A/N: wow, it's been a while since I have posted something and since we are all locked down, I decided to write a series of one-shots in the universe of Antique Shop. It's highly recommended that you read Antique to understand most of the interactions. A couple of days ago, the president announced that the lock down will continue so I will write more one-shots to get my writing groove back. Nonsense and yours truly restarted working on Strike a pose and I am also writing another longer and darker Fleurmione.
Enjoy!
1.- The proposal
A week after the final battle, Hermione and Marie went back to England to ask for an extension on their leave of absence to help with the restoration of the Delacour villa. Luckily for the doctors, Antoinette Delacour was a very huge name in the medical community, so after pulling some strings, Hermione and Marie were able to extend their leave for two more weeks and then they would move back to London.
While in the cloudy city, Hermione decided to buy a ring for Fleur. The dark blonde witch considered that it was time to formalize their relationship a bit more.
"You want me to help you choose a ring for Fleur?" Marie asked while sipping from her coffee. It was their fifth and last day in the city and both witches woke up early to run the last of their errands before going back to France.
"Shouldn't that be the first thing you should have done before knocking Fleur up?" amused green locked with mortified amber.
"I know but we didn't have memories of each other and then we had to heal Gabrielle, and then the last battle" Hermione replied before taking a sip of her tea "now that we are here, I have the chance to buy a ring before going back home"
"Fine, I'll help you out" Marie smiled.
"Don't worry, we won't take long, and you would be back to your Cecile's arms tonight, Doctor Beaumont" Hermione teased.
"Shut up, will ya?" the embarrassed French doctor almost choked with her coffee. Despite kissing during the battle, Marie and Cecile still had a long road ahead if they really wanted to fix their relationship.
"Fine fine" Hermione chuckled before paying the bill and taking her coat from behind her seat "but first, I need to buy some parchment and supplies that I need"
"Diagon Alley, and then to Place Cachée in Paris" Marie offered "we do have a better chance to find the right ring there anyways"
"Diagon Alley first, then" Hermione replied before the headed to a dark alley so they could apparate.
Their first destination was Flourish and Blotts. Hermione bought some new books that she wanted to read about raising magical children. There was no doubt that having a baby was a new challenge, but Hermione would be as prepared as possible to face this new trial. She had survived so much to be scared of an infant, for Merlin's sake.
While the Gryffindor was buying a great part of the bookstore, Marie decided on buying some gifts for her cousin from the Weasley's wizard wheezes.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione caught up with the mischievous veela.
"What do you think? Buying stuff" Marie replied with a raised eyebrow before showing her a bag with the items she wanted to purchase.
"For Gabrielle?" the Gryffindor asked fearing the worst.
"Probably?" green eyes looked away with a wide grin.
"Bloody hell Marie, she's terrible as she is" Hermione sighed "Fleur will be even more annoyed with her if she starts using those things around her"
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Hermione" Fred commented before placing an arm around the British doctor's shoulders.
"Yeah, just give some loving to your baby mama and she will forget about everything else" George appeared on Hermione's other side.
"Fine, but don't buy the noisy ones" the blushing Gryffindor added defeated "Fleur hasn't been sleeping well since she has to run to the bathroom to throw up in the middle of the night"
"Well, that's literally your fault for knocking her up" Marie added with a chuckle and the Weasley twins joined her.
"Hush you" an idea came to Hermione's mind and she took a step forward and turned to face the twins with a wide smile.
"You know it's true" Marie commented while placing more products in her bag.
"Say, do you have some writing fireworks in stock?" the twins exchanged glances and nodded.
"Welcome to Place Cachée" Marie extended her arms to show a lavish boulevard with luxurious stores lining up on each side.
"Bloody hell!" was all Hermione could mutter at the beauty of the French version of Diagon Alley "this is way better than our Alley"
Well, more like the posh version of it.
"I know" Marie flipped her hair in a way that reminded Hermione of Triwizard Fleur "zis is ze French way, and our way is ze best!" she finished in a thick English with a strong French accent.
"Oh, for Merlin, you sounded just like Fleur" Hermione laughed amused.
"I can pull a decent version of her arrogant side, no wonder she hated me" Marie joined the laughter.
