Bab 121: Happy Snowy Time!
Dread didn't reach Sally-Anne until the lift doors opened. She still remembered the odd smell of St. Mungo's. It didn't carry the stench of disinfectant like Muggle hospitals did. It was… empty. Like it didn't have a scent. She made a note to ask Luna what she thought it smelled like.
Even thought Nikolai had told her the doctors didn't think there was anything they could do, Sally-Anne held a good thought. They had magic; surely there was something they could do to restore his eyesight to the way it had been. The only limit she knew for sure was raising the dead, and even that wasn't a hard limit, apparently. Deep down, she knew it would be alright.
She walked down the small corridor, following the helpful signs to the waiting room. She was thankful none of them pointed up or down, or spun, like the ones in Diagon Alley. No wonder so many witches and wizards went mad.
When she opened the doors to the waiting room, the full weight of the situation hit her.
It wasn't the entire Bulgarian Quidditch team that threw her off. Nor was it the presence of Viktor's family. Sally-Anne certainly wasn't a mother, but it wasn't a far leap to imagine Mrs. Weasley worrying herself sick over even the smallest of injuries. So seeing Viktor's family so worried didn't startle her at all. It was Nikolai.
She'd never seen Nikolai doubt, not once. He wasn't particularly chatty, but he had always found some way to stay positive during practice, even during the worst of it. There, in the waiting room, she saw tears in his eyes. He sat with Vlad and Andrei, whom Sally-Anne recognized from the previous year. Both of them were also struggling to contain themselves. She was glad they all had someone to lean on. Andrei and Vlad were leaning on each other, hand in hand, and Nikolai sat with Adele, who nudged him when Sally-Anne walked in.
"Has he gotten worse?" Sally-Anne asked in Bulgarian, looking to each member of the room for an answer. "What's happened?"
Adele was the first to respond. She motioned to the chair beside her, and Sally-Anne took a seat.
"Last ve knew, curse was eating avay at him," she said. "Every time zhey try to repair hees eyes, curse harms them again. He… he has already geeven up. Told us to forget about heem."
"When was this?"
Adele looked away, and Sally-Anne suddenly found herself short of breath. For a moment, she was back in Gryffindor common room, finding Harry and Hermione over Rose's dead body. Reprisals of "Rose Peta-Lorrum is dead" filled her ears, but she snapped herself back to reality.
"A few hours ago, when Nikolai got your letter, and we told Viktor you would be here soon." Adele looked to Nikolai, then to Andrei, and finally to Vlad, but no one else spoke up. "He asked us not to let you in. That he didn't want to see you."
A wave of nausea spread over her, and she feared she would be sick. The color drained from her face, and she struggled to stay coherent.
"I… I see," she managed through the fog.
Footsteps echoed in the waiting room, but all Sally-Anne could see were stars. She tried focusing on the voices she heard, but they were too muffled for her to hear them.
Someone rested a firm hand on her shoulder, and she could faintly make out a face she didn't recognize.
"Viktor has always been like this," came a gruff voice. "He is stubborn and thinks the world of you. He thinks for you to see him this way would be to show weakness. If there is one thing he will not stand for, it is being diminished in your eyes."
When the blood returned to her head and her vision cleared, Sally-Anne could make out a man that looked a lot like Viktor crouching in front of her.
"You must be his father," she mumbled.
"I apologize, but I cannot speak English. I was never good with words."
Sally-Anne blinked and attempted to straighten herself.
"You must be Mr. Krum. I'm Sally-Anne Perks, although Viktor always calls me Princess."
"I know. When he last visited us, he would not stop talking about you. The most beautiful woman he's ever seen, he said." He grasped her hand with both of his. "It is a privilege to finally meet you."
She shook his hand.
"Likewise. I just wish it were a better time than this."
He nodded his agreement, then took the chair across from her.
She adjusted herself again, although she still felt faint.
