Harry and Fleur did not wait long to share the good news of their relationship.
"Hello angel, hello little cabbage, how are you both?" Appoline asked.
Fleur and Harry both radiated joy through their mirror. "Really good, Mama! Is Papa there too? We wanted to speak to both of you", Fleur replied.
"Yes, one moment", Appoline replied, then called out louder, "Lover? Fleur and 'arry wish to tell us they're now dating!"
"Mama!" Fleur complained, scandalised. "I didn't say that was what we..."
"Oh, sorry, were your faces not meant to give that away, my angel?" Appoline interrupted, grinning.
Fleur looked quite put out, whereas Harry just blushed a little, looking quite pleased. After a moment, Sebastian's face appeared in the mirror. "Hello angels. So what is this completely unobvious news you wish to share with us both?"
Fleur stuck her tongue out rebelliously before replying with a sigh. "Yes, 'arry and I are now dating. But you could have at least pretended not to know!"
"Oh angel, your faces are just glowing with happiness! We're so glad you're both finally together" Appoline began.
"We're so pleased for both of you. Just don't forget about the relevant charms, my little angel" Sebastian said, looking at Fleur.
Harry only suspected what his Godfather meant, though Fleur's blush and response of, "Papa!" all but confirmed it.
"We haven't... We've only..." Fleur cleared her throat. She was of age, and she knew her parents would support any decision she made; with that in mind, she chose her words carefully. "We won't be needing them straight away, but I will make sure we take precautions when the time comes."
Appoline and Sebastian nodded their approval. "Who else have you told so far, angels?" Sebastian asked.
"No-one yet. Fleur only arrived just before dinner, and then we were..." Harry blushed, not knowing how to end that sentence.
"...we were catching up just before we called you", Fleur finished.
Sebastian managed to turn his chortle of laughter into a cough. He opened his mouth to remark, but Appoline nudged him and shook her head pleadingly.
"Your sister is in bed already, but she's missed talking to you. Shall we go see if she's awake?" asked Appoline quickly.
Both teens nodded eagerly, and with a push Sebastian was sent to get Gabrielle. A few minutes later, and Sebastian was carrying a sleepy form downstairs.
"'arry? Fleur? FLEUR! Oh Fleur, I missed you! 'ave you got your mirror? Wait, why are you with 'arry?" Gabrielle asked, now very awake.
Fleur giggled at her sister's reaction. "I arrived at 'ogwarts earlier this evening. That's why I'm with 'arry."
"That was today? I didn't know that was today! That's so exciting!" Gabrielle exclaimed. Sebastian put Gabrielle down, as she was wriggling so animatedly.
"Ah, but that's not the most exciting part, my little fly", Harry teased.
"What do you mean, 'arry? What's more exciting than Fleur visiting you?" Gabrielle asked, doubtful.
"Well..." a pause for dramatic effect. "'arry and I are now boyfriend and girlfriend." Fleur answered, beaming happily with Harry.
A couple of seconds of silence, and then...
"THAT'S SO EXCITING!"
...
The mirror call didn't last too long, as it was late for Gabrielle. After the call ended, Fleur turned to Harry. "I don't want you to go, my cherished, but you should, given curfew. I don't want you getting into trouble."
Harry nodded, his left hand threading through Fleur's hair. "You're right, my love. I should head back." Harry's words didn't stop him from leaning closer to Fleur.
Fleur bit her lip. "It would be bad if we got distracted now", Fleur pointed out, eyes glancing down to Harry's mouth.
Harry nodded again, his lips an inch from Fleur's. "Really terrible" Harry agreed.
Fleur now licked her lips. "'arry...", she murmured, eyes lidded.
Harry closed the final few centimetres, drawing further joy from the softness of Fleur's lips. Fleur melted against Harry, a soft moan escaping from her as she returned the kiss with enthusiasm. Her hands buried themselves in Harry's hair, holding him in place as she revelled in the warm, sensual feeling of kissing her boyfriend.
After a few minutes, during which she may have left a mark or two on Harry's neck, Fleur managed to regain some semblance of self-control, and pulled back to look in her boyfriend's eyes. "'arry, my cherished, you really should go now, or we'll both get into trouble", she murmured.
Harry smiled lovingly, planted one last gentle kiss on Fleur's sweet lips, then extracted himself from her arms. "Ok. But tomorrow we need to actually catch-up; I want to hear all about your last two weeks!"
...
The Marauder's Map was a godsend, and got Harry back to the tower without getting into trouble. When he arrived it was quite late, and there were only a few people left in the Gryffindor common room.
"If you tell me again that you've decided to wait then I might need to check you for compulsion charms" Katie opened with, as a greeting.
Harry grinned goofily and shook his head. "No need to check for charms. Fleur and I are dating now."
"YES!", cried Katie, and threw her arms around Harry. Whilst she was still very much attracted to her best friend, she loved him primarily as a friend and was happy to see him so obviously delighted. Besides, Harry had generously given her years to come to terms with his inevitable relationship with Fleur, and she had no desire to lose Harry's friendship (or indeed Fleur's) over it.
Harry grinned and hugged Katie back tightly. "Thanks, Katie", he responded, this time not quite so distracted by her strawberry scent.
As he let go of Katie, Hermione gave Harry a hug too, with a murmured "Did she really leave her mirror behind by accident?", her curiosity getting the better of her.
Harry chuckled. "That's your question?!"
Hermione gave an exasperated look. "Well, Katie had already asked the primary question, though the answer was obvious by your face. Would you rather I asked what you two were up to for three hours?" Hermione asked, relatively quietly.
Harry blushed and shook his head. "Ok, I preferred your first question. Yes, she did."
"Harry, mate, no wonder you preferred her as your best friend over any of us!" Ron commented in awe.
Neville chuckled, then added, "Congratulations, Harry; I know you've loved her for years."
Harry blushed but nodded; he really, really had.
...
At breakfast the next morning, Harry and Fleur tried very hard to keep public displays of affection to an absolute minimum. They failed horribly.
Whether it was holding hands, lightly bumping shoulders, leaning into each other, kissing each other on the cheek, or brushing a stray lock of hair behind an ear / attempting to tame incredibly messy hair, their affection was obvious to all.
Then Katie arrived and was her usual self - hugging both Harry and Fleur, leaning into Harry on occasion, patting his arm – to the point that poor Colin Creevey couldn't help but blurt out, "are you dating both of them?"
The three laughed and shook their heads. Harry emphased the point. "Close friend" Harry said, hugging Katie tightly from the side. "Girlfriend" Harry continued, kissing Fleur softly on her delicious lips.
"Need any more close friends, Katie?" asked one of the younger, braver Gryffindors.
Katie laughed. "Sure! If you're as sweet, fun, and good at Quidditch as Harry!"
Just then, Marjorie, Amelie and Jean appeared. "You left without us!" complained Amelie.
Fleur turned to her three friends and blushed. "I knocked, but you didn't answer!" Fleur protested.
"Too busy rushing to see 'arry, no doubt. Will Fleur need us anymore?" asked Jean, very melodramatically, his wrist on his forehead and his eyes raised heavenwards.
Marjorie hit Jean lightly on his arm, giggling. "Oh, be'ave, Fleur was pining after 'im for years!"
Katie's eyes lit up, and she joined the conversation. "Oh, Harry was the same" she began, patting Harry on the back, "and for the record pining doesn't begin to describe what he was like, not knowing if Fleur was coming."
Fleur's eyes shone with eagerness; Hermione had used the same words yesterday, but Fleur hadn't got any of the details. "Katie, tell me about 'arry pining?" Fleur asked.
Harry groaned and Katie grinned. "Well, first of all, I'm told he was terrible in potions, barely able to concentrate."
"Hey! Who told you that? That wasn't..." Harry protested.
Soon Harry and Fleur's friends were taking it in turn to good-naturedly embarrass the new couple; it was a fun breakfast for almost all involved.
...
A few days later, Harry was just finishing up in his favourite lesson when the professor called, "Harry?"
"Yes Professor Jones?" he replied.
"Can you stay behind after class? I need to speak to you", Jones politely ordered.
Harry nodded, then hung back after he had tidied up his ingredients.
When they were alone, Jones surprised him with a warm smile and a ruffle of his hair. "Congratulations on your new relationship, Harry. I assume this Fleur is your 'best friend' and 'potions buddy' all rolled into one?"
Harry blushed and nodded. "She is. Fleur has been my best friend since... well, since forever. And we were taught potions together whenever I visited my French Godparents."
