Yule Announcement

The door opened bringing Hermione's attention to McGonagall, who walked in looking as stern as usual. She was in a bad mood today, having a trying day. Ron was keeping his distance which she was happy about but that meant that now Harry was torn between the two, trying to spend as much time with both of them. She hadn't seen Fleur at breakfast this morning. On top of all that, one of her favourite classes, Transfiguration, was cancelled for whatever this is. She was quite intrigued though. For all of her time at Hogwarts, McGonagall has only taught Transfiguration and she wondered what exactly this class was about.

"Line up," said Minerva, "boys on one side, girls on the other." She watched as the students scrambled to follow her orders. "As many of you are aware, the Triwizard Tournament is not just a Tournament but also the chance to collaborate with students of other schools. It is to that spirit that we have the Yule Ball. The ball is a chance for everyone to let their hair down and break away from the stress of the Tournament. Champions will open the dance floor," she said eyeing Harry Potter sharply through her glasses. "That doesn't mean that I will allow you all to bring shame to the Gryffindors by leaving you to trample the feet of your dance partners, should you find someone to accompany you to the ball. So today, we are learning the intricacies of dancing," she finished with a tone of finality.

To say Hermione was baffled would be an understatement and from the looks on her classmates' faces, they were just as baffled as her.

"Mister Weasley, step forward" McGonagall called out, watching as the redhead looked at her in shock before stumbling forward. She flicked her wand at the gramophone set in the corner of the classroom. "Now, put your hands on my waist," she said as the music started.

Ron gapped, "Your what, Professor?!"

"My waist, Mr Weasley!"

Hermione looked on, her face scrunching into an incredulous look as she looked at the scene in front of her, Ron's face purple in embarrassment as the class snickered and she fought the urge to burst in laughter. God, this was hilarious! She changed her mind, she was having the best day! She would only need to get to see Fleur and it would be an excellent day! She flushed at the thought. Since when did whether she saw the blonde or not, influence her day?! Her mind was taken off the thought when the snickers got louder and she looked back up to see McGonagall trying to teach Ron how to dip her. Her eyes watered as she contained her laugh. This day was amazing!

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Fleur sighed, bummed that she had missed breakfast in the Great Hall and thus, her dosage of Hermione in the morning. She pouted, she was missing the brunette already! Alas, Madame Maxime had requested for her to have breakfast with her in the carriage. She couldn't refuse her Headmistress, plus the woman had looked like she had something important to say. It turned out that it was indeed important news, they were to attend the Yule ball organised by Hogwarts and as a Champion, it was compulsory for her to find a partner to go with as she was to open the dance floor with the other Champions. Just her luck! Like, there was only one person she wanted to go with but she wondered if asking Hermione to the ball was too forward... too soon. After all, the Gryffindor had said she would like to go slow and figure out her feelings... Going to the ball with her, Beauxbatons Champion in full view of her school was definitely not going slow. Just her luck!

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Hermione was frustrated. She was known to be good at everything, she prided herself to be good at everything which is why her inability to fly brooms annoyed her so much but she had kinda gotten over it, it was okay because she was afraid of heights and she was actually trying to get better, having ridden Fleur's dragon. But right now, there was no reason why she was sucking at this so much! Dancing was okay, she enjoyed it, she wasn't great at it but this bad?! Come on! She had danced with Fleur at the Delacour party and it had been okay! She winced as she stepped on Dean's foot for the umpteenth time. She wasn't that uncoordinated so why was this not working?!

"That will be all for today. We shall resume next week," said Minerva, exasperated at her students, "please put in some practice so the class won't be an utter disaster like this one," and with that, she walked out.

Huffing in annoyance, she quickly picked her bag and walked out. She was ready to forget about this and go to the Great Hall for lunch, see if Fleur was there. Then later, she would drop by the library to pick some books on waltzing. There has to be something!

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Fleur's eyes lit up when she saw Hermione walk into the Hall. She was a sight for sore eyes but as she got closer, Fleur could see a scowl on her face and wondered what had put it there. Though, some of it cleared up once the Gryffindor saw her and she watched as the brunette made a beeline for her before slipping in the seat next to her.

