Chapter 105
"Hermione, will you stop fretting?!" Ginny scolded as Hermione sat in front of her on her bed just after 5 o'clock. "You're going to ruin your makeup!"
"I'm sorry," Hermione pleaded. "I'm just so nervous. What if he doesn't come? Or what if he shows up with someone else?"
"He'll be there, and he won't be with someone else, trust me," Ginny assured her. "Now hold still or I'll poke you in the eye with this," she said, holding up an eyeliner pencil that Hermione recognized as something from the muggle world.
"Where'd you get that?" Hermione asked.
"Mum sent it to me for the ball with my robes when I told her I had a date," Ginny answered. "Professor McGonagall wasn't entirely truthful in her class Saturday. I found out that only younger students who have a date with a fourth year student are allowed to attend. Lucky me, Neville asked me," she finished with a smile. "Or I'd be stuck here tonight."
"So, um," Hermione said and stood still, closing her mouth as Ginny moved on to the lip gloss. "How do you know he'll be there?"
"Well, let's just say that I may or may not have written to him to make sure he didn't ask anyone else, and that he would still be taking you," Ginny said and jumped back, so she didn't poke Hermione's eye with the eyeliner pencil when she moved.
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed. "You didn't!"
"Well, you didn't expect me to just sit around and watch my friend be depressed about not having a date, did you?" Ginny asked.
Hermione flung herself at Ginny wrapping her arms around her, giving her a hug.
"Thank you!" she said.
"Hey, hey hey!" Ginny said, leaning back. "None of that now," she scolded. "You'll ruin my masterpiece."
Hermione beamed and sat back obediently, letting Ginny finish her makeup, then she got dressed and sat again while Ginny did her hair.
"You're not going to have time to do your own, are you?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, don't worry about me," Ginny said. "The dress mom got me is rather simple, so I don't need anything too fancy."
Hermione waited, milling around as Ginny got ready.
"Okay," Ginny said after a few moments, much faster than Hermione thought possible. "All set."
"Done all ready?" Hermione asked.
"Yep," Ginny said. "I told you it was simple. Ready?"
"I - I don't know," Hermione said, still nervous.
"Come on, Hermione," she said. "It'll be fun. Oh, don't forget your earrings."
Hermione looked, and she found she had nearly forgotten them on the nightstand by Ginny's bed. She grabbed them and quickly put them on.
"Well don't take too long," Ginny called. "I gotta go meet Neville. I'll see you there, okay?"
"Okay," Hermione called, trying to calm her nerves before going downstairs.
She waited at the top of the stairs, until the common room had emptied. Ron had spent most of the morning trying to get her to tell him who she was going with, but she kept telling him it was none of his business and he'd know soon enough anyway. She knew if she had gone down while he was still in the common room he would have thought that she'd lied and didn't have a date after all.
Taking a deep breath, she headed downstairs, following after the other students.
"Poor kid," she heard Ron say to Harry. "I bet she's alone in her room, crying her eyes out."
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Hermione, of course," Ron answered. "Come on Harry, why do you think she wouldn't tell us who she's coming with?"
"Because we'd take the mickey out of her if she did," Harry replied.
"Nobody asked her," Ron said. "Would have taken her myself if she wasn't so bloody proud."
Hermione hung back, on the other side of the wall, not wanting to be seen yet as she grew angry with Ron's hurtful words. To think, calling her proud when he was the one who had insulted her the morning before. She took several calming breaths, not wanting to think about it and heard Professor McGonagall's voice.
"There you are, Potter," Professor McGonagall said hurriedly. "Are you and Ms Patil ready?"
"Ready Professor?" Harry asked, confused.
"To dance," Professor McGonagall replied. "It's tradition that the three champions, well, in this case, four are the first to dance. Surely I told you that."
"No," Harry replied.
"Oh, well, now you know," Professor McGonagall said. "Oh, as for you Mr Weasley, you may proceed into the Great Hall with Ms Patil."
