Speech Impediments Chapter 11 – Secrets
Author's note: Hey guys, welcome to the last couple chapters of Speech Impediments. Thanks for reading up to this point and I really hope you'll enjoy the chapter! I have only planned 2 more chapters of this story, so I hope you'll like the ending. Reviews are always appreciated :D
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot of this story and the strange notion that Viktor Krum and Hinata Hyugga make a good couple. I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter!
3rd Person P.O.V
The limp body of Igor Karkaroff now lay sprawled out on the staircase, his bangs covering his loosely closed eyes. He would wake up soon, Hinata had no intention of killing without proper reason but now Karkaroff or any of the other Death Eaters had a warning. Now they would know that someone was on to them and that they simply couldn't do whatever they pleased. The halls that branched off from the staircase remained vacant and the kunoichi's well-trained ears didn't pick up any sounds of movement. Hinata jumped over the body and let her legs absorb the shock and sound when she landed at the top of the steps. As she ran down the hallway she made sure to stay high on her toes as to make the least sound as possible.
Just as Hinata finally felt safe enough to continue walking in a normal fashion and pace, she heard the feverish sound of shoes hitting cobble stones. A cold sweat slowly trickled down her back as slowed her breathing and cast a composed glance. She could now hear two distinct rhythms of feet hitting the floor; one faster than the other. Both sounds were getting louder and that meant the people were getting closer.
"What's happened Harry?" The deep tone of Professor Dumbledore rang.
"Its Mr. Crouch sir he's not acting normally. Krum and I stayed behind after Bagman told us about the third task and we found him. He said he wanted to warn you… he mentioned his son…and.." Harry explained at a feverish pace before his voice was too muffled to hear, they must have turned a corner and moved away from her.
Mr. Crouch's son was a former Death Eater, but had died in prison. Why would Mr. Crouch bring up his son now, especially when he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something? Hinata picked up her pace and followed the sound of the voices until the two wizards were in sight.
"I-is something wrong?" Hinata asked with genuine concern. She certainly knew something was wrong but she needed to know what exactly was wrong.
"Something's up with Mr. Crouch. Viktor and I found him out in the woods. He told me to find Dumbledore for him." Harry explained not once slowing his brisk strides or looking over to Hinata. The older wizard was having some difficulty keeping up with the boy but refused to voice a complaint due to the circumstances.
"Is Viktor out there with him?" Hinata asked suddenly realizing the risk Harry had taken by leaving Viktor with the blubbering politician.
"Yah he's keeping an eye on him while I'm gone." Harry replied also only suddenly realizing the risks of leaving Krum alone with the unstable man. Last time Harry saw Mr. Crouch he was talking to a tree as if it were Percy Weasley. Harry looked over to Hinata and they realized they both shared a similar expression of worry. Despite the best interests of their elderly headmaster the adolescents increasing their speed until their walking could be classified as slow jogging.
Finally they reached the door and stepped out into the frigid night air. The group's pace slowed only slightly as their feet slide on the late night dew of the grass.
"Where were they when you left them, Harry?" Dumbledore asked between huffs and puffs.
"Near the Beauxbaton's carriage." Harry replied pointing towards the forest to the west. When they finally reach the carriage all that could be heard was their own feet crunching against the leaves below and the occasional call of owls.
"Viktor?" Hinata called. There was no response. Not even Hinata could hear any signs of movement.
"I was sure they were here…" Harry trailed off. "They couldn't have moved too far off…" Harry said as he resumed the search.
"Lumos" The Headmaster said as light began to pool out of his outstretched wand creating a thin beam. The beam surveyed the surrounding area, searching from tree to tree but never found Crouch or Viktor until Dumbledore pointed to wand to the ground. There was a pair of feet laid across the ground. As the light moved up the body, it became more familiar to the wizards. Finally when Dumbledore's light illuminated the frozen face of Viktor Krum, Hinata's breathe caught in her throat.
