Two days later was the first challenge of the Tri-Wizard cup. The danger that Harry endured was like a cold hard slap of reality to Ron. There was no way that his friend would ever have really desired to put himself in that much danger!

That evening, sitting down with Hermione and Harry and talking things through really helped Ron to come to grips with it all. By the time they put their heads on their pillows they had all decided that they had simply been asanine and it all needed to be left behind them. The Golden Trio had made amends, and as a result the three were actually closer than ever.

Ron woke early the next morning to a highly irritating noise; it sounded like a moth trying to get out of a paper bag or something… he roused enough to raise his head from the pillow, looking blearily at the window beside his bed. Pigwidgeon, his tiny owl, was almost battering himself against the window in an attempt to get inside.

"Geez, Weasley, would you let your stupid bird in already?" Seamus grumbled, pulling the blanket over his head. "It's the weekend and I ain't bloody well getting out of bed until I feel like it!"

"Oh quit whinging, for heaven's sake!" Ron grumbled, snatching up his wand off the bedside table. He flicked it and the window opened. Immediately Pigwidgeon zoomed into the room and Ron closed the window the moment the little owl was past the glass.

Harry sat up, stretching. "A little early for regular mail… you didn't do something stupid lately did you Ron?" he asked with a smirk.

"Very funny, Harry." Ron smirked back at him, watching his bird zip around. He hesitated, and then reached up to snatch at the owl, missing by several inches. "Come here, you insane little bird!" he said as he sat up, grabbing again and catching the tiny owl in his hand. "I swear you have to be the most irritating thing!" he grumbled, seeing that the owl had a message on his leg. The bird looked at him with its wide eyes, hooting eagerly. "Hm. Wonder who this is from…" he said, tugging the note free. He released the miniscule owl, which immediately began to zoom about Ron's bed then the entire room hooting happily and shrilly.

"Put that bloody bird out you inconsiderate git!" Seamus complained, snatching up his wand and using it to close his curtains.

Ron rolled his eyes and opened the window again, allowing another blast of cold air to come in as the bird zipped out of sight. He sat up and unrolled the note.

"What is it? I can see it isn't a howler, at least…" Harry commented with a smirk, sitting up, watching his friend's face curiously.

"Thank Merlin." Ron gave him a smirk, relaxing back on his pillows.

"Well I'm up now; I may as well grab a shower." Harry said, swinging his legs out of bed and reaching for his clothes. "Hey, let's get a team together and play some quidditch today." He suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Ron gave him a grin, and then turned his attention to the message, unrolling it. He recognized the handwriting immediately; it was Gregor.

My Good Friend Ron.

I am hoping to be seeing you again. I find you are good friend and is hard not to be talking to you.

Is very lonely here without friends with which to talk. I was a fool to try to make you be with me; I just grow desperate for contact. Since I am gone my lovers back home have found new lovers. I am alone and grow sadder by the day. I am wanting friendship is all.

If you are refusing to seeing me I am not seeing reasons for living.

Please.

Meet me once more. Answering me and tell me you will be meeting me.

The note wasn't signed but he knew it was from Gregor. Ron blinked and read through the message again, sitting up. Ptriov was threatening to kill himself…?

"Oo's it from?" Harry asked as he strolled over to the showers.

"Gregor." Ron answered.

Harry paused, looking back at him. "You going to go meet him again?" he asked curiously.

Ron hesitated; it would be nice to have support when he went to take this note to someone who could help. He had no choice; he had to take it to Karkaroff. He sighed and shook his head. "No… but I think I need to go talk to one of the teachers." He said, getting out of bed and pulling open his trunk.

"Want me to come?"

"Nah. I'll be back in less than an hour. Go ahead and get a couple of fellahs together and we can play after we eat." Ron assured him, getting dressed quickly.

Harry nodded and turned, going on to shower.

-.

(Readers – please consider the following conversation to be in Romanian; these two wouldn't be talking to one another in English)

Gregor stood on the deck of the Durmstrang ship, glaring up at the towers he knew housed the Gryffindor students. Where the bloody hell was that insanely hyper little owl? He had sent it up to Ron's rooms nearly an hour ago; he should have received an answer of some sort by now.

