A/N: Hey again everyone! It's been another second or two since I updated, I know… I recently moved back to my home country and have been adjusting/catching up with people/making up for time I lost while being under a hard lockdown in my previous country. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to come home to a place that has no restrictions due to COVID being stamped out here. I hope all of you are doing okay and keeping safe 3
I wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU as this story crossed the 400 followers mark a few weeks back! This niche little fandom has been so amazing and patient with me when I take decades to update a chapter, and I really appreciate the support. As mentioned a long time ago, I'm doing this story to practice my writing and experiment with different ideas/techniques etc, and it has really helped me discover where my weak spots are. So thank you for coming along on my journey, there's still a bit of the way to go yet :)
This chapter was getting way too long so I had to cut it in half. The next chapter is already written (I know, shocking) as I finished the whole thing before realising that 25 pages was too long for a chapter. SO in saying that, I will be posting the second half in a week's time!
I really enjoy writing action, so whenever I get to these kinda chapters I get excited about doing them. Every chapter after this is very much progressing the story and accelerating towards the climax (both literally and figuratively). Yes, that means the sex is coming soon alright. Simmer down.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"How does that feel, dear?" Madam Pomfrey said softly.
"A lot better, thank you," Hermione sighed. Pomfrey finished applying the thick green paste to the side of Hermione's face and closed the lid on the tub.
"The swelling on your eye should go down by the morning. I'll be admitting you for the night just in case. There's essence of Doxey in this remedy, and some students have had a bad reaction to it."
"No problem."
Madame Pomfrey stood and drew the curtains tightly shut around Hermione's bed.
"Visiting hours end in fifteen minutes," she called out as the door to her office shut with a light click.
"She is quite strict, isn't she?" Fleur muttered, pulling her chair right up to Hermione's bed now that the matron was gone. "6PM is very early for visiting hours to finish."
Fleur reached for Hermione's hand, and Hermione didn't hesitate to intertwine their fingers. Using her free hand, she took the mirror from her bedside, drew it close to her face, and let out a grimace.
The thick paste covered her entire cheek, and some flecks had ended up in her hair. Her eyelid was still swollen shut, though it had changed to a light pink colour rather than the black it had been sporting the past few days.
"Does it feel better?" Fleur asked anxiously, and Hermione lowered the mirror.
"Loads," she said and tried to smile. A dull pain shot through her face at this motion which turned the smile into a wince.
Fleur's eyes began to shine, and she moved to sit on the edge of Hermione's bed instead.
"You should have come earlier," Fleur said quietly. "Why did you wait five days?"
"I didn't think it was that bad until the bruise turned black and my eye swelled shut. I'm okay, really," she said quickly as a tear dropped onto Fleur's cheek. Fleur hurriedly wiped it with the back of her sleeve.
Harry and Ron had been trying to convince Hermione to go to the Hospital Wing all week, but she had refused, claiming the swelling would get better and trying to hide the bruise from Amandine's slap with makeup. But throughout the week it had grown worse and worse until she felt she was starting to resemble Grawp.
Hermione had been on her way to Charms a few hours ago when she had run into Fleur in the doorway of the classroom. Fleur had taken one look at her face, wrapped her arm around her waist, and steered her toward the Hospital Wing.
"I can't believe Amandine dared to lay her hand on you," Fleur said as she pulled sharply at a stray thread on Hermione's blanket. "I'll make her pay for that. You should have told me on Sunday."
Someone further down in the ward made a shushing sound.
Hermione had found Fleur at the Beauxbatons cabin the day after her run-in with Amandine. Fleur had joked when she had first seen Hermione about her ditching them at The Three Broomsticks, but quickly stopped when she saw the look on her face.
They had walked around the lake together as Hermione told her everything that had happened. It had taken over an hour for her to get Fleur to calm down and promise she wouldn't try to apparate and find Amandine.
Hermione had applied makeup to the red hand mark that Amandine had left on her face, and Fleur hadn't noticed how bad the mark was at first. The makeup made Hermione's face look nothing but a little flushed.
"I didn't think it would bruise like this," Hermione whispered, sitting up, so they were only a few inches apart. She was very aware of the green goop on her face, so didn't try to get any closer.
"It's very sweet that you want to defend my honour, but I'll get one over on her next time we meet. Now I know what she's like, I realise how smart we need to be about this. Plus, her warning to me…"
Hermione trailed off as she thought back to what Amandine said.
