"Again." Sirius called.
"Stupefy" Harry murmured, concentrating hard. The tip of his took on a red glow. Slowly, a glowing red ball grew at the tip of the wand which steadily grew larger and larger. After a few seconds Harry broke off, panting slightly but with a triumphant grin on his face. Floating just a few inches in front of him was a glowing red ball which remained perfectly stationary.
"Good." Sirius nodded with a grin. Harry flicked his wand and the ball disappeared. He turned to walk back to one of the armchairs and staggered slightly as his vision shifted in and out of focus.
"You alright Harry?" Lupin asked in a concerned voice as he sat down.
"Yeah, just lost focus for a bit." He muttered, wincing slightly as his shoulder gave a painful throb. He wasn't supposed to be moving around much after all. The Horntail's tail had buried itself a little too deep in shoulder/
"That's enough for now Harry. I only wanted you to do this because I wanted to see if you can. We can carry on after Christmas." Sirius said, sinking into the chair next to Harry.
It has been two weeks since the first task. Today was the first day of the Christmas break which oddly started sooner than normal. Lupin suggested that it would be better to do his training during the day now that they had time and had insisted with the backing of Sirius that they wouldn't teach him anything until he was back to a hundred percent. So today, around two in the afternoon found Harry, Sirius and Lupin in the Room of Requirement.
"Isn't that like two weeks?" He asked. "Seems like a waste don't you think?"
"Just take the time to rest. You need it after all. We had been meaning to tell you, we won't be here for the time anyways." Sirius muttered after a few moments.
"Why?" Harry asked with a frown.
"A few things we have to do…we'll let you know later Harry." Sirius added, catching the look on Harry's face.
"Is it something to do with what happened at the first task?" Harry asked curiously. From what he knew, no one had any idea about who cast the Imperius curse on one of the Dragon handlers. The wizard himself had no memory of it and it was assumed that he was under the Imperius curse a few days before the task took place.
"You could say that." Sirius replied with a smirk. "That reminds me, have you checked out your egg yet?"
"Yeah, all it does is wail loudly until I close it. I have no idea what it means."
"When did you say the second task was again?" Lupin asked.
"Bagman just told us it's on February." Harry said with a shrug, immediately regretting it when his shoulder gave a sharp throb.
"We can work on that later then."
"You can use this time for more important things." Sirius said with a grin. "How are things with the French Champion?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked feebly, feeling his cheeks warm up.
"Don't act dumb...I'll never forgive you if you let someone like that get away from you. She's one hell of a catch, take some initiative!" Sirius was still grinning widely at the embarrassed look on Harry's face while Lupin watched in amusement. "And while you're at it, work on those other French witches too. I'm starting to regret that I spent most of my time here in England. If half the witches in France are as good as the ones here it must be paradise."
Harry covered his face with his palm. "Aren't they a little too young for you Padfoot?" Lupin asked with a smirk.
"Well, they are still women aren't they? Besides, there's bound to be plenty of older women that look like that in France."
"And he wonders why James got married before him." Lupin muttered while Harry laughed.
"I heard that." Sirius growled. Glancing down at his watch he got up. "Alright Harry, it's almost three. We should be heading back." Harry nodded and stood up with Lupin.
"So we won't be meeting again until Monday then?" Harry asked.
"No. And I don't want to hear that you spent even five minutes in the Hospital Wing because you recklessly practice magic alright?" Sirius said sternly.
"Got it." Harry replied with a grin. After exchanging farewells Harry stepped outside of the room after carefully checking to see if no one was around with his map. It was day time after all.
As he made his way down the stairs slowly, he passed numerous students who openly stared at him in awe. It was like the earlier mutterings and subtle hostility that had been directed to him ever since he became a champion never happened. Carefully avoiding their gazes he quickened his pace, trying to make his way downstairs as soon as possible.
This, the way they acted frustrated him. They always changed. It was just like back in his second year when everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin. They all avoided him like a plague and spoke behind his back. By the end of the year once everything was clear, he went back to being the person they admired and liked. It was no different now. At least the Slytherins never change, they always hated me since day 1.
It seemed that the everyone were shocked by his performance in the first task. Fred and George who had secretly set up bets for who was most likely to win in the first task were now rolling in galleons.
Everyone that had placed bets had favored either Cedric or Krum to win. Some had even placed bets that Harry wouldn't last longer than a five minutes against the Dragon. Still some had even betted that Fleur would be almost as bad as Harry. The twins had of course placed their own bets, placing everything they had and more on Harry and Fleur acting on a whim.
The level of spells he had used that day had not gone unnoticed by anyone. Rita Skeeter had commented on it in the Daily Prophet, to quote;"Mr. Potter showed that he is not the average fourth year Hogwarts student. The question is, what else has he been hiding?"
Apparently everyone knew by now that Harry was not representing Hogwarts as his points were not added up in Hogwart's favor. The Daily Prophet had slightly exaggerated here and made him out into a sort of a rogue champion. This however had given some people the idea that he was not representing his school because of his arrogance.
The Dragon handler who had endangered his, Charlie and his associate's lives while under the Imperius curse had apologized countless times to him when he had met him. Harry thought he had seen fear in the man's eyes which irked him slightly, it seemed he had been expecting Harry to press charges for it. The man had no memory about who cast the curse on him or when. A few drops of Veritaserum had confirmed his innocence as Sirius informed him.
This incident however, was not made public. Mostly everyone thought that it had been a freak accident. If this was made public the tournament would have been forced to shut down. It was clear that whoever did this was aiming for him and him only. If the tournament was shut down it meant that everything the others had worked for was for naught. Harry was still glad that the tournament was still going on. If it did shut down it meant that there would be no more reason for either of the foreign schools to remain here anymore and he wasn't ready to say good bye to Fleur at all. His desire to be with her had only increased after the first task to a point that it was scary.
With their mutual affections out in the open, they had become closer to each other than they already were before the task. She didn't have any problems with openly displaying her affection for him which after his initial shock and embarrassment when she had kissed him in the middle of the Great Hall during dinner one time, he happily returned. He still couldn't believe his luck and how everything had turned out between them and he couldn't remember feeling this happy in his entire life.
He knew that they were going to have to talk about how this was going soon but he also dreaded it. He was scared that it might change what they were having now. He didn't understand why she would choose him of all people, an underage wizard who was nothing but a heap of trouble.
"Harry?" He was brought out of his musings by a tentative voice beside him. He jumped slightly, coming out of his reverie. Recognizing the voice immediately he carefully stepped a little farther away.
"What, Hermione?" He asked, not bothering to disguise his annoyance. He wanted to get downstairs where Fleur and the others were waiting for him. He was already running late and was afraid of what they were going to do to him when they found him. He always avoided mentioning where he went when he went to meet Sirius and Lupin and although they never questioned him, he knew that they were a little worried about it because he always came back looking unusually tired, looking like he would fall over.
"Um, I just wanted to know how you were doing." He looked at Hermione. She looked genuinely worried and her eyes were a little red. She had kept trying to talk to him after the task but he never gave her the chance. He suddenly felt a spasm of guilt and after a long moment he tried his best to smile at her and force his voice back to normal.
"I'm alright, still a little sore but I should be fine." She made a small noise that sounded like a sob which only made him more uncomfortable.
