Hermione didn't know what to do other than just watch as things played out. Time seemed to move in slow motion, like a horror movie and there was nothing she could do about it, nor could she look away. In a matter of seconds, the Horntail had completely thrashed the six-person dragon handling team, and was making its way across the arena to Fleur at great speed. The blonde witch didn't even have time to react before she was suddenly engulfed in a huge burst of flame. The fire burned so hot that she could feel the heat on her face.
The stands were all silent. No one dared speak as they watched what seemed like an endless barrage of fire from the Horntail.
Hermione fell to her knees, her heart pounding in her chest. Her head swam as she rocked back and forth, holding her head between balled fists. What had just happened? She was overwhelmed by the crushing guilt. This wasn't supposed to happen! If she hadn't messed with time then Fleur would be alive!
"Merlin's saggin' balls! Blimey! Hermione! Look!" Ginny was hitting her on the shoulder and waving excitedly.
Hermione dreaded what she would see but she slowly got to her feet and looked. What she saw made her jaw drop. She watched, her eyes the size of dinner plates. She was afraid to blink, afraid she would miss something.
A small swirling blue orb had appeared where the part-Veela had been standing moments ago. It slowly grew in size until it was about ten feet across. It looked like a giant ball of fire. The blue flames slowly traveled up the red hot path, overpowering the dragon fire as they made their way toward the dragon's face.
Just as the blue flame reached the dragon, the fiery blue orb exploded without warning. The force of the explosion was so great that it sent a shockwave of heat throughout the stands. The Horntail staggered back, shaking its head rapidly, clearly stunned and confused.
And there, standing tall and proud with her hands outstretched, palms up and holding little blue flames, was Fleur. But not quite. She had fully transitioned into her Veela state.
Hermione gazed in wonder at this new side of Fleur. She remembered seeing the Veela at the Quidditch World Cup the summer before her fourth year, but Fleur looked different from the Veela she had seen.
Fleur was covered from head to scaled talons in feathers. Her wings were spread wide behind her, each was at least six feet long, giving her an impressive wingspan. Her head and wing feathers were a magnificent royal blue with silver tips, which gave the illusion of layered waves. The blue feathers faded at her chest and back into soft white plumage that covered the rest of her body down to her 'knees'.
Her hands were covered with thick white scales and the tips of her fingers had shifted into sharp talons, each about an inch long. Her legs were also covered in white scales from the 'knee' down. Her feet had taken on the form almost identical to a bird of prey. Three sharp claws faced forward while the rear claw curved in the opposite direction. Unlike her fingers, the claws on her feet were at least three inches and wickedly sharp.
Her face had shifted drastically, her nose and mouth had merged to form a powerful beak that was shiny and jet black like obsidian. Her eyes glowed bright red as she stared the dragon into submission, as if daring it to retaliate.
The Horntail glared defiantly at the Veela but eventually dropped its head, resting its chin on the ground in defeat. It didn't even struggle when a new wave of dragon handlers came rushing out.
The Veela turned to retrieve her golden egg and promptly collapsed on the hard stone slab, exhausted from her efforts.
Hermione was running through the stands toward the emergency medical tent in seconds. She didn't stop when she heard Madame Pomfrey complaining about her unexplained presence. She stood next to the empty bed, presumably the one for Fleur. She saw Harry out of the corner of her eye, watching her curiously. He had come out of his task more or less unscathed but an intern healer was tending to some shallow cuts on his hands and face. She smiled at him and gave him a nod but her attention was pulled away by movement at the entrance to the tent. She would catch up with him later.
Seconds later, a burly redhead man came walking in carrying the unconscious Veela. He set her down on the available bed, carefully positioning her on her side so her wings didn't get crushed.
"Hey Charlie. Is she okay?" Hermione looked at the second son of the Weasley family.
"I think she'll be fine, just plum tuckered out! I can't believe she single handedly took on a Horntail like that when my six best couldn't manage the job! Fuckin' amazing if you ask me! Just fuckin' incredible! If I hadn't been watching for myself, I wouldn't believe it!"
Hermione nodded in agreement "It was incredible… aside from her scaring the shit out of me."
Charlie grinned and held out a leather bag to Hermione "Hey, would you give this to her when she wakes up. She earned it. Don't go opening it, Granger. It's for her."
Hermione took the bag and shot him an indignant scowl. "I wasn't going to!"
