Goblet of Fire (Male Reader x Hermione) - Book 3

Heartbreak (spoilers...or are they?)

"Why do they always travel in packs?" Harry questioned, referring to the collections of girls all around the courtyard as one. "How are you supposed to get one alone to ask them?"

"Blimey Harry, you've slayed dragons! IF you can't get a date then who can?" Ron asked as we weaved in and out of the crowds. "Y/N how do you get Hermione to do that gawkey staring thing? How do you interact with her when she's with her friends?"

I thought about it for a moment, questioning myself as to how I did it. I rarely caught her with a large group of other girls so that made things a lot easier but that wouldn't satisfy the lads. I used my words of wisdom to give them an encouraging boost. "I guess in that case there is a natural attraction, pull even between us. Like magnets. In other words, you just gotta suck it up, walk up to them and do it. Nothing worse than not trying," I said gesturing over to a bunch of the Beauxbaton girls in blue. The two boys nodded at one another, signalling an approach and leaving me to watch. As they approached, they caught the attention in the right way by firming the entry but they decided to stop for no reason and smiled in a rather creepy way. The girls stared in...ok I'm not going to sugar coat it, they stared in disgust. With the swiftest motion I'd seen them pull off, they both swerved away from the awkward confrontation, facing me with grim looks of defeat and low morality.

"I'd rather be facing the dragon right now," Harry solemnly said.

We later found ourselves studying by the lake. Well I say studying but in reality I had been wanting to get back into my swimming and the ice cold lake at this time of the year would be perfect training to keep my fire control levels in peak condition. I stretched and leant over so that I touched my toes, feeling the burn in by hamstring and making sure that I could minimise the risk of an injury at such a crucial time of the year. Although it might have looked crazy, I was clad in only a loose t-shirt and some rather fitted swimmers that made the other guys laugh from behind me.

"Oi oi look who's here," Harry said, obviously trying his best to spur me on at the introduction of Rusanov and Viktor. Viktor, much like me, was scarcely dressed and as he passed by, his eyes fell upon Hermione and I didn't need to turn around to know that she too was looking at him. Now, regrettably, I got jealous at this and decided to one up him and his fan girl group even more by removing my shirt so that I had the full swimmer's outfit on.

"Mate you're bloody bonkers if you're swimming in that water at this time of the year, Russian or not. And you're even crazier considering you aren't wearing a bloody wetsuit!" He added after a jeer at the reveal of my topless torso.

"I don't need a shirt," I said coldly, forcing my head to look at the water as I approached it and dived in. The coldness infiltrated my mind, forcing my fire to turn on without me asking it to just so that I might stand a chance of living. Slowly the warmth filled me again and I found a rhythm in swimming back and forth, releasing frustration in the occasional heavy kick mid-stroke. One thing I loved about swimming was that it gave you time to think, time to consider what's really going in your life and by doing so, I came to the conclusion that I was going to get in before anyone else had a chance to. I was going to ask Hermione to the ball before Rusanov or more importantly Viktor had a chance and as I left the water, I ran a hand over my head and face and flicked the water away, pleased to see that a certain brunette was now looking over at me instead.

A girl dressed heavily in blue ran past my three friends, picking up my towel on the way and came down to the shore where I stood, bewildered at the her sudden appearance and action. "Lord Y/N you must be freezing!" Fleur remarked, throwing the towel over my head and giving it a good scrub. "Here get warm or you'll die from hypothermia!" She said, her French accent thicc and heavy...pause.

"I'm...I'll live," I smiled sheepishly, suddenly realising that in my moment of heated jealousy that I had indeed taken my top off and I was now half naked for more to see than I would feel comfortable showing. I took control of the rubbing and swung the shirt over my torso so that I was properly covered up and offered my thanks to the French champion. Supposedly she had made her way here in order to find out what kind of training Viktor was doing so that she could match it but once she had seen me here she had, quote on quote, "lost interest in his regime"...whatever that is meant to mean. I let her go and returned to the group, plopping down in an embarrassed ball of confusion and annoyance. Why did I let my nature get the better of me? Ah jheeze I was such a MORON! There was no way I could ask Hermione out right now could I...especially not after that look she gave Viktor...what if she turned me down?

Time Skip

The last day of term was coming up and I still hadn't plucked up the courage to ask Hermione out. You would have thought that the donny who had fought a dragon with his fists would be able to but NOOOOO I was straight up being controlled by my nerves and I hated it with a passion.

Pulling on my sweater in hope of an extra spurt of warmth, I listened in to Ron again hoping that his conversation would drag me out of my own mind. "At this rate we will be the only ones in the year without dates!" Ron complained before taking a heavy beating from the mighty Severus Snape, god of potions and Asgard...I'll stop. "Well, us and Neville!"

"Hey I'd leave the guy alone you know," I laughed at the idiocy of the two guys opposite. "The lad has got himself a date before any of us...and he stood up to dance before you."

The ginger boy gasped, frightened that he had actually been bested by the "quiet one". Fred threw a note over to Ron before asking a girl further down the table meaning that Ron had not only lost to Neville but also everyone else in his entire family...the poor guy was taking L's from every direction.

"Well Hermione, you're a girl," Ron said as if it were a wise thing to do.

"OH well spotted," she huffed back, done with his childish manner. Ron wasn't about to...he couldn't possibly...

"Come on it's one thing for a bloke to show up alone but for a girl it's just sad."

"I won't be going alone because BELIEVE IT OR NOT someone's asked me! AND I SAID YES!" She said storming off out of the hall. Wait hold on HOLD ON. Had she just said-

I jumped up from the table and practically forced my book at Snape before I ran off out of the hall in trail of Miss Granger. I ducked and slid passed the crowds of people in the hall until I finally caught sight of her running up the stairs. "Hermione! 'MIONE WAIT!" I said as crowds of Gryffindor's swarmed me and clambered passed in order to get to the common room first. One the sea of chaos had parted, I was surprised to see that the person in question had actually heard me and waited for me at the top. "Hermione, I uhh," I said stuck on how to phrase what I was about to say. "I mean, what you just said in the hall...are you going with Viktor?"

Her eyes betrayed her and they turned softer and softer by the second and as she too thought of what to say, I felt the seconds pass by each a year long. "I am going with Viktor," she said pushing her hair back behind her ear...she did that when she had something to say. "I hope that's alright. I know he's from Durmstrang and you're versing him in the cup but...I'm sorry."

I strained my smile this time, not able to fake it properly but nevertheless still trying to hide my inner feelings...the feelings that I had deluded for so long that I had actually lost the girl I wanted. "No no I just wanted to...to...to congratulate you? And uhh whatever Ron said in there, he's just an idiot. I don't and I'm sure Harry doesn't share his beliefs. I'm ugh, I'm ugh going to go train a bit now. I'll see y0u in the...in the common room," I managed to finish. I couldn't believe what I had done. It felt like I had lost everything, that there was nothing else to strive for. Sure I had the tournament but that would come and go. The feelings I had unearthed just recently certainly wouldn't and there I was just a few days ago telling myself that I would ask her out before anyone. No. She was simply going because she liked him better than me. I should just accept it and move on...no matter how hard it would be.

A/N: Another mediocre chapter but yeah, my first weekly update on a Sunday I know poor from me. I'll try my best to have another out tonight but yeah, going with Hermione was never part of my plan actually XD. I just feel it adds more drama I guess. Until next time thought, I'll see you in a bizzle and peace-