Chapter 4

The next day dawned quickly – much sooner than Fleur had expected, anyway, for it seemed like she had just gone to bed; as soon as her head had hit her pillow the sun had risen, and the birds started chirping. Truth was, she would not have awoken this early if not for the loud guffawing noise outside her room… But even then, she lay in her bed for a good few more minutes, her mind drifting to memories of the evening before, a content smile coming to settle on her face. A light giggle drew her attention to the door, causing her to force away all thoughts of kissing Hermione, and she sent an annoyed glare to the two intruders who had decided to poke their heads in. The two little boys froze in shock at being caught, and when they regained their senses they quickly shut the door.

Fleur had a feeling that they were still standing out there, probably waiting for one of the older girls in her dorm to walk out so they could scare them. Younger kids, Fleur thought to herself with a small sigh. They never think of anything better to do. But of course, she herself was no different when she was younger – and she knew that. She settled back into her bed, pulling her comforter closer and snuggling deeper into her bed, closing her eyes and allowing her mind to wander, trying to fall asleep.

But all of a sudden, she sat up. How could she possibly have forgotten? The date with Hermione! Her heart leapt. She sprang from her bed and bustled around the room as quietly as she could manage, picking up a scarf on the floor and taking a fresh pair of blue robes from her drawers. But try as she might not to disturb any of her roommates, a few of them looked up at her, bleary with sleep, sending her a reproachful (or sometimes even deathlike) glare - which in turn caused her to wonder how in the world they hadn't heard those two younger boys earlier.

"Fleur, that's my scarf!"

Fleur jumped at the hissed whisper, startled. She knew it was Adrienne; she would recognize her friend's voice anywhere, and right now the displeasure the other girl felt showed in her sharp French tones. Turning to face the girl, Fleur sent Adrienne a light smile that was accompanied by a half-shrug, before making her way to the bathroom to get ready. She knew Adrienne would forgive her for taking the scarf – besides, Fleur had always been more than happy to lend Adrienne her clothes. This was what best friends were for, were they not? The platinum blonde witch grinned when she heard Adrienne's loud sigh behind her, and shut the door to the bathroom just as Adrienne fell back onto her bed.

Adrienne never seemed happy anymore; ever since they had arrived at Hogwarts, the girl's mood went downhill, and most times Fleur managed to cheer her up when others could not – but as of late her presence only seemed to irritate Adrienne. She had to admit it was rather hard to cheer Adrienne up when all she would do was glare angrily at her. Nevertheless, Fleur made a mental note to spend more time with her friend, and once she got back from this date with Hermione, they would have plenty to talk about. The thought cheered her up, and she hurried herself as she got dressed, exiting the room as soon as she was ready, not giving a second thought to the oddly choked cough that came from Adrienne's bed.

Oh, it was going to be a lovely day, and nothing – not even her best friend's foul mood – was going to ruin it.

The Great Hall was bustling with activity when Fleur made her entrance. After a quick searching glance around, she made her way over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting herself down next to no other than Cho Chang, aware of the eyes on her. Smiling once in greeting to Cho, she looked around again, trying again to find Hermione but to no avail. Her eyes settled back on Cho's form, and her smile reappeared.

"Bonjour, Cho."

"Morning, Fleur," Cho replied with a smile in greeting, shifting over slightly so that there was more room for the French witch; the boy sitting on Fleur's other side did seem rather star-struck - so much so that he couldn't seem to make himself move. Fleur thanked the girl and started to reach for some of the food in front of her.

"'ow are you?"

"I'm doing well, thanks," Cho took a gulp of her juice. "Yourself?" She paused only briefly for Fleur to nod (the girl was just starting on her eggs and hadn't wanted to speak with a full mouth), before she quickly continued, "I'm going to Hogsmeade – with Cedric." She set her goblet down then and waited expectantly for a reply from Fleur, who only seemed dumbfounded.