You will be the exact reason why Fleur comes running to me. You just don't realise how yet… Next time I see her may be the last.
Hermione shivered at the memory. She had been dwelling on it the past few days, and the only conclusion she could land on was her somehow being captured and Fleur coming to her rescue. The last thing she wanted was for Fleur to get into danger because of her.
"Everything that comes out of Amandine's mouth is manipulated into making the people around her behave in a certain way," Fleur replied, squeezing Hermione's hand. "She was just trying to scare you away from me, and it will not work this time."
"You think everything she said was a lie?"
"I am positive. Like the way she told you that she did not murder the Durmstrang girl, even though she admitted to it to the Wizarding court. It is all bullshit."
Hermione chewed the inside of her cheek.
She knew how deceptive Amandine could be and was sure Fleur was right. But something about the way Amandine spoke about her crimes at Durmstrang had been irking her. She had a question for Fleur that had been on her mind for quite some time.
"Fleur," Hermione said tentatively, reaching forward, so both her hands were holding the French girls. "Do you know the names of the group she got caught with at Durmstrang? Have any been repeat offenders?"
Fleur bristled at the comment but didn't pull her hand away.
"Well, they all were sent to Azkaban," she replied. "And my parents did not let me come to the trial, so there is a lot of information I do not know. I never wanted to look into it and bring up those old memories until now. I believe all but one are still in there."
"Do you know the name of the one who got let out?"
Fleur shuffled slightly.
"Dolohov," she said quietly, and Hermione groaned. "And he did not get let out, he escaped-"
"-last year," Hermione finished glumly.
"You know him?"
The sneering face of Antonin Dolohov filled her vision as her mind flashed back to their battle in the Department of Mysteries the year before. He had been the one that had hit her with the spell that knocked her out.
"Know him, duelled him, nearly got killed by him," Hermione replied. "He got captured again at the end of the year though," she added hopefully. Fleur looked slightly confused.
"No, he didn't?" Fleur said.
"Yeah, Antonin Dolohov?"
"No, Ludvik Dolohov. He is Mikhail's brother. The Dolohov you're thinking of is Mikhail's uncle."
Hermione let out a soft oh. It looked like the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
"The uncle escaped last year when there was that big Azkaban breakout," Fleur continued. "I am guessing he made sure he freed his nephew as well. Quite the family reunion."
"When did you find all this out?"
"When I heard Cedric yell Mikhail's last name at the Yule Ball. I spent the Christmas break doing some research. We have not really been speaking since then, so there was no right time to tell you…"
Fleur began to stroke her thumb along Hermione's index finger.
"So you've been following him since Christmas?" Hermione asked.
Fleur shook her head.
"Not really. I kept an eye on him, but he did not seem to be up to anything suspicious at first. The past few weeks, he has stopped showing up to classes, though I cannot figure out where he is going. He really does not like me, so he notices when I am around."
"Why doesn't he like you?"
"When Mikhail and I first met, he tried to be my best friend. I had no idea about his family ties, and he was so persistent that I snapped at him to leave me alone. I may have been a little bit rude to him for a few days to get the message to sink in. I am sure his brother would have told him to try and ally with me because of his connection to my sister."
The girls heard the door of Madame Pomfrey's office open and the echoing click of her heels moved slowly past the closed curtain. They lowered their voices further.
"So you think Mikhail's been pulled into it all?" Hermione whispered.
"It would make sense. The whole family is part of it. Plus he has access to Hogwarts which is a gold mine for the Death Eater's."
"Why does Cedric keep hanging out with him?" Hermione muttered. "He was an asshole before we knew he had ties to Death Eater's."
"Cedric is like a big puppy, he just wants everyone to get along," Fleur replied. "I tried to pose the question to him that Mikhail could be involved with the Death Eaters, and he would not hear a word of it. He tries to see the good in everyone."
"That could come back to bite him."
Fleur shrugged.
"He was one of the only people who, after finding out about my family's history, still gave me the benefit of the doubt since I have been at Hogwarts. I will never forget that," she said softly.
Hermione traced her thumb over Fleur's knuckles as the lanterns around them suddenly flared into life, with Madame Pomfrey shouting "five minutes!"
"So that's why you're following Mikhail," Hermione continued. "To try and catch him in the act?"
"I am sure he is up to something," Fleur replied, her forehead creasing. "Cedric told me that he is only ever in the Ilvermorny truck to sleep, and sometimes not even then. Tess mentioned he has lost a lot of weight recently and pulled his wand on Professor Fontaine the other day."
