Chapter Four
A Lack of Control
The following morning found Victoria sitting atop a made bed in fresh robes, reading a book on muggle science. Despite using a sleep draught, the witch had awoken in the earlier hours of the morning shaking in a cold sweat. Once again, nightmares had cruelly stolen her sleep. It was a common occurrence but something she would never grow used to.
The sun streamed through the open curtains illuminating the Gryffindor coloured room. The Ministry had decided that Victoria was to stay at Hogwarts for the duration of the tournament and so the school graciously provided her with a private dorm. It was a rather extravagant room that housed a fireplace and small sitting area, along with her own bathroom.
Victoria flickered her gaze to the clock and folded her book away. Breakfast time.
Slipping off the bed and putting her shoes on, the witch strolled to the Great Hall. Having memorised the route the night before, she found herself at the doors in no time.
Food had already been splayed out on the tables in between pumpkins and halloween decorations. Victoria sauntered up to the professors' table only to find that there was no chair available.
"Am I not allowed breakfast?" She questioned Mr. Crouch who was tucking into his morning meal.
"The Ministry wishes you to engage with people closer to your own age. You'll be having meals with students from now on," he explained.
What? Not a month ago the Minister was stating she was dangerous enough to go to Azkaban and now they wanted her to socialise with kids? Victoria frowned, "is this a joke?"
"The Ministry -"
"You're not joking."
Mr. Crouch sighed deeply, "go and make some friends, Nightingale."
He turned back to his conversation with Ludo and ignored her presence. Victoria huffed, any remanence of a good mood had deflated. She picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and said, "no thank you, Sir." Then walked away.
She got half way down the hall before someone shouted at her.
"Oi! Ministry girl!" A dark skinned boy with dreadlocks bellowed. He was stood up on top of the bench waving her over. Victoria rose a brow at the boys odd behaviour, but stopped nonetheless.
"I assume you're talking to me?" She asked him.
"Yeah, is it true you killed three Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup?"
Victoria eyes darted around at the people surrounding the boy, she could not believe that he practically yelled the question. A small collection of students stopped eating and looked at her, she recognised most of them from tents at the World Cup when she went to collect Ludo. Victoria shifted back on her heels, "I didn't kill them."
"But you did take down three Death Eaters at the same time on your own?" The strange boy questioned her again. The group around them were listening attentively, awaiting her answer.
She frowned and parted her lips, unsure what to say, "...yes?"
"Wicked," chorused the pair of twins and the strange boy.
"Right." Victoria nodded and gave them a tight smile prior to departing again. The witch barely made it three steps when the twins beckoned her attention once more,
"Oi, where are you going?"
"I'm leaving." She pointed towards the doors. "I thought that was obvious."
"Why are you doing that? You haven't had breakfast yet," said one of the twins.
"Sure I have." Victoria tossed the shiny apple in her hand and promptly left the hall before anyone could stop her again.
ϟ
She took her time exploring all the passageways of Hogwarts, getting a little bit lost every so often. By midday, Victoria had nearly the whole school mentally mapped. The witch had said to herself that she was learning her environment in case of an emergency, but truths be told she wanted to avoid the inevitable. She needed more sleeping draught and she could only get it from one of two places. Her first option was Severus Snape which was instantly put it out of the question and so she was left with the hospital wing.
Dumbledore had told her where to find the wing and a little bit about the witch who ran it, so she had somewhere to go if she got hurt. She really wished he had not, at least then she could have avoided it a little bit longer. All the same, Victoria stood outside the open doors, looking down at the uniform white beds alined neatly along the wall. She hated hospitals, the sterile smell irked her stomach.
Sucking it up the witch slowly descended the steps into the room. Just at the bottom the stairs was a little office off to the right, where she found shelves of potions and a short slim woman in a nurses uniform.
"Madam Pomfrey?" Victoria spoke and the little matron's head shot up.
"Oh hello!" She greeted coming to the door of the office. "You must be the young lady from the Ministry, Victoria isn't it?"
