Chapter 5

Yrdl and Xanthippe faced off next; this was always going to be a match played for fun. As Marauders they had little need to hold back, even as Zlatka and AHHa had not needed to do so or Silvina and Xanthe. Curses flew; and it may be said that there was the tacit agreement that both girls pushed wands back into belts and cast wordlessly. Xanthippe cycled through a number of animals whilst Yrdl sprayed her with exploding maggots from the pustules on her, ignoring the slugs pouring out of her mouth; but Xanthippe got control of her form and managed to get a sleeping charm past Yrdl's guard as it was one of the few spells not blocked by the protection charm. Yrdl dropped like a stone and snored gently in an odd harmony with the popping of her maggot-filled pustules. She had scored quite well – eight and six – but it was still a loss. However she DID know enough chanting to remove the pustules when she was awoken; the quick muttered chant and the hand run down her body to dispel the enchantment causing Dolokhov to grind his teeth that this wretched Kobbold might so easily get rid of a spell that he had needed the aid from last year's head girl of Durmstrang to do for his quidditch players! And that he had needed to eat humble pie to the boy Zlatko to rid the same from Spartak! It was insupportable! Goblins should not be ALLOWED to look good in front of much superior pure bred wizards and witches!

It may be said that Yrdl's de-jinxing of herself earned her a lot of respect from the Durmstrang crew, especially the spell's originators, the Musical Marauders!

oOoOo

Next were Zyrillis, the same age as Yrdl, so the little girl was busy supporting him; against Anatoli the Russian team leader.

The Prince Peak crew were hard put to see why the boy might be team leader since his whole idea of duelling seemed to be to hurl the stinging hex and the blasting curse over and over until such time as he lost his temper with Zyrillis' contemptuous counters and nuisance level counter curses – the bat bogey hex, the jelly legs jinx and such old favourites – and shouted 'CRUCIO!'. Zyrillis, who had more or less expected this, had pulled out the mirror charm and Anatoli hurt nobody but himself.

"That's a disqualification offence" said Agata. Zyrillis bowed.

"Oh but if he's disqualified, Madam Bacsó, the Russians will be down on numbers; and as they are already such a weak team it will tell more. None of us fear the cruciatus curse and nor I suspect do any of the Prince Peak team; we all know the speculum spell I'm sure."

"That is true of course" said Agata "The weaklings who feel they have need of such will have only themselves to blame; even as those who use the killing curse also have only themselves to blame if they meet a mirror charm."

This was a warning to Dolokhov and his team; though Anatoli was starting to have a serious tantrum about being called a weakling. He had even more of one when he scored only two and one for a terminally dull performance. Zyrillis, whose wand style was lax for being inclined to ignore it, scored four and nine.

Last in the first round were Alexand against the Russian girl Nastya. The Prince Peak Marauders had been told by the Durmstrang Marauders that he was their weakest member though he was very methodical and a man of unbreakable honour.

Nastya demanded to know his blood status; and Alexand, who was pure blooded, smiled and said,

"Red" to her query. She started insulting his probable birth and origins; which left Alexand smiling phlegmatically. It was a close and tough match; but Nastya was actually both good and stylish even if her rather dark curses were a little pedestrian, and her win was obtained by managing to confund Alexand and stupefying him while he was confused; a tactic the English school at least considered low, and did not go down well with the Germans either. It was however a legal tactic. Zlatko murmured that anyone with finesse would use confundment to make their opponent wander off the piste, thereby essentially resigning the match.

"That has taught the blood-taint" said Nastya, jumping down.

"Oh, you think only mixed blood suitable then?" said Zlatko. "You should despise all of us then; for like Alexand we are all, save Zyrillis, who has an unproven ancestor in the sixteenth century, pure blood."

"The boy Alexand is purebred? Why then did he not tell me so when I asked? Why should he let me taunt him?" Nastya was confused.

