Chapter 16.
Hermione decided to give Fleur space for the day, busying herself in the office.
She couldn't lie, it did hurt that Fleur had ducked out on her. She was trying to be understanding, but Hermione herself had been out and proud for so long it was hard for her to really understand what Fleur was going through.
Hermione crossed out a sentence for the third time that afternoon, sighing heavily. The whole thing was messing with her head.
Uncharacteristically, Hermione decided to call it a day early at work. She just couldn't concentrate after the whirlwind of the morning with Fleur. It was honestly a rollercoaster with the blonde.
'But how many more ups and downs am I going to go through before it works out?' Hermione thought to herself, before a horrible thought hit her: 'Will it ever work out?'
Despite leaving very early for her, Harry and Ron were already home at their flat.
"Hey, 'Mione," Harry greeted as Hermione slung her bag off her shoulder.
"Hey, Harry, Ron," Hermione greeted a little glumly. Ron waved—his mouth was too stuffed full of leftovers to reply in the moment.
"Feel like I haven't seen you for ages," Harry commented conversationally, "You were already locked away in your room when we got back last night and then you were wiped out on the couch when we left for work. Anything going on?"
Hermione glanced at Ron, who had stuffed a breadroll in his already full mouth. It wasn't really the right time to talk to Harry about it. Besides, she wasn't really sure she felt like talking about it.
"No, I think I might be coming down with something," Hermione lied, "I'm just going to go to my room."
The boys nodded, returning to their game of wizard chess.
Hermione went to her room, feeling depressed all over again as she saw the ruffled covers from where Fleur had slept in her bed the previous night.
She sighed, running a hand through her curls before lying back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
There was a knocking at the door.
"Who is it?" Hermione answered grouchily.
"Oi, 'Mione, Fleur is here to see ya," Harry called through the door. Hermione leapt up from bed straight away, opening the door in a rush. Harry shot her a knowing smile as she rushed past.
Fleur was waiting in the doorway, nervously rubbing her hand up one of her arms. Ron was still in the kitchen snacking, eying Fleur curiously.
"Hey, Fleur," Hermione greeted, "You okay?"
"I… erm… I didn't realise your flatmates were Harry and Ron," Fleur commented nervously.
"Come through and we can talk in my room," Hermione suggested. Fleur nodded awkwardly and followed her through the apartment.
Hermione shut the door behind them when they got inside and silenced the room.
"I'm sorry about this morning," Fleur apologised, rubbing the back of her beck.
"That's fine, Fleur," Hermione said with a smile, "I thought it might be a bit much all at once."
"I really like you, Hermione," Fleur said, looking surprisingly shy, "I cannot deny that I am attracted to you."
"And I am definitely attracted to you too," Hermione replied, unable to keep her eyes off the blonde. She dragged her eyes from the impressive physique of the Frenchwoman to look at the conflicted expression on her face. "But what's bothering you? Is it Bill?"
Fleur sighed, drawing close to Hermione. Hermione put her hands loosely around Fleur's waist. She felt protective of the blonde. Hermione could deal with whoever was causing Fleur problems… Even if it meant a stern lecture with Ron's older brother.
Fleur rested her temple against Hermione's.
"He did say things that bothered me… But…" Fleur sighed.
"You can tell me," Hermione urged, rubbing Fleur's back.
"Its me," Fleur admitted finally, "I just… I feel so much… Shame around this… And then that makes me feel ashamed…"
"Until you're in one big shame loop?" Hermione finished for her. She felt Fleur nod against her.
Hermione drew back, cupping Fleur's face in both her hands. She was grinning now.
"Fleur, that I can work with," Hermione said encouragingly, "I was a little worried you had had second thoughts."
Fleur looked at her anxiously.
"You aren't… Upset? Judging me?" Fleur asked tentatively. Hermione kissed her lightly on the nose.
"No, not at all," Hermione replied, before laughing lightly, "We can work through this together, Fleur. I was just worried you had wanted to call everything off again already."
At that, Fleur stiffened in her arms.
