Ashes of Betrayal

"Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity and not having dignity in life. That's really where failure comes."

–Tom Cochrane

Chapter Two-The Triwizard Tournament

Severus Snape, the Potions Master of Hogwarts, was in a terrible mood. Actually, terrible would be an understatement. The welcoming feast of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not an event he looked forward to. Actually, the only events he liked were the exams for the ability to fail stupid, in his opinion, students, and the leaving feast, for not having to put up with said students anymore.

With that said, he sat at the teacher's table glaring at the students stuffing their faces. Disgusting brats, he thought with disgust while looking at Ronald Weasley. He was eating like there was no tomorrow and everyone within reaching distance was careful of where they placed their hands.

Hmm, he thought, maybe I should give Gryffindors more credit; they seem smart enough to figure that out by themselves.

Another observation was that overall; the entire Gryffindor table was more subdued. In fact the whole hall was quieter than usual. Severus knew that it had to do with the fall of the Dark Lord and the circumstances that revealed to the world that Potter was innocent.

Well, he always knew and it would be amusing in a sadistic sense to mock those that didn't believe in their precious savior. Severus thought back to the Hospital Wing and how Black had reacted to the thanks Potter gave him. That was one of the better moments that showed his superiority to that mongrel dog.

A voice next to him snapped his attention back to the present situation rather than his thoughts.

"Students!" started the Headmaster, "Welcome to another school year!"

Severus sneered at the cheerfulness at the old wizard's tone and had to resist a roll of the eyes. It drove him crazy at how cheerful and upbeat he was.

"We can only hope that your brains have not rotted too much this summer but if they did, it's just more room to learn this term," he said with twinkling blue eyes, not noticing the exasperated groans from the student body.

"I regret to inform you that the Quidditch Cup will not be taking place this year," he finished amongst the very loud groans of complaint and screams of outrage. Personally, the Potions Master thought that it was drastically better than three years ago and the yells from the Gryffindor table, though Draco Malfoy seem to be doing a rather good job of rivaling the Gryffindors.

Gryffindors, he spat internally, it's always something dealing with them! Thank Merlin I've got some headache drafts in my chambers. I'll need them later judging at the loud yells.

Finally the Headmaster quieted the Great Hall with a quick place, "Silence!" Some teachers flinched at the tone with the volume intensifier.

"The reason for the cancellation of the Quidditch Cup is that in commemoration of the defeat of Lord Voldemort," here he paused for the students to flinch, shudder, or yelp, "the some schools have decided to reinstall the Triwizard Tournament! The schools joining us here will be Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study! The event will be taking place here since Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are currently under construction due to the war."

By now the entire student body was clapping their hardest with enthusiasm. Most fourth years and above remembered the last time the tournament took place and the excitement that took place. Those students were the ones most energetic to see it once again.

Just like the stupid brats to not remember what happened at the end of the tournament with the revival of the Dark Lord, he thought sarcastically though Granger seemed to see the problem even if her boyfriend didn't.

Dumbledore's voice brought him back to the speech once again.

"The schools will be arriving on September 15. I trust that you shall make them feel welcome and show behavior worthy of Hogwarts. Now, let us sing the school song before setting off to bed!" he finished with enthusiasm.

This time Severus did groan out loud. The school song was the perfect method to make his already drilling head worst. But that didn't stop the Headmaster from flicking his wand towards the ceiling as words to the song showed up and the singing began. Inwardly, Snape was thankful that the Weasley twins weren't here anymore for if they were, their funeral march could keep the whole school in the Great Hall all night.

Finally, the teachers dismissed the students and Severus took off towards the dungeons for some much needed reprieve.


Sighing, the Potions Master of Hogwarts strode menacingly towards the Great Hall and Merlin save those that got in his way. After the week of, in his opinion, torture from the blundering idiotic children, he had to now cordially greet the guests arriving from some of the most prestigious schools in Europe.

So far, Snape sent two students away in tears and deducted another seventy-five points. Well, being in a bad mood did have its perks, he had to admit.

After the brief assembly in the Great Hall, all of Hogwarts left the school to wait for the guests to arrive. Snape, McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick looked after their charges. Severus had to sneer and roll his eyes at Minerva's reprimands to straighten their clothes, Snape turned towards his own quiet students. He smirked. They knew what would happen should they step out of line.

