Hermione found herself oddly comfortable watching most of the duels. Cassius and Fleur were surprisingly accomplished. Harry was definitely at a disadvantage. But Hermione was most captivated by the way Viktor dueled with fluid ease.

Hermione knew that dueling in Bulgaria was different than in England and France. And while Viktor had studied their methods at Durmstrang, he had asked Hermione to go over the protocol again with him before the duels started.

She was fairly certain that it was allowed. After all, Harry had also asked her to go over the proper way to open a duel. He'd been coerced into one with Voldemort, but he wasn't sure that it was the best example of how a duel should go.

Hermione cheered for Viktor in every bout of his except for the one with Harry. There she sat, nervously fiddling in her seat. She still hadn't managed to decide who to cheer for. She had cheered equally for both Harry and Viktor up to that point, and she knew that neither of them would mind who she picked.

It was likely due to their understanding that she'd had such a hard time. But she was grateful that both Padma and Neville, whom she had grown incredibly close to that year, understood. They had even cheered for Viktor with her.

"Are you sure that's legal?" Padma asked as Viktor shot a spell at Harry that caused him to start laughing uncontrollably.

"I'm pretty sure that's a tickling spell. Perfectly legal. Although a little unusual," Hermione said.

Harry dropped his wand and crumpled to the ground in a shaking heap. Tears streamed down his face as he mumbled "stop" as best he could while struggling to breathe.

"I think Viktor just won all of his duels," Neville said. "Remarkable."

"You think I would like him if all he did was quidditch?" Hermione said sarcastically. "You know me better than that."

Neville smiled. "Of course I do. I'm just surprised he managed to do it so fast."

"I'm surprised too. He seemed like he was having too much fun. He certainly took an unexpected approach with each opponent," Padma added.

Padma and Neville started going off on different tactics that might have worked with each of the champions' skills and abilities. They compared strengths and weaknesses and agreed that it was likely that Viktor would have won in just about any situation.

Hermione just watched the rest of the matches with half of her attention. Her mind kept wandering off to Viktor and what the score would be. He would probably win. Which was fine, but he certainly didn't need the money or fame.

Hermione wondered what Viktor was planning on doing with the funds if he won. No one had talked about it. Rita Skeeter was way too focused on creating discord and gaining readership even if she had to falsify information. And Hermione knew that the other newspapers weren't covering the tournament to the degree that the Daily Prophet was.

Viktor walked over to their seats, which were in the front row, and sat down to watch the rest of the duels.

"That was crazy!" Padma nearly shouted. "You were amazing."

"She's not wrong," Hermione said. "You were rather remarkable to watch."

"It vas too easy," Viktor said. "Dueling is much harder in Bulgaria."

"As I told them. But it was still interesting to see exactly how you manage to cast spells like that. And how your opponent never had a chance to guess what you were going to do. You did something completely unexpected every time." Hermione knew that she was rambling, but she felt as though she couldn't stop.

Viktor smiled. He always liked when Hermione rambled. Her eyes lit up and she talked without fear. Intellectual conversation was her element, almost in the same way that quidditch was his. He would just watch her rant all day if nothing got in the way.

"So how did you do it?" Neville asked. "Know how to beat each of them in ways that they couldn't have anticipated? Do you know something that we don't?"

"Of course he does," Padma hissed. "He's eighteen. We're fourteen. He's supposed to know things we don't know."

"Is not hard," Viktor said. "Vhen dueling starts, most protect veakest side. Is vhere they know most attacks vill come. And they know they can protect strong side easily. Secret is to send harmless spells quickly to veak side and then stronger spells to strong side vhen they are not expecting it."

Both Padma and Neville thought over it and agreed that it sounded rather sound. If you didn't give your opponent a chance to attack, things were more likely to work out in your favour. They started debating on which of the champions might have figured out Viktor's strategy.

Hermione sat next to Viktor enjoying being next to him while she could. After the rest of the duels were over, he would be swept up in whatever was going on. Either he would win, which seemed likely considering that he'd done the best out of the previous tasks and had won all his duels, or he would lose.