"You are wasting your time, Gregor." A deep voice said behind him. When he turned he saw Krum standing behind him. "Your message did not work; that redheaded boy will not be coming to see you."

He only smiled at him. "You really think you're all-knowing now, Viktor? Being a Tri-wizard champion has surely gone to your head." he commented snidely. "You wait and see; he will come. You are a fool to think you know it all."

"I tell you Miss Granger's friend will not be coming to see you. He is friends with her again, and friends with Potter again. He is happy here; you should let him alone."

"You couldn't control me at Durmstrang; I will not be controlled by you here!" he growled at him, his wand in hand.

Krum scowled at him. "Put your wand away, fool! Karkaroff should never have brought you here." He said quietly.

"He chose me to come because I have talents that could have been of value." He sneered.

"And you never bothered to enter the tournament!"

"I do not wish to compete; that Tri-Wizard competition is insane and will end with your death." He answered.

"You are getting out of hand for even Durmstrang. You must learn to control yourself or you will get killed for what you do."

"I will do what I will!" he snapped.

"And what if Karkaroff steps in?" he asked in a quiet, threatening tone, looking down his narrow nose at his schoolmate, his heavy brow lowered. "You will battle Karkaroff for this Hogwarts boy? He is not of age. You should not be…"

"Phaugh!" he spat in disgust. "You are a fool to try to talk me out of what I do! You are no different than I! You've spent days chasing that girl Granger about the castle and she is no older than Weasley!" he retorted.

That comment got the reaction from Krum that Ptriov had been looking for, anger and denial. "That's different; she's a woman…!"

"She is a girl!" he interrupted, refusing to listen. "You are doing the same thing I am!"

"No. I seek to make friends only. More may come, with time…"

"You're only looking for a friend." He repeated sourly. "Friendship for you requires sitting hours in a library watching the girl read?"

"She enjoys books. I enjoy her company."

"You hate reading." He sneered at him. "You bullied your way through classes!"

"This isn't about me and what I do!" he interrupted sharply. "You must not pursue that boy further!"

"Are you threatening me, Krum?"

"No. But Karkaroff will if he catches wind of all of this. Weasley was on his way here when he saw me in the hall. He stopped and talked to me; and he gave me this…" he held up the note that Gregor had sent up to Ron this morning.

"That is not your business!" Gregor snatched at it but Krum held it away, expecting just such a move.

The note vanished from sight inside Krum's robes somewhere. "Oh, no; I will be keeping this. And if anything happens to Weasley you can be sure that I will give this directly to Karkaroff." He said, glaring at him. "Weasley was concerned that you might kill yourself out of grief for your lost lovers. He wanted to be sure that someone watched over you. Quite a good friend, he is, even if you have surely scared him away with your predatory behavior."

Gregor glared at him, slapping his wand back into its holster at his side. "Yes. Some wonderful friend Ron is, taking a note that was personal to a backstabbing two-faced bastard like you. He trusts you to watch me and ensure I will not kill myself but you will take that girl he loves from him. She is all he talks about, Viktor, and you will destroy his life surely as if I had my way with him. You have every intention of stealing her away from him. He will be unable to do anything about it."

"If that happens it will be Hermione's choice." He answered coldly. "But you will leave Weasley alone."

Realizing it would be dangerous to him to continue further, he turned his face away. "I will meet him only in public places. Does this make you happy?"

"How public?"

"Very public. The meal hall, or places with more than ten students. Will this make you happy?"

"It will do, for now." Krum took a step back, clearly not wishing to turn his back on this boy.

Gregor returned to glowering at the tower again, pointedly ignoring Viktor. If he gave him no more attention he would go away; that was one habit that Krum had developed over the years. Viktor loved attention and if you didn't give it he would tire and leave. It worked; Krum had glared at him for several more minutes, then had turned on one heel and walked off.

Gregor stood silently for a few minutes, considering his options. It clearly wasn't safe to pursue the redhead any longer. The boy had been so tempting due to the fact that he even had admitted himself that he was an untouched virgin at that point. He had not even been with that fluffy-haired bitch that he fancied. He had never expected Weasley to take his letter to anyone, much less Krum or Karkaroff. And he knew that Viktor would keep his word and take the letter to the headmaster.

