had spent the whole of the previous night awake. Thinking of what the kitchen elves had said about dark magic, about Karkaroff and the training at Durmstrang . . . did everyone think that Viktor Krum was a dark wizard now? She hoped not, for his own sake.

It was the weekend, meaning that Bella had a little too much time to think, hence her incessant worrying about the elven encounter the night prior. Her worrying was also brewing from the Third Task – she needed to help Viktor with a strategy if he was going to win the Tournament, but this was proving difficult following their current "it's complicated" relationship (that's what the redhead would say if anyone asked about him, anyway).

So there she was: walking over to the Durmstrang ship where it resided in the Black Lake dock. As much as it would pain her to talk to him, she knew that her anxiety wouldn't pass if she didn't.

Bella held a few large books in her hand that she had borrowed from the library, ones about mazes, in the hope that herself and Viktor would be able to talk about the Third Task without an argument. (She wasn't counting on it, though.)

Knocking on the door of the ship cabin, it felt eerily familiar to the Ravenclaw. After all, the last time she walked upon the ship was following Zoe's brutal attempt to harm her. Thank Merlin that Zoe got expelled.

To her surprise, Viktor answered the door. His eyes were wide in shock. "Bella."

"I need to talk to you."

They entered the main room of the ship, which was vastly bigger than she remembered it. "Ostavi ni." Viktor mumbled to the other Durmstrang students, and as if by order, they left the room.

Viktor sat on a sofa of blood-red velvet, and as Bella did the same opposite him, she couldn't help but wonder how a red chair could be symbolic for the blood that Karkaroff spilled. After all, if he was a dark wizard or even a Death Eater (like the student rumours had suggested), he would've undoubtedly killed people. Not that she would be surprised though; the man was mysteriously creepy anyway. The redhead was just worried for the sanity of Viktor – she didn't want him to be like that too.

"There has been talk amongst some people that Durmstrang trains its students in dark magic. And Karkaroff: apparently he's, um, not a good person." Bella fiddled with her broken nails as she spoke.

"What do you mean? Who has been saying this?" Viktor scowled.

Arabella shrugged, avoiding his eye contact. "Hogwarts students. It's just a rumour, so it doesn't mean that it's true. I'm just curious."

"I don't understand. I know Karkaroff better than any Hogwarts student; where would this rumour come from? What could they possibly know that I don't?"

Finally, she brought herself to look at him. His gaze on her didn't falter. "Some people seem to think he's a Death Eater, or involved with Lord Voldemort in some way."

Viktor chuckled in disbelief. "He's definitely not a Death Eater, Bella. If he was, Voldemort would be returning. And we're not taught illegal magic at Durmstrang."

"Maybe not illegal magic, but just . . . dangerous." She sighed heavily. "How else would you be so confident using that burn spell on Zoe? Or spells against the dragon in the First Task?"

"Because we have been taught how to defend ourselves."

She paused for a moment, thinking of what he said. He's definitely not a Death Eater, Bella. If he was, Voldemort would be returning.

How does he know that Voldemort won't be returning?

"Speaking of the Tasks," Viktor continued. "Can you still help me with the Third Task strategy?"

Arabella raised an eyebrow, with her arms crossed. "Oh, so now you want my help? After you wouldn't talk to me yesterday?" She paused in contemplation. "Look, I'll help you, because I'm glad we agree that whether we're in a relationship or not, you still need to decide on a strategy for the Third Task, and I clearly need to help you."

"Asking you for help doesn't mean that I need you."

"I've helped you with the last two tasks, idiot. For Merlin's sake, stop being so disobliging and accept that we will have to be friendly in each other's company, whether it'll be romantic or platonic–"

"But I don't want to just be friends though." Viktor whispered with a hopeful grin.

He moved over to the sofa in which she sat on, immediately taking her in his arms as a sweet embrace. His lips found hers, touching gently for a brief moment until Bella pulled away. Her hand rested on his chest. "We're back together then, yeah?"

Viktor kissed her again, laughing against her lips. "Yeah."

The Bulgarian pulled the redhead closer to him, making her shriek in surprise when she fell onto his chest. He smirked, forcefully rolling over so that he was atop her small figure instead. Planting gentle pecks upon her lips, Viktor travelled to her neck where her body writhed in a ticklish nature. He stopped for a moment, chuckling to himself, only to be met with a disappointed frown and a beckoning smile upon his girlfriend's face.

Arabella kissed him passionately. There was a rough bite to the way that their lips touched that translated into an immense hunger for each other. They had both wanted this: to feel one another again.

Viktor pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his bare chest. Bella grinned, sitting up to remove her own sweatshirt from her torso. "Are you sure you want to do that?" Viktor asked her in genuine concern. "Last time we made out, you said that taking off your clothes made you feel uncomfortable."

He took a moment to admire her: porcelain skin shining in the light as if she was a doll made of China, fiery red hair that resembled a burning flame in broad daylight, oceanic blue eyes shimmering like the moon reflecting onto the sea. And he could never forget the smell that he cherished so much – coconut shampoo and flowery perfume.

"I've changed since then," she grinned immensely. "You make me comfortable now. You make me want to do it."

