Vanishing Illusions

by King Andro

Harry Potter, previously thought to be dead, arrives to compete in the triwizard tournament. How will being raised by a former Death Eater and attending Durmstrang, alter the boy's intended course.

8. 8

Chapter Eight:

Being led through the Ministry, Fedor attracted many stares, everyone wondering who he was considering the obvious similarities to both James and Allen Potter. Though on the outside he looked as impassive and without care as ever, on the inside, he was near panic with worry. He knew that Amelia Bones was an honorable woman and nothing much would come of this meeting, it was just the beginning of a long process, but he had all these scenarios running through his head that he would be taken and put directly into the Potters' custody despite school, the tournament and the fact that he was a foreign citizen.

"Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement"

Sighing at the sickeningly sweet voice that echoed as the lift doors open, Fedor stepped out into a hallway that was lined with 'windows' that gave a more picturesque view of the London skyline. A view that certainly never truly existed. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. These English wizards seemed to prefer illusions to reality in just about every aspect of their society.

They past several people in the hall, all stopped to stare at him in confusion but no one said a word, which relieved him slightly. The end of the hall was split into two directions. A sign on the wall ahead pointing to the right indicated the location of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and The Improper Use of Magic Offices while to the left was Magical Reversal Squad and Auror Headquarters. His Auror 'escorts' led him to the left where they passed cubical after cubical with paper airplanes flying overhead. Once again, they drew a lot of attention but unlike others, these Aurors voiced their questions but all were ignored as they approached Madam Bones' office.

A rather attractive young witch sat at her desk outside the door and she watched them approach with wide eyes. Like everyone else that day, this had taken her completely by surprise and she didn't know what to think. When she had heard Auror Greene speaking about it as he left for Hogwarts just an hour ago, she didn't believe it, it was ridiculous, after all. Now, after seeing the young man, she wasn't so sure. When they reached her, she just waved them past. Madam Bones demanded that they be brought in immediately so that they could get this over with.

As they stepped into the office, Fedor schooled his features into an irritated scowl. Not even taking the time to look around, he stalked forward and sat down in front of Bones' desk, doing his best to ignore the presence of James and Lily Potter who were standing off to the side. He sat there for a moment as he glared into the older woman's dark brown, almost black eyes. He found the monocle she used to be a little ridiculous but over all she seemed to be a slightly imposing. She seemed surprised as everyone else so far. He and Allen were supposed to be twins, after all, but their different lifestyles had made some striking differences in their appearances.

"Madam, while I understand the need to get to the bottom of this situation, I do not appreciate you sending your Aurors to pull me away from my dinner like some common criminal while announcing to the world that my father is a kidnapper!" His words were spoken softly but there was a very dangerous edge to it. It was a bit of a gamble but he was rewarded when her anger at being spoken to in such a way was suddenly diverted as his exact words registered with her.

"REBECCA!" She snapped angrily as she stood up. Almost instantly, the receptionist outside ran into the room, looking both worried and confused. "Send Aurors Greene, Sanderson, Radford and Keech back in here NOW!" Her words came out in a growl and the young witch ran without so much as a nod. They sat in silence for all of twenty seconds before the four Aurors burst into the office.

"Ma'am!" The lead Auror saluted with a confused expression. Fedor had to fight to keep the smirk off of his face. A fact that both Madam Bones and James Potter picked up on.

"Did I, or did I not, instruct you to show some discretion with your orders?" Four faces instantly paled.

"Well, Madam, when I flooed Professor Dumbeldore, he believed that it was best to get the matter over with quickly." Greene answered uncomfortably.

"And how, may I ask, was it best to ambush him in front of the entire Hogwarts population? How was it best to publicly announce criminal activity on Aleksander Krum's part when we have yet to reach any conclusions?" The four looked between themselves for several long moments before trying to explain but all that came out was inarticulate mumbling. "The four of you are suspended without pay for seven days!" This seemed to bring their voices back as they protested this 'absurd' punishment.

"SILENCE!" Bones roared. "Your suspension will stand and the next time you decide to violate my expressed orders you can find yourselves a new bloody job, now get out of my office." Once the men were gone her anger seemed to melt away, to be replaced with a calculating and curious expression.

"Tell me, Mr. Krum, what was your reasoning for forcing my hand like that?" He no longer felt inclined to hide his amusement.

"I thought it best that those four be reminded of who they work for. The sooner they learn that while Dumbledore's 'suggestions' may often sound reasonable, he always has in own motives behind them, the better. Who knows, it might prevent them from doing something stupid he may ask of them later on. Others in this room would have been served well if they had learned that lesson themselves."

"Indeed." Bones replied with some amusement as both James and Lily looked deeply insulted. "Now, Mr. Krum, let us get to the matter at hand. Are you, or are you not, Harry James Potter?"

"No, Madam, I am Fedor Nicholai Krum and nothing Albus Dumbledore or his two puppets here have to say will ever change that fact." Madam Bones was temporarily taken off guard by the boy's anger to such a simple question before she thought the matter through and tried to place herself in his position. He had been known as Fedor Krum his entire life, or at least the vast majority of it, it was understandable that he would be upset when someone tried to call him something else.

"Let me rephrase the question. Are your birth parents James and Lily Potter?" Fedor looked over at the two with a pensive look on his face before turning back.

"To my everlasting shame." He answered honestly.

"Interesting." Amelia mused out loud. James looked ready to make his thoughts known but Lily quickly silenced him with a warning glare. The last thing they needed was for him to lose his temper. "To the best of your knowledge, how did you come to be in the care of Aleksander and Olivia Krum?" And so he told her the same story they had feed Sirius and Dumbledore. The beauty was that they had gone over it so many times that while they knew it to be false, psychologically they almost believed it themselves. This, when combined with Occlumency, allowed them to beat out most truth charms. It did not, however, help in any way with Veritaserum but if they were careful, it wouldn't come to that.

"You said that you and your family discovered that you were the son of the Potter's when you were six, correct? How long have you known that you were, 'adopted'?" She asked delicately.

"Since I was old enough to understand, my parents never tried to hide the fact from me."

"Yet they hid the fact from everyone else! Obviously Krum knew from the very beginning because he took you from our house himself." Potter stated as if it was absolute fact. While it was true, the man's tone really pissed Fedor off.

"I am well aware that you have both spoken with Sirius recently, so you know perfectly well that that is highly unlikely. As for your first point, at first, they didn't bother to hide it from others, but neither did they advertise it, but after discovering who I was and the fact that there would no doubt be those out there to do me harm, such as the Carrows, memory charms and modifications became extremely useful."

"What does Sirius Black have to do with this?" Bones asked in surprise and James cringed a little.

"Sirius is one of mine and Viktor's dueling instructors. He comes by for a couple of days at least once a month and runs us through the grinder and just hang out."

"How long has he known about this?"

"Nearly four years now. He captured Alecto Carrow and questioned her before she later escaped. He got enough information out of her to get him to go see my father. After swearing an oath that he would reveal nothing, my father told him everything."

"Why was I not told about thislittledetail?" She hissed angrily to her former captain. Lily, who had never seen the woman angry before, was quite intimidated and James wasn't much better.

"You weren't told because any information that does not vilify my parents is another stumbling block in Dumbledore's way. As long as everyone believes that they kidnapped me, your Ministry would never allow me to return home. I would instantly be placed into the Potter's custody and by extension, under Dumbledore's control."

"What makes you so sure that Dumbledore wants you?" Amelia asked curiously. She had no love for the man but so far she hadn't heard anything that would draw the man's interest beyond being the 'missing' son of friends.

"Oh, didn't they tell you?" He asked while looking at his parents with a smirk. "Allen Potter didn't have anything to do with Voldemort's downfall, that was me and me alone. Just as he has controlled Allen Potter, he now wants to control me now that he knows the truth."

"Amelia, it is clear that Krum has been lying to my son his entire life and somehow has managed to convince Sirius of the same. I think…"

"You would do well to keep your mouth shut, Potter." Fedor interrupted with venom in his voice. "You beliefs and mindless accusations are not pertinent to the present conversation. Every word I have said is the truth and even if it wasn't, it would make no difference to me. Whether he rescued me from Carrow or took me out of your burning house himself, I…DON'T…CARE! If that were indeed the case, I would pray to every deity ever conceived and thank them that he did."

"And why is that?" Amelia knew that this meeting was going to be interesting but it was far exceeding her expectations. It quite entertaining in strange sort of way.

"Because, Madam, every time I hear the name Allen Potter, I cannot help but think that that could have been me and the thought sickens. An arrogant simpleton that flaunts his fame to everyone around him as if the sun rises and sets out of his ass."

"As I seem to understand, you appear to enjoy the fame you have achieved, yourself!" Lily spoke up for the first time. She had been trying to keep James calm but this was too much. She wasn't going to sit around and listen toanyonebadmouth her son.

"The difference, lady, is that everything I have, I'veearnedthrough years of study, hard work and dedication. Yourprecious little boyhowever, has had everything handed to him all his life and he holds it over everyone around him. He honestly believes that he is entitled to everything he wants, he believes he can do anything he wants and you, your husband and Dumbledore never stands in his way when he goes too far. Well, far from dealing with the problem, you've almost been actively encouraging it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm sure you'll find tomorrow'sDaily Prophetvery enlightening."

"YOU SEE!" James shouted as he jumped to his feet. "I told you they were making up all those stories."

