Lunch with the girls

[sightlesswolf]

Date: Monday, June 26
Time: Just after mid-day
Location: Diagon Alley
Characters Involved: Fleur Delacour-Weasley and June Connors
Rating: G (If there's going to be fighting or cursing or violence or sex, it will be a complete surprise to me!)
Incomplete

Comments

[elegante_fleur]

Fleur, being essentially French was accustomed to freely bestowing hugs on frieds and aquaintances. She had found in Britain that most were unaccustomed and unappreciative of the physical contact, which was why it pleased her when June hugged her back.

"Greengots." She said with a growl, "I really 'ate zis place. But ze goblins don't pay to bad." She said with a sigh. "Ze 'ole place could just... Well, nevermind." She said placing a hand on the woman's back to guide her. Hoping it wouldn't seem rude, but really she was only trying to help. Fleur had never been around a blind person, and was bound to make a few blunders here and there.

"Where would you like to 'ave lunch? I zought we could walk; eef zat iz ok?" She said with a smile that June couldn't see, but Fleur hoped she'd feel.

Really Fleur was delighted to be out with another girl. June, perhaps, was Fleur's first British female friend, she thought. Ginny, being a sister-in-law did not count, and neither did Charlotte being that she was from France. And Hermione, well, Fleur just got the feeling that Hermione didn't like her very much. Though she couldn't figure why.

[sightlesswolf]

The guiding touch on her back didn't bother June at all. It was as good a way as any to prevent her from getting off course, and truthfully, she was relieved that Fleur had simply acted, instead of making a big awkward deal out of it. June was aware of her own disability (though she didn't like to think of it in those terms). She disliked, however, feeling like she was causing problems for people, making them struggle to find ways to compensate for her. Fleur's gesture felt easy, natural, and for that June was grateful.

"Sorry," she said sympathetically to Fleur's complaints about Gringotts. "I wouldn't imagine I'd like very much working there either - though some people must. Have you been looking at all for another job?" June had firsthand experience with what a nightmare job hunting could be, though at least Fleur wouldn't be facing quite the same stumbling blocks June herself had.

Walking was a welcome suggestion, and she nodded quite willingly. "I'd love to walk, it's a gorgeous day out. But I don't really mind where we go. Do you have someplace you're in the mood for?"

[elegante_fleur]

"Oui." She said softly as they slowly started down the stairs, "I was actually theenking of owling Minerva about a job at 'Ogwarts when eet reopens. Zat iz, eef zere iz a position for me.

"Numbers, paper pushing, the 'ole money buzeeness, well ze only theeng I am remotely good at when eet comes to money iz spending eet." She said with a laugh.

"Much to Bill's delight, I might add.

"I don't really 'ave a preference. There's always the Leaky, or Fortescue's, unless you're not hungry?"

[sightlesswolf]

"How about Fortescue's? I haven't been there in ages." Admittedly she hadn't spent much time in the Leaky Cauldron recently either, but Fortescue's had seating outdoors, and she still felt reluctant to go back inside four walls before she had to.

"So Hogwarts, huh?" she went on as they wound their way through the crowds along the Alley. "That's brilliant. Or at least, I should think it would be. What sort of position would you like to have? Teaching?"

[elegante_fleur]

"Forteescue's eet iz zen." Actually Fleur was somewhat glad June hadn't chosen the Leaky Cauldron, not that she had anything against the pub, but the upbeat, lighter ambiance of Fortescue's appealed more to her current state of mind.

"Oui. I am 'oping Charms, but Flitwick, 'as far as I know, will be resuming 'is position zere. I'm not sure what else I might be qualified to teach though. Per'aps transfeeguration. I did well in ze subject, and passed newt level, but I always excelled een Charms." She shrugged slightly and placed a hand on June's back to steer her towards the entrance to Florean's shoppe.

"I'm just 'oping to find something more than pushing papers a Gringotts."

[sightlesswolf]

"Best of luck," June said warmly. "I'm sure they could use a lot of help this year, in all sorts of areas. You should definitely ask, at least."

Following Fleur's lead, June walked into Fortescue's and the two girls were soon settled at a table, menus in their hands. Of course a menu did June little good, but she remembered the fare of this place pretty well, so she thought she could get by without it. Laying it down on the table in front of her, she folded her hands, waiting politely for Fleur decide what she wanted.

