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It is tradition in the Durmstrang Institute for the graduating class to test the control of complex spells on first year students. This is, of course, unofficial, but the teachers turn a blind eye to it. During the school's darker times, the curses used were very Dark and painful. Luckily, those days are in the past, and now everyone uses the Tickle Word Curse.
The Tickle Word Curse is a spell that will tickle one person on their most ticklish body part when the caster says a designated word, and will continue to tickle them until the caster says the designated ending word, or the caster falls unconscious or dies.
People who went to other schools sometimes scoff at the idea that a tickling charm is considered complex magic. They, however, generally have never even heard of the Tickle Word Curse. First, rather than tickling indiscriminately like Rictusempra, the Tickle Word targets only the individual's most ticklish spot. The ability to find this spot that differs from person to person makes the spell more difficult to perform. Second, the spell cannot be cast with a wand. It can only be done wandlessly. Third, the caster can change the type and intensity of the tickling using just their thoughts. Technically the spell tickles without doing this, but most Durmstrang students consider it a matter of honor to manipulate the tickling as well. Fourth, the caster must choose and assign the words that will activate and stop the tickling. Finally, the Tickle Word Curse is permanent. It does not tickle forever, of course. It will stop when the caster gives the word. However, it does give the caster the ability to send the victim into tickle hell with a single word for the rest of both their lives. The power and skill needed to create such a permanent bond is the final reason this curse is considered complex.
Viktor Krum had vivid memories of being eight years old (Durmstrang accepts students when they turn eight, not eleven) and feeling invisible tentacles squeeze his thighs in an unbearably ticklish manner. He remembered his tormentor's dark eyes as she stared at him, uncaring about his suffering.
Now it was Viktor's last year at Durmstrang, and he would perform the Tickle Word. He, however, had a different target in mind than the new first years.
In another universe, Viktor and Hermione continued to write to each other after he left Hogwarts, and they remained friends. In this universe, the break up between Viktor and Hermione was messy, and Viktor wanted revenge on her more than anything.
So Viktor gathered some of his more rebellious friends: Lien, Torvik, Macedonski, Berdahl, Osland, and Nilsson. Together they made a plan.
~
It was a quiet day at Hogwarts during the Christmas holiday. Most of the professors were either enjoying time alone in their rooms or attending a gathering in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore and Umbridge had both been called to the ministry. The only professor in the Great Hall was Trelawney, and she was currently passed out from drinking too much.
Most of the students had gone home for the holidays, or were off enjoying the break, leaving just eight students hanging out in the Great Hall. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the Creevey brothers were at the Gryffindor table. Cho Chang was sitting with them. Draco Malfoy remained at the Slytherin table all alone. Luckily, even he wasn't stupid enough to take on seven people by himself.
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened and a small group of Durmstrang students entered. The Hogwarts students all sat up a little straighter, curious as to what was happening, and Hermione blushed a bit when she saw Viktor Krum at the head of the group.
“Greetings, students of Hogwarts!” said Krum. He was glad that their efforts to neutralize the Hogwarts professors seemed to have worked. “We are pleased to announce that today you will be taking part in an ancient Durmstrang tradition.”
With that, Krum turned on his heel and stared into Hermione's eyes, muttering under his breath. Most of the Durmstrang students were staring at the occupants of the Gryffindor table, although one had his back to them and was staring at Malfoy.
Ginny realized that something was wrong before anyone else. She stood up, whipped out her wand, and cast the Bat-Bogey Hex at the boy who seemed to be staring at her. Unfortunately, he simply stepped out of the way, and the Durmstrang students finished whatever it was they were doing.
Krum smiled menacingly. Then, every Durmstrang said with careful pronunciation, “Kile.”
Ron screamed, “YIPE!” and jumped up, tripping over the bench until he was sprawled on the floor. It felt like someone was scratching at the balls of his feet, and it tickled. Ron had been tickled plenty, of course, growing up with five brothers, but it had been a while, and he didn't take it very seriously. Still, this was enough to drive him nuts. “HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!” He pounded his feet into the ground, and when that didn't help, he struggled to pull his shoes off.
Cho curled up in a ball and screamed, “HAAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!” Someone was squeezing her sides. She hugged herself protectively, but that was all she could do besides laugh.
Colin had also curled into a ball, but for a different reason. Someone was squeezing the tops of his knees, and it sent jolts of ticklishness through his whole body. “NOHOHOHOHO! OH GOD THAT TICKLES! WHAT'S HAPPENIHIHIHIHING?”
