The Loves of her Life by WeaslyPunkPrincess
Chapter Notes: This is my very first fanfic, ever! So, it might not be that good, but I would love and appreciate reviews! Tell me if its bad, its good, or it made you cry! Thank you, and as a disclaimer, I own none of the characters, places or events you recognized.
She sat on her bed, staring at the crimson drapes that hung loosely at the top of her four poster bed. She pushed a bushy curl out of her eyes, let out a breath, and turned on her side. The Yule ball was in two days, and Ron had asked her the day before to go with him.
“ As a last resort so he wouldn’t look pathetic…..” Hermione muttered to herself. She probably would have said yes if the international Quidditch star Viktor Krum hadn’t already asked her. She chuckled to herself as she thought about the day he asked. She was at the library, sitting in the chair she sat at everyday for four years, reading 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi for Snapes latest Potions essay, but she had the strangest feeling like she was being watched. She glanced up to find the Bulgarian reading a book, or pretending to read a book, while facing her. He also was followed by around 13 Ravenclaws who looked like they wanted to touch his robes. She dug her nose in to her book, but kept her eyes up, to see what he was looking at. To her surprise, he looked at her, and looked quickly down, as if hoping she didn’t see him. He repeated this gesture nine times before taking a deep breath and sitting across from her.
“ Hello, Viktor,” whispered Hermione, not wanting Madam Pince to yell at them for being too loud. She didn’t know what she was suppose to call him, but Mr. Krum sounded too formal. She also noticed that he still had his Bulgarian accent, and he had a difficult time pronouncing his w's. Words like 'when', 'what' and 'well' were hard for him.
“ Hallo, Hermy-on-ee. How are you today?” He looked slightly uncomfortable, and -was it possible?- nervous. He glanced quickly at her, and then back to his book.
“ Um, I’m doing well, thanks for asking, Was there something you needed? Do need to know where something is? I know this library better than Madam Pince…”
“ No, that is not vat I vanted to ask you. The Yule ball, it is coming, yes? I vanted to know…”
Hermione bit her tongue. He probably wanted to know where Lavender or Parvati usually were so he could ask them.
“ ..I vanted to know if you vould accompany me?”
“ Well, Lavender usu- what?! Your asking me?? Is this a joke?”
Viktor looked even more uncomfortable. “ No, it is no joke, vhy would you think that? If you do not vant to go, I vill understand..”
“ No, that’s not it. You just surprised me, that’s all.” Hermione bit her lip and looked down at her fingernails, that become strangely fascinating.
“ So, you vill accompany me? I vould be honored.”
Hermione looked into his eyes, and thought about it. Did she really want to become the center of attention? Did she really want every jealous eye on her and her date? Was she really sick of people asking if she ever went on a date in her life? The answer was yes.
“ I’d love to go with you, Viktor. I think we will have a great time.” She flashed her newly straightened smile, and closed her books. She sat back in her chair and thought to herself, ‘ What the bloody hell did I just do..?’
“ That is wonderful! I vill meet you at the foot of the stairs the night of the ball. I am looking quite forward to the dance and seeing you., Hermy-on-ee.”
He stood up and looked at her, and not quite knowing what to do, she stood up as well. He took her hand in his and kissed it lightly, and let it go gently. Then he turned around walked out of the library, and Hermione could have swore he skipped out the door. She held her hand to her chest and tried to stop her quick breathing when she noticed the 13 Ravenclaws were staring at her with a mixture of shock, jealousy, outrage, horror and misery. One girl actually had her wand drawn. Hermione merely shrugged, placed her books in her bag and walked quickly out of the library with a grin that was ear to ear.
*****
“ GINNY!!!!!!!!!” The call could be heard throughout the common room, and moments later a young girl with flaming red hair came running down the stairs at the sound of her name. She stared at her friend and looked at her with puzzlement.
“ Hermione, I swear I’ll give back your book, I am on chapter 23...”
