Hermione happened to peek out the window just in time to see Viktor on the deck of the Durmstrang ship, getting ready to jump into the lake again (at least, she hoped it was Viktor). She threw on her cloak and hat, ran through the castle, and out the door toward the lake. Hermione ignored the stitch in her side as she ran through the greyish snow, doubling over to catch her breath as she finally reached the banks.
She wasn't too late! Viktor was still out there, swimming! It appeared as though he was swimming in circles around the ship, instead of the laps she was used to seeing done in a pool. Hermione tried to get his attention by waving her arms, but he swam straight past her. She found a rock that wasn't completely covered in snow and sat down, waiting for him to stop swimming so she could yell out to him.
Twenty minutes passed before Viktor finally stopped swimming and started climbing back onto the ship on a rope ladder. Hermione was shivering at that point, and found her legs to be much colder than she thought they were. She stood up slowly, not trusting her legs to hold her up, and yelled to him. "Viktor!" she called out, her voice a bit hoarse, and Viktor's head swivelled towards her.
"Herm-own-ninny!" he shouted back. "You vait there. Just one second."
He showed off his impressive physicality by scaling the side of the massive ship in seconds and leaping over the side. Viktor disappeared from sight for a few minutes before reemerging at the gangway door halfway up the side of the ship. The seemingly insubstantial bridge she had crossed before magically appeared, and Viktor scurried across, looking over his shoulder as if he thought someone might be following him.
"My smartest girl!" Viktor said, embracing Hermione and kissing her on her nearly frozen nose. "So cold! Here," he said, taking off his woollen coat and draping it around her.
"Can we go inside?" Hermione's teeth were chattering.
"Let us go to castle," Viktor said dubiously, looking over his shoulder once more. "I vill explain there."
They walked back to the castle together, Hermione slouching under the weight of Viktor's coat. Without saying a word, they both headed towards the library and into their alcove. Viktor guided her to a chair and knelt in front of her, chafing his hands on her shoulders and legs to warm her up.
Hermione was too cold to be timid and decided she would be blunt. "Did I do something to upset you at the ball?" she asked.
"Vat do you mean?"
"I haven't seen you since that night and couldn't get in touch with you."
"I am so sorry, my smartest girl," Viktor said sadly. "After Yule Ball, Karkaroff forbid me to leave the ship. Said I must focus on second task. I could not get away."
Hermione frowned. "Why would he forbid you from leaving the ship?"
"I do not know," Viktor said. "He had people vatch me."
"That seems pretty extreme," Hermione said.
"Yes, very," Viktor said. "That is vat life is like at Durmstrang. Karkaroff rules all. You forgive me, yes?"
"Of course!" Hermione said.
"Good," Viktor said, giving her a sweet kiss that lasted a few moments longer than was generally called for. "I haff missed my smartest girl. Tell me how you are."
"I've been okay," Hermione said. "Just trying to get through classes and waging a war against Rita Skeeter."
"Do not bother vith that… putka… I do not know your vord for this," Viktor said crossly.
Hermione may not have known the exact translation, but she could guess at it, and she was sure it suited the awful woman.
"She has no talent, only charmed qvill.," Viktor continued. "I know her vell. She alvays writes about me, and alvays it is gossip, not real."
"I can't seem to figure out how she gets her information,though!" Hermione said, getting angry all over again. "It's like she is a fly on the wall or something."
"Fly on wall? She animagus?" Viktor asked.
"No," Hermione said. "That's just a saying meaning she seems to be hiding everywhere."
"Oh, I see. Fly on vall. Got it."
"Will you get in trouble for being here now?"
"I have asked Petar and Elena to pretend I vas in bed varming up from swimming in lake."
"Why were you swimming in the lake?" Hermione asked. "I've seen you do it another time, too."
"I am training for next Triwizard Task," Viktor replied. "Must increase endurance for cold vater. Surely your friend, Harry, is too."
Hermione started to shake her head, but she stopped herself. She didn't want Viktor to know anything about Harry's progress with the Egg clue (or lack thereof). It wasn't fair to either of them, not to mention she didn't want to give any of Ron's unfounded accusations any sort of credence.
"I'm not sure what he is doing," Hermione said, which was technically the truth. "We don't talk about it."
