TITLE: LOCK & KEY

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; I merely love them so much that I've decided they're too awesome for men and therefore should be for each other.

Music: What Beautiful Stars - Yiruma

Pairing: Hermione Granger & Fleur Delacour

Ah, before the explanation of this chapter begins; I wish you all a (very belated) happy christmas and a lovely new year to come! This chapter is not exactly a part of the L&K plot. I'm simply giving you guys a bonus chapter to celebrate for the holidays. This is how I pictured the first christmas of these two together (alone, *wink*), I hope you enjoy this one. Oh, and it could get ridiculously sappy and romantic at some parts.

~ o ~ o ~

"'Ermione, are you sure about this?" Fleur looked hesitant as she prodded the younger witch with the same question for the fifth time on that quiet afternoon. There was that unmistakable glint of worry, doubt and guilt in her eyes.

Hermione regarded her lover carefully as she sat across the coffee table in where they sat, she felt quite at ease, worries pushed to the deep recesses of her brain and thankful for the fact that Fleur had been able to finish the Triwizard Tournament unscathed, despite the return of the dark lord.

The brunette formed a huffy expression and pouted for good measure as she spoke, "Do you not want to spend the holidays with me?"

Fleur grabbed the brunette's hand the moment she heard this and held it carefully in her hands. She felt rather stupid for thinking and feeling so, but the blonde really felt guilty for supposedly taking the brunette away from her friends and family to celebrate christmas alone with her, regardless of the fact that the idea was from the younger witch herself.

Fleur bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze to their entwined hands. "Oh you know I do, I do so very much… It's just that—"

"Fleur…" Hermione breathed her name more than said it; it was said with such a quiet intensity that made the blonde shiver involuntarily. Yup, she was more than whipped. The brunette had no idea how much power she held over the blonde veela. Fleur's head perked up in response; feeling the sudden need to look the younger witch in the eye.

Hermione gave her lover the most reassuring smile she could muster, held the blondes' hand in both of hers and lifted it up to kiss her knuckles softly and then spoke,

"Fleur, I want this for both of us… I want to be selfish for once and have you all to myself. You had no idea how scared I was with the thought of losing you throughout that… that… wretched tournament," she scowled lightly at this and then continued; sincere expression gracing her chocolate warm orbs "with all of these bad things happening, I've no idea what's to happen next… and well," she bit her lip unconsciously as an unwarranted blush graced her cheeks, she averted her eyes and continued "as silly as this sounds, everything still feels so surreal, I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you. After everything that has happened, and it was such a tiring year too… I… I want to spend a lot of time with you, I feel like I need to be around you so much… I'm sorry I don't mean to be selfi—"

But the brunette wasn't able to continue as Fleur leaned forward and captured her lips in a sweet kiss, effectively silencing the brunette's nervous blabbering. Hermione took a moment to respond, but when she did, she responded with as much love as she had for the blonde. They parted with silly grins gracing their features. As the blonde resumed her sitting position, Hermione flashed her brilliant smile and asked.

"I take it that's a yes?"

Fleur instantly returned that smile and nodded her response.

The blonde's day dreaming was interrupted by the soft humming of the kettle that she put on the stove, a few steps away from the counter where she was leaning on for support. She had just realized that she had her eyes closed and she was sporting this silly grin on her face. They were on a far off place, a place she did not exactly know where.

The brunette had been very secretive of their elaborate getaway for christmas, what she knew was they were somewhere in Asia. They were sidelong apparated in there by Nymphadora Tonks, how the brunette had convinced the auror, she had no idea. All the same, she had thought it very sweet of the brunette to take note in the way she hated the weather in England; plus the place was indeed very romantic.

