I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter Franchise
Author's note:
This story is labeled Teen because I'm trying to write a story that young adults can read without their parents freaking out over it.
The problem with my current ambition is that the original story that I wrote back in my teens incorporated several sex scenes.
What I plan to do with this story is rewrite these scenes to be merely suggestive or faded to black, and then create a second story under my pen name Karmealion. This side story will be called ~~~Harry Potter: Unleashed: Uncensored~~~.
This similarly titled story is where I'm going to be submitting all of the original sex scenes labelled by chapter and scene.
If you plan to skip over to the other story in order to read the original version of these edited scenes, there will be a linebreak that says the name ~~~Harry Potter: Unleashed: Uncensored~~~ followed by the scene name for reference purposes. This line break will denote when the unedited scene would normally begin. Then a second line break will denote when the edited scene ends and you can rejoin the chapter.
The Harry Potter in this side-story that I'm creating made constant use of several different time turners over the summer, and is eighteen now as a result. I'm never going to mention this fact in any of the scenes, but I am going to write a disclaimer at the top of every chapter that everyone involved is at least eighteen years old.
Author's Note 2:
Once again, I do not write stories that involve non-consensual sex. If at this point you're still worried that someone in this story is going to be r*ped, then you can stop because it's not going to happen.
For reasons that should be perfectly obvious, after breaking away from his brand new girlfriend to go to classes, the rest of the morning went by extremely slowly for one Harry James Potter.
As per the usual, Harry was stared at in every single class that he attended all morning, but for the first time ever, it wasn't only the ladies who were looking at him… For example, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas had always been friendly but relatively uninvolved with him, but this morning they were following him at a medium distance while openly hero worshiping every move that he made. At the same time, boys from other houses also stared with a wide variety of expressions on their faces, ranging from impressed to envious to resentful to angry and everything in between…
The women, well… Those women that tended to stare at Harry all the time all looked like he had a terminal illness of some kind, and they were mourning his eventual demise even as he moved about his business.
Long story short, In the end, Harry was very fortunate that he was so far ahead in his classes, because otherwise the distractions and his preoccupation with Fleur would've stopped him from achieving anything at all. As it was, after setting up his Mindscape to record every word spoken by the Professors, he told Hermione what he'd done, and then he pulled out a few blank sheets of parchment.
.
Dearest Fleur
First, I must apologize for making a scene this morning with that redheaded nuisance. I was very angry with him and I feared his reaction was going to become a common occurrence, so I desired to make a statement. You did express an interest in becoming public knowledge and now it's safe to assume that we are. I'd rather have appeared less possessive than I ended up looking, but as it turns out, I am possessive, so I suppose it's fitting. I enjoyed your blushing face, I just hope you weren't angry or embarrassed.
I am exploring the idea that there are no formal seating arrangements forcing you to sit at the Ravenclaw table. I would very much enjoy your company at as many meals as possible both now and in the future. I will of course join you with your Beauxbatons group if you prefer we do that instead. Both Hermione and Neville speak French, so we could make ourselves comfortable at either table.
I am writing this in Charms class, so it's a good thing that I'm about a year and a half ahead in this class. I am currently far too preoccupied thinking about you, to even attempt to follow along…
All my love
Harry Potter
.
Before Harry could even ask there was a small POP and the letter was gone. Both he and Hermione grinned.
"He's a goldmine," Hermione whispered in a happy little voice. "CEO, butler, owl, friend… If only it was always like that."
Harry nodded his complete agreement, even as he committed to sending his weekly letters to Appoline and Gabrielle via Hedwig, who was becoming increasingly bored and surly every time that he visited her in the Owlery.
An hour and a half later, Harry was sitting in Ancient Runes when he suddenly heard a small POP and a letter was sitting in front of him, discretely folded inside of his text book. With a smile and a wink for an invisible Dobby, Harry pulled open the letter and then began reading the graceful French words written inside.
.
Mon amour (My Love)
Back in the Great Hall, I was becoming furious with that idiotic redheaded boy that was yelling at you and I was just moments away from cursing him into the hospital wing of your school, when suddenly I was stopped. Selene expressed her faith that you would handle it, and she was right. In fact, by the time Selene finished her sentence, you had already trussed this Ron boy up like a Christmas turkey and disposed of him in an appropriate fashion. I was extremely proud of both your powerful, discrete use of magic and your self-control. Not only that, but your address to the Great Hall was ingenious. You used that delusional, immature brat's outburst to your own advantage, and will likely face less difficulty in the future as a result.
I approve… more than I can say.
What I can say is that I was neither angered nor embarrassed by your announcement. While you were possessive to an extent that would've enraged me just a few short weeks ago, since I know for sure that I'd have reacted in a similar fashion were our circumstances reversed, I must now acknowledge that my priorities have changed.
You are mine now Arry, and I won't share either.
Selene and I intend to sit with you at lunch at the Gryffindor table. You probably won't be surprised to find out that Selene is as fluent in English as I am (we both agree that English is completely wasted without at least a little French accent). There are one or two women from Beauxbatons that I might introduce you to, but I still don't trust many of them so that will have to wait. There is a young witch named Bella who hero worships you because of your appearance in French papers this summer, but she's so cute about it that I want to hug her.
I am in free period right now and Selene is being a pest trying to read your earlier letter. It is most definitely too private for her viewing, so I am adamant that she is not allowed. I have a small treasure chest in my bedroom where I have kept all of your letters, and now they will hold even more meaning to me.
I cannot wait to see you at lunch.
Yours always
Fleur Delacour
Walking into the Great Hall with his friends, Harry gave Hermione a meaningful look as he sat down next to Neville, and she nodded her understanding as she sat down across from him. They'd discussed the seating arrangement they'd use at great length because Harry would never alienate his friends because of a new relationship. With that in mind, Harry had explained that he wanted to give Hermione a chance to talk face to face with Fleur, who he imagined would end up sitting at his side.
While at first, Hermione had been extremely nervous about meeting someone who was becoming so important to her closest friend, in the end, Harry was able to successfully calm her down. He did so by explaining that Fleur had experienced the lion's share of his very worst memories in his Mindscape while helping him heal his mental state. He continued by saying that in all of his Hogwarts memories, the only person who always, ALWAYS had his back, every single time, was her. Fleur had witnessed all of these events, thus she knew Hermione pretty well despite the fact that they'd never met in person. Harry finished by saying that Fleur already approved of her because she valued both her loyalty and her cleverness.
Of course, Hermione had blushed when Harry explained all of that, but she'd also started to look far more optimistic about the meeting that she was about to take part in.
Speaking of which….
An impossibly soft hand suddenly slid along Harry's right shoulder to his left, causing him to shiver as a smiling Fleur sat down on his unoccupied side.
Not even a second later, Selene sat down next to Hermione across the table, where she immediately extended her right hand in greeting. "My name ees Selene. I am a seventh year and taking a potions mastery."
Hermione replied in French just to make sure that Selene knew speaking in her native language was an option. "My name is Hermione. I am a fourth year, but so far I've been far too ambitious with my course electives to choose a single mastery."
After laughing her instant understanding, Selene nodded before continuing in English. "Yes, zat ees always ze problem wiz too sharp a brain. I eventually chose Potions because zere ees less competition due to ze difficulty. I almost decided to become a wand crafter simply because of ze mystery of eet all, but eet ees more of an art zen a science and I am precise razzer zan eenstinctual."
Hermione beamed and began speaking in English because Selene looked like she was enjoying it. "I'm similar to you in that regard, very analytical and scientific. Harry here (Mione pointed at Harry in accusation) would be the perfect wand crafter. He'd inevitably create the next Merlin Staff or something and then when they asked him how he did it, he'd admit that he had no idea."
Both girls laughed.
As everyone settled in, Harry and Fleur almost immediately started holding hands under the table, which distracted them both to the point that they simply observed the two very clever girls bantering with each other for several moments in a row… Then, when Harry finally managed to shake off the very worst of his excitement and preoccupation, he arched an eyebrow at Fleur in stage frustration and pointed a hand at her friend. "Hey Fleur… Your Selene is stealing my Hermione."
