A/N: Officially multi-chaptered! I was going to start working on this after I finish What They Don't Teach You at Durmstrang, but the response was just so overwhelming that I felt compelled to start right away. I have a basic idea of where I want this story to go and how I want it to end, but it's not as thoroughly planned as WTDTYAD so I can't predict its length. It's definitely going to be longer, though, and generally much lighter and more fun as it'll focus mostly on Hermione and Viktor's relationship and Viktor's Veela ancestry (I look forward to this part most!). Anyway, thank you all so much for your love and support and for your patience! I really hope you enjoy this chapter!
She was halfway through a Charms essay when he plopped down on the chair facing hers, his face an indifferent mask as he regarded her with his lean arms crossed over his chest. She slowly lowered her quill to stare haughtily down at him. Three days have passed since their agreement and to her great pleasure she found that his pronunciation only got worse with every try.
"Well?" she said, trying to keep her anticipation at sending him away scowling and flustered perfectly hidden. "Must I remind you of our agreement?"
"No need, I remember," he said. His eyes flickered to her unfinished essay. "You are busy, I will be fast. What time are we going?"
"When you learn to say my name right, Viktor."
His lips curled into a smile and she felt the blood drain from her face.
"You haven't," she whispered, her eyes wide. "You're just trying to scare me."
He placed his elbow on the desk and leaned forward to rest his chin on that hand, his smile turning cheeky at her statement. "And why I want to scare my mate?"
"Stop using that word!" she hissed, more panicked than angry. She then took a deep breath, forcing herself into a calmer state of mind and reminding herself that he's already tried to trick her into teaching him once. "I'm not falling for that again, Viktor. I know you haven't learned to say my name right, so unless if you want to give it another try, I would appreciate it very much if you leave. I have an essay due in a week and I'm awfully behind."
He sighed. She would've thought herself victorious and rejoice had it not been for his oozing confidence making her anxious.
"Ok, I will leave you now," he said, once again on his feet. He stopped just as he was about to disappear behind a bookshelf, as if he just remembered something. He then grinned triumphantly. "Good luck with essay, Hermione."
She barely completed the first draft of her essay by lunchtime. The look on her friends' faces when she found them in the Great Hall told her that they didn't need to be told. They knew, either from the utterly horrified look on her face or from Viktor's uncharacteristically lively demeanor from the Slytherin table on the other side of the hall. She presumed it to be the second, as the champion had been notable sulky and moody in the few days he had tried and failed to pronounce her name.
"Oh, I can't do this!" she said after a few minutes of silence, near tears as she dropped her fork and pushed her plate away.
"Then don't," came Ron's simple answer. For once he wasn't stuffing his face with food, and she would've been flattered had he not turned his glare at her. "So what if he got your name right? I don't see why you should go with him."
"Of course I have to, I promised!"
"So? Just tell him you can't because he's competing against Harry."
"Ron, that wouldn't make any sense! The whole point of this tournament is to form friendships with students from the visiting schools, even if we were to compete against each other!"
"Yea, you'd remember that part," he muttered under his breath, looking away from her to pick at his plate.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I've got an idea!" Ginny announced from her seat next to Hermione, cutting in just in time. "We'll come with you."
Harry perked up from his place next to Ron, happy to prevent a fight from happening. "Yea, Krum never said anything about the two of you being alone. We could meet up there and pretend that it's just a weird coincidence."
"Or we'll just go together," said Ginny. "I mean you didn't expect him to get it right so fast, so you've made plans. I really don't think he'd mind."
"I… I suppose…" said Hermione, chewing her lips nervously as her eyes drifted from the still-sullen Ron to Viktor talking animatedly to a seventh year Slytherin and to one of his Durmstrang peers.
"I could invite more people if you want," suggested Ginny when she caught Hermione's hesitation, giving her a small encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Hermione, it's just one date. We'll be with you and we won't let anything happen."
