Butterbeer, the perfect drink after a morning like the one Harry had had. Viktor might not mind the morning's cool Scottish wintery air but Harry wasn't a big fan, especially when Wood hadn't been there forcing them to fly in all types of inclement weather all year!
It had only taken a single drill for Harry to realize how outclassed he was. Harry might have the talent to play against Krum, possibly even equal or surpass him, but he'd not put in the thousands of hours required to be what Krum was, a true master of his craft. Cedric had recounted it rather quickly, 'He's a professional and we are amateurs", and that was all that really had to be said about their gap in skill.
With Cho joining Cedric in the air, an hour into flying, Harry's teammates had joined in too, Fred and George having a knack to know everything that was going on. Harry had called it quits after the second hour of flying around as they were all venturing into Hogsmeade together. A warm Butterbeer was the antidote he needed after flying around in cool temperature.
Harry took another sip and scrunched his nose, today was weird. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, something previously so mundane with it's true value in breaking up the monotony of school with an escape from the castle. It should have felt like he was falling into the natural rhythm, like all the previous weekends he'd attended. Yet, it didn't, it couldn't, not without Ron and Hermione.
It was five days past Ron's birthday and he hadn't bothered to get him anything, not even send an owl, as Ron and he had cut all contact. The times Harry had sat at the Gryffindor table, in the Great Hall, he'd just spent the time with his quidditch teammates. Harry wasn't sure he felt like working hard to rebuild that friendship and Ron hadn't made an attempt to bridge the chasm. He wouldn't be attending a Hogsmeade trip with Ron and that felt weird, especially without Hermione there as well.
Hermione… her situation was… strange . She had transferred to Ilvermorny in the colonies. Her parents had sold their dental practice, for a sum that was generous and beyond fair market price. Their qualifications had passed seamlessly into the United States. Too seamlessly. The situation was something he had asked Patrice Delacour to investigate, shortly after he had learned about it. Harry assumed, given that the man had files on him, and received intelligence on a multitude of things, he should be able to have a muggleborn's change in situation figured out.
The man had delivered on the request, and boy, did he ever.
Harry had been invited to retire at the Delacour home for the night, after dinner. He'd declined, as training in the Chamber was too important and, further, he had plans for the following day. If he'd stayed there he'd have eaten breakfast and not have gotten his training in before meeting with Krum and Diggory at the pitch. Though, after reading the file, he may as well have stayed as he couldn't get the information out of his head after going through it. His morning training had been off, he'd not been focused, his mind trying to make sense of what he'd read.
There had been detailed information with some obvious conclusions to be taken from it. Her parents were given a financial incentive, they sold their practice at a high price and bought a more lucrative practice in the United States, that just so happened to be close to Ilvermony, at a lesser price. The set of circumstances was too neat, too tidy and too lucrative for them to turn down. That it came right when Harry and Hermione were on the outs was downright incriminating. The file was a literal smoking gun, the evidence all arranged before him. All that was missing was, who had set this up?
And therein laid the conundrum: Who did it? Why and to what end?
What could he do about it? Should he even do something about it?
Hermione couldn't be owled, there was a mail block up, and he wasn't sure contacting her parents by muggle means would work. The whole situation reeked of outside interference. Who had gotten Hermione out of the country and why had they done it?
What was he going to do about it?
The answer for that, right now, was simple. He wasn't going to do anything about it. It had been on his mind all morning, even as he was flying with Cedric and Viktor. By the looks of it, he'd spent too long on his thoughts and had missed something.
"Sorry, was just thinking about something."
"Like the only missing champion?" Cedric teased. Fleur would have been invited to join them in Hogsmeade today, but she was staying with her family for the rest of the weekend. Gabrielle was doing great and Harry had allowed Cuddles to stay with her, in an effort to keep her progressing through the weekend. He had a feeling that that offer bought him a whole lot of goodwill.
"Which one?" Fred asked, a mischievous grin on his face, matching the look George was sporting.
"The one with gorgeous silver hair and calls him ' arry ?" Katie acted out dramatically, as if she was trying to figure out who was missing.
Harry couldn't recall which one of the chaser trio was supposed to invite Fleur to come along today, he thought it might have been Katie but he wasn't sure..
"Is that the one with the big," George started saying and then cupped non-existent mounds on his chest, letting his actions finish his thought.
Alicia smacked him immediately, as soon as she'd seen what he was insinuating, being the closest female to him. "Stop being such a bloody wanker." She told him, threatening to hit him again if his hands didn't lower.
Harry's face had gained a red tinge and he tried not to think of his amazing welcome to her room from Fleur yesterday, not the he had a snowball's chance in hell not dwelling on it, now that George had brought it up.
"So have you moved past kissing yet Harry?" Alicia asked, her voice full of mirth.
"Hey! This isn't pick-on-Harry day!" Harry exclaimed, doing his best to not look like a ripe tomato as he answered. "I'm not talking about my love life!"
"Oh, so it is love then?" Katie was grinning at him unrepentantly.
Harry shook his head exaggeratedly "I'm not talking about Fleur." He said resolutely.
"But she's not here and we only see you in the Great Hall. When else can we get the inside scoop?" Angelina asked, a wicked smile and a salacious wink being directed at him.
"Nope, nope, nope, not talking about Fleur." Harry wouldn't budge, he knew anything he said would get right back to her. Somehow, Fleur had bonded with the three girls and the chaser trio enjoyed riling Harry up as if they were his big sisters and it was their job to tease him.
Harry stared at his drink and kept his hands on it, the warmth felt wonderful after flying around in the cold all morning.
"How did Pavlovs take it?"
Harry looked at Krum, his eyes squinting in confusion, "Take what?"
"You went on dates with Natalia Pavlova and now you are dating Fleur?" Cedric half asked and half stated, answering for Krum, who gave a quick nod confirming Cedric was correct.
"So… how did that go?" The Hufflepuff's girlfriend, Cho, prompted Harry to answer Viktor's question again and Harry shot her an irritated look.
"It… didn't?" Harry wasn't really sure how to answer that. He never was actually dating Natalia and technically he wasn't dating Fleur.
"I thought you were dating Fleur now? You were really close in the medical tent." Cedric was affably polite, when asking the question, while Krum had a surly frown on his face, Harry didn't think it was much beyond his normal unsociable look.
Harry sat back and ran his hand through his hair. "It's complicated?" Really, how was he going to explain the mess he was in there or what was going on when he himself had no idea. Further, how much should, or should he not, say.
Cedric gave him an unimpressed look while Krum swirled his firewhiskey before taking a sip of it. The rest were looking on, fascinated, more than one was chomping at the bit to ask him something, barely holding back.
Harry looked down at his butterbeer and then took a sip of his own, holding the mug in the palm of his hand and leaving it on the glass, when he put it back on the table.
"Natalia and I were never dating. We went on some dates but nothing was ever official . Fleur and I… I can't talk about everything there…"
Krum shook his head. "Dangerous game you play… Don't vant to be next Valton Macdair."
