Fic: A French Woman in London
Title: A French Woman in London
Summary: the beginning of Fleur's first day as a Gringotts employee
Characters/Pairings: Fleur Delacour, could be Fleur/Bill if people are interested in a second part
Genre: General
Beta: None (yell if interested)
Rating/Warnings: PG
Medium: Words
Word Count: 1170
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: yes
If yes, your Tumblr username: tiramisu-misu
Fleur Delacour took a deep breath in, standing in front of the wall that would lead her to Diagon Alley. She could see the keeper of the Leaky Cauldron watching her, ready to intervene if she needed help to tap the stones but she smiled at him, to let him know she was alright.
She just needed a second or maybe a minute, some time to herself, yet not too much, as she would be running late and people knew that the Goblins were not the type of bosses who let you get away with being late, or doing anything not the right way more accurately.
It felt like at least ten years had gone by, since the maze, and the news of the Dark Lord’s return, but it had been a few months.
Things were different then and they would keep on changing she thought, remembering the way “La Gazette du Sorcier”, France’s main wizard paper had been keeping mum on the return of the worst threat to all of them.
It was not the right time to think about this, though she had many things to say. She breathed in once more, then tapped the stones, revealing Diagon Alley. She took her first step, and welcomed the new life that was about to become hers.
She walked with a steady pace, feeling familiar enough with the location, yet wondering if people could see on her face that she was not from there.
She had arrived two days before, from Paris to London, the muggle way: Charlotte, her best friend had taken her father’s car, as he was a muggle and drove a muggle car, and they had taken the ferry to cross over the Channel, before driving to London. Charlotte had invited Marie and Imogène, two of their closest friends to join them on the journey, and Fleur had been so thankful for this. It had made it seem less like she was moving away and more like she was just on a road trip with her best friends, at the end of summer, before they went their separate ways. When the three girls had gone back the night before, she had wept, though she knew it was just goodbye, and not adieu. The past months had been so …eventful to say the least, Fleur had found herself crying when the year before, she knew she would have smiled and put on a brave face.
It was a new world, and she needed to learn to live in it.
She put on a brave smile, now was not the time to break down even though her heart felt heavy, thinking about her friends, and her family. Before the Triwizard tournament, she had applied to Gringotts, as she had always wanted to work in security. She had applied to the London office in order to gain experience, language skills, and more. It had seemed like a good move. When she had gotten an answer, four weeks before, inviting her in for an interview, she had had one night to think things through, and ask herself if this was really what she wanted. She had decided that life had to go on, and that if she cried at night sometimes thinking about Cedric’s dead body, it shouldn’t make her give up on life. She knew what was lurking in the night, and she couldn’t let them win by stopping to live.
Charlotte had been at Hogwarts with her, and she had known her friend’s inner turmoil. She had seen some of the things Fleur had seen, and when Fleur had decided to go through the interview process, Charlotte had known what it meant, and had been there for her. Gabrielle was very supportive too, but being younger, and more innocent, Fleur didn’t dare burden her with the thoughts that kept her awake. Yet her sister knew she was not sleeping well.
Fleur had decided to go to Gringotts when they had let her know she had made it through their selection process, partly because she didn’t want to distress her sister and parents more than she already did. She remembered that one time she had woken up screaming, after she had dreamt that she had taken Cedric’s place.
England was supposed to be her chance at learning to live this new life.
The streets were relatively empty, as it was the beginning of August and the Hogwarts students would start coming to make their shopping before school at a later date. Most of the people in the streets were people who were working in the shops around, or who had some shopping to do before going to work somewhere else or not.
Finally, she arrived in front of Gringotts and took in the building. This would be part of her new life, of her new routine. She had been offered a part time job, though she had wished for a full time one, but it would still be a huge change of scenery.
She was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that she was only 18 years old, as her palms started sweating at the thought of making a good first impression. She was scared, but it felt great: this was a fear she was supposed to have, this was a moment she was supposed to experience. This was normal, and she had missed normal.
She realized that she was smiling, despite her fear, and for the first time in weeks, it felt like she was where she was supposed to be, and she was feeling what she was supposed to be feeling as an 18 years old woman. She hadn’t felt like a girl in a long time but she felt very much like a woman today, grown up and all. She was enjoying all those emotions, the trepidation and the stress of starting something new for which she had great hopes.
She checked her appearance, made sure her dress was professional, yet showcased her figure. She checked her hair, which was pulled back in a messy yet classy bun. She had braided two strands of hair on each side of her face to keep the rest of her mane in place. She felt warmth in her belly as she was certain her mother would have approved of her appearance. She felt tears begin to form but pushed them back, as she pictured in her head the way her parents would look at her, proud, happy and completely confident in their daughter and the choice she was making. She missed them so much, but she knew it was time to start life outside of Beauxbatons.
She pushed the main door and entered the bank. Goblins were everywhere, writing in books, speaking to customers, speaking between themselves. She located the one who had been there during her interview and introduced as her would be boss. Another deep breathe, then a smile on her face. She was ready and she walked up to him, ready to start working, to begin something new.
