Words: 4,384
A/N: How have you guys been? Doing well I hope! I'm hanging in there myself. I'm so excited to put out the fourth chapter of Bread Krums (sorry for putting it up so late in the day!) and to think the story has hit nearly 1,000 views is more than I could have ever asked for, so thank you for all the support on the story so far. It really means a difference for a writer's story progression when there is so much lovely feedback! So enjoy the fourth chapter.
Chapter iv – Porchlight
no longer the castaway kid, no longer the one taken for granted, no longer the one who waits in the dark with a broken light
Hermione, the saint that she was, was ready to pull her hair out and the school's clock had yet to even strike twelve. Normally if there was a trip to Hogsmeade it would be the golden trio going together but with Harry and Ron's, mostly Ron's, feud still raging the latter had refused to share a carriage with the former. Hermione had once again been pulled into the mess.
She and Ron were waiting for an empty carriage to make its way back to them. Hermione did not mind waiting but Ron was an entirely different story, grumbling and moaning about how there should already be one available for use.
"Hey Ron, have you seen my pink sweater anywhere? I lost it yesterday and I just haven't been able to find it?" Hermione interrupted her friend's aggravation while there was a free moment of time available between the two. She thought she had forgotten it in the common room on Friday but after checking back it was not there and no one had seen a thing apparently.
"Er…no Hermione, sorry." Ron responded awkwardly. Hermione stared at him for a moment very oddly before she looked elsewhere. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Viktor and three others, she assumed they were his friends he had mentioned the day before. Ron did not seem to want to make good company so Hermione excused herself giving her friend some random explanation and added that the next carriage will not even be there for another few minutes.
She watched silently, eyeing their curiosity with little interest, as the group gaped at the carriages which seemed to be pulled by nothing more than thin air. Well the entire group was doing so except for Viktor, he was what captured her interest far more. Instead of being overtly intrigued, he was hanging towards the back, a silent scowl embedded on his face.
"Can you see them?" Hermione called as she came upon him from behind. She was not sure if she startled Viktor but he did not appear to jump or flinch when she spoke. The background noise was more apparent now having included a nest of angry birds and the conversation of his friends which she presumed was in Bulgarian.
"Dah, but friends cannot. Are wondering what magic that makes the carriages move." Viktor took a moment before he chose a response. When he turned around there was a look of surprise on his face, knowing very well if she is asking if he could see them, she could see them as well.
"I didn't realize at first. That I had seen someone die, I mean. It took me quite a while to piece it together actually. The summer of my second year of Hogwarts my grandfather had been at the house. It had only been the two of us at home. I thought...he had fallen asleep…" Hermione started before he can question her and trailed off into thought eventually. She looked towards the carriage that was now a mere dot in the distance. She knew that it was not magic that pulled the carriage.
It's the threstrals that she has seen. And that Viktor has seen too.
"I understand now of course, but I've never really told anyone about that. I don't really tell people I can see them either." Hermione recovered quickly, having interjected that last bit before she could forget.
"Understandable. Only seen them twice before d'is. Mother taught me about d'em, she's intrigued by strange creatures. Father always told us spooky stories to me and my brothers." Viktor had nodded but there seemed to be a glaze that came over his eyes that matched his tense body language.
"Your reason for seeing them is not as light as mine, is it?" Hermione pressed her lips into a thin line.
"Perhaps not…but maybe story for another time, yes?" Viktor spoke with his eyes down casted. She nodded in agreement, knowing very well that death was not something to take lightly. She inwardly figured that he must have gone through a great inner struggle with whoever's death he had witnessed.
After that they bid one another farewell when they had seen empty carriages ready to take the next batch of students to the town. When Hermione got back to Ron she rolled her eyes watching as he kicked rocks in frustration. She had no idea what had set him off now when she saw him give her barely anything more than a glance. He always seemed to be in a sour mood these days.
The first ten minutes to Hogsmeade were quiet. Hermione was more than fine glancing at the scenery, anything to avoid the foul look on Ron's face. He seemed to want to say something but spoke no words to her until he could not hold whatever was so important in.
