Chapter 11 - Midnight
Hermione had returned to London three weeks ago, and by now she felt reasonably lonely. Even with Luna and Gabby always around the house, she felt lonely. With the preparations for the veela elections underway, Fleur had to travel while working. There was no political campaign, but candidates should have a solid policy plan for the clans' next ten years. Sybelle would have the biggest problem with developing a program for the coalition. Hermione already considered the plan of a single clan extremely complicated, so she definitely would not want to be in Sybelle's shoes.
The brunette sighed for the fifth time, and stared at the magical rocks in front of her. "Damn Algix Stone, it all started with you. And I am still struggling with you." Hermione glared at the stoned stones without her table. She had the complete set of stones, but she couldn't break the mystery of the damn things.
Hermione had several small projects during the past three weeks, and delivering copies of the books to the people she had promised took up a lot of her time. The Gryffindor loved her work, and so she loved research. She spent a few days with Morgan, discussing what she could do with research based on her research. She wanted to work with more dangerous spells and try to isolate their magical nature, but she knew how dangerous it was. Hermione's biggest attempt to deal with dark spells was when she assessed damage left by Fiendfyre, and there was so much dark nature in that piece of magic that it was difficult for Hermione to be able to isolate other natures beyond a subtle fire-like nature. ...Which she could've already guessed, because the spell was inherently an endless fire. There should be other natures present, but she still had no way of isolating them. She was also thinking of ways to modify her spell so that she could isolate spells on larger surfaces which would make visualization easier.
She looked to the side of her desk and saw her growing pile of mail. After the publication of her book, she started receiving dozens of requests for help, and her workload was increasing, so she was considering getting an apprentice. Lira's words about her being able to teach and keep the profession of magical architect alive resonated in her mind. In one of the letters, Madame Maxime invited her to speak to Beauxbatons senior students about the possibility of such a career path, and both she and Minerva offered space for Hermione to give some short courses on how magical objects worked. She was terribly excited about it.
A knock on the door happily cut off Hermione's attempt to focus.
The young woman sighed with relief when the door opened to revealing a beaming Fleur. Hermione didn't even blink, she moved closer and immediately pulled the blonde in for a deep kiss, almost forcing Fleur's lips to open and her tongue to blend with hers.
The blonde moaned loudly and grabbed at Hermione's hair, pulling the other witch even closer to her. The brunette's hands went over Fleur's hip to her ass, squeezing and pulling the denim-covered center against Hermione's leg. The Gryffindor did not hesitate to pull Fleur in one step further, and support her against the wall beside the door. Blindly, the veela slammed the door closed, and Hermione tugged at her to rub languidly against her thigh. Everything heated quickly, Fleur grinding against Hermione's willing leg, their mouths dancing deeply.
The two women's breathing quickened, and Fleur pulled her mouth away and groaned against Hermione's neck, coming against the brunette's leg.
"Merde! Fuck Hermione, that was a hell of a hello," Fleur gasped, and smiled dazedly. It widened when Hermione left several small kisses across the exposed and slightly sweaty skin of the veela. "I love you," Hermione said gently, against Fleur's skin.
"Je t'aime aussi, ma belle."
They kissed for a long time, and then stared at each other with silly grins. "I'm not complaining, but I thought we were going to meet tomorrow before the elections," Hermione remarked, and took Fleur's hand to pull her over to the armchair that the Gryffindor kept in her office. She sat down, bringing the veela along onto her lap.
The veela planted several kisses around Hermione's face and neck. "That was the initial idea, but my mother said that I was very cranky and should come and stay with you tonight. She was probably hinting at us having sex," Fleur explained, laughing along with Hermione. "We don't need much encouragement, my Fleur." The Gryffindor's voice dropped a few octaves, and the blonde moaned, moving and placing one knee on either side of the younger woman.
"Are you going to take me here?" Fleur asked teasingly. "Do you want me here too? As you had me at the door? Because I'm so ready to come with your fingers deep inside me..." She slowly encouraged Hermiione to touch her. The Gryffindor's hands went up inside Fleur's shirt and the blonde let her explore. "Or will I be able to take my turn?" Hermione kissed Fleur's chin, and nibbled lightly.
"What do you think about hmm, having both? What do you want first, my love?"
Fleur smiled slyly, and with the power of choice, she considered for a long moment. She then slid slowly to the floor, between Hermione's legs. She unbuttoned the woman's pants and pulled jeans off the tan legs. The Gryffindor just smiled widely and lifted her hips, allowing Fleur's curious hands to pull the brunette's panties off.
