Hermione wrote what felt like a plethora of letters in the week after the accident involving Katie. It didn't feel much like an accident to anyone, but there wasn't a better way to phrase it. No one wanted to use the word attack when there wasn't any definitive proof that it was an attack.

She'd written to Sirius asking him to talk to Harry. He'd written back to both her and Harry, but not much had changed. Harry was still obsessing over Malfoy.

She'd written to her parents, assuring them that she was fine. She hadn't accepted any packages from anyone she didn't trust, much less someone she didn't no. And she didn't want to transfer to Durmstrang. She didn't know anyone currently going to school there.

There were a few advantages to going to Durmstrang. One was that it was safer, even if she was a muggleborn. There was also the fact that she would be able to see Viktor much more often since it was closer. But she wasn't sure she could understand the language. Bulgarian was one thing but most of the classes were in Russian.

She had also written to the ministry to give her account of what had happened. She wasn't sure it would do much, but she had tried. Which was more than could be said of her classmates.

"Frustrated?" Neville asked.

"Not exactly," Hermione said. "More just tired. I've got so much work to do. And I'm not sure exactly what to do about Harry. He's going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

Neville snorted. "You don't eat nearly enough greasy food for that to happen anytime soon."

"Maybe not. But I sure stress out enough for it to be possible. And Harry's not exactly going to lighten up on his end anytime soon," Hermione argued.

"Probably not. I don't think there's anything, short of you-know-who dying, that could get Harry to relax," Neville said.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't care if Harry relaxes. I just want to."

"Fair enough."

"What's fair enough?" Padma asked as she entered the Gryffindor common room.

"Hermione wants to relax," Neville said.

"Has she stopped worrying about Harry yet?"

"No," both Neville and Hermione said in unison.

Padma sighed. "I guess the only way for you to relax now is to find Viktor."

"I can't," Hermione said sadly. "He's got a game today and I don't think it's over yet. He said he'd tell me when it's over, but no one can predict that."

Neville and Padma shared a look. Since they had started dating they'd been more in sync. Not to the level of Viktor and Hermione. They doubted anyone could ever get to that unless they were soulmates. But they could read each other possibly better than Harry and Ron. But with as oblivious as the two boys were, that wasn't exactly surprising.

"I'm pretty sure it will be over before you expect," Neville said.

"When did it start?" Padma asked. She was trying to be logical.

"An hour ago," Hermione said. "I just checked. Nothing so far. I'm trying not to check for a message every five minutes."

Padma couldn't imagine what Hermione was feeling. She knew that if Hermione was watching Viktor it was grand. She adored that. But being in a position where she couldn't get ahold of him if she needed to was nerve wracking for her.

Padma had only been dating Neville for a few weeks. But she couldn't imagine him being off in another country doing something where he could be seriously injured. It sent chills down her spine just to think of it.

"He'll be fine," she said. "He's done this for years. Since before you even knew who he was."

"I know that," Hermione said. "I just don't like him playing when I'm not there. I know he's not gotten into any trouble. But I don't like the idea that something could happen when I'm not there."

"You know he'll talk to you the second that he can," Neville said. "And I bet in half an hour, there will be a message in fresh ink on your arm."

"Hermione got ink on her again?" Lavender asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Hermione said. "Just notes for homework."

"If this is about you and Viktor Krum being soulmates, we've known for a while," Pavarti said. "Since detention with Umbridge."

"I knew someone would figure it out," Hermione said.

Padma shrugged. "After what we all saw, I'm sort of surprised that more people didn't figure it out. It's certainly not a secret in Ravenclaw, but you knew that."

Hermione nodded. No one had asked her about it. But Ravenclaws were probably the worst gossips in the entire school. Mostly just because information was the main commodity in their tower. If you told a Ravenclaw something in confidence, there was a 50/50 chance that the entire school would know by the following week.

Padma had a Gryffindor twin who would kill her if anything pertaining to her personal life slipped out. And Hermione wasn't called the brightest witch of her age for nothing. She wasn't going to divulge information without asking first. But there were observant students in each of the houses.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag," Hermione mumbled. "Yeah. I'm hoping to talk to Viktor once he finishes his game."

Lavender and Pavarti gave small squeals of delight.

"It's so exciting," Pavarti said.

"It's like something out of a romance novel," Lavender added.

They scurried up the stairs, laughter and excitement ringing down until the door to their dorm shut.

"Are they always like that?" Padma asked.

"Pavarti's your twin," Neville said.

"And? I might be her twin, but we spend a lot of time apart. She never acts like that at home."

Hermione used the distraction to check her arm.

I caught it, was written on her arm.

"Got to go," Hermione said. She grabbed a pen and headed to her dorm where she could at least close the curtains around her bed.