AN: Hope you're all enjoying the story. Thanks go out to my beta, Yoshiyuki Ly. The usual apply: I don't own anything but this story.
With one last glance at the mirror, Fleur gave herself a knowing smirk before leaving her room in the Beauxbatons carriage. She was one her way to the library to work with Hermione on their Charms essay. It was a pleasing thought-they would be more or less alone, close together, and they would have to speak to one another. It was the perfect opportunity to open things up between the two of them.
To suggest that there was nothing between them would have been an outright lie. It seemed to Fleur that the air fairly sizzled when they regarded each other. Hermione may be in denial about it, but the French teen was more than willing to open her eyes to the possibilities before them.
She turned a corner in one of the many hallways when an odd thought struck her: Should she feel guilty for what she was about to do, which was essentially seducing a girl two years her junior?
Probably. Did she?
…
No.
It was then that she remembered a saying she had heard somewhere before.
"Seduction is not forcing someone to do something they do not want to do-it is merely giving them the opportunity to act on their desires."
With the most charming smile in her arsenal in place on her face, she entered the Hogwarts library. After politely asking where the section on charms was, she set off again, ready to kill with her smile. However, when she reached her destination, Fleur's smile drifted downwards into a frown.
Hermione wasn't there yet.
Puzzled by the younger girl's absence, Fleur began to browse the shelves. She made a quick selection and grabbed a book that looked interesting, sat in one of the chairs at the desk, and waited.
--
Hermione had no idea that facing Fleur would be this hard. For some reason, she couldn't tear herself away from either her dormitory mirror or her hairbrush. Every time she thought she had her hair tame enough to go down and face Fleur, another strand would find a way to make itself stand out in a ridiculous fashion.
But why did it even matter? They were working together on a paper, not going on a…
Hermione swallowed hard. That was nothing but a silly, preposterous schoolboy notion. Fleur was straight and so was she.
…
Right?
She closed her eyes and shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Of course she was. Both of them were. But the implications were not lost on her: they'd be alone in the library. Anyone in Fleur's presence for an extended period of time in close quarters was bound to come out of it feeling a little loopy. It would happen to any partner she could've chosen from Hogwarts.
Reassured, she opened her eyes and glanced at a clock.
Crap! She was late for their da-meeting. Study session. Yeah.
The brunette grabbed her parchments, quills, and books before rushing out of her dormitory at near-breakneck speeds, her appearance totally forgotten. She barely remembered her race through the halls at all, slowing down only when she reached the home stretch before the library doors. She took a moment to lean against a wall to catch her breath and compose herself before going inside.
The library wasn't very full, she noticed. Hopefully she wasn't so late that Fleur had come and gone after waiting a long time. Luckily for her-or perhaps not- the girl from her dreams was sitting in the charms section reading a book.
Her bewitching partner looked up as Hermione approached. She was shaken on the inside by just how hypnotizing the French girl was. As she lifted her head, she revealed an enticing area of neck that, to Hermione, practically begged to be kissed. Her blue cap was sitting slightly askew on her head, shading the right half of her face. Her left eye, which escaped the shade, pierced right through the brunette with its stunning pureness. Her lips were raised slightly at the corners.
"Ah, so you 'ave decided to join me, oui? I was worried you 'ad forgotten, or worse, decided not to come at all."
By some miracle, Hermione remembered how to speak. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell the blonde the truth. "I'm late because I was worried about how I looked for you. Do these robes make my butt look big?"
Yeah, that would go over well.
"Sorry I'm late. I was watching Harry practice Quidditch and lost track of time." Therem a perfectly reasonable lie.
Fleur sat there quietly amused. She was a good liar. There was just one slight problem. In order for Fleur to get to the castle, she had to walk past the Quidditch pitch. If anyone was practicing, she would've seen them. The skies were clear today, both of clouds and Quidditch players.
However, she let it slide. Judging by the way she was panting and by how flushed her cheeks were, she had probably run down several flights of steps. Besides, the girl was very arousing when she was flustered and out of breath.
Fleur vowed to herself then and there that someday soon she would be the reason Hermione was in that state. Until then, all she could do was bite the inside of her cheek and ignore the burning heat in between her thighs.
--
Some hours later, the pair were still at it in the library. It had grown dark and the lamps had lit themselves, casting a lazy, hazy glow around them. They were sitting together-close together. Had they wanted to, they would have noticed that their breathing was in sync. The rest of the library was quiet- everyone else had either left or was working alone. They were reading the same chapter in the same book and were almost done with it.
Fleur finished first and, instead of sitting back and waiting for Hermione to finish so they could discuss that particular charm, only her eyes moved. She gazed in appreciation at the girl whose face was not even a foot from her own. The brunette's eyes were slightly squinted as she focused entirely on the text in front of her. Her mouth was curved into an adorable frown of concentration. When she finished, she brought her face up to Fleur's, keeping them the same distance apart.
She noticed Fleur just…looking at her. She cocked her head questioningly as her heart sped up in her chest. Pure blue eyes had her brown eyes locked in place as time seemed to slow down around them.
Fleur, a small smile on her face, began to lean in. Her mind was screaming, No! Go slower, don't scare her off! But she ignored the rational part of her brain and gave in to the part telling her that the timing was perfect.
Hermione realized what was about to happen with a start. Fleur Delacour was just inches away from kissing her…and the gap was closing quickly.
Brown eyes wide with shock began to close in anticipation…
Two sets of lips were slightly parted, only inches away from entwining themselves in a heated embrace…
Hearts pounded as flares lit up between two pairs of thighs…
And finally…
"Fleur! I thought I might-oh!"
A miniature version of Fleur had stepped into the row of shelves the pair was occupying and was looking rather embarrassed. "I was told I could find you in here. The Champions are going to be announced soon. I thought you might want to come, but if you're busy…" she trailed off awkwardly.
The pair had separated quickly when the smaller Fleur walked in on them.
"Yes, Gabrielle, I'll be coming in a moment. Let me gather my things." The young blonde nodded, looked uncertainly between the two, turned, and walked away.
"Your sister?" Hermione asked when the girl was gone. Fleur was quickly gathering the books she would need in the coming weeks.
"Yes. Her name is Gabrielle."
"She looks like you." Hermione had begun to collect her things too, at a slower pace.
"She does, doesn't she?" A barely audible sigh escaped her lips. "Are you coming as well?"
Their eyes met again. "Yes, but you go on, I'll be there in a second. I have some things to sort out." She indicated her books and quills, but that wasn't all she was referring to.
Her blonde head bowed in a nod of understanding. Then she was gone.
Hermione sank back down into the chair Fleur had just vacated. It was still warm from the older girl's body heat. The brunette gazed up at the ceiling, dismay hardly concealed in her eyes.
Fleur…
The blonde vixen-had she really been just about to kiss her? It seemed so unreal, like a dream. A dream that had almost come true.
The rational part of her brain was glad they didn't get the chance to go through with it. It told her that she was affected by the Veela in Fleur, and that she was just confused.
…
Would she have had the sense to make the bombshell stop? Her rational self said yes.
But in her innermost heart, she knew that she would not have been able to say 'stop.'
And deep down, she knew that that was exactly what she wanted.