Fleur's mouth wandered from the inside of the brunette's knee to the inside of her thigh. She slowly pulled Hermione over to the edge of the seat, and the brunette allowed it anxiously. She wanted to be touched by Fleur's mouth. The blonde let her tongue sweep her folds lightly, and Hermione moaned loudly and spread her legs as wide as she could with the space available. Fleur bent down slightly and stuck her tongue out at Hermione's entrance and up to her clit. She traced that path over and over again, noting Hermione's hands clenched tightly against the arms of the office chair, and her hips rocking against Fleur's mouth. The veela went about her task slowly, letting her tongue play with the wet clit and biting lightly at the soft flesh of Hermione's pussy. The Gryffindor was slowly losing her mind. She sped up the motion of her hips, and moaned at the efforts of Fleur's mouth, until the blonde's tongue entered her, her nose pressed against her clit, and finally she came against her mate's mouth. The orgasm, built up slowly, was long and deep, leaving Fleur's mouth and chin tinged with her arousal.
Once she came down, Hermione launched herself at Fleur, licking and kissing the blonde's chin and mouth. She pulled them both to their feet and made a quick movement with her hand, banishing the women's clothing. Fleur looked at her expectantly and shivered at her girlfriend's excited look. Then Hermione did something that Fleur didn't expect. She took her hand to the blonde's hair and grabbed a good handful, and pulling gently, she made their mouths come together. A hand on the veela's hip made her turn slowly, until the French woman was facing the chair. A firm hand in the middle of Fleur's back pushed her forward until her knees were comfortable on the seat.
Fleur let herself be manipulated, completely trusting in what Hermione was doing. The Gryffindor's mouth met Fleur's shoulder, went down her spine, until the veela was leaning over the back of the armchair, raising her ass as high as she could to give access to Hermione. Fingertips followed the muscles of her back, causing goosebumps to appear.
"Be a good girl, and choose whether you want to come on my fingers or in my mouth." The command came firmly and Fleur groaned, throwing her head back. "Fuck me with your fingers," She said with no hesitation. As much as she liked Hermione's mouth, she wanted to feel deeply fucked by the Gryffindor.
Hermione teased Fleur's skin with her fingertips. She lightly scratched the inside of her thigh, an act that made Fleur whimper and spread her legs further. The fingers traced her center superficially, in a touch almost like butterfly wings. Fleur moaned in frustration and begged. Hermione went deeper into her folds, finding them soaked. Fleur was ready, and after teasing the veela's clit for long moments, the Gryffindor penetrated her deeply in a languid and slow movement with two fingers.
She started to move and every time Fleur rocked backwards, trying to deepen the contact, Hermione stopped and started again slowly. It took a few attempts until the veela understood the implicit command to stay still. When the French woman finally obeyed, Hermione smirked, her mouth merging with the skin on the blonde's back, her tongue slowly rising as her fingers came in and out from the arched, breathless woman below her. Abruptly, Hermione stopped moving her hand, but kept her fingers deep in Fleur. With her free hand, she grabbed a handful of blonde hair and pulled, making the veela arch further and moan loudly with pleasure.
Fleur tilted her head to the side and Hermione's mouth accepted the silent invitation. Hermione's two hands went to the blonde's body, grabbing her breasts and pulling the woman's back against the Gryffindor's chest. With a smooth movement, their mouths joined and the brunette smiled against Fleur's lips as she played with the woman's nipples.
Fleur grabbed one of Hermione's hands and the Gryffindor's palm teased the skin beneath her breasts, her sensitive ribs, her birthmark, her hips until Fleur guided her fingers back to her wet and ready clit. At the first touch, the blonde moaned "S'il te plaît, mon amour, fais-moi jouir sur tes doigts, s'il te plaît, s'il te plaît, je t'en supplie" [Please, my love, make me come on your fingers, please, please, I'm begging]. Hermione smiled widely at the needy tone of her girlfriend, and she accelerated the speed of fingers that circled her clit and moved her other hand up. When her fingertips touched Fleur's lips, the blonde took them into her mouth and sucked, moaning. It lit a flame in Hermione's belly, the hand traveled to Veela's neck, squeezing lightly.
