Curious how Snape will react? HA! I'll torture you for another chapter or so... ;P No, honestly, no Snape in this chapter... or no Snape in-depth...

Anyway ENJOY!


Krum observed Hermes.

He was intrigued by the young man and his school-mates were aware of this; all of Durmstrang had taken to shadow the curly-haired man who usually had his nose in a book. It took some serious skills to survive a fight with a dragon – and to Viktor's knowledge the lithe boy had not entered the tournament.

Now, he had to admit that it had been foul play of his headmaster to have levitated the Shrimp – for that was what he was called in this school – into the arena without him being prepared, but he understood the necessity of it. A Logar-Vorogna, Firecrow as it was called here, always fought its own kind and it appeared that the wand of Granger had a dragon string at its core that corresponded to this type of dragon.

The Bulgarian seeker watched from the shadows when the whole school turned their back to a wizard that could probably have conquered them with a blink of an eye. And yet he carefully studied the selected politeness with which the mentioned wizard treated anyone who came his way. No ill word ever passed his mouth and Viktor had heard enough of them since his arrival to know when one was spat out.

No, Hermes Granger resorted to books and learning, instead of using his skills to instill terror and fear, it was a trait that coaxed the respect even out of Igor Karkaroff. Krum knew that in a week, the Christmas feast would be held and for the sake of international relations, each foreign student was asked to sit on a table with a native student. It sounded strangely like a date to him, but he acknowledged that the best way to get to know another country was by its countrymen and interaction – he assumed that it was just as right with him, but he wanted Granger.


She was wonderfully ignored as she worked on her thesis on the uses of flobberworms in potions and sighed contently, finally being left in peace from both Ronald and Harry - there was now no need to answer their incessant questions, no need to practically write their assignments for them and she was finally able to concentrate on her own work.

Unfortunately though, the Yule feast neared, and people were looking for companions that would fill their tables. Apparently tables of ten were allowed and for the sake of international relations one at least had to try to interact with one of the foreign students.

Actually, she had thought about simply joining her friends, but she had found out rather soon that it was not as easy as that… Cho had been asked to join Cedric Diggory; she came from a wealthy family after all and Diggory liked them just like that. Pansy's presence had been required at some pureblood table by none other than Draco Malfoy. And Luna would be off with… well, she didn't know exactly, which left her to either not join at all, or simply sit at a random table and hope that she would not be noticed, while she'd read a book.

However, as it was, she had been lucky to have been asked already and she was quite satisfied with herself for having accepted. Ron came over to her looking as smug as the day he thought he knew something better and bent over her solitary table.

"So Hermes, you got someone to accompany you to the feast?" Annoyed she set down her quill and glared at Ron from under her curly hair, maybe if she stared long enough, he'd burst into flames and simply leave her alone.

"Why do you ask, Weasley?" she retorted, the red-head smirked, still not bursting into flames.

"Well you know, I mean… it's alright for friends if they come alone to the feast and then… find each other, but for someone like you it's simply… sad."

Hermione's blood boiled – oh the audacity of that prick! First ignore her and then try to take advantage of her supposedly vulnerable situation. Angrily she shut her book with a loud 'thump' making Snape's head snap up from the position he was in, leaned against the wall at the far end of the room – his eyes immediately zoomed in on them. "Just so you know, Weasley, I already got an invitation." She hissed, standing up and handing in her perfect essay, before she stomped back to the stunned idiot and added: "And I said yes."


Viktor Krum and his friends were actually quite nice – only: they spoke English very badly, but it was nothing that Hermione couldn't fix.

"Converteo." And with a simple spell, she spoke English, while they spoke Bulgarian, but each understood the other perfectly.

Krum asked a lot about the schools in England, the people, muggles, he was interested in everything and everyone it seemed and Hermione enjoyed herself immensely and listened to the stories of the Bulgarian students: of when Boris got his ass kicked by a broom, or when their twins tried a new spell and ended up hanging in the air for a week, because there was no way to get back down to earth.

It was only later when she and Viktor remained from the merry round, the rest had given up trying to swallow the vodka they'd smuggled to the feast with them, that finally the seeker of Bulgaria started to ask her more personal questions, she could quickly see where this was going.

She smirked at him. "You want to know how I defeated the… how'd you call it, Logar-Vorona? The Firecrow?"

