Hermione froze for a moment before realizing he was speaking to her.
She nodded, trying to keep her voice steady and calm.
"Yes, and the chain reactions between runes."
"I've been looking for books on that recently, too."
There was an unmistakable irritation in Krum's voice.
"On controlling power, and ancient... Binding Runes. But there are too many books here, and they're too disorganized."
For the first time, he admitted his predicament to a stranger.
Because he had noticed.
This girl was the only person in the entire Library who regarded him as a person rather than a symbol.
Hearing him call the books here disorganized, Hermione instinctively tilted her head and glanced toward Madam Pince.
All right, she hadn't heard.
A brief silence fell between them.
Then, a remarkable conversation unfolded beside the towering bookshelves.
They talked about everything from the defensive runes of the Pyramids during the Fifth Dynasty to the lost Energy Guidance Array of the Celtic Druid Sect.
Krum was surprised to discover that this girl's knowledge was as vast as the Library itself.
Her logic was clear, her thinking sharp, and every point she made went straight to the heart of the problem.
Krum felt like a traveler who had wandered the desert for too long and finally found an oasis where he could rest, one that understood his language.
Their discussion came to an end with a stern "Shh" from Madam Pince.
Krum looked at Hermione, and for the first time, genuine admiration showed in his deep-set eyes.
He spoke abruptly, just as he played Quidditch: direct, swift, leaving no room to circle around.
"The Yule Ball."
He said.
"Would you go with me?"
Hermione's brain crashed.
The heavy stack of books in her arms seemed to lose all its weight at that moment.