Flower and Fang: The Bill/Fleur 'Shipper's Manifesto

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This essay was originally written for the Livejournal community 'Shippers Manifesto, the purpose of which is to give 'shippers such as myself a chance to put down on in print the reasons why we love our favorite pairings so much. Be they traditional couples or completely off the wall pairings, Shippers Manifesto welcomes them all.

I had the pleasure of getting the chance to write the manifesto for my favorite Harry Potter 'ship, Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :) Thank you!

And always remember: this kind of love is more than skin deep.

~~~*~~~

The Harry Potter fandom has inspired perhaps the greatest explosion of canon and "fanon" pairings of any fandom to date. From traditional pairings, like Harry/Ginny or Ron/Hermione; to non-traditional, like Harry/Draco or Ron/Luna; to ones that make you scratch your head, like Molly/Neville or Dumbledore/Tonks; virtually any combination you can think of, someone has written a story about them. Characters with next to no storytime - characters who have only been mentioned in passing! -- lead long, full (or sometimes short and tragic), romantically-charged lives in the imaginations of Harry Potter fans worldwide.

The relationship of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour is one that was hinted at in Goblet of Fire, given legitimacy in Order of the Phoenix, and solidified in Half-Blood Prince, but they've yet to get a strong foothold in the fandom's pantheon of favorite couples. They are, quite literally, the 'ship that fandom forgot.

This is their story.

~~~*~~~

Bill Weasley*:

The eldest son of Molly and Arthur Weasley (born November 29, 1970) Bill is an easy-going, extremely intelligent young man who has spent the better part of his adult life working as a curse-breaker in Egypt for Gringotts Wizarding Bank. More recently he has transferred back to England and accepted a desk job at the bank, so that he can be closer to his family in this time of turmoil, and also so he can lend his aide and expertise to the efforts of the Order of the Phoenix. During his tenure as a student at Hogwarts, Bill was made Head Boy and earned twelve O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels); quite a feat! He prefers to dress in Muggle clothes, except for dragon hide boots and a dragon fang earring, and his long red hair is a constant bother to his mother. Most of his life he's been a good-looking man, with well-balanced features and a tall, trim frame. However, during the battle at Hogwarts in the end of Book Six, Bill was savaged by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, leaving his face hideously scarred by wounds that will never fully heal. Fenrir was still in human form at the time of the attack, so Bill won't become a full-fledged werewolf himself; some small comfort for him and those who love him, including...

Fleur Delacour*:

Born in or slightly before 1977, Fleur is the eldest daughter of an aristocratic French family. Her grandmother was a full veela - a magical race known for their ability to bewitch men with their beauty - making Fleur a quarter-veela herself. While still a student at Beauxbatons Academy, a wizarding school in France, Fleur was chosen as a champion for the Triwizard Tournament during Harry Potter's fourth year. Stunningly beautiful as well as bright, Fleur's long, silvery-blond hair, perfect white teeth, and blue eyes combined with her inherent veela magic to make her every male student's fantasy during the Tournament, including Ron Weasley. Women, on the other hand, are less than enthralled by the beautiful young witch, and in fact treat her with a good deal of disdain and contempt. Fleur's attitude doesn't do much to help the situation, as she is often haughty and aloof, and sometimes downright snobby, earning her the nickname "Phlegm" from Ginny Weasley. After her graduation from Beauxbatons, Fleur moved to England to work at Gringotts in an effort to improve her English. It is here that she met Bill Weasley; though interestingly enough, not for the first time.

~~~*~~~

Girl Meets Boy:

Fleur Delacour, Harry noticed, was eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder. Harry could tell she had no objection whatsoever to long hair or earrings with fangs on them.

-(Goblet of Fire, p616, US hardcover)-

This is the only time Bill and Fleur are mentioned together in all of Book Four, and it's easily missed if the reader isn't paying attention. However it's notable for the fact that it is FLEUR doing the noticing, and not vice versa. Throughout the book, we're witness to the attention Fleur receives from the students at Hogwarts:

..."She's a veela!" (Ron) said hoarsely to Harry.

"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione tartly. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"

But she wasn't entirely right about that. As the girl crossed the Hall, many boys' heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron.

-(GoF, p252)-

Later, when poor Ron girds up the courage to ask Fleur to the Yule Ball, he gets a less than positive reaction from the quarter-veela:

"She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer."

-(GoF, p399)-

We see that Fleur is the subject of quite a lot of male attention, but she's also extremely choosy about the men she interacts with. This is only natural for a young woman who's grown up knowing she's beautiful and knowing how her beauty affects the opposite sex.

The fact that Fleur is avidly looking at Bill in the quote listed at the start of this section is therefore significant, as it shows she has clearly decided that he looks like a man she wouldn't mind spending time with. It is an entirely aesthetic reaction, as JK Rowling doesn't give us any indication that the two have spoken or interacted in any way.

Notable also is the fact that Rowling makes no mention of Bill appraising Fleur. Unlike the young men in the Great Hall, Bill doesn't gape at her; indeed, he doesn't appear to take any notice of her at all. Could it be that this is part of the reason she shows such interest in him? Not only because he's extremely attractive, but also because he doesn't ogle her like a piece of beautiful meat? It certainly lays the groundwork for a relationship based not in enchantment, but emotion.