"Ditto," Fleur immediately replied in a similar tone of voice. "I am losing my Selene een zis transaction."
"Pardon moi," Selene countered in a comically over-embellished tone of affront. "Eet ees not 'Ermione and I hoo are secretly 'olding 'ands under ze table you know. Ze two of us are merely retaliating as we can."
While at first, neither Harry nor Fleur could stop themselves from blushing, soon enough the four of them plus Neville were all laughing or giggling and smiling in amusement, and the ice had officially been broken.
Just as Harry, Neville, Fleur, Selene and Hermione settled down again and picked back up their eating utensils, the Gryffindor Quidditch team, including the twins, all entered the Great Hall and sat down on Harry's right hand side. It didn't take long for the twins to turn towards Fleur and Selene, with over-excited expressions growing across their faces. Thankfully for Harry, while they were both blushing just a little bit in response to Fleur's allure, they did appear to be trying extremely hard to control their reactions.
"Ladies," offered Fred
It
Is
A
pleasure," said both of the twins at exactly the same time.
As Fleur and Selene laughed, Fleur leaned over the table, to take a better look at the boys that Harry always told her stories about. "Now zat will certainly be good eenglish practice. Ze way you two are so een sync... Do you two share an eempathic bond?"
The whole table abruptly stopped talking all at once because by some miracle no one had ever gotten around to asking that question.
Fred and George smiled at the people all around the table while letting the silence grow on purpose. Finally George turned towards his brother and was given the green light to handle this one. "Fred and I have never heard each other's thoughts like you are describing, no... However… We always seem to instinctively know how the other is going to react next. It probably IS an empathic bond, but ironically it feels more like a very specific form of foresight."
Harry was floored by Fred's out of character serious response. "That was a profound explanation you just gave Forge and it makes so much sense too. Did I tell you guys I bottled a Pensieve memory of your Quidditch tryout. It's one of the most amazing things I have ever seen."
Both of the twins looked bashful for just a single moment, but then they grinned and retaliated. Turning his attention towards Fleur, George gave her a mischievous smile. "Fleur… Have you heard about Harry's Quidditch team tryout?"
After waving his hand dismissively, Harry smiled in amusement at George's deflection. "Too bad, so sad, Fleur already saw a memory courtesy of Gred and I."
"Damn," George said while mock sulking. He bounced back immediately after and turned his attention back to Fleur. "Well what did you think of it? Personally, my favorite part was the exploding broom, but a lot of people liked the superhero pose."
Fleur smiled back at the cheerful boy because she was perfectly happy to tease Harry at any opportunity. "Personally, I spent my entire time een ze memory ranting and raving at 'Arry, zat Madam Hooch character, and ze Slytherins who were trying to 'urt 'im. I re-watched ze memory at least a dozen times before I could finally isolate ze number one source of my frustrations."
Everyone at the table looked captivated by this point. Katie Bell leaned in and looked like she was having a great time. "Well… What was it?"
Leaning back in her chair, Fleur looked up at the partially cloudy ceiling in a dramatic moment of "what am I going to do with this boy." "Okay… 'Arry's broom was boiling over near ze end and all but stopped providing any forward thrust… What deed 'Arry decide to do?"
Everyone at the table nodded their understanding at exactly the same time.
"He rose high into the sky," announced Hermione, looking like she could feel every single second of Fleur's frustration.
"Exactly," Fleur exclaimed, while pointing at Harry in accusation. "Zis 'Arry on a broom ees a lunatic! 'Ee mercilessly used ze very last of ze broom's magic, rose eighty meters straight up eento ze sky and zen rode ze broom's cold dead corpse to ze earth, smiling ze entire way!"
The twins, the Gryff girls and now Neville, all looked at each other and said it in nearly perfect unison...
"HARRY POTTER"
Then everyone laughed because by this point they were all thoroughly enjoying the new running joke meme.
Fleur and Selene looked confused while Hermione merely adopted a look of long suffering.
Selene finally asked the question because she really wasn't the type to quietly endure her curiosity. "What does your reaction just now mean, eef you please?"
"The twins started it, but it's catching on quickly throughout the school," Neville offered, when Harry visibly retreated into his food. "Every single time Harry does something that's either impossible or so out of the ordinary a sane person would never even think of trying it, they do this." Neville gestured to the twins. "The two of them turn to each other, pause, and then loudly call out the words HARRY POTTER as if it explains absolutely everything... It's as if normal common sense doesn't apply to him."
There was quiet at the table for several seconds following Neville's explanation, as the two Beauxbatons women digested this latest news. Then Selene and Fleur both simultaneously started giggling into their newly cupped hands in an infectious way that only seemed to grow stronger over time. Finally, near the end, the two of them were laughing so hard they both had tears pooling in their eyes.
"Zat ees ze funniest zing I zink I 'ave ever 'eard," Fleur haltingly choked out... "My eenglish ees failing me." She snorted as she wiped her eyes with both of her hands.
"Ah! I got a snort out of this one!" Harry had a very noticeable shit eating grin on his face at this point. "That's a keeper, Fleur…"
When Fleur finished wiping her eyes, she used both of them to give Harry the stink eye.
Everyone looked at the two of them for answers.
"'Arry seems to believe zat 'ee 'eard me perform an unladylike snort at some point een ze past, but 'ee ees wrong," Fleur declared while looking comically ladylike. "'Ee claims 'ee will someday try to prove eet using a Pensieve."
All the girls at the table immediately joined Fleur in giving Harry the stink eye, causing him to rub his neck in chagrin.
"We have Quidditch practice after school every day," Angelina informed the two French girls when she finished eating her yogurt. "If you promise not to take secrets back to your school (she winked in a joking way) you can come hang out and watch Harry fly for yourself."
"Absolutely," began Fred. "We're all about stealing fans from other teams around here."
"Shameless about it," ended George.
"I will go even eef Fleur ees too afraid to watch," exclaimed Selene with an excited wave of her arm.
"I zink I can 'andle watching 'im fly… but only eef my 'Arry wears a 'elmet…" At this point, Fleur had the most innocent looking evil smile upon her face.
Everyone at the table immediately turned towards Harry with matching evil grins.
"We shall begin constructing the helmet this afternoon," volunteered Fred, with a completely delighted look upon his face.
"Oh this ought to be good." Alicia was just barely holding in her laughter at this point.
The helmet ended up being pretty damned cool. It was a normal thin, black, smooth fabric, skull cap, charmed with lots of different cushioning charms. The best part so far as Harry was concerned was a small pocket in the back with space expansion charms to contain his out of control hair. The part that the team enjoyed the most was the small but bright yellow lightning bolt designed into the front.
As funny as the skull-cap was, it was also a valid product, and everyone was stunned with how high quality it was. Harry put it on, tucked his hair away in the back and exclaimed "you're damned right I'm wearing this, it's fantastic!" Then he grinned at Fleur because he was very pleased with how this had all worked out.
Fleur merely smiled and kissed Harry's cheek before whispering into his ear. "You look so handsome in all of your gear 'Arry and the cap suits you perfectly. I was just joking when I asked for a helmet, but you are right that the twins never let you down."
Smiling in return, Harry nodded in agreement. "I know right. I always missed it because the twins always hedge their good deeds inside lots of mischief. Now I'm not so dense." Kissing Fleur's forehead, Harry pulled her into a tight hug, only for his smile to widen when Fleur tightened around his waist even further and nuzzled her face into his neck.
Finally, the various assistants that help run the practice were taking to the air and it was officially time to get to work, so Harry extricated himself from Fleur's arms, mounted his broom and launched up into the sky.
Harry would be flying the broom racing track again today.
The racing track simulated every single movement known to be used in Quidditch and some movements that Harry wasn't sure were used by anyone but him. There were hundreds of rings made of smoke floating around the pitch, and they moved in small circles around a fixed location. Harry had to get through all of the rings as fast as he possibly could and it was a far more challenging task than it sounds. It was also a complete blast, and Harry was getting faster with every lap that he completed.
Moving back towards the stands, Fleur sat down with Selene, watching the Hogwarts team practice while chatting idly about whatever came to mind.
