Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.
Chapter Thirty Five : Our History
It shouldn't feel like such a guilty pleasure, using her afternoon off to go to visit her parents for lunch, followed by shopping in Diagon Alley for her class, but it did. Harry would have had a fit if he had known what her plans for the day were, so she had decided that it was simply best not to tell him. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him and all that. She supposed that he might find out if her luck went bad and she got transported to another person, but that was the reason why her wand was always with her. So that she could look out for her own self. Besides, she liked to think that there wasn't anyone who needed her more than Harry at the moment. Certainly, there was no one else she'd rather be with.
"So how are things with you and Harry, dear?" her mum inquired, after exchanging a glance with her dad. "We haven't seen either of you for weeks."
"More like months," her dad mumbled.
"Hush, dear." Her mum turned around and smiled brightly at Hermione. "You are still together, right?"
"Mum! Of course we are!"
"I was just checking. I thought maybe the reason why we hadn't seen you two was because you had broken up."
Once again, her dad snorted at her mum's comments. "Not likely that. Hermione would've come crying back home again."
That earned him a set of glares from both of the women in his life. "Dad! That's an awful thing to say!"
"Oh, as if your mum thinking that you've broken it off is a happy thought?"
"For you it would be, dear," her mum shot back. "And it was just a question. I always believed that it was best not to assume things."
Hermione had to do her best to not smirk at those words. Her dad probably wouldn't have been too upset to learn that she and Harry had broken up. It would have given him a good reason to hunt Harry down – something he had wanted to do ever since that time Hermione came back home, near tears, after that . . . incident. She winced. Even now, it kind of hurt. It was so stupid for her to be affected by that memory now, especially after everything Harry had done for her and had said to her after learning about that stupid charm, but it did hurt. Hermione wondered if there would ever be a time when she couldn't remember every excruciating detail of that evening. She certainly hoped so.
"Enough of that. I can see it is pointless to talk to you about this," Hermione's mum was saying, while holding up a hand to forestall any protest from her dad. "So Hermione, when are you and Harry going to visit us again? I know that I personally would love to see you some time this weekend. Though I wish I could say the same for your father."
"Trust me, I'd love to see them again as well," her dad stated.
"I think we're busy this weekend," Hermione said quickly. "Or at least, I am. I've lesson plans that I have to finish."
"You could work on those at home," her mum pointed out. "All your old textbooks are there."
"Yes, I know, but we've changed texts since then."
Her father chuckled. "Nice to know that some things are the same everywhere. They had some crucial items to update, no doubt."
Hermione allowed herself a small smile. "Not that crucial."
"Thought so."
"How about Harry?" her mum suggested. "Would he be busy? It would be nice to chat with him, even without you."
Her dad's eyes lit up with unholy glee at that. "Oh yes, it would be," he agreed, rubbing his hands together.
"I'll even promise to make sure your father behaves himself, if that makes the idea more palatable," her mum added dryly.
Hermione didn't have to ask Harry to know what his response would be to that not so brilliant idea. He would have a hard time telling her no straight out, as it didn't look very good to refuse to meet your girlfriend's parents, she supposed. However, he would stammer about being busy about something, he'd start to shake as though with fear, and he might mention how he didn't want to leave her all alone. It was actually sort of funny, in a sad sort of way. Harry had no problems at all facing You-Know-Who alone. In fact, he insisted on it, despite her and Ron's protests to the contrary. Yet when it came to facing her dad alone, all of his Gryffindor bravery and bravado was gone. Which almost begged the question that if You-Know-Who was her father, would Harry have been so adamant about facing him alone?
Hermione shook her head to rid herself of such strange thoughts. Really, that was a hypothetical question that was very silly. "I think Harry might be busy as well," she told her parents. "They have a big game coming up, and so their coach has really been running them ragged."
"A pity," her dad said, his tone sounding exactly like Snape's. Though she would never tell him that, as he would consider it an insult, as she had complained many times to him about he did his best to make all Gryffindors miserable in his classes. And that was another funny thing – her dad's reaction to her saying that he sounded like Snape would be exactly like Harry's, if she ever told him that. Maybe the two of them had a lot more in common than they thought. After all, they had her in common too. What else they had in common would have to wait to be found after Harry got over his unreasonable fear of her dad.
But then, seeing how her dad was eagerly stabbing at his steak, perhaps it wasn't that unreasonable of a fear for Harry to have.
Lunch soon ended after that, with her parents having to get back to their practice and Hermione wanting to get her shopping trip over and done with before Harry got back. She said good-bye to them, while promising she'd see them more often and that next time maybe even Harry would be there. Afterwards, it was simply a matter of finding an isolated place for her to Apparate on over to the Leaky Cauldron. That was done more quickly than she thought, as it had been a late lunch and there wasn't that many people out anymore.
Once at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione waved a quick hello to Tom, before heading on out to enter Diagon Alley. She was almost there when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Turning around, she found herself looking at the beaming face of an old friend.
