"Excuse me? You are Herm-minny Ganger, correct?"
Hermione glanced up from her Herbology homework. Harry had stepped away for a few moments to speak with the Weasley twins about their ideas for a joke shop and she'd bowed out. It wasn't that she was opposed to the idea, far from it, but she wasn't known for her sense of humor and she wanted Harry to relax a little since he was wound up tighter than one of Hagrid's blast ended skrewts since the Yule Ball was announced.
She wasn't expecting Viktor Krum to leave his groupies and approach her.
"It's Her-Mi-Oh-Nee Granger and yes I am. How can I help you?"
"I am Viktor. I vould like you to come to ball vith me." The Bulgarian gave a small bow.
In her head, Hermione frowned but outwardly she kept her face neutral. She'd paid close attention to the lessons Andi and Sirius had given her and Harry. What she couldn't figure out is why Krum would seek her out over one of his groupies.
"I'm sorry, Mr Krum, but my time is already taken that night. I wish you luck on getting another date for the evening." She gave a small smile and turned back to her books. She felt rather than heard Vikor step closer.
"You misunderstand. I vant you to come to ball vith me. I insist, Herminniny."
Closing her books and waving her essay in the air to dry the ink, Hermione huffed. "It seems we are having some language difficulties here, Mr Krum. I am not available as a date to the Yule Ball and you will need to make other arrangements. That cannot be changed. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late for a private lesson."
After tossing her things into her satchel (a gift from Sirius given to her after he heard about students hexing the seams of both hers and Harry's bags. Hermione's was a rich Sapphire dragonhide with weightless and undetectable expansion charms on it while Harry's matching bag was a deep claret with black accents) she turned to go but Krum grabbed her arm. Hard.
"I vould like to talk more vith you. Privately."
"Mr Krum, I advise you to let me go. I will not go anywhere with you in private."
There was no way he couldn't hear the increased whispers from the table of giggling fangirls he'd just vacated and Hermione had no desire to find herself on the front page of the papers yet again. Or on the bad side of Madam Pince. It wasn't like she couldn't remove Krum from her arm herself but she didn't want to draw anymore unwanted attention. The Bulgarian took matters out of her hands when he tugged her into the stacks to a more secluded area.
"Viktor. And I vould know why you refuse me. It is because of Harry Potter, yes?"
She tried to pull her arm away but Krum's grip just increased. "Believe it or not, I am capable of making up my own mind but yes, I am attending with Harry. Now, I will ask you once more to let go of my arm. You're hurting me."
Vikor changed his grip slightly and stepped into Hermione, blocking her escape and pinning her against the stacks. "Potter is not good person. I haff heard much about him. How he now ignores whole school after entering tournament."
Hermione had enough of being manhandled and she'd sensed Harry entering the library. While he'd come a long way in controlling his temper, he still had trouble not blowing up where she was concerned. Concentrating, she directed some magic along her skin and shocked the seeker backwards, causing him to lose his balance and fall on his ass. Harry chose that moment to step around the bookshelves they were behind.
Taking a quick survey of the situation, he stepped up to Hermione and put his arm around her waist, turning her slightly into him. Viktor noticed Potter didn't get shocked even though the other Champion could actually see a slight arc of power running under Hermione's skin still.
"What's going on? Mi, are you okay?"
"Everything is fine now, Harry. Mr Krum and I just had a slight disagreement over my going with you to the ball over the holidays." She gave his waist a squeeze letting him know they would discuss that later.
"You sure?" She nodded.
"In that case…" Harry extended his free hand to the other young man but Krum brushed him off and hauled himself to his feet. He eyed Harry."
"You are not good enuff to take Herminny to ball. She should come viff me."
"I don't claim to be good enough for Hermione. Not by a long shot. But she gets to decide for herself who she wants to go with. And if you ever try to grab her again you won't be dealing with just her. I hope you understand that."
"This is not over."
Hermione frowned. "Yes, it is. I have a date. Harry has a date. Neither of those dates are you. I ask that you look amongst your followers. I'm sure one of them would happily go with you."
She grabbed Harry's hand and drug him out of the library. He stayed quiet until they got out into the courtyard, then he pulled them over to their spot by the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day and Harry thought they should enjoy it while it lasted.
"Okay, spill. What happened back there? And since when am I taking you to the ball? Not that I mind or anything…
"Oh, Harry, I am so sorry. The ball has barely been announced and now it's going to be all over the school that you're going with the buck-toothed, frizzy haired, know it all bookworm! I didn't mean for it to come out like that but Krum just wouldn't leave me alone! And when he started to manhandle me I wanted to blast him across the library!"
Harry didn't say anything, he did roll up Hermione's sleeve and look at the reddened area on her forearm which was already starting to bruise.
