PART TWO:
VLADIMIR VOLKOVA
Ekatrine reached the stables within a few moments. She looked around, her breath coming and going in short, heavy gasps. It billowed out before her on the frozen air in puffs of steam. Looking about, she wondered where Krum was.
She checked her watch to see how much time she had left before her spell wore off. She had cast it at about six that morning, and had gone to the restroom to cast it again at lunch three hours ago. She still had plenty of time before it wore off, and so she relaxed.
"Ready?"
Ekatrine jumped and whirled around to face Krum. "Yeah, sure."
He held up an old and worn broomstick. "Here, you can use this one."
"School broom?" she asked automatically, her eyes falling to a box that was levitating behind the boy. It landed on the ground where it began to move around wildly.
"No," Krum said. He smirked and replied, "My old one. If you're as good as everyone thinks you are, you'll need a good broomstick to use at tryouts."
Ekatrine couldn't help but laugh.
Krum blinked. He had never heard Krystof laugh before, even if he had been at the school only two days. For some reason, he had merely figured at Krystof, like Dusan, couldn't laugh. They could smile; maybe give a forced chuckle, but not a full-out laugh. "What?"
"You think I'm going to try out? I'd be so terrible, it wouldn't even be funny!" Ekatrine was still laughing, though she had let the laugher calm down a bit. Once she had regained control of her emotions she looked at Krum. He was still looking shocked. "Sorry, I highly doubt it's going to happen."
"It happened to me," replied Krum slowly. "And it happened to Harry Potter. It could happen to you."
"If you say so."
Krum gripped his broom. "First, put your broom on the ground. Then say up."
Ekatrine remembered this part of the test from the first Harry Potter book J.K. Rowling had written. She did just as Krum had said, setting the broom on the ground.
She didn't expect anything to happen, but before she could even open her mouth, the broomstick snapped into her hand.
"You didn't say anything."
"I…guess I thought it loud enough," she said, trying to smile. Her guts wrenched inside of her. She felt ill.
"Mount your broom," Krum instructed, mounting his own. "Grip like this…good."
She gripped the broom handle tightly, suddenly realizing that she disliked heights very much. She swallowed tightly, trying to force her fears down.
"Don't worry," Krum said. "I'll go up with you. On the count of three, kick off. One…two…three!"
Ekatrine shoved her feet into the ground and she burst into the air, Krum right beside her.
"Level out your broom," he said, though she couldn't see him through her eyelids. "Yeah, good. Now open your eyes and sit up."
She had stopped moving and when she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was nearly forty feet above the ground. She gasped.
Krum laughed and said, "At least you didn't fall off. To turn, move your broom handle in the direction you want to go. Follow me—we'll do some warm-up rounds." He pulled out in front of her and began to go around the stables, diving low to the ground. When Krystof didn't follow him right away, Krum yelled back, "What? Are you as potato-brained as the others? Let's go!"
Ekatrine scowled and dove after him, the sudden rush of adrenaline burst through her system, making her want to go faster. After she rounded the first corner behind Krum, she couldn't help but laugh to herself. She loved it!
Krum burst back up into the sky quickly, and Ekatrine followed, moving almost as quickly as he did. They did loop-de-loops and circles, Krum leading and Ekatrine following.
Finally, Krum landed, Ekatrine skidding to a stop right beside him and letting her legs touch solid ground once again. She was grinning.
"You liked it?"
"Yes!"
"Want to go again?"
She nodded vigorously.
"Okay, but I want to test something," Krum said. He dismounted and walked over to the box he had brought with him. Ekatrine followed him, curious to see what was in the box.
When the lid flipped back, she saw four balls—a big red one, two black ones, and a small gold one. The black ones were chained down and were what was causing the box to rock around.
"Here," Krum said, thrusting a flat Cricket-like bat into her hands. She noticed that he was holding one as well. He unchained one of the Bludgers, and it flew high into the air.
"You're kidding," she gasped.
"You're a good flyer," Krum replied, watching as the Bludger became a speck in the gray sky. "Now I want to see if you're a good Beater. Let's go, it'll be back soon."
Ekatrine followed Krum back over to the brooms and she mounted. The two of them kicked off, and just as expected, the Bludger exploded towards them. Krum lifted his bat and smacked it. The Bludger changed course and rocketed towards Ekatrine.
She lifted her club, still holding tightly to the broom, hoping she wouldn't fall when the ball hit her. She braced herself, her eyes closed tightly. She swung blindly, hoping she'd hit it and it would go away.
Instead, her broom suddenly dropped and the Bludger whizzed by her head, missing her by less than an inch.
"Open your eyes, Krys!" Krum shouted. "You can't hit it blind!"
