Chapter 36
It's a Game
Fiona proudly presented her Headmistress with the mirror retrieved from the forbidden forest. She then grandly completed the formalities with a deep elaborate curtsey that Natalia thought would have rightfully be reserved for royalty. But then that is what others, mainly wizards, found mesmerizing in these witches. It made Natalia feel quite ordinary and uninteresting. She had no such exotic customs or resources from which to draw. Fiona held her pose for a moment, looking respectfully at the ground and when she finally arose, Maxine embraced her affectionately. "Tres magnifique Mademoiselle Lafayette."
"Merci Madame." Fiona smiled up at her, beaming with pride despite a second place finish. She was more than likely just glad to make it out unscathed. "James, ez still in ze forest." But before she could elaborate she heard her name from the crowd.
"Fionaaaaaa!" It was Leopold Levin's joyous cheer, the loudest over even her schoolmates which caused her to turn her pretty head. He waved excitedly, completely unconcerned with the attention he was calling to the two of them. She smoothed her windblown hair and smiled ardently back at him.
"Go!" Maxine nodded in Levin's direction. Fiona didn't hesitate for a moment, but ran straight across the converted pitch to greet him.
He gripped the rail on the edge of the viewing box, hoisted himself gracefully over the barrier and met her as she came running up to the box. He embraced her warmly if not with quite such abandon as Igor had embraced Natalia. "I'm so glad you're safe," he murmured into her ear. "That forest is so dangerous. I was so glad to see you coming out unharmed." He kissed her forehead and grinned eagerly at her.
"No worries about me Leo. Igor looked after me." She smiled over at Igor and didn't notice Natalia scowling at her.
"Did you now?" Levin asked, now eyeing his friend with curiosity.
"Of course I did." Igor said puffing his chest with pride. "We made a good team didn't we?" He chuckled warmly and gave a friendly wink.
Natalia's jaw clenched just looking at the buxom Fiona. She'd never considered herself to be the jealous type, but now she found herself wildly wondering what exactly happened in the forest when they were alone. She didn't want to share Igor with anyone, and found it difficult to trust people she barely knew, particularly attractive French witches.
"Thank you." Levin extended his hand seemingly not sharing Natalia's concern. Igor extended his hand also, but when Levin went to grasp it Igor pulled it away and ran it through his unruly hair, laughing mockingly at his friend..
Levin chuckled and punched Igor in the arm. Igor socked him back in the shoulder, and Natalia knew this puppy play would quickly digress. However they were interrupted by the gasp of the crowd as James Potter emerged from the forest with the sorting hat in hand. He was slumped over the now slow moving hippogriff, His robes were torn and there was blood on his forehead. The Hogwarts contingency applauded politely as crowds do when an injured player leaves the pitch of their own accord, but the enthusiasm was lacking. Potter lost. It was nothing to get excited about.
Natalia couldn't help but smirk to herself. Despite his recent aloofness, Severus would always be her friend, and she knew he would be happy that James finished dead last. She searched for him in the Slytherin box and found him almost immediately. She caught his eye and one corner of his mouth turned up. She winked back at him and smiled broadly, but then her blood turned cold as she saw the wizard standing beside him. Lucius Malfoy's grey eyes smoldered as he looked at her. He licked his lips purposefully. Quickly she turned back to Igor and gripped his arm. "Can we get out of here?"
"Not yet kitten. But soon." Igor draped his arm languidly over her shoulders unaware of Malfoy and Natalia snuggled closer to him, feeling safer already.
She cast a sidelong glance in Lucius' direction to find him leaving the Slytherin box with Severus and walking towards the Gryffindor box where Sasha was waving at them. Lily stood beside Sasha, and was watching James with great concern, wringing her hands.
"Champions! Gather round!" Whipp motioned them over to the podium.
"Be right back kitten." Igor punctuated his sentence with a firm peck on Natalia's lips. "I'll be right back and then I want you all to myself." He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Do you have a prize for me?"
"To the victor, go the spoils." She smiled back at him. He growled then left with Fiona to join Whipp and Potter already on the podium. She moved closer to Levin and kept her eyes fixed on Igor, terrified of seeing Lucius again and desperately wanting to leave.
