Chapter 8 - Chapter 7 - Flufftacular Extravaganza

I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter franchise

Author's Note:

This chapter was originally two chapters, but I consolidated them because they bridge a relatively peaceful span of time during the last of the summer months.

Fluff for miles this chapter, movement and drama coming down the pipeline.

Two days after the Quidditch World Cup, Harry Potter somehow, defying all common sense, emerged from the Delacour family's Floo facing the wrong direction and moving at extremely high speeds.

After trying to dig his heels into the carpet and failing, Harry's body started flipping backwards at a rapid rate, forcing him to complete an incredibly tight back roll directly into a one armed handspring, which launched him into a series of high velocity backflips. When somehow, amazingly, Harry managed to control his descent so that he landed on his feet, he found himself staring forlornly back at the fireplace and shaking his head at the silliness of it all.

Then Harry turned away from the Floo, at which point he immediately froze in his tracks.

Unbeknownst to Harry, for the second time in less than a week, he just put on a show for the amassed members of the Delacour family...

The reactions coming from the family were a mixed bag from what Harry could see so far. Fleur looked amused at his expense, because she always, always would be. Appoline and Adrien looked appalled and yet impressed, as if they couldn't figure out what emotion to settle on, and Gabrielle had stars in her eyes as she actively, openly hero worshiped him, like an angel (Harry wanted to hug her so badly in that moment).

Of course, Harry's reaction must have looked equally complicated because after a moment of further staring, they all started giggling.

Harry recovered first and smiled at everyone even as he shook his head. "Sooooo, it's not my birthday anymore. Why the large welcome?"

Adrien fielded this question by stepping forward and putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Well Harry... As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. You have been summoned to the French Ministry of Magic later today, for an emergency court session."

"In regards to a certain mercenary company, persistently targeting young, unbonded Veela?" Harry's face started taking on a noticeably vengeful caste.

"None other," Adrien instantly confirmed, with a feral grin of his own. "In both instances, the men you captured were members of the same group of people. The group is called the Black Band and they're the major abduction force in France. You may not even realize the scope of what you've accomplished, Harry, so let me be the one to tell you. You single handedly apprehended ten core members of the Band along with witnesses and evidence of their crimes, which has given the French Ministry the legal authority to question these men under Veratiserum (truth potion), which in turn provided them with all manner of information. The Black Band's whole support structure and leadership has been ferreted out because of your actions, Harry, which has led to the largest breakthrough of this kind in well over a decade. The French Ministry is convening an emergency trial as we speak in order to put an end to these cretins, and you are a key witness… Thus… I made assurances that you would be there to testify..."

"Oh..." Harry breathed out the word softly, along with a subtle sigh. "I suppose I have to explain my actions during those events then…"

As apologetic as Adrien was, he was also extremely resolute in this matter. "Harry... I know you have many secrets, but these men are monsters. You will be changing the entire world for the better with your testimony. My coworkers at the French Ministry have promised me that you won't need to ingest any Veratiserum, and you'll only need to speak of your actions in this house. The French Aurors spoke to nearly a hundred witnesses at the Quidditch World Cup, who all agreed that you did something to save Gabrielle. It appears to have happened too fast for them to fully comprehend what you did, but there are enough witnesses involved that I managed to keep the questions off of that topic. With all that being the case, I implore you to be as honest as possible while you're up on the stand, so that you don't perjure yourself and risk setting these monsters free."

As Adrien spoke, Harry walked over to Gabrielle because the little girl was gesturing that she wanted a hug. He picked her up, held her tight and then nodded resolutely towards Adrien. "Of course. I'd never risk those animals going free by any neglect on my part... I'm just reluctant to expose my rather dramatic actions… Speaking of which, how much media coverage can we expect?"

Adrien smiled because he'd never once doubted that Harry would do the right thing. "There's no law against being vague on the stand, Harry. I have already expressed that you're a rather private person and don't wish to become a media spectacle. The ministry will try to get ahead of that, but since this is rather big news, the story will get out sooner rather than later. We can only control what parts of the story the news media gets to hear by being very careful about what we say..."

Adrien grinned wolfishly as he leaned against a nearby chair. "Now... How about you and I go to my study and rehearse what you will truthfully say while you are on the stand."

Le Rouge Chien was a pub just a block down the street from the French Ministry of Magic, and at Harry's request they Floo'd to that location instead of the Ministry itself.

For obvious reasons…

It went without saying that Harry had no desire to drop onto his face in front of any government officials that might be present at the trial.

Adrien was highly amused, but he also approved of the idea, and figured that he, his wife, his daughters, and Harry could pick up some lunch before attending the trial.

When they all spilled out of the restaurant's Floo alcove (Harry literally) and were seated at a table by a very harassed looking young witch, Fleur took a seat to Harry's left while Gabrielle sat down on his right. Harry was used to it at this point, but Fleur's allure was persistently targeting him like a laser-beam and there was very little she could do about it. He had his magic spread out far enough that no one else would even know it was there, but that didn't seem to matter to Fleur's magic at all.

Even though several weeks had passed since Harry first learned how to thin out his magic, it remained a mystery why Fleur's magic always knew exactly where he was… Of course, his more delusional teenage fantasies wanted him to believe that Fleur's ability was powered by her great and passionate love for him…Unfortunately, it was pretty obvious that the magic driving Fleur's Veela nature was somehow interacting with his absurdly strong magical power, and human emotions had nothing to do with it...

Either way, it was still for the best that no one be allowed to walk in between Fleur and Harry if it could be avoided.

While waiting for the foot to arrive, Appoline described a spell matrix that she was designing for fun that would sweeten food without adding sugar (very high spec house wife), Gabrielle described a leaping turn that she was practicing in ballet, and Fleur explained a recent breakthrough that she had in regards to Transfiguring metals (notoriously difficult since metals are poor magic conductors).

During this time, Adrien and Harry simply sat back and relaxed while taking in the ladies' warm and heartwarming exchange. It was… relaxing… It was fulfilling… Harry could see that Adrien Delacour lived an exceptionally satisfying life, and he re-dedicated himself to achieving the same….

But then that moment of comfortable silence came to an end, when Appoline turned in Harry's direction and gave him a very pointed look.

"So, 'Arry... Have you been practicing the piano like you… promised me?" While Appoline was definitely just teasing Harry with a wildly unreasonable expectation at the moment, she was also very interested in the idea of civilizing the boy into a well rounded and sophisticated man, and she wasn't afraid to be pushy about it.

"Yes actually, I have, but not in the usual manner," Harry responded with a sly expression on his face. "I read all of the instruction books that you provided me cover to cover so that I could internalize the required material, and then I set up a facsimile of a piano in my Mindscape… A feat of mental imagery that took forever by the way, because it was surprisingly difficult to tune the instrument correctly." Harry gave everyone an exaggerated look of frustration before smiling again and continuing with his explanation. "Altogether, I had to drop in and out of my Mindscape like a hundred times with tuning forks in hand to get it just right."

The Delacours all found themselves shaking their heads at Harry's unconventional way of doing literally everything, but they also found grins forming on their faces.

"You are literally unable to just take your time and practice like a normal human being. You absolutely must do absolutely everything magically and in record time!" While Appoline really was exasperated, you could easily tell that she was also extremely impressed.

In response, Harry just leaned in and waggled his eyebrows teasingly at Appoline. "Say what you will Appoline, but I'm already a solid level three and progressing quickly. I'm not a genius musician nor have I been playing the instrument since I was young, so I'm way behind and I want to catch up. With the setup I've created, I can marathon practice scales, composition, pieces and techniques, in a stress free environment while I sleep. I've also managed to saturate both the music and the piano with my magic, so that I can use its extraordinary memory to help me learn faster."

By the time Harry was finished describing his magic as having an excellent 'memory' Appoline was extremely interested in what he was saying and she was making that much obvious in the way she was leaning forward over the table… of course, that was the exact moment that the waiter returned with their food, and Harry's explanation was put on hold.

In the companionable silence that followed, Fleur found herself poking Harry's trim stomach, with a wide grin growing clear across her face. The reason for her needling was simple. Harry currently had three humongous meals sitting in front of him, which made him look as if he was about to commit a rather disgusting form of food suicide. Up until now, she'd always enjoyed his obvious embarrassment at what he perceived to be "unsightly" gluttonous behavior. For that reason, Fleur always enjoyed teasing him during these moments, and it never seemed to get old. Unfortunately, teasing Harry Potter was becoming harder to accomplish with every passing day.

About a week earlier, when Fleur finally just asked Harry why it was becoming so difficult to break his composure, he ended up describing the lengths that he was going to to negate the negative impact his upbringing had on his character, as well as how he was highlighting aspects of is personality that would make him a better person.

And Fleur was completely blown away…

Very few people on the entire face of the planet have the mental fortitude required to face themselves in the very literal way that a highly organized and categorized Mindscape forces you to, and that was without having to relive an exceptionally sad and traumatizing life in the process.