~~~*~~~

Boy Gets Girl:

"Is Bill here?" (Harry) asked. "I thought he was working in Egypt."

"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," said Fred. "He says he misses the tombs, but," he smirked, "there are compensations..."

"What d'you mean?"

"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" said George. "She's got a job at Gringotts to eemprove 'er Eeenglish--"

"-- and Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons," sniggered Fred.

-(Order of the Phoenix, p70, US hardcover 1st edition)-

The first bona fide proof of a relationship between Bill and Fleur comes early in Book Five. The minimal groundwork laid in Goblet of Fire is fleshed out here, taking the duo from a might-have-been to an actually-is. You have to ask yourself questions here: is it just luck that Fleur and Bill both work at Gringotts, or was it by design? Fleur was less than impressed by Britain during her visit for the Triwizard Tournament; why would she willingly move to England rather than remain in warm, sunny France? No doubt she could have studied English anywhere: why would she choose to do so in London (albeit wizarding London)? Why not go somewhere more suited to her genteel lifestyle, away from the dirty hustle and bustle of the city?

Any one of these questions could have a dozen possible answers, or they could all have the same answer: maybe Fleur came to Britain to be with Bill. Far-fetched? Certainly. Possible? In the world of JK Rowling, anything's possible. For now, it's nothing but fanon musing, since the aforementioned passage is all the mention we get of Fleur in the entire book.

~~~*~~~

Love Changes Everything:

"Bill and I are going to be married!"

(Half-Blood Prince, p92, US hardcover 1st ed)

For Bill/Fleur 'shippers, Half-Blood Prince is something of a grail. Here at last we are given actual, documented scenes of Bill/Fleur interaction, peppered throughout the book. It's quite obvious from these moments that Fleur and Bill are absolutely besotted with each other:

"Thanks, Bill," said Harry, pocketing his gold.

"'E is always so thoughtful," purred Fleur, stroking Bill's nose.

-(HBP, p108)-

-------------------------------

(Molly) gave Lupin an annoyed look, as though it was all his fault she was getting Fleur as a daughter-in-law instead of Tonks, but Harry, glancing across at Fleur, who was now feeding Bill bits of turkey off her own fork, thought that Mrs. Weasley was fighting a long-lost battle.

-(HBP, p340)-

It's clear that they're very affectionate with each other, and that Fleur is particularly demonstrative in terms of showing that affection. She's obviously fallen hard for Bill, and the fact that he's asked her to marry him proves that he feels the same way. Before you start saying "He might just be under a veela spell," take note of this piece of information from early on in the book:

"Don't you get used to her if she's staying in the same house?" Harry asked.

"Well, you do," said Ron, "but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then..."

-(HBP p93)-

By this time, Bill and Fleur have been dating for at least a year. He would be acclimated to her presence by now, and therefore relatively immune to her everyday veela charms. He would certainly have been in possession of all his faculties when he proposed.

While we aren't treated to the Delacour family's view of the nuptials, the rest of Bill's family (or at least, its female members) are far from happy with this turn of events:

"You don't really want (Fleur) around forever?" Ginny asked Ron incredulously. When he merely shrugged, she said, "Well, Mum's going to put a stop to it if she can, I bet you anything."

"How's she going to manage that?" asked Harry.

"She keeps trying to get Tonks round for dinner. I think she's hoping Bill will fall for Tonks instead. I hope he does, I'd much rather have her in the family."

"Yeah, that'll work," said Ron sarcastically. "Listen, no bloke in his right mind's going to fancy Tonks when Fleur's around. I mean, Tonks is okay-looking when she isn't doing stupid things to her hair and her nose, but-"

"She's a damn sight nicer than Phlegm," said Ginny.

"And she's more intelligent, she's an Auror!" said Hermione from the corner.

"Fleur's not stupid, she was good enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament," said Harry.

"Not you as well!" said Hermione bitterly.

"I suppose you like the way Phlegm says ''Arry,' do you?" asked Ginny scornfully.

-(HBP pp93-94)-

There is clearly a powerful anti-Fleur sentiment running not just through Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, but Hermione as well. Even when the boys legitimately come to Fleur's defense, they're caught in the backlash of this dislike. Yet Fleur seems oblivious to the chilly treatment, content with pouring affection on Bill and being loved in return.

