II. Wedding Bells

"Viktor! Oh, I'm so glad you were able to make it!" Hermione ran over to him, holding her wedding gown up at the knees so she didn't fall on her face, and soon he found the girl hugging him tightly. He thought he felt a slight baby-bulge under the frilled layers of the empire waist, but he wasn't old fashioned, and it didn't seem at all like a shotgun wedding. Both sets of parents were positively glowing, though Hermione's carried themselves with a bit of extra nervous muggle-ness.

"I managed to rearrange my schedule. You vill only get married once, Herm-own-ninny. It vould be a shame to miss it," he said, patting her back a bit awkwardly until she let go. His words had been a lie. There had been nothing in particular to re-arrange for a winter wedding. It was not Quidditch season and he had no real ties or plans. It was just that he'd made himself sound very busy in his return letter. He'd thought at the time he really didn't want to go see Hermione marry someone else; now he considered it closure. He still thought she was very pretty, but the infatuation he'd had was long gone. Seeing her at her prettiest and feeling no particular stirring of emotion proved that. Hermione had insisted she would keep a pair of seats open for him, in case he managed to find the time at the last minute. Now he was glad for it; her wedding was the excuse he needed to get away from Bulgaria for a while.

They exchanged some pleasantries and Hermione promised she would catch up with him later. "Have to make the rounds, you know?" He was happy for her, really. And he hoped that she really would only be married but the once, because she and Ron seemed to suit one another and bring each other happiness. He got himself a drink and a little plate of appetizers and sat down. It was the second wedding he'd been to in the Weasley's back yard. Today it was snowing; a number of warming spells were cast on the tarpaulins overhead to keep everyone effectively toasty and comfortable. He took a seat near the edge of one and could feel the cooler air outside against the back of his neck. He didn't mind--compared to Bulgaria, this was nothing. He preferred to be left with his thoughts for now, anyway.

Bill and Fleur had also been married here. He thought about that and hoped that the youngest of the Weasley boys was a bit more earnest about his feelings than Bill had turned out to be. It was a shame, because his first impression of Bill had been a good one. He seemed friendly, kind and devoted. Well, it wasn't as if he'd cheated on Fleur, but that didn't change the fact that what had come to pass was most definitely his fault. He had not been honest, and now Fleur was devastated. His loyalty was to the woman first, of course. He didn't really know Bill Weasley very well. They'd only met on a few occasions, and those meetings were brief.

He forced the morbid thoughts from mind and let his gaze trail about the room. A few couples were dancing, but they struck him as about as interesting as drying dishes. He knew a lot of these people, but very few of them enough to strike a conversation up with. Harry, he thought, but he spotted Harry in a far corner near a buffet table, holding up a fork and trying, it would appear, to get Professor Snape to eat something. Snape looked disgusted and pushed the hand away, but Harry was persistent. He watched them go back and forth like this for a few minutes. Harry was busy, it seemed, so he wouldn't bother him.

"Hey."

Viktor startled out of his thoughts. Bill was standing a few feet away, hands shoved carelessly into his pockets. He had the grace to look a little awkward, at least. Viktor didn't answer him. It was rude, but he couldn't think of anything to say in reply to this man so blatantly going out of his way to talk to him.

"Mind if I sit?" Bill plodded on. The last wedding he'd been to was his own, and that one was right here. It was more than a little awkward, and watching Charlie and George mercilessly tease Percy only distracted for but so long. He'd had a dance with Hermione, claiming it was a 'big brother privilege' and gave her the full Bill charm before gently pushing her, flushed, back into Ron's arms. Now he instinctively zoned in on the only other person who had come to the party alone. It was probably his bad karma that it was Viktor Krum. As a Quidditch player, he didn't deny being a fan of Krum's--not obsessive like Ron, but then, he wasn't obsessive about much of anything. That was sort of the problem. ...but as a person, he saw Viktor as 'Fleur's Bulgarian friend' which made this awkward.

Viktor nodded at one of the chairs across the table. Bill ignored this and sat right beside him, uncorked the champagne on the table and poured full glasses for both of them. He held his glass up. "Well, cheers," the red-head said.

"Vhat are ve toasting?" Viktor asked, obviously confused.

Bill shrugged. "Just life in general," he answered.

Viktor didn't see why that was so worth toasting, but he figured Bill meant something more profound like being alive, having survived the war, and being able to see Ron and Hermione so happy. Bill just seemed like that sort of profound person. Viktor thought those things were probably all worth toasting, and so he drank.

They didn't really say anything for a while. They just quietly drank champagne and watched the people around them getting giddy and trashed from their subdued corner. Viktor had noticed Bill shiver a bit at the breeze against his back, but chose not to mention it. He figured Bill was probably thinking--trying to find the best way to say something.

