"Ew, you're a gross werewolf," Fleur said, ignoring Molly Weasley's cries of outrage. "I'm leaving you, Bill."

You're welcome.

 

Wanna know my thoughts? Get writing. Even if it sucks, which it probably won't, it will only help you get better and suck slightly less. That's what the WBA is for.

Go for it.

 

Or, perhaps just have Bill get killed, either during that scene, or during the wedding a few weeks later. Harry goes to "console the grieving widow" or w/e. But honestly, it's only takes a few words to pretend that they never even dated to begin with, since it's barely covered in the books at all.

 

Romance in 4th year no matter how good it's written will always feel a tiny bit forced. Friendship between those two however is far from impossible.

Maybe you could start the story from Fleur's perspective (or change the POW). Show how she changes her opinion of him throughout the whole year.

Spoiler

At first she thinks of Harry as annoyance or brat, because he must have somehow cheated his way into the tournament. Of course as a result of the school talk and Harry's treatment by his peers he becomes somewhat of a blip on her radar, but nothing more.

Then suddenly the media starts to slander him with hair-raising stories and some Hogwarts students she interacts with (Ravenclaws) reveal, that Harry is always at the center of attention, but nothing is ever revealed, lending credence to the papers.

She still thinks it's his own fault for entering, but she starts to have some sympathy for him.

After the first task respect consorts with her sympathy for him and she starts to view him as honest yet lucky contender.

During the Yule ball she tries to observe how he interacts with his peers and is faintly amused how he clumsily tries to please his date.

Suddenly the second task looms ahead and she is afraid of what might happen to Gabrielle so she doesn't waste any thoughts on Harry. During the task everything goes wrong, she panics, is nearly hysterical, because she failed and her sister is in apparent danger.
Suddenly there is an exhausted Harry Potter and in his arms Gabrielle.
Of course she is beyond relieved and grateful and vows to get know the real Harry Potter.

Some days later she seeks him out to give him an appropriate thank you and an apology for disregarding him as champion. To Harry's consternation she suddenly wants a Hogwarts tour and starts a conversation, unsure, but trying to be friendly, he goes along with it.
That done, they go their separate ways and stay on good terms.

They greet each other, the occasional wave of the hand and she, to mess with him, gives him overly flirtatious winks or blows him kisses when nobody is looking. She realised, that he is partly unaffected by her charm, but he is still a teenage boy. Maybe some random thoughts how she wishes, that he was a few years older.

After the tournament she is horrified by recent events and what happened to her new friend. She visits him in the hospital wing to say good bye and reveals to him her plans (canon Gringotts stuff). To further improve her english she wants to start correspondence via owl and she expects him to respond accordingly. At the end she gives him a quick peck on the cheek, muses half jokingly and half melancholy about his age and leaves a stunned Harry Potter.

Obviously you would have to tweak Harry a bit. Give him ambition, pride and a magical knack for something outside of DADA (personally I love Transfiguration), to vary his approach at the tasks and to show of his talent.

Spoiler

Serpensortia (an Anaconda), color it to blend in with the arena and order the snake to swallow the egg and retrieve it. Distract the dragon with Avis (a flok of birds). To make it interesting have the dragon step on the snake and burn all the birds in one swoop, forcing Harry on his broom anyway and having to experience the backlash for speaking Parseltongue in puplic.

Frighteningly snake-based transfigurations come more easily to him and for better or worse he decides to transfigure his legs into the tail of a seasnake and combine it with the bubblehead-charm for the second task. (Drawing inspiration from the mermaid in the Prefects' Bathroom)

Sirius gave him the mirrors early on and along with fake-Moody helps Harry throughout the year.

Still bitter about Peter Sirius advises him against forgiving Ron.

Harry is nervous about his date with Parvati and Sirius gives him pointers (eyes ALWAYS on your date, don't stop with the compliments, etc.). Parvati becomes his hostage and they start a teen romance. Of course Parvati notices Harry's and Fleur's interactions after the second task and starts to give Harry a hard time for it.

