Hey guys its me again, I do apologize for the lateness of this chapter, I have been going through a few very troubling things that I cannot quite go into but I that I do regret and am getting my bearings back so to speak. So I am back to give you all this chapter.
And also if you haven't already check out my tumblr I'll be posting gifs and things of how I see certain scenes in my chapters on there. Plus it'll help give you guys a visual on how I see certain characters. :)
tumblr link: .com
Chapter 14: Stirrings
"My lords, my ladies, we are gathered here today to witness history in the making," a booming voice spoke as multitudes of people stood at attention.
"In times of grief, times of despair, we all united under one banner," the voice continued.
"Delacour!" someone in the audience shouts.
"Delacour! Delacour! Delacour!" the crowd joins in.
"Silence!" the booming voice calls the crowd to attention.
"We hear your pleas and we respond in turn!" the voice responds as the crowd grows silent.
"In times of old we were united and ruled justly by the blood of the Delacours, why not let us be ruled once more!" the voice exclaims as the crows roars in approval.
"The Ministry has failed us!" shouts from the crowd.
"Delacour!" another shout.
"We are here today to crown a just ruler, a firm ruler, the one true ruler of France!" the voice booms.
"We are here today to crown you,"
"Fleur" the voice is recognizable and a familiar face appears.
"Merde!" Fleur explains as she startles awake, a very vivid dream.
'what was that' the young girl thinks to herself as she looks up, the carriage ceiling above her.
'It felt so real,' the girl ruminates to herself before her room door is thrown open, a brunet girl making her way inside.
"We're going to be late for the run," Suzette informs as she walks towards Fleur's bed.
"We've got at least a solid hour before Madam Maxime expects us," Claude interrupts as he walks into the room.
"Schematics Claude," Suzette dismisses with a wave of her hand.
"Sorry, I had a late night," Fleur excuses as she sits up.
"We know," Suzette replies with a smirk.
"Suzette," Claude warns as the other girl gives him a huff of annoyance in return.
"It's alright Claude," Fleur reasons.
"Hermione and I had a lovely evening around the grounds," Fleur continues.
"Thats good," Claude replies as Suzette nods in turn.
"Should we expect to see more of her today?" Suzette inquired as Fleur got up from her bed and shuffled around her room.
"Oui, I've invited her to our sparing tonight," Fleur replies grabbing a clean uniform out of her closet.
- - - - x x x - - - - -
Hermione couldn't get the feeling out of her system. A feeling of want, potentially desire. It had been slowly building since the start of term. Hadn't quite reached a bubbling point, but it would eventually get there.
The night previous she'd wanted Fleur to kiss her, knew that she was much to young to be engaging in such acts, but the pull to do so was great.
The older girl in question had not pushed for things to go further than an embrace and a kiss goodnight on the hand. Much to her chagrin.
Her parents had sat her down when she'd had her first blood, had told her that she'd be going through a change that would invoke in her certain feelings. But that as a young pureblooded lady she should not act upon these feelings, such acts were meant to be reserved for her spouse.
Her father had assured her that when the time came, that he would help her pick an appropriate pureblooded wizard.
At the time she hadn't much cared for she hadn't given it much thought and the idea of a husband sounded foreign to her.
Fleur however was a completely different situation entirely, she was not a pureblood, was not even a wizard, but a witch.
And she was magnificent.
She went against everything that her parents had ever told her about associating with the 'right' sort of people.
She was a half-blood, if you could even construe her as such. A pureblooded wizard father and a Half-blooded Veela mother. By all accounts she shouldn't have felt an attraction to her in the first place, but she did. An attraction she couldn't quite explain herself, but that she hoped to explore with Fleur in due time.
Their parents had arranged the match, in order to help the Dark Lord when the time came. To right the wrongs of the past and establish them back to their rightful place as betters in the wizarding world hierarchy as well as the muggles.
It was only natural for her to make the best of her situation and develop feelings for Fleur.
She was beautiful, smart, brave and dashing.
All she could have hoped for in a spouse.
She only hoped that she could meet Fleur's expectations as well.
"I'm your new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story! Goodbye. The End," the gruff voice of Alastor Moody startled Hermione from her musings, the young girl looked up at the Professor. An unsettling feeling forming in the pit of her about this professor didn't sit well.
"Any questions?" The professor asked looking at the startled students.
When no student raised their hands to speak the professor began "When it comes to the Dark Arts, I believe in a practical approach,"
"Who can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?" The professor continued, the students in question unable to look him in the eye.
