House: Gryffindor
Category: Themed
Prompt: "H-how long have you been standing there?"
Word Count (excluding header, warning, and AN): 2239
Beta: Tigger and Shibalyfe
-WARNING: Stalking and major character death
This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
Five years ago, he had invited her to visit his home in Bulgaria. She never did, but he understood that she could not leave her native England and the turmoil brewing there. As much as he wanted to whisk her away, he could not force her to abandon her friends and her beliefs. He understood—but he didn't like it.
Three years ago, he saw her again at the wedding of a mutual friend. She was so lovely. He admired her for not just her looks - though she was beautiful - but her soul. She was so kind and just so good to everyone around her. He felt lucky to be in her presence once more.
When he approached her to catch up, he found that she was somewhat distracted. He asked her to dance and she froze. "As friends," he reassured, even though he intended so much more. Thankfully, she agreed. As they made small talk, she shyly admitted that she was "sort of" involved with her friend. The red-haired one. The one who had so thoughtlessly made her cry.
This wasn't how things were supposed to go! It was completely unacceptable.
He observed her eyes darting to the undeserving boy sulking in the corner. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he fought to control his anger. Couldn't she see that he was the man for her?
Immediately, he began to plan how to woo her before the night was through. To prove that she should be his and his alone. But alas, his plans were cut short when the Death Eaters descended. He fought valiantly to defeat their foes and when the dust settled, none of the wedding guests were injured. But she was missing. And so were her two friends.
He'd have to wait to have her.
One year ago, he returned to England to finally sweep her off her feet. He knew that she needed time to heal from the trauma she had suffered during the war. In their correspondence since, she had requested that he not come to visit for a while. Each month, he would dutifully owl, and each month she would say that she needed a bit more time to get everything in order.
He wasn't happy about it, but he would wait. After all, what was a year when they had the rest of their lives to spend together?
When the letter inviting him to visit at her new home in the country arrived, he jumped at the chance to finally be reunited with her. He quickly packed up his flat in Sofia. What couldn't fit in his trunk could be sold at auction. He had no need for his large penthouse in the Bulgarian capital. His life was waiting for him in England. She was in England.
Immediately after clearing immigration at the Ministry of Magic, he took a prearranged portkey to her house. The cottage was quaint, with tan walls, bright red shutters, and a stone chimney popping out of the center of the roof. Thick rose bushes flanked the cobblestone walk leading up to the front door. 'A perfect starter home for us,' he thought happily.
He straightened his tie and conjured a bouquet of blood-red roses. Confidently, he strode up to the door and knocked. A wide smile graced his face as the door began to open.
"Hi Vicky!"
The smile vanished from his face.
"Ronald Veasley?"
The red-haired man grinned. "Come in, come in. Mione's just out back making sure everything's perfect. You know how she can be."
Viktor entered the house that suddenly felt a lot less welcoming. "Vot are you doing here, Ronald?"
"'Mione didn't tell you? This is our house warming party. She wanted you to arrive a little bit early in case you had a bit of broom-lag from the timezone change."
Hermione had always been so thoughtful like that, Viktor couldn't help but recognize as he followed the annoying boy through the house.
"So you've decided to throw her a party. That was so kind of you. And Harry, too, I suppose?"
Either not understanding what he was being asked, or not having properly listened to the question, Ron responded, "Yeah. Harry'll be here too. He and Ginny—you remember my little sister, Ginny? Anyway, they got engaged about a month before we bought this place. So this party is sort of dual purpose."
"I see. An engagement party for Harry and your sister and a house-varming for Hermione."
Ron blinked. "You finally learned how to say her name properly, then?"
Scowling, he retorted, "It vos important to her."
Ron clapped him on the shoulder and guided him towards to back patio. "'Mione will appreciate that. Hurry up now. She'll have my hide if I don't get you outside soon."
Under his breath, Viktor darkly muttered, "Can't have that, can ve?"
When Ronald opened the door, the smile returned to Viktor's face. There she was. His Hermione. As lovely as every.
"Oh Viktor," she exclaimed as she threw herself into his embrace. "I'm so happy you came! I'm sorry it's taken so long to plan a visit, but there were a lot of things to get in order first."
"Think nothing of it, Hermione."
"You- you said my name! Oh Viktor, that's wonderful."
He frowned. "I am not stupid, you know. It vos just unfamiliar in my native tongue." He regretted his retort when Hermione's grin faltered.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I know it's hard to learn other languages. In my letters, I mentioned that I'm learning French so I can converse with Fleur about Ron and Bill without them knowing."
Viktor didn't recall this. Though he tended to skim over any section of her letters where she mentioned her red-haired best friend. He could tolerate Harry- they truly were just friends. But Ronald had hurt his Hermione. Irregardless, he nodded that he remembered.
At this point, she noticed the blooms clutched in his hand. "Are these for us?" She bent down to inhale the gentle perfume of the roses.
"You didn't need to bring anything, but I appreciate them. Ron," she called. When a mop of red hair popped through the doorway, she added, "fetch a vase, would you?"
"Sure thing."
"I could transfigure one of these glasses into a vase for you, Hermione," Viktor offered, partially out of kindness and partially out of the desire to demonstrate his magical prowess.
"Thanks mate," the infuriating ginger interrupted. "But 'Mione likes to do some things the Muggle-way. Don't ask me why. I just go along with whatever she says. You know what they say: Happy Wife, Happy Life."
"WIFE!"
"You didn't know? Mione, you told me that he knew?"
Hermione cocked her eyebrow at Viktor. "I told you that Ron and I eloped in a letter last year."
