I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter franchise
July 31st 1995…
After waking up in his dormitory at Hogwarts, Harry tried to rise out of bed just like any other day, only to immediately collapse to the ground instead.
Ugh...
It appeared, today was going to be another one of those days…
At some point a little over a week ago, Harry's magic fuelled transformation suddenly grew quite a bit more intense, with his body growing taller, faster, stronger, sturdier, more agile, and far more dense with tightly coiled muscle with every single hour that passed.
It sounded grandiose, and it was, but it was also very real… Harry's body was being perfected. He was being optimized to the point that his physical characteristics defied the laws of physics… He was simultaneously far too light and too strong at exactly the same time, and he was way too agile to be human…
Harry Potter's body was in the process of becoming truly preternatural.
And it wasn't the least bit pleasant...
Even as Harry knelt there on the floor of his dormitory, he could feel his body shifting, stretching, expanding and contracting in real time, as his muscles, tendons, bones, and even his internal organs were rebuilt, revamped and repositioned within his body.
Long story short, Harry currently hurt, badly, and in dozens of different ways, from his head to his toes, every damned second of the day...
Pop.
Without any prompting whatsoever, Dobby stood at Harry's side with a pain potion already in hand, and Harry smiled at the elf as he drank it down and then forced himself to complete some stretches. Poppy had been very specific that she wanted him stretching immediately after waking up every morning, and then once again before going to bed. Apparently, if you're not careful, taking part in a massive growth spurt can cause Hell for your flexibility.
"Good morning Dobby and how are you today?" Harry smiled at his house elf, slash dear friend.
"I'm excellent, Harry. Today's a very important day after all." Dobby was giving Harry a very pointed look by this point.
"Okay, I'll bite. Why is today special?" Harry looked sideways at Dobby as he slowly pulled on his workout gear.
"Harry... Today is my Master's birthday... It's extremely important," Dobby announced pompously.
After blinking dumbly for a moment, Harry cupped his forehead with his hand. "Well, damn... I completely forgot. There's just been so much to do lately, I've been preoccupied."
"Harry you've been growing an inch every two weeks or so and completing a training regimen the likes of which I don't think the wizarding world has ever seen. You're also completely in love with a French Veela even if you won't admit it to yourself... I suppose I can see how you'd lose track of time." Dobby liked to point out inconvenient truths. He thought of it as a service of some kind and now that Harry had given him leave to do what he thought was necessary, he took it with a will.
"Friends!" Harry belted out the word towards the ceiling.
"Yes sir, Mr Potter sir, she's most definitely your friend," Dobby announced, as he grabbed up Harry's cast off pajamas. I'm not even going to argue with you. You know what I think."
Harry muttered to himself about empathic house elves as he walked towards the door.
"Harry?" The elf stopped his master at the door.
Harry turned around.
"Happy Birthday Harry." The elf was holding several wrapped packages for his master, from several different people.
Harry beamed at the elf as he walked back into the dormitory. "Now that is quite the surprise. How did you arrange all this?"
"I redirected any mail from your friends from the dropbox you were using for the summer, to the school and then collected the presents, easy peasy." Despite his words to the contrary, the elf did in fact look massively self-satisfied.
Harry had received a book on wandless magic from Mione, a box of pranking gear from the twins and an unwrapped Chudley Cannons hat from Ron, which made him smile just a bit. Molly Weasley also sent along some homemade fudge which was always surprisingly tasty. After reading all of the cards, Harry realized that he'd have a bit of a time crunch later on. He was going to need to write all of his friends thank you letters, and Gods, time was in short supply these days.
As he was leaving the room Harry heard an "ahem" from behind him for a second time. Turning around, he saw another wrapped present in the elf's hands. This one was most likely from Dobby himself. Harry returned to Dobby's side, gave the elf a hug and picked up the gift. After unwrapping and opening the box, Harry found himself holding a matching set of silver bracelets. They were simple but elegant and... feminine?
"Dobby, they're beautiful and all but..."
Dobby shook his head even as he snorted his amusement. "Just hear me out okay?"
Harry nodded.
Dobby smiled and pointed at Harry. "Now... My master is you, correct?"
"Correct," Harry replied slowly, curious where he was going with this.
"If anyone else calls me for assistance, say... across a great distance, will I hear them like I do you?"
"No..." Harry already knew that elf magic didn't work that way.
"Correct," Dobby exclaimed, as he started getting excited. "I made these for you and only I could make them because they're tied to me magically speaking. If you give these to your two lovely young Veela friends, I will hear them when they call, regardless of where I am. I can be more useful to you saaaay if mercenaries take over their home sir."
After the attack on the Delacours, Dobby had been extremely frustrated that Harry hadn't called on him for help, which surprised Harry, because house elves abhor violence as part of their magical makeup, and will do almost anything to avoid committing it (According to Dobby, he was the only elf to attack a wizard in well over a millenia)...
Of course, that was the moment Dobby pointed out just how narrow minded Harry was currently being. While it's true that house elves can't intentionally injure witches or wizards without doing their magic quite a bit of damage in the process, what Dobby COULD have done was house elf-traveled the Delacours out of danger, so that Harry could focus on the duel.
After the fact, Harry had been immensely embarrassed as well as apologetic, because Dobby was right, and he blew it big time. There were several different ways that his house elf friend could've helped him out that weren't of the offensive variety, and yet the idea had never even occurred to him.
Dobby wanted to be as helpful as possible, but the elf wasn't omniscient, so Harry needed to do a better job of using their bond... In Harry's defense, it just felt so bizarre having someone as capable as Dobby bending over backwards to help him all the time.
For obvious reasons, Harry was used to taking care of himself or just flat out going without. It was completely surreal to have all of his meals, clothes, chores and miscellaneous tasks taken care of without ever having to even ask...
Not only that, but Dobby was turning out to be a real stickler for formality and decorum. No, he wasn't harassing Harry about acting super-dignified or anything, but he was immensely proud of being a Potter family elf, and his attitude was infectious.
Dobby wanted Harry to know about his family's history, as well as what would be expected of him when he assumed the mantle of Lord Potter. It was just as amazing as it was scary to have someone finally telling him all of the different things that he needed to know, because Dobby's impromptu tutorials somehow made everything feel more real... Harry wasn't just some unwanted kid. He was the orphaned heir apparent of the Potter family, a future Ancient and Most Noble Lord, and a member of Magical Britain's Wizard Council...