"I remember what Andi and Sirius said to us. Don't go anywhere alone with anyone if we can help it, especially with members of the opposite sex. Don't raise our voices. Be courteous even when telling someone off. I was packing everything up when Viktor grabbed my arm. I just didn't want to cause a scene in front of all his fangirls but I might have made things worse. And I told Andi I didn't need anything for the dance."
"Why wouldn't you need anything for the dance?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Harry raised both eyebrows. "I know I'm a bit thick but isn't what obvious?"
Hermione huffed. "That I wouldn't be going to the ball. I didn't get anything over the summer because I thought that no one would ask me, figuring if I would go at all it would be with you or Ronald. I knew neither of you would think of me like that, as a potential date, and probably would expect me to spend my time holed up in the library or something like that." She kicked at a rock. "Now with most of the school still trying to figure out how they feel about you, I was certain I'd be staying back."
Harry sighed and plopped himself on their favorite rock. Even though he considered Hermione different from most girls, she was still a girl and there were times he just didn't understand what was running through her head. When McGonagall had held him back and informed him he had to have a date because the Champions opened the Yule Ball, he wanted to know if his position as an unwilling participant counted. Unfortunately, Dumbledore anticipated him looking for a way out and made certain to state that all participants in the tournament must have a date and sit at the head table.
"Look, what I'm about to say may make me sound like Ron, but you're mental, Mi. The ball has barely been announced three hours and you have two date offers, well one demand that will be sorted out later. Name me one other girl here who doesn't have a boyfriend who that's happened to? I bet no one but if you want to check, we can ask Lavender or Parvati to be sure."
Hermione sniffed a bit into the handkerchief Harry handed her before turning back to him. "Two offers?"
"Well, you practically told the entire library you were going with me, so I suppose I should make it official. Miss Hermione Granger, would you do the honor of attending the Yule Ball with me and ensuring I don't look like too much of a prat up there dancing?"
"Harry, you don't have to -"
"I know, I think that you and I will have fun. I can attempt to dance, we can talk about how everyone is all dressed up and who they are trying to impress, sneak fire whiskey from the twins. It'll be a blast."
Hermione stared into those green eyes looking for any sign that Harry was just asking her out of pity or some misplaced sense of obligation but he looked sincere. Excited, even, as he described what they could do. It did sound fun.
"I'd love to go with you, Harry, if you're sure."
"I'm sure. Besides, you're the one who pretty much told me I was going with you. I'm just following the lady's lead."
Chuckling, the two raced back to the castle for their last class of the day, narrowly missing the water beetle scurrying up the pathway.
Everything seemed normal when the pair entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. Hermione was dragging a bit, the goblins had increased Harry's conditioning for the second task but were still letting the two of them work out the puzzle inside the egg by themselves. Since the egg was goblin carved but not made (if the goblins had crafted the egg there was no way they would part with it at the end of the tournament. As a consolation prize, a golden egg, hollow or not, wasn't bad) they wanted to see how the pair did on their own. The extra calisthenics and weight training were something Harry took to like a fish but Hermione wasn't one to work out. A nice, cozy spot in a library was more her speed but she was determined not to be left behind. It didn't bode well for the second task though if the goblins were focusing on stamina.
Starving, she put a bit more on her plate than usual before glancing around the hall. While she was used to being stared at and whispered about, this morning it seemed like it was back to pre-first task levels. They were a bit late as mail had already come but there was nothing unusual in the Prophet and her parents had sent a vague letter saying they would be skiing over Christmas since she wasn't going to be home.
"Hey, Neville, do you have any idea why everyone is pointing and whispering at us again?"
""No idea. Maybe it's 'cause you two are going to the ball together? How'd you two end up with dates already? I can't even figure out how to ask a girl yet. They travel in packs." the Gryffindor frowned at his plate.
"Ah, cheer up there, Nev. George and I will show you how it's done!"
"Yeah, mate, it's easy. Watch." Fred turned to face down the table where the Gryffindor chasers were sitting talking to Ginny.
"Oy! Angelina! Wanna go to the ball with me? And George here needs some company as well!"
The chaser whispered furiously with her teammates before turning back to Fred with a grin.
"I guess I can make an honest man out of you. And Alicia will go with George. Katie here is going to keep Lee in line as he's our MC for the night."
"Most excellent, my lady. We will convene later to discuss details."
A roll sailed over their heads and into Harry's waiting hands. "Prat."
"Ah, you missed. See, Nev, nothing to it." A flash of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
"Look out, incoming idiots."
Malfoy made his usual trip to the Gryffindor table while the staff remained blissfully ignorant of the intrusion at the staff table.
"So, Potter, is it really true? You're fighting over the mudblood with Krum? I just spoke with him and tried to convince him she must have potioned him somehow. I mean who would go to the ball with that?" He made a vague gesture at Hermione with his fingers.
