After Hermione had wiped the Snatcher's memory and sent him stumbling off, she wrenched a still gasping Fleur back to the campsite where she frantically corralled everyone. It hadn't even been an hour before they had apparated away to beside a muggle camping park and off to set up a new campsite in the nearby hills. By this time, everyone's legs were aching and they were eager for an explanation.
Hermione pulled out the deck chairs, igniting the dry firewood she had gathered for their new site, and handed out beers to Harry, Griphook and Ron, explaining what had happened in a low voice. They nodded, now understanding the hurried move and why Fleur had retired to bed early.
Hermione walked back into the tent, surprised to find Fleur sitting up in bed, cross-legged, reading a thick book. Her throat was bearing a choker of fresh bruises, but she seemed otherwise icy and unbothered.
"Funny time to catch up on your reading…" Hermione said, clearing her throat to announce her presence. Fleur raised her eyes from the book, briefly frowning at the interruption before smiling as she realised it was Hermione.
"I want to learn wandless magic," Fleur said curtly, before turning her eyes back to the book.
"Wandless!" Hermione exclaimed, "Do you know how complex and advanced that is, Fleur?!"
Fleur raised her eyes again, fixing Hermione with a thoroughly unimpressed look.
"Hermione, I was a Triwizard Champion, finished top of my class at Beauxbatons, and mastered wordless magic in my final year of school," Fleur said proudly, "I think I can master wandless magic."
Hermione laughed at the classic haughtiness of Fleur Delacour, "Well, good to see your ego wasn't damaged in the attack," she retorted. Fleur's face softened into a smile and she gave a soft laugh, before wincing and reaching for her throat.
Hermione stopped laughing and quickly clambered onto the fold out bed, hooking her bag from the ground nearby. She deftly rummaged through the bag before producing a vial of healing potion that Fleur had previously mixed for her healing from Malfoy Manor. "Looks like you need this back," Hermione murmured, passing it carefully to Fleur. Fleur pulled a face and unstoppered the vial, before swallowing it in one.
"Merde, I forgot how awful these taste," she groaned, but her bruises were already starting to fade with the advanced healing rate of the potion. Hermione aimed her wand carefully at the bruises, noticing Fleur's slight flinch, and cast a quick spell to aid the healing of the bruises too. Within moments, the neck was a smooth, soft and unmarked as it usually was, and Fleur looked in better spirits.
"I'm guessing the sudden study project on wandless magic has something to do with what happened this evening?" Hermione asked softly, stretching back on the bed. To her dismay, Fleur moved close to her, wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist and resting her head on her shoulder.
"I've never been wandless in a situation like that before…" Fleur said softly, her voice betraying her vulnerability, "If you hadn't found me…"
Hermione put her arm around Fleur comfortingly, "But I was… and I will be… I'm here for you, Fleur." This seemed to soothe the scared Veela, who relaxed slightly against Hermione. They lay there for a while, until Fleur fell into a light sleep. Hermione used her wand to pull a throw over the two of them and kept holding Fleur, her heart swelling at being able to comfort the blonde.
They stayed in that position until bedtime, when the boys finally marched in from their beers and into their room in the tent. Harry was the last to amble in, before taking two steps back and having a double take at the position Hermione was in, holding Fleur. He raised an eyebrow at her, before Hermione irritatedly waved a hand at him to leave.
The next morning, Hermione awoke early, the daylight barely starting to emerge for the day. However, as she brushed her thick curls off her face, she was surprised to see Fleur already sitting up in bed reading her thick book again.
"God, and people give me a bad time about reading…" Hermione laughed sleepily. Fleur looked up with surprise before smiling.
"It seems a natural transition from wordless magic," she said triumphantly, "I mean wizarding children often cast magic before they have acquired a wand!"
"Mm, but are you smarter than a child?" Hermione teased, before getting hit with a stray pillow by Fleur.
"I'm serious, Hermione!" Fleur exclaimed sulkily, "I think it is very much do-able!" Hermione laughed at her sulkiness, before moving to sit across from her cross-legged.
"Okay then," Hermione said carefully, plucking a quill from the ground beside the pull out bed, "How about you try a wingardium leviosa on this quill?"
