A/N Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews everyone! This new chapter isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea. You may not like this bit but I'm going to go on with it anyway. This chapter doesn't exactly contain a lemon... Enjoy!

Hermione hurriedly walked ahead of her and was glad that nobody noticed her with the light fading slowly into what was going to be the nighttime sky. She was clad in her new red robes with a muggle skirt and long sleeved collared top underneath and wore the bracelet Viktor had given her on the last day of her fourth year around her wrist. She turned around a couple of corners and smiled as she looked uphill, spotting what used to be Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Palour, otherwise known as the place that would decide her fate and destiny. She wondered if Viktor was already there and felt her heart start to quicken in pace just at the thought of him. A smile formed on her lips.

She walked up with much alacrity and stopped when she got to what was now a rundown store and breathed in deeply as she held the surprisingly warm handle on the door that was to lead her inside. Hermione suddenly realised that she hadn't told anybody about this trip, not even her best of best friends Ginny. It was to be a secret between Viktor and herself. She then exhaled as she opened the door, walking in to find that Viktor wasn't inside but rotten wood and nails. She panicked and wondered if he had lied to her, if he wanted to make fun of her, if he was playing with her, if he had forgotten, if he had...

"Herm-io-ninny?"

Hermione jumped and almost screamed in shock as she heard the deep accented voice. She then felt a calloused yet warm hand grab her wrist and felt herself whirled around. Usually, she would have gasped, but she felt like she knew this person and suddenly found herself in the corner of the room, staring into a pair of dark chocolate eyes.

She gasped and threw her arms around Viktor's neck, bringing him closer to her body. She was surprised to find that he felt more muscular than she remembered and that his shoulder's were broader. He had completely lost his awkward gangly-ness and looked the complete man.

"Hermi-own, it has been a ferry long time."

She could have sworn that he had said that halfheartedly. She let go of him and looked at him carefully and found that he had grown increasingly handsome, put aside the nose that had been broken way to often. A stubble replaced what used to be a clean shaven face, making him look disheveled yet sexy in a way. She found her heart reaching out for him at that moment and it was then that she realised that she hadn't responded to him at all and blushed.

"Vi-Viktor." She paused and was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions as she remembered the hardship she been through. "Why haven't you replied to any of my letters? You just stopped writing one day and- I-I thought that I did something wrong. Do you know what it felt- feels-like to be completely shut out from your life? And then there was the war... and deaths and... merlin... so much had happened..."

"I know." He told her rather roughly. He sounded so angry. But with who? Was he mad her at? "There is much I vant to ansver, much I vant to tell you. You know all this right? I still loff you."

She nodded, although she didn't trust herself. She knew she was lying to him in a way, because she hadn't known all of that. She just didn't know how to think. Her fists clenched as he continued.

"I don't know how to tell you this..."

Hermione felt her heart slump rock bottom. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. He didn't love her anymore. She closed her eyes and prepared for him to continue but found her eyes wide open as he spoke.

"My family... my parents I mean. They oved a vizards debt to a family friend... his vish vas for me to marry his daughter, Maria, so I vas forced into a ceremony... ve married five years ago vhen you vere in your sixth year? Just before the var."

Hermione blinked. "What?"

He didn't respond to her questions. He probably assumed it was a rhetorical one. She looked at his eyes with her teary ones, and found herself somewhat happy and angry at the same time. She was happy that he had told her what had happened and not leaving her to rot, and she was angry that he acquiesced to his parents will and that he had married someone else.

"I'm sorry Hermi-own." he muttered. "My parents said that they vant her vith my child, that I vill gro to loff her soon." He looked disgusted with himself as he said his last sentence and looked away from her towards the door before continuing. "For five years i haff ignored her as much as I can."

Hermione didn't say anything this time and looked towards the same direction, wondering what he was looking at. A couple stood outside, the man on his knees, asking his girlfriend to marry him. The girlfriend nodded vigorously and jumped onto her boyfriend, kissing him hard.

"But you could have written, Viktor," she told Viktor angrily as soon as she looked away from the couple. "You could have written to me still. Do you know how ridiculous I felt lying in my room everyday, hoping that you would reply to at least one of my letters? Do you want to know how I felt after the war, Viktor?" He avoided her eyes. "I felt happy- and it wasn't just because Voldemort was gone for good. It was because I felt that we could be together again. But I was wrong now, come to think of it. I can't believe-" She stopped talking midway through her sentence and let a teardrop slide down her cheek. She was overcome with anger all of a sudden, she didn't want to speak.

