A/N: Hi all, thanks for any and all follows/faves and reviews! They really make my day.

Again- I LOVE Fleurmione goodness to read, so if you ever had a thought/scenario/idea floating around your head about this pairing- PLEASE consider penning a fic and posting it on this site. I really don't want to get to the end of all the Fleur/Hermione fics to read!


Hermione landed heavily in a small sheltered clearing in a forest. She released the two boys immediately, falling to her knees and covering her face with her hands.

"Fuck!" she shouted, and she could sense her companions jumping at her uncharacteristic outburst.

Harry silently stalked away, setting up the usual wards and protections, before coming back to join them. Hermione finally removed her hands from her face and slowly clambered to her feet. Her jaw was clenching painfully, the loss of Fleur and pain of failing their mission searing through her like a knife.

"We need to follow them… now" Hermione said, wiping angrily at the prickling of hot tears that were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. The boys did not respond.

Hermione eyed them carefully, her breath beginning to return to a normal pace. Ron was deathly pale, his clothes stained with the incredible amount of blood he had lost. His barely closed wounds were stark against his pale exposed torso. Harry was anxiously pulling off his shirt, gesturing for Ron to check that Fenrir had not bitten him anywhere during their fighting.

Hermione sighed. They were in no state to give chase tonight. She pulled open her bag, fishing out dittany for Ron's wounds and a potion that would work overnight to help replenish his blood supply. She handed these to Ron who gave a thin smile of gratefulness. Hermione then moved to take over helping Harry search for bites. Thankfully, there were none.

They set up the tent quietly and soon had a fire going too. Despite the exhausting day, none of them had much of an appetite, even Ron. Instead, Harry produced a bottle of firewhisky that they passed around, drinking straight from the bottle.

"So… what's the plan now?" Ron asked dejectedly. He had changed from his tattered clothes into a fresh outfit but he was still unhealthily pale. Harry took a swig from the bottle before passing it to Hermione.

"Well… we could press on and move to securing the other horcruxes…" Harry suggested, wringing his hands with worry.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked, almost dropping the firewhisky, "We can't leave Fleur with Bellatrix!"

Ron frowned at Harry's suggestion too.

"She's right, mate," Ron said, kicking at the dirt with his heels, "Bill would never forgive us."

Hermione snorted darkly at the thought of Bill caring about Fleur. She drew an angry sip of firewhisky before turning on Harry.

"Harry I cannot believe you would be so selfish! We would need to get the goblet eventually anyway… and you know what it was like at Malfoy Manor… how could we let anyone go through that?!"

Harry swallowed, paling, "yeah, you're right, 'Mione, sorry," he muttered. Hermione took another sip of the drink, bolstered by Harry agreeing.

"We need to strike as soon as possible, ideally tomorrow, as soon as we have rested and are ready to move again…"

Hermione took charge, using a stick to draw out their tactics for the next day in the dirt until the fire guttered low and they eventually took themselves to bed to rest.

Hermione struggled to sleep that night. She was feeling the absence of the blonde witch that she was accustomed to wrapping in her arms at night. Every time she shut her eyes she was plagued by memories of Bellatrix's cursed blade, her cackle as she cast the crucio curse, her face as she had yanked Fleur to her feet by her silver-blonde hair. A white hot terror twisted Hermione's stomach, allowing her only the lightest of dozes before morning.

They awoke at dawn, apparating away as soon as they had packed up the tent and eaten breakfast. They arrived in the wooded area just outside of Malfoy Manor. None of them looked comfortable to be back. Harry threw his invisibility cloak over the three of them and they crept through the trees and shrubbery until they were on the perimeter of the grand Malfoy lawns.

The Manor was silent, with no sign of life visible from the lawn. The only movement were the proud peacocks stalking the grounds.

"Reckon they're all asleep or it's a silencing charm?" Ron whispered as quietly as he could.

"Only one way to find out…" Hermione hissed from her clenched teeth, ignoring the looks the boys were flashing her. She couldn't afford to soften, the anger was the only thing stopping her from feeling the terror she associated with this awful place.

The trio carefully stepped out of the shrubbery and began to cross the lawns. They avoided the peacocks out of concern that startling one may alert someone to their presence. The trip across the lawn took a painful amount of time, the three youngsters no longer the young teens that could fit so easily under one cloak.

However, eventually they made it to a set of double doors that were painted a startling black. Their polished gold handles gleamed menacingly against the black.

"Alohomora," Hermione whispered fearlessly, and the doors silently clicked open. In the entranceway immediately behind the double doors were two chairs. In each chair was a sleeping Death Eater, bottles surrounding them on the ground. Harry and Ron silently stunned a slumbering guard each before checking the rest of the entranceway was clear.

"Guess the guards celebrated a little too hard last night?" Ron smirked grimly, before plucking a hair from one of the stunned men.