"What!?" Hermione whispered exasperatedly. Fleur nodded.
"Apparently, it was just for a moment, and he quickly came to his senses, but still, it sounds like he is on edge."
"He knows you're following him," Hermione said. "He's told someone, so Amandine came to warn you to stop. You need to be careful."
Fleur scooted closer, freeing one of her hands and placing it on Hermione's waist.
"I am careful," she said quietly. "It was a lot easier to do when I could turn into the Speropax, though. Apparently, I am not the spy I thought I was."
Hermione placed her thumb on Fleur's pale cheek and curled her fingers gently under her jaw.
"Can you promise me something?" Hermione asked. Fleur's eyes softened, and she looked slightly dazed as she stared into Hermione's eyes.
"Anything."
"Do you promise this won't scare you off? That what Amandine said to me won't make you run away to try to protect me? That if you discover something to do with Mikhail, you won't hide it from me?"
Fleur looked relieved as she tilted her head to the side.
"I promise," she said.
Their eyes locked together so intensely that Hermione already knew what was going to happen next.
"I have goo all over my face," she whispered as Fleur closed the distance between their faces.
"I could not care less," Fleur replied and gently placed her lips on Hermione's in a soft kiss.
It was slow and deliberate, and Hermione felt her stomach flip upside down. She'd forgotten how amazing it was to kiss this girl.
Fleur placed her hand on the clean side of Hermione's face and pulled her in closer, letting out a soft sigh as their kisses deepened.
Hermione's head spun into overdrive as she opened her mouth slightly. Their tongues met, and Fleur instinctively leant forward, placing her hand behind Hermione until she was as close as she could be without being on top of her.
Hermione let out a small moan, completely forgetting where they were right now. Her body had been aching for this ever since they had made out at The Burrow, and she was immediately so turned on it hurt. Her whole body felt like it was wound incredibly tight, and only Fleur's touch was enough to make her unravel.
Hermione instinctively moved her hand from Fleur's face to her waist, slipping it under her shirt and sliding it up her ribcage.
Fleur inhaled sharply at the bold and unexpected movement. Hermione thought she may have pushed things, but suddenly Fleur's warm fingers wrapped around her hand and slowly moved it to the front of her chest.
Hermione's fingers traced the outline of a lace bra, and she felt the tension between them intensify. Both their bodies had been craving this moment for a long time.
Hermione let her fingers slowly slid underneath the lace, feeling the swell of Fleur's breast as Fleur started to breathe more deeply-
"VISITING HOURS ARE OVER!" Pomfrey's voice boomed across the ward, and Hermione jumped so violently that her pillow tumbled off her bed.
"Oh, you have got to be joking," Fleur groaned as Hermione sheepishly removed her hand from Fleur's shirt.
Hermione glanced at the pouting girl in front of her and let out a laugh. Spots of the green goo had dripped onto Fleur's cheek.
"Come here," Hermione said affectionately, reaching for a towel that lay next to her and gently wiping the mess from Fleur's face.
Fleur nuzzled slightly into Hermione's hand as she cleaned off the worst of it.
"So… so does this mean you have made up your decision? About us?" Fleur asked, her eyes turned up slightly in hope.
It was the question that had lingered between them every second they had been together in the past week. It wasn't a question of having a relationship, it was a question of whether they were prepared to put their lives on the line to be together.
Hermione placed the towel down.
"I-"
"Out!" Madame Pomfrey's voice echoed as she ripped the curtain open. Her hawk-like eyes flickered from the green-stained towel to the spot of goo on Fleur's flushed cheek that Hermione had missed, to the mere inch of blanket that seperated the girls.
"This is a hospital!" Pomfrey hissed as Fleur quickly got to her feet. Hermione rolled her lips together to stop herself from smiling.
"Yes, yes, I am going," Fleur replied a little testily, wiping her face with the back of her hand to get the last spot of goo. She turned back to Hermione. "I will see you at the duelling tournament tomorrow morning?"
"Absolutely," Hermione breathed.
Fleur paused before leaning down and kissing Hermione on the temple. With a polite smile to Madame Pomfrey, she turned and walked out of the Hospital Wing.
Hermione's brain was still giddy with what had just happened as Pomfrey leant down to pick up the fallen pillows, fluffing them aggressively.
"You can reapply your ointment since you were the one to mess it up, missy," Pomfrey said tersely. "You can leave first thing tomorrow morning. I suspect you will be entering the duelling tournament, so do atleast try not to land back in my Hospital Wing within a few hours."
