The English Student
April 15, 1997
Dear Diaree,
Hello, my name is Fleur Delacour. This is my English diaree. Bill say I must learn to say and write English gooder. That did not sound write. I must ask Bill next time he teach me. But he is in Egypt write now. He is looking for the treasure. He will go under the pyramids to get cursed things. Then he will break the curse. That is why he is call a Curse Breaker. I hope he come back safe. The curses can hurt him. If he was hurt, who would teach me English? It would be a tragedy. He is such a nice boy, and very handsome, no?
He say he will bring me back something from Egypt. I say to him that he does not have to, but he say he wants to. I think he like me. Many boys and young men like me. Except they only see how pretty I am. That is the problem with being a quarter Veela. I can no imagine what it was like for my Grandmamma. She was the most beautiful lady in all of France. Even the Minister wanted to marry her when she was young. She said no to all of them. They only loved her face, not how her heart was. But when Grandpapa met her, he talked to her. He did not only like the face, he liked the heart. For a Veela heart is kind. The books say we grow into demons when we are angry. That is true. But we do not get angry very much. I be glad I am only quarter Veela so I do not get ugly when I am mad.
Bill says he does not mind that I am so beautiful. Of course he does not, silly boy. I am happy he does not act like the other idiots who talk to me. They say they are something grand and important when they are not. It does not make me want to talk to them. Bill is different. He talks to me about his job. I think it is very interesting. I wish I could do something big like that. The most I ever did was be in the Triwizard cup, and in that, I came in last. I could not save darling Gabby, or go through that dreadful maze. I barely made it through the dragon. I am so thankful to Harry that he saved Gabby. I would have been lost if she had died. I am so very happy that he won. Viktor was very good to. They were both very brave. Cedric was the bravest.
I do not like to think about Cedric. It was a terrible tragedy when he died. He was the most kind and wonderful boy I ever met. I only wish I had gone to the ball with him. Then I could have know him better. He died so bravely. Harry said he was not at all afraid. But You-know-who was terrible and just killed him.
I must not think about this. It gives me the nightmares. One should not think about things like this before going to bed. I will think of Bill. Of when he comes back. The Weasley’s will have a party to welcome him. I will go with him.
Fleur
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April 17, 1997
Dear Diaree,
Bill has come back from Egypt. I have not seen him yet. They are having the party tonight. There will be food, and lots of talking. It will not be so hard for me to talk to people now that Bill has taught me so much English. It will be nice to not just stand there, but to actually talk and understand what the people are saying.
Bill wrote me a letter. I will copy it here. It will help me remember him forever.
Dear Fleur,
I am coming home today. Are you excited to see your present? I hope you’ll like it. It is very pretty, but not as beautiful as you. I will pick you up from your flat at seven. Be ready.
Egypt was very interesting. We went into two different pyramids. One had already been ransacked by Muggles, but the second was full of treasure. Most of the objects were safe to touch, but there was a few that were cursed. One of them, a chess game, would give the person who touched it a terrible stomach ache. Thankfully it was not fatal, as one of our team had touched it already. We sent them to an Egyptian healing centre. They came back that very day. You will be happy to know that nothing hurt me in any way. We even got to go in the burial room. That was where most of the cursed treasure was. It was relatively easy to break the curses. The wizard who had cast them was not the best, and, of course, we at Gringott’s are the best at breaking curses.
Now, about your letter. Your English has improved dramatically. Your grammar is quite good. Just remember, instead of saying he say or she say, write down he said or she said. That is the correct way to say it. You are doing very well so far. Keep practising. You’ll get plenty of practice tonight at the party. Remember, I’m picking you up at seven.
Yours truly,
Bill
Is he not absolutely wonderful? He is such a dear. See, I told you he tell me about his work. It is very interesting. Maybe someday I will go with him. That would be exciting. We would see those large animals with humped backs. Bill say said he rode one and it was very bumpy. That would still be fun. I must remember to write the English right. It is very hard to remember. I will try hard.
I must go get ready for the party. It is six now, and Bill is picking me up at seven. I am going to wear a white dress. White is nice for summer. The English robes are too hot. I wonder if Bill will wear robes. The Weasleys wear Muggle clothes when they are at home. It is more comfortable, they say said.
See, my English is getting gooder. That did not sound write either. I have to ask Bill tonight. Then I will have almost perfect English. I will be sad, though, when the lessons stop. I will not see Bill any more. I think he likes me, but I like him more. I hope we still see each other when the lessons stop. I will be sad if we do not speak again. I really must go now. Bill will be picking me up soon. I am excited.
Fleur
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April 18, 1997
Dear Diary,
The party for Bill was very nice. All the Weasleys were there, except for that horrid boy named Percy. Mrs. Weasley was sad that he was not there. I tried to comfort her, but she does not seem to like me. I do not know why. I am perfectly nice to her and the family. Everyone else likes me. It is strange, because she is normally very friendly to everybody, except me. But the party was still fun. Bill practised English with me. We talked about his job and he said that it is very hot in Egypt. I do not think I would mind the sun if I went. But Bill is very pale and gets sunburn easily. All Weasleys are pale. Bill is the darkest, but he still turns bright red in the sun.
Right before we went home, Bill gave me the gift. It was the cursed chess game he had told me about in his letter. It was very nice, with black paint around the edges and gilded pieces. It is almost too pretty to use. Right away, Bill’s brother Ron wanted to play a game. He is one of the best chess players I know. So he and Mr. Weasley played one game. Ron won, of course. It was quite boring to watch for so long, so I helped Ginny in the kitchen.