"Three Sir," Hermione replied after a moment of silence.
"And they are so named?" Professor Moody asked walking up to a chalk board and beginning to write the curses down.
"Because they are unforgivable, the use of any one of them- Hermione continued but was cut off by the professor.
"Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban," the professor finished, turning to look at the young girl.
"Lestrange was it?" Professor Moody inquired.
"Yes Sir," Hermione replied, she didn't like the way the professor was looking at her, eyes calculating and a bit of something else but she couldn't quite figure out what.
"Good now the Ministry said you're too young to see what these curses do, but I say different," Professor Moody exclaimed.
"You need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared! You need to find another place to put your gum besides the underside of your desk Mr Finnigan!" the professor exclaimed turning around suddenly to throw a piece of chalk at the young man.
"So which one shall we see first," the professor asked looking at the startled students.
"He's not all there is he," Pansy whispered to Hermione as the professor looked about the students.
"Weasley!"
"Yes" the squeaky voice of the frightened young man exclaimed looking up at the professor.
"Give us a curse," the professor demanded looking down at the frightened young man.
"Think he knows any," Daphne whispered mockingly, as the there young slytherin girls watched the young red headed boy stand up.
"W-Well my dad did tell me about one…t-the imperious curse," the young man nervously spoke.
"Yeah your father would know all about that gave the ministry quite a bit a grief a few years ago, perhaps this will show you why," the professor informed as he turned to walk back to his desk, where a jar holding a spider sat. Reaching into the jar the professor shouted a spell enlarging the spider.
"Imperio!" the professor spoke aloud startling the students.
"This just got interesting," Daphne whispered as the professor preceded to fling the spider at a few students.
"Careful if she bites! She's lethal!" The professor taunted placing the spider atop the weasley boy's face.
"What are you laughing at!" the professor accused as Draco's chuckles caught his attention.
"G-Get it off!" Draco exclaimed as Crabbe sputtered unsure of what to do.
"He's a bully," Pansy muttered darkly.
"Talented isn't she!" the professor exclaimed, joy at the young man's fear.
"What shall I have her do next?" he proceeded to say flicking his wand hand to the side "Jump out the window?" the students too stunned by the brief ordeal with the insect didn't say a word as the spider smacked against the window, "Drown herself?" the professor continued as the spider hovered over a bucket of water and attempted to flee. After a few moments deciding to place the spider back in its jar.
"Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding, under the influence of the imperious curse but here's the rob, how do we sort out the liars," the professor said looking around the class room.
"Another! Another, Come on!" The professor said after a few moments of silence, several students slowly putting up their hands.
"Longbottom is it?" the professor finally said selecting the boy in question, sitting at the front of the class.
"Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology," Professor Moody stated looking at the nervous looking young man.
A few nervous nods a response from the young man in turn.
"T-There's umm the C-Cruciatus curse," the responded after a few tense seconds.
"Correct! Correct, Come come!" the professor beckoned the young man to follow him to where he had placed the spider.
"The torture curse! Crucio!" the professor exclaimed pointing his wand at the spider again.
The spider's high pitched screams of agony filling the classroom,"
The class watched on in stunned silence as the Longbottom boy started visibly struggle at the scene.
Watching from her seated position at the back of the class Hermione looked on as did the rest of the students, an internal conflict waging war inside of her. Her parents had taught her this, she hadn't performed the spell yet but they had promised to let her practice the following holiday break. She'd read about the 3 ministry forbidden curses before, but had never seen them acted in front of her person. What was this new professor, he didn't act like the Mad-Eye-Moody that her father had spoken angrily about over dinner in the past. He reminded her of someone she'd met but she couldn't place her thoughts on who.
"I don't think this is in the curriculum," Daphne whispered looking at her two friends for comfort, the insects screams getting to her.
"I - pansy began before Hermione abruptly stood up.
"Professor I'd like to hear about the third curse," Hermione stated startling the professor from the spider, causing a cease to the curse and the spider's agony. The Longbottom boy's face relaxing slightly at the curse being lifted off of the small insect.
"Umm, well, perhaps you could give us the last unforgivable curse Miss Lestrange," the professor said hobbling over to the young girl's desk and placing the spider on it.
"Avada Kedavra, the killing curse," the young girl said with as much confidence as she could muster, staring the professor down for a few short moments before sitting back down.
"Very good, Avada Kedavra!" professor Moody exclaimed pointing his wand at the spider, ending its life.