Jones smiled. "Ah, the plot thickens! So she's the daughter of your Godparents; but haven't you called her your sister before?"
Harry shook his head smiling. "No, that's Gabrielle, Fleur's sister. Gabrielle has been like my little sister since she was born", Harry replied fondly.
Jones nodded in understanding. "I see! Ok, question then: is she any good at potions? Compared to you, I mean."
Harry grinned. "We both started learning potions together, and are about as good as each other, though Fleur says she's a little better."
Jones laughed, then started getting to the point. "Well, I think you need an academic professional to judge that, don't you?"
Harry looked a little confused. "How do you mean?"
Jones smiled and made her offer. "Would Fleur like to join us for some of our potion evenings this term?"
Harry looked a little shocked, then gathered his thoughts quickly and nodded eagerly. "I'm sure she would! I've told her a lot about you," Harry admitted, then blushed nervously.
Jones laughed, then ruffled Harry's hair again. "You're sweet. I'm not going to give up all the time I have with my favourite student", Jones emphasised, smiling, "but I'd like to meet this Fleur, and more potion-making does mean more profit..."
Harry blushed. He hadn't considered that he could be Jones' favourite... though she wasn't tutoring anyone else this year, as far as he knew, so it made sense.
Without even thinking, Harry hugged Professor Jones briefly. "Thank you", he murmured quietly. "You're my favourite teacher", Harry added.
...
Fleur was very nervous. She was heading towards the Gryffindor tower to try something that genuinely scared her. But Harry had convinced her to try it, and she trusted he had her best interests at heart.
Entering the common room and saying a few hellos, Harry then led Fleur up to his room.
"Hi everyone. I guess you're wondering why I asked you all to come up here?" Harry opened with.
Hermione almost raised her hand to guess, but instead nodded. Katie did know, as they'd spoke about it beforehand. The others had no idea.
"Fleur is of Veela descent. That means she has an allure that... well anyone at the world cup final last year would understand." Harry squeezed Fleur's hand in support.
"The how come we've not felt it?" asked Neville.
"I was recently... 'gifted' a pendant that 'ides my allure. I 'ave been wearing it whenever we 'ave spoken", Fleur explained, smiling a little nervously.
"We wanted you to see Fleur without the necklace on, so we know how you react", Harry explained.
"Why? You can just keep it on all the time, can't you, Fleur?" asked Ron.
Hermione shook her head in exasperation. Fleur wore a look of mild distaste. Harry replied, "I don't want Fleur to have to hide who she is, at least not when amongst my closest friends. When we finish school and move in together, anyone visiting us will need to be able to control their reaction". Harry squeezed Fleur's hand a little tighter.
Hermione saved Ron from further embarrassment by replying first. "That's very sensible, Fleur, Harry. I presume you invited us here so the rest of the tower doesn't get exposed?"
Fleur nodded. "Oui. They will still feel it, but I won't 'ave to risk needing my wand."
With a deep breath, Fleur took off the pendant and gave it to Harry to hold. The effect was immediate: Hermione stared critically at Fleur, as if trying to physically see the allure. Neville blushed heavily and tried to look away. Ron stared, his eyes glazed over and his mouth partly open. Harry looked lovingly at his girlfriend.
Katie's reaction, however, was different from the others. She gave Fleur a big warm hug. "I felt like something seemed a little off! You didn't have the same... warmth? No, that makes it sound like you've been mean. You didn't seem as comforting as you did when I visited you in France."
Fleur shook her head, smiling whilst she returned the hug. "Sadly I will need to wear it again; I can see Ron and Neville are struggling."
Katie smiled cheekily. "Can't we just kick the boys out?"
Hermione looked scandalised. "Kick them out of their own room?!"
Fleur, Katie and Harry laughed. "I wasn't being serious!" Katie said. "After all, you can stay, Harry" she added in a stage whisper.
Once Fleur had put the pendant back on, Neville and Ron returned to normal. Both were profusely sorry for their reaction; they knew they needed to practise ignoring Fleur's allure.
...
A knock was heard at the door.
"Come in!" called Professor Jones.
The two teens entered, hand in hand. "Professor, this is Fleur, my girlfriend. Fleur, my love, this is Professor Jones", Harry introduced.
"Hello Fleur, it's good to meet you."
"'ello Professor Jones. 'arry 'as told me a lot about you." Fleur greeted warmly.
"Has he really? What has he said?" Jones asked, curious as to whether Harry really had mentioned her, and if so what he'd shared.
"Well, you are obviously 'is favourite Professor. 'arry also told me about the extra potions lessons you are giving 'im, and 'ow profitable they are. But mostly, 'e tells me that you are kind, and funny, and truly care about 'im", Fleur answered honestly.
Jones actually blushed. "Well, it's hard not to care about my potions prodigy", Jones said, sidestepping the compliments. "Anyway, Harry has told me a lot about you too, including your potion skills. Shall we test them out as we talk? I have a few ideas of potions we could try this term."
Fleur nodded, eager. She could already see why Harry was fond of his Potions Professor.
...
It was a few of days later, at the end of Fleur's second week at Hogwarts, that something very unexpected arrived in the owl mail.
Harry and Fleur were eating breakfast with their friends when Fleur spotted Hedwig flying in carrying a parcel. "'arry, did you send 'edwig somewhere?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I wonder where she went and who that parcel is from?"
Harry didn't need to wait long before he found out. It was a medium-sized package, a little bigger than a thick book, but lighter. Harry saw a note was attached, and read it with Fleur.
Dear Harry and Fleur,
Congratulations again on your relationship! We're so happy for you both.
Harry, this is something your mother and father left in our care, with the promise that you would receive it when you're old enough, or when you need it; we believe you now need it, if you are to stay out of trouble.
Use it well, and use the relevant charms when the time comes!
Love to you both,
Mama and Papa
XXX
Harry blushed a little, assuming his Godparents were talking about... that again. Not that he hadn't thought a lot about it himself, but he and Fleur were taking their time to thoroughly enjoy each new experience together; besides, they hadn't had as many opportunities as they might like for exploring that side of things together.
Putting those thoughts aside, Harry opened the package, then promptly dropped it in shock.
"'arry?" Fleur asked.
Harry passed the package to Fleur, who uttered a surprised oath of "Mon dieu!".
After a few moments, a grin appeared on Fleur's face. "Pass it to me? I have a fun idea."
Harry did so, and was about to ask a question when Fleur continued. "I'll meet you outside your common room in half an hour, ok?"
...
Harry was waiting in the assigned spot, just next to the Fat Lady's portrait, not sure what Fleur had planned. He checked the time, seeing it was almost time for Fleur to arrive, when he was forced back against the wall as if by some spell.
Harry started to worry until he felt Fleur's lips against his, eagerly kissing him. Reaching out, he felt for her – hidden as she was by the invisibility cloak that had arrived half an hour earlier.
Fleur paused for a moment, and Harry noted only her mouth and nose were visible. A second later, and those were re-hidden too. "Go to your bed, and pull the curtains closed. I'll be right behind you", Fleur promised.
Harry hurriedly spoke the password, climbed inside the common room, then raced upstairs. The other boys were at breakfast still, so Harry was given no strange looks as he pulled the curtains of his four poster bed closed. A second later, Fleur's head appeared near the foot of his bed. A few seconds after that, Fleur treated Harry to a view of some of her best lingerie.
"Fleur?" Harry half-whispered. "What if someone comes in?"
Fleur grinned. "Exciting isn't it, my heart?"
"Are you planning on..." Harry asked with trepidation.
Fleur shook her head giggling. "Oh, there is so much to enjoy before we get there, my heart!"
...
It was nearly Halloween, and Dumbledore had just introduced the Goblet of Fire. Ron had spoken about his desire to compete, Harry was indifferent, and Fleur had surprised many by stating that she had no desire to compete – she was here for Harry, not the cup.
Fred and George, however, were delighted they were old enough to enter. They watched amusedly as some of the younger years attempted to get past some of Dumbledore's magical protections around the Goblet. Walking up to it, Fred dropped his slip of paper in; unfortunately it was spat back out.
George tried the same, but to no effect. They even tried dropping their names in together, but the Goblet appeared prejudiced against them.
"Well, at least that makes this a challenge!"
"Quite right! Might have been a bit..."
"...too easy otherwise?"
One of the spectators, a fourth year Ravenclaw, spoke up. "Why is it doing that?"
"Must not like our names..."
"... because we solemnly swear..."
"...it was just that and our school on the slips!"
The Ravenclaw looked suspicious; they would later find out, though, that the twins had been entirely honest.
