He dreamt of Hermione in a thousand different ways that night, and every time he awoke he wondered if she was thinking about him too.
When the morning came, Viktor was wracking his brains for an excuse to spend time with her. But every minute that he was spending away from her was a minute wasted, in his mind, so he ended up going up the castle with no reason to be there, and just hoped that the subject wouldn't come up.
He was getting very impatient by the time he reached the Great Hall where the Hogwarts students, and many from the other schools as well, were eating lunch. Viktor looked around for a moment, and when he spotted her, his heart skipped a beat. She had her wavy hair up in a sloppy bun, but he thought that she looked just as gorgeous as she was, sitting there in her school sweater and skirt, as she had on the night of the ball. Unable to keep the nervous smile off his face, he took a deep breath and entered the room.
* * *
Hermione was just taking a sip from her pumpkin juice when an unexpected hand was suddenly laid on her shoulder, making her jump and nearly choke on her drink.
"Forgiff me!" Viktor's voice came from just behind her as she tried to hold back her sudden fit of coughing. "I'm sorry!"
After another drink to steady herself, Hermione turned to him, her eyes watering. He bowed with an apologetic look on his blushing face.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded, coughing again, and Viktor, looking quite embarrassed, turned and walked away without saying why he had come.
She turned back to her drink, but then after a moment she quickly drained her goblet and, before either Ron or Harry could say anything, she invented an excuse to leave the table and darted after Viktor. She spotted his Durmstrang uniform disappearing at the end of the hallway and quickly followed. Before she turned the corner, she stopped in her tracks. She took a deep breath, not wanting to seem too eager to see him, and casually walked around the corner.
Viktor was facing a window, his face still pink, and scratching the back of his head with one hand. He jumped when he saw her.
"Oh...It's you..." he said awkwardly.
"Yes..." she said, and she couldn't keep a smile from her lips. "Who did you expect?"
He blushed more deeply, looking at his feet. "I didn't mean to...to..."
"To make me choke?" she said with a little laugh. "It's fine, Viktor. Now why did you want me?"
At this last sentence, he hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I...I just..." he stammered, before trailing off into incoherent muttering.
Though she found his behavior quite amusing, she didn't want to prolong his discomfort, so she said, "Nevermind, I…I wanted to see you too."
After a glance out one of the sleet-pounded windows, he looked up at her with a smile. "I haff been thinking of you," he said.
Hermione nodded, glancing away and then back to him. Neither of them said anything for a moment, but then she smiled, and they both laughed awkwardly. Viktor took her hand and they set off down the hall together, now able to talk comfortably.
"How would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me?" Hermione asked without really thinking about it beforehand.
"Vot is that?"
"It's the village where the train comes in. The only all-magical settlement in Britain. It's got loads of amazing shops and things...There's a trip today at one o'clock, so you can come with me if you want to."
"Da, I vould like to come," he said. It was the perfect excuse to spend the day with her.
She looked at her watch. "Actually, we should head to the Entrance Hall. They're probably lining up now."
They walked together back the way they had came, holding hands the whole way, and, sure enough, when they reached the front doors, there was a long cue of students standing in front of them.
"I'm going to run upstairs and change into something warmer, alright? I'll be right back."
He nodded, but only released her hand when she had began to climb the marble stairs. When she looked back at him over her shoulder, his breath caught.
It only took her a few minutes for her to return, wearing a long, knee-length overcoat, a cream-colored sweater, mittens, a hat, and a scarf, though by this time most of the students had left the Entrance Hall.
The moment they walked out of the front doors, they were blasted by an icy cold wind and sleet that pierced all of their exposed skin like needles. Viktor wrapped his arm around hers, gripping her hand tightly. They huddled together as they walked down the muddy, slushy street. By the time they had reached Hogsmeade, the sleet had stopped, but they were both quite soaked, and the wind was howling.
Hermione shouted something that he couldn't hear over the wind, but she pointed to the nearest shop, so the walked quickly towards it and took refuge inside it. It turned out to be a post office rather than a shop. Other than where the a small desk stood, from ceiling to floor there was nothing but owls on all sides. Hermione removed the scarf from her mouth, and pulled out her wand. She touched the point of it to his chest, muttered an incantation, and he immediately felt his clothes dry.
"Thank you, moite tsvetya," he said quietly, while she did the same think to herself.
She looked up at the unfamiliar words, stowing her wand. "What does that mean?"
Viktor felt his face grow hot. "It is nothing," he mumbled, suddenly becoming very interested in an owl barely bigger than a snitch. Hermione followed him to stand by his side, but she was staring at him rather than the owl. He thought his ears would catch fire if they burned much hotter.
"I can just look it up if you don't tell me," she said.
"I do not think you could spell vot I said." He glanced over at her, and he couldn't tell if the way her lips were pressed together meant that she was upset or that she was trying not to laugh. It was supposed to be a joke, but even he knew it was quite a terrible one. He stood up straight, burying his hands in his pockets and deciding that it would be better just to tell her. "Flower. Tsvete means flower." He looked at her, and now there was a little, amused smile on her lips. Even without her silky dress and elegantly styled hair, she stunned him by how unassumingly beautiful she was. But she stunned him into speech, rather than silence. "Tsvete," he murmured, touching the faint dimple at the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "Isn't just any flower. It...is beauty. Is--" Her beautifully brown eyes were so penetrating, and he turned quickly away from her, barely mumbling the last word. "Pure." He could feel her eyes on him even without looking at her. He cursed under his breath. "Look at you," he muttered. "How is it that you can make me say such stupid things?"
