Viktor put his hand up to his eyes as they met direct sunlight for the first time. It had been 3 days since he had woken up and they were just now letting him out of that cramped place. He didn't like it in there, but stayed for the sake of Hermione. Anything to make her relax, to make her feel safe about his injuries. He looked over at her, the smile on her face radiating out and making him smile. She was carrying a large bag of potions with varied instructions for him to take over the net month. Looks like the curses he took had done some major damage to him internally.

Before he was discharged, Molly and Hermione had decided it would be best if he stayed at Harry's place, the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, to avoid any further attempts on his life. He argued only a little, finally realizing it really was for the best and he would be closer to Hermione.

Upon arriving at the dismal looking house, Viktor was ushered upstairs into a room dimly lit by a few candlesticks on a desk. He walked over to the elderly witch sitting there, Hermione on his right side holding his hand.

"Professor?" Hermione said.

The woman looked up, slightly startled. "Oh, right, please forgive my manners. I've been terribly busy lately. Do sit down. Tea?"

"No thank you," he said.

She gave him a small smile before setting down her quill and leaning back in her high backed chair.

"Viktor, I've been trying to track down which Death Eaters did this and why, but I'm afraid I keep running into dead ends. Were you able to identify any of them?"

"No, I'm not familiar vith many vizards from this country. But they did say something to me before they tried to kill me. They said, 'You made the wrong choice.'"

"Wrong choice..." Minerva mumbled. "That could mean many things."

"I know. But I'm pretty sure they were either talking about my decision to team up with the Minister of Magic, or...my choice to be vith Hermione."

At this statement, Hermione blushed slightly.

"Professor, do you think the other people that signed on for the Quidditch Ban will be targeted?"

"So far none of them have been. And that leads me to beleive it was your association with Ms. Granger that put you in danger."

A flash of anger burned through Viktor's eyes as his hand tightened on Hermione's. "Do you think they vill come looking for her next?"

"No, no. They know she is well hidden when she is vulnerable. And they have yet to try and attack anyone in public. Actually they hadn't attacked anyone in almost a year now. That's why this came as such a shock to us. This could mean they were trying to distract us from something, or maybe they were just sending a warning while You Know Who is still gaining power or plotting." Minerva sighed. She didn't know what to do and that was a first. "Hopefully Severus can shed some light on things when he comes back."

Hermione led Viktor to an empty bedroom down the hall from Harry's.

"We've been trying to fix the rooms up here one by one. I'm sorry if it's a bit...dark, but-"

"It's fine," Viktor said as he smiled down at her. He set down his bag and wrapped his arms around her.

Hermione inhaled his scent and held on to him tightly. She had missed his touch so much. Tears threatened to pool in her eyes, but she blinked them back.

"I missed you so much," she whispered as he looked down into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry I put you through that."

Hermione gave out a small laugh. "Never do it again," she playfully scolded.

Viktor laughed before he bent down to kiss her lightly. As he moved to pull away her hands snaked around his neck and pulled his head back down. Hermione didn't want him to ever stop kissing her, she never wanted him to stop holding her. She tugged on his bottom lip and sighed as his mouth opened to hers. She felt his arms tighten around her, bringing her body as close to his as possible.

"You're supposed to let the poor boy rest dear, not suffocate him!"

They both pulled away, blushes spreading across their faces as Mrs. Weasley stood there smiling at them.

"There will be plenty of time for that AFTER the boy has healed," she said before stepping into the room with an armful of blankets. "I brought you some blankets. It can get rather drafty up here and we don't need you to catch a cold."

"Thank you."

"Now if you need anything, I'm usually here or at home. If I'm not here, just Floo to my house. And try not to overexert yourself. Do you have your potions? And the instructions that go with them?"

"Thank you, I vill, I von't, yes and yes," he replied.

Molly smiled up at the handsome boy. "Such a good boy," she said before she left them alone again.

"Now vhere vere ve?"

Viktor barely had time to settle in before his help was needed. He didn't mind, in fact he was delighted to help. It helped to take his mind off the fact Hermione was hardly available and when she was it was only for a few moments. At first he did various jobs around the house, helping Mrs. Weasley clean out several more rooms, run to Diagon Alley for supplies, and occassionally help Ron sort through the various mess that was a garden out back.

