L'amour Toujour

C16: Easing Into Summer

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters

A couple of days into the vacation, Fleur and Hermione were already as inseparable as they had been during Christmas, much to the amusement of Bellatrix and Pandora, who saw a lot of similarities between them and their daughter and her girlfriend.

Since Luna and Gabrielle were still in that very important stage of getting to know each other, they had gone on a date under the supervision of Nymphadora, who had ensured her aunts that she would keep an eye on the two young witches, and the two Black sisters had taken the opportunity to do some necessary shopping in Diagon Alley, which left Bellatrix and Pandora alone with Hermione and Fleur in the mansion, something none of them really minded.

It was still very early and since neither Bellatrix and Pandora had no inclination to wake the two young lovers yet, they took some precious alone time together. "So love, what did you have planned for today? Since we'll be alone with our daughter and her mate for the majority of the day." Pandora asked with a soft smile.

"I was thinking we could leave them be for today. The past few days we've been so focused on getting to know them as a couple that I just know they must be feeling about as stifled as we did when we were their age. It has also been far too long since I've been able to enjoy watching you work on your experiments." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.

Pandora giggled at that. "There hasn't been much to experiment with since Cissa still won't let me use her precious Potions Lab after last time."

Bellatrix laughed at that. "Well, I'll admit that it was mostly my fault. You've always called me your biggest distraction."

"And you are, but I don't recall ever complaining about that, but that still leaves us with an empty day ahead." Pandora said sweetly.

"We'll play it by ear. When the lovebirds eventually grace us with their presence I'm sure they'll mention their plans for the day, and we'll plan accordingly." Bellatrix said softly.

Pandora smiled and kissed her wife softly, deepening it quickly as they lost themselves a little, not even noticing how Hermione and Fleur padded into the room. "It's still takes a bit of getting used to seeing my mothers be so intimate with each other." Hermione said with a bit of a blush.

The two women broke the kiss and smiled at them. "Good morning dears. We heard you had quite the eventful night." Bellatrix said with a wink to her daughter.

Hermione blushed a little as Fleur smiled at her. "I told you your mothers would hear us, mon amour."

"I know, but I'm not used to being called out for being pleasured by my girlfriend so well, or so often." Hermione said softly.

Fleur smiled and pressed a kiss to her mate's cheek as they took a seat. "I'm sorry sweetie. It's just that we see a lot of similarities between you and Fleur and when we were younger and newly mated. It is sweet to see you two so in love." Pandora said with a sweet smile.

Hermione smiled at her mother. "Thank you Mum, it means a lot to us that you both approve of our relationship, because I don't think I could live without her at this point."

The two women smiled at them. "We would never dream of separating soul mates sweetheart, not when we had to fight for every moment that we wanted to spend together. We're just happy that you are happy."

The two witches shared a look with each other and smiled. "We are, more so than I ever thought possible. I'll admit that Fleur kind of got on my nerves when we first met because she seemed hellbent on distracting me from my studies, but once I realized she extended the offer of friendship, I fell for her pretty quickly."

"Quite literally too, mon amour. I've never seen someone trip over themselves to offer a blanket." Fleur said with a wink.

Hermione blushed a little at that. "I couldn't help it okay. You looked gorgeous in that swimsuit and I saw how some of the boys were looking at you, like you were a piece of meat on display. Weasley especially was very obvious about it, and since your nipples had a very clear opinion on how they felt, I only thought it was right to try and get you warm."

Fleur giggled at that. "I know mon amour, but you know even then I only had eyes for you."

"I know love, but you also know that my heart and mind were not in sync at that point. In my heart I knew I loved you even then, but my mind didn't want to accept the inevitable." Hermione said softly.

Fleur smiled and pulled the brunette into her side. "It's truly like we're hearing our own story again. Your Mama accused me of the same thing when we first met." Pandora said with a wink to her wife.

