"Who can say if your love grows

As your heart chose, only time"

-Only Time, Enya (2001)

Hogwarts turned out to be almost as insufferable as being at Beauxbatons. Whenever she walked through the gloomy stone castle of the school teens stared, approached her with ridiculous lines or even openly talked about her as if being Veela made her unable to understand English. Compounding the issue was Hermione. Every time Fleur heard her voice or walked by the other girl her heart leapt, jolting her into a painful hyperawareness.

Being Veela was something she had grown up with, Fleur had seen her grandmere, maman and aunt all with their soulmates. She knew how the bond looked from an outsider's perspective. She even witnessed the process when she was eight years old and her aunt Oriane had met and fallen for her Muggle soulmate. It was something that she had largely accepted, that one day she would somehow meet a person and that would be it. What she had not anticipated is that it would happen when she was only seventeen and her soulmate was not even an adult yet.

So even though all her instincts told her to approach Hermione, Fleur delayed. She didn't want the first encounter to be anything but memorable.

It wasn't that she ignored the connection, or the girl. She literally couldn't think about anything else. Her entire frame of reference in life had shifted. As subtly as she could Fleur watched Hermione, looking for clues about the person the Veela part of her soul had destined for her. Her heart soared with excitement when she saw Hermione campaigning for house elf liberation, heard about her academic achievements and saw her loyally tutoring her friends.

An unexpected comfort at Hogwarts was the Ravenclaw girl she'd spoken to her first day at the school. Now most meals she sat and talked with Luna, even though she often talked about nonsense. Although Luna believed in a fairly high number of things Fleur suspected to be untrue she was unbelievably perceptive in other ways and had a very detailed knowledge of all magical species - both real and of dubious origin.

She had stunned Fleur when, not long after the first task, with her sweet Irish lilt she gently inquired, "What is it like having Hermione Granger as your soul mate?"

Stunned Fleur had looked up from the beef stew she had been picking over. Luna silently stared, making no attempts to clarify to explain herself not matter how long Fleur sat there, mouth agape.

Finally, breaking through her dumbfounded state Fleur decided denial was safest. This knowledge was too fragile, chatting about it to anyone made her feel so vulnerable. Swallowing heavily to try and lubricate her suddenly dry mouth, Fleur finally replied, "I wouldn't know."

Luna smiled sadly and shrugged. Fleur couldn't resist asking the follow up question, "What made you think that we were…?" She was unable to even articulate the last word, which she knew made her denial all the more suspect.

"Your souls are marked the same way." Luna replied vaguely before being distracted by her latest issue of the Quibbler, suddenly folding the page halfway and flipping it back and forth.

The announcement of the Yule Ball had sent a trickle of fear through Fleur. Despite having practiced the complicated English name and the way she would casually ask Hermione to the Yule Ball over and over to her own reflection, every time Fleur saw the other girl her courage fled. She been finding excuses to visit the increasingly crowded library, just to glimpse Hermione. This also had the inadvertent benefit as her English improved exponentially, as the Hogwarts library only held reference volumes in that language and she could hardly sit there not studying. The increased time in the library also meant she witnessed something not intended for her.

She has been browsing a book on Magical Herbs of Scotland and Ireland when she heard Victor Krum talking to Hermione. Guiltily Fleur listened in as Victor asked Hermione the very thing she had been unable to do, he invited her to the Yule Ball. Something about the connection she shared with Hermione allowed her to almost feel the younger girl flush. She wasn't sure if the rush of adrenaline belonged to her or Hermione, but she was fairly certain the stab of despair belonged to her alone as she heard Hermione accept.

The next moron that approached Fleur in the hallway and was mature enough to actually articulate all the syllables as he asked her the Yule Ball was accepted. The weeks that passed between Fleur missing her chance with Hermione and the Yule Ball saw Fleur spiral into doubt and disgust. She felt almost predatory. What fifteen-year-old would be receptive to meeting a soul mate, especially one of the same gender. Fifteen was so young to even consider dating, let alone a foreigner that was not entirely human.

Unexpectedly the Yule Ball was awful. Knowing she would see Hermione with someone else all night had put her in a dreadful mood and she could hear herself complain bitterly about anything and everything, including the cursed school she currently regretted even coming to. Although the venting didn't really make her feel better it stopped her from doing something she would regret as she watched another with her soul mate.

Over the evening Fleur watched Hermione with Victor and a boy whose name she later learned was Ron. It appeared that Hermione liked both boys. It was a night of high spirits and hormones. Fleur's date wasn't as gross as he could have been, although he appeared to be slightly intoxicated under her charm he wasn't as trapped by it as many boys his age were. Although devoid of romantic feeling on her part, Fleur asked him to leave the hall, unable to watch Hermione with anyone else. Making out with him was nothing. It disappointed Fleur, she desperately wanted to feel anything other than the horrible mood that had been infesting her recently.

