A/N: Thank you again to everyone who has followed, favourited, or reviewed this – and, as always, to my lovely brother for beta reading this.
To the first guest reviewer (Ch12, 15 June): Some people evidently do. Also, whether or not you agree with the reasoning behind it, this Harry didn't believe the hostages were in danger, whereas Ron knew what he was doing when he made a public stance by not standing by Harry.
To the second guest reviewer (Ch11, 15 June): This Harry didn't believe that the hostages were going to die. And it's not about how I would feel in Ron's situation; empathising with a character doesn't mean you automatically make everything rosy for them. Also, it isn't that nobody cares about Ron; most of the Gryffindors were too caught up in celebrating to consider the idea that someone might not be happy about it.
To the third guest reviewer (Ch4, 15 June): I guess we interpret those scenes differently. I've addressed the first part previously, so you can check that out if you're still reading this. And, personally, I don't see the Firebolt thing as a betrayal. Some things override confidentiality; I think telling a professor that a murderer might have sent a death trap to your friend is one of them.
To the fourth guest reviewer (Ch12, 16 June): Thank you! It was so much fun to write that. If you haven't watched A Very Potter Sequel (and like parodies), you definitely should; Jaime Lyn Beatty is brilliant as Rita.
To Axcel (Ch1-2, 3 July): Thanks for your reviews :). The comment about characterisation means a lot to me as that's one of the main appeals of fiction for me. True – I'll have to look into that on my next reread – but I see it as also being tied to lust to some extent. As the wizarding world seems to accept things that create infatuation, I think that most of the anti-Veela crowd would be focused on portraying them as sexually deviant.
Staring into the bright eyes that the transfigured mirror reflected back at him, Viktor sighed in consternation. He had spent all morning trying to work out what to say, and he still couldn't get it quite right. The gist of it was there in his mind; the actual words were being much more elusive. Every time he thought he had finally devised a suitable game plan, he noticed a hole in his defence or realised that he'd forgotten the very beginning of it. Playing sport required both training and an ability to improvise and adapt to others' actions, but there were so many potential pitfalls that he felt almost paranoid about the possibility of going in unprepared.
The hardest part was trying to anticipate the problems that the language barrier might cause. His time at Hogwarts had made it painfully obvious that, while some – like Hermione – were open to the idea of trying to circumvent particular barriers together, most of the people he came across expected him to handle the brunt of making communication worked. In their opinion, he was the foreign one and, as such, he should be the one to adjust to the new environment. It was generally nothing more than a minor grievance, but it did cause problems when, at times like this, effective communication was so vital.
But translating what he wanted to say from Bulgarian to English was proving to be extremely stressful. Words had so many subtle connotations, after all, and it was hard to keep a track of them in the heat of the moment. Given how severe the consequences of causing offense might be… His career would be safe; he was sure of it. But his personal life was at stake, which just made the whole situation that much harder.
His fans tended to assume that his international sporting success meant he was confident and assertive in all areas of life, but that was really a false equivalence. Sure, he was self-assured when it came to his Quidditch prowess, and his fame had forced him to reckon with the usual adolescent insecurities at a young age. That meant that he had a much higher, and much more secure, sense of self-esteem and dignity than most of his peers. While they concerned themselves with questions of career paths and futures and how they fit into the world, he already had all of that sorted out. Unfortunately, that still didn't mean he automatically felt comfortable in any possible situation.
Especially when the topic at hand was so potentially momentous.
Just do it, he thought as he tore his gaze away from the reflection and, slipping his wand into his pocket, started to make his way out of the hull of the Durmstrang ship. You're as prepared as you will ever be. At this stage, the anticipation is only making things worse.
-m-d-
The castle really was like a labyrinth. Its corridors and stairs twisted and turned – sometimes literally – as they were trying to stay his progress. His prior forays into its stone maze of a floor plan had usually been confined to the Great Hall and library, which could be accessed from the first and second floors respectively. Every time he had gone further, he had been accompanied by Hermione or one of the Slytherins. Those experiences, however brief, had been enough to elucidate how difficult navigating the castle's depths would be without an experienced guide.
