[Special] A Prank That Backfired — Part 2
Daphne finally managed to get close to Viktor, hiding the small vial inside her sleeve while he was overseeing the lesson, now that none of the other girls could come over to interrupt him or try to hand him yet another drink.
"All those poor girls came all the way here just to take care of you, and you didn't even accept a single drink," she remarked condescendingly.
Viktor turned his head towards her, though judging by his expression, he didn't seem surprised by her arrival, as if he'd noticed her quite some time ago. His expression barely changed, although his eyes seemed to soften just a little more.
"I didn't need any of them. You should know why," Viktor said calmly.
Daphne let out a quiet laugh, remembering something from the past.
"It's rather unlikely that any of them would turn you into a woman and then use it to blackmail you," she said with an amused expression.
Viktor couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"That's the last thing I'm worried about. And I don't think any of them would actually come up with something like that," Viktor added, because if anyone was capable of doing something like that...
It was the girl standing right in front of him.
Viktor gave a slight shake of his head before turning back towards the students.
"Take five minutes," he instructed them. "You can fly around if you want, just don't leave the pitch," he added.
The students smiled happily at the permission and didn't hesitate for a second before taking off, flying around with obvious enjoyment. Of course, none of them flew too high, respecting their instructor's order.
Daphne made a conflicted face.
Harry and Draco didn't accept food or drinks from strangers either.
Especially after what had happened with several overly enthusiastic admirers.
Amortentia.
Love potions.
Obsession potions.
So she thought that perhaps it would be better to simply give up.
For a moment, she couldn't help watching the students smiling through their few free minutes, enjoying their flight, looking genuinely happy they'd joined the class.
At last, Daphne pulled the small vial out of her sleeve.
"I suppose if I wanted to give you something, I'd have to be much more creative," she said, spinning the vial between her fingers, already prepared to leave and let her slave continue teaching.
But at that moment, Viktor lowered his gaze to the vial and took it from her before she even realised what had happened.
"This is a Draught of Peace, isn't it?" he asked, recognising the potion immediately, which even surprised Daphne a little.
Viktor seemed to notice her surprise and answered calmly.
"Before important matches, it's normal for players to need to calm themselves, so it's easy to recognise. Our coach used to give us litres of this stuff to settle our nerves," he explained casually.
"Thank you," Viktor said with a smile directed at her.
That made Daphne stare at him for a moment before frowning.
"Who said it was for you? Give it back," Daphne said immediately, sounding annoyed.
But Viktor moved before she could react.
He pulled out the stopper...
...and drank the entire contents in one gulp.
Daphne froze completely, stunned by how effortlessly he had done it.
Viktor drank every last drop before calmly slipping the now-empty vial into his pocket.
"And what if it had been poison?" Daphne couldn't help asking, staring at him with a somewhat wicked smile.
"You'd never try to hurt me," he replied confidently. "Besides, it took you a long time to finally come over and give it to me," he added.
Daphne's smile disappeared.
"Were you watching me?"
"Yes. It's hard to look away," Viktor said.
That straightforward answer made her feel a strange warmth creeping into her ears.
Daphne looked away and folded her arms.
"Hmph. It seems the potion made you shameless again," she remarked.
Without replying, Viktor picked up his broom and leaned it against the bench, giving her only a gentle smile.
"Shameless slave," Daphne repeated, trying to recover her usual smile. "You should remember who's in charge."
Viktor didn't even need to think.
"You."
Daphne blinked, as though she couldn't quite process just how direct he'd suddenly become... or how quickly that answer had come out.
"Ahem. I'm glad you still understand your place," Daphne said, trying to regain her proud tone.
"Your ears are red," Viktor said, looking at her.
Daphne immediately raised both hands to cover them.
"They are not!"
Viktor let out a laugh.
Once again, it was a laugh Daphne didn't think she'd ever heard from him before.
So relaxed.
So calm.
And at the same time...
...so bright.
For a moment, Daphne couldn't help but simply...
...be captivated.
"The potion's affecting your brain," she blurted out at last.
Without losing his smile, Viktor repeated,
"Thank you for the potion."
"It was a prank," Daphne added immediately. "I only came because I was bored."
"And thank you for coming. I'm always happy when you do," Viktor said softly.
Daphne felt the warmth in her face intensify.
And just like during Luciel's wedding...
She stared at Viktor for a second...
Turned around...
And bolted away at full speed, her heart pounding like mad, making absolutely no attempt to preserve her dignity.
Viktor watched her run off once again and couldn't help smiling in amusement.
It was interesting to see that the little devil capable of turning his life into complete chaos had surprisingly weak defences herself.
Viktor took the vial back out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment.
"You should know the body builds up a resistance to the Draught of Peace. That's why the team needed litres of the stuff," he said to himself without losing his smile. "Aaah... I hope the cell next to Delacour's is comfortable. Though I'm fairly sure she'll end up there first... if the way things are going between us is anything to judge by," Viktor added, remembering his fellow Triwizard Champion and the silly joke he'd made to her during the last task—a joke that seemed as though it might actually come true if he wasn't careful.
...
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