"I don't think it's stupid," she said simply. She took his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder. How could he manage be so awkward and so terribly sweet at the same time? "If you meant it, anyway."
He huffed, obviously still embarrassed. But he said, "Of course I do."
Hermione let her eyes close for a moment. "Thanks. It means a lot to me, Viktor. That you would think that."
"Vell I am sure that I am not the only von thinking it. Except I am who says it so stupid."
"Dad's the only other person who's ever told me I'm beautiful," she said with a shrug. "And that's different. He's, well, Dad."
"Then he must be the only male in Britain vith a pair of eyes in his head."
He felt her shake her head with a quiet laugh, and then, unexpectedly, she stood up on her toes and kissed his chin, which was the highest she could reach. The next second she was biting her lip, as if she were surprised at her own bravery.
"Come on," she said quickly. "Let's go to the joke shop or somewhere. It smells in here."
She took his hand and pulled him after her, and he followed, feeling a little dazed.
They visited many of the shops together, and walked out of Honeyduke's Sweet Shop about an hour later, with a bag of candy each and a large, blue cotton-candy. Viktor had insisted on buying it for her, so Hermione had insisted on sharing it. The wind had slowed down significantly, though it was now foggy.
"We should go to the Shrieking Shack while the weather's better," she told him. He nodded in agreement, so she took his arm and they made their way down the muddy street, down the hill and out of the village.
The Shrieking Shack loomed up through mist as they stepped through the cluster of trees, tall, dark, and foreboding. When they reached the high, barbed-wire fence, Hermione spoke in a hushed voice.
"This is supposed to be the most haunted building in all of Britain. Most of the villagers stay away from it." She decided to skim over the fact that she knew its secret.
Viktor shoved his hands deep into his pockets, contemplating the tower-like, wooden building for a moment.
"Looks comfortable," he said.
Hermione laughed, still holding onto his arm. "Yes, it is one of my greatest aspirations to live there someday," she said in a sarcastically lofty voice. Just then, the wind whistled through the trees, causing the unstable building to creak and groan. The combination of the sounds had quite a hair-raising effect, and Hermione huddled a little closer to him.
Viktor leaned over, putting his mouth by her ear. "And I am sure the ghosts vould very much enjoy your company," he said quietly while her hair, blown about by the wind, tickled his face, and he caught the faintest hint of the scent of apples and cinnamon before he straightened. He felt her shiver, although he thought it was from the cold rather than the thought of ghosts. "Shall ve go inside somevhere?" he asked her.
She nodded. "How about the Three Broomsticks? We could warm up there."
"Alright, but…." He closed his eyes tightly, concentrating.
"What is it?"
He raised one finger. "Her...ma...ya...ni. How vos that?" He opened one eye, happy to see that she was smiling.
"Very good, Viktor," she said, laughing.
He smiled back, turning to face her and putting his hands on her arms. "Her...Her-my-nee, I...I also very much enjoy your company. And...vell, it vould mean...very much to me if perhaps ve could...be continuing to spend time together."
She had glanced down at her feet with a shy smile while he spoke, but when she looked back up at him, there was a warm sparkle in her light brown eyes. "Yes, I would like that," she said quietly.
Viktor's smile broadened as he exhaled in relief, and after a moment he slid his hand beneath her wild hair, holding his palm against her rosy cheek, causing her to blush more deeply. He glanced down at her pretty mouth as it perked up in a delicate smile, and he felt a sudden twinge of both desire and caution in his chest. God, she was beautiful, but so young. He wanted desperately to feel those perfect lips against his own, but...no, it was too soon for that. He must be very careful with her.
She looked down again, innocently unsuspecting of his thoughts, tilting her head against his hand, and then she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. That dazed feeling came back as he put his arms around her small body, one hand on the side of her head, holding her against him. Despite the winter weather, Viktor couldn't remember ever feeling warmer in his life. Yes, it was definitely a good dazed feeling.
If it were up to Viktor, they probably would have stayed there like that for the entire day, but after a few more seconds, Hermione pulled back.
"Shall we go?" she asked, smiling a little sheepishly.
They walked back up the hill together with fingers intertwined, and they stopped at the Three Broomsticks for drinks and a warm place by the fire. Viktor teased her even more about her butterbeer "addiction," but when she pointed out that he was the one drinking firewhisky, he wasn't able to come up with a decent comeback. After that, she couldn't watch him drink without laughing. They left the pub in high spirits, and held each other's hands the entire walk back to Hogwarts.
Viktor stopped at the front steps of the castle, and Hermione climbed the first step before turning back to face him.
"Thanks for coming with me, Viktor," she said, smiling.
He took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm, eliciting an adorably shy giggle from her, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck for a moment, kissing his cheek when she pulled back.
"It vos my own pleasure," he replied. "I enjoyed myself very much."
"I'll, er, see you soon?"
"Very soon, I hope, but for now I am needing to go back to my ship. There is another task to be von in a few weeks," he said with a wink.
They parted after a few more words, and when Viktor was halfway across the lawn, he looked back over his shoulder. She stood there still, on the first step, with a smile on her face.
* * *
A Midwinter Night's Dream by winters_tale
Chapter Endnotes: I don't know but...
I think I may be
Fallin' for you.
Dropping so quickly,
Maybe I should
Keep this to myself....
I've been waiting all my life,
And now I found you.
I dont know what to do,
I think I'm fallin' for you,
I'm fallin' for you,
I think I'm fallin' for you.
I can't stop thinking about it,
I want you all around me,
And now I just can't hide it,
I think I'm falling for you.
~Colbie Caillat, "Falling For You"