A started Harry Potter catching Hermione's stare as they both stared at each other in stunned silence before turning away, no words were needed for what they had just witnessed.
"The killing curse, only one person is known to have survived it and he's sitting in this room," the professor stated hobbling over to the young man, and staring him down for a few seconds before taking out a flask and taking a huge gulp from it.
- - - x - - -
"That was different," Pansy said as the three girl's walked down the staircase leading them away from Professor Moody's class.
"You were great Hermione," Draco stated as he, Crabbe and Goyle caught up to them.
"You were rather brilliant," Daphne intoned with a small smile.
"I - the young witch in question began before the loud boisterous voice of Ron Weasley caught their attention.
"Brilliant isn't he! Completely demented of course, terrifyingly insane, but he's really been there, he's looked evil in the eye,"
"There's a reason those curses are unforgivable Ron," Seamus Finnigan spoke up beside the boy.
"Did you see Neville's face," Dean imputed as they walked up the the mute boy staring into nothing.
Professor Moody choosing to rapidly hobble down the stairs after them at that time to place a hand on the disturbed young man's shoulder.
"Son! You alright?" the young man slowly nodding in turn. "Come we'll have a cup of tea I want to show you something," the professor said leading the young man back up the stairs.
"What did I say, Brilliant," Ron said in awe as Neville and the professor retreated back into the classroom.
"And what would you know about brilliant weaselby?" Draco taunted looking up at the boy.
"A lot more than you Malfoy," Ron angrily retorted.
"Is that so?" Draco asked, a small smirk playing at the edge of his lips.
"And what would you know?" Seamus accused coming to his friend's defense.
"Certainly more than you half-breed," Draco retorts staring the young man down.
"I bet you do, parent's are a bunch of bloody death eaters, bet they taught you everything they know," Ron defended.
"How dare- " Draco began
"I'd be careful before making such blatant accusations," Hermione sharply replied.
"They're not blatant if they're true," Ron bit back.
"The only 'truth' I see is a scared boy making accusations he has no knowledge of," Hermione defended.
"You knew the last unforgivable curse! Thats all the 'proof' I need!" Ron exclaimed, his face beginning to grow red with anger.
"That's your excuse? All proper pureblooded children are told the names in accordance with the 1756 Code of Education decree as stated by the Ministry of Magic, all necessary for a proper education," Hermione explains a brow raised at the red headed boy.
"My mum and dad never told us all of them," Ron states.
"I said proper," Hermione replies with a smirk.
"Why yo-
"That's enough Ron," Harry interjects, drawing the attention of both parties.
"Harry," Ron states looking incredulously at his friend.
"Let's check on Neville and see how he's doing," Harry informs as their other friends silently agree, the argument was turning into another row between the slytherin girl and Ron.
"But Harry," Ron defended.
"Neville," Harry responds grabbing his friends arm and pulling him back up the stair case to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room.
"Right," Ron replies in agreement as they boys make their way up the staircase.
"Bunch of cowards aren't they," Pansy remarks as the boys walk back up the staircase and into the classroom.
"Not cowards, just misinformed and a bit uneducated," Hermione replies with a smile.
"That'll show them to speak that way to their betters," Draco says as the slytherins make their way to their next class.
- - - - - x x x - - - - - -
"So that is Mr Krum," Suzette commented as she and Cluade walked beside Fleur into the Great Hall, where the goblet had been set for students to submit their names for the tournament.
"He's tall," Claude commented back and a side glance at his friend.
The three had decided that they would be submitting their names forward to compete after their last class of the day, they had no doubt that their blonde friend would be chosen to represent their school, so it was more of a formality as the stipulation for the students selected to represent Beauxbatons had been to compete.
As the three walked towards the goblet the bulgarian young man turned from the goblet to walk back out of the hall. He made brief eye contact with Fleur before giving a respectful nod and slight bow and continuing to walk out.
"Seems amicable enough," Claude commented as they reached the goblet and each put their pieces of parchment into the goblet. Fleur stopping for a brief moment to make eye contact and to give a small smile in turn to a curious Hermione, who had come to watch the prospective competitors put their name into the goblet of fire.
"So it seems you'll be going up against Krum and whoever the Hogwarts representative is," Suzette commented as they made their way out of the hall.
"Good luck too them," Claude commented with a chuckle.
"I'm sure they'll be tough competitors," Fleur replied, she had noticed that Krum had briefly stopped to stare at her betrothed and her veela blood had gotten a slight rise of protectiveness over it.
