Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

"L" is for the Way You Look at Me

Viktor Krum
April 25, 1996, 3:12 A.M.
Officer's Quarters

It is over.

He came out of the floo, feeling quite dizzy, and steadied himself on the steel grate next to him. The floo room was small, with only a steel fireplace and a trashcan to hold the ashes. Viktor held his head and took a few deep breaths as he thought of what he would tell his fiance.

It is all over!

April 20, 1996, 11:36 P.M.
Outside of Sofia

One on the left, two on the right. They just keep coming at me. Maybe if I...no! Too dangerous. Must think of her—no, must not think of her! Will use illusions...they will use her against me somehow...

Sweating profusely, Viktor crouched behind the bricks of a destroyed building, taking a deep breath of smoke and blood as he wiped at the gash on his face with his arm. The final battle for Grindelwald was taking its toll on those loyal and those fighting against the grasp of Dark Magic. Together with most of the students from Durmstrang, he was fighting the other quarter of the students, almost all of the teachers, and the many dark wizards bent on keeping the world in total chaos.

Viktor leaped when a sudden green streak of light came near him, quickly throwing up a dispelling clock of darkness to ward of the attacker. Two shots of an attacking spell knocked the man out, possibly killing him, but Viktor didn't care at that moment.

If they won this battle, they won the war!

He kept his sights on the fort a few dozen yards ahead of him. That was all he had to do, get there, kill the leader, get out. Get out, get out and end everything.

He didn't know how many people he'd killed before that point, or how many people after. He just kept running and shouting and hiding in the darkest corners for the best possible moment to attack. He knew who was on his side from the protection charms that glowed on his allies's cloaks. He hoped to Merlin that none of the enemy had gotten the charms.

Finally inside the fort, the smoke was gone. All he could smell was blood—all he could hear were the cries of the fallen, of the tortured. He made his way along the deserted hallway, wondering vaguely where the protection charms were. Perhaps they didn't think that anyone would get this far?

He climbed the stairs to the top of the only tower, disabling a few very well placed traps and magical notifiers, making sure that no one knew he was there. He would get in, get out, and everything would be over with.

He was finally at the final door. He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, before kicking open the door. The room was small and circular, with one bed, a desk, a large rug, and a large lamp hanging from the ceiling. There was one, dark, hunched figure at the desk, suddenly chuckling.

"So you finally made it, eh, Viktor?"

Viktor's heart froze in his chest. I...I know this voice. "Ivann?"

Father?

Officer's Quarters

Viktor shook his head and ignored the heaviness that set in his heart as he watched his fiance from the shadows. It is three in the morning, why is she still awake? She hadn't noticed his intrusion, but she'd given him the password. According to her, only four people had it: Jason, her mother, the General, and him.

In the end, he'd had to kill his own father. His heart ached at the betrayal. He knew, though, that it had been for the best. His mother knew nothing, only that his father had died honorably defending Bulgaria from Grindelwald.

Sighing, Viktor looked up. She was a sight for sore eyes, sitting there in the brightly-lit room. He was in the floo room, still, and watched as she ran a shaking hand through her hair. "What am I going to do?" she asked softly, running her other hand over the papers on her desk. "First Caitlin Smith and poor Kylee, now Jeremy Ross. Three Muggle-borns, dead. Killed right under my nose."

He knew from regular reports from the General how things were going in America. It was only a matter of time. Britain, Bulgaria, and then America. Soon it would be another World War, only with Wizards. He sighed and wondered how things had gotten to this. He should have known after the Fiendfyre incident. He should have realized that it wouldn't just "blow over," especially after Marie had died, and after the First Year had been hung. Special Agent Gloria probably hadn't been helping anything.

But it was all over in Bulgaria, and surely things in America would blow over! He could stay there and protect her, now. He could marry her and they would live happily. Viktor wanted to show her his life in Quidditch, he wanted to take her all over the world, love her, and make love to her in each place.

Now that Bulgaria's war was over, they were free.

