Another week, another chapter. Thank you all for your reviews. I really appreciate it. For every review, I will donate to the Unicorn Foundation to help save this terribly endangered species. So if you want to save the unicorns, review! ;)
I hope that this time the formatting will actually work as intended and you can see paragraphs and such. Sorry about that, by the way.
Some of you asked me about my use of single quotation marks. It's a perfectly acceptable way of indicating direct speech and I'm too used to it to change it now. Sorry, I just know that I wouldn't be consistent throughout the chapter, surely slipping back into old habits.
The bigger problem I have, and I hope someone can help me with that, is that I can't make this document editor make a visible distinction between quotation marks and apostrophes. It works just fine in the word doc that I uploaded. But as soon as I open this here editor, it's punctuation mark anarchy. If any of you have an idea on how to fix it, I'd be very grateful.
But let's move on to happier things. I will continue to update the story on Mondays for the time being. Let's see how that goes. The French translations will be in the bottom of each chapter, provided there is something to translate, of course.
So, this one is quite a bit longer than the last one but I had warned you about the length of future chapters. Let me know what you think in the reviews and enjoy your read!
Chapter Two
The next morning, after the sun had barely made it over the horizon, Ron knocked softly on Hermione's door before opening it and stepping inside the small guest room. The whole house was still asleep but Ron had dutifully woken to take over his shift of watching his best friend.
'Fleur?' he whispered, expecting to see her asleep on the comfy armchair in the corner. When he couldn't find her, he got a little worked up, thinking Fleur had abandoned her post. He swallowed his ire and decided to get started on the potions by himself. Fleur had brewed an array of potions that they had given Hermione mornings, noons and evenings. Thanks to magic, Hermione actually was able to swallow despite her unconscious state.
Ron sat down carefully on the edge of Hermione's bed and sorted through the vials on the tray. He opened the stopper of the first one and gingerly lifted Hermione's head a little. He poured the clear liquid into her mouth and waited for her to swallow. But instead of swallowing the potion as planned, Hermione started spluttering and coughing, opening her eyes wide with shock and pushing Ron off the bed, while trying to breathe between coughs.
'Oh shit, oh shit, Hermione. Please don't die. Oh no, no, no, no,' panicked Ron. He stepped closer to help his friend but didn't know how and remained standing around, flailing his arms helplessly. Suddenly, Fleur burst into the room, a fearful expression on her face.
'Mon dieu, 'ermione! What did you do?' she hissed, giving Ron an accusing look, while shoving him away and helping Hermione to sit up.
'I…I…don't…,' Ron said uselessly.
Finally, Hermione's coughing subsided and she quietly asked for water. Her throat was sore from the sudden attack. Fleur handed her the glass that was still on the tray from a few hours before and Hermione drank greedily.
'Are you alright again?' Fleur asked as she took back the glass and sat down on the edge of the bed. Hermione nodded.
'What the hell were you doing, Ron?' Hermione asked, her voice still a bit hoarse.
'I didn't know…I was just…my shift…and Fleur was gone…your medicine…I,' Ron stuttered, clearly afraid of Hermione's temper.
'Ronald Weasley, would you please use English when you speak to me. I believe you are capable of full sentences, are you not?' Hermione scolded her friend but was hardly able to finish her sentence before Ron flung his arms around her and hugged her like never before. Hermione screwed up her face in pain. Ron noticed he was hurting Hermione and immediately removed himself from her personal space.
'Sorry, it's just…you're mad at me. That means you're fine again, doesn't it? Oh Merlin, Hermione, I'm so glad to see you awake. Sorry, for before. I was just trying to give you your morning dose of potions,' Ron apologised and explained himself.
'And where were you?' he continued, turning to Fleur. 'You were supposed to sit in this chair and watch over her!' Ron was very protective of his friends and family and it was clear to him that Fleur had endangered one of his own.
'If it's any of your business, Ron, I slept in my bed and I 'ad set my alarm to meet you for our shift change so I could tell you that 'ermione 'ad already woken in the night. I knew she waz better or do you think I'd just abandon 'er like zat, after everyzing.' Fleur yelled at him, her accent growing more pronounced as she worked herself up.