"Oh, there you are!" Professor McGonagall called, seeing Hermione peer out from behind the edge of the wall and wave at her. "Come along now."
Hermione took a deep breath and gathered herself as she stepped out from behind the wall. "I need you all to line up for the procession," Professor McGonagall called.
"She looks beautiful," Parvati said, looking up where Professor McGonagall had called to someone on the stairs behind them and saw Hermione standing there nervously.
"Yeah, she does," Harry said, gazing at Cho Chang who came in with Cedric Diggory before he realised that Parvati was looking behind them and looked up to see a girl he didn't know standing there.
He watched as she came down the stairs with a smile and was met by a Durmstrang student that he realised was Viktor Krum. Krum moved to the stairs, passed them and bowed to the girl, taking her hand and kissing it gently, and the girl giggled and blushed, then waved at him as she passed, and it was then that he realised that it was Hermione.
She was wearing flowing ruffles in a purple rose petal coloured dress and her hair was done up in an elegant knot with ringlets falling over her shoulder.
The trumpets played as the doors opened and the Procession entered the great hall with Roger Davies and Fleur Delacour leading followed by Viktor Krum and Hermione, and Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory with Harry and Parvati coming in last.
"Is that Hermione Granger," Hermione heard from the crowd as she and Viktor passed by several students. "With Viktor Krum."
"No, definitely not," she heard a boy reply that sounded an awful lot like Ron, but she was too preoccupied to see or care as Viktor led her to the centre of the dance floor.
They led the first dance of a waltz and then the other joined in.
It wasn't long before Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and she looked over to see Ginny smile at her "See, I told you," she said and winked before letting Neville steer her back onto the dance floor.
The party was broken up by those who chose to dance and those who decided to sit down and eat while they took a break, and it wasn't long before Hermione needed a rest and allowed Viktor to guide her to one of the tables where they ordered their food from enchanted menus and their food arrived direct to their plates. She made a mental note to ask Dobby about it later, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort and drama to spoil her evening thinking about the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.
"Vell, ve have a castle also," Viktor told her, finally relenting to tell her something about Durmstrang. "Not as big as zis nor as comfortable, I think. Ve have just four floors and fires are only lit for magical purpose. Ve have grounds larger than zis, zough is vinte, ve have very little daylight, so now, ve are not enjoying zem. But in zummar, ve are flying every day, over ze lakes and mountains -"
"Now, now, Viktor," Professor Karkaroff said with a laugh that Hermione noticed didn't reach his eyes when she looked up at him over Viktor's shoulder to see him standing with Professor Dumbledore. "Don't give avay anything else, no, or your charming friend will know exactly vhere to find us."
"Igor," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "All this secrecy... one would almost think you didn't want visitors."
"Vell, Dumbledore," Professor Karkaroff said, turning to him, "Ve all are protective of our private domains, are ve not? Do ve not jealously guard ze halls of learning zat half been entrusted to us? Are ve not proud zat ve alone know our school's zecrets, and half ze right to protect zem?"
"Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all of Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," Professor Dumbledore said amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."
Hermione rolled her eyes and buried her head in her hand. She couldn't believe that Professor Dumbledore was talking about bathrooms and bodily functions on such an occasion. "Vot is wrong, Herm-own-ninny?" Viktor asked, noticing her expression when the professors had left. "Nothing," Hermione said and then inclined her head after the professors. "I just can't believe their conversation topic. And it's pronounced Her-my-oh-nee."
"Herm-own-ninny," Viktor said again, and Hermione sighed.
"It's close enough I guess," Hermione said with a smile.
"Care to dance again?" Viktor asked and stood, holding out his hand as she smiled and took it.
It wasn't long before Viktor led her out of the great hall again, and outside for some fresh air as the heat from the pressing bodies on the dance floor got to both of them, and they headed away from the noise, and they got a chance to talk.
"Vot is wrong, Herm-own-ninny?" Viktor asked, noticing her expression was troubled.
