- INTERLUDE TWO -

Viktor's Last Stand

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Hogwarts! The third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!"

Waiting behind a side entrance to the arena, Viktor Krum listened to Ludo Bagman's magnified voice booming over the stands of the Quidditch stadium. Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour, his fellow competitors, stood behind him, all of them waiting to be called into the arena.

"And now..." the ministry official announced, "give it up for our three Champions!"

Steeling himself, Viktor Krum passed the gateway and marched into the arena to the deafening cheers and applause from the surrounding stands. He couldn't refrain from scowling slightly at the scenery ahead of him. As a professional Quidditch player, it pained him more than a little to see how the field had been transformed into a vast hedge maze for the competition. Over twenty-foot-high hedges covered almost the entire pitch, laying waste to the formerly neat lawn.

Viktor's fellow competitors were close behind him, and they assembled near the entrance of the maze, right before the judges sitting in the stands.

"Welcome, welcome!" Mr Bagman greeted them cheerfully. The other judges stood behind him in the box. Headmaster Dumbledore and Headmistress Maxime nodded politely at each competitor, while Karkaroff's attention was focused on Viktor alone. Viktor knew that a victory was expected of him and he had no intention of incurring his headmaster's displeasure.

The last judge, Mr Crouch, observed the proceedings with apparent indifference, and Viktor didn't pay him much mind. Next to the wizard, however, stood a stout woman in hideous pink robes whose hateful glares at him and the Delacour girl positively made his skin crawl. Viktor knew she was the ministry official in charge of investigating the happenings at the First Task. Though, to his knowledge, her investigation hadn't yielded any results yet, aside from making everyone's lives miserable with her sheer presence.

He was brought out of his musings when Bagman raised his voice again. "Now, allow me to introduce our champions for one last time! Starting first, with eighty points and thus a lead of five minutes, Mr Viktor Krum of Durmstrang Institute!"

The volume of the cheers rose again, and Viktor sullenly waved his hand in response, trying to tune out the noise.

"In second place, with seventy-five points, Miss Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy!"

The French girl smiled brightly as she was cheered on by her friends and classmates in the audience.

"And last but not least, back on his feet and looking good, Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts with sixty-four points!" Bagman finished the introductions.

It was especially the Hogwarts students who applauded for their Champion, but Viktor thought it sounded rather half-hearted for the most part. Understandably so, as the British boy had lost far too many points to still stand much of a chance at winning the tournament.

Even his competitor himself seemed to know that. Cedric Diggory certainly appeared less-than-enthusiastic at having to participate in yet another task, not that Viktor could blame him after what had happened in November. At least, the unlucky boy had mostly recovered from the wounds he had suffered from the dragon fire, though his face still showed the burn scars and his hair hadn't fully grown back yet.

As Bagman went on with his opening speech, Viktor reminisced about the events of the First Task of the tournament. He certainly didn't think less of the Hogwarts Champion because of his injury. Viktor knew that if he had drawn the Horntail, he too might not have escaped unscathed. And as far as he knew, Diggory had gone against the dragon without prior warning, Viktor reminded himself. He had to hide a scowl at that thought. He didn't appreciate his headmaster rigging what was supposed to be a fair game in his favour, though he guessed he should be grateful for the warning at least. Even now, the scars on the other boy's face still looked rather nasty.

After the dragons, Viktor had started to wonder if Potter hadn't got the right of it by running away from the tournament. It had suddenly seemed like a wise choice. Though, at least he himself had known what he was getting himself into when he had submitted his name. He had known that the tournament would likely be dangerous. He didn't believe the same was true for Potter. The younger boy had appeared genuinely surprised and scared after his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire.

Besides, Viktor mused, Potter didn't seem the type to deliberately break the rules and try to enter himself into the tournament. To him, the younger wizard had always appeared indifferent to his fame or maybe even annoyed by it. Viktor could appreciate that, having long since grown tired of his own adoring fans as well. Not tired enough to not participate in the tournament, though. He had always loved a challenge, and he very much enjoyed the thrill of the competition. Even when it meant facing a dragon.

