"So what did you really do?" Caroline asked eagerly, probably for the 14th time. Fleur sighed exasperatedly, it was 8 in the morning and her friends had come unceremoniously into her room and woken her up half an hour ago and had been interrogating her about Harry Potter.
"I already told you, we didn't do anything. I only wanted to thank him for my present and I did" She said leaning back against her pillow.
"What? Not even a kiss? You're la-wait...YOU DID!" She cried when she saw the blush forming on her face.
"Why are you making a big deal of it?! It's normal for us to..."
"No. Not for you. My god you have it bad." Caroline groaned exasperatedly. "This is only making me so much more interested in him."
"Well...for what its worth Fleur he did look really happy when he saw you." Amy said with a smirk. She felt a smile spread across her own face. When they arrived she had seen Harry standing near the front of the crowd and she had easily recognized him. He had a disappointed look on his face when they all started going back to the castle. When she finally called out to him, his shocked expression mixed with happiness made her heart leap and before she knew what she was doing, had thrown herself into his arms in front of everyone.
"He is a cute one though, I wish I had put a claim over him the first time I saw him" Caroline said sighing softly. Catching sight of Fleur she grinned and added, "Relax, I won't do anything. He's all yours."
"He's not mine!" She exclaimed, but she couldn't stop the feeling of relief that spread through her at Caroline's words. Truthfully, she had felt rather put out when she found out that Caroline had seen him at the World Cup too.
"Oh come on, it's obvious to all of us how much you like him. We've never seen you act this way over a boy from all our years together" Amy said while the others nodded.
"But…"
"And from what I've seen, he is also rather taken with you. He kept looking at you throughout the feast sometimes but it wasn't like the way the others look at you. It was…different. I don't think he noticed us watching him even" She said thoughtfully.
"But…he can't…he's younger than me…" Fleur trailed off weakly.
"By what? Two-three years? You turned 17 only recently too." Amy said softly.
"Look...Fleur, even if you can't seem to figure it out for yourself, we can. We've been watching you for over 6 years now. You just have to admit it to yourself. Do you not like him?" Caroline asked bluntly.
Fleur's mind was working furiously, she couldn't answer it directly but she knew that if she was honest, she had only one answer to give. She just couldn't believe how fast she had grown fond of Harry; meeting him last night had only increased her feelings for him.
Initially she had kept telling herself that he was younger than her. That had been her excuse whenever her friends teased her about him. She used it to tell herself that she couldn't possibly be thinking about Harry in that way and that he was only a good friend. But after hearing it aloud it just ceased to matter.
She enjoyed being with him, he made her feel safe, something that until she met him, thought that only her father could do. He was quiet and reserved despite being famous.
He was also similar to her in a lot of ways; both of them were seen not for what they really were, something that they both hated. Plus it didn't hurt the fact that she found him more than a little attractive. And if she dared believe it, he was just as interested in her.
"Well Fleur?" She gave a start and looked up, the others were watching her closely and she could see the smirks on all of them. Taking a deep breath she nodded.
"I…I do like him. But it's a little scary about how fast I came to like him." She said quietly unable to stop the blush creeping up her face making the others grin triumphantly.
"Just see how it turns out." Aurélie said, then smiled. "I don't think that he has eyes for anyone else though, it was pretty clear from the way he was after he saw you. It makes even me jealous." Fleur threw her pillow at her and laughed. Something told her what she said was true and it pleased her to no end.
"That said you better get a move on. We may have all sworn off him but that doesn't mean there aren't any other women that wouldn't mind having a say in it." Caroline muttered before getting up."It's almost nine, I'm hungry."
"Alright, I'll get changed". Fleur muttered before ushering the others out. She stopped when she caught sight of her reflection on the mirror. Her cheeks were still stained red and she noticed that the blue stone on her necklace which was glowing brighter and felt warm to touch. What Caroline said was true...she couldn't really afford to keep putting it off. She needed to step up and take what she wanted.
It was with these thoughts that she carefully tied back her hair, spending a lot more time than usual paying attention to how she looked before going outside to join her friends.
"Did you see the man that was taking care of the horses?" Caroline asked when Fleur approached them and they started slowly walking back to the castle.
"Yes?" Aurélie asked lifting an eyebrow.
"Do you think he's like our Headmistress?" She asked. Fleur frowned, she hadn't really thought about that. The others too were looking thoughtful.
"Maybe…" Aurélie said. They walked on and ignored the stares they were attracting from some of the students that were outside. Fleur shivered slightly, the boys in Hogwarts seemed to have little to almost no control over themselves. Their glazed expressions were unpleasant. Some of the girls glared at them but they ignored them and continued on their way to the Great Hall.
"Just like first year in Beauxbatons." Aurélie said with an annoyed expression eyeing a rather large boy who was drooling with his eyes on her. They entered the Great Hall and made their way to the Gryffindor table. "And there's your target." She said in an audible whisper causing the others to grin when they spotted him
Fleur frowned when she saw Harry there, reading a book by himself sitting a little away from the others. None of the other Beauxbatons students were there yet and there were only a few Hogwarts students around them.
"Bonjour 'Arry" She said brightly, seating herself next to him while the others took their seat opposite them.
Harry gave a start and looked around at them. She frowned again when she saw his face. There were bags under his eyes and his eyes had a cold, almost dead look on them. It was only for a second though, his eyes suddenly sparked brighter and he grinned at them.
"'Morning" She didn't fail to notice that how weak his voice sounded.
"You ok?" She asked while the others looked at him concernedly. He nodded.
"Yeah, just tired I guess"
"Where are the others?" Caroline asked looking around; the tables weren't as crowded as the night before with only a few students around.
"Oh…they're in class. I um...my professor told me to rest up since it was my only class for today" He muttered, rubbing his neck sheepishly.
"You 'ave classes today?" Aurélie asked incredulously.
"Only because we missed our last two yesterday…but I only had one scheduled for that day so I'm not really missing much."
"You're not eating 'Arry?" Fleur asked while they served themselves. He shook his head.
"Nah I already ate" He said. Soon they were joined by some of the other Beauxbatons students who joined them. Most of them had taken a liking to him and to be honest, it was hard to see who wouldn't. He was completely different from what they'd all come to expect from Englishmen.