Ron shrivelled under Fleurs angry look.
'Shut up. Both of you,' Hermione said lamely, making them both focus on her again. As fascinating as it was to see both of them fighting so passionately for the caretaker of the week award, she didn't have the energy to deal with this now.
They both mumbled apologies before Fleur took the other two vials from the tray, unstoppered them and handed them to Hermione.
'Drink these. They will 'elp you 'eal. Most of your minor cuts and bruises 'ave 'ealed. I want you to take this one until the bigger ones fade as well and this vial is to 'elp you with the damage that comes with…' Fleur explained but trailed off.
'With being tortured with the Cruciatus curse.' Ron added softly, earning him a thankful look from Fleur for saying it for her. The mere thought of Hermione, wandless and unable to defend herself, at the mercy of that lunatic, Bellatrix Lestrange, made Fleur alternate between feeling sick to her stomach and boiling with rage. In fact, she had actually lost her lunch when Harry and Ron had told Fleur and Bill a short version of their story. It was the only time she had left Hermione's side in the first few days. Bill knew Fleur had seen and heard of worse things in the past few months, but he guessed that this was just a tad closer to home. After that incident, Fleur's determination to save Hermione had only increased, if that was even possible.
'And the one I…erm…gave you is a simple pain management potion,' Ron added before pulling up a chair and finally sitting down.
'Where is Dobby? I need to thank him for saving us.' Hermione asked after she had taken her potions but instead of answering, both Fleur and Ron looked to the floor. Neither of them wanted to break more bad news to the woman but no words were needed for Hermione to understand.
'Where is he now?' Her voice was barely above a whisper.
She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and Ron told her that they had buried him on a little hill by the house. He recounted the story of Harry digging the grave by hand and Luna engraving the headstone.
Hermione nodded and swallowed more tears. All this dying had to stop. How many more innocent lives hat do be sacrificed before they could live in peace?
For a short time, all three of them sat in silence, when they were ripped from their gloomy thoughts by the grumbling of Hermione's stomach. Ron laughed first, then Hermione and finally Fleur.
'You've spent too much time with me. You're stomach is turning into a Weasley,' Ron said and Hermione smiled at him. Nobody said anything but they all knew that this was a rare and much needed moment of levity.
'It's been a while since you 'ave eaten anything. Let's start slowly. 'ow about some toast for breakfast?' Fleur asked. Hermione nodded.
'I think, despite the hunger, I want to get cleaned up first though. I feel incredibly gritty.'
'We cleaned your wounds and you as best as we could, but when…' Fleur said and she looked truly remorseful.
'It's fine. I imagine, convincing unconscious people to bathe is a little difficult. Don't worry about it,' Hermione cut her off. She owed this woman her life, she wouldn't let her apologise for something so insignificant.
When Hermione made to get up, she screwed up her face and whimpered pitifully. Ron and Fleur were immediately at her side helping her up. It proved to be difficult not to hurt the young witch any further when wrapping one's arms around her. Every step that Hermione took was agony, but she gritted her teeth and went on.
The slow speed and the intense pain were too much for Ron to take. He scooped her up and carried her to the small bathroom across the landing. Hermione felt the relief immediately and relaxed into Ron's arms.
'Thank you,' she whispered as he sat her down on a wooden stool, leaning her against the wall.
Fleur was observing their exchange with a frown on her face. Hermione saw it and assumed Fleur didn't like the state she was in.
'Ron, why don't you go down and wake Luna. I will need another set of 'ands,' Fleur suggested as she assessed Hermione's state. Ron shot off to find Luna.
'I can take it from here,' Hermione said as she watched Fleur lay out towels.
Fleur turned around and gave her patient a most disapproving look. Hermione was sure she must've learned it from Mrs. Weasley. No further arguments were heard.
In no time at all, Luna was in the small bathroom, still dressed in her pyjamas with the rubber duck print. She had decided getting dressed could wait. Hermione was mesmerised by the ducks, moving around the pond that was the blue background.
