I DO NOT OWN, MAKE MONEY NOR WANT ANYTHING. JUST GRATEFUL SUCH A WONDERFUL WORLD WAS CREATED.
AN:
Thanks for the reviews, and as soon as I find a Beta we will fix this eye sore.
Also a question was asked about the complexity of the story. I will be honest, the scope I have envisioned in my mind is vast. Hopefully it will not become overwhelming, yet for me tell the story locked in my brain, it seems this is needed. I like yourselves wish to see how it ends. On the plus side, I am disabled, with plenty of time on my hands, so the probability of finishing is really good.
Also this chapter is a fleur/hermione one. it rehashes a few things in the attempt to signify some significant points.
now to the story
The manor had been deathly quit, a unnatural stillness seemed to permeate the Delacour home. There was two wing's to the majestic structure. The south wing, consisted of guestrooms, various drawing rooms, as well as the large sitting room which gave a magnificent view of the North wing, the families personal sanctuary.
It was this same room that found the Delacour family, huddled together in comfort and fear, waited for any news of their daughter.
"Fleur!" the youngest Delacour screamed, as she noticed a bright light emanate from the decimated remains of Fleur's room on the other side of the manor. With out a moments thought, she bolted, followed only moments later by her parents.
As the light faded, two young, and overwhelmed women, found themselves in a room that looked as if it had been been witness to artillery shelling.
Slowly the the lith form of Fleur noticed that not only was a full wall missing from her room, but part of the floor, as she could look into one of the parlors. Yet before she could think further, Her eye's caught site of a violently shaking Hermione Granger.
"Mess Granger" Fleur whispered as she focused her attention on the form of the women.
"Hermione" she repeated gently attempting to draw the women out of the trance she seemed to be in.
As she was about to speak again, something gave her pause, something dark, and broken was peering out of the women.
Something Fleur realized she was very familiar with.
As the the adrenaline ebbed from her system, the reality of that night came crashing down on her. Stumbling mid step, as the impact of what had transpired bludgeoned her. The terror, fear, and utter loneliness of it all, causing her to grasp the nearest target in a desperate need to find comfort.
As the calculating, and cold mind of Hermione Granger, processed that the target of her retribution was out of her grasp, she focused on the alien environment she found herself in. Within moments she had come to the conclusion that she was most probably At fleur's home.
With all purpose removed from her being, her mind slowly began to unravel. Cascading as the threads which had protected her mind, began to falter.
Where once there was cold reason, now existed a torrent of memories fueled by emotions.
The onslaught ravaging her body. The terror, fear, and utter desolation. As she began to submit to the madness, she found herself in the embrace of a shaking Fleur Delacour.
The moment their body's touched, the primal need to banish the darkness took over. As they shook in each others embrace, Earth shattering wails rendering them incoherent. The two women communed on a level so profound, only those who had walked through the valley of death, would comprehend the intimacy that was being forged. A sisterhood that would mark them for the remainder of there lives.
Thus it was, that the Delacour family found the two women, joined in a desperate embrace. So wrought with anguish was the scene, that the Family held vigil, protecting them, allowing the two women time. Time to come to terms with whatever had transpired. As the hour's passed, Fleur, and Hermione slowly drifted into sleep. Emotional spent, yet never releasing the other.
"Harry!" a distraught Hermione shouted as she was ripped from her nightmare.
Bolting up, her eye's lost in terror and memories she failed to realize that her sudden response had violently woke Fleur.
Frantically reaching for wands, both witches lost in the moment, failed to realize where they were located.
Once in possesion of there wands, feeling safe, the two became aware of not only each other, but the 3 figures whom were looking at them with concern.
"Fleur...Fleur are you ok" spoke Gabrielle quietly in french.
Hearing the worry in the small voice, she began to look towards her sister. As this occurred both her and Hermione's eye's met.
"I'm fine Gab..." she had begun to speak, when the hatred evident in Hermione's eye's began to smolder.
"How dare she" fleur began to smolder, as she began to recall the utter betrayal this...this...monster had perpetrated on Harry.
Images began to cascade in rapid succession. Memories Harry had of the girl he had met years ago on a train. She could feel the deep desperation he had in proving himself to her, the utter devotion, and utter lack of confidence. She relived every heart rendering sob that had escaped him over the years with the need to be closer to her, yet in the end she had tossed the most precious thing he had to offer. His love. A love so profound that she knew...KNEW that he would give his life for her, and still feel wanting! Then as quickly as her anger erupted, it was quenched in an avalanche of memories so profound that it left her stunned.
Looking around Harry had found it funny how every boy in view seemed to be stupified. Following the focus of there attention he quickly understood why.