"That's great. You were amazing out there Harry. You really were." She said quietly. She looked like she was struggling to say something but fell silent again.
"Thanks…er" Harry stopped when she opened her mouth to speak again and looked at her curiously.
"Sorry." She said in a small voice. Harry tried to speak but she went on, cutting him off. "Fleur is a great person, I'm glad you two are together." She finished with a small smile and Harry rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"Thank you." He murmured. She nodded and turned away. "Hermione!" He called after her. She had only walked a few steps away from him and she turned to look at him. "I'll see you around later." A large smile broke out on her face and she looked for a moment like she was going to dash at him but seemed to think better of it. He grinned, feeling oddly light like something had been lifted off his chest and after waving goodbye at her, turned and continued downstairs.
He had been guilty with the way he had treated Hermione. No matter how angry or betrayed he felt with her he couldn't stand that he was causing her pain emotionally, this made him glad that he was finally able to at least try, and give her a chance today. It had been a constant, gnawing pain in his head for some time now.
Ron on the other hand, he couldn't find it in him to forgive him. Charlie had somehow found out that Ron hadn't informed Harry about the letter he had sent him about the Dragons, something which Harry suspected the twins had a big hand in. Harry didn't know the details but it seemed that Charlie had quite a few words with Ron before he left for Romania. Ron noticeably became very subdued afterwards, not even coming down to eat at meal times.
He stepped outside to the grounds and quickly made his way to the secluded spot near the lake, ignoring some of the students who called out to him. As soon as he reached it, he saw an angry Fleur standing with her arms crossed, staring at the lake. When he got closer she turned her head sharply in an almost bird-like movement.
"You better 'ave a good reason for not being 'ere when you said you would." Fleur demanded. Harry got as close as he thought was safe and looked at her imploringly. He could see her eyes that were narrowed softened noticeably but her expression remained angry.
"Well?"
"I'm sorry, I lost track of time." He said quietly looking down. He couldn't understand it, but he couldn't stand to have her angry at him. It was quiet for a while until she sighed softly and walked up to him and gently lifted his face up so that his eyes met hers.
"'Arry, I'm only worried about you because I'm scared zat you will end up back in ze 'ospital wing for doing somezing reckless again. I don't know where you keep disappearing off to all the time and I can't 'elp but worry." She said softly.
"It's fine Fleur, really. I will make a promise now that I will tell you where I keep going soon though." He wanted to tell her about Sirius and Lupin and what it was that he was doing, but he was afraid that she would be frightened off by it. Revealing why he was training would mean that he was going to have to tell her everything about him and Voldemort.
She seemed to sense the internal conflict because she put her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. He took a sharp intake of breath before he buried his face in her hair.
"I don't need to know where you go off to if it izsomezing you are uncomfortable wiz revealing." She whispered, her breath tickling his ear. Then she smirked unseen by Harry. "As long as you aren't going to meet wiz another girl."
Harry pulled away from her and instantly she knew her words had hurt him. Her heart almost broke at the sight of his face; his eyes lost their usual glow that made them light up, replaced by an almost lifeless look.
"I'd never do that to you." He said quietly.
"'Arry…" Cursing herself for making him like this. He looked away and she gently cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her. She slowly leaned in and kissed him, enjoying the way the feeling of his soft lips and the way his face warmed up whenever she did this. Closing her eyes she concentrated on transferring all her feelings for him.
After a few moments she reluctantly pulled away. She leaned her head against his and slowly opened her eyes to find that the green eyes had regained some of its beautiful glow.
"I know you won't."
The Christmas decorations in the castle this year were by far the most spectacular that Harry had ever seen. Instead of just the usual green Christmas trees that usually decorated the Great Hall, there were numerous snowy white trees that had been decorated in addition to the usual amount of trees.
The suits of armor were spotless and instead of swords, they now carried candy canes. None of them seemed to be too happy about it though, some even showing their irritation by tripping random people with their canes as they walked past them in the corridors.
All around the school there were occasional outbursts of Christmas carols, courtesy of the numerous portraits. This time though, it was sung in French and Bulgarian in addition to English. The smells wafting in from the kitchens below meant that the house elves were busier than they had ever been.
Mistletoe was something of a nightmare this year. Harry was finding it extremely difficult to stay inside the castle without his invisibility cloak anymore. Wherever he went a large number of girls always followed, forcing him to spend almost all of his time outside. Not that he complained though, Fleur was facing the same, if not worse problem with the boys as was Aurélie and Caroline. Amy seemed to have picked up a boy from Durmstrang and she kept disappearing for increasingly long amounts of time.
Fred, George, Jean and Basile were having the time of their lives. All four of them Harry noticed, were exceptionally talented with mind altering charms which they put to full use once on a mistletoe targeting an unsuspecting Malfoy and a seventh year Slytherin that Fred and George seemed to hate. What happened afterwards emotionally scarred a few first years who were unlucky enough to catch the sight and rendered Malfoy unable to show his face to the school for a good number of days.
Harry was for the first time reluctantly dragged into Fleur's room in the Beauxbatons carriage one day. It was freezing outside and neither of them wanted to walk into the castle which was in a state of chaos with more than half of the students taking after the twin's and the French prankster's idea. Either way, it was extremely hazardous for any of them to venture into the castle.
They had even met Krum and Cedric outside along with a few others who had also wanted to escape the madness in the castle. They had politely declined when Krum had invited them to the ship, partly due to the fact that one of the boys who attacked Fleur was with them.
Harry who immediately went to sit on the chair next to the window was dragged by Fleur onto the bed by her while Aurélie and Caroline stood by the side watching in amusement.
"Why don't we go to the dining table?" He whined as Fleur pulled him backwards onto her while Caroline sat down, bouncing on the bed slightly.
"Because zis is much more comfortable." Aurélie said with a wink sitting down next to Caroline.
"And my butt felt like it was going to get frozen off…what? I'm just telling it like it is." Caroline added at the three questioning looks.
Harry soon got over his nervousness of being in bed with Fleur who had her head pressed against his chest again while Caroline and Aurélie were leaning on some pillows that they had conjured up, laughing and reminiscing about the past years.
Harry found this oddly familiar and comforting. Like it was something he once had and yet never received. Even though him, Ron and Hermione had been best friends they never did anything like this, just sitting and talking together without a particular purpose. It was always about something that was going on that needed to be discussed or Hermione was always either reading a book and Ron was focused on talking about Quidditch. Harry had to answer to both of them.
This was different. Apart from Fleur who was cuddled up against him who had already become an almost vital part of his life although he didn't know how to define it, Caroline and Aurélie felt a lot like family to him. It was an entirely new feeling, as they all kept joining in on the conversations or poking fun at each other.
He felt that he, rather than spending his earlier three years in Hogwarts, had spent almost six years in Beauxbatons with the witches.
"Right then, I have an important announcement to you all." McGonagall said sternly, silencing the entire common room. She stayed quiet while the general murmur in the room died down until it was complete silence.
"This year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Yule Ball in light of the Triwizard tournament which will be taking place on the evening of Christmas. Only fourth year and above are allowed however you may invite a younger student if you wish." McGonagall was sounding even more strict than usual.
