Krum Chronicles

Chapter 4 : Igor Runs

It must have been less than two hours before Viktor was awaken by a rattling at his door.

"Viktor." Dmitri knocked."Krum." Hearing no response Dmitri continued. "Karkaroff's gone." Before Dmitri even had the chance to force his knuckles on the oak door which created a barrier between he and his classmate it swung open. "Awake now are you comrade?" Viktor shrugged his last comment off and yawned.

"What do you mean he is gone?" Viktor asked without even a trace of concern in his voice.

"He is gone. He is not in the private cabin and all of his belongings are gone. Sergey bets 5 galleons that Karkaroff left on his own will." Dmtri replied with a chuckle. Viktor replied with a small chuckle of his own. Viktor moved aside and made room in the doorway for Dmitri to walk into his personal cabin. Viktor paced the perimeter of the room, remembering that only as couple of hours ago he was tracking trhough his brain searching for joyous memories between he and his headmaster.

"Death Eaters must have scared him. Nikolai argued with him after they tried to attack the ship."

"Attacked him? Are we talking about the same Nikolai?" Dmitri asked with a tone of both seriousness and laughter in his voice.

"Haha. Yes comrade. Nikolai. He pestered him with questions of his allegiance to You-Know-Who."

"Ah, Nikolai never stops proving us wrong."

"Mhm."

"Krum, I am here to ask you what we are supposed to do." Dmitri blurted out, which caught Viktor by suprise but he simply sighed and haulted in the middle of the room standing several feet away from Dmitri who was leaning against Viktors bed post waiting for a repsonse.

"We are going to do the same we did before Karkaroff ran. He never did anything anyways. More of a chaperone than a headmaster." Viktor replied with a smile, knowing that he flooded the young mans mind with reassurance that he would get home safe without Karkaroff. "Now, go tell the others that we will continue to do the same thing as we always have."

"Dah."

Before Dmitri walked out Viktor called him. "Tell Cook to make a big breakfast, I am starving." He said in his native tongue, which he had been speaking in ever since their trip back to Bulgaria began, Dmitri nodded and made his way out of Viktors cabin and into the hall where he passed Nikolai who seemed to be headed towards the same place Dmitri had just exited.

* * *

Viktor let out a small laugh as he turned away from his door, walking over to his trunk where a burgnudy colored long sleeve Durmstrang sweatershirt lay balled up next to a picture of Hermione that he had clipped from a newspaper when he was at Hogwarts. He placed a heating spell on the floor of his cabin, realizing that his feet felt as though they had been lazily wadding in the Black Lake. He un-balled the sweatshirt and grabbed hold of the black and white photo, it was one that Rita Skeeter's photographer snapped of her while she wasnt looking. Hermione was reading a book (as though she ever stopped) and looked oh so peaceful letting herself get lost between the paragraphs of dialogue. A piece of hair, that same piece which whenever Viktor would see her he would tuck back behind her left ear, fell onto her face imparing her vision. As she tucked the lovely honeybrown lock back behind her ear she looked up to see the camera man snapping away at her and charged at him. He kept the clipping because of how funny it was to see Hermione go from being so calm and tranquil to being enraged and frustarted. He knew that the feelings he felt for Hermione were unlike any feelings he had ever experienced before. All looking at the picture did was make him miss her more. He placed the clipping back on to the trunk and walked towards his bed to accomodate the sheets when a familiar voice interupted him.

"She has changed you my friend." Nikolai said in a low tone that only Viktor could hear not as though if he yelled it anyone would be listening. The other Durmstrang boys,who were trailing down the hall, were too busy celebrating Karkaroff's dissapearance.

"What do you mean?" Viktor asked with a smirk, he turned away from his friend and went back to fixing his sheets, but was well aware of what Nikolai meant by his comment.

"Previous to this trip the only way you would laugh or even let a simple smirk slip was if we got you drunk off of Fire Whiskey and Rakia. We knew you'd be, how the English say 'shit faced', in the morning when you would start chanting 'Nazdráve' and comensed a hollar contest with Alek. Viktor let out a light laugh and picked up his matress tucking in the excess sheets under.

"I have seen the way you look at her comrade." Nikolai continued. "In Bulgaria you had women throwing themselves at you. Even in Hogwarts! Girls would follow you everywhere you went and I have seen you interact with the ones you saw fit to.You never looked at any of them the way you have looked at Herm-own-ninny. You smile more and no longer slouch when you walk." Viktor stood up straight at that last statement and through a scarf which Hermione had bought him from Hogsmeade onto his bed.

"Comrade, I thought you would be happy for me. You sound dissapointed." Viktor said jokingly with a straight face. Nikolai laughed and looked to the floor before looking back up at Viktor.

"Still though, you wear that angry mug the best than any of us my friend."

"Dah. And I always will." Viktor said approaching Nikolai swinging his arm around his shoulder. "Allow us to celebrate, and eat. I will tell you all about my blinding love for Mina later." Nikolai laughed pushing Viktor away and leading the way out to the hall and into the kitchen quarters.

* * *

"To Captain KRUUUUUUUUM!" Could be heard ringing throughout he entire vessel by midday. The boys were shit faced and proud. Even Viktor was begining to slur the word 'Nazdráve'. The nerves from the night before faded away and was taken over by the celebration of today.