Hermione quickly nodded as the matron dropped the pillows back onto her bed and turned to leave, hearing her mutter bloody teenagers under her breath as she slid the curtain closed.
Letting the smile crawl across her lips, Hermione undid the lid of the ointment and began to lather it back onto her face.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Hermione woke at nine the next morning, groggily looking around the Hospital Wing as she momentarily forgot where she was. The tart smell of disinfectant filled her nose as she disentangled herself from the starchy blankets and stretched. Picking up the mirror on her bedside table, she held it close to her face and blinked her eyes awake.
"Wow," Hermione breathed. Her eye was completely healed, and her cheek had only the faintest pink mark on it.
"Ah good, about time you woke up," Madam Pomfrey said as she whipped open the curtains. Hermione shielded her face from the light as Pomfrey walked to the window and threw it open to let in the morning breeze. "Everyone else who could leave already has, the duelling competition starts soon. I personally can't believe they are letting you all take the Friday off from classes to do this nonsense."
She leant down to observe Hermione's face and clucked her tongue in approval.
"Well, that did the job didn't it. Now, off you go. I need to turn these beds over as Merlin knows how many students will be pouring through my doors today."
Hermione quickly rose, dressed, and made her way to the Gryffindor common room. The entire house was already up with many passing her as she walked through the portrait hole.
She waved quickly to Harry, Ron and Ginny before dashing upstairs to have a quick shower, and change into some fresh robes.
"You're looking human again," Harry remarked as she met them downstairs twenty minutes later.
"Madame Pomfrey's got the good stuff," Hermione replied.
"Come on, the competition starts soon. I want to get a good seat to watch the first round," Ginny said, and the four of them exited the common room.
"How did your session with Dumbledore go last night?" Hermione said, turning to Harry as they descended a staircase to the sixth floor. The corridors were teeming with students walking in the same direction, high pitched squeals and laughter filling the air.
"Really good, yeah," he replied. "Showed me this memory to do with Voldemort and Slughorn."
"Slughorn?" Hermione repeated as Harry held open a portrait that led to a shortcut to the second floor. "He was Voldemort's teacher?"
"Yeah, but the memory was tampered with, and Dumbledore somehow wants me to get the real one out of him."
The dimly lit shortcut sloped sharply downward, and the four of them fell into a light jog until they reached the exit.
"You? But surely Dumbledore out of all people could get it?" Hermione said, slightly out of breath as she pushed the portrait open.
They made a wide berth around two third-year students who had decided to practice their duelling in the student-filled corridor. Ginny ducked as a loose spell went flying over her head and crashed into a portrait of a furious monk.
"That's what I said," Harry replied, speaking over her shoulder so she could still hear him. "But he seems to think I'm the only one who can do it."
"We can brainstorm after the duelling competition," Hermione said over her shoulder as they reached the Entrance Hall.
It was jam-packed with students all wearing their school robes; light blue for Beauxbatons, blood-red for Durmstrang, cranberry for Ilvermorny and black for Hogwarts.
The doors of the Great Hall were suddenly flung open, and the crowd surged forward to get the best seats.
Hermione reached back and grabbed Harry's arm to make sure they didn't lose each other as the crowd squeezed tight around them. A few stray elbows caught her in the ribs as students jostled each other, and she could barely see above the heads of the taller students around her until she passed through the double doors.
The tables that usually filled the space of the Hall were gone. Instead, creaky wooden bleachers that rose halfway up the height of the room were stacked against the sides.
The table the teachers usually sat at had also disappeared, to be replaced by a smaller oak desk with four squashy chairs placed behind it.
Behind that table, a bracket was inscribed onto a ginormous piece of parchment that floated in mid air. Both sides of the bracket were already pre-filled with students' names. Hermione squinted to look for her own, but there were too many people crossing her line of vision.
Painted on the floor in the middle of the room was a white square, roughly the size of a volleyball court. Two large black crosses were placed at either end of the square.
The sound of hundreds of feet stamping up the wooden bleachers filled the air as Hermione led Harry, Ron and Ginny up the nearest one. The four schools had all chosen their own spots to sit, and Hermione was pleased to see that Beauxbatons and Hogwarts had ended up sharing the same side of the Hall. She led the others into the black mass of Hogwarts students who took up more than half the space. They managed to find a decent seat five rows from the front.
Students continued to stream into the Hall, and Hermione had to continually stand or shift her knees to let people pass. She tried to find her name on the bracket again, but it was too far away for her to read properly.