"Geez Hermione, what has you so busy lately with all this running off? I hardly see you these days. If it's not the library it's something else." Ron said ending his outburst with an irritated huff. He was hunched over, elbows atop his knees. Hermione did not respond to him. She decided instead to send him a mere pointed look and a mental scoff, as if she did not have a life outside of being friends with him.
They spent the remaining amount of the ride in silence, something Hermione was more than grateful for. Luckily whatever was truly troubling Ron seemed to have simmered away from his thoughts and emotions. They chatted were able to eagerly as they began to go to one of the stores, as if nothing had happened before.
The day passed by rather quickly and the two of them found themselves at The Three Broomsticks. Hermione swore she saw Harry entering just before them but after she entered with Ron there was no sight of him.
The two sat down at one of the only tables left available and each ordered a butterbeer. Hermione would have said things were going nice but there was always something going to intervene when she was having fun. Ron had gone quiet again which left her in a perplexed state until she could not stand it anymore.
"What's your deal Ron? You seem really off today." Hermione frowned expecting her friend to complain about classes or some brush off from another girl.
"Just wondering why you're always in the library lately. You can't possibly have that much homework to do." Ron blurts out after taking a sip of his butterbeer. Hermione is not sure what about what he said that set her off but it is almost an instant reaction for her.
"Are you serious, is that it? I can go to the library as much as I ant. Unlike you, Ronald Weasley, I'm busy helping you with your homework too. Have you forgotten that? Maybe you'll do good to remember it because I won't be doing it anymore!" Hermione had somewhat of a stare-off with her ginger-haired friend before he got up and left the remains of his butterbeer untouched. She had not meant to blow up like that but whatever had gotten ahold of her could not take it any longer.
"Whatever, I'm going to Honeydukes." Ron practically stomped off leaving Hermione to watch in disbelief. He was entirely out of line in her opinion. Hermione looked down at her own butterbeer with a sigh. She knew she should not be fighting with Ron while he was feuding with Harry but she could not help herself this time. She was seriously starting to get tired of being the middle ground. Besides, it was her time and she could do with it what she liked.
She continued to stare into her drink where she debated if it was worth it to stick around the pub or just head back to her quarters at Hogwarts. Curfew was not for a little while either. She did not want to be in bad spirits and call it a night just yet but it was hard to feel upbeat when a supposed close friend treated her like so.
"Ron finally acting like a complete git to you too now?" Harry's sudden appearance did spook her but it was not an unwelcome surprise. He took a seat casually while he talked. Hermione was in the midst of taking a sip of butterbeer and nearly snorted it when she heard Harry's comment.
"Not quite, but I'm afraid he's well on his way there." The two shared a small laugh but Hermione declined after Harry invited her to sit with the group of Gryffindors he had been with previously. She apologized and told him she was not sure if she would be pleasant company at this point and that she would probably just turn in for the night.
Harry seemed to understand and not pressure her to rethink her answer, something she was quite grateful for. It made her appreciate their friendship all the more. After Harry left she lingered around the table for a little longer, just enough to finish her drink. She slid it aside and put her head on the table. She was lost in thought so deeply that she did not even move when the chair beside her was slid out from under the table and someone took a seat.
At first she thought it was Ron, perhaps he had come back to apologize for what he said. Even with that thought she did not know if she had the energy to handle him.
"Look Ron I'm really tir-" Hermione was caught quite off guard when she heard a deep chuckle, one that certainly did not belong to Ron, and was interrupted.
"Name not Ron, you know dis." Viktor watched as she instantly sat up with a look of sheer surprise. The waves in her hair appeared more messy than usual and perhaps they mirrored her current state of mind.
"Oh, I'm really sorry Viktor, I didn't realize it was you." Hermione had sounded a bit deflated when she spoke which made him want to frown.
"S'okay Her-mayo-knee. Are you alright? Red-headed friend did not seem so…friendly tonight?" Viktor questioned concernedly but he was confused when she shook it off.
