After waking up, Viktor quickly went downstairs to have breakfast. At the table were two envelopes waiting for him. The first was a reply from Hermione. He opened it quickly.

Viktor,

I would love to meet you for coffee. I will be ready by 5, there is a nice muggle shop here on my street we can go to.

Your Rose,

Hermione

Smiling, he went to open the next envelope with a roll of his eyes. It was the high society times which listed the individuals open for courtship. It also announced the Jewels of the Ball. He found his and Hermione's name on the list and smiled. When he reached the back of the pamphlet he froze.

Jewels of the Seasons:

Viktor Krum of House Krum

Although he did not attend the ball due to trainings and prior commitments, word has it that Mr. Krum is looking for a match this season. Will we see him at the next society event? We shall see.

It wasn't his own announcement that shocked him. Anyone near the conversation he had with Lynch could have told the high society times his intentions for Hermione. What shocked him was the female Jewel.

Hermione Granger of House Black

Pictured above with her mother. Hermione was the epitome of charm and class last night. She was not without a dance partner and was congenial to all who approached her. She is known for her accomplishments at Hogwarts. She is the Brains of the Golden Trio (which she is a part of with her godbrother Harry Potter). She at only 14, is the only person in history to skip ahead 2 years of classes at Hogwarts. In so doing passed all her OWLs with Os. This year she enters her sixth year at Hogwarts as a prefect and will be competing with Cedric Diggory (with whom she danced with last night) for the class valedictorian position. Along with Diggory, she was seen dancing with long-time friend Neville Longbottom, family friends Fred and George Weasley, Terry Boot, Roger Davies, Cormac McLaggen, Aiden Lynch (The seeker for the Ireland National Team), friend Oliver Wood (reserve player for Puddlemere United) and surprisingly Viscount Blaise Zabini. The Viscount must see what we here at the High Society Times see as Miss Granger has been the first person that he has danced with since the beginning of his entry into society last season.

Seeing Hermione in the photo made him regret not going to the ball last night. But now that he read the Jewel announcement. He hoped that she was trained in the society ways by her mother.

His worry was then overshadowed by his anger at Lynch. Lynch was not beyond trying to get the Jewel even if she was underage into a contract. Lynch fed on status, and Hermione in his eyes was the ultimate prize. He would not be surprised if right now Lynch was having a contract written up to be sent to Hermione's uncle by the end of the day.

Hermione's house was flooded with mail by the time she woke up the morning after the ball. Before she could even look at the pile, she made herself breakfast and set to work on the mail that she had received. She began with a pamphlet that she had received called the High Society Times. She perused the list and surprisingly found Viktor's name on the list of gentlemen.

When she had met him, she had assumed that he was a muggle-born wizard. But his name was in the times. Hermione was happy that he could be named as someone that she could trust but she would have to do more research to see if he would make a viable match.

When she turned over the pamphlet and saw his name as the male Jewel, her interest was piqued. She ran to the phone and called her mother at work. She paced with the cordless phone across the length of the living room as the receptionist at the dental practice put her on hold. Her mother came on the phone quickly. "Honey, what's wrong. Janice said you sounded worried."

"Mom, what does it mean to be a Jewel?"

"Who are the Jewels this year?"

"Me and Viktor. What does it mean to be a Jewel mom?"

"It means that you are the ultimate prize that season. How many letters do you have?"

"A crazy amount, like 20 I think. What's happening?"

She could hear her mother in the background, "Janice, reschedule everyone on my list to Hugh for the foreseeable future." She could hear her mother get back on the phone. "Hermione, don't open any of them. They could be portkeys, poison, pranks and the like. I'll be home in 10 minutes. Make sure you and your sister don't touch them."

Her mother hung up the phone before she could reply.

To ensure her sister's safety from the letters, she got some snacks and went upstairs to her sister's room. "Daphne," she knocked on the door.

"Yes," she heard Daphne say from behind the door.

"I have snacks, can I come in and tell you about last night?"

Daphne opened the door swiftly and pulled Hermione into her room. "How was it? Was Viktor there? Did you dance all night? Were people nice? Did you recognize anyone? Did you fall in love at first sight? Did you have fun?"

