A/N: I know I say this about every other chapter, but this one was probably the hardest to write. You'll see that it's different from the others in one major way. I won't give it away, you can just go and read it yourself. Hope you enjoy this chapter of Fated.

Lasting Pain

Molly Weasley sat at the kitchen table watching the family clock with a cold cup of tea in her hands. It was one of those days where she was the only person in the house. Usually it was a nice to have some time to herself. She would catch up on her reading, or knit the Christmas sweaters, or simply take a pleasant nap. But now, the quiet just seemed lonely and sad. Needing something to do to keep her mind off the clock, she opened the paper only for the clock hands to move. Harry and Ron were home. She stood and poured two cups of tea as the young men walked in soberly. Both sat down at the table and muttered quiet thanks when she set the cups in front of them alone with a plate of chocolate biscuits.

"How was the visit?" She asked after sitting back down and sipping from her own cup of tea. Her voice sounded light, but the boys knew she was anxious to hear any news they had to bring.

"No change Mum. She's still gone." Ron answered after a long silence. Molly nodded lightly and fought tears that were threating to fall. Every time someone visited Hermione at St. Mungo's, Molly would ask if there was any change in her memory. Every time, she received the same answer: "She's still gone."

The matriarch remembered the moment she and her husband had arrived at the hospital to find Viktor shouting at Yukifuma Shizuma, Japan's Chosen wizard, while being restrained by Ron and Lev . "Vhat do you mean you cannot give the potion? That's what you made it for! To cure the Memory Charm!" He shouted at the potions master. The poor man looked utterly helpless before answering the question.

"It can only be used in the first month of the memory loss and many of the ingredients are dangerous for pregnant women. If your wife drank it now, it would kill her or the baby or both." Yukifuma said loud enough for everyone around them to hear. Viktor collapsed to his knees in anguish about hearing the words. The Japanese wizard licked his lips and took a deep breath. "There is still a tiny chance you can cure her without the use of the potion. The Memory Charm can be broken on rare occasions when a powerful emotion triggers an important memory. It will start a chain reaction and the whole memory can be restored. It's one of the reasons You-Know-Who and his followers could get information from people afflicted by the charm. The torture would bring out a fear so great that it would pull the memories out in order for the person to survive."

It was then everyone had a little bit of hope. For the first few days after the attack every single family member and friend had done whatever they could think of to regain her memory. They showed her photo albums, talked to her about the past, and brought little personal things to her in hope of jogging her memory. Viktor spent the most time with her. He took a leave of absence for the rest of the Qudditch season and stayed at the hospital for as long as he could each day, talking to his wife in hopes that she would remember him. She never did. Every visit she would have to be reminded who he was, who she was, what they had been together, and that they were expecting a child.

Eventually their marriage was annulled by Ministry since the Marriage Law and all it affected was dissolved and she went back to being Hermione Granger. Gradually Viktor visited less and less. Whenever Molly saw the young man leave his love's room, she could see the sadness on his face grow a little more. She knew the visits were killing him inside little by little. He had moved out of Crystal Air and into a small two bedroom flat by Christmas and in January had told the whole family that he was thinking of retiring from Qudditch. Everyone had been shocked, but he explained that he wanted to be there for his child once it was born, since he was the only parent it would really have.

Now it was almost May, and as far as Molly knew the young man hadn't visited her 'daughter' in over a month. She wanted to say something to make her sons' go away, but what could she say when she was feeling the exact same pain? "There's some cake and tea ready," she said quietly before going to her bed room to cry a little in peace.

In a small magical town not far from the Burrow, a Krum was heading to the flat his brother had recently moved into. As he walked up the stairs he thought of the things that had changed over the past couple of months. Their mother had be devastated when they news about Hermione arrived, and the loss of her new found daughter was only made harder when Viktor had decided to move to England rather than stay in Bulgaria near his family. The only explanation that he gave was it was closer to St. Mungo's. The whole of the Krum family fell into a quiet depression. When the Seeker came to visit nobody mentioned Hermione or the baby; even young Radko seemed to understand that the subjects were taboo when his elder brother was around.

When the visiting Krum arrived to the flat he knocked on the door before entering. "Viktor? Are you here?" He called in their native tongue. Viktor walked out from a bedroom to see who his visitor was.

"Kamen, what are you doing here?" He asked with the barest hint of a smile looking down at what was obviously a bag of food in his brother's hand.

"Mama is worried you are not eating right. She sent me with this." He nodded down to the bag and went to place it on the small dining room table. He followed Viktor to the nursery, where it seemed he was in the process of hanging up a photo of the Krum family well, the Krum brothers. The room was cutely painted with rolling green hills and fluffy white sheep. Kamen knew the Quidditch player had no talent for art, so he couldn't help but wonder who had painted the whole thing. The crib and changing table were simply designed and made of rosewood that shined beautifully. A similar rocking chair sat near the window and looked out onto the quaint little town Viktor now called home. "You've done a good job. The place looks perfect."

