Hello Everyone,

You guys seem to like this story. Even if you don't comment on it I look at the story traffic, and wholly mole. Between this story and A Time... We are over 1000 on some days. Thank you so very much. I honestly could not leave you all hanging with the first task looming over Hermione's head. Call it a gift from bored me to you . I hope you enjoy.

Snow

Valerian ~ Readiness

Champions

When Hermione got to the tent she looked around. There were the headmasters from every school, and their champions. Cedric sat in the corner on a bench with a dazed look on his face and his knee jumping up and down. He twirled his wand in his hands. Clearly, he was nervous, and Hermione was right there with him. She looked to the side where a grunt came from and hastily mumbled words in Bulgarian were spat. Viktor Krum stood and huddled with his Headmaster and when Hermione looked to him his eyes slammed into hers. He nodded to her. It was the first time he gave her respect as a champion, and she nodded back. Albus Dumbledore stood with Mr. Crouch as the man smiled excitedly and patted a sack. Then Hermione let her eyes slide to the one person she couldn't bare to see right then.

Fleur's eyes watched Hermione the entire time she walked into the tent. She didn't show one once of fear. She was strong and commanding. Her own Veela wished to be set free to hold the girl, to show they were her equal, but Fleur knew not the details of this trial, and promised the beast within that if it came to that she would let the Veela help her. When she watched Hermione look around in her school robes, she let her head tilt in confusion. Did she not get robes like theirs? Then she noticed Hermione take the measure of everyone in the room. She observed, and Fleur looked around as well. She noticed how nervous the others were and it did her heart good to see she was in the same boat. It was as if something magnetic pulled their eyes back together. Fleur's dazzling blue and Hermione soulful brown. Hermione took a step forward but all the sudden she was pulled back. Shock written across her features. Fleur's instincts flew into high gear to protect the younger girl.

In a flurry of tent flaps and arms Hermione was whipped around and found the arms of another person. She struggled for a moment and then felt glasses against her temple and saw the black hair from the corner of her eye.

"Harry?" she whispered surprised.

"Yeah," he said as he clutched at her and nodded his head.

"What are you doing?" she asked but her arms were tight around his middle.

"I know I can't help too much. You know more magic than any student I know, and I am horrible at research. But I can give you this. Everyone is rooting for you Hermione. Luna, Ginny, Ron. Hell, I even think Malfoy hopes you live. What I am saying and not so well is that we love you, and we are keeping our fingers crossed," Harry explained, and Hermione melted into him.

"Just be there for me. That the best thing you guys can ever do to help," Hermione said with more emotion than she wanted to give.

FLASH!

"Ah young love," said a high-pitched voice from behind Hermione. The flash from a photograph pushed Harry and Hermione apart, but Harry never let go of her hand.

"Wait, you think?" Harry indicated between himself and Hermione, and he blushed and smiled shaking his head. Before he could say another thing, a growl was heard.

"This a tent for champions, and their comrades, and dearest supporters. Leave now, you are unwelcome here," Victor Krum came to their rescue. Rita Skeeter looked around and found every champion corralled around her. Fleur edged to Hermione's other side, arm around her waist. She pulled Harry to Hermione and made Harry wrap his arm around Hermione's waist. Cedric Digory went to Harry's side and put his arm over his shoulder, he was considerably taller, and Victor Krum, brutish though he may be and lifted a lip at Fleur walked to Fleur's side and put an arm behind her shoulders and an hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Unity," Dumbledore spoke from behind the reporter. She looked from her quick write quill, grinned, and then left.

"I have enough. My vapid readers will want to know," she said with an evil smirk.

"Know what?" Hermione asked. But the woman only smirked and pushed her half moon glasses up over her eyes.

"Who cares," Krum said and looked at Hermione. He took his arm from around Fleur's shoulder and placed it on Hermione's, "Today our years do not matter, nor do our ages. Today each of us are champions," he squeezed her shoulder and walked away. Cedric smiled at Hermione and Harry in a knowing smile and Fleur looked to Hermione. Then the Harry.

