Chapter 10: Vik's Misfortunes

Viktoria sat up in bed and straightened her large t-shirt as she watched the door crash open. "It hurts Viktoria, it hurts so much," Viktor said through tears as he closed the door behind himself and stumbled over to her bed, he was clutching his forearm to his side. Viktoria watched him as he walked over and feared the worst. He sat down on the edge of her bed, through the darkness she could see the tears making his face glisten.

For the past several weeks Viktor kept sneaking out of the house when their parents were asleep, he was grounded due to the fact that they'd received the Owls already and his weren't as high as was expected of him. He'd become very angry when their parents asked him why he couldn't be more like Remus or Viktoria. She guessed that was the reason that he was constantly leaving at night, and she guessed whoever he was spending time with couldn't be good company.

Remus had moved out already, as he was already eighteen and out of Hogwarts. He was living with Sirius, meaning that she and Viktor were the only one's at home. Of course, Viktor said that as soon as he turned seventeen that he was getting out of there. Viktoria on the other hand, she wasn't particularly happy about the fact that they were soon to be starting their sixth year. It only reminded her of Severus. And she didn't know what she was going to do if Viktor moved out of the house.

'What have you done?' her words glowed in the darkness and he lay down, curling up on his side and clutching his arm. He lay his head in her lap as he continued to cry. Viktoria stared at her brother in agony, she wanted so desperately to take away the pain that he was feeling, but she didn't know what to do.

"It's the Dark Mark, it burns like nothing I've ever felt before!" he said, thought it was a little hard to understand through the sobbing. "It's part of the Dark Lords initiation. Severus says that the burning won't stop for six hours!"

'Severus, you saw him?' the green words glowed as she pet Viktor's head, trying to console him. Viktor nodded. 'How is he?'

"He's gotten taller, but he's very thin. His hair is longer and he doesn't seem to care very much for it," Viktor said, trying to take his mind off the searing pain. "He was surprised to see me there tonight, he tried to convince me not to join. Said it was for the best and that he knew you wouldn't like it," Viktor sobbed. Viktoria rubbed his head as she thought. Her heart was aching. No more then a month had passed since her break up with Severus and she still couldn't stop crying. She'd spent her summer so far in bed crying. Not even Remus' visits could lift her spirits. "He asked about you."

'What did you say to him?' the letters glowed before him as he groaned and held his arm. She brushed his hair back from his forehead and he could feel the sweat on his forehead. The pain was so hard on him that he was sweating.

"Well when I first saw him I punched him in the face and told him he deserved it for all the pain that you are going through, he merely took it and said that he deserved that and so much more," Viktor said through gritted teeth. Viktoria ran her hands through his hair and started to hum one of the songs that their mothers used to sing for them when they were younger.

Viktor felt the pain dissipating as he heard Viktoria hum. It was a marvelous sound, very soothing. It completely took his mind off the pain that he felt in his arm. It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep, the last thing he felt was Viktoria's finger running through his hair and the sound of her humming drifting to his ears, sending him into pleasant dreams and far away from his pain.

---

Viktoria sat up in tears, her heart panged as she started to sob uncontrollably. It was somewhat like the pain she felt whenever Viktor became seriously ill of injured, but this time it was a million times worse. Severus sat up in bed and stared at Viktoria wondering if she'd had another nightmare of the year that she had disappeared. "What's wrong?" he asked as lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Viktor! He's dead, I can feel it!" she cried as she turned to Severus and buried her head in his chest as she continued to sob. Her body was shaking with all of the aguish that she felt. Severus held her close to his chest and held her tight. He didn't know what to make of what she said. He didn't know whether she was right or wrong, but as the bond with her and Viktor was very tight and they had that twin telepathy thing, he guessed that she was right. After all, she always felt the pain that Viktor felt when he was tortured by the dark Lord.

At that moment there was a knocking on the door. Viktoria put a hand over her mouth as she ran out of the room. "Viktoria! Wait!" Severus called out after her as he followed her. He would hate to have Viktoria open the door in only his shirt, which reached down to her mid thigh. Severus ran after her, he also would hate to have to receive someone in only his boxer shorts.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw Viktoria throw open the door and stare Lucius Malfoy straight in the face. 'What happened to Viktor?' the green letters glowed before Lucius who looked down at his feet. He'd met Viktoria and he remembered her from school, and despite the fact that he didn't have a heart; he couldn't bear to see her in tears. There was just something about her that broke your heart. Perhaps because she's a mute and she reminds me of my sister, Lucius thought as he shook his head.

