A/N: Hi all! A longer break than usual for my updates on this one... But I've been really battling some intense writer's block and feeling a little unmotivated to update fics at the moment. But hey! Here's an update!
Chapter 10.
The next morning, Hermione woke up early. She was going to show Fleur how serious she was and make up for the hurt she had inadvertently caused the blonde during her confused and unsure period.
She went into the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves. She set to making pancakes and coffee the muggle way and set it out on the table with an array of berries, fruits and syrups. She cleared the table of all of her books and papers, stacking them away neatly in a corner of the room, finally out of the way.
Hermione then picked fresh flowers from the garden and placed them in a vase filled with water in the centre of the table. She charmed the food and coffee to stay warm (she had researched to find out the charm that Fleur had been using all this time) then packed her notebook and headed down to the sea to watch the little magical crab-like creatures she had settled on for her study.
She came back much later, pleased to see that Fleur had eaten the breakfast she had left out for her. It felt good to return the gestures that she had taken for granted from Fleur for so long.
As she sat down at the table, Fleur herself swept into the room. If she was feeling awkward, she didn't show it. She was her normal reserved and composed self.
"Morning, Fleur," Hermione greeted.
"Thanks for breakfast," Fleur said graciously, "And the flowers are nice."
"I'm glad you liked them," Hermione said with a smile.
"I'm going to go for a run," Fleur said a little abruptly.
"Fleur," Hermione said, halting the blonde's movements, "I meant what I said last night. I totally respect your decision to keep dating Pansy. But I just want you to know that I still have feelings for you and I'm going to wait for you… as long as it takes."
Fleur didn't reply but her shoulders tensed. She continued to stand rooted to the spot for a moment longer before finally nodding uncomfortably and heading out the door for her run.
Hermione sighed. She knew that Fleur would not immediately fall into her arms. She was far too careful with her heart for that. Fleur was full of self-protective measures, from her wall of reservedness to her occasional rudeness… she never intentionally placed herself in a situation where she could be hurt.
Hermione looked at her watch before apparating to Ginny's flat.
Ginny was lounging on her couch and jumped as Hermione appeared.
"Jesus, you scared me!" Ginny yelped.
"So… Fleur hit me up about setting Pansy's curtains on fire," Hermione said with no preamble. Ginny raised her hands.
"Okay… So I'll be the first to admit… Maybe getting drunk and going to Pansy's place to confront her wasn't the best strategy we've ever had," Ginny said. Hermione snorted.
"You think?" Hermione replied, "Anyway… I told her how I feel. But she's terrified of being hurt. She wants to keep dating Pansy because she's steady and doesn't change her mind like I have been."
"But she's had feelings for you too?" Ginny asked.
"Yes," Hermione replied with a wide smile, "So there's still hope. I just have to show her that I'm not going to change my mind… That I'm not scared or confused anymore."
"That's something you can only show through time," Ginny said with a nod, "And you seriously can't change your mind again."
"I'm not going to," Hermione retorted, folding her arms.
"Good," Ginny said with a smile, "And definitely no getting back with my fame-crazed brother."
Hermione pulled a face.
For the next week, Fleur was not around much. But as she got used to Hermione's more attentive and caring manner, they settled back into a calm domestic arrangement. Hermione would spend much of her time down on the beach, doing her studies. When she wasn't at the little beach, she would be cleaning the cottage or doing nice little things for Fleur around the house.
By the second and third weeks, Fleur appeared comfortable enough around Hermione to spend time with her again. Neither of them mentioned feelings for each other. In fact, sometimes Pansy would even visit the cottage to spend time with Fleur while Hermione was still there.
True to her word, Hermione honoured Fleur's decision to keep dating the former Slytherin. She focussed instead on showing Fleur that she was steady and unwavering. Knowing that Fleur had held strong feelings for her, Hermione no longer felt threatened by Pansy. She knew that she just had to wait her out. She was confident that Fleur would leave her when she could see that Hermione was a credible option.
One morning, Fleur and Hermione were both having breakfast at the same time at the table when the morning mail arrived. Both received neatly written letters from Neville Longbottom.
"A party," Fleur said, reading the letter.
"Chance to catch up with us all," Hermione said, reading her letter, "Sounds good actually. What do you think?"
"I'll see if Pansy wants to go," Fleur said, returning to her breakfast, "We had planned to go out to a night market that evening."
Hermione nodded in a friendly way, which seemed to please Fleur. Hermione pulled out a scrap of parchment and began to scrawl plans to meet Ginny before Neville's party.