"Yeah, no wonder" Hermione wiped her tears after seeing how Marie even imitated Fleur's arrogant walk "so, you brought me here…"
"Oh yeah, because you are marrying a veela who is an heir and the chosen one, so you need a special ring" Marie explained.
"So, there's like a veela jewelry around here?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes and no" Marie replied while approaching the window of K. Rammelle's Enchantée and checking the newest sweets "oh, they have freshly baked tarte tartin that's the favorite of ma moitié"
"You are so corny…" Hermione teased before turning to look at the window the French doctor was checking out "oh, they have éclairs I will buy some for Fleur"
"You were saying?" Marie teased back.
"Shut up" Hermione stuck her tongue out before entering the confiserie with a chuckling Marie.
Hermione placed her purchases in her beaded bag with a sigh. It was only early in the evening, but she was starting to get tired. Shopping with Marie was something she didn't want to endure ever again. The French doctor enjoyed shopping too much and her charmed bag was quite full of things despite all the spells she placed on it.
They had visited almost all the stores and Marie had bought at least one piece in each one of them. The Gryffindor was about to lose it when the French doctor pulled the sleeve of her burgundy shirt and led her to a shop with a beautiful door with intricated cravings in gold, silver, dark blue, ebony and red that Hermione recognized as some she had seen in the temples of the Delacour villa.
"Here we are" Marie opened the sumptuous door "the one and only Maison Capenoir of Rue Girardon"
"But this is a clothes shop, Marie" Hermione rubbed the bridge of her nose in clear annoyance "I don't need to buy robes but an engagement ring!"
"Have some faith, number one" the French doctor added with a smile "I assure you that you will find what you need after these doors"
"I hope so" the Gryffindor sighed and entered the shop.
"Ok I have been very patient so far, Marie" Hermione spoke sharply "but I only see rows and rows of robes"
"You are correct, oui" Marie replied before greeting a taller and older blonde with a hug and a kiss on each cheek "you will find here the uniforms for your baby when she would be old enough to attend Beauxbatons"
"Thank you for the information, but…" a clearly upset Hermione was interrupted by the older blonde.
"I apologize for my granddaughter's annoying antics, unfortunately, she inherited that from her mother and aunt" commented the older woman with sparkling green and blue eyes.
"Although I have met her mother briefly, I can see the resemblance with Camille" Hermione frown dissipated and was replaced with a smile.
"Mamie! I am not that bad" Marie tried to defend herself to no avail.
"Since my granddaughter forgot her manners, I will introduce myself" the regal woman shook Hermione's hand "Adrienne Beaumont, head of my clan and grandmother of this incorrigible overgrown child"
"Hermione Granger, Fleur's mate" the Gryffindor replied with a wider smile.
"You are the golden girl we have heard so much about, a war hero and a doctor at such a young age" Adrienne commented "remarkable"
"I am still a resident, mademoiselle Beaumont" Hermione blushed slightly still not used to be complimented.
"Hermione's too modest, Mamie" Marie added "but I have to recognize that she's pretty smart"
"I see, and I am really happy that Fleur found such a cute and brilliant mate" seeing Hermione's blush deepen, Adrienne decided to change the topic "but I guess your visit was not only for me to greet me as Marie told me that you are looking for an engagement ring, oui?"
"Yes, I want to propose to Fleur and Marie suggested that we came here to buy a ring" Hermione looked around curiously once more "but frankly I don't see any"
"Well that's because they are not at plain sight since we only provide such jewelry for veela" Adrienne pointed to the back of the place "they are behind that door, let me show you"
The Beaumont matriarch placed her hand on an ornate platform and a soft light green glow lit the intricated cravings of the heavily adorned door "it's just a safety measure to avoid non-veela prying eyes"
The moment they entered the magically enlarged room, Hermione let out a surprised gasp at the sight. The Gryffindor immediately recognized the golden coat of arms of the Delacour flanked by the Beaumont's green and the purple of the Dubois. There were also others that looked familiar and several that she didn't recognize at all.
Below each coat of arms was a round basin where each family's elemental magic rested. Next to each one of them, there was a small square pillar with an opening in the middle.
