Fleur

I woke up in what was becoming a familiar bed, I felt groggy, tired, and weak as I tried in vain to lift myself into a sitting position. Sighing in defeat, I nestled back into the hospital bed, I pulled my left hand up to my face and tiredly rubbed my forehead. I tried to lift my right hand as well, but quickly realized that I was unable to lift it, I looked down to my right, my breath hitching as a familiar head of brunette hair came into view, frizzier than ever, as the girl slept peacefully, her hand clutching mine.

"What happened?" The voice that came from my left was quiet, strained, heartbreaking and familiar all at the same time.

I looked over towards my sister, my breath shuddering as tears trickled down her usually smiling face, I tried to smile comfortingly but her eyes flared with uncharacteristic anger, causing my smile to disappear as I tore my eyes away from the girl. I looked into my lap, shame and guilt flooding my already frayed feelings as I squeezed the hand that rested beneath brunette hair, searching for comfort. The action roused the sleeping brunette as she slowly shifted beside me, lifting an exhausted face and releasing my hand as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

I couldn't help but find the action cute, even as pain flared inside me at the sight of the face of the one person I had simultaneously needed in my life yet currently hated being around. Hermione eyed me warily, her usual smile replaced with a sad frown as she took in my current state.

We sat in silence, seconds seemed to take minutes and minutes hours as I sat, the two most important people in my life staring at me, questioning what had happened over the last month. I wanted to speak, to explain what had been going on, but I couldn't and I slowly filled with shame, I buried my face in my hands as I started to cry tears that I had tried desperately to hold in over the last month.

Two pairs of arms quickly encircled me, trying to comfort me, but all they did was make me feel worse, the shame, guilt, and pain doubling and then tripling, building until it was too much for me to bear. I tried to shove the girl's away from me but was unable to gather enough strength to move them, they didn't let up in their comforting either as they tightened their grips on me.

"Leave me alone," I sobbed, still trying to push them away, "I-I don't deserve your comfort," I tried to yell but it came out in a hoarse whisper.

Hermione and Gabrielle shushed me together, "Yes, you do," Hermione said softly but her voice did nothing to soothe my raging emotions.

"Let her go," Madam Pomfrey's voice was firm but full of concern, I felt the arms leave me as I looked up from my hands, gazing into the woman's sad eyes. "I think she needs some more time to rest, alone."

"I'm not leaving her," Hermione protested but was shut down with a simple look from the older woman. Both my sister and Hermione moved to leave, but I grabbed Gabi's hand, keeping her by my side. Hermione looked down at our joined hands, tears filling her eyes before she hurried out of the Infirmary, leaving Gabrielle and I alone in the room with the School Nurse.

"Now," Madam Pomfrey spoke quietly as she took the seat that Hermione had just vacated, "I need to know how you got to this state," She said as she raised a mirror to my face, showing me what I had been hiding from everyone else. I sighed sadly, as I brought my free hand to my face, touching the dark circles around my eyes and the slightly sunken skin over my cheeks.

"I haven't been eating…" I spoke slowly, I didn't want to reveal the reason why to the older woman, all she needed to know was what had happened to my body.

The woman frowned, "Why?" I sat silently, refusing to answer the question as I shrunk under the older woman's concerned gaze. Madam Pomfrey placed a hesitant, comforting hand on my shoulder, "Ms Delacour, I won't press you for an answer but… If it's that bad, then you need to talk to someone about it and, if possible, try to fix whatever it is that's causing you so much hardship."

"I know… Intellectually I know that but… It's hard," I looked into the older woman's eyes, searching for some kind of answer, "What if she runs away? What if it's too much for her to handle?"

"Hurting yourself like this won't help," The woman said with a sad smile, "She has feelings as well, they may not be what you want, but staying silent and starving yourself won't make anything better."

I huffed as I looked back down at the bed covers, she was right but also wrong at the same time, which was the problem, Hermione had her feelings, she was human, she was entitled to those feelings, but I… "I'm part Veela," I confessed, unsure if the woman simply didn't know of my anatomy or was oblivious to what that meant.

"Of course I know that, but what does that…" Realization dawned on the older woman, "Her," The word passed through her lips slowly. "Are you sure that she's?"