Bellatrix grinned and kissed the blonde softly. "What can I say, I'm sure my daughter inherited my love of knowledge too, so it stands to reason that she'd get annoyed when her studies are interrupted. She's the brightest of her generation for a reason after all."

"I can only agree with that, as much as my darling mate insists it is a gross exaggeration. I've honestly never met anyone who appreciated such a broad array of subjects and excel at them too." Fleur said lovingly to her mate.

Hermione's blush only darkened at that. "You enjoy making me blush don't you?"

"Of course mon amour. You look absolutely adorable when you blush. It does not diminish the fact that I speak true however." Fleur said with a soft smile.

"Fine, I'll give you that. I just enjoy learning as much as I can, which given who my mothers are I don't think is as much of a surprise. I just wish I had Mummy's green thumb." Hermione said with a slight pout.

Pandora smiled at her. "I'm sorry to say that is unlikely to happen, my sweet. Because you are the eldest Black of your generation and thus inherited the curse of Black, your mind is too chaotic to properly care for plants, who above all require a quiet mind."

Hermione nodded at that. "That certainly explains why Luna is so good at Herbology."

Pandora only smiled and nodded as she cuddled further into Bellatrix, both of them content to spend most of the morning talking to their daughter and her Veela mate.

…

After a late breakfast, Hermione and Fleur opted for a quiet day of rest, relaxation and a visit to the pool, which they were very excited about.

Bellatrix and Pandora meanwhile had retreated to the blonde's refurbished greenhouse, wanting to give the two young lovers all the space they wanted, knowing that the two witches had a lot of catching up to do.

For Hermione this was doubly exciting, because not only would she get to spend some quality intimate time with her girlfriend, but apparently Fleur was a very big fan of bikini's too, since she wore a gorgeous light blue bikini that left very little to the imagination, as well as doing wonders for the blonde's shapely curves.

Fleur on her turn had a lot of trouble containing her lust for the gorgeous brunette who was currently relaxing in her arms, because it appeared that the brunette had a very good taste in swimwear, wearing a dark green bikini that complimented her complexion perfectly.

Hermione smiled contently in the blonde's arms, feeling all of the tension she still had remaining drain away. "I can't remember the last time I felt this relaxed." She murmured contently.

Fleur smiled and pressed a kiss to her neck. "Neither can I. Having you in my arms makes the past couple of months more than worth it. I've been very busy ever since you went back to school, and that was before I learned just how well our potion worked."

Hermione smiled at that. "I'm so glad it did everything we intended it to do. It has brought Mama back far sooner than anyone would've hoped for."

"That might be the understatement of the year, mon amour. I never expected when we came up with the idea that it would have such an effect. I might have to tweak it a little to prevent excessive usage, because I think that may very well have adverse effects." Fleur said softly.

Hermione nodded at her love. "That was my fear too when I heard the story. We still have time though. You haven't marketed it yet, have you?"

"Not yet. For now I intend to both perfect it and keep its use for our side only. After the inevitable War we can market this, because I want you to have a fair share of the undoubtedly enormous profits. It was your idea too after all." Fleur said sweetly.

Hermione smiled and turned around to kiss the Veela softly. "I love you."

"I love you too mon amour. More then I ever thought possible." Fleur said as she pressed a loving kiss to the brunette's neck.

"I do have to ask though love. What is your fascination with blue?" Hermione asked as she cuddled deeper into her lover's arms.

Fleur laughed lightly at that. "I was wondering when you would ask this, but I'm afraid the answer is quite boring. I've tried a lot of colors to wear when I was younger, but blue just fit me best, so I think you can imagine how happy I was when I found out that the Beauxbatons school colors were blue."

"You certainly know how to wear blue, that's for sure. This bikini especially makes you look absolutely radiant." Hermione said softly.

Fleur smiled at her. "Thank you love, and I have to admit that I absolutely love seeing you in green, especially when it is in the form of this bikini. I can see everything without it being considered skimpy."

