Chapter 9

The grandstands exploded in raucous applause and cheers the second Harry got the golden egg, and Hermione felt like she could finally breathe again.

They had done it. It was over and no one had died.

Ron grabbed her arm and she nodded. Harry had been injured and he would need to be checked over, so they hurried out of the stands. When they got to the first aid tent, they found their friend being told by Madam Pomfrey to wait a short while before going out to receive his scores. Hermione winced at the rip in his robes at the shoulder but the skin looked healed now, and Harry didn't appear to be in any pain, so she rolled her eyes and let the boys do their version of a heart to heart.

Glancing around, she saw Cedric's shadow through a canvas partition and recalled how he looked when he came out to hear his scores, an orange paste applied liberally up his neck and all over one side of his face which she knew had been badly burned. His being back here meant his injuries were significant enough to have needed additional care. But he was sitting up and not groaning in agony as Pomfrey fussed over him so he was likely just waiting for the paste to do its job before being sent on his way.

As relieved as she was to see that Cedric would recover, and that Harry was fine, all Hermione really wanted to do now was talk to Fleur. She wrung her hands together as questions flooded her mind.

What would she say? What should she say? It had been nearly a week since they had a chance to talk for more than a few minutes at a time, only a couple of short interactions since Thursday, and how was she supposed to act now that she knew they were girlfriends and that Fleur was using bird mating techniques to woo her? And, oh yeah, when did the girlfriend thing happen again? Anniversaries were important to know in a relationship, weren't they?

After it seemed like her best friends had finally made up, Hermione interrupted and told them she was heading out, but just as she was about to leave, Fleur swept in. Hermione immediately flung herself at the girl, which was a bit awkward due to the golden egg held under her other arm but the younger witch was just so happy to see her she didn't care. Hugging Fleur was fast becoming one of her favorite things.

The boys' chuckles made her pull back and smile sheepishly.

"You were brilliant, Fleur," said Hermione shyly, her hands wiping away imaginary wrinkles down the sides of her coat.

"Merci, Hermione," replied Fleur, reaching for Hermione's hand.

The brunette's smile grew, but it faded when she remembered where they were.

"Why are you in the first aid tent? Are your legs all right? Do you need me to call Madam Pomfrey?"

Hermione tried to let go of her hand so she could bend down and inspect the champion's pants except Fleur tightened her grip.

"I'm fine, chérie. No burns. But I wanted to check on Harry. I heard the dragon's tail hurt him?"

"Already fixed up," said Harry, gesturing to his shoulder.

"And you were both brilliant," stated Ron, clearly wanting his best mate to know he would stand by him going forward. The wizard proceeded to give a brief rundown of how all the champions had fared against their dragons since neither Harry nor Fleur had seen the others' performances. Hermione noted with satisfaction how Ron had finally managed to overcome his speechlessness around the Veela.

With Fleur's right arm slung around Hermione's shoulders pulling her into her side, making the bookworm blush at their prolonged contact, the Beauxbatons champion nodded in approval at Cedric's decoy and bit her lip at Ron's description of her turn against the Welsh Green, her expression fond whenever Hermione chimed in with her own praise. Viktor's actions resulting in harm to the Fireball's eggs caused Fleur to scowl but it changed to a pleased smile when Ron described Harry's derring-do on his broom.

"How did you know you could put a dragon to sleep, by the way?" asked Hermione when he was done, turning to face the other witch.

"Well, I wasn't absolutely sure, but I practiced sleeping charms on the abraxans on Sunday and yesterday," explained Fleur, tilting her head forward in a cocky bow. "They're quite large, non?"

Her eyes widened and she sputtered, "A docile animal like an abraxan hardly compares to a dragon."

"You've never met an angry abraxan," countered Fleur.

"Fleur!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Harry and Ron give each other knowing looks and step away, and she was glad they both knew not to bring up the whole girlfriend thing right now.

"Elephant-sized flying horses are still smaller than adult dragons. You took an incredible risk," chided Hermione, glaring at the blonde, unable to stop imagining all the different ways it could've gone wrong if the charm hadn't worked.

"Ah, but don't you know?" the champion asked as she stepped closer, the slight height difference causing Hermione to stubbornly lift her chin. "The greatest risks yield the greatest rewards."

"Or they get you killed," Hermione retorted, folding her arms and doing her best not to be distracted by the girl's lilting voice. Or her pink lips. Or her obscenely pretty face.

Fleur chuckled, gaze moving over the knit hat and lingering on the flower. She raised a hand and tucked an errant lock of hair over Hermione's ear and into her hat.

"I like how cute you get when you scold me."

Hermione scoffed, dropping her face and twisting her mouth to hide the smile trying to break free.

Her crush being reciprocated was a new experience for her, and just a few minutes ago she'd worried over what their interactions would be like going forward. But given this exchange, it appeared she didn't have to worry; they could still be themselves and banter like usual. Only now she knew the girl's flirting was real, and she could flirt back, and oh Merlin, Fleur really did like her! These thoughts set off a whole new set of butterflies in her stomach.

Ron cleared his throat and said, "Well, they're waiting, let's go out for your scores, Harry."

"You two go, I'll stay with Fleur," said Hermione.

Harry gathered his golden egg and Firebolt and followed Ron out.

The witches also left and walked towards the champions' tent, but instead of going inside, they went around it and ambled closer to the forest line, out of sight of anyone on the grandstand side of the tents.

