The War of the Unwilling Hearts (Harry Potter fanfic [Viktor Krum])

Flames for Fighting

We'd received thirty new people in the last week. All of them had some foreboding message about Voldemort's gaining power and I'd hoped that Hermione hadn't forgotten her promise to me.

"'Ina." Rurik taps my knee as I sit half asleep at my makeshift desk.

"Yeah?" I turn my tired eyes on him.

"D'Anna wants you."

"Thank you." I bend to kiss the top of his head. "You should be getting to bed."

"I will." The three and a half year old tells me assuredly. "Ina?"

"Yes Rory?"

"You'll get the bad guys right?" I'm reminded of the innocence I've managed to keep in my brother and I smile.

"Nothing will stop me." I tell him. "Where's D'Anna anyway?"

"At her post." He says with the slightest traces of his baby voice. I was sad to say that he, of the three, grew too matter-of-fact for my taste. Rurik had gotten into the habit of refusing to say words he could not properly pronounce and he stood straight-backed so that he was an extra five millimeters taller than Tobias. Rory was strong and he'd taken up a big brother role with Toby and Amy.

I nod. "Get some sleep." He tries his best not to rub his eyes as he walks through the flap to his room where he makes sure Toby and Amy are tucked in before blowing out the lantern.

I liked the camp at night. It had a brilliance about it with its hundred or so lanterns still burning bright while adults did the last of the days chores. There was a guard to help new arrivals set up tents and get food on and into hungry bellies while they taught the new people how to do it all without magic. We learned early on that several refuge camps were ransacked because the ministry could track high volumes of magic. So we saved ourselves by keeping our magic reserved for protecting the camp and keeping fires. We fished from the coast for food and apparated into cities to buy what we couldn't get from the sea and land. In short we were a proper survivalist camp. There was hardly a corner of Europe that Voldemort hadn't taken.

"Rurik said you were looking for me." I prompt D'Anna as soon as I get to the area of new arrivals.

"This came for you." She hands me a folded piece of parchment. "It came with that lot there." She pointed at a small group of teenagers and I recognised their colored ties and messy uniforms immediately. I rush over to them.

"You three." I say in my authoritative voice. They snap up. "You're from Hogwarts aren't you?"

"If you could call it that anymore." The lanky boy grumbles. The girl slaps him hard on the chest.

"We are. You got the letter right?" She looks at me intently.

"Just now. What can you tell me?" I'm so anxious that I have to refrain from lunging at the girl and shaking her by the shoulders when she looks at her companions too long. "Well?"

"I hope you don't have family there miss." She says sadly. "You-know-who's at the castle right now. When we took the floo network here he'd just arrived. People are going every which way to get out. With all the bad ones at the castle ready to fight, everyone's sending word to loved ones." She nods at the letter in my hand.

"Thanks." I turn away from them. "D'Anna get someone else to take your post. I want you in our tent with Rurik, Tobias, and Amalia."

"Why what's going on?" She asks, jogging to keep up with me.

"I've got to leave." I say with a set jaw. D'Anna veers left for a moment to ask an off duty guard to tend to the new arrivals and then catches up with me.