"They are very, very good," Selene eventually pointed out, while staring up at the Gryffindor team flying around. "I'm pretty sure our team is completely screwed."
"Yes, yes they are. Politics and money has us stuck with a terrible Seeker, so there's not much that we can do about it. Please don't tell 'Arry's team that though… I enjoy watching 'Arry push himself to his limits. He does have to play against Krum after all." Fleur was looking high above everyone else, where, at the moment, Harry was nothing but a dim, black blur of extremely rapid movement.
Arching an eyebrow, Selene leaned on her elbow as she stared at Fleur's profile. "Do you really think 'Arry can beat Victor Krum? The man's the confirmed best Seeker in the world after all..."
"I know we ended your magical oath, but I do want you to keep what I'm about to say a secret." Fleur leaned in closer to Selene and grinned in poorly concealed enjoyment. "'Arry has an active AIR affinity... He's more at home up there in the sky than he is down here on his feet… I truly, honestly believe that he can win." Fleur gave Selene a softer smile before she looked back up towards Harry. "Even if 'Arry didn't have the insane skills that he has... I've come to believe that he makes the impossible possible."
"Oh Gods, I need a paper and quill," Selene abruptly screamed towards the sky. "The book writes itself for Gods' sakes."
The two Beauxbatons students laughed together for several very long moments before Fleur started looking just a little bit bashful. "Yes, yes, I am becoming sappy and I know it." A few seconds after making that confession, Fleur suddenly adopted an unrepentant look upon her face. She was happy and wasn't afraid for others to notice.
"I can handle sappy," Selene replied into the silence. "I had trouble with indecisive and unhappy…"
With no warning whatsoever, Fleur tackle-hugged her friend tightly and then squeezed her like a teddy bear. Then, just a moment later, they both shrieked as a black blur flew by, just a meter away from them, at basically full mach.
"Ohhhh, 'Arry… You are going to get it for that later," Fleur whispered, in a throaty and menacing voice.
Harry had just finished his current training element in record time and didn't have the time to do another circuit before he'd need to rejoin the team. What that meant was he'd won a moment of free time, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do with it. He swerved around the girls, coming to a stop floating at their level on the stands.
"You're done?" Fleur saw that everyone else on the team was still hard at work and it was making her curious.
"For the moment," Harry replied with a shrug. "My trainers didn't expect me to shatter my past lap times and they don't currently have anything set aside for me to do. I'll have to catch some practice snitches that go faster than normal match snitches later and then take part in some collaborative plays after that, but for the moment I'm all yours." Settling his broom on the stands, Harry took a seat on Fleur's left side.
Fleur slid closer to Harry, turned, and then leaned her back on him so that she was still looking at Selene.
Harry leaned his chin forward on Fleur's shoulder and smiled at Selene. "So… Are there any things that are common at Beauxbatons that are missing at Hogwarts?"
"Well, suffice it to say we have improved in our warming charms since arriving here," Selene replied with a grin. "Oh! Thank you for that by the way! Many of the students of my school noticed a mysterious benefactor warming them up as they walked towards the castle."
"It was no big deal," Harry replied in a dismissive fashion. "You don't live over half of the year in the Scottish Highlands without becoming quite good at the warming charm. I've also just recently learned a rune cluster that regulates temperature and can be applied to articles of clothing. It's obviously way more work to lay down, but it's useful because from that point forward it's self charging and continuously active."
"Would the Runes have to be built into the clothing like embroidery?" Selene was hooked and looked extremely interested in the idea.
"That's probably the way a magical tailor would do it, but I mostly cheat and magically inscribe whatever I'm altering." Harry wasn't sure he should even be admitting what he was saying, but Selene looked like a small, eager animal at the moment, and he was finding it hard to deny her.
Selene arched an eyebrow at Harry's oh so casual mention of such a high level skill. "Rune inscription without a lab or tools? Show me please."
The damage was done, so there was nothing to be done about it now. After slowly wrapping his arms around Fleur's waist, Harry tickled her just a bit and then held her still in his arms. Then he waited until he caught Selene's eyes again because it was a good idea to ease her into the idea of him being powerful. "Selene… in all seriousness… I have a little more magical mojo than the average wizard and this process is much, much more difficult than it's about to look."
Selene nodded immediately. "'Arry… I have picked up on the fact that you are rather strong and I already know that magical inscription is a very high level skill, even when using the proper tools. Now enough hesitation… Show me the impossible magic already!"
After grinning at Selene's enthusiasm, Harry eased his mouth in next to Fleur's neck. "Be still for the length of time I'm working on this, okay Fleur? The rune cluster will be invisible when I'm done, so I'm not ruining your uniform."
Fleur nodded her understanding and then leaned back into Harry's chest to remain as still as possible.
Harry leaned forward over Fleur's right shoulder, where he began drawing a rune cluster down the front of her blazer in softly glowing, green lines of power. It took a little over a minute of solid effort to create, but when he was done, the green lit runes slowly sank into Fleur's uniform, flared in a bright light and then disappeared.
"There," Harry announced. "Your uniform should now be set on a thermostat system that seeks out a comfortable temperature. It'll cool in heated air and warm up in the cold." Harry looked at Selene and gestured at her blazer. "If you wish, I'll repeat the process on your uniform before dinner."
Selene immediately nodded with nearly infinite levels of enthusiasm.
"'Arry?…" Fleur was actually feeling pretty hot now, but she didn't think it was the magic in her uniform... She leaned back a little harder against her lover and then she spoke directly into his cheek. "Didn't you start runes just this past September? I know you studied over the summer and 'Ermione helped tutor you but... Magically inscribing runes is a specialist level skill, and you didn't use any of the equipment that an inscription lab would have used just now…"
Harry nodded and bit his lip while thinking of a way that he could answer Fleur's implied question (Fleur loved the lip biting thing). "Selene... Fleur trusts you so I'll do the same, but what I'm about to reveal is a closely kept secret..."
After nodding like a bobble-head, Selene's face suddenly became gravely serious. "You won't regret trusting me, 'Arry. I am driven by a nearly all-consuming curiosity, rather than any form of avarice or ambition. Your secrets are safe with me..."
Harry looked briefly at Fleur and she nodded that Selene could be trusted.
It appeared that Harry was going to be revealing a lot about himself to Selene, within the very first day of meeting her. While Harry did trust Fleur's judgment, the truth of the matter was that his magic already liked Selene, and wasn't leaning on him to covet his secrets.
"Okay then..." Harry sighed because he knew that this was all going to sound pretty damned arrogant. "As I'm sure you two are already aware… with a lot of different skills in magic the more skilled and more experienced you are in the application of your intent, power and technique, the more magically efficient you become as a direct result. Right now, I'm very, very, VERY, magically inefficient, and yet I'm still powerful enough to perform even specialist level techniques anyway… For example... I can already conjure extremely large, intensely heavy, enormously complicated items, even though I'm still a relative amateur at Conjuration. The reason I can do these things is because I have absolutely massive stores of magic contained within my body. The Rune Inscribing I just did probably used a little over forty times the magical power that a specialist with the right tools would need to use to complete the same process. At my current skill level in Rune Inscribing, just trying to begin doing what I just did would render a normal wizard unconscious with magical exhaustion."
Due mostly to all of the build up that she just went through, Selene ended up feeling completely exasperated with Harry and his explanation. After acting all mysterious and making her feel like she was about to be privileged with some grand secret, Harry's explanation ended up being the foundation of an increasingly popular joke meme at his expense... "Sooo then, your answer to how you can accomplish the impossible magic is... 'ARRY POTTER."
Instantly and loudly, Fleur broke out into a fit of completely unrestrained and joyful laughter because yes and yes!
After smiling down at Fleur, Harry just shrugged at Selene in a defeated fashion. "Well... yes, I suppose. Although having more magic doesn't mean I can do the impossible. It just means that I can cut corners while doing the extremely difficult."
At Harry's words, Selene nodded her head sagely, and crossed her arms over her chest. "That is a very humble way to look at being a nearly incomparable magical powerhouse 'Arry, but I imagine that's part of your charm."
