House: Ravenclaw
Word Count: 660
Category: Drabble
Prompt(s): [Character] Fleur Delacour
Year: [Stand In] Year 7
Warning(s): Muggle!AU
"You know, when you laugh your mouth looks really weird," came the voice of one of Fleur Delacaour's co-workers. She didn't know if she'd heard him correctly, because while her English had improved greatly since she'd moved to London, she still didn't comprehend everything. She'd laughed just seconds ago about a joke Bill had whispered to her from across the room, and then her co-worker made a comment. She must have misheard him.
"I beg your pardon?" she asked in the most pleasant tone she could muster, brows furrowing because surely this man had better things to do than insult the way she laughed.
"Your mouth," he responded, gesturing to her face. "It looks weird when you laugh."
Fleur didn't know whether to feel offended or angry at his words, but she was definitely feeling a bit of both. If she was being honest, embarrassment was the most prevalent emotion in the end. How had she not noticed that before? Why hadn't Bill mentioned it to her? She huffed and turned back towards her desk, ignoring Bill's concern and trying to focus on her job. Don't let it get to you, she told herself. Willing herself to be strong enough to just ignore the comment.
She wasn't. Fleur hated to admit it but she was feeling more insecure than ever, not only were her smarts being downplayed almost constantly, now her co-workers were trying to crack the one thing she was certain of. Her beauty. She stared in the bathroom mirror, mocking how she would normally laugh and trying almost desperately to figure out what on earth was wrong with it. Not a thing seemed to be different, though maybe that was the problem.
Bill made her laugh again at lunch that day, though almost without thinking she covered her mouth with her hands while laughing. She watched as Bill furrowed his brows, the gaze he shot over at her proving to only make her feel worse for the action. But, she didn't regret it. Fleur quickly downed her coffee, finished off her small sandwich, and moved back to her desk. She'd have plenty of time to converse with Bill back home, now she just needed to focus on something, anything else. Even though she knew Bill would find some way to make her feel better.
0-0-0-0
"Your eyes squint different sizes when you smile," another of her co-workers mumbled to her near the coffee station in the break room. She just rolled her eyes, already done with the day's antics. Work was driving her insane and she really didn't need this right now. Fleur had smiled in relief that she could finally have a break from her stressful workload when this woman she'd barely spoken to before had walked up to her and said something so horrid.
Bill had pulled her aside earlier that day, reminding her that everyone would try and tear her down, and it was up to her to keep going and become stronger from this. Be calm, she told herself, knowing if she didn't stay serene she would surely slap her co-worker. Yes, it was a tad violent, but she was just so fed up with all of this. She downed her coffee, glared at the woman who'd spoken, and stormed back to her desk. Any other day she would have retaliated, but the woman had been there longer than she had, and she really didn't fancy losing her job.
Her gaze was drawn to an ad in the newspaper that lay on her desk, it boasted about a beautiful European tour, for practically no money at all. She would need to research it further, but it didn't sound too bad. She had a month's worth of vacation time racked up, and it was sounding more and more appealing as she planned it out in her head. It wasn't a bad idea. She did desperately need a vacation.
Now seemed like the perfect time to take one.
