Hermione sat down on the end of her freshly made bed with a deliberately audible huff. She stared at her hairbrush dispassionately before making a meal of bringing some order to her curls. She was cutting off her nose to spite her face, or so her mum would have said, it was one thing to get in a snit, but to take it out on her hair was foolish. She'd look like she'd stuck her hand in an electrical socket by the end of the day if she wasn't careful.

Ginny was sitting on the floor of Hermione's dorm, completely ignoring the very loud sulk happening above her, and reading an article in Witch Weekly. Luna was in front of the permanently stained mirror, swapping out accessories as she made her final choices on what to wear for the day.

"Why are we doing this again?" Hermione asked petulantly.

Luna raised a single blonde eyebrow, but she didn't reply. Instead, she put down a necklace made of fake dandelions she had been contemplating and picked up another made of brightly coloured bottle caps. Hermione peddled her legs in front of her and looked longingly at the stack of books near her pillows. They were neat, organised by subject and ready to go. But apparently, the girls had decided that she should go out today.

It was Valentine's weekend, and Hermione had been looking forward to hunkering down in the library for the entire day. She'd planned her Saturday down to the hour and had filled it with essay prep, extra reading and schoolwork that wouldn't be urgent for weeks. She had even drawn up a chart. It had a tick list down the side. Hermione was sure with that level of forethought, she would have been able to bury her head and pretend that the whole weekend had never even existed.

With Umbridge still looming over them like an ever-present, spiteful, vindictive rain cloud, Dumbledore hadn't gone over the top on decorations this year. Hermione imagined that the colour pink suddenly felt as oppressive to him as it did to the rest of them. Hermione was grateful. She didn't need the reminder that she was supposed to be happy. After all, she was in a relationship this year and a good one. However, it was one currently without any means of communication.

As the day had got closer, Hermione found she was miffed at Viktor, her current sense of unease was all his fault after all. Before he came along she'd never cared about Valentine's, it hadn't even really annoyed her that other people went so overboard for it, it had barely been a blip on her radar. Then Viktor had come along and shown her how fun these things could be when you had someone willing to make an effort. But he wasn't there now, and Hermione was feeling his absence more than ever.

Hermione sighed into the silence and set down her brush before her curls began a revolt and frizz beyond repair. "Why can't we just stay here?"

Ginny groaned and pushed her magazine off her thighs. "Because we are strong, independent women who are not reliant on a man to enjoy our day," she replied with an air of rehearsal. It was on the tip of Hermione's tongue to ask if she had been reciting that particular mantra in a mirror. "Because it is a Hogsmeade weekend, and I refuse to be shut up in this castle for another minute."

"Of course," Hermione replied sarcastically. "Far be it from me to stand in the way of the sisterhood. What time are you meeting Dean again?"

Ginny's face fell. "Don't. Remind. Me."

Hermione decided to change tack. Ginny had been surprisingly sensitive about her not-really-a-relationship-and-yet-here-he-is-again-thing with Dean over the last week, antagonising her now was not going to win the day.

"Luna," she asked politely, changing her focus to the girl on the other side of her bedroom. "Why are you so determined that we do this today? It's just Hogsmede. We could stay in the castle and-"

"Read?" Luna asked, finally deciding on a necklace made of buttons and clasping it around her neck. Her eyes met Hermione's in the mirror, and she regarded her knowingly. "Or maybe, wallow?"

"I was going to say relax," Hermione countered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't like it when you gang up on me." Or when you read me too well.

"It's for your own good," Ginny replied as Luna spun around, buttons clacking as she moved.

"To answer your question, Hermione, Sugar Quills."

"I'm sorry?" Hermione questioned with her brow pinched in confusion.

"I would like Sugar Quills. The elves cannot get them, so I am bound for Hogsmeade. With Umbridge escalating the way she is, the next visit will probably be cancelled. Then I'll have no sweets until the end of term."

