Protection: The Sword and the Shield

Beast Wars

...Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The first event of the Tri-Wizard tournament had been successful beyond the wildest dreams of the organizers. All except Albus Dumbledore. Both Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had done spectacularly and sat at the top of the leader board; with the son of House Weasley even taking first place. Both boys were already famous and the opportunity for the entire wizarding world to see their power and ability was a boon not only for the collective pride of England but also a political boon for the country. In magical society power trumped all and the boys were showing England to be very powerful.

For Albus, who was the British mugwump to the ICW, it was making his chances of returning to the position of Supreme Mugwump much better but instead of being happy by that fact he was instead agitated and angered by one comment made by Nymphadora Tonks. She had stated that Harry Potter may be a rising Light Lord. Albus Dumbledore was determined to remain the only light lord in Britain.

Unfortunately, he could find no purchase in the media to stop the discussions. And the discussions were happening across the country. The notion of Harry Potter being the next Light Lord rang true in the minds of most British magicals with the things he had already done before graduating out of Hogwarts. Even Justin, who typically supported more aggressive political tactics had no ideas about what to do. They did agree that for the sake of their house, it was imperative that Harry Potter die at the end of the competition.

To that end, Justin was worryingly comfortable with placing the dark lord's inside man under the Imperius to make sure that Potter made it into the evil wizard's clutches. In addition, Justin wanted to sabotage the other competitors, especially Ron Weasley and Fleur Delacour, but Albus rejected those ideas instantly. The tournament was too public and the risk too high. "We may avoid suspicion, but unexpected accidents may lead to heightened security which may hinder Tom's plans." the headmaster wisely pointed out. "However, we may have to intervene in the final task to make sure Harry is first to the cup." He added in acknowledgement that they may have to intervene to guarantee the outcome they needed.

Neither Dumbledore was willing to discuss the actual performance of either Potter or Weasley. The seemingly never-ending examples of Harry Potter's power and ability had become a taboo subject between the two men. The young man had gone from being a sheep to the slaughter beneath Voldemort's power to a fox, who may be clever enough to outsmart the dark lord and survive to a wolf who was growing to stand on even ground. And they were convinced that if the dark lord didn't kill him soon he would become a dragon that would kill Voldemort and become a legend in Britain.

...Headmaster's Cabin, The Flying Dutchman, Docked at the Black Lake, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Igor Karkoroff was having just as terrible a time after the first event as the Hogwarts headmaster. It was no secret that Victor Krum was his favorite, and it was rightly assumed by most that he had taken personal charge in giving the young man extra magical instruction. So, for him, Dumbledore's opening speech was truer than with any other headmaster. Victor Krum was a direct example of his ability to teach.

And his apprentice had failed completely. Beyond failing, he had done such a poor job that people were whispering that the boy was unsuited to even be a champion. And since he had been chosen by the cup, it was wondered if perhaps an untalented, magically and mentally deficient student was the best the school had to offer.

Igor's personal embarrassment was made worse by the fact that the press had started to bring up his association with the death eaters and the growing belief that their feared magical ability was all reputation (and little magical skill) created by a willingness to murder children and the aid they received by bribing ministry officials. The embarrassing death of the most feared of Voldemort's followers, Bellatrix Lestrange and Victor Krum's magical incompetence was creating a rapid decline of the reputation of the Eastern European school.