Hermione stood in the mirror.
"I don't really want to go." She told Luna, who was adjusting a leaf in her hair.
"Then don't go." She shrugged her shoulders. She had been so kind to Hermione, letting her do exactly what she wanted.
"No, I have to go. For Viktor, if for nothing else." She told her, smoothing the black velvet of her dress. She adjusted her choker and smiled a little. She had never been a gothic girl. But this was a look that she could get used to.
Viktor was so nervous. He wanted Hermione to be comfortable, wanted her to be happy.
"I will take her out into the garden to sit for a while, after we see everyone. I want her to be able to relax. I don't want her getting upset." Mladen wished he could be as considerate as his brother. He was excited to see Luna. But he feared that he would never match his brother's example.
The party was set up, with thousands of fairy lights and hundreds of bottles of champagne. The Krums knew how to throw a party, there was no doubt of that. Hermione decided to go early, wanting to get a glass of wine in her before anyone too important turned up.
Harry was never early anywhere, but he was glad that he was early to this party. He had been shocked when he had been invited to the Krum new year party. But, it was an opportunity he couldn't miss.
He saw Hermione, sat with a glass of wine. Her story had circulated slowly across the wizarding world, which was rare. But Harry knew how hard it was to lose a parent. He sat beside her and smiled down at her.
"Hi." He began. She smiled up at him, a soft, small smile.
"How are you?" He asked and then regretted his question.
"Stupid question." He sighed, shaking his head.
"No, it's okay. I'm getting there. Slowly but surely." She smiled and he took her hand.
"Thank you for coming." She whispered and he squeezed her hand.
"I would never miss a Krum shindig. They are raved about!" He chuckled and felt Hermione hold his hand a little tighter.
When Hermione thought about it, she had never been at a party before Viktor. It was always her walking down the staircase to him. But this time was different. She stood at the bottom of the staircase and looked up at him. He was in all black, sinister and dashing. She felt her breath leave her when he smiled down at her. She wanted to stop, right here, right now, and save this moment forever. Viktor, walking with his brother to meet her.
Viktor understood why Hermione loved this moment so much now. He felt like the king of the world, watching her look up at him with a mixture of love and lust in her eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, all in black for the first time. He thought it was fitting, for the occasion. But also felt a little guilty for the thoughts it conjured within him.
They met at the bottom of the staircase and he kissed her hand. It was so long since he had been able to do that. He had expected Hermione to want to sit outside and talk in hushed tones. But when the first song came on, she pulled him onto the dancefloor.
As they span in circles, Hermione sighed.
"I missed this." She told him and he stroked her hair, humming along to the song.
"I missed my muggle christmas." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Ve vill do it next year." He told her, smiling down at her.
They swayed in silence for a few moments, before Hermione sighed.
"I suppose I have to come to terms with the fact that Dad and I are not going to reconcile." She whispered against his chest.
"No, my love. I am sorry to say you vill not." He told her and was shocked to see a hint of a smile.
"I am not so sad anymore. The acceptance of that fact is a soothing thing." She told him and he placed a kiss on her forehead.
Hermione found the energy to laugh with her friends, and dance with Seamus and chat with a large majority of the room. But when it came time to go outside, Hermione had a moment of realisation.
"I suppose I should tell you about the final challenge in the tournament." She said, looking back at Viktor, who gazed up at her curiously.
"I said I would one day and I want it to be before the new year." She told him and he nodded, sitting down on a bench.
Hermione was unsure how to begin. She sat and sighed.
"When I entered the maze, I felt good. I had my charm to keep track of where I had been, and I thought that all was well." She smiled up at him and he nodded.
"But then, the voices started." She told him and he cocked an eyebrow.
"The voices?"
"The maze, it spoke to me, spoke to all of us. I don't know what it said to Fleur or Cormac. But, for me, it uprooted some of my biggest fears and showed them to me." Viktor kept silent, hoping that she would continue.
"It told me I wasn't good enough, that I was inadequete. I wasn't enough for the world, enough for you." She sighed as he took her hand.
"It is a fear that haunts me, that I am not good enough for you." She sighed and he shook his head.
"I do not know how you can imagine this." He told her, rubbing his thumb against her hand.
"I know. It is a fear that I am unsure will ever go away. But all of those years of teasing and bullying, they led me up to that moment when my mental strength was challenged more so than my physical strength." Viktor felt a strange, bittersweet sadness at that thought.
Hermione paused for a moment.
"When I saw Fleur, I knew I had to help her. She was pretty and smart, never bullied or teased in her life. God knows what the maze was telling her, but she obviously was not used to it and it cut her deep." She shrugged her shoulders and Viktor was unsure what to say.
"I think what I learnt in the maze is that I really don't care what other people think. It is my own demons that pull me back, that make me struggle. And it is not your fault, and there is nothing that you can do. It is my journey and my task to improve that." She told him and placed her forehead against his.
"And I will. I will improve that this year. I will become more confident in myself." She told him and he kissed her forehead.
"I just vish that you could see yourself how I see you." He told her and she smiled.
"I will, it will just take time."
They went back into the party then. Hermione smiled and danced and pulled Viktor close at the countdown. She had thought that being alone would help her, that isolation was the answer. But she knew now that she needed the support of her friends and the Krums to progress on her journey. When the clock ticked down, Viktor pulled her in for a kiss, a new year's kiss always seemed sweeter than the others and Hermione made a promise to herself, to try and see herself through Viktor's eyes.