I anxiously scanned the room for familiar faces, but no professor was in sight. And then I saw him. He was still as broad-shouldered and muscular as I remembered him. His masculine chin was stubbly with a three-day beard and his brown hair was just as short. I made my way over to him and sat across from him, a smile plastered on my face.

"Hermione!" was all he said as he pulled me into a bear hug.

"Can't breathe!" I choked after a while and he let go of me and laughed deeply.

"I vas so glad to get your letter, I vondered vhat happened viz you. I heard some nevs of course, but still..." he started in his hot Bulgarian accent. I noticed though that his English had gotten way better since the last time I had seen him. He still had a slight accent, but his vocabulary and grammar seemed to have improved immensely. His English never really had been bad, just worse.

"I know, I'm sorry." I apologized. "I really have no excuse."

He smiled widely. "No need to apologize, Hermione." He even pronounced my name the right way now. "Do you vant a butterbeer?" he then asked me and I nodded. He disappeared for a little while and then returned with a butterbeer for me and firewhiskey for him. Drinking at noon. He truly was East-European. I thanked him and took a sip of my butterbeer.

"So vhat ever happened to zat boy of yours?" he finally wanted to know and tears immediately stung in my eyes, which he of course noticed. He put one of his big, rough hands on mine.

"Vhat's Vrong?" He asked concerned. I just shook my head, trying to fight the tears back. He downed his firewhiskey in one gulp without letting go of my hand and the next thing I knew was that I was sitting on a bench, surrounded by a forest.

"Where are we?" I asked confused.

He shrugged. "I don't knov exactly, I just figured that you didn't vant to cry in a room full of people."

I hugged him tightly and rested my head on his chest before I started crying again. He just held me for a while, not saying anything, but just letting me shed my tears and hold on to him. At some point though, the tears ran dry and it was physically impossible for me to cry any further.

"Do you vant to talk about it?" He finally asked cautiously. I nodded, but didn't lift my head from his chest. Feeling his warmth and his muscles just felt too good, too safe. And then I told him everything that had happened in the last couple of years, how Malfoy had become a Deatheater and let them in the castle, how he hadn't done anything when I had been tortured in his house, how he had turned to our side in the end, how we had to share a common room, how he was a manwhore and finally that I had just come to know that he had slept with my best friend. Just to name a couple of milestones. It felt so good to just talk about it all, to let it out. Talking about my feelings, having someone who listened but didn't judge. I felt so much better already. He stroke over my hair while I was talking and sometimes threw in questions. When I was done we were both quiet for a while.

"Sounds like a lot has happened." he then murmured.

I nodded and then looked up to him. "But what about you? What's new, Viktor?"

He smiled and shrugged a little. "Vell actually... I just got engaged a couple of veeks ago."

I let out a squeal. "Who is she? How is she? How have you met?" I fired questions at him.

He chuckled a little. "Her name is Naomi and she is a Muggle. She's actually British too." That would explain why his English suddenly had improved so much. "Ve met about a year ago, vhen I was in England for a Quidditch game. She of course didn't knov anyzing about Quidditch, so she didn't knov who I vas eizer, vhich vas really refreshing. After about two monzs I told her about the vizarding vorld and the ministry vas so busy viz... ozer zings... zat I didn't even get in trouble for it. She freaked out at first and didn't vant to believe me, but after a vhile she vas fine viz it. Vhen I shoved her hov great it vas to be a vizard – I took her for a ride on my broom."

I smiled widely at him and couldn't help but see the irony in his relationship with that muggle girl. Thousands of witches all over the world were drooling over him and his stardom, but he settled for a girl that had no idea who he was instead. That was so romantic. Despite what Harry and Ron had always thought - Viktor was not dumb. They misunderstood his silentness as stupidity, but I knew better than that. I knew that he didn't like talking in public a lot because he didn't like having his attention on himself. And he obviously had a lot of attention on himself because of his fame. Isn't it understandable that he wanted to stay by himself when everywhere he went a thousand girls followed him? He obviously liked people that didn't care much about his fame, like Naomi and me and even Fleur. Didn't that show intelligence? He wasn't even that quiet when he was with people that weren't some weird fan-girls. And weren't some of the most genious people in history quiet people? Wasn't it common knowledge that knowing how to talk showed just as much intelligence as knowing when to talk? Now many people also thought he was dumb just because he was a Quidditch player. Harry played Quidditch, just like Malfoy, Ginny, the twins, and so many more people I knew and loved. They were all not stupid. And lastly Viktor hid out in the library when he was hiding from all the girls in my fourth year and he had met me. In the library. When there were so many other places in the whole school and on the grounds that would have been probably even more quiet and peaceful. What hardly anyone knew was that Viktor Krum actually enjoyed reading. It always made me so mad when people thought he was stupid, would he really have been picked as the Durmstrang Champion if he was stupid? No! Viktor was a smart, athletic and kind man that was just misunderstood by the majority of the wizarding world. And that's why I was so happy for him that he had finally found a girl that appreciated him for who he was, not his fame, but the real him.

"I am so happy for you, Viktor. Seriously, you deserve this so much." I finally said, still smiling goofily.