Finally, most of the students were seated, and the bleachers were packed. The reds of Ilvermorny and Durmstrang clashed as the two schools were sitting next to each other, though never blending, on the other side. A portion of Hogwarts students also sat on their side as their numbers far exceeded that of the foreign schools. Excited chatter filled the air as the clock tower struck 10am.
On cue, Dumbledore, Madame Maxine, Snape, Karkaroff, and Professor Fontaine walked through the doors, and the conversations around the room lulled to a stop.
Dumbledore and Snape stopped in the middle of the square, and Dumbledore raised his hand. The other three continued to the table at the back and sat down. Hermione noticed he kept his burnt hand deep in his pocket.
"Welcome all!" Dumbledore boomed, "To the first day of the duelling competition!"
A cheer went up around the students.
"We are thrilled to be hosting this competition as a way to bring us all together before the final task of the Triwizard Tournament," he continued. "We received over one hundred entries, so we are in for a long weekend."
"Now, the house rules. The goal is to disarm your opponent or make them step outside of this square. Either one of those will grant you the win. The use of curses is purely forbidden. You will be immediately disqualified if such is used. Our referee will be Professor Snape."
Dumbledore cocked his head to the side slightly as some boos rang out from around the Hall. Snape's lip curled into a sneer.
"Each round is to go for a maximum of ten minutes," he continued, raising his voice. "If a winner is not decided within that time, Professor Snape will defer to the judge's panel which consists of myself, Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff and Professor Fontaine. We will reach a unanimous verdict based on who we believe landed the most effective spells and name the winner."
"Just like boxing," Dean Thomas whispered excitedly from behind Hermione.
"What's boxing?" Seamus replied. Ginny turned to hush them both.
"Round one and two will be completed today," Dumbledore continued. "Round three and the quarter-finals will be tomorrow, and the semi-finals and final will be on Sunday."
The floating bracket suddenly blazed with orange light, and the two names in the box in the top left corner grew twice as large. Hermione could now read the names:
T. KLICHKOV (D) vs C. DIGGORY (I)
The crowd erupted into cheers as Cedric rose from the row of bleachers opposite Hermione and walked to one of the black crosses on to the ground. A Durmstrang boy with sandy hair mirrored him.
They both looked incredibly nervous as they stood on their respective marks, wands raised in a duelling stance. Cedric's usual suave demeanour had cracked as his face lost all its colouring.
Snape waved his wand and shimmering appeared in front of the grandstands for a moment. He placed the whistle to his lips as Klitchkov and Cedric tensed.
"He's put a shield up, smart idea," Ginny said as the shrill whistle filed the air. Another thunderous cheer went up around the Hall.
Klichkov lost all sense of himself and started to pelt Cedric with spell after spell. The magic was chaotic and crashed around the room, bouncing off of the shield spells that had just been put up.
Cedric had thrown up a hasty Protego and looked slightly panicked as Klichkov continued to throw loose spells.
The Ilvermorny and Durmstrang students had both started up their school chants; the Americans were louder, but the Bulgarians had their wooden staffs to bang on the floor to great effect.
Cedric finally got an offensive spell away which sailed inches from Klichkov's ear. He stumbled backwards slightly, and Cedric seized the opportunity. He danced forward and flourished his wand.
Hermione was quite surprised at how proficient Cedric was at duelling. She had never really seen him use spellwork like this before and made a small note in her mind not to underestimate him when it came time for the third task.
"Look, you're up next lad!" Seamus' voice rang from behind, and Hermione turned to him.
He had Omnioculars jammed against his eyes and was observing the bracket, tapping Dean on the shoulder. Dean began to jiggle his knee as he nodded.
"Can I borrow those?" Hermione asked as a loud crash in front of them made her jump. A spell sent from Cedric and Klichkov had collided in mid-air and created a mini fireworks display.
Seamus handed her the Omnioculars, and she quickly held them up to her eyes, adjusting the dials slightly to adjust to her vision.
She scanned the bracket quickly. Fleur was up a few matches after Dean and set to face Alicia Spinnett. Hermione's heart sank. Alicia was a favourite to win the competition and Hermione had seen how Fleur duelled multiple times. She didn't like her chances.
Ginny was also on Fleur's side of the bracket, set to face Hannah Abbott, as was Katie Bell, Ron and Cedric.
