i.
The first person who recognises it is Snape.
The first person who recognises it is Snape.
It's Winter, and it's not as if he actually cares what Granger does with her life, really, it's just that he looks for any excuse to take points from her house, and this is no exception.
So, when he notices her eyes lingering on Fleur Delacour as she passes the open dungeon door, he snaps his fingers and the door slams shut.
"Miss Granger, while it is rather nice to have peace in this classroom for once instead of having to endure your relentless chatter, you failed to keep focus on your potion." He snaps. "Five points from Gryffindor!"
Hermione bites her tongue - she knows better than to talk back - and crosses her arms over her chest.
"So, you've got a thing for blondes, do you Granger?" Malfoy sneers.
Hermione remains silent, but no-one can her blame for sending a mis-fired hex his way, can they?
ii.
The second person who notices is Ron.
It's Christmas Day, and he and Hermione are playing chess in the Great Hall - it's the only thing he can beat her at, and he revels in it - when he sees that she's staring straight through him.
"Earthworms to Hermione, do you read me?" Ron asks, thinking that maybe she'll snap out of it if he makes some Muggle references. "Er, Huddson. we have a problem?"
Ron turns to see what Hermione's looking at, and frowns.
"Why are you staring at Fleur Delacour?" He asks.
Hermione shakes her head. "I'm not."
"Yes, you are. I saw you."
"No, I'm not." Hermione hisses back with a glare so harsh that it almost rivals his Mother's.
"Fine, you're not." Ron concedes.
Hermione nods, victorious, turning back to the chess board.
"But you admit that you were." Ron adds.
Hermione sighs.
"I never thought I'd say this, but Malfoy was right, you do have a thing for blondes, don't you?" Ron smirks.
"So what if I do?"
"Awww, Hermione, you've got a crush on a blonde girl!" Ron says so loudly that people are starting to stare.
And, to Hermione's horror, Fleur is one of them.
"Ron, shut up!" Hermione whispers.
"What? I'm just trying to help you out." Ron says with a laugh.
He is so telling Harry about this.
iii.
Viktor Krum finds out the first time they kiss and Hermione whispers "Fleur."
She feels mortified, but Viktor takes it about as well as she could've expected.
"Don't worry, 'Ermione, you're secret's safe with me." He promises.
His smile is happy as she walks away. He hopes she and Fleur will be happy.
iv.
It's Spring, and Fleur is getting really, really tired of this.
It's Spring, and Fleur is getting really, really tired of this.
All throughout Hogwarts, all anyone can talk about is that Potter's clever, pretty, all around wonderful best friend, Hermione, has a crush on some blonde girl.
The thing is, Fleur knows exactly who it is.
It's Hannah Abbott.
After all, she's the only blonde girl that Fleur has seen her talking to lately.
Not that she's been looking at Hermione a lot, or anything.
She turns a corner, and there they are, talking and Hermione's laughing.
Something inside Fleur snaps, and she calls "Hermione!"
Hermione turns to stare at her.
"I'm blonde, you like blonde girls, so let's have a date?" Fleur says.
"Uh, sure." Hermione replies, blushing from embarrassment. (Right?)
v.
On the date, they drink butterbeer together and sneak out after curfew to look at the stars, and Fleur is very glad that Hermione's become a bit more adventurous in her later years.
Fleur takes a deep breathe, and sighs. "Hermione, I admit, that when I heard you had a crush on Hannah, I was… well, jealous."
Hermione laughs. Fleur's face crumples.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that the blonde girl they were talking about was you, Fleur." Hermione says.
Fleur laughs, too. Merlin, how could she have been so stupid?
"Well, that's good, because I really like you." Fleur admits.
"I really like you too." Hermione says, giving Fleur a deep kiss.
(God, they're so in love it's kind of beautiful.)
