There's still frost on the ground when Hermione makes her way to the great hall but the air is crisp, clean and refreshes her first thing in the morning. She has a nervous ache in her stomach which knots tighter the closer she gets to the great hall. That doesn't mean she doesn't rush, having to stop herself from breaking in to a jog.

There are only a handful of people dotted around the room, picking at the food on offer. Most are from Durmstrang, they must be early risers when they're at home. She's scanning them for the Durmstrang she wants and is coming up short when a small paper airplane comes to rest on her shoulder

'Turn around' grinning, she does as she's told and finds him at the entrance of the hall, his lips turned up in a smug smile

"Good morning my pvincess" he smiles handsomely and kisses her knuckles

"Good morning. How long have you been standing here?"

"A vhile, I got distvacted by your beauty" he grins

"You're what one might call cheesy in the morning" she jokes

"Cheesy? Are you tvying to say I smell?" Viktor gasps, feigning hurt

"No, never mind" she laughs, taking a seat next to him in the corner of the room "have you eaten?"

"I vas vaiting for you"

"You didn't have to do that, you must be starving. I've seen how much you Durmstrang boys eat" as if to prove her point, they each begin to fill a plate, more he fills a plate and she starts on a bowl of fruit "you don't have bacon in Bulgaria?" she jokes, gesturing to the pile of at least seven rashers on his plate

"The food here is much better than at Durmstrang, I'm making most of it"

"What's it like? Durmstrang?"

"It is castle, much like this but smaller and … darker. It is cold most of year, colder than your vinters, ve do not see much sun"

"Well what do you do for fun, outside of lessons?" he shrugs and swallows

"I spend most of my spare time tvaining, some veekends I'm allowed to visit my home"

"It's nice that you can see your family" Hermione comments and he nods

"My fadder vorks a lot, though I'm not totally sure vhat he does, he's very secvetive. Bose of my older brothers are small time aurors and so they go avay for long stvetches at a time. Vhen I go home, it is to see my mother and small brother"

"Four boys? I bet that was- is hard work"

"Yes" he chuckles "my mother likes to vemind us of it all the time. Vhat about your family?"

"My family?" he nods, reaching for yet more bacon "there's not much to know, it's just me, my mum and my dad"

"Vhat do they do?"

"They're both dentists, they … pull out peoples teeth" he gives her a confounded, slightly concerned look "they're dental hygienists, I suppose they keep peoples teeth healthy. It's a muggle thing"

"Oh" he nods, relieved "are you very close?"

"Yes I suppose, with it being just the three of us. Is your family close?"

"My brothers and I vere very close gvowing up, there is not much difference in age. But now the only time ve are all together is the first veek of summer"

"Is that hard?" he shrugs

"My brothers have lives of their own now. Quidditch is taking up a lot of my time, but we alvays go home for the beginning of summer"

"That's sweet, that you put each other first"

"My mother vould not stand for anysing else" the next person to enter the hall is a Gryffindor second year who does a double take at them being together

"It's going to get busy soon" Hermione admits reluctantly

"Can I see you today?" her mood sours considerably when she thinks about her full day

"I have no time today" she tells him sullenly, making his smile fall "we could meet this evening?"

"Yes!" he agrees quickly "I have an idea, vill you meet me in the library tonight?"

"What time?"

"I'll send a note" whilst no one is interested he kisses her cheek then he moves over to his fellow Durmstrang and she joins Ginny and Dean as they enter the hall.

She sits in defence against the dark arts thinking about Viktor and that Alastor Moody is completely bat scratch crazy. How he hasn't been fired or even reprimanded yet she doesn't know. He hasn't performed the cruciatus curse on anything else but he hasn't been commanding what would be considered proper lessons either. Using questionably dangerous and sometimes cruel teaching methods. He turned Malfoy in to a ferret! Though personally she thinks a weasel would have been more fitting.

During care of magical creatures Hagrid has them answer questions on specific breeds of dragons, in honour of the first task in the triwizard cup. Fed up of Malfoy and his taunts, she Ron and Harry move away from the group and sit on the lakeshore. Ron is copying her answers and still spelling things wrong, she's about to point it out to him when her attention is drawn to someone approaching.

He's walking along the shore, doing stretches and other exercises. Behind him, a gaggle of girls being anything but subtle as they follow. She doesn't want to think about how much it annoys her, she knows she's got nothing to be jealous of right now but that doesn't mean she won't. As Viktor passes he smiles knowingly, she can't return his smile however when the fan club catch her attention again.

It irritates her for the rest of the day, by the time transfiguration has come to an end she worked herself in to quite a frenzy. After a bath and some more, decidedly irrational worrying a note finally appears, the airplane landing beside her foot.

'I found you in the library, for that I owe it much

Come find me in the library, where I first felt your touch.

It hasn't taken long for you to become precious to me.

Now let me share with you that which makes me feel free.

I found you in the library, a place I now hold dear.

Come find me in the library, it's time to face your fear.'

She smiles to herself, he'd written her a poem. Then the dread set in, he was going to make her fly.

The quidditch pitch was quite lovely at this time, the sky had darkened ready for night and the moon was bright and full. Of course the time and temperature meant they were the only ones there.

