A loud piercing roar. An atmosphere of confusion and panic. Running, hundreds of people, running here and there. My legs paused, My grip on both Ron and Hermione loosened as my eyes fell on the large shadow that darkened the ground.
I lifted my head up—Green eyes, flaky, veiny and thrumming with power, Forest Green. It was a relatively small dragon when compared to other species, A Common Welsh Green. Green, oscillating from bright to dark, scales across its figure, the dragon was majestic, more so than others. It had a large neck, almost five to six feet, and its tail was even longer, curling and rolling around in unbridled fury.
The dragon gave a large roar and then puffed his face, releasing a gust of fire a second later on a group of people. My head whirled, my eyes widened, my brain fogged with fear for those who were being attacked. It was a group of people, almost a few dozen.
Suddenly, a man from the group, one that appeared to be in his mid-forties, snapped his wand forward in almost a desperate defense and erected a shimmering blue shield. The crackling fire met the shield with a large shockwave. Everyone who stood around that place staggered and some even fell. The shield, cracked heavily, still remained, though barely.
'Impressive,' I thought and looked at the man, and then my eyes widened. Blonde hair, tall stature, silk robes, sharp face—Sebastian Delacour? My pulse increased and my eyes whirled desperately and noticed one Fleur Delacour amongst the people.
I pulled my eyes and shook my head. Why was I frozen? Why was I just seeing everything and not reacting? My hands stopped gripping Ron's and Hermione's and as the Dragon started puffing its face, readying itself to send another attack, I started running towards the ground of people.
"Harry— Wh—" I heard the calls of Ron and Hermione, and I ignored them.
Damn me and my need to save the day, Damn it! I hate that I am like this. But it is who I am. This is me.
The majestic and Ferocious beast sent another torrent of flames and Sebastian Delacour retaliated with a blue beam of light—A cursed flame repelling spell. A few more people, following his example, also sent their own stream of magical spells, hoping to somehow stop the dragon fire.
The Fire and the spells all met with a cacophony of magic, lightning and power. Dragon fire is naturally Magically corrosive to almost everything. If it is not overpowered by magic, it even corrodes magic. All the colorful spells that met it along with the blue jet from Sebastian didn't overpower it, instead making it volatile. A huge blast sounded, all the people that were in Dragon's view staggered and fell, disorientated by the large boom. I crouched to prevent myself from falling.
The dragon lowered itself, flames leaving its snout as it breathed. It was almost as if… almost as if it was searching… Or perhaps someone… Wait… This dragon was…
The dragon's apparently after finding its target puffed its face again and then… My thumb twirled my ring, summoning my wand instantly; My wand hand waved, going around my neck in an exaggerated motion, summoning the water from…
The yellow-orange flames, like lava from an erupting volcano, erupted from the Dragon's mouth in fury unmatched and then faced resistance… There was almost a light vibration of land as my wand thrummed with magic and the black lake listened… Two geysers erupted from the lake, twisting and turning as per my command. With a strong jab of my wand, they clashed with the flames.
White… White misty steam erupted, shrouding the place as fire met water. The Dragon gave a mighty effort, but it needed to breathe eventually. The two streams of water under my control overpowered the flames and—as the dragon stopped, unable to maintain the flames—started advancing with frightening ferocity towards the dragon.
The dragon twisted its body midair and flew higher, twisting and turning, diving and rising, and trying his best to avoid the large jets of water. I continued my control over the streams and chased the beast, trying my best to assess its movement to predict its moves. Finally, they made contact…
ARGHHGAHGSDRHAG
The Dragon screamed and screamed as it was blasted by the immense force of the water. The water pushed it, punching and bettering it and then finally throwing it to the ground. A small crater formed where it struck the ground with a loud thud—the Dragon fainted, eyes still half open, but not thrumming with power.
The stream of water flowing in the air, slowly receded, following my wand's tip and returning back to the lake. My eyes fell on my wand hand and I almost flinched. My eyes were glowing brightly, too brightly. I could see the glow reflecting in my hand. I twirled my ring and unsummoned my wand.
Two pairs of hands engulfed me, and my body relaxed almost instinctively.
"You—" Hermione hit my shoulder, her hands shaking and eyes a little misty, "—absolute Prat!"
"What was that?" Ron said almost in a mix of anger, astonishment and awe.