I nodded in answer to the question, "She… She's ashamed of me."

Madam Pomfrey furrowed her brow, "She didn't seem to be… Are you sure this isn't just a misunderstanding?"

"She is embarrassed to be seen as a couple in front of others," I growled, my anger over the situation winning out over the despair I felt for just a second before I buried my face in my hands once again to try to hide my tears.

Gabrielle engulfed me into a tight hug, her whole body shaking as she fought to conceal her own tears, I finally clung to my little sister, accepting her comfort despite the guilt and shame of having worried her so much.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gabrielle asked desperately.

I shook my head against her, unable to form any semblance of an answer as, truth be told, I wasn't quite sure why I had hidden everything from anyone, let alone my sister.

"Fleur, you need to speak with her," Madam Pomfrey interrupted us, "She needs to know how you feel, for your own sake."

"But, what if she leaves, that will leave me empty… Desolate…" I glanced at Gabrielle sadly as I spoke the next words, "What if… I can't make it through that," Gabrielle gasped but otherwise stayed silent.

"Look at yourself, Fleur," Madam Pomfrey spoke, pulling my gaze back to her and her mirror, "You can't survive like this…"

I nodded my head slowly, she was right, "But how can I face the pain?"

Gabrielle tightened her grip on me, reminding me that she was still there and that she would always be there, "Embrace it," The nurse said seriously, "Convey it properly, if you don't, how can you expect this girl to understand?"

I sighed in defeat, there was no way I could argue with the woman, she was much older and her words made so much sense that it would have been futile to even attempt to refute them. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly as I gently pushed Gabrielle away from me as she still hadn't released me.

"I should go find her," I said as I shakily moved to climb out of the bed.

"No," Madam Pomfrey spoke as she pushed me back down onto the bed, "You can't leave in that state."

"I can't leave it like this anymore though," I spoke with resignation, unsure if I really could face my pain, but Madam Pomfrey was right, I needed to… At the very least, I needed to try.

Madam Pomfrey looked around the Hospital Wing with a sigh, "Wait right here," she said before walking brusquely towards the exit.

"Is it really that bad?" Gabrielle asked, her voice full of fear, I couldn't lie, not anymore, so I nodded, "Then… I don't know if I want to find my mate anymore," Gabrielle spoke softly.

I tried to smile reassuringly at my little sister, "I know it's scary, but you're stronger than me," Gabrielle shook her head, "Yes, you are, you're here, aren't you? You are looking into this face, and you've stayed here, tried to help me, even though you must be hurting so badly on the inside."

Gabrielle's eyes brimmed with tears as she nodded her head, "You see, even now you aren't running away," I said as I wiped some tears from her face, "Because you know I need you, don't you?" Gabrielle nodded again. "You know, I ran from Hermione, it was when we got back from the Christmas break at her house. All this time I've been running and hurting myself, lying to you and… Pretending that everything was fine, because I wasn't brave enough, not like you."

Hermione

I was sitting on the floor just outside the infirmary, I hugged my knees to my chest, crying silently into my knees when the door to the infirmary opened.

"Hermione?" Madam Pomfrey asked in surprise, standing in the doorway.

I quickly dried my tears, the action doing little to hide the fact that I had bee crying, "Yeah," I said quietly as I shakily rose to my feet.

"Fleur wants to talk to you…"

I frowned slightly, "Now she wants to talk?" I asked a little angrily, yet the anger dissipated just as fast as it had come as the image of Fleur's current state filtered through my mind, "What happened to her?"

Madam Pomfrey looked slightly uncomfortable, "She hasn't been eating… You should really talk to her," It almost sounded like the woman was pleading with me.

I looked through the open doorway, catching a glimpse of Fleur and Gabrielle, "I… I don't know… Maybe some other day, I… I don't know if I can face her."

Madam Pomfrey placed her hands on my shoulders, "She needs you, Hermione."

"Then why would she avoid me?" I asked, tears springing to my eyes once again.

"I can't begin to wonder what goes through a teenagers head these days," Madam Pomfrey responded, trying to lighten the mood even if by just a little.

I chuckle, despite my sadness, "We are complicated, aren't we?"