Hermione smiled back, comforted despite being somewhat weary of the plan. Fleur's words were swimming back in her mind, particularly the ones concerning the male half-Veela's aggressive, possessive tendencies. She wouldn't want her friends to get hurt because of a mess she got herself in.
"We'll stay close but out of sight if he says No," she added.
"Thank you, Ginny," said Hermione, grabbing her friend's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'd like that very much."
He had no problem with her friends accompanying them, much to her surprise. She didn't even need to give him an excuse, he merely nodded and proceeded to walk towards the iron gates.
"So far so good," Ginny commented from her side when they finally caught up with Viktor's long strides.
Hermione glanced behind her shoulders and saw that Ron and Harry were a few paces behind them.
"Brother dearest," explained Ginny with a sigh, rolling her eyes. "He insists that Krum's face morphs every time he looks at him, and that he may or may not have fangs. Honestly, he's just paranoid! I mean Krum is not even full Veela, and everyone knows that only full Veela can transform– and he's just that! Half-Veela, not half-vampire." She snorted. "Fangs!"
Hermione looked at Viktor walking quietly on her other side, knowing for sure that he's heard everything Ginny said, but he seemed too fascinated by the domes and roofs of the few houses they were passing to give his thoughts on the matter.
"Oh, you don't actually believe him, do you?" asked Ginny, a single red eyebrow raised. "Hermione, you know how Ron is."
Normally she would've agreed with the younger Weasley, but she distinctly remembers something about Viktor hissing at Ron. She hasn't actually been witness to it, of course, then again she's never really been a witness to anything but the kind, endearing, if not a little persistent side of him, but it's probably because he wouldn't want to show his mate anything but his very best qualities.
That's what she chooses to believe, anyway.
She shook her head. She made a quick mental note to come up of an alternative to the word 'mate', as she feels even more uncomfortable thinking it than hearing it.
"Viktor…" she started uncertainly, coming to a halt in front of Honeydukes when she felt the distance between them and Harry and Ron stretching.
There was something far too innocent in the way Viktor was looking inquisitively back at her, so innocent that it was practically devious. She couldn't help but narrow her eyes and cross her arms over her chest, very much ready to scold him for being rude to her friends but coming up short. She didn't exactly have proof, besides Ron's word…
Ginny was quick to her aid. "Show us a smile, Vik!" she said with sudden cheer, pointing at her own large grin. "The biggest smile you've got, like this!"
He complied, displaying rows of perfectly straight human teeth. They were a little too white, but that was the only unnatural thing about them, which Hermione assumed to be some kind of a prerequisite that all celebrities must check off at some point. They weren't sharper than they ought to be and it didn't look like he had more than thirty-two.
"Nice," said Ginny approvingly, very openly examining his teeth and not even bothering to hide it. "You know I always thought you'd have more crooked or missing teeth from all the Bludgers you take."
"Thank you," he said, looking pleased with her compliment. His eyes then shifted to Hermione, eager and hopeful.
Feeling awkward and a tiny bit guilty, she turned away from him and was relieved to see that Harry and Ron had finally caught up with them. "Good, you're here! Shall we go in?"
Once indoors Viktor had all but forgotten about Hermione's dismissal of his otherwise perfect teeth. He was as taken by the shop as all thirteen year old students on their first visit, rushing around each counter to try the free samples and then proceeding to grab the small bags or boxes from the shelves and putting them in his basket, which was nearly full by the time he got through half of the shop. Hermione couldn't help but smile a little at his childish glee, and at the same time wonder how he managed to keep his teeth so white and cavity-free whilst clearly having a really bad sweet tooth.
Then he started following her again.
"Hermione, let me buy this for you!" he said eagerly, either overwhelmed by the prospect of purchasing sweets for her or by all the sugar he's consumed.
"I don't want it!" she said, quickly returning the box of Exploding Bonbons she was examining.
He pouted, then grabbed the box she returned to examine it himself, apparently having missed it in his rounds. He shrugged and tossed it in his now full basket.
