Chapter 5 - Clicking
The moon was full that night in the starry sky. The only light visible even from a distance was the fire Hermione had lit in the middle of the camp. She placed several protection spells around their area and the tree, while Fleur was cooking dinner.
Hermione was very pleased to learn that the blonde preferred to cook, because if it was up to the bookworm, they would have to resign themselves to eating sandwiches.
Fleur was making a stew that was extremely fragrant and looked delicious. Hermione approached Fleur slowly, trying not to startle the woman.
"It smells divine," She said next to Fleur, who jumped slightly, sending the spoon she was using to stir the pot flying upwards. Reacting quickly, Hermione snatched the spoon, holding it and her other hand in a gesture of surrender and smiled awkwardly at Fleur. "I'm sorry!"
"You are fast," Fleur remarked, with a shrug and a smile.
"That was pure luck; luck that I didn't launch the spoon any farther," Hermione joked, making Fleur laugh lightly. She retrieved the spoon from Hermione's hand, and scooped up some of the stew. She blew lightly and offered it to the young woman. Hermione's mouth watered, and she moved quickly to taste their dinner, moaning at the delicious taste that melted in her mouth.
"Wow Fleur, that's delectable! I'm very happy that you know how to cook because the most complicated things I can do are sandwiches, and sometimes pasta," Hermione said, and sat on one of the stools she took out of her suitcase and re-sized. She reached for her wand, and in a short motion a book came flying up to her hands.
"Will you read a little?" Fleur questioned, looking over her shoulder.
"No, I just want to make some notes about everything that happened today."
"What would 'everything' entail?" The blonde asked, slightly uneasy.
"The tree and my connection with the forest's magic. After Morgan learned that I work better by taking notes, writing down fantastic things that happen has become an exercise. Here, look. I wrote down my first encounter with the Veela clock." Hermione flipped the notebook to a specific page. Fleur moved closer and lay a hand on Hermione's shoulder, while looking at the design of the Clock on the sheet she displayed. She was relieved to see no indication of what was on the clock below, in fact the title of the page was merely 'Work n°1347 - Repair Contract'. Hermione leafed through the notebook again, and with a muggle pencil, started to sketch the big tree in front of her.
"I had no idea that you drew!" Fleur said captivated, watching the tree slowly take shape on the paper.
"I always liked to draw beautiful things," Hermine remarked absently. "I should draw you sometime." The moment the brunette made the comment, Fleur turned to her with wide eyes, and Hermione immediately felt herself lock up and her cheeks warm. "Fleur, I -"
"I would be delighted to pose for someone so impressive," Fleur responded sincerely, and it was as if the universe had suddenly stopped. Brown met blue and Hermione felt herself leaning in towards Fleur, her chestnut eyes drifting to the pink lips that were moistened by a brief flick of the tongue. Fleur in turn, angled herself to Hermione, wishing fervently for this moment to play out as she hoped.
Just when their lips were going to touch, a sizzling sound broke the moment. The stew pot was foaming and steam was evaporating quickly. As if the universe resumed its normal rhythm, Fleur rushed over to save their dinner.
"Merde." She surveyed the mess on the ground in dismay, her eyes straying back to Hermione. The younger witch was trying to hide her face by focusing on her notebook, but Fleur could see that the woman's ears were red.
Meanwhile, Hermione's thoughts were running rampant. She had almost kissed Fleur Delacour. Correction: She, Hermione Granger, had almost kissed Fleur Delacour. She was so shocked and astonished, that she could only bow her head over her notebook and hope her face would cool soon. Did she want to kiss Fleur? Oh sweet Morgana, had she wanted to.
They ate what Fleur salvaged in silence, exchanging timid looks with each other. Hermione paused to gaze at the tree fondly for a long moment, and shivered when she realized that the tent she brought had space only for one bed, and one bed was exactly what she had.
"Oh," She uttered abruptly, undergoing her epiphany. Fleur, who was cleaning the iron pot, stopped and looked at the brunette.