Fleur quickly nodded her head and pulled Harry's arms even tighter around her waist.
Up in the air, Harry saw his trainer waving at him to return, so he squeezed Fleur for just a few more moments longer in silent revolt. "Well… As you can see, I need to get back to work now… Maybe you two ladies want to fly with me before we leave the pitch tonight?"
"I would like that as long as you don't traumatize me," Fleur replied even as Selene bounced around in apparent excitement.
"Okay, I'll see you girls in about forty minutes then." At the tail end of his goodbye, Harry suddenly leapt high into the air, stuck out his arm, and grabbed ahold of his broom when it met him at his jump's apex. Immediately after, Harry zoomed off like a rocket and was gone.
"So he takes off by wandlessly summoning the broom?" Selene didn't sound all that sure of her guess and was rubbing her chin in thought.
"Close but no," Fleur began in a nonchalant tone of voice. "The broom listens because it knows who's boss and doesn't want to explode…"
"Seriously?" Selene was staring at Fleur now.
"No idea, sorry, I was joking, but I wouldn't be surprised," Fleur replied, while shaking her head.
A little less than an hour later, Fleur sat directly in front of Harry on his broom, as he flew wide and sedate loops around the pitch and surrounding area.
After the practice came to an end and Selene's blazer was Rune inscribed, Fleur's friend had been given a short flight around the pitch. It may have been a longer flight, but the girl ended up egging Harry on a bit too much and ended up getting a dose of real speed. After that, Selene quickly decided that she'd rather be on the ground, so she was currently walking up the hill with the rest of the team.
Having witnessed Selene's actions, as well as their consequences, Fleur made it very, very clear that she wanted a slow-paced and relaxed flight around the castle, and Harry was in the midst of delivering that. He'd also taken the opportunity to release his aura shroud, so that they could both enjoy holding and being held as he cruised through the air.
"Now that you aren't concealing your true feelings in your aura, it almost makes me short of breath," Fleur whispered into Harry's ear with her head leaned back atop his right shoulder.
"Want me to dial back on the intensity?" Along with his words, Harry turned his head so that he could see Fleur's face, but instead he received a face full of platinum-blonde hair. Fleur's face was pressing flush to his jaw, so turning wouldn't allow him to see her.
"Not for anything," Fleur immediately replied while pressing her lips against the side of Harry's neck. "I want to get used to feeling this from you. I only wish you could also feel my feelings," she whispered longingly.
"You know Fleur... I did read that book that your mother loaned me." Harry's face was beginning to flush because Fleur was still fussing at his neck and her mouth felt like silky soft heaven against his skin. "From what I've read, it may not be today or tomorrow, but eventually we will form a bond. My aura shroud is just good practice in the meantime…" At the tail end of those words, Harry attempted to lean back so that he could see more of Fleur's face. "On the other hand... The book was notoriously nonspecific about how a Veela bond actually develops..."
Fleur instantly began blushing and hiding her face deep inside the crook of Harry's neck. "Yes, it would be… The book that you read was written for young Veela to understand their own culture. It will not speak of bonds because they're a very… adult topic. 'Arry… We will probably have a bond someday soon. I... I find myself becoming... impatient."
"Is that so? How does that process work?" Leaning backwards even further, Harry drew Fleur's chin up within a gently cupping hand, caught sight of Fleur's red-flushed face, and he started putting together some pretty interesting theories. Then Harry's body was being pulled forward and flush against Fleur again, and he could no longer see her furiously blushing face.
Fleur had seen the spark of understanding on Harry's face, so she just nodded directly into his neck. "It's not just sex, 'Arry," she explained quietly and directly into Harry's ear. "A lot of Veela have extremely active sex lives, comprised of good looking men, that they dislike, who annoy them, for a very specific reason. Strong affection and sex... making love. Making love creates the bond. I love you very, very hard 'Arry. Truly I have no words to describe how I feel, for I am overwhelmed. If we sleep together, I am certain it will become a very strong bond. I desire that bond with you 'Arry. I want to show you, I want you to feel it, feel me, as I've been feeling you…"
At this point, Harry could actually feel the heat coming off of Fleur's furiously blushing face, but he also felt his body going completely haywire as his most wild fantasies suddenly became a rapidly approaching reality. Him and Fleur, Fleur and him, together…
Woah.
Even as she retreated back into the crook of Harry's neck again, Fleur smiled because she could feel his heartbeat thumping meaningfully against her back, and she knew the effect her words were having on his body.
Speaking of which…
"I want to wait for now, 'Arry, because what we're talking about is a huge step," Fleur suddenly declared, in a tone that made it clear it was mostly herself that she was trying to convince.. "I want to wait even though my… my everything… is screaming at me to just..."
Abruptly, Fleur huffed out a long-suffering sigh, because as per usual, her mental state was going to be extremely hard to explain. "'Arry, listen… Veela have a set of instincts regarding potential in our prospective mates that only become active once we've already become romantic with a man. These instincts help us determine how well matched we are with the man that we're falling in love with, as well as how happy we can potentially be together. It's a necessary defense mechanism considering the fact that mated bonds are both life-altering and… for the most part… permanent... At this point, 'Arry, my Veela instincts are in the process of doing backflips of joy, as if I've won the lottery in you. They're currently screaming at me to jump your bones as soon as physically possible and make you mine already… Still, I feel we should wait, at least for now…"
"Textbook conflicted emotions," Harry softly laughed out into his lover's silky-smooth hair. Then he smiled in amusement as Fleur bit his neck in retaliation. Over the following few seconds, he slowed down to nearly a hover, steered the broom with only his thighs and curled his arms around Fleur's waist. "All teasing aside, I actually do understand how you feel in regards to your magic. My magic is determined to have you. Thankfully, so am I… It's one of the very few things I've never had to arm-wrestle it about."
Over the next thirty seconds, Fleur made it abundantly clear that Harry had scored some major brownie points, when she bodily wiggled back against his body, ran her hands all along his thighs and waist and peppered his cheek with scores of little kisses.
When Fleur finally calmed down again, Harry softly pressed his temple against hers so that he could speak in a very quiet and gentle tone of voice. "And normal courtship between men and Veela... What does that generally look like? I'm getting the impression we've skipped several steps by being so close for so long, but I'd never dream of disrespecting you..." Harry smiled softly as he added," I also want to survive your father's wrath."
"Well normal would never ever happen in my family 'Arry, as it consists of the woman being betrothed to a man and then it either works or it doesn't," Fleur explained with a huff of maxed out disapproval. "Some Veela women never get to bond, for they never come to love their spouses, but that's not even the worst possible outcome…"
Harry feared he knew where this was heading, but he tilted his head against Fleur's and waited for her to continue.
"In the very worst parts of the world, with the very worst people imaginable, they use Amortentia to facilitate the bond," Fleur finally continued with a shudder of revulsion. "The love potion forces the Veela into feeling love for the length of time that she is being taken by force, which creates the bond… and there it is… One of the most beautiful things in the whole entire world, perverted by greed and lust. The Veela is ruined for anyone else because she cannot bond a second time even if she somehow survives severing the first one."
By the time Fleur finished her explanation, Harry's arms were curled tightly around her waist, he was having to force himself not to make fists with his hands, and he was containing a powerful surge of sudden bloodlust within the confines of his Occlusion barriers.
Sexual slavery… and these assholes were trying to take Fleur… to take Gabrielle…
Harry should've simply killed them all when he had the chance… but then, the fact that the Black Band mercenaries survived their botched attacks allowed the government of Magical France to root out, arrest and then convict Reginald Harkenen, their leader…
It would have to be enough.
Completely oblivious to the sudden violence of Harry's thoughts, Fleur steered her explanation in a much more immediate direction. "Of course, in my and Gabrielle's case, our father is extremely protective, thus, he sees every request to court me as a desire to get in my pants. I've enjoyed his attitude in the past, but not if it'll keep me from you. I'll need my mother to smooth things over, which is why I sent a letter to Gabby via Dobby today with instructions for her to give it to my mother. The letter basically dropped the bomb that I am in love with you. Appoline will understand to approach my father and start warning him. The idea will be to prepare a soft landing for us…"
"A soft landing," Harry slowly repeated.