"I'm fine, Ron's just being…well Ron. Everything will be fine tomorrow." Hermione dismissed her friend's behavior without a second thought and it made Viktor contemplate questioning it further but in the end he chose not to.
"…Alright. But do you mind company now? My friends come sit, keep company so night isn't lost, right?" Viktor appeared hopeful at the proposition.
"Umm, alright, sure. It could be fun." In any normal situation Hermione would have declined without a second thought but Viktor had been nothing but nice to her so far and she was sure he would not have friends who were mean. She was not entirely convinced, though, and silently questioned if his friends would find her company worth it.
She watched without a word as Viktor signaled to his friends that it was okay to come over. She noticed it was only three people, none of which were donning their normal school uniform apart from the coats. She wordlessly told herself that three people was not that bad after all. When they sat down at the table they seemed eager enough to meet her and Viktor happily obliged by introducing one another.
"Her-mayo-knee, dis is Boris, then Ivan, and Dimitiri. All are in same year with me. Known them for long time." Viktor introduced them left to right. They all nodded and told her hello which included the mimicked mispronunciation of her name in their greetings.
"Hi, it's lovely to meet you all." Hermione promptly responded much more quiet than she would have liked, suddenly feeling a bit shy. She could not remember the last time she ever felt timid around anyone.
Time had passed far more quickly than Hermione would have liked. It had surprised how easily she had gotten along with Viktor's friends. Despite being older than her they shared her interest in knowledge, well to a certain extent at least. They were vastly intrigued by a couple stories she told of her adventures with Harry and Ron, though some parts were edited for their ears.
"Hogwarts almost worse than Durmstrang. Many secrets it seems." Boris laughed and was quickly joined by the remainder of those sitting at the table.
Hermione mentally wondered what kind of creatures they had at Durmstrang. She realized over the last year that Hogwarts was quite diverse with all the beings it had but surely other places had creatures that were not here. She mentally noted to ask Viktor later.
"Oh, I have to be leaving now. Hogwarts' runs a tight ship on curfew." Hermione smiled and it took a moment before the Bulgarian students' eyes lit up with understanding of her small joke. Viktor shared a look with his friends but Hermione did not notice. She had waved to the four of them, though Viktor seemed to be lost in thought, and began to walk towards the exit.
Viktor had followed suit, haven risen from his chair shortly, which almost seemed to groan in relief as he did so. He caught up to Hermione right as she was about to open the door and no doubt let the chill of the outside into the warmed room.
"Would like to escort you back to the castle…if you don't mind since it's dark out now." Viktor had suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder, his request almost caught her off guard. She had turned around in time to hear his request.
"Oh, are you sure? What about your friends?" Hermione blinked surprised while she fidgeted with her fingers nervously.
"D'ey are fine with staying behind. I should head in anyways. Karkaroff will want me up early tomorrow." Viktor had a mock look of frustration and rolled his eyes as he opened the door to let Hermione pass through.
"Well alright. We won't even have to wait for a carriage, there's one now." Hermione had been staring into the distance for a moment when she decided to speak, even with the lamps lighting up the street the carriages could be hard to spot at times.
It took the two very little time to get to the carriage and the familiar snorts of the threstrals invaded their attention for a moment. When Hermione went to step into the carriage she felt a strange warmth surrounding her hand which caused her to pause suddenly. She looked to see it was Viktor's hand that had been the reason but he appeared to be helping her up into the carriage.
As Hermione took a seat she realized her breath had quickened and she could not fathom why that was the case. Sure it was rare that the boys at Hogwarts were helpful in cases like this but she had been helped onto the carriages before without feeling like this. There had been a twinge when she felt his hand on hers but buried the thoughts and feelings down when he sat down beside her.
Hermione was interrupted regardless when she was offered Viktor's oversized, brown coat. She had not realized it yet but she was absentmindedly rubbing the sides of her arm. Normally she donned a pink sweater but for some reason she could not find it that day. She figured she had misplaced it and the fact that it was warm when she left for Hogsmeade she had not given her short sleeved shirt a second thought.
