Chapter Two
"So, Fedor, how do you plan on dealing with Dumbledore? He's sure to see through your glamour charms." The young man in question leaned back against the railing of the large wooden vessel that would soon transport them to Hogwarts with a pensive expression on his face as he got his thoughts in order.
As one of the primary fundraisers for the Durmstrang portion of the tournament's expenses, the school staff had no problems with Aleksander being on board to spend a little time with his sons before they were to depart. Most fathers would have certainly asked that question long before now, or sat their child down to go over every eventuality, but he had long ago taught both his boys how to solve their own problems. Not to say that Aleksander intended to leave his youngest to the wolves on his own, mind you, but they worked as a team, each covering a specific aspect of any problem they needed to solve and it was up to them to decide how they would go about it. Viktor and Fedor would be dealing with any problems at Hogwarts and their father would deal with the political fallout at the Ministry and in the press should their secret get out.
"I figure I'll just play it by ear. He won't try anything direct until he has absolute proof. He is certainly planning on keeping an eye on me and Viktor but as soon as he figures it out he will turn his attention solely to me. He'll scrounge around for a while, getting all the information he can before he confronts me directly and if that doesn't go the way he wants then he'll bring in the Potters to try to create an emotional bond between us. Only after that fails will he go through the Ministry to take any legal action or even try to take me by force."
"I agree," Aleksander nodded in approval. "With Riddle's attempts at regaining physical form, Dumbledore needs someone who can fulfill that prophecy of his and even he must know that neither Longbottom and especially Potter, just don't have what it takes. Longbottom's afraid of his own shadow and Potter is little more than a media whore."
"True, his actions, and those of his father, at last year's tournament proves that conclusively." Viktor spoke up for the first time. "While he may have some semblance of skill, he has no discipline or drive to get better. He trains when he wants to for how long he wants to and not even his parents push him to do more." He snorted in disgust. In truth, neither Viktor nor Fedor really had anything against the boy until last year. True, he was an arrogant glory hound but it didn't affect them in any way, so they didn't care.
However, at the European Dueling Championships last year, that changed when Potter entered the tournament without even qualifying, allowed to compete simply because he was the 'Boy-Who-Lived', taking the place of a good fighter that had actually earned that position. Despite his lack of experience in competitive dueling he realized who would be hard to beat and successfully 'cleared the road'.
He talked the other duelists into signing a petition to disqualify Fedor. Thirty two, including Potter signed while the other four fighters refused. No reasons were given, all that was said was that if he remained in competition they would all forfeit. James Potter used his position on the International Dueling Commission to submit the petition for review only one day before the tournament was set to begin, effectively making it impossible to get enough fighters together to hold the event should they all quit. So they had the choice of canceling the tournament or disqualifying one, and finding someone else to take his place. Despite the fact that he was their reining champion, the commission chose the second option.
Though on a plus side, James Potter was 'asked' to resign from the council for withholding that petition until the last minute for the sole reason of aiding his son. Publicly, he competed at the adult level that year because he requested it, in truth, it was because the other two age groups above him followed Potter's example and refused to fight him, leaving taking an available slot on the adult circuit as his only option.
Above all, nothing is more despised by the Krum family than cowardice and Potter seemed to have the quality in abundance. If he can't stomach facing a better fighter in a controlled environment, with strict rules to keep the competitors safe, then how is he going to react to a group of men trying to kill him? He would be a liability, nothing more than a hindrance that would be getting in the way.
"Mr. Krum, if you would excuse us, we must get under way! And the sooner the better." Professor Ivanoff, dueling master and acting Headmaster, spoke up gruffly after he climbed on deck. Relief flooding him as he left a near battalion of nosy reporters behind.
"Very well," He responded with a nod. "I expect the two of you to take every precaution but if anyone, student, teacher, reporter or politician gives you any trouble, I expect you to come out on top. Now, I'll see you both at the selection ceremony next week." After bidding their father farewell, Viktor proceeded to his cabin below deck.