Damn! Hermione thought. That was a more compelling argument than she had heard all morning, and by that time, she had heard a few. The girls had bounded into her bedroom before eight, both fully dressed and ready for breakfast. Hermione had been enjoying the unusual quiet of having the dorm to herself, and as soon as she had seen Luna and Ginny's smiling, beseeching faces, she had known her day was about to take an unwanted turn.

Lavender and Pravati had already headed over to the abandoned classroom they used when getting ready for 'special events'. Hermione's dormmates felt that their bedroom was too small to allow them to 'fully spread the wings of their creativity'. Hermione wanted to be scornful, she really did, but she had seen a glimpse of the drawn-out plan Lavender had left lying around for her date makeup 'look', and she'd been reluctantly impressed. As a girl that - at most - pressed a bit of nude shadow onto her eyelids, so they didn't look too greasy, she couldn't help but be unwillingly overwhelmed by a complicated arrangement that was inspired by birds of paradise and required seven different items to complete. Still, Hermione was glad they were gone. Lavender had been positively quivering in anticipation for her Valentine's weekend date with Ron, and her perfume made Hermione's nose itch.

When Ginny and Luna had first arrived, Hermione had been dressed, but she had done so with no intention of leaving the castle. It was cold, and she had reading she wanted to do. That called for comfortable clothing and layers. Soft jersey was also her choice of attire when wanting to be as invisible as possible. Granted she could never really disguise her hair, but at least she would have made an effort to go unnoticed. There was no chance of that in Hogsmeade. Too many people had made a note of her and Viktor last year. Hermione wouldn't put it past Pansy Parkinson to make a production of asking whether Viktor had got sick of her. Hermione didn't want a scene.

But more than that, more than the potential humiliation that was on the cards if she left the sanctuary of the castle, Hermione didn't want to see couples. She knew they would be everywhere given the date. Even the most unlikely of her fellow students seemed to make an effort to pair up for Valentine's. Even the thought of accidentally catching a glimpse of the awkward dates through the window to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop made Hermione feel sad. She couldn't look at those people with disdain and a haughty sense of superiority like she once had. Now, she knew she would be jealous. Hermione found she didn't like feeling jealous.

But she was out of sweets, which was a genuine travesty; pining for an out of country boyfriend and attempting to stop one of her dearest friends from murdering a Ministry representative had done a number on her chocolate stash.

"Fine," she conceded with characteristically bad grace and dragged herself up from the bed to change. Hermione did a quick mental inventory of what she could pull on with minimum effort and picked up one of the knitted dresses her mum had got her over Christmas. She wasn't about to walk around Hogsmeade dateless, buying her own seasonal chocolate and in leggings. Hermione wasn't especially vein, but there was only so much indignity one person could be expected to stand.

Ginny rubbed her hands together, and Hermione wished she had a backbone strong enough to withstand peer pressure, but as that kind of magic was not known to her, she used the spine she had to walk across the dorm and head to the bathroom.

"Plus, as well as all the sweets we can eat, we get to walk past Puddifoot's and watch Ron on his date with Lavender," Ginny called over to her as she opened the door.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, joy."

Hogsmeade was freezing and overrun with people, and distinctly jolly which didn't help Hermione's mood. But being out in the fresh air was pleasant, Ginny had been right about that, and honestly, Hermione knew that even if she had been able to execute her grand plan, she would have just ended up sad and alone in the library. It wasn't as if hiding from her problems had ever worked out for her before.

After dragging the others into Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop to have a browse through their stationary, three relatively happy girls made their way to Honeydukes ready to throw down the required sickles to eat their feelings adequately. Once inside, Hermione's mood began to brighten, and she ignored the staggering amount of pink taffeta and ribbon and pushed through the crowds to get to the chocolate section. Her friends had significantly different tastes, and while Hermione carefully made her selections, Ginny and Luna scampered around with their wicker baskets, picking up everything that was as artificial as possible.

