One evening towards the end of October, as Alduin was lying in bed waiting for Alexandra to finish her mirror-call with Patritia, he contemplated the situation as it stood at the moment.

Kingsley had stopped by just the day before to let him know that they'd found no traced of Riddle's activity so far. Apparently, he'd gone to the ground. It wasn't exactly surprising, but it was no less disquieting for that. Without a doubt he was planning something, and likely it was a matter of life and death to find out what.

Their only lead so far was Winky, the ex-house-elf of Mr. Bartemius. Alduin had gone to the Shacklebolts himself to ask about her, hoping that two months would be enough for her to settle in and be willing to talk. She was, indeed, doing better now by all accounts, but clearly still kept her loyalty to the Crouches and refused to say a single word against them, or anything that would explain what happened in that Quidditch World Cup.

Rather uncomfortably, Alduin couldn't help but think of Dumbledore extracting the memories of old Hebzibah Smith's house-elf, wondering if they would need to resort to such methods as well.

Finding the proper ethical approach to interrogating elves, Kingsley had complained when they'd discussed this, was always a pain. Their masters could technically compel them to speak, but that effectively equalled using the Imperius on wizards and witches, and so, even thought the law allowed it, Kingsley refused to ever do it. Alduin quite agreed, and yet...would his ethical objections hold if it remained their only lead?

So far, he'd learnt that Winky was taken under Dobby's wing, which he wasn't all that sure about either – he certainly did not wish to create a little enclave of disloyal elves in the Shacklebolts' own home.

Though he didn't know why he was so concerned, really, as Kingley had decided to train Dobby as his next personal elf, so clearly he thought there was nothing to worry about there.

Alduin could see his logic – Dobby had been trained to be a personal elf before, and he seemed like he would appreciate the kind of work Kingsley did – but he knew that he himself wouldn't have the courage to employ so close to him a house-elf that was proven disloyal to his previous master, however good his reasons for the disloyalty and however grateful Alduin was to him for the early warning.

He supposed that made him a hypocrite, but then many things did these days, as he balanced on the thin rope of trying to keep his relationship with the Malfoys civil while doing what he could in the effort of preparing for war.

Thankfully, his gloomy musings were interrupted by Alexandra's arrival in that moment.

"I'm sorry," she said, entering the bedroom. "It was an emergency. Patritia fell in love again."

"Who is it this time?" Alduin asked, amused.

"The man they hired to teach Lucilla to write." Alexandra rolled her eyes. "I really try to be understanding, but...I told her, just do without these few years that your children are at home and old enough to understand what's going on. Once they're at Hogwarts, you can do whatever you want-"

"Well, it's not like Mercurius waited."

Alexandra's expression made it clear what she thought about that, but she said: "At least Mercurius has had one steady partner for years. It's a little unorthodox with the children this small, certainly, but they know and love Daniel, and he became a stable part of the family. Patritia, as you know, falls in love once a year at the very least, and tends to pick such people..." Alexandra rolled her eyes. "I think I've managed to talk her out of starting an affair with Lucilla's teacher, at least, but seriously. Is it so much to ask."

Alduin smiled a little. "Not everyone is like you," he said. "For most people, going ten years without romantic love is a long time."

"And for you?" She asked, giving him a hard look. "Can you manage it?"

He laughed. "Well, I do have my distractions, what with the war going on and all that, so there is some chance that I will be too busy for it."

She stayed serious. "I meant that as a real question, Alduin."

He sighed. "You know I am happy with you, and-"

"Yes," she interrupted him, "and that's what worries me. I warned you about this. I've never fallen in love with anyone, and I see no signs of it changing with you. I like you very much, even love you in that friendly, familial way, I am happy with how our marriage works, you're great in bed, but I feel no greater desire to be held by you and have sweet nothings whispered into my ear than I did when I first met you. And if you start wishing for that...it could seriously harm our relationship."

Alduin shrugged. "Then I'll endeavour not to. I can't always perfectly control where my feelings run, but I'm not quite there yet, and the constant reminders from you that that is not what you want help."

She frowned. "Are you being bitter?"