"Now this event is a chance for us all to, in lack of a better word, loosen ourselves. That does NOT mean however that I will tolerate any of the Gryffindors bringing shame to his or her house. Each and every one of you represent our house, therefore each and every one of you represent us. It only takes one badly behaved individual to cause the reputation of the house and its students to crumble. Understand?" She asked. She waited for about two minutes, when no one seemed to be speaking she nodded in satisfaction.
"Mr. Potter, I'd like to have a word with you outside." Feeling a little apprehensive he followed after McGonagall who disappeared through the portrait hole. Once outside he was surprised to find that she hadn't moved an inch and was waiting for him to climb out.
"Now Mr. Potter, before you say anything I know that you are not representing a school in this competition. However it is traditional for the champions to open the dance with their respective partners."
"Umm Professor? What did you mean when you said partners?" Harry asked hurriedly, unsure of whether he had heard properly or not.
"Yes Mr. Potter, your partner, your dance partner."
"But I don't…I mean I can't dance." He stammered, blushing slightly. The corners of McGonagall's mouth twitched upwards in a rare smile.
"Well then I suggest you make haste and get practice, you wouldn't want to disappoint Miss Delacour would you?" Then she turned and left, leaving Harry standing speechless.
Harry was absolutely dreading going to the ball. True, the first thought that had jumped to his mind when McGonagall had mentioned the ball was that he probably wouldn't go. He was scared that he would embarrass Fleur in front of everyone. There wasn't anyone else he would go with other than her after all, but the fact remained that he couldn't dance.
He deliberately let off asking Fleur to the ball for two days. He knew it hurt her although she never mentioned anything about it while they were together. He needed to find a way to learn to dance and he kept trying to get help from Professor McGonagall. But she seemed to be too busy every time he checked. He was running out of time too.
Fleur had gotten invited to the ball countless times as Caroline had informed him and told him to get a move on. Although he knew that she would never accept to go to the ball with any of them there was still a tiny part at the back of his mind that was scared that she might get tired of him and accept, another darker part of him wanted to rip whoever that asked her limb from limb.
She wasn't alone though, he had countless distractions while he was desperately trying to find a way to learn to not embarrass himself at the ball. Many of the Hogwarts girls seemed to think he was a worthy catch, especially now that he wasn't looked down as a champion. There were even quite a few girls from Durmstrang that had their eyes on him and he realized that the easiest way to stop everyone from asking him and Fleur to go to the ball respectively was to ask her and be done with it.
So it was with these thoughts that he carefully removed Aurélie from the group the first chance he got the next day and confessed about his total lack of knowledge about dancing.
She started laughing.
"It's not that funny." He muttered while she beckoned him into an empty classroom that they had located.
"It is for me." She choked out in between giggles.
"Come on, please help me." He moaned. She finally stopped giggling and regarded him with a mischievous smirk.
"And what do I get in return?" She sticking her nose up in the air and folding her arms in a perfect imitation of a snob.
"I don't know!"
"'Ow about a solid gold set of Gobstones?" She asked in a thoughtful voice. Harry gaped at her. "Oh come on! I'm kidding. Umm…'ow about you two visit me when you come to France in the summer?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Huh?" She suddenly blushed and looked sheepish. "What do you mean? France? Summer?" She refused to talk no matter what he tried. Finally giving up he fell silent when she refused to talk. After a few moments of silence she looked up in relief.
"Alright, come 'ere." She held out her hand and Harry looked at her in surprise. "Take it." She growled and he hesitantly took it and she intertwined her fingers around his. Next she grabbed his other hand which was lying uselessly at his side and placed it on her waist, sighing when he blushed at the contact.
"'Onestly 'Arry. You are mature about everything else but when it comes to zings like zis you are worse zan a five year old." He looked hurt at this but she grinned triumphantly when he stopped fidgeting and remained still.
"Just copy me for now." She slowly started moving slowly on the spot. "And watch your feet!" She yelped, narrowly avoiding his foot which was now standing where hers had been a split second ago.
"Sorry." He mumbled sheepishly.
"It's alright, now…" Even Harry had to admit, it's simple. After a few steps and a few twirls he found that it was getting easier to keep going. Aurélie flicked her wand and a light tune started playing and soon, they were getting well into it until Harry had fully learnt all the steps.
He was surprised to find that it hadn't taken more than a few hours when they stepped out.
"Thanks a lot Aurélie, seriously." He said smiling at her to which she returned.
"No problem, umm…" She had the same sheepish expression she had at the beginning. "Don't tell Fleur I said anyzing ok?"
Faking a look of confusion he turned to her, "Did you say anything about summer? Oh yeah you did, thanks for the reminder!"
"'Arry…" She growled and reached out to him and he danced out of her reach.
"I'll specifically ask her about what you said." He yelled, sprinting down the corridor while she laughed and chased after him, ignoring the looks of amusement on the others who were watching both of them act like four year olds.
Harry grinned as he sped down the stairs, she was still closely behind him and he ducked when a bolt of silver light narrowly missed him which he recognized as the tickling charm. Unfortunately at that moment he ran headlong into a surprised and extremely large 7th year and with the force of the impact he lost his footing and tumbled onto the ground.
"Now…" He heard a soft voice behind him and looked around to see Aurélie standing over him with an evil grin on her face. He barely had time to react when she descended on him, tickling every inch of him she could reach making him laugh uncontrollably while the onlookers looked on laughing as the same person who had taken down a Dragon was now writhing helplessly on the floor, helpless to the blue haired witch who was showing no mercy.
A loud clearing of a throat behind them forced Aurélie to stop, much to Harry's relief and they both turned sheepishly to find Professor McGonagall looking at them with a stern expression although she had a hint of a smile on her face.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Belcourt, if you two could kindly act your age?" She asked as they both pushed themselves off the floor blushing slightly.
"Sorry Professor." Harry said in embarrassment while he heard Aurélie mutter something similar next to him.
She sighed, "Off you go then."
Neither needed telling twice as they hurried down the corridor.
Soon afterwards they found Fleur who was in the school courtyard with Caroline talking with Cedric who grinned at him as he made his approach.
"Where have you two been? You should have seen it, it was the funniest thing ever!" Caroline exclaimed while Fleur and Cedric looked amused.
"What happened?" Harry asked, sitting down on the ledge next to Fleur who moved a bit to make space for him and immediately took his hand, surprising him slightly.
"Ronald Weasley asked Fleur to the ball." Cedric replied with a smirk. Harry's jaw dropped while the others burst out laughing.
"How did this happen?" Harry couldn't make neither head nor tail of this but he could feel his anger growing towards Ron. What was he playing at?
"I don't think he meant to though." Caroline replied.
"Huh?" Harry asked confused, looking at Fleur curiously. She smiled and shook her head.
"'E is not exactly ze picture of self control…" She murmured and he understood. How could he forget?
"It was still funny, after he asked her he just stood there for about a whole minute and ran away." Caroline said, smirking at the memory.
"Oh yeah Harry I wanted to ask you, Krum asked if he could meet with us sometime in the Quidditch Pitch sometime." Cedric said, his eyes glinting in excitement while Harry gaped.
"What?"
"Yeah, he said he wants to see how Hogwart's finest handles a broom." Aurélie smirked.
"And zat is you and 'Arry?"