She was surprised to find that he was in the Quidditch team too, much to Caroline and Aurélie's delight who loved it. They made him promise he would let them ride his Firebolt later in the day. Soon the food was wiped clean of their plates and little by little the hall was emptying of people. Most of the Beauxbatons students were eager to explore the castle and they left with the leaving the 5 of them together.
Caroline and the others had bullied him into taking them on a tour around school and they were just about to leave when; "Mr. Potter! Didn't I ask you to go to the Hospital Wing? I thought Mr. Weasley took you there" A stern voice sounded behind them and they turned to see a rather stern looking witch looking at them.
"I'm sorry Professor, I forgot. I told Ron I would go on ahead and told him to go back." He muttered softly, pushing himself to his feet. Almost as soon as he'd gotten up he swayed visibly and fell backwards causing a most of the people to look over curiously. In an instant the witch was kneeling on the floor beside him with Fleur, helping him up while the others looked on worriedly, half risen from their seats.
The stern looking witch sighed and pressed her hand against his forehead.
"You will get a fever like this; I'm going to have a few words with Mr. Weasley. How he could come back without seeing to it that you were safely in the Hospital wing after seeing you pass out in my classroom is beyond me" She said softly. "May I ask if you could take Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing? It's on the 1st floor on the corridor to the right" She asked, looking at them. "I'd take him myself but I have another class coming up soon."
"Oui Madame" Fleur said.
"I can go by myself Professor…" Harry mumbled quietly.
"No more out of you Mr. Potter or else I'm going to have to take points off Gryffindor. I will be asking Madam Promfey personally if you went to her or not." She said warningly before leaving.
Harry looked embarrassedly at them and as soon as she was out of earshot; "I can really go by myself, I just lost balance for a bit" He said before quailing under the combined gazes of the girls.
"We're going now 'Arry and you're going to come quietly" Fleur growled, sliding her arm around his waist and pulling him closer.
"We'll come too, I wanted to see around the castle anyway" Aurélie said getting to her feet while the other two followed suit. Together they walked outside to the now deserted Entrance Hall.
"What are zose 'ourglasses?" Amy asked while Caroline and Fleur helped him climb the stairs.
"Oh, those show the number of house points for each of our houses."
"So...four houses and you're in Gryffindor?"
"Yeah. The other three are Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. At the end of the year the house with the most amount of points wins the house cup" He explained. "Wait a moment" He mumbled, putting his hand up against the wall, his breathing getting increasingly labored.
"What 'appened to you 'Arry? You were fine yesterday" Fleur asked worriedly.
"I don't know, I think I'm just tired that's all" He said giving her a small smile. They started moving again and when they finally reached the Hospital Wing an elderly woman came hurrying over to them.
"I just got word from Minerva...put him on that bed over there." She said pointing at the bed nearest to them. Once he was on the bed she came over holding a tray with different potions in them.
"Honestly Harry, do you make it a necessity to end up here every year?" She asked in a reprimanding tone making him grin sheepishly at her. "Let's see what's wrong with you now." She whipped out her wand and started murmuring quietly tracing her wand around his body as the others looked on curiously.
A few minutes later she suddenly snapped her eyes open and glared at him. "Do you have a death wish? Sleep deprivation, exhaustion and the most serious of all, you have almost completely drained your core of its magic. What in the world were you trying to do? If you had kept going at this pace you would have been crippled or worse, dead within the next few weeks" Fleur and the others stared in shock at Harry who was now looking away not meeting any of their eyes.
"Take these potions starting from now on every day before breakfast for a week. You are prohibited from practicing magic except for the simplest spells until the week is out. I will be sending notes to your teachers. Is that clear Harry?" He nodded mutely.
"Do you have trouble sleeping? If so I can give you a potion for dreamless sleep" Harry muttered something incomprehensible while drinking each of the potions. The matron waited patiently for him to finish and asked, "What did you say?" He looked uncomfortable under the gazes of everyone and didn't say anything for a moment.
"I already tried that…it doesn't work." He said quietly. Her eyes widened slightly.
"That's strange, I will see what I can do. In the meantime it is important that you use this week to recover. If you over exert yourself again I will have no choice but to send you to St. Mungo's. Now...do you understand me? I cannot stress how important it is that you stay away from magic or any physical activity. If it were up to me I'd have you here until you recover and have confiscated your wand but..."
"No!" He yelped, cutting her off."
"Good, then you know what to do?"
"I understand" He said.
"In the meantime, it is up to your friends to see that you don't step out of line. But...I guess no worries there..." She said, her eyes twinkling mischievously at him before looking over at Fleur who's hand was lying over his. Both of them blushed furiously eliciting giggles from the others as she moved her arm away.
"Poppy!" Harry whined making the matron laugh. Her grin grew wider when Fleur looked determinedly back at her.
"So why don't you introduce them Harry?" She asked. Once everyone had given their names Poppy frowned thoughtfully.
"Is the nurse in your school still Madam Leona?" She asked.
"Oui, she 'az been ever since our first year" Aurélie said.
"Ah, I've been meaning to send her an owl for a while now, never knew where she was." Catching the confused looks on them she added, "We were trained under the same healer back then. I took the post available in Hogwarts, I had no idea where she was until I heard from a friend that she was the nurse in Beauxbatons."
"Can I go now?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Oh! Well, if it were up to me I would keep you here for the day…I'm not finished yet!" She said when he made signs of interrupting her. "I will let you go now if you come back here for a checkup every day in the evening, whenever you have time. Well?"
"Alright" Harry grumbled slowly getting up.
"You alright?" Amy asked.
"Good as new." He said giving her a small grin before looking over at the matron. "Thanks a lot Poppy"
"Just make sure you do as I said. You know I make good on my threats." She said before walking back in the direction of her office.
"Sooo...we can get a tour of ze castle now?" Aurélie asked, looping her arm through his while Caroline sidled up next to her and doing the same while the other two looked on in amusement and in Fleur's case, slightly disgruntled. He laughed before straightening up.
"Where do miladies want to start?"
As it turned out, they wanted to see everything. He took them straight up to the 7th floor and proceeded back down.
"This place is huge!" Caroline exclaimed as the came to the 5th floor. Harry looked at her frowning.
"Isn't yours as big as this?"
"No! Well, it is big but it's nothing compared to this place" She said.
"Oh? Do you have houses like ours with different common rooms?" He asked.