Now that she had realized what she had been doing she felt the chill in the area. It had gotten quite cold now that the sun had parted ways for the moon's arrival. It took her a moment to take the coat but she gave Viktor a nod of acceptance and he draped it over her shoulders. She could smell the outdoors and the faint scent of broom wax. It was not an awful combination but it was certainly interesting to her.
"I normally wear my sweater but I just couldn't find it today…I'm sorry you really didn't have to give me your coat. Won't you be cold?" The instinct in Hermione to care for others had kicked in momentarily, she was always looking after Harry and Ron in several ways so why would it be any different in this case.
"Will be fine. Much colder where Durmstrang is, we wear coats more out of habit?" Viktor had said the last bit slowly as if he was not sure if his choice of words was correct but when he saw Hermione had not questioned him on it he figured he had spoken right.
"Your coat is huge…you realize that?" Hermione slightly smiled as the warmth the coat brought her was quick to take hold, the material practically engulfed her in a gentle snuggle.
"Dah," Viktor paused to chuckle at her, "Not so much on me though. Suits you, makes you look…cute."
Hermione could not help but blush at his statement and looked towards the ground in hopes that the collar would hide her heated face. She snuggled further into the coat at this point now enjoying the warmth it brought. She had not expected the inside to be so soft.
There was a quiet interlude between them for a few minutes, one that was undeniably peaceful. It seemed to get even darker as they traveled from the town back to Hogwarts. There were still lamp illuminating the pathway but they were far and few between at this point.
"It was my younger sister." Hermione was not sure if she was full on dozing or was just daydreaming but she came to her senses quickly as the statement Viktor had said registered with her.
"Oh?" She turned towards Viktor, a look of concern gracing her face. When she spoke to him it was still very quiet.
"Was young when it happened, but she was much too young." She can see his lips set into a grim line after he spoke. There was a moment of quiet between them after this, only the rickety noises of the carriage wheels dared to interrupt their thoughts.
"She drowned in the lake where the family lives. Could not…get to her in time. I was ten, she was three. Very bad time." Viktor spoke with a strained voice and face, but Hermione understood why he appeared so.
Even though she was an only child she was sure if she had lost a sibling it would take its toll on her. She was momentarily unsure of what to say, though, and was unsure if she should say anything at all. Instead, she placed a hand over his, which was clenched, in a comforting way.
For a moment it did not matter that he was a famous quidditch seeker or that she was Hermione Granger, close friend to Harry Potter and the brightest witch of her age. She was merely someone, just as he, who sympathized with having lost a family member.
"It means a lot that you can tell me something like that. I can only imagine how hard it is to talk about it with someone."
The rest of the ride was set with a tone of comfortable silence and had left Viktor and Hermione with what appeared to be the start of a closer friendship.
Viktor had walked with her all the way up to the Gryffindor stairways. He was not smiling but she realized he did not need to be for her to know he was content. She had given back his coat before parting ways with him for the night. She realized that broom wax and grass turned out to be not that unpleasant of a blend when she realized the lingering scent had faded leaving her to wish it was still as prominent as before.
Just over a week had passed since Hermione's visit to Hogsmeade. She and Ron had reconciled from their little spat a mere four days later when Ron showed up and had begun talking to her as if nothing had ever happened.
Hermione, against her better judgement, did not bother to delve into what had happened further. Ron had claimed it was because he said he was just being silly but she knew deep down that it was because he would fail his classes otherwise. He did not even bother to give an actual apology to her. There was a part of Hermione began to resent Ron after that but she chose not to speak about the feeling aloud.
There were more important things to worry about. The first task was coming closer but Harry still had no clue of what he was up against and Hermione began to worry all the more. She had just finished her final class of the day which was Arithmancy, one she did not share with Harry or Ron.
