Chapter 2 Love, Lust, and Quidditch
Adriana stood in Orin's office, waiting for Viktor to come back from his practice so she could head off to hers. She wished that he would hurry. She already had a Magical Creatures essay and a Dark Arts paper that she had to write. She hadn't seen Kris in three days except for in DA, and she wanted to get practice over with, even though she loved it. Quidditch was so invigorating, flying at fast speeds high above the ground, hearing the roar of the crowd-
Viktor Krum crashed to the floor of Professor Orin's office, soaking wet, his robes drenched. He gave the small tattered book to Orin, and stood up shivering. He smiled at Adriana and shrugged.
"It's raining a little bit," he said.
"Oh my," said Professor Orin, grabbing a small blanket from behind his desk and giving it to Viktor. "Warm up. We don't want you catching a cold. And you be careful, Miss Winter, we don't need you catching one either."
Adriana nodded and grabbed her Firebolt. "Is it cold yet?"
"It's still fairly warm," said Viktor. "It's just rain."
"See you later," said Adriana, taking the portkey from Orin. She had finally gotten used to the stomach-wrenching feeling of using a portkey, and the air that felt like it was yanked from her lungs. Her eyes were slits, and she let go of the book and went flying. She still hadn't mastered the landing. She fell on the ground. Hard. She had landed on wet grass, and her robes were instantly wet. Her Firebolt and the little book had landed beside her.
"Winter!" shouted a voice from her right. Adriana rose and saw that Seamus Marley was running toward her, his hair plastering to his forehead as he ran out into the rain. "I'll keep the portkey safe for you," he said, grabbing the book and running into the safe, dry walls. Adriana followed and entered the team locker room. She was the only girl on the team, but not the smallest. The shortest member of the team was Pat Wallace, one of their Beaters, a good two inches shorter than she was.
"Just a normal practice you guys," said Marley, their Keeper and team captain. "We don't really want to overdue it before the big day. The Bulgarians are good, but we can get them if we all work together."
"Yeah," said Travis, the other Beater who was the definition of Irish: orange-red hair, blue eyes, freckles, pale, tall, skinny, the works. "No pressure on you, Adri, or anything, but there's a lot of pressure on you, girly."
"Oh, thanks," said Adriana, pulling her hair back and quickly putting it in a ponytail. "And who're you calling girly, Travis? Who's the one who was afraid of the spider in the locker room? Not you, surely."
Travis said nothing but looked around and blushed deeply.
"Okay," said Marley, smiling. "You've got him there. We don't need any bickering. Normal practice. Should be over by eight-thirty or nine. Alright, let's get out there."
Everyone hopped on their brooms and took off into the harsh field lights and steady rain. Adriana loved Quidditch.
Adriana landed on the soft carpet of Professor Orin's office, her hair and robes sufficiently drenched from three hours of practice in the rain. She had thought that it would have stopped after about an hour, but it hadn't. The second they walked inside the locker room, the rain stopped. Just her luck. It was much warmer in his office than outside, and she was freezing.
'Here you go, Miss Winter," said Orin, draping a coat over her shoulder. "Mister Krum brought this in here for you after you left."
"Thanks, Professor," said Adriana, taking her coat and walking out of the office into the dark hall. She could still see a few students flying around the grounds for a quick after-nightfall trip. She walked through the halls, becoming warmer as she walked.
As she walked toward the Closet, she thought about something. 'Mister Krum brought this in here for you…' She smiled at the thought. Viktor had become a good buddy of hers their first year at the Quidditch try-outs. They were the only of the ranks to have two Seekers who were equally good and excelled against everyone. After four years of being together, their bond was strong, but Adriana got the feeling that she was starting to like him more than that. But she still had Kris. Her dear Kris. Their one-year anniversary was two weeks before their Christmas vacation. And she couldn't wait to see what he was going to do for her.
"Why look, if it isn't Miss Quidditch," said a familiar, raspy voice behind her. Stan. "Why don't you stop and talk to me? You too good for me?"
Adriana tried her hardest to contain her temper. She clenched her fists, her grip tightening around her broom.
Didn't work.
"As a matter of fact," said Adriana, her voice tightening. "I am. Now go back to the hole you came out of, scum."
"Oh, come on, baby," said Stan, his voice growing closer. "You know you want me." Adriana heard him utter the paralyzing spell and whipped around, her wand at the ready.
