/I'm back from the dead! I don't know how long it'll be before I can get another update up as I'm doing some charity work and it's pretty time consuming but enjoy!
A/N: If ONLY I came up with this universe/
"FLEUR!" Hermione shrieked, shaking her fists at the sheepish looking French woman.
"Ahhhh, non, 'Ermione, pleaze! Geeve me a chance to apologize, mon cher! I am zo zorry!" Fleur exclaimed, pulling out her wand and siphoning the ink from her belongings. The books, however, were still stained and Hermione looked them over before sighing.
"They're ruined..." She muttered, dropping them on the table with a loud thunk.
"They were so expensive too..." Tearing up, Hermione started to shove her belongings in her bag, not looking up at Fleur.
"'Ermione please! Let me pay for zose." She said, reaching out to stop the brunette.
"Don't touch me Fleur." She whispered harshly before standing up straight, brushing herself off before exiting the library, leaving a flustered and somewhat upset Fleur in her wake.
Fleur turned to the table Hermione had left and heaved a sigh. If only she hadn't have tripped, she thought. She reached out to trace the cracks and bumps in the wooden slab, before coming across the books that Hermione had forgotten. It was the ink-stained ones. She flipped them over and looked at the titles, and then studied the pages the best she could with the splatters of black over them.
It's then when a sudden realisation hit her. She pulled out some parchment, ink and a quill and scribbled quickly. Finishing, she carefully folded the piece of paper and put it in her pocket, leaving the library as she did.
Hermione sniffled her way through the corridors, trying to hold her tears in as she traveled the seemingly abandoned building, not wanting to be caught by someone crying. She couldn't believe what Fleur had done, and those books were extremely costly and such a rare find and now she couldn't even study them. She was stuck with the material Hogwarts had to offer, which saddened and angered her further at the thought. Just because she was younger didn't mean she shouldn't be able to study more advanced material than she was. Everyone could see how much work she put in and how high her grades were and she's sure the teachers had noticed the fact that she doesn't even need to pay attention in class to get the answers right.
Arriving at Gryffindor common room, she was glad nobody paid her any mind. She made her way up to the dormitory, collapsing into bed.
Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't seem to sleep. All she could think about was the french witch, assumably in anger. She was so upset that Fleur had done that she couldn't even find it in herself to suggest it might've been an accident as it appeared to be. She wanted someone to blame and Fleur was the perfect victim as she was the one that caused it. She had just wanted to study some more, to gather more knowledge and it had been ruined.
With that thought in mind and a slowly building anger, Hermione felt the tendrils of sleep finally close in around her as she gave herself up to the darkness skirting the edges of her vision.
The next morning, chatter rang throughout the hall. It was Halloween, meaning that the contestants for the TriWizard tournament would be chosen. Hermione had no interest in the event but, sadly, it was mandatory like every year due to the fact it was a feast too.
She begrudgingly sat through her classes, making brief notes when needed, which wasn't very often and hid out at the library in her breaks. So far, the year had already been terrible and it had barely started. The Slytherins were being as rude as ever, and it appeared that whenever she was in the library a little entourage of Viktor Krum's fan group would randomly appear, giggling and whispering until Hermione got so irritated she had to leave.
The hall was decorated in pumpkins and the floating candles were as eery as ever. People filled in slowly, the noise climbing to a high as everyone animatedly spoke to one another, wondering who would be chosen for the championship. They had all heard of the Weasley twin's debacle earlier that morning and were still laughing at the image of them rolling around with beards akin to Dumbledore's and arguing over who was right and who was wrong. The image made Hermione smirk, as she had told them it wouldn't work but they hadn't listened. It also reminded her of who else had put their names in, such as Viktor Krum who seemed to stare at her as he left the hall with his posse, and the despicable french woman who pleaded silently with her to meet her eyes and greet her back - she didn't, of course, as Hermione was still furious over the books and hadn't got it in her to forgive the blonde yet.
Sitting down, she noticed the flock of owls that seemed to be coming down, dropping treats and various packages for students. Not paying much mind - Hermione rarely got mail, she didn't notice an elegant eagle owl swoop down and land in front of her with a sizeable package. It wasn't until Harry nudged her that she noticed the bird who was preening itself. She inhaled sharply, admiring the beauty and the way the lights gleamed off its feathers, reminding her of a certain french witch.
"You're so pretty... Who's your owner? Is that package for me?" Hermione murmured, hesitantly stroking the bird's chest, who puffed up at the attention. It let out a soft hoot of agreement before flying off out the window, leaving a rather weighty package and a confused Hermione behind.
Hermione looked at the package before deciding to read the note that came with it.
'Dear Hermione,
Do not open this until you reach your dorm.'
There was no signature, no initial, just swirling eloquent handwriting. She put the card down and thought on who it could be, but before she could get the gears going in her brain, the Headmaster stood.
"Another year is upon us as it seems. The moment of truth that you've all been waiting for, the announcement of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament. Argus, if you could please bring in the Goblet." The Headmaster gestured to the caretaker, who dragged the Goblet of Fire into the hall, muttering and grunting the entire way about lousy students. He placed it below the pedestal at which Dumbledore spoke and hobbled away.
The candles dimmed and the Goblet lit of its own violation. Dumbledore came up to it, and the blue flames that licked the air turned bright violet before spitting out a piece of parchment.
"The first champion is... Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts!" The cheers from the Hufflepuff table were enormous and a rather handsome young man stood up to many claps on the back smiling. He walked to the headmaster, had a private word or two and was then directed off into a side chamber. The Goblet turned violet once more, spitting out what looked like a scrap of red paper.
"The second champion is... Viktor Krum for Dumstrang!" Many whistles and swoons echoed the hall as he stood, his ever stoic mask in place and walked to the front where Dumbledore congratulated him and sent him off to the same chamber he did Cedric.
"And the final champion..." Dumbledore said, building the anticipation. The Goblet turned violet once more, spitting out a light blue slip of paper.
"Fleur Delacour!" He yelled, and yells rang throughout the hall, whilst many Beauxtbatons' students burst into tears. The cheers for her were much louder than anyone else, probably due to the spell that she had on the majority of the male population. Hermione rolled her eyes and clapped slowly and sarcastically. Of course, she would get chosen, she thought bitterly, still sore after the incident in the library.
Dumbledore was about to return to his seat and the chatter started up once more until the Goblet went violet one final time. All noise died as a piece of paper was spat out of the Goblet, Dumbledore snatching it out of the air. His eyes scanned it, widening significantly and then rescanned it, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. You could hear a pin drop in the hall, it was so quiet, and Hermione had a sinking feeling in her gut as the Headmaster's eyes darted around the hall.
"Hermione Granger?"