He frowned. "Of course it's great zat I have her and I'm zankful for it every day, but at ze same time... it's kind of veird to have someone you care about zat much. Vhen You-knov-vho came back to pover, I vas so vorried about her. I just took her and apparated her to Africa. I didn't care about hov stupid zat vas, maybe nozing at all vould have happened to her here, I just vanted her to be safe. I didn't vant to take ze risk. I felt like a covard for just disappearing vizout fighting zough."

I shook my head. "I think what you did is incredibly romantic. Not stupid and not coward."

He smiled again. "Zanks, Hermione."

I then noticed that it dawned, we had been talking for hours and the days became shorter.

"I better get back to Hogwarts, it's getting dark." I said, but didn't move. Without a word Viktor apparated both of us on the main street of Hogsmeade.

"It vas good to see you again, Hermione. Ve should do zis again." He said. I nodded.

"Are you sure that Naomi is okay with that though?" I wanted to know.

He laughed. "Yes, she is probably ze most trusting person I have ever met."

I smiled at him and we remained silent for a moment.

"Vell goodbye." He gave me a hug and I knew he was close to disapparating.

"Wait!" I yelled out to stop him from doing that. "I... are you sure that you don't want to come to Hogwarts with me? I could show you my common room and... well... I wouldn't have to face Malfoy by myself." I stuttered.

He pulled his eyebrows up and seemed to think about it for a minute. Then he shrugged. "Vhy not?"

I smiled happily, but still the fear of the confrontation was nagging at me.

"We have to use a secret passage though..." I let him know. He was kind of excited about that, so we made our way to Honeydukes.

We were standing in front of the portrait and I was frozen. I didn't want to go in there, didn't want to meet a furious Malfoy that would yell at me and possibly hex me. But I had Viktor with me. Malfoy admired Viktor. In the Triwizard Tournament Viktor had been the one Malfoy had supported, right? He wouldn't yell at me in front of him, he wouldn't hex me in front of him. Viktor was pureblood, Malfoy liked him. I breathed in deeply and felt Viktor's supporting hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be okay, I'm here." He said and I felt a little better.

"You brought home a friend, huh?" Cecilia asked and raised her eyebrows. "A boy friend."

Victor, the one in the portrait, chuckled. The Viktor next to me didn't respond at all.

"Finite Incatatem." I said to shut them up and they frowned at me before the portrait swung open. I slowly stepped into the common room and there I saw him, standing in front of me, not looking angry at all. Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad after all.

"Do you want to tell me what..." he began in a calm and civil way. And then his eyes focused on something behind me and I could see his jaw clenching together. Suddenly there was a lot of rage in his expression.

"Fuck it, Granger!" he yelled. "What the fuck do you think you were doing? Yelling at me and insulting me for no reason? Hexing me and kicking me out of my own common room? What the fuck, Granger? You will be sorry for this!" He yelled at me. Tears stung in my eyes again. I deserved every single word of what he was saying. I didn't say anything, but just stared on my shoes.

"And now you bring this guy... well Krum... here well-knowing that it's not allowed for us to bring people of the different gender in our common room!" Malfoy continued, delirious of anger. But that was definitely going too far.

"Excuse me, but you're bringing girls home every single day and you kick me out of my common room every single day! And insulting me and yelling at me isn't anything new to you either!" I yelled back at him.

"Well I didn't hex you!" He countered. "Maybe I should do that to get even!" He pulled out his wand and pointed it at my face. My blood went cold of fear. He wouldn't lose the rest of his sanity now, would he? Suddenly I got pushed to the side and stumbled. When I looked up again Viktor and Malfoy were standing across of each other, their wands pointed at each other.

"Trying to be her knight in shining armor, Krum?" Malfoy hissed debasingly. So much to my theory that Malfoy liked or admired Viktor.

"Vell someone has to. And you don't seem to be doing zat." Viktor replied calmly.

"What? Why would I?"Malfoy asked confused and shot me a quick glance. I hoped I didn't look too desperate. Malfoy looked between me and Viktor and then lowered his wand. Viktor slowly did the same.

"I didn't plan on hexing her." Malfoy then admitted.

"I vasn't going to risk it." was all that Viktor replied and once again I found myself admiring his English. Malfoy nodded and eyed me for a long moment.

"I'm going to bed." He then said quickly, sounding a little confused.

Without another word he left the room, leaving me and Viktor to ourselves. As soon as the door was closed Viktor burst out laughing. I stared at him, confused and a little irritated.

"What?"

He chuckled some more and then calmed down. "Oh zis is good."

I looked at him questioningly and he let himself fall on the couch.

"What's good?"

He looked at me and smiled widely.

"Zat boy of yours? He is extremely jealous!"

A/N: Hey guys,

so another chapter is up. What do you think? I know that you probably think Viktor is a little out of character, but if you haven't noticed yet I'm a huge Krum fan because I think he's misunderstood and really smart. I can't help that written accents make people sound a little retarded. Same thing with Fleur, I'm sure she's a smart witch too! Let me know what you think and review!

Love,

ShayleeRae