Harry managed to force his dorm mates to bed just before midnight with Neville's help, and they tucked them all in. "Their hangovers will be a sight to see tomorrow," Harry said.
"Good thing we have Herbology. Professor Sprout will at least not scream at them," Neville said.
"I'm just glad we are not them," Harry said and Neville laughed. They cleaned up and headed off to bed themselves not long after that. Harry fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was exhausted.
26th of November, 1994.
Harry was strangely happy about the fact that he would be talking about his past with Fleur. It was almost like it would become more real once someone on Earth knew about it.
Was he worried that she would think he was crazy? That was certainly a possibility.
It was also possible that he would build a new friendship with someone closer to his own age, and he liked that idea.
As much as he liked Hermione and Neville, they were children and he was not.
Fleur was only two years younger than him. There were things that he could talk to her about that Hermione certainly was not ready for.
His sexual escapades for one. He wasn't even sure he wanted to talk to Hermione about that at all. It felt almost a little icky.
Harry made it downstairs. He had packed a change of clothes just in case Fleur was okay with him taking a shower in the carriage. Otherwise, he would just run back up and do it.
"Bonjour 'Arry," Fleur called as she came walking up to meet him. She was dressed to the occasion in soft blue, and she looked like this wasn't her first run.
"Good morning," Harry said. "I usually go around the lake and then into the forest. Though I guess we could skip the forest and go across the grounds instead."
Fleur nodded. "Lead the way," she said. "Can we talk while we go?"
"Sure, shouldn't be too much of a problem. Do you know any spells against eavesdroppers?"
"Do I," Fleur said as she cast two spells that seemed to form a sort of bubble around them. "As long as we don't get too far from each other."
Harry nodded. "Hon Ni Fun Zulle," he whispered and the magic spread out around them. Hopefully, that would keep anyone from listening in. He started jogging and Fleur matched his pace.
"So big secret," Fleur said. "What 'appened?"
"The short story is that I aged very quickly for you and not so quickly for me, and I learnt a lot along the way," Harry said. "The long story will take more time."
He started where it had all begun with the dragons that night when he had found out about them. It felt freeing to tell someone about all the strange things he had been through over the years. Fleur was a good listener.
Fleur herself felt almost like she had fallen into a fairy tale. The things he spoke about seemed unreal yet perfectly possible. "So wait," she said. "'ow long were you there?"
"Almost six years," Harry responded.
"You don't look six years older," Fleur pointed out.
"It is a very complicated glamour," Harry said.
"Could I see?" Fleur asked.
"In private sure," Harry said as they stopped in front of the castle.
"Let's 'ead to the carriage then," Fleur said. "We all 'ave on suite bathrooms you can use mine."
"Thank you," Harry said. He picked his bag up and followed Fleur. Several of her classmates glared at both Harry and Fleur as they walked through the carriage to her room.
The carriage was another of those magical wonders that Harry quite liked. It was a decent size on the outside, but the inside was huge. Much bigger than you would think from looking at it.
"Ladies first," Harry said as they entered her room and he walked over to a window that he wasn't even sure if you could see from the outside.
Harry turned around as Fleur came back out of her bathroom and she motioned for him to head in. "I'll get something to eat," Fleur said.
"Sounds good," Harry responded before closing the bathroom door. He got out of his clothes and removed the glamour before stepping into the shower.
A small part of him was still a little worried this had been a bad idea, but he had clicked with Fleur in a way he recognised. Urzant had been similar. They didn't look the same at all, but there were similarities.
He got dressed in pants and a shirt that would look out of place anywhere but on a medieval market. It was the only clothes he had that fit though.
Fleur sat by a small table filled with food when Harry walked back out of the bathroom. She was glad she had just swallowed her drink because the man that came out did not look like the boy that had walked into that room. "You really 'ave aged six years," she said.
Harry smiled. "It happens when six years pass by," he said. He sat down opposite her and spread jam on a croissant.
"You are very 'andsome," Fleur said.
"Thank you," Harry said. "You are quite the looker yourself."
Fleur laughed. "You were telling me about the College," she said.
"Ah, yes," Harry smiled. He picked up the story where he had left off.
"Oh, you loved 'er," Fleur said. "But then the goddess ripped you apart." Her eyes were tearing. "Such a sad story."
Harry smiled sadly. "I love her," he said.
Fleur nodded. It had been less than a week for him, and he had lost someone who mattered this much to him. Sure he probably loved his sister Katla and the other people too, but it wasn't quite the same.
But to lose all of that in a single moment and know that you would never see them again was so sad.