Amsterdam

The Portkey to Amsterdam felt like it took forever and when they landed in front of a small brick house, Hermione looked vaguely green, so Viktor took her elbow. "Are you all right? You look pale."

"I'm fine," Hermione assured him. "I just hate Portkeys and that's two in one day."

Viktor nodded. "At least you did not vomit."

"There's still time."

"You just need a glass of water."

The door to the house flew open and Viktor's cousin, Todor, came barreling out and threw himself at Viktor almost knocking him over. The two proceeded to wrestle until Viktor managed to pin Todor. "Stop," Viktor said, grinning. "Come meet my girlfriend." He walked Todor over to where she was standing. "This is Hermione Granger," Viktor said. "And this," he said punching Todor lightly in the chest is Todor Golakov." He paused. "How do you say? Ah, my best mate."

Hermione smiled and shook Todor's hand.

"Come," Todor said, gesturing toward the house. "We get you settled. We are almost eating."

Todor showed them to their room and Viktor dropped off their bags before they made their way back to the kitchen to find three other people sitting around the table, two women, Marianna and Boyka, and a man, Filip. All three were blonde. Boyka and Filip were tall, thin, and sharp featured, but Marianna was shorter and rounder with an open pleasant face. Marianna smiled as she handed Viktor and Hermione each a beer and everyone sat down.

Dinner was a mishmash affair. There was some fish and some chicken, dribs and drabs of vegetables, all chopped up and sautéed together over rice. Everyone nibbled from a common platter in the middle of the table. The conversation was spirited and revolved primarily around art and politics. Viktor had known Todor his whole life and Boyka and Marianna since school. They had all gone to Durmstrang together, but Filip was Boyka's cousin and Viktor had never met him before. He was younger than the others and Viktor didn't care for the things he said or his sullen nature.

They sat at the table for a long time. He did his best to translate for Hermione. After the dishes were cleared, Boyka brought over a big tray of brownies, which Viktor ignored. He wasn't a fan of cakes and cookies, but Hermione seemed happy to see them and ate two. After dessert everyone migrated into the parlor. The house belonged to Marianna's mother's family. It was old and run down, but Viktor didn't mind. Hermione joined him on one of the couches. He looked at her. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"You are tired," he said.

She nodded.

"Come," he said, standing and holding out his hand to her. "We will go to bed."

When they got to their bedroom, Viktor held the door open for her and moved behind her as he closed it.

"Are you too tired for me?" he asked softly as he kissed the back of her neck.

She shook her head. Viktor smiled and pulled her down on the bed. He liked that she was usually up for sex. He felt like they were well matched that way. He cast a contraception charm and kissed her. Her mouth tasted of beer and chocolate. He let his hands wander and kissed his way down her body. She surprised him when she said, "Viktor?"

He looked up at her. "Hmm?"

"Come up here."

He moved back up and kissed her; then started to descend again.

"No, wait, come back."

He looked at her in confusion. "Do you not want…?"

"I want you inside me."

He smiled at her and moved into position. As he sank into her, he decided he was very lucky. Lucky to have run into her in London, lucky that she was here with him now. While he'd never lacked for female companionship, he'd missed the comfort and stability of the relationship he'd had with Nikolina. Hermione was not Nikolina, not even close, but she was enjoyable and familiar. That was good and things in his life had not been good in a long time. She wasn't as responsive as she usually was, she just lay back and let him do all the work, but he was okay with that. She'd had a long day.

xXx

Viktor woke the next morning to a couple of owls tapping on the window. He let them in and took the papers they were carrying and put a Knut in each of their pouches and gave them both a treat before letting them back out. Hermione wasn't in bed, but he could hear the water running in the bathroom. He took one of the papers and got back in bed to read. When she came out of the bathroom, he said "The owls came while you were bathing." He tossed her the other copy of the paper.

She crawled in bed beside him and started reading. He knew when she reached page six, because she made a small sound. Viktor had already seen the photo of him and her coming out of his building. The caption read: Are Granger and Her Bulgarian Bon Bon Looking for a New Love Nest? Below that was a photo of Harry, Ginny, and Ron with his arm around some girl. That caption read: Heroes Out on the Town. They were laughing and smiling in the moving photo. Viktor could see from her pained expression that it cut her.