Hermione was putting her fourth, laboriously chosen, bar into her own basket when she felt a tug on her shoulder.

"Hi, Hermione… how are… how are you?"

Hermione stared blankly at a very nervous looking Colin Creevey. "I'm fine, Colin, are you okay?"

Colin shuffled his feet and stared around her with wide eyes as if something could pop up and scare him at any moment. "I was wondering if you could… if you could help me?"

"What do you need help with?" Hermione inquired lightly. Five years in a magical school with friends that were danger magnets had taught her to ask questions before she blindly agreed to something.

Colin flushed. "I'm picking…" he began and gestured around the shop blindly. "I need something for someone, and I'm not sure what to get."

This is what happens when you go against your instincts, Hermione. Just think you could be in the library right now, people know not to interrupt you there.

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from snapping. She didn't feel like it was enough just to say words of caution in her head; the physical pain was a good reminder not to open her mouth without thinking. After all, it wasn't Colin's fault that no one would be sending her chocolate this year.

Hermione looked around the packed-out shop, at all the people he could have asked and sighed. Why on earth had he come and asked her? She doubted the word 'approachable' came up with any great regularity when she was being discussed at school. Though, maybe it wasn't down to her at all? Colin wasn't the best at reading people. He had tried to take pictures of Harry for two years before her friend had finally snapped and asked him to stop following him around.

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to channel her inner nice person, whoever that was. "Well, what does someone like?" She didn't recognise her own voice, but as Colin didn't wince, she imagined she'd done okay.

The camera-wielding menace rubbed the back of his neck, and Hermione realised he was sweating. "I don't… I don't know. I've seen them eat chocolate from here before so I thought… I hoped this would be a good idea?"

He peered over the edge of her basket and Hermione's cheeks flushed. Don't you say it, Colin, don't you say anything at all. I am a woman on the edge and if you so much as imply I've got too much chocolate so help me...

"I thought since you obviously-"

Don't you dare Colin, I will kill you where you stand.

"- like… err, have… good taste, you would be a good person to ask."

Hermione took her hand away from the pocket she had stashed her wand in and raised an eyebrow. She had a quick look at the display of neatly wrapped packages and considered for half a second. "Here," she said, handing him a bar covered in garish pink paper. "This one is a Valentine special, enthused with strawberry and," she hesitated and flipped the bar so she could read the back of the packet, "rose petals." Jesus Christ, really? Gah. "I'm sure that will be something someone would like."

Colin thanked her annoyingly profusely and skipped off, and Hermione sagged in relief. Well done Hermione, you successfully navigated that unwanted social interaction without being a complete bitch. She glared at two first-year girls that looked to be encroaching on her space and then went back to going through the chocolate offerings. She had no intention of buying anything like she had handed Colin. Eventually, she found the mint chocolate she had been looking for and emptied the entire stack of bars into her basket. She'd earned it.

-/-/-/-

Finally, after talking herself out of buying two small boxes of pralines to go with her bars, Hermione made her way to the counter to pay. Luna appeared next to her and dropped a packet of Sugar Quills into her basket.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "I didn't make it over to that side of the shop." The sweets were her one sugary indulgence; chocolate one hundred per cent did not count. Hermione liked to munch on them while she read, and the uniquely realistic shape made her feel fancy. It didn't matter how long she stayed in the magical world; quills always made her feel as if she was in a regency romance novel.

Luna peered over the edge of Hermione's basket and smiled. "You look like you did okay, though?"

Hermione bristled. "Yes, thank you, Luna. I've already been singled out as some kind of confectionary clairvoyant because of how much I've picked up. I'm not actually planning on eating this all at once, you know? I'm just replenishing my stash."

"Me too!" an excited voice cried out, and Ginny appeared, also weighed down with a heavy basket. Hermione looked down at her haul and grimaced at the garishly coloured monstrosities that were inside. She felt a tingle in her teeth just looking at the amount of sherbet, but she kept her mouth shut, Ginny hadn't been raised by dentists.