Ekatrine forced her eyes to open. She turned and watched as the Bludger turned in the air and came right back at her. She took in a deep breath, deciding she would rather go down with a fight than by just having the Bludger hit her without her trying to hit it back.
It came at her and she steadied her broom, the bat in her hands.
Three…two…ONE!
CRACK!
She hit it and the Bludger exploded across the field and into the ground nearly eighty meters away.
Krum grinned and glided over to her. "Not bad, Uriov. Not bad at all."
Ekatrine wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was shaking.
"Come on," Krum said. "Let's see how far you hit—oh, here it comes!"
Ekatrine whirled around and saw the black ball flying at them from the ground. She glided away, Krum behind her. "Ready?!" he called over the rush of air around them.
"Yeah!"
She spun around and stopped, the Bludger only meters from Krum. He snapped his bat and the Bludger came right at her. Ekatrine felt a swell of adrenaline as the ball came towards her. She smacked it with the bat, sending it right back to Krum. The two of them passed the ball back and forth for nearly an hour before they landed to take a break. Krum had the ball under his arm. It was fighting as hard as it could to escape him, thumping against his side and tugging at his arm, but it was still stuck.
He landed easily and shoved it back into the box, chaining it back up. He stood and looked at Krystof. "I'm impressed. You did pretty well."
She smiled; sweat rolling down her face and into the nape of her uniform. "Thanks."
"Maybe with some more practice you could try out for Beater Saturday."
"Saturday?" she asked. "But that's the day after tomorrow!"
He shrugged. "I think you'll be ready. You're pretty good."
She smirked. "You're not supposed to say that."
"I know," he laughed and collapsed onto the dry grass. He looked into the sky, the cool air relaxing him.
Ekatrine fell to the ground beside him. She stayed sitting, though, and merely looked at the giant sea of grass and trees before her.
After a few moments, Krum asked, "Krys, do you have a girlfriend?"
Ekatrine pondered the question briefly and replied, "No. I don't really know anyone aside from you guys…" She paused before venturing, "Do you?"
Krum propped himself onto his elbows and looked over to the forest as well. "I thought so, but now I'm not so sure. We still write, but somehow I don't think she likes me like I thought she did."
"Sorry to hear that," Ekatrine said. She shoved aside the feeling of glee that erupted within her, annoyed at the burst of emotion.
"It's okay," Krum replied. "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything from her, you know? She's only fifteen."
Ekatrine nodded. "Who is she?"
"Hermoine Granger. She goes to Hogwarts," he replied.
Ekatrine nodded again. She hadn't read any of the Harry Potter series beyond the third book. Her parents had found the books in her possession and had removed them rapidly; so rapidly that she couldn't finish the one she had been on.
"She's Harry Potter's friend," she mused. "Right?"
He nodded, now chewing on a straw of grass. "Yeah." Krum pulled a worn photograph and letter from the pocket of his uniform and handed them to Krystof. "That's her."
"She's…pretty," Ekatrine said softly.
Krum laughed. "Yeah. She called me duck-feet when we first met."
Ekatrine handed him the photo and letter. Krum was, indeed, slightly duck-footed and had an odd stride when on land, but she had grown accustomed to it and couldn't picture him without it. "She nice?"
"Yeah." He accepted the papers and replaced them carefully. "I just wish she was older…and that she lived up here."
There was a long time where neither of them spoke. Ekatrine watched as the wind glided across the field of tall grass before them, her mind wandering with it.
"I think she just wants to be Pen-Pals," Krum said, breaking the silence.
"Why do you say that?"
"It's just a feeling," Krum replied softly. "She doesn't write me as often, and she refused my invitation to Bulgaria last summer."
Ekatrine shrugged and replied, "Maybe she had other plans."
"Probably," Krum said, though he didn't look any better off. He paused before asking, "I guess you wouldn't know many girls, huh?"
Ekatrine felt a bit awkward talking about girls in the way Krum saw them. "Not really."
"You should come with us down to Varna," he said, now twisting a strand of grass between his fingers. "There're some girls there. You might like them."
"It's not a wizard city, is it?"
"No, Muggle."
She nodded. Varna was a few miles South of the school. Unlike Hogwarts, there was no magical town nearby. Varna was where the students went on break or for the weekend if they wanted to get out of the castle.
"We should get back on the brooms," Krum said standing suddenly. "There isn't much light left, and I want to finish up some spells before we go in."
Ekatrine stood as well, stretching her arms and back. "Alright."
They mounted the brooms again and Krum tossed Ekatrine the Beater's Bat. She caught it and watched as Krum waved his wand and commanded, "Alohamora."
The Bludger exploded into the sky, a streak of black. The two wizards dodged it for a while, and Krum finally shot it towards Krystof. "Heads up!"
