Hello again lovelies! So, the Ball is here :)

Thanks again to my lovely bèta ^.^

Enjoy!

Chapter 23 - Fickle Friendships

Harry breathed in the chilly morning air and looked up to the brilliant sky. After waking up to Dobby staring at him he needed a good walk. It had been nice to see the hyper elf, who had burst into tears at receiving another sock. Nonetheless, the image of the watery nose and tennis-ball like eyes right up in his face wasn't exactly pleasant. Even all the presents he'd gotten, from Mrs Weasley's green dragon pullover to Sirius' useful magical knife -which had come with an ominous note that only said 'We'll talk soon'-, couldn't remove Dobby's stare. It was slightly odd to him that Christmas literally came early this year: to abide to the other schools, they celebrated Yule instead so the Yule Ball would be appropriately placed. As the feast fell on the 22nd of December this year, everyone had received their gifts sooner than expected, although Harry could imagine that any Muggles who were uninformed would still send some gifts in the coming days to their children. He hadn't received anything yet from the Dursleys either, not that that was such a loss.

The teachers had really gone all-out this year, Harry found, most likely to show off to their guests. The grounds were frozen like always, and this year Professor Sprout had planted magical winter flowers everywhere to go the extra mile, roses curling around benches and arches, giving the castle a fairy-tale like atmosphere. Large icicles hung from every ledge too and a layer of glittery powdered snow completed the effect. Harry thought that the students of the other schools could be glad that they were at Hogwarts, both the Durmstrang ship and the Beauxbatons carriage were frozen over. He couldn't imagine what they would have done if McGonagall and Flitwick hadn't created extra dorms for their guests.

A snowball hit his head and Harry swivelled around, surprised to find Barty standing a few yards behind him, grabbing another handful of snow while grinning. ''You know that that looks incredibly strange on Moody's face, don't you?'' Harry commented, ducking to avoid the next throw. ''And I doubt he's the type to play in the snow with teenagers.''

''As if I care,'' Barty grinned, several new snowballs magically forming and pelting Harry from all sides.

''Hey!'' he laughed. ''I can't even do that yet!''

''Gotta get better then kid. I'm planning on organising a battle between the schools. Think that would be fun?''

''What, a snowball battle?''

''Exactly. I'm entirely bored. Not sure if I would have organised something on my own but if you'd be willing to help me and get a few others involved... Oh, thanks for the present by the way. And don't think I didn't get you anything, I thought it would be suspicious for a teacher to send students Yule gifts.''

''Didn't stop Dumbledore in his first year, nor Hagrid in any other,'' Harry commented. ''Still, you're probably right, my friends would have been rather surprised. I hope you didn't get me anything dangerous.''

''Define 'dangerous','' Barty said, waggling Moody's bushy brows.

''Could've known,'' Harry grumbled, packing a few other snowballs, trying to throw them as far out over the lake as possible. ''Did you hear anything from Him?''

''Hmm? Oh, I don't think He'd send us presents. He rather despises this time of the year, although He does still celebrate Yule for purely religious reasons.''

''I'm not talking about presents... I mean, you know I had dreams before... there's been nothing since before the first Task, it's been bothering me a bit. There was no indication that he'd stop visiting.'' Barty didn't reply to that, only shaking his head. ''What?''

''Get your head out of the clouds kid,'' Barty grumbled. ''I'm sure He has important matters at hand to attend to. Concentrate rather on the next task. What have you got until now?''

''Errhm...'' Harry spoke awkwardly. ''It's another creature?'' he hesitantly asked. ''That shrieks when it talks?''

''Really?'' the other replied, sounding rather annoyed. ''I know that this ball has been getting to everyone's heads but I had hoped that you would still be able to concentrate.'' Harry debated on whether or not he should tell Barty about the whole incident with Malfoy, then decided against it. Either Barty would disapprove of him giving the other teen precious information or force Harry to accept Malfoy's offer of grovelling for a chance to solve the egg. He could always use that as a last resort... ''Well, you still have two months now, try not to waste them. That you have more time does not mean that you should postpone your efforts until a few weeks beforehand, trust me. Perhaps I shouldn't distract you with a snow battle-''

''No no, it sounds amazing!'' Harry protested. ''I bet your heroism will reach new levels in the minds of Fred and George if you pull this through. In fact, they might be damn good organisers, if you don't mind that everyone is going to get pranked.''

