Love Never Expected (10/?) By Dragonflyer Author E-mail: Dragonflyer89@aol.com

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and I do not intend to take or use them as my own.

Chapter 10: Saving Love

Fleur lay on the floor, starring into space. She didn't know how long she had been there, although she could tell it had been long since she could see the sun setting through the glass balcony doors.

Fleur looked up at the bed where Legolas' hand was visible hanging off the edge. She lifted her arm to hold his hand. Even has hand was hot with fever. Fleur would have started crying, if she could, but she felt all cried out.

She slowly lifted herself up and peered down at Legolas, asleep on the bed. 'I have to do something,' Fleur thought. She looked back at the open door that led to her room.

Walking into her room, Fleur picked up the leather bound "Advanced Potions for the Traveling Wizard" book and looked at it once again, although this time she looked through it for counter attacking potions.

Fleur flipped though the pages, carefully reading each one, until she picked a potion she thought might aid her in helping Legolas. It read:

Galiton Potion: Strong and effective, Galiton Potion counter
attacks various types of poisons. May reduce fever, swelling and
acid reflex.

Ingredients: Wolf bane, Calimare leaves, and Kelpa roots.

Fleur glanced at the ebony grandfather clock that stood near the doorway; it's golden hands indicating that it was around 7:30 pm.

'There's still time to get the ingredients, but what about Legolas? What if he needs me and I'm not here? What if the woman breaks free and does something to him?' Fleur panicked. 'Maybe I can take him with me, no, it would look suspicious.' Fleur looked toward the door that held the woman inside. 'I'll lock her in, and without her wand she won't be able to get out. But what about Legolas? I'll just have to leave him here.'

Fleur hated the idea of leaving Legolas alone, but what else could she do? She had to get the ingredients.

Fleur went to her luggage and pulled out a large, velvet sack of galleons.

Fleur was just about to leave when she noticed something. She looked down at her torn clothes and frowned. 'I all most forgot,' she thought. She turned back to her luggage and quickly gathered up some new robes.

Before she left Fleur pushed her luggage in front of the door holding the mysterious woman, then gave Legolas a reassuring kiss and left.

******Outside******

Once outside Fleur took a deep breath and started to walk toward a seemingly abandoned alley. Any muggle that would have seen it would have just dismissed it as an ordinary alley, but to any wizard, the alley would be known as one of the many gates to Diagon Alley.

Fleur abruptly stopped in front of the back wall. She quickly pulled out her wand from her cloak pocket and turned to check if no one was behind her. After a few moments Fleur turned back to the wall.

She tapped the tip of her wand four times on four different bricks.

Suddenly the wall started to move. Each brick changed its position. Almost instantly the wall of bricks became an archway into a walk way with shops all around. Fleur, relived that it had worked, confidently stepped into it.

Fleur took in the sounds and fragrances the shops, ranging from book and potion shops to bakeries and wand shops, provided.

As Fleur walked through the alley she sensed lingering eyes upon her. She was used to it; being part veela never meant that you wouldn't be noticed. She saw from the corner of her eye the way the men and women shopping in the alley looked at her. The men with longing looks and expressions while the women gave her looks of scorn and jealousy.

Fleur gazed upon the different shops looking for one that might have the ingredients she was looking for.

Finally Fleur came upon a shop named "Morgan's Magical Herbs" that attracted her attention with its colorful window display of herbs.

'I'll try this one,' thought Fleur, as she confidently opened the door to the shop and entered.

Almost instantly Fleur was engulfed with sweet aromas of different herbs. Fleur was amazed at what she saw.

It seemed the whole shop was filled with thousands of types of herbs. There were brown herbs, green herbs, red herbs, black herbs; herbs that smelt like timber wood and herbs that smelt like rotting meat.

Fleur looked at the list where she had written down the ingredients. 'The first thing I need to look for is wolf bane,' thought Fleur, looking over the herbs one by one.

"May I help you, miss?" said a voice from behind her.

Fleur turned to see a man in his mid-thirties. He wore a black cloak with an emerald green English suit. On the black cloak was a tag with the name 'Lance' magically printed on it.

As soon as the man saw Fleur his eyes went wide and his mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

'Oh, great. Not another one,' Fleur thought. This was the reaction she was used to when around men.

"Yes, I was looking for these," Fleur said, handing him the list of herbs she needed. The man took the list without taking his eyes off Fleur.

Fleur, irritated and annoyed by his actions, interrupted whatever he was thinking by saying, "I need these in a hurry if you don't mind."

The man immediately snapped out of his reverie, "Y.y.yes, miss. R.right away." The man looked down at the list then to his right side. "This way, please." He led her to a shelf filled with different roots and leaves. He read the names of each one before picking two glass bottles and handed them to Fleur.

Fleur looked down at them. One bottle read 'Wolf Bane', the other 'Calimare Leaves'. Fleur looked up at the man, "What about Kelpa roots?"

The man nodded, "Kelpa roots are this way." He once again led Fleur to another shelf also containing glass bottles filled with herbs and spices. He picked one up and handed it to Fleur.

She looked down at it. The glass bottle read 'Kelpa Roots'.

Satisfied and eager to get back to the hotel, Fleur walked to the counter to pay. There she found the same man who had helped her find the herbs.

Fleur carefully place the bottles down on the dusty counter. 'Someone should ready dust in here once in a while,' Fleur thought to herself.