"I am sorry I did not know," Fleur said sadly as she looked between Harry and Hermione. She went back to her headmistress and sat down waiting. Hermione and Harry looked at each other.

"Do they think we are together?" he asked as he leaned and whispered in her space. Hermione only shrugged looking at Fleur.

"Why is she sad? Not before a trial, this could be disastrous. What happened?" Hermione asked watching the blonde as Harry pulled her to him tightly and then he whispered in his ear.

"I believe the girl you don't know you fancy, but in honesty really do fancy, might fancy you back," Before she hit him in the gut, he kissed her cheek. And flew from the tent through the slash in the fabric he made. Hermione began to walk over to Fleur, and she was halfway there when Mr. Crouch came into the middle of the room with the sack, he seemed to like too much.

Choosing one's dragon went by in a blur. Honestly Hermione wasn't even focused. All she focused on was Fleur. When everyone stuck their hand in the bag it was met with winces, itches, and hisses. When Fleur stuck her hand in the bag though, she pulled a cute little dragon and then looked into Hermione's eyes. Hermione nodded. It will be alright she tried to convey. She was last, and she shoved her hand in the bag and then pulled it out. She looked at the little thing, and then her eyes narrowed.

"I'll be buggered," she murmured, and Fleur furrowed her brow in question. Hermione blinked and went to her place. The entire time all she wanted was to go to Fleur. She looked around and noticed a small bag. She picked it up. She looked inside and it had all of Fleur's things except for the food. Clean dishes, and a thermos. Hermione reached in and touched the thermos. She opened it and smelled chamomile, lavender, and citrus. She looked around and she saw him in the shadows. He looked over to Fleur. Hermione nodded. She would give it to her after her bout with her dragon.

It was not fast but there was a lot of ruckus when it came to Cedric and his dragon. He came back all smiles, a huge golden egg, and singed about his robes.

"Mr. Diggory let us check you over for injury," came a voice that Hermione could not help but keep the smile from lips. Cedric was ushered behind a curtain but her mentor. Narcissa's eyes met Hermione's and the woman let her mask fall, and eyes softly convey her concern for Hermione. Then she nodded to Hermione and went to tend to a possible patient.

Fleur went from the tent nervously clutching her wand. There was noting for a while except for rock skittering on rock. Then there was a scream as a roar pierced the air. Hermione shot to her feet, but Dumbledore stopped her and shook his head. She looked over his shoulder. Her heart hammered in her chest. But he held her firm. He sat with her, patted her back and waited with her.

It took far too long, but Fleur burst through the tent flap. She was exhausted, and dirty, but Hermione ran to her, even as Dumbledore reached out for her. She was too quick. She ushered Fleur to the opposite side of the curtain that Cedric came from with his simple bandage on his arm from a mild burn. She sat Fleur on the bench. She ran a diagnostic. She didn't realize she was doing what two other witches where there supposed to be doing. She slowly peeled the tournament jump suit from Fleur's arm. She winced, and tears fell.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said softly, and she saw in the diagnostic that she had smoke inhalation and severe burns on her neck and arms.

"Please," Fleur said as she looked to Hermione.

"It's alright I will help you," Hermione said as she accioed the burn salve and began to twist off the top.

"Non, Please. 'Ermione. I don't want you to see me like this," Fleur croaked between tears.

"Nonsense," Hermione said while she stroked Fleur's hair back as she made the girl lie down, "I am here to help you, and I will help you because I don't give a damn about the challenge. I give a damn about you," Hermione whispered and then the Veela looked away, but nodded. Hermione unzipped the suit all the way down to the tank top. She inwardly winced. It was across her neck, her hands, and her right ear. It was not disfiguring, but it had to hurt like hell. She accioed a pain potion, and gave that to the girl, as well as a sleep potion.