"Fedor, please proceed." The boy just nodded as he stood on the center most point and withdrew his wand. The wand movements he had been practicing for the last month flowed effortlessly for nearly thirty seconds before he shouted, "Barclavus", and a shimmering blue dome surrounded the ship before fading from sight while at the same time the feeling of the ship bobbing in the water completely disappeared.
The first part of the spell was designed to keep the water and aquatic wildlife on the outside of the shield when submerged while filtering in oxygen from the water itself. The second part would fix the center of gravity on the ship so that no matter how rough the trip became, everyone would keep their balance. They could flip upside down completely and it is entirely possible that no one would notice.
Under normal circumstances a student probably wouldn't be the best choice to cast this spell but the only staff member capable was their charms instructor, Professor Emelianenko, but he was nearly two hundred years old and was not as robust as he once was. He simply did not have the physical stamina to anchor the spell for an extended period of time while at the same time powering the ship's movements. As a result he had to find someone else to handle that aspect of their journey and Fedor was the best candidate. It took him quite a while to get it right, and even longer to get used to the constant draw on his magic but in the end the ancient professor was quite pleased with the boy's achievement.
Closing his eyes while the dizziness from the magical drain passed, Fedor pulled his heavy fur cloak around himself tightly to fight off the cold. The weather in the vicinity of Durmstrang was severe even during the summer but while winter was approaching in the rest of the northern hemisphere, this far north, it had long since tightened its grasp.
"A little different than casting the spell under simulated conditions, isn't, boy." Professor Emelianenko laughed at his young protégé. "The nausea will pass once your magical energy re-stabilizes. Why don't you go below, and relax while I get this tub moving." Not trusting himself to even open his mouth, Fedor just nodded and proceeded across the deck to the main hatch.
He hated this feeling, in fact, he despised it. The feeling that such a simple action, at least in theory, could leave him so fatigued for even a short while. Like with any other form of energy, magic took greater influence to initiate the spell than it did maintaining it. Once he recovered from the initial casting, he probably wouldn't even notice the constant magical draw unless his spell came under attack. That, however, didn't bring him any comfort. Like any other teenager out in the world, he had his share of enemies, a few of which were on this very ship, and he did not like the fact that he was not one hundred percent should they choose to act before he recovered. Though the chances were very remote, fear was an invaluable tool in keeping such people in line.
XXX
"As I understand it, many of your professor's have let you off with little, if any, class work today since it is thought that your anticipation of our guests arrival later this afternoon is greatly effecting you concentration." 'Mad Eye' Barked loudly as he paced back and forth at the head of his sixth year, Hufflepuff/Gryffindor class. In truth, the only professor to assign any work was Snape and he seemed to want to make up for his colleagues' lack of enthusiasm by assigning as much as he could possibly get away with.
"While I can understand your excitement, that is not a valid excuse for you to neglect your studies completely. There may come a day when what you learn in this classroom could very well save your lives but it will do you no good if you do not have the discipline to focus on the matter at hand.
"With these facts in mind, we will postpone our study of the Unforgivables until next week. Instead we will focus our attention on something more entertaining but also something you can learn a great deal from observation. Take out a quill and parchment and take notes of any questions you may have and voice them after we are finished." Moody growled while taking a swig out of his flask. The students didn't hesitate a moment to follow his instruction.
"Since we will be hosting a couple of dueling champions for the foreseeable future, as well as having a few of our own, many have inquired about reinstating the dueling program here at Hogwarts. Before you can even think about participating in such an activity, you must know what is possible, the strategies involved and most importantly, how to gage your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Pay close attention. The first match involves someone you all know." With a wave of his wand, a large screen of mist appeared in the front of the room. Slowly, the mist began to clear until a scene as clear as any state of the art muggle television was left in its place, showing a long platform that was completely surrounded by stands with screaming fans. The noise the crowd was making increased in volume as the competitors were being introduced.
First to be introduced was a young man named Günter Antheim, the Austrian National champion. Seeing as how the competition was being held in southern Bavaria, he was clearly going to be the crowd favorite. The next name announced had everyone groaning with the exception of Cedric Diggory who already knew it was coming since he had been on hand for that tournament despite the fact that he did not qualify to compete as he had the year before.