"Voldemort sent him and several others on a mission, but it was never expected that aurors would show up. One of the aurors ... killed Viktor with the Avada Kedavra. I'm very sorry," Lucius said as he looked up at Viktoria who started to cry harder as Severus took her in his arms.

---

'Severus are you sure that you should come?' Severus stared at the palm of his hand as she held his hand.

"Of course, I can't let you do this alone. Besides, no one knows ... of my mark," he said softly as they made their way into the large building in which they were supposed to identify the body of Viktor. He put his arm around her as they made their way to the room at the very end. Viktoria took in a very sharp breath at the sight of Alastor Moody standing outside the door.

"Miss Lupin? I assume you have come to identify the body. I've told Remus, but I doubt that he will make it down. He didn't seem to want to," Alastor said as he looked over at Severus with his magical eye. Of course he eyed his suspiciously, but Severus merely stood there straight and tall with his arm wrapped around Viktoria. Viktoria merely nodded as Moody led them into the room.

Viktoria walked into the cold room, there were about eight tables in the room, each one had a body with a sheet covering it over the tables. Viktoria closed her eyes as a tear slid down her face. She followed Moody to a table at the far end of the room. As they neared the table, she pushed Severus away from her; she wanted to go up to him alone. Moody slowly pulled the sheet down to reveal his head and shoulders.

Viktoria put a hand over her mouth as she neared and felt the tears rising in her eyes. Through her glassy stare she looked down at the young and handsome face of her brother as she came closer. "I'll leave you alone," Alastor said as he walked out of the room. Sometimes he forgot that Death Eaters had families too; families that often never saw them as Death Eaters and only remembered them as who they were before they were taken in by the Dark Lord.

Viktoria's tears flowed over her eyes and fell on Viktor's lifeless body. She took her hand away from her mouth and she sobbed as she lightly touched her brother's smooth face. She stared down at the eyes that would never open again, the mouth that would never smile at her again. She ran her hand through his soft hair and could feel her body shake, she hadn't wanted to believe that he was dead, even when Lucius came to deliver the news, but it was hard to deny now.

"Severus, it's really him," she cried as she turned around and threw her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his chest. Severus held her tight as he stared at the lifeless body of Viktor. His heart felt a pang, not only because of Viktoria's suffering, but he knew that Viktor was too young to go, especially for a man who would never even remember who he was. He had tried that night, long ago to convince Viktor not to join, but he had failed. Here he was, a young boy, died for a cruel and heartless Lord who didn't even care.

"Viktoria?" Viktoria pulled away from Severus and through her teary gaze she looked over at Remus. She walked over to him and threw her arms around her brother. Remus merely held her as he looked over at Severus, wondering what the hell he was doing there.

"Severus. What are you doing here?" Remus asked as he looked over at Severus while still holding his sister.

"I don't think now is the time Remus," Severus said as he looked over at Remus. There was a very solemn expression in his face. Remus held his sister and looked beyond the table over to where he saw Viktor. He shut his eyes at the sight and buried his face in Viktoria's hair. He decided to let go the fact that Severus was there. Viktor wrote to Remus several days earlier to tell him that Severus and Viktoria were back together, the main reason why Remus hadn't wanted to see her recently.

"It's all right Viktoria, everything will be fine," he said as he held her. He hadn't ever particularly liked Viktor and they'd never gotten along, but it hurt to see his brother lying lifeless on that table. There was a time, very long ago, when Viktor had actually wanted to spend time with him. As he stared at Viktor on the table, all he could think of was the four year old who followed him everywhere and tried to imitate everything that he did.

Viktoria merely continued to sob; Remus couldn't imagine what Viktoria was feeling. She had always had a special bond with Viktor. She was definitely his better half and now he was gone. The death of Viktor was something her heart would never stop feeling, she would feel the pain till the end of her days. Remus knew that ever since Viktor became a Death Eater Viktoria had tried to distance herself from him, but she was never able to, not for very long at least. They had both needed each other and she was really all he had and she knew that. Sometimes Remus even felt like Viktor was all she had. Unlike you, he didn't judge her relationship with Severus. He just accepted it and tried to be there for her.

"Ill leave you two alone," Severus said as he walked out of the room, feeling that brother and sister needed sometime alone together, though he hated to leave her alone.

TBC…