"Take these. They will help with pain and let you sleep," Hermione said but her arm was caught.

"Not the sleep potion," Fleur requested, and Hermione looked Fleur in the eye, "I wish to be awake for when you come back into this tent," Fleur said and then Hermione nodded. She set the sleep potion aside and gave Fleur the pain potion. Fleur sighed as it hit her system. Hermione watched as her skin slowly went from 3rd degree to 2nd degree burns and by the evening with another application she would think the wound would be but a pink area just waiting for the skin to heal, much like a sunburn.

Her attention was pulled away as cheers resounded across the arena. Hermione's head jerked up and she looked behind her. Narcissa and Madame Pomfrey looked down on their medi-witch in training. Both had looks of pride.

"We could not have done any better little witch," Poppy said and Hermione smiled then looked down to Fleur. She looked up in to Narcissa's eyes. "Please take care of her," Hermione asked and Narcissa nodded and watched Hermione walk to the tent noting nothing wrong with Viktor, except the singed robes each of them seemed to have.

"You love her, don't you?" a voice came from the cot and Narcissa looked down on Fleur with ice in her eyes. Poppy whistled and walked from behind the curtain and met Krum and did her diagnostic.

"She is a wonderful soul, and anyone could not help feeling attached to her intelligence, and virtuousness," Narcissa offered that much.

"Yes, but you look at her like…" The she tapered off as she tried to move and hissed and winced through pain.

"Like what little Veela?" Narcissa saw the look on the other girls face, "Yes, I know a great deal about Veela, and their thrall, and their mating rituals, and of course their ability to see more than is there that the average witch or wizard can't see. So, I ask again, like what, Little Flower," Narcissa said in a gentle voice as she accioed the burn salve. Hermione might have missed a spot in her haste.

"Like me," the Veela said with Narcissa's fingers tentatively rubbing salve around her throat. Narcissa looked down into blue. They caught, Fleur's eyes narrowed, and Narcissa's turned to ice, cataloging this moment for later introspection.

"I will not dignify that with an answer," Narcissa said as she looked away.

"You are not what you seem," Fleur said with a sigh, and then closed her eyes feeling her burns soothe. There was a crescendo of sound.

"She must have started," Fleur said and let a tear fall from her eye.

"Yes, I saw her go," Narcissa said.

Fleur reached out for Narcissa's hand.

"Let us be there for one another as some one we care about deeply does forth into the jaws of a dragon," Fleur said eyes still closed.

Narcissa only clutched the girl's hand. She shook her head. Fucking girl, damn Hermione. Where were her emotions at? Where did her heart lie? What in the hell was going on with the tugging between these two women?

Hermione and Her Dragon

She didn't want to go. She wanted to be with Fleur, and help heal the girl, but she had a duty. Ugh, she was begging to hate that word. That and obligation. She shook her head and as soon as she took one step from the tent there was a crash right next to her. She freaked the hell out. She squawked, looked for cover, dove for it, and tried to get her breathing under control. She applied heavy flame and fireproof charms, as well as shifting all she could into her felt hand for a protego shield as well as trying to engulf herself in protego from foot to head like case of protection. She felt mildly better except a tail with spikes crashed over the ledge as she was huddled under it. But then she remembered Narcissa. If she reacted, the dragon would certainly know where she was.

She sat straight and looked around.

'Know your surrounding you stand a chance at survival if not victory.'

Hermione let Narcissa's words flood through her.

She scooted along the ledge wall and stopped when rocks skittered down and then she heard a huff. Once more a tail whipped around the stone ledge and this time too close for comfort. Hermione looked at spike no more than a few inches from her face. She slowly began to work her way to the opening. And then looked around. She then popped her head up.

Ok, a dragon eggs, one golden. We are not to kill the eggs. Hermione groaned, but nodded to herself. She made a bolt for it and the dragon tracked her. He tromped after her and then jerked back. The chain holding the dragon in place kept it tethered. Hermione smirked. Then the Drago roared. Hermione's smile fell as it tore the chain from the wall.

