Past Present

The practice was fairly uneventful, Viktor caught the snitch three times in an hour and half, Harry once, though he suspected that Viktor might have played blind a bit on that one. He couldn't believe that had been a real coughing fit Viktor had suffered when the snitch started whirring around Harry's ear, it went on one cough too long. Viktor had probably heard the thing before he did. And given half a chance, Viktor could have caught up and body checked him into next week long before he caught the snitch. All the Bulgarian players slapped him on the back and congratulated him for beating Viktor to the snitch, and Harry could have sworn Viktor and Ivanova shared a wink over his head. "Thanks for the break, Viktor," Harry whispered beside the equipment rack.

"Vot break?" Viktor asked innocently.

"What break, indeed. You probably heard that thing a mile off. I wish Slytherin would take a cue from you, though, Malfoy wouldn't do that for a million knuts, let someone beat him in front of others."

"Slytherin!" Viktor spat. "That little brat Malfoy, he is all talk. He does nothing but hide behind his father's name and money, and those goons. For such a small boy, he sure does look down his nose at a lot of people. A lot of others in that house are the same. I do not care for his head of house either."

"You and me both. Snape feels the same way about me. All of Gryffindor, really. Malfoy isn't too fond of me either, come to it."

" I am glad ve stayed on the ship, even if it vos musty. I am not sure I could haff taken some of those people in Slytherin all evening too. Or even just Malfoy. I think I vould have preferred sleeping on my broom, or vith the giant sqvid, " Viktor finished, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Ole Malfoy snuggle up to you a lot while you were there?" Ron asked. "I'm sure Draco the amazing bouncing ferret was real proud they had a world famous seeker at their table every meal."

Viktor nodded, a bitter edge to his voice now, "He vos...a pain. That big lecture about vhy I should not have asked Hermione to the Yule Ball. All that ridiculous talk about 'mudbloods' and how I could trace my bloodline back over a thousand years. He thought I did not know. She told me in the library. I told him I did not care if her parents vere drunken Cornish pixies and offered to rearrange his face if he ever called her that again. The offer still stands. He vos vorse than Karkaroff and his 'the honor of the school is at stake, you are my champion' speeches. Karkaroff acted like vinning that tournament vos a matter of life or death..."

Cringing as he realized what he had just said, Viktor paused, then turned to Harry. "Sorry. I did not mean it that vay..."

Harry blinked, "I know. It's okay. It's not so bad now when I think back on it. Sometimes, I even think it was just a bad dream, and I'll wake up from it. Cedric didn't deserve...to die."

Viktor clucked his tongue, "I know vot you mean. I liked Diggory. He vos alvays polite to me. Alvays. Even though I vos from Durmstrang...vith Karkaroff." Harry caught the oddly precise echo of Viktor's words when they had parted at Hogwarts. "I am still not sure vot ... really... vent on. It vos so... confused..." Viktor scowled and knit his brows together. I suppose he does think of Cedric Diggory, and that memory brings up more ghosts of the Viktor of last fall, Harry thought.