"Hey," greeted Hermione gently, "you weren't here at breakfast, everything okay?" She asked, voicing her worry.

Fleur smiled, "Yes, Madame Maxime wanted to talk to me about ze Yule ball," she replied.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, we learnt about it just now. Poor Harry, he's going to have to open the dance," she said, feeling for the Hogwarts Champion before suddenly realising that Fleur would have to open the dance as well since she was a Champion, "you do too!" She exclaimed.

Fleur nodded, shrugging as she speared a piece of chicken onto her fork, "Yes, I 'ave to."

Suddenly feeling a bit out of sorts, wondering who the blonde was taking as her partner, Hermione busied herself with filling her plate with food. It was only after a few minutes that she found the courage to say more, "how are you feeling about it?"

Fleur played with her food, not sure what she could say, "I feel fine, dancing is fun. Just not sure who I'll be doing it with. The partner is important in how the dance goes," she said uncommitted, not wanting to say anything that could make the brunette feel pressured.

"Oh," Hermione replied, nodding as her shoulders slumped slightly. Of course, the partner was important in the dance, that was true and the blonde was going to be opening the dancing in front of all the schools, it had to be perfect and Hermione was less than perfect, Dean's toes were evidence of that.

Fleur observed the brunette not sure what her expression meant and to be honest, too scared to ask. She watched as the brunette ate silently and followed suit, wondering why the silence felt… uncomfortable.

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Hermione threw herself onto her bed. She had stuck to the Gryffindor table for dinner tonight, sitting with Ginny and Harry while Ron kept his distance. Watching the blonde from afar, their eyes met multiple times during the dinner. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to talk to the blonde afterwards, the Veela being called upon by her Headmistress. So instead, she went back to her room. She had showered and changed into her pyjamas and was now ready for bed, except her mind was still running around. She wondered who would end up being Fleur's partner at the ball… one of the Beauxbatons girls outside of the blonde's group? She tried to imagine Fleur dancing with another girl and was shocked to feel a fiery feeling burn into her chest like acid. What was that?! Any deeper thought about the feeling in her chest was interrupted by the warming of her bracelet. She quickly slipped it off, turning it into the parchment.

F: Sorry, didn't get a chance to speak to you at dinner. I didn't want to end the day without saying good night.

Hermione smiled, feeling her heart flutter at the words. She wondered if this was how the teenagers from her school in muggle Britain felt when they got messages from a person of their interest on their mobile phones. Quickly taking the quill, she scratched a reply.

H: Not sleeping yet.

F: Something on your mind?

Hermione admired the loopy cursive that was Fleur's handwriting compared to her clean print style, taking the time to gather her thoughts to answer the blonde. She couldn't tell her what exactly was bothering her because she didn't know what it was. So she decided to talk about what she did know.

H: I'm not doing so well at this dancing thing.

F: Really? You danced well at my birthday party.

H: Seems I've forgotten how to… or like you said, the partner matters so the only thing that made me not look like a fool in front of your family was you.

F: I seriously doubt that! Try to relax and enjoy it. It is also important to trust your partner's lead. You'll do great!

H: Thanks, I'll try that.

F: For now, try to get some rest. Goodnight Hermione :)

H: Goodnight Fleur :)

She spelled the parchment and quill back into its bracelet form, feeling happy to feel its weight on her wrist again as she slipped it back on. She fingered the little blue feather from the Veela, flushing when she remembered it came from Fleur. It felt intimate to have been given such a thing now. She knew that magical creatures were very territorial about such things, in a world that used them for wand making, potions and what not. She frowned at the thought. She pulled back her sleeve a bit to uncover the exact replica of the feather tattooed on her wrist, seemingly visible to only the Veelas. No one, Ron, Ginny or Harry have noticed it despite being in clear view. A mark of privilege, allowing her slightly closer to Fleur's circle. That felt even more intimate, it was like having Fleur marked on her skin. The thought made an enticing warmth spread through her body from head to toe and a fluttering erupt in her belly. She wondered if she would be allowed closer into the Veela circle now that she was Fleur's mate or if that was only for pairs who had completed the bond. Tracing the mark with her finger, she allowed the caress to lull her to sleep.

