AN: I've never written something like this, so any constructive feedback would be appreciated. Otherwise, please enjoy!
Hermione Granger could truly say that she had always considered herself normal. Relatively speaking anyway. She certainly wasn't the prettiest girl in class when she was in Primary-Heather Bont had that particular honor-, and she certainly wasn't the prettiest when she got to Hogwarts. Even if she did get her buck teeth fixed. On the other hand, she was generally considered smarter than the average girl, or boy for that matter, her age. She figured that somewhat evened things out. She quite enjoyed reading, especially the trashy romance novels her mother got her hooked on the summer after her Second Year, though she would deny it if anyone ever asked. And, though it certainly wasn't her favorite thing in the world, she did enjoy small amounts of exercise. Mostly walking or riding her bicycle.
Even more normal was that she had really started noticing…boys last year. She could admit, if only to herself, that she found her best friend, Harry, a bit attractive. At least, she could understand why Lavender, Romilda and Parvati would gossip about him. His eyes were the most defining, physical, characteristic of his. The sharp emerald coloring was not something one easily forgot. But he was also strong, magically, and had a good sense of right and wrong. Even if it wasn't in his best interest. And he really cared about people. He cared about her. She hadn't told him, or anyone really, that she, and she suspected the others, were well aware of what was going on around them when they were petrified by the Basilisk. Harry had been her most frequent visitor. It was not, in her opinion then, all that difficult to know that she had crushed on Harry throughout last year. Hard. Unfortunately, she never really worked up the courage to actually tell him that and by the end of the year, realized that he didn't see her as anything more than his best friend Hermione.
As such, she spent the summer trying to move on from feeling such things about Harry. She found a boy, Johnathan Greene, who had gotten braces at her parents Dentistry Practice was interesting. The boy was perhaps not the brightest person she had met. At least concerning school anyway. That didn't mean he was dumb though. He was quite intelligent when it came to the ocean. In fact, he wanted to be a Marine Biologist when he grew up, something Hermione could definitely respect. He was also funny. Not in the way that most people were, with quick cracks or sarcastic insults. But instead by using really bad fish jokes. They were so stupid and horrendous, but she couldn't help but snort and laugh at them. After only a week of laughing, they had gone on a date. It wasn't anything truly great, but for a pair of fourteen-year old's, it was good. They'd really just gone to London for the day and window shopped. And over the next few weeks, they had gone on more dates, even kissed a few times being careful of his braces, but when she went to surprise him for a last date and tell him she would be leaving for the school year but that she would write, she found him kissing Heather Bont on his front porch. The little toe rag. The hand print she left on his face had left quite the impression. The fact that he had to get his braces refitted because a tooth fell out when his face hit the concrete, well, she didn't find it any harder to sleep that night or any thereafter.
As such, after that she had done her best to just forget the garbage and focused instead on having fun with her friends and the most of the rest of the Weasleys at the Quidditch World Cup. She was glad, if only slightly, that when she saw Harry for the first time since leaving Hogwarts, that her feelings for him had gone away. She still felt a connection, but she certainly wasn't wanting to kiss him every few minutes like she had most of Third Year. And though she didn't really like Quidditch, due to how dangerous it was and her own fear of heights, she had a great time. Until the Death Eaters showed up and ruined it. She was just glad, that despite being attacked by a dozen or so Ministry employees, they weren't hurt and had been able to get back to the Burrow in relative safety.
The new school year brought with it a couple of challenges and changes. She had to drop some classes as Professor McGonagall had deemed her unfit to use a Time Turner again, which she protested vehemently, but the woman wouldn't back down. As such, she had, somewhat reluctantly, given up both Muggle Studies and Divination. She was a bit put out not being able to take the classes, even if she found Divination to be complete hogwash. It was still interesting to learn it.