Madam Pomfrey smiles, "Sure, let's call it complicated," She says before walking back into the infirmary.

I take a few deep breaths as I stare through the open doorway, wondering if the nurse was right about Fleur needing me. Despite everything, I walk back through the infirmary door, closing it as I walk through, and walk back to Fleur's bed.

"Hermione," Fleur croaks as she looks at me again.

"Hey Fleur," I say slowly as I approach the side of her bed, scared she'll have a bad reaction again. I watch as she struggles to keep control of her emotions as I stand beside her, I can feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes as my mere presence is having such a terrible effect on the blond. "Should… Should I leave?" I ask worriedly.

Fleur shakes her head almost violently before lunging towards me and wrapping her arms desperately around my waist. Her head comes to rest on my chest and her breathing slowly deepens as she seems to be calming down.

"Don't leave me…" Fleur's voice is quiet and desperate, her words holding more meaning than just leaving her to calm down.

I wrap my arms around Fleur, stroking her long blond hair in what I hope is a comforting motion, "I'm not going anywhere… I never wanted too to begin with."

"I know," Fleur sniffles, "I know."

Silence descends over our small group for a few long moments until Fleur lets me go, I refuse to release her, however, and instead pull her closer as she tries to pull away, "Why'd you avoid me?" I ask, "We had so much fun over the holidays… At least that's what I thought… And then you just disappeared on me. D-Did I do something wrong?"

"You said it was embarrassing to be seen with me," Fleur answered, causing my brows to knit together in confusion, I pulled away from her, holding her shoulders, unable to bear the thought of her releasing her at this moment.

"No, I didn't, what are you talking about?" I asked, baffled by the girl's answer.

Fleur grew silent for a few moments, "Well, not specifically," Fleur started, "But you didn't want those students, that we didn't even know, to know that we were together. And then you were grateful when I covered for… You."

"I'm not embarrassed about you, it was embarrassing that people were talking about us," I explained, "The thank you was because it stopped them from talking." I pulled Fleur back against me, "I would never be embarrassed by you, you are amazing Fleur and I couldn't be happier being around you but… I just don't like people we don't know, or even people we do know, gossiping about us."

"That… Makes sense," Fleur spoke quietly, her voice shaking, "I'm so stupid," Fleur sniffled again, "I just… assumed the worst and never even spoke to you about it and… And did this to myself," Fleur said, motioning to her current state. "I hurt you, I hurt Gabrielle and I hurt myself, all because I was such a bloody moron."

I released Fleur and smirked at her, even with tears pricking at the edges of my eyes, "But you're my moron."

Fleur snapped her eyes to mine, "R-R-Really? You still… Like me?"

My smirk morphed into a reassuring smile, "I do. I'm not happy about this whole situation, and I hope you come and talk to me next time, but I definitely still like you and I won't let a simple miscommunication get in the way of that."

Fleur breathed out a sigh of relief, flinging her arms around me again, she was soon joined by another set of smaller arms as Gabrielle joined the hug. We sat for a few minutes, just holding each other until the silence was interrupted by a very loud rumbling emanating from within our group. We separated, Gabrielle and I both looked at a red-faced Fleur, who was currently holding her stomach. As if on cue, Madam Pomfrey approached the bed with a plate of fruits and vegetables and a very small serving of meat.

"I know you might want something a bit heavier but it's best if we start you off lite for now," Madam Pomfrey said as she put the food down on the small table beside Fleur's bed.

"Thank you," Fleur spoke meekly as she reached for a small bundle of grapes.

The nurse nodded with a smile, "Just be sure not to overdo it, let your stomach settle if you start to feel full."

Fleur nodded as she slowly chewed on a couple of grapes, Madam Pomfrey left us to ourselves, Gabrielle and I just sat with Fleur, watching as the plate slowly cleared of food. With the plate now cleared of food, Fleur shuffled down in the bed to lay back down, "I think I'm going to rest a bit more, hopefully, I can get out of here soon."

"I'm sure you will," I smiled, taking her hand into mine and watching as she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on top of Fleur's forehead, smiling as she murmured softly in her sleep.

"Do you want to leave her to rest?" I asked, glancing at Gabrielle.