"Well, as soft as possible," Fleur breathed out in a sigh. "For a Veela to be deeply in love with a suitable man and yet not creating the bond is unnatural. It feels kind of like you're persistently denying yourself food or water when it's sitting right there in front of you. Both my mother and my father will understand that. Of course, a bond doesn't mean marriage in English wizarding culture, but to Veela it is profound. To wizarding culture we are courting and might get married when you turn of age… To Veela, we are long since mated. I suppose you understand what my letter is about to cause to happen within my household?"
"Yes," Harry replied with a deep breath and a swallow. "The distinction that you're describing is actually rather convenient in terms of wizarding norms, but your extremely protective father will still end up completely furious with me…" Abruptly, Harry laughed when he realized the reality of his current situation. "I just realized that there's literally no way I'll ever successfully get Adrien's blessing for a bond because what I'm really asking for is to take his daughter's virginity! That's a rough road no matter how you look at it."
"I'm grateful that my lover is quick on the uptake," Fleur agreed with a nod and a sigh.
"Appoline is an exceptionally persuasive woman," Harry finally pointed out after several very quiet moments passed.
"Yes, yes she is," Fleur agreed once again.
"I'm going to rely on her for now, in a bid to keep the bloodshed to a minimum," Harry voiced as he returned his hands to the broom and began steering the two of them down towards the pitch.
"You are wise 'Arry," Fleur laughed out while leaning flush against Harry's body. "You're also not alone. The happiest Veela couples in history have always angered the father, because they weren't organized, they were passionate. I am passionate for you. Unbelievably so in fact… I'm luckier than most, as you're all but family already, and will eventually be forgiven for seducing me..."
Harry was left just shaking his head, as he sincerely doubted he was the one doing the seducing in their relationship.
Once they were on the ground again, Harry ran into the newly revamped Hogwarts locker room, where he stowed away his equipment in a locker keyed to his magical signature. Soon enough, the two of them were walking up to the castle together, holding hands and talking about Harry's friends.
Fleur was very impressed with how calm Neville was around her. He wasn't impervious like Harry was, but she'd noticed that he was respectful in the extreme and just barely flushed in her presence.
In reply to Fleur's opinion, Harry pointed out that yes, Neville is an excellent man and wizard, but that he was also verging on, if not actually in love with a woman of his own. When Fleur arched an eyebrow in curiosity, he shrugged. "I know that Neville's dating a girl named Hannah Abbot, but not every couple announces their relationship in as dramatic a fashion as I did this morning. They're both quiet people, and I'm pretty sure they're quietly in love with each other."
Harry's explanation came to an end just as he and Fleur entered the Great Hall, allowing them to walk across the stony-silent expanse to the Gryffindor table where Selene, Hermione and Neville had saved their seats. It was only after the two of them seated themselves and then accepted a dinner from Dobby that conversations around the Hall returned back to normal.
"Zere you two are," Selene exclaimed, completely unaffected by the hush in the hall. "I thought you two were going to fly off eento ze sunset never to be seen again."
Fleur grinned back at her friend while pointing an accusatory finger at Harry. "'Arry tried, but I resisted."
Turning aside to face Neville and Hermione, Harry shook his head in disbelief. "I had Fleur on my broom... If I truly wanted us far away, we'd be in Canada by now."
Selene, Neville and Hermione laughed even as they shook their heads at Harry's odd choice in destination.
As the laughter around the table slowly came to an end and everyone settled in to eat, a strongly accented voice suddenly sounded out just a meter behind Fleur's back. "Lady Delacour… You vill come have deener at my table. You vill enjoy my company."
Looking back over her shoulder, Fleur met the eyes of the world famous seeker Victor Krum. For a little over a second, she just sat there, looking up at the man in her surprise. Then, very abruptly, she snapped back to reality and a veneer of smooth sophistication slipped over her face. "I apologize but I must refuse. I am enjoying my meal 'ere as well as my current company."
Victor smiled even as he shook his head in the negative. "I eensist. You vill find company far superior weeth me."
Without any warning, Fleur's legs lurched and she was forced to grab onto the bottom of the table. Her legs were straining to lift her to her feet despite the fact that she had zero interest in leaving the table. Looking aside at Harry, Fleur didn't even try to hide the growing terror she was feeling from showing in her expression.
After watching a look of primal fear bloom across Fleur's face, Harry released several tendrils of his magic to get a sense of what was happening. Less than a half second later, he was nine tenths ready to cast a lethal cutting curse through Krum's neck, because of what his magic was picking up. Gods... it was vile and so evil that it almost made him physically sick just from sensing it... Harry had to literally Occlusion control away his mad desire to just bring an end to the monster standing in front of him. Going to Azkaban for an unprovoked murder wasn't on the menu and it also wasn't what Fleur needed from him right now...
At first glance, Krum appeared to have an aura shroud just like Harry's, and he was swamping it all around Fleur's body. After looking a little harder however, Harry noticed that Krum's magic was actually more like the polar opposite of an allure, because it demanded servile obedience rather than enticing any form of affection. The magic was dark, domineering, evil, muddy, bubbling and vaguely purple in color, and it was swirling around Fleur's body like a demonic being or a poltergeist.
With no hesitation whatsoever, Harry forced a thick outpouring of his magic out of his body to flow directly into Krum's shroud, only to find out that doing so hurt as if he was running his magic through razor blades. The tearing sensation was brutally awful, and Harry would've recoiled away as if he'd touched a red-hot heating element if it weren't so obvious that Fleur was benefitting from his efforts.
Some of the strain and fear was already easing away from Fleur's face, so Harry just bit his lip and poured out even more power with every second that passed. He forced out more and more of his magic like a barrier between Fleur and Krum's shroud, until he finally started to thin it out and move it away. By this point, Harry thought he might actually throw up from the brand new variety of pain that he was experiencing, and he could feel intense rushes of blood pounding away beneath his temples, but he still kept pushing relentlessly against the boy's foul miasma. Eventually, after the longest ten to fifteen seconds of Harry's life, Krum's aura/allure/miasma was finally pushed away to reenter the man's body, allowing Fleur to sink back into her chair with intense levels of relief plain to see upon her features.
When Krum's attention finally turned away from Fleur to take in Harry, the man immediately broke into a wide and highly amused smile. He didn't seem to be disappointed at all that his efforts hadn't worked, but rather, he looked as if he was having a grand old time with it all. The man's face was an open book, with his emotions plain to see for anyone with even half a brain. Victor Krum was enjoying himself immensely at Harry's expense, and he didn't see the resistance that he was receiving from Harry's direction to be a problem in the slightest. After several seconds spent just smirking down at Harry's face, Krum finally returned his attention back towards his original objective and smiled even wider. "I vill be approaching you again, lady Delacour. I expect ve vill become very close. I vill show you... real man…"
With his parting line delivered, Krum gave Harry one last amused smirk before turning in place and walking away.
As Victor Krum sauntered away like a WWE wrestler, the Gryffindor table sat in a stunned form of silence. No one could even believe the man's extremely forward attitude and obvious disrespect towards Harry.
About five meters down the table, Ron looked completely ecstatic at what he'd just seen, and his admiration of Krum was rapidly transforming into nearly fanatical hero worship.
In her profound relief, Fleur smiled aside at Harry, only to have all of the color that was just returning to her face drain away a second time. Harry's face was white like a sheet and he was trembling from his head to his toes in poorly concealed agony. That wasn't even the most distressing part of what she was seeing though...
"'Arry, you 'ave a nosebleed," Fleur gasped out as she grabbed up a handkerchief, and gently held it to her lover's nose, where twin rivulets of blood were creating a stark contrast against his pale white skin. "What just appened," Fleur urgently whispered into Harry's ear, her fear and anxiety leaking into her voice. "Zat boy demanded I rise, and despite my desire not to move, I almost obeyed. I was 'alfway to my feet before I realized what was 'appening to me."