Yikes..
Needless to say, Harry currently had a lot to get used to, and he was struggling to keep up. Something that became even more obvious when he finally snapped out of his daze, to find his house elf giving him an understanding look.
"Ahem. Welcome back, Harry," Dobby said, with a gentle smile on his face. "I suggest you take your time learning the various things that you'll need to know. You only just turned fifteen. There's no need to panic over your adult responsibilities."
While Harry was comforted by Dobby's words, his magic seemed to whisper to him about the need to be prepared. Either way, there was nothing to be gained by stressing out, so Harry was happy to follow Dobby's advice.
As I was saying, Dobby began, in a blatant attempt to distract Harry away from his worries. These bracelets will allow the girls to contact me only so long as you intend them to. I am your house elf, not theirs. Do you get where I'm coming from?" As he finished his explanation, Dobby started smiling again in self-satisfaction.
Kneeling down, Harry pulled Dobby into yet another very tight hug. "You're the best Dobby, and I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't wait to get these on the girls' wrists. I hate the idea of them being in danger."
"Yes Harry, I'm sure you do..." Dobby had a wide cheeky smile on his face now. "Now tell me again how you're "just friends" with the elder one."
Harry looked at the ceiling as he mimed choking something with his hands. "Dobby..."
Dobby just smiled again. "Happy Birthday, Harry."
POP
Despite the soreness of his body, Harry blew through the rest of his morning workouts, because he couldn't wait to give the bracelets to the girls. He killed the obstacle course to save some time, because he didn't want to slack off on his weights. Then, before he left for France, he ate a rather large early lunch and pounded back two Dobby brand Magical Health Potion smoothies.
Soon enough, Harry was entering the Floo to the Delacour's and wham!... He found himself on the floor, balancing on his right shoulder.
By the time Harry finished curling his body to roll onto his back, the laughter of an entire family was echoing around the room, and he'd have to admit that he was surprised by the welcome he was receiving. "Has judging my Floo travel become a family pastime now," Harry asked, as he took in the Delacour family filling a nearby couch.
"Look up, you dummy," Fleur demanded, as she rose up to her feet.
Straining up his neck to look down the length of the room, Harry saw a banner hanging over the hallway door that read HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY! Harry was very touched, to the point that he didn't know how to react. It was only after he recovered his mental faculties, that he started beaming at everyone and curling up to a crouch. "Thank you everyone! I'm very happy that you remembered my birthday, even though I never told you..."
"It featured in several of your blackest books," Fleur bit out, as the irate expression on her face was slowly replaced by a sinister looking smile… "Anyway, we thought we might show you what a birthday is supposed to look like."
"Yes, 'Arry, we know it's your birthday today and we wish to celebrate," Appoline added, with a wide and happy smile. "Come! We will force you to eat again and have some fun!"
Gabrielle chose that moment to run over, and her flying tackle style hug almost knocked Harry right back onto his back. "Happy Birthday," she called out while snuggling into his chest as hard as she could. Harry hugged the little girl back as he rose to his feet, and then began carrying her in a piggyback across the room.
Adrien caught Harry at the door with an extremely eager expression on his face. "Are you busy tomorrow by the way? It's in regards to my present to you."
Harry thought for just a moment before shaking his head. "No pressing engagements that I can think of. Just more running and bench-pressing, etcetera."
"Good then! Here, Harry." Adrien handed over a ticket that read Quidditch World Cup on it... "The rest of us have had our tickets for quite a while now, but this extra ticket was actually hard to get. In fact, it only became available to me when I mentioned who it was for..." Adrien seemed amused that Harry's fame had tipped the scales.
At the sight of the ticket, Harry laughed and bounced around in his excitement. "Oh wow! I've never been to a wizarding sporting event that wasn't at my school before!"
"Well, if you only ever get to see one than this'll be the one to see." Adrien looked extremely confident in his statement. "It's Bulgaria vs Ireland and it's the biggest turnout ever."
"I'd love to go," Harry exclaimed happily. "What time do I need to be over here tomorrow?"
"Actually, you'll probably have to call that rather incredible house elf of yours to bring your things over today, because we'll be leaving well before sunrise." Adrien gestured at his watch. "We'll be waking you up at five Am on the dot, so that we can beat the lines at the registration areas."
POP
All of the sudden, a fully packed night bag was sitting next to the fireplace, and Dobby was standing next to it with an extremely satisfied look on his face
"I get it Dobby, you're a miracle worker!" Harry was both smiling and laughing at his very dashing and wonderful house elf, and he was projecting those thoughts directly into his mind using their bond.
"Yes sir," Dobby replied, as if he wasn't confirming that yes, yes indeed, he was a miracle worker. He bowed gracefully and then popped out of the room.
"Oh! That reminds me of something! Fleur, Gabrielle, can you come over here? My rather incredible house elf gave me a present this morning, and it's meant to go to you lovely ladies." Harry rummaged in his pockets and smiled when he found the bracelets.
Fleur walked over gracefully while Gabrielle bounced over, ramping up the cuteness to unbelievable levels. Harry beamed at them both.
In her rising curiosity, Appoline moved closer as well to peer over her younger daughters' shoulders. "What is it, 'Arry?"
By now even Adrien was hovering nearby in his curiosity.
"This gift is mostly to address an oversight of mine that had Dobby rather miffed with me," Harry began with a smile. "He was upset that I didn't have him vacate all of you to safety when the mercenaries were here, and since I never thought to have him do that, I deserve every single second of it."
A sheepish expression entered Harry's face, before he shook it off and continued his explanation. "Both Dobby and I have become aware that you beautiful young Veela girls are especially tempting targets, while you're still unbound by marriage. I'll admit that I've been worrying about your safety ever since the attack happened two weeks ago. For that reason, my house elf made me these, and I'm under the impression that they're extremely special."
Harry turned to Fleur and Gabrielle. "Girls if you could put these on." He extended the two silver bracelets."
Fleur and Gabrielle held up the bracelets and then started putting them on. The bracelets resized and changed in pattern to suit the wearer until both girls were cooing in delight at how pretty they were.
