Viktor had never really been one for birthday parties. But that never stopped his Mother from throwing a massive shindig at their home every year. With Viktor leaving his teen years and turning twenty, this gave his Mother extra fuel.

Throughout the weeks leading up to his birthday, every man on the team, including the coaches received an invitation to his party.
"Should I invite Hermione?" His Mother had asked him when she had seen him. He had told her that she should, but he knew that Hermione was going to hate it.

But, in some ways, Viktor was wrong. Hermione had rather enjoyed going out into town and trying on dresses. Of course, Luna liked the ones with lime green trim and purple beading, but they were not for Hermione. It was not until she tried on a black velvet dress that fit her tightly and stopped around the middle of her calf that she had liked any of the dresses. She emerged from the changing room and gave Luna a twirl.
"That is the one. You look better than a pint of cold Butterbeer on a hot day." She smiled, giving Hermione two thumbs up and before she could talk herself out of it, she had bought the dress, with a pair of black strappy heels, low enough that she could still walk in them, to match.

But before any festivities could happen, Hermione had another problem that needed to be dealt with. Chigvintsev was still on her back about the flying. She had decided that running was not a task worth setting her mind to, but flying could useful. She hated to ask him, but Viktor was the best flyer she knew and she wanted to learn from the best.

Viktor had been confused when he had received her letter. Hermione had never shown any interest in flying. In fact, she hated it. He knew that this must have been part of her training. But he didn't mind teaching her, in fact, he rather enjoyed the thought of it. He had not seen her since that night, the night after he had won the world cup and to say he was excited to see her again was an understatement.

Hermione clutched her egg as she walked along in the early morning fog. Viktor had agreed to teach her, which she was glad of, but she was nervous. She had never been any good at flying and the idea that she might embarrass herself in front of him was horrifying to her. But apart from that, she was nervous to see him again. It had been a week since they had been together. She was nervous if things would have changed, if their relationship might be different, if he would still want her.

Viktor smiled when he saw her, limping through the fog. He spotted the glint of the golden egg and retrieved his back bag from his duffel and waved to her.
"Hi." She greeted him, her teeth chattering. He tilted his head to the side, wondering why she had not worn warmer clothing.
"Hello. It is cold today." He noted and took the egg from her arms.
"How are you?" She asked as he placed the egg into the bag and turned her around.
"I am vell. Enjoying my break." He told her as he placed the bag on her shoulders.
"And you?" He asked, his hands on her shoulders, looking over them to her face.
"I am stressed." She sighed, her shoulders relaxing a little. He understood, he knew that her life would be stressful for the foreseeable future and he wished that he could take that stress away, but he was unsure if he could.

They left formalities for now. In this moment, she was student and he was teacher, it was as simple as that. He gave her a broom, along with a reassuring nod and watched as she mounted it, having to silence his mind. Hermione took deep breaths as she placed her hands on the broom and gripped tightly.
"No, too tight." He placed his hand over hers. She softened then, her grip releasing, only a little.
"Better." He nodded, feeling her grip.

Viktor then mounted his broom and kicked off, only flying a meter off of the ground. He waited for Hermione to follow suit and despite her wounded leg being a little weaker than its healthy counterpart, she kicked off and rose a few feet. Viktor nodded approvingly.
"Vell done. You are now flying." He told her and she had to look down at the ground disappearing beneath her feet to believe him. She congratulated herself silently and then focused.
"Now, lean your veight forvard." He instructed her and she did so, feeling her broom inch forward slowly.
"Good, now harder." He instructed her and she had to do everything to stop herself from blushing.

But nothing could have embarrassed Hermione now, she was flying! She had never been able to master this skill and now she was gliding, if not a little slowly, through the sky.
"Relax, you are too tight." He told her and she took a deep breath.

Viktor was encouraged by what he was seeing. Hermione was a tentative flyer, but it didn't matter. She was flying and that was all that was important to Viktor. But all of the confidence that Hermione had went to her head. She thrust herself forward and felt herself moving through the air more quickly, turning here and there, feeling the wind in her hair.
"I'm doing it!" She cried out and relished the moment.

Viktor watched and called out for her to stop. He flew after her, but she was flying so erratically that he couldn't stop her. She was out of control and then he watched her fall. She did not cry, she did not scream, she just fell, as if she was expecting it to happen.

Hermione was terrified, she hit the water with an almighty thud, which knocked the wind out of her and then she sank, but her bag fell from her shoulders and her egg sank quicker. She found her wits and began to swim after her egg and eventually found it, the bag tangled in the long watery grass. She struggled to hold her breath, but eventually opened the bag and retrieved the egg. In doing so she pressed the button and the egg opened.
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back." The egg sang and Hermione couldn't take her eyes off of the glistening egg. But before she could think about what she had heard, Viktor had hooked his arms around her and dragged her out of the river.

