A/N

Haven't written in ages... This story is kind of AU. GOF did take place, however, Viktor never went to Hogwarts to attend the event, thus explaining why he doesn't know who Hermione is. Also, Voldemort never properly returned and was destroyed by Harry, Hermione and Ron during GOF. This story takes place three years after Hermione graduates from Hogwarts. Viktor Krum's a bit different here because I'm kind of getting bored of his usual self. *winks* After all, nobody stays absolutely the same from when they were younger. Enjoy.

Hermione Granger took in a deep breath as she walked into the party filled with a myriad of celebrities and politicians. She spotted her best friends, the oblivious Harry dancing with the ever so beautiful Ginny in the middle of the room, although some could argue that they were actually feeling each other up. Close by him, she could see the blatantly obvious Ron attempting to chat up the veela women who were trying their best to ignore him. She sighed upon realisation that sooner or later people would notice her arrival. They liked to talk to her about things... life... the 'usual'- for publicity of course. She was pretty famous. Anything to do with her became famous within days.

As she walked down the steps to get to the ground, she attempted a smile as a couple of politicians gave her a nod and she greeted a couple of the celebrities who walked over to her to talk about the weather. Boring topic, but that was most celebrities did to look like they were the best of friends. She blinked with surprise as a camera suddenly flashed. Blaise Zabini whispered a quick 'thank you' before walking away from her. The cameras began to follow him.

"Hey, Hermione!" Zacharias Smith, an old classmate of hers from Hogwarts greeted when she finally got down to the grounds of the room. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione sighed with relief, even if it was Zacharias Smith, since he was somebody she knew and somewhat got on with. "Trying to act accordingly." She replied. "We are expected to make these spontaneous appearances three times a month."

"You, Harry, and Ronald?" he asked.

She nodded.

He suddenly smiled. "I saw you on the the list of 'The top ten most influential and gorgeous looking witches'. It was a really nice photo. You, with the legs and all. Nice photo. Really."

"Thanks." she muttered, as she watched him take a bite from some seafood appetizer.

She nodded again when Zacharias asked if it was really her before shaking her head when he offered her the other appetizer that he had in his hands. After that, silence descended upon them. Not knowing what to say, Zacharias stopped a waiter to ask for some drinks. Hermione asked for water and Zacharias asked for butterbeer. Zacharias looked at his shoes as he tried to come up with something to say. Hermione looked around the room, curious as her eyes found themselves looking at what seemed like a fight to see something interesting. It was then that she spotted the famous Quidditch player, Viktor Krum, surrounded by millions of women, all vying for his attention. She made a face.

She honestly didn't know what was so interesting about him. As far as she knew from the long obsessive rants Ron and Harry oh so religiously gave her, all Viktor Krum ever did was chase a snitch and be famous for it. And not to mention the millions of galleons he accumulated every year just for the sake of it. He wasn't even that good looking. But then again, there were those kinds of women out there who lusted after men like him. All for the fame and fortune. For what? Pathetic was what Hermione thought. Both of Viktor Krum and of the women.

"What's Viktor Krum doing here?" Zacharias asked her, looking somewhat annoyed. "I thought this party was for the British only- aside from the veelas imported from Eastern Europe."

"I honestly don't care. He probably came along as a 'side dish' to the veelas," Hermione began, making a face. "Or maybe it's the other way around." She paused for a moment as she realised just how annoying she found him. "Isn't Krum just absolutely insufferable? Anybody would have to agree with me. He appears in all of the magazines and looks so bloody arrogant in all of them. One of the top three best looking wizards of the century? You've got to be kidding me. Not everybody wants to look at his disgusting abs! People shouldn't be famous for their looks but for their or talents or whatever but be appreciated for it. Why on Earth does he think-"

"-Hermione-" Zacharias attempted to interrupt, but Hermione continued.

