Hi folks,
this week is Christmas and how fitting is it that Hermione finally goes to find her parents for a family reunion? It's a long chapter to tide you over the holidays. I hope you all have a brilliant Christmas, Chanukka, or whatever else you might want to celeberate and as always, let me know what you think in the reviews, they always make my week.
Happy Christmas!
Chapter Eleven
Fleur apparated them to the Gare de l'Est, where the international Floo & Portkey Network connected to the rest of the world.
A few uncomfortable minutes later, Hermione and Fleur stepped out of the Floo Network at Jandakot Airport and where welcomed by the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of Western Australia.
Hermione instantly noticed that wizards and witches were mostly wearing modern muggle clothing. She guessed, that robes were simply too warm for the climate.
'Alright, let's go,' Fleur said and began walking towards the exit.
'Wait Fleur, we don't even have a plan!' Hermione put the brakes on Fleur's enthusiasm.
Fleur turned to look at her girlfriend and said, 'I 'ave a plan. We get a taxi and give the driver the address and once we're there, we'll see if they are at 'ome. It's Sunday, are your parent's usually 'ome on Sunday afternoons?' Fleur layed out her plan. Hermione knew that there really wasn't anything to think through and plan out. She was just in a habit of doing that before big things. She had to admit that lately her track record of successfully executed plans was lacking in reliability. Hermione sighed. Fleur was right. They would have to just go and do it. She snaked her arm around Fleur's waist and off they went.
There was a queue at the Muggle Attire Checkpoint because a wizard from Spain refused to change into something muggle appropriate before exiting through the wards.
Soon enough, the two witches had found the taxi stand just outside the airport and handed the print of the address to the driver. They fell into a pleasant conversation with the man behind the wheel and Hermione enjoyed talking about mostly nothing. For her small talk had become a peace time luxury. Fleur took in the atmosphere of the city and watched the people going about their lives. Nothing had disturbed them here. There was nothing to rebuild and move on from. Fleur felt that even if it was for something potentially catastrophic, so far it had paid off to put some distance between Hermione and Britain. She watched her talk to the driver and smiled. Her whole composure had changed. She sat completely relaxed and carefree. Of course, she knew that part of that was due to the distraction the conversation caused. She had no delusions. Hermione would be a lot more stressed out if it weren't for the chitchat.
She was proven right the very second the driver pulled up and stopped the car. Having thought ahead, Fleur surprised Hermione by paying the driver with Australian Dollars, so Hermione didn't have to take care of anything except getting out of the car. They were in a lively area, where residential houses mixed with shops and restaurants and all sorts of other activities. Hermione was a bit surprised. She thought her parents would live in a purely residential area. They had always been so adamant about having a quiet place to retreat from the hustle and bustle of their workplace. Maybe her parents wouldn't live here, but Monica and Wendell Wilkins apparently would.
She was standing on the pavement in front of the house with the address on the print out. She put the paper away looked at Fleur for courage. Her hands were numb and ice cold, which was quite a feat, even in Australian Winter, especially coming from Britain.
'I can't do this, Fleur,' Hermione said. 'What if they hate me?'
'Oh, come 'ere, chérie,' Fleur said and wrapped her arms around Hermione. 'They will not 'ate you. They are your parents and they love you. If they were able to raise a daughter like you, they will be able to deal with 'er actions too. I refuse to believe that your parents are anything other than generous, kind and intelligent people or you wouldn't 'ave turned out the way you did. 'ave a little faith in them, oui?'
Hermione rested her head on Fleur's shoulder and buried her face in her neck. From day one, she had found it was incredibly soothing the way Fleur's clothes smelled. She had found out later that it was Fleur's own scent that did the trick not her clothes.
'How do we get inside according to your plan? We can't very well do this on the doorstep,' Hermione asked, slowly gathering her courage.
'Don't worry about that. I've got it covered. You only 'ave to concentrate on the spell and cast it as soon as the door is closed,' Fleur said and winked at her conspiratively.
Fleur walked up the narrow, paved walkway to the front door, closely followed by Hermione. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. They could hear footsteps coming closer and then the door opened.
Monica Wilkins was standing in the door frame, looking expectantly. 'Can I help you?'
'Oui, I am 'ere to pick up, Gabrielle,' Fleur said, putting on her accent extra thick. She didn't wait for an answer and just pushed past Hermione's mother.
'Gabrielle, I am 'ere. Come on, don't 'ide. I promised your mother to 'ave you 'ome by three,' Fleur called out to whoever this particular Gabrielle was. Had Hermione not been so nervous, she would've laughed. The befuddled look on her mother's face and the way Fleur had dug up her French accent were priceless.
As soon as Fleur had entered the house, Mrs. Wilkins turned to go after her.