Then, Viktor kissed her full on the mouth. And she kissed him back, she couldn't help herself.

Hermione moaned as he pushed her against the rotting wall, pressing his body against her before spreading her legs apart with his leg. She knew that this was wrong. He was married. But she didn't care. She loved him.

"Viktor... don't..."

She could tell that he wasn't listening. And to be honest, she didn't want to listen to herself either.

"Viktor... not here-"

She heard a crack and found herself lying on a bed with Viktor on top of her. She turned her head around as he kissed her neck to look at the room she was in. A bedroom. That much she could tell, and a very well decorated one at that. She gasped as he took his shirt of, taking in the view of his well refined abs, before he began to work on her removing her of her robes and collared top.

"We shouldn't be doing this." she said, contradicting herself as she helped him pull her skirt down. "You're married Viktor."

"But my heart belongs to you." he insisted, taking his pants off. "Marry me, Hermione..."

"But-"

"Muggle vay."

"But-"

"Please."

Everything was telling her that this was wrong, but everything was also telling her that she was in love with him and that he was still in love with her. The next hour was filled with groans and heat and she found herself falling for him even more than ever. The feelings he brought out of her were unbelievable. She wondered what was going through his mind as she lay against his chest, with his arm draped over her. Did he regret doing what he did with her? And most importantly, did she?

"Viktor?" she said in a quiet voice.

"Mmm?"

"Where are we?"

He didn't answer her immediately and instead remained silent. He hugged her tightly and sighed.

"Ve are inside a house. Ve are inside a house just outside of Varna." he said, sounding very emotional. "Before all of this happened... I vas going to ask you to marry me vonce you vere out of school and ask you to liff vith me in this house. This was going to be our house, our room."

She gasped, not believing what she had just heard.

He sighed. "I come here vheneffer I think of you, vhen I miss you. It vas my place for comfort." He paused. "You vill neffer know how I felt that day vhen I vas told to marry Maria... and the day I had to marry her." He kissed her hair.

Hermione frowned, wondering if everything Viktor had told her was the truth. He had been a celebrity and probably still was, considering how he popped up in the columns every now and then, so news or rumours about his marriage to this Maria person should have surfaced. Was Viktor trying to use her? She began to feel dirty and shuddered, loosening her hold on Viktor. Suddenly, she wanted to let go of him and run out of the room they were in, all the way back home.

"You do not belieff me?"

Hermione wondered how Viktor had known her thoughts. "I..."

"I can understand. After all, I haff stopped vriting suddenly." he paused. "Maybe you forgot I am good vith spells too? Spending time vatching you back at the Hogvarts library has giffen me many time to read spell books. I haff alvays wonder vhy Harry neffer used the privacy spells."

She blushed as he kissed her hand.

"Vill you still marry me?" Viktor asked. "The muggle vay. This house is around muggle Varna. I haff placed spells to keep vizards and vitches avay."

Hermione nodded against his chest. She did want to marry him. He was everything to her. But did she want to play second fiddle to some woman she had never met before? She blushed and looked away as Viktor got off the bed in search of his clothes. Even though they had made love, seeing him naked hadn't caught up with her yet.

"There is muggle man I know nearby vho can marry us." Viktor said. "Come."

Two hours later, they were married. Hermione had had her doubts throughout the time of course, wondering if this was a dream- that would end as a nightmare or something. She had thought things through as the wedding was happening, asking herself if she was going to be able to live like this, if this was the life she was going to choose. After all, she still had Ron who hadn't given up his chase on her. But she was now Viktor's mistress, enemy to Viktor's other wife, and was to live a secret life just as Viktor's other wife did. She loved Viktor with all her heart, which was why she was going to put herself through all of this but wondered if it was enough to keep herself sane in their secrecy. After all, she wanted to show off that the two were in love and married...

"I loff you, Hermione Krum."

She looked at him without much of an expression on her face and could see a small smile on his. Viktor wasn't one for smiling so a small attempt was a big one.

"I love you too."