"Hello, Mione," said Viktor Krum. "I thought it was you," he continued, his accent still noticeable, but not as heavy as it had been when they had first met. Though one thing he still had trouble with was her full name. In the end, Hermione decided it was better for him just to use 'Mione' as a nickname for her. It was either that or have him stumble over her name to call her a ninny.
"Viktor," she said, rushing forward for a brief hug. "It's been such a long time. I didn't know you were in England. Are you playing here?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "But that is a long story, I am afraid. Can we sit?" At Hermione's nod, he lead her back to the table he had been sitting at before getting up to say hello to her. As Hermione sat down on the bench across from his, she saw him remove his wand to cast a privacy charm over their booth. She smiled. Viktor had always been very good when it came to charms. In fact, she figured that he would be a much sought after professor of the subject if he ever decided to retire from Quidditch, though that was highly unlikely.
"So what brings you to England if not Quidditch?" Hermione asked, once he had settled down.
"I am . . . recuperating, is what I believe the term is." He grimaced. "I was playing Quidditch, just practice, and took a nasty spill and . . . ." He sighed. "I feel much better now, but the Mediwizards will not let me back onto the pitch."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Viktor. But why choose England? Surely you could have gone to some place with better weather?"
He shrugged. "It is all the same. Good weather would just tempt me to get back on my broom . . . something the Mediwizard assured me would lead to me not playing even longer if he had his way." He sighed. "I wish our team Mediwizard wasn't so good."
Hermione glared at her friend. "You say that now, but what if you were really injured? Or if one of your teammates got hurt? Then I'm sure that you'd be very happy that you had such a good Mediwizard."
"Probably," he agreed. "But right now, he is annoying me. He is annoying our whole team. You get injured in Quidditch. You fly hurt. Why this he cannot understand, I do not know."
"Tell me, Viktor. Is it a pre-requisite to be bloody proud about Quidditch injuries in order to play professionally? As I know if Harry were here, he'd be agreeing with you."
Viktor perked up at the mention of Harry's name. "I saw him play. He was good. Very good. Maybe better than me." Viktor tilted his head to consider that idea. "But no, probably not." He paused. "You are together now, no?"
"Yes," said Hermione. "You were right."
"It is nice to be right. It is even nicer to be right about something so right." Viktor looked down at his hands, ducking his head to hide a small blush. "Even now, I do not have much experience with . . . that. But it did not seem correct for you to be always talking about him if you were interested in someone else."
Hermione tapped her fingers against the table. "Viktor, if you want to say, 'I told you so,' please just get it over and done with."
"Oh no," he said, shaking his head. "I do not want to say that. I am not wanting to remain on the disabled list for even longer."
"Viktor!" Hermione exclaimed, punctuating her displeasure by stamping her foot. "You sounded exactly like Harry and Ron just then."
"Which proves that Harry and Ron are very wise men."
"Hardly. I should tell you some of the exploits they have got into over the years. And I was usually the one who had to dig them back out again."
"They're very lucky to have a friend like you."
"I know," said Hermione. "I know."
"But I am forgetting my manners. How are you doing?" he asked.
Hermione paused, before answering. "I am well enough, I suppose," she said, even as she considered telling Viktor what her main problem was. He was brilliant when it came to charms, from what she knew of him during the TriWizard tournament and afterwards. However, though she knew him better than she knew many of her fellow Gryffindors, he wasn't as close to her as Harry and Ron were. Though there wasn't anyone else really who was that close to her.
"The supposition on your part implies that you are not," Viktor informed her. He sighed. "I am sorry to hear that. You know that I always wished you to be happy."
"I know," she said. "I thought that was always very sweet of you."
"Thank you," he said deprecatingly. "I have always wanted to be known as sweet. My teammates, no doubt, would love to hear me be called that."
"But you are sweet, Viktor," she insisted. Hermione leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. "And why is it so bad to be called that by a witch? It means that—"
"That you are looking to just be friends," he finished before she could. "I know this. Every wizard know this. When a witch says that you are sweet, be ready for the worst."
"I call Harry sweet as well," she said, crossing her arms and pouting.
"You do?" Viktor's eyebrow went up. "In that case, let me apologize. For I do not think that you only wish to be friends with him."
"I know. You've told me that plenty of times."
"Yes. But you never listened." Viktor leant against the back of the booth and regarded her. "There is something troubling you. If you do not wish to share it, I understand. It has been a long time. Our correspondence has been scarce. But I wish you to know that I am willing to help you if I can."
She bit her lip, tempted once again to tell him. He could be a great help to her, but there was the threat that he would spill her secret. Not that it was likely given how taciturn he was, but it was still a possibility. And she didn't want that to be known by everyone. Finally, she settled on asking, "Would you promise not to tell anyone?"
"Mione. Of course I would not. I am not the sort that is not trustworthy," he said, looking almost affronted. "Anything you said to me in confidence would be kept secret. I've never told anything else you've said to me to anyone."
"True," she said. "Though you scared Harry that one time, when you asked him what was between us."
"Ah! But I did not say what you had said. I simply said that you were always talking about him. It is not a good feeling, to be thinking the girl you like prefers someone else."
