The Story of Fleur Delacour - 9
"italic" - conversation in French/Bulgarian
"normal" - conversation in English
italic - thought
"Absolutely not!"
"But Madame-"
"Are you out of your mind, Miss Delacour?"
Cassandra who stood beside her gave her the 'I told you so' look.
They both were standing within Madame Maxime's makeshift office inside the carriage. Fleur was just relaying her suggestion to the headmistress.
Early on, all of her friends flatly disapproved her idea. Even Cassandra who had always being supportive of her couldn't agree with her this time. But of course being Fleur's closest friend, she still escorted Fleur to see Madame Maxime when the veela decided to give her plan a go ahead.
"I expect Madame will blow her top off when she hears what you have to say," she said as they both made their way to the headmistress office.
Fleur shrugged. "I am not expecting any lesser than that," she said.
"Have you thought this through?"
"Yes."
"You actually didn't think this through, did you?"
"No."
Cassandra sighed.
And blew her top off Madame Maxime did. She was now standing behind her desk looking livid. She got off her chair so quickly and abruptly that it toppled over with a mighty crash. Cassandra shrank, she took a few steps backward in response.
As for Fleur, she remained rigid. She looked calmly back at her headmistress.
"My mind is sound, Madame. I can assure you that. It's just a small request. Just one class. I don't see why that should be a problem," said Fleur.
Madame Maxime shook her head. Pinching her nose bridge, she said, "We already have Defense Against the Dark Arts courses at our school and our teachers are no less competence. Why would you want to learn the same subject with a Hogwarts teacher?"
"Because it's Professor Moody? One of Britain's greatest auror?"
Britain's second greatest auror actually, Fleur thought to herself. She already had in mind who held the first place.
"An auror no matter how great he is does not necessarily make a great teacher. Surely you understand this. You were a teacher back in your past life. You said it yourself back at the campus. Surely you know what constituted a good teacher," argued Madame Maxime.
"Well, his students seems to like him. They said he is better than all the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers combined," said Fleur. "That's quite a resume he has, don't you think?"
"Yes, quite a resume. I know all about Professor Dumbledore having to search for a new teacher to teach the subject every year, he told me about it. His students may like him but I'm not. And I do not plan to leave my pupils with him now matter how good he is," said Madame Maxime.
Fleur became curious at this.
"Why? Because of his appearance?" she asked.
Alastor Moody physical appearance did tend to throw people off the edge. Like Fleur, people wouldn't stop talking about the way he looks every time he was in their vicinity. Just not in a good way.
"It's not that. There's something about him that I don't like," replied Madame Maxime. Her eyebrows creased. She acted as if she was trying to observe something from afar. It went that way for a few moments.
"Madame?" said Fleur.
Madame Maxime woke up from her stupor via Fleur's voice.
"Where was I? Oh yes. No. You and your friends won't be having classes with him. That is my decision," said Madame Maxime with an air of finality.
"I wish you would still consider it," said Fleur. She wasn't about to give up. Her plan had to work no matter what.
"Even if I want to, I can't. It is not easy to organize the Triwizard Tournament, surely you realize this. It took months and years to hammer out an agreement where everyone would be happy with and one of the clauses within that agreement clearly stated that no school shall interfere with another school's affair. Having classes with a teacher from another school is a form of interference. I am sorry, my dear. I can't entertain your request this time," said Madame Maxime.
At this point, Fleur knew it was time for her to unsheathe her last weapon.
"Understandable, Madame," she said. "But I think you would be interested to know that the Durmstrang is about to break the very same clause you spoke of earlier."
"What do you mean, Miss Delacour?" asked Madame Maxime curiously.
"They're inviting Harry Potter to their ship. The visit will happen very soon," said Fleur.
"How soon? And how do you know this?"
"Harry Potter told me," said Fleur. "In a letter," she hastily added when she saw Madame Maxime cocked her eyebrows.
"I didn't know you've been writing to him."
"I don't exactly wrote to him actually. We don't exchange letters if that what you mean."
Madame Maxime once again cocked her eyebrow.