'I'm so happy to see you're awake, Hermione,' Luna said as Fleur got the water running and plugged the bathtub. Hermione gave Luna a weak smile. She didn't feel completely comfortable stripping in front of her friends but had to give in to her own logic. She wasn't strong enough to walk, she most likely wasn't fit to get clean on her own either.
'Oh, this will be so much easer now that you're awake. Undressing unconscious people is not an easy task, you see?' Luna said and moved towards Hermione.
'You…you've done this before?' Hermione looked up at Luna and Fleur with big brown eyes. The back of her mind scolded her for being so daft. Of course, they had done that before. Fleur had said they'd cleaned her as best as they could. Somehow she hadn't associated it with being undressed.
'Nevermind,' she added to indicate that she had caught on. Maybe the residual nerve damage was making her brain slower?
Luna began helping Hermione out of her t-shirt and Hermione wished she were still unconscious. Lifting her arms was almost unbearable and tears shot into her eyes. Meanwhile, Fleur tested the temperature of the water and seemingly satisfied waved her wand over the bathtub to keep the water from cooling off. Hermione noticed how elegantly Fleur moved her wand. The last time she had seen Fleur do magic was at the Triwizard Tournament and she remembered being as fascinated then as she was now.
'Do you think you can 'old on to me? I want to stand you up to get rid of your pj bottoms and then 'elp you into the tub,' Fleur said and bowed down so the sitting Hermione could wrap her arms around Fleur's neck like she had done as a toddler with her Dad. In one easy motion Luna had undressed Hermione and, at Fleur's instruction, began waving her wand over the bandages. Some immediately fell off as the wounds beneath them were healed, others stayed on. Luna had waterproofed them to avoid bathwater getting into the wound.
They helped the injured witch into the bathtub and smiled as they saw her relax instantly.
'This feels great. My body doesn't ache as much in the warmth of the water,' Hermione explained.
Fleur smiled happily. It didn't sit well with her that her potions weren't strong enough. Especially, the pain potion should do more.
Fleur took a sponge and Hermione's arm and began to clean the rosy skin, taking care not to scrub too hard on the freshly healed wounds. Luna had taken over the task of washing Hermione's hair. Hermione closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of Fleur's hands to distract herself from feeling uncomfortably exposed. Hermione couldn't remember when she had last been clean. She could feel Luna massaging the shampoo into her hair and Fleur softly scrubbing her unbandaged skin. This was heaven.
A short while later, Fleur stopped and Luna was done with Hermione's hair, too.
They helped Hermione out of the tub, resulting in Fleur and Luna being just as wet as Hermione. Fleur grabbed a towel and wrapped Hermione in it, while carefully sitting her back down on the wooden stool. Luna helped Hermione back into fresh clothes as Fleur quickly used a drying spell on Luna and herself. In her head, she was already thinking about what she could brew that would help Hermione manage the pain. She resolved to have a look at her grandmother's notebook on homespun remedies. She had found it most helpful so far.
By the time Luna and Fleur headed back to bed with Hermione, they could hear the others had woken up downstairs. Now, it was only a matter of time until everyone would be storming up to visit.
'I'll just nip down and get your breakfast ready,' Fleur said, opening the door but Ron was already on the doorstep, holding a tray with a plate full of toast, a little butter, some orange juice and to make it perfect he had put a flower in a vase. The vase had antennae, though and Hermione threw him a knowing look, when he put the tray in her lap.
'What? I have never "ferroverto'd" a butterfly before,' he said with a grin and earned himself a smile.
Hermione wasn't the only one who was surprised by the effort Ron had put into her breakfast. To everyone's astonishment, Ron had discovered his inner caretaker after their arrival and was always busy helping Fleur with anything she would let him do. He had helped prepare ingredients for potions and salves, and kept up her supply of bandages and such. And most surprising of all; he had done it without turning purple in the face or loosing his speech.
Before Hermione had swallowed her first bite of toast Harry, Dean and Bill were standing at the foot of her bed.
'Hermione!' Harry beamed. 'I'm so happy to see you awake.'