"Its just… I'm ready… To give in to my attraction…" Fleur said slowly, deliberately, "I'm just not sure I'm ready to be in a relationship… I'm not sure I can deal with the reaction of other people yet."
Hermione felt the air rush out of her lungs as the words hit her. She hadn't wanted to admit it… But part of her had felt so much hope at finally being able to have a relationship with a woman she had feelings for. She had been looking forward to leaving behind the emotionless one night stands.
"Oh," Hermione managed, "But you still want to give things a go?"
Fleur looked incredibly conflicted.
"I can't put you through that," Fleur said, "After all the history between us, the last thing I want is for you to feel like my experiment."
"I wouldn't feel like that," Hermione protested. Fleur shook her head.
"I want to be able to give all of me to you," Fleur said seriously, "And I'm just not ready for that yet. I think I need to spend some time single to work through my issues with my sexuality."
"So… You don't want to give things a go?" Hermione asked hollowly. Fleur shook her head, looking pained.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Fleur said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek softly, "Not just yet. It wouldn't be fair to you."
Harry was sitting in the living room as Fleur rushed past, not even speaking to him as she hurried out the door of the flat. Ron had already headed out to toss around a Quaffle with Dean and Seamus, probably for the best. Harry couldn't imagine what Ron's reaction would be if he knew Hermione had been fooling around with the Frenchwoman.
Hermione finally emerged from her room, walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a straight firewhisky before sitting on the couch beside Harry.
"So… I take it you're…?" Harry ventured.
"Still single, yeah," Hermione said flatly, sipping at her drink.
"You wanna talk about it?" Harry asked.
"She's not ready," Hermione said bluntly, not bothering to go into details while it was still raw.
"You sure?" Harry asked.
"The only thing I'm sure about is that I want you to take me out drinking at a good gay bar tonight," Hermione said, looking down.
"Whatever you need," Harry said encouragingly.
Harry, feeling relatively under the weather, walked through the Atrium at the Ministry the next day. Hermione was beside him, also looking a considerably under the weather.
"You guys got back really late last night," Ron commented beside them, chewing on sandwich.
"God, don't speak so loudly," Hermione snapped bossily. Harry grimaced.
"And could you stop waving that sandwich at us?" Harry agreed. Ron laughed.
"Right, well you guys might wanna clean up a little before heading into your offices," Ron laughed, "Harry, you smell like you're sweating out firewhisky. 'Mione, you've got a heap of visible hickeys there."
Harry and Hermione both groaned, regretting their spontaneous decision to go out drinking the prior night.
"Yeah, maybe we should work on our coping mechanisms, huh," Harry said to Hermione, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You weren't complaining last night when that bi girl gave you her address so you could owl her," Hermione retorted, frowning.
"Oh, hey Fleur!" Ron said suddenly, causing Hermione and Harry to jump.
Fleur greeted them with practised politeness, appearing exceedingly stand-offish and cold. Harry could only imagine how awkward it was to run into Bill's baby brother with Hermione.
"Erm, hi," Harry said, trying to step in front of Hermione. But it was too late, Fleur's arctic eyes flicked to Hermione's neck. Harry saw a flicker of pain register as she saw the hickeys.
"Bonjour," Fleur said shortly, before breezing off into the hustle and bustle of the morning Atrium crowd.
"Jeez, she was colder than usual," Ron commented, "Wonder what's up with her? Haven't seen her or Bill for a while."
"Who knows," Harry interjected, "Spose we should also head off to our departments,"
Ron grunted and ambled away, waving a hand at Hermione and Harry and mumbling something about meeting them for lunch. Harry turned to Hermione.
"You okay?" he asked. Hermione grimaced.
"That was so awkward," Hermione said, tense.
"That was brutal," Harry commented, "Are you sure you don't just want to wait for her?"
"How long will that take, Harry?" Hermione snapped, scowling at him, "She said that she's not ready. She wants to be single. That means I'm single too."
"Hermione," Harry sighed, "I think you're the one getting scared here. She's come a long way already, what's the harm in meeting her partway?"
"She was pretty clear," Hermione snapped, turning on her heel and marching off in the direction of her office.