"The winner, Igor Karkaroff of Durmstrang, second place, Fiona Lafayette of Beauxbatons and last, James Potter of Hogwarts. A round of applause for our champions please." The crowd cheered on cue with the rowdy sons of Durmstrang being the most exuberant. "This brings everyone's scores to even numbers. The final task will determine the winner."
James stalked off the podium first, red faced and obviously furious. He got to where Lily and his mates were standing but did not stop. The normally vocal Sirius seemed to know better than to make one of his typical smart remarks. He merely pursed his lips and jammed his fists into his pockets, looking down to avoid his friend's eyes. Peter Pettigrew took a step towards James but Remus put an arm out to stop him and gave him a warning look. Lucius, standing next to Severus and Sasha, leaned over and made a remark to his companions while rolling his eyes. Sasha shot him a dirty look and Severus snickered.
As James approached Lily she stepped over to meet him just as Natalia and Levin had done with their beloved returning champions. "Oh James, are you alright?" She reached lovingly for him but he jerked violently out of her grasp.
"Don't touch me!" Potter, with blood still dripping down his cheek, glared at her for a moment before stalking away with his three disciples trailing after him.
Lily, looking crestfallen, watched him stalk off towards the castle. It was a public and humiliating rejection, one that was quite puzzling for all who witnessed it. For they were generally a tender and loving couple in the eyes of anyone who bothered to notice. Lily blinked several times and bit her lip. She seemed to be trying very hard to keep it together, lest she appear an even more pathetic creature.
Natalia looked over at Severus who's face was contorted in a mix of rage and heartbreak as he looked first at Lily then at the fading figure of his nemesis. His reaction was apparently also not lost on Sasha who stood next to him, for she touched his arm. "Severus don't." Natalia's stomach churned as she knew from experience all pleading with him in matters regarding Lily would certainly fall upon deaf ears.
Predictably, Severus ignored her and went charging across the pitch after Potter.
"Lucius do something!" Sasha pleaded with her brother who only shrugged, much in the way the Beauxbattons girls did. Natalia smirked and wondered why Sasha would ever think her rat brother would help anyone but himself. It was a blatantly foolish prospect, but she assumed the plea was made in desperation. But Natalia didn't focus on Lucius long before she began to dread her friend's fate.
"Oh no." Natalia groaned while watching Severus get closer to his unsuspecting prey.
"What's wrong?" asked Levin. He followed her gaze toward the impending disaster. "Oh shit...don't do it Snape." Levin mused comedicaly.
Igor and Fiona came strolling up at that moment, laughing at something that occurred out of Natalia's earshot. Igor came behind her and put his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "What are you two looking at?"
"World war three is about to happen. Check it out." Levin nodded in Snape's direction.
"Oh shit...this isn't good." Igor watched with minimal concern without removing his chin from her shoulder. It was an interesting scene to watch, but not so interesting as to distract him for his love.
"Hey loser!" Shouted Snape. "Running off in shame? I'd say you should. That was a colossal failure! One big cocktail of idiocy and incompetence that was." Snape hissed at Potter, continuing to pile on insults and determined not to relent until he got a reaction.
"Back off Snivellus!" James whirled around eyes ablaze and wand at the ready.
"Igor do something." Natalia pleaded, gripping his hands tightly.
"I will if it gets to that point." He replied calmly. To him, these laddish tussles were just part of life and nothing to be terribly concerned about. "Let Severus be a man. He's a big boy. Obviously he wants a fight. Why should I stand in his way?"
"James, please, let's just go." Lily appeared again trying to pull James away.
"I told you to leave me alone!" James snapped at her again. "Can you just fucking listen to me for once and quit being such a pain in the arse?
"How DARE you speak to her like that!" Severus grabbed Potter by the shirt. "You have no right to address her like that you filthy piece of rubbish."
Potter, never one to back down from a fight with anyone, let alone someone like Severus, punched him in the stomach. Severus groaned but was undeterred and punched Potter squarely in the jaw. Snapes school robes rippled in the wind on his follow through and the effect was impressive. Potter hit the ground with a thud.
"Shall we help him out Iggy?" Levin asked this rather matter of factly.
