Viktor was wondering what the Hell he was doing. They had been searching for that unusual girl for so long that he had forgotten that he didn't actually know anything about her beyond the fact that she seemed to be pleasant and clever, and didn't care about his fame. Such traits were important of course, but he now felt they were weak reasons to put himself out in such a way. She hung around the crowd that pawed at the Girl Who Lived — that wasn't exactly a recommendation for her character.
He was ready to call it off and run off to ask that bookish girl from the library when he heard the giggling. It wasn't the simpering noise he was used to dreading though, but a sound of genuine if girlish amusement.
Out from the tree that the female Hogwarts champion was enthroned in came the girl they had been looking for, Heri. Cheeks lightly flushed, she was covering her giggles with one hand as she tilted her head at him in acknowledgement.
Viktor breathed a sigh of relief and would have stepped forward if it wasn't for the Lovegood girl bouncing up to Heri and placing a flower crown on her head.
"Your Highness," Lovegood said, giving an exaggerated curtsy.
Heri snorted softly and batted at the other girl's shoulder.
"Really, Luna," she said. "All this fuss when you could have just told me they were asking about me! I don't think Kurm is one for public displays, you know."
That was when it hit Viktor, why she had looked so familiar: It was because he had seen her before the night of the Champion Selection and at the First Task. Heri was Heri Potter.
He groaned and face-palmed. Honestly, how had he missed that? How had any of them missed that? It wasn't as if she was wearing a disguise!
Well, to be fair, she was currently far from the hard-faced Amazonian he had seen before, what with a gentle smile, fluttery fringe hiding her scar, and a warm atmosphere around her. It was boggling to realise that this was the girl that went head-to-head against government officials and dive-bombed a dragon.
He peered at her through the gap between his fingers.
"I did not know you vere Heri Potter."
A look of surprise lit her face, then a bright, pleased look.
"You're funny," she laughed, taking another step toward him. "I don't think I've ever met a person that was interested in 'just Heri'."
When she was within arms reach of him, she held her hand out to him. Without thinking, Viktor caught the hand and kissed the air over it, feeling his cheeks heat when the catcalls started up again.
"No one's gone through so much effort to impress me before either," Heri said, peering up at him with half-lidded eyes and playful tilt of her lips. Despite himself, he felt his breath catch and his heart-rate pick up. "And I was very impressed by the crater you made. I accept your invitation."
Feeling victorious despite his awkwardness, Viktor grinned. His smile became a smirk when he noted that the young men of Hogwarts that were around looked none too pleased with him, some glaring outright.
Let them be jealous, he thought to himself. They weren't the ones that sent out search-parties to find her on only a description of her looks and a name. They weren't the ones that had to figure out how to reach the standard required to convince her that her own friend acknowledged to be lofty. Hell, they didn't even have the stones to ask her themselves even though they had ample opportunity to do so as people she was familiar with. If they had a problem with Viktor being the one to take her to the Yule Ball, they could man up and fight him for her.
Later — in years to come — when Viktor thought back to this moment, he would realise that there had never been any doubt that he would fight for Heri Potter; whether for her attention or against her enemies, he had been doing so from the very beginning.
Dear Remus,
I normally direct these letters to Sirius since I know you two read my letters together anyway, but I think it's better if the news in this one is filtered by you first before it gets to Sirius. Somehow, I don't think he'll take it gracefully either way.
So, I have a date to the Yule Ball, and before you send me back a note saying I'm too young to start dating already, know that it's mandatory that I have a partner for the ball because I'm one of the champions. Professor Sprout said something about setting a good example. Now, I normally would be as put out as you undoubtedly are at the moment, but I've been invited by a boy that I think might make the chore at least a little fun.
The Durmstrang champion, Viktor Krum, asked me to go with him. It was pretty unexpected, but he's a decent sort and we'll both be saved from your respective screaming fans by being each other's shields. It's a pretty mutually-beneficial setup. And he's nice. You know, he asked me to go with him without knowing that I'm 'THE Heri Potter' — he was completely gobsmacked when he found out.
So, as I'm asking nicely, please inform Sirius in the gentlest way possible. I don't put it past him to come down to the school to try to scare Viktor off. It's obligatory! Please don't make me get in trouble with the professors.
See you at the next Task!
Heri
P.S. Please send my cream-coloured dress-robes with the creeping vines design along the hems and bodice. I forgot to pack it and I don't want to go shopping for something else to wear when those are perfectly serviceable.
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