They were on a seaside villa of sorts, located in between two lovely rock formations protruding from the island. The place was relatively large; a little garden was situated around the two-storey villa inspired with a greek architecture, the fences all over the place were covered with vines and red roses bloomed on seemingly random places which had increased the romantic ambiance, specially the fountain located in the center of the garden where a white-stone sculpture of a cupid stood in the middle of the fountain. The villa itself had a very romantic feel to it, again hinting greek architecture everywhere starting from the white large columns situated on the porch where the main door stood; a large balcony was placed on the second floor, just outside the main bedroom. But what the blonde loved most is the merge of the modern-contemporary style with the greek architecture. The walls adorned big sliding windows of glass which offered a great view of the seaside. The villa was large enough but it was so very obvious to Fleur that it was magically altered since it had so many rooms.

The blonde sighed happily once again as she was preparing dinner. It was christmas eve and she had won the brunette over preparing their dinner insisting that it was the least she could do for their short vacation. The blonde's thoughts wandered over to what the brunette is planning on. She had specifically demanded that Fleur should stay inside the house even if she finished preparing dinner and only come out when the brunette instructed her to do so. They arrived in the villa a few days ago and the younger witch would disappear for random intervals of time, some ranging from minutes to hours—as to what she is up to, Fleur had no idea. The brunette seemed to be adept on keeping such things from her, but she knew she was going to find out sooner or later anyway and so she just shrugged it out. As the blonde finished the last of the dishes, she glanced at the wall clock and realized with some surprise that it was an hour before christmas; and so she proceeded upstairs to change into a nice dress she had bought before they left for their vacation.

~ o ~ o ~

After setting up all of the lights around the garden and charming the balcony, Hermione carefully extracted a miniature version of a grand piano from her pocket, carefully setting it down on the grass just below the balcony. She had to act quickly; she knew Fleur was already dressing in their room from the rustle she had heard.

"Engorgio…" the brunette pointed her wand and cast the enlargement spell. The miniature version of the grand piano swelled until it had reached its original and majestic size. Hermione took a last look of her handiwork in a sweeping motion and nodded to herself in approval. Another intricate flick of her wand and several blobs of light lazily flew out of the tip of her wand; it flew and went to seemingly random places until every light she had set up blew into life. She quickly conjured a quill and a small parchment, scribbled a small note upon it and levitated it until it had reached the balcony. Once she was positive that it was on sight, she conjured a single long stemmed white rose and held it carefully between her hands. Hermione stood beside the piano, looking up at the balcony—nervously waiting for Fleur to take notice of what she left on the glass window.

~ o ~ o ~

The blonde witch was just finishing her hair for the night, having slipped into a white dress and opting to do without shoes; she tied her hair up in a messy bun, letting some few strands loose in the front which accentuated her jaws beautifully. She glanced to the window on her right when she noticed the full blast of the moon lighting up the room—and then she saw a peculiar piece of parchment floating in mid-air. She smiled when she recognized Hermione's elegant script.

"Come to the balcony."

The sides of her mouth quirked up to form an involuntary grin, her heart was beating a little faster and her breathe was coming on short and fast. Hermione's surprises never fail to excite her, how subtle or grand it might be.

The blonde slipped onto the far side of the room where the entrance to the balcony led and pushed aside the thick fabric covering the glass sliding doors. A soft gust of salty but fresh wind greeted her, but more so the view that she saw is the thing that which took her breath away. The columns that supported the sides of the balcony and the white railings themselves, which were bare a few hours ago was now covered with lively green vines. Red roses in contrast to the green and the white were blooming on random places, covering most of the green. There were small lovely blobs of yellow lights also placed on random places on the vines giving a great lighting effect and the romantic atmosphere.

Fleur stepped forward, her eyes sweeping the whole of the garden, designed in a similar way. Lights were placed on the bushes, softly glowing in contrast to the dark; some lined the trees and looked it's as if it was a rain of lights falling from the branches. She felt light headed, trying to register everything in her brain and taking it all in. The surprise certainly caught her off guard. As she neared the railings to peer down from where she's guessing that the brunette is currently waiting for her; she placed her shaking hands on the cold stone for support for she knew there was more and then peered down from where she stood. As she had guessed, her lover stood there, beside a jet black grand piano, in the prettiest light pink dress that accentuated the brunette's curves, a single white long stemmed rose in her hands. She wore the most adorable smile in her face, nervous, eager but steady. Her eyes specially sparkled after taking in the sight of Fleur above her in the balcony.