"Non, we aren't sorted into different 'ouses. We 'ave two quarters, one for ze boys and one for ze girls. Separate dormitories by ze years. " Amy answered. They came onto the 4th floor where some other students were moving up and Harry's smile seemed to disappear instantly. Fleur looked closely when she saw a red haired boy who she recognized as the one who had been staring at her during the feast last night.
When he caught sight of them his eyes narrowed and he muttered something to the group of boys behind him and glared at Harry. Harry on the other hand ignored them and walked straight past them. They noticed that Harry had quickened his pace and they hurried to catch up to him.
"Merde" Aurélie muttered when they reached Harry. He looked at her curiously and saw that she was glaring at the people around her. She muttered something in French which caused the girls to giggle leaving himlooking at them curiously.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, she just said ze Englishmen 'ave almost no self-control." Fleur said smiling slightly.
"It's just back in Beauxbatons I was never stared at as much as Fleur but 'ere eet's like I'm on display" She said shuddering when they passed a group of 6th years who stared blankly at them.
"I don't know how much longer I can go without cursing one of them" Caroline said glaring at a boy who Harry recognized as Malfoy who was looking at her with an expression of longing while the rest of the Slytherins that were behind him, glaring daggers at him. Harry suddenly burst out laughing which seemed to bring Malfoy to his senses and quickly walked away taking his cronies with him.
"By all means, if you're going to do something to Malfoy, I want in." Harry said grinning at her who smirked evilly back.
"So his name's Malfoy?" She purred sending shivers down his spine making him feel almost felt sorry for him.
"Yeah. Well...it also might be because you're all hanging around me." He said nervously turning around and facing all of them. "I'm not exactly a lot of people's favorite person right now."
Fleur smiled at him as did the others and suddenly Caroline slipped her arm under Harry's and pressed drew dangerously close to him and placed her mouth next to his ear.
"It's nothing we aren't used to. After all, you're our favorite person from Hogwarts already no?" She whispered audibly. "As for the stares, its nothing new. It took a while for this to stop in Beauxbatons. But I wonder…should we be disappointed that none of us can affect you in that way?" He went extremely red and looked at a loss for words, the expression on his face was so...lost...that the others couldn't help but laugh, even Fleur although she was slightly disgruntled by what Caroline did.
Caroline drew back and sighed softly, "A pity…" She said before suddenly pulling him towards the grounds. They spent the rest of the time in the grounds, sitting by the lake. In the spot where Harry usually practiced his magic in the middle of the night although he didn't mention it to them. It was well secluded and no one came their way. They watched the Giant Squid lazily drift across them next to the Durmstrang ship on the opposite side of the lake, discussing about the Triwizard tournament and speculating about the events that were coming up. It was close to one when they decided to head back inside for lunch and everyone got to their feet except Harry.
"'Arry, you're not coming?" Fleur asked. Harry glanced at her and the others who were watching him curiously.
"I don't feel like it, and besides…I'm not that hungry" He muttered, not meeting any of their eyes. Fleur frowned while the others looked confused. Then she murmured something to the others who nodded and sat back down next to him while he looked on in surprise.
"I'll keep you company zen." She said. She was curious about why Harry was acting like this and truthfully, she wasn't hungry either.
"But…" He began and fell silent under her glare.
"We'll bring something when we come back." Caroline said. Before they walked away he could've sworn he saw them grinning.
Harry was acutely aware that they were alone and suddenly he felt extremely nervous. This was the first time that he got to see her properly and every little detail he could pick up only filled him with an ache in his chest and a desire to get closer to her.
"Is zere something on my face?" She asked, glancing at him with a mischievous smile.
"Umm, I…no I just" Harry couldn't get any words out and he found himself unable to look at directly at her. "Sorry" He murmured and looked away. He suddenly felt a small hand slip into his, making him flush slightly as she moved closer to him.
"You know...I am glad zat you aren't as immune as you make out to be" She said playfully, intertwining her fingers through his watching as the blush deepened.. "You wouldn't want to give ze impression zat you are not interested in girls do you?" Harry grinned, somehow managing to keep his calm.
"Well, I apologize if I gave you that impression." He said. A comfortable silence settled over them and they watched the ripples continuously emerge along different places in the lake. The place where they were was hidden from view unless anyone purposefully came around the bank.
"You seem to be close with ze nurse" She remarked aloud and Harry suddenly laughed and straightened up against the tree they were leaning against.
"I should be, after all the time I spent in there…it's not like I like getting myself hurt!" He said indignantly catching sight of her disapproving expression. "Things just always seem to happen to me."
"Sure." She smirked at him and he returned the grin and they looked towards the lake for a few moments.
"What 'appened to you in ze morning? What in ze world were you trying to do when you almost drained your core?" She asked, breaking the silence.
"Just a little extra work, I guess I got carried away." She waited for him to elaborate but he didn't seem to want to and she let it go. She noticed that a shadow crossed over his face and his eyes seemed to lose its brightness, going back to the cold, dead look he had on his face in the morning. After a few moments she moved closer to him making him turn to her. She could see, deep in his eyes that he was hiding something. She could see the hurt in his eyes and she held his gaze before he looked away.
"Is zere anything wrong?" She asked squeezing his hand a little. He didn't speak for a long time and she was going to ask him again when he suddenly spoke.
"It's just…I don' understand what's going on anymore" He muttered. She waited patiently without breaking the silence. When he spoke again his voice was low, "When I try my hardest to do something because it is necessary, others see it another way."
"Are you talking about ze red haired boy?" She asked, remembering their exchange back in the castle. He looked at her surprised before nodding.
"My best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger" He laughed humorlessly. "They aren't particularly fond of how I do my things now."
"What do you mean?" She asked gently. He stared at her for a moment and sighed.
"I don't know how to explain it. It's just…" He seemed to be struggling to find the proper words, "...they think I have the perfect life. Famous for something I can't even remember, I would gladly give up everything I have if I could get what I lost back" He said quietly. "They were the only two I thought that understood me. It's not like I don't have any other friends but after everything we had been through together...to find out that they still took me the wrong way...it just shows that even after all this time, I still can't get anyone to see who I am." He smiled sadly. "I can't explain why but it hurts."
Silence reigned as his gaze met hers before he lowered his hea. "Sorry, I didn't mean for you to hear all that." Why did I go and say all that, to her especially.
