#❃ ⋯ ⤳ ch: viktor krum

[oscarisaacss-wp]

PLOTS IN PROGRESS — STRANGENESS & CHARM, a Viktor Krum Fanfiction feat. Nora Cleary.

“What’s so interesting about being famous? I’ve been nobody and lived on my couch for eighteen years and I’ve been fine!”

“I think fine might be a bit of a stretch.”

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[joannerowling]

Scottish Hagrid (bonus point because OP is British) (also, no explanation as to why Hagrid would be offensive for a Scottish person?)

Dumbledore's famous sister, Aurelius Dumbledore

"Harry Potter was my religion!" (thank god OP never obsessed to that degree over any actual religious book, that's how you get St Paul)

All-powerful casting director JK Rowling who hires and fires actresses on a whim for being black… or not being black? unclear

"Some characters were imperfect and/or did Bad Things and weren't immediately cast into a pit of flaming snakes, plus the narrator voice didn't say *this is a bad thing that this character did, they must be punished*. Bad writing!"

"Viktor" "Krum" apparently not a Bulgarian name??

"Fleur Delacour" apparently means "flower of the heart" (hell of a thing to read as a French let me tell you). "And that's a bad thing! for err reasons"

"Delacour is NOT a French name!!!" (… si. si, c'en est un.)

"Seamus Finnigan. ENOUGH SAID."

(At this point i think OP has a problem with names in general)

"Some characters weren't main characters!!!! Bad writing!!!"

"A man preys on young boys to give them a chronic condition that makes them a danger to themselves and others. Yep, that's a GAY MAN!" Interesting jumping to conclusions right there. Clearly, it's JKR who is the homophobic one.

"Cho Chang was Chinese!" Cho is literally from Gloucestershire. Also, Cho Chang is a perfectly serviceable name for a British-Chinese citizen (makes less sense for a Mandarin name, but most Chinese immigrants in the UK were from HK and there are more languages in China where it fits such as Cantonese), just with a non-standard romanisation. Many Chinese immigrants spell or used to spell their names in a way that would make the pronunciation easier for English speakers (hence Ch- instead of Zh-).

Etc. etc. i don't have time to unpack all that, but good god

I know this isn't something that's in any way unsaid or new, but there's a handful of people (myself included) that are uniquely situated by virtue of our position to fully and properly point out every single one of Harry Potter's flaws. Because those books were my religion. I was an autistic british ten year old irl, what else could you expect? A book that offered me community, a series about outcasts that get back at the people that hurt them? It was one of my first hyperfixations. And now I have stacks of books hidden at the top of kitchen cupboards and wands stuffed under clothes at the bottom of my closet because it hurts too much to knowledge how this series formed me. But I think this post is what I feel like I owe from loving Harry Potter for so long. So here is an extensive list of how literally 90% of the characters are single-layered, single dimensioned at best and straight up stereotypes at worst.

Harry Potter: His character "depth" is literally just being obnoxious and having a sob story. Ron was pretty much the only character he didn't dislike to begin with. He watched as the Ministry became so easily overtaken by Voldermort after having being pretty right-wing anyway and then decided not only to continue supporting that system, but to become a cop. And don't even get me STARTED on how he treated the women in his life, namely Hermione and Ginny.

Ron Weasley: Like Harry, he was insanely obnoxious and took Hermione completely for granted - but was seen as completely justified when he was pissed off at her for dating Krum. His relationship with Lavender morphed from "I like her" to the typical "Ugh I hate my girlfriend" and then, again, Lavender was the antagonist for being upset about him becoming distanced.

Hermione Granger: She was bullied for her looks, but instead of finding inner beauty, she had her teeth magically altered to be more normal and used a tonne of product on her hair (neither of which are bad in their own right) but it was never once mentioned that perhaps she shouldn't have been bullied into changing herself. Whenever she got fed up with being taken for granted, her arguments with the boys always ended with "Oh, you guys!" And then her doing their homework again. I don't even need to mention how she was seen as annoying for supporting slave rights. AND ON TOP OF THAT, the reason she ended up kissing Ron for the first time was because he suggested they should view house elves as living beings. That is not even an exaggeration.

Draco Malfoy: A Very Potter Musical put it better than I can. His casual racism, misogyny, xenophobia all went completely unchecked by any teacher, but everything was okay in the end because he stopped his mother from torturing someone. He, I remember, was praised for having depth. What depth? That he was willing to kill a guy to be invited into the KKK and then didn't? Wow.

Ginny Weasley: Not only is she completely ignored by her own family because she was the only girl, she only had any kind of significance until she became a love plot point. By that point, she had her brother and her crush fighting over her, so what more could she want?

Dumbledore: "Oh, Dumbledore was such a good guy-" No he wasn't. He raised Harry to be killed, yes, but he also let racism run rampant in his school. He wasn't gay in the books OR movies - even in the movies AFTER he was "confirmed" to have had a relationship with Grindewald - but Harry Potter CAN'T be homophobic because Dumbledore was gay!

Severus Snape: Snape. Snape, Snape, Snape. Completely unoriginal and on-the-nose name aside, let's talk about his "redemption" arc. This man had a girl he was in love with who left his friendship when he called her a racial slur, mentally and physically abused her son for seven years and somehow the first point excused the second? Okay. He was racist, aided racism, abetted racism, but who cares about that, he had his feelings hurt twenty years ago :(

Luna Lovegood: You guys love to peddle her around, don't you. The stereotype that autistic people don't care about what other people think or, worse, don't understand that people think we're "weird" is so tired and Luna perpetuates that while simultaneously not even being canonically autistic. The idea that she doesn't care about other people somehow means it's okay when everyone, Harry included, is disgusted by her in private.

Cho Chang: You've heard this one before. She was Chinese but with a Korean/Burmese first name and had the singular personality trait of being emotional and weak. Okay. JKR literally just took the first "Asian" name she could think of, the first Asian stereotype she could think of, and used them to make a cardboard cut out for Harry to make out with.

Hagrid: His name is Hagrid. Unironically, the Scottish character is called Hagrid.

Fenrir Greyback and Remus Lupin: A man preys on young boys to give them a chronic condition that makes them a danger to themselves and others. Hm. Yep, he's a gay AIDS/HIV stereotype. Remus has to suppress his werewolf attributes using special potions and is seen as the exception because he doesn't kill/permanently harm children. Okay then.

Dean Thomas: As one of the only Black character, I give you one question: Tell me something about him. No, go on. You can tell me a lot about all the others in his dorm - Harry, Ron, Neville, even Seamus. Tell me something about Dean. You can't, can you? He had no backstory, I don't think we even met his parents, he was just "Seamus' nicer friend". On that subject;

Seamus Finnigan: The only Irish character in the entire series. He has two character points - being divisive and enjoying blowing shit up. And his name is Seamus Finnigan. No more questions, your honor.

Fleur Delacour: And in the vein of "what the fuck even is this" nationality stereotypes, uh. The girl whose name means "Flower of the heart" in french (Delacour is NOT a french surname by the way) is petite, slim faced, obsessed with beauty and sweeps a random character off his feet to get married.

