#fleurd

You sat at the Hufflepuff table when the tournament was announced, your eyes looking over at the twins automatically. They were looking a little too excited about something, and you guessed correctly that they were planning on scheming their way in. Now that was something that you would have to bring up to Molly the next time that you wrote to her. Then you looked towards Harry, Hermione and Ron, who looked interested in the tournament but didn’t seem to have any intention of pulling something, the way that the twins were.

That was a relief.

You yourself had no intentions of trying to sneak into the Tournament - all of that talk about danger and glory didn’t really appeal to you. But you would happily be in the stands to watch. It was a once in a lifetime show, unless of course you were like Dumbledore and could live well beyond a century.

“-the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and their Headmistress, Madame Maxime!” Dumbledore announced. The doors opened and every eye went to the group of ladies that entered the room, dressed in beautiful blue uniforms. You weren’t the only one who felt smitten by the beauty of the French girls, you were certain of that. Just about everyone was staring, awestruck in some manner. They stopped in the middle of the hallway and sighed, positioning their bodies to your table.

One of the girls caught your eye in particular, and you blushed just looking at her. A striking blonde, with blue eyes and a determined look. She wasn’t here just to look pretty, you saw. She was here to win. She flitted along with the others, stopping by the Gryffindor table to sigh and position themselves again. You were amused this time to see that Ron’s jaw had dropped. The girl that you had been eyeing did a twirl and then a curtsy in the middle of the ladies, bringing more attention to herself. You didn’t mind that at all. She deserved it.

And then came the burly, surly men of Durmstrang. Although their entrance was impressive, with their staffs and their acrobatics, it wasn’t as eyecatching as the ladies. Men showing off their brawn, how predictable.

-

All that anyone talked about anymore was the tournament. You understood the appeal, but you were growing a little tired of the same thing being said over and over. People were trying to guess who the champions would be. Didn’t matter much to you, you would be supporting all three of the champions. It didn’t feel fair to only cheer on your own, especially since Hogwarts had home-field advantage. You just hoped that it wouldn’t be one of the Weasley twins.

You were sitting with Hermione, helping her to study Herbology - one of your favorite subjects, and not just because it was your Head of House that was teaching it, and watching the students put their names in. The doors opened up to a bunch of giggles and you saw those two, just as you knew you would, come in with goofy grins on their faces. “Don’t you dare,” You said to them, lifting your eyes from the book. “I’ve already told your mother about your plans, and she has some serious words for you come Christmas.”

“But she’s not here to stop us, now is she?” George said with that stupid smile.

“Even if you are a party pooper,” Fred finished. You shook your head and looked over at Hermione, who was staring at the two of them as if they were the stupidest people in Earth. You somewhat agreed.

“Don’t even bother with them. It’ll backfire either way,” You said, smiling at her. She nodded, rolling her eyes, but neither of you went back to the books, deciding to watch the show instead.

Of course their plan backfired. Aging potions, which only turned them into old men, though it was amusing to watch them fight. While they bickered in the corner, still pushing each other around, some of the students from the other classes came in to enter their names. There were quite a few from your own house, which made you feel a swell of pride. You would love it if a Hufflepuff managed to get into the tournament, though you hoped that they wouldn’t get hurt in the process. The pretty Beauxbatons girl came in, her name written on a fan-like piece of paper. She had to stand on her tiptoes to put it in, and you couldn’t help but admire how lithe her body was. Like she was made to be a dancer.

“You’re staring,” Hermione muttered, nudging your elbow.

“The way you were at Krum?” You muttered back, causing her to get nearly as red as you had been.

“Was not,” Hermione said, speaking under her breath.

“Were too,” You chimed. “But it’s alright. I won’t judge if you won’t.”

-

Fleur Delacour, AKA the girl that made your brain feel cloudy and your heart beat faster, was chosen as one of the champions. Viktor Krum, AKA the guy that made Hermione feel a little gaga for the first time in her life, was also chosen. Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff who you knew from Quidditch and made a lot of the girls swoon, was chosen. It was almost as if the Goblet of Fire had chosen based on looks rather than just talent, but you would all see. And then, to your chagrin, somehow, Harry had been chosen.

