A/N: Hey all- thanks for the reviews! They're really the bright spot to being in lockdown. Some of you seem to be loving the slow burn, others are a little impatient. So, I decided on a little compromise- another flashback to the night that Fleur and Hermione slept together! Please keep the reviews coming, I am already going insane being stuck at home haha.
[Flashback: The night at Grimmauld Place]
Hermione stumbled backwards, falling back to sit on her bed. Fleur straddled her, her lips not leaving Hermione's neck.
Hermione let out a small moan, letting her hands run down Fleur's toned back before reaching her backside.
"I swear you have the best ass in Britain," Hermione moaned, squeezing appreciatively. She felt Fleur smile into her neck.
"I'm not even from Britain," Fleur giggled drunkenly.
"The best ass in Europe, then," Hermione stated grandly. She spanked Fleur's ass as she said it, to emphasise her point.
Fleur smiled again, kissing up the column of Hermione's neck before sucking on her earlobe. Hermione groaned with pleasure, keeping a tight hold on the blonde in her lap. She was in heaven, feeling a wetness grow between her legs. She had never previously noticed an attraction towards women, but right now all she wanted was Fleur.
Hermione reluctantly took her hands off Fleur's ass and ran them slowly down her thighs. When she reached the bottom of Fleur's dress, she began tugging it upwards. Fleur sat up slightly, allowing Hermione to pull her dress up and over her head.
She immediately missed the pleasure of Fleur kissing at her neck and earlobe. But the vision in her lap was beyond worth it. Hermione threw Fleur's dress across the room, as far away as she could. She grinned widely.
Fleur had an amazing body. Hermione knew that already. But seeing it bare before her was an entirely different experience.
Fleur smiled cockily.
"I like the way you are looking at me," Fleur commented, as Hermione's hands once again glued themselves to her body, roaming freely. Fleur grinded slightly in her lap.
"God, your hips are magic," Hermione groaned, the friction spiking her arousal even higher.
She could see Fleur's nipples hardened through the ridiculously transparent bra she was wearing. It had elegant straps and not much fabric to it. Hermione's hands returned to Fleur's shapely backside, noting that the matching panties did not have much fabric to them either. The thong was barely there and allowed Hermione even more access to the smooth and soft skin.
Fleur's hands had been alternating between being clasped behind Hermione's neck or tangled in the brunette's wild curls. Now they ran down Hermione's shoulders, one hand slipping underneath Hermione's tee to rest on Hermione's chest.
It was an innocent touch, yet felt far more intimate than any sexual touch Hermione had ever experienced in the past.
Fleur dipped her head, her soft and plump lips gently touching Hermione's in the most delicate of kisses. Hermione hooked a hand behind Fleur's neck, pulling her in harder and deepening the kiss. She pushed her tongue into Fleur's mouth, savouring the small moan of pleasure that the blonde made.
Fleur's hands skittered over Hermione, getting clumsy with passion. She began to pull up Hermione's tee.
Hermione halted Fleur's actions, quickly placing her hands on top of the blonde's and breaking the kiss.
"I have scars," Hermione explained, "Everywhere."
"Does it look like I care?" Fleur replied with a smile.
"You might," Hermione replied. She was very drunk, but the doubt was still there.
"Trust me," Fleur said, leaning in and kissing at Hermione's neck, "I won't."
She nipped the soft flesh playfully before kissing it better. Hermione groaned. Fuck it.
She pushed Fleur off her and onto the bed, standing up.
Fleur made a noise of haughty outrage.
"Relax, Fleur," Hermione said, getting to her feet and pulling her wand out of her pocket, "I have to do the necessary spells, yeah?"
"Of course," Fleur purred. She started slowly taking off her lingerie, her eyes on Hermione.
"Merlin," Hermione uttered shakily. She turned her back to Fleur, wanting to focus.
She knew from Harry's embarrassing mistake with a Hufflepuff girl that sound travelled surprisingly easy throughout Grimmauld Place. She also knew from Ron's penchant for clumsily bursting into rooms that it was all too easy for someone to walk in on something they shouldn't.
She muttered under her breath, casting the necessary locking spell on the door and silencing charm on the room.
Completed, she walked back to the bed, putting her wand down on her bedside table. She noticed the lacy bra hanging over the lamp, her eyes widening before slowly moving to the blonde beauty kneeling restlessly on her bed.
"Sorted the necessary protection?" Fleur asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Of course," Hermione replied. Fleur had evidently been burnt by lack of a silencing spell or locking charm before.
