AN: For more Flowerpot, come check out the FP discord!
discord .gg / f4a9Cg8rpB
(Spoilers for a 15 year old Zelda game in this chapter)
.
.
.
Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, his thoughts bouncing from one end of his head to the other. He'd been here for several hours, working through his mountain of assignments, trying to get them all finished so he could take an extra shift this week. He'd made good progress, his literature and statistics assignments were done, with only one left to go. That was a little over an hour ago, and now he knew the truth.
Physics would be the death of him.
"Someone's working hard there."
He jumped, head shooting up as the voice broke his concentration, eyes going wide as he saw Fleur sliding into the seat across from him. He hadn't expected her to come back, not really. He'd hoped, sure, but never expected. He'd figured that she had gotten her fill of comic lore, plus her answer about Hermione's book, and that she'd forget about him in short order.
"Fl-Fleur," he stammered, "I didn't expect you to come up here again."
She shrugged, reaching into her bag and pulling out her laptop.
"I had some time and figured I'd see if you were around. What are you working on there?"
"Physics," he spat, looking back down at his text and notebook. She craned her neck to get a better look.
"Huh, I should have brought Angelina with me."
"Angelina?"
She nodded. "My roommate, Angelina Johnson. She's an engineering major. Not exactly a science nerd, but she loves the subject. She'd probably be able to get you sorted out in no time."
Harry noticed a fondness in her voice as she spoke about her roommate, the same sort of fondness he had when talking about Ron. They must be good friends. He smiled.
"Have you two been roommates long?"
She nodded.
"The school messed up our room assignments our freshman year. Design students aren't supposed to room with engineering students, but somehow we ended up together. Neither of us cared much about the mixup, so we just let it go. Been friends ever since. Best friends, really."
Her eyes took on a warm glow as she opened her laptop, clearly playing over some fond memories or conversations with Angelina in her head.
"Though she's a bit on the wild side."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Wild? How's that?"
She gave a light laugh. "Angelina loves three things. Engineering, parties, and embarrassing me. The order of importance changes daily and is directly impacted by the level of intoxication and proximity to finals."
Harry smiled playfully at the thought. "I bet she's a handful."
Fleur nodded.
"She is, but, at the end of the day, she's amazing. She's always there when I need her and, though I'm loath to admit it sometimes, she's generally given me good advice. Never tell her I said that."
He made a motion as if zipping his lips as recognition passed over her face.
"She actually knows your buddy."
He furrowed his brow.
"My buddy?"
She nodded.
"Yeah, Weasley. Ron Weasley. The sportsball hotshot. He's your best friend, right?"
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, we've been friends for years, about as long as you could be."
"Well, she knows his family. And knows knows his older brother Bill, sorry, William, if you know what I mean."
Harry made a gagging noise as that mental image hit him.
"Really? Bill?" he said with a shake of his head. "Bill's a great guy and all, and his job is cool, but he's so much older than us."
"Too old," they both said at the same time.
Silence reigned for a moment before they both started to giggle.
He looked at her and he could see her posture had relaxed, her shoulders less tense, and he wondered if she'd been nervous approaching him. They'd had a good time the other day, losing themselves in a heated debate over the best member of the bat family, but he was glad she'd decided to come back. Despite their rocky meeting, it was nice to talk to someone so casually about his hobbies.
"Alright, physics-man," she said, a smirk on her face, "You look like you're about five minutes away from throwing yourself off the top of the business building."
"It would have the nicest view on the way down…"
"So," she continued, ignoring his interruption, "We're going to watch the latest season of The Marauders. You've already seen the rest, right?"
He nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course. It's so bad it's good."
She raised an eyebrow as she positioned her laptop at the end of the table between them, pressing the spacebar to start the episode.
"Explain."
He shrugged as his eyes fixed on the screen.
"The characters are just a bit ridiculous, no? The whole enemies to friends to lovers thing they're doing with the two main leads. Or the characters surrounding them. C'mon, you can't tell me it's not ridiculously on the nose to have a character named Remus Lupin that's, shocker, a werewolf."
"That's fair," she admitted as the intro played.
"And the one of the group who's clearly shifty as fuck having his animal form be a rat? That betrayal isn't being telegraphed at all. And that's not even mentioning all the 'Sirius' jokes."
She laughed and mimicked one of the character's voices.
"I'm not Sirius, he is!"
Harry snarled. "If I hear that one more time…"
"Shush," she whispered, waving her hand in his direction, "The episode is starting."
He was quiet for a moment as the group of characters on screen made their plans for the first full moon, one of them making a joke about bringing along a hated classmate as a prank. He glanced over at Fleur and smiled.
"More or less than five 'Sirius' jokes?" he whispered. She looked back at him, a playful glint in her eyes.
"Less. Wager?"
He nodded. "If you win, I'll give you a Batgirl comic."
"And if you win, I'll force Angelina to do your physics homework for you."
