In the split seconds she had, Hermione mentally cursed herself for being so stupid as to trust walking two blocks to meet the others. The Death Eaters had found the general area of their safe-houses, why should they not have expected they would know the general area of Grimmauld Place?
"Mudblood," a gruff voice sneered from behind a mask.
"What a night to be on patrol," another one chimed in gleefully.
Hermione hit the one that called her a Mudblood in the chest with a disarming spell, catching him offguard. But then one that had not yet spoken hit her almost instantly with a disarming spell of their own.
"Bitch, you'll pay for that," the disarmed Death Eater spat, looking wildly around for his wand.
Four against one. Disarmed. Hermione had never regretted a plan more in her life. But she was not about to allow these Death Eaters the satisfaction of showing her fear. She held her head high, staring them all down as they cackled and crept closer to her.
Hermione clenched her jaw and balled her hands into fists, warily watching the raised wands.
There was a flash of red and one of the Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious. The Death Eaters stopped in their tracks. There was a pop and Fleur apparated behind another one of the Death Eaters, quickly stunning that one too. The remaining two Death Eaters whirled around immediately, throwing spells at Fleur.
She deflected them all effortlessly, before making a violent slashing action to the one that called Hermione Mudblood. He doubled over and she grabbed him by the shoulders, kneeing him hard in the stomach. He collapsed to the ground. Fleur didn't even pause before quickly dodging a beam from the last remaining Death Eater, athletically leaping to one side. She deflected the next spell, before throwing her own at the Death Eater. The masked figure deflected Fleur's own spell, but the second they lowered their ward she hit them with a stunning spell. Turning to stun the one that was doubled over and rolling around on the ground, Fleur turned to Hermione, her eyes burning with intensity.
Hermione's jaw had dropped. Where had Fleur even come from?
Fleur stepped towards Hermione slowly, panting a little, the intensity still burning in her eyes.
"Are you trying to test my ability at my job?" Fleur said in a low, dangerous voice. Hermione felt the uninvited arousal ripple through her again as Fleur came to stand in front of her, close enough to touch, her eyes shimmering with passion. She was close enough to kiss. Hermione shivered.
"Fleur…" Hermione uttered softly.
"I should have been suspicious the minute you were actually civil to me," Fleur said coldly shoving Hermione's wand heavily into her hand. Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but Fleur turned swiftly on her heel. As she whirled around, her long sheet of silver-blonde hair swung to brush Hermione, hitting her with an intoxicating vanilla scent.
Fleur stepped over to the unconscious bodies of the Death Eaters, binding them with the same magical cords she had used to bind Narcissa, before conjuring her patronus again. She muttered angrily to it in French, before the falcon flew away obediently.
Hermione was rooted to the spot. Fleur turned to her again, still looking furious. She stepped back over to Hermione, grabbing her hand tightly and pulling her back towards Grimmauld Place. She kept her wand raised, forever alert.
Hermione was awash in a sea of emotions. Guilt, annoyance, arousal, disappointment at getting caught… And Fleur holding her hand was not helping her with feeling overwhelmed.
Fleur pulled her all the way back down the block and back into Grimmauld Place, not speaking another word until they made it inside the hall. A sheepish Harry and Ron were standing in the lit up hallway with a livid Tonks and Moody beside them.
"I assume you all also encountered Death Eaters?" Fleur said with barely contained anger. Tonks and Moody nodded.
"I cannot believe how stupid and careless you are," Moody bellowed. Harry and Ron flinched. "You could have been killed. We could have been killed. We told you the risk and you deliberately went against our orders anyway!"
The Golden Trio all looked guiltily at the floor. It had been a risky plan.
"We… We didn' mean to…" Ron started quietly.
"Didn't what?" Moody roared, "Yer just lucky I rigged the grounds and it alerted us or ya might not be alive to hear me tell ya what a bleedin' idiot you are."