His body was a perfect reflection of his teacher's; both unconscious and sprawled in strange ways as they had no control when they fell. A pit instantly formed in the young ninja's stomach. If Karkaroff was knocked out on the stairs right now, there was no way he could have gone after Viktor or Crouch, she had gotten the wrong person.
"V-viktor." She gasped as her knees fell to the forest floor. She quickly surveyed the body for signs of injury; thankfully nothing seemed to be of immediate importance. She glanced over to see the old wizard gently lifting one of Viktor's eye lids.
"No need to be alarmed Miss Hyuuga, he has only been stunned."
"Professor, I'm afraid there is need to be alarmed." Harry corrected "It doesn't look like Crouch is here anymore."
~Next Scene~
Late that night, which to most people was early in the morning, Professor Dumbledore was still awake, contemplating the events that had just transpired. He ran his wrinkled fingers through his gray hair as he released a breathe he hadn't know he'd been holding.
Two attack in one night. Igor Karkaroff had been discovered in a stairwell unconscious just as his student had been found only about an hour later. It was the common belief that whoever had gotten Karkaroff had also taken out Krum and there was the popular theory that this culprit had been himself who had committed these attacks in hatred of the Bulgarians. The fact that the politician had been away sick recently didn't help his cause and the fact he didn't seem to be stable before he fled made him all the more suspicious. But Dumbledore knew that he could clear Mr. Crouch of at least one of these crimes.
Not that any else had noticed but when he had examined Karkaroff's unconscious body he had noticed a slight bruise forming on his neck. The only person that would resort to physical violence rather than magic was someone who was obvious more accustomed to that set of skills…someone who definitely wasn't Mr. Crouch. A tentative knock at the door shook the wizard from his thoughts.
"Come in." Dumbledore responded. The head of Minerva McGonagall peaked out over the door. Despite the late hour Dumbledore noted that her thin brown hair was still tied into its characteristic tight bun.
"Excuse me Sir." Minerva apologized. "I saw that the light was still on in your office, and I came to see if you needed any assistance." She explained.
"Thanks for your concern, Minerva. I was going to retire shortly after finding Mr. Karkaroff but I seemed to have lost track of time." Dumbledore sighed.
Minerva hesitated for a moment but then stepped into the office. She gazed into the old mage's eyes with new resolve.
"Sir, can I be plain with you?"
"Certainly." Dumbledore replied, rather curious what his peer had to say to him. It was late anyway no one would be awake to hear them.
"The person who attacked Karkaroff wasn't the same person who attack Krum was it?" Minerva stated more than asked. It appeared that Dumbledore wasn't the only one who noticed the bruise.
"No. I assume you saw the bruise?" He asked, quite pleased with the women's sharpness.
"Why didn't you say anything to the others?" Minerva questioned. "The person who attacked Karkaroff is obvious." She scoffed, Minerva had been displeased about this plan for awhile. "Look, I was fine with bringing in extra help. Ms. Hyuuga had not caused any trouble until this day, but she attacked a man who as far as we know hadn't done anything to Harry!" She continued her volume escalating.
"Under my orders." Dumbledore reminded firmly. "I specifically order Ms. Hyuuga to protect Harry and to deal with any threats that could arise to him. She obviously knew something we didn't and felt she needed to send a warning. Karkaroff was merely knocked out, not killed."
"I hope you're right about them." Minerva sighed.
"They are the best we can do Minerva. We can't take any chances anymore. Crouch said that the Dark one was getting stronger. I can't protect Harry myself so we needed someone who could. Ms. Hyuuga is doing her job." Dumbledore reasoned, but when he saw the uneasy look on his long time peer's face he softened. "I'll ask her about it in the morning alright?"
"Alright." Minerva agreed. Without another word she turned on her heel and exited the office.
