Re: Sofia, Bulgaria

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Viktor smiled proudly and nodded once to show Hermione that she had gotten it right, before catching up to his mother and his friend. "Mother," he said as he rested a hand on his mum's shoulder. "Give her a second. Ve just apparated here, after all," he said with a light laugh before shooting Hermione a small smile.

Sophia sighed and smiled, as she let go of Hermione's hand. "Vie govorite bŭlgarski?" she asks, looking rather impressed at the thought of Viktor's English friend knowing their native language.

*You speak Bulgarian?

[Molly Prewett]

Hermione flushes and shakes her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm trying to learn though, with Viktor's help, and I can read a little of the language," she confesses, wishing she hadn't tried because now what if Viktor's mother thinks she's a phoney or a show-off?

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

"Oh, vell I know English, but no a lot," Sophia told Hermione with a small, shy smile. "Mr. Krum, he is in the kitchen if you vould like to be meeting him. He does not speak English much, but Viktor can help you." She turned and smiled at the tiny house elf that entered the room, kindly asking it in Bulgarian to take Viktor and Hermione's bags up to their rooms, while Viktor's face paled. He had forgotten all about Bisera and hoped Hermione wouldn't be offended by his family having a house elf, even though they clearly treated it well.

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione smiles at Sophia's efforts to make her more comfortable by speaking in English as much as she can. "I'd very much like to meet him," she says, a slightly nervous edge creeping into her voice. She's in the process of turning to ask Viktor to introduce her to his father, because she does not want to appear rude, when the tiny house elf catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. She stares at Viktor, nonplussed, wishing he had warned her, then turns back to the elf. "Hello," she says, smiling and not stopping to consider whether or not the elf speaks English. "I'm Hermione."

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

The house elf looks at Hermione, seeming very surprised that a guest is talking to her. She tentatively reaches out to shake Hermione's hand, then grabs both the bags and apparates up to the guest rooms.

"She's alvays been shy," Viktor explains as the house elf poofs, not wanting Hermione to be offended by the house elf's disappearance. "She's not really used to people other than us talking vith her. Um...Maybe I should introduce you to my father now," he suggests quietly, shooting Hermione an apologetic look for not remembering to warn her about the family house elf.

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione smiles tentatively at Viktor, feeling off-balance again. She wonders if his mother thinks there's something wrong with her for treating a house elf like a person. Well, she's not about to change that for anyone, but she will be very upset if she's caused tension. She nods hastily. "Let's do that, Viktor," she says quickly, pushing her hair back off her shoulders.

And on that note, bedtime for me. I LOVE YOU! <3 xxoo

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Sophia smiles at Viktor and his friend. Hermione seems like a sweet, charming girl. A bit odd with the house elf thing, but it doesn't make Mrs. Krum think of Hermione any less. This is probably a good time to mention that Viktor's mom is a MILF because I always thought Viktor's mom would be pretty, ever since JK Rowling described her in one teeny tiny little sentence. She follows Viktor as he leads Hermione into the kitchen, where Mr. Krum is preparing the food and such.

"Dad?" Viktor stands in the doorway with Hermione for a moment before turning to her and smiling, then leading them both into the kitchen. When Mr. Krum looks up, his face breaks into a wide smile and he comes out from behind the counter to shake both Viktor and Hermione's hand before Viktor has a chance to introduce them. "Dad, this is Herm-own-ninny," he introduces. "Herm-own-ninny, this is my dad." Hermione's gonna have to call him Mr. Krum, and his name is just going to be a big mystery for now. Yep.

"Priatno mi e da se saposnaem," says Viktor's father as he finally releases her hand, much to Viktor's relief because at least he knows that Hermione already knows that particular phrase.

*Nice to meet you

[Mya Lupin]

Mya got a bit distracted, and may have slightly kitchengasmed over that picture.

Hermione hesitates in the doorway of the kitchen, wanting to hide behind Viktor but forcing herself to be more adult about things. She follows him deeper into the room, smiling politely as Viktor's father takes her hand in a firm handshake. "Priatno mi e da se saposnaem, Gospodin Krum,"* she returns politely, suddenly grateful that what little Bulgarian she hurriedly learned behind Viktor's back includes that handy little pleasantry. She stands there awkwardly for a moment, before blurting in English, "You have a lovely home."

