Chocolate Enchantment

36: Jealous Rages and Bequests, and 37: Gathering Pieces, Making Amends

Chapter 36: Jealous Rages and Bequests

Hermione expected Viktor to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron any minute now. He offered to pick her up at her home, wanting to meet her parents, but she put him off. His last letter detailing his trip plans had made it plain he was hoping for something more than friendship. She wondered if the hints she'd given in her previous letter—that she was involved with someone—had perhaps been too subtle for the Bulgarian's incomplete grasp of English. Maybe she should have learned from what it took to dissuade Ron and been straight-out blunt instead.

Both Ron and Harry would be joining them for dessert after lunch ended, but Ron was working at the twins' shop that morning, and Harry had arranged to meet Ginny for some 'flying practice' at the Burrow—she wasn't going to speculate about what else they might get up to. Hermione felt a pang of guilt for not telling Severus about her meeting with Viktor, but she intended the meeting to put their relationship on the appropriate footing—distant friendship—and she didn't want to complicate things any more than necessary. Telling Severus would definitely have complicated things for her.

When Viktor came in, Hermione thought he had never looked so handsome before. As a rule, people wouldn't consider Viktor handsome with his heavy brow and jutting nose, but he grew on her the more she got to know him. Still, her husband was far more appealing to her in every possible way.

Viktor smiled when he found her sitting at the table in the center of the room. She had been offered a more remote corner table, but hadn't wanted to encourage him with too much privacy. "Hello Hermione. You look beautivul today, as alvays."

She blushed at his words. No one but Viktor had ever told her she was beautiful. Her husband enjoyed her looks, to some extent, she knew, but he wasn't one to express those types of feelings. "Thank you, Viktor. You're right on time, as usual. Please sit."

He did and they ordered their meals. While they waited for lunch, Hermione quizzed him about his trip, about his career, and everything else she could come up with that would keep the conversation on an even keel. When he looked like he planned to pick up her hand from the table, she pulled it back and fussed with her hair for a moment, as though she hadn't noticed his intent, then kept her hands to herself.

By the time Viktor got through answering all of her questions, the food had arrived and they were halfway through the meal. Hermione was watching the door, looking for Ron and Harry, praying one or both of them would show soon before the conversation got sticky. It was time she mentioned Severus somehow, though she hadn't been able to decide the best way. She took a sip of her water, then feeling a presence, glanced back at the door again. She winced when she saw her husband standing in the entrance in his glamoured form. She felt his intense anger rolling through her.

"Hermione, it's so good to speak vith you like this. I have missed our talks," Viktor was saying as Severus made his way across the room. If her husband had been wearing his usual bat getup, his robes would definitely have been flaring out behind him.

Before she had a chance to respond to Viktor, Severus was at their table. The depth of his rage astounded her; it was far greater than when she had admitted to him about telling the boys of their marriage, yet his face looked serene. "Well, hello, dear, I forgot you said Viktor Krum would be in town." He turned to Viktor and held out a hand. "It's so good to finally meet you. She's mentioned her dear, old friend Viktor several times over the months we've been dating."

Viktor took Severus' hand in a daze and shook it. When they let go, Severus slid into the booth beside Hermione and picked up a chip from her plate, popping it into his mouth. If it weren't for the feedback she was getting from him through the bond, Hermione would have been certain someone had put a fake in his place. This glamoured version of himself wasn't acting at all like Severus.