Hermione scanned the opposite side of the bracket. Krum and Tess were both on her side, as was Harry (set to face F. Garcia from Ilvermorny). She reached the end where her name finally sat and her breath caught in her throat. Next to her name, glittering in gold text, was M. DOLOHOV.
She passed the Omnioculars back to Seamus and turned to the others to relay the message. None of them was as concerned as she was about her match up.
"You'll hand him his ass," Ron said encouragingly. "Gives you an excuse to rough him up a bit."
A huge cheer roared from across the Hall as Klichkov's wand went sailing behind him. The Ilvermorny students all rose to their feet and began to stamp furiously as Cedric pumped his fist in celebration, the entire wooden grandstand swaying slightly from their effort. The Durmstrang students looked sullen as Cedric was met with many pats to the back and ruffling of hair. Klichkov returned to the Durmstrang section and sat alone.
The bracket magically dimmed Klichkov's name, and Cedric's name moved to the box for the second round. Their original box went back to its normal size and blackened out, with the one below it growing larger to show the next match.
Snape blew his whistle, and the Hogwarts crowd let up a raucous cheer as Dean got to his feet, mirrored by a Beaxbaton's boy near him.
"It's already been won!" Seamus howled as Dean took his spot on the black cross. "My boys been practising for weeks!"
The duel started, and the first spell from the Beauxbatons boy made Dean stumble so badly that his foot went out of the white square. Snape blew a sharp whistle and held his arm out to the Beaxbaton's boy, indicating the win.
"Ah, now that's unfortunate," Seamus muttered as the Beauxbatons crowd squealed with excitement. Dean made his way dejectedly up the grandstand to polite applause and sympathetic pats on the back from the Hogwarts students.
The duels continued and didn't fail to entertain.
Ernie MacMillan didn't throw a spell for the first five minutes before taking victory against a Hogwarts seventh year. Two Ilvermorny boys duelled so viciously that when one was disarmed, the other charged at him and began to wrestle on the ground. A Durmstrang girl had been disqualified after thirty seconds when she threw a nasty looking curse at a bemused Lavender Brown.
The shrill whistle filled Hermione's ears again, and from the other side of the bleacher, Fleur stood. The Beauxbatons students cheered like crazy, and Hermione found herself clapping as well. Alicia stood at the same time from the front row, and the Hogwarts students cheers eclipsed those of the Beauxbatons. Hermione saw Katie Bell thump Alicia encouragingly on the back as she headed for her mark.
Hermione couldn't take her eyes off of Fleur as the French girl took the mark opposite. Her chin was tilted up slightly, posture straight, wand held tightly in one hand. Hermione's mind briefly flickered back to the previous night and the sound of Fleur's soft moan in her ear. She swallowed deeply and realised she was shaking slightly, with excitement or nerves, she wasn't sure. All she could think of was that she couldn't stand to watch Fleur get hurt.
"Last call for bets!" Seamus called from behind her, and there was some shuffling as students pressed money into his hands. "Odds are on Alicia to win, she is the Hogwarts duelling champion after all, but it'll be a close match. You'll need to bet more than that if you want to make any kind of profit, Neville."
The whistle blew, and butterflies erupted in Hermione's stomach.
Both Alicia and Fleur moved at the same time, their spells crashing magnificently together with a loud bang. The crowd let out a loud oooh as both girls sent barrages of spells sailing across the room.
Hermione leant her elbows forward onto her knees, clenching her hand into a fist and holding it to her mouth.
One of Fleur's spells skimmed Alicia's arm, and Alicia stumbled. The Beauxbatons crowd let out a roar and Fleur sent another Stunning spell sailing her way. Alicia deflected it at the last moment, and it crashed into the wall behind her.
"Come on, Alicia!" Katie yelled from the front as the Hogwarts students started chanting her name.
Fleur deflected two quick spells that shot toward her like bullets with a wide sweeping motion of her arm. She stayed on her toes as her feet moved quickly from side to side, her eyes never leaving Katie's wand hand.
Hermione was entranced. Fleur had mentioned in Hogsmeade that she had been practising her duelling, but she had become significantly better since the memory she had seen with Amandine.
Hermione asked for Seamus' Omnioculars again and focused them on Fleur. Fleur wasn't blinking as she watched Alicia's every move, her mouth muttering silent words, and Hermione realised that she was naming the spells Alicia was throwing before they had left her wand.
"Your girlfriend is doing well," Harry said in Hermione's ear and nudged her in the ribs. She smiled but didn't reply.