Was Fleur supposed to be surprised? The French witch raised a brow. Cho and Cedric had been dating for a while now, had they not? It was only natural that they went to Hogsmeade together, so why did Cho seem so delightfully happy and surprised? She understood why the Oriental witch would be happy, but surprise was unexpected. A short pause ensued, before Fleur managed, "Zat's good."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it," Cho nodded as she set her goblet down. "Especially since it's a double-date." She grinned as Fleur looked up, interested. "I know – I've never been on a double-date. It should be quite exciting." Cho let out a short laugh, "I hope it's fun."

"It depends on ze company," Fleur replied. She had been on a few double-dates in her lifetime, and not all of them went well. She found that she preferred to go on a double-date with someone else she knew well, not the friend of her date. It seemed more awkward then. But honestly, she preferred not going on double-dates at all. She raised the fork to her mouth, pausing right before she took a bite of the eggs. "Who are you and Cedric going with?" Then she took a bite, waiting.

"Viktor Krum and Hermione Granger."

Fleur effectively choked on her food.

Cho cast the girl a concerned glance, and pointed her wand towards the French teen, lowering it only when the coughs subsided. "You all right?" the oriental witch asked in concern, wand at the ready in case there was still need for it.

"Th- thank you," Fleur rasped, coughing slightly but waving Cho off as the girl raised her wand again. "I will- I- I will be fine." She smiled to show her appreciation, taking in a few breaths as Cho started again, speaking of the double date from hell and what it would entail. But the French witch couldn't find it in her to listen; sadness, disappointment, and anger welled up in her. She should've known better than to keep her hopes up. When Cho looked at her, as though expecting a response, she gave a half-hearted, "Oh. Z-zat's wonderful, of course." She smiled a fake smile, hoping she at least sounded or looked convincing.

And as Cho continued, Fleur tried to hold back the sick feeling that started in her gut… She thought she finally would be able to be with Hermione – but that must've been why the girl had come along in the first place. Not because she "didn't know," as she had so aptly put it the night before, but because she'd wanted to cancel the weekend date. But Hermione had kissed her back, hadn't she? And they had shared a few more kisses before Hermione had had to leave, hadn't they? Certainly that had to count for something… Fleur stabbed angrily at her eggs. She had thought that everything was wonderful; certainly she had been in bliss. But obviously not Miss Hermione Granger.

"…bit excited really. Oh, look, there's Viktor."

His name brought her back down to earth, and she bristled visibly as Krum took a seat opposite them, looking quite glum indeed. Inwardly she flared up; what right had he to be upset when he had a date with Hermione? Fleur had been thrown to one side, cast away like an old doll, whereas he got her. Snatched her right out of Fleur's grasp. It hurt so much that she wanted to throttle the boy. World-class Quidditch player her derrière! He'd be a dead world-class Quidditch player if Fleur didn't know any better.

He lobbed a solemn gaze towards the excited-looking Cho, his face betraying no emotion, and when his mouth opened, all he said was, "Herm-own-ninny cannot come."

Fleur looked up at this. At least Hermione wasn't going with either of them. Or did it mean that Hermione was actually going with her? Her heart leapt at the possibility – that would mean she wasn't dumped for someone else, or for homework…

"Cannot?" Cho repeated. "Did she say why?"

"Vell, I asked her last week but she said she is already meeting someone else."

An overwhelming feeling of relief and happiness washed over the platinum-blonde witch, and she had to try her hardest to suppress a happy grin. So Hermione was still going to Hogsmeade with her; the brunette hadn't completely disregarded the date in Hogsmeade. Fleur had to look down so that no one would catch what was now the beginnings of a smile that played on her lips, and she quickly stuffed her mouth with more eggs, listening to the conversation at hand with much more enthusiasm than before.

"Oh…" Cho trailed off, her eyes serious as she thought. But as she could find nothing better to say – nothing that would comfort the Quidditch player, should he need any sort of support (she couldn't tell, as he was hard to read) – she sent Viktor a small, sympathetic smile and added, "Maybe another time, then. But you're still welcome to join Cedric and me in Hogsmeade, of course."