Dennis shoulders were pressed up against his ears. Someone was tickling that nasty spot on his neck. “STOHOHOHOHOP! EEHEEHEE! EEEEEEHEEHEEHEEEHEE! COLIHIHIHIHIN!”
Ginny grabbed at her hips as they were tweaked. She squealed. “HEEEEEEEEEEHEEEHEEHEEHEE! HEEEEEEEEEEE!” Being the youngest, and a girl, she was much more used to tickling than Ron. She even enjoyed it most of the time. This, though, was very unexpected, and extremely intense.
Malfoy giggled like a child and was doing an odd shimmying dance. His father said Malfoys weren't ticklish, but it didn't stop Malfoy's back from being extremely sensitive. It felt like fingernails were tickling his lower back, while a feather teased his upper back. “Heeheeheeheehee!” He managed to get to the wall, where he vigorously rubbed his back against it, but it didn't affect the tickling at all.
Harry was screaming. “OH GOHOHOHOHOD! NOHOHOHOHO! PLEASE NOOOOOO! AHAHAHAAAEEEEEEEEEE!” Harry's relatives only touched him to cause pain. Since coming to Hogwarts, however, he'd learned three things: that he was quite ticklish, that his belly button was his most ticklish spot, and that he absolutely hated tickling. And now an invisible feather was twirling in his belly button, hitting every single ticklish nerve ending. He kept his hands firmly over his navel and staggered about backwards, crying, “GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!”
Hermione's parents had tickled her a bit when she was little, but that had stopped when she was a toddler. She didn't remember much about it. Most of what she knew about tickling came from books, and they said that tickling was a fun bonding activity between sibling or parents and children. Until now, she'd thought that was all she needed to know. Now, though, something was lightly teasing her underarms, and the sensation was indescribable.
“HEEHEEHEE! VIKTOHOHOR! WHAHAT DID YOU DOHOHOHOHO? AHAHAHAHAHA!” Hermione's arms clamped down tightly. Her arms crossed over her chest, but she couldn't even lift her arms enough to get her own hands into her pits to protect them. She didn't miss Viktor watching her with amused satisfaction.
After a long several seconds, in which the Hogwarts students became more and more desperate, the Durmstrang students nodded and all said, “Stoppe.”
The tickling stopped, and the Hogwarts students all sagged with relief. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Cho all trained their wands on the Durmstrang students.
Krum smiled and stepped forward. Nilsson rolled her eyes a bit at him being the spokesperson, but this was his revenge plot.
"We have cast the Tickle Word curse on you. Basically that means when we say Kile...” Hermione cried out as her underarms were attacked once more, “you will be tickled, and when we say Stoppe...” Hermione quieted once more, “the tickling will stop.”
“You've got to be joking!” said Ron.
“Oh, we're not,” said Nilsson. “And it's already a done deal. Nothing can shield it. No one can stop it. Your professors are not here to help you. And we are all top students of Durmstrang, so if you fight you will lose. We plan to tickle you all day and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“But we will, at least, give you a head start.” Viktor leaned forward, a predatory gleam in his eye. “Run!”
For a long moment, no one moved. Then, every single one of them sprang into action.
Ron didn't even make it out of the Great Hall. He was running in just his socks, and just a few steps away from the door he heard an accented voice cry, “Kile!”
What had to be the tip of a quill began to lightly draw down the arches of his feet.
“YEEEEEEEKES! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Ron began to hop from foot to foot in a bizarre dance, trying to jump away from the tickles that seemed glued to his feet. Inevitably, he tripped and fell on the floor, where he pulled his feet into his lap and rubbed the bottoms of his feet with his hands. Torvik swooped in and with a few well placed spells had Ron incapacitated.
Colin and Dennis got a bit farther. They crossed the Entrance Hall and were a few stairs up when they heard the blonde girl yell, “Kile!”
Colin immediately buckled as hands alternated between squeezing his knees and scribbling behind them. Dennis hunched his shoulders as his neck was attacked. He hesitated when he saw his brother fall, but in the face of tickling, courage did not win. He continued running up the stairs.
Nilsson was the brightest, most powerful student at Durmstrang. If she'd come to compete in the Triwizard Tournament instead of choosing to remain at school to study, she would have been chosen over Krum. Now, with the two mousey British boys, she was exhilarated to discover she could control the Tickle Word on both of them at the same time.
The older one collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, and she quickly used Incarcerous on him. She left him laughing from the tickling as she ran after the smaller one.
