been soundlessly asleep when she was abruptly awoken by a loud knock on her door. She received moans of small abuse from Deanna as the noise woke her also - along with Erin, who seemed to be too engrossed in daydreaming about Anthony Goldstein to shout at Bella like she usually would. Instead she just rolled over, cocooned in her covers, and pushed her head further into the fabric of her pillow.

Still not completely vigilant due to her immense drowsiness, Bella stumbled over to her slippers where they lay in a pile of clothes at the foot of her bed. Slipping them on her feet, she hastily pulled on her Ravenclaw robes over her pyjamas, as the cold night air was biting at her skin. She grabbed her wand from her dresser, whispering "Lumos," and wincing at the sudden bright light in her vision.

She reluctantly opened the dormitory door with an unpleasant creak, and gasped when she saw Viktor Krum standing there. His face was sheepish, yet his muscular body still stood proudly without shivering or shaking like Arabella's was. She supposed that this was because the Durmstrang Academy was located in Scandinavia (or so she was told by Hermione Granger, who had read every book in the library about Durmstrang before their arrival) and he was possibly used to the cold conditions.

Bella, however, was not.

"Viktor? What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night." She asked through a yawn. Scanning his attire, she noticed that he was clad in pyjamas too, and suddenly felt far less uncomfortable knowing that she wasn't the only one who was not as covered-up as she would have liked to be.

The Bulgarian stroked the back of his neck nervously. "Well, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about what Harry Potter told me."

Bella's eyebrows furrowed in perplexity. "What'd he tell you?"

"That the first task is a dragon, and we have to fight it."

She nods in recognition, remembering what he had told her prior. "I know I agreed to help you, but I still don't understand how I will be of any use when fighting a dragon."

"I'm only asking you to try, Bella."

She sighed with exhaustion, nodding her head as much as her low energy levels would allow her to. "Ok, fine, I'll help you. But we will have to talk somewhere more private than the castle. Filch and Professor Snape tend to patrol the corridors at this time of night."

"How about the Durmstrang ship?"

"If you think I'm swimming across a lake at midnight in my pyjamas just to get to your stupid--"

"I was going to suggest walking across the dock, but now you've said it we'll take the exciting option." Viktor ordered; a smirk plastered across his clean-shaven face.

"Viktor, no." Bella attempted to demand, although he just forcefully grabbed her hand in his calloused palms and dragged her from the doorway of her dormitory. She dropped her wand as he ran with him, glancing back to see it roll through the gap underneath her door. She smiled thankfully, knowing that it had not ended up rolling into somewhere unsafe or unreachable. She swiftly diverted her attention back to Viktor where he lead her recklessly racing down the Hogwarts staircases, with fits of their laughter echoing through the halls.

They ran down the spiralling stairs, careful not to trip over each other's feet as they took a step. Many times occurred where Arabella nearly bumped into Viktor as he pulled her hands closer to him - thus almost falling over his feet just as she was trying to avoid doing. She shrieked as she lost her footing, only to be caught by the steady grip of Viktor's hands around her waist. "Thanks," the redhead murmured. "But you didn't have to do that."

Viktor said nothing; quietly taking Bella's soft hand back into his and continuing to lead her down the stairs of stone. In the process of running, both of her slippers had been left behind, along with the warmth circulating through her feet. Her feet were now bare and cold, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was exhilarating.

They opened the large arched doors together, becoming instantly blasted by the cold breeze that this particular night had brought upon them. Typical, Arabella thought. The one night I choose to go out it's absolutely freezing.

Viktor clearly noticed her shivering body and stifled a laugh. "How are you cold if you have your robes on?"

"Funnily enough, some of us aren't used to the cold like you are." She remarked through chattering teeth.

The Bulgarian sighed. "If I had a coat, I would offer it to you. But I don't, because I left it in the ship."

Bella rolled her eyes, waving off his comment. "I don't need someone to give me their coat. I'd rather get it myself." She paused for a second, guilt surfacing to the pit of her stomach when she saw Viktor's disappointed expression. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so dismissive. I do appreciate the gentlemanliness, though." She elbowed his muscular arm playfully, ending up wincing as she caused more pain in her elbow than he felt in his arm.

Arabella hugged her body as she walked, silently wishing to herself that Viktor would hug her instead - although she didn't have the courage to ask and he didn't seem willing.