Ekatrine whirled around and beat the ball back towards Krum, wondering what it was Dusan had warned her about. She was in the middle of the sky, her only enemy a Bludger. She felt safe in the sky than she did on the ground.
"Hey!"
Ekatrine and Krum both turned to see who had shouted at them. Alex was running towards them, waving. His double-some-odd-detentions had ended.
"Krystof, look out!"
She turned and saw the Bludger coming right at her. She felt the broomstick beneath her jolt and collapse about three feet down, the Bludger whizzing by overhead. Ekatrine let out a breath of air, glad that she hadn't been hit.
Krum whipped out his wand and shouted, "STUPIFY!"
The ball froze and collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
Ekatrine landed on the ground, Krum right behind her. He snapped, "What do you need, Alex?"
"Woah, calm down," Alex said. He was bigger than Krum, but recoiled nonetheless.
"Yeah, Krum," Ekatrine said softly. She turned to Alex. "How was detention?"
"Dreadful," Alex said with a lopsided grin. He had edged away from Viktor, who still looked annoyed. "I think Vasska won't have me for detention for a while."
"Professor," snapped Krum. "We're supposed to call him Professor Vasska."
"Borka doesn't care," replied Alex.
"Borka's insane," retorted Krum.
Ekatrine asked quickly, "What was dreadful about it? …And why are you smiling?"
"Professor Vasska had me file his books and historical documents without magic," Alex was snickering. "So I alphabetized them backwards first, and then after he told me to do it again I did every other letter wrong while singing Muggle songs as loud as I could. He got so mad he kicked me out of his office!"
Even Krum's lips tightened into a smile at this. He was cooled off. The flight practice had been pretty intense, the two boys concentrating as hard as they could on the Bludger and trying to subconsciously knock each other from their broomsticks.
Ekatrine let a grin spread on her own face. "That's…great?"
"Yeah! I don't think he'll have me in for detention for another week!"
"Well, at least not until tomorrow," Krum said. "Krystof and I were getting ready to work on some spells. Want to join us?"
Alex considered the thought and then sighed, thinking better of it. "Nah, I have homework…come to think of it, so do you two."
"We have time," Krum replied.
"Alright, well, it's already six, so you might want to get a move on," the bulky Beater turned and started back towards the castle.
Ekatrine's face fell and she quickly checked her watch. It was six! She reached up and touched her hair—it was starting to grow!
"I…uh…have to go…place," she said quickly. "Be right back!"
Krum scratched his head as he watched Krystof run to the back of the stables. He laughed, deciding the boy had needed to relieve himself. He walked over to the fallen Bludger and placed it back into its spot, chaining it back up before unfreezing it.
The sun was already falling, the gray clouds becoming darker by the moment. By the time Krum had taken the box, bats, and brooms into the stable, it was dark.
Krystof entered the stables a few moments later. He was sweating up a storm. "Sorry. Had to…uh…"
"It's okay," Krum laughed. "When you gotta go, you gotta go."
Ekatrine nodded, glad for the excuse. "Yeah, sure thing."
Krum lifted his wand from his pocket and began explaining the night's lessons. When Ekatrine attempted the first charm of the night, she misfired and one of the stalls exploded into flame.
Krum waved his wand and doused the fire. "Here, hold it like this…" He adjusted her wrist and helped her aim. Of course, the act was innocent, but Ekatrine's heart fluttered nonetheless.
"Thanks," she murmured.
"Try again…"
She spoke the word, and the charm aimed correctly this time, the lantern on the stall in front of her lighting up. "It worked!"
"You just have to aim," he said. "Try again."
She did. And did. And did some more. By the time the lesson had ended, Ekatrine's arm was very stiff and she was very tired.
As the two of them were leaving the stable, a huge wind picked up, blowing out the lanterns. Ekatrine knocked into Krum and dropped her wand. She knelt and found it, Krum beside her in the dark.
"Windy," he muttered. "Let's go."
She and Krum went back into the school after replacing the Quidditch box and Beater Bats. He took the brooms inside and the two of them returned to their Common Room.
An empty room greeted them.
"I'll put the brooms away," he said. "Get the books and parchment and we can do our homework."
Ekatrine nodded, watching as the Bulgarian Seeker walked out of the room and down a hall. Once he was out of sight, she let out a slight sigh and went to find the books and materials they needed.
They weren't hard to find—dozens of spell books, ingredients, stacks of parchment, bottles of ink, and vases of quills lined one of the walls. The materials were behind one of the tapestries.
She set the stuff out on one of the empty tables around the edges of the room and sat down, waiting for Viktor to return.
Serge floated into the chair beside her. "Well, how was it?"
She turned to him and smirked. "How was what?"
"Your first day. Anyone find out you-know-what?" he smiled, as though he had said something very funny. "Saw the Krum boy and you outside. You are…quite the pair."