"My perfect good girl, come for me," She ordered, and the orgasm overtook Fleur the instant she spoke those words, reacting like an elastic pulled to the max. Fleur moaned loudly and shuddered repeatedly against Hermione's body. The brunette just held her and kissed all the skin on Fleur's neck, shoulders and nape. When the tremors passed and Fleur more or less regained consciousness, Hermione was sitting with Fleur nestled against her in the armchair. The brunette slowly ran her fingers through Veela's hair and tenderly kissed the woman's face.
"I love you so much." Hermione kissed her deeply again, she loved Fleur's taste and especially how warm inside her kisses made her feel.
"Je t'aime aussi," The blonde answered breathlessly, panting and letting out a groan at the end of the kiss. Her heart was racing and she felt all the hair on her body stand on end. Never before had Fleur felt this way with anyone, it was like an eternal fire stoked only by Hermione.
The two women were nestled together in the armchair for a long period of time. Their heated skin and the languid kisses kept them both comfortable in their state of nakedness. They spoke in whispers, but after Fleur's stomach growled for the third time, they both decided to visit the kitchen.
Hermione summoned the clothes she had banished, and the two dressed between giggles and light kisses. They went down the stairs to an empty house, so Hermione asked about Luna and Gabby. Fleur explained that when she arrived, both women were leaving for the clan village, since they had to work on the book they had been composing together. Fleur commented that Gabby was very excited because they were in the final stretch of finishing, and maybe if it was good enough, they would get a nomination to file it in Babylon. After giving Fleur this update, the veela also commented that Gabby wasted no time in teasing her older sister about inappropriate noises and breaking furniture they would have to fix. Part of Hermione was very grateful that they didn't give the other couple a free show and ammo for Gabby's taunts. Fleur was anything but quiet, and Hermione had no qualms in saying that she liked that about the blonde.
Hermione helped Fleur cook a quick pasta dish, even though the blonde did most of the actual work. She helped by cutting the filet mignon, carrots, tomatoes and onion...but mostly made Fleur laugh out loud at the small jokes and nonsense she told while she was at the cutting board.
They went to bed early, and even with the growing need for physical contact, both were content to just sleep while comfortably cuddled. They spent hours and hours talking, sharing the same pillow, face to face, with their noses lightly rubbing and exchanging little sweet nothings and soft caresses. Both confessed that they had never felt as loved as they did now, how comfortable and good it was. Fleur confessed to Hermione that throughout her life she had dreamed of this, and having this almost utopian love was so perfect that she felt like constantly crying in joy. The brunette, upon hearing this, just kissed Fleur repeatedly, stating again and again how much she loved Fleur as well, and how the blonde made her heart sing. The Gryffindor confessed softly that she never believed in the sort of love books went on about, as it seemed so unfathomable and illusory, until she and Fleur got together. Now having it here with the veela made her feel like she was on cloud nine.
Hermione woke up the next day with a very naked Fleur laying against her. They lounged in bed until it was time to leave the house and attend the election meeting. The brunette expected a big event with several veela from different clans around, and was surprised to see that the elections were actually a small meeting. Fleur explained that the votes would be made neutrally through the proposal presented. There was a group of neutral people, usually the elders of the clans would validate the vows made by each older clan member. Then the neutral group would hear each other's proposal again, as the candidates lined up in each of the clans and talked about their proposals.
"So should I actually be here, Fleur?" Hermione asked nervously, but the vast majority of the veela around her just smiled and greeted them both.
"Don't worry about it. I asked the clans for permission so that you, as my future companion, could be present." Fleur replied calmly. "They like me, and so they accepted. Otherwise I would have asked you to wait at the mansion with Gabby and Luna." Fleur smiled slightly and pecked Hermione's lips. "Don't look so worried, I like your presence," She joked. "And the clan is in great debt to you for fixing the clock."
"It was my job!" Hermione retorted in exasperation.
"And it was beautifully executed." Sybelle, who was near the back of the room, spoke when she caught the end of the two women's conversation. "Accept being present at the selection Hermione, it's something that happens every ten years, so it can always be interesting to learn something new." Sybelle cut off further protests and then smiled. "It's good to have you around, mademoiselle Granger." The older blonde winked and laughed lightly when she saw Hermione frown.
The brunette stood a few steps behind Fleur, and the veela candidates sat quietly. Along with Sybelle, there were three other veela as potential leaders of the coalition And to lead the French Clan Apolline was with just another woman running for the spot.
Hermione also noticed that there were some older veela in the background, including a lady Hermione met briefly during her days in the village - whose name she did not remember - and Giselle. The woman gave Hermione a wide smile, but the Gryffindor only nodded politely and felt herself shiver uncomfortably, which made her move her eyes quickly away from the veela.