"We are the keepers of the families, so all the jewels for us veela are produced here" Adrienne raised her arm and pointed at the different coats of arms "all of them belong to the different veela families, you might recognize the ones that aided you during the attack and not recognize others that tend to be more secretive but all come here sooner or later"
"Interesting" Hermione observed everything in detail trying to absorb as much information as possible "but I still don't see any rings"
"Impatient child" Adrienne smiled amused "you need our Delacour key for this" Hermione unclasped the chain that rested around her neck and the royal blue and gold Delacour coat of arms rested on her palm.
"Please place the key on the slit over there" Adrienne pointed at the column next to the Delacour font basin. Hermione pressed the pendant and the lower part of a key popped. After placing it the basing lit and the golden flames raised.
"Now introduce your hand in the magie while using your own" Adrienne instructed, and Hermione nodded and closed her eyes. Soon, royal blue flames engulfed her right hand before she paced it in the Delacour font basin. The golden fire covered the doctor's hand and a few seconds later three thin entwined fire threads raised from the basin.
Hermione withdrew her hand at the same time the threads retreated, and three different rings floated above the sacred flames of the Delacour.
"These are the three options you have for an engagement ring for Fleur" Adrienne explained "they are custom made and symbolize the merge of your magie, love, and bond as mates"
"They are beautiful" Hermione observed the three rings and was enthralled by the beauty of them. But there was something about the one in the middle that captivated her more and the shape, design, color, and size were just perfect for Fleur.
"I'll take this one" Hermione grabbed it and it felt warm.
"Very well, let me wrap it for you" Adrienne placed the beautiful ring in a dark blue velvet box and handed it back to the Gryffindor.
"How much do I owe you?" Hermione asked while trying to fish her wallet from her beaded bag. She definitely needed to reorganize and sort all the things she had inside.
"Sign here and the funds will be withdrawn from your account" Adrienne showed her the bill and it was a small fortune, still lower than she expected. After the war, the Ministry of Magic not only gave them medals and, in the case of Hermione, they also gave her a copious amount of money as compensation for her losses during the war.
Due to a careless auror, her parents along with that same auror and three more were killed while they had her parents in protective custody and the Ministry of Magic took full responsibility.
At first, she didn't want to accept the funds, but after finishing her seventh year at Hogwarts, and starting her expensive studies to become a doctor and a mediwitch, she decided to take the compensation and tried to keep her expenses to a minimum. She also had inherited a great amount in muggle money thanks to her parents' life insurance.
A great part of all that money had been put aside in a trust fund for a rainy day. Since that time, her life had changed significantly and now her priorities had changed once more. Hermione would now use those funds to provide for her child and wife. Her parents wouldn't want it any other way.
"Thank you, mademoiselle Beaumont" Hermione placed the velvety box in her beaded bag.
"Please call me Adrienne, Hermione" blue and green sparkled and a wide smile adorned the older lady's features.
"Very well, Adriene" the Gryffindor smiled widely "thank you for all your help"
"My pleasure, young one" the Beaumont's clan head replied before giving the younger witch a hug. After chatting for a bit, Hermione and Marie departed and before the Gryffindor wanted to apparate, the French doctor convinced her to stop for a drink to celebrate her soon-to-be engagement.
-oOo-
"Fleur, stop pacing" Apolline scolded her oldest daughter "you are making us all dizzy"
"But maman, 'ermione said she would be home soon and that was more than six hours ago, six!" Fleur exclaimed with a frown.
"Come on, Fleur" Gabrielle added before taking some grapes from a bowl and chewing a couple "it's not like something would happen to her"
"She's quite skilled" Ginny added before serving feeding some more grapes to Gabrielle.
"And she's with Marie" Camille commented while serving some wine for her wife and in-laws.
"Um, didn't they use to get drunk all the time when they were living together?" Cecile thought out loud. Every head turned to look at her "what? she wrote about that in her diary that some of you read"
"You don't think that…" Josephine started to be promptly interrupted when the doors of the dining room burst open and Marie and Hermione entered with wide smiles.
"Fleur, my love" the Gryffindor took the one for her by the waist and kissed her deeply.
"Bloody hell, she is drunk" Ginny commented, and Gabrielle chuckled.
"I missed you so much, luv" Hermione whispered when they parted for air.
"Me too, mon coeur" Fleur replied softly.