He repeated the procedure with every single item she touched. She tried to slip away from him as much as she could, but he always seemed to find her in the cluster of customers and brave fans that stopped him for autographs, almost begging her to let him buy her something and getting nothing short of a refusal stemming from speedily thinning patience.
She left the shop in a huff, having not bought anything to keep Viktor from paying for everything. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Viktor followed her soon afterwards, the last approaching her with a very happy grin. It took her a moment to notice the second bag in his hand.
"No, absolutely not!" she said, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest when he pushed the bag at her. "Viktor, I refuse!"
Again she felt guilty at his crestfallen face, but she pushed it down and forced herself to look away. He was very obviously trying to woo her, apparently unhindered by her friends' presence. She was nowhere near understanding the whole Veela-mate ordeal, but in the meantime she wasn't going to help him succeed.
He shoved the bag at Ron's chest. "Go be busy," he grumbled.
Ron looked like he was torn between accepting the very big, very full bag of sweets or shoving it right back at him. His own sweet tooth seemed to have won in the end, but not so much as to spare Viktor's back a vicious glare.
"He's alright, you know," said Harry when he caught her staring at Viktor from the distance, examining several English learning books from the language section at Tomes and Scrolls.
He hadn't followed her the entire time they were in. In fact he was quick to excuse himself from the group as soon as they got inside, and at first Hermione was thankful for the peace and space she was afraid he wouldn't give her in one of her most favorite places in the entire village, but then she started to worry when she got through her list without so much as a creak from his side. She started looking for him, continuously reminding herself that it's only to prevent a guest of their school from getting lost or into trouble, and her heart clenched when she found him comparing several language books he had picked. He was so focused in his task that he failed to notice her watching him.
A part of her, the part that wasn't guilt-driven in its quest to make her loath herself, was wondering if he'd still put in this much effort if she weren't his mate. She also wondered if she herself would've responded better had the circumstances been different, had he approached her because he wanted to, not because of some ancient Veela magic no one truly understood.
She sighed and turned away from the sight and towards the check-in counter to pay for her items. "I know. He can be awfully kind and sweet when he's not being his usual overbearing self."
Harry hesitated, waiting for her to place her items on the counter and ring the bell before speaking. "Hermione, have you maybe… considered giving it a try?"
"Harry!"
"I'm just saying!" he said, quickly holding up his hands in submission. "He seems alright. He hasn't really done anything he's not supposed to, and he's trying really hard to impress you. I'm obviously not saying you should be with him, just… give him a chance, maybe?"
"Maybe I would under normal circumstances," she admitted at length, ringing the bell again when she realized that the salesclerk didn't show up. "But for him it's different, Harry. I'm not just a girl he's interested in, I'm his… his mate." She cringed at the word, once again reminding herself to find an alternative. "He doesn't know anything about me, and yet he's already convinced that we're meant to be. Oh, can't you see, Harry? It's unnatural! It's more like a curse if you think about it. Neither of us had a say in the matter, and I know its not his fault, but I can't just give up and let some strange unnatural bond control my life."
Harry opened his mouth to either agree with her or to argue some more, but was cut off by the appearance of the aging salesclerk.
"Miss Granger, what a lovely surprise!" he said, smiling warmly at Hermione. "What can I do for you today?"
"I'll just have these, thank you," she said, then hesitated as he nodded and gathered her items to begin wrapping them. "Actually… would you happen to have anything by T. J. Scamander?"
The clerk paused to look up at her, frowning slightly. "Surely you mean Newt Scamander, Miss Granger?"
"Oh no, I've already read all of Newt Scamander's work. I'm looking for T. J. Scamander."
"Are you quite sure, Miss Granger?"
She exchanged looks with an equally confused Harry. "Is he perhaps unknown?"
The old wizard scoffed before resuming his work of wrapping Hermione's ink bottles and scrolls. "He's most certainly known, just not in the same light as his father."
"How come?"
"Oh, it started out nice and well for him, followed the same path as his father and made himself a decent career as a Magizoologist until… well, until he decided to specialize. That's expected of most Magizoologist, of course, if one were to assume that they'd stick to their field and specialize in beasts."
