A/N: Okay, so to make up for my lack of updating in the past two months, here is another chapter. I thrive off reviews, so please let me know what you liked, or what you think I should change about the chapter. I do listen to your opinions, and I try to follow your advice.

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10. Part of Your World

While Hermione stared at the blazing cottage in horror, Belle had lain in one of the guest rooms at Grimmauld Place, unable to sleep. After shopping the entire day, Belle was exhausted, but her mind continued to travel to the moment that she landed in the shop and tried to escape. She fell into a dreamlike state, and gruesome beetles and rotting fingers with yellow nails plagued her thoughts. Waking up in a sweat, Belle splashed her face with cold water and after putting on a robe, stood up and left her room.

When she entered the living room, she saw a crop of black hair, and Belle smiled. "'Arry," she called quietly as she sat on the sofa beside him. "I see zat… zat…"

"I couldn't sleep either?" Harry asked with a tired smile. He stirred the brown liquid in the mug that he held. "No, I couldn't sleep." He mimed putting a pillow beneath his head and snoring. Belle smiled.

"I… I… no sleep. I am tired…" Belle trailed off, unsure what to say. Her broken English, she had learned, was still far better than Harry's French. She shrugged helplessly, and Harry nodded, seeming to understand.

"I used to have bad dreams too," Harry said, staring at his mug of hot chocolate, the liquid still swirling around, "I used to dream that my friends and family were being hurt, and I would dream about a… a wizard named Voldemort who wanted to kill me." Belle could see anger in his tight jaw and furrowed brows. Even his eyes glinted. Although she had no idea what Harry had confessed to her, she nodded, sympathetic.

"Well," Harry said after a moment of silence, "I should probably head back up to bed. I want to visit my godson, Teddy, tomorrow since I have another day off from the Auror's Office. Would you like to join me, Belle?"

Belle cocked her head to the side. "I… sorry, 'Arry… mais je ne comprends pas."

Harry's eyebrows knitted together again. "You don't…. understand?" Belle stared at him. Harry sighed.

"Right then, I guess I'll take you with me. Ginny has to leave tomorrow morning – the Harpies start practicing again on Monday, and Ron is scheduled at the Auror Office, so no one will be here anyway." Harry glanced at Belle. "Bonsoir, Belle," he said as he stood up and walked away. Belle nodded mutely and stared at the fireplace. Watching the flames lick the wood, she fell into a trance and without realizing it, fell into a dreamless sleep on the sofa as wood crackled in the background.

The next morning, Belle woke to someone shaking her. As she opened her bleary eyes, she saw Harry smiling down at her. With a yawn, she sat up on the couch and looked at him, her head tilted to the side.

" Bonjour, Belle. Right then, I told Andromeda that we'd be at her flat at ten-thirty this morning." He glanced at his watch, "It's nearly ten now, so we should get going soon."

Knitting her eyebrows together, Belle tried to summon as much English as she knew. "Excusez-moi, 'Arry… I no… understand? Eez zat 'ow you say?"

Running a hand through his untidy black hair, Harry sighed and spoke slowly and clearly. "Belle, we need to leave soon. Please get dressed."

" 'Arry," Belle repeated, with more frustration this time, "I still no understand."

Harry disappeared and returned with one of the dresses that Belle had gotten yesterday, and he tossed it to her and tapped his watch. She broke out into a smile, finally realizing what Harry meant, and with a, "Merci, 'Arry, I understand now," she walked back to the guest room and dressed for the day.

After she had pulled on a simple blue dress and plaited her hair, Belle walked to the entrance hall to find Harry waiting, leaning against the wall. He looked up with a quick smile, strode over to the fireplace and threw some Floo powder in it.

"Belle, could you say 'The Three Broomsticks' for me? I want to be sure that you don't go to the wrong grate… or I guess you could say, 'Les Balais Trois' if that's easier," Harry amended after picking through the French-English dictionary.

"Les Balais Trois," Belle said clearly, and Harry nodded giving her permission to try saying that in the fireplace. She stepped into the green flames, repeated her destination, and felt the familiar whooshing sensation. A moment later, she landed in a different fireplace, which was clearly in a side room of some sort. From a nearby room, Belle could hear raucous laughter and loud voices. Brushing the soot from her dress, Belle strode from the room, pushing open the door.

She was in a pub of some kind, she realized, as she surveyed her surroundings. Round tables and loud guests with half-empty mugs filled the room, and to her left, in the distance, stood a long bar, where a curvaceous barista wiped down the dark wood bar with a dingy white rag. Belle walked a few steps forward, her eyes still roving around, when she bumped into someone.

