Flower of the Heart

     Ron woke up early on Christmas morning. He was really looking forward to exchanging gifts with Fleur, but he was a little worried too. What if she didn't like it? What if she told him it wasn't good enough, and wanted to break up? No, he was being absurd. Fleur's not like that. She's not all gifts and priss like everyone says she is. Still, he worried.

     They had agreed to exchange gifts in private, since Harry seemed to love prying into their relationship. They didn't really mind most of the time, but, seriously, enough is enough. I mean, if he was trying to be a good friend, he had a very strange way of showing it. It would be quite some time before Ron forgot Harry's little snowball...Ron ground his teeth in remembrance.

     It's not that he hated Harry, he was just a little annoyed with him. Harry was still, and always would be, his best friend.

     His thoughts were cut short when he realized he had carried himself down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He scanned the near-empty room and found Fleur. He hurried over to sit with her. As he arrived, she stood up so he would have a better view of her choice in clothing.

     Fleur had on a green dress with red trim. It was the same sort of silk that her old school robes had been. It fit smugly around her curves. Her hair was done up in a ponytail held with green and red ribbons. He trced the ribbons downards and found that they had become tucked inside the front of her robes. Without thinking he began pulling them out one by one. You would think Fleur would have objected, but she seemed to be rather enjoying herself. He was on the last ribbon when Hermione came in. She cast an amused eye and seemed to be trying rather hard not to say anything about it. Her efforts failed.

     "Looking for your lost keys, Peeping Ron?" She asked him. She was holding the keys that Fleur had discarded when she had become "distracted" by Ron's pashing session. She tossed them to him. Suddenly she sounded bitter. "Maybe Frenchie should be more careful next time!" She stalked off.

     "What was that all about?" Ron asked Fluer. She shrugged and kissed him.

     "I don't know but don't worry about it now!" Fleur told him.

     "How could I with someone as beautiful as you around?" He asked her. Fleur hit him with her now-free ribbons and then kissed him again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

     Christmas dinner was superb. Hundreds of fat turkeys, tureen after tureen of gravy, mounds of mashed potatoes...it seemed to go on forever. Fleur, of course, did not make snide comments like she did in fourth year. People often asked her how she could have been so diffrent, and she simply said,"I didn't know Ron."

     Every other teacher besides Fleur and Ron exchanged gifts at the table. Ron got another Chudley Cannon's hat from Harry, ("Honestly Harry, how old are you?" was Hermione's respose to this) a swatch from Fred and George (he had stayed well away from it since he read the card which had something to do with banging) and an elephant pendant from Hermione.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

     Finally it was time for Ron and Fleur to exchange gifts. For the first time all day Ron felt confident that Fleur would like his gift the most. Everyone else had insisted on giving her perfume. ("Do I really smell that bad?")

     "Alright, Ron, you go first," Fleur said once they had gotten to his office. "What did you get me?"

     Usually Ron would've stalled to build up suspense, but he was too excited and anxious. He eagerly handed Fleur the box as though he were four years old and handing his mother a jewlery box made from macaroni and glitter glue. She opened the box and slowly withdrew the beautiful pendant by it's delicate gold chain.

     It was a magnificent ruby that had been cut into a heart shape. Resting on the top was a rose quartz rose with a solid gold stem. On the back there was an engraving that said "To the flower of my heart. -Ron"

(a/n: Fleur Delacour is French for "flower of the heart". Hence the title of my fic.)

     Fleur looked up at Ron with tears in her eyes. Nobody had ever really loved her before, only dated her for her looks. This gift meant so much more to her then any other she had ever recieved. She reached over and caught him in a sweet, simple kiss. She couldn't say anything, but Ron understood. (a/n: in my opinion, Ron understands everthng! ^_^)

     "Oh Ron, I-"

     "What did you get me?!" He asked as she began sobbing. No man can withstand the crying of a girl.

     "It's nothing compared to yours, but..." she reluctantly handed him his gift. He opened it and saw a picture of himself and Fleur in a picture frame she had made herself.

     "I love it!" he said. He really did since the two picture forms began snogging. He turned to her. "Where did you-" she silenced him with a kiss. He lost his train of thought once she started undoing is fly.

     "Now for your real present!" She exclaimed suddenly. She flung him on his bed. "Time to make magic with your wand!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

     Ron awoke in good spirits the next morning (No big surprise) and almost skipped down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He stopped marching and stared, however, when he saw that there was someone new sitting at the High Table. He noticed that he was being rude when Hermione gave him a warning look and a series of gestures that indicaed he should un-pop his eyes and close his mouth. Ron had no idea why someone new was here. But he did know why he had reacted like that.

     Neville Longbottom was sitting where Filch usually sat.

     "Hi Ron!" Neville exclaimed. "I'm going to be working here now! I'm Filch's replacement since he finally got sick of scraping off frog guts from walls. Good thing I'm used to that sort of thing, seeing how I used to be a Wizard Vet. Is anyone else I used to know here? I know there's Harry, Hermione, you, and Alicia. Anyone else?

     "Well, I don't know if you knew her, but remember Fleur Delacour?"

     "Oh yeah, I remember...." Neville said dreamily. "She was the gorgeous French girl I used to have a short thing for."

     "Hey, hey, watch it!" Ron said defensivley. "She's my girlfriend!"

     "She is? Gee, I'm sorry, Ron. But everyone had at least a short thing for her, am I right?" Everyone snorted at the look on Hermione's face. She looked like she had swallowed a lemon.

     Hermione leaned over to Alicia. "How could anyone like that slut? Especially Ron! How could he go for Fleur when he could have me?!"

     Alicia looked over at Hermione with a puzzled look. "He could have you? Weren't you the one who broke up with him? Are you JEALOUS?"

     Even though Alicia had screamed "JEALOUS?" at the top of her lungs, nobody seemed to notice. Everyone was too buisy staring at Fleur's new pendant. It made Hermione sick to look at it.

     "Keep it down, will you?" Hermione hissed anyway. "And who said I was jealous? And who said he could have me?"

     "You said he could have you!" Alicia spat in reply. "And nobody said you were jealous, but it certainly seems that way."

     Hermione said nothing. Because she had nothing to say. Because Alicia was right.

     She was jealous.

     She had to tell Ron, but how? How could she tell him that she was sorry, that she wanted him back, that she needed him? Not when he was so happy with this other woman.

     "Fleur," she muttered under her breath. "I'll get you for this one."