"Of course!" Both of them exclaimed. Fleur grinned.
"So you accept it? I never expected you 'ad some ego 'Arry, or even you Cedric." Harry and Cedric grinned evilly.
"When it comes to Quidditch, we shouldn't hide should we Harry?" Cedric inquired with a thoughtful expression.
"Of course. It's always going to be Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and lastly stinking Slytherin." Harry declared.
"Hey! Why did you put Hufflepuff after Gryffindor?" Cedric whined.
"Because I have to fall off my broom for you to catch the snitch." Cedric lunged for Harry and grabbed his head under his arm and rubbed his head hard with his knuckles while the others laughed at the sight.
After a few minutes where Harry struggled to get out from under Cedric's arm they both sat panting on the ground.
"You've changed somewhat Harry." Cedric said grinning.
"Yeah?" Harry asked returning the grin.
"Yeah. Looks like your girlfriend is being a bad influence on you." Harry who was blushing now punched Cedric's shoulder lightly and he clutched his arm with a mock hurt expression and glanced at Fleur. "See what I mean?"
"I'm glad, 'e was a leetle too innocent when I met 'im." Fleur said with a wide smile.
"Hey! We did the most part!" Caroline huffed indignantly. Cedric immediately put up his hands.
"I know, I know. I saw what you did to Malfoy, I see where Harry here gets his new violent streak from." He said cheekily and laughed with the others as she smacked the top of his head.
"When did Krum ask for us?" Harry asked curiously.
"A few days ago, when he invited us to the Durmstrang ship…remember?"
"Quidditch talk?" Harry asked with a smirk.
"What else? Got to improve relations with the other schools as champion right? Seeing as you've got Beauxbatons more than covered on your end." Cedric finished grinning while Harry blushed and the witches smirked at his words.
"We could use one more contact in Hogwarts though Mr. Diggory, seeing as Harry here is already taken." Caroline purred and Harry laughed as Cedric went red.
"Hey Cho!" Harry exclaimed making Cedric get to his feet in a flash and look around in fear. The sounds of laughter behind him made him growl as he grabbed Harry who was still laughing on the ground.
After a while Cedric left saying he needed to see Cho and Harry nervously got to his feet. He still needed to ask Fleur to go the ball with him.
"Fleur? Can I talk to you for a sec?" He asked. She nodded with a smile while Caroline huffed.
"Fine, we can tell when we're not wanted." She marched away and Aurélie laughed.
"We'll meet you two at Dinner zen." She winked at Harry and ran to catch up with Caroline. Harry and Fleur left the courtyard and into the grounds. Harry didn't know why he was nervous, he already knew that she felt the same way about him as he did her. He glanced down at their intertwined hands and smiled, he had no idea exactly when or where his hand had found its way into Fleur and the thought made him happy.
Once they reached their usual spot by the lake he turned and faced her nervously. By the mischievous glint in her eyes he knew she had an idea of what he was trying to do. He tried to speak but faltered when the wind blew slightly, causing her long hair to flow gently across her face, making her look angelic.
Summoning all of his courage he took a deep breath.
"Fleur Isabelle Delacour, will you go to the ball with me?" He spoke softly and was surprised to find that he didn't stumble on any of the words.
Fleur smiled beautifully at him making his heart skip a couple of beats. "'Oo else would I got wiz?" She murmured, resting her head on his while he sighed in relief and closed his eyes at the contact.
"Sorry I took so long." He said quietly. She giggled softly and kissed him.
"I did wonder, are you going to tell me why?" She asked playfully.
"I'll let you know at the ball?" He asked.
"Eet's a surprise?"
"I'm hoping it will be a good one." He said laughing.
That night Harry noticed throughout dinner that his eyesight was sliding in and out of focus and at brief moments his vision would black out to be replaced by shadows around him. He also felt himself getting increasingly sleepy as the time wore on.
Assuring everyone that he was just tired and needed to sleep he made his way back to the common room and up to the dormitory, collapsing onto his bed the moment he reached it, forgetting to take off his clothes and glasses with his face buried on the pillow.
He was gazing down at a cowering man in front of him while a few feet in front of him were two silent figures who were watching the scene before them.
They were in a darkened room, the walls were covered in multiple scratches and the window in front of him was half covered with a large piece of cloth, letting moonlight stream in.
"Master...p…please, I…" The man in front of him whispered. He laughed, the sound sent chills down his spine. The laughter was high and cold and carried no humor in it. He liked it, he liked hearing the fear in this man's voice.
"Who said you can speak?" He asked. "Again." One of the figures at the back raised a wand and pointed it at the covering man.
"Crucio" A surge of pleasure shot through him as the man screamed. After a full minute he raised his hand and the figure lowered his wand. The man's screams subsided and he could hear him crying, sobbing like a newborn.
"Well Wormtail? Do you want another taste of pain? Or will you take it to heart that you will not fail me again?" He asked coldly. Wormtail nodded swiftly.
"Y-yes master."
"You have failed me too many times Wormtail. I will give you only one more chance, fail me again and you will not see the light of another day."
"Yes my lord."
"Remove yourself from my presence." He spat. Once Wormtail scurried away he beckoned one of the figures forward.
"My lord?" He asked. His voice was like a low growl.
"Greyback, it seems that my servant in Hogwarts has broken free of our control and has taken matters into his own hands. He has become a thorn in my side." The man grinned, showing large fangs.
"He will be taken care of my lord." He glared at him and instantly the man looked down in fear with a barely audible whine.
"I trust you can follow my orders more efficiently than Wormtail?"
"Yes my lord."
"Then you will do well to consider your words before you speak. You will act on June, we cannot risk drawing attention more than we already have to ourselves. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes my lord." He repeated.
"The boy is vital, I do not think that we can follow with the original plan now. It will be up to you to make sure he gets to me, and that our friend is disposed of." The man's eyes glinted in excitement nodded.
"Good, leave us." He waited until the room was empty before closing his eyes. He could not, would not show weakness in front of his followers. He only had to endure for little bit more after all.
Miles away Harry Potter snapped his eyes open, sweat pouring down his face. He could still remember vividly what he had seen. What was going on? Who was Greyback? Who was the servant in Hogwarts?
Glancing around the room he got to his feet quietly. He needed to tell Dumbledore about this. Grabbing his cloak which he threw over himself, completely covering himself. After quietly climbing out of the portrait hole and ignoring the Fat Lady's startled gasp he hurried down to Dumbledore's office and pulled off his cloak as he strode nearer to the Gargoyle.
"Whoa there son you shouldn't be here this time of night." It said.
"I need to see Professor Dumbledore, it's kind of urgent." The Gargoyle shook its head.
"You missed him earlier, he's gone. Left some time ago actually." Harry cursed under his breath.
"Do you know when he will be back?"
"Can't say I do. Now you better get back to bed." It said sternly. Harry grinned slightly and nodded, throwing his cloak back on. But he didn't head back to the common room, instead choosing to head down to the grounds. Once outside he took off his cloak and proceeded down to the lake, wondering if he should write a letter to Sirius like he did last time or just wait until they got back.
There was one thing that made him nervous though. In the dream or vision, he was Voldemort. It wasn't like the last time when he had been watching from the sides. He had felt the emotions, he had felt the pleasure at hearing Wormtail's screams. He didn't know what to make of it and he felt like he was tainted, half of him was unwilling to mention this to Dumbledore or Sirius and yet another half of him knew that this was something they needed to know.