"We have made up nothing. We have simply pointed the paper towards the truth. I'm sure that if Madam Bones here were inclined enough to investigate the matter, she will find that every story they have printed is true. There is nothing wrong with concerned citizens exposing wrong doing."

"Am I to also understand that your family was behind the recording crystals and transcripts that weremysteriouslydelivered to my office last week?" Amelia asked with a small amount of suspicion and a little respect. She knew perfectly well that she would have to remain impartial in this matter, it was a potential criminal case after all, but she couldn't help but like this young man.

"Indeed."

"Why?"

"From what your niece, Susan, has told me, you've raised her since her parents were killed when she was just an infant, correct?" He asked after thinking for a moment. "Now lets say that some unknown relative came along and claimed that they were her rightful guardian, would you simply let her go without a fight? For that matter, do you think she would allow herself to be taken without a fight? However, I believe we are getting off track here. It is getting rather late and the next ten days are going to be extremely busy for me. Are there any other relevant questions you have?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I have your father's file here. Born and raised in Leningrad until settling in Sofia upon graduation from Durmstrang, and five years later he was recruited into the Death Eaters by Voldemort himself. What can you tell me about that?"

"Which part would you like clarified, moving from Russia to Bulgaria or joining the Death Eaters?" This earned him a withering glare and he had to suppress a gulp.

"This is neither the time nor the place for sarcasm, Mr. Krum."

"I apologize, but in such matters it always helps to be specific. If you wanted to know about the Death Eaters, there was no point in mentioning his change in residence." Despite herself, Madam Bones felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips before quickly squashing it.

"Very well, yes, he was a Death Eater, even took Voldemort's mark willingly. To the best of my knowledge, he has never denied this. He was young and foolish and like so many others at that time, he was swayed by his lies. However, as I'm sure your file also states, he was never charged because to the best of anyone's knowledge, even other Death Eaters, he never took part in any attack and he had both the intelligence and the courage to leave once he found out what he had really gotten himself into."

"Indeed, it does." Bones agreed. "Also, your close relationship to members of the Valavicius family has also brought concerns. While on the surface, your father's business is legitimate, it is believed by some that it is merely a front for criminal activity."

"Another baseless accusation and one that is easily proven false. Sirius had the very same concerns when he originally met with my father. After swearing another oath, this one ensuring that he would not reveal specifics, he was granted access to all records both personal and professional regarding finance. As I'm sure he will confirm for you, my great-grandfather has no part in it. They keep their business practices strictly separate."

"If that is indeed the case, what was the need for that oath? If there is nothing untoward going on what is the harm in such information becoming known?" Fedor looked pensive at her suspicious tone as he thought things over. Coming to a conclusion, he drew one of his wands and cast every privacy charm he knew, isolating the Potters from both sight and sound. This intrigued the older woman to no end.

"First, your oath that you will not reveal anything I am about to say to anyone in any fashion, nor will you use it for your own financial gain."

"I'll humor you, however, I will swear my oath to not repeat this conversationunlessthere is clear evidence of criminal activity."

"I can live with that but I would like it to be amended tounresolvedcriminal activity. The only crimes involved have been satisfactorily resolved by all relevant parties." After she gave her oath, Fedor reached into his pocket at pulled out a single galleon.

"Do you know how much gold this actually contains?" Amelia blinked in confusion.

"I was under the impression that it was pure."

"Wrong, it contains one half ounce of gold and the other half is made up of other materials. Now, what is the current exchange rate for muggle currency?"

"I believe it is currently at fourteen British pounds for every galleon."

"Correct, so I'm sure it will surprise you to learn that the half ounce of gold in this coin, in the muggle world, is actually worth over two hundred British pounds. The vast discrepancy between the price of gold and silver in the magical and muggle worlds, or rather between the goblin nation andallhumans, is the fact that goblins, like the dwarves, can easily find and reach rich veins of gold and silver in areas that are too deep and too hazardous for muggle technology and human magic to locate."

"While surprising, I don't quite see the relevance. Magical currency can not be spent, traded or even given away in the muggle world."

"True, so if you wish to take advantage of the situation you must first get around the numerous magical protections Gringotts places on every coin they issue."

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOUR FATHER CHEATED GRINGOTTS?" She shouted in shock. According to her information, Aleksander Krum made his fortune several years ago, how in the name of Merlin had he been able to avoid the Goblins for so long?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Cheat is such an ugly word. I like to believe that he out thought them. While it took him years to work out all the protection charms, it was well worth it. He melted down just about every galleon and sickle he had, separated the gold and silver from everything else and then sold the pure metal in the muggle world. After selling it all off, he took all his muggle money to different branches of Gringotts under many different names and converted it all. He did the whole process three times before the goblins caught on and put a stop to it."

"How has he remained alive after being caught?" She asked in shock but she was also impressed by the man's audacity.

"While this was a serious transgression to their way of thinking, the only thing my father was guilty of under goblin law was defacing Gringotts' property, and that, while punished severely, does not warrant a death sentence. So, my father took advantage of this situation as well and actually charged the goblins a hefty price for the information on what he did and how."

"And they paid? What was to stop them from confiscating every once of gold he had?"

"Ah, if they did that, what was to stop my parents from telling others how he did it?" Fedor asked with a smirk. "The goblins thought it was in their best interest to simply pay him off. It was also rather strongly worded that no information regarding the matter was to get out, for obvious reasons. They couldn't very well allow it to become common knowledge that a mere human got the better of them."

"What else are the goblins getting out of this deal, I cannot believe that they would simply let that much gold slip through their fingers just to save face?"

"What any sharp minded creature would seek under such circumstances, a business arrangement. For the most part, goblins have had no political or economic ties with the muggle world, it was deemed as a useless venture, besides they couldn't exactly show up to board meetings and giving a human the power to make decisions on their behalf was out of the question. Due to my father's activities in the gold market, he had to set up a dummy mining corporation in the muggle world to hide where it was all really coming from. Though he is no longercheatingthe goblins, as you put it, this corporation is still intact, giving the goblins the perfect front to do business in the muggle world. My father gets a commission of one half of a percent of the total profits and the goblins keep the rest. From what I understand, it has been a very lucrative arrangement. They're making hand over fist and are using that money to buy out the mining for other companies as well, giving them access to deposits that were previously unavailable to them due to another's claim or the fact that they wouldn't be able to hide the face that the mine workers were goblins from the local muggles. The only real set back for them is making sure that they don't flood the market with too much gold too fast since it would no doubt cause the value to drop."

"According to my information, you father owns and operates a consulting firm, not a mining outfit?"

"He does. That is his primary business in the magical world, which he started up with his initial, um,investmentfrom Gringotts. The Regency Mining Corporation, though being the 'middle man' for the goblins, operates solely in the muggle world." After finishing his explanation, he dropped the privacy wards and the questioning continued. It was almost ten o'clock by the time they were finally finished. Madam Bones assured him that she would speak with Sirius as well as contacting the Bulgarian Ministry about arranging for his father to come at his earliest convenience so that he may give his side of the story.

Right after he was led out of the office by a young and fairly attractive Auror named Hestia Jones, Madam Bones rounded on James Potter and told him in no uncertain terms that his suspension had just been lifted only to officially inform him that his contract with the department had been terminated for knowingly withholding important information regarding a criminal investigation for his own benefit. While she could understand that this was deeply personal to him, she had always, and always will, hold her Aurors to a higher standard.

XXX

By the time he had made it back to Hogwarts, Fedor was exhausted. It wasn't that late, but his meeting with Madam Bones had taken a lot out of him mentally and emotionally. He thought that it had gone fairly well but he would not be able to relax until after his father had met with Bones. Since you must either give your consent or have a court order, it was unusual to use Veritaserum this early in an investigation, he was still extremely nervous that because of the obvious public and political interest that would be paid to this case, they would wave the normal procedures.

When he made his way aboard the Durmstrang ship, he was not surprised to find both Anna and Viktor waiting for him but was not prepared to find his mother there as well and he was immensely grateful that there were no other students on deck. He had always believed that his mother was a beautiful woman. She was a slim figured woman with dark reddish brown hair that she always had styled in the latest fashions, and crystal blue eyes that, at times, seemed to pierce straight into your soul. With her creamy complexion and aristocratic features, she was sure to garner a great deal of attention from the opposite sex, but he was taken by surprise by the reaction of his fellow students the first time she visited Durmstrang after he began his 'formal' education. It was remarkable how many beatings it took for him and Viktor to get the point across that tactless comments would not be appreciated.

"Mother, what are you going here?"Fedor asked in confusion. Not that he wasn't glad to see her, of course, but even if someone had contacted her immediately he didn't think she would have had the time to make the necessary arrangements to get to England so quickly. And if she had, why would she go to Hogwarts and not the Ministry.

"I was conducting a meeting with Alan Cummings and Rita Skeeter concerning your next interview when Anna's message arrived that you'd been taken to the Ministry."Ah, so that explained it. She was already in the country. He just grunted at the mention of his future 'interrogation'. He didn't like reporters much."Your father has already contacted Madam Bones and assured her that he will arrive within the hour with his attorney. I'm not particularly sure that she will appreciate the late night she is in for but we thought it best that he speak to her before The Daily Prophet announces your 'return'."

"She may not be as upset about the hour as you might think."He took a few minutes to fill his family in on the goings on of his meeting. While it wasn't spectacular, it was probably the best overall outcome they could have had.

