«So she's really not going to tell you where she's taking you?» Evangeline rolled over onto her stomach, laying flat with her chin resting on her forearms as she watched Fleur hold up different outfits in the mirror, trying to decide what to wear on her date with Hermione. The blonde was in her undergarments, but after sharing a room for six years at Beauxbatons, the two had no shame around each other. Plus, they were French. And they were Veela. Modesty wasn't an issue for either of them.
«Non, she will not budge other than we are going somewhere nice and around Muggles. She is so stubborn sometimes!» Fleur whined but in truth she loved the idea of Hermione wanting to surprise her. After officially dating for three months, she knew that the Golden Girl was exceptionally thoughtful and creative, so she probably had something very special planned.
«Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it will be amazing. You deserve a break, you've been working so hard! I'm glad Maxime gave you the night off.»
«I know! I swear that woman is determined to work me to death! But I guess that is the price for being the Beauxbatons Champion.» Fleur grinned, holding up a red dress.
Evangeline scrunched her nose «I'm not feeling it.»
«Well, that's a shame because that was my last outfit. I've gone through my entire selection! I didn't exactly bring a lot of Muggle-passing outfits. Merde, I really miss my closet at home.» Fleur sighed longingly and flopped onto her bed next to her friend.
«Are you open to a crazy idea?»
«At this point, sure. What did you have in mind?»
«Wait here, I'll be right back.» Evangeline jumped up and darted out of the room, leaving a confused and dismayed Fleur.
The blonde Veela waved her hand and sent the heaping pile of discarded clothes back to their hangers in the wardrobe. She closed her eyes and wondered what her mate was up to, probably also getting ready. She cracked an eyelid when she heard Evangeline smash into the invisible barrier at the threshold of her room, swearing loudly and dropping the black garment bag she was carrying. Good to know my wards work. She laughed loudly as she watched her friend stagger to her feet again and waved her hand to dispel the defensive enchantment.
«I hate that damn blood ward! We're practically family in all ways but blood, can't you make an exception?» Evangeline huffed through her frustration as she gathered up the garment bag and entered the room. She stood by the bed glaring at the woman laughing her ass off at her expense «You know, I really don't know if I should help you with this now, just to spite you.»
«Non, please! I need your help! Please, Evangeline DesJardins, you are so wonderful and kind, won't you help me?» Fleur's smile instantly dropped and her expression turned to a well practiced, pleading puppy-eyes.
«Fine, because you are my friend and you asked so nicely.» Evangeline set the bag on the bed next to Fleur, who sat up, crossing her legs, leaning forward in anticipation. «Open mind?»
«Open mind.» The alpha Veela agreed.
«Then stand and close your eyes.» Evangeline unzipped the bag and pulled out the contents, and started putting them on Fleur.
Fleur obliged, allowing her friend to dress her like a life-size doll. She wanted to look, but she trusted Evangeline like family and knew that she wouldn't make her look bad. In some ways she trusted Evangeline more than her family. She would never let Gabrielle dress her.
The DesJardins clan was under the protection of the Delacour Clan, both families were bound together by oaths taken long ago. During the forming of the Clan, the DesJardins matriarch had sworn loyalty, service and support in return for the Clan's protection, resources and influence. All members of the DesJardins clan were naturally skilled healers, a service they provided to the rest of the Clan if called upon. It would lead to Evangeline's death in the future when the healers were called in to assist during the evacuation of Beauxbatons. The brunette had been distracted trying to heal an injured student and hadn't seen the Death Eater's curse.
«All done! What do you think?» Evangeline took a step back to admire her work.
Fleur's eyes widened as she looked down at herself «Are you sure? Do you think she would like that?» She moved over to her mirror to take a good look at herself. She would have never picked something like this on her own, but now that she saw herself, she had to admit that she thought she looked good.
«I think she will love it. Though I'm sure she would love it even more if it was on the floor» the brunette Veela smirked and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
«Enough of that you! We are going slow and building a relationship together, not just jumping to the fun parts.»
Evangeline giggled «Fine, fine… now will you let me do your hair?»
