Hermione wasn't sure how on Earth she had ended up agreeing to it, but she was at another party hosted at Grimmauld Place.
The boys had given her plenty of advice on how to flirt with women—most of which Hermione was sure was rubbish. In their enthusiasm, they had ended up excitedly roaming the party to flirt with women themselves.
Hermione would wager a galleon that neither of them would get very far following the advice they had given her.
On her own, Hermione surveyed the room. Harry and Ron had invited practically every woman they knew. They'd invited some men too, just so it wouldn't be weird, but Hermione had a huge range of options.
She bit her lip, retreating into the kitchen to fetch herself another soda.
"What are you doing hiding out here?" Ginny asked slyly, sidling up next to her in the kitchen. She had Luna with her and looked like she had just been in the middle of discussing Hermione.
"Just getting a soda… Why?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"A certain brother of mine may have said that you're going to try flirting with women tonight," Ginny grinned.
Hermione swore.
"That Ronald!" Hermione growled, "When I get my hands on him…"
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Luna interrupted gently.
Hermione quelled her temper, noticing that both Ginny and Luna did seem open. Neither of them were laughing and they appeared genuinely interested in talking to her about it.
"Well… Fine… I am," Hermione said self-consciously, "I just don't know what I'm bloody doing!"
"Well, you seduced Fleur Delacour," Ginny replied. Hermione shrugged, looking away.
"That was different," Hermione mumbled, blushing, "We didn't really talk a huge amount before…"
"It's okay, we get it," Luna soothed.
"How about you pretend you're trying to pick up one of us?" Ginny suggested, "Or, if you really want a challenge, both of us at the same time!"
Hermione felt mortified at that suggestion.
"No way," Hermione shook her head. Ginny grinned.
"Okay, well, what kind of things are you thinking of saying?" Ginny asked, cocking her head to one side.
"Erm, 'hello?'" Hermione said, her voice getting quieter as her embarrassment increased.
"Good start," Luna nodded sagely, "Then what?"
Hermione felt the pressure building up and she shook her head.
"Bloody hell, guys! You're psyching me out!" Hermione exclaimed.
Luna and Ginny looked apologetic.
"Sorry," Ginny replied, "How about you just head out there and have a go with the first woman you see? No pressure."
Hermione relaxed her shoulders a little.
"Fine."
Her friends watched her expectantly until she sighed and walked back out to the living area. She was feeling self conscious again. There were so many cute and attractive women at Grimmauld Place. She felt frumpy with her curly hair, jeans and tee.
"You can do it," Luna encouraged quietly, giving her a gentle push in the small of her back.
Hermione saw a brunette sitting alone on a couch. She went and sat beside the girl, wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans. She was so nervous.
"Erm, hello," Hermione greeted.
The woman turned and looked at her, smiling slightly.
"Hi," the woman replied.
Hermione felt a jolt of panic. She hadn't thought about what to say once she got to this point.
'Think Hermione, THINK. What do people normally say?' Hermione thought in a panic. She was drawing a blank.
What had been a normal pause continued to extend. Hermione panicked further as the pause extended into awkwardness.
The woman looked at Hermione curiously.
Before Hermione could finally say something, the woman's glanced across the room.
"Um… Are those your friends?" the woman asked.
Hermione followed her gaze and saw Ginny and Luna intensely watching them. Ginny was even chewing on her nails as if she were watching a Quidditch match.
"Oh God!" Hermione cursed, "I am so sorry… Er, bye!"
She got to her feet and hurriedly walked off, Ginny and Luna immediately rushed up to her.
"How did it go?" Ginny asked eagerly.
Hermione pulled them away so that at least they wouldn't be within earshot or sight of the brunette.
"Terrible!" Hermione groaned, "I froze up and then she noticed you two staring us down like psychos."
"Oh," Luna replied, frowning.
"Our bad," Ginny apologised, grimacing.
Hermione's second and third attempts went just as poorly. Luna and Ginny managed to tone down their enthusiasm so as not to scare off the women, but Hermione just kept getting so nervous or flustered that she struggled to hold a conversation.
She supposed maybe it was the pressure of having her friends observing her. She knew Luna and Ginny were just excited to support her, but it was all a bit much.
Hermione waited until Luna and Ginny disappeared to the kitchen to refresh their drinks. As soon as the blonde and redhead were out of sight, Hermione ducked through the crowd and slipped upstairs.
She leaned against the wall of the hallway, sighing. She was already more relaxed.
"Sickle for your thoughts?"