The moon was full that night, the blinding white contrasting against the blackened sky which was illuminated by small clusters of stars. The Black Lake on the school grounds glistened similarly to the moon's radiant glow, stripping the lake of any mysterious eeriness it always possessed at night and instead replacing it with an abnormally gorgeous sight. It was so gorgeous that Bella was taken aback; she was used to seeing the Black Lake swarmed with Merpeople and Grindylows (both creatures she did not care to encounter), and not in a state of crystal clear peacefulness as it was displaying that moment.

That made her feel a little better about having to swim through the lake; knowing it wasn't inhabited with dangerous creatures. In fact, it reassured her so much that she was almost, almost in a state of complete relaxation.

Almost.

A shrilling howl was carried through the blistering wind, ringing in Arabella's ears. Rather embarrassingly, she was frightened, and held onto Viktor's arm for safety. She hated that she defaulted to him for protection, but knew that she couldn't help it and that it was natural for her to do such a thing when placed in such a situation. "What the fuck was that?" She cursed through shaking breaths.

Viktor shrugged, returning the gesture she made by grasping onto her arm also. "Sounded like a dog, or a wolf."

Bella shook her head. "I know Hogwarts well enough by now to realise that that is not just an ordinary harmless pet roaming the grounds. It's a werewolf." Realisation overwhelmed the redhead, remembering that she had dropped her wand and it was no longer tucked safely inside the pocket of her Ravenclaw robes. "I don't have my wand." She exclaimed to Viktor.

"Get behind me." He said, pulling Arabella's waist so that she was forcefully moved behind the Bulgarian, of whom had adopted a protective stance. Despite her racing heart and pulsating veins, she was confused at Viktor's actions yet refrained from asking him, as she quickly become too frightened to form proper words.

She then realised the reason behind his sudden spurt of terror, when increasingly loud footsteps began approaching them. The atmosphere was too dark for them to see properly, but through squinted eyes Bella could make out a mass of wiry blonde fur and a large intimidating snarl on the werewolf's face.

Viktor pointed his wand at the creature, a mask of bravery plastered on his face. As the werewolf prowled closer, salivating at the sight of the two teenagers stood in front of it, Viktor's arm outstretched. His wand-clad palms began to sweat, tightening his grip on the Hornbeam wood until he thought he heard it crack. He pushed Arabella even more behind him, shoving her violently when she attempted to protect him instead. "You don't have your wand, Bella! Just get behind me!" He demanded, and she did so with shaking limbs.

Arabella stood behind his muscular frame, feeling nothing but fear and extreme anticipation. She had no idea what Viktor was about to do to the beast, yet all she could do was close her eyes and hope. Hope that they wouldn't die that night.

"Confringo!" Viktor yelled, his wand just millimetres from the werewolf's snout. It was sent flying backwards, trapped in a tornado of flames. Bella winced as she heard the creature wince and howl in pain, the vicious fire engulfing it.

Viktor grabbed Arabella's hand, the both of them running back towards the castle with panicked breaths and aching feet. Bella watched as the flames went out, the figure of the werewolf's weak body lying on the grass. She couldn't help but feel bad for the beast - she would have much preferred it if Viktor had killed the thing quickly; instead she was left to hear its slight moans of pain and lay her eyes on the burn scars littering its now-furless skin.

Yet still she ran, and so did he, until they eventually couldn't run anymore.

They found themselves back at the castle within a matter of minutes, scrambling up the moving staircases with their hands still laced together. Both were drenched in their own sweat, but neither of them cared. "Shouldn't we go to Dumbledore and tell him that there was a werewolf roaming the grounds?" Arabella suggested, when she finally gained enough breath to hold a conversation with the eighteen-year-old Seeker beside her.

"No, shit, no. We would get into more trouble for being around the grounds at this time of night . . . and not to mention for attacking it. That's a bad idea, Bella, even if it does seem morally wrong to you not to report it to anyone."

She released her grip from his, rubbing up her arm with her opposite hand. "I just-- I just don't know if I can trust you anymore."

The boy was left dumbfounded. "What, why?"

"I know you were trying to protect me, but torturing the werewolf like that wasn't right. You scared me, Viktor. I am scared of you." When he didn't speak, the redhead sighed frustratedly. "Answer me!"

"Well what do you want me to say, Arabella?" Viktor shouted, the anger that emitted from both of them beginning to echo in the halls.

When the girl began to stutter, unable to speak properly, she stamped her bare foot on the cold stone. "I'm sorry, Viktor. I am."

He was left to watch her run up the stairs, slamming the door of her dorm room behind her. She was left without his company, slumped into the loving hug of Deanna's tear-stained pyjama top. They both thought of each other, wondering if that night was the last time they would ever speak again.

Well that escalated quickly