No, this wasn't something that he could put in a letter. This was something he needed to see them personally and ask about. Sighing he gazed up at the night sky as a bright red star twinkled brightly, remembering his first year when he had met the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.
"Mars is unusually bright today." He muttered under his breath, catching himself by surprise before proceeding to walking along the shore, letting the cool air soothe him. Gazing fondly at the Beauxbatons carriage he let his thoughts drift to Fleur which immediately calmed him down, wondering what on Earth he had ever done to have someone like her in his life. He felt like he was living in a dream with her. He realized now that she was something that he needed to keep going. The thought scared him yet he didn't want to deny it to himself.
Gazing back up at the sky he realized there were a multitude of blue stars surrounding the red one, all of them twinkling as brightly as the red one. The sight was strangely appealing to him as he sat down under the tree, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky. Before he realized it, he was fast asleep, no longer troubled by any nightmares.
Harry and Cedric met with Krum at the Quidditch pitch the next day. Harry was shocked to find that Krum was actually really friendly and even rather talkative. Contrary to how he had been acting. After introductions they had taken to the skies, both Harry and Krum chuckling in amusement at Cedric who was whining at being left behind since he was still using a Nimbus 2001, which while being an excellent broom, was not quite in the league with the Firebolt.
Harry had the most amount of fun in a long time. He had longed for so long to be back in the air, but the First task and his lessons with Sirius and Lupin had been taking up almost all of his time. Krum had brought his own golden snitch which added to the fun, turning the pitch into a three way duel between the three Seekers to catch it.
Harry only managed to grab the snitch twice, and that too he counted on sheer luck. Krum was in a completely different world from knew that there was no way he had a chance at beating him in at a match. Krum however laughed when Cedric and Harry expressed their amazement once they were on the ground.
"I hav been playing Quidditch since I vas four." He said, chuckling at the looks on their faces.
"Dam, and you're like, the youngest player in an International team." Cedric muttered, shaking his head.
"One of our beaters is 19, only an year older than I." He replied with a shrug. "You two should try, England can use a useful Seeker." Harry grinned.
"You talking about Lynch?" Krum smirked.
"Almost as useless as our Chasers." They roared in laughter as they made their way off the pitch. They had only just then realized that the stands had collected quite a crowd and they were eager to make themselves scarce.
Christmas day was soon upon them. There was a sense of badly concealed excitement in the air as everyone scrambled around, grabbing their presents from under their beds. Harry woke up and eyed the room sleepily, just making out the figures of Neville, Seamus, Dean and Ron who were ripping off the covers on their presents. Harry got up and pushed on his glasses, looking happily at the huge pile under his bed.
"Merry Christmas Harry! And thanks for the present!" Neville yelled happily and Harry chuckled.
"You too Neville." It was nice to see Neville so happy and loud. He was usually quiet and timid. Taking a leaf out of Moody's book he had given Neville a book on Herbology.
None of the other boys around him said anything but he didn't care, proceeding to unwrap his presents.
He got the usual sweater from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley although this time it had a golden dragon stitched to it along with some homemade treats. From Fred and George he got a huge bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and an assortment of Zonko's merchandise. He also had some strange looking instruments from Jean and Basile which he thought were probably not safe to touch until he had asked them about it. Neville had given him a Wizard's Chess set. Hermione's gift was a book on Advanced Transfiguration. He felt glad that they had made up after all.
Angelina, Alicia and Katie had all chipped in and given him a brand new broomstick servicing kit. Hagrid had sent him some of his signature rock cakes along with a wallet made from Dragon hide. To his surprise he also had a pair of Dragon hide boots from Charlie.
Sirius had given him a brand new wand holster. Lupin had gotten him a golden snitch which started flying around at high speeds around the room as soon as he opened the box. It took a few minutes but as soon as the snitch flew closer to him he snatched it out of the air in a flash and stuffed it inside the box.
He got a bottle of men's perfume from Amy and from Aurélie he got a brand new set of Wizard Robes which were plan black except they had a more stylish look to it than normal. Caroline had given him a black shirt which had a designer label that he had seen on some of Uncle Vernon's shirts back when he was in Privet Drive.
Finally he reached for Fleur's present. Tearing it open eagerly he was momentarily stunned when he saw a framed photo. It was of him and Fleur and they were both sitting on the floor. His arms wrapped around her and she was cuddled up against his chest. He realized that this was probably taken back when they had fallen asleep on the day that he had spent the night with her. Even as he watched his photo-self kissed the topof her head and tightened his arms around her, grinning up at him while she smiled shyly at him.
He set the photo on his bedside table next to the one of his parents who immediately waved at them. After watching the two photos for a whilelost in his own thoughts he got up and after dressing in warm clothes he left, climbing out of the portrait hole and happily wishing the Fat Lady a Merry Christmas.
In all his memory he had never seen the castle this crowded on Christmas day. People were tearing up and down the corridors with charmed snowballs they had brought in from outside and shouting at the top of their voices. Filch was running around, screaming in fury as the floor was getting dirty with all the melted snow. The teachers were trying to restore order too although none of them looked like they had the heart to do it.
Down at the Great Hall he had just reached the Gryffindor table when Fleur threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and knocking the wind out of him. Laughing he lifted her off her feet while she shrieked in surprise. Setting her down he noticed she was already wearing the silver bracelet he had given her and on her other hand she held a beautiful silver flower which he had carefully charmed. The bracelet was plain but it had an intricate design to it.
"Merry Christmas." He said in amusement as he smiled at her. Her blue eyes gleaming beautifully. Whenever she got excited she kept speaking in French without her knowledge and right now he had no idea what she was saying, although he knew by now what 'Merci' meant.
He wasn't allowed much time to decipher what she was saying though as she kissed him, hard to which he responded by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him.
Their moment was interrupted a few minutes later by a loud clearing of a throat however.
Blushing brightly they broke away and gazed down at the Gryffindor table. He just noticed that everyone else were already seated, staring at them.
"It's like we're not even there." Fred said, shaking his head.
"C'mon guys, control yourselves. I'm too young to see this." George said with a mock horrified look.
"Thanks for presents by the way mate, you'll forgive us if we don't thank you like Fleur did right?" Fred asked with a worried look causing everyone to burst out laughing, even Harry and Fleur despite their faces still being bright red.
"I wouldn't mind." Caroline said seductively with a wink which made Fleur glare at her while the laughter increased.
"Thanks for ze presents 'Arry." Amy said happily while the others added in their thanks making him smile and nod his head as he and Fleur slipped into their seats.
"You guys too." Catching Hermione's eye who was seated a little away from them with Neville and Lavender he grinned and mouthed "Merry Christmas" which she happily returned.
The rest of the day flew by fast. Everyone were excited with the prospect of the upcoming ball and quite honestly, Harry was getting increasingly nervous. Fleur seemed to be a little more nervous too as the time to the ball kept drawing closer, both of them catching each other's eyes and looking away in embarrassment. Finally the twins dragged everyone outside where a large scale snowball fight erupted which lasted until about 3 in the afternoon until the girls decided to start getting ready leaving the boys speechless.
