AN: Hey all, this is my first go at fanfiction, so I apologize if I have done anything wrong. I wrote this story literally in one week for my husband's birthday, so any mistakes are mine as I also don't have a beta. I do not speak French, so sorry for the mistakes of Google Translate. Thank you and enjoy!
I own nothing, as I am not clever enough to have my own book published yet, so don't sue me! I give full credit to J.K. Rowling for the amazing world she created, and several other creators for these two characters—make sure to give them all a read as well.
Bold is thoughts/conversation from the Veela.
Italics are Fleur's mental conversations with her Veela.
Loving Hermione Granger
I couldn't help but feel anxious as the Beauxbatons carriage soared through the clear skies towards its destination. I shifted, counting the girls beside me to make sure I had gathered them all in the foyer for Madame Maxine, the school headmistress.
"All right, ladies, zis is it. You have been selected as ze best of ze best at our school. Zis year, one of you will represent Beauxbatons at 'ogwarts for ze Triwizard Tournament. I know you will do me proud. Remember to keep you 'ead 'eld 'igh at all times. You are Veela, for Merlin's sake, you know all eyes will be on you, so flaunt it," the half-giant smiled, towering over us at her full height.
The younger girls giggled, looking forward to all of the new attention they could gather with their looks and thrall. I, however, was a bit more cautious. I would have to remind them again what my grandmére said before we left on this journey.
As Veela, our unnatural beauty could draw looks from both men and women without even trying. Add our thrall into the mix, a type of aura that Veela used to seduce their sexual prey, and no one could resist us.
This often annoyed me—as the heir to the Delacour clan, I had the responsibility of upholding the family name. In other words, I had no time to fantasize over little crushes. I wanted to wait, to keep myself for my mate, the one person whose soul would complete mine, whose magic would mix with mine as we would grow and become one.
My current fear, however, was keeping the younger girls of my clan in line. While I knew better than to prevent them from satisfying their Veela needs, I would have to remind them that we were still magical creatures, and, as such, would likely be treated somewhat poorly. Witches and wizards had a superiority complex when compared to those with creature blood, regardless that we were much more powerful than them. And Merlin knows I would do anything to keep my Sisters from being hunted like animals.
I kept my mouth shut until Madame Maxine left to check our course once more before saying anything. "All right, girls, please remember to be'ave. My grandmére 'as put me in charge during our stay at 'ogwarts. I do not want any trouble with ze British officials, am I clear? You can 'ave your fun, just keep it quiet and don't cause problems. By zat, I mean do not interfere with any existing relationships."
Some of the girls groaned and complained, but the moment I released some of my thrall to establish dominance in the group, they silenced and bowed their heads in respect. That was probably the best use I had for my thrall—to remind the girls that while we were away from home, I was in charge.
The Veela inside me stirred, seeming to be as anxious as I was about the coming school year at Hogwarts. It didn't often make its presence known, but when it did, it usually annoyed me. Are we there yet?
I sighed and rolled my eyes at the voice in the back of my mind. Does it look like we're there? I moved and looked out of one of the windows down at the ground passing below us. It huffed and grumbled about the trip taking forever. While I had to agree with it, I couldn't do anything to speed us up. If it were out instead of inside me, I could swear the Veela would be crossing its arms.
Nearly half an hour later, I spotted the large castle in the distance. A couple others noticed it and gasped, quickly calling attention to it, and the rest of the girls swarmed to the windows to check it out. I had to say, the old stone structure was quite impressive.
The Veela sighed with relief and tried to tug at me to move towards the door to the carriage. I had to chastise it and remind it that we couldn't leave until Madame Maxine exited first. Always taking my fun from me. How could it consider this fun?
After another twenty minutes or so, the carriage came to a stop on a large field outside of the castle. Madame Maxine stepped to the door and glanced back at us, displaying how we should present ourselves before she pulled the handle and stepped outside. I filed the girls out, leaving last and closed the door behind me.
Immediately, my breath was stolen from the cool air. "Zis is terrible—'ow do zey expect us to live 'ere when we will freeze to death?" Victoria stated through chattering teeth. Several others agreed and wrapped their arms around themselves, small puffs of breath becoming visible in front of our mouths.
"Come now, girls, you are tougher zan zis, are you not? Or per'aps I was wrong to select you to represent our school," Madame Maxine said, rubbing her chin as if pondering her decision.
"Non! We will do better," Abigail quickly replied. The others also promised to stay strong and show their worth. To prove their point, they stood taller, lowing their arms, and raising their heads. I chuckled at the sight but followed suit.
Madame Maxine beamed, her tactic having worked to restore the pride in her school. "Good, now come. We will make ourselves known to Dumblydore." With that, our little clan followed the half-giant inside, which was only slightly warmer, partially ignoring the crowd that had gathered to witness our arrival. I didn't have to look to know most of them were drooling.