Viktor was pulled from his thoughts when Leigh Ann stood up suddenly, her wand out and pointed. "Whoever the hell is there, you'd better show yourself before I hex you into next Tuesday." He didn't bother saying that it was Tuesday, but instead held up his hands and stepped out of the shadows. He hadn't seen her in about four weeks, and her shoulders visibly slumped when she saw him. She must have aged at least ten years in those four weeks. "Where the hell have you been?"

He knew that all of this had been hard on her. This school was hers, it was her life. And now Muggle-borns were getting killed. "You know vhere I half been."

Leigh Ann sighed and sat back down, holding her head in her hands. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her again and tell her that nothing bad would happen, and he could do that now, now that he was free and she was safe. She looked so broken, so...hurt. She looked up at him slowly. "Viktor, I don't have time for this." Her eyes were frightened, full of fear and such a tiredness that he wondered when the last time she slept was.

"I vanted to see you," he said softly, smiling a smile that was only meant for her. He hadn't even been back to his room. He was still in his Grindelwald robes and quite weary, needing a shower and a hot meal. Too much was running through his mind, about the last meeting he'd been privy to, about the Legimens that had seen into his mind. That man...he was gone. All of them were.

And she was safe.

She suddenly spoke, but it was the exact opposite of what he thought she would say. "Did you know that the entire school knew about us? Or that your co-workers had a bet about when we'd come out?"

No, actually, he hadn't known. He stared at her a moment, trying to process the English that he hadn't heard in weeks. "Vhat?"

"Yeah, that's what I said." She sighed and ran her hand through her hair one more time. "It isn't the right time in America or Bulgaria to get married, anyways." Viktor watched in confusion as she turned away from him, picking up what he knew to be a phone, and punching in numbers irately. "Voldemort is in Britain, and God knows how Harry's fairin'. You're dealin' with Grendelwald's army, and I'm stuck here with the damned Wizard KKK!"

"Vhat?" he asked again, not understanding her frantic motions at all. Voldemort was at full power, and he was after Harry again? How long had she kept in contact with Britain? "No, loff, it is all over!"

She ignored him and started talking into the phone. "Jacobs, I need to know where the Circle is right now." She was silent for a moment as she listened in to the man on the other line. "Grand Dragon? Who the hell is that? I want to destroy the circle first! The more Members I can squash, the better I can let the rest of my school sleep at night. Oh. Grand Dragon, leader. Got it."

Viktor didn't like the way she was talking. She looked pale and thin, and the yelling only made her look sicklier. He gently sidled up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, and she stiffened. He leaned down to nip at her ear. "Hang oop the phone." He shouldn't have given in to the temptation to touch her, and she was never the kind for physical comfort, but she obviously needed it.

He heard a, "Who the hell is that?" from the other side of the line.

She stiffened against him, until he gently pulled her hips back onto his and he noticed that she bit her lip, gently grinding them together. Heat instantly flared in his stomach, even after no rest for weeks and the need for a long rest. Nothing could beat her. He nipped at her ear and she relaxed against his chest. "I-I'm speaking with a man from Bulgaria about the trouble with Grindelwald. It's for more research into the whole Grand Dragon/Voldemort scheme." She was blushing from head to toe. "A-anyways, it doesn't matter. Give me the information and I'll be out of your hair."

He could hear the man, "Jacobs," through the corded phone. "Not in your condition. I know that they kidnapped you, but I'm not letting you risk two lives by going after these psychopaths. We've got this, Nelson. Your mother and I are on the case." Viktor felt strangely confused by this conversation. 'Two lives'? 'Your condition'? He thought on these as he gave in to temptation again, leaning down to brush her hair off of one shoulder, leading kisses along her neck and jaw. "She wants you to rest. No sense in upsetting the tyke."

God, I missed you, he thought as he squeezed her a little tighter, not understanding or really caring about what the man over the Muggle device was saying.