So on and so forth. The real romance between Fleur and Harry would happen a few years down the line.

 

I'd say northward of 50% (totes factual) of marriages these days end in divorce. Why would killing someone off be the solution you come up with?

 

It wasn't like I suggested that Harry off Bill himself (without anyone finding out) in order to gain a foothold with Fleur (though that would totally seem like a DLP type thing to do). Bill succumbing to werewolf wounds isn't a completely unreasonable step, but like I said in my previous post, the better route is probably just pretend like Fleur and Bill were never together. Of course, that really only matters if the story is starting in 7th year, after that it doesn't really matter since any number of things can happen after Hogwarts.

 

You know what I don't understand? Isn't the age difference between Bill and Fleur even greater than the difference between Harry and Fleur? So, it wouldn't be dificult to keep Bill out of the picture completely. Of course, keeping him around would help with drama.
Personally, I don't like reading about a past Bill/Fleur relationship mostly because he never said a damn thing to Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, or Ginny about the way they treated her.

 

The older you get, the less age diff matters.

 

Are you really making Fleur out to be the passive victim in that family feud? They disliked Fleur because she was a stuck-up, condescending bitch to them. A perfectly valid reason to dislike someone IMO.

 

It's a fair point to make. Going by "traditional" rules - half your age + 7, Fleur would be a no-go, being like 19 and barely out of school, while Bill is what, 27? when they get married. It's a 7 or 8 year difference. That doesn't really bother me though, since I find stuff that takes place after Hogwarts to not be all that interesting, or that difficult to write.

I find the stuff that takes place during canon much more interesting. The only year where Fleur and Harry intersect in any meaningful way is during book 4, so that's really why I'm so focused at finding something that works during that time period, without taking shortcuts. I don't even think it would be that difficult, but it would have to be done by a writer better than myself. I think half the problem is that everyone (including myself) seems to be over-thinking it.

 

Is there even a single scene in canon where Fleur is a cunt to the Weasley's?


And personally, I pretend Fleur/Bill isn't a thing even in stories that aren't H/F.

 

Yes.

I mean, that's pretty funny, but she goes from subtly sniping at the in-laws during the summer to flat-out mocking one of them by Christmas. Yeah, kind of a bitch.

 

Honestly, those scenes are pretty awesome. +1 to Fleur.

 

You could make a really good Harry/Fleur by using Bill's death as a plot device.

Fleur was never inducted into the Order, but Bill was, and through him Fleur knows as much as any nineteen year old about the real crisis the wizarding world is facing. She also knows how important Harry is to their cause; though the contents of the prophecy were kept hidden for good reason, it is obvious, at least to her, that Harry is the type of person who will take on Voldemort every chance he gets.

Losing Bill just before she would have taken his hand in marriage is by far the worst thing that Fleur has ever had to face. Her relationship with the Weasleys is forever changed; where she could have proven herself loyal had Bill survived his injuries, she soon becomes increasingly distanced from the same people she tried so hard to prove herself to before.

After sitting through Albus' funeral, she notices Harry looking increasingly despondent as he tries to break Ginny's heart as softly as possible. She understands for the first time the burden that he has to bear as a result of Voldemort.

She makes a promise to herself that she will finish what Bill was trying to accomplish, but that makes her realize the only way to acheive Bill's goal is by doing all she can to aid Harry. Watching him at the funeral as he denies Rufus Scrimgeour's advances as well as the surprisingly understanding Ginny, Fleur can see that Harry has the dedication and drive to do great things, and that he will always look past his own wants and needs to reach his goals.

She had heard many times from Bill about the Harry's predictable nature; if anyone he cared about was in danger, he would sacrifice himself to save them. Ron and Hermione are loyal friends to him, but Fleur doesn't believe they will be able to keep Harry alive on their own. The circumstances he's facing are not in his favor, and one wrong move could get all three of the Gryffindors killed, rendering the wizard world bereft of what was quickly becoming their last hope. Listening to Molly and Arthur discuss the trio's relationship only reaffirms Fleur's belief that all three will run away once Harry's of age.