"You beat me at my own game!" he exclaimed when he found that he had been detected and they saluted each other with their drinks, then the young man nodded. "Yes… I admit that it intrigues me how someone… well, how you could beat such a beast."

Hermes Granger gave him another smirk. "You mean someone as brainy and lithe and generally unathletic, bar a few flying-lessons, as me could beat a huge, fiery, untamable dragon like that."

"You're good at reading in between the lines, Hermes… if I may call you that." Of course she agreed – she liked the young man good enough to allow him to call her by her faux-name. About to recount her story, she noticed Ron and Harry on the neighbouring table, both glaring at the wall ahead; it was apparent that they were miffed at her for having such a companion. She still wasn't keen on them overhearing her little secrets.

"I will tell you, but I will not tell the rest of the populace." She said again, and Viktor understood what she had meant, guiding her outside on the balcony.


Cho, Luna and Pansy were sitting next to her, anxiously watching the four candidates that now stood in front of the giant labyrinth. Hermione had coached Harry until the last day, but she could tell that he had not taken any of her advises and had instead taken to listen to Ronald rather than her. It wasn't her problem anyways, she vouched for Durmstrang – Viktor was a much better winner than Harry, even though it would do nothing to minimize the ego of the Bulgarian seeker.

Just as the canon was shot, Hermione stood and raised her right hand, along with the Durmstrang school. Her middle finger was crossed over her ring finger, while the other fingers were stretched out, Viktor, it seemed, looked only at her and smiled, before he returned the greeting with his left hand and then vanished into the labyrinth. When Hermione sat down, she took a deep breath.

"Now… we have to wait and pray that our predictions were wrong." She breathed.


The Cup was gone, the labyrinth vanished and Hermione saw, for the split of a moment, Viktor not so far away from the place where the Cup had been. A portkey – and Harry was nowhere to be seen.

An angry roar went through the masses, but the Clover had already stood up, bustling through the crowd and hurrying towards the point where the Cup had been prior. Cho waved her wand slightly and waited for a reaction – it came in the form of a few words lighting up in the darkness.

"Godric's Hollow… Cemetery." She breathed.

When Hermione grabbed the next best rock and created a portkey, she turned one last time to look at Viktor, who stared at her with wide eyes – she repeated the motion from earlier, just this time with her left hand, before the key was activated and she was carried away.


"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son." Cho's eyes were misting when she sighted Cedric not far away from where Harry stood, his features lifeless and cold. There was no question now, what the green-flash from earlier had been.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." Oh, Wormtail, that disgusting little bastard, so intent was he on gaining power that he would even give a hand for it. Hermione barely contained her wish to kill the bastard, before he could finish whatever he was doing, but Harry was still in grave danger.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe." Harry cried out when the blade cut through his skin and marred the silver with angry, red splashes of his life-essence.

Just when she thought that it was safe to attack, Pettigrew heaved a small bundle of something from the ground and threw it into the cauldron. Harry yowled painfully, like she had witnessed him do when his 'foe' was near, but this time, it appeared that Voldemort was coming again.

"Holy bludgers." Pansy breathed. The cauldron exploded into fire and out of the burning masses stepped a darkly clothed, reptilian-like, white skinned man with angry, red eyes. "Nimue help."

Hermione swallowed strongly, thinking of Viktor who'd looked at her with huge eyes, as if he'd known what would happen and hadn't wanted her to follow, but that was not important now – what was important was that this was Lord Voldemort, most powerful dark wizard since Grindelwald.

"Shield your thoughts." She whispered and threw up her own walls – Voldemort was said to be a Legilimens and they couldn't risk to give away their location by letting him hear their thoughts. "And Pans, send your patronus to inform Dumbledore, be quick about it."

Pansy's dragonfly was the smallest of the patronus and there was a higher chance of it going unnoticed than if anyone else would send their patronus. When the animal had flown into the night at lightning speed, they watched as dark masses swirled from the sky and into the graveyard.

It was the same as at the Leaky Cauldron, they appeared in dark robes and skull-masks, bowing in front of their master. Voldemort had but words of disdain for them. It was then when finally Harry was freed and entered what could quickly become a duel with the dark wizard that Hermione saw her opening.

"Now."


It was vicious; Pansy had to admit that. They might have prepared for an eventuality like this, and they were lucky that the Death Eaters were not numerous, but they were still a lot darker than they had originally anticipated.

