Chapter 2: People Check Out More than Books at the Hogwarts Library
It all began when Viktor first started visiting me at the Hogwarts library. It was early in the morning, just before the majority of students normally stumbled into the Great Hall for breakfast, and I had stopped at the library to be the first to examine the new arrivals. My fingers had just closed around a thin, green, leather-bound volume entitled Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tale Ventures with the Faerie Folk when a large, dark hand captured my wrist.
"Geroff!" I mumbled instinctively, snatching the book away to hold it against my chest in a protective gesture.
I really had spent far too much time with Ron Weasley, I fear, as his manners had obviously rubbed off on me. I felt my face flush in chagrin as I looked up at the stranger, realizing slowly that he had merely been attempting to gain my attention rather than my book. My apology froze on my lips, however, as I finally raised my gaze to his face.
Gasping, I breathed: "You're Viktor Krum!"
We stood for a moment, the cart of new arrivals separating us, like two actors in a play who had forgotten their cues. I watched as his brow cleared only to furrow again, his mouth parting slightly before pressing firmly together in an odd dance of indecision. Catching my breath, I took the lead, offering the green volume to the famous Bulgarian seeker.
"I'm so sorry . . . Did you want this book? It was so selfish of me to snatch it away."
He stopped me short with a shake of his proud, dark head. Raising my eyebrows at him, I silently encouraged him to continue with a small nod. I followed his troubled gaze as it dropped to my chest. Looking down, I veritably preened as I realized he was looking at my S.P.E.W. membership badge.
Clearing his throat, he gestured with a long finger at my button before saying quietly: "I am vondering vot dat is, this S-P-E-W."
I watched his hand drop to the cart which stood between us, the long, sure fingers brushing absently against the various spines that lined the top shelf. I immediately recognized a fellow bibliophile in him. Only a book-lover would caress a novel with such reverence, such respect. Who would have expected to find a like-minded person in the form of an internationally-renowned athlete?
Smiling widely, I pulled my satchel to the front and dug into it with eager hands. Retrieving my box of S.P.E.W. badges from inside, I explained shortly, "It's an acronym. S-P-E-W stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Are you interested in learning more about the organization?"
I watched as he glanced over his shoulder nervously, shifting from one foot to the other with a grimace.
Leaning closer, he mumbled, "You vont to help Elves?"
I felt my eyes go wide with surprise. "Why, yes! Are you familiar with their current plight?"
Krum shook his head slowly, watching me carefully with his dark, pensive eyes. He proved to be a great listener as I explained their current state of enslavement and my experiences with Dobby and Winky.
"So, as you can see, they have been conditioned to accept this life of social imprisonment by wizarding society. Isn't it disgusting?" I took his cautious nod as a sign of agreement and continued. "Elves are living creatures, certainly equal to witches and wizards, and they deserve the same rights as any other sentient being, don't you agree?"
Krum nodded again and I was shocked to see the left corner of his mouth raise in a small half-smile.
"You haf much respect for these Elves, yes?" His eyes had a soft cast as they appraised me, and I was eager to assure him that I did indeed have a great deal of respect and admiration for elves like Dobby who vigilantly fought for liberation.
We stood looking at one another for a moment, at the badges, our hands, and our smiling faces before my attention was caught by the clock.
"Oh!" I gasped in surprise. "It's time for breakfast."
He glanced at his wristwatch and nodded.
"Yes. Ve vill be late."
His frown had returned with a subtle vehemence, and I found myself reaching out to touch his forearm.
"If you wanted to continue talking about Elfish welfare, I could meet you here again tomorrow morning." Taking a deep breath, I rushed forward with what I hoped sounded more like an invitation than a sales pitch. "Perhaps I could convince you to join our Society?"
Krum took a moment to consider before finally nodding his assent. "Yes, I vould like to hear more of your ideas."
"Excellent!" I whispered excitedly. Packing away my S.P.E.W. materials with a smile, I walked him to the door of the library, beaming with pleasure. "We'll meet here again tomorrow at the same time as this morning, agreed?"
He opened the door for me and waited for me to cross the threshold before answering. "Yes, dat vould be pleasing."