Viktor Krum: A Bulgarian whose name comes from Germany and Russia who somehow plays for the national team despite being a kid. He has two character points; not speaking English well and being gruff. Yeah, alright then.

The Patil twins: Putting them in one section because they have no. NO character development besides being Indian twins. The only time they ever mattered was when they dated Harry and Ron, and even then they were completely ignored and treated like shit. Did they get comeuppance? Did the boys apologize? No. They were too busy thinking about white girls.

Lavender Brown: Lavender didn't have any lines until she became Ron's revenge love interest. In the movies, prior to this, she had been played by black actresses Jennifer Smith and Kathleen Cauley. However, once her character had lines, she was replaced by Jessica Cave and - you guessed it - Jessie is white. The defense is that Lavender wasn't described until AFTER Jennifer and Kathleen were cast, but why was it so important that she was white, Miss Rowling?

Aurelius Dumbledore: Let's talk about how she was described as being 'wrong in the head' and so when her mother - and I kid you not - LOCKED HER IN THE BASEMENT AND TOOK HER OUT FOR LAPS AROUND THE GARDEN AT NIGHT, it was seen as OKAY. Albus said he "felt bad for her" but did he do anything about it? No. In fact, he resented her for needing him to make sure she doesn't get killed. Hm.

I haven't even touched on how fucked up the House system is, how ridiculous the concept of Slytherin is, how the Death Eaters have been akinned to queer people, how the house elves are happy with slavery, how the goblins are the most blatant antisemitic stereotypes ever, how the Durseleys are forgiven for all the pain they caused, how the only fat people are both horrible people and have loving to eat as a personality trait, how there were characters described as "african wizards in long white robes roasting a kind of rabbit over a purple fire" which, wow, there's a lot to unpack there. As someone who spent thousands, without exaggeration, of hours researching this series, learning trivia for this series, obsessing over this series, I know this shit. It isn't good.

[wellsygrahams-a]

❃ ⋯ ⤳ characters a to z  

[hcathens-archive]

@youthblamed​ || starter call.

durmstrang was bigger, for what viktor had seen until then,  but hogwarts was confusing.  why, in the name of vulchanova, does a school have stairs that move randomly?  as expected, he was lost. —  ❛ hey, boy ! ❜  —  viktor called the first person he saw after finally escaping the stairs.  —  ❛ i’m lost.  i should be at the main room ?? ❜  — his accent was thick and he frowned, not sure if that was the right word.      —  ❛ for dinner, i mean.  can you point me the way ?? ❜  —

[ketterdmcrows]

❀ ⋯ ⤳ s to w.

[incorrectdramionequotes]

Hermione: Draco, what a coincidence, I was just talking about you.

Draco: With who? Because that arse doesn't even speak English.

Viktor: I do little bit.

Draco: No you don't.

Viktor: And correct syntax is "with whom".

[brekker1x1]

Practice had just ended and Viktor was sitting under the tree on the outskirts of the pitch. He had thrown himself in Quidditch ever since he had returned from Hogwarts, what else was there to do? It was the only way he knew to deal with the nightmares and anxiety that was all he had to show for the Triwizard Tournament. He had never backed down from a challenge simply because it was dangerous and Viktor had always liked to win. Hogwarts was nothing like home but he had enjoyed himself; there were plenty of fond memories and as annoying as the attention was, it hadn’t been that bad but the one he kept coming back to was of him torturing Diggory. He was well aware of the reputation Durmstrangs had and though there was truth to the rumours, he had never dabbled in the Dark Arts. His grandfather had been killed by Grindelwald and it had cast a shadow over his family to this day. It scared him, the way someone had taken possession of his mind and unless he was up in the air, it was all he could think about.

He leaned his head back against the trunk when he saw a figure approaching. A small smile flickered on his lips when he recognized Lissa. He knew he had been a bit distant since he had returned but he didn’t know how else to be. Still, he adored Lissa and he had missed her, especially when everything had gone wrong. He had a feeling if she was around, it would have been easier. “Looking for me?” He asked with a small grin, trying to keep his tone light hearted.

[reguliesblack]

✶ new tag drop 3.0

[jordieyeetveld]

[sassycatlady99]

Viktor Krum x Reader

Warning: Cursing

Background knowledge: Cedric and Y/n have been dating for two years. Cedric asks Cho to the Yule Ball instead of Y/n. After Hermione left him, Viktor Krum asked Y/N to dance with him.

__________________________________

~~~~Y/n’s P.O.V~~~~

I casually talked to my friend, Mai. I wonder why Cedric hasn't asked me to the ball yet but I didn't wanna push it.

I continue to wait for him to ask me to the ball. He was a bit distant. It’s getting closer and I start to get worried.

“Hey, Mai? Do you think that Cedric will ask me to the ball?” I ask.

“I mean, he IS your boyfriend, right? So I’m pretty sure that he’ll ask you. Maybe he’s trying to find the best way to ask,” she responds.

“I hope you're right about this,” I state. “Anyways, want to help me find a dress for the ball?” I questioned.

“Yeah. Sure,” she responds before getting her things ready.

~~~~time skip to the ball~~~

I started to panic. “No one has asked me to that ball yet! I don’t know what to do!” I exclaimed.

“Come on, Y/N. It’s going to be ok. Cedric might just ask you when you're in the Great Hall,” she tries to cheer me up.

I sigh but get up and get ready for the ball. I wear a f/c suit/dress with f/c shoes.

As I walk down the stairs, I see Cedric link arms with Cho Chang. I stood there devastated. I tried my best not to cry but the tears came streaming down.

I run out of the hall taking my heels off as I run. As I find some stairs to sit on, I collapse, crying even more.

As some time passed, a certain someone came walking towards me. “Y/N. I was looking all over for you,” he states.

“Yeah right. Why did you ask Cho to the ball instead of asking your girlfriend!” I shout with hatred in my voice. Even more, tears dripped down my face.

“Let me explain, Y/N,” he tells me. “Ok. Then explain, Cedric. Why did you ask her instead of me?” I glare at him.

He opened his mouth but quickly closed his mouth.”That's right you motherf*ck*r!”My voice trembled as I spat in his face and ran off.

As I was running I found another staircase and quickly sat on it, burying my face in my lap. “Hello. What is a pretty person like yourself sitting here crying?” a thick accent asked.

I look up to the eyes of the one and only Viktor Krum. “O-oh. M-my boyfriend so-sort of ch-cheated o-on m-me,” I managed to cry out.

“Well, would you like to dance with me? My date ran off somewhere and now I can’t find her,” he says. “Sure,” I responded before walking with him to the ballroom.

He wiped the tears out of my eyes as we walked.

We got to the dance floor and started dancing to the music. I saw Cedric in the distance trying to avoid Cho.

I looked down to avoid eye contact with him. If I saw Cedric, I might break down again.

