Over the next few weeks, I did my best to submerge myself in the school routine. Classes were not holding my attention, however. I was attending to my schoolwork automatically. My papers were turned in, tests answered correctly, but I no longer felt the urge to be the only one with a hand in the air. I wasn't even helping Harry and Ron with their homework, except for checking it over for errors. The distraction wasn't mine alone, Viktor was also suffering from the same ennui. Viktor was reviewing for his NEWTs, I knew.

May brought the realisation that whoever had put Harry's name into the Goblet was running out of time to act. The last task was due at the end of June; their plan must come to fruition by then.

Professor McGonagall had requested a meeting with Viktor, Professor Vector, and me to evaluate the latest set of Arithmantic calculations. None of us had anything concrete to contribute. We were at an impasse. Viktor and McGonagall left me talking to Professor Vector. Our talk today had turned to Viktor and the betrothal. She warned me that I would face a difficult time with his pure-blood relatives.

"The epithets young Malfoy throws at you are nothing compared to what you must expect from Viktor's relatives. You must hold your head high and remind yourself that your blood is the future of our kind. The pure-bloods have intermarried for too many generations.

"Their 'pure' blood now carries the seeds of madness, inherited illnesses, and the all too real possibility of producing Squib children or even infertility. They should instead be blessing you and your children. I am going to show you the calculations I ran for the Ministry some years ago concerning the birth rates for the old pure-blood families. Of the old families, only the Blacks, the Lestranges, and the Weasleys have produced more than one child a generation.

"Do not let the Slytherins tell you that is not true. Daphne Greengrass has a younger sister, true, but she also has a half-blood grandmother. Most of the students who have siblings have half-blood or Muggleborn ancestry. Many of my generation have mixed blood; especially those of us of Eastern European heritage. The Muggle World Wars were a time of struggle to survive; unfortunately, rapine was rather prevalent then as well, which is why most of the Eastern European witches and wizards are classed as half-bloods."

"I understand, Professor. I promise you I will not let their comments faze me. I have been working on focusing. My schoolwork can be done with little or no effort. Viktor and I have started to work on communicating with each other through our magic. We were able to do it a bit in Bulgaria, but here it seems to be harder."

"Excellent, Hermione, probably the best way to do it is to picture him facing away from you. You must focus your magical connection to reach out and touch him so he turns around to see you."

I promised her that I would work on that very thing. But there were other things on my mind just then.

For Viktor's birthday, I had written to Yaya and requested a list of his favourite foods. She had sent the list along with instructions for making each dish. She explained that birthdays were not usually celebrated in Bulgaria, but name days were. She approved that I was going to introduce Viktor to the Western custom of celebrating birthdays.

There was a three-fold plan in motion the morning of his birthday. Dobby was set to produce bird of paradise bread with assorted fruits and cheeses for Viktor's breakfast. For lunch I had convinced the house-elves to put together a special meal with banitsa, shopska salad, musaka, and baclava. For dinner, tarator soup, stuffed peppers, and a small cake with tiny Golden Snitch decorations on it was the crowning touch to Viktor's birthday. My machinations had been helped immensely by Karkaroff, who approved of everything I had ordered.

After the evening meal had been cleared away, Viktor came to find me.

"Thank you for making my birthday very special, Hermione. I have a feeling you had some help from Yaya on the menu. I should have guessed. You always delight me with your thoughtfulness. Will you walk with me? I think, perhaps the Astronomy Tower should be our goal." He took my hand as we walked up the stairs.

Once he touched me, I was able to sense his thoughts. There was happiness, but also a feeling of unease. I knew the struggle Viktor was dealing with, wanting to protect me, yet not knowing where the threat was coming from.

We walked the corridors and staircases until we reached the Astronomy Tower. Viktor looked back to make sure we were not followed. He opened the door and we walked out into the evening light. "Doushenka, we have only five weeks before the final task. The traitor must act before then, or possibly during the task. I am worried for your friend Harry. He is the target of this whole fourth champion plot."

"You mean we need to check what Harry himself has seen or heard. Viktor, he has this uncanny connection to the mind of Voldemort. It is possible that he has seen something. He reported having nightmares again last fall. I will check with him tonight. You are so right." I had neglected to check the surest source, Harry himself.

"Remember, love, the calculations said someone would die. I think it is supposed to be Harry who dies. We must work this information into our calculations, after I kiss you." He suited his actions to his words and left me breathless. His hands were buried in my hair, cupping the back of my head as he tilted my face up to his kiss. His lips were so warm and soft against mine.

My hands went over his shoulders as I tried to pull him closer to me. He released my head and took my hands instead. "No, doushenka, you are too young and I have made a promise to leave you untouched until we marry. Kisses are enough for now. You do not even know how you affect me."

