AN: Hello again world! Thanks for all the love. Up goes another chapter that I own nothing of. Hope you enjoy!

Bold is Veela's internal thoughts/conversation.

Italics are Fleur's internal monologue with her Veela.

Chapter 9

Classes started back up and I doubled down on training for the second challenge. My Veela hated the thought of having to be underwater for an hour but would put up with it at the threat of losing my locket. It didn't want to disappoint our mate and lose what she had been kind enough to give us.

Hermione, in turn, worked with Harry. We decided against helping each other too much for fear of being disqualified for aiding competitors, but I made sure the boy had a strategy. Hermione didn't tell me exactly what they had planned, just that it should help him be better suited for the water. I envied that prospect. Even though my ancestors were said to have come from the seas, my Veela much preferred the free range of the skies.

When the day of the competition arrived, the champions had been dismissed from classes to finish preparations. I woke late and made my way to the Great Hall for lunch. As I entered, I searched for my mate. She wasn't there yet, and Harry was sitting by himself.

I made my way to him and greeted the boy warmly. "Bonjour, 'arry. 'ow are you feeling?"

"Hey, Fleur. I'm alright, I guess. A bit nervous, but that's to be expected, huh?"

"Oui," I chuckled. This death tournament also had me a bit on edge. My Veela wasn't too far from the surface, ready to break through at any moment. "Where are 'ermione and Ronald?"

"Oh, I'm not quite sure, actually. Hermione's probably in the library like usual. Ron is probably avoiding me. Even if we're on better terms, I know he's still jealous of the attention I'm getting from the tournament."

I nodded, understanding the odd dynamic between the friends. "Well, 'opefully 'e will get over 'imself and come support you." Harry agreed and I left to sit with the Ravenclaws. I kept an eye on the doors, expecting my mate to walk in at any moment. When she failed to show up for lunch, I grabbed a couple of rolls and went to search for her. She didn't need to go without eating, especially since she had been exerting herself so much lately. I didn't need her passing out during the competition.

To my surprise, she wasn't in the library when I checked. I made my way through every bookshelf and searched every corner for the brunette, but she simply wasn't there.

Perhaps she went to get something to eat and we missed her?

I went to the kitchen, not finding her there either. I began to wander through the entire castle, wondering where the girl could have disappeared off to. She wasn't in her room, either. Wherever she was, I was out of time to find her, as it was now time for me to leave for Black Lake to get ready for the second challenge.

The first thing I did was cast a warmth spell. It was a frigid March afternoon, and I knew the water would freeze me to the bone otherwise. I stepped next to Harry and greeted him before searching the stands for my mate.

"You didn't find her?" he asked as he now looked for his friends.

"Non. 'ave you spoken with Ronald?" He shook his head next to me. Fear began to consume me as I searched each and every face. I enhanced my senses, smelling for my mate. She simply wasn't there, and it was almost time for the trial to begin. I knew her well enough to know she wouldn't miss being here to support me and Harry.

Then it hit me.

My gaze shot to the old headmaster as he prepared to begin his speech to start the challenge. He glanced at me, his lips turning up slightly as his eyes twinkled with amusement. I lost it, snarling at the wizard.

"Fleur, what's wrong?" Harry asked, touching my arm in concern.

"Ze challenge. I wondered why my locket 'ad remained around my neck zis morning. It's because we aren't supposed to find somezing—we're supposed to find someone."

The other champions heard me, their eyes widening with realization. The precious thing that had been taken was our friend or loved one. Just as Viktor was about to question Dumbledore, he raised his hands, silencing the crowd. He explained the rules, repeating part of what we heard from the golden egg. He neglected the fact that we were searching for human beings.

My Veela was furious. He took our mate! If anything happens to her, I will rip him apart! I couldn't agree more with the creature. Looking out at the lake, I realized just how vast it was. An hour may not be enough time to find our mate.

If they take her from us, they will rue the day I was selected as champion. My Veela murmured agreement. I knew my eyes were amber as I struggled to contain the creature that desperately wanted out to search for our mate. It almost surprised me, knowing how much it loathed water. But to restore safety to our mate, there were no lengths it wouldn't go to.

When the call came for us to start, I dove straight in, quickly taking my wand out to cast the Bubble Head charm. An air pocket formed around my face that allowed me to breathe as I swam through the frigid, murky waters.