He spat a curse and pushed away from the rail, turning. Mikeal had been right; he had tried to warn Gregor in the beginning not to pursue the Gryffindors here but he had taken it as a challenge. Well, at least he still had the dark-skinned Slytherin boy. He had to keep up the impression somehow that he was still seeing the Weasley boy, to keep this little toy under his thumb.

-.

Blaise stepped inside the building and closed the door quickly behind him. No one had followed him, he had made absolutely sure of that. He was struck once more by the hypnotic smell that had stunned him that first time, feeling dizzy and rather confused again. He hesitated, looking around; the dungeon remained. Merlin help him…

"You're late." Gregor growled, standing just to his right.

He jumped at the tone and closeness of the voice; he hadn't even seen the seventeen year old at all. "Sorry, Gregor; I had to…"

"No! You will being calling me Master! You will be calling me nothings else when we are being alone!" He snarled.

Blaise reflexively reached for his wand and found it was gone; Gregor had already taken it away from him. "All right…" he agreed in a whisper, his mind fogging over quickly.

Gregor looked into the eyes of the boy and grinned wolfishly. It was clear that he was well under the influence of the aphrodesiacs. Very sensitive, this one was. Perhaps he could even become addicted to them; he loved it when his little slaves were addicted. Controlling them was so easy.

Blaise slipped into his rooms past midnight, his whole body aching. He remembered more tonight; last time it was just a vague memory of pain and lots of pleasure… this time had been different. His hands shook as he uncorked the healing potion and downed the entire bottle in a single draught. He leaned on the door, feeling his back tingling and burning like his nerves were afire.

Gregor had used the cat-o-nine tails on him tonight; the leather straps had left welts all across his back. Blaise shuddered as the sensation swept over him and he felt he could finally stand again. He had been a poor servant to his master tonight. He had earned his punishment; he had to learn the rules. He had been late to his meeting with his new master. He had disappointed Gregor and he had called him by his name instead of Master. He was learning to obey the rules, but sometimes he forgot himself and spoke out of turn… He had spent nearly two hours suspended from the ceiling, bound tightly with ropes.

Gregor had not only treated him with cruelty, he had put a soothing balm on the injuries and then… what had followed was a complete blur of exquisite pleasure, during which he had almost believed that it had been Ron with him.

He straightened from the wall, his hands shaking slightly. He only felt weak now. He needed to sleep. It would be okay; he was protecting Ron. He hadn't seen the redhead in over a week now, not that he was looking for him. He was keeping Gregor distracted and Ron would be safe from his attention.

That was all that truly mattered even if Ron never even knew that he had done this for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Draco stalked into the library, hoping to catch a glimpse of Blaise. He hadn't been able to spend more than ten minutes with his fellow Slytherin in the past three weeks and his temper was being stretched to the limit. If he did not have someone to talk to he kept everything bottled up inside and he was about ready to explode at the next person who got on his nerves no matter who they were. He prowled the through the book-lined aisles library, eyes narrow, in a right foul mood because he was not getting anything that he wanted or needed.

A conversation on the other side of a bookshelf stopped him in his tracks. He'd heard Blaise's name. He snatched up a book and moved around to lean on the end cap of the bookshelf, pretending to read as he eavesdropped.

"Yes, Blaise Zabini. Have you heard what's going on with him…?" four girls sat together at a table; two Hufflepuffs; one blonde and one dark haired, a Ravenclaw who had brown hair, and a first year Slytherin girl with white-gold hair in a thick braid. The first speaker was one of the Hufflepuffs, the one with short brown hair.

"You know no one tells me anything." The Ravenclaw pouted, leaning forward to listen to the hushed discussion.

"And you do nothing but whine about it, Cori. Come on, Susan, tell us what you know." the other Hufflepuffs asked, looking eager for gossip.

"He's seeing one of the Durmstrang boys, a seventh year. You know; the tall blonde one who was second in line when they came in to the great hall? The one who always wears those sexy dragon-hide boots?"

"Seriously? Merlin! Those boys are so good-looking!"

