In a little village on the southern tip of England, it was raining. It wasn't just raining, the storm was raging hard enough that the tv signals were being interrupted. However, for a small 2 room cottage at the edge of the village, the reception wasn't an issue. The Wizarding Wireless operated regardless of conditions of the weather, and currently was rebroadcasting the First Task audio. The wireless in question was sitting at a polished wooden counter, that over looked a wonderfully wooden table, where a man sat in a simple but elegant chair.
The man chuckled as he heard the hosts make jokes as the stadium filled. As the audio played in the background, the man cut and ate three eggs, a platter of sausages and a half loaf of bread. By the time the broadcast signed off again, with Ludo Bagman proclaiming the scores, table was cleared of food, and every plate was being picked up by a smiling house elf.
"Thank you Darthy." The man spoke to his house elf warmly. While simple creatures, the man knew exactly how powerful they could be. A muggle from China would state that all resources are good resources or something of the kind. The man certainly felt that way recently. He looked at his stump of a left arm, and refused to acknowledge his lack of legs.
Darthy popped back into the room, with a small platter containing three potions. "Master's Potions!" The little elf held the platter steady as the man drank each potion swiftly. The elf didn't leave until the potion bottles were back on the platter, and the man was comfortably in a chair by the fire with a new book from the shelves beside him.
The man smiled as he read about the wizards of Moscow, and their tendencies for "winter snow madness". While the material was not the best, the bone that was slowly constructing itself and pushing through the skin of the left arm's stump explained the man's happiness. Soon, he would be whole once more.
Flitwick poured over a stack of parchment. Unlike his other stacks of parchment, which consisted of essays, homework assignments and the occasional list of groceries, this stack was all written by a singular student, and were over two decades old.
As he reread the swirling handwriting of a past student, he was still utterly amazed by the intellect that went into each response. It was this student's work that he assigned Outstandings, as the amount of work that went into the responses was obvious. So intelligent were the essays that Filius even used the theory to explain certain spells to his first, second and third year students.
One day, soon, he would have to part with these manuscripts, as by rights they belonged to someone else. But until that day, Filius would do what every goblin did in mourning; he would honor the work the person did before they passed. That is the Goblin way, and one of the few the professor of Charms agreed with.
Alastor Moody set behind three locked doors, 13 sets of alerting charms, many of which were tied to animation charms on various furniture for protection, and was surrounded by various Dark Detectors. Even then, he did not allow himself to let down his guard. Even as he sat at his desk grading the "essays" of his students, he had his magical eye trained on the hall way.
As a professor, Moody was universally neutral in the eyes of the students. Every class was lecture and practical, often intertwined, and essays and homework were purely theory and applicational pieces designed to make the students think. With a teaching style that was similar in many respects to the previous occupier of the position, the students found the transition fairly easy. Moody, unlike Lupin however, was a much harsher grader. He rarely handed back an essay without "feedback" which were likely scenarios in which the students' solutions did not apply or would actually hinder. While these scenarios were never impossible, they were never truly probable either. Examples such as being attacked by a werewolf that had been spelled against silver, or combat in a clothing shoppe. An O in the class meant that you were constantly vigilant and capable enough to survive in a world out to get you. At least that was how Moody stated it in his opening lecture. The grades would follow that mindset. If you could probably live in such a world, you received an Exceeds Expectations. If you had Luck and never ran into Moody on a bad day, you received an Acceptable.
As Moody corrected the person's essay he was grading, he was thinking of various things. When he finished grading this batch of essays, he would go on his rounds. He should probably switch his locking and warning charms as well. Those twins of Gryffindor thought it was fun to try to trip him up and trip his charms randomly? He'll teach those fools. It was fun to mess with ol' Mad Eye 'til he caught ya.
A grimace that could be a smile stretched across his scarred visage for the rest of the night. Not once did he drink from anything either. His paranoia held no bounds.
