Interesting update as always.

Tx

Exchequer spy might be Flitwick, he did mentor Lily when she was in school

A magical version of one of those game shows? Nice.

Nice to see little ships of the wider world too

Dumbeldore might be able to reduce the risk of humiliation for the last trial by banning all gryffindors hwove yet to score a single point: there are more than five gryffindors with over a hundred points so no one whose yet to score will be making the champion cut and they're likely to just humiliate him for no gain if allowed to compete in public again.

It's nice to see crouchs pov. Good job dwelling on his regrets about his family and showing that he was against promoting Lucius. Nice snark about him musing how they say ''he'' would have been a disaster as a minister and bidding goodbye to a good nights slee. I'm surprised bagman was spared but this treatment of him was pretty entertaining .
Great description of flitwicks water arena. Heroine complaing that it looks more fun than black lake and then having herself proven wrong was cool.
The enormous amout of poor sportsmanship at the beginning was hilariously and cringeworthy. No surprise mclaggen kicked it off.
Ron being one of the last ones not to take a single dive was indeed surprising and that crack about warm water causing hallucinations was ingenious.
There is something seriously wrong with the gryffindors if thye want to compete so badly after failing so much in the preliminaries. Alicia, Alicia, I'd thought you were above turning on the other gryffindors, especially given that one of them is your boyfriend.
Geoffrey Ernie and Tasman cooperating was a good touch. Geoffrey's odds are improving, which might just mean that he's being set up as a sacrificial lion to die in the tournament (I hope I'm wrong). Angelina is back in the running and Neville seems likely to make it to the tournament.
Fred and George forfeiting really throws things off.
Nice to see lily wrestle with whether she should feel good or bad about not being human.
Nice description of victors subplots and revenge scheme although I worry it might be one subplot too many.
Nice to see shape is being considered as a spy. The logic that potentially clears him is well thought out though.
I think they're giving dumbeldore too much credit to think he'd be able to spot mcgonogall as a spy.
Good description of the thirteen powers. I'll wager fleur is the champion of judgment given he remains judgmental nature andnhoe the others don't seem to apply to her. Henri could be wisdom.
Chilling description of what lyudmilla did to that boy who said she inspired fear.
Roksana, Irina, and Katharine have some interesting skills and pedigrees.
Nice description of the preliminaries at drumstang being shaken up and how krum might not mind.
Drumstang has a light champion? It's interesting that two champions they have are both doing poorly, although their powers could get taken and bestowed one someone especially before the prelimary starts.
Alexandra and Susan's introspections were good. I hope the next POV dumbeldore gets dwells on the embaressment of he gryffindors turning on each other in the preliminary.
Why do I have a feeling g that dumbeldore might really try to slant that last trial to finally give his gryffindors the appearence of a big win?

Good chapter as always.

Another preliminary is done and over with. Cedric is almost guarantied to be the Hufflepuff Champion. Which leaves only one last task to determine who the Champions will be.

Alexandra is more or less guarantied the title. For Slytherin and Gryffindor things aren't so cute and dry. It remains to be seen how things will fall there.

We got our first Barty Crouch PoV. I have to say I liked it. His 'I am surrounded by incompetents idiots, corrupt criminals and corrupt incompetents' attitude is very nice.

No inroads into figuring out who Nightmare is.

We learned I little more of Lyudmila's circle of confidants and learned the identity of two more Champions. We also got some info regarding the Old Powers. So the various 'gods' are aspects of the various Powers, formed into specific forms by the beliefs of mortals.

The Shadow Blades are preparing to start am offensive against the Ministry. I will assume for the moment that this will be the climax of the third year, which as you say is slowly coming to a close.

And it turns out what Bathilda Bagshot told Alexandra back in Chapter 44 was true. Lily is indeed part of a threesome with a Vampire Elder and his female partner.

One thing though. You write in the last section that Fred and George managed to get their Apparition licence due to becoming 17. In the books they tried to trick the Goblet of Fire with a Aging Potion because they wouldn't be 17 for a few months yet. And that was for the next school year, now hey are fourth year students! By all rights the twins should be 15 soon to be 16, or recently become 16.

Thanks for your good work. Until next time.

Ger relationship with Susan is so adorable.
And the more we hear about the other schools the more outmatched hogwarts seems to be. ;p
Nice chapter, good work.

Crouch would have been a different kind of disaster than fudge but still a disaster.

Good to get some more info on the powers, although I’m not quite clear on the aspect vs mantle thing.

The Weasley twins are only two years older than Alexandra and co. so they should only be sixteen, Remember it was a minor plot point in the fourth book that they wouldn’t turn seventeen early enough to participate in the tournament.

Ah, the anticipation. The trials are already a mess; I'm looking forward to seeing the trainwreck of the actual tournament.

Take care, good luck, stay safe, stay healthy, and I look forward to your next update.

Poor Cedric, he has no idea about the massive death flag he's waving by becoming Champion. He may be one of the few Hogwarts candidates who won't humiliate the school with his performance, but that doesn't put him anywhere near the level of the other schools champions.

Romanov might be a more extreme outlier in that regard, but any part of the team she's collected could probably wipe the floor with most of Hogwarts candidates. I do kind of envy them their trials though, krakens! Durmstrang might be dark and dangerous but it's certainly not boring!

Yes Crouch, you would've been a disaster as minister. Would you have been worse than Fudge? That's actually up for some debate, though most likely you would've been a different kind of screwup. Certainly a better choice to lead the conflict with Victor's coven though.

