Title: Beyond friendship

Chapter seven:

Authors: Jaycee and Marga

Disclaimer: Not ours! Never will be… isn't that sad?

Notes:

* * * Glad that people like the story! Thank you! Oh, this is Marga by the way. We really are happy that people like our story; we even reached the 57-review mark! Yay! And we finally corrected the mistake of Harry and Hermione's hair colors, after consulting the fourth book. Well, we don't know if Daniel Radcliffe will still be Harry Potter in the movie, we'll go to London and ask him okay? Thank you to Jennycraig10 for giving us some info about J.K Rowling, we'll try to bombard her with letters to force her into making Harry and Hermione into a real couple. To Hikaru Tsukino: I love RK too! Though only Sanosuke, Soujiro and Kenshin. Enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to review!!

* * * Hey guys! Jaycee here. Hope you guys like this fabulous chapter that was written by my little sister. I like it and especially the part near the end. No spoilers though – you have to read it to find out.

Keeshe Kal'daka: NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! Daniel has to play Harry Potter in the third movie! He just has too!!! I can't imagine anyone playing that wonderful part… I mean… no offense to J.K. but well… he's the main reason I got obsessed over this Harry Potter thing. I don't deny it, I love the books… but hello! Who wouldn't fall for that wonderful Dan? Huh? Tell me. I'll see if that's true and I'll tell everyone what I found out.

Aldawen of Rivendell: Viktor has to show up… how else will we see how Harry gets really jealous right? Right? :0

BabyJ5: We're evil… hehe… good to know! LOL.

Jennycraig10: you can advertise in our reviews as much as you want to – as long as you read our story and tell us what you think about it, k?

Archforge: Yes, love is such a fickle little lady. That's the main reason I don't have someone yet. LOL. And we're glad you like our writing style.

Sourplummers: I know! I don't know either why Daniel Radcliffe has to live sooo far away!!! And if you want, you can use the name Maria Chestnut – don't worry about it. Marga thought of that one – its such a pretty name huh?

For everyone who has put us in your favorites list – thank you! You guys don't know how much all of this means to us. And please don't think that just because we didn't thank you for your review specifically, we don't appreciate your words – we appreciate it very much – we just don't want to sound too redundant, you know?

Oh yeah. Question: Do any of you guys know where we can find pictures of that fabulous H/Hr shippery moments in the second movie, CoS? Marga wants to make a shippery wallpaper and we're new to this HP world so we don't know where to look for them. Can anyone help us?

Sorry for the long note from me guys. Thanks again and have fun reading! Don't forget to review!

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"Good morning!" Hermione greeted cheerily at Harry and Ron as they made their way towards the dining hall for breakfast. Tying her dark brown hair into a ponytail, she sat down in their usual place in the long Gryffindor table.

Ron cleared his throat and sat down across from her, Harry sitting beside him. "Your mighty cheerful today Hermione." He commented and yawned, his freckled nose scrunching up.

Hermione giggled and Harry thought that she looked like a hyperactive schoolgirl. He couldn't help but smile a little at her jubilant expression. He felt an elbow dig into his ribs and he almost yelped. He turned to glare at Ron and he grinned beside him sheepishly.

"Sorry Harry. But look who's coming." Ron whispered and gestured towards the big double doors with a nod of his head.

Harry turned his head and saw Viktor Krum with his bulky physique walking towards them. He was smiling; a bit uncharacteristic for him since he rarely smiled when he came to Hogwarts for the Triwizard tournament last year.

"A pleasant morning to all." He greeted as he sat down beside Hermione on the table. "You don't mind me sharing the table with you guys, do you?" He asked, grabbing a piece of toast from a large plate not far off from Ron.

"Not at all." Ron said, unable to contain the excitement of seeing his most favorite Quidditch player in the wizarding world sitting at their table. And the attention they were getting was noticeable; people from the other tables were eyeing them curiously, though some of them were looking at them with envy. Even Malfoy and his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, from the Slytherin table looked jealous.

Meanwhile, Harry was shooting Krum with stares of utmost dislike. If looks could kill, the famous Quidditch player might have already been reduced to a pile of ashes. Deciding to ignore him, Harry just started to eat.

Ron had managed to spark up a conversation with Krum about the upcoming Quidditch world cup and was now explaining the chances of teams that may win the cup this year.

Hermione placed her hand over Krum's and Harry suddenly lost his appetite. Pushing back his chair roughly, he stood up and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I'm finished. I'll see you guys later." He said and nodded at them before walking away from the table.

Ron stared after his best friend and wiped his mouth with his own napkin. "I'll go too. I need to do something before our first class starts. See you, 'Mione, Krum." He gave them a small wave before running to catch up with Harry.

Ron caught up and slapped his friend on the back. "You were so mad back there Harry. You look like you could've cast the Imperius curse on Krum at any second. Maybe Hermione will lose interest in Krum and you could tell her how you feel." He commented as they walked through the Hogwarts grounds towards Herbology.

"I hardly see why it matters." Harry muttered. "Hermione likes Krum, she'll never notice me. I'm just her friend." He raked a hand through his black hair and sighed.

Ron smiled sympathetically at Harry and slid an arm around his shoulders. "You know Harry, I once heard this from my mom. She always said that relationships that starts on friendship are the ones that lasts." He said.

Harry cracked a small smile. "Thanks Ron. That actually makes me feel a little better." He murmured thankfully. Maybe he could go on like this while Krum was staying here at Hogwarts. Maybe he could even survive seeing them act like a real couple.