Fleur was shocked; she couldn't believe that he could have been feeling like this. He described...literally described exactly how she'd felt...well, still felt for the most part of her life. At least she had her friends who she knew she could count on...but he, she didn't want to imagine what he felt.
She felt her heart sink as she looked at Harry who was still gazing at the ground. Gently she brought her other hand to his chin and lifted his face, making him look at her. His eyes had the same cold look in them and she could see the loneliness and the pain reflected in them.
"'Don't worry about zem. Zey 'aven't seen or understood you in ze way you thought 'Arry. Don't let zem turn you into a person you are not." Harry looked like he was straining to say something but she put her finger on his lips silencing him. "Don't try to change yourself 'Arry...even I can tell zat zere's a lot more to you zan you're showing. I can understand zat...but eet's my job to find out non? And besides...I kind of like ze person in front of me. Both ze one I can see, and ze one I cannot."
She could see the surprise in his eyes. She had no idea what made her say it...but it just came out so easily.
After what felt like hours he finally averted his gaze. "Really?" He asked softly. She could detect a faint hint of hope in his voice.
Without even telling herself to do it, she leaned closer and kissed him lightly on his cheek. When she drew away she could see the faint smile on his lips and she felt his grip on her hand tighten momentarily.
Unfortunately for them...
"We leave you two for a few 'ours and zis 'appens. I feel like we should 'ave come later" A sly voice forced them apart. They turned to see the rest of the girls Amy watching them with satisfied smirks.
"It's not what it looks like!" Fleur exclaimed, not noticing she was speaking in French which made the others burst out laughing.
"What is it then? Come on Fleur we need details." Aurélie said smirking back at her.
"Even I'm impressed at how fast you move." Caroline said and immediately ducked the tickling charm that Fleur sent at her. "Calm down… your boyfriend is looking so helpless, it's adorable."
Fleur sighed exasperatedly and pulled Harry to his feet, ignoring his bewildered look. "Enough moping around 'Arry, now come with us."
"Where we going?"
"Just come" She said pulling him with her while the rest of them followed. They came up to the Beauxbatons carriage which was a few feet away from Hagrid's hut and they pushed him inside when he backed away. They took him down the corridor and into their small dining room where there were two other Beauxbatons students who were having a late lunch. As soon as they took their seats, plates appeared in front of them, laden with food.
"You guys get your food here?" Harry asked surprised.
"Yes, we can eat 'ere if we want to." Aurélie said grinning at him.
"Many of us prefer eating 'ere, it iz small and more private. But it iz pleasant having you 'ere with us Meester 'Arry Potter." One of the students, a brown haired boy said extending his hand. Harry recognized him as one of the boys he had talked with the in the morning. "I 'aven't introduced myself yet 'ave I? My name iz Basile Cerf"
Harry grinned and shook his hand. After the other boy introduced himself as Jean they started to eat.
"Didn't you eat?" Fleur asked eyeing the others as they too served themselves.
"We were going to but Madame Maxime called us aside for something, after that we just thought we'd come and get you two before going" Caroline said, shrugging slightly.
"'Arry, I 'ave something to ask you" Basile asked. Harry looked at him curiously. "When we were going around ze castle we came to ze second floor and zere was a bathroom zat was sealed off and zere were some unpleasant things written on ze wall. I asked about it from one of ze portraits and 'e said zat a couple of years ago ze Chamber of Secrets was opened and zat a monster attacked students in your school."
"I saw zat too! I 'ad been meaning to ask you about zat 'Arry." Aurélie said. Now that he mentioned it, Fleur could remember seeing something written in red letters on a wall but it had been too far away from them and she hadn't thought much about it. It was on that floor that they had come across Ron Weasley and the other students too and Harry hadn't stayed too long which didn't let them get a good look at it.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, it was back in my second year. 3 students were petrified and 1 nearly died." The girls gasped and Basile and the other boy got an odd gleam in their eyes.
"Ze portrait also told me zat it was you zat killed ze monster inside it and made ze school safe again. Is zat true?" Harry blushed, his face reddening from the attention. Fleur and the others were looking at him in amazement while the Basile and Jean were waiting eagerly to hear his response. Fleur could see that he was getting uncomfortable with the questions.
"Yeah, but…"
"Zat's amazing!" Amy exclaimed.
"What was ze monster?" Jean asked eagerly. Harry was getting cornered as each second was passing.
"A Basilisk but…" He never got to complete his sentence when the others gasped in astonishment and fired questions rapidly at him.
"No! I just got lucky! If it weren't for Fawkes and the sorting hat I wouldn't even be here right now." Harry said, ignoring the questions.
"But a Basilisk 'Arry! Eet is one of ze most deadliest creatures in our world." Fleur said gazing at him.
"How did you do it?" Caroline asked and the rest of them fell silent. It was clear that they wanted to hear it and Harry sighed dejectedly. He told them all about how they had gone into the Chamber of Secrets when his friend's sister had been taken into it in an attempt to save her. He told them everything; Fawke's timely arrival, how he got the sword of Gryffindor and how he used it to kill the Basilisk. He left out the part with Riddle's diary and his memory though. By the end of it everyone were looking at him with expressions of awe causing him to squirm uncomfortably.
"Guess you aren't famous just because of your name then?" Caroline asked grinning at him. Harry groaned loudly drawing laughs from everyone and they spent most of the next hour just talking with each other. Basile and Jean Harry quickly realized, were like the French counterparts of Fred and George. He grinned inwardly wondering what would happen if the four of them got together and made a mental note to introduce them to each other. It was sure to cause havoc. He glanced at his watch after a while and gasped. It was a quarter to 6 and he had to go back to Poppy for his check up and then onto the Room of Requirement to meet with Sirius and Lupin. He wouldn't be able to duel with Sirius but he still wanted to see them.
"Umm, I've got to go…it's getting late." Harry said, getting to his feet.
"We'll see you tomorrow 'Arry!" Basile said while Jean nodded in agreement. Harry found he actually enjoyed their company, in addition to the fact that they were so much like the twins, they were fun to be around. The girls also called their goodbyes to him and before he left he turned nervously to Fleur.
"Fleur? Can I speak to you for a moment?" She looked at him curiously before following him out of the room.
Harry took a deep breath and forced himself to look at her. She made him feel emotions he never thought he'd possessed before.
"Thank you...for everything."