Potter climbed onto the platform and waved and bowed to the crowd, though everyone could see that he was upset that he hadn't warranted a louder ovation. While the name Allen Potter was well known on continental Europe, he was not nearly as revered as he was in England for the simple fact that they didn't have the Daily Prophet and a Minister like Cornelius Fudge constantly raving about how great the boy was. In fact, much of the rest of Europe thought he was a joke.
Everyone watching actually perked up a bit when they saw exactly how well the Boy-Who-Lived preformed. As a whole the duel was hardly awe inspiring. In fact, little Allen was on the defensive a great deal of the time and only won because of a lucky shot.
Throughout the whole thing, Moody had a running commentary going on what mistakes were made and particularly how Potter just seemed to fumble through it with no more strategy than simply throwing as many spells as he could. It was quite enjoyable to see this, especially seeing as how nearly a year later, the boy was still going on about how brilliantly he had preformed.
"Questions!" Moody demanded after ending the images. When no seemed to want to draw the ex-Auror's attention to them, he continued. "Very well, this next match was held during the same competition but in the Adult's division. It is known as one of the most brutal matches in the nine hundred year history of the EDC."
"Krum vs. Krum!" Cedric asked loudly in excitement as he perked up instantly. Moody just silently nodded while everyone looked at the star house seeker in slight confusion. Though he enjoyed dueling a great deal, and Quiditch was certainly not a gentle sport, he was not one that would abide by brutality.
"You will understand once you see it, it defies belief." He explained as he noticed everyone's eyes on him.
"As Mr. Diggory has guessed, this next match we will be viewing is the finale of last year's European championship, Viktor Krum facing his brother Fedor. As they were both competing as adults, the rules are a bit different but we will get to that afterwards. Keep in mind that as this is the finals, they had both already fought and won four matches that same day."
When the mist cleared once again, the view was completely different. The usual dueling platform was replaced with a large, open circular area and the stands surrounding the ring were much larger and every available space was filled. Nearly the entire crowd were loudly chanting 'Krum, Krum, Krum' but it was unclear of who they were supporting for obvious reasons, though it was a safe bet that the fans were split.
"Both of the Krums quickly became fan favorites even before the end of their first round matches. Their styles are rather unique and they completely dominated the opposition but they still made a good show of it." Cedric commented as an announcer stepped inside the ring and cast the 'sonorus' charm on his throat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we come to our final match of the competition and what a wild one it will be!" The crowd jumped to their feet with thunderous applause and it took the man a couple of minutes to calm them back down.
"Now, we have seen great things from both of these young men in the past, but this year, free from the restraints of the underage divisions, they have truly left us speechless. A better final we could not have dreamed of. So please, rise and welcome back misters Viktor and Fedor Krum." The crowd of nearly fifty thousand erupted once again as the two young men walked in from the dressing room and made their way through the crowd much like muggle boxers on their way to the ring.
Both men had some slight swelling and a few small cuts on their faces and hands but over all they looked to be in pretty good shape. Their faces seemed to be set in stone and their eyes betrayed nothing of what they were feeling. In truth, they probably weren't feeling much of anything. They had fought one another numerous times before and this was no different, well, with the exception of a gold medal and a shot at the world championships to go along with the usual bragging rights.
"For this match, young Fedor will be fighting under the red flag while Viktor will be fighting under the white. Gentlemen, you may begin when ready!" The announcer quickly got out of the ring and once he made it to the sidelines a large shield jumped into being as a precaution to keep the spectators as safe as possible.
For nearly a minute both fighters just stood opposite each other and stared, not moving a muscle as they looked for any small detail that could give away the other's possible movements. In the end, it was Fedor that broke first and launched a series of bludgeoning hexes and cutting curses at his older brother.
Viktor was able to block the first spells with relative ease but they wore down his shield enough for the others to shatter it completely, forcing him to dive out of the way. Under normal circumstances this would probably have been the best time to capitalize but he knew his brother to well. They only way he would be able to land a curse at the moment would be to move forward and fire it at point blank range and in a fight that would be the last thing you would want to do. Putting himself within Viktor's grasp would have been suicide, much better to just try to keep himself at a distance for the time being.