He led me back down the stairs and we walked hand in hand all the way to the courtyard.

"Six weeks, Viktor, and then we'll be apart again. I'm not sure I can stand being away from you." I wanted to hold onto him and never let him go.

"We will never be totally apart, love. The way our magic connected means we can communicate by just thinking of each other. If you are in trouble, all you must do is send to me. I will find you. You belong with me. We are a part of each other. Only death will sever that connection." He turned to face me with a serious expression.

"Don't say that word. Viktor, what if ..." I pressed my fingers against his lips.

"I will not die, love. And Harry will not die; we will not let him die. You know this, Hermione." He kissed the palm of my hand before letting it go.

"I know, Viktor, but that doesn't mean I won't worry. He is my best friend besides Ginny, and you are the man I love. I can't help worrying about both of you." I turned away, so he could not see the fear in my eyes.

"You must talk to him tonight and gather any information we have not added to the calculations. It is vital. I will see if Karkaroff has any more information from Snape. You will dream of me tonight, love?" He turned my face up to his and kissed the fear away.

"I usually do. Happy Birthday, Viktor. I hope this next year will be as wonderful as this past one." I smiled at him, hoping we would be together on his next birthday.

"Good night, doushenka. Thank you for making this a very special occasion." He raised my hands to his lips and kissed the palms of my hands again. He strode off to return to the ship as Karkaroff stepped out of the building behind me.

"Hermione G ranger, you are an exceptional young woman. You have made him happier than I have ever seen him. He is also more determined. Bless you and thank you." With a nod at me, he followed Viktor to the ship.

I hurried back inside to interrogate Harry on his nightmares. He related every detail he could remember as I made copious notes. His comment that Snape had warned him about stealing Boomslang Skin told me a great deal. Someone was stealing from the Potions stores and it wasn't me. Moreover, they were making Polyjuice Potion. We were getting somewhere now. Harry's nightmares had centred on a man who had been talking to Voldemort about a plot against Harry. Voldemort had said he had a servant at Hogwarts.

I added the new data into my calculations, but something was not right. Snape had accused Harry of stealing the ingredients for Polyjuice Potion; therefore, Snape could not be the one who was the traitor. Moody had searched Snape's office and classroom; he could be the traitor. It could be Bagman or it could be Fudge, I was ready to scream, I was so frustrated. Neither Viktor nor I believed it could be Karkaroff. He was definitely on the side of the Light, no matter his previous affiliation.

I finally went to bed because I could achieve nothing more that night. My thoughts the next morning made it clear that Snape was not the traitor, either. Firstly, Dumbledore trusted the man, and so did Karkaroff; my calculations the previous day had proved it beyond a doubt. And Snape had shown Viktor how to do the protective spell.

Everything was coming down to Moody. But Dumbledore trusted him, too. And there was the Polyjuice Potion, what was up with that? I felt it was time to see Professor McGonagall again about her husband. I made a decision to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore before I talked to Professor McGonagall. Sirius had been in communication with Harry and now Lupin had shown up again on the last Hogsmeade weekend. Lupin wanted to talk to me alone, but Viktor insisted on being part of the conversation, and it turned out that he had good suggestions to make.

The three of us sat in the far back corner of the Three Broomsticks after Lupin had cast the Muffliato spell. Viktor had also cast an Aversion Charm to keep people from bothering us. Viktor started talking the minute he got to the table with our drinks.

"You were their Defence teacher last year, Mr. Lupin? I ask because we have a problem. I am only trying to help. The contest is not my primary concern. I am worried for Harry because it directly affects Hermione. And Hermione is my affianced wife." He was being blunt.

Remus appeared to take no affront to Viktor's questioning. "Yes, Viktor, I was their Defence teacher last year. Has anything else happened since we spoke last?"

Viktor looked at me before answering, "It is coming down to Moody as being the one who put Harry's name into the Goblet."

"We have narrowed it down to either Moody or someone completely random. And there is the fact that someone is stealing ingredients from Snape's stores to make Polyjuice Potion. Harry has had nightmares or visions of a man meeting with Voldemort. Can you detect any Dark Magic traces at the school? Will you show me how to do that?" I rattled off the whole thing so fast that Lupin blinked at me.

"Let me take a moment, Hermione. Why would Moody try to harm Harry? But if Polyjuice is involved, how can we be sure it is Moody? Harry needs to see Dumbledore about those visions. Has Minerva noticed anything off about Moody? Aha! From the expressions on your faces, I surmise she has. She would have talked to the Headmaster about it and he would have questioned Moody, correct? Did Moody have an explanation? Yes, I can detect Dark Magic and I will not teach it to you now. Next year is soon enough. What is it, Viktor, is there something else?"

