Hermione found the boat cold and uncomfortable compared to her old room in the castle. The idle rocking did not help her focus on sleep and she felt her stomach unsettle at the motion. She was irritable because she missed Viktor she knew that. So, she avoided as many people as possible, which was not too difficult. Whilst the girls smiled and tried to flirt with Serg and Ivan, Hermione was left very much alone. She would get disapproving looks as she walked through the halls in her Durmstrang uniform, but she learnt to brush it off. She spent a little time with Draco and a lot of time with Seamus, but apart from that, she kept very much to herself.
Once again, she found solace in her glass blowing. Dumbledore had set up a workshop for her to work in. They kept the trophy in a locked cabinet, that only Hermione and Dumbledore knew the spell for, so that she could work on it whenever she pleased. She coated the strange shaped trophy in iridescent crystal glass, in hopes of improving upon the almost perfect original.
Viktor heard from Neville that Hermione was keeping to herself. He said, that in his own opinion, she looked miserable. She had began training early mornings with Chigvintsev and many of the Hogwarts students would wake up to watch. She had become a kind of enigma, not a native to Hogwarts anymore. They ogled her power when she didn't know they were watching, then sneered at her when they would see her. Viktor was glad to be away from school, things always became complicated and someone always got hurt, for no good reason at all. Viktor was so happy with his position at Bulgaria that he could never imagine going back.
Hogwarts had received its guests a week ago and it was now time to open the entries and light the goblet of fire. Dumbledore stood at the front of the dining hall and pronounced the goblet ignited and the tournament begun. Hermione felt a wave of fear jolt through her when she heard the cheers and the countless people going to put their name in the goblet of fire.
Most went during the day, when there was an audience to watch them in their big moment.
"Are you going to put your name in, Ron?" Pavarti asked.
"You can sod off. I've done enough fighting for my lifetime.
"You can say that again." Harry muttered in agreement.
"Then what is Hermione's excuse?" Ginny asked and Ron huffed.
"I don't know. Maybe she is super human." He shook his head, wanting this conversation to be over.
"Or maybe she is just a better witch." Luna finished the conversation, with Ron sneering in her direction. He knew she was probably right. It was just embarrassing to hear out loud.
Two days passed and no one had seen or heard of Hermione putting her name into the goblet of fire.
"Isn't that what she's here for?" A slytherin hissed.
"Just give her time." Draco snapped back, silencing everyone. But Hermione feared she needed more than time, she needed support, support that she did not have.
On the morning of the third and final day of the goblet being lit, Hermione went to sit in the hall, staring up at the flame. It was beautiful, beckoning and enchanted. She didn't feel worthy of it.
McGonagall had heard someone enter the castle in the wee hours of the morning and she had gone to investigate. When she found Hermione, sat in her pyjamas, looking up at the goblet, she knew she had to stay.
Hermione smiled as Minerva sat beside her on the steps.
"What are you doing here, child?" She asked.
"I don't know who I am anymore." Her voice wobbled and she sighed, hating to sound so weak.
"I used to be a girl of Hogwarts, a Gryffindor, strong and powerful. And then I helped in the war and I was a hero, to myself more than anyone. I made the choice to adapt, to take Durmstrang's colours and they place their faith in me, but do I deserve it?" She paused for a moment.
"Everyone here is either afraid of me or hates me. I have a handful of allies among the student body and I feel very alone." McGonagall left her to speak.
"Chigvintsev has put all of his faith in me, and he believes I will succeed. But what if I do not, what if I fail? This is the reason I have not placed my name into the goblet of fire. I do not want to bring shame to my peers." She sighed, finally finished.
Minerva had sat and listened. She understood how Hermione felt. She too had once been isolated and depended on. She produced a piece of parchment from her robe, along with a quill.
"You shall succeed, not for Durmstrang, not for Gryffindor, but for Hermione Granger." She handed over her supplies and smiled down at Hermione.
"Only the truly great doubt their greatness. Do not let Chigvintsev or Viktor Krum decide if you write your name on that piece of parchment. Look within yourself and truly ask yourself: do I have what it takes?" Hermione knew she had to do this for herself. It was no use doing it to impress Chigvintsev or to make Viktor notice her. She had to do it so that she could sleep at night knowing that she had worked to her full potential. She silently wrote her name on the parchment and walked up to the goblet. Most people looked to others for a reaction as they slung their bit of parchment into the flame. But Hermione looked it head on and greeted it as an equal. The flame extended itself down to Hermione and offered a kind of hand, to take her parchment. She gently placed the piece onto the flame and bowed her head, to which the flame bowed back, before retreating and incinerating her name.
McGonagall watched all of this in wonder, she had never seen such a thing.
"The world is not done with you yet, Hermione." She squeezed her shoulder and told the girl to get back to bed, watched her limp away, in her light pyjamas, much too thin for the weather and shook her head. She was a special witch and McGonagall laughed as she turned, with a love in her heart she hadn't felt in a long while, and retreated back to her room.
