AN: Hello! I was quite pleased by the response to the last chapter, some interesting ideas about where the soulmate stuff is going! Great news - the next chapter Reunion is well underway, I bet you can all guess what's going to happen there! But first, have some pain, suffering and anguish :)
Viktor's head hurt. This was worse than hangover hurt – this was a sort of heavy pounding he couldn't ignore. He groaned.
"He's awake!" The jubilant shout sent another wave of pain through his brain. He wondered vaguely what he had collided with, and if he had concussion. It felt like he did, he had experienced it once before after a quidditch injury. He had no idea how he gotten here. Or even where here was.
A foot collided with his stomach and he let out an 'oomph' of air.
"Get up." With a colossal effort, he forced open an eye. He couldn't make out much in the darkness. There was a table leg not far from his nose, and the rug he was laying on seemed fancy. It swam in and out of focus.
"Get up, or you will regret it." The voice was high and cold, and despite being one Krum had never heard before, he had a strong suspicion of who it belonged to. He doubted that any amount of threats would get him to move right now, he didn't think he could control that many muscles at once with his splitting headache.
"Crucio!" As searing agony racked his body, Viktor passed out mercifully quickly. He welcomed it.
.
.
The next time he woke the pain in his head had eased slightly, but the rest of his body felt like it had been pelted with bludgers. He tried to force himself to stay still and silent this time. Cautiously, he peeped open an eye.
The room seemed a little lighter now, but it was still the same room as before. He was lying on the same rug as before, staring at the same table leg. The only thing he noticed as new was the blood smear across the rug where he had been originally, from the scratches he'd received earlier.
The room was quiet. Other than the crackling of a fire, he couldn't hear anything else. From where he lay he couldn't see anyone. Slowly he sat up.
First he felt his robe pocket, not really expecting much. Then he checked the holster on his leg and saw that his secondary wand was gone too. He'd taken to carrying it around ever since he had gotten back from London. Fine, he'd just have to manage this without a wand.
Viktor looked around. He couldn't see anyone. The room was vast with high ceilings, devoid of furniture but for the large table and chairs in the centre. Velvet curtains partially obscured all of the windows, leaving the room feeling very oppressive.
He winced as he tried to pull himself up, using the table for support. He was in bad shape, from the joint exertion of running so much and the cruciatus curse. Once Viktor had steadied himself he started casting round for a plan of action.
Without a wand he wouldn't be able to disapperate, and trying to pass through the boundary wards was likely to set of some sort of alarm. He was unlikely to find a broom lying conveniently anywhere, and making it out on foot left his chances slim to none.
Floo. If he could find some floo powder he would have his ticket out of here.
On shaking legs, Viktor made his way over to the grand fireplace at the far end of the room. He searched the mantle, then dropped to his knees to see if there was a little pot on the floor. With a sinking feeling he admitted there was none.
Ok. He couldn't give up hope yet. This house must be full of fireplaces, he just had to find the right one before they found him.
After pressing his ear to the door for a good few seconds, he eased it open. It opened onto a grand entrance hall. The front door was just there, and as tempting as it was to sprint out of it, Krum knew he didn't really have a chance out there. His body was too knackered already.
He slunk across the hall to the double doors opposite. After another few strained seconds of listening, he slipped in. The room was clear.
Hurriedly, he went to the empty fireplace. Jackpot! Sitting in an ornate little pot was the sparkling green powder. He grabbed a handful and threw it into the grate. Green flames roared up and he jubilantly he stepped forward.
His foot was just above the flames when his trouser leg caught fire. He could feel the heat searing his leg. With a yell he fell backwards and tried to smoother the flames on the hearth rug. The flames continued to roar green, their heat now radiating into the room.
At the sound of laughter he span round. Bellatrix stepped out of the shadows, clutching her sides and giggling madly. It looked like she was trying to speak but couldn't get the words out past the peals of laughter.
"Haha, classic, I can't believe, ha, that you fell for that!" Viktor could only look on in horror as she stepped closer to him. "Did you really believe we'd let you go that easily? Ha!"
He could feel his hope draining as quickly as if there were dementors in the room.
"What do you want with me?"
"With you?" She crooned. "Nothing at all sweet thing. It's your darling mudblood we are after. You are merely, how to put it, collateral damage."
"They won't fall for your trap. They're not stupid."
"Potter is both stupid and loyal. He'll walk straight into our hands. Now, I think we ought to put you somewhere safe, before you go and hurt yourself some more. Imperio." She said the spell lazily, as though it was no more than a simple lumos. A soft haze descended over Viktor's mind, smoothing his thoughts.
Go down the stairs to the cellar. Chain yourself there.
He was on his feet. He didn't remember standing. He followed Bellatrix out of the room with half his mind screaming at him and the rest floating along. It was surreal, like he couldn't get through to the other half of himself.
He descended the steps into the dark cellar. It smelt like damp. A light shone down from Bellatrix's wand at the top of the stairs. Obediently he chained himself to the wall. With a flick of her wand, the key floated away, the light was extinguished and the curse was broken.
The door slammed shut with a resounding thud above him, leaving only darkness.
Mind once again his own, Krum hurled every expletive he could think of into the darkness. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
.
