Bellatrix's eyes fluttered open. There was a haze clouding her vision, like a humid wall, distorting and obscuring the images her retinas were receiving. Brown colors everywhere, a darker, oval shape hovering right above her face. What was it…?

Her eyes felt heavy, and she closed them once more. The dark from earlier consumed her for a while until…

"AH!" she yelped as an unbridled cold tore through that darkness, making her nerves tense up almost painfully. Her eyes shot open as her body sprung up. Some unknown weight that had been pressed on her forehead flying off her. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Wakey, wakey little snakey, it's time for schoool~!" chirped a light feminine voice, thick with humor. Bellatrix heard mirthful laughter and she shot its source a baleful glare, but her features quickly softened as she recognized the person sitting on a stool next to her.

The woman was an Egyptian, roughly in her mid 30s. Her skin was naturally dark, but it was also abnormally smooth, not a wrinkle or a flaw to be spotted on it, except a few birthmarks and a pimple on her left cheek. Her grey eyes shimmered like minerals under the Sun.

She had a body that could almost be called divine - her breasts and hips struck a fine balance in proportions to her slim waist. There was an almost otherworldly radiance to her presence that even Bellatrix couldn't put her finger on.

She was dressed in a loose and revealing old-style Egyptian dress that revealed enough curves to cement that 'goddess' image in Bellatrix's head. She knew subconsciously that Layla was just showing off with her dressing choice. The hot temperatures would've hardly ever bothered the woman, given her abilities as a top-tier wizard.

"Aunty Layla!" Bellatrix let out with a fatigued groan. The tiredness from earlier crept back up and clashed with her sudden awareness. She clutched her head, experiencing a severe headache at that moment. "UGH, my head…!"

"Now, now, take it easy. I just stirred you from your sleep, don't stress your pretty little head." Layla advised her with a mother-like warmth and gently guided Bellatrix's upper body to relax on the pillows laid at the left edge of the bed.

"You HAD to wake me up with ice, didn't you?" The response she got was but a mere gentle giggle.

"You and I used to play with ice a lot when you were a kid. I suppose…" Layla made a pause as she cast a Levitation Charm on the fallen bag of ice cubes. Bellatrix watched in slight awe as Layla effortlessly brought the cubes to herself and melted them without so much as a gesture or an incantation, while instantly summoning a wooden cup in her hand. Layla shot her a delighted smile before offering the cup of freshly melted water to Bellatrix. "I suppose it was instinctive."

"Old habits die hard, huh?" Bellatrix murmured, softly glaring at Layla, but taking the offered drink nonetheless. The girl let out a moan of relief as the cool water traveled down her stomach. It was so refreshing, and it alleviated her headache a little.

"Hehe, that was always a motto of your father, back when he, I and his mother still rolled together."

"..."

Bellatrix regarded the godly beauty next to her with silence for a few moments. The woman's humorous smile dropped a little, as she immediately saw the tension rising from within her old friend's daughter.

"What is it, my dear?" Layla asked softly, putting a hand on Bellatrix's head and stroking once.

"Nothing…just, the headache. Gonna need some water, I guess." Bellatrx answered, though somewhat absent-mindedly. There was a slight shudder to her body and her gaze darted from the cup in her hand to her feet to other things in the large hut they were occupying.

Layla was not a woman that missed such details.

"Don't try that nonsense with me, Bella." Layla said, hand going down to grip on her shoulder. Her tone was soft still, but a stiff edge accompanied it. Bellatrix glared at her and tried to argue, but Layla shut her down with just her frown. "You know if anyone can easily see past your 'there's no problem' lie, it's going to be me…and your father, too."

Bellatrix exhaled in frustration and turned around to have her back face Layla instead. She couldn't handle the woman's poised stare. She wanted to say something like: "Stop acting like my mother! If I say it's fine, it's fine, don't bother me!", but knew that wouldn't faze Layla in the slightest. She'd break down her walls and force the answer out of her anyways.

"I…I'm pregnant." she faintly said, after a couple seconds of very awkward silence.

"I knew it, you-WAIT? You are what?!" Layla's voice rose from its balanced intonation and her eyes went wide like sausages. Bellatrix would have smiled at that - breaking her near-divine composure, but the topic was no laughing matter.

"Y-yeah…I think." Bellatrix blurted out, slowly facing her 'aunt' again.

"You think…?" Layla muttered, as if she had just been told that two plus two equals five.

"I AM! Look, sorry…this is just…very awkward for me. My head still hurts and I'm just recalling what I've gone through for the past several days. I…" Bellatrix' sentence died in her throat. She felt her eyes watering and clutched her head, trying to hold back a sob. The embarrassment and shame she felt were getting to her.

"Oh bubu, I'm so sorry…that's why you didn't want to tell me." Layla apologized, her mother-like softness returning. She wrapped her hands around Bellatrix's head and trapped her in a warm embrace. The young witch sniveled and sobbed into her breasts, letting out a day's worth of stress she'd been suppressing.

"I…Aunty, I…I didn't…accident…It was an accident!" Bellatrix semi-explained between sobs. By the time that one cohesive sentence left her lips, she was freely crying, whimpering and shivering all over.

Bellatrix placed great importance on appearing unshakeable to others, but Layla was someone she trusted and cherished like a second mother. Despite earlier trepidation, she knew at the back of her head that the woman wouldn't judge her for this. She just wasn't that kind of person.

