WRITTEN FOR THE HOUSES COMPETITION, YEAR 7, ROUND 5
House: Ravenclaw
Class: Potions Stand-in
Standard
Prompt: [Multiple Characters] Delacour Sisters (Fleur and Gabrielle)
Word Count: 1475 (google docs)
It was awful.
Gabrielle felt as if her entire world was changing — as if the first few times she had gone through such a thing hadn't been enough. Gabrielle didn't even remember the first time, not properly. She had been two years old when Fleur first left for Beauxbatons, and her maman used to tell her stories of how she had whined and cried, trying to find her older sister without any hope of success. Gabrielle supposed that she may have started going into her sister's room around that time, or maybe when Fleur had returned home on holiday.
She didn't care about the timing; Gabrielle just knew that hiding in her sister's bedroom had become a habit, and a great comfort, during the following years. It made her feel closer to Fleur, and less alone, which had been strongly needed during her childhood.
She hadn't had a lot of friends growing up, and Fleur meant the world to Gabrielle. Her older sister was beautiful, intelligent, and brave. Gabrielle couldn't remember a time in her life when she hadn't looked up to her.
Most of all, Gabrielle loved her sister, and loved having her around. That was why, even though she didn't like to admit it, she wasn't sure this marriage thing was a good idea. Already being left alone in the manor wasn't Gabrielle's favourite thing, and it wasn't a stretch to say that she had spent the best part of every year since Fleur turned eleven alone in their big house. The only exception had been Fleur's seventh year, and Gabrielle didn't like to think about how that turned out. Being allowed to spend time at Hogwarts with her sister had felt magical, right up until her life had been in danger, and no one liked to mention the fallout of the Triwizard Tournament.
The best months of Gabrielle's life had been right before her sister chose to start working for Gringotts, when they had all been living at the manor together, but the following two years hadn't been bad, not in small part thanks to the reusable International Portkey that Fleur had unashamedly taken advantage of.
It might sound selfish, but the main reason Gabrielle wasn't keen on the marriage was the terrible thought of her older sister leaving, never to return.
Because she knew that that was what marriage meant. Her mother had tried to further explain it to her, but what more did she need to understand? Fleur was giving up her name, the house she had grown up in, and even her language. Gabrielle might have liked Hogwarts, but none of the school-aged children had been able to communicate with her. She couldn't imagine living like that.
Her maman didn't really get it. Or maybe she did, but the method she chose to deal with her older daughter leaving the nest wasn't reassuring Gabrielle at all. Apolline maintained that the girl wouldn't even notice Fleur's absence because she would be leaving for Beauxbatons in September, and schoolwork would distract her. Gabrielle didn't think schoolwork could do any such thing. It just wasn't possible that it'd hold her interest to that point. It couldn't hope to hold up to her sister, even if sometimes Fleur made her want to scream, like when Gabrielle was trying to ask a question and all she could say was...
"In English!"
"Mais pourquoi–"
"But why, Gabrielle! You have to at least try!" The umpteenth rebuke had Gabrielle puffing her cheeks and stomping her foot like she was five instead of eleven.
"Pourquoi ne peut-il pas essayer–"
"Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle's lower lip trembled at the scream, and she tried to turn her back to her sister to hide it. Fleur didn't allow it. A stranger wouldn't have noticed any change in her beautiful face, but Fleur's eyes darkened with sadness and she dropped to her knees in front of her little sister, arms already curling around her.
/
"Oh, Gabri…" Fleur passed a hand through Gabrielle's silvery blond hair, but only lightly, because she knew that her little sister loved having waist-length locks, but hated brushing them in the morning. "Gabri, you know I love you." There was no answer. Fleur backed off and took her little sister's pretty face in her hands to meet her eyes, almost a perfect mirror of hers. "Tu sais que je t'aime."
Gabrielle stared at her for a few long seconds, then she agreed, saying, "O-oui." And Fleur could breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be this harsh with you. I just want everything to be perfect, and I would love it if my favourite little sister could speak with my future husband's family."
Gabrielle puffed up in pride, a big smile transforming her face.
"You don't have that une seesta!" Gabrielle laughed, and Fleur promised herself she wouldn't try to correct her little sister's grammar. It was already wonderful that she had tried.