Viktor nodded politely at this and got up, saying a quick goodbye to both Cho and Fleur before heading for the Slytherin table, where his friends were seated. A few Slytherin students moved over so he could sit, some of them staring at him openly, as though surprised he would ever sit next to them. For an instant Fleur felt almost sorry for him; she knew what it was like to be stared at – more so than Viktor did… to some extent. And more than that, to be turned down. She was glad she had the date with Hermione, but…

"That's odd," Cho started again as soon as Viktor had sat down at the table, pulling Fleur's attention to her. "I thought Krum and Hermione were definitely steady. You know…" the Oriental witch thought for a moment. "…You're really close to Hermione, aren't you?" Fleur nodded. "You don't suppose you know who she's meeting down at Hogsmeade?"

Fleur swallowed her food, but then wasn't sure what she should say. She liked Hermione, she really did, and even though they'd kissed the night before, that wasn't to say they were dating – because they weren't, and to say so would just cause problems in the end. But they were going there together… She took a sip of her juice and tried to think of something to say. Thankfully, she was saved from having to make anything up as right then, a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Bonjour, Cho," the newcomer said, making the boy who was originally sitting next to Fleur move as she settled into the seat next to Fleur. "Bonjour, Fleur."

"Morning Adrienne," Cho greeted in response.

Fleur tilted her head to one side, "Bonjour, Adrienne."

Silence fell upon the three girls as Adrienne started choosing some breakfast items and placing them delicately on her plate. It didn't take long for Cho to start talking again, her voice curious, "Do you know who Hermione Granger is?" Adrienne's eyes seemed to narrow for the briefest moment, and a frown came to rest on her face as she nodded somewhat reluctantly. Cho, content with this answer, continued, "Well, you haven't happened to hear anything about who she's going with to Hogsmeade?"

Adrienne glanced sharply at Fleur, who just let out a sigh. Would Cho never give this up?

"Wait. So did Adrienne tell Cho we were going together?"

"Is it bad if she did?" Fleur challenged.

Hermione faltered.

"If you're not ready for this-" Fleur began slowly, trying not to let any emotion show through. She liked Hermione – she liked her a lot. Which was exactly why she didn't want to let the both of them get into something that firstly, Hermione wasn't sure of, and secondly, what Fleur herself could get hurt by in the end. She didn't think there was any way she could stand it if Hermione left her. "-I can wait."

Hermione reached down for Fleur's hand and smiled, which caused the French girl to look down, saddened. She knew this meant that Hermione had decided to take some time to think about things – maybe what had transpired between them, and if it was something she wanted. But when Hermione spoke, it wasn't at all what Fleur thought it would be. What came out of the girl's mouth was, instead, "We're in Hogsmeade together right now, aren't we?"

It seemed they were indeed, and Fleur nodded. She wondered how she could have walked from the castle to the little village without really paying attention to where she was going on the way. Quite miraculous, really. But she turned her attention back on Hermione as the girl spoke.

"People will see us together anyway," Hermione continued, pressing her point and trying to get Fleur to see what she was saying. Students would either see her and Fleur as extremely close friends, or perhaps more – everyone knew of their close friendship, and some speculated that much more could be going on. None of that bothered Hermione, and she didn't see why Fleur thought it did. "I never said that was bad. I was just wondering if Adrienne told Cho anything about this date." A light smile lit her face, and rather affectionately she said, "Silly." Then she promptly planted a quick kiss on Fleur's cheek.

Fleur grinned at that, causing Hermione to smirk and a few others around them who noticed to stare.

"Well?" Hermione prodded, ignoring the glances she was receiving.

"No. Adrienne did not say anything," Fleur replied, her lips creasing into a small frown. Not noticing Hermione's somewhat concerned glance, she continued, "I- Adrienne-" She paused to collect her thoughts. "I am worried about Adrienne." Hermione didn't say anything, and Fleur took that to mean she could go on. But shrugging it off, she added, "I am sure it is nothing."

Hermione didn't push for any more information, instead giving Fleur's hand a small squeeze. She looked for somewhere they could go to, but before she could suggest anything, Fleur had pulled her towards Honeydukes. As they entered the crowded store, the brunette had to laugh at Fleur's expression; it was one of utmost delight. It was strangely calming to see the French witch so happy, and Hermione looked at the different assortment of sweets Honeydukes offered while Fleur hovered around the lollipops section.