"There, there…it isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself." and Layla proved Bellatrix's thoughts correct when she whispered those kind words into her ear and stroked her head. She'd also rub her tense shoulders occasionally. There was nothing but gentleness in her touch.

"Why don't you tell me what happened first, and then we can assess the situation better? Sound good?" After hearing a quiet sob she coughed and awkwardly chuckled. "After you feel better, of course!"

"N-nono…it's fine, now." Bellatrix replied as she slowly freed herself from the embrace. She rubbed the lingering tears from her puffy eyes and took a deep breath. "I was…in my animal form. I was running from the African Aurors. I found a place to hide, but there was another snake there already…it was a male one. It must've been its mating season, because it immediately started courting me."

Layla kept her mouth shut, watching Bellatrix with a sad, but assuring smile. She 'oh'-ed at the last bit, but otherwise just listened.

"I…I don't know exactly what came over me. I think it was the stress or the desire to feel some comfort in that moment?" she frowned then and gripped one hand with the other. "Doesn't matter now anyways. I did the one thing my father and my teacher told me to never do - give into my instincts when using my animal form. I've disgraced myself, and my family name…"

Layla took it all in, every last bit of information. There was a moment of preplexation on her beautiful face, but it dissipated as an affectionate determination lit up in her gray eyes.

"Bella, look at me."

And Bellatrix looked at her, no hesitance in obliging this time around.

"Tell me, do I look judgemental to you right now? Does my gaze scream 'DISGRACE!' to you?"

Bellatrix inspected Layla's face, searching for a sign of disapproval or disdain on it. She looked into her eyes, as deep as she could, but found no ill thoughts lingering there. She sighed in relief.

"No…"

She should have expected it, to be honest. This was her Aunty Layla for god's sake! She was practically like a second mother to her.

But it was nice…knowing without a shadow of a doubt that a loved one's opinion on her did not change at all, because of her screw-up.

"You dummy. You really think that's the first major screw-up you've done?" Layla uttered cheekily, earning a meek pout from Bellatrix. She yelped when her cheek was pinched. "Aah, there's that cute pout! I've missed it so much!"

"Aunty Laylaaaaa!"

For the next two hours, the two magi stood there, chatting freely and with rejuvenated vigour. Layla assured Bellatrix several times that the pregnancy would not stain her name and that, if she wanted, Layla could help her keep it a secret from everyone. She also convinced her to not resort to abortion unless it is to save her life.

They discussed many other topics, too: Bellatrix's parents, Lady Alcina, Harry Potter…

"I have heard some things about that boy. Harry Potter. My contacts mention him on-"

The sound of hurried steps and a third presence entering the hut cut her off. Layla and Bellatrix turned out to see a female villager approaching the former.

"Most Gracious Goddess, folks from the North have arrived." the middle-aged woman spoke in a language that Bellatrix was unfamiliar with. Layla had subtly casted a translation spell on the villager woman.

"Ah, speak of the devil and his entourage…" Layla muttered bemusedly and told the woman that she was 'free to go' with her gaze. Just before she went to leave the hut, she spared Bellatrix a glance, but when she saw the look the younger female was giving her she paused. "What?"

"'Most Gracious Goddess'? Care to explain?"

"Oh…uhm, ignore that. The locals like to call me that occasionally." The unamused frown she received prompted her to let out a defeated sigh. "All the time."

Harry Potter finally got back to Diagon Alley after getting his new wand, wanting to get his shopping done before his friends came. Amoura had allowed him to go alone, mostly, he would be followed from the shadows by her assassin, Assiris. He had gotten his letter from Hogwarts only the day before when he was busy training to get one of his three Animagus forms out, also getting letters from his friends that they were going to the Quidditch World Cup. He couldn't go due to his Godmother wanting to get his magical education actually up to speed.

She sent him to Diagon Alley with a shopping list, most of the items were things from when Hogwarts had more classes. He had also gotten a few other books on darker spell lore, given that Amoura wasn't adverse to the darker, more dangerous spells. She said that as the future head of the Business, he needed to know more spells and magic to protect his interests and family. He pulled up a rather old book, 'Spells of Old; a guide to Dark Magicks of the Dark ages', and was reading it when he felt something wash over him.

It wasn't a spell, no, there was no magic. It was more like the winds shifted and he caught the smell of something on it, his tongue tingles in his mouth. Looking up, his eyes narrowed and spotted the silky hair of his school nemesis - Draco Malfoy.

The blonde was with two other people, probably his guards. There was a clear discontent and uncomfortability written on his face, but Harry could barely care about Draco's internal troubles.

His gaze darted from shop to shop until it coincidentally landed on him, and in that exact moment, the slight, morose pout on his face morphed into a much more energetic facade. Harry noticed how Draco's eyes considered him, the unpleasant gleam that flashed through them not escaping his attention, nor the exorbitant cheeky smirk that hid cruel intentions.

Their stare-down lasted but a mere five seconds before Draco decided to refocus on whatever it was he'd initially set out to do. But even so, five seconds was more than enough for Harry.

Having spent several years getting this kind of look from Draco, Harry could practically lead a telepathic conversation with the blonde douche. It was like a silent promise that Draco plans to use him as a stress-reliever.

He felt blood rushing in his ears, his new wand sliding into his hand like it had always been there. Memories were coming to him, like tendrils sliding around his neck to strangle the air from him.

