Hello Again

Viktor and Hermione

Rated T

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling

Author's Note: Just a heads up, I have relied on Google Translate for the Bulgarian dialogue between Viktor and Hermione. Thus, it is probably as right as it is going to be. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little story. Love, SehunsBae37.

Hello Again

As surprised as he was to receive the invitation, Viktor found that he had no reason not to accept. The invitation was from the Ministry of Magic in Wizarding Britain, inviting him to the one-year celebration of the fall of Lord Voldemort. And as a friend of Harry Potter and former Tri-Wizard Tournament competitor with Harry, he was cordially invited. He had a reason for why he didn't want to go and a reason for why he did, and both reasons equated to one thing—or rather, on person—in particular: Hermione Granger.

Hermione Granger had been and still was the love of his life. The moment he laid eyes on her at Hogwarts the day he placed his name in the Goblet of Fire, he had been smitten. He had figured out she was in the library almost all the time and he would go there to be able to subtly watch her study, taking in her raw beauty. His friend had encouraged him to at least say 'hello' to the friend of Harry Potter and attempt to strike up a conversation, an idea that encouraged and scared Viktor at the time. But to his luck, not only was he able to keep her attention, he found that Hermione was as sweet and kind as she came off with wits to match. And what drew him to her more was that she was not at all interested in him as Viktor Krum, youngest Seeker of the Bulgarian Quidditch team and instant heartthrob. No, she was just interested in him as just Viktor. Her friendship meant everything to him and he loved being around her and spending time with her, and thus was very excited and nervous to ask her to be his date for the Yule Ball. He knew he was asking her to not only be his date, but more than likely be the center of attention with everyone watching and bringing unnecessary attention to herself—he knew she liked being in the background if she could—but he still hoped she would accept. And to his luck, she had accepted. That night had turned sour for a few moments due to her red-haired friend, but she soon perked up again in his company; he had given her her first kiss that night. They dated following that until the end of the school term, but they still kept in touch.

He had seen her again not longer after during that summer, inviting her to visit him and his home in Bulgaria. She had been nervous to meet his parents as he was a Pureblood and she just a Muggleborn, but he and his parents made her feel welcome and by the end of the first day, his mother had been instantly encouraging him to marry her when she became of age. After that trip, he hadn't seen her again until Fleur and Bill Weasley's wedding, though he barely got to speak with her before her red-haired friend came and took her away in an act of jealousy. It was made apparent to him that the young Weasley male had deep affections for the young woman he too fancied, but what hurt more was seeing that she too seemed to return his feelings. And due to him being subscribed to the Daily Prophet, he had seen the news of Hermione and Ron Weasley being a couple. His heart had broken that day but had been slowly healing.

And now that he had received this invitation, him knowing if he accepted it, he would have to face the object of his affections and her relationship with her friend for real. Even so, he also felt he should go to see both her and Harry again, at least one more time before walking out of her life again. He sighed, already knowing he was going to be going to Britain to attend the event. At best he would stay for about two hours, and just long enough to see and speak with the love of his life.

The celebration was in full swing and everyone was dancing and talking with one another, many Ministry wizards getting drunk on champagne and Firewhiskey. Viktor shook his head at them bemused before moving through the large crowd. He had already run into Fleur and Bill, Bill even permitting him to dance with his wife for a bit. He found many witches were still fans of his, many of them older than him and drunkenly trying to convince him to accompany them home later that night, to which he politely declined. He turned his head from here to there, making it obvious to whoever was paying him some attention that he was looking for someone. And the person he was looking for he saw was standing with Harry Potter and their Weasley friend, the man she called her lover.

She was standing there looking so very beautiful, her curly brown hair pinned up in the exact same fashion she had wore it when she had accompanied him to the Yule Ball, a form fitting blood red dress that showed off her shapely calves, beautiful arms, and black heels on her feet. He was so awed by her presence and beauty, much like he always had been. He stood staring at her for so long that he hadn't realized that Harry had taken notice of his presence.

Waving him over Harry greeted, "Viktor, hi! Come on over!"

