Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter… well… I'd actually have money. I can't remember if I've used that one before or not… oh well
Authors Note: Ok, the only 'complaint' I received about the last chapter was regarding it's length. Like I said before: my chapters have no set length, so they can be anywhere from 2000 (my minimum) to 10000 if I can pull it off before needing a new chapter. Anyway, this one took a bit longer due to my having a job on the weekends… including Friday, and because this chapter will be a bit longer than most others due to it's subject. Anyway, let us begin…
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Speaking entirely in French"
Narrative
At A Glance
Chapter 8: Rescues at a glance
Hermione never actually found out what Fleur and Ron had talked about, as neither one would give up any details. She did notice that Ron was, most likely, on the losing end of a major argument, as he seemed quiet and withdrawn around Fleur and herself, most likely out of embarrassment. Fleur didn't rub it in though, which all involved were thankful for. Hell, whatever she had said to him before was clearly enough to get him to knock off his normal tirade.
Over the next few days, Ron seemed to become a bit more, well, normal. Hermione did note that he seemed a lot friendlier to Fleur after a while, and though she had suspicions that her thrall had something to do with it to start with, she quickly realized that Ron was beginning to act that way all the time, not just when Fleur was around. Besides, if it was her thrall, then Harry would also have been affected, which he wasn't.
The days dragged on a bit, four days passing before the rest of the students finally returned from winter break. As Hermione expected, she was met with a flurry of questions, congratulations, and supportive comments, as well as becoming the topic of a fair bit of discussion. Hermione didn't feel so bad about it this time, and of course Fleur wasn't fazed in the slightest. It did surprise her when a few girls came up and asked her if she 'thought they were hot', simply to see if they 'looked so good that even other girls would fall head over heels for us'. Hermione made sure to deliberately ignore them whenever they were nearby.
Then of course, there was the rest of the returning Slytherins that were a nuance. It appeared that the vast majority, including Malfoy and his 'crew', did not find Hermione's situation the least bit positive. No, the glares, and occasional comments, made Hermione, and occasionally Fleur, want to blow them to pieces with a well placed blasting curse. A few Ravenclaw students held less drastic opinions of her, but most didn't seem fazed either way. Hufflepuff students were almost entirely supportive, as was her home house of Gryffindor. Overall, she figured she had gotten off with the best of the possibilities.
Then the issue with Hagrid's heritage being outed by Rita Skeeter arose, and all five of those involved were utterly furious with that 'damnable Skeeter woman'. Hermione and Fleur were the most upset of them all, the former because she was put down due to her own muggle heritage quite often, and the latter because she could directly commiserate with Hagrid. She was a 'half-breed', as many would refer to her behind her back, and she knew how hard it was when you are not only a half-blood, or three-quarter-blood in Fleur's case, but are also made to look like a despicable person. Still, Hagrid wouldn't even teach class or see them, so they couldn't really do much at that moment.
Then the next Hogsmeade trip arrived a couple of days later, but Fleur couldn't manage to find special permission to go as well. As such, everyone left, which gave Fleur and Hermione plenty of free time together. However, there really wasn't too much for them to do around the castle at the time. Luckily, they eventually found something to do for the day that was both fun and constructive in numerous ways.
"Expelliarmus!" Fleur shouted, wand drawn and extended before Hermione was ready.
Dodging the spell, Hermione was ready this time.
"Impedimenta!"
"Finite Incantatem!" Fleur shouted, countering the impediment spell "Incarcerous!"
Hermione opted to dodge that one again, but it was only barely that she managed it.
"Petrificus To-" Hermione began, but she suddenly found her legs locked together after an unexpected flash of light, sending her to the ground in an instant "-ow!"
"Non-verbal spells." Fleur said proudly "They are the best choice for dueling."
"I can see why…" Hermione said as she pried herself out of the dirt, muttering the counter to the Leg-locking curse so she could move again "That's another win for you…"
"You sound so downtrodden." Fleur said, her smile weakening as she offered Hermione a hand up "You should not be so. You are very skilled for your age, and I am three years your senior and a practiced duelist. Even then, you provide a good challenge."
"I know, but it just doesn't do too well to lose seventeen times in a row." Hermione replied as she accepted the hand up "I'm supposed to be the 'brightest witch in all of Hogwarts', yet I can't even land a hit."
"Remember what I said that day in the library?" Fleur asked, not releasing Hermione's hand after she made it to her feet "'Skill is not determined by experience alone', remember? In this case, we are both naturally talented, but I have more experience and practice that gives me an advantage."
"I know… I'm just not used to losing is all." Hermione admitted in embarrassment "I don't particularly like failure…"
"Nobody does." Fleur stated as she bent down to Hermione's level, given that she was taller than the girl by a decent margin "But it's only failing if you quit, mon cheri."