The duel stayed in a deadlock as the minutes stretched on. Multiple times it looked as if one of the girls had got the better of the other, only for the tables to turn back just as quickly.
The Omnioculars were pressed so hard to Hermione's eyes that she could feel them cutting into her skin. As each girl cast a spell, the name of it flashed along the bottom in curly green lighting.
Stupify: A spell set to temporarily stun the opponent, the words wrote as Fleur jabbed her wand forward, a red spell shooting from her wand.
"One minute remaining!" Snape shouted, and the noise from the crowd swelled.
"It's going to be a draw!" Harry shouted into Hermione's ear.
Katie glanced briefly at Snape at his words, and Hermione jumped to her feet.
"THERE!" she shouted as Fleur saw the same opportunity she had. Fleur sent an incredibly quick spell out of her wand as Katie's moment of distraction was enough.
Petrificus Totalus: Causes the limbs to tense and briefly immobilise the opponent, the Omnioculars wrote as Alicia's arms and legs snapped to her body.
The Hogwarts students groaned as the Beauxbatons students all leapt to their feet, screeching in joy.
Fleur was panting heavily as she walked toward Katie, took her wand from her hand, and showed it to Snape. He blew the whistle and signalled the win.
"Dammit, there goes our chances of winning," Seamus groaned. Hermione realised she was the only Hogwarts student standing and quickly sat back down.
Fleur waved her wand and Alicia's limbs relaxed. She offered her hand and Alicia took it.
"Aw, isn't she sweet?" Harry teased, and Hermione shoved his shoulder.
She was oozing with pride as Fleur helped Alicia to her feet. Both girls had small beads of sweat dripping down their foreheads as they nodded respectfully at each other. Hermione wanted to run down and give Fleur a tight hug.
Alicia walked dejectedly back to the Hogwarts students who gave her a well-deserved round of applause. Katie put her arm around Alicia as she sat down, throwing a filthy look at Fleur as she walked back to the Beauxbatons students.
Fleur smiled sheepishly at her peers as they stomped their feet and hooted loudly as she took her seat. Hermione felt a pang of jealousy when an attractive brunette next to her threw her arm around Fleur's shoulder and pulled Fleur into a close hug.
Round one continued for the rest of the morning. Some of the crowd filtered out as the novelty of the competition started to wear off, only returning when duels with big names were set to begin.
Ron had disarmed Blaise Zabini when the Slytherin had tripped on the hem of his own robes, Ginny had convincingly beaten a terrified looking Beauxbatons girl, and Tess had won a narrow duel against Draco Malfoy.
Harry's opponent had refused to enter the duelling square when it was time for their duel. The crowd had chanted his name, and even Harry had tried to encourage him to come down, but the boy sat still as a statue. Snape begrudgingly gave Harry the win by default.
Hermione began to feel slightly ill as her duel came closer. The crowd had taken the most interest whenever the champions duelled, so the grandstands were filled to capacity once again when Snape blew the whistle for her round.
She rose nervously to her feet.
The Hogwarts students all began to chant her name as she descended the steps. She looked towards the Beauxbatons crowd and met Fleur's eye. A beautiful smile was stretched across her face as she applauded hard. The Beauxbatons students around her looked confused, but she only had eyes for Hermione.
Hermione pulled her shoulders back slightly as she took her mark. Her heart was racing, though her wand was steady as she pulled it from her pocket.
The mark across from her was empty. Her eyes flicked to where the Ilvermorny students were looking at each other, confused.
Professor Fontaine stood from the judge's table, a sheepish grin on his face.
"MIKHAIL!" he boomed. "Come on, boy, we don't have all day!"
But there was no answer.
Snape dramatically raised his wrist to stare at his watch. The Hall buzzed with confusion, and after a few moments, Snape blew his whistle.
"Time is up. Dolohov automatically forfeits the duel. Granger wins," he said lazily.
There was scattered applause as Hermione slowly lowered her wand and walked back to the grandstand. She took her seat next to Harry, who shrugged.
A flash of blue caught her eye as Fleur walked quickly down the steps of the grandstand and disappeared out of the Entrance Hall.
"Bummer, I would've loved to have seen you embarrass the hell out of that twit," Ron said, leaning forward and blocking Hermione's view of the door. She was poised to stand up, wanting to follow Fleur and look for her absent opponent, when the lunch bell suddenly rang.
The students all stood noisily and began to file out into the courtyard, halting any chance of her making a quick exit. She glumly threw her bag over her shoulder and followed the others into the bright sunshine.