Fleur returned the smile but was starting to feel her eyes brimming with tears of joy. These feelings for the younger witch was overwhelming her, more so because she knew that the brunette feels exactly the same too.

~ o ~ o ~

Hermione carefully kissed the top of the rose and then lifted her hand, casted a silent levitating spell and watched the single white rose until it was within reach of the blonde. Fleur took hold of the rose gently and raised it to her mouth to touch it to her lips as well, a blush covering her cheeks—a rare occasion that made the brunette smile eagerly. She then bowed—curtsied to the blonde standing over the balcony and took a seat in front of the piano, starting a soft melody that she had composed over the few days that they were in the villa; her fingers instinctively finding the right keys to produce the sound that she had wanted the blonde to hear.

~ o ~ o ~

Fleur had to close her eyes with the melody the brunette was playing, the tune was gentle but was slowly building up intensity, she could almost compare it to the feelings she was having for the brunette. To the story that they had started out together, it was unexpected yet it was welcomed, everything about them had seemed to fall in place naturally, it's as if the world had decided that they belong to each other and this story was written long ago, a master piece of sorts. She would always find more to discover and more to love from Hermione every day. One hand was clutched in her chest, her heart was beating fast and loud, as if having her hand there would calm her heart down from the overwhelming sensations that she was feeling. She had almost failed to notice the tears that were freely falling down from her eyes until she tasted the salty substance that pooled in the corners of her mouth. She opened her eyes and smiled brightly all the while wiping the tears from her face. She watched as Hermione expertly finished the song by running her fingers softly through the length of the keys. Clapping enthusiastically after the song, Fleur found herself staring down at the love of her life while Hermione extracted herself from her seat and did pretty much the same staring at Fleur—as if on cue, they laughed together at seemingly nothing, bathing in that effervescent feeling that was their effect to each other.

"That was brilliant mademoiselle," Fleur spoke fondly after a while of laughing; Hermione bowed at this and gave Fleur a lovely smile. The blonde took a few steps backward and was released from the brunette's point of view, Hermione frowned in confusion.

"Catch me!" the blonde shouted in warning as she strode for a boost and pushed her hands on the railing to jump off the balcony. Hermione let out an alarmed gasp but caught the blonde in her arms all the same. Fleur was laughing merrily as she hooked her arms around the brunette's neck. Hermione shook her head amusingly as she released a sigh of relief then pushed a chaste kiss onto the blonde's mouth as she murmured upon her lips, "I'll always catch you." Fleur could only grin in response, as she was busy tugging on her lover's lips; pulling the younger girl in a much deeper kiss. As their lips parted for much needed air, the brunette stared deep into her eyes, touched their foreheads and whispered lovingly.

"Happy christmas, love."

Fleur brushed the tip of her nose upon the brunette's own in response and then whispered lovingly, her eyes brimming with love and adoration.

"Joyeux noel, mon amour."

~ o ~ o ~

Accurate to Fleur's suspicions, there was actually more to the surprise which had baffled her. A romantic dinner picnic by the full moon was set in place, the blonde watched in adoration as the younger witch summoned the dishes that she had prepared from inside the villa and placed them in a neat manner down to the soft light blue blanket that was placed underneath a big cherry tree—clearly taking over the celebrations. After setting everything down, Hermione offered her hand to Fleur; like a perfect gentleman and helped the blonde to sit and did the same. Another flick of the brunette's wand and a bucket full of ice and sparkling wine zoomed into view, Hermione was blushing profusely as she set about pouring the wine onto the goblets and Fleur watched on amused at how the brunette ducked her head slightly as she offered the wine.

