Viktor Krum glanced up when he heard footsteps, a little annoyed. He had specifically come at this time in the morning, as soon as the library opened, so that he could study at least one magical creature before his usual gaggle of fangirls found him and stood around giggling aimlessly. The footfalls were closer now, and it seemed they were coming right towards him before they stopped in the aisle just ahead of where he was sitting on a table near the window overlooking the grounds.

He could hear the person shuffling about and the whispering of the pages as they looked through the books. After a moment or so, a pale girl with bushy brown hair appeared through the aisle, a book bag slung over her shoulder and two leather bound books in her arms. She seemed to be walking straight towards him, as though she hadn't noticed him yet. After a couple of steps, when she did notice, her eyes went wide for a second until a frown creased her forehead. She scanned the parameter for a minute, probably wondering where his mob of fans was, frowned, and then sat down on table far from him.

Viktor blinked. He hadn't witnessed any English girl act this way towards him before. Now that he knew no chattering group of girls had arrived to make his day unproductive entirely, he should've gone back to his reading. Except he didn't. This girl was different than the other girls–The ones from Beauxbatons and the Britons, who kept mooning over him. This one downright ignored him. She had frowned at him. She was wearing a Hogwarts robe, with a uniform of red and gold. So she was from Greefindoor. He had seen her before, with the younger Hogwarts champion and the Red headed boy around the castle and the library and, now that he came to think of it, at the world cup.

He was still staring at her when she looked up and inevitably met his eyes. Viktor looked down towards the book he was supposed to be reading, embarrassed. He spent the next few minutes staring at the lines of text on the book trying to process them. He could feel his ears still burning from embarrassment, yet he had to badly suppress the urge to look at the petite girl again. She worked with a subtle sort of charm which he couldn't quite place. When he braved another look at her, their eyes met immediately and both of them looked away at the same time.

He could hear footsteps again, though, accompanied by shrill giggles which reverberated through the mostly empty library. She could hear them too, apparently, for she looked up from her books with a scowl and started packing up to leave. They had parked themselves in the same aisle from which the young bushy haired witch had emerged, and somehow, Viktor found this insulting. Whether to him or to her he wasn't sure. A scowl of his own darkening his features, he shut his book in resignment and decided to do his reading back in the ship instead.

***************** `\_(`-`)_/` *****************

He had spent the following weeks in the library 'reading', which meant that he spent the entire time in staring at the petite greefendoor witch working away diligently. Well, all of it except when he realized he did need to actually study something if he was to survive, and when her two friends were around. He wondered what she would say to him if she knew he whiled his time in the library stalking her. He sincerely hoped she didn't think of him as a creep, because Viktor thought he might just have developed a crush on her. He looked at her as he thought this and she rose her head to tuck away a stray strand and their eyes met and they looked away. Again. Viktor was embarrassed, but he thought she had looked bemused.

He wished he knew her name.

***************** `\_(`-`)_/` *****************

When he entered the library that day, his mind was whirring. They had just announced the Yule ball, and Karkaroff had told him that the Champions required a partner to open the dance with. About a hundred girls had stood in the corridors on his way to the library, batting their eyelashes at him, hoping he'd ask them to the dance. He knew who he wanted to ask, of course, but she had not paid him any more heed than before. He wondered if he'd be able to muster enough courage to go talk to her.

When he got to the work tables, he found that the library was packed with students trying to complete their holiday assignments on the weekend itself. There was no empty table anywhere, and he was contemplating going back to the ship before his eyes settled on her. She was sitting at the very table by the window where he had been sitting when he had first seen her, surrounded by parchments and large tomes. Before he could actually register anything, his legs were carrying him towards her, and within a second, he was standing in front of her. He wondered then what to say. She turned away from her work and looked at him inquiringly. His tongue had apparently lost its ability to speak. He was, however, successful in framing a coherent sentence.

"May I sit here, please, if this place is not taken?"

To say she was surprised was an understatement. Her eyes widened and her face flushed. She stared at him for a second before giving a small nod.

It was almost time for the library to close when she finally started winding up her work. That he had chosen to sit with her had caused a furore and ensued excited and envious whispering throughout the library. The noise had driven the librarian up a wall and her appearance had caused a number of the little kids to scurry out of the library. The others had began filtering out soon after and now it was just him and her, along with some of the older students. It had taken Viktor immense self control to read his book on animal transfiguration instead of staring at her like the lovestruck fool he had become. When she started to get up, he wondered if he should ask her right then. But he didn't even know her name. For the second time that day, he had spoken before he could even think.

"Excus me…" His face reddened when she turned around.

"Excus me, but may I know your name?" He could see her face redden too.

"Its Hermione" She said after a moment.

He nodded. "It is a beautiful name. It has been a pleasure to work in your company. Thank you."

He looked at her earnestly. After another moment, she nodded and left, cheeks still tinged with pink and a tiny smile on her face.

He had talked to her. Vicktor too, was grinning. He had gotten to know her name. Perhaps he could befriend her. Who knew, perhaps she would agree to go to the Yule ball with him. He didn't think he would ever stop smiling after this.