~~~*~~~

Beauty and the Beast:

Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder and saw an unrecognizable face lying on Bill's pillow, so badly slashed and ripped that he looked grotesque. Madam Pomfrey was dabbing at his wounds with some harsh-smelling green ointment. Harry remembered how Snape had mended Malfoy's Sectumsempra wounds so easily with his wand.

"Can't you fix them with a charm or something?" he asked the matron.

"No charm will work on these," said Madam Pomfrey. "I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites."

-(HBP p613)-

During the battle at Hogwarts that culminates in Dumbledore's death and Snape and Draco's escape, Bill sustains horrible wounds at the hands of Fenrir Greyback. While it's likely he'll live, he will never again be the handsome, dashing young man everyone is familiar with. His scars will never fully heal, and from now on he'll exhibit wolfish characteristics, though the extent of them are unknown.

Molly, Arthur and Fleur arrive as quickly as they can, clearly frantic. Mrs. Weasley is distraught at the sight of her beautiful son mangled beyond recognition:

"Of course, it doesn't matter how he looks... It's not r-really important... but he was a very handsome little b-boy... always very handsome... and he was g-going to be married!"

"And what do you mean by zat?" said Fleur suddenly and loudly. "What do you mean, ''e was going to be married?'"

-(HBP p622)-

The gloves come off. Fleur, it turns out, has NOT been oblivious to her shoddy treatment at the hands of the Weasley women, and she takes this opportunity to prove to them that she isn't a shallow, pampered princess who only loves Bill because he's got a pretty face. What she feels for him is real, and goes much farther than just skin deep:

"You theenk Bill will not wish to marry me anymore?" demanded Fleur. "You theenk, because of these bites, he will not love me?"

"No, that's not what I-"

"Because 'e will!" said Fleur, drawing herself up to her full height and throwing back her long mane of silver hair. "It would take more zan a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!"

-(HBP pp622-623)-

This part of Fleur's speech betrays some key aspects of her character. Firstly, her initial reaction is to claim that Mrs. Weasley believes Bill won't love her anymore, not vice versa. It's not even her first thought that others may suspect she wouldn't still be madly in love with him.

Or could it be that she's being crafty? Could it be that she's deliberately maneuvering Molly into a confrontation about Fleur's true feelings toward Bill?

"Well, yes, I'm sure," said Mrs. Weasley, "but I thought perhaps - given how - how he -"

"You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps, you hoped?" said Fleur, her nostrils flaring. "What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!" she added fiercely, pushing Mrs. Weasley aside and snatching the ointment from her.

Mrs. Weasley fell back against her husband and watched Fleur mopping up Bill's wounds with a most curious expression upon her face...

