This is my second atempt to get Hermione and Viktor's story out of my head. Ittakes place after the end of the war, when the wizarding world just needs to move beyond the horrors of the past years, and get on with living.
Disclaimer: not my characters. Not my world. No matter how much is wish it was....so don't sue.
The celebration continued on for hours after the snitch was caught and Bulgaria won their first world cup in over a decade. No one was more proud of the lanky seeker who reached out and snatched that small hint of winged gold from the air than the bushy haired eighteen year old screaming from the top box. The game had been passionately quick; the fall weather was beautiful in Italy and the perfect place for the wizarding community to step forward without fear, being only months after the end of the war.
Inside the small but luxuriously decorated tent-house, provided to the staring seeker by the foreign ministry, the celebration was still evident even though it was nearing three in the morning. The victorious team was rightfully sinking down the alcohol and boisterously singing their national anthem, while shooting sparks and other sorts into the air from the wands. All but the host, and hero of the game, who was busy refilling drinks, as well as turning down them. Hermione mingled with the party as she swooped in and out of rooms, chatting, gathering dishes, replacing snacks, shooing reporters and doing all the things that was expected of a hostess.
"That was quite a party." Hermione stated later clearing of the table with a wave of her wrist and pointing the last of the dishes to the sink.
"That vas quite a game." Vicktor responded taking a few sidesteps so that the plates didn't crash into his solid mass on their way to the basin. "I knew ve had a lot of energy from being off for the whole season last, but ohh, that vas one of the fastest games I have ever been in, or even seen. Vich is something, vhen practically your whole life is Quidditch."
"Three hours of non stop action." Hermione scooped up a pile of used napkins, "And I mean non stop, my omnioculars couldn't keep up with that pace. It was all blurs in blues and red." She dropped the armload in the garbage bag he held out for her, "I was relieved that you caught that snitch. My neck hurt from trying to keep up with all those turns," at this she gathered her mass of hair with one hand and rubbed her neck with the other to prove her point. "And I didn't know scores could go that high."
"990 to 780 not bad at all." He said twisting the bg closed, "Feel like doing dishes at all?" he asked sinking down on the couch apparently not feeling up to the challenge.
"Sorry mister." She said plopping down beside him, "I'm your girlfriend not your maid." She teased resting her head onto his chest. He still wore his Quidditch robes, scarlet as blood, and even though he had waved a wand and cleaned most of the mess out of the fabric, she could still smell his pleasant aroma mixed with the grass he had skidded along more than once during the game.
"You're a good hostess, if I say so." He said tracing a course thumb along her jawbone.
"Ha!" she guffawed turning around so she could look up into his face and sliding into his lap as she rearranged herself, "A good hostess by practically chasing them out of the tent!"
"Yes." He said shaking his head. This movement still confused her at times, it seemed strange to her that shaking his head was yes, and nodding was no when it had been the reverse her entire life.
"Yes." She said teasingly nodding her head. He smiled his wonderful secretive smile and gathered her face in his large hands pulling her up for a slightly sideways kiss. The corner of her lips tightened as she both smiled and kissed back at the same time. She followed his lips up wrapping her arms around his neck and sliding up next to him.
They kissed again his thumb still rubbing at her pulse as the other caught in her hair. He twirled the curls in his fingers and his lips parted and sucked slowly at hers. She obliged opening hers and slipping her tongue into his mouth. She was completely caught up in the kissing. When she first meet Viktor she had decided he didn't care much about anything, but he did care about many things, and what he did care about he did it with a fierce passion, whether it be studying, Quidditch or as Hermione had found out in recent months, placing kiss after kiss on her.
They continued, lips tracing along faces and necks while hands searched each other's curves and muscle. She was so caught up in the mood that it wasn't until she felt his calloused hand touch her bare middle, did she realize he was practically laying on top of her, his hand slipping under her blouse. She stiffened solid as a board.
Sensing her discomfort he pulled back mumbling an apology as he covered his face. "Sorry, sorry…"he repeated several times through his large hands as Hermione sat perfectly straight, as if a ruler was taped to her spine.
They both sat there, the cushion separating them seeming a whole desert and not at all the fabric square yard it was. Each replaying what had happened in their heads. After an eternity, which only lasted a few minutes, Hermione softly spoke.
"I pulled you down, didn't I?" She looked over at Viktor whom was now leaning against the back of the sofa, his head at a strange angle, wide-eyed and staring at the roof.
He stayed silent for a few moments longer before muttering, "Yes. But, I didn't complain."
The silence continued as they both tried to grasp how serious their relationship had gotten, how close they where mentally, spiritually, and evidently, physically. It had seemed like hardly more than friendship to Hermione, but there she was pulling Viktor on top of her in a fit of passion. Unable to handle this new revelation she stood to leave.
"Sorry." She sputtered making her way around the coffee table and to the door, "It really is getting late. Molly will worry about me if I don't get back to the tent soon, if she hasn't sent out a search party yet." She made her way to the front closet reaching in to pull on her outer robe, when she felt a hand on her elbow.
"Stay." The calm voice said.
"What?" Hermione asked in amazement as she turned to see his blank face, his eyes showing both terror and thrill by the offer he had just made.
"Stay vith me?" his eyes implored searching her features.
"What about Molly?" she asked letting her grip go on the robe.
"You are a voman now. Vorthy of making your own decisions." He responded the hope growing in his eyes. "Vill you spend the night with me Hermione Granger?"
She was stunned by this, although she had been expecting it. Her whole romantic life flew before her eyes. Being teased as a child of eight by the boy whom she had decided to give her heart to. Batting her eyes at a fool of a teacher. Ignoring all contact with boys. Than, talking to a young man with a thick accent in a dusty library, helping him find the right books or translation when Madame Pince wasn't around. Watching amazed as he stumbles on his words asking her to a dance only a short time later. Shocked when others asked her too. Twirling on a dance floor, being saved from mermaids, a warm moment by the side of a pond as he pulled her close and asked her to visit his house.
Than of course becoming scared and pushing him away when she started to realize she had feelings for him, exiling him to pen pal. Falling for him more and more with every letter. Than a series of Hogsmeade trips and holidays with secret rendezvous, meeting his strange family and him meeting hers. Another exiling to "just friends" when he became her teacher, followed by a forbidden relationship. The fight between him and Ron over her heart that came after. All this followed by more realizations, and now a trip to Italy and a rumpled couch.
"Viktor?" she asked placing her free hand on his cheek and holding his gaze, "Do you love me?" she asked with all honesty, desiring and fretting the answer with all her being.
"Yes," he said firmly as she felt his smile spread under her palm, "I love you, Hermione Granger."
She returned the smile, beaming up at him, "I love you too. And yes, I will stay with you tonight."
And with that he swept her up into his arms for a kiss, before carrying her down the hall and into the bedroom.
The story will continue. If you but review.