springsmutfairy (springsmutfairy) wrote in hp_springsmut, @ 2009-03-20 16:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | femmeslash, fic, hermione/gabrielle |
Happy Springsmut, sweet_carolanne!
Author: tristesses
Recipient: sweet_carolanne
Title: City of Blinding Light
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Gabrielle Delacour/Hermione Granger
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. The concept of Gabrielle's potion is copyright Karen Moline, from the novel Belladonna. The song Hermione hums is "Paris" by Camille; again, not written by me. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Six years down the line, and the wizarding world is in shambles; French revolutionaries have spilled the secret of their existence to Muggle society. Hermione, sent by the Ministry to work as a spy in Paris, finds a good deal more than she anticipated, and possibly saves the world in the process.
Warnings: Light BDSM, mild sex magic, non-DH compliant, some angst
Word Count: ~5100
Author's Notes: sweet_carolanne, you asked for romance, lingerie and corsets, lots of kisses, and light BDSM; I hope this fits your criteria. Please excuse my French if it's incorrect; it's been a few years since I took the class. I enjoyed writing this immensely; hope you like it!
Hermione has seen Paris before, in photographs and history books and a half-remembered holiday from her childhood, but she has never seen Paris like this. Tonight the sun blazes just over the horizon, spilling liquid stripes of gold and rose across the sky; it glitters off the Eiffel Tower and creates stark shadows on the nearly-vacant streets. Hermione tilts her head back, inhales deeply. The air is different here. She's in France on business, and she's always been a very practical person, but there is something in the atmosphere that is intangibly romantic, despite the crises of the last year. She can't help but breathe it in.
A fellow pedestrian passes by, giving her a wide berth, glancing at her strangely as he passes. Hermione holds his gaze until he turns away, quickening his pace.
"Sorcière," the man hisses over his shoulder, and Hermione starts, self-consciously wrapping her cloak tightly around herself. She should change; her robes are far too conspicuous, and French wizards do their best to fit in with the Muggles now. Hermione strides down the street, too tense and overly wary, her wand nestled comfortingly in her hand, held under her cloak. She hates this feeling, the thought that anyone could potentially be a threat. But this is the lot of the wizarding world now, thanks to le Renégat and his followers, she thinks grimly, and then, a little fatalistically, and I'm the only one who can change it.
Hermione,
I'm really, really sorry about this. I shouldn't have volunteered you for the job, but they asked for a witch or wizard with brains and good instincts and I said your name off the top of my head, and I guess they liked you for it, so here you are. Again, I'm really sorry. I know you think this is the chance of a lifetime, and maybe it is, but I think Ron is going to kill me for it. Can't wait till you're back so you can call him off.
Anyway, we don't have much about this case, and you probably have researched it already, but I'll go over the basics just as a refresher. There may be things in here you don't know, either, shocking as that may be.
So, 2001. The French Ministry starts to notice some weird things appearing in the Muggle tabloids, little articles like "The Magical Conspiracy" and "The Wizarding Threat to Our Nation", stuff like that, but doesn't take it seriously. Neither do the French Muggles, which is good, but then around July there start to be reports of wizards doing magic in front of Muggles – purposefully – way more than ever before. When they're brought in for questioning, all they do is babble about revolution and not being the underdog and things in a similar vein. The government assumes it's an isolated group of mad buggers, and leaves it at that.
Then in early 2002 – after a period of relative quiet – the Muggle paper Le Monde spills it with a headline screaming "The Wizarding Invasion" – basically an interview with a wizard who calls himself le Renégat – and all hell breaks loose. Suddenly everyone knows, not just the French but everyone, and although most countries manage to Obliviate their population before it gets out of hand, the French can't manage that. Le Renégat and his crowd keep leaking information, keeping the public aware, saying they're going to "invert the current paradigm (?? is that a proper translation? This quill needs to be re-charmed) and regain control" of France. Riots break out, hundreds are killed, both Muggle and wizard, the rest of the Muggle world thinks all the violence is due to the economy, le Renégat and his movement are gaining popularity with the wizarding world – and that's where you come in. I really hope you can do it, Hermione. No, I know you can, I just hope you can do it without getting yourself killed. But you've had the whole wizarding world on your shoulders before, yeah? You can do it again.
Good luck. I mean it.
Love,
Harry
P.S. Get rid of this when you're done reading.