-(HBP p623)-

Anybody who doubted Fleur's feelings prior to this passage are left without a leg to stand on. Not only is Fleur still devoted to Bill, but she's incensed that anyone would think otherwise. Rather than shrinking from his hideous wounds, she takes charge of his care herself, supplanting Mrs. Weasley at Bill's side and caring for his injuries.

The onlookers are left stunned by her outburst, waiting for these two women - both equipped with fiery tempers and strong wills - to come to blows. But they're accorded a very different reaction:

"Our Great-Auntie Muriel," said Mrs. Weasley after a long pause, "has a very beautiful tiara - goblin-made - which I am sure I could persuade her to lend you for the wedding. She is very fond of Bill, you know, and it would look lovely with your hair."

"Thank you," said Fleur stiffly. "I am sure zat will be lovely."

And then, Harry did not quite see how it happened, both women were crying and hugging each other...

-(HBP p623)-

Finally, the women are on equal footing. Mrs. Weasley can see that Fleur really is in love with Bill, and Fleur can move forward with the older woman's blessing.

From there on out, things look decidedly more cheerful between the in-laws. Even Ginny warms up a little towards the veela:

"I suppose I'm just going to have to accept that he really is going to marry her," sighed Ginny later that evening, as she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat beside the open window of the Gryffindor common room, looking out over the twilit grounds.

"She's not that bad," said Harry. "Ugly, though," he added hastily, as Ginny raised her eyebrows, and she let out a reluctant giggle.

"Well, I suppose if Mum can stand it, I can."

-(HBP pp634-635)-

As for the couple in question, they're as happy and comfortable together as ever:

...Bill remained under Madam Pomfrey's care. His scars were as bad as ever - in truth, he now bore a distinct resemblance to Mad-Eye Moody, though thankfully with both eyes and legs - but in personality he seemed just the same as ever. All that appeared to have changed was that he now had a great liking for very rare steaks.

"...so eet ees lucky 'e is marrying me," said Fleur happily, plumping up Bill's pillows, "because ze British overcook their meet, I 'ave always said this."

-(HBP p634)-

~~~*~~~

Into the Future:

"We're with you whatever happens," said Ron. "But mate, you're going to have to come round my mum and dad's house before we do anything else, even Godric's Hollow."

"Why?"

"Bill and Fleur's wedding, remember?"

-(HBP p652)-

JK Rowling must have plans for Bill and Fleur's wedding in book seven, since she makes a special note of mentioning it at the very end of Half-Blood Prince. And why not? Dumbledore's been killed; Snape has apparently turned traitor; the futures of the wizarding world in general and Hogwarts in particular are in doubt; why shouldn't the opening scenes of the final book in this tremendous series be something hopeful, to see our heroes through the dark days ahead?

Though knowing JK Rowling, the wedding will be far from peaceful.

(Harry's) hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead of himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.

-(HBP p652)-

And on that beautiful yet simultaneously ominous note, book six ends.

~~~*~~~

The Eye of the Beholder:

I first entered the Harry Potter fandom after the release of Goblet of Fire. While I'm wildly fond of many other 'ships, both traditional and non-traditional, I was immediately drawn to Bill/Fleur, despite the fact they shared less than a paragraph of time together in the book. Order of the Phoenix was like a dream come true, proving that I was NOT a lunatic; that my instincts were correct, and Jo Rowling had plans for my favorite couple. I think I screamed for close to an hour when Half-Blood Prince was released and I learned that the two were engaged. They still tell stories about that scream, all the way to Poughkeepsie.

But being a Bill/Fleur fan is extremely frustrating. The fandom surrounding them is limited, and frequently they are used only as a convenient plot device or platform to frame a story about another couple entirely. A search for fanfic related to Bill and Fleur's wedding will turn up a myriad of Harry/Ginny or Ron/Hermione stories, but next to nothing about Bill and Fleur themselves. When stories ARE written about the two, many of them portray Fleur as a cold-hearted prig who dumps Bill in favor of some piece of eye candy, utterly betraying the very moving scene detailed above in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. It is very rare to find a story about Bill and Fleur together as a couple, happy and in love, despite all the canon evidence supporting that viewpoint.

