Title: Bread Krums

Description: It had been one thing after the other, like a trail of crumbs for her to follow, as if leading her to something meant for only her. Something she could have to herself without the risk of sharing.

Words: 3,853

A/N: This is going to be centered around Hermione and there will be a few changes to the canon plot. It's been a while since I've done a multi-chapter fic so we'll see how well this goes. And obviously Krumione is the designed endgame though, haha.

Chapter i – Eye to Eye

oh my, oh my, this is only the beginning child

The first real thought Hermione had after being transported to the Quidditch World Cup was 'Never Again.'

This stagnant thought only occurred after pushing the palm of her hand into the lower portion of her back in hopes to work out the kink that would surely form within the next day or so. She had landed on her back with a thud, the inside of her head swirling about till it slowly sorted itself out.

The portkey had been revealed to be trashy, brown boot with an absurd amount of holes that would forever prevent its intended use. Nevertheless, there had been no qualms by any from the group after being told to lay at least one finger upon it so they would not be left behind.

Now a bit more collected, despite the feelings of an uneasy stomach, she almost had the idea to refute using a portkey the next time the opportunity sprung itself…which unfortunately would be when this event ended and they were to travel back home.

Suppressing her thoughts of the inevitable she took the chance to look around. Almost everyone else in the group was on the ground as well surely feeling the effects of using the portkey but seeing three casting shadows slowly appear closer and closer she glanced upwards to see Mr. Weasley, Cedric, and his father slowly descending from the sky.

Hermione understood that all three wizards had used the system before and probably on various occasions that she would never know of. She gave her jeans a good dust before she realized the weight of her bag was no longer there. Scanning the area around her she found it a mere two feet away for which she was silently thankful it had not disappeared off somewhere else completely.

Noticing everyone had begun to get up and move alone the field she followed suit, having swallowed the rising feeling of bile in the pits of her stomach. Though she was still uneasy, her stomach had definitely calmed itself compared to moments before when they had first landed.

The wizarding world took their quidditch quite seriously and for an occasion as big as this she had expected no less when she saw the multitude of tents and colored banners. She trailed the rest as if they were playing a game of follow the leader, sifting past people in hopes of not getting lost from her friends.

Before she knew it they had gotten to tenting area but she had no excuse when she had stopped abruptly to stare at it. It was a quite on the…smaller side but as she watched person after person enter the tent she knew her curiosity had peaked. Harry had the same startling look on his face so she had decided to enter before him.

The saying went that you should not judge a book by its cover and Hermione believed this to be true ninety-nine percent of the time, the other one percent were set aside for special circumstance she told herself many times. This case had been no different.

Though raggedy and dreary looking on the outside it was absolutely magnificent on the inside, for her at least. How had they packed all this into such a tiny tent made for two, maybe three if you squeezed together uncomfortably? She decided to make a vow to herself to learn the concept behind such a feat at the earliest convenience.

Not having time to get lost in her thoughts she had overheard Ron's father telling them all to find a bunk. She found Ginny off to the side where two beds were located. Placing her bag on the edge of the bed she found herself sitting on the bed in no time with a pillow propped behind her back. A sigh had accompanied before she could set up to stop it from happening.

"You good Hermione?" Ginny who had already set all her things aside had decided to lounge on the bed as well. She turned her head, looking to Hermione questionably, wondering if there was something serious on her friend's mind or it was something to overlook.

"Yes I'm quite fine. Still a little disoriented from the portkey I suppose. I had right nasty feeling when we had to let go," Hermione squinted, wondering to herself if that were the true answer, "Really though, there's just this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach."

She tugged on her dark, wavy hair feeling the familiar twinge of pain that accompanied knots.

"Yeah, my stomach sure did a number from it though I'm feeling far better now. Drink some water, it should help, no?" Ginny eyed Hermione's fruitless effort of using her fingers as a makeshift brush. The younger girl rolled eyes and began to dig in her bag with a sudden aha. She pulled a soft mint-colored brush from the bag and chucked it at Hermione

"Here, you're gonna knot your hair up a thousand times worse if you keep doing that." Ginny's tone was truly worthy of reprimanding but still very much caring sounding. Hermione had rolled her eyes in response but there was a small though barely pained soundings thanks.