Cedric blinked in surprise. "You mean Walden Mcnair? What does that have to do with anything? He's missing," seeing the sheepish look on Harry's face, and Krum's 'I hope you don't believe that' look, he inquired further, "isn't he?"
"Look, I don't know anything, not for sure anyway…" Harry trailed off and looked around the room to make sure they understood what he was saying. "All I'm saying is that a betting man would wager on him never reappearing."
Krum snorted. "Dead." He succinctly said, pointing out what Harry had said without being blunt and just straight up saying it.
"Dead?" Cedric choked on his drink. "How?! Why?! How do you both know this?" His head was darting back and forth looking at his two fellow champions and he wasn't the only one that looked a little green.
"They hurt a Pavlov." Krum said with a shrug. The way he casually spoke made it clear that his sentence was more than enough of an explanation.
Cedric looked to Harry for him to interpret the Durmstrang's statement and Harry could see everyone else was looking at him as well. "The hostages were tortured, they were paralyzed physically but were awake for everything." Harry wasn't sure if that was a well known thing or not. He turned his eyes to Cho. Harry wasn't the only one looking at her, many others with varying degrees of horror and pity.
"The Pavlov family is known for being… vengeful… to those that wrong them. Putting Natalia through that was going to have a… reprisal." Harry wouldn't have imagined discussing anything like this so openly but Krum had brought it up. It appeared everyone with the Durmstrang contingent may have been expecting it.
"But weren't the professors who died the only ones responsible?" Katie asked, her usual exuberance diminished.
"Partially… Professor Moody was being impersonated by Barty Crouch Junior, an escaped Death Eater, and between the Death Eater attack at the World Cup attack and this… I think they put two and two together." Harry hedged his hypothesis, he knew much more than that, but he wasn't going to be admitting that so brazenly.
Harry had wondered if there was going to be a reaction to his revelation of Crouch Jr but it appeared everyone was already aware of it.
"But why McNair? He had nothing to do with the tournament." Cedric wasn't the only person with that question on their lips, Harry could see. Some of them had never dealt with anything like this before, they lived in a peaceful Wizarding World where the biggest concerns was quidditch, money, grades and romantic entanglements.
Krum snorted again. "He was marked, like Karkaroff. Once Death Eater, always Death Eater."
Harry was amused that Krum had it all understood and Cedric was failing to do so, they were like polar opposites. Krum, the Bulgarian who understood the way things went in these kinds of situations and shrugging them off like it was an everyday occurrence, whereas Cedric had a far more sheltered understanding of the world, one Harry had been forcefully disillusioned of, for many years now.
"Cedric," Harry said, getting the older boy's attention before he could question Krum further, "Viktor is saying the Pavlov's believe it was the Death Eaters that caused it and they took their pound of flesh for harming their daughter. By doing it, they sent a message, one that won't be ignored." Harry willed the Hufflepuff to understand through his eyes.
"Good riddance." Fred said firmly.
"He was a git!" George added onto his brother's statement.
"My dad never liked him." Alicia added in.
Harry was surprised at how accepting the Gryffindors were. Though, if the twins had told them what happened to Ginny, or their parents had educated them on what the Death Eaters had done during the war, then it would make sense.
"B-bu-but…" Cedric's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked between Harry, a disinterested Viktor, and the rest who spoke out in favor of it, "but, he worked for the Ministry! They're bound to investigate! They won't just let this go." His voice laced with disbelief and confusion, his jaw remained unhinged.
"He has the mark, he disappears, investigation has no leads, the end. Simple, is how it goes." If it wasn't such a serious topic Harry would be laughing. Viktor came from a totally different culture, that was exactly how it worked in Bulgaria, Horace had already told him as much.
"No it isn't! People don't just get away with murder!" Cedric vehemently disagreed.
Harry shook his head, he wasn't sure he wanted to get into this any further.
"Why doesn't this bother you Harry?! How can you be so blase about it?" Cedric demanded to know.
Harry gave him a withering look but didn't respond verbally.
Cedric wasn't letting up though, "If you know something, you've got to go to the DMLE!" He looked at Krum next "Both of you!" When neither of the other champions responded, he stood.
Before he could even move his feet, Krum's arm snapped out and his hand gripped Cedric's wrist. Diggory went to pull his arm away but it was if it was caught in a vise. Though the Hogwarts Champion had a good size on Krum, the professional quidditch player was stocky and strong. With a single tug, Cedric found his arse planted back in his seat.
"If you vant to die for snitching, valk out the door and tell them. If you want your loving family, your pretty girlfriend," he nodded at Cho, "yourself to die, then valk away. If not, sit !" There was no playfulness or warmth in Krum's tone. The intensity he showed was overwhelming, his words were deadly serious.
Cedric stayed still, sitting silently. Cho raised her arm and interlocked her fingers with her boyfriend.
"Ced, it's not how things are here…" she started out gently, "but it is how it is in many other wizarding nations, China included."
"Do not get involved, any of you," Harry added looking around at his teammates and Cho, "there is more going on here than meets the eye…" Harry said quietly, breaking the short silence that had started after Cho had settled Cedric down.
"Does this really have anything to do with Crouch Jr and the tournament?" Cedric asked, his eyes narrowed, and finally starting to comprehend the situation.
Harry shrugged, "There's been attempts on my life, multiple times now. I grew up hidden away for safety. We were almost all killed in the Second Task. Karkaroff, Bagman and Crouch Sr are all dead because of that mess…" Harry let his words wash over everyone, drinking more of his butterbeer before continuing. "McNair going missing was retaliation for the torture of Natalia, all the other hostages too, I suppose." He rubbed his chin as he added that. "A message to his compatriots, touch a Pavlov and one of you dies."
"All of Durmstrang knew. Karkaroff was dead man, if vow hadn't already killed him." Krum tipped his glass all the way back, the remaining firewhiskey sliding out into his mouth, a single gulp swallowed the contents.
"What kind of family are you associating with, Harry?" Angelina asked, it was plain as day that she was concerned by what she'd heard.
Harry shrugged, "An interesting one."
Krum gave a humorless chuckle. When Harry looked over at him he could tell Viktor wasn't going to say anything.
"You know what you are getting into, Harrykins?" Fred asked, trying to interject some levity while also being serious with his question.
"Horace has told me quite a lot about them. I have a fair idea of what I'm mixed up with, yes." Harry smiled back after his response, it didn't reach his eyes, however.
"You are braver man than I… brave or foolish that is. I'd not risk dating Natalia." Krum shook his head at the thought before he looked down at his empty drink, a forlorn expression flashed across his face.
"And Harry, you didn't tell us how that went, with Natalia, and what Cedric meant about you being ' very close' with Fleur after the Second Task…" Katie pressed him as she leaned forward, eager to know how that went down.
"I said it didn't. I'll be seeing Natalia after this, though." How the whole group got onto this after they had spent most of their time here talking quidditch, school and the tournament, Harry had no idea.
