The Cursed Chronicles: Year 6

Chapter 55

Katrina's fingers felt numb and alive all at once laced in Albus'. It occurred to her that even though it was something she had hoped for, possibly since the end of their fifth year, it was never something she thought she would obtain. There was the normal doubt as to whether he felt the same, which she felt often, but even besides that there had been extraordinary obstacles every step of the way. 

After she transferred to Beauxbatons she hesitated to hope she would ever see him again. When news of the upcoming tournament reached France, there was no one more excited than Katrina to be back in the halls of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had counted down the days obsessively, she was completely packed three weeks prior to their departure, and she stayed up late at night, staring at the ceiling and experimenting with the fluttering feeling in her chest very time she thought about getting to see him again. Bella was thoroughly perplexed. (Although she didn't quite understand attraction to the male gender whatsoever-but that's a story for another time). Parisa and Sabrina teased her relentlessly once they had worked a confession out of her, and even if she hadn't had a one-track mind the day they walked into the great hall, her friends' curiosity would have driven her straight to the Slytherin table regardless.
Even then, they were chosen to oppose each other in the tournament, though she supposed that was hardly a wedge between them. But Thomas was. A huge one. She had been prepared for Albus to hate her for the rest of their lives. The memory of that night after the third task was a morbidly euphoric one. When she had walked away from Albus, having left everything on the table, she had been expecting  what came next. 

She wasn't surprised when the familiar shiver ran down her spine, when she swore she could hear just faintly the daunting flap of a thousand cursed wings. She was prepared for the sheer terror one experiences when thousands of sleek, silent birds flock around you like you have been predestined as the eye of their hurricane. She was afraid. She didn't know what Delphi had planned for her, if it would be anything like the nightmares that still plagued her of that night in the graveyard last year. She had no assurance that she would even live to have those nightmares. But in that fraction of a second, Albus had called her name, and she had turned and met his gaze. She wondered if that look in his eyes- that gut-wrenching fear that seizes your soul- was anything like what he had seen in hers that moment she thought she had killed him. 

Her mind still felt raw, like someone had wedged her skull underneath a sledgehammer, which wasn't as far from the truth as one might think. It had felt violating and strange to be under Delphi's imperious curse. She knew it would take time to feel like herself again, to completely forgive herself for not being stronger, especially when she had come so close to hurting Albus. But as she watched the students and teachers pick themselves up off the ground and share excitement, celebration, she couldn't bring herself to dwell on that. It did feel like all their troubles were finally over. 

Which was perhaps exactly why the universe had decided that they were far, far from it. 

Over the hill from where Katrina had reunited with Albus, Delphi writhed in the dirt where she had been left, straining against her bonds. Several witches and wizards rushed to secure her, but before they could even reach her, she gave a shuddering gasp and fell limp. When her eyes opened, they glowed green. 

"The witch, the witch, the girl-" she whispered, her voice raspy yet full, reverberating in the open field as if they were in an empty chamber. "Das Hexenmädchen." Katrina inhaled sharply. Albus's hand gripped hers tighter and she felt Emiliya and Nicole's eyes on her. The cameras had turned off when they'd shared their stories during the third task, so the only three people Katrina had ever told that story to were the other three champions in the room. Delphi shouldn't know that story, but Katrina knew with daunting certainty that the witch was referring to her.