She also had to contend with a new form of bullying. Sure, she had gotten used to being picked on because of her frizzy hair or her buck teeth. Even for being smarter than others or not having the same amount of interest in boys. The last one she found a bit funny as she did have an interest in them, she just didn't feel the need to always talk about them. However, with the new year came this new form of bullying. She didn't particularly care what it was about, only the fact that they had said such things about her just because of the subject matter. Apparently, even though it wasn't by much, because she had the largest breasts in Fourth Year, for Gryffindor anyway, she was being called a slut and a whore by several of the other girls. It really hurt her. She hadn't even done anything more than kiss and that was only with Greene. Did she think about what it would be like to do more? Certainly. She was pretty sure most people did. But just because her breasts were only slightly bigger than Fay's didn't mean she went around shagging the four boys they said she did-two of whom were Ron and Harry.
However, that wasn't the biggest change she had noticed. She could ignore the other girls calling her a slut or using tape to put parchment on her trunk with whore written in capital letters, however hurtful it was, just as she always ignored the bullying. What she couldn't ignore however, was the slow notice of something. Something she didn't know how to deal with. Something she couldn't find in any book in the Hogwarts Library. And certainly not something she could talk about with someone else. It was small at first. She found her eyes linger longer than they probably should. Then she got nervous whenever she realized it. Swore to herself she wouldn't let it happen again and yet, just days, or even hours, later she found her eyes lingering yet again.
She couldn't help herself. She felt so…nasty just knowing she was doing it. And she didn't know why. Okay, she did, but that wasn't the point. She should not be letting her eyes linger on Angelina's tight bum. Or on Lavender's or Romilda's chest when they were changing. Or on Parvati's or Fay's legs. She shouldn't. They were girls. She was a girl. Girls didn't like other girls that way. They didn't think about Fay kissing her. Or running their hands up Katie Bells' toned stomach. They thought about boys. She thought about boys. About Harry or Greene. She even thought about Jasper Gant from Sixth Year Ravenclaw on occasion. But for some reason, the girls of Gryffindor, and a couple others from the other Houses, always seemed to break into her thoughts. Bloody Hell, she even had a dream about making out with Alicia and Jasper at the same time. It should only have been Jasper.
She hid it pretty well, she was sure, as no one noticed. Not even Harry or Ron. Well, Ron wasn't that hard to know he didn't notice because…well, he was Ron. But the fact Harry hadn't noticed, or even said anything, was a bit hurtful and at the same time a relief. She could not let anyone find out about it. That she was having thoughts like this. Especially those who she thought about. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to do that. And it was all her fault.
Hermione had only noticed them while she was reading up on a way to help Harry with the First Task. Well, that wasn't quite accurate as they were quite hard not to notice. They were, hands down, the most beautiful person she had ever seen. People stared at them constantly and not simply because of the atmosphere they create just by being close. But because they really were that beautiful. The long blond, nearly silver, hair that cascaded down their back. The soft blue eyes that somehow seemed to sparkle every time she looked at them. Their lithe frame and shockingly long legs. Their smooth skin and very tight and attractive looking bum that seemed to move hypnotically with the sway of their hips at the slightest of movement. Yes, Fleur Delacour, was certainly the most beautiful person, boy or girl, Hermione Granger had ever met. Her thoughts and, ashamedly her fingers, were quite busy on a few occasions the last few weeks all because of her. That being said, she had never spoken to the girl until December 2nd, 1993.
She had just sent Harry away after trying, and failing, to understand the clue from the Golden Egg. Or even how to open the damnable thing without it screeching. As he was, understandably, getting very frustrated with it and being in the tournament in general. As such, she could now focus more on her own work that had, while still ahead of most everyone else in her year, had fallen behind where she liked to be and thus pulled out the Runes homework, she had put off to help Harry in the first place.
She was quite proud with her progress not even an hour later as she stretched her arms above her head while looking at the half-finished essay on the comparison between Elder Futhark and Hieroglyphs in Runic Arrays. If she kept this pace, she should be able to finish it by the following day which would give her three whole days to revise and edit it to make it better before it was due. However, that was when she noticed it. The feint scent of burning jasmine. She knew that scent. It was hard not to. Turning, she found the person she most closely associated with it was looking over her shoulder at her essay.
