A/N: Hi again. This little one was supposed to be posted on my birthday, as well but due to some silly issues that let me lose my focus that night, I postponed it for a random day like today. If you are familiar with my Fleurmione Week one-shots, this fic is the multi-chap version of day 4 with a new name and a longer and deeper story. It will be focused a bit on the past of both Fleur and Hermione before getting to the point where the one-shot took place. This fic is not for the faint of heart as it would be a bit angsty and dark at times but as you might know, I am a sucker for happy endings. Oh yeah, no magic on this one so if you are a fan of canon, Triwizard, and dislike lesbian relationships, this is not the fic for you.
Enjoy!
Sinfonia d'amore
1.- 1st movement: Ostinato
"Come here my little flower" a soft voice called, and light footsteps promptly approached. A young blonde girl rushed and raised her tiny arms to the one sitting on a polished and ebony bench. The one sitting on it lifted the young girl and sat her on her right before focusing her attention on the keys in front of her.
"Grand-mère, why the keys are white and black?" the young blonde asked suddenly "they look confusing."
"My dear Fleur, it's the way life is" Antoinette Delacour smiled at her oldest granddaughter and ruffled her light blonde strands "white represents the happy moments while black are the not that happy ones" the first notes of Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers were heard when the older woman gracefully touched the keys of her beloved piano "you see dear, life needs a balance of happiness and sadness to be worth living."
"I don't understand" Fleur pouted until she recognized the melody her grandmother continued playing; it was her favorite.
"You will understand when you are older, my dear flower" Antoinette whispered before reaching a high note "life is a song with highs and lows but every moment is part of the adventure of living." Fleur frowned deep in thought but didn't dare to interrupt her grandmother's passionate performance. Just when the last notes of the Waltz of the Flowers were heard, the young four-year-old jumped from the ebony piano bench and turned to look at her smiling grandmother.
"I know what I want to do, grand-mère," Fleur said with a wide smile before jumping from the piano bench.
"Is that so?" Antoinette asked with a warm smile.
"I want to play the piano like you" the young blonde stated with confidence and the older blonde stood and kneeled in front of her granddaughter.
"That will make me very happy, my dear Fleur," Antoinette whispered before engulfing her in a tight hug. A month later, the now five-year-old Fleur Delacour started her piano lessons with a tutor, a renowned retired pianist, and old-time friend of an also retired musical prodigy, the famous pianist La brise printanière de la France, Antoinette Delacour.
After teaching Fleur how to play the basic chords, the young blonde started private lessons with her grandmother's friend, Hélène Farrenc or tante Hélène as the famous former pianist had always treated her like a niece.
"Remember the pattern, now try again with your right hand only" Hélène asked in a soft but stern tone. Fleur flexed her right hand's fingers twice before placing it above the keys.
"G, C, E, four times" Hélène whispered in a stern voice "keep a slow tempo until you can play it without any mistakes." Surprisingly, it only took Fleur just a few tries to play the key combination flawlessly.
"Good, now shift up one," Hélène asked. Fleur's confused gaze made her smile; the young girl was still memorizing the name of the keys and was not completely acquainted with the lingo pianist were used to hear on daily basis.
"A, D, F four times, dear" the young blonde closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When her azure orbs reopened, they looked determined. Fleur's small hand hovered over the keys and pressed them softly; she was able to repeat the sound four times without a flaw.
"Très Bien, Fleur" Hélène clapped clearly satisfied; her young student was remarkably good "now, drop your thumb G, D, F, four times" after flexing her fingers, Fleur played the three keys confidently, but too strong for her tutor's taste.
"Remember that playing has to be as soft as a caress, you just don't stab the keys with your fingers," Hélène placed her right hand on some of the keys and applied too much pressure and the piano emitted a sharp sound "imagine they are covered in velvet and you just love the feeling against your fingertips." To prove her point, she played the first part of the melody she was teaching the young blonde, and her expert fingers glided through the keys eliciting soft tunes from the piano.