"Not yet. He doesn't look like he needs help from anyone." Igor sighed.
Sirius and Remus geared up for a fight, approaching Snape with clenched fists.
"Severus you idiot!" Lily shouted while she tended to James on the ground, stroking his cheek. "Darling are you all right?" James scrambled to his feet again and began stalking off towards the castle. The fight was uncharacteristically out of him. Severus actually won this round.
Lily however was fuming. She marched over to Severus and slapped him in the face. A smattering of "Oooohs" could be heard rippling through the Gryffindor box. "You stay out of my life Severus Snape! I've told you before. Leave me alone!" Then she turned and chased after James, leaving Severus destroyed in her wake.
"Ouch..." Igor mumbled into Natalia's ear.
Severus stood rooted to the ground and for a moment it seemed that the earth stopped cold, but then moved on.
Natalia glanced over at Sasha who also hadn't taken her eyes off Severus.
"Severus..." Sasha whispered, but he did not turn around. She took a tentative step in his direction but Lucius held fast to her arm holding her back.
"Let him be Sasha." Natalia heard him say to her and thought that was probably one of the more humane things he'd ever done.
Levin shuffled his feet uncomfortably but remained transfixed as did everyone else. "Merlin's beard this is hard to watch." Fiona shushed him, but she too remained riveted to the scene before her.
Severus raised his head slowly and looked dreamily around at the crowd. Then his eyes narrowed, his shoulders pinched forward, and he stalked off.
The group was silent for a while before Levin broke the tension. "Well, that was a complete and utter cluster fuck. Shall we go celebrate with some butter beer?"
"Yes!" The other three responded immediately and in unison for they were all in need of a bracer after such an day. It wasn't even two o'clock yet but already they were tense and needed to blow off some steam. So the four of them ambled off towards Hogsmeade. Igor kept Natalia close to him, an arm around her, a hand held or an occasional stolen kiss. He was even more affectionate than usual, but rather than being uncomfortable, Natalia found security in it today. She didn't know why Malfoy was here, but she wanted to avoid him and be as close to Igor as possible.
Natalia felt a little strange being in The Three Broomsticks as a patron rather than as a server, but with Igor's arm draped possessively over her shoulder as they entered, she was ready for new things. He would keep her safe.
As Natalia spent more time with Lafayette that afternoon, she began to find her far more tolerable than she originally thought. The French accent, while grating to her English ears, was part of her persona, but if you got past that, she seemed to be quite caring and intelligent. She decided Levin had most certainly upgraded since his disastrous choice at the Yule Ball. For that matter, so had Lafayette.
"Iggy! As winner of the task I must insist that you buy the first round. I'll set us up a game of darts. Nat do you play?" Levin asked.
At last something she knew. After many nights playing wizard darts after closing with straggling regulars and waitstaff. "Of course," she said proudly. "I am the best at it."
"Ah, trash talk from my little kitten. I like that." Igor gave her a quick kiss before heading for the bar."
"I've never played zee game." Fiona chimed in.
Igor called back over his shoulder. "I say that about Levin everytime he plays."
Levin rolled his eyes. "Nat, no one talks more trash than your wizard over there." He quipped to Natalia. "You two should be quite a team."
Natalia seized a moment to build a friendship with Fiona. It was obvious they would be spending more time together. "Boys versus girls?"
"You don't want to play with Iggy?" Levin seemed shocked.
"Afraid we'll embarrass you?" She arched an eyebrow at him.
Levin smirked as Igor rejoined them. "What's that saying I've heard? Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
Fiona snatched the darts from his hand. "Ve ave a saying in my country too."
"Oh?" Levin moved closer to her, purposefully invading her space.
"Girls rule and zee boys drool." She smirked at him good naturedly.
Igor laughed loudly and slapped his knee. "You've finally met your match Levin. Excellent! I've been waiting for some witch to put you in your place for years. Your honor Lafayette." He handed her the bewitched wizard darts that resembled hummingbirds. Wizard darts was rather like the muggle version except you had to utilize a bit of magical control to get the birds to do what you wanted. Even still, sometimes they had a mind of their own and would fly out into the pub to dip their thirsty beaks in an unsuspecting patron's firewhiskey. If they indulged too much there was no telling where they would end up and the game became more entertaining by the hour.