"These bracelets are magically bound to my house elf, which is why he was able to change their appearance just now by reading your thoughts. He made these bracelets so that you can contact him for assistance when you're in trouble." Harry almost rubbed the back of his neck in chagrin, but he stopped himself at the very last second. More recently he'd been trying to put a stop to that habit.
"It's remarkable that even your house elf does things never heard of before." Adrien had a look of wonder on his face.
After nodding his head at Adrien, Harry smiled happily at Fleur and Gabby. "Even if you girls already had house elves, I'd still want you to wear these bracelets. Dobby is far more versatile than a normal house elf, and capable of solving even extremely complicated problems all by himself. If, for some reason, Dobby alone isn't enough, then there's also the fact that he can contact me. With Dobby's help, I'll know if you girls are in trouble as well as exactly where to find you."
Preemptively, Harry started giving the elder sister a no nonsense look. "Fleur, please don't give me your one woman army, I'm no damsel, I don't need your help, super-feminist speech. I'm already well-aware of how capable you are, but these bracelets are Dobby's gift to ME. He made them for ME because he can feel how I worry about you. The bad guys aren't playing fair Fleur. Neither should you."
Fleur had been inhaling a deep breath to tell Harry that she didn't need his help, when he managed to beat her to the punch. Now she had no choice but to relent, because her entire family was staring at her expectantly. "I... It... it's very thoughtful of you to worry about us, 'Arry. I will wear the bracelet at all times..."
It was only after looking back down at the silver bracelet that Fleur suddenly realized she was telling the truth.
"Good!" Harry was relieved that with Fleur's family around, he'd managed to get the hard part over with. "Appoline, I gather Dobby didn't make more bracelets because they're exceptionally hard to create. I'm sorry for that. It's been explained to me that married Veela aren't a target, because your bond takes you off the market somehow."
Appoline nodded and wrapped an arm affectionately around her husband's waist. "Yes, yes. A lot of the benefits we Veela provide as slaves are impossible once we're bonded."
"Good. I imagine that's a very private conversation, so I won't ask more." Harry was hedging nervously around the idea of sexual slavery and bondage. It was a sucky conversation for several different exceptionally obvious reasons. "Shall we eat?"
The rest of the day was very fun and relaxing for both Harry and the Delacours. Adrien took the day off work and it didn't take much convincing to make Harry do the same with his training. They had a barbecue around the pool, swam, played games and then relaxed in the hot tub during the early evening.
After dinner, the Delacours pulled out a birthday cake and some gifts, and Harry was almost embarrassed by how touched he was by it all. He received an extremely nice magically charged watch from Adrien, and a generous coupon applicable at several clothing stores from Appoline. She'd have liked to have bought his clothing herself, but since he kept outgrowing them within a few weeks time, she'd given up for now.
Harry also received a large amount of rather expensive looking chocolates from Gabrielle, who looked at them with undisguised hunger on her face. Of course, Harry immediately opened the chocolates and tasted one before crooning in delight. Then he offered to share the chocolates with everyone else and waited. As predicted, the youngest Delacour descended upon him like a vulture, and he was once again glomped as she ate almost all of the chocolates.
It was cute.
Harry had a fantastic time.
"I'm going to carry my night bag and presents to the guest room," Harry called out, after the gift exchange ended. He walked into the guest bedroom, put his stuff down and then used the en-suite bathroom to freshen up. When he emerged from the bathroom, it was to find Fleur sitting on the edge of his bed and waiting for him.
"You didn't react at all to not receiving a gift from me..." Despite the casual tone of her voice, Fleur was visibly squirming with anxiety.
"That's because I expected this to a certain extent. You would've avoided a public display of any kind. It's just not your way." Harry sat down next to Fleur and smiled at her. "Okay, let me guess. Umm. Wand polishing kit?"
Fleur shook her head.
"Quill tips," Harry guessed, with absolute confidence in his voice.
Fleur shook her head.
"A football?" Harry knew that he was way off, but he was just trying to ease Fleur through her awkwardness.
"No, but that's not too terrible an idea for Christmas..." Fleur was finally smiling now and seemed to have relaxed a bit. "Now shut up and close your eyes, 'Arry."
Harry closed his eyes and waited. He eventually felt soft hands drape a slim cord around his neck and a light weight settling atop his sternum.
"Okay. Open your eyes, 'Arry."
When Harry opened his eyes, he saw a slim, tightly braided, silver cord hanging around his neck. It was somehow bright like it had taken in sunlight and at its end it had a green gemstone attached by an intricate Celtic-esque type knot. "Fleur..." Harry slowly whispered. "This is beautiful..."
"It's a necklace of Veela hair, 'Arry. They're not necessarily rare, but they are very difficult and time consuming to make, so Veela don't make them often. I am excellent at Charms, and I made this one." Fleur blushed and looked away. "This one was made using my hair... That is how they are made."
"I love it!" Harry swiveled back and forth between Fleur's red face and the necklace around his neck several times in rapid succession. Then he paused as yet another aspect of the necklace suddenly became obvious to him. "My magic feels your magic inside of this necklace. It's not mundane..."
"Yes, you're right. Over time, I have infused a rather large amount of my magic into this necklace. It will protect you from fire up to a certain extent. That is my elemental affinity after all." Fleur was finally rebounding from her embarrassment at this point.
"I've never received such a thoughtful gift before, Fleur. I love it! I'll never take it off." Harry was beaming at Fleur at this point, and in response she was having trouble not retreating from his room. Since Harry could sense her violent reaction to his enthusiasm, he immediately dialed back his gratitude a bit. He also sent out a calming aura so that she would start breathing again (Gods she is terrible at this whole friendship stuff).
"Thank you, Fleur. I really appreciate it," Harry offered in a far quieter voice, as he rose to his feet and extended a hand to his friend. "Now... It's my birthday and I want to watch an action movie. No chick flicks today."
"You enjoyed those movies, 'Arry, you just won't admit it." Fleur mimed giving up and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "If we must. Let's grab Gabrielle so that she won't become angry at us."
Half an hour later, the three of them were lounging atop a couch, in a wide, comfortable room filled with a wide array of game consoles and media equipment. You would never even know that the room was located quite deep underground, because it was well-lit, well-ventilated, warm, and tastefully decorated.