Hermione slowly undid her belt, aware of bright azure eyes watching her every hand movement. She unbuttoned her fly before slowly lowering her pants. She took off her shoes and socks before pulling her pants off.
Fleur huffed impatiently.
"Could you possibly move slower?" Fleur growled.
She got up, stepping up to Hermione and grabbing her tee, pulling it roughly over her head and throwing it across the room. Hermione smirked, beyond thrilled at how eager the beautiful woman seemed to be to get her naked.
"Someone's eager," Hermione teased. Fleur growled, tearing Hermione's bra and underwear off her.
For once, Hermione's mind wasn't on her scars. She couldn't be more oblivious to them. She was more distracted by the blonde who was melting into her arms.
Hermione pressed her lips hungrily against Fleur, kissing her passionately. She hoisted her up into her arms, holding her tightly by the ass.
Fleur looked surprised as Hermione stopped the kiss, just as abruptly. Before Fleur could say anything, Hermione threw her roughly on the bed, quickly clambering up and on top of her body.
"Hermione—"
Hermione silenced Fleur's whimper with her lips, kissing her once more. She grabbed Fleur by the wrists, pinning her arms above her head.
[Present day]
Hermione yawned as she awoke.
She was sure that sleeping with Fleur was giving her an additional boost of energy on top of just having a full night's sleep. She was feeling beyond energized these days.
She tightened her grip on Fleur's hip, still spooning the blonde. Morning sun was filtering through the gap in the curtains, illuminating the silvery quality in Fleur's platinum blonde hair.
Hermione was uncomfortably aroused. She had a vague memory of what she had been dreaming about before she woke: the night that she and Fleur had made love passionately. It wasn't helping that she had awoken to the blonde pressed firmly against her front.
Hermione hoped that Fleur couldn't feel how hard her nipples were against her toned back. It would be beyond embarrassing.
Fleur yawned and wriggled in Hermione's arms, as a result, pressing her backside harder against Hermione's pelvis.
Hermione felt her grip tighten on Fleur's hip even more, pulling the blonde into her tighter. She bit her lip, trying not to let out any noise of pleasure. She was sure Fleur would not be impressed.
"As partial as I am to a morning cuddle, I do need to get up for work," Fleur said, her voice even.
Hermione felt herself blush.
"Er, right," Hermione replied. Her voice was a little rough with the mix of sleep and arousal.
"And to do that, you need to release me," Fleur pointed out.
"Right, uh, sorry," Hermione replied, releasing the blonde.
Fleur slid away from her and clambered out of the bed, stretching. Hermione bit back the whimper that almost escaped her lips at the loss of contact. She rolled onto her back, frustrated.
"It's still so early," Hermione noted.
"I have to get back to mine and get ready for work," Fleur replied, pulling on some underwear and a dress.
"You could just leave all your stuff here and fully move in," Hermione suggested, "It would save bouncing back between the places. You could even have your own room—there are enough spare ones here."
"I like having my space," Fleur replied, sitting on the end of the bed and beginning to put her heels on.
"Well, it could be handy if you move in," Hermione pressed, "I mean, after the baby is born it could make it a lot easier for sharing custody…"
Fleur sighed heavily.
"Hermione, I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Fleur said, her back still to her, "Maybe we can talk more about arrangements after the appointment this afternoon. Remember to meet me at 4pm at my work, oui?"
"Right," Hermione confirmed, "I'll be coming straight from class so won't be able to get you anything on the way. But l can pick up anything you need after the Healers' appointment."
Fleur stood up, straightening her dress out. She frowned at her baby bump.
"Hermione, I will be fine," Fleur replied firmly, "See you at four."
She waved dismissively at Hermione before sweeping out of the room elegantly.
Hermione released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, slumping back on the bed.
Hermione chewed on the end of her quill restlessly.
She had been checking her watch constantly during her last class of the day. She was beyond eager to pick up Fleur from work and see the Healer. She knew Fleur wasn't rundown anymore, but she just wanted assurance from the Healer that the baby and Fleur's health were no longer at risk.
The wizard at the front of the room was underlining his last notes for the day in chalk. Hermione had already scribbled them down. She was an exceptionally fast note-taker.
The professor turned back to the class, smiling tightly.
"Now, class, as we head into the final parts of the course, I want you to think carefully about what areas of policy you would like to work in," he advised, "There are countless areas you could work in, ranging widely in pay packets. Your head may be turned by some of those prestigious or lucrative jobs… But I would strongly advise you to spend the rest of your time until the end of your studies thinking about an area you would like to make a difference in. Because that really is the most rewarding type of work you could get."
