Hermione couldn't believe he was in the library again. Didn't they have any books on his ship? It was one thing when he was looking for help with the first task. Then she could understand that he'd want to see if the Hogwarts library had anything different, but the next task wasn't for months!
It was possible that he'd already figured out the egg clue, she supposed. But he certainly hadn't had time to exhaust any resources his ship's library had. And there he wouldn't be followed everywhere by giggling girls who would disrupt everyone else trying to study.
Though... Hermione didn't see his usual pack of girls, and they normally didn't take so long to follow him in. She would know if they did too - Krum was in the Transfiguration section, only a row over from her table.
"May I haf this seat?"
No, he was standing right next to her. She blinked up at him. He wasn't scowling for once. It made him look almost friendly. She nodded. "Sure."
Krum sat down across from her, and Hermione glanced at the books he'd picked out. They were all on human self-transfiguration. "Are you planning on becoming an Animagus?" she asked.
"I vos thinking about it," Krum agreed. "You like Transfiguration?"
"It's one of my favorite classes," Hermione said. "You don't want Switch, though; he doesn't cover nearly as much as the other two, and they cover it all better."
Krum nodded. "Thank you," he said, setting the Switch book to one side. "You haf read them?"
"All of the Meliflua book, but only half of the Gamp one," Hermione said, sighing. She hated not being able to finish a book, but the concepts in Gamp's book were just too far beyond anything they'd done yet in class and she could barely make sense of it.
Krum nodded again, and they both returned to their own books. Hermione made frequent notes in the parchment she kept beside her, but Krum took no notes at all, though he was clearly reading, not just flipping through the pages like Ron and Harry sometimes did.
He was an almost decent companion when his followers weren't around, Hermione reflected. But she had promised Harry and Ron that she would meet them, so she reluctantly closed her book. Krum looked up. "I have to go," she said, feeling almost apologetic about it. "Good luck with your Transfiguration."
"Thank you," he said. "I hope I vill see you again?"
Hermione hesitated, then nodded. "I'll be here tomorrow, about the same time," she said.
Krum smiled - Hermione realized she had never seen that before. He was always scowling, both on his posters and when she'd seen him around Hogwarts. She liked it. "I vill be here."
Hermione smiled back at him, then hurried off to join Harry and Ron.
-s-
Just as he had said, when Hermione arrived the next day, Krum was already waiting at the same table. Well, not waiting, precisely. He had his own books out, and was even taking notes this time. But he looked up as she approached and smiled.
He really ought to do that more often, Hermione thought absently as she took her seat. "Still Transfiguration?" she asked.
Krum nodded, showing her the cover. "He has different ideas than some of our authors," he said, looking distinctly unimpressed.
"What do your authors say then?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious. She hadn't relized that there might be different points of view on magical theory just as there were for theories in the Muggle world.
They debated the relative merits of both philosophies for over an hour, in hushed tones before Hermione finally gave up. She knew that there must be some way to prove some of Viktor's claims wrong, but the theory was well beyond fourth year level, and she knew when she was out of her league.
"You are very smart," Viktor admitted, leaning back in his chair. "And you argue vith me. No one does that anymore."
"You're smarter than I expected," Hermione admitted in turn. "I saw you at the Cup. Flying."
Viktor nodded. "And you thought I vos just a Seeker vith no brains."
Hermione shrugged and didn't deny it. Viktor smiled again. "Everyone does. I am a very good Seeker. Most of the time, that is enough."
They were silent for several minutes, each looking through their own books. Suddenly, Viktor said, "Vould you like to go to the Ball?"
Hermione's eyes flew up from the book to meet his. "What?"
"Ve could talk, like ve did here," Viktor said hurriedly. "Nothing else, if you don't vant. But I like you. You are smart, and pretty, and you talk to me. Like I am not Viktor Krum."
That was all very flattering, and Hermione wanted to say yes. But what if Ron or Harry asked her? Well so what if they do? she thought with a sudden rush of irritation. If they really wanted to go with her, they'd have asked sooner, wouldn't they? She smiled at Viktor. "I'd love to go with you."