Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, not at all.

A/N: Well, what can I say? It's Harry's turn in this chapter. Oh, poor Viktor, I don't really envy him. By the way this is the 3rd chappy, so we are half-way through this fan fiction. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, this should be funny, but I'm not sure if it really is. TTFN

To Halo of Darkness: Thank you so much for beta-reading this chapter, and for being so quick. You are really nice.

Harry's Advice

The day after the Quidditch match, Viktor and Hermione were walking hand-in-hand in Diagon Alley.

"Why did we come here, Viktor?" Hermione asked for the tenth time.

Viktor sighed. "I just vanted to spend some time vith my lovely girlfriend," he said calmly.

Hermione nodded. "Ok, where do you want to go?"

"Vhat do you think about 'Flourish & Blott's?" he asked her.

"I think that you know me very well," she answered, smiling.

"Let's go, then."

They walked down the alley, looking in every shop window. Hermione stopped for a long moment in front of a sweets shop, but Viktor seized her arm and guided her to the bookshop.

"Look," said Hermione, pointing at a big sign near the door where the face of Gilderoy Lockhart smiled his 32-teeth smile. "Oh, my gosh. I can't believe they let him exit the hospital, I saw him last week and he was still terribly confused." She carefully read the sign. "He is here for a special occasion, but they don't say what it is about."

"Vell, aren't you happy that he is here?" asked Viktor, looking at Hermione intently.

Hermione laughed. "Happy? Well, I admit that if I were twelve years old, I would have been happy. But since I see him almost every day at work, well, I don't really mind anymore."

Viktor gulped. "But you vant to enter, right?"

Hermione looked through the window with her hands around her eyes. "There're a lot of people in there, I don't know. It will take us all day just to search for a decent book. I'm not so sure. Maybe we can come back here tomorrow, don't you think?"

Viktor looked at her. "But I thought that you vould haff been happy to meet your favourite teacher again."

Hermione glanced at Viktor. "How do you know that he was my teacher?"

Viktor smiled weakly. "Harry told me."

"You and Harry talked about my favourite teacher when I was twelve?" she asked him with her eyes wide open. Viktor nodded. "Why?"

"Ve just came up vith the subject."

"First you talk with Ron about Oliver Wood, a boy that we have not seen in ages and with whom we had barely talked, then you and Harry have a chat about my favourite teacher at school?" she asked him with her eyebrows raised. Viktor nodded again. Hermione muttered something that sounded oddly like 'Men.' Then she sighed and pushed open the door of the bookshop.

"Hermione." Harry was trying to make his way towards the crowd of people that surrounded Lockhart. "How are you doing? Did you see who is here today?"

Hermione looked at him. "Hi, Harry. Yes, I did. And at this, the question of what you are doing here came up.

Harry smiled. "What do you mean?"

"You and Ron sent Lockhart to the hospital," she said matter-of-factly. "I thought that you weren't so keen on seeing him again."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I was just wondering what he was doing out of the hospital. You know, Ginny and I were walking down the alley and saw the sign outside, so we just decided to come in and have a look."

"Ginny is here?" asked Hermione, looking around.

Harry nodded. "She is over there, talking to Lavender. You know, Lavender would have never lost the occasion to see Lockhart again," he said, blinking to Hermione.

"Wow," said Hermione sarcastically, "I'll go and greet them."

She left Harry and Viktor and made her way between groups of young girls that were screaming Lockhart's name. Viktor followed her with his eyes then he turned towards Harry.

"She doesn't seem really happy to be here. Are you sure that she really liked this man?"

"Who? Lockhart? Of course she did, she was madly in love with him-"

"Vhen she vas tvelve," Viktor pointed out.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you think that my plan is worse than Ron's, then-"

"I don't think that your plan vill be vorse than Ron's," he said bitterly.

"Well, don't tell Ron this, but I think that you asked the wrong person if you wanted something romantic."

"I didn't ask him anything." Protested Viktor. "He just offered me his help, and I vasn't able to say no to him."

Harry smiled. "Don't worry. You asked the right person now."

Viktor looked at him concerned. "It's not exactly like I asked you either, but can you repeat of vhat your plan will consist?"

Harry nodded and lowered his voice, "Lockhart will come out from that place," he said, pointing at the other side of the bookshop. "He will do all his usual things like signing autographs and smiling, and then he will announce that he has something to-"

Harry was interrupted by the screams of the girls, which became louder as the lights went off. He looked around himself and checked his watch. "Ready?" he asked Viktor, smiling.

"No," snapped Viktor, "Hermione is not here."

Harry realized that Hermione was still with Ginny and Lavender and panicked for a minute. He tried to step towards them, but a girl elbowed him in his stomach because he passed in front of her and obscured her vision of Lockhart, who was now exiting from behind a magically lighted curtain.

"Good morning, my adoring fans," said Lockhart with a smile, "I'm so happy to be again among you, to see you and, above all, to let you see me."

All the girls clapped their hands and sighed.

"I have been busy lately. But they finally decided to let me come here and let you rejoice in my presence."

Again, the girls clapped their hands. Viktor looked at them bewildered. He couldn't understand why all of them were going crazy for that man.