"Because we consider it rather low to discuss it. Alexand tried to show you by example how he considered your remarks ill-bred but you have not taken the point" said Zlatko. "Deeds count for more than blood status you know, anyway!"

It may be said that the German team were pleased that, although Alexand recorded a loss – the only Russian win – he scored slightly higher than his opponent for style and originality, and the Russian team had to ask for aid in removing the zits reading 'bloodsnob' from her forehead and the nettles from her ears.

And then it was time for lunch; and Zlatko sat at the top of the leader board so far with twenty seven points, Xanthippe running him a close second with twenty six. There were four on twenty five, one of them Nastya, the other three Mungo, Sandalla and Silvina. None of the other Russians had more than seventeen, and that was Leesitsa who had done well against Vya. And their team leader, Anatoli, had three.

That was sweet.

oOoOo

Vya attracted a following of elves at the meal, asking shyly how long she had been free and what it was like and was she ever scared by it.

"We has been offered freedom by the head whenever we cares to ask for it" squeaked one "But it is a big a scary step!"

"The only thing that is scary is having to take responsibility for your own actions instead of only taking orders" said Vya "And not to be ready to take responsibility for your own actions is abrogating your responsibility as a being. Nobody has the right to call themselves a being who is not ready to act as a being in being self determinative. The older ones find it scary but you are not old and have no excuse. I expect the head is ready to employ you as liveried elves; I see a few in livery. The only difference will be that you cannot take orders without thinking; because if someone orders you to do something that is wrong – like putting poison in someone's food – it is YOUR responsibility to say 'this is wrong' and to refuse to carry out such an order. And too you will receive some pay, and it is your responsibility to put some of it aside to keep yourself when you are too old to work; because you will not be killed as in the old days when you are old, but expected as humans do to enjoy your last years with nothing to do that you do not choose to do. Now I suggest you see to serving others; you will neglect your duties if you do not!"

There were those few elves in the castle to whom a free elf partaking in equal education to the humans was an abomination; but Tildi Gierek had made sure to keep THEM out of sight. They were the oldest and most conservative for the most part, who could not see any different way of doing anything and – if one was honest – probably did not see why the younger generation should have a chance not to be miserable when it was almost too late for them to find themselves a life.

oOoOo

"I do not understand it; everyone knows the English cheat, is it that Durmstrang also stoops to cheating?" Anatoli demanded of Zlatko.

"Cheat? The English do not cheat. They are taught more advanced techniques younger, this is all; and too such techniques are now available in Durmstrang because we are flexible" said Zlatko "If you start accusing people of cheating, it is the way to have yourself prosecuted for the only breach of rules there has been was when one of YOUR countrymen cast an unforgivable curse; and when one of YOUR countrymen started the duel before the wand was dropped."

"It is surely cheating to cast without wands!" said Anatoli.

"Nothing about it in the rules old boy" said Zlatko "To my observation, crying cheat on those capable of casting wandlessly and non verbally is the cry of the inadequate who can't even manage non verbal spells. You just are so very inadequate you know."

Anatoli was now sporting the word 'idiot' across his forehead had he but known it; and in Cyrillic to boot.

"How do they hold up shield spells so long? How do you? I do not understand; it is impossible!" said Anatoli.

"Because we are drilled hard until we can of course you poor prune" said Zlatko "And we are too physically in better shape than you lot; thus we have the ability to perform better. Mens sana in corpore sano you know. A very English concept but it works. I could beat any two of you up without even getting my wand out; and as you're almost as incapable as a bunch of muggles I have been wondering whether using wands on you not fists is strictly fair."

Anatoli shrieked and went for his wand at that point; and shouted,

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The blood group took an assorted headache; and Zlatko drove his fist hard into Anatoli's chin.

The Russian boy dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The heads were over there in an instant.

"WHAT is the meaning of this?" demanded Dolokhov "Agata, your boy has hurt mine!"

