She Comes Back to Me (In Gold and Yellow)
Chapter One – Something New
August – Summer of 2003
The orangey-red sun rose over the horizon, creating a warm glow in the early morning sky. A simple black four-by-four drove on, whooshing past all the trees and fields filled with yellow daisies or wheat.
The sight amazed the little girl sitting inside, her face pressed against the coldness of the window, her breathe fogging up the glass. She would always love it when it did that, she would usually draw her name or put her handprint amongst it, but this time she didn't, this time her focus was on the outside world.
It seemed like such a magical sight.
She always did love car journeys, she found it quite humorous that her cousin would grow pale in cars sometimes, she simply couldn't fathom how that was possible. The journey was the best part, or so she thought, and with Hermione, whatever she thought goes, otherwise what would be the point in thinking at all if no one was going to follow her instructions.
Adults confused her.
"Hermione, stop staring like that. You'll grow a cold if you press your face against the window for too long." Her mother lectured, for the third time that day.
Her mother was very protective of her, something Hermione never really understood. Her Aunt was never like that with her cousin Jeffrey, she would let him climb up trees and poke bees nest's without one single fuss, if that was her mother – well, Hermione wouldn't even want to know. Adults were so confusing sometimes.
Hermione scrunched her eyebrows at her mother's comment, she may be a child but even she knew that that was highly unlikely to happen, but alas she listened to her mothers wishes anyway, not that she wanted too, though. She folded her arms tightly and rested them on her chest with an exaggerated huff. She blow some of her fallen brown hair out of her face before returning to her usual sitting position, looking out the front window. Or trying too at least.
But she knew that it wouldn't be long until she could see out of there fully, with each stretch of her limbs she could feel herself growing just that little inch more. She knew it worked too, for each time she did she could see a new part of the outside. First just the sky, and then the trees, and soon even the bushes just under the trees, it wouldn't be long until she could see everything now.
Hermione liked to see everything, she hated being the only one not knowing, maybe that's why she never found surprises all that interesting, or presents too for that matter. Although she would never turn down free gifts, they were the best part.
"How long now?" Hermione asked begrudgingly, she had asked this several times already, only to hear the same answer every time.
"Not long now, dear, we'll be there soon." Her mother stated, almost as if Hermione should have known this already.
And that's the thing Hermione would have known this, had her mother not said that every other time too, now she was just confused again because which one was she supposed to believe the most, for all she knew they could 'almost be there now' in an hours time, like all the other ones had been too.
Adults were just too confusing, even for her.
She looked at the time; it had just gone past six in the morning, well that's what the digital clock said anyway. She was still learning to perfect that; time. She knew she would get there soon though, at least quicker than any other nine year old she knew.
So with one quick flick of her brown, bushy hair, she decided to return back to her light reading again, 'Quantum Physics, 101.' She rested the heavy book onto her lap, opened it up to the middle page – she was so glad that she was almost done with this already, she had taken far too long to read it all, it had gone past a week already – before going back to where she last was and reading on.
Hermione knew that most children wouldn't do things like this, but she found Physics fascinated her, much more than Barbie dolls ever would, so why would she pretend. Besides she knew her mother loved it when she would see her reading like this, just like she knew she was smiling at her now, she could see her through the corner of her eyes, and knowing that would always make her smile too.
So with that Hermione remained quiet throughout the rest of the journey, only partially listening to the small chatter of her parents as they tried to make light conversation just to pass the time away. Hermione waited on with baited breathe, as the sun rose higher and higher, and the day began to tick on by, she just couldn't wait to get to their destination.
They had made it, finally. It had just gone past ten in the morning, and Hermione was ecstatic. She couldn't believe that her parents had taken her here again, she loved this campsite the most, the last time she was here was two years ago. They had gone to another site last year, but she couldn't help but feel that this site was better, it was almost like it was engraved in her mind, and she could never stop thinking about it.
