fleur delacour

“So he just left. Just like that…” Tonks couldn’t believe Remus wouldn’t at least say goodbye. Was he really so hellbent on on refusing her love that he’d rather put himself on death’s doorstep than to be with her? She felt sick at the idea that she had to wait around for a couple of weeks just for an owl to see if he was alright. Playing the spy was a dangerous game and she anxiously waited any news though she knew it wouldn’t come for a few weeks.

           “I am sorry, mon cher.”

She felt almost like she didn’t have the words to give to her best friend. If she thought Tonks would understand French, she would lament what a saddness this was and find a million ways to make a silver lining. Her English was not good enough for that, and she felt stifled in her inability to be a real comfort. Instead, she placed her hand in Tonk’s and sat there, waiting to know if hugging was an appropriate thing in the moment. 

       “’E ees very talented. E will know ‘ow to come back           een one piece, I am sure. ‘E will come ‘ome, I promise.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I can. You want to come with, or shall I just bring you back something?”

  “—I ‘ave some time, I theenk. You weell        ‘ave to tell me your name eef we are         going to be exploring together.”

“Gladly! I just hope I don’t get us terribly lost. But then again, sometimes getting a wee bit lost is fun. Frank and I once discovered a brilliant restaurant that way.”

  “—I theenk you weell be better zan me at keeping us        on ze right track, no? I am ‘appy to be lost, though         eef eet ‘elps?”

Her eyes lit up at the mention of rainbow colored wings that could match her hair no matter how often she changed it. “I think you are the most brilliant person I’ve ever met,” she said admiringly, the haze from the elf wine settling over her nicely. These girl times with Fleur had quickly become her favorite thing to do with her free time, right behind spending time with Remus in the library of Grimmauld Place when he was “trying to read” and she had fun distracting him. 

Tonks smiled brightly when Fleur said if it weren’t for Bill and it weren’t for the fact that ditching Bill would make Mrs. Weasley so happy that she’d happily marry her. “I’m sure I’ll be here single and willing if things ever change.” She picked up the bottle and topped them both off. “Don’t— don’t let her get you down though. I know it’s probably really tough, I’ve seen how she is with you, but just know that Bill is obviously so in love with you. I should take a picture of the two of you together because it’s like the cutest fucking thing ever, I swear I could puke from how cute you both are.” Bill got this look in his eye like Fleur was his sun and whenever they were together he revolved around her like he was the Earth.

A very unladylike snort left Tonks when she heard Fleur’s advice. “What does that even mean? I don’t get it.” Playing games was not her strong suit. “Like I’m around him but purposefully ignoring him? I don’t think I could do that… I love talking to him too much and I’m not strong enough to stay away. He’s just so smart and his voice… I could seriously listen to him talk all day on anything.”

   “—And I theenk you give me too much credit.         Eet ees only sometheeng I learnt to do for         my seester.”

Despite her words, she was smiling widely at the girl in front of her. People called her a number of things; beautiful, sexy, charming, she’d heard them all. What people never seemed to compliment was the way her mind worked. Of course, she knew she was smart, knew she spoke four languages and could curse a man within an inch of his life with ease. What she didn’t know was whether other people saw that when they looked at her. She was fine with being pretty if the world knew that she was so much more as well. Being with Tonks was a reminder that people could see behind her smile, that they understood her worth as a person. Perhaps that was why she seemed to enjoy their nights so much. 

   “—I do not theenk you weell be single for         much longer, cherie.”

As much as she wanted Tonks to be happy in a relationship with Remus, she knew that a part of the reason she was so determined to see them together was because she understood his perspective. Her whole life, she’d believed that she would never find love, that she’d always be a thing. His concern over the relationship was an echo of the doubts that she’d once had in her own mind. Fleur was lucky, she knew that, the years of cynicism had not been nearly as long as his had been. She was young, and he had seen hardship. Still, she rooted for his happiness. 

   “—Eet ees nice to ‘ave some support een         thees. I keep theenking zat she weell          get to ‘im and ‘e weell wake up one         day and see zat ‘e would be better         settling down with a nice Eenglish         girl like she wants ‘im too. I do not          see ‘ow I can keep ‘im eef ees mother         keeps zis going.” 

She didn’t mean to spell out all of her worries on the table, but there was something about having a real friend for what might be the first time in her life that made her say more than she had meant. She’d blame it on the elf-wine if she was asked though. She kept seeing it in her mind, him leaving and her left with nothing but shattered hope. Fleur wasn’t going to wax poetic, she knew she would carry on living her life but even she had to admit that the light might fade behind her eyes if she was forced to go back to her old life. 

  “—Just be there, cher, notheeng else.”