Ekatrine rolled her eyes. "I'm a guy."
"Well, you certainly look like one, but you are very much a girl."
"What do you know," she snapped.
"I know that you have a thing for Viktor Krum," the ghost replied, rising into the air and floating around the transfigured girl. "It won't take him long to figure out your secret, you know."
"It will take longer if you keep your mouth shut," she snorted.
The ghost looked right into her eyes. "Don't you ever think that he might wonder where you go every six hours? He'll figure it out when he starts to have feelings for you."
"What?" Ekatrine sat up quickly. "What do you mean? Does he—"
"You have the books, Krystof?"
Serge merely smirked and disappeared into the wall.
Ekatrine scowled.
"Krys? Ah, you do," Krum walked over to the table and sat beside her. "We have to keep our voices down. The other's are sleeping…"
"You guys get to bed early," she mused.
"It's nearly midnight," Krum replied with a laugh. "We were out there for quite a while."
Immediately Ekatrine ran her hand through her hair. "I'll be right back."
"Where're you going?"
"Bathroom," she replied quickly. She could feel the spell wearing off—her hair coming out of her scalp and curling around her ears. She felt the uniform on her shoulders shrink and become heavier. She quickly entered the bathroom, but before she could say anything, the door burst open behind her.
She jumped into one of the stalls, wand in hand.
"You sure you're okay, Krys?" came Krum's voice.
Ekatrine forced her voice to be gruff, "Fine, fine. Just—ah—I'll be out in a minute."
"You sound like crap."
"Feel like it…must be the stew," she rasped, leaning against the door into the stall.
"All right…" he said, sounding unsure. He left the room, and Ekatrine relaxed against the stall door. She wiped her hair away from her face. That was way too close…
Lifting her wand, Ekatrine murmured, "Aramendo."
Nothing happened.
She pulled the sleeve of her robes back and gasped. She was holding Viktor's wand! When she had dropped her wand, he must have dropped his, too!
"Shit!" she gasped. She tried to remember how they had gotten into the Common Room. Krum had said the spell like always and the door had swung open. It must have been too tired to realize the spell didn't fire off! She thought. That's why Krum didn't realize he had my wand!
She collapsed onto the floor of the stall, leaning her head into her arms. What am I going to do?
After a few more minutes, the door into the bathroom opened and Krum asked, "You alright?"
She jumped to her feet, slipping around in the shoes that were too big for her by a size or two. Ekatrine said hastily, "You have my wand!"
"What?"
She coughed and said gruffly, "My wand…we got them mixed up."
Krum was approaching the stall. He asked, "Where's mine?"
She put it on the floor, hoping he hadn't seen her smaller hands. "Can I have mine back?"
Viktor knelt and picked up his wand. "You sound like shit, are you sure you don't need me to cure—"
"I'm fine! I can cure myself…just…my wand," she said, her voice on the verge of breaking.
"Here, let me see you. I want to make sure you're alright," he said, pressing himself against the door.
It began to open and Ekatrine quickly pushed all of her weight against him. "No, no! I'm fine, really! I just need my wand!"
Krum paused, but finally passed her wand through the crack in the door. "Here…now are you sure you don't need to go to the infirmary?"
"Yeah," she grunted, taking the wand gratefully. Under her breath she whispered, "Aramendo!"
She felt the familiar scratching of her hair being sucked away and her body exploding into that of a young man. Finally she opened the stall door and looked at Krum. "Sorry for keeping you…"
"You look like crap," Krum said.
Ekatrine looked at herself in the mirror across the room. Indeed, she did. Her face was pale and her eyes looked sunken and tired. "I just need to wash my face."
She walked over to the sinks on shaking feet and whipped one of the faucets on. She ran her hands under the cold water and brought it to her face.
Krum shrugged and replied, "Just make sure you flush." He left.
Ekatrine collapsed against the sink, her body still shaking. She would have to be a lot more careful from now on. She couldn't afford another accident.
Saturday came in a wisp of fog and a bright sun above the Quidditch stadium. Ekatrine had been very sure to cast the spell only a second or two before she left her room, and had her Muggle watch set for five and a half hours. She silently hoped that the tryouts wouldn't last nearly that long, but she still didn't want to chance that they would.
Unlike the weekdays, the weekends were more loosely controlled. Breakfast was served from six to nine, and anyone was welcome to sleep in.
She had, unfortunately, been required to be at the Quidditch field by seven o'clock. Arriving, she looked over at a group of Wrathoth boys. There weren't that many of them—four.
"The rest of the house turned up," Alex said, coming up behind Ekatrine. He laughed. "All five of you! How touching!"
"Krum wanted me to tryout," replied Ekatrine, emphasizing that she wouldn't have been there if he had not asked her first.