"Yes." She nodded, her lips stretched thinly. "I was wondering if you could help me."
"Of course dear, what is it you need?" Madam Pomfrey had a very friendly smile, warm and welcoming.
"A sleeping draught. The stronger the better."
"I see." Her bright grin dropped and she turned to the shelves behind her. "What is it to block? Nightmares, insomnia?"
"Oh you know, a bit of this, a bit of that."
She turned from the shelves to flash Victoria a questioning look, "I need to know, dear. I don't want to give you the wrong dosage. I won't judge you, whatever it may be but I need you to be honest, what it is you struggle with?"
Self-consciousness clawed at her chest desperate to stop her from exposing her vulnerabilities. "Everything," Victoria forced in a murmur. She knew the matron had heard her because she had suddenly froze, only for a second but it was long enough for Victoria to notice. The dark haired witch closed her eyes and bowed her head in shame, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"This will last your stay here at Hogwarts. Here you go, dear." Madam Pomfrey noticed that Victoria was looking at the ground so she took her hand to place the large vial into it. However, the young witch snatched her hand away with lightning speed, sending the vial into a free fall. The draught shattered upon impact, coating the immaculate floor with purple potion. Victoria stepped back from the mess, broken glass crunching beneath her feet.
"Oh Merlin!"
Victoria looked up at the nurse. Her eyes wide with the slightest hint of fear embedded within the blue. She spluttered, "the Ministry will reimburse -"
"No, no, it was my fault." Madam Pomfrey raised her hands, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
Victoria's hands clenched and loosened as she willed her heart to return to it's normal rate. She stared, fixed in place whilst the matron cleaned up the ruined draught and brought her a new one. This time she let Victoria take the vial from her hand.
Thankfully the tension was cut by a shriek of laughter. Two red-headed twins tumbled down the steps of the hospital wing now sporting matching long grey hair and beards. The loud amusement came from the strange boy with dreads who followed the brothers into the ward.
"Ah Weasleys, I was wondering when I'd see the pair of you," exclaimed Madam Pomfrey. She threw her hands to her hips. "Tried to cross the age line did we?"
"Of course we did! You've got to try things..." One twin started.
"...or you'll never learn. Besides we taught ourselves to brew an ageing potion," the other finished.
"See there's more than one lesson learnt from this," said their friend who came to stand next to the twin, fighting to keep his snickers at bay.
Victoria felt the corners of her lips twitch into the beginnings of a smile. Their humorous behaviour acting as a distraction.
"You're a pair of fools." The matron shooed them over to a bed and journeyed back into the office.
The young witch watched the trio bicker about who was the biggest fool, playfully pushing each other around. She felt a quiet laugh escape her lips. The sound drew their attention, all three of them finally took notice of her presence in synchronised formation.
Shifting under their gaze Victoria said, "better to be a witty fool, than a foolish wit," and without another word she fled the hospital wing, escaping any chance of further exposure.
The second Victoria stepped into her room she felt the deep set fury dominate her very being; having kept it bottled up, the lid had finally burst. She could not believe how stupid she had been. The witch cursed her weakness, she could do better than that. She glared at the potion in her fist contemplating if it was really worth the cracks in her stoic image.
No, it's not. Victoria threw the vial onto the bed and stormed to the window. She flung it open - the hinges creaking under the force - and leant against the sill. Her head was in her hands, fingers knotted tightly between her loose hair.
A light autumn wind wafted the dark strands and begun to cool the fire inside her. Nature had always been her strongest anchor. The scent and touch of fresh air eradicated any fears or heightened emotion. Grounding her back into a world of peace and reality. Victoria inhaled deeply and lifted her head from her hands. The crisp breezecaressed her flushed cheeks, so gentle as if Mother Nature had extended her hand to comfort the distraught witch. A bristling hostility still fizzed beneath her skin but she found herself in more control.