"I still need to finish a few things, but it's mostly done." Viktor was hanging up more photos as he spoke. They were of the Krums, Weasleys, Harry and Ron, Lev and Christy, and the Bulgarian team of course. Kamen searched all the photos, but couldn't find the face of one particular.

"Viktor, where's Hermione's photos?" The father-to-be stiffened at the question.

"I haven't gotten around to putting them up yet."

"I think you should put at least one up soon. The baby is due any day right?"

"I know, but…" Viktor couldn't find the words to answer.

"I heard that you've stopped visiting her." The elder brother received no answer. "Viktor, she was your wife and is the mother to your child. Merlin's beard man, why have you given up on her?"

"I… I… I don't know!" Viktor shouted defensively. His eyes were red and watery and there was a shaking in his voice. "I tried everything I could think of Kamen! I sat and talked to her about anything I could think of that might jog her memory. Our time in school, the wedding, Opening Week, the plans we had for the future…everything!" He started pacing around the room as the pain became more evident in his voice. "I showed her all the pictures I had of the family, our honeymoon, and Crystal Air. But every time I did that that, it was like I was just making her more confused. And when I visited her the next day she wouldn't remember what I'd told her the previous day." Tears were now freely falling and he was taking deep gasping breaths.

Kamen let his brother talk without interrupting. He knew his little brother hadn't yet had a chance to express the full extent of his grief without feeling like a dozen people were watching.

"It's like she dies every time I leave her room. Only she isn't dead. She still breathes, eats, and sleeps. But she's not Hermione anymore and she never will be again. My wife is dead." He collapsed to his knees and started crying without restraint. His brother was quick to join him on the floor and wrap him in a protective embrace. The younger of two cried heart wrenching sobs, gasping for air.

After what seemed like hours Viktor calmed down enough to pull away his brother and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I can't even put up pictures of her because when I look at them, I see all the good times we had and remember we're not going to be able to make new memories again."

Kamen nodded a little and put his hands on his brother's shoulders to look him in the eyes. "Viktor, we all love Hermione. Yes, even I came to love her and call her my sister." He said when the Seeker gave him a look. "What happened from the moment the Marriage Law was announced until now hasn't been fair to either of you." Kamen's voice was wobbly and his eyes were red from shedding tears with his brother, "But you have to be able to be strong enough to tell your child about his mother. He will need to know who she was. You will need to be able to him that you loved her and the both of love him, no matter what." Viktor nodded, but tears were still running down his face. His brother once again held him close and let him cry. How long they stayed that way, neither would really remember, but it was that moment in time that made them closer to each other than they had been in years.

Later that night, when Kamen had gone home, Viktor started going through unopened boxes and with great care, started putting photos up one by one. Even though they had been together only a short time, he and Hermione had taken a lot of pictures together. Hermione had said it was for the sake of their children. She wanted them to have a record of their parents' lives before they'd been born. She herself had very few photos of her parents; most had been destroyed when the Grangers had been attacked.

Wedding photos went up all over the flat as did the ones they'd taken on their honeymoon. There were a few he'd taken when she wasn't looking. His favorites were when she was reading a book in the lounge at Crystal Air. She looked totally at peace with a small smile on her face. These were the photos he wanted his child to see of his mother. They weren't the posed photos taken for the newspapers and tabloids, rather, they were of the Hermione that he knew and loved.

When Viktor was finished hanging up all the photos, he went to his room and picked up a small painted oak box that sat on the bedside table. It had been months since he'd last opened the box, but now that he had looked at glimpses of happier times, he had the urge to looking inside. The plain wooden box was where he kept Hermione's engagement and wedding rings, his family crest, and the locket Molly and Arthur had given her on their wedding day. He knew if their child was a girl, then she would be given the locket just as soon as she could understand what kind of significance it held. He closed the box after staring down at the treasures for a while.

Right before the Bulgarian went to bed he looked out his window to find the North Star. Clapping his hands and turning around in circles he made his wish. The same one he made since the night Hermione had taught him the little ritual. "Please let us always be happy." he whispered in Bulgarian. No matter where Hermione was or what state she was in, he wanted her to be happy. He knew it was his duty to make sure that was possible whether they were legally married or not. He drifted into sleep feeling lighter than he had in weeks. The pain was still there, and he knew it would always be there; yet finally having a chance to let go of the pain had done him more good than all that time he had tried to repress it.

The next morning was sunny and he could tell it would be a good day for a game. After a quick shower and bite to he was about to leave when he stopped. He threw all his things on the floor and hurried to his bedroom. He opened up the little box he had looked through the previous night and pulled out one item. He was quick to go to the living room, find an envelope, scribble a quick note, and set both off with his big brown owl. Viktor was unsure of why he had the urge to send off that particular item, and why now of times, but he felt it was the right thing to do. Shaking his head he brushed off the odd feeling and headed back to the meet up with his teammates.

A/N: Well what did you think? I really wanted this chapter to be focused on Viktor. I felt his pain and struggles had to be central to the chapter after Hermione's attack. It was very hard to try and get across his feelings the way I wanted to, but I hope I did a decent job at it. As always tell me what you thought and I'll see you in the next chapter. :)