hing.
"It's hot, isn't it?" said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. "Viktors just gone
to get some drinks."
Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him
Vicky yet?"
Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" she said.
"If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you."
Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged.
"Ron, what - ?"
"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! Against
Hogwarts! You - you're -" Ron was obviously casting around for words strong
enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternizing with the enemy, that's what
you're doing!"
Hermione's mouth fell open.
"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly - who was
the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who
wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"
Ron chose to ignore this. "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were
both in the library?"
"Yes, he did," said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more
brightly. "So what?"
"What happened - trying to get him to join spew, were you?"
"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he - he said he'd been coming up to the
library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the
courage!"
Hermione said this very quickly, and blushed so deeply that she was the same
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color as Parvati's robes.
"Yeah, well - that's his story," said Ron nastily.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang
around with. . . . He's just trying to get closer to Harry - get inside information on
him - or get near enough to jinx him -"
Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. When she spoke, her voice
quivered.
"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one -"
Ron changed tack at the speed of light.
"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've
been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions -"
"I'd never help him work out that egg!" said Hermione, looking outraged. "Never.
How could you say something like that - I want Harry to win the tournament.
Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"
"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.
"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards
and making friends with them!" said Hermione hotly.
"No it isn't!" shouted Ron. "It's about winning!"
People were starting to stare at them.
"Ron," said Harry quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with
Krum -"
But Ron ignored Harry too.
"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," said Ron.
"Don't call him Vicky!"
Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off across the dance floor, disappearing
into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his
face.
"Are you going to ask me to dance at all?" Padma asked him.
"No," said Ron, still glaring after Hermione.
"Fine," snapped Padma, and she got up and went to join Parvati and the
Beauxbatons boy, who conjured up one of his friends to join them so fast that
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Harry could have sworn he had zoomed him there by a Summoning Charm.
"Vare is Herm-own-ninny?" said a voice.
Krum had just arrived at their table clutching two butterbeers.
"No idea," said Ron mulishly, looking up at him. "Lost her, have you?"
Krum was looking surly again.
"Veil, if you see her, tell her I haff drinks," he said, and he slouched off.
"Made friends with Viktor Krum, have you, Ron?"
Percy had bustled over, rubbing his hands together and looking extremely
pompous. "Excellent! That's the whole point, you know - international magical
cooperation!"
To Harry's displeasure, Percy now took Padma's vacated seat. The top table was
now empty; Professor Dumbledore was dancing with Professor Sprout, Ludo
Bagman with Professor McGonagall; Madame Maxime and Hagrid were cutting a
wide path around the dance floor as they waltzed through the students, and
Karkaroff was nowhere to be seen. When the next song ended, everybody
applauded once more, and Harry saw Ludo Bagman kiss Professor McGonagall's
hand and make his way back through the crowds, at which point Fred and George
accosted him.
"What do they think they're doing, annoying senior Ministry members?" Percy
hissed, watching Fred and George suspiciously. "No respect..."
Ludo Bagman shook off Fred and George fairly quickly, however, and, spotting
Harry, waved and came over to their table.
"I hope my brothers weren't bothering you, Mr. Bagman?" said Percy at once.
"What? Oh not at all, not at all!" said Bagman. "No, they were just telling me a bit
more about those fake wands of theirs. Wondering if I could advise them on the
marketing. I've promised to put them in touch with a couple of contacts of mine at
Zonko's Joke Shop. ..."
Percy didn't look happy about this at all, and Harry was prepared to bet he would
be rushing to tell Mrs. Weasley about this the moment he got home. Apparently
Fred and George's plans had grown even more ambitious lately, if they were
hoping to sell to the public. Bagman opened his mouth to ask Harry something,
but Percy diverted him.
"How do you feel the tournament's going, Mr. Bagman? Our department's quite
satisfied - the hitch with the Goblet of Fire" - he glanced at Harry - "was a little
unfortunate, of course, but it seems to have gone very smoothly since, don't you
think?"
276
"Oh yes," Bagman said cheerfully, "it's all been enormous fun. How's old Barty
doing? Shame he couldn't come."
"Oh I'm sure Mr. Crouch will be up and about in no time," said Percy importantly,
"but in the meantime, I'm more than willing to take up the slack. Of course, it's not
all attending balls" - he laughed airily - "oh no, I've had to deal with all sorts of
things that have cropped up in his absence - you heard Ali Bashir was caught
smuggling a consignment of flying carpets into the country? And then we've been
trying to persuade the Transylvanians to sign the International Ban on Dueling.
I've got a meeting with their Head of Magical Cooperation in the new year -"
"Let's go for a walk," Ron muttered to Harry, "get away from Percy. ..."
Pretending they wanted more drinks. Harry and Ron left the table, edged around
the dance floor, and slipped out into the entrance hall. The front doors stood open,
and the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden winked and twinkled as they went
down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes;
winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. Harry could hear splashing
water, which sounded like a fountain. Here and there, people were sitting on
carved benches. He and Ron set off along one of the winding paths through the
rosebushes, but they had gone only a short way when they heard an unpleasantly
familiar voice.
"... don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor."
"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroffs voice sounded
anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. "It's been getting clearer
and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it _"
"Then flee," said Snapes voice curtly. "Flee - I will make your excuses. I,
however, am remaining at Hogwarts."
Snape and Karkaroff came around the corner. Snape had his wand out and was
blasting rosebushes apart, his expression most ill-natured. Squeals issued from
many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!" Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. "And
ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!" as a boy went rushing after her. "And
what are you two doing?" he added, catching sight of Harry and Ron on the path
ahead. Karkaroff, Harry saw, looked slightly discomposed to see them standing
there. His hand went nervously to his goatee, and he began winding it around his
finger.
"We re walking," Ron told Snape shortly. "Not against the law, is it?"
"Keep walking, then!" Snape snarled, and he brushed past them, his long black
cloak billowing out behind him. Karkaroff hurried away after Snape. Harry and
Ron continued down the path.
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"What's got Karkaroff all worried?" Ron muttered.
"And since when have he and Snape been on first-name terms?"said Harry slowly.
They had reached a large stone reindeer now, over which they could see the
sparkling jets of a tall fountain. The shadowy outlines of two enormous people
were visible on a stone bench, watching the water in the moonlight. And then
Harry heard Hagrid speak.
"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew," he was saying, in an oddly husky voice.
Harry and Ron froze. This didn't sound like the sort of scene they ought to walk in
on, somehow. . . . Harry looked around, back up the path, and saw Fleur Delacour
and Roger Davies standing half-concealed in a rosebush nearby. He tapped Ron on
the shoulder and jerked his head toward them, meaning that they could easily
sneak off that way without being noticed (Fleur and Davies looked very busy to
Harry), but Ron, eyes widening in horror at the sight of Fleur, shook his head
vigorously, and pulled Harry deeper into the shadows behind the reindeer.
"What did you know, 'Agrid?" said Madame Maxime, a purr in her low voice.
Harry definitely didn't want to listen to this; he knew Hagrid would hate to be
overheard in a situation like this (he certainly would have) - if it had been possible
he would have put his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly, but that wasn't really
an option. Instead he tried to interest himself in a beetle crawling along the stone
reindeer's back, but the beetle just wasn't interesting enough to block out Hagrid's
next words.
"I jus' knew . . . knew you were like me. . . . Was it yer mother or yer father?"
"I - I don't know what you mean, 'Agrid. ..."
"I