Continuation..

The Guild- Hermione's Freshman Year

'So, what's your mentor like?'

Phomela rested her elbows on the round maple table, chin propped up on her palms, head leaning eagerly towards Hermione who was poring over the pages of The Guild guidebook given to her by Fleur a few weeks ago. The two freshmen were spending a rare free period in a treehouse café behind the Library. The late afternoon sun filtered through the canopy, accenting the café's timber interiors with a warm copper finish. A cup of latte lay forgotten beyond Hermione's grasp.

'She's... passable.' Hermione shrugged. A tiny frown creased her forehead as her fingers pinched the corner of a page, poised to turn.

Phomela let out a loud snort that startled a couple of perched tropical birds away.

This tugged Hermione's attention to the Asian girl.

'What?'

'That's all? I just told you about Beardman, my mental mentor. In coloured detail. And all I get is one adjective about yours? She's Fleur Delacour, the woman who broke through Chief Edra's high security office, one of the top students in her year and a former cover girl of Cosmo Witch. And the only word you can dredge up to describe her is passable?'

'Geez, Phomela. If I hadn't known any better, I'd say you are infatuated with her.' A wry grin escaped Hermione's lips as her eyes flitted back to her page.

Phomela blew her dark bangs off her face and grinned. 'Everyone is in different gradients of infatuation with her. You only pretend not to be affected because you probably have gone beyond besotted with her.'

Beyond besotted?

For some reason unbeknownst to Hermione, the phrase riled her feathers. Or in this case, her mane of untamed hair. Hermione slammed her book shut and launched a volley of words at the unblinking Asian.

'Honestly, she's just an ordinary person, Phomela. Yes, she may be part-Veela and a bloody brilliant student, but that doesn't mean arias and princesses fly through her bottom. Now, if you have nothing in mind but insinuating drivel, I'm going to class.'

The truth is, Hermione didn't know how to describe Fleur exactly. She knew for a fact that she wasn't besotted with her. But she did find the French woman quite... perplexing. There was no concise adjective to contain her in. She can only glimpse her different facets, the same way she can only grasp the nuances of the sky but not see the entire horizon.

During the Tri-Wizard tournament, Fleur was just a haughty, vain, egotistical woman who made Ron punch drunk. That was the only reason why she found the blonde annoying.

As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, she was an ally who efficiently tended to her wounds after escaping the horrifying terror that was Bellatrix and her blade. She was just Bill's girlfriend who helped out when needed. In between her silent glances and feverish focus to help Hermione heal, she decided Fleur wasn't annoying after all. But she wasn't her favourite person in the world either.

At The Guild, Fleur was respected and beloved. She knows the right words to say to lure in someone's trust. She was a chameleon that shifted between open and enigmatic, rarely revealing about herself but is always vocal about her opinions on everything else.

And she definitely did not hesitate to share her opinions about Hermione.

'You over zink, 'Ermione, zat's ze problem.' The quarter Veela said as the two entered a long, eerily quiet stone passage. All sound seemed to be vacuumed by the dense, night air. They were in the midst of a conjured mission to retrieve a scroll of rare spells.

'Shh, now is not the time for one of your lectures, Fleur.' Hermione hissed. She pressed her back against the cobbled wall and pointed her wand at a blind curve of the torch-lit passage before them. Homenum Revelio.

'I am your mentor. I am entitled to give my unbiased observation. You are clever but overly cautious. You need to-'

A black mist caught the blonde's attention. It slithered from the gaps between the cobbled walls.

'I need to what?' Chestnut eyes searched suddenly alert sapphires.

'Hermione, don't move,' Fleur warned.

A thin misty tentacle curled around Hermione's neck. It closed around her throat and cuffed her wrists, trapping her wand arm at her side. A numbing chill began to crawl from the top of her scalp and clawed at her lungs.

'Fleur…' Hermione choked.

'Confringo Precis.' A spear of fire rocketed from Fleur's wand. With a careful flick of her wrist, the spear slashed the black mist into falling, tattered ribbons.