"After yours threw the killing curse" said Agata coldly "We all saw it; your boy should be pleased he did not have the mirror charm used on him. Zlatko however knows the higher mysteries of how to bounce it. Zlatko, what happened?"

"He asked if we cheated like – in his idiom – everyone knows the English do" said Zlatko "Which I could not permit to pass; so I pointed out that the only cheating so far had been by two Russians. He whined about not being able to cast non-verbally nor without the crutch of a wand so I told him he and his fellows were fairly hopeless. I did actually say they were as incapable as a bunch of muggles which might have been what caused him to lose his temper. Excitable type."

"The embellishment to his forehead had already been applied non verbally and without even gesture I presume" said Severus dryly "A nice piece of work, Herr Asimov. A physical response to the killing curse seems to me almost reticent however; certainly a very moderate retaliation. Sergei, I suggest you take your team leader somewhere where you will explain to him that it is only on account of his youth that Agata is not having him arrested; and as your team are little better than muggles I have no doubt that my team will be prepared to meet him since all of them know how to deflect the killing curse should he be so lost to shame as to use it on the piste. Herr Asimov, you should not use your clever tongue on the afflicted; it is most unfair of you to bait the terminally moronic."

Zlatko bowed and clicked his heels.

"I thank you for the just rebuke Herr Professor Snape" he said gravely.

Dolokhov was spluttering again.

He also feared Severus too much to make anything of it.

oOoOo

The first match after lunch was between Venera and Xanthippe; which earned AHHa a cuff from Severus for saying that one might just as well have had a post-prandial zizz and slept through it as nothing happened, but in Xanthippe's case it happened very suddenly and loudly enough to wake anyone up.

Xanthippe got creative enough to summon six hundred large butterflies which transfigured as they circled Venera into bonds of tickling; whilst simultaneously the Russian girl's nose crooned Katti Krächzen's hit 'Fly me like a broom' and her feet, which danced the tarantallegra curse from the ankles down played 'We are the Inferii' in a honky-tonk fashion the group Kunstwerke had never intended.

"Ah, Madam Bacsó, now I understand the full implications of teaching your children the Dark Arts not the defences against them" said Silvina with a curtsey "Only Dark Magic can be responsible for Katti Krächzen; and the terrible things that are being done to Kunstwerke are enough to frighten a dementor."

Agata, who had learned enough to recognise when a Snape was teasing, managed a smile.

"The Eulenspiegels are rather noisy" she admitted.

Venera had not managed more than the most basic defence and had not made any attack; and retired with a total of six points. Xanthippe was granted seven and nine and Xanthe told her that she had lost points for deafening the judges.

Zlatka was to go next against Domna; this was a relatively conventional contest save that Domna thought she was clever in summoning a snake from her wand; and was much disconcerted when Zlatka spoke to the beast in Parselmouth and turned it against its summoner, transfiguring the beast into the semblance of a basilisk. Domna fled shrieking as did some of the audience.

"Oh honestly, do you think I'd make it a REAL basilisk when there's our kids watching?" said Zlatka "What sort of poor prune do you think I am?"

She had the win however as Domna had fled the piste; though the Russian girl did score fairly well for attempting such a summoning. Zlatka's smooth style – and perhaps fear of her that she was a Parselmouth – also earned her high marks however and she accrued a total of twenty seven for this match.

Leesitsa was against Xanthe; and it was perhaps her misfortune that having lost to Silvina in the first round, Xanthe was out for a win with perhaps even more determination than had she been on a par with her sister. It was another closely fought bout; Leesitsa was, in the opinion of both the Prince Peak and Durmstrang children, the best duellist of the Russian team even though it was Nastya who had a win under her belt. Non-existent phantasms flew at Xanthe; and Xanthe summoned her patronus to deal with them. Leesitsa had a good shield charm; so Xanthe summoned water from her wand aimed at the piste and rapidly transfigured it to ice under the Russian girl's feet. Leesitsa flailed wildly and skidded right off the end.