Alex caught her drift and replied, "Krum and us—we have an eye for good players. You'll do fine."
The other team members were there, too. Yakov, Anton, and Dusan were sitting on a bench, their eyes focused on the group of trembling people below. Three of the four players were fifth years, the fourth one a sixth year. He was much bigger than Ekatrine.
She walked over to them and stood in line with them.
Krum walked onto the field, a notepad in his hands. He looked the group up and down. "You are each going to go up one at a time. Alex," he motioned at the other boy, "will work with you if you need him. The goal is to see how well you can aim a Bludger when you beat it. A Bludger will be sent at you and you are to try and score a goal in one of the three hoops. The two people with the highest number of goals out of five will go on to the next round. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!" all of the boys shouted.
"Androvich, Mikhail!"
One of the younger boys stepped forward. He looked mildly nervous, but had enough guts to walk without tripping all over himself as Ekatrine felt she would do when it was her turn.
He launched into the air and a Bludger was released.
Alex soared over the remaining four boys and tossed Mikhail a Beater's Bat. The younger boy caught it and the tryout began.
The Bludger circled around for a moment or two, then swooped in towards the younger boy. It came within three feet of him and he merely moved his broom aside, looking relieved.
Krum was rubbing his forehead. Obviously the point was not to dodge the Bludger!
The black ball circled back around and hit the boys' broom. He tumbled in the air, righted himself, and came back with a wild swing of his bat. He was lucky and caught the ball with a firm crack. It went sailing over towards the goal hoops, and bounced off the edge of the one furthest to the left.
Mikhail let out a frustrated growl, but pulled himself together in time for the Bludger to come back towards he and Alex.
It soared towards the larger Beater, and he swung his bat, sending the ball to Mikhail.
Again, Mikhail aimed as well as he could, but the Bludger missed the goal hoops by twenty feet.
By the time Mikhail had finished, he had scored two goals and was red in the face. Whether he was furious or just hot, Ekatrine didn't know. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The other boys were called up one at a time—the two remaining fifth years played as well as they could, and one of them finally managed to score four goals.
His name was Alexis, and his surname had been said so quickly that Ekatrine had missed it.
He walked over and stood beside his fellow fifth years, a confidant grin on his face. He was excited at having beat the other two boys' goals of two and three.
"Volkova, Vladimir!"
The larger sixth year strode forward and launched himself into the air.
Ekatrine tightened her grip on the broomstick Krum was letting her borrow. She felt her gut wrench as she watched the other boys' spectacular movements and flowing flight.
He had managed to make his first goal without much trouble, aiming, beating and blasting the Bludger across the field into the center hoop.
He beat the ball back and forth between himself and Alex, and finally spun, making a second goal.
CRACK!
A third goal.
CRACK!
Fourth.
Ekatrine's heart was beating faster and faster. She felt her heart flutter and her throat grow tighter as he made the final goal, defeating the other boys' scores. Vladimir landed and dismounted. He strutted by in front of Ekatrine and sneered, "Beat that, Uriov."
Ekatrine's blood boiled and she quickly decided that such a cocky boy couldn't be allowed to make the team. She would have to make five goals to keep him from becoming the new Beater.
"Uriov, Krystof."
By the look on Krum's face, he also didn't want the boy to make the team.
Ekatrine mounted the broom and kicked off. Alex tossed her the bat, and she caught it easily. The Bludger was sent off, and it came at her without hesitation. She glided around with ease, placing herself in a better position. When the Bludger came into range, she flew at it and swung.
The bat connected with a firm crack, and the Bludger went flying into one of the goal hoops.
Alex grinned, but hid the smile by coughing into his shoulder.
The Bludger looped around and came right back at the smaller boy. Ekatrine glided straight up into the air, letting the Bludger miss her.
"You're supposed to hit it, you know!" Vladimir called from the ground below. He was laughing.
Krum shot him a dirty look, but kept his mouth shut. He turned his attention back to Krystof, silently wondering what the boy was up to.
Ekatrine circled around, following the Bludger across the stadium. She watched as it turned in the air and came right back at her. With a flare of show, she smacked the Bludger with her bat. It went straight towards the center hoop, but bounced off of the edge.
Vladimir was laughing so hard now he was nearly on the ground, but he stopped when the Bludger bounced into the hoop on the right of the center post.
Alex gave a whoop. He caught Krum's eye and pretended to go into a fit of coughing, though he saw even Krum smile at the showy goal.
Ekatrine had two tries left.
She glided around and gave Alex the thumbs up. He nodded, and she passed him the black ball after it had come after her.
The two flew around and to the back of the goalposts, the Bludger going into the one on the left after Ekatrine had smacked it with her bat.
Vladimir had stopped laughing. He was frowning. The new seventh year was one goal away from matching his score. He crossed his arms over his chest and kept his narrowed eyes on the smaller boy.