"If it makes you feel any better, it's not a good feeling to think the boy you fancy prefers someone else," Hermione said wryly.
"Well, if your Harry is wise, he will not hurt you," said Viktor. "For not only I and your father would come after him, but your friend Ron as well, I believe."
"He would. Poor Harry. Did you know he's absolutely scared to death of my dad?"
Viktor nodded sagely. "I guessed that. I did say he was wise, did I not?"
"You did." She sighed. "As to what is troubling me . . . well, I did something that was really stupid."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Believe it." Quickly, she laid out the mess she had got herself into, with Viktor occasionally asking her questions when he didn't understand what she had said or something was unclear to him. She finished by saying that she had started research on a counter and had found a good spell to modify to be used as one, but since then she has been stuck. When she was finished, Viktor asked to see how she thought the spell was put together. She pulled out the mapping of it she had finished earlier and handed it over to him.
After awhile, he asked her, "Have you decided which part of the charm to counter?"
"Which part?"
"Yes. It is a hybrid charm, you said, made of two parts."
"It is. But I thought I'd have to counter it as a whole."
Viktor shook his head. "Countering one part would act as a counter to the whole. The problem is fitting the counter to one particular part of the charm. I think trying to fit it to one would be easier than trying to mold it so it counters each and every part."
Hermione mulled over what he had suggested. "That makes sense. Which half would you suggest countering?"
Viktor grimaced, as he often did when thinking. Hermione had teased him that he scared people away from him with the awful faces he made whenever he was deep in thought, and he had responded that was good, as he didn't need to be interrupted then. Several long moments passed before he answered. "It would take a long time to counter the transportation half. Because a general counter for one has never been done before. Even portkeys are specifically made so a wizard can deactivate it or activate it at will."
"So that leaves the harmonization half," she stated blandly. "Which also is difficult because that has never been done before as well."
"Indeed. You have outdone yourself this time, Mione. Harry and Ron have nothing on you when it comes to getting in trouble."
"Thank you. I needed to hear that," she replied sardonically.
Ignoring that comment, he went on. "But harmonization spells have been transmutated before."
Hermione's jaw drop. That sounded like a dangerous proposition. Transmutation involved using magic to change a spell into something else. She had studied it in both Charms and Transfiguration, but both of her professors had been very stern with their warnings against trying it out on her own. "Transmutation? Of only half a spell? I don't know about—"
He looked up, away from the parchment and at her. "It can be done, Mione. Especially since what the original spell is. It is something that figures out who needs you the most." He tapped his head. "Magic is incredibly affected by how you think. If you think you can perform a spell, often you can. If you can't, you never will."
"Yes, I know. I suppose I should be thinking positively about the whole thing, then?"
"You should be. Especially as it would be easy to transmutate it, just by thinking of it differently. Instead of going to the person you needs you most, make it so you go to the person who you need most to be with at the moment. And after that, it is no longer a harmonization spell, but a . . . a self-fulfilling spell, is how I learned it as. Which has been countered before and quite often."
"I never thought of having a counter in two steps before," admitted Hermione.
"It is not the most obvious, but it is the easiest, I believe," said
Viktor. "Because it has already started, has it not? For if
it is not too proud for me to say, why else would you run into me today
unless you needed to be with me for my help in this?"
Author's note: I hope you enjoye this week's installment. The next chapter will be up at the end of the week again. In the meantime, I would really appreciate it if you would leave me a review to let me know what you thought of this one. Finally, last but not least, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Fenris, Shawn Pickett, Tanaly, danielerin, Ann, Korine (actually, I was referring to Snape, who is trying to play matchmaker now for him, though I doubt any of that will make it in), hpluver456, ExcalibursZone, TheGreatFox2000 (there are other things that could hurt the ship, you know, aside from Draco), cuttiepie17172, justin-4902, myman-harry526, kpxiceboi, EuphoniumGurl0 (no, they shan't ever be in a tight group, as there's too much bad blood between them), aliceinwonderville, liongirrl4eva, Leslie Glady, juliet's rose, Ftmble1 (good luck with the story ), Joeh, Gamali Howell, l-xFaTaLx-l, HHromancefreak, xxbabysparklesxx (there's nothing wrong with liking D/Hr ), Tiffie101, PoTtErSPaYnE, Edzeikal 4346 (no, Hermione doesn't know how to deal with someone who fancies her but who she isn't interested in very well. That's most of the problem right there), JohnnyIsMine (because you're not supposed to Transfigure students or even threaten that. That was why McGonagall was so upset at the false!Moody in GoF), chocolatefrogfreak, Bulma Queen of Saiya-jin, malu (Hermione couldn't lie to save her life, so let's hope it doesn't come to that. But no, he doesn't know about the charm, though he is curious as to what is wrong with her), Leah6, chisox727 (that was Snape, and probably that bit of story won't come into play), Trinity144, Orlando's Gurl, Blue Rain1, Mergincia Phoenix, cuttiepie17172, and Sammi D.