The girl shook her head, "I'll leave if I need to, but I'm staying here otherwise."

I nodded, "Watch over her for me… I need some time to just, process everything."

I left the room and walked to Gryffindor tower, the mood in the Common Room was a sombre one as many of the students had been disciplined in some way the day before. I saw Ginny sitting alone on a two-person couch, staring at nothing, she waved sadly as she noticed me walking over to her.

"How is she?" Ginny asked as I took the seat beside her.

"She's malnourished," I replied.

"She is?" Ginny asked taken aback, "She didn't look like she was."

"She must have been hiding it with a glamour, not even Gabrielle knew it was happening."

"Do you know why?" She asked.

"Maybe? She thought I was embarrassed by her, that's why she was avoiding me, but I don't know if the two were related in any way."

Ginny frowned at that, "And that was enough to make her stop eating? Is… Is something wrong with her?"

"I don't know," I said sadly, "This is the first time she's done something like this though."

"Isn't it also the first time there has been an issue in your relationship?"

"Yeah, I guess, I'll ask her once she's up and running again though, I don't want to cause her any unnecessary stress before she is back on her feet."

"Good idea," Ginny agreed, a long silence followed as Ginny fidgeted in her chair, her eyes shifting from me to her lap and back again.

"What is it Gin?"

"It's just… I know it isn't my place but are you sure that Fleur is who you should be with?" I frowned at the question, shooting the redhead a glare, Ginny quickly held up her hands in defence, "I don't mean anything by it really. It's just that she avoided you and hurt you so much because she jumped to conclusions."

I sighed, easing my glare the way Fleur had acted wasn't great and it scared the hell out of me, and the longer I sat here the more I wondered if the way Fleur reacted was normal or if there was something else that had led to her actions in the last month.

I looked over to Ginny, taking one of her hands into my own and smiled, despite my fears, "Thanks for worrying about us but, for now at least, everything will be okay. But I won't lie, I am also worried about the way Fleur acted and I hope that it isn't normal but… For now, I think we should just leave things as they are."

Ginny nodded, I could tell she wanted to say more, but she kept it to herself as she stood from the couch, releasing my hand, "I'm going to head to bed…" Ginny took a few steps away from me before turning back with a worried look in her eyes, "Just be careful, I don't want to see you hurt, Hermione." I smiled appreciatively at the girl before she turned back around and headed towards her dorm room.

. . .

It took a few days before Fleur was allowed to leave the Infirmary, Gabi and I were asked to keep a close eye on her food intake, but I was sure that everything was okay now. Things between Fleur and I had gone back to normal while she was in the Infirmary, but outside amongst the other students, I was far from normal. I quietly made a show out of how close I was to Fleur, holding her hand as we walked down the Hallway, sitting extra close to her in the Great Hall and just doing everything I could to show Fleur that I wasn't embarrassed to be seen with her. I was sure she knew what I was doing, but she didn't complain and even seemed to enjoy the extra attention.

We were in the Great Hall, Gabi sat on the side of Fleur that I had left vacant and Ginny had just sat down on the other side of the table with an apologetic smile on her face. I was a little worried about what would happen between them as this was the first time they would be seeing each other since Ginny blew up at Fleur. I had tried to convince the young Weasley to visit Fleur in the Infirmary but she believed she wouldn't have been welcome, even with my assurances.

"Hi Fleur, I'm sorry I blew up on you," Ginny apologised.

Fleur shook her head, "You don't need to apologise to me, I was acting terribly and hurting Hermione and myself with what I was doing."

Ginny looked thoughtful as she gazed at Fleur and I could see that the redhead was searching for something in the older Witch. I was sure that she was trying to figure Fleur out for herself, something I certainly didn't blame the Weasley for and even appreciated as Ginny may see something that I don't.

"Really I should be thanking you," Fleur continued, a little embarrassed, "If I hadn't fainted when I did… Things may have ended much differently and I… May not have been sitting here right now."

I squeezed Fleur's hand reassuringly, "We would have been okay eventually," I spoke slowly, looking deeply into the blond's eyes.

