L'Amour Toujour
C2: New Year, New Issues
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.
A/N: So, I have neglected to mention this in last chapter, but this will very much be an opposite side of the War fic, with a lot of Dumbledore bashing and the Order of the Phoenix in general, as well as some Weasley bashing, although they will play a minor part in this. Now having warned everyone, enjoy the chapter.
All of her life Hermione had felt off with her parents, so of course when she got her letter to attend Hogwarts, some things started to make sense, and at the same time it raised even more questions, especially considering the ease she mastered her spells each year.
All of that knowledge had come at a bit of a price however, since most of her classmates hated her for being so smart, and even though she was in Ravenclaw, the House that prided intellect, she only had four people she could really call her friends.
First there was Luna, who despite being in a year below her, was just as smart as she was and there had been many a night over the last four years where the two girls would spend the majority of their time in the library, discussing theories or more advanced magic.
Another was Luna's cousin Dora, who even though she had graduated a couple of years ago, always kept in contact with the brunette, sending her numerous letters over the summer and always offering to come and help her and Luna get their school supplies and anything else they might need.
Her third real friend was Draco, who was Luna's other cousin and while they had a bit of a strained relationship in their first year at school, it nominally improved when Luna came to school and they both had seen that the other wasn't that bad. Through their talks she had learned that a lot of Draco's attitude was a defense mechanism for school and he never really meant the things he said to her.
The last person she called a friend was Ginny Weasley and by extension the twins Fred and George, who was in Luna's year and despite that she had become quickly integrated in their group of friends, with her and Draco having a friendly rivalry mostly centered around Quidditch, which was more often than not terribly amusing to Luna and Hermione who didn't care for the sport.
That didn't stop them from cheering for Draco at his games though and while that in the beginning got them both weird looks from their Housemates, but now nobody seemed to care, having classified them both as weird a long time ago.
From there the three had been inseparable and it had helped Hermione's standing a little since she now only had to contend with the people from her own House and the glares of the so called Boy who Lived and has gaggle of friends, who seemed to loathe her for no other reason than her intellect.
It was also because of her intellect that she had started to notice some discrepancies in all of the stories she heard over the years, combined with the events of last year. The Tri-Wizard Tournament had been shrouded in a lot of controversy and while she had been mostly left alone through it, she couldn't help but wonder why things didn't seem to make sense anymore, something she had talked about at length with Luna, who on her turn had told her some of the things her aunts had told her.
Especially Potter's claims that the Dark Lord had returned were way out there and she still wasn't sure on what to believe anymore.
What also hadn't helped her thinking was that the French Champion, Fleur Delacour had taken an interest in her, which she still wasn't sure she should be charmed or annoyed about. They had become friends over the course of the year, but sometimes the French girl's questions were a bit invasive, or at least they seemed so to her, but that could also be because of her somewhat sheltered upbringing. What mostly mattered to her was that the older blonde had been a near constant companion to her and Luna for most of the year and they had struck up a friendship and she had written at least as many letters to Fleur as she had done to Luna, since the older blonde also fed her love of knowledge and curiosity.
Fleur was mysterious and an open book at the same time, telling about herself freely and indulging my thousand and one questions about Veela's. She intrigued her like few other people ever have and that alone was a reason to keep in contact with the gorgeous blonde.
She had also challenged Hermione's perspectives a lot much like Luna did and it had brought her to do some research over the summer, which had led her to question things even more than she already was, but she felt that there was a lot more knowledge to be gained if she asked the right people.
It was with this knowledge that Hermione took a seat in the cart on the Hogwarts Express while she waited for Luna and Ginny to join her, since the blonde was running a bit late for the first time since they had met.
She had missed the blonde terribly over the summer, and letters back and forth only did so much to satiate her hunger for knowledge and companionship since her parents had become even more distant over the summer.
She didn't have to wait long, because as soon as she had sat down the blonde and redhead walked in. "Hello Hermione, it's good to see you again." Luna said with her usual bright smile as she hugged the brunette.
Hermione smiled at her. "It's good to see you again too, Lu. I really missed you over the summer, and of course you too Gin."
The redhead smiled and hugged Hermione. "It's good to see you again too 'Mione. The twins say hi too by the way. They had some things to do while they still had the chance."
Hermione smiled at that. "I figured as much, it's good to hear that they're looking outside the norm for careers after school, and I'll be honest and say that some of their products are really good."
