Dreams of Devotion
Chapter One: New Arrival
A fair blonde youth stepped out of a huge horse drawn carriage and onto a soft green turf. A slight chill whispered through the air, making her bones ache as she pulled her large trunk along a dirt path. The girl was still wearing her Beauxbatons uniform, the pale blue dress to about knee length that hung tightly to her curves. Whispering quietly in French, she assured herself that Hogwarts had to have better hospitality than this. It was just that they hadn't been notified of her arrival. When she got inside, she would be greeted by a delicious feast and a glass of warm cider. All the students would smile, and say to their friends "Oh! It's the pretty girl from the Tri-Wizard Tournament!", or "Oh! It's Fleur! She's back!" They would greet her and welcome her as if she had gone to Hogwarts for many years.
Right?
She trudged along, making slow progress against the powerful wind. It was late September, and the leaves had just started to turn a golden auburn color. Fleur Delacour had just arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on a giant horse drawn carriage, driven by Madame Maxime. The giantess was the headmistress at Beauxbatons School in France, and she was taking her best student to Hogwarts, but not as a compliment.
Madame Maxime had decided that since Fleur had disappointed her and lost the Tri-Wizard Tournament, she would send her away to another school. No student would disgrace Madame Maxime and get away with it! Hogwarts seemed a better match- that care-free school where students were even allowed to roam the grounds unsupervised! Heavens, anything could happen outside. A girl could rip her skirt, she could cut her leg on a branch, or she could fall and scrape her knee. Anything like that would be un-lady like and not proper.
So, as Madame Maxime flew the carriage away, she watched her pupil trudge ungracefully down a filthy dirt path up to that horrendous school. No regrets crossed her mind, only a fear for her student, a fear centered by a need for perfection. She was sure that she was doing the right thing, and that such a student should be punished. Fleur reached the big oak doors and knocked timidly, preparing her best smile and straightening her posture. She had to make a good impression. That was a rule that she had learned to obey.
"Oh, if it isn't miss prissy, prissy perrrfect! Back for some more games, are we?" The annoying poltergeist, Peeves, yelled through the door. He laughed maliciously at this statement, and shook his head saying, "Peeves, you're just too good!", and started laughing again.
"Hello? Is someone there?" Fleur asked curiously into the night air. It seemed as if she had heard a voice, but the tall doors were still closed. "Hello? Pardon my asking, but may I come in? It's awfully cold out here."
Headmistress McGonagall opened the door, shooing away Peeves as she went. Her emerald green robes sparkled as a patch of moonlight shone upon her. A shadow crossed her face, revealing a slightly grim expression. "Good evening, Miss Delacour. I shall escort you to the Great Hall where you shall be sorted into the appropriate house. The first years have already gone, but I'm sure that the students wouldn't mind taking a short break from their feast." McGonagall wasn't particularly happy at the moment. She had been burdened with extra stress ever since Dumbledore had passed away. It seemed like just yesterday that they had the memorial service, white roses scattered across the lifeless body of Dumbledore incased in his coffin. They had paid their respects to the former Headmaster, and that was all that they could do.
Fleur gazed into the cold eyes of the Headmistress and replied a quick "Yes, ma'am." She bowed her head a bit and stepped inside. A small house elf quickly grabbed her trunk and carried it away to an unknown place. "Miss Fleur has returned, Winky thinks! Yes, yes! Winky think so very much…." The small, round nosed house elf exclaimed. Her voice trailed off as she went down the corridor, but quiet ramblings could slightly be made out.
Walking towards the Great Hall, Fleur began to feel a bit nervous. What if they didn't accept her? What if they didn't want her there? What if she never made any friends? But had all her lessons of becoming a proper woman gone to waste? No! She still remembered that no matter what, a woman must always appear confident, comfortable, and elegant. A lack of self confidence almost always lead to disaster.
McGonagall opened the door and led the way down the isle, between rows and rows of students, all eating their feast. Instantly, the food vanished and a ripple of exclamations floated through the hall. "Miss Delacour, if you would, please seat yourself on the stool to be sorted." She said softly, lifting up the hat to a safe distance above the stool so that Fleur could sit down without bumping her head. The small girl obeyed, and sat poised in the chair, as graceful as a swan.
"Hmmmm…ohhh..yes…You again? I see…Friends, you say? Ahh…yes…well…Gryffindor!" the old brown sorting hat puffed out these words, and as soon as he finished, a loud eruption of applause and cheers came from the Gryffindor section of the hall. Fleur let out relieved sigh. Who had said they were in Gryffindor? Oh! Yes! Harry! How could she have forgotten? Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the Tri-Wizard Champion, the handsome 7th year. Fleur's heart raced. She was going to be in the same house as Harry Potter! She quickly leapt off the stool and took a seat next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table. "Bonjour. How are you, Mademoiselle?" Fleur asked politely to Hermione. She hoped that they could become friends, because being friends with one of the smartest students did have benefits.