They toasted to the occasion and as they drank, Fleur stared openly at her lover who was now sporting a lovely shade of red on her cheeks, trying to hide her blush with her goblet. The blonde was overwhelmed with the curious feeling of contentment and happiness plus there was that fact that the younger witch looked ridiculously adorable when blushing. Fleur put aside her goblet and took hold of Hermione's and did the same, discarding the half-full goblets to the side of the blanket. Before the brunette could question the blonde's actions, she was pushed down to a lying position on the blanket as Fleur followed suit, hovering over Hermione by the use of her left hand steady on the side of the brunette. With her free hand, she gently pushed a stray lock of curly hair from the brunette's still flushed face and hooked it behind her ear.

~ o ~ o ~

Hermione stilled her breathing, her movements, and her body. She felt frozen, the way Fleur was staring at her, it's as if she's the most marvelous creature in the world—with those intense piercing orbs staring deep into her eyes and the soft curve of her lips, Hermione felt like she was melting to a puddle of sweet chocolate. She felt like she was on a trance, that beautiful woman on top of her with the moonlight hitting her silvery blonde strands which made them glow, the elegant contours of the French witch's face and that red inviting lips of hers. She still couldn't believe that all of this is happening, her thoughts flew to the previous year, and how she and the blonde had first met, the things that they have went through together—the petty rows and misunderstandings but she was broken out of her reverie when she heard Fleur breathed her name.

~ o ~ o ~

"'Ermione…" Their eyes locked. "I do not know 'ow to begin to say 'ow very grateful I am for this…" Fleur let her hands gently cup the side of the brunette's face, absently running her thumb on the smooth skin. The brunette was about to protest, but already sensing that her lover would act this way, Fleur dropped a kiss on the brunette's mouth, effectively silencing her.

"Let me finish…" and the blonde gave a warm smile, "I 'ave no idea what I did in my life to deserve you, to be worthy of your love, but I… I'm just donc très chanceux, so very lucky."

A single tear escaped from her perfectly blue orbs and the younger witch caught it with her thumb; she was wearing a calm and understanding smile.

"I… I can't find a single word in French or in English to describe 'ow… 'ow I feel for you right now."

"You don't need to," The younger witch spoke with a shaky voice, tears brimming on her eyes as well. "I understand Fleur… I feel it too."

"Thank you… je vous remercie beaucoup." Fleur murmured as she finally laid herself down and buried her face upon the crook of Hermione's neck. A blush creeping into her cheeks, feeling quite embarrassed for being such a crybaby, but she knew she couldn't help it. It was a testament to how vulnerable she could be when around the brunette, especially when there's just the two of them.

However, her musings were suddenly broken when she felt a pair of deft hands sliding up to her waist—to her ticklish spot to be exact.

"Stop hiding your blush from me Delacour, that's hardly fair." Hermione spoke in a tone laced with warning and humor.

The blonde gasped in surprise when her lover finally launched in for the attack. Their dinner was momentarily forgotten as they rolled around the blanket and onto the grass, laughing in between huffs. It took quite long before they finally rolled and settled down, cheeks flushed, panting and sweating. A cold dinner in wake but each knew they wouldn't exchange such moments for anything, especially not for something a simple spell could fix.

~ o ~ o ~

One of the many things that the brunette witch loved most about her blonde partner is their conversations, the way it flows smoothly from one topic to another and how the older witch could follow her train of thoughts and argue in a way which stimulates her thought process even more—and the fact that her girlfriend could tease her in the progress of their conversations.

After the romantic picnic, they settled into a familiar and comfortable silence and due to Fleur spending most of the day inside the house, it was only now that she had a chance to sweep her eyes on their surroundings and the elaborate detail that the brunette had prepared for their celebration, her smile grew wider as she spot a familiar contraption tied between two trees to their left.

"Mon amour," she called to her brunette companion as she squeezed on their entwined hands, "Isn't that an 'ammock?" An excited smile in her features, which in turn made the younger witch's eyebrow rose high.

"Yes, it is…" the brunette answered slowly, curious as to why the blonde was smiling that way, "Why?"

"I 'ave not been on one before." The blonde answered, eyes still glued to the contraption swaying gently from the ocean breeze, there was now a serious expression on her face.

The brunette laughed playfully at this, "You're joking! Even I have been on one before…" Noticing the seriousness her companion was wearing, Hermione reluctantly glanced to the hammock and then back to Fleur.

