- -YIKES i feel like im turning in a paper 6 months late for a class i was never enrolled in.. thats depression babes! For real though i read through the comments/reviews for the first time the other day cause before i thought it would be a shitty experience but uh wtf.. You guys are really nice. So i edited/changed a little what i wanted to from previous chapters and someone pointed out a french mistake? Thank you! I hate languages
Chapter 12 - Well You Just Laughed It Off, It Was All Okay
Thankfully, things were quiet for a couple days. Everything had settled down from the initial chaos, but it was... odd. Fleur herself wasn't more than a few years older than the group of students and yet she felt entirely disconnected with them.
Bill was doing fine. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of how easy it was for him.
He explained it had something to do with her refusing interaction outside from her social circle during her formative years. Fleur knew it was just a nice way to say she was a bitch in school. (She blames it on her blood, her family. There was nothing more exclusive and comfortable than a school clique of fellow Veela.)
But Fleur considered herself lucky— Hermione and Luna were sleeping in her room while Bill's room was occupied by Ollivander and Griphook. He didn't complain much however, seeing as they had already agreed to move Ollivander and Griphook out of Shell Cottage.
It was early morning and everyone was still asleep, except Bill and herself. The blaring light filtering into their living room gave them no chance to sleep in.
As Bill cracked a few eggs in a pan (and one on the floor) Fleur grabbed the newspaper at the table, its headline too large to ignore.
'GRANDE-BRETAGNE EST EN ÉTAT DE GUERRE CIVILE'
Fleur snorted. Yeah, no shit. It was a week old— fresh newspapers were hard to come by without an owl, and she had picked it up the last time they were in town purely from muscle memory. She hadn't even bothered to read it before, sure that everything inside was common knowledge. But as she continued to read, the more she grew anxious. It seemed France wasn't going to officially step in anytime soon. Fleur was sure other ministries felt the same.
Bill glanced back as he plated the eggs with a flick of his wand. "You're biting your nails, didn't your mother ever tell you that was unattractive?"
Slapping the paper down, Fleur replied. "Didn't your mother tell you not to call a lady unattractive?" It was childish, she knew, but their shared quips were awfully entertaining.
"Mhmm…" Bill grabbed the newspaper as he took a bite of toast. "Why don't you go up and check on her?" he said, mouth full while he squinted his eyes at the headline. "Large bread is in civil war?"
"Non, Great Britain is." Fleur snatched the paper back. "And It's your turn to check on her."
"Oh! So we're getting turns now!"
"That's not what I meant." Fleur said, taking in a deep breath. "I just— I don't want to… overwhelm her."
Bill turned in the direction of the stairs. "Okay! Hermione will just have to fall in love with me, then!" he said, slicking back his hair. Bill spun around to face her. "Do I look good?" he asked in faux nervousness.
"William, that isn't funny."
"Eh," he shrugged, dropping the act. "I kinda think it is." he said sitting down. Bill nodded to the newspaper. "The French are a little behind, if you ask me."
Fleur rolled her eyes. "Yes, they are behind aren't they? Their ministry hasn't succumbed to terrorists just yet."
Bill raised his eyebrows and tsked. "Touché." he said, leaning his head on his hand.
With a satisfied smirk, Fleur brought her eyes back to the newspaper, flicking to another page. "Well? It is your turn to wake everyone, isn't it?" she asked mockingly.
He looked at his wristwatch and sighed. "If I'm not back in five minutes, they've killed me." he said, getting up from his chair and heading to the stairs.
Fleur hummed and waved him off. "A tragedy, I'm sure."
Popping his head back in the kitchen, Bill gave a grimace. "Also, we're out of eggs."
Fleur slumped further into her chair and groaned aloud.
Hermione's wounds weren't exactly closing. It drove Fleur mad, just as she thought she had fixed it, Hermione would come back later to the living area looking sheepish.
"Hey, uh… Fleur? I think I need some help." she said, turning out her forearm so Fleur could see.
Looking up from her book, Fleur felt sick to her stomach. Immediately, she got up and directed Hermione to the couch. Her bandages were soaked through. It wasn't enough blood loss to be anything close to dangerous, but it was enough to be absolutely horrifying. At least for Fleur.
"Does it still hurt?" Fleur asked while examining her arm. She swallowed. "Like before, I mean?" Hermione's neck looked as it was bleeding less than her arm. She pulled an injury kit from under the couch and took out a cloth to wipe away the blood.
Hermione shook her head. "Not really."
Fleur looked back up at her with slightly squinted eyes— she knew a lie when she saw one (too skilled herself to be fooled). After reciting a string of apologies in her mind, Fleur's fingers applied a small amount of pressure on Hermione's arm with the cloth.
Hissing in pain, Hermione tried jerking her arm back, but Fleur held her in place. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. For a brief second she had the urge to pull her in. Apologize like lovers would. (They were nothing of the sort, but it was nice to imagine.)