Soon Harry and Ron had swigged some polyjuice mixed with the guard's hairs and changed into the Death Eaters' robes. Hermione wrapped the invisibility cloak around herself more fully, quickly transfiguring the stunned guards into small beer bottles. They would not be out of place amongst the other bottles littering the hall.

Harry and Ron carefully opened the doors leading from the entranceway to the rest of the Manor, stepping slowly in. Hermione crept behind them, still cloaked.

The large room they entered was a mess. There were plates with half eaten food on top of a groaning table. Bottles were littered everywhere. Stray Death Eater masks were carelessly left hanging on chairs or left on the table or floor. On couches bordering the room were the odd slumbering Death Eater, which Ron and Harry were quick to knock out.

They checked each goblet around the room carefully, but none of them were the famed Helga Hufflepuff's cup. They looked around, seeing numerous doors budding off from the main room.

"Split up?" Harry asked and Ron nodded. Harry headed to the left, Ron to the right, and Hermione crept towards a door between the two. She just hoped people through the next door were sleeping too, or it might be hard to explain a door opening by itself. The adrenaline was racing wildly through her system, but Hermione's mind was now on the sole goal of getting out of the Manor with Fleur and the cup.

She carefully eased the door partially open. Satisfied that there was no movement from the other side, she pushed it open enough to slip into the room. It was a grand lounge, littered with armchairs and couches with a range of side tables. A grand piano was in the corner of the room. Hermione picked her way carefully through the room, silently dealing to any Death Eaters she came across slumbering on the furniture. As she reached the middle of the room her breath caught in her throat. Lying across a chaise longue was the unmistakable figure of Bellatrix Lestrange. Her black scraggly hair had crawled over the arm of the chaise, her filthy boots leaving marks on the plush fabric at the other end. But Hermione was not looking at this. Her eyes were fixated on the cup on its side beneath the chaise longue. Bellatrix's outstretched hand was hanging above it, her fingertips slightly brushing the cup. She had clearly dropped it in her sleep, a small puddle of wine near the rim.

"Hufflepuff's cup…" Hermione breathed in barely a whisper. There was a slight clink in response and Hermione whirled to her right, clutching her wand in fear. But instead of being faced with a Death Eater, she was faced with a sight that broke her. A chain was fixed to a wall, leading down to a crumpled figure on the floor. The figure was half curled up, face down in bloodied robes. Although it was stained heavily by blood, the hair of this figure was an unmistakable silver-blonde.

Hermione rushed over to Fleur, rolling her over immediately. Fleur's face was still beautiful as ever, but was streaked with blood, which appeared to have come from a rather nasty looking cut near her hairline.

"Fleur?" Hermione whispered, lowering the invisibility cloak to run a hand across Fleur's cheek. To her relief, Fleur was still warm and very much alive. Her dark long eyelashes flickered before weakly opening.

"'Ermione?" Fleur whispered hoarsely, "Est-ce toi?"

Hermione beamed with relief, dragging Fleur into a sitting position. As Fleur sat up, her long hair moved and Hermione saw she was chained by the neck to the wall. "Like an animal," Hermione thought darkly, "How original of Bellatrix." Fleur was weak, she looked like she was barely hanging on to consciousness. Hermione knew she had to act fast. She quickly volleyed off some healing spells on the cuts she could see, before trying to move the chain so she could see it accurately enough to sever. As she brushed Fleur's hip, Fleur hissed in pain, flinching away from her. Hermione lifted Fleur's shirt slightly to see, to her horror, a circle seared into the skin just above Fleur's hip. In the middle of the circle was an unmistakable "B.L."

"She fucking branded you?!" Hermione's voice was shaking with rage. But before she could react further, her wand spiraled out of her hand with a blast of red light.

"Ah, Muddy, you decided to join us," a cold voice laughed from behind Hermione. Hermione didn't even have time to turn around before she was thrown roughly against a wall by wordless magic.

The air was pushed out of her lungs and she saw stars. Hermione was aware of a dull pain in her elbow which had hit the wall at a bad angle. She swallowed heavily and tried to regain herself, clambering to her feet.

She pulled herself up using an armchair, blinking to get her bearings. Bellatrix was up, her hair tousled from sleep. She was holding Fleur in front of her, again using her like a type of human shield.

"You missed a hell of a party last night, Muddy," Bellatrix sneered, tightening an arm around Fleur's waist, "We took turns playing with your pet Veela… she has a very pretty scream."

Hermione scowled, "You'll pay, Bellatrix" she said through her teeth.

"Touched a nerve, have I?" Bellatrix smirked, running her wand tip up and down Fleur's neck slowly, "You're fond of this half-breed aren't you?"

"Shut up!" Hermione retorted furiously, her hands clenching so hard her nails were digging into her palms.

