Viktor Krum was walking along a busy magical street in London trying to remember what street the hotel he and his teammates were staying at was on. To say the least it wasn't going very well. He had already been around the same block three times, thanks to the small cart-pushing ice cream vendor that kept giving him wrong directions. Frustrated, he pushed his way into a small book shop out of the loud, obnoxious heat and bustle of the city and into the quiet and cool confines of the cozy shop. Immediately he felt calmer. Being in a room full of books had always had that effect on him, it was one of the reasons he loved libraries. This shop was small and had plush looking couches in corners and shelves of books lining the walls. In the far back corner of the store was the register and in the center of the room was a play area for children where a small group of them were playing happily.
"Can i help you sir?" asked a young girl wearing an apron.
"Uh...no," he replied hesitantly,"I am only looking."
She smiled at him in an understanding way, and walked towards the back of the store.
'I hate speaking english", thought Viktor sullenly, 'I always sound ignorant.'
While it was true his English had gotten much better since he had left Durmstrang and begun his training with the Bulgarian Quidditch team, his accent had by no means vanished. To him it felt like it would always be a hindrance, but to his many fans (mainly the teenage girls) it was sexy.
Viktor glanced around the half empty shop and with an exhausted sigh sank into one of the couches. He picked up a book left strewn across a side table next to him and looked at the cover. "The Life and Struggles of Harry Potter", it read. He chuckled softly and flipped through it. "I have not seen Harry Potter in almost three years." he thought as he turned the page on a picture of what must have been Harry's parents before Harry was born. He smiled at it sadly recalling the legend everyone knew and turned the page again, there was a picture of Harry and his two best friends at his graduation from Hogwarts...On one side of Harry stood Ron, the one with the big family and loyal spirit, and on his other side ...he shut the book quickly and set it back on the table.
"There is no point thinking of her Viktor." he told himself firmly. "Especially when she hasn't responded to your letters or even tried to contact you at all." But it was no use, he shut his eyes and rubbed his temples and still the image of Hermione's face stood burning on the back of his eyelids.
"Excuse me," a soft voice said above him.
"My mind must be playing tricks on me" he thought wildly, "It cannot be..."
"I was wondering if I could be of any help...you seem distraught..."
With great strength Viktor lifted his head and stared into the eyes of the woman above him, a woman whom he had recognized the instant he heard her speak, whom he dreamed of almost every night and whom he hadn't spoken to in three years.