Blood for Blood, the Return of Viktor Krum

Blood On the Pearls

Chapter Two

The Return of Viktor Krum

Revenge

Eye for an Eye

Blood for Blood

Have accounts to Settle

Keep the wound Green

Have at one's Mercy

Viktor Krum hoisted the black flag and carried the torch of revenge in his heart. He tried to let it be, but it wouldn't leave him. It was like a poison running through his veins. It changed his emotions. It burrowed into his muscle and bone and it expanded and raged. It had monstrous strength. It was madness with a razor edge. His father knew that at his son's core being was anger and revenge and he did his utmost to fan the flame until it blazed.

He sat looking out of a window in the high tower of the Krum family castle. He still had nightmares of the dementors and Azkaban, but they were milder and less frequent. He had a small tremor in his left hand, but other than that he began to regain his strength. He also took to the air on his broom more and more. He flew cautiously at first, but as time moved on he began to do dips, turns and maneuvers that had made him the world class Quidditch player he once was. However, his getting better had only one focus and only one purpose, revenge not Quidditch.

Through his father's connections, he learned that she had gotten married to that worthless Weasley and that they had a child. He and his father had several discussions about the nice little family. It was decided that they would strike at them. His father, Paris Krum, would often chuckle after several glasses of wine that Viktor did have choices. He could have her, her husband, or their child. As for him, Paris wanted her. He saw her photograph in the Daily Prophet and thought that she was a delightful looking creature.

Viktor decided to have one more glass of wine and a nap. He went to his room, ordered the servants to bring him the wine. When it arrived he gulped down a large goblet of it and then lay down and fell asleep. After time moved on, the door to his room opened and an old woman shuffled in, sat by his bedside and caressed his hand with her bent knotted fingers.

Ron presented Hermione with a long, blue crushed velvet box. Hermione's eyes widened as she took it. She slowly removed the ribbon wrapped about it and opened it. Tears formed in her eyes. What she saw was a necklace, a string of pearls. They were high wrought and exquisite and she knew they were very precious, because she knew she was very precious to Ron. She also noticed a little HW carved into one. She then thought there wouldn't be any hand shaking over this happiness and then gave him a hug.

It was their anniversary, and she and Ron were going on holiday. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to look after their granddaughter Rose while they were gone. Harry and Ginny were going to be at the Weasley home as well. The plan was that Ron would take Rose early to the Burrow, and Hermione would follow the next day. She was going to tie up some loose ends that always seemed to present themselves at the last moment. Mr. and Mrs. Granger had rented them a cottage on the Isle of Wight for a week and she didn't want anything to spoil it.

Hermione helped Ron and Rose to get ready for their journey to the Weasleys. It was a happy-sad time for her. Although she relished a day and night alone, she also disliked saying goodbye to her husband and daughter even for a short amount time. Also her emotions were rather tied up in a knot. She had been reading a book where a man and woman, so in love, were in a phone booth, snogging to beat the band. When the woman had to leave, she opened the door and stepped out and he didn't see her again for fifty years. She rolled her eyes at the thought and then hugged and smooched them both and then they left.

She closed the door. She walked to the kitchen to fetch a cup of tea. Temptation was at her door however, and she decided to have a brief snuggle with a good book on runes and perhaps a nap and then consultation of her daily planner to see what must be attended to. She walked to the couch and sat down. As she was reading she gently fingered her necklace of pearls. She was so content life was good.

As the day passed into early evening, Hermione had finally finished all that was listed on her daily planner. Satisfied that all was in order she decided to shower and retire early. She took off her clothes and her string of pearls and let them roll past her hand like droplets of water. She looked into a mirror and saw that she was returning to her pre Rose shape. She loved it when Ron looked at her with Remus Lupin werewolf eyes. After her shower, she dried herself, put on her jammies and pearls. She again went to the kitchen for another cup of tea and a snack. She always hid a supply of snacks from Ron so she could have her chocolate moments. Because of her focus on tea and snacks she failed to notice that there was an outline of a man looking at her through the kitchen window.