You were one of the few who seemed to believe that he wasn’t crazy enough to try to put his name in the cup. That meant that you spent a lot more time together these days, because he wasn’t around Ron. You called the boy you thought of as a younger sibling a prat, and told him to get his head out of your arse, but he wasn’t coming around yet. He would eventually. He and Harry had been through so much together.

The first task was intimidating as all hell. Dragons, actual fully grown dragons, taking up the Quidditch pitch. And people were just supposed to be okay with this? You stood in the stands with others in your house, and with Fred and George who were disappointed that their plan didn’t work, with pins showing the faces of all four competitors. You weren’t taking sides, and you weren’t giving in to Fred and George’s bets either. You just wanted everyone to get through this safely. You didn’t care who wins.

Cedric was first, and he got through it with Transfiguration. Fleur, to your delight, tried to put the dragon into a trance. You thought that she was absolutely brilliant, especially when her dragon fell asleep. You cheered loudly for her, though it seemed that most of your house didn’t agree with you. They only cheered when her skirt caught on fire, revealing more of her long legs. You rolled your eyes at them, muttering that they were perverts.

They booed when Viktor managed to get through it as well. But there was a huge cheer when Harry caught the golden egg and managed to escape from the dragon. The prejudice was showing. This was meant to bring people together, not keep them apart. You left a little early, descending the stairs to go back to the Common Room, away from the negativity of others.

-

You were sitting by yourself in the Great Hall, no Hermione with you this time. The twins were off doing Quidditch practice, since the dragons had been cleared from the pitch. You missed them a bit - as well as the three little ones, but they had a lot of work to do. Helping Harry prepare for the next task was a big undertaking, but they seemed more than capable. And you had your own schoolwork that you had to complete, having fallen a little behind. You put the quill behind your ear as you went from note taking to reading, just to keep it out of the way.

“You ‘av a liddle ink - just ‘ere-” A voice came from across the table. You hadn’t even realized anyone was there, but now you definitely did. Fleur Delacour herself, sitting right there. And she was reaching towards you with a blue handkerchief that matched her Beauxbatons uniform perfectly. She dabbed it at a spot by your ear then pulled it back, smiling.

“Oh, thanks - I didn’t notice,” You said, feeling a little like a fool for making such a bad impression, but it couldn’t be helped. At least she had pointed it out before anyone else saw it.

“You shouldn’t put your quill like zat - it will ruffle,” Fleur advised.  You hastily took the quill out of your hair and set it down upon the table. She was right. The little feathers were a bit ruffled, and far from being as straight as they were when you had bought it.

“Thank you again,” You smiled, wondering why she was sitting with you of all people. “Are you looking forward to the second task?”

“I am a little nervous,” Fleur said, her i’s sounding like double e’s, which you thought was adorable. Leetle. “I noticed you ‘ave my pin. They caught my good side, no?”

You looked down at your sweater, where you proudly had pins of the four, the fantastic four as you liked to call them, attached to your chest. A fourth year Slytherin had started to make and give out pins that denounced Harry - and that was the only pin that you didn’t have. But you certainly did have Fleur’s smiling, yet determined face there. There was something about the way that she tensed her jaw, like she was looking into the future for any obstacles she could overcome.

“I think you’re all talented, so I’m cheering for everyone,” You explained.

“‘Ow very mature,” She said, looking over each pin. It was a bit intimidating being under her gaze like this. Especially since she was eyeing your chest. Your heart was pounding again, like it had when your eyes first made eye contact. You were positive that if she squinted, she would be able to see it. “But I am your favorite - no?” She asked with a giggle.

“Well, tied for favorite,” You giggled along with her. “Harry is like a brother to me, so of course he’s going to be higher than the rest.”

“‘e is lucky to know you, and you lucky to know ‘im,” She said, with a look in your eye that you couldn’t quite read. “‘e and ‘is friends care very much about you.”

“Did they say that?” You asked, wondering how this came about.

“More or less,” Fleur said with a smile. She leaned in, and with her adorable accent, she told you a little story of what had happened in the morning. “I was walking to my class and I over’eard my name,” She started. “I like to know what the people say about me so I listened in and it was ‘arry and his friends. The redhead and the bushy haired girl-”

“Ron and Hermione,” You interceded. Fleur nodded, and then continued.