"Decapito." Goyle snarled at her, she blocked the spell and forwarded a slicing hex of her own – it never met the suddenly fleeing Death Eater.

One after another they vanished into thin air, as if feeling that something, or rather someone, neared and would do everything to destroy them. "Keep him there!" she yelled at Luna, who was engaged in a dangerous one-on-one match with none other than Igor Karkaroff. But the Death Eater soon found that he was circled from three sides and when his attacks faltered and he tried one last attempt at Occlumency on Cho, he found that he was bound and gagged, blinded on the ground.

"Let go, Harry! Let go! I can hold it for a moment!" Hermione stood right behind Boy Wonder, screaming at him to finally break the connection, for nothing else was holding him locked in a deadly match with Voldemort than the connection of their wands. A silvery dome of magic had spread around them, milky faces of dead people appearing and vanishing again. "Now, Harry!"

And when Boy Wonder let go, breaking the connection, Hermione danced out of the way of the deadly curse and sent a hex towards Voldemort. He glared at her for a moment and when Pansy felt the first brush of Dumbledore's magic, the dark wizard disappeared in a blur of black robes.


Diggory was dead, nothing could change that – Hermione was angry at herself for not having arrived earlier, for not having stopped Pettigrew earlier; surely Voldemort had been incredibly vulnerable in the state between un-being and resurrection, and she'd done nothing.

The upside was, they'd caught Karkaroff… and Snape had not been at the resurrection. Viktor looked at her with deep eyes and she went to sling her arm around his shoulders as they strode down to the lake, where the Durmstrang boat stood. She cast her translation spell, before she started speaking.

"I am sorry for your mentor." She said silently, but Viktor only shook his head.

"You know, as well as I do, that if that was his way, then he got what he deserved for having such a weak will."

Durmstrang's ship was gigantic and pompous, to Hermione it looked simply magnificent. They stopped in front of it and Viktor turned to look into her eyes, his large hands on her scrawny shoulders.

"Promise me, Hermes, that no matter how badly you are treated you will not turn towards that monster." He implored her and she smiled, putting her hands on his broad shoulders.

"I promise, Viktor, that the only way I will turn to him will be with my wand raised and the killing curse on my lips." The Bulgarian seeker guffawed and she smirked when he patted her on the head.

"I know your secret." He finally admitted. "You lost your Glamours the day you returned with Karkaroff."

Hermione blushed furiously and tried to step away, but the Bulgarian seeker pinned her down with his hands, a small smile forming on his lips. "In our country, women like you were called hagazussa – fence riders. If they still exist then they do so secretly, but it is said that we wizards only received our powers, because we were nasty enough to coax their secrets from them and lock them away." He looked at her for a long moment, before he stepped closer.

"Velum." He whispered into her ear and Hermione laughed when she realized that the young man had cast a privacy charm around them, before he looked at her again. "Could I see you… a last time?"

Her Glamours wordlessly fell away, revealing the young woman she was blossoming into, softening her features and smoothing her curves to womanly treasures. The seeker smiled broadly as he leant in again. "And what a hagazussa you will be one day."

His kiss came abrupt but was welcome either way. His lips were astoundingly soft and careful and she allowed herself to be pulled into his form, receiving her first kiss. It was anything she'd have dreamed off and nothing she would have ever imagined.

When they departed, she lifted her right hand, her middle finger crossing over her ring finger and the rest of her fingers stretched out.

"It is a sign of luck." Viktor smiled at her as he coaxed her fingers into the position. "In our country the tsar used to greet his victorious warriors like this."

"The days of the tsar are over…" she reminded him and uncoiled her fingers, before trying to redo the motion.

"Indeed they are, but the significance still exists. Wishing someone luck, a farewell, if you want." He crossed the fingers of his left hand. "And if done on the left hand it is a promise to return."

Hermione stood until she couldn't see the mast of the boat anymore, before she dared to replace her Glamours and uncast the privacy charm.


Logar-Vorogna really does mean 'Fire' and 'Crow' in Russia, PONS dictionary be thanked. Converteo was simply derived from the word 'convert', Decapito was transformed from 'decapitate' and Velum can mean 'curtain' in Latin.

There you go, another year done - I hope you enjoyed that. I did.

REVIEW please :)