"I just -" Hermione began and sighed as they walked, holding hands. "I just wish that this tournament never happened."
"But zen," Viktor said. "I vood have never met you."
"Oh, well," Hermione said. "That's true. I guess that there are some good things about the tournament. I just wish everyone's emotions weren't running so high. It's been a nightmare dealing with Harry and Ron. Ron was holding my friendship with his sister over my head if I chose to hang around Harry, and while Harry was understanding of why I was hanging around with Ron, for Ginny's sake, it still made me feel awful."
"Zat is not right," Viktor said. "Vat he do."
"No," Hermione said and sighed again. "It wasn't."
"Vait," Viktor said, looking at her, and Hermione looked at him curiously as he reached up toward her hair.
"What is it?" Hermione asked. "You have bug in your hair," Viktor said, but he didn't touch her as the bug flew off. "It is gone now."
"That's strange," Hermione said. "It's a little cold for insects."
When Viktor didn't respond, the conversation turned.
"Have you talked vith Oliver yet?" he asked after a moment.
"No," Hermione replied. "I really should though. I need to let him know I'm not mad anymore, and that I've had a good time with you tonight. I know he was worried about the way Harry and Ron would affect tonight with their behaviour this year."
"Yes, he talks about you a lot," Viktor said.
"And that has nothing to do with you asking questions about me, does it?" Hermione replied with a knowing look, peering at his face.
Viktor cleared his throat.
"Okay," he replied. "Maybe small part. You... like Oliver?"
"Well, yes," Hermione replied. "What's not to like? He's kind, and patient, he goes out of his way to help people..."
"He is... your friend?" Viktor asked.
Hermione sighed and nodded, then remembered what Viktor had said about what it meant in Bulgaria, and shook her head vehemently.
"Yes," she said to clarify her answer.
"But... you wish he vasn't," Viktor observed.
"What?" Hermione asked in surprise. "Of course I do! I wouldn't want to not be friends."
"Zat is not vat I meant," Viktor said, holding up a hand.
"What -?" Hermione began, but fell silent at Viktor's gesture.
"You vish he vas more zan friend," Viktor said. "Do you not?"
She swallowed.
"How did you know?" Hermione asked.
She swore she saw his lips twitch in the half-light from the castle windows.
"It vas not hard to - how you say...? Solve puzzle?" Viktor said.
"Figure out," Hermione said, "though you say it just as well."
Viktor gave a shake of his head.
"Yes," he replied. "It vas not hard to 'vigure out'."
"Then tell me," Hermione said curiously. "How did you come to this conclusion? This end of the puzzle?"
"Vell, you are talking to me, before you are talking to him," Viktor said. "This mean you forgive my part in deception, but not his? Why?"
"I - I don't know," Hermione said, never before analysing her feelings on this particular matter.
"I zink I do," Viktor said.
"Do you?" Hermione asked, looking at him curiously.
"Yes," Viktor said with a shake of his head. "I zink zat you care for him very much. That you are more mad vith him zan you are vith me. Zat is vy it take much longer vor you to vorgive him." Hermione swallowed. What Viktor said made sense. She wondered if it was that obvious to everyone else.
"I'm sorry, Viktor," Hermione said, looking at him with regret. "I realise now that I have led you on about my feelings."
"But you half not," Viktor replied.
"I haven't?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"No, you half not," Viktor confirmed with a small nod. "Vood must care vor you very much also. He ask me to tell him vat goes on vith how Harry and Veezley boy treat you. He ask me to take you to ball tonight and to make sure you half good time."
Hermione smiled, ducking her head slightly.
"Are you?" Viktor asked.
"Am I what?" Hermione asked, looking up, her mind having wandered a moment and wondered if she had missed part of his question.
"Are you halfing good time?" Viktor asked.
"Oh," Hermione said and gave a slight shake of her head. "Oh, yes. Thank you."
