Hello, my perfectly awesome readers! I know I haven't updated in a while, but I finally got off for Christmas (or other holidays) break, and I had to go to the dentist. I'm three and a half months from being 15 years old, and I've only just gotten my first cavity (which isn't too bad), plus, my family has made me be social for during the holidays. Anyways, here is the next, long awaited chapter!
Morning couldn't come soon enough, for her. With any luck , Viktor would be awake. The week apart had set her teeth on edge. She had no idea how she was going to handle him being gone when he leaves to return to Bulgaria.
She pushed the thought from her mind; she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. There was no need to get herself tied up in knots until absolutely necessary.
As she was leaving the dorms, she was ambushed. Lavender, Parvati, and a third year she vaguely recognized cornered her; she braced herself for the worst possible.
"Please tell us how you did it?" Lavender begged.
"Pretty please? We've put all of our brain cells together, and in almost three months, we haven't figured out how you got Krum." Parvati pleaded.
"But I didn't do anything." She blurted out.
The third year, who she now remembered was called Shaliegh, raised an eyebrow delicately. "Uh, no offense, but you're you. What spell did you use, or what trick? You had to have done something to him. Unless he was only after one thing."
She felt the fury boil and bubble up in her chest. How dare they insinuate that! "We aren't like that!" She retorted hotly. "Unlike most of the relationships you've probably been in, Viktor actually cares for me!" She snapped.
"We know that he know that he cares, that much is obvious." Lavender responded in a tone that implied 'duh, stupid'. "We want to know how. We all tried for months to get him to even notice us. Heck, almost every girl in this school tried to get his attention, and frankly, we can't figure out why he picked you." Lavender finished bewilderedly.
Parvati had been visibly wincing through Shaleigh and Lavender's rants. "What they meant was, what did you do to get him to notice you? Before you showed up on his arm at the ball, no one had a clue that you two were aware of each other's existence, plus everyone thought you were dating Ron, or even Harry."
"Yeah, 'cause you aren't even that pretty." Shaliegh whined, which earned her two sharp elbows in her ribs.
She sighed. "I'm not even sure how he noticed me." She confessed unwillingly. "He was just always in the library, pouring over books for spells. I remember thinking he was so irritating, or at least the fans that stalked him there were. We didn't speak a word until he asked me, so your guess is about as good as mine." She finished icily, before escaping into the common room.
She angrily rubbed at her temples, in a vain attempt to ward off an impending headache. She would ignore them; cast their cruel word from her mind. There was no need to nurture a silly insecurity when what Viktor and her true friends thought of her were all that really counted. At least she was in the clear, or so she thought, until Ron tugged at her elbow, with a some-what hurt look on his face.
"So you weren't jealous at all?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Lucy. You weren't even a little bit jealous?"
"No, but Ron! Did you just take advantage of and use that poor girl?"
"No!" He scoffed. "Well, it was mutual. She used me to make her ex, McLaggen, jealous so he'd get back together with her." He shrugged. "But you can honestly say you didn't feel even one little twinge of jealousy?"
"Yes, I can truly, completely, totally honestly say I did not feel even one twinge of jealousy. I am DATING someone! I have moved on. You missed your chance! All you are doing is putting strain on our friendship and irritating me. Can't we just be friends? If friendship isn't enough for you, I don't think we can be around each other, because I am committed to my relationship. Just give it up already, ok?"
"Ouch, that's cold, Ice Queen." He replied dryly. "Was that you 'friend-zoning' me? You felt something for me once. I'm sure you could again, if you gave it a chance."
"It doesn't matter, because even if I started to have feelings for you again, they would quickly whither and die, because there would be nothing to nurture them ." She hissed.
With that last statement, she stormed out of the portrait hole. She was in no state to go visit Viktor; it could only result in her taking out her frustrations on him, which was the last thing she wanted to do. it was still fairly early, so he probably wasn't even up yet. So instead, she took to pacing the grounds.
After several angry laps, she found herself flinging stones into the same pond that Viktor had fallen into, as if she could somehow punish it for what had happened. Despite having extracted revenge on the girls who had caused him to fall through, she still felt horribly guilty from the whole ordeal. It didn't help that the earlier conversations were replaying themselves in her mind.
