Beauty is only skin deep. It was a phrase that Fleur had heard all of her life. Being part Veela, Fleur was very beautiful, and as such did her best to disprove the saying. She did her very best to be kind and generous to everyone she met, but it was never enough. Still people only wanted to be friends with her because she was pretty.
Meeting Nymphadora Tonks had been shocking. The clumsy young Auror didn't seem to be affected by Fleur's Veela allure at all, and that made her interesting. Fleur liked interesting, so she started talking to the older woman, first about random things like the weather or Quidditch scores, but soon the developed a close friendship.
When things got too intense at work, Fleur was the person Tonks went to. It made Fleur happy, knowing that there was someone out there who cared about her for more than her looks. In fact, Tonks had never even mentioned her looks, other than a surprised "Wow, you're pretty," when they first met. Tonks preferred to be around Fleur more for her personality.
Now, when the war was heating up, Fleur had never been more thankful for a friend like Tonks.
"I'm scared," Fleur whispered to her friend and roommate one night after dinner. "With Dumbledore gone, who is going to defeat You-Know-Who?"
"You heard Harry," Tonks replied. "He said he has a plan. He said he knows how to defeat him. Everything will be just fine, you'll see." Her voice sounded as though she was trying to reassure herself just as much as Fleur.
"I hope so," Fleur said, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Everything has gone wrong since the tournament."
"The war will be over soon. We just have to be brave," Tonks murmured, wrapping her arms around Fleur in a hug.
Fleur sighed and leaned into the hug, wrapping her own arms around Tonks's torso and burying her head in the metamorphmagus's neck. "I will try to be brave," She whispered.
"Everything will be okay," Tonks said, leaning back to look at Fleur. She lifted her hand up to brush away tears that Fleur had not even realized she was shedding. Fleur let out a short sob, trying to choke back the tears that were falling, but she couldn't hold them back and soon she was sobbing into Tonks's shoulders, her arms wrapped tightly around the older woman. Soon both women were crying, holding onto each other for dear life.
"It's going to be okay," Tonks whispered through her sobs. "It's going to be okay." The two women fell asleep like that, arms clutched around each other.
Tonks woke up several hours later when light started filtering through the windows. "Fleur?" She whispered to the blonde sleeping on her, rousing her from her sleep.
"Hm?" Fleur blinked up sleepily at Tonks. "What time is it?"
"Early," Tonks snorted. "Looks like the sun just came up."
"We slept here all night?" Fleur asked, sitting up and looking at the couch.
"Yeah. It's done wonders for my back," Tonks said as she stood up and stretched, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"We should probably make breakfast, I guess," Fleur said, standing and walking into their kitchen before Tonks had a chance to reply. "What do you want to eat?" She asked as Tonks followed her into the kitchen.
"Eggs and toast are fine," Tonks answered. She paused for a minute before asking, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Fleur smiled. "Last night was just stressful, especially hearing about Hestia…" She trailed off. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, you know me, I'm tough," Tonks grinned. "I guess we both just needed a good cry, huh?"
Fleur nodded. "Yes, I know I did."
They stood unspeaking while Tonks made toast and Fleur cooked eggs. Finally Fleur broke the silence, whispering "I love you," to the metamorphmagus.
"What?" Tonks squeaked, staring at the Veela. "Did you just say you love me?"
Fleur turned around to look at her. "Yes, I love you." She said with a slight smile. "I wanted you to know in case one of us doesn't make it through this war. I wouldn't want to die without telling you how I feel."
Tonks smiled back at her, hair a bright red, mimicking the blush that had spread across both of their cheeks. "I love you too, Fleur," She walked over to the young blonde, gently brushing her hand across Fleur's cheek. "We're both going to make it through this war, okay?" She whispered. Fleur nodded, looking into her eyes. "Now, let's finish making breakfast. Wouldn't want to burn the eggs."
Fleur gasped as she turned back to the frying pan, where the eggs were in fact burning. Tonks laughed as Fleur tried to salvage the eggs. "Next time, save your love confessions until after breakfast, okay?"
"I don't think I'll ever have to make another love confession," Fleur said, joining her in laughter.
Yes, most people believed that beauty was only skin deep. Fleur was glad that she had found one person who thought otherwise.