"Like velvet" Fleur stared at the keys. She liked velvet; the texture of it appealed to the young girl very much. Her beloved Fluffy, the stuffed bunny mama Camille gave her when she was born, had a pink dress made of the soft material.
Fleur had spent uncountable hours brushing her fingers against the petite garment of her stuffed bunny. She knew the feeling, now she needed to project it to her playing. Her thumbs traced the tip of her fingers while trying to reminiscence the texture Hélène just mentioned.
"I think I know what you mean" Fleur commented before placing both hands on her lap. "can you play the entire song, please tante?"
"Sure" Hélène replied, and her hands hovered over the keys for a moment "close your eyes and try to hear it with your heart."
"You love talking in riddles, don't you tante Hélène?" Fleur pouted eliciting an amused giggle from the older pianist.
"Trust me on this one" the gray-haired woman replied with a warm smile "when you get to see the notes as colors with your eyes closed, playing will be a breeze." She didn't let Fleur reply and the moment the first notes of Bach's Prelude in C Major were heard, the young blonde closed her eyes.
In the beginning, darkness surrounded her. Soon, piano music engulfed her and each key glowed blue in her mind. Every time a note sounded; she could feel the exact pressure applied by how bright the blue sparks shone.
And the sparkles remained in her mind forming a pattern she should follow in order to play flawlessly. The notes started making sense and her mind started filling with music. A smile curled into her lips; her fingers twitched when all sorts of tingles rippled down her spine the moment music took over her senses.
She finally understood what tante Hélène told her in her cryptic ways. Music can be seen, and she just felt it coursing through her. Around two minutes and a half later, the song came to an end, and Fleur opened her eyes and looked down at her hands; she could almost see the blue sparks pooling on her fingertips pushing her to play.
"Can I try now, tante?" Fleur asked while balling her small hands. Phalanges closed and opened slowly, and Hélène observed amused her student's focused expression.
She already looks like a petite piano master.
Her eyes widened when Fleur placed her hands above the keys, closed her eyes, and started playing as if she had been practicing the piece for weeks. She didn't miss a note, the tempo was perfect, she even prolonged some notes and the song sounded slightly different but overall flawless. Fleur Delacour just mastered a piece after hearing it once. Hélène didn't interrupt her and waited patiently until the young blonde finished playing and opened her eyes.
"Was it okay? I followed the blue sparks" Fleur questioned hesitantly.
"You saw colors?" Hélène asked surprised; that only meant one thing.
"Yes, I did" the young blonde nodded with a wide smile "is that bad?"
"No, it is spectacular" Hélène replied with a matching grin and hugged the now giggling girl "do you think you can play it again?"
"Oui, I think I can" Fleur nodded with a smile and sat in the middle of the bench the moment Hélène stood.
"Practice it a bit while I get your grand-mère" the piano instructor added before leaving the room. She found her old friend having tea with her oldest daughter and Fleur's mother, Apolline.
"You need to see this" Hélène commented before walking back to the piano room with Antoinette and Apolline in tow "Fleur is…" the retired pianist opened the music room's doors and the soft notes of Bach's Prelude in C Major invaded their senses.
"She's already mastered it?" Antoinette gasped and Apolline's eyes widened at the sight of her oldest daughter playing the piano with easiness.
"Fleur has perfect pitch" Hélène whispered while observing the young blonde play.
"How do you-"
"It takes one to know one" Antoinette interrupted her daughter "Hélène has perfect pitch, too"
"Oh" Apolline commented just when Fleur played the last notes and turned surprised when she heard claps from the door "that was wonderful, dear."
"I think I can do better" Fleur pouted when her mother ruffled her hair and kissed her cheek.
"Show us, then" Hélène placed a hand on her student's shoulder that flexed her fingers twice before taking a deep breath and starting the piece once more. It was as flawless as the first time she played it.