"Notice, dear brother, how he didn't mention anything about how close he is to the resident silver haired goddess reborn?" George said, mischief coloring his voice, and a roguish smirk that Harry knew meant this first comment was the setup for his twin.
"I have it on good authority that he's been into the Beauxbatons carriage, asking to visit the only missing champion in her private room, you know, the one without any su-per-vision . Mind telling us just how close you got to her behind closed doors, Harrykins?" Fred pushed the button that made Harry blush crimson, he couldn't help but picture how Fleur had answered the door the last time he went there… Merlin… was she ever Gorgeous, capital 'G' included.
Harry stared down at the end of his Butterbeer, his nearly empty glass a clear sign he should be getting on pretty soon. They'd been here for quite some time afterall, a couple hours at the least.
Sometimes Harry wondered if Ron and Ginny were the way they were because of the mental trauma that must have been inflicted upon them growing up as the younger siblings of the twins. They're wonderful people but they had no scruples for pushing people's buttons.
"Cedric told me Fleur and Harry shared a hospital bed and talked behind a privacy bubble. They kissed and have been rather cosy since." Cho smirked at Harry, Cedric looked resigned and sorry that his girlfriend had just blurted that out, that it was meant to be told to her in confidence.
Katie rolled her eyes. "We already knew that." She said dismissively, with a wave of her hand, "Fleur sits with us when Harry's not around, she's even studied with us. We already knew that they kiss. I thought it would be something more like… professing their undying love to one another or something." She sighed theatrically and covered her heart with her hand, feigning a swoon. "But, alas, no such confirmation."
Fred and George were snickering and Katie's fellow chasers were both giggling with her.
Harry just rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you guys get along with Fleur so well but I'm a gentleman and gentlemen doesn't kiss and tell."
"That makes no sense." Alicia said after a moment pondering Harry's words. "By saying that, you are pretty well admitting that you kissed her, therefore, telling us!"
Harry quirked his head to the right and looked toward the ceiling. Heh, he totally kind of did tell them.
Harry picked up his empty cup. "Well, that's my cue, I'm going for another round." Harry said abruptly, standing quickly.
"Don't you have a girl to see?" Fred asked, eyebrows waggling, in a teasing tone.
"Fleur's a great first choice but Natalia's quite the specimen too, Harry you ladykiller!" Harry didn't need to retort to Fred's second comment, Angelina took care of it for him.
Just as the words finished exiting George's mouth Angelina wailed on his chest with her first.
"Ow woman! What's that for?!" He exclaimed, his hand rubbing his chest.
"Stop being such a prat to Harry." She chided as she stood, Harry wasn't the only making a departure now.
Everyone but he and Viktor had wanted to go out and get some actual shopping done. Harry still had some time to kill and Krum decided on getting another ground, sitting around in a private room, not being bothered by anyone seemed agreeable to him.
Harry could tell though, when he returned with the drinks, that Krum wanted to talk to him about serious things. The Durmstrang Champion had never been totally casual, even as they sat around talking quidditch, there was always an air of cautiousness, or perhaps, grimness. Like there was some sort of wariness that he refused to let go of around others, or in public, Harry didn't know which it was, he hadn't been this way in the Medical Tent after the Second Task.
"Brothers In Arms, I trust you know it now?"
Harry nodded, it was a magical pledge given to one deemed to have earned it. It was an old custom, one that has been used since magical records began. Brothers In Arms is the more common term but it's more of a way of satisfying a magical debt. The pledge is not accepted if there is not some form of agreeance by magic. How exactly it worked, was up for debate.
There wasn't a consensus, the two prevailing theories were that magic had a way of sensing the will and intent between the two, whether it was genuine or not. While the other main postulation was that magic itself accepted or rejected the claims, it had a way of knowing if a magical debt was owed or not. This, Harry had learned, was the basis for the belief that one must repay life-debts, letting them linger was unacceptable to magic and would eventually have a cost come due.
Harry slowly nodded as he placed Viktor's drink in front of him, before he himself sat down beside him, a comfortable gap between them as they sat on the same side of the large table meant for far more than just two people.
"Vhat are you going to do about Death Eaters?" Krum asked as he grasped his new drink. He slowly swirled the liquid, watching it, awaiting Harry's reply.
Harry withdrew his wand and recast his privacy charms, he wasn't taking any chances.
"I'm not sure yet," he frowned, giving a visible reaction to the tangible annoyance in his voice. "I've been gathering allies and getting a plan together." Harry had a degree of trust in the older boy, his gut told him that Viktor was a straight shooter, what you see is what you get, there was no duplicitousness to him.
"You're going to fight, though? If they've tried a few times, they von't stop." The simplicity of the statement almost threw Harry off. He shouldn't have been so surprised after how calmly he took the Pavlov family's retaliation… but calm acceptance of violence wasn't something he was adjusted to expect.
"I will… if it's necessary. I'm hoping Madame Bones will get the Ministry in order and do the bulk of the work." Harry said. With Bones heading up the Ministry of Magic, there was no way she'd just look the other way. Her family had been killed in the war, leaving just her and Susan as the only two remaining in the family.
Krum shook his head. "Ministers always in business of staying in power. Today they be best friend but in the future… No. If they get anything on you they vill extort you for it later. If you become a media pariah, they turn on you. Is how it vorks." Krum's stony visage hadn't faltered, he'd been entirely serious, frowning at Harry's last comment.
Harry watched him swirl his drink again, wondering if that was half the reason people drink hard alcohol, so they'd have something to play with while they took care of tedious things.
Harry leaned back into his seat, allowing things to be quiet between them. He wanted to consider Viktor's words. Krum was only seventeen and he was already at the very height of his profession. He'd been savvy with the media, never any missteps, only distance and a gloomy roughness in his interaction with them. He was never not polite, he just kept up a wall of answers that were limintingly blunt.
Krum's point was a rather cynical one, however his views had more merit than Harry thought at first. If Bones was ever removed from office, anything in their records would become vulnerable. If they helped him with anything, it would more than likely be logged, recorded, and easily accessible. He'd had such strict protections on information control, that to work with the Ministry, which was thoroughly compromised, made it seem irrational to even consider at all.
"It does seem foolish to trust the Ministry… now that you mention it…" Harry's face was scrunched, his lips thinned. He'd been hoping an improved Ministry would take some pressure off of him.
"How do the Pavlov's operate outside it? From what I've learned, they are involved in almost everything in Bulgaria, Russia and Germany. Their reach is long, their pockets deep, and they are well connected."
"Unbreakable Vows." Krum told him stoically, "Vow protects from veritaserum and oaths. They have anyone associated with them under layers of Unbreakable Vows, for loyalty, secrecy, for not competing…
Harry looked at him skeptically, an eyebrow raised with his upper lip curled, "How does that work?"
"Like all magic, stronger magic wins."
"Right." Harry said, not having thought of applying that general principle to oaths, vows and potions. He knew that a spell that is stronger than a shield will crash right through it, likewise, the converse was true, a stronger shield will hold out to a weaker spell, as a general principle, with exceptions, of course.
