Hermione found herself fretting over the first Hogsmeade weekend. She was meeting Viktor there for a few hours and then lunch. And she wanted everything to be perfect.
"Why is this so hard?" she nearly screamed as she flung robes back into her trunk.
"Because you haven't seen Viktor in almost two months. And he said he was bringing your birthday present today," Padma said.
Hermione sat down on her bed, and ran her hands through her hair. It was nice to have someone who understood. Ron and Harry thought that she was nuts, and Neville wasn't sure how to talk with her about it. He thought that Krum would love to see her, no matter what she looked like.
While it was true that Viktor wouldn't care what she wore, she found that she was putting in more and more effort every time she saw him. And she didn't have a logical reason for it.
"Hermione," Padma said. "If you don't calm down I'm going to wake Pavarti up to pick out your clothes."
Hermione winced. Pavarti was a talented witch when it came to pulling things together, but she was not a morning person. And if there was one person you didn't want to wake up before noon on a Saturday, it was Pavarti. Even if Lavender was a close second.
"Please don't do that. Surely she's taught you something about pulling outfits together."
"She has, but she's still better at it than I am. I find potions far too appealing to worry about what I'm wearing half of the time," the Ravenclaw said.
Hermione slid to the floor and pulled out a light lavender lace sweater. "What do you think we could do with this?"
Padma let out a low whistle. "Hermione, I know you're stunning but we don't need to blind the guy."
If there was one thing that she could have said to relax Hermione, that was it. The Gryffindor laughed, her nerves running off her.
"Thanks Padma. I guess you're right. It would be hard to be a seeker if you can't actually seek. But I do like that sweater."
"I figured. You wouldn't have pulled it out if you didn't like it. Besides, I think I might be able to make the "Bulgarian bon-bon" faint if I do this right."
The girls laughed softly, very aware of the sleeping forms around them. Though the curtains were spelled so that the noise from the dorm wouldn't wake anyone up, they didn't want to be obnoxious. That was just rude.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
Ten minutes later, and Hermione felt like she wasn't looking back at herself. She was dressed nicely, and her hair was actually pulled back into some semblance of order. She didn't often look at herself in the mirror, but she found that she liked the way she looked.
Perhaps it was the happiness that managed to seep out of her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was wearing something other than school robes. Whatever the reason, she felt more vibrant than she had in far too long.
She almost ran out of the castle and all the way down to the village. The main thing stopping her was her shoes. Padma had picked out white ballet slippers and they weren't the best shoes for running in. Which meant it was faster to wait for a carriage.
She was ready to bolt out the door when the carriage finally came to a stop in the village. She managed to refrain from doing so, with a tremendous amount of self-control. She suspected it was years of managing Harry and Ron that had developed it.
She walked slowly around the village, taking in the air and the sights. She was just starting to get a hold of her nerves when she saw him.
Hermione flew towards Viktor and practically leapt into his arms. He hugged her tightly, as if he hadn't seen her in years. It might have only been a few months, but that felt far too long. It was comforting to just be together again, even if they had sort of spoken each day.
"Her-me-own," Viktor said.
"You're getting better," Hermione said. "Soon you'll be able to say my name without any trouble at all."
He pulled her close and kissed her. She melted into his embrace, wanting him to stay. She knew it wasn't logical. She knew it wasn't even practical. But she still wanted him there.
"I haff missed you," Viktor said.
"Me too. I thought keeping busy would help, but it only does so much. You probably know how much I wanted to just sit with you."
Viktor did have a clue. It was about as much as he wanted to hold her in his arms. He feared the worst, and her description of Harry's detention had only increased that fear. He was reluctant to let her pull away, but knew he needed to. He still kept a hold of her hand, which she didn't protest.
"How is Harry?" Viktor asked.
Hermione shrugged. "He's fine. He'd be doing better if someone would answer his questions, but I don't know any more than he does."
"I guess that would be a bit annoying."