"Viktor," Harry called, walking into the kitchen as Viktor finished his breakfast.

"Yes?" He rarely ever saw Harry and it was even more rare for Harry to say anything more to him than a casual greeting as they parted at the breakfast table.

"Could I ask you for your help on something?"

"Sure," Viktor said as he got up from the table. He followed Harry down a hallway and into a room hidden by a painting of a sour-faced looking man.

"Another one, eh? At least this one's a Pureblood," the portrait said as Viktor walked through the doorway.

Viktor's attention was immediately drawn to the silvery light emitting off the surface of the penseive on the other side of the room.

Harry took a deep breath before speaking. "I've been searching through Dumbledore's penseive for the last 3 months and I haven't found anything of importance. But," Harry said, a smile spreading across his face. "I think I might have actually found what I was looking for. Or at least part of it. Only thing is, I don't know what language it's in. Dumbledore could speak almost any language, so it wouldn't be a problem for him. But I'm at a loss here. And I was hoping you might be able to help me out with it."

"Yeah, I'll help vith vhatever you need."

"Hermione was right," Harry said with his smile getting bigger. "All I had to do was ask."

Viktor laughed. "Am I that easy?"

Harry laughed. "When it comes to her I think you are." Harry turned around and brought the penseive over to the table they were standing at. "Ok, this is the memory I can't figure out. I figure if we can go in together you can help me figure out what's going on. On 3?"

Harry clasped Viktor's hand. "1...2...3" And they fell head first into the Penseive.

Hermione walked into the kitchen for dinner, her muscles stiff and aching from the position she had been sitting in for the last four hours. She immediately looked at the table, hoping to see Viktor. She was surprised when she saw his seat empty. This was the first time she had beaten him to the table.

After she helped Molly set the table and everyone came in to eat, except Harry which was normal nowadays, she still didn't see him. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

"Where's Viktor?" she asked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you dear," Molly said. "Harry has enlisted his help and they haven't even come out of that room since breakfast."

"Oh," she said glumly as she began eating. When Harry had asked her about getting Viktor's help with something she didn't realize it would be something that important and time consuming.

Hermione lingered in the kitchen, nursinng a cup of tea as she waited for Viktor to walk in. She waited until well after midnight, but he never showed. Disappointed, she walked back into the room she shared with Ginny.

The young Weasley girl looked up at Hermione. "I was wondering when you were coming to bed," she said with a yawn. "I thought you might have decided to get some last minute work in."

"I was waiting for Viktor, actually," she said with a frown. "He never came out."

Ginny got up and sat next to Hermione on the floor. "I know the feeling. I never get to see Harry and it's driving me crazy. It won't be too long before I have to go back to school and I won't be able to see him until Christmas.

Hermion wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Hopefully he'll find what he's looking for in that blasted thing and you can have him all to yourself."

Ginny laughed. "Fat chance."

Hermione went downstairs to breakfast to be greeted with a hearty smile from a very tired looking Viktor. She sat down beside him and brushed the hair out of his face.

"My God Viktor, did you get any sleep last night?" she exclaimed as she saw the bags under his eyes.

"Yeah, I got enough."

"Don't you lie to me, it doesn't look like you got any."

"I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't even know I had skipped dinner last night until after midnight."

"It's ok. Just make sure you take care of yourself," she added. "I don't need you to strain yourself too hard."

Viktor smiled at her and cupped her cheek with his warm hand. "Your vish is my command," he said before he kissed her.

A gagging noise interrupted them as Ron walked through the door.

"Oh stop being such a right git," Ginny said as she walked passed her brother and into the room.

Ron stuck his tongue out at the back of her head, making Hermione and Viktor stifle their laugh.

"Seen Harry this morning?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, he left about 10 minutes ago. Which reminds me I need to go." He stood up, kissed Hermione briefly and made his towards the hallway Harry always disappeared down.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh.

"Harry sucked him into that thing too, eh?" Arthur said as he strolled into the room, the morning paper already under his arm.

Sorry for the briefness and lack of fluffiness. I promise the next chapter will be ALL FLUFF!