"Are you all okay?" he asked.

"Fine," she said tightly.

He sighed. "It is all right if you want to speak of it. I know it must hurt."

Hermione shook her head. "There's nothing to talk about. He doesn't want me anymore, but he's a hero, and I'm a tart with a bon bon."

The idea that the writers at the Prophet would be so harsh toward her made him angry. "They are idiots."

She smiled sadly and pressed her palm to his cheek. "You're sweet."

He wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her closer to him. "I am not so sweet," he said and kissed her neck. "What was I doing last night when you stopped me? Where was I?" he asked and trailed his tongue down her body. "Was I here?" he asked as his tongue circled her nipple. He kissed the rising bud and then sucked hard.

Hermione gasped in a harsh breath at the pleasure/pain of it and he smiled.

He released it and circled it again with his tongue. "No, I think I was here." He trailed his tongue lower, stopping to nibble on the sensitive flesh around her belly button until she squirmed beneath him. "No, not here," he said and continued lower.

She moaned as he bit the inside of her thigh just hard enough to leave a bruise but not hard enough to break the skin. "I am sorry," he said, laving it with his tongue. "But I have not had breakfast." He looked at the juncture of her thighs. "Now, what to eat?"

Her back arched off the bed as his mouth descended. He left nothing unexplored by his tongue or his fingers. He brought her spiraling up to break, but when she pushed weakly against him to stop, he would bring her up again. He was determined to make her forget about those photos in the paper. He kept taking her back to orgasm until her whole body was trembling from the effort. He grinned when it was finally too much and she let out a throaty scream.

xXx

Later, when they finally made it downstairs, Viktor followed Hermione into the kitchen but bumped into her when she stopped short. Boyka and Marianna were locked in a passionate embrace.

"Oh, sorry," Hermione said.

Viktor smiled at her blush. Perhaps he should have mentioned that Boyka and Marianna were a couple.

Boyka slowly extricated herself from Marianna. "No problem," she said, smiling at them. "But if you've come to eat, there's no food."

Viktor's stomach growled.

Filip walked into the other end of the kitchen.

"Fine," Viktor grumbled. "I will go to the market." He pointed to Filip. "You, come with me."

Hermione touched his chest. "You want me to go too?"

Viktor shook his head. "No, you stay. Find some pans and pots. I am fast."

The market was just at the end of the block, so it only took a minute to walk there. Viktor picked up a basket and handed another to Filip. They acquired everything they needed for breakfast along with meat, bread, and cheese for lunch, and some chicken and vegetables for dinner.

By the time they returned, the rest of the house was completely transformed. Viktor smiled. He knew this was Hermione's doing. She could be a bit messy at times, but she didn't tolerate dirt or anything left in disrepair. All the tatty furnishings and broken bits were repaired and freshened and the whole house looked better.

For breakfast, Hermione made a big egg and bacon casserole, which was delicious. She hadn't cooked much since they'd been together, so the casserole was a nice surprise. Also surprising was that she knew a recipe that fed so many people.

He decided to take Hermione out for the afternoon and they walked around the city and saw the sights and then found the Netherlands equivalent to Diagon Alley where they bought hangover potion and Hermione bought some numbing balm. When they came back to the house late in the afternoon it was to find Todor and Filip playing with an old Muggle camera.

"I found in bazaar today," Todor said triumphantly. "I will charm to float around house and take picture."

"Fantastic," Filip crowed.

"Only downstairs," Boyka insisted. "I don't want that thing floating into my bedroom."

Todor gave a sweeping bow. "Of course. I would never do something so caddish."

Everyone laughed except Hermione who missed it because it was in Bulgarian. Viktor felt bad about her missing so much of the conversation and wondered if she'd be willing to learn some of the language. He thought maybe she would because she was exceedingly bright.

Hermione arched her back and pressed her hand into her side. "I'm going to go lay down for a little while," she said.