"So the Unbreakable Vow overpowers magical oaths and the truth serum?" Harry asked, wanting to have gain a clear understanding.
" Da ." Viktor succinctly confirmed before lifting the glass to his lips and tipping it up, letting the amber liquid descend into his mouth, allowing a decently sized sip to fall between his lips.
"So once they vow to not give up their secrets, those who could turn them in, can't ." Harry summarized the basic idea, looking to Krum to get affirmation.
Krum grimaced, "Yes, but once you join, there's no way out. They own you. They tangle you up in vows, getting dirt on you… and their side always has loopholes."
"Ah." Harry had already seen a mild version of that. The marriage contract Natalia had given him would have locked him in without any real concessions come to him, just the benefit of joining their family.
"So vhy McNair?" Krum asked after a moment of quiet, sitting back in his seat, leaving his glass sitting on the table, out of his reach.
"Eh? What do you mean why him, didn't I cover that earlier?" Harry wasn't sure what he was asking, they were all told it was because the man was a Death Eater.
"No," the elder young man disagreed, "they pick targets well. It was him for reason." Krums sharp eyes caught Harry's.
Harry fidgeted, his fingers playing with his mug, he lifted, then dropped, one finger after another, starting with his pinky and ending with his forefinger before repeating the action in reverse order repetitively.
"I'm… not sure I should say…" Harry didn't want to insult him, by outright proclaiming he didn't trust him with the information, but he wasn't willing to possibly compromise information.
Krum got an annoyed look on his face. "Brothers In Arms mean I can't betray your trust, I can't act against you. I forfeit my magic if I do either. Until my debt is repaid, you will hold a part of my magic."
Harry turned his wrist over and pulled up his sleeve. "That's why I have these marks?" Harry's eyes dropped to the inside of his wrist. Just below where his hand began was a thin outline of a sword crossed with a broom. It was faint, not noticeable unless you were looking for it or if Harry channeled magic to it.
Krum pulled out his right arm and showed off the same mark. "It stays until it's repaid."
Did Harry just take that at face value? He'd gotten a brief overview on it from Fleur but it had kind of slipped his mind. Overlooking it was not looking like such a bright thing to do now…
"Macnair was a soft target, easy to get to. He worked at the Ministry and investigated animal disturbances. It wouldn't have been hard to get him isolated." Harry said, running his hand along the back of his neck. "He wasn't an inner circle member… But, he was knowledgeable of their operations. He knew enough to get credible and valuable information while also not taking a run at the truly dangerous ones. He's a loss, to them, but nobody is going to miss him. It shows resolve while not unnecessarily antagonizing them."
He'd talked this through with his advisors, they explained to him that Macnair wasn't a target of opportunity. They were making a statement, one that had been well thought out and calculated to bring about a favorable result.
Krum nodded, not responding to what Harry had said. His mouth pursed and the corners of his eyes tightened. "Be careful with them. If they have Natalia involved with you, there is an angle. Remember they have vows to be loyal to their family first and foremost."
Harry sighed and then took a drink from his mug. "I might need them. If I can't trust the Ministry who else can I side with? I've got a few allies now but these aren't school kids opposing me. They are business owners, whole families, politicians and men without conscience."
Krum dipped his chin. "You may need them. They can vork from the shadows as well as anyone. They aren't vell connected here but an association with you and your allies would fix that. Their connections on the continent could be vorthwhile."
Cyrus was cautious about an association with the family while Horace was even less in favor. Harry thought the difference more than likely stemmed from the difference in what they had to lose. Horace, a single man without children, and Cyrus, a family man with two daughters and a wife. One had far more to risk than the other.
Krum stood and picked up his glass, saluting Harry with it, he then threw his head back and downed the rest of the contents, slamming the now empty glass back on the table. "You've got my vand, just let me know vhen and vhere." He took three steps towards the door but stopped with his hand on the knob.
Viktor turned his head back, looking at Harry over his shoulder, saying one final thing before departing. "Once you get into bed with a Pavlov, you don't get out. Make sure it's a mutual fucking, nothing vorse than finding out you're the one being buggered in de relationship."
Harry arrived to familiar surroundings, he'd spent a lot of time here but none recently. He moved closer to the entry to the dance studio. He leaned against the wall, crossing one foot over the other and saw Lacroix in the position she was always perched in.
He didn't need to follow her gaze to see the person he was meeting today. The ballerina was gracefully moving, flowing from one move to the next. Her slender figure elegantly practicing her routine, long slender legs, pointed toes, swooping arms and a gracile neck. This was Natalia Pavlova, the brown haired beauty he'd come to see.
He drew a deep breath in, her soft blue eyes hadn't noticed him yet, her concentration was absolute, entirely focused on perfecting her routine. Her arms flowed beautifully from position to position, her legs dexterously moved synchronically with her body.
Every time he watched her dance, he was mesmerized, how couldn't he be, with the way she glided around with perfect precision? She was virtually floating around the room and Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from her lovely form. She was as gorgeous as always, her classical elegance never failed to shine through.
He continued watching until Lacroix gave some instructions for Natalia and moved directly toward Harry. She exited the studio and walked up to him, "Hello Harry, I didn't realize you would be coming today."
"Natalia said she was training today and would be free afterwards. I thought I'd drop in, I hope you don't mind." He gave her a mischievous smile.
"You can drop by anytime you'd like. I miss our discussions. I'd become so accustomed to your presence, though I'll admit, at first, I was relieved when the commitment ended." Her stern demeanor cracked for a fraction of a second.
"It's good to see you too, Madame." He grinned back at her, even admitting she'd missed his presence was more than he'd expected.
"Are you and Natalia…?" She the question lingered, they both knew what she was asking.
Harry ran his hand through his hair, "I don't know…" He said, frustration evident in his voice. "… It's complicated."
"Life often is, Harry… life often is."
Harry nodded, he'd really been learning that. Both of their eyes drifted back toward the sole other occupant in the studio. Natalia was standing, holding one hand on the bar and doing a repetitive motion, over and over again.
"She's going to be great, you know." Lacroix said, her eyes not leaving her pupil. "So few are so dedicated to their craft. That Krum boy you compete against, he's like her." Pride was radiating off of the woman, pride in her tutelage and in her student.
"Viktor Krum is the best Seeker in Quidditch. I flew against him this morning and he's incredible. I haven't failed to catch a snitch since I joined Hogwarts, without outside interference, and he made me look the rank amateur I am, even on an older broom model." The admiration for the skill Krum had shown was plain for her to hear.
"Indeed. As I said, he's dedicated and skilled. Natalia is as dedicated as he is and she's as skilled as they come. Not every profession can peak at seventeen, besides she's still only fifteen, she'll be starring in productions soon."
Harry was taken aback by her casual dismissal of his argument. Krum was a true prodigy, nobody plays professionally at seventeen, let alone carrying a team to the Quidditch World Cup Final. To so casually compare the two meant she either did not comprehend his accomplishments or she thought incredibly highly of Natalia as a ballerina.