Hermione propped her head up on her hand, trying to think. She had numerous interests and endless areas she wanted to make a difference in.
Finally, the class was over. Hermione effectively sprinted from the room.
As soon as she was out of the university grounds she apparated to Diagon Alley.
Hermione was walking at a brisk pace. Rationally, she knew that walking faster wouldn't speed up the amount of time she had to wait until the appointment, but it did make her feel better about it.
As she approached Gringotts, she noticed an extremely large crowd jostling in front of the bank. There were a number of dark cloaked witches and wizards that seemed to be in a scuffle with general members of the public. There was a lot of shouting and Hermione couldn't quite tell what was going on.
"Excuse me, I need to get through, I'm meeting someone," Hermione tried to push through the crowd, having no luck as it was so packed she could not get past.
She furrowed her brow, deciding to go to plan B.
Hermione morphed into her animagus form and scurried through the crowd, ducking quickly between shuffling feet. A stray foot kicked her, resulting in a sharp jab of pain in her ribs, but Hermione pushed on.
She finally got through the crowd, leaping up the steps of Gringotts agilely.
Hermione halted as she noticed the once-pristine white marble of the bank was now ruined with blood red spray paint. There were a number of different messages, but the largest one by far stood out a mile away: CREATURES HAVE NO PLACE IN HUMAN SOCIETY.
Hermione's wide eyes moved to the other scrawls marring the marble. Similar hate messages.
Hermione had heard that there was an undercurrent of hate still out there, even since the war. But hate groups seldom felt bold enough to act after the downfall of the Dark Lord.
Hermione padded slowly up the steps, ducking behind a pillar as the doors of the bank opened. A number of goblins ambled out, looking even more irritable than usual. Behind them came Bill, Fleur and another human looking staff member. Fleur was looking icier than usual, her jaw clenched. Bill was pale, running a hand through his hair.
Bill and Fleur stepped aside from the other bank staff, close to the pillar.
"Did you read the stuff they wrote?" Bill asked, his voice a little hoarse, "Do you think they would know I'm a werewolf?"
"Well, we have no idea who even did it. It could be them," Fleur gestured to the dark cloaked figures tussling in the crowd, "Or it could be someone else. I think we should just ignore it."
"Bit hard to bloody ignore!" Bill exclaimed, "What if they know about us?"
"What of it?" Fleur said coldly.
"Read the messages, Fleur," Bill said, his voice shaking a bit more, "They hate us! We're disgusting, subhuman…"
"—Bill, pull yourself together," Fleur cut him off.
"It's true though, isn't it? We aren't normal," Bill said, his voice growing even more unsteady.
"We're pretty much human," Fleur retorted.
"Pretty much isn't good enough though, is it?" Bill responded, "Clearly not!"
"I'm human, Bill!" Fleur snapped, "That is all there is to it. I'm not a damned creature."
Hermione heard Fleur's heels click away down the steps, heading towards the crowd. Hermione quickly transformed back to her usual form, hurrying after Fleur.
"Fleur! Wait!" Hermione called, catching up to the blonde.
"Where did you come from?" Fleur asked neutrally.
"I just got through the crowd," Hermione said quickly, "Let me apparate us. It won't take much to get us to the Healer's office so it should be safe for the baby."
"We should be limiting apparation with the baby," Fleur pointed out to her, pausing and turning to face Hermione.
"Yes, well, I don't like the look of some of the people down there," Hermione said, nodding towards the rioting crowd. Besides, she inwardly added, Fleur's distinctly Veela features made her a target for anti-creature bigots.
Fleur frowned, almost as if she could read Hermione's mind.
"I'm human, they shouldn't give me any trouble," Fleur said firmly.
Hermione was beginning to understand more why Fleur held hang-ups around her part-creature status. She felt sorry for the blonde, not that she would ever tell her that. She didn't realize that magical creatures still had to deal with hate post-war.
"Yes, well, regardless," Hermione said carefully, changing tack, "It is extremely difficult to get through the crowd while they are acting up like that. Humour me and let me apparate us. It is a short distance and a one-off, it will be fine."
"Fine," Fleur replied, "Just this once."
Hermione smiled, bowing slightly and offering her hand chivalrously to Fleur. She was joking around by hamming it up. She was relieved when it brought a rare smile to Fleur's face. The blonde took her hand and Hermione dutifully apparated them.
When they arrived outside the Healers' office, Fleur didn't let go of Hermione's hand. Hermione inwardly smiled, not letting go either. She contentedly walked into the offices hand in hand with Fleur.