Hermione smiled, then softly answered Fleur's silent request and kissed her softly. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was still a pleasant one.
"As overused as that was, you're right." Hermione said with a grin "I think I just came up with a way to win though."
"Oh? What would that-" Fleur began, but then felt something thin and pointed press into her stomach "…that is cheap…"
"But it works." Hermione replied, tugging on the hand that she still held "Round eighteen?"
"Nineteen; consider this 'round' your win." Fleur said with a grin, moments before kissing Hermione again, though she was the one taking the initiative this time.
'Finally! I get to kiss her!' Fleur's mind shouted as Hermione returned the kiss wholeheartedly.
Over a Month Later…
After the second confrontation between Harry and Rita Skeeter, and after talking to Hagrid finally, all seemed to return to normal. Hermione did find herself another thing to consider: how was Skeeter getting this information? She wasn't even allowed on the school grounds, so she had to have an informant… or another way to get in unnoticed.
On another note, Harry and Fleur both needed to train for the Triwizard tournament, and both needed a way to get 'that which was lost' from under water. Fleur had the Bubble-head Charm of course, but Harry didn't know that spell. Then there was the matter of being able to see under murky waters, and then being able to fight under water, and communicate…
"Come on Harry! One more go and-"
"Hermione, I've nearly drowned my self on purpose eight times trying to get this spell to last more than ten minutes." Harry stated, soaking wet and dressed in only swimwear to reveal his lanky form "I don't think I'm going to get this right by tomorrow."
"But what else can we do Harry?" Hermione asked in exasperation from her spot on the shore of the lake "You don't have any practice with self transfiguration, and it's not like you can configure scuba gear that has actual air in it."
"Well, you and you're girlfriend are the 'smart' ones, so come up with a bloody idea!" Harry responded in irritation as he glanced about "Is she still underwater?"
"Yeah, but I'm starting to get worried." Hermione admitted honestly "It's been well over an hour now…"
"She's fine. Besides, she'd have floated up by now if she weren't." Harry said as he swam to the shoreline "Mind if we talk for a bit?"
"You should be practicing, not talking."
"Like it'll do me any good at this point." Harry said as he climbed out of the water "I'll just have to be really fast tomorrow, or pray for a miracle."
Hermione let out a sigh; she knew Harry was being honest at the moment.
"Fine. What did you want to talk about?" Hermione asked, levitating a towel over to Harry in the process.
"Well, I was just wondering how you and Fleur were doing." Harry asked as he grabbed the towel and began to dry off "You two seem to be off to a good start."
"Harry, we've been together for two months, four days from now." Hermione said with a smile "I'd say we're doing pretty well."
"Any dates?"
"Well, no, not really, not since the Yule ball anyway." Hermione admitted with an embarrassed blush "We can't really go anywhere after all…"
"Well, there is a hidden passageway to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade-"
"I'm not going to risk getting both of us in trouble just so that we can spend time together in a more interesting location." Hermione stated firmly, a frown on her face.
"Well, then it seems you'll just have to deal with it as is." Harry said with a shrug "Or maybe she can get permission to the next Hogsmeade trip."
"She's a step ahead of you on that." Hermione said, smiling once more "She thinks that'll work this time."
"Well that's good for you two." Harry said with a grin of his own as he took a seat on his towel next to Hermione "Seems everything's smooth sailing for you two, isn't it?"
"Well…" Hermione whispered, as her smile slowly faded once more.
"…so there is a problem?" Harry asked, now concerned.
"Well… yes and no." Hermione explained "Let me explain: you know how Fleur is very… expressive?"
"Yes." Harry responded flatly "Let's just say that 'blunt' is putting it mildly at times."
"I know, but I kind of find it interesting." Hermione replied "She's so confident, enough to say exactly what she means and feels without fear of reprisal… but that's not the problem."
"Then what is exactly?"
"Um, you see, Fleur is a very… affectionate person." Hermione continued, thinking her words over carefully.
"Hm, doesn't surprise me." Harry said, though he did have the decency to blush a bit "She's a rather outgoing girl."
"Yes she is. Well, you see, she likes to show her affections… a lot… at all times." Hermione continued.
Harry didn't say anything, just continued to listen.
"She's not bothered by… trying to kiss me… or being close to me… or holding me… all in the presence of others."
"But let me guess: it bothers you?" Harry finished for Hermione, who nodded in reply "Have you told her?"
"Yes, and she's respecting my wishes." Hermione iterated "But I feel like I'm, well, disappointing her."
"Disappointing her?" Harry repeated, now a bit confused.
"Yes. I feel that she's expecting me to be open to that." Hermione explained as her tone became a bit more melancholy.