"I got the distinct impression that this evening was probably one of the most interesting she's had had in a while. Dad showing up not long after I left will hopefully make things go smoother, as long as Potter is gone before he gets there. She tried to hide it, but I could see that her respect for him grew after I finished explaining his business with the goblins."

"I can understand that. By all accounts, she is a very sharp minded and cunning woman and it often takes a great deal of cunning to get your own money from a goblin much less theirs."

"So, why are you here and not at the Ministry waiting for dad to arrive?"Fedor asked with some concern.

"We thought it best that he does this on his own. But not to worry, if things go wrong, he has a portkey to take him to safety. He will send me a messenger spell when he is finished."Olivia reassured him, knowing full well what he was thinking. She didn't like the idea of him going alone either but it was for the best.

"Do I even want to know who you managed to convince that it was good idea to give it to you?"Victor asked with no small amount of sarcasm. To get a portkey that worked inside the Ministry itself meant that it was made by someone fairly high up that could key it into the wards.

"Of course you want to know." She responded with a smile. "But sadly, you will have to live without that information for the time being."

As they waited, Victor and Anna had a bit of fun by telling them how everything had 'exploded' after Fedor had been taken away. As he figured, most of the Durmstrang students didn't really seem to care much, even those from darker families. Voldemort, while terrorizing England, wasn't really big news in Eastern Europe where dozens like him sprouted up in the same general time frame, a product of Soviet rule. Those thatwouldnormally care about his relationship with the The-Boy-Who-Lived, shrugged it off as well. It was perfectly obvious what he thought of his former family and whether they liked him, hated him, or were indifferent to him, they felt that he earned his place among them.

The Beauxbatons students were a different matter entirely. France, Spain, Holland and Belgium were hit hard by Voldemort's Death Eaters as well, though not as much as England, so it was understandable that they would share nearly the same level of shock as the Hogwarts students seemed to be going through. As is normal when you get more than one person together and drop a bomb like that, it didn't take long for people to begin speculating about how he had survived, how he came to be raised by the Krums and, most importantly, if he was indeed Harry Potter, was he really The-Boy-Who-Lived, not Allen Potter.

Due to their much more personal experiences with the Potters and the media blitz that had been assaulting them all their lives concerning the family, it took the Hogwarts students a little longer to shake off their shock. But, like their western European guests, they were quick to start going through every possible theory they could conceive. It was at this time that Allen Potter finally came out of his daze. Seeing the unsurprised and pleased look on Dumbledore's face, showing that he had previous knowledge, and hearing his rightful title, The-Boy-Who-Lived, being used with someone else's name caused him to snap.

What little support he had within Hogwarts seemed to melt away immediately as he began screaming that he defeated Voldemort on his own and that Harry Potter was dead. He was dead because he was too weak to handle all the magic thatHISbody was producing. While that had been the general theory for well over a decade, no one, least of all a member of the Potter family, had had the unmitigated gall to actually say it out loud. The way he shouted it as he did, spoke volumes and even if he didn't mean for it to appear that way, it seemed to everyone present that he was actuallygladthat there was no one else to share the spotlight with him, even if it had come at the price of his twin brother's life.

Even Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnegan were looking at him with wide, shocked eyes. Though whether it was because of what he said or the fact that he shouted it in the middle of the Great hall was unknown, nor did anyone notice or care. Obviously realizing that he had made a serious mistake, Allen was quick to make his exit.

Viktor and Anna could almost feel sorry for the kid as he ran out of the hall. The way this was sprung on him as it was couldn't be doing him any good. You would think that his parents or Dumbledore would have given him a bit of advanced warning but it would seem that they were too caught up in their own plans to think about such things.

It was nearly four in the morning when a messenger spell arrived in the form of Aleksander'sPatronus,a Cerberus, causing their mother to heave a heavy sigh, as if a great weight had just been lifted off her chest.

"He's just fine. His meeting went fairly well and he's on his way to a hotel."The three students nodded silently, none bothering to hide their relief."Now, it has been an exceptionally long day, so I suggest that you all get your rest. It is sure to be rather chaotic around here for some time to come, especially for you, Fedor."They just nodded and after bidding their mother, or aunt in Anna's case, goodbye, they made their way below deck to get some sleep.

Later that day as they pulled themselves out of bed just in time to get to lunch, Olivia's word proved correct, not that they expected anything else. Once they walked into the Great Hall, silence fell like a plague as everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Fedor in silence. He did his best to ignore the attention but it was a bit difficult with more than a thousand pairs of eyes boring into him.

Everyone followed his movement to the Hufflepuff table where he sat down between Artemis Portokalos and Auto Gerlach. His two friends merely nodded at him before returning to their lunch. Across the table however, Cedric and a few others were staring at him. It could have been the fact that he was no longer wearing his glamour charmed pendant but he wasn't too hopeful about that. While it was certainly part of it, the primary reason was surely that he looked very much like one of their fellow Hogwarts' students and the fact that the night before a group of Aurors had claimed that he was Harry Potter, someone they had all thought had died thirteen years ago.

"Erm, did they already know about your, um…" Not quite sure how to voice his question about the Durmstrang students' nonchalance about the situation, Cedric lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

"No, they didn't. They just don't care. Voldemort didn't have nearly the impact in their home countries as he did here or in France so by extension, the Potter name doesn't mean much to them. Most thought there was something my family was hiding about me and I suspect that the truth didn't live up to their expectations. Adoption isn't really a big deal, after all."

"So nobody knew until last night?" Amber asked.

"No, Fleur figured it out but chose to keep it to herself because she thought it would be amusing. From what Viktor and Anna told me, I'm sure she got quite a laugh."

"Yes, it was quite chaotic." After thinking for a moment, he decided to just get the question out of the way. "How did you survive, much less end up with the Krums?"

"I take itThe Daily Prophethasn't arrived yet?"

"Um, no it hasn't, as a matter of fact." Amber spoke up in confusion. "It usually gets here during breakfast."

"Well, reporters are a nosy bunch. They're probably waiting for as much information as they can scrounge together before printing. Much easier than waiting for tomorrow to break news that they could have done today."

"I suppose…"

"KRUM!"This interruption wasn't altogether unexpected but Fedor was hoping it wouldn't happen until after the newspaper arrived. It would certainly have made it more interesting.

"Potter, what can I do for you?" He asked in a patronizing tone as he turned around. This time, he had come alone instead of dragging his two usual stooges along with him.

"I don't know what you think you are doing, but you better stop or I'll make you regret it."

"Really? I'm curious to know how you think you are capable of making me regret anything."

"You areNOTHarry Potter!" Allen chose to move on instead of getting into a debate over who had the most skill.

"Finally, we agree on something. If I had the misfortune to be raised alongside you, I hope that I would have had the good sense to have killed myself long ago. Who knows, since you are so sure, maybe you can convince your idiot parents to leave me alone. Though I do find it rather sad that your parents are going through all this trouble to get their hands on me and they didn't even see fit to let you know. So sad." He sighed in mock sympathy before turning back to his lunch. Allen sucked in a deep breath, presumably to continue the current 'discussion', when a loud screech attracted everyone's attention as a large flock of owls flew into the hall and began dropping copies ofThe Daily Prophetto its subscribers.

Unfolding his copy, Fedor felt a large smile spread across his face as he looked at the front page. It was split in two down the middle with dual headlines. He scanned through the article on the right entitled,Fedor Krum: The-Boy-Who-Lived?

It basically just announced that he was Harry Potter, how he had survived, how he was 'saved' from Amycus Carrow and came to be raised by the Krums in Bulgaria and why they hid his identity when it was discovered. Finished off with the 'interviews' Madam Bones had with him, his father and Sirius. After looking into the matter it was determined that no criminal charges would be brought unless evidence contradicting their story was found but since the Carrows were the only ones that could rebuff their story it was highly unlikely that would happen since they were both dead. Despite this ruling James and Lily Potter were expected to bring the case before the Wizengamot to regain custody oftheirson, even though Fedor had made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with them.

Over all, the article was pretty good and would certainly serve its purpose. The reaction among the students was pretty much what he had suspected. Absolute silence reigned as they were enraptured with the story, going over every word on the front page and its three corresponding pages making sure they didn't overlook anything. Seeing this reaction, Potter reached over to the Ravenclaw table from where he was standing and snatched a copy out of the hand of Lisa Turpin, a fourth year classmate of his. His eyes were wide from the first word and his face began cycling through many different hues as many different emotions fought for dominance.

Finishing this first article, Fedor moved over to the second headline. This was the one he really wanted to see the reaction to, not necessarily from the student and teachers, they already knew most of it, but he was looking forward to seeing how the general public reacted. No doubt, there would be some that would refuse to believe it even if they witnessed it for themselves but most would believe every word. It was in the news, after all, it must be true. This one was much more entertaining, written by Rita Skeeter under an assumed name and the use of polyjuice to protect her rather inconspicuous way of digging up information.

ALLEN POTTER: HERO OR CRIMINAL

By Abigail Pleasance

As we here at The Daily Prophet struggle to rebuild our reputation, we have been forced to reveal many stories that certain respected members of our society have worked hard to keep hidden and many of our readers would prefer we kept to ourselves. While we will try not to venture into the realm of hearsay and rumor disguised as fact any longer, many will claim that this particular story is precisely that despite the overwhelming evidence that is available to anyone willing to look for it.