"I'll be very honest and say that I picked this out for you alone. I didn't really have swimwear of any kind, so Mama took me shopping just after we came home, since I think she anticipated something like this happening." Hermione said honestly.

Fleur smiled at that. "Then I suppose I should thank your mother at some point today, because her fashion sense is impeccable. I have serious trouble keeping my hands to myself."

That made the brunette blush a little. "I wouldn't exactly be opposed to something like that, since there is little chance of anyone else catching us here."

Fleur smiled and let her hands drift to the brunette's top, deftly sliding them under the fabric to gently squeeze her mate's breasts. "Have I mentioned recently how much I love your breasts? They are a perfect fit for my hands."

"You mentioned this once or twice in the last few days, yes. Although I am still of the mind that they are too small, especially considering the size of both of my mother's breasts." Hermione said softly.

"Trust me that you are not yet done growing love. I can feel these things when it comes to you. A Veela is very attuned to her mate after all."

Hermione nodded and leaned back against her lover. "I know, I'm just a bit impatient I guess."

Fleur smiled and kissed her love softly. "I also have a feeling I know why, mon amour, which is something we shall talk about once I have asked your mothers a few questions, because I think your magical core is attuning itself to the presence of your mothers. For young witches the most important parent is the mother after all, and I suspect this is doubly true for you and Luna."

"That actually makes a lot of sense, but why would you need to ask my mothers about this?" Hermione asked softly.

"Because I would rather not make assumptions on something that is clearly important to you. You know I loathe being wrong about matters of the heart after all." Fleur said softly as she gently tweaked her lover's nipples.

Hermione moaned and involuntarily bucked her hips forward, needing contact that the blonde didn't have a hand free for at the moment. "Fleur, please don't tease me so love. I've been a good girl today."

The blonde grinned and captured her lover's lips in a searing kiss. "Yes you have, but we both deserve more than a quickie in the pool. Tonight I promise to make you moan once again."

Hermione only groaned as she once again relaxed against the blonde, who showed mercy on her lover by wrapping her arms back around the brunette's waist.

…

Later that afternoon both couples were once again back in the den, both Hermione and Fleur properly dried off and Bellatrix and Pandora having changed their outfits after their time in the greenhouse had left them both inspired, as it usually did.

"Did you two have fun in the pool?" Bellatrix asked with a knowing smile.

Hermione nodded at her mother. "Yes Mama, it was a wonderful appetizer for tonight. We mostly just talked while taking generous time to relax too."

"Truly her mother's daughter, am I right, my Star?" Pandora asked softly.

Bellatrix nodded and pressed a kiss to her wife's cheek. "Indeed she is. What did you two talk about if you don't mind my asking?"

Fleur smiled at the raven-haired witch. "We talked about all sorts of things, from my Cure-all potion to our bond, and there is something we wanted to ask you both too if that's okay."

"Of course dear. Feel free to ask us anything. We doubt there is little you could ask that would shock us." Pandora said kindly.

Fleur smiled and shared a quick look with Hermione. "We were wondering if perhaps Hermione's magical core is still catching up to being reunited with her mothers, since I can feel that she feels her body is still developing."

Pandora and Bellatrix smiled at that. "The answer to that question is a bit two fold to be honest. It is true that being away from us in Hermione's formative years had some negative effects on her development, which will correct itself in the next weeks. The other part of that is that us Lovegood women are somewhat late-bloomers." Pandora said with a sympathetic smile to her daughter.

Hermione smiled at that. "I honestly figured something like that would be the case. It only made sense that being ahead intellectually would have some effect on my physical development. It's good to know that I will be as pretty as you two though."

The two women smiled at her. "I'm sure you and your sister will surpass us both my sweet. It is in your genes after all." Bellatrix said with a sweet smile.

Hermione blushed a little at that. "You two would know that best, and far be it from me to question my darling mothers."