Either way, he would wind up being busy and have people clamouring for his attention. As much as Hermione wished that she might just have him to herself, she knew that wouldn't happen much. She was looking forward to the summer, where she knew she would get at least a few days alone with Viktor.

"Vhat is wrong?" Viktor asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that I can't wait for the summer. I'm glad my parents said that we could come to Bulgaria," she said.

"Me too."

Hermione snuggled into Viktor's side as the duels went on. It felt as if each was taking longer than the last one, but Hermione wasn't complaining. She wasn't sure that she was ready to hear the results of the duels.

Eventually, the last duel was finished, and the judges were deliberating the results. Harry came over, his face glistening a little with the sweat he had managed to work up in the last match. It had lasted over ten minutes and had looked particularly grueling, even if Harry had eventually lost to Warrington.

"Nice to have the chance to spar with you Viktor," Harry said. "Even if I've got a lot to learn before I even have a chance to actually take you on."

"You vill learn," Viktor said shaking his hand. "I know you vill. You haff faced more than any man should haff to. Let me know if you ever vant help."

"I will," Harry said.

Harry headed up the steps to where the Weasleys were sitting. Ron and Harry were like two peas in a pod. While Hermione was one of them most of the time, they understood that she wanted to spend time with Viktor while she could. For the most part. Ron still had some trouble processing that, but he was trying.

Hermione and Viktor sat and listened to the debate between Neville and Padma on the use of magical artifacts. They were comparing things like the sorting hat, the goblet of fire, and wands that had been passed down through families for generations.

"I'm just saying that if instead of a magic fire goblet, we pulled names out of a hat, Harry wouldn't have necessarily been subjected to the things this tournament has piled on him," Padma said.

"And I'm saying that there's not another good way to make sure that we're getting the best candidate from each school," Neville said. "If you pull names out of a hat, you get candidates at random."

"And how bad would that be?" Padma asked.

"If you get someone incapable, it would be disastrous."

Hermione listened as they debated the pros and cons of both systems. She found that she didn't know enough to actually form an unbiased opinion, and made a note to study more on magical artifacts, before their conversation devolved again. Padma and Neville had a habit of switching subjects when they realized they were too emotionally invested in their own opinions.

Hermione tuned them out as the judges filed back into the room. Apparently they had made a decision. She tensed a little as a short man who was wearing a collared shirt under his robes, and slacks peaked out under the bottom, climbed onto the platform.

Jeremy Clark, an American wizard who had been selected because of his impartial nature, cleared his throat and invited all the champions onto the stage. He turned to the audience and gave a short speech about how the nature of the competition was not to win, but to foster friendships throughout the magical community.

"In fourth place, one Miss Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons."

There was a large but polite round of applause from everyone. Hermione found herself clapping for the girl that she barely knew. But she knew how hard it could be to compete with boys. The fact that she had done as well as she had was testament to her skill.

"In third place, Harry Potter."

There was a lot of applause from Hogwarts, particularly Gryffindor. Hermione cheered with Neville, Padma applauding a little quieter. She wasn't exactly friends with Harry, and wasn't a Gryffindor and felt awkward supporting him. But everyone was so happy it was contagious.

"In second place, Cassius Warrington."

Slytherin erupted in cheers. Their champion had outdone Harry Potter, the fact that he was three years older notwithstanding, and they were thrilled. The rest of Hogwarts was glad that their champions had done as well as they had, and were cheering loudly.

"And the winner of the triwizard tournament, Viktor Krum!"

Durmstrang was the loudest group anyone had heard when they were excited. There were cheers all around. Everyone loved the Bulgarian seeker, and few were afraid to show it. Even Hermione was cheering as loudly as she could, jumping from excitement.

"That's my boyfriend," she preened.

Neville rolled his eyes. "We know."

Hermione ran over to Viktor as soon as he stepped down and hugged him, planting a kiss on his cheek before the crowd swarmed them.

"I'm so proud of you," she said.