He shook his head. "No. Or...not intentionally. It is what it is, and you're certainly no more to blame for anything than I am."

"...but this is not the marriage you imagined," she finished knowingly.

He almost rolled his eyes. "No. You know that. The marriage I imagined was with Eliza. That being impossible, I was not unhappy to be with you."

"Perhaps if you had waited for someone more suited, you would have been happier."

He shook his head. "I had no intention to wait, and besides, marrying someone that does habitually fall in love is no guarantee of a working marriage either. Do you think I would have been more content with Patritia?"

Alexandra laughed. "No," she said. "I'm very grateful to Mercurius for asking her, because if she was to have a working marriage, he was by far the best choice. You would have been wretched within a few years."

"See? Please don't understand this as me being unhappy. It's good for me not to be distracted now, and after we win the war, gods willing, I'll perhaps meet someone to fall in love with as well."

"If you say so...to listen to Patritia, it's more bother than it's worth. I don't see what you all see in it."

Alduin laughed. "It is a bit like drugs," he conceded.

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Harry had demanded details about the Triwizard Tournament from Alexandra, and was promptly sent back three books, which he had devoured and then lent around to his friends. They might be unable to participate, but it did not mean they were not going to enjoy the hell out of the event.

It was also very nice to have a distraction from the disquieting events of the summer, and the grim Defence lessons with Moody. Harry could hardly deny the man was efficient and knowledgeable, but still. He had had a number of efficient and knowledgeable teachers before, and none of them had ever given him the creeps in this way, not even Lupin with his first class.

At least he was getting better at resisting the Imperius when he trained with Snape. The Potions professor had flat out refused to try it more than once per session, but they did do it, and Harry had been able to withstand the curse both times Snape had tried, and even faster the second time.

"Do not fall into overconfidence," Snape had warned him. "If you ever meet the Dark Lord, it will be much more difficult to resist."

Harry nodded immediately. "I understand. I see it as a bit like learning the Patronus charm without a Dementor present – it's not the same by far, but it helps…"

Snape raised an eyebrow at him. "That," he said, "is a surprisingly apt comparison."

Harry had long ago learned not to smile at Snape's rare praise, or show any kind of satisfaction with it. Whenever he did, Snape got on his case about becoming as arrogant as his father, and so he just said: "Thank you, sir," evenly and let it go.

That had been almost a week ago, and Harry was to face another attempt in two days, but for now, he put it out of his head, because there were much more interesting things to focus on – namely, the arrival of Beauxatons and Durmstrang students for the Tournament.

He'd read, in the books Alexandra had sent him, that schools always chose a very ostentatious means of travel to impress each other, and so now he was deeply curious. Once, he remembered, there had been an appearance in a huge burst of flames!

It turned out there was something else in store for them this time, though. Harry didn't know who it was who first spotted the approaching dot in the sky, but soon they were all looking towards it as it resolved into a large carriage pulled by winged horses.

Of course, Harry remembered seeing the pictures of the current Beauxatons headmistress in one of the books – she was as tall as Hagrid, and so it made sense she would need a generous means of transport.

The students that got off the carriage wore elegant robes that Harry immediately thought his cousins would appreciate. The Headmistress, too, looked like she would fit the setting of one of the formal events they gave perfectly, in spite of her unusual size. They were all politely welcomed by Dumbledore, but the ceremony was interrupted when someone spotted a whirlpool in the middle of the Hogwarts lake.

It didn't take long for the large ship to materialize, to the oohs and aahs of students. Those who stepped out looked markedly less polished, and more like they were ready for an outdoor stay in winter, given their warm clothes. Harry remembered the secrecy the location of Durmstrang was surrounded with, and how they were supposedly always involved in subterfuge and misinformation regarding it, including sometimes wearing incredibly warm robes for the tournaments and sometimes incredibly thin ones. He wondered what the issue was. Surely there were protective enchantments on the school to hide it, just like at Hogwarts?

Dumbledore welcomed them as well – and was Harry being paranoid or was there a kind of coldness between him and Karkaoff, the Durmstrang headmaster? At any rate Harry's mind was soon taken off this issue when he realized that one of the students arriving with Karkaroff was Krum.