"He is still alive, and that is important," Mr. Krum said, more to the room in general and not just to her. "So long as he is alive, there is hope."
Sally-Anne smiled, which she found harder than ever. Almost ever.
This isn't Rose. He's still alive. We can still help him. He's just being stubborn now. Because of course he is, he's one of my friends.
"What about Quidditch?" Nikolai asked.
Everyone else in the room looked expectantly at Mr. Krum and Sally-Anne, hoping for an answer. No, not just any answer; they all wanted to hear that he'd be back on the pitch by the end of the week. Some part of Sally-Anne told her that would never happen.
What does it matter? I'm never going to see him again.
"One problem at a time," he said. "They'll be letting us back in to see him soon. When that happens, I will take Princess back to see him. I think we can convince him to come to his senses."
"Do you really think he'll listen?" Sally-Anne asked. "Right now, he's probably going to just send me home."
"Then we come back tomorrow. He may be stubborn, but we are more stubborn!"
Sally-Anne tried to smile again, but it still came out wrong.
"I don't see how you're so hopeful."
"Because I look out and see the big picture. That man could've done a lot worse to Viktor than he did. But Viktor is still alive. He is moping; he does that. But he won't do it forever."
He leaned in closer to her, and motioned for her to do the same. When she did, he whispered something else to her.
"And if I'm not, no one else here will be."
After almost an hour of waiting, Sally-Anne and Viktor's father went into the back. They followed a medic through the corridor and down to a single room. In the room was a window, through which Sally-Anne and Viktor's father could see Viktor. He laid in a bed, staring at the ceiling. He looked stoic, almost sad.
"This is new," Viktor's father said, looking to the medic for an answer.
"The curse is eating away at his eyes," the doctor said. "The enchantments on this room are all we could do to keep it level. It is becoming more aggressive as time goes on. We're worried it may reach his brain."
Sally-Anne struggled to recall anything about biology. It wasn't exactly considered important at Hogwarts. For a moment, Sally-Anne wished Ron or her mum were there with her to explain it. She didn't know for sure that either would be able to, but it seemed like something one of them would've had stashed away in their heads.
"Can't you stop it?" Viktor's father asked.
"We can, but we'd need to remove his eyes entirely to catch it all. We've tried removing parts of them, but the curse moves too fast. We can't keep pace with it."
"Then do it," Viktor's father said. "Remove his eyes, regrow them like you've been doing, and we'll all go home."
"It's not that simple," the doctor replied. "If we remove his eyes entirely, they'll be nothing to regrow. He'll need prosthetic eyes, and—"
"They're not legal in official Quidditch matches," Sally-Anne said.
The doctor looked at her as if he'd only just noticed her.
"That's right. The moment prosthetics came up, he refused, then yelled at me to leave. He won't listen to anything else."
"I am his father. If there's no other way to save his life, I give you permission to do it anyway."
The doctor shook his head. "He's older than 17, which means he's got the final decision. It's up to him, and he refused. My hands are tied." He motioned to the white, otherwise empty room. "You are welcome to go inside and talk to him."
Sally-Anne looked to Mr. Krum for their next move. He knew Viktor better than she did, so he'd know who it was best to send in first.
"I'll go in and talk to him," he said, having the same thought she'd had. "Wait here, but stay out of sight. I'll come out when I'm finished, and you can have a go at him."
"Like good cop, bad cop?"
Mr. Krum stared at her blankly.
"One of us is mean, making him more open to the other."
He considered her idea for a moment, then nodded.
"Something like that."
He opened the door and entered Viktor's room. The moment he did, Viktor turned towards him, and Sally-Anne ducked out of sight. She flushed when she realized he probably couldn't see her.
"Can he see?" she asked the doctor.
"For the moment," he replied. "So long as he doesn't leave that chamber. When he does, the curse will eat away at his eyes again, taking his sight immediately."
