As a reviewer kindly pointed out, I will get to the plot XD I'm a lot better now that finals are out of the way and you know, I'm happy again! Love you guys 3

Ch. 8 Playing With Fire

The first thing Fleur noticed when she awoke the next day was the excruciating soreness in her left leg.

The next realization was that she was in a hospital bed.

Fleur lay in a room next to the only other bed that seemed occupied in the room although she could not see the face of her reluctant companion she could hear the dull murmurs of guests trailing into her ears. Hermione's voice was one of them. She attempted to stretch open her eyes only to latch them shut again when an almost holy white light invaded her sight. Her eyes daring to flutter open moments later when she heard a shuffle next to her own bed.

"Fleur?" A tentative voice squeaked out. A voice she recognized as her sisters. Guilt sweeped in like desert storm, how could she worry her Gabriele like this?

"Ah ma chérie there is no need to worry your sister is fine I am sure it is just a scratch" Gabriele hearing the faint traces of weariness upon Fleur's voice launched herself not so delicately on Fleur's bed jostling it in the process.

There was more pain than Fleur had guessed.

"Gabby did you know paper cuts are small scratches as well but they hurt more than one would expect, in my case this is not a mere paper cut" Fleur took her first good look at her left leg to find it had been treated and gauze covered a large portion of her lower calf. Slowly memories from her first task came into her mind. The dragon. The egg. The fire.

The collapse.

"Oh Gabriele why don't you recount your sister's brave tale? I can't seem to piece it all together"

Before Gabriele could open her mouth another deeper voice cut in.

"You got singed on your way back to the tent by the dragon and fell. Very brave." The voice taunted. Fleur looked up towards the voice that was now directed at her. Hermione's.

"Well fancy seeing you here, it is so nice to have a pretty face worrying over me."

Hermione eyes rolled back to Harry who, Fleur now realized, was her bed companion.

"And apparently you hit your head falling too." Harry bit back a laugh at Hermione's antics. Fleur watched their interaction with curiosity, she could see that the two were close but it seemed like there was dead space in the air just begging to be filled, a missing puzzle piece.

It finally clicked into place when a loud bang was heard at the end of the infirmary followed by clumping footsteps coming towards the two beds.

"Oi mate about bloody time you woke-" Fleur shifted slightly as the uneasy feeling swept over her that she had cut the boys thought process off by merely existing. Hermione visibly sucked in a steely breath.

"Yes Ronald? You were saying?" Ron whipped is eyes to Hermione's piercing ones.

"Ah yeah I'm just glad your alright Harry a-and you too of course" Ron sent a sheepish look at Fleur. Gabriele looked like she was going to strangle poor Ron. She did not like it when someone ogled her sister.

"Yes my sister is fine thank you" Gabriele snaked a possessive arm around her sister's waist. Fleur raised her right eyebrow in amusement while over Gabriele's head she could see Hermione hide a smirk in her hand.

Just then Madam Pomfrey came bumbling up towards Harry with a bottle of scar remover. She scuttled around the audience surrounding Harry's bed and gave Fleur a passing once over before turning back to Harry.

"You may leave young Miss and please take these guests with you." She nodded towards Ron and Hermione "I've seen them far too many times in the past as is."

With a Humorous smirk Fleur swung her legs to the floor. Gabriele disentangled herself from Fleur and passed Fleur her school slip on dress that was neatly folded on the bedside table. Gabriele pulled the curtain between the two beds closed while Fleur decided to just slip on the dress over the gauze covering patches of her leg. The process took merely seconds.

"Well? Shall we?" Fleur sweeped back the curtain, her eyes finding Hermione.

At this moment an emotion passed through Hermione's face that Fleur would have missed if she had blinked (and she nearly had, truth be told she was still quite nervous around the girl). For the briefest of moments Hermione had looked worried before the stony veil fell over her petite features again.

"Right well come on Ron, Harry has things to do and we have lots of homework" With a characteristic whip of ringlets Hermione set off down the long infirmary.

With a look that Gabrielle had never seen before on her sister, (later she would coin it the classic puppy dog look) Fleur trailed after. Gabrielle left her sister to her devises reasoning that she could take this opportunity to catch up on some much needed trouble making.

"Ah Hermoine you walk so fast" Fleur breathed out as she trotted after Hermione.

"I was wondering what happened during the tournament I do not recall exactly…" Hermione flipped around on her heels.

"Both you and Harry were, no, are twits." Ron who had been on Hermione's right the whole time seemed to realize Hermione was about to go on a rant and hastily made up an excuse about homework before scurrying off. Unfortunately Fleur did not.

"First of all this entire thing could get you both killed and with the strange things that have been happening to Harry he really should be more worried and you! you could become caught in the crossfire yet you just waltz around completely oblivious with your posse constantly ogling you."

Hermione had unconsciously backed Fleur into a corner both mentally and physically. Not giving Fleur a chance to defend herself she kept advancing.

"I do not understand the mindset of you champions, Harry can be excused since he didn't enter his name- But you, you willingly entered your name, entered your life into this game of Russian roulette." Fleur was starting to feel quite confused at this outburst from the girl. First the outburst itself and then Russian roulette something that Fleur did not comprehend. she decided to address the latter ignoring (or accepting her role as verbal punching bag for Hermione) the part where she clearly did not deserve this treatment.

"What is Russian Roulette?" Fleur had caught Hermione while she was wording her next line of attack and Hermione fumbled with an answer.

"It's a game with a gun- a.." Fleur tilted her head quizzically.

"It's a dangerous game." Hermione left it at that and fell into a silence which Fleur used to try feebly to repair the conversation. While Hermione looked down at her feet and kicked the invisible dirt Fleur stepped forward gauging the best way to approach the angry, obviously worried girl.

"Come you must be hungry and truth be told fighting dragons does make my stomach growl."

Hermione seemed to snap out of her trance like infatuation with her feet just in time to see Fleur close the distance between them. Hermione felt a hand clasp her own, squeezing lightly before tugging her body until she fell into step beside Fleur.

"Uh Fleur?"

"Oui?"

"The Great hall is the other way."