Although he was not all-powerful he was still well muscled. He slowly approached the window and put his finger on it, tracing her outline as if he was actually touching her. He smiled, in awhile he would be. As he stood there, his thoughts went back in time. He thought of the Yule Ball and how they had laughed and danced the night away. He was at times frustrated because he knew that she was not entirely his; she would often look at Weasley with some kind of longing. He admitted to himself that he did have romantic feelings for her until the Dark Lord ordered her death. Lucius Malfoy, his son Draco, and he were to do the killing. He felt odd when he got the order; his feelings of romance turned into hatred like the turning on and off of a light switch. The attempts, for there were two, failed. In the second one, Draco Malfoy stood between her and his father and he and declared his love for her. Out of pure rage Lucius killed his own son and then from nowhere came Weasley and the situation went cloudy. When he came to his senses he discovered that Mr. Malfoy was dead and he was not harmed. In the end he went to Azkaban. He came back from his memories when he heard Hermione bang a kettle on the stove. He smiled wickedly, and whispered to himself that soon you will be mine my lovely little prey. At that moment Hermione felt as if eyes were watching her, eyes with bad intentions. She glanced at the window and saw nothing. She then giggled and shook it off as being silly and turned of the kitchen light.

She decided to leave a light on as she made her way about the house. She wanted to lock up and put a few more things in order. When she was satisfied that every thing was in its place she brought her teacup with her up the stairs and entered the bedroom. She placed her cup of tea on the nightstand. She went into the bath to do her daily duty and went back to the bed. Although she did miss her Ron, she knew the night would be peaceful because she wouldn't have to listen to him snore all night. With a chuckle she lay down on the bed and popped herself up with pillows and sipped her tea. She began to finger through some old school notes to refresh her memory and see if there may be some things she had missed while a student. She so longed for schoolwork that she entertained the idea of giving herself some assignments just for fun. Her eyes became heavy so she decided to turn out the light and dream of Ron, Rose, and schoolwork. Soon she was asleep.

After waiting awhile he went to the front door and whispered "Alohomora" and the lock opened. He cautiously entered and looked about. He saw a light coming from upstairs. He went to the bottom of stairs and waited to see if there was any movement. When he was satisfied that all was quiet he slowly creeped up step by step. He walked to the room where the light came from and peeped in. A wide smile came to his face as he saw his prey sleeping, totally unaware of the danger that she was in. He began to shake with anticipation as he thought of the hours and days ahead where he would be alone with her in his castle and being able to give her his undivided and uninterrupted attention. He was going to torture her for all the time he spent in Azkaban and she was going to love every minute of it.

He glided to the side of the bed. He bent over and gently kissed her. With this touch she slowly opened her eyes. They went wide with horror. He clamped his hand over her mouth before she could scream. In one more motion he released his hand over her mouth and slapped her very hard. The blow stunned her. He then pulled the blankets back to expose her body. He took her arms and pinned them behind her and then grabbed a handful of her hair to hold her head steady. He lowered his body on to hers and started to kiss her again. Although she was moving her head back and forth he was able to hold her still to exact this pleasure. He pulled back to gauge her reaction. He smiled at her and told her that he had waited a long time for this and he was going to enjoy it to the full. He lowered his head again this time rubbing his nose in her hair and then he gave her ear a slight nibble. When he tried to kiss her again, she fought back by biting his lip. He drew back quickly as the blood began to trickle down his lip. In rage he lifted her up and slapped her back and forth until she was nearly knocked out. He stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

He scanned her motionless form. He rolled her over and then put her arms behind her back. He took out some line and secured her hands with several knots. He rolled her over again and then gagged her. It was then that he noticed the pearls about her neck. He lifted them and fondled them, slowly rolling them in his hand. Sudden rage overtook him and he ripped them off her neck. Pearls flew all about the bedroom. However, a few remained in his grip. By now, Hermione was coming around. She shook her head to try and steady her focus. She saw him holding something in his clenched hand. He looked her and then gave her a light smile. It made her skin crawl.

"Nize pearls."

He turned about and went to the dresser where there was a big mirror. He placed the pearls on the dresser and then turned and looked at her. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a blade. He slowly walked toward her. She was paralyzed with fear. As he moved closer, thoughts of Ron and Rose went through her mind. She screamed inside, "Not like this, not like this!"