"Finite Incantatem!" She shouted, and his spell was stopped. She jumped on her Firebolt and sped through the halls of the school, being sure to avoid any teachers that roamed the school. They weren't allowed to ride brooms in the school, but in a situation like that, she pretended she hadn't heard that little rule.
"Come back here!" yelled Stan, his footfalls becoming less audible and she sped up the staircase. Stan was her biggest problem at Durmstrang. He was actually pretty handsome, but on the inside, he was blacker than the feathers of Percy. He was cold-hearted and always out to get what he wanted, and that was money, fame, power, more money, and her.
Adriana jumped off of her broom when she turned the corner to the west wing of the fourth floor and approached the wall.
"Lethifold," she said, and the door appeared. She walked into the Closet, and saw that only a few people remained downstairs. A sixth year reading a book and a second year who was frantically finishing a paper. They looked up and saw her enter, and they instantly left the room, going up to the dorms. She couldn't see their eyes, but she felt like something was wrong.
She ran upstairs to grab some dry robes so she could go take a quick shower before she went to bed. She ran up to the dorms and saw that Q was already asleep, as were half of the other girls that. She threw off her coat and grabbed the robes that she normally slept in and went back downstairs. She loved their Closet. Theirs was the only one that was fairly close to a bathroom. She ran out once again, and took a hot shower, allowing her muscles to relax from the practice. She walked once more out into the hallway and saw that Vivian was walking toward the Closet.
"Hey, Professor Vivian," said Adriana, running a little ways to catch up with her. She fell into step beside her and walked to the Closet.
"Hey Adriana," she said, giving her a quick smile, flashing her perfect white teeth. "How was practice?"
"Cold and wet, other than that, it was good."
"Good," said Vivian. "World Cup's in two days. You nervous?"
"No," said Adriana. "Thank God we have the next five days off. I'd die if we had school tomorrow. Not that I don't enjoy it, you see. It just be extra pressure."
"Right," said Vivian. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the Cup."
"You're coming?" asked Adriana. She didn't seem like one to go to that sort of thing.
"Why not?" said Vivian. "Half the school's going, and two of my best students are in it. What a better way to spend my weekend off?"
"Well, I hope to see you in the audience," said Adriana.
"Good luck, and good night," said Vivian, walking out of the Closet. The door shut behind her, and Adriana sat at the piano, sat her things down on the bench beside her and began to play her favorite song, "Fur Elise." She sat and played quietly at the piano, the fire casting a warm glow on her back. She cast up a look at the picture of the young girl above her. Adriana smiled as she saw her yawn and hop into her bed, a soft smile on her face.
Adriana loved playing that piano. She even received notes thanking her for lulling the people of Isaura to sleep. She kept playing, her hands flying across the keys, her mind lost in the music, absolved into the melody.
The night flew by.
Viktor woke in his bed to a soft sound. Just over the snoring of one of the third years, he could hear the playing of the piano in the Closet. Adriana. Always the one to stay up and do her own thing. Viktor slipped out of bed and walked down the stairs quietly into the large room. He stopped at the bottom and saw Adriana sitting at the piano, her back to him, the dying fire casting a red glow on her black hair.
"What're you doing up this late, Krum?" said Adriana quietly, her music never hesitating, and her head turning slightly to the side. "You should be asleep."
"So should you," said Viktor, taking a seat on the couch closest to the piano. Adriana brought the song to a close and turned to him, her normally blue eyes glowing red. "You're always up playing the piano. Helps most of the guys fall asleep."
"I know," said Adriana, "Kris told me. I guess my music has that effect on people."
"Yeah," he said, tearing his eyes from her. He couldn't hardly stand it anymore. Their first year, Adriana was this small, shy, piano playing girl who was amazing at Quidditch. Now she was grown, beautiful no longer shy – if not extremely confident – piano playing woman who was amazing at Quidditch. Who also had a boyfriend, who was one of his friends.
"Viktor?" he head Adriana's voice, worried.
"What?" he asked, looking at her once again.
"You zoned out on me," she said, smiling. "I asked if you were worried about the Cup. Two more days."
"Like you said, it's just the same, but with more screaming fans," said Viktor. "it's my second, your first. It's nothing to be worried about, Adri. All you have to do is go out there, have fun, and try to beat me."
"Oh, that won't be that hard," said Adriana.
"You sure you can beat out the Wronski Feint?" joked Viktor. They had a great competitive spirit between them, and he was the only one who wanted more than that.
"I'll show you the Winter Feint," said Adriana, jumping up and walking towards the stairs. "But you'll have to wait for that. Now, go to bed, Krum. I don't want this to be too easy."