The two traded curses back and forth, neither really coming up with anything until Viktor was able to land a spell that dislocated Fedor's left shoulder with a loud wet pop. The crowd gasped as the young man dropped to one knee as he clenched his teeth in pain. The referee for the match barely had time to raise his small white flag, signaling to the judges that Viktor had scored a point, before the older fighter ran straight at his brother. Once he was only a few yards away his hands lifted into the air and a previously unseen sword, it was disguised as a ring, appeared in his grasp. He wasted no time in bringing the blade down swiftly, aiming right for his brother's head.
Fedor reacted instantly, retrieving his own weapon and held it aloft to intercept the other blade. Holding the sword with only one hand, he knew he could not overcome Viktor's physical strength directly but he could deflect the majority of the force instead of absorbing it, which is exactly what he did. Unfortunately, even before the blow was completely deflected, a foot lashed out and caught Fedor right in the sternum, sending him tumbling backwards.
Before another attack could be launched, he used his wand to temporarily heal his shoulder as he climbed back to his feet. Gripping his wand in his left hand and his sword in his right, he met his brother's charge with one of his own and the battle really got started.
Circling each other, they exchanged blows and traded curses back and forth, taking no notice of the injuries they were sustaining and ignoring the fact that they should probably keep at least some of their abilities a secret but with competitors such as them, losing is not an option and they would do just about anything to win.
'Ah, hell!' Fedor thought to himself as his sword was knocked out of his hand only receive a fist to the face a second later followed up by a few kicks to the ribs.
Trying to shake off the pain, he quickly rolling to his right before scrambling back to his feet only to see Viktor advancing once again. Thinking quickly, he cast a powerful concussion curse that blasted the two men in opposite directions. While it was true that the spell affected him just as much as his opponent, he felt he didn't really have any choice. At the rate things were going the match would have been over fairly soon and he could not allow that. As it stood now, even though he may have aggravated his injuries more seriously, he at least had a chance to regroup and come up with a new strategy.
Surprisingly, it was Viktor that was the slower of the two at regaining his footing but judging by his current location, that was perfectly understandable. The force of the blast threw him directly into the shield separating the ring from the crowd. The impact, and the one with the floor immediately following it, certainly couldn't be a comfortable experience.
The spectators watched in absolute shock as the two young men, brothers even, literally seemed to try to utterly destroy each other. They had never seen anything like it before. It was shocking, it was horrifying… It was the greatest thing they had ever seen.
After nearly forty five minutes of fighting, both were calling on their last reserves of energy in an almost vein attempt to come out on top. Their moves were slower, more sluggish and it was obvious to everyone watching that this match could very well end in a tie should both fighters collapse unconscious before a clear winner is decided. The scoreboard reflected that they were nearly neck and neck in points so it was actually a very real possibility. After the show they've seen the crowd probably wouldn't care either. After such a fight, it would be a right shame for one of them to walk away the loser.
However, like a many things, once you begin discussing the likelihood of certain actions taking place, they are immediately confirmed or denied. In this case, Fedor, who was leaning against the shield for a bit of support, actually summoned his brother to him, and at an incredible rate no less. At the last moment, he hobbled out of the way, allowing Viktor to slam into the barrier, face first. Just to be sure, he repeated the process once more before dropping him to the ground and stunning him.
Taking a few calming breaths, Fedor sank to his knees and crawled his way over to his brother to be sure that he was in no danger, well, immediate danger at any rate. Deciding that the healers and event staff could do perfectly well without him, Fedor gave in to his exhaustion and slumped to the floor.
After vanishing the mist one final time, Moody turned back to his class to see them all starring straight ahead with looks of absolute shock on their faces. Like the spectators that had been present for the match, they had never seen its like before much less involving a boy three years younger themselves.
"I told you it would be good!" Cedric commented a bit smugly, which was a bit out of character for him but he felt it was justified. Besides, their reactions were just to amusing.