I wasn't sure how long I had been swimming when I felt several presences swim around me. A growl escaped my lips, warning whatever was near to stay away.

As if it were my luck, three Gridylow swam towards me, wrapping their arms around me as they began to drag me backwards. I twisted and turned, fighting against the creatures. Guess my warning set them off.

"Go back to the sky," one of the creatures hissed.

I was losing this battle as I lost the distance I had swum. Our mate is getting further away! I can't fight them off! Then step aside.

I closed my eyes, relinquishing control over my body. It started to itch all over, and my shoulder blades began to ache as feathers covered my body and wings burst forth from my back. When my eyes open, I was no longer in control of my body, merely watching as the Veela fought against the watery threat. Claws slashed furiously at the trio, slicing against their slimy and scaly flesh.

After a few minutes, we were free, the Grindylows fleeing for safety. I could feel the Veela smirk after the fearful creatures. Nothing was going to come between us and our mate.

With a powerful flap of our wings, we shot through the water, quickly recovering the distance we lost and then some. Even with our enhanced sight, vision was limited in the cloudy water. As we propelled forward, we scanned all around us. I wasn't sure how much time had passed or how much we had left to find Hermione. I just knew we had to find her.

After several more minutes, the water lightened up in the distance. The Veela pushed forward towards the light, hopeful we were nearing our prize. Floating lifelessly, held in place by seaweed, was the brunette we had been searching for. A snarl escaped my body's lips, enraged at the hopeless sight of our mate. If she was hurt, or worse, there would be hell to pay.

We closed the distance, seeing that three figures remained. Ron was next to Hermione, but I wasn't concerned about him. I recognized the other girl as Cedric's date from the Yule Ball.

I didn't think about anything else but my mate. Check on her; make sure she's alright. You don't need to tell me. The Veela raised my hand to check for a pulse coming from the girl's neck. It felt the soft beat and sighed in relief.

Swimming down a little, it slashed at the seaweed, freeing the girl. She floated up slightly, and my Veela grabbed her, holding her close as it used its wings to push to the surface.

When we broke through the water, Hermione's eyes shot open and she gasped for air.

"'ermione, mon amour, are you alright?" I saw through the eyes of the Veela as it searched our mate for signs of distress or injury. She stared at us, her eyes wide. Guess we never showed her our true form before.

That doesn't matter right now. We have to get her to the pier. It paddled through the water to where bystanders were waiting to pull us out of the frigid water. My Veela growled as an unknowing boy reached for our mate. He quickly pulled back, looking terrified. Good, he should be. No one touches our mate but us.

The Veela pulled our feathery form from the water with one hand, Hermione secure in the other. We were too weighed down from the water to fly to safety, a big part of why Veela hated being wet.

A girl cautiously handed us a couple of warm towels. We quickly wrapped the shivering girl in both, drying her off as best we could.

"W-What a-about y-you?" she stammered from the cold.

"We're fine; don't worry about us. Take care of yourself first." She nodded and shakily pulled the towels tighter around her. My Veela wrapped our arms around the girl, rubbing to try and warm her with the friction.

Another towel was handed to us, to which my Veela wrapped around us. It was a little difficult with the wings, but we managed.

I watched as the blue color slowly returned to pink on my mate's lips, and my Veela leaned forward to kiss them. It was extremely protective and on edge at the threat to our mate. I knew to let it keep control, needing to be reassured that the brunette was safe. It would be a while before the creature would calm down enough to give back control. I was perfectly fine with that.

A few minutes after I surfaced with Hermione, Cedric and his girlfriend appeared from the water and received similar treatment as us. Only they welcomed the crowd, who were not fearful of being shredded apart by this couple.

Hermione moved closer to the edge of the pier to watch for Harry and Ron. Time was running out, and the pair was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, Harry," the brunette breathed anxiously. My Veela held her tighter, trying to comfort our mate.

Minutes before the hour was up, black and red erupted from the water. Hermione cheered for her friends, relieved Harry had succeeded. Don't growl or whimper. She hasn't pushed us away yet, which means we don't completely terrify her. My Veela huffed at me, but refrained from announcing its jealousy.