“ No, no, forget the book, you won’t believe what just happened!!! Come on, I’ll tell you in private..”
A few minutes later a shriek could be heard from the girls dormitory, followed closely by the sound of laughter.
“ I swear I’ll kill you if you're lying Hermione. I really will.” Ginny rolled over on her stomach at looked at Hermione critically.
“ You honestly think I would lie about something like THIS? Don’t you trust me at all?” Hermione looked back at her friend and raised an eyebrow. Sometimes Ginny could be so, weird.
“ That’s true. So, the big question. What are you going to wear?”
“ Um, my robes?”
Ginny looked like she might punch the bushy haired girl. “ You're going to the Yule Ball with a man that everyone in the wizarding world knows and you want to wear your school robes? You might as well buy a bloody pumpkin costume…”
“ Well, what are YOU wearing? If you're going to make fun of me, you better have something to back up your ridicule.”
Ginny grinned and stood up. She went to her trunk at the foot of her bed and unlocked it. She reached inside and carefully pulled out a cardboard box, which she handled with care. She walked over to Hermione, opened the box, and pulled out a beautiful dress robe made of light pink satin. Ginny held it up to her and twirled in place.
“Oh Ginny! They’re beautiful! Where did you get them? And how did you PAY for it?” Hermione didn’t want to seem rude, but the dress looked expensive.
Ginny smiled. “ I asked McGonagall to give me a loan. She knew we were a bit tight on money, and she said I can pay her back later. I ordered it from Elegant Sorceress, and I think I saw something that you would look great in…”
*****
“ Viktor, vould you tell me who you are going vith? You are making me nervous.”
Viktor’s friend Gus was looking at him through the mirror in their room. Viktor was straightening his uniform for the Yule Ball that was less than 2 hours away. Viktor sighed and turned to his friend.
“ I do not think you know of her, but she is beautiful. Her name is… Hermy-on-ee. I cannot pronounce it correctly, I vill have her explain it. She is a Hogwarts student, and she is the champions friend, Harry Potter. She is…different. She does not follow me around like the other girls, she acts like herself. I like her very much.”
Viktor looked at his oldest friend. Gus was a good friend, and knew Viktor before he was a professional Quiddtich player. They had gotten into fights together and with each other, had stood up to professors and critics, and Gus never changed. Viktor enjoyed having a true friend.
“ I vish you luck, Viktor. I hope she likes you as much as you like her.” Gus then turned around and began marching towards the Great hall, where his Beaxbatons date, Lela, was waiting.
Viktor looked at himself in the mirror. He had played violent Quidditch games in front of thousands of people, dodging bludgers and bats, had talked in front of millions, and had never felt nervous. Why was it that right now, he could barely swallow?
*****
“ Ginny, I can’t do this. I am going to puke, I can’t go out there. What in Merlin’s beard was I THINKING?”
Hermione had said that every 3 minutes for the past three hours, and amazingly, Ginny hadn’t hit her-yet. She just gave Hermione’s hair an extra hard tug and continued to twist it into an elegant knot. Ginny was already ready, but saw that Hermione had no idea how to work her hair to her advantage, so she stayed and helped.
“ Hermione, you’ll be fine. So what that your date is Viktor Krum, Worlds Most Eligible Bachelor? He asked you, and no one else. You need to be proud, and make sure you remember what Pansy the cow looks like when she sees your date. Now, get up, take that blanket off your soldiers, and look in the mirror.”
Ginny picked up Hermione by her elbow and lead her to the mirror in the bathroom. “ What do you think?”
Hermione looked at mirror and let out an audible gasp. Surely there was some mistake? Who was this girl, with light pink blush and shimmery eyes? Since when did Hermione have long, graceful arms and hips that looked quite good in her periwinkle blue dress robes? And Hermione KNEW this wasn’t her in the mirror because she had straight hair! Hermione just turned around and hugged her miracle-working friend, and was at a loss for words.
