Hermione X Viktor: An Unforeseen Connection

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Hermione rifled through the stack of books before her, searching for the copy of an ancient scripture she was expected to analyse.

It was the Saturday after the First Task, and there was still an excited buzz around the school as people babbled about each of the champions with excessive detail. Ron and Harry were friends again, it seemed, though Hermione had paid little attention to the dispute since she knew how Ron could overreact about the smallest of things; he had proven her right yet again, though she didn’t feel the need to remind him of it...again.

 She had spent the past two days studying for an Ancient Runes exam - since students were allowed to take the day after the First Task off school, she'd decided to get ahead on her work. Studying offered Hermione time to relax away from the other students, since no one she knew studied Ancient Runes, but she had become quite aware that the library was quickly filling with people, which was a strange thing to happen early on a weekend morning. She wouldn’t have minded the library being occupied by others, however, had it not been for a particular group of girls nearby. She glanced up at them - five Ravenclaws, a year above Hermione – and tried to listen to their conversation.

They were all facing her direction and excitedly whispering behind their blue and white scarves, inaudible to Hermione who sat just out of earshot. One of the girls looked up and caught Hermione’s eye, and her face suddenly burned with rage and her expression became menacing as if she had once had a disagreement with Hermione. Hermione quickly looked back to her books, thinking whether she even knew the Ravenclaw. No memories sprang to mind.

The girls suddenly began giggling again, only louder and more obnoxiously this time. Hermione’s cheeks flushed with annoyance and she turned in her seat to grab her coat to leave, but then she caught someone’s eye behind a bookcase and quickly twisted back around. A boy’s eyes, black as night, but filled with warmth; it was Viktor, she was sure of it. Instead of being happy the girls weren't giggling at her, she was annoyed that sixteen year olds could be so childish. Imagine following a person just to watch them study, Hermione thought. How could anyone be so foolish? She snatched up her books with a final glare in the Ravenclaw girl’s general direction, and stalked out of the library without a glance behind.

She entered the third floor corridor and took a turn to the right.

Her grades would suffer this year, she noted, thinking of all the events that were to take place because of the stupid tournament. She wondered why she was able to possess self control around attractive people and how other people could be so obvious about it. Ron was the same when he first saw Fleur Delacour and the other Beauxbaton students. Of course, the infatuation with Fleur was more understandable since she was part veela, (siren-like creatures that had the ability to charm males) but people didn’t have to be so apparent with their feelings – it made others uncomfortable.

The early morning sunlight beamed through the high windows, lighting up the stone walls and casting shadows under the rows of suits of armour that stood on both sides of the corridor. Hermione’s footsteps echoed as she headed toward the Grand Staircase, and she was so concentrated on stressing about her grades that she didn’t hear Viktor’s hurried footsteps approach her. A hand on her shoulder was what it took to snap her out of her own mind, and she swung around to meet the boy.

“Herm-own-ninny.”

“Viktor,” she said, surprised. She scanned him up and down only to notice he held something that belonged to her.

“Your jacket,” he said, thrusting it enthusiastically towards her. She had forgotten how thick his accent was. She tilted her head before quickly realising in her hurry to leave the library she must have left it behind.