"Switch to French, Fleur," Harry whispered, as he leaned both of his elbows on the table and massaged at his temples. He was trying to shake off the pain radiating out of his skull, but it wasn't fading either quickly or easily. "I'll explain Krum to everyone else later. For now I don't want eavesdroppers to catch what I'm saying. I want to keep this situation to just the five of us for the moment, just in case I need to act on it… personally."
Fleur, Neville, Selene and Hermione all nodded their understanding.
"I just had to push away some ambient magic that Krum was surrounding you with, while he was making those demands of you," Harry began, while staring Fleur in the eyes. "Krum's ambient magic looked like the direct opposite of your allure. It was nothing but complete domination and violent control. I injected my magic into his to thin it out and push it away. The problem is, as soon as my magic touched his, it hurt as if I was running my magic through a garbage disposal. The only reason I succeeded in pushing his shroud away is because I have more magic at my disposal than he does. His magic hurts me in a way that I haven't figured out quite yet…"
With a shaky smile, Harry took a hold of Fleur's hand. "Still… I'm glad I was here for you. The alternative…" Abruptly, Harry stopped talking. The subject matter was far too frightening to put into words.
As Fleur nervously checked out Harry's nose again, she wasn't concerned in the slightest that she was visibly mothering him. "'Arry, I think you need to disconnect the magic you use to combat Krum's miasma from your core. It's obvious that If your magic is still connected to your core, he can somehow hurt you directly through it. I know you lose finesse moving your magic around disconnected, but I need your brain in one piece. 'Arry… What is that man? What is he that he can make demands and my body moves to obey?"
Harry shook his head even as he wiped away some brow sweat with his free hand. "I don't know what he is, I just know what it felt like."
Neville, Selene and Hermione looked at Harry anxiously but they were all clearly curious.
Squaring up to face his friends, Harry's complexion seemed to improve as his face filled with rage. "Victor Krum is an animal. It's as simple as that. His miasma just now was like a high power pheromone that magically claims he's the alpha around here. His magic seems to believe he's the biggest bad around. It's all sharp edges and killer intent. Touching it hurts, moving it hurts more..." Harry's voice became even lower. "What he was doing right now was trying to make a submissive of Fleur. I suspect if she'd released her allure the situation would've become far worse for her instead of better. Fleur's magic flows directly back into her body in a circular motion by its very nature. That motion would've carried the miasma back into her body, which wouldn't have been a pleasant experience."
Swiveling in place, Harry gave his brand new lover an extremely meaningful look. "Fleur... Until we can take care of this, I need you to be close to me whenever possible. I can tear off some extra magic to defend against Krum's miasma without hurting myself. On the other hand, he's going to hurt you if you try…"
As Harry spoke, Fleur unconsciously dropped a hand down onto his thigh, where she gripped at it tightly. She wasn't quite finished freaking out yet, because she was feeling very out of her element. Fleur was quite used to being the most dangerous person in the room, and yet just now she'd been completely powerless to defend herself. "'Arry… I want to be near you as well, but we have many responsibilities. I also have little choice but to go to the carriage at night for obvious reasons."
While staring into Fleur's eyes, Harry's expression turned extremely serious. "Would you like to go for a walk with me, Fleur? I'd like to discuss something important with you." Abruptly, he ended his serious expression and gave her a pleading one instead.
Fleur wasn't quite finished eating her food yet, but at the urgency in both of Harry's recent expressions, she nodded and stood up. "Selene I will see you later okay? I will be safe with 'Arry."
Selene nodded while biting her bottom lip in concern.
Harry and Fleur walked out of the Great Hall only to start moving through the school's hallways seemingly at random. Harry was rubbing the back of her hand as he pulled her along, and he had his aura shroud conveying comforting feelings. Fleur was strong but there was no need for her to go without a little TLC if he had it to spare.
As they moved throughout the school's various hallways, Fleur found herself smiling at Harry for two reasons. A) he was going out of his way to comfort her despite the fact that HE was the one who was recently injured, and B) his complexion was already returning to normal. It appeared that despite the damages that his magic had received, Harry's healing factor was still going strong.
"Did I ever explain my secret room to you?" Harry asked the question completely out of the blue as they walked down a deserted and rather obscure hallway.
"The secret weight room? No and I never thought to ask." Fleur looked confused now.
Harry smiled and squeezed Fleur's hand in his excitement. "It's not just a weight room, it's a tool."
At this point, they were walking up and down an empty hallway, and Fleur was becoming increasingly confused.
"There's a good reason we're walking back and forth like we're either lost or brain damaged," Harry explained, in response to Fleur's visible confusion. "My secret room appears and becomes anything you desire, once you walk up and down this hallway three times." Just as Harry finished his explanation, a door appeared on their right hand side. Harry led Fleur over to it, opened the door and quickly ushered her inside. Harry closed the door behind them and then made it cease to exist for safety's sake. Inside, the current configuration of the Room of Requirements was a living room with a couch, some chairs and a fireplace. It was a very inviting, warm and comfortable setting and it would be very, very familiar to Fleur.
While smiling in amusement, Fleur turned towards Harry with an arched eyebrow. "The room can become anything at all, and you made it a replica of my living room at home?"
Harry smiled in return, turning to catch Fleur's other hand. "This setting showcased the versatility of the room, and I was looking for comfortable. I have an idea to run by you."
"What do you have in mind, 'Arry?" Even as she spoke, Fleur stepped closer for a hug. She was still a little freaked out and they were alone.
After pulling Fleur tightly against his body and kissing her cheek, Harry began explaining his idea. "We'll introduce this room to everyone we trust and then I think it's important that you spend as much of your free time here as you can. Under normal circumstances, I know very well that you could tear apart any ten wizards, but Victor Krum is nowhere near normal. This Krum is a special kind of dangerous, so I don't want to leave any of my friends vulnerable to his attentions. We need time to get Krum sorted out. I don't like his magic… It screams predator to me in more ways than one. He'll try to take from you..."
Harry paused before finishing his thought again, but he saw in Fleur's face that she'd understood his meaning. "I know that you need to go back to your carriage at night, but you can also sleep here if you must." Harry waved his hand and a bed suddenly appeared on the far side of the room. "I'm not showing you this room in a desire to show off a new make-out spot... This is the safest place in all of Hogwarts, and I seek privacy in here all the time."
At some point while he was speaking, Harry had begun pacing, and he wasn't concealing the worry from his features. He wanted Fleur to know just how big of a deal he thought this Krum guy was.
All of the sudden, Harry froze in place and it looked to Fleur like her lover had come to a decision of some kind.
"Fleur… If worse comes to worse, and Dumbledore fails me yet again, I might need to kill Krum myself, Harry whispered in a growl. "I'm being completely serious with you right now… Krum's magic feels wrong in a massive way and I will not let him hurt you."
Right away, Fleur knew that Harry wasn't posturing, but rather, he was just stating the facts. In that moment, she felt a very complex mixture of emotions. She hated being championed like a damsel, while at the same time she understood that Harry was her best defense against Krum, and she felt extremely well-loved and taken care of, which was something she simply wasn't used to... In an attempt to be as honest as Harry, Fleur shook off her silly pride and beckoned him to join her on the couch.
Dropping down onto the couch, Harry snaked an arm behind Fleur and pulled her close to his body. She melted into his side, kissed his shoulder and wrapped both of her arms tightly around his waist.
After a time, Fleur rested her head on Harry's shoulder, bit the bullet and admitted how she felt. "'Arry… I think you're the person who will have to defang this monster Krum. I hate to say it, but he appears to have power over my body. You said that his magic feels a certain way. Can you make your ambient magic an offensive weapon like that?"
Harry was in the midst of enjoying the scent of Fleur's hair, but at her question, he pulled back and smiled at her. "Well first of all, you're a complete genius. I probably wouldn't have suffered as much or any damage if I disconnected my magic from my core before I pushed away Krum's miasma. I never even thought to try that, because I was caught off guard and panicking. Krum was trying to just take you like a caveman... I was scared for you and furious at him. I'm not sure about making my shroud an offensive force though…. It has a lot to do with your spiritual and mental wellbeing. Krum's a monster and his magic reflects that… I'm not... I can... probably… create a shield of sorts... a shell of manually operated magic targeting an object like... Oh!"