"Hello Fleur! How have you been? It's been such a long time…since we last met…" Hermione replied casually, vaguely conscious that Harry seemed to be in a daze and staring straight at Fleur. "Look lively, Harry!" she said, laughing a little, trying to make light of the situation. "Ronald Weasley, would you stop your drooling and say hello?" She added, turning to Ron, who seemed to have the same expression as Harry. Why were guys like this? Hermione sighed. Hopefully I didn't look like that when I was staring at Viktor…She thought. The thought of Viktor Krum made her a bit sad, but she shook it away and stared over at Ron. He was still just sitting there, staring.
"RONALD! Do you know how rude it is to stare like that? I would have thought you would have at least known some manners!" Hermione was getting a bit upset now. This was no way to welcome Fleur to Gryffindor!
"Oh, its fine. I'm quite alright with it, actually." Fleur replied blushing a bit. Ronald, she supposed was the red-head, did look a bit peculiar just staring at her like that…It made her a bit nervous, actually. As for Harry, she wished he would just stare like that all day…maybe their eye's would meet and they would fall in love, whisked away in their own word…where no one would bother them…
"Fleur? Fleur? Are you quite alright? You look a bit dazed. Maybe you should get some rest, I suppose you had a long day." Hermione remarked, feeling quite uncomfortable by now. Only a few moments after Hermione said this, the golden plates were suddenly filled with delectable dishes and tantalizing treats. Ron continued to drool, but his eyes were fixated on a different location. Three glistening platters of minced meat pie had appeared directly in front of him, and it seemed as though he was unconsciously filling his plate.
Hermione sighed, shaking her head. Boys… Hermione thought as she filled her plate, too. They always seemed so much more interested in girls than their studies. No wonder they aren't top students. Hermione took a small bite of mince meat pie, and took a small sip of pumpkin juice. She nodded to Fleur, who obviously wasn't used to just eating like this. Fleur looked a bit apprehensive, but finally submitted to taking a tiny sliver of pie.
Fleur hadn't seen this much food in her life! It was like a feast. How could these students eat this much and not get incredibly fat? Taking a small bite of the pie, she realized that it tasted delicious. She hadn't had anything like this at Beauxbatons, that's for sure. If they ate, it was something quite small, like a light salad, or a light chicken soup. (With no chicken of course.) It was more like old dish water, to tell you the truth. She saw that Hermione was drinking a suspicious orange liquid. Maybe it was some kind of weight loss drink? That would certainly explain why the students weren't a bunch of fat pigs. She took a hesitant sip and realized that it most definitely was not ANYTHING like a weight loss drink. It had a slight taste of pumpkin, but was overpoweringly sweet.
"What exactly is this?" Fleur asked examining the drink in the most polite way possible. She wanted to know what she was drinking…just as a precaution.
Hermione glanced over at the proper, polite girl and saw that she was eyeing her pumpkin juice as though it was from another planet. "That's pumpkin juice, haven't you ever had it?" It seemed as though everyone had had pumpkin juice before, but knowing where Fleur was from, it was probably all new to her. "It's quite good actually, do you like it?"
"You haven't had pumpkin juice before? Never?!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth half full of twice baked potatoes. He was soon reprimanded by Hermione again, this time for talking with his mouth full. He blushed a deep red and said, "Sorry…", and quickly gulped the food down.
Hermione shrugged and looked over at Harry. He seemed to be staring at the Ravenclaw table, at one particular black haired individual. The girl seemed to be crying a bit, sniffling as she moved her food around her plate. Though Harry's eyes were on Cho, her eyes were fixated on an empty spot at the Hufflepuff table which had previously been occupied by Cedric Diggory.
As Harry followed her gaze to the Hufflepuff table, he let out an angry breath. Cho Chang still hadn't gotten over the passing of that popular, handsome, Cedric Diggory. He had died almost 3 years ago, but still girls were acting as if it was only yesterday, and if they cried enough he would just come back to life and give them a pat on the head. I mean, really! Harry thought to himself, stuffing his mouth with some mince meat pie and a scoop of mashed potatoes.
Suddenly, the sound of three people tapping their spoon against a goblet wafted through the air. Headmistress McGonagall was standing up at the professors table. "Silence, please, if you will. I have an announcement to make!" She gazed around the room, patiently waiting for the students to quite down and listen to what she had to say.
"As you all should know by now, we have a new student that you all should remember from a few years back at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Fleur Delacour will be joining us this school year, because of certain issues that aroused at Beauxbatons School. I know that you all will welcome her graciously, but in case you have forgotten, we must display our manners to this young witch. Silence please, I have another announcement to make. Because of the absence of our potions master and Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape, we had to hire a new professor. Students, I would like to present to you Professor Scalia Sarcelles, the new Head of Slytherin and Potions master. She will hopefully be a better instructor than our last one. Moving on, we also need to fill the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Due to a lack of Professors in that field, we hired an available wizard, though he had not much experience in the Defense field, he knows much about different defenses, such as keeping our magic secret from muggles. Our Minister of Magic recommended him at last minute, so we thank him for coming in on such short notice. I bring you, Professor Arthur Weasley. Thank you, that is all." Professor McGonagall sat down again and a huge wave of surprised exclamations through the hall.
