This one is (for the most part) Hermione's point of view! I'm also skipping ahead a little in this chapter, let's say this is a few weeks before the ball.
He's back again, him and his fangirls. Why does he always have to come here? This place is supposed to be quiet and peaceful but he brings noise and chaos. Of course I shouldn't really blame him, he doesn't like it either I can tell. But it's still annoying. As another group of fangirls joined the first the noise doubled and I decided I couldn't take it anymore, so I gathered my stuff and left. It felt like someone was watching me as I left, I turned and looked, but all I saw was Krum with his head buried in a book. Shaking it off, I head to one of the empty classrooms Harry and I had been using to practice for the tournament and settle down to study there.
An hour later, I head down to the Great Hall to meet up with Harry and Ron for lunch.
"Where were you Hermione?" asked Ron.
"Yeah we went to the library but we couldn't find you." Said Harry.
"Sorry, Krum and his fangirls showed up and it got too loud so I went to one of the unused classrooms to study." Said Hermione.
After lunch they went to their lessons, first being A History of Magic, in which Harry and Ron promptly fell asleep the moment Professor Binns opened his mouth. I rolled my eyes at them and started taking notes. After an hour and a half of that, Harry and Ron went to Divination but I had a free period because Professor Vector was too sick to get out of bed, or so Professor McGonagall told me this morning. I decided to go to the library, figuring that no one else would be there. I was wrong, Krum was heading to the library from the opposite direction I was, knowing his fan club wouldn't be far behind, I turned around and walked in the direction of the Gryffindor common room instead, but he stopped me.
"Vait, please." He said, I slowly turned around.
"Yes?" I asked him. He walked closer to me until he was less than a foot away
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, I smiled.
"You just did, but you can ask another one if you like." I said, he chuckled a little, and I'd say he was nervous if I didn't know better.
"Vould you…Vould you go to the Yule Ball vith me?" he asked next, I wasn't expecting that. He took my silence the wrong way.
"Unless of course, you're already going with someone, I should've expected that…" said Krum.
"No, no I'm not, no one's asked me." I told him.
"Vill you go vith me then?" he asked again, his eyes seemed hopeful.
"Why me?" I asked.
"Because you're beautiful, and smart, and kind." He said.
"Do you even know my name?" I asked him.
"Yes, it's Her…Hermy….Hermi….Hermoninny. I'm sorry, I can spell it, I just can't pronounce it." said Krum.
"Hermione." I told him.
"Yes, Herminee Granger." Said Krum.
"Close enough, yes, I will go with you." I told him. He smiled.
"Thank you. Vill you come inside the library and study with me?" He asked me.
"No, but only because I can hear your fan club from here. Besides, I wanna talk to a friend of mine, but I gotta find her first.
"Fair enough, I will see you later then." said Krum before kissing me lightly on the cheek and walking away. I walked to the Gryffindor Common room to find Ginny, who also had a free period. Thankfully I found Ginny sitting alone at a table, where I knew we would be able to have a private conversation.
"Hey Hermione." I spotted Neville sitting in an armchair.
"Neville! You're not in Divination?" I asked him, he shook his head.
"No, the fumes caused me to faint, and so she told me to go to the hospital wing but as soon as I got outta there I felt fine so I came here. Hey can I ask you a question?" asked Neville, I nodded and he continued.
"Would you, would you go to the ball with me?" he asked.
"Oh Neville, I'm sorry! But someone's already asked me and I said I'd go with him." I said, Neville nodded.
"Oh, well ok then." he said before sitting down, not knowing what else to say I go and sit down next to Ginny.
"Hey Ginny." I said.
"So who asked you?" she asked impatiently.
"Do you remember how I told you that Krum is always in the library when I am and we talked a few times and he helped me get books I couldn't reach and I helped him with his work once?" said Hermione, Ginny nodded. "Well Victor asked me to the ball, and I said yes." Finished Hermione.
"OH MY GOD!" screamed Ginny.
"Sh please don't tell anyone! Not even Harry or Ron!" said Hermione.
"Of course, oh my god I'm so happy for you." Said Ginny.
"Thanks." The Fat Lady's portrait opened suddenly and Harry and Ron stumbled through with Seamus and Dean trailing behind laughing. They had made a pact this morning that they were both going to ask the girl they wanted to the ball.
"What happened?" asked Hermione.
"They both got rejected." Said Dean.
"Who'd they ask?" asked Ginny.
"Harry asked Cho Chang, no surprise there, she's going with Diggory though. Ron, Ron asked Fleur Delacour." Said Seamus.
"More like shouted at Fleur Delacour in the entrance hall, in front of everyone, and then ran away before she answered." Said Dean as both Harry and Ron sunk into chairs.
"What are we gonna do? All the good ones are taken!" said Ron.