Harry frowned, he suspected that fear of rejection had been the issue gnawing at Hermione. They'd been so close to things working out this time, too…
Harry tucked in his shirt, a weak attempt at looking more put together. He was feeling frustrated at both Fleur and Hermione. Skating around each other before running away scared… They couldn't keep up this routine forever.
Harry wondered if there was a way he could intervene without pissing his best friend off…
Fleur was in a foul mood.
She knew she had been the one to tell Hermione that she wasn't ready for a full on relationship yet, but it was still so painful seeing those hickeys on Hermione's neck.
She was beginning to feel more and more like she had made a mistake.
She had tried sending meeting invites to Hermione throughout the day but they were all bouncing back. It seemed Hermione didn't even want to speak to her. That part stung the most.
It didn't matter from a work perspective. She had already got the solution to the Niffler curse from Hermione, she could manage that herself.
But she had still wanted the brunette to be there. She had hoped that working alongside would help ease the pain and awkwardness between them right now.
Sighing heavily, Fleur prepared to visit the old man and his Niffler. Things just weren't working out well.
Melody strolled into Fleur's office, reading through the paperwork.
"Elegant solution you have here, Fleur," Melody commented, "Is Hermione Granger not going with you to finalise it?"
"I suppose she's busy," Fleur replied, ignoring the twist in her stomach.
"A shame," Melody commented, "I should have an approval for you by the end of the week."
Fleur drew herself up to her whole height, willing herself to hide the conflicted emotions she was experiencing. She missed Hermione. This case that they had once shared was doing little to keep her mind off the brunette.
Maybe she shouldn't have been honest about not wanting to rush into a relationship?
No, no… That wouldn't have been fair on Hermione.
As it was, Fleur was paying the price for her honesty. It had plunged her into a dark mood. She had found a small, single room shack of a flat, not even caring about comfort. She had fallen off the grid with all her friends and family, isolating herself in her angst.
'So much for honesty being the best policy,' Fleur thought to herself morosely.
A week later, Hermione was making out with a temp in a stationery closet. She had lifted the woman's shirt up, feeling her toned stomach and the bottom of her breasts. The woman was exceedingly attractive, and my all means a great kisser, but it just wasn't working.
Hermione drew back suddenly from the woman. No matter how attractive the woman was, she just couldn't get Fleur out of her mind.
"Sorry," Hermione muttered. She couldn't even remember this woman's name.
"Its okay, Hermione," the woman said, smiling flirtatiously. She pulled down her shirt and fixed her lipstick.
"I'm… Just not feeling it right now," Hermione mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck.
"That's fine," the woman insisted, leaning in and kissing Hermione lightly on the lips, "Owl me?"
"Sure," Hermione said distractedly, barely noticing as the woman slipped out of the stationery cupboard.
Checking her watch, she realised it was time to meet Harry and Ron for lunch. It had been a week now since she had last seen Fleur. She couldn't lie, she was disappointed that Fleur's memos requesting meetings had dropped off after just one day.
"Hey guys," Hermione muttered, sitting down at the lunchtable with Harry and Ron.
"Merlin, who killed your puppy?" Ron commented, "You're so mopey these days."
"You've got some lipstick there," Harry added, wiping a spot on Hermione's neck. Ron groaned.
"Even when you're barely interacting with anyone you still manage to pull more birds than me," Ron protested, "Its just not fair."
"Where's your lunch?" Harry asked. Hermione looked in her bag.
"Oh, guess I forgot to bring some," Hermione said uncaringly.
"You can split with me," Harry replied, looking concerned. He handed her half his sandwich. Hermione picked at it with a total lack of interest.
"So," Ron said between a mouthful of his own egg sandwich, "You'll never guess what's happened."
"What?" Harry asked, glad for a change of subject.
"Bill broke up with Fleur," Ron informed them, "Guess that explains why I haven't seen either one of them for yonks."
Harry shot a cautionary look Hermione's way. Hermione had felt her stomach twist at the mention of Fleur's name, but was determined not to react.
