His wife was sulking.

She was adorable when she sulked, arms crossed across her slender chest, lip poking out in a pout that was far more endearing than it had any right to be. She refused to look at him when he was facing her, but he knew that whenever he looked away she was directing a scorching glare at his back. It was not the first time they had gone through this dance, and he highly doubted it would be the last, but there was nothing that could be done. He had to go, she could not come and she had to accept it or sulk for the next month or longer.

"Are you going to say anything to me before I leave?" Bill asked at last, setting his suitcase down beside the fireplace. "You know I'm on a schedule, I can't just wait around while you sulk to my face and glare at my back."

Fleur continued to stare at the spot just above Bill's head.

Bill sighed. "Hermione should be over soon," he said, lighting the fire and taking a handful of sparkling Floo Powder from a pot on top of the mantle. Last time he had gone on an extended vacation he had returned to find his house cold and empty, Fleur having taken Victorie to her mother's, refusing to stay in an empty house. This time he had begged Hermione, a woman who Fleur at least respected, to come and stay so that Fleur would not leave the house empty and unlocked to get back at him. Sometimes he thought that she was more like a spiteful cat than anything else. "Try not to destroy the house while I'm gone." He tossed the Floo Powder into the flames and stepped into the jumping green fire before Fleur could respond.

"Sometimes that man sets my teeth on edge," Fleur gritted as she unfolded herself from her position on the couch to stretch. Remaining curled up for the entire morning, just to let Bill know how displeased with him she truly was, had done nothing good for her muscles. The fire flared up in the fireplace again, causing Fleur's eyes to narrow. If that was Bill trying to get her to bend, then she would tell him exactly what she thought- "Oh," she said aloud when a head topped with bushy brown hair emerged. "Hello, Hermione."

"You look upset," Hermione noted, brushing the soot off of her Muggle jeans. "I take it that I've missed Bill, then?"

"You have," Fleur confirmed. "My miserable excuse of a husband left a moment before you arrived."

Hermione winced a little as she set her bags down. "Bill was right," she stated. "You do get a little testy whenever he leaves."

Fleur whirled, eyes flashing. She needed something to vent her anger upon, and it looked as though Hermione was going to give her a nice, large target. "Don't you take his side. You're here to watch me, not because I invited you."

Quirking her eyebrow, Hermione crossed her arms across her chest. "I came partially as a favor," she admitted, "but also partially because it's nice to get away from the city once in awhile and... what was that last reason? Oh yes, I've grown slightly fond of you in the past few years and I wouldn't mind spending time with you and little Victorie. But if you're going to snap my head off because I came, then I can leave just as easily. What's it matter to me if you leave the house to go to your mother's?"

"You're not just here to keep an eye on me?" Fleur asked, more than a little surprised by Hermione's admission, her anger already draining away. She had admired the intelligent young woman since she had gotten to know her better, but had always thought that Hermione had the same view of her as Ginny Weasley.

"No," Hermione said flatly. "Now can you tell me where I'm staying so I can put this all away and say hello to Victorie?"

"Let me show you," Fleur murmured, directing Hermione towards the stairs. Maybe this month would not be so bad as the last one had been. Company of a someone nearer to her age was always better than the company of her aging, though beloved, mother. Victorie would certainly be pleased. The young girl loved her 'Auntie Hermione'.

Hermione draped herself across the large, fluffy bed in the guest room, amazing at the softness of the pillows. From the pillows to the wallpaper, everything about this room beat her flat back in London. "At least I get to stay here for a month," she murmured, flipping over to pull out an antique hand mirror. Not that it would be a dull month by any means. There was something that she had to accomplish while she was here and Hermione always did what she set out to do. "Luna," she whispered into the mirror, waiting several moments for the dreamy eyed blonde who went along with the name to appear. When she did not, Hermione sighed and placed the mirror face down on the nightstand.

"Auntie Hermione!" The squeal came from a tiny girl who was now throwing herself at Hermione with reckless abandon, blond curls bouncing and blue eyes sparkling. "You're really here! Mommy said you were, but I didn't think she was telling the truth, but you are!"

Laughing, Hermione hugged the small blond girl before holding her back a little. "You've grown," she noted. Victorie Weasley had her mother's hair and features, someday she would be a real beauty, and her father's charming blue eyes. "Anyone ever tell you that you're going to break some hearts when you get older?"

The girl giggled. "You did!" she declared happily. "Every time you see me!"

"That's right I do. It's only because it's getting more and more true the older you get."

"How long are you staying for?"

"Until your father comes home. I think he said that it'll take about a month."

Victorie tilted her head, a charming smile working its way onto her face that instantly put Hermione on guard. Victorie was adorable and she knew it, plus she had that Veela nature, so she had a way of trying to get people to do things for her. Like any other child, only with a slight advantage due to her heritage. "Can we go to Diagon Alley?" she asked, a certain lilt to her voice that Hermione had noticed in Fleur's while she was talking to Bill from time to time. Clever little one.

"I'm sure that we will be able to," Hermione replied. "Until then why don't you go play with the new doll I left on the table in your playroom?"

Victorie's eyes widened. "You brought me another doll?"

"Don't I always?" The blond girl laughed and leaned up to kiss Hermione's cheek before darting out the door, only narrowly avoiding a collision with her mother, who muttered something in French as the tea tray she was carrying nearly went crashing to the floor. "For me?" Hermione asked, nodding at the tea.

"For us," Fleur corrected, setting the tray on the empty stand before settling on the end of the bed. "You spoil her. That must be why you're her favorite."

Hermione smiled as she picked up a cup of tea, a whiff of it revealing that it was her favorite blend. Pleased that Fleur had remembered she said, "We all spoil her, you included. It's like that with Veela children, is it not?"

Fleur nodded, eyes a little distant. "Except with our males, they are treated a little different. But we can discuss that later. For now let us drink and relax."

"Yes, let's."