Selcouth: Unusual, unwonted, little known, unfamiliar, novel, rare

Summer days in Scotland were too damn long. It had barely been dark when they went to bed, and at 5:30 am, Viktor was wide awake as daylight flooded through the thin curtains. Hermione was fast asleep, during the night she had moved away to the other side of the bed, kicked the comforter away and curled up into a tight ball. Chuckling, Viktor slowly slid out of the bed, covered her and watched her for a few moments. It was the same every time they slept together, they would hold each other in the beginning, but inevitably she would move away sometime during the night. If one day they moved in together, he was going to buy the smallest possible bed so that she would have nowhere to escape.

Moved in together? Viktor dreamed of moving in together every day. Waking up together every morning, having breakfast, going for a swim if the weather allowed. He would make her lunch, in the evening he would rub her feet while she told him about her day. It was hardly possible, though. She was so happy in Hogwarts, her students depended on her, her assistants depended on her. Hell, without Hermione, the Headmaster would probably hide in a toilet cabin and secretly cry every day. He himself travelled more often than he was at home. They sometimes talked about how living together would be, but Viktor would never burden her by asking for concrete plans or promises, he wasn't selfish.

He yearned to lean down and touch her cheek, but it was too early to wake her up. Grabbing his wand, he went to the bathroom and put up a weak silencing charm so that she would not hear him, but he would hear her if she knocked. He couldn't go running, but was quite healed and free of pain after the involuntary sauna session, well enough to go through a routine of a hundred push-ups, sit-ups and burpees each, followed by a thorough stretching. He quickly showered and pulled out some fresh clothes from his backpack. He thought he could probably sneak out without waking The Sleeping Beauty, but he knew he would never hear the end of it. He kneeled beside the bed, softly touching her exposed cheek with the backs of his fingers.

"Hermione..."

"Mmmf."

"Hermione..."

"Hrrrmpf."

"Short witch..."

"WHAT!" She was more annoyed than awake.

"I will be leaving shortly, sweetheart."

"What time is it?"

"Quarter past six."

"You're joking! It is way too early." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down, without even opening her eyes. "Stay a bit longer, no one will be in the clinic so early." Viktor capitulated and lay down beside her, tucking her under his chin.

"What are your plans for today, my love?"

"Exams, exams, grading, grading, grading… don't want to talk about it. I wish I could come with you instead." She threw a leg over his. They lay there holding each other, out of reach of exams, students or evil terrorists trying to end witchkind. "You smell so good, Viktor."

Viktor laughed softly. "It is your shampoo."

"I also wash myself with that shampoo and I don't smell like this. You smell like home."

Viktor's insides melted. "You don't smell like me, but you also smell wonderful."

"What do I smell like?"

Viktor pondered for a second. She was so warm, heat radiating from her small body like…

"Like bread fresh out of the oven." She clutched at his shirt, softly smiling. Viktor wished he hadn't put anti-crease charms on it for the trip so that he could carry her little mark all day. "You should get some breakfast before you leave. It is early, but the tables must be set already."

Viktor didn't reply, but manoeuvred grudgingly out of her arms. Before he could stand up, Hermione grabbed the cuff of his shirt, eyes half-open.

"How did you sleep?"

"I always sleep well next to you."

"You didn't dream of severed arms and stuff?"

He pulled his arm out of her grip and cupped her cheek. "I only had good dreams." She smiled, and so did he. As she tried to stand up, however, he pushed her gently back to bed, tucking her in. "Sleep, it is still early. You will need your strength for the day."

"Promise you won't leave without breakfast?"

"I promise." Viktor looked at his watch, it wasn't even seven yet. He quickly packed the rest of his stuff, smiled at Hermione's forgotten cold tea from the night before, wondered where the cat was hiding and went back to the bedroom to kiss his girlfriend goodbye one last time. Before he left the room, he could not resist kissing his forefinger and holding it out to the tiny sleeping form. Summer holidays could not come soon enough.