"Why would zey need 5 'ours?" Jean asked in confusion, paying for his lapse in concentration by receiving a face full of snow with a well-aimed hit from George which immediately resumed the fight, lasting for another hour.
Harry trudged up to the Gryffindor tower soaked from head to foot in snow and shivering slightly. When he was on the 3rd floor however he saw Lupin who was making his way back upstairs and after staring in astonishment ran after him.
"Remus! Hey!" Lupin turned around, smiling brightly.
"Harry! Whoa there…" He chuckled when Harry threw his arms around him. "Merry Christmas pup."
"Thanks, you too. When did you get back?" He asked as they resumed making their way back upstairs.
"Just now actually. Snuffles is waiting for me, want to come up to see him?" Harry nodded eagerly and they proceeded to the Room of Requirement.
"Remus what did Dumbledore say…" Sirius asked distractedly as soon as the door opened then catching sight of Harry his face broke into a wide grin and hurried forward, hugging his Godson.
"All set for the ball?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows. Harry nodded nervously.
"As much as I could hope for I guess." Lupin clapped him on his back.
"You'll be fine."
"Yeah, you better not do anything to embarrass her or yourself." Sirius added.
"Sirius...stop scaring him." Lupin said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, yeah. Listen, come here around 7. We'll make you presentable to your mistress. I might have some pointers to sweep her off her feet." Sirius muttered, ruffling his hair. "Gotta do something about 't keep it messy today."
"Alright." Harry grumbled. "See you later then." He said with a wave before stepping out of the room.
"Sirius, no matter how hard you try he's never going to be like you were. He's too much like Lily" Lupin said with a smile.
"I know that. But then again, I haven't exactly been around for him. Better start now." He murmured.
That evening the common room was a mess. All around them people running around, bumping into each other. Everyone were only half dressed and many were complaining about their dress robes.
"Bloody hell how does anyone expect us to move around in these?" Seamus growled, tugging at his dress robes. Ron had been standing in front of the mirror with a disgusted expression on his face, touching the white collar hanging limply on his chest. Harry had to stifle his laughter before he turned to his dress robes.
Pulling them on he was pleasantly surprised to find that they felt exactly the same as his normal school robes. He went to stand in front of them mirror and some of his nervousness went down. They fit him well, the green lining coincided perfectly with the color of his eyes.
"Where did you get those?" Ron asked abruptly. He turned towards the redhead, not really able to hide the smirk forming on his lips. Ron really did look ridiculous.
"Diagon Alley." He replied. Neville looked away and Harry could see that he was hiding a smirk. Ignoring there looks he pushed open the door and strode past the common room which was packed with people, ignoring the stares and Fred and George who wolf whistled as he approached.
"Have fun." The Fat Lady said with a wink when he climbed out of the portrait hole. Glancing at his watch he made his way to the Room of Requirement. Sirius and Lupin were already there when he entered.
"Hey, you don't look half bad." Sirius said ruffling his hair while Harry glared at his in annoyance and tried to tame his hair for probably the millionth time. Sirius pulled out a bottle which he recognized as hair gel. Looking at it wearily he looked up at Sirius with a questioning look.
"Trust me Harry, I know what I'm doing. I used to do this for James before he went out for his dates with Lily" Sirius said with a broad grin. Lupin nodded reassuringly from behind him and Harry sat down with a groan. Sirius pulled off the hair band, letting his hair fall on his shoulders. Then dipping his hand in the bottle he started attacking his hair with a comb and his free hand. After a few minutes he stepped back with a low whistle.
"Nice job if I say so myself Padfoot." Lupin said with a grin making. Sirius conjured a mirror and held it up to Harry and he stared back at his reflection. His hair still was as messy as ever but it now looked like it was done on purpose and had a more stylish look to it. Overall it did look better.
"Thanks." Harry said gratefully, moving to get his hair band before Sirius snatched it away from him.
"Nope, you're going like this today." He said with a grin.
"But Professor McGonagall will kill me." Harry moaned, reaching for the band while Sirius held it away from him.
"Not today Harry, trust us on this." Lupin said with a smile.
"Off with you! Go get her." Sirius exclaimed pushing him towards the door. "Oh and use protection by the way." He added. "I don't really want to see a Harry junior by next year."
"What?" Harry yelped before Sirius pushed him out of the door laughing loudly. Harry took a few moments to settle his emotions before taking a deep breath and walking downstairs.
When he reached the Entrance Hall he found that it was filled with people who were still trying to locate their partners. Trying desperately to find Fleur he quickly walked down the stairs, uncomfortably aware of the whispers and astonished looks he was getting coupled with giggles. Spotting Fred and Basile standing near the Entrance to the grounds he quickly made his way to them.
"Blimey mate, way to steal the spotlight." Fred said with a smirk. "What did you do to yourself?" He was spared from answering when footsteps behind them grabbed their attention.
Harry felt his mouth go dry when his eyes fell on the silver haired goddess standing a few feet in front of them, looking like something straight out of a fairy tale.
She was wearing elegant silver robes which clung to her shoulders, exposing her neck. The necklace and bracelet he had given her clearly visible. Her sleek silver hair hanging smoothly down her back, reaching her waist. She was also wearing a pair of earrings which matched the color of her eyes just like the pendant on the necklace. She wasn't wearing any make up at all...unlike many of the girls he had spotted around the room but it only seemed to enhance her beauty and unless he was imagining it, he could've sworn that her pale skin seemed to glow under the light.
Her eyes widened sightly when their eyes met. She walked up to him and he opened his mouth except no sound came out of it and he closed it immediately.
"Zis is ze first time I 'ave seen you look at me like zat." Her words broke him out of his daze and after processing what she said immediately looked down in embarrassment. She smiled softly, her hand coming up to his cheek. "I like eet." She whispered sending shivers down his spine.
"You look stunning." He murmured quietly, surprised that he could even speak properly.
Her cheeks colored a light pink. "And you don't look so bad eizzer."
"Oi! Lovebirds, you two have plenty of time for that later." George called loudly making them blush slightly and look around, their hands now firmly intertwined.
"C'mon Harry, don't we look good too?" Caroline asked and he just realized she and Aurélie had also arrived. Caroline and Aurélie were both wearing dress robes that were the same design as Fleur's except Caroline's was red and Aurélie's was blue.
"Both of you look amazing too." Harry said honestly with a short bow making them laugh. Caroline got a mischievous glint in her eyes and Harry immediately felt apprehensive.
"I will be expecting a dance from you Mr. Potter." She purred, batting her eyelashes.
"Oh no you don't." Fred said loudly, standing in front of Caroline and pretending to shield her while the others started laughing. "You already have Fleur, you stay away from our dates."
"Mr. Potter, Miss Delacour, over here please." Professor McGonagall's voice rang loudly across the loudly. Harry and Fleur hurried towards her and joined the other champions. He and Fleur were placed in front of the group and behind them was Cedric and Cho who grinned at them as they came up. They had to wait a few minutes before Krum and his partner joined them and Harry's jaw dropped in surprise when he saw who his partner was. It was Hermione.
She looked a lot different than normal. Her normal bushy hair was straightened and sleek, much like Fleur's although it was nowhere near as long as hers. She smiled uncertainly at him when they approached and he grinned back, nodding at Krum who returned the gesture, looking as happy as he had been back in the Quidditch pitch.