Cheers suddenly filled the air, and they turned to watch the scores shoot up in silvery-ribbons. Adding the numbers together, Hermione frowned and removed her hat, stuffing it in her coat pocket.

"Harry tied with you for first with forty points, that doesn't make sense. All he did was fly back and forth on his broom," she said indignantly.

She wasn't trying to belittle Harry's achievement. He had faced a fierce dragon, his summoning charm worked as intended, and his abilities on a broom were impressive as always, but the French witch's performance had been even more so. Fleur Delacour had demonstrated the greatest magical skill out of the four of them.

"Ce n'est pas grave," said Fleur, shrugging.

The air of indifference didn't fool Hermione. There was a tightness in her expression, her eyes dulled and distant. A disappointment she couldn't hide. And even if she had missed those things, there was no way she could miss what was happening with Fleur's thrall. Normally a low, nearly imperceptible vibration she could easily ignore, the thrall now seemed to ebb and eddy in unpredictable bursts she could feel in her chest similar to the sensations from bass-heavy music, and she had to concentrate more than usual on shaking away the alluring fog.

Hermione reached for her hand and squeezed. "I mean it, Fleur. You really were brilliant. Those judges are idiots."

Pursing her lips, the girl nodded, but Hermione wouldn't leave it at that. She took the egg from Fleur's arm, placed it on the ground, and pulled her into a proper hug. After a few moments, the girl's stiff form softened and her face pressed into Hermione's hair, her thrall going back to that low vibration.

Fleur sighed heavily. "Thank you, chérie. I shouldn't let it get to me. I knew the tournament would be like this."

Hermione's brow crinkled and she pulled back, keeping her arms locked around the girl's waist. "What do you mean? Hang on, you could've put your dragon to sleep the whole time, right? Why didn't you do it sooner?"

Her questions brought a light back into Fleur's eyes; an eagerness to share knowledge that Hermione understood all too well.

"You're not the only one who researched the previous tournaments. It isn't always the smartest or most skilled who gets the most points. The judges want a spectacle, and this task was intended to be a test of our daring. Using the sleeping charm as soon as I could get close enough would've been the least troublesome way, but it would've been an underwhelming display, non?"

"I suppose," conceded Hermione. To her it had showed astonishing skill but perhaps to others it might have been anti-climactic.

"And I did need the dragon to leave her eggs so she wouldn't lay over them when I charmed her."

"True. And it was exciting," said Hermione. "Those shields… you angled them on purpose, didn't you?"

Fleur smiled. "I actually wasn't confident they could withstand dragon fire for more than a few seconds, so I was glad to see those boulders and use them for extra protection in case they failed. I initially planned to deflect the blasts towards the ground because sending them back to the dragon was out of the question, but when I saw the barrier around the enclosure, I realized sending the fire there would get a bigger reaction from the crowd."

It was a well-thought-out plan, and although it relied on untested shields and a sleeping charm that Fleur hadn't been one-hundred-percent sure would work on a dragon, Hermione couldn't keep harping on the risk. They hadn't been sure about Harry using the broom either. Furthermore, it was admirable that Fleur refused to harm the dragon even though she might've been able to garner more points by attempting to do so.

"You're amazing," Hermione said, pressing forward again to rest her chin on Fleur's shoulder. "I'm so glad you didn't get hurt."

"Me too," Fleur replied against her temple. Her hands pressed firmly onto Hermione's back. "I was happy to have you there. I wanted to make you proud."

"I was. I am. So very proud," Hermione whispered. She swallowed hard, her next words about not knowing they were courting freezing on the tip of her tongue.

What if Fleur laughed at her stupidity and changed her mind about dating because she didn't want someone so clueless? Or worse. What if Fleur thought Hermione had been laughing at her this whole time? What if she hurt Fleur's feelings? Causing her that sort of pain and doubt was the last thing she wanted.

Harry's voice broke through her thoughts, settling her inner debate for the time being.

"They're asking for us in the tent now, Fleur."

The girls reluctantly stepped out of their embrace, and Fleur nodded towards the young wizard.

"I shall see you later?" the blonde asked before bending down to retrieve her egg.

"At dinner, of course," Hermione said. Remembering something from their first interaction, she added, "Or if you can find me elsewhere."

"I shall endeavor to find you as quickly as I can… at dinner," said Fleur softly, a smirk tugging the corner of her mouth.

Warmth filled her chest at their playful teasing. At Fleur's memory quickly following where hers had gone.

Girlfriend.

She, Hermione Granger and school know-it-all, had a girlfriend who was the sweetest, most adorable and intelligent girl she'd ever met.

As she watched the witch go into the champions' tent, Hermione decided there was no harm in waiting a few days before telling her. They liked each other and wanted to date, so they were exactly where they wanted to be. The sensible and considerate thing to do would be to wait for the excitement to die down a bit, find a moment where they wouldn't be interrupted as she admitted her ignorance, and her girlfriend, being a kind, reasonable person, would see it as the innocent misunderstanding it was.

A/N: Have no fear, there will be no angst in this story nor will I hurt our favorite Flirb. Our girls will be fine!

In case you were wondering, I used the book's description of Harry's task performance instead of the movie's. It made more sense to me for nesting dragons to stay with their eggs.

Thanks for reading and for your kind reviews!