Molly offers to house the girl for as long as she would like, but she can see the effect she has on the household. Fleur is someone who keenly feels the eyes of others on her, and she begins to think that the Weasleys wish it had been her who died rather than Bill. She doesn't want to return home, because she can't face Gabrielle's cute smile without breaking into tears, so she goes to the only other place in England she can call home.

Grimmauld Place is dreary and dim, but she doesn't mind it so much these days; after all, every day since Bill has died feels just as empty as the house. The house elf frightens her, so she steers clear of Kreacher, but she does catch a glimmer of gold around his neck when she thinks he's not looking. She passes it off as another peculiarity of the Black household.

She starts to develop a plan. She can't afford to be denied. She once thought she would die without Bill; now she knows that she will live for Bill, to honor his memory.

She notices Death Eaters waiting outside Grimmauld, seemingly looking for any sign of movement, but they never seek entry, and she knows that the Order has other defenses on the house, so she doesn't feel too afraid living there. She does keep her wits about her just in case, refusing to ever leave her wand behind on the offchance that Snape returns. But no one arrives, Order member or otherwise.

She spends a good few weeks reading up on things that would be helpful when travelling, from Portkeys, which she already has a loose understanding of, but she's mostly mind-numbingly bored. Yet company is on its way. The trio vacated the Burrow for greener pastures only days after Harry's seventeenth birthday, and their first stop is Grimmauld.

Surprised to find Fleur at Grimmauld, they initially explain that Molly has been going spare wondering where Fleur is, even calling France by floo everynight to see if she turns up at the Delacours. Realizing the folly of her foul mood, Fleur blushes (for the first time in Harry's memory) and decides she will allow the trio to get settled while she visits both families to ease their worries.

Fleur tells Molly that she's at Grimmauld and just needed some space. Molly is glad to know she's okay, but disproving about her staying at Grimmauld; she explains that the house belongs to Harry, though Fleur persuades her that she has already asked Harry about living there until she's back on her feet. Molly believes her, as Harry would likely extend such an offer.

Fleur quickly goes to France before nightfall, spending the evening in her sister's bed, running her fingers through golden locks. She finds peace in the young girl's serene smile, realizing that there is hope for life after Bill. Her father and mother enter the room, joyful tears appearing in their eyes at the sight of both of their daughters safe and sound. Nothing is said, as the young girl is asleep, and Fleur decides to sneak back to Grimmauld in the morning. Just before she slips into bed, she stops at Harry's door, listening, though she doesn't know what for.

 

Oh, yeah, I agree with that. And I think those scenes are kind of written to make you have that reaction, especially if you've ever been the one trapped at a stuffy holiday party. The fact that she's being a bitch in no way precludes her from being awesome.

 

Ginny and Hermione have their reasons to dislike Fleur.

Also, Ron is the one who really seems to like Fleur. Harry doesn't mind joining in with Hermione and Ginny :

Heh, there's also this :

 

Honestly, what I got most from those passages was annoyance at Harry for sucking up so much to Ginny.

 

... and then?

I'm invested enough in your outline that it would bother me a little if I didn't find out where you're going with this.

 

I'd like to state that she also has a perfectly valid reason to act the way she does. She was in another country, all of her family and friends were in France, she was living in the house that contained the BWL. Knowing that her family, most importantly her sister, were far away, knowing that she was living with Voldemort's most wanted family because of there asociation with Harry, and that she was fighting another countries war, is it really that surprising that she acted like a bitch?

 

Well, Ginny and Hermione are his friends. They even risked their lives for him in the DoM not long back. Fleur is barely an acquaintance. Why would he support Fleur over them, especially when it isn't difficult at all to see why everyone dislikes Fleur?

The blind prophet : She's acting like a bitch because she is a bitch. Those who are defending her in this seem to completely miss the point of her character.