They were awarded an equal number of points; the judges were impressed by both. Xanthe might hope it was enough to carry her into the top eight; whether or not it would remain to be seen.

Yrdl went next against Nastya; and like Alexand ignored the girl's taunts; since the Russian girl did not wish an automatic disqualification for refusing to fight, but her comments were fairly filthy. Unlike Alexand, Yrdl was ready for an attack on her mind; and her occlumensy shield was impervious to the attempts of confundment that Nastya attempted. Yrdl decided that if this girl figured that messing with her opponent's head was fair, what was, as the English put it, sauce for the goose was also sauce for the gander. She reached into the Russian girl's mind for her worst fears and cast the boggart curse. Nastya shrieked in terror at a sight only she could see, fell over backwards and scrabbled along to get away, falling right off the piste. Yrdl cancelled the spell.

"Goblin cheat! She used a cheating goblin spell to make me see a boggart!" shrieked Nastya.

"Funny how I was taught it by Jade Snape then" said Yrdl.

"Using legilimensy is cheating!" screamed Nastya.

"Nothing about it in the rules" said Agata "Legilimensy? From a girl of only fifteen? I rather fancy Fraulein Kostikova that if you would argue that all goblins are inferior, that scarcely sits with a child who has not yet taken her ZP equivalents able to use legilimensy. So either you are mistaken or you are ready to admit that your racial imputations are so much rubbish."

In truth Agata was shocked; shocked that any child so young could manage legilimensy. Though Jade Snape and her father were fine legilimenses; and this girl was a protégé.

And a protégé, by her surname, Breuer, of Anett Breuer, Durmstrang's last Triwizard contender.

Nastya had hysterics at the idea of an animal poking about in her thoughts.

"I must protest that a creature like that be permitted to invade the thoughts of a pure bred witch!" cried Dolokhov.

"Why, are you so afraid they will be grubby enough to make her look bad if the girl repeats what she has seen?" asked Severus snidely "SHE was permitted a win using the limited legilimensy of confundment; I fail to see wherein lies the difference; save that Miss Breuer is a far more able legilimens and occlumens than your girl who hardly seems above the level of a junior in the skill. Her brute force option to follow up confundment with stupefaction scarcely shows finesse or subtlety; if she can only duel like a junior house playground brawl she should not be on your team and should not complain if she comes up against an able witch."

"Miss Breuer has shown an able defence to the attack; and has countered it in a legal fashion. An end to this gamesmanship if you please, Herr Dolokhov" said the senior judge. Dolokhov flushed a dull red and manhandled Nastya away from where she was howling in anger and crying tears of rage and frustration.

He administered a hard slap to get her attention and told her to shut up.

Sandalla, who had been taught lip reading by her father, passed it around that he told the girl that doubtless there would be opportunities another time to punish the contumelious animals.

Yrdl knew that being a symbol of educated goblinkind was never going to be easy; well, it looked as though she had a real enemy. And Jade had once said that if you planned to change the world and did not make enemies you weren't doing it right.

oOoOo

Silvina was matched next against the hard-faced Spartak.

"So you can defeat the Germans with music; but do not think I am so soft" he sneered. Silvina permitted herself a small prim smile. These blood snobs made even her real parents seem relative moderates; and the most contrary part of her nature rose up to oppose such. She held up several layers of solid shields, rising slightly with a hovering charm to prevent the piste being used against her and began to sing.

Most of the males in the room concentrated on her in goggle-eyed wonder; for she was using a version of the song of the veeli. She was, however, for Spartak and Spartak alone adding a twist, using his name and the power of Finish naming magic as she sang in that language; and Spartak blindly turned and made purposefully off the piste to try to jerk Agata Bacsó into his arms, shouting

"Ya vas lyublyu!" at her.

Agata slapped him hard and Silvina, who had won as he left the piste, stopped singing.

"Fraulein Snape you could have stopped your song a few seconds earlier" said Agata.