"Wise decision sweetheart. Your Mama gets a bit irrational when someone doubts the validity of her words." Pandora said with a wink to her raven-haired wife.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at the blonde in her arms. "Don't act like you are any better love. I remember a few instances where you acted quite irrationally when Cissa called out a mistake on one of your potions."

Pandora smiled at that. "That was far from irrational, because Cissa wasn't used to using other ingredients then the ones we learned in school. I'm sure Fleur had a similar discussion with her at some point."

The Veela smiled and nodded. "I did, the first time she came to my shop we had a bit of a discussion about my usage of ingredients outside of the norm. it honestly was a fun discussion to have, since most of my discussions with customers are about my age and apparent lack of skill."

"I can say from personal experience that anyone who thinks that your skills as a Potion Master are lacking are just idiots. I don't know anyone who is able to invent something like your Cure-all potion, especially at so young an age." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.

Fleur smiled at that. "That potion is very much a joint effort between myself and your daughters, because I don't think I could've ever thought of something like that by myself. We worked on it on the limited free time we had during the Tournament and once I was able to we talked about it almost every day, and when I was able to start experimenting with the potion itself both Hermione and Luna helped get the dosages right after a lot of trial and error."

"As always I was happy to help, baby." Hermione said sweetly.

Fleur smiled and pressed a kiss to her lover's cheek. "I couldn't have done it without you or your sister, mon amour."

Both Bellatrix and Pandora smiled at them. "You two are just adorable." Bellatrix said with a sweet smile.

Hermione blushed at that. "We've been told that on a few occasions, so I suppose there is a ring of truth to it."

"All Black women are hopeless romantics in one form or another sweetling, often letting our heads get in the way of our hearts, but also very prone to letting our hearts speak once we have accepted love." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.

"I've noticed. It took me months to align what I felt for Fleur in my heart with how my head was telling me what would be appropriate at the stage we were at. It was only when we met again last Christmas and we talked about everything that I thought what was true did not matter, since my heart knew exactly what it wanted, and what it wanted was to be with Fleur forever." Hermione said softly.

All three women smiled and Fleur pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "And you will have me by your side forever, mon amour. No matter what happens I will always be there for you."

"And don't forget we will also never leave you alone again, my sweet. We've lost too much time together to ever let anyone come between our family again." Pandora said softly.

Hermione smiled and went over to hug her mothers, the two women enveloping her in their arms as the both pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I know, and I love you both for taking all this time to make up for what happened. I promise to make you both proud of me."

"We already are, darling. We will always be proud of you for having become who you are already, and we're excited to see who you will be in the future." Bellatrix said sweetly.

Hermione only smiled and pressed a kiss to both of their cheeks before sitting back with Fleur, who immediately wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzling her neck.

…

Later that evening after dinner, Hermione and Luna excused themselves early so they could talk about everything that had transpired the last couple of days, and as they usually did when they needed to talk, they had chosen to lie down in Hermione's bed together, since Fleur and Gabrielle also wanted to talk and Luna had offered the use of her own bedroom for them to talk in.

The two Ravenclaws had just undressed and cuddled up together, with Luna resting her head on her sister's naked shoulder. "As much as I have loved the past couple of days, I kind of missed this."

"I missed this too Luna, but as you so often told me, spending time with your mate in the early stages of the bonding process is important. I also can't help but ask, how have you experienced the last couple of days with my future sister-in-law?" Hermione asked with a smile.

Luna smiled at that. "Very enjoyable. We managed to talk about a lot of things already and have come to the conclusion that we both want the same thing. We want to take things slow and build a proper relationship with each other while also ensuring that we don't deny our mating bond."

Hermione smiled at that. "That is good to hear. I was worried that you two might throw caution to the wind."

"To be honest we haven't kept it completely chaste, but we haven't gone all the way, and don't intend to do that for quite a while. We've done some light petting though and of course we have kissed each other plenty of times already and have even already resigned to the fact that we can't be apart when we are this close, so we share a bed too." Luna said with a slight blush.