"Ouch, Hermione!" I whined. "Stop hitting me," I said and she hit my shoulder again before pulling both me and Ron in a tight hug—a hug worthy of Molly.
"Ahem," I heard a sound, and so did Ron and Hermione. Hermione released her grip, allowing me and Ron to finally breathe properly. We turned to see the person.
"Mr. Potter—"
"Harry please," I urged. I also noticed that he had no accent.
"Harry," Sebastian Delacour smiled. He along with everyone else had recovered from the shockwave that the collision between them and the Dragon fire had caused. He was standing long with his wife, Appoline Delacour, who was clutching their young daughter Gabrielle in her arm, and Fleur who was standing beside her Mother, a tired expression. As I took in the appearance of all the other people, I realized that the group consisted mostly of French ministry employees and their families. "I am Sebastian Delacour. I think you are acquainted with my daughter already?" He asked lightly, pointing towards Fleur, looking at her with a small almost teasing smile. He turned to me again, this time a little more serious and said, "I would like to formally express my gratitude to you for saving me, my family and all my friends and colleagues from the Welsh Green."
"Oui, We owe you a great dept Mr. Potter," A man clad in purple clothes said. A few people nodded with him.
Suddenly as a loud roar sounded, everyone stilled and turned…
"Uh… I think… We should get to the castle…." I suggested. Everyone was looking at the Horntail which was flying a few hundred meters away over the Black Lake.
The journey back to Hogwarts was interesting to say the least. I accepted dozens of thank yous and offers that the Frenchmen gave me, trying my best to explain that they didn't owe me anything. While we were walking past the quidditch pitch, we noticed Dumbledore, engaged in an intense duel against the Nundu…
Jeez… Nundu's are terribly strong… Compared to a Common Green Welsh… I would say that Nundu's are around 200 times worse. Dumbledore was simultaneously fighting the beast, preventing the Nundu's toxins from mixing and spreading through air, and also evading the Nundu's spike attacks and paralyzing roars. It was an intense duel that none wished to even witness. It usually takes at least 100 extremely trained wizards to take a Nundu down… and he was doing it alone. Absolute Madlad and a complete powerhouse… A Magical Titan…
As we continued walking, we noticed a dark silhouette breeze pass us through the air… I looked up and my breath hitched… the Antipodean Opaleye was flying towards Hogsmeade… This is going to be a disaster… A little while later we spotted many, a few dozen, dragon handlers engaged in a fight with the Romanian Longhorn. A little while later we noticed the Ukrainian Ironbelly going berserk in the Forbidden Forest, setting everything on fire…. The last dragon we had the privilege of seeing was the Swedish short snout, who was perched on a large boulder, sleeping, black soot emanating from his nostrils as he breathed.
At last we reached the Hogwarts entrance door. We entered the castle, finally breathing a sigh of relief. As we all entered the Great Hall, I realized just how bad the situation was… Hundreds of Visitors and thousands of students in Hogwarts… and nearly a dozen 5x beasts escaped… This will have so much Backlash… Unbelievable… How did it even happen?
The French people went and sat down at the Ravenclaw table while me, Ron and Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table. There was a still silence, one that was a little numbing. There was the general buzzing going through the Hall, but it was filled with anxiety, fear and just all-around misery.
The day went on… Some announcements, many casualties, many injuries, deep wounds; physical and mental… Threats were hurled in the Great Hall… Bagman and Crouch came under fire. Dumbledore came under fire. The Dragon Handlers came under fire… In fact, all the tournament organizers and the organizing committee did come under fire… At last, the worst news of all? One of the Dragons was unaccounted for— The Peruvian Vipertooth. The day was a whirlwind… Aurors were called to Hogwarts and all the students were sent to the Dormitories. Night came soon… … and then I was asleep… Or was I?
Beautiful night, but dreary landscape… That was the gist of how the Hogwarts ground felt to me at the moment. At a lot of places, I could see charred land, burned by the intense Dragon fire. I honestly had no real reason to be strolling around the black lake. I was just restless and couldn't sleep. So many thoughts plagued me.
The task itself had gone extremely well, if not a little too well… Defeating and sending a Chimera flying was a big deal… and it was sure to land me in a world of needless spotlight once more. That was not a big deal. I have spent years in public's limelight and scrutiny alike. I could deal with it. But then the dragon incident… That was a different deal altogether.