The Boy Who Lived pulled his friend to safety and both were given towels to warm up. With them safe and victorious, Hermione pulled away from us, throwing her arms around her friends. At this, the Veela whimpered, hurt that our mate had left us. She chose her friends…

No, she hasn't; she was worried about them. She stayed with us this whole time. Let her have a moment with them. We can't control her; you should know that by now.

Even as I said this to my creature, I couldn't help but feel the sting of being left as well, tied to the Veela's emotions. Still, Hermione stood by her friends, checking them over to make sure they were alright, just as we had done before to her. My Veela pouted and wanted to sulk away. The agony of rejection wasn't present, but it still didn't feel good to lose the contact we so desperately needed right now.

After a few minutes, Harry and Ron glanced over at us, their eyes also going wide at seeing my true form. This was the first time any of us had transformed at Hogwarts, so it was obviously going to be noticed. I almost wanted to look to my Sisters to see which form they were in, but the Veela refused to take our eyes off our mate.

Seeing how upset we must have looked, Hermione returned to us and let us embrace her again. She buried her face in our neck, causing my Veela to purr at the restored contact. This made the brunette giggle. My Veela loved the sound as much as I did and kissed her still wet hair.

"Come, let's go finish drying you off and warming you up."

"What about the score from the challenge?" Hermione protested.

My Veela snorted. "You zink we care about zis silly tournament? Zey nearly took you from us, 'ermione." I watched as Hermione realized just how poorly my Veela was handling today's events.

"Alright. Should we go to the common room?"

"Non. I am taking you to my room." My Veela turned to look at Madame Maxime. It was obvious we weren't asking permission—rather we were telling her to keep our Sisters away and give us space.

The half-giant nodded with understanding, and my Veela pulled Hermione with us, a feathery arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Don't hurt our poor mate. Our grip loosened only slightly as we made our way to the carriage. We quickly opened the door and led the still shivering girl to our room.

When we entered, we closed the door behind us, setting the girl on the edge of the bed to rest. We summoned a fresh towel and traded it with the couple she was wrapped in.

"Fleur, please take care of yourself, too," Hermione pleaded.

"Please, don't worry about us; we are fine. You're far more important."

"Not to me, so please," the brunette pressed. My Veela hesitated. "It'll help me feel better." With a sigh, my creature summoned another towel and dried off quickly, as to limit the separation from our mate. She smiled up at us. "Thank you."

She reached her arms out, inviting us back to her. "Are…you not afraid of me?"

Confused eyes greeted us. "Why would I be afraid? I know you're the Veela, but you're still Fleur. You would never do anything to hurt me." Our gaze softened, overjoyed at our mate's response. Most people ran away in fear at our appearance, but she accepted us for who we were.

"Besides," she continued, looking deep into our eyes, "you're truly beautiful. Thank you for showing me this side of you."

My Veela instantly leaned down, enveloping our mate in a passionate kiss. She tensed at first, clearly surprised by the sudden movement, but quickly relaxed.

"Merci, 'ermione. Je t'aime." She blushed, smiling shyly as her gaze fell. She patted the bed beside her, and we sat down, wrapping our arms around her. I could feel her studying us, but my Veela was just content to be holding our mate.

"I don't want you to think I'm trying to get rid of you, but how long will you be in this form? I'm just curious, as I've never seen it before. I don't really know what to expect."

We shrugged. "It depends on 'ow long it takes me to calm down enough to give Fleur control again. After zinking we were going to lose you and 'aving to fight for you, it may be a little bit. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, I'm just intrigued. Your father described what you look like, but seeing you like this in person, it's slightly surreal how I'm still attracted to you. He said most people are terrified of fully transformed Veela. I can see why—you exude power. It's kind of…sexy, though."

My Veela raised a pleased brow. "I'd be more zan 'appy to show you 'ow sexy I can be." Don't you dare. I will fight you for control if you try anything.

Hermione simply laughed. "Your father also said you'd be more likely to try and seduce me. Sorry, I'm just not ready to complete the bond. It's not that I don't want to; I do, but just not yet. I'm not ready yet."

"You 'ave nozing to apologize for, mon amour. Fleur would never let me 'ave control again if I pushed you. I couldn't live with myself if I 'urt you anyway."

The Gryfindor bit her lip and dropped her gaze. "Would marking me hurt?"