He considered looking at the camera with Todor and Filip but thought about Hermione in bed and decided to follow her. He opened the door to their bedroom to find her pulling off her bra. She squeaked and turned around and covered her breasts with her arms.

"Only me," Viktor said.

"Oh," Hermione said. She had a pained expression and shifted as though she were uncomfortable.

"What is wrong?"

"Nothing.I'm just a little sore."

Viktor stepped behind her. "I am sorry…I…Did I hurt you this morning?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, of course not. It's just from walking around all day."

"Your back hurts?"

"No, my side. It's an old injury, it hurts sometimes."

Viktor ran his hands along her sides.

She winced away from him.

"But I do not see-"

"It's charmed, it's fine. I'm fine."

He frowned at her. "Charmed? Why? Is under shirt, no one sees but me."

"And me," Hermione corrected. "I don't like to look at it. I cast the charm every day. It's nothing."

He ran his hand lightly up her side again, not seeing or feeling anything amiss.

She clenched her teeth.

"Let me see," he said.

She looked him in the eye and sighed. When she dropped the charm, he couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips. There was a thick red scar that ran from just under her armpit almost to her waist. There was another, older, shorter one that had faded to white and ran diagonally between her breasts. His eyes returned to her side. He blew out a slow breath. "So red, are you sure it is all right? We could see a healer."

"It's fine. According to the healers I've already seen, I've probably got another year or so before it starts to fade to white and most of the tenderness goes away."

"Most?" It looked very painful.

Hermione shrugged and said, "It was a nasty curse, and I didn't get immediate care. Most would be a welcome relief."

He shook his head. "You should have told me before. I have put my hand there, it must hurt, why did you not tell me?"

She shook her head. "I'm not made of porcelain. I won't break."

Viktor cupped her cheek. "I know you are strong. You did not have to hide this from me."

Hermione nodded. "Sorry."

Viktor picked up the jar of balm. "Lay down." As an athlete, he'd dealt with more than his fair share of pain over the years.

She looked at him for a moment before lying down on the bed.

He smoothed the balm around the scar, waiting for the numbing spell to take effect before pressing his thumbs into her side to ease the tension in the muscles that were knotted around the scar tissue.

Hermione moaned her appreciation and he smiled.

When he was finished, Viktor lay down facing her. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you."

He kissed her back. "Anytime."

She snuggled against him and they napped for the rest of the afternoon.

xXx

That evening Viktor joined Todor and Filip who were playing with the camera while Hermione went into the kitchen with Boyka and Marianna to cook dinner. Todor was both a painter and a photographer, and he had managed to get the charms done on the old camera so it would float around the house and take pictures by itself.

"This way we get truly candid shots," Todor said. "It will be interesting to see what the camera chooses to snap without me there to direct it. I suspect it will frame things differently than me, but I can always crop afterward. I am curious to see what random, raw photos it will take. A good experiment I think."

Viktor thought that sounded pretty interesting. While Todor explained how he constructed the spell, Filip got up and went into the kitchen. He sat at the table and slowly peeled potatoes. Viktor didn't like the way Filip looked at the women while he worked. There was something off-putting about him.

After they had eaten dinner and the wine was gone, Marianna got up to make coffee and Boyka began rolling joints for everyone. Viktor declined and was pleased that Hermione did too. He got a bottle of vodka and brought it over to the table. The conversation turned to politics and thus more of it was said in Bulgarian than in English. It was too much to translate everything, but Viktor did his best. After a while, Todor left the table. When Filip pounded on the table and shouted something about Voldemort Hermione excused herself. Viktor touched her hand to make sure she was okay but she gave him a smile so he nodded and continued the heated debate. Filip was such a bastard. Viktor liked him less and less.

The next morning, Viktor woke early, let the owls in with the papers, and took a shower all without waking Hermione. He was pleased when he came out of the bathroom to find her finally awake. "Ah, you are up."

Hermione nodded and then groaned and held her head. "Can I have some of that hangover potion you bought yesterday and a glass of water?"

Viktor smiled, but he was surprised she needed it. "Of course," he went back into the bathroom and came out carrying a small vial and a glass of water. "I did not think you drank so much last night."