"Hermione!"

The brunette spun around at the familiar voice to see Ginny.

"Ginny!" Hermione beamed. She had just seen the girl the evening before – first in detention, and then after she'd returned from the Beauxbatons carriage. They had spent a long while after that chatting about many things, one of them being Fleur. Well, what Hermione and Fleur had done, anyway. Hermione was glad for a friend like Ginny, and felt bad that she couldn't include the girl on this trip to Hogsmeade. "Found someone to go to Hogsmeade with, then?"

"Yeah," the redhead grinned, now teasing, "With no thanks to you."

Hermione rolled her eyes and playfully hit the redhead's shoulder, chuckling. She scanned the store quickly, trying to see who Ginny might've come with. But there were too many possibilities; Ginny was becoming quite the attractive young girl – there were many boys she could see who might've accompanied her… But Ginny would've told her if she were dating someone, right? "So, who is it?"

Ginny laughed, as though reading Hermione's mind. "It's not who you think." She cocked her head to the left slightly, gesturing to another blonde girl. "Luna didn't have anyone to come with, either."

Hermione nodded. She had never, ever heard of Luna – but she supposed it was one of Ginny's good friends from third year, or perhaps younger than that. Though Ginny had never mentioned her before this, Hermione didn't think it was a big deal that the girl had her own life outside Hermione, Ron, and Harry's "group." She knew Ron had a problem with it, but he was always the overprotective older brother…

"So," Ginny began, lowering her voice. A tiny twinkle was in her eye – a twinkle that made Hermione nervous. This couldn't possibly be good… She knew they were just arriving at the topic Ginny had meant to broach when she first greeted Hermione. "How's the date so far?"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, pushing her friend gently with a laugh. "Can't you wait till we're back in the common room?"

Ginny grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes, pushing past her friend as Fleur waved to her with one arm, the other arm holding onto a bag crammed full of lollipops and licorice wands – and probably more that were stuffed under the mass of sweets. "I should go. But I'll talk to you later."

The redheaded witch watched with a smile as her friend and her date exit the shop, their hands intertwined, and then turned back to Luna, continuing her browsing for sweets. No one was aware of the pair of blue eyes that followed Fleur and Hermione as they walked out, a very displeased frown upon the watcher's face, before looking down at a few sugar quills and inspecting them closely.

School was upon them again the following Monday, and students trudged into the Great Hall, an expression of utmost weariness upon their faces. Many of them had stayed up the entire night, trying to finish – or in some cases, start – their holiday homework. It was a bit late to do so, and many of them had unsuccessfully tried to bribe their friends to complete the work for them, or help them with it.

But everyone got through the first week back from holidays (and the weeks that followed) as well as they could, catching up on the work they had not completed, some of them even serving detention hours for it. More and more work was piled upon the students as the weeks passed, and Fleur and Hermione were finding it increasingly difficult to spend any time together at all. Perhaps that was why as February rolled around and the Second Task was imminent, all hell broke loose.

Well. All hell in their worlds, anyway.

It was a freezing cold Tuesday morning, a day so dreary and bleak that Hermione found even she wasn't looking forward to classes. She dragged herself out of bed, pulled on some clean robes and then walked down to the Great Hall. She was late – there were many students already down there, eating and chattering away. Heck, even Ron and Harry were sitting there, chatting to each other. As she walked over, she could feel many eyes on her back, of people sniggering and whispering behind her back. A few girls eyed her almost enviously, but she paid no notice.

She easily slipped into the seat next to Ron, who was talking to Harry. They paused in their conversation momentarily as Hermione joined them, giving her very cheery greetings which caused her to raise a brow. She helped herself to some cereal, and reached over for the Prophet…

…only to have Harry snatch it away quickly.

Affronted, she glared at him angrily. "Harry! I was going to read that!"