"You're serious?"

The blonde nodded, quite solemnly and the brunette found it hard to fight the urge of smiling at this knowledge. Somewhere back in her mind, she had been listing off Fleur's 'firsts' with her—this should be another candidate to the so called list. She returned her attention to Fleur, who was now

"Why?"

Fleur ducked her head at this, rearing her eyes away from that of the brunette. "Well… I 'ave read this muggle book once when I accidentally wandered onto the public library." A soft blush adorned the blonde's face and Hermione couldn't help but wonder what on earth did the blonde read about hammocks that had prevented her from getting into one.

"And it was written there that 'ammocks were for couples only for one person could not be entirely comfortable lying by themselves." The blonde finished and sported a sheepish smile which the brunette found too adorable.

Hermione laughed merrily at the blonde's confession while shaking her head amusingly. She got up and offered her hand to Fleur, which in turn eyed her hand curiously.

"Well come on then, might as well try if it really is for couples only."

The blonde witch smiled earnestly as she extended her hand to that one of the brunette, shoving her playfully as they walked to the hammock, both sporting silly grins on their faces.

Once they had reached their destination, Hermione let go of Fleur's hand and reached for the edge of the thick fabric of the hammock. She pulled on it gently to spread it over and slid herself onto her back for a lying position. Once on place, she spread her right arm over the fabric to make a space for the blonde.

Fleur eyed her, quite curiously with a hint of skepticism on her features. Hermione stopped herself from rolling her eyes and just shook her head amusingly at the blonde.

"Is it comfortable?" the blonde tilted her head as she asked, but the brunette did not answer her question and just urged her to come and lie down. She finally relented and awkwardly lied down next to her lover, she instantly sunk in place and made use of the brunette's arm as a pillow.

Hermione turned to her, a soft smile on her face.

"So, how is it?"

"Odd…" the blonde answered slowly, as if thinking of it properly and then snuggled more closely to her lover. Fleur turned her head to the brunette and gave a warm smile, finally deciding on the exact words to describe what she's feeling.

"Oddly comfortable."

They smiled at each other, oddly comfortable in the cold christmas breeze, quite content with themselves as they watched the stars sparkle above the sky from where they lie.

~ o ~ o ~

Their romantic evening eventually ended and they had retired to the main bedroom to catch some sleep before returning to their families to celebrate the holidays with them as well. But at four o'clock in the morning, the blonde found herself being eluded by sleep. Time had an annoying way of working when it comes to those that she spent with the brunette. They feel awfully slow yet everything had seemed to pass by on a breeze, knocking her breathe out of her. She felt overwhelmed, and these feelings scared her.

She was a quarter veela after all. She had of course been told of stories of how their kind feels when they fall in-love, a love so strong that it would not be comparable to that of how a human is capable of feeling. Though her mother had reassured her that her heritage would not be as evident as that of a full blooded veela, the strength of what she is feeling over the brunette was enough to scare her as well.

Fleur shifted and inched back and untangled herself from the brunette. Hermione was sleeping soundly, obviously tired by the intricate surprise she had prepared, and the ghost of a smile was visible in the curve of her lips. Fleur hovered over the brunette, studying her features lovingly under the spill of the moonlight. She moved to tuck a stray lock of curly hair from the brunette's face and hid it behind her ear.

This love feels overflowing, overwhelming and there was just too much, so much that she wanted to give and to share. The blonde knew she was so close to tears, but she felt powerless against the overflow of her feelings. She did not dare stop the silent tears falling from her eyes. There was just something so reassuring, so calming and comforting upon watching the fall and rise of the brunette's chest each time she breathes.

Fleur gently slid her hand, cupping the brunette's face but careful not to wake her up. Hermione was a light sleeper, and she knew her random stirs at night usually wakes up the younger witch, but never did she hear a complaint from lack or the disturbance of sleep. These thoughts blew her mind, it was amazing how she could simply look at Hermione and all of these wonderful thoughts, gestures, images and memories would play itself on her mind.