“You should focus on me, not him,” Krum said, looking at me. I looked back at him, not looking away once. “Ok,” I responded.

~~~~ONCE THEY WERE LEAVING~~~

So much happened this year that I couldn’t believe that it was all in one year. Maybe next year will be better for me.

[therpplace]

"Shh, don't cry. It'll all be over soon. Now keep counting." Viktor to either Raleigh or Matthew

Matthew choked back a sob, tears running down his cheeks as his fingers curled into tight fists. His whole body was trembling, his naked skin exploding into a fiery, burning red in the place Viktor was spanking him. His ass felt like it was being ripped apart, and that was only strike twelve. Matt sniffed, whimpering a little as he tried to find his breath. “T-Twelve...” His voice broke, more tears leaking from his eyes. “Please...”

[oscarisaacss-wp]

12 DAYS OF GIFMAS… DAY 6, your oc + a quote that describes them: NORA CLEARY from STRANGENESS & CHARM in collaboration with @clinquaant

“So, do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breathe in, breathe out, and decide.

MEREDITH GREY / grey’s anatomy.

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[capbarnes]

The Triwizard Champions

Now, let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone

[fanfictionaries]

Oh So Many Years: Ch. 11 - Nightingale

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Fred Weasley

Summary:

Rita Skeeter's done it again, her latest article sending Hermione Granger into anger and causing tension among the Gryffindors. However, is there an unexpected truth to her article?

George has convinced Fred that Hermione is turning him soft. Fred is so against the sentiment that he swears to himself that it's time to put space between himself and the younger girl. However, he only ends up doing the exact opposite.

Warnings: Swearing, Death, Smut/18+ NSFW

Author’s Note:

I update every week before midnight on Sundays (US MST)! Please feel free to like, comment, and reblog! xoxo

Masterlist

<<Chapter 10

Does it seem like I'm looking for an answer To a question I can't ask I don't know which way the feather falls Or if I should blow it to the left

  Hermione slammed her copy of the Daily Prophet down, shaking the Gryffindor table and sloshing tea over the side of her cup. Unbelievable, just absolutely unbelievable, she thought as she read and reread the words on the page. She’d nearly glossed over the vile article. Unlike the first bit of writing Rita Skeeter did on her, this one was tucked away between a piece on dwarf affairs and an advertisement for self-cleaning cauldrons. If she’d hadn’t been well acquainted with her own name and shocked by the peculiarity of seeing it in print, Hermione very well might have missed it.

“Alright Hermione?” someone asked. Hermione looked up to find the unwavering brown eyes of Ginny Weasley staring straight at her from across the table. Looking around, Hermione saw several of their classmates shooting her dirty looks as they wiped up puddles of pumpkin juice and tea. A flash of embarrassment rushed over her, but quickly dissolved back to anger when she looked back down at the paper. At a time like this she didn’t really care about a few spilled drinks.

No. At a time like this, the only thing she could focus on was the rage coursing through her veins. The nasty woman had taken things a step too far and now Hermione Granger was livid. 

“She’s done it again!” Hermione huffed before reading aloud, “Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian Bonbon Viktor Krum. No word yet on how Harry Potter is taking this latest emotional blow.”

“You didn’t tell me you were dating Viktor Krum!” Ginny exclaimed, glaring at her. Hermione looked across the table at her younger friend in disappointment.

“Ginny, I am not dating Viktor Krum.”

“Yet,” said two identical voices before the Weasley twins graced her with their presence – seating themselves on either side of her. Ginny raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at her – her silent cue for Hermione to begin explaining. Honestly, she’d rather not get into the twin’s current strange joke they were playing on her, but if Hermione knew Ginny Weasley, which she did, then she knew the ginger girl wouldn’t let something like this go. Hermione heaved a great sigh.

“These two are under the impression that Viktor Krum fancies me—” at the statement, a suspicion crept into Hermione’s brain “—You two wouldn’t happen to be responsible for this would you?” She handed the revolting paper over to the twin on her right, or more accurately, hit him in the chest with it before reaching forward and grabbing her tea, staring down at what little contents were left. She swirled the liquid, watching the tea leaves dance about the cup before sinking to the bottom. I wonder if that batty Trelawney could have predicted this, she mused to herself, finding humor in the ridiculous notion that her old Divination professor could have predicted anything accurately. Divination was a woolly subject.

“Hermione, I can guarantee you that we didn’t do this.” Hermione turned and looked at the twin still staring down at the article. She assessed him scrutinizingly as she placed her cup of tea back on the table in front of her.

“Are you sure? It seems like something you two would do.”

“I swear on George’s life,” he pledged, raising his right hand as he stated the words sincerely.

“You are George,” Hermione rolled her eyes and noticed a flash of annoyance on George’s face.

“Well, exactly. I’m swearing on my own life. Can’t really beat that!”

“Oi!—" Fred spoke up from Hermione’s left and reached across her to grab the newspaper “—You two going to let me in on what we allegedly didn’t do or are you going to keep me sitting here like a twat?”

Fred laid the paper in front of him, smoothing it out with his hand and leaning in to have a closer look. Hermione’s stomach dropped as her eyes fell on the moving picture of Harry and her hugging and then jumping apart at the flash of a camera. She laid her head down on the table, hiding her face in the crook of her folded arms, feeling uncommonly embarrassed. She couldn’t stand to watch Fred’s face as he read the lies that Rita Skeeter once again wrote for the entirety of the wizarding world to see.

“What are you reading Fred?” Hermione heard Angelina Johnson ask. Hermione tensed. Suddenly the urge to sit up and tear the paper away from Fred and Angelina was overwhelming. But she reasoned that everyone would read it, or at least hear about it, eventually. So, what was the point? That didn’t mean she had to be happy about it though.

“Oh my! That’s awful!” exclaimed Angelina, making Hermione perk up. If Angelina found Skeeter’s article to be just as ghastly, perhaps she shouldn’t be so worried.

“I can’t believe Granger is doing that to poor Harry and Viktor!”

In that moment, any feelings Hermione had, that even resembled positive, dissolved into nonexistence. Hair crackling with electricity as it grew twice its size, Hermione lifted her head from her arms and bit harshly, “Are you really idiotic enough to believe everything you read, Johnson?”

Angelina’s eyes grew wide as Hermione glared at her. Clearly, she had not known Hermione was sitting there.

“Oh, Granger, I didn’t—well I mean I thought—" Angelina stumbled.

“Thought? I didn’t know you were capable of it,” Hermione cut her off harshly. She knew the words were harsh the moment they left her mouth. That didn’t keep her from saying them though. If Angelina was allowed to have a bad opinion on her and say it in front of her, then Hermione was certainly allowed to same liberties.

Angelina’s mouth hung open in shock. She blinked rapidly before scrunching up her face in anger and spitting vitriol right back, “Well at least I’m not trying to date every boy in the school like a little slag.” Hermione’s hand twitched towards her wand, currently sitting in her lap, but before she could reach for it, fingers wrapped around her wrist under the table. She shifted her glare from Angelina to Fred, feeling betrayed at his stopping her. He was the first to cheer on any kind of fight or confrontation and he chose that moment to grow a sense of propriety? Some friend he was. Fred didn’t meet her eyes. Instead he continued to face forward, looking down at the article in front of him – acting like he wasn’t currently keeping her from hexing the daylights out of his stupid girlfriend