I did not want to go home alone, so Bill took me there. We apparated right outside my flat. Before I went in the house, Bill stopped to talk to me. He say he likes me, just like I think. I have a very intuitive mind, Mamma says. That is why I was waiting for this. He was very brave to tell me. Most boys are not. They just go after a girl and shower them with compliments and gifts. Girls seem to like this, but not me. I need and equal who is not afraid of me and is not made senseless by my beauty. Bill is the only man I have found who is like this. Maybe we will become a couple. Anything is possible when love is involved. Mamma always says that to us girls, and she is always right.
I said to Bill that he is very kind, and that yes, I like him too. He was very pleased and said so. Then he left. Right before he apparated, he kissed my hand. He knows it is the proper way to say goodbye to a lady friend. Bill is a most dignified man. Mamma would approve. Then he left.
Fleur
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April 21, 1997
Dear Diary,
I got a note from Bill this morning. He wanted to meet me at the café in the town tomorrow morning. It is very nice there. They have croissants that are almost as good as the ones back home. They also have the most delicious pastries. Papa would like the cappuccino best and Gabby the candy. I sent him an owl saying yes. He will be most pleased. Then I went to Diagon Alley.
The Weasley twins have set up the shop there. Mrs. Weasley was very displeased when she heard. They are making money though. Lots of people want jokes, even me sometimes.
When I went in, one of the twins was in the back. I do not know which, since I cannot tell them apart. I asked if they had any of their fake wands. They were most impudent, and said if I only wanted the wand to give to Bill. They really are disgraceful. Mamma would think they are terribly boys, especially since they ran away from school. I think it was brave of them.
I told them that it was for my sister. Gabby loves the twin’s jokes. Since it is soon her birthday, I must get her a present. She will like the wand, I am sure.
Fleur
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April 22, 1997
Dear Diary,
Today I went on my first date with Bill. It was very nice. We had coffee and cakes at the café, and then we went on a walk in the park. The park was very beautiful, with lots of flowers and birds. Bill picked me a flower and I put it in my hair. I still have it. I think I will press it in my diary. Then I can keep it forever and always remember Bill.
Bill said that he would like to be my boyfriend. I did not know what to say right away, so I said I would tell him in a letter. I wrote it just a few minutes before. All it said was –YES, love Fleur.†I think it is enough. It is not too simple, but it is elegant. Just like me.
He has not written back yet, but he will see me tomorrow. That is when we have our English lessons. It will be more fun, know that I do not have to learn so much. Before, it was very hard. Now, I can talk to people without messing up terribly. It was very embarrassing. Sometimes, I still do not know what they are talking about. They often talk about politics, or You-know-who. We do not hear about this in France very much. Bill is trying to teach me about it, but it is difficult to learn. You-know-who did terrible things, and killed many people. Not many books were written about it. Nobody wants to talk about what he did, only how terribly he is. That does not help the war. Now that he is back, we must join together, and fight back. It is our only chance to defeat him.
Of course, we have Harry. He is the only person that You-know-who cannot defeat. Someday soon, I hope Harry will stop You-know-who. That will be a happy day for everybody. Ronald and Hermione often help him, but he is the one who does the fighting. He is very young to be so brave. I only hope that if ever am in danger, I will be like him, and try to protect the ones I love. That is true bravery.
Fleur
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April 23, 1997
Dear Diary,
Today was one of the best days of my life. Bill came and took me to the Burrow. I have already met most of his family, but they did not know I was his girlfriend. They were very surprised, and most thought it wonderful news. Mrs. Weasley was not happy. She stomped into the kitchen and did not talk to anybody for a while. I decided to go in and see what was wrong. I asked her why she does not like the idea of me and Bill being together. She did not answer right away, but she finally told me.
She said she think I am just a flirty girl with no character to her. I told her this was not true, that I cared about Bill and was not just concerned with my appearance. Veelas are not always vain. None of the ones in my family were prideful of their looks. She was a bit kinder after that, but she is still not that enthusiastic about us being together.
After lunch, Bill took me out into the backyard. We went into the grass and sat beside one of the ponds. He told me about how he and his brother Charlie would often ride their brooms over the pond. I thought this was a terrible thing. I do not like riding on brooms. They are very unsafe.
He laughed. He thinks that girls don’t like flying because they’re too scared to try. I think he is an idiot if he thinks so. I told him so. He was very surprised. I think that he believes that I am not the kind of girl to stand up for myself. I also told him that. He said he did not mean it that way. I forgave him and he was happy again. I think he will be a very nice boyfriend when he learns to hold his tongue.
But that is not important. What is very important is what happened next. We were sitting there, not talking, when Bill suddenly leaned over and kissed me. It was not a very long kiss, and I have been kissed by plenty of boys, but this was different. Special. I do not know why I liked it so much more. Perhaps it is because I like him a lot. Or maybe because I am more mature. I do not know. But I do know that I enjoyed it. So I kissed him back.
I had lots more fun after that. I never imagined what a good kisser Bill could be. I’m glad I’ll probably find out more about his kissing this summer.
Fleur
The English Student by dmbw7052
Story Notes:
Any grammatical errors are on purpose.
Chapter Notes: Many thanks to Abi for betaing this for me. She is amazing.
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review. They make the world go 'round.