Wigtown Wanderers

Chaser 1

Prompt: Connection

Additional Prompts: 10. Love letter; 13. Swan; 14. Black Lake

Word Count: 2415 (according to G-docs)

Ship: Viktor K./Cedric D.

Team Name: Finders Seekers

Space Address: B5 - Sunshine

Disclaimer: I do not write accents phonetically. RIP to JK Rowling but I'm different.

Warnings: Abuse at the hands of a teacher

~o0o~

As the first task drew nearer, Cedric attempted to spend more time in the library. It just had to be dragons. If the family farm didn't need the money so bad, he would have bowed out by now and let Harry be the sole champion. He was already sick of all the fake people who suddenly wanted to be his friend. These were the same people who would have lamented a Hufflepuff becoming Champion. The only reason he even had these people on his side was because they thought Harry had cheated somehow.

Cedric didn't even want to be in the Tournament in the first place. His dad had wanted him to enter. And now, everyone seemed to want something from him. It was just like first year, when he'd run himself ragged trying to please everyone.

"Why can't I say 'no'?" he muttered and slammed another useless book shut.

"Not sure," said a voice to his right. "If you figure it out let me know."

He glanced over and saw Hermione Granger putting away her own stack of books. He'd seen her in passing and chatted with her a little when she was having a hard time last year.

"Helping Harry?" he asked.

She hummed and nodded. "Not like he's been given much choice. They're using him as bait."

"So why are we fighting dragons if this whole thing is rigged anyway?"

"Makes the plot better, I guess," she said, making him laugh.

"Shh!" Madam Pince hissed.

"Are you going to read that?" Hermione whispered, pointing to a tome.

"All yours." He peered at the title. "What's your interest in house-elves?"

"Hogwarts thrives off the backs of slaves and I'm trying to change that," she said, pulling it down.

"My mum tried to do that too, so let me know if I can help," he said, and stooped to pick up a small envelope that had fallen out. "Here."

"That's not mine," she said, and walked away.

Cedric furrowed his brow and examined the note. It didn't have a name on it, and damn him for being nosy. He set his books down on the table and opened the envelope.

Sunlight through windows

I stand there warmed and content

Hopeful for a smile

Huh…not a bad haiku. He turned it over again in search of a sender or recipient, but found none. Instead, he just found a small white feather that didn't seem to belong to an owl. Looking around, he stashed the note inside his pocket and moved on.

~o0o~

How could he have screwed up so badly? What was he thinking with that dog?

He knew what he was thinking, he was going to make a horse and outride the dragon, but he couldn't transfigure something that big, so he made a dog instead. And where did that land him? Dead last and with a burnt face and arm. His friends couldn't even make the effort to hide their disappointment.

Hands shaking, he reached for the notes that had been stashed in his bag. He didn't know where they came from or who was sending them, but to know that someone saw him that way… As more than just a prefect or a Champion or a yes man…it felt good. It made him Patronus-level happy. He almost couldn't describe how wonderful it felt to read them and know that they were meant for his eyes only.

He gazed down at the latest one.

I gaze upon you as one gazes at the moon.

In wonder and awe

How far away you are

Yet in the darkness of night

I am embraced in your silver light.

That one was his favorite. Cedric tucked it away in his pocket and found another envelope. Instead of a letter, he found rose petals and forget-me-nots. His heart fluttered so wildly he had to take a deep breath. Who was this person? Why all the secrecy? Maybe they were a boy. Cedric didn't think he would mind if it was.

A sound like a trumpet caught his attention. Quickly stashing the notes, he ducked behind the log and looked for the source of the sound. A swan soared overhead, beating its magnificent white wings to gain elevation.

A jet of red light cut through the air and hit the poor creature in the back. It shrieked horribly and dropped into the water. Cedric remained where he was, hidden and wide-eyed as Karkaroff stormed into the lake, the water soaking his robes to the knee, and grabbed the swan by the neck.