Bagman actually got off lighter than I thought he would, as unpleasant as I'm sure the arrow is it's probably nothing that can't be healed quickly unless it's been cursed.

Loved the chapter!

So in this one, Barty Crouch elder was not capable to switch his wife for son for some reason and because of that his wife still lives? (I recall that Bellatrix killed Barty junior while her breakout of Azkaban)

I have taken counts from previous chapters for Gryffindor. It really depends on if those on the table are only those who got points, or not.

If not, everyone else has 20 points and less. Those who weren't said in the last chapters have also 20 points or less.

So new table is here.

1. Angelina with 124 points
2. Geoffrey with 119 points
3. Neville with 113 points
4. Fred or George with 88 points min and up to 108 points if those who did not manage to finish got points for trying.
5. same as 4

Others:
Kenneth 69 points
Leo 59 points
Katie 53 to 73, depending on how much points she got before water trial. (she wasn't mentioned in those who had over 20 points)
Alicia 37 to 57 - wasn't mentioned in the water trial
Ron 36 points
Cornac 23 to 43 (got zero in earch trial and forget if he got zero, or not in fire one)

If those, who are just now in the first five would go at the tournament, it would be ideal for Alexandra, since Angelina and Geoffrey aren't anti-Alexandra, twins are her allies in the Gryffindor and Neville seems to be neutral.

By the way, I'm almost certain, that Dumbledore ensured that Cornac would push Weasley twins into the water at the beginning of the trial.

It seems that Exchequer plans to put Shadow Blades against the ministry. With Quidditch tournament ongoing, it is going to make the British government and by proxy, make Dumbledore look bad. Lily and Soul drinkers seems to observe Shadow Blades. Lily will possibly spot Peter there and pull him out.

If Dumbledore loses political capital by this, the Will of Cassiopeia would get opened earlier and Sirius would get destroyed by Bellatrix.

Exchequer is going to actively hunt Horcruxes. They need locket, which would be in the Grim Old Place. If Sirius did not throw it out. If it is in, the easiest way to get it would be to have Bellatrix become lady Black and give the locket to them as a trade for their support.

I personally think that Exchequer spy is Sprout.

Morrigan told Alexandra, that it was Merlin and Arthur, who binded Fate to light, but for some reason she did not wanted to share this information.

As I understand it, there is light and dark. Both have "power pool", which affects how are dark and light spells powerful. If the light is in charge, dark regenerate its power pool and light loses its content. At battle of Camhain, both light's and dark's power pool were equal. and to balance a more than thousand years of light domination, more than a thousand years of dark domination is needed. Or at least that how I understand Morrigan's explanation.

both champions of Seth (confusion) and Frigg (wisdom) are dark?

Even if those two aren't going to be champions, they will be somehow present at the tournament. Angelica, or Helena (don't remember on top of my head) supposedly approached all dark champions with exception of Alexandra any Lyudmila and they agreed to join the tournament.

About how you said, that it should be finished before the end of the real year, it would mean there would be five chapters at most. There is still needed last preliminary Beltane (one chapter) Battle between Shadow Blades and Ministry (that Alexandra will get somehow into the middle of) - two or three chapters. And James attacking Alex would get in middle of Shadow Blades battle. Because Lily would witness that, and kill James. That leaves one chapter for buildup.

It looks like Hogwarts has confirmed that two Houses have Champions and two have the best of a bad lot. Not that Gryffindor and Slytherin have figured this out yet. The fact that most of the Lions washed out again, this time because they were more interested in sabotaging each other than in completing the task, puts more egg on the Headmaster and his favorite House's face. None of them have cleared 150 points yet, so a perfect score in the last trial combined with a poor score of the current leader could put anyone over the top into the Champion's place. Which is important because Dumbles will want Neville to be there somehow.

Given that Ron and Leo were supposed to be sentenced to having all extracurricular privileges being revoked for the prank poisoning incident, wouldn't that be an automatic disqualification for being in the Tournament? That isn't exactly part of the regular curriculum.

Does the Exchequer's plan for the Tournament require as many Champions as possible to be there? If so, I wonder how they'll rig things so that the Champion of Frigg makes it. Or do they just want Dark Champions and not care about the Light?

It seems like several power blocks are going to be split in the coming year. Not all the Exiled will be going to Venice, and it's likely that not all of the New Marauders will as well. How will the ones left behind deal with the fact that their powerhouses are gone in the face of how dangerous inter-House politics are at Hogwarts?

Th for the chapter.
And thanks for a compact oversee of the powers and ther association with Gods as ther aspects.
I like to see who would by the champion of the one God as he represent most of the Light aspects ( Luna would by funny but I think she would by Fate or Arthur/ Arturia as Juganauts).
I love how you are building the Ligt vs Dark power play and the option that ther could by a Gray Power beside Fate, like Might (Power) (so Voldemorts spiel of "ther are no Light or Dark side just Power" could by true), Creation (Matter) or Nothing (Destruction).
A idea what I have is that as something has by done to bring Fate to the Light Side the Dark Side could have done something to see that no other Gray Power could by turned and so decide that ther should rest or by inactive.
A problem, but I thing that will by just temporary, is then the Dark side should Win Socity itself would burst or sink in a Age of debauchery and regression as I see at the moment there end Goal as World Conquest and not the ruling of the World as the End, as the Light Side has Prosperity as Finsh Line and way (after ther interpretion).
The question if no-magical faith define (makes them stronger/weaker) a power or it's aspect would by in itself interesting as the one God would by so powerful what it would by not even funny anymore. Another question would by if Cosmic powers are existing after Lovecraft or Alien Civilisation.
Well just a bit think food.