Harry Potter 1. The Invitation

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (unfortunately)! I'm not out to make any money with them or this story (I don't think I would get a single dime for this rubbish anyway)!

Warning: English is not my native language, so excuse any misspellings and wrong use of words... I'm trying though!

Warning #2: This might have some adult material... but I haven't quite gotten to that part yet, but just to be save I'll rate it M.

Pairing: Hermione / Viktor (If you don't like it - don't read it)

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**A weekend in Bulgaria**

**Chapter 1 The Invitation**

She was rushing down the big stairs, part of her periwinkle robes ruffled in her hand to prevent tripping over the low hanging hem. As she reached the bottom of the magical stair case, which just started to move about again, the tingly feeling in her belly intensified.

The beautiful white and silver decoration went unnoticed as her brown eyes darted nervously over the crowd of well dressed wizards and witches in the entrance hall. She had yet to descend the wide stairs to join the mingling crowd, but she wanted to use the elevated position to find someone first. Eventually deciding she might look silly standing up here by herself, she went down the stairs half way and stopped again when she noticed a speck of red moving in her direction.

Her breath caught in her throat when her gaze connected with his, revealing the most striking eyes she had seen in her life. He looked so handsome in his red uniform, it made her gasp knowing he was waiting here for HER. A shy smile placed itself on her lips as she reached the end of the stairs and was now just a few feet away from the cause of her nervousness. She startled a bit when he clicked his heels and bowed gallantly before his mesmerizing dark eyes captured her again. Never breaking the magical bond between their eyes, he moved to her left and offered his arm. Without another thought she slipped her hand between his body and the outstretched arm and formed the connection by placing it on his forearm.

She could feel herself blushing as he gave her one of these deep and passionate looks that made her blood boil. "I haff missed you Her-my-own-ninny!" His gaze changed from passionate to longing as he pulled away his arm to wrap it around her waist and crush her against his body. The brunette gasped in surprise, somehow this didn't feel right to her. She watched as his eyes fluttered shut and his face started to move towards hers. _ This is not right! _ she thought, moving her head back. _ This is not how it happened! _ "WAIT!" she yelled.

Her eyes flew open, her doe brown orbs darting around in confusion. Her anxiousness slowly faded as she took in the familiar surroundings. She was in her room in London and not in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts. She was wearing a tank top and some shorts (which she liked to abuse as night wear during the summer) instead of her Yule Ball robes and Viktor was nowhere to be seen. Realization slowly settled in as her heart rate went back to normal. "Just a dream" she mumbled, still a little sleepy as she closed her eyes once more, trying to visualize the handsome features of Viktor Krum one last time before getting up. The rough unshaven face of the Bulgarian appeared and flashed her a persuasive smile before it disappeared again, due to Hermione opening her eyes.

"That was awkward" Her eyebrows knitted together. The fifteen year old Gryffindor had dreams like this before. Ever since the Yule Ball and especially during the first two weeks of the summer break she kept reliving that night or sometimes other events of the past year at Hogwarts in her dreams. But it had always just been an exact reenactment, just like she'd remembered it. She frowned. She knew, that that was an unusual thing for dreams, for dreams are usually bizarre and nothing like reality. _ So actually it is rather strange that my dreams had been so 'real' all the time before this... so what exactly should I be worried about now!? _ her hand automatically flew up to her mouth to cover up the giggle that left her lips.

Later that day, she just got done finishing the last of her homework - a five foot essay about Ancient Medicinal Herbs And Their Use A Thousand Years Ago And Today for Potions - she sighed and murmured something like "can't believe how lazy I've gotten... two damn weeks..." when she heard a tap on her window.

She got up from her desk and walked over to the window. A huge black owl with little funny looking feathers sticking out of the top of his head, which made it look like he had ears, was sitting on the sill, patiently waiting for her to let him in. The bird looked a bit intimidating to Hermione so she hesitated to open the window. She noticed a piece of parchment on his left foot, so curiosity got the better of her and she welcomed him in. The bird hopped into her room and walked awkwardly over to the desk before jumping on it and giving a soft hoot.

Hermione watched all this in disbelief, never had she seen such a well mannered owl - beside Hedwig maybe. _ He could've easily knocked over something with his wide wings - I wonder who's owl this is! _She grabbed an owl-treat out of the bag she keeps in a shelf by the window and walked back to her desk. "So, who sent you?" she asked, while offering the treat. The bird looked at her with big amber eyes and, as if to answer, softly hooted again. He carefully took the treat and swallowed it whole while stretching out his foot towards Hermione.

Still amazed about the birds gentle behavior she took the message and went to her bed to read. The handwriting didn't look familiar at all. It looked like the writer had a hard time bringing the lines to paper. And then the way her address was all written out - most definitely not someone she knew. She quickly broke the seal and unfolded the paper to read.

Dear Hermione,

how are you being? I am hoping you are well. Your letter made me really happy. Thank you. I would have write sooner, but had a Quidditch Game against Praha Pouchers and lot of practice. I apologize.

Hermione, I know it is sudden and you already told me that you would have to think about my invitation to visit, but I want you to be guest at my house, for we have, as my Papa says, 'important social gathering'. Please do me the honor of participating.

Gathering is to be the next Saturday. I would come and pick you and your luggage up Friday evening at seven. I am looking forward excitedly to be seeing you.

I have missed you Hermione.

Yours,  
Viktor

P.S.: Varlo will be waiting for your answer. I hope he will be behaving good.

As the young Gryffindor had finished reading a broad smile covered her face. She had not really expected to ever hear from him again, but hoped of course. And here it was, the letter she'd secretly waited on getting since she wrote to him right after she got home from Hogwarts. Not only did he apologize for not replying sooner but he even invited her over for a 'social gathering'. A soft chuckle slipped over her lips; she just loved the way he talked. Not just the way he put sentences together or mispronounced, no she also adored his thick bulgarian accent and the low masculine voice.

Her mind drifted to the dream she had last night, his voice cutting through the cluster of conversations held around them "I haff missed you Her-my-own-ninny!" She shrieked. Suddenly recognition swept through. Her eyes were scanning the parchment in her hands again as they suddenly widened in surprise. "This is more than strange..." A soft hoot pulled her attention away from the similar sentence in the letter and her dream "what is it Varlo?" His feathers poofed up as he made a screeching noise. "Ah, I bet you're thirsty! And that little owl cookie was probably not enough to fill you up either...I'll be right back!" A few minutes later she was back from the kitchen, three slices of bread and a dish of water in hand.

She knew Varlo wasn't leaving untill she wrote a response to Viktors letter. A rush of anxiety made her body shiver. _ This is the second time he invited me now... it was no lie when I told him I had to think about it... do I feel comfortable enough to go... yeah, I think I do! _ at that she nodded confidently. _ But... what will my parents say? _ her face scrunched at the thought. _ Well, just one way to find out... _

With weak knees she went down stairs in the living room where her parents sat on the couch and watched TV. Her mothers favorite Talk Show was on. Before she had a chance to reconsider and come back later, her father noticed her presence. "What is it pumpkin?" Tom Granger asked, causing his wife Jane to tear her gaze from the TV as well and look at Hermione. The Gryffindor quickly went over her options _ say you don't want anything and try later - face the music and ask already... maybe I shouldn't say where I'm going though - I could tell them that I go to visit Ron... they never said anything against that... _ Hermione was never good at lying, especially not to her parents. They had a real good and trusting relationship. _ Come on, just ask! Get it over with! _ she urged herself and took a step towards the couch.

"I-I... just received an owl. It... it had an invitation with it!" she said slowly. "Oh, Ron is inviting you early this year" her father threw in. There was the opportunity, she could just say yes, every body would be satisfied and she would go without any uncomfortable questions being asked. But her self conscious didn't want to play along. "Ehm... well... it's not from Ron. It's from Viktor!" she added the last sentence quickly. Her fathers expression was unreadable, while her mother showed increased curiosity when she asked "the young man that took you to the Yule Ball last year?"

An unwanted and undoubtedly not helpful flush donned her face at this question. For lack of words, she only nodded. "He lives in Bulgaria, right?!" her father more stated than asked as his face still didn't give away any emotion. The red on her cheeks persisted as she nodded once more. "I was rather intrigued by the way you wrote about him... you described him as a real gentleman" Jane smiled at her husband. Hermiones gaze shifted to her father. His lips were pressed together tightly, his eyes were fixed on a picture frame containing the family portrait they had taken before Hermione started her first year at Hogwarts.