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Saturday arrived pretty quickly and Hermione found both Fleur and Harry chomping away at massive plates of food at the Gryffindor table.

"Morning! What's gotten into you guys?" She asked, serving herself a plate of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Good morning, 'Ermione," greeted the blonde brightly.

"We are trying to figure out the eggs today, remember? We are just making sure we have enough energy," said Harry, cutting into his sausages.

Hermione nodded. Yeah, the two had planned to work together and sort out the egg this weekend. She was just along for the ride… and to make sure they did nothing crazy.

After all breakfast had been consumed, the trio walked out of the castle. They made a detour to Hagrid's hut first so they could say a quick hello to Hagrid and Vahriin. Harry was still amazed at the beast.

"I'm taking her for a walk, Monsieur 'Agrid," said Fleur as she approached her dragon.

"Sure, sure," said Hagrid from where he was tending to his frozen over garden with his dog.

The trio said their quick goodbyes and made their way to a clearing by the lake, Vahriin padding along, enjoying making huge footprints in the snow.

"So, how are we doing this?" Hermione asked, clearing a spot on the ground for her to drop her bag down and sit. She dug out a parchment and quill. What? She was keeping notes of their experiments and observations. Someone had to!

The two Champions pulled out their respective eggs and examined them. Vahriin settled herself in the snow, next to Hermione, much to the brunette's surprise and delight and observed the little humans.

"Zhere iz no difference between zhem from what I can see," said Fleur, eyeing the two eggs.

"Let's see if they sound different," said Harry and they both flicked the eggs open. Everyone winced at double the piercing sound while Vahriin whined. Harry and Fleur quickly shut them.

"Twice as horrible is my observation," said Hermione, working her jaw to get her ears to stop ringing.

"We haven't tried burying them in the snow?" suggested Harry.

"Please, do it one at a time," said Hermione, fishing out earmuffs from her bag, the ones they use for Mandrakes in Herbology, and handed them out. Professor Sprout had all been happy to help when she asked her for them.

"Do you 'ave one more?" asked Fleur.

Hermione looked at her perplexed and nodded, retrieving the one she had intended for Alexia, just in case, she tagged along.

Fleur took the extra earmuff and with a quick 'Engorgio', turned it into a massive earmuff. She carefully levitated the object to Vahriin's ear, the dragon puffing a small ball of fire in gratitude.

Fleur put hers on and noticed Hermione with hers on. She was cute with them on. "Do we hear each other?" she asked, grinning when the others nodded, even Vahriin. Thank Hermione for getting the earmuffs that cancelled loud noises instead of everything.

"Ok, let's get to it," said Harry, flicking his egg open and noting in satisfaction that all he could hear was a low whine. Finally a reprieve! He quickly buried it into the snow with a flick of his wand and waited for a change in sound and was disappointed to notice no difference. He fished out the egg and closed it, "That's not it."

Hermione frowned and scribbled on her parchment. It was going to be a long day.

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The two Champions were sprawled on the ground, not bothered by the snow at all. In fact, the snow was helping to cool their sweaty and overheated bodies. They had tried everything! They had run with it, hit the eggs together like petanque, had Vahriin breath fire on it which only left the egg intact on a patch of smouldering grass once Fleur put out the fire.

Fleur had shrugged her coat off early but now pulled off her sweater as well leaving her in just her shirt and pants. It was too hot, Vahriin's fire had heated up the area really good and their running hadn't helped.

"Bloody hell!" Harry wheezed. This was turning into more of a workout than Quidditch.

Hermione looked at the two with amusement and was going to suggest a break when Vahriin got up from beside her and padded closer to the blonde's egg.

"It's not a real egg, Rinn, remember?" said Fleur as she sat up and eyed her dragon.

Vahrinn just huffed and booted the egg with her foot, making it open and sending it screaming into the lake. It disappeared with a 'plop' into the murky waters as the trio watched gapping in shock.

"Vahriin!" Fleur cried out, wasting no time in running to the lake and diving in.

Hermione was still in shock as she looked as the blonde's body disappeared into the water and winced, knowing the water must be freezing cold. Turning to look at the dragon, she was sure there was a smirk on the beast's face as the beast settled back beside her.

