Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, well… yeah… lots o' stuff would be different… Harry would probably be a chick… and Hermione would be described as being more beautiful… and there'd be more relationships than just action/adventure… god I wish I owned Harry Potter… shakes fist at J. K. Rowling

Authors Note: Well, at the time of my starting this part, I have two reviews, both of which are positive and complimentary. I thank you who have complimented me, and as a reward, I'm continuing the story. I would have still continued it, but now I have more than just internal motivation to do it. Anyway, enough with the notes; on with the story!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Speaking entirely in French"

Narrative

At A Glance

Chapter 2: Premises at a glance

Hermione felt utterly terrible. She hadn't slept that night… she more of, well, 'passed out for a prolonged length of time'. After all, sleep was normally refreshing; passing out royally sucked and tended to make the situation worse. If her brain had shut up, which she normally didn't wish it to do, then she might have been able to sleep. But no, she couldn't stop herself from thinking… about a certain French 'flower', that is.

Whether Ginny had known it or not, she had started a train of thought that was moving nonstop across the railroad of Hermione's mind. The rumors were what had gotten her mind going, and upon asking Ginny, and later Ron and Harry, what they had heard, she had realized that, though false, a lot of the rumors were based on fact. Well, more or less on fact anyway. True, she hadn't dated anyone, nor did she show interest in any boy so far. She was not bothered by hanging around and being 'one of the guys' with Ron and Harry. True, she did seem a bit closer to Ginny than most others, but then again, Harry and Ron were close, and she was sure as hell that they weren't dating.

However, none of those things necessarily meant she was gay. Sure, she was more tomboyish, but so was Ginny, more than herself in fact, and nobody had thought she was a lesbian stereotype or whatnot. Then again, Ginny was rather infatuated with Harry… and it was also rather obvious. Hermione was a bit harsher on guys when it came to their actions, she concluded, but that didn't necessarily mean she favored the fairer of the sexes. It simply meant that she was hanging around boys like Ron and Harry too much, as they had a rather professional tendency to get into trouble and do outrageously stupid things. Still, Hermione saw how it could possibly be taken the wrong way, but even then she could have never conceived the idea that those minor things could hint at something like the one rumor she heard about her and some Slytherin girl whose name she couldn't even place. Even thinking about that particular rumor made her cringe and shiver in absolute disgust.

Still, none of those things bothered her like the thoughts about Fleur did. The other concerns made sense, and didn't really impact her that much. She didn't care that much about trivial school-day reputations… unless it was a record of deviance and disorder and the like that would plague her for the rest of her life. But the thoughts, and occasional daydreams and dreams, she'd had about Fleur throughout the day were not 'rational' in the slightest. She had seen the girl twice, twice, and she was daydreaming about her like she was dreaming about a-

'NO! I'm not even going to think that word!' Hermione stopped herself as she tried to focus back on her arithmancy 'Now, given x for the primary archaic algorithm… wow… this is going to be long… Fleur had some nice, long legs…'

"Bugger!" Hermione shouted aloud, slamming her hand on her pseudo-desk and bothering everyone in the Gryffindor commons from their work, conversations, and games.

"You all right there Hermione?" Harry asked from his place on the losing end of a wizard chess board "You've been like this all day."

"I don't think I've been shouting out random curses all day, thank you very much." Hermione said with a frown, clearly missing the point in her anger.

"Actually, I meant that you've been, well, distracted. Hell, you didn't even answer any of the questions in Moody's class, and you've yet to… 'ask'… anyone to join S.P.E.W." Harry explained.

"Thank god." Ron muttered at the latter part.

"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well." Hermione stated as she went back to her arithmancy "I guess I'm not feeling that great as well."

A few moments passed in relative silence, except for the sound of movement behind Hermione. Then she saw a shadow over her right side and let out a sigh. Why did nobody listen to her when she said, or hinted at, the fact that she wanted to be alone?

"Yes Harry?"

"Hermione, does this have to do with what you asked Ron and I earlier?" Harry asked softly, careful not to raise his voice loud enough to catch anyone's attention.

Hermione was silent for a bit, then let out yet another sigh.

"Yes… well… somewhat." Hermione admitted "It's more complicated than just that…"

"That's not like you Hermione." Harry said as he sat against the table she was at "You've never let rumors and all that bollocks get to you before, when'd you start getting bothered by it?"

"I'm not bothered by it." Hermione insisted rather firmly "I said 'it's more complicated than that' for a reason."

"Well, is there any way I can help out?" Harry asked politely.

"I'm quite alright; don't worry about me." Hermione insisted as she tried to focus on her arithmancy again "I'm more than capable of solving this… 'problem'."

"Alright then, but my offer still stands." Harry said with a small smile crossing his features "I wouldn't want one of my best mates to feel as though they have to solve a problem like this on their own."

Mostly out of being polite, but also partly out of sincere gratitude, Hermione returned the smile.

"Thanks Harry."

"Oi! Harry! You ready to play again?" Ron called from the other end of the commons.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Harry replied as he got up from his place at the tables edge, and made his way to the game he was certain he was going to lose at.