They got to the front of the queue quickly as most people seemed to be in a rush. Eager to get to their dates, Hermione thought snidely and then wondered if she should reconsider the selection boxes.

They put up their baskets all at once, and Hermione flexed her fingers to get some feeling back in the tips. Thank goodness for charms otherwise she would have never been able to get it all back to the castle under her own steam.

The shopkeeper smiled as his eyes raked over their picks, and Hermione wondered what sort of money he must be expecting to make. The shop was always rammed on a Hogsmeade weekend, but on one with a celebration day attached it must have been considerably more. Judging by the quality of his robes, he wasn't doing badly.

"So ladies," he greeted warmly. "Paying altogether, or would you like to get them separately?"

"Together," an unmistakable voice said from behind them, and Hermione froze. "I will pay, but could you please give the ladies separate bags?"

The shopkeeper nodded courteously, but Hermione didn't see him. She was reasonably confident her heart had stopped. She saw Ginny spin around and then heard the surprised and delighted gasp that followed. It was enough reassurance to get her mouth to move.

"Viktor?" she asked dumbly, even though she knew it had to be him. After a further beat, Hermione forced herself to turn. She had warred with herself for several seconds, convinced that she must have been imagining it, but she had seen Luna and Ginny react out of the corner of her eye so they must have heard something too. After all, there was very little evidence to support the assumption that shared hallucinations existed. Well, apart from that one case in the Outer Hebrides in the late eighties, and that had been down to a crate of expired potions being sold to a particularly unscrupulous coven, but that was… not important right now, Hermione!

Hermione turned, and sure enough, Viktor was standing there, in the flesh as the saying went. If his voice was unmistakable, then his smile was whatever was beyond that, he was basking in her surprise, and he looked relaxed and happy. Hermione was struck by the sudden desire to take his photograph. He looked that perfect. She wondered if Colin had left already, he owed her a favour.

"What are you doing here?" she stammered, and he grinned wider. The shopkeeper must have said something as before he could reply, Viktor stepped past them to hand over some money. It was a true testament to their shock that not one of them protested.

"Buying sweets for all the girls in your year I assume," he teased, and Ginny hit him in the side.

Viktor made a show of dusting himself down. "I see the months have not changed you, Ginny," he said as he winced, but he never took his eyes off Hermione.

"I just…" Hermione said weakly as Ginny prattled off a response she didn't hear. Her thoughts were pinging around in a mind that suddenly felt incredibly empty. "You're here."

Viktor seemed taller than she remembered, though she doubted that was the case. His hair was definitely longer, the short crop he'd favoured when he'd last been in Hogsmeade was gone, though it was still a good deal tidier than most of the boys she associated with. Hermione supposed he couldn't let his hair grow too long, not with his profession. And just like that, she realised her mind had wandered again.

"Well," Viktor said as he scooped up and passed out their bags. "I cannot have you forgetting about me, can I?"

Hermione returned his smile with a watery one of her own, and for a horrible moment, she thought she might be about to cry. She took the opportunity to catch her breath as Ginny and Luna thanked Viktor for their sweets and peppered him with polite questions about his journey and such, and Hermione heard about one word in five.

Viktor didn't pass over her bag; instead, he shrunk it down and tucked it into his pocket and offered her his hand instead. Hermione took it gladly.

Hermione followed Viktor as he led the way out of the cramped shop and flushed when Luna squealed an indistinct sentence in her ear that almost deafened her. But she laughed, it was impossible to feel bad at that moment.

When they got outside, it wasn't long before Hermione heard the faint murmuring of 'Krum' from a few different directions. Viktor had obviously noticed as he shuffled them around until his back was to the street, not that it made much difference. He had a pretty famous face, and Hogsmeade was a small village, people spotted people they didn't recognise pretty quickly.

