The next morning, Hermione was feeling vaguely off-center as she got up and dressed. With the knowledge of the ball announcement coming soon, she felt self-conscious about who might want to go with her, and who she might want to go with. She found herself glancing at the boys in her year, mentally marking each one off on one side or the other as "maybe" or "no".

Luckily, breakfast brought with it an unexpected distraction that managed to fully push the Yule Ball from her mind, in the form of two very large parcels descending to the Slytherin table.

"What is that?" Theo demanded, pointing to approaching packages. "They've each got two birds working in tandem—"

"Fan mail for Krum?" Draco quipped, and Viktor frowned.

"It could not be," he said. "Karkaroff has mail ward for this, and team has official owl address…"

Nevertheless, one of the parcels was plopped in front of Krum, Mr. Viktor Krum scrawled across the front of the envelope. The second, surprisingly, was dropped in front of Hermione, with Miss Hermione Granger written on the front of hers in handwriting that matched Viktor's envelope.

"Were you expecting anything?" Hermione asked Viktor, surprised.

Viktor shook his head. "Nothing." He gave her a small grin. "Open together, yeah?"

"On three," Hermione agreed, slipping her finger into the envelope. "One… two… three."

They both opened their envelopes, and Hermione's eyes scanned hers, reading rapidly.

.

Dear Hermione Granger,

As you are undoubtedly aware, December 1st launches Charming Chocolate's limited run of winter-themed white chocolate frogs. As one of the young witches and wizards commemorated on the collectible cards, we would like to thank you for your participation with this gift of a number of these limited edition chocolate frogs, as well as a number of your own limited edition cards with you on them.

Please note that the cards in this limited edition collection are not considered Official Chocolate Frog cards, and as such, have different backs to mark them as being part of this limited run. Any listing of being a witch or wizard included on a chocolate frog card on a CV must include the detail of the card being from a 'special run' to indicate it is not part of the Official Chocolate Frog Card Complete Collection. Again, being on a special run card will in no way disqualify you from being on an Official Chocolate Frog Card in the future, should you accomplish something great as an adult, but this card should not be considered an Official Chocolate Frog Card.

Wishing you a happy winter season,

Dmitri Forrester

Grand Product Officer
Charming Chocolates

.

Hermione was laughing as she finished reading. She passed her letter to Tracey, who was nosily trying to read over her shoulder, while Viktor finished reading his. When he finished, he was grinning too.

"Not official card, not official card," he said, shaking his head. "Must be so we not grow big heads."

"Probably," Hermione said, grinning. "Let's see how they turned out."

They both opened their packages, trying to keep them separate. Chocolate frog boxes spilled out, Hermione hastily trying to keep all hers on the parcel paper, while a fancy envelope with a wax seal lay at the bottom, which Hermione went for first.

Inside were a dozen or so of her own (limited edition) chocolate frog card. The usual deep blue and gold filigree and stars that decorated a chocolate frog card had been replaced by white, light blue, silver, and snowflakes, giving the card a beautiful winter wonderland feel. They'd chosen a pose of her with her sword over her shoulder, smirking at the camera, and as Hermione watched, the little Hermione on the card moved, swinging her sword down to plant it directly in front of herself to forbiddingly block the way. Her name Hermione Granger was front and center, going down the length of the sword directly vertically, and the fitted robes of basilisk skin she'd worn were a stunning shifting green as her picture moved, the scales shimmering on her body.

Pleased, Hermione grinned down at her tiny self, who smirked back and swung her sword back up onto her shoulder, and Hermione flipped the card around.

.

Hermione Granger

Also known as 'the Heroine of Hogwarts', Hermione Granger
is known for her defeat of the basilisk that hunted muggle-born students
through the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
when she was only thirteen years old.

Hermione enjoys ritual magic and reading in her spare time,
as well as consistently earning the top place of her class rankings.

.

She smiled.

"How's yours?" Hermione asked Viktor, leaning over to look at his. Viktor shrugged.

"Is okay," he said. "Could have used better picture, but is not bad."

"Trade me?" Hermione offered. "I want to see."

Viktor seemed surprised, before giving her a slow smile.

"Will you sign for me?" he asked, teasing. "Make card very valuable and collectible?"

"Oh, shove it," she said, laughing as she plucked his card from his hand and handed him hers in return. Viktor grinned crookedly.

"Maybe later," he said decisively. "We can both to sign cards."

Viktor's card had him standing up straight, cocked at a ¾ angle towards the camera, an intense look on his face. His outer Quidditch robes were draped over the shoulder closest to the camera, the name Krum on them clearly visible, but Viktor was standing posed in his Quidditch under layers, which Hermione had never seen before, and her eyes slowly widened.

Quidditch uniforms were a unique thing. They were made of warm wool or thick cotton to help players keep warm. Unlike normal robes, quidditch robes were more like cloaks, clasped high across the chest but cut to separate and flare out at the waist to allow greater freedom of movement. At Hogwarts, Quidditch team members wore neutral knickerbockers and leather armor protecting their shins and knees underneath the uniform robes, with a bold, House-themed sweater on top that matched the outer robe.

The Bulgarian Quidditch team had not decided to worry about their team's body temperature, apparently, for Viktor was not wearing a sweater in his pose – instead, he wore a dark red top with black sleeves that disappeared underneath black and red wrist guards. What astonished Hermione the most was that his shirt looked like it had been poured on – it was perfectly molded to his body, and when the little Viktor shifted slightly, scowling, the light on the shirt shifted, highlighting his muscles and exactly how in shape under his robes Viktor actually was.

