the day that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were to leave Hogwarts for good, and Arabella awoke abnormally early. So, at exactly six o'clock in the morning, she promptly decided to sneak into the Prefect's bathroom to clear her head with a warm bath.

She tiptoed from her dormitory bed, wincing when Deanna yawned and opened her eyes. "Where are you going?" The brunette asked, brows furrowed, as Bella grabbed a towel from her trunk and hastily placed her cold feet into her embarrassingly fluffy slippers.

"To have a bath," she replied, looking over at Erin who still lay sleeping soundly. She glanced towards the bed beside her – once occupied by Zoe – and her whole body shivered. "But don't tell Erin where I've gone, just in case she tells Anthony Goldstein. Her lover is a bloody Prefect, remember."

"I thought you two were on good terms now." Deanna pondered, rubbing her tired eyes.

"We are," Bella opened the dormitory door, stopping in the doorway. "As friendly as we may be with each other, I'll never completely trust her." She released the handle, and the door closed quietly behind her.

The redhead was conscious of her pattering feet and the light emerging from her wand, as she tiptoed down the spiralling staircases. The paintings on the stone walls groaned in discomfort when her illuminated wand shone onto them, particularly the portrait of Sir Cadogan of whom profusely threatened to fight the Ravenclaw. She laughed at the knight, smiling apologetically. "Sorry for waking you, Sir."

She approached the Prefect's bathroom, knocking on the door and waiting a moment. When there was nothing but silence, she sighed with relief and entered the room, immediately running the taps until the bath was full and the water was steaming.

Bella undressed and stepped into the bath, sinking amongst a cloud of bubbles and a cloud in her mind. She sat there, eyes closed, alone with her thoughts. A single thought replayed in her brain like it was permanently stuck to her conscience.

It was consuming her; the night that her and Viktor came to that exact bathroom. Consuming her like the bubbles that wrapped around her bare body. She thought of that, too – when they kissed passionately, when his hands roamed her body – and she suddenly found herself imagining that night all over again. And she wouldn't have the chance do it again. She wouldn't even be able to see him or feel him face to face, never, because he would be thousands of miles away from her.

And Bella decided that if she couldn't talk to Viktor in the flesh, then she couldn't talk to him at all.

●

Arabella walked across the school courtyard with Luna, Deanna and Eleanor, holding her younger sister's wrist as a response to her nerves. Not that the twelve-year-old minded; Ellie was equally anxious, because she didn't want her older sibling to become lonely after losing the company of Viktor Krum (though she secretly knew that she didn't need the company of a boy – she had always known this – because Eleanor's own romantic interest was a girl, for Merlin's sake).

"I'm nervous," Bella spoke: the first thing that she had uttered from her lips in almost an hour. "I'm not ready for him to leave forever."

Deanna grinned sympathetically. "You'll see each other someday, Bella. Anyway, I'm sure you'll keep in touch by letter, won't you?"

She said nothing, just shrugged.

The four girls joined the large groupings of anticipating Hogwarts students, all clad in their House robes, becoming pleasantly surprised at the enthusiasm from the crowd in support of the two corresponding magical schools. Instantly Bella's mood lifted a little, with her frown turning into a feeble smile. At least she knew that Durmstrang would have a good send off, and that Viktor would be at the forefront considering his fame and popularity. That made her feel the tiniest bit better, but it was still not enough.

It seemed as though they had been waiting for decades – yet it had most likely been only a matter of minutes – and Arabella was growing so impatient that she had left her friends and the crowd of students to find Viktor instead.

She saw the Durmstrang ship, docked closer than it normally would be, and she ran hastily up to the door, knocking on it with great emergence. Igor Karkaroff answered with a scowl, and the redhead's body instantly shrunk to complete timidity. The man didn't scare her, but if the rumours were true and he was a practitioner of dark magic, then his capabilities definitely did scare her.

"I-I'm looking for Viktor Krum. Is he here?"

He looked behind him for a short moment. "Ah, we met in this ship earlier in the year. You're a friend of Viktor, no?"