He huffed as he watched her cough up water. What was she doing in the water? Why had she not swam out? He was so angry he thought he could scream. And then Hermione looked up at him, with eyes so solemn and scared that he could not be angry with her anymore.
"It is mermaids." She sighed. She had thought, whilst she was coughing up water. "We cannot sing above the ground" it had to be mermaids. Viktor stared at her wide eyed.
"Vhat?" He asked, not understanding what she was saying.
"The second task, the clue that was in the egg." She was shouting, throwing her head into her hands.
"I have to stay underwater for an hour, that is how long they will give me to look for what they took." She whispered, her voice terrified. Viktor sat down on the grass, dripping wet.
"The egg, it sung to me in the water. Above ground, it screams, but in water, it sings." She sighed, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
"You should go home and change. I am tired now." She told him, before getting up, with her egg and disappearing into the fog.

Chigvintsev was glad when Hermione had told him that Viktor was coming to teach her how to fly. But when she returned, drenched, he was worried. It had not rained, so something had happened.
"Hermione!" He called out to her.
"You should have gotten me to learn how to swim." She snapped, before retreating into her room. He had been harsh, he knew that and he was sure that perhaps he deserved her scorn as well. He left her, sure that she would explain this all to him when she felt ready.

Hermione stayed in bed for a few days after the water incident. She told Chigvintsev that she was ill and he left her to herself. Whatever had happened that day, it had had an effect on Hermione and Chigvintsev was worried.

Hermione didn't want to go to Viktor's birthday party, not really. She wanted to lay in her room and mope. She didn't want to do the second challenge of the tournament, and she wished that she had never entered it in the first place. But then she heard how she was thinking and picked herself up. She felt embarrassed for being so pathetic. Yes, she had fallen into the water, yes, she was not the most competent swimmer, but she could swim and she would get better and she would find help to point her in the right direction for methods of breathing underwater. But for now, she had one thing to focus on: Viktor's party.

Luna was glad when Hermione asked her to help her get ready. She had been practising a hair smoothing treatment that she thought she might try out.
"Whatever you want to do." Hermione gave her permission to do what she liked to her hair and Luna smiled, liking her newly granted freedom.

The minute that Hermione had said it, she regretted it. It wasn't that she didn't like Luna's style, it was just that she was a little out there, and the dress that Hermione had chosen was very traditional. But, Hermione just closed her eyes and let Luna get to work. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised. Her hair was pulled back into a vintage style that fit the dress and seemed smoother than Hermione's hair had ever been before. She thanked Luna, more shocked than anything and Luna simply smiled, proud of her work.

Hermione stood, all dressed and ready. The second task was not completely out of her mind. But she felt better knowing that she could forget it for the evening.
"You look amazing." Luna smiled, looking over Hermione's outfit.
"Have you got the photographs?" She asked and Hermione placed a wrapped envelope in her clutch bag.
"That really came at the right time. I am unsure what Colin would have gotten his mum for her birthday if you hadn't come along." She smiled, knowing that Colin was proud of his gift that Hermione had made him.
"I hope that she will like it." Hermione smiled. She had made it one afternoon. It was simple, made of iridescent glass, with her signature "HG" on the bottom.

Luna wished that she could have stayed with Hermione longer, but she looked down at her watch.
"You need to go, or you will be late." She told her and Hermione pulled her into an embrace.
"Thank you, Luna. For everything." She whispered in her ear and Luna blushed, feeling prouder of herself than she had in a long while.

Hermione walked Luna out to the grounds of Hogwarts. The men of Durmstrang stopped and stared as she passed through the boat.
"I will see you later." Hermione waved as Luna bounded off. Hermione closed her eyes, and then found herself stood outside of the Krum house.

Hermione had not been there since Valentine's Day and she sighed and smiled fondly when she thought about that day. The house had been decorated beautifully, with fairy lights and flowers, all in a way that Hermione knew that Viktor's Mother would love more than he did.

She had arrived alone and this fact only hit her when she entered the house. Everyone was in couples, or with friends. She had not seen Viktor since the days she had fallen into the river and she wondered if he would be so glad to see her.

Chigvintsev saw Hermione before she spotted him. She was the only other person who stood on their own. He had been nervous to come to the party, but he had been invited and had brushed off his finest clothes for the occasion. He thought that Hermione might not want to see him, after all of the pressure that he had been putting on her. But she smiled and walked over when she saw him.