I am, in fact, referring to the young man we have held to be our hero for thirteen years now, and the facts revolving around this young man that his parents and Headmaster Dumbledore have exercised a great deal of effort, and a great deal of galleons, to keep hidden from the public eye.

While at Hogwarts to interview the four Tri-Wizard Champions, Daily Prophet columnist, Rita Skeeter found the student body to be rather cool towards their youngest representative in this tournament. An attitude that seemed a little extreme for a simple matter of cheating to be selected. Even his Gryffindor housemates were more than happy to support Hufflepuff student, Cedric Diggory, over one of their own. Curious as to the reasons behind the cold reception for young Mr. Potter, I decided to do a little investigating of my own and what I found was both shocking and down right disgusting.

Far from being the humble, talented and compassionate savior Headmaster Dumbledore and the Potters want us to believe, I've found him to be arrogant, disrespectful and has a penchant for assaulting his fellow students.

For the last week and a half, I have been randomly interviewing Hogwarts students concerning young Mr. Potter's activities and their statements left me speechless. Many of them had either been targets of Potter in the past or had witnessed his excess bullying of others first hand. According to these witnesses, Potter seems to enjoy cornering lone students with his friends Seamus Finnegan and Lavender Brown to harass them and rough them up, often requiring these children to spend time in the hospital wing.

Every student I interviewed explained that they, and many others had filed complaints with their Head of House but nothing ever came of it with the exception of a few detentions. The only Hogwarts professor that would speak of the matter was Hufflepuff Head and herbology professor, Pomona Sprout, who showed no restraint in expressing her anger towards Headmaster Dumbledore in dealing with the situation. Professor Sprout gave us copies of the twelve official requests for disciplinary action that she submitted with Dumbledore over the last two years, claiming that each of the other three heads of house had done the same several times as well. Once again, nothing ever came of it.

What is not widely known, is that when it comes to disciplining a student beyond that of a mere detention, it is the Board of Governors that is responsible for issuing punishment, such as suspension or expulsion. The only problem with this system is that all complaints to the Board must be submitted through Headmaster Dumbledore. According to Augusta Longbottom, Chairman of the Board, they have not received any complaints about Potter from Dumbledore, including the twelve that Professor Sprout herself submitted.

Why does Headmaster Dumbledore show Potter such latitude? Why was he, and the Potters, paying employees of this publication to write favorable articles about him and most importantly, why is he so content with ignoring the wellbeing of his other nine hundred students?

The article continued for another page and a half. There was certainly no flattery for Dumbledore or any member of the Potter family. Most students, apart from glaring daggers at Dumbledore for his cover ups, were also hopeful that something might actually change but they weren't going to hold their breath.

At the head table, Dumbledore was glaring at Professor Sprout who was looking completely unrepentant, in fact, she looked rather pleased. Snape didn't seem to care while all the other Hogwarts professors were looking quite shocked. McGonagall, however, was looking distinctly uncomfortable as she tried to go unnoticed.

"I always love a good news day." Fedor said happily as he stood up from the table, planning on making a visit to the library. When he was halfway to the door, he had a sudden feeling of déjà vu as he spun around with his wand drawn, blocking an incomingbone breakingcurse.

"This is all your fault, YOU did this!"Potter screamed in rage, completely forgetting that he was way outclassed. Tilting his head to the side, Fedor surveyed histwinwith a look of mild curiosity on his face before flicking his wand casually, sending Potter flying backwards spinning through the air to land painfully on the floor fifteen feet back from where he started. As Fedor marched towards him with an unreadable look on his face, Dumbledore stood up and drew his wand, intending to stop any further violence. Unfortunately, as soon as he did this, every Durmstrang student in the hall, even the ones that had chosen to sit at the Slytherin table, stood as well, aiming their wands directly at Dumbledore's heart.

"I would advise you not to interfere, Headmaster. That curse Potter used was aimed at my brother's head, and could have easily killed him if it wasn't blocked. If you don't want your golden boy arrested for attempted murder, you best sit down right now." Viktor growled loudly.

Fedor paid no attention to this as he reached the dazed Gryffindor. He reached down and picked up Potter's wand and after looking at it critically for a moment, he snapped it in two causing a low echo of phoenix song as its phoenix feather core incinerated itself after being damaged. Most people within the hall gasped. Breaking a wizard's wand was considered the worst insult you could give. Potter had come to his senses just in time to see his wand broken and his rage returned ten fold. He made to pull himself up off the floor but Fedor easily held him down with his boot planted firmly on his chest.

"I warned you never to raise your wand to me again. Was I not clear or are you really stupid enough to believe that that was a mere threat?" Potter's anger was quickly giving way to fear but he didn't have much time to think about Krum's words before he pointed his wand and cast a shattering curse at both of his hands. The scream that escaped his lips as every bone in his hands were shattered made everyone in the hall jump and cover their ears.

"This is your final warning, Potter." With those parting words, Fedor stalked out of the Great Hall to make his way to the library.

Twenty minutes later, the Hogwarts professors were gathered in the staffroom for an impromptu staff meeting. Dumbledore was standing at the head of a long conference table with a very annoyed look on his face. Of the other sixteen professors present, the only ones not looking put out were Sprout and McGonagall who looked no different than they did twenty minutes ago. Dumbledore had spent the last ten minutes berating Professor Sprout about chain of command and speaking to the press without his consent. This tirade wasn't helping his position any with those that were angry that their complaints had simply been cast aside instead of being passed on to the Board of Governors as they should have been.

"It is important for the boy to get an education. We simply cannot expel a student when we can do more to help them here." He maintained after it was made clear that Sprout would not back away from her belief that her actions were for the best.

"Really, Albus. As I recall, you had no problem having the Board expel Roger Davies after he assaulted Mr. Potter at the end of last year. And why did he do it? Because not two hours before, Potter tried playing a prank on a group of Ravenclaw second years, resulting in his cousin Emily being admitted into the hospital wing for ten days. If I remember correctly, Mr. Potter went unpunished for those actions as well." Flitwick spoke up in anger. He may be small, and his voice may sound a bit ridiculous with such an emotion but only a fool would take him lightly.

"Filius, please. Mr. Potter…"

"SHUT UP, MINERVA!" Sprout shouted. "You disgust me more that Albus. You are sworn to look out for the best interests of your students and you stand by and do nothing. The younger members of your house have to resort to coming to Filius or myself with any problems because you seem to have made it quite clear that despite your assurances to them, no actions will be taken when they become Potter's target. Now you sit here and seem to agree with Albus about seeking criminal punishment against Pott… Krum when he was merely responding to an attack that would have killed him. So Potter has two broken hands, big deal, he'll heal and with luck he's learned a lesson."

"As Deputy Headmistress, my responsibilities don't allow me the time to show the attention to my students that the rest of you are capable of. As for Mr. Krum…"

"Lets face it, Minerva." Trelawney sneered. McGonagall, for her part, was in shock. The batty bint actually sneered. At her. "The only reason Albus made you Deputy Headmistress was because you are the perfect little drone. You can be trusted to handle most matters concerning the students while he's off playing with his littleMinistry Toysbut any time that he makes a decision that you feel is wrong all he has to do is give you that pitiful wise old man look of his and you fall back in line no matter what your concerns may be. Though I am curious, just how long have you known that he was simply throwing away our students' complaints?"

"Sybil, I have never, and will never, tolerate such disrespect being shown to another professor!" Dumbledore spoke up firmly as he glared at the Divination professor, expecting her to be cowed. He was quite surprised when she merely turned her sneer onto him.

"You have that backwards, Albus. You have always tolerated disrespect, as long as you were the one showing it. You have the nerve to discard official reports as you see fit and allow that worthless punk free reign over this school because you seem to have a purpose for him. Not to mention all of your meddling within the Ministry. Have you always been this corrupt or are you simply growing senile in your old age?" Dumbledore looked ready to really get going when Fawkes appeared in a flash of crimson fire and settled on his shoulder, seeming to calm him.

"A masterful performance, Albus. But don't think for one moment that your little avian clone has me fooled, unlike most, I know what he is." As everyone but Hagrid and Flitwick looked at her in confusion, Trelawney glared at the Headmaster for a moment longer before turning back to McGonagall. "I'll give you two weeks, Minerva. Since you seem to have misplaced it long ago, you have until then to find and retrieve your backbone. If not, I will pay a visit to the Board of Governors myself and suggest that it is time a new Head of Gryffindor was found."

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"Actually, I can. It is her responsibility to ensure the students in Gryffindor can live, study and socialize in a safe, nurturing environment. She has failed in all three tasks. By the school's charter, while it is the Headmaster's responsibility to find suitable professors, it is the Board that is to appoint suitable candidates for Headmaster and the Heads of House, only one of many duties you have assumed for them over the years. After reading today'sProphet,and the public outrage that is sure to follow, I'm sure they will begin assuming these duties once again. And, Albus. I'd be careful if I were you, you may think you are a necessity to our world but I'm sure you understand that if it is a choice between indulging an old man and their children's safety, the public may very well demand that a new Headmaster be appointed."

XXX

After listening in to the staff meeting through one of their many listening charms, Viktor nearly charged into the library to pitch his idea for the first task to his little brother. While he was sure Fedor could do it on his own with no help from him, they wanted to find something that would suitably surprise the crowd and so he was helping to find something to get passed a dragon beyond the normal stealth or violent confrontation. Well, maybe a little violence.

