Chapter 30: Graduation

To say the exam period was hectic would be an understatement. Hermione's nerves were frayed and Fleur was trying everything to get the brunette to relax, providing plenty of hugs, kisses and massages.

There had been special consideration allowed to the French Delegation. They were allowed to write their exam in French and it would be sent back to Beauxbatons to be graded, which most of them took advantage of. No matter how comfortable the Beauxbatons students felt with their grasp of English, for most of them, things were so much easier in French. For practical exams, like spell casting and such, special French Invigilators and Assessors were sent to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons.

Thankfully they all have their last exams today, which was the Transfiguration written exam. They had already finished their practicals a few days prior.

"Good luck, mon amour," said Fleur as she pulled the brunette in and kissed her thoroughly.

"Hmm, good luck to you too, love," replied Hermione, reluctantly pulling away from the blonde's lips. They walked into the classroom together, where the desks had been spread apart and quickly found their seats, Fleur seated a few rows in front of Hermione due to the alphabetical order.

The clicking of heels announced the arrival of McGonagall, "We are starting in five minutes," the Professor announced as she reached the front of the class. Turning to look at the students, she threw them all a warning glare, "I don't need to remind you that any attempt at cheating will result in an immediate fail. I suggest you do not even try."

Hermione turned slightly and sent an encouraging smile to Harry who was seated in a different row behind her. They had studied hard in the library with Fleur and her cousins so she hoped he was feeling confident. The bespectacled boy sent her back a nervous smile. Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Ron glaring at her, seated a few rows behind Harry. Rolling her eyes, she focused back in front of her.

With a flick of a wand from Professor McGonagall, their exam parchments appeared before them, "You may now begin."

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The Next Day…

"One more week and you'll get your results," said Fleur, back settled against a tree. Hermione settled herself between the Veela's legs and leaned back against her chest, Fleur wasting no time in wrapping her arms around her mate. It was a rare perfect sunny day in this part of Scotland and they had decided to take full advantage of it by having a picnic at a little clearing near the lake now. Now that all their exams were over, they could focus on each other.

"I don't want to think about it," mumbled Hermione with a pout. She always felt safe in Fleur's arms.

The blonde chuckled, "but then you are officially a graduate!" She pressed a kiss against the brunette's shoulder, hiding her smile. The brunette was too cute sometimes.

"Why do you have to go back to France?" Hermione whined. The French Delegation was to leave the day after her graduation and she was dreading it. She had barely left Fleur's side since the Voldemort incident.

Fleur pressed a kiss into the brunette's bushy hair. "I 'ave to go back, ma chérie. We were only to stay 'ere till ze end of our exams but now, we are staying for ze graduation," she said, hoping to comfort her love despite dreading the separation as well. "Tell me, what iz ze plan for your graduation?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

Hermione huffed, "I don't know if I'm even graduating yet! I'm sure I mixed up one plant in Herbology and one of the years for the Goblin War!"

"Humour me, ma chérie," replied Fleur, her smile widening as the Gryffindor pouted.

Hermione burrowed herself deeper into the French woman's arms, "Well, there will be a graduation ceremony and my parents will be there and your family too, I hope. I already owled them before the exams. They are invited if I pass, obviously," she grumbled, "I would also be excited to see my parents again," said Hermione, fidgeting.

"You still 'ave a week at Hogwarts after your graduation, don't you?" asked Fleur, "then you go back to your parents till it's time for you to come to France?"

"Yeah…" murmured Hermione, pulling at the grass next to her. There was so much she had to decide on.

Fleur frowned when she felt a wave of sadness through the bond, "Ermione?"

Hermione turned around to look at the blonde at the sound of her serious voice.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" said Fleur, pressing a gentle kiss on the brunette's nose.

Hermione sighed in pleasure at the feathery touch of the blonde's lips on her nose, "I know, Fleur.." Taking a deep breath to gather some courage, she dropped her forehead onto Fleur's shoulder, "My parents are amazing parents, have always been there for me. They accepted that I was a witch and let me move to Hogwarts because I wanted to. They have always been supportive. You saw in their letter how easily they accepted that I was with you," she lifted her head to look into Fleur's deep azure and brought her hand up cupped the blonde's face, brushing her thumbs on the soft skin of her cheek, "They try their best and we meet up on holidays but in reality, they don't understand my world. Not that it's their fault, they have never been allowed to. They are Muggles. I was hoping I would get the chance to visit more after school but now, I'm not so sure about that when we plan to go to France…"

Fleur pressed a tender kiss to Hermione's lips, "Mon amour, zhere is no need to worry," replied Fleur, her own hand coming up to rest on top of Hermione's. "We will visit as much as you want and even get your parents to visit the Delacour Chateau as many times as zhey want,"

Hermione looked at Fleur with hopeful eyes, "Yeah?"

