My Happy Ending

Humour/Romance -PG - fairytale story - ship: Hermione/Krum
Canon based - the things we missed - short chapters

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or plots - all property of the wonderful JK Rowling.

Chapter 7 - The Lake

Hermione sat, puzzled, alongside her best friends Harry and Ron, both of which were as tired as she was and just as desperate for answers. It was less than a day before the second task and though Harry now knew what to do (something that Hermione thought he really should had figured earlier), how to do it remained a mystery. They had been sitting in the library for what must have been several hours, pouring through promising looking books only to be disappointed. Hermione didn't want to admit it but it looked like the library, her source of knowledge and comfort, was failing her. There was simply no way, that she could find, for Harry to breathe underwater. She'd discussed with Harry the possibility of transfiguration, but anything that Harry might have found useful required magic Hermione knew she would not even be able to attempt.

She didn't know what to do, her eyes were drooping whilst flicking through each book - but she kept on going. Ron had made a comment that the second task was perhaps impossible, something Hermione refused to believe - but it was looking more and more like it. Her frustration was growing with every useless page, and she could tell that Ron and Harry beside her felt the same.

Hermione scanned a page of the book she had opened rather fiercely, as though trying to force it into having something useful inside. She was most irritated when she read through the page, it was about the interesting things magic could do to hair and how it could grow anywhere you wanted to and...Hermione blinked, how to curl your nostril hair into ringlets. Hermione slammed the book shut with an air of distaste and loudly voiced how useless it had been, who would have wasted time and energy into writing a book as silly as that?

She heard the voice of a Weasley twin and turned her head to see the source of the noise, Fred Weasley was saying he wouldn't mind ringlets for nostril hair. Hermione tutted to herself, she looked anxiously between each twin and the pile of books they still had to look through. They didn't really have any time for chat, Hermione knew that each second would be a moment wasted - and she would not rest until she was sure that Harry would be set for the task.

She swirled a lock of her bushy hair around her finger, waiting for what they had to say and wondering best how to counter whatever the joke was going to be.

"What're you two doing here?" asked Ron, there was an element of surprise in his voice. Hermione knew why - in all her time spent in the Hogwarts Library, not once had she seen Fred and George there.

"Looking for you," said George, "McGonagall wants you, Ron. And you, Hermione."

It wasn't exactly what Hermione had been expecting, her brain, that had been prepared to switch off only a moment ago geared up - why the McGonagall want to see Ron and her?

"Why?" She asked them, looking at the two with some sort of expectancy.

"Dunno..." Fred said, "she was looking a bit grim, though."

This was not something Hermione wanted to be hearing - she had a lot of books to read through in order to help her best friend. He heart dropped when the thought crossed her mind that perhaps the teachers had been paying attention to the fact that she and Ron had been helping Harry as much as possible for the second task. Harry was strictly supposed to do everything on his own. But Hermione felt that this was one rule - perhaps the only rule - that should be broken, after all, Viktor had already told her that Karkaroff tried to give him as much help as he could. Hermione almost smiled to herself as she thought fondly of the last time she had seen him.

"We're supposed to take you down to her office," said George's voice as though from a distance away, Hermione slipped out of her happy memory and faced what was before her. She thought about Harry. They couldn't leave him, but all she could do was try and give him her best encouraging look. She made a note to try and make whatever this meeting was about short so that they could return quickly.

"We'll meet you back in the common room," Hermione assured him, but he sounded uneasy as he replied and Hermione wondered if he would find what they had been looking for by himself. The library was sure to close before they returned, so she tried to pick some books up to place in her bag but George told her that she wouldn't be needing them. Hermione was intensely curious but also worried at the same time.

"Are you sure you have no idea?" she asked Fred and George anxiously, but they both shook their heads and replied with a resolute 'no'. Hermione was left to converse with her head as to what she and Ron would be talking to Professor McGonagall about as when she tried to ignite a conversation with Ron he seemed oddly interested in his shoes. Their walk grew brisker as the four travelled in silence to the office Hermione knew to be Professor McGonagall's.

"Right, we'd love to stay and meet up with the deputy head but it's not on our timetable today, so with all due respect, we'll see you two later," said Fred as they reached the door, the two of them both turned quickly, communicating in low whispers that Hermione couldn't understand until they were out of sight.

Ron looked at her, and Hermione could tell he felt just as concerned as she did.

"Should we...knock?" he asked uncertainly, Hermione nodded.

"That would be a fair thing to do," she replied.

She lifted her hand up and knocked on the door three times, it opened and Hermione was looking into the face of Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. She had to work hard to conceal her shock and Ron looked simply dumbstruck, if they were here to be told off about helping Harry, surely they hadn't breached the rules so badly that both Dumbledore and McGonagall had to be there. Dumbledore offered her a muggle sweet that she quite liked usually but was too surprised to realise what she was saying no to, Ron just seemed altogether confused. They sat down next to each other in two of four chairs placed in the centre of the office.

McGonagall stood in the corner, her lips pursed. Hermione opened her mouth indecisively to ask why they were there but she didn't get round to speaking for Dumbledore spoke then.

"We're currently awaiting two more guests," he said brightly, "are you sure you wouldn't like a sherbet lemon, Miss Granger?"

Hermione politely took one and opened it whilst Ron popped his into his mouth hesitantly, he raised his eyebrows in what could only be surprise at the taste. Hermione smiled, it was a funny gesture.

She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened again, evidently she was not in any form of trouble if they were still being called guests. She waved hello to Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker, who smiled in reply. Cho was followed in by a young girl and two people who looked like they were her parents, they were all wearing bewildered expressions. She noticed Ron do a double take beside her and looked back at the family, it was understandable - they could only be Fleur Delacour's father, mother and sister. The mother and sister were clearly part veela. Hermione was frustrated that her usually agile mind was not able to figure out why they were there.