"You're not helping anyone by lying, Hermione." she admonished. It left her mouth before she could even think about how much that made her a hypocrite. Her own lies were needed, Fleur reminded herself. (Most weren't.)
"Sorry," Hermione said, still looking down and nowhere near Fleur's face. She took a deep breath through her nose before continuing. "I didn't want to bother you, you're so busy and—"
"Please bother me," Fleur breathed out. "I've nothing else to do, c'est promis." she said, lightly smiling as she wrapped another bandage around her arm. The timing was distasteful. Absolutely dreadful. She wouldn't push it.
She noticed the faint blush Hermione wore, and couldn't help but want to ride the bravado out.
Fuck timing.
"Besides," Fleur's back straightened out a little. "You're my favorite patient." she said, looking up at Hermione through her eyelashes, only to find her eyebrows pinched and her eyes too wide to seem receptive.
Oh shit. Was she too forward?
"I mean— um," Fleur started, but Hermione cut her off.
"I think," she blinked a few times, oddly enough keeping strong eye contact. "I think we've done this before" she whispered, leaning ever so slightly forward. Fleur looked at her in confusion.
"We have, yesterday." Fleur said slowly. "Are you okay, Hermione?"
"Oh," Hermione gave a nervous laugh, once again looking down. "Sorry, sometimes I feel like…" she shook her head.
Fleur bit her lip. It was obvious Hermione was… a little off. She scooted closer and placed the back of her hand to Hermione's forehead, forcing her eyes up to Fleur's. "You're not running a fever, have you gotten enough sleep?"
Hermione snorted. "Probably not, I think Ron's got sleep apnea, I can hear him from your room."
Still concerned, Fleur didn't register her joking tone. "Maybe you should rest some more during the day." she said, eyebrows furrowed. She had ideas of what Hermione's lapse meant. After effects of the curse must have been afflicting her.
"Oh… sure, I guess." Hermione stuttered, head tilted slightly back to give Fleur room to work.
As Fleur finished the bandage on Hermione's neck, Ron bounded into the room.
"Oi! 'Mione!"
Startled, Fleur looked back over the couch to find Ron jerking his head towards the hallway.
"Harry wants to uh…" Ron looked briefly at Fleur and swallowed. "You know," he stressed, eyes pointed at Hermione. "Talk about—"
"Ancient Runes!" Hermione blurted out. The volume of her voice made Fleur jump. Hermione nervously looked back at her.
"Harry always forgets the uh…" she quickly looked at Ron and then back at Fleur. "The difference between ehwaz and eihwaz!" Hermione shot up from the couch. "I must admit I had a hard time with it too," she neared Ron and looked back at Fleur again. "Did I tell you I missed that on my O.W.L.s?"
Ron nudged Hermione's shoulder with his own, seemingly to get her to stop talking.
Fleur confusedly opened her mouth to comment but Hermione beat her to it. "Thanks Fleur! I really appreciate it." she said, walking quickly out of the room with Ron, who had his head ducked down and rapidly whispering something to her.
What the fuck?
Ollivander was leaving.
And Griphook wasn't.
When Harry told Bill and Fleur they needed to keep Griphook at Shell Cottage for a bit longer, Fleur was sure she had just lost the remaining brain cells she had.
Groaning, she flopped onto the nearby chair as Bill chuckled nervously. It was simply planned. Send Ollivander and Griphook to Muriel's. Wait for more instructions. Fleur should have known nothing was ever that simple with Harry Potter.
"You're serious?" Bill asked incredulously.
Harry nodded.
Bill scoffed. "Mate, I'm pretty sure Griphook took like five years off my life when I was working under him, you gonna give an explanation to why he's gonna be here to take another five from me?"
"We need him to—" Harry ran a hand through his hair. "He's just important." he finished.
Fleur shook her head and almost let out a humorless laugh before Bill cut in unexpectedly.
"Okay." he said seriously, crossing his arms and nodding at Harry. "I'll trust you on this."
Speechless, Fleur snapped her eyes to Bill. What was he thinking?
"Thanks, Bill," Harry nodded. He turned to her, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Fleur." he said with a grimace, and walked out of the kitchen.
Throwing her hands up, Fleur scoffed. "Are we not going to talk about this first?"
"I think I know what they're doing." Bill said, scratching his neck.
Fleur jutted her head forward, urging him for an explanation.
"Think about it," he started, sitting on the edge of the chair opposite to her. "Griphook's got pull with the other goblins. Harry's probably negotiating."
"Negotiating what?"
"To pick a side, more importantly, ours." Bill stressed. "You know the Order was having difficulties with them, especially after Bagman kept shorting them with that debt he has with them."
Fleur knew Bill was right. She remembered his failed attempts of trying to appeal to them around last year. They had almost fired him. Their distrust of humans (of anyone) kept them neutral in the war, and Fleur wasn't sure what would make them even consider siding with the Order.