*Pleased to meet you, Mr. Krum.

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Hehehe. *loves that kitchen*

Mr. Krum smiles in reply because the tone of Hermione's voice tells him that she just made some sort of polite compliment. Viktor gets his quiet side from his father apparently.

Mrs. Krum, on the other hand, is very social and thanks Hermione for the comment. "Ve are very happy to have you here in our home. Viktor has told us all about you in his letters," she says with a wide smile. But as much as she would like to sit and talk with Hermione, who she already considers as the daughter she's never had, she realizes that the girl would probably like to get situated in her room. "Viktor, vhy don't you show Hermy-own up to her room?"

Viktor smiles softly over at Hermione, knowing that she'd probably prefer going up to the room anyway. "Ready to see your room?" He asks as he holds out his arm with a playful smile, as he continues playing the role of tour guide.

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione smiles, Sophia's warm nature going a long way to settling her nerves. Mr Krum, she notices, is quiet like Viktor, but seems gentle and friendly in the same way. She nods gratefully, taking Viktor's hand because she wouldn't mind a few minutes to regroup. "Mnogo blagodaria*," she says to Viktor's parents, somewhat haltingly, and follows Viktor out of the kitchen.

*Thank you

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Viktor smiled as he quietly led Hermione up the stairs towards their rooms. He was relieved that his parents had so obviously liked her, though he couldn't say he was surprised at all. "This is your room," he told Hermione as he opened the door to a guest room that looks quite nice. If only I could post pictures. Viktor glanced down the hall where his bedroom was. His mother had written to him, telling him that they had turned it back into his room for the visit. Not hard to do when you're a witch or wizard. He looked back into Hermione's room, where her bag was already resting on the bed. "But...You can sleep in my room vith me," he added quietly, knowing that she'd probably prefer that if tonight would be anything like the other nights,

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione looks around the room, and we shall just imagine how pretty it is. "It's really nice," she says, smiling. When Viktor adds that she can sleep in his room with him if she likes, she pauses. Stepping up close, she stretches up and places a brief, entirely platonic kiss of gratitude on his lips. She pauses for a second, because she could swear the strangest sensation just coursed through her veins, but she shakes it off quickly. Maybe she just hit a cold spot or something. She wraps her arms about Viktor's midsection and buries her face in his chest. "How am I doing so far?" she asks, hoping she's not embarrassing him.

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Viktor freezes as Hermione's lips briefly meet his, completely unable to ignore the feelings it fills him with. He wraps his arms around her and rests his head on top of Hermione's. "Of course. They love you already," he assures her, hoping that she doesn't think that his parents were just being polite. He knows them well enough to see that they really do like his best friend. He doesn't realize that this is an abnormally long hug for two people who are just friends, not that he would care if he did realize. "I'm really glad you came," he admits quietly, his thoughts still swimming with the sensations from that brief kiss.

[Mya Lupin]

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

Hermione smiles into Viktor's chest. "I'm glad. I really wanted them to like me," she confesses. She looks up into Viktor's face, and is suddenly overcome with the urge to kiss him again. For the first time, it occurs to Hermione that this is not normal behaviour between friends, even best friends, and her face flushes in confusion. "Um, can I see your room?" she asks, feeling strangely stilted and wrong about the request now. Is that even appropriate? What would Viktor's boyfriend think about Hermione being in his room, sleeping in his bed as she's done since arriving in Bulgaria, hugging him and kissing him as often as she has done. It's all felt so natural, but now she's questioning herself. Is it wrong?

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

It isn't until Hermione pulls away that Viktor recognizes the smell of her hair. He knows he's smelled it before, but he can't remember where. He keeps thinking of Rolf, but why would Rolf smell like Hermione? He smells...well, not feminine- that's for sure. But he does know that he's smelled that scent before. He looks down at her as she pulls back, but quickly looks away as he takes her hand instead. It was probably just nothing...he"s imagining it...He must be, because there's no way that he could have just had the urge to kiss his best friend, who happens to be a girl. But if that's the case, then why does he feel guilty about it? If he's gay then he shouldn't have to worry about kissing Hermione while dating Rolf. That kiss didn't mean anything, and Hermione surely didn't mean anything by it, but Viktor can't deny that the kiss felt like something. "Sure," he nodded, trying to shake the thoughts in his head. "Ve can see my room." He smiles and leads her down the hallway, where he opens up the door to reveal his old bedroom which looks very suitable for Viktor. "Hmm. Just how I left it."