"Oh, Muddy, no…" Bellatrix intoned mockingly, "Don't tell me you fell for the Veela thrall? I can't say I blame you though, she is an exceptionally good looking one, for a half-breed."

Hermione reddened, her nails now drawing blood as they dug into her palms with fury. Bellatrix eyed her curiously before cackling again.

"Oh Merlin, Muddy, I cannot believe you've fallen for a half-breed woman. As if you could worsen your Mudblood status!"

"I said shut up!" Hermione spat. Bellatrix's face darkened.

"Wouldn't it just be tragic," Bellatrix said slowly and carefully, "If you were to get so close to saving your Veela, only to watch her die in front of you?" Bellatrix's eyes were widening with a terrifying insanity and she was tightening her grip on Fleur. Without warning she suddenly bit down on Fleur's neck, hard. Fleur let out a cry of pain.

Hermione froze. She was afraid now. She was wandless and facing off against her former torturer. The furthest her and Fleur had got with their wandless magic practicing was a weak wingardium leviosa that barely lifted a shoe. Sweat started beading on her neck and forehead as she tried frantically to think of a way out of this situation.

Bellatrix was admiring the blood that she had drawn from her bite just above the metal collar around Fleur's neck. Hermione forced herself to avert her eyes from the damage, looking instead at Fleur's face. Fleur was strangely looking elsewhere in the room, her face calm. Hermione was confused. She followed Fleur's gaze, suppressing a gasp when she saw her wand levitating carefully across the room towards her. Her eyes snapped back to Bellatrix who smirked at the bleeding bite on Fleur's neck finally before looking back at Hermione. Hermione swallowed heavily. She had to distract Bellatrix.

"Don't you leave a mark on her, Bellatrix," Hermione said, willing her voice to sound even, "She's mine."

At this Bellatrix let out a delighted laugh, taking the bait immediately, "I think that ship has already sailed, sweetie, because as you saw, your beloved Veela is very much already branded by me." She bit down again, this time on Fleur's shoulder. Fleur gasped at the sudden pain, but kept her eyes trained on the wand she was levitating towards Hermione.

Bellatrix drew back, again taking her time to admire her handiwork and watch the blood begin to bead at the bite. As she was intently watching the wound begin to bleed, the wand finally made it into Hermione's hand. Wasting no time, Hermione slashed a sudden volley of spells.

In quick succession, Bellatrix was disarmed and thrown off Fleur and into a wall. Hermione finished her off with a nasty stunning spell. She ran across the room and swept Fleur into her arms, burying herself in her bloodied hair.

"I'm so sorry I took so long to get here," she sobbed as Fleur's arms wrapped around her neck.

"I'm just glad you're here," Fleur breathed into her ear.

"We don't have much time before more come," Hermione said quickly. She drew back, skilfully slashing the metal collar off Fleur's neck. She ran over to the chaise longue and picked up Hufflepuff's cup, before grabbing Fleur's hand and pulling her out of the room. They arrived in the room with the table and food just as Harry and Ron were returning. Fleur flinched at the sight of them in disguise as Death Eaters.

"Relax, its Harry and Ron," Hermione soothed her, as the boys approached and grabbed Hermione's arm that was clutching the cup. Within a second they apparated away with a loud crack.

They arrived at a grassy verge near a small beach. It was a camping spot Hermione had visited once with her parents as a small child. Thankfully it was not being used as a camping spot anymore, the camping ground long sold up. Ron set about putting up the wards while Harry started setting up the tent. He put his familiar round glasses on as the polyjuice began to wear off, taking the Death Eater's perfect vision with it.

Hermione pulled Fleur into a tight hug, afraid to let her go. She was still holding her tightly as the two boys finished setting up their campsite. Eventually she let go, looking Fleur deeply in the eyes.

"I was so afraid I was going to lose you," Hermione whispered. Fleur flashed her a weak smile. Hermione took her by the elbow and led her into the tent to heal her, leaving the two boys to work out the best way to destroy the cup.

Hermione went immediately to the brand on Fleur's hip, growling angrily as she tried a number of spells to heal it. Her anger grew as the first few spells failed to make a difference. There was no way Fleur was going to be stuck with a permanent reminder of Bellatrix like she was with her 'Mudblood' scar on her arm. Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice started to shake as she tried spell after spell. Suddenly, as she rubbed it with dittany and tried an obscure healing spell, the brand noticeably faded.

After this she moved to Fleur's neck, applying powerful salves to the bitemark there. Fleur unbuttoned her blood soaked and torn shirt. Hermione winced as she saw the bruises and cuts adorning her torso. She moved slowly and accurately, making sure every injury received maximum attention. Fleur turned around and Hermione ran her hands through her long mane of hair, silver-blonde and stained dark red in large places. She flipped Fleur's hair over her shoulder, gasping as she saw the cuts down Fleur's toned back. It looked like a group of Death Eaters had all had a go at scratching "half-breed" into Fleur's back with very small blades. Fleur hissed as Hermione rubbed the stinging salve over the wounds. Thankfully none of the cuts appeared to have been done by any cursed blades and they were easily fixed.

