Rating:
PG-13
House:
Astronomy Tower
Characters:
Hermione Granger Viktor Krum
Genres:
General Romance
Era:
Multiple Eras
Stats:
Published: 06/09/2003
Updated: 11/20/2003
Words: 224,686
Chapters: 100
Hits: 71,003

Past Present

Miss Yetigoosecreature

Story Summary:
Hermione, Harry, and Ron visit Viktor Krum in Bulgaria and discover there's a lot more to Viktor's past than they could have imagined.

Chapter 16

Chapter Summary:
In this chapter a very tired Viktor blurts out something slightly startling over pancakes. Itty bitty tiny chapter. So tiny that even though it used ot be two chapters, they barely made the minimum limit combined. Wordcount from now on with tiny chapters. Confessions and pancakes, I suppose.
Posted:
06/20/2003
Hits:
866

The three of them came out late in the morning, nearly noon, really, standing with bleary eyes and messy hair and dressing gowns in the hall. Viktor's door was still firmly closed. "Wouldn't be surprised if he locked the door and put a trunk in front of it," Ron observed.

"Well, he did do everything we did yesterday, plus play in a match. No wonder he was tired last night. Wish I could have stayed awake for the carriage, but all that dancing wore me out," Hermione said, stretching.

"That was nice," Harry pointed out, "I was the only one who managed to stay awake all the way home."

"So," Hermione said casually, "would you two like to go to the opening ball at Durmstrang? Viktor said the invitation stands, and he could arrange it if we want to go."

"Durmstrang? I don't know, Mum would probably have a fit, but maybe if Viktor were to ask her, or better yet, ask Dad first, he would probably let me go," Ron speculated.

"I'm sure I could go," Harry said. "Are you sure you would want us to?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll be nearly sixteen, but I still bet Mum and Dad would be a lot more likely to say yes if you two go along. Besides, you two have to dance with the lovely Katrina! And the more the merrier I always..." Hermione replied, but was interrupted by the rattling of a doorknob.

Viktor's door swung open and he stood there, in long shorts and bare feet, hair a bit wild, eyes half open, light black circles under his eyes. He sighed, rubbed a hand down his face, then muttered, "Votever you decide, I vould be glad to talk to whomever you vont me to, in votever order, but quit haffing a conference outside my door." He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair, smoothing it slightly. "Confer at breakfast. Or lunch, or votever meal ve manage to stumble downstairs for. I am going to go get dressed, then dunk my head in the sink and hope I do not drown..." he finished thickly, pushing the door together quietly.

Hermione laughed and put a hand over her mouth, "I forgot. He told me he sleeps lightly. The other day I woke him up just by walking across the grass when he was asleep in the orchard, and I thought I was being quiet. I'm used to you two sleeping like the dead. We must have sounded like a bunch of hens to him."

They all broke up when a muffled but still forceful and somewhat indignant "Yes!" came through Viktor's door.

Shortly afterwards, they all managed to struggle down to the table for a meal. "You're going to pass out in your plate, Viktor, sorry we woke you," Hermione jostled his elbow, which was resting on the table.

He removed his curled fingers from over his mouth, continuing to prop his chin. "It is okay. If you had not, I vould be slouching around much too late tonight, grumpy as ever. Besides, I vos haffing a very nice dream, and maybe I vould not remember it at all if you had not been talking so loud."

He gave a wan smile in the direction of his plate, repositioned his hand under his chin, and poked a bite of pancake. Hermione thought he looked too pale and haggard to be up, but he had protested that he shouldn't sleep any later when she asked if he wanted to go back to bed before they came downstairs. This despite the fact that he had initially answered her query in Bulgarian, without noticing. "Okay, so, you told me 'ne' means 'no', but you'll have to work out the rest of your answer for me in a language I actually understand," she had said. They all opted for breakfast fare when Nikolas had petitioned Anya and Anya had given them the choice. Viktor was so exhausted, he was even chewing with his chin propped.

"I can see why your dad voted with us on the second breakfast, Viktor. These pancakes are incredible," Ron said.

"What were you dreaming?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Some remembered bits and pieces from last night, I guess. Music, dancing, firevorks. The mountains. I remember seeing some of the buildings in Sofia. Some of the mountains around Durmstrang. And a meadow, a lake, some flowers. Nothing fancy, not much vent on. Just... images, mostly, places I haff been."

Harry laughed and said, "Doesn't sound too exciting to me, Viktor. Not after the last few days you've had." Viktor finally took his chin off the heel of his hand and took a drink of milk before answering.

"I did not say it vos exciting. Nor particularly nice. But it is the first real dream I remember haffing in years that vos not a nightmare," Viktor blurted out, swallowing hard and examining his plate, looking as though he wished he could have those last words back. They all got the feeling he would never have said it if he hadn't been tired, so they didn't push further. They all knew by now Viktor couldn't be pressed. Viktor did things on his own timetable. They learned that faster than Karkaroff.