According to Fleur, the room that they were currently occupying was originally built by Adrien, as a countermeasure against anti-Apparition wards (Apparition is the magical form of teleportation). If enemy wizards set up a barrier around the Delacour property to prevent them from Apparating to safety, this tunnel would allow them to escape the bounds of both their property and the attacking wizard's barriers. The most ingenious part of the tunnel so far as Harry was concerned, was the fact that it never surfaced outside of the property at all, so it couldn't be used as a means to sneak into the Delacour home. Instead, the highly fortified tunnel ended in a very expensive and magically secure vault about twenty meters below ground level.
Harry thought that both the entertainment room and the getaway tunnel were impressive as all Hell, and truth be told, it was probably his favorite place in the whole entire house.
At the moment, Harry was in the middle of the entertainment room's large, leather couch, with a seven year old asleep against his right side and a Fleur leaning against his left. They were watching the movie Back to the Future, and apparently Fleur had seen it like a million and one times in the past because she was beginning to doze along with her sister.
"We can put on another movie if you want," Harry offered in a low voice, so that he wouldn't wake Gabby.
"No need, I don't mind falling asleep watching movies. It's the kind of laziness that appeals to me." Fleur yawned expressively and stretched her back like a cat as if to demonstrate her point. As the movie continued, she started dropping off, allowing herself to curl up atop Harry's lap under her blanket. "Wake me up when it's time to go upstairs," she murmured quietly, and then true to her words, she was out like a light.
While Harry did continue to watch the excellent movie, at this point he was completely distracted by the overwhelming amounts of adorable draped all over his body. He also found himself thinking about what Dobby had claimed so confidently earlier in the day, and realizing that he was, in fact, screwed.
Harry Potter didn't understand basically anything about romantic love, but he did know if he loved anyone at all in the whole entire world, it was Fleur Delacour.
Lately, Harry had been concealing more and stronger emotions directed towards Fleur behind his Occlumency barriers, because he needed to figure them all out, and if he was being honest, they made him extremely nervous. At exactly the same time, he could easily see Fleur completely freaking out, if his feelings were ever projected out into his aura shroud...
Her reaction would be completely understandable, after all...
At the moment, Fleur needed Harry to be exactly what he was, and that much was completely obvious… It's not easy being a Veela because friendships don't come often and they don't come easy, and Fleur was currently getting a LOT out of being his friend... Beyond friendship though… Fleur Delacour was a tall, cold, oxygen deprived mountaintop that had brought an end to scores of reckless men…
Shaking out his head, Harry grinned because he didn't have to figure it all out right this very instant. Fleur wasn't accepting any suitors at the moment, and Adrien was overprotective in the extreme.
None of that changed the fact that someday very soon, Harry was going to have to grow the hell up.
The next morning, when everyone was rousted from their respective beds at quarter to five Am, Harry blinked blearily up at Appoline who, damn her, looked beautiful even at this Gods awful hour of the morning.
"I'm up," he muttered into his pillow before he rolled off his bed and abruptly collapsed to his knees on the carpet. He was neck deep in a really healthy groan before he remembered he had company, at which point he looked up at Appoline, and saw her arching an eyebrow at him in question. "Uhhh, yeah. Sometimes it takes drastic measures to get moving these days... Dobby…"
POP
"Your pain potion, Harry." Dobby was standing beside Harry, holding the same brown smoothie that he'd begun using to conceal a wide array of equally disgusting potions
"Thank you, Dobby." Harry lifted the pain potion from Dobby's hands and leaned back against the bed as he tilted it to his lips. Immediately after taking the first sip, he was extremely grateful that he had such a talented house elf. The smoothie was delicious, and it contained everything that he needed to get up and moving.
By this point, Appoline was staring at Harry with a look of suspicion on her face. "'Arry... Be honest with me. From one to ten, how painful is your body this summer?"
Ah... It appeared the gig was up. Harry could see that Appoline was on to him, but he still tried to wave dismissively anyway. It didn't work. She wasn't buying it. She continued staring at him, until he finally gave in and formed a response. "Truthfully Appoline, it depends on when you ask. In about a minute, my level of discomfort will be a three. The problem is, I can only take two of these pain potions a day along with all the other magical nutrition potions I need to drink. The pain potions don't remain at full strength all day..."
"Give a number, 'Arry." Appoline had a no nonsense look on her face. "Give me a truthful number, please."
At first, Harry thought about lying, but since Appoline was uncannily good at sniffing out deceit, he knew it was a waste of time. "Well... It frequently goes as high as a seven and stays there. It's no Cruciatus curse, but my body's rapidly growing all day and it aches. I don't want you to worry about it, and I definitely don't want you to mention it to anybody. You saw my life history, Appoline, my pain tolerance is off the charts. I promise I'm having a really fun and happy summer…"
Appoline nodded seriously, but now it looked like she was holding back a wave of sudden emotion. "'Arry, someday very soon you are going to live a life free of pain. I wish this for you, for you deserve it."
Forcing himself to bounce energetically up to his feet, Harry gently pulled Appoline into a hug. "I know you care, Appoline, and that makes all the difference," he whispered, as he slowly pulled away. "Besides. I have strong Occlumency barriers now. Using them I can shunt even excruciating pain into a less immediate area of my mind, and then function relatively normally. Of course, it'd be quite bad for my health to do that for any extended period of time, but..."
It was at that point that Harry caught himself rambling and snapped his mouth closed. "Uhhh. I'm going to have a shower. I'll meet you downstairs."
Appoline just shook her head at the injustice of it all, as she walked downstairs to eat her breakfast.
After Portkeying to the only location within the Quidditch World Cup's staging area that wasn't blanketed under a powerful anti-Apparition ward, the Delacours located their campsite in an area of the campground's tent city called the French quarter. It wasn't as if a quarter of the spectators in attendance were going to be from France, or even close, but since most of the French speaking audience were camping out in this general area, that's the nickname that it'd been given.
The campsite the Delacour's rented was quite nice, with plenty of space and trees to offer both privacy and shade, and since the Delacours owned a very modern, very normal looking, and easy to operate magical tent, it didn't take long for Harry and Adrien to erect it into place (Dobby helped).
In a surprisingly small amount of time, the campsite was organized, a large hammock was strung up between two trees, horseshoe pins were staked into the ground, a picnic table was covered in snacks, and the family was settling in as if they owned the place. Not long after, Harry, Fleur and Gabrielle decided it was time to finally explore the festivities, so they emerged from the relative privacy of their campsite, into the organized chaos filling the rest of the area...
