Wake Me Up

Chapter 2

Hermione looked at the clock; they had decided to meet at Saesa, a new restaurant that had recently opened in Diagon Alley. She still had more than an hour to get ready and she decided to take a bath, enjoying the comforts of her home while trying not to think of the upcoming evening. She hadn't had much time to relax lately, especially because she had been working overtime to try and keep her mind of the solitary life she had been leading for the last few years. She sank into the water with a sigh of relief and closed her eyes with a smile on her lips.

"Bloody Hell!" Hermione stood up from the tub splashing water all over as she tried to stop herself from falling.

She had fallen asleep and was running late and now her head was hurting for hitting it against the wall. She finally managed to pull herself out of the bathroom and finding her wand she dried everything quickly so she could start getting ready. She ran to her room, choosing an emerald green dress that was elegant but still casual enough. She got into it hurriedly and put on her heels, hating having to get dressed up. Finally she looked in the mirror to see that her hair had chosen today to be the most rebellious. A quick potion here, a small spell there and she was finally ready and with a pop the room was finally still and quiet.

"Hey, Hermione. I was starting to get worried." Harry was standing by the restaurants door probably making sure she would not stand them up. "Ginny and Fleur are already inside."

"Great" she said, trying to fake a smile but it came more as a grimace as her head throbbed.

"You ok?" The young man asked worriedly as he moved to her and held her arm.

"Yeah, let's go" the sooner they could get over with this the better.

"Look Fleur don't think of this as a blind date, it's just a chance to meet a good friend of mine and maybe make a new one yourself." said the redhead trying to convince the blonde that this was not a big deal.

Fleur frowned a bit and brushed her hair gracefully out of her face. "You know I'm not interested in making friends, especially when I'm leaving again soon"

"Yeah, well maybe it's time to change that," Ginny said before taking a sip of her wine.

Fleur kept her calm exterior but inside she was having a mental breakdown. Breathe. Be cool. Keep it casual. You can do this and if it's not working you can always leave. After everything, after all that had happened she hadn't been the same and she knew it. She didn't want to admit it but she was scared, scared of having people she could care about and that's why she had kept mostly to herself the last few years.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as Harry walked towards them, a woman following. She felt her heart stop at the sight, her blood draining from her face. She didn't know what she'd been expecting but it sure as hell wasn't this. The Hermione she remembered wasn't anything like the gorgeous woman that was approaching their table. She stiffened unconsciously and the icy façade she had been perfecting throughout the years was back in place as Harry and Hermione reached the table.

Unknown to the blonde Hermione's thought were going much in the same direction as her own and she glared at Ginny, knowing that she had been stupid to trust her friend. Why had she confided in her that she liked woman in the first place she would never know.

They all fell silent for an uncomfortable second before Harry had moved to introduce them. "Hermione, this is my very good friend Fleur Delacour. I don't know if you remember her from the Triwizard tournament" he paused looking between them and then at his fiancé for reassurance. "Fleur, this is my best friend Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you again," Hermione said politely, extending her hand. The confident tone caught Fleur attention, but she also noticed the slight shaking in the brunette's hand and looked up to note the dark circles under beautiful chocolate brown eyes and her frosty demeanor melt just a little knowing the other woman was just as nervous over the situation.

"My pleasure," Fleur said as she accepted the offered hand with her own and a shock ran through both of them.

After a few minutes of small talk and trying to decide what to order one of the elves came around.

"Are you ready to order." said the small elf.

"Yes" said Hermione and Ginny. "No" said Fleur and Harry at the same time making all of them laugh while the elf rolled her eyes.

Fleur lay in Harry and Ginny's guestroom as she thought about dinner. It had been and awkward evening since most of it had been spent by Harry and Ginny trying to convince them that it wasn't a date and themselves trying to convince well…themselves. That had failed miserable due to the nervous and self-conscious glances she and Hermione had traded throughout dinner. Nevertheless, they had managed to have some interesting conversation even when they had different viewpoint in almost every subject and it had been funny how Ginny and Harry had tried to keep up.

"So you're from France." Hermione had commented trying to start a conversation as the food arrived.

"Yes" Fleur answered briefly.

"Is it really different? The wizarding community there and here?"

Fleur had stared at the brunette for a moment, expecting to see some kind of rivalry that had always been present between both countries. She hoped this was not going to be a judgmental conversation, which she had had constantly in the past. But Hermione had looked at her with honest interest and a real desire to understand where she came from and her culture, surprising her a little, but then she remember Harry's description of the woman "She was always interested in learning stuff on every subject"

Harry had opened his mouth to intervene not sure if Hermione was trying to provoke the other witch, which she had done on previous occasions as a payback for setting her up and knowing this was a sore subject for the blonde. However, he was stopped by Ginny, noting that the other two women hadn't broken eyes contact.

Fleur took a bite of her food and waited for a second as she considered the question. "No" she said calmly. "I think the magical community is quite the same. Of course there are some differences and customs we have that you don't and I suppose that goes both ways but I don't think it's something mayor to fight over, I'll never understand how people can hold a grudge against someone just because of where they were born or the language they speak."

Hermione had listened to the carefully chosen words, figuring there were some unspoken words that were the cause of Fleur's icy exterior.

"Thank you" Hermione had whispered, glad that the other had shared with her something that was obviously not easy to talk to.

Fleur chuckled remembering the sigh Harry had let out. He and Ginny had probably gotten more than they had expected from this set-up. It had been an all right evening despite the awkwardness and she almost wished that Hermione would be present at tomorrow's gathering. Then she shook her head. I've done enough socializing. I'm too tired to pursue anything, even if I wanted to… even if it was mutual…

She fell asleep with this thoughts following into her dreams.