'Excuse me! What are you doing? There is no Gabrielle in this house!'
'Gabrielle! Zis eez not funny!' Fleur called again.
Hermione used the moment to slip inside and close the door. Mrs. Wilkins was clearly overtaxed by the two women in her house. As she decided that Fleur was the more immediate problem she turned away from Hermione to go after the madwoman looking for Gabrielle.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione drew her wand and whispered the spell. A long silvery band floated from her wand to Mrs. Wilkins and disappeared in her head.
By now, Fleur had turned back around to look into yet another room, when she saw the poor woman faint. Just in time, she caught her and laid her carefully on the floor.
'Mum!' Hermione called out and dropped down next to her.
'She is fine, just unconscious,' Fleur said after checking her pulse.
'Come on, let's move 'er somewhere more comfortable,' she added before taking out her wand and levitating the unconscious woman to the living room.
Fleur set down Mrs. Wilkins on the couch while Hermione put a pillow under her head.
'Do you think it worked?' she asked, leaning into Fleur for comfort. Her nerves were frazzled like never before.
'Do you think what worked?' a male voice thundered. In the door frame stood Mr. Wilkins with a grim expression on his face, 'What have you done to my wife? Who are you? Explain yourselves or I'll call the police!'
'It's ok, Dad. She's fine, she's just fainted,' Hermione explained without thinking. After all she was asked a question by her father.
'Dad? What are you talking about? What are you doing here? Who are you?' Mr. Wilkins repeated his questions, sounding even more dangerous than before.
It was then, Hermione realised her mistake and took out her wand. She closed her eyes to concentrate and while her father looked incredibly angry and confused at the same time, she spoke the incantation again.
'What the…' Mr. Wilkins said before collapsing. This time they were prepared, though and Fleur had caught his fall with a quick spell. They made room on the couch and sat both her parents down next to each other.
'You did well, my love,' Fleur said and hugged Hermione close.
'You think it worked? I don't remember anything in the book about fainting,' Hermione said, clearly worried.
''onestly, you erased a vital part of their life. I think it's only natural for the brain to take a break after such a vast change. All will be well,' Fleur tried to calm down her girlfriend as best as she could.
Hermione and Fleur sat down on the armchairs opposite the couch and waited for Hermione's parents to wake.
Slowly, they opened their eyes. It took a few seconds for them to get their bearings and catch up on the situation. They were in their house, waking up from a nap, but it wasn't really their house and they didn't remember falling asleep. There was their daughter and another woman. Then, they remembered living in Australia for a year under a different name, without their daughter. Why had they left the country without Hermione? What was going on?
The two witches watched them catch up on the situation. Instinctively, they didn't speak and gave them time to process.
Hermione's mother spoke first, 'What happened? Why…I mean, what?'
'Yes, I agree. What the bloody hell is going on?' her father said and Hermione knew that he was angry. There was no other reason for him to use such language.
So far, they hadn't given any sign of knowing who she was.
'Hermione, your father asked you a question. And I would like you to answer it sooner rather than later!' Mrs. Granger said sharply.
But all Hermione heard was her name and that meant that her spell had worked. Faster than anyone could expect she was out of her seat and holding on to her parents for dear life. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and words failed her completely.
Fleur smiled at the scene in front of her. She was beyond happy that their trip had been a success. All the pressure and apprehension fell off her. She had worried a lot about what would happen if they couldn't find Hermione's parents or if the spell wouldn't work. Probably, just as much as Hermione herself.
Instinctively, Hermione's parents hugged her back. Their child was crying, so there was clearly something going on and whatever anger they held, it could wait for their daughter to calm down.
A few minutes later, Hermione disentangled herself form her parents and went back to sit in the armchair.
'I'm sorry for that. I'm just so relieved to see you!' Hermione said, wiping away her tears.
'We're very happy to see you too, Hermione. But we just woke up in a house that is in Australia. We know we were here for a year. We know we used different names and I can remember everything I did but for the life of me I can't remember why we did any of that.' her mother said, clearly trying to keep her composure.
Hermione was suddenly very interested in her shoes. Ashamed of what she had done, she studied the carped floor, unable to answer. She just didn't know where to begin. She felt Fleur's cool hand take her own but kept staring at the floor.
''ermione? Please, look at me?' Fleur asked and Hermione forced herself to turn her head.
'I know this is 'ard. But I'm 'ere with you whatever 'appens, I will stay with you. You can do this. Just start at the beginning. It will be ok,' Fleur said, crouching next to Hermione's chair, tucking strands of hair behind her girlfriends ear with her spare hand. Hermione nodded silently. Her parents were looking on with interest. They had no idea what was going on or who this woman was. Clearly, Hermione trusted her enough to bring her along, but she had never mentioned any close female friends other than the very redheaded Ginny Weasley. But that wasn't was important now. They wanted answers.