"You don't 'ave to zank me for anyzing 'Arry." She said softly. "We will see each uzzer tomorrow?"
He nodded and returned her smile. "Goodnight Fleur"
"Bonne nuit 'Arry" She said and watched him disappear from view before she turned back and headed back to the dining rom.
"I'm going back to my room, I need to write a letter to Gabrielle and…" She began.
"No, no. You're coming with us. You aren't getting away that easily." Amy said. Aurélie and Caroline stood up grinning at her and after bidding Basile and Jean who were looking confusedly at them goodnight, they marched Fleur to her room.
Harry walked happily back up to the castle. The day had actually been one of the best days of his life. Spending time with Fleur and the others, especially Fleur, was something he was looking forward to. He couldn't wait until he saw her again tomorrow.
He stopped by the Hospital Wing before heading to the common room where unfortunately for him, he ran into Professor McGonagall who had dropped in to see Poppy.
"Mr. Potter, if you ever endanger yourself like that again, I am going to give you detentions for the rest of the year." She said sternly.
"Yes Professor" Harry said meekly. After Poppy had checked on him she let him go. But only after he had promised her that he would be back first thing in the morning for his potions. Harry started climbing up towards the Gryffindor tower and sighed before giving the password. Feeling the bitter memories from last night re-surfacing in him.
(Yesterday)
After watching Fleur disappear inside the carriage Harry happily made his way back to in to the caste and climbed up to the Gryffindor Tower.
Although it was late in the night more people were up than usual. No doubt due to the excitement of having the foreign students over, and from the excited babble in the room, the appearance of Bulgaria's star seeker.
Spotting Ron, Hermione and Ginny huddled together in a table away from everyone he started towards them. Before he could reach them however, he found his way blocked by Dean and Seamus.
"The man! Harry how did you manage to bag that one?" Seamus asked. Harry stared back at him.
"What?"
"That girl! The one with the silver hair! She's a Veela isn't she?" Harry realized he was talking about Fleur.
"Yeah?" He muttered, acutely aware that they were the center of attention in the common room. Seamus wasn't even bothering to keep his voice down.
"How did you get such looker?!"
"I didn't 'get' anyone. She's a friend." He muttered shortly.
"Yeah right." Dean said rolling his eyes. "You're one hell of a lucky bastard." Harry didn't answer but he made to go around them when he bumped into Ginny.
"Sorry" He said softly and made to head towards Ron and Hermione who were watching from there place when he felt a hand close around his wrist. Looking around he saw that it was Ginny who was holding his hand and he looked curiously at her.
"You bought that necklace for her didn't you?" She asked quietly. Only Dean and Seamus heard it while the rest of the people looked on intrigued. She suddenly let go and left hurriedly in the direction of the girl's dormitory leaving Harry standing, utterly bewildered. He caught sight of the twins who looked confusedly back at him shaking their heads in negative to his questioning look.
"You happy now?" He whirled around to see Ron standing a few feet away from him.
"Ron…" Hermione said, her voice broke the silence that settled in the room. Her tone was almost pleading.
"What's going on?" Harry asked.
"You think you're so good don't you? Thinking that it makes you better just because you bagged that whore of a Veela?" The room went deathly quiet; Harry heard muffled gasps around the room. He looked at Ron directly, unable to keep the growing anger he was feeling down.
"What did you say?" He asked quietly.
"I'm sick of you Harry, you constantly keep finding ways to make yourself look better in comparison with others don't you? What are we? People that you keep around just so you can feel good about yourself?" Ron asked.
"Watch what you're saying little brother." Fred suddenly said loudly. Ron just glared at him.
"Even from my own family. Are you trying to make me look bad in front of everyone just so they will accept you over me? What the hell do are you trying to do?"
Harry couldn't think of anything to say, he was having enough trouble trying to make sense of what he was hearing. But Ron wasn't stopping his rant at all.
"Even with Ginny, you know that she liked you and you just act like you don't even know her! My sister not good enough for the likes of the great Harry Potter is it? And what's with you outdoing everyone and acting like a teacher's pet? Is the attention you get not enough already? Making friends with Slytherins too! What are we? Not good enough for you? And then out of the blue you pick up some Veela whor…"
"Ron what…" Hermione began interrupting him when Ron gestured towards her.
"Even Hermione said it! It's like we don't even know you anymore! Associating yourself with snakes, going after those French women, sucking up to McGonagall, I mean really..."
Harry wasn't listening to Ron at all. All he could do was gaze mutely at Hermione. Ron, this wasn't too surprising. But her?
Hermione looked pleadingly at him. "Harry, I nev-"
"DON'T TRY TO DENY IT! YOU SAID SO YOURSELF TO GINNY AND YOU SAID THAT HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE LOOK BAD IN CLASS" He shouted at her. Hermione looked stricken and she got up and made to make her over to Harry who had his head down, his hair completely hiding his face from view.
"Harry, we never…" She sounded close to tears when he started laughing. His shoulders were shaking and everyone looked on in astonishment as he couldn't seem to stop laughing. It unnerved everyone. His laughter was subdued and had no trace of happiness or joy in it. Everyone were frozen in their places watching him until he finally looked back up and fixed his stare on Hermione who flinched.
His eyes were cold; there was no trace of the usual brightness in them. There was a small smile playing on his lips while he stared at her.
"Why are you laughing Potter?" Ron growled suddenly. Harry turned to look at him and at that moment fire that was blazing at the corner of the room hissed angrily. His face had transformed so drastically. His eyes were the worst, the usual warm green was gone. It was as if at that moment Ronald Weasley was nothing more than an insignificant bug under his shoe. The metal grate in front of the fire made a loud grinding noise as he took a step towards the redhead and no one could blame Ron for backing away.
"Why am I laughing?" Harry asked, his voice was quiet but it sent a chill to everyone's bones when they heard it. "I find it funny because after all these years, I never saw this coming. Especially from you two."
"Harry, please…" Hermione whispered, her eyes filled with tears.
"What Hermione?" He asked, turning to her. She fell silent and he looked at her for a few seconds before staring up at the ceiling. "This is pathetic. I can't believe what I just heard at all." He looked back at Ron and fixed his stare on him.
"I thought you two knew what was going on. Guess I was wrong."
"Harry…" Hermione spoke again but he growled, silencing her again.
