The next morning, Harry didn't get up with Fleur.
He murmured something incoherent and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
Fleur, who was already dressed and ready for the day, smiled fondly at her sleeping boyfriend and headed to Hogwarts.
'He must have stayed up late researching again,' she thought and decided to bring him breakfast as she returned.
Little did she know that Harry didn't sleep at all last night…
He was first stuck in an endless loop of introspection, which was followed by an in-depth analysis of the plenitude he suddenly felt.
'Am I good enough for Fleur?' The question echoed in Harry's mind, a persistent doubt that gnawed at his newfound happiness.
He couldn't help but wonder if he truly deserved someone as extraordinary as her.
'And if so, isn't it egotistical of me to be with her? I'm a trouble magnet, a slight to Voldemort who will no doubt try to kill me when he eventually resurrects,' Harry thought, his mind spiralling into darker territories.
He knew that some of his thoughts were irrational, but they persisted, gnawing at his confidence.
'But then again,' he reasoned, trying to find a silver lining, 'did anyone get to know Fleur for who she was? If Merlin forbid, we break up, will Fleur find someone else who understands her as well as I do?'
As the first rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains, Harry finally drifted off into slumber with dreams filled with silvery hair and blue eyes.
Whilst the boy who learned love tackled imaginary obstacles in his head, Fleur reached the great hall.
"Good morning Fleur. Did Harry finally decide to catch up on his sleep?" a friendly voice greeted her as soon as she sat in her usual seat.
Hermione was already seated at the Gryffindor table, her bushy hair tied back and a book propped open beside her plate.
'Seasons shift and time moves on, yet Hermione will always be found reading a book,' Fleur thought to herself with amusement.
She nodded in greeting to Hermione and replied, "Yeah, he was up late researching again. He made such a cute sight while he slept, I decided to let him rest a bit longer. I'll bring him some breakfast later."
Hermione put a hand on her book and looked up, smiling knowingly.
"That's the first time he's working so hard… You two make quite the pair," she said while looking nowhere in particular with a faraway look in her eyes.
After a moment, she seemed to shake off the reverie and turned back to Fleur with a warm smile.
"I'm just glad Harry found someone who really cares about him. He deserves it," Hermione continued.
"And I'm glad that I found him too. He's so sweet, caring and thoughtful… I've never had anyone who ignored my looks," Fleur said, her voice carrying a vulnerability that she rarely showed.
It was the first time Hermione heard her talk like that, and that made her pause.
Not knowing Hermione's troubled thoughts, Fleur continued her passionate talk, "He makes me feel… seen," Fleur murmured, her gaze softening as she stared at the table. **
"Not for my looks, but for who I really am."
She smiled, a flicker of vulnerability in her eyes, 'With Harry, I can be myself,' she thought, a warm feeling spreading through her chest.
Hermione nodded, knowing that Harry was just as her French senior described him.
In the start, she was somewhat wary of the champion who seemed to be enamoured with Harry, but after being in her company for so long, Hermione had no such fears whatsoever.
'And Harry, Harry has become so much more lately. His magical abilities have grown exponentially, his emotional maturity has deepened, and his ability to handle stress and challenges is nothing short of admirable,' Hermione thought to herself with pride.
She was extremely happy to see her first friend's metamorphosis.
She briefly found herself wondering what heights Harry might reach in the future, before getting distracted by her boyfriend.
That was another recent development, albeit less shocking than Harry and Fleur's relationship, Hermione and Neville fueled the Hogwarts rumour mill for days…
"'mione, you've not eaten at all," Neville said, his voice tinged with exasperation as he gestured towards her plate.
Hermione blinked towards her plate, and just as Neville said, her food remained untouched.
"Oh… Sorry, I got caught up in conversation," she said, taking a bite of her breakfast.
And as she ate, she started reading her book again.
However, Neville was having none of that.
With a swift motion, he gently took the book, marking the page Hermione was on and closed it before moving it aside.