Much of this fandom disinterest seems to lie with Fleur; Bill remains quite popular. To an extent, this aversion is understandable. Fleur isn't one to mince words; she says what she thinks and means what she says. That can be very uncomfortable for people, especially when she's saying things they don't like to hear. The knee-jerk reaction is to dismiss her as a vain snob and try to get rid of her, so that Bill can be paired with someone more "worthy," like Hermione or Tonks.

This is where fandom and I diverge. I don't see Fleur as a snob. If she were a snob, she wouldn't have agreed to marry Bill; she wouldn't have dated him in the first place. She would have sought out someone with a better pedigree who lived in a fine house and had a full bank account. She CERTAINLY wouldn't have agreed to stay with Bill's family in the cramped, country confines of the Burrow, and she would have stormed out immediately the first time Ginny called her "Phlegm."

To me, Fleur is a self-assured, strong-willed young woman who has had to grow up as the center of everyone's attention. On one hand this has made her coarse, in that no one has ever taught her the meaning of tact. On the other hand, it means she truly values things that are genuine: genuine love; genuine family. She is devoted to her little sister, Gabrielle, who is taken by the Merpeople during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament: "And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss." Gabrielle is dear to Fleur's heart, and she's absolutely distraught when she's forced to withdraw from the Task after an encounter with some Grindylows. She's ecstatic when Harry rescues Gabrielle as part of the Task, and rewards the young man with kisses on the cheek. She even kisses Ron, whose advances we've already seen her rebuff with scorn.

While it's never made clear exactly why Fleur is so enamored with Bill, I think it's impossible to deny the fact that he sees her as a human being, not a quarter-veela. Not once does JK Rowling describe Bill as "gaping" at Fleur, or ogling her, or drooling over her. Bill seems to genuinely care for her, which must be like a breath of fresh air to Fleur. She's had to endure close to twenty years of enchanted adoration from men and boys alike; at last she's found someone who enjoys her company because he loves her, not because his hormones tell him to. His physical attractiveness is just a bonus, which is why she doesn't count it as any great loss after he's been attacked by Greyback. What matters to her is that he loves her - really loves her - and that she loves him madly in return. I think they must be very different when they're alone together; Fleur must show him a softer, more tender side than she shows around other people; because I don't think Bill would be attracted to anyone as snobby as Fleur appears to be. I wouldn't be surprised if they got together because Bill was teasing her about being such an uppercrust princess and Fleur got flustered, because no one had ever done that to her before!

This dichotomy between real and counterfeit emotion is a fabulous one to explore in fanfic; so is the "beauty and the beast" archetype JKR has given us, courtesy of Bill's scars. I also find it interesting that Bill and Fleur are set to be married at the beginning of the final book; that leaves a whole year of possibilities ahead of them. I can't help wondering if we'll see a baby born to the two by the end of the book; perhaps a little baby boy they christen Harry, because he was conceived and born during Voldemort's reign of terror. What better way to end the story of Harry Potter, which began with him as a baby, than with the birth of another baby? A symbol of hope and rebirth for the future. And maybe they'd even have a girl, thanks to Fleur's veela genes!

~~~*~~~

Fandom Guide:

Links:

Bill/Fleur:
The Bill/Fleur 'Shippers Livejournal Community
Amour: the Bill/Fleur Fanlisting
Turbulent: the Bill Weasley Fanlisting
Flower of the Court: the Fleur Delacour Fanlisting
French Flower: a Clemence Poesy Fansite
(Clemence portrays Fleur in the Harry Potter films)

Fiction Recommendations (Fiction Alley):

Chocolate, Mandrake, and Moss by Agatha S.
Charms and Curses by Thalia M. Kendall
Meteorology by Kera

Fiction Recommendations (Other sites):
Morning Glory by Bravery
The Decoration of the Tree by flightless wren
Tracks in the Sand by SeeStar
Incredulity by Fair Ithil
Romance in F Minor by flightless wren
The Taste of Magic by Lirazel
After the End by Arabella and Zsenya
(this is a very long story incorporating many characters of the HP-verse; Bill and Fleur are only a small side story. But their side story is BEAUTIFUL, as is the entire fic. A must-read!)

*some biographical information courtesy of The Harry Potter Lexicon