Luna and Ginny had just pushed their sweets inside their satchels when Pansy Parkinson stepped out of Honeydukes with her usual entourage. She barged past them, making some comment that made one of the girls with her laugh and Ginny curse. Then, just before she could turn away, the Slytherin got a look at their international guest and promptly dropped her freshly unwrapped heart-shaped lolly on the floor. It made Hermione feel slightly less silly for having had a moment back in the queue. Apparently, Viktor had that effect on all girls. She probably shouldn't have found that as gratifying as she did.

There were a few minutes of commotion as Pansy went into meltdown and stomped and sputtered. The girls watched on with a wicked sense of glee as Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes and went back into the shop, though whether to get a replacement Valentine's lolly or just to hide, they had no idea.

"Perfect," Ginny murmured. "Absolutely, bloody perfect. Viktor, you can come again," she decreed magnanimously, and Luna giggled.

"Thank you, Ginny, and as you are feeling so genial, would you permit me to steal your friend away for a moment?"

"Just a moment?" Luna asked with a smile, and Viktor laughed.

"The afternoon then?"

Luna and Ginny glanced at each other and shared a mischievous grin. "I think we'll manage," Ginny agreed, and Hermione tried to get her thoughts into order. Her buffer was soon leaving, and she would have to take part in the conversation properly.

Luna hugged her and whispered that she should forget about everything and have a good time. Ginny said the same with a wag of her eyebrows that turned Hermione bright red, and then they disappeared.

"I don't suppose there's any way you didn't hear that?" she asked Viktor pleadingly.

"None at all," he replied with a laugh. "I also hope you have a good time, Hermione," he said, making a relatively good impression of Ginny's salacious eyebrows and Hermione burst out laughing.

After the girls scampered off, Hermione and Viktor walked around the village, just like they had done many months before. It made her feel normal, to enjoy something so simple, she could forget for a moment that they didn't live in the same country, and about the anxieties of the real world and just be. Hermione was glad of Viktor's sure grip on her hand, without being able to feel his skin so clearly she would probably have thought she was dreaming. He told her about his parents, and passed on their best wishes and Hermione said she would have said the same but she hadn't known he was coming, so she hadn't had time to collect them in advance.

Viktor smiled and held her tightly, and Hermione couldn't feel the cold anymore. His penchant for heavy coats hadn't changed post his time at boarding school, and with him being so much taller, Hermione found he was a very effective windbreak. But more than all that, she was happy, just because he was there. The people milling around in couples or crowds didn't bother her, and when they circled past Madam Puddifoot's, she felt a degree of pity for those luckless enough to have been given tables in the window.

Unfortunately, news, especially of the gossipy variety, travelled fast and Hermione started to notice people were following them. Among the cluster, Hermione recognised many of the girls that had trailed behind Viktor everywhere he went during the tournament.

After a particular loud giggle made Viktor jump, he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and sighed. "Do you maybe want to-"

"You're not going?" Hermione exclaimed with unfounded panic, but Viktor shook his head.

"Of course not, but…. We can go somewhere… more private?"

Hermione nodded and then cleared her throat. "Not enjoying spending time with your adoring fans?" she asked, to cover his discomfort. However, Viktor was apparently keen to keep up his combination of teasing statements and intimate ones that were making her lose her head.

"I would prefer to spend time with one adoring fan."

"Adoring?" Hermione replied with a scoff, and Viktor looked at her in amused disbelief.

"Really, that is the word you are protesting? Not fan?"

Hermione shrugged self-consciously, and Viktor smiled, an expression Hermione recognised from pictures she had seen of him while he was playing. It was how he looked after claiming a victory. "I know how you feel about me, my Hermione, I have your letter."

Hermione flushed as Viktor patted the breast of his jacket and she wanted to bury her face in her hands. "I had almost forgotten I sent you that."