Finally, Hermione had healed every cut and bruise. Fleur turned and looked at her silently, her blue eyes still looking pained.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Hermione asked quietly. She of all people knew what Fleur was going through, processing the nightmare of being tortured at Malfoy Manor.

Fleur nodded quietly and looped her arm through Hermione's. They walked slowly out of the tent. Ron and Harry were reclined back in front of the campfire, absolutely shattered but tiredly inspecting the horcrux cup. Neither seemed to even notice as Hermione and Fleur walked past them and down to the small beach.

They took their shoes and socks off and walked barefoot along the sand. Fleur's hair fluttered in the wind, a disconcerting mix of silver-blonde and red. She frowned and walked towards the water, slipping off her shirt and pants. She waded about waist deep into the water before sinking under the surface. Hermione bit her lip in concern. Was Fleur all right? But sure enough, Fleur emerged from the water, running her hands through her hair. Hermione smiled. Of course she would want to wash the blood and grime off as soon as she could. Hermione herself was feeling pretty grimy. She hadn't showered since the bank heist and still had bits of dried blood and dirt streaking her skin. She peeled off her dirty clothes until she was down to her underwear. She paused and transfigured a nearby rock into a bar of soap before wandering into the water too.

Hermione soaped up her body and hair before handing the soap to a grateful Fleur. Fleur immediately set to scrubbing the blood out of her hair. Hermione sank under the water, relishing the cool salty water against her skin. She ran her hands through her long curls, feeling days of dirt and grime clear. She rose out of the water again, gasping for breath. Fleur was next to Hermione, her long silver-blonde hair now spotless. She looked calmer.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked carefully. She knew she herself had never particularly wanted to talk about her experiences at Malfoy Manor. Fleur fixed her with an intense gaze, her sapphire blue eyes less pained now.

"I'm just relieved you came after the cup," Fleur said, her face unreadable. She seemed to be falling into her familiar defense mechanism of appearing aloof. While Hermione was glad Fleur was obviously feeling better, she didn't want to lose the close relationship she had grown with Fleur while on the road so far.

"I would have come after you whether there was a horcrux or not," Hermione said truthfully, keeping Fleur's gaze, "I couldn't sleep last night thinking about you being taken by that sick woman."

Fleur nodded before diving under the water again. Hermione wondered if Fleur even remembered Hermione admitting her feelings for her before the bank heist. Hermione touched her lips lightly, remembering the quick and sudden kiss Fleur had given her after she had told her.

Fleur re-emerged from the sea, yawning heavily. Hermione yawned too.

"Maybe we should take a nap, we're both exhausted," Hermione suggested. Fleur yawned again and nodded before beginning to wade out of the water. Hermione trailed behind her, trying not to stare at the blonde goddess' body. "Merlin, Hermione, the girl just escaped Death Eater torture… the least you can do is stop perving," she thought, shaking her head. Hermione picked up her wand from her pile of dirty clothes. She dried them both with a quick flick before transfiguring their ruined clothing into clean fluffy towels.

They walked back to the campsite in relative silence. Harry and Ron had disappeared, no doubt to work on the horcrux some more. Hermione and Fleur walked into the tent, tossing their towels to one side and immediately climbing into the fold out bed, exhausted. Hermione flicked her wand to cover the tent in darkness, blocking out the morning light.

Hermione shut her eyes, finally able to relax properly for the first time in the last 48 hours. She could feel Fleur shifting beside her. She wouldn't be surprised if Fleur suffered the same night terrors she did in the first nights after escaping Malfoy Manor. Hermione sighed and rolled onto her back.

In the darkness, Fleur shifted close to Hermione. They were both still in their underwear and Hermione was grateful for the cover of darkness hiding her blush at the surprise. Fleur snaked an arm around Hermione's waist and Hermione wrapped her arm around Fleur's shoulders. Their faces were so close Hermione could feel Fleur's breath on her lips. She suppressed a shiver. Fleur's breath drew closer.

"Thank you…" Fleur murmured, barely a whisper, before kissing Hermione softly on the lips. This second kiss, slower and outside of the adrenaline fuelled horcrux heist, threw Hermione with its softness. Fleur's lips were so soft and the pressure so light, it was amazing that Hermione still felt like there was a jolt of pleasant lightning coursing through her system. Fleur drew away again and nestled her face into Hermione's neck. Before Hermione could process what had just happened, the sleep she had been keeping at bay finally claimed her and she slipped into darkness.