...
"It might have a brain"
"What, inside the metal?"
"Well, not a brain but something that can think."
"Basic confusion charm?"
"Worth a go."
...
"It definitely spat it out slower that time."
"Just a question of strength?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Only leaves one left..."
"...and it's a bugger to brew..."
"...but the potential reward is..."
"... definitely worth it!"
...
"If I'm not mistaken, the goblet is ready to announce the tri-wizard champions!" called Dumbledore, eagerly.
A burst of fire shot out, and Dumbledore caught the first name. "The champion for Beauxbatons is Pauline Vachon!" Some polite clapping accompanied Fleur's antagonist as she proudly walked to the front and to a side room as directed.
Another burst of fire shot out, and the second name was revealed. "The champion for Durmstrang is Ana Petrova!" Louder clapping followed, as a tall red-haired girl followed the path Pauline had taken.
A final burst of fire, and Dumbledore caught the slip of paper. Then, silence.
Dumbledore stared at the paper. This wasn't possible! Some malevolent force must have been involved! The terrible words written down brought true dread to Dumbledore, and he knew in that moment that he had failed to properly ensure that only eligible names were submitted to the Goblet.
But Dumbledore had no choice. Every name that came out of the Goblet must compete, even with how dire the consequences could be; and Dumbledore suspected the consequences of this would be felt across the wizarding world.
"Dumbledore?" asked Madam Maxime.
Pulling himself together, Dumbledore spoke in a grave voice. "I do not know how this could have happened, and I can only apologise to all here for the consequences.
"The champion for Hogwarts – and I apologize again in advance – is both Fred and George Weasley." Dumbledore announced with dread.
"SWEET! IT WORKED!" was followed by a very loud high-five.
chapter 27
Fred and George were utterly delighted. The rest of the occupants of the small side room? Less so.
"Did you put your names in the goblet?" asked Dumbledore, resignedly.
"Of course!" came the dual reply.
"How did you get both names on a single slip of paper?" Dumbledore asked, almost dreading the answer.
"Oh, that was easy"
"Little too easy, really"
"Quite right, Gred"
"Thanks, Forge"
"Misters Weasley?" Dumbledore interrupted.
"Right, right. As we were saying..."
"...all it took was a confundus charm..."
"That's not true!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is n..."
"Boys!" interrupted Dumbledore, again.
"...that was a little overpowered..."
"...by a very special potion!"
Dumbledore put his head in his hands. "So you enhanced your spell power with a potion, then cast a confundus at the goblet to make it think two names could be submitted together?" he asked, sounding utterly defeated.
"Exactly!" replied the twins.
"Well, Albus? It seems your students cheated, and are even admitting it! What do you intend to do?" asked Headmaster Dinchev.
"Define, 'cheating'" asked Gred.
"Because such terrible accusations might hurt our feelings!" added Forge.
"Breaking the rules by submitting your names together, obviously!" replied Dinchev, irritated.
"What rules?" asked Gred
"The tournament rules!" Dinchev half-shouted. Were these twins dense?!
"Call us pedantic..."
"But not literally"
"It would be a weird name"
"...but can you tell us..."
"...which rule was broken?"
"Maybe show us the exact wording?"
"It's just that no-one told us..."
"...there were any rules..."
"...for us to break."
Dinchev looked gobsmacked, as did Maxime. Dumbledore just had a feeling of existential dread.
"But...", began Dinchev. And also ended.
"Headmaster?" Ana asked.
After a few seconds of silence, Dumbledore spoke up. "We do not have a written copy of the rules, as they were lost decades ago. We shared what rules we knew when the goblet was lit. It was expected that students would behave reasonably during the tournament."
"So there are no actual rules?!" asked Ana; whether horrified or delighted, no-one could tell.
"That's ridiculous! 'o would enter a tournament where there were no rules?" asked Pauline. After receiving an 'are you joking?' look for Gred, she took on the mannerisms of a trapped animal.
"Well, all of that..."
"...sounds like a problem..."
"...the school heads might..."
"...want to solve!"
...
In the end, it was decided that the twins had to both compete, but only one would actively attempt each challenge. As champions could ask for help from friends anyway, this made them no different from the other champions... in theory.
As for the rules, Dumbledore hastily added a couple – such as champions not being able to interfere with, or prank, each other between tasks.
Back at the Gryffindor common room, the Weasley twins were the heroes of the hour. After explaining how they achieved the desired result, and bringing down party supplies (drinks, snacks, a Muggle stereo and some fireworks, of all things) from their room, the party could begin.
Cuddled up together on a sofa, with Fleur burrowed into Harry's side, the new couple watched the antics with amusement. "They are always like this?" Fleur asked.
"Oh no, not at all! This is pretty mild for them", Harry answered honestly.
Fleur laughed, part amused part incredulous. "But they are setting off fireworks!"
Harry smiled, nodding. "Of course! But they haven't used any of the really flashy ones yet. I wonder why?" Harry mused out loud.
Ron, who had obviously heard the question, answered from behind them. "Saving them for the tournament, I think. They'll have a proper party when they win."
"If they win", Fleur corrected. "Pauline obviously 'as no chance, from what you've said, but the Durmstrang girl – Ana? – might."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. Ron, however, had another question. "How come you're not celebrating with your school, Fleur? I mean, aside from Harry being up here?"
Fleur smiled at the question. "Pauline 'as disliked me ever since I mentioned 'arry was my friend. Let 'er celebrate, she won't want me there."
...
The next day, Harry had a mirror call to make. "Cheveu? Sis, are you there?"
Cheveu answered quickly. "Hey Harry! I was wondering when you might call! Too busy with Fleur?" she teased.
Harry blushed a little guiltily; he wasn't going to admit that she was right! "I was hoping you'd be free this weekend to meet me and Fleur in Hogsmeade", Harry asked, ignoring the question.
Cheveu smiled broadly. "Sounds great! I've missed you, little bro, and Fleur too. Saturday or Sunday?"
"Saturday! Then I can see you a day sooner!" Harry replied, eagerly.
Cheveu laughed. "Barely any contact for a few weeks, and now a day matters?"
Harry gave a sheepish and somewhat guilty smile. "I've been busy?" he offered, hoping he sounded at least a little convincing. He didn't.
"Yeah yeah, whatever bro. Just don't make me Auntie Cheveu yet, ok?" Cheveu replied, teasing her brother again.
"Cheveu!" Harry replied, embarrassed.
...
"Wait a minute. You mean this secret passage ends in a chocolatier?!" Fleur asked in surprise.
"Well, they sell other sweets and things too", Harry added carefully.
"So why haven't we been to visit before now?!" Fleur asked, astounded.
Harry gave a sheepish smile. "Because I didn't think about it?"
Fleur shook her head. "'arry, my beloved, do you know anyone who doesn't love chocolate? The house elves do not provide any, do they?"
Harry kissed Fleur's cheek fondly. "No, they don't. We can get some on the way to meet Cheveu, my cherished."
...
Some minutes later, Harry and Fleur exited Honeydukes, with magically-shrunk parcels in their pockets; Fleur was happy with her (Harry thought excessive) purchases, though inwardly she committed to taking Harry to a French chocolatier over the holidays. They had just started looking for Cheveu when two voices called out to them.
"Harry! Fleur!" "Big brother! Big sister!"
"Gabrielle?!"
A few seconds later, Gabrielle became ground zero of a giant group hug.
"Little fly! It's so good to see you! How did you get here?!" Harry asked, before placing a kiss on the crown of his sister's head.
"Magic, obviously", Gabrielle answered with a cheeky smile.
"I bet Cheveu taught you to say that!" laughed Fleur, who hugged her little sister especially tightly.
Harry, meanwhile, was hugging Cheveu tightly. "I really did miss you, even if I didn't call enough", Harry murmured quietly.
Cheveu gave a pleased smile. "Good! I missed you loads, bro", she told him again.
"But how did Gabrielle get here? Did you dual apparate all the way?" Harry asked. Fleur stopped chattering away to Gabrielle for a moment to hear the answer.
"I reckon I probably could, but best to test it on someone less important first, like Uncle Sirius", Cheveu joked with a smile.
"Hey!" complained a disembodied voice.
Harry and Fleur turned towards the sound, just in time to see Sirius and Remus magically appear.
"Uncle Siri! Uncle Remus!" cried Fleur and Harry together, who then took turns attempting to squeeze the air out of their Uncles' lungs.
"Hey pups! I heard some interesting news, and wanted to check it out myself", Sirius hinted.
