The Problem with Superstars

Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

The next morning found Hermione standing in front of her full length mirror. She used up all the Sleakeasy potion she had on hand, getting her hair into a somewhat manageable state. Afterward, she held robes in front of herself, trying to decide which one she wanted.

The teaching robes were far too formal. She would have to change out of them after breakfast if she wanted to get anything done in the classroom. But the older robes she planned to wear while shifting furniture around didn't do anything for her figure. And what should she do about makeup? She would wear it during classes, but she never wore it in casual situations.

Why did she care anyway? She didn't need to impress anyone. She already knew the new Defense professor and he knew her. There was nothing special to worry about. She didn't need to make an impression or anything.

That decided it. She put on her school robe from seventh year and paced to her door, which she yanked open. Then she groaned and ran back to the bathroom, where she put on some lipstick. Angry with herself for such silliness, she forced herself to go down to the Great Hall.

She almost bumped into him in the doorway. "Ah, Hermyown, I didn't think yu have breakfast, so I finish, and now..."

She nodded. "I understand. I was running a bit late this morning."

"I see." His eyes glanced over her, quickly but thoroughly, and she suddenly became aware that the much-worn fabric clung to her figure in places.

She folded her arms over her chest. "I guess we'll see each other later, then."

"I look forvard to this," he answered with a smile.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Hermione decided to be glad that she had the extra week. The classroom she was moving to hadn't been used in a few years. There was quite a bit of dust to deal with. Lunch was brought to the various staff in residence as they worked, and dinner was a bit more formal. It was held at a specific hour and the conversation was general among all the staff that were present.

There was no question of what to wear the next morning. She put on a robe she could work in and tied her hair back in a neat ponytail. Then she inexplicably put on more lipstick, shrugging to herself as she left her rooms for the morning.

He wasn't there. She served herself some porridge and toast while telling herself that there was no particular "he" that she was looking for. After all, she wasn't looking for anyone in particular. She just happened to notice that the co-worker that she had missed by being late yesterday was not here today.

She lingered over her coffee for as long as she dared and then got up to leave. As she reached the door, she saw the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor walking across the hallway from the staircase. Why did she suddenly smile?

"Oh! I miss yu again!"

"Were you trying to catch me?"

"There are things I need. I should go to town to get them. Vill yu take me, show me the shops?"

"Oh, of course." She could feel her smile dimming, which was a relief to her sore cheeks. He just needed a guide around Hogsmeade. "I'd be happy to show you around."

"Is date, then?"

Her heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that? She forced herself to mentally shrug it off. His English wasn't perfect. He probably meant "appointment." Somehow she nodded and agreed to meet him at breakfast the next morning.

* * * * *

The trip to Hogsmeade, which had been such a thrill when she was fourteen, had gotten a bit stale by the time Hermione was thirty-three. Today, however, it was fun seeing it through Viktor's eyes. He'd been there before, of course, but it had been years.

He had a long list, and Hermione had a similar one. New teaching robes and the necessary stationery to complete their teaching tasks led both lists. They also needed several books each and a few other teaching materials. After that, the lists diverged a bit as both wished to obtain some small luxuries that would make living with hundreds of preteens and teenagers more bearable.

Viktor laughed at a large box Hermione obtained at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. "Vot is that for?"

"Oh," she answered, "I had George design this for me my first year as a teacher here. It's specially made to hold anything they produce. When I confiscate anything the students shouldn't have, I can put it in the box and it will be neutralized."

"I shall have to remember that yu haf this box. May I bring such things to yu when I find them?"

"Do," she said with a smile.

They stopped for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. "Hermyown," he said. "I wish to know. What of Veasley?"

Hermione looked down at her sandwich, suddenly not very hungry any more. "He...he..." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I hear about vhat happen, that yur husband vas killed. Vhat happens to him?"

She took a deep breath, and for the first time pictured it as if it was happening right before her eyes. "It was an ordinary day. He and I had an argument about his job. We'd been fighting it for months. I wanted him to get a desk job before we started a family; he didn't think there was any great danger. We kissed each other as if it didn't matter and growled our goodbyes. Before it was even lunch time, Harry came to my office. It was all over."

She leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "It wasn't a complicated case. It was the sort of thing he would have handled even if he had the so-called desk job. It just happened that the place was booby-trapped. His legs were blasted off, and he bled to death before his partner could reach him."

"I'm sorry."

"I was so angry... at Harry for sending him... at Ron for being wrong about the danger... at myself for being right..."

"Is easy to understand."

"Is it?" She took a sip of her drink. "I guess it is, but was really just one of those things, wasn't it?" A thought crossed her mind, and she shrugged again. "I never really saw it like that, before. It might have happened anyway."

"If Veasley loves yu, why doesn't he take desk job?"

"It's not that easy. We loved each other, and I loved that he had that job. He was good at it, and so clever about figuring out how to outsmart dark wizards and witches. I was proud of him. I was just so worried about raising a child without him... and now I don't have either. Right after he died, I would have given anything to have even that piece of him."

"You loff him fery much."

"I did, yes."

"And now?"

"I still do, but it's a different sort of thing. I've had to become a different person in the couple of years since, someone who wouldn't have even existed had he not gone on that case that day."

"Yes, I see."

"Anyhow, what do you think about finishing up at the candy store? I hear there are some new Chocolate Frog cards."

"This is good idea."

They got up to pay the bill and leave, but a shriek stopped them in their tracks.

"It's Viktor Krum! Mr. Krum, can I have your autograph?"

Hermione recognized the two girls as students, so she made the introductions. "Viktor, these two young ladies are Olivia and Samantha. They don't usually make so much noise in the classroom."

Viktor smiled in a way Hermione had never seen up close. It was a bit put on and didn't go all the way to his eyes, as though he were performing. "I see. Vell, ladies, vhat haff you for me to sign?"

Olivia pulled the neck of her blouse open. "Put it right here, please!" she said, pointing just above the visible edge of her bra.

Samantha turned and pulled her shirt up and tugged at the waistband of her jeans. "Here for me!" she said, pointing to her hip.

Hermione closed her eyes, scandalized by the behavior of her students. "I just remembered that there's something I need to get at Schrivenshaft's." She stormed out of the inn and stood there for a moment. It was nothing to her if Viktor wanted to touch those girls so intimately. Her outrage was over the fact that it was simply unprofessional for him to even consider as a teacher. She nodded to herself and stomped to the stationer's, where she bought far more red ink than she expected to need. Perhaps the memos she occasionally wrote to post in Gryffindor tower should be that color from now on.

A/N: Thank you to Blue Artemis for beta reading!