Harry wasn't really sure how to respond, so he did not. Lacroix had always been well informed; and thus, he took her meaning to be the latter one, though not without some doubt. The two silently watched Natalia complete all her exercises.
It wasn't until she began stretching out that Lacroix spoke up again. "I'm sure you're aware by now that I was pressured into having Natalia be your dance partner."
"Yes." Harry said, not sure where this was leading.
"They had no leverage, I hope you realized that." She stated, "In fact, pairing you together creates a greater downside for me than anything else."
"Oh?" Harry was intrigued now, though still obviously skeptical.
"We have a generational contract, one that, as long as the terms are adhered to, will continue, generation after generation."
Harry hadn't really looked into it. Cyrus had told him there were indeed payments to the Academy but it wasn't something he could do anything about, as the regent, and the amount was not significant to the total holdings.
"Okay…" He didn't see where this was going exactly.
"One of the terms to escape is the disolvation of relations between the families. Meaning, if things were to degrade to a state of enmity, the clause could possibly be used." Her hands were clasped behind her back but she had turned to him, giving Harry her full attention, as she informed him.
"You told me that Natalia and I could be a good match if the politics didn't get in the way. Did you really mean that?" While Harry wanted to hear the answer, he knew he was terrible at reading this woman, she was so well put together and her countenance almost never broke.
"If Natalia was my granddaughter I'd choose you for her. And if you were my grandson I'd choose her for you." She looked totally serious, entirely genuine, as she spoke.
"What? Why? What makes us such a good match?" Harry didn't understand. Sure, they hit it off, but he was never really sure that was Natalia. There was so much manipulation early on that he had no idea what part of her was real.
"A number of things actually. First of all your temperaments match well. In private you are more outgoing and forceful, in public subdued and prefer to stay out of the limelight. Whereas Natalia is the opposite, she grows quiet in more intimate settings, unless she's agitated, and plays the outgoing extrovert perfectly when in a gathering."
Harry took in the words and quickly considered them. It was interesting to hear her perspective on Natalia, she would have known her since she was a child and her take would be more accurate, assuming she was being truthful, not manipulating him to be with her prized student. Harry wondered if she made use of his fame to vaunt her student into the spotlight, to use it to help her Academy and Lacroix's best student's career.
"Beyond that, you both have that spark. Neither of you will settle to be ordinary. You are both extraordinary. You are both going to achieve great things, provided nothing stops your from reaching the zenith of your careers, that is."
Heh, she had no idea just how far Harry wanted to go in his use of magic. Seeing first hand what Grindelwald had done had inspired him. He wanted to get to that level of mastery magic. What he did with his magic was something Harry hoped he'd never pursue but the sheer skill and power? It filled him with awe and inspired his own pursuits, not that he was trying to emulate Grindelwald's style.
"I think she's a really sweet girl at heart. You're good for her and I believe she's good for you too." Lacroix seemed to teeter between revealing more, saying more, or not. The internal argument ended with her explaining further.
"She could have been a princess. With her name and pedigree, she could have achieved decent marks and then been married off to a rich family and coasted through life. But she didn't settle for that."
That was an interesting point for Harry to consider. Natalia hadn't taken the easy road in life. In fact, the three most readily pursuable romantic options were all driven. Fleur could have just used her looks and her name. Daphne could use her family connections and good looks to live a comfortable family life, staying completely out of the war. But, neither of them had.
Lacroix continued, unaware of Harry's internal thoughts, "Instead, day after day, she comes here, early, to train, I've had to give her access key to get in as she regularly is here before me, training on her own, that's how dedicated she is." Lacroix took a half step forward.
"But it's more than just her work here. Natalia has been completing her education while missing many of her classes. She's been as much self taught as she has been given direction, while still achieving good grades. She's done it without the support of her parents, her family, she spends countless hours honing her abilities when she could be living a wealthy, comfortable life instead, vacationing and living an easy life of luxury." Some passion had leaked into her voice, she was as defensive of her student as she was as proud of her.
"Then I see you, not so dissimilar to her. Showing up here day after day to perfect something where merely being passable would have been sufficient. You were dedicated, striving to do more than just what is required. I know how you helped her, I know just how impressive your grades were, how quickly you've been maturing. You're no longer someone who will just coast by. You won't use your fame and inheritances to vacation and live a life of luxury, will you?" She challenged him on this point, eliciting a response from Harry.
"No." He admitted as much, knowing full well he had far greater ambitions in life than to get an estate home, raise a family and enjoy the fruits of other people's labors.
"Natalia is driven like you. She won't be a stay at home mother that is content with just raising a family. She'll want to do that, have children, but at the appropriate time, after she's matured more. Girls, dancers," she clarified, "often don't want children at her age, they want the flashy career, they want to achieve their singularly focused goal. But, as they mature, as their careers start peaking they realize how much more their life could be. How fulfilling it can be to have and raise children."
Harry's free hand came up and his fingers rubbed along his chin and jawbone, one side of his face was quirked up, as he considered her words.
"Without all the politics, without family complications, I see you two as a wonderful match… I first saw it in how you two danced, so beautifully, together. Many partners would kill to be as in sync as you two were. But, I digress, it was cemented to me when I saw you help Natalia with her schoolwork. You two just click, you work together so seamlessly. You match up so well. But, I know all too well how egregious politics can be, how they can ruin the best of things."
"Yeah. You don't need to tell me twice…" Harry muttered, thinking of all the political issues he had, or would have, in the near future.
"You're young. You've got time to figure these out. For both of your sakes, I hope you give each other a chance… When it's just the two of you together, you're so carefree, you're just yourselves. That's good for you, it's a special thing…" She let her words let off, with a far away look to her.
As if a sudden thought had jolted her, Madame Lacroix stepped back, straightened her posture and lifted her chin. "But what do I know. Just the thoughts of an old dance instructor." She smiled at Harry, one that didn't reach any higher than her lips.
"It was good seeing you again Harry. Visit anytime." She said, as she dismissed herself from his presence and, after hearing Harry's parting words, she went to her office, leaving Harry to wait for Natalia by himself.
It only took a couple minutes for her to appear in tight jeans, and a thick pullover sweater, while her hair was let down loose, splaying down her back.
She looked tentative, nervous. Her head bowed, ever so slightly, and a bit of reluctance to meet his eyes.
"Hey Harry." She said quickly, in way of greeting.
"Hey yourself." He gave her a big smile and tried to interject some sincere happiness in his voice, to try and give her some confidence here.
"I- I didn't… uh… expect you to meet me here." Her follow up to his greeting was unconfident and timid.
They were standing quite far apart, for two people talking, three or four feet more than normal.
"I thought I'd drop in. I love watching you dance; it's mesmerizing." Harry kept his jovial tone, especially emphasizing the one word.
A slight smile graced her lips. Harry couldn't help but think it made her look so cute, using her right hand to brush the hair back out of her face only added to the effect.