Without lifting his gaze from the picture he asked in a pressed voice "for how long?" She opened her mouth to answer and shut it again. _ How long did he invite me for? I know, when he asked me the first time, he wanted me to come all summer... but in the letter he said he would pick me up Friday and the event was on Saturday. So, it's probably just for the weekend! _ "Just next weekend" she hurried to fill in, afraid her hesitation would raise more questions she would rather not answer.

The Talk Show Host just called another guest in who was greeted with loud boo's from the audience. _ Not even the TV gives me support! _ The face of the Brunette fell in defeat when her father suddenly cleared his throat. "I suppose a weekend will be OK!" Hermione was about to thank him when he spoke up again. "I believe we raised a responsible young lady who would not run off with the next best Quidditch Player or do other sorts of..." now Misses Granger cleared her throat "what your father is trying to say is, that we trust you pumpkin!"

The wide smile on her mothers face creeped her out a bit, so she mumbled a "Thank you" and ran back up to her room. Her door closed a little louder than it should've but she didn't care. With a childish giggle and a joyful "yippy" she threw herself on her bed and giggled some more into her fluffy pillow. "I'm going to see Viktor again - ewww... I can't wait!" She got out of bed again and went over to her desk, grabbing a piece of parchment and her quill.

Dear Viktor,

I can't believe it, my parents actually said yes. I'll be able to visit you this weekend and attend the get together you were talking about.

I can't wait to see you again.

Yours,  
Hermione

P.S.: Varlo was behaving great! What a well mannered owl!


	2. Wet Dreams

Chapter 2 Wet dreams 

The rest of the week passed by slowly. Hermione had packed her suitcase the same day she got the OK from her parents. It didn't take her too much time to pack a pajama, underwear, casual clothes and a dress for whatever occasion Viktor had invited her for. She spent the rest of the week helping her mother around the house. Now it was Thursday and Hermiones anxiety, built up over the last few days, reached new heights.

Her mother kept smiling at her in this weird way. And she didn't like it. Viktor just invited her over for the weekend and they were nothing but friends. Yes, there was a short kiss before he left (it was her first and she could still feel the butterflies in her stomach, now as bad as three weeks ago) and yes, it was on the lips as well, but that could just as well have been some bulgarian custom. After all, the only thing he had done after that was putting his address in her hand, asking her to write him. Lost in thought she traced the outlines of her lips with a finger. _ A really nice custom... _ A smile spread on her face.

A loud noise, very much like the sound of glass meeting kitchen floor, snapped her out of the tummy tingling memory of her first kiss. She could hear her father curse and chuckled _ if Mom would've heard that... _ "TOM GRANGER! Don't you dare swear in this house!" _ Oh, I guess she did hear it... poor Dad! _ The Gryffindor couldn't help but laugh a little on her way to her room. "Jane, I'm a full-grown man... I can..." "Now-now, that may be. But Hermione don't need to hear her parents use such language!" Her fathers sigh of defeat was the last thing she heard before she entered her room.

A gaze at her watch told her it was nine-thirty-seven. _ I know it's pointless since I'm way too excited, but I guess I'll just try and go to bed _ she thought walking across the room to change into her night clothes.

It was cold and dark. She had an uneasy feeling, that something wasn't right... beside the fact that she wasn't able to open her eyes - nor move any other part of her body - and she felt as if a layer of ice had covered her, a really funny sensation tugged at her slowly awakening consciousness. _ I... I...am... it feels like... I'm floating! _ Indeed she could feel the slight movement of her body as if gently floating in a current.

She gasped, trying to move, open her eyes, do anything as panic constricted her chest. _ I'm gonna die! _ She wanted to scream but, of course if nothing else did, her lips didn't obey either. Then, through her agony, she felt something. The gentle rocking of her body by the current had stopped for a moment. Something pulled on her feet, two-three-four times. Her head involuntarily bobbing up and down each time. She felt nauseous. Then the pulling stopped. _ What is going... _ the feeling of something winding around her waist interrupted her thoughts.

Suddenly warmth covered her body and she felt movement very close to herself. _ Viktor! _ She thoughts in relief. _ I'm in the Black Lake and he... he's rescuing me! _ Forgotten was the icy cold, for Hermione felt quite the opposite at the moment.

The cold air hit her like a brick as her face finaly broke through the surface. Gasping for air and struggling to keep her head over water she welcomed his arms around her, gently pulling her to him. She opened her eyes and was welcomed by Viktors loving gaze. _ Wait! LOVING GAZE? He doesn't think this way about me.. and... how come he's not struggling to stay over... _ Just then Hermione felt the assuring safety of solid ground under her feet.

Viktor smiled as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. It was one of these rare smiles of the usually sulky Bulgarian, that had captured the Gryffindors heart. When they first locked eyes, the day Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived for the Tri Wizard Tournament and he had marched into the Great Hall, passing by the Gryffindor Table and giving her this look... she could feel her body melt into his _ ahh... to hell with my rational thoughts... it's a dream... and I REALLY want him to kiss me! _ her eyes closed slowly as she inched her head forward, licking her lips expectantly. Not sooner than her tongue retreated again could she feel the warmth of his soft lips against hers. With a slight groan she replied to the gentle pressure he applied and instinctively imitated him.

She felt how he pulled her even closer to him, almost crushing her. A deep groan emerged from his throat, it sent a chill through Hermiones body and seemed to stay in the pit of her stomach after it gave her goose bumps all over. Unconsciously she shifted her weight, which brought her left thigh in contact with a certain part of Viktor - a certain HARD part! She felt heat spreading through her body, an unknown heat that made her gasp as its intense sensation reached that certain spot in her stomach, making it nearly impossible for her to think straight anymore.

This feeling, as new as it was, got her excited like she'd never been. And it felt as if it took control over her, made her forget - forget about the 'what-ifs' she would've normally analyzed for hours before making a daring move on something or someONE.

She was almost disappointed when Viktor suddenly broke the kiss, but was instantly rewarded with a throaty groan that intensified the tingling in her stomach even more, making her thigh move closer once again. This time he responded by pushing his leg in between hers, forcing her to spread them. She gladly did so, feeling his waist nearing hers took the excitement up yet another nudge. Her heart hammered against her chest madly, her breathing accelerated and the need to be touched by him grew to no to her known limits.

When his thigh rubbed against the fabric of her skirt she knew what this strange feeling was - LUST! Then suddenly, something was ripping on her mind... dragging it back to its normal functions with a repeating annoying pulse. Hermione opened her eyes and stared in Viktors deep brown orbs, which looked quite irritated. "What's going on?" The sound became a bit louder. He looked at her questioningly "vot is this noise?" She felt a jerk on her body, which separated her from him.

"Her-my-own-ninny! NO! Don't go!" Just then she realized what that noise was. The Black Lake disappeared and a disappointed looking Bulgarian with it. With an annoyed sigh Hermione opened her eyes to find the source of the disturbing noise. She shot it a hateful glance then smashed her hand, maybe a little too hard, down to turn it off. "Damn Alarm!" Surprisingly she found herself in the same condition as in her dream - she was gasping for air to support her hard working heart with oxygen and still felt slightly aroused. _ It felt so damn real... _ she let a finger run over her lips. _ It was almost like he was really there and touched and... kissed me! _

An un-Hermione-like giggle filled the room. She shook her head as to rid herself of the blush that insisted on getting more intense, the more she thought about what she had done in her dream. "Hermione! Breakfast is ready!" Her mothers call snapped her out of her thoughts and with a sigh she crawled out of bed.


	3. Reunion with Obstacles

OK, first of all... Thanks for all the Reviews! I was surprised! I don't write very good and pretty much just do it because I enjoy it and to practice my english.

I do have to apologize for this part, because it's not as good as I wanted it to be. But sometimes I loose myself in so many details or have so many ideas that I wanna squeeze into it and then I don't advance with the story and get impatient... I pretty much trip myself everytime. Another problem is, that I can only write in spurts, like my lunch break at work or free time between making dinner and doing laundry and before I go to bed, so it might happen that stuff sounds like it's not really connected... -.- There might be some confusing changes in the time and between characters... I only noticed when I just now read it again to make sure everything is going to look OK. Sorry!

Well, if anyone could **help me** with these blasted layouts... it always seems like everything is going to look like it should when I want to post it, but then, when I open it on the page it doesn't have certain things, like the 'smaller than' or 'bigger than' arrows that I use to start a thought (now I'm taking plusses)... they just disappear. So I additionally make it italic so one can tell that that's supposed to be a thought.