She spent what felt like the next ten minutes getting rid of disgustingly tight knots from her hair and another two to brush through her hair completely pain free. Satisfied that her hair looked a bit tamer, she eyed the nearest garbage to get rid of all the hair she had lost due to this. How could she lose that much and still have a bushy head of hair to go around? It would always be a mystery to her.

After returning the brush to its original compartment she glanced at the fruit bowl in the makeshift. The apple looked quite tempting at this point. Grabbing it to satisfy her minor hunger pains, she savored the sweet flavoring from the first bite.

Before she could sit down she heard the mumblings between Harry and Ron growing louder. They walked near her with quite the bored expression on their faces.

"We're going walk around, wanna join?" Harry pipped up when he got close enough, though his voice was slightly hushed. She had realized at first but upon looking around she noticed Ginny had drifted off into a nap. She could not find a trace of the twins either and eagerly agreed.

Their walk around the camping sites had been nothing short of thrilling for Hermione. Her home life, while she enjoyed the peace and stability of it, was rather on the boring side. The extended invitation for her to join in with the Weasley family when they were given tickets to the Quidditch World Cup had made her happy and currently she held zero regrets for accepting.

She had seen many familiar faces and they'd even ventured to see what the Bulgarians had decorated their tents and flag poles with. When she first noticed, and even informed of who, was donning on many tents she felt a bit unnerved.

Viktor Krum, in his slightly surly looking expression, seemed to be quite the unique character to her. The little voice in her head questioned what made this person so sought after but who was she to judge? Regardless, she felt rather annoyed by being there and was almost glad that had to get back in time to find their seats.

Remembering her, albeit very short, steep climb on Stoatshead Hill it seemed like nothing compared to the flights of stairs they were meant to climb. They had been given seats that, while could have been better, were not the worst. She was grateful to begin with that someone had been generous enough to grant any of them tickets.

The noise level was almost unbearable at points as people waited for the game to start and only soared when the teams had been introduced. She used the omnioculars when the players came onto the field so that she could at least attempt to remember who was playing.

When this Krum player flew onto the field she found her stare towards him lingering. While she did not think he was overly debonair looking, it seemed the picture that had been used when she saw the posters early did not do him justice. Perhaps they just reused something older she had thought though this bit did not linger long in her mind.

His hair, shortly cut, was darkly colored and she presumed it was a shade of black. It seemed his eyes, especially with the empowered look he currently held, matched though she was unsure if this was a trick of the light.

Lowering the omnioculars she glanced between Ron and Harry who were already engrossed as the match began. She simply shook her head with a smile.

It had been quite a match so far in Hermione's eyes. There had been a fake out from Bulgarian's seeker, Viktor Krum, leading that maneuver with a Wonky, no Wronksi she reminded herself as she thought of Ron's reprimand that happened earlier, Wronski Feint where had tricked Lynch into crashing against the ground. It seemed he was quite good playing his part of the seeker, not that anything would have suggested otherwise.

There had been a few fouls on Bulgaria's part as well casting them behind in score. However, what she had not been expecting in the next few moments was for a bludger to hit the Bulgarian seeker square in the face and continue playing at that, consciously making quick decisions.

She had been using her omnioculars again to keep up and see everything a bit better. Both seekers were in a dive this time and she cringed at the blood dripping and spewing everywhere from Krum's nose. His nose was quite a sight to behold in the awkward shape it now sported.

In a split second it seemed Krum had caught the snitch and led Lynch into crashing again. Her eyes widened when Harry spoke with the realization that the seeker knew they would always be behind on points, which led to him ending the game before it became more of an embarrassment for the team.

"He was very brave, wasn't he?" Hermione spoke softly still very attentive of the mediwizards on the field attempting to attend to the injured Bulgarian. In her own mind it had seemed an admirable thing that he had continue playing despite the horrendous injury he had received and was able to end the games more-so on his own terms.

After the Irish team had gone up and received their trophy, something she eagerly cheered at, she watched as their opponents had gone up for obligatory congratulations despite their loss. Even though she was not big on the game of quidditch she felt they had done quite a job.

When Krum walked up she slightly blanched as his messy face. Two black eyes and still covered in blood? This person was sure something to behold.

Hermione had been resting on the bed she had picked out early when a loud bang stirred her. It was not until the third series of echoing explosions and a series of screams had her eyes shot open. The tent was not particularly lit brightly as there was just a banging lamp to light the tent adequately.