Bella chuckled, shaking her head. "We were friends at that time, but no. I'm his girlfriend now."

She expected a warm reception, as most people would respond upon hearing romantic news, but Karkaroff raised a single eyebrow with a glint of scepticism in his harsh eyes. "One moment." He muttered, slamming the door much to the girl's surprise, as the wind force blew her long hair backwards.

She scuffed her feet along the wooden deck, only for the door to open abruptly again, and two people were stood in the doorway. Karkaroff's tall presence remained, a slight and pathetic smile plastered upon his face, and Viktor was beside him – whose smile was genuine and beaming. Both of them were clad in the Durmstrang fur attire, preparing for the cold of Scandinavia despite the English summer warmth, and this made her heart break to think that she couldn't experience it with him.

The couple sighed with happiness towards each other, and Arabella immediately embraced Viktor in a tight hug. Instead of being overwhelmed with sadness and tears like she had expected (just as she had been mere minutes prior to seeing his face), the Ravenclaw laughed with joy. His body warmth comforted her, and it made her happy to think of all the memories that they had, not the ones that they have lost.

Because although she was losing him, she had gained requited love from someone, and a year at Hogwarts that she would never forget. It was bittersweet, but it was a tragedy. And Bella was thankful, because Viktor Krum was the catalyst of it all.

He pulled away from the hug, but his hands remained on her waist as they stared into each other's eyes; an ocean of cerulean blue and a canvas of rich brown. "When are you coming? Everyone is waiting to see the departure of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Not that I want you to go, of course." Sighed Arabella.

He laughed, glancing to the floor and then to Karkaroff, who still stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. "In a few minutes, I'm sure. It takes a while to prepare the ship for sailing."

Suddenly the redhead didn't care about Karkaroff's presence anymore, and she cupped Viktor's blushed cheeks before violently pressing her lips to his. He kissed back, and their lips touched as if it was the last time that they would ever kiss each other . . .

It was.

"Don't abandon me," she murmured, before releasing her caressing grip from Viktor's cheek and walking away, unable to look back although she knew that he was watching her with saddened eyes. "Goodbye." She whispered, unsure whether her boyfriend would hear.

He did.

Bella joined Luna, Deanna and Eleanor again after snaking through the large crowd, unable to speak until Luna asked with furrowed brows: "Where did you go?"

"I went to find Viktor, just to say goodbye one last time."

"Speaking of Viktor," Eleanor said, enthusiastically pointing beyond the courtyard passages where the Black Lake resided. Upon it was the grand Durmstrang ship, slowly descending into the water, and cheers erupted immediately from the Hogwarts students. Bella gasped, waving to the ship despite knowing that nobody could see her, but it gave her a glimmer of hope to know that maybe – just maybe – Viktor could see her from a window of the ship, and he was waving back.

"I didn't want to cry over something like this." She stuttered, her voice shaking as she wiped a single tear from her eye.

There were yells and delighted gasps when the Beauxbatons Pegasi carriage flew over the students, rapidly ascending further into the air with a series of sharp turns that made the carriage lean to one side. There was a stream of white as the Pegasi flew; clouds leaving a trail like it was a tarmac road in the blue sky. It looked like pure magic.

Eleanor took her older sister's hand lovingly. "You will see Viktor again. I know you will."

●

It had been just under three years since Bella had last spoken to Viktor . . . but she moved on, and she was confident that he moved on, too.

Viktor Krum would get women fawning over him all the time; it would be easy for him to find many other romantic attractions. Bella knew that, and completely accepted it. As for herself, men weren't exactly beckoning at her every call, but she had Fred and George's friendship and they were all she needed.

But she still thought about Viktor Krum. Dreamt about him, in fact. She wanted to know what his life was like now that he was twenty one: how many more Quidditch tournaments he had won, how many more Bulgarian newspapers he was featured in – she wanted to know the simple things, because they were what mattered to her.

