Chapter 14
Fleur finally sees the kitchen at Grimmauld's and Hermione looking out to the flames, so she quickly moves forward and takes her offered hand into the room. The cold hits her hard and she suddenly misses the Australian summer. Hermione is already prepared, hands her a jumper and starts lighting a fire behind her.
"Hello again." Fleur says, smiling. She takes a look around the kitchen, which the blonde is surprised to see, it's more crowded than I expected. The Grangers are off greeting everyone.
"Oh, Harry, you are so grown up now." Mrs. Granger hugs him.
Harry smiles widely and hugs her back. Fleur heard him say that he had just met the Granger's a couple of times, but that they were such a loving muggle family, unlike his family. The Granger's have grown to love him for those few times they have met him and the stories Hermione has shared with them.
Mr. Granger shakes Ron's hand and pats his back. He asks him about his parents and his father's job in particular, which he remembers was pretty entertaining for them and one of the few things he, as a muggle, understood.
What they have a hard time understanding is George's new accessory. Today, his fake ear is glowing between orange and red, as if it was on fire.
"Mom, Dad..." Hermione surprises the blonde. She is still by her side and must have been following her same line of sight. "You remember Fred and George Weasley, don't you?" They give a look back at her daughter and nod slightly. "Now you will be able to tell them apart because George is the one with the flaming ear."
"I'm still more beautiful than him even with his accessories." Fred says, pinching his cheeks so they have a pink colour and passing his hands over his head to make sure is perfect. He smiles sweetly.
Fred elbows George at his side. "Well, I don't think you could look this good with just one ear or pull off this flaming accessory." He answers smugly. They all laugh at their antics and it seems to ease the Grangers in.
"So... how was the trip?" Harry asks.
"Uuh... well, for us it was bloody weird." Mr. Granger shakes his head. "I mean... you wizards can travel pretty fast, I will give you that, but apparition is quite uncomfortable and that fireplace dust is... strange." Harry smiles to himself. "Did anyone see the pig eating a birthday cake?"
Hermione smiles amused, but shakes her head. Fleur chuckles. "I did." Instantly, all the men in the room are looking at her. Merde. Maybe she should have stayed quiet... Harry shakes himself.
"Yeah." He chuckles. "It's been seven years since I have been in this magic world and there are still many things that surprise me."
The twins pinch each other and George pats a little forcefully Mr. Granger's back. "Yeah, Mr. Granger. There are some great things in our world that have not the easiest explanation..."
"Much like why the muggles take a bath with a rubber duck." Fred pitches in, shaking his head. "Dad sort of got an explanation, but we never understood it." He shrugs. Ron, however, keeps looking at me with vacant eyes and a silly smile. Harry slaps the back of his head and the redheaded mutes 'sorry'.
Fleur sighs, touched by their gesture. The blonde has always been quite alone growing up, not many friendships arise when you have this kind of gift. It is quite amazing the group of friends she has managed to gather.
"What are you doing all here? Are you celebrating?" Hermione says, taking a look around the kitchen table with a pair of Firewhisky bottles and glasses.
"Actually, we are." Fred and George say proudly, then Fred takes the lead. "Our new store opening was a complete success."
"Our sales are going through the roof." George finishes.
"Congratulations, guys!" Hermione exclaims. "I am really sorry we couldn't come by for it."
"Good job, guys. I'm so happy for you." Fleur agrees. She then turns and tries to keep the Grangers on the loop. "The twins have just opened a new store of their joke shop in Hogsmeade, the wizarding village near Hogwarts." They take in gladly the explanation and nod along.
"Are you guys hungry? Do you want anything to eat? Anything to drink?" Harry steps into host mode, but the Grangers shake their heads.
"Thank you very much, Harry, but we are not hungry." Mrs. Granger says. "I'm sorry, but I think we just want to be finally back at our home." She sighs.
"I understand Mrs. Granger. Hermione, do you need more help getting your parents moved back?" Harry asks.
She looks back at Fleur and she just shrugs. "No, don't worry." She says. "We'll manage."
They go outside and Hermione takes his father's hands and disappears in a second. A few seconds more and Hermione is back. She takes her mother's hand and I see her close her eyes tight and grit her teeth. They apparate away with a pop and a few seconds, she is back again. She takes Fleur's hand and they squeeze through space. They apparate in a beautiful little village, with white picket fences, well kept lawn, pretty similar looking brick houses and the bell tower of a distant church. She leads the blonde, crossing the street to a particular house.
"This is where I grew up." Hermione explains as they go inside. She takes her to the living room, where her mother is already opening up the curtains to let the sun get in.