"Anyway," continued Lockhart, "My best friend, Harry Potter, wrote something for me to say." Harry too was lighted magically, while Lockhart took out some small pieces of parchment. "But I don't need all this help," he said, throwing the parchment away to the crowd of screaming girls like a handful of confetti. Harry looked horrified at Lockhart.

"Vhat is he doing?" asked Viktor, who was starting to fear the worst.

Harry shook his head and gestured to wait.

"But," went on Lockhart, "I know what you wanted me to say by heart."

"Oh, my gosh," murmured Harry.

"Is everything alright, Harry?" asked Viktor.

"Yeah, I suppose. I mean, I don't know if he will remember all the things that I wrote on the parchments-"

"Vhy shouldn't he?" asked Viktor, who seemed on the verge of losing his patience.

"Did I tell you that he was in the hospital?"

Viktor nodded.

"Did I tell you why?"

"No."

"Well, it's just that he had a little accident with Ron's wand. He was trying to cast a Memory Charm on me, but Ron's wand was broken and the charm retorted against himself – well, it's funny, isn't it?"

"No," said Viktor, staring at Lockhart.

Lockhart cleared his throat and smiled again. "Hermione Granger," he said while the light turned towards Hermione, "Will you marry me?"

Viktor could see Hermione turning a bright magenta colour under the light. Lavender brought her hands to her mouth and shot an envious glare at her, and Ginny started to laugh madly. All the other girls started to clap their hands and scream.

"Viktor?" Harry waved a hand in front of his friend.

Viktor looked at him blankly. "Did he just ask my girlfriend to marry him?"

"I'm afraid he did, but I don't think that Hermione will take it seriously," said Harry matter-of-factly.

Viktor nodded. "You know if I vere you, I vould go."

Harry looked at him without understanding. "Why?"

"Because he told everybody that you asked him to say that things. Herm-own-ninny vill think that it vas just a joke that put her in such terrible embarrassment."

Harry realized that what Viktor was saying was true. He nodded and started to move towards the door, when he felt a hand seize his arm. "Harry Potter, don't you dare leave this place before you tell me what's going on," screamed Hermione who was still blushing.

Harry feared for his life. Viktor looked at them and couldn't help feeling sorry for both Hermione and Harry.

"Hey, Viktor!" Ginny reached him and smiled.

"Hi, Ginny," said Viktor without taking his eyes away from Harry and Hermione.

"Are you okay? You seem concerned about something."

"I'm fine," he answered, looking at her.

"If you are concerned about Lockhart, you don't have to worry. They will send him back to St. Mungo's after his little show. Yeah, of course, Hermione works in there – but I don't think that she will consent to marry him," she said, laughing.

"No," answered Viktor absentmindedly.

"I wonder why Harry did such a stupid joke to Hermione. I mean, it was stupid, wasn't it? And most importantly, you were there and you are her boyfriend."

"Yes."

"Are you really sure that you are ok?" she asked, looking at him intently.

Viktor shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, I'm sure."

Ginny smiled. "Well, if it's because of Hermione's pregnancy, then you shouldn't be worry at all, I'm sure that you'll be a wonderful father."

Viktor smiled. "Thank you, Ginny. But it's not because of Herm-own – how do you know?" he asked her with his eyes wide open. "Harry and Ron told you?"

"Harry and Ron? No, why?"

"Because they vere the only two that knew that," he said matter-of-factly.

"The only two? What about Hermione?" asked Ginny, grinning.

"Herm-own-ninny? She doesn't know it yet," said Viktor uncertainly.

"Really? I thought that you were the one that shouldn't know it."

"But she has not yet seen the result of the exams," Viktor protested weakly.

"And you have?" asked Ginny, raising her eyebrows.

Viktor nodded sheepishly. "I found her results, and I read them."

"And you didn't tell her?" Viktor shook his head. "Why?"

"Because I vanted to ask her to marry me before she found out that she vas pregnant."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't vant her to think that I'm asking her to marry me just because I found out that she vas pregnant," he said, lowering his eyes.

Ginny brought her hands to her mouth. "Oh, Viktor." Viktor looked at her without understanding her gesture. "You are so cute," she said smiling. Viktor smiled back. "But," she said laughing, "You asked Ron and Harry for advice?"

"I didn't," he said quickly, "They offered me their help, but I didn't ask them."

"Yeah, you are not a fool," said Ginny, smiling.

Viktor nodded. "But you said that Herm-own-ninny already knows that she is pregnant?"

Ginny smiled. "A girl knows things like those. But she wasn't sure, that's why she did the exams."

Viktor sighed. "Then I should talk to her, but I really vanted to ask her to marry me before she vas sure of the pregnancy."

Ginny seemed to think about his words very intently. "Well, you know, if you want, I can help you," she said smiling.

Viktor looked at her and realized something; she was a girl. She knew Hermione better than Ron and Harry and above all, she was a girl. A girl.

"I vould be really happy if you vould help me," he said, smiling back at her. Ginny leaned towards his ear and whispered something to him, then she started to giggle and walked away towards Harry and Hermione, leaving Viktor with a smile stamped on his face.