"Well, lucky for us, I have it with me so I can remind you of the details." Before Hermione could expire on the spot, Viktor wrapped his arm around her waist and urged her forwards. "Come on, love."

They didn't speak as Viktor guided them up the street towards the Three Broomsticks, being aware of their advancing audience made Hermione reluctant to carry on their conversation. When she realised the pub was where Viktor was intending to go, Hermione was going to interject that if he wanted privacy that probably wasn't the place to achieve it, but she thought better of it, he clearly had a plan. Even though he'd turned up unannounced, Viktor wasn't a wing it sort of person.

The pub was expectedly heaving, and Hermione did her best to ignore anyone she might have recognised. She didn't want to be rude, but she had no idea how long Viktor's visit was going to be, and she had no intention of spending half that time listening to the boys in her year as they jostled to ask him questions on his career highlights and statistics.

Viktor waved to Madam Rosmerta over the crowd at the bar, and the lady smiled indulgently at him before tilting her head towards the back of the pub. Hermione had questions following their interaction, but she didn't have time to pose them. Suddenly, the noise from the bar was a distant memory, and Viktor let go of her hand so they could climb the stairs. Hermione missed the feel of him instantly, but instead of complaining (if his visit was to be as brief as she feared she would not spend it moaning, at least not yet), she followed him as he walked down a narrow corridor and opened one of the doors on the left-hand side.

Hermione had known there were a few rooms upstairs, some of the teachers had friends who stayed there from time to time, but she had never actually been in one before. The room was on the small side, with a wooden floor that had seen better days. If scuff marks could tell stories, there were several books worth in what she could see alone. There wasn't a bed, but there were indents left by posts on a threadbare rug, so it must have been recently removed. In its place was a table, a larger version of the circular ones that were dotted around downstairs and on it was a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches with a few butterbeers in a cooler set on the floor.

It wasn't the grandeur of the Yule Ball, the overdone romance of the tea shop or any of the delightful and captivating places they had visited together in Bulgaria, and Hermione didn't care. For one of the first times since she had come to know Viktor, they would have a bit of time to themselves, wholly unobserved. It was perfect, and after months of separation, very much needed.

"I hope you don't mind," Viktor said as he gestured to take her jacket. "I did not have much time to make arrangements, but Madam Rosmerta is very kind, and I thought this might be… nicer than where we tried last time."

Hermione laughed as she remembered their strange trip to Madam Puddifoot's. It gave her a bit of a boost to remember how awkward and unsure of herself she had been then. Viktor still regularly made her tummy turn into a bag of knots without even trying, but in a good way. In a way that she hoped he always would.

Hermione couldn't fail to notice the faint blush on Viktor's cheeks when he mentioned the bar's owner and, far from being irritated with him, she found it quite funny. Viktor often seemed so much more grown-up than her, his behaviour and values were one of the things she loved most about him, but at times he felt almost too impeccable for her to measure up against. Madam Rosmerta had the same effect on men from age eight to a hundred, and it was somehow reassuring to find that Viktor wasn't immune to her charms.

Hermione thought about teasing him over it, but she held back. Viktor had just travelled from wherever he had been, no doubt putting considerable stress on his studies and work to make time for her, he'd earned a bit of leeway. Only a little bit, mind.

Hermione sat down in the chair Viktor pulled out for her and gratefully tucked into the soup he had arranged. The bowl warmed her fingers and pulling at the bread gave her something to do with her hands while she adjusted to the fact that she was sitting in a room with her boyfriend, the same one that not an hour before she had despaired of seeing again before summer.

"So, I take it you were surprised to see me?" Viktor grinned boyishly at her and Hermione reached forward to squeeze his arm.

"Yes, you could say that."

"Good surprise?" he asked, and Hermione couldn't help but return his smile. His presence and enthusiasm were so comforting.

"Yes, of course, the best!" she replied readily. After a year where every unknown had become something to prepare for and fear it was a blessing to have an event crop up that was actually something fun. "However, you are fortunate it all worked out for you."