"I'm less nosy, and just wanted to see my favourite cubs all together", Remus added.
Fleur turned to Harry. "Wait, you didn't tell them?"
Harry blushed. "I told Cheveu! I though you had told Uncle Siri and Uncle Remus!"
Sirius shook his head mournfully. "Keeping secrets from us, huh. We're the cool uncles, you're meant to tell us the cool stuff!"
"Erm... Fleur and I are dating now, surprise?" Harry tried.
Fleur kissed Harry gently on the lips, just to prove his point. And because she loved kissing her boyfriend.
"Congratulations!" "It's about bloody time!" came the replies.
"Anyway, let's go have fun!" Gabrielle interrupted. She was pleased for her brother and sister, but they could celebrate even better in a cafe!
...
The day was filled with fun and laughter as the group explored Hogsmeade and then Edinburgh together. Sirius regularly turned into his dog form (away from muggle eyes), proving he could still carry Gabrielle around on his back. If any bystander thought it looked odd, they didn't comment.
Cheveu found some of the places in Edinburgh she and Harry had snacked in before, so the whole group were able to experience the Scottish tendency to deep -fry everything ("Moony! They've got deep-fried crisps!" "But aren't crisps already deep-fried, Padfoot?" "Then they're double deep-fried, and they look amazing!").
Fleur found a bookshop, and after Cheveu whispered something to her, she blushed, hugged Cheveu tightly, and replied with a grateful "Merci".
Gabrielle found a lingerie shop, and found that, quite unfairly, no-one was willing to let her go in yet! She was nine, after all! Though Cheveu did whisper "I'll take you in a couple of years" when Harry and Fleur, at least, weren't listening.
Remus and Sirius then started a game of 'who can embarrass the other the most when Sirius is in dog form'. It started close – Remus talked loudly about how much better behaved his dog was after "the operation"; Sirius jumped up to slobber all over Remus' face.
But Sirius won when he peed up against a wall, right next to a grumpy-looking teenage boy... then 'missed' and sprayed the poor boy on the leg. "Padfoot!" Moony shouted, mortified. A few steps behind - so it wasn't obvious during the game that they knew the pair - the others burst out laughing.
After more fried food, and then exploring a castle ("Castles are so cool! Can we go to the very top, big bro?" "Only if you're the best little sister ever." "..." "Ok, let's go!"), the group returned to Hogsmeade. Gabrielle got the most hugs goodbye, with promises that Harry and Fleur would call them soon, but Harry made sure to hug each of his family tightly. In that moment, Harry knew that days like this would be what he would treasure most, once he and Fleur were... well, at least living together.
...
"Katie? Is something wrong?" asked Fleur one evening in the Gryffindor common room, whilst Harry was getting changed in his room.
Katie had been staring into the fire, thinking. She hadn't realised anyone had been paying attention. "Oh! Hi Fleur! It's nothing, really."
Fleur shook her head. "I don't want to pry, but it does seem like something is bothering you", Fleur gently pushed.
"It's ok, I'm just being silly", Katie evaded.
Fleur hazarded a guess. "Are 'arry and I kissing too much in public? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be inconsiderate" Fleur guiltily confessed. They had been kissing a lot, and whilst they tried to be restrained in public areas, they weren't always successful. Like yesterday when...
Katie sighed. Did it have to be Fleur who asked? Though maybe it was for the best. Unknowingly interrupting Fleur's pleasant memory, Katie replied. "No, it's not that. It's silly, it's just – I haven't seen as much of Harry this term. I miss my best friend a little, that's all. I've not even seen him at practice, since the Quidditch tournament hasn't been announced yet and the Gryffindor team hasn't even been able to train."
Fleur felt both a little relieved and a little ashamed. She hadn't wanted to deprive Harry of time with his friends, though with the newness of their relationship... well, both of them had probably been a little engrossed in the other. And without Quidditch training, that was even less time Katie had spent with Harry.
Pulling Katie into a hug, Fleur replied. "I am sorry, Katie, I 'ave been taking much of 'arry's time."
Katie rushed to disagree. "No, it's not a problem! You're his girlfriend, you should..."
Fleur interrupted. "Non, I know 'ow much 'arry cares about your friendship but I 'ave not given 'im time to enjoy it this term. And my own friends are likely feeling a little abandoned as well. I'll go tell 'arry 'e should spend time with 'is closest English friend tonight."
Katie gave Fleur a surprised look. "Do you mean that?" Fleur nodded.
Katie squeezed Fleur's arm gently. "You're the best, you know that?"
Fleur laughed lightly. "Non, just wanting the best for my friends and boyfriend."
Getting up, Fleur went to suggest to Harry a new plan for the evening.
...
Sat in the kitchens next to each other, a hot chocolate in their hands and her head resting on his shoulder, Harry and Katie were catching up.
Harry had to admit he had missed Katie. Whilst he hadn't heard Fleur call Katie his best English friend, if he had then he would have had to admit she was probably right (assuming Cheveu didn't count, which she didn't as she was family).
"I've missed this", sighed Katie, clearly reading Harry's mind.
Harry, though, played dumb to tease his friend. "What, hot chocolate? How often do you raid the kitchens?!" he asked, mock-outraged.
Katie giggled and nudged him with her shoulder gently. "No, silly, I meant this", and she motioned between the two of them for emphasis. "Time with my best friend!"
Harry grinned. "I know, I know. I've missed you too, Katie. Maybe we can spend a day together in Hogsmeade one weekend, and pretend it's the summer?"
Katie smiled at the thought, but there was a problem. "I thought you already had the next Hogsmeade weekend planned? I don't want to steal away the time you've promised Fleur", Katie insisted.
Harry shook his head, smiling mischievously. "Who said anything about a Hogsmeade weekend?"
Katie blinked twice. "Erm... You did?"
Harry gave Katie an affectionate squeeze. "No, I said we could spend a day together in Hogsmeade at the weekend, not that it had to be a Hogsmeade weekend", Harry replied.
Katie turned to look at Harry, excitement in her eyes. "Do you mean we're going to sneak out of Hogwarts together?!"
Harry nodded, eyes shining with mischief. Katie's response was to hug Harry tightly. It was a bit of a challenge, as they sat side-by-side with hot chocolates in their hands, but she managed it.
Harry had been aware of Katie's distracting strawberry scent – she really did just smell (and look) too good – but Harry had become an expert at ignoring his attraction to his close friend. But in that moment, sat in the kitchens together, a sudden thought stormed his brain.
"Katie?" Harry began.
"Yes, Harry?" she replied, not quite willing to let go of him yet.
"Strawberry hot chocolate", Harry stated, sharing his epiphany.
"Strawberry hot chocolate?" Katie repeated, curiously.
Harry nodded, more certain by the second. "Definitely. Can you imagine?"
Katie thought about it, then concluded it really did sound delicious. She just had one question. "What made you think of that, Harry?"
"...no reason, Katie", came the reply.
...
It was a couple of weeks before the first task, and Harry was excited. The details for the additional competitions had been announced a week prior, and Harry had keenly signed up for both the Quidditch and the Potions tournaments.
The Potions tournament was simple – next term there would be the opportunity to brew the most advanced and complicated potion you could, with the winner declared at the end of the term. This meant that even potions that took a few weeks or even a couple of months to brew could be attempted. Fleur also signed up for the competition, eager for some friendly rivalry with her boyfriend. The twins, however, did not; it was decided that Tri-wizard champions should stay focussed on the main tournament – something the twins begrudged a little but we're resigned to... at least, that's what they claimed.
The Quidditch tournament was even more straightforward – each school would have one team, and the three schools would play each other over the next two terms. For Hogwarts, the players would be chosen based on previous performance, with the expectation that an inter-house team would be formed. Fleur noted that once Harry signed up, the other Hogwarts seekers groaned, with Cho Chang from Ravenclaw not even bothering to submit her name.
That led to today, and Harry's state of excitement, as the names for the Quidditch teams were about to be announced. Sure enough...
"The Keeper for the Hogwarts Quidditch Team will be... Miles Bletchley" Dumbledore announced to cheers from the Slytherin table. After the cheers had died down, Dumbledore continued.
"The beaters for the Hogwarts Quidditch Team will be... Maxine O'Flaherty and Anthony Rickett", Dumbledore again announced, to dramatic applause from the Ravenclaw table.
"The chasers for the Hogwarts Quidditch Team will be... Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell" Dumbledore announced, to delighted shrieks from the Gryffindor table; Katie found herself sandwiched in a hug between both Harry and Fleur, who were delighted for her (and to a lesser extend Angelina and Alicia too).