When he was by her side he placed the flat side of the blade on her cheek. Hermione was trembling almost uncontrollably. With a sinister voice he cautioned her to not shake or the blade might slice her pretty face. He moved the blade back and forth like he was sharpening it. It never once broke her skin, but he took great delight in making her think it would. Hermione, by sheer will power made herself stop shaking. He slowly brought the knife back to himself and then rolled her over on her stomach. He took the knife and drew it across her hand slowly to inflict as much pain as possible. Hermione winced as the blade sliced into her skin. Blood came forth. He then took his finger and dipped it in the little pool of blood and then brought it to his lips and tasted it. He laughed and told her that she was truly sweet. He put the blade back in its sheath and then took a pearl and dipped it in her blood. He then went to the mirror and began to write something. He came over and over again, each time taking his blade out and reopening the wound. He continued to dip the pearl in the blood until his writing was complete.

Because of his opening and reopening of the wound the blood began to pulsate in heavy amounts. He then returned one more time and took several of the pearls and rolled them over and over in Hermione's blood. He then tore a swatch from the bed sheet and placed them in it and tied it off. He dragged her off the bed onto the floor. He asked her where their owl was. She gave no response so he asked her again. She again said nothing so this time he kicked her in her side. He demanded in a loud voice to know where their owl was. When she did not answer he looked down and at that moment he began to chuckle, for he realized he had gagged her. He bowed to her and politely asked her forgiveness for the over site and with one move ripped the gag off her head and mouth. Hermione let out a mild scream because of the pain he caused when he kicked her. Not wanting him to kick her again she told him where their owl was.

In a flash he had fetched the owl. He wasn't too confident in the owl's looks; it was one of the dumbest looking birds he ever saw. He kicked her again and asked what the nitwit's name was. She said in a soft voice that the owl's name was Errol. He shook his head and then grabbed a tube of lipstick on the dresser and wrote on a piece of paper Ron Weasley in care of the Burrow. He attached it to the cloth with the pearls in it and said to the bird to not fly the wrong way stupid. The bird quickly pecked him and then took the bag and flew off. He shook his hand. Hermione gave a slight smile happy that Errol got a small amount of revenge for the Weasley family. He saw her smile and this set him off. He bent over and grabbed her by the hair asking her if something was funny? He hauled her to her feet and looked her in the eyes and told her that her smile was an act of defiance and would result in further punishment when he got her back to her new home. He hoisted her over his shoulder and was off.

Ron, Harry and Ginny were gathered about the fireplace. Ron watched with interest, as his parents were being goofy with their granddaughter Rose. With all of the silly sounds they were making he wondered which was the baby. Meanwhile, Errol had improved his flying skills and over time had arrived at the Burrow without incident. He came over to Ron and dropped the pouch into Ron's hand. Ron just looked at it and thought that the bird is still daft. Errol waited for a treat, but all he got was a belch from Ron. Errol left squawking. The bird went to Ginny who was always kind to him. She didn't let him down; she gave him a nugget of popcorn that she was eating. Ron opened the pouch and became bewildered at its contents. He saw what looked like round white beads. He then realized that they were pearls. He lifted them out of the pouch and then noticed some dry dark substance on them.

"What the bloody hell?"

After a moment he saw one of them had HW on it. The pearls were the ones he had given to Hermione and that the dry dark substance was blood. He bolted out of his chair trying to explain to the rest while he raced to get his broom. Not exactly sure what he was saying Harry followed his lead and went for his broom as well. The others looked at each other with astonishment. Ron yelled that Hermione was in trouble and was off to the house.

As time moved on they arrived at the house. Ron slammed into the front door yelling for Hermione. There was no response. Harry followed him as they drew their wands and together they ran about the house yelling her name. They decided to check upstairs. They ran up the steps and first entered the bedroom. They saw the room was a mess and then noticed a blotch of dark color on the cover of the bed. Ron grabbed it and yelled her name. At that moment Harry grabbed Ron's arm and turned him about. They were stunned for on the mirror it was written in Hermione's blood,

KRUM!

Dedicated to Emma.