But that was exactly what Harry was currently doing…

Every single night, when Harry went to bed, he was performing a seemingly endless amount of very uncomfortable self-reflection. He was pouring over all of his memories and filing everything away under levels of importance. He was figuring out what to work on, what to avoid, what to highlight or reduce, his worst actions, his best actions, how he felt, why he felt that way, why did it hurt, why did it feel good, moments of weakness, moments of strength, why this time and not that time, could it be done differently, was there a better solution, was he to blame, on and on forever…

Even as Fleur tried and failed to imagine what Harry was putting himself through, she also knew without a shadow of a doubt that her friend was telling her the absolute truth. She also saw the results of his efforts reflecting positively in his character more and more with every single day that passed, and she felt a powerful upsurge of pride for her best and most inspiring friend.

Then, Fleur was suddenly snapped out of her wool gathering, when Harry noticed her palm flattened out against his abdomen (a gesture that she hadn't even known she started making), and he turned a million megawatt smile in her direction.

After turning to regard his very mischievous friend, Harry suddenly picked up a plate full of chips and foisted it up in front of her face. "Oh! Fleur. You wanted some fish and chips, right? I can share if you absolutely must have some." When Fleur immediately made a truly unpleasant face at the food, Harry reeled backwards. "Oh wow, Fleur... I think you should practice that expression to help you drive away persistent suitors."

Appoline immediately threw a knuckle up into her mouth to keep from laughing out loud at Harry's commentary. Fleur had the most intense reactions to English food, and it never failed to amuse her. That line was a keeper and she'd be sure to make use out of it later.

Adrien laughed quietly and shook his head. "That's right dear daughter of mine. Do try to control your out of control disgust. We've discussed this."

"It tastes like dog food," Fleur pouted cutely (Harry had to literally look away for self-preservation).

Gabrielle grabbed up a chip and ate it with a smile. "I like it," she exclaimed brightly.

"Never change," Harry immediately demanded of Gabrielle, while giving the girl a hug and shooting a teasing look over his shoulder (Gabrielle was thrilled).

After food and some more light conversation, Harry and the Delacours window shopped their way down the street towards the Ministry of Magical France. The building was smack dab in the middle of a magical area in downtown Paris, so unlike the ministry in Britain, there were very large public doors that could be accessed by foot traffic.

As Harry and the family walked up the wide shallow steps leading towards the government building's main entrance, Fleur sidled up to his side and bumped him with her hip (which sure as hell got his attention), and then she started whispering into his ear. "It's going to be okay, 'Arry... Enormous amounts of completely incontrovertible evidence have already been compiled against these cretins, so all you need to do is tell it like it is..."

Judging by the way Fleur was fussing over him, Harry figured his rising anxiety must be plain to see on his face. In return, Harry could see in her expression that she was surprised by his current attack of nerves, and she wanted to know what he was worried about...

"Well, Fleur," Harry began in a slightly chagrined tone of voice. "I'm mostly concerned about the second to last mercenary that I fought in Adrien's study. The man that I punched in the face near the end there will have an idea of what I was doing during the duel even though I was Disillusioned... I also have two men from the Quidditch World Cup that never once saw a wand in my hand..."

Turning towards Harry from the top of the steps, Adrien dropped down a step or two to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "What you just said is exactly why you'll be delivering testimony second only after me. By the time those men reach the stands, you'll already have made your testimony. Of course, the judge will probably want to bring you back up to the stand by the time the Black Band men are finished spilling their guts, but he won't be able to do so merely because he's curious."

"It's a good plan and I'm grateful for your help, Adrien." Harry was visibly calming down now, but he still looked just a little bit anxious.

After catching on to the fact Harry was still a little nervous, Fleur decided she'd try an alternate route to calming her friend down. "Remind me again why you even WANT to hide your skills, 'Arry?"

In a surprising reaction to Fleur's question, Harry's partially relaxed demeanor suddenly dropped away so that a meaningful expression could immediately take its place. "Here's the thing, Fleur… At this point, I've relived and scrutinized all of my school aged memories, and in doing so I've noticed something that's just as useful as it is annoying. Almost everyone I've ever met since entering the Magical World, both enemies and allies alike, have underestimated me in the extreme… And yes that sucks, BUT… there is a silver lining, and I have a good example… My first year Defence Against the Dark Arts Proffessor had every intention of murdering me at some point during his infiltration of Hogwarts, but he only really tried once during a Quidditch match because I was far from being his main priority…"

"So your so-called 'mediocrity' protected you then," Fleur mused with a very complicated expression on her face.

"Exactly," Harry agreed with a nod." I don't plan on throwing away the protection that keeping a low profile brings me for any amount of back patting or adulation. Of course, I do plan on being an excellent student from here on out, but I have no intention of revealing the full extent of my abilities…"

"Lessons from a man who's seen it all and done it all," Adrien announced in a terribly impressed tone of voice. "That's the kind of anecdote that could go in a book."

"Yuck. I'll leave the writing of autobiographies to shams like Lockhart, thank you very much," Harry replied with a violent shake of his head. Truly, he found the very idea of a Harry Potter autobiography completely repellent... It was bad enough that the Magical World's bookstores were swamped with Harry Potter fiction aimed towards little children. Such literary gems as Harry Potter and the Nile Nundu or Harry Potter and the Kneazle King were enough to make him want to hide under his bedsheets.

"Now that's a story I'd love to hear, Harry." Adrien did in fact look extremely interested to hear why Harry hated Lockhart so much.

Appoline and Fleur smiled knowingly at each other. They'd picked up the useless fop's story through Harry's chamber of secrets memory.

Married men all over the world hate Gilderoy Lockhart, so Harry wasn't really all that surprised by Adrien's reaction. On the other hand, he was definitely amused, which successfully dispelled the last of his nerves. With a nod to convey that he would tell the story at a later time, Harry turned to regard the Ministry's front doors, and drew in a very deep breath…

The French Ministry of Magic wasn't extremely opulent, but rather it's highly polished marble walls were clean, sterile, unadorned and businesslike. One only had to take a single look at the wide and functional lobby/entrance/Floo bank to see that the government of Magical France was actively avoiding ornamentation. After walking in through the front entrance doors, the first thing that Harry saw was close to a hundred Floo banks ejecting dozens of people with every few moments that passed, and a nearly constant stream of paperwork flying from one hallway to the next.

A few moments after entering the building, the Delacours and Harry were noticed by a guard who appeared to have been waiting for them, at which point they were quickly escorted through a series of side hallways towards their goal. Then, after stopping at a Security checkpoint, they were all asked to deposit their wands, before undergoing a thorough magical scan. In Magical France no one, with no exceptions, takes a wand into a courtroom or council session. Harry could see the sense in that, so when Adrien stowed his wand in a recessed container he didn't hesitate to do the same.

Leaning into Harry's side as they walked further down the hall, Fleur whispered directly into his ear. "Of course this makes you the only one still armed in there, 'Arry... It is unfair..."

Harry wasn't able to completely contain a small shiver of arousal as Fleur's warm breath ghosted past his ear. Thankfully, it was a very subtle reaction, so he didn't think she'd notice.

Then, when he gave his friend a sidelong look, he could immediately tell that yes, yes she had indeed noticed…

It was during moments like these that Fleur's Veela heritage became especially apparent, judging purely by the immensely self-satisfied smile that was currently blooming across her face. She'd successfully teased someone who's resistant to her allure, and now she was completely stoked about it. Of course, if such a thing were ever pointed out to Fleur, she'd probably balk in a fantastically dramatic way and then avoid talking to Harry for several days in a row. It also wasn't in his best interests for her to find out because he enjoyed the casual intimacy. That's the reason why, with no other options available, Harry just smiled and acted completely oblivious.

"Unless it suddenly becomes extremely dangerous in there, I'll have no power to speak of Fleur," Harry replied with a shrug. "You're the one who can render the men into brainless morons if you must."

"Fair enough," Fleur replied, while grinning. "I have yet to try my full power on you, 'Arry. At some point in the near future, I'll do it just to see what happens."

"I am a gentleman and that's all you shall see from me," Harry immediately declared, with his hands on his hips. Then he adopted a wide and mischievous grin as he leaned in to within whispering range. "Well... I might end up being a gentleman with an erection, but I will still be... a gentleman."

Following a gasp of surprise, Fleur's face immediately turned a brilliantly bright red, she broke out into several desperately stifled giggles, then, finally, when she simply couldn't contain it anymore, she snorted…

Throwing her hands up to cover most of her face, it almost looked like Fleur believed she could protect herself from Harry's amusement. She was wrong. When she finally peeked out from underneath her hands, it was to find Harry just standing there, pointing at her face and smiling. Of course, he was pummeled with several dozen dandelion strength punches for his efforts, but it was worth it, every single one…

"Not fair, 'Arry," Fleur moaned with her hands fisted over her chest. "The crude humor is new and out of character, which is why it was far more effective than normal!"

When Fleur started pouting at him, Harry was once again forced to hide his reaction behind his much abused Occlusion barriers.

As Harry and Fleur joked around, they'd reached the doors to the separate atriums that the various witnesses were supposed to wait in. Fleur wouldn't be speaking today, so she'd be sitting in the pews with the rest of the family, but Adrien would be making testimony, and he'd be going first just before Harry.

In the moments before Harry entered his assigned waiting area, everyone moved in to give him a hug, even Fleur, which was really nice because she doesn't normally do public displays of affection. Soon after, Harry was sitting in a small but comfortable room, with a well-padded chair that had Harry reclining back and closing his eyes. Earlier in the day, Harry spent thirty physical world minutes rehearsing his lines in his Mindscape, which amounted to two and a half hours in Mindscape time.