"I think I know which one you're talking about, his name is Gregor. No wonder he acts so distant all the time. He doesn't give any of the girls a second glance. Guess we know why now. So what do you know?" the other girl prompted.

"He's been saying all kinds of things, talking to the other seventh years. I heard him in the Great Hall the other day; it sounded like he was bragging almost. He says that Blaise went to him first, looking for an older partner…"

"Blaise? I would never have thought…" the Slytherin girl began.

"Well Blaise hasn't denied it, has he?" Susan demanded, looking at her.

"Blaise hasn't really said much of anything, lately." She admitted in a quiet tone, frowning.

"And that boy says that Blaise looked for an older lover because he wanted things he couldn't get from another fourth year. He likes things rough, you know what I mean…?" she waggled her eyebrows at them.

The Ravenclaw girl looked shocked. "Rough…? You mean like, whips and chains and things? M and M's…?"

The other girls at the table burst into giggles, held down to keep from raising the ire of Madame Pince. "Not M&M's you little twit. I swear, you're the most sheltered girl I ever met, Cornithia!" Susan snickered.

"Well how am I supposed to know what it's called…?" she defended, blushing hotly.

"You're a Ravenclaw, you're supposed to know everything…" the second Hufflepuff named Mary giggled.

"Potions and runes and bookwork, yes; but I don't study SEX, Mary!" she retorted, cheeks flushed.

Susan leaned forward on the table with a grin. "It's called S&M, Cori. Sadism and Masochism. You ought to look it up; you'll certainly learn a lot." She commented, and then her grin grew. "Maybe it's what you're really into; if you find out more about it maybe you'll start being more interested in guys…"

"Oh stop it Susan!" The other Hufflepuff rolled her eyes as the Ravenclaw looked ready to explode with a retort. "Don't listen to her, Cornithia, seriously! She just wants to get you going so she can get you in trouble and she can have more to gab about." She soothed, one hand resting on the hand of the Ravenclaw girl.

Corinthia scowled but closed her mouth, her lips thin as she glared at Susan, who was positively alight with happiness at getting someone riled up.

"Oh come on Susan, knock it off already!" Mary hissed at her. "Spill what you know already and quit messing with her!"

Susan made a face at her and leaned forward to whisper what she considered to be juicy gossip. "Every day right after classes Blaise goes out into the grounds. Several students have tried to follow him but Blaise always shakes them. Even the Prefects haven't been able to follow him. No one knows where he really goes. I know where he's going though; he's sneaking out to meet with that Durmstrang boy. He really must be taken by him."

"But those boys are all seventeen…!"

"Doesn't matter to Blaise, I suppose." She shrugged.

"Those Durmstrang boys are cute and all, but I don't know about going THAT far with one of them… after all, the ones they brought to compete in the Triwizard Tournament are really strong, and they know a lot more dark spells than we do, that's for sure."

"Well he is a Slytherin; they do tend to be attracted to people of power…" the second almost snorted.

Draco thought he was going to have to come around the corner and teach these girls a bit of respect for Slytherin, especially that first year from his own house. He glanced at them again to get a good look at the Slytherin girl; his lips curling in a snarl. He knew her, Aurelia Woodward was her name and he certainly was going to give her a lesson in respect; then the girl finally spoke up.

Her voice was a slow, thoughtful drawl. "That really doesn't make any sense at all. Why would Blaise need to go looking for anyone with power? He's Draco Malfoy's best friend." The first year Slytherin asked, frowning at the dark-haired Hufflepuff girl.

"So?" the Hufflepuff named Susan huffed, irritated about her story being interrupted. The gossip was so juicy she didn't want anyone saying that it was less interesting because of some silly argument about whether or not Blaise would do such a thing.

"So he has all the power he could ask for here, except if he was the Prince himself." Aurelia retorted. Draco made a mental note to reward that girl somehow for defending Blaise and standing up for her house. "It doesn't make any sense. He has everything he can want in Slytherin house. He doesn't have to go hunting for power."

Susan saw her opportunity and jumped on her chance to exploit it. "Come on, you can't really believe that. Come on, even you said he's barely said a word to anyone lately. Think about it; he's been ignoring all of you now, hasn't he?"