"Should've bloody known it'd be rigged too," Ron sighed, and Harry and Hermione shot him desperate looks to shut up.
"We've got no choice but to step up the security measures," Moody growled.
"Is that possible?" Ron blurted, before Harry swatted him.
"We'll be at your side round the clock now," Moody replied fiercely. The Trio looked confused.
"Aren't you… already?" Harry asked.
"Lets just say you're gonna have roommates from now on." Moody snapped, and Harry looked horrified.
"Are you at least going to be in a separate bed?" he exclaimed.
"Well, we'll have to see about that," Moody retorted, gripping Harry tightly by the shoulder and steering him up the stairs. Ron looked relieved but then jumped as Tonks morphed into the spitting image of Molly Weasley.
"Come on, Ronald," Tonks-Molly said angrily, and Ron sheepishly filed up the stairs.
Hermione was left alone with Fleur now, who was still angrily ignoring her. They walked up the stairs in an uncomfortable silence. Hermione wanted to say something to make it better, to make up for messing things up. Or at least something to change the subject. But she couldn't even summon up one of her usual barbed comments.
They reached Hermione's room and Hermione awkwardly started preparing herself for bed, again. Fleur disappeared through the door connecting their quarters.
Hermione had just climbed into her bed when Fleur re-emerged from the door, levitating a trunk in front of her that she placed in a corner of the room. She was dressed in a short silk nightgown. Hermione tried not to look at her long toned legs, trying desperately to forget her arousing dream. Thankfully, Fleur put out the lights and Hermione felt the bed sink down on the other side where Fleur got in.
They lay in silence in the dark for a while, before Fleur cleared her throat.
"I used to have a life outside of this job, before moving to this damned house. You're not the only one being suffocated."
Hermione didn't know what to say, instead opting to continue the uncomfortable silence. Fleur sighed and rolled over. Hermione shuffled as far as she could to her own side of the bed and shut her eyes tightly.
The next morning, Hermione awoke to an empty bed. She stretched and got ready for the day before heading downstairs. The door to the Order meeting room was slightly ajar and she could hear raised voices coming from within. She froze as she heard Moody's voice.
"Our aurors are getting bloody run-down!" he said gruffly, "It was tough enough when we were working from taking them to their work to taking them home… but this latest stunt… We cannot be expected to work 24 hours a day or we will find ourselves letting our guards down."
"Is this how all of you feel?" came the voice that Hermione recognised as McGonagall.
"We are getting pretty tired," admitted the familiar voice of Tonks.
"Very well," McGonagall replied, "I will meet with some other Order members and stop in at the Auror's Office. I will see if it is workable to arrange a second team to relieve you."
Hermione scurried into the kitchen as footsteps began to click around on the floor in the meeting room. She busied herself with rustling a cereal box when McGonagall herself strode into the kitchen.
"Ms Granger," McGonagall said sternly, "I have been informed of your little… stunt last night. I am sure I don't need to inform you of how incredibly reckless and selfish that was."
"We know we can help," Harry said, arriving in the room behind them, "Nobody has faced off directly against Voldemort as many times as me. The three of us can help on the front lines. Or at least help with the planning."
"That may well be, Mr Potter," McGonagall clucked, "But the Dark Lord's followers are on hyper alert for you three. Until their focus shifts, we cannot risk having you three at the heart of Order operations."
"That doesn't mean we can't help!" Harry shouted, losing his temper. McGonagall eyed him carefully for some time before sighing.
"Perhaps it isn't right to leave you entirely out of helping the Order. Come to the next Order meeting. You can help with our strategizing."
Harry visibly relaxed and Hermione instantly felt better. She had always thought it was foolish that just because they were high profile targets they had been left out of Order discussions. Hadn't they shown time and time again that they were fully capable of keeping information confidential, even in the face of Death Eater threats? She supposed it had to do with the dishonourable departure of Mundungus Fletcher, who had been ousted from the Order for spilling secrets when cornered by Malfoys. He was also one of the main suspects for revealing the location of their safe-houses. The Golden Trio were no Mundungus Fletchers though, and it was about time they were treated like it.