Still, Viktor was glad that the organisers had apparently learnt from their mistake and hadn't included similarly dangerous creatures in the second task. With any luck, this task wouldn't be much different and he'd soon hold the Triwizard Cup in his hands.

"So, now... Ready, everyone?" Bagman asked excitedly, his opening speech finally coming to an end. "Ready, Mr Krum?"

Viktor didn't answer, but Bagman clearly didn't require a response.

"On my whistle then! Three - two - one -"

The judge gave a short blast on his whistle, and while the audience applauded and cheered, Viktor made his way to the entrance of the maze. The sun was just about to set in the sky, but the passage between the hedges already looked dark and creepy.

He took a deep breath and then stepped forward, the towering hedges around him silencing the noise of the surrounding crowd almost as soon as he had passed the entrance to the maze. Carefully, holding his wand at the ready, Viktor walked ahead until the path split into two, with one pathway leading left and one right. However, he knew that the centre of the maze and the Triwizard Cup were straight ahead of him. Instead of turning and following one of the tracks, he levelled his wand at the hedge.

"Reducto!"

A thick bolt of red light slammed into the hedge, which swallowed up the curse without it tilting a single leaf.

"Incendio!" he tried next, but the Fire Curse proved just as ineffective at destroying the hedge.

For a brief moment, Viktor considered other, more potent dark curses to get rid of the barrier, but he decided against it. He certainly wanted to win this competition, and his headmaster would be disappointed with him for his lack of ruthlessness, but some curses just weren't meant for sport. He'd pass the labyrinth without taking any shortcuts instead.

With his mind made up, he turned left and slowly followed the path into the maze, always observing his surroundings for possible traps and other dangers. Over the course of the following minutes, Viktor easily disposed of a Grindylow, a swarm of Doxies, and four Bowtruckles, and he almost felt insulted at the lack of a real challenge as he advanced towards the centre. He was glad that the organisers had toned down the danger compared to the first task, but he still preferred having to work for his victory.

No sooner had he made the comparison to the initial task, Viktor turned another corner in the maze and suddenly found himself standing in front of the very same Hungarian Horntail that had injured his co-competitor months ago.

Viktor's eyes widened in shock as he saw the gigantic beast. He stumbled back when the dragon roared loudly, seemingly ready to lunge at him from less than a dozen yards away. All his instincts screamed at him to turn and run, but still, something held him back. He couldn't tell how, but somehow, a last rational thought hit him despite his fear, and he suddenly knew what he had to do.

"Riddiculus!" he yelled, almost not daring to hope that he was right, but as soon as he had cast the spell, the terrifying dragon shrank rapidly and turned into a plucked chicken.

With a relieved chuckle, Viktor stepped past the cackling chicken and continued on the path ahead. He had to admit, while the Boggart had ultimately been harmless, it had certainly given him a good scare.

There were no other obstacles for the next hundred yards or so along the slightly curved path, but just as he started to hope that he was getting close to the centre, the path took a sudden turn, and Viktor cursed when he saw that he had arrived at a dead end. Quickly, he turned to make his way back to the last junction. At the same time, the whistle sounded again from outside the maze, and Viktor knew Fleur Delacour would now enter the labyrinth. He felt confident that he had a good lead by now, but he still sped up further.

The second track after the junction took him in the opposite direction than before, following a similar curve, but after a while it too only led to another dead end. Once more, Viktor found his path blocked by a towering hedge. He was beginning to feel frustrated with the maze when he noticed that something didn't seem quite right with the wall of green in front of him. The colour just seemed slightly off compared to the surrounding plants.

"Revelio!" he cast, and the entire part of the hedge flickered slightly and was encompassed by a bluish glow.

Cautiously, he reached out with his left hand, and his suspicion was confirmed when his fingers passed straight through the wall of leaves as if they weren't there. Clearly, he concluded with a satisfied nod, it was merely a clever illusion.