"Did you have to goad him into a row," Harry asked as he stood facing Hermione Lestrange, the two had opted to come together once a month to try to get to know the other after their escapades the year previous. A boon that they had given Sirius. They had chosen to meet near Hagrid's hut as Harry had been told by the Half Giant that he was going to be taking care of some errands for Dumbledore. It was towards the end of the day and all their classes were done, the sun starting to fade as darkness began to take hold of the sky.
"He should learn to behave himself," Hermione countered, eye brow raised at the dark haired boy.
"He just doesn't know any better," Harry replied, an exasperated look upon his features.
"And that's an excuse," Hermione replied, she'd agreed to getting to know The Boy Who Lived, as a favor to Sirius but was beginning to regret her decision.
"No, no its not," Harry agreed after a few terse minutes.
"How's Longbottom?" Hermione asked trying to break the tension.
"Shaken up but better," Harry replied, a surprised look on his face, "I didn't think you cared about Neville,"
"Moody's teaching methods are unorthodox," Hermione replied, she did not care for the Longbottom boy, he seemed to want to start up an argument with her every time they crossed paths and I'd gotten tiresome over the years.
"He was trying to teach us," Harry tried to reason.
"In a very unorthodox fashion," Hermione resigned with a huff, "Something doesn't feel right about him,"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Just a hunch," Hermione replied, she wasn't sure what it was about the professor but it didn't quite sit right with her. He wasn't the traditional type of professor the Headmaster allowed within Hogwarts. Much to her parent's chagrin, they were always overly "soft" and never had any "ferocity" or so her mother said.
"I'll keep an eye out," Harry commented with a pensive look.
"Would it be too forward of me to ask about the Beuxbaton's students," Harry asked, pulling Hermione from her thoughts.
"What about them," the slytherin asked, out of all the things the dark haired boy could have asked, he chose to ask about the one thing she was still wrapping her mind around.
"Do you know them?" Harry bluntly asked.
"In a sense," Hermione replied.
Harry looked at her in confusion as he watched the young witch, a conflicted inner turmoil evident in her features.
"I'm betrothed to one of them," Hermione informed.
Harry looked at her in surprise confusion evident in his wide eyes and slightly open jaw, he had not expected Hermione's reply.
"I didn't know that was a thing," Harry asked, perplexed at the turn of events.
"Pureblood aristocracy customs," Hermione replied.
"But Ron and Neville -
"Weasley's line is impoverished and lost standing within Pureblood society a millennia ago and Longbottom's choses not to engage in our customs or at least the last few generations haven't," Hermione explained.
"My dad was a Pureblood," Harry stated, trying to process the new information.
"And he caused a scandal within our circles when he chose to marry your mother, as did Sirius when he chose to turn away from our family's ways," Hermione informed treading carefully on the subject of why Sirius really got excommunicated from the Black Family line.
"I didn't know Purebloods had these types of customs," Harry said, "Is he nice at least?" he inquired, remembering the brown haired Beuxbaton boy that had followed the two Beauxbaton girls to the Slytherin table the day prior.
"She," Hermione clarified.
"S-She?" Harry asked.
"Please tell me you're not narrow minded like a muggle," Hermione stated with a slight snarl.
"No, sorry that's not how I meant it," Harry excused, "I just didn't know that same sex marriages were allowed in the Wizarding World,"
"Wizarding society lost the negative perception several decades ago, if the match is advantages for both families then that is all that matters in these sorts of things," Hermione informed.
"Oh," Harry replied, "Which of the girl's is it?" the young man asked remembering that there had been two young ladies with the young man from the visiting school.
"The blonde," Hermione answered, "She's a few years older than me, but she's very kind and a fine match for a Lestrange daughter," Hermione clarified, skirting away from the true reason for her engagement to Fleur. She'd agreed to get to know the boy but he didn't need to know everything and she could not betray her family. She took her family's well being seriously.
"Fleur Delacour?" Harry asked, he'd overheard a few of the older years in his house speak about the beautiful blond and the number of things they'd like to do to the blonde witch.
"Yes," Hermione answered, "You know her?" she inquired.
"Just heard a few of the older years in my house mention her in passing," Harry replied.
"I see," Hermione replied "Her family is a great french wizarding house, we vacationed with them over the break," Hermione clarified.