Hermione was in no mood to see either of them and had avoided them all day at any costs. She had played messenger between the two for the past few days and it had gotten too much for her to handle after Ron told her to tell him a string of lies that involved Hagrid looking for Harry; well the latter bit was true but he had added on embellishment for when Hermione told Harry. She had felt utterly ridiculous afterwards and promptly snapped at both.
"I'm not an owl!" Hermione stared at Harry looking hurt. She turned right around and walked off shooting daggers at Ron as she passed as well. The only one who was not be subject to her forming wrath was Ginny.
At first she had been well on her way towards the library but after a second thought that if either were looking for her they would have checked there for her right off the bat. Instead she chose to head outside towards the black lake. It was a secret to everyone that Hermione had often come, usually when there were few present, to the shoreline of the black lake to clear her head when the walls of the library could not.
As soon as she her feet hit the gravel and sand, their familiar crackle beneath her shoes becoming apparent, she felt just a bit more at peace. The lake was not frozen yet but she was sure when December hit it would be well on its way then. Until then she could enjoy the noise the water produced when it sloshed against the rocks.
Having been lost in thought, an iron grip on her books, she stumbled backwards when she ran into someone. Her iron grip had prevented her notes and class work from flying elsewhere, thankfully. Unfortunately, however, she had fallen right on her bottom with quite a surprised look on her face. She blinked in a startled fashion coming to terms with what had suddenly happened.
"Her-mayo-nin?" When Viktor spoke Hermione's head shot up like a rocket and she mouthed the word 'sorry' to him. He extended a hand to her and she took it gratefully before she pulled her up. She had noticed his pronunciation of her named had changed slightly. Hermione thought he might have been trying to practice the way he said it.
"Walk with me?" Viktor asked after was sure Hermione was well on her feet and no injury had occurred to her. She gave her skirt a good dusting, looked up to him, and blinked.
"Oh, sure." Hermione responded and the two began to walk further down by the lake. He had given a look to his trailing fangirls, who she was not overly excited to see, and most had run off. She was sure most had just sighed dreamily and hid behind some random bush so they would not be seen.
"You were deep in thought again? What about?" Viktor had asked after a moment.
"Oh nothing, just thinking about how boys can be such idiots." Hermione said without a second thought and accompanied it with a great big eye roll.
"As someone who was once boy I can confirm we act so." Viktor looked amused at her and Hermione had a good laugh at his comment.
"What have you got there Ginny?" Hermione plopped down beside Ginny, the couch creaked as she did so. She saw her friend flipped through a sleek, very skinny looking picture-like book.
"Oh it's from dad. He sent us this calendar he found. Look at all the cats! Aren't they adorable?" Ginny had opened the calendar to the current month and Hermione half-eyed the current day's date, the eighteenth.
She mentally sweated thinking about the upcoming task that Harry was going to face. Just last week he had informed her that each competitor was going to face a dragon and she had been stressing ever since. She had read up on all four dragon breeds viciously and had done her best to educate Harry on what would be the bet routes depending on what dragon he might get.
"A dragon is dangerous to begin with but a nesting one…are they out of their minds? That's horribly dangerous." Hermione cried out, her body almost going pale and slack when Harry had pulled her aside to discuss just what he had found out from Hagrid. She knew that this tournament was designed to test the competitors and it was meant for those who were about to graduate but she was still floored.
A dragon would be tough to beat. She thought back to when Harry had told them their only clue was that this would test their daring. Combined with Hagrid spilling that they would need to get passed them. She had only assumed then that they would be doing something that would infuriate the dragon. Resolved to help as best she could, she had made a plan so Harry could be taught counter-dragons spells.
"Oh yes, very adorable Ginny but not as good as Crookshanks." Hermione had giggled towards Ginny who proceeded to stick her tongue out in response.
"Oh you're always partial to him, it's not fair." Ginny rolled her eyes and flipped the sheet onto to the next page to see what December's picture might be.
Oh my! Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter and what do you think happened Hermione's sweater?
Also, thank you for reading and as usual reviews and favorites are always welcome!