Spotting him in the magical creatures section, he made his way over and grabbed him by the arm to pull him outside. The fact that Viktor was bigger, stronger and more skilled in unarmed combat, left Fedor with no choice but to fight dirty which was why he chose to jam his thumb into the side of his brother's neck. The tight grasp on his arm disappeared as Viktor let go to instinctively cover the painful area. He glared at Fedor as he massaged the muscles with the tips of his fingers.

"What the hell are you doing, trying to drag me off like that?"Fedor didn't like people sneaking up on him and he certainly didn't like being manhandled, which was probably why Viktor made a point to do it as often as possible. In an instant, Viktor forgot all about his painful neck and grabbed his brother's arm again, this time successful in escaping the library. Once they reached the ship, he was pulled below deck and was flung into Viktor's cabin.

"You want to put WHAT on me?"Fedor demanded incredulously as Viktor held up the small vial he had retrieved from his small desk.

"Come on, you wanted something that would stump the crowd, this is it!"

"But its PISS!"

"Well, not just piss."

"What else?"

"I used some of the hormone we collected from that Ridgeback we killed this summer, so…"

"So now we have the bottled sent of a rabid dragon."Fedor put two and two together but he still didn't like the idea, who would, and he could see a flaw in his brother's reasoning.

"While that may scare off most dragons under normal circumstances, what if I get stuck with an Ironbelly or even a Horntail, they certainly wouldn't be frightened of a Ridgeback whether it was rabid or not."

"Ah, but this, um, sample, didn't come from a Ridgeback, it came from a large, mature Horntail. When combined with the hormone, you get a rabid Horntail."Viktor explained with a slight smirk. Though he was disgusted at the very thought, Fedor couldn't deny that this was a good tactic. Making it appear that he could scare a dragon would certainly be interesting to say the least. Wordlessly ceding the point, Fedor left to return to the library, he really needed to find a way to unobtrusively block the smell, both from him and anyone that may be near him.

The next week and a half passed in a blur for just about everyone in Great Britain. The articlesThe Daily Prophetran about both Fedor and Allen Potter caused an uproar in the magical community, whether it was because of Potter's bullying, Dumbledore's apparent complicity in such actions or the outspoken belief that Fedor should either be left alone or be returned to his rightful family. Because of the recent bad press the Potter family had been receiving, the outcry for him to be retuned wasn't nearly as loud as it would have been just a few short months before and with luck, by the time the matter came before the Wizengamot, these demands would have all but disappeared.

Understandably, it was within Hogwarts that the most friction was felt. Professor Trelawney's prediction became very real when the Board of Governors, at he behest of a newly established parents group, placed Dumbledore on a type of administrative probation as they watched over everything going on within the school with a sharp, watchful eye. Almost every decision he had made was being reviewed with a fine toothed comb and many were amended or outright reversed. One such decision was the expulsion of Roger Davies but he outright refused to return to Hogwarts, choosing instead to take the position offered to him at the Oxford institute, the magical branch of the world renowned university. While much smaller than Hogwarts, their standards were a little higher and they didn't put up with nearly as much foolishness.

While no one really wanted Dumbledore removed as Headmaster, most were pleased that he would no longer be given free reign to do as he pleased. But he was by no means the only Hogwarts staff member to be subjected to such scrutiny. Professor Snape was under almost constant watch due to his undisguised bias against students outside of Slytherin and Professor McGonagall for her lack of good judgment when dealing with Potter's and Dumbledore's actions. With Dumbledore's secretive nature with anything concerning Potter, it was her responsibility as Deputy Headmistress to bring the situation to the Board's attention. She failed to do so, allowing the situation to worsen. They were not particularly pleased that they had to learn about the extent of the problem by reading about it all over the front page ofThe Prophet. Madam Longbottom made it perfectly clear that their positions has head of Gryffindor and Slytherin were in very real danger if they could not take their responsibilities seriously.

Allen Potter, for his part, stayed as far away from Fedor as he possibly could. Madam Pomfrey had spent several hours trying to piece the bones in his hands back together again, a rather painful process, before giving up and simply removed them before giving him a dose of Skele-Gro. He was released from the hospital wing the following afternoon but his hands were shaking quite noticeably for several days afterwards, an occurrence that still often flared up again each time he saw Fedor nearby. It took him a bit longer than Malfoy but he seemed to have finally learned his place.

When he had first heard what had happened to his son, James Potter had stormed onto the Hogwarts grounds with his face looking as grim as a thunder cloud. Once he spotted Fedor going through his evening workout with Viktor and their friends, including both Cedric and Fleur, he stalked towards the group. Unfortunately, he found himself in the same position that Dumbledore himself had been in just a six hours earlier, with every Durmstrang student pointing their wands directly at him. Proving that he had at least some intelligence, he turned around and marched up to the castle to demand answers from Dumbledore.

The following day, the Potters formally petitioned the Wizengamot for a hearing to decide the custody of their son but much to their chagrin, after reviewing Madam Bones' report regarding the circumstances, they decided to postpone any hearings until after the New Year due to the upcoming first task of the tournament and the approaching Christmas holidays. A ten member panel would convene on January third to view any evidence and hear testimony from the parties involved.

Before they knew it, November 24 was upon them and the school was buzzing with excitement. Ministry officials, foreign dignitaries, parents and other guests had been arriving steadily for three hours before the four champions were mounted on brooms and escorted to the far side of the lake where a large tent had been erected on the edge of the forest. From their position, they could easily see the stands rising high out from the trees but they were unable to see what they were surrounding. The deafening sounds of the crowd could not be overlooked as they moved around and spoke excitedly to those near them. Judging by the sheer volume, it was obvious that the 'arena' was much larger and was capable of holding more people than it appeared from their vantage point.

Upon entering the tent, Fedor was surprised to see not only his parents, Viktor, Anna and a few friends. But his aunt and uncle, Sophia and Carmine Valavicius, their youngest daughter, Bellina were also there. The biggest surprise, however, was the presence of his great-grandfather, Romulus Valavicius. He was currently under the effects of polyjuice potion but the way he moved and the look in his eyes instantly gave him away to anyone that knew him well.

He was waiting for the first task to begin, visiting with his family and close friends, when the Potters and Remus Lupin entered and headed straight for Allen. They were there for only a few brief moments when they caught sight of the Krums and James made to approach them. Lupin tried to hold him back but Potter shrugged him off. Fedor idly wondered if anyone in that family was capable of holding their temper in check. Maybe there was something in the water?

Once he reached the group, he didn't even have time to get one word in when, once again, he suddenly had half a dozen wands were pointed directly at his heart. Everyone else in their group were covering his wife and Lupin. The rest of the tent's occupants were looking on with varying degrees of nervousness showing on their faces. Even someone as hardheaded as Potter could easily understandthatmessage. He wisely chose to wait for his day in court before moving his family to the other side of the tent. Really, one would think the man would have learned by now but he was obviously just as foolish as his son.

While they waited, the Krums and Valavicius' were briefly introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Diggory as well as Fleur's parents and little sister Gabrielle. Cedric's parents seemed nice enough but it was Fleur's that captured Fedor's attention. Apart from her full-blooded veela mother, her father Fache, held most of his attention. He was probably in his mid forties with raven black hair and his features seemed nearly perfect. If it wasn't for the fact that he was well muscled, one might be able to describe him as pretty. As it stood, he seemed to almost be the Olympian ideal of what a man should be. That alone seemed unnatural to him. Another aspect he was able to pick up on was the sense of magic around him. Not an overpowering feeling you get when around someone of great power, but more like the feeling of being in the presence of a vampire or even a goblin. It was strange really.

All to soon, as most of the people in this tent were concerned any way, Ludo Bagman entered and announced that everyone apart from the four champions were to make their way to their seats. After another brief round of words of encouragement, everyone began filing out, the Potters and Krums glaring at each other the entire way.

"Alright," Bagman began after the last person had left. "In this bag are four models of the, um, thing, you will be facing and each will have a number, marking the order in which you will compete. The object of this task will be to collect the golden egg. How you accomplish this is entirely up to you. Now, ladies first, so, Ms. Delacour, if you will?" Fleur took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she reached into the bag. A few brief moments later, she pulled with her hand clutched around a small animated model of a Chinese Fireball. On its side, a number three stood out against its scarlet scales.

Next was Cedric. He had the misfortune of drawing number one, the fact that it was painted on the side of a Peruvian Vipertooth didn't help matters any. While both the Vipertooth and the Fireball were among the smalls of dragon breeds, reaching only fifteen to twenty feet in length, they were also among the fastest and most aggressive and their preference for human flesh was well known.

Fedor truly didn't know whether to be discouraged or ecstatic about competing second after choosing the Hungarian Horntail. On one hand, they were the most dangerous and most powerful dragons in the world but on the other hand,they were the most dangerous and the most powerful dragons in the world!It would be quite a challenge. They were fiercely territorial, especially where their nests were concerned so his 'Plan A' may very well prove to be inefficient by itself. But it will certainly be a challenge and that was what he was originally discouraged about this Tournament, he didn't think he would find a great enough challenge.

This, of course, left Potter going last. Much to everyone's, even Bagman's, disgust, the dragon he was stuck with was a Welsh Green. How in the nine levels of hell did they put a Welsh Green in the same competition as a Horntail, Vipertooth and Fireball. All three were fierce 'man eaters' while the Green, though still very dangerous, was pretty much the fat, lazy lapdog of dragons.

