403 Fifty shades of dark?

Krum wakes up and finds himself staring at a white ceiling, he tries to remember what'd put him here but wishes he hadn't when he thinks back to the duel. He had initially thought he'd trounce Reima easily but his confidence was shaken slightly when Reima had easily dodged his early spell that he definitely should not have been prepared for as he had broken the rules just to get it in. After that was all a nightmare, he was casting every spell he could think of while also employing some of the tactics given to him by his headmaster Karkaroff in the explosive sand puppets. He really hadn't expected for them to literally be launched right back at hm, he shudder at what would have happened to him if one had exploded close to him, losing a limb wasn't an impossibility.

Even despite all of that the scariest part was his opponents unfazed face throughout the entire fight, the only emotions he could spot was exasperation, boredom and... Pity? Clearly he was outmatched and it was made even more clear by the fact Reima had literally cut through his heavily enchanted stone barricade... He could vividly remember the heat from the axe head of his staff and even had a few burns on his hand that was closest to it, that person wasn't someone to be trifled with and he was extraordinarily grateful that he hadn't entered the Tri-Wizard tournament, losing in such a fashion on an international stage would defnitely spell the end for his career.

He still felt as though Reima was taking advantage of Ciri but simply didn't have the means to do anything about it, however looking at it more rationally he felt as though maybe he was projecting his own feelings towards the situation, his jealousy fuelling his belief that Reima was a villain so he could justify his own actions... Though the dull pain echoing through his body made him think that Reima was a kind person either.

Feeling antsy from lying in bed so long he tries to push himself upwards but feels terrible pain in his stomach and ribs from the movement. Looking down and lifting his shirt he sees his entire front covered in blue and purple bruises, apparently Reima hadn't gone easy on him, he felt as if he'd been kicked many times in the ribs and stomach by a strongman.

"You're awake."

Krum shudders at the familiar voice and dreads what Karkaroff will do to him, "Headmaster..."

Karkaroff grits his black teeth and glares at his protege furiously, "Don't you call me that after such a disgraceful display! You ran around in fear before getting knocked out like a MUGGLE!"

Krum shudders at his Headmaster, fearing that he'd inflict even more injuries to himself in a rage.

Karkaroff slowly calms down, "We will have to find ways for you to redeem yourself..." he says with a thoughtful expression.

Krum shakes his head, "I will not antagonise Reima Ludvig any further." he says, knowing any confrontation would be a complete and utter loss, he doubt if even Karkaroff could beat Reima.

A feminine voice echoes from behind Karkaroff who's leaning over Krum, "Mr Karkaroff would you please let my patient rest? I'm sure he's still hurting from his injuries." Madam Pomfrey says, with Krum nodding at her.

Karkaroff can only nod and leave, still thinking of ways to return glory to Durmstrang, he didn't think even winning the Tri-Wizard tournament would be enough now... He looks down and scratches his arm, feeling the throbbing ache of his former masters mark and dreading the tattoo becoming darker could mean.

Krum was left alone as his headmaster was escorted out, he hoped his injuries wouldn't effect him in the Tri-Wizard tournament but knew one thing for certain... He'd need to find another date to the Yule Ball... Maybe that Hermione girl was still available?

Elsewhere :

Fleur had just finished brushing her teeth but still had her mind on one thing, Reima. She had accepted his offer as she was afraid it was her only opportunity but was still pondering over whether or not she wanted to do this or was just settling for the "best she can hope to get", her mother had always told her to follow her instincts but her father had a complete contradictory philosophy, in which he reminded her to think over everything as rationally as possible before going ahead with it. These two conflicting views are the cause of most of her inhibitions towards Reima and Ciri's proposal, as a Veela she was naturally more in-tune with her sexuality but she had never thought she'd be included in such a peculiar situation. She was thankful that they'd thought of her but was still conflicted over whether she made the right choice...

She wondered if it was just Ciri's presence alone that was causing her to hesitate so much, or whether it was just the fact that there was three people involved. She knew if Reima had asked alone she would have agreed so is it just because of Ciri? She didn't dislike the girl and was even receptive to her advances towards herself so why was she feeling like this? Is it jealousy? Was she jealous at Ciri's official relationship with Reima or was she just thinking of this wrong... They didn't ask her to become romantically involved, it's just a Ball afterall so maybe she's placing too much importance on it?

Eventually after the lights had dimmed and the stars were out she decided to just go with the flow and deal with the fallout afterwards, hopefully she wouldn't regret this in the future.