''Hmm, those two eh? Interesting choice. Fine, I'll trust your judgement and approach them about it. We might be able to get everything rolling in a couple of days. For now, I have to give the other teachers a helping hand in decorating and security. Dances are not really my thing, certainly not with this leg, hope the food will at least be good. It was great to talk to you kid. Come around my office anytime to pick up your present. And don't stay out too long, it won't do if one of the Champions falls ill.'' Harry waved as Barty trudged through the snow back to the castle, touched by the man's concern, especially considering the fact that both of them well knew that mages couldn't catch common colds. After admiring the surroundings for a bit longer, he too decided to return.

He spent the rest of the day with his friends in the Gryffindor dorm, reading the book 'Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland' that Hermione had gifted him and eating nearly half of the sweet box he'd gotten from Hagrid. Ron was not as angry at Harry anymore as the evening before, as he'd suddenly recalled just who had bought him a not-so-ridiculous set of dress robes, and because that day, he'd finally managed to score a date. After asking around, Parvati had said that her sister didn't have a date yet since she'd rejected most of the guys' offerings she'd received, hoping each time to get someone better, and by now was desperate as none dared to ask her anymore. Parvati herself was going with one of the boys from Beauxbatons. Apparently she'd been waiting to see if Harry wanted to ask her so she could go with a Champion, and had actively tried to find someone herself the moment Harry had agreed to go with Ginny.

Hermione left him and Ron alone a full three hours before the Ball would start, to the surprise of them both. Harry had no idea why it could take so long to prepare for a party. He himself had allocated roughly fifteen minutes for a quick shower and putting on his robes. His hair couldn't be tamed anyways and there really wasn't more to it. Ginny seemed to be of a similar opinion, joining them instead of Hermione and talking the afternoon away, although she definitely looked nervous. Harry wondered for the hundredth time if it had been a good idea to accept her proposition. Then again, who else could he have asked? As most of the other girls were already coming down, the three of them fled upstairs to quickly get ready, after a fun round of exploding snap that had left a few dark stains on Ron and Ginny's faces. Harry just rubbed it out, hoping it would blend in enough to not be so noticeable, especially not after he showered.

Becoming a little bit excited after all -not so much about the attention and dancing as for the food and decorations-, Harry went back to the Common room to meet up with Ginny, who was positively beaming. Most others had already left, Neville actually rather early to everyone's surprise. Harry hadn't thought that the shy boy would have had the guts to ask anyone. When commenting on it, Ginny gave him a sly smile and said: ''I might have had a hand in that. He actually asked me last-minute, he hadn't heard yet that you'd accepted already. Since I found it rather brave of him, I introduced him to a friend of mine. Shall we go? We need to open the ball, right?'' Harry groaned at the reminder and nodded. That was one thing he'd pushed to the back of his mind. To calm down his nerves, he briefly touched the leather cord around his neck from which the engraved fang dangled, hidden safely beneath his robes. ''Still think green would have suited you better,'' Ginny commented, looking at his dark blue robes, then shrugged. ''Well, your choice.''

''You certainly made the right decision on your robes,'' Harry complimented her. ''I don't know how to describe it but it is as if this dress makes you even more witchy than a regular robe, you know?'' Ginny threw her head back and laughed, holding the hood in place with her hands.

''Perfect! Exactly the effect I was going for.'' Still grinning, they joined up with professor McGonagall, who was calling for the Champions. Before Harry could say another word, Ginny exclaimed: ''Hermione! Oh my, you look gorgeous!'' Whirling around, Harry came face to face with his blushing friend, whose bushy hair was tied in a knot for once -whether an improvement or not, Harry couldn't really judge, it was certainly... different- and who was wearing a long, flowing blue robe with subtle, magically twinkling little stars on the hem. The most surprising thing however, was her partner.

''Harry,'' Krum said with a rare, soft smile. ''I hope you do not mind that I am going to the Ball vith your friend?''