"Well," she brought up her eyes to meet his, "I had planned to go home and get changed, before meeting you, but if you're okay with this," she gestured toward herself, "I don't mind."
Harry nodded and stepped toward her, "I think you look great. Did we just want to go to the park or did you have something else in mind?"
"The park is fine." She said softly.
Harry closed the distance between them and held out his hand, offering to apparte the both of them. She reached out and tenderly placed her hand in his.
Harry transported the two of them to the familiar place. With nary a thought, their feet began to carry them toward the bench. It was a cool night, once again, but thankfully it wasn't precipitating, or it may have been too much be outside.
How long would she stay silent?
How many times could he count their steps, un, deux, trois?
Each passing second felt longer than the last.
He wasn't even holding her hand anymore, she had withdrawn it from his grasp when they'd arrive and she'd stuffed it into her pocket, not giving him an opportunity to take it again.
At this point, Harry's stubbornness wouldn't let him give in and break the silence, he was going to wait for her to speak.
It wasn't until they were seated on the bench together, with a conspicuous space between them, that she spoke up, breaking the lingering silence. "It's odd. You take me here, back to where it all began, and then you're the one to not talk. I was so nervous then." She scoffed, "But what does it matter…" She turned her head towards him, impatient, as if she was awaiting him to get on with something.
Harry stared back at her. The last thing they talked about was her offering herself to him. She wanted him to accept her or tell it wouldn't work and cut her loose. He'd done as she'd asked. He'd been thinking this over and giving it a lot of thought. How could he not?
He'd always like Natalia. If it was whether he found her attractive, got along with her, enjoyed her time with her and wanted to do more of it there wouldn't be any issues. Unfortunately, there was the politics, the manipulations and everything else that had occurred since they first met. How could he give her an answer when he wasn't even clear about things?
"Well? Are you going to do it?" She said, her voice strong and challenging.
"Do what? Make you give an Unbreakable Vow? Make a decision on whether to marry you or to set you loose?" Harry asked his triad of questions in rapid succession, not letting her tone bother him in the slightest.
"Argh! You're so frustrating!" She exclaimed and Harry thought she might do something but she just clenched her jaw and tried to bore a hole through his head with her intense stare.
After a moment she stood up. "I put myself out there! I laid it all out there and… and… ARGH!" Natalia stomped her feet as she stepped away, turning around in frustration.
Harry was glad he'd setup the usual privacy spells. She'd make quite a spectacle of them raising her voice so much.
"You waited days before contacting me! Days !" She turned back toward him, her hands out of her pockets and clenched in tight fists at her sides. "And all you've got for me, after all that, is… nothing?!" She was almost shrieking at him now.
"What do you want me to say? That I still like you? That if I had a galleon for every time I've been warned about you and your family that I could pretty well retire already? That, somehow, through all of that I still want to pursue you?" Harry raised his voice a little. He wasn't going to yell at her but he wouldn't back down either. It wasn't exactly fair for her to throw this at him.
Natalia came back to the bench and sat down heavily against Harry.
"I"m sorry. I've just been on edge since I last saw you." She said, as her head rested on his shoulder.
"What made you do this though? Like, why would you put this on me?" He asked softly, unsure if he should wrap his arm around her or just leave the physical contact as is for now.
Natalia shifted, burrowing her head into him. "I just don't want to be strung along. I'm not sure I could handle it…"
"But isn't that how relationships work?" Harry half asked and half stated. "We try being together and if things workout we get married and if they don't we break up."
Natalia's far hand found its way into Harry's lap, it felt around, searching for Harry's hand. He brought one out of his pocket and let her hold onto his hand.
Natalia swallowed. "For most it does… for us? It kind of does for you but not for me…"
Harry dipped his chin and turned it toward her, his eyes focused on her.
"If we don't work out you move on, choosing to marry whomever you want."
Harry nodded slowly, that was true and accurate, though it didn't take into account the restarting of his families, nor the danger they were in of becoming extinct.
"But me?" She sighed, "Not for me. I can only marry someone my family approves of. And trust me, the list is short and the candidates aren't appealing, they never have been." She said with disgust. "But then you literally waltz into my life. You sweep me off my feet and just make me so happy." She stopped there for a moment and just cuddled into him while forming her thoughts into coherent words.
"My parents approved of you instantly. Getting you attached to the Pavlov family… The Potter name would help remove the stain from the last war. Getting allied with the Blacks, even as diminished as they are, would open up a part of the wizarding world they'd never have been able to breach as effortlessly."
"Do you mind if I ask about that?" Not hearing an immediate 'no' he went on. This was something he'd speculated on, with Cyrus and Horace, and he wanted to know more about it. "Why is that so vital to them? They have money, they have business acumen. Why is it so important?"
Natalia lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him, Harry thought she was exasperated and resigned, resigned that she was going to answer but didn't really like the conversation being derailed at this junction.
"England is really insular, it always has been. Most of the first recruits to the English Dark Lord's followers were foreign purebloods, like the Malfoy, Rosier, Lestrange, and Dolohov for example. He also recruited the pureblood families that never amounted to much, the ones he could rile up easily, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Jugson, Yaxley and more."
"Been studying our recent history?" Harry asked with a knowing smirk.
Natalia ignored the comment. "It took time for his movement to begin and he often recruited the young heirs, the ones who would believe his rhetoric. Gaining the Blacks was pivotal, but that may have been more due to their arranged marriages with families already in the movement, Rosier and Lestrange, for example, as the Head of the family never openly supported them. Given that he named you the next Regent, we surmise he didn't support him but most of his family did, fanatically even."
"Okay… but what does this have to do with your family?" Harry asked, not wanting to get too far off topic, they were already off topic and didn't need to keep going further away.
She patted his leg and gave him a sweet smile. "Everything."
Harry huffed, playfully exaggerating his annoyance, and slipped an arm around her, giving her a squeeze.
"Most of the businesses haven't changed in centuries. Olivander sells wands and they won't let in foreign wand makers, like Gregorovitch. Diagon Alley changes very little and new entrants into the marketplace are viciously opposed. The war was started for as much of economic reasons as it was for blood purity. Much of the discord that fed blood purity can be found in their lack of wealth and opportunities for creating it."
Harry thought about that as she quietly explained it to him. "That makes sense. If they were all rich and wealthy they'd be far less inclined to fight."
She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his arm, as she did so. "So for a foreign family like mine, it's difficult to get anything going. By partnering with an established family they can ease their way in. With the backing of two families on the Wizengamot things change. I'd imagine your negotiations with the Delacours will have quite extensive negotiations on joint business ventures."
Harry couldn't say anything about it. He could feel his magic tightening even as he thought about replying. He was a party to a magical contract to keep it secret and he would.
"Sasha and Elena have nominal control of the family affairs in Bulgaria. Igor and Yulia are in Russia, Hans and Lea, Germany, and Maria is engaged to Klaus Ehrhoff and spends her time in Germany with him. Mother and Father oversee everything but they hope I will ensnare you. I expect Father will be heavily invested in opening up a new business frontier, if that is the case." She was telling him this plainly, little to no inflection in her voice.
