QL, R3, Kestrals, Chaser 3; Write about a deceitful/wicked act. Occasional prompts: [Character] Gabrielle Delacour, [Dialogue] "How could you have possibly forgotten", [Colour] Merlot.
Word Count: 1019
Betas: Pixileanin
Gabrielle Delacour would be considered a very pretty young girl - and that would be true even if she weren't part-Veela. She cared for herself, always brushed her hair and teeth, wore well-pressed clothes, and kept herself and her belongings clean.
But that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough because her older sister was all that, but more. Victoire was popular, brave and intelligent.
Lately, Gabrielle had started to feel under appreciated and used. A whisper in her ear was getting louder and louder. And, for the first time ever, she began to listen to the comments made by others - especially adults.
"You must be proud of your sister."
"Maybe one day you'll be out of her shadow."
"I'm sure somebody as incredible as Fleur makes time for her little sister."
"I'd hate to be followed around by my little sister."
There were so many comments, and the more she listened, the more she realised they weren't all good.
Gabrielle looked up from the book she was reading to realise that her sister hadn't turned up. They had agreed to meet in the library - Fleur still had to keep up with her Beauxbatons work and said she'd help Gabrielle to prepare.
The library, which was stacked with books to the ceiling, was void of most students. A few Ravenclaws and a Gryffindor were quietly at different tables.
Gabrielle stood up and smoothed out her merlot t-shirt - this was Fleur's favourite colour and the two had agreed to wear the same colour today. Gabrielle loved matching her sister. She glanced around once more before walking off to find her sister.
It took her nearly ten minutes to find her out in the courtyard, chatting with Hogwarts students. The first thing she noticed, however, was that she was wearing a light blue top. It was nowhere near merlot; in fact, it was a completely different colour entirely. Merlot was in the purple family mixed with very dark blue.
Sighing, she walked over and, after a few long seconds, spoke. "Fleur?"
Fleur turned, her hair flailing up elegantly as she smiled brightly. "There's my little sis!"
"We were supposed to meet in the library an hour ago."
A look of surprise entered her older sister's face, but no remorse. "I must have forgotten."
Gabrielle's eyebrows knitted together. "How could you have possibly forgotten?" she questioned, crossing her arms.
Her sister crossed over and bent down. "I've been busy, Gabby. I am competing in the Twi-Wizard Tournament. I can help you with your charms tomorrow."
"Tonight. Now!" Gabrielle said stubbornly, wanting to stomp her foot.
"Stop acting like a child. This will be good for connecting and meeting new people. You're embarrassing me."
Gabrielle huffed and stormed off. The voice was right, Fleur didn't care about her, and she'd always live in her sister's shadow.
She rounded around a corner and stopped with a huff.
"Are you okay, Miss Delacour?"
Gabrielle looked up at the DADA professor for Hogwarts. He had been very supportive lately. "I was just supposed to be studying, that's all, Professor Moody."
He smiled - it wasn't a charming smile, and it made her uncomfortable, but many English people did. She had to remember that French and British professors were very different. "I can help you if you wish?"
Gabrielle looked up at the one-eyed man. "You know charms?"
His smile widened. "Not my area of expertise, but yes, there are some charms that you might find very useful."
From then on, Gabrielle had lots of charms to practice, and she was getting really good at them! It was fun to practice, and being in a school meant she could practice all day long without any restrictions.
While she was tempted to use them on a person - as that was their true intention - she didn't want to do it wrong and hurt anyone.
That was until Fleur left her in the water to die.
Professor Moody said that Fleur knew if she didn't rescue her, that there would be no rescue - it was part of the games. Thankfully, Harry Potter had saved her. He didn't even know her; they hadn't even spoken, and he was more inclined to rescue her than her own blood!
After practising charms with Professor Moody again, she felt confident in them.
"Her winning to ruin anything! She would be even more popular, and no one would ever look at me again!" Gabrielle had complained.
"If you don't want her to win, one of these charms… What am I saying? I am a professor here. I can't advise you to confuse her before the last match to ensure she doesn't win."
Gabrielle smiled wickedly to herself and didn't see the professor do the same. If Fleur didn't win, that would help Gabrielle to find her own path and get out of the shadow.
Later that week, Gabrielle walked in on Fleur, getting ready for the final task. Her sister was in a rage.
"How could you have possibly forgotten?" she shouted, flailing her arms around. "I need my merlot handkerchief that Gabrielle gave me! I promised I'd…"
"Fleur," Gabrielle interrupted.
The older girl turned around. "Gabby."
"Take mine, then you'll have kept your promise."
Fleur gladly took her handkerchief, giving her a hug and kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you, sis!" she said, tucking it into her pocket.
Keeping one promise isn't enough, Gabrielle thought to herself as she waited for everyone to be distracted before muttering a spell under her breath.
Fleur stopped flailing around dramatically and paused.
"Finally, you are calm!" Olympe Maxime announced. "Let's get you ready.
Gabrielle watched as Fleur's forehead wrinkled with a bit of confusion but followed the instructions given to her.
Perfect! There was no way Fleur would win now! She can't make any decisions for herself.
When Fleur was pulled out of the game early, Gabrielle had to hold back a cheer. But, despite the shock and terror of Harry Potter returning with a dead body, Gabrielle couldn't help but feel happy that nobody was talking about Fleur anymore, and Fleur wouldn't want to talk about it either.