“Ladies, ladies!” George piped up, “Let’s calm it down, eh? We’re all friends here. No need to get worked up over a silly article in the Daily Prophet.”

“Well if we can’t trust the Daily Prophet, then what can we trust? Right Fred?” Angelina asked, looking towards Fred now and placing a hand on his upper arm. Hermione’s hand flexed in her lanky ginger friend’s hold. He tightened his grip, squeezing her wrist firmly in warning, before letting it go.

“Honestly? This lady sounds like an absolute nutter,” Fred stated matter-of-factly. He crumpled the newspaper resolutely and threw it over his shoulder onto the floor. His tone was firmer than Hermione had ever heard it – very similar to the few occasions she had seen Mr. Weasley cross. It had an underlying statement of finality and so everyone grew quiet. The spat was over, but Hermione could still feel Angelina’s scowl trained on her. It set her teeth on edge. Hermione rubbed her wrist, the skin feeling tingly and oddly empty where Fred had held her captive. Unsure of what to do, she reached into her bag, pulled out her Transfiguration textbook, and began going over the material they would cover in class that morning for the second time. She scanned the pages but found it difficult to focus with the thick and heavy tension that floated around them as everyone silently ate their breakfast.

Then, ever so unceremoniously, the silence was broken.

“So, you’re still dating Harry then?’ Ginny asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Hermione threw her book down on the table in exasperation. “Ginevra, Harry and I are NOT—” she stopped when she saw the wicked smirk on the youngest Weasley’s face. Hermione pursed her lips, fighting the smile that threatened to break through. But Fred and George’s snickering and Ginny’s mischievous wide eyes broke her resolve and Hermione begrudgingly smirked. Leave it to Ginny to make a calculated statement to break the tension.

These Weasleys are going to be the death of me, she thought to herself as she chuckled and shook her head.

At that moment, she spotted Ron and Harry walking into the Great Hall later than usual – both of them dragging their feet looking tired and entirely unamused to be awake. That’s what they get for waiting till the last minute to do their studies, Hermione mused knowing full well that the two of them had still been hard at work in the common room when she left for bed at eleven. She watched as students from the Gryffindor table and even a few from the surrounding houses stared at Harry in awe. Some even shouted out a ‘good morning’ to him as he took his seat opposite her. Yes, it seemed as though Harry’s reputation had changed overnight. No longer was he Harry Potter the cheat. Instead he was Harry Potter the champion. It had been almost two weeks since the first task and still Hermione couldn’t believe that the students who had once scorned him and spoken words of ill favor were now trying to become his new best friend. Even in her own room he was the hottest topic of gossip. Her roommates cooed and giggled over him as they stared at his picture in the Daily Prophet over and over again. It had gotten especially bad after she told them that she was not, nor had she ever been involved with him – no matter what Skeeter wrote in her stupid column.

“He does have a certain devil-may-care thing to him, don’t you think?” said Lavender, lying on her stomach and looking down at Harry’s picture plastered on the front page of an old Daily Prophet. Hermione really wished she hadn’t given it to them when they’d asked to borrow it. She had been under the impression they wanted to brush up on their current events – not ogle her best friend.

“I think he looks mysterious. Like one of those wizards in the books my mum buys,” said Pavarti, turning her head to look at Harry from a new angle.

Hermione snorted, knowing perfectly well that the only mysterious thing about Harry was whether or not he’d decided to change his socks that day.

“What?” asked Pavarti, insulted by Hermione’s rude reaction.

“Nothing, nothing. You’re right. I’m sure Harry has many…mysterious qualities.”

“I think he looks sweet.”

Hermione looked over to her roommate Fay with disappointment. Now she fancied Harry, too?

“He does—” Fay doubled down “—he always seems so nice in class and he’s a very good seeker!”

“Fay has a crush on Harry,” said Emmy in a sing-song voice. Fay stuck her tongue out at her ginger friend, only making Emmy giggle.

“Speaking of crushes—” Lavender sat up, folding the paper in front of her closed “—how are things going with Ron?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Hermione sighed. “I took your advice, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Perhaps he just doesn’t see me as anything more than a friend.” Hermione was surprised by the fact that when she said the words, it didn’t sadden her as much as she thought it would. Ron was a good friend. Would it be so bad if they just remained friends?

“Ugh, boys are so stupid! It’s almost like you have to walk in front of them bloody naked to get their attention,” cried Lavender.

“Surely you wouldn’t do that, Lavender,” said Hermione aghast.

Lavender rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be so droll Granger. I’m joking!”

“Perhaps he’s not making a move because you spend all your time with his older brothers,” said Emmy casually.

“Oi, aren’t we feeling cheeky today,” commented Fay, giving her best friend an amused look.

“I’m just saying! She’s always with them. Maybe he thinks she likes one of them.”

Emmy’s comment made Hermione pause. She did have a point. Did Ron see her friendship with Fred and George as something else? It was a possibility. He was quite prone to making assumptions.

“It’s a possibility, but why would he think that when I kissed him?”

“WHAT?!” cried all four of the girls, sitting up fully and looking at Hermione with wild eyes. Hermione paused again, realizing that she had in fact spoken her wonderings aloud.

“You kissed Ron Weasley?!” asked Lavender, crawling off her bed and jumping onto Hermione’s.

“Well, yes but—”

“What was it like?” asked Pavarti, sitting down on Hermione’s bed as well in rapt attention.

Even Fay and Emmy had drifted from their beds to stand closer and get the story.

“Was he good?” questioned Lavender.

“I don’t know!” yelled Hermione, flustered and overwhelmed.

“How do you not know?” Pavarti looked at her strangely, tilting her head to the side.

“We didn’t kiss so much as I kissed him on the cheek.”

The four girls pulled back, relaxing in disappointment.

“That’s all?” asked Lavender in exasperation.

“Don’t listen to her, Hermione. Lavender talks a big game, but she’s never even hugged a boy,” snickered Pavarti.

Lavender’s jaw dropped in betrayal and she lunged playfully for her friend. Pavarti laughed, darting off Hermione’s bed and running from a fuming Lavender Brown.

“I think it’s sweet,” said Emmy, sitting back down at the end of her bed and pulling out a herbology book. “Perhaps your kiss enamored him so much that he simply can’t help but act extra normal when he’s around you.”

“What a romantic this one is.” Fay rolled her eyes in good humor before pausing for a moment in deep contemplation. “Do you think Harry’s a good kisser?”

It was at that point that Hermione blocked the conversation out. The last thing she wanted was to discuss Harry’s potential kissing prowess.

Speaking of girls with crushes, Hermione thought as Ginny clammed up the moment Harry sat down. After four years, Ginny still had the biggest crush on Harry. She tried to play it cool, but most of those close to her knew that she still thought the world of him. Unfortunately, however, he only had eyes for Cho Chang at the moment. Or at least, that’s what Hermione suspected, from the stupid look he got on his face every time he looked at her.