Oh yeah, and whatever Viktor thinks is in **fat** and _italic_ to show that he's thinking in bulgarian. That saves me from translating from a dictionary and from trying to figure out what would be a cute way to write it in english. lol

But now I went on enough. Bye. SeiyasGirl

Chapter 3 Reunion with obstacles

The living room clock showed quarter 'till six as Hermione checked it for the umpteenth time today. Still more than an hour... She sat down on the couch and sighed in defeat. "Too bad I don't have the Time Turner anymore!" Another sigh. Then she grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. She had tried to pass the time reading, but couldn't concentrate on any of the five books she tried. At around eleven she went for a walk but as soon as she got to the corner of the block she got anxious and somehow thought she might miss Viktors arrival, so she went back to the house.

Her mother was still giving her these unnerving smiles, so even lunch crept by slowly when Hermione just wanted to escape into her room. There, she somehow managed to concentrate on 'Quidditch through the Ages' - why this book (collecting dust in her shelf since the first summer after Hogwarts) all of a sudden captivated her so much she couldn't explain, had she only out of frustration started to read in it. Some time after five her mother had called her down for dinner. Though she wasn't really hungry, she complied and went downstairs.

She wasn't too thrilled to hear her mother inquire about the status of her anxiety with that annoying smile plastered on her face and her father shifting uncomfortably in his chair, giving her an inquisitive look. She heard herself mumble something like "just a little..." while counting the little pink flowers on the table cloth.

"Eww... Matlock... no thanks!" Hermione snorted and switched through the channels once more. Before her finger could hit the button again, something dark on the screen had caught her eye. A handsome looking man in Renaissance Style clothes and short dark brown hair was talking to a slightly smaller blonde man - not too bad looking either - debating if he should go over to a girl with curly brown hair and talk to her.

The remote sank down on the table and Hermione, even though she usually hated these over romantic movies, found herself getting sucked into the story. The guy, the blonde man called him Renard, finally made a move and introduced himself to the 'lovely maiden'. Hermione couldn't help but laugh out loud when 'the maiden' said her name was the same as hers. That's a first! I've never seen a movie where a character has my name...

She heard her mother talk in the kitchen, probably to her father, but turned her attention back to the TV where a corny love scene was evolving. //Hermione! What lovely name for such a lovely young woman!// The Gryffindor blushed a little and felt silly for doing so, but she wished someone would talk to her like that some time. //Your eyes are sparkling like the stars above and...// CRACK The TV practically exploded sending pieces of glass and plastic through the room like shrapnel. "Oww" Hermione screamed in pain as part of the plastic cover hit her shin. "What the hell just happened?" she pressed through clenched teeth.

"HER-MY-OWN-NINNY! You alright?" a deep heavily accented voice yelled coming towards her. Before she could turn her head the owner of the worried voice was kneeling beside her and inspecting her leg. His wand was drawn and his grim face had an unusual shade of red to it. "Viktor!" Hermione was surprised to say the least. "Are you hurt muchly?"

He propped her leg over his knee while she was gaping at him. "Vill heal! Do not move!" His wand moved over the slightly bleeding scratch twice and it was gone. "Viktor, what just happened?" "Healing spell" he said a little confused. "No... I mean... the TV! Did you..." He turned to look at the smoking leftovers of what used to be the Grangers' TV and frowned. "Who vos man in there?" he pointed at the trashed TV, deepening his frown. Hermione stared at him in disbelief, then started laughing. The Bulgarian now looked more confused than ever.

* * *

Viktor felt like a complete fool. After arriving by floo in the Grangers' kitchen he was a bit disappointed that only Jane and Tom Granger where there to greet him. And they didn't even look like they had been waiting - more like he had intruded their private space. He was then informed by Hermiones mother that they hadn't expected him for another hour. He could've hit himself in the head. How could he forget the hour time difference between Bulgaria and England... what an idiot he was. 

But the damage was done so he would have to try and keep his face. Viktor introduced himself formally by breathing a kiss on Jane Grangers and shaking Tom Grangers hand, like his parents had taught him. He received an appreciative smile and the information that Hermione was in the next room over. He bowed gratefully and followed the directions to the living room.

His heart skipped a beat when his eyes found the back of a bushy-haired brunette girl sitting on a couch in front of some... box?! It was making noises which Viktor recognized as the voice of a man. He took a step closer, her name on his tongue, when he noticed that the voice he heard belonged to a man who's head was situated in that box the girl was staring at, looking at Hermione and telling her how pretty her name was. She tilted her head a little and sighed. Viktor noticed a blush on her cheeks. He felt anger bubble up in him _**+Who does this man think he is... Flirting with my girl in front of me!+**_

A low growl escaped his throat. The man in the box now went on about how her eyes sparkled like the stars. Viktors face grimaced. He didn't know who that man was nor what kind of communication he was using there but he knew he didn't like this. Before he knew it, he had his wand drawn and two seconds later the box exploded. "Oww" Hermiones painful scream replaced his fury with concern. "HER-MY-OWN-NINNY! You alright?" It took only three strides to cross the room and be by her side.

**_+What did I say? What is so funny about me punishing...+_** Her laughing stopped suddenly, but the look she gave him was still amused. It seemed as if she had to fight to keep from bursting into laughter again. "I'm sorry Viktor! I forgot... you wouldn't know what a TV is or what it does... it's a Muggle Device for entertainment! People in there are not real... it's like... ehm... your moving photographs just with voice... understand?" A slow nod. He felt humiliation spread in him.

"I apologize!" He wanted to turn invisible or be swallowed by a huge crack in the ground. How could he get so carried away - he hardly ever lost control like this. "Viktor, how come you're here already?" Grateful for the change of subject, he looked at her. But before he could answer, a voice from the kitchen inquired if everything was OK.

* * *

Viktor was embarrassed, Hermione could tell. She forced herself to stop laughing and explained the best she could what a TV was. _+He didn't really think that this guy was talking to ME... or... did he...but that would mean...+_ She could see Viktor blush slightly when he apologized. _+I gotta change the toppic or we'll both die from embarrassment+_ she checked the clock again, it was just a few minutes past six. _+Oh good, so I didn't loose track of time - he's early!+_

"Viktor, how come you're here already?" - "Pumpkin, is everything OK in there? I thought I heard something break?!" Hermione held her breath, looking at Viktor, hoping against all odds that he didn't catch her pet name _+WHY did she have to call me that in front of HIM?+_ He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Then a smirk spread on his face "Pompkinn?" _+Mom, I hate you!+_

It seemed as if all the blood of her body rushed up in her face to give it an unhealthy red glow. In an attempt to change the topic again she cleared her throat and gave first Viktor, then the smoking TV a glance, hoping he would get the hint. "No, Mom! Everything 's fine, it was just on TV!" Just then the Bulgarian flicked his wand and all the glass and plastic retreated to its old position to form the TV back to what it looked like before he destroyed it.

The movie came back on and Hermione watched Renard and the other Hermione kiss each other good-night. "Her-my-own-ninny! I haff made such mess! Can you forgiff me?" She could've sworn that for the shortest of moments Viktor Krum the world famous seeker in front of her had made puppy-dog-eyes, but now had an unreadable expression. Instead of answering she got up and motioned for him to do the same. Out of a strong impulse she suddenly launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big hug. "It's good to see you Viktor! I've missed you!" A chill ran down her spine as she said the last sentence. If Viktor would know what she connected with that...

She couldn't see that the young man she was hugging blushed furiously at her statement. There was a moment of silence then Viktor wrapped his arms around Hermiones waist and pulled her closer against his chest. "I haff missed you too... Pompkinn!" - "Argh... don't even start, Mister Krum!" she huffed pushing him away in mock anger. "You're early. But lucky for you I got all my stuff ready. So we can leave now if you like!" She could've kicked herself. She didn't want to sound so desperate. But truth be told - she didn't want to stay here any longer with her parents who might start a cross exam on Viktor.

The Bulgarian just looked puzzled. "Come on, I just have to get my luggage" with that she grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs to her room.

* * *

_**+I get to see her room...+**_ He held on to her hand a little tighter as they went up some stairs. She opened the door and unceremoniously pulled him in with her. "Please excuse the mess!" Her doe brown eyes looked back at him before they searched her room. _**+I love these eyes! I wish they would look at me every day!+**_ He followed her gaze dreadfully. What he saw didn't really surprise him. The room was painted in a light yellow, it seemed to be on the corner of the house for it had two windows, one straight ahead and one to the left where a book case was situated. He smiled when he scanned over it and noticed only a small space was not filled with books, it was taken by a bag of owl cookies. 

He burned it into his memory - this was where Varlo would deliver his letters. Hermione let go of his hand and crossed the room towards a cozy looking bed with a dark blue suit case laying on top of it. Viktor closed his eyes, the pictures of the dream he had last night flashed through his mind, making him blush. _**+Stop thinking this you fool!+**_ he scolded himself mentally. **_+You're just making it worse... I don't even know for sure...+_** "OK, I'm ready!"