Hermione took in a huge gulp of oxygen as she broke free. 'Thanks.'

A deep rumble, barely a quiver, disturbed the dust on their feet. In unison, the two women glanced back and saw the black mist pouring from every crevice of the walls and floors, forming a massive entity that swallowed all light, sound and any matter that it trampled on. It expanded and crested, an avalanche of darkness crashing towards their direction.

'Merde. Zey already know we are 'ere. Let's go.'

Fleur laced her fingers through Hermione's, pulling the brunette forward with surprising force. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

Hermione could feel the bite of the numbing cold chasing the back of her heels. Without pausing to look, she aimed her wand behind her back and shrieked 'Immobulus Maxima!'

The numbing cold receded, but the brunette didn't stop to look if her Freezing Charm worked.

Fleur glanced back at the halting black mass, her cobalt eyes shone in subtle praise of Hermione's skill. She pulled the brunette again as they scrambled up a spiral staircase that vertically stretched to the highest point of the tower. 'We 'ave only a few minutes left zo retrieve ze scroll. Can you move any faster?'

'I'm trying, Fleur.' Hermione panted as she tried to keep up with the longer legged witch.

''old me.' Fleur commanded as she opened her arms to Hermione.

'What?'

Fleur huffed impatiently as she encircled her arms around the brunette's waist to get her meaning across.

'If you don't 'old me, you will fall,' Fleur said as she stepped closer to secure the smaller witch against her form.

The urgency of Fleur's voice snapped her into action. Hermione slung her arms around the taller witch and found her chin resting against a strong shoulder. It was a good thing too, as she thought she left her jaw behind when she saw two majestic wings tear away from fabric and unfurl from Fleur's back. The next thing she knew they were escaping gravity and the swirling darkness below.

They hurtled upward. Fleur's great wings beat noiselessly, whipping wind into Hermione's face. 'Fleur, look out!' She dug her fingers into the blonde's arm as they careened sharply to the right to avoid falling rubble. The narrow tower shook, seemingly gathering forces before it turned into an earth-shattering quake. This was not the first time a conjured mission self-destructed when students reached the time limit. The simulation may not be real, but the pain of getting wounded was real enough.

The lack of steady ground beneath her feet and the impending catastrophe of getting smashed by tons of stone made Hermione's heart plummet. The only solid thing she could anchor on was Fleur.

Fleur and her damning composure. Her gentle strength and careless grace, evident even in flight. She was so used to being the ever-reliable-Hermione. The one who always made sure there were enough supplies for the Trio's hunt for Horcruxes. The one who memorised, double and triple checked spells beyond their required readings so she can protect her friends or family when needed. The thought of relying on someone completely wasn't only alien. It was unnerving and a different kind of terrifying. And the fact that she instinctively knew she could trust Fleur with her life opened a vista of other thoughts she dared not define.

'Fleur, I had no idea you could do this.' Hermione said, trying to latch on any thought to calm her thundering heart.

The part Veela peered at the brunette whose face was buried on the crook of her shoulder. A mischievous grin tickled her lips as she let her voice deliberately brush against the other witch's ear. 'Eef zere is one zing you must learn cherie, is zat it is good zo 'ave an element of surprise.'

Hermione's bag bulged conspicuously. No matter how thoroughly she cast her extendable charm, there was no hiding that she was lugging along something big.

She waited for a chance to corner Fleur all day. It was near the end of April, and the pleasant blanket of warmth that was summer has descended upon the grounds of The Guild. Though the rigour of her training has kept her heavily occupied that she had barely time to script a reply to her parents or Harry and Ron, she knew she had to make time for this particular blonde on this particular day.

The brunette saw her chance after dinner. She spied that silvery mane weaving fluidly against the current of students towards the villas where the senior students resided. Until now, she had no clue where her mentor slept, as she was always blocked at the villa's steps by an invisible barrier. She better hurry as the blonde was a few strides away from the said shield.