Before he could answer, Cedric joined them, absolutely beaming with a pretty girl at his side whom Harry knew from the Quidditch field as the Seeker from Ravenclaw. More Seekers in their little group then, it seemed. He knew that Ginny was also damned good at it from their summer tournaments where she'd always played Seeker for the other teams. ''Looks like you are outnumbered by Quidditch fans, 'Mione,'' he joked. That only became truer when they were joined by the last pair, Fleur and Rogier Davis, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, who curtly nodded to his teammate. Harry wondered why both other Champions had selected partners from Hogwarts when Ginny had reasoned that asking someone from Durmstrang or Beauxbatons would cause unnecessary trouble as he was a Champion from another school. Perhaps for Hogwarts students it did not weight so heavy since firstly, there were far more of them and secondly, Hogwarts had two Champions anyways.

There was little time for more talking. Cedric quickly stuck his thumb up to Harry and then the doors opened, leaving Harry speechless as he walked down the hallway, able to forget all the stares of the people surrounding them to concentrate rather on the sight. For once, the ceiling didn't quite reflect the outdoors. millions of warm snowflakes raining down on the crowd, although Harry knew that it wasn't snowing at the moment. The large tables had been pushed to the side, displaying all sorts of fantastic food, and the walls were frozen solid, reliefs carved into it in a unique form of ice sculpture. More ice was displayed in the form of crystals that lit up in warm yellow, its light shining on the garlands of mistletoe and ivy that were draped around the stone pillars on either side of the hall. In between them stood dozens of small, round tables, although they did leave a significant part of the floor in the middle free, presumably for dancing.

He quickly looked over his shoulder to Hermione, who walked behind Ginny. He had to smile when seeing how she was glowing, her walk for once elegant now that she wasn't dragging around her school bag. Ginny on the other hand, had a rather pleased look and strode confidently next to Harry in a way that she usually only showed at home when she thought she was alone with Fred and George. He noticed the jealous stares thrown at both of his friends and grinned at Pansy Parkinson, who was too stunned to make any nasty comments for a change. Draco was by her side, his face drawn into a frown, as if he didn't approve of Harry's choice of date. Had the blond perhaps expected that, now Harry was aiding Voldemort, he'd stop interacting with the people he enjoyed being around?

Throwing a look at the only large table that wasn't laden with food - the one of the teachers-, Harry decided it wasn't really worth looking at. He didn't really care about Dumbledore's extravagant robes nor did Percy's continuous presence improve the situation. Ludo Bagman's eyes lit up as he caught sight of Harry, who quickly turned to face Ginny instead. What did that man want from him? It would really be good to figure that out soon... They searched a table and followed Dumbledore's example of loudly speaking whichever food they wanted from the menu. All Champions stuck together for now, only a few tables apart from each other, since they'd received no information on when they were supposed to dance.

''Hey Harry,'' he heard, a finger tapping on his shoulder. Cedric again. ''I wanted to introduce you to Cho. My... girlfriend.'' From the way he said it, Harry could guess that this was a new development, perhaps even having happened this very day.

''Pleased to meet you,'' he answered, grasping her hand. Ginny kicked him in the shin when Cho giggled and whispered. ''Short bow, no hand-shake,'' in his ear. Getting red, he corrected his behaviour. How should he have known?

''Err, sorry,'' he muttered. ''Those Muggles never were big on manners,''

''Oh yes, I've read that!'' Cho gasped. ''You have such a tragic story Harry. I never knew!''

''Don't believe much of what that reporter said darling,'' Cedric spoke hastily. ''She was twisting everyone's words, isn't that right Harry?''

''Exactly,'' he nodded. ''She just kept asking questions and even managed to write paragraphs over a short 'yes' or 'no' answer.''

''Oh, so you didn't get tears in your eyes from recalling the ghosts of your past?'' Ginny said with mock-surprise. ''Harry! And here I was under the impression that my mother's coddling was entirely justified.''

He chuckled and shoved her with his shoulder. ''Shut it you. I didn't bring you here to hear an echo of the Twins.'' Cho raised her thin eyebrows at the way they acted, then relaxed when Ginny only laughed and stomped Harry in the side.

''Anyways, enjoy the ball. I've arranged for a little after-party by the way,'' Cedric winked. ''Just us Champions and our dates, you know?'' Harry shook his head in amazement.

''How do you do this?''

''Do what?'' the boy asked in honest surprise.

