Author's Note: I know it's been done... but after seeing angelguardian777's fanvid about Hermione and Viktor on YouTube... I just couldn't help it! I highly recommend watching it. Oh and DeniPie's Hermione/Viktor stories are beautifully written. Much better than anything I could have written. Go read them when you're done here. Also, I am writing this story with the Viktor Krum portrayed by Stanislav Ianevski in mind. He is just so hot.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any of the characters or places mentioned in this story.

"…" – speech

'…' – thoughts

Chapter One

(Hogwarts Library)

Viktor Krum.

He was the youngest player in the International Quidditch League. He had often been regarded as the best Seeker the world had ever seen. His Bulgarian bloodline had given him sharp masculine features, tan skin and a thick, chiseled body that every girl yearned to be held against. Krum's deep brown eyes and short cropped hair coupled with his superb Quidditch skills had many girls swooning and eagerly wishing that they could discover what other skills the Durmstrang champion may possess - first hand.

However, there was one girl who had not fallen victim to the handsome Seeker's charms. Hermione Granger, the bushy haired, some-what buck toothed wonder witch seemed to be the only teenage girl who was immune to Viktor Krum's rugged features. She had to admit; she had been quite taken by his good looks when she first spotted him flying at the Quidditch World Cup, but now his constant presence was getting ridiculous. Ever since he had arrived at Hogwarts he had spent all of his free time in the library, which would have been fine except for the fact that a gaggle of giggly Hogwarts girls had taken to stalking him. Hermione had no idea what possible business he could have here in her sanctuary. Didn't he have any books on that blasted ship he arrived in?

Today had been no different. Hermione had occupied a large reading table with rolls of parchment, bottles of ink, quills and various textbooks lying open, overlapping each other as she frantically scribbled sentence after sentence of her Charms essay on her unfurled roll of parchment. The prominent young witch looked up to dip the end of her quill into her bottle of ink when she caught a pair of eyes staring at her from behind a book in her peripheral vision. She turned her head to get a better look but the owner's face quickly disappeared behind the pages of his book.

'Krum?' Hermione shook her head incredulously. 'What am I thinking?'

What reason would Krum have to be interested in her? They have never had any contact with each other, unless sharing a library counted as an intimate conversation. Although, there had been times when she thought that he had wanted to say something to her. They had caught each other's gaze a few times since his arrival at Hogwarts; once at the introduction of the Triwizard Tournament, again when he entered his name into the Goblet of Fire and finally a couple of times in the library when she and Harry were poring over books before the First Task. They had only exchanged polite smiles before continuing minding their own business, but that was hardly a reason for either of them to desire more contact, right?

Hermione's quill suddenly slipped when she heard an unexpected squeal followed by a crowd of giggles. Her face contorted into a scowl when she realized that a group of Krum's fan girls were observing him from behind one of the stacks. She angrily tapped her wand onto her parchment to make sure the ink had dried and gathered her belongings and stormed out of the library, but not before shooting a contemptuous looked at Krum and his fan club.

'Why did he have to herd them around here anyway!?' she growled in her head.

The Durmstrang champion lowered his book and frowned as he watched the Gryffindor girl leave the library in a huff. He had developed an unexpected interest in Hermione the moment he spotted her in the Great Hall. Viktor knew that she wasn't quite like anybody else he had met when he saw the obvious disinterest in her eyes during the introduction of the Triwizard Tournament. When the thought first crossed his mind, the Bulgarian Seeker berated himself for becoming interested in a girl who had no interest in him. He attributed this to a sudden complex he may be developing about wanting only what he could not have. Krum began nurturing his interest in her by asking students amongst the Slytherin table for information on the bushy haired witch that accompanied Harry Potter around the school. He learned of her academic exploits and that she frequently spent her time in the library for reasons unknown to the Slytherins. Afterwards, he casually interrogated some of the young witches that took to following him after he heard a pale blond Slytherin boy refer to Hermione as a "mudblood." Viktor wasn't familiar with the term in English but was annoyed at the contempt he felt coming from the boy. The young Quidditch player became more intrigued by Hermione and immediately, almost obsessively, began visiting the library, hoping to catch a glimpse of the studious girl and perhaps cross each other's gaze as they had done a few times before. He was too shy to confront her while she was in the company of Harry Potter; what if they were together? Viktor had read something about it in the local paper, but he had also heard that the author had a habit of skewing the truth, which gave him a glimmer of hope. She brought out a warmth in his chest that was unknown to him and he felt that the Yule Ball would be his chance to expand on such an unfamiliar sensation.

(Gryffindor Tower, Common Room)

Hermione had worked off most of her annoyance by the time she had reached the common room of the Gryffindor Tower and had proceeded to finish her homework there, where the only distractions were Ron and Harry pestering her to help them with their homework.

"Her-my-oh-knee!" Ron whined. "Help me!"