"You are most velcome," Viktor said. "You should know though," he said and paused when he had her attention before continuing after a moment. "I deed not ask you to ball just because he ask me to."
"You didn't?" Hermione asked and blinked.
"No," Viktor said and nodded. "I do zis as more zan vavor to him. I do zis because over time I spend vith you, I find I like you, too. I know you like him, but I not give up zat you vill like me as much. Zis is vy I take you to ball."
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, withdrawing her hand from his and covering her mouth. "Oh, Viktor, I - I'm sorry... I -" she broke off with a shiver.
"You are cold," Viktor said, gently rubbing her arms. "Come," he said, and draped his arm over her shoulder, leading her back to the castle.
Heading back into the castle, they entered the Great Hall once more to find the Weird Sisters had taken the stage that had been set up and Viktor turned to her with the smallest of smiles as he led her to the dance floor, and they started dancing to the music.
They danced through one of the songs with a fast tempo and by the end, they had to stop because Hermione was tired and needed a rest.
"Vot is it?" Viktor asked as they stood off the dance floor together some distance from where Harry and Ron were sitting.
Hermione glanced over at the boys and sighed heavily.
"It's Ron," she replied. "He's been giving us dirty looks all night."
"Try not to let him bother you. Vy not invite zem to join us? I'll go get drinks," Viktor said.
Before she could think of it, she nodded her head and Viktor left her at the edge of the dance floor near the entrance to the Great Hall after bringing her hand to his lips before he departed.
Hermione couldn't help the thrill of a blush that took hold of her even though she had told him that she didn't feel the same for him as she did for Oliver. She spun on her heel in elation and saw Harry and Ron sitting nearby with the Patil twins.
She saw a boy from Durmstrang escorting Parvati to dance and moved over and took her empty seat beside Harry.
"Hi," Harry said when she sat down.
Hermione exhaled a heavy breath, her heart still hammering from the dance and Viktor's kiss upon her hand.
"Hot isn't it?" she asked, watching the crowded dance floor. "Viktor's gone to get drinks. Would you care to join us?"
"Viktor?" Ron asked with a sneer. "No," he continued snappishly. "We'd not care to join you and Viktor."
"What's got your wand in a knot?" Hermione asked warily, Ron's attitude bringing her down like a ton of bricks.
"Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?" Ron spat.
"What's up with you?" Hermione asked, confused by his attitude.
"Well if you don't know," Ron said venomously. "I'm not going to tell you."
Hermione stared at him, and then at Harry, who shrugged.
"Ron, what -?" she began.
"He's a Durmstrang," Ron said as if he was talking to a small child. "You're fraternising with the enemy."
"Don't be stupid!" Hermione shot back. "The enemy? Honestly - who was it who was all excited, like a little girl when they saw him arrive? Who was it who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory, Ronda?"
Ron chose to ignore her barbs, though she could see the effort it took.
"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library," Ron said.
"Yes. He did," Hermione confirmed defensively. "So what?"
"What happened - trying to get him to join spew, were you?"
"No," Hermione said heatedly. "I was not! We may have talked about it, but I never asked him anything of the sort! If you must know, he - he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't plucked up the courage!"
Hermione glanced at Harry who met her eyes before looking away as she turned back to Ron.
"Yeah, well - that's his story," Ron said nastily.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, offended.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron asked. "He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with... He's just trying to get closer to Harry - get inside information on him - or get close enough to jinx him -"
Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. She glanced at Harry wondering if he'd told Ron about what he'd learned about Karkaroff from Sirius or if it was just about a way to cheat during the tournament. He didn't meet her eyes and she realised it was happening again. They were putting Harry in the position of Switzerland, and she saw his jaw tighten. Turning back to Ron, she glared at him and when she spoke, her voice quivered.
"For your information," she said heatedly. "He hasn't asked me a thing about Harry. Not one single thing -"
"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means!" Ron said, changing tact at the speed of light. "I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cosy little library sessions -"
Hermione realised in a flash what was going on with Ron, but her ego pushed her mind along her train of thought, not letting her address it.