The brown shades of the forest in the background, running along the side, and the darker shade of the cabins that many families choose to sleep in, instead of traditional tents – like her parents preferred. The smell of wood, smoke, grass and trees, the mixture of it all would always leave Hermione with a big smile on her glowing face. She loved the smell of nature. But what she loved most were the familiar sounds of light chatter that would forever be floating in the air, almost as if nobody ever stopped talking to each other when they got here.
She loved that best, because she just loved the sound of people's voices. They intrigued her, made her want to know more about the person speaking because what Hermione had come to find was that everyone always had more to say, especially adults, they never stopped talking to one another.
Hermione would know, her parents spoke non-stop, but then again she couldn't really blame her father, he was a dentist after all. There would always be a patient that would stop to chat to him for a minute or two before he even started anything – she would forever be in awe of her father's workplace, especially when she went to see it for herself, she would always sit in a cold, plastic chair in the corner with a smile on her face.
Hermione loved seeing her father interact with children the most, though, he always knew how to put them at ease, because they were forever frightened of the needles they would see resting heavily on the worktops.
Hermione's father was the best dentist, in her eyes.
When she got out of the car Hermione unpacked the fold-out chair so she could rest, whilst her mother and father began preparing the tent – something Hermione was never allowed to join in with, her mother afraid of her poking her eyes out with the ends of the thin pole accidentally, another thing Hermione found highly ridiculous.
She took out her thick book again and carried on from her last page, she found that she was almost done now, she probably would have finished too had she not fallen asleep during the car journey here. Hermione tried not to scrunch her face at just the thought of it; she hated falling asleep during road trips. She liked to see everything, but how could she if she kept dozing off every few hours or so because of the early morning time. Hermione just decided to let this one go, though, she would finish the book soon enough, she only had a few more pages to go now.
Hermione began reading, in perfect bliss, when suddenly Hermione found herself caught off guard. A small, pale hand was thrust right in front of her face. She let out a loud gasp at the sight of it, having no idea where it had come from.
"Bonjour." A light voice rang through her ears.
Hermione felt her breath leave her at the sound of it, it was so soothing, but cheery at the same time. It reminded Hermione of when she would listen to her favourite girl group sing whilst going to sleep. Their voices where always squeaky and cheerful, like when her father would tickle her sides out of nowhere and end up chasing after her, their laughter filling the air.
Hermione didn't understand how this one voice could make her feel so much, with just one simple word. She knew straight away that this person, whoever it may be, would be the person that would intrigue her the most, and she hadn't even seen their face yet.
"Mon nom est Fleur Delacour, c'est quoi votre nom?" The same voice said through a small giggle.
Hermione looked up only to be met with bright eyes that looked like the ocean and a smile that could match the sunshine, just like the one in the sky right behind the little girl in front of her. She felt herself smile back, seeing the way the girl had her other small hand covering up her mouth, like as if she were trying to hide behind it and not let her chuckle out. But it was too late, because Hermione had heard it anyway.
The little girl looked around her age, maybe older, but then again she could just look older because she was quite tall. She had a white dress that hung down to her knees and frilled at the bottom, slightly. When Hermione looked close enough she could spot the little flower patterns upon it. She had a thin white belt that went around her waist and tied nicely at the front. Hermione couldn't help but think that she looked heavenly. Almost like a cotton candy cloud standing out amongst the bright blue sky. Her golden, blonde hair that fell down her shoulders were curled at the sides, they were pinned at the top to help see her eyes more.
Hermione didn't mind that, her eyes were the best part.
She knew that she shouldn't be staring, her mother always said that 'it was rude to stare,' especially at strangers. But she found she couldn't stop herself, and besides, Hermione was no longer sure if she was still a stranger, for how could she be when she knew her name – or at least that what she thought she had said. Again something that made her wonder why adults were so confusing, they just had so many rules that it was hard to keep up sometimes. So maybe not listening to a few of them wouldn't be so bad, just like she wasn't going to listen to that one.
Hermione wanted to stare, it wasn't everyday that she got to look at an angel.