"He didn't choose to specialize, then?" asked Harry, intrigued.
"Oh, he did choose!" replied the salesclerk, laughing once. "Of course he's already been discredited years ago by every decent establishment, and he more or less lost the right to call himself a Magizoologist, not that he really cares as a self-styled Veela specialist." He sighed and shook his head, having finally finished wrapping Hermione's items and stacking them in a paper bag. "To be honest I have no idea how he managed to stay a live all these years, what with the many angry and highly offended Veela threatening to scorch him should they set eyes on him."
"But why would they be offended, sir?" asked Harry. Hermione was about to reply when the salesclerk laughed again.
"Why who wouldn't, my dear boy? Veela are classified as Beings, meaning they have sufficient intelligence to understand wizarding law and act accordingly, as are wizards and muggles and vampires, for instance. I myself wouldn't fancy anyone examining me as they would a beast. There are ways, of course, if one is truly interested, however Scamander's manner is a very arrogant, condescending one. Wouldn't you agree?"
Harry slowly nodded, understanding dawning on his features.
The revelation only further confused Hermione. Why would Viktor insist she'd read a book written by not only a discredited and ostracized Magizoologist, but by one that looks at Veela as he would a creature of primitive intelligence? More than anything she was upset that he carried that book around in the first place with no shame whatsoever, and that she had even considered finding a solution in it. People like T. J. Scamander were the reason there's still tension between wizards and most magical beings, and Hermione has always prided herself in being nothing like those conceited, narrow-minded wizards.
She was fishing out the coins from her purse when she heard a light thud next to her. She turned and saw that Viktor had apparently decided to get all three books and was about to pay for them when he noticed that he had missed the opportunity of paying for her items. She felt so proud of the small victory that she made quite an unnecessary show of paying for her items and sweeping them off the counter, smirking as Viktor narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin line.
"And what can I do for you, young man?" said the salesclerk kindly when he noticed Viktor standing.
Viktor looked between the old man, Hermione's purchased items, and his own selected books on the counter. He seemed to have reached another decision.
"I would like to buy this establishment," he announced, looking tall and regal all of a sudden.
"I beg your pardon?" the salesclerk stuttered, his smile dropping instantly to Hermione's horror.
"I would like to buy this establishment," he repeated, then turning to Hermione he said: "you like this place, yes? I will buy it for you."
"No you will not!" she nearly shrieked, blushing scarlet in her mortification as she apologized profusely to the befuddled salesclerk before shoving Viktor with all her might as far away from the counter and through the door. "Stay here." She commanded, giving him a stern look before storming back into the shop, passing by Ginny and Ron on their way out and ignoring their calls as she grabbed her bag from the counter and apologized once again to the salesclerk.
"Your friend's books, Miss Granger!" he called just as she was about to leave again. "Does he still want them?"
She hesitated, one hand hovering over the door handle as the other clutched her bag. The image of him flipping through books by the language learning section came to her mind again. "Alright, I'll pay for them." She said with a sigh, turning back towards the counter.
She found him missing from his assigned spot when she left Tomes and Scrolls.
"Where is he?" she asked her three friends standing mute close by, whirling on her spot to find him peering into the window of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. "Oh for goodness' sake!" she shoved her bag and Viktor's at Ron before sprinting towards him.
He was staring intensely at a couple seated right next to the window. They were kissing passionately and were completely unaware of his rather intruding presence from the other side. He raised a fist and rapped his knuckles on the glass, making it shudder slightly and prompting the couple to swiftly scramble away from each other, both breathing hard and staring wide-eyed at Viktor looking back at them with his usual surly expression. They looked at a complete loss until Viktor's mouth stretched into a wide grin. He waved at them, and after exchanging looks, they very slowly waved back.
Hermione grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him away from the window, mouthing her apologies at the still-bewildered couple.
"Can we go there?" he asked, staring over his shoulder at the shop she forced him away from.