'Yeah, 'cause you aren't even that pretty.' Another stone skimmed the surface of the water before meeting it's inevitable drowning.
'You felt something for me once. I'm sure you could again, if you gave it a chance.' This one crashed through the surface, and sunk straight to the bottom, despite the fact it should have been a perfect skipping stone, if thrown properly.
'We can't figure out why he picked you.' Her fingers only grasped at gravel, and she feebly flung that into the water too, before sinking, much like the rocks she threw, to the ground with her knees to her chest.
Stupid insecurities, she thought miserably. No matter how much she tried to stop the barbed words from reaching her heart, they pierced her defenses as if they weren't even there. The worst part was the doubt. They nagged at her, making her question everything she had thought to be solid ground. Did Viktor really think she was pretty? Was she really, completely over Ron? Did Viktor ask her out as a joke?
A heavy hand on her shoulder nearly scared her half to death . It wasn't Viktor's hand; it was far to large and the grip felt wrong.
She whipped around, preparing to defend herself, when she realized whom the hand's owner was. "Thank goodness, it's only you, Hagrid." She breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's a troublin' yah, 'Mione?"
"Just... people." She sighed.
"Ya jus' can't let people get under yer skin like that, 'Mione. I haven't seen that boyfriend of yers around lately, would that have anyting ta do with it?"
"We were mobbed by his fans with ice skating, and he fell through. " She relied distantly. Her thoughts were back in time, at that horrible day. After a moment's pause, she continued. " He's been in the hospital wing for over a week since then, and a lot of people have been questioning our relationship." She confessed. It felt good to vent to one of her first friends at Hogwarts, especially one that wasn't involved in this mess. Ginny was an excellent confident, but something about Hagrid's strong and silent demeanor put her at ease.
His beetle-black eyes glimmered thoughtfully for a few seconds before he finally asked, "Does he make yah happy?"
"Yes." She responded without a single hesitation. Viktor made her feel like the prettiest, funniest, smartest girl in the whole world. Just being around him usually made her euphoric.
"An' do yah make him happy?"
"Well, I like to think that I do."
"Then that's what really matters."
He smiled down at her with his eyes twinkling knowingly under his piles of hair, and for a moment, she could almost imagine him as a black-haired Santa Clause. "Don't let other people's jealousy ruin yer happiness."
"Thank you, Hagrid." She said softly. "I better go and see him; he should be up by now."
He patted her shoulder, then turned away, humming a half familiar tune. She pulled herself to her feet, and briskly walked toward the hospital wing.
She arrived, and much to her surprise, Viktor was still fast asleep. This wouldn't do. It was nearly 10:30 a.m.; he could haul his lazy butt up. Do, as quietly as she could, she straddled his torso, then placed her hands on his chest and shook lightly.
"Wake up!" She whispered. Much to her displeasure, he continued slumbering.
This time, she shook his shoulder. "Wake up!" She said a little louder. Her only response was a small snore.
A new idea took root in her mind. Hesitantly, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed his forehead, then the tip of his nose, and finally, at his temple. "Wake up." She spoke right next to his ear. A half smile started to form, but other than that, he remained unresponsive.
With a growl of impatience, she clamored down, and shook his shoulder again. "Get up!" She near whined. "Come on! It's too late to still be sleeping."
Her persistence paid off, at last. He cracked open an eye, and stretched in a yawn.
"Vhat time is it?" He asked.
"10:45." She clucked. "It's time to rise and shine, sleeping beauty. Let's blow this popsicle stand."
"Huh? Vhat does that mean." He looked up at her, absolutely puzzled.
She smiled apologetically. "You need to wake up, because we're going to leave as soon as we get you checked out."
"Ah, that makes much more sense. You English haff funny expressions."
"Actually, I'm pretty sure that one was American."
"You used it, no? Then I'm considering it English."
"Fine, but her comes Madame Pomfry." She turned her attention to the matronly nurse. "Is he alright to leave?"
