Her cheeks were flushed from crying, and the seed pearls in Fleur's hair glittered like snowflakes.
"You are 'ere wit' Viktor, non?" Fleur was asking, looking at her from the mirror above the tap as she delicately washed her hands.
Hermione thrust her hands under the tap, startling herself into self-awareness as the cold water splashed over them. "N-No, I mean, yes. Yes, I'm here with Viktor."
Fleur turned, looking at her with a faint smile. "And you like 'im, oui?"
Hermione smiled as she washed her hands. "Yes," she said softly.
Fleur tilted her head slightly, the smile widening. "And you want 'im, non? Want 'im to make you a woman? Want 'im to love you een ze way you dream of at night?"
Hermione blushed deeply, looking down at the sink, refusing to look away from the water gurgling down the drain. "Yes," she whispered.
Fleur softly whispered a drying spell, then, gently, lifted up Hermione's chin. "'Ermione," she said softly. "Do you zeenk I am pretty?"
Hermione blinked. "What?"
"Do you zeenk I am pretty?"
Hermione's cheeks flamed, heat rising from her skin to pinken Fleur's fingertips. Fleur held her gaze, trapping her in a maze of crystal and ice.
"Yes," Hermione finally whispered, closing her eyes.
Fleur bent down, tracing her fingers against Hermione's cheek, then, softer than freshly fallen snowflakes, pressed her lips against Hermione's.
Hermione went in to wash the ink off her fingers.
She ended up with her arms around Cho, tears soaking through her robes, hair slick and smooth against her stroking hands.
Cho wept against her, mumbling words like "Cedric" and "Harry" as Hermione rubbed her back and made soothing sounds to calm her.
Her tears slowed, her breathing calmed down, and Cho pulled away from Hermione, looking at her with eyes wide and red. Hermione, with a sudden strange calmness that she would reflect over for years to come, gently pushed back a few loose strands of Cho's hair, then, slowly, kissed her.
Cho returned the kiss, desperate, painful, hungry. Hermione gasped as she was pressed against the bathroom wall, then gasped again as Cho continued to kiss her, pushing her body against hers. Hermione moaned into Cho's mouth as Cho began cupping her breast, then, suddenly, opened her eyes, pushing Cho away from her.
"Cho..." she started, trying to find the words.
Cho took a step back, her eyes wide with terror, then, just as quickly as she had returned the kiss, ran out of the bathroom.
It was the night before Fleur and Bill's wedding, and Ginny and Hermione were locked in the Weasley family bathroom.
"Fuck this," Ginny whispered, throwing a damp flannel at the bridesmaid's gown hanging on the door. She reached down from her perch on the toilet for the bottle of firewhiskey. "Fuck this dress, fuck this wedding, fuck everything."
Hermione, slumped in the bathtub, giggled, taking another sip from her own glass of firewhiskey. "You're just angry because you'll be going alone," she said.
"So'll you," Ginny shot back, just before taking another drink from the bottle.
Hermione shrugged, still giggling. "If Ron and Harry have decided that this..." She waved her hand at the gown. "Entire thing doesn't require dates, then who am I to argue?" She took another drink. "Besides, if I have to hear — again — how the beautiful Fleur once kissed Ron on his cheek, I'll go mad."
Ginny chuckled.
"All the time! 'Oooh, oooh, Fleur kissed me. Bill, did you know Fleur kissed me?' And it was just his cheek!" Hermione shook her head. "And if I ever mentioned that she kissed me at the Yule Ball..."
"WHAT?" Ginny fell from her perch, landing ungraciously on the floor with a thud.
Hermione dissolved into giggles.
"You kissed Fleur?"
Hermione shrugged. "She kissed me. And it wasn't much. Just one." Hermione took another sip. "Not like Cho."
"WHAT?"
Ginny was sitting straight up now, looking at Hermione with wide eyes.
Hermione couldn't stop giggling. "Oh c'mon, Ginny. It's not that important. You never..."
Ginny shook her head.
"Not even with Luna?"
Ginny's eyes widened, and she shook her head again. "Never." She reached for the bottle. "I never knew you had it in you," she said, holding up the bottle in toast.
Hermione clinked her glass next to the bottle. "It wasn't that big of a deal, really. Just...different."
Ginny looked at Hermione, tilting her head to the left, then to the right. "Hmm," she finally said.
"What?"
Ginny took another drink from the bottle, set it down, then, with Quidditch-fast reflexes, climbed into the bathtub on top of Hermione.
Hermione squealed, dropping her drink on the floor. "Ginny, what—"
"I want to see how different it is," Ginny said, just before pressing her mouth on Hermione's.
This Harry Potter story was written by Kate Bolin. If you liked it, there's plenty more at http://www.dymphna.net/fanfic/. And you can feedback her at dymphna@dymphna.net.