"This is a good essay." The beautiful French woman said, her soft blue eyes skimming the parchment, and her slight accent causing the brunette to blush slightly before hiding it to the best of her abilities. "It is an interesting thought about combining the two. I explored the possibility for my Sixth-year project, but found it was too hard to do in only a year." She explained, picking it up and reading it more closely.
"Excuse me." Hermione said, finally finding her voice. "I didn't say you could read that." She stated, her eyes narrowing slightly as her anger at the girl just reading her work without asking overshadowed her momentary thoughts of the older girl's beauty and snatched it from her.
"I apologize." Fleur said, placing a gentle hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I did not mean to offend. I merely got absorbed in the writing."
"…Just ask next time." Hermione relented after a moment, while sneaking a glance at the girl. This was the closest she had been to her, not counting when the French woman had asked for the Bouillabaisse that first night. As such, she could see just how form fitting the Beauxbaton's uniforms were. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought, and the fact the girl was leaning over slightly and thus put her chest right at her eye level. Looking back to her essay quickly, she only hoped the girl hadn't noticed.
"…I do not think I have ever had a girl react to me like that before." Fleur said with slight curiosity in her tone. "I suppose you are…" She trailed off slightly and Hermione could feel her cheeks heat up, not from embarrassment, but anger, while at the same time should could hear the Silvery Blondes uniform shift slightly before she leaned over and whispered. "one of those girls that likes girls." And with it, she blew into her ear.
"Don't do that!" And for the first time in four years, Hermione Granger had yelled in the Library while slamming her hands on the table and attempting to stand, only to find she couldn't.
"Shhhhh! I will give you a warning this time Miss. Granger, but you will not yell in my Library." Madam Pince said as she magically appeared from around the corner. "Control yourself. I will not tell you again." And with that she disappeared around a bookshelf and could be heard shushing several other students.
"You put a sticking charm on me."
"But of course." Fleur freely admitted as she pulled up a chair and sat next to the her. "I think you are the first girl I've seen my Allure work on. Very interesting." She leaned in and blew in her ear again, causing Hermione to jolt slightly and turn away.
"Stop that." She whispered, not wanting Madam Pince to return. "And let me go." She struggled for a moment, even reaching for her wand only for the older girl to snatch it first, before sighing and resigning herself to this for now.
"Why? I don't see anything wrong with it. You find me attractive. Can't say that I blame you." She said haughtily leaning in. "Veela do not discriminate with partners you know?" She asked, reaching her hand out and gently rubbing the girl's knee. She smirked triumphantly as she saw the girls' blush deepen. "Have you ever tried it? It's…thrilling." She whispered, just loud enough that Hermione only heard it because her mouth was right next to her ear while at the same time, the older girls hand inched its way up her leg to just under her skirt.
"No. Leave me alone. Please." Hermione pleaded, wanting the girl to stop. Yet, at the same time, couldn't help the genuine excitement that she felt. She wanted the girl to continue. She wanted her to stop. She shouldn't feel this way. Why did emotions have to be so bloody confusing?
"Are you sure?" Fleur asked, and for the first time, placed a gentle kiss on Hermione's cheek while gently squeezing her thigh. Before, suddenly, just stopping and pulling back. "If that is what you want, that's fine. I do not force my partners. However, if you want to continue, you know where to find me." And with that, the girl smirked before leaning over and blowing in her ear again. And just as fast as she had appeared, she was gone, her wand resting gently on top of her essay.
A few days later Hermione still couldn't get the thoughts out of her head. The soft feeling of Fleur's fingers on her leg. The softness of her lips on her cheek. The excitement mixed with self-loathing at even liking what she did. Not to mention the…activity she did not even ten minutes later with her bed's curtains drawn and silenced. And yet, every time the brunette saw the blonde, be it in the halls or in the Great Hall eating, anytime she caught the older girls' eyes, she could see the pride she had. She could feel the ghostly feeling of her hand on her body.
Most of all though, she wanted more.
