Well... I'm kinda new here and this is the first time I ever wrote anything like this so I hope its good. I'm not very good with grammar so beware and I'm not good with French either. This was inspired by an amazing band by the name of Acceptance! Sadly they are not together any more T-T. Anyway enjoy!

Italics are thoughts or emphasis.

(This is a Fleur and Hermione fem-slash btw)

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or anything... basically I own nothing. -


I Believe

Love... A word that cannot be defined with simple letters. Sure, you can look in a dictionary and mange to get a dry meaning of the term, but in reality it is so much more.

But if this was so, why was it that a young girl with brown bushy hair sat in the library of Hogwarts, shuffling the pages of books, seeking for the definition of the undefinable term? Why was she searching the pages with sick desperation that anyone who passed by her would think that she was a nervous breakdown in the making. The answer was simple, it was because she was in love. However she was not in love with any old fellow. She had fallen in love with her.

"Argh!" She griped softly, remembering she was in a quiet place.

"Why is this so complicated!" She literally wanted to hit her head on the table in frustration. This time she couldn't confide in books like usual and it agitated her greatly. Books were the references of life, the unquestionable resource of everything, books were the undeniable creed of Hermione. Whatever manifestation a book said was true, was law in Hermione's regard. But how are you supposed to follow a law which cannot be found nor existed? You can't. She silently gave up and let out a flustered sigh as she packed up her things.

Never had a novel, scripture or any written text given her this much hindrance. No book had ever caused her so much confusion. Actually it's not the books that are at fault, it's that stupid emotion. She concluded bitterly as she stalked out of the library with her beaten up messenger bag at hand.

This year had came with bountiful affairs instead of the regular had to save the wizard world from destruction or being on guard for any crazed lunatics running around. This year Hogwarts had revived the TriWizard's Tournament which had never been held in centuries. That meant students from two other schools, Dumstrung and Beauxbatons, currently resided with the rest of the student body. Although, that was when the commotion commenced.

It had been months since someone had arrived, to be exact it had been seven months, twelve days, fifteen hours and twenty-nine minutes since she had first showed up. Hermione inwardly groaned at the detail that she had been counting the days...hours...minutes. Why, why, why! Why did her heart beat so rapidly when she was around? Why did her pulse quicken every time she talked to her or grabbed her hand? Why did she ever had to fall head over heels in love with her at all!

Thud.

Speaking of head over heels, now she was physically head over someone else's heels. She mentally scolded herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings or rather to who was in her surroundings.

"O', I am sorry 'Ermione. I did not see you zere." She glanced up to find herself staring into those piercing blue eyes that she often dreamed about as her heart started to race. Why now? She was still staring into those azure eyes, the eyes that matched her beautiful blonde hair. Hermione's trance ended when a hand was pushed in front of her face. Her hand. Yes, she was in love. And yes, the person she loved was standing ahead of her. And that person was none other than... Fleur Delacour. She was the flower of her dreams, the apple of her eye, the love of her life, the list could go on and on but in the end she was the one who stole her heart.

"Ummm... 'Ermione, I know many people do but I would appreciate eet eef you would stop staring." She joked. Hermione blushed, noticing she had been staring at the blonde witch.

"Oh sorry. I was uuhh thinking of something..." She mumbled the first thing that popped into her head as she took hold of Fleur's hand and hoisted herself up, little electric shocks ran up her body as her hand made contact with Fleur's. How is she able to turn me into a pile of incoherent mush?

"Really, w'at were you zinking about?" Hermione could see twinkles of amusement in the French witch's eyes which mocked her embarrassment.

"Nothing at all." She said lamely as the little shocks from her hand, which was still in Fleur's continued pulsing through her body, not that she minded of course.

"Eet seems like you are zinking of a certain someone." She winked.

"Nonsense, you know I don't like anyone!" Hermione lied as she knew perfectly well that she liked, no loved, the person she was with at the moment.

"'Mmm, fine zen." Fleur smirked a bit. "I will drop eet for now."

"Glad to hear it." Hermione laughed nervously. "So how's Hogwarts been for you?"

"Eet eez vairy grand, and quite damp too. Eizer zan zat eet eez not so bad." The blonde woman replied as she gently slipped out of the other's grasp, much to Hermione's displeasure. They began to stroll towards the Beauxbaton's carriage.

"If you stay long enough you can get used to it."

"I would guess so but eet still lacks zat je ne sais quoi zat Beauxbaton 'as. Per'aps you s'ould visit Beauxbaton sometime?"