"Now that you have all selected your dragons through random selection, the task will begin momentarily. While in this tent, charms are in place to ensure that you can hear nothing going on outside. The only exception is when you are announced. This is to make sure that you cannot discern how your fellow champions have completed their task, thereby giving those coming later the advantage."

"Are we allowed to kill it?" Fedor asked suddenly with a large grin, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"What?" Bagman asked in confusion.

"Are we allowed to kill the dragon?" He asked again slowly.

"Um, well I, I'm not sure." Bagman seemed a bit flustered by the question as he looked at the Durmstrang champion oddly. "Mr. Diggory, you will be called out in a few minutes, good luck." With those parting words, Bagman left the tent after throwing a wink a Fedor, causing the boy to roll his eyes. Really, these English were so ridiculous.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as each was lost in their own thoughts. Cedric spent the time pacing back and forth as he mumbled to himself quietly, probably going over every spell he knew that could help him in this situation. Fleur, though keeping still, didn't look nearly as confidant as she did just minutes before and Potter was looking quite pale and was sitting off to the side fidgeting nervously.

Fedor for the most part was able to keep himself perfectly calm. He had been in this type of situation before. Granted he had Viktor or someone else with him each time but also those were in uncontrolled environments, where death was a very real possibility. While he was certain someone could conceivably get killed today, it was unlikely. They have many safety precautions in place just in case one of the champions is not up for the challenge.

In no time at all, Cedric's name echoed through the tent and with one last deep breath he stepped outside. Having nothing better to do while they waited, Fleur decided that it was best to keep her mind occupied until her name was call and went to sit with Fedor.

"Tell me, Fedor, do you really intend to kill your dragon?"She asked in French. Potter was watching them with a snarl on his lips but they paid him no attention.

"Of course not."

"Then why ask the question?"

"I wanted to see how everyone would react. Cedric knows, and I'm sure you do, that competition is about getting inside your opponents head as much as defeating them with skill. When I asked, Cedric looked at me oddly but didn't really take me seriously, I suspect that he knew why I asked. You were merely curious if that was indeed my intention, but, it completely threw Potter off guard. He truly believes that that is what I intend to do. He's no doubt been spending the last five minutes trying to come up with an approach that would be more 'heroic' than killing a dragon.

"I also noticed that while you and Cedric are a bit concerned about this task, neither of you were as worried as you made it appear. Probably for the same reason I asked that question, you wanted to throw the others off a bit. Make the rest of us think that you weren't as prepared as you should have been."

"And now, representing Durmstrang Institute, Harry James Potter!"

"I do have a question for you, though." Fedor said, completely ignoring his introduction. "I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but what exactly is your father?"Fleur looked at him in surprise. She didn't quite know how to take that question.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I get this feeling when I'm near him. He doesn't seem human but neither is he a werewolf or a vampire, though the magic feels similar to a vampire."

"He is a veela."She said as if it were the obvious. It was now Fedor's turn to look surprised.

"I didn't know there were male veela."

"Where did you think veela children came from?"

"I don't mean that. I meant that I thought the veela were a matriarchal society, much like the Dryads. You know, all female and all their children with humans are female." Fleur laughed a bit and Fedor once again ignored Ludo Bagman calling him out.

"No, there are male veela but it is rare for one to be born with full access to their powers. My father is a dormant veela."

"Is that like a squib?"

"Same concept though they are not shunned as squibs are shunned by many wizards. Though both my parents are veela, my sister and I are considered to be only half veela since our father is dormant, some of that has passed on to us, leaving us unable to access part of our power unless under extreme stress."

"So your children will more than likely only have access to a twenty five percent of their potential power if you were to marry a dormant veela, or even a human?"

"No. The veela bloodline would always be dominant in female children no matter who the father was, making them at least half veela and though they are dormant, a male will still pass on the characteristics to his children. But like wizards and witches, it is also possible for a child to grow to be more powerful than their parents, so it is possible that my children and those of my sister could have full access to their powers."

"I guess that makes sense."Fedor responded with uncertainty. Though intelligent, he was by no means an expert in genetics though he did understand the basic was at this time that Percy Weasley, assistant to Barty Crouch, stepped into the tent with an annoyed and condescending look about him.

"Mr. Potter, it is time for…"

"If you people continue to use that name, you will find today's task…unfulfilled."He was really getting tired of repeating himself. Was it really so hard for people to remember. Percy couldn't help but feel flustered under the younger boy's scrutiny. There was just something about his eyes that really unnerved him.

"Oh, um, yes, of course." Fedor and Fleur was watched the Ministry aid retreat with amusement and began talking for a few more minutes before a more acceptable introduction was made.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, from Durmstrang Institute, Fedor Nicholai Krum."

"Ah, much better." He sighed in satisfaction as he stood. "Well, My Dear, it appears that now is the time to slay the foul beast, so I must leave you now." Fleur couldn't help but smile slightly as he took her hand and placed a light kiss across her knuckles. With a final nod, he walked out of the tent while whistling to himself.

Stepping outside, he found himself inside a large enclosure, or more descriptively, it was a huge rocky pit. The crowd of observers were seated in high stands that encircled the edge at ground level. The pit was about one hundred meters from side to side with plenty of large rocks jutting into the air to provide enough cover should, or rather when, you would need it. The Hungarian Horntail was crouched low to the ground on the other side, hovering over her clutch of eggs. Even from a distance of nearly a hundred meters, he could see that this dragon was very pissed off.

"Hello, Sweetheart."He muttered to himself with no small amount of excitement. Well, he wanted a challenge, and this would certainly give it to him. Maybe not physically or magically but mentally, it he was sure it would test his concentration, after all, he didn't have Viktor here to help him this time. For the first time since he learned of this tournament, he was actually glad that he was here. It certainly beat your average school day, that was for sure.

He could hear the deafening roar of the crowd, whether they be cheering or booing, but he was unable to hear the commentating that he knew was going on, for which he was immensely grateful. The last thing he needed at this time was to hear what Bagman thought of his performance. That was one thing he despised about the dueling circuit, announcers felt the need to critique their performance for the crowd while the fight was still going on. It could really get inside the head of an amateur as they tried to either prove them wrong or live up to their expectations.

Shaking his head briefly, he wasted no time and quickly cast aflame freezingspell on himself while also casting aFauxlyshield. The air to his left shimmered for a moment before a transparent blue tinted shield formed and attached itself to his left arm. It was fairly large from top to bottom, about five and a half feet, and three feet across, but when combined with theflame freezingcharm, it would certainly go a long way to ensuring that he didn't get himself killed. With a wave of his wand, he released the hormones that were placed on his robes and had a hard time preventing himself from gagging. The stench was unbelievable but a quick charm on his nose fixed that, temporarily decreasing his sense of smell.

'Thank the gods for magic.' He cringed mentally. He had no doubt that'Ode De Horntail'would certainly not be flying off the shelves any time soon.

XXX

"What is he doing?"Olivia Krum demanded of Viktor as she nervously watched her youngest son walking straight towards the dragon without fear, occasionally weaving in and out of the larger rocks.

"He's getting his egg."Stating the obvious only earned him a glare in return before his mother turned back to the enclosure. Ludo Bagman questioning her son's mental stability at such a careless approach wasn't helping her any either. Fedor steadily made his way across the rocks and as he got closer the commentary suddenly changed to reflect the confusion of the more observant spectators.

"Charlie, you've spent a bit of time with each of these dragons since arriving in England, but more specifically, this Horntail as it comes from your own preserve, is this it's normal behavior or could the change in atmosphere be affecting it."Bagman asked, Charlie Weasley, his commentary partner for this task.

"No, this is certainly not normal and a simple change in scenery does not explain it. She is among the largest we have and is in perfect health but there seems to be something off here."

"Off, how?"

"I'm not sure, it's almost as if she is afraid."

"Afraid, of Krum?

"Well, not necessarily him. See the way she's casting her head back and forth instead of focusing solely on him. She's looking for a threat that she can either smell or otherwise sense."

"One of the other dragons, perhaps?"

"No, they would be no threat to a nesting Horntail. It's something else, and judging by his casual pace, I would say that whatever it is, is Fedor's doing."

"But if that's true than he was obviously prepared for this before hand."Barty Crouch spoke up from Bagman's other side.

"Don't be such a woman, Barty. Cheating is just as much a tradition of this tournament as anything else. I would be surprised if even one of the champions came out today without prior knowledge of what they would be facing."

XXX

As he got closer, Fedor couldn't help but smirk as the Dragon grew more and more jittery. He knew that it wouldn't be enough to get him through the task but the animal paying more attention to her surroundings than to him would certainly help a great deal.

When he was about thirty meters from his target, he climbed to the top of one for the larger rock standing about ten feet off the ground, he cast a concussion curse and immediately dropped back to the ground to get below the wave of magical energy. Being so large, the dragon didn't have this option even if she knew what he had done and as a result, she was pushed back a few feet but other than that it really only succeeded in making her slightly dizzy.

Momentarily forgetting the scent of her would be predatory, she turned her full attention to Fedor and let her displeasure be known as she sucked in as much air as she could before lowering her head to about ground level. Placing his shield firmly against the ground, he knelt behind it to give himself the maximum protection as the magically enhanced flames shot out of the dragon's mouth and rushed towards him at an unbelievable speed. Despite the use of both the shield and theflame freezingcharm, the heat was almost unbearable and the stench, resembling something close to sulfur, nearly made him gag uncontrollably even with the use of the charm he placed on his nose before hand. Thankfully, as suddenly as it had started, it came to an end.