'Welcome back, kiddo,' Bill said, giving Fleur a proud look. There had been times, when Bill thought that his wife was fighting a losing battle. He could see now that her dedication and persistence had paid off.
Dean swallowed a knot in his throat and with a very thick voice said, 'I knew you would make it. Between Fleur's healing talents and your stubbornness, there was no doubt.'
Hermione had never known Dean to be particularly emotional and she could tell from the obvious weight lifted off all their shoulders that it must've been quite serious.
'Fleur took care of you. She wouldn't leave your bedside for two days and nights until she and Bill got into a fight. Let me tell you, French is not just the language of love,' Harry explained and winked at Fleur. 'Then we started taking shifts, but Fleur was the one to do the heavy lifting, so to speak.'
Harry knew that without Fleur, her extensive knowledge of potions, and her books on healing, Hermione would be dead by now. He chased away the thought immediately. This was nothing he could be thinking about now. Hermione was safe and healing well. With a little time to recuperate, she would be as good as new, or at least as good as any of them were.
Fleur blushed and then protested, ''arry, you are being too kind. I 'ad all your 'elp. It was a group effort. And 'ermione, don't ever scare us like this again. What are the boys supposed to do without you?' she said before quietly adding, 'What are any of us supposed to do, really?'
After Hermione had finished her breakfast Fleur kicked everyone out of the room to redress her wounds and tend to her bruises.
'Can you sit up, so we can take off your t-shirt again?' Fleur asked and was already helping Hermione into a more upright position.
As Fleur grabbed the hem of Hermione's t-shirt, the younger witch stopped Fleur's hand and said, 'I know you said it was a group effort but from what the others were saying I know that I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you. You saved my life. I don't know how to repay you for that but let me start by saying thank you. For everything.'
''ermione, you don't owe me anything. There was no way I would not give my best to try and save you. You are part of the order and you clearly are the brains of the operation the three of you 'ave going on. I know that it is unfair that we put so much pressure on you, but without you we will not win this war. And not winning is no option. I don't want to raise a child in a world ruled by that monster,' Fleur replied, fighting back tears.
Hermione took a moment to let sink what Fleur had just said before noticing what she might have insinuated, 'Oh my God, Fleur. You are pregnant?'
'Oh no, I just meant I wouldn't want to raise a child in this world. But I would like to 'ave children some time in the future and I won't if 'e wins,' Fleur explained herself and saw Hermione deflate a little. She had hoped that she would get to feel excited over something entirely ordinary for once, and not about the unlikely survival of an order member or the destruction of a piece of someone's soul.
'Come on, let's get you bandaged up,' Fleur said and grabbed her supplies after carefully helping Hermione out of her t-shirt.
'You have three broken ribs but luckily they didn't puncture anything vital,' Fleur informed Hermione. She tried to keep it as clinical as possible, but it was hard keeping her emotions down when listing all the injuries her patient had sustained.
'There are a few lacerations that aren't fully 'ealed yet. I don't 'ave the ingredients for Skele-Gro, so I'm afraid you will 'ave to 'eal the muggle way. I 'ave enough pain potion, though. I'm sorry it's not strong enough. I will try to find a way to make it stronger. Some of these gashes are so deep. The dittany I 'ad 'asn't been able to 'eal them, but at least the bleeding 'as stopped. In a few days they should be taken care of. The biggest problem will be the residual nerve damage. I assume you know 'ow the Cruciatus curse works?' Fleur talked while Hermione laid back down so she could remove the old bandages. Hermione was grateful for the distraction, otherwise she would've been a lot more aware of her half-naked state. She had lived in a dorm with communal bathrooms for six years, but being naked around Fleur made her nervous. At least, some of her was still covered.
'It attacks the nerves. Basically, it short-ciruits the whole nervous system,' Hermione engaged her brain for the first time in days.
When Fleur began applying the salve to Hermione's bruised skin and broken ribs, she hissed in pain.
'I'm sorry, I'm trying to apply minimum pressure,' Fleur apologised. 'And it probably doesn't 'elp that my 'ands are cold.'