He immediately turned to Ron, who had also noticed, and they exchanged incredulous looks. Krum! Actual Victor Krum was at Hogwarts! Harry wondered if it would be too forward to ask for a flying lesson. Even just an hour with the guy – thirty minutes – would help him enormously, he just knew it.

The official welcome over, everybody retreated to the Great Hall for the celebratory feast. The Slytherins somehow managed to secure that the Durmstrang delegation sat with them while Horatio, seeing that, immediately took care to ensure that Beauxatons settled at their table. Harry sighed. He supposed he would just have to get the news from his friends at a later date.

Dumbledore gave another welcoming speech, and then he introduced the Goblet of Fire, the judge that would decide on the best suited competitors from each school. Harry had read about it, of course, but it was still interesting to see it in person. It would be placed in the Entrance Hall, and Harry decided to have a good look. According to what he had read, it was a unique magical artefact.

Dinner was interesting, too. In honour of their guests, there were new kinds of food available on the table. Some of them Harry knew from Paris, but some were entirely new for him and he was curious to try them.

Ron also seemed to have decided that one of the girls from Beauxbatons was a Veela. She was pretty enough, Harry guessed, and there were more than a few boys looking after her with hearts in their eyes, but Harry himself felt no particular attraction. Perhaps the weird ending of his relationship with Cho last year had put him off romance.

He was curious, though, and so after the feast ended, he loitered in the Entrance Hall with Neville and Ron, waiting for someone who had spoken to the guests to emerge. He was in luck: Hermione and Su appeared not long after it, accompanied by Luna, Lisa and Mandy, and when he asked, they confirmed that they had talked to some of the people from Beauxbatons.

"So what were they like?" Harry asked, impatient.

"It was very interesting," Lisa told him insistently. "Did you know there are no ghosts at Beauxbatons at all? It must be so boring!"

"Hardly any proper castle grounds, either, I think," Luna added. "I asked them about heliopath and slashkilters, because they are both endemic to France, but they looked at me like I was insane."

"I wonder why," Su muttered, and Hermione gave her a reproachful look.

"They were very pleasant company, though," she said with emphasis. "It was so interesting to hear the differences between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons!"

"They were all pleasant company with the exception of that Fleur," Su corrected. "She was completely insufferable."

"What was insufferable was how Roger was fawning over her," Mandy argued with a shake of her head. "It was an embarrassment."

"Well, she is part Veela," Luna said evenly. "You can't blame him."

"I knew it," Ron crowed.

The Ravenclaw girls all looked at Luna curiously. "She is?" Su asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, of course," Luna confirmed. "Couldn't you sense her draw?"

Hermione blushed. "Um, I don't think I...would," she admitted.

"Oh, of course," Luna said, unperturbed, as if she knew exactly what Hermione meant, making Harry wonder again. "But what about the rest of you?"

"I definitely did," Ron said with emphasis.

"So did I, I think," Lisa admitted, "but it was much weaker than in normal Veelas, wasn't it?"

"Oh, certainly," Luna agreed. "And from what I've read, in part-Veelas it only works unconsciously on some people, only if they are the Veela's type. Otherwise they have to intentionally focus on them." Suddenly she smiled. "We could find out how it works exactly!" She exclaimed, and grabbed both Morag and Lisa. "Come on, we have an experiment to plan!"

After they were gone, Harry looked after them a little uncertainly. "Is this...normal?" He asked.

"Not sure about that, but pretty common with Luna, in any case," Su muttered, earning another look from Hermione before she excused them, muttering to Su in a low voice as they left.

That night, Harry wrote a detailed report to Alduin, trying to put in as much as he could from what happened. He didn't think any of it was particularly relevant for things he was expected to watch out for, but it was something out of the ordinary, and as Alduin had repeated many times, anything like that was worth a mention.

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AN: Sorry to everyone who waited for Alduin and Alexandra to fall in love, but Alexandra had always, from the very beginning, been intended as aromantic. I tried to pepper small hint throughout the story, but of course they were not definite. But I thought I should finally make it clear.