The Slytherin girl pouted a bit at that statement; she clearly must have been one of the ones that Blaise had taken a particular interest in. "Yes, he has." she said reluctantly. "He hardly says a word to anyone anymore. This morning he acted like he didn't even see me even though I called his name three times. But he is busy and he doesn't have to answer to anyone but Draco. After all, I'm only a first year."

"Everyone knows Blaise is more into guys than girls anyway." Mary shrugged. "We've all known that since second year and that little incident with Seamus Finnegan."

"Seamus says that was nothing but a rumor…" Susan put in, "But we all know it really happened. Why would the teachers lie about finding the two of them in the trophy room?"

"Seamus' dad is about as homophobic as they come." The Ravenclaw said, rolling her eyes. "And he's a pureblood lover to boot."

"This isn't about Seamus, anyway. It's about Blaise. He stays out far past curfew too." The blonde Hufflepuff said in a gossiping tone. "I've spotted him coming into the great hall when I was doing my Prefect duties. Night before last it was nearly two in the morning when he came in. But I can tell you he didn't look himself…"

"What does that mean?" Corinthia asked.

"He was walking strange, like he was under a trance or something. I was at the top of the stairs when I saw him…"

"At least a hundred feet away from him in a DARK grand entryway and you THINK he was in a trance?" Mary asked, frowning.

"Doesn't sound like you got a good look at all." The Slytherin commented wryly.

"I got a good enough look! He was walking kind of stilted, like he was in pain…"

"I thought you said he was in a trance." Mary countered.

"Oh do shut up, Mary." Susan scowled. "Come on, what do you expect if you like to play sex games? Someone is bound to get hurt."

The Slytherin girl frowned, clearly getting irritated, her voice rising a notch. "He looked fine in class yesterday. Did his work, didn't talk much but there aren't any marks on him…"

"Not that we can see. But who knows what he's hiding under his clothes? I hear that those people who play those games know how to leave a mark that no one will see in the daytime." Susan went on.

The Slytherin girl got to her feet, looking angered. "I think that's getting a little too personal, I don't care if it's just gossip."

"Its not just gossip!"

"It is, and its not right to make things up like that. You don't know what his sex life is like; just because some Durmstrang says he's doing things with Blaise doesn't make it any more true than when they said YOU were going out with Millicent Bulstrode!" she retorted.

"That was a blatant lie!"

"Well Blaise's life is his own and you really ought to leave him be. I'm not going to listen to another word you say about him!"

"Oh come off your high Hippogriff already. You're just angry because he's a Slytherin…"

"No, I'm angry because I like Blaise. He might not be paying me any attention right now but he's never said a cruel word and he's never done me a bad turn. You think you know all about him and its okay to say whatever you want because of our house but we aren't all evil you know." She said, eyes narrow. "And he's a nice guy; you don't even know him at all!"

"Sh!" Madame Pince hissed at them; Aurelia's last outburst was anything but quiet and she had brought the wrath of the school librarian down on them all.

"Don't worry about me, I'm leaving." Aurelia said, giving Susan a look of disgust.

"Aurelia, hold on, I'm coming with you." Corinthia said, rising and pushing her books into her bag. "I don't think I care to listen to the gossip any more anyway. I'd rather study with you."

"Out of my library!" Madame Pince ordered.

Draco watched as the girls hurried out of the library and on their way. He stood in silence, still leaning on the end cap. Madame Pince glanced at him with narrowed eyes but he simply ignored her. She huffed and moved off, giving him a scowl as she moved away. So Blaise was seeing a Durmstrang, and according to those airhead gossiping Hufflepuffs that person was a seventh year and was not anything that Blaise had ever mentioned an interest in. Gads, all he ever did was talk about that friend of Potter's, that Weasley boy. This wasn't a surprise to him, Blaise had told him he was talking to that Gregor character about a month ago. Gregor had said that he would introduce Blaise to the red-haired Weasel; he had assumed that it had happened and he was seeing the other fourth year, but clearly no such thing had happened.

He turned and stalked out of the library. He was going to get some answers, even if he had to beat them out of the Weasel himself.