'I..erm…You remember Lord Voldemort? The dark wizard that I told you about?' Hermione began, her voice shaky. She squeezed Fleur's hand for comfort and Fleur sat down on the armrest and wrapped her arm around Hermione's shoulders.
'The one that was after Harry because of some sort of prophecy? What has that to do with us?' Mr. Granger asked impatiently. Hermione flinched at the tone of his voice.
'Well, you know he rose to power again before last year and he gained more and more followers that believed in his ill-guided blood-purity theories. The numbers of attacks on muggles rose higher each day and I knew that I couldn't help Harry and be there to protect you at the same time. I was desperate, truly desperate and I altered your memories,' Hermione whispered the last part.
'You did what? You made us forget about you? And you made us move here and created you own magical version of a witness protection program? Hermione, is that really what you did?' Mr. Granger asked, but he didn't quite manage to keep his voice down. He just couldn't believe what his daughter had done. There was no time to reply. Both her parents felt the need to vent their anger and wouldn't listen now, anyway.
'You made us move here and forget you? And what did you do in the meantime, when it was so dangerous in Britain that you wanted us out of the country?' Mrs. Granger asked and she, too, had a hard time keeping her temper down. So Hermione's temper came from both sides of the family, Fleur concluded.
Hermione spoke as if she had done something to be ashamed for, keeping her head down.
'I stayed and I helped Harry fight Voldemort. But because of that you would've been a target and I couldn't risk that. So I sent you here,' Hermione admitted.
'You fought that…that…Hermione you said he was the most dangerous wizard the world had ever seen and you and Harry, and I assume Ron, go and fight him? I know you are good at magic, but you are nineteen, for fuck's sake! You could be dead and we wouldn't even have known! Dammit, Hermione!' her father cursed and got up from the couch. He just couldn't sit still any longer, so he paced up and down the room.
Hermione didn't care so much about her parents' anger but the disappointment in their faces was killing her. From a very young age on, she had always strived to make them happy. Part of her studious self came from a fear of disappointing any expectations her parents might have had of her. To see now, that she had so completely misused their trust and disappointed them more than she thought she ever could just was too much. Disappointing her loved ones was only second to her fear of failure. Hot tears were streaming down her face again and her throat closed up. She just couldn't talk. How could she ever justify what she had done? How could she ever make up for it or win back their trust? Maybe she should have never come here. She hadn't thought of what her parents might want, only of her own need to have them back. She was selfish and she was so very sorry.
It was then that Fleur spoke, 'Mister Granger, I don't claim that I know what you feel right now, but I can assure you that I 'ave an equally strong interest in 'ermione never coming to 'arm. So to see 'er walking into danger the way she did was unbearable.'
Fleur took a deep breath. Her voice was shaky. These were Hermione's parents. Under normal circumstances she would have been invited to dinner at one point to be scrutinised and tested to see if she was worthy of their daughter. But these weren't normal circumstances and it mattered more to her that Hermione's parents would forgive their daughter. Of course, she wanted them to like her, but nothing was more important to her than Hermione's happiness and she knew that would ride a lot on her relationship with her parents.
'I imagine it is 'ard to compre'end the world your daughter lives in. So please let me try and put it into terms more familiar to you. Voldemort believed that wizards and witches were superior to muggles. He believed that muggle blood should never mix with pure blood because it would taint pureblood families, make them unclean. According to him, muggles were a threat that needed to be systematically eradicated like a disease. Does that sound familiar to you?' Fleur spoke and Hermione was again reminded of Fleur's extensive knowledge of muggle history.
'You…you…fought the magical version of Hitler?' Mrs. Granger said, unable to believe her ears.
'She didn't just fight 'im, Mrs. Granger. She was an integral part in his demise. Because of your daughter, thousands of muggle born witches and wizards live. Because of 'er, the biggest evil we 'ave ever seen was defeated. She made the world a safer place and gave us all a chance to rebuild our society. I'm not saying she did it alone. There were 'undreds of others and too many of them gave their lives. But I don't even want to imagine what the world would look like, if she 'ad not chosen to fight. We wouldn't 'ave stood a chance without 'er.' Fleur said, hoping it was enough convince them.
Not quite believing her ears, Mrs. Granger looked from Fleur to Hermione and back again, her mouth opening and closing uselessly.
'I never doubted my daughter's abilities or intellect, but are you seriously telling me that an army of wizards and witches couldn't do what a teenage girl could? I don't mean to diminish your academic prowess, Hermione, but it's a bit hard to believe that a school kid tipped the scales and saved the world,' Mr. Granger roared. He didn't know where to put his anger. There were so many things going through his mind, he didn't know how to deal with it other way than blowing off some steam.