The Great Hall was empty, bar a few early birds that looked like they had been up all night studying. They would undoubtedly be chided by Hermione at one point for leaving their revisions till the last minute. The Head Table was also unoccupied except for the Headmaster, who had a cup of tea in one hand and the Daily Prophet in the other. He didn't raise his head or acknowledge Viktor's presence in any way, and Viktor, knowing him, didn't expect him to. Still, he took a chair only a few chairs away from the Headmaster, rather than the far end of the table, and tried to figure out what to eat. He usually started his days with a bowl of buckwheat, a couple of eggs and a piece of fruit, washed down with a glass of kefir. He suspiciously eyed the pieces of soulless bread neatly arranged on dainty metal racks, sickly sweet spreads, and fried eggs and cured meats dripping with fat, none of which looked terribly appetizing. He once again wondered how not more Hogwarts kids were obese if they ate like this and hardly got any exercise. Hogwarts, after all, had none of the well-equipped gyms, training halls, swimming pools, or even a proper running track that had been available to him during his time in Durmstrang. Nowadays, they did have a bit more physical education in the curriculum, but not nearly enough to burn all these calories. In the end, he decided on a bowl of unsweetened porridge and a couple of boiled eggs, which would at least keep him full for several hours. As he tucked in, he was startled by the Headmaster, who for some reason was suddenly compelled to make small talk.

"Up early this morning, Mr Krum?" Viktor looked in his direction, but the Headmaster wasn't looking at him, he hadn't even put his newspaper down.
"As you are, Headmaster."

"These are the only few hours of the day that get to be completely by myself, I am afraid." Was Viktor being accused of stealing the Headmaster's precious me-time? He hadn't even been the one to initiate conversation. This man is so weird, thought Viktor yet once more.

"I am on duty, Headmaster. I will leave right after breakfast."

The Headmaster nodded but didn't reply further. For a short while, Viktor ate in silence, occasionally looking at his watch.

"How is she?"

Viktor wasn't surprised by the question. Although Viktor had not interacted with the Headmaster very often, he knew that he cared about people close to him more than he showed. With Hermione, however, he did not even bother to hide his affection. He must have been miserable after yesterday's quarrel and Viktor was sure as the sun would set that night that had he not been there to distract her, Hermione would have been tormenting herself all night as well.

"She is sleeping," replied Viktor, not quite answering the question.

"I did not want things to escalate the way they did last night," Viktor wasn't sure if the Headmaster was speaking to him or just thinking aloud. "It was bound to happen sooner or later though, with all that pent-up tension from the whole bloody semester… She is so godsdamned stubborn. If she sets her mind to one thing, Merlin forbid someone gets in her way. She is not even able to carry out a civilized conversation without interrupting her fellow interlocutor." Viktor kept on eating as the Headmaster threw stones from his glass house. He really, really didn't want to be the go-between for the two.
"Hermione has been a blessing for this school, you know. Her students hang on her every word like she is Morgana reincarnate. Her methods are… a little eccentric to say the least. I was, at first, sceptical myself. I mean, it is unheard of that Hogwarts students serve detention with the house Elves, do kitchen duty rotations, or start muggle literature clubs. And sex education! But, they work." He took a sip of tea and paused for a moment as if having a flashback. "Thanks to the kitchen duties, I don't have to waste my Potions class time teaching students how to properly hold a knife. You can't imagine how many students don't know how to fold their shirts properly or how to keep their rooms clean because mummy dearest has been taking care of all that with magic all their lives. After serving a few detentions with the house Elves, they at least know how not to turn their dorms into pigsties and how to appreciate the work force that keeps this castle running. But tell that to the parents." Viktor realized that this was turning into a long conversation and left his spoon in his bowl, listening intently. The Headmaster also folded his newspaper away and faced Viktor, his eyes red and sunken. "Week after week I get letters from angry stuck-up parents who are "deeply devastated" that their precious little brat had to chop an onion, clean his dormitory or learn about the importance of consent during sexual intercourse. Of course, Hermione never has to deal with this, she only cares about her students. I, however, do. Parents even complain about their kids writing with pencils instead of quills or wanting to go to the cinema." Viktor nodded, not quite knowing if he was expected to reply.

"When Professor Binns disappeared shortly before the semester started, I was desperate to find a replacement promptly. Professor Binns, I must admit, was not the most competent or engaged teacher that we have, but he did have one advantage, he was free. After all, a ghost has little use for money and gods know, I have no funds to spare to open a new teaching position with full remuneration. Lucius Malfoy is a very knowledgeable man, an erudite wizarding historian. I won't lie, when he offered to fill the position, I was hesitant at first, but he was the best option given the time and budget constraints. Furthermore, no matter what Hermione thinks, his presence here means that I do not get any more angry letters from more… traditional wizarding families regarding the treatment of their children."
Viktor weighed his words in his mind. He was aware that the reforms introduced by Minister Shacklebolt's dynamic new government were pretty much imposed upon the British wizarding public from the top. Back then, no wizarding family had dared to object to the reforms, lest they be associated with Voldemort's supporters. With the last wizarding war a decade ago, some traditional families had started raising their voices again, and Hogwarts apparently was not spared. The Headmaster did seem to have a point. Was this enough reason to hire a person like Lucius Malfoy, though? Who was Lucius Malfoy nowadays anyway? Viktor made another mental note.