Hermione giggled at that. "I'm proud of you sister. I don't think many girls would've had the same restraint when confronted with all of this information and feelings. I think for once your age might actually be a benefit here."

Luna smiled at that. "Mummy and Fleur said mostly the same, and I am very much inclined to agree with them on this. It also helps that Gabby is coming to Hogwarts after the summer and with a bit of luck we don't have to be separated at all. I have a feeling she'll get sorted into Ravenclaw."

"I wouldn't be surprised actually, and you know she can stay in our room too. It'll at least give you the opportunity to use your own bed again." Hermione said teasingly.

"That's the thing 'Mione. I told her about us and what we share too and she is okay with that. She already felt what we share and knows thanks to Fleur what it will probably evolve to. I also wouldn't be surprised if at some point this summer the four of us will be in this bed, if only to see how things will eventually develop between the four of us. Gabrielle told me that she and Fleur are also very close, albeit not as close as we are." Luna said softly.

Hermione was a bit surprised at hearing that, but knowing her sister like she did she should have seen it coming. Her sister was nothing if not thorough after all. "I don't think there are many sisters in the world who are as close as we are Lu. We are unique in multiple ways, our mothers said so multiple times today."

Luna smiled and leaned back against her sister whose hands were still gently caressing her stomach. "While our mothers might be a bit biased, I get what you mean."

Hermione smiled and pressed a kiss to her sister's cheek. "Fleur and I actually had a good talk with them after our time in the pool. It was very enlightening."

Luna giggled at that. "I'm sure it was, given how you seem to have trouble dividing your time between ripping your clothes off with Fleur or being cuddled into Mama for an entire evening." The blonde said teasingly.

Hermione stuck out her tongue and smiled at her. "I'll have you know that I am perfectly capable of dividing my time, sister, and it is not like you're not having similar issues in dividing your time between cuddling with your mate and cuddling with Mummy."

Luna laughed and turned around in her sister's arms so she could kiss her. "I think we're both a bit powerless against our mates and the affection and love our mothers give so freely."

Hermione smiled and nodded at that. "I know. It's a lot isn't it. I wouldn't give it up for anything, but it was easier a couple of months ago, but we'll manage. We always do after all."

Luna nodded and smiled at her. "That we will, and it's not like we mind. We finally have our mothers back and we get to spend an entire summer with our mates. I don't there are many people that'll be able to experience this kind of freedom."

"I know, and every day I feel so blessed to be able to experience all of this with you." Hermione said softly.

Luna smiled and cuddled into her. "If you say things like this I'm so proud that you are my big sister. At times like this I forget that you weren't raised in our world, given how eager you are to learn everything there is to know, even going as far as voluntarily taking aunt Cissa's etiquette lessons."

Hermione smiled at that. "To be honest I really needed those, because I really had no idea how I would behave at something like the Ball."

"I'm sure if everything had gone the way it was supposed to those lessons would've been a lot harder if Mama would've been a bigger influence in our lives." Luna said with a soft smile.

"I know, aunt Cissa told me all about Mama's hardheadedness when it comes to anything to do with pureblood etiquette, which is kind of ironic if you think about it." Hermione said softly.

Luna giggled and nodded as she cuddled into the brunette while they waited for Fleur to come in so Luna could make her way back to Gabrielle.

…

A few days later Fleur and Hermione woke up early, both of them being very excited for the date in London they had planned, which would be followed by a quick trip to the blonde's shop in Diagon.

Since this was their first official date, Fleur had almost demanded to plan it all, which for once Hermione didn't have any problems with, although she had banned anything that would require either of them to dress up.

This had led them to put on some comfortable clothes, which for Fleur was a beautiful blue spring dress and for Hermione was a pair of shorts, a tank top and a comfortable pair of sneakers, much to the consternation of her mother and aunt.