"Perhaps... I'll think about it."

"Eet eez vairy nice alzough eets size eez nozing compared to 'Ogwarts."

"But isn't it in France?"

"Zat s'ould not be a problem. You are a witc', are you not?"

"Well, yes but I don't think I'd be showing up any time soon."

"Eet eez merely a suggestion." The pair exited the immense building as a cool zephyr blew by. Hermione momentarily shivered as Fleur stiffened. Regardless the two trekked their way through the hard ground.

"'Ermione, maybe you s'ould go back to ze castle. Eet eez getting quite dark." Fleur advised as she noted the inky horizon and the shimmering moon who had arisen . "I would not be content eef I were ze cause of you being tardy." Hermione was torn between having caught curfew and having escorted her crush back to her dorm. She could already see the silhouette of the wagon that meshed with the shadows of the Forbidden Forest and the illumination that poured through the windows of the carriage, hence she choose the latter.

"It's okay, we're almost there anyway."

"Zat eez vairy, 'ow you say, chivalrous of you." She gave the English witch a fervent smile. A smile which had caused a warmth in Hermione's heart to swell and spread throughout her body. Her smile is absolutely gorgeous!

"I wouldn't think so."

"A', you are too modest."

"You reckon?" She contemplated out loud as they reached the door of the housing.

"A tad but zat eez w'at makes you 'Ermione." Hermione beamed appreciatively as Fleur moved to stand in front of the doorway. "Mecri beaucoup for escorting me."

"It's no problem."

"Eef you eensist." Hermione still had a simper on her visage as the older witch hugged her. As soon as her arms wrapped themselves around her frame, Hermione felt as if she had died and gone to a Fleur-filled heaven. She could smell the lilac aroma that expanded off of the other's physique and felt the slight tickles of Fleur's hair in her face. Lovely... To make matters worse, or better, the Frenchwoman whispered in her ear; "Bon soir 'Ermione." Precedent to departing.

Hermione stood there before she underwent a thrill of light-heartedness. She nearly skipped towards the castle with a grin plastered on her face, oblivious to the grim nightfall and stunned silence. She felt as if her heart throbbed out of control, or was it? She couldn't tell if it vibrated so hastily or if it completely stopped but she knew one thing. She had fallen for Fleur Delacour.

She didn't know when or how it transpired but she did know that she was in love, that was indubitable. Hence the countless instances she had spent in the athenaeum in which she attempted to sort out her affections, none of those occasions had comforted her though since none of them had aided her. Initially, she thought the weird sensations she had for Fleur was an adoration for how poised and alluring she was except as she began to affiliate with the French beauty a nagging in her conscience developed. The nagging had caused her to reconsider the sensations into an article of some unknown proportion, until eventually she had arrived at the outcome of having an infatuation. How could that be? How could Hermione had fallen in love with an individual so... Fleur? She did not know thus she had buried those emotions under layers of phlegmatic actions or bad-tempered mannerisms

"Balderdash." She stated as she realized the Fat Lady was onward. Fortunately, she was able to retreat to the Gryffindor common room without the nuisance of any unwanted confrontations.

"You're lucky I'm still here, by this time I would've been visiting my friend blah blah blah." Hermione didn't pay any attention to the blathering painting as she stepped inside the sitting room, she had far too much on her mind. My, I got here fast. She checked the clock above the fireplace.

11:59 PM.

One minute before midnight, she didn't feel tired nor fatigued so she lazily settled into one of the red and gold recliners and inspected the flicking flames of the fire. The glow from the flares warmed up her figure but not as greatly as Fleur had, she teased the embers with a poking stick. When had I fallen in love with Fleur? Her recollection travelled to the time she had first saw the blonde temptress.

She had spotted her through the masses of feminine beauty the second before she waltzed away from the group and curtseyed with her little sister trailing behind. Back then she thought Fleur was just a pretty face. A pretty face that had no brain capability and probably a shallow personality to boot. In other words, the stereotypical Barbie girl.

Hermione perceived that she was materialistic, plastic, not the brightest bulb on the rack, and so forth yet she glared at the way the Frenchwoman radiated elegance in every movement she made. Of course most, if not all, of the student male population had their eyes glued to her. Hell, even some of the female students had their eyeballs fixed on her, but in a more subtle way than the males. At that time Hermione caught Harry staring at the Frenchwoman too but not as intensely as Ron was, in fact Ron was so unaware of his gestures that he had left his mouth hanging open. Hope he catches flies like that.

