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 10 - The Goodbye
"Hermione? Hermione - can you hear me?"
Ginny Weasley waved her hand in front of Hermione's face in amusement.
"Wha- oh, hi, Ginny," said Hermione, snapping out of her thoughts and turning slightly pink, "I wasn't paying attention."
Ginny patted her on the back, smiling, "Obviously. I never thought I'd live to see the day Hermione Granger wasn't paying attention!"
Hermione smiled weakly, she'd been reliving the day before that she'd spent with Viktor. He wasn't leaving until the last day of term either, and Hermione was glad, she didn't know how she would have coped if he'd left straight away. Yesterday they had walked by the lake and watched their reflections shimmer in the water before a large tentacle rose rather suddenly out of the water and attempted to pull Hermione's hair out. Viktor had been her saviour, quickly using a nonverbal spell that made the tentacle let go hastily. At the time the experience had been quite unpleasant, and Hermione was quick to express her gratitude - though by the evening they were both laughing about the whole incident and something told Hermione she'd never forget that day. They'd both returned to Hogwarts a little early to have lunch in the Great Hall with fewer people there, so they weren't disturbed. Hermione remembered vividly at that moment she couldn't think of one place she'd rather be, and another thing she'd rather be doing. All because of Viktor - he was caring, funny and intelligent, they managed to have thoughtful discussions that Hermione was only used to having with older members of her family as well as a few jokes between them that nobody else could quite understand.
She was going to miss him.
"I'm just..." Hermione trailed off, then diverted her speech, "I always hate the summer holidays, there's always so much spare time and nothing quite beats Hogwarts, and I probably won't see Harry, Ron and you for a while."
"And you miss regular access to the library," said Ginny slyly, winking.
"Well, yes, that too."
Hermione poured some milk over the cereal she'd chosen to have for breakfast (a version of cereal puffs that exploded if they got too soggy) whilst Ginny poured over Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Nothing," she said with a disgusted air in her voice, "nothing. You Know Who is back and all the sodding Prophet cares about is Rita Skeeter's break from journalism."
The two of them both turned their heads towards the Ravenclaw table to see Cho Chang crying into her pumpkin juice, blanking a friend using her best efforts to console her. They turned around again.
"Poor girl - she's been through a lot," said Hermione.
"So has Harry," replied Ginny fiercely.
"I know, but Cho doesn't exactly look like she's ever going to get over it, does she?"
"Guess not."
A tall figure got up from the Ravenclaw table, and proceeded towards the Gryffindor table. Hermione recognised the dark, good looking boy as Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw in her year and a good friend of Ginny's. Realising that Ginny had not been looking at the Ravenclaw table to see how Cho was doing, Hermione suppressed a giggle. Ginny seemed perfectly aware of Michael's walking up behind her, but did not turn around instead she smiled to herself happily.
"We're going out," she said to Hermione, " he asked me yesterday, and I said yes."
"Ginny, that's..." but Hermione didn't get the chance to congratulate her friend, because Michael tapped Ginny on the shoulder and she turned around to give him a big hug, then as she returned Hermione's copy of the daily prophet she whispered, "don't tell Ron." The two then left the table together, headed for outside, and Hermione couldn't help feeling proud of her friend for leaving her long time crush behind her. She spent a moment wondering if Harry would now realise what a great person Ginny really was, and if Ginny's dreams would come true one day. Hermione then paused to wonder why she was thinking about Ginny's dreams and not her own - perhaps too many dreams had already become reality for her this year at Hogwarts.
She gathered her copy of the Daily Prophet and put it in her bag (she usually brought several books to breakfast if she thought she might finish the newspaper and run out of reading material, she brought so many because she liked having a selection and it made her bag look like it might contain something important). Then she began to make her way to the dormitory to pack her last few belongings before they left Hogwarts for the summer around mid morning.
She looked around for Viktor in vain as she walked to the Gryffindor tower alone, it suddenly struck her that she might miss him today, she might not see him again for goodness knows how long. Hermione had said her goodbyes the day before, but had not really thought that she might not see him again properly. Now she did, she wished she hadn't, she felt an indescribable feeling in her stomach. She knew she was going to miss him, over the last few months she'd grown very fond of him. She liked having someone to talk to when nobody else would understand, she liked him for being Viktor.
Hermione wondered whether the Durmstrang ship had left yet, and hastened her walk so that she could finish packing and then check. Within a few minutes she was rushing to pile books into her trunk (she usually packed all her things the week before but always kept books out to read in her spare time). Frantically, she realised it wouldn't shut, and was forced to take the time to arrange all the books so they were laid out neatly on top of her winter robes.
It was nearly time to be at the entrance hall, waiting to leave Hogwarts in the carriages that took them to the train station is Hogsmeade, by the time Hermione staggered out, carrying her overweight trunk. She passed Lavender and Parvati on the way down the stairs, the two rushed past her, looking as if the world was about to end (code fourteen emergency: uneven foundation).
