WRITTEN FOR THE HOUSES COMPETITION, YEAR 7, ROUND 6
House: Ravenclaw
Class: Potions
Standard
Prompt: Image
Word Count: 1666 (google docs)
Thank you to Miakoda and CK for the beta!
The late-March sun shone overhead as the grapevines began growing buds after shaking off the dormancy of the winter months.
Under the cover of the blooming apple trees, Fleur and her little sister Gabrielle had lavishly set a small wooden table with cheeses, confitures, and fresh fruits — not to mention the wine.
After a few hours of enjoying everything their childhood home, and its grounds, had to offer, Gabrielle leaned back in her chair, shaking her short silvery blond hair in the light wind, with a contented sigh.
"Morgane. Is it me or does the wine get better every year?"
Fleur, bringing up her own glass, laughed delicately.
"I feel like it may get better after every glass you finish, my dear."
"Oh, don't start talking like Maman, now." scoffed Gabrielle.
Fleur waved the comment away as if it were an irksome fly; the mellow atmosphere cultivated by the bright spring day and their early apéritif had them both chuckling rather than sniping at each other. After a moment, Fleur lowered her glass and fixed Gabrielle with her light blue eyes.
"Really, Gabri. How's it going?" Her little sister smiled.
"Great! I'm thinking about Japan for my next trip. A bit of planning, and I should be in Hokkaido just in time for the Sakura blossoms."
Fleur raised an eyebrow.
"Am I mistaken, or have you not even finished putting Brazil's photos in an album yet?"
Gabrielle picked up another piece of cheese and rolled her eyes.
"I can do that anytime. I want to keep going now, to travel and experience everything. I've got too much energy to be happy putting albums together. You know, that's the reason a lot of young people take a gap year after finishing school."
Fleur's eyebrows had been steadily rising during her sister's explanation, and finally she huffed.
"Gabrielle, it's been six years."
Gabrielle jumped in her seat.
"No, it hasn't!"
"Victoire's going to Hogwarts in September."
Gabrielle gaped in a way that would have looked unattractive on anyone not of Veela descent. Slowly, she started frowning, closing her mouth as if it were barely a second thought, then she said, "That means you're getting old — nothing to do with me."
Fleur let out a loud "HA!", before flicking her long silvery blond hair behind her back and turning up her nose.
"You are only nine years younger than me, dear sister. It wouldn't do for you to call me old now, when in nine years I could say the same."
Gabrielle held in a laugh, hiding behind her half-empty wine glass. The sun shone on her silvery blond hair, warming her up through the apple leaves, and Gabrielle breathed in deeply, relishing in the scent of nature.
"I've missed this. Travelling's great, but nothing's quite like home, is it?" The sisters smiled at one another, and Fleur answered her with love in her eyes.
"You know it's always here for you."
"I'm satisfied with the current arrangement," said Gabrielle with a smirk.
"What, using our childhood home as a hostel between one trip and the next?"
"If it works!"
They both laughed so hard that they almost didn't notice William approach from the doors of the manor.
Gabrielle, who had a better view of the manor, lit up at seeing her brother-in-law and raised a hand to wave enthusiastically. Then she brought it back down to avoid spilling all the wine in her glass and raised her other hand.
"Will!"
"Hey, girls, having fun?" Bill asked when he got close enough to speak normally. Then he bent down to lay a kiss on his wife's silvery blond hair.
Fleur raised her arms, mumbling, "Viens, donne-moi un vrai kiss, now." And dragged his head down.
"You must have enjoyed yourself if you're speaking French," Bill murmured against his wife's soft lips. Then he threw an amused look at the table. "Did you mix red and white?"
"Mais of course non, mon amour. We drank red, then white, a bit of rosé, et puis… Qu'est-ce qu'on a bu après, Gabri?"
"After the rosé, I opened the champagne!" laughed Gabrielle. Fleur raised her glass towards her in thanks.
"Of course, the champagne!" she exclaimed, then she turned to Bill and asked, in a low, seductive voice, "You want a sip, mon amour?"
Bill could only nod, as charmed by his wife after thirteen years of marriage as he had been the day of the wedding. But he knew he couldn't trust that pretty smile.
Fleur slowly brought her glass to her lips, maintaining eye contact as she drank. Then she kissed him, and Bill forgot all about what he had meant to do once outside.
It was only Gabrielle's jeering that brought them back to reality and Bill suddenly remembered that he had a task to accomplish. Still, he stole a last peck before straightening up.
"We're gonna be overrun by kids soon enough, my love," he said.
