Somedays, Fleur thinks she may just have to stuff her little sister in a garbage can and close the lid. It's an obligation—a favour of sorts, if Fleur would be the kind of person blasé enough to call it that. The only reason Fleur even agrees to go out to London is that her little sister visits Britain so rarely due to Beauxbatons and schoolwork, that when she does, it's an event, and Fleur is nothing but a good host.

Bill, however, is no help. He may be her best friend after the war, but Fleur finds it easier to get along with a wall than his constant teasing.

"Why don't you just skip it?" Bill stretches out on his seat. Fleur resists the urge to throw something at him. "Just say you're sick and watch movies and drink Firewhiskey until you pass out."

Fleur doesn't stuff him in a garbage can, but she does set him on fire and force him to take on her paperwork for the night.

…

"Fleur!" Gabrielle whines. "The weather is rainy! It is eccentric!"

"It is ugly, not eccentric," Fleur mutters, trying to keep her face from look mutinous. From the way, the passersby, it seems she is destined to fail at this particular task. "Rain is one thing the British do better than anybody else. Storms they are particularly talented at."

Gabrielle rolls her eyes, still burning with all the determination of being sixteen and a gigantic pain. "Oh look, a parade."

"Are you sure it is not just the traffic?" Fleur mumbles, but allows herself to be dragged by the hand. It is nice, having Gabrielle around, despite the way she burns with energy.

Fleur relaxes once they are closer to the parade and Gabrielle slows down, resting her head on Fleur's shoulder. It is odd, the way a crowd of people seems to be coming their way, but Fleur doesn't think too much of it. Britain is stuffed with crazy people.

Perhaps that is her first mistake. Perhaps it is going out that day at all. But either way, it seems to happen in slow motion. Fleur turns around to stroke Gabrielle's soft hair and turns only to see a zombies face right beside her own.

In hindsight, her screaming in the zombie's face and fainting is not her fault, nor a surprise in the slightest.

…

When she wakes up, her head is spinning. She is laying on a couch, and when her eyes finally flutter open, she can see her sister sitting across from her and talking to what Fleur can now see as a girl dressed in an elaborate costume.

"I'm still really sorry," the girl says to Gabrielle. "She was just gorgeous and I wanted to flirt with her and I didn't know that it would happen like that! God, she's going to hate me when she wakes up."

"We all know what we're doing. Whether we realize it or not, and if my memory serves me correctly, you were very close to her" Gabrielle tells the girl, but Fleur sees her lip curls in amusement. It seems the other girl does too because she snorts, throwing her head back.

Fleur sits up, ignoring the wag her bones ache in protest. "Gabrielle, you will stop terrorizing the poor girl now."

The girl in question jumps up to a standing position, wrapping Fleur in a hug. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I'm so glad you're okay—you're okay, right?—it was an accident, my existence disagreed with your gravity there for a second—"

Fleur studies the girl for a second. She's pretty—aristocratic features and bright pink hair, along with a body Fleur thinks she can never get tired looking at. "I am okay, but you can bring me chocolate on our first date," Fleur decides. "I can never turn down chocolate."

"Our first… date?" The girl gapes at Fleur, who turns around to give her a moment, choosing to address Gabrielle instead.

"Gabby, we shall never do this again," Fleur warns. "It is my act of defiance, next time, Bill can take you. The boy does not do enough."

As Gabrielle nods meekly, the girl seems to come into herself. "I'd love to go out with you. I'm Tonks, by the way. I thought you might need to know that for our date."

Fleur laughs. One name only—that must mean a story she wants to hear. Well, what else are first dates for? Even a close call of a day like this can be salvaged.

"I'm Fleur Delacour," Fleur says back and is rewarded by Tonks's beaming smile.

...

Written for:

Meet Cute: Day Four - I was unaware that there was anorganizedd zombie crawl going on and I didn't realise you were in a costume. I screamed in your face because I truly thought I was facing a zombie invasion.

Femslash February: FleurTonks

Serpent Day: Modest keelback- (pairing) Fleur/Tonks

Library Lovers: Suite Scarlet - (word) Eccentric
(relationship) Siblings, (dialogue) "We all know what we're doing. Whether we realize it or not," (plot) Doing a favor
Gobstones: Purple Stone - Appeal (action) Yelling, (word) Memory, (pairing) Fleur/Tonks

Character Appreciation: (Trait) Reliable
Disney Challenge: One Jump Ahead - Write about a close call

OTP Challenge: Write about your OTP having a disagreement, (object) chocolates

Book Club: Dayna Jurgens: (action) flirting, (character) Fleur, (word) defiance

Showtime: One Short Day - (setting) Muggle London

Days of the month: Umbrella Day - Write a fic set during a rainstorm

Lyric Alley: My head is spinning and it won't bail out

Restriction of the month: Write a story without using any of the Hogwarts Houses

Liza's Loves: Dark 'N' Stormy - Write about a storm

Jenny's Jovial Quotations: "Rain is one thing the British do better than anybody else." - Marilyn French