"Absolutely not!" she said, tightening her hold on his arm and pulling him further away. She would die a thousand times over than go into Hogsmeade's infamous couple's retreat with none other than Viktor. Simply being there said too much, and they've already had enough said about them by the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly and every other wizarding publication in Britain.
"Why not?" he asked, looking dejected again.
She glared at him. Was he hoping they'd end up like the couple he was so rudely spying on? She quickly averted her eyes when she felt the heat rise to her face at the image that thought conjured in her head.
"Because," she started, burying her face in her thick wooly scarf when she saw him tilting his head to try to peer at her, "it's almost suppertime. We mustn't be late."
Suppertime wasn't for another three or four hours.
"Ok, we'll go next time," he said, staring ahead with a large smile.
"There won't be a next time!"
"Why not?"
"Because…" she trailed off, cursing herself for slipping. "Because… the first task. You need to dedicate your free time for that, seeing as you've been too busy trying to learn my name."
He shrugged. "It was worth it. I am having much fun today."
She looked up at him, slowly coming to a stop as she felt something similar to when she saw him browsing the language shelves in Tomes and Scrolls. "Really?"
He nodded, smiling warmly at her. "I am with you, Hermione, so I am much happy."
But I haven't exactly been pleasant, she wanted to say, then thought better of it. He'll likely deny it and that would only make it easier for her guilt to consume her.
It was only when they were past the iron gates of the castle and the many stares and whispers did Hermione realize that her hand was still curled around his arm, and she suddenly understood why he seemed unable to stop smiling since they left the village. She quickly released his arm and stepped around Harry so that he was between them, acting as a human barrier even though Viktor was still tall enough to look over Harry's messy hair and at her curiously, but either way it didn't help much as the whispers only got louder.
It also didn't help that Ron wordlessly stormed off into the Great Hall ahead of them, his face flushed for reasons beyond the cold outside as he purposely took one of the two empty seats between Dean and Parvati. Harry looked between his friends, torn as he always finds himself to be whenever they start fighting, and for once Hermione wanted to be selfish and drag him towards their end of the table.
"Go," she said instead, sounding more angry than reassuring as she glared at Ron's sulking figure. "It's fine, Harry. Just go before he turns on you for breathing around Viktor."
Viktor perked at the sound of his name. Until then he appeared to have been either uncaring or unaware of the tension. "Boy with red hair is upset?"
"Do you even care?" asked Ginny, rounding on him.
"No."
"Then why ask?"
He shrugged. "I am being polite."
"Look, Hermione–" Harry began.
"It's fine, Harry, I promise!" she cut him off quickly, forcing a smile. "I'll be with Ginny."
Ginny hooked an arm around Hermione's, as if to confirm. "Yea, don't worry about Ron, both of you. It's probably just that time of the month. He'll come around."
Harry nodded. He still looked hesitant and especially apologetic towards Hermione before he left them to take the remaining empty seat between Dean and Ron, who had started talking to Parvati at some point and appeared to be engrossed in whatever she was talking about.
When Hermione thought that things couldn't possibly get any worse from there Viktor grabbed her hand just as they entered the Great Hall and brought it to his lips, making her gasp audibly and attract the attention of most diners closest to them, who proceeded to stare wide-eyed and then whisper to the ones next to them that missed the scene. Ginny shot murderous glares at the few that pointed, but it was to no avail as most present have already turned to look at them, including Harry and Ron who were a good distance away.
She yanked her hand free, glaring up at him and willing herself to not cry from sheer humiliation just yet. "Viktor, that was uncalled for!"
"I am saying thank you," he said, more deterred by her anger and not at all concerned with the commotion they just caused. "Also… I am asking if you will cheer for me in tournament."
He sounded so hopeful and looked so bashful that she nearly smiled. Nearly.
She was about to decline, say that she's got to cheer for her own school's champions, but then she caught Ron staring at them again from the corner of her eyes and instead she found herself saying: "You know what? I might just do that."