Harry was, in fact, pretty prepared for this, despite the last minute notice.

Finally, after about forty-five minutes spent just sitting around, Harry was joined in the room by a rather polite Security Guard who calmly ushered him towards the courtroom.

The main courtroom that Harry was led into was quite large and intimidating, looking more like a modern muggle courtroom than the medieval looking ones he remembered from back in Magical Britain. The hall also had several hundred people sitting in it at the moment, so Harry would be lying if he said that he wasn't nervous. In the seconds that followed his entrance into the over-large courtroom, he stuffed all of his anxiety behind his Occlumency barriers, and committed himself to appearing both confident and self-assured. He also walked as gracefully as he could as he moved across the room and then occupied his assigned seat with as much dignity as possible.

As the din of hushed conversation and commentary swelled outward from the spectator pews and filled the entire room, Harry cast his eyes around the courtroom, looking for the Delacour ladies. Once he found his friends, he allowed his eyes to linger on them for several seconds in a row, before he turned his attention in the direction of the judge.

"Lord Potter," a large goateed man behind an official looking dais loudly announced. "My name is Gerard Fournier. I am one of the heads of France's DMLE and I was an Auror for many, many years. I am judging today's proceedings. Unlike all of the other people here today, you may not know who I am, so I thought to let you know."

"I appreciate that your honor," Harry replied while nodding respectfully towards the man. He'd actually been briefed who the judge would be ahead of time, but at the moment looking too prepared was to be avoided. If it became clear that he'd received some coaching ahead of time, that actually made him appear more likely to be dishonest.

"We won't be demanding any magical oaths or Veratiserum from you today, Lord Potter, but I would like an oath of honesty on your family's honor." Mr Fournier was looking at Harry as if he'd know the very moment that he lied.

"Then you'll have it," Harry declared in return. "I, Harry James Potter, swear to tell the truth on the Potter family's honor."

"Good. Moving on then... Mr Beauchamp here is the Prosecuting Attorney today and Mr Damus is the Defense Attorney. They will both have questions for you today."

Harry nodded respectfully again while making sure to keep his posture and bearing as prim and proper as possible, without noticeably doing so...

"First off, Mr Beauchamp will be addressing you," Judge Fournier declared, as he shuffled some paperwork atop of his desk.

When Mr Beauchamp approached, he gave Harry an exaggeratedly reassuring smile before he started addressing the rest of the courtroom. "Mr. Potter, I have heard a rather remarkable testimony from France's Aurors, regarding your bravery on June the 16th 1994. Do you think you can give us your version of the events that happened on that day at the Delacour home?"

"Yes sir," Harry answered, as he eased into his rendition of events. "I exited the Delacour family's Floo at approximately one in the afternoon… and then I quickly climbed back up to my feet."

Many small groups of laughter erupted around the room.

Harry grinned just a little bit before continuing undaunted. "I immediately knew something was different from normal. Under normal circumstances my poor Flooing skills are a source of much amusement for one of the ladies of the house, but I was all alone that day (the two facts are unrelated but both true). The house was also very quiet which is out of the ordinary (also unrelated but true). When I sensed someone marching towards the Entry Hall door, I hid. I didn't recognize the fast paced footsteps or like the fact that someone was wearing heavy boots in the house (all true but completely irrelevant)."

"When the person who I hid from closed the door again, I quietly took a look out into the hall, where I found two tall men wearing muggle-style military BDUs," Harry continued while allowing a frown to grow across his face. "The gear that these men were wearing, their demeanor and the way that they were patrolling a post, looked like trouble to me, so I decided that I needed to act… When I'd hidden earlier, I'd Disillusioned myself, so when these mercenaries weren't looking, I stunned them from behind. I levitated them to the Entry Hall, Incarceroused them and removed their wands.

At this point, Harry adopted a very chagrined expression, and he allowed a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "Unfortunately for me, during the day of the attack, I didn't yet know the Floo call for France's Auror Service, so I felt I had little choice but to keep moving by myself. I began moving around the house, maintaining my earlier Disillusionment spell for fear that I'd be seen and subdued.

Over the following three minutes, Harry gave an honest recounting of his actions, while keeping the descriptions vague in the extreme, and finally he arrived at the moment he was moving up towards Adrien's Study.

"So at this point, I never actually needed to duel anyone yet, but I didn't think such was going to be the case in the Study, so I grabbed a mercenary's wand to use as an extra," Harry explained in an offhand manner. "Of course, the wand was of poor compatibility, but it was still better than nothing. I approached Adrien's study and heard raised voices coming from inside. It sounded like someone was making demands of Adrien Delacour. I didn't know who was inside with the Delacours, so I decided to use a Potter family spell when I entered the room (the manual shield was sure as Hell a Potter family spell considering he's the only one who can use it). I kicked open the door while still Disillusioned and started a shield spell designed to be away from my body in a dome shape. I was then forced to use the wand of poor compatibility to duel, and I can tell you right now that it was less than ideal. I did successfully stun one man but I was unsuccessful with the other two. They couldn't see me, but they were spraying many offensive spells towards my side of the room, and I was running around like a headless chicken. I became so frustrated with having to dodge their spellfire that I eventually went a little muggle on one of them."

"Oh how so," laughed Mr Beauchamp.

"I ran over and punched him in the nose," Harry replied while shrugging. "I was muggle raised so I suppose that makes sense."

"That worked?" Mr Beauchamp began laughing but Harry knew that he was just a very good actor. He would have been briefed about all of this ahead of time.

"Well I was still invisible," Harry replied with a shrug. "I've been punched in the nose before, and I can see how it'd be hard to cast a spell afterwards. I was fortunate however, because the man lost consciousness from the punch. At that point, there was only one mercenary left. I turned towards this man just as he began trying to curse his way through my family shield spell and in my concern for the Delacours, I reacted with extreme prejudice. I cast a Blasting Curse with the poor compatibility wand and like these things tend to do it blew up in my hand, causing me some minor burns. I was very fortunate however, because the spell did end up going off (he was fortunate as well as massively powerful). The last mercenary was killed by my blasting curse and the fighting finally came to an end. I released the Delacour family and performed some minor charms to put the room back to rights. I then Incarceroused the two unconscious mercenaries and took them to the Entry Hall. Adrien soon joined me and Floo called the local Aurors."

"That is all of it?" Mr Beauchamp wasn't putting much effort in right now because he knew that Harry was finished.

"That's the end of the incident up until the time of the Auror's arrival," Harry replied.

Mr Beauchamp nodded as he turned towards the audience. "What spells did you see the Mercenaries use Harry?"

"I saw them use several Shield breakers, several Blasting curses, several Cutting curses, several Bone breaker, an Incendio Maxima, a few dark spells that I've never even heard of that were a dark red color and bubbling, and two killing curses," Harry listed off in a grave sounding voice. "These men weren't merely casting stunners at me. The Delacours and I are all very lucky to have pulled through with no injuries."

At this point, Mr. Beauchamp was still smiling at Harry, and he was also gesturing to the audience that they should be smiling at Harry as well. The acting was subtle, but Harry caught it because he grew up in a cupboard within six meters of a television. "That Harry... is some of the most impressive luck and skill I have ever heard of. Whatever your methods, we can't possibly argue with the results. I have no doubt, you saved the Delacour girls' a fate worse than death... No further questions your honor."

"Very good," Judge Fournier agreed with his hands steepled on his dais. "Up next will be Mr. Damus in Defense of Mr. Reginald Harkenen, accused leader of the Black Band."

Judge Fournier looked extremely impatient with this next attorney, so Harry immediately decided to be very, very careful while answering the man's questions.

Mr. Damus walked up to Harry's spot on the stand and without any pleasantries whatsoever asked "Mr. Potter, how old are you?"

"Fifteen sir," replied Harry.

"Do you expect us to believe that these men were truly attacking the house in question and you, a fifteen year old student wizard, subdued them all, all alone?" Mr. Damus was putting on a good show of looking completely incredulous.

Harry canted his head to the side and just stared at Mr. Damus in a way that conveyed very clearly that he thought the man was a simpleton. After several very long moments spent that way, he finally answered the question in a completely casual tone. "Yes… I do..."

The spectators filling the pews erupted into rounds of quiet laughter at both the extremely dumb question and the enormously entertaining answer.

Mr. Damus looked nonplussed at Harry's confident and succinct answer, and it took him several seconds to recapture his calm. "Okay then... Explain to me Mr. Potter how a mere school aged CHILD could take out a group of people that are 'supposedly' trained mercenaries? Tell me how that would be possible if these men were really fighting back? I've been informed that the men in question were just visiting the Delacours and were standing around minding their own business. I've been told that this is a blackmail attempt spearheaded by the Delacours."

It didn't take long for Harry to think of a brief, honest and ambiguous answer to Mr. Damus's questions, but he still waited a few seconds longer before responding because he needed to regain control of his temper... This man, this Mr. Damus, was making him mad, but since that was exactly what he was trying to do, Harry refused to be baited.