Fleur nodded, her face falling, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, "I just," She sighed, shaking her head, "I don't know what came over me…"

"Well, just make sure it doesn't happen again," Ginny said sternly, her features hardening for just a few moments before softening once again, "For Hermione's sake, and yours."

"Just come talk to me," I added with a smile, "Or, if you can't talk to me, then find someone you can talk to, I can't see you in the Infirmary like that… Not again."

This time it was Fleur's turn to comfort me as she pulled me closer, earning us a few whoops and jeers from the more annoying students in the Great Hall. I ignored them, opting to enjoy the feeling of Fleur's warmth surrounding me instead. We finished our breakfast soon afterwards, I stayed with Fleur for as long as I could but I was eventually required to attend classes. Just before I left Fleur's side I grabbed her blue robes, pulled her down and softly kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll come to find you once I finish," I whispered into her ear before turning on my heel and walking brusquely away as my cheeks burned red.

. . .

It had been a few weeks since Fleur had gotten out of the Infirmary, and the second task was to be held tomorrow. Fleur had shared what she knew about the Task and the Golden Egg with Harry soon after leaving the Infirmary, as Ron was never far from the boy and I didn't like to stray from Fleur for too long it was no surprise that we had all gathered for the discussion.

Over the last few weeks, every time we had spent time with Ron, he seemed rather strained, almost as if it were hard just to be around us. I tried to ignore it as just one of Ron's many quirks, or faults, but it was getting harder to ignore, I thought we had put everything behind us but he seemed to be stuck on the fact that I was dating Fleur.

I breathed a sigh of relief as they left, "Things still hard with Ron?" Fleur asked as she relaxed her posture with no one else close to us.

"It's only when we're together," I said motioning between the two of us, "He clearly isn't okay with our relationship."

Fleur chuckled, "Yeah, I think he might have a thing for you."

I couldn't help but scoff at even the mere thought of that, "No way, we've been friends for years and he hasn't shown any sign of that. He either has a thing for you, which I think we both know he did considering he asked you to the Ball or, he has an issue with the fact that we're both women."

Fleur shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know him as well as you… I guess I'm just grasping at straws here."

Gabrielle soon found her way to where we were sitting and, within just a few minutes, we were alone as Fleur needed to use the bathroom. I hadn't been alone with the younger Delacour for a while as one or both of us had been with Fleur ever since she left the Infirmary.

"Do you know why Fleur acted the way she did?" I asked Gabrielle, I hadn't wanted to involve her, but it had been weeks and I hadn't gleaned anything from Fleur regarding it. The one time I lost my patience with finding the answer and straight out asked her, Fleur had played off the answer, telling me that nothing was wrong and that it really was just a lapse in judgement. I may have believed her if she hadn't sounded so desperate for me to believe her.

Gabi looked down at her feet almost guiltily, "I might, but… She'll tell you when she's ready."

"Come on Gabrielle… I'm really trying here but," I sighed, "I just need to know that she won't do this again."

Gabrielle kicked at the snow beneath her feet, "I understand but… It is really really personal, believe me, she'll tell you when she can. What I can promise is that if she is ever away from you for more than forty-eight hours then I will force her to speak with me."

While Gabi's words weren't what I was hoping for, they did somewhat comfort me, so I wrapped the small girl into a tight hug, "Thank you," I whispered.

Gabrielle returned the hug even tighter, "You are the best thing that has ever happened to my sister, please just remember that," Gabrielle sounded almost desperate and that scared me just a little as I wondered just what it could be that was wrong with Fleur.

"You too seem to be getting cosy," Fleur spoke teasingly, her sudden appearance caused me to jump and I scooted away from Gabrielle, making room for Fleur who gladly took the spot, wrapping an arm around each of us. "So what were the two of you talking about?"

I glanced at Gabrielle who was once again looking guiltily towards her feet as she kicked around snow, Fleur raised a curious brow at her sister's actions. I chuckled with a slight shake of my head, "We were talking about you, actually."

"All good I hope?" Fleur asked playfully.

Feeling bold, I straightened my back and squared my shoulders, "Honestly, I was asking about why you may have acted the way did."

Fleur frowned at that, removing her hand that was wrapping me in her embrace "You went to my sister? I already told you it was nothing, just a lapse in judgement thanks to me jumping to conclusions."