Viktor was worried when he heard from Neville that no one had seen Hermione place her name into the goblet of fire. He was sure that Chigvintsev would encourage her. He hoped that it was not because of him that she had not entered herself. He shook off that thought. She had her mind set on entering, there was no way that he could have changed that. He ached to see her. He couldn't wait for the time that he could go to her. But he was nervous. They had ended on such awful terms, such an ugly breakup, he didn't know if she would even want to see him.
Hermione scolded herself for missing Viktor so much. She was ashamed that she had become so dependent on another. She had to be her own biggest fan now. It would have all been easier, if it seemed that Viktor felt the same way. But when she read the sports section of the paper, he was often featured and he looked joyfully happy. Part of her was glad that she had made that happen. But it wounded her knowing she was the reason he was not so happy before.
Hagrid had helped Hermione before and she knew that she could go to him with anything. They sat and drank tea and Hermione wondered how to begin.
"You miss him, don't you?" He asked her and she looked up at him with shock in her eyes.
"How did you know?" She asked and he chuckled.
"I know you, Hermione and I know when something is wrong and when you turned up with Mr Krum I pieced it together." She chuckled then. Of course, it seemed obvious to her now.
"It is hard, when he is so happy and I am not. it 's not fair." Hagrid's brows furrowed as he looked down at Hermione.
"You think that boy is happy?" He asked, astonished.
"Have you not seen him in the papers?" She asked and Hagrid shook his head.
"The boy is putting on a smile, he is miserable, you can tell it in his eyes. But his pride is not allowing him to show it." Hermione had never considered this before. She supposed that could be a possibility.
"You are so hard on yourself. You think it would be impossible for someone to miss you. But that is not true." Hagrid consoled her and Hermione felt much better.
The flame of the goblet of fire was extinguished and people began to panic. Many regretted putting their name into the goblet, knowing they did not want to fight. But Hermione knew what she wanted, she wanted to represent her school and make Chigvintsev proud.
Dumbledore stood behind the goblet of fire and waited for a name to be given to him. The goblet began to vibrate and then a name was released. He caught the piece of paper and unfolded it.
"For Durmstrang: Hermione Granger!" He announced and the only cheers that could be heard were that of the Durmstrang supporters. The students of Hogwarts were silent and the ladies of Beauxbatons applauded politely. Chigvintsev beamed down at Hermione. He knew she would be the chosen one. Hermione did not know what to think, it seemed so real now. She was the Durmstrang candidate. She was proud. She held her head high and accepted the congratulations from her school mates.
Dumbledore was ashamed at how rude the students of Hogwarts were being. They should have applauded anyone who was to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. He shook his head and waited for the goblet to give him another name. When he unfolded the parchment, he gasped.
"Hermione Granger?" He repeated himself and once again the Durmstrang boys cheered and laughed.
"Perhaps she vill compete against herself." Ivan jested, glad that he was not chosen.
Before Dumbledore had even discarded of the copy, another came and another and another. The goblet began to vibrate with a worrying force, until it erupted, releasing hundreds of pieces of parchment, each reading Hermione Granger. The goblet was making the students of Hogwarts acknowledge the young witch and Dumbledore couldn't hold back a chuckle as the students grimaced and picked parchment out of their goblets and their hair.
"Let us give a hand to Miss Granger from Durmstrang." Dumbledore ordered sternly. The students of Hogwarts finally applauded, if not a little bitterly, all but Neville and Draco, and Harry to a certain extent. Hermione was unsure how their relationship was going to continue, but in this moment, all that she could think of was her overwhelming embarrassment at this incident.
After the goblet was appeased, Cormac McLaggen was chosen for Hogwarts, to which many of the teachers grimaced. He stood and bowed in every direction. The students of Hogwarts were cheering and hollering for him. He was what Hermione should be, strong and loyal to Hogwarts. The Durmstrang boys applauded Cormac with force, bringing yet more shame onto the Hogwarts students. No one would meet Hermione's eye, so she focused on Seamus and Chigvintsev, who were still congratulating her.
Fleur Delacour was chosen for Beauxbatons and she was all that Viktor should have been. She had stayed at Beauxbatons for an extra year so that she could compete in the Triwizard Tournament. She was all elegance and grace and Hermione envied her that.
There was a feast after the announcement and Dumbledore approached Hermione at the Durmstrang table. The room fell almost silent, but Dumbledore did not care, he wanted his students to hear what he had to say.
"Hermione, I am sorry for the rudeness my students have shown you this evening. I shall ensure that it shall never happen again." Hermione smiled up at Dumbledore, obviously embarrassed by his students' behaviour.
"Please, don't think of it. It was not your doing." And then they got back to eating. Many of the Hogwarts students had red faces and the loud conversations all but ceased then. Hermione was glad that they now knew what they had done and were showing even the slightest remorse.