What You Never Knew
Viktor Krum: The One Who Cared
1. He was born with black eyes.
His parents didn't realize just how unusual this was until the Healers told them that most babies were born with blue eyes, and the actual color would develop a few months later. But Viktor's eyes were dark and deep the moment he blinked them open, a loud wail coming out of his mouth.
It was a fairly minor thing. It didn't affect Viktor's life any. He couldn't help but feel different, though, whenever he looked at any of his family's baby pictures, and saw blue eyes shining innocently back at him.
2. He had a younger brother.
Josef Krum was everything that Viktor was not- exceptionally handsome, magically talented and intelligent. Two years Viktor's junior, everyone genuinely liked him, whereas Viktor was too socially awkward to open up to most people enough to become good friends with them.
If the world had worked right, then Josef would have been constantly overshadowing Viktor in everything, perhaps not including flying. But the world can be a cruel, unfair place, and when Josef was three years old- still beautiful, already having produced accidental magic, able to put together a 500-piece puzzle in less than two minutes- he was diagnosed with autism.
3. He thought he was going to be a Squib.
The reason was simple: Though he had been flying ever since he was old enough to sit on a broom, he had never performed a single piece of magic. Not one. Until, that is, one day when he was nine years old, and was taking a walk with Josef.
Near the Krum family's house, there was a walking trail that wrapped around a fish-filled pond and was surrounded by flowers. Josef loved it there. It was nature; it was simple; he could understand it. Sometimes, when Viktor had nothing else to do, he would walk around there with his younger brother, because, as he constantly told his parents, Josef needed to get out more.
This was just a regular day- the sun was shining in a clear blue sky; the birds were chirping merrily, the bees were buzzing from flower to flower. Viktor and Josef were walking in silence, the later flapping his hand as he often did, when two of their neighbors happened to walk past.
Vadim and Alexei Dimitrov were two brothers from a long line of pureblood wizards, and as a result, they often ended up at social gatherings including the pureblood Krum family. The two sets of siblings had never gotten on well; but around adults, they managed to put on a polite façade.
Now, though, they were alone. Vadim, seeing Viktor and Josef first, immediately smirked and nudged Alexei.
"Well, look who it is, Alexei!" Vadim sneered. "The crummy Krums!"
"If that is the best you can come up with," Viktor said coldly, not bothering to even stop walking, "then you are not worth my time."
"More like you can't think up a comeback," Alexei snorted, eyes narrowing.
Viktor didn't answer; he and Josef just kept walking. The Dimitrov brothers exchanged a look, and then, each of them grabbed one of Josef's arms and pulled him back.
"!" Josef's high wail sounded in an instant, ringing across the otherwise silent grounds. Viktor paled and whipped around, striding towards them.
"Let go of him," he growled, taking care to stop himself from shouting. That would only scare Josef, who was still screaming, more. Josef hated being touched, and he hated loud noises; a combination of the two, especially from a quiet person like Viktor, would frighten him and disturb his sense of normalcy.
"Make us," Vadim shot back, "Duck Feet."
Viktor bristled at the nickname, given to him on account of his feet, which pointed to the sides in a duck-like manner.
"Let go of Josef," he repeated, "and go away. Do not come back."
"Why should we listen to you?" Alexei scoffed. "You're not the boss of us!"
"Let. Go. Of. Him. Now."
"Make us."
Viktor's glare at Vadim and Alexei would've made Death himself cower in fear. For a moment, all was still, and there wasn't a sound except for Josef's screeching.
And then, on that perfectly sunny day, thunder clouds appeared over the heads of both the Dimitrov brothers.
Rain poured down on them and only them, and thunder rang in their ears. Lightning flashed down, narrowly missing them. They let go of Josef, who was perfectly dry, with a start, and ran down the path towards home.
Viktor, still bristling with anger, began trying to help his younger brother calm down, and was oblivious to the fact that he had just performed magic until he told his parents about it.
4. Durmstrang was his least favorite place in the world.
The castle was small, dark and damp; not to mention so, so cold. All the teachers took delight in preaching about how wonderful the Dark Arts were, and taught them with a fervor that frankly disgusted Krum. This made him a bit of an outcast, but he didn't mind. He wouldn't go against his own feelings just to gain acceptance from others. In his opinion, that was even worse, even more cowardly, than the Dark Arts themselves.
5. He detested Igor Karkaroff.
Perhaps it was because of Krum's lack of magical skill, or because of his defiance towards Durmstrang, but the Igor Karkaroff hated him. With every fiber of his being, it seemed.
But was worse than this was that Karkaroff refused to admit Josef into Durmstrang because he was autistic.
Viktor, when he heard this, knew he had to do something. He had to appeal to Karkaroff, to someone convince the man to change his mind.