"Ah, if I am not mistaken, the Beauxbatons Academy shall be arriving in 3…2…1!"

In timing with Dumbledore's countdown, a flash of golden light came from fifty feet in front of the school as the winds pick up in a forceful gust. When it all calmed down, everyone could indeed see the group of students dressed in the school uniform or light blue silk with the school crest of two wands intercepting with three stars from each wand over the heart.

Snape forced himself to not roll his eyes as it would be considered rude to the guests. Ever the ones for dramatics; last time it was the carriage with those irksome beasts that only Hagrid would like and now the fancier portkey!

The portkey that Headmistress Maxime used was the more expensive type of portkey but allowed for a greater entrance. It seems that she still has not given up the idea of showing up Albus!

"Ah my dear Olympe!" started the Dumbledore cheerfully, "I welcome you to my humble school! It has been too long…three years yet they seem longer!"

"But of course Dumbly-door," said the stately larger woman. Her sleek black silk robes swayed as she walked up and embraced Dumbledore in a hug. It would have been comical had they not been two strong magical beings for the height difference was rather amusing.

"Would you and your student like to wait in for Vladimir or would you like to warm up in the halls?"

"I think I will warm up in ze halls Dumbly-door," she replied with a tinge of French accent.

"Professor McGonagall, would you please show Madame Maxime the way?"

As McGonagall stepped forward the Headmistress turned towards her students.

"Attention s'il vous plaît! Alignez dans deux lignes par vos années!" stated the massive woman.

Immediately, the two dozen students lined up in two straight lines according to their year and age and followed their Headmistress and through her Minerva into the Great Halls.

While the rest of the school waited outside, the teachers could see that the students were getting rather restless. In the nippy cold air, students were becoming agitated and whispered amongst themselves. The volume was not soft yet not loud as mealtimes in the Great Hall so there was nothing to complain about.

Once again, Professor Dumbledore cut them off with his statement.

"The Durmstrang party will be arriving in about ten seconds!" he said with a brief look at the wristwatch latched on his left hand.

The crowd did a silent, and in some cases loud, countdown when figures started lifting out of the grounds. From the earth, cloaked heads appeared slowly for a bit over a minute until the people from Durmstrang all stood on their feet. All the students still had black hoods up while the Professors and the Headmaster had on warm clothes but with no hood.

"It's the Death Eaters!" loudly whispered Lavender Brown of Gryffindor house. She was talking to Miss Patil even if what she said was rude to their guests. Snape wanted to roll his eyes but knew their reasons were rather predictable.

The method of transportation that Durmstrang used was on borderline the Dark Arts. It was rather predictable really if you consider the fact that the Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study taught the Dark Arts. However, the rumor was that the new Headmaster, Vladimir Platov, taught even more Dark Arts than the previous Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.

That in itself is an amazing feat considering Karkaroff was a Death Eater and not many knew more Dark Arts than a Death Eater. What was even more amazing was that the tall, solid man that replaced him was not a follower of the Dark Lord.

The rather handsome sandy brown haired man with clear hazel eyes stayed neutral during the war with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Due to his superb dueling skills, the Dark Lord tried to recruit Platov, but to no avail. It was not until later in the war that Platov took over the teachings of Durmstrang and started to oppose the Dark Lord.

"Vladimir! How great to see you again," beamed Dumbledore.

"Likewise Albus; it really has been too long," said the other Headmaster. Unlike his predecessor, Platov did not have the strong accent on English words, being an Englishman himself. There was the slightest tint of a Bulgarian accent but the sentences were English enough that a tourist or visitor from another country would no notice. Another difference between Platov and Karkaroff was that while Karkaroff's smile did not reach his eyes, Platov's did. The shining eyes paired with the Lockhart teeth showed his charisma much to Severus' disgust.

With his good looks and charming personality, it was no mystery on how Platov became the new leader for Durmstrang.

"Come Vladimir, I'm sure you and your students are tired and famished with the traveling. Earth Shadowing can take a lot out of you! Let's all join Olympe in the Great Hall for some supper!"

With that said, everyone walked in two straight lines behind their respective Headmasters into the Great Hall of Hogwarts. The two leaders were chatting warmly as were the Professors. It seemed that Platov invited the Durmstrang Potions, Charms, and Defense Professors along.