Time for some fun! my Veela cheered. Non, time to behave. It growled and complained about having to be caged up like this, though it knew I was right. We had this conversation many times before we left France. I even went so far as to have grandmére use her Alpha thrall to force my Veela to comply, something I was reminding it of now.
Our headmistress spoke with the legendary headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore, and before long, we were being given a tour of the giant school. It was even bigger on the inside than it had appeared from the outside. I could easily see myself and my Sisters getting lost. Perhaps we could put our looks to use to get help finding classes. As our walk was coming to an end, we found ourselves in front of an enormous set of double doors.
"Zis is where we will make our entrance," Madame Maxine announced. The girls chattered gleefully, ready to see what the school had to offer. "Before we go in, ze 'eadmaster 'as asked for you all to not draw in too many students. He doesn't want us to cause problems and 'as suggested zat you make use of ze nearby town of 'ogsmeade when looking for prey."
I sighed in relief. This would hopefully help keep the girls out of too much trouble as well as allow them to satisfy their needs. What about my needs? We're not here to satisfy our own needs—we're here to represent our school. Ugh.
Suddenly, the double doors swung open on their own, and we stepped inside, performing just as we had rehearsed, releasing butterflies at the end as we bowed. Naturally, I could feel the thrall hanging heavy in the air, realizing some of it was my own, and I pulled it back, chastising my Veela who was chuckling. Serves you right for torturing me. I had to keep my smile as pleasant as possible and prevent my eyes from rolling back as we were directed to a table with blue banners.
Moments after we had taken our seats next to the staring students, the double doors opened again and the boys from Durmstrang came pounding in. The younger girls next to me giggled with joy at the show of power, something I was sure their Veela's would love to challenge. I shot them a warning look, and they quieted down, still grinning.
After they had also taken their seats under green banners, the old headmaster spoke about the school rules, places students were forbidden from accessing, and introduced the professors who would be teaching us this year. When he finished, he waved his hands and the tables instantly filled with platters piled high with an assortment of food. Students eagerly dug in, though many eyes remained on us. I did my best to ignore the stares and delicately placed food on my plate. More than my Sisters, I had to remain professional.
"I smell bouillabaisse!" Amile said, sniffing the air.
"Over zere," Victoria replied, nodding at the table with red banners hanging overhead. The girls glanced at me, their eyes pleading for me to retrieve the fish stew. With a resigned sigh, I rose, straightened my uniform, and made my way towards the other table with my head held high.
As I neared the table, I was drawn to a bushel of chocolate hair that was sitting beside the dish. "Excusez-moi, are you finished with ze bouillabaisse?" I asked, smiling politely.
The girl turned and my eyes widened. Mate!
Her eyes also widened, her mouth slightly gaping, as she stared at me. I made sure to keep my smile as I took in the beautiful girl who was sitting in front of me. Her hazel eyes had taken me by surprise, the meeting of our souls signifying our bond together. She was slender, younger than I, and absolutely adorable. I could feel the Veela purring, but I managed to keep from performing the action myself.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it, repeating this a couple of times as I waited, praying she would say something so I could hear her voice, the voice of my mate. Please say something, anything! I had to agree with the ecstatic creature within me.
Instead, the boy across from her spoke. "Yeah, sure, we're done with it." I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the girl.
She shook her head, seeming to collect herself, and blushed. "Yes, we no longer need it. Here you go." I felt my heart melt at the angelic voice. I could listen to it all day long and never be satisfied.
She turned and grabbed the bowl to give to me. I reached down, making sure my fingers brushed hers, as I took the dish. She visibly shivered and I felt a chill run down my own back. Kiss her! Mark her! Claim her!
No! It's far too soon. Besides, if we did that, we would surely scare her off. Do you want to lose her when we just found her? The Veela pouted at the thought of losing our mate. Then let me handle this and take it slow. Fine, but if you take too long, I'll take over and do things my way.
"Merci," I returned and took my leave, my heart aching as I put distance between me and my mate. As I sat back down next to my Sisters, I glanced at the brunette. She had her hands twisted in her hair with her back towards me once more. I frowned, wishing she would look at me. I wanted to see those gorgeous eyes again.
"What's with you?" Sabine asked as she scooped up some of the fish stew.
"I…I just met my mate," I said, slightly unsure how to feel.
Every single girl around me gasped and squealed. For a Veela, finding her mate was the biggest event in her life, other than completing the bond.
"What? Who is it?" Abigail demanded as she looked around the Great Hall.
"What are you doing here? Go be with them!" Elise pushed.
"Non!" I nearly shouted as my Veela began to agree with them and fight for control to return to the girl. The girls shut their mouths and bowed their heads. "We are 'ere to participate in ze tournament. I will not push my mate and endanger my chances. I will take zings slowly and start off as friends. And none of you will interfere or say anyzing to 'er, am I clear."
Every head nodded somberly. Satisfied, I returned to my plate, chancing one last glance at the girl under the red banner. She seemed to have gotten over whatever she was struggling with and was eating and laughing with her friends once more. How I longed to be there, being the one to make her laugh.