"Pardon?" Hermione ended up asking, in her little voice, after a few more minutes of silent wonder between the two.
Hermione found the other girl staring too, so she thought maybe it was okay to do so; otherwise she would have stopped too. Hermione had partially forgotten what the girl had said, but she found that even so she wouldn't have known what that was anyway seeing as she certainly wasn't speaking English. Now Hermione wished she had learnt to speak another language, preferably the one the little girl was speaking, so then she could know what she was saying all the time.
She heard the girl let out another light giggle, one that floated straight through her and joined the many other voices in the air.
"Err, me, Fleur." The girl began to say slowly, her face becoming more serious as she tried to pronounce each word and match it with her hand movements.
She pointed at herself at the last word with a smile, almost as if she was proud of herself when she saw you nodding along.
"An… You?" She said slowly again, pointing at Hermione afterwards.
"Ahh." Hermione said, patting her finger to her chin when she realised what the girl meant.
She was asking for her name. She liked hers; Fleur. Hermione didn't recall ever hearing that one before. She was definitely from another country, maybe France. Her voice earlier sounded like it, but she could never be sure when it came to accents and languages, that was still something she was working on.
"Hermione." She said simply, lifting her hand also when she noticed the girls hand was still out in front of her.
The girl grabbed it gently and began bouncing it up and down, her head going along with it. Hermione found herself giggling along with the girl at the action, she loved shaking other people's hands, it made her feel grown up as she knew this was what the adults did.
"Errmiinee." The girl said elongating the word until it made Hermione laugh at the sound of it.
Hermione shook her head, this little girl was funny, and she began to think she could be good friends with her.
"No, it's Her-mi-o-ne." She chuckled, pronouncing each syllable slowly as to help her say it better.
"Er-mi-one." Fleur said her laughter breaking her words slightly, but Hermione could hear it all the same.
It sounded better at least, so she just nodded in silent encouragement. Fleur's eyes began to brighten at that, and Hermione no longer cared how she pronounced her name, as long as she continued to shine down on her like she was then. Even the sun was no comparison anymore.
The two placed their hands back down to their sides as Fleur began to smile again and played with the strings of her golden hair before she bounced towards Hermione on the heels of her feet, like she was suddenly excited to tell her something.
"Aimeriez-tu voir quelle que chose?" Fleur half spoke-half whispered, leaning closer towards her so she could hear her better. As soon as she said it she sprung back again and her face lifted up in excitement.
The only thing was Hermione couldn't understand what she had said, her face dropped instantly at this. She wanted to always know what she said. Her voice was the most intriguing of all, and she had heard plenty of voices from many people – her parents were well known in their work, making the Granger family high on the list of work parties. That was something Hermione didn't like so much, her mother would forever go on about her, and talk to her 'work friends' with such praise in her voice, it was almost as if Hermione wasn't even there. But then again, Hermione often felt like that at home.
That's why Fleur was so different, she had only met the girl with the bright golden hair and shining blue eyes, but she already loved the way she stared at her too.
It was something different, something new.
"Venez voir." Fleur said again with such happiness oozing out of her voice.
Hermione frowned even more; she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms once more. She still couldn't understand her. She hated not knowing.
"Venez, venez!" Fleur repeated in a hurry, her excitement seeming to wash onto Hermione too as she too began to brighten and lean forwards, closer to the girl.
Fleur waved her hand in front of her and pointed her head to the side, almost as if to tell Hermione something. Hermione scrunched her face in confusion before following Fleur's line of sight. When she too looked to the side she could see she was pointing towards the small, empty field across the fence of their part of the site, leading towards another.
Hermione wasn't so sure at first, her mother wouldn't be best pleased to see Hermione had run off with someone else, she had to at least tell her first. But she didn't think that Fleur knew English well, so she couldn't tell her that. Besides she looked far too happy to not listen to right now. Hermione didn't think it would be that bad. It was only the other side, she wouldn't be too far, or gone for too long either.