While at Hogwarts the teachers that kept order were the Potions Master and the Transfiguration Professor, at Durmstrang it was the History and Dark Arts teachers that the students should be wary of.

As such, the adults talked with one another in their respective fields while the Hogwarts students whispered excitedly amongst themselves as the students from Durmstrang walked in silence.

When they reached the Hall, the two other Headmasters greeted Madame Maxime warmly. The Hogwarts students sat at their respective house tables. As there were no other tables set up for the other schools, in order to promote International Corporation, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were forced to sit at whichever house tables they want while the Professors joined the Hogwarts staff at the Head Table.

The arrivals from Beauxbatons quickly chose a table. Practically all sat at the Ravenclaw table while the remaining group chose Gryffindor house. However, unlike Beauxbatons, Durmstrang had not sat down or chose a table but rather stayed near the doorway where the professors had left them.

More than one person was surprised at the display considering Slytherin table were doing everything except scream at the top of their lungs to sit there. Draco, Severus could see, had cleared the seats all around him so that the people from Durmstrang could sit there and looking very smug.

Then, the figure all the way in the back lifted back his hood and rolled his eyes. The hazel eyes on a head with soft shoulder length raven black hair. Snape could see that the mysterious look was causing more than one girl to swoon and he was right judging at the whispers catching up from Hogwarts. Bloody kids!

Confidently the boy stepped forward, heading towards the tables. He was walking towards Slytherin's table, causing Malfoy to throw an extremely superior look towards a red faced Weasley.

But to everyone's surprise, he walked passed the Slytherins and walked towards the Hufflepuffs.

Severus didn't know who was more surprised, the Slytherins or the Hufflepuffs. Hufflepuff house was not known for the more famous wizards or witches unlike some of the other houses. So, for a school that taught the Dark Arts to sit at an unimportant table instead of the "dark" house of Hogwarts, it was rather bizarre.

However, that was nothing compared to what happened next. All the students of Durmstrang followed the boy's actions and lowered their hoods and followed him to the Hufflepuffs. It was extremely obvious that the boy, who was not even the tallest or oldest in looks, was the leader of the group and they followed him unquestionably.

Before they sat down, the raven haired teen led the way for an elegant bow towards their Headmaster, Platov, and then sat with the astonished Hufflepuffs. All the while, Slytherin house was greatly offended at being ignored like that. While Severus was annoyed that the Slytherins were being ignored, since he was the Head of the House, he couldn't help but feel pleased that Malfoy had been taken down a peg.

Once all sat down Dumbledore stood up.

"I know you are all pleased to see other students from different schools here, so allow me to give you all the chance to acquaint yourselves while we dine!" he finished and waved his hands, causing a multitude of dishes, both foreign and English, to appear.

Halfway through the meal, some noticed Draco Malfoy leave his seat to go towards the Hufflepuffs. Severus was one of those people and he watched as the students around those from Durmstrang quieted. In fact, most of the hall was quieter, seeing what Malfoy had to say.

Walking up confidently towards the Durmstrang leader, he extended his hand saying, "Draco Orion Malfoy."

"John James Evans," was the simple reply while shaking the extended hands. His accent was not Bulgarian but rather was English but had a touch of the Northern accent.

Deciding that the other wasn't going to say anything else said, "Would you rather sit at our table? I'm sure Slytherin has much more in common with Durmstrang than Hufflepuffs do," he finished haughtily. Apparently Draco wasn't aware of the glares sent his way from not just Hufflepuff house, but also Gryffindor for trying to get more foreign students. Snape almost groaned out loud. The behavior Draco was showing was most definitely not Slytherin.

"I think we're good here thanks," was the simple reply causing Malfoy to turn an unbecoming red.

Indignant, Draco stomped over to the House of the Snakes well aware of the eyes on him but not caring­–much.

Finally, Albus stood up.

"Now that we are all fed and watered there are some things I should go over with all of you regarding the tournament. As you should know, the competition is a magical binding contract. Should you be chosen, there is no backing out. So I must impress among you to think carefully about your choices as there is no quitting once you've started. The winner will be awarded one thousand galleons and glory for their school. Due to the dangerous situation with the three tasks, no one under the age of consent­–or seventeen–may compete. I shall place an age line but this time, all that wants to submit their name will have to do it in front of the entire schools. That is because of the unusual circumstances regarding the last Triwizard Tournament. The Goblet of Water will be set up tomorrow and those that wish to submit their name shall have all of tonight to decide if they are sure about entering."