Hermione was glad to find someone that she knew, standing alone, just like her. Chigvintsev looked amazing, all black tuxedo and shiny shoes. Hermione told him so and watched as he blushed. They looked fine stood together, Hermione in her black velvet and Chigvintsev in his tuxedo.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Chigvintsev swallowed his pride.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. If you vere to have hurt yourself." He sighed, looking down at his shoes.
"But I didn't and I discovered a very important clue for the second trial." She smiled and he looked at her curiously.
"I don't want to talk about it tonight, but I will tell you." She promised him.

On the other side of Europe, another family were gathering for a celebration. Colin Creevy and his family had gathered for his Mother's birthday. He was so excited, his palms were sweaty and he couldn't stop smiling. He knew that his Father had applied to be on the waiting list for one of Hermione's pieces, but he knew that he would never get one in time.
"I am sorry love. I applied, but her waiting list is six months minimum." He sighed, looking down at his feet as she opened the lovely dinner service that he had gotten her. She placed a hand on his arm.
"Don't worry love, this is so wonderful and we can use it on a daily basis." She smiled at him, but there was a sadness behind her eyes.
"Open mine, Mother." Colin groaned as he lifted the vase, fully wrapped and placed it in front of his Mother.
"Oh Colin, you shouldn't have." She smiled, wondering what gift he had managed to afford with his pocket money.
"Open it." He said, his voice expectant, watching as his Mother ripped the paper off of the vase and sitting back.
"Well, this is just wonderful." She sat back and placed a hand over her mouth.
"Look on the bottom." He told her and watched as her mouth fell agape.
"Colin, how did you?" She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"I helped her out, with some photographs. I hope that you like it." He smiled and watched as tears poured onto his Mother's cheeks.
"Oh, I just love it." She cried out, shaking her head. Colin smiled triumphantly while his Father ran a hand through his hair.
"Clever little rascal."

Viktor stood with his Father in his room.
"So much has changed since last year." He told him, looking in the mirror. He wore black this year. Black boots with a black shirt and black trousers, with a black cape. He looked severe, and handsome and he wondered how this had all happened.
"Yes. You were a student at Durmstrang and now you are a world champion." He smiled.
"I couldn't be prouder of you, son." He told him and Viktor felt his chest inflate with pride.
"Thank you, Father." Viktor bowed to his Father, and then watched as he opened the door.
"They are waiting for us." He said and Viktor marched out of his room and towards the staircase.

Hermione had never seen anything like it. The whole room stopped when Viktor and his Father stood at the top of the staircase. Andon was wearing a grey outfit and his head was held very high, stood with his Son. Everyone began applauding as they descended the staircase. Hermione looked over to Chigvintsev, who nodded and began clapping as well. Hermione knew Viktor and she knew that he would not be enjoying this.

But, much to his shock, Viktor loved it. He enjoyed his ego being stroked. Everyone was there, especially for him and that thought pleased him massively. He soaked up the applause. But when he saw Hermione, looked around, with a confused look on her face, her hands holding her clutch, he snapped back to reality. This was his Mother's party. It might be for his birthday, but it was all the things that she would enjoy and in that instant, he became very embarrassed. He could tell that Hermione was embarrassed for him and that made everything worse.

Once he was on the ground, Viktor was bombarded with relatives and family friends. A jazz band began playing in the corner and he watched as Chigvintsev offered his hand to Hermione and she placed her clutch in the cloakroom, before joining him on the dancefloor. He wanted that to be him, having the first dance with her. She looked so wonderful and seeing her with Chigvintsev seemed so wrong, he was like her Father and when he realised that he probably was the closest thing she had to a Father, he shut his mind up and accepted another present.

Hermione enjoyed dancing with Chigvintsev. He was the kind of man who like to talk as he danced and Hermione was glad of that, hoping that it would take attention away from her awful dancing.
"Vhy don't you quit and live off of your glass money?" He asked her and she thought for a moment.
"I love learning. I always have. I loved school before the war and it is one of the things that has remained a constant, even after the war." She went silent for a moment thinking.
"And, I'm not ready. I am going to be eighteen soon enough and that scares me. I had to grow up, when my parents disowned me, but I'm not quite ready to be an adult just yet." She told him, sending him a small smile.
"Vhen my vife left me, I had to learn to do everything again. I had to cook and clean and live vithout her company. It vas hard. I hate being alone. But vith the school, I do not know if I vill ever meet someone again." He sighed, glad that he was finally sharing.

Hermione was taken aback by Chigvintsev's openness. He had never spoken about his ex-wife before and Hermione wished that she could help him. So she held his hand a little tighter and promised him silently that things were going to get better.

Viktor managed to wiggle his way away from his parents for a moment to tap Chigvintsev on the shoulder.
"May I take over?" He asked and he handed Hermione ever to Viktor, bowing as he left. They swayed silently for a moment.
"Happy birthday." She said to him as she felt his hand in hers.
"Thank you. You look wonderful." He told her and watched as she blushed.