"You guys are so corny" Marie giggled drunkenly.
"Shut up and do the thing" Hermione scolded.
"What thing?"
"The thing we talked about" Hermione waved her index finger in the air "remember?"
"Ah…right" Marie withdrew a stick from a box inside her messenger bag, lit it and started writing something in the air.
"Oh, I know those" Ginny recognized the charmed object "those are writing sparklers, they are pretty cool to write"
"What is she writing anyway?" Gabrielle asked to no one in particular.
"Oh, my" Antoinette giggled when she saw how Hermione kneeled on one knee.
"From the moment I saw you at the Triwizard tournament I thought that you were pretty hot…" Hermione blurted, and Fleur turned crimson while the rest suppressed their giggles.
"…but so cold, still hot, you know?" the Gryffindor slurred clearly drunk "then again, we didn't talk much but yeah"
"This is so priceless" Gabrielle giggled.
"And then, the war happened, and you took care of me in Shell Cottage" Hermione gave Fleur a drunk but honest smile "thank you for saving my life"
"You have nothing to thank me about, mon coeur" the French witch replied softly.
"And then you cursed me" Hermione chuckled "but then we uncursed each other…uncurse, is that even a word? Nevermind" everyone laughed along with her.
"This is such a wonderful day" Gabrielle laughed.
"So yeah, we fell in love and then we realized we were mates, that was brilliant" the Gryffindor smiled with tears forming in her eyes "and then we made sweet love and created a new life, how hot and awesome is that?"
"Are you recording this with that muggle thing? Please tell me you are" Gabrielle asked Ginny.
"Since the moment she started talking, darlin'" the redhead commented proudly.
"Good" Gabrielle kissed Ginny on the cheek and the redhead blushed deeply.
"Mon Coeur…" Fleur's voice failed her. She was too overwhelmed with the honest words of her beloved despite her drunkenness.
"We fought together to defeat that horrible witch, we have been through hell and back and I don't want to waste more time, luv" Hermione withdrew the velvet box from her beaded bag and faced a surprised Fleur "that's why I want to ask you something" she pointed at where Marie stood and all laughed at what she wrote with the writing sparkler.
Say yes to the idiot.
"Fleur Isabelle Delacour, would you marry me?" the Gryffindor opened the velvet box and Fleur gasped at the beautiful platinum ring with a blue diamond of the exact shade of her eyes with swirling golden threads inside. It was surrounded with smaller yellow diamonds that sparkled brightly. A ring made with magie for a worthy magie user.
"Oui" Fleur kneeled and hugged Hermione and shouted a stronger oui before everyone cheered for the now engaged couple. The Gryffindor placed the ring in Fleur's finger and pecked her on the lips softly.
"Congratulations and let me say that this was a very unconventional way to propose" Josephine commented with a chuckle.
"I agree" Antoinette giggled.
"Maman, mama" Fleur called her mothers that just stood from their chairs to congratulate her "can you help me?"
"What do you need, my flower?" Camille asked while approaching her oldest daughter that was blushing profusely.
"Can you help me carry 'ermione?" Fleur whispered "she fell asleep"
"She's asleep?" Camille asked with a chuckle "way to go Hermione"
"Who told you to get her drunk, huh?" an angry Cecile asked an amused Marie.
"Ow, that hurts, ma moitié" Marie winced when the one for her grabbed her by the ear "and it's not my fault she's such a lightweight getting drunk after two bottles of wine and three of firewhisky plus some shots"
"You will sleep alone tonight, you drunk" Cecile scolded before leaving the dining room towards their room.
"Tell me you didn't stop recording when Fleur accepted the ring and you got that, too" Gabrielle pointed at the direction Marie and Cecile left.
"Of course," Ginny replied before finally stopping recording "we will have a blast teasing Hermione tomorrow, darlin'"
"I can't wait for healer Granger to wake up tomorrow" Gabrielle laughed amused while watching the video Ginny recorded with a phone Hermione gave her to reach her in case of a Fleur related emergency while in England.
The next morning and several ones after that, Hermione was teased relentlessly, and that same video was shown at her wedding reception to the Gryffindor's chagrin and her family and friends' amusement.
A/N: That's it for now. Reviews are highly appreciated and be safe :D.