"Je suis désolé," Belle murmured as she grabbed the person in front of her to keep from falling backward. As she looked up, Belle realized that she was looking into the face of none other than Monsieur Malfoy. Behind him, a slim, pale, blonde-haired woman looked over the edge of her nose, irritated at the hold up.

"Is that a friend of yours, Draco?" the woman asked, although Belle hadn't the faintest idea what she'd said, as Monsieur Malfoy shook his head and pushed Belle away from him. Now that Belle was sturdy on her feet, she let go with a grateful smile and took a step back – only to tread on someone else's toes. These arms caught her, and as Belle twisted her head around, she realized that Harry was holding her by the elbows.

"Draco… Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said, with a slight nod to each of them. His guarded eyes showed his distrust, and he seemed to hold Belle a bit tighter before he let go, as though he was afraid that Monsieur Malfoy would hurt her. This confused Belle greatly. She gently pushed herself away from Harry and stood to his right, looking at the pale-haired man as he stared indifferently at Harry.

"Potter," Malfoy replied as his head twitched on his neck. From behind him, Narcissa stared coolly at Harry.

"You're here to see Andromeda, I suppose?" she asked, condescendingly. "We were just there… had a lovely chat."

"Really?" said Harry, nonplussed. "And I suppose the fact that these days having an estranged 'Muggle-loving' sister might tarnish your reputation isn't part of the reason you're suddenly visiting her after thirty years?"

A tinge of pink crept into Narcissa's cheeks. "It was her duty to marry well."

"She did," Harry said firmly. "Ted Tonks was a wonderful man."

While Monsieur Malfoy's mother and Harry talked, Belle snuck a glance at the blonde-haired man. He looked at her, and her eyes darted away as a warm flush covered her neck.

"You should watch who you argue with, Potter," Draco drawled finally, as he flicked a piece of lint off his robes, "The Malfoys are still a prominent family in wizarding society."

Harry looked ready to argue again, so Belle put a hand on his arm to calm him, and said, " 'Arry… Monsieur Malfoy…" Unfortunately, her lack of knowledge about English only permitted her to say that. Harry calmed down, and the corners of Monsieur Malfoy's mouth twitched.

"Got a new girlfriend, Potter? I have to say, this one's prettier than Weaslette... no freckles or atrocious red hair," he said with a smirk, and Harry began to glare at him.

"For your information, Malfoy," Harry said coldly, "Belle is not my girlfriend, and I'm still with Ginny, so watch your mouth." Turning away from the two purebloods, he climbed a set of stairs, and Belle realized that she should follow.

Before she turned to go after Harry, she said to Monsieur Malfoy in French, her hands on her hips and a firm look in her eyes, "I may not have known what you said, but I do know it upset Harry, and he has been nothing but wonderful, generous, and kind to me. If you insult my host, you insult me. Au revoir, Monsieur Malfoy, and I hope the next time we meet that it will be under friendlier circumstances." Then she stomped upstairs after Harry.

With his hands shoved into his pockets, leaning up against the wall, Harry asked, "Belle, how did you meet Malfoy in the first place?" He'd been surprised at the familiarity between the two of them, and he wanted to make sure that Malfoy hadn't hurt or offended the girl.

Although Harry spoke clearly and quite slow, he needed to repeat the question twice more before Belle understood. She frowned, trying to figure out how to express her thoughts in English.

" 'E… 'e was in Noak-toorn Alley," Belle said at last. "'E…'e… 'ow you say…'e 'elped me."

"He didn't hurt you?" Harry asked.

Belle stared at him blankly, so Harry sighed.

"Well, we might as well knock on the door so Andromeda knows that we're here," he said after another moment of silence. Harry raised a fist to the wooden door, banged loudly. Belle heard a dull scuffle, and then a middle-aged woman opened the door a crack. Her scowling face lit up immediately.

"Oh, it's you, Harry," the woman said. "I thought it was Narcissa and Draco again." She made a face and pushed the door wide open, inviting them in. "And who is your friend, Harry?"

"Andromeda, this is Belle," Harry said, gesturing to the brunette. "She's staying at Grimmauld Place as a guest."

"I see," Andromeda said, giving a small smile to Belle. "Teddy's in the other room. Let me get him."

Belle frowned when she first saw Teddy run into the room. He had short, turquoise hair and right before her eyes, he made a face as if in concentration, and his hair immediately became black and untidy like Harry's.

"Hai-wee!" the little boy shouted as he hugged his godfather around the knees. Belle giggled at his excitement.

"Wotcher, Teddy," Harry said as he ruffled the boy's hair.

Andromeda smiled fondly on the two of them as Harry bent down to return Teddy's hug. Belle stood to the side, looking on with the distinct feeling that she was intruding.

