Chapter 25 – Quidditch World Cup
On the morning of the World Cup Vergil arrived to the already familiar manor via Floo Powder; he still hated the thing though…
"About time you got here." And the first person he saw was Draco, which was not that surprising.
"Sue me." Vergil rolled his eye; he lacked any and all patience for pretty much anything at the moment.
"Someone's a bit cranky." Draco pointed out. The glare certainly did prove his point.
Eventually the white haired boy sighed and relaxed a bit. "Looks like I'm starting to develop immunity to the dreamless sleep potion." Vergil explained.
"Oh." Draco sat down by the fireplace and Vergil followed his example. It was no secret to Slytherins in Vergil's year that he took the said potion and on almost daily basis. "Starting? It still works then?"
"For now, I do have to drink double dose; and even that lacks the needed effect. I'm skipping it every now and then, to start adjusting." Well, given the fact that he spent over three years drinking the potion it was about time his body began resisting it.
Draco attempted to ask whatever was currently on his mind a few times, each time he failed to utter a sound.
"Out with it, we're friends." Vergil assured him.
Draco contemplated a bit more before finally asking rather bluntly. "Why do you need to drink it?"
The white haired boy knew that would be the question or at least the gist of it anyway. It didn't make talking about it any easier though. "Because of war and guilt."
It took Draco aback; of all the things he could expect he certainly didn't expect a war to be Vergil's reason. "Oh." He didn't know what to say. What could he say? "I shouldn't have asked."
"Don't be. I'm an idiot for letting it affect me so much." He was putting on a façade, one so weak it wouldn't fool Crabbe and Goyle, let alone anyone with fully functional brain.
"That's not true; you have every right to be affected by it." Draco quickly told him.
The red eye met the grey eyes; the slightly younger Slytherin looked tense, no longer leaning back against his chair it looked like he was connecting the dots.
"Wait, I'm fairly certain there wasn't any war three years ago." Draco pointed out.
For once Vergil was glad he did a bit of a research on the most recent history. "Actually there was, the Ten-Day War back in June of 1991." Vergil explained.
Draco seemed to be unfamiliar with the said war. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know."
"It is quite far away from here, in Yugoslavia. I managed to escape and was eventually found by Snape." Vergil made up a story consisting of truths and lies.
"You feel guilty for leaving?" Draco's voice lacked any confidence.
Vergil closed his eye, he saw the battlefields, the war much longer than ten days, heard the sounds of battle, the weapons clashing and shots being fired. Civilians crying out for help as the buildings broke down… "I do. I should have died with them."
Draco remained silent, unable to find the right words, unable to will himself into interfering with the moment of vulnerability Vergil was experiencing.
The brief silence was broken by the arrival of Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy. A warm smile spread across her face when she saw Vergil sitting with Draco by the fireplace.
"Welcome, Vergil." The tall female approached them as Vergil stood up to greet her. She ignored the held out hand and gave him a hug, just like she did the last time he visited and Draco smirked at the uneasy look on Vergil's face. It was a bit clumsy, but the boy returned the hug. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too ma'am." Vergil replied.
"Would you look at that, you've grown quite a lot over the past few months." Narcissa commented and she was right. The dark green polo shirt with the red collar did a decent job at hiding the true extent of his training but the results were showing. Plus he did grow a few inches making him nearly as tall as Narcissa herself.
"Well, there's only so far spells can take you without some physical exercise." Vergil grinned a bit.
"Perhaps you could teach Draco about that." Narcissa pointed out light-heartedly.
"Mother, please…" Draco looked away. "Besides, Vergil's got my back."
"That I know." She agreed, glancing at the right forearm which still had barely visible marks on it, a gift given to Vergil by Buckbeak. It wasn't a secret that Narcissa simply adored Draco, what did come as a surprise to Vergil was some of that affection being given to him, especially after the incident with Buckbeak. "Come now, both of you, the breakfast has been served."
Malfoy's were very much a privileged family, so given the fact that Fudge was the one who arranged their seats and tickets they didn't have to go and spend a day camping. Instead the family, along with Vergil prepared at the mansion.
"Father how are we going to travel?" Draco asked once Lucius and Narcissa joined the two boys.
"We will Apparate. The two of you will Apparate with Narcissa." Lucius looked at Vergil. "I am not ashamed to say that her Apparition skill is above mine, a strong woman, that's what you should look in marriage."
"I completely agree with that." Vergil nodded.
"Make sure you keep a firm grip on my wrist." Narcissa instructed the boys. They walked over to her sides and with a deep breath held on to her.