The four of them played darts for several hours, taking a break for a late lunch before resuming play again. The later afternoon Hogwarts crowd began to roll in after they finished browsing in the local shops and pretty soon the place was full and bustling with everyone stopping to congratulate Igor and Fiona, some buying a round for their group. Natalia beamed at Igor as she watched how graciously he handled the attention, never boasting, always grateful, always smiling. She was proud to be with him. Through a group of underclassmen from Hufflepuff, he caught her eye and politely excused himself. He walked over and gently took her hand in his and kissed it. She caught a whiff of liquor on him, a very masculine smell before he leaned in and whispered, "Thank you."
"For what?" She smiled shyly up at him.
"For today. For coming here with me." He kissed her cheek gently. "For playing darts with me. For looking so beautiful." He then pulled her body firmly against his and bit his lower lip. "For the...pre-game."
Natalia giggled, feeling tipsy enough after a few drinks without his randy remarks to intoxicate her. "Shhhhh," she hissed giving him a playful shove. "Someone will hear you."
"No one's going to hear me." He rested his forehead against hers and his hair swung forth to hide them. "I can't stop thinking about it. I love that you swallowed."
It was her turn to laugh loudly at his scandalous remark. "Igor Karkaroff you are rotten. And anyway, why wouldn't I?"
They remained hidden beneath the safety of his hair which removed some conversational limits they might normally have observed. "Well aren't girls normally kind of prissy about things like that?"
Natalia giggled again. "How prissy can you be with a man's cock in your mouth?"
"Haaaaaa!" Igor now threw his head back and howled with laughter. "I am going to MARRY you Natalia Smith! Do you hear me? I. Am. Going. To. Marry. You!" He was pretty drunk but Natalia was still thrilled by the sentiment. He used his finger tips to raise her hand and spun her beneath them playfully.
"Is that a proposal?" She cocked her head to one side emboldened and flirtatious after the butter beers.
"No." He stopped and suddenly appeared quite serious. "Not a question. A statement."
It actually made her a little nervous and not knowing how to respond, she decided it was safer to make light. "That will be something to tell our children. 'How did father propose?' 'Ahhhhh wellll."
"We'll make up a better story." He chuckled and pulled her against him swaying to the music in the background and eyeing her as if there were no one else in the room.
"Congratulations Mr. Karkaroff." Lucius voice interrupted them. Now there was a buzz kill if there ever was one. She hadn't even seen him come in and here he was right upon them. Mentally she cursed herself for being so careless.
Natalia gasped indiscretely and instinctively pulled away from Igor. Her lower lip began to tremble with terror thinking that he might ruin things for her. Her behavior was not lost on Igor who looked first at Natalia, then at Lucius. His eyes narrowed and he straightened himself taller, his arm resumed it's proprietary position on her waist, marking his territory.
"Halloooo Luuuciusss, you needlessly rich asshole." Igor drawled out his words seathing with venom.
Natalia's eyes grew wide as saucers and she openly gaped at him. Levin seemed to appear out of nowhere and stood beside his friend as did a couple more of their mates. They had obviously been down this road before.
Lucius raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Charming company you're keeping these days Natalia."
"Lucius, don't." Sasha, who apparently entered with him, grabbed his arm. It was her turn to rein him in. "Hi, Igor." She smiled at him trying to save face. "Lucius, come along. Sev and Regs found us a table in the corner." She pulled him away much to Natalia's relief.
Her relief however was short lived as she noticed the damper Lucius' presence put on Igor's mood, her's too for that matter. He now seemed to be just going through the motions of being social rather than enjoying it. His smile was no longer reaching his eyes. When their last game was finished, Natalia touched his arm. "You look tired darling. It's been a long day, shall we go?"
He didn't answer, merely shrugged stood up. "Later Levin." He walked to the door without another word and without taking her hand or looking back. Natalia ran after him.
AN: Darn that Lucius, it was going so well! Iggy is jealous but that could be sort of fun if she plays it right! Thanks to all for the reviews and PM's this week. You guys are so funny:)