Viktor blinked before nodding and making his way to the ones called the Golden Trio. He nodded at Harry and greeted, "Hello Harry."

"I'm surprised that you came. It's good to see you, mate." Harry shook his hand.

"Thank you, Harry. I vas invited." He turned his gaze towards the redhead and gave him a quick nod before turning his attention to the brunette beauty that still captured his heart. Giving her a sweet smile, he greeted, "Hello again, Hermione."

Hermione's brown eyes widened in delight at hearing him pronounce her name right for the first time. He had practiced pronouncing her name over the years, wanting to be able to pronounce it the right way when he met her again. She had told him he hadn't minded that he couldn't say it right, knowing her name was rather difficult to pronounce, but he had been determined.

"Hello Viktor," Hermione replied before giving the large Bulgarian a hug.

Returning her hug Viktor relished in the feel of her body pressed against his once again. He smiled into her hair before pulling away saying in his native tongue, "Izglezhdash mnogo krasiva tazi vecher, Hermione."

Blushing Hermione replied in Bulgarian, "Blagodarya ti, Viktor. Tova e mnogo sladko ot vas da kazhete."

"Az govorya samo istinata."

Hermione smiled sweetly at him while Ron glared and Harry stood somewhat amused. Harry could see plain as day that Viktor still felt very strongly about Hermione and probably wanted to speak with her without him or Ron being present. Taking Ron by his arm he suggested they go to the buffet table and indulge in the food there. Once they were gone Hermione said, "You know, I was going to write you soon to see how you were doing. But I'm happy the Ministry invited you here and I got to see you; it saves me the trouble of having to write."

Viktor chuckled and replied, "You know I am alvays happy to receive letter from you."

"Yes, I know. And I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep it up in the past year and on afterwards. The war through everyone off kilter and we've been busy rebuilding and reestablishing things here and there."

"I understand, no need to explain. And I know you important part, so it vas your duty."

"I suppose so. And your English speech has gotten better."

"Yes, I have been practicing, though bashta says my accent is still much too thick with my 'W's."

"Well, I think it is just fine." Hermione looked off into the crowd of people dancing, a somewhat slow song beginning. Turning back to look at Viktor she asked, "Would you like to dance?"

Viktor's dark brown eyes widened momentarily before he grinned and took a step back, bowing to her like he had done four years prior. He straightened up before taking her hand kissing the back of it, Hermione smiling at the action and allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. Effortlessly the two of them joined the other witches and wizards dancing, the two of them moving in perfect sync. For Viktor, this was a dream come true. To be able to hold the witch he loved more than anything in his arms once again, he believed he couldn't be happier. Even though she belonged to another, he liked to believe in that moment that she was his. Wow, that Weasley was truly one lucky wizard.

Hermione, who had been watching Viktor's handsome face, frowned slightly as she asked, "Viktor, are you alright?"

"Hm? Yes, vhy do you ask?" Viktor asked in return.

"Because you seem to be lost in thought or something is bothering you. And I know that because the corner of your mouth twitches when you are."

Viktor hadn't known Hermione knew about his slight tic. It only happened when he was bothered by or worrying about something. Then again, he shouldn't have put it past her that she would notice. But it still surprised him that she knew about it and knew why it happened. Knowing she wanted to know what was wrong and him wanting to get it off his chest, he suggested they find a quiet place to talk. Hermione nodded in agreement and the two of them left the dancefloor and left the Ministry ballroom where the celebration was being held. They walked through the Ministry, passing by people that were hanging about outside the ballroom and a few reporters from the Daily Prophet. Viktor blinked at the bright camera flashes as they took pictures of him and Hermione while Hermione glared at them in passing. When one particularly persistent reporter kept following them wanting to know if they were rekindling their Tri-Wizard Tournament romance, Hermione gripped Viktor's hand and quickly Apparated away with him.

The moment their feet hit the ground again in the empty Ministry Atrium, Hermione let out a sigh before saying, "Sorry, I forgot there was going to be writers from the Daily Prophet here. We're bound to be in some part of the newspaper when it hits the presses tomorrow."