She shook her head. "What the hell would Harry have to offer?"
Bill leaned forward. "You kidding me? That kid's got plenty to offer." he said, jerking his thumb in the direction Harry left. "Griphook knows that too, or else he wouldn't even be talking to him."
Leaning back into her chair, Fleur sighed and let her eyes roam around the room. "Alright." she said when her eyes got back to Bill. "But I don't want to be left in the dark about this, if any deals are being made in this house, we have to know about it."
Agreeing, Bill nodded his head. "Fucking hell."
They weren't just out of eggs, they were out of everything.
Going into town was kind of risky, especially since Fleur's estimated shopping list greatly exceeded what was expected of a young couple. It wasn't exactly the kind of activity needed for their low profile, but the more trips into town was slightly more dangerous. Or so they were told.
To make make matters worse, they didn't have what money they needed on hand.
Gringotts was tricky. Since the Ministry was currently occupying the bank, and the Ministry wasn't exactly the Ministry anymore, Bill and Fleur weren't sure if they should even go near it.
"Alright, the shopkeep over there," Bill nodded a little ways in front of them. "Order member, knows my dad. Says you're better off out here, some Ministry folk inside might make it difficult."
Fleur bit her lip and nodded.
"I'll be back, don't worry." Bill said with a reassuring smile.
She sighed. "Yes, alright. Just— be careful."
Watching him go was a sight to see. Bill was so sure of himself. Relaxed in the most dire of situations. Fleur grew anxious, what if the shopkeep gave bad information? What if their account had been frozen? (Another thing that came along with being fake married was a joint account, something her mother wasn't so sure about.)
Hearing a rather loud cough behind her, Fleur turned to find one of the Gringotts bankers, Bagnok.
"Ah, Miss Delacour," the goblin tilted his head up to meet Fleur's eyes, looking at her just over his nose.
Fleur didn't bother to hide her shocked expression (or to correct him on her married name), it wasn't any normal day that a Gringotts employee accosted her outside of Gringotts.
Bagnok cleared his throat once again and gripped the lapels of his suit jacket. "I must admit, this is getting rather tiresome." he said, looking around them to catch any prying eyes.
"Excuse me?" Fleur asked, taken aback by his boldness. She messily followed his line of eyesight in attempt to fill in the gaps that she was missing in this conversation.
Raising his hand to return her attention to him, Bagnok continued. "I wouldn't normally agree to this…" he waved his hand around, "Interference."
Fleur shook her head, extremely confused.
"But seeing as no one can do anything themselves anymore," Bagnok hissed, "I do find these measures appropriate."
This was getting ridiculous. "What are you talking about? What measures—"
Frowning, he hastily cut her off. "Well then, this conversation didn't matter. Now, if you'll excuse me." Bagnok finished, briskly walking past her.
Fleur could only stare with her mouth open. Was everyone out to fucking get her today?
As he neared the entrance, Bill came out the door and nodded his head in acknowledgement to Bagnok, sure to hold the door for him.
He stopped mid-entrance. Fleur couldn't make out what was being said, but the quick exchange between the two seemed to cause Bill to look down at his coin purse and nod his head at the goblin.
Bagnok nodded and continued into the bank.
Walking quickly towards her, Bill looked at Fleur with wide eyes.
"What the hell is wrong with him? I was about to—" Fleur balled her hands into fists. "Ugh!"
"I take it you had a run in with him too?"
"Yes!" Fleur hissed.
Bill chuckled. "He asked me if I was going to use this," he pulled up the coinpurse to eye level. "Responsibly."
Fleur gave an exasperated huff and crossed her arms. "This is exactly why I didn't want to go inside, we get treated like children."
"Really? I thought it was because the Ministry freaks inside would want to detain you."
Fleur waved him off as they headed in the direction of the market.
Something wasn't sitting right. Bagnok wasn't in their sector of the bank, far from it, and they barely had any encounters before which involved talking. But he talked to them with a casualness only a person with the upper hand would.
"What if he knows?" she asked.
Bill stopped walking and turned around, causing Fleur to bump into him.
"Knows what?" he asked insistently.
"I don't know… " Fleur shook her head. That our marriage is fake? That we are harboring fugitives? "Do you think Griphook—"
"There's no way," Bill cut in. "I don't think Griphook's been in contact with anyone from Gringotts since the Ministry fell."
Fleur looked back toward the bank. Hopefully they wouldn't be back there soon. "Let's get the hell out of here."
Bill nodded and dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded scrap of paper. "Dean gave us a list, kid knows his shit." he said with a grin.
Grabbing the paper, Fleur raised her eyebrows. "It looks like we are shopping for an army, William."
Laughing and shoving his hands in his pockets, Bill shrugged. "Aren't we, though?"
Chapter title inspired by the music of: Modest Mouse - Float On
- - i love being dramatic so i WILL say I rewrote this chapter like 10 times! and finally i just said fuck it. There are probably mistakes i just can't read