As her chances of ever talking to Hermione diminished her temperament changed, the same way it had when at ten she had moved away from her Veela family. The Veela core wand wasn't having the same effect it used to.

The Hogwarts headmaster had approached her awkwardly one evening as the second task was approaching. He explained how he'd done some magic, which sounded very complicated to Fleur, to divine exactly what she would miss most. Fleur felt her heart race as the Professor sighed, "So Miss Delacour, either my spell has failed or Hermione Granger is the person you would miss most. I suspect, should the latter be the case, this isn't something you'd want three schools worth of people plus spectators to know?"

Fleur shook her head, horrified.

"Very well, I'll make alternative arrangements. I'd hate to stand in the way of young love, or make it awkward. You have my word." And with a tight little smile he walked off as quickly as he'd appeared.

She couldn't believe it. That old crackpot sworn that he wouldn't. She'd trusted him to do the right thing. But as soon as she had stood on that dock she had felt it. Scanning the crowd after Harry Potter had come running up at the last moment confirmed what she knew. Her familiar face was missing.

Madame Maxime had repeatedly warned her that people died in this tournament, to take everything seriously. Fleur had already faced her own mortality as felt the fire of the dragon's breath set her robes alight. She knew the tasks were potentially lethal for her. But this was different. Hermione was in the water, doomed if Fleur couldn't retrieve her. The mental preparation flew out the window, she could barely breathe, let alone think.

When the starting gun was fired Fleur drew out her wand and silently cast a bubble charm over her face. Only, for the first time in many years, her charm failed. She raised her wand to try again, but she couldn't even focus on the incantation. All that was echoing in her head was one image, her Hermione in mortal peril. Shaking her head as if to clear it Fleur forced herself to vocalise the charm, finally having some success.

Heading down into the depths of the lake Fleur's sense of foreboding grew as snatches of Mermish floated up from down below. Mermish was close enough to Veela that she could understand most words. Most Merpeople had a strong dislike of Veela, both having descended from Sirens, they considered that Veela had chosen the land and resented having Veela in their aquatic home.

She could hear the Merpeople singing, taunting her and she knew Hermione was in trouble. She powered through, failing to take care as she entered the thick reed. Although she was oblivious to it, the Merpeople had set the bulk of their grindylows on her. Unfortunately, her body and senses were so focused on Hermione she didn't even feel the spindly fingers clinging to her until it was too late. Weighed down by the foul creatures she became unable to swim forwards.

Evidently the students were being monitored, as Fleur was pulled out of the water just as her vision began to fade to black. The Hogwart's nurse was fussing over her as she sat there, openly sobbing with terror. She had failed to save her soulmate. Hermione was going to die and it was all her fault.

She jolted up when saw a figure break the surface, but it was only Cedric from Hogwarts who emerged cradling his girlfriend. As the surface broke a second time Fleur's heart started racing, that Bulgarian idiot had her girl. She sobbed harder, relief flooding her body like a warm drink on an icy cold day. It wasn't until Harry Potter surfaced later with her sister and his friend she realised Dumbledore had kept his word.

Ultimately Fleur never quite worked up the courage to talk to Hermione, despite Luna's gentle encouragement.

Fleur bolted upright, startled out of sleep. Dazed by sleep she tried to figure out what had caused her unexpected awakening, she didn't think she'd had a nightmare but her heart was racing. She was just rolling over in an attempt to get back to sleep when she heard it, a piercing scream that reverberated down to her bones.

This time she was really awake as she grabbed her wand up jumped up, running towards the scream that had echoed from the study of the house she grew up in. Hermione curled in on herself on a stuffed armchair, evidently having succumbed to sleep during the night watch. Fleur watched the girl's eyes flicker under her eyelids, her fingers twitching as she slept.

She turned and locked the door, glad that in the large house the sound of Hermione's screams wouldn't have carried as far the other wing where her parents slept. She knew Hermione would be mortified if she knew other people had heard her nightmare. Gingerly stepping across the room Fleur slipped into the chair behind Hermione, holding onto the other girl gently as her breathing slowed again and the her fingers stopped moving.

The shock of thinking Hermione was in danger had sent Fleur back into her own memory. She had never forgotten the feeling of sitting helplessly on the dock. The way that knowing Hermione was at risk had stripped her of her ability and senses. It was one of the reasons she had stayed away from Hermione. She was useless near her. At least in Australia she'd been useful, able to watch over Hermione's parents.

