Written for The Houses Competition andMonthly Challenges for All - Harmony of Souls Eternal
Head of House Hufflepuff
Prompt One: [Trope] Divorce is never a good thing.
Prompt Two: [Character] Bill Weasley
Prompt Three: [Smell] Chocolate
Word Count: 2,501
Fill #5
Representations: Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Marriage and Divorce, Family bonds
Bonus Challenges: Sanctuary
Beta: Aya Diefair
It had been a chance. They had been young and in love. There was nothing that could stop their feelings for each other. The both of them accepted the other, accepted those parts of their personalities that others didn't like or understand. Upon the discovery that they were soulmates, they were ecstatic. The mark meant that there was a strong chance their relationship would work.
A soul mark was not an assurance of a happily ever after. It did not mean that their relationship was a certainty. But there was a chance. And they were in love. The soul mark meant that there was a higher percentage of them being happy and in love until they died. Yet, even with the highest percentage of success, it failed.
Bill Weasley sighed heavily and looked down at the item he had been fiddling with for the last hour as his thoughts meandered. The earring was one that Fleur had given him when they had gotten married and he had worn it often. It had been a reminder of the love they shared, now it was a reminder that that love was gone.
The earring consisted of a white feather linked to a small flame linked to the hook. It symbolised Fleur. The feather and flame were both signs of her Veela ancestry. He had given her a similar charm bracelet on her next birthday, only with charms that represented him. Almost everyday she had worn the bracelet containing an earring, a pyramid, the infinity symbol, and a heart. He had cast protective spells on the charms so that even when he was not with her, he could still help keep her safe.
She had laughed when he told her this, lovingly swatting him on the shoulder and accusing him of trying to one-up her on gift giving. Then she had demanded his earring back so she could also imbue her gift with protective magic. "You need protection more than me," she had said when she had given the earring back and he had nodded in acquiescence.
There was a quiet knocking on the closed door before his mother gently pushed it open. Bill didn't look up from the earring, merely leant into his mother when she sat down on the bed next to him. He had returned to his childhood home of the Burrow during the turbulent times that were his divorce with whom he thought he would stay with forever. The divorce had been finalised a few days ago and he still remained in the old familiar house, soaking in the comfort of his family.
The Burrow didn't hold as many memories of Fleur as Shell Cottage did. It was easier to remain at home, even if he did occasionally feel pangs in his heart as he remembered the days leading up to his wedding when Fleur stayed with his family. His mother pulled him closer and handed over the steaming mug she had brought up with her.
Closing his fist around the earring, he held the mug of hot chocolate up to his mouth and held it there, not drinking. The smell of chocolate wafted up to his nose and he inhaled deeply, letting the familiar and comforting scent ease the tension he had been carrying for so very long.
"It'll get cold if you don't drink it soon," Molly Weasley softly chided and Bill's lips twitched slightly.
Obediently, he sipped the drink he had been holding and felt the warmth encompass his whole body. There was nothing better than one of his mother's hot chocolates and hugs when he was feeling down. They sat together in silence for a while longer, Bill still sipping his drink and Molly hugging him close.
Eventually, when the mug was drained and placed to the side, Molly asked, "Do you want to talk?"
Bill shrugged, already feeling his throat clog up as his mind remembered the last time he had seen Fleur. "I don't know if can," he said softly.
"Oh, baby." His mother pulled him impossibly closer and he felt the tears he had been holding back for so long break through the dam he had built. Molly rocked him back and forth as he cried, stroking his hair and whispering comforting words.
He knew her. Of course he knew her, almost everyone knew her name after it came out of the Goblet of Fire and declared her the champion for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. He wished her luck when he and the rest of his family had been waiting for Harry before the Third Task. She smiled and thanked him, the beautiful French accent colouring her words.
Later, when Harry had been sent to sleep by Madam Pomfrey and a vial of dreamless sleep, he moved over to the curtained off area that held her bed and softly asked permission to enter. Upon receiving an affirmative, he slipped through the curtains and found her lying on the hospital bed with a book in hand.
She smiled at him, placing the book down. "You are ze one who wished me luck, non?"
"That would be me," he nodded. "Bill Weasley, at your service."
"Why 'ave you come to see me, Bill Weasley?"
Bill wasn't entirely sure of that himself so he shrugged slightly, "I wanted to see how you were holding up, I guess. It can't have been easy having one of your fellow champions be imperioused and turn against you."
Her gaze turned distant, "Non, it was not. Of all ze things I prepared for, zat was not one of zem."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Bill offered impulsively and hurriedly explained himself when she turned an inquisitive look at him. "I have experience with curses that control you and team members falling prey to these curses. It's actually something that happens rather frequently when we have someone inexperienced in our team. I'm a curse breaker, see, for Gringotts-"
Her laughter cut off his rambling and he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "I zink I would enjoy talking with you, Bill Weasley. Please, sit."
Fleur gestured to the single chair by her bedside and he sat. They ended up talking for far longer than they should have. Fleur shared her experiences in the maze and Bill shared some of the things he had encountered when exploring the ancient pyramids in Egypt. They moved on to lighter subjects, talking of family and friends, and by the time Madam Pomphrey kicked him out of her domain, the two felt like they had known each other for their whole lives.
Fleur didn't move from her curled-up position on her bed when the door creaked open and the tell-tale scent of chocolate hit her nose. She heard a cup being placed on the nightstand and felt the mattress dip as her sister inserted herself into the previously empty circle of Fleur's arms.
"Hi," Gabrielle whispered, and Fleur opened her eyes to see the concern shining in Gabrielle's own. She swallowed tightly and managed to croak out a hi in return. "I brought hot chocolate," Gabrielle offered in the silence and Fleur smiled slightly. Chocolate was the cure-all in the Delacour household. And she was a Delacour again now, wasn't she? No longer did she belong with Bill Weasley, no longer did she carry his name with her.
