Disclaimer
I do not owe anything, it all belongs to the lovely Mrs Rowling. I'm just a happy soul who decided to take these amazing characters out for a walk. I promise to do my best to deliver them back in one piece.
The Deflector
In the beginning Gabrielle had been slightly puzzled over the fact that the pieces didn't move. She had never heard of a chess game where the players had to move their pieces manually, and at first she found it odd that anyone would prefer this slow version opposed to the more violent and wild original, but in some way it also intrigued her.
"Impressive, very impressive indeed." The playful smile resting on Clara's lips had been replaced with a far more serious one after Gabrielle had finished her move. For a moment Clara situated her hand beneath her chin; the frown on her forehead indicating the gravity of her thoughts.
In seven moves Gabrielle had managed to take out two of Clara's officer's; she was now only two moves away from checking her king. Clara was left with some insignificant pawns and a handful of her officers and now she made another mistake, leaving her queen completely defenceless. Gabrielle could not help the grin spreading over her face because of this. As she immediately moved her own Queen into position, taking out Clara's; she failed to notice the small gleam of satisfaction in Clara's eyes when she had finished her move.
Without a single word of warning Clara moved her pawn the final step. "This pawn shall be a bishop." Gabrielle's eyes widened immediately, realising that she had been played like a violin. Clara had consciously sacrificed her queen and officers so she could get her subtle pawn into position. Gabrielle had been too busy taking out what she considered to be the valuable pieces and the threats they could have amounted to, instead of focusing on the real threat ahead.
A playfulness had spread across Clara's features. "Échec et mat." Gabrielle's king was trapped between Clara's bishop and her tower, she laid down her king acknowledging her defeat. "How did you do that?" The playful smile remained on Clara's lips as she started to put the pieces back at their rightful place.
"The one who taught me how to play called it the deflector. By using certain strategies such as sacrificing certain pieces, I prevent you from using your original strategy. Meanwhile I also make sure to draw your attention away from the real threat ahead. So in other words, I deflect to ensure a certain effect, in this case my victory." Gabrielle raised her eyebrows, and for a moment silence dominated the room.
"D-do you...Pardon." A nervous blush snuck up on Gabrielle's face as her eyes flickered insecurely, her mother had always told her to remember her manners and never act impolite towards strangers.
"Yes?" Clara asked as if she could sense her sudden discomfort. "D-Do you think that you could teach me?" Her head was bent, almost as a sign of humility and her cheeks kept burning with a bright red. "Of course. It would be a pleasure" Clara responded with a smile.
They were just about to begin when the door suddenly swung open. "Mademoiselle Delacour, your presence is requested by your family" At first the butler's face remained motionless, but at the sight of Clara his eyes narrowed significantly. "Pardon my intrusion, however it's highly forbidden for any guests to interact with the youngest of the gentlefolk without supervision."
Gabrielle rose from her seat and was now standing by his side in the door."I'm afraid I'll have to inform your mother concerning this matter" Gabrielle turned her gaze down, she knew her mother would be furious with her.
"Please, I am certain we can come to some sort of arrangement where no one else needs to get involved. After all, I did not know I was prohibited to interact with the young Mademoiselle." Clara's eyes had narrowed and for a moment Gabrielle felt how the butler froze in his posture. It was as if he was conflicted for a moment, but then a small smile spread across his face as he responded. "Of course you are right; the fault was entirely mine for not informing you thoroughly. Pardon my lack of communication, s'il vous plait?"
"Of course." Clara returned the gesture, her mouth nothing but a thin line as the butler made sign to leave. Gabrielle lingered for a moment, she sent Clara a grateful smile which she returned.
"I hope to meet you soon for a rematch Mademoiselle, I'm certain that next time the outcome will be different."
Hermione was completely speechless as she entered her room. She could easily have settled for a simple bed in a broom closet, but this… this simply gave a new dimension to the meaning of the word extravagance; rich silk and grand mahogany and ebony furniture dominated the room. Everything was simply so pompous and bombastic, which stood in complete contrast to Fleur's apartment. The Delacour's are clearly fans of the Empire-style. Hermione thought to herself as she sat down on the bed, still completely speechless.