Hermione opened her eyes. A pretty raven-haired girl was standing next to her, watching her intently.
"Oh, hi," Hermione smiled shyly.
"You're Hermione Granger, right?" the woman asked.
"Ah, yes, and you are?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling a bit more confident.
"Amelie," the woman replied, smiling coyly.
Hermione smiled back flirtatiously. She turned more fully to face Amelie, leaning her shoulder against the wall cockily.
"That's a French name," Hermione observed, "I like it."
"Hmmn, the approval of the Golden Girl," Amelie commented, "High praise indeed."
Hermione smiled wider. It really seemed like this woman was flirting back.
'I knew I just had to get rid of Luna and Ginny and I would be fine!' Hermione thought to herself, inwardly fist pumping.
"So, how did I get so lucky that you ended up in my house?" Hermione asked, daring to be a bit bolder. She sidled a little closer to Amelie.
Amelie bit her lip, looking down shyly before looking back up at Hermione.
"Well, Hermione Granger…" Amelie started flirtily. She was suddenly cut off by someone coming to stand beside Hermione.
Hermione jumped as she realised it was Fleur.
"Fleur!" Hermione yelped, leaning back from Amelie as if she had been caught doing something wrong, "What are you doing here?!"
"I was not aware I was under house arrest," Fleur replied, her cerulean eyes sparkling dangerously. She was wearing a form fitting dress that left little to the imagination.
"Who is this?" Amelie asked, still smiling, but a little confused.
"Fleur Delacour," Fleur drawled, moving a hand to rest on her stomach, "The woman carrying Hermione's unborn child."
Hermione cringed, watching the shock cross Amelie's face.
"Er, Fleur's part-Veela," Hermione explained weakly, "I didn't know… About the needing to use protection thing…"
"Oh…" Amelie said awkwardly. She straightened up, shooting Hermione a polite smile, "I might leave you two to it."
Before Hermione could say anything, Amelie had hurriedly taken her leave.
Hermione turned to Fleur, annoyed.
"Why did you do that?!" Hermione hissed.
Fleur smiled waywardly.
"Do what?" she asked innocently, inspecting her nails.
Hermione opened her mouth to snap back, but thought better of it. She huffed sulkily before gathering her thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, "You aren't drinking, are you?"
"Non," Fleur replied, frowning as she took offense, "I need to talk to you."
Hermione glanced around. The hall was milling with people. She hardly needed more people hearing her dirty laundry.
"Fine," Hermione sighed, "Come with me."
She took Fleur by the arm, carefully leading her down to her bedroom. She made sure to steer Fleur so that no drunk people stumbled into her. As they entered her room, she carefully shut the door and cast a silencing spell.
Fleur was watching her closely. Her cerulean eyes were stormy again. Hermione wished she had developed the ability to read Fleur. Unfortunately, her facial expression was as impassive as ever.
Hermione blushed as she saw the bed in the middle of her room, remembering the last time she had taken Fleur with her to her bedroom.
Attempting to regain her composure, Hermione instead led Fleur to the small loveseat that sat in front of the fireplace in her room.
As they sat down, Hermione continued to try to push the memories of their one-night stand out of her mind.
"Erm, you had something you needed to talk to me about?" Hermione asked. She played with her wand for a moment, igniting the fireplace in front of them.
Fleur smiled, watching the fire, before turning her attentions to the brunette in front of her.
Hermione felt her stomach flip as she watched the way the light of the fire played on Fleur's delicate features.
"I want to go to tell my parents about the pregnancy next week," Fleur said. Hermione's stomach flipped again, but less pleasantly.
"Okay," Hermione conceded, "I get that. But… No offense… Why are you telling me? I thought you usually kept me out of things just to do with you."
"It is to do with the baby, non?" Fleur said, edging closer to Hermione.
They were already sitting close, given it was a two-seater sofa. But now Fleur had moved so close that their thighs were right against each other. Hermione tried not to let it distract her.
"I want you to come with me," Fleur added. Hermione almost choked on her own saliva.
"Sorry—what?!" Hermione yelped, "You want me to come with you while you tell your parents?!"
"Oui," Fleur said simply with a shrug, "I need extra support."
"What about Bill?" Hermione said, her mind whirring in a panic. Fleur frowned.
"Bill is not the other parent of this child," Fleur said firmly. That hit Hermione right in her Gryffindor sense of duty. She sighed, holding back the loud groan she wanted to let out.
"Fine," Hermione agreed.