"Sorry," he looked almost relieved, but quickly changed his expression to one of concentration as he scanned the article. Hermione frowned, watching as her best friend folded the Prophet so that the front was now facing the inside, and what'd been on the inside was now facing on the front. Noting Hermione's expression, he added, "I just wanted to check something. Give me a minute."

Scowling now, Hermione turned to her breakfast. Ginny joined them soon enough, sitting down next to Harry, and Hermione felt annoyance rise in her as Ginny, Ron, and Harry exchanged nervous glances. She was just about to open her mouth and try to get them to tell her what in the world was wrong, when Ginny looked at her watch and exclaimed, "Oh, Merlin! It's time for class!"

Before anything else could be said, Ginny waved a goodbye to them and walked out of the large double doors. Ron and Harry stood quickly also, and Hermione followed along as they headed to their first class. Neither Ron nor Harry said a word as they walked, which was unusual, and Hermione wasn't sure if she should be more worried or annoyed. She knew they were keeping something from her, but what? And not to forget… she never had a chance to read the Prophet.

Something was wrong, and she was determined to find out what exactly that was.

Later that day, shortly after spending lunchtime admonishing Harry for throwing the Daily Prophet away and trying to get information out of Ginny, Harry, and Ron (but to no avail), Hermione walked along the cold stone corridors, trying to find someone else who would tell her anything, or at least someone who had a copy of the Prophet. So far she hadn't found anyone who had the Prophet; just a few girls who sneered at her as she passed.

So when she bumped into Fleur, a smile lit her face and she reached out to hug her girlfriend. But the blonde-haired witch recoiled, her blue eyes livid as she glared at Hermione. Confused and now frustrated, the brunette took in a deep breath. First, her very best friends, and now Fleur too? She didn't understand what was going on, and no one would tell her.

"Fleur?" she began slowly, wondering what in the world she'd done.

"Explain zis!" the French witch spat, her voice echoing through the hallway as she threw a copy of the Prophet at Hermione which hit her squarely in the jaw. "We're – we're zrough."

The brunette didn't even feel the paper connect; she was so startled and confused. Why was Fleur breaking up with her? What had she done? The pain hit her hard… She didn't understand… She watched as Fleur left, her own eyes so full of tears that she didn't even notice that Fleur's were, too. Slowly she reached down to pick the Prophet from the floor. "What?" she started, but then stopped.

Krum and Granger: Much More than Just Friends (but we already knew that)

By Rita Skeeter

It wasn't the headline that was what Fleur had been so upset about; the girl had never been one to trust the Prophet much – she preferred the French newspaper. Hermione's heart dropped when she saw the picture that was under the headline; it unmistakably was what Fleur had been so upset about. It was a picture of Hermione - kissing Krum.

Fleur had got it all wrong; this was a horrible mistake. Guilt swelled up in Hermione; she knew she should never have approached the Quidditch player in the first place… But he had been so nice to her, so understanding. The kiss had only been her trying to show him her appreciation – it hadn't meant anything. But of course, how was Fleur supposed to know that?

Choking back a sob, Hermione threw the paper down and ran in the direction Fleur had taken off in, hoping she would be able to convince the girl that it meant nothing: Because that was the truth. The kiss didn't mean anything.

Fleur slammed the door to her dorm room and climbed into her bed, roughly wiping at the tears that streaked her cheeks as she rocked herself backwards and forwards slowly, trying to stop the tears from falling. Hermione wasn't worth all this. Not after she had gone and kissed that Bulgarian oaf. Fleur couldn't believe she had allowed herself to fall hard for this girl, only to be hurt so badly. Romances never ended well for her; it hadn't for her previous relationships, and this one was no different. Maybe that was her payback: For all the hearts she toyed with and broke… her heart, too, would be broken. Again and again.

Such was the relentless cycle, and she saw no end to it.

So caught up in her thoughts and sadness was she that she didn't hear someone else enter the room, and was only aware of the other presence when she felt her bed sink slightly. She looked up, wiping her tears again, and saw blonde locks. Adrienne. That was someone she could count on, Gabrielle, and Adrienne; her friend was there for her always. Never once had Adrienne let her down. Her eyes again fell back to the bed, and the two girls sat there for a long time without saying a word to the other.