"Hermione will not give up on her ideals. Justice for everyone is of paramount importance for her, and I commend her for that. I have never claimed otherwise. But if she thinks that Lucius will surrender himself to Wizengamot and ask for a trial a decade after the war, she is not an idealist but a naive simpleton. He is, however, not the man he used to be. I have been watching him like a hawk since he started his tenure and I have not seen any clues of discrimination from his side. The students like him. The History of Magic curriculum finally got a makeover, and the students don't have to listen to the same lectures that their great-grandparents did. He even introduced the two Wizarding Wars to the curricula of the older students, and teaches Wizarding Ethics to all years. It is almost as if… he is doing his form of social service. It may not be a just punishment for his crimes, but the alternative is him residing in one of his manors and enjoying life without a worry." The Headmaster picked up his newspaper and rose from his chair. "The war was a long time ago, and for the better or worse, I wish to leave it behind. I wish Hermione would do the same."

Viktor was not sure what had just happened. Had this even been a conversation? Had he tried to justify his decision to Viktor? Surely not, the Headmaster couldn't care less if Viktor approved of his decisions or took a long walk off a short pier. More likely, he had tried to justify his decision to himself, for his peace of mind, and Viktor had just happened to be there. Then again, he doubted that the Headmaster would have poured his heart out to just anyone. Did he expect Viktor to be the messenger between him and Hermione? If that was the case, he could forget about it. That was not a snitch Viktor was willing to fly after. Two adults had to be able to solve their problems with proper communication without the need for a third person.

"Mr Krum?"
"Headmaster Snape?" Viktor was surprised. Was he going to get a "have a nice day" from the Headmaster as a reward for being a fantastic listener?
"Try not to walk into needless peril like a dunderheaded third year next time, will you?" with this final, charming remark, he split. Viktor chuckled inwardly, finished his pumpkin juice and made his way to the gates.

The opulent dental clinic run by Drs Granger was located on a street north of Newcastle, one so busy that there wasn't anywhere close by to safely Apparate to without being seen. Viktor Apparated to the cemetery, some two kilometres away from the clinic, still a little nervous that he would be seen. He had no Obliviation licence, so being seen would mean that he would have to restrain whoever saw him, wait for the British Obliviators, and have the incident documented. Not the end of the world, but if he could avoid it, all the better. Luckily it was still early in the morning and as he landed somewhere between tall trees of the All Saint's Cemetery, the grounds were empty. So much so that he even took a moment to transfigure his long leather coat into a short jacket, which was both less memorable and considerably more suitable to the weather. It was a fresh, overcast morning with a light sprinkle of rain. As he walked to the clinic, Viktor took in the dusty pink clumps of rhododendron in bloom, an old lady walking her old dog, a guy opening his takeaway shop, a father pushing a pram with twin babies... Viktor quite liked to walk or even take the bicycle if he was not in a hurry, to feel the wind on his face and observe his environment. The non-wizarding world always had some novelty to offer to invoke his curiosity, and he eagerly soaked everything in.

"Viktor! How lovely it is to see you again. How long has it been? Almost a year, right? Well, we've been away for a while. Come in, come in." David Granger greeted Viktor at the clinic door with a sincere smile and a firm handshake, even before he entered. He already had his white scrubs on, and his wiry hair was neatly tucked under a cloth cap. He directed Viktor to his office, where Jean Granger was looking at a computer screen behind the desk.

"Viktor, dear, you look marvellous." As she rose to greet him, Viktor took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Oh, aren't you a charmer, young men are just not like you any more. We are so lucky that our Hermione decided to stick with you." Jean Granger was as tall as her husband, which was still not very tall. Still, she didn't hesitate to grab Viktor by the chin with her ridiculously strong fingers and pull him down, prying his mouth open at the same time. "Your teeth look fantastic, they could use a cleaning though," she said, as she squinted at his molars.
"My dear, Viktor is here on business, you know."

"Of course I know, I read the letter. So exciting! It is not dangerous, though, is it?"

Viktor managed to release his chin to reply, "It is not dangerous, we just need to see what is in the box, that's all. I promise that no one will come to harm."