''We're supposed to be... enemies or something. Rivals at least! Yet somehow you managed to get us all talking about Quidditch and being on first-name basis within a couple of minutes after the first Task. I don't know, you somehow bring people closer. It wouldn't surprise me if we all end up as good friends after this year due to you.''

''I know this is a competition, but so is a Quidditch match. Why would you be enemies with people you share such thrilling experiences with? And whom else could we talk to who could really understand, you know? It would make less sense to me to not try to befriend each other. Each one of us tries to get through this Tournament, why not be on a friendly basis? We're stronger together. It are other people who try to pit us against each other. Even if it comes to us having to duel or so, there's no reason to be cold and uncivilised.''

''A true Hufflepuff indeed,'' Cho laughed, her voice sounding warm as she looked at her boyfriend. They talked for a bit longer, exchanging their experiences with the different dragons, as Cedric had not seen Harry's performance. They also briefly touched the topic of the next task, but as soon as both admitted to not having a clue yet, they shrugged it off. Ginny and Cho chatted amicably as well, mostly about Quidditch, an obsession for the both of them. They soon drifted over to the table where Krum and Hermione were enjoying their dinner. The topics there were not so one-sided, touching on a great many deal of books that Harry had never heard about, and eventually changing to a comparison between Hogwarts and Durmstrang.

''Mr Potter,'' Harry suddenly heard, turning to face an unexpected person.

''Headmaster Karkaroff,'' he warily replied. ''How do you do?''

''Fine. Viktor, try not to reveal too many of our secrets to your lovely lady. Mr. Potter, come, I'd like to have a word with you. Alone.'' With an uneasy feeling, Harry put down his cutlery, the taste of French crepes suddenly turning bad in his mouth. Karkaroff reminded him far too much of Snape, who could also turn milk sour with a single cold look. It was no wonder that the both of them were supposedly buddies. As he took a hesitant step, he was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder form behind.

''Headmaster, I vould like you to know that Harry is a friend.'' Viktor released him again a second later and turned around again as if he'd never said it. Harry turned to look at the stoic boy with amazement. A friend? When did that happen? Was it because of Cedric? Or Hermione?

He followed Karkaroff to an edge of the Great Hall, half-concealed behind a pillar. Barty's words of the man being a wild card shot through his head. Karkaroff wasn't necessarily an enemy. A quick look around did reveal to him that Dumbledore had noticed their retreat and was watching the both of them with hawk-like eyes that made Harry very glad to have Voldemort's necklace against mental intrusion. Hopefully Karkaroff was as good an Occlumens as Snape was. ''Now ve can finally talk alone for once, Potter,'' the man started, his eyes glinting and a sly smile on his lips. ''Impressive display of magic vith that dragon. Magic not taught at Durmstrang until sixth year... and not at all at Hogvarts.'' Harry shuffled his feet, then berated himself for acting like an idiot. Surely he could deal with Voldemort's followers if he could be at ease near the Dark Lord himself. Squaring his shoulders, he looked Karkaroff in the eye.

''I find that all magic is worth learning. No matter whether it is light or... heavy.''

Karkaroff's eyes narrowed. ''That is a rare term these days in England, I've heard. You do not shun the darkness, do you, Potter?''

''This is neither the time nor place to discuss things like that,'' Harry whispered, well-aware of Dumbledore's presence. Was there a spell to overhear other people's conversations?

''A simple silencing barrier. I am not Headmaster of Europe's most prestigious magical school because I had nothing better to do,'' Karkaroff spoke, his honey-dripping tone turning frosty.

''Of course, forgive me,'' Harry spoke quickly, at the very last moment able to bite his tongue to not criticise Karkaroff's bold statement about Durmstrang being the best. ''In that case, darkness is only a term made up by fearful people, in my opinion.''