In the moments she took for her eyes to adjust, it was easy to tell Ginny had been up a little bit before her. Concern flashed over her eyes as her younger friend seemed to be uneasy. She had heard Ginny mumbling about her dad had gone out of the tent to see what on earth was causing the 'celebrations' to become to boisterous and had yet to come back.

Hermione frowned at this. Pondering if some of the older teenagers had really just gotten out hand her gut felt otherwise. And there was that horrid set of screams.

Ripped out of her thoughts when Mr. Weasley had reentered the tent looking quite blanched. He had ordered the boys, mainly the twins who had be goading Ron, to settle down. Everyone in the tent became quite serious at that point as the sounds of foreboding terror had gotten louder and clearer. They were far too close sounding for comfort.

"We need to leave now. Everything will be better explained later but stick together as best you can. Into the woods and stay there until I come back for you, do you hear me?" Mr. Weasley's words were quick to their ears and his tone was nothing short of authoritative.

Their entire group, ushered out by the father figure, had started out of the tent together but it was quickly noted that they would not be that way for long. It was an entire mess outside of the tent. Flames were lighting up the area well enough for them to see far ahead. Unfortunately the flames were the result of whoever had decided to begin terrorizing the area.

Wizards and Witches were running amuck in order to avoid being singled out into harm's way. They had done their best to avoid the touchy, glistening flames and stick as one but it seemed Hermione's luck had run out for this bit. George and Fred had gotten farther ahead with Ron trailing closely behind them with his hand securely attached to Ginny's allowing for her not to be left to her own.

Hermione had be pushed into by a passing person who seemed to be in their own world while they fled. As soon as she regained her bearings it had happened again and once more after that. She was sure she would have a horrendous bruise on the front of her shoulder come the next morning. This was not plaguing her thoughts, however, as she watched the four of her friends flee further out of sight.

Calling their names had been futile as hard as she tried, the roar of terror encompassing her meager voice. She leaned against the pole of one tent that had yet to be torched in ash and smoke and proceeded to look behind her.

Harry was nowhere to be seen and that scared her the most.

Instead of finding Harry she could see in the nearby distance a group marching in an organized way sending out spells that lit the area momentarily before striking the intended targets. They wore strange masks and their hoods towered far above their heads.

She could see them breaking up into groups and she knew at that point she needed to get away especially when she heard the whispers 'They're looking for muggle-borns, hurry out of the way before a Death Eater catches us!'

Remembering that her destination was supposed to be in the forest area she found herself momentarily conflicted. As she dodged incoming people who were running away she wondered if it would do her any good to look for Harry. But what if Harry had already made it out with the rest and she was out here in the open by herself.

She continued on towards the forest in slight conflict, being dragged further by a group of wizards who seemed to be in no position to care about the well being of her. Still, Hermione glanced around as much as possible in hopes of seeing her friend.

For a split moment all seemed at peace, she was able to start heading in the direction of the forest and the rushing group of people that had been knocking against her had fled elsewhere. She swore she could hear the casting of stupefy…

When she felt something akin to an electric shock pulsate through her body it caused her to trip over her own feet and tumble downwards. Landing on her back she caught the vague silhouette of what she assumed was a Death Eater striding towards Hermione before she vision failed and she blacked out.

Hermione felt like she had been asleep but in the way where one slept nine hours but felt as if only five seconds had passed. She had awoken in a way that was almost instant, her eyes not bother to flutter open gracefully. Her brain was scrambled as she did her best to back away using the palm of her hand as if she were mocking a crab. There was a new presence in the air and it was as equally unfamiliar to that of the death eater who had was face down on the ground many feet away. Having done her best to ignore the throbbing sensation in her head she stared at the stranger warily.

"Get up, please. Dis not where you want to be right now." The voice was deep and intense at the moment but not seemingly not threatening. She stared at him, she thought him because of the person's build which was stockier even with his height, warily before obliging carefully.

Upon standing she grasp for her wand before realizing in distraught that she had put it in her bag. The bag that Ginny, who was nowhere in sight, had. Mentally cursing herself she looked around guardedly.

"We must move before mor-" The mystery person, donning a deep maroon cloak that did not reach the ground with its hood up, was interrupted as he heard a bristle in the bush near them. He stared at the area a moment too long in a stupid fashion before he realized there was an incoming assailant from the other side.