That was why, upon entering the castle, he had immediately sought out assistance in the form of the redheaded girl whom he'd often seen studying with Hermione in the library and who, fortunately, had been talking to some of her friends in the entrance hall. They hadn't talked much, but he was familiar enough with her to know that she, along with knowing the way to Gryffindor Tower, was good friends with Hermione and could be trusted to keep a secret.
And, as an additional bonus, Ginny Weasley was one of the few people on the premises who, out of respect for both him and Hermione, would neither hit on nor fawn over him. She did, assuming that he was visiting Hermione, make some sly remarks about the two of them before eventually settling in to talk about other things, but he merely pretended that the innuendos were lost in translation.
"I read that you used to play with Efrozina Genov," she eventually said, abruptly redirecting the conversation from school to Quidditch.
"Yes," he confirmed, somewhat nervously. For all that he trusted her not to pry into his personal life, such lines of questioning usually resulted in a not-so-subtle inquiry about whether or not they'd ever dated.
"She's my role model," she continued. "Witch Weekly did an interview with her once. They mostly focused on what it was like to be a female Quidditch player a male-dominated industry."
"She does know a lot about that."
"Well, yes. That's why I like her so much. My older brothers all play, but they've never let me join in because they're worried I'll get hurt." She lowered her voice until he had to lean in to hear her. "I've been sneaking out with their brooms for years, and I think I've gotten pretty good. Not as good as Efrozina Genov, obviously, but – Well, she said that her parents didn't approve of her career path at first as they thought it would be too dangerous for a girl, and that's basically the arguments my brothers would use if they knew I was interested…"
"You want to know if I have any advice." At her eager nod, he added, "Why don't you try out for your house team? Your brothers can't stop you. If you get in, you get in."
Ginny rolled her eyes. At first, he pulled back in response, but her next words gave him reassurance that she was being self-depreciating rather than dismissive. "Because the boy I've had a crush on for years is on the team. I've gotten better at talking to him without having to run away to hide for days afterwards, but things like scoring a goal around him are still beyond me."
"Ah."
"Yeah."
"You know," he said, his voice contemplative, "I was self-conscious when I first started flying. I'm not very graceful on foot, and I knew people were waiting for me to mess up in the air, too. It got to my head. I was still good enough to play at school, but I was inconsistent."
"How did you deal with it?"
"I realised that I was more critical of me than they were. And I learned to block them out. I started to ignore the crowd and, when possible, my teammates. My focus was solely on catching the Snitch without getting knocked off my broom. With practice, I learned to interact with the others without feeling insecure. But, back then, I needed to do that first so I could get used to not caring about their judgements."
"I don't know if I'm ready for that yet," she admitted. "Not so suddenly, anyway. I'll try it with other things first so I can build up to it."
She fell quiet again, and he let the silence rest. He knew he had given her a lot to think about, and, meanwhile, he needed to refocus himself on the upcoming conversation with Potter.
Draco Malfoy read the article out loud at the Slytherin table… No, that won't work. That would just start us off on a bad foot. I read the article… You chose to take Hermione back…
"Here we are," Ginny cut in brightly, stopping outside a portrait of a black-haired lady bedecked in a white dress and a flower garland. "Do you want to come in, or do you want me to see if she's in there and ask her to come out? No one would mind if I let you in, but we both know they'll swarm us as soon as they notice you."
"Could you see if Harry Potter is there first?"
She blinked at him in surprise, before her eyes narrowed with suspicion and a surprising hint of ferocity. In that instant, he saw her go from an innocent little girl to a hardened defender with the speed it would have taken him to dive for the Snitch. If she played Quidditch with anywhere near as much passion and velocity as she glared at him, he had no doubt that she would eventually achieve her dreams. "You're not here to threaten him away from Hermione, are you?" Before he could reply, she continued, "Because they've been through a lot together. Like, a lot. I know he didn't make the smartest decision when he brought her back instead of Ron, but he's – If you knew what their lives have been like, you wouldn't blame him for being confused or punish her for it."
"I'm not here to blame or punish," he replied, torn between being hurt that she had been so quick to jump to conclusions about him and satisfied that Hermione had such a loyal friend. "I'm just here to talk. Everyone – Skeeter, the Slytherins – is saying things about him. I want to hear his side of what happened."