Fantail was already in the waiting room as they arrived, flitting about energetically.
"Ah! Ladies!" Fantail greeted, "Come on through! I'm running ahead of schedule."
Hermione followed him, leading Fleur along by the hand. Fleur seemed even quieter than usual.
"You okay?" Hermione murmured to Fleur, quiet enough that Fantail couldn't hear.
"Fine," Fleur replied simply.
She took her hand out of Hermione's, going and sitting up on Fantail's small medical bed. Fantail set about his observations quickly. As usual, he alternated between quick spellwork, physical examination, and scribbling on his clipboard.
"Remarkable," Fantail commented, "Just remarkable. You have absolutely turned the corner. You and the baby are the healthiest I have ever seen. Whatever you did, keep doing it!"
"That is fantastic news," Hermione exclaimed, smiling broadly. She looked at Fleur, who had a small smile on her face.
Fantail finished up quickly and soon Hermione was stepping out on the street with Fleur. Fleur seemed on edge, watching each pedestrian that passed them carefully. Hermione surmised she must be anxious after what had happened at Gringotts.
"I don't have anything else to do for the day," Hermione said as casually as she could, "I could walk you home if you want?"
"If you want to," Fleur said dismissively, although Hermione swore she could see the blonde's shoulders relax.
They walked for a little while together, Fleur's heels clicking on the cobbled streets.
Finally, Hermione decided to break the silence.
"Do you want to talk about—"
"Non," Fleur cut her off curtly.
"Oh, come on, Fleur," Hermione reasoned, deciding to implement her plan to be bolder with the blonde, "I can tell you are bothered by what happened earlier."
Fleur shot Hermione a sideways glance.
"Has anyone ever told you how pesky you are?" Fleur asked. Hermione snorted.
"Pesky?!" Hermione exclaimed, amused, "I bring you weird snacks when you crave them, I cuddle you to make sure you get enough sleep, I take you to your appointments… I do nice things for you!"
"Mn, so does a puppy, but it doesn't make it any less annoying and clumsy," Fleur grumbled.
"You think of me as a puppy?" Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow, "Does that mean you think I'm cute?"
Fleur's eyes widened slightly and a light blush appeared at her cheeks.
"Oh, of course not," Fleur muttered awkwardly. Hermione felt her hopes raise a little. It appeared being a little bolder did garner the results she wanted.
They had reached Fleur's apartment building and were walking to Fleur's door.
"Are you going to teach our baby about his Veela lineage?" Hermione asked cautiously. She noticed Fleur stiffen a little.
"I'm sure my Grandmere will insist upon it," Fleur replied neutrally.
"But you don't want to?" Hermione pushed.
Fleur sighed heavily, jangling her keys and opening her door. Hermione thought she would simply slip into her apartment to avoid the question but she lingered.
"He is a boy, he will not have the thrall," Fleur said gently, "Which is for the best, really."
"You don't want to tell him about his heritage?" Hermione pressed again.
Fleur looked increasingly uncomfortable. Her demeanor was becoming icier by the second. She cut an intimidating figure when she was cold, but Hermione inwardly repeated the advice Alexandre had told her: not to let Fleur scare her off.
Hermione stood her ground, keeping her face impassive.
It seemed to pay off. Fleur sighed.
"I don't," Fleur replied, "It is not a part of myself I like talking about in any great detail. I'm not putting down Veela, of course. I turned out quite well despite my heritage, in fact."
"Despite?" Hermione felt a wave of sympathy.
Society seemed to be pushing Fleur to reject her heritage more and more, despite Cassandra and Apolline's encouragement to be proud of it.
Fleur seemed so vulnerable all of a sudden. Her hair was falling out of its once impeccable ponytail and her eyes were swirling with emotion.
Hermione stepped forward, barely even noticing her own actions. She reached up and tucked loose strands of Fleur's silky hair behind her ear.
"You're amazing, not despite of your heritage, but because of it," Hermione said gently, "It is just one of the many brilliant parts of you that make you who you are."
Fleur's eyebrows raised and the slight blush rose in her cheeks again.
"Uh, merci, Hermione," Fleur replied.
Hermione stepped back, a little startled at just how bold she could be when she let go.
"You shouldn't feel bad about it," Hermione added, rubbing the back of her neck and looking down. She had felt a tension between them, she was sure of it.
"I'll see you tonight," Fleur smiled, genuinely.
"Yes," Hermione smiled back.
Fleur stepped into her apartment and shut the door behind her.