"Venez, venez." Fleur said again, still pointing with one hand and waving her to follow her with the other. Her eyes were so wide, her smile beaming.
Hermione looked down at the flimsy book on her lap and shook her head. She was never going to finish it now, not with this girl shining down on her like she was. If Fleur was staying at this campsite too, then Hermione didn't think she would ever see that book again. Fleur was already beckoning her on for an adventure. And that alone was enough to get Hermione up and out of her comfortable seat and rushing towards the girl, running along behind her.
She was something different, something new. Hermione didn't think she minded that.
She followed along, making sure to never let that golden hair out of her sight, but then again her dress was so white she didn't think she could ever lose her, not when the rest of the world was as dark and plain as it was.
Hermione stopped when Fleur came to halt, suddenly, just before they reached the long brown fence, she quickly turned to Hermione her face bright and filled with glee.
"Ont à besoin d'une bâton." Fleur breathed out, her breath still trying to catch up with her from all the running, but before Hermione could say anything she had already run straight past her.
She brushed past Hermione like the summer breeze before repairing again in record time. Hermione stared at her in bewilderment; she had never seen anyone move so fast in her life.
This girl amazed her.
When she came back Hermione noticed a new addition in her hands, the girl held it up towards her, showing it to her proudly. It was a light, brown wooden stick, quite long and slender and it had small branches on the side. Hermione just shook her head at the angel in front of her, she was definitely interesting.
"What? Why do you have a stick?" She chuckled out breathily, her smile never leaving her face, if anything it just grew bigger and bigger each time.
When the girl continued to stare at her, with the stick in hand, awaiting her response, Hermione just laughed some more. She definitely didn't understand English that was something she would have to work on, Hermione thought.
Hermione pointed at the stick in her hands, before lifting her own hands in the air with a shrug, as if to indicate that she didn't understand. Fleur's face slowly started to nod up and down, and Hermione knew that she understood.
"Tu vas voir, venez, venez." Fleur said quickly, bouncing with excitement once more, before beckoning Hermione to follow her again.
So Hermione did just that. When she saw Fleur make a run for it, she followed quickly behind her. Climbing over the fence, having to stretch on her hands first before bringing her legs around after – Hermione wasn't the tallest of nine year-olds, she knew that, but she was growing, a little bit more each day, at least that's what her father would say.
When they were across the other side, Hermione couldn't help but take a peek around, she hadn't been on this side before. It didn't really look any different; it had the same cabins as her side did but seemed to have fewer spaces for tents, which was understandable seeing as their field was much bigger.
Hermione carried on chasing after her, never once stopping to catch her breath. Hermione didn't mind running. But she started to slow down a tad bit when she saw where Fleur was going.
The forest.
She had never been in there before; it looked far too tall and scary, with all its many trees and wildlife, she didn't know what could be in there. She began to grow wearier the closer they got, until she stopped completely, just outside of it.
Fleur was already in there though; she hadn't stopped or turned around, maybe she thought she was just behind her. Hermione couldn't exactly call out either, so she just took in a breath before pushing her sleeves up higher. She could do this, she thought. With a determined look, mixed with excitement, she began to take her first steps inside.
Once she did she found she was amazed all over again, the place was beautiful. The leaves were so green and so high, all the way up towards the blue sky up above. She could hear the light sound of the wind brushing past the trees, and the humming of birds as they tweeted here and there.
The forest was magical; it wasn't anything to be afraid of. Hermione could breathe once more.
She began to look around, trying to find the source of why she was in here in the first place. That little girl in the white dress. She started to make her way deeper into the forest until she heard twigs snap, she spun around abruptly and was more than thrilled to see Fleur standing there, right in front of here. That bright smile still etched on her face, Hermione thought she could see her glowing even brighter now that the trees were shading the sun; it was almost like she was Hermione's new sunshine now.
"J'ai trouvez! Il est ici!" Fleur said in a slight rush, before pointing to her side to show Hermione what she meant.
