Fleur woke up on the third day, and realised she was going to move out of her parents place that same day. She was growing up!
She'd have independence, and freedom if she lived in London. She would learn to live on her own merit, and be self-reliant, and that would be exactly what she needed. She had grown up privileged, too used to her parents being there to help her with anything she needed.
But, she'd miss them.
Maman and Papa, and especially little Gabrielle, they'd all supported her and helped her grow up into the person she was. She wouldn't be anything without them.
She'd miss the cinnamon rolls they'd make together when they had a free afternoon together, and how they'd always tidy away her shoes when she'd leave them in the hallway.
She'd even miss the slightly broken swing chair on the patio, and even their cat which hated her (it had viciously clawed at her one day when she was 11, and it had hurt). She'd miss it a lot.
She had to give away anything she wouldn't use, or need in London. She gave her old school books, uniform, and even protective gear to Gabrielle, and anything else she didn't need, she donated or binned (the 7 year old magazine clippings unfortunately had to be binned).
But she wanted to keep her snow globe collection. She had one from every family holiday she'd been on since she was 9. So she packed them tightly between her clothes in her case, and hoped with all her might that her new flat would have the place for a new shelf.
She would buy the other basics later- cooking utensils and loo roll could wait till all her clothes were safely in her new wardrobe. She packed nearly all of her clothes, or everything she could carry.
Her gowns and such would have to come later, with her parents or something like that. She was just excited to see her new place. So excited, that she had woken up at 7 in the morning.
She quickly got ready, because, that was the day! The day she'd been waiting for! She showered and used a charm to dry her hair while she picked up a pair of shorts and white t-shirt she had picked out the previous night.
She then rushed down the stairs into the kitchen, where her parents were both sitting at the counter drinking their morning beverages (they both drank a bitter coffee, with little to no sugar). They were leant over what looked like their family album.
She knew her parents were feeling the same melancholy way she was. She rushed behind them and put her arms over their shoulders, "papa, maman!" She kissed them both on opposite cheeks and looked down at the picture they were looking at.
On the right side, there was a slide of her eating a piece of chocolate cake. She was the messiest eater, and the chocolate was all over her face. The worst part was that she was 14, and her sister was howling in tears because she had taken the last piece of cake.
Fleur hadn't felt any regrets about it at the time- it was good cake. But the argument after it, which had lasted a week, just seemed petty (it made her laugh all the same).
"You're up early, are you that excited?" Her mum asked her in French, and even just from the look on Fleur's face, her mum knew she was. She looked so cheerful, bright and full of hope for one of the first times since coming back from the Triwizard Tournament.
It had been such a blow to her pride when she had come last in near every task. So seeing her as she had been at the start of the first task, ready to face off a dragon, left a better, sweeter taste in her mother's mouth than if her daughter had been looking as hopeless as she had the day before the third task.
"Oh yes!" Fleur exclaimed, going to drag her case down the stairs. Before she could take a second to herself, she found herself flooing to her new flat.
It was in an incredibly good place for her, just a 5 minute walk from the leaky cauldron. She knew how lucky she was to have her parents paying for her first flat, and she tried not to take it for granted.
However, she couldn't help but feel disappointed at the state of the place she would be staying for the next few months. It was absolutely midget, from what the lounge area looked like.
It had a sofa and a plush chair stuffed into the corner, with a small coffee table between them. On the opposing side of the room, there were floor to ceiling cabinets with a large gap in the middle (Fleur supposed she would make that her dresser, and fit a mirror in there).
She opened the door to see the dark hallway, which had three other doors and a cabinet space near the front door. She opened the cabinet to see a boiler, and took her shoes off so as not to track mud across the rooms.
"It may be small, and grimy, but at least it's mine," she said quietly to herself, as she began to inspect the other rooms.
Kitchen. Bedroom. Toilet. It was basic, but it had everything she needed, so she began to unpack her things in her bedroom. She pulled out her radio from her enormous case and put it on her bedside table.
She pressed down the power button, and then began to unpack to the sound of the Weird Sisters. She danced around and cleaned the cabinets before she put everything in, and she could honestly say she was feeling more positive than when she had first arrived.
"Fleur!" She heard a voice calling to her, again and again until she finally turned down the radio. She could just tell it was Gabrielle, ready to have the grand tour.
"Yes, dear sister?" Fleur raced over to the lounge and kissed both her cheeks.
"Where eez your bedroom?" inquired Gabrielle.
Fleur lead her to the room she had just been cleaning: "Voila!" She held out her arms and Gabrielle nodded in approval, grinning.
"I like eet," she assesed, and Fleur grinned back.
"Good, because I want you 'ere," at Gabrielle's face, filled with shock and slight horror, Fleur began to backtrack, "not all the time, but I would like eet eef you would stay for some time in summer."
Gabrielle nodded again in the mock assessing role, "zat could be arranged." She then broke character and squealed, throwing her arms around Fleur and they both jumped about and smiled and maybe even let a tear or two flow, because Fleur was all grown up now, and for the first time in forever, they'd be an ocean apart.
I can't tell if Gabrielle's English would be good or bad! But hope you liked this chapter, I feel like I'm dragging it out a bit but whatever. She moved to London, and next chapter will be her first day on the job.
-sunkissedbubbletea