"Oh?" Fleur asked with a frown. "What's wrong?"
"I brought only one bed," Hermione revealed, blushing, and Fleur felt her own cheeks heat up.
"Oh." She repeated shyly.
"I can transfigure something for myself," Hermione suggested, then unfortunately concluded that she didn't actually have an item with a similar mass and size to a bed. She would have to transfigure a pillow and maybe a blanket, and sleep on the ground.
"We have nothing that can be transfigured into a bed, Hermione," Fleur said pointedly, voicing the reality Hermione was scrambling to adjust.
"I know, but it's fine. I can transfigure a pillow and a blanket and I'll find some corner to sleep," Hermione offered timidly.
"We can share the bed," Fleur countered quickly, blushing hard despite sounding so firm.
"But it's not a problem -"
"It's decided," Fleur ended the debate and closed the issue, though both of them stumbled into the tent with scarlet faces. Fleur made her way into the attached bathroom, where there was a wooden bathtub, a toilet, and a small floating sink. A quick spell filled the bathtub with hot water, as Fleur eased herself in and allowed herself to relax in the water for several moments.
Meanwhile, Hermione was anxiously inspecting all corners of the tent, organizing anything and everything that wasn't nailed down. She also wished to take a bath, but would happily let Fleur take as long as she liked. After finally acknowledging that there was nothing else to tidy up, she sat on a stool she had brought into the tent. She lost herself once again to her drawing and notes, but when Fleur emerged from the bathroom, she looked up from her notebook and felt herself choking on her own tongue.
Hermione was left unresponsive for a long moment. Fleur was wearing blue shorts and a thin black tank top, and Hermione's gaze swept hungrily up and down the Veela's body. She felt her body temperature spike when she realized Fleur was no longer wearing a bra.
"I will -" Hermione stuttered. "I...uh -" She stood hastily and snapped her gaze to the floor. "I will bath as well. Er, that is, I would like to take *ahem* bath..." Hermione gave up on uttering anything coherent, and hurried passed Fleur to the bathroom. She took a deep breath when the door was shut, thinking that feeling aroused by only a brief glimpse of Fleur with fewer clothes than usual was not especially surprising, but the impact that image caused was definitely brutal.
When Hermione appeared from the bathroom after her turn, she didn't see Fleur in the small living area. She checked outside the tent, but only saw the burning fire practically extinguished and the mighty tree. Hermione then proceeded to the tent's "bedroom." And again she experienced a vision that she never thought she would have in all her life. Fleur was nestled in her bed, under the covers with a book in her hands, focused on the tome before her. Hermione leaned against the frame of the doorway, taking in the scene, studying Fleur for a long moment.
When blue eyes rose from the text in her hands, she saw Hermione looking at her. The intimacy of the situation ought to make her feel embarrassed, but being watched closely by Hermione felt oddly normal. Like the two of them were just at home.
Fleur gave her a soft smile, and tugged at the end of the blanket over the vacant side of the bed. Hermione grinned shyly and padded over to her side. She sat down and tucked her legs under the warm covers.
"Do you want to read some more?" Hermione asked, holding back a yawn, sliding down the bed so her head was on her pillow, and making herself comfortable.
"No, I was just waiting for you," Fleur placed her book on the nightstand and grabbed her wand. "Can I turn off the lights?" Hermione nodded, and with a flourish of her wand Fleur whispered "Nox." All the tent lights extinguished.
"Good night Fleur."
"Good night Hermione." They turn on their sides, away from each other, and close their eyes.
HGFDHGFDHGFD
Hermione woke from a pleasant sleep. She was laying on her back, feeling warm and content. She thought idly that it was probably quite early in the morning, but she was relaxed and well-rested. She stretched languidly for a moment, then froze abruptly when she felt a breath against her throat. Fleur was half laying on her, her head tucked under Hermione's chin, and her arms wound firmly around the brunette's torso. As each second passed, she felt herself becoming more and more aware of the contact between their skin and bodies. Fleur was still sleeping soundly, so Hermione shifted carefully and settled the blonde more securely against her body.