"Yes, Lupin, the last task is traditionally a maze according to Karkaroff. Is there some way you can do a sweep of the area to look for Dark magic and possibly a sweep of the school itself?"

"Probably, do you think it would be worth me talking to Minerva? She would know the signs that Moody is not who he appears to be." Remus was offering to help us.

"Yes, Remus, please do. That way I don't have to bring up painful subjects with her. You might talk to Dumbledore, too. Just as a friendly visit, maybe. You know Moody from years ago, don't you?" I asked.

"Hermione, none of us knew him well. What James told me back then was that Moody and Minerva had married early on, and been perfectly happy for years until Voldemort began drawing some of the older pureblood families to him. Alastor was the best Auror the Ministry ever had. He was modernising the Aurors, teaching them new spells and counter curses, all kinds of things.

"Voldemort wanted to turn Moody very badly. Turn him or kill him, actually. There was an ambush one night, a night that changed several lives. The Aurors had been called out to protect a Ministry official and his family. There was a huge fight going on, Moody was duelling Voldemort for over an hour until one of the Death Eaters brought Greyback Fenrir into the fight.

"Fenrir bit the son of the Ministry official and Moody was hit with five curses at once. I was that boy. Moody was injured trying to protect my family. I was only eight at the time. The Aurors rushed me and Alastor to St. Mungo's. They could do nothing for me, but they worked on Alastor for hours. Minerva had been pregnant with their only child when the word came that he had been injured. She lost the baby that night after seeing what had been done to her husband.

"He was in hospital for months. He knew who I was, but we never really were friendly. I always felt like it was my fault he was injured and that Minerva lost their child. He always treated me exactly the same way as the other members of the Order, but I still felt awkward around him. When I taught here last year Minerva and I talked about it. She had never blamed me, nor had Alastor, she said. In fact, she told me he felt guilty that he and the Aurors had not prevented Greyback from harming me.

"If I can get him to talk to me, I may be able to drop some verbal snares into the conversation. But I cannot promise it would be enough to prove he is the one." Lupin looked uncomfortable that he had told us the story.

Viktor answered him. "None of that was your fault, you were a child, and Moody was aware of the dangers. If someone is impersonating him, we need to find out. A conversation with him might be enough to make you doubt him, then we must assume he is the traitor. Hermione trusts you, Remus. If you sense anything about him that is contrary to your own memories, tell us. Your senses as a werewolf should give you an enhanced sense of smell. Have you used it to sense fear or even the potion ingredients in the Polyjuice Potion?"

"I have always tried to avoid using that sense, Viktor. It is part of me that I loathe. But if you think I might be able to detect the Potion, I will certainly use it." Lupin had new things to think about.

Within the next few days, the contestants were told what the last task would be. It was going to be a maze as Karkaroff had predicted. Lupin had visited the school, meeting with McGonagall and Dumbledore. He had looked in on Moody's classroom a couple of times. One day early in June he made the effort to get Moody to walk with him in the grounds to discuss what things Moody was teaching in Defence. They stayed out walking for over an hour. What he related to us the next day in Hogsmeade was that Moody had acted as though he did not know who Remus was, and did smell of the ingredients of Polyjuice Potion. Viktor was concerned that somehow there would be traps set up in the maze for the other contestants, or that whoever was masquerading as Moody would use the Imperius curse on one of the champions. We were still talking when we entered the Three Broomsticks to have lunch. Viktor, as usual, set up Imperturbable spells to keep our conversations private. I told Remus that Harry and Viktor could both break free of the Imperius Curse. So that left Cedric and Fleur as targets.

"Diggory and Harry are tied for points; they will go into the maze first. It would seem that the person to cast the Imperius on would be Diggory, to keep the rest of us away from Harry." Viktor had seen the advantages to that scenario.

I had to ask Remus what Dumbledore had said in their talk. "Remus, Dumbledore has to know something is going on with Moody. He did not listen to Minerva when she went to him about it. What did he tell you?"

"He hemmed and hawed a bit and told me to mind my own business. He knows, Hermione. He knows a great deal more than he is letting on. I think he is just biding his time until the Dark Lord resurfaces, even if the cost is Harry's life. I really hate to say that, but I very much fear it is true." Remus looked so depressed at that statement that Viktor got upset.

"That will not happen, Lupin! I will protect Harry. We have developed counter curses to the Imperius. I will use it on myself before going into the maze. I will teach it to Hermione to use on Harry, also, just in case. I do not think Fleur will get very far. She is not a strong witch." Viktor was so incensed that his accent was much more noticeable.