Dennis felt like he was dying. It was so hard to put one foot in front of the other when that invisible hand wouldn't stop tickling him. Nilsson concentrated and the tickling intensified. Dennis squealed and stepped right into one of the trick stairs. Nilsson swooped in and Dennis was caught.
Malfoy gasped for breath as he entered the dungeons. He'd never run this much before in his life, but the threat of tickling was enough to keep him going. If he could just get to his common room, he'd be safe.
Osland was getting bored of just running after the boy, so he called out, “Kile!”
Malfoy screamed and began twirling around in circles and flapped his arms wildly. The fingers lightly playing on his back made his eyebrows scrunch together and his mouth form an O. “OOOOHHH! OOOOHHH!” Merlin this was embarrassing.
Osland lazily cast Petrificus Totalus and took Malfoy away.
Ginny was the one person who decided to stand her ground and fight. She and Macedonski traded spells at a rapid speed. Macedonski realized that she was better than him when he tried to dodge and got a face-full of a Furnunculus curse. At this rate, he would lose.
Quickly he shouted, “Kile! Kile!”
“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! KNOCK IT OHOHOHOHOFF!” Ginny screeched as her hips were attacked once more. She shot a Bat-Bogey Hex at Macedonski, but her aim was off, and it went wild. Macedonski quickly tied her up, and Ginny was caught.
Berdahl chased Cho Chang for a long time. He wouldn't be surprised if she was a seeker. She was fast and knew the castle better than he did. Still, he didn't invoke the Tickle Word. After all, half of the thrill is in the hunt.
Cho skid through a doorway and realized with dismay that she'd made a mistake. This wasn't the way to the next corridor. This was a dead end. She turned around, but the Durmstrang boy was almost on top of her. She was trapped.
Quickly she cast, “Protego!”
Berdahl stopped in the doorway and tilted his head as he assessed the situation. He couldn't cast any spells on her, and he couldn't touch her physically. However, the Tickle Word was already cast. And now that he'd come all this way, he wanted to play.
“Kile.”
Tittering giggles poured out of Cho as a hand ran up and down her left side. Involuntarily she moved as far to the right of her Protego shield as she could, trying to move away from the light tickles. She squirmed but managed to keep the shield up.
Berdahl concentrated, and suddenly the tickling switched from her left side to her right. “EEEEEK!” she cried, jumping over to the far left of her shield. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily through her nose. This had to be her personalized hell. She was just too ticklish.
Finally, Berdahl let loose and Cho experienced hands viciously squeezing both of her sides at once.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” She jerked from one side to the other, then sank to the floor, hugging herself, and the Protego finally fell.
Harry ran like the wind over the grounds of Hogwarts. If he could just get to the broom shed, he'd be able to get into the air, and then he'd be safe. He could fly away from the crazy Durmstrang students, get help, or fight. He'd decide on a definite plan once he was in the air.
Lien noticed what was ahead and guessed the Boy-Who-Lived's plan. She'd heard from Krum about what a good flier he was. She needed to stop him. “Kile!”
Harry bent over as something poked in his belly button. Instinct insisted he focus on trying to get whatever it was out of his belly button, but he forced himself to keep running. I'll deal with it later. I'll deal with it later, he lied to his body.
Lien growled and adjusted the spell. Harry felt the presence in his navel twist. “HOOOOOOOO! STOP STOP STOP STOP!” he cried, finally tripping. It was enough, and Lien captured him.
Hermione almost lost Viktor in a secret passage, but he managed to stumble into the entrance just in time. She shot a charm at the floor behind her and it turned into ice. He slipped, but was used to ice and managed to keep going.
Finally, he said, “Kile.”
Her arms once again clamped down to protect her underarms. She'd never again roll her eyes at Harry for freaking out at the idea of being tickled. “AAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! VIKTOHOHOHOHOR!”
She kept running, but the tickling slowed her down enough that Viktor finally caught her.
~
Having Nilsson as a friend really came in handy sometimes. She'd made portkeys for the whole group, so once the Durmstrang students caught their victims, they could immediately leave Hogwarts. Their destination was an abandoned muggle playground they'd found a short ways outside of Hogsmeade.
Once they all gathered there, they used transfiguration to modify the merry-go-round and tied their victims on it. The Durmstrang students had all said “Stoppe” as soon as they arrived at the playground, but Nilsson made a mistake and only ended Dennis' tickling. She didn't realize her mistake until she went to tie Colin to the merry-go-round, and by then he was sobbing from the magic torturing his poor knees.