What came next was a rather turbulent experience. But between Apparition and Floo Powder, Vergil would gladly pick Apparition. Even though it felt like his entire was being warped… somehow, the feeling was familiar. They reached the desired area with a barely audible pop and Draco dropped to his knees, vomiting. Vergil took a deep breath, feeling a bit shaky as the blurry image of blonde female, in her late twenties and the surrounding around them changing flooded his mind.
"Mom… Back then…" He realized.
The walk to the stadium didn't take too long; though it was very much welcomed by both Vergil and Draco after the Apparition. The stadium was gigantic, fitting the crowd that surrounded it.
Lucius dealt with the tickets and the group of four began moving up the stairs. The crowd filtered as they went higher to the very top. Finally they reached the small box, set at the highest point of the stadium. It offered perfect view to both goal posts and about twenty seats.
They were immediately noticed by the Minister, Cornelius Fudge. Vergil's eye narrowed slightly, this man pretty much dubbed him 'You-Know-Who incarnate'. The white haired boy noticed Hermione, along with Potter and Weasley quickly turning toward them.
"Ah, Fudge." Lucius held out his hand. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco and his friend Vergil?"
"How do you do, how do you do?" Fudge was smiling as he bowed to Narcissa. The smile was wiped off his face when he noticed Vergil. "Well, h-hello there." The reaction didn't go unnoticed by the ones present.
Lucius had a barely noticeable smirk on his face; fully aware of what exactly made Fudge nervous. He too had felt nervous about Vergil's eye color; however any worry was pushed back once Draco got close to Vergil. Given what he heard from Draco regardless of Vergil's further actions he believed the boy would not turn against them.
Narcissa shared a similar train of thoughts and frankly she originally approved of Draco's friendship with Vergil because of what the boy could be. At the moment though, she was fond of the white haired boy for what he was, not for what he could be.
The Weasley patriarch took a look at Vergil and noticed the red eye, thus realizing what alarmed Fudge. On the other hand, his children, Potter and Hermione remained unaware of the obvious similarity between the Dark Lord and the Slytherin student.
Vergil merely nodded, showing quite blatantly that he couldn't care less of what Fudge thought.
"Yes, either way, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk… Obalonsk… Mr.… well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind." As Fudge said that the Bulgarian minister seemed amused. "And let's see who else, you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?" Fudge turned back to Lucius.
The polar opposites in many views looked at each other before Lucius' eyes swept over the group. "Good lord, Arthur." He spoke softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"
"Lucius has just given a verygenerous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladiesand Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest." Fudge either ignored or simply didn't hear the low blow Lucius had delivered.
"How… how nice." The oldest Weasley had a very strained smile on his face
Vergil looked at the Hermione, at the determined look in her eyes as she stared right back at Lucius. It was one thing he would never agree with Lucius on, that blood dictates everything. He and Draco followed after Lucius and Narcissa and in that one moment, as he passed by Hermione he noticed a smile on her face. Subtly, without anyone noticing the two glanced at one another, the normally cold red eye softened, just a bit, just enough for her to notice.
Lucius and narcissi sat down, with Draco sitting by his mother's side and Vergil sitting next to him.
Ludo Bagman greeted the spectators. "Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"
The result was shown: BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0 as the spectators screamed and clapped. In Vergil's honest opinion, the entire event was way too loud.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!" The right-hand side of the stands roared as a hundred of females glided out onto the field.
Veela, if Vergil remembered correctly, their skin shone as brightly as a Moon, their whitegold hair fanned out behind them though there wasn't any wind. Truly the Veela were mesmerizing, so mesmerizing that the male audience seemed to be completely under their spell.
As the music started and the Veela began dancing Vergil felt the full impact. His human side charmed by the dance. Their dance became faster and with the increased speed their effect became stronger. Vergil's pupil narrowed as his blood boiled, his nature going beyond the human instincts, going further and further away from his human side, to the primal desire for battle.
And then he felt at peace, he observed as the Veela danced, but their charm was broken, not by the human, not by the cambion, but by the devil.
"Impressive." Narcissa offered him a smile.
Vergil seemed puzzled by the compliment but then realized that Draco was standing and was pretty much a step away from doing whatever reckless idea he had on his mind. Lucius, albeit not as affected as Draco, still seemed quite enchanted by the dance. The white haired male merely shook his head, amazed at how effective the Veela's charm was.
He caught Hermione glancing at him; she seemed pleasantly surprised at the state he was in. He smirked and mouthed 'Piece of cake' which she seemed to understand as she looked at Potter and Weasley, both of whom were quite affected. She stifled a giggle and instead just smiled at him.