Hermione lay cuddling her for almost another hour, but when the Veela still hadn't shown signs of waking up, Hermione cautiously extracted herself from Fleur's arms and legs, then gently covered her body with the warm blankets.
The brunette then went to the tiny pantry and took a kettle, herbs, coffee powder, bread and fruit, and went outside, restarted the fire and prepared their breakfast. Lured by the smell of coffee, Fleur eventually appeared with slightly disheveled hair and a lazy smile. She accepted the mug of coffee Hermione passed her, and yawned for a long time. Hermione chuckled at the sight, and wished her a good morning. They had the rest of their breakfast in companionable silence.
Hermione checked the tree before they left. They thanked the forest again, and Hermione was grateful to discover that the tree was practically healed. With a pop, they apparated to the beach near the Veela village.
"Would you mind helping me with the branch? I need to cut it into some blocks and start the job of molding at least one support."
"Sure, I'd be happy to, but I will need to speak to my grand-mère today." Hermione smiled at her thankfully, and they headed for the clock. An assembly workstation was placed outside of the wards, and Hermine floated the big branch onto the surface. With Fleur's assistance and with several Diffindo spells, they formed large blocks of wood. Hermione floated one of them to the carpentry table inside her work shop tent.
"I just need to see the state of wood's natural magic, as well as its concentration." Hermione pulled out her wand and told Fleur, "Natural magic is basically a great concentration of Nature Magic Willing. Usually with Essentia Revelare, the color is a little more like brass. The more threads there are and the deeper the brass color, there is a higher chance that the magic of the clock will embrace that pure magic and take this new part within itself. So let's take a look: Essentia Revelare," With a touch of her wand, thick brass wires spiraled around the wood. Hermione gave a happy little yell, and instinctively jumped towards Fleur, grabbing her shoulders. She was absolutely thrilled with the amount of natural magic present in the wood they brought back, the wood was pure magic and the fact she was gifted with the branch to make everything more powerful, was like if the tree really blessed her steps to fix the clock. Her next action was completely spontaneous, Hermione briefly kissed Fleur's lips and giggled happily, unaware of what she had just done. She released the blonde's shoulders and turned back to the pieces of wood on the table, still riding the high of her discovery, and ready to start building.
But she didn't have time to do anything else. The moment her actions caught up with her was the very same moment Fleur's hand grabbed Hermione's forearm. Fleur pulled her back around so they were face to face, the brunette wide-eyed with realization, but Fleur didn't give her a second to backtrack. She brought both hands up to gently cradle Hermione's face, and moved closer, leaving an inch of distance between their mouths.
"Is this okay?" Fleur's voice sounded delicately against Hermione's lips. The brunette was unable to answer verbally, so she just gazed back at Fleur and smiled slightly, nodding. Fleur leaned in and joined their lips in a sweet kiss. As a real first kiss, it was gentle, calm, a little hesitant, but beautiful.
It was like a heatwave stoking Hermione's magical core, coursing up out of her body as far as their mouths were attached, and ricocheting back to her center. It was a chaste kiss, just the touch of their lips, and the ensuing feeling of warmth expanding between them. They parted, but the break didn't last long, as Hermione's hands flew to blond hair, grasping the strands and pulling Fleur's mouth firmly against hers. The kiss grew in intensity, Hermione's curious tongue trailed over Fleur's lower lip, and soon tongues melded, lips nibbled teasingly, and Fleur's hands moved to Hermione's back, clutching her body tightly against her own.
The two eventually separated, breathing heavily and grinning dopily at each other. A spark was lit and not easily extinguished however, and they leaned in again almost simultaneously, when Gabby's voice rang out, calling for Hermione. They pulled back a few steps, still smiling even with the interruption, when Gabby arrived at the work tent doorway.