"Ronald! You didn't tell me that your dad was going to become professor!" Hermione and Harry exclaimed in unison.
"I…I didn't know…" Ron said, a bewildered expression on his face. "Blimey, if only dad would tell me these things. Ginny, did he tell you anything?" Ron asked his red haired sister.
"Ahh no! Not dad! He couldn't teach to save his life!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her hands down on the table and flipping a pumpkin pastie into Neville's surprised face. She tucked a long red strand of hair behind her ear and continued, "Do you have any idea on how bad this will be for my reputation? To think that my own father is teaching a cursed position! He could be killed for all I know! Well, I'm off to bed. See you guys later."
The sixth year stood from her seat, and left after flashing a pair of bright green eyes fondly at Harry. If only he would notice me…Ginny thought as she exited the doors to the Hall. Everyone at the table waved goodbye, save one preoccupied Neville. The clumsy seventh years round pink face was now splattered with an orange pastry filling. "Why is it always me?" He said agonizingly while attempting to wipe off his face.
Ron scanned the room, trying to avoid the eyes of his father (Who he was positive would embarrass him.) When his eyes drifted to the Slytherin table he noticed a particularly nasty sneer coming from Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy was a handsome seventh year Slytherin with ice cold eyes and platinum blonde hair. Ron also noticed that Malfoy's eyes seemed to be throwing glances at the new potions master.
Draco continued to sneer, but soon he moved his eyes to the potions master and they wanted to linger. Scalia Sarcelles was tall, and slender with a curvy figure. She had long blonde hair that brushed just below her exposed knees. Her skirt was most likely considered too short by the majority of the staff, but Draco found it rather attractive. A black, floor length cloak was opened to reveal an emerald green no sleeved top which was adorned with a silvery snake. A silvery chain hung in the center of her chest (which was rather large), and attached to the chain was an emerald the size of a large marble ornamented with a silvery snake that wrapped around it.
Malfoy attained Crabbe (A large seventh year with hanging gorilla-like arms) and Goyle's (Another large seventh year with extremely large feet) attention, and whispered. "I think I'll grow to like potions class…," with an exceptionally large smirk.
When Malfoy's gaze shifted to the opposite end of the staff table, he shuddered. A Weasley was filling in the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor! That muggle lover was a disgrace to the wizarding world. It was utterly difficult to think of a Weasley as a pure blood. Their bright red hair and glowing green eyes made them easy to target, and it would be nice to accidentally hex one of their numbers.
"How the bloody hell are we supposed to learn from that filth!" Malfoy exclaimed, nudging Crabbe and Goyle who were busy stuffing their faces with food. The two fat thugs laughed and said through full mouths "That's funny!".
"It wasn't supposed to be funny, you fools! If I am ever going to become a death eater, I need to know how to defend myself! Of course, I already know almost everything. I just don't like to gloat in front of some of the less intelligent students." Draco said with a chuckle. He glared over at Hermione, his only real rival. Last year, she had only gotten 2 marks that were significantly higher than him! He could beat her, and he would. He wouldn't loose to a filthy Mudblood.
Draco stood up from the table and said "Well, I'm off. I don't really enjoy seeing you two imbeciles stuff your fat faces. Goodnight, Pansy." Draco waved to the pug-faced, black haired girl who was seated next to him. The whiny girl had had a profound love for him ever since she set her beady eyes on him.
"Nighty night, my Drakie-poo!" Pansy squealed and batted her thick eyelashes at the sour-faced Slytherin. "Maybe we should go together. You never know, there might be a detour…" Pansy said giggling. But Draco just shook his head and said "Not tonight, Pansy. I'm tired." Draco was anything but madly in love with Pansy, even though she thought that he was. Pansy just frowned and said "Well, goodnight then."
As Draco was crossing the hall, he shot a look at Fleur, the new student and Tri-Wizard contestant. He hadn't really realized, but she was absolutely beautiful. Her long hair, her fair face, her soft, blue eyes. Everything about Fleur was enchanting. She was almost like a veela, her features grabbing your attention. Goodness! There are so many attractive new witches this year! Too bad she's in Gryffindor. Such beauty shouldn't be wasted.
With one last look around the hall, Draco exited and found himself looking at the youngest Weasley, Ginny. "What are you doing just walking around the halls like that? You should be crawling down on the floor, such filth like you." Draco said with a sneer. Ginny just turned bright red, her face almost matching her hair, and ran into the nearest bathroom. "Weasleys…" Draco muttered. He briskly walked towards his common room and entered through the portrait hole. He ran up to the dormitory and undressed. He lay down on his bed and fell asleep, thinking about all the girls he had met today.