Hermione did not want to talk about the fall, or the Tri Wizard Tournament. She just wanted to be with Viktor for a moment.
"How is the move to Vratsa going?" She asked and Viktor smiled.
"It is going vell. The team is very good." He nodded. They were both tentative, like two school children. Neither knew what to say, so Hermione placed her head onto Viktor's chest and they swayed, silently.

Viktor wished that he could have stayed with her all night, but he was pulled away after just one song, back to his aunties and uncles. They all sat down to the meal and Viktor was angry to see that Hermione had been placed on a table with his old Durmstrang friends, next to Chigvintsev.
"Mother, why is she not sat up here, with me?" He asked and his Mother shrugged.
"Well, I didn't know what was going on. You didn't tell me anything." She turned her nose up in a snooty kind of and Viktor sighed, wishing that he could have Hermione with him.

Hermione watched from the table, as Viktor looked over to her ever mouthful. She understood his Mother's thinking. He had met her at Durmstrang, so she should be placed with those of Durmstrang. She was not angry, in fact, she found it all rather funny. She sat and enjoyed her veal and wondered what was going to come next.

And what came next did not disappoint Hermione. Andon presented his Son with a card, announcing that he had given his Son his gift.
"For all of their money, you vould have thought they could afford more than a card." Chigvintsev whispered to her and she chuckled.
"Trust me, there is more than a card there." She told him and watched as a key fell onto the table.
"This is the key to my Son's new home in Vratsa! Vhere he vill be training vith the Vultures!" Andon announced and the room erupted in applause.
"There you go." She whispered to Chigvintsev and he laughed, shaking his head.

Viktor was grateful for his gift, but he realised just how different he was to his family when he saw Hermione and Chigvintsev laughing and he wanted to join them. It was too much, a house in Vratsa, but he could not be ungrateful. So he stood and bowed to his Father.
"Thank you, Father. You are too kind." He announced and Andon slapped his back and shook his head.
"Nonsense. You are a vorld champion!" He cheered and the run went up again and Hermione rolled her eyes, part of her wishing that she could leave.

Viktor saw her and he also saw her leave into the garden after dinner. He followed her and found her sat on one of the stone benches, watching the leaves fall, shivering every few minutes.
"Do you know what I did for my last birthday?" She asked him when she knew he was there.
"I bought myself a book a sat out in the garden. It was only a few months ago, so the leaves were still on the trees. Seamus came and brought me a cake and we ate it together and I was so content, so happy." She smiled, thinking back to that day and then thinking about the monstrosity that was Viktor's parade.
"This is not how I vould have had it. If I had a choice." He told her, still stood behind the bench.
"Yes, I believe that. This is very much your Mother's creation." She sighed, her palms pressed into the cold of the bench.
"It is late. I think I am going to go home." She stood, turning to face him. He really did look handsome in his fancy clothes, and they fit him so well that Hermione was unsure who he was anymore.
"No, please." He begged with her, but he knew that she was going to go. He felt like a fool, parading himself around. This should have been a small affair. Hermione summoned the pictures.
"Don't open them until I am gone." She told him and then brushed past him.
"Happy birthday." She called back and then slunk off back into the hall and apparated back to the boat.

Viktor opened the gift once she was gone. He had received a car, a house, even one of her vases that had been bought from one of her customers. But they all meant nothing when he opened her gift. He stared down at the photographs and smiled, taking a seat on the bench. He reminisced on those memories. There was no money, no fancy clothes. Just him and her in each other's company. He sighed, that was how his birthday should have been. But when he checked his watch, there was still three hours left of his birthday, still plenty of time to be with her. He stripped off, there in the garden, until he was in a vest, with his trousers and boots. He closed his eyes and apparated to the boat, docked at Hogwarts.

Hermione had stayed in her dress, wanting to feel elegant for a few moments longer. She sat in her chair and looked out of her window, to the forbidden forest and wondered what might be lurking there. Then, she heard Viktor's voice, speaking in Bulgarian. She shuffled for her translating devices, but was too late, when he opened her door, stood in only a black vest. She gasped, seeing him there.
"Viktor, your Mother has put so much time into your party. You should be there." She sighed, looking down at the floor, as a curl fell into her face. Viktor growled and closed the distance between them.

He had the birthday he wanted, with her, alone and that was the memory he wanted to keep of his twentieth. Not fancy gifts or relatives that he couldn't remember the names of, of him and Hermione, skin on skin, speaking without words, entangled in sweat and passion and then heavy breathing and deep sleep. He knew his Mother would be angry. But he wouldn't have had it any other way.