A Year Abroad (Hermione/Viktor)

Changing Places

Hermione stood before Dumbledore in his office. It had needed to be reconstructed after the battle, but the only visible damage now was a scuff here and a scratch there. The battle had been short in length, but it had seemed like an eternity to Hermione. She was only fifteen and having been in a war at such a young age had wounded her, both mentally and physically.
"Sit, Hermione." Dumbledore instructed. Hermione sat and looked up at him with curiosity in her eyes.
"You must be wondering why you are here." He smiled down at her softly, the large scar across his face glaring pink and angry. She nodded in response.
"Well, as you know, the war is over. You fought bravely and you helped massively in conjuring all of the horcruxes." Hermione blushed, she had always had a knack for conjuring.
"Thank you, Sir." She replied, averting her eyes to the ground.
"However, I'm afraid I must ask more of you." Dumbledore apologised and her eyes returned to look up at him, with anxiety and curiosity washing over her face.
"The leader of the Board of Education has ordered me to send five of my finest students to both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons in order to promote solidarity amongst the wizarding schools of Europe." Hermione sat back and pondered the idea, unsure of which she would prefer: to be surrounded by snooty women or stampeded by brutish Bulgarian beasts. Both prospects seemed rather dreadful.
"I am sending you, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Seamus Finnigan and Cormac Mclaggen to Durmstrang for the year." He stated flatly. Hermione felt her face fall, she couldn't imagine studying anywhere but Hogwarts, it was her home.
"But Sir, Durmstrang does not admit muggle-born students."
"It does now." Hermione heard herself swallow her words. She looked up at Dumbledore with wide eyes, filled with terror.
"Listen, I know it is not the best of situations, but keep an open mind. You might even enjoy yourself." He smiled encouragingly at her. She nodded, knowing that it could not be helped.

Hermione left Dumbledore's office and returned to class. She had been asked to send Harry, no doubt he was being shipped off to beauxbatons, splitting the trio over the spans of Europe.
"Harry, Dumbledore wants to see you." Hermione's voice quivered, shaking with fear.
"'Mione, are you alright?" Harry asked, placing a hand on her forearm.
"Yes, yes. You go." She insisted, feeling as if tears would spill over onto her cheeks at any moment. She turned over her cup in divination class, the herbs made up a thin long sliver of a shape.
"Ah, very interesting, very interesting indeed." Professor Trelawney stared into the cup.
"You will experience a change in your life, meet new people and gain many memorable experiences." Hermione huffed, it was all a bunch of nonsense anyway, she didn't truly believe in any of it. But how had it been so accurate to her situation? She let out a groan and threw her head into her hands, not wanting to think about it any longer.

Harry had received the news that he was travelling to France for a year and was delighted. He had gone through so much, he had died for merlin's sake! It would be nice for him to have a break and relax with the ladies of Beauxbatons. He sat with Hermione at dinner and bubbled with excitement.
"It's me, Cedric, Cho, Lavender and Ron. A nice bunch, don't you think?" Hermione felt her bottom lip begin to quiver. Harry and Ron would not be separated, they would not be alone as she was.
"I'm sure you'll have a great time. All of you." Hermione attempted to sound positive.
"And you're off to Durmstrang with Neville, that's exciting." Harry chimed to her, attempting to fill her with anticipation. However, this was done in vain.
"Yes, I suppose you could call it that." She droned.
"I'm heading to bed, I'm not feeling well." Before Harry could say anything, Hermione was gone. He shook off his worry and turned to Lavender, and began chatting about all of the things they were looking forward to in France.

Hermione laid in bed, looking up at the ceiling. When she came to think of it, she didn't even know what Durmstrang looked like. She had seen paintings of the famous ship, but never the building itself. She wondered if it was made of hard grey stone, or perhaps it was made of wood like the magnificent ship she had read about so many times. Whatever it looked like, it was not Hogwarts and that was enough for her to decide that she disliked it.
"Don't you think it's just wonderful?" Luna asked Hermione.
"An opportunity to see so many creatures. I wonder if they have snarfuncles?" Hermione rolled her eyes. She was fond of Luna, but her insistent rambling about creatures that Hermione was not entirely sure existed was very dull at times.
"I just don't want to be away from Hogwarts. Especially at an all boys institute." Hermione moaned, Luna blushed and raised her eyebrows in shock, before composing herself.
"Don't worry yourself about that. I'm sure spending time with boys for so long has made them very fond of their own sex and not curious at all of women." Once again, Hermione rolled her eyes. Although she did not think of herself as a prize piece, Luna most certainly was. Although she was a little strange at times, her hair was long and white blonde, her eyes were crystal blue and she held herself with a delicate posture. Hermione feared for Luna. Her looks matched with her naivety could lead her into some very difficult situations. I must keep an eye on her, for her own sake. Hermione thought to herself, knowing that they were representatives of the school.

Hermione embraced Harry and then Ron, who were leaving a day earlier than herself. They seemed positively delighted to be travelling to France. She wondered if she were travelling to Beauxbatons, if she would be happier and decided that no, no she would not.
"Write to me, okay?" Ron asked her and she nodded in reply.
"Of course." She whispered. Then, they were gone, waving on their way. Soon, they boarded the vessel and disappeared into the mist. Hermione smiled and shook her head, they had worked so hard in the war, given so much that they deserved a kind of holiday, surrounded by beautiful French women no less.

Their bags were packed in less that two days and they were escorted onto a small rickety boat. Hermione didn't like to think of the condition of the vessel, knowing that it would only worry her further.
"I will miss it, being away from Hogwarts." Neville mused beside her, his sadness reaching his voice.
"I shall too Neville. I love Hogwarts, and I can't imagine learning magic anywhere else." Hermione agreed, staring longingly at the castle as they left.
"Oh, but you must be positive. We'll have a great time, I am sure of it!" Cormac boomed in his loud deep voice.
"Shut up, will ya? Let us enjoy our last look at the school for a year, you idiot!" Seamus called to him, hitting him lightly. Cormac soon fell silent. Seamus had changed immeasurably during the war. He had fought valiantly for a boy of such a young age. But killing, even if it was Voldemort's followers, had taken its toll on him and caused a new mature sadness to creep into his soul.

They sat in silence for the majority of the trip. Neville showed Hermione his latest herbology anthology, Luna sat reading a Quibbler and both Seamus and Cormac had fallen asleep. Hermione looked about the group and thought to herself what good company she was in. Neville was kind and caring. Luna was amusing to talk with, but underneath all of her small talk, the bonds she held were held tightly. Seamus, despite being a little volatile and pessimistic, was calm and grounded, a quality Hermione was sure would be useful to them all at one point or another. And Cormac, well Hermione hoped that Cormac would show a useful quality sooner rather than later.

When they arrived, they were escorted off of the boat by Hagrid, who had chaperoned them.
"Now you folks have a good time! And send old Hagrid a letter every now and then to let me know you're all okay." Hermione promised that she would and she couldn't help noticing the gleam of a tear as Hagrid unpacked their things. Acting completely on impulse, she wrapped her arms around him, as far as they would go and held onto him tightly.
"I shall miss you, Hagrid." She whispered against him.
"You know I'll miss you too, Hermione." He pulled her away to arm's length.
"I mean it, send me a letter every now and then to let me know that you're alright. I worry about you, in this harsh weather surrounded by these mean men." Hermione smiled up at him, chuckling slightly at his fussing.
"I shall send a letter every two weeks, Hagrid, that is a promise." Hermione stated, nodding in certainty. Their farewell was sweet, despite short and soon enough they were alone, five teenagers, faced with a school and country they had never stepped foot in before.