"They'll be pleased to hear that, although they still say that they are not responsible for any side effects." The redhead said with a grin.
Hermione just smiled at that as they took a seat and waited for the train to depart. "So, what do you think this year will bring?" Luna asked once they had all gotten comfortable.
"I honestly don't know, but I have a feeling Potter will have a starring role in it all." Hermione said softly.
"Oh, without a doubt, and the fact that my brother is in his ear only makes him more obnoxious. I swear sometimes I wish I was in Hufflepuff instead of having to share a Common Room with them and their egos." Ginny said with an annoyed huff.
The two girls smiled at her. "While understandable, the twins are sure to take your mind off that and distract you. We only have each other in Ravenclaw to really talk to. The others just think we're weird."
"Yeah, but you two get to share a room." Ginny said matter of factually.
The two girls smiled at that, since it was very true. Due to Ravenclaw being predominately male, the girls were assigned a room which could house as many people as they pleased, and the moment Luna came to school and the two had started to build a friendship, Hermione has asked Professor Flitwick if they could share a room together, which he had no issue in agreeing with.
As the train rolled into motion, the three girls fell into an easy conversation, mostly centered around schoolwork for the majority of the trip, only stopping once to get some candy from the trolley lady.
…
This year was going to be awful, they were all sure of it. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't sit right with either of them, being not only prejudiced against anyone that wasn't a pureblooded witch or wizard or fit her image of such, but she also seemed to have little to know knowledge about the subject she was supposed to teach.
Luna and Hermione were glad that they kept mostly to themselves and therefor didn't usually get into trouble, but with this woman now watching everyone's every move, even that might prove to be difficult. "I'm glad that dinner is over, because I got a strange feeling from Umbridge."
Hermione nodded at that as she started to unpack her trunk. "I felt the same to be honest, and I fear that she's going to go after me in particular, not only am I a Muggleborn, but I have a feeling that she's not going to take well to my questions."
Luna smiled at her. "I think you'll be fine Hermione, every teacher has to deal with the fact that students ask questions."
Hermione smiled at that. "True, and it's not like I will intentionally ask anything that might be considered controversial. I just wonder why the Ministry wants to interfere at Hogwarts. Perhaps they are doubting Dumbledore."
"I think they do. I know you're not a big fan of the Prophet, but there was something about Potter using magic outside of school and they charged him for it. Apparently there was a trial where Dumbledore spoke on his behalf so he could continue his education, but my aunts and Dora think that is because Dumbledore wants to keep him close because of something." Luna said softly, knowing the brunette was starting to figure things out.
"That makes a lot of sense actually. Whatever he is planning has to involve him in some way, why else would everything that has happened over the last few years involve him so heavily?" Hermione asked softly, still afraid that they could be overheard.
Luna nodded at that. "My aunts have told me a little of what they think is going on and I agree with you. It's all a bit too coincidental."
Hermione nodded at the blonde. "Exactly, and I think that this goes deeper than we think, but if you're up for a bit of a challenge, I would like to investigate exactly how deep it goes."
"Like you would have to ask Hermione. While I have my own reasons to want to get to the bottom of this. Because I too have questions, but more importantly, I can also see that this is very important to you and that is enough for me to want to help in any way I can." Luna said with her patented dreamy smile.
Hermione smiled at that. "Oh really? And here I thought your aunts told you everything by now."
"Far from it Hermione, there are still a lot of things I don't know about my past and there are plenty of things I want answers to. There is one particular thing that even my aunts don't have an answer to that I want clarity on." Luna said softly.
Hermione smiled and pulled her into a hug. "If there is anything I can do to help, I will gladly help you find all of the information you might need. I have a feeling that we've both been victimized, you more so than me."
Luna smiled at her. "If one of my theories is true, I don't think that's true, but I can't say too much about it, because I barely have any information."
Hermione nodded at her, knowing that these types of subjects were a sensitive topic for the blonde and knew not to push.
After putting away their things they sat down at the table they had in their room, wanting to get a head start on their homework already, especially since they both expected that Defense Against the Dark Arts would be their biggest challenge this year.
"So, now that we properly have the time to talk. How was your summer?" Hermione asked with a smile.
Luna giggled at her. "It was shockingly uneventful for once. Usually there is plenty to do at our house, but Draco spent most of the summer practicing Quidditch and Dora was busy with her ongoing quest to catalog all our family's properties and belongings, so I've spent most of my time in our library, either by myself or with aunt Narcissa."