“What are we talking about?” Ron asked beginning to load his plate with a pile of eggs, potatoes, and sausages.

“Hermione’s new boyfriend,” piped up Ginny, ignoring Hermione’s glare.

“Boyfriend?!—" Ron looked up from loading his plate with food “—When could you possibly have time to get a boyfriend? You spend all your time with either Harry and me or those two prats!” He pointed to his two older brothers sitting beside her, eliciting a cry of protest from both of them.

Well that ruled out Ron thinking she fancied Fred or George, Hermione thought.

“Now brother, what makes you think she’s not dating one of us?” George swung the heavy weight of his arm over Hermione’s shoulder.

“Yeah, we’re handsome chaps,” Fred chimed in.

Hermione shrugged off George’s arm and rolled her eyes as Ron glared at him.

“No, Ronald,” Hermione stated clearly. “It’s just Rita Skeeter. She’s written another article about my love life and it’s complete rubbish.” She sniffed and picked up her textbook again.

“Really? Are you cheating on me now?” Harry asked, his voice filled with mild amusement as he poured himself some pumpkin juice.

“It would seem so,” Hermione admitted casually, never looking up from her book, an apathetic expression glued to her face.

“Well I’m hurt, what am I going to tell the family? My aunt and uncle were so looking forward to meeting you,” said Harry, not a trace of sadness or despair in his voice.

“Of course, they were. I’m fantastic,” Hermione stated, smiling down at her book.

“Are you sure you two aren’t dating?” Ginny asked now, looking suspiciously between Harry and Hermione.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ron scoffed, stabbing a sausage with his fork. Ron’s statement irked Hermione. Sure, Harry and her weren’t involved, but was it really so ridiculous? Was she not desirable enough to date Harry Potter if she wanted to? Still, Hermione decided to let it be. She had had enough arguments for one morning.

“Ron’s right. Harry is like a brother to me. You know, like Fred and George. Right Harry?” she looked to her best friend to back her up and was met with a mumbled ‘Absolutely’ and an enthusiastic head nod.

“What?” George gasped. “You mean you’re not secretly in love with me, Granger?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous George.” Hermione rolled her eyes and returned to her book, noticing that the general atmosphere of the table had turned around quite nicely. Angelina was no longer grimacing at her over Fred’s shoulder – instead, she was engaged in a conversation with him, Lee Jordan, and Katie Bell. Harry and Ron began to discuss their Defense Against the Dark Arts class that afternoon and what Mad-Eye might have in store for them. Ginny listened quietly, curious as to what the older class was learning at the moment compared to the third years. George had continued on a rant about why he thought Hermione should at least consider him as a potential boyfriend as he was just so handsome, while she tried to focus on her book. She was just about to tell him off for distracting her when Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas approached them.

“Hey, you lot,” Seamus greeted them. “Did you see the notice posted in the common room about the meeting tonight?”

“The one for fourth years and up?” Harry asked.

“What about it?” questioned Fred and George.

“Well I’ve been going around all morning, trying to figure out what it’s about but no one seems to know,” Seamus informed them, scratching the back of his head. “Thought one of yous might know.”

“Haven’t heard a thing, mate,” said Ron, taking a large bite of toast.

“Yeah, no clue,” confirmed Harry.

“We assumed everyone was in trouble for something,” said Fred and George.

Ginny laughed, “Just because you two are always in trouble, doesn’t mean that the entirety of the school is.”

“Not the entirety of the school, little sister,” said George.

“Just fourth years and up,” added Fred cheekily.

Hermione scoffed. Honestly, didn’t these people read…ever? “Maybe it has something to do with the Ball,” she said, never lifting her head up from her book.

“The what?” asked Ron, dropping his toast back down onto his plate.

“You know, the Yule Ball? It’s a tournament tradition?” She looked up now, seeing confused faces at the table around her. “In the past, every year the Triwizard Tournament was held, the hosting school was expected to hold a ball on the evening of the Yule. It was used as an opportunity for intraschool interaction and bonding – a celebration to get to know one another and also honor the champions. Did none of you know about this?”

They all shook their heads.

“Well, I’m sure it’s that. What else could it be?” Hermione shrugged, looking at the watch on her wrist. “Class starts soon. We should go,” she said to Harry and Ron. The pair nodded, taking a few last bites of their breakfast as Hermione tucked her book back in her bag and stood. Just as she began to turn to head out of the Great Hall, a hand caught her wrist once again that morning. Looking back at her outstretch arm, she saw Fred holding firmly to her.

“Have you figured out…you know what…yet?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

Hermione leaned down towards Fred, keeping the conversation just between the two of them. The Weasley twins were quite secretive when it came to their product development – for several understandable reasons. For one, they didn’t want any other budding jokesters stealing their ideas, and two, they didn’t want a nosy snitch to figure out what they were doing with their free time and try to get them in trouble.

“No, I’m still working on it,” Hermione whispered back before pulling her arm out of Fred’s grasp. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed, his hand hovering in the air where he arm had been.

Hermione turned, exiting the Great Hall with Harry and Ron in tow.

“What was that about?” asked Ron, catching up to her side as they made their way to the Transfiguration classroom.

“Oh, I’ve been helping Fred and George with their studies. He was asking me about an essay he’s working on,” lied Hermione. There really was no need to lie. Fred and George were perfectly fine with everyone knowing she was helping them with their experiments. Hermione felt differently, however. As much as she found working on their inventions to be fascinating and challenging, the last thing she wanted was her name associated to any trouble they got up to. She had a reputation to uphold after all. She couldn’t possibly let mindless troublemaking besmirch her name and future career prospects.

Ron laughed through his nose, letting out an obnoxious snort. “Seriously?”

“What?” asked Hermione in defense.

“Fred and George have never cared about their classes before. I think I’ve seen them pick up a book maybe…once in fourteen years.”

“Honestly, Ronald, that can’t be true,” said Hermione, knowing it was most likely completely true.

“But still, it doesn’t make any sense. Why—”

“How am I supposed to understand the innerworkings of Fred and George Weasley’s minds, Ronald? How is anyone?” said Hermione, cutting Ron off and entering Professor McGonagall’s classroom.

Ron didn’t ask anymore questions that morning, much to Hermione’s relief. This allowed her to sit through the entirety of their Transfiguration lesson with uninterrupted focus. That is until the end of the lesson when Ron looked at her in confusion as they exited the classroom.

“Hermione, is your wrist alright?”

“What?” asked Hermione in puzzlement.

“Your wrist. You’ve been holding it since we left breakfast.”

“Oh—” Hermione looked down and sure enough, she was cradling it in her opposite hand, absentmindedly rubbing at the exposed skin with her thumb. She dropped her arm to her side. “—I didn’t realize…yeah, I’m fine. I’m going to the library. I need to pick up a book for my arithmancy class. I’ll see you in Defense?”

“Yeah, see you later Hermione,” said Ron, still staring at her peculiarly.

“See ya Hermione,” waved Harry, pulling Ron towards the Great Hall for lunch.