"Cho, do sit down," McGonagall ushered them all to seats, Cho having been standing awkwardly by the door beforehand.

"I expect you'll all be confused as to why you are here," said Dumbledore, who was addressing Hermione, Ron, Cho and the little girl more than the adults in the room. Fleur Delacour's parents held facial expressions that seemed to say that they knew whatever this was already, probably through a letter from Dumbledore.

They all nodded.

"I trust you are all aware that your friend or relative is participating in the TriWizard tournament," Dumbledore said, "it is my responsibility to tell you that you are needed for the task, and before I say anything further, I assure you that no harm could possibly come to you."

Hermione clicked on to what Dumbledore was talking about immediately, she had heard what the egg had said from Harry, and realised what the 'thing he'd sorely miss' would be. Looking to her side she saw Ron scratching his head and then dropping his hand in a motion which meant he clearly had put two and two together, on his side Cho Chang was fighting hard to conceal an expression of fear. Fleur's sister was saying something to her mother in French, to which her mother replied and then there was silence.

Dumbledore acted as if he had not seen the students' comprehension of what was next and continued on.

"The task is to take place under water in the lake, the aim of the task for the champion to find his or her friend before the allocated time runs out. You will be given a sleeping draught and the merpeople will watch out for you during your time underwater, you will not be able to awake until you are back above the water again. Does anybody have any questions?" asked Dumbledore.

"So each champion has a friend to rescue?" asked Ron.

"That is correct," replied Dumbledore.

"So why are both me and Hermione here?" he asked.

Hermione wanted to hit him, she had figured this all out long ago.

"Hermione is Viktor Krum's friend," answered McGonagall swiftly.

Hermione felt herself blushing deeply and could not bring herself to look him in the eye, she could not describe how weird it felt to be described as the thing that Viktor Krum would sorely miss. Her feelings were put to one side, however, as she accepted a glass of liquid and drank it down quickly.

The next thing Hermione knew was that she was above water and the cold air was giving her some sort of brain freeze. She could tell the water surrounding her was cold but she would have rather stayed in it than have had to get out of the water. She was dimly aware that a large arm was around her and when she opened her eyes was surprised to see not Viktor, but what looked to be a shark head with his body.

"Viktor!" she said, in-between spurting out water, "are you OK? I can swim if you'd-" but he had already dragged her to the side of the lake and hands were reaching for her to pull her out. Hermione strongly suspected that Viktor was unable to talk with his shark head, and accepted a towel that was being given to her by the school nurse. She waited for him to come over.

His was not a piece of transfiguration to be admired, but it seemed to have done the job. This was what Hermione had been talking about when she'd spoke to Harry about human transfiguration. Hermione grinned at him as his face returned to normal, he too accepted a towel and shuffled off almost excitedly to be at Hermione's side.

"Hermy-Own-Ninny," he said, walking his familiar duck footed walk and beaming at her, though out of breath he looked delighted. Hermione looked around to see that whilst Cedric and Fleur were out of the water, Harry was not back yet.

"Oh Viktor," smiled Hermione happily, "thanks for that," she added, without a better sentence coming to her in time. Viktor shook his head.

"It vas no problem," he replied, "but I am sorry for you haffing to stay undervater for so long."

He seemed so sincere that Hermione actually giggled slightly.

"It's all right," she replied, "it was the task, anyway. You didn't decide what it was, did you?"

"Vell, no," and he looked so cluelessly unsure that Hermione felt something inside of her just burst, she could not explain why, but the next moment she gave him a kiss on the cheek. If questioned later she would have said it was because he was Viktor, because he was so understanding and kind, because she genuinely liked him. At the time she had just done it automatically.

Viktor's expression cleared up, he looked very happy and Hermione enjoyed seeing him happy. Something about him made her happy as well, and despite the fact she was wet and shivering in the winter air, she was smiling earnestly.

Madam Pomfrey then interrupted the silent bliss, fussing about how the two would catch pneumonia and now giving them large warm looking blankets, she took away the towels. Viktor and Hermione went to sit with the other champions, she knew that Harry was still not there and now felt some sort of worry in the pit of her stomach. Was he all right? Surely he had found some kind of way to breathe underwater without the two of them? She had not given it much thought since she had been dragged from the water, Hermione instantly felt selfish. She looked into the water, willing for Harry and Ron's heads to pop out.

"Hermy-Own-Ninny," said Viktor slowly, although Hermione was hardly listening, she could see air bubbles surfacing from within the lake. "Vould you care to visit me in Bulgaria ofer the summer?"

Hermione spluttered at the same time two familiar heads resurfaced out of the lake, along with Fleur Delacour's sister whom Hermione was led to believe that Fleur had been unable to save. She cried out in relief and told Viktor she'd be back in a moment, rallying forward to talk to her best friends. Harry and Ron looked fine and healthy and were talking to each other, whatever charm Harry had used was no longer in effect as he appeared perfectly normal stepping out of the lake. She was only slightly aware that Viktor was behind her as she cried out to Harry her congratulations on finding out a solution to the task after they had left. Everything that Viktor had said was swept momentarily away from Hermione's mind as she grinned and talked to her best friends about the task.

Her loyalties did lie with her best friend after all, however besotted she was by his competitor.

Gee, guys, I can't begin to say how happy I felt to have so many reviews for that last chapter. I'm thanking you all individually on my live journal, if anyone would care to look. The link is on my profile. I hope you enjoyed this chapter - I'll try and write the next as soon as possible. Please review. :P