"That was beautiful, dear" Antoinette gave her granddaughter a wide smile while Hélène cleared her throat "but you are still in class, so we will leave"
Hélène mouthed a soft thank you to her friend before she closed the door of the music room behind her and the retired pianist turned to look at her young student with a smile "now, where were we?"
Three months later, Fleur had her first official presentation in an homage for her grand-mère's forty years of career in the business. Despite having retired more than a decade ago, Antoinette Delacour was still admired and loved by her loyal fans.
Young Fleur played Mozart's fantasia in D minor without missing a single note and in front of the two thousand four hundred attendees to the Philharmonie de Paris that gave her a standing ovation that made the young pianist blush and her eyes fill with tears. After that, Fleur Delacour became a common face in the piano circles for youngsters.
She won several competitions against older pianists which gave her a reputation of being flawless in front of a piano and unreachable as she barely spoke to anyone apart from her piano tutor or her relatives. A couple of years later, her sister Gabrielle started competing, as well but with the violin. They even played rare duets on special occasions.
The talented siblings came from a line of musicians that started with Antoinette, one of the most treasured pianists of France, and their mothers were also involved in the music business. Apolline was a famous opera singer now retired to take care of the other business the Delacour's were famous for, wine.
On the other hand, their other mother Camille was a recognized first violinist that came back from Tokyo Philharmonic recently and now took a second violinist position in the Orchestre National de Lyon just to be closer to her family.
Without a doubt, the Delacour siblings had the pedigree and the natural talent to show off which gained them the admiration and resentment of others. Despite that, Fleur paid no mind, but Gabrielle was a different story as she was more outgoing and made friends easily while Fleur preferred to be alone with the piano.
In the blink of an eye, the now nationally recognized Fleur Delacour was about to graduate from high school and her dream came true the moment she received the acceptance letter of Julliard to study music and composition.
In a matter of months, the young blonde would graduate and move to the other side of the world with a full scholarship which was ironic as the Delacour's were one of the wealthiest families of France, but Fleur made it clear to her mothers, that she wanted to forge a path of her own.
A reluctant Apolline and an amused Camille agreed on the condition that she always kept in contact with them and had regular medical checkups as the young pianist had told her mothers about a slight tingling sensation she felt in her fingers after finishing performing in a charity concert the prior month.
"Promise me that you will call me as soon as you land," Gabrielle pouted at her smiling sister before hugging her "don't smile, say that you will call me"
"Bien, I will call you as soon as I am allowed to use my mobile phone" Fleur hugged her sister back and kissed her on both cheeks. The young violinist didn't have time to react when her mothers hugged her, as well. Fleur sighed in contentment, she was not a big fan of being close to others, but the big exception would always be her family, the ones she treasured the most, so she relaxed into the embrace and her eyes betrayed her by letting a few tears escape.
"I still don't understand why you didn't want us to buy you an apartment in New York" Camille commented before letting her oldest daughter go.
"And why you refused using the family jet to get there" Apolline sighed slightly annoyed at her daughter's stubbornness.
"Mama, Maman, I want to do things my way as you did when you were my age" Fleur looked at her mothers in the eye before continuing "I don't think that I have to be surrounded in luxury to ace school."
"But-"
"She's right, mon amour" Camille held her wife and nodded to her oldest offspring "as long as she comes back for Christmas we won't intervene, we promised her that, remember?"
"Bien" a frowning Apolline replied and Fleur sighed relieved. The moment was interrupted when the next flights were called to board, it was time.
"I have to go" Fleur added in a soft tone to be engulfed by her mothers and sister once more. After letting her go and kissing her on both cheeks, the saddened parents let their oldest daughter go.
"See you at Christmas" Fleur waved with a small smile before heading to the airport's gate to board the plane that would lead her to a new chapter of her life.
Julliard, here I come.
A/N: Pianist Fleur is a delight to write. We will be with Fleur in college and sometimes with younger Hermione's sad life. Review?