"So where does that leave us?" Harry asked, faintly amused that he got to ask this question.
"I don't know…" She murmured into his arm. "I'm sorry for giving you an ultimatum. It's just-" she breathed out heavily and three her hands up, "it's just I want you and I get why we might not get a chance… I'd just rather end it now than letting the illusion of us being able to work out make it all the worse when things end." She wasn't looked at him while she apologized but not after she'd gotten frustrated.
"How are you able to speak more openly? I understand your family uses Unbreakable Vows…" Harry asked, changing the subject for the moment.
"The family one's aren't too onerous. I can't, say, tell you the specific wording… but it's broad and pretty simple. They are used negatively, like, I can't willfully act against the family in a way that would purposefully cause harm, that kind of thing." It had seemed the change of topic had brightened her up, perhaps she took it as a positive sign that Harry was asking more about her family, he considered.
"How would an Unbreakable Vow of loyalty to me, or one to keep my secrets, work with that?" Harry frowned, he didn't like the idea of a loyalty oath. What kind of a relationship could they have if she was forced to be loyal to him.
Wasn't the basis of a good relationship trust? Having it artificially would weaken the base of the relationship. Nothing without a shored up base lasted long. The old saying of building on rock instead of sand came to mind. Would it matter if the unstable sand was made to be stable by magic?
"They are all independent of each other. It's why you have to be very careful, especially with anything that can require positive actions. Imagine two oaths. One requires me to keep your secrets and the other requires me to keep my family's secrets. All I need to do is keep secrets, each oath holds me to its specific terms and there are no issues with that. But, if one was required action, if I had to tell my family anything that could benefit them to know, while I had also sworn to keep your secrets, I would have to keep both. As that's not possible I'd have to break one and suffer the consequences." She shuddered, thinking about that.
"I see. There is no combining them. Each oath acts independent of the other… That… makes sense." Harry pondered out loud.
"Do you want me to swear one?" She asked and then shifted away so she could get a better look, her eyes searching him over. "I will. I wasn't lying when I told you that."
"No… not one for blind loyalty…" Harry said slowly. The idea of using that as a basis for trust just felt wrong, it left a sour taste in his mouth. "Everyone close to me that knows my secrets does take a secrecy oath though." It was ironic that he was willing to accept one
"I don't mind. One to keep your secrets and a limited loyalty oath, something like I won't knowingly act against your interest."
Harry sighed. He really should accept that. It would remove the concern he had about whether she was manipulating him on her family's orders. He would check with Ackerly on the vows, how they worked in conjunction with each other and what he should get Natalia to swear.
For now, he was tired and ready to retire for the night. Working through his magical exercises, flying with Krum, spending a couple hours hanging out with friends, chatting with Krum, and now hanging out with Natalia… It had been a packed day.
"Let's do that later. I"ll have my lawyer draft something." Harry felt her squirm against him. He was tired and knew he might miss something and they needed a bonder in any case.
"Will you dance with me Harry?" Natalia asked in a quiet hopeful voice.
"Here?" Harry asked, looking around at his surroundings. It wasn't an ideal place to dance.
"Yes."
Harry shrugged, "Sure, why not."
"I'll count the timing out loud, you just focus on not stepping on my feet." She smirked at him, fully knowing Harry was far too good for that issue.
Harry placed his hands on her and perfected his posture.
"Okay, un deux trois, un deux trois."
When the third repetition began he began to lead them.
"Un," He deftly put his left foot forward, focusing on the hip movement.
"Deux," Harry moved his right foot diagonally and began the rise to his toes.
"Trois," He completed the rise and slid his left foot over, moving the correct side of the chest up.
"Un," He began the opposite motions, Harry was working on completing the full box step motions.
"Deux," this was so comfortable.
"Trois," he closed his eyes, enjoying the way his body moved with hers.
"Un" Natalia… what a dance partner.
"Deux," he breathed in her scent.
"Trois," wasn't it lovely?
"Un," she's so superb.
"Deux," why couldn't things be as simple as dancing?
"Trois," it was so easy to move in time with her.
Harry was enjoying this far more than he'd thought. They weren't performing nor putting on a show for anyone. They were going through this practiced routine just for the pure enjoyment of it, just to do something enjoyable with her.
Hesitation Change, un deux trois un deux trois.
Fallaway Reverse Slip Pivot un deux et trois.
He understood what Lacroix said, they worked so well together.
Double Reverse Spin un deux trois et.
How great did she look with her lustrous brown hair twirling as he spun her?
Open Telemark un deux trois.
Chasse from Promenade Position un deux et trois.
She moved so flawlessly. How many hours did she practice to get this good?
Natural Spin Turn un deux trois un deux trois.
Turning Lock, left, to Promenade Position un et deux trois.
Chasse from Promenade Position un deux et trois.
What was he to do with her?
Hesitation Change, un deux trois un deux trois.
Fallaway Reverse Slip Pivot un deux et trois.
Enticing, elegant, and oh so silky smooth.
Double Reverse Spin un deux trois et.
Open Telemark un deux trois.
How could he just walk away from her?
Chasse from Promenade Position un deux et trois.
She was perfection personified: her arched back, pushed up chest, and long dextrous legs.
Natural Spin Turn un deux trois un deux trois.
Turning Lock, left, to Promenade Position un et deux trois.
How he wished this would never end…
Chasse from Promenade Position un deux et trois.
The two kept dancing to the silent tune, Natalia no longer needing to set the tempo. With their privacy charms, it was just the two of them in their own world. The park, their dance floor, the moon and stars, their lighting.
They kept at it until Harry stopped them, some minutes later, as he was yawning. Being tired and ready to collapse in his bed, he brought their activity to an end.
Natalia's blue eyes gazed up at him in question. "Harry?"
Harry moved his body forward and wrapped her up in a hug. "Sorry. I'd like to continue too, but it's late and I'm tired." He murmured into her ear while using his right hand to run his hand through her hair.
"I loved tonight… loved being with you… I don't want to leave you tonight." She whispered in his ear, neither of them moving to break apart the hug.
"Sorry. I really need to go to bed though…" he sleepily said.
"I don't want to leave you tonight." She reiterated, her whispered voice a little louder, stronger now.
"You'll have to. I'm going to go to bed and your parents will be expecting you home tonight." Harry put his hands on her shoulders and slowly disengaged his body from here. His green eyes met her blue ones and he kept his hands on her shoulders but his arms were now straight, putting some distance between them while still remaining in contact.
"I told them I'm staying at the studio. I do it quite frequently…" She said in a small voice, her eyes not leaving his though.
Harry took a moment to comprehend what she was saying. When he did, he wanted to be clear, "You… want to stay with me… tonight? He asked slow and unsure.
Natalia nodded.
"I don't think we're ready for sex…" He stated bluntly. Was she trying to manipulate him again? Would he need to use Lucia's training tonight?
