Hermione wasn't thrilled about the plane ride to Bulgaria. But she found that she didn't mind so much, sitting next to Viktor. He was an excellent conversation partner, even if he had a tendency to forget which word he wanted to use.
"You are allowed to speak in Bulgarian," she said.
"Most of the people on this flight speak Bulgarian," he replied.
"And most of the people also speak English. You're going to have to give me a better answer than that."
Hermione was sort of teasing him. She was sure he had a good reason for wanting to speak English, even if translating some words still took him a while. But his English had improved by leaps and bounds since she had first met him.
"Okay. I vant to vork on my English," Viktor admitted. "After all, it must be easier for you to understand me vhen I use it."
Hermione took a deep breath. "Viktor, I might not be the best at speaking Bulgarian, but I think I can understand you alright. And how am I supposed to get better without practice?"
Viktor looked down at his hands. He wasn't sure how to answer that. He found her attempts endearing, and beautiful. He loved it when she spoke Bulgarian, no matter how inexperienced she sounded.
"You are right," he mumbled.
"I usually am," she smirked. "I'll admit to being wrong occasionally, but you should let me know when that happens."
They chatted through the rest of the plane ride. Both Mr. and Mrs. Granger were busy reading or sleeping. Sometimes it seemed as though they were doing both at the same time.
Hermione stretched out as they walked off the plane and into the airport. It was about as painful as curling up with a book for several hours on a typical Saturday. But she didn't have as much room to shift on the airplane.
"Remind me why we took the plane," she asked her mother.
"Because we've tried a portkey more than once and it was a nauseating experience," Mr. Granger answered.
"Much faster," Viktor said.
"Oh, I don't think I'll argue with that. But we didn't have anything today, and it gave me a chance to actually get some reading done," Mrs. Granger said.
Hermione looked at Viktor and shrugged. She took his hand in hers as they walked through the terminal to the baggage claim. It was fairly late, so they would be heading to the Krum residence for a late dinner and then bed.
They took a cab from the airport. If Hermione's parents hadn't enjoyed a portkey, they would hate apparition. The risk of splinching wasn't going to help convince them any.
Viktor tipped the cab driver, and led Hermione up to the house. Her parents had already made their way to the kitchen, knowing the layout of the house much better since they had weekly dinners with the Krums.
She was starting to drift off, but he managed to get her up the path under her own power. He had no qualms about carrying her, but she did. She didn't want him to do something that she could do herself.
"Don't want to eat," she mumbled into his shoulder.
"You can go to bed after you eat," Viktor promised.
She didn't say anything, just hummed a little. Viktor picked her up, glad that quidditch was good for something. She wasn't heavy, but she wasn't the lightest person he had ever carried. That would be his six-year-old cousin.
"You're strong," Hermione giggled.
"And you are delirious," Viktor said.
"Maybe," she said. "But I know something you don't."
"I don't doubt it," he muttered.
He carried her into the kitchen, where her parents were sitting eating with Mr. and Mrs. Krum.
"Oh, Hermione," Mrs. Granger said. "It looks like she fell asleep on you."
"No," Hermione mumbled. "He said I could go to bed after food."
"Viktor, take her to her room. We'll send one of the elves up with food," Mr. Krum said.
Viktor nodded at his father, and carried Hermione up to the guest room she had used the previous summer. He was sure that it would be open to her if she ever wanted, or needed, to visit. Until they were married. Then she would be housed in his rooms.
He swept that thought from his mind, and focused on settling Hermione and her trunk down. She'd curled up into her pillow, her mind obviously more than halfway gone.
"Hermione, you need to eat," he said.
Her eyes shot open. "What did you say?"
"You need to eat?" Viktor was a little confused.
"No, before that."
"Hermione?"
She giggled. "You said my name."
Viktor smiled. "I haff been saying your name for a long time loff."
"No. You said it without any problems." She hugged him. "Thank you."
Viktor wrapped his arms around his fiancé. Having her close was euphoric. And he didn't want to let go of her, however much he knew he would need to.
"Let's get you some food."
Food popped into the room on the desk. It was a simple sandwich. But that was probably for the best. Hermione might have woken up a bit but she was still exhausted. And anything complicated or messy would not have been a good choice.
Hermione practically scarfed the sandwich down, then rummaged through her trunk for her toothbrush. Once her teeth were clean, she flopped back onto the bed. Within a few minutes, she was fast asleep.
Viktor left, dimming the light as he went. He wanted her to sleep as peacefully as possible. And he knew that he should probably get to bed himself. He had practice the next morning. It wasn't particularly early, but being well rested was never a bad plan.
A/N: So yeah. This is just fluff. Although, someone did ask me to make it so that Viktor learnt how to say Hermione's name. And I did want to show the learning process of that. I hope I managed that.