"Deal."
.
.
Fleur got back to her dorm room late, having spent far longer at the library than intended, the latest season of The Marauders having engrossed both of them. As she closed the door behind her, Angelina popped her head out of her room.
"You're back late. Have you been on that stupid couch in the computer center all night?"
Fleur shook her head and dropped her keys on the counter before heading to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, she grabbed a bottle of water before turning back around.
"I started there. Ended up at the library," she said, lazily making her way towards her room.
"Oh? What'd you need there?"
Fleur shrugged, but didn't meet Angelina's gaze.
"I went to meet Harry."
Angelina raised an eyebrow.
"That guy you were looking for the other day? The one with the green eyes and glasses?"
Fleur nodded, causing Angelina to break out into a huge smile.
"Did Fleur Delacour go on a date in the library tonight?"
Fleur glared at her before turning around and entering her room.
"It wasn't a date," she called back before closing her door, Angelina's laughter echoing behind it.
.
.
"Settle something for me," Fleur said, dropping her bag on the desk as Harry looked up from his laptop. "Best Zelda game?"
He smiled, her abrupt entrance always making him smile. It seemed like half the times they'd met up here she was dropping in without a care, but always an important matter to discuss. Or at least, as important as a question can be when dealing with matters of various media franchises.
"Hello, Harry," he said humorously, raising his pitch higher, in a mock impersonation of her voice, "It's good to see you. How was your day?"
His voice shifted back to his normal tone. "Good to see you too Fleur, how are things? Did you ace that paper?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Of course I aced the paper, that's a silly question."
She closed her eyes as she sat down, taking a deep breath before reopening them, a wide smile on her face. This had become a bit of a routine for them each time they met, and her smile never got old, its appearance seeming to brighten up the room each time.
"How are you doing Harry?"
He nodded, satisfied. "You had a question?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Best Zelda game?"
He blew out a long breath, scratching his head as he mulled over the question, the gravity of it weighing on him.
"That's a complex question. I mean, I guess you would have to define the classifications of which games should be-"
"No," she said, cutting him off, "Best game. Period. Go."
"Twilight Princess."
She looked at him for a long moment, leaning back in her seat, a contemplating look on her face. He started to get nervous, curious as to what she was thinking, maybe even if she'd judge his choice.
She smirked. "A man of culture, I see."
'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' He wondered internally.
"So I'm looking up fanfiction, as one does," she continued, ignoring his internal dilemma, "And I'm searching through all the stories. And do you know what I found?"
"A disturbingly large lack of Link/Midna stories?" he guessed tentatively.
"Exactly!" she said, pointing a finger at him.
"Why write Link/Zelda in the Twilight Princess universe when there is a superior pairing?" he asked.
"Right? Like, Link's heart shattered with the Mirror of Twilight, so why would he get together with Zelda after that? They barely even had any interaction! Link was with Midna for nearly the entire game, going through it all. They helped each other, built trust, and had a deep bond. Even with no spoken dialogue, that last look Midna gives him is heartbreaking. Why would he turn around and suddenly shack up with Zelda? Because she was available? Because it's "destiny?" That's downright insulting."
Harry's eyes got wide.
Passion had a name and it was Fleur Delacour.
"Besides," she said, her voice evening out as her rant ended. "Midna was a beautiful older woman. Of course Link would go for her."
He laughed at the absurdity of the thought, though the look in her eyes made him fully understand this was something she'd spent considerable time puzzling over, making him laugh even harder. If there was ever any doubt before that Fleur was as big a nerd as he was then this conversation has washed it all away, replaced with certainty.
"Alright, so where do you think the creators envisioned the characters ending up after the credits rolled?" he asked.
Her lips curled up in disgust. "They'd probably deny the one true pairing. Have Midna rush into a relationship with a much older guy in a tumultuous time, all the while Link was having to settle for Zelda. Bleh."
She looked at him and smiled, cocking her head to the side.
"Give me your hottest take," she said.
"Majora's Mask is better than Ocarina of Time."
She frowned.
"Lukewarm. Try again."
He shrugged. "Uh, Minish Cap is the best Gameboy one."
"Getting warmer."
He scratched the back of his head. "Zelda II isn't as bad as people say it is?"
Her eyes opened wide, a look of horror crossing her face. He figured that one would get a rise out of her, though his face remained impassive, not betraying the triumph he felt at her reaction.
"Awful. One more."
"A Link to the Past isn't as good as people make it out to be," he blurted out, and she smiled brightly.
"Yes! Those are the takes I'm looking for!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "It's factually wrong, but you know what they say, nobody is perfect."
He shot her a devilish look.
"Well excuuuuuuuse me, princess."
She laughed so hard that another set of students came over and asked them to keep it down. Harry apologized profusely, embarrassment causing his cheeks to flush as he tried to get the blonde to stop laughing.
Fleur giggled for another ten minutes.
