Hogwarts was very quiet on Boxing Day. Most people had stayed awake in their common rooms reminiscing about the ball long after midnight had come and gone, and they all slept in as a result. Once they'd finally woken, however, it was to face the unpleasant fact that Christmas was now over, and they couldn't really ignore their piles of holiday work any longer.
The Friday after the ball, Hermione was taking advantage of her empty dormitory and working on an Arithmancy problem set – Lavender and Parvati had gone to Hogsmeade, and Eloise had gone home for a few days to visit her family. She'd just figured out the key to a particularly difficult equation when Ginny burst into the room, looking both flustered and excited.
"Hey, Gin," Hermione said, reaching towards her nightstand to take a sip from the mug of cocoa sitting there. "What's up?"
"Herms, why didn't you tell me you snogged Draco after the ball?" Ginny burst out. Hermione only just saved herself from upending her mug as she coughed violently.
"Wh-what?" she spluttered. "Whatever gave you that idea?" In response, Ginny tossed a magazine onto Hermione's bed. The glossy tabloid, which she recognized as Witch Weekly, was open to a page in the middle, where a small piece caught her attention:
Gryffindor's Golden Girl, or Hogwarts' Heartbreaker?
Harry Potter's name is one of the most recognizable in the Wizarding world, and he gave us even more to talk about with his daredevil display against the Norwegian Ridgeback in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament last month, writes Rita Skeeter. However, in spite of his accomplishments, we must not forget that Harry, in many ways, is a boy like any other. He left the task arm-in-arm with one Hermione Granger, a fellow Gryffindor student, and reliable sources say that the pair are rarely seen apart.
"They're always together, laughing and joking," a classmate says. "It's obvious there's some sort of connection there."
Young Mr. Potter may wish to reconsider before declaring his hidden feelings, however. Miss Granger, it seems, isn't satisfied with attaching herself to just one famous wizard, and she happily accepted an invitation to the Yule Ball from Bulgarian Quidditch superstar Viktor Krum himself. Miss Granger rarely left Mr. Krum's side all evening, yet not moments after the final dance with her swoon-worthy date, she was spotted sharing a passionate embrace in the enchanted gardens with classmate Draco Black, better known as the son of notorious Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, and the sole heir to the Malfoy fortune. This reporter cannot say for sure what Miss Granger's motives are for so rapidly collecting the hearts of the rich and famous, but whatever game she's playing is most certainly a dangerous one.
"She's not even remotely pretty," a fellow fourth-year reports. "She's absurdly smart, though – I wouldn't be surprised if love potions were involved."
Regardless of the method, the situation is unsettling to say the least. Gentlemen, there's a new heartbreaker at Hogwarts – guard yourselves well.
For a long time after she'd finished reading, Hermione merely stared at the magazine in silence. Finally, however, she managed to find her voice.
"How did she know?" she nearly whispered.
"How did she know what?" Ginny asked. She cautiously took a seat on the edge of Hermione's bed, knowing that the article had upset her friend.
"How did she know about the garden?" Hermione hissed, her expression livid.
"So you did snog Draco, then?" Ginny ventured.
"We…ok fine, we kissed, but not in the garden, and…and that's not the point!" Hermione replied, though she now seemed more flustered than angry.
"Herms, it's ok," Ginny said, reaching over to squeeze her friend's hand. "It's about time you two got your act together. Why don't you tell me what happened?" Hermione sighed.
"Alright," she conceded, "but how did you even know that we'd kissed? We haven't told anyone." In spite of her best efforts not to, she was blushing furiously.
"Skeeter's articles, no matter how skewed, are always based in fact, even if it is very loosely," Ginny said with a shrug. "She twists the truth as it suits her, but there's usually at least something driving the article. You just have to know how to look for what's real and what isn't – in this case, I know that you and Harry regard each other as siblings, and unless I'm very much mistaken, you most definitely weren't happy when you accepted Krum's invitation to the ball. Unless you're under some sort of spell, you're not toying around with anyone…so by process of elimination, I guessed that the part about you and Draco in the garden was closest to the truth."
"Not bad," Hermione admitted. "But like I said, nothing happened in the garden – nothing like that, anyway."
"So where did it happen, and when?" Ginny demanded eagerly. She rolled over onto her stomach and propped her chin up on her hands, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her expectant expression and overly bright eyes.