'It's ok, I've had worse. Thank you for doing this,' Hermione said and closed her eyes to concentrate on something other than the pain. She found it easiest to focus on Fleur's other hand that was lying flat on her abdomen. Completely unawares, Fleur's thumb was stroking the soft skin. She noticed how her hands weren't cold, only a little cool but felt good on her warm skin. Very delicate and gentle. Suddenly, Fleur lifted both her hands and Hermione instantly missed the contact. But she couldn't really expect Fleur to have her hand there all day, no matter how good it felt. Why did it even feel so good? Hermione led an internal discussion about the logic of beautiful women very likely having beautiful hands, as well. She caught herself thinking how lucky Bill was and felt her cheeks grow warm.
'Alright, the worst is over. I'll just put some fresh bandages over these cuts,' Fleur informed Hermione and the injured witch opened her eyes again to watch Fleur work.
When Fleur removed bandage after bandage, Hermione could see the damage Bellatrix had done. The wounds looked ghastly and she wished she hadn't looked. Again, she focused on Fleur's hands as they skilfully worked to clean the wounds and put on fresh bandages. Again she was captivated by the elegance of Fleur's movements but as soon as she realised what she was thinking about, she pushed the thought aside. Seriously, who pondered the elegance of someone's hands?
After she had put back on her t-shirt, Hermione noticed that Fleur had not paid any attention to the bandage on her left arm.
'What about this one?', she asked.
'This one is refusing to 'eal even the slightest bit. 'ave you seen it?' Fleur asked cautiously and Hermione could tell something was up.
She shook her head no and gingerly started to remove the bandage. When she saw the wound, tears sprung to her eyes.
'I didn't know what she was carving into me. I just remember the pain,' Hermione whispered almost inaudibly.
'I've 'ad a look at the dagger and from what I can tell it bears several dark curses. I don't know yet 'ow to stop the bleeding. As you see, it's not much, but just enough to keep it open,' Fleur said obviously frustrated as she carefully wrapped a new bandage around Hermione's arm.
Even after Fleur was done, Hermione still stared at her arm, clearly deep in thought.
After a long silence, Hermione whispered, 'She almost had me.' The young witch sounded broken and lost, and it broke Fleur's heart to see her like that. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around Hermione as best as she could and held her close. She wanted her to know that she was safe and that while she was here, she would be taken care of. She didn't say anything but hardly felt it was necessary. Fleur just kept holding Hermione close and hoped she would feel safe.
Hermione didn't speak on, she fell asleep after a few minutes of silence. The day had been exhausting for her and her body needed to heal. Fleur carefully tucked in her patient and left the room. She couldn't get Hermione's words out of her head all day.
Some time later, Luna had visited her in her makeshift potions lab, the kitchen, and asked her if she was feeling alright. Apparently, she hadn't hidden her preoccupation as well as she'd thought.
In the afternoon, Fleur went to check on the salve she had produced, following her grandmother's recipe to the letter. She didn't want anything to go wrong. When she was satisfied that it was ready, she put a lid on the container and put it on the tray with the soup she had already set out for Hermione.
She softly knocked on the door and entered when she heard Hermione give her permission. Hermione was lying in bed, looking a bit grumpy but brightened up as soon as she saw who was coming through the door. Fleur set down the tray on bedside cabinet and sat down on the edge of the bed.
'Did I wake you?'
'No, I woke up a few minutes ago. A long enough time to be alone in my head. I've tried summoning a book from the shelf over there but it turns out wandless magic is a bit harder than I thought,' Hermione explained matter of factly.
Fleur sighed. She should've known to leave her some means of distraction in case Hermione woke up.
'You shouldn't 'ave exerted yourself like that. Even on good days wandless magic is draining. I'm sorry for leaving you without entertainment but promise me, next time you call,' Fleur spoke, while picking up the hot bowl of soup.
Hermione sat up a bit straighter and wrapped her hands around the warm bowl. It smelled delicious. Hermione took a spoonful into her mouth and moaned approvingly.
'This is heavenly, Fleur. Thank you,' Hermione praised the simple dish in her hands.