Having no intention of allowing this beast the time needed to work up another shot, he jumped back to a standing position and moved as close as he dared. From his right hand wand he cast a spell similar to theflame whipcurse, the only difference being that instead of a long rope of intense fire, it was made out of crackling blue and white lightening. No matter how powerful the wizard, fire spells are mostly inefficient against dragons. Lightening, on the other hand…

With wide strokes, he snapped his whip around in high arches as they snapped with a thunderous clap and a searing heat against the tough hide of his opponent. Even those that didn't find their mark served their purpose as the dragon was slowly driven back, the smell of a another nearby Horntail and the crack of the whip temporarily driving away any instinct crying out for her to protecting her nest.

As she back up, Fedor steadily pressed his advantage, taking one step at a time and never letting up. The last thing he wanted to do was to get over confidant and lose his focus, he had no doubt that this beast would certainly kill him if the opportunity arose and he had no intention of giving it to her.

With just a few feet to go before reaching the nest, Fedor suddenly dropped both his shield and hislightening wipecurse while simultaneously drawing his other wand. Attempting to seize the advantage, the dragon raised its head to the sky as it worked up the chemicals that gave it the ability to breathe fire. Fortunately for Fedor, this process took a few moments. He leveled both his wands at the very center of the beast's body and cast the strongest banishing charms he knew while throwing as much magical power as he could muster behind them. Two from each wand exploded across the short distance between the two at an amazing rate before colliding with their target. Its four ton body mass not withstanding, the creature was thrown back against the wall of the enclosure with such an impact that it shook the stands above, eliciting more than a few screams of fright as they swayed back and forth for several long moments before finally settling once again.

Jumping forward, he grabbed the golden egg out of the nest before banishing it to the other side of enclosure before slowly making his retreat, never taking his eyes off the rapidly recovering dragon, weaving in and out of the rocks, placing as many obstacles between them as he could. When the dragon had regained her footing, she glared at him with rage in her eyes as a feral growl escaped her. With a powerful lunge, she shot forward as a billow of flame was spat towards him. He waited the stream of fire out behind a rock before emerging again to repeat his previous strategy. The fact that the dragon was now airborne aided him as she had nothing but the wind resistance her wings created preventing a more violent collision with the wall. Once again, screams were heard from above but he paid them no attention.

As he watched for another attack, his backwards pace relaxed slightly and his heart rate dropped to more manageable levels when he came to the conclusion that, judging by her sedate, sluggish movements, she didn't have a chance of reaching him before he made his escape, um, withdrawal. Once he reached his destination, he picked his egg up off the ground after casting a cleaning charm on his robes to get rid with the smell, and casually walked through the only available exit that, conveniently enough, led into a small makeshift hospital. The only person present was the tyrannical Hogwarts mediwitch who appeared to be waiting for him with a scowl on her face.

"I am in no way injured, Madam, so your services will not be required." He informed her as she bustled up to him.

"I will be the judge of that, young man, now sit!" She ordered as she glared at him in annoyance.

"I don't need an examination to show me that I don't have a scratch, I think I know my body a little better than that, so, if you will excuse me." Not giving her a chance to reply, Fedor quickly made his way out though a side exit to find himself now standing in a spectators box high above the ground.

'Hmm, interesting bit of magic.' He thought to himself as he briefly looked back at the portal before looking at the others present. Cedric was sitting with his parents, his family was also present as were the Delacours and Potters. After giving receiving a few hugs or pats on the back, not to mention his mother berating him for doing something so foolish, he approached Cedric who, though his left arm was in a sling, look none the worse for wear.

"What happened to you?" He asked curiously. Mr. Diggory, obviously believing that the question was asked in a patronizing or smug manner, was about to berate the Durmstrang student for the disrespect he was showing his son when Cedric just grinned, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Didn't move out of the way fast enough. Caught me with a burst of fire as I was getting away. That dragon was a lot quicker than I thought it would be."

"Bet that tickled a bit." Fedor grinned. "So how did you get past it?"

"Transfigured a rock into a dog to distract it while I used a disillusionment charm on myself. Worked pretty well at first but once I touched that egg the thing was all over me. Took me a little more than fifteen minutes and I spent most of that time pinned down behind rocks then anything else."

"You? Bagman and Charlie Weasley were speculating on that. They believe that you did something to make the dragon paranoid or scared of something."

"Some other time, perhaps, Ireallydon't want to think about it right now." Fedor cringed as he thought about the acrid smell. "Have they announced my time yet?"

"Yeah, just before you came out here. Three minutes and twenty two seconds. They should be announcing your score any minute now so right now you're in first place and I'll probably end up in third overall."

"How do you figure that?"

"My score was twenty three points due to my time, the fact that I got injured and my dragon trampled all of its eggs when I hit it in the eye with aconjunctivitiscurse after it dispatched my 'dog'. I'm not sure but I think Fleur has a good chance at doing better. And you will certainly take first place with probably as close to a perfect score as you can get here."

"I don't think so, I'm from Durmstrang, remember, and three of the five judges are English."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have the official score for Durmstrang's Fedor Krum. Headmaster Ivanoff of Durmstrang awards ten points out of ten. Headmistress Maxime of Beauxbatons awards ten points out of ten. Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts awards five points out of ten. Bartemius Crouch of the Department of Magical Cooperation awards nine points out of ten and myself, Ludo Bagman of Magical Games and Sports, awards ten points out of ten giving Mr. Krum a total of forty four out of a possible fifty points."

"What did I tell you! Bagman gave me full points because I think he bet a significant amount on me to win, but the other two, especially Dumbledore, were quite unreasonable."

"Yes, I noticed that myself. How do you think Fleur is going to do?"

"I think she'll do better than most expect her to. To most, she's just a pretty face, they don't take into consideration that she can actually be quite dangerous." The two lapsed into silence as the Horntail and her eggs were moved out of the enclosure to be replaced with the Chinese Fireball. As soon as it was in place the dragon handlers scattered on their brooms before the domed shield that would prevent it from escaping reactivated.

"Our next champion, representing Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Fleur Delacour!"The French students exploded into applause while the spectators from the other two schools and other representatives cheered politely. Fleur stepped out into the enclosure with a closed and emotionless expression on her face. Her posture reflected her confidence and her belief that she could overcome this challenge.

Though she didn't move as quickly or without fear as Fedor had done, her pace was steady as she moved from one sheltered position to another. As she got closer, she seemed to start glowing slightly and her hair began moving in a breeze that went unnoticed by everyone else. Most of the males watching were enthralled almost instantly while the females were glaring at her with loathing.

"Interesting tactic." Fedor muttered as he watched. He looked to his side to see Cedric with a glazed look in his eyes as he tried to regain control of his mind. Reaching over, he slapped the older champion rather sharply across the face. Cedric looked stunned for a moment before shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. Nodding briefly to his young friend in thanks, he turned his attention back to the confrontation below.

Fleur didn't seem to be in any rush as she spent several minutes just bombarding the dragon with her veela aura, sending it into a weak trance. Deciding that that was as good as it was going to get, she continued on, doing her level best to stay out of sight. Unfortunately as soon as she stepped out into the open, the dragon seemed to come to its senses. The only warning she had was a deep growl that was closely followed by a shot of crimson fire. To the surprise of everyone, she managed to get out of the way, barely.

"Damn she's fast!" Fedor couldn't help but roll his eyes. Thirty seven years old and Potter was still such a man-child. Fleur quickly extinguished the flames that were creeping up on the hem of her robes and began banishing the smaller rocks around her towards the dragons head.

"Clever girl."

"What?" Cedric asked, not taking his eyes form the scene.

"Those golden horns surrounding the edge of the Fireball's face, while they look intimidating, are extremely sensitive to physical contact. While it won't cause much pain, it will cause enough irritation to distract it." As if proving Fedor's theory correct, with each hit, the dragon roared in frustration but each time it made to move forward another rock would hit, stopping it in its tracks as she shook her head fiercely.

Fleur made her escape in much the same manner as she made he approach, slowly and carefully while always making sure to keep enough of the larger rocks between them for cover, all the while keeping up her borage of fist sized stones. It was during this point that Fedor was the most nervous. While he knew that she obviously prepared herself for this, there was still a chance that she would believe that she was home free, thus letting her guard down. He didn't usually worry about such things during a competition but this was different then the others he had participated in. There was a very real chance that any mistake could end in absolute disaster.

Thankfully, his fears were unfounded as she made it out of the enclosure without further trouble. Once she was out of sight, those affected by her veela heritage came back to their senses and were either embarrassed by their reaction or, in the case of some, angered by their respectivepartner'sreaction. Whether it be females who did not like seeing their boyfriends or husbands ogling another woman, or the men, who were not happy that their significant other would believe that that they couldn't be trusted around suchan obvioustart,as some of the women had described Fleur.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic successfully completed her task with a time of nine minutes and twelve seconds. Her score will be announced momentarily."Bagman's voice echoed through the stands a few minutes later. Most people jumped in surprise since they hadn't heard a word from him since he first announced the Beauxbatons champion. Apparently, those in the announcer's box were just as affected as everyone else had been throughout the task.

"Well, it looks like you were right, you're looking at third place."

"I suppose, theoretically, I could end up coming in last."