"The seeker for the Hogwarts Quidditch Team will be..." Dumbledore began
"Harry Potter!" cheered the twins, pre-emptively. Several people from across the houses laughed out loud at the Twins' antics.
Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment. "...Harry Potter", Dumbledore announced, slightly less dramatically than he had wanted to. That led to further laughter from the hall, and loud cheers from the Gryffindor table again. Harry found himself hugged violently by Katie, possibly in revenge for the hug-wich from a few moments ago.
"I'm so glad we'll have Quidditch together again this year", Katie mentioned over the noise. Harry grinned and nodded his agreement.
But Dumbledore was not yet finished. "That leaves one position remaining", Dumbledore continued, to the surprise of many.
Katie mouthed "One more position?" to Harry, who shrugged in reply.
"The captain of the Hogwarts Quidditch Team is... Maxine O'Flaherty!" Dumbledore announced, and the Ravenclaw table went utterly wild in excitement. Katie and Harry looked sheepishly at each other, having forgotten about captaincy.
...
It was the morning of the first task. Ana Petrova looked determined. Pauline Vachon looked pale. And the Twins? They looked terrifyingly excited.
"Are you two alright?" Alicia asked.
"Dear Alicia..."
"... we're doing absolutely wonderfully..."
"...this fine morning!"
Alicia peered at the twins, trying to discern any half-truths. "You're not nervous at all? The first task is a surprise, after all. You could be facing anything."
The twins laughed allowed.
"Definitely a surprise!"
"Absolutely a surprise!"
"There's no way..."
"...we could possibly..."
"...have figured out..."
"...the task!"
Alicia looked shocked. "You haven't!"
"We solemnly swear...
"...we may have found out..."
"...during one wonderful evening..."
"...we were up to no good!"
From nearby, Harry, Fleur and Katie burst out laughing, having recognised the reference to the Marauder's Map. Well, if the twins were going into the task informed and excited, it promised to be entertaining! Harry was glad he had got his hands on some popcorn.
...
The temporary stands were packed, with Katie, Harry, Fleur, Neville, Hermione and Ron all sat in a row, looking down on the enclosed area.
"What's that they're bringing into the arena?" Hermione asked.
"It looks like a mountain troll!" exclaimed Ron.
"No, it looks like two mountain trolls!" Neville corrected, pointing to the second one.
"Is that an egg, over at the far end of the arena?" asked Harry, pointing.
...
Inside the arena, a few minutes before, Pauline was internally panicking. She wanted to win, and regain the respect of her peers, but this was too much! She had expected to have to face a troll, but...
"Now, you will all have to face at least one troll", explained the Englishman excitedly. "But you will gain extra points the more trolls you face... if you can still complete the task! And bonus points if you incapacitate the trolls, rather than just avoid them."
"What breed of troll?" Ana had asked.
"Mountain Trolls!" the man had excitedly answered, as if they weren't the most dangerous type!
"Define 'incapacitated'", one of the twins had asked.
"If they aren't attacking you, it counts, including if you manage to... permanently deal with them", the Englishman again answered.
Ana had nodded grimly, and announced she would challenge twotrolls! Two! Pauline had almost fainted, and knew she was trapped; she had planned for one (and was very thankful Madame Maxime had pre-warned her!), but now she had to opt for two, or she risked being behind on points! Plus, she couldn't just avoid them as she had planned!
Of course, the twins were clearly suicidal. "How many trolls do you have?" they had asked.
The man had chuckled at the question, before answering, "Plenty for you all! Around ten or so."
"We'll take them all!" the twins merrily declared together.
...
Ana entered the arena, wand in hand and determination on her face. The two mountain trolls, each more than twice her height, were waving clubs angrily.
"She looks so small", Hermione worriedly noted.
Ana cast a couple of spells, and then she was holding what looked like a blood-red sword. Another cast, and a rock was transfigured into a large dog, that barked angrily at the trolls.
Hearing the sound, both trolls turned angrily towards the dog, waving their clubs and advancing slowly towards it. Seeing the attention was off her, Ana struck. She stalked towards the nearest troll, keeping out of its sight and being careful not to make too much noise. When she was a couple of metres away, she ran, jumped eight foot into the air, and plunged her sword into the spine of the first troll.
The sword glowed, cutting through the troll with ease, and the large creature fell to the floor, dead before it realised anything had happened. Unfortunately for Ana, the second troll had just successfully brained the dog with its club, and was now only a few metres away from her.
Lumbering towards her, the troll raised its club and slammed it down, missing Ana by a metre. Ana transfigured another rock, but the troll was too close, too focussed on her for that to distract it. The troll bellowed in rage, closed the distance with Ana, lifted its club up again, and slammed it down; had Ana not dived to the side, she would have been crushed.
The crowd were getting worried; several students were crying out for her to run, or attack, or something! But Ana stood, waiting. The troll bellowed again, lifted up its club one final time, and slammed it down towards Ana.
Having studied the troll's movements, Ana was ready this time. She managed another inhumanly large leap, this time her sword slashing out. Whilst the troll was slamming its club down, Ana was cutting through the troll's right side. And after she landed, Ana span around and dived back at the troll, her sword slicing through the troll's legs. The creature collapsed into the floor, bleeding, and Ana put it out of its misery with one final thrust through its back.
Panting heavily, Ana cancelled her spells, and the sword she was carrying disappeared. Walking to the opposite end of the arena, the crowd cheering wildly as she did, Ana picked up a golden egg and exited.
...
"That was awesome!" Ron exclaimed, Neville nodding at his side.
"That was dangerous!" Hermione countered, wondering what had possessed the tournament's organisers to put students up against the worst kind of troll – and two of them!
"Of course it was – that's why it was awesome!" Ron elaborated.
"Look, another two trolls", Katie commented, as the arena was set back up.
"Looks like it's two each", Harry mused.
...
Pauline was the next to enter the arena, and the more eagle-eyed students noted she looked nervous.
Pauline started by firing several curses at the first troll, but that only seemed to anger it as it lumbered towards her, club raised menacingly... and the other was not far behind. Pauline then tried transfiguring a rock into a dog, but in her panic it didn't quite work, and the result was more of a dog carving than an animate object.
The first troll was now close, and had slammed its club into the ground, two metres from Pauline. In that moment, she panicked and ran. The sounds of two trolls chasing her only aided her terrified shrieks, as she practically fled to the opposite end of the arena, keeping as far from the trolls as she could. She just had the presence of mind to pick up her golden egg, before she fled the arena, her body shaking in fear.
...
The crowd were underwhelmed, especially after Ana's performance. The trolls tried chasing Pauline out of the arena, but were stopped by a magical barrier that caused them to rage; at least seeing an angry troll was mildly entertaining.
"Wow", said Neville.
"Wow? What was "wow" about that?" Ron asked.
"Wow, that was so bad", Neville clarified.
"What on earth are they doing down there?" asked Katie, pointing.
"How many trolls are they letting into the arena?!" Hermione asked, horrified.
Eight, it turned out.
...
"Before the next champion begins, I will remind you all that only one of the Weasley twins will be competing. Due to the rules of the tournament, the other twin will have to enter the arena, but they will not aid the primary competitor", Dumbledore announced.
The twins entered the arena, and they were thrilled. Eight! That was two more than they had calculated!
Before the trolls had noticed them, George cast a quick sonorus then started talking to the crowd.
"Welcome, Ladies, Gentlemen and Ron to your entertainment!" he began. "I will be narrating this afternoon, and wish to state at the beginning that any product you see used today can be bought from myself or my twin. I'm sure after this show you will wish to purchase these, and many other products!"
Dumbledore groaned. He'd allowed this – actually allowed both twins to be in the arena – and the consequences would be at least partially his fault.
Fred stepped forward, and made a show of horror, pointing at the nearest troll.
"Oh no! Something's terribly wrong! That troll looks ill!" George announced dramatically.
The crowd stared, but all it could see was an angry troll advancing towards Fred; it looked quite healthy. A few murmurs of confusion were heard.
"No, look! I think it's about to be sick!" George announced, as Fred blatantly levitated a small... something... into the trolls mouth. Only a few seconds later, the troll was on its knees, violently vomiting onto the arena floor.
"Oh dear, let's skip that one. Now, does anyone know what you get when you cross a troll with a canary? No? Well, let's find out!" George merrily narrated.
Fred took something out of his pocket, levitated it into the air, then sent it flying into the next trolls mouth. A few seconds later a very large, angry and confused canary-troll hybrid was in the arena, and it squawked quite dramatically... until it was clobbered by troll number three.