With the reins back in her hands, Victoria observed the courtyard below her window, the height was somewhat unsettling but not too bad considering she was only on the second floor. A few students were flicking basic charms and hexes back and forth, critiquing each other on their technique. They laughed together at their mistakes, gladly helping each other to correct their blunders. Jealously twisted inside her as see watched them, envious of their carefree learning.
They looked young, perhaps only in their first few years of Hogwarts. Their youthful ignorance shielded them from the forbidding darkness that lingered around their world. Keeping them blind to all but joy. She almost pitied them, because if the dark did shroud the light none of them would be prepared.
Victoria's thoughts switched to the tournament, she believed it to be the closest thing the students would see to the real dangers of the magical world they cherished so dearly. In just a few short hours the champions were to be selected and their fate would be set on a path of life threatening tasks, all for the chance of fame, glory and fortune. It puzzled her that wizards under the age limit would attempt to enter such a perilous challenge, perhaps she was wrong, maybe they were foolish wits after all.
The witch travelled back into the shelter of her room and reclined on the sofa, book in hand. She laid back allowing the peculiar muggle theories to distract her until it was time for the choosing ceremony.
ϟ
Victoria had prepared to find no extra seat at the professors' table, however the residing bitterness from the morning and midday happenings forced her tongue to spit sour words, "where am I sitting?"
"I told you this morning," said Mr. Crouch. He had not even bothered to look at her when he answered, keeping his focus solely on a very short professor that was propped up on some cushions.
Her hand rolled into a fist and her teeth ground together. "With all due respect Sir, I'd rather not."
"It's not your decision." Mr. Crouch turned to her. His gazed hardened, challenging her to argue.
With her frustrations rising Victoria played her last card. She rested on the edge of the table, leaning in closer so no one would hear her next words. Swallowing her pride she said lowly, "please."
Rather than being swayed by her rare moment of manners his jaw rolled, teeth grinded. "No."
And her composure broke. Her fist slammed against the table, the cutlery and plates jumped from the ferocity of her outburst.
"Control your temper Nightingale, or the Ministry will." He was calm but anyone with eyes could see the storm stiring behind his cold brown glare. "Now go and find a seat."
If she pushed harder she could loose everything, all the progress she had made at the Ministry - her wand - her life. Victoria could hear Kingsley's words resonate through her mind, commanding her to be clever and stand down. Biting her tongue, she stormed away rather than letting anything happen that she would later regret.
A hand shot out and grabbed her, before she had time to react the strong grip yanked her onto the bench. Her back hit the table, but pain was no distraction. Victoria drew her wand and had it under the chin of the perpetrator in a tick of a second. She pushed it harder against the bone until they let go.
"Sorry," a familiar voice spoke. The red haze in her eyes cleared enabling her to see who was under the subjection of her wand. It was one half of the redheaded twins, he had his hands in the air and a wary smile thinned his lips.
His identical brother next him said, "we couldn't help but notice your seating problem. Thought you could sit with us."
Victoria contemplated leaving, but she had to be present for the selection it was part of her job. The witch searched the room for another place to sit but every space on the benches had been taken. Sighing, she dropped her wand and glared at the twin who dared to grab her. "Don't ever touch me."
"Noted," he said, dropping his hands. His smile turned brighter, apparently all ready past the aggressive behaviour he was just subject to. "I'm George by the way."
"And I'm Fred." His twin bent around him to give a little wave.
"And that's Lee," they chorused and pointed towards the strange boy sat opposite them.
"Anyway Tora, why are they being picky about where you sit?" George asked nodding his head to the professors' table.
Her eyes narrowed. "My name is Victoria," she said, ignoring his question.
"Right, but we thought you worked with the Ministry," Lee commented.
"I do."
"Then why don't you sit with them?" Fred joined in.
Victoria frowned. She got the feeling they were not going to drop the subject. She spared a glance at each of them and said, "there are no chairs left."
"You could have pulled one up," said George.