This perked both of us up. "Y-You want…Non! My venom prevents you from experiencing anyzing ozer zan pleasure. It won't 'urt you in ze least. Are you…wanting me to mark you?"

Hermione studied us for several moments, her face scrunched in thought. "I'm a little scared," she finally admitted.

My Veela reached up and cupped our mate's cheek. "We can try, if you want. If it gets to be too much for you, I can try to stop." She raised an uncertain brow. No, you will stop if she tells us to. My Veela winced, realizing its mistake and corrected itself.

She drew a deep breath and slowly released it, nodding. Elation filled us at our mate's permission.

We leaned forward and kissed Hermione, slowly at first, but quickly growing in fervor and need. My Veela asked permission to deepen the kiss, to which our young mate granted. Our tongue explored the depths of the girl we loved, longing to learn every inch of her, inside and out.

Our hands began to rub her arms, moving towards her waist. We picked her up and set her further back on the bed, laying her down, our lips never separating.

After several minutes, we pulled apart, needing air. Hermione's eyes were glossy with desire. My Veela grinned, loving the sight of our mate needing us. She nodded again, signaling her readiness.

We leaned forward and kissed her lips once more before moving to her cheek, trailing kisses as we moved down her throat, her neck, every inch of exposed skin we could find.

Listening to the witch under us, we worked to find her most sensitive spot, which area released a nearly inaudible moan, and searched for more. Our hands continued to trail over her body, working to comfort and relax our young mate.

Finally, my Veela settled on its favorite spot, between her neck and clavicle on her right side. We started kissing there fervently, earning several more moans as she surrendered to her desires.

"Fleur," she breathed. With that, our canines, which had formed into fangs in our true form, sank into the supple skin, releasing our venom into our mate's bloodstream.

Her blood tasted wonderful, better than Amortentia could ever hope to taste. In the instant I tasted the sweetness, Hermione's body began to writhe under mine, lost as she came undone. Her soft moans had turned into cries of pleasure as she screamed in ecstasy. Feeling and hearing her like this nearly caused my Veela to lose control, and I struggled for a reason to keep it from taking her right now and completing the bond.

After several moments, Hermione's shaking body eased to slight trembles. We finally withdrew our fangs, licking the spot where we had marked our mate, leaving a faint scar in our wake. Looking at the mark filled us with immense pride. No one could mistake its meaning.

Turning our attention back to our mate, she smiled up at us, looking drained from the exertion of her orgasm.

"'ow do you feel?"

She moaned softly. "Perfect." We grinned, relieved she had taken so well to the second stage of the bond. Like during the first, we felt more of her magic swirl with mine. I knew our own magic had joined with hers as well.

We dropped next to her prone form and smiled contently, propping ourselves up with one arm as the other hand traced circles on her exposed stomach. She shivered under our touch and smiled shyly. "What?"

"When you said marking me wouldn't hurt, I never imagined it would feel so good, either. I can't believe you made me…you know," she blushed and buried her head in the pillow.

We chuckled, "I 'ope you don't regret it."

"Of course not!"

"Good, because zat was only a taste of what ze final step of ze bond 'olds for you." Her eyes widened, clearly struggling to believe she could possibly feel more pleasure than what she just experienced.

My Veela simply grinned and pulled our mate against us, peppering her head with kisses. I could feel it slowly relinquishing control, satisfied with getting to mark our mate.

We pulled back, causing Hermione to look upset. When she realized my body was turning back to its human form, she dawned an intrigued expression, watching as the feathers fell from my body and my wings receded into my back once more. My eyes were the last thing to change, going from amber back to cerulean.

Thank you. For giving this time with her. For letting me be in control to mark her.

You don't need to thank me. You're a part of me—if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known how much I love her. We're in this together.

"Bonjour," I smiled, returning to my mate's arms.

"Hi," she replied in wonder. "You're so incredible."

I chuckled. "You're not just saying zat because you came a moment ago, are you?" She blushed again and swatted me, causing me to laugh. I pulled her closer and kissed her passionately.

She sighed and I realized just how exhausted she was. Being underwater for so long under the effects of whatever spell that had been used on her, and then going through the second stage of bonding, it was a wonder she was still awake.

"Come, mon amour. I will cook for you and let you go so you can sleep." She didn't protest as I pulled her from her bed and half carried her to the small kitchen in the carriage.