Viktor took a step ahead and walked through the illusion. Just as his vision shifted and he passed through the false hedge into an even narrower path, something cold brushed over his face, causing him to flinch. He immediately realised he had walked right into a dense spider web, and all surrounding hedges were covered with thick cobwebs, too. Mere feet ahead of him, huge black spiders the size of Quaffles crawled out from inside the hedges and advanced towards him, and even bigger spiders crept out of the thicket further down the path.

"Arania Exumai!" Victor yelled, pushing back the spiders closest to him. While they might not be deadly, their bites would surely put him out of the tournament.

"Arania Exumai!" he cast again, but he saw that the spell only bought him a few seconds at most. There were far too many spiders to simply evade them, and especially the larger ones ahead of him looked troublesome, with the size of some exceeding even small dogs.

"Reducto!" he yelled, switching to more powerful curses. "Diffindo! Diffindo!

However, the spells only got one or two critters at a time and did little to slow the tide of spiders advancing towards him. He kicked out with his foot when the first spider reached him and tried to latch onto his leg, and it barrelled back into the hedges.

Angrily, he whipped his wand at the black mass of spiders. "Incendio!"

The spiders closest to him screeched as they caught in the conjured flames, and finally, the remaining spiders backed away from him and the fire. They retreated into the thicket of the hedges, clearing the path for him, leaving behind only the charred carcasses and the biting scent of burnt spiders.

Viktor rushed down the narrow path towards the next junction of the maze. Only once he had left the passage far behind, he allowed himself a moment to gather his breath and vanish the cobwebs that still stuck to his robes.

When he heard the whistle blast outside the maze for the third time, Viktor knew it was high time for him to get going again. Around the next corner of the labyrinth, a strange fog hung over the ground, but any traps it might have hidden were easily dispelled with a General Counter Charm. Viktor was able to walk through the fog without ill effect, and as he left the obstacle behind, he felt that had to be very close to the centre of the maze by now.

For the next few turns along the twisted path, Viktor could move along unhindered, but he remained watchful of any possible dangers lurking in the shadows within the hedges. His caution proved sensible when he noticed a low noise from behind the next corner ahead of him. It sounded somewhat akin to hooves shuffling on the ground, and Viktor readied his wand before he turned the corner.

There, ahead of him and in front of an archway within the hedge, stood a truly regal-looking Hippogriff with a gleaming coat and dark-feathered head and wings. The creature eyed him wearily and let off a warning growl, and Viktor halted and lowered his wand to show that he was no threat to the animal.

He knew it would be a mistake to try and fight the creature, and he was glad to have learnt how to interact with Hippogriffs. Tensely, he bowed his head and waited for a response. At first, the creature only stared back at him. But then, several uneasy moments later, the Hippogriff slightly lowered its head towards him, and Viktor let off a sigh of relief.

He slowly walked forward, as non-threateningly as possible, and he was glad to see that the Hippogriff didn't seem to mind him getting closer. As he strode past it, he even dared to pat the creature's feathered neck, but he was soon distracted when he arrived at the narrow archway in the hedge and saw the clearing beyond it.

A smile crept on Viktor's lips at the sight of the Triwizard Cup gleaming a mere dozen yards in front of him.

Cautiously, he neared it, not putting it past the organisers to have one last trap in store for him. Even when he stood right before the gleaming cup, he still felt slightly uneasy.

"Specialis revelio!" he cast to check for any further traps, and a dim blue hue and a brighter red glow surrounded the trophy. One of which would be the Portkey Charm to return him before the stands of the arena, Viktor mused, but he couldn't tell the purpose of the other charm.

He was contemplating what to do next when he was startled by a movement at the entrance into the clearing, where he had just come from.

He looked up and was surprised to see Fleur Delacour, who had apparently just made it past the Hippogriff as well.

"Merde!" she cussed when she spotted him near the cup, too close for her to intervene.

Viktor was impressed that the girl had not only made it that far but had actually caught up with him, having apparently traversed the maze even faster than himself. But despite that, she was too far away to stop him from claiming the cup now.