The entire campground was a riot of different languages and colors, as magicals from all over the world converged onto the campground for what amounted to the biggest party of the year. There were food stalls, beer tents, souvenir stores, game tents, gambling, and every type of over-expensive swag you can possibly imagine.
As he moved around the different campsites, Harry started to appreciate the fact that he'd learned his French from some very classy and sophisticated people. Almost every time his rune bracelet started getting warm, it was to translate some vulgar or sexual term the likes of which he'd never even heard of before. French people had turned swearing into an art form all its own. It was bad enough that within just half an hour of leaving their campsite, Harry was already debating whether or not he should conjure earmuffs for Gabrielle.
It wasn't just Harry's hearing that was being assaulted either, but his magical senses as well. He currently had his aura shroud spread out for hundreds of yards in every single direction in an effort to negate the unwelcome effect that his magic had on the people around him. What that meant was that his magic was currently bombarding him with hundreds of impressions and sensations with every single step that he took.
So far, Harry's efforts were worth it purely because they were working. Nobody had noticed his magic floating by like a fog bank as he walked past their campsites, and that was a really big deal...
On the other hand, Fleur's allure was currently slamming into his rib cage with the focus and intensity of a laser beam before cocooning his entire body and trailing back into hers… Her allure was so strong and so focused upon his body, Harry was afraid to let anyone walk in between the two of them. Anyone without his unnaturally strong tolerance would be instantly allure thralled into either an obsessive love for the ages or an immediate heart attack…
Personally, Harry thought that this was an extremely interesting development, but since he valued his continued survival, he very carefully didn't comment on it.
Harry, Fleur and Gabrielle spent the early afternoon goofing around, shopping for merchandise, looking at the sights in the tent city, grinning at all of the ridiculous muggle clothing and trying not to laugh at some of the accidentally cross-dressing wizards. By two o'clock in the afternoon, the crowds had thickened until the pathways were becoming congested, at which point Fleur linked her right arm in his and he began holding Gabrielle's little hand in turn.
Of course, Harry's delusional brain was trying to tell him that Fleur simply couldn't stop herself from holding him, but the reality of the situation was much more mundane. If they weren't careful it would be very easy to get separated in all of the commotion surrounding them, so it was only good sense to stay physically linked. Nevertheless, Harry found the way Fleur was currently touching him changed up the mood, and made him feel a little bashful...
Abruptly shaking off those feelings by foisting them inside of his Mindscape Occlusions, Harry forced himself to calm. He couldn't afford to clam up right now because Fleur was uncomfortable around large crowds of people and they were surrounded on every side. She was going to need some attention. She was going to need some support...
Man up Potter!
"Do you follow Quidditch at all Fleur?" Harry figured this question was just a single step up from asking about the weather, but he also figured that it's the thought that counts.
"Yes and at the same time no," Fleur immediately answered. "I feel it's necessary to know about the broader aspect of the sport, but I'd never just sit down and listen to it on the wizarding wireless. It's a fun sport to watch of course, so dangerous and fast."
When next Fleur looked at Harry, she couldn't prevent the wide, warm smile that grew across her face. "If I did not know you well, 'Arry, I would've liked to see you play Seeker. Now that I do know you, I'd be too worried to enjoy it... Enough danger finds you without you actively looking for it."
"That's very sweet of you to say," Harry offered in return even as he nodded his head. "Yes... Okay... Point taken. Gods only know why, but I do frequently get injured at Hogwarts, and I've been hurt several times during Quidditch matches."
"Oh? Do tell…" unbeknownst to her, Fleur started pulling Harry's body closer by their linked arms.
"Well, there was this one time in my second year when someone charmed both of the bludgers to follow me and me alone for the entire duration of a match," Harry began while grinning at Fleur's sudden gasp of surprise. "I was forced to zig and zag all over the pitch while trying to take part in the match, and just before I caught the snitch, one of the bludgers finally caught me and broke my arm. With the snitch in hand, I fell off my broom, and then had to roll around on the pitch to dodge the bludgers that were repeatedly smashing into the earth. In the end, the bludgers were destroyed by Hermione and I was saved, only to have a hack of a professor by the name of Lockheart try to fix my broken arm right there on the field, and vanish all of the bones in my arm instead... I suggest you never need to use Skelegro, because it sucks."
At the tail end of his story, Harry abruptly shrugged in defeat and then grinned again. "There's a bed in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts with a plaque over it that reads [Harry James Potter's bed]."
It wouldn't be until the following day that Fleur noticed the miracle Harry Potter managed to pull off at the Quidditch World Cup... He captivated her attention so thoroughly, so completely, she forgot where they were and what they were doing. She forgot to stress out about how she was surrounded on all sides by hordes of allure susceptible men, and she forgot about the anxiety that this fact was causing her.
In this anxiety's place, was a level of interest that had Fleur leaning into Harry's body until his cheek was just inches from her mouth, and his arm was being hugged between her breasts. That is, of course, until Harry finally arrived at the [Harry James Potter's bed] part of his story, at which point, she reeled back to laugh both loudly and honestly, with her eyes closed and everything. After several very long moments of honest to Gods, joyful laughter, she finally came back to herself and smiled beatifically at Harry.
But that was the moment when Fleur saw Harry's completely deadpan expression and she blanched. "No!... No way!... Really!?"
After nodding his head, Harry bit his lip in chagrin and then squeezed Gabrielle's hand when she suddenly tried to make a break for a cotton candy stand. "Poppy, the Healer back at Hogwarts, put it up above my bed at the beginning of the summer, immediately after my magic escaped and I was camping out in there. She and I are really close though, so I'm at least partly certain it's just a joke."
Fleur shook her head in a mixture of awe and disbelief. "This is going to be yet another thing that I have to confirm for myself while I'm there."
"Oh yeah, during this oh so mysterious event that you're doing at Hogwarts that everyone seems to think I haven't figured out yet. I sleuth out at least one huge mystery a year, Fleur. Who do they think I am?" Harry had adopted a look of extreme arrogance and was posing like a hero.
Fleur couldn't stop herself from laughing again purely because arrogance looked so foreign on Harry, and the effect was completely surreal. "Well then... What's this mystery event then, Mr. Smarty Pants?"
