Plotting
That night Hermione caught Harry in the common room after losing to Ron for the fifth time at chess before he headed up to his dorm. "Harry, do you remember that favor you owe me for a few months ago?" Harry blinked at her before grinning a bit. "Mione, I must owe you twenty favors for stuff just like that." Hermione shrugged. "So?"
Harry let out a laugh at this. "What favor do you need Hermione?" "Can I borrow your invisibility cloak tomorrow?" Harry was puzzled. Normally Hermione would never need the cloak unless she was with him and Ron; it was also odd that she wanted it during the day time. "Why? What's going on?" Hermione blushed a bit and looked down. She hated to lie to Harry but if he knew Ron would find out and then the whole school would know when he lost his temper, again.
"I just want to do some girl stuff tomorrow Harry. After the ball everyone watched me all the time to see if I would change or something. I just want to relax tomorrow." Granted her girl things would be having an almost normal date with her secret boyfriend, but still. The best deceptions were built on truths. An unpleasant thing she had learned from her professor.
Harry's eyes softened in understanding. "Of course Mione, let me get it now so I don't have to slip it to you later." Hermione smiled gratefully. "Thank you Harry, I'll owe you for this." Harry rolled his eyes and grinned. "I think I remember you starting this conversation by asking if you could actually cash in one of oh, twenty or more favors that I just happen to owe you?" With that he turned and ran up his dorm stairs as Hermione began laughing lightly.
.o0o. 0.o.0 .o0o.
Later that night Hermione sent Malka first to Luna with a note. The pale girl had befriended the little owl one night during a study session and declared her a delightful sprite hiding in a tiny owls body. Hermione had kept her thoughts to herself but thought the odd girl a bit stranger.
After Malka returned she was also sent out with a note to Viktor and permission to spend the night due to Hermione having to close the window so her dorm mates wouldn't have any excuse to practice their favorite pastime, gossip.
.o0o. 0.o.0 .o0o.
Viktor didn't hear tapping at the window of his cabin due to studying. But Pietro did and when he looked out and saw the tiny owl his friend had given Hermione he opened the glass and grinned as he announced that they had a visitor, again. Viktor gently held Malka as she tooted happily at him. Once he retrieved the message she oddly enough settled on his bed for once instead of his desk. Viktor opened the message and began to read then he began to grin.
Dear Viktor,
If Zabini can find a way to talk to Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw tomorrow around breakfast she will pass him a secured package that only you can open. Once you do open it, preferably alone, you will know what to do and I will wait for you just inside the nearly abandoned second floor girls' bathroom. There is a ghost who resides there and is often avoided. See you tomorrow
Affectionately, Hermione.
PS Malka will have to stay with you tonight so my roommates don't get suspicious.
Viktor quickly made a short visit to Vlads cabin and secured his help to get whatever his Malka Donosnik had gotten ahold of before returning and grinning at Pietro. Then, as both teens tried to sleep it quickly showed that while the little messenger was happy to see Viktor, she couldn't get settled enough to sleep. She kept moving from place to place in the cabin and tooting as if calling someone.
Remembering a small comment Hermione had said about her cat curling around the owl possessively he got up and grabbed a sweater before gently but firmly holding the owl and wrapping it around her. Finally the owl seemed to settle even if she gave little lonely toots for a few more moments. Viktor grinned as Pietro muttered under his pillow he was glad the tiny creature wouldn't be staying longer than one night with them.
.o0o. 0.o.0 .o0o.
Viktor got a package passed to him as he exited the doors of the great hall after breakfast. He then made his way to the third floor restrooms since his fans couldn't follow or spy on him there. He grinned as he read the runes on the package and began taking time to undo seemingly random spells. The spells made sense only to him and Hermione because had gone over in the library, at odd times over the last two months.
When he opened it he stood speechless for a moment. He didn't even know if his Grandmother had one. An invisibility cloak! Grinning and feeling like a little kid he quickly put it on and stood in front of one of mirrors. He grinned at his floating head and played with making his hands appear and disappear from thin air. He only regretted that he couldn't tell his friends about this.
After a few moments he stopped playing around; thrilled with how brilliant his Mia was to have figured this out. He then hurried out to find her, completely ecstatic about whatever would happen during the long, unoccupied or scheduled day.
.o0o. 0.o.0 .o0o.
Hermione rubbed off the lip gloss again in vain. Sure enough fifteen seconds later the tube Ginny bewitched into her bag popped up and floated in front of her. She looked closely at it and held in a scream. 'The bloody thing never runs out! I've been rubbing this clear flavored gunk off for the last half hour and have been forced to reapply it time and time again and it doesn't even run out!' When she saw Ginny she was going to teach her some new and impressive wand work firsthand, friend or not. 'That will teach me to trust Ginny more than Fred and George.' she thought.