Hermione made her way to the library, once again bringing her left wrist up in front of her, now that she was under the safety of seclusion. She hadn’t even realized she’d been cradling the limb all throughout class. Rolling her hand this way and that, she stretched and worked the joint of her wrist, searching for any ghostly pain to explain her actions, but found nothing. So why had she been holding it? Reaching the library, she brushed it off as a silly occurrence and headed to the stacks to try and find the book she needed for her class. She spotted the book on a high up shelf, An Extensive Look on the Origins of Numerology. Reaching up, she lifted onto her tiptoes to take the book, her fingers barely brushing the spine. But before she could grab it, a hand appeared in front of her, pulling the book from the shelf and out of her reach.

“Hey! That’s my—” Hermione stopped short when she turned to see Viktor Krum standing before her, holding the book out to her. She took it from him, clutching the book close to her chest and looking around them. “Thank you,” she mumbled politely, bringing her lower lip between her teeth to nibble on it nervously.

“You are very velcome, боец,” responded Krum, bowing slightly, and smiling down at her. He continued to smile at her, not saying anything – just standing there – for quite some time. What did he want? Hermione wondered. Was he waiting for something? Some kind of payment? Was there some Bulgarian custom she was unaware of when it came to being handed a book?

Eventually when Hermione could no longer take the awkward silence, she cleared her throat. “Right, well, thank you again. I should be…” She pointed behind her, indicating her departure from the library before turning and walking away.

“Do you come here often?” asked Krum from her side. His long legs matched her stride as she walked towards the front desk of the library.

“To the library? At my own school?” questioned Hermione in confusion.

Krum nodded.

Hermione smiled in amusement. What an odd question. “Yes, I suppose I do come here quite often. I very much like books.”

“Vhat is your favorite?”

“My favorite book?” Why did Viktor Krum care what her favorite book was? wondered Hermione, brushing a curl out of her face. “My…well that’s a bit of a difficult question…I suppose it would have to be Hogwarts, A History. It has so much useful information about the history of the school and all the wonderful ways in which it operates. Not a lot of people read it though, which I think is a shame. I think everyone should read it. It’s very so important and quite fun to read. But then again, I know not everyone likes to read as much as I do. Or at least that’s what they tell me—”

“You are very smart, I am thinking, боец.”

“What does that mean?”

“Vhat?”

“That word – boets? You keep saying it.”

“боец. That is you. It means fighter in my language. I did not get your name and so I call you that,” stated Krum plainly.

Hermione was very flattered; never had she been referred to as a fighter. But she still couldn’t help but let out a small guffaw. “That’s me? I don’t know about that. Unless I was throwing a very heavy book at them, I’m not sure I could fight anyone off.”

“No, you are strong. I know these things.”

“Alright…”

They stood in front of Madame Pince’s desk. The matronly librarian was nowhere to be seen, and Hermione was beginning to grow antsy. Krum still remained at her side, staring at her as she waited for Madame Pince so she could check out her book and be on her way. What did he want? Was he trying to get information on Harry? Trying to figure out if Harry had solved the egg yet? Well if that were true, he would have asked about Harry by now. Wouldn’t he have? Still, what else could it—Fred and George’s words popped into her head, making heat rise to her cheeks. Krum couldn’t possibly…

“I vas thinking. Perhaps I could study vith you some time?”

Hermione dropped the heavy book that was in her arms, the tome slipping from her fingers as if it had turned to liquid. She gasped, body twitching and arms extending to catch the falling object before it landed on their feet, but before she knew it Krum had ducked down and caught it. He held it smugly, smirking at Hermione’s open mouth as she gaped at his reflexes.

“I…” began Hermione, unable to form words through her shock. Had Viktor Krum just asked to spend time with her?

“How can I help you two?” Madame Pince’s shrill voice rang through the dusty cobwebs of Hermione’s brain. She turned to find the severe woman staring down at her in mild annoyance.

“She vas vanting to check out this book—” Krum placed the book down on the desk before turning to Hermione with a polite yet slightly wounded expression “—I should be going.”

Hermione watched as he bowed curtly and stepped past her, headed towards the exit of the library. She bit the inside of her lower lip again, conflicting emotions battling inside her brain and across her face as she watched him get further away. He was nearly to the large double doors when Hermione called out to him.

“Wait!”

Madame Pince shot her a warning look. Hermione smiled apologetically before rushing towards Krum who had halted at her voice. She stopped when she stood before him, His tall, hulking figure hovering over her as he looked down at her. His thick dark brows lifted in surprise.

“I’ll be here tomorrow during first break, working on my homework. If you wanted to join me, I guess that would be alright,” said Hermione shyly.

The smile Krum gave her was an answer in itself – his dazzling white teeth coming into full view as his broad features lit up in delight.

Then, with another bow, he offered an uttering of, “Until then, боец” and he was gone.

    Fred watched as Hermione exited the Great Hall, followed by Harry and Ron. Chewing on the side of his thumb, he braced his elbows against the table and began to think. Finally done with the development stage of their Canary Creams, their first test of the product was both an accident and a failure. Later in the evening of Harry’s post-task celebration, Fred and George had decided it would be a fantastic idea to try and trick Hermione into eating one of the creams disguised as a raspberry tart. Unfortunately, they had gotten the sweets mixed up and Neville Longbottom had gotten ahold of the real Canary Cream. And while Neville had successfully transformed into a human-sized bright yellow canary, it was for much longer than all three of them expected. In fact, Neville spent the better half of the night squawking and pecking around the common room before he, George, and Hermione were finally able to reverse the effects. Once they stopped laughing of course. Neville emerged back into his human form, red-faced and with a short-lasting tick of pecking at things with his face when he went to pick them up. Watching the unfortunate sight, the three of them all agreed that some major revision needed to be done. So, they had set Hermione to the task.

“Come on Georgie. Time for potions!” declared Fred, standing up.

George groaned. “I hate morning potions. Can’t we just skive off class? I’m sure Towler would give us his notes if we ask nicely.”

“After I put itching powder in his trousers last week? Again? That’s likely.”

“Alright, then Lee or Angelina. I’m sure one of them would give us their notes.”

“I’m sure they would, but who would make our potion for us, brother?” asked Fred, slapping a hand to George’s shoulder, and gripping it tightly.

“Since when do you care about missing marks in potions?” asked George, looking at his brother incredulously.

“I don’t –” Fred scratched the back of his head “—I just don’t think…” he trailed off realizing what he was about to say and fell short before he could.

However, it didn’t matter as George finished the sentence for him, “You don’t think that Granger would be too pleased to hear we’ve been skipping classes?”

Fred chuckled in exasperation, “Do you want to deal with that headache?”

“Oh, so now you’re afraid of a fourth-year girl?”

“You’re telling me you aren’t?”

“I think Granger’s turning you soft. You know, turning you into a little swot just like her.”