The doors to the Great Hall opened and they strode in, Harry taking particular care in how he walked.
The four house tables were gone and the hall was littered with round tables where about six people could sit comfortably. The enchanted roof above them looked like a snowy sky, like something straight out of a Christmas card.
At the end of the Great Hall the rest of the teachers and the school headmasters and headmistress were seated already along with Bagman and to his surprise, Percy who waved cheerfully at Harry. Dumbledore's eyes twinkling brightly as he nodded at Harry and Fleur when they got closer. There were three empty tables fit for two near them and Harry and Fleur took the one on the right while Cedric and Cho took the one next to them, leaving Krum and Hermione to take the remaining one.
When all of the seats were occupied Dumbledore stood up, smiling at the occupants around the room.
"Welcome and a Merry Christmas to you all! Before we begin I urge everyone to dine, as experience has taught me, it is far better to enjoy a night on a full stomach rather than an empty one." Some of the students laughed and he sat down.
Harry looked down at his plate and noticed a menu lying on it and he curiously picked it up. Glancing up at Fleur who looked just as confused as he did and around the room.
"Pork Chops!" Dumbledore said clearly to his plate and food appeared. Getting the idea everyone else copied him. Harry looked at his menu, trying to decide what he wanted to eat and turned it around to look at the French and Bulgarian dishes.
"Pommes Duchesse!" Fleur said to her plate and she looked at him. "Don't know what to get?" She asked.
"Not really." He muttered, glancing at the front side again.
"Want to try somezing French?" She asked and he grinned.
"Sure!" She glanced at the menu and finally pointed at something on it.
"Get zis." Harry looked doubtfully at it before telling his plate. His pronunciation was horrible and the plate remained empty. Fleur dissolved into a fit of giggles and he looked at her pleadingly.
"Don't laugh." He whined. After she had calmed down she started teaching him to pronounce it. It took him a couple of tries but he finally managed it.
"Bien!"She exclaimed and he grinned.
"Who is zat? I feel like I 'ave seen 'im before." She asked after a few moments. Harry turned in the direction she was pointing and saw she was gesturing at Percy.
"Oh yeah, you did. That's Percy. He's one of the Fred and George's brothers. He was there in the top box with us."
"Oh, now I remember! 'E 'as been looking at us for a while now." She added as an afterthought. Harry groaned.
"He's probably wants to find someone to talk to about his Ministry Work."
"And zat is?"
"Cauldron bottoms." He replied innocently and she burst out laughing. After the food had been finished and most of the plates in the hall were wiped clean Dumbledore stood up.
"May I ask everyone to rise?" He said with a smile. Once everyone were on their feet he waved his wand and about half the tables disappeared, clearing a space at the middle. A stage grew out from the side where some weirdly dressed people,wearing clothes that were torn in strategic places trudged up to it and picked up the instruments. From the cheers in the hall Harry gathered that they were some kind of Wizarding band.
Harry realized with a jolt that they were going to be opening the dance. Feeling extremely self-conscious and unable to look at Fleur they made their way to the dance floor, hearing familiar whistles and deciding that after this was over, Fred and George were going to die.
Fleur too looked a little nervous but he felt himself calm down when she smiled at him. Remembering what Aurélie had taught him, he intertwined his hand around hers and tentatively placed his free hand on her waist.
As the band began playing a slow tune they slowly started revolving on the spot. Fleur took the lead after a while for which he was grateful and he easily followed her through the steps. The room and its occupants faded out of his sight and his attention was focused only on Fleur.
Her face was alight with happiness. Her smile and the way her eyes never left his mesmerized him. They weren't even aware when they came to a stop and that the music had stopped. Blinking slightly they looked around in surprise as the crowd as everyone started applauding. Harry grinned in embarrassment. When he caught Aurélie's eye in the crowd and she winked at him.
More couples came up to the dance floor as another song started to play. Krum and Hermione had left and he turned to see what Fleur wanted to do. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy dancing with her.
"Err…do you want to keep going?" He asked nervously and she smiled softly.
"Yes." She murmured quietly. As they made their way back to the dance floor they caught sight of Aurélie and Basile, Fred and Caroline, George and Angelina and Amy and a boy from Durmstrang. They all had smirks on their faces when they came back to the dance floor although soon enough, both of them went back to their trance where everyone else were blocked out.
"I didn't zink you would be able to dance." She said playfully.
"Got to thank Aurélie for that." He said with a grin as he twirled her around. Her eyes widened in realization.
"You learnt from Aurélie!" She exclaimed. "You could 'ave asked me."
"I wanted it to be a surprise." He murmured. She grinned at him and rested her head on his, oblivious to the people staring at them.
"You didn't 'ave to." She whispered softly. His heart leapt as they stared at each other. Both of them had stopped dancing. A laugh next to them brought them back to reality and they looked around to see Caroline and Fred smirking at them. Both of them went red when they realized that many people were staring at them. Harry caught sight of Dumbledore and Madame Maxime who were looking happily at them. Dumbledore winked at Harry when their eyes met making Harry blush harder if possible.
On unspoken agreement both of them went back trying to find a table for them.
"Harry! Fleur! Over here." Cedric called from a corner in the room where he and Cho were already sitting.
"My, my, aren't you two cute." Cho said slyly when they sat down, then started laughing as they looked away. "Same reactions too."
"Look at Professor Sprout!" Cedric exclaimed and they all turned towards the dance floor where Sprout and Moody were dancing. The poor woman looked scared out of her wits as she kept her gaze fixed on Moody's wooden leg which kept narrowly missing hers. "5 sickles says Moody will step on her foot."
"You're on." Harry said grinning. The four of them watched carefully, laughing occasionally at the other unlikely couples. One of the funniest was Hagrid and Madame Maxime. They were taking more than half of the dance floor to themselves and many of the couples dancing near them looked extremely nervous.
The song ended with no injuries and Cedric groaned.
"Pay up." Harry said with a smirk.
"Later."
"So cheap." Harry muttered shaking his head.
"Hey!" Cedric exclaimed in a mock hurt voice while Fleur and Cho laughed. They continued to watch the dance floor, occasionally pointing out some of the more amusing sights. Harry noticed Ron and Parvati sitting at the other end of the room staring at Krum and Hermione who were dancing in front of them.
When the band started playing slightly faster tune Fleur got up, tugging his hand.
"Erm…Fleur I only know one dance." He said uncomfortably.
"Doesn't matter." She said before pulling him with her. He looked imploringly at Cedric and Cho who shook their heads, smirking.
Once they had reached the dance floor she led him through a dance which turned out to be nothing more than Harry trying desperately to avoid treading on her feet. When the music stopped she fell into a fit of giggles while he stared at her trying to figure out if he was amused or offended. The latter evaporated when she kissed him on his cheek, leaving him with an idiotic grin.
They were once again painfully aware that they were the focus of many eyes in the room and Harry felt a surge of anger that the thought. Didn't they have anything better to do than leave them in peace? Fleur seemed to be thinking along the same lines when she started pulling him towards the Entrance Hall.
"You sure you don't want to stay?" He asked her in surprise. Truthfully he couldn't wait to get out of there, the only thing that kept him back was because he liked dancing with her. But now it was less appealing to him because of the attention they were getting.