The first time they stole a mere moment to look at each other, they went unnoticed, this time the woman near Vergil noticed. Narcissa noted to herself that perhaps she should talk to Vergil about it later. Honestly, the white haired Slytherin seemed more affected by a simple glance from the Muggle-born than the entire dance, if the smile he probably wasn't aware of was anything to go by.
The Irish National Team Mascots came zooming into the stadium like a green and gold comet. It was a rather colorful show as something similar to a gold coin rain began falling onto the stands.
Bagman introduced the teams starting with the Bulgarians. "I give you… Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaand… Krum!" Viktor Krum, the thin, sallow-skinned seeker, only eighteen years old. "And now, please greet… the Irish National Quidditch Team! Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaand… Lynch!"
Red and Green, sort of like Gryffindor and Slytherin.
"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!" Vergil really didn't care about all the details Bagman was announcing, honestly he wasn't all that interested in this match either.
And then the absolute madness began transpiring before their eyes. Even Vergil who wasn't all that keen on watching Quidditch was fully aware of how fast-paced this game was. The figures zooming around with speed he had never imagined broom could achieve, making sharp turns and passing the Quaffle to one another at the same time. Bagman only had time to say the name of the last one to receive the ball.
The first score was made by Ireland's player, Troy, two scores later they were leading thirty-to-zero, prompting the game to become even more brutal and fast-paced. It took Bulgaria roughly fifteen minutes into the match to score for the first time and lower the difference.
The match continued with ball in Bulgarian team's possession. And then it happened, Seekers… The players that held the end of the game in their hands, the ones whose sole objective was to catch the snitch and get those one hundred and fifty points. Krum and Lynch moved, plummeting thought the center of the Chasers quicker than a normal eye could properly follow. And just as it seemed like they would crash Krum pulled out of the dive, spiraled off and left Lynch to hit the ground. The eighteen years old Seeker used the time mediwizards needed to revive Lynch to look for the Snitch.
Fifteen minutes that followed the feint had Bulgarian supporters gnawing at their nails as Ireland scored ten goals, making the result one hundred and thirty points to ten. To make matters worse with the game getting more brutal the fouls were being made again and again.
"This is ridiculous." Vergil muttered as he saw Mostafa, the judge, landing right in front of the dancing Veela only to get kicked in the shins by a mediwizard. And then two new penalties because of the argument, yeah, the cambion was losing his interest in the game. Not even Veela losing control and shifting into their bird-like appearance was enough to get Vergil's interest back. He just leaned back and waited for the end.
Bludger hit Krum full in the face, probably breaking his nose in the process, there was a lot of blood, that much was for sure. Yet there was no foul, because the judge had the tail of his broom on fire, courtesy of Veela throwing a fireball…
And then Lynch spotted the Snitch and went into a dive. That's when Vergil's attention went back to the game. Krum, despite the flecks of blood flying through the air behind him he dove right after Lynch. He was even with Lynch and then, the Irish Seeker crashed, again. And the Snitch… It had been caught, by Viktor Krum.
It was over… Bulgaria: 160; Ireland: 170… Ireland won, but Viktor Krum caught the Snitch.
And for that Vergil had to respect the Bulgarian. To end things on his own terms, in that state, probably dizzy and in pain but still, truly, the best Seeker in the world. He bowed his head down for the Seeker. That one moment, that made the night completely worth it. And so, he let the remainder of the procedures unfold as he leaned back and replayed the action in his mind.
"Vergil! Vergil wake up!" Draco's shouting immediately made Vergil jump to his feet.
"What's wrong?" He asked, looking a bit sleepy but other than that fully concentrated on whatever Draco was trying to tell him. That and he was fully capable of deducing whether or not Draco's reason deserved staying awake or ignoring the bleached blond.
"The two of you need to find cover." Narcissa told them. "Get into the woods; I'll meet you there as soon as it's clear for us to leave." She was clearly displeased with the situation at hand, whatever it was.
"Come on, I'll explain everything later." Draco said and for once took the leading role between the two.
Vergil sighed but relented. "Fine. Lead the way." He followed after Draco and got into the woods, they barely reached the cover of the trees when the reason became painfully obvious.
Almost at once the cacophony of screams resounded through the campsite. Vergil saw them, the group of people jeering, laughing, yelling… masks and hoods preventing anyone from recognizing them.
"Hey, what in the world is going on…?" Vergil asked and began moving after the group only to be stopped by Draco.
"Wait! You can't go after them!" Draco sounded desperate, baffled at the fact that his best friend would just walk into an unknown situation like this. "They are Death Eaters."