Needless to say, that earned him a glare from Hermione.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Neville, a mixture of annoyance and fondness in her expression.
Neville, however, remained unfazed, meeting her gaze with a gentle smile.
"You need to eat, and before you say start protesting, remember last time. You nearly fainted from hunger during our transfiguration class and Professor McGonagall was so worried, she had almost sent you to the infirmary," Neville reminded her gently.
The changed Gryffindor had a way of pulling Hermione back to the present, a feat that no one had managed before.
In a world where her mind was always racing ahead, Hermione really appreciated that.
The girl nodded with a sigh and turned her attention back to her plate.
As she ate, Hermione couldn't help but reflect on how much things had changed in recent months.
Not only had Harry become a completely different person, improved in almost all regards, and found happiness with Fleur, but she too had made unexpected changes.
Their falling out with Ron being the most significant change.
It had been a gradual process, starting with small disagreements that cropped up over the years and crescendoed at the tournament's selection.
Ron's jealousy and inability to understand Harry's struggles had driven a wedge between them, and Hermione found herself caught in the middle.
Losing Ron had been hard, like losing a piece of herself. She had tried to fix things, but the choice had been made for her.
In the end, she stood by Harry, even if it meant letting Ron drift away… and she was happy for it.
Hermione nodded to herself.
It had been the right choice; she was sure of it now, more than ever.
The other big change, was, of course, Neville.
Neville had always been a quiet, unassuming presence in the Gryffindor tower, often overshadowed by Harry's fame and Ron's boisterous personality.
But as her friendship with Ron all but evaporated and Harry disappeared to who knew where, Hermione found herself spending more and more time with Neville.
His gentle encouragement and support of her pursuits, bundled with his growing confidence and improvement in all classes, except potions, gradually evolved into something more.
'He's also the kindest person that I know,' Hermione thought, her heart warming at the memory of a first-year Neville trying to stop them from leaving the tower.
'He was so cute!' she thought, a small smile playing on her lips.
She glanced at the unsuspecting boy, who was now engaged in conversation with an odd Ravenclaw that was sitting at their table.
"Michael, that's an amazing idea," Neville exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.
Hermione watched with amusement as Neville's passion for herbology shone through.
Unbeknownst to her, Fleur watched her in return, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
"I never thought about using Mimbulus Mimbletonia sap as a natural fertilizer for other magical plants. Have you tested it on any specific species yet?"
The Ravenclaw boy, Michael, laughed and began to explain his experiments in detail.
"Of course, it's an amazing idea mate, who do you think am I?" Michael replied with a grin, drawing a snort from the other boy.
"I've been working on this for the past week and I've gotta say, the results are quite promising, especially with some of the more temperamental magical plants."
Hermione watched as the boys went back and forth, discussing the intricacies of their experiment.
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her plate, intent on finishing it.
"It seems I'm not the only one who found a special someone," Fleur said, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she watched the Ravenclaw in disguise.
Hermione felt her cheeks flush, but before she could protest, the older girl raised an eyebrow, her smile widening.
"Perhaps Neville should take a leaf from Harry's book and bring you breakfast in bed next time?" Hermione choked on her food, and Fleur laughed, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
.
I've been busy lately, working a bit on the 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' fic, making it reach 12k words and starting a novel I've had on my head for some time, which is surprisingly not a fic.
While I'm not sure when I'll start posting the chaps on the TMR fic, I started publishing the novel. If you could check it out, it'd mean a lot to me since getting traffic in novels is much harder than fics, in my experience at least.
The novel's title is 'The Gods Speak' and it's about a world where the Greek Gods, the Olympians, have returned, bringing with them a change.
To keep it short, it will draw a lot of inspiration from Shadow Slave and the Greek myths.
Thanks for reading this :]
Instagram: fake._.violinist
Patreon Link: [https://www.patreon.com/Mr_0ne] or do a Google search of 'Patreon Fake Violinist' -> "Ch. 57 - In a bind"
Discord Link... [https://discord.com/invite/NJ3WV9RVgR]