"I didn't think so either." She shrugged and downed the contents of the vial. "Thank you," she said and started drinking the water.

"You are welcome. Owls already came this morning. I have been invited to work out with the Netherlands national team."

"Oh," Hermione said, sitting up further.

"Yes. It is a wonderful opportunity."

Hermione smiled at him. "How long will you be training?"

He sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "Most of the day, but I am back in the evening. You do not mind?"

"I think I can entertain myself for a few hours."

He smiled back at her. "Good."

xXx

When Viktor came in from practice, grubby and sweaty from his workout, he found everyone sitting in the parlor listening to music.

Hermione smiled at him from the floor. "How was practice?"

"Good." He poured himself a glass of juice from a large pitcher on the coffee table. He drained the glass and poured another. "Excellent!" he said wiping his mouth. "I will take a shower and come back." He grabbed a beer from the bucket of ice next to the pitcher of juice.

When he got out of the shower he was still warm from the workout so he just pulled on some joggers and went downstairs. The scene before him was very different from the one he'd left. Everyone was dancing. No one had a shirt on. Hermione danced with Todor, her back against his chest. His hands were low on her hips as they moved together. Viktor was simultaneously upset and curious. It was both weird and enticing to see Todor's hands on her.

He stood scowling in front of Hermione. "What are you doing?"

She pulled him to her and kissed him. "It's okay," she said. "We're only dancing. Come, dance with us."

Viktor nodded and slid his arms around her, sandwiching her between him and Todor as they danced.

The dancing seemed to go on forever, but as the evening progressed and the room got hotter and hotter, clothing became more and more scarce. Viktor didn't understand why he felt so hot and no matter how much juice or beer he drank he was still thirsty. Hermione was naked and sweaty and slipping between him and Todor who were also naked. He couldn't remember when he'd taken his pants off.

Todor said in Bulgarian, "She is very sexy. I want her. Can I have her?"

Without waiting for an answer, he began to tug Hermione to the floor. She made the decision herself by sliding her knees apart to make room for Todor as she pressed back against him. Viktor didn't know how to feel about that. It was upsetting, but it also turned him on.

Hermione looked up at him. "It's alright." She wrapped her hand around his cock.

He was already hard and moaned as she held him.

"Shh," she said, and sank her mouth over him. After that, things got more complicated. Marianna, Boyka, and Filip joined them, but despite having warm, affectionate feelings for everyone else, Viktor continued to dislike Filip. Even in this fuzzy, warm, sexy place, when Filip reached for Hermione, Viktor shoved him off. Filip didn't seem to care and just reached for Marianna instead. Eventually, everyone ran out of energy and they all nodded off on the floor. Viktor made sure to sandwich Hermione safely between him and Todor in case Filip got any ideas during the night.

xXx

He awoke the next morning to the sounds of an argument. His head throbbed. Hermione was already standing up and had on a T-shirt and knickers. The room reeked of sweat and sex and the sour smell of someone's vomit. The argument was getting louder and more heated.

Viktor sat up and moaned, holding his head. "Who is shouting?"

Hermione called a bottle of hangover potion and handed it to him. "Drink this, you'll feel better. I think it must be Boyka and Filip arguing." Marianna was lying naked on the floor on the other side of Todor.

Viktor stood with some difficulty and pulled on his joggers. He surveyed the scene around him and said, "What the hell? Come." He led her into the kitchen, where Filip and Boyka had wands drawn and were still shouting at each other in what Viktor assumed was Dutch. He and Hermione instinctively called their own wands.

Viktor said in Bulgarian "What is going on? Bokya turned to him and Filip took that moment to Apparate away.

Boyka shouted in frustration. She spoke in rapid fire Bulgarian to Viktor. "That bastard—"

"Wait, wait," Hermione said holding up her hands. "In English, please."

Bokya sighed and took a deep breath. "That bastard," she started again, "spiked the pumpkin juice with ecstasy last night. She pressed her fists into her eyes. "Fucking pervert and his lesbian fantasies. Marianna will kill me! I never should have let him come here."

Hermione sat down heavily on one of the kitchen chairs.