We chatted along the way to the Great Hall, both silently agreeing to go our separate ways as we entered the great double-doors. We ate with our respective table-mates and went about our day with minimal acknowledgment of one another. At one point I saw him enter the library again as Harry, Ron and I conversed quietly at our usual table. I frowned as he was joined by a few less-than-subtle fan-girls. Catching his eye, we both shared an uncomfortable glance. He shrugged apologetically and turned back to his book. I fought to hide a smile as I recognized the familiar blue cover which was cracked with age and held, spread before him, with gentle hands.
When we met the next morning, I had to ask him about it.
"Are you enjoying Hogwarts, A History, then?"
I had felt him arrive, felt him standing behind me as I flipped through the pages of another new book, and acknowledged his presence without turning around. Smiling slyly, I met his gaze as he stepped around me to check the spine of my own book.
"Knitting for Beginners, eh? Is dat part of your Elf research?"
A warm smile blossomed on my face as an idea struck me. "Viktor Krum, you're a genius!" Taking in his surprised expression, I clarified. "You've given me a wonderful idea of how to help the Elves here at Hogwarts . . . but I need to consider a few other details before I can present it to the Society."
I watched in surprise as a deep red stain formed under the sallow complexion of his face, highlighting his high, sharp cheekbones with a furious blush. I took pity on him as I realized that, as an athlete, he must not receive much praise for his intelligence unless it was related to game strategy. Dropping my teasing tone, I asked him what had interested him about Hogwarts, A History.
"I vonted to learn about the ceiling in the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling." He clarified, dropping his eyes again to the cart of new arrivals.
I nodded, agreeing that it was a most intriguing phenomenon. We talked more about our respective schools and he told me about how elves were treated by the wizarding community in Bulgaria. We sorted through the new books and speculated on their content, laughing and joking about some of the stranger additions. We spent several mornings like this, building an easy rapport based upon common interests like books, elves, and school. Surprisingly, many of these moments consisted of a companionable silence which was punctuated occasionally by an interesting find and only broken by a recollection of the time.
We seemed to silently agree to not discuss our friends or the Triwizard Tournament, so I was surprised when our conversation turned towards the Yule Ball one morning.
Viktor had seemed more quiet than usual, if it's possible to imagine such a thing, and it took me a full minute to gain his attention as he gazed at the paperback in his hands. Tilting the cover with a push of my fingers, I scanned the title with curious eyes.
"Why Viktor!" I teased. "I had no idea that you were so interested in Haute Couture."
"Vot?" He asked, startled.
"Fashion and the Modern Witch." I read aloud, indicating the book that lay open in his hands. "Have you been interested in fashion long?"
He looked down at the book in his hands as if seeing it for the first time and offered a shy smile. "I do not need to read such books to know these things about fashion." He boasted jokingly.
Taking the book from his hands, I skimmed the table of contents for chapter headings. Reading aloud, I murmured, "Taming your Tresses and Glamour for Beginners, eh? Perhaps if I looked at this book I might actually garner an escort to the Yule Ball!"
Laughing softly, I handed the book back to him. Looking up, I noticed a speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked at me. It was as if he were cataloging every nuance of my hair and face. Squirming slightly under his appraisal, I absently smoothed my hair and bowed my head before directing a pointed question at him.
"Do you really know about this fashion stuff?"
How brightly did I blush? I'm still surprised that my hair wasn't smoldering at the roots as I forced myself to meet his gaze. Smoothing the front of my robes with nervous hands, I looked around the room before finally settling my gaze on the hollow of his throat, right below his bobbing Adam's apple. Was he smiling at me?
Looking up, I noticed the quirk of his mouth which indicated he was grossly amused.
"Who is he?" He asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow as he crossed his arms across his chest confidently.
"I don't know what you mean." I hedged breathlessly. Picking up a volume on the numerology of ancient runes, I gasped as he disarmed me of my prop and forced me to meet his gaze.
"Who are you vonting to take you to the Ball?" He reiterated, overemphasizing each word.
Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest and offered him nothing but denial.