'I'm glad you like it. My mother always said "if the muggles got one thing right, it is chicken soup". My parents 'ave a muggle cook to 'elp our elf,' Fleur explained and earned herself a scathing look from the eating witch.
'Did I say something wrong?'
'You have a house elf?' Hermione asked to make sure. She didn't want to blow up in Fleur's face without due cause. When Fleur nodded and even admitted to having several house elfs at her parents' home, Hermione gave her one of her trademark lectures in return. She went on and on about slavery and social injustice until she decided that Fleur looked contrite enough to stop.
'Are you done?' she asked amused and Hermione was about to launch into more facts and numbers about elf rights and exploitation, when Fleur put up her hand to stop her in her tracks.
'I'll 'ave you know that Pilou and 'is family were given the chance of employment but ve'emently refused it several years ago. We agreed that they won't get paid but that we would provide them not only with shelter and food but with anything they'd ever need or want, inluding clothes. By now, Pilou 'as quite a collection of 'ats. Last year, they went on 'oliday for the first time and we gladly paid for all of it.'
Hermione withered. She had been too quick to judge and put her foot in her mouth.
'I'm sorry,' Hermione said sheepishly and handed Fleur the empty soup bowl.
'It is alright. You are passionate about equality. That is a very good thing,' Fleur said as she put the bowl away and grabbed the new salve.
'Yes, but I shouldn't have gone off the rails like that. I'm very glad to hear your elfs get treated with respect. I guess, I automatically assumed that because your family is so old and prestigious…'
'It's fine. Don't worry. I want you to focus on 'ealing,' Fleur reassured the young witch again.
Hermione looked at the container in Fleur's hands and her curiosity got the better of her.
'What's that?' she asked.
'This is a salve I made today. I've noticed that despite pain and nerve potion, you still can't move without gritting your teeth. I 'ave consulted my grandmother's old notebook and found this recipe. It's specifically for injuries like yours and I 'ave laced it with a bit more pain potion, for good measure,' Fleur explained and was rewarded with a warm smile.
Hermione was overwhelmed. In her overly emotional state, every gesture of kindness felt special and knowing Fleur had concerned herself enough with her residual nerve damage to spend her day researching and prepping medicine for her, warmed her heart.
'You didn't have to do that. I could've managed without somehow. I'm sure you have more interesting things to do than stirring a cauldron,' Hermione said and took the container to smell the salve.
'Lavender,' Hermione said and looked at Fleur for confirmation. 'Chamomile and…'
Hermione wasn't sure about this other scent and sniffed another time.
'And Bergamot?' she guessed.
Fleur smiled and nodded.
'You 'ave a fine nose, chérie. I'm very impressed,' Fleur said approvingly. It didn't go unnoticed by either witch that Fleur had used a term of endearment for her. Hermione assumed it was a French thing and Fleur wondered why she had said it. It was nothing to dwell on, though.
'I don't think you can lie on your stomach with those ribs, but maybe a bit on the other side, so I can get to your back?' Fleur asked.
Hermione moved to shift, when she felt Fleur's cool hands on her, carefully lifting up her t-shirt.
'If you don't mind. I believe it would be easier,' Fleur asked for permission to undress Hermione for the third time today. As soon as she had asked, Hermione felt the familiar nervousness return that she had always had when Fleur was around while her clothes weren't. She pushed it aside, deeming it ridiculous and took off her t-shirt. Fleur helped her shift into a comfortable yet accessible position and got to work.
When Hermione felt Fleur's cool hands spreading the salve on her back, she hummed in pleasure. This concoction was marvellous. The constant dull ache in her muscles faded and Fleur's fingers chased away the tension and all those knots she had collected during the last months. Hermione felt Fleur working from her shoulders downwards. This was just glorious. The parts where Fleur had already worked the salve into her skin were tingling with warmth.
While Hermione was still pondering the wonderful sensation, Fleur reached a spot beneath her shoulder blades and dug her fingers in. Hermione was caught off guard and had no time to hold back the low sensual moan that bubbled up from deep within her.