The entire hall burst out in applause.

"With that said, I've decided that Beauxbatons will dorm in the northern tower, near the Ravenclaws while Durmstrang will be in the deeper part of the dungeons since they are more comfortable in cooler weather."

All walked out of the rooms and the appropriate Heads of Houses led the other schools while Dumbledore led the way to his office to talk with the other Headmaster and Headmistress.

"This way!" said Snape leading the quiet group into the deeper parts of the dungeons. No one knew about this part as it was blocked off and only the Head of Slytherin could open it with permission from the Headmaster.

He showed the rooms that the two dozen children would be sharing. It was rather spacious and each room contained two beds but there were fifteen rooms so some could have their own chambers.

After bidding the other good night quietly, Severus left the students to turn in and get comfortable and unload their shrunken trunks while he left to prepare for class the next day.


The next day at dinner, the whole hall was in an uproar. House pride had its top students bragging about being picked to represent their school and beating the others. The ones that voiced their opinions the loudest were unsurprisingly the Gryffindors. True they had Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley but Slytherins were rather loud about Draco Malfoy as well.

Beauxbatons was arguing amongst themselves rather loudly in French. The only school that stayed mostly quiet was Durmstrang. This occurred when Dumbledore set up the Goblet of Water.

The Goblet of Water was like the Goblet of Fire. Both chose the Champions for the Triwizard Tournament. Whereas the Goblet of Fire had blue flames, the Goblet of Water contained icy blue waters with the same designs on the cup. The Goblet Brothers took turns deciding the school Champions as one could not be used consecutively.

"All Hogwarts students wishing to submit their name, please do it now!" announced Dumbledore.

Instantly, all the seventh year students at the top of the school stood and walked confidently over towards the cup. Among them was Susan Bones, Lavender Brown, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and surprisingly Neville Longbottom.

All of Hogwarts screamed their names and cheered them on, hoping that the Hogwarts champion was from their house. After they finished, Dumbledore did the same with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

Several of the staff noticed that certain students from the foreign schools got more cheer than others. From Beauxbatons it was a pretty vivid red haired girl with sparkling chocolate brown eyes. From Durmstrang it was the leader teen, unsurprisingly.

"Now that all who would like to enter has dropped off their names, we shall let the Goblet choose the best representatives of our schools. The Champions, will go into the office at the left and we will inform them of the first task there. Inside the office, Minister Scrimgeour will greet the Champions with Derek Jackson, the Head of Magical Games and Sports," finished Dumbledore, beaming.

On cue, the watery chalice spat out a frosted over piece of parchment. Whereas the Goblet of Fire made the parchment burn slightly, this goblet froze it over in icicles and used watery threads to give it to the Headmaster.

"The Champion for Hogwarts is…Draco Malfoy!" Hogwarts erupted in applause while Gryffindors clapped unenthusiastically. Severus shot McGonagall a very smug look to her glare while clapping very enthusiastic.

Another minute it spat out another frigid piece of paper. "Belle Devereux is the Champion for Beauxbatons!" The red haired girl made her way towards the back room amidst the enormous cheers from Beauxbatons. Madame Maxime's gigantic clapping didn't help matters either.

"Finally the last Champion from Durmstrang is…" he caught the piece of parchment and did something many had not seen him do in many years. Dumbledore looked at the paper and his hands shook slightly before clearing his throat several times.

"Harry Potter." While Hogwarts and Beauxbatons sat in stunned silence, Durmstrang house exploded in cheers and applause. In fact, all of them did a standing ovation while clapping the raven haired boy who was the leader on the back. Looking up at the Head Table the boy waved his hand over his face and instantly his looks reverted him back to the familiar unruly black locks and piercing emerald eyes.


A/N–And here is where it's different! Hope you like it! I've always been fond of the fourth book (grins). REVIEW! Just click the button and send me a review alright? Even if it's criticism!

Thanks: Angelic Heart of Darkness, Lilith Kayden, Weirkat, Harry Draco Malfoy, jka1, Quillian, Laura, red rose of love, goofball44306, jkarr, Daybreaq, MrsFWolf, Frog1,Dreamer of Destiny, DJ Rodriguez, Anaelisa, alwaysariyana, I-Y-T-Y for being fantastic reviewers!