''Not only in yours,'' the man softly spoke. ''I have heard many stories about you over the years, Potter. From talk of you becoming the next Dark Lord to being the light's hero. I vas leaning tovards the latter until I saw and heard a perfect performance of the Verse of Harmony come from your lips. Now, I vonder if there is any truth to your speculated goals. I vould not vont to miss your rise.'' Harry's eyebrows shot to his hairline at Karkaroff's bold suggestion. The man thought that he, Harry, was trying to get on top himself? Then again, it perhaps wasn't too odd of a thought. Ron had told him once before that people had been both happy for Voldemort's fall and at the same time fearful of what Harry's powers as a baby might mean. He'd first-hand experienced the result of that fear in his second year when he'd revealed his ability to speak Parseltongue. In addition, Karkaroff had betrayed many Death Eater names and would not feel comfortable about returning to his old Master. It was much easier for the man to try and cling to the belief that Voldemort was still dead despite the man's Mark returning. A new Dark Lord who was gathering power, one that he could start with with a clean slate, must sound much more appealing. Then again...

''You are mistaken,'' Harry calmly answered. ''As Headmaster of Durmstrang, a school that focuses on Dark magic, I am sure that you should know how Dark Lords function. There cannot be a new one until the old one has fulfilled his duty.'' Harry nodded to Karkaroff's arm. ''And the old one isn't through yet. I bid you a good evening.'' He gave what he hoped could pass for a polite nod and walked out of the pillar's shadow - only to bump into Barty not three steps after. The man's magical eye was spinning wildly and he looked almost as furious as the time he'd held Harry up in the air after the teen had insulted Voldemort. The headmaster from Durmstrang, who had stepped out seconds after Harry, halted as well, the blue eye focusing on Karkaroff as the black one pinned Harry down.

''Having one-on-one conversations with one of Hogwarts' Champions is not a very sportsmanlike way to go at winning this Tournament, Igor. I'll have to check on my student now to make sure you didn't do anything funny. Not a great moment, the band just came in and they're all expecting the Champions to start the dance. You'd better bugger off and explain why this hold-up is happening to the other judges.'' The other man gave Barty a dirty look and swept away without a word, his fur cloak swinging dramatically behind him. With no other choice, Harry let himself be dragged behind the pillar again, which was now noticed by quite a few more people than his first talk here. ''What was that about?'' Barty spoke, a hint of protectiveness audible. ''Did he want anything from you?''

''Do you have a barrier up?'' Harry whispered, not seeing Barty cast anything before.

''Of course, had one before even approaching you here.''

''He wanted to inform me that, should I rise to become the next Dark Lord, he's on board, basically,'' the teen summarised.

The words took a moment to sink in, and Barty let out a disbelieving laugh. ''That weasel! Knows he hasn't got a chance anymore here, so he's changing teams? Dear Merlin, I didn't think he believed all those rumours about you. What did you answer him? Please tell me that you went along with it.''

Confused, Harry shook his head. ''What are you talking about? I cannot possibly pretend I'm taking our Lord's position! Karkaroff knows that He should be back, through the Mark, right?''

Barty's grin slipped right off of Moody's face. ''You didn't. You didn't tell him that you follow the Dark Lord, right? Please tell me that you weren't that careless.'' At Harry silence, he grew furious and slammed his fist against one of the pillars. ''We're trying to stay hidden!'' Barty hissed. ''Covert operations, as few connections as possible for now, slow progress. You cannot blab about the Dark Lord's return to anyone, no matter from which side! I thought that was clear. Who else did you tell?''

Faced with the Death Eater's wrath, Harry felt much for lying, yet knew that he wouldn't get away with it. ''I didn't think that telling anyone who would have noticed anyways would be a bad thing... I also let Draco Malfoy know since his dad is a Death Eater too and tells his son everything.''

Barty took a deep breath and cursed a few times. ''You messed up Evan,'' he coldly spoke. ''I cannot promise that there won't be consequences for that. What part did you not understand about the Dark Lord trying to stay out of his enemies' way? And you are telling both a traitor and the son of a coward of his return? You can be lucky that our Lord indeed did contact Lucius again, though that does not give you the right to inform a 14-year-old Slytherin with arrogance issues of that.''

The music started and Harry looked back. It looked like Karkaroff didn't do anything to keep the proceedings from... well, proceeding. ''So tell me one thing,'' Harry spoke, a hint of panic in his voice. ''Why are you so sure that he didn't know? The mark flared up when He returned, right?''

''Briefly, just like it has done briefly over the years whenever He newly possessed an especially strong animal, or when he got a hold of Quirrel. It was stronger, yes, though that is not necessarily a sign of His permanent return. With Snape at Dumbledore's side, it would be useless to even try and keep low otherwise. Now go, I will need to fix this, perhaps with memory charms. About Malfoy, are you certain that his father told him as well?''

