Chapter Text
Hermione Granger hated quidditch, she never quit get why people were so enthusiastic about a game where balls can throw you in the ground, hurting you or why taking the risk at flying so high in the sky while you can stay perfectly safe in the ground (not that being best friend with Harry Potter actually guaranty that, quite the opposite in fact) and don’t even get her started on the violence between players.
So, when Ron invited her to the Mondial quidditch cup alongside his family and Harry, she wasn’t fond of the idea of going. She would rather spend that time at reading nor complete her, already quite long, essays for the next year. But her parents, who cannot get the chance to see a game, convince her to attend, among the fact that it wasn’t every day that you can watch the final.
When she arrives to the burrows, the boys where playing outside and Mr. Weasley started to interrogate her on muggle technology, even if it was the fifth time she was giving an explanation on how a TV worked (she got the feeling that she would be obliged to repeat herself quite often during the rest of the summer). Mrs. Weasley saved her to having to answer the question “but how muggles can use that little box to talk to each other”? and sent her bring her stuff in Ginny’s room.
She didn’t really know the younger girl, having talked only a few times since to her since she started Hogwarts in Hermione second year. Ginny was shy and doesn’t open to a lot of people, her possession by Voldemort, which resulted on she reopens the chamber of secrets, was the direct cause of it. So, it was a rather pleasant surprised when she entered the bedroom to find Ginny’s waiting for her with a beaming smile on her face.
“Hey Hermione, how’s your summer being so far?” asked the enthusiastic younger girl
“Quite well thank you, and yours?”
“Oh y’know, still the same, explosion in the twin room’s, Ron being a prat and Percy shushing everyone who dares make the stairs squeak… At least I have Bill and Charlie to keep me company” explains Ginny
“I see! Didn’t Percy starts working at the ministry this summer?”
“Yeah but I warn you, if you don’t wanna listen to his rambling about cauldron for hours you better avoiding him, we all do”
“I’ll try remember that!” say an amused Hermione. “Anyway, do you know when Harry’s coming?” Hermione notice the slight blush who appears on Ginny’s cheeks at the mention of her dark-haired friend, not everything changes she thinks for herself, she promised to try and help Ginny getting less awkward in Harry’s presence over the summer.
“Huh dad didn’t tell you?”
“Nah he was asking me questions about muggles things when your mom interrupted him and sent me brought me things here”
“Ah, I’m not surprised, he was overjoyed when he learned that Harry and you were coming here this summer, I swear, I thought that after the ministry inquest on the flying car two years ago would calm him down a little but no, his obsession for muggles things is still getting stronger!” the red-haired girl replayed, laughing. “And to answer your question, Him, Ron, Fred and George are going to get him in his relatives’ house at the end of the week”
Hermione was about to ask how they were getting him, knowing perfectly the disgust the Dursley felt toward anything that wasn’t perfectly “normal” when the bedroom door flew open and an excited boy entered screaming “Mione! You finally here!” and then processed to hug her as a greeting, well more a new strangulation technique than a hug really but the boy wasn’t knowing for his calm and reserve behavior.
“Ron let me go” laughing Hermione, “I can’t breathe!”
“Sorry” said the young boy when he released her “I’m just happy you arrived, blimey the summer without you and Harry around is boring, plus you can help me with my homework now”
“Homework’s really the first thing you ask to Hermione? Ronald you’re unbelievable!” exclaims Ginny,
“Relax I’m just kidding, y’know that Mione huh?” asked Ron, a little worried to have vexed her,
“Yes, Ron I know” reassured the brunette, “and when you finish your essays, I agreed to check them if you want”
“And this is why I love you” replayed Ron
“Don’t push your luck!” laugh Hermione.
Discussion between the three teenagers last till’ Mrs. Weasley called them to help setting the table for dinner, with Ron et Ginny’s older brothers home they were obliged to eat outside. Once in the yard they assisted to a table fight between Charlie and Bill. Hermione understood rather quickly that even though Bill worked in Gringotts he wasn’t at all an older clone of Percy (to her relieved, yes, she was usually fond of respecting the rules but even her thought Percy’s being annoying more often than not). As for Charlie, he was working with dragons in Romania, hence the burning scars in his arms and his relax attitude.
The rest of the week passed quickly, between long discussion about everything and anything with Ginny (who was starting to become, to her utter joy, a really good friend), gently chastised Ron about his homework while helping him, avoiding eating anything the twins present her and having long conversation with Bill and Charlie about goblins, curses and dragons.
Soon, it was time to get Harry, Mr. Weasley decide to use the floo network, despite Hermione objection about the idea, Mr. Weasley was still convinced that the Dursley couldn’t hate magic this much.
Hermione and Ginny where in the younger girl bedroom’s when they hear laugh coming from downstairs. When they arrived in the kitchen, it was to the sight of the boys laughing about a candy Harry cousin’s eats, which result in his tongue getting a few feet long in the time Harry arrived in the Burrow.