Hermione goes to help her and Fleur is left to take a look around the room and find plenty of photos of her parents... and a couple of them have nothing in particular, which looks weird. Mrs. Granger seems to notice.
"Oh... these are not right."
"Sorry." With a wave of her wand, the pictures start changing, filling in with the image of a sweet baby Hermione. Fleur stares at them, smiling at the young curly haired child that grew up to be this woman, long before she even knew that she really was a witch. Her blue eyes go from the lovely family portrait where her parents are hugging her and she is all smiles in the centre, to the now filled photo of her in a school uniform, from her school before Hogwarts she supposes. A photo of Hermione as a baby makes her chuckle. She is playing with some letter toys in the carpet in an adorable onesie.
"Enjoying yourself?" Fleur hears after a while. She turns around and discovers Hermione making a duster levitate through the room and get rid of all the dirt the house has accumulated over time. She gives the older witch a pointed look.
"Very much. You were such an adorable child." Her left hand on her hip as the right is still waving her wand, she pouts. "I have to say, you are still pretty adorable now." Fleur enjoys a little too much that she gets somehow flustered about her comment.
The blonde bites my lip to hide her smirk and finally starts helping. She makes a broom start cleaning the floors. Mrs. Granger crosses her arms. "Can you come do this once a week?" She says amused.
"That can be arranged." Hermione smiles and Fleur nods. She takes her bag and starts levitating the boxes out.
"I'm going upstairs to help dad and get the boxes with clothes out."
"Okay, honey." She leaves and starts opening a box. "Fleur... could you do your thing and put these in this bookcase?"
She chuckles. 'Your thing'. "Yes, of course, Mrs. Granger."
"Oh, please, just call me Patty." The books levitate to the bookcase. "I'm a curious person, Fleur, I can't help it."
"That must be where Hermione gets it." Fleur answers amused.
"Must be." She shrugs. "Anyway... I really hope I don't offend you in any way... I could probably go to my daughter and ask her about you but..."
She shakes her head. "What are you wondering?"
"You are not an ordinary witch, are you?" She asks. "I'm not that familiar with the wizarding world but you seem to have powers I haven't seen in any witch or wizard I know." She busies herself opening another box.
"You are correct." The blonde explains. "My great grandmother was a veela, which makes me a quarter veela. Veelas are extremely powerful magical creatures. My blood is diluted, but still their magic is my heritage." She says. "I believe what you noticed was my thrall. When veelas hit puberty, they start emitting a thrall. Our magic spreads through air and feeds on people's attraction making them believe that they are in love with us, often they are so consumed by it they lose their will." She smiles sadly.
"So every man loses their minds around you?"
"No, not every man and... not only men." Fleur shakes her head. "It feeds on attraction... which means those women who are attracted to women will be attracted to me and men attracted to men won't. It gets even more complicated when we take into consideration that people are not either straight or gay, that there is like a gradient in between."
She seems lost in thought. "I guess you can have whoever you fancy, then, but how do you know if they really love you?" She says after a while.
"Technically, yes, I could have whoever I wanted, but... first, I was always taught to respect the people under my thrall and their real feelings. Second, it is possible for them to snap out of it, you saw it. And third... veelas have only one love, they know it the instant they spot this person and they are unaffected by their thralls. They fall in love helplessly, whether they are reciprocated or not, and if they were to die, the veelas wouldn't be able to endure the heartbreak."
"If their mates die, they die?" She asks surprised and Fleur just nods. "Again... I'm sorry... but your husband?"
"My human soul loved him and so, the veela left him out of my thrall. But he wasn't my mate, he knew that." She mutes again an apology. "My mate is alive and good." Fleur smiles, so she doesn't feel so bad. "My thrall has been dormant ever since I gave myself to William. When he died, it gave me time to mourn him. Unfortunately, it appears that my veela has decided the mourning is over."
"It wants you to move on? Probably to your mate?" She sums up.
Fleur is impressed. She has taken all in perfectly, understood it and got her own conclusions pretty fast. "Yes, I would guess so." The blonde shrugs.
"Well, you could try to move on with the mate your veela has chosen..."
"But I don't feel ready. It's too soon." Fleur explains.
"I'm sorry. You are right." She nods. "Just make sure that you don't hide behind that excuse once you start feeling ready." Fleur nods, bends over to get the last of the boxes.
"Hey..." Fleur hears behind her. She stands up again and turns around to a somehow blushed Hermione. She clears her throat. "How are you doing down here?"
"I think almost finished... Patty?" Fleur consults.
She is obviously thinking about other things, but when the blonde calls her name she comes back from her thoughts.
"Yes. Just that last box."
"Great. Daddy is ordering some food." She says. "Tomorrow you will have to go to the supermarket. The kitchen is all empty."