"Well," Harry began after drawing in a very deep breath. "Most of my success is due to the fact that I was extremely cautious sir... I used every concealment spell that I've ever learned, all at once, because I knew very well that I'd be in trouble if I actually had to duel several mercenaries. I also used only very discrete spells until I was forced to do otherwise, because I was aiming for stealth the whole entire time. Other than my family shield spell, none of the spells that I cast that day would be especially hard for an accomplished school aged wizard to perform (just doing them at the speed he did, silently and overlapping would be impossible). Once I was in the study however, I had quite a bit of trouble putting down those men... I won, in part, because of the element of surprise, and because desperation was adding power to my spells… The Delacours have always been extremely good to me. I was very, VERY determined to keep them from harm…"

"The main study is the most unbelievable part of the story, Mr Potter," Mr. Damus immediately snapped back with an over-embellished roll of his eyes. "If I am to believe your testimony, you fought three men, stunning two and then murdering the last. Care to explain how any of that is possible at all?"

At this point, Harry was wise to Mr. Damus's game... The man was trying to create enough legal doubt that Veratiserum could no longer be used by making him contradict his own story…

He wasn't going to succeed…

"You're mistaken, Mr Damus," Harry pointed in a very cool and composed tone of voice. "I didn't stun two men, I knocked one out with a punch to the nose. Also, under both Magical France and my native England's laws, I didn't commit murder, because I was acting in self-defense while protecting my friends."

With that much said, Harry turned to look at the Judge's dais and he raised his eyebrows in an incredulous fashion. "Judge Fournier... Would you like me to repeat my entire testimony again so that Mr. Damus can attempt to actually remember it?"

Once again, there was scattered laughter from throughout the spectator pews.

The judge looked annoyed that Damus was even trying this hard, in the face of all the overwhelming evidence compiled against the Black Band. He was eager to question the accused under Veratiserum, and he couldn't even believe the man thought his shallow arguments were going to stop that process. "I completely agree with you, Lord Potter. Mr. Damus, do you have any truly pertinent questions?"

In the seconds that followed Judge Fournier's question, Mr. Damus deflated. He'd quite obviously hoped to trip up a clumsy and nervous teenager. "No your honor. I am done."

Mr Fournier nodded gravely at Mr. Damus, before he turned his attention back towards Harry. "Lord Potter, we thank you for coming today. If you will go back to your atrium room and await us, we will move on to the accused and begin questioning."

Harry nodded respectfully and began walking out of the room. He did take a moment to wink at the Delacour ladies as he turned. Once he was returned to the atrium the guard asked if he'd like a refreshment and Harry was quite happy to have a large glass of ice water.

This has been my most relaxing day at court yet, Harry thought in relief.

Fleur sat back in relief as Harry was led out of the courtroom. He'd done a masterful job of telling his story, but Fleur was still enormously happy that it was finally done and over with. The whole thing had been a tightrope walk after all... Due to his desire to minimize his role, Harry was forced to explain his actions in such a way that humor distracted from the deeds themselves. He'd been aiming to poke fun at himself without making a mockery of himself, and it couldn't have been as easy to pull off as he ended up making it look…

Needless to say, Fleur was very impressed.

The entire time Harry was on the stand, he was both confident and poised, and it looked really, really good on him. In fact, when Harry turned to the judge and asked if the man wanted him to repeat his testimony (insulting that creature Damus's intelligence at exactly the same time) Fleur found herself growing very, very… warm, and squirming in her seat… It was just such a genius tactic and he pulled it off so well that she must have just...

Moving on...

Not for the first time, Fleur decided not to dwell on her body's frequent and dramatic reactions to her close friend Harry Potter. He was very, very special and of course he could do that much to her, but he was her friend, and that was what mattered.

After Harry left the courtroom, Judge Fournier brought out a parade of mercenaries, who were then given Veratiserum. In the horse that followed, they all candidly and calmly spilled their guts about abducting and enslaving hundreds and hundreds of young women and as many Veela as they could possibly get their slimy little hands on. It disgusted Fleur, and she shivered at her fate if not for Harry's intervention.

Finally, it was time for the most concerning men to be questioned... Every other man so far had recounted standing guard around the Delacour home and then all of the sudden being in Auror custody. One man did say that he saw the study door burst open before he lost consciousness, but even then, he hadn't seen anything of note.

Judge Fournier turned to a bailiff and waved his arm. "Bring Mr. Shaftner to the stand please." The guard immediately left the room, returning with the follower mercenary from the attack in the study. Mr. Shaftner struggled every step of the way, but he was heavily restrained and thus was easily hauled to the stand.

"Administer the Veratiserum please," Judge Fournier calmly ordered.

One of the guards held Mr. Shaftner back by his forehead. A second guard pried open his mouth with a wooden contraption while a third guard carefully dropped in three drops of the potion. The guards backed off several paces as the potion took effect and Mr. Shaftner calmed.

Judge Fournier leaned towards the truth potioned man with his arms on his dais. "Are you Mr. Alfred Shaftner?"

"Yes," Alfred replied, in a dazed but clear tone of voice.

"Are you a member of the mercenary group, the Black Band?"

"Yes," Alfred answered.

"Who is the leader of the Black Band?"

"Mr. Reginald Harkenen," Alfred said in a completely calm voice. The fight was drained from him completely now that he was under the effects of the potion.

"What were you doing at the Delacour residence on the 16th of June this year?" At this point, Judge Fournier was leaning back in his chair, completely self-assured with the outcome of this trial.

"We were contracted through the Black Band to pick up the two Veela daughters. They would have been a good source of revenue when they were sold for sexual slavery."

Fleur shivered and was suddenly happy that she didn't have her wand. She didn't feel like going to prison for murder right now.

"Tell us what happened in the Study, and what spells you cast," Judge Fournier demanded, suddenly becoming all business again.

"I was standing guard over the Delacour family like I was ordered to, along with my partner Greg Spelt and our band leader Steven Arnault," Alfred began in a monotone voice. "Everything was quiet and we weren't concerned about anything. That's when the Study door slammed open, and a golden dome exactly like a Protego, only massive, surrounded the entire Delacour family. I turned and saw Greg get stunned by a spell that came from the seemingly empty door. Steven and I started casting offensive spells at the door and what we assumed was an Auror task force. I cast a blasting curse, then a blood boiler, then a gouger, then a peeler, then a bone breaker, then several cutting curses, then two impact curses and a skin melting curse. None of my spells were hitting anything and we were being pushed back by consistent silent stunners that had a lot of strength behind them. Mr. Arnault ordered me to perform a Homenum Revelio spell at the same time as him and I followed orders. We both used Homenum Revelio at exactly the same time and one person's invisibility spell wavered but didn't fail. I began hearing footsteps coming from just within the door so I cast a powerful Incendio Maxima spell in their direction. I heard a person roll out of the way and hit the bookshelves in the corner. Several books landed on him/her and for the first time we had a target to aim for. I sent three cutting curses and a killing curse at the shape and Steven cast at least two dark curses that I can't identify before casting a killing curse of his own. The maiming curses were all stopped cold by a Protego shield the invisible person erected before he/she dropped it and moved out of the way of the killing curses. Almost immediately after, I stopped another silent stunner from clear across the room with a Protego, but I was almost knocked off of my feet in the process. I began to hear rapid running in random directions. I tried to track the footfalls and cast curses at them, but they were too fast, too unpredictable and too hard to follow. I was still waving my wand around trying to track the sounds when I suddenly lost consciousness. Judging by my wounds when I woke up I was laid out by a punch to the nose."

At this point, both the spectators and Judge Fournier were completely captivated. They were listening to a very different story from the one Harry had told and yet the details matched each other perfectly. Everyone in the courtroom just sat there listening to the story, completely enthralled with this invisible hero saving the day while performing amazing feats of magic. Fleur didn't know whether to laugh or shake her head in defeat. Harry Potter just cannot do low profile. Goddesses help him. He tries so hard, but he is special and it is impossible.

Next, they brought out a Mr. Kenneth Hoyles who was one of the two mercenaries who attacked them at the Quidditch Cup. He was led in, quickly introduced and then given Veratiserum. The questioning began and went into great detail. After nearly thirty minutes of Mr Hoyles describing various disgusting and monstrous acts, they eventually arrived at questions regarding his ill-fated attempt to abduct Gabrielle and Fleur.

"What were you supposed to be doing at the Quidditch World Cup the day that you were arrested?" Judge Fournier looked far more interested now than he had been earlier in the afternoon. His interest was presumably because this man had also seen Harry perform magic, and he was curious.

Kenneth Hoyles answered the question without any inflection in his voice at all. "Me and my partner Henry Ableman were tasked with abducting the youngest Delacour Veela. We were then tasked to try doing the same with the eldest at wandpoint."

Judge Fournier leaned in on top of his dais, looking like he was watching an extremely well made film. "What happened next, Mr. Hoyles?"

"My partner Henry yanked the youngest Delacour away from a young man with black hair, and then ran off into the crowd. The black haired boy and the eldest Veela girl turned to pursue. My job was to hold them at wandpoint as soon as the youngest was grabbed. I was told to take them to a quieter location and dispose of the boy. I threatened them at wand point. I said I wouldn't move if I were them. I told them I didn't want to scar up the pretty birdy but couldn't care less about ending a young wizard. That's when the young man moved way too fast for me to react even though I already had my wand drawn on him. All of the sudden, without even having time to see a wand in his hand, I was banished through the air, flying across the field and then unconscious."