Ginny and Hermione were standing in a corner of Neville's flat, sipping on wine and already feeling a little tipsy.
"So setting yourself up as the model future girlfriend is going well?" Ginny asked Hermione with a smirk.
"If you are referring to me showing her that I'm reliable and care about her, then yes, I'm still doing that," Hermione replied, sipping at her wine, "But for now I just have to deal with the fact she's dating Pansy."
"Eurgh, Parkinson of all people," Ginny said, pulling a face. She changed the subject quickly as Neville opened the door to the subject of their conversation: Fleur and Pansy.
There was a ripple of interest in the crowded room from people that did not already know that Fleur had been seeing Pansy. But as Luna was already in attendance with former Slytherin Blaise Zabini as her partner, it soon died down again. Pansy sat on a couch and pulled Fleur possessively to sit in her lap. As usual, she seemed incredibly smug showing off Fleur as her girlfriend. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to Ginny.
"I think Fleur is trying hard not to have any displays of affection with Pansy in front of me for the sake of my feelings," Hermione said, "Despite Pansy's best efforts."
"Well, that's promising! It shows she at least believes you have feelings for her," Ginny prompted. Hermione drank some more wine, enjoying the buzz.
"Yeah, well, its more about getting her to trust my feelings. I hurt her harder than I ever would have guessed. It makes sense that she wants to bet on the safe horse," she told Ginny. Ginny snorted.
"Whoever thought Pansy Parkinson would be the 'sensible, safe' option," Ginny retorted.
Harry approached the girls with Ron in tow. Hermione shot Harry an alarmed look, but he smiled easily. He seemed assured that Ron's temper wasn't acting up… Which Hermione wasn't entirely sure about.
"Hey guys, how's it going?" Harry chirped. He appeared slightly inebriated. Ron was in a similarly jolly mood, his arm slung around Harry's shoulder.
"No sunglasses today, Ron?" Ginny asked with a smirk.
"Harry convinced me to take them off," Ron replied obliviously, "Hey, we were thinking of getting a group together to play a drinking game if you're keen,"
Hermione eyed him suspiciously before shrugging. What else was she going to do? Mope in a corner with Ginny all evening?
"All right, lets do it," Ginny chimed in. Ron looked at Hermione with surprise.
"Blimey, didn't think you were the type to play drinking games," he remarked. Hermione rolled her eyes, choosing not to fall into an argument with him. She would try and let the tentative peace between them last for the entirety of Neville's party.
Two separate drinking games later, Hermione was feeling well and truly buzzed. She couldn't stop openly staring at Fleur now. They were sitting in a small circle away from the rest of the party: Ron, Harry, Ginny, Neville, Dean, Lavender, Pansy, Fleur, Luna, Blaise and Hermione. Pansy, across the circle from Hermione, seemed to notice her staring at Fleur. Her smugness had grown and she had a tight arm around Fleur, often pecking her on the cheek.
Fleur, as she had got more intoxicated, had got less vigilant with keeping displays of affection from occurring in front of Hermione. Hermione found herself narrowing her eyes at Pansy despite herself. She had to rein herself in. She had told Fleur that she respected her decision to be with Pansy. But Merlin… Did Pansy have to be so obnoxious?!
"Oi, how abou' Truth or Dare?" Dean suggested. Ron bellowed his approval of the choice in next game.
Hermione, if she were sober, usually would have baulked at this game. In the Muggle world, this had been a fairly innocuous game played at school. In the wizarding world, it involved placing a spell across the group that bound them to tell the truth or carry out the dare suggested. But, drunk as she was, Hermione found herself nodding away with the group as the spells were cast.
The game commenced, with Luna being asked first by Dean. Luna selected Truth.
"Okay, when did you first begin getting with the Slytherin over there?" Dean asked, nodding at Blaise. Blaise raised his eyebrows, alarmed, as the charm obliged Luna to answer truthfully.
"We were fooling around on and off throughout our time at Hogwarts," Luna confessed, eliciting several surprised reactions from around the circle.
"No way!" Pansy yelped, "Blaise… You were the one that made up the Looney Lovegood nickname!"
"As an attempt to throw people off the scent," Luna shrugged, clearly not bothered by the nickname. Blaise was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Okay," Luna said dreamily, "Ginny… Truth or dare?"
"Dare," Ginny said bravely, grinning boldly. Blaise and Luna consulted quietly for a moment before grinning.
"We dare you to run naked around the block," Luna said, cocking her head to one side absently.
"Fine, no problem," Ginny said, the charm already getting her to her feet. Ron yelped as Ginny began to disrobe and covered his eyes.
