As the large doors of the Great Hall opened, the older students of Hogwarts, Beuxbatons and Durmstrang shuffled through to witness the beauty of the venues decoration as well as find seats as they waited in anticipation for the final guests, the Triwizard Champions. It was around two corners from there that Hermione Granger paced quietly as she eagerly waited to be greeted by Viktor Krum. She was feeling nervous about the night ahead as there was no ensuring that her date could protect her from Rita Skeeter's scrutiny- which was one of the bigger problems in her life those days. However still, she waited for the boy to escort her in for the night.
Hermione didn't know what to think of Viktor- he wasn't as arrogant as she originally thought he was and was far softer and sweeter when it came to conversations. His face naturally appeared to be angry and his voice was deep and strong, which made him seem far more intimidating than he actually was. The best way to put it was that he was a walking juxtaposition- which amused Hermione greatly. As she paced silently from one wall to the other, she listened intently to recognise the people that were walking past, waiting to see if she would hear Fred walk by.
As if on queue, Hermione heard a loud voice boom through the halls that was most definitely one of the two twins. More voices and footsteps approached her as she realised they were coming from a very odd route that would lead them to bumping into her unless she hid. And, not wanting to appear alone to Fred, George and their dates, thats exactly what she did. She didn't know what willed her to bring her wand to the event, but Hermione swiftly pulled it out and unlocked the door to the nearest room to her, ducking away until the coast was clear. She couldn't see outside the door, but most definitely heard Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson chatting with the two boys. Hermione wondered which of the two was going with Fred, but forbade herself from thinking any further to protect her own feelings. Finally, once deciding they had left, she exited the supply closet and dusted her dress free.
"Are you okay?" a strong accent asked from her left, footsteps approaching with them. Hermione turned and looked up to find her date had finally arrived, wearing a beautiful red suit with a cape with fur ends. He towered over her with a strong stature and a soft smile, holding his arm out for her to grab.
"Hi, Viktor. I'm fine, really. Shall we be going?" Hermione replied curtly, taking his arm and walking towards the hall.
As they came to the entrance, the two found only ushers and the other champions as well as their dates. Harry and Lavender Brown were the very first couple that Hermione saw, confusing her immensely as she knew Harry had no interest in her even as a friend, after this she then noticed Fred, who was standing at the front of the line arm in arm with Katie, the two chatting and laughing as they did so. They were friends from quidditch, and Hermione knew this, but she also knew that Katie was quite smart and studious as the two had often spent nights up together studying. It was because of this that she wondered if this was somehow Freds 'type', and if that were the case, felt jealous as she felt Katie was far prettier and more interesting than Hermione could ever be. Hermione blinked and realised that she was caught in a daze as she held onto Viktor, and decided that for the rest of the night she wouldn't think about Fred and instead enjoy the company of the young man beside her.
The eight students were ushered into the ball, where the students stood to the side for them clapping. Hermione smiled as she caught a glimpse of Ron and Luna, who giddily laughed and clapped as Hermione waved at them. The couples then continued to walk until they reached the centre where the dance was to commence. Hermione began to feel confident again as she held onto her date, knowing that she had practiced more than enough with Ginny. She looked up to face Viktor who, unlike her, appeared to be far more nervous.
"Are you okay, Viktor?" she asked, him, squeezing his arm to comfort the boy. He smiled down at her in return and nodded just as the music started and the two were off. They danced in a continual circle with the other four champions, Hermione surprised at how well Harry was holding up, before realising that Lavender was taking the lead. She giggled at this, Viktor turning to see and joining her at the sight of Harry awkwardly being led by his date who seemed less than impressed by his dancing skills. Viktor then looked back at Hermione before gazing past her with a sharp focus.
"Her-mione," he said out of nowhere before leaning in close to Hermione, moving towards her ear as they slowed down their dancing slightly. "Look on Fred's shoulder." Quickly, Viktor turned in a half circle so Hermione stood where he had just been. She could now see Freds back as he danced a fair distance away, a glimmering black mark on his shoulder.