A bubbling noise took her attention away from the dragon and she turned back to see Fleur emerge from the water, spluttering, a golden egg held triumphantly in her hand. What she wasn't expecting was the blonde to burst out in laughter as she got out. Was she laughing at Vahriin's prank or does hypothermia induce hysteria into people? She started getting concerned and quickly pulled out her wand to help dry and warm up the blonde.

Fleur took a deep breath to calm her laughter, looking at Hermione in gratitude for drying her up quickly and slipping a coat on her shoulders. She looked at Vahriin and chucked the egg at the dragon, "You knew!"

Vahriin just huffed.

Fleur looked at her companions who were looking at her in confusion, "Water iz ze answer. You need to open it underwater," she said grinning, watching as their face changed in comprehension.

"Bloody hell!" laughed Harry.

"Zhough, I would recommend you do it in a bath, 'Arry. The lake is freezing!"

"Your dragon knew!" exclaimed Hermione, happy and relieved that they had finally cracked the code. She had been worried that they wouldn't solve the puzzle and the two would end up unprepared for the second task, leading to their doom.

Fleur nodded, settled against her dragon who blew a gust of warm air in the area to warm her up. She swatted the beast, "You could 'ave just told me!" Now, where is the fun in that? resonated in her mind as an answer.

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Afterwards, Fleur dropped off Vahriin at Hagrid's and went to take a bath and change, urging Harry to do the same and meet her in the Room of Requirement in one hour. So here they were, sitting in plush armchairs by the fireplace, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate courtesy of Dobby.

Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching ponder this;

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour, the prospect's black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.

Hermione read it aloud as she finished scratching the words on her parchment.

"Zhat iz correct," said Fleur, "zhey are talking about merpeople."

Hermione looked up at the blonde, "So the second task is in the lake," she stated as a fact.

"It's freezing in zhere," whined Fleur, not at all happy to have to go for a swim in the lake again.

"Maybe we can figure out some warmer charms that work underwater and last a least one hour," said Harry.

"What do you think they will take from you that you have to recover?" asked Hermione, worried about what that meant.

Harry shrugged, "I don't have many prized possessions, except maybe my dad's Invisibility Cloak?"

Hermione turned to look at Fleur, finally the blonde frowning.

"I do not 'ave big prized possessions myself except my wand which contains ze 'air of my Grandmuzzer…"

"They can't take your wand!" exclaimed Hermione, aghast at the thought, "you won't be able to participate in the task without it!"

Fleur nodded. It's true, they couldn't take her wand. Plus it would be an unfair advantage to the other Champions if she was the only one left without one. "Zhen I don't know what zhey will take," she replied, shrugging.

"We'll figure that out later. For now, let's go to the library to find out underwater warmer spells and more importantly, underwater breathing spells," Hermione said, gathering her things. From the looks on Harry's face, he hadn't thought of that yet.

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Hermione brushed her hair before settling under her blanket. They spent hours in the library until dinnertime, pouring over multiple books. Finding underwater warming spells were relatively easy but nothing was found on underwater breathing spells. They then decided to try again another day and went downstairs for dinner. Dinner had been a relaxed affair, everyone feeling more at ease now that they had an idea on what the second task was.

From memory, the only massive thing in the lake was the Giant Squid but it was known to be friendly but there was a lot more lurking under the murky waters of the Black Lake, a lot of them unfriendly and that had Hermione worried.

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pclauink: You just wait and see! We'll see more of him.

Npsouls1: More interaction between them for more blossoming :D

xxDark Angel Babyxx: We are going to see more of him. Tell me how you find this new chapter!

Guest 1 (Nov 22): Haha, let me know how you find their interaction in this one!

Guest 2 (Nov 23): Thank you! Let me know how you find this chapter :)

Guest 3 (Nov 23): I plan on posting till the very end this time! Let me know how you like this chapter!

arise11: I'm back! :D Thank you for still being here! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts as we go.

wkgreen: Victor is gonna be around for a bit more ;) not in a good way

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Vic-le-chat: Thank you for rereading it all (though please work on those essays of yours!) Let me know how you like this new update :)