"Good, GOOD! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT'S GOOD?" His friend Amber Knightly shrieked. "They're brothers for Merlin's sake, and they were killing each other in there, and for what? Just to win a stupid competition?"
"That's just the way they are, Amber. It doesn't matter that they're related, when they compete, they go out to win. From what Viktor told me, their sparring sessions are quite similar to that in terms of ferocity, though they take more safety precautions. They go at each other with everything they have because it's the only way for them to get better."
"Wait! You know them?"
"Not very well, really. I met them the year before that match, Viktor eliminated me in the second round that year and a bunch of us went out and got drunk afterwards."
"You got drunk with a twelve year old?"
"Hey, he may have been twelve at the time but he was the most grown up twelve year old I've ever met. Probably more mature than most of the seventh years here." Cedric tried to defend himself.
"All that aside," Moody interrupted. "Are there any questions?"
"I have one, well two anyway." Angelina Johnson spoke up from where she was sitting next to Lee Jordan. "Why was the dueling area in the two matches different and also was the use of swords actually legal, I can't remember ever seeing that in any competitions I've seen?"
"Obviously you've only seen minors compete! Underage witches and wizards perform on standard dueling platforms as a safety precaution. With such a small area to move around, matches usually last only a fraction of the time as those of fully qualified fighters, leaving it much less likely that magical exhaustion will become a serious issue. Also, in these matches, it is strictly magic only, even physical contact with your opponent is forbidden. For the adults that is different. They can use whatever weapons they have at their disposal as long as they are agreed upon by both parties prior to the match. The only exception to this is the three Unforgivable curses, so everything you saw was perfectly legal as the Krum brothers agreed that there would be no restrictions on what weapons and tactics could be used. Nowadays, the use of handheld weapons and hand to hand fighting is fairly rare, primarily because magical folk usually feel that they are above such things.
"Now, I showed you these to particular duels to emphasis a very important point. Potter's duel was a perfect example of how inexperienced school children fight. No matter how much you train and practice your spell work, it is no substitute for actual experience. The Krum match however shows you how a skilled enemy will take the fight to you. If any student in this school were to go against an experienced Auror or even a Death Eater, you would be carried away in pine box within minutes. While it is unlikely that the Tri-Wizard Tournament will include a dueling competition, those of you that intend to enter would be served well by working on your physical conditioning and practicing these techniques as much as you can during you spare time."
XXX
By the time classes had ended for the day, the story of what Professor Moody had shown his sixth and seventh year classes had spread like wildfire. Most of the students were greatly interested in meeting the Krum brothers, Viktor more so due to his impressive Quiditch career, while there were several that showed fear of any Durmstrang student entering Hogwarts at all. They did have a rather nasty reputation after all.
Potter, however, was feeling a mixture of fear and anger. Fear because he rightfully knew that he was no match for Durmstrang's two leading candidates, and anger due to the fact that even the English press was predicting a Durmstrang win if either of the two were selected. They didn't give even HIM a chance. According to his Godfather, Remus Lupin, the betting was fast and furious already and the goblins gave him twelve to one odds on selection. For a boy that spent his entire life in the spotlight, it was not comforting to have it suddenly shift to someone else, especially a foreign Death Eater like Krum.
Even Allen knew that he was arrogant, but he honestly felt that he had every right to be. He believed that simply being the Boy-Who-Lived put him on a level far beyond his peers. They certainly wouldn't be able to defeat a Dark Lord even with all the education they've received and he did it before he could even talk. While certain he would be chosen as Hogwarts champion, he decided that he may have to take extra steps to ensure that it happens. Even his father didn't know how the selection was to take place so until he found out for sure he would just have to make certain that his performance got him noticed in class which was actually a bit harder than one would realize. He and Snape despised each other and all the other professors were always fawning over that stuffy bookworm Granger.
Under normal circumstances, he would probably do his best to avoid Krum as much as possible. While Viktor was obviously a very dangerous person, it was Fedor that had him worried. Ignoring his obvious power and skill, there was just something about him that seemed almost familiar, and it certainly was not a welcomed feeling. The few times he had come across the other boy during last year's competition he could literally feel his eyes on him and he felt nothing but his loathing and contempt.