"What are you two grinning about?" Gabby asked, looking amused.
"We got the magic wood!" Hermione blurted out, turning to acknowledge Gabrielle. Fleur shot a grateful look to Hermione, wanting to keep the new developments private for a bit longer.
"I'm going to let you two catch up for a bit, I need to find grand-mère, anyway. We will talk more later, Hermione," Fleur promised.
"Sure, see you later Fleur," Hermione replied, trying to contain the excitement of seeing the Veela again soon.
She turned back to Gabby, who was looking anxiously at the floor. Hermione frowned in confusion, and took a step closer to her friend. "Hey, are you okay, beautiful?" Gabby blushed heavily and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Would you go on a date with me?" Hermione's mind went blank, her whole body frozen with sudden shock.
"What?" She asked, to make sure she hadn't somehow misheard.
"Would you go on a date with me?" Hermione blinked several times, looking at her friend, who at that moment was again looking at the floor in embarrassment.
"Wait, but - ...what?" Hermione stammered loudly, nearly shouting the last word at Gabrielle, who winced and took a step back.
"Forget I asked," She muttered, turned, and bolted out of the tent.
"Oh no, not for a fucking moment are you going to run from me," Hermione whispered to herself, and took off after Gabby.
The village Veela looked confused at the scene that followed. Hermione knew that Veela were naturally athletic, but catching Gabby on the run was a much more tiring job than she imagined. In the woods around the village, Hermione lost her.
"Appare vestigium." Hermione cast the tracking spell much stronger than she would typically, creating a golden trail that produced an unmistakable path leading to where Gabrielle had fled. After chasing it for quite some time, she came upon the young Veela kneeling on the forest floor, crying miserably.
She approached carefully, making enough noise for Gabby to hear her. She was afraid, not having any clue as to what was going on in the younger woman's mind. Hermione knelt beside the blonde and pulled her into a hug.
Gabby collapsed against her, sobbing against Hermione's neck, and grasping at her clothing, pulling herself even closer to her friend's body. Hermione let her, holding her steady, while whispering assurances and rubbing comforting circles on her back, growing increasingly worried about what had happened.
It took several minutes for Gabby to calm down, until the crying became little sniffles. Hermione leaned back slowly, bringing her hands to Gabby's face and wiping away the tears that were still running down her flushed cheeks.
"Hi there," she said softly. "Are you feeling a bit better?" The brunette wouldn't dare ask if Veela was fine, she clearly wasn't.
"I'm sorry," Gabby whispered hoarsely, and her eyes filled with tears again.
"It's okay, Gabby," Hermione soothed her again. "I'm just trying to understand what happened; your question was a bit out of the blue. Can I help? Will you tell me what is wrong?"
"I just want to move on," Gabby murmured, and Hermione waited calmly, giving the younger woman time to say whatever she wanted. "I love her so much, Hermione, so much that I feel my heart break every time I realize that she wants me only as a friend. When she touches me, I feel my body warm up, she smiles at me and it is as if my soul smiles. It's like everything simply falls into place." And in that moment Hermione understood.
"I think you should talk to Luna, Gabby. It's not healthy to keep your feelings bottled up like this, to move on you need to find some closure." Hermione had no idea if Luna had any romantic feelings for Gabby, but she did know that Luna was affectionate and loving, and strongly doubted that Gabby's feelings would cause her to end their friendship. Gabby nodded, and they were silent for a long moment. "I understand that you want to move on, but why with me?" Hermione finally asked.
Hermione sympathized with Gabby's feelings, but she was rather bewildered as to why the young Veela had chosen her as a potential new paramour.
"You are a good match, Hermione," A much more sober, and emotionally composed Gabby replied. It was perhaps not the wisest move to put our friendship on the line like that, but still, you are a good match."
"A good match?" Hermione repeated, and then frowned. "What does that mean exactly? Please don't tell me that I am your soul mate," She said imploringly, pleading with any goddess who would hear for that not to be the case.