Without any time to lose, not to give her an opportunity to cast a spell at him, Viktor finally reached for the handle of the cup and closed his hand around it.

As expected, he immediately felt the pull at his navel as the Portkey activated, and he heard the French girl yell in frustration as he was whisked away.

His elation over his victory, however, was diminished by the exceedingly unpleasant Portkey ride that was much bumpier than what he was used to. He got whirled around and thrown back and forth endlessly, for much longer than it should've taken to traverse the few hundred yards out of the maze. When the Portkey finally arrived at its destination, Viktor tumbled to the ground, unable to keep his footing. He landed sprawled onto wet earth, his head spinning violently.

It took several long seconds until his dizziness faded and he was able to survey his surroundings. Everything inside him tensed when he saw that he Portkey had brought him far beyond Hogwarts grounds into a dark abandoned graveyard. Maybe this was another part of the task, but Viktor couldn't help but feel that something had gone horribly wrong.

Unsteadily, he got to his feet and was just about to cast a few charms to stake out the area when he heard a noise behind him. He whirled around to face the new danger as fast as he could, but he turned only in time to see a flash of red light racing towards him.

#

Viktor woke to a jabbing pain in his right forearm. He tried to shake the arm, but an outside force held him in place and he found that he couldn't move at all. Suddenly, he remembered what had just happened to him and his eyes shot open. His throat tightened at the sight that greeted him.

A few yards ahead of him stood a humanoid shape with deathly pale skin, cloaked in a black robe. Its flattened noise and bald head gave it almost reptilian features, and its dark-scarlet eyes gleamed with malevolence as it turned towards him. Viktor knew that despite these deformations, it was still a wizard who stood before him, and terror streaked through him at his suspicion of the figure's identity.

"Ah, Mr Krum," the man whispered with a cold voice, "How kind of you to join us."

Rumbling laughter sounded from all sides in the dark graveyard, and only now Viktor took note of over a dozen cloaked figures that stood further back in a half-circle around him and the wizard in the centre. They all wore black coats and hoods, their faces covered with silvery-white masks. He recognised what surely had to be Death Eater regalia, which in turn confirmed his worst suspicions of who was now advancing towards him.

"Yes, I can see it in your eyes. You recognise who I am," the wizard crackled as he got closer. "Indeed, you have the honour of standing in the presence of Lord Voldemort. More than that! You have the honour of having contributed to my long overdue return!"

"Wha-What?" Viktor could only mutter, panic surging through him. He was unable to comprehend how he could have ended up in this nightmare. "Wh-why am I here?"

There was a flash of anger in the Dark Lord's eyes. "You are here because my intended guest has shown his true colours and fled from the tournament like the coward he is. Yes, I would've preferred Potter to be my guest tonight instead of you. But then I thought, why change a plan already in motion when the result will fit my designs just as well?"

"Harry Potter?" he asked, hoping beyond reason that if he managed to keep the Dark Lord talking, maybe he could find a way to free himself and escape. But no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to move even a finger of his body. He had apparently been put into a Full Body-Bind, and several thick ropes tied him to a large gravestone beyond that.

At least Voldemort appeared content to further elaborate on the brilliance of his plans for now. "Yes, I had intended for Potter to be brought here instead of you. He would've been guided through the tournament to be the first champion to reach the Triwizard Cup, but his cowardice has made that an impossibility. In hindsight, I shouldn't have expected any better of him. Of course the frightened little boy ran away."

Several Death Eaters laughed at that. A stout, ugly man far to his left, whom Viktor hadn't noticed before, crackled loudly. He was the only Death Eater who wasn't masked, his face reminding Viktor of that of a rat.

"Well, the ritual had been planned for a long time, and it was always going to take place today, three days after the solstice," the Dark Lord went on, "Even without Potter, I could still use the tournament to my ends. Potter's cowardice had cost me my servant, whom I had placed at Hogwarts. But yesterday, Wormtail sneaked onto the grounds and charmed the cup to alter the destination of the old Muggle-Lover's Portkey Charm."