Looking like a self-titled bouncer at an under eighteens club, she surveyed him for a few more moments before nodding decisively. "Okay," she finally said, before walking backwards until she was near enough to the portrait to whisper the password at the featured lady. The portrait swung open. "Thank you again for the advice, by the way," Ginny added, and then she darted through the portrait hole.
As soon as she was clear of its path, the portrait swung closed once again. "She's right, you know," the tower's guardian said. "Those three have been through a lot. Don't you dare make things harder for them."
Viktor simply nodded. Although his intention really was just to talk to the younger wizard in the hopes of straightening things out, he couldn't promise that doing so wouldn't complicate matters for him. He took his word very seriously; he wasn't willing to jeopardise that by giving it out in cases where so many variables were outside of his control. When her gaze sharpened, however, he compromised by giving her a sincere, "I respect that."
Putting the encounter out of his mind, Viktor returned to rehearsing his opening line as he waited. Finally, the portrait opened again, and Harry Potter walked up to him.
"Er – hello. Krum."
"Potter."
"Can we go for a walk?"
"Alright."
They walked in silence. Viktor could tell that the younger wizard was tense, but false platitudes wouldn't help either of them. When they were far enough away from the tower so as to be out of hearing range, he stopped. "What happened down there?"
Harry, of course, instantly knew what he was talking about. "I honestly don't know. I know that sounds like a cop out, especially with what everyone's saying, but – "
"I don't care what the others are saying," Viktor cut him off. "Rita Skeeter is a liar; only a fool would trust her on this."
The boy nodded, looking somewhat more relaxed at the knowledge that Viktor wasn't holding him to the media's speculation on the issue. "It was stupid, really. Ron and I have been fighting all year, and I guess I just snapped. I should have waited to sort it out until we all got back, but I just felt like I had to act then and there, before I lost my nerve."
"Hermione told me Gryffindors are rash."
"We like to think of it as brave." A smirk played on his lips before abruptly fading. "It wasn't romantic, though. There's nothing between us."
"I know there isn't; I trust her. We wouldn't be dating if I didn't. But do you want there to be?"
Harry's face scrunched up in an expression of pure disgust that might have been offensive had it not been for his next words. "She's like my sister," he objected. "I don't have any actual siblings, so I guess I don't really know if it's what having a sister is like, but just the thought of it…"
"That's all I need to know," Viktor said, his whole body relaxing at the confirmation. "You're her best friend. There is history there that I could never complete with. I trust her not to act on that while we're together, but I needed to know about you."
"You don't have to worry about me. I'm happy she's happy, and I'm even happier that that, er, happiness doesn't involve being with me." Apparently noticing exactly how many times he'd used the same root word in one sentence, Harry smiled awkwardly.
"Good." They stood there, staring gawkily at one another, for a few moments before Viktor added, "Maybe we should get to know one another. We could go flying together."
"Really?" The boy's face lit up, a beaming smile spreading across his face.
Viktor shrugged. "Why not? Isn't the tournament supposed to be to improve international relations?"
"Yeah," he agreed with a sad smile that Viktor didn't quite understand.
Suddenly remembering the girl who had proven her loyalty and ability to keep a secret, and figuring that Ginny's brothers were unlikely to protest against her taking advantage of an offer to practice flying with him and her friend, Viktor added, "You could ask some of your friends sometimes. Just people who you know can keep a secret; Hermione, her friend Ginny, your friend Ron. Not all the time, or else we won't be able to talk much, but sometimes."
Harry laughed. "I don't know about Ginny, but Hermione definitely doesn't fly. She hates Quidditch and anything to do with heights."
"There's a difference between Quidditch and flying. Hermione said she passed the subject, even if she doesn't like to fly. Besides, she might say no, but it wouldn't hurt to ask them."
A/N: I personally think that the first years didn't just have one flying class. Even if it had gone well, they wouldn't have learned much in such a short timeframe. I see it as more likely that it's an ongoing subject but that Harry was exempted from further classes because he was on the team. Viktor knows that, while she still dislikes both heights and Quidditch, Hermione can technically fly.