The Reconciliation
Dear Hermione,
We’re sorry for ignoring you. We were in shock I guess, and I mean how are we supposed to take the news that you’re muggle royalty? Anyways, meet up with us at the Three Broomsticks, so we can talk it out.
-Harry and Ron
P.S.
We’re shit at writing letters without you here to help us.
Hermione took a deep breath, rolling her eyes at the fact that they forgot to put a time. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a pen and wrote back.
Harry & Ron,
Meet me at 12 Grimmauld Place instead at 6:30 pm, I don’t want to discuss this in public.
Kind Regards,
Hermione
She sent it off with her owl, hoping they would receive it in time. Hermione was pacing in her room when her mother walked in. “Is everything alright dear?” she asked her daughter who looked completely in distress.
“Harry, Ron, and I are going to meet up today. I don’t know what’s going to happen, mother. I just want my friends back, but what if I have screwed it up?” Hermione was hyperventilating, but her mother sat her down on her bed and held her.
“Well even though I would like a word with the boys who have gotten you into so much trouble, that can happen another day. Today, it seems like the boys want to apologize, and you should let them. Everyone makes mistakes, and we knew this would not be easy. Now go use the confidence I know you have and get yourself over to England! Maybe even meet another one of your friends first. Maybe the pretty blonde you used to talk about a lot. What was her name, again? Fleur?”
Hermione looked sternly towards her mother, “Do not play royal matchmaker mother.” Queen Amara laughed, “Me? I would never!”
Hermione was not having it though, “Remember the disaster of a charity ball we held before I came out to you? You tried matching me up with every noble boy in sight!”
The queen smiled, “And I’ve apologized for that! Plus once you came out I’ve left it up to you to find someone, mostly. I did introduce you to the bisexual princess of England Melanie two summers ago, but I don’t think you guys ended up being anything serious.”
Hermione laughed, remembering the summer fling, “Yeah, Mel and I are better off friends. She’s amazing at a lot of things, but I could never be truly myself with her.”
Amara got up off the bed, “I don’t want to think about what you just insinuated, so I’m going to go talk to your sister now, but I love you, and everything will be fine.”
Hermione started blushing, yelling out as her mother left the room, “I didn’t mean it like that!” Even though the queen’s assumptions were correct, that was not what Hermione was trying to talk about.
She grabbed her wand, focusing on Diagon Alley, specifically a boutique a certain blonde frequented, but only because her mother suggested it. Once she arrived, she took in everything. The sights, the smells, the feeling of home. The feeling of normalcy. That was until she saw a flashing light, reminding her that she’s also a celebrity in the wizarding world as well. She ran, and as she was running with no place in mind, she bumped into the bags of a woman who was walking down the alley.
“Oh, I’m so so sorry.” She apologized, but when she looked up she saw a pair of blue eyes she would recognize anywhere. “Fleur!”
“ ‘Zat is me! What are you doing ‘ere?” She asked Hermione with a soft smile on her face.
“Oh Fleur, uh hey? I would love to talk, but the photographers are currently on my tail.” Hermione said to her in a panicked voice.
“You ‘ave a tail?” Fleur asked, quite confused, while Hermione started to giggle.
“It’s a muggle expression. Basically, there are photographers coming after me. Know a good place to hide?”
Fleur nodded and led her down a back alley and through a weird door. The place looked old and dusty until Fleur tapped a wood plank in a certain rhythmic order. The room then magically transformed into a beautiful restaurant with a large waterfall in the middle. The place looked expensive, with people dressed extravagantly, and something about the magic of the place made Hermione feel happy and confident, even though she was in street clothes.
“Ms. Delacour and Ms. Granger! We are welcome to have you, but Ms. Granger you will have to change. We have options you can purchase…” The host, whose nametag said Quincy explained before Fleur cut him off.
“I ‘ave something she can wear! No need to go ‘an purchase a dress.” She handed a bag to Hermione whispering, “ ‘Ez one size fits all, so I know it’ll fit you perfectly.”
Hermione took the bag to the bathroom which looked super luxurious, and stepped into one of the large stalls. She pulled out the dress and it was a simple purple fit and flare dress. As the tag said, it truly was one size fits all, as the dress changed to fit her perfectly, and worked with the black heeled boots she was wearing. Hermione stuffed her street clothes in the bag and headed out. Fleur was smiling widely, while the host, Quincy, nodded in approval.
“So a table for two?” the host asked.
Fleur nodded and he led the two girls to a table by the waterfall. Once they were seated and left alone, Hermione finally asked, “What in the world is this place?”
Fleur explained, “ ‘Zis is La Cascade Cachée, also known as ‘ze Hidden Waterfall in English.”