She didn't know how long she simply sat and observed the countless of details in the room, but suddenly she was disturbed by a soft knock on the door.
"Yes?" Harry popped in his head sending her a warm smile as he entered."Hey 'Mione I wondered if you wanted some company? Ron is testing out his bed and yeah I got slightly bored of sitting rolling my thumbs." Hermione send her friend a warm smile and made room for him to come and sit next to her.
"Actually that is not exactly right, truth is I have been wondering if this might be a good time for us to have a talk?" Hermione lifted her eyebrows not exactly certain where this was heading. "I mean about yesterday." Harry almost rushed to continue. "You were saying something about Malfoy Manor, but then Ron interrupted and yeah you never really finished your sentence."
For some reason Hermione had completely forgotten all about her and Harry's conversation and everything else that had passed the previous night for that matter. "Yeah… I'm sorry it's just. We haven't really had the time I suppose." She felt the burning from Harry's expectant gaze and suddenly she felt slightly silly for having brought it up in the first place. She didn't know why she had been about to say what she was yesterday, it seemed slightly senseless now, farfetched somehow. "And besides I don't even seem to remember what it was exactly we were talking about anymore?" She didn't met Harry's gaze as she sat fidgeting with her hands, searching for words to say. "Okay then." It didn't sound as if he believed her, but he didn't ask any further into the matter.
It didn't last long before everything about the previous night had been forgotten and they had started up a new conversation. She had missed this, missed just being capable of sitting talking to her friend, not having to worry about what was going to happen next or suddenly being attacked.
They had all changed a lot since they had left the Burrow, but deep down inside they were still the same as always. Harry was still the same; Hermione had always found great comfort in just being together with him. They simply understood each other in some way. It was nice having him as a friend, it was nice just being and talking with someone where everything wasn't so awfully complicated.
Time passed and after a couple of hours Ron decided to join them. The same maid that had guided them to their room came up with lunch; she smiled warmly at them all. But as she was about to leave Hermione could have sworn that she had looked directly at her, smiling while repeating how happy she was to have met them, how happy she was that they were here.
Fleur had completely lost track of time when the meeting finally had been declared over. One thing was to listen to her aunt and uncle's constant nagging concerning their position and the birth right of their children. Another was to be forced to simply sit there and listen to her aunt's more or less subtle gibes aimed at Gabrielle and herself.
It had never bothered Fleur before, but the fact that Gabrielle had been summoned on Auréle's own request, only so she could sit there and ridicule her - that made Fleur's blood boil. And in the end it also resulted in a straight out confrontation between her and her aunt. Fleur's mother had been furious afterwards; Fleur should know better than to let her aunt's petty comments get to her. She had not only embarrassed herself but her mother as well, and that was one thing she wouldn't tolerate. However, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Gabrielle carefully had taken her hand and sent her a grateful smile.
How could an adult ever justify insulting and so obviously scorning a child? And how could a mother simply sit back and let it pass by? No, Fleur didn't concern herself with whether or not she helped maintaining her mother's position; she raised her chin and straightened her back as she left the room with her sister's hand in hers. Think tall, walk tall. That is all that matters.
Even though that Gabrielle didn't say anything, Fleur could easily sense that she was still upset. They were not allowed to show any sign of vulnerability; Veelas were not inferior - they were superior. Therefore they had to always keep their head high no matter what might happen. They were never allowed to admit defeat, never allowed to act like a simple ordernér. God how she hated that word, hated the way her family tended to speak of it as if it was beneath them. Imbécile.
It took a while before Gabrielle decided to speak; Fleur knew that there was no use in ever pushing or forcing anything out of her sister, it had to come naturally. But to her great surprise the topic her sister had decided to settle on was not the meeting, it was Clara.
Gabrielle wanted to know where Fleur knew her from, and why she was here with the others. It was slightly odd coming to think of it, that this was in fact the second time the same day she had been asked that exact question. She gave her sister a warm smile before she started to tell the story that had unfolded years earlier when she and Clara had first met.