The week began which began with a bang of half day got more interesting as evening arrived. The panel of judges for the tournament was a surprise that was now to be revealed and everyone was super excited about it.

"now I would like to call and introduce you to the panel of judges for the tournaments." McGonagall said.

"Kingsley Shaklebolt, Minister of Magic" Minister got up to take a bow, " Madam Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbaton, Sir Warner, High master of Durmstrang " Maxime and Warner both followed the similar suit as the minister " me being the Headmistress of Hogwarts." She paused before revealing the final judge. "and Viktor Krum, the former Champion in the tournament, Bulgarian seeker and currently appointed, youngest Minister for Magical Sports department" she said. Krum made his entry and there was a loud round of applause and cheers. He too gave a formal bow and went to take his seat with the rest of the judges.

Kingsley Shaklebolt took over the podium to address the students and to refresh the rules in their minds.

"as unfair as it sounds, no student under the age of 17 will be allowed to participate and you should put forth your name only if you think you have the ability to face the darkest of danger. I know very well that most of the Hogwarts students, who are of age, have faced an actual war and dark times and would think of themselves as eligible for such danger, but still keep in mind that no danger is small and no achievement is too big to prepare you for that." he said "that was on heavy part, on a good note there is a positive rule change too"

The whole hall which was till now a bit aggressive about age limit was now quite.

"in the memory of Cedric Diggory, the boy who was just and brave till the very last moment of his life and did not fail in showing his respect for his fellow schoolmate in the maze, the ministry has decided, that there can be two champions from each school" he said.

There were whispers which soon turned in a wave of joy as the students from every school showed their appreciation towards the idea.

While the Minister was delivering the rules, Draco couldn't help but notice Krum and the way he was continuously staring in Hermione's direction. He knew he was being unreasonably possessive sort of a lover but he couldn't help it. He has never been the sharing types, even when it was just some treat from home whereas in this case it was his soon-to-be-formal girlfriend. He sighed knowing that he will surely loose Hermione if he showed his possessive side anytime soon.

After the minister's speech, McGonagall came up once again.

"and now, I declare the Triwizard Tournament open." She said pointing toward the Goblet of Fire and revealing it from under the cloth.

Students from all the schools talked about who they think will be the champion or champions from their schools and who will be putting their names in.

"I guess I am gonna participate" Draco said in a real serious tone.

"really?" Blaise said, surprised coz he knew very well that Draco wasn't kidding.

"umm hmm" Draco said nodding.

"is it to woo a Gryffindor Lioness?" Blaise said with a teasing smirk.

"maybe, maybe not" Draco said, playing along and not giving Blaise the satisfaction of seeing him getting teased, he had already had enough of that pleasure through the day.

Blaise gave an impressed smile and concentrated back on his dinner while Draco continued to sneak glances between Hermione and Krum.

After dinner McGonagall called all the prefects and Head Boy and head Girl to have a final check on all the arrangements.

"now I am sure you know Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter, Mr. and Ms. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom" she said to Krum after everyone else left the hall.

He nodded, flashing a particularly flirting smile in Hermione's direction, since now it was very much clear and open that Ginny Weasley was with Harry Potter and also coz Hermione was the first girl he ever liked, and she was not one of those crazy obsessed fangirls.

"this is Mr. Ernie Macmilan, Ms. Hannah Abbott, Ms. Luna Lovegood, Mr. Michael Corner, Ms. Astoria Greengrass and Mr. Draco Malfoy" she said introducing the rest and he shook hands with the rest.

"now Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley will escort you to your room" she said.

"do you mind if Ms. Granger accompany me, headmistress?" Krum asked.

"it's absolutely no issue if Ms. Granger is fine with it"

"no problems ma'am" Hermione said with a smile.

"good. Now I'll leave you. Prefects take care of your round duties and thank you for your cooperation and tremendous work of such short notice"

They all smiled as McGonagall left.

"Potter!" Draco said calling him "I'll be on round duties tonight" he said in his old Draco-like tone.

"sure" Harry said with a smile that only Draco, Hermione, Ginny and Ron understood "since Hermione is going to drop Krum to room, she will do the duties along" he added.

All the prefects went to their common rooms, Harry and Ginny left for Head's common room. Hermione lead Krum towards his room while Draco followed at a distance with the excuse of duties.

"I missed you" Krum said to Hermione "I mean last time that Weasley guy took you to dance before we could have a proper conversation and then you were on run"

"I know" Hermione said "but now you are here for the tournament and now I can even write to you since I am no longer on run" she said.

"so you are still single little lovely lady who loves books more than boys or you have someone special in your life" he asked.

Hermione was red in face thinking about Draco but then she remembered, thankfully on time, that it was to be kept a secret so she shook her head "still little lady loving books over guys" she said.

"you know you can get any guy you put your finger on"

"I know about facts more than I know about fiction, so no I don't that" she said.

Krum laughed softly on her instant wittiness and intelligent response. It was one of those qualities which he admired about her.

Draco, who was listening to their conversation intently, too smiled on hearing her response. It made him forget about how he was really furious about Krum flirting with the girl he loved.

They reached his room and Hermione showed him around, making him familiar with things and doing all sorts of host formalities.

"good night Hermione" Krum said getting closer and giving her a hug.

"finally someone said my name right" she chuckled.

"practiced a lot" he said pulling back slightly and leaning in.

Hermione, predicting what could be his next move, pulled back "good night Viktor" she said calmly and leaving. She knew Draco must be watching and even if he wasn't watching, she wasn't that sort of a girl to cheat on someone, even if things weren't official yet.