The young witch rolled her eyes as she continued to finish her essay. Out of the three of them, Ron was probably the one with the least to worry about. Harry still had to figure out what the Golden Egg, that he has retrieved from the first Triwizard Task, really was and she had a taken on a few extra credit essays herself. Before Ron could prod her for help again, a bunch of over excited Gryffindor girls had come through the portrait hole squealing about their potential dates for the Yule Ball. Luckily for Hermione this provided her with a much needed distraction since Ron started to babble to Harry about how it was absolutely necessary for them to have proper dates the ball. Hermione's eyes filled with sympathy for Harry; she knew he had been struggling to ask Cho Chang to be his date. Amongst the chatter about the ball, Hermione was able to finish her essay and quickly dashed upstairs before Ron could jab at her for help.

(Hogwarts Library)

It was a Saturday morning and Hermione's spirits were high. There was no way that Krum and has ruddy fan club would be in the library today. Surely a famous Quidditch player would have something better to do than to haunt the library stacks on such a beautiful Saturday morning, right?

Wrong.

Her face soured when she spotted the Bulgarian Seeker in the corner of the library muttering to himself in a language she didn't understand. It almost sounded as if he was giving himself a pep talk. The good news was that his giggly groupies hadn't found him yet, so Hermione would at least have some peace with her books.

Viktor's eyes quickly glanced at the pretty brunette that had taken a seat at the table furthest away from where he was currently standing. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for the most nerve-wracking experience of his life. He grabbed a random book off of the shelf, which was currently under one of his death grips, and walked confidently to the table full of parchment, books and ink.

"May I seat there?" Viktor pointed to the empty chair across from Hermione.

"I suppose…" She answered a little stiffly. "…if you want."

The Gryffindor raised her eyebrow suspiciously when she caught sight of the title of the book Viktor had started reading: Broomstick Buddies: Flying Tips for Beginners. She shook her head of her suspicions and buried her nose into her Transfiguration book. Hermione was half way through the chapter about partial transfigurations when she flinched as she was interrupted again.

"Excuse me?" Viktor's deep, accented voice questioned. "Miss Granger?"

Hermione put down her book. "How do you know my name?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I haff heard vhisperings among students." He stated plainly.

"Whisperings?" She asked disbelievingly. "About me?"

"Haff heard you are smartest vitch in class." Krum explained. "Many vish to ask for your help vith homevork."

Her cheeks turned pink for a moment. "Figures. So what is it you need help with Mr. Krum?"

"Viktor." He corrected. "My name is Viktor."

"Okay… Viktor." She said impatiently. "What is it you needed?"

"Vell…" The Seeker peered at the label on her book for help pronouncing her name. "Hermy-own… I vanted to…"

Hermione had covered her mouth to muffle her laugh at his pronunciation. The Durmstrang champion cursed in Bulgarian and began to quickly chastise himself for his mistake.

"Forgiff me." He said apologetically as his ears burned with embarrassment. "My English is not very…"

"It's okay." She smiled gently. 'Maybe he isn't what I thought…'

"I vanted to ask…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. "… if perhaps you vould…"

His voice faltered for a moment and Hermione responded with an impatient look.

"If I would…?" She urged.

"…help me find a book?" the Durmstrang champion cringed. 'What is the matter with you Viktor!?' He snarled internally in Bulgarian. 'Are you a coward!?'

Hermione's eyebrows almost disappeared into her unmanageable hair. "A book? You could have just asked Madam Pince if you needed help finding a book."

Viktor's eyes shifted to the stony faced librarian and back to Hermione's. "I thought that since you spend much time in library… you vould be of help." Krum said slowly. "That voman is a bit… indeterminating…"

Hermione was silent for a minute. "What?"

"In…" The Bulgarian Seeker's face reddened with every passing second. "In…timidating?"

The young witch laughed softly. "Yeah… she is a bit hard to approach. What did you need help finding?"

He took a deep breath and worked his face into an intense stare. "Actually… I did not vant to ask you that…"

The Gryffindor witch gave him a curious look. "Oh?"

"I…I vanted to ask… if you vould like to accompany me…" he shifted uncomfortably. "… to the Yule Ball?"

Hermione's eyes widened and her body froze in place. If there was anything in the world that he could have asked her, she would've bet her wand that it wasn't going to be that. So many thoughts were shooting around her head that she couldn't grasp one to articulate into words. Krum's face fell at her silence.

"I see." He said in disappointment. "You already haff date? Potter perhaps? Or red-headed boy?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "No… I… I would love to go with you."

Viktor stood up in his chair suddenly. "You vould?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes… I would." She nodded.

"I am glad." He took her hand and kissed it gently, eliciting a blush from her cheeks. "I vill see you at entrance of Great Hall on Christmas?"

"Yes." She answered with a bright smile. "I'll see you there."

"I vill be vaiting."

The Bulgarian Seeker turned to leave the library with an obvious spring in his step. As he turned into the hallway outside of the library a few students jumped in surprised when he suddenly pumped his arm in the air victoriously.

End of Chapter One

Author's Note: Yes... not the most original... but I do have more ideas on where this story will go. It'll probably be short maybe four or five chapters. I hope you liked the changes I made. Reviews appreciated.