Arabella, now nineteen, brushed off her lilac dress and stared ominously at the wedding tent. It was Bill and Fleur's wedding, but the girl didn't feel it was entirely the right mood for the occasion; Voldemort's inevitable return (yes, again) and a potential Second Wizarding War made her feel a little sickly with fear, and she was unable to feel joyous like she knew she was supposed to at a wedding.

She walked into the tent with Fred and George, sitting down at a table when the twins joined their parents whom were standing within a crowd – consisting of only the Weasleys and the Delacours – happily clapping and watching the two newly-weds dance on the tent floor.

Molly Weasley saw Bella sitting alone and enthusiastically beckoned her, but the girl just smiled weakly and shook her head.

"Not feeling up to dancing?" A familiar voice laughed, and when she looked up, Harry Potter was stood in front of her.

"Oh, hi Harry," she sighed. "I'm not feeling up to a wedding, let alone dancing." She breathed a small chuckle as she glanced towards Luna and her father, Xenophilius, dancing in their strange rituals. The platinum blonde had remained one of her good friends, and she never failed to entertain.

"Yeah, I understand that." The boy replied. "At least you're not the cause of all this."

Bella scoffed. "It's not your fault that You-Know-Who wants to kill you, Harry."

Ginny came over, pulling Harry from his chair to the dance floor, despite his incessant protests. She caught eye contact with Bella, and they shared a smile before Ginny's head nodded in the direction of the dancing. She knew that the youngest Weasley was asking her to dance too, but she just shook her head again. Dancing is an act of happiness, and she couldn't dance because she wasn't happy.

She turned her attention to watching the witches and wizards on the floor, with both bride and groom's families joining them in meaningless movements and shrieking in delight. Her attention quickly turned to her manicured nails, finding that it was passing the time far swifter.

A forced cough sounded amongst the cacophony of chatter and laughter, and Bella simultaneously saw a pair of black patent shoes stand before her. She looked up, seeing a man that at first she didn't recognise – or maybe that was her brain in disbelief.

His hair was styled with gel, and it was long and dark atop his head. He had grown facial hair – a moustache and a small chinstrap beard – but it made him look far older than she remembered him. "Hello again," he greeted, his voice deep and gruff as it had always been. And his accent was just as Bulgarian as ever.

"Viktor," she breathed, his name sounding foreign on her tongue. He kissed her hand, and she retracted; it had been so long since she felt his lips that it made her uncomfortable to relive it. "Nobody told me you were coming to the wedding."

"It was a last minute arrangement. I flew by broom here yesterday evening, from Bulgaria. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello, and that it's good to see you again."

"I'm sorry for not keeping in touch, too." Arabella apologised.

"No, I'm sorry for that." He started. "I tried and tried to keep sending you letters, but you weren't sending any, and Quidditch was making me busier by the day – it still is . . . I haven't found another girlfriend yet, though. None of them are like you, Bella."

She blushed, looking away from his kind, brown eyes. "Well, as your ex-girlfriend now, I hope you find someone even better than me. I wish you well, Vik. I really do."

Viktor shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. "Thank you, a-and you too. Although I do not believe that there is anybody in the world that is better than you, Arabella Flannery."

"There is," she said with a smile. "And I'm looking at him."

And Bella decided that if she couldn't talk to Viktor in the flesh, then she couldn't talk to him at all.

Sooo that's the end of Bittersweet Tragedy! & much like the book, ending it is bittersweet ;))))

Tell me what you think of the ending – was it bad/good/too dramatic/not dramatic enough??? I need to know!

I'll let the readers decide what happens after the end scene: do they get back together, stay in touch as friends, or just grow apart? 🙃😉

Anyway thank you so much for the support – when I started this book I didn't even expect to finish it, let alone get this many reads & votes etc! Every single read and vote and comment is really appreciated <333

Now that I've finished this book I can spend a lot more time on my other books so stay tuned for that, but for now I hope you've enjoyed the journey that is Bittersweet Tragedy and thank you all for reading ❤️