Que Veux-tu, je suis folle de toi, mon coeur ne bat plus quand je te vois. ~ Yelle
(What can you do, I'm crazy about you, my heart doesn't beat when I'm with you)
Que Veux-Tu (What Can You Do?)
The first word that Fleur Delacour spoke to Bill Weasley was "desolé" and she hadn't been sorry since, not in the slightest.
Fleur had just secured a part-time position at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, a huge feat for her because of the fact that she was French and the manager had been hesitant to hire her because of that. Rounding a corner on her way out, she ran headlong into a man with a large fang earring and hair that hung to his shoulders. The papers that he was carrying went everywhere.
"oh là là, je suis desolé!" She said, so flustered that her words came out in French rather than in the little English that she knew. She bent down quickly and started to gather up the papers, flinching as the man didn't bend down to help her. Was he angry? Was he about to hit her?
"What was that?" the man asked curiously, finally bending down to help her gather the papers.
"I am so sorry," Fleur said, blushing a deep red as the man's hand brushed hers, "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Don't worry about it," the man said kindly, straightening up and taking the papers from Fleur's hands, "We were both at fault." He adjusted the papers in his arms and held out a hand for Fleur to shake. "Bill Weasley."
Fleur took it, "Fleur Delacour, I 'ave just got a job 'ere."
"Where's that accent from?" Bill asked curiously, "France?"
"Yes," Fleur said with a smile, "I am working 'ere to improve my English."
"It's very good already." Bill said, his kind eyes sparkling, "I tell you what, I'll just turn these in to the manager and I'll show you around."
"Zat would be lovely," Fleur said with a smile, "I will wait 'ere for you zen?"
"Yeah, I'll be back in two ticks." Bill said, walking past her towards the manager's office.
"Pardon?" Fleur asked, confused as to what Bill meant by 'two ticks'
"I'll be back in minute." Bill laughed.
"Okay," Fleur said, leaning against the wall as Bill disappeared into the manager's office. Her heart hammered against her chest like it had stopped beating for the time that she was talking to Bill. He seemed so kind and was most definitely handsome. She found him fascinating.
"Alright," she heard Bill say, re-emerging from the manager's office and standing beside her, "I think this is how you say it in French, but forgive me if it's not, allons-y."
Fleur laughed at his atrocious accent, "Your accent could use a leetle work, but yes, that is 'ow you say it in French."
"Cool, allons-y mademoiselle," Bill said, bowing to Fleur and offering her his arm. Fleur laughed and took it willingly.
"You are very funny." Fleur said smiling radiantly at him.
"Hey, don't worry about it, I've got six younger siblings so I got used to entertaining people from a young age." Bill shrugged, "What about you, do you have any siblings?"
"Yes, I have a leetle sister, 'er name is Gabrielle, she eez fourteen." Fleur replied.
"I've got a little sister too, her name's Ginny, she's turning fifteen this year." Bill said, "Does Gabrielle go to Hogwarts? Maybe Ginny knows her."
"No, Gabrielle and I went to Beauxbatons." Fleur said as they entered the main bank. "I 'ave graduated now, but Gabrielle is still there."
"Oh I know where I've seen you before!" Bill exclaimed, hitting himself in the forehead, "You were the Beauxbatons champion in the Triwizard Tournament! I was there for the third task."
"I am ashamed that you 'ad to see that." Fleur said, remembering her abysmal performance because of the dark magic that had gone on back then.
"I reckon you did alright, I think you would've won if it weren't for Krum stunning you. You seem like a smart girl." Bill said kindly.
"Thank you Bill, but I was no match for ze rest of ze competitors, 'Arry Potter deserved to win."
"You're very humble," Bill remarked, "that's a good trait to have."
Fleur didn't know what to say, or put the words that she was feeling into English, so she stayed silent as Bill showed her around the bank, only stopping to nod or ask a question if he wasn't clear.
When Bill informed her that he had to leave, she found herself feeling disappointed. Throughout her life, Fleur had seen countless guys fall for her because of her Veela genes, but never in her life had she fallen for a guy, not even Roger Davies, the boy that she'd taken to the Yule Ball during her final year at Beauxbatons, he had just been someone to keep her occupied while the dance was on. But Bill, he was handsome, kind, tall and he fascinated her and how he hadn't fallen for Fleur's charms yet was absolutely beyond her. Maybe this was why she had fallen for him, because he hadn't fallen for her first. This had never happened to her before, the emotion was clouding her brain, making her stare after Bill with a slack jaw, just like boys did with her when she passed them in the street, and Bill was no quarter veela.
Fleur shrugged it off. She needed somewhere to clear her head and determine whether she was crazy or not. Veela didn't fall in love; people fell in love with them. She made a mental note to ask her mother when she went back to France over the weekend.
But for now, a good swig of Firewhiskey from the Leaky Cauldron would do the trick.
"Hey Fleur," Fleur heard the familiar voice of Bill call to her about two weeks later at Gringotts. She turned and waved at him, a smile spreading across her face as she did so.
"'Ello Bill, I 'aven't seen you around lately. Where 'ave you been?" Fleur asked, as Bill jogged up to her.
"I've been in Egypt cursebreaking," Bill said with a grin and Fleur noticed that was a little more tanned than the last time she'd seen him.
"Egypt!" Fleur exclaimed, "Zat sounds like a lot of fun."
"Oh it is, but I like to come back to England once in a while, how are you?"
"I am good, zis job eez benefiting me a lot." Fleur replied, fiddling with a strand of her hair.
