As Heri was daydreaming about the fun to be had, they neared the entrance to the open-window walkway that led into the main courtyard. There, bunched beside a pillar, was a trio of Durmstrang boys being surrounded by a gaggle of chattering girls, girls Heri knew very well to be Quidditch groupies. It was little surprise to note that Viktor Krum was one of those boys.
Heri saw the suppressed look of misery on Krum's face and winced in sympathy. The fangirls had somehow managed to circle around him and his friends, trapping them with no means of escape without them getting physical. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him — she had been in similar situations before her friends learned how to act as bodyguards.
"Poor buggers," Zacharias muttered, also noticing the troubled trio as the six of them got closer.
"What's so poor about them?" asked Ernie, a sceptical look on his face. "Surrounded by good-looking girls that would jump at the chance to date them; it's bloody lucky if you ask me."
"Well . . ." Wayne hedged, giving the mixed crowd a dubious look. "The girls aren't really interested in them, right? It's 'cause Krum's famous and all."
"I don't need you backing me up, Hopkins," Zacharias grimaced. He desisted when Heri gave him a look as she gave Wayne a hug when he looked down dejectedly. "Whatever. Hopkins is right — those slags are just starstruck 'cause Krum's a celebrity, and being hounded by status-hungry groupies is never fun."
"And how would you know they only like him because he's famous?" Ginny retorted, cheeks a bit pink as she crossed her arms. She seemed to be taking his words personally.
The corner of Zacharias' lips quirked up in a reluctant smirk of amusement. As if the son of a goddess of fame and notoriety wouldn't know such thing.
Those in the know shared a look.
"Trust me," Zacharias said, snorting. "I know."
They got to the walkway and began climbing over the low wall of the opened windows to get to the snow-covered lawn.
Heri was in the middle of swinging her legs over when she felt a tug at her sleeve. She looked over to see Luna holding up a red cloth with intricate decoration at the edges.
"That boy over there must have dropped it," Luna said, pointing at the huddled Durmstrang lads.
As Luna had said, Heri could see that one of the Durmstrang boys was missing the cloth the others had tied around the head of their staves. The staff looked rather naked without it, but none of the boys had realised it was missing yet because of how distracted they were.
"Oh," Heri said, taking the decorated cloth. "We should go return it to him. It looks like it's a part of his uniform."
"Are you two coming?" Zacharias called, an irritated expression on his face.
The other four were already climbing on their brooms and tossing around snow.
"Just a moment!" Heri called back. She turned to Luna, "Come with me?"
"It's better if I don't," Luna replied, dropping herself down on the white ground. "My presence would excite the Grutenhogs that feed off of them and hinder your efforts in helping. Oh, but you should know that Cho Chang has been flirting with Cedric Diggory lately, and she plans on getting him to ask her to the Yule Ball later this afternoon."
"Erm, why do I need to know that?" asked Heri, not understanding her friend's train of thought.
"It'll help," was all Luna said. She then turned and ambled off toward Ginny.
Shaking her head, Heri started toward the captured Durmstrang boys.
In his years of being friends with Viktor Krum, Ivan Volkov had witnessed many instances of fans trying to get at Viktor. Even before his international stardom borne from his Quidditch career, Viktor drew in admirers with his charmingly awkward mannerisms, and all of those followers tried their hand at getting his attention. From thrown lingerie and forceful sex-appeal to painted faces and over-enthusiasm, Ivan had been certain that he had seen everything there was to see from starstruck fans. Even with the unusual persistence of the Hogwarts girls, their hounding wasn't anything new.
What was a bit different was the fact that the Hogwarts fangirls had managed to corner not just Viktor, but Ivan and their other friend, Martin Helstrøm, as well. None of them were what anyone would call small men, all of them participating in the school-sanctioned hand-to-hand combat lessons, but the gaggle of giggling girls had somehow manoeuvred them into a position where they had no option of escape unless they wanted to punch a girl out of the way.
Ivan had heard tales about Hogwarts having an academic House that encouraged cunning and craftiness, but he hadn't expected to be taken in so easily.
Ivan drew in a fortifying breath at the reality of their capture when —
"Excuse me if you please."
— a voice rang out over the jabbering of the girls pawing at them.
Standing beyond the girls circling them, a bit to the side of the pillar they had been herded against, was yet another girl, a little thing that looked like a good wind would knock her over. She looked vaguely familiar, but the only thing that mattered to Ivan at the moment was that she didn't look fanatical like the rest did. In fact, in the face of how she drew the attention away from Viktor who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Ivan could argue that she looked like one of God's own angels coming to their rescue.
A chorus of excited greetings rang out. A handful of the girls at the back of the huddle surrounding the troubled four abandoned their positions to crowd around the new girl instead.
The girl bobbed in a small curtsy, prompting the others to return the gesture.
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