"I do hope things will change between me and him," Fleur added. "Eventually."
"Are you sure he's telling the truth?"
"I spent seventy years of my life with him," Fleur reminded Madame Maxime. She felt a little bit annoyed that time. "This young Harry may be different but I do believe his fundamental remains the same. He won't lie especially about something such as this."
But Madame Maxime was still skeptical about what Fleur told her.
"I don't think Professor Karkaroff would allow that," she said.
"And I don't think his students would dare to do anything behind his back, Madame," countered Fleur. "They would have asked him in the first place and he would have agreed. He's not Professor Dumbledore."
"Yes. I agree with you on that. Negotiating with Albus Dumbledore was easy. Igor Karkaroff in turn was a pig. He's a nightmare if you asked me," said Madame Maxime.
Fleur knew she was winning. But still she knew that she had to be careful. She knew that she still had to tread the path lightly. She knew that she needed to make her headmistress see. Especially when there was a second request she intended to make.
"If the Durmstrang is willing to bend the rules, so can we. We don't want to be seen as an outcast, do we? This is about the international magical cooperation after all. Isn't that why we agreed to join the tournament in the first place?" said Fleur.
Madame Maxime shook her head. "I still don't see why you need to have a class with a foreign teacher. All the spells, incantations and everything else, they are all the same," she argued. "It's not like Hogwarts do all of those differently."
"No, they don't but like you always say, learning never stops. There'll be always something new for us to explore. Maybe Professor Moody, seeing that he was an auror, could show us something different related to his experience as a law enforcer. None of the current Beauxbaton's teachers fought a Death Eater before," said Fleur calmly. "All we ever learn back in the campus were second-hand accounts told by someone else. Even the teachers never feels what it's like to go out there, what it feels like to face the danger on your own. It's a completely different experiences, Madame."
"Well, seeing that you fought the Death Eaters back in your past life, maybe you should hold the honor of teaching your classmates the intricacies of the Defense Against the Dark Art. Maybe you could tell them what it feels like to go out there and face the danger. The way I see it, you're just as qualified as Alastor Moody," stated Madame Maxime.
Fleur smiled widely at this. "I would love to, but I can't. I don't have the papers and I'm only seventeen," she said."What would everyone say if they know Beauxbaton let an unqualified teacher teaches the students?"
Madame Maxime went silent.
From where she stood, Fleur could almost see Madame Maxime's brain chugging. All that Madame Maxime needed was a little bit push from her.
"Just one class, Madame," said Fleur softly.
Madame Maxime stared at her favorite student. She later sighed and shook her head in defeat.
"Very well. I'll talk with Professor Dumbledore. Perhaps he could find a slot to fit you and your friends in."
Yes! thought Fleur. "Thank you, Madame. As for the slot, I think I can help you with that. I'll get back to you later. If this happens, perhaps we could find out why you dislike Alastor Moody in the first place," she said.
"Perhaps," replied Madame Maxime.
Both Fleur and Cassandra excused themselves but just as they was about to walk out of Madame Maxime's office, Fleur suddenly stopped. Turning back to Madame Maxime, she spoke, "Something happened to my cousin a few days ago."
Madame Maxime looked back at her. She had just replaced her fallen chair and was about to sit on it.
"Your cousin? Which one? I take it wasn't Raphael," she said.
"No. It wasn't Raphael," said Fleur. "It was Daphne."
"What happened? Was it bad?" asked Madame Maxime.
"She was a little bit traumatized but otherwise unharmed. Some boys attacked her few days ago. She was lucky someone else arrived just in time to rescue her. Her would be attackers got it pretty bad in return," said Fleur.
"Did she tells you who her rescuer was?"
"She did. She told me it was Harry Potter," answered Fleur.
"I see. Do you know anything about the motive behind the attack?" asked Madame Maxime.
"No."
Fleur of course knew why the attack happened. It just that she didn't feel the need to share it with Madame Maxime. At least not yet.
Madame Maxime nodded. "Well in that case, send my regards to Harry Potter when you write to him. Tell him that we appreciated what he did and he have our thanks. Daphne's father and your aunt would want to thank him too I believe."