For a second, Fleur stopped but resumed her work immediately. She had never heard a sweeter sound that this. She observed as Hermione's ears and cheeks turned pink and promptly felt her own follow suit. This was Hermione, her patient. She was helping her get better. There was nothing more to it and there certainly was no reason feel any shivers run down any spines. Both of them were too engrossed in their own thoughts to say anything, so Fleur kept on working for several minutes until she reached the small of her back.
'I'm done with your back. You can lie comfortably again,' Fleur said and was pleased to have regained her composure. If Bill came home before she was sound asleep for once, she was convinced, she wouldn't need to react to random moans.
Hermione did as asked and rolled on her back, fascinated by how much better she felt. She wanted to lift her arm to find her t-shirt but Fleur stopped her her mid-motion.
'I'm not done,' she said simply and worked her way from Hermione's shoulder to her palms. If Hermione had been nervous before, it was nothing compared to this. She was caught in a loop of thoughts. She acknowledged how great Fleur's hands felt on her skin, but she was also acutely aware of her topless state. Her inner voice told her to remain calm, after all Fleur was only helping her and she had not ever given her a feeling of judgement of either kind. On top of that, why should she get flustered by a massage but Hermione knew it wasn't the act but the person that got her flustered. Hermione realised that this was a downward spiral and not one she was willing to deal with at present. She opened her eyes again and contemplated the picture on the opposite wall to chase all other thoughts away.
Fleur felt the way Hermione tensed up and focused on the painting, and decided to lift the atmosphere a bit. She didn't want to overwhelm the young witch, but she didn't want her to be in pain either. She had made it her job to make Hermione feel comfortable and safe, so this was just another chance to do just that.
Fleur began to chitchat and Hermione visibly relaxed, thankful for the distraction. Pleased with herself, Fleur continued to tell Hermione about her first job interview at Gringotts and how she had almost ruined her chances by inadvertently insulting a goblin. Even though it was fairly easy to offend any goblin, Fleur had been especially clumsy in her choice of words that day. Hermione had relaxed enough to even laugh at her near misfortune.
Fleur was done with Hermione's arm and handed back the t-shirt. It was apparent how much better she felt, by the lightness of her movement. Fleur found it was a joy to watch how well her efforts were taking effect.
Hermione reemerged from inside her t-shirt and saw Fleur was caught between two thoughts before she resolved to speak.
'You can always choose to say no, of course, but this treatment seems to work very well. Let me do your legs, too?' Fleur asked. She didn't want Hermione to tense up again but she clearly had enjoyed the massage and Fleur wanted her to be free of pain for once.
Hermione thought for a moment but then opted for relief over another potential embarrassment and nodded. Fleur gave her patient a reassuring smile and pulled away the blanket only to realise that she had no idea if Hermione was wearing underwear underneath her pyjama bottoms.
Hermione noticed Fleur hesitating and pushed down her shorts herself. Clearly relieved, Fleur helped to take them off completely. Fleur repositioned herself and laid Hermione's leg in her lap, getting started with her foot and ankle.
Hermione had shut down her inner voices and closed her eyes to simply enjoy the treatment. She was eternally grateful for Fleur having found that recipe. At first she had thought that she only hurt when moving but soon found out that this dull ache never really went away, movement or not. The difference was enormous.
As Fleur gradually progressed upwards, Hermione had more difficulty keeping her breathing under control. She was already far to confused about her body's earlier reaction to Fleur's hands. There was no need to put more oil into the fire. Why on earth did Fleur have to have this uncanny ability to make her body tune in to everyone of her touches? Hermione didn't want to deal with this right now. There were better times to concede to apparently being a horny, fourteen year old boy.
Since logic had failed her mere minutes ago, she resolved to try a more offensive approach. Fleur had moved up even further and Hermione forced her breath back to normal intervals. The young woman was desperately searching for images that would end this idiotic attraction. She honed in on a memory of Bill and Fleur at their wedding, happy together. When Hermione caught herself admiring Fleur's figure in her beautiful wedding dress, she grew quite impatient with herself. Fleur moved up a few more inches and Hermione shot into overdrive finding a mental image suitable for her cause. Bill, too handsome. Harry, good but not good enough. Ron, getting better. Dumbledore! Dumbledore in swimming trunks! Dumbledore in swimming trunks on the beach, slurping cocktails!