I balled my hands into fists and matched Fleur's frown, "People don't faint from malnutrition due to a 'lapse of judgement." I said angrily.

Fleur's frown soon softened as she shrunk in her chair, "I know… I'm sorry," I waited for an explanation but Fleur refused to say anything else afterwards.

"Look Fleur, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be okay," I took Fleur's hand, hunching over so I could look into her eyes, I could see she was upset, she was scared, but once again she wasn't talking to me about what was going on.

Fleur shook her head, "You can't promise that," Fleur said, her voice breaking as she sobbed.

I quickly wrapped Fleur in my arms, scared that she was going to run again, "I can and I do."

Fleur shook her head, "You say that now but once you truly learn everything about me, you'll understand why I'm so scared," The girl stood up, I never let her go so I too was pulled to my feet.

"I'm not leaving you," I spoke firmly, "Not for anything," I pulled away from Fleur, "I know that the Second Task is tomorrow but… Our relationship is more important than that… Right?"

Fleur opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the soft yet stern voice of Professor McGonagall, "Ms Granger, I need to have a word with you."

I looked past Fleur smiling at the Professor behind her, Fleur also turned around to face the Professor, "You are more important than the Tournament," Fleur said quietly, before turning to me and smiling. "I'll tell you everything… I-I don't know if I'm fully ready but I believe you when you say that everything will be okay. Come to my room tonight and I'll… Show you everything."

I grinned at Fleur's words, even if her voice shook with nerves as she spoke, "I'll see you tonight then," And with that, I walked off with Professor McGonagall, leaving Fleur with her sister.

The Professor was silent as we walked through the quiet halls of the Castle, it didn't take long before I realized we were headed to the headmaster's office. I wanted to ask what was going on but the ominous nature of the walk deterred me and, before I knew it, I was seated in the office beside Professor McGonagall, an apologetic Professor Dumbledore sitting in front of us.

"Ms Granger," The old wizard started, his voice soft and calm, "We need your help with the Second task."

"What do you mean?" I asked with confusion.

"Well, as I'm sure you know from Fleur and Harry, our Champions will be searching for something and… You will be that something for Fleur."

I was taken aback by those words, "Me? What about her sister? Wouldn't Gabrielle be a better motivator for Fleur?"

Professor Dumbledore looked at me with a calm smile, "You will become aware of why we are choosing you someday soon. Just know that you are the best choice for this."

I glanced at McGonagall, she wore a sympathetic smile as she nodded in agreement with Professor Dumbledore, "I supposed I don't have a choice, do I?"

Professor Dumbledore shook his head, "No, but you deserve to know what is going to happen, we'll be putting you to sleep and submerging you in the Great Lake. You'll be protected by the Merpeople and if anything happens, they will pull you up to the surface, you have nothing to worry about."

I nodded my head, I wasn't happy about the situation, not by a long shot, and didn't understand why I was the choice and not Gabrielle, but I did feel better taking her place. If something happened to her, I'm sure Fleur wouldn't have been able to live with herself.

"Alright, fine. Can I go now though? I have plans with Fleur."

Dumbledore and McGonagall glanced at each other for just a moment before refocusing on me, "Unfortunately we cannot permit that."

"What!? Why!?" I asked angrily.

"We can't have you spreading word of our plans for the Second Task," McGonagall answered apologetically.

"No," I shook my head, "I won't say anything, I swear. But… I really need to see Fleur tonight."

"We can't allow that, I'm sorry."

I glared at the old man sitting across from me, my anger getting the better of me, "I don't care about this bloody Tournament! Fleur needs me tonight and I'm going to see her whether you like it or not!"

I made to stand but found myself stuck in my chair, Professor Dumbledore stood, "Professor McGonagall, please give us a moment." The old Witch nodded and left the office with one last apologetic look in my direction, which I ignored.

Now alone, Professor Dumbledore walked in front of me and leant against his desk, "I know you don't understand this, and I am truly sorry that it has to be this way, but, believe me when I say that everything will work out." As the Professor spoke those last words, I felt myself begin to nod off, I tried to fight the magically induced sleep that was coming over me but it was a losing battle and within moments I had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.