At precisely 6:00, Hermione knocked on the door to the Beauxbatons Carriage and took a step back, smoothing down the black fabric of her cocktail dress. She was looking forward to their date and had taken great care in planning something special for them. They had been working so hard for the past few months that they both could use a break. One night off was not going to be the end of the world.
Besides, they were about as prepared as they could be for the Third Task so it was an awkward waiting game. They even had an extraction plan. Fleur would bring the Invisibility Cloak to mask her presence and then as soon as the ritual was complete, she would grab Harry and they would portkey back. It wasn't perfect but it was their best chance. They continued to work on strengthening both Fleur and Harry's dueling and spells, but there was not much else to be done. It killed her to think of what might happen to either of them, the worry constantly gnawing at her. They were the most important people in her life and the thought of either of them coming to harm…
"Bon soir, Miss Granger. Come in, I'll let Fleur know you're 'ere." A Beauxbatons boy opened the Carriage door, pulling her from her thoughts. He moved aside to let her in and swept off to go find said woman. Word had traveled quickly that she and Fleur were dating, so all of the French students knew who she was by now.
At first their relationship had caused more than a few rumors and lots of raised eyebrows and whispers, mostly from the Hogwarts students, but after the first month or so, even those died down. Every now and then Hermione would catch disapproving glances from her peers but she really couldn't be bothered to care. She was proud of who she was and even more proud to be with Fleur. So she held her head high and held Fleur's hand tightly as they walked through the corridors on their way to class or snuck in a quick kiss on the cheek during mealtimes. But otherwise they had kept the public displays of affection to a bare minimum.
"You look absolutely lovely, ma belle." Fleur's soft lilt floated through the sitting lounge where she had been waiting, watching the paintings move.
Hermione smiled when she heard her girlfriend and turned to face her. Her jaw dropped so fast she was worried that she might have accidentally dislocated it. Fleur was standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame, her arms folded across her chest and her hip cocked to the side. She looked… Despite her exceptionally wide vocabulary, she had absolutely no words. All she could do was stare, her brown eyes shamelessly raking up and down the Veela's body.
The Veela was wearing a sleek black suit, a white button up under the jacket, her silvery-blonde hair pulled back in a bun. And was that one of her Gryffindor ties? When did the French witch get her hands on it? She had a confident smirk, her crystal blue eyes dancing brightly with excitement, clearly proud of the reaction she had gotten.
"I seem to 'ave rendered ze Golden Girl speechless, non? Do you like eet?" the blonde slowly sauntered across the room to the stunned brunette, leaning forward to kiss her girlfriend on the forehead.
"You look just… wow. Damn, Fleur. You look positively dashing." Hermione had never imagined that she would see Fleur in a Muggle suit like this but now that she had, the image was permanently etched into her mind and she had absolutely zero issues with that.
"Eet ees Evangeline's. I did not know she would own somezzing like zis but I am glad. I quite like the look. And eet seems you do too, non?"
Hermione nodded emphatically. "Very much, actually. I didn't realize power lesbian was my thing, but I stand corrected." She leaned up and kissed her on the cheek "Happy birthday, beautiful."
"Zank you, ma belle." Fleur beamed and held out her hand "Ready? I am looking forward to zis very much. I zink tonight will be special, non?"
"It is special indeed, you only get to turn 18 once, after all." Hermione joked and accepted the offered hand and led the way out of the Carriage into the cool evening.
"Where are we going? Hogsmeade? I thought you said dress Muggle-passing." Fleur slipped back to her accentless speech as soon as they were out of earshot of anyone.
Hermione grinned broadly as she walked "Hogsmeade first, but that is just a quick stop. We'll be Apparating out of there to our final destination."
"Where are we now?" Fleur blinked and looked around. They had landed in the middle of a short dark alley. She could hear sounds of cars and people talking as they walked by but otherwise there were no distinguishing features or landmarks that she could see from their current position.
"You don't recognize it?"
"Non. I do not usually spend my time in smelly alleyways and I am personally offended that you would suggest it!" The blonde pouted slightly, though mostly in jest by her tone.
Hermione laughed at her girlfriend's antics and took her hand, leading out of the alley. Once they had made it to the street, she led the way down the block toward a large grassy park. She felt Fleur stiffen and gasp aloud when she realized where they were. "Now do you recognize it?"