Slightly taken aback, Viktor could only stare at her. She blushed and shuffled her feet uncomfortably "please, don't think I'm a slob! It doesn't usually look like this, I just haven't found boxes yet to store it all on the attic" **_+What is she... ah, yes, 'THE MESS'+_** Viktor let his eyes scan the room once more and stopped at a neat pile of parchment and another extremely neat pile of school books at the end of her bed, which were the only out of place items in this perfectly clean room.

He felt his face twitch, then something in his stomach made him hold his breath. The twitching got worse and then he couldn't fight it anymore. He started laughing - loud and wholeheartedly.

* * *

Now it was Hermiones turn to look puzzled - was he making fun of her?! _+Who cares! I would put a clown's nose on and try to tickle a troll just to hear him laugh like this!+_ her puzzlement made room for an adoring smile. She got herself back together when his laugh gradually died away and cleared her throat to get his attention. "If you're done laughing about me..." her voice was not as straight as she wanted it to be, so she dropped the act and added with a grin "you know me; I'm a book worm and a neat freak!" 

Smiling shyly she took his hand again "lets go - I can't wait to see your room!" The moment she'd said it she wanted to bite her tongue. _+Why the hell, did I have to say that... out of all things?! What will he think about me now? ... Gods, just stay calm - act like you didn't just say anything embarrassing!+_ "I vill gladly show you!" Viktor said with a slight bow and looked back at her in a way Hermione didn't know how to describe.

Their eyes locked. She felt like a piece of metal getting pulled into these magnetic orbs. Then their contact broke when Viktor clenched his eyes shut in pain. He grunted and stepped back looking a little aggravated. Hermione returned to the Living when she felt her suitcase tap against her leg. Automatically she looked down at it, then back up at him - slowly making a connection.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have..." "No-No... noffing happened! Here, vill help you carry, yes?!" And without waiting for an answer or any other comment he grabbed the thing and left for the stairs. Hermione followed suit, she really wanted to get going now.

* * *

He could hear her trying to get his attention after the, for him, out of character laughing fit. "If you're done laughing about me..." she started, struggling to make it sound like she was angry; then she gave up with a wide grin "you know me; I'm a book worm and a neat freak!" It sounded apologetic to Viktor and he was about to tell her that she didn't have to apologize. For he loved this hunger for knowledge which made her loose herself between pages of old and new books alike for hours. 

The famous seeker wanted to tell her a lot more than this but was stopped in his thoughts by the touch of her soft hand on his. Her beautiful smile made his heart beat faster "let's go - I can't wait to see your room!" **_+Good gods, did she really say that or am I imagining things? ... No, she did say it - she looks like she's uncomfortable... argh, stay focused! Say something so this doesn't turn awkward!+_** "I vill gladly show you!" he bowed while he said this to make it seem more playful, when in fact he couldn't have been more serious or excited about it.

She wanted to see his room. He wondered what she would think about it and imagined her sitting on his bed, looking around his room. There was the pressure in his center again, the feeling he only got from her. She was looking at him. These captivating brown eyes, he wanted them to be closer - he wanted her to be closer, wanted to touch her lips with his. He just had to get a little closer. His foot wanted to take the distance between them when it hit an unexpected obstacle.

It wasn't really the pain that made Viktor flinch and retreat, but the fact that a) this had ruined his chance to kiss her b) he let his self control go for a walk in the park and c) he was moving too fast and would probably scare her off this way. An unwanted growl of anger slipped out of his throat. He was hoping that she wasn't offended by his advances. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have..." Could it be, had she possibly failed to notice... Viktor had to stop her, so her mind wouldn't go in the wrong direction "No-No... noffing happened! Here, vill help you carry, yes?!" And with this, as his best escape plan, he grabbed the piece of luggage, which he cursed wide and long in his mind, and made his way back downstairs and to the kitchen.

Mister and Misses Granger were still sitting at the table, drinking coffee; Mister Granger was reading the paper which he dropped when Viktor and Hermione entered the room. Viktor positioned himself beside the fireplace, he knew they had yet to say their good-byes so he patiently waited. Hermione went to her mother and gave her a hug. Misses Granger then said something, the he couldn't hear and Hermione nodded and smiled.

Mister Granger then stood up from his chair and gave the Gryffindor a smile before they hugged; but he didn't seem to have any parting words. Then she came over to him. His heart skipped a beat; he would be with her, away from school, away from their friends. He couldn't believe how lucky he was, that she trusted him enough to come with him. She waved her parents one more time "I'll see you Sunday! Love you!" Then she turned and looked at him expectantly.

Viktor was taken aback for a moment, but finally reached for some floo powder in his pocket. He nodded at the Grangers "I vill take good care of Her-my-own-ninny!" Mister and Misses Granger nodded. Turned towards Hermione he said "you do not know vere going, haff to hold on me" he took a nervous breath and added "and do not let go!" A blush appeared on her face and her eyes looked at anything but him, she seemed to ponder something inside her pretty head. When she finally stepped closer and smiled shyly her decision was made "OK, lets go!"

He didn't need another invitation, his arm encircled her, his hand resting on her waist, and pulled her close to him. He ignored the heat that was rushing though his veins and threw the powder in his hand into the crackling red fire. The characteristic green flame came to life and he pulled Hermione with him as he stepped in it **"103 Svanisci Bay"** he said in his native tongue and off they were.


	4. The Arrival

I apologize for the long wait! I was sick for a while and stressed out at work... but here is chapter 4! Though not as good as I want it to be... to be honest... I don't really like it, but can't seem to find a way to make it better! Sorry!

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Chapter 4 The Arrival

Traveling by Floo wasn't necessarily Hermiones favorite way to get from A to B, but it beat the sickening feeling of being stretched and pulled through a needle hole by a portkey. She had her eyes closed. Last time she traveled to the Burrow she went past a real nasty fireplace and ashes almost made her blind. Why were people so careless... seriously.

Hermione wasn't sure how long they'd been in the Floo Network; a few times she thought they'd arrived because they slowed down quite a bit but it picked right up again. _I don't know what I expected, it's Bulgaria after all, even the Floo will take a little longer than just from London to Ottery St. Catchpole. I just wonder how much longer..._ Her thoughts were interrupted and answered at the same time as her feet touched the ground of a fireplace.

"You can open eyes now - we haff arrived!" Viktors deep voice sounded close to her ear, sending chills through her body. She did as he said, then followed him out of the unusually big fireplace. With a surprised intake of breath she regarded her surroundings. A huge hall stretched out before her with a ceiling almost as high as the one in Hogwarts' Great Hall. Countless Paintings, Swords, Clubs and Codes of Arms embroidered the walls. Several full sized Suit of Armors were lined up to her left and right; to her relieve they didn't seem to be enchanted like the ones in Hogwarts, which sometimes just started laughing madly when you passed them, scaring you half to death.

"This... this is so... amazing" Hermione was somewhat awestruck. She couldn't take her eyes off of the walls surrounding her. "My father is collecting... how you say" Hermione noticed the pause, and was instantly remembered about their conversations in the library at Hogwarts. His English had improved immensely from the time they first started talking. "Midevil items" he finished the sentence. The brunette had to bite her lips so she wouldn't laugh. "Medieval" she corrected him softly, still working hard to hold her amusement back. "Yes, that is vord!" He turned away from her. Hermione sighed inwardly _Why can I never stop being such a know-it-all? This probably embarrassed him... GREAT Hermione! Not even five minutes here and you already screw things up!_ Another sigh, this time because she was so annoyed with this part of her personality.

"I didn't mean to..." He turned back towards her with something like a smile "No, do not apologize! I vont you to correct me - is goot vay to learn for me! It is rather embarrassing not knowing vords... so, please do not wiat correcting me - I vont learn!" With his last words he had stepped a little closer to her. It seemed as if the temperature in the room had went up quite a bit. Suddenly he reached over and took her hand. "Come Her-my-own-ninny! Vill show you rest of house!" A tug on her hand made her follow him to the door on the other side of the room.

They were about to leave the room when a thought crossed her mind "Viktor, what about my luggage?" she looked back over her shoulder at the suit case in front of the fireplace. "Do not vorry! Vill be in room bevore you" It didn't take her long to come to a conclusion "you got house elves?" He nodded. Hermione wasn't sure what else to say, her mind was reeling with thoughts about how good the Krums treated their little helpers and what if they didn't. She had never wasted a thought about the fact that Viktors parents might have house elves.