"Yes." She said quietly. They slowed their pace as they made their way outside. The grounds were littered with couples who seemed to be taking advantage of the darkness that surrounded them.
"We can go near the lake." He whispered hurriedly when they stopped, unsure of where to go as it seemed like there was no spot that seemed private enough. She nodded with a grin and they hurried towards their usual spot which was deserted as they had hoped.
They stood silently, watching the lake with the moon reflected brightly on it. Neither had let go of the other's hand the whole time. Harry glanced nervously at her who was lost in her own thoughts. He never wanted this to end, this was something he needed. He didn't know what he would have done this year if he hadn't met her at all. Indeed, he didn't know how he could keep going on without her anymore, it was like she was a long lost part that now filled the void in his heart that had been formed after everything he had to endure with the Dursleys and Voldemort.
How did she feel? He had a constant fear that she wouldn't feel the same way as he did. Although a part of him kept reassuring him that she did feel just like he did, although he couldn't explain it. The stares they were getting had only made him more aware to how they looked like to everyone else. He was still younger and still in school while she was already of age and would be graduating from school this year. Why would she want to be with him? She could have anyone she wanted.
Putting that aside he was a constant danger to others. There was definitely a reason why Dumbledore had suggested that he should be prepared. The attack at the World cup, his name coming out of the goblet, the incident during the first task, it all seemed to come together. Charlie almost lost his life that day.
He knew that he was already in love with her, he probably fell in love with her from the moment they had met at the World cup. But was this normal? This was no fairytale and yet he felt like he was in one whenever he was with her.
This thought scared him. He was afraid of getting hurt. Fleur was...well...Fleur. Yes, he got to live out a part of his dream but anymore? Dare he believe in a future?
It was cowardly but he desperately wanted to avoid more emotional pain.
What happened with Ron and Hermione had affected him more than it should have, a lot more. Even though he had decided to forgive Hermione, and did, he knew that he couldn't return to how they had been the past three years. He was scared to think how he would feel if Fleur separated from him.
He didn't want to keep hiding things from her. She, Sirius and Lupin had become the most important people to him. It was scary to think just a few months ago these people had never been a part of his life.
"What's wrong 'Arry?" A soft, melodious voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at her to see her watching him in concern.
"Nothing much." He lied. She smirked.
"You're a very bad liar." He sighed, scratching his head.
"I am aren't I?"
"What's wrong? I can see zat you are in pain." She murmured softly. "Let me 'elp 'Arry."
"I…" He began but his throat tightened. Her hand was gently caressing his cheek and she was gazing steadily at him. He had almost no control over his mind just then as he watched her eyes darken. There was something, some emotion behind her eyes he found all too familiar and yet he couldn't place it.
His thoughts were wiped from his mind when he felt her lips on his, her arms wrapping around his neck as his unconsciously wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her unique scent overpowering his senses along with the sweet taste of her lips. Warmth was spreading through his body, it was almost like the feeling when he ate chocolate right after facing a Dementor except this was a thousand, no, infinite times better.
They pulled back when the need for air became overpowering. Her warm breath tickling his ear sending shivers of delight down his spine. He was caught by surprise when she tugged him back, capturing his lips with hers again. When they parted for the second time she placed her head gently on his chest while he tightened his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. He loved the feeling of having her in his arms; there were honestly no words to describe it.
Suddenly she started giggling and he gazed down at her curiously. She moved them carefully towards the tree near them and leaned on him suddenly. Before he knew it, fall on the ground where he landed a little painfully with her on top of him. He groaned slightly and looked up at her who was still now laughing openly at him, her hair tickling his face. The sight was so cute that he couldn't help but be amused and slightly annoyed at the same time.
"What?" He asked a little defensively.
"'Arry Potter, ze boy who killed a Basilisk, faced down about a 'undred Dementors, a Dragon and you-know-who is still powerless against a woman." She had finally stopped laughing and was looking at him with an adoring expression. He blushed slightly, feeling her breath tickling his face from their proximity but refused to back down.
"Not just any woman, there's only one who can do that to me and I'm looking at her right now." Her cheeks colored slightly but she got a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Zis woman sounds interesting, anyzing you can tell me about 'er?" She asked playfully.
"She…is the most beautiful woman in the world. She's kind, smart, funny and she understands people well. She...she..." His words caught up in his throat, wondering if he should go on.
She instantly caught on to his hesitancy, losing the child like gleam in her eyes as she looked at him curiously, waiting for him to go on. Using every bit of courage he had left he pushed on.
"She's given me something that I never thought I could have. I still don't understand why she gave it to me even though I am a few years younger than her. I don't understand why she would choose me, when she could have someone better than me. When she deserves someone better than me." His voice gradually got quieter and quieter as he spoke until it became barely above a whisper.
She didn't say anything for some time and he found himself unable to look at her. He was afraid of what he might see on her face. He might see realization reflected on her face. He was afraid that she would . A part of him screamed at him, reprimanding him for bringing this up and yet another part of him assured him that it was for the best.
He felt a hand gently caress his cheek and after a few movements, he forced himself to look at her. He was startled to find that her eyes were teary. She leaned towards him and kissed him lightly. It wasn't as heated as earlier but it still sent shocks down his spine.
"'Arry…" She said quietly, drawing back a few inches. "Don't ever say zat again. You don't see what's in you zat everyone else does. You are not perfect, nobody is. But you are as close as anyone can get...to me at least. As for age..." She smiled gently at him, trailing a finger down his cheek making him shiver. "Your eyes show 'oo you are. From zem I can see zat you are much older zan me. And besides, what is 3 years for us? " He opened his mouth to speak but she placed her finger on his lips, silencing him.
"You say zat I 'ave given you somezing zat you thought you never could 'ave. It is ze same for me. You proved I can be seen more zan just a Veela. And also don't forget zat I am now an adult. I make my own choices and..." She paused for a moment. "You...you're one of my choices I'm not going to give up. Nozzing will change zat."
"Nothing?" His question escaped him before he realized it. His voice was filled with hope and smiled gently at him.
"Not..." She kissed his cheek softly. "A..." She did the same for the other. "Single..." His nose. "Zing.". He suddenly smiled which made her heart skip a couple of beats. His bright green eyes were almost glowing, burning with happiness.
"I love you." Silence fell. The words had escaped his lips before he knew it, he hadn't even been thinking about it. She stiffened in his arms and he immediately felt apprehensive. "I…" She gazed at him with an unreadable expression, his words dying out on his throat. He knew it was useless now. He had laid everything out to her and it was no use denying it. He didn't even want to deny it, these were his true feelings and he didn't want to lie to himself or Fleur although he would have preferred he hadn't said that now.
They probably had been staring at each other for hours and they wouldn't have known it. Harry had almost lost hope, closing his eyes he mentally kicked himself.
"Do you mean it?" She asked. Her voice was barely audible and he almost didn't hear it. His eyes snapped open to find her blue eyes shining brightly. He gulped before he closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath.
"Yes." He said softly, keeping his gaze fixed on her. She remained frozen for a few more seconds before she closed the distance between them and tenderly kissed him. When they parted she had a single tear sliding down her eye.
"I love you too"