His Headmaster was greedy, he knew. He would use someone else's skills to his advantage. Viktor knew that he was exceptional at flying, though he preferred to fly on his own, rather than play Quidditch. But if he showed Karkaroff his skills, he thought, maybe they could strike a deal: Viktor would join Durmstrang's Quidditch team in exchange for Josef being allowed to come to school.
Viktor carried out this plan, and, to his great shock, it worked. Not to mention, Karkaroff, who suddenly knew Viktor's true value, treated the boy like he was a king.
Despite this- or perhaps because of it- Viktor's fists still clenched at his sides whenever his Headmaster greeted him in the hallways.
6. Sometimes, Viktor hated flying.
From the moment that he revealed his talent to the rest of his school (during his first Quidditch, during which he caught the Snitch barely five minutes after the game started), everyone was suddenly clamoring to be his friend. Girls stood in lines to date him, teachers doted on him… without a doubt, he had suddenly become the most popular boy in school.
And he loathed it.
He was Viktor Krum, the quiet loner who only really liked his brother. He had always been perfectly content with being left to his own devices. But because of flying, everything had changed.
There were times when he almost considered throwing away his broom, quitting flying altogether. But then he would remember Josef, and how Karkaroff (though it hadn't been explicitly stated) would expel Josef if Viktor dared break their deal.
So he continued flying, and his love for it even made him eventually made him like Quidditch, too. And as he watched his younger brother thrive in his school lessons, going above and beyond everyone's expectations- even if he was considered too odd to have any friends- he knew he had made the right decision.
7. Hermione Granger was his first love.
It was true- the bushy-haired, Muggleborn bookworm was the first girl he had ever had really strong feelings for. Honestly, he didn't know how anyone could possibly overlook the radiance of her smile, the sparkle in her eyes, the determination in her voice as she talked about something she felt strongly about. And yet, for some reason, people were surprised when Hermione looked absolutely gorgeous at the Yule Ball; Viktor had known that she would be stunning.
But he also knew that she didn't feel the same way, and so even though he was a bit heartbroken when she declined his offer to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer, he let them continue to be friends through numerous letters.
Eventually, he grew to see her as only a friend- a good friend, but still, just a friend. It took awhile, but he managed it. After all, not everyone's first love is The One.
8. He finally got married when he was thirty years old.
Clara Ivanova was a teammate of his on the Bulgarian Quidditch team; a Chaser, three years older than him. When she became pregnant, she was forced to retire from Quidditch.
The person who took her place was none other than Yelena Ivanova, her younger sister.
Viktor and Yelena started out not getting along too well, not at all; they had frequent arguments about Quidditch strategies, not to mention competitions about who was the better flyer. Finally, their teammates grew so incensed with them that they locked the two twenty-eight-year-olds in the locker room and stole their wands, forcing them to stay in there until they had resolved their fight.
One thing led to another, and by the time that the rest of the Bulgarian Quidditch team opened the locker room door, Viktor and Yelena were snogging heatedly. They got married two years later.
9. Josef lived with Viktor and Yelena.
Sadly, Josef was too autistic to live on his own; so Viktor discussed it with Yelena, and they agreed that Josef could live with them. They moved into a four-bedroom house near a nice pond and a trail that Josef could walk on when he had nothing else to do.
This arrangement lasted until Josef died of natural causes when he was ninety-two years old. No one ever regretted it.
10. Viktor and Yelena had one child.
Their daughter, Iskra, was lucky enough to inherit both of her parents' best features. Her father's striking black eyes and dark hair; her mother's straight nose and smile. Not to mention that she could out-fly even some professionals.
An arrangement was made with Headmaster Flitwick of Hogwarts, and Iskra was spared having to attend Durmstrang, instead going to Hogwarts and being Sorted into Gryffindor.
Viktor couldn't help but laugh out loud when she wrote one day during Sixth Year and told him that she was dating Hugo Weasley.
Through thick and thin, Viktor always did what he thought was right, even if it had negative consequences on his part. Whether it was refusing to worship the Dark Arts like his classmates, or getting involved in Quidditch so his brother could go to school, or spending days and nights begging Filius Flitwick to let Iskra go to Hogwarts, nearly everything he did was for someone else's good. Because he was The One Who Cared, and if what he did helped someone else he loved, that was all that really mattered to him.
Hmm... I think I actually rather like this one!
To everyone: I'm not sure if I accurately portrayed autism or not, but I did my best. Note that autism comes in different forms and degrees of severity, so one autistic person can be different from another. If anyone out there knows an autistic person, I really, really hope I didn't offend you, because I sure as heck didn't mean to. I have the utmost respect for people with autism.
Another note to everyone: School is going to start soon for me, and so my updating will most likely be even worse than it currently is, because I'm starting a new, more difficult school in an unfamilar country. So, please, forgive me in advance, and have patience with me.
Thanks much! Please, please, PLEASE review!
-Joelle8