"Somebody tell me when its over," Ron groaned.
Ginny disrobed quickly and Hermione raised her eyebrows. Damn, that Quidditch practice was keeping Ginny in shape! With a sly grin, a very naked Ginny ducked out of the room to run around the block.
Arriving back, a little flushed from running in the cold, Ginny quickly dressed again.
"Merlin, I'm glad there was no hint of media outside…" Ginny commented, "Although I think I did scar a little old lady for life."
The room laughed. Hermione felt annoyed again as Pansy muttered something in Fleur's ear that caused her to smile widely. How Hermione wished that that was her.
"Shall I pick Parkinson and get her to do or admit something humiliating?" Ginny whispered in her ear, following Hermione's line of sight.
"No… Then she would get a turn and she would just use it to do something horrible to me," Hermione replied. Ginny nodded reluctantly, continuing her gaze around the potential victims in the circle before finding another suitable target.
"Dearest brother," Ginny grinned, looking at Ron, "Truth or dare?"
"Like I would trust you with a dare," Ron muttered darkly, "Truth."
"Is it true that you tip off the media to where you will be each day?" Ginny asked with a knowing smirk. Ron purpled as the charm began to loosen his tongue.
"Yes, its true," Ron admitted. The circle erupted into roaring laughter, causing Ron to purple more and scowl. Hermione laughed heartily. Ron really was hooked on fame.
"Hermione," Ron said abruptly, interrupting the laughter. The group quietened to watch the tense interaction between the two exes.
"Truth," Hermione selected. She could feel Ginny tense at her side.
"Who did you cheat on me with?" Ron asked, his brows furrowed. You could hear a pin drop with the silence around the circle. Hermione inwardly struggled, trying to fight the charm working its way to force her to confess.
"Fleur," Hermione finally choked out. The whole circle was deathly silent. Everyone looked stunned, looking from Hermione to Fleur.
"Is everybody gay now all of a sudden?!" Lavender finally exclaimed, breaking the silence. Hermione risked a glance at Ron who was incredibly purple in the face and looking wildly at Fleur. Hermione sighed. Thank god he was distracted by the attractiveness of his ex girlfriend fooling around with a Veela to be angry again. Hermione couldn't say the same for Pansy, who looked livid. Fleur had put her hand on her arm soothingly and was murmuring something to her, but Pansy was too busy glaring daggers at Hermione.
Hermione tried to move on from the awkward situation by asking Lavender an innocuous question about her number of sexual partners, which thankfully gained the attention of most of the circle again.
"Pansy, truth or dare?" Lavender asked, turning to Pansy beside her. Pansy, still looking thoroughly irritated, hissed "truth."
"Okay… You always looked so cosy with Malfoy at Hogwarts. Which of the Slytherins have you actually been with?" Lavender asked. Blaise laughed and clapped his hands together, eager to hear the answer. Pansy scowled more but the charm was already working.
"Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass…" Pansy struggled to fight the last answer from escaping her mouth, reddening as it blurted out, "Millicent Bullstrode."
Hermione and Ginny erupted into laughter, nudging each other. Pansy, now looking furious, turned to Fleur.
"Fleur, baby, truth or dare?" Pansy asked, her voice dangerously low. Fleur, neutral as always, looked uncertain.
"Ah… dare," Fleur chose strategically. Hermione supposed this was to avoid placing herself in a situation where she may have to admit to feelings for Hermione. Pansy looked at Hermione, smirking devilishly as she voiced her dare.
"I dare you to give me a lapdance," Pansy said. Fleur blushed, shaking her head. But the charm was already working and she was getting to her feet. Several of the boys around the circle leaned forward in their seats eagerly. Hermione gritted her teeth. It was a shitty move of Pansy clearly just designed to rub Hermione's face in her relationship again. Anyone who knew Fleur even remotely would know that the reserved and proud girl would hate giving a lapdance in front of people.
Fleur began to sway seductively and her hair began to appear more silvery. It seemed the charm had inadvertently made Fleur release her thrall. Hermione, as a female, was not affected by the thrall, but she noticed the eyes of the males glaze over. Fleur leaned over, resting her hands on the top of Pansy's thighs before moving them down slowly. She dropped to the ground, parting Pansy's legs before slowly rising between them. Pansy let her hands roam possessively over Fleur as she moved, turning around to sit in Pansy's lap and roll her hips, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
"Jesus…" Ginny uttered beside Hermione, her mouth dropping a little, "She is way too hot for Parkinson."
