Day 4: Boss' Daughter

More than just a job

The room was bustling with agents as Fleur briskly walked in. She gave a quick hi and hello to everyone she bumped into as she paved a way through the room. Opening the door to the outside, a quick check revealed McGonagall on the stage. There was already quite a crowd assembled in front of it, thousands of people waiting for the speech to start, despite the harsh sun shining above them all.

She made a beeline to McGonagall, giving a quick greeting to the older woman and just waited, checking her equipment. Earpiece and microphone in place, gun strapped in, knife in boot, just in case. Bulletproof vest under her crisp button-on shirt and black blazer and aviators settled on her nose. Soon other agents joined her, gathering around McGonagall as they waited for further instructions and orders.

"Delacour and Danvers, I want you both behind the Senator. Potter and Diggory, I want you two on the edge of the stage. He has been receiving some threats due to his support of his daughter into the Senate and we don't want to take any chances. So keep your eyes peeled."

"Whose idea was it to 'ave zis speech 'ere?" muttered Fleur, rolling her eyes as she looked at the open location that was chosen for the speech. She settled herself in her designated spot and scanned the crowd, looking for anything unusual. No matter how bad this whole plan was, she was still here to do her job.

"Delacour, report on position" buzzed in her ear and Fleur replied, "In position. Sector Clear."

"Ok agents, Senator Granger and his daughter are currently approaching the stage from your rears. Keep your eyes open!" Fleur heard in her earpiece. A loud cheer erupted from the crowd as the duo approached and Fleur slowly turned, breath catching as she saw the vision in front of her. A beautiful brunette approached the microphone, hair curls bouncing lightly on her shoulders as she sauntered confidently past Fleur, dressed in a gorgeous silky red dress moulded to her curves.

"Delacour, report on Section five."

The buzzing in her ear snapped her out of ogling and she tore her eyes away. A quick scan into the section and she replied, "All clear."

"Roger," the voice replied and Fleur kept her focus onto the crowd. Her eyes did stray a few times to the brunette, her ears picking up the beautiful voice when the woman introduced herself to the crowd as Hermione Granger.

"...and I would like to thank you all for your continued support of my father, Senator Thomas Granger," Hermione smiled as she stepped away slightly, leaving the microphone to her dad. A loud cheer erupted at her words.

The Senator kissed his daughter's cheek before addressing the crowd, "I would like to thank you all as well for your support of me as well as of my daughter who will take my place in the near future." A loud cheer answered his words, "When the time comes, she'll be an even better Senator than I could ever be. Hermione Granger, ladies and gentlemen!" His words were swallowed by thunderous cheer and clapping as people yelled in agreement.

Fleur tore her eyes for the umpteenth time from the beautiful vision of Hermione from behind and checked the crowd again. She was happy to be wearing her aviators otherwise everyone would have noticed her wandering eyes. A movement to her left caught her attention and her muscles tightened on instinct.

"Gun at 11 o'clock!" she shouted into her mic, running and throwing herself forward, pulling Hermione to the ground, noticing Danvers doing the same to the Senator. She noticed a flash and a loud bang resonated into her ears, followed by screams. Frantic orders were shouted through her earpiece and Fleur made sure her body was acting as a barrier between the crowd and the politicians.

"What is going on?" Hermione shouted, frightened and disoriented by the chaos and the weight on top of her. She looked up to find herself gazing in the deepest cerulean eyes she had ever seen.

"Stay down please, miss," Fleur shouted as she held the brunette down, voice nearly lost in the screams of the crowd. "I promise you are safe with me," she reassured as she looked into fearful browns. She looked around as other agents gathered around her.

"We're moving backstage!" said Potter. It was sort of organised chaos as they were all escorted from the stage, agents surrounding the two politicians from all sides, in a circular barrier or bodies. Fleur kept one arm wrapped around Hermione, keeping her close to her body while her hand had her gun out and ready.

It was only when the door of the room safely closed behind them that the agents stood down. Senator Granger frantically pulled his frightened daughter into his arms, relieved to find her unharmed. Fleur was kind of disappointed to not have the brunette in her arms anymore.

"What is going on?" Senator Granger asked.

"Shots were fired from the crowd." Danvers pushed her earpiece into her ear, listening in before continuing, "The perpetrator has been apprehended. .He's currently being interrogated. All we know for now is the attempt was for Miss Granger," wincing when she heard the gasp of horror from the Senator

"Delacour, you're bleeding!" shouted McGonagall as she approached the blonde.

"Really?" Looking down at herself, Fleur realised that her left shirt sleeve was soaked with blood, "ah oui, seems like it," she replied, wincing as she pressed her hand onto the wound to stem the flow.

Hermione pulled her face away from her father's shoulder and turned, gasping at the blood. Looking up to get a better glimpse of the woman who had saved her life, she gasped inwardly as her heart fluttered at the sight. She's magnificent.

"Feels like a graze. Nothing too deep" she said, taking a towel from McGonagall to press against the wound.

The room opened and a medic made a beeline to her. It only took them a few minutes to clean up the wound and stitch it all up.

"'Ave zhey finished ze interrogation yet?" asked Fleur to another agent, shrugging her shirt and kevlar off to pull a clean shirt on, gingerly buttoning it as she felt her wound sting at every movement.

Hermione had been looking at the blonde even since she lifted her head from her father's shoulder and her heart skipped a beat when the blonde pulled off her shirt and bulletproof vest, leaving her with a tight tank top, leaving nothing to imagination. God, those abs! She surreptitiously swiped her hand against her mouth to make sure she was drooling. The French accent wasn't helping things either.