Charlie just smiled and saluted before going to check on his team.
Gabrielle came rushing in next, launching herself at Hermione and clutching her around the waist. Hermione was too shocked to say anything. Must be a French thing. Or just a scared little sister thing. She was surprised the young girl trusted her so much. She didn't realize Gabrielle even remembered her, having only met her a few days ago. They had never interacted in the previous timeline. Evangeline came next and stood on the other side of the bed, looking surprisingly calm.
"Well, zat was certainly unexpected." The brunette part-Veela chuckled as she gazed at her friend, then looked up to catch Hermione's worried eyes. "Do not worry, she will be fine. She just needs to sleep eet off. Eet might 'elp eef you 'eld 'er 'and."
Hermione furrowed her brow but didn't question it. She carefully pulled an arm free from Gabrielle's clutches and intertwined their fingers. The scales on Fleur's hand were rough and scratchy. She was surprised when she felt Fleur's fingers flex and tighten slightly, but the grip was mostly one sided.
They stood in silence, watching and waiting. Madame Pomfrey didn't have training working with Veela and she needed Fleur to transition back so she could give her a proper inspection.
After about ten minutes, Fleur twitched, her beak opening and closing. Hermione couldn't hear anything but it sounded like soft hisses and chittering noises.
"She ees calling for you." Gabrielle looked up at the brunette.
"Why?"
"She trusts you." Evangeline answered quickly, shooting Gabrielle a look to silence the child. Hermione was too focused on Fleur to notice though. "Do not worry, eet ees a Veela thing."
One by one the other Champions were released from the medical tent. Harry came to stand by the young women huddled around the Veela "Hey, Hermione. How's she doing?" He rubbed her back gently.
Hermione looked over at her friend and gave him a soft smile. "She's fine now that she's not stuck in there with that blasted dragon. You did brilliantly by the way!"
Harry grinned proudly "Thanks! Glad I got my head around that summoning spell, would have been a lot harder on foot!" He looked between Hermione and Fleur "I'll… I'll see you in the common room later, yeah?"
Hermione nodded, grateful that her friend wasn't asking questions or pressuring her. "Thanks, Harry. I'll see you later."
The Boy Who Lived hoisted his egg under his arm and left the tent.
Hermione went back to staring at Fleur. She felt like she was in a daze. She was trying to process the afternoon's events, but it all felt so overwhelming that she couldn't focus. It felt like there was a thick blanket of fog in her mind covering her other thoughts. All that she could think clearly about was the girl in front of her. After a while, she felt Fleur's grip get much stronger and her body started shaking and convulsing as she started screeching, her sharp beak clacking as if she was in pain.
"Zis ees eet! Gabrielle, grab 'er middle, I 'ave 'er legs." Evangeline exclaimed and leaned over the table to pin down the powerful scaled legs, carefully avoiding the strong talons.
"What should I do?" Hermione started to panic..
"Just talk to 'er! Try to keep 'er calm."
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Eet does not matter, just calm stuff! Reassure 'er or somezzing!" Evangeline huffed, still struggling against Fleur's legs, trying to prevent her from kicking out.
Hermione felt ridiculous but she did as Evangeline instructed "Fleur… Fleur if you can hear me, it's okay. You're safe now. We're here for you and you don't need to worry. I won't let anything hurt you."
Fleur's eyes opened wide and she started to calm. She looked up, completely fixated on the brunette's chocolate brown gaze.
"Zat ees perfect, 'Ermione. Keep going." Gabrielle encouraged
"You can come back now… Come back to us." Hermione reached out with her free hand and gently stroked Fleur's cheek, marveling at how soft the feathers were. "Come back to me. Please."
Fleur stilled completely and gave a quiet squawk.
Hermione felt the hand in hers start to soften, scales gave way to pale skin. In seconds, there was a giant pile of feathers on the bed, covering the young woman entirely.
"'Ermione…"
"Hey, Fleur."
"Am I dead?"
"Not yet, but you're about to be because of the fright you gave us all!" Hermione huffed "Seriously!"
"I am sorry, mon ami." Fleur blinked up at her, her crystal blue eyes still a little unfocused. "What 'appened?"
"Do you not remember?"
Fleur shook her head softly, groaning. "I feel like I got 'it wizz a… 'ow do you say… ze Knight Bus?"