"Hermione, a bit more than three months ago you cried yourself to sleep on my shoulder because you found out you were gay and it threw you for a bloody loop." Harry said, rather bluntly at that "You later told me that she knew you were interested in her all along, yet she didn't force you into anything and was perfectly content, right?"
"Yes…" Hermione responded, starting to see where Harry was going.
"I think she knows that you're still coming to grips with things, or at least that you're still nervous." Harry said, adding the last bit when she saw Hermione about to protest "Either way, she's not wanting you to feel uncomfortable with her. At least, that's my guess. Hell, you might not ever feel comfortable with-"
The sound of something surfacing from the water interrupted the conversation, with a soaked Fleur appearing not too far from shore.
"How… long?" Fleur asked, out of breath and still blinking the water from her eyes.
"…almost two hours." Hermione replied, though it was halfheartedly as she was still considering what Harry had suggested.
"Tres bien!" she gasped heading for shore "That should… be enough…"
After finally reaching shore, it was evident that Fleur was now completely drained, having been underwater with not too much to do for two hours. Hermione did find it odd that Fleur's bathing suit was, well, more conservative than her normal clothes. It was silver and a one-piece that, while it did cling nicely to her figure, didn't reveal too much skin. Still, Hermione figured that she was simply being more low-key for the tournament's purposes.
"Come up here and dry off." Hermione said, also levitating a towel over to Fleur as she approached.
"Is that… an offer?" Fleur managed, with a smirk at that.
Her response was for the previously casually floating towel to strike her at a high velocity in the face, accompanied by a furiously blushing Hermione and a hysterically laughing Harry.
The day of the Second Task…
Though the observers were still filing in, Fleur was unable to find Hermione in the crowd. She, as well as the other three Champions, were already set and ready to go, but they had to wait for the judges to lay out the rules and regulations, and then tell them what it was that they had to acquire. She was a bit worried about Harry as well; he had no way to survive underwater for any length of time, at least, not one that she knew of. Still, he seemed to be a rather lucky person to Fleur, so she guessed he'd be alright.
After everyone was finally settled in, the judges began to set the rules. They had an hour, would be judged on methods, time, and placing, and they had to acquire-
'What?!' Fleur's mind screamed as she heard what they had to retrieve 'Oh Merlin, who is it?! Gabrielle?! No, wait-'
Glancing around again, she saw Ginny, her friends from Beauxbatons, but Hermione was still absent, as was Ron.
"Hermione…" Fleur said aloud, glancing at Harry, who seemed to be just as scared as she was.
The very instant that the 'shot' rang out, the Four Champions were running flat-out towards the water. Fleur's Bubble-head charm took hold about a second before she went under water, in which she was swimming as fast as she could a moment later. The other three champions tore by her, given that they were all Quidditch stars and in relatively better shape than her, but Fleur wasn't concerned with that. She was concerned with getting Hermione out safely, nothing more, nothing less.
After some distance, she saw something that made her blood freeze: Grindylows, three of them, heading right for her.
"Merde!" Fleur swore as she brought her wand up to bare "Petrificus Totalus!"
Though she could do it non-verbally, it was also significantly weaker then. Grindylows had a magical resistance to, well, magic, so she had to perform all her spells verbally. Unfortunately, the spell didn't have an effect on the creature, except for slowing it down a bit. She didn't bother to swear as she shot a stunning hex at another one, but to no avail.
One of them grabbed her right leg, starting to drag her under further as the other two latched onto her other leg and wand arm. She managed not to scream in pain as their claws dug into her, and tried to swat at the light green creatures as hard as she could. She caught the one with her wand arm in the eye, which luckily hurt it enough to let her go.
"Deprimo!" she shouted, aiming her wand at another creature as her face began to morph to it's avian form again.
The creature was blown away a fair distance, but it's claws tore a large gash in her leg that did have her screaming in pain. The other grindylow, which appeared to be somewhat intelligent, let go of her of his own free will and left, saving it from some harm. The one who's eye she had attempted to gouge did not appreciate the warning for what it was, and then grabbed onto her shoulder roughly. Fleur didn't even bother to turn around, opting to shove her want directly into the creature's mouth.
"IMPEDIMENTA!"
On the surface…
Everyone was shocked to see something come bursting from the water, surprised that a champion only took twenty two minutes to save their hostage. However, everyone was then shocked to see that it was not a Champion, but rather a Grindylow who appeared in poor shape and ultimately unconscious. It flew about twelve feet into the air before landing back in the water, sinking slowly to the bottom, but still alive.
Back with Fleur…
The trip was now more difficult, as her leg was bleeding rather badly. She couldn't well attempt to heal it at the moment; she had to get to Hermione, and she was the one currently in last place. Still, bloodloss, pain, and limited mobility were working against her, but she didn't seem to be running into anymore grindylows. She eventually came to a merfolk village, but they weren't very helpful.