Draco Malfoy, the boy needed to be taught a lesson. Harry closed the book, went to the counter and paid for everything before leaving the store to spot Malfoy entering Knockturn Alley. He put his items into his bag before shrinking it, placing it in his pocket before following the group. He watched them turn down an alley, probably to apparate away. He struck, the Basilisk in him wanted to strike, to hurt. To make the boy that tormented him for three years, bleed. The boy would get his dues today, learning his lesson for good.

His wand came up, spells glowing at the tip before he even thought of them. A red spell blasted the man on the right into the wall, breaking several bones from the sound of impact. The second spell hurled the second man into the darkness, as Draco turned and looked at him. Harry hissed, his blood rushing in his ears again before he was upon Draco. They boy tried to pull his wand but Harry was faster, so much faster then the so-called "superior Pureblood".

Fist met face with crack, the pale boy's nose breaking under Harry's attack. He fell back, dropping his wand as he reached for his nose. Harry slashed his wand, the spell hitting Draco before slamming him into the wall. He groaned but Harry only hissed, a serpent coiled and angry. He then strikes, pulling out his revolver. He aims and shots Draco in the knees, shattering them with a bullet each. His gun made no noise, given that it had been given a silencing rune for this purpose.

Draco's face turned even paler, unable to scream as he had been silenced. Harry then shot the boy in his wand hand, blowing a hole through it as he aimed the barrel at the boy's head. Draco Malfoy lay there, bleeding and alone. Harry glowered at the boy before emptying the clip into the wall on either side of Draco's head. He leaned in close, putting the revolver away and squeezing the boy's throat in his hand.

"You get one chance this year, Ferret," Harry snarled into his face, his voice no higher then a whisper, "One chance to survive and not die. I heard a lot of good about your mother, I'm only doing this favor for her. That is the only reason you live today, Ferret, your Mother saved your arse. If I were you, I'd be watching your back and sides for good. Your blood means nothing to me, your status, money, position in society? Meaningless…"

He spat in the boy's face, "You are beneath me, you are not even worthy to carry the shoes I wear. You're nothing anymore, not even a Slytherin. You won't be able to tell anyone who did this to you, no memory can show me. You are nothing."

He drops the boy then points his wand at his face, before snarling, "Imperiteus!"

Draco went rigid before his eyes darkened then returned to their normal color. Harry waved his hand, leaving Draco alone as one of his guards awoke due to Harry waking him up. Harry then stepped into a shadow, feeling Assiris wrap her arms around him before he arrived in his bedroom at the Family Business Headquarters. He stepped out of the shadows and grabbed his head, hissing in pain before the pain left.

"You are in pain," Assiris said, reaching out and cupping one of his cheeks, "Where, child of magic?"

Harry looked at her, "It's like something was trying to escape my skull, like a serpent was trying to escape my scar."

Assiris rubbed his scar then shook her head, eyes remaining closed throughout, "It seems that Amphithere, the feathered serpent of South America, wants to be free. You called upon his anger and spite with that child of the inbred, something you are trying to avoid, yes?"

Harry nodded and sat on his bed, as Assiris rubbed his forehead. His arm tattoos coiled tighter on his arms as the basilisk shaped one on his back slithered up and down his spine, warming his body. He would stay there until Amoura came in an hour later to get him to see the mind healer, one that she could trust.

Amoura Zabini wasn't pleased, given that her godson had left Draco Malfoy near death. Of course, she couldn't blame Harry, Draco had always been a little worm that lived off his father's overexaggerated reputation. Of course, Amoura felt horrible for Narcissa Black, who had to marry the bleached haired man that would give her that stuck up son. Narcissa Black had such a future, along with her other sisters, Bellatrix and Andromeda. When the future Dark Lord Voldemort, known as Tom M. Riddle during Hogwarts, came and started turning Slytherin into what it was today, things changed.

Amoura had quickly distanced herself from all those other followers of the Dark Lord, following the neutrals as they pushed the darks away. Sticking around Gereth Anderson Greengrass and his fiance, Cereus Sewlyn, who also gave her several other people to stick close to as allies. She gained allies in the twin sister of Kingsly Shacklebolt, Kataria, who would have died several months later due to a muggle disease that even magical's could get, stage four lung cancer. Kingsly had kept in touch, the man doing his best even after his sister passed away.

She also got to know the Potters because of the Greengrass's, which she was thankful for. Now, she was looking over at the papers from Gringotts when she noticed another letter. It was from an old friend of hers, one she had lost track of since she left Hogwarts. Marsh Tenor, a wizard that had no equal in the thieving business, had sent her a letter.

'Hey squirt,

Seems that life has brought you back into the light, hoping you're doing great so far. I'm going to be in town this weekend. I was hoping that I could stop by and visit my old companion before I had to leave.

Sincerely yours,

Marsh'

The Owl, if you could call it that, was a rather ugly thing that gave her the stink eye as she looked at it. It had been waiting ever since it had dropped the letter on her desk, watching on the back of one of the chairs. She wrote a quick reply before tossing it to the bird, who snatched it up and took off. She shook her head before standing, stretching her arms before heading to the door. She made her way out the door and towards where Harry would be, given that he needed a mind healer and maybe some therapy.

Professor Alcina Dimitrescu looked at her students as they got into their seats, all seated in an arc around her desk like the colosseum in Rome. She was dealing with the older years, these children being ready to graduate at the year's end. She spotted Victor Krum as he sat next to a young woman named Teresa Gorn, both at the top of her class. Given that Alcina's class was a combination of Dark Arts, Dark Creatures and other Darker topics, it was surprising that two of the 'lighter' families were so proficient in such topics.