Unfortunately, the only way to avoid him would be to stay out of the Tri-Wizard Tournament altogether. His need for attention and praise, however, overrode any fear he had for Fedor. He simply couldn't sit off to the side while others were the center of attention.
XXX
Professor Dumbledore stood outside on the grounds with the rest of his staff at his side and the top ten students from each year arrayed in their best robes behind him as they waited for all their guests to arrive. Madam Maxime and her contingent of Beauxbatons students had already made their appearance and were off to the side. The Hogwarts student ohhed and ahhed over the carriages drawn by winged horses, known as Abraxan, and everyone began speculating on how the Durmstrang representatives would arrive, though they didn't have long to wait.
A startled shout by a third year student drew everyone's attention to the lake where water was bubbling up about halfway out, as if it were boiling. Whatever was on their minds, judging by the gasps and shouts of surprise, they weren't expecting to see a large ship shooting to the surface, the bow high in the air before it came crashing back down again, sending several large waves slamming into the shore. Many students with experience in the muggle world were reminded of seeing pictures or videos of submarines surfacing in a similar manner.
Most of the younger students, and even many of the older, looked on with slacked jaws as the ship rocked back and forth roughly for several moments as they noticed several people on deck, taking no notice of the ship's erratic movements.
"Must be some kind of gravitational field." Hermione Granger muttered to herself, determined to research the spells used and learn to cast them herself.
"Indeed Ms. Granger!" Professor Flitwick confirmed as he looked at her with pride, though she took no notice as she tried to think of where to start her search.
After the rather dramatic appearance, unloading the ship's passengers was relatively quick. Once the ship had come to a rest several longboats were lowered and then launched moments later. This group was a little larger than Beauxbatons' and the students were marching up the grounds in two columns behind their professors, dressed in blood red robes under their furs. Before they reached the castle itself, one of the professors, who Snape recognized as Gregory Ivanoff, their new Headmaster, and approached Madam Maxime first, apparently taking no notice of Dumbledore. The rest of the group came to a rest directly in front of the Hogwarts Headmaster.
"Albus, is good to see you again." Professor Emelianenko greeted formally as he shook Dumbledore's hand.
"Andrei, welcome to Hogwarts." Dumbledore answered back after briefly glancing at the students. "I take it that dampening field was your work?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye, referring to the gravitational spell. Emelianenko was not amused by the small joke.
"Don't get cute with me, Albus." He snapped back, surprising the Hogwarts staff and students. "Even you, the 'All Powerful Dumbeldore', are much too old to hold such a spell for an extended period and still remain functional. As it stood, I had to delegate the responsibility to one of my students."
"Wha… One of your students?" He asked in shock. "Are they alright?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself. Albus, meet Fedor Krum!" A bit smugly, Andrei gestured to the younger of the two students in front. For a moment, Dumbledore just looked at the young man in surprise. He couldn't believe that someone so young could handle a spell like that with no adverse effects, then the name struck him and it seemed to make sense. From what he had heard of the boy thus far, this task did not seem too hard to believe.
He stood about five foot eight, had shoulder length black hair and his facial features were reminiscent of his brother's, who stood beside him. However, there was something off about him. His image seemed to vibrate slightly, as if he were looking at the boy through a lens that was shaking. His suspicions were confirmed when he focused harder and the glamour charms the boy was obviously under fell away.
At first he was greatly confused as he seemed to be looking at one of his own students, well except for the long hair and the strange scar on his forehead. Looking to his right, he saw that young Mr. Potter was indeed with his own classmates with a look of profound dislike as he looked and the younger Krum.
Fedor just looked at the old man as he looked between him and Potter several times in confusion before his eyes widened in shock. Seeing a man like Dumbledore gaping like a fish was always amusing. Once he appeared to get himself under some measure of control Fedor began feeling a light probe towards the front of his mind, looking for any weaknesses in his defenses. With a sneer and with little effort, he pushed one thought forward.
"You would do well to keep this information to yourself, old man!"