Hermione was thankful that she at least knew that she couldn't understand her properly; maybe she would be willing to learn some English. Hermione could teach her, she wouldn't mind doing so.
But for now she would stick to following her, she would follow her anywhere.
She Never wanted to lose her.
They didn't run this time as Fleur only took them a few steps more until they came across a wide log. It was a dark, rusty brown and seemed to have just fallen onto the earthy ground some time ago; Hermione thought it would take a while to move it, if that's what Fleur wanted to do.
But she was surprised to find that Fleur didn't seem interested in the log at all, but more so what was on top of it. Hermione found she had to blink once to see it properly, she didn't even see it at first it was so small. But right there, on top of the hard, unmoving log, was a radiating yellow butterfly. Hermione gasped at the sight, she heard Fleur shuffle around a bit next to her, before she saw her kneel down right in front of it. Hermione followed her lead and did the same, ever so gently as to not make a sound and frighten it away.
The two girls found themselves in awe of the sight right before their eyes. The butterfly's wings were pointed up, like it was preparing to fly away. Hermione didn't like that thought she never wanted it to leave, not when they just got there. She leaned in some more and rested her arm on the log sideways so she could place her head just atop it. She tried to bury her nose into her arm, in order to make sure her breathing didn't scare it away also, and soon she was face to face with a real living and breathing butterfly.
It was so very beautiful, with its bright, yellow wings that held splodges of orange and red within it, something that could only be seen from up close. Its face seemed to be looking away from them, facing the side, but Hermione could see its mouth move up and down as if it were eating something. Hermione was amazed; this was the best sight she had ever seen in her life.
Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Fleur's hand move closer to the butterfly. The stick held firmly in her grasp, and Hermione watched with unblinking eyes as Fleur ever so gently let it rest just by the butterfly. And they both sat there patiently waiting for it to make the move.
And slowly, ever so slowly, the butterfly moved its head towards the stick before making its way onto it, and soon the yellow butterfly was perched, stock still, on the stick. Hermione couldn't stop the smile reaching her eyes.
When she looked to the side to see Fleur's reaction, she was met with bright blue eyes staring straight back at her. That smile flowing onto Hermione's face until she didn't think it would ever leave.
Fleur was doing the same as Hermione and resting her head upon her arm also, but now her face was to the side and it was all Hermione could see.
She was filled with everything, gold and yellow.
Hermione scrunched up her nose before she stuck out her tongue towards Fleur. Fleur let out a cheery laugh, one that was so full of joy it made Hermione begin to laugh too, her shoulders bouncing up and down.
She watched in silent glee as Fleur began to distort her face in all sorts of silly ways, making Hermione chuckle at the sight. She had never found anything quite as funny as this.
Then Fleur stuck out her tongue too and crossed her eyes at the same time. That had to have been Hermione's favourite silly face as it made her burst with laughter, her arm coming off the log and touching her stomach, she leaned forward in laughter, shaking with it. Hermione couldn't seem to stop. She had never laughed so much before, and she had seen many funny things too.
Fleur was something different, something new, and this time Hermione knew for certain; she didn't mind that at all.
A/N: I would just like to say a huge Thank You to Nahgemkerr12 for helping me with the French translations, I am hugely appreciative for your time. :)
French Translations:
"Bonjour" - Hello
"Mon nom est Fleur Delacour, c'est quoi votre nom?" - My name is Fleur Delacour. What is yours?
"Aimeriez-tu voir quelle que chose?" - Would you like to see something?
"Venez voir." - Come and see
"Venez, venez!" - Come, come!
"Ont à besoin d'une bâton." - We need a stick.
"Tu vas voir, venez, venez." - You'll see, come, come.
"J'ai trouvez! Il est ici!" - I've found it! It's here!
A/N: And there you have it, the first chapter of my new fic. What did you all think, was it good? Should I continue it? Would you even be interested in finding out more? All this I need to know, and would love to know from all of you, so please leave a review and tell me what you think! :D
-Y.A.M.L