Then, about the time the bottle ran out, Bill finally spoke. He kept staring ahead and asked, "how's she doing?"

Of course. It was about Fleur. "I vas not given the impression you cared," Viktor snipped a bit.

"I care," Bill answered, "just not enough."

Viktor believed him. There was this little hint of remorse in his eyes, like he knew that he'd done everything with Fleur exactly the wrong way, but there was nothing he could do to change it. "She is heartbroken, but she is strong," he answered eventually. "She does not need you."

Bill seemed a little relieved, like he thought that's how things ought to be. She would get over it, and she had the baby, and she would find someone to love her the way he should have loved her soon enough. She would heal. But maybe that was all wrong. Maybe Viktor was only seeing what he wanted to see--a kindred spirit.

"Fleur, you..." he began to say, but it was as if Bill knew the answer before he got the question out.

"I was sure if I could fall for anyone, it would be her," he answered. "I was wrong, and that's disappointing, but it's better that it's happened now."

That seemed like a weird thing to say. Better that it happened now? Better than when? "Better for who?" Viktor asked.

"For Victoire, obviously," Bill answered, looking at Viktor like he was slightly unintelligent. "She's still a baby. By the time she can walk and talk she'll have forgotten all about me. Maybe by then, Fleur will have found someone else. Someone who can be Victoire's dad. She should have a dad, I think, one who'll be there for her and Fleur." 'Someone completely different from me,' Bill thought. 'Someone honest. Ugh. I need to quit drinking. I always get so damn depressing when I drink.'

Viktor stared. He didn't mean to, but what Bill said was very telling. It was cold logic being applied to the things that should be intensely dear to him. Most fathers would fight tooth and nail for the right to see their children, but Bill Weasley didn't have any intention of trying to remain part of Victoire's life. He thought it would be more painful for her if he wasn't there complicating everything. He didn't think Bill's logic was correct, but it confirmed that Bill was also what people would call 'tepid', just like him. "I do not think that a person can learn to love someone, just because they like them. I also do not think that a person can learn to not love someone, just because it is a burden." After he said it, he realized the words must seem out of left field. He felt pretty stupid, but Bill just gave him this warm laugh.

"You're probably right," he said, clapping Viktor on the shoulder with a bemused little smirk. "Sooo, I suppose that begs the question."

"Begs vhat question?"

"Why you're here alone." Bill seemed to be implying that he might still have feelings for Hermione, but he didn't say anything of the sort. He never said anything, no matter whether he approved or not; Viktor could remember Hermione writing something like that about Bill once. She'd said that Ron said that about him. That he just accepts you for what you are, no strings attached. He can do that, Viktor thought, because he's too wrapped up in his own flaws to give other people grief about theirs. Maybe. He didn't know why he was sitting her psycho-analyzing Bill, but decided to blame it on the alcohol.

"They are only vords," Viktor answered with a shrug, looking down at his half eaten plate of appetizers and finding no appetite for any of them.

Bill nodded like he completely understood. Reality was just more trying. How things should be was not always how things could or would be. He should have loved Fleur. That would have been a perfect, fairy tale ending for everyone. But he couldn't. He'd wanted her, but he hadn't needed her. He hoped Viktor was being honest when he said that Fleur didn't need him, either. That would make things much easier, but if Bill had learned anything curse-breaking in Egypt it was that the hardest route always led to the best rewards. He had this gut instinct that Viktor Krum could make things very, very hard on him.

"Hey, where are you staying while you're here?"

"I vill find a hotel tonight," Viktor answered, once again unsure where Bill's mind had gone to that it would lead to this conversation.

Bill made a disgusted face. "Nah. You'll stay with me. Free, and I make a mean roast beef. ...well, at least, if you like your meat a little on the pink side."

"I, but...no, that..." Viktor stumbled. Bill had thrown him completely off guard. Was he serious? He couldn't be, right? Why would anyone invite the friend of their ex-wife to stay with them? It was insane.

"No complaining. My place is nice. Quiet. Has a good view of the beach. We can get to know each other a little. We never got the chance, and what with Hermione and Ron getting married, we should make a bit of an effort, right? Especially since we're more or less the same type."

Viktor's eyes widened. When had Bill noticed? "I vill relent," he answered with a sigh. "I know vhen I have been out-maneuvered."

Bill grinned, but it was a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. It was obvious when you knew what you were looking for, but nearly invisible if you didn't. How long had Bill felt so emotionally detached to wear such an expression? Would Viktor, also, gain such expressions if he felt this way long enough? Did he already have some? And most importantly, how was he supposed to get rid of them? He knew there was something missing from his life, something vital, but how was he supposed to find it if he didn't even know what it was?