"Teddy," the older woman said to her grandson after Harry had given him a big hug, "this is Belle."

Cocking his head to the side, he trotted over to Belle, squished his face together and turned his hair chocolate brown like hers.

"That means he likes you," Harry whispered to Belle, who nodded – and somehow – she understood what Harry had said. Maybe it was his tone, but she knelt on the floor and gave Teddy a hug too.

The two of them stayed all afternoon with Andromeda and Teddy. Teddy kept changing his hair color between Harry's untidy black, Belle's rich brown, and his signature turquoise. Occasionally a sleek, pale blonde would emerge, but it always disappeared quickly.

After speaking with Andromeda a bit, Belle and Harry discovered that she spoke a bit of French; she, Narcissa, and Bellatrix had all taken French lessons as children, and although she was a bit rusty speaking it, Belle felt more comfortable right away, even if Mrs. Tonks did conjugate her verbs incorrectly now and again. Belle continued speaking in English as much as she could, however – Andromeda looked confused by what Belle was saying in French on more than one occasion. They conversed about Hogsmeade and her family, the Blacks, while Harry played with Teddy on the floor.

"So, zis Draco Malfoy… eez your… nefoo?" Belle asked when the conversation finally came around to the Malfoys.

"Oui," she said in French. "Teddy is his second-cousin, and my daughter – Teddy's mother – was his first cousin, but I don't think he ever met her. After I married Ted, my whole family shunned me."

"And now the Malfoys are trying to get back into your good graces?" Harry asked Andromeda, his voice tight. "I saw that they stopped by earlier."

Sighing, she nodded. "I think they're trying to prove to the Ministry that they've changed. Of course, Lucius absolutely refuses to have any contact with me – ever since I've moved to Hogsmeade though, Cissy and Draco have tried to make amends. In fact," she said, biting her lip thoughtfully, "Draco was the one who suggested coming over in the first place."

This piqued Harry's interest. "Really? Narcissa isn't dragging him along?"

Andromeda shook her head. "I think the Battle at Hogwarts scared him, and he also realized that one of his cousins died without him ever knowing her. He owled me one day a few months ago once I'd moved here with Teddy asking if they could stop by. I hesitated at first because of Teddy, but Cissy assured me that they had good intentions." She snorted.

"They haven't hurt Teddy, have they?" Harry asked sharply.

Laughing, Andromeda shook her head again. "Harry, I appreciate your concern, but no, they haven't done anything to harm Ted. I just don't think their intentions are quite as pure as they're letting on, that's all."

During the conversation, which Andromeda and Harry had conducted in English, Belle had moved to the floor by Teddy and was playing Peek-a-Boo with him. Despite her knowledge of English, Belle was listening closely – not with her ears this time, but with her heart – and she understood that Monsieur Malfoy and his mother had suffered, and they were trying to heal themselves. She would tell Harry this later, she thought.

All too soon, the daylight had faded from the flat's windows and although Andromeda insisted they stay for dinner, Harry declined. "We've already stayed for lunch and for tea," he argued. "No, we'll be going, but we had a wonderful time, and thank you for your hospitality." In a flurry of hugs and kisses, Harry and Belle said their goodbyes, shutting the door behind them.

Once they had returned to Grimmauld Place, Ron was waiting for them in the parlor, playing Wizard Chess against himself. He straightened up as soon as he saw Belle come through the Floo.

"How was your day?" he asked loudly and slowly. Belle felt a twinge of annoyance for him shouting at her, but she brushed it away.

"Eet was… good," she said lamely as she brushed the soot off her dress.

"Harry, Fleur called," Ron said as his friend stepped out of the fireplace. Belle looked up with interest. "She thought Belle would like to stay at Shell Cottage for a couple weeks so she can improve your English more comfortably."

Harry smiled. "I think that's a great idea – Bill is away during the day at Gringotts, isn't he, and Fleur is probably on maternity leave now, so she's probably lonely. I'm sure she'd like the company."

"Really?" Ron said, and he looked unenthused. He glanced at Belle who was fingering the Black family tapestry on the wall. "You really think it would be good for her?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I'm sure Belle would love it. I'll go talk to Fleur and see when she and Bill want Belle to come over." He left the room.

Ron nodded absently, looking at Belle again. She had finally become part of their world – Ron had just gotten used to having her around – and now she would be leaving, and so would his physical reminder of Hermione.

Biting his cheek to keep from shouting, he stormed upstairs to his room and punched the wall until blood trickled down the grey wood. After crying out in pain, Ron sat back on his bed and closed his eyes, wishing Hermione would return soon.

FRENCH:

mais je ne comprends pas = but I don't understand

Bonsoir = good evening/night

Je suis désolé = I'm sorry