"Vould you care to join me?" she looks to Viktor, straddling his broom and she swallows dryly

"Couldn't I just watch you?" he shakes his head menacingly

"I'm going to dance for you, you can fly for me"

"You don't have to dance" she offers quickly, to which he shakes his head again

"I vant to" he tells her, pushing her woollen hat away from her eyes "because I know you vant to"

"That's emotional blackmail" she murmurs, knowing she's going to give in

"I know" he chuckles and nuzzles her neck

"Alright, alright, move over then" gripping the broom with white knuckles, she throws one leg over, glad she wore jeans and Viktor slides closer, wrapping his arms around her and taking hold of the broom above her hands "please go easy on me" she pleads

"Vhat is it about flying that scares you?" he asks softly

"If we had been meant to fly, we would have been born with wings"

"No see, that's vhere you're vong, I knew that I vas born to fly the first time I did it"

"That's different, no one could argue that you were meant to fly"

"Hermione my pvecious beauty, you just did" she's ready to argue that too until she realises they're level with the goal posts. She yelps and manages to squeeze the broom tighter wondering how she hadn't noticed her feet leaving the ground "it's not so bad is it?"

"It's not … terrible" she admits, shaking vigorously "but we're not moving" she regrets it the second it's out of her mouth and she knows he's grinning behind her "no Viktor please" it's too late, she can only close her eyes and hold on for dear life. It seems to last an eternity, if he wasn't holding her in place with his arms and body she wouldn't have been able to hold on. She opens her eyes at one point only to squeal and squeeze them shut again when she sees they're heading right for a goal post. She feels him weave around it and she's sure she's going to be sick and then all is peaceful again. She carefully opens one eye and they're miles above the ground it feels

"Open your eyes Hermione" she does as he says and gasps at the view, the lake under the moon, reflecting every single star as clearly as if she was to look up. The mountains, the trees, the grounds, all covered in frost, glisten beneath them

"Couldn't you have just brought me up here straight away?"

"Vhat fun vould that of been?"

"I might not feel quite so sick" she offers

"Never mind, ve're here now"

"And it's beautiful, I'll give you that"

"I can't imagine anything more perfect" he murmurs near her ear and she turns her head to find him looking at her

"Neither can I" she agrees, thinking of him. She decides they're high enough that he would have time to right it if they began to fall so she tilts her head back and kisses him, taking one hand off the broom to cup his jaw. She doesn't realise he's lowering them until they come to a stop and she opens her eyes to find her feet dangling inches from the ground. They touch down with a gentle thud and the broom is discarded. She can't get enough of him, only breaking away from him to jump and wrap herself around him completely, he holds her up with one hand and the other fists in the curls at the back of her head.

When they finally come back to earth, they're both breathless, Viktor holds them up with his back against a tree and breathes heavily with his forehead rested on hers

"You are, vhat one might call intoxicating. I find myself losing contvol avound you, getting lost in you" he pulls her closer and drags his lips across her collar bone "I've never felt this vay before. I feel like I could go veeks vithout food or vater, even air, as long as I had you"

"Viktor" she sighs as he kisses her neck, he bites down on her throat lightly and she gasps a breath "you'll go back to Bulgaria eventually"

"I don't vant to talk about that. Let's just stay here, like this, for a vhile longer" she can't argue with that so while he sucks and nibbles at her throat, she slides her hands up the back of his shirt. He has the softest skin, smooth, flawless over hard muscle. He blows cool air over a spot that feels particularly good, giving her shivers and she digs her nails in to the toned flesh. He grunts and she immediately pulls her hands to her chest

"Sorry" he smiles sheepishly and shakes his head

"It vasn't bad"

"Oh" she sighs, relieved "oh! It was good?" he nods and she slides her hands back in to their original position. Shifting forward she feels the hardness tenting his trousers slightly and blushes

"Sovvy, unfortunate side effect of having a beautiful voman kiss you mid flight" he shifts to try and conceal it, blushing as much as her now

"Don't be sorry" she whispers, leaning forward to kiss him

"Ve should stop" Hermione sits back, hurt and flushing at the rejection "I don't vant to stop Hermione" he murmurs, seeing her reaction "but I lose control vith you. I don't vant to go too far vith you and spoil this"

"Do you … want me like that?" she whispers, too embarrassed to say it any louder

"Of course I do! You're gorgeous, in every vay possible. But you're very young to spite being smarter and more mature than people three times your age"

"I think it should be my decision don't you?" she snaps, irritated at being spoken to like a child, embarrassed that on some level he sees her as a child

"Yes of course, I just don't vant to … pvessure you. I don't vant that from you, vell I do but …nothing is coming out vight"

"Viktor shhh" she quiets him "I know".

She screams when he pushes them off the ground and flies faster than she's sure anyone has before, slowing only to weave through the trees as they get closer to Hogwarts. Eventually she gives up on begging him to slow down and just grits her teeth.

He comes to a stop smoothly outside her dorm room window

"Good guess"

"Who says it vas a guess?" he teases as she pushes the glass and the window swings open "be careful" he holds her steady as she crawls into the room and winces when she lands on the floor in a heap

"I'm okay" she calls earning a chuckle "breakfast again tomorrow?"

"I'll be zhere"

"Goodnight Viktor" she leans out on to the sill and kisses him quickly only for him to pull her back. After a few minutes he strokes her cheek and pulls away

"Goodnight Моят скъпоценни красота".