Fleur looked at Appoline who looked back at her and they shared a silent moment. Harry Potter would eventually be very, very famous in France and there was nothing he could do about it.

Next, Mr. Henry Ableman was brought to the stand, Veratiserum was poured between the many gaps in his teeth, and he was questioned about his long life of crime. Finally, the circumstances of his arrest came up.

Judge Fournier was completely enthralled now and was grinning as he asked this next question. "What happened during the day of the Quidditch World Cup when you were arrested?"

Mr. Ableman had been relaxing in his chair, looking at the ceiling as he answered all of the questions, but for the first time since he sat down, he looked at the judge when next he spoke. "It was supposed to be an abduction of the two Delacour Veela. I would start by grabbing the youngest and running into the crowd. My partner Kenneth was to bring in the oldest at wandpoint, killing anyone extra. I grabbed the youngest Veela and made it to around thirty or forty feet away through the crowd. I was confident that I was safe because my partner would've distracted the other two from pursuing me. All of the sudden, I ran into an invisible wall at full speed and fell onto my side. The youngest Veela started scrambling and kicking at me, but I managed to rise back to my feet and look for my attacker. I caught sight of the black haired boy that I'd grabbed the Veela girl from running in my direction. He'd somehow tracked me down and was closing in on me in an amazingly fast sprint. I pointed my wand at him and cast an implosion curse. I didn't see a wand on him at all, but I think he must've had one in his clothing. He erected a Protego shield that deflected my curse into the sky. It barely even slowed him down. He was approaching really fast now. I was angry. I was scared. I decided that it was best to just end the boy. I began casting the killing curse. Instead of veering away, the boy almost doubled his running speed towards me and was suddenly inside of my extended wand arm. He punched me in the jaw, shattering it and knocking out my teeth. I was helpless at that point, because I was barely conscious and unable to speak. I was Incarceroused by the eldest Delacour Veela over a dozen times, until I could hardly breath. She also kicked me in the balls three times... hard. The Aurors picked up my partner and I at that point, and I've been in their custody ever since. The Healers didn't bother fixing my teeth, and they aren't certain if they'll ever be able to fix my genitals."

While listening to the different stories, the spectators in the pews started to completely forget how Harry had described his own actions. They were putting together the pieces now and the picture was not that of a lucky young hero. The new picture was that of an honest to Gods hero, who was strong. The crowd was mesmerized by the story once again until Henry described getting kicked in the balls. At that point the spectators broke down into fits of helpless giggles and Fleur blushed a brilliantly bright red...

Appoline just put her hand on her forearm and smiled proudly at her.

Harry was beginning to get really and truly bored in the side atrium by the time he was asked to enter the courtroom again, but that emotion soon disappeared…

The guard who he'd been exchanging completely normal interactions with all afternoon was looking at him funny now, which was setting off alarm bells in his mind.

Harry's reception in the courtroom might be a little bit unnerving, judging by the Security Guard's rather obvious change in demeanor. The man was looking at him as if he was Merlin reborn or something, and to be honest it was pretty damn unsettling.

After firming up his Occlumency controls, Harry calmly walked out into the courtroom again, where he stood to the right of Adrien. Then, when he turned his head to the side just a little, he found nearly a hundred pairs of eyes staring at the back of his head.

Well... shucks.

Since there was nothing he could do about the new attention he was receiving, Harry just turned his attention back to Judge Fournier. He also altered his posture so that he was standing with as much dignity as physically possible.

Judge Fournier was all business when he turned to address the entire courtroom. "This afternoon, we interrogated the Black Band members who were arrested at the Delacour's, as well as the members that were arrested during and after the Quidditch World Cup. After ingesting Veratiserum, they all truthfully confessed to committing crimes that are many, varied and monstrous beyond measure. I, Gerard Fournier, in my capacity as the Judge presiding over this case, have come to a verdict. I find every member of the Black Band guilty of human trafficking, slavery, abduction and murder. Not one of them will ever see freedom ever again. Mr. Reginald Harkenan will be the first wizard in over a decade that this country will sentence to summary execution. He is far too dangerous to ever join a general prison population. Court is adjourned."

Turning towards Harry, Adrien gestured with his head for the boy to follow him. "If you truly don't want to talk to the media, I suggest we get you out of here. Judging by the looks that you're receiving right now, I think that at least one of the felons witnessed you performing some powerful magic."

A court guard approached and stood before Adrien and Harry. "As was promised to you, we have provided a secure Floo system to allow Lord Potter a discrete exit from the building." Along with his words, the man showed Harry a glass case containing his wand. "If you will follow me, I will return this to you before you leave."

"Very good. Thank you, Cameron." Adrien turned towards Harry and patted him fondly on the shoulder. "We made a real difference today, Harry, and I'm proud of you... I will let you go alone back to Hogwarts, because I want to catch up with Appoline, Fleur and Gabrielle as soon as possible… Veela hate crowds for obvious reasons."

"I understand sir," replied Harry. "I'll see you all tomorrow afternoon."

Adrien clapped Harry on the shoulders again and then walked off to join his family.

The guard motioned for Harry to follow him. Harry soon had his wand back and was joining the judge Mr. Fournier behind the podium in a well-appointed office. Mr. Fournier had apparently been waiting for him…

Mr. Fournier turned towards Harry, from where he was waiting in front of the fire. "I was supposed to be gone by now, to allow you to use the Floo free of harassment, but I wanted to say just two things."

"Go ahead, Mr. Fournier." Harry didn't quite know where this was going, but he wasn't getting any hostile signals from the man so he wasn't anxious about his attention.

"I wanted to tell you that what you did today was clever, but it most likely won't work," Mr. Fournier began in a very candid tone of voice. "The smarter people here today know that you're an impossibly strong wizard, because of the different mercenary's testimony. There was no single instance of them saying you did anything impossible, but there are too many inconceivable things strung together. I promise I'll not say anything on the matter, but there are many people here today who know. We have put out a gag order to try to stop the media from running stories about you and to stick to the facts. We probably won't succeed… Unlike Magical Britain and it's government owned propaganda paper, there are eleven different newspapers here in magical France, so it's a nearly impossible task to control what is said. I also wanted to thank you for saving those girls and more importantly coming here today when you value your privacy."

Harry immediately saw that arguing about how normal he is would be a complete waste of time. Mr. Fournier was extremely sharp. Instead, he just sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders before responding. "I'd have come today either way, but it was also out of my hands. I was asked to come here today while in the presence of one of the girls the Black Band tried to abduct. She goes by the name of Gabrielle Delacour... Have you ever met that little girl by chance?"

Harry was grinning by the time he finished speaking.

Mr. Fournier was quiet for a time, but then he very abruptly started chuckling and shaking his head. "Adrien you sly dog... That's emotional blackmail… She's far too cute to say no to, yes, yes, I understand. Well, I'll let you go first then, because it's been a very long day."

"Thank you sir, and you have a good day as well." With that said, Harry entered the Floo and was almost immediately slamming into the floor of Dumbledore's office.

Damn…

Several Weeks Later…

Summer was coming to an end and coincidentally so was Harry's rapid growth... finally. He was FINALLY not in constant levels of varying pain.

He was also tall.

Harry was taller than Fleur by almost three inches now, had preternaturally acute eyesight, and the kind of body that rich people pay a lot of money for. His forehead scar was just another silvery faded mark now, even though in the end it took the longest to fully heal. It was also no longer necessary for Harry to eat like food was going to cease to exist tomorrow, although his metabolism was still extraordinarily fast.

And that wasn't all…

Just recently, Harry started handily beating Lupin in almost all of their duels. He was capable of starting low level spells silently, wandlessly, and from well outside of his body using his aura shroud, so he only ever lost when he blew it big time or was extremely surprised...

While it was kind of redundant considering Harry's own rather secretive nature, both Lupin and Dumbledore had basically ordered him to keep all of his newfound abilities a closely kept secret.

But there was one family of people that Harry didn't have any secrets with, and just the thought of seeing them again brought a big fat smile to his face. Then he sobered somewhat as he called out the Floo call of the Delacour manse, because technically speaking, he didn't have an excuse to go over there anymore…

Harry Potter was in control of his magic.

A little less than a week earlier, Harry finally confronted his magical core in order to hammer out what he needed from it, and what he needed it to stop. He essentially had to convince himself (or at least his subconscious mind) that he wouldn't die if he took a few moments off from pumping out the magical horsepower, and it was just as weird and cerebral an experience as it sounds…

Well… There was a lot of weird and cerebral in Harry's life nowadays, because his ability to house all of his magic inside of his body came with a few unexpected benefits and drawbacks.

The benefits to perfect control are increased... well... everything. Harry with full power contained inside of his body is a machine. He can run faster, heal faster, see, smell and hear farther. He's optimized like no human has any right to be when his body is saturated with his magic.

The drawbacks are that Harry starts to feel a little... lonely, disconnected is probably the better word for it. When Harry releases his magic and is in the room with a complete stranger, Gods only know what his magic will start picking up. It might come back to him half an hour later and inform him about the person's sexual preference based on three or four disparate facts that seem completely trivial, but his magic knows. It's like being connected to the world with twenty senses instead of just five.

