Sweet Revenge

The Forging of Alliances Part 1

For two weeks, Harry had strengthened the alliance with Viktor and, might he dare say friendship. 

He had come around to the fact that 1) Viktor was not anything like Alex and 2) It was good to have foreign alliances. 

He had found that Viktor, aside from being the most famous Quidditch seeker in the world (the most famous chaser being Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies), he was also one of the best students at Durmstrang. He liked to read; that was a bonus on his end because the group tended to frequent the library. 

Harry had taken to analyzing and researching the backgrounds of the Beauxbatons students and came to realize that the part-veela was also the most politically powerful. Her name was Fleur Delacour and, having studied the political climate on the Continent with Tom in second year, the last name instantly rang a bell. 

Delacour was a French pureblood name. Its most prominent member still alive today was the French politician, Jean-Pierre Delacour. Monsieur Delacour was the Undersecretary of the French Minister of Magic (they did not have a Senior/Junior Undersecretary; just an Undersecretary). Fleur's mother was named Aelis-Aveline Delacour (formerly Cornillac-Vaillancourt) and ran a famous Wizarding newspaper in France called the Auriane. It was a fashion newspaper which she both managed, modeled for, and wrote for. Fleur's maternal grandmother was Chantal Cornillac, the former Head of the Bureau de la Justice Magique (she had retired of old age several years ago). Fleur's maternal grandfather, the famous French Potions Master Alphonse Emmanuel Vaillancourt, was the only apprentice of Nicholas Flamel. Her entire paternal side had lots of political influence in France. 

Essentially, Harry felt it prudent not to make enemies in the country in front of England and therefore, he set himself the task of befriending Delcour. 

His friends found out over the course of a day (it wasn't as if he was being particularly secretive about it either). 

          "So...how's Operation Pixie-Girl going?" Pansy asked, sneaking up behind Harry. 

          "Horribly. I can't find a single opportunity to get close to her. She's always surrounded by that annoying gaggle of girls!" He said, throwing his hands up in defeat. 

Pansy smirked. 

          "Well Mister Sad Life, I've been doing some poking and you'll never guess what I found!"

          "What?" Harry asked, now intrigued. 

          "It seems that little Miss Delacour has taken to hanging out with another blondie in Ravenclaw. Her name is Luna Lovegood."

          "That's it!" Harry said, snapping his fingers, "just befriend the Lovegood girl and bam! You've got Delacour!"

          "Uh, uh, uh! Not so fast, mister. It's actually harder than that."

Harry motioned for her to go on. 

          "Well, for one, Lovegood's nickname is 'Loony Lovegood' because she's always staring into space or is overly cheerful. As a result, she's really hard to get close to; she herself doesn't even have many. We both know that Delacour is one of the people she's seen with, though I don't know if Lovegood considers her a friend. However, Lovegood likes to hang out with a Gryffindor. Like, wants to hang out with him; she does it willingly. 

           His name is Neville. Neville Longbottom."

Harry eyebrows shot up. 

          "Longbottom?"

Pansy nodded solemnly. 

         "Yeah. Apparently, he's really good at Herbology -mind, it's the only subject he actually does well in- and Lovegood likes to talk with him as he potters about the plants."

         "Okay," Harry said, scrunching up his eyebrows. 

         "Pansy?"

         "Yes?"

         "Tell Drake to come here. That I'm in dire need of him."

Pansy turned and hurried out.

---------------------------------

That was how Harry found himself walking toward the Greenhouses an hour later holding a pot of Puffapod plant. He had originally suggested some type of Venomous Tentacula but Draco had said that it was too dangerous for a first encounter. 

Opening the glass door, Harry sauntered in and began to move the Puffapod into a new jar; he was just in time. 

Several second later, Longbottom came in, carrying a pot of Dittany; Lovegood was no where to be seen. 

          "Hello. Longbottom," Harry said, nodding to the one in question. 

After several minutes of shell-shocked silence, Longbottom finally answered. 

          "H-hi, uh...I, I don't think I caught your name...?"

Harry put on an easygoing facade (in reality, he would be breaking a sweat trying to get this encounter to go the way he wanted it to). 

          "Potter. I've heard you're amazing at Herbology; I can't seem to get this plant in. Would'ya mind helping me?"

Longbottom blinked. 

          "O-okay."

He walked over and the tenseness in his shoulders was visible. 

          "Oh my god! How did you get a Puffapod! They're very rare!" he exclaimed disregarding all sense of composure. 

Harry smiled. 

          "It was a...gift," he replied simply. 

He watched as Longbottom cooed at the plant and helped it settle into its pot. The plant emitted sparkling jets of...whatever it was it produced. 

When the plant was firmly and happily settled (and currently preening), Longbottom turned to Harry. 

          "You have certainly have an aptitude for this kind of thing!" Harry complimented. 

Longbottom looked away, 

          "Thanks," he said bashfully. 

          "No really! Hey, do you want to join me and my friends in the library sometime? We'd really appreciate it."

          "Er..."

Ah, so he was a hesitant one. 

          "I-isn't Malfoy going to be there?" he asked, timidly. 

          "Well, yes. But I don't think you should worry too much; Draco's a lot different in private."

Longbottom nodded, chewing on his lip. 

          "Uh...o-okay. C-can I bring Luna? Luna Lovegood? S-she's a friend of mine."

          "Sure."

          "W-when?"

          "Oh I dunno, maybe this evening?"

As Longbottom walked away, Harry smiled. He was beginning to like the kid; maybe he'd keep him just for the sake of it. Maybe even become his friend.