In an instant Fleur was up from where she was sitting and stood face to face with her girlfriend's father. She knew shouting at him wouldn't help anyone, but how dare he insult her girlfriend like that!
'Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. Your daughter is not just a bookworm 'oo's good in school. She is the brightest witch of our age. I'm not saying that because I'm biased, that is what one of her teachers called her and we all share 'is opinion. 'ermione Granger is a 'ouse'old name in our world and you would do good to believe at least that. And if you really want to know, it was three school kids that saved the world. It only needs one person to make a difference and 'ermione was that difference. Without 'er 'arry could never 'ave done it and without 'arry…well, we wouldn't be 'ere to be shouted at,' Fleur hissed dangerously.
'And who the hell are you to speak for my daughter this way?' Mr. Granger shouted right at Fleur's face.
'I'm the person 'oo healed your daughter after being tortured within an inch of 'er life. And even if you're angry at 'er now for what she's done, it doesn't give you the right to talk to 'er like that. She is brilliant and she saved both your lives. Show some gratitude, for Merlin's sake,' Fleur shouted back.
'How dare you! You...,' Mr. Granger exploded.
'STOP!' Hermione yelled, 'Fleur, I appreciate your efforts, but please sit down and take a few deep breaths, and Dad, even if I wouldn't have phrased it quite like that, everything Fleur said is true. I don't want to be celebrated or called a hero, but my world was in danger, my best friend's life was threatened, what was I to do? You raised me to stand up for what I believe in and I believe in an equal and fair society.' Hermione said.
'You went to war, Hermione,' her father said quietly, 'we could have lost you forever.'
Mrs. Granger pulled her husband back down on the couch and with everyone seated she very calmly spoke, 'Hermione, I know that you know what you did was a gross violation of our person and I can't say I'm not disappointed that you just did that without talking to us first. But I also understand why you thought it was necessary. I wish you would have grown up in a peaceful time, but if memory serves me right, ever since you went to Hogwarts things were happening. I understand now that all of it was the beginning of a war. Just tell me this, is he gone now? Forever, I mean?'
'Yes,' Hermione nodded, 'Harry defeated him once and for all. It was a hard year and it will take a long time to get over it but it is done now. We can all try to move on.' Fleur observed Mrs. Granger's facial expression. It was exactly like Hermione's when she was assessing a situation or organising her thoughts. Temper from both sides, more from her father's, analytical mind from her mother's side, Fleur deducted.
Mr. Granger had calmed down considerably and had realised one thing in all of this tumultuous, emotional chaos. He loved his daughter and no matter what happened or what she did, that would never change. He pulled her close and hugged her. Mrs. Granger joined him and Fleur knew that everything would be alright in time.
A short while later, all four of them where sitting at the dinner table, having food, befitting their respective time zones, while listening to Hermione recount the last year. Fleur was listening closely. She had never gotten the whole story, only the part she was present for. Hermione told them of Bill and Fleur's wedding and the Death Eater attack. She explained their so-called camping trip and how Ron had left them around Christmas. When her mother was less than pleased about the boy for leaving her daughter in danger, Hermione was quick to point out that without his departure, they would never have known that Shell Cottage was a safe house. And if Dobby hadn't transported them there, she would be dead by now. Mrs. Granger set herself a mental reminder to thank Ron and Dobby.
Nobody was able to hold back tears when Hermione recounted the happenings of Malfoy Manor, shocking her parents when she rolled up her sleeve to show them the still bleeding red wound. They stopped the story telling for a moment in favour of Mrs. Granger disinfecting and bandaging the wound, mostly to make herself feel better. Fleur reassured Hermione's parents that as soon as she would be back in England, she would have more than just a few books at her disposal and she would find a way to heal this wound. Hermione concluded her story with the unbelievably exhausting final battle. She chose to leave out any details on her falling in love with Fleur, not because she didn't want them to know, but because she knew that they would have questions and it would side-track her story. Hours later, Hermione's voice had begun to sound a bit raspy and they had retreated back to the living room with some soothing tea.
'Thank you for telling us all of this. It must've been so hard,' Mrs. Granger said and looked at both Hermione and Fleur, 'and I'm also sorry that you lost so many of your friends. Wars never distinguish between good and evil. It's horrible. And thank you, Fleur, for taking such good care of my daughter. We will not ever forget that. If you ever need anything, please let us know. Thank you.'
'There is no need to thank me, Mrs. Granger,' Fleur interjected.
'Well, you will have to deal with it, because I'm thanking you anyway,' the muggle woman answered with a smile, 'and thank you too for accompanying my daughter all the way to Australia. I know travel is much faster with magic, but I'm sure are missed back at home. I don't mean to pry, but shouldn't you be with your husband after all of this? I know I would want to be.'