The younger girl had asked Hermione to try a spare tube of lip gloss that morning that she had picked up in muggle London over the summer and without even thinking the 'brightest witch of her age' had been duped. Hermione had said it was nice but wasn't really her thing as she wiped it off and continued on with her breakfast. She never even saw Ginny slipped it into her bag as she left the hall fifteen minutes later.
As Hermione reapplied the despised strawberry lip gloss back on she tried, again to chuck it across the bathroom. She let out a tiny growl as it flew back to her bag completely unharmed yet again. "Those three could take over the world of they put their minds to it and Ginny would be the bloody ring leader." She quietly snarled. Hermione supposed she had small things to be thankful for, such as Moaning Myrtle taking off to visit the prefect bathroom. Hermione normally would have been glad the mopey ghost was going new places but honestly she was far too temperamental to care right now.
When Hermione heard light knocking in the bathroom door, similar in rhythm to Malka's whistle she groaned internally but pulled open the door slightly and tried to smile. After a few moments of silence she began to look around. "Um, Viktor?"
At this the older teen realized he had been silently staring. Suddenly Viktor's head appeared while the rest of him remained hidden and he was beaming at her. "You luffly today Mia, and so so so smart, is vonderful cloak." Suddenly Hermione's black mood disappeared even as something in her mind nudged that she should be upset.
As the brown haired witch smiled, glad she had taken time last night to pick out a still casual but nice outfit, even taking the time to pull her hair up, Viktor's head moved close and he kissed her. He usually seemed to favor fast swooping kisses but this was actually a lovely long one. Hermione closed her eyes and didn't even realize her hands had come up and rested on the back of his neck. When Viktor began to press his lips against hers slightly she grinned even more.
But he soon ended the kiss and moved slightly away, by about four inches, to look into her eyes as his shone. "You are vonderful and so luffly today." He paused and his hand appeared to touch his oddly shiny lip. "Vat is dis?" Hermione gave a long blink as she began to reactivate her brain.
She then frowned a little but for the moment couldn't get upset. "Oh, it's a prank Ginny pulled on me, its flavored lip gloss I can't wipe off or throw away." Viktor looked slightly amused. "Vat flavor?" Hermione rolled her eyes, "Strawberry of all the original ideas." Suddenly Viktor's lips were against hers again for another moment before he pulled away, grinning.
"What was that?" A confused Hermione asked. "Vanted to try again, didn't pay attention first time, needed taste to see if good idea." Hermione blushed and bit her lip. "So? What's your experienced opinion Mr. Krum?" Viktor couldn't stop grinning even though he knew he looked like an idiot. "On others is silly, on you, is nice I think."
Hermione's mouth pulled on one side as she tried not to smile. "That's so cheesy Viktor that I'm afraid of this was a Task Diggory would totally beat you." Viktor smirked. "Ah, but Diggory not have you, I do, so vin more dan silly task." Hermione laughed at this before leaning up and giving the tall teen a small kiss and pulling the hood over his head so he was once again fully invisible.
"Come on, we're lucky Myrtle is away from the toilet she haunts almost all the time but we can't push it." Of course with the invisibility cloak she couldn't see the confused look Viktor got thinking why on earth a ghost would haunt, and willingly be known, for haunting a toilet.
"We do only have the cloak for today, I borrowed it so we can walk around the grounds. There are so many creatures we have here that are never covered in class; it's sad really." At this he grinned again at hearing Hermione back to her informative self. He loved the look in her eyes when she was remembering facts and making sure she didn't miss anything.
.o0o. 0.o.0 .o0o.
Before they left the main castle door Viktor gently tugged Hermione's hand and lead her to an alcove for a moment. Hermione heard a quiet spell in what she was beginning to recognize as Bulgarian before a pink and white silk flower appeared, gently held in Viktor's large hand, his long calloused fingers trying to not damage it. His quiet rumble began to speak softly seeing Hermione's slight confusion as it was not a regular type of rose. "Is Damask Rose, only have vone color, but are for beauty, young and brilliant."
Hermione took the large blossomed rose and gave a small smile. "But why today Viktor? It's just a regular day." The tall teens shoes showed for a moment as Hermione felt her cheek being slowly caressed. "Cannot hold you shoulder or even hand today while walking, want to at least have you hold somezing from me?" The curly haired witch nodded at this as she slightly bit her lip to keep her grin small before she left the alcove and then the castle, Viktor's shuffle heard behind her.