"The transformation usually lasts longer!" George happily noted, as the canary-troll reverted back to troll form on its death.
"Now, I think that third troll might have injured itself attacking that canary – look, it's got a nosebleed!" George continued.
Another levitation later, and the troll was bleeding rapidly out of its nose... and eyes. "Right, I'll admit that one is still in the experimental phase – you don't want to buy that yet", George clarified.
"Now, ever wondered why grown ups tell you not to play with fireworks? Because grown ups are boring. Ever wonder why Fred and I tell you not to put fireworks up your nose? Watch."
Fred had managed to lodge a rather long firework up the fourth troll's nose, and the result was both messy and spectacular; a trolls head had never flown so high, or been so colourfully lit.
By now, the students were either shocked, amazed, or laughing. Harry and friends shared popcorn, watching with amused fascination.
"Of course, we sell other fireworks. Better fireworks. Let's test to see if these are any good to put up your nose."
Fred tested quite generously on the fifth and sixth trolls. The results were unanimous – don't put fireworks up your nose, no matter how pretty they make your head.
"Now, who likes toffee? Everyone! Which makes this next one a great gift... at least until the side-effects kick in."
Troll number seven quite enjoyed his treat, and was pleasantly distracted from attacking the wizard in front of him. But then his tongue started to grow. And grow. And grow. The troll didn't like it. The troll wanted to get his tongue out. The troll tried pulling, but that wasn't nice. The troll tried clubbing his tongue out; that was even less nice, and left the troll unconscious.
"Well, I hope you've all enjoyed yourselves!" George asked, as the final troll got quite near to Fred. "This next one combines two products in a way we really wouldn't normally recommend. Let's see what happens when you combine explosive diarrhoea with industrial strength constipation, shall we?"
The result looked unremarkable initially, as the troll merely rolled around in pain, clutching its stomach. Then, with a tremendous bellow, the effects of the laxative won out, and the troll collapsed with exhaustion as it's bowels were emptied.
"Well, that was gross. But at least now you know!" George cheerfully remarked. "Ladies, Gentlemen, Ron – you've been watching Fred and George Weasley; come find us to buy some stuff!"
The twins bowed, and the crowd stormed to their feet in applause. All except the teaching staff, who utterly dreaded what chaos would be unleashed in the school over the coming weeks.
chapetr 28
"The judges have conferred and are ready to announce the scores", Dumbledore announced.
"Pauline: for failing to perform any notable magic, but still completing your task, you scored one point. As you opted for one additional troll, that gives you an additional five points, for a total of six", Dumbledore announced, to a few polite claps and many grumbles from the crowd.
"Ana: for excellent use of an agility charm, strength charm, Bloodmoon Sword conjuration, rock transfiguration, as well as completing your task, you scored nine points. As you opted for one additional troll, and you... incapacitated... both, that gives you fifteen additional points, for a total of twenty-four", Dumbledore announced, to several cheers from the crowd.
"Fred and George Weasley: we cannot give any points for magic performed before the task, no matter how advanced. For precision use of the levitation charm, as well as completing your task, you are awarded four points. As you opted for seven additional trolls, all of whom were incapacitated, you gain..." Dumbledore had to take a deep breath: only afterwards did he realise how broken the first task's points system was! Then again, who would have expected anyone to challenge eight trolls?! "Seventy-five additional points, for a total of seventy-nine", Dumbledore finished, attempting to hide his resignation. The crowd, as expected, went wild with cheers.
Then with laughter, as Fred and George's hair turned bright yellow, and started growing and growing until it pooled around their feet.
"Well, this is not one of our products... but I look forward to finding out the culprit and repaying the favour!" Fred announced.
In the crowd, Daphne stopped herself from showing how smug she felt.
...
Most of the students were staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. The temptation of the Yule ball, plus the buzz of the competition, was too much for most to resist. Two students, however, were not staying at Hogwarts for the holidays.
"I can't believe you're going to miss the ball!" Katie groused. Next to her, Neville and Ron were nodding.
Harry gave an apologetic look. "I know we're missing the fun, but Gabrielle would be distraught if we didn't see her for the holidays."
Fleur smiled and rolled her eyes affectionately. "'arry only tells 'alf the story. 'e would miss 'is sister terribly if 'e didn't see 'er over Christmas!" Fleur corrected.
Harry tried to look outraged at the suggestion, but after a couple of seconds gave it up as a bad job and merely shrugged helplessly. Fleur was completely right – he did miss Gabrielle terribly, and couldn't wait to pick her up, spin her around, and hug her tightly. Not to mention he missed Appoline and Sebastian, and was eager to see them, too.
Hermione fidgeted. "I really miss my parents too, but the ball sounds so exciting, and I've already bought dress robes, and I was hoping that..." Hermione stopped suddenly, blushed, and wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.
Fleur suspected she knew the gist of where Hermione's sentence would end, if not the specifics. "I understand that. But 'arry and I are planning to 'ave an evening dressed up and dancing over the 'olidays, so it will be like our own ball."
Harry gave Fleur a quizzical look. "Are we?"
Fleur nodded confidently. "Oui. We don't want our dress robes to be a wasted purchase, do we?"
Harry did not look convinced. "But I've never danced before, and I won't be any good at it, and..."
Harry's friends would never know exactly what Fleur whispered in Harry's ear. Katie, who was a little nearer, caught the words, "... dance... taste... together...". But Harry's reaction was instant – a blush formed on his cheeks, with an awed look in his eyes.
Harry turned to his friends, and stated matter-of-factly, "Fleur and I are planning an evening dancing over the holidays."
"What did she say? How did she convince you?" Ron asked, before getting lightly elbowed by Hermione.
Fleur ignored him, turning to Harry and adding just loud enough for the others to hear, "I 'ad wanted to try that over the 'olidays regardless, my heart." In that moment, Harry knew the holidays would just not come quick enough.
...
The twins were delighted: over the summer they hadn't dreamed their products would be so popular so quickly, but the performance of the first task was potent advertising indeed! Twice they had run out of products and ingredients and so had to buy more, which meant they had made plenty of gold. In fact, it looked as though they would make more money selling their pranks this year than they would gain if they won the tournament!
This did mean they hadn't spent much time figuring out their egg clue yet. It was easy enough to translate the message, but they would need magic just to reach their objective this time – they could hardly just walk there! There were several options, but it would be better if they used something they could sell; and it would need to be better than the obvious alternative that a witch or wizard could already buy!
"..."
"..."
"It would be a bit flashy"
"Almost too flashy"
"Some might think the customers were showing off"
"Sounds perfect, doesn't it?"
"Absolutely, dear twin"
"...So how do we make it?"
...
"It's a friend of mine you've not met yet", Harry replied, not really answering the question.
Fleur giggled and squeezed Harry's hand affectionately. "Yes, but who?" she asked, again trying to solve the mystery.
Harry smiled broadly and stopped in front of a gargoyle. "You're about to find out", Harry promised.
Fleur noted where they were, and blinked. "You don't mean...? But I've already met your Headmaster."
Harry shook his head, grinning. "No, not the Headmaster. Dumbledore's friendly, but I don't know him that well. You'll see!"
"Hello! I was hoping to introduce Fleur to my friend", Harry said to the gargoyle. Fleur wondered what was going on until the gargoyle moved out of the way and Harry led her up a spiral staircase.
The door was open before Harry knocked. "Come in, Mr. Potter, Miss. Delacour! May I interest you in a lemon drop before I bring him in?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes please, Sir", Harry answered.
"Yes please 'eadmaster Dumbledore. I remember the times my Papa brought me some 'ome after visiting you", Fleur reminisced.
Dumbledore smiled indulgently, and indicated the jar whilst he went to fetch Harry's friend. Harry and Fleur helped themselves, and Fleur was just starting to enjoy the sweet, lemony taste when Dumbledore came in carrying... one of his old wizard hats.
"Hello Mr. Hat!" Harry greeted.
Fleur wondered if this was some prank. Not that Harry had done so before, though she guessed some of their tickle fights as kids might be viewed as similarly intentioned. Oh, but that gave her an interesting idea – what if she got some feathers to tickle Harry with, then...
Her thoughts were interrupted when the hat opened its... mouth?... and replied to Harry. Actually replied!
"Why hello there Harry! It's been a while since you came to see me; busy with a friend this term?" the sorting hat teased.
Harry blushed and nodded. "Mr. Sorting Hat, meet Fleur, my girlfriend. Fleur, meet the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, created by the school's founders and a friend of mine."
