An hour after Harry, Ginny and Rose had left the house, Hermione waited nervously for Viktor to arrive. She jumped at the long anticipated rap at the door. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and opened the door.

"Hi Viktor."

He kissed her cheek.

"Is awfully quiet. She is sleeping?"

"No. She's with Harry and Ginny. They took her to the lake with them."

"I see. Are you hungry? Ve could go out as vell. Not good for you to be in this house all the time."

Was she ready to be seen in public with Viktor again? People were already talking. She thought about all the vicious gossip that had appeared in the papers ever since they were seen together in Germany and almost suggested they stay in, but the hopeful, almost pleading look in his eyes changed her mind. She took another deep breath and pushed her reservations aside.

"Yes. I'd like that."

Two hours later the two arrived back home and were talking and laughing just like they had when they were younger. He reached up to push a soft tendril back from her face and his touch sent shivers through her body. The atmosphere quickly changed and she felt herself tremble as he pulled her close to him and claimed her lips in a searing kiss that left her feeling incredibly weak and compliant. He was soon trailing warm kisses down her throat the same delicious way he had the other night when they had been interrupted. Only this time she knew there would be no interruptions. His hands were caressing her shoulders and after a few moments she could feel the soft strap of her sleeveless blouse being gently pushed off her shoulder, baring it for his lips to explore. She felt herself being slowly eased back onto the sofa, a strong hand gently sliding up her outer thigh. Her mind raced as her body responded to him. She didn't know what to do, she was way out of her element. Ron had never touched her like this, no one had. As his hands continued to roam, sending the most delicious shivers through her body, he kissed her lips more passionately and deeper than before, eliciting a soft moan from her throat. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, a deep primal desire glimmering in them.

"I vant you so much Hermione. Please, if you do not vant this, tell me now."

"I..I want this Viktor. I just.."

"Vhat is it? Please, talk to me."

"I've...just never been with anyone but Ron before. I.."

Hermione stumbled over her words, unsure how to explain to him that her only experience with sex had made her dread intimacy. He sensed her distress immediately and as he gazed into her eyes as she fought for the words to explain, he suddenly understood what she was trying to say without the words she was unable to find. He realized now that Weasley had treated her as well in bed as he had everywhere else. He silently cursed himself for not realizing it before. Why would he have been any more careful with her physically than he had been emotionally? He knew now that she truly did want him, but was afraid it would be like before. The realization that it was this fear and not lack of affection that caused her to pull away from him all this time made his heart soar. He wanted her so much at that moment, wanted to show her what lovemaking really was, wanted to bring her the pleasure that she had obviously been denied in the past. He placed a soft kiss against her temple and then against her trembling lips.

"Shhh. Vill be alvright izgora. I promise. Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

He kissed her again as he lifted her from the sofa and carried her to her bedroom. He lay her down on the bed and began kissing her all over once again. His lips caressed her face, her neck, her shoulders, as he slowly began to disrobe her. She was lost in his touch and barely noticed as he slipped her blouse from her body and began trailing kisses over her breasts, sending a glorious heat radiating through her body. His shirt had already been discarded and the feel of his warm skin pressed against her own was almost too much pleasure to bear. She basked in his warmth as his hands began working her skirt buttons loose and she felt the soft fabric sliding off. His kisses trailed down from her breasts and his lips grazed her bared stomach. He felt her body tense and he moved back up her torso to look into her eyes.

"Is OK?"

"Yes, it's just, Rose.."

He looked at her surprised by her meaning. He smiled and kissed her chin lovingly.

"You think I care about scar? Is part of you. Ti si krasiva. You are beautiful."

