The day after the full moon was a Hogsmeade day, and it was determined that older Slytherins would show their Durmstrang peers around the village. In practice, this ended up being a bit awkward because Viktor wanted Hermione to show him around, not the older Slytherins, and it seemed most of Durmstrang wanted to follow Viktor, leaving Alexia Rosier to glare at Hermione for apparently stealing most of Durmstrang. The older Slytherins hung around on the outskirts of the large group as everyone waited in line for the carriages, talking to the Durmstrang students on the periphery before finally managing to break some of them off into little clusters and more manageable clumps, and Hermione wondered how much the older pureblood students still hated her.

It was odd, in a way. It was as if there was a hard separation between the 4th and 5th years, and it wasn't just from the 5th years focusing on the upcoming O.W.L. exams. Hermione didn't think it was entirely her fault, either – it wasn't just her that the older students ignored. Maybe it had something to do with Draco Malfoy acting as if he was the Prince of Slytherin since the moment he'd been sorted in in First Year – honestly, she wouldn't be surprised.

Draco, Theo, Hermione, and Tracey took the lead with the Durmstrang crew. Several of the Durmstrang students reacted violently to the horseless carriages, which Theo smoothed over, explaining about the thestrals that apparently pulled them and delicately mentioning why certain people could see them while others could not. Hermione was worried it would put a bit of a grim cloud over the day, but the Durmstrang students seemed to shake off the shock well enough, and they were all cheerful when they arrived.

Hogsmeade was lovely, and Hermione enjoyed going around and showing the Durmstrang students the different stores. Alexei in particular was very fond of Honeydukes, wanting to try one of every sweet, and Hermione laughed, teasing Draco that Alexei's sweet tooth might rival his own. Draco pinkened slightly, but he grinned, unable to deny it as he loaded himself up with chocolates.

Zonko's joke shop was also an experience. The Durmstrang students insisted on trying every single practical joke that was out on display, and some of them several times in a row. Viktor and Dmitri found several of the pranks incredibly amusing, and before leaving, Viktor bought a perfectly muggle rubber chicken, which he found hilarious.

"Listen!" he told Hermione, squeezing the chicken, which made an absolutely horrid noise as it sucked air back in. "It screams so silly. Nothing like real chicken."

Hermione wondered just how much experience Viktor had with live screaming chickens, before deciding to drop the matter.

Upon reaching the Three Broomsticks, their little crowd waited in a cluster at the front while Draco secured them a large table.

"This is the best place to eat in the village," Tracey was saying. "At the least, it's always lovely to step in here and relax with a butterbeer. And if you've come with someone, it's a lot less pressure than Madame Puddifoot's—"

"Come with someone?" Alexei parroted, confused. "We come with you now."

"No, like on a date," Tracey clarified. She grinned, a bit sheepish. "When you're stuck at school all the time, chances for actual 'dates' are few and far between. Taking someone to Hogsmeade is the classic date. I'm sure if we look around, we'll see a bunch of couples."

Draco led the way through the crowd to a large round table in the corner he'd secured, and as they all slid in, he looked smug as he slid in to sit on Hermione's left. Tracey seemed to find this highly amusing, giving Hermione pointed looks, to which Hermione rolled her eyes – Viktor had sat at her right, which meant she was sitting at his left. If anything, that'd be the more important and dramatic seating arrangement, if anyone had decided that sitting down in a particular order at the Three Broomsticks was suddenly of terrible importance.

"There, see?" Tracey said, pointing. "Ernie and Hannah over there, they're clearly on a date—"

Hermione wasn't sure about that; they just seemed to be swapping Chocolate Frog cards.

"—Cedric over there sitting with Cho Chang, that looks like a date. And even Fleur's on a date, over there— with—"

Hermione's eyes had gone wide. "Is that Blaise?"

"Um." Tracey blinked. "…yeah. Blaise."

Sure enough, Blaise and Fleur were at a table in a corner, talking over butterbeers. Fleur had her circlet woven into her hair a different way than usual, and Blaise was wearing robes cut a bit fancier than usual, in a burnt red color with a mandarin collar. It was just enough of a difference on the both of them to make it apparent that they'd both made an effort to look nice.

"Blaise and Fleur are on a date?" Hermione repeated, staring. "Fleur and Blaise?"

Draco looked surprised at this revelation as well. "Seems that way."

Seeing Blaise and Fleur on a date made no sense, and it sent Hermione's mind spiraling in confusion. Fleur – she'd never mentioned being attracted to Blaise, and she'd met him, and Blaise knew that Fleur was Hermione's secret girlfriend – or was she? Fleur had made that kind of unclear, but at the least Blaise knew Hermione had feelings for Fleur, even if they had to hide their relationship from Madame Maxime – and Blaise had been able to resist her allure somehow—

"I am only champion here not on date?" Viktor complained, his eyes bright with amusement. "Why no one told me?"

"I am your date, Viktor," Alexei said, batting his eyelashes and leaning against Viktor's side and giving him a sappy, romantic look, and Viktor snorted, shoving him away.

"Not all the champions," Theo commented. "Potter's sitting with Moody and Hagrid."

"Potter does not count," Viktor said, dismissive. "He is still child."

"Harry's danger is real enough," Hermione snapped. "Seems like he counts as a champion to me."

Viktor was caught off-guard by her sudden tone change.

"I apologize," he said, bowing his head formally to her. "I not intend to make small what your friend is living through. That was thoughtless of me."

Hermione bit her lip, before sighing.

"You're forgiven," she told him. "I'm sorry too; I shouldn't have snapped. It's just—the first task is so soon, and we still don't know what it's going to be."