Hermione felt her breath catch as she looked at the little Viktor shift about, the tight material moving over his chest and arms as he did. She abruptly realized she'd been absently moving her finger over the card ever so slightly, unconsciously counting his abs.

"Nogtail leather," Viktor offered, noticing Hermione was examining his clothes. "Is thin leather but protects from weather. Keeps players flying fast."

"The shirt too?" Hermione asked faintly.

"Shirt too," Viktor said, shrugging. "Is not uncomfortable, and not so heavy to make flying hard."

Her mouth dry, Hermione casually flipped over his chocolate frog card, doing her best to act as if nothing at all was amiss and she hadn't just been ogling a tiny photo's muscular chest.

.

Viktor Krum

Widely considered one of the best Quidditch players in the world,
Viktor Krum was recruited to the Bulgarian national Quidditch team
as Seeker at the age of fifteen. At sixteen, Viktor set the world record
for fastest successful dive on broomstick at 230 mph.

Viktor continues to enjoy playing Quidditch as Seeker,
balancing practices with his studies. He intends
to graduate from the Durmstrang Institute and earn
his Mastery in Transfiguration while continuing
to play for the Bulgarian national team.

.

"230 miles per hour?" Tracey exclaimed, astonished, from her place reading over Hermione's shoulder. "That's mad!"

"Was very fast," Viktor said, grinning crookedly. "Almost crashed, but worth it. I caught Snitch, and Latvia lost badly."

Hermione had flipped Viktor's card back over to the front, where the tiny Viktor was shifting, holding his broom and scowling up at her. Again, each time he shifted, the light highlighted a different part of his chest and arms.

"Your card is very good," Viktor said, nudging Hermione. He gave her a crooked grin. "At least they pick photo of you where you not look grumpy, yeah?"

"You think you look grumpy?" Hermione asked with a surprised laugh, and Viktor made a face.

"Photographer kept saying comments," he said darkly. "Kept correcting stance. Did not want me to pose on broom at all, just with broom, which I not liked."

"I think it's a great photo," Hermione admitted, aware of the heat on her cheeks. "You look intense and determined. And—well. He had a point – your posture and pose is excellent, here."

Viktor looked surprised.

"I not smiling," he said. "Most cards, wizard smiles on."

"Well, you're not most wizards," Hermione teased, smiling up at him. "It looks good."

Viktor seemed to consider her opinion, before giving her a slow nod.

"Maybe so," he agreed. "Not much smiling in Quidditch. More angry, intense faces anyway."

Hermione laughed. "Makes sense to me."

They began going through their gift of chocolate frogs, carefully opening the boxes just enough to slip the cards out before quickly closing the box and stuffing the frogs back inside. Hermione was delighted to find she'd gotten Natori's card, the little girl who'd blown up the Nundu. Viktor had gotten one of Pavel, the young wizard chess world champion with an attitude problem, and Viktor poked at the photo with his fork, trying to get the tiny Pavel to dodge or jump, making Hermione laugh.

Toward the bottom of her package of frogs, Hermione found another envelope – this one larger, lilac, and addressed to just Hermione. A glance at Krum's package confirmed he didn't have a similar envelope. Inside was a letter and what seemed to be photos, and she pulled out the letter first.

.

Dear Heroine Hermione,

Turns out, I wasn't under exclusive contract with the photos, just a gag order until the cards went live. They all turned out fabulous. No idea why they went with the boring pose they did, but the others are dynamic and intense as hell, and I'm happy to give you copies so the shots don't go entirely unappreciated.

Shooting with you was fun, and I'm sure I'll be seeing you again when you earn your adult card. Just make sure they schedule me as your photographer, and we'll make sure to make your official card a memorable one for the books.

Yours,

Austin Long

.

Hermione hadn't even known the photographer's name. His shots, though, were incredible, and Hermione spread them out over the table, grinning widely as she looked.

There were photos of her leaping, sword outstretched, a terrifying expression on her face. There were others of her crouched in a guard, others with her poised lightly like a fencer, and one with leaping in the air, her legs stretched out and up as far as she could in a split while she brought the sword down directly in front of her in a pose that seemed decidedly less like an actual combat attack and much more like a cheerleading move.

"How come you get extras?" Viktor complained.

"Maybe because I asked nicely," Hermione teased him, and he shot Hermione a smirk.

"I will write photographer," Viktor said decisively. "I need have better photos too. I posed better than this some – more exciting stances."

Hermione's mouth dried. Viktor Krum, in that tight shirt, possibly riding a broom… were his Quidditch trousers also made of Nogtail leather? Would they also be that tight, stretched and shiny across his thighs?

"I'll tell you what," Hermione said, looking up at him. "If you manage to get the full set of your photos, I'll trade you for a full set of mine."

Viktor's eyebrows went up.

"So, I will get many photos of pretty girl in green robes," he said slowly, "while you get many photos of international Quidditch star?" Viktor raised an eyebrow, looking at her. "Does seem fair to you?"

Hermione winced. "Well… when you put it like that…"

"Is absolutely not fair," Viktor pronounced, his eyes sparkling. "Photos of me are frequent, common. Not of value." His gaze met hers, warm. "Photos of Hermione are rare, special. They would be treasured. Deal is not fair at all."

Hermione laughed, blushing. "I mean…"

"No, too late – I will take deal," Viktor told her, giving her a crooked grin. "You are very bad at making deals, Hermione. Is not fair to you, maybe, but I will happily take deal for many photos of beautiful witch."

"You have to get your photo set first," Hermione reminded him, her face red, and Viktor laughed.

"I will," he assured her, his eyes dark and holding hers with a smile. "I have good motivation now."