Inner Struggle, Outer Peace
They reached a fairly round-shaped clearing with a large tree in the middle. Right through that clearing ran a creek, which diverged before the tree and rejoined afterwards, isolating the tree as though it were standing on an island. Krum stepped onto that island, and Harry followed suit. The water was glittering in the moonlight and emitting faint splashing sounds. Nothing else could be heard.
Harry took off his shoes and socks and bathed his feet in the water. A chilly breeze passed them. The leaves of the tree rustled. Krum shivered and made as if to draw closer to Harry, and changed his mind at the last moment.
Oh my God, I hope he doesn't fancy me or something, Harry thought desperately, suddenly realizing the weirdness of the scene. Well, a confession from Krum would top it off, wouldn't it? Harry almost smiled at the notion.
Krum still didn't seem inclined to speak, so Harry finally said, "Nice evening, isn't it?"
Krum nodded, his expression sour. What on earth did Hermione see in this… "Why didn't you bring Hermione here, instead of me?" Harry continued in a hearty voice, as though making a joke. Krum grinned vaguely at him. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Well?"
Krum said nothing.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Harry pressed.
Suddenly, he had the impression that Krum was doing some very intensive thinking. He was not silent because he did not want to speak, but because whatever it was, it needed to be laid out very carefully.
Harry resigned to watching the sky. The moon was a perfectly round shape above their heads. His thoughts suddenly strayed to Lupin and how the poor man could never watch this beautiful moon on a night like this, in a romantic scenery like this, with the woman he loved…
Harry turned to Krum, half expecting to see him transformed mysteriously into the girl of his dreams. Then he realized where this was taking him, and panic swept over him.
What's going on here?! I'm not… falling for… Krum?!
As if on cue, Krum finally opened his mouth. "Harry, I would like you to forgive Hermione."
An intense cold swept Harry's chest, gripping his organs with icy fingers. "What are you talking about?" he asked politely, once he trusted his breath again to be steady.
"You know what I'm talking about. You think she's abandoned you for me, don't you."
"Why would I believe such a thing?"
"Well", Krum explained with a patience that would have been suitable before overexcited kindergarten kids, "you were about to face You-know-who, and you were scared. Ron had already been injured horribly. You and Hermione had been travelling alone for a few days, and together secured the last Horcrux. You were happy about this, yes, but it also scared you. You had nightmares…"
"Hermione has sure let you in on the details", Harry remarked sourly. Krum ignored him. "You had nightmares… Hermione had them, too, you know? About one or several of the Horcruxes being fake… about some detail she might have overlooked… Anything that would allow Voldemort to triumph over you, and to… kill you…" Krum faltered, and Harry looked at him. Emotions seemed to be waging war in Krum. Hermione must have told these things with great passion, Harry thought bitterly.
"Then one day, when you had finally learned about Voldemort's whereabouts, Hermione received a letter from me."
Harry fixed his eyes onto the gurgling water. His face did not betray any emotion to Krum, but he remembered that day all too well.
"In that letter", Krum continued, "I told her I had been trying to find her. That this had led me to The Burrow. That Ron had told me all about everything… And, that he was probably dying. I described all of this very accurately. I knew Hermione was out there with you, risking her life for you. I wanted her to come back. I honestly did not care about whether you would be alone then; Ron had spoken of some prophecy that made you out to be the one who had to finish Voldemort…"
"Ron was DYING?"