She joined Draco outside for their round duties. On seeing that the corridors were deserted, Draco pulled her aside, with her back against.

"Draco…what are yo-"Hermione said, taken back with sudden shifting.

"shhh…" he said "you know am a highly pampered child" he said in a low tone "which mean I am nevr taught sharing"

"yeah but what are you doi-"

"I can't even pretend to accept that I can share you with Krum just for the sake of a secret" he said, explaining himself.

Hermione smiled "someone is really possessive"

"that I am" he shrugged "and I know it"

"don't worry, there is nothing between me and Viktor other than friendship"

"it doesn't looks like that from his point of" he said.

"but its every much clear from my point of view right? And i guess you are interested in me and not in Krum…if I am not wrong"

"how can the Gryffindor know-it-all be wrong!" he said smirking and pulling back.

She scowled but her smile took over it, making the scowl meaningless.

"by the way am planning of entering the tournament this year" Draco said continuing with the rounds.

"what? But its dangerous" Hermione said with concern in her voice.

"do you think I cannot deal with that?" he asked. He had mixed emotions in the few seconds that followed. He felt happy about her concern but sad about her thinking that he was incapable of the competition.

"I think you can win it" Hermione said.

Draco felt more confident than ever about participating now.

~After 5 Days~

Finally, the day Hermione has been dreading and wishing badly to arrive came. It was Saturday, that is the day of her first date with Draco. Ginny has been working with her dress and make-up and hair since morning and Hermione made sure that she didn't look over done or hidden under layers of make-up. She preferred to keep it as much natural as possible that's why all she did was straighten her hair and put a bit of mascara and lip gloss.

Draco too was excited and nervous about his date. He has been on dates before but this one was a serious one and that fact alone made him nervous. Also, thinking that he'll be asking Hermione two big questions made his feelings of both excitement and nervousness soar to a new height .

As decided, he went out and apparated to Diagon Alley, and waited for Hermione.

The moment he saw her, all his assumptions were proved wrong. He always thought that she looked her prettiest on the Yule Ball in her blue dress, but today she looked even prettier than that.

Hermione wore her peach short dress that covered her legs till mid thigh and was sleeveless. Her earrings were simple round shaped black gems, matching her black wedges. Her hair were let down and were straight with some over her shoulder.

Draco felt breathless as she walked closer, smiling sweetly and innocently. He could feel his heart going mad and he was pretty sure she could see that on his face.

Hermione smiled seeing Draco dressed in jeans and a plain white button up shirt outlining his abs perfectly. His hair were left slightly messy but looked just perfect from her point of view. She was in an awe when he presented her with the roses matching the color of her dress.

"thank you" she said.

"you look beautiful"

"you look really handsome"

He chuckled "Krum was right that day, you can have any guy you put your finger on"

She silently touched him with her finger "I think I made my choice" she said in a whisper.

If Draco was breathless earlier, this left him dying. He couldn't even summon enough senses to say after you as he opened the door for her.

They entered a newly opened hotel in Diagon Alley which was run by a squib so it had both food from wizarding world as well as muggle world.

He talked to the receptionist about the reservations he made and she lead them to a table on corner, giving them privacy and seclusion from the rest of the dining area.

He got his senses back as he sat down and looked at Hermione. They placed their orders and then he spoke "you look breath taking"

Hermione blushed tucking her hair behind her ear.

"by the way I put my name in the Goblet" he said.

She looked up and gave an encouraging smile "that's nice, hope you get through and win it"

Their drinks arrived before he could ask anything else. Once the waiter left he jumped straight to the big question.

"willyoubemygirlfriend?" he said fast due to nervousness.

Hermione was sure she heard him say girlfriend but wasn't very much clear about what he said before that so she looked questioningly at him.

He took a deep breath and asked again, this time calmly "Hermione Granger, will you do the extreme honors of saying yes and accepting me as your boyfriend?"

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or it was actually happening. The heavy pounding of her heart confirmed it to be reality. She looked him dead in eyes, checking for even some trace of prank or anything like that, but all she saw was pure love, something she couldn't really see in Ron's eyes ever.

It was her turn and without giving a second thought, she took a deep breath and nodded in yes with happy tears brimming her eyes. Draco got up and hugged her. He then leaned in kissed her on lips, not caring about people watching them. All he saw in that moment was the girl he loved and her response.

Hermione kissed him back and smiled could feel him smiling between the kiss.

Draco pulled back and pulled out something from his pocket. It was a silver locket. It was simple yet elegant and beautiful just like Hermione's personality. It was in the shape of a heart with a little diamond on one corner and letter H engraved on it in beautiful cursive way.

"do you mind if I …?" he asked opening the chain.

Hermione shook her hand and turned around. He moved her hair to a side, his slightest touch on her back sending shivers down her spine. He put the chain on and kissed the crook of her neck softly before she turned back and faced him.

"thank you" he said "you don't know how much it means to me"

"I love you Draco" Hermione said in a low soft tone.

"I love you too" he said feeling like the happiest person on earth.

Their date turned out to be as beautiful as they expected with nothing going wrong. Both of them went back to their dorms with an official name to their relationship. At that moment they thought that their lives were perfect and nothing can go wrong. What they don't know is that their newly found love is to be tested in the way they won't have thought of in the worst of their nightmares !

A/N: The story will be ON HOLD for a while since I am starting with my college and being a medical student i might not get much time to write since its my first year and the legend says it hard. But still I'll post whenever possible.

Please ignore the typos/grammatical errors :)

Till then Follow-Favourite-Review-Rate :)

~DG