The Bulgarian Bonbon
"I can't believe she's done it again!" Hermione slammed the Daily Prophet down on the table.
"Who?" asked Ron.
"Rita Skeeter," she said as she grabbed the paper and began reading. "Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian bonbon, Viktor Krum. No word yet on how Harry Potter is taking this latest emotional blow."
Harry continued eating his cereal clearly unbothered by the news. He didn't care about those who read what she wrote. He was well aware that she was lying most of the time, probably everyone knew it too, so why worry? But he didn't understand why she was messing with Hermione, also Viktor Krum?
"Hermione...why is Skeeter writing about you?"
Her eyebrows knitted. "I told you before! I reported her for demeaning Hagrid and calling him a terrible teacher. Well, he is obviously not the best, but she had no right to refer to him as such!"
"If you mess with Skeeter, you're doomed," Ron intervened and something else caught his attention. "Oi, I got a mail from mum!" Ron turned to his side; a little boy was holding a package almost the size of himself. He was staring at Harry, who was now visibly uneasy. Ron nudged the boy, "Later, Nigel." The boy ran, and Hermione looked at him questioningly. "I promised I would get Harry's autograph for him." Hermione shook her head unapprovingly and told him to open the package.
What came out of the package captured everyone's attention. It seemed to be a ragged coat with laces. Hermione knew exactly what it was, but she just didn't know how to tell Ron. "What is this thing?" He walked up to Ginny."Ginny, I think this is yours."
She looked at it with a disgusted expression on her face. "I'll never wear that."
Hermione could no longer contain herself. "It's a dress robe! And it's not for Ginny, it's for you!" Gryffindor table wasn't the only table laughing at him. Ravenclaws had overheard the whole conversation. "Me?! What will I do with this?"
•-•
McGonagall called all the Gryffindors to an empty classroom and gave them a small lecture about the etiquettes of the Yule Ball. They tried learning the moves, some were already good at it, but the others, Ron for example, were having a bit of a hard time adjusting. Hermione practised with Harry and Fred that day and thought it was enough for now since men would lead the dance.
The trio was out by the lake the next day, talking about the ball. "How about that girl from Hufflepuff?" Ron asked Harry.
"Seamus asked her already." Harry sighed.
"Seamus? Seamus got a date?" Ron seemed sincerely shocked. "I'm telling you, man, we're screwed."
"How about Cho?" Hermione asked, her eyes still focused on her book. If she hadn't encouraged him, he wouldn't just go and ask her to the ball.
"Cho?" Harry played with his fingers. "She's always with her friends, I can't go up to her when she's with them."
"You slayed a dragon! How hard that can be?" asked Ron incredulously.
"I'd rather battle a dragon." Harry chuckled, but his tone seemed like he was serious about this,
Hermione could understand that approaching a girl in a group felt uncomfortable, and yes, Cho was always walking around with a small group of her friends. A much more confident person could easily ask a girl for the ball, but Hermione wasn't sure if anybody would approach her with her two boy friends at her side. Her thoughts were distracted by the sound of a group of girls' fast footsteps, and she glanced up to see what was going on. Five or six girls were following Viktor Krum as he was running and working out. He was aware of them, yet didn't seem to care at all. It wasn't something they haven't seen before; it had been only a day, but almost all the girls were trying to draw his attention to themselves. Hermione once saw a girl purposefully spilling her pumpkin juice on her breast to catch his eye, but all he did was snatch a handful of tissue, much to her surprise. He turned to look in their direction and Hermione averted her eyes; she hadn't told anyone about her encounter with the Bulgarian seeker. No one would even believe her anyway.
She stood up and placed her book in her bag. "Are you two coming?"
"To the library?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow. "No way I'm spending my weekend in there." He shook his head.
She scowled at him. "As you wish, Ronald, but you won't be getting my help when you need notes."
She saw the instant regret on his face, but that didn't change her mind; in fact, she knew deep down, she wanted to make him feel that way. She was so mad at him for some time. He would always comment about the library, books, and classes and then, ask for her help!
She had always felt closer to Harry, but it had never been exactly like that with Ron; they always had a bit of distance. She figured they were getting closer, after spending almost the whole summer together, maybe even more than friends. She had no idea what to make of it when he brought her tea one morning, not just any tea, but her favourite jasmine tea. However, he was going back to being himself the next second, praising the witches he'd seen in the magazine. Going on and on about how beautiful they are, how shiny their hair looks, and how glossy and pink their lips are.