"I don't know, Eloise Midgen is looking very nice now that her acne's cleared up." Hermione suggested
"Her nose is off center." Said Ron.
"You won't go with her because her nose is off center? That's absurd Ronald!" said Hermione. Ron didn't answer, after a minute he seemed to come to a great realization.
"Hey Hermione, you're a girl." Said Ron as if this amazed him.
"Finally noticed have you?" I asked, my mood growing more sour by the minute.
"Well you can go with Harry! Save him the embarrassment, especially since he has to open up the ball with the other champions." Said Ron.
"I can't, I'm already going with someone." I told him coldly.
"What? Who with?" asked Ron.
"It doesn't matter, all you have to know is that I have a date and therefore can't go with Harry, who is like a brother to me anyway." I told him. Ron opened his mouth to say something else but was stopped by Harry who said.
"Leave it alone Ron, I don't wanna go with Hermione either, no offence but it'd be too weird seeing as your more like a sister to me anyway." Said Harry.
"Thank you Harry." Said Hermione before getting up and leaving.
"Where are you going?" asked Ron.
"The Library. You know Ronald, just because it took you this long to notice doesn't me that someone else didn't." Said Hermione before leaving.
"She's lying, no one's asked her." Said Ron.
"She's not." Said Ginny softly.
"What? How do you know?" asked Ron.
"She told me about how it happened." Said Ginny.
"So? Who asked her?" asked Ron.
"I can't tell you, she made me promise not to tell anyone." Said Ginny.
"Ron give it up, besides if you're this pissed that she's going with someone else, why didn't you ask her earlier? And not as a last resort, mind you." Said Harry before getting up.
"Hey Parvati, would you go to the ball with me?" asked Harry.
"Oh, well alright then." said Parvati with a girlish giggle.
"And your sister Padma? Could she go with Ron?" asked Harry.
"I can ask, but she doesn't have a date yet." Said Parvati.
"Great thanks." Said Harry before walking back over to Ron.
"You're welcome." Said Harry to Ron, who was speechless.
I hadn't left yet, I'm glad Harry took my side for a change, thought Hermione as she left for the library
Krum POV
After Hermione left I walked to the Great Hall to get some lunch. Seeing Taylor at the end of the table, I sat down next to her.
"So? How did it go?" she asked eagerly.
"She said yes." I told her, a smile playing across my face. Taylor squealed.
"Sh, I don't want anyone to know yet, I don't want her getting swamped with people, I don't think she'd be very comfortable with it." I told her.
"Alright alright, I won't breathe a word." Said Taylor.
"Thank you." I told her.
"Anytime." She said back to me.
"I'm gonna pay for all these favors later aren't I?" I asked her.
"Yes" she answered simply.
"Can you tell me in what way?" I asked, genuinely curios in what her devious little mind would come up with.
"Well, this is kind of awkward, but that Durmstrang boy you're always talking to, the tall guy with long brown hair, could you introduce me?" asked Taylor.
"You mean Nick? Funny, he asked to be introduced to you yesterday." I told her, laughing slightly.
"Really?" asked Taylor.
"Yup, I'll go grab him now if you want." I offered, knowing full well that he would just be sulking around the ship with nothing to do.
"Would you?" asked Taylor.
"I'll go right now, seeing as I haven't eaten yet and you haven't either I'll ask him to join us for some breakfast.
"Ok. Thanks" said Taylor. I smiled at her before getting up and walking out of the hall. I got to the ship ten minutes, predictably my buddy Nick was pacing on the deck.
"Nick! C'mon, we're going to eat breakfast." I shouted at him in our native language.
"I'm not hungry." He answered back.
"Yes you are, because that girl you like will be there." I said smugly. Nick hesitated for another moment before bounding off the ship.
"Does she know I'm coming?" asked Nick nervously.
"Yes. She actually asked to be introduced to you." I told him, my own face lighting up when I saw him smile.
"Ok, ok cool." Said Nick as we entered the Great Hall. Taylor was right where I'd left her, piling her plate with food. She didn't even notice us until we were right next to her.
"Hey Taylor." I said in english.
"Hi" she answered back, smiling nervously at us.
"Allow me to introduce my friend, Nick. Nick, this is Taylor" I said. Nick came to his senses and took Taylor's hand in his, bending over to kiss it.
"Pleasure to meet you, Taylor." His English is much better than mine because he grew up in England, with his mother who died when he was ten, than he moved to Bulgaria to live with his father.
"Likewise." Said Taylor.
Might I sit by you?" asked Nick.
"Of course." Said Taylor. Nick sat on Taylor's left and I sat on the other side of him. Fifteen minutes into breakfast, Nick asked Taylor if he could escort her to the ball, and she said yes. I stood, clapping Nick on the shoulder.
"I must be going, this was fun." I said before leaving the two of them.
If you made it this far, would you be so kind as to leave a review?
Till next time,
Daughterofathena2