"Will that be all?" the man asked in a shy voice. He grinned at her.

Now Fleur was annoyed, "Yes, that will be all."

The man checked each bottles price before speaking to Fleur, "That'll be six galleons, please."

Fleur pulled out her purse and handed him the six galleons. She gathered up her things and was just about to leave when the man spoke again, "And if you've not doing anything Friday night maybe we could do something."

Fleur gave him disgusted look. "How dare you!" Fleur yelled at him. She stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

Fleur, insulted by the comment, gathered her stuff and marched out the door with her head held up high, leaving the man with a dazzled expression on his face.

*****Hotel*****

Fleur opened the door to the hotel room where Legolas and she were staying, finding everything the way she had left it, to her relief.

She looked at the ebony grandfather clock once again. This time its golden hands read 8:17 pm.

Fleur walked to her luggage and pulled out a small, silver cauldron and a long, thin metal stirrer. Picking up the "Advanced Potions for the Traveling Wizard" book she turned to the page that referred to the Galiton Potion.

Fleur read the instructions on how to make the Galiton Potion. They were quiet simple. It read:

Instructions: Boil water. Place ingredients in one by one
fifteen minutes apart. Mix then let cool.

Fleur grabbed her wand and stood up. She remembered the hotel manager telling Legolas when they arrived that if they ever needed anything that there would be a house elf awaiting their orders.

Fleur walked to the door that led to the hallways of the hotel. Next to it was a small, golden door with a wooden handle. Fleur opened the door and put the tip of her wand inside. No light shown inside the tunnel the door opened to; this was on purpose of course. When you lit your wand inside it sent a signal to the main office indicating that you needed something.

"Lumos," Fleur muttered. Instantly the tip of her wand let out a bright green flame. She left it there for a minute or two until a knock came from the door beside her.

She quickly withdrew her wand, ending the spell, and opened the door. There, about three feet below her, stood one of the hotel's house elves. As she appeared at the doorway the house elf bowed its head and lowered it's ears in respect.

"You sent a signal, Mme. Greenleaf?" the house elf asked.

Fleur was taken back by the elf's comment. "No, I'm.I'm Miss Delacour. I need some water."

The house elf bowed even lower, "I'm sorry, Miss Delacour. I will be bringing the water soon." The house elf turned and left.

Fleur stood there partially in shock; no one had ever called her Mme. Greenleaf, although she knew that eventually she would be. In another moment the house elf was back with the water in a large, glass pitcher. Fleur took it graciously and closed the door as the house elf returned to its post in the main lobby.

She quickly turned back to her cauldron and book. Fleur gently tipped the pitcher and watched the water flow into the silver cauldron. Once the cauldron was half filled she pointed her wand at the underside of the cauldron.

"Inflamare," Fleur muttered. Her wand's tip emitted a low, blue flame. Fleur held it under the cauldron until the water began to boil.

She gathered the ingredients she had bought at Diagon Alley, putting them in the order the book had given. Fleur took the Wolf Bane and carefully pulled the cork out, shaking the bottle until a forth of it had emptied into the cauldron.

She grabbed the stirrer and dipped it into the now thick, mucky, green solution. Stirring the liquid, Fleur stole a glance at Legolas.

He was still lying on the bed, although it seemed that his condition had worsened.

After the fifteen minutes of stirring Fleur set down the stirrer and picked up the bottle of Calimare Leaves. Doing as she had done before, Fleur opened the bottle and shook the Calimare Leaves into the cauldron. She picked up the stirrer and once again mixed the Calimare Leaves in with the potion.

Fleur looked at the ebony grandfather clock. It was almost ten. Fleur turned back to what she was doing. She opened the bottle to the Kelpa Roots and, like the other two ingredients, mixed it with the solution.

10:07. Fleur looked down at the dark green solution. 'I have to get Legolas to drink this,' Fleur thought. Fleur brought out from her luggage a glass container, pouring some of the potion into it. Fleur stood and walked over to Legolas.

Lifting Legolas' head, Fleur brought the tip of the container to Legolas' lips and poured the potion into his mouth.

Legolas sputtered as the potion entered his mouth and went down his throat. "Sh, its okay. You're all right. Everything's going to be all right," Fleur muttered into Legolas' ear. Fleur looked Legolas over, checking for any signs of recovery.

'Oh, God. The potion isn't working,' Fleur thought with horrible realization. Legolas still looked as if in great pain. It broke Fleur's heart to see him like this.

Fleur sat in back of Legolas, putting her arms around his chest. Fleur felt hot tears burning her eyes. Rocking back and forth, Fleur began to hum a lullaby her grandmother had taught her. It seemed to soothe Legolas as he calmed down a bit.

"Fleur," Legolas whispered. "I love you."

Fleur held Legolas even closer to herself, "I love you too." Fleur lowered herself down and pressed her lips onto his. It felt so good, something she had been waiting to do her whole lifetime.

"Fleur, Fleur," Legolas mumbled. Fleur withdrew from the kiss and starred down at Legolas, who was starring back up at her. Legolas sat up, pain almost completely gone from his body.

"You're all right," Fleur whispered unbelievingly. Legolas looked into her eyes.

"Thanks to you," Legolas muttered.

Legolas and Fleur slowly leaned towards each other, both eager to kiss once more.

Author Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, school was tough. Well, I hope you enjoy it.