A scream came from the living room. They all rushed in to find Marianna sitting up screaming. She'd woken Todor who was scrambling into his trousers as fast as he could. Boyka went to comfort Marianna and Hermione snatched her jeans from the floor and pulled Viktor into the kitchen. Todor followed. Viktor slumped into one of the kitchen chairs.

Hermione pulled on her jeans and she and Todor joined him at the table, staring at the scarred wooden surface and avoiding each other's eyes.

Viktor didn't know what to think, didn't know what to feel even. He had had a lot of sex in his day and had even had the occasional threesome with two female Quidditch fans, but he'd never been in an orgy or had sex in such close proximity to another man. Last night he and Todor had shared Hermione and Boyka and Todor's hands had strayed places that Viktor wasn't entirely comfortable with and he wasn't that sure about where his own hands had been. It left him feeling unsettled and vaguely nauseated. Finally, Viktor said, "What do we do now?"

Todor wiped a hand down his face and shook his head.

Hermione took a deep breath and tapped her finger on the table for a moment. "We make breakfast."

Viktor and Todor both looked at her. "What?" they said simultaneously.

"Look," Hermione said, "you two have known each other a long time, right?"

Viktor nodded. "Always."

"Todor, would you ever intentionally hurt Viktor?"

He shook his head. "No."

She placed her hand on Viktor's arm and looked him in the eye. "Neither would I."

She turned back to Todor, "And you don't want me, right? Aren't you hoping to get that other woman back?"

"Pietra," Todor nodded. "I will get her back. I know she loves me still."

"Good," Hermione said, turning back to Viktor, "Does this kill us for you?"

Viktor frowned at her. "I do not understand the question."

"Can you still be with me, after last night, or is this it for you? It's all right if it is, just be honest."

Viktor shook his head. "I need to take a shower. I cannot think like this."

"Me too," Todor nodded and left the room.

Viktor looked at Hermione before leaving to go upstairs. She looked sad and worried and it tugged at his heartstrings. He shook his head and went upstairs. Based on that magazine article, she had some experience with this situation. He had to admire the way she could set aside everything else and focus on the immediate problem. He was sure that skill was honed during the war. The shower made him feel better but he was still not sure of how he felt about the situation. He couldn't help thinking about that article about Hermione, Ron, and Harry during the war. Perhaps, she liked having sex with more than one man. She might even prefer it. He didn't have anything against that, but it wasn't the sort of relationship he'd been looking for from her. He sighed and got dressed and went back downstairs.

Hermione was casting a heating charm on the casserole when he stuck his head in the doorway of the kitchen. "I am going for a walk to clear my head."

She bit her bottom lip and her brow wrinkled with concern but she nodded. "Of course."

The walk seemed to help. Movement helped him think. He decided that none of this was Hermione's fault. She hadn't asked to come here. He had invited her. Okay, so according to that article maybe she'd been in a threesome before, so had he, but in her case it had been with men she'd known for years and during an intense time of the war when they were isolated and on the run. Last night was nothing like that. She hadn't decided to be involved any more than he had. It really wasn't anyone's decision because Filip had spiked the pumpkin juice without telling them. With the exception of Filip, no one involved intended for it to happen. While he had never wanted to do something like that with Todor, if he had to do it, he was glad it was with Todor. He'd actually dated Boyka some years ago and Marianna seemed like a sweet girl. Filip was the only real monster there. The others were good people. He knew his relationship with Hermione was new, but he thought they could get past this. She was worth trying to anyway. He hadn't been so happy since Nikolina had died. He didn't want to lose that happiness over one drug-fueled night that neither of them had intended.

As he approached the rear of the house, he'd made up his mind to talk to Hermione and Todor and get beyond the events of last night, but then he saw them on the back step. Hermione was bent over a candle and Todor was holding a tube over a small piece of foil for her. They were smoking heroin. Todor had sworn he was clean, which was the only reason Viktor had agreed to go to Amsterdam in the first place and now the bastard had Hermione doing it. Viktor's rage was so sudden and overwhelming that he literally saw red. He kicked over the candle and yelled at Todor in Bulgarian.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be clean!"