"As we get closer to the day you all leave for the Triwizard Tournament," She said, her voice carrying throughout the room, silencing any conversations that were still going, "we are still here to learn."

The students watched her as she pulled with her magic, summoning a stone into her hand from her desk. She then lifted it up, the stone glowing as the ghostly image of a beast appeared. It changed shape before finally settling down onto that of a dark cloaked beast that several students hissed at.

"A Dementor," She said, "Magicus Tormentus, the soul sucking fiend the British use to keep their worst criminals locked up. Creatures of magic that feed on the joy, love, happiness, and excitement of every sentient living thing."

She then puts the stone on the floor, allowing the image to reach full size, "Discovered by Wizards in the Dark ages, these creatures were the number one cause of unhappy populations of non-magicals throughout this age. They were driven away by the Patronus Charm, as this spell is the physical manifestation of pure joy, love and happiness. Now, the Dementor has only two other variations to its kind."

Waving her hand, the image split into three spheres before the central one became the regular Dementor. The one on the right grew bigger and became even more monstrous in form, towering over everyone. It was around thirty feet tall, its cloak was a near white grey color that was in ruins at the edges. It's hood barely covered a fleshy upper jaw, which led to another larger one and then another and one last one. All of these jaws were filled with jagged spike teeth, but the largest one had tentacles that squirmed and slithered over one another. Two long, emancipated arms that ended in sharp taloned clawed hands held the creature up as it was clearly on the ground.

"This is the Antarctic Storm Wraith," Alcina said, "the largest of the Tormentus species. Only found in the coldest regions of the Earth, these monstrous fiends only hunger and feed on anything that can feel pain. Which is everything on the Earth, thankfully, these creatures cannot exist outside of places where the cold is king. Storm Wraiths were found in an expedition to the South Pole by non-magicals by accident, the South American Special Operations Unit Junglers were able to rescue them from being devoured."

The other sphere became a more feminine creature, looking like a banshee but wasn't truly one. The figure was very sensual in design, causing a few men to look up and down the creature's hourglass form. Despite its sensual design, it's cloak had a more wedding dress design that was torn and looked soaked, heavy with water.

"This is the Sea Wretch, Feminus Tormentus," Alcina said, getting everyone to look at her, "The only female only species of the Tormentus. They were discovered by the renowned Newt Scamander, several years after he was banned from America due to an Obscurial. These feminine soul suckers are found where mass drownings happened, all of them are creatures formed from the pain and panic of the sailors, passengers and other creatures that died in the depths of the water. The most well known of these are the ones found near the Titanic, the South Pacific islands and the Bermuda Triangle."

"They are seen by both magicals and non-magicals alike, as they don't form due to magic but mass pain and tragedy. Whereas Dementors and Storm Wraiths are magic based, both can only be seen by magicals. Sea Wretches have been the causes of multiple sightings of 'sea Ghosts' amongst other feminine sightings that involve the sea. Besides Mermaids, Sirens and other hybrid humanoid sea dwellers, of course."

"All three have the same aura of despair and sucking of one's soul," the Professor continued her lecture, pointing to the massive Storm Wraith, "However, Dementors are known for causing everything around them to freeze solid. Storm Wraiths cause massive storms of snow and winds wherever they go. Sea Wretches cause thick fog to arise from the waters, obscuring them from view."

"Mr. Krum," She pointed to him, "How does one truly repel a Dementor?"

Krum stood, before answering, "They use a Patronus charm first then entrap the Dementor in a runic cage of light made up of the 'Holy' rune."

Alcina nodded, "Correct, but that does not work on the other two. Miss Corvax, how does one handle a Storm Wraith?"

Miss Belus Corvax stood, two rows down and eight seats across from Krum, "One can't stop a Storm Wraith, Patronus's only give it pause at best, barely slow it down at worst. The best way to handle a Storm Wraith is to not get anywhere near their territory as these creatures are very territorial."

The giant vampiress nodded, "Correct, indeed, the Storm Wraiths are not to be messed with but are easily distracted with something that is in pain. That is like ringing the dinner bell for them, now, the final creature."

She pointed at a young man further back and away from Corvax, "Sea Wretch."

He stood up, "Sea Wretches are easily deterred by any means, usually lights work best. Given that most of them are created in the dark waters at night, they hate lights of any source. They flee from even the simplest lighter light. That's why their aura's usually put lights out but people that relight them dispel the effects easily and drive the Sea Wretches away."

Alcina nodded, smiling as she went on to lecture the students about the creatures some more. What their parts could be used for, wand lore, countermeasures against them. When the gonging bell came, everyone had gained a much deeper understanding of the only three Dementor species that were on the Earth. Now, Alcina thought with a smile, onto the beginning years.

Viktor Krum was one of the two students that had always caught Alcina Dimitrescu's attention. She felt a not so dissimilar pull to him from the one she felt with Bellatrix Basil, her goddaughter. The desire to nurture a talent.

She found him…mildly interesting.

He was nay the brash and brazen young adult that his fellow peers saw him as, despite his somewhat imposing stature and aura, both of which just wordlessly demanded respect. Despite a somewhat basic dressing code and a thin build, he was without a doubt a unique kind of student.