"Are you quite done?"
She nodded, but the smile on her face remained as she pulled out her laptop.
"I suppose so. I've got to get some work done, but what do you say we watch some of that crappy Zelda cartoon after?"
He nodded, reopening his laptop to resume his own work. He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as he began to type. Yeah, this corner of the library was definitely his favorite place on campus.
.
.
"Yes, mum, I'm eating enough," Ron said into the mobile pressed between his shoulder and ear as he stepped into his dorm. "Look, I gotta go, laundry to do. Love you, bye."
He closed the door and sighed.
"You shouldn't lie to your mom like that."
Ron jumped and spun towards the couch, a shocked look on his face as he finally noticed Harry.
"Fucking hell, Harry. Scared the shit out of me. How the hell did you get in here?"
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Ron, you gave me an extra key. We bullied that poor office assistant and everything, remember?"
Ron laughed. "Oh, that was a good time. Acting all posh and uptight was fun."
"The fact that she believed I was your butler and needed to be able to get into your room to make the bed says a lot." Harry looked around the dorm, clothes and gym equipment everywhere. "Though you really should do some laundry though. It smells a bit like socks in here."
Ron sniffed the air before shrugging.
"Eh, it's not too bad, but I'll get around to it soon. Oi, weren't you going to the library tonight?"
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, but Fleur couldn't-"
He stopped and sighed, realizing what he'd said the moment it left his mouth. Ron's stupid smile confirmed the redhead had heard him as well.
"Another date with Fleur then? How many does that make now?"
Harry folded his arms across his chest and sent a glare at Ron.
"They're not dates."
.
.
"You sure you wanna go there?"
The question hung in the air, an edge to her tone that wasn't there before, her eyes narrowing as she raised a single, perfectly manicured eyebrow. He matched her stare, unwilling to back down, unwilling to surrender.
"Yeah, I do."
She sighed and broke eye contact, a look of sadness crossing through her features.
"You are seriously telling me that, in your feeble little mind, Peter Capaldi is a better Doctor than David Tennant?"
He nodded. "Mhm."
He stifled a laugh and tried his best to hide the smile. They'd met here, in the same corner of the library, at the same table, several times now, mostly doing assignments, both having work thrown onto them at an increasingly large rate, but they always found time for this.
Trading comics.
Talking TV shows or movies.
Debating who's the best Doctor of the new era of Doctor Who.
Normal, everyday conversations for a Monday night.
It had been like a breath of fresh air for him, to be able to share his passions with someone else, someone who shared them just as deeply. On the nights when he had classes or work, he missed these conversations, the friendly banter that came so easily between them, and he realized they were quickly becoming the highlight of his university life.
"You're going to have to break that one down for me, chief," she demanded, interrupting his musings, a balled up piece of paper hitting his head. "How can you say that when Tennant has so many fantastic episodes? 'Midnight?' 'The Girl in the Fireplace?' 'The Stolen Earth?' 'BLINK!?'"
He shrugged. "Blink wasn't that good."
"Watch it, buster."
Her voice was threatening, but her eyes held only humor as she pointed a finger at him, so he laughed before shrugging his shoulders again.
"It's just, Capaldi had all the best lines and his Doctor was so introspective. Like, he went from being played by this relatively young actor to an older one, and the Doctor shifted to account for a whole lifetime of experiences that Matt Smith didn't have. Capaldi was a master at moving the doctor from whimsical to deadly in an instant, and it never felt forced."
Fleur sighed.
"It's certainly an opinion. Wrong, but it's an opinion."
He tossed the paper back at her, striking her directly in the forehead.
"You will pay dearly for that, Potter," she stated as if it were a simple, undeniable fact.
He stuck his tongue out at her.
"Your terrible opinions on the Doctor aside," he said, shifting the topic, "I think we can both agree on one thing. Rory was too good for Amy."
Fleur nodded, a smile forming on her face.
"Rory was too good for the world. So wholesome. And kind of a hunk."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Does Fleur Delacour's taste lean towards wiry British blokes?"
She tossed another piece of paper at him, but he was quicker, catching it in mid air and sending it back her way.
"Maybe," she replied, "Or maybe I like beefy sportsball players with red hair."
He made a gagging motion, causing the serious look on her face to crumble as she broke out into a fit of laughter.
"Oh please, kill me now. Don't ever let Ron hear you say that, his ego would outgrow the campus."
Her laughter made his smile deepen, its melodic tone quickly becoming infectious as he started laughing alongside her. After several moments they both regained their composure, Fleur wiping tears from her eyes.
"Sorry, couldn't help it. You did kind of set me up for that one."
He waved his hand as the alarm on his phone sounded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
He silenced the alarm and slipped the device into his pocket as he began grabbing his things.
"That's the cue. I gotta be at work early tomorrow."
Fleur nodded. "I'll see you on Wednesday?"
He nodded as he closed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"Wouldn't miss it."