Leigh Ann elbowed Viktor, trying to make him let go, but he wouldn't budge. "Like hell y-you are! There have been three direct attacks on Muggle-borns and half-bloods in and out of this school. I've lost two Muggle-borns under my watch. This isn't going to go down like it did in the fifties, alright? Give. Me. The coordinates."

"We've got it under control! Do you really think that the Aurors in Washington would let this get out of control again?"

"Yes, I do!"

"You've got Gloria, that's enough. He's there for a reason."

"I don't trust that slimy bastard!"

"Calm down, don't get your panties in a bunch. We've got a team of Aurors already heading out there."

"Jacobs, you tell me where the hell that meeting is or I swear I'll—"

"You'll what, call your mother on me? Please, Nelson, I work with her everyday!"

Leigh Ann bit her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. She made a frustrated sound and said, "Jacobs, if anyone gets hurt because I can't get in there..."

"They won't, sweet cheeks. Just let the grown ups do their job, alright? Now hang up the phone and let me get some sleep. Don't you know its three in the morning?"

Leigh Ann slammed the phone down onto the desk with a cry of frustration, her uniform bunching up around her shoulders. She irately tugged it down, suddenly hitting Viktor away with fists. "Get away from me!" She threw his arms away from her.

He couldn't bare to see her this way, and he grasped her wrists in his hands. Now he got a good look at her. Her face was smudged with ink, and the darkest bags he'd ever seen were under her eyes. Creases were starting to form around her eyes. She really did look ten years older. "Leahn..."

"You've caused enough trouble," she growled, breaking the hold on her wrists. "Get out of here and leave me alone!"

Viktor felt as if she'd just slapped him. He looked down on her, noticing that she was on the verge of tears. He reached out and used his thumb to wipe a tear off her cheek, and she sobbed, throwing herself into his arms. "God, Viktor, where have you been?"

He held her to him, loving her curves, petting her hair, wondering how much a man could miss what he'd only had for a short while. He missed it quite a bit. He gently nudged up her face and kissed her so softly that he barely felt it. She sobbed again and backed away, holding her hands out, trying to keep him away. "Loff, it does not matter vhere I half been, it is over! All over! I vill be here for you from now on, this I svear!"

"I d-don't know whether to hug you or p-punch you, you damn bastard," she sobbed, leaning back against the wall, putting her hands over her face. He was devastated that she didn't take any of his excitement. "I haven't s-seen you in weeks. There's so much you need to know, and I just d-don't think that I can tell you!"

He reached forwards to hold her, and she ended up in his arms again. "Teel me, sveet vun." He kissed her forehead, ignoring the dirt that he got on her forehead. "I vill be here...alvays."

For a moment, Leigh Ann was still. She just held him and breathed, calming herself down. And then she grasped his hands, her own shaking, and she gently put them on her waist. Then she started unbuttoning her jacket, showing a simple white blouse. She unbuttoned that as well, until all she was left in was a simple white tank. She slowly pulled that up as well, and his hands were graced with the swell of a perfectly round baby belly.

The pride that filled him was almost diminished by the complete and utter fear. He couldn't help himself as he knelt down, his face in line with the bump, and dug his face into her stomach. It was surreal. This was his Leigh Ann—she was his, and now he had a child with her. They had created something beautiful...and he was petrified.

Her hands gripped his hair as she cooed soft and loving things to him, as he wrapped his arms around her to hold her and his child closer. I...have made a child. I have just killed my father, am I fit to be one? How could I have left her? How long has this been? My want to protect her, my want to have a child...I ignored the thought of actually having one. How long has she been suffering alone? How long has she needed me to be here? Her sickness, it was morning sickness. Before I left, she wanted to tell me. I was so blind! That and so much more ran through his mind.

"Leahn..."

"Yes, Viktor?"

"I am sorry."

Good lord, it's about freaking time, Viktor. Stay with your damn woman! And Leigh Ann, you should have gotten over yourself and told him sooner. Don't know if it would have changed the reaction. To bad the kid's being born in a war zone. My plotline, perhaps? Maybe.

What, a plot? You all wanted a plot? Sheesh, how much do you want from me!