Ash/Slytherin/39 points
Summary: the beginning of Fleur's first day as a Gringotts employee
Characters/Pairings: Fleur Delacour, could be Fleur/Bill if people are interested in a second part
Genre: General
Beta: None (yell if interested)
Rating/Warnings: PG
Medium: Words
Word Count: 1170
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: yes
If yes, your Tumblr username: tiramisu-misu
Fleur Delacour took a deep breath in, standing in front of the wall that would lead her to Diagon Alley. She could see the keeper of the Leaky Cauldron watching her, ready to intervene if she needed help to tap the stones but she smiled at him, to let him know she was alright.
She just needed a second or maybe a minute, some time to herself, yet not too much, as she would be running late and people knew that the Goblins were not the type of bosses who let you get away with being late, or doing anything not the right way more accurately.
It felt like at least ten years had gone by, since the maze, and the news of the Dark Lord’s return, but it had been a few months.
Things were different then and they would keep on changing she thought, remembering the way “La Gazette du Sorcier”, France’s main wizard paper had been keeping mum on the return of the worst threat to all of them.
It was not the right time to think about this, though she had many things to say. She breathed in once more, then tapped the stones, revealing Diagon Alley. She took her first step, and welcomed the new life that was about to become hers.
She walked with a steady pace, feeling familiar enough with the location, yet wondering if people could see on her face that she was not from there.
She had arrived two days before, from Paris to London, the muggle way: Charlotte, her best friend had taken her father’s car, as he was a muggle and drove a muggle car, and they had taken the ferry to cross over the Channel, before driving to London. Charlotte had invited Marie and Imogène, two of their closest friends to join them on the journey, and Fleur had been so thankful for this. It had made it seem less like she was moving away and more like she was just on a road trip with her best friends, at the end of summer, before they went their separate ways. When the three girls had gone back the night before, she had wept, though she knew it was just goodbye, and not adieu. The past months had been so …eventful to say the least, Fleur had found herself crying when the year before, she knew she would have smiled and put on a brave face.
It was a new world, and she needed to learn to live in it.
She put on a brave smile, now was not the time to break down even though her heart felt heavy, thinking about her friends, and her family. Before the Triwizard tournament, she had applied to Gringotts, as she had always wanted to work in security. She had applied to the London office in order to gain experience, language skills, and more. It had seemed like a good move. When she had gotten an answer, four weeks before, inviting her in for an interview, she had had one night to think things through, and ask herself if this was really what she wanted. She had decided that life had to go on, and that if she cried at night sometimes thinking about Cedric’s dead body, it shouldn’t make her give up on life. She knew what was lurking in the night, and she couldn’t let them win by stopping to live.
Charlotte had been at Hogwarts with her, and she had known her friend’s inner turmoil. She had seen some of the things Fleur had seen, and when Fleur had decided to go through the interview process, Charlotte had known what it meant, and had been there for her. Gabrielle was very supportive too, but being younger, and more innocent, Fleur didn’t dare burden her with the thoughts that kept her awake. Yet her sister knew she was not sleeping well.
Fleur had decided to go to Gringotts when they had let her know she had made it through their selection process, partly because she didn’t want to distress her sister and parents more than she already did. She remembered that one time she had woken up screaming, after she had dreamt that she had taken Cedric’s place.
England was supposed to be her chance at learning to live this new life.
The streets were relatively empty, as it was the beginning of August and the Hogwarts students would start coming to make their shopping before school at a later date. Most of the people in the streets were people who were working in the shops around, or who had some shopping to do before going to work somewhere else or not.
Finally, she arrived in front of Gringotts and took in the building. This would be part of her new life, of her new routine. She had been offered a part time job, though she had wished for a full time one, but it would still be a huge change of scenery.
She was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that she was only 18 years old, as her palms started sweating at the thought of making a good first impression. She was scared, but it felt great: this was a fear she was supposed to have, this was a moment she was supposed to experience. This was normal, and she had missed normal.
She realized that she was smiling, despite her fear, and for the first time in weeks, it felt like she was where she was supposed to be, and she was feeling what she was supposed to be feeling as an 18 years old woman. She hadn’t felt like a girl in a long time but she felt very much like a woman today, grown up and all. She was enjoying all those emotions, the trepidation and the stress of starting something new for which she had great hopes.
She checked her appearance, made sure her dress was professional, yet showcased her figure. She checked her hair, which was pulled back in a messy yet classy bun. She had braided two strands of hair on each side of her face to keep the rest of her mane in place. She felt warmth in her belly as she was certain her mother would have approved of her appearance. She felt tears begin to form but pushed them back, as she pictured in her head the way her parents would look at her, proud, happy and completely confident in their daughter and the choice she was making. She missed them so much, but she knew it was time to start life outside of Beauxbatons.
She pushed the main door and entered the bank. Goblins were everywhere, writing in books, speaking to customers, speaking between themselves. She located the one who had been there during her interview and introduced as her would be boss. Another deep breathe, then a smile on her face. She was ready and she walked up to him, ready to start working, to begin something new.
Ash/Slytherin/39 points