Luckily, one of the other champions was, as Cedric swam by holding onto his girlfriend Cho. Though communication was next to impossible between them, he was able to point Fleur in the right direction. Further along, and some time later, she ran into Krum who was carrying out his date from the Yule Ball, though the two of them did not interact. Eventually she found Harry, who had an arm wrapped around Ron's middle, and there was also-
"Hermione!" Fleur shouted, though it was a garbled mess in the water instead of actual words.
Fleur barely even acknowledged the merfolk and Harry as she swam as frantically as possible to get to Hermione. A quick gouging spell cut through her ropes, which had obviously taken Harry a bit more time with the spearhead he was still holding, and she and Harry both took off holding onto their hostage. Naturally, the trip back up would be a bit slower, as it would be harder to haul another person who couldn't provide assistance.
Harry slowed his pace, in order to help Fleur if necessary, but they met no resistance on the way up. They followed the lake floor, so as to find the shore easier, but they quickly ran into one small yet severe problem: there water-breathing supplies were running out. They both went out about the same time, and both took a final deep breath before heading straight upwards, pushing off from the bottom as hard as they could. Harry rose faster, but Fleur also had more air to keep her going. Their lungs were burning by the time they neared the surface. Fleur didn't know if she would make it, and her vision was fading as she neared the light.
'Come on… come on… come on come on comeoncomeon COME ON!!' Fleur was mentally screaming as her body kept telling her she was about to kick it.
Finally, her head, and Hermione's, broke the surface, and she was gasping for air like a madwoman. Hermione seemed to be waking by then, the air most likely serving as the counter to the spell.
"Uh, wha-whereami?" Hermione sputtered as she tried to figure out where she was "Fleur?"
"Kick!" Fleur commanded, switching to French in her hurry.
"Fleur, what's going-"
"Kick! Swim! We need to get to shore!" Fleur said, still gasping for air to soothe her burning lungs.
Hermione didn't question again, her mind slowly coming to grips with the situation. She did as she was told. The shore wasn't too far away, but Harry and Ron were already nearly their. Fleur didn't care though; she just wanted to get to shore, take care of her leg, and make sure Hermione was alright… but not necessarily in that order. She was about to crack a strained smile when her injured leg began to hurt and burn like hell, moments before she was dragged back under and out of Hermione's grasp.
"Fleur!" was the last thing Fleur heard from Hermione before she began to rapidly descend into the water, sharp claws gripping her leg very tightly.
She hadn't had time to get any air; she was running on reserves, and she didn't have much. She knew it was a grindylow, but she didn't much care right now. The beast had taken her away from her Hermione, had dragged her underwater, and was currently trying it's damnedest to kill her. She wasn't mad though; she was bloodthirstily furious.
Her veela blood began to boil, her face twisting into her ancestry's monstrous form as a cruel beak formed on her face, and scales began to form on her back. Those scales quickly burst outwards, producing large, scaled wings that managed to slow her watery descent. Her now clawed hands reached forward, tearing at the monster's eyes, eliciting screams of agony as the creature was blinded by her claws. A moment later, she jammed her wand into it's eye socket, and focused every ounce of magical power she could into one, single, spell… an advanced blasting curse.
On the surface with Hermione…
"Somebody help her!" Hermione shouted as Krum and Cedric began to drag a struggling Hermione from the water "Let me go! LET ME GO!!"
"Calm down! They're sending the standby team!" Cedric said as he struggled to hold onto Hermione's arm "You can't do anything as is!"
"That thing has her! You can't just expect me to not-" Hermione began to scream once more, but a loud rumble shut everyone up.
It was coming from the water, and Hermione knew that Fleur was part of it. A moment later, an eruption of water occurred from Fleur's general location, and before anyone knew what was happening, Fleur's altered figure landed in the water ten feet from shore… but she wasn't moving. As Fleur's avian features, including a rapidly fading set of scaled wings, disappeared, Fleur's various cuts, abrasions, torn flesh and fabric, and broken body were visible beneath a thick layer of green blood.
Hermione honestly didn't know what happened next… all she can remember is perfect silence as Cedric, Krum, Harry, and Ron all ran in to help Fleur, leaving her alone on the shore frozen in sheer terror.
Authors Note: I am going to apologize most sincerely for the length of time this chapter has taken me, and also for the cliffie at the end. Sorry, but I have to end things on a sour note every once in a while, or else where would the fun be? Anyway, the next chapter will be up within 24 hours to make up for the length of time this one has taken. Reviews etc are appreciated, and remember the poll on my author page that determines the pairing in my next story.
Oh, and as to why Fleur did not get her ass handed to her by grindylows like in the book: she deserved better than that, and I personally think it'd come across as royally lame for her to have to have her girlfriend's best friend save her life for her. Just my opinion though.