He wasn't expecting to like her. Not really. Especially knowing her Veela heritage. He knew far too much about magical creatures (mostly from his brother, Charlie), and how would he know if his attraction to her was because he genuinely liked her, or because of her part-Veela genes slipping through?

She was French, too. He'd met loads of witches and wizards, all around the world, in his work for Gringotts, but it seemed to him that most of the French ones he'd met were more than a bit stuck-up. If that made him prejudiced, so be it. Most often, they sneered at his earring, or his long hair and the way he refused to get it cut. Some made fun of his accent (rather shaky but still comprehensible), or the shabby patches in his clothes.

Fleur didn't do any of those things. From the first Order meeting she rather shyly showed up at, invited by Dumbledore himself, she only smiled at him. And after the meeting, introduced herself, apologising for her accent, and looking down at the floor. He surprised himself when his hand stole out and he gently tilted her head up, informing her that she had no need to be sorry, her accent was lovely.

How do you start a courtship in the middle of a war, and yet, that was precisely what he did. Kissed her cheeks in the moonlight behind Grimmauld Place, while his brothers kept a grim-eyed watch for any Death Eaters that may be skulking about the street. Talked for hours in the Black library, or in the orchard at the Burrow, him with his hands stuffed awkwardly in his pockets, her braiding tendrils of her hair. He learned of her younger sister, and the way she feared for her family's safety, even all the way in France. Of her younger days, stealing away from school to pilfer tarts from her mother's windowsill and sharing one with Gabrielle. Of the Triwizard Tournament and what really happened.

He fell in love with her without even knowing, until one day, he got down on one knee, opened the ring box (ring guaranteed curse-free, of course), and asked, "Would you marry me?"

He'd never been more surprised in his life than when she said yes.