Harry nodded. ''He didn't believe me until his dad confirmed it.''

''Fucking great,'' Barty muttered. ''I'll leave him to you then. And Evan, don't bother with that snowball fight, I'm not up for anything like that anymore. In fact, I'll tell you when you're welcome in my office again.'' Harry's heart sank, and he wished to scream a thousand words at the other, of how they couldn't expect him to know this information, or expect him to automatically do everything according to their unspoken wishes, of how he was already dealing with enough with this damned Tournament... They were all left unsaid as Barty stomped away and Harry had to swallow the lump in his throat and plaster a smile on his face as he rejoined Ginny and the other Champions. Hermione threw him a concerned look, which he waved away. He'd get through this, with or without Barty. He had enough friends whom he could talk to and who were willing to help him train. It wasn't as if he needed the man.

Those thoughts did nothing to really improve his mood. The dance passed in a blur, perhaps the only good thing about that, and he lost himself in the wild music of the Weird Sisters after and wished he had the stomach of a House-elf so he could have gotten as drunk on the mugs of Butterbeer as Barty's old elf. The dance floor became a wild mess of people and he lost track of Ginny several times before finding her again. She briefly talked to the friend she'd stuck with Neville. After meeting the girl, whom Ginny introduced as Luna Lovegood, Harry felt less sorry for her, as she looked crazy enough to not mind dancing with the most boring person in the whole of Hogwarts. In fact, at times she seemed entirely happy to dance alone, making some odd waving motions that didn't fit the harsh beats at all.

The evening did not become better when it turned out that not only the Death Eater had forgotten about friendship, Ron quickly followed in his footsteps, seeking an argument with Hermione about Viktor within a couple of minutes after getting a chance to talk. She ran off seething, which Harry found rather understandable, since Ron had tried to make it look like Viktor was only interested in her to get information about Harry. Both of them had entirely ignored his opinion on Krum during the fight, so he turned to Ginny with a helpless look.

''Should I go after her?'' he asked Ginny with concern when Ron was gone as well, pissed that Harry was not instantly taking his side.

She shook her head instantly. ''The best thing you can do is to inform Krum, it looks like he didn't notice the argument at all.'' It was true, the boy was standing in the middle of the dance floor with two drinks in his hands, looking left and right with a desperate face. ''While I'm sure Hermione would appreciate your concern, you're too close to Ron to give her the support she needs when it comes to these kind of things.'' Harry was clueless about what Ginny meant with that, yet followed her advice nonetheless, pushing through the crowd to Viktor to bring him up to speed. The Bulgarian cursed a few times and asked about places Hermione could be. What Ginny had obviously forgotten was that Hogwarts was gigantic and their guests had only been here for a couple of months. Harry himself had needed over a year to get comfortable with the maze of stairs and corridors.

''We'd best go together,'' Viktor spoke. ''I shall tell Diggory - sorry, Cedric- that the after-party is off? I do not vant to go vithout Herm-own-ninny.''

Harry nodded, honestly glad for that development, not feeling up for festivities after two of his friends were being unreasonable and another one was upset. He certainly hoped Ron would come around quickly, it was always horrible when there was a conflict between the three of them and once a year was really enough. ''It would also be difficult for me to find Ginny again. Perhaps we can move it. How about we check outside first? I know a couple of places where Hermione likes to hide, she might just have wanted a breath of fresh air.'' Viktor nodded, not having any better ideas. They exited the entrance hall and found themselves in a maze of rosebushes hat Sprout had grown overnight. Harry sighed. This could be more difficult than expected. He and Viktor split ways to search more effectively, planning to meet up again in fifteen minutes if Hermione wasn't to be found here. It was a good thing too, for when he turned one of the corners, he quickly shot back, spotting Karkaroff and Snape.

''You know vat it means! And I now know for certain!'' Karakaroff hissed.

''I do not understand why we have to talk about this, Igor,'' Snape replied calmly. ''Certainly not here and now.'' Harry froze, his hands getting clammy despite the cold. Barty's words echoed in his mind. Was Karkaroff really already going to spread word of Voldemort's return? And to Snape of all people?

