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. Felton as Draco Malfoy is just so sizzling. If you want to see this god in his full glory, just do the necessary adjustments. It's tedious, I know, but that's how wants it.

I shouldn't be sharing him with you.

Anyway, thanks for reviews! I got more than the average! Not an impressive amount but it's enough to spur me on for another chapter:) Here are some replies…

Princess of the Underground: Hey there, I would have preferred to email you, but you didn't leave your email there so I just have to resort to replying you here. Thanks for the review. Your comment about Viktor left me a bit surprised! Honestly, I never meant to portray Viktor as a dense git who just wouldn't drop Hermione's case! But I guess everyone can be seen differently from other points of views. I'll try to make him less annoying. But thanks for the review!

Mezzo Papaya: Thanks for the correction! I keep mixing Occlumency and Legilimency together. I've corrected the mistake.

Oh yeah and regarding the next fic I'll write, I think I'll be writing a James/Lily fic, before I move on to a Draco/Hermione one, and then I'll write another Viktor/Hermione one! Haha! Threw in an extra option. Writing another similar fic about V and H doesn't seem so promising currently. But it will come soon!

DISCLAIMER:

I do not own any character, object, spell or phrase from Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.

…

Hermione shivered. She pulled her magenta cloak around her and stared up at the sign, frozen in her place.

"Are you alright?" Viktor asked, his face filling with concern.

"I'm perfectly fine." Replied Hermione in a strained tone. "Can't be any better."

"Ve can go… Excuse my poor taste – "

"Let's go in. It's freezing out here." She breathed, a misty fog of air issuing from her pale lips. She pushed the door open and a bell tinkled in the distance. Viktor followed confusedly.

"Ms. Granger?"

"Hello Mrs. Dilleys." Hermione smiled. The lady nodded. She had visible changes in her face. The jolly beam that was constantly pasted on her face was gone and she looked as if she had aged decades older. Her usually pink cheeks were a ghastly white.

"And this is Viktor Krum, the famous Quidditch Player?" she asked as she looked Viktor over, with not much like showing in her eyes.

"He is. And a very good friend of mine too." Hermione nodded, a little impatient. "Table for two please."

Mrs. Dilleys spun around slowly, as if she was in a trance and led them to a table next to one of the sleet-splattered windows that lined the walls of the restaurant.

The restaurant, as Hermione had noticed, had lost a great deal of life since the last time she and Ron visited. The decorations, in spite of the fact that Christmas had passed only a week ago, had been torn off, and there were no longer lively flames prancing around in the lamps that hovered from the ceiling. Instead, the only light was from the massive windows that they were heading to.

There were only two other occupied tables. One was occupied by an elderly couple sipping tea quietly and another was occupied by a young snogging couple. They were taking the table which Ron and Hermione had sat at previously.

"Orders?" Mrs. Dilleys asked curtly as they settled down. A notepad and quill appeared beside her in the air.

"A Butterbeer." The quill started scribbling furiously in the notepad.

"And you, Mr. Krum?" Mrs. Dilleys asked, looking down at Viktor, putting a lot of emphasis on his name. Viktor looked hapless. Hermione could understand. He had done nothing to cause such behavior.

"Pumpkin Juice."

"Anything else?"

"No, thanks."

Without a word, Mrs. Dilleys grabbed her quill and notepad and yelled out the orders to the chef, who retreated into his kitchen immediately.

Hermione realized she was alone with Viktor again, but she didn't feel like talking. Viktor seemed to sense this and did not try to initiate a conversation either.

Hermione stared at her white and numb hands clasped in her lap. Viktor gave a small cough opposite her. She stared out of the window, taking in the mounds and mounds of snow that piled high outside. The last time she was here, there were mountains of scarlet leaves instead of cold snow. Leaves were fluttering from the great maple tree that stood outside, but now, the trees were only half-hidden by the white stuff that covered the entire place.

Hermione looked back at her hands that were now fiddling with her tea dress. Had she really been staying at home for so long mourning for Ron, that she was unable to experience the first signs of winter? Hermione closed her eyes and lowered her head. Ever since she was young, she always never failed to be able to sit in front of the window of her living room during Christmas, and wait until the first snowflakes would fall from the sky. Then, delighted, she would throw on her coat, jam on her hat and gallop out of the house onto the grass and dance around in glee as the number of snowflakes increased and snow started falling. It was practically a tradition.

But traditions can get broken too, Hermione thought as she sighed. She looked up at Viktor, who was watching her all along.

"Not bad?" he asked quietly, leaning back in his chair.

"Ron brought me here two days before Christmas Day." She started. She felt like she was going to start crying again but the tears never fell. Viktor instinctively placed his hand on Hermione's arm.

"It was the same day as when I met you in St. Mungo's, remember?" she continued determinedly. Viktor nodded slowly.

"He was asking me to help him with the Christmas Dinner he was going to have with his family."

"We sat where that couple is." She turned her head to gesture to the couple, who were still engaged in a very hearty lip lock.