I prepared a simple meal for us and we ate in silence, our weariness pulling us to the edge of consciousness. When we finished, I rose and picked up my mate bridal style, carrying her through the castle. By the time we reached the Gryfindor common room, she was fast asleep in my arms. I gently deposited her in her bed, brushing the few strands of hair that fell in her face, and kissed her forehead.

She sighed contently in her sleep and smiled. I wanted to stand here forever and watch this beautiful girl sleep, but I knew the other students were wary of me and would have an issue with my extended presence, so I kissed her once more and took my leave.

I learned later that, during my time in the water for the second challenge, the Veela who remained in the stands also fully transformed. This terrified those who were around them and scared them off, but the girls did well to not attack anyone or interfere with the challenge. I appreciated them letting me finish the task on my own, but I should have known they wouldn't be able to keep their human form during my own transformation.

Luckily it didn't take long for them to revert back as my Veela calmed, and the students slowly went back to staring at us with desire and lust instead of fear.

The day following the second challenge, I decided to get over my desire to keep the clan in order, the need to be with my mate overwhelming as I sat next to the young Gryfindor in the Great Hall for breakfast.

She had been surprised by my action and leaned over to hug me. When this happened, her shirt shifted to expose the scar that I left the previous night.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, what happened to your neck? Did you get hurt underwater?" Ron asked, his eyes wide as he observed the mark. Harry also noted the scar, but he smirked and looked at me.

Hermione quickly moved her shirt back to cover it, and my Veela frowned. Is she ashamed to be ours? I don't think that's it—she probably doesn't want everyone to be part of our intimacy.

That's exactly the purpose of the mark though! Everyone gets to see that she belongs to us.

I chuckled at the creature and the girl beside me as she stumbled with an explanation. "No, Ronald, ze mark isn't from ze challenge. Nor did it 'urt 'er," I answered for my mate.

She scowled at me, her blush darkening as she likely remembered the pleasure it brought.

The redhead proceeded to study us as his brain went into overdrive to connect the dots. Finally, his face shifted as he realized what had happened. "Oh my God, you bloody bit her! You bit Hermione!"

"If you know what's best for you, Ronald, you will shut your mouth and eat," the brunette warned, pointing a butter knife at the boy.

His mouth snapped shut, his eyes wide with terror at the threat, and he quickly complied, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

After several minutes, Harry chanced a question. "Did it hurt?"

Hermione shot daggers at her friend, but I knew she wouldn't hurt him like she would the redhead. "'arry, please, you of all people should know ze Veela would never 'urt our mate. I am only capable of pleasuring my love," I replied, laughing as the girl swatted at me repeatedly.

"Fleur, how could you tell them?" she demanded in her embarrassment. Harry doubled over with laughter at our exchange, and Ron looked like he was about run away in horror.

After we settled down some, Harry continued to prod. "So, does this mean you two…you know?"

"No, Harry, we did not…you know," Hermione replied flatly. He grinned as his friend flipped her hair in frustration.

"Forgive me, mon amour. You are too adorable when you get flustered like zis," I apologized, taking and kissing her hand for emphasis. She still looked furious but sighed and relented some.

"Next time just go along with whatever idea Ron comes up with," she warned.

He shrank in his seat some. "What if I get it right, though? I mean, now that I know you two are this close to shagging, anytime something happens, that's what I'm going to think now." This remark didn't please the brunette, and she stood and headed for the doors.

I quickly shot up and raced after my mate, apologizing profusely and offering anything she wanted to make up for my mistake.

She sighed. "Fleur, I don't want anything from you. You already do so much—you rescued me from Grindylows, for Merlin's sake. You have given me your heart and love. If anything, I feel like I owe you."

I shook my head. "'ermione, please don't. You owe me nozing, please believe me. You 'ave accepted my love for you; you 'ave accepted me for ze creature zat I am. I am 'appy I get to provide for you; it makes ze Veela 'appy. Only you can do zat for me."

After studying me for several moments, she relented. "Alright, but let's keep our private lives just that—private. I don't need Ronald fantasizing over us." The brunette shivered with revulsion, and I chuckled, quickly agreeing. Even if it didn't bother me that others thought about me in such ways, I knew Hermione wasn't as secure in herself.