"That's great, then. We have fixed an appointment with Dr Sheik, his clinic is just down the road. The earliest he could squeeze you in is quarter past eleven, though, at such short notice. You are lucky we know him so well, otherwise, I doubt that it would have been possible at all!"

Viktor looked at his watch again. He was not ungrateful, on the contrary, the Grangers had given him a fighting chance to make sense out of the one piece of intact evidence he had. He did regret however that he didn't stay with Hermione for an extra hour. Now he had some time, too long to wait but too short to do something else.

"So, what do you say, shall we have your teeth cleaned, since you are already here? It has been at least a year."

"I guess…"

"Marvellous! David has surgery this morning, so, it's going to be me." David Granger waved them goodbye, offering a sympathetic smile to Viktor.

It wasn't like Viktor hated non-wizarding dentistry, he didn't mind it, really. There was something about the hands-on nature of it that he found rather soothing. It was just not very easy to reply to questions when one had a saliva-sucking tube and a loud plaque scraper in the mouth. This however didn't stop Jean Granger from trying to engage him in a conversation.

"How is my dear girl? She didn't seem quite herself when she last came to visit." Viktor gave a thumbs up.

"She has told me about this terrorist attack, that's what you're investigating, right? Oh dear, I hope she doesn't find herself in the middle of things again. The magical world is so dangerous. Then again, so is our world, I suppose. As a parent, you always worry you know, from the moment your child is born. Is she happy? Healthy? Will she be a good person? Can she become what she wants to become? Of course, we want to keep her safe, but we can hardly lock her in a room, right? In the end, she needs to find her path, as David and I did." Viktor nodded infinitesimally.

"You have to tell me one thing though, removing somebody's ability to perform magic, how does it work?"

Jean Granger was fiercely intelligent and very inquisitive. Her eyes sparkled as she asked, Viktor was sure that she had asked this question to Hermione before and not been satisfied with the answer.
To be honest, Viktor didn't know. Nobody knew. Since the first attack, experts had been delving into tomes of magic so dark that they would make Grindelwald cringe with discomfort - but so far there had been nothing. There were mentions of curses that could block the ability to perform magic, these however were highly sympathetic, elaborate, time-consuming, and could certainly not be used on so many people at the same time. Needless to say, no one alive knew if they worked or not, nor had they been keen on experimenting.

"Well, let me rephrase the question, then. How do witches and wizards perform magic? Hermione was telling me about some parallels between magic and physics, she had wanted to look deeper into it after her physics degree. She chose to teach though, bless her. Our daughter doesn't have a selfish bone in her. She has still been publishing, though. How she finds time for it all, I have no idea."
This was another good question, and again, no one knew. Since the recorded history of magic began, there had been countless explanations as to why some people could perform magic. Most of it had just been superstition. Hermione had been conducting research into the topic, and she had also explained some of her theories to Viktor, but this was indeed a bit too far out of his league.

"You know, we normal folk, muggles you call us, right?" Viktor did not call anyone muggles, but didn't object either. "In the past, whatever natural phenomenon we didn't understand, we called magic. Or God, destiny, whatever. With the help of science, however, we discovered that many things we used to think were magic had plausible explanations. Your magic is no different. It is just another thing that we don't understand yet, but one day we will be able to. There are rules of physics that govern the universe. We may not understand them all yet, but it doesn't mean that you wizards are above them. When we do understand them, there will be no magic, just another branch of science. Here, you can rinse with this," she handed him a small plastic cup full of water. "No eating or drinking for one hour. Now, then, shall we?"

Viktor offered Mrs Granger his arm as they walked to the radiologist's clinic. Thankfully, she did not ask any more questions, and Viktor had a little space to consider her words from earlier.
"I had to tell Dr Sheik that you are an archaeologist and need to scan an ancient artefact. I hate to lie, you know, he is such a lovely man- but we can hardly tell him the truth, can we?" Viktor nodded as he opened the clinic door to her. This clinic looked quite similar to Grangers', except that Dr Sheik was dressed like a normal person, not like a doctor. Viktor thought that he probably did not deal with wounds or blood and didn't need to take precautions to keep his clothes clean.

"Jean, good morning, my dear." Dr Sheik kissed Mrs Granger on both cheeks. He seemed to be a cordial man. "And you are…"

"Viktor Grigoriev Krumov, I am Mrs Granger's son-in-law." Viktor shook the offered hand, it was warm and firm.