"Hermione, we are leaving!" The Senator's booming voice cut through, breaking the moment between the two women.

"I'm coming," Hermione called out, not tearing her eyes from the blonde. She really wished she had the chance to talk to the blonde but knew she wouldn't get the chance, seeing her father get moving from the corner of her eye. Reluctantly, she turned to follow her father and agents out.

Fleur checked herself out in the mirror again, straightening her collar and light blue tie which contrasted against her white shirt with tiny blue flower print all over. The shirt was well tucked into her black slacks, ending with shining black shoes. Quickly checking her wristwatch, 6.45 pm, she realised she needed to get going. Slipping on her black blazer, she quickly grabbed her car keys and shuffled to her black Audi.

She had been surprised to find that the Senator had requested her to be moved to his daughter's security team as the primary bodyguard and was even more surprised that McGonagall hadn't insisted she take at least a few days off because of her injury. She was quite happy about that, she hated being off or even worse, moved to desk duty. Ugh.

She quickly arrived at a beautiful two-storey house. The place was well guarded as she spotted agents around the perimeter. They checked her credentials before she was allowed into the driveway. Now that she was at the door, she wiped her sweaty hands against her slacks as she waited for one of the agents to key her into the house. She was startled when the door ripped open not even a second after, Hermione appearing, dressed in a beautiful flowy dark blue blouse and grey slacks, cutely barefoot on the carpeted floor.

"Good evening Agent Delacour, come on in," said Hermione excitedly, opening the door wider for the blonde to come in.

"'Ello Miss Granger. Please move out of ze doorway, it iz not safe for you to be in ze open " replied Fleur, using her body as a barrier as she gently pushing the brunette back inside.

'Oh ok," sighed Hermione, this whole thing was a bit aggravating. She allowed the blonde to shuffle her inside and turned to look at her properly when they reached the living room. The blonde was so handsome in her suit, tailored just for her, hugging every curve like a second skin and her blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Hot, she's absolutely hot. "How is your arm?" she asked, "I'm sorry, I didn't manage to talk to you earlier. I would like to thank you for saving my life, I just wish you didn't have to get hurt for it," she said sincerely.

Fleur was touched at the brunette's concern, "It's my job to protect you, Miss Granger. I am ok. It doesn't 'urt at ze moment. Ze painkillers are working."

"Please call me Hermione," replied Hermione.

"I don't think zhat would be appropriate, Miss Granger," replied Fleur. After all, the brunette was the boss' daughter.

"Please?" asked Hermione, pouting. She didn't want to be called Miss Granger by the blonde, it made her feel unapproachable.

"Ok..." replied Fleur hesitantly. God, you couldn't even resist her pout for one second! 'Ow are you zhough? Zis whole incident must 'ave been terrifying," said Fleur, looking at Hermione in concern.

"Oh yeah… It was terrifying... still is... I hate it, that people are so scared of women in politics that they are willing to kill for it. I hate that I'm confined to my own house for I don't know how long. I'm scared for the safety of my loved ones. It's a lot to take in when all I wanted was to make a difference in the world," said Hermione, sniffing as tears started to well in her eyes. She tried to keep them in, to no avail. God, I must look terrible, falling apart like that in front of her, she thought, trying hard to wipe her tears.

Fleur took the crying woman's hands into hers, hoping to be able to comfort her. "It's ok to be terrified," she whispered, "zhat makes you 'uman. I promise zhough, I will always keep you safe" Fleur said, surprising herself at how determined she was to keep that promise, to keep the woman in her arms safe. It felt like more than just her job.

Hermione cherished the warmth of the blonde's hands wrapped around hers. It was like a shelter in a hurricane, she felt anchored and safe, as bizarre as that could be when the blonde had just met her this morning! "Thank you," she whispered, "though I never want you hurt again because of me." She had started to care about the blonde in such an incredibly short time and Hermione didn't think she could handle her being hurt again.

Fleur stared at the warm chocolate eyes in front of her, marvelling at how familiar they felt... like she had gazed into them countless times. I'd take a thousand bullets if it meant you would be safe, ma belle, she thought, knowing it was the truth.

Hermione wasn't sure how much time had elapsed but she was surprised she didn't care. She could spend all night staring into the deep cerulean orbs of the woman in front of her.

Reluctantly tearing her gaze from the brunette, Fleur let go of her hands, trying to remind herself that she needed to keep a professional distance. "You can retire for ze day, after all, you 'ave been through a big ordeal. I will speak to Agent Miller to get acquainted wiz ze layout of your 'ouse and get ze access codes."

Hermione was disappointed to see the blonde retreat but she understood it. After all, they have only met each other this morning. Nodding she replied, "You are right… I will see you tomorrow morning?" she asked, hopeful.

Fleur nodded, "Yes. I will bunk in the outside guest 'ouse for tonight. The senator has asked me to move in zhere in the next few days so I will be coordinating ze details wiz Agent Miller. We can go over your schedule for ze coming days at breakfast? I recommended staying indoors for a few days, for your own safety," the blonde said, sympathetically.

"Ok," replied Hermione, not happy to be confined to her own house but she understood… and if it kept the blonde away from bullets, she'd happily stay inside forever. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. After all, the blonde was going to be there with her. Smiling at the thought, she looked at the blonde who was looking at her curiously, "thank you, Agent Delacour."

Fleur smiled, "you can call me Fleur."