When Harry started rapidly undoing some of the buttons on his shirt, Fleur arched an eyebrow at him, adopting a very coy expression upon her face.
"Oh come on Fleur, extend some trust." Harry drawled with a grin on his face. "For the last three months, I've never taken off the necklace you gave me for my birthday. It's my prize possession and my magic gives it a lot of attention because it feels like you. For that reason, at this point It's become saturated with both my magic and yours. It's perfect to act as a beacon for what I have in mind. Please put it on."
Holding up the necklace in front of her face, Fleur saw that the emerald seemed to glow with Harry's power at this point. "You are returning a gift I made for you, 'Arry. It's in poor taste." She was smiling even as she said that and she knew that Harry wasn't going to take offense. Fleur slowly put on the necklace and then returned her attention to her lover.
"If it meant keeping you safe Fleur, I would chew with my mouth open and belch loudly in public." Harry tried to inject the joke into his voice, but he failed and ended up sounding completely serious.
Fleur shook her head at the extremely unusual romantic thought even as she was oddly touched.
In the meantime, Harry drew a hand slowly down Fleur's cheek and smiled when she shivered. He trailed that same hand down Fleur's neck until he caught the necklace string and pulled the emerald stone up in between them. "I can add a rune structure to this emerald and charge it with my magic. At this point, the emerald has become receptive to my magic, so the task won't be as difficult to accomplish as it'd normally be. I can create a protective amulet from this stone that will shield you from Krum's miasma. It'll work by sending out intense waves of my magic to saturate and push away Krum's. My magic being present will set off your allure. For that reason I'll need to design into the amulet a shell to contain your allure when the charm begins to work. If Krum is persistently trying to reach out to you, I might need to charge this amulet once a day. I suggest that when you see him you either kick him in the crotch or already be leaving the room, because you only have a couple of minutes before this is drained."
Leaning forward, Harry suddenly pulled Fleur into his lap. Fleur arched an eyebrow at her man again, while making that same coy expression from earlier.
"Yes, this time I didn't need to do this, I just wanted to," Harry declared, completely unrepentant. "I do need to work on the necklace, but I might as well have you close by while I do so." Harry looked at the emerald hanging within Fleur's extremely impressive cleavage and then he visibly, comically, leered at it, making Fleur laugh and cutting the tension. A few moments later, when they both calmed down again, Harry picked up the necklace and held it up to the light. "I'm about to put a huge amount of my magical power into this because the rune clusters will be extremely small and I'm not skilled enough yet. I'll be using hundreds of times more power than an inscriber with the right tools would need. If I pass out, I promise I'll be fine, just lay me back on the couch okay?"
Even as she nodded her understanding, Fleur bit at her bottom lip in concern. "Wait a moment 'Arry..." Very suddenly, Fleur leaned forward and planted a kiss upon Harry's mouth. The kiss began softly but then it became progressively more intense until they both pulled away panting for air. "Please, please don't push too hard and pass out on me, 'Arry… I want to cuddle with you…" Fleur made pouty lips and puppy dog eyes at Harry because… results.
A huge smile slipped onto Harry's face as he took in Fleur's expression, and he lay a hand on his heart as if he'd just been shot by an arrow. "Dear Gods, Fleur... It was cute before when you just demanded that we cuddle. Now that you're being all honest about it, you're doing me some real damage. Fine… I'll show some moderation…"
Over the next few seconds, Harry sent his focus back into the emerald in his left hand, and he started channeling magic down the length of his right arm. Then, when he started writing runes in the air, he moved as quickly as he could because he knew that there were going to be a lot of them. By the time five whole minutes had passed, the air in between Harry and Fleur looked like a green mass of glowing lines and he was sweating as if he was trying to sprint a marathon.
With a groan of satisfaction, Harry's index finger suddenly stopped moving and he finally seemed satisfied with his work. Opening his arms wide to the edges of the massive rune cluster, he began closing his arms, which compressed the runes just the tiniest little bit. Despite the lack of results, Harry blew out a haggard breath as if he was bench pressing hundreds of pounds. Undeterred, Harry repeated the process over and over again, until neither of them were able to keep track anymore.
Slowly but surely, Harry compressed the rune cluster down to the size of a bowling ball, then a softball, then a tennis ball. Harry kept compressing the runes as if he was creating a diamond out of brilliantly bright green magical power. Then, when the compressing was finally finished, Harry grabbed the emerald with his left hand and guided the Runes closer with his right. "These runes are designed to exist on the emerald," Harry explained, in a choked out voice. "Any second now, the Runes will set in the stone where they're intended to be."
Several moments of extremely tense silence went by, as nothing happened, and they both just held their breaths. Then, all of a sudden, a thin green line of rune script began traveling from Harry's right hand to the emerald residing in his left.
As Fleur closely studied the gem, she saw that starting at the bottom of the jewel, extremely tiny and precise green rune inscriptions were being engraved into the polish of its surface. They crawled up the jewel in small lines, circling around the gemstone over and over and over again. Finally, about two minutes later, the job was done, and Harry was holding a masterpiece of protective magic the likes of which Fleur had neither seen nor heard of before in her life.
The amulet was sophisticated and beautiful and it felt like Fleur's lover was touching her chest near her heart. The necklace that she was wearing loved her and she could feel it. Somehow, her allure wasn't going haywire either.
It was... it was amazing.
"'Arry," Fleur whispered, in an overawed little voice. "I don't suppose you understand how rich you could become by designing protective amulets do you?"
"Lately, I've begun to realize that I'll always be a good provider," Harry replied, as he huffed and puffed, clearly winded. As he started bouncing back from his efforts, Harry looked up at Fleur and smiled. "You can pursue multiple Masteries for over a decade, or dedicate yourself to researching something obscure, if that's what you want to do. You can become the most accomplished in anything you want, take your time. I seem to just fall into money and opportunities all the time." Harry smiled just a little bit sheepishly.
"How so?" Fleur was a little out of breath now just like Harry was, but for a very different reason. The way her lover's sweaty clothing was clinging to his body right now was...
"Well, the fact that I'm born to a title and significant wealth aside..." Harry shrugged. "It seems like I'll become a professional Quidditch player one of these days. I also have a controlling interest in Dob's Brand Magical Sport shakes, which are already selling to the athletic community like hotcakes. Then there's the fact that your mother has already patented that translation bracelet that I invented, and it's selling around the world as a learning tool. Finally, I can apparently use intent fueled Rune magic and my large magical stores to circumvent common sense when creating magical items."
Fleur nodded along with everything Harry said and then she said it...
"'ARRY POTTER."
They both laughed.
"I'm covered in sweat so let me wash up. After that I would very much appreciate some cuddling with you. I'll be making a shower room for myself, but I'll only be gone for about five minutes." With that said, Harry started rising up to his feet.
In a moment of inspiration, Fleur imagined that there was a large bath sitting in the corner of the room with a small privacy barrier set up beside it. Then, when the bath appeared out of nowhere, she smiled at Harry in a very self-satisfied fashion. "I think I'm getting the hang of this room's magic."
As her lover stared down at her in surprise, Fleur handed him a towel that the room provided and gave him a very pointed look. "'Arry... This way I can sit by a fire and watch you give me a show. Her face sobered and she shivered for a second, as she struggled to be more honest. "I... I don't want you in another room right now..." She was talking in a lower, much more vulnerable voice now, and she saw right away that she was doing damage to Harry's heart. "'Arry… Krum scared me at a basic, primal level, and despite the fact that I hate myself for my weakness, your presence makes me feel safe..."