"Name is Mingels" Viktors deep voice broke her trail of thought "vill introduce her later, yes?!" She realized that she was standing on the same spot, staring absentmindedly at her luggage for the past minute or so, like a stubborn mule, while Viktor wanted to move on. A blush spread its beautiful red self over her cheeks. A gentle squeeze of her hand brought her attention back to her guide, following him out of the room, somewhat amazed that Viktor seemed to know what she was thinking about and also grateful, that he seemed to have a good relation to the obedient little creature.

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

While he usually enjoyed taking glimpses into other peoples fireplaces to waste his time in the Floo he had something else with him that was far more interesting. For some reason though she had her eyes closed and refused to open them even when they slowed down at the different country borders. Viktor dreaded that because he loved looking into her beautiful brown orbs which had this glow of curiosity about them. Not only when she was bent over a book did her eyes shine like that - No, she gave him that look as well... from the very beginning. **_It seems like, for once, someone is really interested in me - ME Viktor! Not the famous Bulgarian Seeker or Durmstrang Champion!_** he mused. **_I just wish she would feel the same way about me as I feel about her!_** Unconsciously his grip around her waist tightened.

They slowed down again. This time, Viktor knew, they'd reached their destination. **_I hope she likes it_** he thought, a little nervous, looking down at her as he felt the ground under his feet. Eyelids still hiding the wonderful brown he knew lay beneath. "You can open eyes now" he said with a voice he hardly recognized as his own, inching closer to the Brunette that was on his mind since the first time he'd laid eyes on her at the Quidditch World Cup, trying to catch a glimpse of the curious spark in her eyes, he knew was gonna be there once she opened them. "We haff arrived!"

Finally, her eyes opened and his stomach tickled from all the butterflies a look into her beautiful brown eyes seemed to create. He was as happy as could be, she was at his house, and if it was for him, she would never leave again. Reluctantly he tore his eyes away to help her out of the enormous fireplace his parents had installed to handle the amount of people coming to their dinner parties and such. Outside, she looked around in amazement. He smiled to himself, satisfied that her first impression of his home was indeed a good one.

He could hear how her breath hitched in her throat as she looked around. "This... this is so... amazing" her sweet voice echoed in the hall after she scanned it from left to right. Viktor thought an explanation might be necessary. "My father is collecting..." just then he realized that he wasn't sure what the english word was he was looking for, he had heard it before... something about evil... So he tried translating the two parts it consisted of, sometimes getting lucky that way "how you say... midevil items!" He watched her expression carefully, he knew there was a chance he just said something totally ridiculous and he wanted to know if that was the case.

His focus shifted from her eyes to her lips when he noticed movement in that area. A set of white straight front teeth (she had told him about the incident with the annoying blond boy) tucked in the most part of her soft pink lips. The lips he had only kissed once before. How he had managed to bring up the courage for it, he had no idea. But he knew he was scared she would reject him, the feeling over came him almost immediately after their lips connected. So he had forced himself to pull away - when actually he wanted nothing more than to stay like this forever - making it unwillingly look like a mere good-bye-kiss from a friend.

These lips seemed to call out to him to have another taste of them, to refresh his memory of what it was like to feel them so soft and warm and "medieval" The parting of the objects of interest startled Viktor, tore him out of yet another little daydream **_I have to stay focused! If she wouldn't do these unexpected things I would probably attack her like a wild animal!_** he scolded himself. "Yes, that is vord!" he said flustered and turned away to hide the blush he felt coming up, trying to calm his mind down as well.

He was wondering what she was thinking now. He knew that she felt strongly about the rights of house elves, but he didn't want to lie to her and she would've figured it out anyway, he told himself. **_What would be good to make her feel more comfortable about it?_** an idea came up instantly. "Name is Mingels - vill introduce her later, yes?!" Viktor said, trying to pull her with him, his hand tightening around hers. He was glad when she snapped out of her thoughts and obliged. He didn't like this awkwardness and wasn't sure how to handle it properly, but it seemed to have worked for now.

They had jut barely made it to the center of the Main Entrance - as Viktor called it, since it had the big oak double-doors that he used most during his childhood - when he heard his parents descend the stairs. "Dere you are Hermyownee!" his mother greeted the Gryffindor beside him with a cheery voice. When she reached the last step she opened her arms and smiled a smile Viktor had never seen on his mother. But the open smile wasn't what bothered him right now. He took a glimpse at Hermione as his mother came closer with her arms outstretched for a welcoming hug and kiss on the cheek - as it was tradition.

_**Oh no... does she know...**_ But it was too late. "Velcome to our house!" He could hear a strangled noise from the Brunette as she was crushed in a fierce hug. Heaven knew he would never talk bad about his mother, but he knew just how crushing a hug from her could be - she was not exactly as 'small' as Hermione. Before he could even think about interjecting, Hermione was pushed back by her shoulders and received a big smooch on her left cheek. "I am Ekatarina and dis is Pavel!" She moved aside, one hand still remaining on the Gryffindors shoulder - **_as it is custom_** Viktor recalled - introducing her husband who moved closer, then bowed and stretched out his arm to take her hand.

When she gave it to him, he turned it over - Viktor could hear a surprised intake of breath beside him - and softly breathed a kiss on the back. There was a small sting in his chest as he watched this scene, thinking that it will happen many more times tomorrow, with other people than his father. A scowl presented itself on the young bulgarians face. "Haff dinner now, yes?!" He heard his mother stumble over the foreign language like he still did, even though he practiced a lot during the last year. He noticed Hermione leave his side and reluctantly let go of her hand.

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

Ekatarina had put her arm across Hermiones shoulders and started pulling her down the hallway opposite from the room they just came from. She felt Viktors hand slip out of hers and missed the connection instantly. She heard a low voice say something that she couldn't understand. It must've been Pavel talking to Viktor in bulgarian. Hermione briefly wondered if Pavel couldn't speak english or if the two of them shared something she wasn't supposed to hear.

They entered another room, it was a little smaller than the "Floo Room" - how Hermione had decided to call it - and the ceiling wasn't as high either, but it was just as impressive. The opposite wall had three windows almost stretching from the floor to the ceiling spread out on it which gave the most amazing view. The young Gryffindor was immediately drawn towards it. It seemed as if the house was built on a hill gently sloping down into a beautiful white sanded beach. The waves of the Black Sea gently nibbed on the coast.

"Beautiful" she barely more than breathed out when she halted in front of one of the windows. "Surely Viktor vill take you for volk on beach if you like" Ekatarina chimed from the end of the room. There was the lately so familiar blush again. In her mind she looked at a tranquil scene on the beach with a couple standing at the shoreline, watching the sun go down, holding hands. The blush deepened, if that was even possible. "I would like that" she answered, not sure what exactly she was referring to.

"Goot-goot... lets eat first!" Hermione followed the invitation and took a seat at the round oak table, which actually surprised her in its small size. This was a lot nicer than sitting on one of those thirty foot long tables she had imagined a place like this would have, were you would almost have to yell at each other to have a conversation. The Krums seemed to want to be together for their meals and Hermione liked it immediately. The food appeared instantly. Even that was like Hogwarts. The doing of the house elves she knew. Her stomach gurgled a bit which reminded her why she was sitting here. She helped herself to some sort of beef roast and potatoes. It tasted great.

Dinner went by quietly and when everybody was done the table cleared itself. She knew it was a bit foolish since she knew that the house elves were mainly responsible for it, but she complimented Misses Krum on how good the food was. It couldn't be helped, Hermione was raised like that. Ekatarina blushed and giggled a bit before replying that only the recipe was hers and Mingels was the one who prepared it. That information almost got her ecstatic - evidently Viktors family acknowledged their house elves. "Now de Liquva!" Ekatarina said with a flick of her wand and a silver platter with a crystal bottle and about a dozen little shot glasses appeared in between them.

Hermiones gaze met Viktors - asking for an explanation. "Is alcohol. Goot for belly after heavy meal! Is called..." he seemed to think about the right word. "belly cleaner! Dat right vord?" Hermione smiled "sounds right to me, thank you!" She turned to Ekatarina "I don't know if I should have any... I'm not... old enough" But Viktors mother just waved it off "Viktor and his brother Alexej both started drinkin young - probably ten or nine - can not remember" "You have a brother?!" she interrupted Ekatarinas thought and caused a sudden mood swing at the table. Hermione had discovered that even though Viktor always looked like he was brooding, that was not the fact. It was rare when he smiled - even though it did happen more often lately - and it was easy to tell when he was upset about something because the idle broodiness he usually displayed would be replaced by an angry scowl - like the one he showed off now.

