Leigh!fic | Rules of Attraction (1/1) | Viktor Krum/Hermione Granger
Title: Rules of Attraction (1/1)
Author: Leigh, aka leigh_adams
Characters: Viktor Krum/Hermione Granger
Rating: G
Word Count: 663
Summary: Hermione had never been like the other girls.
Author’s Notes: Writte for gamma_x_orionis as part of my Spring 2013 Drabble Meme. Gamma, I want to apologize in advance -- this is more of a meta look at Hermione rather than a snippet of her and Viktor actually at the ball together. Still, I hope you enjoy this!
Hermione Granger had never been like the other girls.
It'd been that way for as long as she could remember. While other girls at her village school wanted to play house and arrange marriages for their Barbie dolls, she preferred to spend her time reading as many books as she could get her hands on. Roald Dahl, Susan Cooper, Judy Blume, Lois Lowry; Hermione had lost herself in the library. It was her safety blanket, a place she could retreat to when she didn't like the world around her.
She was confident but not cocky. A loner the schoolgirls had teased about her big teeth and bushy hair. The brainiac the boys didn't understand and were secretly intimidated by. A weirdo.
Finding out about Hogwarts hadn't shocked her. In fact, she'd been relieved. For her ten years of life, she'd felt out of place -- like an adult inhabiting a child's body. Learning there was something different, something tangible to set her apart... it made her feel more at ease.
Life hadn't changed at Hogwarts. Well, not beyond the obvious parts of being a child thrust into a magical world. It had taken a while and extraordinary circumstances -- namely, a mountain troll -- to form any sort of friendship.
It wasn't as if she shunned her female classmates. They were just... different.
Lavender and Parvati giggled about boys behind their canopied beds. They painted their nails and flipped through Witch Weekly, admiring hairstyles and the latest robe fashions.
Hermione didn't get it.
Her mother had always told her that what was on the inside was more important than what was on the outside. Those words had become her mantra, something to ground her when the incessant chattering of her schoolmates grew excessive. Beauty, makeup, boys; they weren't really something she cared about.
Until him.
Of course she'd heard the other girls whispering about him in the corridors. How could she not? They 'whispered' so loudly, it was likely he could hear them as well. And of course, Ron was fawning over him as much as the girls did. It was almost comical.
Hermione, of course, ignored it all. There was homework to do, exams to study for, and someone had to make sure Harry didn't get himself killed during the Tournament.
She never noticed his interest until the day he'd asked her to the ball.
Viktor Krum wasn't particularly handsome. In fact, he looked more like an overgrown bird of prey than anything. But he'd asked so politely -- and in all honesty, she'd been too shocked by his invitation to do anything other than nod.
The first boy to ask her out on a date (a real one, not a study date), and her was a international Quidditch wunderkind.
Lavender and Parvati could stuff it.
But for the first time, she found herself putting down the heavy textbooks and reaching for (secretly, after the girls were asleep) discarded copies of Witch Weekly. By the light of her wand, she read articles on which colors would best accentuate her eyes and skin, tearing out a coupon for Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to redeem on their next Hogsmeade visit.
And there were butterflies. She hadn't expected those.
It was entirely rational, she knew. She'd read about the laws of attraction, how the body physically reacted in the presence of a pleasing member of the opposite sex. It was just the first time it'd happened to her.
She didn't even mind that he couldn't pronounce her name. And if she'd picked up a book on the linguistics of the Bulgarian language, who was to nay say it?
Hermione wasn't like the other girls. She didn't normally care about her hair or makeup. Her chipped nails didn't bother her, and she couldn't care less about what season her shoes were.
And -- judging from the smile that tugged at Viktor's lips when he saw her come down the stairs at the Yule Ball -- neither did he.
Author: Leigh, aka leigh_adams
Characters: Viktor Krum/Hermione Granger
Rating: G
Word Count: 663
Summary: Hermione had never been like the other girls.
Author’s Notes: Writte for gamma_x_orionis as part of my Spring 2013 Drabble Meme. Gamma, I want to apologize in advance -- this is more of a meta look at Hermione rather than a snippet of her and Viktor actually at the ball together. Still, I hope you enjoy this!
Hermione Granger had never been like the other girls.
It'd been that way for as long as she could remember. While other girls at her village school wanted to play house and arrange marriages for their Barbie dolls, she preferred to spend her time reading as many books as she could get her hands on. Roald Dahl, Susan Cooper, Judy Blume, Lois Lowry; Hermione had lost herself in the library. It was her safety blanket, a place she could retreat to when she didn't like the world around her.
She was confident but not cocky. A loner the schoolgirls had teased about her big teeth and bushy hair. The brainiac the boys didn't understand and were secretly intimidated by. A weirdo.
Finding out about Hogwarts hadn't shocked her. In fact, she'd been relieved. For her ten years of life, she'd felt out of place -- like an adult inhabiting a child's body. Learning there was something different, something tangible to set her apart... it made her feel more at ease.
Life hadn't changed at Hogwarts. Well, not beyond the obvious parts of being a child thrust into a magical world. It had taken a while and extraordinary circumstances -- namely, a mountain troll -- to form any sort of friendship.
It wasn't as if she shunned her female classmates. They were just... different.
Lavender and Parvati giggled about boys behind their canopied beds. They painted their nails and flipped through Witch Weekly, admiring hairstyles and the latest robe fashions.
Hermione didn't get it.
Her mother had always told her that what was on the inside was more important than what was on the outside. Those words had become her mantra, something to ground her when the incessant chattering of her schoolmates grew excessive. Beauty, makeup, boys; they weren't really something she cared about.
Until him.
Of course she'd heard the other girls whispering about him in the corridors. How could she not? They 'whispered' so loudly, it was likely he could hear them as well. And of course, Ron was fawning over him as much as the girls did. It was almost comical.
Hermione, of course, ignored it all. There was homework to do, exams to study for, and someone had to make sure Harry didn't get himself killed during the Tournament.
She never noticed his interest until the day he'd asked her to the ball.
Viktor Krum wasn't particularly handsome. In fact, he looked more like an overgrown bird of prey than anything. But he'd asked so politely -- and in all honesty, she'd been too shocked by his invitation to do anything other than nod.
The first boy to ask her out on a date (a real one, not a study date), and her was a international Quidditch wunderkind.
Lavender and Parvati could stuff it.
But for the first time, she found herself putting down the heavy textbooks and reaching for (secretly, after the girls were asleep) discarded copies of Witch Weekly. By the light of her wand, she read articles on which colors would best accentuate her eyes and skin, tearing out a coupon for Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to redeem on their next Hogsmeade visit.
And there were butterflies. She hadn't expected those.
It was entirely rational, she knew. She'd read about the laws of attraction, how the body physically reacted in the presence of a pleasing member of the opposite sex. It was just the first time it'd happened to her.
She didn't even mind that he couldn't pronounce her name. And if she'd picked up a book on the linguistics of the Bulgarian language, who was to nay say it?
Hermione wasn't like the other girls. She didn't normally care about her hair or makeup. Her chipped nails didn't bother her, and she couldn't care less about what season her shoes were.
And -- judging from the smile that tugged at Viktor's lips when he saw her come down the stairs at the Yule Ball -- neither did he.