“I am not getting soft. I’m simply trying to save myself a lecture. Now – let’s go before I put itching powder in your trousers. We’ll have plenty of time to set off Dungbombs in Filch’s office at lunch.” Fred rolled his eyes, pulling his brother up from the table and towards the corridor outside of the Great Hall. George laughed, clearly pleased with getting a rise out of his brother. Fred scowled, shaking his head at his brother as he genuinely contemplated sneaking itching powder into George’s wardrobe that night. Hermione Granger making him soft? Absolutely ridiculous. He was not getting soft. He simply didn’t have the will to sit through another lecture from her about why they needed to do better in their courses. It took time out of their more important work – her long-winded lectures did. However, he hated to admit that since Hermione had began forcing them to actually do their assignments his marks had increased ten-fold. Even the professors were beginning to notice – Flitwick giving him an incredulous look when he passed back his latest essay with a perfect score. Still, the idea that he was getting soft was so far out of the realm of possibilities that he wouldn’t waste anymore time humoring it.

Or so he told himself.

Try as he might, the thought followed him throughout the day, distracting him in potions causing him to knock his cauldron off the flame and spill its contents all over himself and George. Then later at lunch when they had snuck off to Filch’s office – a routine procedure at that point – his head was so filled with thoughts of Hermione Granger, he nearly got them caught. By the time dinner was over and the whole of the Gryffindor student body, fourth year and up, was filing into the Transfiguration classroom, Fred had made a decision. He needed to spend less time with Hermione. Clearly, she was getting to him and he very well couldn’t have that.

McGonagall sorted all of the students boy-girl, sending them to opposite sides of the room. The classroom had been cleared of all desks. In their place sat a large phonograph in the center of the room. Fred thought back to what Hermione had said at breakfast about there being a ball. Unsurprisingly, she was right once again.

“Quiet down, quiet down!” called McGonagall, walking over to the phonograph once all the students were present and standing on their respective sides. “Now, as some of you might know, the Yule Ball is fast approaching. This is an event held every year of the Triwizard Tournament as an opportunity for us to…let our hair down. That does not mean—” she shot a pointed look towards Fred and George “—that you will not be upholding the civil manners expected of you as Hogwarts students. It is your responsibility to present our school in a positive manner. Now, with that being said, the most important thing to know about the Yule Ball is that it is at its core – a dance.”

The room erupted into groans and whispers as everyone realized what was going on. Professor McGonagall was about to teach them to ballroom dance. Now while most students saw this as the worst moment of their lives, Fred couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. This was an excellent opportunity for entertainment.

“Now, can I get a volunteer?” asked McGonagall, looking around the boys’ side of the room. Fred looked away, avoiding her gaze, and then heard the sweetest words leave the mouth of his head of house, “Ron Weasley, please if you would.”

Fred’s attention was immediate; he stared enrapt in pure joy as he watched Professor McGonagall start the phonograph. The ancient contraption sprang to life, pouring out a lilting waltz and the elderly woman stepped up to Ron with her hands outstretched.

“Now, Mr. Weasley if you would please place your hand on my waist.”

Fred nearly doubled over in absolute joy. Both at the words leaving McGonagall’s mouth and the expression on Ron’s face. He was mortified. The room was in shock. And Fred and George were practically purple in the face as they held in their laughter. George was gripping Fred’s shoulder tightly, looking away from the scene – obviously too overwhelmed at the near perfect scenario to continue watching – but Fred kept his eyes glued to his baby brother as he placed his hands on their professor’s waist and began an awkward attempt at a waltz.

“Hey,” whispered Harry, nudging Fred’s arm. Fred wiped the tears of pure delight from his eyes and looked over at Harry. “You’re never gonna’ let him live this down, are you?”

“Never,” said Fred and George, grinning from ear to ear.

“Alright—” Professor McGonagall broke away from a relieved looking Ron “—let’s pair up now. Young men, young ladies, on your feet! Dance is an ancient and respected artform, let’s give it the respect it deserves.”

The room was slow moving to pair up, but eventually people began to find a partner. George made a beeline to Alicia Spinnet, obviously wanting to get a partner before he was stuck with someone he didn’t like. Fred’s gaze swept the room, briefly locking eyes with Hermione. They both paused. For a moment it seemed Hermione would walk towards him, but before he could find out Fred turned away and spotted Angelina. Less time – he was spending less time with Granger, he repeated silently to himself. Walking towards Angelina, he was relieved to see Hermione walking towards Ron.

“Longbottom. Here, why don’t you pair up with Miss Dunbar,” instructed McGonagall as Fred neared her. Hearing his professor pairing people herself, he quickened his pace, hoping to escape the doom of a chosen partner. He was almost out of her reach when he felt a tight grip on his upper arm. “Mr. Weasley, why don’t you pair with Miss Granger.”

“Oh Professor. Are you sure—” Hermione began, caught in their Professor’s other hand.

“Nonsense. Now begin practicing,” said Professor McGonagall, pushing them towards each other and moving towards her next victims.

Fred stared down at Hermione, his palms beginning to sweat as she stared back up at him. Scratching the back of his head, Fred cleared his throat, “Well, I guess we should…” He extended his arms to her, indicating they should probably start dancing.

Hermione hesitated before nodding and stepping towards him, placing her right hand in his left and bringing her left to lay gently on his shoulder. Fred listened to the music, finding the tempo, and waiting for a lead in before he began the familiar steps. Hermione’s face contorted into shock as they began to move, Fred easily guiding her around the room.

“How—” Hermione let out a small laugh of surprise “—how in the world do you know how to dance?”

“Surprised are you, Granger?” asked Fred, unable to help the smile that spread across his face. It wasn’t every day he was able to shock Hermione Granger.

“Not to be rude, but yes. I’m very surprised. You’re actually quite…good,” said Hermione incredulously.

Fred chuckled, looking down at Hermione as she moved with him. And there it was – the clenching, flipping, somersaulting feeling in his stomach once again. Only this time it was different. Less heavy; lighter. Instead of an impending doom type of feeling, it felt as though something was trapped inside of him, trying to dig its way out. He concentrated on the expanse of freckles on Hermione’s nose and cheeks as he spoke, “My mum insisted that all her boys learn to dance. One of the last few traditions she kept from her pureblood upbringings, I suppose.”

“Really? So, all of you know how to dance?” asked Hermione with an amused smile.

Fred glanced around the room, spotting George dancing effortlessly with Alicia not too far away and then Ron, who ironically had been paired with Angelina. Unfortunately, they seemed to be doing a lot of stepping on each other’s feet than dancing. Fred and Hermione both grimaced at the sight.

“Well, maybe not all of us. No amount of practice can make up for lack of talent I guess,” said Fred, turning back to Hermione. “Which by the way, you have a lot of.”

“Oh goodness. I don’t know about that,” blushed Hermione, the skin beneath her freckles turning a soft pinkish hue. Fred felt the fluttering in his stomach return.