"Non, Bill, we will be overrun when they outnumber us. We are three. They are three. It is still fine."
Bill chuckled, deciding against arguing in favour of directing a subtle sobering charm at Fleur. She felt the difference right away, throwing him a sullen look.
"Spoil my fun, why don't you?"
Bill smiled willingly and said, "Love you too, dear."
Shortly, calls of "Auntie!" broke the peace of the grounds, and three children ran from the doors of the manor to the cover of the apple trees.
When all three children had excitedly greeted their aunt, Gabrielle turned to her eldest niece and asked,
"Excited to go to Hogwarts, Victoire?"
"I can't wait!" said Victoire. She looked almost exactly like Fleur had as a little girl and pointed up her nose as Fleur had, too.
Dominique, on the other hand, was short and red-headed, and didn't hesitate to elbow her sister out of the way to make a point.
"Then it'll be my turn!" she exclaimed.
Victoire answered with all the poise of an older sister, looking down her nose at Dominique and drawling,
"I'll be in my third year when you enter your first."
The adults all had to hide little grins as Dominique seemed ready to stomp her foot.
"It's not my fault our parents made me in October!" she protested.
Gabrielle chortled, unable to keep herself from muttering, "You'll find they made you in February, Domi."
Dominique froze for a few seconds, and her family could admire her puzzled face slowly scrunching up in a grimace before she let out a blood-curling, "I don't want to hear about that!"
Louis, barely four years old, hid against his father's side while Fleur shook her head and Gabrielle covered her ears.
As was the norm, Dominique quieted down after one of Victoire's cutting comment; soon enough, the girls started sniping at each other, looking sullen and pouty. Still, it was a tremendous improvement for Gabrielle's poor ears, at least, which had been the offended party — no one had hit her with a sobering charm, after all.
Gabrielle decided to deal with her only nephew, the sweetest child her sister managed to produce, though she was sure there would be more than enough time for Louis's sisters to corrupt him before it was his turn to go to Hogwarts. Gabrielle surreptitiously summoned one of the daisies that grew all over the grounds, then thought about the afternoon spent mixing wines from their family's vineyard and performed a quick breath-freshening charm before stashing her wand back up her sleeve.
Then she did her best to catch her little nephew's eye, twirling the daisy between her fingers. She smiled and winked when he looked up from Bill's robes.
"And how are you, Louis? Did you enjoy the doll I brought you from Brazil?"
The little boy nodded, giving his aunt a toothy smile before stepping away from Bill to go hug her.
Gabrielle welcomed him in her arms, and the daisy stealthily passed hands. Morgane, but if her nieces had been as easy to bribe!
She almost laughed against Louis's silvery blond hair as she thought about it. She shot a look at Fleur, who was leaning back in her chair and letting her husband sort out their daughters. Truly, Gabrielle's family had never been exactly normal, and the addition of the Weasleys (all of them, including their spouses) had only exacerbated the problem, but Gabrielle loved it. She loved the family her sister had made for herself and married into, and she reminded herself to join one of the weekly get-togethers before leaving on her next trip. Being surrounded by family wasn't a pleasure she took for granted after all, not after the war, but the rest of the world called to her in a way that couldn't be ignored.
Gabrielle snuggled Louis for a while longer, taking advantage of the fact that the sweet boy had not yet started to object to being treated like the baby of the family, and joined the conversation with a quip.
They stayed and chatted for almost another full hour, but the time came for the Weasleys to Floo back to England.
Fleur stopped Gabrielle at the entrance to the manor.
"Remember to send letters, and Floo-call, Gabri, I'm serious! If I have to go through the Amazon ordeal one more time…"
"Really, Fleur. I'm not getting lost in the wilderness in Hokkaido. And I'll write. Promise."
Fleur huffed, but kissed her sister on both cheeks, stopping to put a short lock of hair back behind Gabrielle's ear.
"I shall trust you, of course."
"I love you too, Fleur. Go after your handsome husband and my nieces and nephew, now. Wouldn't want them to bring down the manor."
Gabrielle smiled sweetly at her sister's tinkling laugh, but stayed behind when Fleur walked in. Surrounded by the perfumes and sounds of spring awakening on the grounds of her childhood home, Gabrielle turned her face towards the setting sun and thought about her next destination.
French - English
Viens, donne-moi un vrai kiss, now - Come, give me a real kiss, now.
Mais of course non, mon amour. - But of course not, my love.
We drank red, then white, a bit of rosé, et puis… Qu'est-ce qu'on a bu après, Gabri? - and then… what did we drink later, Gabri?