"Let's not talk about Harry," Hermione said. "I just want to enjoy my time with you, before you have to leave for Bulgaria."
They wandered through the village, talking about everything under the sun. Around lunch time, the rest of the students started to trickle down from the castle. Hermione and Viktor ducked into the Three Broomsticks for lunch, and a slightly more private space.
Viktor shifted nervously on his feet as they were led to one of the booths in the corner. Hermione wasn't sure what he had to be nervous about, but squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"You don't have anything to worry about," she whispered. "I think the entire wizarding world knows that we're dating."
"That's not vhat I am vorried about," Viktor said.
"Whatever it could be, I'm sure it's not as big a deal as I think you're making it out to be."
Viktor pulled out a small box from his pocket and placed it in Hermione's hands. She was surprised that he was afraid of what she might think of whatever it was. She put the box down and leaned over the table to kiss him on the cheek.
"No matter what it is, I think I'll love it just because you picked it out."
"Open it," he insisted.
She gently pulled the ribbon off the box and lifted the lid. Inside the box was a necklace of gold with a mother-of-pearl pendant.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"I know it's probably presumptuous of me to give you jewelry, but I vould give you the vorld if you asked," Viktor said.
Hermione knew that it wasn't typical for purebloods to give jewelry to anyone who they weren't engaged, or betrothed, to. She was also aware that she wasn't going to let Viktor go anytime soon, and it looked like he felt the same way.
"Help me put it on?" she asked.
She held her hair out of the way as Viktor clasped the necklace around her neck. It settled there as if it was meant for her, and it was. But it was lighter than she had anticipated.
"You look beautiful."
Hermione blushed. "You say that every time you see me."
"I say it because you are."
She blushed, dropping her gaze to the table. She knew that Viktor thought her beautiful. And she had gone to a decent amount of effort that day, but she couldn't help the feeling that bubbled up in her chest.
"Thank you."
They ate lunch, talking in hushed tones. They didn't really want to make the front page of the Prophet, even if Hermione had accepted Viktor's necklace. But they still didn't need the subjects of conversation, at that point a debate on the magical cores of broomsticks, to be plastered all over the papers.
Unfortunately, it ended all too soon, and Viktor had to go back to Bulgaria for a family dinner. It was just him and his parents, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get into trouble if he wasn't there.
"Hey Hermione," a soft dreamy voice said.
Hermione looked over to her left and there was a blonde girl with radish earrings. "Hi Luna," she said.
"You seem happy," Luna said. "I guess your visitor had something to do with that."
Hermione flushed. "He did. But don't tell him that. Or Ron and Harry. Especially Ron."
"Oh, don't worry about me." Luna wandered off to go find something.
Hermione shook her head. No matter how much she tried to understand Ravenclaws, she always came up a few pence short of a pound. But she could see Padma and Neville talking about something, and she walked over to them.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Hermione," Neville said without really looking.
"He didn't," Padma said.
"I think he did," Hermione responded. "I was there."
"What are you two talking about?" Neville asked.
"Viktor gave me a necklace for my birthday present," Hermione said.
Neville dropped the small rosebush he had purchased, the pot breaking on the ground. His mouth opened and closed, almost like a fish. He couldn't find the words to say.
Hermione pulled her wand out and repaired the pot. Thankfully roses didn't necessarily have any trouble with being repotted, and would survive the incident.
"Thanks," Neville muttered. "I guess I didn't think he would do something like that so soon."
"I didn't really either," Hermione said. "But I can't really imagine anything different. I might not have used that many words, but I do want to spend my life with him by my side."
Padma was grinning like a madwoman. "I can't wait until all the boys see that," she said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I doubt that they'll know where it came from. Or even what it means. I'm sure Harry won't."
"And unless you tell Ron, he'll assume it's something your parents gave you," Neville added.
"Just because Ron isn't willing to admit what's right in front of his face doesn't mean that everyone is," Padma said.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
A/N: Okay, so I'm toying with the idea of having Neville and Padma date. Any opinions?