Hermione nodded, wanting to know more, “How is this here? How have I never heard of it?”
Fleur laughed, “ ‘Ermione, it’s a special type of magic. ‘Zey have ‘zem all over the world if you know where to look. As for why you’ve never ‘eard of it, ‘zis place and places like it are only for the wizarding world’s elite, which you are now.”
Hermione took a deep breath and really took it in. “I’ve seen places like this for muggles, but never a wizarding one. It’s incredible!”
A waiter soon came by to take their orders. Fleur got the boeuf bourguignon and Hermione got the foie gras.
“So, why were you in Diagon Alley in ‘ze first place?” Fleur asked Hermione as she cut up her dish.
Hermione gulped, “Uh, I’m meeting Harry and Ron at 12 Grimmauld Place in a couple of hours. I wanted to go out and just be by myself, but that was a bad idea, as you know.”
Fleur rested her hand on Hermione’s, “I am sure it’ll be fine. ‘Zey love you, and you love them.”
Hermione nodded, “Yeah, it will be.” She said trying to reassure herself.
Fleur looked her in her eyes, “If ‘zey act badly, I’ll send a flock of angry veela ‘zeir way, okay?”
Hermione laughed at that. They continued to talk for hours, getting to know each other better, realizing they didn’t know some basic facts about each other.
“It’s not red, non? Let me guess, blue?” Fleur asked the princess.
Hermione shook her head, “Nope. Lilac is my favorite, followed by Slytherin green actually, but don’t let my fellow Gryffindors know.” The two women laughed with each other, genuinely having fun.
“What about you Fleur? Is your favorite color blue?” Hermione asked, raising her brow comically to make Fleur laugh.
“Oui. I can’t help but love Beauxbatons blue. It’s so gentle and gorgeous.”
They kept finding topics to bring up until Hermione realized the time. “Oh no, I have to be at Grimmauld Place in 10 minutes!”
She started to hyperventilate, but Fleur calmed her down. “It’s okay mon cherie. You apparate there, and I will take care of the check.”
Hermione started to calm down, taking in Fleur’s words. “Okay, okay. But, I pay next time.”
“Of course. Also, keep ‘ze dress. It looks good on you.” Fleur told Hermione, which made her blush as she rapidly disapparated.
She arrived in the hall of 12 Grimmauld Place with a goofy grin on her face. “What’s gotcha smiling Hermione?” Harry asked as he approached her for a hug, which she gladly accepted.
“Nothing important. Where’s Ron?” Hermione asked, and Harry gave her a look that said, ‘you already know’.
“Oh, the kitchen! No doubt eating Remus and Sirius’ snacks.” she said, and from down the hall, you could hear Ron with his mouthful, “No I’m not!”
Harry and Hermione walked into the kitchen as Ron was stuffing snacks back in the cupboard. “This was already left out! I swear!”
Hermione shook her head, “Ronald Weasley, you are the worst liar I’ve ever met. You wear your emotions on your face.” she chuckled. Everyone started smiling until the room went silent.
“Well, I’m waiting,” Hermione said to the boys.
“Well, we..” “I messed up and..”
“One at a time boys,” Hermione shouted over the two who were simultaneously apologizing.
Harry stepped forwards first, “I’m sorry Hermione. I fucked up. I was just in shock and I reacted with anger and fear, my go-to processing emotions, so I got angry and ran away. I know I need to work on that. I probably need to see a muggle therapist.”
Hermione looked at him and said, “Don’t worry, we all do, but next time the better response is to just talk to me.”
Harry looked down at his shoes in shame saying, “I know.”
She then looked to Ron, who was also looking down in shame. “I’m sorry Hermione. I just- I got angry and I was mad you didn’t tell us. We’re your best friends, and Fleur Delacour got to know before us? I was jealous and hurt. I thought you didn’t trust us, but I’m pretty sure now that wasn’t the reason. I thought about it, and maybe the reason you kept it from us was because of the Slytherin’s and Voldemort. You got a big important family, and it’d make you a bigger target you know.”
Hermione looked at him with her head cocked to the side, “So you came to the same conclusion as the explanation we gave you, you just needed to come to it yourself? Ronald, you have to work on that.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “I probably do.”
“And I’m sorry too,” Hermione told the boys, confusing them.
“Why?” Harry and Ron asked in unison.
“I kept a big, life-changing secret from you and I’m sorry I had to do that. I am not sorry for protecting my country and my family by keeping the secret, but I’m sorry I had a secret at all.” Hermione explained.
“I love you guys, okay. Nothing could change that. Not even the two of you being idiots from time to time.” They all went in for a group hug, and they held each other tight for a few seconds before Hermione announced,
“But you’re gonna have to explain yourselves to my mother, the Queen of Denmark.”