“ Alright, come on now, Hermione, you’ll wrinkle my dress. I do believe we have dates waiting for us. Can’t keep them waiting, can we?”
With a shrill giggle, they both took one last look in the mirror before turning around and heading towards the Great Hall.
*****
The night was everything Hermione could want, and more. She met Viktor at the foot of the stairs, and he looked dashing in his Durmstrang uniform. He was beaming when she arrived, and quickly grabbed her hand and kissed it softly before whispering, “ You look beautiful tonight.” He held out his arm for her to hold and they stood waiting in front of the doors to enter and lead the waltz. She was trying very hard to breathe properly when she felt a small tap on her left shoulder. She turned around to look at a very confused Harry looking back at her, and she had to stifle a giggle. She had completely forgotten that the only person she told was Ginny, and Ginny hadn’t told anyone else.
“ Oh Harry, isn’t the ball exciting? This will certainly bring…interschool cooperation and, um, unity!” Hermione usually knew what to say, but Viktor’s hand was now holding hers, and it was very distracting.
“ Harry, you look wonderful. Are you feeling okay? You look, well, a little shocked.”
“ Um, Hermione,” said Harry in a serious tone, “have you noticed who your date is?”
“ Oh, Harry I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t want you to get upset. I know he is the other Champion, but still..”
Hermione had to stop talking because Viktor had nudged her to get her to notice that the doors were open and it was time for the Champions to come in. She straightened herself up and began walking into the Great hall, which looked beautiful with the bewitched ice decorations. She saw Ginny, looking at her with pride while Ron, who was standing behind Ginny, refused to look in her general direction at all. She wondered why he wasn’t looking, when she went through all this trouble to look nice so people would look at her, for once. Hermione perked up, however, when she was turned around by Viktor, who looked at her adoringly and took her waist while the music was beginning. They danced and twirled around the room, and the entire time she was laughing and smiling because it was so much fun. Then the Weird Sisters got on the stage and began doing their number one song at the time, Raise Up Your Hands Like There’s a Newt in Your Pants. She and Viktor twirled, dipped and swayed their arms to the music like they were at a rock concert, and Hermione couldn’t believe what a marvelous time they were having. After one more song, he took her hand, lead her to a table and sat down. She sat down next to him, talked to him about his school among other things, and unconsciously rested her head against his shoulder. She suddenly felt very embarrassed, and didn’t know what to do, if he didn’t want her that comfortable. But he took her hand once more and whispered in her ear,
“I vill get us drinks, and you can rest some more ven I get back.”
He gently got up and began walking towards to punch table. Hermione looked around, feeling surprisingly giddy, and walked over to the table where Harry, Ron, Padma and Parvati were sitting. She sat between Padma and Ron and said,
“This is a wonderful ball, isn’t it? Having a good time? Viktor has gone off to get us some drinks, would you care to join us?” She looked at Padma, who seemed to like that idea, to Ron, who didn’t.
“ No, we wouldn’t like to join you and Viktor. Still calling him Viktor, are you? Why not Vicky? You two seem cozy enough.”
Hermione was livid. “ No, Ronald, I don’t call him Vicky, seeing as that is a ridiculous name to begin with. And I am his date, in case you haven’t noticed, so yes, I am quite comfortable around him. I can’t say the same for Padma, who you haven’t looked at for the entire night. So don’t criticize the way I am acting, because you’re a miserable person to hang around when things aren’t going exactly the way you want!”
Hermione was standing at this point, leaning over at Ron and breathing heavily. He stood up, so he was taller than Hermione, and looked towards Harry, who was quite dumbfounded.
“Come on, mate. Hermione has gone nuts, and I don’t feel like getting yelled at by a lunatic.” He briskly walked away and out the doors, and Hermione followed him.
She passed Viktor who had two cups in his hands, and said, “ Viktor, I’ll be right back..”
“ Ok, Hermion-y.” Viktor looked confused so he walked over to Harry to see what had happened.