On the bright side, now that Harry's magic was cooperating with his directions, he was beginning to cast it out his body in tendrils instead of waves. Doing so, he could get just as much information as he used to, just not in every direction and without getting blasted by Fleur's allure all the time.

Truth be told, Harry frequently allowed his magic out around Fleur on purpose nowadays. He enjoyed the feeling of being connected with other people (especially Fleur) and he couldn't help but feel that Fleur enjoyed it as well.

None of which changed the fact, Harry had no real business visiting the Delacours anymore, and a kernel of persistent anxiety was bothering him despite the fact he knew better…

But then all of the sudden, Harry was far too busy to be anxious for no apparent reason.

With a loud, dramatic fwoooshing noise, Harry rolled extremely quickly out of the Floo as if he'd just bailed out from a car, and then came to a very sudden stop using his back against a chair.

Ouch..

Once again, for the Gods only know what time, Harry was caught looking foolish trying to operate the dumbest form of travel in the world… As his ragdoll-esque roll came to an immediate stop against the room's only love-seat, childlike, musical laughter echoed around the room, coming from the direction of the couch.

Despite his embarrassment, Harry couldn't help but smile. He could hear the joy in Fleur's laugh and Gods help him, it made him feel good.

Nevertheless, he was going to make her pay...

"Fleur Delacour Floo Judge, ladies and gentlemen," Harry declared, in a game show announcer's voice, giving the blonde a very thorough look of long suffering from where he lay there propped up against the love-seat. "You know what? Let's do an exercise, Fleur. Is there anything on this Earth that you don't do with the utmost poise, grace and dignity?"

Fleur looked thoughtful for several seconds in a row before she finally broke out in a sly little smile. "I am completely incapable of eating English food without looking like I'm being poisoned. My father tells me off about my bad manners all the time."

Harry slapped his face and groaned loudly. "Only you can hedge a completely honest answer inside of an insult to my nationality, Fleur. I bow down to your supreme wit and cleverness."

Fleur did in fact look entirely too pleased with herself.

"I have this new and intense desire to buy a Pensieve to show your family this rather enthusiastic snort you did this one time." As he spoke, Harry propped his head atop his right arm as if he were a model in a pin up calendar.

"That would be a costly bit of revenge indeed. Pensieves cost just shy of ten thousand galleons each," Fleur drawled out in a very aloof sounding voice, but then her face canted to the side and she pierced Harry with her eyes. "I think I might take it personally were you to go that far anyway. It's probably for the best that you don't."

While rising to his feet, Harry shook his head at Fleur's not so subtle threat. Then, all of the sudden, his expression brightened as he had a eureka moment. "Aha I've got it! You do completely suck at something, and I know exactly what it is!"

"And pray tell, 'Arry. What is this ohhhh so special skill?" Fleur looked amused, as if she was clearly going to be awesome at it.

"I have never, not once, in the entire time I've known you, ever heard you tell someone a compliment that wasn't also an insult. I know this extremely well. I'm an amazing guy and yet even I'm batting a zero with your approval rating thus far." Harry dusted off his right shoulder in the age old I'm clearly awesome maneuver. "It's okay Fleur... Flattery isn't for everybody..." By this point, Harry's arms were crossed and he was giving his friend an over-embellished look of condescension."

Fleur gave Harry a very long stare as if her brain was trying to figure out if what he'd just said was actually true. Finally, she huffed and crossed her arms in frustration. "If I absolutely must, I will now lavish you with praise... you big baby."

Immediately, Harry began grinning like a lunatic. This was going to be good (he put aside the fact that the big baby comment would negate any compliment she gave afterwards. It wasn't worth pointing out).

All of the sudden, Fleur leaned in towards Harry in order to gaze adoringly up at him and she also began seriously pummeling him with her allure. "Oh, 'Arry, you are such a big man now you stud! I just looove those new arms of yours they look so stwooong (good lord, she was laying on the bimbo act strong right now, the sarcastic bitch. Harry was oddly aroused). I miss feeling your aura wash allll over me, 'Arry! Won't you release it all over me pweeease?!"

By the time Fleur was three quarters the way through her spiel, Harry was completely losing it, and he was about to collapse with laughter by the time he finally made it to the couch. He was being reduced to hysterical tears by the extremely out of character playacting that his overly dignified female friend had just accomplished. "Oh, oh my Gods, Fleur... That was ingenious," he gasped out, as he finally collected himself. "I stick by my opinion that you suck at compliments, but you're still clearly a genius."

Then without saying another word, Harry suddenly released his aura shroud, causing Fleur to gasp.

"Arry, a little warning please," Fleur choked out, for what felt like the dozenth time in just the last week. Harry was always surprising her with his aura these days, because he could choose to keep it to himself, but he often chose to envelop her in it anyway… Of course, she enjoyed the way Harry's shroud felt because he always kept his aura comforting for her, but being embraced in a thick, warm blanket made of her best friend's spiritual essence had a tendency to make her body react in several increasingly dramatic ways, and there wasn't much that she could do about it…

Yes... It was really just that bad… At this point, Fleur could only pray to the Gods that Harry's essentially omniscient magical senses hadn't picked up her arousal yet...

Ugh...

Fleur resolved herself to the fact that Harry Potter was either completely ignorant of sexual matters or he was kind beyond measure... It was impossible to guess which outcome it really was, because in the end, Harry was both…

"Why would I warn you? You begged me to release my aura all over you just now." Harry had appropriated Fleur's extremely self-satisfied smile by now, and it wasn't going away anytime soon. "Or were you referring to... something else?"

"Crude humor isn't beneath you, 'Arry," Fleur pointed out, with a smirk.

"Apparently not, but I blame you. I was a shy, timid, extremely naive young man at the beginning of the summer." Harry lounged on the couch, sliding right back into the satiny pillows with a groan. Today was his day off… Tomorrow he'd Floo to London only to be Hogwarts expressed back to Hogwarts.

"Yes," mused Fleur wistfully. "I miss him. Nice boy, cool glasses."

"I don't miss the glasses or being shy," Harry replied as he slowly looked Fleur over. "Say Fleur... I haven't seen you judging my Floo entries lately. What brings you in here today?"

"A rather persistent and ignorant suitor showed up yet again this afternoon," Fleur sighed out with a shake of her head. "As we speak, his father is accosting my father to make arrangements for me to become his second wife. He and his extremely influential father are truly relentless, and I'm having trouble not hexing them into infertility. My father has noticed my dilemma and has taken mercy on me. Thus, I have been told to make myself invisible for a while. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, by judging your atrocious Flooing skills while spending time with a student aged man I don't actually hate."

"Wow, Fleur... You see, now that was a masterfully done compliment insult just now. I will however, take it at face value and say well gee thanks, I don't hate you either." Even as he said all that, Harry was grinning up at the ceiling because he wasn't terribly concerned about Fleur's barbed statements anymore. She tries. Gods help her, she tries... No one on Earth is as bad at expressing themselves as Fleur Delacour. well, with words anyway... Her body expresses itself just fine, but in the end she's a Veela and he was throwing around a lot of extremely powerful magic.

A small, soft hand pushed on Harry's stubbled chin (definitely a new development) in mock protest, before Fleur finally decided ah to hell with it, and leaned her back firmly against his side. Fleur wasn't going to see her Harry for a little under a month, and she was really, really going to miss him. She knew that he'd long ago figured out how she really felt, but in the end they never spoke of such things. Even though Fleur knew for a fact that Harry cared about her, she still had trouble shaking off her many insecurities, and Harry didn't push.

No. He never, ever pushed… He didn't have to…

Harry Potter was so damned sensitive to her feelings, Fleur found it completely ridiculous. Even when she was being an enormous pain in the ass, he usually bypassed the getting upset at her step, in favor of addressing whatever her real issue actually was. With that talent in mind, he long ago recognized that her insecurities weren't going to disappear overnight, and he'd accepted her silence for what it really was. He'd welcomed her to become as close to him as she dared, and yet he didn't resist when she pulled away. He'd made her comfort his primary concern, and because of his aura shroud that fact was extraordinarily obvious.

Hell... Just sitting near the man these days was like taking a warm, massaging, spa bath, inside of waves of empathic acceptance and caring, and Fleur basked in it! Gods and Goddesses, it was like... it was indescribable!

Harry Potter was her friend, he was her family, he cared about her, and as such, he was far too precious to lose...

Suddenly, as if the intensity of Fleur's thoughts had drawn his attention, Harry wrapped an arm around Fleur's ribs, to pull her into a warm affectionate hug. In response, Fleur tried and failed to stop the wide and wobbly smile that formed unbidden upon her face. She wouldn't admit it but she LOVED IT when Harry hugged her. Casual intimacy with a Veela was like a miracle.

Gods, Harry was so damned special.

Of course, Harry didn't hug her anywhere near often enough for her satisfaction, because he still didn't know just how much she loved it. For that reason, it was obvious to Fleur that Harry was currently seeking comfort from her, thus he must be dreading his return to school.