Standing in the forefront of the Beubatons girls was an image out of a fairy tale. He thought in awe. Never in his life had he seen someone so beautiful.
As he watched her, he was mesmerized by every action she did, the gentle way her hands wove while speaking, to her graceful movements. As if being pulled into a dream, Harry felt himself falling deeper into her. Then her eye's briefly focused on the hall around her. Though it was brief, Harry caught the disdain in her eye's.
Feeling ashamed, that like the other's he had been staring, Harry shrugged off the compulsion, and instead focused on those around him.
Slowly Harry began to feel bad for the poor girl...no lady, as every eye in the hall either displayed hatred or lust. He could understand what it felt like to be the focus of everyone's attention.
As they sat, preparing for dinner to be served, harry was still lost in contemplation over the girl. While it was true that she was very very pretty in Harry's opinion, and she was surrounded by many friends, harry could not help but feel there was a shadow of...what? He thought
"Loneliness" He questioned himself. But there was more too it he continued to think.
It was while lost in thought, that the women had approached the table asking for one of the dish's.
As he looked briefly at her, offering kindly what remained, his heart skidded to a halt at the cold disdain he seen looking down at him.
As she left Harry realized that while he would have liked to be friends with her. She like everyone else thought he was below her. A truth Harry was coming to a believe.
As Harry sat at the Champions Table, he watched as the girl he loved so dearly, smile and laugh with her date. Never had he seen Hermione looking so beautiful or happy.
Though it broke his heart she was with someone else, and had gradually been pulling away, He truly wanted her happiness, and prayed Krum would give her that.
With a sigh, he focused on the other girl who had been gradually filling his mind.
While Hermione was Beautiful, Fleur was Radiant.
As Hermione had pulled away from Harry, he had been left utterly alone. While Hedwig was almost constantly with him, showering him with affection, the truth remained, that it was a one-way conversation. He had wept on her many times, telling her how much he relied on her, and though he had never spoke it, wished she was human.
So it came as no surprise that as his mind and soul left utterly bereft of any human affection, or friendship, slowly began to spin a fantasy, the main character being the Radiant Fleur.
It had quickly come out that though Fleur had a beauty unrivaled, the true power she had over others was from her heritage.
As harry watched her dance, he could now detect the gentle pull of her allure. While others were enthralled as she danced past them, Harry remained unaffected. Once he had identified what had been tempting him, he was easily able to disregard it.
Yet at times, when know one was watching, he allowed his defenses down, allowing the allure to caress him, to take the pain, and loneliness away. In a very real sense, This alone gave him the courage to stand strong in the face of all the rejection. All the betrayal.
Sighing, he knew it was pathetic, but a starving dog takes what it can..
How things changed, he thought, Where before she had simply thought of him as below her station, Now she thought of him as Rubish, not worthy to be trash below her feet. All because that dammed Cup!
He knew that the older girl would never see him as anything but a child, and if he was honest with himself, didn't believe he could ever be worthy of her. Still he found himself daydreaming of her as his friend, his confidant. Sharing dreams, and fears. Someone who he could hold, and forget about life with. Someone who like himself was judged without people ever knowing who they truly were.
He knew it was pointless, yet...
Pulled out of his thoughts, He noticed fleur trade partners, and was now dancing with Malfoy.
He watched as she gently gave him a kiss on the cheek before the waltz began. As much as he despised the little lying shit, he had to concede that they were graceful together.
He pondered if Fleur truly was like malfoy. He found it unlikely, yet...
As the feeling of hairs rising on his neck gained his attention, he looked up to find the cold eyes of Fleur burning through him, all the while Malfoy smirked in glee.
Turning away his last thought was whether or not She knew what type of person malfoy was.
On and on the memories of the lost and tormented harry drove through her mind. Every snub, and slight she had cast at him, struck like like an Iron unto flesh. Yet all the while he held onto the desperate belief that there was more to Fleur. Believing that behind the cold, spiteful girl was the women of his dreams. And then she relived that terrible and fateful night through Harry's eye's.
She felt his terror at witnessing what was happening to her. Without thought for himself, he had saved her, only to have it repaid by a cruelty so heart-wrenching and brutal that her mind reeled in Horror. She felt the moment that Hope had been tortured from him. The moment that he gave himself to oblivion.
The last vision she experience would forever remain with her. In awe she watched as the broken boy...No Man, had stood before the darkest creature ever known, and fought with Courage and conviction.
Not for his friends, for he had none
Neither for family nor love, for he had been neglected of such things.
No he fought for a dream, the belief that while he had nothing, he was damm sure going to make it so others would never suffer like him.
It was at the same moment, that a furious Hermione had similar visions. Much like Fleur, her reactions were the same.