"Next time you steal from me," he snarled, "I will make sure you never return to the water."

He ripped off a wing and Cedric stifled his cry of alarm. The swan dropped back into the water and, instead of a wing, Karkaroff was holding a white, feathered cape. He balled it up, tucked it under his arm, and strode uncaringly towards the Durmstrang ship moored in the distance.

Cedric jumped to his feet and ran into the icy water, not bothering to remove his shoes. As he reached the spot where the swan fell, a boy surfaced and gasped for air.

"Viktor Krum," Cedric gasped, which received him a withering scowl.

"Zdravkov."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Krum is not my last name," he spat. "Karkaroff only told that to recruiters. An easy to pronounce name looks better and is more likely to get you signed on. My actual name is Zdravkov."

"Alright, fine, take two." Cedric cleared his throat and gasped, more sharply than before, "Viktor Zdravkov!"

He didn't laugh, so Cedric dropped the act. Instead, he helped Viktor to his feet. The boy's face contorted with discomfort, but other than that he made no sound, his dark eyes trained on the water.

"Are you an Animagus?" Cedric asked, guiding him over to the log.

It wasn't actually a log, so much as a tree that had fallen over and stubbornly continued to grow and bloom. Cedric liked it because it was secluded and close enough to the edge of the forest that large groups wouldn't flock to this part in fear of drawing something out. Viktor sat down and leaned against it. His olive skin had turned ashy and pale, and Cedric was certain that if he hadn't just taken a dip in the lake, he would be sweating.

"Er…here." Cedric dug into his bag and brought out a canister. He tapped it with his wand to fill it with water and offered it.

"I am not an Animagus," said Viktor, after downing the water.

Cedric looked out at the lake and back at Viktor.

"You were the swan! So, you're a swan maiden! Er, fellow? Bloke? Swanman? That sounds like a carpentry company if I'm honest."

Viktor's eyes glimmered with amusement.

"We have specific name for when a man is a swan maiden," he said.

"What is it?"

"Swan maiden."

"Ah, I could have guessed that." Cedric sat down next to him. "Karkaroff…he stole your cloak."

"Yes. As long as he has my mantle he controls me." Viktor crossed his arms and stared out at the water. "I have tried to steal it back many times and every time he catches me."

That couldn't be legal…then again, were there laws in place to protect magical beings like swan maidens, selkies, and veela from being taken advantage of? From what he knew of his father's work, that answer was likely to be a negative.

"I take it it's not common knowledge you're a swan maiden," he said.

"No. Karkaroff has forbidden me to speak of it and I am unable to tell my family."

Cedric looked at Viktor incredulously.

"So, hold on, you have to do whatever he says?"

"As long as he has my cloak? Yes."

That was sickening.

"So, what does the magic entail?" he asked, trying to think of a loophole. "Tell me a little about being a swan maiden."

Viktor looked surprised by this.

"Well, we are born in water like selkies," he said. "Swaddled in our cloaks. It is a part of our identity. If I do not have my cloak, my wizard magic does not suffer, however I become weak and ill the farther I am from it. Whoever holds my cloak can order me to do anything, much like the Imperius Curse."

"Could I tell someone for you?"

"I don't know if they would believe a stranger."

"I was afraid of that." Cedric rubbed the back of his neck. He hated not being able to help someone. "So… I guess the stories are true, then? About swan maidens' mantles being stolen in order to coerce them into marriage."

"That is possible, yes," said Viktor. "But we actually have a wedding tradition where we give our spouse our cloak in ceremony. Selkies have similar tradition with their coats. We still use them even after marriage, it is just a symbol of trust."

"That's cool." Cedric opened his bag again and found a bar of chocolate which he offered to Viktor.

He accepted it and furrowed his brow when one of the love notes came with it.

"Oh, crikey." Cedric took the note back, feeling flushed. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean for you to see that."

Viktor stared at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Was that a love note?"