"Your Veela took over, Fleur. You've been out a while." Evangeline supplied the explanation.
"Ah, well, zat explains ze feazzers. Can someone get me a robe, please. I do not want to walk zrough 'Ogwarts naked."
Gabrielle quickly moved away to go get something for her sister to wear.
Hermione blushed brightly, not realizing that under that thin layer of feathers was a very naked Fleur. She turned her head away, staring at a particularly interesting speck on the tent's ceiling.
"Are you embarrassed by zat, 'Ermione?" Fleur's voice was full of amusement. "Eet ees just a body."
"Erm, no… I mean… I guess we're all girls here… I just didn't realize. I don't want to uh… I thought you might want some modesty."
Fleur shrugged slightly "Modesty? I am French. And I am Veela. We zink zat ze body ees a beautiful zing, Zere ees no need to be ashamed or embarrassed. You British are such prudes."
Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Gabrielle returned and handed Fleur a set of black robes.
Fleur carefully rolled over, her back to Hermione, and pulled on the robes. "Zere, you can look again, 'Ermione. I am covered. I would not want to hurt your poor innocent eyes."
Hermione just rolled her eyes at the cheeky part-Veela.
Fleur was standing on the opposite side of the bed with a big grin, clearly enjoying teasing her. She reached down and picked up one of her long wing feathers "'Ere, as an apology for scaring you." She turned to Evangeline. "You know what to do wizz ze rest."
Evangeline simply nodded and waved her wand, collecting all of the feathers into a tight ball that levitated at her side.
Hermione furrowed her brow, watching the older Beauxbatons students with great interest and confusion but before she could launch into her long list of questions, Madame Pomfrey returned and shooed the three uninjured girls away so she could finally tend to her patient.
"I assure you, Madame. I am 'ealed. Ze transition took care of my injuries. I am just sore."
"Be that as it may, Miss Delacour, I must insist that I give you a thorough inspection! If I am satisfied by your condition then this shall be a very short inspection and I shall discharge you in no time at all. But until then, sit!"
Fleur pouted but sat down on the bed. She caught Hermione's eye as the brunette was leaving the tent "I will see you soon. Wait for me in ze Carriage? You can go een wizz Evangeline as a chaperone. Eef Maxime complains, tell 'er you are my guest. Gabrielle can let you into my room."
The three witches headed back towards the Beauxbatons Carriage. Gabrielle was cradling the golden egg like her life depended on it, her tiny fingers tracing the strange markings on the shell. Hermione was still carrying the leather bag and Evangeline was levitating the feather ball beside her. Along the way, Evangeline set the bundle of feathers on fire.
""What was that for?" Hermione watched the once beautiful feathers turn to ash midair.
"We do not allow parts of our bodies to be used wizzout our permission. Eet ees Veela custom." Evangeline shrugged and then continued walking as if nothing had happened.
"Really?" She subconsciously twirled her feather between her thumb and index finger.
As if reading Hermione's mind, Evangeline explained "Fleur gave you zat as a gift of 'er own choice."
Hermione looked at her feather in a new light. Sure it was pretty, but she didn't realize how significant of a gift it was.
"Zere was a time zat we were 'unted, 'arvested for our body parts. Treated like animals." Evangeline's voice was hard as she explained, "Eet was not a good time for us. We almost went extinct because of ze wizards' greed. Zere used to be large colonies of Veela zroughout ze world."
"Wow… I never... I am so sorry to hear that!"
"Eet ees fine, we do not usually talk of our 'istory. Especially out of ze Clan."
"I know the Veela are very secretive."
"We must be. Eet ees for our protection."
"So, why are you telling me then?"
Evangeline faltered for the briefest moment "Because eet ees as I said earlier. Fleur trusts you. Zerefore so do I."
Hermione just nodded and continued walking in silence.
Hermione was struck by the beauty and grandeur of the inside of the Carriage. The space inside was huge. It looked like she had stepped into Versailles. It was bright and open, adorned with lavish furnishings. The walls were painted like a piece of Renaissance art, the nymphs and satyrs moving about through the scenes. A huge crystal chandelier hung over the sitting area. There was a staircase up to a second floor. Evangeline explained that it was just more rooms.
Gabrielle bounced down the hall on the first floor and let herself into Fleur's room. Fleur had placed a blood ward on it so that only one with Delacour blood could open the door.