''Severus, you cannot pretend that this isn't happening. And I'm in a vorse position than ever. Potter-

''Don't speak to me of that little runt, don't tell me that even you buy into him being special.''

''He used Dark magic, vere do you think he could have gotten that idea?''

''From my very reliable sources, I know that he had no idea what he was doing when he used that spell,'' Snape said, huffing in disdain. ''Potter couldn't tell an unforgivable curse from a levitation charm. He received a book with the spell a d decided to try it, that is all.'' Harry peeked around the corner, trying to glimpse Karkaroff's reaction. The man did not look convinced. No shit, Harry had all but told him where he stood. ''If that was all...'' the potion master drawled on.

''Severus! Vat do I do?''

''Flee, if you can't come up with anything useful. I'll cover for you, but I will stay at Hogwarts. I have more important things to do than worrying about a bit of ink.''

''A bit of...'' Karkaroff repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. ''You'll be killed.''

''He can try.'' With that, Snape drew his wand and shredded a rosebush apart, revealing a kissing couple, whom he started a tirade against. Harry quickly ran the other way, groaning when he yet again came across people that he knew. What was this, the magical awkward-conversation rose maze? He tried to find a way to get past Hagrid and Madame Maxime without being noticed by either. He couldn't go back either, Snape was there... As such, he could do nothing but wait and had to listen to the entire painful conversation between the two. He had to admit that he was curious as to Madame Maxime's heritage. Could she really be a half-Giant after all? Was Voldemort perhaps wrong about the magical abilities of Giants and their offspring? He quickly snuck further when the Headmistress of Beauxbatons had stormed off, screaming about big bones.

''Vere vere you?'' Viktor asked when Harry finally emerged.

''I came across some complications,'' he muttered. ''Hermione doesn't seem to be here, let's search further.

After checking the kitchens, the library and several classrooms Hermione sometimes used to study in peace, they finally found her... or rather, Harry found her, for the Fat Lady didn't allow Viktor entrance to the Gryffindor common room even when Harry vouched for him. He envied the Slytherins now, at least a piece of brick wall didn't argue back. The sight he was met with however, wasn't pretty, Ron and Hermione screaming at each other in the middle of the room.

''Then next time you should get your head our off your ass and ask me before anyone else does, not as a last resort!'' she shrieked.

''I didn't even ask you!'' Ron yelled back. ''Who says I wanted to? It's not even about this stupid ball in the first place!''

''Hermione!'' Harry said, stepping in between them to try and end the argument.

''Oh, are you taking his side now too? Forgotten yet who dropped you like a sack of potatoes the moment your name flew from that cup?''

''Hermione, Viktor is here for you.'' he said, trying not to get defensive. ''He's waiting outside and is worried about you. It looks like our worry was for nothing, you seem to be handling things well here,'' he said with a wry grin.

She composed herself instantly, her mouth open in a surprised 'oh' ''Harry, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you... thank you.'' Without another glance at Ron, she rushed out of the room, through the portrait hole.

''Pff, as if I wanted to go with her, right?'' Ron spoke. ''But did you really have to bring Krum here?'' he gave the exit a foul look. ''Who knows what he gets up to. Hey, could I lend your cloak?''

Harry looked at his friend as if he'd grown two heads. ''No. Look Ron, Hermione's got a life of her own, and Viktor didn't ask her to use her to get to me. I'm close enough to him that he could ask me anything without having to go through Hermione. You really ruined her evening, and for what? She was right about this Tournament being about more than winning. Besides, you can hardly blame her for going to the 'enemy' when you yourself tried to ask Fleur out.'' The look Ron gave him told Harry that he'd gone too far. His heart clenched, he really did not want to lose Ron again, but someone had to tell him how things stood.

''It's not about the Tournament either mate,'' Ron spoke, completely deflating. He looked more tired than ever before. ''I'm going to bed.''

''Ron, wait!''

But his friend didn't listen anymore. Why was everything falling apart again?

Why indeed.. for the drama of course! I hope that you all liked the chapter nonetheless ^^
At least Ginny made sure Harry took a more sensible decision than rushing after Hermione on his own. And Viktor finally gets his chance to offer support ;P

Read and Review please!
xx Germerope