"I can only imagine the size of that library. It sounds like an amazing place to spend so many hours in there." Hermione said softly.
"It's probably half as big as the library here at Hogwarts, but unlike the library here, our library has a lot more variety in its subjects. Perhaps I could ask my aunt if it's okay if you could come to visit sometime, I'm sure you would love it." Luna said with a soft smile.
Hermione smiled brightly at her best friend. "I would love that. I have always wanted to meet your aunts."
"I know, and I think I'm very close to getting them to agree to let you come visit. Unfortunately the wards around our home are proving difficult to modify to not outright reject Muggleborns." Luna said softly.
Hermione only nodded at that, knowing that Luna's aunts didn't necessarily have anything against Muggleborns. "I understand Lu."
Luna smiled and went over to hug her. "Trust me that I really want to have you over at our home, Hermione, all three of us want to have you over, but the wards around our house were placed by those that despised Muggleborns, and the only one who can truly alter them is my mother, who is in Azkaban."
"Is there still no word if she will ever be released?" Hermione asked softly, knowing that her mothers were a bit of a sore subject for the young blonde.
Luna shook her head and relaxed against the brunette as they shifted their positions. "Unfortunately not, and honestly I think as long as this Minister is in power she won't be released at all. My aunts and I believe that she is purposely kept there to not reveal a larger conspiracy in our world."
"I'm sorry Luna. I couldn't imagine what it is to grow up without your parents there." Hermione said softly.
Luna smiled softly at her. "I've never known any different to be honest, I know a lot about them from what my aunts have told me, but it's not the same as having them here of course."
Hermione smiled and hugged her best friend tighter as they took a small moment to be vulnerable together, unknowingly both of them determined to find out the truth this year.
…
In Diagon Alley it was the start of another day for Fleur Delacour, who had decided to forego a mastery in favor of opening up her own Potion shop in Diagon Alley, since she could bare to stay home anymore where her mother spent every moment of the day driving her crazy.
She also had an ulterior motive to return to England, one she had only told her sister about. While competing in that dreadful tournament last year, she had found her mate in one beautiful and shy bookworm named Hermione Granger, and while the brunette was a couple of years younger than her, she knew instinctually that she was the one.
Her grandmother had always told her the stories of the Veela and how they would know that they had found their mates, and when she saw the brunette for the first time, she finally believed it all. It was an instant feeling of needing to protect and love the girl, but knew that due to her age, she needed to play the long game and had settled on becoming her friend, which thankfully had worked amazingly. There had been many letters back and forth over the summer and every letter she received made her heart soar with happiness.
As she made her way downstairs from the small apartment above her shop she made a beeline for her Potions Lab, needing to check on her latest creation before opening the shop for the day. She was quite proud of her newest project, which was something Hermione had given her the inspiration for. It was a Healing potion that would not only cure ailments, but also heal broken bones and even any internal damage, which she hoped would be a good replacement for the dozen or so potions that now had to be taken separately.
The best part in her opinion was the fact that while its ingredients were numerous, they were all natural with no rare magical creature components, which was something she had always abhorred, since being a Veela classified her as a magical creature.
As she looked into the cauldron to inspect her creation, she couldn't help but smile. It looked and smelled exactly like it should, if her experiments so far were anything to go on.
Satisfied with how it looked, she knew all it needed was time to properly mature, which with a bit of luck was tonight, so for now she made her way to the front to open the store, not expecting many customers this early.
As she opened up her store and made her way back to the counter, the soft chime of a person entering surprised her. "Bonjour. How may I help you?" She asked the statuesque blonde who had walked in.
The woman smiled kindly at her. "Good morning, I saw that you had just opened up shop and being an avid brewer myself, I thought I would come in and look around. I am also looking for some more rare ingredients, namely some fire seeds and pufferfish eyes. My stocks are a bit low."
Fleur smiled back at her. "Of course Madame, you will find all ingredients here, as well as several substitutes."
Narcissa nodded and looked around critically. "You seem awfully young to be a shop owner."
"Surprisingly you are not the first one to say that Madame. I have indeed recently graduated from Beauxbatons in France but decided that I would rather be independent and do what I love instead of following a dictated path, and my last trip to England was so satisfactory that it was an easy decision to settle myself here." Fleur said kindly.
"I can admire that, knowing how societal pressure can impact one's future. You also look familiar for some reason. Have we met before?" Narcissa asked kindly.