But she couldn't. It wasn't right. Boys liked girls. Girls liked boys. No exceptions. Except maybe prostitutes, but she didn't know any so wasn't entirely sure. And those that did…adult movies like the ones she had found hidden her parent's home office. But they were paid and likely didn't do it because they genuinely had feelings for the other girl. But she…she felt the same way about Fleur Delacour that she had about Harry Potter the year before. She had no idea how that even came to be. She didn't know the girl particularly well. So far, she had teased her and her best friend and she was beautiful. This was all Hermione Granger could say she knew about the Blonde. And yet, she very much had a massive crush on her. And it just wasn't right.
However, in her anger at Ron asking her to the Yule Ball in such an insulting way she now found herself with a non-existent date. Sure, Viktor Krum had asked her just the day before, but she had turned him down. Objectively, he was quite handsome. Strong jaw line, an intense gaze, and strong body made it difficult to say no. However, the boy couldn't even say her name right. Her-my-own-ninny her ass. He didn't even try to say it right after she had corrected him twice as he asked her. And what made it worse, was she had planned on quietly asking Harry only to find that he had gotten dates for both himself and Ron while she had been fuming at the latter's insensitive nature. And her back up, Jasper, was going with a Slytherin-Flora something if she remembered right. So even her back up plan was scrapped.
"I heard that you got angry at the little red-haired friend of yours." The soft familiar voice broke through her thoughts as she jolted slightly before turning to see Fleur standing there, reading over the list of possible boys she could take to the dance. Several of which were crossed out. "Can't say I blame you for turning him down. He's a bit…"
"He's an insensitive jerk with the emotional range of a teaspoon."
"And yet, you are his friend?" She asked, genuinely curious while she sat down and placed her head in her hand.
"…Well, he can be nice. Plus, for the most part, I just don't think he's grown up much. His mother dotes on him a fair bit. I think that's at least part of it. But he's also one of the few friends I have, so…" She trailed off, pointedly looking at her list of options as she crossed out Edgar Frost from Hufflepuff as she heard he was skipping the dance entirely to go home.
"I see." The girl responded, somewhat understanding. Friends could be hard to make for some, so they tended to stick with them, despite their faults, as long as they could- hoping things got better. "I see you are trying to find a date. Any luck?"
"No." Hermione said, crossing another name off as she really thought about him. "Ron was so insulting when he tried to ask me that I blurted out that I already had a date…why am I telling you that?" She looked up and caught the sparking eyes of the Blonde and instantly put two and two together. "Don't do that."
"You can resist it as well, very interesting." Fleur said, scooting a bit closer. "He was a bit rude to me as well. Barely got any coherent words out. Sounded like a baboon." She smirked at the memory. "I will give it to him though, he was the first boy to ask. Since then, I've had at least one ask me every few hours."
"So, you have a date then?"
"No. None of them have…measured up." At this, the Silvery Blonde leaned over and blew in Hermione's ear again. This time, the brunette gave no other reaction than to just glare at the other girl for a moment before returning to her, ever increasingly, shortened list of boys. "Besides, I already know who I want to go with." She explained, closing the small distance and kissed her cheek. The rapidly reddening face causing her to grin.
"Girls don't go with girls to dances." Hermione said sharply as she gathered her things to leave. Only to find herself stuck to the chair yet again and gave a withering glance at the grinning Blonde. "Funny. Let me go."
"Who says girls can't go to a dance with another girl?" Fleur asked, raising an eyebrow as she reached over and placed her hand on the girls' knee once more.
"It just isn't done. Girls go to dances with boys. They date and marry boys. They don't have dreams of being ravished by Blonde French girls and you're doing it again." Hermione explained, having only realized that the girl beside her was using her Allure on her again. And, with a brief pause, realized she just admitted that out loud and could immediately feel the dread wash over her. The fear of being found out. The knowledge that the girl beside her was going to tell everyone. She could already see the looks of the other girls in her dorm. How Ron and the other Weasley's looked at her. How Harry looked at her.
"You don't need to worry." The voice broke her from her thoughts as a gentle hand pulled her face to the side so she was now looking at the Blonde. "I won't tell anyone. I told you before, Veela do not discriminate in partners. Goodness, Beauxbatons only just began letting boys attend twenty years ago. There are all sorts of stories, past and present, of girls…having fun with each other. I was speaking from experience when I said it was thrilling."