"Lumos Solem!" Hermione cast and then the Dragon slightly blinded blinked and then teetered to the ledge where she was at. Now Hermione was on the same playing filed as the dragon.

"Engorgio!" She shouted as she shot a spell, but nothing happened only a big toe growing.

"ENGORIO MAXIMA!"

Hermione watched as the dragon's feet began to swell at a massive rate. The dragon swung its tail around. Screams where heard through out the arena. Hermione held on to a tail as tightly as she could. She began to assess her damage and no matter what she found, it was severe, bordering on fatal. Her wand arm worked. She cast another engorgio maxima, and the other set of feet grew. The dragon's distress was apparent as Hermione was thrown about on the dragon tail. Now Hermione aimed her wand to the tail.

"Engorgio maxima," she whispered. Too tired to move or do anything more. The dragon began the expand in its appendages. Then it began to wail.

She let go with a scream. She held her shoulder. She couldn't think about the spike that still seemed lodged in her shoulder. She lifted her wand.

"Alis Glacies," she shot to the dragon. The dragon's wings began to freeze. The dragon looked at her and then she thought of all the shit she had gone through and rage swelled in her heart.

"Bombarda Maxima!" she shot a spell to the like in which her classmates had never seen. The ground at the dragon's feet crumbled. And the area in which the spell sliced through created a crater. The dragon tried to get out of the crater but could not move its feet or tail. The wings froze. It was rendered nothing more than a fire breathing temper tantrum. Hermione walked to the golden egg, snatched it up, cradled it into her side, and then scurried to the tent, falling to her knees, but getting up each time she took a step. Once through the tent there was silence. No one cheered outside. No one said a word when she fell to the tent floor. Narcissa snapped too and raced toward Hermione.

"Oh, my Little Witch," She whispered, and she feather weight charmed Hermione and held her to her body and walked her to behind the curtain. Fleur quickly sat up, eyes wide, and tears about to drop.

"Save her," Fleur whispered, and then snapped out of it, "Save her please, I…" Fleur stopped herself when Narcissa clutched the girl's hands about her robes.

"If you do not get a hold of your self you will be removed," Narcissa said, and hands let go of her robes. Hermione lay on the cot next to Fleur and Fleur clutched the shoulders of Narcissa's robes.

Narcissa looked at Hermione and shook her head. She tried everything she could not to irritate the spike in her shoulder, and then ran a diagnostic. No fire damage, no smoke or fire inhalation. It seemed this particular dragon was physical. She looked to Hermione and then stood to get Madame Pomfrey. Fleur eased into the stool that Narcissa vacated. She saw the spike in Hermione's shoulder, the blood coating it, and then the short shallow breathes the girl took.

"Please don't leave me," Fleur pleaded as she Held Hermione's hand, "You have no idea what is happening, ma lionne," Fleur waited for Narcissa and Madame Pomfrey. Poppy shooed her to her own bed, but Narcissa was gracious enough to move to the opposite side of the bed. Fleur watched everything. She watched as Hermione screamed in reflex, grunted, and then when her breathing stopped. Fleur felt her heart stop. She felt her heart die, and wither, and then as soon as the witches got Hermione's heart to pump once more, Fleur felt her being right itself with the universe.

Madame Pomfrey told Narcissa she could finish with Hermione and she would report to the tournament supervisors. When Ludo Bagman announced Hermione Granger survived, and the entire area erupted into a roar that encompassed all other champions.

Narcissa bandaged the shoulder where Hermione took the dragon spike. Dragons where enchanted creatures, so it would take a lot more than a healing potion here or there. She would have extensive damage and would have to mind that shoulder for some time. Narcissa stood back and looked at Fleur.