"What? No, Hermione, you aren't my soul mate, Luna is." Hermione withheld a sigh of relief. "Veela can mate with their actual soul mate, or 'a good match.' You are a good match for more than one Veela, you know?" Hermione felt her eyes widen and she stared at Gabby, even more perplexed. The blonde sighed heavily. "Your magic is stable, noble and welcoming. You are a kind, caring, intelligent and family-oriented person. You are amiable, and although occasionally stubborn as a rock, the bottom line is that you are incredible. Many Veela would line up just to have a chance with you!"
"Wow, uh...what terrible information to casually drop on me in a village full of beautiful women," Hermione muttered under her breath to herself. "I do have important things to focus on here, other than gorgeous women pursuing me because they think I'm a good match," She declared to Gabrielle, her cheeks heating up strongly. "And you need to speak to Luna, urgently. Go home, and go to Luna," Hermione ordered. Gabby blushed and nodded her agreement.
"I will speak to her tonight," Gabby promised her, accepting that Hermione's demand was probably for the best.
"Oh, uh, by the way. I didn't mean to imply exactly, that if I was your soul mate, it would be a total catastrophe. I adore you, Gabby, and you are truly fantastic, but erm…." Hermione trailed off, an apology in her eyes. Gabrielle gave her a knowing smile.
"It's all right, Hermione, I understand."
"Okay, well, good. I'm glad," Hermione exhaled.
"Stop being awkward," Gabby commanded, looking more entertained by the second.
"I'm not! Now, where the hell do we go to get back to the village?" Hermione said, exasperated. Gabby laughed merrily, hugged the brunette, and started leading them in a stroll back to the village.
HGFDHGFDHGFD
It was almost eight, and the full moon was high in the night sky. Gabby had left in the middle of the afternoon, after watching Hermione work for a while and summoning the courage to talk to Luna.
Gabby had disclosed a lot of information about Veela culture, at least when it came to romantic relationships. Veela treated many things quite seriously, especially when feelings were involved. For a Veela to initiate a bonding process with someone outside the clan, absolutely certainty was a must. Gabby explained that Veela tended to behave more submissively to a magically stronger partner. But that submission should not be seen as weakness or an inferiority complex. A veela chooses to be submissive to her partner, she chooses to entrust her body and soul to that person, and she expects reciprocity. As the veela submits, the dominant party must be able to support and share this agreement. Even though they are extremely sexual beings, emotional considerations ultimately weigh more. Communication was of great importance, so talking was very necessary, but generally, Veela felt insecure. They felt insecure not only because their physical beauty was such a striking and prominent trait, but all Veela at the beginning of a bonding process feel insufficient for her partner at first.
Sex was also an important component of the bonding, though no sexual intercourse was considered the final act to the process, but instead a step forward. Sex helped to link souls and magical cores, enhancing the abilities of the magically weaker member, and creating a magical connection from the non-Veela partner to the ancient Veela magic. It is a slow process, and it should take all the time needed for both aspects.
What Gabby hadn't mentioned, was how the bonding process ended. And though Hermione was curious about it, she couldn't bring herself to ask, as it might raise suspicion, and she knew she was at least a little paranoid. Also, she needed to speak to Fleur before detailing the very first romantic moment they experienced.
Hermione was laying on her back in bed, having thrown herself on right after her long shower. She was tired, but starting to feel more relaxed, even though she was still a bit anxious about something or someone. She imagined that her whole being must be longing for Fleur, resulting in this general, encompassing feeling of anxiety. When she heard two light knocks on her door, she had little desire to move, so she just called out in a loud voice for the person to enter. Fleur shyly opened the door, peeking in the room and leaning on the latch to see that Hermione was lazily stretched out on her bed.
"Do you want company?" The blonde offered, looking amused at Hermione's less-than-elegant sprawl. The only response she received was a grunt, and Hermione rolling over to free up the right side of the bed for Fleur. The blonde laughed and claimed her spot, sitting on the bed and putting her hands in Hermione's hair, dragging her fingers through the strands and along her scalp.