Sally-Anne watched Viktor and his father shout at one another. She couldn't hear them, but judging by their expressions, she was thankful she couldn't.
"Do you know what curse it is?"
The doctor shook his head. "Experts should be arriving soon. They might have a better idea." He frowned at her. "I take it from your accent that you're not family?"
"Viktor's girlfriend." Sally-Anne curtsied. "Sally-Anne Perks, of England. We met last year at Hogwarts, during the Triwizard Tournament."
The doctor gave little response, but excused himself to tend to other patients.
Sally-Anne turned back to the chamber in time to see Viktor's father slam his fist into the wall.
He turned back to her and stormed out, red in the face. His anger didn't fade until he'd left the chamber, when he immediately returned to his kindly manner.
"He is warmed up," Mr. Krum said.
"Suddenly, many of Viktor's mannerisms and habits make sense," Sally-Anne muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, just thinking aloud."
With that, Sally-Anne entered the chamber. Sound from the busy hospital outside was cut off when the door closed behind her, casting an eerie silence over the clean white room.
"Viktor."
Viktor turned in his bed to face her. When he saw her, his stare turned to a glare.
"It's alright. It's me."
"I can still see fine," he muttered. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. In case you needed me."
"I am not needing anyone. When I leave room, I lose eyes. I can never play Quidditch again. I can never see your face again. Such beauty will be wasted on me."
"You don't know that. If this is a curse, surely it can be dispelled. The doctor said he's bringing in experts on curse-breaking. When they arrive, they'll—"
"They will find that they can do nothing. This is life now. I have nothing. No future."
Sally-Anne smiled, but Viktor wouldn't meet her gaze.
"You've still got me."
"No. You must leave."
"I'm not leaving you. Not while you're like this. No matter what, I'm staying by your side."
"I will not let you waste life with me."
Sally-Anne wasn't surprised by how stubborn Viktor was being. At the same time, she felt faint. Pain returned to her stomach, and she felt weak on her feet.
"I live to help people, and I'm certainly not about to leave you to face this alone."
Viktor turned his gaze towards her. His eyes were empty, like he already couldn't see her.
Her stomach twisted in knots under his cold glare. Without thinking, she took a step back.
Keep it together.
She took another step forward, putting herself next to his bed.
He looked away from her and back towards the ceiling.
"Leave now."
His words stung her, but she held fast.
"No. You're strong, but this is too much. This is too much for anyone."
"I will handle me. You go have happy life with other man. Better man."
"Damn it, Viktor, I don't want another man, I want you! I love you, you stubborn git! Either stop wallowing in self-pity, or let me keep you company while you do, because I'm not leaving!"
Sally-Anne didn't hesitate, even though she hadn't meant to snap. She'd had enough of people not listening.
"I will miss you, Princess."
Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them clear, then glared at Viktor again.
"You won't miss me too long. I'll be back tomorrow."
Neville, Hermione, and Luna sat alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Neville figured Harry still didn't trust Hermione, so he'd elected to sit in a separate compartment, along with Ron (who didn't want to be near Hermione still) and Ginny (who wanted to sit with Harry).
"What are your plans for the holiday?" Hermione asked them.
"We're working it out," Neville replied, smiling at Luna. "We're hoping to get together over the holiday for a Snowy Time celebration."
"Oh."
Neville frowned at Hermione for a moment, wondering why she suddenly looked downcast. Then it occurred to him: they were her only friends. At least, she probably considered them her only friends. Without the two of them, Hermione had no one.
"Would you like to join us?" Luna asked, noticing the same thing Neville did. Or, knowing Luna, it was more likely that she saw a friend upset and decided to pull her in. Or wanted backup in case of a nargle attack or something. Neville wasn't always sure what went through Luna's head, but he knew it was never boring.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course," Neville said. "You're our friend, and I doubt Gran will let me spend time with Luna unless she knows more of my friends will be there."
"Does… does she know you two are dating?"