"What is that?" she asked in response, squinting to try and get a better look of the odd texture.
"You know about animagus, yes?" he asked her. "And the journalist woman who lies isn't here, yes?"
"What are you implying?"
"You are too smart to ask that," Viktor grinned. "But I'll tell you something. When I was a child I used to collect bugs for fun, this is why I am so quick and my eyes are so sharp. Your brain is like my body- so you should catch bugs too."
Hermione knew what he was implying, and felt inclined to ask more about this most interesting topic, but decided that it'd be best to leave it alone. She smiled brightly at her date as she moved further into the song, a newfound confidence and happiness overtaking her as she felt no need to worry about such a trivial thing for the moment.
The time for the feast had arrived in no time and the attendees departed the floor to find their tables. The champions and their dates were sitting at the head of the hall where the teachers usually resided, lined up starting from Krum and Hermione to the end where Katie and Fred sat. Formalities continued with no disruption, concluding when Dumbledore announced the start of the feast, and with that the conversations sparked up again. Sitting between Viktor and Harry, Hermione listened as the two politely talked about quidditch and seeking, avoiding the topic of the tournament completely. As nervous as he tended to be, it was clear that Viktor was steering the conversation to avoid certain topics such as school and the tasks ahead of them, receiving a silent applaud from Hermione. It was in the midst of the two talking about swerving tactics that a question sprung into the mind of the young witch.
"Hey Harry," she asked quietly, leaning in so as not to be heard. "Why did you bring Lavender to the ball?"
"Oh," Harry replied squeamishly. "Well actually, I wanted to ask Parvarti, but I was talking to Professor Moody when she showed up, and he suggested we go together. She's nice though."
Hermione raised her eyebrow suspiciously and looked over to Lavender, who was chatting away with Fleur about a French wizard band that the two both listened to. Realising that she was being overly judgemental, she put her suspicions aside and moved on. As the guests began to complete their meals, Hermione and Harry decided to go down and sit with their classmates- Lavender tagging along while Krum decided to talk with his own peers for a moment. The three found seats at the round table where Ron, Luna, Neville and his date, Ginny, all sat.
"Weird seeing you guys up there," Ron stated as he took a sip from his drink. "Could jave mistaken you for a professor, Mione."
"Gee, Ron, I'm so glad I got dressed up tonight to be compared to Snape and Sprout," Hermione snapped back with a scowl, not paying any real thought to the comment.
"I think you look especially radiant," Luna piped, to which Ron responded in a deep sigh of relief. Hermione smiled at the third year softly and gave her a thank you, returning the compliment about Lunas gown, which was bright Vermillion with large sunflowers sewn into the neckline paired with a large sunflower pendant. It was very beautiful and Hermione assumed she had made it herself as she couldn't imagine a store selling a dress so… Luna like. "Ron, we should go and dance." she smiled as she faced her date, Ron grinning back sheepishly. The two looked strange together, Hermione thought, but also very happy.
The two walked off, and soon enough Lavender asked Harry to dance too, though he seemed far more reluctant to do so, leaving Hermione, Ginny and Neville to themselves.
"It's weird seeing Ron get along with a girl for so long without being a brute," Hermione began, watching the two from afar dance awkwardly with smiles. "Frankly, I'm not fully convinced it's even him."
Ginny leaned in to look at Hermione properly, Neville leaning out slightly to give her way. "Well to be fair, Luna is just as blunt as he is, in a different way though. And as weird as she is, she's really good at making other people act themselves," she replied. Hermione thought about this and agreed, hoping that Luna could stick around when he was being a jerk.
"Also, Luna reckons he's quite powerful," Neville piped in. "Which I think is her way of saying she likes him, because I don't think I see it, really." Ginny and Hermione laughed softly at this jab at Ron before lightheartedly telling Neville off for being a bully, which got laughs out of all three at the idea of Neville being anywhere near as awful as Draco.