"Not personally, but you may have seen me in the Daily Prophet. I was one of the Champions at last year's Tri-Wizard Tournament at Hogwarts." Fleur said with a kind smile.
Narcissa smiled at her as she recognized her. "Then I think you might know my niece, Luna. She told me about a lovely French girl that she met last year."
"Ah yes, she told me a lot about her aunts. It is good to put a face to the name, Madame Black. She was wonderful during my time there." Fleur said with a kind smile as she placed the ingredients on the counter.
Narcissa smiled at that. "I imagined she would. She has a way with people."
Fleur nodded at her. "That she has, and I still consider her a good friend. She actually encouraged me to pursue my passion."
"That certainly sounds like Luna, I can see that your ingredients are of very good quality, and I will definitely return here more often for my potion and ingredient needs." Narcissa said as she paid the blonde for the ingredients and services.
Fleur smiled and thanked her. "I look forward to seeing you again Madame Black. I always have special offers on sale, usually potions I am working on."
Narcissa smiled at that. "I would love to talk about that with you sometime, but unfortunately I have a couple of more errands to run. Good day Ms. Delacour."
Fleur looked a bit surprised at that as the blonde walked out of the store, but figured that the blonde had read her name in the newspaper last year.
Now that she had the time she got to work restocking her potions, mostly because it would be a while for customers to really come in.
As she got to work on restocking her supplies, she remembered that she still had a package to send to Hogwarts. She had made a promise to Hermione to gift her something special for her birthday and she was going to deliver on that promise to her mate.
She had worked tirelessly over the summer on creating a journal where I would be easier for them to communicate, as well as ensuring privacy since only her and Hermione would be able to read or write in it.
After checking the enchantments for a last time, she wrote a note explaining the gift and how to use it, along with her best birthday wishes and once she was satisfied she sent her newly acquired owl Artemis to Hogwarts with specific instructions to deliver it in five days time.
The owl had merely hooted once before flying off, and Fleur smiled at her as she made her way back into the store, hoping that her gift would be well received by her mate
…
When Hermione and Luna took a seat at breakfast that Saturday, both of them were glad that it was the weekend. The entire first week had been a drag for them, even though they had completely different classes, because the one class that they had been dreading was something they both had no less than four times a week.
For Hermione it had been difficult mostly because Umbridge had taken every opportunity to let her know what she thought of Muggleborns and constantly reminded her of her supposed place.
Luna did not fare much better in her interactions, mostly because the horrible toad of a woman saw her as a crazy girl because of who her mother was, even though that was not at all public knowledge, which to her meant the woman had been involved in it somehow.
The two girls had something else on their minds however today, since it was Hermione's birthday and they had always celebrated that together from the time they had become friends, usually in the library, although this year their reading material would be wholly different from other years.
They had found some information already, and had been keen on diving into it, but had yet to find a good time to do so. "I swear that this year is going to be way more trouble than strictly necessary." Hermione said softly as they dug into breakfast.
Luna smiled at her best friend. "I know 'Mione, but we'll get through it like we've done every year until now. At least one tradition will always remain. Happy birthday." She said as she handed the brunette a neatly wrapped gift.
Hermione smiled and hugged her. "Thank you Luna. I'm sure I will love it."
"I'm sure you will, because I'm very sure that this is not available anywhere in Hogwarts, and if you like it, you can thank my aunts. They sent this out of our library." Luna said with her usual dreamy smile.
Hermione smiled as the owls flew into Great Hall bearing the mail, as they did every Saturday. What she didn't expect however was that one of them, a black owl with bright yellow eyes landing in front of her before turning around to reveal the package it was carrying.
The brunette quirked an eyebrow as she took it from the bird and offering it some of her bacon, since she didn't have anything else as a treat.
While the owl snacked on the offered bacon, Hermione took the note that was attached to the package, smiling softly as she saw the handwriting on the note. "Why am I not surprised to see that Fleur sent me a gift too."
"She did promise she would Hermione, and she doesn't really seem like the person to break a promise to a friend." Luna said kindly.
Hermione smiled at that as she read the note.
Dear Hermione,
Happy Birthday chéri. I hope that today finds you well and among friends.
As you may remember I made you a promise last year and after a lot of work I have found something that should make talking to each other a bit easier.
Your gift from me is a journal that I have spelled in such a way that if you write something in your journal for me to read, I will be notified and will be able to respond instantly, and of course the same is true the other way around too. If I send a message to you, the bracelet I got you with the journal will grow warm to notify you of a message.