McGonagall looked like she was inclined to agree, by the way her brow was furrowed in thought. She nodded at Hermione and Harry.
"I am sorry if leaving you out of Order operations drove you to such reckless actions, but I hope this new arrangement will make it easier for you."
Harry and Hermione nodded, appeased, and McGonagall moved swiftly out of the room.
Not long after McGonagall left, the aurors entered the room, sitting down for breakfast. Tonks set herself to making them all a very strong coffee. Today she was sporting blue hair in a long plait.
"Didn't sleep well?" Hermione asked, eying the tired looking aurors.
"Hardly my favourite bed companion thus far," Fleur said darkly, fixing her face to a cold and arrogant expression. Hermione frowned. The alarming effect of her dream of Fleur and guilt at Fleur having to come and help her had now faded enough that she felt her familiar irritation at the blonde bubbling up.
"Well you're not exactly who I wanted to share quarters with either," Hermione shot back.
"Yes, Hermione," Fleur said airily, inspecting the apple in her carefully manicured hands, "We all know how prudish you are…"
"Fleur and Hermione at each other's throats, at least we know things are back to normal," Tonks joked, passing around coffees with a grin to defuse the situation, "Anyway, Harry, did you end up sharing your bed with charming Moody?"
Harry laughed and swallowed a bite of his toast, "No, thankfully he softened enough to transfigure me a small, hard army-style cot to sleep in across the room."
Moody stabbed a knife in the air, pointing it at Harry, "And you'd better be bloody grateful," he growled.
"I made Ron sleep on the floor," laughed Tonks, "I was that livid with him. Must've been comfy though because he was still fast asleep when I last checked."
"Can't imagine you and Fleur ended up cosy in bed together considering your history," Harry remarked as he buttered another piece of toast. He was oblivious to Tonks' smirk as he continued, "Where did she make you sleep?"
"Yes, I'm sure Hermione would hate to share a bed with Fleur," Tonks chimed in, earning a glare from Hermione.
"I didn't kick her out of the bed," Fleur said simply, sipping at her black coffee, "I am not as harsh as Hermione."
Hermione narrowed her eyes but decided not to retort. After all, it did seem like Fleur had cut her some slack compared to the other aurors.
"Bloody hell, Tonks snores like a freight train," Ron said loudly as he walked into the kitchen, before freezing as he saw Tonks at the table.
"Relax, Weasley," Tonks smirked, "I've calmed down now."
And so, the group settled back into normalcy. Moody being gruff with them all, Fleur and Hermione bickering, and Tonks joking around with them.
Another week passed and an Order meeting was scheduled for Grimmauld Place, which the Trio were invited to.
Hermione, Harry and Ron headed into the meeting room early, selecting good seats at the table. They were eager to be at the centre of planning.
Other members of the Order began to file in: McGonagall, Lupin, Shacklebolt, Fred, George, Molly, Arthur Weasley, Luna, Ginny, Neville, many others. It appeared it would be a relatively well-attended meeting.
Moody, Fleur and Tonks took seats across the table from the Golden Trio. McGonagall was seated at the head of the table and cleared her throat, causing silence to fall across the room.
"So, first matter of the agenda," McGonagall began, "We have all by now been informed of the incident last week where the Golden Trio escaped Grimmauld Place and were confronted by Death Eaters. It goes without saying that this was a reckless move on their part. But what we can glean from this is firstly, the Death Eaters are still very much focussed on the Golden Trio. Secondly, the trio should be more informed and involved in Order activities. Greater information will breed greater strategy."
There were murmurs of agreement from around the room.
"Our second agenda item," McGonagall continued swiftly, "Is that the aurors guarding the Golden Trio have now gone from working day jobs to being on call 24/7. Obviously, this is far from ideal as we do not want exhausted aurors on the job. We have now arranged for a second team to relieve the primary team."