If only he didn't self-destruct first.

* * * * * *

"Is everyone ready?" George Weasley, Ron's older brother and the new Quidditch captain, asked on practice. Everyone nodded, including Harry from the edge of the group.

George clapped his hands together. "Okay. We have got some new drills to do to train up for our match with the Hufflepuffs next week." He blew on his whistle and everyone readied themselves on their brooms. "Let's start!"

All of them had to go through drills that George made and each one that made a mistake received some shouting from George. Basically, Quidditch practice was torture. Exactly what Oliver Wood, their previous Quidditch captain, made them do before.

George was determined to make Harry's seeker skills stronger and threw golf balls for Harry to catch. So as to satisfy his captain, Harry tried as best as he could to catch every one of them, and because of his efforts, he was only able to miss two of them.

After an hour of drills and torture, George finally called it a day and all of the Gryffindor Quidditch players collapsed on the green grass. Dirty, battered and dead tired.

At this time, Hermione and Ron arrived in the Quidditch field. Hermione walked up to Harry, her hair being tousled by the breeze. She sat down beside Harry and smiled. "Hi Harry. How was practice?" She asked and wiped some grass stain off his cheek. Ron sat down on his other side and punched Harry lightly on the shoulder. "Yeah, how is my brother as captain Quidditch?"

Harry smiled back at her, his skin tingling where she touched him, and completely ignoring Ron. "Pure torture. George has been really roughing us up." He replied, staring at her.

"Aaaw. Poor baby." She teased, a mocking smile on her face. Harry's smile widened, he reached up to pinch her cheek when Krum suddenly appeared not far away from them. He walked up to them, signaling behind Hermione for them to be quiet and covered both of Hermione's eyes.

Hermione gasped, then giggled. "Who is it?" She asked, giggling and blushing. Viktor Krum smiled. "You haf not recognized me yet, Hermy?" He asked.

"Hmm… maybe a centaur? Or a kappa? Maybe a person called Viktor?" She pondered out loud. Her smile widening even more. Krum finally let go and she turned to face him.

"So, what did Professor Dumbledore want?" She asked. Krum had been called by Professor Dumbledore earlier, said something about talking.

"Oh, he jus needed to ask me about the Quidditch world cup." He answered. He faced Harry and patted his shoulder, and Harry could've punched him if it weren't for Hermione's presence. "So, Potter. I've heard that you're quite a seeker. Might I interest you in a little race? Who will get the golden snitch first?" Harry sat up. A competition with Krum? This could be interesting.

Ron sat up too. He looked eager and nodded. "That would be great! Why don't you try it Harry? Then we'll see who's really the best seeker." He said. He turned to look at his friend, and was taken aback at the determination and competitiveness that was reflected in his green eyes.

Hermione looked back and forth between Krum and Harry, looking doubtful. "I don't know you guys. One of you could get hurt." She worried.

Harry smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry 'Mione. We won't." He stood up and walked to the middle of the Quidditch field, towards the box where the balls used in the game were kept.

Viktor Krum followed him; whispers were exchanged among the other players. Seamus Finnigan, one of the team's chasers, approached Ron. "What's going on with Krum and Harry?" He asked curiously.

"Krum challenged Harry for the title of the best seeker." Ron said. He ran towards the two and held the snitch that was handed to him by Harry. Another student handed a broom to Krum and Harry held his precious Firebolt.

"Are you ready?" Ron asked them. Both nodded and he let go of the snitch. "At the count of three…1…2…3!" He shouted. The two seekers immediately sprang into action and flew after the snitch.

Harry felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins; it was like any other Quidditch game. But this time, something bigger was at stake: his pride. He suddenly had to win this thing, no matter what the cause.

He caught a glimpse of the snitch, tittering over one of the goal posts. He made a mad dash for it, but Krum caught sight of it at the same time and soon, both of them were speeding after it.

They were at the same level, and Krum gave Harry a purely mocking grin. Harry's blood boiled, the wind whistling in his ears. He sent a burst of energy through his broom and he forced it to go faster, but Krum noticed this and forced his broom to speed up too.

Harry gritted his teeth. The snitch. He was almost there. He stretched out his hand, ready to grab it at the last second. He was almost knocked off his broom when Krum rammed into him.

Harry could feel the anger rising inside him. So, Krum wanted a fight huh? He glimpsed down and saw Hermione, her face full of worry and fear. He gripped his broom tighter. He needed to win this. He had to show Hermione that he was the one for her.

Gathering the last of his strength, he rammed into Krum as strong as he could. He wanted Krum to lose more than anything. He could almost taste the victory in his mouth as he saw Krum teeter at the edge of his broom.

Harry finally reached the snitch and snatched the golden object out of the air. Grinning triumphantly, he held the snitch in front of him, his pride swelling inside of him. But his counter-attack was so powerful that it knocked Krum completely off his broom.

"Viktor!!" Hermione screamed.

Harry's grin vanished in an instant. He watched in horror as Krum went completely straight down the grass in a broken heap. He could hear the sound of bones cracking and everyone in the field seemed to be in mute, it was so quiet that you could probably hear a pin drop.

He just floated in mid-air as Hermione ran to Krum, shouting his name and ripping the last bit of victory from his being.

What the hell happened?

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So this is where we end Chapter Seven. Did we leave you hanging off your broom? Was it some kind of a cliffhanger? Huh? Huh? Don't forget to give us about 20 more reviews okay? So that I, Jaycee, could post the next chapter as fast as I can. You all know that all we need are reviews right? Thanks for reading!