Bright shone the day you arrived in Britain for the long-awaited wedding. One minute you stood in comforting, familiar Sofia; the next, in strange, unfamiliar Ottery St. Catchpole. The long-distance portkey-ing left you too dizzy to walk immediately following your arrival. You’d never have found where you were going had you not been steadied by a firm hand at your elbow.
“Careful,” said Viktor in your shared native Bulgarian. “Are you all right?”
“The only thing I’ve hurt is my pride,” you assured him as you straightened yourself. “I’m still not used to traveling so far magically.”
He smiled. “You should come to more of my games.”
“And miss an opportunity for a great assignment that isn’tyour winning streak? I think not.”
The smile on his face widened as Viktor moved his hand to yours. “Come along. We don’t want to be late.”
To be honest, you would not have minded. You would not have minded missing the entire blasted ceremony. Going was important to Viktor, though, so you allowed him to pull you along beside him. He knew where he was going, at least.
The wide field in which you had landed seemed to stretch into the horizon in every direction. Soon enough—too soon for your liking—a strange shape reared up against the landscape. As you drew nearer, you realized the shape was a house that had a large tent filled with people set up next to it.
Sure enough, that tent turned out to be your destination. Viktor led you right to the entrance of it. There stood a young man with a shock of bright blue hair, waiting for guests.
“Friends of the groom or the bride?” asked the boy.
“Bride,” Viktor answered in English.
The child nodded and made to show you to your seats. Before he could get more than a few steps ahead, however, he got a good look at Viktor and froze in place.
“You’re Viktor Krum!” he gasped.
“That is me, yes.”
One of the things you loved most about Viktor was his modesty. You’d been dating another member of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team when the two of you had met. His teammate hadn’t so much as known the definition of humility, and you were quite glad now that the relationship hadn’t worked out.
Then again, he probably wouldn’t have thought it a good idea to drag you to his ex-girlfriend’s wedding.
This boy did not seem not to be thinking of quidditch at all, though. He brightened upon confirmation of his suspicions before he headed off in an entirely different direction. “Auntie wanted to see you when you got here. Follow me!”
“If that is what Herm-Own-Ninny wishes,” Viktor said as he made to do so. His grip on your hand did not allow you to slip away unseen into the pavilion. “There is no need to be nervous,” he added quietly as the pair of you trailed after the child through the home’s cramped kitchen.
“Me? Why should I be nervous?” All you were doing was meeting your husband’s first love, the perfect, demure, brilliant woman who corresponded with him regularly to that very day. “I only worry about what the tabloids back home will say.”
The dark eyes he turned upon you sparkled with amusement. “Do you care what they say about you all of a sudden?”
“Of course not!”
“Neither do I. Don’t worry. You will like Herm-Own-Ninny very much.”
At that very moment, your youthful chaperone stopped at a door on the third-floor landing. He rapped on it before saying loudly, “Auntie! Viktor Krum is here to see you!”
Several seconds later, the door opened. A very pretty woman with bright red hair appeared there to ruffle the top of the boy’s head. “Thanks, Teddy,” she said. “Now get back to your post before Percy finds out you left it.”
“Okay!” Teddy sang, then pushed past you to race back the way had come from.
“Come on in,” said the woman, stepping aside to let you through.
Inside the room were three other women: one blonde reading a magazine in the corner by the window; a brunette sitting at a large oval mirror; and a second blonde working on the brunette’s hair. Only the last did you recognize: Fleur Weasley, her husband, and her daughter had all come to your own wedding a year ago. The redhead looked enough like Bill that she must have been a relative. Beyond those two, you were lost in a sea of strangers.
When the door closed behind you, the woman at the mirror gasped, stood, and walked over to your husband to embrace him.
“Viktor. I’m so glad you were able to make it.”
“Hermione! You will ruin your makeup,” Fleur scolded.
Hermione smiled sheepishly and stepped away.