.
Hermione was sat at the breakfast table as she often did – alone with a head in a book. No one bothered to look twice at her which was just the way she liked it.
She absent-mindedly spooned a mouthful of cereal in before turning the page and continuing to re-read the little book she'd found last night. She hadn't told Harry yet since he, like normal, was yet to surface.
As engrossed as she was, she barely noticed the non-descript barn owl landing before her. When it pecked her hand she looked up, frowning. The owl seemed to glare right back and held out its leg.
Tucking the little soulmates booklet safely into her robes, she untied the letter. With a hoot, the owl took off. She ripped the letter open, expecting it to be from Viktor.
Young Love is so sweet is it not? I'm sure you wouldn't want any harm to befall your darling Viktor. You've got two days, Draco will know where to find us. Tick Tock.
Hermione felt as though her insides had turned to ice. This could not be happening! He was supposed to be safe, on the other side of the world. First the breach in Hogwarts, now this. Were there no safe havens left?
The bench clattered to the floor as Hermione stood up quickly. Ignoring the looks of shock behind her, she charged out of the Great Hall in search of Harry. He would help her form a plan, he would stay rational.
She was out of breath and half way up Gryffindor tower was she ran into Harry and Neville coming the other way.
"Harry!" She choked out. "They've got him. They've got Viktor." She let out a sob and forced the letter into Harry's hand. He grew gradually paler as he read.
"We need to make sure it's true. They could easily be lying in the hopes of luring us in." Harry said, his mind whirling.
"And if it is true?" Hermione wept.
"Then we go. I promise we won't leave him there, 'Mione." She nodded and rubbed her red eyes. "Can you contact someone else in the team?"
"I'll try floo calling the stadium."
"Good. Take Neville with you."
"Where are you going?" Panic rose in Hermione at once. She felt like if she let Harry out of her sight then she'd lose him too.
"To see Professor Snape."
.
.
Snape was in a bad mood. He had been in a bad mood ever since the forest fire. He had not been called to the Dark Lord in over a month. Usually this would be a cause for celebration, but it was starting to worry him. Call it paranoia, but it seemed as though the Dark Lord's trust in him was waning.
It was a bad position to be in as a spy – distrusted by both sides you worked for.
His attempts to drill some amount of mental control into the boy were going nowhere fast either. The only time he'd managed to get anywhere was when he pissed Harry off so much that he came up against a seething wall of mental anger. And that wasn't especially safe, not when Harry's magic seemed to be spiralling out of control.
He knew that really, he needed to help Harry harness the wilder magic and put it to use that way. In all honesty it scared him, he'd never seen magic like it before, and it had been getting steadily worse for weeks. Ever since Draco left.
Snape sighed. There was a whole other can of worry.
There was a sharp rap on his door. Before he could even open his mouth Potter burst in. The gust of wind which followed him blew a stack of essays off his desk. Snape tried to tell himself it was just the movement of the door.
"Professor Snape! I need your help!" Snape frowned to himself, what on earth could the boy have got himself into now that he would could to him of all people?
"What have you done now?" There was a crack as one of his glass bottles fractured. It caused Snape to realise with some alarm that he needed to calm the boy down, and fast.
"Voldemort has kidnapped Viktor. He wants us to go to him, which I know is suicidal, but I can't just leave him there."
"Are you certain this is true?" He couldn't help but remember the trap in which Sirius had gotten himself killed. It wouldn't be good to have a repeat of that incident.
"Hermione is checking in with the rest of the team now, but I know. I don't know how exactly, but it's like he's…happy. Smug." This was bad news. For starters the Dark Lord was definitely leaving him out of the loop. If he helped Potter then any remnants of his cover would be blown. And secondly, he had no doubt that Potter would walk straight into this trap if he thought it meant saving someone.
Bloody, good-for-nothing Gryffindor chivalry.
"So how do you know he is there?" Harry produced a crumpled letter and held it out. Cautiously, Snape took it and scanned it quickly. So not only was he after Harry but Draco too. Presumably, Harry would be unable to get past the wards without Draco as a guide.
Would Harry do it? Would he endanger Draco to get Krum back?
Of course he would, Snape snorted. Of course he would insist that Draco chose to do it, instead of being forced into it, but what else would Draco do. Choice of no choice, he'd go if he thought Harry was.
So it seemed he would have to intervene somehow, unless…
"Potter, has it occurred to you that you are at war? And Mr Krum is no more than another unfortunate casualty in it? He is more than likely dead already." It was the wrong thing to say.
The whole castle seemed to shake and quiver around him.
.
.
Draco had been having a lazy morning in bed when he'd started feeling a little off. Kreacher had bought him breakfast in bed when he didn't make it down.
His feeling of unease had rapidly grown however and he felt he had no appetite. It was as though all of his magic was rippling under his skin, rushing around and around in his veins.
All the magic he hadn't used for the last month felt like it was straining to get out. Desperately, he tried to direct it all in one direction. The glass cabinet in the corner of the room exploded, sending glittering shards into the air. With a yell Draco shielded his face with his arms. The glass turned to water and he was drowned in a deluge of it.
Stunned and sodden, he looked around the room. It was a mess. Something big was happening and he had no idea what.