"It is quite alright. I know they can be very nosy," Viktor replied before taking a seat on a bench. Hermione sat next to him and looked at him expectantly, silently waiting for him to begin speaking. Viktor gathered his thoughts for a moment before saying, "I'm sure you already know how I feel about you. My feelings have not changed since the Tri-Vizard Tournament; they remain the same to this day. I am not stupid to believe that you feel the same vay, especially vith that article from the Daily Prophet."

"What article?" Hermione asked with a confused frown.

"The one stating you a Veasley were a couple. I remember seeing how you two acted towards one another at Fleur's vedding and knew you returned his feelings after his jealous display. Seeing the article, it just seemed to confirm vhat I already knew." He let out a humorless chuckle before sighing and looking down at the floor. "Veasley is very lucky man. I realize my chance has slipped avay and I vish you and Veasley all the best. But I vant to let you know that I will alvays care for and love you, Hermione. Even until my last breath I vill love you, and even after."

Hermione looked overwhelmed from Viktor's small heartfelt speech. She had no idea he felt so strongly about him. Of course, she was very aware that he fancied her immensely, but she had no idea it ran so deep. Her heart beat quickly in her chest at his sweet words. However, one thing he had said stuck out and bothered her. Knowing she needed to rectify it, she gently took his hand in hers and said, "Viktor, Ron and I aren't together."

Viktor's eyes widened in surprise. "You're not?"

"No, we're not. I mean, yes we were interested in each other romantically and I suppose it was rather obvious at Bill and Fleur's wedding. We tried giving a real relationship a go, considering we were already an item of sorts towards the end of the Final Battle. That article you saw was the first date we went on and we were captured by lurking Daily Prophet writers. But it just didn't work out for us, so we're no longer together and haven't been for six months now."

"But…then why was he glaring at me?"

"I suppose it is because he is threatened by you knowing you view me as a romantic interest. He always has since the Yule Ball and then started acting possessive towards any guy that showed interest in me, usually bringing me down in the process because he was so jealous. That helped contribute to our breakup, but it also made me think about how I really felt. I think the reason why I became so attracted to Ron was because of our close proximity and knowing we could possibly work out having already being friends. We have little to nothing in common, yet we work well as friends. But as boyfriend and girlfriend, that is something that is obviously not meant to be, no matter how much Ron seems to want it to. But to tell you the truth, Viktor…" A bright blush appeared on Hermione's cheeks. "…I've never really gotten over our relationship, despite how brief it was. I missed you a lot and even considered writing you to visit another summer, but we were getting deep into the war and Voldemort had returned. We were heading in different directions and it made it hard for me to genuinely consider having a serious relationship with you. It was something I couldn't think about at the time. But now…now I can think about it and I know for a fact that I want another shot at a relationship with you. So if you'd like, I was thinking that maybe we could pick up where we left off. I don't want to have to keep saying 'hello' again just to say 'goodbye' later."

Those sweet words. Viktor couldn't believe what he had heard. Not only was Hermione not dating Weasley and hadn't been for half a year, but she even admitted she would like to date him once again. He felt as if he were flying high on his broomstick. Grinning brightly, he cupped her face and said, "I von't say 'goodbye' anymore. I vill be very happy to be yours once again and for as long as you vill allow me."

Not wasting a second after his words, he pressed his lips against hers in a sweet, love filled kiss. The brunette happily returned his kiss, bringing her hands up to bury in his dress robes. Pulling away with a smile Hermione replied softly, "I'd like that."

Viktor chuckled and kissed his witch once more, holding her not for the first time, but for what certainly wouldn't be the last. He had never felt happier than when he was flying or when he was with Hermione. And right now, he knew nothing could ruin his mood from now on. He and Hermione were together again. He was with the witch he loved more than anything. As he held her, Viktor couldn't help but think that he was glad he accepted the invitation to the Ministry celebration. He had been prepared to say 'hello' to her again, as well as 'goodbye'. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to say 'goodbye' ever again. Viktor Krum found himself to be a very lucky wizard indeed.