"-he can behave whatever way he wants to? I don't get why people like him earn so much for chasing a stupid flying ball around. Don't you find it silly? What are you going to do after chasing a ball around all your life? There are people out there you work just as 'hard' and 'sacrifice' their lives for the things they do, and what do they earn? Nothing! I-"

"-Hermione-"

"-just-"

"-Hermione-"

"-find it so-"

"-Hermione-"

"-WHAT!"

Hermione felt someone tapping her right shoulder, and when she turned around, she found herself staring into dark brown eyes. For a moment there appeared to be a stillness in the air, the kind of stillness filled with curiosity and wonder. Her cheeks flushed an angry red as she continued to stare, as she wondered who had interrupted her mid-sentence. She was usually never interrupted like this, ever.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

Hermione scrutinised the surprised man's features, finding herself staring at a curved nose broken from several injuries, thick eyebrows, clean shaven face, and slight olive skin that surprisingly fit well together with each other. It was Viktor Krum.

Her eyes widened. Why in Merlin's name would he want to speak to her?

"It's nice to meet you too." Viktor Krum said, as he gained his posture back.

He looked quite hot actually, Hermione had to grudgingly admit that. Even with his body completely covered in clothing as any sane and proper person would normally have when out in public, she could tell just how ripped he was underneath it all. He just looked utterly weird from afar. The photographers had probably taken bad photos of him... or maybe Krum wasn't a photogenic or telegenic person... She shook the ideas out of her head. How he looked wasn't important.

"Did you just ask for an autograph?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Her jaw dropped. The nerve of him!

"I really do not have all day you know." he continued, looking at her in the eyes in his usual conceited manner.

Hermione thought that she was going to gag on something. Not only did he look so full of himself, he really was full of himself. She looked over to Zacharias who looked just as surprised as she was, but she didn't know if it was because of Krum's comment, or his 'being' that made him so.

Zacharias was about to make a comment when somebody called for him. He turned around.

"Mr. Smith! May I have a word with you?" one of the politicians called out from somewhere in the room.

Zacharias looked disappointed at having to part with her, but gave her an awkward 'see you later', before walking off. He gave Krum a brief nod.

Hermione sighed. Now that she didn't have Zacharias for company, she had a feeling that this 'party' was going to head downhill. Krum stood before her, looking impatient.

"Well?" he said.

"What?" she asked, irked.

She suddenly became aware of the fact that he was checking her out. He could see his eyes trace its way up and down her body, stopping whenever it reached her boobs or legs. A flash of anger suddenly took over her and she glared at him, sticking a finger into his hard chest. She didn't like the idea of him thinking about her in the way he did with other women. She wasn't like them.

"I do not know what your problem is, but I do not want an autograph nor want to talk to you." She couldn't believe what she was doing as she wasn't usually rude. "We've barely known each other for five minutes! I suggest you leave me alone now before I hex you!"

Krum looked incredibly surprised. He probably wasn't used to this kind of treatment from a woman. "Hex me?" he then smiled. "By the way, you've got really nice legs. Mind if I touch?"

Hermione could see many of the other women nearby looking impatient and curious, wondering why he was taking so long with her. He had barely lasted five seconds talking to other women.

"Hahaha. Go ahead, go ahead." Hermione muttered sarcastically.

He looked at her in the eyes with a smirk on his face as he suddenly picked her hand up to write his autograph on the back of her hand. When he was done, he slowly let her hand go. Very slowly. "See you around then."

He winked.

She muttered something about how pathetic he was as she used her wand to erase his autograph.

After an hour of tediousness, Hermione found herself by the drinks section, sipping some water. The cooling system at the party house was down, and spells did not seem to be able to fix any of it. Even so, nobody seemed to be making the effort to do anything or leave the party to a cooler area. And to be honest Hermione really didn't want to be the one fixing and solving everything- again. So she decided to make her way of the party house for a bit of fresh air as the inside of the building was way too hot.