Hagrid, on the other hand, was drinking. While that isn't unusual, what was unusual was who he was drinking with and where they were drinking. Normally, Hagrid preferred the Three Broomsticks for his alcohol, as Rosemarta was a fine witch who had plenty of mead on hand. But when his drinking partner came to his hut as he was preparing to go out, Hagrid did not object to the change in venue.
As the men drank, they talked. They talked of times before, of times now, and of life after. Hagrid was a simple man, while he claimed he wasn't intelligent, most knew better. Hagrid had an intelligence of the social variety. He understood people much better than he ever did books. It was the same with animals, for man was just an animal at its core.
Hagrid spoke to his drinking companion," I know wha' ya mean. But life, it ain't eva that simple. We struggle, and in tha end, all tha matters is if ya did righ' in tha end. Ya actions speak fer themselves Professor."
Severus Snape sat staring into his glass, and accepted the giant's words with a small smile. While Severus hated company in general, Hagrid was always an exception. Never saying no to the man who knocked on his door at random times to rave and sulk, Hagrid became important to the potion master.
"It grows darker every day Hagrid. Soon, I may have to do my duty once more." The potions master admitted to his large companion. After 14 years, Hagrid could hear the sadness and reservation behind those words. Hagrid knew exactly what was going through the man's mind.
"Do ya fear death Severus?" The giant was oddly quiet with his question. So quiet was the question, Severus had to listen closely over the din of the full bar.
"I don't know." The admition of the man who spent his life in shadows, and the better part of two decades chasing light made Hagrid nod.
"Aye. I know whatcha mean. I've lost lots of friends Severus. Lota friends. Sometimes, when the rain comes, and me bones ache, I ask meself if they would treat me with smiles or nah. Its hard being half giant Severus. But sometimes, I think being you is harder still." Hagrid teased his friend with a soft smile as he downed his glass of ale.
The two professors of Hogwarts continued to drink, never becoming drunk. Hagrid because of his lineage, and Severus because of things he would never share.
The man at the bar, a man of over a hundred years old, never told anyone of the conversations he overheard. It wasn't his place, and it wasn't his brother's either.
Apoline Delacour was a woman who thought she knew the world. She was well traveled, amazingly educated, beautiful and intelligent. Her husband was her equal, and treated her as such which was a rarity in France especially when dealing with Veela marriages. Immune to her Allure, and seeing her as more than a beautiful face, she counted herself extremely fortunate.
When her first born was brought into this world, she was even more fortunate. Fleur was as much hers, with all her great traits as she was her father's. She was intelligent, beautiful, and caring, much like her mother. But those traits of her father shown through as well. A harsh work ethic and an unyielding urge to better herself drove her daughter to this position.
Apoline held her youngest in her lap, as her husband paced the room that served as a hospital in this drafty castle. In the bed before her, laid her oldest. She was horrorstruck when she saw the Task. To force the barbaric act of slaughtering Dragons to students was something that she never expected. When she read Fleur's letter, begging her to not come, to support her from France, she was outraged. How dare her daughter say to not support her!
Her husband must have sensed her thoughts, for his hard callused hand landed softly on her shoulder. With a soft squeeze, the man who stole her heart comforted her fears.
"She will be fine. The Matron promised that she was merely sleeping the Task off." The rapid French soothed the Matriarch of the Delacours even as it awoke the youngest of the family.
"Maman, Papa, is Fleur okay?" Gabrielle asked. Before the two parents could answer, a voice answered from the bed.
"Of course I will be… No dragon could keep me from seeing you again little bird."
Madame Pomfrey smiled across the room at the French family happily crowding the bed before going back to check on Viktor.
Igor Karkaroff was a hard man. He admitted that to himself when he looked in the mirror. At the same time, he also acknowledged his mistakes. For several years he followed a madman into battle, crying for a stupid cause. He remembered the horrors of the war, and the atrocities he committed. He relieved them for 2 years in Azkaban before he was released for giving up his fellow Death Eaters. He remembered burning a girl alive, butchering a family with curses, dueling Alastor Moody. He even remembered his first night back at Hogwarts nearly a month ago now. He cornered the old Auror.
