; tinkering with the idea of zombie albino ferrets or bloodsucking demon bats.

This time all three of Professor Frugilagus' students were gathered. The professor waived him in. "Good evening, all of you. We have a special project to work on. Professor Dumbledore believes that the circumstances surrounding the four champions of the Tri-Wizard Tournament are, to say the least, suspicious. Since we are the resident experts in dark magic, the Headmaster has asked us to examine the evidence and answer the question of how this happened."

The group of them were presented with the Goblet of Fire, a list of the incantations guarding it, and the four parchments selected. The three of them began a three-day exercise examining all the items, trying to find how the wards were defeated. This proved fruitless, however, as every item and incantation were without flaw or curse.

Sheena was the first to express her frustration. "This is ridiculous! I can't believe there's not a clue here."

Eric turned to her. "Maybe there is, but it's too subtle."

Naomi, however, offered the key thought. "Eric, you've defeated every spell and rule that's crossed you. How would you have done it?"

"Actually, I never defeated any of the spells, I just worked around them. Things are much simpler that way."

They all mulled that thought over before Naomi chimed in. "Give me the parchments for Cedric and Harry." She picked up a magnifying glass and examined the letters closely. "Here's the key – the school name."

Sheena looked over the two slips. "I don't get it. They both say 'Hogwarts'."

Naomi set them down and motioned for Eric to come over. "Not exactly. Harry's slip is written in old gothic calligraphy. I thought it was kind of odd, but dismissed it figuring that Harry was trying to be clever. Now, look at the letters on Harry's slip: the pen strokes for the 'w' aren't joined properly. It doesn't say 'Hogwarts', it says 'Hogviarts'."

Eric looked over. "Does it really make that much difference?"

She sat back. "In the muggle world, we have machines called computers. They can do a lot of things, but it all comes down to handling information. One of the things they can do is take a bunch of names and sort them out by groups. That's the same thing the goblet does; it takes all the names it's given and groups them, selecting one champion from each group.

"Now, let's say the goblet is like a computer – it can only work with the information it's given. The parchments it received identify four schools, therefore it needs to provide four champions." She sat back in her chair. "Harry is the sole entry for a champion of a non-existent school."

Sheena looked over to Eric. "Ok, Naomi's got how Harry's name showed up. Can you tell us how it got in the goblet?"

"Harry was raised muggle like Naomi, so he might have figured out how to trick the goblet too. However, there is the age limiter; so if we assume that all spells worked as they should, Harry couldn't have done it himself. Assuming the goblet worked properly, the parchment would have to be entered in the usual way. That means the culprit would have to be someone who could approach the goblet – an adult student, or maybe one of the instructors."

Sheena looked to him. "Not bad. Next question is why?"

"Harry says it wasn't him, and I believe him. Someone else has a motive, maybe to discredit Hogwarts, or maybe to discredit the tournament, if they felt that they weren't being fairly considered. I know that most of the Durmstrang students were resentful of Viktor Krum. He's kind of the Headmaster's pet boy."

She looked back. "Perhaps, or maybe to liven the tournament news by adding a few twists. Rita Skeeter's pen has been gleefully spilling venom for the past two months. This would be just her sort of thing."

Naomi offered the next thought. "Perhaps to kill Harry, or at least to humiliate him."

A voice came out from behind them. "All possible motives. I commend your efforts." Professor Frugilagus walked into their group. "I'm glad to see that Albus' confidence in us is not misplaced. You have all done well. So, all we have to do is to sort out our suspects. How many are there?"

They all sagged back in their chairs. Eric decided to explain. "With the motives available, the possible suspects come down to anyone who could have gotten a name into the goblet. That would be the whole of the Hogwarts staff – yourself included, any of the visiting adults, the two dozen visiting students, and the whole of the Hogwarts seniors. So, any ideas how to discretely and politely interrogate about seventy people?"

Sheena and Eric looked at one another with an air of depression. Naomi simply sank into her hood.