"I heard you little Veela," Narcissa said and then looked at Hermione, "I do not envy a person who found their mate as a competitor in a Triwizard tournament," Narcissa said softly. She looked at the table between them and changed it into a floor lamp that over hung the beds and shoved the beds together. She was an Ice Queen, not a complete bitch. Fleur thanked her, and Narcissa sat on Fleur's bed and looked over both of them. Narcissa watched Hermione's breathing and smiled as a tear slipped from her eye, and then she looked down on the Veela. Blue on blue. Her eyes turned cold, and Fleur's brows furrowed as if asking a question, she knew not what to ask.

"I do not envy a woman with two mates," Fleur said. Narcissa looked to Fleur and furrowed her brow. Narcissa stood.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Either me or Madame Pomfrey will be back soon," Narcissa said and then left the pocket of warmth that the three of them seemed to build.

"Narcissa!" called Poppy as she darted from the tent. She looked to Dumbledore, "She can't stand to see kids hurt. Softie even though she claims to be a bitch," Poppy supplied to the gentleman before her. Albus simply smiled.

Fleur watched Hermione next to her, she could easily slip over and curl around her, but she would not. She knew Lady Malfoy did this to negate Fleur from walking while she was under her potions. She was glad for she was groggy. Why the hell would she say that to Narcissa?

There was a groan from next to her and Hermione shifted. Fleur moved closer and placed a hand on Hermione's uninjured shoulder. Eyes opened, and then clenched shut. And a silently screamed ahhh came from Hermione as her hand went to her shoulder.

"Non, do not aggravate it," Fleur said, and Hermione looked over. She looked to her face and then to the space between them.

"Where is Narcissa?" Hermione asked. Fleur's heart dropped to her feet as she slightly recoiled. How can she have this thing, this feeling so intense, and yet it not be her bond mate?

"She went for air," Poppy said from around the corner. She came in and looked Hermione over. She gave her potions and Hermione took them without argument. Poppy gave her one more and lifted her brow. Hermione lay there looking to the older witch.

"What?" she asked

"You never take a potion without argument. Either you are exhausted, in magnitudes of pain, or you simply don't care," the medi-witch supplied.

"Maybe all of the above," Hermione said but it was without mirth, "I found out today that this tournament is nothing more than a gladiatorial escapade. I hate this. I am not judged on being the best out there, I am judged on the performance I can give," Hermione said bitterly.

"Ma Lionne, if that was true then why did you get first place for the trial?" Fleur asked from the side. Hermione looked to her.

"Explain please," Hermione asked softly.

"You got first because you did not kill any of the eggs and was ingenuous in your spells, Cedric got second just 2 point about me and Victor was last because he did it the fastest, but he killed ze babies," Fleur informed. She was listening to the loudspeaker outside. Now she watched Hermione.

"I hope they fix the dragon. Something in me told me what I did was cruel, or uncomfortable. I wish I never did it, but I wanted to live and didn't know how far…" Hermione began to cry. Fleur edged over the last bit of her bed onto Hermione's bed, and pulled Hermione to her. Poppy caressed her hand.

"Hermione answer me a question," Poppy asked sadly. Hermione nodded.

"Can you feel this?" she asked as she pinched the skin on Hermione's hand. Hermione shook her head and her heart beat faster.

"Can you move your fingers or make a fist?" Hermione's fingers twitched, and after a moment they made a fist. The witch sighed.

"Good, it means you are not paralyzed, but I am not sure about the sensations. We will keep an eye on it," Poppy said and Hermione lifted her arm at the elbow filling the muscles and cringed. Fleur put her hand in Hermione's and guided it to Hermione's stomach. Hermione's mind flooded with facts. No sensation yet movement. Could she fell in that hand again? She looked to Fleur and tried to squeeze her hand. A small smile lifted on the blonde lips, but other than she could not feel al thing. After her own experiment her was near frantic. Oh, MY fucking MERLIN! She couldn't feel it.