"Vell, if he is not already, he must. It vill be very cold for task."
Hermione let her curiosity get the best of her. "Will the task be outside again?"
"Yes, in lake," said Viktor. "That is vy you must tell him. He must prepare."
"You want me to help him?" she asked.
"Yes," said Viktor, puffing out his chest. "I am not cheater. I vant to vin fairly. I cannot vin fairly if opponents are not prepared."
"That's very honourable," Hermione said.
"Fleur knows the egg clue, so Harry should also. Haff Harry tell Cedric. Then all is fair."
"What was the egg clue?"
"Above ground is loud gibberish. Ven under vater, the egg sings a song with a clue. I memorise it so I can figure it out. Vant to hear?"
"If you want to tell me," Hermione said, still feeling odd about being in the middle and passing information back and forth between the champions.
"Of course. As I say, I vant to vin, how do you call, fair and square," Viktor said with a nod. He paused and then recited the egg's song:
"Come seek us vere our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And vile you are searching, ponder this:
Ve have taken vat you vill sorely miss,
An hour long you vill haff to look,
And to recover vat ve took,
But past hour - the prospect's black
Too late, iti s gone, it von't come back."
"So, is it merpeople, do you think?" Hermione asked after thinking about the song for a moment. "Merpeople in the lake who took something? And you have an hour to get it back?"
"Must be," Viktor said. "Dey take something, and I get it back and vin. Fair and square."
"Fair and square," Hermione repeated. "Does Karkaroff know your feelings on the subject of sharing this information?"
"Oh, no, no," said Viktor. He furrowed his eyebrows, and his eyes took on a hard gleam as he continued. "He vould not hear of it. There is no fair and no square vith Karkaroff. It is vinning or nothing. No mercy."
Something about the look in his eyes, and how Viktor said, "No mercy," made Hermione shiver, but not from the cold this time. She had no doubts about Karkaroff's mercy or lack thereof. "You don't seem to like Karkaroff," she said. "Is he cruel to you?"
"No, he knows to be good to me," said Viktor. "He gains fame from me. Glory. Redemption." He paused and thought a moment. "But others, not so lucky."
"Viktor, may I ask you a difficult question?"
"Of course, my smartest girl."
"Is Karkaroff a Death Eater?"
Viktor looked away with a sigh. "I do not know Karkaroff's past. Here is vat I know. I know he studies dark arts. I know he is cruel. I know he has no honour." Viktor turned back to Hermione. "I suspect he vonce vas, but do not know vith no doubt."
"Thank you for being honest," Hermione said.
"Vy you vant to know these things about Karkaroff?"
Hermione decided to be honest as well. "He is one of the people I suspect may have put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire."
"I vould not be surprised," he said.
"So you don't suspect Harry put his own name in? I know we've never talked about it before, which I appreciate, but-" Hermione could hear herself starting to ramble. Viktor put his finger lightly to her lips to quiet her, thankfully before her mouth really ran away with her.
"Shhh, it is ok. I never vanted to put you in bad position vith your friend, Harry. But, no. Harry Potter may be good vizard but Dumbledore is better. Harry could not fool Dumbledore. Plus, I know he tell Cedric about dragons. That is honourable."
"How did you know that?"
"I know many things," Viktor said with a smile. "Like I know you are most beautiful and smartest girl at Hogwarts. Everyone could not take eyes off you at ball. I was luckiest man in all of UK."
"You're just saying that," Hermione said almost sheepishly.
"No, I am not," Viktor replied much more forcefully than Hermione had anticipated. "You do not give yourself credit. You must be nicer to you. I vill not tolerate anyone being mean to my smartest girl. That means you, too."
Hermione didn't know how to respond. She just felt her cheeks grow hot and looked to the ground. Viktor lifted her chin gently until she was looking him in the eye.
"You know you are smart, yes? You admit this, yes?"
Hermione nodded.
"Then smart girl must learn most important lesson," Viktor said softly. "More important than numbers and charms and egg clues. You must learn you are vorthy of love from everyone, but most from yourself. And, until then, I love you enough for both you and me."
As he kissed her, Hermione's heart dropped as a single thought blindsided her: Could he love her enough to wait for Ron to love her instead?