_Did I say something wrong? Maybe I should apologize..._ But before she could open her mouth his mother, who didn't look less upset, took the word. "VIKTOR! Stop being fool! Alexej is your brother, he vill be here tomorrow and you vill be acting like man - not child!" A throat was cleared beside Hermione so she, together with Ekatarina and Viktor, turned her attention to Mister Krum who had four glasses with a brown substance in front of him. "Lets drink!" he said distributing the glasses by simply shoving them across the table. He held his own up and looked at Hermione with almost the same idle expression as Viktors _so that's where he's got it from_ But then he broody face changed and made way for a smile. Which was hard to determine in the depth of his mustache but clearly visible in Pavels eyes. "To our guest!" the little glass now moved to his lips. As the liquid disappeared Hermione had changed her picture of Viktors father and though she didn't know what the two of them had been talking back in the hallway, she didn't think it was anything bad.

Before she knew what she was doing she mimicked his actions and drained the brown liquid out of the glass and into her throat. It tasted somewhat bitter and she could feel it burn its way down her throat and all the way down into her stomach. Her face scrunched up, she suppressed a cough that might've ended in a gag. Viktor chuckled at the other side of the table. She was gonna say something to her defense but Pavel raised his voice again "I beliff Hermyownee vould like volk on beach before dark, Viktor!" he nodded to his son who almost jumped up, walked around the table and helped Hermione off the chair.

The Brunette bowed slightly and thanked for the meal before she turned back to Viktor who offered his arm to her. She let her arm slip in between his body and his arm, trying to stay calm. This reminded her of this dream she'd had. Her heart started beating faster as they left the Dining Room, followed by the good night wishes of Pavel and Ekatarina. _What if he would do that... she flinched a bit at that thought. No, he wouldn't! I mean... why would he... with ME at that! He could have any girl he wants!_

The huge doors they passed earlier opened and a warm salty breeze made Hermione exhale with a sigh. Not even five minutes later did she feel the fine warm sand in her fingers, running through and drifting off with the summer wind. She knew it was probably a bit childish but she just had to do it. She looked up at Viktor, her question on her tongue, to discover that he was no longer there. A bit taken aback she then noticed her misconception, he was not gone but sat down beside her fiddling with the laces of his boots. He noticed her staring. "You do not vont volk on beach vith shoes, is less romantic!" he stated matter of factly with a big smirk on his face.

It seemed to Hermione as if the 'Liquva' was turning an extra round in her blood stream. "That's funny... I just meant to ask you that!" Why she said it and how she managed to say it at all after his statement, she had no clue. Nonetheless she sat down and removed her running shoes and socks as well. "Oh my gosh, I'd forgotten how strange this feels!" she giggled when the sand tickled the bare bottom of her feet. She playfully skipped around in a circle, all the while joyfully giggling. "Come on Viktor" she grabbed the bulgarians hand and pulled him towards the water.

Before they reached it she could feel him squeeze her hand, then slowing down. When she turned to look at him she was met by an amazing sight. The warm orange light of the setting sun gave the handsome Seeker a warm glow, made him look out of this world. The warm fuzzy feeling she got from being around him intensified to the point of discomfort. She had stopped in her tracks, giving Viktor the chance to approach. Her heart rate picked up considerably every inch he shortened the distance between them.

She noticed how his hand let go of hers and let it drop to her side. He was right beside her now and Hermione noticed she was staring. Her unruly curls fell from their usual resting place on her shoulder to cover the left side of her face as she abruptly turned her head away from him. She almost jumped out of her skin when Viktors hand came to rest on her waist, applying a bit of pressure, catching her by surprise - making her stumble. The first reflex when in danger of falling is to grab something to steady yourself.

She felt the heat in her face instantly. _His chest is pretty firm... a lot of muscle... mmmh_ her eyes closed and her lips curled up for a satisfied smile. _I wish it could be like this forever!_


	5. The Beach, A Kiss And A Lot Of Red

I want to thank everybody for the reviews. It encouraged me to go on, even though I had a huge writers block!

I'm afraid it's not very good and way too short... but I'll try to continue and, hopefully, find my rhythm again.

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**Chapter 5 The Beach, A Kiss And A Lot Of Red**

Here she was, in his arms - right where she belonged in Viktors opinion. Her small hands lay flat against his chest - in an effort to support herself - his hand rested on her waist. It wasn't his intension to startle her but chance had given him this opportunity right here and he intended to make the best out of it.

Rational thoughts had left him at this point leaving only desire and instinct to act upon. His free hand placed itself on the small of Hermiones back, the other one slid around to join it. She was his. He felt that now was the time to act, to show her just how much she meant to him. Her body melted into his the more he tightened his arms around her small frame.

Then she did what he was hoping she would do, her head raised and she looked at him with eyes that made him weak in the knees, darker than usual with an expression she had never displayed to him before. His heart leapt for joy and the well-known butterflies had returned to torture him once more. Like a moth to the light was he drawn to her. Unsure still and yet determined like never before.

Only an inch separated him from eternal happiness. Her eyes fluttered shut at the same time her head dipped back to present her slightly opened pink lips to him. The last bit of control he had left him upon her unspoken invitation. His trembling lips claimed hers.

A feeling, so strong it made him shake, went through his body as he finally connected with his angel. He was so excited he could scream, he had to hold himself back not to pounce at her like a vicious beast. The way she responded to him was so pure and innocent - it made him proud to be the first to taint her beautiful lips.

After what seemed a wonderful eternity in heaven he was brought back down to earth by a cold breeze catching on his wet lips. He had felt her move away hesitantly and instinctively done the same. She was just as much out of breath as he was. For some reason Viktor was sure that she would want to talk about what just happened or maybe even about something entirely different.

But he didn't want to talk - at least not now. He wanted to savor the moment - the moment here at the beach in front of his house with the soothing sound of the waves in the back ground and the warm glow of the setting sun on their skin - the moment he had kissed the girl of his dreams.

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

_Is this real? Did Viktor really just kiss me?_ hesitantly Hermione opened her eyes, afraid that she might find herself in her room. Yet she was not surprised to find Viktors handsome face just a few inches away from her - more happy._ By Merlin! What now? Should I say something? But what..._ She was still out of breath as she stared at the slowly darkening horizon trying to find an answer.

Then, suddenly, it got cold. When she returned her attention to Viktor she noticed that he had released her out of his strong arms to move over to her left. Her brown orbs followed him automatically as they tried to catch anything that could help the restless mind behind them answer the questions these last few minutes had raised. She could now feel his hand on her waist. The applied pressure made Hermione move closer to Viktor. Warmth was flooding her body once more. This time she embraced it without trying to analyze - it felt so much better than the cold she had experienced just a few seconds ago. They started walking towards the water holding each other tight. The cold water of the Black Sea swept over Hermiones feet, gently tickling her toes as it washed the sand out of the spaces in between them. A funny feeling took hold of Hermione, her constantly busy brain stopped it's analyzing, she felt at peace with herself and the world... no, she really didn't have to say anything - ther was no word to express just how she felt right now.

Several minutes and a good kilometer down the beach she awoke from her trance like state as Viktor suddenly stopped and looked down at her. "Is getting late. Let us go back to house." Hermione just nodded, still unable to speak.

The silence prevailed until they reached the Krum Residence. "Vill show you guest room now, yes?" Hermione noticed a feint blush on Viktors cheeks and tried her best to ignore it. _He's not the only one who's uncomfortable... first the... kiss..._ she was sure she more than matched Viktor now as she was thinking this.

"Vell..." he suddenly turned toward the staircase. "Room is upstairs. You ready, Her-my-own-ninny?" She stiffened and again simply nodded because she didn't trust her voice. They turned left at the top of the stairs "Mama and Papa's room is back dat vay" he motioned toward the hallway to the right of the stairs which ended in two doors, one of them being on the left. After a few more steps he stopped in front of two similar looking doors on the right, then, to Hermiones surprise, turned around on his heels and pointed at the left of two doors across from the ones she just looked at.

"Is your room, I hope you like it!" A smile crossed his face as he turned the knob and gave the door a push to reveal the inside of the room. He bowed playfully as he motioned for her to enter. Hermione did a curtsy in the same manner and couldn't help but giggle a little at the silliness.

The room was painted in a soft lavender, the sheets of the king sized bed at the other end of the room matched with a darker shade of purple. The frame of the bed as well as a well sized dresser and the shutters at the window were white. A squeak of delight escaped her lips as Hermione went over to the bed and dropped onto its soft surface. _Oh Gods! The sheets are incredibly soft!_ Her hands roamed all over the purple fabric.