When the Bludger whirled around again, Ekatrine flew into a loop and caught it with the very tip of her bat.
Viktor felt his heart stop. Why had Krystof made such a desperate move? Surely the Bludger wouldn't go very far!
But that had been Ekatrine's plan. The Bludger changed course and shot towards the ground. She dove after it, and caught it with a quick turn of her broom and swing of her bat.
The Bludger shot into the goal post.
Anton and Yakov jumped up out of their seats and made soft "yes!" sounds, clasping their hands together, mimicking the sound of the club against the Bludger.
Ekatrine landed after Alex had caught the ball. He held it tightly under his arm and hid his face by wiping the sweat from his forehead, but a grin could be barely seen from under his sleeve.
Krum nodded and turned to the other boys. "Good job, boys. Vladimir and Krystof both got a score of five out of five. They will be going onto the next round."
The group of fifth years all left the field, going into the now crowded stands, looking very depressed and annoyed. They muttered back and forth between themselves. It was very, very rare that a boy under his sixth year made it onto any of the Durmstrang Quidditch Teams.
Krum turned back to Vladimir and Krystof. "Volkova, Uriov, you're going to play each other using the Bludger as the main ball. Whoever makes the most number of goals in five minutes using their bat, wins. Ready?"
"Yes, sir," Vladimir replied.
Krystof nodded firmly. "Yeah."
"On my whistle the match will begin. You are to stop the second my whistle blow again," he instructed. "Mount."
Ekatrine and Vladimir mounted their brooms, and Krum blew his whistle. Vladimir and Ekatrine launched up from the ground, Vladimir shoving into her seconds after liftoff, sending her into a slight spin.
The Bludger was released and the match began.
Vladimir snagged it first and shot it towards one of the goalposts. It went through and Ekatrine growled to herself. She shot after the Bludger, pushing herself low against her broom. She hit it just as it whirred back towards Vladimir, and sent it in the direction of the posts.
Vladimir shot after her, and smashed into her sidelong, sending her shot wild. He took over, the entire stadium booing and hollering. There were maybe fifty students out on the field and a few teachers. They had all woken up early enough to see the final match of the tryouts, everyone curious to see who would win and if Uriov was as good as Alex had continuously made him out to be.
Ekatrine felt her blood boil and she shot after him. She swooped above him and jerked sharply in front of him just as he sent the Bludger towards the goalposts, blocking his shot.
She took the ball, turned and slammed it through the hoop.
One and one.
The ball shot straight up into the air, Ekatrine following it. Vladimir was right on the tip of her broomstick, ready to grab her out of the air should she reach the ball first.
He managed to reach forwards with his bat and knock her aside with such force that she was sent spinning.
He shot the ball back down to the earth, himself in its wake.
Ekatrine righted herself and followed, fury thudding through her. She watched as he sent another shot, but it went wild and the ball flew thirty feet to the left of the furthest hoop, hitting the side of the stadium, showering Krum in brick, wood and stone.
The Captain knocked the dust from himself, watching as Vladimir shot past, Krystof right on his tail.
"Get 'em, Krys," Krum snarled under his breath.
Ekatrine twisted herself around, seeing the Bludger change course. She shot after it. Her smaller frame allowed her to change course much faster than Volkova, and so she reached the ball sooner. She hit it and the Bludger shot through one of the hoops.
The crowd let out a wild cheer, the score now two and one.
Ekatrine didn't allow the noise to distract her. She shot to the Bludger, where it was flying around behind the goalposts.
Vladimir snagged her by the robes, pulling her behind himself. He snapped his bat, and the Bludger went through the hoop.
Two and two.
He turned and smirked at the smaller boy. He turned to the crowd, demanding cheers. So confidant was he that he had forgotten that the Bludger could move. It went sailing passed Ekatrine's head and knocked right into Vladimir's side.
Ekatrine hardly allowed a smile, though she was very pleased that the ass had been knocked from his broom. He righted himself quickly, but was meters behind the smaller boy.
Ekatrine lifted her bat and swung with as much force as she could. She could see the giant clock, the seconds ticking away. If she made this goal, she would win the match.
Vladimir came out of nowhere, shoving her aside and hitting the ball instead. She let out a cry of rage, shoved him aside and raced after the ball. She lifted both her hands from the handle of the broom and swung at the Bludger from behind as hard as she could. She felt the broom slip out from under her, but didn't care. It didn't matter, so long as she made the final goal.
Her bat connected with a loud CRACK, and a shower of splinters exploded in front of her. She began to fall, her broom slipping from under her. She watched as the Bludger soared into the goal just as Viktor blew his whistle.
The crowd let out an explosion of cheers, and Ekatrine laughed. She had managed to catch her broomstick with one hand, the other holding the broken Beaters Bat.