"Abdul Sheik, pleasure. Now, Jean told me that you are an archaeologist? How interesting. I don't have a lot of time, I am afraid, we are quite fully booked. Where's the artefact you were talking about?"
Viktor pulled the evidence box out of his backpack and tentatively gave it to the doctor, who turned it around a couple of times.

"Hmm, it doesn't look very old to me, it must be very well-preserved."

"It is. We are, unfortunately, unable to open it. We suspect that there may be something inside."

"Sure, sure, you're the expert. Norma!" He gave the box to a woman who Viktor thought was his assistant. "This is the artefact that I told you about earlier. Could we quickly get a CT scan, please? Thank you. Would you two care for a coffee while we wait? We can view the results from my office, it will take fifteen minutes at most." Viktor wasn't happy with this offer, he did not want to be separated from the box for that long, and he was curious about the machine.

"I had hoped that I could view this machine, we were thinking of acquiring one for our museum."
"That's not possible, I am afraid, the area is only for patients and authorized personnel," he replied, already directing both of them to his office. Mrs Granger gave Viktor's hand a reassuring squeeze, which eased him a bit. These people were hardly going to split with his magic box.

"So, where is the archaeological site you are working on? I don't know too much about Bulgarian history, I am afraid," Dr Sheik asked, handing out cups of coffee from a percolator. It was too weak for Viktor's taste, but he sipped away nonetheless. The question had left Jean Granger flushed and fidgety, as she had obviously not thought out an entire scenario and was not good at improvising, which amused Viktor greatly. Like mother, like daughter, he thought. Donning a slightly thicker Bulgarian accent than he normally had, he replied nonchalantly.

"We found the box in a dig in the Bacho Kiro cave near the Dryanovo Monastery. We assume that it is about 40000 years old. Unfortunately, we are a small museum and do not have the access to the necessary instrumentation. We hope that it will give us clues about the lives of the Upper Palaeolithic humans around that area."

"Fascinating…" Dr Sheik seemed genuinely interested, but also obviously lacked the knowledge to ask more in-depth questions, which was convenient. At that moment, his assistant entered the room with the box and a CD. "I have never seen something like this before. Good luck." she winked at Viktor as she closed the door. Viktor's heart was thumping, and it seemed like Jean Granger was as on edge as he was. Dr Sheik invited both of them behind his desk to look at the screen.

It was… Viktor had no words to describe it and stared at the screen with his mouth open. Non-wizarding technology was sometimes too crude and wasteful for Viktor's taste, but sometimes, it was just awe-inspiring. As Dr Sheik moved the mouse, the image moved from one cross-section to the other, just how Hermione had described it. The first images were completely black. Then, the object appeared.
"There is indeed something inside, I would have thought it's empty. See, this is the first cross-section of the object inside the box. It is triangular, it seems like it has many layers, like a piece of folded cloth maybe?" he kept moving the mouse. "Yes, indeed, it is folded. There are some writings on it. Do you recognize these?" Viktor shook his head. There were darkish scribbles, but these were so superimposed due to the folding that it was impossible to make out individual letters. Dr Sheik clicked another image. "This is what your object looks like from the outside."

It was a small triangle, with a few creases on it, attached to a piece of string.

"I don't get it..." Dr Sheik looked very suspicious. "This object seems to be… floating in the box. He took the evidence box that was lying on his desk and shook it, much like Hermione did. Viktor had no chance to interfere. "I hear nothing. Given its size, it should be moving around freely. Hmm…" Viktor twitched with the urge to pluck the box from his hands before he grew more suspicious. The last thing he wanted was the poor kind man to be Obliviated. When Norma entered the room to remind Dr Sheik of his noon appointment, Viktor wanted to kiss her feet.

"You won't be able to look at the images without special software, I am afraid, and it is expensive. Here, take these printouts with you while you sort things out. They are not the same as viewing on the screen, but they'll do." Viktor took the folder and CD, thanking the doctor for his efforts. With a hasty goodbye, they showed themselves out.

"Phew, that was close, wasn't it?" Jean Granger was still flushed when they were back on the street, with sweat stains under her armpits. "So, how did it go? Do you know what that thing is?"
Viktor didn't know what it was. But he knew where he had seen one before.

A/N: Thank you for all the follows and favorites, dear readers! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. As I mentioned, an illustrated version of this story is published at AO3 with the same name. If that is not your jam, or you want to see the full resolution drawings, you can visit my Deviantart page. The drawings there are not labeled by chapter number, so if you want to know which one goes where, feel free to submit a review. See you next week!