ATLAS

Chapter One: "L'habit ne fait pas le moine."

A/N: Hello everyone! I just realized while updating LUMOS that I never ported the first part of this fic over to Wattpad. So, here you are! The rest of this author's note was written and posted with the original post on AO3.

Surprise! It's ATLAS. This is the story of Bill and Fleur, broken into two or three short-ish parts. The next will come after I do an update or two on LUMOS. <3 (I know this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I realized this part of it was nearly ready to post with minimal edits, and I thought it worked better in a few sections anyways.)

This fic is technically canon compliant, but it fits within the larger LUMOS Universe. You don't need to read the others to make sense of things here, though certain pieces will be more significant if you have read Mollywobbles.1. I am sorry for the terrible, terrible French. I did my best.2. I am alive. This is a bit of a story to tide you all over while I finish pulling together the next Lumos update. Special thanks to Ruby, for helping with numerous parts of this Atlas's development, and even for beta-reading a bit of it a while back. <3 <3 <33. I so hope you all are safe and well. <3 Sending all my love to anyone facing inclement weather this week.4. As always, I do not own the rights to this story world or to these characters.5. Fleur is a different character for me, but I've grown to love her very much. <36. Eventually, I might post a more organized playlist for this first part, but for now, I've included a link to the playlist with a lot of the music I listened to while originally drafting this: https://spoti.fi/3LNagbv7. Forever saying this, but: Thank you so, so much for taking the time to read. <3<3<3 I've been meaning to post this little fic for about a year. I think I said September originally, right?8. I'm now going to retreat to my Lumos work; please grab a snack and a drink and enjoy. Have a proper, cozy day. <3 <3
CW: Canon Compliant Age Gap. I want to take a moment to point out that Fleur is eighteen for much of this fic, here. I have tried not to sugar coat that. She is a very strong-willed individual and coming into her own, but she is not "mature for her age" (at least, not any more than Bill is), and you will hopefully see them both learn in different ways as they face challenges that have to be worked through to make sure her and Bill both have a healthy voice and agency in their relationship. I've tried to be respectful to those dynamics, to both of their flaws and strengths, and to the readers. Please be kind to yourself when making decisions about reading. <3 <3 <3 **This fic does not include any content in which Bill directs romantic attention or cultivates significant connection to an underage Fleur.

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Chapter One: "L'habit ne fait pas le moine."

Fleur

June 24, 1995

Madame Maxime circled, and Fleur kept her chin lifted high as her headmistress lectured in a low, commanding voice in the side chamber. Gabrielle and Apolline Delacour nodded. Gabrielle had not let go of their mother's hand once since her arrival.

The Diggories were clustered near the door to the Great Hall, and a severe-looking couple stood several feet away, waiting on Krum to appear.

Fleur fought to keep her gaze from crawling over the room. To not catalogue every person she saw, to not watch the opposite doorway for a sign of Harry Potter's family.

Fleur had decided that Harry's family—whoever took care of him—must be marvelous. For he'd not hesitated to save her sister, and everyone knew that one's strongest instincts reflected those of the people that loved you.

Instead, she kept her shoulders straight, her feet shoulder-width apart, and her face smooth.

Maxime circled on, and Fleur did not look away. Not when Krum entered the room from the Hall, not when the doorway to the back corridor creaked open to a shuffle of footsteps.