Gabrielle cupped her face when she saw the fresh tears start to form in her sister's eyes, "Hey, don't cry, you should never be sad when there's chocolate involved."
Fleur laughed wetly. That was just like her sister, completely ignore the main problem and instead ply whoever wasn't doing so well with chocolate and love. Gabrielle grinned as though she had just won the Triwizard Tournament and started pulling Fleur up to rest against the headboard of her bed. Once there, she passed over the miracle cure that was hot chocolate.
After the cup had been drained, Fleur asked, "Why do I feel as though half of my heart is still with him even though while I was by his side, I hated him?"
Gabrielle didn't answer, Fleur didn't expect her to. Instead, Gabrielle curled up closer to her sister and tightened the sideways hug they had ended up in.
Fleur could see the wonder she felt reflected back at her through Bill's eyes. They had known they had feelings for each other, had been dating for a few months, and now this! There, on their right hips, lay an identical picture of a rose in stark black. It was a soul mark. They were marked as potential Forevers, the likelihood of them remaining together for the rest of their lives had just jumped astronomically.
The rose was in full bloom, showing the love they held for each other was strong. The stem of the rose held very few thorns, showing just how compatible they were. With a joyous laugh, Bill lifted her up in a hug and twirled her around. Fleur joined in his laughter and when Bill placed her back down, she just stared in wonder at him, grinning goofily.
"Marry me." The words came out of her mouth so suddenly and without any forethought, but she wouldn't take them back for the world. Bill stared at her speechless for several seconds before surging forward and kissing her.
"Of course."
"I hate you!" she screamed as she slammed the front door closed and stalked out into the bright day so at odds to the home she left behind. Bill stared after her, anger and frustration welling up inside of him until he let it out by throwing the pot of floo powder he still held at the wall. What had started as a normal day had quickly devolved when he had been called into work to look at a random cursed artifact.
Even though it had been his day off and he and Fleur had made tentative plans, he had agreed to go and give the artifact a thorough look over. That decision had apparently been the last straw in their already struggling relationship. For months now, there had been a horrid tension present when they were together and neither knew what to do about it.
Unconsciously, Bill's hand went up to feel the earring still in his ear, as if to check that it was still there, that there had been love between them at some point. With a heavy sigh, he waved his wand at the destroyed powder pot and watched it reassemble before levitating the spilled floo powder into it. With one more glance out the window at Fleur's retreating figure, Bill took out a handful and flooed into Gringotts. Work would distract his mind from the disaster his marriage had become.
When he returned home, he would find a single document on the kitchen table and his shoulders would slump in defeat. Soul marks weren't a guarantee of happiness, he would think, as the divorce papers lay silent in the equally silent house.
Years had passed since Fleur Delacour had last seen her ex-husband. Now she was about to see him again. Beside her, Gabrielle slipped her hand into hers and Fleur smiled weakly at her sister. Next to Gabrielle stood Jerome, Gabrielle's own husband. The Delacour family had been invited to the British Ministry of Magic's celebration of ten years free from the Dark Lord Voldemort. Fleur knew that Bill would be in the room she was about to enter, she just wasn't sure if she wanted to see him again.
Even after years apart, the thought of her once husband still gave her conflicted emotions. She loved him still and would sometimes wonder why she had ever thought getting a divorce would be a good idea. But then she remembered the bad days, the days that had made up most of the last few months of their marriage. That was when the love was replaced with the hate that had sent her searching for someone who could help her get a divorce and end the dream-turned-nightmare that was her marriage.
The doors opened and Fleur was out of time to prepare herself. Even with the hundreds of people in the room, she had no difficulty locating the one wizard she both wanted nothing more and nothing less than to see. Bill Weasley was with his family, a smile on his face as he joked around with his brothers.
Gabrielle said nothing as Fleur's grip became bone crushing. Fleur's knees were weak as she gazed on the man that she loved and hated so much. She wanted to go over there and wrap herself up in his arms but knew she couldn't. There was a barrier between them now, one utterly impenetrable via her own actions. She had no claim over Bill Weasley any more, no right to lose herself in his wonderful hugs.
Although he was just across the room, he may as well have been on the other side of the world. His eyes met hers and she couldn't take it any longer. She spun around and all but ran out of the large hall, leaving Gabrielle behind as she escaped. Fleur only stopped once she reached the end of a random corridor and leant against cool stone wall, breath hitching from running and the tears currently streaming down her face.
She ignored the footsteps that approached her slowly, focusing instead on calming her breathing and erratic emotions. Her eyes snapped open when she heard the oh so familiar voice ask hesitantly, "Fleur?"
Bill stood in front of her. Her heart ached as she took in the sight of him standing so close with his brow furrowed in a way that indicated his concern. "Why are you here, Bill Weasley?"
"I wanted to see if you were alright, I guess." He shrugged and Fleur's mind flashed back to the night they had spent talking in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.
"Even with the many days of preparation, I was not ready to see you," she admitted and Bill's lips twitched in such a way that she knew he was also thinking of that night.
"Want to talk about it? I know a bit about thinking you're ready to see the love of your life again after so long apart."
Fleur sagged, letting herself drop to the floor and gestured for Bill to join her against the wall. "I think I would enjoy speaking with you once more."
The soul mark was not a promise of a happy ever after, it did not promise a smooth road. All a soul mark meant was that there was a chance of happiness if those marked were willing to take it. A mark can not make people stop fighting, but it can give them a reason to try for happiness again. As the pair sat on the floor of a random Ministry of Magic hallway, the roses on their hips lost a thorn. There was a chance.