Hello me lovelies! I'm sorry for the late update, I've rather been lacking in energy to write lately. (I spend my days in front of 4 LCD screens and 3 laptops at work, coding all day. Work has been especially difficult these last few days.) It's with honor that I bring to you Chapter 3! :)
Please enjoy~
H is For Happiness
Living in a houseful of ginger haired siblings, George thought he had seen it all. When Ginny first got her period, they were playing Quidditch and he, after losing a bet to Fred, was the one to guide her into the restroom and explain some of the strange intricacies of the female body because their mum had gone to the Ministry that day. George could remember the day he barged in on Ron wanking off, the day he found Percy's extensive stash of muggle magazines with scantily clad women in the front.
Between living as a Weasley and running a joke shop where he would receive letters and pictures of the mishaps his creations had made, George simply never considered there could be another incident in his life to make him gawk as much as he was now, staring at Fleur who was currently, very noticeably, unmistakably liplocked with Hermione.
Harry recovered first and coughed.
The two women broke apart. Hermione looked to be in a state of utter shock and turned white as paste. Fleur didn't fare much better but she at least to remember to breath. Not knowing what else to say, George fell back on his characteristically whimsical self.
"Is this your way of getting back at me for letting the dust bunnies loose in your apartment?"
"Was that you!?" Hermione turned red, "It took me a week to jinx them out of my room!"
"Apparently you don't need your room, mate. Fleur's place is right next door." Fleur's ears turned beet red. Hermione waved her wand and the wine bottle he was holding beat soundly against his leg, uncomfortably close to his privates.
"It's not what it looks like." Hermione insisted.
"What is it supposed to look like?" Ron said dumbly, "I kind of want to see it again—you know. To make up my mind."
Since Ron was standing in the middle, he received a very hard elbow jab from Harry and George almost at the same time. Ron doubled over, clutching his side, groaning an apology.
"It's…." Hermione began but couldn't finish her sentence, looking at Fleur for an answer. The blonde looked equally mystified.
"Look." Harry finally spoke, "It doesn't matter what it is. It's between you two."
George nodded in agreement. "But we still need your big television for Monday Night Quidditch, Fleur." He held up his portion of alcohol, most noticeably Fleur's favorite brand of red wine. "We don't break tradition."
Ever since the magical world had become more aware of what muggles achieve and the laws had been rewritten to be more inclusive of muggleborns, especially in public offices, a revolution began. Suddenly, the Ministry was hiring muggleborns to take apart and study muggle contraptions, while another group focused on integrating magical spells with the technology. The two seemingly opposite elements were slowly beginning to fuse.
Appropriately, one of the first breakthroughs was the ability to magically broadcast to any television without the need of a wavelength or frequency. That way, the magical world could be kept a secret while George could watch his all time favorite sport, instead of just listening about it on the radio or waiting until the next day to read it on the Daily Prophet. Because Fleur came from a lavishly well to do family, she was one of the first to receiving a magically enchanted television, the biggest one available at that time, for Christmas.
Automatically, her apartment became the central hub every Monday during Quidditch season .
Fleur nodded, stepping aside and gesturing them to enter. "Tradition is tradition."
The door closed behind the three of them.
With practiced ease, they set down the cornucopia of alcohol on the neat counter until Ron sputtered, grabbing at George's shirt and pointing to the kitchen table. There laid a pile of cloths, notably Hermione's favorite green turtleneck, and undergarments which would probably, most likely, belong to Hermione as well.
"Are you alright, ma ami?" They could hear Fleur's voice through the door, whispering to Hermione. George had never heard Fleur speak in such a calm, loving tone before. Ron was still frantically punching his arm, waving his hands at Hermione's cloths.
"What do we do?" Ron's face was red.
"Calm down." Harry whispered, "Just take it and put it in Fleur's room."
"I'm okay." Hermione answered Fleur. George had to strain to hear the rest. "They didn't take it half as bad as I expected."
"Why do I have to do it?" George shushed his brother, trying to listen on the conversation.
"They love you." Fleur laughed nervously, "I must say though, I've never seen Harry's jaw drop so close to the ground."
"Because I said so!" He replied belatedly, shoving the cloths in Ron's direction. "Go before they come in!"
Harry shushed loudly. "Both of you, keep it down!"
"Are you okay with…everything?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"You kissed me. Hypothetically, if that ever happened, it would make me the luckiest woman in this world."
"You….you make me very happy, Fleur. That's not a theory. It never was." The younger witch's voice was wrecked with emotion. A part of George wanted to leave and let the newly formed couple have their privacy. Unfortunately, George didn't have that kind of dignity or resistance against his curiosity to tune out. Not even Harry could resist eavesdropping.
"Okay, I did it!" Ron ran out of Fleur's bedroom, clumsy and looking like his pants had been set on fire. "And stop looking guilty and at least get the cups out!"
"There's still a lot of figure out…but afterwards." Hermione said. As if trying to reassure Fleur, she added, "I like you, you alcoholic. Nothing is going to change that."
Fleur laughed, "Come along then, we can't leave the boys waiting."
There was a long silence, George could only assume they were kissing, before the door opened and the two women walked in, Hermione linking a shy index finger to Fleur's pinky. "The remote is on the coffee table." The blonde said as if nothing had happened.