~Next Scene~
Viktor and Karkaroff hadn't experienced any injuries of major consequence when they had been attacked and had been released from the hospital wing mere minutes after being admitted. Viktor noticed how Hinata had been acting around him lately; she would shy away from him whenever given the chance and at first he was OK with that. But now he had a strange feeling that something other than her former love for a blond haired boy from her village was bothering her. Today he hoped he was going to find out what that was.
"Hinata!" He called out as he chased her down in the halls after lunch.
"O-oh Viktor." She replied with a nervous smile. He seemed to have caught her off guard which was strange for her. Hinata always seemed to be perfectly aware of what was going on around her.
"Vhy don't you take a valk vith me?" He invited his sprits lifted.
"Um…" She hesitated.
"Listen, you promised that you'd go on a date vith me before the third task." Viktor reminded her
"Y-you mean you want to go on out d-date right now?"
"Vhy not?"
"W-well I'm not dressed up or anything and… and…" She stammered a red flush crept into her cheeks providing a strong contrast to her pale skin.
"You look beautiful. You always do." Viktor finished as he grabbed her hand and started to pull her along. She wasn't getting away from him that easily today.
He dragged her along with him all the way to the west side of the castle. Along the way he could just imagine the looks he was receiving. He was beloved by so many people as their champion, their hero and now he was holding the hand of his rival, the person that everyone expected him to beat. But when he noticed that Hinata wasn't struggling against his firm hold he smiled. Viktor no longer cared about what would be in papers tomorrow, in fact he wanted everyone to know that as far as he was concerned Hinata was his. He felt as if he was floating in the sky, higher than he had ever been before on his broom, where no one could get him and the only other person who was there was Hinata.
But then he felt the smaller girl shrink slightly behind him to shield herself from the stares. When Viktor turned around to see her face he was met with face turned crimson and nervous eyes that met his. At seeing her face he no longer felt at the top of the world anymore, he could no longer ignore what was going on around them. He looked around him and noticed the clusters of people whispering around him. He noticed how loud the whispers were in their great density and the disapproving looks that came from their owners. He looked back at Hinata who looked at the floor.
"Let's go." Viktor said as he grabbed her hand once more and lead her to the stairwell that led them into the vast grounds surrounding Hogwarts. When they reached the grass he let go of her hand and she fell into step beside him. Her nervous stare remained but he was glad to see she wasn't blushing anymore.
"I'm sorry about that." He apologized.
"I-it's alright." Hinata replied.
"It's just I feel you've been avoiding me lately.." Viktor started hoping that he wouldn't set anything off.
Hinata head shot up in surprise but she quickly regained her composer.
"The t-third task is coming quick." Hinata reminded him. "Sh…should we really be doing this?" Hinata questioned her voice remained calm but he could tell she had been worrying about this for quite some time. "I mean we both want to… to win."
Viktor sighed, he knew this was coming but he honestly didn't know how to respond. If he saw Hinata in the maze and it was either him or her who came out victorious, would he let her win?
"I know…. I honestly don't know how things are going to play out in there. But I hope if I ever had to make a choice, I vould make the right one." Viktor confessed
"Me too." Hinata replied. After this exchange the two of them continued to walk for awhile in silence until trivial conversation bloomed. Viktor soon grew bold and held Hinata's hand to which she replied by squeezing his hand as if she never wanted to let go. She wanted to savor this moment as much as possible. She knew that she would have to complete her mission above all else. Which meant Viktor could never win the Tri-wizard tournament. Harry would be the only person to touch the Tri-wizard cup, she would make sure of it she had to. When the gates of the front courtyard came into view Viktor stopped suddenly and turned to face her.
"No matter vhat happens in the third task, let's promise each other ve'll both get out…. alive, Ok? Viktor suggested as he cupped her cheeks so that she was forced to look into the fire of his eyes.
"O-ok." She answered before she had to chance to make sense of what she was agreeing to. A cold shiver had passed through her body. She knew that they could both indeed get out alive but the question was would he want her to when he found out?