Viktor saw how the rat-faced man puffed out his chest at that. He also picked up on something else the Dark Lord had said. "Ritual? What ritual?" he asked.

Voldemort smiled coldly. "Yes, unfortunately, you missed the ritual of my rebirth. Its magic is far beyond your comprehension, so I won't confuse you with the details. Just know that one key ingredient is the blood of an enemy. Without Potter, I decided to simply use the blood of whoever would be the Triwizard Champion instead. Allow me to thank you, Mr Krum, for your kind donation."

Voldemort laughed, and Viktor's eyes widened when he made the connection to the jabbing pain in his left arm. This was where he had been cut for his blood to resurrect the monster that now stood before him.

He still didn't fully understand the Dark Lord's reasoning, however – didn't understand why he would be selected as the Dark Lord's "enemy". He was a foreigner to this country and had never had much interest in politics in any case. It was true that he had never believed in the Pureblood doctrine and might even have said so on several occasions on and off the Quidditch pitch, but there had to be thousands of wizards much more suited to be called enemies of Voldemort than him.

Apparently, even one of the Death Eaters had doubts.

"An enemy? But, my Lord, isn't the boy of Durmstrang?" a masked wizard voiced hesitantly. He had long platinum-blonde hair that was only partly covered by his hood.

"Yes, Lucius," Voldemort replied dismissively. "But he's no friend of ours. Mr Krum's opinions and his choice of friends are truly an insult to his great school. Frankly, I expected better of someone taught by Igor. But then, I suppose his failings as an educator are the least egregious shortcomings of that coward and traitor."

Several angry murmurs sounded from the group at the mention of the Durmstrang headmaster.

"No, Mr Krum, you are no friend of ours, are you?" Voldemort repeated, his dark eyes boring into him. "Now, I am aware that calling you my enemy might seem... exaggerated. As if you could ever challenge Lord Voldemort! But you see, you stand in place of an entire generation. A generation that has grown soft, a generation that has never learnt the proper respect for my name. By killing you, this generation's Triwizard Champion, I will show that the best this generation has to offer is just as helpless against Lord Voldemort as those I had already forced into submission until a fluke of bad luck temporarily halted my ascension. And by killing you, I will also make it clear that soon, not only Britain but all of Europe and the entire world will learn to fear my name once more!"

Viktor's heart hammered in his chest as Voldemort drew his wand, palming it with unnaturally long fingers.

"You should be glad, Mr Krum," the Dark Lord mocked. "You get to be the herald of my impending ascension. I will announce my return by displaying the dead body of the Triwizard Champion in the Ministry Atrium!"

Viktor was sure he was about to die when Voldemort raised the wand.

"But..." the Dark Lord said with a cold smile, halting his movements, "I am generous. I won't kill you without offering you the means to defend yourself. We will duel, Mr Krum, and I will allow you to die with your wand in your hand."

A ripple of laughter and excited murmurs went through the assembled Death Eaters when Voldemort released Viktor from the Body-Bind and vanished the ropes tying him to the gravestone.

Haltingly, Viktor took a few steps forward, trying to clear his head and push down his paralysing terror.

"Wormtail, his wand!" Voldemort commanded, and his rat-faced servant stepped towards Viktor and handed him his wand.

The man then retreated back behind the Dark Lord, and the Death Eaters backed off further to make space for the duel. Voldemort took several steps back to increase the distance between them and smiled at Viktor as he readied his wand in a flourish.

"Ready to die, Mr Krum?".

Viktor didn't reply and only glared back at the resurrected Dark Lord before him, who looked at him with a mocking smile. His hands were cold and clammy, but he still took a shred of comfort from the familiar feeling of his wand in his hand. The shallow cut in his forearm had also stopped bleeding, and he hardly noticed the pain any longer. He felt the adrenaline pump through his body as he raised his wand for the impossible fight against the worst Dark Lord in living memory.