Hermiones eyes were closed, her face showed an expression of deepest content. A feeling started to grow in the midst of her stomach the more friction she created with her fingertips. It seemed to be fueled by it, running up her arms through her ribcage and down into her center. She felt tingly and excited as if waiting for something great to happen. She liked this feeling, she wanted to roll around in it and soak it into her skin...

"Ehm... Her-my-own-ninny!" Startled the Gryffindor opened her eyes, finding herself laying on her back, sprawled all over the place. _Oh no, how embarrassing!_ Her face adopted the color of her house as she sat back up.

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

"You like bed, yes?" he tried really hard to suppress the thoughts that developed just a few seconds ago when he watched his angel writhe about right in front of him. He knew his question could be understood the wrong way - which was actually what he was thinking at the time - so he had tried to cover it up to make it sound more innocent. Still he was blushing madly at the fact that he was thinking the way he was and couldn't stop himself from uttering these things. Yes, it was natural for a young man like him, but these thoughts kept him daydreaming, having his head somewhere in the clouds and loosing control of things down here on earth. And if there was one thing that Viktor despised it was loosing control.

Hermione was the one thing that made him feel strong and week at the same time. He had to think about her a lot ever since they first met - well, maybe not precisely the first time, but the time he caught her eye in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Initially this had scared him, because it distracted him, made him look week. But then he found that she was special, different from all the silly groupie-girls that followed him everywhere, maybe someone that would really understand who HE was. He wanted to win her heart, that was what made him strong, helped him go through with the dangerous tasks of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He loved her, he knew he did. And again that made him strong. But not knowing her feelings for him made him weaker than a 90 year old muggle.

He snapped out of his thoughts for a second to notice Hermiones blush. She also looked like she was a bit out of breath. _**I didn't think it would have this kind of effect on her... do I look like that too?**_ "V-Viktor... could you... could you tell me where the... the bathroom is?" Interrupting his thoughts didn't prevent his cheeks from burning up. In a swift move he turned around. "Is dis door" he pointed at the left door across the hallway. "Thank you! Ehm... what are the other two rooms?"

Viktor knew it was rude not to face her during a conversation but he could still feel the heat in his face and didn't want to show her his embarrassment. So he went through the door and pointed to the left "dis is other guestroom" then stepped off to the right pointing toward the door across from Hermione's room "and dis is my room". I wonder if she would like to see it... "Oh..." her timid voice interrupted his thoughts again. "C-Can I see it?"

It was probably good that Hermione couldn't see him now, for he wasn't sure exactly how dumbstruck he must've looked. "OK, I... ehm... I better go to bed then..." "NO" Viktor interrupted frantically. "Vill show you" he turned around and held his hand out for her to take. **_I should not be nervous. I got to see her room, now she wants to see mine. She does not thing anything of it and I should not either... There is nothing embarrassing laying around - NO - I cleaned it this morning... _**Viktors reeling mind came to a halt when he felt something warm touch his hand.

It wasn't just the fact that they held hands that made his stomach churn, it was the fact that it was dark, that they were alone, that he was going to pull her into his most private spot that hardly anyone had ever entered and that... he was thinking about doing so much more with her than holding hands. He needed to get a hold of himself or he would do something he would later regret.

Her eyes locked with his and for a moment he could only stare, getting lost in her beautiful eyes which reminded him of his favorite treat. "Mmmhh... chocolate..." "Pardon?" Viktor startled **_did I say that out loud?_** He shook his head "noffin...vill show you room now, yes?"

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

His room seemed huge to Hermione. She couldn't tell if it was only because there wasn't very much furniture to fill it, the dark colors it was decorated in, magic or simply because it really was huge. The next thing that caught her attention was the large four poster bed straight ahead. It was made of dark brown almost black wood and had vine red sheets to accentuate it which looked just as soft as the ones in her room. There was a desk made of the same kind of wood a little off to the right of the bed with a matching chair. Two doors on the left wall puzzled Hermione a bit.

One of them was surely for the bathroom, but what about the other one? Viktor followed her look, then, as if he could read her mind "left door leading to bathroom, right door is closet" "Wow, must be nice to have so much space for your clothes, I envy you, all I have is a dresser" The Gryffindors eyes grazed over the black and red walls, whose pattern, if it had one, seemed to elude her. The wall to her right was like a shrine to Viktors passion. Eight broom sticks surrounded a 3-tier-shelf full of trophy's, pictures and other things Hermione couldn't identify.

To her surprise she found two familiar looking brooms among the ones mounted to the wall. One being the famous Oakshaft 79 which was the model used for the first Atlantic broom crossing in 1935 by Jocunda Sykes, who Hermione greatly admired. The other one was the Nimbus 2000 which she'd seen countless times in Harry's hand. The others she could not identify but she was certain they were either vintage rarities like the Oakshaft or priceless memorabilia.

"You like it, yes?" "It's awesome!" she said not very enthusiastic but honest. She did like it - she would probably freak out if she was a Quidditch fan like Ron or Harry. Those two would probably drop dead if they knew where she was. _It's the room of the greatest seeker, how Ron would put it... I'm here... with him... alone..._ Even if she didn't know much about relationships and the sort she was not an idiot. Viktor was an almost nineteen year old and incredibly handsome young wizard. And she, she was a fifteen year old witch who just started discovering that boys could be something other than mindless annoying idiots.

She startled again when she noticed him walking over to the shelf grabbing a small black box and returning to her. "Vant to show you somfing" the box was held in front of her, then opened. Hermione saw something golden, it was so bright and shiny it blinded her for a second, then she identified the little golden ball. It was a snitch. "Is snitsch from World Cup!" he smiled proudly. "Wow, how did you get it? I didn't think they would just give them away?!" Viktors smile widened and a mischievous gleam added to his eyes. "Referee's son vos big fan and vonted signed picture..." he stated matter of factly and acted like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

She just nodded and took another look at the shiny winged ball. "Is one of my faforit memories" he shut the box and returned it to the shelf. "Because of your first World Cup I-" "Yes" he stopped her "and because vos first time I see you, Her-my-own-ninny!" There it was again, the feeling in Hermiones stomach that made her tingle all over and seemed to act as a furnace that made her blood boil. His eyes gazed at her the same way they did down at the beach. She wanted to follow the urge of her body and just give into anything Viktor was going to do with her, but a little alarm went off in the back of her mind that didn't let her. "Viktor! I'm tired, I would like to go to bed!" she said in a firm voice. It took every last bit of strength to make it sound like she actually meant it.

The fog in his eyes seemed to vanish and he nodded before he walked her over to her room. As she passed the threshold to her room he stopped and held her hand in his, then brought it up to his lips and whispered "**Ljeka nosht mjen angjel**" before he breathed a kiss and let go. While he retreated to his room Hermione stood and watched with a heart that threatened to jump out of her chest.

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A/N: I don't know if I got that right, but it's supposed to mean 'Good Night my Angel'! -I don't know how soon I will update again, but I won't give up! My problem is, that I have toooo many ideas, and they're all in my head, but bringing them to paper is the problem! Thank for the support though!

SeiyasGirl


	6. A different kind of dream and a surprise

Hi everyone. I know it took a while, but I'm updating again. Unfortunately it seems like my chapters get shorter and shorter... sorry! But I'm slowly getting it all together. I promise. I apologize if this chapter sucks, but again I was already thinking ahead of myself and might not have concentrated as hard as I wrote this. If there's anyone who knows bulgarsk/bulgarian: Please don't be offended by my attempts to put a few authentic words/sentences in here. All I can go by are the cyrilic words and so I try to fumble them together into the western form... so, sorry if it looks weird! --"

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**Chapter 6 A different kind of dream and a surprise**

Hermione groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head was pounding. It wasn't painful, more nauseating. _What's going on? Did someone hit me over the head?_ She glanced around from her laying position, but couldn't see very much beside darkness and some feint little lights here and there. _Where am I?_ Her hands moved from her head to the ground to help support herself to get up. She pulled them back in surprise, then put them back on the shifty ground. _Sand? ... Am I at the beach?_ As she got up, the pounding intensified and made her dizzy to the point that she thought she was going to fall back down again.

When she steadied herself, she had another look at her surroundings. She was indeed at the beach, it was dark and the lights she'd seen from the ground were the stars shining in the sky. Even though the water was just a few feet away from her and she could clearly see the waves rolling onto the shore, she couldn't hear the calming sound they usually produced. Suddenly she felt her neck prickle. She knew what this meant - someone was watching her. Instinctively she reached down for her wand, just to find the spot she usually kept it at to be empty. Panic shot through her, giving her the needed adrenalin boost she needed to either flee or fight. Quickly she analyzed her options and found that fleeing wouldn't make much sense, since the beach seemed to stretch endlessly to both sides of her. Before she could make up her mind about what to do, she felt the person behind her approaching.