'Fleur! Wait up!' She hollered as she sprinted towards the older witch.

'So finally, my stalker approaches,' Fleur said in way of greeting.

Hermione caught her breath, aghast at what she heard. 'You are still as vain as I remember. I'm not stalking you.'

'Really?' A perfectly plucked blonde brow arched up. 'Breakfast, you hovered near my table. Third period, while I was walking down ze 'allway I saw your foot peeking out from behind ze column. Fifth period, in ze library, a pair of curious chocolate eyes peered from behind a stack of books…"

'Fine! Fine! I was following you. But not to stalk you. I just wanted to give you this.'

And Fleur was floored when she saw an enormous package, wrapped in silver and powder blue paper, adorned with royal blue satin ribbons. The blonde grasped the rectangular gift, the size of a door, in both hands. A look of incredulous wonder flitted through her usual stoic mask.

'Happy Birthday, Fleur,' Hermione breathed. Pleased that for once, she could witness an unguarded reaction from the blonde.

'But 'ow did you… I never zold anyone. I never-'

Hermione's stepped closer to cut through Fleur's uncharacteristic sputtering. 'Surprised?'

A beatific smile, unlike any she has seen on the part-Veela's face before, beamed at Hermione. And before she knew it, she was pulled into the shelter of the blonde's arms, filling her senses with almonds, vanilla, and warm, silky lips that blazed a trail on her cheeks.

'Merci beaucoup, 'Ermione,' Fleur whispered as she pressed fluttering butterfly kisses near the younger witch's throat.

Hermione could only mutely receive the assault of affection. Her arms fastened around the blonde's back, she closed her eyes to steady her increasingly erratic pulse.

Another facet was revealed to the younger witch that day. She realised Fleur was far more dangerous when kind.

.

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Present Day

Hermione strode with purpose towards the lone, red phone booth across her office. It was already late in the night, and the unforgiving cold of London slapped her awake. She just needed to go to the lab before she can call it a day. The pale hair in the vial may open another angle to her dead end case.

An irregular shaped shadow in her periphery made her summon Ferus in her hand. She non-verbally cast a Protego spell for extra measure. She detoured away from the phone booth and headed to the most crowded area she could think of.

The pub was bustling on this Friday night. Hermione removed her shield as she wove through the crowd of people of boisterous football fans huddled in front of a large TV. She was almost at the bar when she felt a hand closing on her wrist.

Instinctively, she pulled her wrist, along with the grasping hand, in a swift pirouette. Off-balanced, the intruder fell back and relinquished its hold.

'Easy, 'Ermione. It's just me.' The part Veela looked a tad worn and weary. But a buoyant grin lifted her features. 'Is that 'ow you usually greet friends you 'aven't seen in awhile, mon amis?'

Hermione couldn't help it. She flung herself towards the blonde and tackled her into a back-crushing hug. 'It's been two years, Fleur. I wasn't the one who disappeared.'

'Well..' The blonde gasped. 'If you let me breathe, then maybe I'll tell you why?'

If Hermione wasn't caught up in missing Fleur, she would've noticed the blonde's hand deftly pocketing a glass vial.

'I'm all ears, Fleur.' Hermione said as she released the blonde from her hold. 'Tell me everything you've been up to.'

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A/N: Thank you for your patience dear readers. I zipped out of the country for a lesbian union ceremony (not mine) and a family Christmas thing. So I cobbled this together whenever I could. I apologise if this is a bit jerky and not as smooth as the previous chapters. I will make my edits later on.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts. Even from the anonymous ones. A special thank you to those who made me ponder more about my plot… monkgirl, Sleep and Dream, Ariarebele and ofcourse, Tux. I hope you haven't regretted placing me in your roster of favourite authors as I thought my stories (OITNB and this one) are still in its preliminary stage… a blossoming of what it can be. But not yet there.

I hope life is kind to all of you dear readers. Stay in touch. See you with an update soon. =)