Defeating a dragon is a big deal. I may have done it in less than ten minutes, but for an average magician, this was unheard of. There are probably less than a hundred wizards since the time of Salazar Slytherin who could defeat a Dragon in a one-on-one combat… Ironically at least 5 of them are alive at the instant… But nevertheless, that isn't the thing that is concerning.
The concerning news was how I had defeated the Dragon—Effortlessly, and that too in front of French Ministry employees. This will put a big label on me; something that I really don't want. Of course, saving them was something I had to do. It was for me a moral obligation and also if I hadn't then the geopolitical relations of Magical Britain with not only France but also the rest of the World would have soured immensely.
I would probably be interrogated by Amelia or some other Auror tomorrow, of that I was certain. The main concern was Dumbledore, Snape and ultimately Voldemort. If he knew my strength, he may actually take me seriously… That will be a loss of a great strategic advantage.
Of course, another important question is—How were the Dragons freed? This couldn't have been Voldemort… Or could he be the one? So many questions… With a sigh, I sat down on a boulder, letting my legs dangle freely from the precipice, a short distance above the lake.
"Antipodean Opaleye…" I murmured remembering the beautiful dragon that had soared from above… "Hopefully… I hope Hogsmeade wasn't compromised…"
"I need to do so much stuff…" I sighed tiredly after a while, my head falling backwards staring into the endless void of sprinkled memories. "The tasks I have to do… Azkaban… dementors…" I gave a forceful chuckle, my lips twisted into a wry smile. In the distance I noticed the Giant Squid jumping from the water and diving back in, like a dolphin.
"Seven Horcrux…Diary and Diadem, destroyed… Me—destroyed… Ring… Locket, Nagini, Goblet and Voldemort left," I counted. I needed to increase my pace for everything.
A light cool breeze ruffles my air, leaving me cold. I felt a little cold but decided against the warming charm. My thoughts wandered,
One step at a time… For now, I needed to improve myself, expand my magical core… and carve a few runes on myself… Also find a way to destroy Dementors… and if i can't find one… Then I needed to develop a way to destroy them… I needed to master Arithmancy for that… and also spell creation…
I was about to stand up when suddenly a warm sensation enveloped me—a pure bliss that I deeply longed for, a sense of contentment. Without even looking, I knew what it was… or rather, who it was.
I tilted my head and noticed the one and only Fleur Delacour, her porcelain skin almost glowing under the shining moon. Her arms were folded across her chest and a confused expression with slightly raised brows, though a pleasant smile also rested on her beautiful heart shaped face.
"Fleur?" I called, surprised to see her taking a stroll round the lake, especially so after the earlier incident with the Dragon. "Taking a stroll?"
"Oui," She replied simply and walked towards me before settling down beside me, our shoulders grazing lightly. She looked at the Black Lake, her eyes growing, for some reason, misty, and then she sighed before speaking in a low voice, her French slipping in, "Couldn't sleep… Toi?"
"No… couldn't either," I said—and that was true, just not the complete one; the reasons for our sleepless night were way different. "The Dragon?" I asked softly.
"Oui… I zizn't zank you earlier… for say-ving moi and…" She trailed, her accent a little too thick, her gaze still staring far away, across the lake, at the snow-draped peaks of the scottish land. She gulped, a lump in her throat, her voice a little cracked… "'Arry… 'oh did you do it?"
"Do what exactly…" I asked, a small sigh threatening to escape my lips, but I held it back. Her question was laden with emotions—raw and unfiltered. It seemed to carry… more than just one meaning
I felt her eyes turn to me, but I didn't connect them with mine, keeping mine fixed in the lake brimming with reflection of the night sky. I felt her hand gently graze mine and take it in her palms. The touch was like lava to my skin… My entire body felt goosebumps and I became aware of just how fast my heart was beating.
"Everyzing…" Fleur spoke, her fingers tracing my hand that rested on her right hand, "Ze way you faced the Chimira… Ze way you defeated the Dragon… How are you zis… zis strong?"