The timid voice from the Gryffindor broke Fleur's heart and she vowed to do as much as she could to breach the gap that magic had created between Hermione and her parents. Leaning forward, she pressed another loving kiss onto her British witch's lips, "I promise, mon amour."

Hermione smiled, turning her body completely to straddle the Veela and pulled her in for a grateful kiss. Her heart was so full of the love she had for this French woman. She was quite excited for the future to come.

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The week passed by really quickly for the couple. They spent as much time as they could with each other but made the effort to spend time with their friends as well. Fleur had to work harder to distract Hermione, who was close to biting all her nails off as the days went by. The stress of waiting for her results and Fleur's departure date nearing was getting to her. Currently, they were in Hermione's room, the brunette pacing back and forth as they waited for her exam results letter, which should be appearing at any moment.

"Relax, mon amour," said Fleur, capturing the brunette's hand so she could stop biting her fingers and stop her pacing, "are you that worried I will win our results bet?" she teased.

Hermione harrumphed, elbowing the blonde gently

Fleur just chuckled and pulled her in an all-encompassing hug before she dove onto the bed.

The British witch squeaked as her world axis pivoted and she found herself giggling and laughing with Fleur as they bounced on the bed. They rolled around like kids, tickling each other until a crinkle was heard underneath their bodies, stopping them dead in the middle of their shenanigans.

Sitting up, Hermione dug underneath their bodies and pulled out a crinkled letter with her name on it.

"Open it, mon amour!" Fleur urged in excitement, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulder.

Hermione took a deep breath in to ease the slight tremble in her fingers before gently tearing open the envelope, pulling the letter out. She zoomed immediately onto the important details.

Charms - O

Defence Against the Dark Arts - E

Herbology - O

Transfiguration - O

Arithmancy - O

Ancient Runes - O

Potions - O

Muggle Studies - O

History of Magic - E

"These are amazing results, mon amour! Congratulations!"

"Hmpff, I got an E in DADA… and in History… I told you I messed up one of the years," Hermione complained to which Fleur just laughed.

The blonde pulled the letter out of the brunette's hand, chucking it on the bedside table.

"Fleur!" Hermione shouted, aghast. That letter was important!

Fleur just pulled her back onto the bed and tickled her without mercy.

"Stop!" Hermione chortled, trying to get away but the Veela was too strong. She laughed, tears in her eyes, "Ahahaha, no, Fleur! Ahahaha, stop!" she wheezed.

Fleur eased up and pressed a gentle kiss on the Gryffindor's temple, "You are a graduate now. Mes félicitations, mon amour."

Hermione caught her breath and snuggled into her lover, "Thank you, my love."

"Soon, it will be my turn and we will start our life together," Fleur gently whispered against the Gryffindor's forehead.

Hermione shivered and burrowed deeper into Fleur, pressing a kiss to her neck, "I can't wait…"

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Hermione found herself between her parents and Fleur's family who were fussing over her black robes as they waited for her graduation ceremony to start, while Fleur watched in amusement.

They were all gathered near the Great Hall main entrance, still chatting with the ceremony about to start in ten minutes. The Great Hall had been decorated from top to bottom, with the House Flags displayed prominently on the walls. Each House table was covered in tablecloths of their respective colours.

Hermione was buzzing, excited and happy to have her family and Fleur's here to celebrate with her. She had spent a few minutes squealing with Ginny before the redhead gave her a high-five and went to take a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"I am so proud of you, ma chérie," Fleur's mother, Apoline said as she helped Hermione's mum pat the Gryffindor's bushy hair down.

Hermione blushed and thanked the French woman, who was turning out to be a second mother to her. Her own mum then pulled her in a tight hug.

"My baby is so grown up," Emma said, sniffling slightly. Time had gone past quite quickly since Hermione left for Hogwarts and it made her miss her little girl a bit.

"Mum! I'm just graduating!" Hermione replied, holding back her own tears. It meant so much for all of them to be here for her.

"Oh Emma, she iz just walking down the 'all to get 'er certificate on ze podium," Appoline teased the Englishwoman, "It iz not like she iz walking down the aisle!"

Hermione flushed deep red at the visual that erupted in her mind at those words.

Emma chuckled, taking in her daughter's blushing face while she accepted a handkerchief from Armand, "I get what you mean. I reckon it will be soon with the face she is making," she replied, teasing her daughter.

Hermione turned scarlet and she ran away to find Fleur, burrowing her heated face into the Veela's chest as their families teased her.

Fleur chuckled and pressed a kiss on the brunette's locks. A blushing Hermione was just too cute for her heart.

"Families and students, please take your seats, the ceremony is about to commence," Professor McGonagall's voice rang through the room.