Vladimir raced at her, and at first she thought he was coming to help, but his eyes were filled with anger, and he smashed into her. She lost the grip on her broom, a sickening crunch coming from her side.
She landed hard on the ground, her side searing with pain.
Viktor let out an enraged scream, "THE MATCH IS OVER!"
The entire stadium was booing and shouting. Ekatrine felt dizzy, breath coming to her in short gasps. She could hardly breathe.
Professor Vasska was the first to reach her. He knelt beside her in the damp grass and lifted his wand. "Hold on, Uriov."
The entire Wrathoth team crowded around her, and Ekatrine blacked out.
"Will he be alright?"
"For the last time, Mr. Molokai, yes, he will be fine."
Ekatrine sifted back into consciousness, but allowed her eyes to remain closed. She felt pain explode from her side and let out an involuntary gasp.
"See? Mr. Uriov is awake."
Ekatrine's eyes snapped open, and she looked up into a circle of faces. Alex joined them. He looked relieved.
"Hey, Uriov," he said with a smile. "You took quite a hit. You alright?"
She nodded, dizzy. "W-wh…"
"Krum beat the crap out of Volkova," laughed Yakov. "Headmaster Karkaroff is talking to him right now. Krum's pretty pissed."
Ekatrine groaned. "My side…"
"Vasska healed it. It'll hurt for a while, but you should be fine," Alex replied.
"Professor," Dusan replied, but even he looked relieved.
"Yeah, Professor," Alex said. He seemed to have a new sort of respect for the teacher. "He was really worried…thought you had internal bleeding…that's hard for even magic to cure, you know."
"Okay, boys," came a new voice, obviously the one of the medical officer. "Mr. Uriov needs his rest. You can come back in a few hours."
"Count on it," said Anton with a smile.
"Yeah, and Krum'll be with us, too," replied Yakov.
The Quidditch Team left the room, and the medical officer walked into Ekatrine's sight. He looked into the young boy's eyes and said, "Your wristwatch went off ten minutes ago. Your wand is beside your bed."
The curtain was draw around Ekatrine, and the man left her.
Ekatrine slowly rolled her head to hoop on the right of the center post bounced into the hoop on the right of the center post the side and spotted her wand. She grasped it firmly in her hand and said softly, "Aramendo."
She felt the spell renew itself and quietly reset her watch, though she moved very slowly. Ekatrine then fell back into a deep, dark sleep.
She woke up a few hours later to a loud pop.
"What?" her eyes scanned the room around her, and landed on Alex's face. He was grinning.
"He's alive!" Alex shouted, a snap cracker in his hands.
"SHHH!" a number of voices snapped.
"Sorry," Alex said meekly. He turned back over to Ekatrine, a number of other faces appearing.
She rubbed her head, making certain her hair was still short subconsciously. "What was that?"
"We're celebrating," Yakov said with a lopsided grin.
"Celebrating?"
"Yeah," said Anton. "Not only did you make the team instead of that jerk Volkova, and not only did Krum beat the snot out of him, buuuttttt…"
"He got away with it!" crowed Alex.
Krum's face came into view, his hawk-nose and heavy eyebrows a welcome sight to the girl-turned-boy on the bed. She smiled.
"Tell Krys about it, Krum," said Yakov grinning widely. "Go on, tell 'em!"
Krum smirked. "He's not going to bug you anymore."
"He's not going to bug anyone anymore," said Alex, his grin growing wider still. "Krum beat him so bad he's not even in school!"
"And you got away with it?" Ekatrine asked, her jaw dropping.
"Krummy here is Karkaroff's favorite," replied Alex.
"Headmaster," snapped Dusan. "Headmaster Karkaroff."
Alex waved his hand as though ridding himself of a giant bug. "Whatever. The point is, Krum didn't get in any trouble!"
"Well, that's not completely true," Krum said softly. "I have a month of detention."
"Hence, no trouble!" Alex grinned.
Ekatrine propped herself up onto her elbows, her side throbbing mildly. Obviously whatever had been done to heal her had gone into affect. She felt much better. She wanted to thank Krum, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Finally, she said, "Thanks, Krum."
He shrugged, but smiled nonetheless.
"What time is it?"
"Near five," replied Anton. "Why?"
She shook her head, quickly doing math in her head. She had less than an hour before the spell wore off again. "No reason."
"Hey, Prof, when is he out of here?" Alex called over to the medical officer.
"Professor," hissed Dusan again, his icy eyes narrowed.
"Whatever!"
The medical officer came into view and looked down at Ekatrine. He pressed his hand against her side, feeling for anything. "He seems fine. If he can stand, he can go."
Ekatrine sat up and rolled out of the bed onto her feet. She felt her side throb again mildly, but was able to stand.