“Not that Ron will notice,” said the redhead. “He’ll be too busy trying not to trip on his own two feet. He, Harry, and Neville got into the Fire Whiskey last night, so Ron’s going to be even clumsier than usual.”
“You look wonderful,” Viktor told the bride, and indeed she did. Though this Hermione did not radiate beauty like Fleur did, she had a quiet grace that you knew instantly Viktor liked. Her simple but flattering wedding robes only added to the effect.
“It’s been too long. I’m ever so sorry I didn’t make it your wedding. It was such a busy time at the Ministry,” Hermione said.
“I understand. Let me introduce you to my wife now: [F Name] Krum.”
“Hello,” you said uncomfortably. Your Bulgarian accent was much thicker than Viktor’s, as you’d had fewer opportunities to practice English than he had. It made you feel dumber than usual hearing it around that lot.
Hermione offered you her hand without remark. “Hermione Granger, soon to be Granger-Weasley,” she said, and the pair of you shook. “I hope you don’t dislike me too much for inviting you. I wanted to invite Viktor, you see, and Ron will feel so much better knowing you came along, too. Besides, I’ve wanted to meet you for ages! Viktor talks about you all the time in his letters.”
“He does?”
Viktor chose that time to turn his attention to the redhead. “So, Ginny, I hear that you and I will be having a rematch soon?”
“He does,” Hermione said before she leaned in closer to add, “and I can see that he wasn’t lying about a single thing he said about you.”
You felt blood rush to your face. That Viktor had been so kind about you in his letters surprised you. He wasn’t really keen on expressing his inner feelings to anyone but his closest friends. “He speaks quite highly of you as well.”
“He is a good sort of man, isn’t he? But enough about him. I’m sure you’ll be hearing about Viktor all night long. He tells me you work at the Bulgarian wizarding paper?”
“I do.”
“Do you keep a portfolio? Would you mind sending me some of your articles?”
“I could, but why would you want them?”
“I think reading the news from a Bulgarian point of view would be fascinating,” she answered, “and I’m told you’re a wonderfulwriter.”
You rolled your eyes, and at last offered Hermione a smile of your own. “What does he know? He only cares about quidditch.”
“Men.” Hermione laughed.
To your great surprise, you spent a very pleasant ten minutes chatting with Hermione, Ginny, Fleur, and the last woman (who turned out to be an oddity by the name of Luna Lovegood). Time seemed to fly by until Viktor took you toward the door so that you could find your seats.
“Goodbye, Herm-Own-Ninny. We will see you at the service,” he said.
A chorus of goodbyes followed you down the stairs. Before you could step outside, however, Viktor pulled you aside.
“What?” you asked him.
“Do you forgive her now?”
“Forgive who?”
“Herm-Own-Ninny. For dating me so long ago.”
You frowned. “It was never a matter of forgiving her. She’s just a little hard to live up to. But you were right. She is very nice.”
“She liked you, too. I could tell.” He pressed a kiss to your temple, then intertwined his fingers with yours as you left the house together. “Do you think there will still be seats in the back?”
With Teddy’s help, you found a couple. It wasn’t long after you got settled that the music started and Hermione appeared. For the first time, you were able to see her with clear eyes. She was beautiful, and blissfully happy with her own love. Hermione Granger-Weasley was no longer your rival. One day, she might even become your friend.
Redrew an old Harry Potter piece from 2014! (Which can be found through this link).
Of all my posts here, I think my Goblet of Fire piece is prolly one of my most popular. I decided to redraw it to see how I’ve improved, especially since personally, even back in 2014, I felt like it could’ve been executed better.
Also, Book 4 is STILL my favorite Harry Potter book and I still stand by the AU where the champions band together and defeat Voldemort :,)).
Author: GaeilgeRua Rated: General Audiences Pairing: Sif/Viktor Krum Fandom(s): Harry Potter, Marvel Word Count: 1,197 Prompt: Foe-Glass - Cookies Summary:A routine mission doesn’t go quite according to plan.
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