"I did not mean to invoke such memories. I apologize for not knowing." Viktor said quietly. But Hermione managed a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

"It's fine, really!" she said, her voice a little more shrill than usual. "It's not your fault."

Viktor smiled a little, even though he was not convinced.

"I hope that by giving you company, I'm not giving you a burden, but comforting you instead." Viktor said in the same soft tone. Hermione looked uneasily at his hand, which was still lying on her arm. Those were the same fingers that had caressed her cheek that very morning…

"I know that this is a very difficult phase to go through.

"I vent through it myself, and it was definitely not any easier than the one you are experiencing yourself. I lost two people at the same time. And there was no one to be there for me. My parents," a side of his lip curled into a sardonic smile. "They vere dead. I do not have any siblings. And friends… I do not have many, and most of them vere avay with their own families to bother vith me."

Hermione said nothing. Her eyes wandered off some place else, but she could not pretend she could not hear him.

"I know how important it is to have someone to be there for you to lend their shoulder for you to cry on. And Her-my-knee, I vont you to know that you have got me here. You can have my shoulder." And almost to emphasize his point, he jerked his head towards his right shoulder. Hermione smiled.

"Thank you for everything." she said as she felt her eyes burning. She felt stupid admitting it. All along she always thought that Viktor was just being exasperating by not leaving her alone, but now that he had voiced his intentions, she finally understood and she felt so guilty.

"And I am terribly sorry for the fact that I caused the great rift between you and Ronald."

"It's nothing."

They exchanged smiles, and not long after, their drinks arrived, and the topic was dropped as new and various other subjects were introduced.

After an hour or so, Viktor had offered to pay (in spite of Hermione's protests), and thrown a galleon onto the table and they exited the restaurant.

"So, Her – her – "Viktor stopped, struggling to say her name properly.

"Her-my-own-knee."

"Her?"

"Her-my-own-knee"

"Hermy-knee."

Hermione repeated her name several times before Viktor got it nearly right.

"Her-myonee?"

"Close enough. What were you trying to say?"

"Vood you like to go for a walk after this?"

"I would love to." Hermione paused.

"But I have to go home to get my coat… Say, don't you need a new set of clothes – wait – You're already changed!" Hermione gaped at Viktor. "How?"

"I Apparated back to my apartment this morning." Viktor said, scratching his nose guiltily. He conveniently left out the fact that he had done the same the night before, just so that he could stay over.

"Well if you don't mind, I'll be back in a second."

"Do not bother." Viktor shrugged off his coat.

"Wait! You'll freeze!"

"Ve've trained in conditions vorse than this." Viktor said firmly, throwing his coat onto Hermione, who was instantly doused in a warm and fuzzy feeling.

"Well… Thanks."

Viktor merely grinned and grabbed her arm. In an instant, they had appeared near by a vast lake. A dense forest full of fir trees stood about thirty yards away from where they were.

On the other side of the lake, a magnificent castle stood. Hermione stared, eyes huge. Her mouth fell open.

"Is that…?"

"Hogvarts School of Vitchcraft and Vizardry."

"Oh my god!" Hermione gasped, breathing more freely. She hopped up and down, squealing.

"Pardon me! I'm just so excited! I haven't been here in ages!" Hermione said embarrassedly. Viktor laughed.

"I sort of expected it. Looks grand from here, doesn't it."

"It does."

"I used to svim up to here from our ship during the Trivizard Tournament." Viktor said as his eyes scanned their surroundings with fondness.

"I found the scenery breath-taking." He added. "But not as beautiful as the girl whom I asked to the Yule Ball."

Hermione took a few seconds to register this. She looked up at Viktor, and his brown eyes were fixed upon Hermione's hazel ones. He cracked a roguish grin.

"I…"

"You don't have to say anything. I have long given up trying to vin the heart of the girl who enchanted me with her charm and beauty so many years ago. I have been foolish – I should have done this eons ago. God knows vhy I decided to stick on for so long."

Hermione pulled Viktor's coat closer to her and it smelled strongly of him. A bit of mint and a dash of expensive cologne.

Viktor tucked his hands into his pockets and looked around whilst Hermione looked at her feet. The minutes that followed held a painful silence.

A sudden rustle of leaves caused them to whip around. They looked up at the forest which was on the hill above them.

"Vot vos that?" Viktor hissed. He slipped his hand into his pocket.

"I don't know!"

A shadowy figure stumbled out of the forest behind them, and Viktor pulled out his wand and raised it warily.

"'Mione!"

Hermione pushed Viktor's raised arm down slowly.

"Wait… I think I know who…"

"'Mione!"

The figure lurched forward and rolled down the hill, landing at their feet.

Too many cliffhangers aren't healthy, but I needed to update and adding more would be rushing the plot and that's a doltish thing to do. (New word I learnt:D)

Well good thing is that the Eighth chapter is already almost complete as you read this.

So, in the meantime, Reviews would be simply lovely.