“ Ron, come back here and look at me!” Hermione was at the foot of the stairs, looking up at Ron. “ I wanted one night, just one night, when I was allowed to be me, and have a good time without you and Harry asking me about homework, or to repeat notes, or asking questions. I wanted one night when I was with a boy who wanted to dance with me, and not want me to do his bloody homework! I wanted someone to like me for me, for one night, and you took that feeling away from me, Ron! You’ve ruined everything!” Hermione was hysterical now, and tears were streaming down her face.
She looked at Ron with the look of utmost melancholy, and turned and walked away. Ron looked like he was just punched in the stomach, and silently walked to the common room. Hermione stopped her sobbing, but silent tears still came steadily down her face, and she walked wearily back to were Viktor was sitting, talking with Harry. He took one look at Hermione and jumped out of his seat, grabbed her hands and asked ‘ Vat happened??’
“ I’m s-sorry Viktor. I was cr-crying, b-but I’m okay now. I just want to s-sit down and drink s-something.”
Hermione sat next to Harry, who rubbed her shoulder and handed her a napkin. Viktor handed her a drink, and she drank a sip before putting it down and looked at her hands, wringing the napkin and hiccupping. She stood up and looked at Viktor again and said,
“ I’m sorry, but I would like to go to bed now. Would you mind walking me up to my common room?” Harry stood up too and asked Hermione if there was anything he could do to help.
“ Yes,” Hermione said, “ You can dance with Parvati one more time. She really likes this song, because she hums it before she goes to bed. Goodnight Harry, Parvati.” Harry instantly turned around and grabbed Parvati’s hand to lead her to the dance floor.
Viktor took off his coat and wrapped it around Hermione’s shoulders. She pulled it closer around her and began walking up the stairs with Viktor, who had his hand on her right shoulder, and was half hugging her. They began talking about the different paintings on the walls, and Hermione was telling him about the famous wizards and witches in each of the portraits. By the time they were on the sixth floor, Hermione’s legs were wobbly and she leaned against the wall and took off her shoes. Viktor laughed and leaned against the opposite wall, crossing his arms and looking at her with a small smile.
“What are you grinning about, Viktor? Me going barefoot can’t be that funny, and you're making me blush.” Viktor was still smiling, and Hermione was starting to get a funny feeling in his stomach.
“ Viktor, I wanted to thank you for such a wonderful time, I really…” Hermione was about to go on, but at that moment Viktor had walked towards her, in his thin, white, long sleeved dress shirt. He put his hands on either side of her head against the wall, and kissed her. He didn’t try anything else, just a slow, sweet kiss on her lips that Hermione could have sworn lasted several minutes. She was incredibly surprised, but closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke off after a few more seconds, and he looked at her with the same small smile he had worn right before the moment. After Hermione got her sense of balance back, she said “ …I really enjoyed myself.”
“ I am glad you did. I had a vonderful time as vell. I vish to see you tomorrow, may I?” He picked up her shoes and began leading her towards the stairs to the seventh floor. She really felt like she was going to faint, but blinked hard a few times and replied,
“ Of course. I was planning on watching the Quidditch game, but you are more than welcome to join me.” She was going to add that Ron would be with her, but she didn’t want to think of him at the moment.
“ It vould be my pleasure. I vill wait for you by the gates of the Quidditch field. Goodnight, Hermion-y.”
Hermione hadn’t even noticed that they had reached the Fat Lady. Viktor kissed her gently on the cheek, and Hermione smiled and looked away to make sure Viktor didn’t notice her blush.
“Goodnight,” he repeated and walked away back down the stairs. Hermione noticed that he left his jacket, but she had a feeling he left it on purpose. She sighed heavily and looked at the Fat Lady.
“Password, dearie?”
“ Destiny.”
“ In you go.”
Hermione walked up the stairs, fell on her bed, and only had the strength to take out her hair pieces and cover herself with her blanket before falling asleep with Viktor’s jacket close to her chest.