Even just going by his biology, he was a tad more special than most. In his veins ran the blood of Kukers - Shrewd bulgarian wizards who served as the unofficial magical police of a major territory in the Balkans.

The last legitimately recognised members of the Kuker Order had become desperate to not let their precious teachings and traditions fade into memory, so they became servants of the first Bulgarian and Serbian crime families in exchange for their culture's desired preservation in ample records and books.

Simeon Hrabrov, "River-Terror Simeon", was the most notorious Kuker to ever exist, having subdued an entire army of bulgarian magical creatures all by himself. He was by all accounts, a Balkan legend.

Classically, he fell for a charming Stia - a water spirit seductress, and they sired a few children together. Three generations later leads us to one of Durmstrang's best students - Viktor Krum.

The great-grandson of a legendary sorcerer-hunter and a magical creature. Long nose and big strong hands from Simeon and spots of severe pale complexion from his great-grandmother. His toes were slightly webbed, which were further hints of his mermarian heritage.

He was also a competent character. Verily so. Humbly confident in what he was capable of, he did not fear a challenge nor a death threat. He was also quite innovative, using failure, no matter how humiliating, as his most precious mentor. His tenacity was perhaps matched by very few in this institute. His skills were already more than a match for a few of the Durmstrang professors, both as a wizard and an academic.

All in all, an A-grade youngun on almost all levels. The thing that usually held him back was his reclusive and dogged nature. He often refused cooperation and denied needing help whenever someone pointed out his inability to perform a task. He was a complete block-head, too, who couldn't recognize a flirtatious remark even if it had the subtlety of a bat to the face. Alcina suspected some parts of his upbringing may have contributed to these asinine traits of his.

Alcina licked her lips and put the blood liquor she'd been drinking down on a nearby table. Her wandering thoughts had been cut off just as the object of her interest stepped into her peripheral vision.

She had called for his presence in her office shortly after the lecture.

"Ah, Viktor Krum. Please, take a seat." Alcina gestured casually towards a stool that stood dejectedly in the corner of her office.

"I can stand on my two good feet, Miss Dimitrescu. But thank you for the offer."

"Suit yourself, then." Alcina mumbled, plump lips curling into a slight smirk. She observed him as he came to stand right before her. His gaze and body language was stiff, but no visible effort was exerted.

She loved that about him. He could naturally shift into a tighter composure if he deemed the situation called for it. Alcina was known to be very impatient towards students who overstep their boundaries or those that piss themselves whenever she inspects them for more than five seconds. In comparison to those fools, Viktor Krum was a sturdy boulder.

After a few moments of absolute silence and stillness, Alcina tore her gaze away from the young bulgarian wizard and opted to re-inspect the reports she'd been receiving since yesterday. Information that her boss' agents had caught wind of. A photo of a certain Potter boy stuck out from between all the paper.

"Your performance in my lecture was superb, as always." she suddenly said, making Viktor snap out of his own line of thought. "But, you could have done much better."

"Uhm, can you tell me where I failed to meet your expectations, Miss Dimitrescu?" the boy asked, a hint of awkwardness in his voice. Alcina's little smirk dropped.

"Your answers were alright, but nothing more. Teresa outclassed you by far."

At the mention of the girl, Viktor Krum's lip twitched, his fingers clenching a little. Alcina tilted her head at him, a small sparkle of amusement shining in her golden eyes now.

"I know of your interest in attending tournaments, and I will say it right now: 'just alright' doesn't fly in high-class tourneys. You have to be the best of the best to win."

"Yes, I understand." Viktor Krum said, bowing his head in humble agreement. Alcina looked at him in earnest amusement. She knew the young man had probably heard these exact words more times than he could count, yet he still accepted her advice without pretense in his politeness.

"Have I ever told you that you're one of my favorites, Mr. Krum?" Alcina said, pausing her report-analysis to look him straight in the eyes.

Viktor Krum's shocked expression had Alcina chuckling inwardly. He was obviously stunned for words. Confusion and awkwardness danced on his expression, as he struggled to mumble out his response.

"I-I don't think you have, ma'am…"

"Well, now I've said it. And I will say it just to make it final: You are a personal favorite student of mine, Viktor Hrabrov-Krum."

Viktor's eyes widened and he took a step back. So, the mention of his mother's last name could shake his composure. Interesting, Alcina thought.

"How do you…"

"If something interests me, I will perform thorough research based around that thing. I assure you, Mr. Krum, whatever you wish to keep hidden from me, I already know it."

"That is a…less than comfortable thought. No offense." Viktor responded with an awkward shuffle of his feet and an eye-narrowed glare, before resuming his neutral stance and stare.

"None taken." Alcina answered with a sly smirk. Her eyes returned to the reports laying on her desk. She commanded her claws to extend further until they lingered in the air like knives. The sight made Viktor shudder a bit. "Someone uncovering my backstory and then boasting about it in front of me would have gotten the sharp end of my claws before they could even finish, so I understand if you find me distasteful for this. At the same time, I doubt you're a man of such temper."

She appreciated the little headshake he did for confirmation, even though she didn't need it. Frankly, she just found it an amusing gesture. A lot of Bulgarians shake their heads to say 'yes' and nod to say 'no'. She was one of the first to get used to that odd trait of Viktor's.

"Now, Mr. Krum, while I do favor you, I also expect excellent results from you, so that my assessment of you won't be proven…incorrect." Alcina told him, deliberately hissing out the last word.