Admittedly, she was a little jealous of how Fleur could get a whole group of men and women ogling her but at the same time she was not entirely sure if being observed constantly was a good thing. Nevertheless she was mesmerized by the fact that the fair haired woman was so mind boggling beautiful! She had heard Ron mention something about the older girl being a Veela but she had ruled out that possibility unlike him who'd turn purple by the sight of her.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" He had exclaimed and proceeded to check the French witch out... again. Boys! Hermione hadn't believed him before but now she knew better, Ron had been right. I mean, a person can't be that stunning without being some sort of siren!

She continued to prod the cinders. Who would have guessed I would be infatuated with Fleur? Fleur for crying out loud! In the past I would have never guessed that I'd want her to be with me. No one would've guessed that the we would even be friends with the way I treated her. Ahhh, this is all too frustrating! She gave one of the glowing rocks a particular hard shove.

She had felt like this months prior but had not pondered about the swirling typhoons of emotions until a couple of weeks ago. The method she had established when Fleur was mentioned or was near during those periods was to shift into a brash, short-tempered façade or ignore her completely. Her approach worked until she was forced into a situation that hadn't allowed either tactics to function.

She recalled the encounter like it was yesterday for that was the day when all barriers crashed down. It was the day to be reckoned with. It was the day the two had came to a conclusion, abundant to Hermione's distaste at that span of her life.

It had been a sunny Saturday afternoon, logically no one had any classes. Many of her peers had been frolicing outside or plainly 'hanging out' but dissimilar to them, Hermione wasn't one to be a normal teenager. Therefore instead of having spent her day with her two best mates, she decided she'd like to get a head start on a class assignment.

She glided her way through the corridors of books rummaging for a volume about the study of Herbology yet she somehow immersed herself so far into the library that she wandered into a deserted area. She placed her belongings on a nearby table as she began to explore this new found territory. I've never been here before, maybe I can find something useful on Fluxweed?

She eventually discovered a secluded room filled with assorted old books and cleaning supplies. Obviously, she sauntered into the library's janitor closet. She turned and jiggled the knob but discovered it to be stuck. Her features widened in fear as she began to pound ruthlessly at the door.

"Help! Someone help! I'm stuck in here!"

She pressed her ear to the wooden door as she prayed someone heard her. Luckily, someone did hear her as footsteps scuttled to the door frame.

"'Ello eez someone in 'ere?"

She cursed upon hearing the accent. It was some snobbish student from Beauxbaton, but she supposed getting their help was better than being stuck in a broom closet for hours on end.

"Yes, I'm stuck in h-!" Previous to Hermione finishing her sentence light cascaded into the room, but as soon as the flash entered it disappeared with a slight click. "Ere..." She scraped her fingers through her wild hair. Great, just peachy, now I'm not only stuck in a closet, I'm stuck in a closet with some pompous French beauty queen! This is what you get for studying on the weekend! She heard the other witch try to turn the handle.

"O', eet eez stuck..."

"That's what I was going to say." She sighed. How could this day end up from perfectly normal to obscenely stressful?

"I am sorry, I did not know..."

"Don't fret over it." She replied irritably.

"Eet eez a beet dark in 'ere, non?"

"Yeah." She reached into her robes just as the other witch did.

"Lumos!" They both cast. Hermione was shocked to find that the girl she was trapped with was the same girl that had everybody star-struck. She promptly raised her defensive wall as a strange gut reaction surged. Despite her blockade she understood why the girl had most people dumbfounded at the shear sight of her. Her icy blue eyes, flowing light hair and attractive facial features was surely Aphrodite's gift to mankind. Not to mention great body... where the hell did that come from? What in the bloody hell am I thinking! Maybe I should spend less time with Ron and Harry? She reinforced her veneer just as the other girl started to talk.

"Since we are going to be stuck 'ere for a w'ile I would like to know w'om I am talking wiz.' Hermione was caught off guard by how straightforward she was.

"Don't you think it's a bit rude to ask that?"

"I do not zink so, I am simply asking for your name."

"Maybe I don't want to give it to you." She observed the skeptical look the blonde shot at her. She knew she acted childishly but she didn't care. I don't want that woman to acknowledge me, I don't even want her to look at me... or do I? What the hell! I should really spend less time with the boys! She shuffled over to sit on top of a box, which most likely held books in it. Minutes pasted and not a single word was exchanged, the only noises that were heard was the soft breaths of the other. Although, Hermione had caught the Frenchwoman giving her multiple glimpses. Why is she looking at me? She thought as the fair haired witch once again gave her a squint.