"And just how the bloody hell can I trust you. I don't even know you. Besides…I…I'm still trying to figure…"
"Trying to figure it out?" Fleur finished for the clearly distressed girl. As she looked at the girl, she made a decision. Flicking her wand at the chair releasing the spell, she quickly stood and pulled Hermione with her. "Come. I want to show you something." She quickly dragged the girl along, stopping only briefly to allow the girl to go back and grab her stuff before they were off again.
She didn't know her way around the castle very well, that much was obvious to Hermione as they had circled the Fourth Floor twice now, only just getting to the stairs. Soon, they had descended them and were out on the grounds. Luckily, nobody had seen them. Before she knew it, she was being dragged into the Carriage that the Beauxbaton's students used. It was quite beautiful inside with pristine white marble flooring and intricate moving murals along the walls. She was getting out of breath at this point and her protests had stopped long ago as the older girl had a surprisingly iron grip on her wrist. She was pleasantly surprised to see a few girls reading in what appeared to be a common room of sorts, with ornate white furniture and a large fireplace along the opposite wall. Only one of them looked up as the two girls entered and she could swear she saw her smirk before returning to her book. Hermione unfortunately, didn't have time to really think about it as she found herself pulled into a hallway to the right lined with doors, each with someone's name on it. One of which she was dragged through had Fleur's.
"Why…are we…here?" Hermione huffed out as Fleur let go of her and the door closed. She was completely out of breath. She was pretty sure she hadn't run that much since Physical Education during Primary. She was really not a runner. Let her walk or ride her bicycle and she was good. Running-No way.
"You are trying to figure it out, Oui?" She said, switching to French a bit. "It was a bit of a snap decision, but since I'm possibly the only other girl you know that, at least, doesn't mind being with another girl, you would want to try it."
"…I'm definitely not having sex with you." Hermione said, her thoughts going to the extreme as she inched her way toward the door.
"That's fine. As I said, I won't force you. If you want to have sex, wonderful, if not, great. I just thought you may want to try kissing…or as much as you want." As she spoke, the French girl slowly closed the space between them and placed her hands on to Hermione's cheeks while leaning forward, slow enough that the girl could back away if she wanted, before gently placing her lips on the brunettes.
Hermione stood there, watching as the girl approached her. Thoughts of leaving having stalled in her mind. Could she? Could she really do this? She wasn't sure. The thought of just kissing the girl in front of her sounded…both utterly terrifying and amazing. Terrifying that she may confirm that she did indeed like girls in a way that she wasn't supposed to. But amazing at finally being able to confirm she liked girls in a way she wasn't supposed to. Or at least have a better understanding of what she wanted. But did she truly want to find out? If she did, and found out she didn't like it, that would be fine as she would know this was likely just a phase. Something she would grow out of and that she would never speak to anyone about. A mistake. But if she did like it. If she found that it was what she wanted. It would affect everything. She would never be able to tell Ron or Harry. She would have to hide a part of herself from not only them but her parents as well. She would be ostracized. More than she was now. She could never let the girls in her dorm find out. That would just lead to more bullying as they thought she was sneaking glances at them…okay, she was but not because she was interested in them as more than something to look at, at the most.
As she watched Fleur only be a couple centimeters away, lips slightly extended and ready to kiss her, she made her decision. She had to know. Her desire to know as much as possible ever since she was little egged her on. She closed her eyes and waited all of a fraction of a second before she felt the girl's soft lips on hers. As she stood there, and Fleur didn't move either her body or her lips, she analyzed the kiss.
Physically, it was like any other kiss she had with Greene, since he was the only other person she had kissed and could compare it to. Fleurs lips were certainly a lot softer. She also didn't have braces. She could feel the girl breathe out slightly as she pulled back. So, nothing really special about it at all. Just a kiss. But she knew it was different. Felt it was. Where as kissing Greene had felt like she had gotten every question right on a test- a good feeling to have but ultimately something she had gotten used to feeling-the kiss with Fleur, however chaste it was, felt like she had learned she had honest to goodness Magic again. The excitement. The feelings that welled up inside her.
