Notes - I found a review today asking me to update this story. There's no reason for me not to, so here it is! I'm sorry for keeping it to myself for so long - I wanted to give all or nothing to the stories that are still in progress, but I've been away from them longer than I expected. Any corrections to the French would be absolutely appreciated.
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He was most beautiful when he could not see her. So Adeline watched him from a distance. He went to classes, ate his meals, talked with his friends. She watched all of this. There was nothing else for her to do and nothing else she wanted to do.
Gaspard despaired of her. He would no longer come to help her with her hair, or try to amuse her, or say 'bonne nuit, ma chèrie Adeline' the way he had for years. Although he was always there, he spoke less and less every day. At first she did not notice. Then she thought it of little importance. As long as he stayed by her she would not mind his moodiness. Her attention was turned away from her attendant to the boy who would be her mate.
It pleased her that the marks on his face were fading, though they had not completely disappeared. When she found out what had made them, she would destroy it. If it was his broom she would snap it viciously in half. It could not be allowed to harm him again. She dreamt of his gratitude. He would thank her with a kiss on the cheek. Oh, yes. It would be wonderful when he came to love her.
Two weeks passed before Adeline realised that he might not.
There was a boy. A beautiful boy, with hair lighter than she had ever seen and elegance that reminded her of home. Though they were in different houses he and Harry met often. When they sat apart they watched each other. When they sat close they touched. Arms and hands and shoulders. Just as often as they laughed they became angry. Adeline couldn't understand it. Were they friends or enemies or somehow both? She did not go near them, because she was afraid.
At night they studied in the school's library. The boy was teaching Harry, who learned slowly and frustrated both of them. They shouted, and then fell silent, and then the boy spoke quietly and touched Harry's face. As Adeline watched, horrified, he took out his wand and healed the marks there. And then, worse. They smiled at each other like lovers.
It was very, very frightening and she did not know what to do.
"Mon Dieu," said Gaspard, but he did not sound surprised. When he touched Adeline's shoulder she shrugged away his hand and didn't look at him as she walked over to Harry and the boy.
"Adeline!" Harry was surprised to see her, and panicked. If it was possible for her to be angry at him she would long have been. "What are you doing here?"
She glared at the boy. He remained composed. "Potter, if you know who this girl is could you think to introduce us?"
"Er..."
Harry couldn't even say her name! Adeline du Maurier, the girl he was going to love or murder! He couldn't say it!
"She is, perhaps, French?" There was no emotion in the boy's eyes or in his voice. "Voyons. C'est une fille, bien sûr.On revient toujours à ses premiers amours. Bonsoir, mademoiselle."
"Taisez-vous!"
It did not escape her that this was the first time Harry had heard her voice. She hoped he would be charmed by it.
"Vous êtes malheureuse."
"Evidemment! Tu m'as volé!"
"I don't know what you're saying, but can we calm down? Adeline, there's nothing to be worried about-"
"N'est-ce pas?" The boy smiled faintly. How spiteful he was!
"Malfoy, that's really not helping." Harry stood and moved over to Adeline, standing between her and the boy. What did he mean by that? Was he taking her side? Was he protecting the boy? Was he simply trying to be fair? It was so hard to understand him! She wanted very much to cry.
"Adeline, this is Draco Malfoy. He's in my year. He was helping me learn French so that I...could speak to you."
You could do that already! She wanted to scream. If Harry knew the slightest thing about her, he would understand the mistake that he had made. But she said nothing, to punish him for his ignorance. Let him feel guilty for what he was doing to her.
"This is Adeline du Maurier. I hope I said that right... She's, er, she's a Veela, and I'm..."
It was with some fascination that Adeline watched the boy turn paler than he had been already. His eyes went wide and when he touched his forehead, his fingers were trembling. Had Harry not told him? Then, she should not be angry. He was a victim in this, just like her. They were the same. As she stared at him, her anger turning to pity, she wondered if love did not like those who were beautiful.
Harry's hand twitched but he did not move it. He turned away from the boy, and it dismayed her that he would have to. Did they care about each other that much?
She had her answer the next moment.
"Cherchez la femme," the boy murmured.
Adeline stared at him as he picked up his books and walked away, past her and Harry and a silent Gaspard. He did not look at her once.
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The day dragged on. Professors spoke about things he didn't care about. Lunch, like breakfast, had no taste. Robins tried to talk to him about practice and he cancelled it. There was an assignment he hadn't done but he turned down Hermione's offer of help. His friends were kind, concerned, but he didn't really hear them. He felt numb, except when he saw Draco. Then he hurt.
As they walked out of class Ron said something to him. Harry was spacing out, holding his books loosely and staring at the ground. Not so much thinking, because there was too much to think about. Just walking and staring. Then he was being dragged out of the hallway and pushed against a wall. Ron's face as he looked back at him had all those familiar emotions – anger, worry, frustration.
"What's going on with you?" he asked, nearly shouting. "Just tell me! Tell Hermione, I don't care! Tell someone! We're your friends, we're meant to help you with your problems, but we can't if we have no bloody clue what they are!"
"It's nothing-" Harry tried to move away.
Ron pressed down on his shoulder with surprising strength, keeping him in place. "Try again," he said grimly.
"It's-"
"It's not nothing. Dammit, Harry! Seamus says you're depressed. Are you depressed?"