"We should know tonight, though," Draco reminded Hermione, and Viktor looked startled.

"First Task is fighting the unknown," he said. "How will you know?"

"No idea," Draco said, grinning. "But we made an Arithmancy prediction tree, and it was fairly definitive – after tonight, all the champions will know what they'll be facing on Tuesday."

Viktor looked surprised, then pleased.

"If all know, then is still fair," he said with satisfaction. "I will take."

As they all left the Three Broomsticks later, their group headed up to see the Shrieking Shack before heading back to the school. Viktor nudged Hermione, and they fell to the back of the group.

"How often are trips to Hogsmeade?" he asked.

"Maybe once a month? Once every couple of months?" Hermione guessed. "They're scheduled kind of haphazardly, honestly."

Viktor nodded. "Then, if there is no way knowing when – I can ask you to come with me in advance?"

Hermione looked at him sideways. "Come with you?"

"Yes." Viktor looked at her, a small smile on his lips. "On date."

Hermione started to smile.

"Just going to the village? I thought you preferred more exciting dates," she teased. "I'd be happy to accompany you, of course, but I wouldn't want you to be bored."

Viktor's eyes brightened and his countenance relaxed now that she'd said yes, and he grinned at her.

"Nothing with you is boring," he declared. "I never know what happen next."

Hermione laughed, and Viktor smiled at her fondly.

"I wish next trip is sooner," he admitted, and Hermione blushed.

"Well," she said, trying to keep her voice light. "Just because we're only allowed out of the school so often doesn't mean that's the only time I leave. And I might have a plan to sneak out tomorrow, if you would want to come along."

"You invite me on secret forbidden date?" Viktor grinned his crooked grin. "Only one day before? What if I have other plans?"

"Then you don't come," Hermione said, tossing her hair with a smirk.

"No, I come," Viktor assured her, eyes dancing. "I am only saying – you are very bad at planning to date me, Hermione, but I accept this date anyway."

"Just for that, you have to bring your broom," Hermione informed him, and Viktor laughed.

"I would enjoy even lame flying date with you," he told her, grinning, and though Hermione rolled her eyes, she was blushing while she did.


When the Shadows convened Sunday morning by the lake, Harry's eyes were wide, and it looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep.

"It's dragons," he said immediately. "Hagrid took me to see—they've got dragons, one for each of us. We have to get past them somehow—"

"Dragons?" Draco looked torn between horror and longing. "I've always wanted to see a dragon up close…"

"Yeah, well, probably not this close," Harry snapped.

Hermione was still sitting still, staring.

"Dragons?" she said. "That's the challenge?"

"Isn't that enough?" Millie said, raising her eyebrows.

"I mean, yes, but that's easy, now," Hermione said, still stunned. "Harry's fireproof."

There was a silence.

"What?" said Pansy flatly.

"Harry's fireproof now," Hermione repeated. "At least, so long as he's paying attention he is, I think."

"And just how," Pansy said, folding her arms, "did Potter become fireproof?"

"We did a coven ritual," Luna piped up. "It gave him protection from fire."

"Of course you did." Pansy rolled her eyes. "At this rate, the rest of us will have to form covens of our own to keep up with you."

"I mean, go for it, if you think it's necessary," Susan said, shrugging. "But seeing as you probably aren't going to be facing down a dragon…"

"We need to focus," said Hermione. She pointed at Harry. "You. We need to get you dragonhide clothes."

"Err—I think they make us wear special robes for the challenge," Harry said, blinking. "To make it fair—"

"You need underclothes made of dragonhide," Hermione informed him. "That way if your robes burn away entirely, you're not flashing the entire stadium."

"Unless you want to flash the stadium," Blaise quipped. "Want to show off what you've got and see if it helps you get a date, Potter?"

Harry turned a bright red.

"I—underwear, yeah," he said. "Underwear would be good."

"Must be a grower, not a shower," Blaise said to Theo, and Theo nodded seriously.

"Can we please stop talking about my penis?" Harry said plaintively, ignoring the others giggling. He looked at Susan. "Do you think you could sew something?"

"If I had the material." Susan frowned. "We could use Hermione's shapeless robe, the one she got for the Valkyrie and didn't use. There's enough material there."

"Do you know how to sew underpants?" Tracey asked Susan wonderingly, and Susan laughed.

"I mean, I haven't before, but it can't be that hard," she said. "Worst come to worst, I'll ask a House Elf for help."

"So wait. What exactly is the plan here?" Draco wanted to know. "Yes, Potter's fireproof apparently, but he still has to get past a dragon."

"He will walk," Hermione said firmly. "He will walk, and when the dragon breathes fire at him, he will just take it and keep walking, like it's nothing, and emerge unharmed on the other side to claim his victory."

"You want him to just walk through dragon fire?" Draco asked, aghast.

"It's not like they won't have the dragons chained up somehow," Hermione pointed out. "They can't risk them hurting the spectators. The fire of the dragon is the biggest threat. If Harry has to physically get past the dragon as well, he's fast and can run if need be."

"In his underwear?" Theo asked.

"Sure," Harry said. He was grinning now, a glint to his eyes. "I kind of like the idea of that, actually – running around in my skeevies, in the middle of their dignified tournament challenge. Let them post a photo of that on the front page of the Daily Prophet."

"Really?" Susan was laughing. "You're okay with that? Being nearly naked with the whole school watching and looking at you?"

"Let them." Harry's smirk was mean. "I'll show them all exactly what I think of this tournament nonsense and moon them all."