Only the two of us are able to read it and write in it, or anyone you trust with the password, Artemis. This is also the name of my new owl by the way. I hope she wasn't too much of a hassle in delivering your gift.
I hope you have a wonderful birthday and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours always,
Fleur Delacour
Hermione's eyes widened a little on reading that. "I can't believe it, she actually found a way where we can talk to each other without having to wait for the mail."
Luna smiled at that. "Sounds like someone has a crush on a certain French Veela."
That made her blush. "I most certainly do not have a crush Luna. I just didn't believe it was possible to make something like this without it turning out to be something like what had Ginny under control. This opens up a lot of avenues of study."
Luna smiled and hugged her as they made their way to the library, not wanting the rest of their housemates to potentially bud into their conversation if they kept this in the Great Hall. "I was teasing, 'Mione."
Hermione merely huffed softly as they walked through the halls, much to the blonde's amusement.
As they sat down in the library a few moments later, Hermione put on the bracelet, deciding to test it right away now that they were away from prying eyes.
She opened up her journal and whispered the password, smiling as she saw Fleur's elegant script appear at the top.
F: I hope you don't mind me being too forward, Hermione, but I always keep my promises, especially those made to close friends
H: I will admit you caught me by surprise, Fleur, but I love being able to talk to you on a regular basis. I hope you're doing well.
She then closed the journal again as she opened up Luna's gift, which was a book on both silent and wandless spellcasting, hugging the blonde as she saw it. "Thank you so much Luna."
The blonde smiled at her best friend. "Don't mention it 'Mione. Like I said, my aunts thought you would be interested in this, and from what I told them about you they figured that you would want to learn it."
"It's almost as if they know me already, despite the fact that I have never met them." Hermione said with a smile.
"I know, but come up very frequently in conversations when I'm at home, either by me or Draco. I have a feeling that they suspect the same thing I do." Luna said softly.
Hermione looked quizzically at her. "And what do you suspect Lu?"
"Before I answer that, I have to tell you a story, which I would rather tell you in the safety of our room. It is rather personal and I would rather not have anyone overhear, because it concerns something only our family knows about." Luna said softly.
Hermione nodded at her, knowing that the blonde was very wary of people outside her family knowing much about her. "It's okay. I can restrain my curiosity until tonight."
Luna smiled and hugged her as she took out their file on everything they had found contradictory so far.
She had a bit of trepidation for telling Hermione her suspicions tonight, but after having talked it over with her aunts they had agreed that it was time to find out if Hermione was their long lost niece and Luna's sister.
There was no guarantee that the brunette would even remember things from that time, or that her memories were genuine, but Luna had to at least tell her story to her best friend, because she deserved to know exactly what her she thought was going on, especially if it was true.
For now the two witches focused themselves on what they did know, which was mostly Luna telling Hermione on what her aunts had told her were the true intentions of the so called Dark side.
They had discussed this at length last year and Luna could see that Hermione was starting to make the connections.
This had led them to start a file with discrepancies which so far included things like the events of last year and the true reason the Dementors had been posted at Hogwarts two years ago. "So, where did we leave off last year? I believe it was the final task of the Tournament." Luna asked softly.
Hermione nodded at that. "Indeed we were, and with everything that we have found I think it is safe to conclude that especially that last task was rigged. Potter was meant to find that Cup and then supposedly encounter He-who-must-not-be-named, although I have some trouble believing that. It wouldn't really be sound strategy to go after your intended target in such a weakened state."
Luna nodded at her. "I tend to agree. It doesn't sound like the man my aunts have told me about. He would have thought that through more. I think there is someone trying to play both sides here."
"It wouldn't surprise me to be honest. There have to be a ton of people standing to gain a lot with one of the two sides permanently crippled, but I think we have too little information to start thinking of potential suspects now. The bigger question is why He would choose now of all times to come back. Why not wait until he has regained more strength?" Hermione asked softly.
"I honestly don't know 'Mione. Perhaps it was a ritual that needed specific parameters to be successfully performed. I could ask my aunts, but I doubt they would know. As far as I know there has been no communication." Luna said softly.
Hermione nodded at that as she made some notes. "I understand, I was mostly just theorizing."
Luna smiled at her as she gave the brunette a hug. "For the moment that is all we can do, Hermione, at least until we have more information."
Hermione only nodded at her as they decided to make their way back to their room, both of them figuring that it wouldn't do them much good to keep theorizing right now.