In an instant, Hermione libido fled the scene and she took a deep breath as Fleur switched to the other leg. Crisis averted.
What Hermione didn't know was that Fleur was running a similar campaign, only less successful. The further she got, the harder it was for her to keep her composure. Why was Hermione affecting her so much? Yes, she was an attractive woman, but why would that automatically make her lose her serenity? As Fleur found herself advancing in her task, she felt it again. She wasn't sure she would survive another round of manipulating Hermione's delicate thighs. She was in luck though, Hermione's t-shirt had ridden up a little and while at first she inwardly groaned at that, she saw a bit of one of the bandages looking out from underneath the garment. Even though she didn't like it much, Fleur centred her thoughts on the deep gashes and lacerations, on the bruises and cuts she had taken care of the last few days. She recalled Hermione's earlier statement about almost having lost her mind and unsurprisingly had no more problems getting on with her task.
When she was done she helped Hermione back into her shorts and watched her stretch and yawn. Fleur thought she looked rather like a cat and smiled at her.
'Thank you, Fleur. This helped a lot,' Hermione said and yawned again. All this excitement had sapped her of her already scarce energy.
'There is nothing to thank me for,' Fleur said, barely catching herself before adding something about how it had been her pleasure.
'You need to rest now. Your body is still weak. Harry insisted on keeping watch for one more night, so don't be alarmed when you find him sitting in that chair.'
A little while later, Harry entered Hermione's room, finding her slumbering peacefully. After not-quite-fully-waking her to take her potions, he got comfortable in the armchair he knew very well by now and very soon fell into a light sleep.
In another room, Fleur was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Bill, who had noticed that something was up with his wife ever since Hermione had gone back to sleep, turned around and looked at her for a moment before asking, 'Do you want to talk about it?'
Fleur turned to face her Husband and hesitated. She wasn't sure if Hermione would mind if she told Bill what she had shared today. In the end she decided on talking, she was too shaken up not to. This way she could at least get some of today's events off her chest.
''ermione told me something today and it's kept my mind busy all day,' Fleur began. Bill nodded encouragingly and pulled Fleur close, holding her and stroking her hair, while her head rested on his shoulder.
'The boys told you that…that poutain tortured 'ermione with the Cruciatus curse?' Fleur said, but didn't wait for an answer.
''ermione was determined to with'old the information Lestrange wanted, but she said that it was a close call. 'ermione could feel 'er mind slipping away,' Fleur wiped away a few tears and she didn't have to look to know Bill was wearing a grim face.
'Can you imagine that? She is barely an adult, 'asn't lived 'er life yet but she 'ad enough resolve to give up 'er beautiful mind if that meant giving 'arry an edge over cet monstre. She would've accepted a life without knowing 'oo she is or what she 'as achieved. She was ready to give up 'erself so we could 'ave a chance.' Fleur could hear Bill sniffing, but she knew he didn't like it when people knew he was crying, so she just continued talking, even if it was increasingly difficult for her to go on.
'I love you, Bill and I would give my life for you in a 'eartbeat, but that's fairly easy compared to accepting almost a century of being no more than a shell of myself, especially with a mind like 'ers.' Fleur paused and let her words sink in.
'I love you too, Fleur. And I know, it's just not fair. I don't know what these three are doing exactly but I know that were barely doing anything compared to them. They're just kids, for Merlin's sake! We should be doing more.' Bill said a bit too loud, but tried to calm himself immediately. There was no use getting riled up about it now.
'How about we try and sleep? As horrible as this is, we're no good to anyone if we don't get our beauty sleep. I mean, at least I need it, for you all hope is lost,' he jibed and Fleur playfully hit him on the arm.
'Hey, don't hit me. It's true. There is no way you could become even more beautiful,' Bill defended himself and Fleur sighed. She loved this man, how could she not. They kissed, and wrapped in each other fell asleep before they knew it.