"Yes, and she's not taking it well. I wrote her a letter and told her. The most positive part of the letter was her telling me I was too young to be dating."
"And… and the worst of it?"
I can't believe you're still wasting your time with that girl's friends! Especially someone deluded enough to think she was her sister! Especially the daughter of that madman Lovegood! You had better not bring her around this house! Imagine what people would think!
"You don't want to know."
Hermione nodded, and Neville was thankful that she stopped asking questions about it. He hadn't told Luna everything about the letter, specifically because of how his gran had talked about her father. The only time Neville ever saw Luna angry was when someone badmouthed her father.
They didn't speak much after that. Luna fell asleep on Neville's shoulder, and Hermione occupied herself by staring out the window. Neville didn't mind. He sat and practiced keeping his mind clear.
Neville's heart sank when he heard the train pulling in to the station. He glanced at Luna, whose head was resting on his shoulder. For a moment, he wondered how long he could get away with not waking her up.
"We're here," she said, sounding sadder than usual.
Of course, she can hear it.
"Yeah," he said, with equal enthusiasm. "Your dad will be waiting for you."
Her face lit up.
"My two favorite boys in the whole world."
She sat up and took his hand.
"I've told him all about you," she said. "He'll be so happy to meet you."
Neville smiled, not sure how else to take it. He'd heard some fathers could be protective of their daughters. He didn't know what to expect, but he figured if Luna thought it was alright, then there was nothing to worry about.
"We'll work out a plan over the holiday," Neville told the girls as they left the Hogwarts Express.
"It's not like I'm doing anything else," Hermione said.
She sounded like she was trying to be cheerful, but Neville wondered if she'd forgotten how.
Luna guided Neville around the platform, seeking out her father. He got nervous the longer it took, until finally they spotted him.
Here goes nothing.
"Daddy!"
"Luna!"
Luna released his hand and ran to meet her father. They threw their arms around one another, looking like they were never happier.
"Toad!" Luna called back to him. She smiled excitedly and waved him closer, looking more like her sister than he'd ever seen.
Neville walked over to the pair, wishing for a moment he were back in the Triwizard Tournament. That felt easy compared to meeting Luna's father as her boyfriend.
"The broach is new," her father was saying.
"They came from Thindro's Jewelers, best in all of Hogsmeade," Neville said automatically. He extended his hand to her father. "It's nice to properly meet you, Mr. Lovegood."
"Same," Mr. Lovegood said. "I saw you last year in the tournament. That was splendid." He took Neville's hand. "Use your talents to take care of my daughter, and I'm sure we'll get along splendidly."
"You've got a deal."
Neville released her father's hand and turned to Luna.
"See you soon, Moon."
"Bye, Toad."
After a quick hug, which didn't last nearly as long as Neville had wanted it to, he was off to find his gran.
Sally-Anne had returned to Viktor's room every day that week. Every day, she went in and talked to him. Every day, he refused to see reason. His eyes were stable, but he couldn't stay inside the chamber forever. Even knowing he would die once he left the chamber, he refused to consider prosthetic eyes. Experts in curse-breaking, arithmancy, and dark magic came and went, all unable to remove the curse entirely. Some had better success than others, but it always returned in the end.
I wonder if Hermione could help, Sally-Anne found herself thinking at the end of the week. She realized that term had ended that day, and her friends would be returning to their homes. It was hard to tell what time it was; time didn't seem to pass properly in a hospital.
No, I mustn't get Hermione involved. Not with her the way she is. Perhaps Professor Dumbledore could help.
As she sat in the waiting room, talking with Vlad and Andrei, Nikolai and Adele burst in from the back.
"Something's happened! Come quickly!"
Sally-Anne and Viktor's parents were the first on their feet. She rushed into the back, hearing the problem long before she saw it.
Viktor's screams echoed through the corridors. They faded in and out, as if someone was fiddling with the dial on a television set.