She had another look around the room for a spare seat at the end of any table, but she found none again and her hopes flopped. "There is no room."
"You sat up there yesterday," Fred countered with no hesitation. Their coordination astounded Victoria, it was like they had rehearsed it and knew exactly what she was going to say.
"Yesterday was a different day, and had different circumstances."
"You're right, so why have they changed their minds?" Lee asked like it was the first time, the repetition did not seem to bother any of them.
Victoria huffed, "you're all infuriatingly persistent."
"Thank you," they chorused.
"Not a compliment," she said with a short light laugh.
"So why are they being picky?"
The witch sighed, with nowhere else to go she would not escape their recurring questions. Seeing no other option she answered then truthfully, "because they want me to socialise with my own age group."
"Wait," A completely different ginger boy chimed in, "how old are you?"
"I'm seven -" She stopped short. Her conscious mind had suddenly taken notice of the holiday decorations spread out on the tables and walls. It was Halloween, the thirty-first of October, it was Victoria Nightingale's birthday. It was not uncommon for her to forget the day, but the discovery still brought shock to her system. Another year gone and she was no closer to freedom, no closer to finding a proper home. Inhaling deeply she sighed, "eighteen. I'm eighteen."
"No way!" The girl sat on her left side exclaimed. Her ruler straight red hair was cut just below her shoulders. Freckles dotted across her face, over her nose and under her acorn eyes that were alight with astonishment. "We thought you were at least twenty!"
"How did you score a job at the Ministry at eighteen?!" Fred was equally as surprised.
Victoria's eyes flickered between the fiery haired students. It took a second but she made the connection. They were Weasleys. She recognised the striking similarities to Mr. Crouch's newest personal assistant, Percy Weasley, she believed his name to be. Testing her theory she said, "the same way your brother did - I'm good at what I do."
"You're friends with Percy?" The twins questioned with matching cringes.
So I'm right. They are Weasleys, she thought.
"No, I only met him a week ago." Victoria shrugged. "Bit pretentious for my taste."
The twins, Ron and Lee all laughed and nodded, agreeing with her statement. The others soon introduced themselves as Hermione, Ginny, Ron and none other than Harry Potter. He was a lot scrawnier than Victoria had pictured. The group did not leave her alone, pestering her with consistent questions about the quidditch world cup (when they had first seen her), her job at the Ministry, and general small talk. Victoria fired back with plain one word answers, until her old mentor was mentioned.
"So you're obviously in the field a lot, have you ever worked with Mad Eye?" Ron asked.
The query took her by surprise. Alastor was still a touchy subject, given that he was actively trying to avoid her. "Yes. On a few occasions."
They all seemed to approve of her answer, aside from Hermione who was a little put off by the news. A slight frown pushed her thin brows down, her brown eyes flashed with worry.
Fortunately she was saved from further interrogation because Dumbledore had announced the start of dinner. Food appeared in front of them, a wide selection suiting anyones particular wants or needs. Victoria ate with the finest etiquette compared to the boys sat around her. She wondered if Ron actually breathed in between mouthfuls, but despite her concerns they all made it through the meal without choking. Whilst the others piled up their plates with dessert Victoria sat quietly, fiddling with the ends of her selves.
"Not going to have pudding, Tora?" George asked after witnessing the distinct lack of sweets on her plate.
"Sugar increases stress and makes you lethargic," she said dropping her sleeve. She turned her focus to him. "Two things I could do without."
George was unconvinced. A small shake of his head he leant down the table over his twin and plucked one strawberry from a bunch. "I don't believe in not having pudding so here - small, sweet and completely harmless." He held the little fruit in front of her.
Victoria stared at him, unsure of what he was trying to achieve. Her eyes held his, hunting for an answer but found nothing except a few golden and green specks nestled within the dark malt. Her study dropped down past his freckled nose and cheeks to his lips, they were not hiding or fighting away any teasing smirk or cruel grin. They were not plump like her own either, instead they were stretched wide in a charming smile.