But all of this scared her, more importantly, it scared her because she couldn't help but think of the worse—of scaring Hermione herself with what she is feeling. They were still young after all. There's still so much to happen, and she knew deep down that she never want to part with the brunette, ever. She forced her eyes to shut at this thought, willing it to the deepest corners of her mind.

Fleur felt a familiar pair of warm hands on her cheeks, it's as if her instincts knew exactly what Hermione was like, how her hands feels like, how she smells and it had memorized the sound of her voice.

"You're crying…" A husky voice spoke, a frantic worry visible on the brunette's voice. When the blonde did not answer, the brunette inquired yet again all the while wiping the traces of the tears on her lover's face.

"What's wrong?" Hermione spoke, finally getting up onto a sitting position to be level with Fleur.

The blonde shook her head, smiling ruefully before opening her glassy blue orbs to look at the brunette.

"Non, nothing, nothing at all mon amour…" Fleur whispered in a shaky voice, inching closer to the brunette.

Once their eyes were connected, Fleur felt an involuntary shiver down her spine from what she saw.

Hermione spoke as she shook her head softly, "Do not apologize for crying…"

The brunette's eyes were shouting a calm understanding, so deeply visible at the way she was looking at the blonde. Hermione smiled and touched their foreheads together. Grasping both of Fleur's hands and interlocking their fingers that fit perfectly with each other.

"It's okay… Fleur, I'm scared too." The brunette whispered in a tone the blonde found soothing.

"I know, I know exactly what you feel…" Hermione weaved her other hand to open Fleur's palm and she lifted it to her chest, laying her lover's hand flat against the flesh covering her beating heart.

"It's scary, is it not?" the brunette continued with a wry humor, and then her voice shifted to that sincere soothing voice again. "What you're feeling… It is too overwhelming enough to scare you out of your wits, and you are scared that it might overwhelm me and scare me away as well." Hermione inched closer, their lips a breadth of hair away from each other. Fleur remained silently sobbing, hanging onto every word that the brunette was saying—as if her life depended on it.

"I admit… I am scared as well—but more than that I'm even more scared of losing you. This is all so new for me, so new for us. These feelings are enough to scare you so you want to make sure that we both want the same things… and we do, Fleur."

"Je suis désolé, mon amour… I do not mean to be so overly dramatic, merci." Fleur murmured as she dropped a soft kiss upon the brunette's lips. She felt the sides of her lover's mouth widen at this gesture.

"It's quite alright; I know you French could be just like that at times." Hermione accused in good humor, making the blonde chuckle with her response.

"'ow dare you blame it on my country mademoiselle, you shall pay dearly for that." Fleur responded in good humor as she finally dried the last of her tears, feeling oddly assured and contented as she flung herself to her lover, devouring her soft lips.

They fell back on the soft bed, sleep entirely forgotten as they rolled over each other, teasing and poking on their respective ticklish spots. They would get up later on that day to say goodbye to their little holiday vacation, though they will be apart for quite some time, both knew and were assured that their future together was sealed with a lock and key.

~ o ~ o ~

A/N: Wow, I actually finished a chapter. This is a very late update, my apologies for that. I'm sort of in a slump—it's that or I'm just feeling rather too lazy lately. Not to worry though, the actual chapter for the next plot is on its way. Hopefully I'll be able to upload right after the new years. On that note, I hope you all are having a nice holiday!

It was rather hard writing this as I'd always get side tracked by something or someone. I hope it did not give you a sweet tooth; I knew it did to me. After re-reading it, I was like. Wow, sappy much? Hahaha.

Yes, what else? Oh. I'm currently following this awesomely written fiction, entitled "Witnessed in Time and Blood" (I can't write his username here- all the dots things with ff, lol, so just check out my favorite stories.) It is a MUST read if you're a fleurmione fan, that guy is absolutely genius. Do check his work out, It really is worth the read.

That being said, I hope you enjoyed this bonus chapter of sorts and thank you so much for taking your time to read my crappy stories. It would be lovely to get reviews and feedback if I got better or worse! Haha, until next time!