Finally, though, everyone was tied in a circle, with the Durmstrang students gloating over them.
Krum approached Hermione first. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. She gasped, bit her lip, and began to shift involuntarily. Harry sympathized with her, but he was mostly nervous about when it would be his turn.
Krum whispered to her again. Hermione whimpered and closed her eyes. He'd tied her with her arms up on a pole he'd transfigured behind her, so they were nice and vulnerable.
Hermione was determined to control her reaction. It's just that the magic was doing figure eights in her underarms, and it was driving her nuts.
Finally Krum nodded and said, firmly and clearly, “Kile.”
The magical hands dug into Hermione's underarms and she screeched. “AHAHAHAHAHA! VIKTOR STOP! AAAAAHAHA! I'M SEHEHEHERIOUHOS! STAAAAHAHAHAHAP!”
Viktor smiled in satisfaction. The power rush was incredible. Hermione would think twice about crossing him in the future.
Harry's attention was drawn from Hermione to his own predicament as a familiar female voice said, “Kile.” An invisible finger began wriggling in his belly button, and it was awful.
“Heeheehee! Please! I'm toohoo ticklihihish! Please stoHOHOHOHOHOP! AAAAAAA!” The tickling became worse, and Harry did an unwilling hula in response.
As this was happening, Ron heard the dreaded word, “Kile!” and felt a feather run over his toes.
“NO NOT THE TOHOHOHOES! YAAAAAAAAA!” A localized paralysis spell kept him from moving his feet at all, even to wiggle his toes. Somehow that made it even worse.
Ginny felt the tickling on her hips again, but now that she knew it was coming it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was almost fun. “IS THAHAHAT ALL YOU'VE GOHOHOHOT? BRIHIHING IT OHOHOHOHON! EEEEEHEEEHEEHEEHEE! EEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Macedonski smiled. This was just as entertaining as Viktor had promised.
Nilsson had used a partial paralysis spell of her own to keep Dennis' head, neck, and shoulders still so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself. His eyes were wide and he was crying, “AH! AH! AH!”
For Colin, since he'd just undergone a fairly brutal tickling, Nilsson kept the tickling to light fingers spreading over the tops of his knees. “Heeheeheehee! Oh God that tickles! Why oh no oh no why?”
Malfoy was humiliated. He was the only one facing the center of the merry-go-round, with his back facing Osland. “Waihaihait til my fahahaha – oh sweet Merlin! – fatheher hears abohout this! Then you'll be sohohorry!”
“Your father cannot stop me from tickling you,” Osland replied.
Malfoy twisted as the invisible feathers hit a sweet spot on his lower back. “OOOOOOOH! HEEHEEHEEHEE!”
Cho was sobbing as Berdahl tortured her sides. “I CAHAHAHAN'T TAKE IHIHIHIT! EEEEEEEEEEEEE! OH PLEHEHEHEASE! NOOOOOOOOOO! MAKE IT STOHOHOHOHOHOP!”
Hermione had also hit a breaking point. “NO MOHOHOHORE! AAHAHAHAHA! IT'S TOOHOOHOO MUHUHUHUHUCH! NAAAAAAAAAH!” The invisible hands were going all in, and the tickling was overwhelming.
Torvik decided to add scribbling on the balls of Ron's feet and heels, and it was very effective. Ron shook his head back and forth. “UHUHUHUNCLE! UNCLE! UNC-AAAAAAA!”
The tickling went on and on, and they all became more and more desperate.
Even Ginny eventually cried, “OKAYHAYHAY! THAT'S ENOHOHOHOUGH! PLEHEHEASE STOHOHOP!”
Surprisingly, Macedonski did stop and grinned at the red head. “Will you tell me about some of the spells you cast at me as thanks?”
She grinned back at him and began to explain the Bat-Bogey Hex.
Nilsson said “Stoppe” as well, although she just intended to give the Creeveys a break. She had some more ideas she wanted to try, and she didn't want them passing out on her.
Malfoy was wiggling desperately. He wasn't used to prolonged suffering of any sort, and the tickling was relentless. “MUHUHUMMY! MUHUHUHUHUMMYHEEHEEHEEHEE!”
“You sound like a little child,” Osland teased.
Cho faded into silent laughter, tears sliding down her cheeks as she tried in vain to escape. The tickling shot straight up her sides, and she seemed to be growing more ticklish every second.
Torvik had moved the tickling to between Ron's toes, and he was really screaming more than laughing. “AAAAAAAAAAAAA! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Hermione desperately tried to pull her arms down. For once she wasn't thinking and analyzing. She was just feeling, and it was unbearable. “HAHAHAHAHAHA! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! NOT THERE! NOT THERE! PLEHEHEHEHEASE!'