Todor started pleading with him immediately and teared up but Hermione looked at him with sleepy eyes. Viktor wrenched her up by her arm and dragged her upstairs to their room and into the bathroom where he conjured a bathtub full of iced water. He dragged her over to it and forced her to her knees.

"What were you thinking?" he hissed as he dunked her head into the freezing cold water.

She gasped for air as he pulled her back up. "I-"

"Why smoke heroin? Why do that?" He dunked her again. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

This time she came up sputtering "Heroin? No, you inject heroin, we were just smoking."

"Inject, smoke, snort. You can do all with heroin and Todor has done all. Idiot!" He pushed her head back under the water.

"Wait," she cried as he pulled her back up. "Viktor, please stop."

"You are witch, you stop me!" He dunked her again still furious with her.

"Please!" she sobbed when he brought her back up.

"He told me he quit," Viktor growled, "but instead he gets you to smoke." He pushed her back under.

When he brought her back up, she spat out a mouth full of water and coughed. "I asked him if I could have some. He said it would make the pain go away. I just wanted the pain to go away."

Viktor stared at her for a moment. He didn't understand how she could be so broken. What had happened to her since he'd known her before? "Idiot!" he shouted again and pushed her back under.

But apparently, she'd had enough and the cold water had brought back enough of her senses that when he pulled her up again she blew him across the room with a wandless non-verbal.

He grinned at her. She was a powerful witch; that was certain. Even soaking wet and trembling, she exuded a power that made his cock throb. He had never been with anyone like her. "You are fine," he said as he crawled toward her. He took her there on the filthy floor. He fucked her fast and hard and wasn't at all surprised when she thrust back against him, bit his shoulder and his neck, and came as he did. When they were done, he helped her to her feet and they showered. When they were both clean and feeling more like themselves, Viktor said, "I do not want to be here anymore. We should go home."

Hermione nodded. It didn't take long to pack. As they were on their way out the front door, Todor followed them.

"Viktor," he called. "Viktor."

Viktor turned and glowered at him. It was all he could do not to punch him in the mouth. "What?"

"I am sorry," Todor said. "I am so sorry. I try to quit. I swear I try to quit."

Unable to hold back any longer, Viktor grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "You told me you had quit. That is the only reason I came. Do you think I would have brought her here if I had known you were still using? You disgust me." He flung Todor to the ground where he lay sobbing into his hands. He restrained himself from kicking him and turned back to Hermione. "I want to get the hell out of here."

She held out the empty beer bottle that was their return Portkey and tapped it with her wand to activate it. A moment later he felt the tell-tale pull behind his navel. What felt like hours later, but was only a few minutes, they landed in the back garden of her townhouse. She promptly vomited on the shrubbery and he held back her hair as she continued to retch. Finally, she stood up straight and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "That just never gets easier, does it?"

"It does," Viktor said kindly. "But long trips take a while to get used to."

She nodded and Viktor followed her into the house. She eased into one of the parlor chairs and rested her face in her hands. "I'm exhausted."

Viktor sat on the sofa next to her. "Me too."

She looked at him with tears running down her cheeks. "What the hell just happened?"

He shook his head. "I do not know." He felt empty inside, sad and angry.

"My whole body hurts," she said.

He nodded. He ached all over. "Mine too."

They sat in silence for a while. Hermione continued quietly crying. Viktor stared at the empty fireplace. Sometime later, he got up and built a fire, lighting it with his wand before returning to the sofa and continuing to stare. He wasn't even thinking. There was too much to contemplate so his mind remained blank. Night came and the room darkened around them. Neither of them bothered to light a lamp. Finally, Hermione said, "I have to go to bed."

Viktor took her hand as she stood. "Do you mind if I stay with you? I cannot face being alone tonight."

"Come on," she said, and he followed her upstairs to the room he'd stayed in on Christmas Eve. They got undressed in silence, neither of them commenting on the bruises on their bodies or the rug burns on their elbows and knees. Neither offered to heal the other. They each made the choice to wear pajamas and got under the covers but didn't touch. It was both awkward and comforting.