Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing
You believed in superstitions
Then maybe you'd see the signs
The Lord knows that this world is cruel
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you
Must I always be waiting, waiting on you
Must I always be playing, playing your fool
I sang your songs, I danced your dance
I gave your friends all a chance
But putting up with them
Wasn't worth never having you
Maybe you've been through this before
But it's my first time so please ignore
The next few lines cause they're directed at you
I can't always be waiting, waiting on you
I can't always be playing, playing your fool
I keep playing your part
But it's not my scene
Want this plot to twist
I've had enough mystery
Keep building it up
Then shooting me down
But I'm already down
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Well, if I was in your position
I'd put down all my ammunition
I'd wonder why'd it taken me so long
But Lord knows that I'm not you
And if I was, I wouldn't be so cruel
Cause waitin' on love aint so easy to do
Must I always be waiting, waiting on you
Must I always be playing, playing your fool
No, I can't I always be waiting, waiting on you
I can't always be playing, playing your fool
~Sitting, Wishing, Waiting
by: Jack Johnson
Chapter 3: Thinking Things Through
The entire Great Hall was silent.
A man with sallow skin was approaching Dumbledore. He was carrying a great wooden chest, which was encrusted with jewels. The casket looked extremely old.
As Viktor watched the man’s progress up to the front of the Great Hall, a murmur of great excitement went through the students. No one knew what to expect.
Viktor looked over at Vlad, who was barely paying attention. He nudged him in the ribs. Viktor gave him a look that clearly said, Listen!.
“Viktor, I really don’t care, I know you’ll be our champion. I’m just anxious to explore the castle. It’s amazing ... do you think we could stay at Hogwarts and never return to Durmstang?”
Viktor laughed, “It wouldn’t make such a difference, would it? This is our final year, and besides we’re already at Hogwarts. Plus, we will be here until the tournament ends.” Viktor laughed again, and Draco shot him a look, which only made him laugh harder; he assumed that Draco thought that all be did was scowl, and Viktor found that very amusing.
His attention was soon drawn back to the front of the hall again. Dumbledore was speaking.
The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways ... their magical prowess “ their daring “ their powers of deduction “ and, of course, their ability to cope with danger.”
The Great Hall was filled with a silence so utterly complete that nobody seemed to be breathing.
Everyone was hanging onto Dumbledore’s every word, yet Viktor had heard all of it before. Karkaroff had made a point of informing then of every detail about the tournament before they left for Hogwarts.
Dumbledore began to speak again, “As you know, three champions compete in the Tournament, one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform in each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by and impartial selector ... the Goblet of Fire.”
Viktor stared in awe at the Goblet. Karkaroff had gone over the Goblet of Fire as well, but he had failed to describe the beauty and majesty of what was now in front of him. Blue-white flames danced gaily in the roughly hewn wooden cup, and he longed to entwine his fingers in the flame.
Dumbledore shut the casket and placed the Goblet on top of it. Viktor snapped out of his daydream. Dumbledore continued to talk but Viktor wasn’t paying any attention. He continued to sneak glances at Hermione. Her name rang like a soft bell in his mind. It was so beautiful, just like her.
“... Goodnight to you all.”
With that the Feast was over and the students from Hogwarts rose from the tables. Viktor stood so that he could continue to look at Hermione, but his view was obstructed by the hoards of students leaving the Great Hall. Viktor stood waiting for Karkaroff to see where they would go next, he personally hoped they be staying in the castle somewhere, but he was pretty sure they would be staying on the ship.
Hermione and the two boys, who Viktor was pretty sure, were her friends, passed by and Viktor longed to reach out and introduce himself. He was feeling much better, so he was sure he would actually be able to talk. Yet ... something held him back. He knew what it was; he was afraid.
He was afraid that she would mock him, that she would ignore him completely, or that her friends would steer her away, laughing at his stupidity.
“Back to the ship then,” Karkaroff stated as he bustled over to his students. He turned to Viktor and said in his most nurturing voice, “Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?”