Silvina swept her a curtsey.

"But then I should not have had the pleasure of seeing you hang one on him Madam Bacsó" she said.

"You Snapes!" said Agata.

oOoOo

Mungo was to go next against Alexand. Alexand was an elegant wand worker but his spells lacked much in originality; and Mungo made short work of him by turning him into a duck-billed platypus.

Vya followed, against the talented Zyrillis. This was a tough match; Zyrillis knew how to twist spells to give them an extra component and make them hard to counter; and used the now signature spell of the Durmstrangers of exploding pustules, save he summoned not maggots but tiny wooden cuckoos which shouted their two-note call as the pustules exploded. This gave Vya something of the giggles and she had to fight hard not to lose concentration. She was still giggling when she had the idea of collecting the cuckoos by wand control to mob her opponent and turn him into a long-case clock with his own face and clock hands where the nose should be. Zyrillis struggled and called 'Pax!' when he could not extricate himself; and Vya made a second win.

Sandalla faced Zlatko; he was perhaps one of the best duellists she had ever seen, fast, slick and inventive. To do well against him would show that she was ready to fight dark wizards. She held off some of his jinxes; continuing to cast spells at him wandlessly when she dangled from one ankle. The addition of bonds, the bat bogey hex and the tickling curse were too much for her however and she was defeated by the count.

Last to go was AHHa to give Anatoli time to recover from being cold-cocked; or since he had been healed, as AHHa said to his fellows, time to recover from the toddler tantrum arising from being cold-cocked.

No one could say that Anatoli was not consistent. He went for stinging hexes, the blasting curse, and mindful of the warnings of being totally disqualified, and so steering clear of the cruciatus curse he used the entrail expelling curse instead. AHHa countered everything almost scornfully.

"You are a pudding head" he said "My little brother in the first could do more than you."

And then he summoned the six foot blanc mange right over the top of Anatoli so it fell, enclosing him in its quivering pink mass.

He later declared that the thought of the boy as a pudding head had given him the idea; and besides it was funny and they were supposed to be making a mockery of the Russians, weren't they?

Anatoli fought to escape the enveloping, suffocating pudding and finally fell off the piste in a mix of chagrin and relief.

"These Russians aren't normal" said AHHa "Why he never even TRIED to eat his way out!"

oOoOo

The children went in to Kaffee und Kuchen while the judges totted up the total scores to work out both the team scores and the top eight. The Durmstrang Marauders were holding an indignation meeting that Legilimensy was considered normal by the English and were demanding to learn it since Professor Snape had clearly indicated that he expected a level of some competency by juniors and they were all in the middle school. Yrdl explained that it was a MSHG thing; and suggested they ask Professor Von Freyer Nagy to teach them since Jade must have taught her.

Cacilia was about to be pestered.

oOoOo

After the children had eaten the light afternoon meal the senior judge arose.

"The schools have scored the following collective points. Cheestykrovy Shkola; one hundred and fifty two points. Durmstrang, two hundred and fifty three. Prince Peak, two hundred and sixty one."

There was a lot of clapping; mostly over the really poor score of the Russians.

"Close" said Severus to Agata "Less than ten points in it; really I think we can say our schools are on a par."

"Thank you Severus" said Agata. "I do have a rather good bunch at the moment too."

"Zhanargul and Takeo are a loss to your team of course" said Severus "I fancy if you had challenged us a year ago you would have won; and perhaps by a higher margin. Bless them, my upper sixth of this year and the year that left know how to kill Odessa agents but have very little idea of the art of duello."

"I imagine this year's offering manage both as adequately as my own team do" said Agata.

"Oh yes" said Severus "They did well not to get over excited – yours and mine both – to use the real magic they have at their disposal."

"Well such things as the Jade Wolf curse – as we call it – would scarcely be appropriate" said Agata. "Nor some of the more creative ways Zlatko has suggested for disposing of the unwanted."