"By the Goddesses Fleur, that feels so good," Hermione groaned deeply, and Fleur felt her insides tighten.
Hermione moved even closer to Fleur, placing her head on the blonde's legs so that the caresses could intensify.
"Usually people don't touch my hair because it can be kind of a mess, but I love it when they do," Fleur took both hands to her brown hair, messing up the strands, running her fingers and nails over her scalp, drawing another satisfied groan from Hermione.
"You really should stop making those sounds," Fleur warned her lowly, blushing and feeling herself grow aroused. Hermione's warm brown eyes opened and widened when she understood what Fleur meant. She sat up quickly and went absolutely red.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione said uneasily, and faced Fleur. The two looked at each other for a long moment, and with a sigh Hermione gave in. She placed her hand at the back of Fleur's neck, and pulled her in gently until their lips almost touched. "I've been dying to kiss you again after earlier today," she admitted shyly.
"Nothing is holding you back," Fleur encouraged boldly, then tilted her head in an almost submissive act, parting her lips and maintaining contact with brown eyes, while slowly passing her tongue over her lower lip. Something inside Hermione broke at the image. She didn't kiss Fleur, but curled her fingers into the woman's blond hair, and with light pressure, she brought Fleur's head back, exposing her neck. Hermione ran her nose lightly over the smooth skin of her slender neck.
"Are you always this naughty?" She murmured against sumptuous skin.
"Only with you," The straightforward answer in a submissive tone intruded on the blissful haze Fleur had induced on Hermione via her scent, her skin, her little nudge at Hermione to take what she wanted. They needed to talk before anything else, and as soon as they so much as kissed, things would quickly derail. While all of that was absolutely true, it wasn't quite enough to dissuade the brunette from provoking the Veela.
"Ah, so you mean you like to be naughty, but with me," Hermione reiterated, as if she was slowly comprehending what Fleur meant.
"Yesss," Fleur hissed, trying to cajole Hermione to move her mouth by tugging lightly at her curls. The brunette obliged, and brushed her lips lightly over Fleur's neck. The blonde let out a whimper, and tilted her head to the side, further exposing her neck in a silent plea.
"I see. Then I am quite the lucky recipient to both incite and experience this particular desire of yours, Miss Delacour." Fleur nodded distractedly, bringing up a hand to grip Hermione's forearm as she held back the shimmery gold strands and grasped the back of her neck to explore more pale skin with her lips. The Gryffindor then mentally prepared for the situational leap she was going to make at that moment. She paused and licked her lips, asking "Do you really just want to be a good girl for me?" The answering moan she received proved more than enough a positive response. Hermione moved her other hand leisurely down Fleur's neck, along her jaw to her chin, her thumb swiping across the blonde's wet lips and smirked.
"Where are those beautiful eyes?" Fleur obeyed the indirect command, eyes flashing open, the blue practically eclipsed with how aroused she was, meeting the intense brown gaze. Fleur swallowed and waited patiently for what Hermione would do.
"As much as I want to kiss you, touch you, devastate you and do it again and again..." She traced Fleur's lower lip with her thumb again. "And goddesses, I want to," Hermione leaned over and kissed Fleur's forehead tenderly. "We need to talk first."
Fleur grumbled in discontent, but Hermione continued. "I know that we have started a bonding process, Fleur." The Veela sobered. The desire was still there, but the reality had hit close enough to mute the physical desire and clear her thoughts. Hermione let go of Fleur's hair, caressing Veela's face adoringly.
"It wasn't my intention to start it, today even though I knew it was going to happen." Hermione frowned, especially when Fleur pulled her hands to her and intertwined their fingers, squeezing them tightly. Hermione lifted one of their linked hands to her mouth and kissed Fleur's knuckles softly.
"Am I your soulmate?" The question rang out quietly, but Fleur had never heard anything so clear in her life.
"Yes."