Fleur had learnt everything which had happened in the next day. She had bumped into Harry's friend, Ron, who had explained it to her in an awkward, shaky voice.

She hadn't been there when Cedric was first returned. Wasn't there to see Harry losing it, refusing to let go. She was glad.

She wouldn't have been able to handle that, but she could handle an explanation:

"The, uh, cup. It was a portkey. It took them to a graveyard, and they had used him to complete a ritual, to bring you-know-who back. The blood of an enemy. Harry somehow got out of there, and returned with the cup, and Cedric. And then, Moody-" Fleur let out a little gasp, remembering what had happened, and finally putting a name to the grinning face,

"took him away, and then revealed it was all him who did it and sabotaged him. But then the Professors saved Harry from him and revealed it wasn't him, but instead some bloke called Barty Crouch," he sighed, getting to the end of his tale. Fleur let her eyes fill up with tears, but quickly blinked them away.

It was just so terrifying. "Thank you for telling me," she murmured with a tone of mourning, "it is so sad to see a good man like Diggory pass." Ron took a sharp breath and patted her on the back, maybe a bit too harsh for a girl who was on the verge of tears.

She smiled at him and patted him on the arm, and then Molly Weasley, the mother, called him in. She said something about an argument, or Fudge, and Fleur didn't think it was her place to enquire so she left it.

She just didn't feel like going back to her dorms, and so ended up taking a seat a few meters away from the infirmary, on a windowsill. She looked out of the window, pensively.

The weather just didn't match the situation. It was summer, so the birds were out, singing, and usually there would be students mulling about, but there was nobody in sight.

They would all be holed up in their dorms, scared to come out. And honestly, if she went back, she probably would have ended up the exact same. So maybe she was just staying out to avoid that.

She imagined the kids, little first years, running around and playing games like tag and just being happy. It felt like a millennia away, that you could even imagine that happening at Hogwarts.

Before she could think about it more, the door of the infirmary slammed shut, and out came a very important looking man. "Barking mad, they all are!" He remarked angrily to Fleur, before rushing off.

"I am sure zat zey are," she called after him, with a thick accent. Maybe she was just feeling emotional.

She sat back, and thought about the inflammatory exchange she had just had with him. He didn't seem very happy with Harry, or the Weasleys.

Not long afterwards, the gorgeous ginger man left the room too. Seemingly much less angry when leaving, he slowed when he saw her sitting there.

She turned to him, and blinked in surprise when she saw who it was. "'Ello." She wondered if she was being too forward, but he didn't seem to take it that way at all.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Er, hi. You're the Beauxbatons champion, right?" He knew in the back of his mind, he had to leave quickly, but he couldn't help wanting to talk to girl who was charming him from the first word.

"Was," she giggled, quite nervous to be talking to who had been the subject of her thoughts for a while now, "not a very good one though. Em, I was just thinking-" she paused, was she asking too much of him? "I wanted to know that Harry is okay. And who was that man who walked out just then. He said to me,"

She tried to make a joke out of it, saying it in as British of an accent as she could muster, "'barking mad, they all are!'" The blue eyed man looked down at her and laughed from his belly, and she felt the beginning of a smile rise on her face.

"Bit too curious, aren't you?" He almost smirked at her, while playing with his earring, and she had the decency to blush a little, "but I suppose I could tell you. Harry is alright, he's dealing well, all things considered. And that man, is the current Minister of Magic in Britain, Cornelius Fudge," she gasped a little and he could feel his smile widening.

Her reaction was really cute- he didn't really know why he was finding the conversation fun- it really wasn't a time for fun. After that sobering thought, he realised he had to go. Cutting off her reply, he said, "I must be off now. Bill Weasley, you?"

She frowned a little disappointed at being cut short, and feeling rejected, "Fleur- Fleur Delacour." She tried to smile at him, and even the upturn of lips which resembled a smile had managed to charm him.

He wondered what harm another five minutes would be, but he knew he needed to go. "You weren't that bad of a champion, it's just that you were competing against boys."

He realised, looking back on it, that probably wasn't the best thing to say. And she knew it wasn't the best thing to say. She began to frown, and he quickly took his leave, power walking down the hallway. He had messed up, like he tended to do with girls.

Privately, Fleur thought to herself, even if the man was pretty, it didn't save him from being a prat, and a misogynist prat at that. It was true that she did worse as the only girl, but that didn't mean she was any worse off. It just meant she hadn't performed as well.

She thought about it, but before she could have formed a perfect response for next time she saw him (if she ever did), she was cornered by McGonagall who questioned her about being so close to the infirmary.

She had jumped off the wall and told her, in her most innocent voice, "I only wanted to see poor, little Harry!" But McGonagall just sighed pointedly and reprimanded her.

"Most students would stay in their rooms after an event of this magnitude. It would do you well to follow their example, we've all had a rough day."

Fleur nodded and began to leave, feeling like a 12 year old behind caught snooping again, before being addressed again, "Miss Delacour, would you happen to know where Madame Maxime would be at this time of day?"

"I do not know for sure, but you could try the giant's hut." Fleur said, trying her best to sound innocent.

I know that she was actually there at the end of the third task, but I thought it wouldn't be too much of a change to have her not see Cedric's death, I didn't feel like writing it like that. I also know there wouldn't have been that much time between Bill and McGonagall leaving but I wanted to see them interact for the first time. Agh.

-sunkissedbubbletea