B.Q. Book One: Princess of the Blacks

Chapter 24: Aggressive Negotiations

The new layout of the room was the first thing Jen noticed as the Triwizard contestants entered the Great Hall. Where once there had been four long tables for each house, now there were over fifty round ones seating ten to twelve students each. Enchanted snow replaced the banners overhead. A long table stood against one wall and carried crystal bowls, likely for refreshments once the dancing started. The only element of the decor that remained was the staff table running widthwise at the back of the room, though not even that was completely unchanged thanks to the row of chairs along the front.

McGonagall led them between the tables, allowing those students seated in the middle of the Hall a better examination of their champions. That's right, stare, Jen thought with some amusement. She had originally felt her dress was just a hair too ostentatious to be in good taste; from the admiring thoughts it provoked, she owed Moira Tattings an apology. She gave sultry smiles to a few in the audience who were especially complimentary, pleased with the attention. It was a fact of human nature that people were more likely to trust and obey those they considered attractive, so looking gorgeous could not hurt to elevate her in her contemporaries' opinions.

Beauty, sex, curses, courtesy, poison, charm, prejudices, ethics; all powerful tools in skilled hands and used in the right way. Seven years she had spent diligently learning to wield them from a master of the craft. Her hands were skilled.

She sat gently in the chair Zabini pulled out for her at the staff table. Some spots had already been filled by faculty or guests, if the pompous young man a few seats down and on the other side was any indication. Upon prompting, he proudly introduced himself as Percy Weasley, an older brother of the Weasley Twins and Potter's male friend who worked as a personal assistant to Crouch. Apparently, the judge had come down with a mild bug in the last few days and therefore could not attend.

Let's hope that's the case and him being ill around the winter solstice is just a coincidence, Jen thought as she ignored the slip of stiff parchment beside her plate and ordered the same meal as Cedric, a baked fish entree. It's either that or Crouch secretly dabbles in white magic, in which case I'm fucked. A white wizard high up in the government and able to point a finger at me is the last thing I need.

She took a small bite of her dinner and forced herself to relax. The idea of being hunted down by a group of white mages like Elsie had been before emigrating to Britain was not one she wanted to entertain very long. I don't think I have to worry about that too much, though; those arts should leave just as great a mark on his magic as Voodoo does on my own, but I did not notice anything strange about him, nor has he been brought to my attention. Not even the lauded Albus Dumbledore with his blasted phoenix uses white magic, so I doubt I'll run across one for a long while, if ever.

And I really hope I didn't just jinx myself there.

To pull herself from her conjured worries, she engaged Weasley in conversation about his work. Most of it was dreadfully dull, focusing on cauldron bottom thickness regulation of all things, but his mind was a treasure trove of useful information on the inner mechanics of the Ministry. Surely he would not mind her lifting some of it; it wasn't like he would ever know she had been in there. Besides, knowledge was a weapon, too. Shortly after she had become bored, Ludo Bagman unwittingly came to her aid as he dragged the reluctant older boy into a vigorous discussion he was having with Karkaroff about Quidditch. Rejecting the offer of dessert – in her experience, tense situations and sweets did not go well together, and her upcoming discussion with Zabini was making her very anxious – she surveyed the other competitors and their companions.

One of her housemates, Roger Davies, had lucked out in escorting the castle's resident wet dream, also known as Fleur Delacour. Unfortunately, it seemed that he also had a weakness to the Veela's Allure. Taking pity on him and his date both, she surreptitiously flicked a finger in his direction and erected the same mental barrier charm against seductive auras that she was currently enjoying. He almost instantly became more lucid, and she smiled to herself. There were occasions she felt like performing a good deed or two; doing so while keeping Davies from further embarrassing Ravenclaw House was a bonus indeed.