Chasing You (Viktor Krum X Reader)

Chapter 8: I Repay a Debt to a Small Child and Do Other Magical Things

Chapter 8: I Repay a Debt to a Small Child and Do Other Magical Things

"Harry! Hey, sorry," I call as I jog to catch up with him. He's way ahead of me in the hallway, walking quickly despite his short little legs. I am embarrassingly out of breath by the time I catch him, but I fight back the urge to keel over and (probably) die. "Hey, uh, have you had any luck with the egg?"

"No," he says as he waves his friends on, looking more than a little uncomfortable as I choke down air. We're in the middle of the corridor and he looks horrified by the way I'm gasping, so I gesture for him to follow me to the edge of the hallway so that we're out of the way. "Have you?"

"Uh, kind of. Listen, I wanted to thank you again for telling me about the dragons. Viktor and I figured the egg out a little while ago and I've been trying to track you down but I haven't seen you since the Yule Ball. The egg—you have to put it in water," I explain.

"In water?"

"Yeah, use the prefects' bathroom. The password is 'pine fresh', alright? I've got to get to class but I thought you deserved to know after what you did for me last task," I say and smile.

"Thank you," he says and he looks down at the way I'm clasping my chest like I'm about to go into cardia arrest. "I didn't mean to make you chase me so far."

"Oh, Harry, you sweet summer child," I say and take another deep breath, setting my hand on his shoulder, "I've only been following you from the end of the hallway. I am just horrifyingly out of shape."

"Oh."

"I'll see you around. You're so fast," I breathe and turn, hand pressed against my diaphragm. Surely the pain will end any minute now. How does one get a runner's cramp from running down a single hallway?

It's the end of January, which means that we're right in the middle of midterms. Midterms are completely unnecessary. They're the equivalent of saying, Oh you're halfway done and doing fine? Let's change that. They sneak up on you. You think the semester is going smoothly and then you have six exams in one week and they're worth, like, a fourth of your grade.

Hellish.

My herbology midterm was the easiest one that I had to do. It was a simple paper about a plant of our choice, about which we had to write four feet worth of an essay. Since I had finished early, Professor Sprout instructed me to show up to class for attendance purposes, but then I could have the rest of the class time to myself.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout," I greet as I enter the greenhouse, where all of my classmates are rushing to finish the essays that they had pushed until the last minute.

"Hello, Miss Y/L/N. Thank you for checking in," she says before waving me on. I smile and slip out of the greenhouse, my smile dripping with a bit of devilish pleasure as I watch the students watch after me wistfully.

The walk to the astronomy tower is more pleasant than my walk to the greenhouse. Students are piled into classrooms, so the corridors are quiet and free of the subsequent chaos of teenage mischief. My footsteps echo through the hallways as I walk, occasionally drawing a longing glance from a student who wishes to be in my place, anywhere but taking a test.

I climb the spiral staircase that leads to the astronomy tower and hum softly to myself. When I emerge into the tower, I see Viktor, whose feet dangle over the side of the tower, his arms draped over the precautionary bar that lines the edge of the tower.

"Hey," I greet and sit beside him, mimicking his position as I slide my legs beneath the metal bar.

"Hello," he says and looks at me. "How are you?"