Hermione left the boys with strict instructions on what to do with the polyjuice potion. She also gave them a sleeping draught for Crabbe and Goyle, since that was who they'd decided to impersonate. It would be infinitely easier to mimic them if they weren't around.
She found she enjoyed her holiday in Greece so much. There was much more sun than Scotland, and she found she hadn't noticed how sad the lack of sun had made her until it was back again.
She also found it much easier to talk to her parents about her suspicions than it was with Harry and Ron. And then, she also got to see Viktor again. He was also infinitely easier to speak to than Harry and Ron.
"And then Harry said something. He swears he wasn't egging the snake on," she told him. "I believe him. He's not the kind of person who would do that. Especially not to Justin. But the optics aren't good."
She liked being able to vent to Viktor in person. She already talked to him via letters, sending a minimum of one a week. But she couldn't respond to them the way she could in person. Sometimes she wished there was a wizarding equivalent of a phone.
He'd explained floo calling, but it wasn't the best option in a school and across time zones. She wasn't sure where Durmstrang was, but she knew it wasn't the same time zone as Hogwarts. Which would make schedules even more complicated. Letters were the easier option.
"You've spoken with the teachers?" Viktor had asked.
"As much as we can," Hermione said. "They don't seem to have any idea what's going on. Or what the monster might be. Or who's responsible."
Viktor rubbed his temples. Such an issue was giving him a headache. He didn't have any suggestions.
"You sure you do not want to come to Durmstrang?" he asked.
"The only germanic language I speak is English. I don't know where it is, but I don't think I'm enough of a linguist to be able to function."
Viktor laughed. While translation spells worked for spoken or written languages, they were only as accurate as the person casting them. And they wound up being closer to a transliteration than an actual translation.
Eventually they found themselves pouring over texts trying to find something about Slytherin's monster. All they could deduce was that it had to be a serpent of some kind. What kind of serpent they hadn't yet decided.
Hermione slumped over her book. "I wish it was a gorgon."
"Because it's easy to counteract?" Viktor offered.
"No, though that would be a blessing. But they're intelligent. Unless it's a gorgon's head. But those are able to be wielded by anyone."
"Cockatrice?" he said.
"Maybe." She smacked the book with her head. "I feel like I'm wasting my time. Like the answer's already been found."
Hermione's mother knocked on the door. "Everything going okay?"
"We're all going to be murdered by a magical snake." Hermione was being a little dramatic and knew it. But when she had to be the sensible one all the time at school she felt a little justified in acting out just a little.
"It can't be that bad," Mrs. Granger said. "Surely the teachers have done something."
Hermione glared at her mother. "They set up a murder trap pit to stop a criminal mastermind and it didn't work. I don't know that I trust the teachers."
Her mother paled a little. "Are you sure you don't want to switch to one of the other schools? I know you said Durmstrang is out. But what's the French one called?"
"Beauxbatons," Viktor replied immediately.
"Beautiful wand? That feels a bit ridiculous."
Hermione laughed. For the first time that day, especially after the research she had been doing, she felt light enough to laugh.
Ultimately, it was decided that enough studying had been done. The adults were going to look into the monster issue and see what they could dig up. Hermione was glad to be out of the way. She was not looking forward to the aftermath of her mother on the warpath.
Hermione and Viktor wandered around outside, just taking advantage of the sun and comparatively warmer weather. They had a great time.
Eventually the holidays came to an end.
"You'll keep writing me?" Hermione asked.
"Of course," Viktor assured her. He handed her a note and a package. "Don't open it until you get to England."
They said the rest of their goodbyes. Hermione and her parents got on a plane to head back home. And Hermione prepared herself for Hogwarts and whatever monster was within it.