"Bon," Fleur smiled slightly. Hermione felt a small thrill at earning a rare smile from the temperamental blonde.
For a moment all Hermione could hear was the crackling of the fire. The silencing charm had blocked out all the noise of the party outside her room. As the silence stretched on, Hermione felt herself getting a little flustered at Fleur being so close to her. She hadn't been this close to her since…
"Who was the woman you were speaking to?" Fleur asked suddenly.
"Oh, when you came up to me just now?" Hermione asked, trying not to look too closely at Fleur. She was insanely attractive. How had Hermione ever got her into bed? It was intimidating.
"Oui," Fleur drawled, raising an eyebrow. Hermione swallowed.
"Ah, she's called Amelie," Hermione replied, "I just met her."
"French name," Fleur commented.
"Uh, yeah," Hermione replied awkwardly, "She's… She's nice."
"I have another problem," Fleur said gently, looking down. The fire continued to crackle, causing shadows to dance across her features.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, alert now, "Let me know and I'll help fix it."
"The hormones," Fleur said, moving closer still, "They're driving me insane."
"Err, yeah?" Hermione felt like she was about to break into a sweat. The closer Fleur got to her, the harder her heart was beating.
"Oui," Fleur purred.
She slid fluidly onto Hermione's lap and straddled her. She ran her hands up Hermione's shoulders before resting them behind her neck.
Hermione's stomach flipped violently. A heat was rising deep within her and her heart was pounding so hard she was sure Fleur could hear it.
"Uhh," Hermione was lost for words. She willed her brain to work.
"You said you would help me fix my problem," Fleur said in a sultry tone, "My problem is the hormones are making my sex drive unbearable."
Hermione choked on her saliva.
Fleur began to grow impatient, grinding a little in Hermione's lap. This did nothing to help how flustered Hermione was, a blush blooming in her cheeks.
Fleur sighed, taking Hermione's hands and placing them on her thighs.
Hermione had a feeling in her stomach like she was on a rollercoaster that was dropping from a height. She wanted nothing more than to take the invitation Fleur was so openly offering her.
But something was holding her back.
'Fleur is so outrageously beautiful,' Hermione thought inwardly, 'What is she doing trying it on with me? There is no way this isn't going to end with Fleur disappointed.'
'How could someone like me possibly satisfy someone like Fleur?'
'What will Fleur think of all my scars now she's sober?
'Remember how Bill said she was too embarrassed to even confess to him who it was she had slept with?'
The malicious thoughts were growing in numbers inside Hermione's mind.
"Come on, Hermione," Fleur growled.
She grinded again in Hermione's lap. Hermione's arousal spiked even higher and she struggled internally.
'Fleur has been so dismissive with me up until now,' Hermione thought.
'She really sounded like she regretted the one-night stand.'
'She's just doing this now because of her crazy pregnancy hormones and desperation.'
Hermione swallowed hard.
She was being overly self-conscious.
She should just go for it.
Why couldn't she?
She slowly moved her hands up Fleur's thighs, tensing as even more negative thoughts bombarded her.
"Merde!" Fleur snapped impatiently, "Hermione, just take me like you did the last time!"
If it were possible for Hermione to blush even deeper, she did. The blonde in her lap was beyond impatient and Hermione was messing it up.
'I'm choking,' Hermione cringed, 'I am literally watching myself bomb this opportunity right now.'
This made her negative mindset even worse. Of course she couldn't even close the deal with Fleur when she was practically begging for it.
"Merde!" Fleur cursed, wrenching herself off Hermione.
"I—Fleur— Let me explain!"
Hermione wouldn't even know how to put into words how she was feeling. She wanted Fleur. Gods, she wanted Fleur. She was just convinced that she would mess it up. Fleur was too intimidating. Too demanding.
"Non, I'm humiliated enough!" Fleur snapped, heading to the door, "If you didn't want me, you could have just said!"
"Fleur!"
But Fleur swept out the door, slamming it behind her as hard as she could.
Hermione sat with her head in her hands for a while before getting to her feet and walking back out into the hallway. Ginny and Luna were leaning against the wall further down the hallway. Hermione sighed, approaching them.
"Fleur looked upset," Luna commented, as soon as Hermione reached them.
She should have known Luna and Ginny would notice something was up. They were just too damn good at inserting themselves into her personal life.
"Correction, Luna," Ginny chimed in, "Fleur looked upset while leaving Hermione's bedroom. What happened, Hermione?"
Hermione groaned, running a hand down her face.
She painstakingly explained to the girls everything that had happened since she had left them downstairs. Predictably, they had a huge reaction.