"Yeah, Zdravkov, it was a love note. Someone has been sending them nearly every day, but I don't know who it is."

"Interesting… Do you like them?"

"Yeah, 'course I do. They're the only thing I look forward to anymore."

"And you have no idea who is sending them?"

"None. I suspect it might be a boy though. Girls usually don't have much trouble flirting with me to my face. Especially now that I'm the 'true' Hogwarts Champion." He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Would it bother you if it were a boy?"

Cedric glanced at him. "What would you do if I said it didn't?"

Viktor shrugged. "None of my business."

"Alright then."

With the note safely away, Cedric and Viktor sat in silence for the longest time. It wasn't uncomfortable, which was surprising. They just didn't quite seem to know where to go from there. What do you talk about to someone when you know they're being held captive against their will?

"Um… I know it's not quite the same," said Cedric. "But, I do know what it feels like to be trapped. Or, at least, to have people only ever expect you to act a certain way and if you deviate from those expectations they treat you as if you're a stranger and you realize any amount of love given to you is conditional."

He took a deep breath and realized Viktor was staring at him.

"Do you…need to…talk about this?" he asked slowly.

"What? Pfft! No, I'm fine, I'm good. My life is perfect, I have so many friends and everyone knows my name."

Viktor raised an eyebrow and the smile dropped off Cedric's face. He rubbed the fresh skin grown after his burn and winced. It itched so much.

"People think that I joined the Tournament on a dare or to impress a pretty girl," he said. "I actually did it because my dad asked me to. I guess I hoped it would make him proud of me if I won? He brags about me all the time, yet when it's just us it's non-stop criticism. My mum's been sick and she's at the point where she's been asking when my Hogwarts letter will arrive, so it's not like I can talk to her like I used to.

"And ever since I've started here I haven't been able to say no to anyone. I help out in the hospital wing even though the sick smell makes me spew, I help everyone with homework to the point where I barely have enough time to do my own, I duel with people to the point of exhaustion, I join secret societies, I became Quidditch Captain and a prefect, and I flirt and be kind and smile all the time and I don't get mad when people think I'm stupid… Even though I'm just too tired and I get all muddled."

He seriously needed to eat a cracker and stop the word vomit. He glanced back at Viktor who was nodding thoughtfully.

"So what do you want?" he asked.

Cedric paused. No one had ever asked him that before. Even when he had his career counseling, Professor Sprout just gave him a list of jobs she thought he would be good at.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "I've been letting everyone decide for me that I didn't give it much thought. You seem to have it figured out though."

Viktor patted him on the shoulder and he was surprised by how it electrified him.

"I was pushed into flying by parents and Karkaroff brought in recruiters when I was fifteen. People don't ask what I want either.

Cedric chuckled drily. "Guess we got that in common. What would you rather do?"

"I wanted to be linguist."

"Get out!"

"It is true. I speak six languages and read seven more."

"Wow… I know some Arabic, French, and Tamazight," said Cedric. "My grandmama is from Algeria, but moved to France in the fifties. After that it's a long and tragic story."

"I wouldn't mind hearing it sometime if I can share my own family's long and tragic history."

Cedric felt a smile pull to his lips. He was getting that same feeling when he was reading the notes from his secret admirer.

"Listen, if you want to stop being famous for a couple hours, I usually sit here on Sunday evenings to sulk and obsess over the weight of life's problems. I also bring snacks."

"I'll think about it," said Viktor.

Somehow that felt like a yes, and Cedric found himself excited for another encounter with Viktor Zdravkov: Aspiring Linguist. They just…had a connection. He was looking forward to finding out what it was.

The next morning he received another note.

Let me love you like the stars

Let me gaze at you in safe night with breathless wonder

Let me miss you during the day when harsh light hides you

Let me reach for you in dreams

Let me learn of you in waking

Let me follow you when I have lost my way

Let me draw comfort in your constancy

Like the stars

Let me burn

Eternally