When the young boy saw Hermione and Ginny he beamed at them, causing Ginny to turn in interesting shade of red. Despite Hermione encouragement, it seems the red-haired girl still has some trouble being herself around Harry. The four teens run away when Mrs. Weasley starts shooting at the twins for their inventions (they know better than to stay around whenever Mrs. Weasley gets angry, especially at the twins) and found refuge in Ron’s bedroom. They only came back after the scream had stopped.
The evening passed nicely and, shortly, they were sent to bed making sure they were resting to attend the Quidditch cup the next day. Mrs. Weasley waking up very early everyone who couldn’t apparate directly in the camping. After a long march and a rather unpleasant discussion with Amos Diggory, Cedric’s father (Cedric was a seventh year attending at Hogwarts in Hufflepuff) they arrived in front of an old, relatively disgusted looking boot.
While everyone crouches and touches it, Hermione and Harry stay up, watching the scene with confused faces. It was when Mr. Weasley tells them to hurry and touching the old boot too that Hermione released it was a porkey, a wizard object charmed to permitting people to cover long distance without having to use the floo nor to apparate.
The travel was not enjoyable but a least they were arrived at the camping entry. A muggle was giving indication on everyone’s location in his property, but they shortly notice his curiosity towards the strange people surrounding him. Harry must make sure Mr. Weasley finds his way with muggle money and soon they were off to their own location.
The place was full of wizards attending with their family or with friends. In Hermione opinion, the tents looked weird, some were most alike a marquee than an actual tent. Once in their emplacement, they start to set up their own tents. To Hermione et Harry’s amazement, while they were looking too small to fetch all of them, the inside was, in fact, the size of an apartment.
Whereas Mr. Weasley, Fred, George and Ginny were in charge to set up a fire and start making breakfast, Hermione, Harry and Ron were sent off to find some water. On their way they meet with a lot of their Hogwarts’s friends, like Seamus Finnigan, his mother and Dean Thomas, Harry and Ron’s roommate and Seamus best friend. They were cheering for Ireland (a fact which didn’t need a precision with Ireland colors decorated their, and everyone else nearby, tent). Bulgarian tents on the other hand were decorated with the seeker team’s face, who was, apparently, Ron idol’s.
While they were waiting to get some water, Hermione has to step aside to avoid laughing out loud because of an old wizard who thinks that the better-looking muggle clothe was a woman nightdress and refused to get changed.
She was so distracted that she didn’t notice the girl walking in her direction before landing quite forcefully on the ground.
“Oh mon dieu, je suis désolée je ne t’avais pas vu, ça va? Tu ne t’es pas fait mal? » asked the sunniest girl Hermione has ever seen (with that kind of thought she really did starts to question her sexuality), she was tall, with long silver blond hair and streaking blue eyes. She didn’t know if it the shock of the landing or the girl herself, but Hermione was in the impossibility to respond anything except:
“Huh?”
“Ah zut tu ne dois pas parler français” starts muttering the girl “I am zorry, I didn’t see you, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I, I’m fine th-thank you” succeed to answers Hermione, she was feeling her cheeks grew hot under the intense stare of the girl. She tried to get up only to find a hand in front of her face and the girl saying:
“Mais où sont passées mes bonnes manières, ‘ere let me ‘elp you” starts rambling the French girl in front of her.
“Th-thanks”, god the stuttering mess the girl caused her to become was really embarrassing thought the brunette.
When their hands touch, Hermione feels like her magic was reacting to the girl, she looked the taller girl in the eyes and she notices, during the briefest of moment, that her eyes weren’t blue anymore but purple (it was so sudden, she was certain she had imagined it).
“My name iz Fleur Delacour and you?” the girl, no Fleur, asks smiling at her.
“Hermione Granger and it is I who is sorry for earlier, I wasn’t looking where I was going” she suddenly realized that she was not feeling awkward in Fleur’s presence anymore and could form normal sentences, “weird” she thought for herself.
“It iz nice to meet you ‘Ermione Granger, and don’t worry it ‘appened” replayed the blond, looking amused, “I supposed you are ‘ere for the final too, which team are you cheering for?”
“None, I am not really a Quidditch fan, my friends on the other hand are mostly for Ireland, you?”
“Ireland too, c’est amusant that you attend if you don’t like Quidditch”
“My friends convince me, say that I couldn’t missed that”
“I agree wiz zat” hummed the French witch, she was about to add something when they heard Hermione name’s being called, looking around she realized Harry and Ron had finished getting water and it was time for her to return to her camp.
“I see you ‘ad to go, mayhaps we can see each ozer again?” asked Fleur, with look like hope in her eyes “my camp iz nearby ze entry of ze forest, you can’t miss my tent, it’s standout compare to the others around”
“Yeah, I would love that, I will definitely stop by tomorrow before leaving” answers Hermione, quite shock the other witch wanted to see her again.
“Génial! I can’t wait” respond Fleur with enthusiasm and, before Hermione could respond, Fleur kissed her in the cheeks “au revoir ‘Ermione, à demain!” and then left.
Hermione stood in stupor with her cheeks burning and she watches the other girl leaving until she hears Ron’s voice
“Blimey Mione’ who was that?”
“I’m not quite sure yet… Anyway, let’s go back to the camp, your father is probably waiting for us”.