"Outside Gryffindor Tower, just before midnight," she said softly, smiling a little as the memory surfaced. "I hadn't been having much fun up until then – Skeeter was right when she said I rarely left Krum's side, but that wasn't by choice. He wouldn't let me leave – he even followed when I went to the loo! He kept me occupied with conversation all through dinner – which, by the way, we spent nearly ten minutes of trying to get him to say my name properly, and he still can't do it – and I was in the company of Durmstrangs all night. Some of them were really nice – although he wouldn't let me talk to Peter at all – but what I really wanted was to spend time with you lot. We danced near Harry and Eloise a few times, but when I mentioned seeing the rest of you, he got sulky. I don't think it was too long after that when you saw us leave the Great Hall."
"That was about half eleven," Ginny said.
"Yes, that sounds about right," Hermione agreed. She then proceeded to tell Ginny what had happened in the garden. Ginny's expression darkened rapidly as Hermione spoke, and by the time Hermione had reached the part where she'd sent Krum and his friend running, she looked murderous.
"How dare he!" she practically growled. "Hermione, why haven't you said anything? He tried to take advantage of you!"
"Trust me, Gin, I thought about it," Hermione replied, "but it's not worth it."
"Not worth it? Why not?"
"He's a Triwizard champion. According to the rules, nothing short of death can break the competition contract – even if I said anything, chances are they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Krum's here 'til the end, no matter what. Besides, if I told, Krum would know that he'd gotten to me, and I'm sure as hell not giving him that satisfaction. Nothing happened, he's an arse, I'm done with it."
"I supposed you're right, as always," Ginny conceded. "But you still haven't told me about the kiss!" She wriggled impatiently on the bed.
"Alright, alright!" Hermione said with a laugh. She continued her story all the way up until she'd retreated into Gryffindor Tower for the night. When she finished, Ginny flopped forward and sighed audibly.
"Hermione, that's soooo romantic!" she said. "I can't believe you waited this long to tell me!"
"I guess I didn't have an occasion to?" Hermione replied hesitantly.
"You needed an occasion to tell your best friend about your first kiss?" Ginny repeated incredulously. "You needed an occasion to tell us that you two are finally together?" She paused. "You are, aren't you?"
"I mean, we haven't really discussed it outwardly, but yes, I suppose we are," Hermione said, blushing again. Ginny smiled.
"Like I said, it's about damn time."
"What about you, Gin? How was your Yule Ball?"
"I mean, I hate to say it, since yours was so awful, but I had a great time," Ginny admitted. "Draco was a perfect gentleman, and I had loads of fun. After what you told me, though, I'm really glad I sent him after you."
"I proved I could handle them, didn't I?" Hermione said haughtily, her nose in the air.
"I was more thinking about what happened afterwards," Ginny replied, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Gin, you're incorrigible!" Hermione laughed as she whacked her with a pillow. Ginny smirked.
"I know, but you love me for it. Any chance you've got any more of that cocoa?"
"I do, actually," Hermione said, reaching over to pour her a mug. Ginny accepted the beverage and took a long drink of the thick liquid.
"Mmmm, delicious. Now, we've solved one problem, the one where you hadn't told me about the perfect fairy-tale ending to your evening." She paused and mock glared at Hermione, who couldn't help but giggle. "But we still have one other – what are we going to do about Skeeter?"
"Make her pay, of course," Hermione said immediately, her eyes darkening as her giggle morphed into a glare. "She's definitely not supposed to be on the grounds, I heard a couple of professors talking about how she was banned after the first task. Somehow, she found a way around that last weekend, and I'm going to figure out how she did it. She wrote herself how foolish it would be to mess with Hermione Granger, and I'm going to show her just how right she was." Ginny smirked again and raised her mug.
"Cheers."
Harry was trying his best not to show it, but he was very nervous about the golden egg, with which he'd made no progress at all. The egg itself had hinges on one side and opened easily, but when it did, all he heard was an indecipherable high-pitched wailing. Nobody could make heads or tails of the sound – it didn't sound like any creature they'd heard before, nor were the noises in any discernible sort of language, and Harry was getting worried. If he couldn't even solve the clue to the second task, how on earth was he supposed to prepare for it?