A Hogwarts professor, was it? She couldn't help but wonder if McGonagall would hire someone so young as a full professor - Fleur was a couple of years younger that June herself, she thought. But maybe if she had sufficient expertise - and if McGonagall, now Headmistress, would be giving up the Transfiguration teaching post... June found it hard to imagine anyone but the stern-faced Gryffindor Head teaching the subject.

"So," she said once they'd placed their orders, "your letter said something about wanting advice? About what?" She still couldn't fathom what sort of advice she could possible offer Fleur, but apparently the other girl thought there was something, so she ought to hear what it was.

[elegante_fleur]

"Merci beaucoup, June." She said after giving her order to the waiter. The weather was beautiful and Fleur, for one, was very glad they had decided upon Fortescue's for lunch.

She frowned for a moment when June mentioned the adviced she had sought, and was, for a moment, nearly thankful June was blind and couldn't see the strained and upset look upon her face.

Oh, but that was horrible of me to think.

Looking away for another moment and watching various people strolling up and down Diagon Alley she thought how to best word what was on her mind.

"Well, you see... Well, Ginevra, 'as you know, 'as been researching wiz Severus ze lycanthrope scarring. She went to Bill to ask 'im to parteecipate, and apparently 'e wasn't to thrilled, I guess, because she came to me and asked me to conveence 'im to 'elp 'er. But zen she looked so upset and sincere about eet zat I couldn't say no. Which puts me een a very tough poseetion -- as you can eemagine.

Eet took Bill so long to even be able to look at 'imself, and so long to be conveenced I still loved 'im even wiz ze scars, and 'e is finally comfortable, and 'as 'is confeedence back, and I'm sure you can understand 'ow zat will look eef I ask 'im to look eento treatment. Eet could destroy 'im -- I'm 'is wife -- ze one 'oo shouldn't pass judgment.

"Per'aps eet iz not right of me to ask you, June, because eet iz such a delicate subject, but I just 'oped you could 'elp me feegure out 'ow to approach eet wiz 'im?"

Well, blurting it out worked. She thought, a bit stunned. She had planned on delicately broaching the subject; not wanting to hurt her, but Fleur had never really been good at delicate issues always being far to blunt. And as she sat there and watched June she seriously wondered if the older girl wouldn't take offense and leave.

Travail brillant, Fleur.

[sightlesswolf]

June shouldn't have been surprised by the revelation of what, exactly, Fleur wanted to talk to her about. Fleur was Bill's wife. Severus and Ginny had hoped to include Bill in their research, especially because of his unique condition, and yet the research had been progressing for a while and she had heard nothing of Bill becoming involved.

And she certainly could understand why he might hesitate. Good Godric, how long had she waffled about it before she'd finally consented? How much longer would she have put it off if her hand hadn't been, in effect, forced by Severus's unexpected job offer? It was an awkward position to be in, as she knew all too well, and she felt a pang of sympathy for Bill. And appreciation for Fleur, with her obvious sensitivity to her husband's situation and reluctance to push him into something 'for his own good' when pushing might hurt him.

"He's lucky to have you," she said at last with a smile, that then faded as she got down to business. "If you're afraid he'd take it the wrong way, you asking him to try this, you should probably trust your instincts. I mean, I'm sure he doesn't like having the scars there" any more than I do, except he can SEE what his face looks like, which almost has to be worse, "but maybe you're not the best person to bring this up to him."

But then who was? If Ginny had already tried and failed, who? His brothers? None of them were involved in this, and he might very well prefer that none of them know. Male pride and all that, especially since they were his younger brothers, all of them. Perry was touchy enough about having his injury prodded at, and Bill's was so much more dramatic. So who? If not Fleur, who?

Severus? Hm. Well, he'd managed to talk her into it, or trick her into it, or she'd tricked herself, she still wasn't entirely sure which.

Herself?

She didn't know Bill very well, but she remembered the Gryffindor prefect and Head Boy a bit from her first few years at school. She was friends with several of his brothers. And... she could relate. Perhaps as well as anyone.

Though maybe he should talk to Perry...

"If you were going to bring it up to him," she said slowly, not for the moment mentioning any of her other thoughts on the matter, "you'd have to be so careful. I mean, you said it - it could easily just make him feel more self-conscious about what he looks like, and it's with you he should be most free of that. You'd have to be sure he understood that it wasn't you wanting to get rid of the scars, but you knowing that he wants to be rid of them." Tricky, very tricky. She could feel Bill's position all too easily - actually, just talking about the scarring was making her feel a tiny bit self-conscious about her own - but it was hard to get past that to put herself in Fleur's position. Was there such a thing as a 'right thing to say' in this situation?