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

Viktor finally found what he was looking for, he was wondering what had taken her so long, didn't she say she was tired?! _**Maybe she could not go to sleep...**_ he thought frowning a bit. Hermione stood before him, her back was turned to him. She seemed uncomfortable and tense. He noticed her hand reaching down to her side and wondered what she was looking for. She seemed to be disturbed, that her hand only touched the fabric of her shorts. Then it dawned on him, she was probably looking for her wand. Did she know he was here? Did she think he was a threat? He advanced on her hoping she wouldn't be too startled.

Suddenly she turned around, a fierce look in her eyes, her hands up as if she wanted to fight him. Viktor stopped in his tracks and held his hands up in defense. "Her-my-own-ninny!" Recognition settled in and she dropped her arms to her side visibly relieved. She stepped closer and Viktor could see her lips moving as if she was saying something, but he couldn't hear what it was. Now she stood right in front of him looking as if she was expecting him to say something. "Her-my-own-ninny, I am confused... what did you say?"

Her eyes got wide and she shook her head, pointing at her ears. "You can not hear me?" he asked, and wanted to smack himself for being so stupid, because if she couldn't hear him at first she couldn't hear this either. The unruly brown hair was bouncing off her shoulder as she shook her head again, again pointing at her ears, looking distressed.

Viktor frowned _**why does this not work? Is the enchantment too old? I don't understand...**_ He caught Hermiones gaze, she looked confused and scared. It hurt him to see her like that. He thought this idea to be great, an easy way of courting her without the hurt of a possible rejection in real life. Even though he was sure it would hurt just the same if it was to happen here. Still, to her it would just be a dream and in real life nothing would have changed between them. He sighed and closed his eyes to calm himself. Memories of a conversation replayed in his mind.

A twelve year old boy, Viktor happened to walk past his fathers study one day, picking up a few words that told him he was leaving on a business trip again. Viktor despised his fathers constant absence. Maybe that was what made him stop by the door and listen in on his parents conversation, he couldn't remember. They were talking about some sort of sheets. His mother called them 'Elyubem Eneselda'. If both partners sleep on these sheets they'll share a dream together, but unlike a dream you were in full control of your actions and were able to feel just the same as in reality. Does only one person sleep on a sheet, thinking about his partner and that partner happened to think about them too it would work as well, but the connection was not guaranteed.

Back then he didn't find this information useful, he was more interested in broomsticks than girls. The weird thing was that he did not remember all this until he came back home from Hogwarts, missing the brunette now standing in front of him silent and deaf. What was he supposed to do now?! His plan failed miserably. All the things he wanted to tell her... he couldn't possibly tell her for real and risk the fragile relationship to her. If he could not love her the way he wanted to then he at least wanted to keep her a close friend, he just couldn't bare loosing her completely. The kiss came to his mind and it pained him not to know what she thought about it. He didn't want her to say anything right after it happened and urged her to walk down the beach. And she didn't say anything about it, not even later on in his room.

He was such an idiot. He should've questioned her while he had the chance, try to steal another kiss to see if she liked it as much as he did, if she wanted him to be close to her. But he didn't - out of cowardice - out of fear of rejection. And now he was stuck. Making her feel uneasy and possibly giving away his spineless plan. What would she think about him? His hands formed into fists. The siring heat of anger and disappointment at the failing of his plan and his own cowardice rushed through his veins, he could feel it.

A touch to his arm startled him. The Gryffindor stood right in front of him with questioning eyes. Her hands went down to his, opening his fists gently and lacing her fingers with his. Viktor stared at the connection, his anger had completely vanished. A small smile had placed itself on his lips as he lifted his head to look into her beautiful brown eyes, which seemed brighter now than they did a moment ago. He felt her squeeze his hands and noticed a smile on her lips as well. She's so beautiful! His thumbs unconsciously started rubbing lazy circles on the back of her hand when he averted his gaze once more.

"I vish you could hear me... and speak too!" a frown crept back on his face "haff a lot of fings to tell you! Fings dat are difficult to say vhen you stay in front of me!" He swallowed hard, gathering the strength to lift his head again and look into her eyes. This was like torture for him and he started to regret his actions. He wanted to force something onto her that she possibly didn't want. Then it dawned on him_** maybe that's why it's not working. Because she didn't fall asleep thinking about me like I was about her...**_ his thoughts were disrupted by a pair of soft lips gently brushing against his own. That he was surprised would've been an understatement. Her eyes caught his and he was lost in the depth of brown. Just as he was pulling her in for another taste of these wonderful soft lips he felt something pull him away from her. His fingers slipped out between hers until he could no longer feel their warmth. Hermione seemed to fade away like a mere memory of something long past. Then, she was gone.

His eyes opened with the twitch of his shoulder that reacted to something shaking it harshly. "Had a nice dream?" Viktor shot up in alarm, his hand reaching for the wand on his night stand. "Don't bother! You know I could out-hex you with my arms tied behind my back!" a voice he knew all to well whispered close to his ear. Viktor turned his head to glare at the intruder. The tall form now stood beside his bed donning a smug smile that Viktor very much wanted to wipe off his face. Strands of blonde silky hair partially covered the green eyes that had haunted him since he was a little boy. His voice was lined with hatred collected over many years when he replied "**leave my room, Alexej**!"

ooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

_That must've been one of the strangest dreams ever!_ Hermione thought yawning and stretching herself. When her arms dropped back down in front of her she studied her fingers. _And it felt soo... weird... almost real!_ Suddenly she remembered the dreams of Viktor she had not too long ago and her cheeks flushed a gentle red. _But this time was different... I..._ her blush deepened at the thought of herself being the initiator this time. A soft pop ripped the Gryffindor out of her thoughts. Her eyes found the source of the noise to her left. A pair of big round eyes gazed up at her, which caused a smile to appear on her lips. "You must be Mingels" she said, propping herself up against the head board. A pair of oversized gray ears flopped slightly as the little house elf nodded. "Nice to meet you!" Her smile widened a bit as she noticed that Mingels actually wore clothes, a purple dress to be exact.

"Mingels came to wake the lady and tell her that breakfast vill be ready in twenty minutes" The house elf bowed after her squeaky voice had finished her message and disappeared with another silent pop. Hermione was surprised at how well the elf's english was and wondered if house elfs just knew or magically taught themselves different languages or if the Krums had taught her. For some reason she could not remember ever reading anything about this topic. Maybe she should look into this whenever she returned to Hogwarts.

But for right now she had to take care of a different matter. She hurriedly left her room and crossed the corridor towards the room Viktor had told her to be the bathroom. Her hand hadn't even touched the handle as it went down seemingly on its own. Hermione jumped back in surprise and stared at the opening door. Her surprise intensified as her eyes met blonde hair and green eyes instead of the expected dark hair and brown eyes she had dreamt of last night. The young man didn't waste any time checking her out. She could almost feel his eyes all over her body and took another step back while she cautiously folded her arms in front of her chest. "kahk seh kahzvahte, xubav momicheje?" Hermione was now completely thrown off. "I... I... sorry... I don't..." was all she could manage to answer while the blonde man in front of her was flashing her a smile that made her even more uncomfortable.

At her stuttering he seemed to realize that she wasn't speaking bulgarian and nodded to emphasize it. "I apologize. Did not know you do not speak bulgarsk." Hermione relaxed a little, now knowing that he could speak her language. "That's alright" she said quickly, hoping that the conversation would end with this and she could go to the bathroom. "I vos asking for your name" he took a step toward her, his eyes fixed on hers. "My name is Hermione Granger" she answered short, tearing her eyes away from his intense gaze and eyeing the bathroom door. She did not see the knowing smile that formed upon the strangers lips. _Please, I really need to go..._ He now offered his hand to her. Not wanting to seem unfriendly, she reached out for it. "My name is Alexej!" he breathed, bowing down while he grabbed her hand and made to kiss the back of it.

"Ah... you must be Viktors brother!" she smiled, interrupting his advances at the same time. Not waiting for him to answer she just went on "I'm sorry, but I really need to..." Hermione pulled her hand back before his lips could touch it and pointed towards the room Alexej had just left. He bowed slightly and sidestepped to let her pass him. Relieved Hermione entered the bathroom. Before she could shut the door Alexej raised his voice again. "Did you come for Viktors Birthday?"

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'Elyubem Eneselda' - Pleasure Sheets 

"kahk seh kahzvahte, xubav momicheje" - what's your name, pretty girl?


End file.