It was hard to tell with only the moon and stars as light but Harry was sure Natalia was crimson from blushing. "No! I meant just cuddle, like, just sleep together in the same bed."
Harry had been blushing himself, even though he was so forward with his remark. "Oh." He said, embarrassed to have gotten it wrong. His arms fell off her shoulders.
Natalia had her arms crossed, hugging herself. "W-will you?"
It was hard for Harry to hear. She sounded so vulnerable. She looked so cute and adorable as she willed him to accept with her large eyes and Harry assumed was a quivering lip, though he couldn't tell with the lack of light and her face being shadowed.
Could he bring her to the Chamber of Secrets? Using his cloak, he could sneak them in, that wouldn't be an issue. The Chamber itself would protect its secret, that hadn't been an issue before.
Whether Harry's overtired mind had anything to do with agreeing or not, he wasn't sure. He knew he wanted to go to bed and having Natalia cuddled up to him sure sounded like a lovely idea.
"Sure. I'll apparate us there but you'll have to sneak in with me under my invisibility cloak, being as silent as possible."
Fuck. He'd just agreed but she hadn't sworn to keep his secrets yet. He couldn't compromise his location. She'd known he stayed somewhere at Hogwarts, or might be able to talk about it if she remembered meeting with him. For instance, if Daphne recalled he met up with her at Hogwarts, that would seem natural. But Natalia going there would be different. If Dumbledore found out, he might be able to put all the clues together, if he hadn't already…
"You'll have to be blindfolded though, I can't let you know where you are staying until you swear the vows."
"Oh, okay." She agreed hesitantly.
Harry could see she was happy with it though, she smiled and her eyes were alight.
Harry conjured a blindfold, slipped the cloak over them and apparated. It was an easy journey down into the Chamber. He kept a localised quieting charm around them and was able to talk her through everything. She just hugged herself to his back and walked behind him. It was annoying but not that difficult, just slow.
Harry didn't take the blindfold off until she was in the bedroom, he didn't want to risk her seeing anything.
Natalia was quite happy to get out of the blindfold and after Harry had shown her the bathroom she quickly got ready. Harry himself quickly used the loo then got into bed, keeping just a pair of trousers on.
Natalia came back into the bedroom, her hair let down, spandex shorts that only went part way down her thigh and a white tank top. Harry's eyes were glued to her form, he'd never seen so much of her skin and figure. The tank top didn't have anything between it and her chest, no bra, as he could see two darker points trying to poke through her shirt.
Harry didn't have long to look as she quickly cross the room and jumped in bed, lifting the blanket up and sliding beneath it.
Harry dropped back down onto his back, having just been propped up on his elbow so he could see her better.
Natalia's hand made contact with his bare chest and rubbed up and down quickly before she scooted over, her shoulder resting on him
Harry could feel her soft breasts push against his chest. He could feel Natalia slide a leg over his and intertwine hers between his. He could feel her breath and he froze, not sure what to do.
Natalia quirked her head up and kissed his cheek softly. "Goodnight Harry. Sleep well. I know I will."
"Good night." He murmured back.
He'd never experienced anything like this before. She wasn't making a move on him, she wasn't trying to seduce him. She just wanted to be close to him, that was the best he could figure.
He felt her breathing evening out, slowing, and Harry decided to focus on that. Just relax and enjoy the body contact. Let his mind calm and rest.
He was so tired, she was so warm, he was soon relaxed and into the realm of Morpheus.
He was so warm. He tried to crack his bleary eyes but failed on his first attempt.
Why would he want to get warmed up when he was wrapped up and cuddling so wonderfully?
He could feel a chest rising and falling against his right side and the matching breaths above him and to the right.
He could feel a chest rising and falling against his left side and the matching breathing from his left just above him.
Wait.
Two people were in bed with him. Didn't he just go to bed with Natalia?
How could this have happened?
Did Daphne get down here unescorted? No… he kept the locket.
He wracked his memory, trying to figure out why there was someone other than Natalia in bed with him, not that he was complaining too much, being all warm and cozy.
He couldn't come up with anything.
Back to Plan A: opening his damn eyes.
He tried again and after two more attempts he was briefly successful. His vision was blurry and all he could see was silver-blonde.
He worked at it again and then blinked in rapid succession to clear his eyes. He looked around and caught sight of the other person.
Fleur.
Fleur Delacour.
He was in bed with Natalia Pavlova and Fleur Delacour!
No. This was a dream.
He went to bed with Natalia and now he was dreaming.
It all made sense now… Just a dream. Right?
He should really be sure. Or… maybe… just take advantage of the situation?
Harry opened his eyes again and looked at Fleur. She looked so cute and damn sexy. Her top was askew and presented a generous helping of her cleavage for him to admire.
Great fucking dream.
There was no need to change where he was staring… Unless Natalia was in the same state of dress?
Harry craned his neck around and looked at Natalia.
Except… Natalia didn't have silver-blonde hair. Nor was she a little girl…
Harry lifted his head up and looked from his right to his left. Fleur on one side, sleeping away, and Gabrielle on the other.
It was enough to freak Harry the fuck out!
He did the manly thing to do in this situation. He screamed.
Except his ears didn't hear a yell. They heard a shriek. A shriek he knew very well!
Harry shut his eyes and bolted up in bed.
"What. The. Fuck." He said, his hand feeling his bed and his eyes making sure he was seeing things correctly.
He was in his room in the Chamber, he could see that now. His right hand found a body, his left, empty bed.
"Are you alright?" He heard a voice from his right, half asleep and half frantic with worry.
Harry turned his head toward the voice and saw Natalia. She looked worried about him.
"Just… just a dream." He said, feeling his heart trying to beat out of his chest.
He began taking deep deliberate breaths. He counted to three in his head over and over, un deux trois, un deux trois…
He felt arms wrap around him and Natalia pressed herself against him, now that she was sitting up in bed as well. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Harry heaved out another long slow breath. "Yes. Just a weird dream. Sorry for waking you."
"No, you don't need to be sorry. I'm glad I could be here to help." Harry could virtually hear her smile.
"Thanks, but we should get back to sleep." He said as he laid back down on his back.
"How about we get your mind off of the dream first… onto something more pleasant?"
Harry watched as Natalia turned around and then slid her knee over him, straddling his stomach.
She bent down, lowering her head, and grabbed the side of his face with her soft warm hands, cupping his face, drawing him up toward her.
His lips met hers and he brought his hands up to her head, one cupping her cheek and the other found its way into her hair.
This wasn't Fleur, he didn't have permission to roam his hands all over her body. He'd respect that here and now, keeping his hands to her face, shoulders, neck, scalp and hair.
After a couple minutes of making out she sat up before sliding her hips off him. She dropped down and this time half her body was on top of his, her head tucked under his.
"Good night Harry." She said sweetly.
'Good night." Harry whispered back.
He could feel her breathing slow, over time, and tell she was falling asleep on him.
Harry's mind wasn't ready to sleep yet. It would take some time before his brain could stop trying to figure out what he'd just experienced.