"Hermione…There is nothing that I have to say to you." Spotting his bag lying on a table a few feet away from him he walked over to it and picked it up. He walked back to the entrance. One of the prefects tried to stop him but the look he gave her made her shrink away from him. Stopping before climbing out he looked back at Ron who was standing as still as a statue.
"Weasley, if you ever call Fleur a whore again there will be nothing that can stop me from cursing your mouth off your face."With that he pushed past the entrance leaving the deathly silent room behind.
"Where do you think you're going at this time?" The Fat lady demanded but Harry ignored her and walked around the corner, hiding himself from her gaze.
He pulled out his invisibility cloak and after putting it on he ran. With every step he took his mind was beginning to accept that what just happened had been real. Not even bothering about the noise he was making he ripped open the tapestry in the 3rd floor corridor that led to the school grounds. A weight was growing on his chest that was straining to break free of him. He ran straight to the place beside the lake where he often came to practice magic and pulled out his wand.
He didn't know what to do. It was getting painful. His magic was like an inferno, fueled by the raw feelings of betrayal and anger. It wanted release.
And release he did. He let loose a strangled yell as a gigantic beam of pure energy erupted from the end of his wand, streaking across the lake leaving a crackling trail behind. His legs gave out from under him and then he knew nothing more.
When he awoke much later, it was in his bed back in the Gryffindor tower.
Sighing he gave the password and climbed through. The chatter in the room died down when he emerged and Harry took no notice of everyone and walked determinedly towards the dormitory intending to get his books and take them with him so that he won't have to come back after meeting Sirius and Lupin to get them.
"Hey Harry, can we speak to you for a moment?" Fred asked, walking up to him with George right behind him. After regarding them for a moment he shrugged and followed them to their table. Fred turned around and Harry noticed that for the first time since he had known them, they neither of them had their usual grins on their faces.
"Listen, we want to apologize for what Ron said, we never thought anyway like that of you and we sent a letter to mom telling her about what he did." He said while George nodded in agreement. Harry regarded them silently for a moment before managing a small smile at them.
"There's nothing to apologize for." He said quietly. It was true; they had never been anything but decent with him. When they continued to look uncertain he decided to break the tension. "C'mon, where are the usual two I knew?" He asked and they broke into their usual grins.
"Fred and George, reporting for duty sir!" They said saluting smartly at him making Harry and the others that caught the exchange laugh.
"By the way, there are a couple of people I want you two to meet." Harry said remembering Basile and Jean.
"Will do Harry." George said. Katie, Angelina and Alicia climbed through the portrait hole behind them and Katie, spotting Harry made her way to him and the twins with the other two close behind them.
"Hey Harry, I overheard Professor McGonagall saying something about you being in the Hospital Wing. You ok?" Katie asked, looking at him in concern.
"It's alright. No, really I'm alright." He said when they continued to look at him worriedly.
"If you say so, I had never seen her so angry before. I walked in on her shouting at Ron over there, something about him not taking you to the hospital even after you fainted."
"He what?" Fred asked, his grin vanishing to be replaced with a scowl and glaring over at Ron who was at the opposite side of the room, ignoring them.
"If there's anything wrong you'll let us know won't you?" Alicia asked. Harry looked gratefully at them and nodded.
"I will, anyway…sorry guys but I've got to go." He said, glancing at his watch and noticing that it was almost 8. He went up the boy's dormitory and grabbed the books and stuffed them in his bag before heading back down. He came face to face with Hermione when he emerged back into the common room. A surge of anger flared in him and he walked past her when she opened her mouth to speak and climbed out of the portrait hole and set off towards the Room of Requirement.
Sirius and Lupin were already there and as soon as they saw Harry they stood up with stern expressions that reminded Harry of Professor McGonagall.
"I just got word from Dumbledore about what happened. Mind telling me exactly why you almost killed yourself?" Sirius growled. Harry explained what happened and at the end of it Lupin was frowning thoughtfully.
"You must have released almost every ounce of energy you had into that spell. Only when a wizard is put under severe strain or emotional instability can he manage that. What happened?" Harry grimaced.
"I'd rather not talk about it for now." He said quietly. Lupin regarded him for a few moments and nodded. Sirius still looked concerned but he let it go after a look from Lupin. They sat down and opened up some bottles of butterbeer that Lupin had brought.
"If you are put back in the hospital wing for doing magic again I will personally see to it that you are put away in St. Mungo's until you recover." Sirius said, narrowing his eyes at him.
"But it's a whole week." He whined.
"NO!" Sirius roared. "Harry do you have any idea how close to death you were?"
"Alright alright, I was only kidding. I don't want to spend a week on a bed anyway." He frowned thoughtfully, "Can't I start Occlumency yet?"
"I was planning on doing that today, but with your condition it would not be very wise." Lupin said gently. Harry nodded unhappily.
"What is Occlumency anyway?"
"It is a way of defending your mind against external penetration. The opposite of it is Legilimency that gives you the power of accessing another's thoughts and memories. Voldemort is well versed in both arts and after your visions Dumbledore agreed that it is necessary for you to learn to defend yourself should you need it."
"So Voldemort could see what we are thinking whenever he wants to?" Harry asked worriedly.
"It depends on how well a person's mind is guarded. Sometimes the victim of a Legilimency attack can even reflect it to their invader if they are well versed in Occlumency. I don't think you will have much trouble mastering it though. Resisting the Imperius curse is somewhat similar to this." He said smiling.
"So if I learn this, I might be able to block the visions?"
"That's what we're hoping for."
"Wait, what do you mean 'visions'? Did you have any more after the one you told me about?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, but none of them were as clear as the first one. They're all dark and blurry. I started seeing them after I came back to Hogwarts. It's usually always at night I see them and after that I usually can't go back to sleep at all."
"Hmm…we should have gotten started on this sooner. Will you start going over the theory first? We can start on it first thing after Madam Promfey deems you fully recovered." Lupin said and Harry nodded eagerly. If he could stop the visions he could finally have a good night's sleep. They settled in comfortable silence, enjoying the drinks and talking about some of the things Harry could practice without doing magic for the upcoming week. When it was getting late they went back to Hog's head leaving Harry to go back to the grounds.
He didn't want to admit it, but the visions he frequently saw made him uneasy and he was honestly afraid of falling asleep.