"Hermione! You were doing so well! What happened?!" Ginny exclaimed, "How did you get so in your head?"
"I dunno," Hermione said, ducking her head, embarrassed, "It wasn't so scary with Amelie. But then Fleur came from nowhere and… It was like I'd just learned how to ride a bicycle with training wheels and someone came along and tried to get me to ride a full on motorcycle."
"What's a motorcycle?" Luna asked.
"Are you talking about riding Fleur?" Ginny asked with a sly smile, cocking her head to one side.
"Ugh, forget about it," Hermione muttered, "I just freaked out. I don't know what a woman like her would want with a woman like me. I'm surprised she even slept with me in the first place!"
"Hermione! You're beautiful!" Luna exclaimed.
"Yeah, what the hell?" Ginny joined in, "I didn't know you had such a poor view of yourself! You're a total catch, girl! You're incredibly good looking, you're super intelligent, you're loyal as hell… The list goes on!"
"I'm not…" Hermione muttered, looking down.
"Uh, excuse me," a light voice interrupted, "I was wondering if I could talk to Hermione."
Hermione looked up. Amelie had reappeared and approached the group.
Luna nudged her. Ginny leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"See, even this girl can see what hot property you are," Ginny whispered, "Now stop beating yourself up—you're clit-blocking yourself for nothing."
"Ginny!" Hermione hissed, shoving the redhead away. She blushed as she turned to Amelie, "Yes, let's talk."
She brushed past Luna and Ginny, following Amelie down the hallway. The raven-haired girl didn't make her heart pound, but she was definitely cute. She also seemed genuinely interested in her—without being induced by crazy hormones—which was more than Hermione could say about Fleur.
Amelie was brushing against Hermione slightly as they walked.
"Do you mind if we talk somewhere more private?" Amelie asked. She had a sparkle in her eye that didn't go unnoticed by Hermione.
Hermione nodded, ushering Amelie into her room.
The raven-haired girl went immediately to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. Hermione grinned, following her.
Somehow it was a little easier when it wasn't Fleur.
And yet, it wasn't quite as exciting…
Hermione pushed the thought to one side as she sat down beside Amelie. She was determined not to psych herself out again. The raven-haired girl put a hand on her leg, beginning to run it up her thigh.
Hermione was in shock. She couldn't believe that this pretty girl was actually interested in her. She wasn't drunk, she wasn't hopped up on Veela hormones… Amelie seemed genuinely into her.
"I- I…" Hermione trailed off.
Amelie leant forward, capturing her lips with hers.
Women's lips were so much softer!
Hermione moaned in approval, deepening the kiss. Hands tangled in hair and roamed over bodies. They moved further up on the bed.
Amelie flipped herself on top of Hermione, beginning to disrobe.
Hermione hummed with approval, running her hands over each expanse of bare flesh that was exposed.
When she was done, Amelie moved to strip Hermione.
"Er, can we turn the lights off?" Hermione asked, self-conscious. Amelie nodded, getting up and turning the lights off.
Hermione slipped under the sheets, undressing. Amelie quietly slipped under the sheets to join her.
Hermione smiled as they melded together, touching getting more feverish.
Hermione didn't have to think this time, it happened so fast and Amelie took the lead without prompting, reassuring her with kisses all the way.
Hermione got Amelie off first, with clumsy fingers learning the ropes at Amelie's quiet instruction.
When she was gone Amelie moved to get her off too. She moved her hands between Hermione's legs, rubbing her carefully and skilfully. Hermione cocked her head back, loving the feeling.
It didn't quite feel as good as she remembered it feeling with Fleur, but it felt good.
Fleur…
Hermione came with a shudder.
"How was that, Golden Girl?" Amelie smirked, kissing Hermione's cheek.
"Not bad," Hermione smiled back.
"Would it be okay if I stayed over?" Amelie asked.
"Would it be rude if I asked you not to?" Hermione asked, smiling apologetically, "I have an early start tomorrow."
"That's fine," Amelie said, kissing Hermione quickly before hopping out of bed.
Hermione was lying. She didn't have an early start.
She liked Amelie. Amelie was cute. She definitely enjoyed what they had just done. But it didn't feel entirely right.
She couldn't put her finger on it, but she had a feeling she would dwell over it during yet another night of restless sleep.
A/N: Yeah, it's really sad that Hermione has such poor self-esteem... Bad timing for her to mesh with someone hard to read and icy! That was definitely a recipe for triggering some negative thoughts.