'Erm…well…I,' Fleur stuttered.
'Oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…he died, didn't he?' Mrs. Granger immediately recognised her mistake.
'No, Bill is very much alive and well, Mrs. Granger. It's just…erm, he is with 'is family now. 'is brother was killed,' Fleur tried to work her way around the question, looking to Hermione for help. She didn't know how she wanted to handle the situation. Did Hermione want to tell her parents about them? Would she rather wait until they had processed the whole information on the war? But Hermione saw no reason to wait any longer, she'd rather get it all out at once.
'Mum, there is something I have left out of the story,' Hermione said, 'and before you say anything, no, I didn't want to keep if from you. I'm just a bit nervous to tell you and I think that you will probably have questions and I wanted to get on with the actual story.'
Hermione nervously glanced at Fleur.
'Dear, what is it? You know, you can tell us everything. You just told us that you altered our memories, what else could there be that gets you nervous now?' her father asked.
'When I came to Shell Cottage and Fleur nursed me back to health, something happened. Well, at first nothing happened but then it very quickly did or at least I very much wanted it to happen but I thought it could never ever happen and forbid myself to even go there in my mind and now that it has happened, I couldn't be happier, even though…' Hermione rambled.
'Love, I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you are talking about. What happened? Or didn't happen? Where didn't your mind go?' Mrs. Granger interrupted her daughter.
'Sorry, as I said…nervous,' Hermione apologised sheepishly.
She took a deep breath and thought of how much she loved the woman at her side, 'I fell in love with Fleur. She's not just accompanying me, she's my girlfriend.'
Hermione stopped speaking to gauge her parents' reaction but they simply stared at her and she could feel the nervousness return tenfold.
'But…didn't you just say you were married?' Mr. Granger finally spoke and Fleur noticed how he had asked about her marital status but not commented on her gender. A good sign.
'Yes. I was. I still am, actually.' Fleur answered truthfully.
'So you're cheating on your husband with our daughter? Charming,' Mrs. Granger said disapprovingly, 'Hermione, I thought we had raised you better than that.'
'Mrs. Granger, please. The only reason that I am still married is because we 'ave no functioning Ministry and I simply can't get a divorce right now. It will probably be months until I can. Bill knows about us,' Fleur explained calmly.
'Mum, just let me explain, ok?' Hermione asked and waited for both her parents to nod.
'All the time I spent with Fleur and the way she cared for me and helped me get better; it showed me what a wonderful person Fleur is and I just couldn't help myself. It just happened. At first I tried to deny it, to talk myself out of it, to avoid Fleur altogether, to reason with myself, but none of it worked. There simply was no way to squash the feelings I had developed for her. And I hoped that maybe she felt the same way. So, before I left Shell Cottage to what I thought was certain death, I kissed her. I just had to. I didn't want to die without ever having kissed the woman I love. And as it turns out, I was right. Fleur does feel the same way. I'm happier than I ought to be, given how much we have all lost only a few days ago.'
'Oh, I'm sorry, Fleur. I jumped to conclusions,' Mrs. Granger apologised.
'So you are ok with me and Fleur?' Hermione asked.
'Yes, dear. Why wouldn't we be happy? I've always wondered about you and Ron but honestly, I'm very happy to hear you chose Fleur instead. I like the boy, but I don't think you two would have been happy for very long,' Mr. Granger said.
'So you don't mind that Fleur's a woman?' Hermione asked again.
'Oh Hermione, please. We accepted that you are a witch, that dragons are real, people come back from the dead and you can go back in time by turning a wheel on a pocket watch or whatever it was. Do you really think we care if you are with a man or a woman?' Mrs. Granger dismissed her daughters fears. Hermione was beyond happy.
'So, tell us, how long have you two been together, then?' Mr. Granger asked.
'Hmmm,' Hermione gathered her thoughts, 'I'm not sure how the time difference figures into this. It must be three or four days by now.'
'Oh dear, isn't this exciting? Finally, we get to hear something just after it happens and we don't have to wait for her to come home for the holidays!' Mrs. Granger enthused and smiled giddily at her husband.
'Then you should 'ear the really exciting news 'ermione 'as,' Fleur hinted and immediately had all the attention.
'You're not pregnant, are you?' Mr. Granger said without thinking.
'No Dad, you can relax. Fleur has not managed to get me pregnant yet. But I promise you, I'll tell you when it's relevant,' Hermione laughed.
'I think what Fleur means is the news that I will be going back to Hogwarts in September. I want to finish my education. So, I'm sorry but you will have to suffer through one more year of holiday visits only,' Hermione said.
Fleur cleared her throat in a demonstrative way.