"That's Lord Smarty Pants thank you very much," Harry drawled officiously.
Rolling her eyes, Fleur waved a hand in an unmistakable "get on with it" gesture.
"It's a two school cooperative bake sale," Harry finally declared with an extremely stoic and serious expression upon his face.
Fleur stared at Harry's admittedly perfect deadpan face for several seconds in a row, before she finally cracked like an egg and started stifling her laughter into a hand. Despite the fact she was trying to end it right from the beginning, she only very slowly regained control of herself, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes at the boy. "Okay, okay, you play that game, 'Arry! I am not going to tell you!"
Harry pouted exactly like Gabrielle would.
"That look will NEVER work on me! I've been using it for over a decade," Fleur declared with absolute confidence.
All of the sudden and seemingly out of nowhere, Harry's left arm was cruelly yanked as a hooded man snapped a large manacle around Gabrielle's right wrist, attached the other end around his left wrist, and then began hauling her off through the crowd. At exactly the same time, another cowled man was suddenly creating a physical barrier between Harry and Gabrielle, with his wand already drawn and a perverse smile on his face. "I wouldn't move if I were either of you. I wouldn't want to scar up the pretty birdy, but I couldn't care less about ending a young wizard."
As his anger immediately skyrocketed from zero to nearly all consuming, Harry's body instantly became a blur of rapid movement. His dominant hand flew up in front of his chest to wandlessly banish the cowled man through the newly panicked crowd. Then, even as the man was flying through the air, Harry cast several stunners and Incarcerous spells to slam into his body, so that when he finally hit the ground, he was an unconscious heap of ropes.
With that cretin out of the way, Harry quickly turned towards where he'd last seen Gabrielle.
Shit!
The crowd had flowed in the way in just the last two seconds. Harry had lost line of sight of both Gabrielle and her kidnapper!
With zero hesitation or any restraint whatsoever, Harry started compressing in his massively spread out aura shroud, dragging every amp of his magic back towards his body with every scrap of willpower he contained. As hundreds of yards of widespread magic rapidly condensed to within just ten meters of his body, Harry also began forcing more and more magic out from within his core.
With a growl of fierce determination, Harry continued generating power until the sand at their feet began to tremble and the very air felt like it was vibrating with it. Within just five seconds flat, Harry had saturated absolutely everything in his vicinity with so much ambient magic, he could make out the color of the underwear being worn by every single person for twenty meters in all directions.
By the time every single witch and wizard present in the clearing started cowering in fright at the intensity and violence of Harry's aura, he finally finished locating Gabrielle off in the distance, and he began willing his magic to create a barrier of some kind surrounding both her and her assailant. He wasn't specific about what the barrier should be made of, he just called forth as much magical power as he could to circumvent the issue. At exactly the same time, Harry empathically ordered Dobby to either retrieve Gabrielle, or barring that, move all of the bystanders out of the way, so that he could sprint in her direction.
And in the single instant that followed, Dobby imparted that the anti-Apparition wards were preventing him from teleporting Gabrielle, but that he would open up a road.
By the time Dobby's message finished flashing through Harry's mind, he was already moving...
As an expanding cone of cowering wizards found themselves being ejected right and left to land softly on their asses, Harry and Fleur sprinted by at full speed through the newly created gap, and caught sight of their target.
As it turns out, Harry had created a massive swirling bubble of solid air, both in front of and to the sides of Gabrielle's abductor. Even as Harry and Fleur rapidly approached from behind, Harry caught the moment the kidnapper slammed face first into the barrier, lost his balance and fell onto his back. Both the kidnapper and Gabrielle ended up in a tangled heap of limbs, with Gabrielle thrashing and kicking at the man the whole entire time.
Despite Gabrielle's efforts, the kidnapper still managed to scramble back up to his feet, pull down his hood, and look around for the source of the disturbance. That's when he saw Harry sprinting towards him through the crowd. Seemingly unconcerned that there were hundreds of witnesses all over the clearing, the man immediately raised his wand to point it directly at Harry's face.
Harry saw the man pointing his wand at his face, but Gabby was in danger so he picked up even more speed in response, and It was only after the kidnapper cast a Confringo Curse directy between his eyes that Harry realized just how stupid he was currently being. In his anger, panic and hurry, Harry had never even pulled out his wand, and he couldn't be sure that he could perform more wandless magic. In the split second that followed, as the red curse grew larger in his field of vision, Harry knew deep down that his magic had him moving like he was for a REASON, and that he couldn't afford to indulge in his usual brand of hesitation. Gabrielle, little Gabby needed his help... He'd cast wandless before by accident, he'd do it again on purpose... He had to do it and that was all there was to it.
And that's when it happened...
Time seemed to slow down, Harry's teeth clenched, his body trembled and his dominant arm outstretched in front of his face. In that moment of singular need and determination, Harry managed to create a Protego shield in front of his body without word or wand to aid in the process. With just a single millisecond left to spare, the golden shield sprang to life, and then angled itself upwards diagonally for lack of a better option. Sure enough, the implosion curse rebounded off of the shield to sail off harmlessly to the sky.
In the end, redirecting the curse slowed Harry down for just a split-second, before he was moving forward at a full sprint again, with his wandless Protego shield still held in place in front of his body. It was also around this time that he demanded Dobby do something about the manacle currently locked around Gabby's wrist.
When the abductor caught on that Harry was both armed and capable of defending himself, he growled in rising anger laced with fear, and then started yelling out the curse "Avada Kadavr..."
The man was too late...
By the time the man finished the first half of his curse, Harry was already well within the abductor's extended wand arm, with his own dominant arm swinging up from near his waist. With a primal growl of maxed out fury, Harry delivered a full strength uppercut into and then through the man's lower jaw, the blow made even more impactful due to the Protego shield that was wrapped tightly around his forearm like a shining golden gauntlet.
The punch immediately broke the kidnapper's jaw in several different places, spraying his teeth all over the place as it launched him both up and back through the air…
And the manacle locked around Gabrielle's wrist disintegrated into dust as the rest of it was torn away...
A little over a second and a half later, and about three and a half meters back, the kidnapper landed hard, rolled several times through the grass, and then flopped bonelessly to a stop. It was unclear if the man was conscious or not, but it hardly mattered now. He was essentially helpless because he'd lost his ability to speak.
Arriving less than half a second later, and armed with her wand, Fleur began Incarcerousing the downed man at least ten times more than would ever be necessary. By the time she was done with the man, he looked like a damned mummy and it was obvious that he could hardly breathe.
With that done, Fleur quickly scanned the nearby crowd. She was receiving nothing but glassy eyed, lust filled, vacant stares. Damn... It was just as bad as she'd feared it'd be. On the other hand, it did provide her with an opportunity...
Reeling her right leg back like a professional soccer player, Fleur kicked the downed kidnapper as hard as she could in the balls, once, twice, then a third time with feeling... Then, having delivered just a little bit of road justice, she swiveled her attention back towards Harry. "'Arry! Extend out your aura shroud again now! I'm allure enthralling every man within twenty meters of you and they're already advancing on us!" At the moment, Fleur was blasting Harry with extremely intense amounts of allure, and while he was highly resistant, nobody else here was!
During the time that Fleur was... dealing... with the mercenary, Harry was hugging a sobbing Gabrielle Delacour, and mentally prompting Dobby to find them some Aurors. It was only after hearing Fleur's freaked out yell that Harry noticed it at all... He was currently being fully immersed within an extremely wild deluge of super potent allure!
Now that he was aware of it, Fleur's allure was becoming almost too much for him to handle, and he was just barely managing to maintain control over himself. Then, as he rapidly Occluded the out of control arousal and desire that Fleur was causing him, he finally looked around and he didn't like what he saw.
Every man within the surrounding area was staring hungrily at Fleur and several men were already moving closer with looks of intense desire on their faces.
Oh shit!
As quickly as he could, Harry forced his magic out as far as he could in every single direction. He also decreased his magic output until his shroud was barely noticeable anymore.
Just a single moment after Harry's magic was properly thinned out, Fleur managed to regain control of her allure. Over the following few moments, she sagged into the grass in relief as the men surrounding her visibly shook off the effects and returned to their families. By the time she managed to shakily crawl over to where Harry was cradling Gabby, she was more than willing to join in on the hug, for the little girl wasn't the only one in need of some attention.
Fleur, Gabrielle and Harry, they all just held each other tightly in the grass, seeking what comfort they could from the contact.
Less than five minutes later, the French Auror service arrived to pick up the would be kidnappers/murderer. They took Harry's extremely oversimplified statement, but once again they didn't seem to believe a word that he told them. Nevertheless, with hundreds of other people present and willing to corroborate Harry's story, they had no choice but to take his words at face value.
When a bright flash went off from the milling crowd, Harry saw a man with a camera quickly walking away. The photographer had taken a shot of him speaking with the Aurors over the duo of bound and cuffed men. As the photographer disappeared into the crowd, Harry seriously hoped that the man had no idea who he was.
On the way back to the Delacour campsite, Harry held Gabrielle in a piggyback. Well, it was hard to say whether he was holding her or she was holding him. It was very clear that Gabby wasn't going to release his body for anything less than her mother. Harry and Fleur were also holding each other close, but it was less about comfort and more about expediency. This definitely wasn't a good time to get separated.
"You did it again and this time you did it wandlessly." As they moved, Fleur was determined to scan the crowds around them. Nevertheless, she was finding it difficult not to stare at the side of Harry's face.
"I was petrified for Gabrielle, so I used everything I had," Harry replied in a very low voice. "You felt all the magic I ended up throwing around. I'm not capable of wandless under normal circumstances, and trust me when I say that I've been trying... And that barrier... it was air. I've never done that before. I can't recreate that under normal circumstances. At least... I think I can't."
Soon enough, they arrived at their campsite, where Harry released Gabrielle straight into her mother's arms. Adrien listened to the story, hugged Harry and his girls, and then took off at a run towards the Auror tent. He was talking about making sure they crucify the men involved…
Literally...
When all the dust settled, Harry quietly moved aside to sit on a log by the campsite's fire pit. Performing a small and discrete Ignis spell with his wand up his sleeve, Harry lit some wood and watched it catch fire. Then he started poking at it distractedly with a nearby stick.
Now that the scary stuff was over and his adrenaline was dumping, Harry was beginning to feel a little bit tired. There was another thing that he was tired of as well... The targeting of Veela by those damned slaver assholes was really starting to piss him off.
When soft footsteps sounded out from behind his back, Harry knew exactly who it was without even having to look. Without a word he slid to the right and Fleur sat down right next to him. For several minutes in a row, they both just stared at the fire without saying a word.
"You aren't earth," Fleur suddenly declared.
"Huh," Harry replied intelligently.
"Your elemental affinity isn't earth," Fleur clarified.
Of course, that was a very interesting thought, and it had Harry staring at the fire for another minute before he finally responded. "Well, it's possible I have an air affinity but it's also possible I just screamed "wall" at my magic with all of my might, and it responded."
Harry raised his hand palm up in front of his chest, and tried to will the air to respond. Nothing seemed to happen, although there was a brief breeze that went by.
Harry and Fleur grinned at each other.
"Don't give up, 'Arry. I know that you're air. You love flying like nothing else in the whole entire world after all." With that said, Fleur slowly dropped her head onto Harry's shoulder, but her eyes never moved away from the fire. Fleur was trembling and Harry couldn't comfort her with his aura without causing her even more problems. He ended up rubbing his hand up and down her lower back in small, gentle circles that eventually seemed to work.
When Fleur was calm again, she turned her cheek atop Harry's shoulder and she whispered into his ear. "Thank you, 'Arry... You're a hero... You're an honest to Gods, dumb, brainless, idiotic, self-sacrificing to a fault, hero... I used to think they were just fairy tales... You sprinted straight at a killing curse today, 'Arry..."
While looking up to the sky, Harry took a very deep breath to stall for time. He didn't even know where to begin explaining his thought process from earlier... Well, here goes. "I get your point Fleur. Everything I did today I did in the most dangerous way possible. I... I was just so desperate and afraid for Gabrielle. No... Sorry... That's no excuse and... I know that. I need to be smarter than this, better than this... Heroes don't grow old, Fleur. Heroes don't settle down, have families, do mundane things. Heroes die doing something heroic. I know for a fact that Tom's out there somewhere, Fleur, and… I don't want to live that life..."
There was nothing Fleur could say to that, so she continued to lean her body against his as they stared down at the fire together.