George cleared his throat knocking her out of her wandering search, "I know I've got a handsome face but you're going to have to take this at some point."
Victoria stiffened and swiftly faced away. The witch heard his airy chuckle and felt the subtle shift of his weight on the bench. She risked a quick glimpse, he had eaten the strawberry himself and returned to a conversation with his twin.
"I hope our champion is Angelina," Fred spoke up, directing his voice down the table gaining the attention of all of his friends.
"So do I." Hermione nodded.
"Yeah, would be good to have a Gryffindor champion!" Ron agreed, before shoving a huge helping of food into his mouth.
"Dean and Seamus told us that Diggory put his name in and some Slytherin," Harry mentioned to the twins.
"Anything but Slytherin," Ron was quick to grumble.
Taking a quick look back to the professor's table, Victoria could see a very excited Ludo Bagman practically bouncing in his seat whilst winking a several students. Mr. Crouch on the other hand looked incredibly bored.
"The Goblet is almost ready to choose our champions, just another minute or so." Dumbledore spoke over the chatter, which caused most of the hall to fall silent. "I ask that those who are chosen to join us up at the staff table and then make their way into the next chamber where they will be receiving the first instructions." He gestured to the door that the chosen champions were to travel through.
The headmaster used his wand to extinguish all lights in the hall apart from the candles in the pumpkins which remained flickering a dim glow in the centre of the tables. The room was immersed into a dramatic state of darkness, the main light source was the Goblet itself. Every student had stopped eating in anticipation, a few whispered and checked their watches.
"Any second now!" Lee whispered excitedly.
Seconds after Lee had spoken the flames in the Goblet rose higher and turned a deep shade of red with sparks flying out from the sides. The fire crackled and released one huge burst of flame, sending a piece of burnt parchment into the air.
Dumbledore caught it as floated down and read it aloud, "the champion for Durmstrang is... Victor Krum!"
The hall erupted into cheers as the famous quidditch seeker stood from his place at the Slytherin table and made his was to the Headmaster.
"No surprises there!" Ron clapped and cheered along.
A brief congratulations from the Ministry and the Headmaster, Krum took his parchment and exited into the side chamber. The students' cheers diminished awaiting the Goblet's next champion. Like the first time the blue flames burnt red and another parchment was shot into the air.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour!" Announced Dumbledore.
"It's her Ron!" Harry shouted to his best friend over the cheers. Victoria studied the new champion, she had long silvery blonde hair and beautiful features, it was no wonder that half of the men she was currently walking past swooned at her.
"They look a bit disappointed," said Hermione, tilting her head in the direction of the Beauxbaton students. Peering over her shoulder, Victoria could see two girls dressed in the French blue uniforms crying to themselves.
One last time the Goblet lit up into red fire and shot out the last champion. "The Hogwarts champion is... Cedric Diggory!" The cheer for Cedric was certainly the loudest. All of the Hufflepuff students jumped to their feet to applaud their champion. Screaming, chanting and stomping their feet as he made his way up to the headmaster to receive his parchment.
"I have to go – Ministry Business." Victoria excused herself. Without waiting for any response she made her way down the gap in the tables towards Mr. Crouch and Ludo who were standing close to the chamber door where the champions were waiting.
"Excellent! Now we have our three champions. I am sure that I can count on every single student, guests and all to give them your full support. Cheering your champion on during the tasks will –"
Dumbledore was cut off by the Goblet starting to crackle once more. The flames turned red, sparks flew from the sides, and a fourth piece of parchment shot out of the cup. Every single person in the hall was silent, watching the unknown name float into Dumbledore's awaiting hand. There was a long silence as the Headmaster looked at the name in disbelief.
Clearing his throat, he read aloud...
"Harry Potter."
AN: A bit of interaction with the main crew. Victoria is a complete wreck with a temper. Harry Potter is screwed (but we all knew that was going to happen)
"Better to be a witty fool than a foolish wit." - William Shakespeare