Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and you know I'm not J.K. because #transrights

Hogwarts: Assignment #4, Survival Studies Task #11 Write about someone protective of something/someone.

Dedication: For Lizzy, who likes post-war, Harry and Teddy bonding, and Harry/Ginny.

Warnings: Trauma; side-effects of dark curse; threats

We Have All Night

I am not the only traveler

Who has not repaid his debt

I've been searching for a trail to follow again

Take me back to the night we met

And then I can tell myself

What the hell I'm supposed to do

And then I can tell myself

Not to ride along with you

—Lord Huron, "The Night We Met"

When Harry finally fell asleep, Hermione slipped out of the infirmary. Ron and the other Weasleys didn't notice since there was so much else to worry about now, considering the news that Harry had brought back from the graveyard, but Hermione tried not to think about that quite yet. Her stint with the Time Turner had taught her that she could only be in one place at a time, and she knew where she wanted to be now.

The castle looked unprecedentedly creepy as she wandered down the halls, which was saying something since she'd spent her fair share of time meandering through the halls after hours. The curves of the windows looked especially angular, the dark corners of the castle seemed especially daunting, and the echoes seemed particularly ominous. The glowing tip of her wand cast a light so faint, it only seemed to make everything more eerie. She tried to snap herself out of it; she was simply processing the night's events, but they were safe now. The castle was safe. Although that seemed like an empty promise at that point; when had it really ever been?

She didn't have a clear idea of where she was going and she wished that she had the Marauder's Map with her. They'd brought it with them to the third task, to watch Harry's progress as he meandered through the maze although there were places in the maze so densely packed with magical obstacles, beasts, and charms that the champions had vanished from the parchment. They hadn't even known something was wrong when the cup had become a Portkey, which made Hermione feel guilty to no end. Ron had the map in his back pocket now and she didn't want to go back and ask him for it because he'd try to stop her, she knew he would and she maybe understood why too. So she navigated the shadows without a compass and tried to stick to the corridors and nooks and crannies closest to the infirmary. Viktor couldn't have gone far.

She found him finally at the end of one of the halls that went nowhere, curled up on the ground with his back protectively leaned against the wall as if he didn't want to be caught from behind. Her stomach twisted in sympathy for him. One of his classmates must have brought him a change of clothes from the ship because he was wearing a forest green sweater and soft athletic pants now, though the boots he'd gone into the maze with were still on his feet. His wand lay on the floor next to him and his face was buried in his knees, so all she saw was his close and clean buzz cut.

"Viktor?" she said quietly.

He grabbed his wand and pointed it at her in one swift motion with the kind of speed that reminded her that he was an internationally acclaimed Quidditch player. She froze and threw her hands up in the air.

"Hermione," he said thickly. He dropped his wand and she saw his hands shake. "I—I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, I shouldn't have startled you," Hermione said, even if her heart was beating in her throat. If he had really wanted to hurt her, she would be as dead or injured as he'd want.

"How is Harry?" Viktor asked.

"He's sleeping now," Hermione said. She didn't know what else to add to that.

"And Fleur?" Viktor asked, voice shaking.

"I'm not sure," Hermione said, truthfully. "She wasn't in the infirmary. I think she is with Madam Maxime, which probably means that she is alright too."

She knew that the 'probably' wasn't exactly encouraging and she saw the pain in Viktor's face when she said it.

"Viktor, can I come sit?" she asked.

"No!" he said abruptly, his entire body tensing as if he'd just been electrocuted. Hermione stumbled back again, her hands in the air again.

"Okay," she said. "Okay…"

She chewed on her lip and sat down where she was, farther away from Viktor than she wanted. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

"Viktor," Hermione said softly. "Viktor, it wasn't your fault, what happened in the maze. Fleur said so herself, when she was talking to Dumbledore."

"If I had been better, stronger, more alert, I wouldn't have let myself be cursed," Viktrot croaked, emotion thickening his accent.

"You study dark magic at Durmstrang," Hermione reminded him. "You know that that's not how it works. Very good, very powerful and gifted people and still be…"

Viktor's body tensed out of the blue and he squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face away from her as if she'd just slapped him.

"Get away," Viktor said. He looked up at her with stormy eyes. The facial hair he had taken advantage of Hogwarts' laxer rules to grow suddenly sharpened his jawline and face. She'd thought it had made him more handsome and defined his features better only a few hours ago. He was shaking.

"I can back up," Hermione offered.

"No, you need to leave," Viktor said. "Until… until…"

"Until what?" Hermione asked.

"Until I cannot hear his voice in my head anymore," Viktor said, his voice raw. "Until he stops giving me orders about what to do to you."

Hermione felt her blood freeze in her veins.

"That's just a side effect of a very powerful Imperius curse," Hermione said, trying to reason herself out of her fear. "It's… it's not abnormal, Viktor. The lingering effects were one of the ways that they confirmed whether the curse had been cast in trials."

"The voice is… very strong," Viktor said. "It is very compelling. I do not want to listen to it but you should go."

"After you slipped away from the infirmary, news came that Barty Crouch was gone," Hermione said. "He was kissed by a Dementor."

"His voice is not gone," Viktor said.

"I know, but he is," Hermione said. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"I don't care about me," Viktor said. "I care about you."

He winced as he said it, as if he'd just heard something as unpleasant as nails scraping along a blackboard. Hermione's stomach twisted again.

"Well let me care about you until you do," Hermione said. "I'm sure that you won't hurt me, but I'd let you hurt alone if I left, and that's not okay with me."

Viktor kept his hand buried in his knees. Hermione stood up and made sure that each of her footsteps resounded against the stone as she crept forwards, coming to sit at his side. He shied away from her and Hermione let him, but she didn't move away. She just sat by his side.

"I don't want to hear the things in my head," Viktor said quietly. "They're… they're awful, Hermione."

"They'll stop," Hermione said. "You just have to weather them until they do."

"I have to what?" Viktor asked, stumbling at the unfamiliar expression.

"You have to… to let them happen," Hermione said. "To stay strong until they stop."

Viktor sighed and buried his face in his knees again.

"You can do it," Hermione said. "I'm sure of it. And I'll be here."

"What if I hurt you?"

"I won't let you," Hermione said. "I have a wand too, you know. I've also got all night."

After a few moments Viktor's hand fell to the side, palm up. She recognized the offering for what it was and took his hand. His fingers held hers so tightly it was nearly uncomfortable, but she wasn't about to say anything about it or let go. She did, after all, have all night.

WC: 1333