Vic looked at her in a bit of a confused sympathy. “Who wouldn’t wish you were here. You seem lovely and dedicated.” she explained. Vic was ready to fight at this, no one was rude to her mother. Anyone who spoke poorly of her would get a very rude awakening thanks to Vic. Any bad talk of her family was fair game for a punch in the nose. 

“—Mostly Bill’s family. Though eef anyone asks            I said nothing about eet. I don’t theenk I            am what zey wanted for ‘im.”

She shrugged it off in the way she had become used to doing. The only person she would let see the real extent of the damage on her heart was Tonks, simply because she knew the girl wouldn’t be running off to tell on her any time soon. Fleur wanted to be liked, but nothing she did ever seemed to be good enough.

“I sure couldn’t, I know that for a fact. Y’know— if we go into muggle London, I bet you anything that they must have a decent coffee store somewhere.”

          “—Do you theenk you could find one?”

“You haven’t? Oh, it’s very fascinating, but I haven’t been in… a while.”

          “—Per’aps you would be my guide?”

She kept forgetting the time, and how dangerous it was. There was a war going on and she wasn’t used to it. “Oh, of course. I don’t want any mistrust forming.” she said sincerely. The last thing she wanted was for people turning against people in the Order. “I hadn’t even thought about that.” she added.

She smiled sympathetically at the girl. Even if it was clear that she was not fully French, Fleur understood what it felt like to be disconnected from a language. She missed speaking freely, lived for the moments when she was alone with those she trusted and could let her tongue slip without panic. 

        “—There are enough people ‘ho do not weesh              me to be ‘ere already. I ‘ave to be careful              what eet ees I am saying.”

She’d never considered arts and crafts to make wings, maybe because she didn’t have a creative bone in her body or the patience or light touch it took to make most crafts. But she had no doubt that Fleur in all her grace could get her done; Fleur was the kind of daughter her mom would have killed to have, not the clumsy, boyish one she’d gotten. “I have zero design power so I’ll rely on your expertise.” Tonks felt terrible for Fleur, sweet Fleur, as she talked about how Bill’s family was not accepting her and it made her consider going back to France. “No, you can’t go. You can stay here and marry me,” she said with a laugh, trying to make the other girl feel better. “My mother would love to have you as a daughter, you’re the kind she’s always wanted.” Tonks had fought her mother tooth and nail against wearing frilly party dresses with lace gloves when she was growing up, they didn’t even look good on her short frame, often times so fluffy that they made her wider than she was tall. But her thoughts were interrupted when Fleur changed the subject onto her. “What, my lack of one?” She laughed it off, as she always did when someone brought up something that troubled her. And then after that she’d make a joke, a deflection away from how much it bothered her. “There’s not enough to comment on to even make a complete sentence.” After that conversation her and Remus had had on that overnight mission not much had changed between them, sadly.

Fleur had learnt quickly all she needed to know about being creative. Her mother, whilst caring, had been too busy growing up to make costumes for the many plays they put on. She would come home and perform the necessary charmwork to make sure they were the ones who stood out, but for the most part, Fleur would make them herself. It was a pleasure to see her sister smile so widely whenever she came up with something new for her to wear. Though she’d not considered using those skills in friendship, especially as an adult, she couldn’t say she hated the thought. It was frivolous and almost ridiculous, and she couldn’t have possibly been happier about it. 

    “—I theenk we should make zem rainbow coloured,          so zey match whatever ‘air you choose to ‘ave on          ze day. With sparkles, of course.”

Even if she was lying about any desire to go back home, she appreciated the enthusiasm with which Tonks replied. It was no secret that they didn’t get off to the best start. Fleur had seen her as a potential friend from the beginning, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a rocky road getting there. With the list of people who wanted her there so short, she appreciated any support in her quest to find love. She had hard skin but she couldn’t pretend that anything to do with Bill’s family slipped under it. She was positively weak whenever Molly made another comment, and it seemed to take all of her effort to keep herself under control. If Bill didn’t make her feel the way he did, she would have left a long time before that. 

   “—I still ‘ave to lose Bill to do that, which I         theenk would make zat woman smile too         much. Merci, though, cherie. Eef theengs         change I would love to marry you.” 

She pulled a face at Tonk’s next words, nose crinkling up as she thought about what was best to do. The way she saw it, Remus and the girl were perfect together. Of course, she felt a strange kinship towards the werewolf, knowing him to be a person who understood what it meant to be not quite human. She wanted them both happy. Actually, if she was honest, she wanted all four of them to be happy and have a large joint wedding and potentially share a mansion just so she could have her favourite people around - but she would settle for happy. 

    “—You ‘ave to make yourself unavoidable,           be wherever ‘e ees. ‘E weell not be able           to resist eef you are always there.”