Fleur smiled, eager for the challenge, and shuffled into a cross-legged position across from Hermione too. Hermione carefully placed the quill on the blanket between them, before raising her gaze to watch Fleur. Fleur narrowed her eyes, intently staring at the quill. A moment passed, and nothing had happened. Hermione held back a laugh at how childish Fleur looked, silently willing the quill to move without her wand. Fleur let out a low grumble before re-focussing on the quill. She furrowed her brow and clenched her jaw, concentrating hard.
Suddenly Hermione became aware of a warm and heady feeling as Fleur's hair began to shimmer. She opened her mouth to say something, but found her mouth hanging open widely as she stared at Fleur. Fleur's eyes were a dark sapphire blue and seemed to dancing. Her dark long lashes appeared impossibly lush. Her already perfect skin was practically glowing. Hermione's eyes dragged across Fleur's perfect figure before returning to her face with its devastating jawline and high cheekbones. Her lips were pink and looked plump and inviting… What Hermione would do for one kiss of those lips… Or more… Wild visions of taking Fleur right here and now in the fold out bed burst through her mind.
'I'm in love with her…' Hermione thought suddenly, as her mouth continued to hang open. Suddenly the dark blue eyes snapped up to look at Hermione and the warm and heady feeling abruptly stopped.
"Shit, sorry Hermione!" Fleur yelped uncharacteristically, "I was trying so hard to channel my magic without a wand that I released the thrall!"
Hermione shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the compromising imagery that had been running through it as she had gazed at Fleur, "its okay, Fleur" she mumbled, rubbing her head, "lets just try to keep it from affecting that already dangerous ego of yours," she joked. Fleur pouted and swatted Hermione, "Hey! That's not the kind of reaction I expect from my thrall, Granger!"
She laughed for a moment before the smile fell off her face, "of course…" she murmured, "Veela magic is wandless magic after all… it should be no different…"
With that, Fleur turned back to the quill with renewed concentration. 'Merlin, I hope she doesn't release her thrall by accident again,' Hermione thought to herself, 'Or maybe I do… it was nice to let myself think those things about her guilt free…' Hermione was suddenly snapped out of her train of thought by the unmistakable twitching of the quill on the blanket.
"Fleur!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, and the quill stopped moving. Fleur's stare broke and she looked up at Hermione, triumphant.
"I think you should take back every mean comment you made about my ego now," Fleur said smugly.
"This doesn't mean you don't have a terrible ego, Fleur," Hermione laughed, "But this is amazing! You have to show me how to do this!"
By the time the boys had woken, Fleur had already lazily explained what she had read in her thick textbook as well as explaining how she focused her Veela magic and how that mentality could be applied to wider magic.
The overall morale of the group was a little lower at breakfast, as they prepared to start trekking towards Gringotts from a location even further away than where they had started. But they just couldn't afford to return to where the Snatchers had been.
"By now they'll've found that loony old dude," Ron said through a mouthful of porridge, "'Ts a good thing we got outta there when we did," Harry nodded his agreement, halfway through his own porridge.
Hermione, on the other hand, hadn't heard a word Ron had said. Across the campfire, Fleur was rhythmically brushing her hair, having already had her breakfast. Hermione was transfixed by her long silver-blonde mane of hair. Her mind was wandering to the thoughts that had burst into her mind while under Fleur's thrall… Truth be told, they weren't far off some of the thoughts she guiltily felt at the fringe of her mind the rest of the time she was around the French Veela. This trip was a miserable task, weeks of tramping through rough terrain on their way to an effective suicide mission. But somehow, Hermione was having the time of her life. Getting to know Fleur properly had to be one of the best experiences of Hermione's life, and she could hardly believe it was occurring in the middle of a war of all times.
Later that morning, they dutifully packed up and started out on the road again, slowly trudging in the direction of Gringotts. Ron was up ahead, having picked up a new branch to swing at plants and debris along the way. Griphook and Fleur were not far behind him, talking in low voices about the security at the bank and the best tactics for when they get deeper towards the vaults. Harry fell back to walk with Hermione at the rear of the group.
"So what was that last night?" he asked quietly, the blush on her cheeks giving away that she knew what he was referring to. He raised his eyebrows before continuing, "Do you have feelings for her? She's married… To Ron's brother, 'Mione…"
Hermione looked irritable, "Harry, obviously I know that," she snapped, "She was shaken up after the attack, that's all."
