Liberating the House-elves

"Oh, man, that's embarrassing." Ron Weasley could hardly bear to look at his idol.

In his mind, Krum belonged on a pedestal, shining above everyone else. Seeing him nearly knocked out of the dueling ring made Ron Weasley cringe.

"It's not that bad. He's a Quidditch player, isn't he? I mean, when it comes to dueling, I don't think any underage wizard could beat Eli. Maybe not even an adult," Harry said with a shrug. The result hadn't surprised him at all. He just felt sorry for such an excellent player.

He couldn't understand why a gifted Quidditch player would challenge someone equally gifted in an entirely different field.

The other Hogwarts students sighed too. They hadn't fancied Krum's chances from the moment he stepped up. They had spent years seeing what Eli could do, and their conclusion was that he couldn't be beaten.

The Durmstrang students were stunned. Hadn't their star been dominating just a moment ago? How had he gone down so quickly? Was the platform uneven?

A few Durmstrang students glanced around uneasily and relaxed only when they saw that hardly anyone was paying attention to them.

The Beauxbatons girls were astonished, and they made no effort to hide it.

There was no question that Krum had fought impressively. He had shown enough skill to pass an Auror test.

Yet the outcome had taken a dramatic turn. Eli, who had seemed too hard-pressed to fight back, had rallied and driven Krum out of the ring.

Only Pheobe's expression softened, though she still couldn't hide the disbelief in her eyes.

What surprised her wasn't Krum's defeat. It was the power Eli had shown.

Earlier, Eli had dispelled Krum's spells outright with a spoken Shield Charm. Most people could only deflect them.

Now Eli was using Silent Casting. The