Viktor vaguely recalled receiving a letter that read, 'I have exciting news! Ronald and I have-'. He burned that letter before reading further.
He shook his head, "No, I did not receive such a letter."
Hermione laughed. "I suppose that makes your responses in the subsequent letters make a bit more sense. I couldn't understand why you'd have been inviting me to visit you in Sofia when I told you I was honeymooning in Egypt."
Viktor felt red-hot flames of anger creep up his neck and pangs of jealousy stab at his chest. He fought to tamp down the urge to lash out. If he struck, he'd hurt his Hermione. He took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself.
"Are you alright, Viktor? Your color just changed." Hermione pressed a hand to his forehead; he barely resisted the urge to nuzzle into his. "My goodness, your temperature just spiked. Perhaps you should lie down before the party? Ron, we've got the spare bedroom made up for my parents, right?"
"Perhaps that vould be best," Viktor robotically agreed.
"I'll take you there," she offered.
"No, do not inconvenience yourself, Hermione. Just give me directions and I vill go myself."
Shortly after, he was walking through the hallways of her home. Their home. He gazed at happy photographs that lined the walls. Hermione's kind eyes stared back at him from both the animated and un-moving pictures.
He spotted a photograph of his Hermione and that red-haired oaf kissing under a trellis. He felt a stab of jealousy as he observed what must have been their wedding. Hermione looked clandestinely happy.
His heart ached that she had shared that with Ronald Weasley. They looked so happy and in love. How did they go from him making her cry, to a "sort of" relationship, to eloping and purchasing a stone cottage in the country?
Ronald Weasley had somehow won her heart. For now.
But Viktor knew that he would inevitably make her cry again. And he would be the one to pick up the pieces. And take her away - forever.
Viktor realized that all of this attempts to reveal Ronald as a boy undeserving of Hermione's affection were in vain.
He sent Hermione beautiful gifts of gold and jewels. He wanted to prove to her that he could afford to treat her like the queen she was. He knew that Ronald, though not as destitute as he had been, was incapable of providing for her like he could. Sadly, his gifts were not received as he'd hoped. She gushed about their beauty, but pointed out the impracticality of wearing items like the diamond tiara at work. She donated the jewels to an auction to benefit the war orphans instead, and credited Viktor with the charitable action. She was too kind.
He sent gorgeous models that he had met during his quidditch days to pop in on the young Auror at work. But the bumbling oaf assumed that they were there to file reports with the office rather than indulge in the affairs that Viktor had paid them for.
He contacted Rita Skeeter, who was only too happy to interfere in the young couple's marriage. Viktor forced her to promise that Hermione's reputation would not be harmed in her sensationalized journalism. Though she had reluctantly agreed to his terms, she'd quit a month later, cursing Hermione up a storm. Something about "bugging her for the last time"?
This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Ronald Weasley had everything that Viktor wanted.
He needed to take matters into his hands. If Hermione refused to see that Ronald was undeserving of her and finally run into Viktor's arms, he would just have to force Ronald to leave her - one way or the other.
Viktor rented the small cabin just down the lane from Hermione's cottage. He spent a month peering out the windows, observing the comings and goings of the other house.
His jealousy burned whenever he saw Hermione treat the red-haired man to a smile. He glared whenever they'd share a kiss. He fought off his rage when he'd see the oaf give her a 'come hither' look and watched her follow him into the house.
Once he was confident that he understood their schedules well enough, we waited to put the rest of his plan into action.
Every Tuesday, Ronald had a day off from work. He'd kiss Hermione on the front steps at promptly 7:28 and would be alone in the house until she returned at 5:07 in the evening.
When the day arrived, Viktor waited for his Hermione to apparate away after the nauseating kiss at the door. After Ronald closed the door, Viktor crept across the grass and burrowed himself in the thick rose bushes along the cobblestone walk. And then he waited. Waited and planned.
"Vicky!" a sharp voice drew him out of his plotting.
Viktor spun around to find himself held at wand-point by none other than his romantic rival. "H-how long have you been standing there?"
"I'm an Auror, mate," Ron offered a hand to help the scowling Bulgarian out of the bushes. "The wards alerted me that you were here immediately. What's up?"
Viktor drew himself up to his full height to intimidate the younger man. "I must talk with you, Ronald."
"What's going on? Is it Hermione? Is she alright?" Ron began to panic.
"Hermione is fine. Or at least she will be." VIktor's wand twitched in his hand.
"You aren't making any sense, mate."
"You will be leaving Hermione. Today."
Ronald, the red-haired oaf, had the audacity to laugh. "What are you on about? I'm never leaving 'Mione! It was part of our wedding vows. She wanted to use the muggle ones too. 'Til death do us part.'"
Viktor smiled, wickedly. "That can be arranged."
"NO!" Ron cried. "I won't let you hurt Hermione!" He fell back into a duelling stance, but it was too late.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Viktor cried, sending a beam of bright green light at his foe. When Ron's rapidly cooling body hit the cobblestone path, Viktor smiled. "I'll never hurt Hermione. I'll never make her cry like you did. She'll be mine. Finally mine."
He set about staging the house so that it would appear that Ron had been ambushed by a rogue band of Death Eater sympathizers. Viktor would report the attack in a few hours. Hermione would fall into his arms and their relationship would begin.
Finally, things would be how they were supposed to.
-AN Stanislav Ianevski (Viktor Krum) stated that his ideal ending for his character was to steal Hermione back. He joked about hiding in the bushes and being allowed to use Avada Kedavra on his enemies. This is what evolved from that little piece of information.