"No one." I insisted.
His knowing glance unnerved me and I looked away.
"He vouldn't happen to be a certain young man vith dark hair, vould he?"
"Why Viktor," I joked. "I didn't know you cared!"
He laughed with me briefly before prodding again.
"Von of your friends, perhaps?" He gave me a meaningful look, and suddenly things clicked into place. I nearly burst with laughter.
"Harry?" I choked. "You think I fancy Harry? Oh, no, Viktor! He's my best friend, but no."
I dissolved into giggles then. I found myself making a terrible choking sound as I attempted to swallow them, pinching myself hard on the arm as I attempted to control myself before Madame Pince banned me from entering the library for life. Meeting Viktor's gaze again, my heart almost stopped. He knew.
Somehow, perhaps he had seen the fear in my eyes, he knew not to mention Ron's name. Or perhaps he merely sensed my reluctance to admit to any crush. Regardless of this apparent intuition, he dropped the dangerous line of questioning and handed the book back to me.
"You haf no need to vorry about an escort, you know." He said softly, capturing my gaze. "If you vont, I vould be honored to escort the President of the S-P-E-W." He smiled at me gently then. "In the case your No Von cannot muster his Gryffindor courage, yes?"
I had to return his smile. He really was terribly understanding and generous. I nodded my acceptance, placing the forgotten book back on the cart. Tilting my head to the side, I couldn't help but tease him a little.
"You're quite good at diverting my attention, Mr. Krum. Now, seriously, what do you know about wizarding Haute Couture?"
"More than you think." He replied, his eyebrows dancing playfully above gentle eyes. Smiling softly, his smiles always more of a hint than a full expression, he reached forward to finger my hair. Tugging one of my curls playfully, he added, "You remind me of my little sister Penka."
Rolling my eyes playfully, I accepted his compliment with a warm smile. Nodding briefly, I accepted his invitation as well, and a warm glow seemed to spread through my belly. I identified it as a mixture of pleasure and excitement as we turned to start our morning trek down to the Great Hall. But there was still something more I needed to know.
Stopping him just before the library door, I asked quickly, "Viktor? Why do you care so much about the Elves? I mean, I think it's wonderful that I've finally found someone who cares as deeply about their welfare as I do but, in all honesty, you're really the ONLY person I've met who seems half so . . . progressive."
Tilting his head to the side, his hand twitching on the hard oak door, Viktor looked at me with the most curious expression. He seemed to be measuring me with his eyes before finally coming to a conclusion with a tight-lipped smile.
"I haf a very personal interest in Elfish welfare." He replied.
Pausing, he took a deep breath and gazed at me intently, his brow furrowing with the effort to communicate his meaning without words. I urged him to continue with my eyes, and he eventually complied. "You haf noticed my feet, yes?"
Perplexed, I glanced down at his feet, taking in their pigeon-toed stance. Meeting his gaze once again, I nodded in acknowledgment.
"It is defect from my mother's grandmother." Looking at my S.P.E.W. badge, and then at my face he whispered, "She vos an Elf."
I could not hide my surprise. At the risk of sounding speciesist, I admit that I wasn't previously aware that it was possible for magical beings to cross-breed with one another. Of course, if Fleur Delacour could have a Veela grandmother, why shouldn't Viktor Krum have an Elfish great-grandmother?
"Really?" I breathed, not quite able to believe him. Hearing the wonder in my voice, I was reminded of Mr. Weasley's reaction to anything Muggle. Blushing slightly, I smiled apologetically and waited for Viktor to continue.
"It is not vell-known, but it is true." He gazed at me solemnly, and I realized that he was waiting for a particular reaction. Was I disgusted? Would I look at him differently? Smiling, I linked my arm with his at the elbow and led the way out of the library.
Meeting his gaze with a cheeky grin, I replied, "You'll definitely have to buy an S.P.E.W. badge now!"
Shaking his head slowly in surprise, he began to laugh out loud.
"You are too much like my sister Penka!"
Smiling, I inclined my head regally, acknowledging his affectionate accusation, before leading him towards the Great Hall.