"Great!" All three of them scrambled to look natural in Fleur's kitchen. Ron was a little too excited, "I was just looking for it!"
They all settled down onto the couch, Fleur and Hermione took to sitting next to each other on the sofa with Harry to the right of them. Ron lunged for the recliner so George was left with the armchair.
"Brat." He muttered at his younger brother who made a face.
The rest of the night went as it normally did, Ron, Harry and him characteriscally loud and obnoxious debating about the year's star players and winning teams. Hermione chimed in to correct them but mostly remained quiet, tucked in Fleur's arms. Fleur was never a spirited follower of Quidditch unless it involved her beloved international French team and was mostly silent, sipping on her wine and rubbing Hermione's back from time to time.
George tried not to stare but as he drank, he couldn't help but keep glancing back at the two. He had an inkling that Hermione was a little more curvier than a ruler—something about the way she looked at Chang Cho or how she seemed just as drawn to the Beauxbaton uniforms as he ways—but Fleur, he would have never guessed. But Fleur had a way of hiding herself, always primed, proper, she had a way of making others feel welcomed even when she held herself back. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
He had heard about the way Fleur nursed Hermione back to health at Shell Cottage, how Bill and hers relationship turned stale shortly after that. Bill must've figured out the nature of Fleur's feelings towards Hermione but if that were the case, it meant Fleur had been in love with the dark haired witch for the better half of a decade now.
George shuttered at the thought. There was dedication in Fleur's eyes, a kind of determination and love when she looked at Hermione that made him almost envious. And Hermione soaked up the attention, occasionally nuzzling deeper into Fleur's curves and once even, daring to press a quick kiss against Fleur's cheek. He had never seen Hermione have such peace; her eyes were always in a book, taking in information or darting around the rooming constantly observing her surroundings. Even with Ron…
She and Ron had bickered their way into and out of a relationship. While his hot headed brother was busy enjoying his new status as a war hero, Hermione wanted to seclude herself and it caused a lot of tension, wearying Hermione thin because Ron refused to step away from the limelight. Things eventually gave way when she announced that she was going to return to Hogwarts to finish school and Ron had no intentions of doing such things. The already strained relationship broke with mutual understanding a month after Hermione began her studies.
It made sense then that Hermione was attracted to Fleur, a Triwizard Champion, graduating at the top of her class. George was sure there was a certain level of intimacy they reached after Hermione arrived at Shell Cottage, battered and broken. Again they rekindled whatever they had when Hermione moved in next door a year and a half later. He had heard about Fleur's rather extensive shopping trips from Harry and wondered how Hermione could stand doing it with the blonde on a bimonthly basis. George, before he found out the true nature of their relationship, knew that the two shared a special bond.
It took a certain kind of person to withstand Hermione's rage against the enslavement of magical creatures and constant yapping of information. And it took a kind of special person to shop with Fleur. In a sense, where Ron, Harry and George could empathize very little with the two, they became each other's support. Fleur was smart, witty even when she began to open up to the group, always warm and friendly. Hermione took to Fleur especially quickly, he remembered, helping her with her English the first year they all spent together.
George recalled, hilariously, years ago that Fleur was determined to say the "h" sound and practiced with Hermione on a nightly basis. Then, on a snowy day, she entered their local pub looking especially proud greeting them all, rather loudly, with the phrase "Hhha-penis!"
The pub grew quiet, Ron, Harry and George laughed so hard their bellies ached but it was Hermione, after slamming her hand on her forehead and massaging her temples, who made room, took Fleur by the hand and pulled her to sit down, repeatedly saying "happiness" with determined patience.
They complemented each other, he thought before turning his attention back to the screen.
Ron swayed onto Harry, holding his wand out.
George looked to be near collapsing.
"Oh no." Hermione scolded waving a finger warningly at them, "You three aren't apparating."
Fleur made a sound of agreement. "The wards on the apartment make it harder to come and go. I don't want a spinched arm dirtying my carpet. Use the Floo."
"Speak clearly." Hermione said, looking directly at Harry
"That was over a decade ago! You weren't even there!" He grabbed a fistful and spoke, with trying accuracy, of his home. Ron and George followed until there was no one left in Fleur's apartment except Hermione.
Without hesitation, Fleur's left hand came to gently cup Hermione's face, thumb running across her pink lips.
"You look absolutely stunning as always." Fleur said, licking her own lips.
"Says the most beautiful woman I've ever met." Hermione replied, closing the meter space between them. They kissed clumsily and, for the first time, Hermione was trying to remember the moment through her drunken haze. Her hands came up to unbutton Fleur's blouse but the blonde pulled away.
"Not like this." Fleur gasped, trying to calm herself. "I want to remember…everything."
Hermione swallowed, knowing Fleur was right.
"You can spend the night?" Hermione tongued a trail from the space between her collarbones to the middle of her neck. The blonde witch changed her question to a demand. "No. Please, ma belle, spend the night."
Hermione lifted her head, whispering an answer into Fleur's ear. "I plan to."
Lots of background, jokes, feel good stuffs and fluffs...I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think and/or what you want to see in the next chapter. Good day to you all! :)