Here's my new story! I realize the basic plot-line isn't original in the least, but it's what I felt like writing, so I hope that you enjoy it nonetheless. Also it is set just after the war was over.
The Witch and the Widow
Fleur dabbed at her eyes with a lacy white handkerchief. This was the first time in her life that she couldn't care less at the fact that her mascara was running in deep black ribbons down her face, seemingly cutting through her pale ivory skin. She watched devastatingly as the pallbearers, Ron, Fred, George, Percy and Charlie Weasley, along with Harry Potter, set the casket down to lay to rest her beloved husband Bill.
After placing the casket on the ground, the six stood back and listened to the closing sermon. Fred and George stood side-by-side with grim looks on their faces, their hands balled into fists. Ron was biting his lip in an effort to stop himself from crying, but his shiny eyes told the truth. Harry stood next to Ron, and looked unsure of exactly how to comfort his best friend. Charlie clasped his heartbroken father's shoulder, while tiny little tears streamed down Arthur's face. Percy stood off to the side by himself, his arms crossed and his eyes staring at the ground. Fleur was standing alone, suppressing more heavy sobs from seeping out. Her body shook from the effort.
She glanced up and over at Mrs. Weasley, who had Ginny's arm wrapped around her shoulders. The woman, who Fleur had never gotten close to, even after her wedding to Bill, was beside herself with grief. Her vivid red hair was tangled and looked as if she had just gotten out of bed. Her clothes, usually neat and ironed, were a wrinkled mess.
Fleur felt pressure on the small of her back. She glanced to her left and saw Hermione Granger, one of her brother-in-law's best friends, whose hand was resting on her back. Hermione smiled sadly at Fleur, and kept her hand where it was. Fleur managed a weak smile of appreciation before she bit her lip and a fresh wave of tears cascaded down her face. Hermione stayed there with Fleur until the end of the beautiful sermon.
"...and now we lay to rest William Weasley. Young William, may you find eternal peace." The man who gave the sermon closed his book, and bowed himself away from the family, giving them their final moments with Bill before he was buried.
Fleur burst into a new batch of tears and walked over to the casket. "Oh mon amour, why? Why did you leave me?!" she knelt down on the ground, getting her expensive black dress dirty, but didn't care. She wrapped her arms around the casket as best as she could. "I shall never forget you, my William." Fleur whispered. She stood up and smoothed out her dress. She spoke quietly to the Weasleys. "I will give you, 'is family, some moments alone with 'im." Fleur turned on her heel and walked over to a giant elm tree, and sat herself down in the shade. She buried her head in her arms.
Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry, nodded to them, and walked timidly over to Fleur. "F-Fleur?" Hermione asked softly.
Fleur sniffled. "Oui?"
Hermione sat down on the ground next to the distraught French witch. "I just...I just wanted to sit with you. You shouldn't be alone."
Fleur inhaled slowly. "Your dress, it is getting all dirty with you sitting on ze ground."
"Well, then I presume your dress is dirty as well. If you can handle it, I'm sure I can." Hermione smiled softly.
A few silent minutes passed, then Fleur spoke up. "I cannot believe 'e is gone, 'ermione." she said quietly.
Hermione glanced up at the sky, watching the radiant colors of the approaching sunset being smeared across it. "I know." Hermione looked down. "Fleur?"
"Yes, 'ermione?"
"I want to be here for you. But I'm not going to say that I know how you feel. Because I don't. I don't know what it feels like to lose a husband. When my grandfather died, all these people said how sorry they felt for me, and how they all knew how I felt. But they didn't know. My grandfather wasn't their grandfather, so how could they possibly know how I felt? Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that. That I'm here for you, even if I can't relate to you."
Fleur smiled as more tears began rolling down her cheeks again. "Zank you, 'ermione. Zat is per'aps ze most honest thing I 'ave ever 'eard."
Hermione grasped Fleur's soft hand, with its perfectly manicured nails. "Whenever, and I mean whenever, you need me, please don't hesitate to come and get me. Or call, or write me. I mean, I've got to be there for Ronald as well, but you're also very important to me. Alright?"
Fleur nodded, "Oui, 'ermione. I understand."
Hermione stood up. "I'll see you back at the Weasley's house." Hermione walked over to Ron and Harry, and put her arm around Ron's shoulders. He blushed a crimson red, and Fleur couldn't understand why her stomach gave a little funny jolt.
She reached into her purse, pulled out her handkerchief and dried her face off, staining the hanky black as she did so. Fleur stood up and brushed the dirt off of her dress. It was almost time for the remembrance dinner, which meant Fleur only had a couple of minutes to compose herself. She Apparated back to the Burrow, threw herself into a room, and surprised herself by immediately bursting into tears. She grasped one of the pillows so hard as she sobbed that her knuckles turned white. Fleur started screaming and crying in French, and it wasn't until she calmed down a bit that she noticed a hand circling her back in a comforting motion. She gasped for a breath and collapsed in a heap onto the blankets.
Hermione shook her head in pity. She had no realistic idea of what Fleur was going through, and she could only imagine the grief that racked the poor French girl. She waited there, waited until Fleur's sobs ceased and she seemed to fall into a fitful rest. Smiling sadly, Hermione left the room. Ron and Harry were waiting outside.
"Well?" Ron asked quietly.
Hermione shook her head. "She is...so... consumed by grief that I don't think she'll be able to get through the dinner. She's so fatigued that she's fallen asleep."
Ron nodded. "I'll tell Mum not to wake her."
The three left, with linked arms, and walked out into the garden for the dinner. Hermione took one last look at the bedroom where the French witch was. She sighed, and continued on.
I hope you liked it, even though it's not completely original. I'll try to get another chapter out soon.