Hermione sighed again when he left, once again attempting to work on her arithmancy. However, she'd find that she couldn't stop thinking about two things now: Fleur Delacour, and also her friends' advice… and more specifically, how they seemed to appear to know exactly what she was thinking whenever they questioned her…

Later…

Hermione made sure she was facing the exact opposite way of the Ravenclaw table when it came time for dinner. Her mind was now aflutter with so many thoughts that even she was having problems containing them. It wasn't as if their trip down to see Hagrid had made things any easier…

Flashback…

"Hermione, can I have a word with ya?" Hagrid had asked her as they began to make their way to the castle.

'No… you have got to be kidding me…' Hermione thought with a dreaded look that quickly disappeared as she turned to face Hagrid 'Hagrid too?'

"Yes Hagrid?" she asked calmly as the two other boys left.

"Are ya feeling alright? Ya seemed to be lost to me for a few moments there." Hagrid asked quietly… or as quiet as he possibly could anyway "Anything ya need to talk 'bout?"

"No Hagrid, I'm fine." Hermione said, making sure to emphasize 'fine' rather heavily "Any problem I could possibly have would have been taken care of by now."

Unless she was mistaken, Hagrid seemed to pity her for a fleeting moment. It might have just been her imagination though.

"Alright then." He said with a weak smile similar to the one's she'd been getting rather frequently as he set an oversized hand on her shoulder "I just hope you come to grips with whatever might be plaguing ya soon."

Hermione was unable to think of a reply, instead opting to stare at the half-giant as he walked up to the castle to 'accidentally' run into Madame Maxime.

End Flashback…

'Does everyone at this school think I'm gay? Even my friends?' Hermione thought to herself rather angrily 'Next thing you know, Malfoy'll be coming up to insult me with a whole new slew insults about me being a lesbian… won't that be just one bloody good-'

"-Hermione!" Ginny was shouting, shaking Hermione rather roughly from her own thoughts.

"Lord, Ginny! What's the problem?" Hermione hissed through her irritation.

"They're about to draw the competitors for the Triwizard tournament!" Ron explained as his gaze was focused on the Ravenclaw table at one person in particular "I bet Fleur's going to be the one for Beauxbatons…"

Despite her tries to stop herself, Hermione turned around ever so slightly, glancing back at the Ravenclaw table from the corner of her eye. She noticed a certain blonde girl, and much like Ron had pointed out at one point, she did have a sort of… inhuman beauty to her. It could have been veela, which would have explained why all the boys were so drawn to her.

'But then, why was I drawn to her? Why did I react that way? A veela's thrall has no effect on those of the same gender as the veela…' Hermione thought in confusion as she turned more to look at Fleur 'Well, at least that's what I think I read about it...'

After a moment though, she saw a pair of eyes meeting hers exactly, and after another moment Hermione realized that Fleur was looking right back at her! Hermione's eyes shot open once more, and her face likened to a tomato as she saw the grin spread across the platinum blonde's face. She turned around to face a Harry who was suppressing a smirk that, luckily, went unnoticed by the thoroughly embarrassed and confused brunette.

"I think she just winked at me!" Ron said excitedly to their small group "Harry, did you see-"

"I highly doubt she was winking at you." Hermione stated, her voice clearly that of irritation, despite her nearly overwhelming embarrassment.

Luckily Ron appeared to ignore her, simply choosing to stare at Fleur with a love-struck expression. For some reason though, Hermione found herself irritated by that, and not even entirely sure why. Had Hermione been paying attention to Harry and Ginny though, she might have seen that, after a fleeting smirk, they too glared at Ron, though for a different reason. It also didn't help that Fleur Delacour became Beauxbatons' Champion not too long after that. Viktor Krum became the Durmstrang Champion, and Cedric Diggory became the Hogwarts Champion. Then, all hell broke loose when a fourth name was called: Harry Potter.

Later…

Hermione couldn't sleep again; she knew that she'd eventually 'pass out' instead, but she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Though it was at great risk to her permanent record, Hermione decided to leave the confines of Gryffindor tower, knowing that the Fat Lady wouldn't cause her any problems for leaving, or returning later. Silently, she made her way through the corridors to the grounds, where she sat in the cool air to try to ease her mind a bit.

She wasn't sure just how long she was out there before the sound of footsteps in the grass alerted her that she was caught, most likely by a teacher. She swore under her breath, and turned around slowly, starting to apologize as she did so.

"Professor, honestly, I-"

"You are that girl from last night, oui?" a soft, melodic French voice asked Hermione, who simply froze where she stood.

Before her stood a platinum blonde with beautiful blue eyes that were just slightly darker than the Beauxbatons uniform that she wore. The uniform was heavier than the first one Hermione had seen, but she didn't exactly notice that at the moment. She was too transfixed on the girl's face, and was too neurotic to boot.

"…Fleur?" Hermione half asked with a shaky tone "What are you-"

"I think we both have the same reason, non?" Fleur replied with a smirk that revealed her brilliant white smile "We couldn't sleep, and thought a nice walk would be necessary to clear our heads."