"Congratulations I guess," Harry said with a small smile, he couldn't understand why the slytherin girl was so nonchalant about the whole ordeal, like it was just another walk in the park. He'd be upset if anybody had tried to control who he's spend the rest of his life with.
"Thank you," Hermione replied, "It's getting rather late so I'm afraid I'll have to excuse myself for today,"
"Same place two weeks from today?" Harry asked, "I received a letter from Sirius, said he'd be here then and asked if we'd be able to meet him,"
"Did he specify were he'd like us to meet him?" Hermione asked.
"Not really just that he would find a way to let us know," Harry answered.
"Very well, I'll see you here two weeks from today," Hermione said and with a small nod walked away from the dark haired young man.
"Krum was that the girl that you were supposed to marry," a gruff young man with a small beard asked a young man with a large curved nose and thick eyebrows, he wore a light tunic and worn out breeches. The two had decided to make their way back to the Durmstrang Ship, as their Headmaster had opted to have them stay within their designated quarters aboard the ship they'd come to England with.
"Yes," Viktor answered as the two young men watched the young girl in question make her way back to the castle from afar.
"I saw Delacour here as well," the young man mentioned watching his friend stare after the young girl, her silhouette becoming distant as she walked farther away from them.
"Nicholai what are you getting at?" Viktor asked his friend, growing cautious at the tone.
"You should teach her a lesson about taking what's not her's to take," the young man replied, a hard look on his face.
"She was never mine to take away," Viktor replied, not liking his friend's suggestion. He had been apprehensive at first when his father had mentioned the possibility of an engagement with the sole daughter of the Lestrange Pureblooded family, an old french family that had immigrated to the English lands just a few decades prior. He had been presented with a picture of the young girl and had at first been put off due to her young age, but had been swiftly reminded by his father that his mother and he had been joined in a betrothal with the same age gap and that he just needed to get to know the girl. In time a fondness would come about and he would be as happy with the young girl as he was with Viktor's mother. His parent's loved each other very much and he had started to grow increasingly fond of the idea of the girl being his wife, the future Lady Krum. He'd never met her but had heard his father tell stories of the girl's character and she looked sweet from the photograph he had been given.
However the match was not to be, for just two months after he'd been told of the girl, his father had regretfully told him that the Lestranges had chosen to engage their daughter to the Eldest daughter of the Delacour family of france. He knew about the Delacours from what his tutors had briefly mentioned about the origins of the Wizarding French Revolution, how Florus Delacour had joined all of Wizarding France to end a cease to the wars the plagued the land for many a millennia.
He would not lie and say that he had not been upset, for he had been. He had looked forward to getting to know the young girl and being able to confide in her like his father confided in his mother. To tell her all of his worries and aspirations, to grow with her. But that had been a short and brief fantasy, the girl was never his to desire. And he could contend himself with that, albeit it still slightly stung to know that the brief object of his affections was in the same castle and that he would be spending an entire year near but unable to approach as it would violate proper Pureblood protocol, and he doubted that Delacour would take kindly to his presence if he were to try to approach the girl.
He'd heard a great deal about the Delacour Heir, a skilled duelist if the rumors were to be believed and prodigy in advanced spells of varying degrees. He'd have his hands full if she was chosen as the Beauxbaton Champion.
"Yes she was, before that whore took her from you!," Nicholai exclaimed.
"I'll hear no more of your blasphemous words," Viktor shortly replied, causing the other young man to shrink at the taller boy's harshness. "She was never engaged to me and not mine to claim,"
"But she could have been," Nicholai tried once more, he had been wroth when his father had told him about the betrothal that the Krum's had been robbed of. His family was an old Bulgarian family sworn to the Krum's since as long as he could remember, and he'd be damned if he'd let this insult stand.
"But she was not and that is all I will hear of this, no more Niko," Krum briskly replied, turning his back on the young man and making his way onto the ship.
"Aye," the young man in question replied, 'this was far from over,' he thought to himself as he followed Viktor onto the ship. He'd right this wrong and then Viktor would see.
- - - - — - - - - -
Hey guys long time no see, how are all doing well. It's been a while. I do apologize for the long period without an update. I have been going through quite several things happening all at once and was unfortunately indisposed. I have been getting my bearings in check only recently and am now bringing you all this lovely chapter. Not a lot of Fleurmione interaction but I am setting up several pieces and it should pick up a little after this chapter.
Thank you all for bearing with me. I greatly appreciate you all sticking by me and this fic. You're all amazing and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sticking with this fic.
Hope to see you all soon :)
Catsnidget009-HP