Fleur took a few steps forward back into the office. "I was coming to that actually," she said.
Madame Maxime looked at her questioningly.
"I am thinking about inviting Harry Potter over to this carriage so that I could thank him personally. I was hoping that you will allow him to come," Fleur continued without waiting for Madame Maxime's response. "Of course there's more to that. I also would like to know him better. I admit I have questions. Questions that need answering. I hope that his visit, if you allow it, will alleviate some of my curiosities."
Madame Maxime sat on her chair. There was a pause after that.
Madame Maxime lean back on her chair. "I can see why this is important to you," she said after taking the moment of silence to give full consideration to Fleur's request. "You have my permission, Fleur."
Fleur smiled widely. She was indeed feeling grateful.
"Thank you, Madame," she said.
She then bowed to Madame Maxime and together with Cassandra, exited the office.
"Is it true?" asked Cassandra as they both walked along the corridor towards the students living quarters.
"Yes, it's true," replied Fleur. She knew what Cassandra meant by that question.
"That probably explain why we don't see Daphne these past few days. You really don't have any clue why it happened?"
"That have nothing to do with Daphne's hiatus actually," answered Fleur. "Anyway, jealousy was the main motive behind the attack. Stupid thing really. A boy had a huge crush on her. She refused him naturally so he with the help of his friends tried to do it the hard way."
"And Harry came to the rescue just in time," stated Cassandra. "Why didn't you just tell Madame Maxime?"
" I just don't want to bother Madame Maxime with simplistic teenage matters such as this which is why I denied any knowledge of the reason. Anyway, come. Let's get the girls. It's story telling time."
"We should plan for Harry's visit as well. Maybe we could do something special for him," suggested Cassandra.
"Yes, we should."
Things worked well for her. At least so far. While it was true that she wanted to thank Harry for what he did for Daphne, getting to know him better was the main and only reason why she wanted him to visit. And she found herself waiting impatiently for that day to come.
Later that evening...
The weather was getting colder. And yet there she was, standing alone on the bank of the Black Lake.
She was wearing a black wool overcoat that hide a pair of thick roll neck jumper and skinny jeans of the same color underneath it. A pair of black Ugg boots completed the package. She wore her silvery hair in a messy mid ponytail style. Strand of hairs falling to the side of her face accentuated her beauty even further.
Her bright blue eyes gazed towards surface of the lake, mainly to the location where the Second Task was held back in her previous life. A lot of things happened back then. It was there that she learnt that nothing is certain and not everything what it seemed to be. Like the calmness of the surface of the Black Lake. Something sinister hid underneath it. It fooled nearly everyone.
She was there for a reason. She got her answer earlier that day. She was now waiting for that person to appear.
"Hello."
That person had arrived.
Fleur turned to look. She then smiled.
"Hello, Hermione."
The Gryffindor girl was standing not far away from her.
Fleur walked towards Hermione.
All the while Hermione watched her. Her brown eyes went up and down the moment Fleur arrived in front of her. "You looked good," she said before she could stop herself. Cupping her mouth, she immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry. I-, wasn't supposed to say that."
But Fleur waved off her apology. "There's no need for an apology, Hermione. I'm glad that you're willing to meet me. As a matter a fact, it is me who should apologize. I'm sorry if I take some of your time. I know you're busy," she said.
"As matter a fact, I'm not. I don't have anything to do at this moment really," replied Hermione.
That's a first, thought Fleur.
'Well then. Let's take a walk shall we?" she said.
And taking a walk they did. There were quite a lot of people loitering around the lake that day. Fleur purposely chose the path with the least people present. She didn't want anyone to interrupt and she didn't want anyone to eavesdrop either. But even then it still didn't stopped some boys who were unfortunate enough to cross their path from gawking stupidly at her.
"I take it that the Ravenclaw told you about me," Hermione began. "That's part of the reason why you know my name."
"Maybe."
"So what is it? Why do you want to meet me?" asked Hermione.
"I just want to have a conversation with you. I want us to get to know each other better," came the reply.
Hermione cocked her eyebrow. "Owh."