A slight stirring alerted Fleur as Hermione slowly woke up. At first she groggily cuddled back into Fleur, but only few short moments later she stiffened and Fleur could feel the awkwardness. Fleur immediately drew back, whispering "I'm sorry, Hermione. It's just that you…"

"Did I scream anything specific or was it just shrieks?" Hermione asked resignedly, pausing for a very short beat before replying to her own question, "You know what it doesn't matter. So I guess you know now that I have nightmares."

Hermione could feel the warm flush in her cheeks, the fresh embarrassment, the warm fire and being in Fleur's embrace all contributing to it. There was something notably absent though, the fear and grief always that followed her nightmares was not overwhelming her. There was something about being in Fleur's arms that made her feel safe, she consciously relaxed back into Fleur. It was so comforting to feel Fleur stroking her arm, she didn't even notice the other girl was touching her scarred flesh. Just as Fleur's breathing started to slow Hermione whispered her name, bringing her back to wakefulness.

"I have been preoccupied all evening Fleur, I know I should be thinking about the case. But, I can't stop thinking about what you said earlier. I don't know very much about Veela, I've only read one book about them. I can't help but think… well, I mean you talked about not denying your heritage at dinner and then you told me it's a lot to hear. I can only think of one really distinct aspect of Veela heritage…"

"Hermione, if you want me to tell you and you feel like you're ready I'll do it. If not, it will not make a difference for the time being." Fleur said, sounding calm although she was sure Hermione could feel her heart racing.

"I'm ready" Hermione whispered as she turned in the chair to face Fleur. She traced her hand down Fleur's face, resting it at the nape of the other girl's neck as she leaned in and gave the other girl a kiss. As she stared into those crystalline blue eyes she knew this would remove a barrier she could feel between them at times. She also felt a twinge of guilt, knowing she was holding back information about the killer.

Fleur had been thinking about this hypothetical moment for years, so it was only Hermione that was surprised with Fleur's deep dive back to her childhood. Over the course of a few hours Fleur poured her heart out, she told Hermione about growing up Veela. Talked through how the teenage Veela experience was overwhelming and isolating.

She started to talk more slowly, weigh her words more as Fleur talked about travelling to Hogwarts. Hermione was enthralled as she heard Fleur recount her immediate connection to Hermione, the way she felt around Hermione in those first few months at Hogwarts. How she realised Hermione was her soulmate. The heartbreak she felt seeing Hermione with those boys. That she deliberated about the appropriateness about even approaching Hermione, their age gap seemed so big then.

Then after she'd left Hogwarts and she knew she'd messed up, she thought about reaching out and even interviewed at Gringotts so she could maybe arrange to see Hermione, just to become friends. But, she decided against it. Hermione was only sixteen, a school girl. She felt predatory, coming to London to pursue a friendship and maybe more with Hermione. People would talk, would say that she had used dark Veela magic to bewitch the young girl. She decided to decline the job, she would go back to France and get qualified.

Her grandmere was the only one in the family aware she had met her soulmate. It caused a rift between them, grandmere couldn't understand why Fleur was not pursuing her soulmate. Although grandmere didn't know who Fleur's soulmate was, she didn't agree with Fleur's decision to wait until Hermione graduated from Hogwarts to make contact again. Fleur kept tabs on Hermione though her correspondence with Luna, who always gave her news of Hermione completely unprompted. The news from Luna got more and more concerning. The day that Hermione sent her parents away Fleur felt the agony rip into her soul, she wanted nothing more than to try and comfort Hermione, but she was a stranger to the other girl. Shortly after, Fleur learned from Luna that Hermione was on the run. She decided to protect Hermione's parents, using her skills as an trainee Auror to find out they had been sent to Australia. She followed them, biding her time while Hermione was on the run and in part to get away from grandmere's disappointed looks.

The war ended quickly, although waking every day knowing it could be Hermione's last made it agonizingly slow for Fleur. Before she knew it her grandmere had died. Gabby had died. Luna had written her a letter, timidly skirting around the fact that Hermione was now living with that guy Ron. She's waited too long. Hermione had a life now and she'd just do her best to get on with what was left of hers. Luna stopped updating her on Hermione after Fleur had informed her of this anyway.

The sun was starting to rise as Fleur finished her story lamely with, "And then we met again in London. Up until now my family assumed I just hadn't bonded with or had ignored my soulmate."

What Fleur hadn't told Hermione was how the in the middle years, the ones she ignored Hermione, how they had hurt her, even changed her. She'd skipped the blame she felt about having not reconciled with grandmere when she passed, about how the desire to be physically away from Hermione had driven her to another continent when her sister was murdered. The guilt and regret did not need to be a part of this story. Fleur knew that burden would be felt too keenly by Hermione and it was only hers to wear.

Hermione had been quiet, but nodding along and holding Fleur the whole time she had been talking. Now that she was sure the other girl was finished Hermione spoke only three words, "I love you."

Relief and elation flooded through Fleur as she embraced Hermione closer.