"I…I understand, Miss Dimitrescu. I will do my best." he answered curtly, but there was an unmistakable twinge of uncertainty in his voice.

Just then, her report analysis concluded and she shoved all the papers down on the desk with a hard thud. Viktor did not flinch. Alcina rose up to her full height,

"Will you now? Well then…" with a notable schwing, the nails on both her hands extended frightfully long, enough to almost reach the surface of the ground below. Viktor's eyes shot wide, no doubt realizing her intentions. "Let's put that resolve to the test, shall we?"

Without uttering another word, she swung her arm in a wide, exaggerated arc, the precision of her attack contributed to it just barely missing all the furniture. It was an extremely powerful and swift attack nonetheless, carefree as her posture remained. Had it hit its mark, Viktor's head would've been sent flying off his shoulders.

"Heh…" Alcina chuckled, cold eyes perking up a little, satisfied when they found her scimitar-like nails had been intercepted mid-air by a dense layer of snow-flakes. A master-class snowflake-making spell. Few professors even grasped this level of mastery on a single spell type. Her smirk grew bigger. "Good, very good, Mr. Krum. But the test has only just begun."

The young bulgarian's knees were shaking unwillingly. The first attack alone almost overwhelmed him. Viktor's first instinct was to pale in dread and fright at his teacher's warning. He shook his head, re-composing himself as best he could in that situation.

He certainly managed to put a braver front, Alcina thought. More than most who had faced Alcina in battle, but for him specifically it was even more impressive, since there was an obvious gap in power and experience between them.

Alcina retracted her nails and put her hands out, her eyes narrowing in concentration. She gave the impression of a cat, ready to pounce, but to Viktor Krum, she must've seemed like something a hundred times more terrifying than a mere house-pet. A great, ghastly saber tiger perhaps, or a rigid storm dressed in flesh and silk.

Those abstract impressions were cut in half as one of Alcina's nails shot towards him in near-untraceable velocity. Viktor Krum's senses were well-trained at this point, but even he could barely react to the first attack.

"Hn!"

Holding his breath, he tilted his upper body to the left, the nail grazing his uniform, but otherwise harmlessly zipping past him, stopping right as it was about to pierce a very expensive-looking vase.

Satisfied with the result of the initial attack, Alcina proceeded to unleash a whole onslaught of the same attack, protracting her iron-cutting nails, attempting to riddle Viktor's body with holes. Alcina made sure to not attack him at full speed and she also did slight pauses between some attacks whenever she felt she'd overwhelm him.

Viktor proved himself acrobatic enough to avoid at least half of her attacks, while those he couldn't evade - he blocked with magic. He wasn't exactly graceful in his movements. They were rough instead, as if he was intending to 'surpass the attacks', not just evade them.

There was a grace in that, too, though.

Alcina suddenly retracted all her nails before unleashing them all at once onto Viktor. The young wizard responded by hastily casting a Ventus Duo spell and at the same time using a propeller hex spell to enhance the intensity of the wind currents. It managed to hold back her nails, but just barely.

Upon retracting her nails once again, Alcina suddenly leapt over her desk and pounced on Viktor. Grasping his neck with a gloved hand, she effortlessly slammed the boy down on the floor. The whole room shook under her titanic strength, and Viktor gasped, the air knocked straight out of him.

"Your performance so far has been satisfying, Mr. Krum." she whispered in his ear. She then rose up, lifting Viktor to meet his nerve-wrecked gaze at an even eye level. "It's time to get serious, though."

With a low growl, she swung her arm, throwing the young man across her office and through the stained glass window, red and black in its coloring. Fitting, she idly thought, as Krum's black uniform would soon be soaked in red, too.

Her office was on the third floor of the institute. It was a thirty meter drop from her window. Viktor suppressed the urge to open his mouth and scream, as he saw the fast-approaching surface of the institute's backyard. The screams of the few people there who saw him falling down tore him away from his shocked haze. He needed to act fast or he'd be a broken body there.

With slight struggle, he casted a Summoning Charm - his trusty broomstick materializing in his other hand. He rode it, activating its flight mechanic just before he collided with the ground.

Krum stood, floating on his broom, frozen solid. He couldn't contain the shudder that shook his whole body. His adrenaline had shot up sky high right before he took control of the broom. It took a lot of mental strength to steady his breaths.

His heightened senses, courtesy of his raised adrenaline, picked up on a sound from above. He looked up, and it was practically impossible to miss his giant of a teacher descending upon him, gigantic bat wings steadying her fall, like a pair of parachutes.

"Hmph." When Alcina considered the height was safe enough, she dispersed her bat wings, crashing down on Viktor's spatial position. She would've flattened him if he hadn't moved to the side.

"You can run away if you wish to, Viktor Krum. My intend isn't to murder my student. Precaution is the most important trait of every wizard." Alcina stated as she cleaned the dust off herself.

"..." Viktor treated her with a silent stare for a few seconds. The stare turned into a mild glare. And as he collected his thoughts and made his mind up, he smirked wryly. A short and small gesture. "I said I will do my best, ma'am. I'm no liar."

"Good." remarked Alcina right before unleashing a flurry of slashes with her protruded nails. She wasn't holding back in her attacks now, the fear of breaking any item in a cramped office gone now.

But Viktor was also performing better. Senses heightened to their limit and more space to utilize. He was known to be without equal whilst riding on his broomstick. He was nearly a master of aerial combat.