“-and zey were saying that you have a little crush on me.” She smiled widely. You were shocked by this development, sure that Hermione was going to keep it a secret. Oh, you were so going to tell everyone that she fancied Krum. You couldn’t wait.

“Well uhh - you are very beautiful, and very smart, and-”

“I know,” Fleur said. She didn’t sound arrogant, though others might have thought that she was. It was just the honest truth that people would be interested in her. When she spoke, others quieted down so they could listen to what she had to say. Even if some of the Hogwarts girls made fun of her accent out of jealousy, it was really quite endearing. You didn’t know if your heart could take it if she said something to you in her native French tongue. “Do you really zink zat I am smart?”

You nodded. “And really brave. You’re kicking the boys butts, it’s really cool to see you do that. You’re heightening people’s expectations.”

“Zank you...” Fleur said, a little taken aback. “Sometimes I get sick of ‘earing ‘ow pretty I am.” She sighed as if it was an everyday problem for her, and you assumed that it probably was. “Zat is all I get from these - these - stupid boys!”

“They’re not the most imaginative, are they?” You chuckled. Both of the twins had asked you to the ball, but they did it in such an unspectacular manner. Like they were just expecting you to say yes no matter what they did. But you had said no, because if you were going to go, you wanted it to be something just a little more outstanding. Even proper words rather than a ‘We’re going together, innit?’ “Did you want me to say more nice things about you?”

Fleur giggled at that, her blonde hair bouncing around her. It wasn’t tucked back into it’s usual ponytail for once, but hung around her shoulders in curls. You could see the bits of Veela to her, having heard the rumors that she had some of their blood. “No, no, I vanted to know what you thought of me.”

“It wasn’t really meant to be a secret, I just thought that - well, since you have so many admirers, I didn’t want to be just another face in the crowd,” You shrugged, trying to play it off as nonchalant. But really, your heart was beating quickly, and you felt like you were going to be sick. Your nerves were getting to you, and you couldn’t believe this was really happening. Like you had eaten a bad hot dog - and you prayed you wouldn’t get sick on her.

“You are so cute. y/n,” Fleur said. You felt like someone had just thrown you in a fire with the way that she had said your name. The way that her accent formed it. “I am glad I asked your friends about you.”

“Yeah, I guess I have to thank them for thinking about me,” You said, biting on your bottom lip. At first you had wanted to pummel them, which was not a very Hufflepuff way to think, but you had been mortified. But now, that it seemed like something good was coming out of it, you were thrilled. You would be sending Harry, Ron and Hermione so much Honeydukes for Christmas, they were going to gain a hundred pounds each.

“So - does that mean you will go to ‘ze ball with me?” Fleur asked, leaning in as if you were discussing something secret. “You will ‘ave to learn ze dance but we can practice it together-”

“I think I can handle a couple of steps,” You said, after trying to get your breath back. You finally let a deep one out with a smile. This was really beginning to be the best study break that you had ever taken, although you couldn’t remember a single line that you had just read.

“Great!” Fleur clapped, excitedly, bringing about a couple of looks, mainly jealous ones from the boys that you were the lucky one to be spending time with her. “My dress is silver.”

“I’m sure I can find something to compliment it,” You said, knowing now that you would have to go to Hogsmeade on the next trip to find something suitable.

“And I expect a corsage-” She said, nearly butchering the word with her pronunciation but you thought that it was the sweetest thing. She was a girl who knew what she wanted, and expected it to be perfect.

“Of course,” You said, bowing your head. You could do a corsage, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

“And I ‘zink zat is about it!” She said, leaning forward and caressed your cheek like she had when she removed the ink blemish, but this time, it was with her bare fingers. “Practice Sunday Morning, in ze Astronomy Tower?”

“I’ll be there,” You promised. She blew you a kiss, tapped your cheek goodbye, then left the Hufflepuff table to go back to the group of giggling girls that sat at the table that had been made for the Beauxbatons students. You looked around, feeling like a big puddle of pure honey, seeing a couple of looks in your direction. You packed up your things in a hurry, then rushed out of the Great Hall, your sights set on the Gryffindor Tower.