Viktor shook his head and gathered his furs; he wanted nothing else from Karkaroff.
“Professor, I vould like some vine,” said Vlad hopefully.
“I wasn’t offering it to you, Polikoff,” Karkaroff snapped, rounding on Vlad. “I notice you dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy “” Karkaroff spun on his heel and headed towards the doors of the Great Hall.
Vlad was looking at the stain on his robes, “I really vould have liked some vine,” he looked at Viktor. “You should have said yes, and we could have shared it. Karkaroff would give you anything you wanted.”
“Smartass,” Viktor replied with a small smirk. As they hurried to keep up with Karkaroff, Viktor looked to the entryway and noticed that Hermione and her friends were waiting for them to pass. This is my chance …
“Thank you,” Karkaroff said carelessly, glancing at Hermione’s black haired friend; Karkaroff froze. Viktor looked closely and saw what had caught Karkaroff’s attention. It can’t be …
Everyone else had stopped to, and began to look at the black haired boy. Suddenly, a murmur went through the Durmstang students. Everyone was staring at the young man in awe. Viktor looked over to Vlad, who was openly pointing at Hermione’s friend’s forehead.
Then, from behind him, he heard a grizzly voice say, “Yeah, that’s Harry Potter.”
Karkaroff spun around and quickly turned a pale, sickly colour when he saw a grossly deformed man glowering at him. A terrible look of mingled fury and fear came over Karkaroff’s face.
Vlad turned to Viktor and poked him in the shoulder to get his attention. “What?” Viktor whispered.
“Him,” Vlad stated flatly. “What’ wrong with his face? He is giving me the creeps.”
“I know what you mean, I can’t place it, but there is something about him ...” he trailed off, unable to place the exact feeling of dread was coming from.
“You!” Karkaroff looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Me,” the man said grimly. “And unless you’ve got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You’re blocking the doorway.”
Suddenly, they began to move again. As Viktor passed the area where Hermione stood he looked at her and the unease that the man had caused vanished and he was once again caught up in her beauty.
Viktor was lying on his bunk in the ship, flipping through his textbook: Dark Magic: What You Must Know to Defend Yourself, by Ian DeVille.
Hermione ... what a beautiful name, just like her ... He was brought out of his reprieve to the sound of Vlad.
“I can’t believe we still have homework, Karkaroff is a complete dictator,” Vlad complained, absentmindedly flicking through the pages of his book.
“Uh, well it can’t be that bad, can it? I mean, all we have to do is write a few essays,” Viktor answered, still staring into space. He nearly fell off his bunk when Vlad put a hand to his forehead. “What ARE you doing?”
“Are you felling OK Viktor? Because the Viktor I know hates homework, especially essays.”
Viktor laughed, “Sorry, momentary insanity.”
“You’re thinking about that girl again, aren’t you? What’s her name, uh ... Hermi-something.” Vlad asked, looking over at Viktor.
“Her name is Hermy-own, no that’s not it ... Hermy-own, I can’t say it right,” Viktor said as he realized the way he said it came out nothing like the way it really sounded. “You’re right, I was thinking about her. She’s just so beautiful and I wish I could introduce myself.” Viktor was talking more to himself than he was Vlad.
“So, what’s stopping you?”
What is stopping me? Viktor could not think of any reason why he couldn’t introduce himself, so as he slowly drifted off to sleep, he thought of the best way to approach her in order to introduce himself. He fell asleep smiling; it couldn’t be that hard, all he had to do was say, “Hello.”
Easier said than done.
Author’s Note: Hey, everyone, sorry it took so long to update. There was a lot going on; you know, school, evil teachers, so much homework I thought my head was going to explode (thank God it didn’t), exams, etc.
And again I think some will recognize some Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, page 225, etc. Full literary rights to JK Rowling, because, if not for her, we would not be here (and by “here” I mean at MNFF). Please read and review.