The rest of the weeks leading up to the day when the Goblet would choose the champions passed by without much incident. Harry noticed that Fleur and her friends always kept him company whenever they had free time, something that Harry was constantly looking forward to. He introduced the twins to them and later, the three chasers to them all of who became fast friends with each other. A number of hilarious incidents involving Filch, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and even Ron took place all of which Harry was sure the twins, Basile and Jean had a hand in.
Harry's was getting increasingly subdued whenever he wasn't with Fleur and the others. It seemed that most of his classmates were either too nervous to approach him or like Ron, muttered things behind his back. Hermione kept trying to speak to him but he completely ignored her, preferring to speak with Daphne whenever they had Potions or Runes. No one apart from the few that spoke to him even attempted to talk to him, and he didn't attempt to talk to anyone. It suited him better that way.
Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class was easily the most action packed. They were learning to take care of funny creatures that looked like a cross between a scorpion and a fire crab that Hagrid called 'Blast-ended Skrewts'. They quickly figured out why it was so called when one of them propelled itself forward with a bang with sparks flying out behind it. As time went by they seemed to get more and more aggressive and it was getting tougher to keep them from killing each other. Herbology was a smelly, all around disgusting affair where they were trying to extract a yellow pus from some plants which supposedly provided cures for acne. They couldn't wait to move on and onto the next part of the lesson which hopefully wouldn't be as bad as this.
Surprisingly, his best subjects became Transfiguration, Charms, Defense against the Dark Arts and most shockingly, Potions. All of the teachers, save Snape, were reveling in Harry's progress and they took great pride, Professor McGonagall especially, to give Harry more advanced bits of what they had just done seeing as he usually accomplished whatever was the goal of the lesson after just two or three attempts meaning he was free for the larger part of the lesson. Snape usually let him go whenever he finished and he almost never bothered Harry anymore, choosing to avoid him. A change which Harry greatly appreciated, and Malfoy hated.
Mad-eye Moody though he found rather strange. Ever since he'd thrown off the Imperius Curse he often caught him gazing at him, quickly looking away whenever their eyes met. Whenever Moody drank from his hip-flask near Harry he could smell a familiar odor of which he almost always forgot about within the next few minutes under the strain of the work put under them.
Harry, Fleur and the others visited Hogsmeade whenever they had the chance. The French students were very pleased with the tiny town and took great delight exploring it. Twice when they were in it, Amy, Caroline, Aurélie and the others mysteriously disappeared for a few hours leaving Harry and Fleur alone, something which they both found intriguing. Yet, they never questioned it and enjoyed the time they had together, both happy to be in each other's company.
He couldn't understand how it was with him and Fleur. He had multiple people from Hogwarts and even from Durmstrang come up to him and ask bluntly if they were going out together, which he always denied fighting down the urge to curse them when they got smiles on their faces when he did. Once, an elderly couple they ran into in a shop in Hogsmeade remarked about how good they both looked together causing them both to blush furiously and hurry out of the shop, much to the shopkeeper's amusement.
He realized by now that he was getting attracted to Fleur, but he was afraid to say anything and ruin the friendship they had. Looking at it logically, why would she ever see him as anyhing more than a friend? She's perfect in every way...gorgeous, witty, a far better person than he could ever hope to be. She could have any person she wanted in a heartbeat. More than half the students were head over heels for her. Why would she even need to look his way?
But even with all that he hated just how real the possibility was for something between them. Every little clue...the way she smiles at him, the way their hands would occasionally brush each other...it all just felt too good to be true.
Ever since Harry was declared to be fit once again for magic, he had gotten himself 3 very protective older sisters of sorts, Angelina, Katie and Alicia. All of who were closely watching over him. It was different from the constant nagging he used to get from Hermione, it made him feel like they were all a part of a big family.
His duels with Sirius were steadily improving. Much to Sirius's approval he had altogether stopped using defensive spells and he had already mastered the shield breaking spell. Harry was able to break through almost any shields that Sirius erected and more than once he managed to corner Sirius. Although Sirius always managed to get out of it, Harry knew that he was proud with the way Harry was doing.
Harry finally started on Occlumency and it was safe to say that it is one of the most hardest things he had ever done. Whenever Lupin dived into his memories Harry couldn't control his emotions when he was forced to relive them, thus causing his concentration to fail and allowing Lupin easy access to his mind. Additionally, he now had headaches each day and his visions were getting more numerous.
In almost no time at all it was the 30th of October. Harry watched with everyone else as the goblet ignited with brilliant blue flames at exactly 7 in the evening. Immediately afterwards the Durmstrang students with Krum in the lead each came forwards and dropped slips of paper with their names and school written on them into the goblet which flared red every time a paper was dropped. Harry gave Fleur's hand a comforting squeeze before she got up which elicited a small smile from her before she walked up to the goblet and confidently dropped in her name followed by the rest of the Beauxbatons students.
Many of the Hogwarts student dropped in their names too. So far, the favorites were Cedric Diggory and Angelina Johnson, with both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor cheering on their housemates. Harry didn't mind either way as long as none of the Slytherins got chosen as champion.
After dinner Harry had just said bid good night to Fleur and the others and was just walking up the grand staircase when he heard a muffled scream coming from outside. He faintly thought he recognized the voice and bolted back downstairs and out into the grounds, pushing past the people who were milling out the Great Hall.
Harry arrived just in time to see a group of Durmstrang boys grab hold of Fleur roughly as she screamed again. Amy and the others were a few feet away from them and he could see them rushing to help Fleur. Seeing Fleur scream snapped something in him and he whipped out his wand and yelled "Relashio!" pointing his wand at the boys who were repelled backwards violently, away from Fleur. He ran over to her and his anger increased at the sight of her on her knees sobbing slightly with part of her uniform torn.
He crouched down next to her and gently gripped her hand. She shivered slightly and leaned into his arms crying softly while he stood up awkwardly trying to comfort her in any way he could, wrapping his arms around her. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Karkaroff yelling at the four students. Madame Maxime came up to them and gently laid her hand on Fleur who was still shaking violently and refusing to let go of him.
"Monsieur potter can you bring Fleur to ze carriage?" She asked. Harry nodded and gently guided her towards the carriage with Amy, Caroline and Aurélie following glancing at Fleur worriedly. They hadn't gone a few feet before they heard a voice behind them.