Pandora however had merely smiled and hugged her daughter before telling the couple to have fun and be careful, even though they would be going to the Muggle part of London.

Fleur had apparated them to an alley close to the entrance of Diagon, wanting to start their date off properly by getting them a scrumptious breakfast, which was another thing that had been a bit of a discussion point this morning.

For once Hermione didn't care though, because even Narcissa had eventually agreed that they were more than entitled to an early date, as long as they promised to be home in time for dinner, which the two witches had no issue in agreeing with.

Fleur knew that an all day date would be a bit much for her mate, and especially because this was their first ever date, not counting the ones they had gone on in Hogsmeade.

As the two witches walked through the streets of London, Hermione couldn't help but be curious about what her mate had planned for today, so being who she was, she decided to ask. "So love, what did you have in store for me today?"

The blonde smiled at her as she hooked her arm through that of her lover. "I suppose now that we are alone I can tell you. After breakfast we're going shopping, because no offense, but you seriously need an upgrade to your lingerie, and after that we'll see where the day takes us."

Hermione smiled at that. "No offense taken Fleur. I was actually hoping that shopping was on our list because I really need a few things that I would rather not get with my mothers, since I know you have a far more developed fashion sense."

Fleur grinned and pressed a kiss to her mate's cheek. "Now you have gotten me intrigued, mon amour. What kind of things are we talking about here?"

"You know what I mean Fleur. I am not going to mention those in the middle of London." Hermione said with a slight blush.

Fleur smiled at her. "I was teasing mon tresor. I promise not to go overboard with my selections today, provided I get to see you model them for me tonight."

That only darkened Hermione's blush. "You know I don't know the first thing about doing something like that, but if you think that seeing me stumble through a strip tease is something you would like, then I will give it my all."

Fleur smiled and kissed her softly, neither of them caring for the stares they getting. "I know you will, and I am sure that I will thoroughly enjoy myself tonight. I have a couple of ideas for things that I think you will look absolutely ravishing in."

Hermione blushed at that. "Could you at least keep your voice down, I'd rather not talk about my unmentionables in public."

"Of course mon amour. I apologize. It still takes a bit of getting used to that there are some areas you are not as free in, although I must say that you are certainly getting there." Fleur said sweetly.

"You've been a massive help with that baby. You know I've been raised very sheltered and only since I started spending time with my real family I started to come into my own a bit, and of course being on the arm of the most beautiful woman in Britain is a huge confidence booster too." Hermione said with a wink.

Fleur almost literally preened at that. "You certainly have a way with words, mon amour."

Hermione smiled and gave her lover's arm a squeeze. "I've been told that once or twice, although mostly that came from Professors who praised my ability to write more than the required length for an assignment."

The blonde giggled at that. "With you being such a studious person I am not surprised, and I don't think that your mother was completely right either. You are plenty romantic when you want to be."

"I've heard Mum talk about Mama was only really romantic with her, since like me she has trouble showing her emotions, and I'd like to think that I am very much the same in that. I've always had trouble showing my emotions and feelings to anyone who I did not consider a friend or family." Hermione said softly.

Fleur smiled at her lover. "I've noticed mon amour, and I am very proud of you for trying to open yourself up more. I know that it cannot be easy for you."

Hermione smiled and pressed herself closer to the blonde. "It hasn't, but having you next to me and my mothers back in my life is helping me a lot come out of my shell a bit more, but I'll also be honest and say that it is mostly you, because no one has helped me accept myself as much as you have."

Fleur grinned and kissed her softly as they stepped into the restaurant, finding a spot for them a bit out of the way soon after. "Trust me that it was my pleasure, mon tresor. It was certainly a very enjoyable experience for me too teaching you everything I know."

That only made Hermione blush as the waiter came to take their orders, and since this was merely breakfast, their choices were almost identical, since the one thing Fleur loved and Hermione loathed was coffee, and instead the brunette opted for a glass of fresh orange juice.