The families quickly kissed the brunette on each cheek before walking up the hall to the table that had been set up in front, specifically for the graduands' families. Fleur pressed a loving kiss to Hermione's lips before walking away to settle in her seat at the Ravenclaw table, which was covered in a blue tablecloth and little Ravenclaw flags, spread all over it.

McGonagall cleared her throat as everyone had settled in their place before continuing, "Once the ceremony starts, you will be called by your names, just like your first year with the Sorting Hat. Once it is called out, please come forward to the stage and accept your hat and certificate,"

Hermione shuffled to Harry who was waving at Sirius Black. His godfather was here for him, now free, having been exonerated after Peter Pettigrew's arrest. The boy was glowing at having Sirius here with him. Hermione looked over to the family table and saw the rugged Black had cleaned up quite nicely and was in a deep conversation with Fleur's father.

Neville and Luna approached the pair and everyone hugged each other enthusiastically. They had finally made it. Hermione hoped that she would not lose contact with her friends when she went away to France. She wasn't sure what effect the distance would have between them.

"You have too many wrackspurts around your head, Hermione. France is not that far, you don't want to bring them with you there," Luna turned to the brunette and gave her a knowing smile.

Despite not making any sense at all, Hermione understood Luna's words perfectly and was relieved, knowing her friends would not let their friendship disappear just because she is on the other side of the channel. She pulled Luna in another hug.

"You must have helped Ron a lot more than we thought during the years, Hermione. He is glaring at us from the Gryffindor table," said Neville, eyeing the redhead.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about him, Nev. It's his own fault that he didn't manage to graduate." They all looked at each other and snickered.

"Welcome everyone to the Hogwarts Graduation Ceremony," Dumbledore's voice boomed as he started his opening speech. The Hall quieted down immediately. "A big welcome to our graduands, who have worked hard to be where they are today. Your perseverance and hard work are what brings you here today. A round of applause for them, please."

Applause and cheers erupted throughout the hall and Hermione felt her chest puff up, feeling mighty proud of herself and her friends. She looked at Fleur who was clapping hard, a look of absolute love and pride on the blonde's face and Hermione felt her heart warm up. Not only was she here, having achieved what she came for but she had also found love along the way and she couldn't be any more grateful.

"Your families, friends, teachers and house members are here today with you to celebrate your achievements so without further ado, let's begin!" Dumbledore announced as he looked at McGonagall who was standing by his side with a long parchment.

"Helena Abbotsford - Hufflepuff," McGonagall called out.

Clapping and cheers rang through the crowd as the Hufflepuff girl stepped forward with a smile and walked up the hall to Dumbledore, yellow and black confetti raining on her with every step she took. Dumbledore handed her the certificate and carefully placed a gold-trimmed pointy witch hat on her head while Colin Creavy took photos.

The process repeated as more names were called out.

"Head Girl, Hermione Granger - Gryffindor"

Cheers and whistles erupted louder from the whole room and the Gryffindors banged on their table. Hermione felt like her smile couldn't get any bigger as she walked up, red and gold confetti raining all around her. She walked up and saw Professor McGonagall smiling widely at her.

"Congratulations Miss Granger," Dumbledore said as he handed her her certificate.

"Congratulations dear," McGonagall said proudly as she handed out the witch hat to Dumbledore.

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully, feeling lucky to have had the best role models in her schooling years. The hat was securely placed on her head with more cheers and clapping erupting around her.

Dumbledore winked at her before turning to the hall, "Your Head Girl, Hermione Granger everyone," he called out as he started clapping too. Hermione watched with misty eyes as Fleur got up to her feet and clapped, everyone else following to give her a standing ovation.

"Thank you!" She called out loud at her friends and family as she waved at them all. She was really going to miss them all. They had become a second family to her.

She then stepped down the podium and walked to her Veela, pulling her in a deep kiss which made the room erupt in whistles. Their families could only shake their heads at the two lovebirds with a smile. Blushing, Hermione kept it short before quickly shuffling to the Gryffindor table, where everyone started congratulating her. Ginny barely waited for her to be seated before jumping onto her for a congratulatory hug. Hermione was on cloud nine and couldn't even get herself to be bothered by Ron's grumpy face who was sitting a bit further away. His sour expression was lost in the sea of happy faces from her other fellow Gryffindors.

Hermione turned and listened to the other names being called out, clapping until her hands hurt as one by one, her peers, her best friends all walked up and got their certificates, finally going from graduands to graduates.

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Alas, the day for the Beauxbatons delegation to return back to France arrived soon enough, despite Hermione's prayers for time to slow down. She had spent the night with Fleur, making desperate love to her until they both passed out, exhausted. Now here she was, with the Hogwarts students, gathered outside to say goodbye.

Hermione clung to Fleur's cloak as they made their way towards the carriage, the blonde saying goodbye to Harry and the others.