"'Arry... You're going to be fine," Fleur encouraged after laying her head atop where his chest meets his abdominals, so that she could look up into his emerald green eyes. "Just don't freak out or make any big plays when you see your friends. Roll with the punches and stay close to the people you trust. All the big, strong and brilliant, new 'Arry stuff, will blow over soon enough. Don't let the fools make you feel bad for the good things that happen to you."

Along with her words, Fleur pressed her cheek against Harry's chest to let him know that she cared.

"Thanks Fleur. I appreciate that," Harry replied, in a very relaxed and carefree manner. He also flooded his aura with warmth, because Fleur's words had meant a great deal to him. Her advice really had managed to put him at ease for now and that compliment at the end had been spot on for the very first time.

Despite the fact that he did feel quite a bit better and more relaxed, Harry didn't bother removing his arm from around Fleur's waist. He was all about enjoying the little things today and this felt really, really good. For that reason, Harry let his arm wrap even further around Fleur's body so that his hand could splay out over her almost non existent little belly. "You know Fleur... I'm not quite sure why I'm even nervous... It's not like I'm returning to school with a third arm or devil horns or anything, I'm just taller. Also, I already have an idea how to improve my friendship situation this year."

Fleur smiled even as she arched an eyebrow up at Harry. He'd never mentioned a plan of any variety until now and she was curious.

Harry noticed that he'd caught Fleur's interest, so he decided to wait a few more moments before he answered. In response, Fleur dug a nail into the flesh of his arm and Harry grinned. "Okay, okay, here's the plan. Simple really. There's always been a guy in my dormitory that I've kept at a distance for my own selfish reasons. I know I can trust him because of his almost impeccable character, but there's always been a problem. I'm a magnet for danger and he's always been extremely timid. That's why I've been thinking... I'm way more capable than I was before, so maybe I shouldn't be looking for a wing-man but rather a dependable friend instead."

In the suddenness of her relief, Fleur rubbed her cheek against Harry's chest and curled her arms around his forearm. It did in fact appear that Harry had it all figured out, and that thought bought her peace of mind. "What's this boy's name?"

"His name's Neville," Harry replied, while preventing a rush of goosebumps from forming on his arm using his Mind Occlusions. "When you get to Hogwarts this year, I'll introduce you to both him and Hermione. You'll like both of them. Hermione only ever gets jealous in regards to scholastic achievements. Your rather impressive good looks won't even faze her. Neville might lose his ability to speak when you're around, but that's only because he's shy. He'd never do anything inappropriate because he's an honest to Gods gentleman. The thought would quite literally never even cross his mind."

Fleur smiled both at Harry growing up and the thought of being introduced to his friends. Then she realized that she needed to give her friend some advanced warning about her own school life. "Arry... I don't know any of the men at my school very well so I'm no help there, and I straight up refuse to introduce you to any of the Beauxbatons women."

At first Harry laughed at Fleur's declaration, but then he realized that she was being completely serious, and he arched his eyebrows in surprise. "Why's that Fleur?" At some point, Harry had begun softly rubbing at both Fleur's ribs and belly. He hadn't even caught himself doing it until just that moment, but since Fleur appeared to be enjoying it, he had no intention of stopping.

Fleur wiggled back a little harder against Harry's body, because he was currently doing something completely wonderful to her stomach and ribs, and she didn't want him to stop. Taking her time because she was in no hurry to do anything at all, Fleur sighed happily and then finally answered his question. "Running the risk of insulting you, 'Arry, I will still tell you this anyway. The chances are pretty good that the women of my school will hit on you just to make me angry. What I just said is not meant to imply that you are not a worthy man, but rather that is how much they would love to find a weakness in me. I have a very strong, cool, and composed image at my school."

Fleur huffed and leaned further over Harry, to rest her head on his abs with her cheek pressing against his sternum. "Furthermore, 'Arry, you are my friend. I am not sharing you with the rest of those catty bitches." When Harry laughed again, Fleur felt his diaphragm rise and fall in a very comforting way. Her hands tightened around his arm in response.

"I take no offense, Fleur. I think all you really needed to say is that they're all catty bitches and I'd have been sold. There's only one of those I have any interest in." Harry allowed the hard arm pinch Fleur suddenly gave him without any retaliation, because he still had no desire to release the blonde. "Is there anything you're nervous about going back to school?"

Fleur sighed heavily and snuggled a bit more into Harry's hug (he really enjoyed that). "I know it's all of my own doing but I spend all my time posturing like I mentioned before. I'm in my seventh and final year and would like to set aside time for some fun. I've typecasted myself pretty thoroughly however, so I doubt I'll be able to."

Harry tickled Fleur's ribs with his wrapped up arm, to both get her attention and because her squirming against him was heaven. "Pray tell, Fleur. Where are you going to be spending the lion's share of your school year?"

"Hogwarts, yes I know and oh... Oh you!" Fleur leaned forward just a little until they were cheek to cheek and her silky smooth hair began tickling Harry's nose. "You do plan on entertaining me this year don't you, 'Arry?"

Harry smiled and tightened his hug just a bit. "Well I'm no court jester but I can definitely be a friendly face. I've successfully cut through your whole calm, cool exterior, into your warm, gooey interior. I know you and your motives, so I can probably swoop in and grab you without ruining your image."

"I'll thank you never to mention my warm gooey interior in mixed company, thank you very much." Fleur looked very dignified saying that, up until the point they both started laughing.

"This is going to be a good year Fleur. I just know it." Harry was feeling kind of dozy now, because the two of them were melting pretty thoroughly into the couch. "Truth be told, I'm more concerned about making up a reason to come here next summer. I'm not above begging I suppose, but a legitimate excuse would be best, because Adrien's… careful."

"You are Gabrielle's allure outlet, 'Arry. You keep her safe and healthy by your very presence," Fleur assured with a wide amused smile. "You will be welcome here until Gabrielle's both old enough and strong enough to actually seduce you, at which point you'll be banished from here for life."

Fleur started giggling into Harry's chest at that. The joke felt more like a prediction than anything else.

"Hardy har, har," Harry drawled out, even though it really was pretty amusing and you could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm extremely strong against most allure. Your mother's allure was easy to deflect even at full strength, and yet yours is hard to resist even at a quarter the power. I think it must be a matter of personal preference, if there is such a thing with an allure."

Fleur arched her eyebrows at that. "My mother used her full strength on you, truly?"

"Yep... You could cut the stuff with a knife. When she released all of her allure, it was so thick it literally pushed my own magic away from my body." Harry shrugged even as he slowly ran his free hand through Fleur's infinitely soft hair. "It's not a matter of strength because your mother is in fact extremely strong. Her allure just doesn't feel anywhere near as... alluring to me..."

"You find my allure that much harder to resist?" Fleur was a complex mixture of both pleasure and confusion at the moment.

"I'm surprised that you're surprised Fleur," Harry offered as he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "Appoline's a happily married woman and is maternal to me. I figured it's a case of not being able to suspend my disbelief. I saw the traffic between your parents in their bond that first day, and they capital L love each other. Not even for a second did I believe that she was really trying to seduce me. I just kept that thought in mind and she was only able to make me blush."

"You believe that I'm trying to seduce you, 'Arry?" Fleur purred the question in her fake seduction voice (it was still damned effective).

Looking back down at Fleur from the ceiling, Harry considered how best to answer her question. He could crack a joke to make light of it of course, but it shouldn't hurt to be completely honest this time instead. "I know that you're not trying to seduce me up here (Harry softly tapped Fleur's head as he combed his fingers through her hair), but I do think that your body is doing it's best (he wrapped her ribs up just a little tighter before running his hand down to her stomach again). There appears to be some kind of genetic imperative that you Veela have towards strong wizards., and you can say whatever else you want about me Fleur, but I've become strong. Your allure tries to seduce me and it feels very, very different from your mother's. It goes completely haywire every time my magic is around and then I'm stuck using my Occlumency to retain my modesty."

Harry was using a boat load of Occlusions even as they lay there, so he knew exactly what he was talking about.

Fleur laughed even as she nodded her forehead into Harry's chest. "You really do have it all figured out, 'Arry. You don't think our relative ages have something to do with it?"

"Oh most definitely and the fact that we're friends. When we first met, you were releasing your allure in strong but brief bursts and visibly hating me for it the whole entire time. I was petrified of you instead of aroused. You stared at me for four hours straight and I sweat so much I was dehydrated when I left."

Harry grinned at the memory because in retrospect that had been a really good day.

Fleur smiled ruefully and rubbed Harry's arm in a form of nonverbal apology. "Oh stop it, 'Arry, I'm getting nostalgic. You know... There's never been a man so capable of comparing allure as you. Everything you are saying is new. To most Veela, strength is the only factor. You're describing compatibility and preference when those things are usually irrelevant. I'm touched that you prefer me over the married one and the seven year old though."

Both Harry and Fleur laughed at that.

"Your body kept driving you up the wall to come and talk to me when I was leaking magic all over the place." Harry looked briefly apologetic but Fleur shook her head hard into his chest and he smiled. "In another world, we'd have never been friends because it wasn't easy to get past all of the barriers in the way. We would've met, you may even have recognized that I'm a decent person and vice versa. It wouldn't have amounted to anything though. I think we got lucky."

The two teenagers sat in silence for several moments, grateful for how things had played out.