His kisses resumed as her body relaxed once more at his loving reassurance, and he slowly worked his way back down her body, brushing his lips lightly over the scar on her abdomen, then skimming over her panties to kiss her inner thighs. She was breathing hard now, in desperate need of more contact. She moaned when she felt strong hands slowly pulling her panties away from her hot and swollen core. She had never felt such intense need, such unquenchable heat before. She was now completely nude beneath him, but did not feel the same sense of shame she had with Ron. The way Viktor's eyes skimmed her body with such heat, such desire, made her feel beautiful and uninhibited. She writhed desperately beneath him as he moved slowly back up her body, filled with need for something she could not name. She gasped as she suddenly felt the desperately needed friction as his fingers slid through her slick folds. She'd never felt anything so physically intense as his calloused fingers deftly caressed her so intimately. An intense and unfamiliar pressure was building in response to his light touch. She'd never experienced such intense pleasure, not even at her own hand. She didn't think she could take a second more, but at the same time, wanted the sensation to last forever. She threw her head back and arched her back as the pressure snapped sending the most incredible and powerful orgasm coursing through her body. He pressed hot kisses to her neck as she came beneath him, one hand clutched in his, fingers entwined, the other clutching his broad shoulder tightly.

She whimpered softly as her orgasm slowly subsided, leaving her feeling incredibly wet and open. She gasped once more as she felt him move deeper between her thighs and slide easily into her core. She gripped his back tightly as he began to move inside of her, slow and shallow. She'd never felt anything that compared to this. Ron had always been one for fast and hard from the get go. Viktor's soft and easy touch was making her desperate and open for more instead of tensing and bracing for pain as she had in all her past couplings. His touch was absolutely torturous in its slowness, its deliberateness. She soon found herself needing more. She needed to embrace him further.

"Viktor!"

At his breathless name being torn from her lips in invitation he slowly entered her until he was fully sheathed inside of her. She cried out in pleasure, now that he was completely filling her depths. He was larger than Ron, but even now there was no pain, just warmth and a pleasing friction. As she felt his hands caressing her flesh and his raspy voice muttering thickly accented Bulgarian in her ear as he filled her again and again, she finally understood. She was feeling this way because he had taken deliberate actions to make her ready for him, to make her desperate for him before he entered her. Ron had never done this, whether because he didn't understand the need or didn't care was irrelevant. She knew now that this is what lovemaking should be and she would never have any reason to fear intimacy with Viktor. She knew he would always make her feel this good, this loved. A tear slipped down her cheek at the revelation.

She felt him reach down between their joining and manipulate her once more as he continued to slide in and out of her. She didn't fight the sensations this time. She knew what they meant now and she closed her eyes and allowed the pressure to build as he caressed her from inside and out, until she tightened deliciously around his shaft that was now embedded deep inside her and let the explosions claim her. The tightening and convulsing of her walls around him pushed him to the edge and with a few shuddering thrusts he spilled inside her, hot and wet. For a few moments he lay on top of her totally spent, breathing heavily, kissing her throat.

After a few moments he pulled out of her leaving a noticeable void inside her. A deep satisfaction filled her senses, in sharp contrast to the post coitus relief she had always known when Ron would finally finish with her. Still panting slightly, Viktor rose up to kiss her face and alarm distorted his features as he noticed the remnants of the tear on her cheek.

"Vhat is vrong? Did I hurt you, luff?"

"No. I'm fine. That was...wonderful. I've never felt..."

He brushed the tear away and kissed her lips.

"Obicham te, izgora."

He rolled off of her and pulled her into his arms. Hermione drifted off to sleep, secured protectively in his arms, her head safely nestled against his chest. She had never felt as safe and as loved as she did at that moment.

The next day Hermione was fixing lunch for herself and Rose unknowingly humming to herself. Ginny watched this for some time before interrupting her.

"So, how was it?"

"How was what?"

"Don't play dumb with me Hermione. How was it with Viktor? Did you...?"

Hermione blushed slightly.

"Yes. You were right Ginny. It was...very different."

"Different good?"

"Different wonderful."

Ginny hugged her tightly, happy to see her friend so carefree and happy for a change. The spark that used to shine in her eyes had been reignited and Ginny could tell that Viktor had begun to pull the real Hermione back from wherever she had been hiding for so long.