"He can go," the matron said, leaving the bedside to attend another, far more needy student.
Ekatrine pocketed her wand and followed her new teammates from the small hospital wing.
Alex was recapping how Krum had beat Vladimir up, and how the younger boy had looked after the beating. Ekatrine smiled to herself as she listened. She kept a close eye on her watch, however, not wanting to transform before the boys.
They reached the door into the Common Room and Dusan hissed, "Snarata." The door swung open, and as she passed it, Ekatrine swore she saw one of the eyes open again and squint at her. However, the eye was gone from sight the second she blinked.
It shut behind them after they entered the Common Room. The fifth years were all crowded over at one table, bent over something and murmuring to one another.
Krum and the Quidditch Team collapsed onto the chairs and couches around the fire pit and began to talk. Vodka was passed around, and everyone drank heartily. Even the fifth years were offered some of the drink. They refused and left for the library with their books and parchment.
"Their loss!" huffed Alex, his nose red. "To Krystof! To Krum! To…to…"
"QUIDDITCH!" roared Yakov and Anton, the clear liquid spilling from their glasses.
"To Quidditch!" shouted Alex, heaving his glass to theirs. They all downed their drinks and within moments were dancing around the fire, recapping the tryouts and the final game.
Ekatrine sipped her vodka carefully, keeping herself sober. Krum was also sipping his vodka with similar care. His eyes were focused on the flames before him, impervious to the noise of his teammates.
Dusan stirred his drink and took a gentle sip, his eyes focused on Krystof. Oleg suddenly burst into the room.
"Oleg!" gasped Alex. He grabbed the boy by the arm, dragging him into the frolicking. Oleg, however, looked very pale.
"Where were you today?" asked Krum calmly.
"Krum, something's happened," Oleg gasped, pushing the others from him. He rushed over to the Captain and began to whisper to him, a rolled up newspaper in his hand.
Krum's expression dropped quickly.
Ekatrine leaned back into her chair, wondering what had happened, when her watch went off. "Sorry," she said quickly, and turning it off, she stood and hurried from the room.
Oleg ignored the new boy and continued whispering to Krum, the others now paying dear attention to the soft conversation between the two boys.
Dusan stood and also left the room. He followed a few minutes behind Krystof, who had gone into the bathroom.
After opening the door he heard a soft, "Aramendo," and Krystof appeared from one of the stalls, shoving his wand into a pocket. He looked up at Dusan. "What's happened?"
"Do you always have to go to the restroom every six hours?" Dusan asked slowly walking towards the other boy.
"Bladder problem," lied Krystof. He washed his hands and dried them with a towel. "Can't do anything about it."
Dusan hardly looked convinced. In fact, he hardly looked anything.
"What happened?" Krys asked again, a little more forcefully.
"I don't know," Dusan replied. "You got up and left too soon for me to find out."
"You could have stayed in there," replied Krystof, annoyed.
Dusan strode over to him. "So could you."
The bathroom door burst open and Krum walked in, followed by the others. "Krys, something's happened."
"What?"
"We…just got the news," whispered Alex sadly. "I'm so sorry, Krys."
"What happened?" Krystof demanded, his body growing tense.
"Your brother…he's…dead," said Oleg.
For a moment, Ekatrine had no idea who they were talking about. She was an only child…she didn't have any—"Oh, God," she gasped. "No!" Her childhood friend, Ilya Uriov. "Ilya!"
"That's him," whispered Oleg sadly. "They found his body this morning…Death-Eaters…"
"How…how did you find out?"
"Headmaster Karkaroff sent me to Varna this morning to look through the Muggle newsstands," replied Oleg. "He sends someone every Saturday…it was on the front page…" He held up a newspaper, the picture of a boy on the front page. The caption read, Boy Killed by Unknown Means. "I'm so sorry, Krystof."
Ekatrine's legs gave out and she collapsed. "God, no…"
Krum looked at the others, and they all left. He knelt beside Krystof. "Krys, there was nothing anyone…I mean…Ilya wasn't even magic, right…? He was…Muggle…"
Ekatrine's eyes met his, tears welling in their depths. "He…he was…"
"Your brother," whispered Krum. "I'm so sorry…"
"Did his parents…where they…?"
"Yeah…"
For some reason, Ekatrine couldn't comprehend what Oleg had said. What any of them had said.
Krum placed a hand on her shoulder. "Krys…I know this is going to sound odd…but I thought you said your parents were…already dead."
"Ilya was…a very good friend of mine," she replied, wiping her eyes. "We were like brothers…shared the same surname…" Fresh tears boiled out of her eyes and she buried her face into her hands. "Oh, Ilya…"
"Come on," Krum said softly. "You've had a rough day."
He helped Ekatrine to her feet and the two left the room.