"He should, and if not, you know where to find me." She answered dryly. "I'm rather surprised you managed to wake him up; he sleeps like the dead."
"Guilty as charged." Viktor murmurred.
"Trust me; it was definitely a challenge." She firmly laced their fingers, and tugged him out the door. "Bye!" She called over her shoulder.
"Slow down, loff! Vhere are ve going? "
"To Hogsmede; it's finally another weekend." She explained.
"Do you think ve could stop off at the ship, so I can put on some proper clothes?"
"You're in pajamas?" She asked in disbelief.
"I don't sleep in my uniform." he chuckled.
"Oh, alright. But let's make it quick; I've been waiting for this all week.".
They quietly snuck over to the ship, weary as to alert any students or fan girls to their presence. "Do you vant to wait outside or come both me onto the ship."
"On the ship." She was curious as to what the ship's interior looked like, and whether or not it was as eerie as its exterior.
She carefully followed him aboard, and was pleasantly surprised to see it had been renovated to look like a regal, posh hotel.
They navigated several corridors before coming to a series of polished, oak doors. Unfortunately for them, they ran straight into Karkaroff.
" Vhy are you bringing a lady friend onto the ship , Viktor?" He growled through clenched teeth.
She half hid behind Viktor as he glared at his headmaster. "She is vaiting for me to change, then ve are going on a date."
"Vell, be sure to hurry. Ve vouldn't vant her to figure out out our secrets."
"She von't." He patronized.
Unwillingly, Karkaroff left, and Viktor slipped inside the third door down. She glancedabout, and was once again was amazed by the renovation of the ship's interior. The scarlet carpet was embroidered with gold edges and the chestnut walls were framed with polished, white crown molding. Several candle-lit chandeliers were the only source of lighting.
Viktor exited his room and linked his arm with hers. "Ready to go?"
She nodded, and they hurried out of the ship. The grounds were littered with cliques of friends, all heading towards Hogsmede. The majority of the students took carriages, but by a nonverbal agreement, they both opted away from taking a carriage and walked instead; it was far easier to be inconspicuous that way.
Upon reaching the small, wizarding town, they simply ambled through the streets in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence. They received a few surprised looks, and she could have swore she saw a camera flash out of the corner of her eye, but for the most part, they were blissfully left alone.
They finally settled down on top of a hill overlooking the town to talk without the worry of being overheard.
"Hermione, I haff some important news."
"What's that?" She replied absentmindedly, lost in the warmth of the spring sunlight.
"The third task is on June 1st, and the challenge is to navigate a maze, filled vith magical creatures and other various obstacles."
"What?" She exclaimed. "That's only a month and a half away."
"I know." He nodded sadly. "Ve probably von't get to see each other as often, because I'll be preparing, and I assume you are tasked vith helping Potter, no? Besides, I vouldn't vant to cause drama vith your red head friend, because he could think you vere 'fraternizing vith the enemy'."
"Who says I care what Ron thinks?" She muttered darkly.
"He is your friend. An idiot, yes, but he is still your friend, and the Hermione I know is fiercely loyal to her friends."
"Why don't we not think about it for a while?" She suggested. "I've missed you." She said, burying her head into the crook of shoulder. "It feels like all I ever do is miss you, lately."
"That is too true, loff."
Yay! Chapter is finally done! You guys have no clue how difficult it is for me to finish this story. I literally just typed 5 pages on my phone, and it sucks. Plus, I've really haven't had too much inspiration for this story, and I've had ideas for other stories/new stories, and it's taking all of my will power to finish this story, rather than just leave it dangling. I will be so happy when it's over and I can take a break from it. As an estimate, I say there are roughly 4 chapters left. Don't forget to review! It really helps with the inspiration, and I'm really sorry if this story is getting boring, because there were hardly any reviews last chapter. Also, I'm sorry if I didn't PM someone with a thank you for your review, because my phone doesn't really work with PM-ing people, so don't know who had been thanked. (ps, thank you for your prayers, .stark. She transferred schools, so I don't hear too much from her, but I've heard she's doing better. And congrats to BubblesBeBones, for being my 200th follower.) Have a good holiday, everyone.