Hello everyone. It has been quite some time since I posted any fics, but I have been absorbed by school and reading all of the wonderful Fleur/Hermione fics out there. I've become obsessed with the pairing. As such, I have begun one of my own, which will hopefully be a many-chaptered deal. Cross your fingers.

In this story, Voldemort was defeated by Harry when Harry was a baby. So basically Harry is still the boy who lived, and things like the Triwizard tournament still happened. But Harry didn't take part. (if there are any things that don't fit with the way I've set up the story, like some obvious mistake, let me know) Harry Ron and Hermione are in their seventh year, and Fleur has come to Hogwarts as the Charms Teacher. Dumbledore is also still alive. I have borrowed the increasingly popular idea that Veela have one mate that they bind with for life, (which I believe was created by Dreiser and D. Geheimnis) but I'm adding my own little twist to it.

In any case, I hope you enjoy this story. This chapter is unbeta-ed, so be warned. (I'm on the hunt for a beta if anyone's interested.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and am making no money from this story.

Without elimination, both a new world

And the old made explicit, understood

In the completion of its partial ecstasy,

The resolution of its partial horror.

From the Four Quartets, Burnt Norton II

-T.S. Eliot

Chapter 1

Fleur Delacour took a deep breath, then a second. Stepping out into the Great Hall her bright blue eyes took in the hall she had first entered years ago. She shook her head, no need to dwell on past memories. She sat down at her place at the teacher's table, between Rubius Hagrid and Professor Sprout.

The first trickle of students was just beginning to enter the Great Hall, taking their places at their respective house tables. Ducking behind her curtain of silvery-blond hair she did her best to ignore the glances she knew were being directed at her. She knew the stares were inevitable, her Veela heritage made sure of that. Sighing, she lifted her head, her piercing blue eyes sweeping the hall once more.

"S'cuse me, Professor Delacour?" a gruff voice came from next to her.

"Ah, oui?" she responded, looking up into the face of Rubius Hagrid.

He blustered, obviously slightly affected by her thrall, but he managed to repress the response from her charms for which she was thankful. "I, I'm the Care o' Magical Creatures Professor, 'though I'm sure you already knew tha'. I mean, you were here back when there was th' Triwizard tournament. Wha' I'm tryin' to say is, you have Veela blood don' ya? I have always been a tad curious abou' the Veela culture. I was hopin' you wouldn' mind jus talkin' to me a bit abou' it?" finally finishing, he looked at her expectantly.

Fleur was reluctant to launch into the complexities and rituals of Veela culture, much of which was kept within the tribe itself, and not meant for outside ears. However, Hagrid's efforts to engage her in a conversation that wasn't just spurred on by her thrall touched her, and she began explaining some of the customs of the Veela.

In the middle of a conversation about the significance of the Summer Solstice to the Veela, they were interrupted by the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, as he rose to greet the student body. Fleur whipped her head around to scan the students, their faces all upturned to the Headmaster. Her eyes were drawn to the Gryffindor table and she focused on a face framed by brown curls. Fleur felt her heart beating louder in her chest as she stared without even realizing. Her eyes drifted from the deep brown eyes to the cute nose and beautifully sculpted lips on the face of Hermione Granger.

Her trance was interrupted by the entrance of the first years, and she politely focused her attention on the small frightened children as they were sorted into the houses. However each time a student was put in Gryffindor her eyes would find themselves fixed on the smiling face of Hermione Granger.

The feast proceeded without much fuss, Professor Sprout engaged her in a conversation about Herbology, and she was glad to have a break from Hagrid's questions about Veela.

With the feast finished, Dumbledore stood once more, and began to speak. "Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. This year, we are pleased to welcome a new Professor to our ranks. Professor Flitwick has retired after many years, but his post is to be taken by none other than Miss Fleur Delacour!"

Fleur stood to raucous cheering and clapping and bowed slightly; eyes ever watching the brown haired Gryffindor girl. She clapped politely along with the other students, but paused to elbow her red haired friend who was sitting next to her. Fleur frowned slightly as she sat down, the boy, like many others in the hall were very strongly affected by her thrall.

Dumbledore began speaking again, Fleur only half paying attention as she examined the Hermione. Hermione had matured in the years since The Triwizard Tournament. Her brown hair was no longer an unruly mess, but it hung in loose curls around her face. Her face was no longer one of a girl, but it had matured into that of a woman. Fleur drank in her beauty as her eyes roved lower. The girl's body had matured nicely, even though it was a little difficult to see beneath her robes. Her eyes lingered on the girl's chest before she caught herself, and forced her eyes back to Dumbledore who was just finishing his speech.

"Thank you everyone, I hope this year is a wonderful one for us all. Let us rise and sing the school song, before heading off to bed."

The school stood, and with Dumbledore conducting, it belted out the school song. Smiling gently Fleur stood as well, but did not join in with the rest of the school.

In her rooms she discarded her flowing robes for her pajamas, which this night consisted of a shirt of her father's and her underwear. She threw herself onto her four-poster bed, and let out a long breath. Her thoughts were running away from her, going places she was not ready for. She banished those thoughts from her head, and thought of the time she had first seen Hermione Granger. When she had first known.

All through her childhood she had been told the stories. Warned and prepared for the moment when she would see her One. Her soul mate. Even so, all of the preparation was not enough when the moment finally came. Beauxbatons had been invited to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. Fleur had been selected to go and represent Beauxbatons in the competition, an honor that many envied her for. That first night, that first fateful night, as she entered the Great Hall she knew all eyes were on her. Her Veela heritage made her extraordinarily beautiful, and males and females alike were drawn to her. Her eyes swept over the hall, taking in the four tables with the many students sitting at them, staring at her. She smiled gently as she was supposed to and curtsied. As she straightened, her eyes fell on those of a girl, who couldn't have been more than 15 years old. Instantly her breathe hitched and her throat became suddenly dry. She could not tear her eyes away from the girl, she could swear her heart stopped beating in that instant, before springing back to life with renewed fervor, forever changed by that eye contact. Her head was swimming as she took her seat at the Ravenclaw table.

Fleur sighed and rolled on her side, the rest of that year had been a nightmare. In addition to coming in last in the Triwizard cup, the love of her life, her soul mate had become involved with one of her competitors. She couldn't blame the girl, he was handsome and male. She had tried to forget the girl, many fleeting romances passed, she could not even remember their faces. Not that it mattered, she knew as long as she was without her mate she could never be happy.

But three years had passed, and Fleur was back, by request of the great Albus Dumbledore himself. Judging by his letter she was sure he knew about her beginning courtship of the Granger girl. Fleur chuckled lightly to herself, what a strange man. She was almost positive he was setting them up too.

Fleur rolled over. Classes began the next morning, and she was sure she would need her sleep. She had the seventh years right after lunch, and she had the feeling it was going to be a long day.

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