"Fuckin' Pansy," Hermione slurred. Fleur was now straddling Pansy, facing her, as Pansy grabbed her ass. Pansy smirked pointedly at Hermione from across the circle before pulling Fleur in for a kiss. This, at least, seemed to break the charm, and Fleur slid off Pansy's lap and returned to her seat, pulling her thrall back in. The men around the circle sighed and shook their heads.
Fleur looked a little put out, ignoring Pansy's attempt to kiss her cheek. Her eyes roamed the circle briefly before settling on Ginny with a glower.
"Ginny, truth or dare?" Fleur asked intently. Ginny mulled it over for a moment.
"Truth," Ginny settled on. Fleur, looking icily at Ginny seemed to already have a question ready.
"Have you ever had feelings for Hermione?" Fleur asked. Hermione's eyebrows raised. Was Fleur… jealous?
"Yes, years ago," Ginny answered simply with a shrug. This did not seem to settle Fleur, who still looked tense. Ginny smiled coyly.
"Hermione… truth or dare?" Ginny asked. Hermione looked quizzically at Ginny who seemed to be looking like she was scheming.
"Dare?" Hermione answered tentatively. Ginny smirked.
"I dare you to kiss me," Ginny stated. Ron let out a noise of outrage from across the room but was silenced by Dean swatting him.
Hermione felt the charm working. She leaned in, close enough to Ginny that she could see her dark eyelashes. She smelt faintly of wine and cinnamon. Suddenly Hermione pressed her lips against Ginny's. They were soft, almost as soft as Fleur's. Ginny hooked a hand behind her neck and deepened the kiss. There was a slamming sound and Hermione pulled back. She looked across the circle to see that Fleur had stood up from her chair and stormed out so suddenly that she had knocked her chair over.
"Sorry… I just wanted to see if she would get jealous," Ginny said with an apologetic smile. Hermione didn't know whether to thank her or curse at her, instead getting up and rushing out of the room after Fleur.
"Oi, its 'Mione's turn!" Ron bellowed drunkenly as Hermione left the room.
Hermione found Fleur in a small bedroom, presumably Neville's flatmate's, leaning against a wall with her hands over her face.
"Fleur?" Hermione asked tentatively, entering the room and closing the door behind her, "Are you okay?"
Fleur exhaled shakily, removing her hands from her face.
"What are you doing here?" Fleur asked in a defeated sounding voice. Hermione maintained a respectable distance, biting her lip.
"I'm sorry…" Hermione felt awkward, she didn't want to bring up the fact that Fleur was acting jealous, "I'm sorry Pansy did that stupid dare and got you to give her a lapdance. I know you would hate doing something like that in front of people."
Fleur sighed heavily.
"Sometimes I feel like Pansy just doesn't get me… Like maybe she never will," Fleur admitted.
"Is that why you stormed out?" Hermione asked carefully, testing her luck. Fleur averted her eyes awkwardly.
"Are you… Is there something going on between you and Ginny?" Fleur asked quietly, "Is that why you've been spending more time with her lately?"
"No," Hermione answered with a reassuring smile, "I only have feelings for you. I was serious about waiting for you, Fleur."
Fleur reacted suddenly, immediately closing the gap between her and Hermione. She grabbed Hermione's face with both hands and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Hermione felt Fleur's tongue slide amazingly over her own, sending a thrill through her body. Before Hermione could move her arms to wrap around Fleur, Fleur pulled away abruptly. She touched her lips with her fingers, looking horrified.
"I-I'm sorry…" Fleur uttered, "This is so unfair to Pansy, to you…"
Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Fleur left the room in a rush, leaving Hermione standing alone, stunned.
The next morning, Hermione awoke with a throbbing headache. The room was spinning slightly and she felt incredibly nauseous. With a groan, she dragged herself out of her bed and threw the window open to let in some fresh sea air.
Dragging her hands through her knotted curls, Hermione's mind sluggishly dragged over the memories of the previous night. She blushed at the memory of Fleur getting jealous and then kissing her. Perhaps it would not take as long as she thought for Fleur to come around to taking a chance on her?
Hermione pulled on a dressing gown and lumbered out to the kitchen, craving a potion that could take the edge off her hangover. As she walked through the living room, there was a crack as Fleur apparated into the living room.
Fleur was pale and her hair was tousled. Her mascara was smudged downwards as if she had been crying and she was wearing the same clothes as she had at Neville's party. Hermione was so shocked she paused in her tracks. She had never seen Fleur look even remotely out of control before, but now she looked like she had just had the most out of control evening of her life.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, concerned, "Should I call Pansy?"
"No," Fleur said quietly, shaking her head, "Pansy and I are over."