"I'd never help him work out that egg!" Hermione exclaimed in outrage. "I want Harry to win the tournament, Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"
She looked at him, but he was still ignoring them, his teeth still clenched. His jaw still working. "You've got a funny way of showing it," Ron sneered.
"I'm not the one who turned their back on Harry over petty jealousy!" Hermione snapped. "I'm not the one who didn't talk to him for two and a half months! Besides, the whole point of the tournament is international magical cooperation - to make friends!"
"No it isn't!" Ron said, his tone angry and condescending. "It's about winning; and I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind."
Hermione got to her feet, at a loss for words. She couldn't believe that he'd talk to her in such a manner. She started to go, and then turned back, unable to get the words out, she turned around again and saw that Viktor was returning with their drinks.
"Herm-own-ninny?" Viktor asked when he saw the look on her face. "Vot is wrong?"
"I - I'm sorry," Hermione murmured, near to tears. "I - I can't."
"Herm-own-ninny, wait!" Viktor called as Hermione started to run from the Great Hall, and he caught her hand. "Please," he murmured when she stopped, and he strengthened his words so that they mostly came out properly. "Tell me vot zis wrong."
"It's just..." Hermione began, and shook her head miserably, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks and she looked up to see Viktor watching her with concern. "I never thought our friendship would end this way... over petty jealousy. I'm sorry, Viktor, I'm not good company right now. I - I want to thank you for the wonderful evening you showed me, but..."
"I understand," Viktor said solemnly. "I go talk to him."
"No! Please," Hermione said, pulling on Viktor's arm as he headed toward Ron and Harry. "Don't..."
"But vy?" Viktor asked in confusion, looking to her for an explanation.
"Because," Hermione said. "You'd only make things worse. Please don't."
"All right," Viktor said with a shake of his head. "I not talk to him, for you."
"Thank you," Hermione whispered.
"But I tell Oliver Vood," Viktor said.
Hermione nodded, and then shook her head.
"All right," she said in agreement. "He'll probably hear from me about it also. You did show me a good time, Viktor," Hermione said after a moment. "Thank you. And thank you for understanding."
Viktor bowed and kissed her hand before reluctantly letting go and heading out of the castle, intent on writing to Oliver about Ron's behaviour.
"He's using you," Ron said a short time later, picking up the argument when he saw that Hermione was alone again.
"How dare you!" Hermione exclaimed. "Besides, I can take care of myself."
"I doubt it," Ron said.
"Who punched Malfoy in the face in our third year?" Hermione asked. "Was it you?"
"He's way too old," Ron said, ignoring her as though she hadn't spoken.
"What?!" Hermione asked, reeling from the blow of his comment, for the first person who came to her mind at his statement was not Viktor, but Oliver. "What?" she asked again. "That's what you think?"
"Yeah," Ron said. "That's what I think."
"You know the solution then, don't you?" Hermione asked angrily as they marched out of the Great Hall.
"Go on," Ron said, wanting to hear her reasoning.
"Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before someone else does," Hermione exclaimed. "And not as a last resort!"
"Well, that's - I mean, that's just completely off the point," Ron hedged. "Harry," he called, seeing Harry walk up behind them, looking for his help.
"Where have you been?" Hermione snapped in annoyance. "Never mind! Off to bed, both of you."
Harry looked startled by her attack but didn't comment, giving Ron a dirty look as he passed Hermione, heading up the stairs.
"They get scary when they get older," Ron said purposefully loud enough for Hermione to hear.
"Ron," Harry said as they went up the stairs. "I didn't have a problem with Hermione coming with Krum - Why'd you have to drag me into it?"
"Ron, you spoiled everything!" Hermione cried, unable to contain her tears any longer.
"What's this about?" a girl seated on the steps asked curiously, but Hermione didn't reply. Instead, she gave into her tears and collapsed on the stairs, pulling her shoes off and massaging her tired, aching feet.