Making her way across the room towards the stairs, Hermione spotted Viktor Krum again, who was on the far side of the room this time, surrounded by women... again. He had two blondes wrapped around his arms and was currently whispering into on of the blonde's ear. It was then his eyes met hers. She felt uneasy as she noticed how his dark eyes held a glittering mischief in them. It was almost as if he wanted to play a game with her. He smirked at her in an inviting manner, but she rolled her eyes and ignored him. She had better things to do than behave like one of those women. Pathetic, pathetic women.

Hermione then walked up the stairs to get to the roof of the building for some fresh air. She liked doing things the muggle way as it kept her sane and feeling normal from all of the publicity from the magic part of her life. When she got to the roof, she found herself alone, drenched with light from the sun that was about to set. A beautiful site lay before her.

She walked towards the railings and sighed as she rested her elbows on them. She honestly did not remember ever wanting to be 'famous'. All she ever did was help Harry defeat Voldemort to return the peace back to the magic people. But she ended up with more than she asked for. She looked down towards the many trees that surrounded the building the party was held at and watched as the leaves swayed in an unruly manner. She puffed out some air, trying to calm her mind. It was then that she suddenly noticed that there was a levitating cup in front of her.

"Would you like a drink?" a familiar deep voice asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and repressed her angry groan. "No." she told him frankly. "I don't want any drink from you. I won't know what else you might have put in it."

He laughed at her comment and shook his head. "You really are a curious one. Usually, women fling themselves down at my feet. I'd expect you to do the same."

Feeling annoyed with him, Hermione flicked her hand at the levitating cup, causing it to spill it's liquid content onto the green forest floor down ten floors.

He looked at her surprised. "What was that for? That wasn't very nice."

"Neither are you being nice by following me around."

He smirked as he walked over to her, stopping at just the right distance to keep the space between them. She needed that space. "You really need to have it your way don't you? I admit, I was following you. I apologise for that." He bent down and lifted her hand before placing a kiss on it. "Forgive me. I only wanted to know your name."

Hermione didn't know whether she was supposed to laugh or not, but could feel her face burn a light shade of red. She didn't know whether it was from delight of his manners or anger. She decided to take the former of her two choices and laughed at his gesture. Viktor Krum has probably expected her to give him a flirty giggle, so she found him holding a surprised expression on his face.

It was then that Hermione suddenly realised that he had asked for her name. Did he not know? Surely everybody knew who she was? She wanted to slap herself at that moment. Since when did she care about being famous? She gave him a glare.

"Were you just laughing at me?" he asked.

"I was."

He looked bemused. "Now that's a first."

"There is always a first for everything."

"I'd rather you lie to me."

"I'd rather not."

"May I have your name now?"

If she had indeed accepted his drink and had drank from it, she would have spluttered the drink all over him. When was he going to give up?

He smirked. "You keep holding that expression on your face." he said. "Am I surprising you?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. You're annoying me."

He took a step forward. "Really?"

Hermione looked down and noticed that the space between them wasn't as much as it had been. Heat started to build up around them. She had a feeling he was trying to make a move on her.

"Well, I better get going. They probably want me downstairs." she managed to utter nervously.

"You're not even famous though." he said.

Hermione was already making her way down the stairs, feeling rather stung by the comment. She didn't know what it was about him, but he managed to annoy and hurt her feelings at the same time, yet make her laugh as well. She unknowingly glared at the next person who began to talk to her before making her way out of the party. She had had enough for today.

That night she had a strange dream. In her dream, she was half naked and could feel rough hands running over her body in a very arousing manner. She felt kisses streaming down her neck and breasts, and she was gasping for breath and she gasped harder as she felt something inside of her, pulling in and out. It went faster and faster and soon she could feel an orgasm starting to build. She saw eyes stare back into hers with a playful glint in them. And just as she was about to release herself, she woke up, hot and sweaty. She shook her head somewhat annoyed as she hadn't reached her climax, yet wondered what that dream was about as she never had such a dream before. Looking at the time, she found that it was three in the morning. Groaning, she went back to sleep.