Then, Fleur felt gentle lips brush against her cheek. She looked up through teary eyes, and closed her eyes as Adrienne brushed the tears away. When she opened them again, she found her best friend no more than a hair's breadth away. Bright blue eyes met her own sad ones, and before Fleur could thank her, or do anything, she felt soft lips upon hers.

"Fleur," Adrienne whispered softly, her French voice sad, when she pulled back from the kiss. "Mon amour. I have loved you forever…"

Fleur said nothing; all she could think of was Hermione, and how she wished those were the words the brunette had uttered. Not Adrienne. Hermione. But that didn't matter now. Hermione didn't matter. They weren't dating anymore. Roughly Fleur grabbed her friend, pulling her into a kiss. It wasn't anything like kissing Hermione. Kissing Hermione was soft, sweet, gentle, exciting… exhilarating. Kissing Adrienne was a completely different experience. Not unpleasant, and similar in some ways, but it wasn't Hermione.

Nevertheless, before she knew it, Fleur found her arms under the girl's shirt, running a slow race up and down her best friend's back, eliciting a soft moan from the girl. When they pulled apart, she found that Adrienne was working at her robes, trying to unbutton them. When she finally managed to undo the last button, Fleur shrugged the blouse off, leaving herself topless. The French witch then leaned in again to kiss Adrienne, who returned the kiss with vigor. Fleur felt her best friend's arms encircling her naked torso, and she felt herself falling back onto her bed, with Adrienne on top of her, the both of them still deep in the kiss.

But still, despite all this, Hermione occupied her mind. It was unfair to do this to Adrienne. Unfair to Adrienne, and unfair to Fleur herself. As Fleur broke the kiss, she shook her head, "Adrienne, I can't do this."

A frustrated sigh. "Why not?"

"It's not… It's not right."

A long pause ensued, broken by a knock sounding on the door.

Fleur gasped, and pushed Adrienne off her. "Dans un moment!" she choked out, flustered, as she pulled her shirt back on. Just as she buttoned the second to last button, the door swung open and Fleur's arms flew up to finish buttoning… A frown crossed her face when she saw who it was; the fresh feeling of hurt, and now guilt, stung her.

It was Hermione.

And the brunette could piece two and two together. She looked from a red-eyed but flustered Fleur, to a fairly frustrated Adrienne – both girls had tousled hair, and they looked like they had just… Well, Hermione knew what they had been about to do – or was it what they had been doing before she came in?

"I came to explain," Hermione said stonily. How quick Fleur was to move from one girl, one lover, to another. And it hurt her to catch Fleur in the act, to know that Fleur didn't spare a minute crying for her. Why she had even bothered coming, she didn't know. Why she still cared, she didn't know either. "But I can see you're doing just fine without me." She turned to leave, the tears starting to well in her eyes again, when Fleur's voice held her back.

"Don't you dare," the French witch was now standing, and her voice trembled with her anger even as she tried to keep it steady. She pointed now to Hermione. "Don't you dare. You were ze one who went off with him!"

"That's not true! That picture – it's not what it looks like!"

"And I am to believe zat?" Fleur snapped. "What were you doing? Giving 'im mouth-to-mouth rezuzitation?"

Hermione flared, "And I'm supposed to believe that you fell onto your bed and your shirt flew open!" Hurt was evident in her voice as she glared back at Fleur. "I shouldn't have kissed Krum – it didn't mean anything," Hermione said coldly. "But you have no excuse for what you did, either."

And with that, she spun on her heel and left.

A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing! (And for the well wishes on my finals, hehe.) It helps keep me motivated, and it also actually helps me write more and more in a shorter span of time. Thanks again… and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think it was a little bit longer than usual.

Also, everyone - do you think Hermione should be the person Fleur has to save? I cannot guarantee that Hermione will be the person Fleur has to save, but I was just wondering what other people thought. Let me know in your review.

LiloGurlo – The link you provided didn't work… o.o

Artemis – Thank you for the offer! I might just email you one of these times…