Harry quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head to one side, "That's all? 'Mione, the three of us have all seen each other around girls we have feelings for… I know what you act like when you like someone."
Hermione let out a long breath. She wished Harry would let it go. "Well, its undeniable that she's incredibly stunning, Harry… But its just a stupid crush, that's all." Harry finally looked appeased and nodded, changing the subject to the mission ahead.
[Location: Malfoy Manor]
Bellatrix sat at the head of the long grand table, her lank black hair flowing over her tattered black dress like tendrils. A small goblet of red wine was placed in front of her on the table, but she was distracted, playing with a sharp, menacing dagger. A dagger she had used on one Hermione Granger. Her jaw tensed furiously at the memory of that Mudblood escaping.
There was a curt knock at the double doors to the room and she coughed before screeching "Enter!" In came a ragged looking witch with blue hair and an undercut, accompanied by a squat young boy with greasy hair. They both bowed ludicrously and Bellatrix curled her lip in disgust.
"Update?" she barked, quietly enjoying the simultaneous flinch the two Snatchers had in response.
"Well, we was back in the hills, lookin' for Fern, an' we found 'im… but 'e's not all there, if you follow, me lady…" he bowed again nervously, flattening his greasy hair with a plump hand.
"Obliviated." Bellatrix deducted. Of course. She took a silent sip from her goblet, eying the two Snatchers venomously, "And what have you managed to glean from Fern?" she said, not bothering to hide her disgust at the bungling Snatcher who had managed to get his memory blown out.
The blue-haired witch stepped forward at this, waving a wand briskly to levitate a small tub onto the table in front of Bellatrix. She came to stand neatly beside the table, almost managing to hide the tremble in her hand from being so close to the madwoman, before drawing a vial from her robe with a silvery, swirling memory. Bellatrix drummed the table with a hand impatiently before yanking the basin towards herself. The memory had barely been deposited in the basin when Bellatrix dove her head in.
The blue haired witch nervously stumbled back to the greasy haired wizard, waiting patiently with him.
Eventually, Bellatrix jerked her head back out of the basin, "Ah! My Mudblood, she is roaming again!" she cackled wildly, "And with a pet Veela… How interesting…"
"Sh-shall we 'ead back out there and catch 'em?" the Greasy Wizard stammered.
"She might be a Mudblood, but she isn't stupid, Callaghan," Bellatrix snapped, swinging from mirth to a quiet anger in a second, "They no doubt will have changed location again… But they will likely still be heading towards the same place, wherever that may be..."
"And Fern?" Callaghan asked tentatively, his head bowed and his eyes firmly on the floorboards. Bellatrix let out a sudden scream and plunged her dagger into the table.
"Merlin's balls, Callaghan, do you never learn?" she said furiously, baring her rotting teeth, "He's no use to us now, get rid of him."
The next two and a half weeks passed in relative monotony for the group on the road. The days blurred into walking and camping. The only silver lining was that the long days of walking were guaranteeing them all deep sleeps at night, punctuated only by nightmares.
Hermione herself, had scarcely suffered from night terrors over the last two weeks. Following the attack by the Snatcher, Fleur had developed a habit of tucking herself tightly against Hermione each night. For whatever reason, having the blonde witch in her arms soothed her, making her feel both protected and protective. The nights were Hermione's refuge from the reality of marching towards the risky mission. At night, she could lie there with Fleur in her arms and imagine an alternative life. One where there was no war, where Fleur liked her back, where everything was fine and whole and safe. Hermione breathed in the sweet smell of Fleur's hair, vanilla and lilies.
During the days, Fleur kept close to Hermione. They spent most of their breaks from walking and evenings practicing wandless magic together, although the most they could each manage was raising the quill a mere ten centimeters above the ground. The rest of the time was spent in easy company together, teasing and joking, or sitting silently beside each other reading.
Tonight Hermione was struggling to sleep. Fleur sighed and nestled her face into Hermione's neck. Hermione ignored the familiar hot rush of arousal running through her body, she was getting used to the frustration of having Fleur so near her at night. Tonight her mind was firmly fixated on Gringotts. According to her calculations, they were about a day away from reaching the bank, max. She felt the blonde bombshell shifting against her, pressing closer into her body. Hermione tightened her hold on her. One way or another, soon this would all be over.