Abruptly, Fleur turned around atop Harry's chest to give him a very officious look. "Arry... Today is the very last day of summer and I'm feeling lazy. I am not asking you, I am telling you. We are having a nap together, right here, right this very instant."

"Try as hard as you can, Fleur, I'll still think it's cute that you want to cuddle..." Harry grinned because cutting through Fleur's veneer of bossy, feminism was always a rewarding pastime.

"You couldn't be obedient just this one time," Fleur deadpanned.

"You know that I'm always down to snuggle with you Fleur, I just don't want to become your submissive. I rather like this new, more confident version of myself." Harry grinned while he kicked off his shoes, turned on the couch and threw his legs up behind Fleur. He also preemptively bolstered all of the Occlumency controls on his body to extremely high levels. Fleur was about to pile on the affection and she still had no damned clue how truly devastating it was to his calm.

As Harry settled into the cushions of the couch, Fleur rolled over him until she was on top of and to the right of him. She wiggled in closer until she was laying flush to his body and then she slid her free leg up and over his own until it was wrapped tightly around his waist. It was an extremely intimate position and yet they'd encountered it purely by accident while waking up from a nap a few weeks earlier. Far from feeling awkward about it, upon waking up like this they'd both instantly and non-verbally agreed that it was the absolute pinnacle of the snuggling arts, and was therefore completely vital to the both of them.

In return, Harry snaked his arms around Fleur's waist again, pulling the girl even tighter into his chest and ribs. Fleur's head was below his chin, near his heart and thankfully below his mouth. Harry loved Fleur's hair but he had no desire to end up breathing it (it had happened one time and had been extremely alarming). As Fleur settled into his body, she squirmed, wiggled, rubbed, stretched and performed other various wonderful/terrible things to his body, and he was forced to clamp down even more on his Occlumency control, because she was perilously close to making him... react. Case and point, Fleur wiggled even closer than normal as she snaked an arm around his upper chest/shoulder area, and Harry returned fire by rubbing her lower back in slow comforting circles.

And just like that, a new and glorious state of perfect comfy was successfully achieved. Both Harry and Fleur completely melted into it, with twin sighs of relief.

Gods help him, Harry was completely in love with this woman, and yet at the moment there was nothing to be done about it. Their current position felt like heaven on earth and yet he was forced to contain the lion's share of how he felt deep inside himself. He had no choice in the matter...

His true feelings would scare the living Hell out of Fleur.

As things stood, Harry's aura shroud already contained feelings of truly profound caring and comfort, because Fleur melts right into them as if they answer her every prayer (her body also reacts in extremely provocative ways, but since Fleur is steadfastly ignoring/in denial of that fact, he'd decided to ignore it as well). His emotional projections were now conveying emotions that Fleur had to know weren't appropriate for mere friendship, but they very carefully never talked about that at all.

And that much was fine.

Harry knew that he needed to take his time with this. Fleur was clearly nowhere near ready, and if anyone on earth was worth the wait, then it was her. With that much in mind, Harry decided to go for a gold star. He wandlessly Accio summoned a sheet from across the room and covered them both up in it.

"I saw what you just did there and it was very smooth, 'Arry. You're going to be a lady-killer at some point." Fleur whispered sleepily directly into Harry's chest. She lazily gathered up the edges of the sheet and further cocooned herself up into him.

"I highly doubt that Fleur, but if a beautiful French Veela says so, I just might be okay." Harry's voice was equally quiet, as he was quickly falling off.

"All Veela are beautiful, 'Arry. You said an extra word." Fleur's words were mostly just breaths against Harry's chest.

"No... No, Fleur... You're beautiful... Being a Veela has nothing... to do with... it..." And then Harry was asleep with just the faintest of grins on his face proclaiming his victory.

Fleur could hear the man's deep breathing and she knew in that moment that her Harry had snuck in the last word. She smiled and for perhaps the first time in her whole entire life, just let it go, as she fell asleep to the steady thump of his heartbeat.

...

...

It was Appoline who saw the two of them napping first. She smiled happily, took a mental snapshot for a Pensieve memory and then performed a notice-me-not charm on them. It was necessary to save Harry's life from Adrien after all...

Harry was about to leave the Delacours for the last time this summer, and he wouldn't be back for several months. He stood near the Floo and made his goodbyes to the family. Gabrielle was in tears and they were the cutest tears he'd ever seen. Harry knelt low and pulled the girl into a tight embrace (he hugged the stuffing out of her). "I'll miss you too, Gabby, but I'll be seeing you again. I'm already working on your Christmas gift, okay?"

Gabby brightened, hugging Harry even tighter before bouncing off all energy and enthusiasm.

Turning towards Appoline, Harry smiled with just a hint of sadness in the mix. "It wouldn't have been hard to do, but this was my best summer ever. It was basically perfect and I'm saying that even though my body was hurting me the majority of the time. I have you to thank for that Appoline. I'm returning this to you and if you can figure it out then feel free to market it. Make sure I'm an investor though." Harry laughed as he handed over the translation bracelet."

Appoline looked confused. "Don't you need it to talk to Fleur this year?"

Harry shook his head, grinned and tapped at his temple. "The bracelet hasn't taught me anything in over four weeks. I'm officially fluent in French now. I was only wearing it for sentimental reasons, because you gave it to me."

Appoline briefly looked surprised but then she canted her head in thought. "Arry tell me the truth. How much smarter have you become since the beginning of the summer? The bracelet is ingenious but that's too fast, no?"

Harry smiled and nodded because yes that's extremely fast even with the bracelet's help. "My brain has become very sharp, Appoline. I don't need to repeat things in my mind more than two or three times maximum to completely memorize them. On the other hand, if I pick up something with my magic, it's in there for good because my magic doesn't play around. I could write an essay on the smell of your allure and you only hit me with it the one time."

"So your brain is merely genius level intelligent while your magic is eidetic?" Appoline smiled brightly as she leaned into Harry's ear. She began whispering to him very, very lowly. "'Arry make it work with my daughter won't you? A Veela and an extremely powerful wizard getting to know each other and becoming close for all of the right reasons is just too rare and amazing... I've never seen the likes of it. She cares about you deeply, 'Arry, so please treasure each other."

Appoline started hugging Harry then and she had a tear going down her face as well. "I'll miss you, 'Arry, you have become family. Please write me as you can this year, okay?" Appoline stepped back only after Adrien stepped forward to say his goodbyes.

Adrien scrutinized Harry once again, exactly like he had at the beginning of the summer. Harry smiled his most winningest smile, and after a time Adrien started laughing. "I had the pleasure of watching you transform from awkward adolescent to confident, mature wizard, in a little over two months' time. It was as enjoyable as it was surreal. It goes without saying that there's nothing ordinary about you Harry, and I expect big things. You're spending the year with my daughter at Hogwarts. For literally the first time ever, I want a man to give my daughter some of his attention. She'll need your support this year..."

Harry smiled as he glanced at Fleur standing off to the side. "I imagine you're referring to this very poorly kept secret, the Triwizard Tournament? I'm in Fleur's corner in that regard. When she's chosen," Harry gave Fleur a piercing look daring her to say otherwise, "I will help her in any way I can. Fleur is family, and I will keep her safe."

Although Adrien hid it well there was a trace of relief in his features as he nodded to Harry's words. "Good. Then I imagine I'll see you at some point this year at Hogwarts. The family will try to visit for all of the tasks and mini tasks." Adrien stepped forward and they exchanged a rather fond but manly hug. When it ended, Adrien returned to Appoline, where he put a hand on her back. She was still crying just a little bit and clearly in need of the support.

As Adrien moved away, Fleur stepped forward, only to declare "I'm no damsel for the likes of you to champion, 'Arry. I'll be winning this tournament with my strength." There was a ghost of a smile on her face even as she yelled at him.

Harry nodded at everything Fleur said, but then he shrugged and shook his head. "I have no doubt that you're right, but this is going to be a very cluttered, chaotic year. I'll be keeping an eye open for trouble with or without your permission. Like it or not, I'm a borderline chauvinist, white knight, with a hero complex."

"Hear hear," called out Adrien in a very amused tone of voice. "You tell her Harry!" Appoline laughed and Gabby looked adorable.

Fleur shook her head and approached Harry until she was within secret giving range. She started whispering into his ear, and then smiled when he shivered at the stray breaths she was releasing against his neck. "If you keep your cool and act as if growing a foot and a half is normal, then so shall they. Stay near this 'Ermione and Neville. Before you know it everyone will just add your rapid growth to the ballad of 'Arry Potter. The boy who does impossible things as if he's making toast. We will be reunited soon enough... I will miss you, 'Arry."

"Don't let those catty bitches get you down Fleur. When I get the chance, I'll firmly reject their advances, claiming there's only one Beauxbatons woman for me." Harry smiled softly because despite his joking around this was the moment that he'd been dreading. Instead of saying the words, Harry injected the pang of loss and loneliness he was already beginning to feel into his aura shroud.

He wanted Fleur to know that she'd be missed.

As she sensed Harry's feelings, Fleur bit her lip and looked down at her feet. She wished she could be even one, one hundredth as honest as her friend, but she wasn't and she couldn't. Instead, she stepped forward, hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek before whispering "you better damn well reject them, 'Arry. I'm serious."

Then they both laughed.

To Be Continued

Author's Note:

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