"Now, we bow to each other," said Voldemort, bending a little but keeping his snake-like face upturned to Viktor. "Come, Mr Krum, the niceties must be observed... Bow to death..."

The Death Eaters surrounding them were laughing again.

Viktor's eyes narrowed in anger. He might die here, but he was not going to let Voldemort play with him like that. He was not going to give him that satisfaction.

"I said, bow," Voldemort said impatiently, raising his wand. "Imperio!"

Viktor was hit with the curse before he could react, and a pressure in his mind was screaming at him to bow to the monster before him.

But Durmstrang had its reputation for the Dark Arts for a reason, and the Goblet of Fire hadn't selected Viktor as the school's champion because he was good on a broom.

With a fluid motion, Viktor threw off the Imperius Curse and aimed his wand at the Dark Lord. "Reducto! Diffindo! Confringo! "

For a moment, Viktor enjoyed the surprised look on Voldemort's face as the curses sped towards him, but the Dark Lord easily twisted out of the way of the Reductor, swatted the Cutting Curse aside, and shielded against the Blasting Curse.

Viktor used the few seconds his surprise attack had bought him to sprint towards the closest row of gravestones to his right. He still saw from the corner of his eyes that the rat-faced man who stood behind the Dark Lord didn't have his master's reflexes. He only gave a surprised squeak before the Reductor connected with his head, leaving nothing but a fine mist of blood in its place. The headless corpse swayed back and forth a few times before it toppled to the ground.

"Crucio!" Voldemort shouted just as Viktor jumped behind a large tombstone, and a red bolt of light flew over his head and into the night.

"That's how you want to reward my generosity?" Voldemort shouted angrily. "Very well, if you want to die as a coward, you shall. Take him down, but take him alive! He must pay for his insolence!"

Assuming that the Death Eaters' attention was momentarily affixed to the Dark Lord while they received their instructions, Viktor jumped up from his cover and aimed his wand at the group of murderers. "Diffindo! Confringo! Reducto!"

Viktor cursed when shields popped up around the Death Eaters and none of his spells had any effect. Instead, a volley of curses sped towards him in retaliation, and he had to throw himself to the ground to avoid being hit.

Several tombstones exploded around him, and he scrambled to his feet to make a beeline towards the next row of gravestones further away from the Death Eaters, who were closing in on his position.

He had almost made it when a voice to his left yelled, "Sectumsempra!"

Viktor tried to spin out of the way of the bolt of light and almost managed to evade the curse, but it still grazed his left side and tore deep into his flesh.

Cursing, Viktor stumbled behind the cover of another large tombstone. He pressed his left hand against the cut in his side and winced when he felt the warmth of his blood trickle over his fingers.

"Episkey!" he cast, pointing his wand at the wound, but the spell did nothing to heal the deep cut. He knew of no other healing spells to patch up the wound, so there was nothing to be done about it for now. Instead, he had to return his attention to his pursuers, who were quickly catching up with him.

Carefully, he peered over the tombstone and levelled his wand at the Dark Lord in the centre of the bulk of Death Eaters slowly drawing nearer. Remembering how the Death Eaters had shielded against his curses before, Viktor knew that he had to adapt his choice of spells accordingly.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Never before had Viktor cast the Killing Curse against a living person, but he had learnt how to cast the spell in class and had practised it against inanimate targets, just like most Durmstrang students in their seventh year.

Unfortunately, his aim wasn't true, and the Dark Lord didn't even bat an eye as the green bolt of light sped by him, missing him by almost two yards. The curse connected with another Death Eater, though, who collapsed lifelessly as the Killing Curse hit him right in his masked face.

Viktor ducked back behind the gravestone to evade the incoming spells of the Death Eaters, while Voldemort was laughing, unperturbed by the death of his servant.

He immediately rose again when the curses had passed over him and took aim once more.

"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled for a second time, but the Dark Lord almost effortlessly levitated the debris of a gravestone in the way of the better-aimed curse.