Hermione met up with Harry and Ron in the common room, they had been waiting for her - she felt a surge of gratitude towards them and greeted them both swiftly. The three of them walked to the entrance hall, caught behind many other Gryffindors (though there was no sign of Ginny, and Hermione suspected she may be caught up in current activities). By the time they reached the entrance hall, Hermione had given up all hope of seeing Viktor, and only replied to jabs at conversation with one syllable answers. She scanned the grounds for Viktor, but saw only Fleur Delacour, who seemed to be hurrying up the stairs to speak to them.
"'Arry!" she called. Then she proceeded to say her goodbyes to Harry and Ron, Hermione scowled when Ron blushed as he said her English was 'very good already' - though could not reason why.
"D'you reckon they can steer that ship without Karkaroff?" inquired Ron, gazing over at the Durmstrang ship that Hermione knew Viktor must be on. She smiled weakly.
"Karkaroff did not steer," said a voice Hermione found very familiar, she spun around, surprised at his sudden appearance. "Could I have a vord?"
"Oh...yes...all right," said Hermione, flustered. She hadn't been expecting to see him, not really - she hadn't prepared a goodbye for him or anything. She took his hand and walked a short distance alongside him so they were out of view.
"I'm...going to miss you, Viktor," said Hermione, unsure for once of what to say. She smiled weakly and looked up into his eyes, she suddenly felt her own become watery and afraid she would lose her composition, looked back down again.
She felt his stiff fingers gently push her head up. Hermione opened her eyes and laughed, "thanks, I needed that."
"I am really glad I met you, Hermy-Own-Ninny," he said, he was smiling in a way that made her realise that he had come to peace with the fact that this was effectively the end of their relationship.
Hermione smiled, suddenly very aware of her resized teeth. She'd had them shrunk by Madame Pomfrey after feeling self conscious about the way they stuck out for years - but Viktor had been interested in her since before that. He'd even noticed the difference afterwards, unlike some very unobservant friends of hers. "It's Hermione."
"I know," said Viktor, also grinning, "Her-mi-un knee."
"No, Her-my-oh-knee."
"Her-my-ee...I giff up."
"It's all right. Hermy-Own-Ninny is my favourite mispronunciation by far. And I'm glad I met you too, Viktor," and she meant it. Viktor looked back in the direction they had come, and then back at her.
"You vill write, yes?" he said.
"As often as possible," replied Hermione, "we'd better be getting back, then. The carriages arrive soon."
"Yes, we better..." He began to walk away with the words, seemingly unaware that she was not beside him and glued to the spot, her legs incapable of moving.
"Viktor!" she called and he turned around, looking surprised. She caught up with him, and impulsively swung her arms around him and kissed him deeply.
They broke apart a few moments later and Hermione had never seen Viktor looking so happy, but she knew she felt the same. This was it, this was the end. They didn't say another word until they got back to Ron and Harry, perhaps neither was quite sure what had just happened - or perhaps they were just cherishing the moment, either way, Harry and Ron were quite oblivious. They'd sealed their goodbyes, and Viktor began to walk away - Hermione gazed after him, only for her thoughts to be interrupted by -
"Can I have your autograph?"
She had to turn away so that Ron wouldn't see her snigger. Instead she faced the horseless carriages that had arrived to take them to the Hogwarts Express, telling herself she would remember to look up what sort of animal it was that surely moved the carriages, but her heart wasn't in it. She stole one last glance at Viktor, he was walking away now, the usual duck footed way, and Hermione noticed she was moving too, drawing closer to a carriage beside her two best friends. She continued following them wordlessly, she needed time to think.
It struck her then how much he had seemed like a prince from a fairytale, he was a world Quidditch star, he'd made himself famous and hadn't even completed his magical education yet. And there was her, plain and simple Hermione Granger - admittedly not the prettiest girl anyone would ever meet - certainly nothing compared to Fleur Delacour.
A younger Hermione Granger had read fairytales as a child, but grew out of them fairly quickly, after learning that nothing of them was fact or even remotely like life. From then on she'd built a strong foundation on facts, and fairy tales and happy endings simply didn't exist.
But she had been wrong. And she knew that now.
So why had she let her prince walk away? Why had she thrown away her own personal happy ending? The ending that every girl dreamed of...
"Hermione...earth to Hermione..." said a voice, and she glanced upwards. Ron again. He seemed destined to destroy any soul searching she would ever attempt. She smiled and swatted him away playfully, and was then visited by a strange idea, an impossible idea, but something she saw in his eyes told her that she was right.
The end. )
I'd like to thank anybody who reviewed MHE, and to tell all of you to review one last time. Also, I'm thinking of writing another Viktor/Hermione, a one shot after the war has finished. Please tell me if you have any suggestions or anything. P