"Why? Is it so strange for me wanting to get to know you?" asked Fleur upon seeing Hermione's reaction to what she just said.
"No, Actually I am flattered. I always wanted a friend from abroad," admitted Hermione.
Fleur smiled. "And now you got one," she said.
"And now I got one," agreed Hermione. "Forgive me for being upfront in our first meeting, but I can't help but feel there's more to it."
"And why do you feel that?"
"Well, you could have picked any Ravenclaw. I saw you spoke to some of them inside the Great Hall," said Hermione. "But the only Gryffindor you ever had conversation with was Harry. Harry Potter. This is about him, isn't it?"
Fleur said nothing at first. She knew that Hermione was a clever girl but she didn't realize that she was also this perceptive.
"Go on," she said, egging Hermione to continue.
Hermione, upon seeing that Fleur neither agreed nor denied her statement, proceeded, "I've been watching. Or rather observing if you can call it that. You were staring at Harry every now and then whenever you're in the Great Hall. But even with that in mind, I have a feeling that you're not one of those fangirls who are obsessed with him and I know quite a few. I know this from the way you looked at Harry. That night when you came to our table asking for our plate of bouillabaisse, the way you looked at him, it wasn't the look of infatuation nor obsession. It was a look of recognition. You were looking at him as if you had known him for long."
Fleur glanced sideways towards Hermione. She was indeed very surprise at this revelation. She never knew that Hermione can be very, very perceptive. More than she would expected.
Seeing that Fleur gave no response to what she said, Hermione continued, "Or maybe I have gone bonkers. I'm sorry. That was rude. I shouldn't barge at you like this. Especially when we just first met."
Fleur suddenly stopped walking.
Hermione followed suit. She looked worryingly at the veela.
Fleur looked afar. Her eyes traced the dim outlook of the opposite bank of the Black Lake.
"You're not going bonkers, Hermione," said Fleur softly. "And once again, there is no need for you to apologize. You're right. I am interested in Harry. More than I care to admit."
"Have you met him before?" asked Hermione.
"I rather not say," came the reply.
Hermione nodded. "Harry doesn't meet a lot of people especially outside of school. He never had a good summer as a matter of fact."
"I see," said Fleur. She of course knew this.
"I pity him. But then again Harry was never the one who dwells on other people's pity. He has a strong heart. He's resilient. That's what I came to admire about him," said Hermione.
"Not just you."
"You seem to know quite a bit about him," said Hermione.
"Who doesn't? He's the Boy-Who-Lived, isn't he?"
Hermione scoffed at that statement. "Yes he's the Boy-Who-Lived. Some even went on to call him the Chosen One. Stupid thing really. Being admired for something he doesn't even remember doing."
"I know. They never know the real man within him. All they see is the facade. And the scar," said Fleur.
They then resumed walking, heading towards one of the rocky outcrops dotting the landscape surrounding the lake. A few of the rocks jutting out from the ground had flat top surface, perfect enough to be used as a seat. Fleur and Hermione each chose one to sit on.
"Speaking of the term 'real man', I actually never speak to anyone about this before," said Hermione.
"About what?" asked Fleur.
"About Harry. I don't know how to say about this, but he seems odd."
"In what way?"
"Well, he changed somewhat. He's now a lot more mature. A lot more calmer. The way he speaks and the way he act, it all changed. And you should look at his schoolwork. He practically excels in everything. He doesn't even ask my help regarding homework anymore. And it all happened overnight! Not that I'm jealous but there you go. It feels like I'm befriending someone who looks like Harry but isn't Harry," said Hermione.
Fleur froze at this.
"It's like befriending someone who is older than you," she whispered.
Hermione somehow heard her.
"Yes! As a matter a fact, a lot older," she said. "For some reason, I feel safe whenever he's around. It's like knowing someone will protect you. It feels like you know that someone is watching your back. i never felt like that before. Before, I always feel that he is the one who needed protection. Not this time. This time it felt the opposite."
Fleur knew that feeling. It was the same feeling she had whenever Harry was around. She tried hard to conceal her pent-up emotions at that point. Like an overflowing dam, it threatened to spill out.