'And I will be Head Girl,' Hermione added and received effusive congratulations from her parents. This was something they could understand and relate to.
'Do I really 'ave to clear my throat again?' Fleur asked. She was clearly amused by Hermione's sudden shyness about her successes.
'And I will be teaching the first two years in Transfiguration. Headmistress McGonagall asked me to be a full-time teacher after graduation,' Hermione concluded her list.
'Since 'ermione is apparently too modest to brag, I'll be doing it for 'er. Minerva 'as given 'er free choice of subjects to teach and actually offered her a full-time teaching position without graduating. She really seems to be the teacher's pet everyone said she was,' Fleur said, grinning at Hermione who playfully swatted her arm.
'This is fantastic, Hermione! We are so proud of you. You deserve it,' Mr. Granger beamed.
'And she was tasked with the drafting of a new curriculum of muggle school subjects and the pre-selection of qualified teachers to promote magical understanding of muggles,' Fleur concluded.
Hermione's parents were tripping over themselves congratulating and hugging their daughter. They were over the moon.
'Fleur is going to be the new potions teacher,' Hermione deflected the attention to her girlfriend and her parents congratulated her too.
''ave we forgotten to mention anything?' Fleur asked, searching her mind.
'Not really, I mean except Minerva basically making us move in together, so she can give my quarters to Ginny,' Hermione laughed as she remembered the mischievous look on the old witch's face at the prospect of giving her Quidditch star proper quarters.
'What do you mean, she made you move in together?' Mr. Granger asked, wondering if the school was short of dorms after the destruction in the war.
'Well, she knows about Fleur and me and she wondered if it would make more sense to use the Head Girl quarters for someone who will actually be spending time there,' Hermione explained.
'Isn't that a bit soon, dear? I mean, I understand you want to spend time with your girlfriend but living together is quite a big step. You're only together for four days. Don't you think that was a bit rushed?' Mrs. Granger wondered with concern.
'Uh oh,' Fleur said without thinking and immediately looked to Hermione, silently apologising for her unfiltered reaction.
'What do you mean "uh oh"? What is it?' Mr. Granger asked, looking back and forth between the two witches.
'Dad, calm down, please. It's no big deal. Before we got here, to Australia I mean, Fleur asked me to move in with her. She might even buy Shell Cottage in our name,' Hermione answered truthfully. She could feel that they were heading towards a steep decline in temperature but it was the truth and she wouldn't lie to her parents. Especially, not about anything that had to do with Fleur.
'You what? I mean, what? I…' Mr. Granger couldn't believe his ears. His daughter wanted to move in with her first girlfriend after they had been together for maybe four days.
'Hermione, please don't understand this the wrong way. I'm sure you fancy each other very much and everything feels wonderful. But you need to slow down a bit. Fleur is your first girlfriend and you haven't even been together a whole week,' Mrs. Granger tried to reason with her daughter.
'Mum, I don't fancy Fleur. I'm not thirteen. I love her,' Hermione started off. She took Fleur's hand and gave her a loving look.
'I truly love her. This is not some silly crush that I will forget about as soon as the next pretty girl comes my way. This is it, Mum. So tell me, why should I wait?'
'Because you're eighteen! How would you even know if this is it? You have your whole life ahead of you, what is the rush? I'm sure Fleur is a wonderful woman, at least that was my impression so far. But you don't know what the future holds. Be smart about this. Think about it,' Mr. Granger implored his daughter.
'I realise that wartimes breed much deeper connections in a much shorter time but you're so young. How do you know that this is the right choice? Don't you want to take a breath and re-think this decision. I'm sure Professor McGonagall would give you back the Head Girl quarters if you asked,' tried Mrs. Granger.
'You said, you want me to be happy. I'm happy with this decision. I will spend my life with Fleur. Wherever she is, I will be. For all I care we could go and marry tomorrow and it would still be the right thing,' Hermione said. She was growing a little bit exasperated with her parents' overprotective attitude.
'Really?' Fleur couldn't help but interject, raising an eyebrow.
'Yes, sorry. I know that wasn't very romantic and I assume at one point one of us will do this in a more suitable way but it is still the truth,' Hermione apologised for the ambush.
'Hermione, listen to yourself! You haven't been on a date yet and you're talking about marriage. You know I'm not religious but they are right about one thing. Marriage isn't just something you play at. It's real. It means something. You can't just try it out for a few months and then go back if you don't like it after all,' Mr. Granger reiterated.
'Fleur, if Hermione won't listen to reason, maybe you will. Don't do this to her. You have seen first hand what happens when you marry too young. Why can't you just take your time. Get to know each other better before you take such a big step. A good relationship needs trust and that can only be built with time,' Mrs. Granger tried a different route.
