Viktor Krum

Viktor Krum

Alias: Referred to mockingly as "Vicky" by Ron Weasley, introduced simply as "Krum" at the Quidditch World Cup.

Age: 20 (Born in 1977)

House: None; he was a student at Durmstrang Institute.

Special Abilities: An excellent quidditch player, Viktor was the Seeker for the Bulgarian Quidditch Team at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup. He is adept on a broomstick, mastering difficult flying techniques such as the Wronski Feint, which is a dangerous seeker diversion technique. He is also a talented wizard, chosen by the Goblet of Fire to be Durmstrang's champion for the Triwizard Tournament during the 1994-1995 school year.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Viktor is Bulgarian. He is thin with dark hair, dark eyes, and a sallow complexion. Viktor has a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. Usually donning a scowl or similarly surly air, Viktor is much less graceful on the ground than he is on a broomstick. Harry described him as "slightly duck-footed and distinctly round-shouldered" (GoF, p 115).

Heritage: Unknown. He attended Durmstrang Institute under Headmaster Igor Karkaroff, a former Death Eater. Krum was favored by Karkaroff, so it is likely Krum is a pure-blood wizard.

Family: Viktor's parents are seen only briefly and little is known about them. They visit with him briefly before the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. His mother shares his dark hair and his father speaks Bulgarian.

First Mention: Goblet of Fire, chapter five

First Appearance: Goblet of Fire, chapter eight

General: Viktor Krum was one of the Bulgarian players at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup (QWC). Krum played seeker and proved that, although young, he was an excellent flyer and quidditch player. When it became obvious to him that Bulgaria was not going to win against the Irish team, Krum caught the Snitch, ending the match 170 points to 160 points in Ireland's favor. Although Ireland won, Krum had the satisfaction of knowing he ended the match on his own terms.

Later that year, Krum arrived at Hogwarts as one of the students from Durmstrang Institute interested in competing in the Triwizard Tournament. Krum was in his final year at Durmstrang at the time. Obviously a favorite of Durmstrang headmaster Igor Karkaroff, it was not surprising that Krum was indeed chosen by the Goblet of Fire to represent Durmstrang as its champion.

For the first Triwizard task, all the champions had to face a dragon and steal a golden egg out from beneath its feet. Krum had to face the scarlet Chinese Fireball. The third contestant to participate in the task, Krum hit the dragon in the eye with a spell. Although he did well by aiming for the dragon's weakest body part, he lost points when the dragon crushed some of her own eggs while thrashing around in pain as a result of the spell. Krum received a score of 40 points for the first task, tying him with Harry Potter for the lead.

At Hogwarts, Krum's celebrity status impressed many of the students, including Ron Weasley, who wanted to get his autograph. Krum's loyal band of female admirers, however, annoyed Hermione Granger by constantly invading the library to be close to Krum. Hermione found them distracting and was irritated that Krum always seemed to be hanging around. In actuality, Krum frequented the library because he wanted to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball. When he finally did ask her, she agreed, and the two attended the Ball together. They spent the evening dancing and talking. Hermione tried to teach Krum how to correctly say her name, but gave up and decided that "Herm-own-ninny" was close enough (GoF, page 419).

Krum was attentive to Hermione during the ball to the point where Karkaroff seemed bothered by the amount of Durmstrang-related details in their conversation. After the ball, Hermione and Krum became close friends, although he seemed eager to turn the relationship into something a bit more intimate. Krum's romantic interest in Hermione caused Ron to become very jealous.

The second Triwizard task required the champions to swim to the bottom of the Hogwarts Lake and retrieve something the mermaids had taken hostage--the one thing each champion would miss the most. The "thing" Krum would miss the most was actually Hermione. For the task, he attempted to transfigure himself into a shark. He did so poorly, and wound up looking half-man, half-shark. He was the third champion to reach the hostages underwater but the second to return to the surface. He was awarded a score of 40 points for the second task. He tried to engage Hermione in conversation after the task was over, and seemed highly put-out that she was too busy applauding Harry to pay much attention to him. Before Krum lost her attention to Harry, he told Hermione he cared about her and asked her to come visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays.

Krum's conversation with Hermione became news when sleazy journalist Rita Skeeter published parts of it in the Daily Prophet, implicating Krum in a love triangle with Hermione and Harry. This article prompted Krum to confront Harry about his relationship with Hermione. Harry assured Krum that he and Hermione were only friends, but their conversation was interrupted when Bartemius Crouch, Sr., stumbled out of the Forbidden Forrest. Harry left Krum to look after the crazed Crouch, but when he and Dumbledore returned they found Krum unconscious. Krum said that Crouch had attacked him from behind, but it is later discovered that Krum was actually stunned by Barty Crouch, Jr., who then proceeded to kill his father.

Krum was the third champion to enter the third task, which was a huge maze set up on the quidditch field. Inside the maze, Krum fell victim to Crouch Jr. once again. Crouch Jr., disguised as Mad-Eye Moody, placed Krum under the Imperius Curse. Under the Imperius Curse, Krum was forced to use the Cruciatus Curse on Cedric Diggory. Harry caught Krum and stunned him, sending up red sparks over his body and eliminating him from the competition.

Krum and the other Durmstrang students were left on their own after Karkaroff, sensing Voldemort's return to power, fled in fear. Before leaving Hogwarts, Krum said goodbye to Hermione, talking to her in private. He then approached Harry. Krum assured Harry that he had liked Cedric and regretted what had happened. He then shook hands with Harry and Ron. Ron caved in and asked for an autograph. Krum gladly complied.

Krum continued to correspond with Hermione after the 1994 - 1995 school year, but she never went to Bulgaria to visit him. It seems their relationship is merely that of pen pals.