"That's… about right." Hermione conceded, but didn't know what else to say.

"Your name, mademoiselle?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione responded with a confused look.

"You already know my name, now what is yours?" Fleur explained with a smile.

"Oh… oh! Where are my manners! Hermione Granger." Hermione managed after a slow start and a glowing face "I'm sorry, I should have-"

"It is no problem, Hermione" Fleur interrupted in French with a dismissive wave of her hand "Boys do that to me all the time, as well as the occasional girl."

Hermione frowned; she didn't quite like what Fleur was insinuating with that statement. Fleur didn't seem to pay the frown any mind as she sat down next to Hermione, sitting unusually close for what Hermione was used to and felt comfortable with.

'It must be normal to her though; the French have less problems with more intima… with less 'personal space'.' Hermione rationalized in order to quell the mysterious clenching in her stomach brought about by nerves.

They sat in silence for a bit, and Hermione tried her damnedest to not stare at Fleur. That in itself was a feat difficult to perform; they were alone, outside, where nobody should walk over and intrude on them, and even with the 'heavy' Beauxbatons uniform, the girl still had curves that could kill. Feeling her uneasiness begin to grow more and more, Hermione quickly thought up something to spark conversation in the hopes of distracting herself from her feelings.

"So… Fleur… how are you enjoying Hogwarts so far?" Hermione asked softly.

"Well, Madamoiselle Granger, it is too cold here." Fleur began with as she gestured to the length of her skirt and the thickness of her cloak "The food is much heavier than what I'm used to, and the castle itself is dark and dreary. Beauxbatons is more of a palace than a castle like this, and it is much warmer too."

"…I see…" Hermione said, a hint of annoyance to her voice.

"On the other hand though, Hogwarts is quite interesting. The classes I've sat in on are just as good as Beauxbatons' own, and the eccentricities of the castle itself are far more interesting than Beauxbatons' ever was." Fleur continued before smiling and shifting her gaze to Hermione "I find the people to be the most interesting though."

Hermione felt herself blush under the gaze of the older girl, and she quickly looked away.

"We're interesting? I suppose I'm just used to everyone is all." Hermione stated, though her mind had wanted her to say 'I find you interesting as well.'

"Oui, you are quite interesting." Fleur said, her smile unchanging.

Hermione couldn't help but wonder: did she mean 'you' as in Hogwarts' population, or 'you' as in she alone? Well, at least part of her was thinking that, and the other half was berating those thoughts and attempting to beat them back forcefully.

"…I know this might be a bit forward… but are you half-veela, by chance?" Hermione asked out of the blue, seemingly appeasing the half of her brain she was trying to suppress.

"Non." Fleur answered quickly, and before Hermione could respond, she answered again "I am one-quarter veela, from my grandmother."

'Well, that explains why all the boys are crazy about her when she's around…' Hermione thought to herself, but the response brought up another question that she needed to have answered.

"So… that means you have a veela's thrall… right?"

"Oui, though it is rather weak compared to a full-blooded veela's." Fleur responded without a single change in her expression "And non, it only works on males."

'Dammit!' was one of her thoughts, while the other one was 'YES!!'

"Oh, alright." Hermione managed to get out as she realized that her 'confusion' was about to get all the more complicated "I should probably be heading back; I have classes early tomorrow."

Translation: Hermione was beginning to run out of things to say, and was slowly realizing that being around the source of her 'problem' wasn't exactly helping her to 'solve' it.

"Oui, that is a good idea." Fleur responded as the two of them stood up "It was nice talking with you, Hermione. I do hope we get the chance to do so again."

"Y-yeah, it was… fun." Hermione squeaked as her cheeks tried to turn scarlet.

Then, Hermione's face turned scarlet when Fleur did something that couldn't have been explained even by her French heritage and customs: she bent down slightly and planted a kiss on Hermione's cheek. It wasn't a terribly long kiss, but it was still one all the same that left Hermione frozen like a statue for a significant amount of time. A smiling Fleur would leave without a word, leaving Hermione to her, rather minimal, thoughts.

'…I think I need to talk to Harry tomorrow…'

Authors Note: Well, a bit longer than the last chapter, and I'll go ahead and state that chapters will be of no standard length, so don't expect any. As I feel I'll be questioned about the part with Fleur, let's face it: Fleur is the type of girl who is straight-forward, to the point, and has the courage to go after what she wants. That is why she was so forward with Hermione. That, and it's nice to torture Hermione for a bit until she figures things out. As usual, please review and offer any suggestions you wish to. All are appreciated.

Note 2.0: I would also like to personally thank all (at the time of the posting) 9 reviewers for their wonderful compliments. I was worried I was doing horribly or whatnot, but you all have personally restored my confidence in this, and for that, and if you keep up the replies (praise or criticism, or both), I'll tack on either 2 post-series epilogues, or one 2-section post-series epilogue. Hell, I might even do it anyway, just for fun.