He'd had decidedly less fun after Christmas than before it – in addition to his homework and the golden egg clue, he'd had to return home for a few days in order to fit in his annual visit to the Dursleys' house. Draco had gone with him, as usual, but his brother's company did nothing to increase his enthusiasm towards the visit, especially not after he'd blown up Marge the year before. Thankfully, Aunt Petunia had arranged it so that her husband and son were out on the day of the visit – Harry suspected she'd done this on purpose, and he was grateful for it. Petunia, at least, was his blood relative and could therefore understand the burst of accidental magic for what it was, no matter how much she disapproved of it – Vernon, however, had no such connection or understanding, and Harry didn't doubt that the man very much wanted to strangle him after what he'd done.
Once Harry and Draco had returned to Hogwarts, their group spent almost the entire rest of their holidays in the Room of Requirement. Nobody was really sure how it happened, but everyone in their group very quickly found out about Draco and Hermione's relationship, and they made sure to give the couple both congratulations for getting together and grief for taking so long to do so. The rest of their time was dedicated to essays, star charts, and the dreaded egg clue.
All too soon, classes started up again, and Harry and his friends bundled themselves up in winter cloaks and scarves to trudge through the deep snow to Hagrid's hut and the Herbology greenhouses. The Witch Weekly article had spread through the school like wildfire, and Harry, Hermione, and Draco soon found themselves bombarded with awkward questions and intense stares wherever they went. The death glares that Krum gave Draco whenever they passed only helped fuel the rumors, and it wasn't long before quite a few people were wondering if Hermione had used a love potion on at least one of the boys. Draco and Hermione neither confirmed nor denied the rumors – when their friends asked why they were putting up with it, Hermione replied, "If we say anything, it'll only give them more to talk about. If we ignore them, they'll eventually get tired of it and leave us alone."
The biggest change of the term so far, however, had nothing to do with Witch Weekly at all. After Christmas, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students had largely abandoned the seats they'd chosen in October in order to sit with dates or other friends they'd met at the ball, and the four house tables were now a mix of black, red, and blue as students from all three schools mingled freely. Peter, who was quite taken with Alicia Spinnet, had joined the Gryffindors for almost every meal since the ball, and he surprised Harry and Hermione by asking for a word after dinner one evening shortly after the new term began.
"Is there someplace we could talk privately?" he asked in his lightly accented English. "And could your Slytherin friend please join us?" Harry noted that there was an empty classroom just across the entrance hall, and Hermione hurried to fetch Draco. The trio followed Peter into the classroom, and the Durmstrang closed the door before facing them.
"What's this about?" Harry asked warily. Aside from their short conversation after the Weighing of the Wands ceremony, he'd hardly spoken to Peter before.
"I wanted to apologize," Peter replied. Harry looked taken aback.
"For what?"
"Viktor Krum," Peter replied. When the three Hogwarts students merely looked confused, he elaborated, "I do not know exactly what happened at the Yule Ball, Miss Granger, but I do know why Krum invited you, and I am very sorry for that."
"I…it's not your fault," Hermione stammered.
"Perhaps not, but regardless, that is no way to treat a woman," Peter said. "I heard him talking about it with a few of our classmates a few hours before the ball, and I was disgusted. I had had my suspicions earlier, when I heard whom he intended to ask, but I did not know for sure until that night. Krum has always thought himself above the rest of us thanks to his talent on the Quidditch pitch, but that was low, even for him. If I had not known you already belonged to someone else, I would have asked you myself, Miss Granger, before he had the chance."
"Erm…well, Draco and I weren't together then," Hermione murmured, her cheeks reddening. "And please, call me Hermione."
"Hermione, then." Peter paused and cocked his head. "You were not together? I was so sure that you were. You just seemed so…natural around each other. I had never seen the likes of it before."
"We grew up together, all three of us," Hermione explained. "The…connection sort of grew from there, I suppose."
"Why are you telling us all of this?" Draco interrupted, still thoroughly confused.
"Perhaps we should sit?" Peter suggested in reply. He withdrew his wand and Conjured a sofa for the trio and an armchair for himself. Once they'd all sat down, he said, "You must understand that Durmstrang is nothing like Hogwarts – the importance of blood purity is such that Muggle-born students are not even admitted. However, just like your own classmates, the students of Durmstrang vary greatly in personal opinion. Many believe in blood supremacy, like your Slytherins, but there are a good number who do not."
"And yourself?" Harry inquired.
"The latter," Peter replied. "I am not sure why, but I trust you and feel inclined to tell you my story. Perhaps you have noticed that my classmates are predominantly male?"
Harry, Draco, and Hermione nodded. Of the nearly twenty students who'd come to Hogwarts from Durmstrang, only three were female.