Doctors rushed in the same direction they were running. She heard incantations being bellowed through the corridors.
All at once, the screams stopped, leaving a cold, unnerving silence in their wake.
"What was that?" Viktor's father demanded.
The doctor that had been tending to Viktor stepped forward.
"The curse has regained strength. We had to completely sedate him, but the chamber won't hold it back any longer. We've got to constantly fight it to keep it at bay."
"So he's unconscious?" Sally-Anne asked, remembering something Hermione had once mentioned. "Doesn't that mean the decision on his eyes falls to his parents?"
All eyes turned from Sally-Anne to the doctor. The doctor himself looked to Viktor's mum and dad.
"It does. If you want—"
"Do what you need to," his mum said.
"Take out his eyes, and get rid of that damn curse!" his father roared. "Now!"
Sally-Anne remained in a daze the rest of the day.
The operation hadn't taken long. What had happened next took centuries.
Sally-Anne could still see the doctor entering the waiting room. Telling them it was a success, that the curse was gone. That Viktor would be okay.
She could still hear his next words.
"He wants you to all go home. He… he never wants to see any of you again."
His mother had started crying. His father had started roaring. The entire Bulgarian Quidditch team had started speaking at once.
Sally-Anne hadn't spoken a word. She'd just felt numb.
Viktor was allowed to make his own choices, and he'd demanded that everyone be sent away. He was furious that his parents had made the decision for him. Furious that no one had stood up to them.
"He will move on," his father had told her. "We will stay in touch, let you know how he is doing. But… you may not want to wait for him."
Sally-Anne met her parents at the airport that night. It didn't take long to spot them, especially with Taltria guiding them. The moment her dad reached her, he put both arms around her.
"I'm so sorry, Princess," he whispered.
"I'll be alright," she said. "I just want to go home."
"You're in luck," he said. "That's where we happen to be going. Would you like a lift?"
A smile flashed on Sally-Anne's face, but disappeared quickly. "Thank you for trying, Dad, but I'm not in the mood for jokes."
The smile disappeared from his face as well. "I understand. We'll take you home."
Sally-Anne stared out the window the entire ride home. She watched fields and buildings pass by them, barely visible in the dark, thinking of Viktor the entire time.
"I'm not surprised," she said as they neared her house.
"Hm?" Taltria asked.
"Viktor didn't want my help," she said. "I'm not surprised. I suppose he's never wanted my help, I just didn't worry about it until now."
"An independent man isn't a bad thing," her father said from the front seat.
"Maybe, but not for me," Sally-Anne said. "I like looking after people, seeing them improve. Sure, there are lots of people that don't need help all the time, but this was one of those times when he needed my help. If he wasn't going to accept it even then, when was he going to accept it?"
"If you two weren't going to work out," her mum said, "best that you figured it out now rather than after getting married and having three kids."
Sally-Anne chuckled at the thought of her having kids.
"I'm not sure I could handle three kids."
"Why not?" Taltria asked. "You handle more than that on a regular basis at Hogwarts. There's Lord Skyeyes, Lady Brain, Lord Cohort, Lady Firecracker, Butterhead, all however many girls you've got."
"Why not Neville and Luna?"
"They handle themselves." Taltria grinned. "Besides, Lord Toad's beaten me too many times for me to think of him as a kid."
Sally-Anne forced herself to smile and hoped people would stop talking after that. With thoughts of Hermione and Umbridge to fill the void she'd created from Viktor, she struggled with what to do next the rest of the ride home.
Hermione met Luna and Neville at Luna's house. It didn't surprise her in the least to find it decorated with all sorts of ridiculous odds and ends that they claimed were supposed to be for the holiday.
They sat in the snow and opened presents together. It wasn't quite the same as it'd been two years ago, but it was close enough for the three of them. Even better for Hermione; she wasn't angry at either of them. If anything, she felt that they should've been angry at her.