Harry seriously felt like he might have a heart attack because of Fleur Delacour's very out of character vulnerability. After somehow managing to perform a wandless drying charm on himself, he collapsed back onto the couch next to Fleur, and gently cradled her face in his hands. "Fleur... You are being far, far too hard on yourself... Krum scares me at a primal level too... I just barely kept myself from using a maiming curse on him in the Great Hall just now, because as far as my magic is concerned, Krum's an abomination and he shouldn't be allowed to exist. I've never been more angry in my entire life than I am at him because of what he wanted from you, but that's not why I almost committed murder during dinner... I've never seen anything like his magic before, and I know that he's not just a normal human wizard. He's more like the polar opposite of a Veela. His magic is all feral need and demonic violence. Where a Veela is more like a little bit of angel in the mixture (Harry briefly smiled at Fleur), Krum is... I don't know. He has a monster in his bloodline, I just don't know what it is. Have you ever heard of anything like this?"
"No, I've never seen or heard of anything like him," replied Fleur while shaking her head. "Many people have different mixtures of magical beast inside of them either through intermarriage or bestowal because of deeds done. I don't think you even realize it 'Arry, but you'll most likely never have to worry about any variety of poison ever again. Basilisk poison flows in your bloodstream now. I wouldn't be surprised if you've been magically affected by that and it will become a bloodline trait. You also have more phoenix tears in your veins than most hospitals use in over a hundred years. It's rare that a phoenix gives up a tear to the point it's nearly a legend. Fawkes was weeping a torrent into your arm... That bird loves you, 'Arry... You heal quickly because you were forced to learn how to do so to keep yourself alive through your childhood, but... who knows... Maybe you're also healing like you do because of the tears as well. As you can see, it's not impossible to become more than human through extraordinary circumstances."
Harry had been listening to Fleur as he took off his shoes and socks, so he was nodding his understanding as he rose up to his feet. Turning back towards Fleur, he drew off his outer robes, to reveal the black tank top and cargo pants combo he wore most days under his uniform. Then, when he noticed that his current attire had Fleur's undivided attention, he adopted a somewhat sly look upon his face. "Well, you demanded that I work out every day for your viewing pleasure... Shall I show you the results?"
Harry Potter: Unleashed: Uncensored: Chapter One - Scene in the RoR
"Yes, but at a distance," Fleur bit out with a face that was beginning to grow a little bit pink. "I must remain on my best behavior for more than one reason, which means that I must keep my… excitement under control."
"Other than keeping Adrien from assassinating me, what are these reasons," Harry asked as he backed up towards the bathtub and pulled his tank top over his head.
There are two reasons that come to mind immediately," Fleur began as she leaned forward on the couch and raked Harry's body with her eyes. "The first reason is that I'm currently struggling with two sets of conflicting sensibilities... A normal witch would call me a terrible slut for desiring sex the very first day of a relationship. A full-blooded Veela would've jumped you this morning immediately after the confession. I am torn between these two ideas of normalcy."
"Sounds… hard," Harry just barely breathed out even as he backpedaled a step further away.
"Then there's the fact that I'm currently a Veela experiencing what amounts to an unrequited love, which is an extremely rare state of affairs," Fleur continued.
"Unrequited," Harry repeated, confused. So far as he knew, he was DEFINITELY requiting Fleur's love…
"You resist my allure, you keep your hands to yourself," Fleur expanded with a predatory little grin. "My Veela genetics will be treating your good behavior and self-control as a rejection by now, which is why my body will be doing some rather… special things in response…"
By this point, a boxer-briefs wearing Harry Potter was leaning back against the bathtub with his pants laying forgotten around his ankles… Instead, he was staring at Fleur and the way that she was staring back at him… Her eyes seemed to almost glow in the dimly lit room, as if his current lack of clothing and the topic of their conversation was bringing out a side of her that hadn't existed until now.
"You see, 'Arry… Over the next two or three weeks, my body will… evolve in a very specific way, undergoing many small, extremely subtle alterations that will make me completely irresistible to you and you alone. I will soon taste and smell like heaven, look, feel and even sound like paradise to you," Fleur purred out in a very mischievous tone of voice. "To anybody else, nothing will have changed, but to you…" Fleur's smile looked almost evil in the intensity of her enjoyment.
With an indrawn breath and a growl, Harry abruptly tore his eyes away from his violently beautiful new girlfriend, instantly filled the bathtub with extra-cold water, disrobed behind the privacy of the translucent screen, and then hopped into the water in a flurry of agile movement.
After gasping and hissing at the chill of the water and settling his ass down on the very bottom of the tub, Harry heard the sound of a French Veela giggling her amusement across the room.
End of edited scene
As he returned from the bathtub, Harry toweled himself off and conjured himself a t-shirt shorts set. For now at least, it sounded like it was in their best interest that Fleur not get too much of an eyeful whenever they were alone... Sliding onto the couch, he scooped the lazily lounging woman up into his arms before laying on his back and pulling her down into their traditional snuggling posture. "Thanks for waiting..."
"I wasn't really waiting... I was just sitting here, feeling you love me through the amulet..." Fleur wiggled even closer into Harry's body as she spoke, wrapping herself tightly around his waist. "'Arry... Did you specifically design the protective amulet to radiate love and devotion towards me?"
"Well... yes and no," Harry answered with an extremely contented smile. "The shield function of the amulet will be a very dense layer of my aura, circling around you and getting in the way of Krum's miasma. As I was making the amulet, I realized that I could attribute a few emotions into that aura, exactly like I do with my own. It felt only natural to convey how much you mean to me when given the opportunity, and that's exactly what I did. It should feel pretty comforting when it activates, but as it turns out it also feels pretty good when it's just passively monitoring you. I imagine it feels like I'm observing you though… You okay with that?"
"I enjoy the feeling very much," Fleur assured, with a happy little sigh. "It feels as if you're inside of the charm, watching over my magic and protecting me from outside influences."
"Your feelings are actually pretty accurate," Harry replied as he sank deeper into the couch. "Anyone who tries using any of the more eclectic mind arts on you will get a rather nasty surprise. My aura will begin circling you very quickly and will start diluting and siphoning their power away from them. I can't make my magic sharp or senselessly violent because it just doesn't suit my personality. My magic is hungry and curious, so It wasn't hard to get it to start deconstructing the intruding magic. Once that's done, the charm is designed to dump the extra magic in a burst towards a second amulet that I'll be creating later tonight. The charm will vibrate, letting me know something is up. That way I'll know when something is happening to you and in what general direction. Krum will find his next attempt to dominate you is exhausting to him. The best part is it won't be painful for either of us. Magical constructs don't feel pain like I would if I tried to absorb Krum's magic."
"Poor little charm," Fleur murmured, while rubbing it fondly. "You're not kind to magical items 'Arry."
With yet another smile, Harry kissed Fleur on her temple, but then he shook his head. "Fleur... That charm loves you and would die for you in a heartbeat."
For the rest of the evening, Fleur snuggled the stuffing out of her lover, for saying something so fantastically beautiful, and meaning every word of it literally.
Reginald Harkenen was the first man to be sentenced to execution in France in over a decade, which was a problem because they didn't even have the resources to do so humanely. The most reputably painless way of executing someone was actually in England. The infamous Veil of Death at the English ministry's DOM (Department of Mysteries) was well known to be both instantaneous and, so far as anyone knew, completely painless. The French ministry ended up asking the English ministry for a favor, and Reginald was scheduled to be moved there for execution.
Reginald Harkenen smiled in satisfaction when he found out that he'd be moved to the foreign country for execution, as the leader of the Black Band was a very powerful man…
Even more powerful than he knew.
An unknown number of 'unofficial' Black Band members were infiltrated all throughout Magical Britain's government, as over the years Reginald had 'coerced' them all to perform magically binding oaths to support him to the best of their ability, and no amount of Veritaserum could make Reginald divulge their names because their identities were Obliviated from his mind…
And yet the fact that Reginald had several sleeper agents working within Magical Britain's government wasn't why he was so damned happy at the moment.
No.
The primary reason why Reginald was smiling was because he had a vendetta to end, and it felt like events were aiding him in its completion. He wanted that boy Harry Potter dead. Potter had stopped his men from getting to the Veela twice now and both times he'd knocked most of them unconscious. Potter had led to the French ministry catching and questioning far too many of his people, and he'd lost much because of it. It was convenient that he'd be finding his freedom in England, for he had business to take care of. Harry Potter's life would be coming to an end some day very soon…
To Be Continued
Author's Note:
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