Harry had reached the end of his rope a while back. What had to be pure tickling was rotating in his belly button, and it rocketed through his whole body.
Harry sobbed openly and began to speak in Parseltongue. “Please stop! Somebody help me! Somebody! Anybody! Help!”
Not too far away, Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort, was passing by with a group of his loyal Death Eaters. They were congratulating themselves on successfully completing their mission when Voldemort stopped and listened. Somewhere nearby, a snake was in distress. Voldemort growled, took out his wand, and ordered his Death Eaters to follow him.
Lien watched the Boy-Who-Lived with growing concern. It was normal for the tickling of the Tickle Word to be a bit cruel. Every Durmstrang first year screamed, laughed, cried, and begged, just like young Potter was now, although the hissing noises Potter made were less usual. However, something about Potter was beginning to alarm her. Maybe it was the desperation with which he moved, or the look in his eyes, but something was not normal. She muttered, “Stoppe,” and put her hand on the panting boy's shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“Stupefy!”
All of the Durmstrang students fell unconscious as a number of stunners hit them, and the tickling stopped. A figure in a dark robe waved his wand and the merry-go-round disappeared, leaving the Hogwarts students free.
“Wait...”
The cloaked figure threw back his hood revealing Voldemort. “Potter! You?”
Harry stared in disbelief. He had been saved...rescued...by Voldemort?
“Er...” Harry replied.
The Death Eaters and the Hogwarts students stared at each other awkwardly. Voldemort seemed mortified.
Finally, Harry and Voldemort, almost simultaneously, took a hesitant step backwards. Then another. Slowly, the two groups peacefully and silently went their separate ways. To this day, by nonverbal agreement, they never talk about the day when Voldemort was the hero.
Epilogue
Osland and Berdahl joined the Death Eaters immediately after they left school. Berdahl became one of the most innovative and ruthless minds Voldemort had. Osland used the Tickle Word to torment Draco regularly during their shared service. Berdahl was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts, while Osland was captured and sentenced to life in prison.
When Voldemort learned about the particulars of the Tickle Word Curse, he tried to find Lien to use against Harry Potter. However, Lien went into hiding that year, and besides, Voldemort didn't know the names of any of the Durmstrang students present that day. (Osland and Berdahl never told Voldemort that they had been two of those students.)
Macedonski realized that kidnapping and tickling a stranger was a dick move as soon as he got back to Durmstrang. He immediately wrote to Ginny and apologized. She accepted, and they became friends for the rest of their lives. They even met in person a few times more, and they enjoyed dueling against each other for fun.
Nilsson, for extra credit on her final exams, demonstrated her ability to use the Tickle Word on two people at once. With the teachers' permission, she used two twelve year old Durmstrang students who needed to serve detention. Nilsson's slow and thorough demonstration of her control over both students impressed the examiners. Nilsson later went on to become one of the greatest, most powerful witches of the 21st century, and she helped many people.
~
Viktor Krum, after returning to Durmstrang, found the assembly hall where his classmates were tickling the first years.
“AHAHAHAHA! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Hello, Julia,” said Viktor conversationally over the laughter. “How is yours going?”
“Very well,” Julia replied, not looking away from her victim. “This one's bad on the thighs. Just like you were back then.” Julia took a moment to grin at Viktor teasingly before returning her attention to the little brunette girl.
Anette Holm had been so excited to finally come to Durmstrang. The vivacious eight year old thrived in the strict and challenging atmosphere the school provided. However, her parents had neglected to tell her about the hazing that happened to the first years every winter.
Anette howled and twisted her body from side to side as far as she could. Her thighs at always been her worst spot, and now invisible hands were squeezing them in a more devastating manner than her older sister had ever managed. She began bouncing up and down in the chair to which she was tied. Tickling could be fun, but this was going far beyond what Anette enjoyed.
Through her ticklish tears and screams, she saw the Quidditch star Viktor Krum watching her. “Help me!” she gasped between laughs.
Viktor watched the girl struggle for a minute, shook his head, and marched away, letting Anette's laughter fade into the distance.
Despite the humiliating end, Viktor concluded, his mission had been a success. It had been exhilarating tickling Hermione Granger into hysterics. Thanks to the nature of the Tickle Word, he would have the power to do so for the rest of his life. Viktor smiled. Maybe someday, he and Hermione would meet again.
~