"Well, did you like it?" Fleur asked, moving her hands to Hermione's shoulders as she looked in her eyes.
"I…you…did you use your Allure at all?" She had to ask, just to be sure, as she bit her lip nervously.
"No. That would be rude-yes I used it before." She said quickly, seeing Hermione about to protest. "But this is something serious. Not a time to play games."
"I…I…"She stuttered, knowing the answer, but not wanting to say it out loud. If she did, it would change everything. Okay, slightly dramatic, but it would change a lot about her life that she wasn't sure about.
"Would you like to kiss me yourself?" The Blonde asked, and seeing the hesitation in the brunette's eyes understood that she was scared. "It's alright. Why don't we sit down?" She suggested, gently leading the girl to her bed.
At this, Hermione looked around and saw that the room was much like her own. In the back right corner was a deep navy-blue wardrobe with a white desk next to it. And between the desk and the wall the door was on was book case filled to the brim with books. On the left was a small double bed with powder blue sheets-the same color as their uniform-and at the foot of it was a three-sided floor to ceiling mirror that would not be out of place at a department store. She sat quietly on the bed next to Fleur, the girl moving her hand from hers to her leg and kept it firmly on her knee. Not even attempting to move it up her leg.
Hermione quietly looked around the room again, noticing small details as she thought about what to do. Did she get up and walk out, never to think about this again? Or, follow her desire to know and kiss Fleur of her own free will? That was a nice Griffin statue on the desk. And there were exactly six quills laying about it too. Two empty ink wells. The wardrobe had a single white strip down the middle of the doors. No, she couldn't focus on that. She had to think. Kiss her? Or walk away? It was, truly, a hard decision.
"Are you sure?" Hermione finally asked after a few minutes of silence. She watched nervously as Fleur nodded. Then, hesitantly, she leaned forward. Entirely on her own. She had to know, once and for all, if she was a girl that liked girls in a way that was not right. But was it truly, not right? If she liked girls, why would it be any different from liking boys? The thought caused her to stop just close enough she could smell Fleur's breath. Smelled like she had some kind of seafood earlier. No, she couldn't distract herself. Digging deep, she found a small amount of that Gryffindor Courage her House was known for and closed the small gap.
It was, physically, the same as their previous kiss. But, the intensity of it. She pushed forward slightly, wanting more, which the older girl happily gave. She could feel her lips part in a small smile as the Blondes hands found their way to her hips and held her close. The two slowly leaning over until Hermione was on top of the older girl and kissing her as much as she could. A few seconds turned into a minute and when she let the girls lips go, she quickly found herself flipped onto her back and pinned with her lips captured by the other girls. Fleur's arms snaked around and under her arms to hold her head and keep her own arms from going below her shoulders. As such, she did the only thing she could think of and wrapped them around Fleur's neck and pulled her closer. She wasn't sure how long they kept going, but it really couldn't have been long, as she felt the need to breathe all too quickly and stopped moving her lips causing Fleur to pull back.
"Well, do you like it?"
"I…" Damnit, where was the Gryffindor Courage from a minute ago? "I do."
"Magnifique!" Fleur said, leaning down and giving another quick kiss. "It is nice kissing you too. Perhaps a bit…new. But we can do this more…if you want?" She asked quietly, while peppering the brunette's cheeks with kisses.
"Can…can we?"
"Oui."
With that, the two girls continued kissing each other for several minutes. Switching who was on top here and there. Grabbing at each other lightly, though nothing more than light touches, as Hermione, while now admitting she, perhaps, may like girls, still wasn't comfortable with more than kissing. But what Hermione could say was, yes, she may like girls in a way that most people would find unacceptable, but why did that mean she couldn't be normal?
When she left nearly an hour later, she only had a few thoughts in her head. She was Hermione Granger. She was an Intelligent young woman. She was a, in her own opinion, a fantastic Witch. A bloody good one for her age. And she may like girls-enough so that she was going to the Yule Ball with one. She was going to learn all she could about this new aspect of herself. As far as she was concerned, she was absolutely Normal. And no one would tell her otherwise.