Luna opened Neville's present first. It was a black notebook with a silver crescent moon on the cover, similar to Rose's notebook.
"I thought it'd help you keep track of things," Neville said. "Not just for investigations." He held up a bauble Hermione recognized as his rememberall and smiled. The clouds inside had turned red. "It's better than a rememberall. I haven't the faintest idea what it's telling me I've forgotten."
Luna smiled and hugged Neville. After a minute during which Hermione felt awkward, Neville handed her a present: a simple jar of brown powder.
"Hot cocoa," Hermione said, smiling.
"It always made Rose feel better," Neville said.
"Thank you."
After Luna gave Neville her present, it was Hermione's turn.
"My uncle took these at our family reunion about two years ago," Hermione said, handing them each a picture frame. "He gave me a copy, and I thought you'd both appreciate one."
The picture in question was one of Rose and Hermione. Rose had her usual overexcited grin on her face and an arm around Hermione. Hermione was in the process of rolling her eyes.
"That's brilliant," Neville said. "Very much like you two."
"I'll use it to remember those looks always," Luna said.
"Thanks. I'm not… It wasn't because I was in it, I just thought—"
"Brain, it's fine," Neville said.
"But… I still can't understand why you'd care after what I did. Now I can't focus, and I feel so… stuck. I mean, what good am I in all this?"
"You don't need to be on the front lines, Brain," Neville said. "Leave that to beatsticks like me, or evokers like Firecracker. You and Moon are magic support."
"You're an abjurer, like Rose's mum," Luna added. "You don't need to worry about being Rose. Just have some spells ready all the time, like Sk'lar. He liked glitterdust, freezing fog, grease, and anything with the word 'dimension' in it. Her mum was an Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil, so she used walls all the time."
A smile came to Hermione's face when she thought back to all the stories Rose had told her about her parents. Her family was the only reason Rose hadn't completely lost her mind.
"I'm not good at it either," Luna said. "So we'll have to work on it together."
Luna frowned, then looked at Tutela. They held a silent conversation for a moment that ended in Luna smiling. First, she directed her smile at Neville, who smiled back, even though he was as confused as Hermione. Then Luna reached into her pack and took out a worn out journal filled with pieces of parchment sticking out of it.
"I think these will help you," Luna said, pressing the journal into Hermione's hands. "They're my mum's notes. You've got to promise to take good care of them, and bring them back when you're finished."
"Moon, I…" Hermione looked at the journal in her hands and found herself at a loss for words. "I can't accept this."
"You're not keeping it, just reading it."
Luna slowly withdrew her hands and immediately took Neville's hand. She squeezed it tightly, looking for assurance that she'd done the right thing. Her face shone brightly when Neville put his arm around her.
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, looking at the journal again.
"I've read them plenty of times," Luna replied. "Enough that I know most of it by heart. So long as you take care of them, you can hold onto them."
Hermione nodded, still in shock over Luna's decision. She knew from Rose that she was holding one of the last remnants of Pandora Lovegood.
"I'll take good care of them," Hermione said. "I… I don't know what else to say."
She carefully opened the journal and flipped through some pages. It was covered with runes, diagrams, and plenty of scribbles. She wasn't sure how easy it would be to read, but she knew Luna could translate it for her if she needed.
When Hermione was finished, she placed it gingerly in her pack, hoping the magic inside would keep it safe. After she'd placed it inside, she turned back to Luna.
"Thank you so much, Moon."
Luna leaned over and hugged Hermione.
"You and Toad have always been my Rose when I didn't have anyone else. Mummy would've loved you if she'd met you."
"And she'd be happy to know you've made such good friends," Neville said after Luna moved away from Hermione. He put his arms around Luna. "And she'd be just as proud of you as I am."
Luna returned the hug and nestled closer to Neville.
"Rose would be giving you two so much grief right now," Hermione said. "But she'd be so happy to see you two together."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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