Viktor sat back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. Hermione twirled her spoon in her hand. "I wasn't planning on coming to Hogsmede today. Ginny and Luna talked me into it, forcefully."

"Why did you not want to come? You normally attend the weekend visits, do you not?"

Hermione pushed the spoon around her soup listlessly. "I do, I just… I wasn't in the mood for this one."

Viktor brushed a hand over his lightly stubbled jaw before reaching for her free one and linking their fingers. "I think I understand."

A door slammed further down the corridor, and they both jumped. Unlinking hands they returned to their soups.

"I am grateful you changed your mind," Viktor continued eventually. "I do not think your Umbridge would like it if I attempted to storm the castle to get you."

Hermione laughed, though her stomach revolted at the idea of Umbridge being her anything. "No, she really wouldn't have enjoyed that, but as you are a pureblood from a respectable family, I am sure she would have forgiven you."

"She sounds awful," Viktor muttered, and Hermione smiled.

"You haven't even seen her, I know I shouldn't judge a person by their looks, but something about her face makes me hate the words that come out of it even more."

Hermione reached for some more bread and pushed back the sleeves of her jumper, so they sat folded up at her elbows. Viktor's gaze zeroed in on the bracelet around her wrist.

"It is … pleasant to see you wearing it," he said hesitantly, and Hermione stilled.

"I love it," she replied without thinking, and they both flushed at the turn of phrase.

Viktor coughed and rearranged himself in the chair. They clearly hadn't been designed for someone of his height to feel comfortable on. "I am sure you have found out what the Runes mean by now?"

Hermione nodded; she had. It hadn't taken long, and it had been something of a priority for her after the Christmas break. She'd gotten a few of the charms wrong at first glance, but the one for love had been easy to interpret. Runes was one of her favourite subjects, and as such, Hermione paid special attention. There had been a whole lecture on the love Rune at the beginning of the year. Professor Babbling had explained that the Rune was uniquely patterned as those involved in its inception hadn't wanted there to be any doubt when it was used. Hermione thought she understood that now. Love was an absolute value; you couldn't water it down or tag it on to something else to make a new compound in the same way you could with others. In Runes, as in life, it was always better when there was perfect clarity.

Viktor looked pensive before he put down his spoon and twisted a ring on his finger. "When I got your last letter I was furious with myself. I wanted this," he said, reaching out to touch the bracelet with the tops of his fingers, "I wanted it to be… romantic."

Hermione's throat felt scratchy again, and she dutifully ignored it to focus on Viktor. "It had been my plan to speak to you after you got your present. When I realised I would not be able to do so, I felt like a coward."

Hermione's protest was instant. "You are not remotely cowardly."

"See, you are adoring," Viktor replied with a small huff of laughter, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but she couldn't entirely stop the quirk of her lips.

Viktor's face sobered. He picked up his jacket that had been draped over the chair next to him and produced what Hermione imagined was her letter. "I felt that I had… miscalculated. Then you told me how you felt, and I felt worse."

"I needed to," Hermione managed to force out. Hang nerves! She was determined not to go back to Hogwarts that evening with regrets. "I didn't know how long it would be before I would get a chance to speak to you again. You always… you're always forthright about your feelings. I thought I owed it to you to be the same."

Viktor placed the parchment down on the table and placed his hand over it. "As much as I wanted to come to you instantly, I realised, eventually, that would not work," Viktor smiled ruefully. "This is the first gap I have had since Christmas where I had time to do more than arrive, track you down and shout that I loved you before leaving again."

Hermione's breath hitched. She had never been a casual person, and she was not one given to easy relationships of any nature. When she loved, she loved hard, fiercely and without compromise. She imagined that at times she was not an easy person to be loved by, she could be stifling, patronising and rude.