Harry was never the sort to discuss such topics; he either nodded or simply agreed with him. He was never good at picking up on signals either; he wouldn't even notice when the girls talked about him. Ginny's crush on him was well-known, but he never saw her the same. Hermione knew he was interested in Cho Chang, but he couldn't seem to have a single coherent dialogue with her. He was very bad with girls.
On the other hand, if Hermione braided her hair differently or changed her perfume, Harry would acknowledge it, but Ron would never notice when she put extra work into her hair or bought a new sweater. She wanted to feel pretty, wanted, and charming, but the boy who had an eye for all the beauties in the wizarding world wouldn't notice the one closest to him and that confused her. She didn't have feelings for him, but hearing him talk about almost anyone but herself made her feel awful, she wanted to feel approved like everyone else. Was he thinking complimenting her on anything other than her mind would be awkward?
So stupid.
She approached the Librarian lady. "I will return this."
Madam Pince adjusted her glasses to read the title. "Let me see, ahh this one. You took it two days ago if my memory serves me correctly?", she checked the date on her notebook. "Correct, we might not have enough books for you, Ms. Granger." Hermione shrugged slightly as she watched her chuckle.
"Is everything alright, dear?"
"Yes, it's all good," she forced a smile.
Madam Pince gave a thoughtful look and glanced at the shelves. "Why don't you go in there then? I'm sure you'll find something that will cheer you up." She smiled and put a hand on her back.
She nodded before approaching a shelf, but she couldn't remember any book that she needed. It wasn't like Hermione to wander between the shelves without a target. She picked up a random book to use as a cover as she secretly glanced over to the Ravenclaw boy who seemed to be looking her way. He was rather skinny to her liking but she liked his hair anyway; dark brown and shiny. She wasn't sure if he wanted to ask her to the ball; he looked surprised, terrified even, but didn't stop looking at her.
"Oh, I vas looking for that!" When she heard the familiar sound so unexpectedly she almost fell on her ass, but he grabbed her arm immediately.
"Thanks," she muttered and straightened her skirt.
"Oh, no. It vas my fault Hermy-own, I apologize."
She chuckled quietly. "It's actually Hermy-oh-nee."
Viktor stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, " he said and used his thumb and index finger to cover his eyes. "No one warned me."
She pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing, he didn't have to feel more embarrassed. "It's fine now that you know," she casually took his hand away from his face and immediately froze. Why did it feel so weird to touch a boy other than Harry, Ron or her other close friends?
He looked at her, a faint grin on his lips. They both stood staring at each other until he turned his gaze to her hands gripping the book.
Hermione could feel her heart beating rapidly, what was he going to say? Should she have apologized, but that wouldn't make sense; he didn't seem bothered, not at all. As the thoughts were running through her head, she followed his gaze to her hands on the book.
"Oh! You said you were looking for this?" she passed the book over; she had no idea what was it even about.
He took it and ran through the pages, she wasn't sure if he was searching for a certain chapter or just procrastinating. "I thought I might be late,"
"Believe me, no one cares about the library these days. All everyone is thinking about is the ball."
He looked up at her, and seemed to be thinking as he pressed his lips. "I vas actually talking about that, the ball."
Hermione didn't understand, why would he feel he was late? "I think, you might have the highest luck in the whole school. Besides, not everyone is taken," He smiled a little, twisting his ring. "Are you...taken?"
Was he proposing to go to the ball with her? Why else would he want to know if she had been 'taken'? He stood there fixing his gaze on her. Oh no, he was asking her to the ball, she didn't assume anything.
"No," she muttered not being able to keep an eye contact with him, however, she didn't need to look at him to see the wide grin appearing on his face.
"In that case, Hermy-oh-NEE Granger, vould you go to the Yule Ball vith me?" He took her hand without her realizing it.
This was happening, the boy all the girls were after was asking Hermione Granger to the ball. If she said "yes" right at this moment, would her friends believe her? She had always been a plain Gryffindor intelligent, no one ever asked her out before, even muggles! She didn't know why was Viktor Krum holding her hand, waiting for her response when there were much better options? Godric's sake! He was still waiting.
She didn't know what to say and nodded as she smiled at him sweetly. Instead of kissing her hand like the last time, he lowered her hand without letting it go and stood right in front of her. He held a steady eye contact with her, and he was very much so close. Hermione's pulse quickened as she looked at him.
"I'll see you at the ball, then?" he caressed her hand with his thumb.
'Okay' was all she managed to say. He took another step closer to her, kissing her on the cheek before walking away.