A/N: Yes! Another chapter already! I'm back to work next week so wallowing in Fleurmione as a coping mechanism hahah. I love reading your reviews! Your long suffering souls will be proud to notice that today I also finally worked out how to do page breaks, so enjoy x
Hermione woke to Ginny bursting into her room and throwing herself on her bed.
"Urghhhhh… Gin…." Hermione moaned, "Let me sleep…"
"No time, 'Mione! You've got to owl Fleur about that date!" Ginny urged, wrenching away the pillow Hermione was desperately trying to pull over her head.
Hermione sat up suddenly at the memory of asking Fleur out last night, "the date!"
"Yeah, Hermione," Ginny said producing a scrap of parchment and a quill, "Trust me, you don't want Cho getting in there before you…"
Hermione tapped at the end of the quill thoughtfully before scribbling a hasty note asking Fleur to go out with her the following Thursday night. Her and Ginny scrambled out to the living room to attach it to Hedwig and send it out before Hermione could chicken out.
Hedwig returned before lunchtime with a neat response looped on the bottom of Hermione's note: "Oui. -F."
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The week raced by and before Hermione knew it, it was Thursday. She had arranged to meet Fleur at 7.30pm outside a bar. She was standing there, nervous, in a tidy dress and her curls as controlled as they could be. She checked her watch, her stomach in knots. 7.35pm.
As she looked up, she smelt the aroma of vanilla and flowers as Fleur arrived. Hermione's jaw dropped. Her hair and makeup was flawless and she was wearing another pair of killer heels. Her dress was loose and simple, but showed off her incredible figure well.
"Well, Hermione," Fleur said coolly, "What have you got in mind for us? A London bar?"
"No actually, I just wanted to pick somewhere central to meet," Hermione said, smiling. She turned and went down a small alleyway which seemed to get narrower and narrower until suddenly they were in the middle of a bustling London street. It was very crowded with the Thursday evening crowds jostling. Hermione took Fleur's hand so as not to lose her in the crowd, smiling at the familiar warm feeling of holding Fleur's hand. It had been so long.
They looped through the streets in muggle London before Hermione ducked them off the footpath and into a small Italian bistro.
"Hermione, I don't have any muggle currency," Fleur started and Hermione gave a dismissive wave as they made their way to secluded table and sat down. Muggles did not seem to be affected by Fleur's thrall and they were mercifully left alone, Hermione ordering a bottle of wine from the waiter before turning her attention to Fleur.
"I tried to see you that night at Hogwarts…" Hermione began, as Fleur sipped her wine silently, "And again at Gringotts soon after I moved here…"
"Yes, Bill told me. I'm sorry, but I didn't want to see you then."
"Fleur, I know I've already said this a few times, but the thing with Ron… We were on the road for so long. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see you again… Or if you even still cared about me…"
Fleur sighed and put down her glass.
"Of course I cared, Hermione. I'd never felt that way about anyone before you…"
"Felt? As in past tense?" Hermione asked, worry in her voice.
"You really hurt me, Hermione. You didn't even ask me to come with you," Fleur said slowly, "I have a long history of people showing interest in me and leaving as soon as they have their conquest… It made me feel like you didn't have any deeper feelings for me… And I suppose how could I expect you to? We had only shared a few moments together over the space of many months… it would be ridiculous for me to assume you felt the same way."
"Fleur, I never stopped thinking about you," Hermione said earnestly, before taking another sip of her wine. Fleur gave a small sad smile and a silence fell over the table.
Hermione cleared her throat, "So, you think Cho is interested in you as more than a conquest then?"
Fleur laughed. Hermione swooned at the sound of Fleur's laugh again.
"You are jealous, Hermione?"
"Of course I am, I wanted to hex her the minute I saw her hands wandering all over you!" Hermione blurted.
Fleur was smiling widely now.
"Its cute when you're jealous, you know"
Hermione smiled too.
The food at the bistro was delicious, and the wine even better. Hermione paid for the meal with a handful of muggle money and then set out with Fleur to stroll home slowly through the night air.
"You know, after everything with the war," Hermione said thoughtfully, "I just think its important to go after what means the most to you…" She shyly reached down and took Fleur's hand in hers. Fleur didn't pull away.
"I even told Ginny and Harry about how I feel…" Hermione said, "And I know it sounds stupid, but I'm psyching myself up to tell others too…" She looked over and Fleur was smiling.
Eventually they ended up standing outside a closed shop, halfway between Hermione's apartment and the area where Fleur said she lived. Hermione was still holding Fleur's hand. Hermione took a deep breath.
"Fleur, please cancel your date with Cho," Hermione said, looking at Fleur pleadingly.
"I've already had it," Fleur responded, and Hermione's stomach sank.
"And?"
"And I think I should go after what means the most to me…" Fleur murmured, leaning forward and kissing Hermione softly on the lips.
When they parted Hermione stared deeply into Fleur's deep blue eyes, where she saw a flicker. In a second, Fleur had pressed her lips against hers again, harder. Hermione snaked her arms around Fleur's waist as Fleur pushed her against the wall of the closed shop. Fleur's tongue traced Hermione's bottom lip, begging for permission that Hermione happily gave. As Hermione felt Fleur's tongue enter her mouth and slide against her tongue she felt the electric feeling coursing through her body that she had felt those times previous with Fleur.