I added the clincher to Viktor's statement. "Remus, Viktor and I can communicate telepathically. It is a benefit of the betrothal. We can send to each other by just concentrating. If something is not right in the maze and Viktor sees it, he can send to me. But we are going to need you to monitor the maze and anything that could potentially go wrong. Will you help us?"

"Of course, I will help you. I want to protect Harry as much as both of you. I know he has been in touch with Sirius over the course of the year. This is all coming to a head on the twenty-fourth, right?" Remus was chewing at his lower lip, obviously debating about something. When he made up his mind, he looked Viktor straight in the eye and said, "I'll get Sirius here as Padfoot. He can patrol the maze while I keep an eye on the human contingent. Will that do?"

I jumped up and hugged him. Viktor smiled hugely and shook his hand. After lunch, we separated and rejoined the Hogwarts students going back to the school.

As we walked, Viktor was trying to figure out a way to get someone to put the Imperio counter curse on Cedric. He gave up by the time we got back to Hogwarts. We had less than two weeks before the third task, and only two days after that before Viktor had to go back to Durmstrang. He had to take his N.E.W.T.s tomorrow and the next day. The Wizarding Examinations Authority people had arrived at Hogwarts by the time we returned. The Examiners greeted the students who were to be tested. They checked with each student as to which subjects they were being tested on. Viktor's list consisted of Defence, Astronomy, Charms, Divination, Potions, Herbology, History of Magic, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. I asked him why he had taken Divination.

"At home, Hermione, we use Tarot cards for Divination, or the Crystal. We do not read tea leaves or do phrenology. There are a few who still do palmistry. The Tarot has worked well for a very long time; Karkaroff narrowed the field to include only Tarot, Palmistry, and the Crystal. I will give you my Tarot cards when I go home, teach you how to use them also." He squeezed my hand before raising it to his lips.

"I guess I won't see you tomorrow. Good luck on your tests. I know you will do well, Viktor." I was sad that I would not see him during the day.

"We have tonight to spend a few hours together. The first test begins just after breakfast. I will see you at breakfast, doushenka. Shall we go to the library?" He was suggesting that because we had first met there.

"No, let's walk by the lake after dinner. I feel like being outside. We have so little time left together, Viktor. What are you going to do when you get back to Durmstrang?" I wanted to talk and he let me ramble on.

"I will go home to Sofia, Hermione. Then maybe, I will visit Yaya. In August, I start back practicing with the team. This year will be a new experience, playing Quidditch full time and practicing full time. Niko and I will probably get a flat together. What are your plans for the summer?" He was relaxed, not worried at all about his tests tomorrow.

"My parents want to go to Italy for July. I guess I'll go with them and then go to the Weasley's before school starts in September. I promise I'll let you know where I am." I was not really interested in going to Italy and it showed in my voice.

"My parents will be here this week for the third task; I want to introduce you to them at that time. They know of the betrothal, in fact, they are overjoyed. If I know my mother, she will invite you to visit them rather than going to Italy with your parents. You could stay all summer, if you wanted." The merest hint of excitement crept into his tone. He looked at me and grinned.

I did not want to get my hopes up, so I said, "We will just have to wait and see what happens. What will happen to your cousin if the Dark Lord returns?"

"Aunt Persephone will most likely bring her here to Hogwarts to finish her last two years. My aunt is determined that her last child not become a victim of the Death Eaters. Thera does not even use Karkaroff as her last name. She is enrolled as Thera Leonidas. Karkaroff thinks it is safer for you and Thera to stay unaware of the plans we have made for your safety. She will definitely not be told of our betrothal. I know what his plans for her are almost certain to be. If there is a way I can protect her without implementing that plan…" Viktor looked very unhappy at the thought of what his uncle was planning.

"But you are telling me, Viktor. Why?" Now he had me very curious.

"Thera is different than you, Hermione. She is more devious, calculating, and impulsive. As a young child, she scared me with her passions. Once she has decided on a course of action, she will not be dissuaded. When she loves, it is absolute. She never retreats or relents. Those are traits she learned from her brothers. I learned them, too, but not as well as she did. I have a hard time remembering she is two years my junior. That makes her just a year older than you. I hope you two will become friends. I think you are more grounded than Thera, better at working through things than rushing off with your emotions in control. Did I say that correctly?" He looked sheepishly at me.

"I think that was one of the nicest compliments you have ever paid me, Viktor. Thank you." I was going to try to tease him out of this strange mood he was in.

He blushed and smiled at me. "If you come to Bulgaria again this summer, Hermione, I want us to go back to see Yaya. I have a feeling it is important. I want you beside me, forever."