"It was beautifully decorated, the music was great, and it was entertaining. Viktor was not there. Yes, I danced a lot and yes, they were nice. Yes, some of my classmates and friends were there. No, you know I don't believe in love at first sight. And yes, I had fun. Did I answer all of your questions?"

"Yes. Now that I know the important bits tell me what happened." The sisters continued to chat, until Lyra called for Hermione to come downstairs.

"These letters are safe to open and the rest have been taken care of." Lyra wheezed catching her breathe from the sprint that she took from the office to house.

"Thank you, mom. You didn't have to run all the way here. I was making sure that Daphne stayed away from them. I was gossiping with her in her room about the ball."

"I know, but now that you are the season's jewel, we have to be even more careful than what we were doing before. You can only meet suitors with a magical chaperone present. That would be either myself, your uncle or Harry. I took the rest of the summer off to be there to make sure you are safe and always with a chaperone for every meeting."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock, "I hope you're free at 5, Viktor and I wrote last night about getting coffee and getting to know one another."

"He wrote for a meeting? He didn't go to the ball; he didn't read the society pages. You made quite the impression on him." Lyra smiled. "Do you have the letters he sent? I need to make sure they are respectful."

"I do, and I would not have written back if it was a disrespectful letter."

"I should hope so. Go get them for me to read."

Hermione ran upstairs quickly, got the letters for her mother and handed them to her, "Here they are. Along with copies of my replies, like you trained me."

"Good," she read her letters "he was perfectly respectful and was careful to ask for courtship rather than to only imply his intentions overtly. Considering he is also a Jewel, it would be good to learn why after your meeting with him this afternoon."

"I'll leave you to your letters. I am going to have coffee."

"Thank you, mom" In reply Lyra gave an exaggerated bow and walked out of the dining room.

Owls were still arriving as she picked up the first letter recognizing the handwriting immediately.

"Hermione,

What's this about me hearing you were at the opening ball last night? And how are you a Black? I have so many questions, but I'll wait until you get here for the Cup. Fred and George teased Ron about how they danced with you. You should have seen Ron's face; I think he regrets selecting not to attend events this year as I'm sure you know that he likes you.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

Anyways, I wish I was old enough to go to the events with you, and that way we could do them together. But I have to say being best of friends with this season's Jewel will definitely give me an edge up when I join next year, haha. I hope that you are well.

Have you heard from Harry recently, the house is worried about him and we haven't heard from him all summer? Can you check up on him? I know you live fairly close by.

Miss you,

Ginny

Concerned that no one had heard from Harry since the end of the semester, she yelled to her mother in the next room, "We need to see Harry at some point today mom."

"Okay, Honey. Do you think he would like to join us for the rest of the summer? It would be nice to have a co-chaperone for you." she heard coming from the next room.

"I think that he would love to live with his godmother considering how his aunt's family treats him."

"What do you mean? How is Petunia treating him?"

"They treat him like a servant and exclude him from major events."

Angry, Lyra replied, "why didn't you tell me? Deal with your letters and then we will head right over to the Dursley's."

Reading the other letters on the table, she then got up to meet her mother in the kitchen. "So, when do I respond to the letters? A lot of them are asking for meetings."

Lyra went into the next room and sat down with the letters. In front of her. "We reply and schedule with the ones of highest interest first, then work the way down the list. I think the ones we should focus on are the ones who danced with you last night as they chose you as a partner before the Jewel announcement was made." Hermione then picked out the letters from those families of interest. "Do you have the lists we made last night?" Hermione nodded. "Let's start our replies."

Meetings of various types were made for the next few days before Hermione and her mother looked at the rest of the letters. "Now, you will have to meet with each of these people at least once, unfortunately." Lyra and Hermione then set off to work out a schedule with the remaining letters that lay before them.

They were booked for the next week and a half, and Lyra knew that it would be a tough time that lay ahead. To allow them time to prepare Lyra was adamant that Hermione plan on two things today.

The rest of the morning was spent looking at family trees and distinguishing which of the suitors were too closely related for comfort. That way during the future meeting with said suitors, the issue could be addressed and the meetings with them could cease. This applied to only a handful of the suitors in question: Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Terry Boot.

Other strategies and concerns were on the car ride to check on Harry.