"Excuse me?" They turned to see the Durmstrang boys and Madame Maxime eyed them icily. The rest of the Beauxbatons students suddenly drew drew closer together, blocking Fleur and Harry from view.
"Yes?" She asked coldly.
"Ve vanted to apologize for the vat happened, ve vere not in control of our actions." The tallest one of them said. Madame Maxime snorted.
"You really expect me to believe zat? Just because she is what she is does not excuse you in ze least for your behaviour. I know for a fact zat my student spends most of 'er time working 'ard to keep 'er allure under control. She 'ates ze attention she gets. You're telling me you 4 got enthralled by a non-adult Veela 'oo wasn't even trying?" Silence followed. "Remember zis. You are not in Bulgaria anymore. Come near 'er or any of my students again and you will not get away wiz eet." With that she turned around, striding towards the carriages with Harry and the others following in her wake.
Once they were inside the carriage Harry led Fleur to her room with the others. She had quieted down but every now and then she would shiver suddenly. When Harry tried to let go of her she tightened her grip on him making him look helplessly at Madame Maxime and the others.
"Let 'er 'ave some time 'Arry" Aurélie said softly. He nodded, glancing worriedly at Fleur who still had her face hidden from view in his arms. They gently closed the door leaving them inside.
"Fleur?" He murmured softly.
"Don't go." She whispered softly. She sounded so vulnerable that he couldn't find it in him to refuse.
He slowly slid to the floor, leaning against the wall with Fleur. It didn't seem prudent to put her on the bed, especially when she was refusing to let go.
She suddenly sighed and rested her head on his shoulder making him blush slightly before he pulled her closer to him. He could feel her breathing getting slower.
He took the time to look around the room. This was much like he'd imagined her room to be like; Neat and organized. He caught sight of a photo on the bedside table directly in front of him from which Fleur and the rest of her family were waving furiously at him. Grinning slightly he glanced down at Fleur and was startled to find that she was fast asleep. She was holding onto him rather tightly he noted, he knew he couldn't move without waking her.
Sighing softly he moved to make himself a bit more comfortable before returning his gaze to her. Even in her sleep she looked nothing less than breathtaking. You're in over your head Potter. He mused silently. Why did he have to fall for someone so far out of his reach?
Smiling at the irony of his situation right here and now, he closed his eyes. He felt far more at peace with her near him than he cared to admit.
Madame Maxime came to check on Fleur in the middle of the night and she gently pushed open the door. She was surprised when she found both her and Harry asleep and after a brief moment's hesitation she closed the door again as quietly as she could.
Fleur woke up early in the morning feeling a little sore. She almost jumped in surprise when her pillow rose and fell and she looked up to see Harry with his eyes closed, leaning back against the wall with one hand around her. Her 'pillow' had been his shoulder.
She looked at her watch, it was still only 5 in the morning and besides, she was loathe to leave her spot next to Harry.
She gazed up at him and watched him fondly while he breathed in and out. Feeling sleep take over her again she leant contently against Harry and smiled inwardly when she felt Harry's arm tighten around her.
...
They were woken up to a loud chorus of "Aww's" from the girls and both of them had hurriedly got up, sleepiness forgotten.
"I trust you two 'ad a good night's sleep?" Aurélie asked, winking at the pair. Harry looked so embarrassed that they burst out laughing at his expression, even Fleur.
"C'mon you two, we're going to Hogsmeade. The others are waiting for us outside." Caroline said before walking outside with the others, leaving Harry looking determinedly away from Fleur.
"I'm sorry Fleur, I meant to leave but I guess I fell as-" She silenced him with a quick peck on his cheek.
"Enough out of you." She murmured. "I'm glad you didn't leave." She couldn't help laughing at the embarrassed expression on his face. He really had no idea just how endearing that was.
"Well...I guess I'll let you get changed." He muttered, starting towards the door before she stopped him.
"Don't you 'ave to too?"
"I was going to go ba-"
"Anyzing wrong wiz doing eet 'ere?"
"N-no...I mean yes...I mean I can't..." He started stammering. She waved her hand, cutting him off.
"Zere's no need. Lock ze door, stay 'ere till I get changed and you can use my shower afterwards."
"But I don't have any clothes!" He whined.
"I'll get you somezing to wear. Now stay." She quickly took a shower and got changed after ensuring he wasn't leaving. Once she was done she ushered him in and left to salvage something to wear for him. It wasn't too hard seeing as one of her friends, Jean, was around the same size as him. Albeit a little taller.
Once they were done they left to join the others. Even the twins and the Gryffindor chasers had come and they all spent the rest of the day in Hogsmeade. The group had fun teasing both Harry and Fleur about what happened in the morning and both were thankful when they started heading back to the castle.
Harry determinedly ignored the jealous stares coming his way when they walked back to the Great Hall and instead focused on the goblet like many of the others. After the Halloween feast was served and the food cleared, the headmaster got up and an unnatural silence settled throughout the hall.
"It is time for the champions to be chosen." He said and almost as soon as the words had escaped his lips, the goblet began hissing violently and sparks of read shot out from it. The sparks suddenly disappeared and a piece of paper came floating through the air which Dumbledore caught.
"The champion for Durmstrang will be, Viktor Krum!" He read loudly and the hall was filled with cheers and applause. Dumbledore smiled at Krum and directed him towards a door on the right behind the staff table. He stared intently at the goblet which was now sparking red once more and Dumbledore caught another paper that floated through the air.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is, Fleur Delacour!" The hall was filled with applause again, and Harry grinned at her who smiled radiantly back at him before standing up and walking up to Dumbledore who watched her with his eyes twinkling before directing her too, to the door on the right. The tension was now high as the goblet starting hissing again. A paper came flying out which Dumbledore grasped.
"The champion for Hogwarts is, Cedric Diggory!" The whole Hufflepuff table were on their feet applauding as Cedric walked over to Dumbledore. Harry sighed inwardly, he was glad it wasn't Warrington, the 7th year from Slytherin.
"Now then, the champions have been chosen and…" Dumbledore stopped himself when the goblet started hissing again and a paper shot out of it. He caught it and stared at it for a moment while the flames in the goblet died down until it became nonexistent. The entire hall was deathly quiet and almost immediately Harry had a bad feeling that whatever it was, was going to be bad news.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Harry Potter" He called and Harry felt himself freeze.
This was very bad news.