"Impressive showing, boy. But you must know that you cannot hope to stand against me," Voldemort crackled. "Now, Mr Krum, aren't you tired of playing hide-and-seek? Why won't you come out and play? I might even make it quick."

Ignoring the taunts, Viktor retreated further down the row of graves away from the Death Eaters. But with his attention on his pursuers, he didn't notice the movement to his left.

Suddenly, a huge snake leapt at him from the dark shadows between two graves. With its jaws wide open, the snake lunged towards his neck, and Viktor barely managed to put up his left arm just in time to block the attack. He yelled in pain as the snake's fangs sunk into his left forearm, but he was still able to raise his wand in his right and aim it at the snake's body below its head.

"Diffindo!" he yelled, and the snake was thrown back as the Cutting Curse separated its head from its body. Viktor noted with astonishment how a large black shadow rose from the dead snake's body, taking a roughly humanoid shape before it vanished with an unholy scream.

At the same time, a furious cry came from the Dark Lord. "Nagini! NO! What have you done!?"

Leaning behind the next gravestone, Viktor shook his head with exhaustion and wearily inspected his wounded arm. There was only a small trickle of blood where the snake's fangs had pierced his skin, but he felt a cold numbness spreading from the wound already. Evidently, the snake had been venomous.

He cursed under his breath. Another severe injury was just what he needed. The cut in his side was already inhibiting enough. But at least, the snake had apparently been of some importance to the Dark Lord. Viktor supposed it had been his familiar, and despite his dire circumstances, he couldn't help but feel proud to have caused its demise.

"Come out!" Voldemort shouted from behind him a moment later. "Stop hiding! Bombarda!"

Viktor cussed and threw himself to the ground just before the gravestone he had just been sitting behind exploded, showering him with debris. Several sharp pieces of stone pierced the skin of his right leg, which had been closest to the impact, and he limped heavily as he scrambled back up.

Gritting his teeth, he stumbled forwards to get back behind better cover again.

"Crucio! Crucio! Ossus Diffringo!" Voldemort shouted behind him.

Viktor ducked under the two Cruciatus Curses, but the Bone-breaking Curse hit his right arm and threw him to the ground. He screamed out in pain and barely managed to keep hold of his wand.

Evading another Cruciatus thrown towards him, he quickly rolled behind a massive gravestone.

Breathing heavily, Viktor leaned against the cold stone. He could no longer feel his left arm where the snake had bitten him, several bones in his wand-arm were broken, and the deep gash in his left side was soaking his robes with his blood at a worrying pace.

Viktor heard the Death Eaters and Voldemort slowly approaching the gravestone where he sat, and a strange calmness filled him when he realised that this was the place where he would die.

Voldemort, in the meantime, hadn't stopped raging about the death of his familiar. "Stupid boy! You can't hide forever!" the Dark Lord screamed. "I will make you beg for your death! I will make your death last for days!"

"No, you von't," Viktor whispered for only himself to hear.

Despite his injuries, he was still holding onto his wand. With his arm as badly broken as it was, he was unable to raise the wand and aim it at the monster advancing towards him from behind. But for the spell he was about to cast, he didn't need to aim.

He took one last deep breath and gathered his concentration.

"Daemones Ignite Infernum Diabolus!"

Fiendfyre. The demonic fire burst from Viktor's wand, rapidly swelling, surrounding him in a wide circle and expanding outward, the roaring flames forming figures of wolves, ravens, lions, and eagles.

Fiendfyre was notoriously difficult to control and would often be as dangerous to its caster as to those it was aimed at. With the piercing pain pulsing from his right arm, the numbness from his left arm spreading to his torso, and the dizziness he felt from the blood-loss, Viktor knew that he wouldn't be able to control the flames for longer than a few seconds.

It didn't matter.

Viktor took a grim satisfaction from the anguished cries of the Death Eaters close-by and the furious screams of the Dark Lord, before he felt his control slip, and a wall of flames descended upon him.


A/N: As always, a huge thank you to my proofreaders Proton6 and amidland for their continued help with the story!