"Wh-what?" Harry was stunned, that his friends had been worried enough to talk to each other about him, and that Ron was completely serious in asking him this question. "No! I'm not depressed, why would you think that-"
"Look, mate, is this about Malfoy? Because I don't think he's good for you. You flew into each other that one time at practice – you're lucky no one died, let alone got seriously hurt – and right after that you came back with bruises all over you, and then you were talking for a while and that's fine, it's better than you trying to kill each other, and now all of a sudden you're not and you're falling apart in front of me. He's a bastard, you shouldn't let him get to you like this-"
Harry pushed his arm away and glared at him. Ron stared back in shock.
"What, you're mates now?"
"No! It's just, er..."
He couldn't tell him the truth...
...why couldn't he? Why had he insisted on lying to everyone? Not telling McGonagall that he didn't want to meet Adeline, not telling Adeline about what had happened with Draco, not telling Gaspard where his scratches had come from, not telling Draco why he wanted to learn French, not admitting to himself that he...yes, that he liked Draco. More than he ever thought he would. It was lying that had gotten him in this mess after all. Why couldn't he trust Ron, his best friend, with everything that was happening?
So Harry told him, and what he didn't say Ron was able to figure out.
"Bloody hell," he said and patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.
It didn't change anything, not really. But it made Harry feel much better.
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Adeline thought often about her death. Would it be here, in this unfamiliar bed? Would Gaspard find her in the morning and cry for her? How would she be taken home, to her mama and papa, and grand-mère, who she missed so much? Gaspard would carry her all the way back to France. Only he would be allowed to lift her. None of these strangers could come near her once she was dead. Harry and the boy, they could keep away. She did not want them to miss her.
Her fingers curled on the pillow and she pressed her face into it. It was too dark to see anything but she kept her eyes open, waiting for them to adjust, hoping that when they did she would see something that she already knew was not there.
There was movement at the doorway and she knew it was Gaspard, come to see her once before she went to sleep. She continued to gaze into the darkness. He had not been saying his goodnight to her for the past week, so she thought that he would leave. Instead he came to sit on the side of her bed. He smelled, as he always had, like bread and spices. She had not realised how much she missed him until he had returned.
Gaspard said nothing, and after a time Adeline looked at him. He was looking at her already. She could see his eyes, brown and common and beautiful. They were not laughing. They always used to laugh. She missed the times when they had laughed together.
She sat up a little, her long black hair swaying to hide her face and reveal it again. Gaspard did not say anything. Perhaps he was sad. He reached out and laid a hand on her cheek. His skin was coarse and she could feel the calluses on his fingers. He had worked hard in his life, before he had come to take care of Adeline, and then she had forbade him do it. If Gaspard was to work, she would work also. If she could not he would not either.
As though he was remembering that with her, Gaspard smiled. It was good of him to do. She had missed him smiling at her.
"Bonne nuit, ma chèrie Adeline," he whispered.
His hand fell away and she seized it, holding it in both of her own. Adeline looked into his eyes. She did not know what she was trying to say, but Gaspard always understood. She held his hand more tightly.
His smile disappeared. No, that was not what she wanted...
He looked very sad. Adeline had made him sad. She did not want that either...
He stood up and left the room.
She wanted to go after him, but she stayed in the darkness, waiting for people who would never come.
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French - English
"Mon Dieu," said Gaspard, but he did not sound surprised.
"My God," said Gaspard, but he did not sound surprised.
This is a common exclamation in France, kind of like 'whoa' or 'gosh'.
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"Voyons. C'est une fille, bien sûr.On revient toujours à ses premiers amours. Bonsoir, mademoiselle."
"Well. It's a girl, of course. One always returns to his first loves. Good evening, young lady."
By this Draco means that he's not surprised Harry is learning French for a girl, because he's liked and dated girls in the past. He's already accepted that being who he is, and a man, his feelings for Harry might not be returned.
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"Taisez-vous!"
"Stop talking."
Adeline does not speak as politely as Draco.
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"Vous êtes malheureuse."
"You are unhappy."
Draco continues to speak respectfully, using the word vous, 'you', which is formal.
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"Evidemment! Tu m'as volé!"
"Of course! You have stolen from me!"
Adeline uses tu instead of vous, which is casual and in this case impolite.
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"N'est-ce pas?" The boy smiled faintly.
"Is there not?" The boy smiled faintly.
Draco is just trying to rile Adeline up by suggesting that he and Harry are in a relationship, as punishment for her being rude to him. It works and she thinks that he is 'spiteful'.
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"Cherchez la femme," the boy murmured.
Another proverb, literally 'look for the woman'. It means that when there are problems with men, there is always a woman responsible. It's because of Adeline that Harry lied to Draco and, he thinks, a relationship between them can't happen.
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"Bonne nuit, ma chèrie Adeline," he whispered.
"Goodnight, my dear Adeline," he whispered.
Gaspard uses ma chèrie instead of ma chère, which is used between friends. This shows that their relationship is not a friendship, exactly, though they are not lovers either. He feels very strongly for her.
Thank you so much to mudkiprox and Curly Wurly Me for correcting my French in their reviews! It's helpful and improves the story. Special thanks to Keikey, who made several corrections and I hope will do the same for the later chapters. Wow, I feel like I'm working with my reviewers!