Large wooden tables were groaning under the weight of the mountains of dishes, and the line of hungry students was already snaking into the back of the courtyard.
Hermione grabbed some plates and passed them to Harry, Ron and Ginny as they made their way to the end. The line made slow progress, and Hermione shuffled from foot to foot as she glanced anxiously at the entranceway. Students kept cutting in line in front of them, meaning it took fifteen minutes before they were even close to the food. The smell of shepherd's pie wafted toward them and made Hermione's stomach rumble.
"This is a bit of a shit show, but atleast the duelling went well," Ron said cheerily, distracting her from looking for Fleur for a few moments. "All of us progressing. I don't like the look of the next round though. I've got that brute from Durmstrang who nearly took the head off of Susan Bones, and Ginny's got Krum."
"Thanks for the optimism," Ginny muttered as they shuffled forward. A tiny house elf tottered past carrying an enormous plate roast pork, it's little arms shaking under the weight.
"Hermione's gonna crush that Ilvermorny girl," Ron continued. "She barely beat Goyle in the first round."
"Hermione's gonna win the whole thing," Harry added. He nudged her when she didn't reply. "You hear that? Hey, where are you going?"
For Hermione had just stepped out of line and beelined to Fleur, who had entered the courtyard looking frustrated. Fleur, lost in thought, nearly crashed into the house-elf, whose tennis ball eyes widened in fear as she quickly hopped to the side to avoid the creature.
"Hey," Hermione said over the terrified elf. Fleur's face brightened as she regained her balance. "Where did you go?"
Fleur linked her arm with Hermione's, steering them toward an empty concrete bench in the corner of the courtyard. She noticed Katie glance at the two of them as they swept dead leaves from the seat and sat down.
"I have to be quick, Madame Maxine is looking for me" she said, dropping her voice so the two Ilvermorny students sitting near them couldn't hear. "I went looking for Mikhail. It is a bit strange he was not at your duel, no? I thought he would relish the chance to fight you."
"Yeah, I found it a bit strange too," Hermione replied quickly. They were sitting so close together that their legs were touching. Hermione didn't even think to look at who may be watching them. "Did you find him?"
Fleur shook her head.
"I have found that he often goes to the seventh floor, but then I lose him. I know your common room is up there, but he surely cannot get into there."
"Well, the only other room on the seventh floor is…" Hermione trailed off.
"The Room of Requirement," Fleur finished. "The place where we have had the parties. It is the only other option."
"But what could he be doing in there?"
"I thought you may know the answer to that."
A colossal shadow suddenly loomed over them, and both girls jumped as Madame Maxine's figure stood before them. She spoke quickly in French and turned back toward the Entrance Hall.
Fleur sighed and got to her feet.
"She wants to go over my strategy for the next duel," she said apologetically. "She is taking this more seriously than I am, I think."
"You were fantastic in your duel by the way," Hermione said quickly. "You've gotten so much better I kind of can't believe it."
Fleur pretended to look outraged.
"Well believe it, baby," she quipped, and Hermione felt her face grow extremely hot. Fleur stilled for a moment as her eyes flickered to Hermione's lips.
Do it, Hermione thought. Who cares what everyone else thinks.
"FLEUR!" Madame Maxine boomed, causing Colin Creevy to jump so violently he dropped his plate of mashed potatoes.
Fleur bit her bottom lip, made a tuh sound, and turned to leave.
"Good luck for you next duel," she said. "You will need it when you come up against me in the final."
"I won't be holding back," Hermione called after her.
"I hope you don't."
Hermione grinned as Fleur followed her Headmistress inside. Her silvery hair swayed from side to side as she held up her hands in surrender to Maxine, who was tapping her foot, arms crossed tightly. Hermione felt like her heart was floating in her chest as Fleur tried to joke with the unimpressed Maxine, who simply raised a thin eyebrow.
Many heads in the courtyard turned to the French girl as she smiled cheekily, but Fleur didn't notice. Hermione forced the jealousy that reared inside of her to simmer down as some of the boys didn't hide their mouths dropping open.
Fleur cast one last look at Hermione before re-entering the Entrance Hall, the electricity between them still crackling even from afar.
God, she's gorgeous, Hermione thought as she stood, slightly dazed. I'm a goner.
She cut into the lunch line next to Harry as he scooped some enchiladas onto his plate. Taking a plate for herself, she caught Katie's sad eye staring her way, and quickly wiped the goofy grin off of her face.