"Please, despite the fact that he had the good fortune to face a lapdog, the chances of Potter scoring better than you are so remote its almost nonexistent. The boy is overconfident, reckless and inexperienced." Though they chose to say nothing, many in the box that heard this opinion wholeheartedly agreed. The Potters' glares didn't bother him one bit and Remus Lupin just looked conflicted. A moment later Fleur emerged looking quite proud of herself, though she was nervous about how the judges would respond, for much of the same reason Fedor was pessimistic about gaining the perfect score that Cedric seemed to think he deserved.

"Now for the official score for Fleur Delacour. Headmaster Ivanoff of Durmstrang has awarded eight points out of a possible ten. Headmistress Maxime of Beauxbatons has awarded nine points out of a possible ten. Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts has awarded six points out of ten. Bartemius Crouch has awarded five points out of ten and myself, Ludo Bagman, has awarded six points out of ten for a total of thirty four points out of fifty.

"As it currently stands, in first place is Fedor Krum with forty four points. In second place is Fleur Delacour with thirty four points and in third place is Cedric Diggory with twenty three points. But, with one final champion left to compete, these standing could change dramatically. Whether he succeeds or fails, we will soon know."Bagman meant for that statement to heighten the anticipation for the final challenge but unfortunately most assumed it to be a slight against Potter and many found it quite amusing.

While they waited for the final dragon to be brought in, Fedor sat down beside his brother and flipped open the latch on his egg. The inside was hollow and contained only a single rolled up piece of parchment. Removing it and casting the egg aside, he unrolled it to find four groups of number sequences.

"Don't ask me, I got the same thing." Cedric spoke up when Fedor looked at him in confusion.

"Are zay all ze same?" Fleur asked as she looked over hers. They spent a few moments to compare their lists to find that each list was almost identical with the exception of each parchment leading off with a different group.

"With four separate groups, I'm guessing that each represents one of us." Fedor suggested.

"And ze von at ze top of our parchment ez ze one zat we must use for ze nest task." Having no other theories right now, the other two agreed with Fleur. It made sense, really. With the exact same number groups on each parchment, why else would there be a different one at the top of each page.

"Great, well, we have two months to figure this mess out." Cedric grumbled in annoyance. He didn't like riddles.

"Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the final competitor of the day. Representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Allen Potter."It took a minute but Potter finally emerged looking quite pale. The response from the crowd was a bit mixed, he still had some supporters but most were obviously supporting Cedric as the Hogwarts Champion.

His first several steps were rather jerky, as if he had a hard time forcing his body to move, quite understandable for someone who was facing their possible death or maiming for the first time. He looked around frantically until he finally saw his target across the enclosure. Of the four, his approach was certainly the slowest as he moved from one boulder to the next rather quickly only to wait for a couple of minutes to make sure that he had gone unnoticed.

Ludo Bagman and Charlie Weasley spent a few minutes trying to figure out his strategy but when Potter was apparently not ready to make his move, the two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence aside from few general questions about the dragons. The other four judges were experiencing a range of emotions. Both Headmasters Ivanoff and Maxime looked thrilled at the young champion's apparent reluctance to continue while Crouch looked as bored as ever. Dumbledore's eyes never left Allen, almost as if he were hoping to mentally push the boy to get a move on.

The crowd didn't seem to be doing much better. After the other three competitors had dove straight in with interesting and effective strategies, they had expected Potter to do the same.

"You know, I'm not quite sure what to make of this strategy. Its rather unorthodox, wouldn't you agree?" Aleksander asked out loud with a snort. James, Lily and Remus were about to speak up but never got the choice.

"'e ez moving again." Fleur broke in. Sure enough, there was Potter creeping forward to take cover behind the final the final obstacle

"Wow, and it only took him nineteen minutes to clear one hundred meters, I'm impressed." Fedor commented as he looked down at his watch.

"Wiz az much time az 'e took, 'iz plan must be ery brilliant or ery fooleesh." As soon as the words left Fleur's mouth, Potter stepped out from behind his rock and began firing a borage of stunning spells at the dragon as he advanced one step at a time.

"I think he's opted to go with foolish." Everyone not worried about a son or godson just nodded in agreement to Viktor's statement as the spells seemed to have no effect what so ever. While it was possible to take down a dragon with stunning spells, it took a large number of them and with his slow wand movements and his reliance on vocalizing his spells, he didn't have a chance. This fact was proven correct when he was hit in the chest with a swing of the dragon's tail, throwing him back where he landed painfully on the ground. He was pretty sure that he had a few broken ribs and landing heavily on the compacted dirt certainly didn't help matters any.

Lifting his head to look around, he had to scramble to his feet, despite any pain he was in, in an attempt to get away with a very annoyed dragon charging forward. Diving behind one rock after another, he tried to work out the best possible option but with a creature that has no problem having you for its supper on your tail, it becomes just a little bit harder to concentrate. Right now, his mind was running on instinct alone but even that comforting presence seemed to vanish when he mistakenly allowed himself to be trapped in a small outcrop with no where else to go.

"GET IN THERE!"Fedor roared to the dragon handlers that were standing along the edge with brooms and wands in hand but they didn't seem to be in any hurry until he ordered them to intervene and it became perfectly clear why. They were engaged in a conversation they were having and simply weren't paying attention as they should have been. It was ridiculous that they would bring these creatures for students to 'play' with but not keep an eye on them at all times, especially when they knew someone was in there.

He certainly had no love for Potter but that didn't mean that he wanted the kid dead. Not mention the fact that if he were to die they may very well cancel the rest of the tournament and he was just starting to have fun, though he stilled maintained that he would rather be back at Durmstrang and competing on the dueling circuit every weekend.

He, like just about everyone else, moved up to the railing to get a better view as a few of the dragon handlers distracted her by flying around her from overhead while the ones on the ground began casting all the containment and binding charms they new. No dragon, not even the Welsh Lapdog, could be taken down easily when you are unprepared for the varying circumstances involved so the handlers had to come up with new techniques as they went along.

While these men were attempting to get the dragon under some semblance of control, Allen shot out of his hiding place once his path was clear and was halfway to the exit when he remembered the egg. Running back across the enclosure, he grabbing the goldeneggand made a run for it. Unfortunately, for those trying to subdue the beast, violating her nest only enraged her further. By the time they got the situation under control, four of Charlie's colleagues would be spending some quality time with Madam Pomfrey.

As Potter was getting patched up, Bagman announced his time to be twenty six minutes and thirty seven seconds and that his score would be announced as soon as Madam Pomfrey patched him up. It wasn't really that bad considering how reckless he had been. Three broken ribs, a sprained wrist, minor concussion and a few minor burns. Fedor didn't really care about this one bit, it was the injuries to the dragon handlers that got under his skin.

In his opinion, it was perfectly acceptable to risk your own life doing something stupid but to risk another's for something so trivial was just not something you did in his book. And that is precisely what Potter did. His chances at any significant standing after this task was destroyed the moment he fired his first stunning spell and yet he still went after the egg when he should have stayed out of the way. As a result several came awfully close to death and four would be laid up for a while with some very serious burns and an assortment of other wounds.

Looking to his left and then further down to his right where Fleur was sitting beside her father, he could tell that both she and Cedric seemed to be thinking along the same lines, so was most of everyone else, come to think of it. It wasn't long, perhaps twenty minutes or so, when Potter stepped out into the stands, looking quite pale and a little shaky but other wise fine. Almost immediately, Lily jumped forward and scoped her son up into a tight hug with tears running down her cheeks, telling him how scared she was. James and Lupin followed at a more sedate pace and enthusiastically congratulated him on his performance.

Many shook their heads in exasperation. It was because of this 'good enough' attitude that the kid was such a mama's boy. They were standing their telling him how proud they were and how well he did when they should have been kicking him in his ass for going into this task unprepared. After all, he had known about the dragons for four days now but all offers to help him find a solution were turned down. Well it would seem that he is neither capable of taking advice from others as well as taking care of himself.

Fedor couldn't help but pity the boy. He truly had no idea what he was getting in to when he entered this tournament and now he had a very real chance of collecting the lowest overall score ever won in the history of the competition, if he survives that is. Yes, pity is a good word. Amusing is also a good word.

"Alright, we have the final score of the day cast. For Allen Potter of Hogwarts, Headmaster Ivanoff of Durmstrang awards one point out of ten. Headmistress Maxime of Beauxbatons awards two points out of ten. Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts awards five points of ten…"Bagman stopped reading for a moment as he glared at his former headmaster. Really, five points for that pathetic showing."Continuing, Bartemius Crouch awards two points out of ten and I, Ludo Bagman, awards one point of ten, giving Allen Potter a grand total of eleven points.

"As we now stand, Mr. Krum of Durmstrang is in the lead with forty four points. In second place is Ms. Delacour of Beauxbatons with thirty four points. In third, Cedric Diggory has collected twenty three points and finally, also representing Hogwarts, in forth place, Allen Potter with eleven points.

Potter looked less than pleased by this. By grabbing the egg and finishing the task, he had thought that he had at least had a chance but Krum was already over thirty points ahead of him. Hell, even that French slut did better than him. Though it was of little consolation, Diggory was only twelve points ahead of him. A difference he could easily make up with a good showing in the second task.

"What the hell is this?" He asked himself in confusion as he opened his egg and looked at the parchment it contained. His father explained the theory the other three champions had discussed earlier and while there wasn't much in the way of information there, no one could come up with anything more reasonable. Like Cedric, Allen despised riddles, mostly because he was forced to work the problem out and his concentration wasn't the best around.