Alcina, satisfied that he could deal with her nails just fine, felt comfortable with using some of her spells now. She wordlessly summoned her wand, a twisted and ominous wooden object, larger than most of its kind.

Alcina's eyes narrowed in focus. She shouted a dark incantation, which reminded Viktor of the Ventus Duo spell. There was a slight rumble in the area as a condensed swirl of black clouds and menacing greenish wind currents formed on the tip of Alcina's wand. It grew to half of her size.

Viktor's eyes widened, fright itching in his stomach. He'd seen a similar green aura oozing from the spells of a specific dark wizard. It was soul-absorbing magic. The memory caused a surge of rage within him and he channeled it into his counter-spell, just as the swirl of death was released in his direction. The dark wind currents were pulling him in, so he had no choice but to respond with a similarly powerful spell.

"Incendio Maxima!"

Shouting an incantation, the tip of his wind combusted, bright flames consuming the swirly mass of death. Steadying his wand, he shouted a second incantation.

"Ventus Trias!"

This time, it was Alcina who widened her eyes, as she saw how her own attack was now being pushed back her way, with Viktor's flames blending into it. Wordlessly, she casted Repello Inimicum in conjunction with Protego Maxima and Fianto Duri, creating a near-unbreakable barrier around herself.

Viktor sensed the manifestation of that infamously sturdy magic barrier and responded with his own counter-measure.

"Bombarda Maxima!" he shouted, just as the flame-coated cursed swirl of Alcina hit her own barrier. This resulted in a bright green explosion that shook the backyard a little.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed an unharmed Alcina. Her barrier however, had sustained significant damage. Several notable cracks had appeared on it from the explosion and her magic had flickered off for a bit.

Alcina herself wore an expression filled with shock before it subsided to a barefaced satisfaction and a twinkling of excitement.

"Very good, Mr. Krum!" she shouted so he could hear her. "I trust you aren't worn off yet!"

Viktor Krum stifled a strained laugh before inhaling deeply. The sequence of powerful spells he had just performed nearly sucked out all the energy in his body. He was more than worn off. But he made sure his exhaustion wasn't painfully obvious.

Some of the institute's staff came rushing from inside to see what the commotion was. A few professors shouted swears and curses, walking up to scold both Alcina and Viktor, but a single piercing glance from the monstrous woman caught them dead in their tracks.

'Don't interfere!' was the message her eyes were sending and they all got it loud and clear.

"Mr. Krum." Alcina said as she looked back at the bulgarian wizard. "I will say it one more time: You can run away whenever you like."

"...Not a chance!" Viktor responded after regaining his breath.

Alcina smirked, pride blooming in her chest. This aroused memories of when Bellatrix managed to go toe-to-toe with her for the first time. This is what she needed to see, to be sure in putting her trust in him.

The two went at it for a good portion of time. Not hours, but long enough to gather a crowd around them. Their fight proceeded as it had until earlier. Alcina would test Viktor's reflexes and then get more and more serious, making her attacks harder to evade, hitting him harder, using deadlier spells.

Viktor had already gone past his limits a few times, his heart throbbing so loudly he thought it might explode. Might've also been a result of a curse spell by his teacher.

He was running around the giant woman now, his broom gone. Alcina had knocked him off it with a sneak attack - after casting a spell that released a flock of bird-like wraiths, she had left an illusion of her form behind just as she had disguised herself as a wraith.

Viktor hadn't expected a giantess to suddenly manifest in the air next to him and it cost him a few fractured ribs and a pair of sprained knees. He had to resort to advanced healing spells just to stand on his feet whenever Alcina landed a physical hit on him.

Every few seconds, the whole backyard would flash and shake a little as Alcina and one of her top students exchanged powerful spells.

It was obvious that the half-vampire half-giantess was in a much better shape than the bloodied and bruised Viktor, but she had also begun to experience some light fatigue the longer the fight went on.

After a few ineffective spell-clashes, Viktor changed his strategy. He casted a powerful and concentrated smoke spell at Alcina's feet, following it up with a Bombarda spell that assured him an opening.

"Petra Cortex!"

The skin on his right arm turned into sturdy rock. He ran up to Alcina as fat as he could in his exhausted state. Rearing his fist back, he chanted another incantation.

"Potestas Trias!"

He felt the power in his rock fist tripling. With a warrior-like growl, he smashed his fist into Alcina's face with all his might.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

The explosive punch had the ground beneath them shaking. Smoke covered the entirety of Alcina's face, as well as Viktor's parched right hand. He flinched, feeling the sting from it. He wordlessly casted a basic Ventus spell, cooling his hand.

He heard a few horrified gasps and looked up to see what had caused them. When he saw what it was, he didn't know whether to laugh or whimper. He chose a composed silence instead, per usual.

Half of Alcina's face was gone. The skin had been completely burnt off, while the punch itself had made a slight indentation of the left side of her skull. Her enormous breasts rose up and down as she heaved.

Viktor had never seen Alcina Dimitrescu like this and he didn't know whether to feel pride or shame. His dilemma was replaced with complete horror as Alcina's fierce glare seized his form. Her one eye literally burnt his soul with just a stare.

"Oh…you…you little, bold man…laying a hand on my beautiful face!" she screamed angrily at him, spitting and holding the damaged side of her face with intense worry. She let out a very faint whimper as she casted a regenerative spell on herself. In almost no time, her face was as good as new, but her expression just worsened. "You want this to be that kind of fight, then?! Fine!"