"Since when, Hermione?" asked Fleur.
"It started on Hogwarts Train. We were on our way here when..."
Hermione began to regale everything. She told Fleur how Harry, in the middle of a conversation, suddenly collapsed. She told Fleur how they tried to revive him, and when he finally came around, he looked confused as heck and started acting strange and asking strange questions. She told Fleur on how Harry changed more and more as days went past until she and Fleur met.
And throughout the story telling, Fleur remained silent.
"It's like I don't know him anymore," said Hermione after she was done with the story telling. "I just acted normal whenever he's around but the truth is, I'm scared. I'm scared for him."
"Don't be scared, Hermione. I'm sure there's explanation behind all these. What matters is that he is safe," said Fleur.
Hermione nodded slowly. "I feel that I can trust you," she said softly.
Fleur smiled kindly at the young brunette sitting in front of her. She then leaned forward and took both Hermione's hands into hers.
"Of course you can," she said. "Hermione, there are things that I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I'm not sure if you're ready. But someday, I will. I promise. But for now, I want us to be friends. Good friends as a matter a fact. We'll take care of each other, just like me and my friends did. Would you like that?"
Hermione smiled. A tear rolled down her cheek. "That is the nicest thing anyone ever done to me. Yes. I would like that."
Fleur pulled Hermione into a hug. It went that way for a while until they both let go of each other.
Hermione wiped her tears using the back of her hand. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome."
They continued their conversation. Hermione shared everything with Fleur. She told her about her life and her family. Fleur did the same. Of course they both had done this before in Fleur's past life which means that Fleur already knew everything about Hermione. But then again, the Hermione now sitting in front of her wouldn't know that, would she?
The sun hung really low. It was time for them to return to their place of accommodation.
"Hermione, can I ask you a question?" said Fleur as they walked back to their respective destination.
"Sure."
"When is the next time you'll be having classes with Professor Moody?"
"This Thursday. After lunch. why?"
"Owh, nothing. It's just that we're planning to attend one of his classes. We just don't know when," explained Fleur.
"Owh. That is a surprise," said Hermione.
"Indeed. So, is he good? I heard people talking. Most of Hogwarts students were impressed by him by the looks of it," said Fleur.
"Well, he's eccentric, I give you that. Borderline lunatic as a matter a fact. Do you know in our first class with him, he demonstrated the Unforgiven Curses in front of us? Poor Neville. But yeah, most students especially the boys loved him. They said his class is the most hard charging ever," said Hermione.
Fleur of course knew this.
"And what of Harry's reaction to him?" she asked.
Hermione creased her eyebrows.
"I didn't really notice him actually. I was more preoccupied with the spiders. Professor Moody used them as test subjects in his demonstration. Maybe... indifference?" she replied.
"I see."
"I'm not looking forward to his next class to be honest. I don't like what he's planning."
"Which is?"
"He wanted to apply one of the Unforgiveable Curses to each one of us. He claimed he wanted to see how we react to it and maybe train us on how to throw it off. Honestly I don't know if that is possible,' said Hermione.
"I take it he will be performing the Imperious Curse on each one of you. He wouldn't possibly performing the other two, would he?" said Fleur.
"Unless he's interested in joining all those he caught in Azkaban that is."
"Interesting," said Fleur thoughtfully. "I would like to see that."
"Well I wouldn't recommend it. Even the simplest of the Unforgiveable Curse is horrible. But if you're still interested maybe you could ask your headmistress. Maybe she could arrange something," suggested Hermione.
"We'll see."
At a junction path near the carriage they parted ways.
"Are you faking your French accent all these time?" asked Hermione before she headed back to the castle.
Fleur smiled. "Very few things escape you, doesn't it?" she said.
"Why didn't you do it just now in our conversation?"
"Because I suspect we're going to have a very long conversation and honestly faking an accent in a long conversation can be very tiring," came the reply.
Hermione shook her head and laughed.
"That's true. Well, good night, Fleur. I hope we'll meet again."
"We will. Good night, Hermione."