The older girls followed once the door was open.
Hemione looked around the room. It was beautiful but surprisingly modest. The walls were a soft lavender color. The large bed was covered by a thick, puffy white duvet with a blue floral pattern placed against the wall to the right. A wardrobe was placed along the opposite wall next to a vanity. There was also a bookshelf and desk on the wall opposite of the door, the desk centered around a large window that overlooked the Forbidden Forest. There was a chaise lounge in the corner by the bookshelf, which Hermione took, facing Gabrielle and Evangeline, who were sitting on the bed. As much as she wanted to go look at what Fleur was reading, she did not want to intrude on Fleur's privacy. There was also a door that led to the bathroom.
Hermione's mind was swirling with so many questions that she didn't know where to start. Nor was she sure that Evangeline would or could answer them. She thought she'd start with some simple ones to break the ice.
"So, how long have you known Fleur?"
"Mmm… she and I 'ave been roommates since our first year at ze Academy. Clearly we are not roommates now. We all 'ave our own room 'ere in ze Carriage. My room ees down ze 'all."
"Is Beauxbatons like Hogwarts, with 7 years of study? What subjects do you learn there?"
They fell into light conversation about the difference in their school experiences. Evangeline was shocked to find out how much Hermione had experienced while on school grounds. Trolls in her first year, a Basilisk in the next, followed by Dementors and werewolves.
"Attending 'Ogwarts seems dangerous for ze 'ealth."
"You know, I sometimes agree… but at least it keeps things interesting."
"Zat ees one word for eet."
"Can I ask you some things about the Veela? I understand if you can't answer them, but I'm just so curious."
Evangeline simply nodded.
"Why was it so hard for Fleur to transition back?"
"Because she did not shift of her own choosing. A Veela can sometimes overtake ze body and mind in life zreatening situations. Once in control, a Veela does not want to relinquish ze power."
Hermione nodded slowly, taking that in. "Otherwise it's an easier transition?"
"For a full Veela, yes. 'Onestly, eet ees rare for a part-Veela to actually fully transform like that. But Fleur ees very strong, even eef 'er blood ees not pure-Veela."
Gabrielle looked up from the bed where she was cradling the egg "Eet was ze first time I've seen Fleur transform. Maman will be so interested to know!"
Hermione sputtered "You mean to tell me that if she didn't transition there was a chance she wouldn't have survived!?"
"Do not worry, mon ami, I am tougher zan I look." Fleur's soft lilt filled the room.
Hermione looked over at the blonde who was leaning against the door frame. She was looking rather smug, her hip cocked to the side, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were bright, a little tired, but that was to be expected. "You look good in Gryffindor red, Fleur."
"Zank you. Now I 'ave ze whole 'Ogwarts experience. Zough zese robes are not so flattering… and very drafty een certain areas, non? 'Ow do you stand eet?"
Hermione blushed "Well, we usually wear clothes underneath, not just the robe."
"Oh, zat makes sense zen." Fleur grinned and pushed off, walking over to sit on the bed next to her sister. "Zank you for 'olding onto zat for me, little monster."
Gabrielle passed it over "Are you going to open it?"
Fleur shook her head "Maybe later, I am razzer tired and I do not want to zink about ze tournament for at least a week."
That jogged Hermione's memory "Oh, Charlie Weasley dropped this off for you." She held out the leather bag that was squirming a little.
"Oh, what ees eet?" Fleur raised an eyebrow as she took the bag.
"I don't know, it's your gift."
"Mmm…" Fleur hummed and released the drawstring. The tiny Horntail crawled its way out of the bag. When it saw her it dipped its head respectfully before crawling onto her hand. "Zere must be a sort of connection between zis and ze real dragon. Eet bit me when I picked eet." She held it up to her face, looking intently at it "You will be'ave yourself, non?" she addressed the tiny creature.
It looked down sheepishly and curled up on her palm.
"Wow, a mini-dragon!" Gabrielle exclaimed excitedly.
The Horntail looked up quickly and regarded the small Veela for a moment before baring its teeth menacingly as it hissed.
Fleur immediately chastised it and held it up to Gabrielle, then Hermione and Evangeline, telling it that these three were friends and it was not to be mean to them. The dragon huffed and laid back down.
Fleur smiled at the others "Well, just zink. One task down, two to go!"