Her experience of being loved was negligible, especially when you focused on people that would freely admit those feelings for her. Hermione imagined that Harry and Ron would rather dunk their heads into a toilet bowl than reveal as much. Though the girls were less emotionally stunted, they weren't the type to lay around talking about how much they cared about each other either.

Hermione was struck by the realisation that Viktor was probably the first person ever to tell her he loved her, outside of her parents. And, to a certain extent, they didn't count, their love was kind of guaranteed unless she did something truly awful, which, even on her worst day, seemed unlikely.

"That would have been a strange visit," Hermione said eventually, and Viktor laughed.

"Yes, it would have, and not one that would have been very nice if we only have months of separation to navigate."

Hermione sat forward, talking about the letter brought back all of the anxiety she'd had when writing it. "Viktor, I'm sorry, I know it must be… it's difficult, but I'm sure we can find a-"

"Hermione," Viktor interjected. "It is okay."

"It is?"

Viktor lifted his chair so they could sit closer, and Hermione was reminded of all the times he had done so before when they had studied together in the library.

"I hate it," Viktor said baldly, "but it is the right thing to do, so we will cope. Because I… because I love you. In case you still had any doubt, I thought I should say it, properly this time."

Hermione wondered if there was any blood left in the rest of her body, or whether the whole nine pints had taken up residence in her face.

"I… I love you too," she admitted.

"I know," Viktor replied with a smirk. "You said so in your letter."

Hermione huffed and pushed her bowl away, lest she was tempted to chuck the remains over his head. "Do you think you could stop going on about that? It's not very gentlemanly."

"No," Viktor replied simply. "I think I can promise you I will bring it up forever." He waggled her letter for emphasis and then waved it in her face like a fan which sent her already ruined curls flying. Before Hermione could lose her temper Viktor darted forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "I have missed your letters more than you will ever know."

"Oh, I think I understand," Hermione countered. "I know all of the school owls now, by name. It's been tough."

"Will you tell me about it?" Viktor asked as he regarded her seriously.

Hermione felt a weight drift away from her chest. At that moment she could have cried again, only this time it wasn't a few scant drops that threatened but great heaving sobs. It was a more significant emotional reaction than when she had first seen him. Viktor suddenly appearing had been marvellous, but him wanting her to tell him everything was so much more. It reminded Hermione of everything she had liked about him from the beginning, how interested in her he was, how rational and fair. Viktor made her feel like someone that had a voice, like someone that should be listened to. Hermione spent a fair amount of her time talking at people, but she wasn't silly enough to believe that they were even half-listening. Viktor hung on her every word. At their core, they were people that valued a lot of the same things and yet their application of those principals made them very different people.

With minimal prompting, Hermione unburdened herself entirely. She told Viktor about Harry and the pain her friend was in, about his nightmares and their fears. She told him about Umbridge and how ghastly things at their castle were. She spared no detail, even going into the mess with the blood quill. Once she started, it was like she couldn't stop.

She told him about Sirius and what he had done for her, a debt that made her feel guilty and one she had no idea how to repay. She even told him about Ron and Lavender, which made Viktor laugh. She told him all the things she hadn't wanted to in the letters, for fear of saying too much or boring him stupid.

Staring at a blank page made it easier to bare your heart, but looking into the engaged eyes of someone that had gone completely out of their way to snatch an afternoon of your time was cleansing for the soul.

Viktor listened to it all. He held her hand as she let go of everything that had been resting against her shoulders since the beginning of the school year. He kissed her forehead and told her how much he missed her and offered advice where she wanted it, and none where she didn't. It wasn't about fixing it, it was about being heard, and Hermione felt more fortified and supported than she had in months.

When she got back to the castle, the moping was going to end.

A/N: Hello! I hope Viktor's appearance was a nice surprise :) I didn't plan to cut this here, but the chapter was running so long, and there is still quite a bit to cover, so fear not, there will be more lovingly awkward chat between our central pair in the next update. Stay safe x