"That ratio applies to the whole school, not just our delegation," Peter said. "In many of the circles from which Durmstrang families come, it is customary to send only the sons to school while teaching the daughters at home. Those girls who do actually come to Durmstrang tend to do so due to exceptional magical ability – Lea, Mirjam, and Clara, the three who are currently here at Hogwarts, are very talented and powerful. In the case of my family, this custom may have actually kept us safe."
"How so?" Harry asked.
"My sister has no magic," Peter replied. "My parents were both educated elsewhere and therefore knew nothing of Durmstrang's history before I enrolled there. Transferring without a valid reason is very difficult, and so I stayed. It has been very difficult at times, but those customs have allowed me to tell the truth about having a sister without compromising her safety. There have been too many cases when Squibs have died of unknown causes."
"That's…horrible," Hermione finally said.
"But not uncommon, from what I understand," Peter replied. "Visiting Hogwarts has been quite the learning experience, as your classmates have shown us that there is more to the Wizarding world than those prejudices. I am hopeful that seeing such open-mindedness in spite of the history here will give my classmates a better understanding of things."
"We have our fair share of blood supremacists too," Draco pointed out. "I live with three of them, unfortunately."
"I know," Peter acknowledged, "but the difference is that you Hogwarts students are not afraid to speak your minds. It has not yet become dangerous to do so here, and I do not think you realize how lucky you are in that respect. It is very difficult to learn who your allies are when you cannot freely express your views without fear of being hexed, or worse."
"What's different about Durmstrang that makes it so dangerous to speak out?" Hermione asked.
"There is a much higher percentage of families with Dark ties at Durmstrang – our headmaster himself bears the Mark," Peter replied. Draco clenched his teeth and let out a hiss of air.
"Karkaroff is a Death Eater?" he said sharply. "How do you know?" Peter shrugged.
"He does not hide the Mark at Durmstrang like he does here," he replied. "We do wear long robes and furs, but I have seen it on occasion. There is no mistaking the symbol – a skull and snake?"
"Yeah, that's the Dark Mark," Harry confirmed.
"You seemed…upset at that news," Peter remarked, turning to Draco.
"My birth father is a Death Eater, as is my aunt," Draco said shortly. "My family was destroyed, my mother killed because of their choices. I harbor no good feelings towards the Dark side."
"I understand. As I said, our headmaster bears the Mark, though I am not sure how strongly he feels about their cause, and although I do not know of any Marked students, many come from families with parents or other relatives in the ranks. A number of students also have relatives who were contemporaries of Gellert Grindelwald – are you familiar with the name?"
"A little," Hermione said. "We haven't learned too much about him, but I do know he terrorized Germany for years before Dumbledore finally defeated him in a duel."
"He did. Grindelwald, who attended Durmstrang, also believed in Wizarding supremacy – the Death Eaters are taking his work to the next level, of course, but the ideas are similar. What it comes down to is that there is a much stronger Dark influence at Durmstrang. We even study the Dark Arts in school – not just the defense like you do, but the Dark Arts themselves. I am not exceptionally proud of the fact, but I know a fair number of absolutely disgusting curses that could easily incapacitate or even kill a man. Can you see why my sister – and my beliefs – must stay hidden?" They nodded.
"Thank you for sharing your story with us, Peter," Hermione said softly. "It couldn't have been easy to open up to three near-strangers – although I'm still not entirely sure why you did."
"I said it before – I do not know why, but I trust Mr. Potter, and I can see clearly that he trusts the both of you with his life," Peter replied. "If those of us who believe in the good are to make alliances, we can never start too early."
"I can agree with that," Harry concurred, "although I'd prefer to call it a friendship, I think. And like Hermione said, no need for the formalities – call me Harry." He looked expectantly at Peter, who looked surprised but grinned.
"A friendship, then." He offered his hand to Harry, and they shook.
A/N: Wow - I think I need to celebrate my birthday (or write a good Dramione chapter) more often - thank you so much for all the lovely reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much. And to the reviewer who pointed out that 26 is twice 13...you might just be my new favorite person.
This chapter gives us a little more insight into Peter's character - I hope you liked it, it took me a bit to get it where I wanted it. In case you're curious, Peter is based on my Swiss friend Stefan, who does indeed speak English very formally sometimes. He's wonderful.
Thank you, again, for all the reviews, as well as the follows, faves, & for reading! You guys are the best, all of you.
JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! Re: tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating, & to everyone else, Happy Thursday! :)