Warning: this is my first REAL and LEGIT fanfic, so please don't judge me, k? Also, I do not own ANY of JK Rowling's characters, that woman has genius I could never have in 20,000 years. So consider that a disclaimer. Enjoy this view of the Harry Potter world from the eyes of two totally unassuming characters.

Chapter 1: In the Very Beginning

Having just been pulled from the depths of the cold, Black Lake, Gabrielle Delacour was shivering in the thin folds of towel wrapped around her. Her older sister, Fleur (to be discussed later) was frantically planting kisses all over her forehead, shouting bits of French in the process.

Gabrielle's "saviors", the one and only Harry Potter and his ginger friend, had stumbled over to a distant area and were being bombarded with a mix of towels and applause from their fellow Gryffindor students. One of Fleur's prissy friends gave a sniff behind her. Gabrielle turned and noticed the dark, curly haired girl was looking in the general direction of the crowd around Harry and the other boy.

"Pfft. 'Ogwarts," she muttered snootily. Gabrielle furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to look at the group.

A drop of water slid down beside the very corner of her eye as she peered curiously at the rowdy Hogwarts students.

And that's when she noticed him.

For the first time.

He seemed to shine out of the others, suddenly. His cheeky smile was evident on his face as he gave Harry raucous pats on the back. Gabrielle tilted her head and moved a bit to the left to view him better.

The boy was so... so... carefree.

He was obviously friends with Harry. His sandy brown hair framed a roundish, rosy face. Against the cool February wind, Gabrielle thought she caught a hint of his voice... was that an Irish accent?

She didn't have time to wonder any longer, Fleur ushered her away.

Soon, however, she found herself in the very thicket of Gryffindor students. Fleur had yanked her over to Harry, to gasp her thanks. Gabrielle dimly heard her exress her gratitude as she busied herself searching for the boy. But he seemed to have disappeared.

"Come, come," Fleur said to her as she pulled her away. Gabrielle gave Harry and the ginger boy each a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks, and hurried off with Fleur.

They walked across the grassy grounds together, the breeze whipping at their light blonde hair.

Gabrielle studied Fleur as they walked. A flicker of the usual jealousy flitted across her mind. Fleur was stunningly gorgeous, dizzyingly poised, admirably brave... all things Gabrielle wished she could be. Fleur was perfect. And perfection, admittedly, is VERY hard to live up to.

All Gabrielle's childhood (what she'd had of it anyway) was "Why can't you be like your sister?" "When FLEUR was your age..." "Fleur would never be getting up to things like that!" It was clear which daughter was the favorite in the family.

No matter how hard Gabrielle tried, she couldn't live up to Fleur. She struggled in a few classes, was never as graceful as Fleur, always had a bit of a back tongue... it was impossible to follow in her sister's footsteps.

As she continued to trail behind Fleur a step across the grounds, Gabrielle let her mind wander back to the boy by the lake. She even imagined him coming towards her this moment.

Wait.

The sandy-haired boy crashed into her and Fleur. Fleur gasped haughtily and straightened up. "'Ogwarts boys..." she murmured. The boy apologized profusely, and Gabrielle took pride in noticing it was indeed an Irish accent he spoke with.

Fleur shook her head and began to walk away. Gabrielle hesitated. The boy stook out a hand quickly. Gabrielle, on the other hand, shook it cautiously.

"Seamus. Seaumus Finnigan," he introduced himself.

"Gabrielle Delacour," she said softly, feeling the words slip off her tongue effortlessly.

He gave a small grin before heading back off to his friends. Gabrielle watched him until she heard Fleur call her name exasperatedly behind her back. Gabrielle hurried towards her.

That's where our story begins.

That was the first chapter! Sorry if it was too short... I suppose most chapters will be about that length. I've been really excited to work on this fic so I can't wait to continue! Hope it was okay...

-Rachel (: