I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter franchise
Author's Note:
I moved around the chapters a bit to manage their size, with the end result being that some of this chapter was moved to chapter one. If you haven't read about Harry working on his Occlumency and then leaving for an appointment with Dumbledore, then please refer to chapter one, about two-thirds of the way down the page.
Fleur Delacour was sparring with her dueling instructor when she found out she was to meet a guest that morning.
"Petrificus Totalus," she yelled out from a roll, while just barely avoiding the stunner that was flying towards her face. After Transfiguring the ground in front of her into a defensive wall, Fleur strafed to the right so that when she emerged she was already casting a silent triplet of Confringo blasting curses. Her duel instructor danced right and then dove into a roll, during which time he still managed to shoot off several stunner spells in rapid succession. Fleur threw up a silent Protego shield to block the spells, before summoning several birds to attack her trainer.
By this point their spar had been going on for nearly half an hour and both of them were sweating heavily into their training clothing. Fleur took great pride in the fact that she was pushing back this honored duelist. That is, until she suddenly slipped on an oil slick she hadn't noticed her opponent casting and very suddenly her feet were above her in the air. While on the one hand Fleur did manage to fall as she'd been taught and she was still prepared to move, it was already too late. Even as she tried to roll to the side, an Expelliarmus caught her in the arm and her wand flew out of her hand.
"Good, good," yelled out the burly man, as he approached Fleur at a jog. "Now... What do you think you did wrong?"
"Mr. Garner, I can think of nothing except that I did not see the oil," Fleur replied back, as she slowly rose back to her feet.
Mr Garner nodded and extended a hand to help the young lady stand up. "Yes, yes, you were too busy taking pride in your successes up to that point to witness my indirect actions."
After huffing in annoyance, Fleur looked chagrined at the implied disrespect of her actions.
After waving a hand dismissively, Mr. Garner grinned at his student's continual tendency to pout. "Listen, don't get me wrong Fleur. You're a remarkable young witch, but after pride comes the fall." Gesturing at the oil slick, Mr. Garner smiled at his own play on words. "Today was an excellent spar and you are improving at a truly monstrous pace. I imagine you'll be very, very prepared for this tournament you're so dead set on entering. I don't approve of you putting yourself in unnecessary danger, but you should be more than ready to take on any other student aged witch or wizard. Even going so far as to become fluent in English," he drawled to himself, in a voice laced with barely concealed contempt.
Although an amused smile had slipped onto her face, Fleur shook her head at her trainer's hoity toity French elitist principles (ignoring the fact that she was exactly the same). "Don't misunderstand me Mr. Garner. I am entering this tournament because I'm the best. I wish my school peers to know it, and become unable to deny it. I am tired of being called arm candy, when I am so much more than that. Rest assured. I have no interest in meeting some Englishman, if that is what you are alluding to."
Mr Garner laughed and nodded at that, but Fleur could still see that he was against the idea.
Suddenly, both trainer and student became aware of a hurried looking servant running down the lawns in their direction.
After taking a single look at the sweaty man, Fleur assumed that he needed her for something. "How can I help you, Arnould?"
"Huff, huff, huff, yes my lady, you can help me." Arnould looked a little worse for wear at the moment. "Your father calls for you, my lady. You are to receive guests this morning in your father's study."
The rather abrupt summons to her father's study wasn't a very big concern to Fleur for one very important reason. During her first year at Beauxbatons, Fleur had been harassed on a daily basis with random, pushy and one sided marriage proposals, until she'd finally approached her father for help. Ever since then, the men involved had been carefully investigated and then thoroughly dissuaded from ever approaching her…
Nowadays, if a man wanted to extend a marriage proposal to her they knew to go through her father first or they'd end up living in Siberia. Then again, it wasn't like approaching her father had ever worked out in anyone's favor either.
Not that such things mattered…
The fact of the matter was these boys were completely wasting their time. If anything, Fleur was incensed beyond measure by the very idea that she could be traded off like cattle to any of the lusting boys at her school. Not one of these so-called "sophisticated gentlemen" could even look her in the eyes, without drooling and unraveling like poorly made practice dummies.
Over time, Fleur's father had answered her enthusiasm with his own, being a very protective man himself, with the end result being somewhat predictable… Adrien Delacour was usually a sweetheart, but where daughter was concerned, he became scarier than Merlin in a rage. Fleur had started almost feeling bad for those potential suitors that came demanding her attention... almost.
After flipping her hair behind her shoulders in a dismissive manner, Fleur returned her attention back to Arnould. "Tell my father that I will need a shower and a change of clothes, but that I am on my way."
Arnould nodded and left without another word. He was desperate to escape the heat of the day in his fully embroidered uniform.
Upon emerging from the Floo, for a single wonderful moment in time, Harry thought that he'd finally done it. He thought that for the very first time ever he was going to remain on his feet after exiting the Floo.
Unfortunately for Harry, that was the exact moment that his entire body seemed to tilt forty-five-degrees to the right, his feet completely left the floor, he dropped towards the ground like a sack of potatoes, and he slammed his right elbow into the carpeted floor.
Damn...
Harry muttered to himself about how dumb magical travel was from the heap that he was making on the floor. That was what, ten Floo uses under his belt? So far he'd never managed to stay on his feet even once! Harry consoled himself that he'd grown almost three inches in the last three weeks, which meant that there was a pretty good chance that his rapid growth was exacerbating the problem. While he was still extremely small for his age, he was growing at a tremendously fast rate.
It wasn't a very effective pep talk, but it was better than nothing, and Harry was ready to move again.
Groaning like a ninety year old, he pushed himself back up to his feet, and then slapped at his legs to clean the soot off of them. It was only when he'd managed to clean away the last of the evidence, that he heard soft, musical laughter coming from across the room, and he realized that he'd been performing for an audience.
Turning away from the Floo, Harry saw that both Dumbledore and a stunningly beautiful blonde woman were staring at him from near the doorway to the room. By all appearances, both of them were amused by his antics and they weren't all that concerned about whether or not he knew it.
Well... Damn...
After a split second where his frustration almost slipped out into his aura, Harry regained control of his temper and projected a glacial calm throughout the room instead. Oops. Apparently his imagery had been a little too effective. The stunning blonde woman just shivered from head to toe as if a cold draft had traveled up her back. Deciding to change tack again, Harry immediately pictured himself flying upon his broom instead. Up until now it had been his most useful mental imagery because it always seemed to create a healthy and vibrant atmosphere for the people around him.
Belatedly, the beautiful blonde woman seemed to catch on that her amusement had annoyed her guest, because her amused expression rapidly transformed into one of gentle understanding instead. "I apologize for laughing at you Monsieur Potter. Truly I understand zat you are not een frequent use of ze Floo. I admit zat I ate ze mode of travel as well, but after many, many falls I now manage to stay on my feet. As the beautiful woman spoke, she also approached Harry so that she could help him clean his shoulders and arms of soot.
It was literally the last thing that he would've chosen to do, but as the woman brushed her hand down the back of his shoulder, Harry flinched involuntarily at the casual contact. At the woman's startled expression, Harry immediately gave her his most apologetic look. To his surprise she'd begun doing the exact same thing, so they found themselves mirroring each other.
For a few extremely long moments, the woman continued staring into Harry's eyes, as if they could come to understand each other through sheer force of will. The moment of mutual staring only came to an end, when the woman suddenly started smiling at him again. Then, over the following moment, the woman completed a slow and nonchalant step out of his comfort zone.
One thing was becoming obvious. This woman was going well out of her way to convey that she hadn't taken any offense from Harry's knee jerk reaction. While he wasn't thrilled that he was being treated like he was made of glass, he still appreciated the woman's kindness, so he returned her smile to the best of his ability. When the bubble popped and their odd moment came to an end, time seemed to resume and Harry finally realized that he hadn't said a single word since he first emerged from the Floo.
Ugh... Harry wondered why oh why he was always such an awkward guy... Pull up Harry P, use your words!
After taking a deep and calming breath, Harry addressed the woman who was still staring at him expectantly. "Ahem. Hello and thank you for welcoming me into your home. My name is Harry Potter... Pardon me, I'm sorry but... Who are you?..."
At Harry's question, the beautiful blonde gasped in surprise, and then gave Dumbledore a look of long suffering frustration. "Eet seems I must apologize again, 'Arry. Appoline Delacour ees my name. I would 'ave eentroduced myself to you earlier, but I thought you already knew hoo I was. You see, I would 'ave expected our esteemed 'eadmaster 'ere to per-aps share where eet ees you are visiting zis afternoon... 'Ow seelly of me..." Appoline gave Dumbledore one last rather pointed look before turning her attention back towards 'Arry. "Ze man ees eneegmatic ees ee not? Eevasive even..."
While Harry couldn't have agreed with Appoline more, he'd long ago realized that there was nothing to be done about it. Dumbledore would never be candid or forthcoming about anything at all, and Harry had given up on changing that a long, long time ago.
Well, no matter.
Harry currently had several other concerns to focus his attention on, with Appoline being one of them. Appoline Delacour was beautiful, yes, but she was also more than that. Despite the fact that she was at least a dozen years his senior, he found his eyes following her every move around the room and her very presence was enough to give him goosebumps. It was noticeable enough that Harry was having to force himself to remain on task, when what he really wanted to do was stare at her in fascination. Words Harry, use your words...
"I understand your dilemma Appoline, and I see no problem with your introduction. I was only told that your family might have some experience with what I'm currently unable to control." Harry gestured around the room that he was currently flooding with his magical shroud. "I admit I'd have liked to get to know you better before we became so... intimately close, magically speaking."
When Appoline broke out into a second bout of very musical laughter, her entire face lit up with childlike enthusiasm. "Oui, Yes, I will admit eet ees like nozzing I 'ave ever felt before Monsieur. You are eemitting so much power. Eef I were to do ze same, I would render myself unconscious wizzin just ten meenutes."
Harry was extremely intrigued by what he'd just heard. "You emit an aura shroud like I do?"
"Not like you do 'Arry... Oh! Can I call you 'Arry?" Appoline gave 'Arry an eager look as if she desperately wanted to be casual acquaintances.
Harry could only nod. He wouldn't have been able to say no to much at all with her giving him such a plaintive expression.
"I and my daughters, hoo you will be meeting soon eenough, are what's called Veela. We 'ave a similar ability to yours zat develops around puberty and we also struggle to control eet fully especially at first. Your aura ees eentense, no? Eet feels like we are..." Appoline stopped there and changed tack into a more useful direction. "Our auras, Veela auras I mean, are altogether different zan yours 'Arry. Eef you felt ze full power of our shroud eet would not make you feel close to us, but razzer... eet would make you want to be..."
With that rather mysterious hook, Appoline gestured for Harry to follow her towards their main study, so that they could further discuss his situation.
In the end Appoline's words were the clues that Harry had needed to finally understand his abnormal fixation with her. Using his magical senses Harry focused on any magic being emitted from within Appoline's body. While she wasn't projecting a shroud of any kind at the moment, Appoline did seem to have some kind of nearly invisible passive attraction field and Harry was being affected by it.
Interesting...
The knowledge that Appoline's body was affecting her surroundings using extremely subtle magic actually made the solution rather simple. By straining his mental muscles a bit, Harry managed to start manipulating some of his magical shroud. While he wasn't very accomplished at controlling his aura shroud for any length of time, pulling a little extra magic around his body to act as a shield or a buffer didn't seem to be a problem. The point of his barrier wasn't to stop physical objects from reaching him, which would've been extremely difficult to pull off, but rather to interfere with any passive magics that entered into his personal space.
As he followed Appoline out of the Entry Hall and through the hallways of her home, Harry nodded in satisfaction, because he'd successfully negated her effect upon his body. All that was left at that point was the fact that Appoline was a graceful and beautiful woman, and magic had nothing to do with it...
After taking a long hot shower, Fleur changed into a nice but simple blue sundress. She didn't go to any great lengths to impress, for she didn't want to encourage any man who may be pushing for her hand. Exiting her rooms, Fleur began walking as slowly as possible towards her father's study. Often she could miss the ugliness that followed her father's rejections if only she was just a little too slow in arriving.
Turning around a corner in the ground floor hallway and heading down the hall, Fleur saw her father's study and heard the sound of conversation from inside the room.
Well damn... So much for dodging the ugliness...
Wait… What?!...
All of the sudden, Fleur could feel a massive aura of unrestrained magical power emanating from within her father's study, causing a bead of sweat to break out on her forehead. Instantly, Fleur regretted her earlier cowardice, as she dashed down the length of the hall towards her father's study. It appeared that things were becoming heated within, and several different wizards were unleashing every ounce of their magic all at once! With no hesitation whatsoever, Fleur sprinted the last five meters of the hall and burst through the door of the study with her wand at the ready.
Two Minutes Earlier…
Appoline showed Harry and Dumbledore to the Main Study, where they were to meet with her husband, the Noble Lord of the family.
As they walked, Harry took in the tasteful decorations, comfortable looking furniture and warm elegant colors. The house probably wasn't what you would call a mansion, but it was both large and impressive to someone from a cookie cutter suburb in old Surrey like him. Several professional looking servants quietly and efficiently did their jobs, as Appoline escorted them through the Halls. Then, when they were just about to enter the study, Harry couldn't help himself. He stopped, looked at Appoline and asked the question that was nagging him. "You have no house elves?"
"None. We employ a servant staff composed mostly of wizard-raised non-magicals (squibs)," replied a large and imposing man from behind a desk. "I and by extension my family deal very much with muggle politics in this house and it was always extremely hard to explain why the house was so inexplicably clean. I gifted my house elves to Appoline's sisters and mother when I married her. They're all very well taken care of now and the house elves are happy as well."
The man smiled as he gestured for Harry and Dumbledore to take seats in front of his desk. "My name is Adrien Delacour, and you have already met my lovely wife, Appoline... I knew you were here before I even saw you young man… I'll readily admit, I'm interested in how something this extraordinary came to happen." Adrien waved his arms around in an expansive motion regarding the magic free floating all around them. Then he smiled at the two of them and steepled both of his hands atop his desk.
After giving Adrien a nod in greeting, Dumbledore took a seat as if it was made of glass. He looked nervous for a few more moments and then visibly firmed up his resolve. "Adrien... Today's talk will work best if we've all exchanged magically binding oaths. Harry and I will swear that everything we are about to say in this study is true and you will swear to keep it a secret so long as it remains a secret. At Adrien's noticeably unhappy reaction, Dumbledore raised his hands to gesture for time. "It's not a matter of trust Adrien, because I do trust you. This is rather a matter of extreme importance and will be very hard to believe without the oaths."
Very suddenly and without any prompting whatsoever, Harry's entire body swiveled towards the study door and he adopted a startled expression upon his face.
SMASH!
With the loud crack of broken wood, the door was kicked right off of its hinges to fly halfway across the Study. Flying right alongside the door a teenaged blonde dashed into the room, with wand drawn and an offensive spell on her tongue.
Dumbledore was only just beginning to move by the time Harry had completed a roll out of his chair and yet another roll across the room. By the time the door crashed onto the floor, Harry was in a crouch behind an upended side-table with his own wand pointed back at the girl.
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone in the room stilled at the booming voice of Adrien Delacour. He stood with his hands outstretched, clearly demanding that the hostilities come to an immediate end. "This," he began, while gesturing at the heaving young woman who'd just burst into the room like a Professional Hitwizard, "is my eldest daughter Fleur. She must have felt Harry's aura shroud and thought that it was becoming hostile in here."
At first, Fleur didn't back down even an inch. She just stood there with her wand pointed at Harry and a fierce expression set upon her face. Then after several very drawn out moments, she slowly nodded her head at her father's words, and the ferocity in her eyes dulled just a bit.
It didn't take long for Harry to realize that even though this Fleur girl was aware that she'd misunderstood their circumstances, it would still need to be him that makes the first peaceful overture. Case and point, Fleur's wand was still pointing directly between his eyes and she wasn't budging in the slightest. What a brat... Ugh... Fine, whatever... Be the bigger man Harry P.
Without saying a single word, Harry straightened to his full height and returned his wand to his pocket. He kept an eye on the angry blonde in front of him, mostly because she still had her wand pointed at him, but he was also self-aware enough to know that there was a second reason. Fleur Delacour was... the most strikingly, devastatingly, mind breakingly, soul crushingly, beautiful woman Harry had ever seen, even covered in a sheen of sweat and with a fierce, angry look upon her face. She was a tall, thin, curvy, platinum blonde, with flawless skin and eyes that were so deep a blue that they looked more like perfectly cut sapphires. Even that description didn't do this girl's beauty any justice however, so Harry's mind started drifting towards more dramatic words like ethereal, angelic or sublime.
Shaking off that out of character and unproductive line of thought, Harry checked with his magic to see if his senses were currently being enchanted. He wasn't... This girl was the real deal... Gods... Then, as the two of them continued to just stand there, Harry began to sense that the opposite was actually happening. This girl, Fleur, was actively restraining a magical aura just like her mother was. There was a lot going on within her body magically speaking, and she wasn't as proficient as her mother was at controlling it. Finally, with a start, Harry realized that he was still just standing there and staring at the girl.
Damn… Two for two, Harry. Someday, if you try really, really hard, you might actually introduce yourself to someone like a normal human being...
By some miracle, Harry managed to control his blush as he bowed politely, said a quick "It's nice to meet you Fleur," upended the side table and then returned to his chair. He didn't think he could've formed a more complicated greeting even if he'd wanted to. Fleur was just that disarming in her beauty.
Fleur was having just as much trouble looking away from the little boy who'd just rolled across her father's study as if he were a seasoned Auror or soldier of some kind... He was what, eleven, surely not even twelve years old, and yet he was exuding a shroud of magic so strong the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on edge. With every single second that passed. Fleur was becoming increasingly angry due to the boy's closeness within her magical senses. Does this boy know nothing about either manners or restraint? He was being far more intimate with her than she'd ever allowed a man to become in the past. Why was her papa not ending this boy for his impertinence?
Looking away from the boy for the very first time, Fleur glanced towards her father, only to find him giving her a very meaningful look and pointing at a chair. Fleur decided not to talk, and risk giving away just how angry she truly was. Nodding her understanding, she took a seat on the other side of the desk, finishing a triangle with her mother.
"That was a very impressive exhibition of reflexes," Adrien pointed out, in an attempt to smooth the room back to a semblance of calm. "I would be interested in hearing more about the life that makes a boy move like you do. Needless to say, I'm also interested in your rather... extraordinary problem."
While the silent standoff had been happening between Harry and Fleur, Dumbledore had been magically fixing the study door. At Adrien's words, he heaved a sigh of relief and leaned forward towards the man. "I was talking about the oaths that we would make. I don't like to imply that I don't trust you Adrien, but Harry here is worth the extra assurances. He's a very special boy."
At Dumbledore's words, Harry felt his face starting to heat up, so he focused on flying high in the sky. He did not want to inject bashfulness into the room, screaming out his embarrassment to everyone in the process.
Adrien didn't react for several moments during which time he carefully scrutinized Harry.
In response to Adrien's scrutiny, Harry injected apology, honesty and necessity into his shroud. Since he had no control over his shroud, Harry figured he might as well use it to their advantage.
With a small, amused snort, Adrien smiled and leaned back into his chair. "Yes, yes I think we will make the oaths. It's rare that a person can convey their good intentions as clearly as the young man sitting in front of me."
When Dumbledore looked over at Harry, there was both appreciation and gratitude in his eyes. "Yes, he is in fact rather noble, so far as I've witnessed in the past. Turning back to Harry, Dumbledore gave him an extremely serious look. "We'll be making the oaths first Harry. Once you've made the oath of honesty, any lie that slips past your lips will kill you... Be very, very careful what you say from here on out..."
When Harry nodded seriously to his Headmaster's warning, Dumbledore seemed to relax in his chair just a fraction.
Pulling out his wand, Dumbledore took a deep breath before he began the intonation. "I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, swear on my magic that for the next hour, while inside of this room, I will speak only the truth. So mote it be." Once Dumbledore was finished making his oath, he completed a quick Lumos proving that, so far at least, he still had access to his magic. "Harry if you would?" Dumbledore gestured at Harry to follow his lead.
Harry slowly pulled his wand while keeping Fleur in his peripheral vision. She was still staring at him and it was keeping him on edge. "I, Harry James Potter, swear on my magic that for the next hour, while inside of this room, I will speak only the truth. So mote it be." Harry's attention was briefly diverted by Fleur's gasp of surprise, but then he quickly produced a Lumos and put his wand back into his pocket.
Adrien pulled out his wand next and intoned "I, Adrien Noel Delacour swear on my magic to keep any information given to me during this meeting to myself, so long as it remains a secret. So mote it be." Adrien also performed a Lumos before putting away his wand. He gestured for his family to follow his lead and they quickly completed the same vows with exactly the same results.
Adrien leaned back into his chair and then smiled at both Harry and Dumbledore. "I am very much looking forward to this story. It has been built up so much by the circumstances, but I think for once it might deliver to the... what is the word?... Hype."
Dumbledore gave Harry a look that was clearly meant to convey that he would be the one telling the story. It was pretty obvious that he didn't want Harry talking any more than was necessary with the honesty oath in effect.
Harry nodded, relieved that he could continue being a wallflower.
Next Dumbledore turned towards the Delacours, assuming a very calm storytelling posture. "I assume that you all know quite well the circumstances of Harry's childhood, up until the night of his parent's murder?"
"Yes," Adrien admitted in a very solemn voice. "My condolences Harry... I met both of your parents once at a Ball and they were wonderful people."
While nodding his head, Harry noticed himself starting to feel a little down. Right away, he thought about flying again, and the atmosphere around them became light and carefree as a result.
"What almost nobody knows is that after that night Harry was taken to live with his Muggle relatives. It's unfortunate but those relatives hate magic with a violent passion." At Adrien's extremely unhappy look, Dumbledore put up his hands in a defensive gesture. "There are circumstances in regards to that decision and I've recently been apologizing about doing so quite often regardless. If you would at least allow me to explain why I did so first..."
Adrien nodded but he still looked extremely unimpressed.
Harry found that he appreciated Adrien's protective attitude and warmed up to the man quite a bit in that moment.
Dumbledore saw that everyone was listening again so he continued with his story. "Yes. Harry was taken to live with his Muggle relatives because of a ritual his mother performed on him just moments before she sacrificed her life for him."
All of the sudden, Adrien looked as if he was experiencing a eureka moment. "The-Boy-Who-Lived, the most famous boy in the magical world... When in reality it was his mother's magic that..." Adrien suddenly stopped in his tracks to look apologetically at Harry.
After noticing Adrien's look, Harry nodded his understanding and lack of offense. Then he remained quiet for a few moments longer, before adding his thoughts to the conversation. "I've never believed that I, as a one and a half year old baby, was able to kill anyone, let alone Voldemort. At everyone but Dumbledore's wince, Harry quickly apologized for making them feel uncomfortable and then he summarized his thoughts. "The moniker "The-Boy-Who-Lived means absolutely nothing to me. I'd much rather the general public celebrate my parents' bravery..."
Adrien nodded his approval at that statement and then gestured for Dumbledore to continue his story…
"Lily Potter's sacrifice conveyed to Harry the protective blood magic that saved him, and it continued to work even after that night ended. Unfortunately, the stipulations to the magic were that Harry continue to live with blood relatives." Dumbledore sighed and adopted an unhappy expression before he continued. "The Dursleys, his relatives, are uniquely unkind people, and Harry didn't have anything even close to resembling a happy childhood..."
At this point Harry was staring at Dumbledore, because this was the very first time he'd ever been told about the blood wards.
Dumbledore looked at Harry for several moments with that sad look still in his eyes. "You have my apologies Harry... I know it wasn't easy up until now, but I believe it was absolutely necessary."
For several moments in a row, Harry didn't do or say anything at all. He didn't know what would be safe to say considering the oath of honesty. Finally, he came to a decision and simply nodded his acceptance. Truthfully, Harry didn't agree with his Headmaster's decision… like, at all, but he didn't believe that the man's intentions had been overtly malicious.
With a nod of his own, Dumbledore returned his attention back to the Delacours and put his hands upon his lap. "Harry was a magical baby the likes of which are hardly ever seen on the face of the planet. Instead of looking for moments of incidental magic in him, it was more a matter of enjoying the rare moments that he wasn't magically altering or disappearing the objects, toys or people around him."
Dumbledore smiled at Harry, who was once again forced to avoid radiating embarrassment. "This was of course unacceptable if Harry was going to live with his blood relatives and be safe from reprisals. Death Eaters were still running around unchecked, thus the blood wards were still completely necessary for Harry's safety. For that reason, I asked a colleague of mine to create an accidental magic binding potion for the boy. My only intention was for Harry to have less instances of accidental magic so that he could coexist with his relatives."
Dumbledore's expression became bleak at this point, and he shook his head sadly. My "colleague" as it turns out, decided that he'd rather have Harry die in a particularly cruel and painful fashion instead. He brewed and administered to infant Harry Potter an Eramus Servientus potion..."
The two adult Delacours gasped in horror while Fleur merely looked confused.
After Dumbledore saw Fleur's confusion, he continued his explanation for her benefit. "The Eramus Servientus potion has been highly illegal to brew for nearly eighty years now and it's never mentioned at any school worth attending. I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of it. It was originally created to defang extremely powerful and dangerous magical beasts such as Nundus and their ilk, but much later it was administered to the worst kind of dark Wizards in lieu of summary execution. It's a very powerful magic sealing potion that's designed to contain a magical creature's magic inside of its core both perfectly and indefinitely. This potion was administered to Harry Potter before he turned two years old.
Everyone in the room looked sick at this point, but they also looked extremely confused. Both of the Delacour parents were staring at Harry, while wondering how he was alive and sitting right in front of them.
Dumbledore was looking at the ceiling now and it appeared that he wasn't comfortable with the subject matter that he was moving into. When he finally did look down at the Delacours it was with an expression of grim resolve upon his face. "Harry and I have consulted a very learned, very experienced Healer, who has explained to us a great many things. Over the last few weeks they've all been verified by every magical means the medical field has to offer. Harry Potter... is a medical and magical miracle..."
All three of the Delacours just stared at Dumbledore as he shamelessly pause-acted for additional drama. They were leaning in and very clearly impatient to hear the rest of the story.
"We all know what should happen to any infant that doesn't have access to its magic," Dumbledore began in a chilling monotone. "What should have happened to Harry is not a pretty picture. As a magical baby strangled of his magic, the following things should have happened over the following two years, give or take a few months. He shouldn't have been able to continue developing at all without access to his magic. His organs should've started to break down on him and his brain should've rapidly atrophied to a mere mush. Harry should have been falling apart in a gruesome fashion by the time he was only three years old and dead in terrible ways by the time he was four. Instead, Harry Potter accomplished... the seemingly impossible."
Everyone in the room was completely captivated by this point, and they were staring at Harry as if he was a zoo animal.
Dumbledore nodded at everyone because he could see that they understood the scope of what they were hearing. He took one more very deep breath both for drama's sake and because he still had a lot to say. "Harry's magical core is strong... Gods... strong... is nowhere near the correct word in terms of scope. His core is absolutely gigantic and infinitely versatile. His magical core immediately started straining outwards against the barrier containing it over and over for Gods only knows how long. Over time Harry's core started creating thousands of infinitesimally tiny leaks in the bindings for mere seconds at a time."
"That wouldn't have been anywhere near enough," Adrien pointed out in a low tone of voice.
"No. it wouldn't have been enough," Dumbledore repeated meaningfully. "It wouldn't have been enough unless Harry's core started pushing enough power to create a Patronus Charm against his bindings, all day, every day, which we now know for certain it began doing." Dumbledore gestured at Harry again before turning back towards the Delacours. "Harry here has been straining his magic against the bindings on his core with that much intensity since he was a little over two years old, without ever stopping for even a second. His core has been straining to accomplish feats of power that could kill a man even while Harry was asleep, merely so that he could continue to exist and grow." Dumbledore sighed loudly and dramatically... "What I've described so far isn't even the most miraculous part of this story."
The Delacours' eyes had wandered to Harry just now, but at Dumbledore's words they snapped back towards the old man.
Dumbledore leaned closer, elbows on his knees and his face was all seriousness. "Harry also had to force disconnected, directionless ambient magic to fix his body as he grew."
The Delacour family's eyes snapped back and forth from Harry and Dumbledore because not one of them could see what Albus's point was...
Dumbledore gestured to a flare of magic that he created in the air for just an instant. "The magic that I just released would still have been usable to me because it was still a part of me. Any magic that Harry's core managed to force outside of the barrier would've lost any connection it had to him whatsoever. It would at that point have become free floating, ambient, directionless magic."
"Well then why is Harry alive and sitting in front of me?" Adrien was extremely confused now and he wasn't worried about how indelicate what he'd just asked was at all.
Dumbledore gestured for patience with outstretched arms. "Harry as a toddler was without a doubt a very unhealthy, very unhappy, very... uncomfortable child. He was experiencing loss of motor function, dizziness and wracking pain in his body, as his bones, tissues and vital organs, very slowly fell apart... Truly, the list of aches and pains Harry would've been experiencing are nearly endless and would only have been getting worse over time. As we now know Harry's core was thrusting his magic out into the world around him by that point, but Harry wouldn't have consciously known about that now would he? All toddler Harry would've known was that he was hurting all over, all the time, and he needed it to stop... In his desperation and fear, toddler Harry started wandlessly controlling his disconnected magic to repair and renew every aspect of his body, both essential and mundane. Wandless magic is a feat of amazing skill that very, very few wizards can accomplish with even extremely simple spells... but to accomplish silent, wandless magic of that caliber, while utilizing magic that isn't even connected to your magical core anymore is... Well, it's the reason why I was able to use the word "miracle" to describe Harry, while under a magically binding oath..."
Dumbledore paused for a moment so that the Delacours could take a few breaths and close their mouths again... "We've discerned... that toddler Harry repeated this extreme feat of wandless magic over and over again, until at some point, he began doing it subconsciously. We've also concluded that Harry became so good at using this disconnected magic, he lived his life relatively normally until just three weeks ago, and was none the wiser. Of course, Harry's body has always been on the smaller side, and until now he's never had much physical strength to speak of. He's also lived his life completely isolated magically from the world around him. While that may seem like no big deal at first, trust me when I say it's a wonder that he's even sane right now. Harry would've felt like he was all alone in the entire world, because his core, part of his soul, was isolated to that extreme. I admit I should've seen the signs that something was wrong in the shyness and isolation of such an extraordinarily kind boy."
Ugh... Too much... Harry officially couldn't look at anyone anymore. At this point, he was focusing his entire attention on keeping his emotions under control and free of embarrassment. Dumbles you're laying it all on a little thick aren't you? Harry shelved his mutinous thoughts as he continued to follow along with the story.
Dumbledore dramatically shook off his self-recrimination as he addressed the Delacours again. "Anyway... I'm moving on to the present now... Three weeks ago, Harry was forced by circumstance to cast an extremely strong Patronus Charm to repel over a hundred Dementors, in order to save himself, his best friend and a distant relative of his. Up until that moment, Harry was a completely average student receiving completely mediocre levels of success in all of his classes. While that isn't a remarkable resume for a normal boy, keeping in mind the fact that every spell Harry's ever cast has been a product of wandless magic, it's…"
Dumbledore was lost in thought for several moments before he abruptly shook his head and returned to the here and now. "Anyways... For the most part, Harry's been regarded by the student body at Hogwarts as being an unrivaled seeker in Quidditch and a mysteriously isolated character with many rumors of great deeds following him around. Unbeknownst to the student body most of those rumors are actually based on the truth. Harry has, in fact, saved the entire school from at least two separate incidents of extreme danger. Gods... Harry saved the school twice while suffering under the handicaps that I just described to you all..."
Dumbledore looked like he was only now figuring that idea out and he was completely stunned as a result. He finally returned from his own shock again and addressed the people staring at him. "Oh! I'm sorry, sorry... it's all just too remarkable to even contemplate now that I'm really thinking about it. The things Harry accomplished while..."
Very suddenly, Dumbledore smiled at Harry and patted him on the shoulder. "Well done my boy!" Dumbledore returned his focus back on the Delacours and continued his story. "In repelling the amassed Dementors, Harry was forced to engage in a battle of wills between the barrier containing his magic and his core. I've personally witnessed a Pensieve memory of the event in question and let me assure you that it was some of the most deadly magical pyrotechnics I've ever witnessed in all of my years. If Harry had failed to shatter the bindings on his core like he did he'd have died instantly. I'm a hundred percent certain of it."
Harry wasn't exactly surprised by the news but Dumbledore had kept that little factoid from him until right that second and it was very... distressing. Harry ended up looking at the ceiling to control his emotions, because the Delacours were staring at him like he was a zoo animal again.
Seemingly unbothered by the reactions he was getting from the rest of the room's occupants, Dumbledore continued his story undaunted. "During the event I'm describing, Harry was fiercely determined to save his friends, so he persevered over the Eramus Servientus potion for the very first time ever in recorded history. He shattered the core bindings within his body into millions of pieces and his magic immediately careened outwards out in all directions. The Pensieve memory of that moment resembles nothing so much as it does an aftershock from a powerful explosion. Harry's magic spread out in a dome of power so strong it knocked the person whose memory I experienced several meters back and clear off of her feet. Immediately after that, Harry's wand produced a Patronus Charm so immensely powerful it's the first in recorded history to have ever completely destroyed a Dementor. All told, Harry rendered thirty-four Dementors down to nothing but a few tatters of black shroud, according to their rather irate handlers. I had to do quite a bit of work to keep that under wraps by the way..."
Dumbledore looked like he expected Harry to feel remorse, but the boy in question only shrugged.
A moment later, Dumbledore merely shrugged in return and then looked back at the Delacours. "Almost immediately after the event ended, Harry and his companion became aware that he was completely flooding a four meter long radius with his magic, at all times. His magic shroud's radius has increased to eight meters or sixteen meters in circumference since that day, as his magic has stretched out and settled into place. If anyone else, myself included, were to force this much magic out of their body, they would die within a matter of minutes. Harry here has quite literally always been pushing his magic outwards as hard as he possibly could since he was only about two years old, which is why this much strain has become completely ordinary for him. It is, in fact, rather impossible at this point for Harry to do anything but press his power outward with all of his magical might, as if he's preparing to fight a war."
Dumbledore paused then, so that his words would have the most meaning (showmanship), and he drew in a very deep breath. "Harry is not TRYING to invade your personal space, and he does not DESIRE to be indelicate. He has been struggling to wrestle his magic back into his body since day one, with no success whatsoever... In the past three weeks, Harry has begun constructing one of the most impressive Mindscape Occlusions I have ever witnessed, but so far he isn't at the level of approaching his own magic. He'll first have to master his memories, then his emotions, and I want him to take his time in this endeavor. I fear madness for Harry, if he hurries down memory lane, reliving the kind of life that he's lived in the process..."
Dumbledore looked about as defeated as anyone had ever been in that moment. "I'm well-aware that I've been instrumental in creating the life that Harry's lived thus far. In my guilt and responsibility, I began approaching absolutely everyone I trusted, that could potentially help Harry control his magic. Adrien... When I got to know you at our meetings and you allowed me to meet your family, it felt like a miracle had occurred. If anyone in the entire world is uniquely qualified to teach someone to control magic that's determined to run rampant, then it has to be an extremely accomplished Veela."
Following the end of Dumbledore's story, the study was completely silent for several minutes in a row, with the exception of Fleur quietly sobbing in the corner. Every once in a while Appoline looked at Adrien for his reaction, but he continued to look like what he'd heard had broken him completely.
Eventually, Harry felt an aura foreign from his own, emerge from within Appoline's body. It was red and smelled... yes it smelled good, and Harry found himself blushing at how intimate it was. It begged to be loved/lusted over, and it flowed back into Appoline in a very fast-paced circular motion. It reached out, conveying her response to their request, and it prompted Adrien to join the rest of the world with gentle caresses. Immediately And without having to be told a thing, Harry knew that Appoline loved her husband very, very much.
Slowly but surely, Adrien came out of his daze to look both apologetically and lovingly at Appoline, and Harry could see that he was aware of the aura but was only minimally affected by it.
When Adrien finally returned his attention back to Harry and Dumbledore, his expression was clear and under control again. "You were right, Dumbledore... The oaths of honesty were extremely important. If not for the oaths I'd never have believed... Anyway, I..." Adrien trailed off again for several moments, before shaking himself out and squaring up to stare Harry in the eyes. "After hearing a story as remarkable as all that... How can we do anything but help as we can, no?"
Dumbledore and Harry slumped in relief at the news and were quick to offer thanks as they could. Harry also flooded his aura with gratitude, which went a long way towards restoring the room to normal, as they all laughed at how transparent he was.
As the meeting lost its razor sharp intensity, Harry sensed a bright pink aura sidling up to the study door and listening to their conversation. In response, Harry looked over at Adrien, and gestured over his shoulder at the newly repaired Study door. "We seem to have company, and if I'm not mistaken it's a rather young Veela," Harry whispered.
Appoline immediately smiled a wide and happy smile, as she snuck quietly towards the door. Very suddenly and without any warning, she yanked open the door, startling a little girl and scooping her up in her arms. Without further ado, Appoline began kissing the girl's face all over, even as she marched back into the room and settled back into her seat. The somewhat stunned little girl looked around the room questioningly from her place atop her mother's lap, before she began rattling off a lot of very fast French to both her parents and Fleur.
Harry noticed that Dumbledore could understand the little girl's words, at which point he became quietly but intensely jealous.
"This is Gabrielle Delacour," announced Adrien, in English. "She is my youngest daughter." Turning towards Gabrielle next, Adrien smiled warmly at her. "Do you think you can use some of that English you've studied with Fleur, to speak to our guests?"
Gabrielle nodded and began to speak English very, very slowly. "I am... being Gabrielle... and who... am you?" (Oh wow that was cute!)
Both Dumbledore and Harry started smiling because to do literally anything else would've been impossible. Gabrielle was just as disarming as both her elder sister and her mother, but only because she was unrelentingly adorable. Harry could only assume that she was completely spoiled rotten by absolutely everyone that laid eyes on her. She was like a miniature of her older sister, only she had lighter blue eyes that just screamed the words innocent and happy at the top of their lungs. Harry would've hugged her like a teddy bear in that moment had he been completely suicidal.
Dumbledore turned towards the little girl while adopting that look of paternal approval that he seems to do so well. "I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore at your service, young Lady." He gave a small courtly bow before returning to his seat. "Feel free to just call me Albus."
Harry immediately gave his Headmaster a sidelong look paired up with an arched eyebrow. Just Albus huh, he thought to himself… Looking back at the angelic (because that is the correct word) little girl, he spoke very, very slowly for her benefit. "My name is Harry Potter. I am very pleased to meet you."
The little girl had barely even reacted to Dumbledore telling her who he was, which is why Harry was quite surprised when he finished introducing himself. Gabrielle's face instantly turned a bright pink and then she exploded into rapidfire excited French to both her sister and her parents. She appeared to know exactly who he was...
This time it was Dumbledore's turn to look at Harry with an arched eyebrow. "I thought I was the one with a Chocolate Frog Card around here."
Harry could only shake his head despite the grin of amusement that was forming on his face. "It's because you have too many names of course... They're easily forgotten."
Both Harry and Dumbledore scoffed at that and some of the tension that had built between them eased.
"I suggest," Adrien began slowly, "that we move into the Dining Hall and have some lunch. The arrangements may take a while to figure out, and I want to free you from the risky confines of your magically binding oath. I also need my wife to explain to me how she can help you."
While easing out of his chair, Harry grimaced because his stomach chose that exact moment to grumble both loudly and angrily. Harry was reminded of a rather pressing need that might end up massively inconveniencing their brand new friends. It seemed impolite to burden the Delacours with his nutrition needs, so he had some arrangements to make. Thankfully, the Delacours were already staring at him because of his unbelievably loud stomach. "Uhhh. Is it okay if I call my house elf to bring me my lunch? I have some pretty specific dietary needs right now, and I'd prefer that I don't immediately become a massive burden to you all."
Adrien looked curious as he rose to his feet and walked to the door. "Oh? What are these dietary needs?"
"I need to eat an entire day's calories with every single meal all day and take special nutrition potions on top of that," Harry replied sheepishly. "I wouldn't want to burden you with all of that, so I'd like to have the food brought to me."
Adrien pondered that and then smiled at the boy standing in front of him. "Perhaps I can allow that just this once Harry, as we don't have food of that caliber prepared for you. But... We are good hosts, so in the future we will be feeding you."
Harry nodded gratefully. "I appreciate that sir. I've grown almost three inches in the past three weeks and that kind of rapid development requires a ton of different foods. The process of growing that fast has been quite uncomfortable to say the very least."
Everyone in the room minus "Albus" looked completely floored at what Harry had just oh so casually explained.
Adrien was the first one to come back to himself this time. "Okay then young man, let's move on to the Dining Hall..."
Fleur Delacour had never felt more embarrassed in her entire life than she did as she walked to the dining hall with her family. She'd blown it big time and there was no excuse for her behavior. She'd assumed a great many things this afternoon and she'd been incorrect in every single one of them. She'd assumed that it was a suitor in her father's study and she'd been wrong and arrogantly so. She'd further assumed that someone was so enraged over not getting her hand in marriage that hostilities were happening! She'd barreled into the room with her wand raised like a barbarian, shaming her father because of her unbelievable arrogance. She'd viewed the boy across the room from her with unconcealed contempt, seeing someone... lesser. She had in her arrogance believed that he was nothing more than an inconvenience, foisting his aura upon her with impunity. She in her arrogance had believed that he was doing so on purpose in order to be inappropriately intimate with her. Fleur had just thirty minutes earlier left a sparring match, where her personal weakness, arrogance had been pointed out to her! Fleur was in a tailspin of furious thought as she digested all of that and... the ballad of Harry Potter.
The ballad of Harry Potter... incredible, remarkable, unbelievable! Yes, oh yes, both Harry and Dumbledore had sworn magically binding oaths on their honesty, but she still found it to be so...
No single man should be able to withstand so much heartbreak, physical agony, abuse and extreme isolation, without becoming naught but a monster in return. The boy currently sitting across from her at the dining room table was completely incapable of concealing his emotions. He was... kind, quiet, shy… Harry Potter was an open book to absolutely everyone at the table and they all found themselves humbled that such a monstrous upbringing could foster such a considerate young man.
At the moment, Harry was visibly demanding that his aura create a relaxed atmosphere through sheer force of will, as they could all see that he himself was nervous. Fleur was interested to find out what mental imagery Harry used to control his emotions like he does. She was also interested to find out what he really thought of it all...
Harry looked like an eleven year old, underfed, poorly clothed boy. He did not look like the boy who'd done all of the impossible things that Dumbledore just finished describing. Surviving under those circumstances, fighting and destroying Dementors?
On the other hand...
The way that Harry had moved when Fleur first burst into the room, and the way Dumbledore had explained his story... Dumbledore's story had left just enough ambiguity that Fleur was forced to make her own conclusions. She'd concluded that Harry was used to being in dangerous situations. That life or death struggle wasn't even all that uncommon for the boy. Why of course Harry Potter should have to fight for his very life against the closest things to devils on the face of the earth. The elderly wizard had mentioned this incident as if he was saying 'oops some milk was spilled, my mistake, moving on…'
As Fleur thought about it further, she came to the conclusion that Dumbledore was a little too loose with both his school and his personal morality. Harry had saved the school twice more while he was a student there? He'd have been eleven or twelve years old at the time!
Suffice it to say, Fleur had a lot of questions for Harry Potter. The real problem was that she'd ruined any chance she might have had for answers. She'd almost attacked the boy naught but fifteen minutes earlier, so now she couldn't figure out how best to approach him.
There was also another reason why Fleur was unraveling into a silent and stony stillness... For the first time since she'd turned fourteen, Fleur was struggling to control her own magical allure. It kept radiating out of her in quick bursts before she was able to slam it back down again. She wasn't releasing a strong allure (thank the Gods) but it was continuously happening every few minutes and it was maddening!
Of course, it didn't take a genius to figure out the reason behind Fleur's newest problem... Harry Potter's magic was blanketing the entire house as if they were standing on top of ten intersecting ley lines of power. Harry Potter was a walking StoneHenge of magical power, and Fleur was starting to hate the boy because of what it was doing to her magic. At exactly the same time, Fleur was angry at herself for disliking the boy over something he couldn't control, but in the end that just served to make her resent Harry Potter even more...
Long story short, Fleur Delacour was struck silent for the first time in her living memory, and it was killing her with frustration! Easily the most interesting person that Fleur had ever met had just asked his house elf for his lunch. He had politely asked the most well dressed house elf Fleur had ever seen, if he could please bring him the food that was prepared for him!
Fleur was building even more questions as time went by. Why does Harry wear badly repaired, bottle cap glasses when he's an Ancient and most Noble Lord worth a fortune? Why does he wear naught but rags when his house elf looks fantastic? At this point, Fleur was maintaining a cool, calm persona out of sheer necessity. It was either that or start screaming questions at the boy sitting across the dining room table from her, like a complete lunatic. She watched with carefully concealed jealousy as Gabrielle run roughshod all over the boy, with her much weaker allure flying around at full power.
And Gabrielle really was being very demanding of Harry's attention, whispering dozens of questions into his ear which he answered kindly in low tones that were of no use to Fleur.
If there was any consolation in Fleur's current situation, it was the fact that Harry appeared to be resisting the effects of both Gabrielle's weak allure and the allure that was leaking from within her own body. Maybe he didn't even notice… But that was too much to hope for...
Fleur just added that to her growing laundry list of questions. Was Harry weak or strong in regards to Veela's allure?
More and more with time, Fleur found their current situation completely unacceptable! There was no man on this earth that was able to deny her information for long. She would wait for the opportunity to advance on the boy this afternoon.
Harry Potter had many questions to answer for her...
To Be Continued
Author's Note:
When I originally wrote a very rough version of this story several years back now, I wasn't concerned about repeating Harry's back-history to the Delacours because what I was writing was purely for my own consumption. Now that I'm releasing this story to the general public, it's become a concern of mine that I've repeated such a dense mass of information... Unfortunately for me, I like the conflict between Harry and Fleur in this chapter, and I like the way the Delacour's behave and react to the circumstances of Harry's life, so I never managed to edit that scene out of the story.
Long story short, this chapter causes me some anxiety, but I like it nonetheless.
Author's Note Part 2:
If you like my writing, want to check on my release schedule + want to help support me, consider visiting my P-a-t-r-e-o-n page
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