Hermione's frustration was building. She understood that her parents were concerned about the speed at which they were moving. She would be too if she were them. But she liked to believe that she would trust her daughter enough to let her make her own decisions.
She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. If she wanted to be taken seriously, she needed to be calm about this.
'Mum, Dad, I hear you. I really do. But do you really take me for someone who gives away her heart so carelessly? And as for trust, Mum, I don't think that there is anyone in the world I trust more than Fleur. If she told me to take a Killing Curse, I would. Because I know she would never let me come to harm. Can you say the same about Dad?' Hermione asked. She knew it was unfair to play them like that but she was reaching the end of her rope.
'Hermione, don't be dramatic. This alone shows me you're not ready for this. And just so you know, if it ever came to it, I would take a bullet for your mother, assuming that would be the muggle equivalent to this killing curse,' Mr. Granger said. Fleur could tell that he too was highly frustrated.
'Yes, Dad. But you would take that bullet despite knowing what could happen. The difference is that I would take that curse knowing nothing would happen to me. But this is useless. Fact is, I love Fleur and Fleur loves me and that won't stop for the next hundred years or however long we live. And that is exactly the point. However long we live. It could be over tomorrow. If this war has taught me anything it's that life is precious and only love makes it worth living. And that is precisely what I'm doing. Please, try and understand that I know what I'm doing.' Hermione pleaded.
'Love, you can't let yourself be guided by fear. You have seen unspeakable things and too many of your friends have died. But you can't let this fear of loss rule your life. Don't let the war win, now that it's over,' Mr. Granger tried one more time and it was one time too many.
Hermione exploded right in her parents' living room.
'Oh for fuck's sake, Dad. Screw the damn war! I don't care about the war. What I care about is Fleur and that you get it into your thick heads that I can do whatever I damn well please to do. And if it pleases me to move in with Fleur I will do that with or without your consent. Bloody hell!'
Then there was silence. Everyone present was too shocked by Hermione's choice words, even she herself. She sat back down mumbling apologies.
Mr. Granger was the first to recover, 'Alright, I'm the bad guy already. Let me play devil's advocate for a minute. What if you do all that you "damn well please to do" and in half a year you get your heart broken because maybe Fleur has fallen for someone else? We will always be there for you but we'd rather it not come to that. What if it happens during the school year? You won't even have a place to go without your own quarters.'
After Hermione's outbreak, everyone was trying to keep the conversation as calm as possible. They all knew there was no point in yelling.
'Mr. Granger, please understand that I would never break up with your daughter. I couldn't. It almost killed me the first time around and we weren't even together then,' Fleur tried to intervene.
'Nonsense? You can't break up with someone if you're not together! What happens when you realise that you don't love her anymore, when you get bored or fall in love with someone else? What then? Then it will be us who will help Hermione through it, us that will be dealing with her broken heart. So if you could please stay out of this,' Mr. Granger shot down Fleur's attempt at diplomacy.
'That is preposterous! And don't think just because it isn't my mother tongue that I 'aven't grasped the difference between "when" and "if". I understand that this has been a long day for you. There was much information that you probably still need time to process. But don't you trust your daughter's judgement at all?'
'No, I mean, yes. We do. It's not that we mind you two dating. We are just trying to look out for our girl. Is it really that hard to understand? We don't question her choice, we're just worried about the speed at which you two seem to be moving. It's not how we know Hermione. She's always been very guarded and careful,' said Mrs. Granger.
'And she still is. You may think that this is unlike 'ermione, rushing into things, not thinking them through. But you see, that's not true. She is still very much the same 'ermione you know. When she knows what she wants, she will get it. Impossible, is not a word she will accept. If there is no way to do it, she will make one. For whichever reason, I am what your daughter wants. She 'as waited long enough and now she 'as me,' Fleur tried her best.
'It's not that I don't believe you, you see? I trust you that you want only the best for our daughter. You've been honest and open about everything. I don't think you are lying about this now. But there is no way to look into the future. We just don't want our daughter to be hurting, when it would've been preventable, simply by taking some time to reflect. This may sound harsh but Hermione is our daughter. If she leaves you one day, it will probably hard for her too but she'll get over it. If one day you leave her, she will probably be devastated. I don't want that for her,' Mrs. Granger explained.
Hermione laughed. Relief was written all over her.
'Oh Mum, if that is all that bothers you, then you can stop now. Fleur won't leave me. Ever. She can't. Well, I guess, technically she can but she will have to do it while she is still in love with me, which seems unlikely to me. Do you want to explain it? It's your heritage after all,' Hermione said and looked to Fleur. She could imagine the puzzled look on her parents' faces, there was no need to see.
'Alright, since it seems today is the day we dump every sort of information on your parents, let's not leave this one out,' Fleur agreed.