Viktor smiled to the fire as Adriana's robes disappeared up the stairs without a sound.
She was so going down.
"So, Krum, you're not going to take it easy on the girl, are you?" asked Dimitrov, placing his large hand on Viktor's shoulder.
"Wouldn't think of it," said Viktor. Even if he tried, Adriana wouldn't let him do that. She was going to be the one who needed to let up.
"You know you like her," said Dimitrov, a grin coming across his scraggly face.
"She's my friend," said Viktor, "I'm allowed to try and beat her." He knew that he was avoiding answering the question. Truth was, he didn't know how to answer it himself. They were friends, true, and he liked her, but he didn't know how much.
"I'd kill him if he didn't try," said Adriana coming from behind Dimitrov. She was dressed in the green Irish robes, followed by the rest of her teammates. "Being the only girl in the cup, I have the responsibility of representing all women Quidditch players and I intended on winning this, and if Viktor holds back, I'll kill him. By the way, good afternoon, Viktor," she said politely, stopping in front of him.
"Good afternoon, Adriana," he replied. They stood looking at each other for a moment, the roar from the crowd and the massive amounts of talking reached their ears from the large stadium outside of the room. Viktor was getting pumped for the big entrance.
"Alright everyone," shouted a voice. Viktor looked down the line of people and saw Cornelius Fudge, the great English Minister of Magic approaching. "I'd like on congratulate you all for making it here and to wish you all good luck. Play fair, you all know the rules, and don't kill each other. The Ministry doesn't need that. I wish you all good luck, and now, if you would all shake hands."
Adriana turned away from Viktor, and he started shaking the hands of his opponents one by one, Adriana avoiding him all the time. There was no one left but her, and she was shaking the hand of Fudge. She smiled, Fudge released her hand, and she approached him.
"Good luck, Viktor," she said, hugging him around his neck. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek. Whistles erupted. "Time for the Winter Feint," she smiled as she pulled away and walked towards the Irish. He didn't even know how she could be Irish. She had the fair skin, but she had black hair, most likely from her father, Vincent Winter, one of the leaders of the Azkaban Board, as was her mother, Diana Winter. They were highly respected in the Ministry, and had a great deal of power in their hands. Viktor finally turned back to his fellow Bulgarians.
"Shut up, you guys! Bloody hell! Be mature! Kissing him doesn't mean I love him!" Adriana's voice carried back to him. He smiled as Ivanova, the Keeper, grabbed his shoulder and yanked in him into the group of teammates.
"Wait to go, Krum!" they said, patting him on the shoulder and back, "We knew you liked her!"
"Alright, come on, guys," he said, shaking them off and grabbing his broom from the rack on the wall. "We have to get ready."
"Right," said Dimitrov, grabbing his broom in fashion. "Alright, huddle up, you guys. You guys know how this goes. Go out there, do your thing, play hard. We know how they work, and we can beat them. Lastly, Krum – don't let the girl distract you."
Viktor laughed along with the rest of the team and they hopped on their brooms and flew out, getting ready for their entrance. Fudge finished him announcement, and Viktor waited for their time. The adrenaline was flowing through his veins. He saw the packed stadium below with all of the screaming fans, and he was getting fidgety on the broom, wanting to fly as fast as he could and feel the wind in his face as he darted about.
He saw the green shamrock fireworks explode, filling the stadium with their green shine, and the Irish come flying out, Adriana barely visible as she flew through the stadium. They took off toward the giant shamrock, flew through it, and it burst into red sparks. Massive cheers as Viktor entered the stadium. He took the opportunity, and pulled one of his own tricks. He lifted his legs off of the broom, and supporting his body with only his arms. Krum sped around the field, pumping his fist and flying along the giant board that showed that his image. His fed off of the cheers of "Krum! Krum! Krum!"
Suddenly, he felt a quick breeze and fabric brush by, a blur of green and black hair whipping by quickly, and the cheers quickly turned to "Winter! Winter! Winter!" Viktor watched as the board turned into a giant of Adriana, and she pulled off what had to be one of her many tricks. He still couldn't wait to see the Winter Feint…
She took her hands off of the broom and jumped up, balancing perfectly on her broom as she flew around the field, not tottering once on the broom stick. She was smiling broadly, and she was bowing to the crowd. Classic Adriana. Out to show off as much as he did.
"Let the game begin," said Viktor to himself and flew up into the sky.