Fleur's eyes were blown wide as she looked up at the towering metal structure up ahead of them "That is the Tour Eiffel… This is Paris. You brought me to Paris?"
"Well, you mentioned that you had never actually been here. Is this okay? We can go somewhere else. I just thought you might like it."
"I absolutely love it! I've always wanted to come here!" Fleur beamed and picked up Hermione by the waist and lifted her, spinning her around in the air, kissing her cheek before setting her down again "Mother comes here sometimes for business, but I've never had a chance to come. Our home is in Marseille, so I spent most of my time there or in the surrounding area. Or if we took family trips we would go abroad. I'm ashamed to say I have not been around my own home country very much."
Hermione's heart felt light to see Fleur so happy. "I'm glad you like it. We've got dinner reservations, but otherwise the time is ours to do as we will. Dumbledore gave us special permission to be out, but we need to be back by 11, so we have until 10:30 to give us time to get back from Hogsmeade."
"Ah, that makes sense, I was wondering how you managed this."
"What can I say? I'm just magical. And it's your birthday! Therefore it is my duty to spoil my girlfriend" Hermione smirked and looped her arm around Fleur's and led the way down the streets toward the restaurant. Fleur was chattering excitedly as they walked. Hermione wasn't going to point out that in her excitement, the Beauxbatons student had slipped back into her native tongue.
After their dinner, Hermione let Fleur take the lead. She was loving every minute of their date and glad to see Fleur so excited about everything, pulling her along like a kid in a candy store. First they went up the Eiffel Tower to look at the city below. Fleur was pointing out various landmarks and buildings they could see, rattling off Muggle and Wizard history of the city. Hermione was surprised that the Veela knew so much Muggle History, apparently Beauxbatons had a class, similar to Hogwarts' Muggle Studies class. After that, they took the walking path along the Seine River toward the Louvre. They didn't have time to go in and the museum was closed anyway but Fleur wanted to see it before they left. It was a Paris must-do, after all. The grounds were still open at least and they could wander around. It was still rather romantic.
Hermione had to admit, the Louvre campus was an impressive view, she had never seen anything like it before. The iconic glass pyramid was lit up for the evening, as was the rest of the giant fortress-turned palace-turned museum that housed the world's largest collection of art. She held Fleur's hand as they strolled along the walking paths between the geometric pools of water that surrounded the pyramid, the fountains bubbling and splashing softly in the background.
"Let's sit down for a moment," she pointed to a bench to the side of the path they were on, which Fleur happily agreed to. "Did you enjoy your evening?"
"I did, very much. Any time with you is amazing, but you truly outdid yourself, ma belle. I can't believe you did all of this for me!" Fleur reached up and stroked her cheek with her thumb, causing her to shiver. "Are you cold?"
"A little…" Hermione admitted and leaned into Fleur's touch.
Fleur pulled off her jacket, draping it over Hermione's shoulders. She leaned back and rested her arm on the backrest, providing a place for the brunette to snuggle.
Hermione happily leaned against her girlfriend with her head nestled in the crook of the Veela's neck, breathing in the lavender-vanilla scent. Her eyes slipped shut for a moment, just enjoying the evening.
"This is what I'm fighting for. To bring lasting peace to the world and for the chance to have this with you…" Hermione pulled away and turned to face her girlfriend, staring deeply into those icy pools "… for the rest of my life."
Fleur gazed back, unblinking as she listened. She was so still that Hermione wasn't sure if she was even breathing anymore.
"I love you and I choose you, Fleur Delacour. Always." Her eyes slipped shut as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Fleur's. She had moved slowly to give Fleur the opportunity to lean away or stop her, but this time there was no resistance and the blonde closed the distance between them.
This wasn't her first kiss, but from the moment their lips touched, all memory of her previous experiences faded. It was only her and Fleur. Despite it being a rather chaste kiss, it was the most exhilarating feeling she had ever experienced. It was as if time and space had stopped around them. Everything about it felt right. She felt a warm power spreading through her body, radiating outward from her heart to the tips of her fingers and toes. The energy surged and crackled in her veins.
And it was over all too soon. They weren't the only ones enjoying the Louvre this evening, after all.
She and Fleur pulled away after a few short seconds. She was concerned to see tears start to fall from those beautiful cerulean orbs.