"Luna," Brittany called out as she approached the blonde, a few paces from the couple. "As a thank you for your friendship, please have this," the tall blonde said, dropping something in the Ravenclaw's palms, "It's a Qapaquack, we have them a lot in France. We'll see each other again."

"Oh thank you!" Luna squealed, looking at the gift in her hands in awe.

Hermione's eyes nearly bugged out as she saw something shimmer in her friend's hands for a split second before going invisible. "Wha…" She was sure she saw a rainbow duck with feathers spiking up its head like a mohawk. She looked up Fleur in shock, "did you just see..."

Fleur chuckled and just winked at her.

"Ladies! Prepare yourselves to embark!" Madame Maxime's called out.

Upon hearing those words, tears started to well in Hermione's eyes no matter how hard the Head Girl tried to stop them. Her hands automatically clutched harder at Fleur's robes.

Fleur sensing her mate's distress, gathered her in her arms, wiping the brunette's tears as they started to trickle down her cheeks, "Mon amour…" she whispered, at a loss on how to make her mate feel better.

"I'm sorry..." Hermione sniffed, "I'm being such a crybaby these days," she said through her tears.

"It's ok, ma belle," replied Fleur, "just a few weeks and we'll be together again," she said, unable to keep the sadness out of her voice. She didn't want to be away from the brunette either. "We'll be fine, I promise."

Hermione chuckled and settled deeper into Fleur's arms, wanting to be as close as possible to the French woman, "I… I've gotten so used to you being with me, I'm not sure I can live without you anymore," she pressed a kiss on Fleur's shirt where she knew the scar rested underneath. It reminded her of how easily things could be lost. How easily her moments with Fleur could be the last one...

Fleur lifted Hermione's chin and kissed her, "I cannot live without you either, ma belle and after zhese few weeks, I don't intend to," the Veela whispered against the brunette's hair, before pulling her into another kiss.

Hermione trembled against Fleur's lips, clinging to the blonde, "You haven't left yet and I already feel a hole in my chest."

Fleur pressed her lips harder against Hermione's, "I will always be wiz you, in your heart, through our bond," and then proceeded to kiss the hell out of the brunette.

The couple kissed fiercely, losing themselves in each other. It was only when Madame Maxime called out for Fleur that they separated, slowly pulling away from each other.

"We'll see each other soon, mon amour, I'll write to you every day through our bracelets," Fleur promised, depositing a kiss on Hermione's hand before letting go and walking backwards.

"And I'll reply to you, every time," promised Hermione, painfully watching her go. She waved as she watched Fleur climb into the carriage. The blonde turned to look back at her one last time, blowing her a kiss before disappearing inside.

The brunette watched the carriage take off and fly away until it started getting smaller and smaller in the sky. Swivelling, she ran to the wooden bridge. She cried as she reached the structure, leaning against the barrier, wiping her tears furiously as they obscured her view of the carriage. She watched the speck get smaller and smaller until it disappeared totally.

Footsteps were heard behind her. "You'll see her again, Mione," the voice of Ginny reached her ears and she turned to find the redhead approaching her with Luna.

"Yes, you will. Nothing will ever separate her from you," Luna said, pulling the brunette into a hug. Ginny joined in on the hug.

After a few minutes of composing herself, she chuckled, "Thank you both… I'm just being sensitive…"

"No, you are not," Luna whispered to her friend, "You nearly lost her so it's understandable you don't want her out of your sight."

Hermione nodded and hugged them back, thankful for the support of her friends. It wasn't the same as being in Fleur's arms but she appreciated it just the same. She was thankful to have such great friends.

Later, when she settled herself in bed, she felt her bracelet warm up upon her skin. Quickly ripping it off her wrist, she turned it into its parchment form and smiled through misted eyes as beautiful cursive words stared back at her.

F: Je t'aime de tout mon coeur..

She eagerly brought her quill to the paper to write a reply.

H: I love you so much

RESPONSE TO REVIEWERS:

faythnoele: Yes, it goes till Chapter 31 which I have just posted everything at the moment. Enjoy.

1Deivle: Yes, I didn't really want to go through the whole Voldemort thing tbh, I have an original idea in mind so I am wrapping this up to work on the sequel.

Roxanne Mrquez: Happy that you enjoyed this. It goes till Chapter 31 then I intend to write an original sequel

accursed: Lol, I am back.

jackyfloresq2001: Thanks, goes till Chapter 31!

dunderhead1: Thanks! Enjoy the update!

wkgreen: I hope you enjoy the update! Hoping to write a sequel so stay tuned! Probably will be on AO3 though.

ShadowCub: Yeah, I didn't want to go through the whole Golden Trio and Voldemort thing. I have an original sequel in plans.

mon85babe: Just dropped more, enjoy!

EElliot: Just updated, enjoy!

RenBiscuits: You know it! :)

pclauink: Yes, they are off to France. I have an original sequel in mind and didn't really want to do the Hogwarts thing again.