A Year Abroad (Hermione/Viktor)

Three Men

Hermione was used to spending the strange, delirious part of the year between Christmas and New Year at home. However, this was not to be. Durmstrang returned to lessons on the 29th of December. Hermione could not think of why it had to be so soon, but she went along with the strange rules, grateful for the time that she had spent with Viktor's family.

They all knew about Hermione and Viktor, but none of them brought it up, hoping that Viktor would begin the conversation. However, he did not. His family were disappointed, they enjoyed Hermione massively and they wanted Viktor to be confident enough to be open with them about her.

Saying goodbye to the Krum family was hard for Hermione. She had not had a lot of time to get to know them, but she felt a connection with them, from their warmth and kindness. Ada sent her away with chocolates and her address, so that Hermione could keep them filled in with her life. Their embrace lingered and Ada felt almost as if she had gained the daughter she had always wanted for a short while and now she was going, far too soon. Andon held her hand as they waved Hermione and Viktor off. Ada's bottom lip quivered as she saw them apparate.
"For whom do you cry?" Andon asked his wife. He knew what had happened, what bond had been formed and he could only hope, for his wife's sake, that Viktor treated her with care and kindness, as he had with Ada.

The bond between Ada and Hermione was not one sided, Hermione found it very difficult to say goodbye. She sat opposite Viktor on the train and stared at his sleeping face. She had enjoyed the intimacy with him, but where did it leave them? What happened now? The only way she could manifest her thoughts was to write them down, in her diary.

I do not know where I stand. Am I his girlfriend? Are we still just friends? Does he truly care for me or was I just a bit of fun whilst he was at home? So many questions I don't know how to ask. Even if I did know how to ask them, I am not convinced I would want the answer. I am sure that whatever we have will not be public once we are back at Durmstrang. I care for him, deeply. But I do not know how to do this, I have never had to deal with these kinds of issues before!

Writing helped and once Hermione had purged her mind, she was able to drift off into slumber. It was now Viktor's turn to contemplate his situation. He wanted her, and he couldn't stand the thought of someone else having her. But he was unsure how to pursue the situation. It was perfect at his home, with no one but his family to watch over them. But with a school full of boys, what was he to do? Could he date her openly? He was sure that he could not. And she did not deserve some backhanded romance. He sighed, this should have been simple, but he could not seem to comprehend its complexity.

Before they knew it they had arrived at Durmstrang and Hermione was surprised to feel a warm homely feel from the cold castle. They were forced to split ways once they returned, having to unpack their things. Viktor was soon bombarded by his quidditch team mates.
"Viktor! Have you heard?" They all shouted out to him.
"Heard what?" He responded and he felt his stress levels rise as their faces dropped.
"I have received word that I can only take three candidates with me to the Triwizard tournament at Hogwarts next year." Chigvintsev announced. Viktor let out a sigh.
"As you know, there are far more than three of you looking to compete in the tournament. I wish I could take you all, but this is not the case." He stated reverently.
"I want to take you Viktor, you are the finest student I have. But I need you to be focused on the tournament and nothing else. You keep your grades high and your fitness up then you will have no problems, understood?" Chigvintsev asked.
"Yes, of course." Viktor replied.

He left the office distraught. If he went to Hogwarts, he could have another year with Hermione, but in order to do so he would have to practically ignore her for the remainder of her time at Durmstrang. He knew it was not the best option, but it was the only one he had.

Hermione had heard the news from Neville.
"They're only taking three men." He whispered to her. She fell into silence. Hermione knew what the Triwizard tournament meant to Viktor and she knew that she could not get in the way of his goals. Part of her was glad, now all of those horrible questions did not need to be asked, there need not be an awkward conversation, he would merely replace her with his training, and she would occupy herself, she was sure.

Training had begun straight away for Viktor. He was up before sunrise, eating breakfast and then training. He would then quickly fly through his lessons, trying to absorb as much information as possible. His day would end with individual quidditch training and an early curfew. After the first week, Viktor knew that he was going to struggle with this regime. He barely saw anyone on his strange timetable, especially the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else.

Hermione got used to not seeing him. It was hard and she found herself shedding a tear now and then, but she knew it was for the best, best for Viktor. She had begun spending more time with Neville. It seemed he had been very serious in his new year's resolution to make up for deeds done against her. Hermione enjoyed their time together. They did not speak very often, they usually sat and worked on their individual projects. Hermione would study, or on the odd occasion blow glass and Neville would practice his herbology. It was a symbiotic relationship, one that was simply kept.

Viktor hardly ever saw her, but when he did, she was with the boy who could not fly. He had never seen them speaking, they would either be walking in silence, or sat in silence. He wondered how they maintained a friendship, when it seemed like they barely ever spoke.

New year came and went and nobody really noticed.
"I guess it's not really celebrated here." Neville said to Hermione.
"I suppose not. Happy new year, Neville." She stated and they shared a smile.

At first, Hermione seemed fine. But as the days turned into weeks, Neville noticed Hermione becoming depressed. He had not spoken to her about it, until one afternoon they sat together and he watched her stare at her diary for many minutes, not writing anything.
"Talk to me Hermione, please." Neville begged her. Hermione sighed.
"I don't know what there is to say." She stated, not looking up at him.
"Just start with how you feel in this moment." He prompted her.
"I don't know how I'm feeling. I think it's rather rude what he has done, disappearing as he has." She ran a hand through her hair.
"I have not spoken once to him since we have been back. How is that possible?! I know the tournament is important to him but I never thought it would be like this." She blew a hair out of her face in a puff.
"Don't get too down. Thing's will get better." Neville took this as a verbal contract, a promise to Hermione that he was going to do all that he could to amend this situation.