"Fleur?"
"I'm sorry, ma belle. I am just so happy. I can't begin to describe what it feels like."
Hermione relaxed slightly, "I think I have a pretty good idea." She reached up and rubbed her thumb along Fleur's cheek, wiping away the little tears. "I've wanted to do that for a while, but I wanted to make it special. Your birthday seemed like a pretty good reason."
Fleur smiled and laughed away her remaining tears "Well, I must say this was a much better gift than the first time around… you are certain, you know what this means for us."
"I do, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. I appreciate that you gave me the time to really think about it. And I've enjoyed getting to know you again and working to build up our relationship. I know we're young and look even younger, but I know it in my heart that you're the one for me. If the previous timeline taught me anything, it's that life is too short and the future is uncertain. So when you find something good, reach out and take it before the chance is gone. I don't want to waste another moment of what time we have left and I want to make the most of it. I love you and I accept you, stubborn Veela and all."
"I love you, too, ma belle. So let's not waste our time then." Fleur grinned and reached up to cup her mate's jaw in her hands, pulling her in for another kiss.
Hermione melted under Fleur's touch, losing herself in the moment again. This kiss was more urgent than their first, it was deep in meaning and significance. Her lips pressed firmly against Fleur's, her hand snaked behind the blonde's neck, holding her close and she felt strong fingers weave into her unruly curls, tugging slightly. But eventually oxygen became an issue and she reluctantly pulled away, breathing hard. She tilted her head and pressed their foreheads together, her eyes still closed. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of kissing you. I just... want to do that all the time! Just, wow..."
Fleur just chuckled softly "It seems like such a problem. Whatever will I do?"
Hermione playfully swatted her shoulder and gave her a quick peck before leaning away "As much as I want to stay out here with you, we need to get back or Dumbledore will have my head."
"Non, he cannot have it, I do not share." Fleur smiled and stood up and helped Hermione to her feet. "Let's find somewhere safe to Apparate. I can take us back this time so you don't have to use too much magic."
Hermione dropped Fleur off at the Beauxbatons Carriage once they got back to the school grounds and used a series of secret passages to make her way back to Gryffindor Tower undetected. She was just about to the portrait of the opera-singing, wine-loving woman when a soft voice spoke out from a shadowy corner.
"Licorice wand?"
Hermione spun on her heel and drew her wand in one smooth motion. She pointed the wand away when she saw Dumbledore emerge from an alcove next to a stone statue. In his hand was indeed a pack of candy. She had forgotten how much the aged wizard loved sweets. She declined his offer.
"Good evening, Miss Granger. I trust everything went well and you had a lovely evening?"
"We did, sir, thank you for granting us permission to leave the grounds."
Dumbledore just smiled and waved it off "It is important to remember to take a little time to ourselves every now and then. You two have more than earned one night to enjoy yourselves."
Hermione nodded "Was there anything I can help you with tonight?"
"No, I just wanted to check in on your progress. It has been a while since we talked. Do you have a plan, Miss Granger?"
"Yes, sir, I know what we must do… it's not an easy choice, but I am ready to do whatever it takes."
"Good, I knew you would think of something." Soft blue eyes twinkled behind the half-moon glasses.
Hermione paused, a question that had been burning in the back of her mind and she hadn't had time to think about it with everything else going on. "Sir, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Miss Granger, ask away. Now whether or not I have an answer is a different story."
"When I used the Tempus Novus and accidentally brought Fleur back with me… is it possible that we weren't the only ones?"
"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to come to me with that. Simply put, no. It was just you two."
"How can you be certain?"
"Well, I designed it, after all. I've always said that help will be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it and those who deserve it. Miss Delacour is an essential piece to your current mission, so that is why she was brought back. I fear that without her help, the future is doomed to repeat itself."
Hermione sobered at that but also felt a wave of relief knowing the reason how she and Fleur were sent back and there was no risk of anyone else making the journey.
"Do you have any other questions tonight?"
"I always have questions, I'm Hermione Granger, after all. But not about this. Good night, Headmaster." The brunette grinned and turned to the portrait as the Headmaster wandered away down the dark corridor, humming a jaunty tune to himself.