Hermione looked up, alarmed. She was quite used to Fleur's thorough protections.
"The primary team will now only be required to be here in the evenings and to stay in their quarters here. During the day they will be free to have leisure time, rest, and work on other projects for the Order."
"Who's in the new Day Team?" Ron asked.
"As you know, Kingsley is now busy as the Minister for Magic, and we have many other senior members indisposed," McGonagall pulled out a short slip of parchment and adjusted her glasses, "Remus will be assigned to Harry, Andromeda Tonks will be assigned to Ron, and for Hermione, one of our younger members who has recently proven their advanced combat skills… Ginny Weasley."
The Weasleys all beamed at Ginny who inclined her head, proud. Harry looked ecstatic to be paired with Lupin.
"Which brings me to my next agenda item. Kingsley has completed his internal investigations of the Ministry, and deemed it safe enough for the trio to Floo to work each day."
"No more lockdown?!" Ron exclaimed before whooping loudly. McGonagall motioned for Ron to hush, but the trio were all grinning ear to ear.
"You will still be required to return to Grimmauld Place at the end of the work day, but yes," McGonagall replied, smiling.
"And now our final agenda item," McGonagall pressed on, "The new tasks the primary team will be assigned to. Alastair, you will be assigned to liaising with our double agents. Fleur, Nymphadora, you will be assigned to gathering intel. Does this sound appropriate?"
The three aurors nodded.
"What exactly does 'gathering intel' mean?" Harry asked, enjoying being involved in the meeting.
"Covertly obtaining information from Death Eaters," McGonagall answered. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"But how will that work? Aren't they known Order members? How do they get the information?" Hermione interrupted.
"Oh, we just stand around, Granger," Tonks answered with a wink, before morphing her appearance. Suddenly, in Tonks' place, was the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy.
"Okay, fair enough, but how exactly does Fleur get information? She's hardly known for flying under the radar," Hermione replied, earning her a scowl from Fleur.
"She has her ways," McGonagall answered, "Care to demonstrate for our latest meeting attendees?" she directed at Fleur.
"Make sure to pick someone reluctant to give you information," Lucius-Tonks added to Fleur.
Fleur nodded, looking around the table, before a smirk appeared on her face. She moved to lock eyes with Hermione.
Hermione crossed her arms. Fleur smiled sweetly. Her hair started to shimmer and her eyelashes seemed longer and darker than usual.
"Tell me, Hermione," Fleur purred, "What is your most shameful memory?"
"I'm not telling you that!" Hermione exclaimed, scowling.
"Are you sure, ma cherie?" Fleur said in a velvety voice. She flipped her blonde hair and Hermione could smell the intoxicating scent of vanilla. Her head was swimming with thoughts of Fleur. Fleur looked so dazzling and bright… she almost looked blurry at the edges from how much she was glowing. She looked so… desirable. Hermione wished she was close enough to reach out and touch her hair…
Fleur smiled sweetly, cocking her head to one side, and Hermione felt like she should tell Fleur her most shameful memory. Anything to please her.
"I failed a maths test at school," Hermione blurted. In an instant, the intoxicating feeling withdrew and Fleur smirked, watching Hermione blush as she realised she had just confessed.
Ginny giggled, "That's your most shameful memory?"
"Fl-Fleur's thrall…" Hermione stammered, shaken.
"Yes," McGonagall answered, "She uses it for gathering intel for the Order."
Ron and Harry were in awe.
"Blimey," Ron commented.
"Yeah, it was like you were actually into her, Hermione," Harry remarked. Fleur laughed.
Hermione felt a rush of sudden anger and balled her hands into fists.
"If that's all for the meeting, I might go organise my things for work." Hermione snapped, before abruptly standing and storming out of the room, ignoring the surprised looks she earned.