Adrien eventually returned and joined them (Harry had sensed the man in time to warn Fleur to sit up). After Adrien thanked Harry again, he and the Delacours all ate a large amount of campfire sausages and marshmallows, played horseshoes, told stories, joked around, had a beer (a real one), and did their absolute best to truly relax... Eventually, the sun set, and they were called to the stadium by what could only be a very, very large gong.
Harry, Fleur, Appoline, Adrien and Gabrielle, watched the Quidditch World Cup from a high echelon of the stadium, but not in the minister's box. Adrien had said good riddance to that, because he didn't want to experience a day in the office while he watched the most important match of the year.
Harry was happy for the anonymity that being in a well placed normal admission box brought, when he saw the Weasleys bouncing around up in the minister's box. He had no desire to explain to them either his most recent physical transformation or his company. Of course, Harry wasn't ashamed of either of those things, but... He just couldn't help but dread Ron's obvious and somewhat inevitable jealousy reaction.
Harry would have to admit that he was amused, however, when Ron almost leapt to his death during the Veela's allure.
Fleur huffed loudly as they walked out of the stadium after the game. "Those Veela give a bad name to us all!"
Harry smiled at the fuming blonde even as he very carefully didn't comment. There was nothing to be gained in getting involved in this one, so he didn't. He was attempting to stay in the shark cage where it was safe.
He should've known better...
"And you looked like you enjoyed it!" Fleur pointed at Harry in accusation.
Harry smiled again, even as he shook his head with his hands splayed out in front of him. "Well... yes. I enjoyed several things about the game today, Fleur... Krum was a genius, the Irish chasers again geniuses, the leprechauns were something I've never seen before, and yes in fact, I did enjoy the Veela."
Harry raised his hands up even further in response to Fleur drawing in a very deep breath. "I enjoyed seeing the Veela render everyone a drooling mess, I enjoyed seeing a fully transformed Veela for the very first time, and the passionfire was cool too. I also learned a lot tonight, and I enjoyed that as well. Now, I'm going to answer the question that you REALLY mean to ask, no. I'm not going to use a squad of professional cheerleaders as the standard to which I judge your whole entire culture... Are we okay now?"
Fleur paused in her indrawn breath and then sighed loudly as the air slipped from her lungs. Then she turned away from Harry for a moment or two before giving him a sidelong look. "Arry... What did you think of the Veela transformation?" The girl was scratching her ear and may have even looked a little bashful in that moment (Harry's heart took a hammer blow).
Harry carefully controlled a blush that wanted to develop on his face due to Fleur's rare moment of vulnerability, mostly because Adrien was around and he didn't want to give himself away. It was hard… In fact, it was a struggle just to put together an opinion, what with Fleur looking so incredibly adorable.
Harry checked his magic. Fleur's allure was under control.
Holy Gods... He was a lost cause...
Thankfully for Harry, the Veela really had left a lasting impression on him, so when he wasn't able to amass an opinion, he merely drew in a very deep breath, and started winging it. "Well... Fleur. I think it's pretty obvious that Veela are some of the most magical women on the face of the planet. They exist because of magic. It defines who they are far more than it does for a witch or a wizard. I also think they're still beautiful women, even when their body's take on those distinctly avian features. I found myself mesmerized, not by their allures, but rather because they remind me of the Valkyries from Norse mythology. I can easily imagine them judging the worthy in battle and shepherding brave warriors to Valhalla. They were both fierce and yet extremely graceful, even as enraged as they were. I was left wondering how the Veela of old were ever taken advantage of..."
Even after everything he'd just said, Harry could see that Fleur still looked a little uncertain, so he gave her a very serious look. "Fleur, listen. I have very good reason to empathize with the dual nature of a Veela... I have a wellspring of magic inside of my body and it barely acknowledges my control over it. You once said to me that I've become a magical creature. Well I tend to agree, but I don't yet know how well I'll be able to control my new state of being. What I do know is that I understand having more than one persona coexisting inside of you. Inside of my body, I have my conscious mind controlling my thoughts, feelings and actions, and then I also have my magic which on a regular basis intervenes on my behalf, without either my knowledge or permission. I don't find it surprising that there are people out there with a lot going on inside of them magically. I'm interested to know how the two halves of a Veela transformation work together, whether it's just cosmetic or if there's an attitude change, how the magic inside them allows for such amazing changes, how much control they have over the transformation, what passionfire even is, etcetera. I want to know these things both because it's of interest to me and because I have three wonderful Veela friends that I'd like to know more about..."
When Fleur finally nodded her head with a slight blush mixed with a mollified expression, Harry held back the sigh of relief that wanted to spill from his lips. What he'd said was the truth and he didn't want to spoil it by looking relieved.
Appoline walked up from behind Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. "There's a book that explains all of those questions, 'Arry, if you want to read it."
"I would appreciate that," Harry replied, while giving Appoline a thankful look. He didn't ask about the Delacour family women and their transformations, because that felt too personal somehow.
Adrien walked up, carrying Gabrielle who looked like she was tired after all the events of the day. "I suggest we all go back to our home tonight and relax. It has been a long day and I think our youngest here could use her own bed. I will get some of my people to come pick up our stuff in the morning."
"That's a good idea," Appoline agreed quickly, while shooting Gabrielle a worried look. "I think I would like to sleep snuggled up with my Gabby tonight."
Gabrielle gave her mother a tired smile and a nod.
Harry and Fleur nodded as well because they weren't concerned either way.
Looking over at Harry, Fleur raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Movie night?"
"I'll watch any movie you desire tonight, as thanks for Back to the Future," Harry offered.
"Dirty Dancing it is then!" Fleur immediately capitalized on Harry's foolish offer, by picking a movie that showcased her complete lack of mercy for his embarrassment threshold. You could tell by the shit eating grin on her face that she knew exactly what that movie was going to do to Harry, and the thought of it was amusing her.
Harry gave the blonde a sidelong look as he arched an eyebrow at her very romantic, very sexual movie choice. Then he thought that he might have a plan to avoid the awkwardness of it all. "Fine... Dirty dancing... but no complaining when I fall asleep on you."
Then Fleur and Harry both turned just a little bit red because Harry's plan had backfired. That was exactly what Fleur had done on him the night before and they both knew it.
To Be Continued
Author's Note:
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