'I am not one 'undred percent 'uman,' Fleur began, obviously confusing the muggles in front of her, 'I am a quarter Veela. Veela are distant cousins of Sirens or Nymphs to speak in terms of muggle mythology. But before you get concerned, I did not coerce 'ermione into anything. I can't sing to save my life and I 'ave no other abilities to make your daughter do my bidding. Full-blooded Veela are very beautiful creatures that 'ave a lot of peculiar attributes, but the most important one for you right now is that they mate for life. Every Veela 'as what muggles would call a soulmate. They won't know love or 'appiness until they find them. There are a lot of myths and rumours about Veela and only 'alf of them are true, but my grandmother, who is a full blooded Veela, 'as shown me that this part is true,' Fleur explained as best as she could, and she was never happier than now to have read so many muggle books.
'So you and my daughter…you are, what did you call it? Mates?' Mr. Granger asked, still catching up.
'As I said, I am only a quarter Veela, so things are a little bit diluted, but it amounts to the same thing. I love your daughter and while she might at one point fall for someone else, I don't 'ave this liberty,' Fleur ended her explanations. Both, Hermione and Fleur remained silent, waiting anxiously for her parent's reaction. If this didn't convince them, nothing would.
'This is a lot to digest in one go,' Mrs. Granger said, 'and it will take a while until I can wrap my head around the whole Veela business, but I thank you for being honest with us and explaining why you two are so sure about your relationship. I think I can understand it a little bit better now. Although my instincts still want you to go slow, I recognise that you two went into a relationship knowing it wouldn't ever end. At least for one of you. Why didn't you tell us that an hour ago?'
'Because I didn't want you to accept my choice because Fleur is practically bound to me by magic,' Hermione answered and couldn't quite keep the disappointment out of her voice. She knew she had no right to be, especially after what she had done to them but it was there.
'I'm so sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to be ignorant. But you realise that your own stubbornness has to come from somewhere, right?' Mrs. Granger apologised.
'I'm not stubborn,' Hermione protested for show.
'Yes, I want to apologise too, in particular to you, Fleur. It was unfair of us to give you two such a hard time. We should've trusted you. We should've trusted ourselves that we have raised a responsible woman who knows what she wants. Fleur, officially, here and now, welcome to the family,' Mr. Granger said and hugged Fleur. To say that the French witch was surprised wasn't quite cutting it. However, she couldn't say she didn't like it. Hermione was relieved. It was over. There was nothing else to drop on them and everything had turned out fine in the end. Hermione snuggled into Fleur and yawned.
'Thank you for being so accepting about all of this. It can't be easy, especially the creature part,' Fleur replied.
'We will want to know everything about you and your family. Your accent is so faint, I couldn't tell where you're from at first, but combined with your name, it's an easy guess. But I'm afraid it will have to wait until tomorrow, or more precisely, later today. I am dead tired and I'm sure you are too. The surgery is closed tomorrow, so we have all the time in the world,' Mr. Granger announced.
She insisted on them sleeping in the guest room, even if it was full of boxes that they had meant to put in storage but never had.
'I assume you won't mind sharing a bed, but please be aware that our room is just through this wall and they are paper thin,' Mrs. Granger warned them and both witches' faces turned red in an instant. Chuckling to herself, she left the room and went to bed.
Hermione and Fleur were tired too, but before they could find the sleep they needed, Hermione had to get some things off her chest. She rolled around and lying half on top of her girlfriend she studied her face.
'Thank you, Fleur. I don't think that I could've done this without you,' she said and gave Fleur a simple kiss on the lips.
'There is nothing to thank me for, chérie. I am just glad that your parents are such accepting people, but I probably shouldn't be surprised by it. After all, they raised you,' Fleur replied and kissed Hermione back.
'You know when you stood up to my Dad and later, when you explained the magical world for them in muggle terms, that was really sexy,' Hermione said seductively.
'On a scale of one to eleven, 'ow sexy exactly?' Fleur purred.
'Hmm, twelve. You get extra points for apparently knowing muggle pop culture,' Hermione answered in kind.
'Is there a reward for being so amazing?' Fleur asked.
Hermione snuck her hand under Fleur's top and cupped her breast.
Fleur closed her eyes and enjoyed the attention.
'Do you like your reward?' Hermione innocently inquired.
'Mm hmm,' Fleur nodded.
'PAPER THIN!' Mrs. Granger yelled through the wall and the two witches jumped apart faster than lightning.
'Merlin, kill me now,' Hermione groaned and she could hear her parents chuckle through the wall.
Fleur's ears were fire red. She couldn't believe Hermione's parents had heard them the whole time.
Silently, Fleur pulled Hermione back to her and gave her a good night kiss. They snuggled up in each other's arms and fell asleep very soon after.