He returned her happy expression, continuing to place kisses down her body where her bare skin was exposed between her bra. Her arms wrapped around his neck, caressing his short hair lovingly, and tangling her legs into his lower body.

Viktor swiftly took off his jeans so that he was clad in nothing but underwear. He seemed entirely comfortable, and he did it smoothly enough to make Bella wonder how many times he had done it before. "Have you done this with other girls back in Bulgaria? Made out with them like this?"

"A few," he admitted with a reassuring kiss upon the Ravenclaw's lips, trailing from her face to her stomach. "But I didn't love them like I love you."

"I love you too," she beamed, taking off her own jeans to wrap her bare legs around Viktor's torso. His fingers snaked up her inner thigh so gently that it tickled a little, only to replace his large hand with his lips pressing against the delicate skin.

Through the romantic embraces, Arabella couldn't help but smile; the person in front of her was exactly how she remembered him when they first encountered one another – nothing she did could change Viktor Krum. In fact, she had only made him better.

And as he nestled his lips into her neck, she noted that he still smelled exactly how he always had, too. Like saltwater, pine wood, and home.

●

Viktor and Bella sat in the Hufflepuff Common Room upon consented entry from her sister, Eleanor. The younger girl had unsurprisingly insisted that she would stay with them to observe their Triwizard Tournament studies. The twelve-year-old knew that getting inside gossip on the Viktor Krum was definitely worth missing a day of her own homework – she would have many exciting things to write to her parents about.

In Bella's arms, she held the same books that she had borrowed from the library that morning. They were heavy and large, and despite being a Ravenclaw, she couldn't fathom how anyone could write that much about mazes and actually enjoy doing so. Viktor's arms were free, with one arm draped around the redhead's shoulders and the other resting at his side.

"Right," Arabella started, opening a book with a loud bang. She noticed Ellie's awkward smile, and patted a space beside her on the yellow sofa to encourage her to sit. She returned the smile when Eleanor happily flopped down next to her older sibling. "We know that the Third Task is about a maze, and I was told that this maze will have obstacles with the Cup at the end. Hence why I brought books about mazes; you may need to know what kind of things you will be up against, in case you need training."

Viktor raised an eyebrow with a confident grin plastered on his face. "Training? I don't need training in defence magic; that's the foundation of all the teachings at Durmstrang. Defence has been drilled into us, so all Durmstrang students are quite good against dangerous creatures."

"It's not just dangerous creatures that I think you'll be up against, though." Bella sighed. "The kitchen elves told me that dark magic might be involved in the task."

Ellie audibly gasped. "Some people in my year have been gossiping that Voldemort might be returning. Harry Potter is in the Tournament, so maybe You-Know-Who is using it as a chance to return when Harry would be at his most distracted."

"Yeah, but that's just a rumour, El. It doesn't mean that it's true. Besides, if there was a possibility of him coming back, Dumbledore would've known by now and alerted the whole school in one of his painfully long speeches." The redhead diverted her attention to the pages in the large book that was placed upon her lap. She was flicking through until abruptly stopping at one page, tracing her finger over the words. "There is no way that we're ever going to find out the pattern of the maze, because not only is it against the rules, it is also impossible to determine since we're not allowed to see it. But we will decide what strategy is best to navigate the maze, in case there are obstacles that could throw you off the path."

Viktor's brows furrowed. "Okay, what does the book say? Anything about navigation of mazes?"

Bella shook her head. "Not really, but it does say a lot about enchanted mazes that use dangerous magic, like moving walls that gradually close in, and plants that attack people. It just says that no matter what the maze is enchanted to do, you should navigate through it very quickly."

"That's good to know – a maze with a mind of its own." The Bulgarian said sarcastically.

"The book also says that the biggest obstacle in an enchanted maze is likely to be the maze itself; magical creatures will be involved, but they will be nothing compared to the magic that is used to enchant it. Apparently it's done so that even the most skilled duelling wizard would not always have an advantage over anyone else." She smirked in a mocking manner. "Maybe your immensely advanced training in defence magic might not be that useful after all, Vik."

"How do you know that the maze for the Triwizard Tournament will be enchanted, though?" Eleanor asked with a perplexed expression.

"I don't, El, but if Dumbledore is involved, there is a high chance that he will do everything in his power to make the final task as difficult as possible. And we can only hope that the rumours are not true, and that Hogwarts will be safe from the threats of You-Know-Who for another year."

She paused, muttering under her breath. "But I'm not as hopeful as I would like to be."

Ooh a cheeky update leading up to the Third Task woo!!

Just FYI even though there's foreshadowing of Voldemort's return in this chapter, none of the characters know about it at the moment, so it will be a complete shock to all of them when it happens. Bella has her suspicions, but she is actually just in denial and refuses to believe it because it's 'just a rumour' 😉

And before you ask: no, Bella and Viktor did not have sex in this chapter because she's 16 and he's 18 so it's just weird ??? they're still young af ???? So yeah it was just a steamy make out session, no sex involved, nor will there ever be in this fanfiction.

Sadly I am planning to only do a few more chapters after this one, meaning unfortunately we are nearing the end of this fic!! Thanks for everyone's support I really appreciate it <3

Go show ur support with a vote & a comment mkay thanks xoxo