Flashback
"Alastor. Please wait up." He rushed to catch up to the hobbled Auror.
"What do ya want Karkaroff?" The electric blue eye of the man spun around, checking to ensure that they were alone even as his wand pointed firmly at Igor's chest.
"I... I wanted to say thanks. That night, when you caught me, you could have easily killed me. So thank-" Igor spoke swiftly as he eyed the wand trained at his chest.
"Shut up. I didn't do it ya, nor for them rule keepers at the Ministry. If I'd had killed ya, ya wouldn't be able to suffer for yar crimes Karkaroff." The gruff voice of Moody cut across any arguments Igor had.
"I suffer daily. I suffer when I look in the mirror. I have to live with what I did, and why. But what do you have to live with Moody? A limp? A magical eye? You at least can at your arm and not loathe what you see there. You can at least leave your country without notifying your Government!" Igor spoke harshly to the man.
"Aye, I can. But then again, I was never a Death Eater Karkaroff. Now have a good night." Igor watched as the man hobbled away, his wooden leg pounding on the flagstones.
Flashback end
Igor knew his role in the world. Part of his punishment was that he would never hold power outside of his occupation. Those were the terms of his release by the British Ministry, and the Swiss Ministry agreed wholeheartedly. It was another 2 years before the opportunity to teach was given to him. Come to find out, he loved it. He loved teaching young minds how to preform magic, and he loved guiding the youth to make decisions for themselves, not because someone told them.
Durmstrang was a school that created independence, and it was the role of the Headmaster to promote it. It was why Durmstrang was not tethered to any one Ministry, why the curriculum explored the positives and negatives of all magic, and their motto was translated best to, "Freedom is knowledge above all."
Igor sat by his Champion's bedside and thought of the concept of Freedom. The freedom that his student craved when he was on the ground and had when he was in the air. The freedom that he willfully pounded into his students. Viktor was a man who valued freedom. Igor of course, was not free. But he valued freedom as well. That was why he gave the Potter boy a 13 out of 15. To be bound as he was by that Mask… he pitied the heir.
He watched as the Matron of the Hospital Wing tended to his school's chosen. With the injuries that he sustained, he would be in here for several days. Igor rose once the Matron ensured Viktor would sleep through the night. He would tell Viktor his score in the morning. He walked to the French family in the corner, and spoke softly to the father of the French champion.
"Your daughter did well. I feel it my duty to inform you that she received a tying score with Viktor. A 39 out of 45. She only lost points due to not being fully prepared for the dragons." The smile on the man's face was sad, and the French Champion, nodded.
"Headmaster, what of the bo- what of Harry Potter?" Fleur croaked as Igor made to leave.
"The Potter Heir won the task, with a score of 43." The Durmstrang headmaster made certain his voice was neutral.
"Good. Viktor got out first, so that means he killed them both. He deserved it." Fleur settled herself on her pillows with a small smile on her face. The last thing she heard before drifting back to sleep was Karkaroff's reply.
"It remains to be seen if he deserved the victory for being caged."
A cat sat on Harry Potter's bed in the corner of the Wing. Through out the night, that cat would watch the entire wing, and not move until Albus Dumbledore returned the next morning.
AN: I realize that this is a super super short update. That is why its going up Thursday Night, even as I work on the next legitimate chapter. This is mainly interludes, and while important for plot and characterizations later, it was created because this was an amazingly natural stop for the chapter. Originally part of a larger chapter (as of now 4000 words without this), the way this chapter flows is rather different from the rest of the now Chapter 10. here we see multiple view points of various characters around 5-7 hours after the First Task, while Chapter ten will pick up exactly where Chapter 8 left off. The next chapter will likely added to after work Friday the 2nd, and during work Saturday the 3rd, and will likely go up Sunday or Monday the 4th and 5th respectively.