Hermione looked from Fleur, to Bill, and then to the diamond sparkling on Fleur's hand. She had known of Bill's intent to marry the French woman since Cedric and Cassius' wedding. But she hadn't known when it would happen.
She supposed that she should have expected it. It had been about six months since then. And Viktor had asked her to marry him. She guessed that the man who had been planning on asking for longer would have done so.
"I wasn't expecting to see you two here," she said.
"We know," Bill said.
Hermione turned to Viktor. "You knew," she said.
He held up his hands in defense. "I vanted to surprise you."
Her face softened. She hadn't really been upset. She had mostly been upset that he hadn't told her, but she knew he had a good reason for keeping it from her. And he wouldn't deliberately keep something from her unless he wanted to surprise her.
"I can certainly say that I was surprised," she said.
"We are so happy to see you," Fleur said.
"And I see that Viktor wasted no time in getting you to agree to marry him," Bill added. "Even if he was intending to wait until after you had graduated."
Hermione blushed. She knew that they had reached an understanding while she had been at school. And both of them were a little unsure of how quickly, or slowly, to proceed. And she knew he had been intending to wait.
He might not have said it in as many words, but he had always encouraged her to do as well as possible in her studies. And she knew that he didn't want to distract her from her life. But she wasn't going to let him leave it.
"He kind of asked spur of the moment," Hermione said softly. "I'm sure Ron told you about Umbridge."
"He mentioned her. But I don't see what she has to do with this," Bill said.
"She'll tell you if you let her," Fleur hissed at her fiancé.
Hermione smiled at Fleur. They hadn't interacted too much, but she liked her. Even if she thought it was silly that Ron liked her because of the way that she looked. She was so much more than just a pretty face.
"Well, Umbridge caught us in our unsanctioned study group and gave us all detention. She used blood quills," Hermione started.
"Those have been illegal for a century," Bill interrupted.
"I know. But she had us using them. And Viktor here showed up with the aurors. And then he asked me to marry him."
"How did you know what was going on?" Fleur asked Viktor. "You were here. I know no owl gets here that fast."
Viktor and Hermione shared a look. "There are ways to get word to someone faster than owl," Hermione said. "And Viktor and I write everyday using one of those."
She didn't give out more details than necessary. She liked her privacy, even if it seemed like it was slowly dwindling. But she didn't feel like she needed to tell Ron's brother and Fleur, even if she liked them, that she and Viktor Krum were soulmates.
"Well, good for you two," Bill said.
Hermione smiled at Bill. He wasn't the most eloquent man she had ever met. None of the Weasleys were. They were a strange, but endearing family. And she had discovered a fondness for all of them.
"Vhy don't ve head in?" Viktor said.
They all gave a nod and went inside the house, sitting down in one of the sitting rooms. It was one of the ones closest to the front of the house, decorated in greens and golds. It was very elegant, and obviously designed for hosting well connected visitors.
They sat and talked, catching up. Bill and Fleur told of some of the adventures they had had in Egypt. They were partnering on a particularly complex curse in one of the older pyramids. It was hidden from muggles, and remarkably well preserved.
Viktor shared quidditch stories. Hermione listened to everything, making comments when appropriate. She felt slightly out of place. She was the youngest, by a long shot. And she didn't have very many stories to tell.
They were talking when Mrs. Granger came in to find Hermione for dinner.
"Hermione?" she said looking in.
"Yes mum?" Hermione turned around.
"We're having dinner soon. Your guests are free to join us if they wish."
"Your mother is a beautiful lady," Fleur said.
"She is," Hermione agreed. "Sometimes I wish I looked more like her."
"I'm glad you don't," Viktor whispered to her.
"Of course you don't," Hermione hissed back. "You seem to like me exactly the way I am. Which I'm grateful for."
"I should have known that she would speak Bulgarian," Bill bemoaned.
"Hush dear," Fleur said. "Let them speak freely. They don't seem to get the chance to do that often."
Hermione was glad when Fleur and Bill were gone. She was curled up on a couch with Viktor, a book in hand. She wasn't paying it much attention, however.
Instead, she read the same sentence over and over while tracing shapes on Viktor's arm.
"Are you going to turn the page?" he asked her.
Hermione sighed and put the book down. "I don't think I can read at the moment."
Viktor pulled her closer. "And vhy do you say that?"
"Because you're distracting me."
He nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "If you vant me to stop, you haff to tell me."
She turned around and kissed him before a smirk settled on her face. "What if I don't want you to stop?"
Viktor smiled. "I vill be most happy to oblige."
Hermione was so glad that Fleur and Bill weren't staying with them. She felt so much more comfortable snogging her fiancé senseless when people weren't as likely to walk in on them unannounced.
A/N: I don't know how long the summer is going to last. (I actually know how long summer break is. I meant I don't know how many chapters of summer I'm going to write.) And there is still going to be Ginny, and most of the other Weasleys, disapproving of Fleur. Sadly. I did enjoy the werewolf scene at the end too much to leave it out.