The sorting hat beamed at Fleur. "Finally convinced him, did you? You know, Fleur, I know a lot about you from Harry here"
"'arry 'as spoken about me?" Fleur asked, smiling happily.
"Hmmm... Not quite. It's probably easier to show you though. Pop me on your head", the hat instructed.
Fleur did so, then was amazed when she heard the hat's voice in her head. "I can read your thoughts as you wear this. It's how Harry and I usually communicate. There have been a lot of thoughts about you that have strayed in over the years!" the Hat began.
"But the fun thing is that no-one else can hear the conversation, not even young Albus – oh good, he's leaving – so you can be completely honest", the hat assured.
"You can read all my thoughts?" asked Fleur, a little nervous.
"Oh, just the ones you're concentrating on. Just don't think about anything you don't want me to know", the hat said, nonchalantly. Of course, the hat knew what would happen at those words, and he was interested to see what thoughts would surface – hopefully nothing too terrible.
What the hat got was unexpected – he was usually reading the thoughts of eleven-year-olds, after all, not seventeen-year-olds! "Fleur, you little terror! Did you really...? Well, yes, I can see he did enjoy it; I assume it was just a heat of the moment thing, and... ah – no, that one was planned. So was that one. Goodness, you even... And over Christmas you're planning to..."
Fleur had never blushed so hard in her life. She hadn't meant to keep thinking those things, but they were such satisfying memories. She glanced at Harry; thankfully he couldn't hear what she had thought. Well, not that it mattered really.
The hat sighed. "Well, at least you're not yet sleeping together. But enough, perhaps you could think about something else? Like chocolate, or the pastry shop Harry drools over? Yes, that's the one!"
Several minutes later, Fleur was laughing at a story she had just been told. Harry would ask about it later; whilst he wanted to join in the conversation, he wouldn't interrupt Fleur's first time with the hat.
The Sorting Hat, however, had the perfect way to bring Harry into the conversation.
"Now, do you want to play a trick on Harry?" the hat asked Fleur.
Fleur inwardly smiled. "What do you 'ave in mind?"
"Well, you know of the Hogwarts houses, and their reputations, yes?" the hat checked.
"Oui, 'arry 'as described them", Fleur answered.
"And you know what normally happens during the school sorting?" the hat continued.
"Yes...", Fleur replied, smiling at where this seemed to be going.
Less than a minute later, and the hat called out, in a loud voice, "SLYTHERIN!"
Harry almost fell off the chair he was on in shock, then looked at Fleur in disbelief! Not that there was anything wrong with Slytherin per se, but this was Fleur – she wasn't cunning and ambitious beyond other traits, was she?
Harry's mind was put at ease as both the hat and Fleur burst out laughing.
"Oh, my cherished, the look on your face!" Fleur giggled.
...
It was near the end of term, and everyone seemed to be talking about the Yule Ball. And the main topic of conversation was who was going with who.
"I'm going with Ginny", Neville happily shared.
Ron nodded sulkily. "Yeah, congratulations on going to the ball with my sister."
"Oh, don't be silly, Ron. Would you rather she go with someone you didn't know and trust?" Hermione asked.
Ron looked panicked for a second, then dropped his head in surrender. "I hope you have a great time with Ginny", Ron mumbled.
"Who is everyone else going with?" Fleur asked.
"Well, Jean and I are going together", Katie answered. Jean nodded, smiling. Then, as she saw Fleur open her mouth concerned, Katie added, 'Yes, I know. But I was getting asked by a bunch of weirdos I didn't want to go with..."
"...and I'm not aware of anyone suitable as a romantic date, so we thought it would be fun to go as friends." Jean finished.
Harry nodded, though he thought Katie would be able to get anyone (or almost anyone) she wanted, if she did want a romantic date.
"I'm going with Lee, one of the twins' friends", Marjorie stated, sensing it was her turn.
"Oh, he's funny, and a decent guy", Neville stated, smiling.
Marjorie smirked. "'opefully not too decent."
Poor Neville didn't know how to react. He was saved from having to, by Amelie. "I'm going with Stephen, one of the Ravenclaws."
There wasn't much response to that, other than some polite remarks; he must be one of the 'claws who kept to himself, as none of the group really knew anything about him.
"And what about you two? Ron, Hermione?" Harry asked the pair, who were sat quite close together.
Ron looked trapped, and Hermione blushed a little. "We're going together", Hermione announced, a little nervously.
Fleur smiled broadly. "Just as friends, or as a date?" she asked, both to clarify and to tease.
Ron, steeling his courage, walked towards judgement. "As a date", he replied, then waited for the verdict.
"Awww, congratulations! You've liked each other for a little while, haven't you?" Neville commented.
Ron and Hermione both nodded shyly, then looked at each other, surprised but pleased at each other's answer.
...
The Hogwarts express was practically empty on the journey to London. Harry and Fleur had an entire carriage to themselves; in fact, they had half the train to themselves.
They spent a while softly kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other ("I adore you, Fleur" "I love you more than anything, my heart" "You make everything so much better" "I love your nose, my cherished"), revelling in the hours they had together uninterrupted. They also swapped massages, with Harry spending time working the knots out of Fleur's shoulders, and Fleur gently massaging Harry's hands. But more than anything, they cuddled, sharing little anecdotes and thoughts they hadn't managed to swap yet. Both of them were joyfully wallowing in the love the other shared so generously.
...
"Gabrielle!" "Sister!"
"'arry! Fleur!"
Less than five seconds after being apparated to the Delacours, Harry and Fleur practically mobbed their little sister. Gabrielle was giggling with delight – it was rare that she got Harry's attention first, and the way her big brother span her around, held her tightly, kissed the crown of her head... and then Fleur playfully pushed Harry away so that she could hug her sister, and spin her around.
Of course, all good things come to an end, though sometimes they are replaced by better ones. "Have you eaten yet, my little fly?" Harry asked.
"I had lunch two hours ago", Gabrielle replied, hoping this conversation was going to go where she hoped it would. It did.
"Are you hungry now, my little cabbage?" Fleur asked, hinting at wonderful things.
Gabrielle nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with hope. "A little, yes!"
"..."
"..."
"Shall we go to Celeste's?" Harry and Fleur asked together, almost as if they had practiced (which, in fairness, they had).
"YES PLEASE!" Gabrielle loudly excitedly answered.
...
Gabrielle was in heaven. She couldn't imagine anything better than this. The thick, calorific hot chocolate was even better than she remembered, and the macarons she was half-way through were just divine! But the best part was when Harry and Fleur began playing with her hair together – she could almost melt in relaxed pleasure!
It had started when her ponytail had fallen out, which her sister declared was Harry's fault – it was his idea to give her a piggy back ride, and that was how, somehow, the hair tie had gotten loose. Gabrielle then had to admit that with spin-around hugs, skipping hand-in-hand down the street, and an overall excessive level of excitement, her hair had gotten a little wild.
Fleur's answer to this was to plait Gabrielle's hair once they had sat down and ordered at Celeste's. Of course, this was an unreasonable plan... as far as Harry was concerned. He wanted to be able to plait Gabrielle's hair, and so in the middle of the patisserie Fleur was trying to teach him how.
The plaiting was not going particularly well, but having both Harry and Fleur run their fingers through her hair was bliss! And Harry, determined to learn, wanted to keep practicing, and practising... Gabrielle, in a state utterly incapable of higher thought, had even forgotten about her hot chocolate and her macarons until Fleur pointed them out and asked if she was planning to eat them or share them.
...
It was a few days later; Appoline and Sebastian had taken Gabrielle out for dinner, and Fleur and Harry had their ball. Fleur was dressed in midnight blue robes that made her look, somehow, even more gorgeous than usual, hugging her figure in all the places she could wish. Harry wore bottle green robes that matched his eyes, which Fleur had chosen with him.
With slow, beautiful, French music playing through a radio, Fleur and Harry didn't so much dance together as hold each other and sway in time. Harry delighted in Fleur: the feel of her cuddled up against him, her hand in his; the sound of her relaxed sighs in his ear; the sight of her stunningly beautiful face, gazing up adoringly into his; the taste of her lips, occasionally pressing against his; the scent of her, wrapped around him like a loving, sensual blanket; and her allure, soaking into him, tantalising his desire.
Fleur could feel Harry's love for her. She could feel it pouring out of him in waves, a wonderful storm of affection that could, and would, sweep her away. She was in awe of how much love he had for her, how much love he always had for her. And she knew how she wanted to partly repay some of that love tonight.
