Link of Hogwarts

Fifty-Two

Rumors about what had happened in the Defense class had spread like wild fire by the time the sun touches the western horizon. It wasn't just Moody who felt Link's ferocious will, but the whole class present. Link acted like he didn't do anything so outrageous and since no one was hurt other than Moody's pride, no action was taken on behalf of the staff.

However, he found himself under fire from using dubious instructions in his class so the Imperious Class was cancelled.

Added to the fact that he once turned Malfoy into a ferret...

Link didn't really get the whole story, being as busy as he was, but Malfoy got in a fight with either Ron and Neville, he's not sure, but apparently when his friends turned their back on him Moody caught him trying to sneak attack them from behind. So he transfigured the Slytherin into a ferret and bounced him as punishment until McGonagall caught him and returned Malfoy to his human state. She then publicly scolded the man regarding his choice of punishment.

Ron was ecstatic the whole day and refused to think of anything other than "Malfoy the Bouncing Ferret" so that it will become his happiest memory regarding the blond. Link suspected that if Ron had tried to cast the Patronus Charm that day, he would have succeeded a true corporeal Patronus.

At the moment, Link had finally succeeded in his attempt to transfigure a random object into a sword. His favorite has always been the double-edged long sword. In Second Year, he had used the rapier style Sword of Gryffindor and found that though he's capable of wielding it, he does not prefer it. He had then tried all manners of broadswords, all carved of wood of course, like the scimitars, the cutlass, the falchion, the backsword, the side sword and even all manners of katana.

In the end he found his preference in the double-edged long sword.

But Link, despite having all manners of carved weapons at his tree, decided that he's ready for live steel. But since he's not allowed to carry a live steel weapon considering it's a school and the law dictated that he's a child thus not allowed access to any form of dangerous weapons (which doesn't apply to a wand despite its capability to cause great harm) so Link decided to improvise. His muscles yearned for an actual weight when swinging.

So Link has been practicing Transfiguration in his spare time. He recalled the toothpick to needle transfiguration that was taught back in First Year and concluded that it was something similar, only instead of a toothpick he's using a branch and instead of a needle he's transforming it into a sword. Transforming one element for another has already been mastered so he only needed to refine what he wanted to create.

Thus Viktor Krum found him surrounded by all manners of swords and branches in all stages of transfiguration one weekend morning on his jogging route.

Viktor doesn't know what to make of Link Potter. His way of doing things constantly sending ripples to his surroundings without any form of intention on his part. Viktor also has never met anyone so gentle yet so fierce in his life. He has seen Link when interacting and anyone could have mistaken him for being timid.

But the boy's anything but timid. He's like a Beast with a full belly, lazily watching others play with his tail and paws or ignoring the flies circling his ears. But the moment someone stepped on his tail or threaten him, the claws will unsheathe and the fangs will flash. Yet he also has great patience even when threatening his opponent. He will study them before deciding whether they're worth waking up for or otherwise ignored.

However, when those he sees as his to protect is endangered, he will ignore his previous judgment and maul them to death...

That's the impression that Link leave Viktor with.

When he realized whom Hermione's best friend with besides the red haired boy and the dark haired boy, he hesitated on asking her out. Having been on top most of his life, especially after his elevated Seeker status on his national team, Viktor's seldom feel threatened by others. Especially by those younger than him.

But Link sent warning bells in his head. So he watched Hermione from afar, afraid to get closer before he's certain of their relationship. But Link has never treated her with anything other than platonic affection. If anything, Viktor realized that the red haired boy was much more hostile towards his friendliness with Hermione than Link ever did.

But that does not mean that Viktor will ever let his guard down around Link.

So now what? The last person he wanted to be even more involved with sat before him, with a perfectly transfigured sword in his hand.

Viktor hid himself.

He then watched the boy from behind a tree. He has seen Link around when going through his usual routine. He has heard about the boy's crazy morning activities, though so far Viktor has never come across him on his workout routine. The few times he caught sight of Link, he was with the former convict Sirius Black, learning. Viktor has to admit had the Tournament decided to have the Champions face each other in a duel, Link will win easily.

Viktor has never seen the dueling style that Link performed during his mentoring.

Had Link been a Quidditch player, Viktor would have been inspired to try and challenge the boy but from what he gathered, Link couldn't even lift off on a broom. Yet from what he had seen of the boy's flying skill, despite riding something so unwieldy like the Hippogriff, Link has a great amount of control and talent for it.

So what was the boy doing with the sword in hand? Viktor's eyes widened when Link started to move through stances, slowly but surely gaining speed and precision. It was like watching a dance, a deadly dance of steel and blade that will cut him to ribbons with the wrong move.

Link then started to go through cutting stances and Viktor can tell, from the weight of the wind that slashes through the air, that the sword carries great weight. Link's movements started to blur from one stance to the next like he was Apparating from one form to the next smoothly.

"What are you watching?"

Viktor almost jumped when he saw Cedric behind him. Not answering since he has terrible English pronunciation, one that Hermione has been helping with (bless her), Viktor moved a little to the side and let Cedric see for himself. Cedric gaped at the sight before gulping, whispering, "Don't ever get on his bad side,"

"Get on whose bad side?"

The boys recognized the heavily accented English and shifted so that Fleur could see. She peeked around them and gasped, "Link?"

She started chattering in French quietly but from how she speaks, they know that her mind's far from fearing Link. Cedric and Viktor were both so used to how girls speak when admiring them that they know Fleur's admiring Link's form.

The three Champions watched from the shadow until Link slowed down and come to a stop. He sweated heavily and Fleur hid a squeal of admiration at the sight of the shirt clinging to his body. Breathing coming to a calmer tempo, Link sat down and began to meditate, sword in his lap.

The group couldn't help but watch, wondering what he will do next when a giant owl that they have seen around Link screeched as it landed on Link's head, claws on his shoulders. It turned fierce yellow eyes at them, hooting once, before looking at Link and preening his hair.

Link opened his eyes and stand up, stretching some more and sticking the sword into the ground. He then stretched his legs and ran, picking a relaxing pace. The giant owl on his head the whole time.

Cedric break away from the trio of spies and awkwardly excused himself. Fleur fanned herself before doing the same.

Viktor on the other hand decided to approach the sword stuck in the ground before noticing that it wasn't the ground that Link stick it into rather a rock hidden just under the rotting leaves. He tested the pommel and tried to pull at it. Then he used greater strength and tried until he gave up.

It didn't move an inch.