"Ava-" This Death Eater meant no games as he started to speak the beginnings of an unforgiveable curse but within a split second reaction from the rescuer he did not finish.

"Expelliarmus!" The charm was a quickly spoken response from him and was immediately followed by his own version of stupefy. Despite not having her wand and unsure of what help she would be Hermione still had herself in a defensive position. She certainly did not want to be knocked out on the ground cold like before, it would been quite the embarrassment.

The second death eater laid strewn on the ground in a position she had deemed quite ungraceful but she did not allow her thoughts to run away on her yet. She was in a far more dangerous position than she had originally though despite her stroke of good luck.

"You are…uhkay?" Hermione could not really see much of the person who was talking to her. The hood upon his head covered most of his face. She could see the remnants of blood which she chalked up to fighting others before he had gotten to her.

"Uh, yes!" She blurted out still concerned about their surroundings which was painfully obvious by the way she continued to look around her. She could see the lining of the forest and figured if she could at least get there it would not be an issue to find the others.

"Good, good. Where you trying to go? Da forest?" The questioning tone continued, though the last bit seemed to be lighter when he spoke.

"Mhm…" She frowned mentally, should she be telling him anything? Despite the fact it seemed he had come to her rescue she was severely mistrusting in the situation which was understandable.

"You are…what is word? You are concerned…no…wary! You are wary I see." He seemed to be struggling to find the right words, it was painfully obvious to her that English was not his native language despite how much he had conversed with it. It made no difference to her as she already had this thought earlier upon hearing his accent and the way he went about enunciating.

"You catch on quick. I should probably go now, the people I'm waiting on are probably there and worried." She replied dryly at first but swiftly corrected her tone. She did not need to be acting like this right now, she was much more mature than that.

"Dah, dah. Come, we go quickly. I will make sure d'ere are no more Deat' Eaters lurking." He motion for her to follow and she quickly met his pace. He did not seem to be proficient with his walking capability but it did not seem to hinder him.

Soon enough they were at the forest line, the trees which were seldom at first, had quickly filtered into a tight thickness that would surely lose any foe. They had stopped here and Hermione turned to face the person who had been escorting her

"May I know of your name?" Hermione asked earnestly, her eyes seeming to grow larger with curiosity, though she bit her lip afterwards while waiting.

"Name not important. More important d'at you find friends. Dah? You are good from here?" He waited for an answer, not bothering to budge an inch until she complied.

"Yes I suppose. I suppose I must thank you, you really saved my hide back there." Hermione spoke to him with much truth though still a lingering hint of guardedness. He bowed his head lowly, an odd thing to do she thought, before mumbling a word or so that she could not make out before beginning to walk in a new direction. As she moved towards the inner workings of the forest she turned again to look in the direction the mysterious person had ventured to and could only see someone flying off on a broom shrinking further and further the farther they went.

It took her a good ten minutes before she met up with Ron and Harry again who looked to be quite startled. Their matching looks of worry did not melt when they informed her of what Malfoy had said about them looking for muggle-borns, albeit a much nice version of his true word choices. She attempted to settle their nerves that she was quite fine and even promised to tell them of the story of how she managed to turn up unscathed.

Their reunion had been interrupted with an oozing green ray of light filtered through the trees. They walked closer towards the area where it had chosen to emit from. It was high in the sky from the looks of it and Hermione gasped upon her first, full look at it.

"That's the dark mark…" She visibly paled at seeing this, casting a glance to both Ron and Harry, but the latter did not seem as concerned, "You are familiar with it right?"

"I'm not entirely sure what's been going on since we were booted out the tent Hermione. I'm barely thinking straight alright!" Harry spoke quite annoyed, not having meant to sound so harsh towards his friend.

"Well this is serious! Where's Ron's father at? Have either of you seen him?" Hermione spoke in a hushed tone, and while slightly hurt at the tone Harry had used she would not hold it against him. She could see he was high alert just like her. Speak of the devil, Mr. Weasley popped out of a thicket with Ginny, Fred, and George in tow. They seemed to be fine though a little dirty.

"Come on kids, we best hurry out of here to the other portkey. Quickly now." He had ushered all six quickly, now was no time to be playing games.

As usual, reviews are always wanted and welcome!