"Our children have such gruesome imaginations" said Severus indulgently "Though I do believe there are very few capable of the subtler transfigurational solutions."

"That'll be Zoltan Nagy" said Agata.

Dolokhov was grinding his teeth; which had been the whole idea.

The senior judge went on,

"Equal top on fifty two points are Zlatko Asimov and Xanthippe Eulenspiegel; we awarded first to Herr Asimov as he accrued the highest single score for one of his matches. On fifty one points is Mungo Fraser; on fifty, Zlatka Asimova. Vya Kalinka has forty eight points, Silvina Snape forty five, Xanthe Eulenspeigel forty two and Yrdl Breuer has forty one. The whole top eight is separated by eleven points; this is perhaps the closest match we have ever adjudicated. We are looking forward to the playoffs after a brief rest where the first plays the eighth and so on. The points from these play-offs will determine which two fight for first and second place and which for third and fourth."

It may be said that Xanthe was just delighted to be in the playoffs after a loss; and thankful that a high score for style and originality had carried her there, just ahead of Yrdl who had also lost one match to Xanthe's twin.

oOoOo

Yrdl set her teeth to face Zlatko; he was GOOD. She must not be defeated before she began; she must be creative and use every ounce of her ability.

Yrdl pulled out all the stops; she tried to disconcert Zlatko with rapidly cycling changes of gravity at his end of the piste, which earned a call of approval from the older boy when he stabilised himself by the expedient of the hovering charm. Yrdl sprayed him with fire – he blew it away – and water, freezing it as it reached him; which he dealt with using an enhanced warming charm. And then the piste was changing about her – for Yrdl too had such a good shield that Zlatko gave her the respect of using the piste against her, not trying to break her shield – and the wood grew up as a grove of enveloping trunks that enmeshed her too tightly to even see out, imprisoning her; and Yrdl could hear Zlatko chanting to hold the transfiguration in place. She tried a counter-chant; but the count defeated her.

She was released and shook Zlatko's hand.

"It's no shame to lose to the best duellist I've ever seen" she said.

"I know a few who surpass me" said Zlatko "But you're not exactly a mean operator yourself kid; I expect to see wonders of you in the next few years!"

Yrdl flushed, pleased.

oOoOo

It was a surprise to all the visitors that Xanthe beat Xanthippe in the next match; but to anyone who knew the Eulenspiegel twins it was a foregone conclusion. Xanthippe was the louder of the two but Xanthe was definitely the dominant and that was ingrained habit.

Mungo and Silvina might almost put on a show; by consent it was wordless and wandless and Silvina showed what she could do without using music. It did not work so well on Mungo anyway; who had the protective natural armour of being tone deaf. Explosive blasts of energy had the audience gasping and each cycled briefly through a variety of animals before regaining control. Animals flew from wands summoned by each; and were dissipated back into energy and the piste heaved and bucked until both contestants were hovering to cast their jinxes. Silvina's mistake was in not managing to block a featherlight charm; not something against which one normally prepared a defence; and Mungo summoned a gust of wind that puffed her lightly off the piste. It was a good win; and Silvina was first to congratulate him.

Zlatka played Vya next; and though Zlatka was good, the little elf pulled out all the stops and turned Zlatka into a statue.

This was not supposed to be possible so there were gasps; but Vya waited for the count and put Zlatka back to normal by touching her. Which meant that when Zlatka regained her senses she had to realise that there had been time elapsed; as her opponent could not contact her as part of the duel.

"I – was that a STONE transfiguration?" demanded Zlatka.

"It's a Hogwarts solution for the NEWT DADA exam" said Vya "Because a statue can be stored until you need it, doesn't need food, doesn't try to escape and need not even be restored unless you need to question it."