It wouldn't be sex – they were taking their time trying new things together, and slowly building towards their inevitable conclusion was so utterly delicious – but they would both be more than satisfied this evening.
Slowly, after the last song ended, Fleur pulled away from Harry, took his hand, led him up to their bedroom, and then eagerly began the intimacy she had planned.
...
Later, after both teens were sated, cuddled together and basking in their shared joy, Fleur had a question. "'arry, my heart?"
"Yes, my love?" Harry replied, gazing into Fleur's gorgeous blue eyes, which were a mere few inches from his own.
"Why have you been so determined to learn to plait Gabrielle's hair?" Fleur asked, curious.
Harry blushed, then looked away. "Erm... I..." Harry stalled.
Fleur smiled adoringly; he was so cute when he was shy, and she was now very curious about the answer. "You can tell me, 'arry. You can tell me anything."
Harry swallowed then nodded, recognising the truth of her words; he was sure she wouldn't find the reason too weird. Drawing together his courage, Harry looked nervously into Fleur's eyes and answered. "I.. I wanted to learn. Both for Gabrielle now, but also for... well... I was hoping one day for little Potter-Delacour girls", Harry admitted.
Fleur looked wide-eyed at Harry. Was he talking about...?
"I'm not talking about soon!" Harry quickly continued, to reassure his girlfriend. "But I thought that maybe one day we'd want a family together, and I know we'd have girls because of your heritage, and MMMPF"
Fleur very effectively silenced Harry by passionately kissing him. She had thought many times about a family with Harry but hadn't wanted to scare him, but now he had raised it first, and he was so sweet, and she loved him so much... Fleur decided then and there that she would test how quickly her utterly perfect boyfriend could be ready for a second round of... satiation.
...
The holidays ended all too quickly. January, too, flew past in a wave of study, potions, Quidditch practise, mirror conversations with family, and time with friends. The Quidditch practise in particular paid off, as the Hogwarts Team managed to beat the Beauxbatons Team by 370 to 200 – Harry's catching of the snitch securing the otherwise close game.
The potion competition was also going well; Harry and Fleur were both feeling confident, though they were trying to make different potions – Fleur something that Harry had never seen before, going by her ingredients, and Harry something beyond seventh year that Jones has been teaching him on the side. Both potions needed all of the time allotted, and so would be ready just before Easter.
And the twins seemed to pick up a new hobby – or at least someone else did – as they often found their hair bursting into many colours (often a suspiciously familiar shade of blonde), or their voices changing into a nasal twang, or their eyebrows vanishing. The twins seemed to be enjoying it, somehow.
Then it was into February, and a day that three schools had been waiting for – the second task of the tri-wizard tournament.
The twins were again excited, Ana looked determined, and Pauline looked nervous.
Harry and Fleur, Katie, Marjorie, Jean, Neville and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione all walked out towards the task together, then stopped as they saw odd looking... cabins?... scattered across the field, in a loose circle surrounding a central platform.
"Students, these cabanas are to enable you to view the task. They will sit eight to ten, so please find one, preferably with students from other schools, and get comfortable!" one of the tri-wizard organisers explained.
Harry and Fleur's group climbed into one of the cabanas, sitting patiently to see what would happen. Once all the cabanas were filled, the champions were brought forward to the central platform and Madame Maxime announced the second task.
"Good evening students! As the Champions will 'opefully 'ave worked out, the second task is to rescue a lost possession of 'igh value, and return it to this platform. The possessions can be found..." Maxime paused dramatically. "...up there!" she exclaimed, pointing high into the sky.
"No brooms or carpets are allowed – that would be too easy! And the skies are filled with dangers today – 'arpies, pixies, doxies, and some other surprises – so our Champions will need to be ready!" Maxime happily continued.
"Your cabanas are magical, and will levitate to provide you with the best of views", Maxime added. "Champions: Three! Two! One! Go!"
Ana transfigured herself with large, red Wings, and then summoned her Bloodmoon Sword again. Pauline took out a potion and drank it, then growled in pain as wings sprouted from her back. And George? Well...
"Good morning, wonderful professors, wonderful students, and Ron. Fred Weasley here, narrating this time so my twin can have the fun. Now, we mentioned fireworks last time right?" Fred began, in his magically-enhanced voice.
"'arry, 'e's not...?" Fleur asked in disbelief.
Harry pulled out his popcorn. Oh wow.
"Well, what would no sane, sensible Champion try? Tying a large firework to your back and lighting it! Fortunately for us all, neither George or I are sane or sensible. Introducing Weasleys' Wand-Controlled Fireworks!" Fred announced with excitement... then jumped on top of Harry's cabana.
Ana was flying upwards, and had already encountered some pixies... which were now falling in pieces from the sky. Pauline had recovered from her pain, and was chasing after Ana desperately.
Then the firework went off, and George shot into the air, the pyrotechnic device following the path his wand pointed, racing him past Pauline and then Ana in just a mere few seconds. Pixies and Doxies were left thinking a vertical tornado had torn past, and the harpies could only watch in frustration as George easily avoided them.
The cabanas raced upwards, trying to keep in view of all Champions; the more thrill-seeking students were delighted, and Harry noted that this would be a dream for Gabrielle.
"I think George might have missed some of the obstacles there; never mind, maybe he'll see them on the way back down?" Fred openly laughed.
Then came the surprise, and the main challenge – a dozen witches and wizards, flying on brooms, wands at the ready.
"Well, that's not particularly fair, is it?" Fred began, feigning outrage. "They get brooms and we don't? If only someone had found out about this. Then they could have snuck around last night and replaced those wands with..."
Only one witch managed to fire a spell, and that one missed George and his firework accomplice by several meters. The other witches and wizards found themselves holding...
"...Weasleys' Fake Wands! They look like wands until you use them – which clearly only one challenger did this morning! You can see several varieties, including ones that turn into a rubber chicken, a biting racoon – oh, that man doesn't seem to be enjoying that – a pair of underpants, and even a creeping sense of dread: see the bald wizard? What did his wand turn into?" Fred asked with delight.
"Argh! Get it off me! Get it off!" shouted the man after a moment, audible to the crowd.
"Wow, and he didn't even cast Sonorus first!" Fred noted, impressed.
George had now landed on a floating platform high in the sky, having managed masterful control of his firework... and a last-second unsticking charm. He grabbed a suitcase that was clearly familiar to him, then looked over the edge, with a pondering expression.
"How will my dear brother get down? Another firework? Some delicious treat that will make him grow wings? Or will he just jump like a madman? Well, given how much time we still have..." Fred began.
Ana and Pauline were far behind – Ana attacking anything that got close, and Pauline avoiding as much as possible. Neither had reached the single armed witch yet. George had plenty of time.
"...I say we pick the obvious option!" Fred merrily announced, and the crowd gasped in shock as George dived off the platform, grinning, and plummeted towards the ground.
The cabanas dove to track George, whilst Fred merrily narrated. "He's about to pass Ana – hopefully not too close to that sword! – oh, and now he's about to pass Pauline. He's getting quite close to the ground! Well, here's hoping my twin doesn't just go splat!"
Less than one hundred feet from the ground, George sprouted huge, magnificent, twelve-feet wide angel's wings, which easily arrested his momentum... and looked damn cool.
"Introducing Weasleys' Angel Drops! About the only angelic thing we sell!" Fred cheerfully announced. Then, still about seventy foot in the air, George stopped beating his new wings and dropped the remaining distance.
"Oh no! Are the wings broken?!" Fred asked, in a convincingly panicked tone.
Dumbledore even rushed to fire a spell at George... Until George winked at him and stuck his tongue out. George hit the ground heavily, with a force that would normally kill a person... but cheerfully waved and then flew onto the platform with his wings, suitcase in hand.
"Also introducing Weasleys' Boneless Boots – no matter how high you fall from, your bones won't break! Now tested from as high as seventy-two feet!" Fred again cheerfully announced.
"Merde! Those two are insane!" Fleur declared, half relieved, half entertained.
The crowd were again giving a standing ovation, and many students planned further purchases. Even Dumbledore had to admit the... Boneless Boots? Did that name even make sense? ...would be a wise purchase – imagine the injuries it could prevent in Quidditch practise and games, for example!
After another twenty minutes, Ana landed, closely flowed by Pauline. Pauline had made use of Ana's aggressive tactics to distract the obstacles, and so had managed to avoid most of the conflict – though that did necessitate she was slightly behind her competitor.
With cheers for both Champions, the second task was complete.