"What?" She snapped. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Non."

"Then why are you staring at me!?"

"'Ow long do you zink eet will be unteel we are found?" The older witch evaded her earlier question.

"I don't know." She answered dryly. Figures she'd ignore me. She sensed her heart weigh down but it gave her more incentive to strengthen her wall.

"Well, w'at time does zis place close?"

"Near 10:30... why?"

"Do zey ever searc' ze place?" And again she ignored my question.

"Not that I know of." She risked a glanced at the foreign witch, momentarily the blonde witch was leaning against one of the walls. Hermione scrutinized her face and pursued to read her expression. Indifference... it was all she could see on her visage.

"I take eet you do not like me?" The lady spoke spasmodically.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Ze way you are be'aving and ze tone of your voice."

"Why would you care?"

"Must you persist on being so stubborn?"

"I am not stubborn." The French witch scoffed. "And what's that suppose to mean?" She glared daggers at her.

"Look at you. You be'ave like a child yet you are obviously not and you treat me like I 'ave done wrong to you, w'en in reality I 'ave done nozing but ask for your name!" Hermione knew she was right. She knew that this girl, this lady, this woman hadn't done anything of the sort. As a matter of fact, this was single-handedly the first time either of these witches had spoken to each other. Immature, that was the word that described her act... immature and foolish. Still Hermione didn't want to part with her disguise for the churning of uncertainty had caused nameless impulses to erupt from her core. Are there butterflies in my stomach? She shot a venomous stare at her.

"I see, you do not get my point." I get your point. But I don't want to comprehend it... She decided to tune out the older witch. Nothing happened for what seemed like forever. Nothing... but the sound of French mutterings. Why am I so... insensible? Why do I feel so... sorry? So condemned? So wrong? Maybe I should just apologised? I mean, I am acting like a selfish prat and what have she ever done to me. Nothing! From a logical stand point if I continue my façade then we'll be in here forever...

"Okay, I'm... I'm... I'm sorry." Hermione swallowed her pride and shattered the pieces of her mask as she stood. Okay...that wasn't so bad, was it? Then why do I have these abnormal stirrings? Why do I feel so... vulnerable? She probably hates me now or something. But I shouldn't feel this bad, should I? Oh, what's wrong with me? She glanced at her only to come across the sight of the other's back. The blonde woman had her back turned while muttering more gibberish in French.

"I apologise for behaving this way. I just wasn't -"

"Zinking?" The French witch faced her. Hermione spotted growing frustration upon her face as a few strands of light hair fell away. She was stunned by how beauteous she looked. My gosh, she's ...beautiful.

"Uuuhh, y-yeah." The blonde woman shrugged.

"Eet does not matter now. W'at does matter eez zat we get out of 'ere before we bot' die from ze lack of oxygen." Against herself, Hermione smirked at the joke.

"Have you tried using spells?"

"Zat eez w'at I was doing w'ile you were..."

"Being juvenile?"

"Oui."

"My name's Hermione by the way..." She peeped as she focused at the other's eyes.

"Eet eez nice to meet you. Je m'appelle Fleur Delacour."

"Likewise." Hermione felt some of the prejudice for the woman leave her.

They had spent that afternoon simply talking, learning and understanding one another. By the time Madame Pince turned up and discovered them, Hermione had found a common ground with Fleur. Let's just say, the end of that day sparked the new begining of an odd friendship.

She chuckled slightly as she set the poker down. Denial. During those days she was in denial. Denial of having been attracted to Fleur, denial of her emotions, denial of everything when it came down to her. Also that wearisome pretense was all because of denial. All the same, Hermione came to an agreement with her heart. The agreement was that she was in love with the woman.

...woman.

My, how things change over time, she mused, I'd never in a million years thought I'd be wanting a relationship with a woman, Fleur nonetheless. Not that there was anything wrong with that but I'd never thought of myself as a bisexual. Yes, I still like boys but I am slightly attracted to girls. Fleur's proof of that. She sighed longingly. Wow, things have changed since the first moment I stepped in this castle.

She barely heard the gentle splutters of the inferno as she nodded off to a quiet slumber.


And thats that! Peace! Oh and to clarify this isn't a oneshot.