"Neat" said Zlatka.

oOoOo

Top points went to Mungo with twenty seven; he would play Zlatko on twenty three, Zlatko having scored less highly because of Yrdl's highly original approach. Vya on twenty two would play Silvina who had twenty points and had outscored Xanthe who, despite her win, had only eighteen points for relatively pedestrian wand work. Yrdl also had eighteen points from her loss; and Zlatka had sixteen so again it was very close.

Zlatko and Mungo might also let themselves go; and indeed Severus stiffened the defences of the piste to make sure the spectators were at no risk. Mungo was not of the blood group; he preferred not to impart his rather odd blood to the others. But he was very capable even so and the children watching were in for a treat – those that could follow what was going on. Straining figures silent and apparently doing nothing but sweating tussled in energies beyond the comprehension of most of the spectators with sheer will; and finally Mungo slumped.

Zlatko had won.

Vya and Silvina faced each other next and they chose the medium of ritual to battle. Silvina sang; Vya danced. The patterns of their rituals interacted; startling effects occurred as they transfigured and counter-transfigured and threw off effects before changes were complete; and Vya finally prevailed by the expedient of summoning a couple of Pogrebin whose projected feelings of failure and hopelessness were enough for Silvina's guard to falter enough for her name to be tied to being a bunch of daffodils.

Silvina gave Vya best when she was restored; and vowed never to be taken by surprise by pogrebin or dementors again!

The match was over; Prince Peak had won the team title but the champion was Zlatko, with Mungo second and Vya third. It had been a good match; fun meeting the Durmstrang contestants and effectively swapping jinxes; and fun too making the Russian supremacists look so foolish.

"They are going to attack us of course" said Silvina as they prepared to go home.

"Oh undoubtedly" said Severus "They are constrained by the rules here. They will think that we are unable to respond if they threaten our younger ones if they can get close enough to do so; and too we must beware of ruses to infiltrate the castle. We have made enemies of most of that group and Dolokhov never had me on his Christmas card list to start off with. It was well done, my children."

"The one called Leesitsa may not be an enemy" said Vya. "She is selfish yes; but she is shrewd enough to see which way the wind blows."

"I think too that Domna is more open minded that Dolokhov would like" said Mungo. "I think however we shall hear more from Anatoli, Spartak and Nastya at least. And dear Sergei of course too."

"I have some hope that the display you children put on – you and Silvina, Zlatko and Yrdl and the placing matches – will have frightened Dolokhov into realising that attacking us is a bad idea; but I fear he is as stupid as his cousin and may yet convince himself that just because he could not understand all that was going on, nothing was actually happening" said Severus.

"Can anyone BE that stupid?" asked Silvina "Zlatko and Mungo were rather awesome! I know Mungo's worked out against David but even so!"

"Ah my dear, unfortunately the closed mind is unable to take on new ideas; and the old idea is that the English are soft because we dislike the Dark Arts; and stupid because we encourage goblins and elves; and weakened because we permit such trash in our schools" said Severus cynically. "You'd need the blasting curse to get a new idea into Dolokhov's head and it wouldn't half rattle around in the void until it lodged sullenly somewhere where it couldn't be reached."

"Harsh" murmured Mungo "But I suspect true."

oOoOo

A week or so after the contest, Severus received a letter from Eve Cherrytree in which the girl begged his pardon for her behaviour at school. Apparently she was now settling in better for having realised that her attitude had come close to being similar to that of the Russians, whose behaviour plainly shocked her, for she declared that the goblins of Prince Peak were far preferable to such. She wrote that he might show her letter to the marauders she had sent anonymous letters to if he felt them at all upset still; and Severus was glad that the foolish girl was finally seeing the error of her ways in the harsh realities of life in a rough school like Durmstrang allied with the close up view of the Russian supremacists. He wrote back wishing her well – and meant it – and hoping that now she understood what she had done wrong that she was a happier girl. He added that he saw no need to remind the Ubiquitous marauders of the letter incident. If she could make friends with the more decent Durmstrang crew it would do wonders for her he thought. The shock had been necessary; ah well, the Russians were good for something then!