I looked at her, deliberating what to say. At last, I spoke weakly, "It— It is complicated…"
She softly sighed, "It… is so… weird…" she murmurs softly slipping my hands from her gentle grip. I immediately missed her warmth, the gentle ministration of her fingers against my hand while she held it. "I zought… If I got to know you… ze attraction would fade… you are soo… lettle… non not lettle, young…"
My eyes momentarily widened at her words, and I searched her eyes for answers… and I was overwhelmed by her sapphire orbs… They were misty and filled with unbridled emotions… emotions that I hadn't expected, emotions that made my body shiver… "The… Attraction… what do you mean Fleur…?"
"You are… ze only person… zat 'as never been affected by my allure," She spoke barely above a whisper forcefully, as if speaking louder would be too harsh a confession… "At first… small curiosity… zen intrigue after finding your name… and then attraction at the wanz weighing… I zought 'anging out in ze 'Ogsmeade would reduce it… I would learn somezing bad… Somezing to be disgusted by…"
Her arms curled around my left arm and my breath hitched as her head came to rest on my shoulder. I felt silent hot tears and I froze up, not knowing what to do.
"I know… you find me attractive too…" She murmured, between a sob…"Who zoesn't? But you… conceal it well… still being and trying to be calm… but I can't…" She spoke, almost struggling to find words to express herself in English. "I 'ave never felt zis… And after you saving me, papa, maman, Gabby and everyone else from that Dragon… You are even more attractive…"
A sobbing, emotionally vulnerable angel was not among something I had expected from the night and comforting her was really not my forte. But nevertheless, I gently brought my right arm to soothe her back. I softly murmured, "Fleur, you have no reason to feel guilty… It's okay"
For a while, she stayed attached to my arm, light sobs escaping her body. Finally, she shifted, releasing my arm and shifting and pushing herself against my chest in a vulnerable hug. She spoke softly, her voice raspy, her head against my neck, "I shouldn't 'ug you like zis…"
"It's okay," I soothed gently, feeling both overwhelmed and awed. It was so… conflicting… knowing that the one I wanted also reciprocated my feelings… But also, not wanting to be with someone… I had stuff to do… and I couldn't pull someone's dangers that being associated with me brought.
"It's not… but zank you," She lightly sniffed, her body almost relaxed now… "You are still so nice… So good…" She nuzzled her face against my neck before stifling. She sighed and untangled from the hug.
I raised my hand, and a hanky materialized in my hand. Her eyes widened at the wandless display, and I internally cursed myself for the slip. I wiped her tears, and she brought her hand to hold the hanky.
"Zank you…" She trailed taking the hanky and wiping the last remnants of her tears. "Sorry… for…" She lightly blushed, a beautiful hue on her glowing porcelain face, "For crying on you…" Suddenly she pressed a lingering kiss on my left cheek, stood up and quickly started leaving.
I stared at her retreating figure, so very conflicted. Her hips swayed naturally, almost seductively, even in the full body, loose nightgown she wore.
As her silhouette finally blended in the distance and her figure disappeared, I found myself in a sort of conundrum and pure surprise. How did all that happen? This was not normal. How would this meeting affect our dynamic, I wondered.
I left the spot by the lake soon too and discreetly went back to my dorm, slipping inside the covers of my bed.
It was morning time. Me, Ron and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. The morning so far has been awkward… I knew that Hermione had a plethora of questions that she wished to bombard me with… I was just waiting for the inevitable. Aside from this, mine and Fleur's eyes also met once—she flashed me a small smile but otherwise, it was as if the last night had never happened. I was happy to keep it that way.
I pulled a slice of Treacle Tart to my plate, when the inevitable words of the brightest witch of the generation came.
"Harry… I think… We all should talk…" She spoke carefully, a small frown marred her face, in her hands she held a copy of, 'The Bloody Tournament'.
I looked longingly at the dessert and pushed it before saying with a sigh, "Okay… I knew this was coming…So?"
"So?" She asked almost unbelievably, "When did you learn elemental magic… or nonverbal magic? Or even got this strong?" She continued bombarding me with questions.
"Yeah, Mate… When did you learn… That?" Ron added unhelpfully.
"Uh… You know…" I said, trying to calm Hermione, "How I vanish… during the classes and well sometimes on Sunday and well in my free time…?
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, but no one gets that good in just a few months." She huffed and glared at me, "You were already good. There is only one answer I can think of. You were just not even trying to learn till now."