"Really," Harry replied, entirely not surprised. Hermione had told him all about Fleur moving out of Shell Cottage before insisting on remaining single.
"That's not the weird part though," Ron continued, munching on his sandwich.
Hermione and Harry both turned to give Ron their full attention, interested as to whether Bill had outed Fleur's sexuality.
"She's totally fallen off the face of the Earth," Ron informed them, "Bill hasn't seen her since they split. None of their mutual friends have heard from her either."
"What?" Hermione was fully attentive now.
"Yeah, been off the grid for like a week now," Ron said, taking an enormous bite of his sandwich.
"So… Missing since the last time we saw her," Harry said to Hermione. Hermione felt her stomach drop violently.
"I have to go," Hermione said abruptly, putting down her food, grabbing her bag and hurrying off.
Had that been why Fleur had wanted to meet her last week? Was she in some kind of trouble? Hermione inwardly cursed herself for not replying to any of Fleur's memos. Damn pride.
Hermione got to the offices where Fleur worked, running immediately into Melody.
"Hermione Granger!" Melody greeted in a friendly tone, "What brings you here?"
"I'm looking for Fleur," Hermione answered with urgency.
Melody was an attractive middle aged woman. In another time, in other circumstances, Hermione might even have considered her her type. Melody put her hand on her hip, smiling at Hermione. Hermione could swear the woman harboured some kind of crush on her. Nothing serious, just the same attraction people held for celebrities.
"Aren't we all looking for that girl?" Melody said, leaning in closer as she talked to Hermione.
"She isn't around?" Hermione asked, frowning.
"Not that I've seen," Melody said, leaning even more into Hermione's personal space.
"You haven't heard a thing from her?" Hermione pressed. Melody smiled wider, running a finger along Hermione's shoulder.
"Fleur is lucky to have such a famous friend looking out for her," Melody practically purred.
Okay, she definitely has a crush on me, Hermione thought, inwardly rolling her eyes.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Hermione asked, wanting to get to the crucial information.
"Well, lets see… I was talking to her about this report I'm reviewing on the Niffler case," Melody winked, "She said you two split the work, but this kind of excellence has Hermione Granger written all over it."
"I barely assisted," Hermione said, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with Melody's advances.
Melody reached out, snaking an arm around Hermione's waist.
It was at this compromising moment that the door to Fleur's office opened and the blonde walked out.
"Fleur!" Hermione exclaimed, "You're okay!"
Fleur didn't respond, looking from Hermione to Melody, taking in their positions. Hermione thought she could see a flicker of hurt in her eyes before she frowned coldly.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Fleur retorted. She turned on her heel, sweeping out of the nearby exit.
Hermione rounded on Melody.
"Why did you say she wasn't here?!" Hermione demanded. Melody giggled girlishly.
"I never technically said that," Melody corrected, "So sue me for wanting a little alone time with the Golden Girl of the wizarding war."
"Fleur has got completely the wrong impression now!" Hermione exploded. Melody shrugged.
"I don't mind if you don't," Melody purred. Hermione stepped away from the woman, scowling. She could feel a vein pulsing in her neck with the rage she was feeling.
"I bloody well do!" Hermione exploded, storming off.
She made her way partway down the stairwell before running into Fleur. The blonde was leaning against a wall, looking pained. When she saw Hermione, she immediately straightened up and fixed her face in an unbothered expression.
"That wasn't what it looked like back there," Hermione explained, relieved she had run into the blonde.
"You weren't trying to bed my boss?" Fleur asked, her tone ice cold.
"No, of course not," Hermione replied.
"Just every other woman we work with," Fleur shot back, "Every woman in Britain by the sounds of it."
Hermione's stomach twisted guiltily. She should have known that her exploits would get back to Fleur. Her celebrity status assured people would gossip.
"Not really…" Hermione replied weakly, before getting defensive, "Besides, you're the one that didn't want to date me."
"You're right," Fleur responded, throwing Hermione off, "You can do whatever you like. I don't expect you to wait for me."
At that, Fleur calmly pushed herself off the wall and walked down the staircase, leaving a stunned Hermione behind.