Harry gave Hermione credit, she took Andromeda's lessons on wizarding world etiquette to heart. She simply raised an eyebrow at Malfoy and turned away from him, basically saying he wasn't important enough for her to acknowledge. Harry, however, could feel that the barb hit home and that she was barely holding it together. Since they had taken their trip to the Alley, she had been doing something with her hair to make it less bushy and more curley. It was still wild, but a more defined wild. Harry thought she looked wonderful and Malfoy was an idiot.
"I am going with Hermione and Krum is just out of luck. Who are you taking? Tweedledum and Tweedledummer?" He gestured with his fork.
"He's going with me!" Pansy Parkinson snapped.
Harry leaned back in his seat and put his fingers to his chin. "Hmmm, a foursome. I didn't consider that but it's a good idea. That way no one is left out when you're dancing with the other one."
"No, he's just going with me," Pansy actually stamped her foot before pulling something out of her bag. "Since you missed the mail, maybe you should take a look at this." She dropped it on Hermione's plate and flipped her hair before stomping back to the Slytherin table, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle in her wake.
Breakfast ruined, Hermione picked up the magazine and glanced at the cover before swearing. She rapidly flipped pages before slamming the offensive piece of newsprint on the table.
"I'll kill her. I'll take her "Quik-Notes quill and shove it so far up her -"
"Easy there Hermione," George muttered, trying to get a look at the article. "You're starting to rattle the dishes."
"The trollop!"
Harry pried the Witch Weekly out of her shaking hands and shared it with Fred, George and Neville.
Harry Potter's Heartache
It must have been love or could it just be gold digging potions?
This reporter has exclusively discovered that the boy-who-lived may soon be the boy-with-the-broken-heart. Harry Potter has been seeing muggleborn witch Hermione Granger as reported by the Daily Prophet since the beginning of the school year. But the swotty Miss Granger seems to have an eye for famous wizards as she was seen canoodling with Bulgarian Seeker and Durmstrang Champion Viktor Krum in the Hogwarts Library.
I can confirm that Mr Krum has asked Miss Granger to be his date for the Yule Ball being held on Dec 23, 1994 in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Miss Granger turned him down but Mr Krum stated he was not deterred and would be attempting to win the hand of his chosen witch.
Miss Granger has never been one to be popular amongst the boys of Hogwarts but she is intelligent enough to brew an infatuation potion or even a love potion. According to one year mate:
"Granger is smart, like Ravenclaw smart. I think she's potioning the both of them. No way would someone like Viktor Krum try to steal someone elses girl. He doesn't have to."
Another classmate worries about how Potter is isolated from his friends, saying, "Ever since the start of the year, Harry has been all about Granger and hanging around with her. Something changed over the summer. It could be a potion, she's smart enough. And it's the only thing I can think of."
Is Harry Potter being fed love potions? Is Viktor Krum? If so, how will that affect their performance in the next task?
Once can only hope the D.M.L.E. will investigate these claims of love potions and prosecute Miss Granger to the full extent of the law if she is found guilty."
For a full time line of Potter and Granger's relationship see page 3
For a detailed look at over the counter love potions see page 6
For links to our sponsored products see page 7
"Bullshit!" Harry slammed the magazine on the table. "I can guess a couple of the 'year mates' she talked to and they probably all wear green. And how the hell did she know what happened in the library already?"
"At least now we know why everyone has been staring at the two of you," Neville replied, pulling over the magazine to look at the article himself.
Their musings were cut short by the rustling of wings. A half dozen owls had entered the Great Hall and were making their way straight to them.
"What's this? A second mail delivery?"
The first owl dropped his letter next to Hermione while two more jostled each other for the space in front of her. As she began collecting letters, Harry opened one to see it was written in all childish block letters:
YOU ARE A HORRIBLE WITCH. HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON HARRY POTTER. YOU SHOULD BE STRIPPED OF YOUR MAGIC AND MADE A MUGGLE!
"What the fuck?" He pulled another away from Hermione and found more of the same, only this one threatened to send a curse by mail as soon as they got a bigger envelope.
As more owls queued their turn to relieve their burdens, Hermione suddenly let out a shriek and the smell of petrol filled the air. Harry grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms away from the table and noticed the oily green substance oozing over the letters. Undiluted bubotuber pus.
"Guys can you collect and take care of this stuff since our illustrious leaders are still ignoring the problem. I've gotta get Hermione to the hospital wing before her hands get too bad."
"We've got it, Harry. Don't worry. And we'll be careful. We'll get this stuff to the goblins and Padfoot and Moony."
Nodding to the twins, Harry carefully led Hermione out of the hall to the sounds of snickers and even clapping. People were really lining up on his shit list. And it might just be time to do something about that.