Taking a special-kind of stance, Alcina prepared to unleash something on Viktor. What it was, the boy could not guess. He also took a stance, but his limbs were shaking and his vision was cloudy. He really was way past his limit at this point. It was a wonder he was still conscious.

Despite that absolute tiredness, he steeled his nerves and prepared for everything: hex spells, curse spells, whirlwinds of death, spikes of darkness, explosions, projectiles, beams, mystic creatures...but what Alcina did completely caught the advanced young wizard off guard.

She just…threw her hands out. Nothing happened. At least, that is what it looked like. That is what Viktor had assumed. Until…

"N-nghh…w-what…what the hell?!" he exclaimed. He gasped, feeling his body go rigid, holding itself in place. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get even a muscle to move. Some unseen force had taken a hold of him from inside.

"My finest magic, Mr. Krum: Blood magic." Alcina said, practically spitting out the words. She wore an ominous scowl on her face. Her fingers moved then in coordinated wiggling. As if his body was an instrument, Viktor's body let out several skin-crawling sounds as his limbs were stretched wide. The young man couldn't contain the yell of pain that transformed into a genuine scream of agony the more his body stretched. "I want you to grit your teeth and fight with everything you've got in you. Your life depends on it, Viktor."

Saying a person's first name usually indicated casualness, but here it carried a dreadful note. The air seemed to go still as Alcina proceeded to toy with Viktor's body. Forcefully sprawling him on the ground and then rolling him around. Throwing him up and down a few times and spinning him in the air. For every cruel trick she performed on him, he would let out pain-filled screams and groans, whilst the crowd would gasp in utter horror.

It was a brutal, disturbing and harsh showcase of Alcina's favorite ability. All who were there to see it either stood completely still, slack-jawed expressions, or cried in horror. One of the students even seemed angry at Alcina. Though she looked ready to jump in the frame, two professors were holding her back fiercely, likely knowing she'd fall victim to Alcina's blood magic if she interfered.

Alcina held a neutral glare on her face, not revealing what she was feeling. She was completely focused on Viktor and controlling his blood. Viktor trembled, a conflict for control raging inside his body.

She made it look effortless, but it required a decent amount of focus just to keep him still. Krum's will was nigh-unbreakable and his strength, as inferior as it was to hers, was nothing to scoff at.

"There's still fight in you, huh…?" she mumbled quietly, so only she could hear.

Still, there was no murderous intent behind it. She wasn't giving it her all, because that wasn't the point. She wanted to see how much of her blood magic Viktor could handle before it overwhelmed him completely. This whole fight, after all, was a test of his strength.

On his end, Viktor wasn't faring well at all. He was dangling on the thread between unconsciousness and consciousness, or maybe even life and death.

Ironically, the intrusive and abnormal shifts of his bloodstream caused any feelings of exhaustion to be forcefully dampened underneath the cold, creeping itches.

If there was a description to be given to what he was feeling while Alcina was ruthlessly bending his blood, it'd be something like: millions of tiny needles piercing every part of his body from within and squeezing every muscle tissue and bone to their limit.

In the midst of the greatest agony he had ever experienced in his life so far, Viktor's life flashed before his eyes. Memories flushed his dazed head like a waterfall. He recalled faces: that of his father, that of his mother, of his great-grandfather on a photograph, of his great-grandmother on the same one, of his friends in Bulgaria and of Teresa Gorn.

All those faces brought a certain fluttery feeling in his stomach. Something pleasant to ease his pain a little. He thought he may be dying at that moment.

But then, another face flashed before his eyes…a much darker one, in the sense that it brought a surge of extreme negative emotions.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Alcina had twisted his body in a way that allowed him to glimpse at her face and her stone-cold expression reminded him so heavily of that man's face. And just like on that fateful day, he was completely powerless before that gaze.

A rage like no other bubbled up inside him, threatening to explode from within.

"N-nnnngh!" Gritting his teeth to the point of hurting his jaw, Viktor struggled with every fiber of his being against Alcina's magic, but it felt like trying to push the whole Durmstrang Institute with bare hands.

The giant woman had tightened her control further and breaking it felt like a distant dream, but Viktor didn't let that break his resolve. He slackened only for a second to take a deep breath before putting everything he had and beyond that into one final push against his teacher.

All of a sudden, the sky above rumbled and the ground shook. A surge of power exploded from within Viktor Krum, coating his body in black lightning. The strained roar he had let out was now filled with power, booming with it. His body stumbled as he felt Alcina's control leaving him immediately, but he caught himself from awkwardly face-planting on the ground.

He heard the crowd around them erupt in shocked gasps and relieved sighs, but it all felt muffled. He noticed at that moment the black lightning running across his body and cried out in shock and horror. He threw his hands forward, as if attempting to expel the unfamiliar elemental power.

The surge of black lightning did leave his body, shooting outwards like a dark wave of electricity. A majority of it actually managed to hit Alcina, who was too shell-shocked by the twist to even react. The force of the lightning surge was mighty enough to send her flying across the backyard, until she crashed into a fountain.

Alcina groaned, biting her lip. Despite sustaining no visible injury, that last attack of Krum's hurt a lot. It knocked the air straight out of her and left a nasty after-effect that locked her muscles tight. For a few seconds, she laid on the ground, hurting and immobile.

And during those few seconds, Viktor found the strength to let out an unintelligent sound of triumph before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed on the ground unconscious.