Vergil knew who Death Eaters were; Snape briefed him in about them when he gave him a small history of the Dark Lord. "And how come you and your mother knew about this? Wait… Your father?"
Draco's silence was the only answer he needed. "Vergil come on, we need to stay here."
And then the line was crossed, four figures were levitated above the group. Worse than anything, worse than the fact that the four individuals were contorted into grotesque shapes; the two of them were children… That made it all the worse… Muggles…
"What do you think a life is?! Your property to mess with just to get a laugh out of it?!" Vergil roared, his rage drowned out by the laughter and screams surrounding him, but Draco heard it. Heard it and let go of Vergil. "Muggles?! Wizards?! Don't fuck with me! You're humans!" Maybe it was just Draco's imagination, maybe it was the surrounding, but he could have sworn Vergil's voice was disembodied as he yelled that single word. What Draco couldn't see was Vergil's sclera turning completely red. "Damn it… Damn it…!" His breathing grew uneven, rapid as he tried to control what little sense of reason he had in him.
And he dropped to his knees, slamming his fist into the ground, leaving the crack and hating his weakness. Because he knows he can't get to those people and get them out of this mess safely. Not all of them, maybe the kids, but then he'd risk leaving them as orphans…
Behind him Draco fell back to the ground. His eyes wide as he looks at Vergil and then at the Death Eaters, then back at Vergil. Humans… It never crossed his mind that the Muggles were also humans, regardless of everything.
They had no idea how much time passed, eventually Vergil sat down, looking at the sky, still fully aware of everything surrounding them.
A yelp broke their silence and Draco jumped to his feet only to get somewhat smug when he realized who it was that joined them.
"Tripped over a tree root." Weasley said angrily as he got back to his feet.
"Well, with feet that size, hard not to." Draco announced his presence, looking as relaxed as he could be; he not only had his reputation to keep, but Vergil's as well.
"Piss off Malfoy." Weasley spat.
"Language, Weasley. Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like herspotted, would you?" He nodded at Hermione and at the same time a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked defiantly, her eyes going to Vergil's back for a moment before glaring at Draco.
"Granger, they're after Muggles. Do you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around… they're moving this way." He bit his tongue, nearly saying that it would give all of them a laugh.
"Hermione's a witch." Harry snarled at him.
"Have it your own way, Potter. If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are." Draco smirked.
"Draco…" Vergil suddenly spoke up, anger radiating in his voice. "Do not, ever, call her like that in front of me." He stood up, frighteningly calm and collected as he turned to the trio. "Insults aside, you better leave while you can."
"Is that a threat Leonidas?!" Weasley seemed rather willing to get into a fight with the white haired male.
"Cut it out, Ron." Hermione quickly interfered, seizing Weasley's arm and restraining him. "I'm disappointed. I'd expect Draco to enjoy this, but you. I thought you were better than this." She looked at Vergil, the rage in his eye resurfaced at once.
"You sure think you know me, don't you? Well, I couldn't care less about your opinion." He was being driven by anger, anger caused by the Death Eaters and awoken once again by Hermione's words. "Get out of here, as far away as you can, or meet up with someone, hell if I care. Just stay out of their sight."
A bang from the other side of the trees made several people scream. Vergil gritted his teeth, they were so close, but he was so weak.
Hermione spared a few more seconds looking at him while the other three boys remained confused at the interaction between the two.
"Come on. Let's go." Hermione urged Potter and Weasley to leave while Vergil turned around and watched as the scene continued unfolding.
"Why go that far just to warn Granger?" Draco asked, the answer already clear in the back of his mind. Vergil once again fell into silence.
And that's it. I apologize for taking so long to update, whatever reason I give you it won't excuse me.
Answers on reviews:
josephguy217 – They sure do, thank you.
Guest – Thank you, I'm glad it was a bit of a surprise.
Brit – Well, frankly it will take some time to get to the Yule Ball, but I think I can make that part good enough for the relationship between Vergil and Hermione. I apologize for taking this long to update.
KyuubiNoPuma – Well, at the moment I'm thinking of either making her his date or someone else, so at the moment I can't answer that for sure. As for other Slytherin characters, yes, not all of them to the same extent but they will get their time. As for Nott, that's a secret. I'll drop hints every now and then.
Idiot – Thank you.
Sainstrow10 – Thank you, sorry for the wait.
The Storm Master – Thank you. It's doing well at the moment; I'll probably get back to it soon.
JoyfulSky67 – I'm glad to hear that.
Quest – Thank you very much.
Next Chapter – Back To Hogwarts