She didn't quite know what she was expecting, but she certainly didn't expect to see Fleur - along with Apolline and Sybelle - defend their plan for the next ten years. She knew that her girlfriend was eloquent and was in deep training to become worthy of a leadership position in the clan, in addition to which she would manage the Delacour fortune. Hermione frowned, thought, and considered the election.
The Gryffindor felt a slight magical tug, and moved her eyes from Apolline to Fleur. The blonde just arched her eyebrow curiously and Hermione smiled briefly, making her girlfriend relax against her chair. Hermioen knew that Fleur's family was wealthy; they owned a vineyard in the magical part of Languedoc-Roussillon, not to mention the dozens of investments that Gabby had already told her about. Both Delacour young women had an available trust fund that had been practically untouched since the two reached the age of 21, as both had their own professions and investments.
Fleur maintained some fabric and accessory companies across Europe, which were not as big as her Delacour's trust fund, but she had managed to create a name for herself by selling fabric to tailors and larger companies. And although the blonde does not work at fixed hours, she was always around taking care of her business or even the family's business.
Hermione listened carefully to the proposals of the women around her, even though it was a votation she found interesting that everyone will explain their ideas and then the votation will happen. She noticed that they all had solid plans and that probably the Delacour women would have tough competition this year. However, Apolline's plan was the only one that covered the education of young girls, focusing on teaching not only magical skills, but also including muggle skills. What was surprising to Hermione was that a large part of the veela there seemed happy with Apolline's and Fleur's proposal. It was more than visible to Hermione that Sybelle had won votes after the older woman had spoken.
"I challenge the decision of having another Delacour lead the coalition, in fact the family should even run the election once again," Giselle announced loudly, disrupting the flow of the meeting. Hermione was confused why she was there, but briefly Fleur explained for her that many elders of the clans usually join the votation to validate the votes and proof that people did use magic or any kind of thing to win the election.
"Why this challenge?" One of the women asked calmly.
"We are in our fourth election in which Sybelle has been leading our coalition, and I believe we need a new vision for the clans."
"The proposals were made and hers seemed to be the most promising, as has been the case in previous elections. If you want new leaders, bring people with new and applicable views, and not youthful fantasies of conquest." The old lady Hermione had met earlier spoke quickly and sharply. "If I remember correctly, Giselle, you hadn't proposed any reforms or changes that were innovative or interesting to the clans to even be considered for the position of leader. And I remember most specifically, as I am old and not senile, that you didn't even want to fix our Clock. It was Sybelle who brought in Mademoiselle Granger for its service."
"I was never even considered!" Gisele retorted furiously. "I attempted to be a candidate in the last five elections and you didn't even give me that chance!" She continued to rant.
"Calm down or withdraw," The same lady proclaimed, and Giselle stood up, moving to the opposite corner. Hermione noted that she was mumbling to herself, and gesturing as she mumbled.
"So our final decisions are these..." One of the women began the process to warp the assembly up, citing the women who were elected one by one. When the names of Apolline, Fleur and Sybelle were spoken, the three embraced in a restrained celebration, and Hermione felt as if the world was suddenly in slow motion.
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and if anything remained with her after the war, it was an extremely sharp sense of fight and flight. Hermione felt her chest tighten and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
She saw the flash of a hand movement; a wand was pointed at Fleur and Hermione's reaction was instantaneous. She pushed Fleur to the side, took a half step to the right and looked over her shoulder. Fleur's eyes widened as they saw the green beam approach Hermione. The veela's reaction was instinctive, she pulled Hermione towards her, even though she tried to protect Hermione and Hermione tried to protect Fleur, the green light of the spell caught both.
Hermione opened her eyes slowly. Her entire body ached. She was lying on the floor and her eyes burned from the powerful white light that encompassed wherever she was. With an effort, Hermione sat up, looking around and noting that everything was white. A big, huge white room. She scanned around for a door and in the background she spotted a small golden doorknob.
The Gryffindor rose and started walking towards the door, trying to remember what had happened, but her memories were a hazy mess. The door led to a long corridor, with more white walls and a light wooden floor. Hermione kept walking. She walked and tried to remember what had happened and why her chest hurt so much. She suddenly recalled Harry telling her about his meeting with Dumbledore during the final battle with Voldemort in a full white place and panicked. So is this what it's like when you die?