Her initial furry had been sparked as she began to relive what had transpired in the thirdtask. She seen every action that had occurred. The brutality and corruption that had degraded, and despoiled Harry's body. She felt as that...that...Witch had gleefully burned away all hope from harry.
Yet before she could strike out in vengeance, she had witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort. For a moment she had been so proud, witnessing the courage of the man she loved, then violently she relived the cruel condescending words of accusation she had spoke. She felt how what Fleur had not been able to burn out, she had finished.
As tears filled her eye''s, she focused on the women before her. There in front of her was a women, broken, and mourning the loss of innocence. A women, whom she suspected had experienced similar visions, and regrets. A women who like herself broke a young man they cared deeply for.
Taking a calming breath Hermione looked understandingly into the eye's of Fluer.
"What do we do know?" she whispered Hermione
"we find..Ha...harry...and..." she sobbed.
"and..d. We...we beg for forgiveness." she finished, as she began to softly cry.
She felt the arm's of Hermione surround her, feeling tears fall on her arm from the girl, she herd in a whispered, broken voice. "he's soo...o broken"
for minutes the girls sat, working hard to compose themselves.
Pulling back fleur looked around the room, and found that her parents and sister, were sitting feet away, concern etched on every face.
Looking back towards Hermione she spoke..
"I..i...have been having visions...no...uh..memories of.." taking a deep shuddering breath finished "Harry"
Looking up in shock, Hermione's voice cracked.
"Me too."
Nodding to each other, fleur turned towards her family.
"Mother, …..father" she began as attention focused on her.
"something terrible, tragic has happened" she began, then gathering her courage
"Something I'm ashamed to say, I am the cause off".
Over the next few hours, fleur and hermione told the Delacours everything that had transpired over the last year. Never in there dreams could they have expected any of what occurred, There sanity had been further twisted as the results of the night before became evident.
The family could feel the shame both girls harbored, as well as the burden of guilt.
Gabrielle had always looked up to her sister, had worshiped and emulated her. For the first time in her life Gabrielle could not look at her sister.
Looking at her lap, she spoke quietly, breaking the terrible silence.
"How are you going to fix it"
unable to look at her family, Fleur focused her gaze on Hermione.
"How do we find Harry?" she spoke.
For moments, Hermione did not say anything. Slowly the question penetrated the emotional fog she was lost in.
"Harry" she thought...then gradually her brain woke, focusing on a question, a problem, a purpose!
Snapping out as questions began to fill her mind.
"Fluer..I think Harry is safe" she said as she arranged her thoughts.
"I'm not sure...yet" Fleur began as she thought about last night.
Speaking out loud, her voice caught as she retold what she had seen.
"I felt something...snap...like a part of my soul had been ripped away, or...died" pausing to reign in her emotions.
"I knew it was Harry" looking at Hermione, she could tell she had felt the same.
"then I felt a terrible anger burn inside...I..I...Transformed" she finished looking at her mother.
"Yes Fleur, you did transform...But not quite how you think dear" her mother said in level tones.
Fleur was about to question her mother further, when her mind reminded her Harry was at risk.
"then I remember flashing to his terrible home." she shuddered than as if remembering something she continued
"Before I flashed...I believe I felt him back" she said as a small shiver of hope took over.
Before she could speak however, Hermione interjected.
"I...I...felt the same" she said quitly
taking a deep breath looked at the Delacours, then focused her attention back at Fleur.
"I..I..." she began to shudder. Seeing the difficulty Hermione was having, floor gently took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
Giving a gentle smile in thanks, Hermione suppressed her emotions and in whisper's continued
"while I was in IT'S mind" she shuddered. "I watched...felt his perversions...his...evil"
"So have I Hermione" whispered Fleur.
"Yes" she replied, then focusing she went on
"He...It...killed Harry, but then..." Pausing to articulate what she had witnessed
"Someone,...a girl, was there..." pausing in frustration looked apologetic at those around her.
"It's difficult to remember with clarity what that...MONSTER was thinking or seeing..his thoughts, and emotions are so alien...yet" as something popped into place
"Dobby?" she exclaimed.
"What is a Dobby" asked Fleur, completely lost.
Quickly Hermione jumped up from the floor, and began pacing, thinking.
"Dobby is a who" she thought out loud.
"as well as the girl" she mused
"they must have been protecting him...hum house elves" she continued to herself
"But who? And how are we going to find him"
As Hermione was having her internal monologue, Fleur was attempting to make sense of what she was contemplating, yet before she could, she noticed the light behind Hermione's eye's light up with Comprehension.
In a shriek she yelled
"DOBBY!"
Instantly there was a pop, followed by a squeaky little voice.
"Mr Harry Potter's Grangy calls for Dobby?" the little creature asked cautiously.