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione feels like the proper thing to do would be to pull her hand away from Viktor's. She doesn't like the feeling, because since when has it been a question of what's 'proper' between the two of them? They're best friends, simple touches between them shouldn't make moments seem so, so... charged with energy and emotion. Hermione gives Viktor a confused look. "I thought your Dad turned this into a study?"

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

"He did...But my mother made him change it back for our visit. Kind of silly, seeing as ve'll be here for two days. I vould have been fine on the couch," he shrugs. He glances over at Hermione, unable to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. He gently let's his hand slip away from Hermione's, feeling upset over having something as silly as holding hands make him feel so strongly that he actually feels guilty for it, and more importantly he feels confused.

[Mya Lupin]

"We could have shared. Although I don't suppose your parents would be too keen on that idea," Hermione says, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself. "Um, should we see if your Dad needs some help? Then again, I'm probably safest kept out of the way," she says, feeling indecisive and awkward and longing for a solitary room and a good book to lose herself in to overcome the fact that her life has just become impossibly awkward and she has no idea why.

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

"I'm sure they vouldn't mind if ve shared a room," he said softly, though now he's feeling different about sleeping with Hermione. At first, he hadn't thought anything of it but now he was wondering if it was okay to sleep with your best friend, especially when you had a boyfriend to go back to after break. Viktor knew that if Rolf slept with a girl, he'd be jealous...But shouldn't this be different? Viktor doesn't like girls- At least, he didn't five minutes ago. "Ve can go down to help...Unless you'd rather stay up here. Either vay, I assure you that you're not going to be in anybody's vay."

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione fiddles with her sleeves in her newfound agitation. What's wrong with her? Nobody has done anything wrong. She sighs and forces a smile to her lips. "Let's go downstairs. I'd like to get to know your parents a little better, anyway," she says. Privately, she hopes that this strange tension will be pushed aside once they're amongst other people.

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Viktor nods and walks out of the room with Hermione, hesitating as he decides whether or not to hold her hand. He ignores the sad, aching feeling he gets when he decides against it, wondering how one little, friendly kiss can change everything so quickly. "Alright then. I'm sure they'd like to get to know you better, as vell," he said with a slightly forced smile, before leading her downstairs to the kitchens.

[Mya Lupin]

Hermione's hand feels strangely empty, and she tries to tell herself it's simply that they've spent so much time holding hands since they've come to Bulgaria that not doing so feels strange. She doesn't allow herself to think about why holding hands with Viktor, cuddling and sleeping in his bed, has become so natural so quickly. She heads down to the kitchen with him, trying to smile like everything is ok. "Is there anything I can help with?" she asks, looking between Viktor's parents.

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Sophia looked up at Hermione with a warm smile. "Vell, you and Viktor can slice up those vegetables if you'd like to help. Thank you very much," she said, still smiling as she looked back and forth between Viktor and Hermione because she ships Krumione even if her son does still think he's gay.

Viktor glanced over at Hermione for a moment, before smiling and walking over towards the counter and holding out a slicing knife for her to use.

[Mya Lupin]

"Alright," Hermione says with a quick smile, and moves over closer to Viktor. "Thank you," she says quietly, taking the knife and carefully slicing up the vegetables. She concentrates on the task before her, working hard to get the slices even because she's neither 1.0 Mama Bear Hermione, nor Molly, who can slice vegetables to perfection in her sleep. Viktor's presence right beside her is distracting and overpowering, Hermione glances up at him and smiles nervously before ducking her head back to the task at hand, casting about for something to say while they all work to prepare the meal.

[Viktor Krum - Inactive]

Viktor returned the smile as he continued slicing up the vegetables, not enjoying the unfamiliar feeling of not knowing what to say to Hermione. "It doesn't need to be perfect," he teased softly as he slowed down his chopping. He could tell that Hermione wasn't having the easiest time, and he didn't want her to compare herself to him and his speedy, experienced slicing.

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