Harry was in the middle of drinking his really quite tasty smoothie when Dumbledore all but ordered him to show off. In response, he quickly pulled away from the drink lest he splutter it everywhere. At first he just gave his Headmaster an extremely meaningful look. Then, when Dumbledore didn't back down, Harry sighed quietly and somewhat painfully climbed up to his feet.
"Gods... Sitting does terrible things to my body," Harry groaned out ruefully, as he walked towards the window, and then turned to regard the Delacour family. "Are you sure you want me experimenting out of your Dining Hall window?"
"Yes, I am, in fact, sure," Adrien replied with an easygoing smile. "You look like you're suffering from stage fright Harry. Let's hope that provides all the extra adrenaline you might need."
With a nod of agreement (Because he really did hate public speaking), Harry lifted open the window, at which point Fleur and Gabrielle suddenly rose to their feet. With nearly synchronized movements, the two girls closed on Harry's sides so that they would have a better view. Gabrielle looked thrilled that something magical was about to happen. Fleur still had a look of cool, terrifying scrutiny upon her face.
Turning back towards the wide open window, Harry leaned against the sill so that he could extend his wand as far as possible out into open air. When he looked back at everyone one last time, he was startled by the intensity of everyone's stares, especially Fleur's. Calming his nerves through sheer force of will, Harry took a deep breath and thought of Sirius, his godfather, who wanted him, really wanted him to live with him like a family. He soaked in that idea of unconditional acceptance and love and then calmly intoned the words "Expecto Patronum."
For the second time in less than a month, Harry's wand bucked like a cannon shot made of brilliant white light, as an absolutely massive stag careened out the window and galloped at full speed across the lawns! The silvery stag slowly came to a stop, before turning back towards the house as if it was puzzled. With no danger present or directions to fulfill, the Patronus started walking back in the direction of the window and Harry's wand.
When Gabrielle saw the Patronus spell go off in a laser light show of dazzlingly bright light, she immediately ran out of the room towards the backyard. As the stag walked back towards the house, she emerged out of nowhere to bodily slam into the four meter tall stag's right front leg. The stag immediately stopped dead in its tracks and its enormous head bent down to her level. The stag gave the little girl a small sniff followed by a playful nudge. The little girl looked like she was a doll in comparison to the gigantic stag.
Harry was standing at the window, releasing a constant stream of magic to maintain the beast and a happy thought to fuel it, when all of the sudden, he felt four presences looming over his shoulders. He'd been so distracted by the spell, he hadn't noticed Fleur, Appoline, Adrien and Dumbledore approaching him and peering out the window.
"It's beyond anything I have ever seen," Adrien whispered, in a completely awed voice. "You have become something truly special Harry. Your history was undeniably difficult, but it has hardened both your magic and your will into a diamond toughness. Try to keep that in mind as you master the painful memories inside of your Mindscape."
After nodding at Adrien, Harry smiled his appreciation. "Thank you Adrien, I'll make sure to keep that in mind."
For several more moments they all just stood there, watching a seven year old girl climb atop a glowing four meter tall king stag, as if she were a squirrel.
After lunch, Harry knew that it was time for him to go back to Hogwarts to complete his daily weight lifting regime. He shook Adrien and Fleur's hands and accepted a hug from Appoline that visibly made her happy. Then he was tackled into a chair by a small blur of platinum blonde hair.
"Arry, ou... Are… you coming back 'ere?" Gabrielle was haltingly piecing together her very best English. She was also hugging tightly to Harry's torso which was causing him serious damage from cuteness overload. After looking over at the Delacour parents and receiving their nods of assent, Harry replied slowly to the little girl. "Yes Gabrielle. I will be a frequent guest this summer." In response, the little girl looked visibly thrilled as she snuggled into his waist. Harry started worrying that he might go broke from birthday and Christmas presents. Gabrielle Delacour was an A-bomb of cuteness.
"Come back tomorrow after your workouts 'Arry," Appoline all but demanded. "We will start seeing what we can do about zat aura shroud of yours."
Nodding his agreement, Harry committed himself to doing whatever Appoline asked of him for the remainder of the summer. He really could see how a Veela with an allure could help him tame his out of control magic. Thankfully he could also see that both Adrien and Appoline were excellent people and worthy of his trust.
Needless to say, Harry was also a fan of Gabrielle, even as her extreme affection was throwing him a little bit off balance. Gabrielle was clearly a joy to be around, but he had literally no idea why the little girl was already so taken with him.
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