Hermione strode off towards the castle but before she got far, Fleur called her back.
"Hermione! Our meeting and what we talked about, can you not tell anyone? At least for now?" asked Fleur.
Hermione nodded. "Of course. Don't worry. I won't," she said before continuing her way.
Fleur watched silently as Hermione walked towards the castle.
She truly wanted to tell Hermione who she truly was but she knew Hermione was always the skeptic one. She may not be ready. Maybe someday. The meeting in turn was a fruitful one however. Fleur got more than what she bargain for.
She wasn't sure of it but she dearly wanted to believe it. The question now would be how she could confirm it.
"So, do you believe her?"
It was nearly bedtime.
Fleur was pacing around within her quarters. She had just told her friends about the contents of her meeting with Hermione. They of course knew about the meeting beforehand. Cassandra and a few others offered to escorted her but she declined. She said it would be better for her to meet Hermione alone. She didn't want the young brunette to feel uncomfortable with the presence of so many people she doesn't know.
"I believe her. I know her. She's not the one who tend to making up stories unless she really has to," replied Fleur to Cassandra's question. "She's known to be pragmatic."
"So what are you going to do now?" asked Daphne Lavinge.
Fleur paused for a moment.
"Regarding Harry? I don't know. Temporarily, I think we should proceed with our plan. We already invited him so we can go with that. We'll see what happen then and what we can learn from his visit. We can deduce on what we need to do next after that," said Fleur.
"There's a much simpler, quicker way," said Cammille.
"Do tell," said Marianne.
"Send a letter to Harry. Tell him that you want to meet him. And once you both meet, ask him. Tell it to his face," said Cammille to Fleur.
"Tell him what? You mean like 'Hey Harry. I time-traveled. You time-traveled too. We're both really old people in teenage bodies. That's weird isn't it haha. You still remember how to do it? Let's snog!'" said Marianne.
Cammille threw a pillow at Marianne but she missed her target.
"I don't mean it like that!"
Fleur shook her head at her friends' antic.
"That's enough you two. Yes Cammille, I can do that. But only if it's proven that Harry also returned to this timeline like I did. I need more time. I really need to be sure," said Fleur.
"It's hard enough to believe one person can time-travel, let alone two," pointed out Daphne Lavinge.
"Time-turner?" said Marianne.
"That doesn't count. What happened to Fleur is entirely different. It's far more complicated."
Everyone in the vicinity nodded in agreement.
"If Harry indeed do return as you did, what next?" asked Cassandra.
"Then it would be the matter of how we're both going to reveal it to each other. Personally I would prefer him to be the one to do it," said Fleur.
"Only if he realize who you truly are," said Cassandra.
Fleur nodded in agreement.
"Yes. Only if. I guess we'll just have to see. As much as I want to believe that he also returns, like I said, I need to be sure. Only then will I be able to decide what to do next. I still got time. I want it to be proper," said Fleur.
Her friends watched in silent as she made her way towards her bedroom windows. She pushed away the curtain and took a peek at the Gryffindor Tower that loomed within the darkness of the night.
With her eyes still gazing at the tower, she spoke, "And his visit shall be a start."
Thursday came.
She and her friends, led by none other than Professor McGonagall, walked silently towards the Defense Against the Dark Art classroom. As they turned into a corridor, right ahead Professor Moody was waiting for them.
And Fleur found herself gripping her wand even tighter.
To be continued...
A/n: Some of you guys really need to learn how to differentiate between flirting and being nice/polite to people.
2. Some of you guys are concern about the possibility about this story losing its readership. Well I don't. Between the need to write this story based on my vision and retaining my readership, I choose the former. And I will choose it every time.
3. One of you told me that you will continue disliking/dissing this story until I give in to your demand. I don't appreciate being threatened. You like/dislike this story on your accord. If you find that this story no longer entertains you, do yourself a favor. I don't think I need to tell you what to do.
This story still have a long way to go and it baffles me to see some of you making your own conclusion out of thin air.
I appreciate my readers but a line have to be drawn somewhere.
To "honest reader and writer" (review dated 18th February 2020), a big heartfelt thanks.