"True, but you're still my favourite." She dropped a kiss on her forehead and rose, cleaning off her knees. "Come now, I'll need your help picking the flowers." And that would have been the perfect way to end the conversation, taking her sister's hand in hers and leading her away. She did intend to leave it at that, but Fleur just couldn't help herself. "And we don't say 'tu n'as qu'une soeur' in English. You could have said 'I'm your only sister', instead."
Gabrielle groaned.
/
/
Before she knew it, Fleur left to stay with her fiancé's family before the wedding.
The separation soured Gabrielle's opinion even further, but when the day finally came for their parents and her to join the Weasleys, Gabrielle was too excited to pout. She found it hard to keep still, and she had a strong desire to run everywhere; Gabrielle was sure she could go far, even if the garden didn't look half as big as their manor's grounds.
She didn't, of course. She stood at her parents' side and smiled like a good girl, greeting everyone. Still, Gabrielle didn't mind at all when Fleur found her and led her away, even if her older sister headed straight for her fiancé, talking about introducing them properly.
Gabrielle huffed, but she'd have to be blind to miss how happy her sister was, she almost glowed! And she wasn't being facetious, the glow, thanks to the allure, was almost visible.
That was why Gabrielle straightened in front of her future beau-frère, did a small curtsey, and tried to speak English like Fleur had taught her.
"Good morning. It's un pleesure to meet you."
"Salut, Gabrielle. Qu'est- No, wait. Est-ce q– As-tu?" William cleared his throat, smiling but looking even more awkward than Gabrielle felt. "Désolé. Tu vas bien?"
If she was alright? Gabrielle laughed. The English man had tried to learn French!
Her smile became a hundred times more genuine, and she answered quickly.
"Ça va, merci. Et toi? Le loup-garou t'as fait très mal?"
"Gabrielle!"
The girl didn't back down at her sister's reprimand, looking at Fleur with her hands on her hips.
"I am worried!" she said, tripping only slightly over her 'r's.
William interrupted what could have comfortably become a staring match between the sisters.
"Désolé, er, loup-garou?" Fleur looked at him with sweet eyes, and Gabrielle had to keep from rolling hers.
"It means werewolf. Gabri was asking if you're alright." A flash of emotion darkened William's features for an instant, but he and Fleur intertwined their fingers and it passed.
"Oh, je vais très bien, mademoiselle. You see, my brother Charlie works with dragons, and he always has the best scars to show off at family gatherings. As a younger sister yourself, you understand that I could not let my little brother win, or my role as oldest sibling would have been contested!"
Gabrielle looked away from Bill's earnest expression and towards Fleur, who explained in French what she hadn't understood. Gabrielle laughed.
"You are un conjureur de sorts, yes? A-a breaker of malédictions, in Engleesh?"
Fleur went to correct her little sister on Bill's professional title, then saw how happy her fiancé was to be able to communicate at all with her little sister and stopped.
"That I am."
Gabrielle nodded seriously.
"And you don't have- um. Comment dit-on 'assez', Fleur?"
"Enough," Fleur answered.
"Merci. You don't have enough scars?"
"None as well placed as this one." And William turned his face this way and that, showing off the marks under the light. Gabrielle stared until Fleur kissed him, on the mouth!
"Bleurgh!" Gabrielle didn't make a rude gesture only because she was polite, but Fleur started laughing anyway, which meant they stopped kissing, at least.
Her sister turned towards her.
"Ne change pas, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle smiled with all her teeth, and started to think that the wedding would go just fine, after all.
French - English
Pourquoi ne peut-il pas essayer- = why can't he try-
tu n'as qu'une soeur = you have but a sister/you only have one sister
beau-frère = brother-in-law
Qu'est- Est-ce q– As-tu? = Bill's starting questions without finishing them: Qu'est que c'est x? = what's x? — Est-ce que tu vas bien? = Are you alright? — As-tu? = Have you?
Désolé. Tu vas bien? = Sorry. You're alright?
Ça va, merci. Et toi? = I'm fine, thanks. You?
Le loup-garou t'as fait très mal? = The werewolf hurt you a lot?
Je vais très bien, mademoiselle. = I'm just fine, miss.
conjureur de sorts = spell conjurer (curse breaker)
malédictions = curses
Comment dit-on 'assez'? = How do we say 'enough'?
Ne change pas = Don't change