"Yeah, your English has improved a lot since last time we spoke." Bill said kindly.
"Thank you," Fleur said, "I'm sorry Bill, but I need to get back to work."
"Oh that's cool," Bill said, "So do I actually."
"I'll see you soon, I 'ope." Fleur said hopefully.
"I was actually wondering if you wanted to grab a drink after you finish tonight, you're not expected you home at any time are you?" Bill asked sheepishly, shoving his hands inside his pockets.
"No, of course not, I would be 'appy to 'grab a drink with you'" Fleur said, making quotation marks in the air around the last few words.
"Cool," Bill said a smile spreading across his face from ear to ear, "I'll see you at five then?"
"Yes," Fleur confirmed, "I'll see you at five."
"Thanks for coming with me, Fleur." Bill said as they walked along the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, "My brother, Charlie, got stuck in Romania with work so we had to cancel our homecoming drink."
"It was no problem, I enjoy your company." Fleur said, shrugging.
"I enjoy your company too." Bill said, smiling softly at Fleur in the dusk. "I dunno, there's just something about you that makes you nice to be around."
"You're very kind." Fleur said, her heart hammering at a hundred miles an hour, "I 'ave never met a boy like you."
"Why, because I'm a particularly hideous breed of loser?" Bill joked.
"No!" Fleur protested, "Like you said, zere is just something about you zat makes you nice to be around."
"Can I… hold your hand?" Bill asked, his voice lowering to a whisper.
"Of course," Fleur whispered back, taking his large calloused hand in her small dainty one, "Now, how about zat drink?"
"Gah," Bill said, knocking back his third bottle of firewhiskey, "I've never drunk this much in my life."
"Eet is only three bottles, Bill." Fleur said, sipping her fifth glass of wine without so much as a shake of her hand.
"Three's enough for me." Bill said, setting the bottle back on the table with a thump, "How the hell do you drink so much without getting smashed?"
"I 'ave 'igh alcohol tolerance." Fleur laughed, "I always 'ave."
"I'm going to have such a bad hangover in the morning." Bill moaned, "So are you if you don't stop drinking that." He said, reaching over and plucking the glass out of Fleur's hands, "A little will warm you, a lot will burn you."
"I guess you are right," Fleur sighed, "Once I get started, I don't stop."
"I can see that," Bill laughed, "You're a fun one, other girls just sit there ridiculing me."
"Why?" Fleur said, a crease appearing between her eyebrows, "Zere is nothing to ridicule."
"Thanks," Bill said, his eyes twinkling. "I've never really met anyone who liked my earring, my mother included, and don't even let me get started on the hair. My mother won't get off my case about my hair."
"Why don't you tell your muzzer that you can do what you want?" Fleur said, she was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol setting in.
"I have, but it doesn't stop her complaining." Bill said, "What about you, does your mother have any pet peeves?"
"She doesn't like it when I wear jeans." Fleur admitted, "She says zat a young lady must present herself properly at all times."
"That's ridiculous." Bill said, "You're allowed to wear jeans if you want to."
"Just like you are allowed to wear your earring and your 'air long." Fleur said.
"Let's face it," Bill said, "Our mothers are never going to get off our cases. That's what they're there for."
Fleur laughed her tinkling laugh, "Zat is true."
In that moment, the two of them had nothing to talk about, they had spoken about every little thing in their lives for the past two hours, drinking away as they did so. Being a boy, Bill did the first thing that came to his mind; he leaned over the table and kissed her.
"Shit," Bill said, breaking away quickly, "I'm so sorry, Fleur, I wasn't thinking, this was supposed to just be as friends and I've probably made your boyfriend mad."
Fleur placed a finger on Bill's lips. "I do not 'ave a boyfriend, Bill."
"What!" Bill exclaimed, "As in, you're single?"
"Yes," Fleur said, smiling.
"But that's ridiculous! You can't be single, that's like Egypt without the pyramids." Bill said incredulously.
"I 'ave been single for most of my life." Fleur replied.
"But, why?" Bill asked, still evidently confused as to why such a beautiful girl hadn't had a proper boyfriend.
"I just 'aven't found ze right person." Fleur shrugged and Bill bit his lip. Stumbling over his words he asked the deciding question.
"Am I the right person?" he breathed.
"I think so." Fleur said, "'ow I feel with you isn't like I've ever felt before, you complete me Bill, and I know I 'ave only known you for a few months, but zose few months have been the 'appiest of my life, even though you were in Egypt for most of zem. I was just 'oping to see your face at work every day and today when I did I felt like something changed inside of me, and I realised zat I loved you." Fleur said. Her face was inches from Bills and she was almost whispering against his lips, "As ze French say, que veux-tu, je suis folle de toi."
"What does that mean?" Bill asked, also whispering against Fleur's lips.
"What can you do? I'm crazy about you." Fleur whispered back and closed the miniscule gap between them in another kiss. "Je t'aime, Bill" Fleur said and Bill knew enough French to know what it meant.
"I love you too, Fleur."
AN: For Addicted-To-Sugar-Quills' "Summer Loving Competition", Sparkling Soul's "Songfic" challenge and ladyoftheknightly's "Canon vs. Fanon" Competition. This is my first time writing anything remotely canon that isn't Romione so I hope that It didn't suck.
The meeting between them took place during OotP and the kiss occurred at the beginning of the summer holidays between OotP and HBP.
I love reviews :)
This is a oneshot and will not be continued.
Potter On
~The Original Horcrux~