Finally, the two pulled apart again, Hermione's arms still around Fleur. Their faces were close, almost touching, and both were breathless.
"Meet me for lunch tomorrow?" Hermione asked, staring into Fleur's eyes.
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Fleur did meet Hermione for lunch on Friday, and also for dinner on Friday. Hermione took her to another muggle restaurant and then to a muggle cinema to watch a film. Fleur found it a fantastic novelty, and it was refreshing not having any wizarding people approach them, attracted by Fleur's thrall or Hermione's post-war fame. In the theatre they held hands and shared more fervent kisses. As Hermione rested her head on Fleur's shoulder, she felt incredibly content.
After the film, Hermione walked home hand in hand with Fleur, completely happy for the first time in a long time.
"So, do you want to get brunch tomorrow?" Hermione asked, smiling at Fleur.
"Ah, I have brunch plans with Remus and Bill tomorrow," Fleur replied apologetically, "But Remus and Bill are having drinks again at their place tomorrow. You're more than welcome to join us for that."
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Harry, Ginny and Ron didn't take much convincing to join Hermione for the second party at Remus and Bill's in as many weeks. As Ron went to change his shirt for the evening, Ginny elbowed Hermione slyly and Harry grinned at her.
"So its going well then?" Ginny asked cheekily. Hermione smiled shyly, but before she could answer, Ron had ambled back into the room, ready to apparate.
As they arrived at Remus and Bill's, they were relieved to see that it was nowhere near as crowded as the previous week. There were people milling around with plenty of space to spare. For the occasion, Remus had enchanted the ceiling of the apartment to look like dark clouds lighting up with lightning.
"Merlin, I hate lightning," Ron muttered, ducking into the bathroom while the others headed to the kitchen.
As the others reached the kitchen, Hermione spotted Fleur standing nearby, dressed in a simple powder-blue dress. The dress reminded Hermione of the first time she had ever seen Fleur, as a young student in the Triwizard Tournament representing Beauxbatons. Fleur was standing next to Bill and Remus, who once again looked like they were more advanced in their drinks than the rest of their guests.
She approached Fleur, who smiled when she saw her.
"Hermione, I'm glad you could come."
Bill elbowed Remus and smiled as they watched Fleur take Hermione's hand.
"Shall I get us some drinks?" Fleur purred, kissing Hermione on the cheek softly before gliding into the kitchen.
"So you've patched things up then," Bill smiled at Hermione, "She's been in a much better mood since your date on Thursday night so you must have done something right."
Hermione beamed happily. Remus giggled drunkenly.
"Yeah we were beginning to get a bit sick of…" he trailed off as Bill elbowed him again, hard.
Hermione took no notice of the drunken couple and turned to watch the vision that was Fleur walking back towards her, hips swaying slightly, two glasses of wine in hand.
"I bought a bottle of the wine we had on our date," Fleur said happily, "Who knew muggles made great wine."
They were just having their first sips when Cho Chang emerged from a group of chattering witches nearby and approached them.
"So, Fleur, you haven't been replying to my owls…" she said, blushing, yet suspiciously eying Hermione.
Hermione watched as Bill and Remus stiffened, so drunk they were acting like caricatures.
Fleur didn't say anything and took a long sip of her wine.
"Fleur, I thought our date went well…" Cho said, beginning to get agitated.
Hermione was really getting sick of Cho, especially after she had shoved her at the last party.
"Cho, maybe it didn't go as well as you thought it did," Hermione said smugly, watching Bill and Remus look from Cho to Hermione as if it were a tennis match.
Cho folded her arms, "well it went well enough for her to take me home for the night, so you tell me, Granger."
Hermione felt like she had just taken a heavy punch to the stomach and looked at Fleur, whose face was unreadable. Cho had turned to Fleur now.
"Seriously, Fleur, if you wanted to keep treating me like your fuckbuddy you should never have accepted the date in the first place!"
Hermione looked at Bill and Remus, frantically looking for evidence that what Cho was saying was true. Bill's eyebrows were raised so far they were almost hidden in his hairline and Remus was uncomfortably biting on a fist as if he was trying to stop himself from saying something. Hermione looked at Cho again, and noticed for the first time three small dark lovebites on Cho's neck. Fleur's icy poker face was beginning to betray a hint of guilt.
Hermione thought she was about to throw up and turned and strode towards the door. She couldn't tell if Fleur, Bill or Remus called her name because of the roaring in her ears. She whipped past the kitchen without stopping to talk to Harry or Ginny. She had just about got to the door to leave when Ron emerged from the bathroom.
"Yeah, yeah, I wasn't in there THAT long," he said defensively, before noticing Hermione's face.
"'Mione, what's wrong?"
"I just need to get out of here, Ron"
Ron slung an arm around her protectively and they apparated back to their apartment. He looked at her with a face full of concern, "are you gonna tell me what's wrong now, 'Mione?"
Hermione said nothing, instead, wrapping her arms around Ron and burying her face into his shoulder to sob. Ron said nothing, just holding her, until she tired herself out enough to stop crying. Then, he led her to her room, put her to bed and kissed her on the forehead before heading to his room.