"Well…"
"Oh don't well me!" She exclaimed and Ron, who was sitting beside her, flinched. "Why were you hiding your magic before this year?" She seemed more hurt than angry and I felt a clump of guilt settle in me.
"It's just…" I struggled, unable to form a convincing lie in Hermione's face. She would spot it instantly… She knew me too well.
"Doesn't matter," She huffed, putting on a facade. "You are teaching me and Ron. No more secrets among us…" I felt a sadness creep in but I said nothing. I have to keep secrets. They are dangerous
"Of course…" I said, adding, "But maybe not this year… well maybe a little. I will be busy with… training for the tournament…"
Hermione sent me a withering glare and I shrinked, but kept my stance firm. She sighed and pulled me in a hug. "Fine… whatever." It was a short hug, barely a few seconds. We ate the rest of the breakfast talking about some Arithmancy related stuff—that is, Hermione prodded me about the Arithmancy for the runes I carved in the boulder in the task.
"Mr. Potter," the strong Scottish accent of the strict and no-nonsense head of the Gryffindor came, and I turned my head to find McGonagall standing behind us, a few meters away.
"Professor McGonagall," I spoke politely, lowering my head lightly in a gesture of respect.
"I would be borrowing you for a few minutes," She said, leaving no room for argument. "Follow me." She said and started walking.
I sent my friends a small smile and told them that I will meet them in the common room before standing up and following McGonagall.
As I followed McGonagall towards the Hall's door, I noticed many different stares being sent my way. Suddenly, sounds of hundreds of trills came from above as the morning owls started delivering the Newspapers. I felt my newspaper being dropped on me and I caught it, not missing a beat as I continued walking with McGonagall.
As we exited the Hall, McGonagall turned to me and said, "Amelia Bones, the head of the DMLE, wanted to have a conversation with you. Headmaster was against it, but he is currently under a lot of pressure…"
"—I understand Professor. It is no problem," I said before McGonagall continued and flashed her a smile.
She nodded appreciatively. "I will take you to Amelia Bones now, Okay? There are a few things I just wanted to fill you with—You are not obligated to answer all her questions, you have nothing to fear from her, she can do nothing to you and you need to hold your ground. Don't forget these. If you feel uncomfortable, tell her that you are done with it and leave. Got it?" She asked sternly.
I was a little surprised, and my eyes very slightly widened. Damn… McGonagall… Wow… Unexpected to say the least. "Of course, Professor. I will remember."
"Good, Amelia is a good woman… but sometimes she can be tough," She said softly. "You are no criminal, don't let her treat you like one. Now follow me."
I followed her to an empty classroom on the fifth floor. She gestured towards the room before flashing me a small warm smile and leaving.
My hand gripped the door's handle and gently pushed it, entering the room. I noticed many people there. Among them I recognized a few, Dawlish, Kingsley and Amelia and a few others. All were in Auror uniform, though Amelia Bones, the famous red-headed head of DMLE had some more badges than others.
I grimaced internally. So many of these people were Dumbledore's men… They would report everything from this meeting to him… I need to be careful with my words.
"Mr. Potter," Amelia Bones called and gave a small smile, "Have a seat," she said while gesturing to a chair opposite to her end of the table.
Author's Note: So, I am alive. And this story is going on... Sorry for such a late update. I was actually quite busy with schoolwork and well... Studying. This is actually the first chapter that was not written in one go. I wrote it in two days! So yaa... I actually would have completed it on Friday... But I started doing Physics and ended up doing like 40 questions from HCV book. So couldn't finish it then... Some happened on Thursday... That day i couldn't even start. And after studying my creativity while writing kind of dies...
Yesterday was Saturday and well... I was too mentally exhausted from school to write... and then I had to study.
Let's come back to the chapter now. So... this chapter has some different writing style... At least I think so... I don't know, I improv while writing. So yeah. Hopefully you guys would like it. Give me reviews and criticism, okay? Pretty please. I love those. They give me a lot of ideas. Especially considering how most of this story is just me improving for 5-8 hours. So, the reviews really help.
Anyways, one last thing. I got one really angry comment that kind of pulled all semblance of respect I had for my own work, Lol. So thanks for that. Anyways it still had some pretty fair suggestions so thanks. That review told me to change my summary for the Story. So if anyone has time... can you provide me one? I am going to be busy with school and writing summaries is really not my forte.
Thank You
Chapter Length: 4100