“Now don’t be modest with me. You’re practically floating across this dancefloor Miss Granger,” he murmured, leaning in close so no prying ears could hear him embarrassing her. He really did savor the moments he could successfully tease her, but he also knew how much she hated for others to see her flustered.

Hermione seemed to tremble in his arms, a feeling that went straight to Fred’s spine. He felt his heartrate increase and tongue grow heavy in his mouth. He pulled her closer to him on instinct, holding her firmly in his arms. The curve of her waist and the slightness of her figure surprised him. It was almost as if a girl’s body lived beneath the large baggy school uniform she so often wore.

“I have a good partner,” said Hermione softly, her voice barely audible over the music.

“A good lead is nothing without a good follow, my father always says. It’s like a musician without his instrument. Talented, but unable to make sweet, sweet music.” The words fell from his mouth foreign and strange. He didn’t usually say things like that – especially to people like his little brother’s best friend. In fact, he really only recalled speaking to Angelina like that when he playfully flirted with her. Merlin’s beard, thought Fred, was he flirting with her? Why on earth was he flirting with Hermione Granger? Hermione Granger, his little brother’s best friend. His little brother’s crush. One of his close friends. Barely an hour ago he was swearing up and down to himself that he needed to put space between them and now he was flirting with her.

Hermione grew very quiet at his words, altering between looking up at him and their feet, but Fred didn’t miss the subtle way in which her hand moved in his – her fingers gripping his hand tighter. He also noticed the way she adjusted her hold on his shoulder – gripping at the material of his sweater. Fred tightened his grip as well, keeping the triple time as he spun them through the other couples dancing stiffly. The lull in their conversation allowed Fred to take some time to stare down at the girl in his arms. Why would he be flirting with Hermione Granger, indeed…He already knew he liked her nose – the pixie-like way in which it sat on her face, but it also led to a pair of full pink lips that he had never thought to take the time to look at before. They sat above a soft heart-shaped jaw. A soft cupid’s bow lined her top lip, sitting over teeth that…weren’t bucked like they used to be. In fact, they were normal sized. When had that happened? wondered Fred casually, before his eyes traveled further down to her bottom lip. The rose-hued skin sat plump and tempting. He wondered for a second what it would be like to taste them and was reminded of the only other time he’d been distracted by Hermione Granger’s mouth. Right after he gifted her the box of sugar quills; the way her lips wrapped around the candy ever so suggestively. She didn’t even know it. Would she taste sweet like sugar? Shaking the inappropriate thoughts from his mind, his eyes traveled up, only to lock with a pair the color of Firewhisky.

The swirling specks of brown, auburn, and gold mesmerized him and for a second, he entertained the thought that Hermione might feel the same way. But then she looked away, her focusing drifting across the room. Fred followed her stare and found Ron and Angelina looking over at them with odd expressions on their faces.

“I ran into Viktor Krum in the library today,” said Hermione.

The words caught Fred off guard. Looking back down at Hermione, he found her looking up at him expectantly.

“Is that so?” Fred asked, making his voice sound light and amused.

“Yes. It was very…odd.”

“Odd how?”

“Well he asked if he could study with me.”

“You mean he asked you out on a date,” said Fred, his stomach clenching again, but this time in the sinking sort of way.

“No. He asked me if we could study together,” responded Hermione, her brow scrunching in confusion.

“As a date.”

“I wouldn’t really call studying a date.”

“What would you call a date then?” asked Fred, surprised that he was actually quite curious for the answer.

Hermione paused, seeming to contemplate his question before answering, “Well I guess I always imagined my first date would start with getting tea or something, and then going to a bookstore and browsing the shelves—”

Fred snorted. Of course, she’d want to go to a bookstore.

“—then we’d sit outside and talk and maybe we could do something they like. But that part would depend on the other person, I suppose.”

“So, your ideal date isn’t studying, but it does involve books,” said Fred, a teasing smile slipping onto his face.

Hermione smiled back wryly. “Well after all, I am an insufferable swot.”

“Swot? Yes. Insufferable? No,” said Fred honestly.

“Well, either way. Studying in the library during a morning break is far from a date. I’m sure he’s just hoping to pick my brain to help him with his egg,” said Hermione with a bitter edge to her voice.

“What makes you think he’s not interested in you and not just your brain?” asked Fred, surprised to see this side of her. She was always so sure of herself. Sure, she’d shown him moments of weakness and he to her as well, but there was always no denying that Hermione Granger knew exactly who she was and was perfectly content with it.

“Don’t be silly Fred. Why would anyone be interested in me? Biggest swot known to wizarding kind, remember? A big know-it-all with even bigger hair,” she laughed, although it sounded forced to Fred who had become quite familiar with Hermione’s laugh over the past few months.

Fred was unsure how to respond to Hermione’s words. So instead he pulled her into a couple of spins that made her smile in delight. He watched as her frizzy brown curls glowed in the soft lamplight of the room as the song began to wind to an end. He extended his right leg out, placing his weight on the limb as he leaned low, balancing Hermione as he dropped her into a gentle dip. She laughed, genuinely this time, throwing her head back as she did so. Fred’s eyes followed the long curve of the Hermione’s neck before reaching her face. Hermione seemed to glow from the inside out and as he pulled her back up, the song came to an end. Once standing, Fred found it hard to pull his eyes away from Hermione’s face. The combination of the flipping sensation in his stomach, the sweat on his palms, and the increase of the beating of his heart made Fred come to a sickening realization.

He was wholly and completely attracted to Hermione Granger.

Chapter 12>>>

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TAG DROP: VIKTOR KRUM

ᵗʰᵃⁿᵏ ᵍᵒᵈ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ⁱ ᵈᵒⁿ’ᵗ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ʷʰᵃᵗ ⁱ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ //. ch. viktor krum. pictures.

ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵃˡᵏ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ʸᵒᵘ’ʳᵉ ᶠᵃᵐᵒᵘˢ //. ch. viktor krum. starters.

ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ⁱ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ᵗᵒᵒ ᵐᵘᶜʰ ᵇᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ˢᵖᵉᵃᵏⁱⁿᵍ //. ch. viktor krum. answers.

ᵈᵒ ⁿᵒ ʰᵃʳᵐ ᵇᵘᵗ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ⁿᵒ ˢʰⁱᵗ //. ch. viktor krum. headcannons.

ⁱᶠ ˢⁱˡᵉⁿᶜᵉ ʷᵃˢ ᵃ ʷᵉᵃᵖᵒⁿ //. ch. viktor krum. interactions.

ⁱ’ᵛᵉ ᵒⁿˡʸ ᶠᵉˡᵗ ʳᵉˡⁱᵍⁱᵒⁿ ʷʰᵉⁿ ⁱ ˡⁱᵉᵈ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʸᵒᵘ //. ch. viktor krum. desires.

ᵐᵃᵍⁱᶜ ⁱˢ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵉᵛⁱˡ ⁿᵒʳ ᵈᵃʳᵏ. ᵖᵉᵒᵖˡᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ᵉᵛⁱˡ. ⁿᵒᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵃᵍⁱᶜ //. ch. viktor krum. musings.

ᵗᵒᵘᵍʰ ᶠᵃᶜᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵒᶠᵗ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ//. ch. viktor krum. wanted plots.

qᵘⁱᵈᵈⁱᵗᶜʰ ᵖʳᵒᵈⁱᵍʸ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵈᵃʸ ʸᵒᵘ’ˡˡ ᵃᶜᵗᵘᵃˡˡʸ ʷⁱⁿ //. ch. viktor krum. general.

[hiccupfound]

Recovering Granger- ch 1

Summary:

Hermione Granger is widowed at the age of 23 after Viktor Krum dies in a quidditch accident.

She’s merely trying to cope. Draco does not understand it.

Or, a world where Hermione marries very young and remains very busy, and Draco thinks he sees right through it.