I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter franchise
Sitting in a pub in a small magical hamlet just outside the village of Castle Combe England, Remus Lupin and a heavily cowled man listened to a wizarding wireless that was sitting in the corner. On this tinny and subpar magical radio, the unnamed announcer that was presiding over the Triwizard Tournament gave a blow by blow of the events unfolding in the first Mini-Task…
A bead of sweat dripped off of Remus's forehead completely unnoticed as the announcer revealed that Harry Potter just emerged completely unscathed from an Ignis Carcerous spell that flooded the entire platform within a hellscape of boiling fire…
The cowled man on Remus's left however, he merely chuckled low in his throat, the sound reminiscent of a bark but quick and repetitive like a man's…
"Weren't you a little too at ease just now," Remus asked the cowled man, after downing his drink and sighing in relief.
"After everything you've told me about the boy's increasingly absurd capabilities," the cowled man replied with yet another laugh. "Naw, I thought it'd take more than a gaggle of openly murderous proctors to knock off Lily and James' son… and I was right… What I don't think, is that listening to the festivities over at Hogwarts is why I was asked to return here from the really nice tropical resort that I've been… 'convalescing' in, because Harry intends to act on my behalf with far better timing…"
"No. You're right, it isn't," Remus agreed with a long indrawn breath and a bite to his lower lip. "You and I… are becoming the handlers for an inside man among the Death Eaters, on the lookout for a series of very dangerous magical artifacts…"
"I refuse," the cowled man automatically responded. "I'll kill him. I'll do it immediately. I won't even hesitate…"
"So you've guessed who it is that I'm referring to," Remus sighed.
"That, and I've guessed exactly who it was that tried to off Harry with the Eramus Servientus potion…" By this point, the cowled man was squeezing his beer in a white knuckled hand, and his words were little more than a feral sounding growl."
"I'd be disappointed with you if you hadn't figured that much out, but do you know what the magical artifacts are," Remus asked.
The cowled man didn't answer. He drew his beer up beneath his hood, draining the rest of it with an enthusiastic swig.
"Horcruxes… Plural…"
Clink, clink, clatter… shatter…
With a shaky wand hand, the cowled man Vanished the shattered beer bottle from the floor, before swiveling to stare at his friend's face. "Plural…"
"Seven, all told," Remus confirmed with a slow and meaningful nod. "One was destroyed the night the Erasmus potion failed, Two have already been destroyed by our… agent, who is currently Oath-bound to destroy them all on pain of death, two more are accounted for but beyond our reach, and three more are still well hidden…"
"On pain of death," the cowled man repeated, an uncomfortable realization in his voice, an anger that he wouldn't get to act on… yet.
Remus simply nodded, as his oldest living friend wasn't stupid, which meant he knew what they had to do…
Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Severus Snape, were going to have to work together to get the job done.
Gods help them all.
After completing his first 'not-so-Mini-Task' and undergoing a brief checkup with Poppy (who lectured him to stop being so damned insane all of the time), Harry briefly hugged the woman because he didn't get to see her as often as he used to... That was the moment when he realized that there was another group of people present that he didn't get to see as often as he liked, and his next destination became perfectly clear.
It was time to go hang out with the fam.
One second Harry was walking along the edge of the Mini-Task platform and waving up at the audience, and the next second he was gone, as he'd Disillusioned himself and was stealthily making his way up the stands towards the Delacours. Maintaining an invisibility spell was a little bit more taxing than usual as he really did just use up a boatload of his magic, but Harry still had no trouble casting a notice-me-not charm around the location that he was visiting as he ascended the stairs… Then, after ending his Disillusionment spell, Harry sat down in the middle of Gabrielle and Appoline, and he smiled winningly at them as they gasped in surprise and whirled in his direction.
Of course, it didn't take long for Appoline and Gabrielle to cast off their surprise, laugh their approval, and then throw their arms around Harry's waist in an all encompassing hug.
Gabby peppered Harry with hugs, a cheek kiss and at least a million questions, but more than anything else, she wanted to know why Harry had done everything in a way that was so much more difficult than everybody else?
Harry and the Delacour parents laughed at the very wise question.
"'Arry," Appoline exclaimed, after all the hugging came to an end. "I completely agree with Gabby in this. You really must stop scaring me so badly. I am aging terribly."
"No you aren't," Harry instantly disagreed. "You're twenty-seven at the most, and I refuse to believe otherwise."
Adrien both grinned and shook his head at Harry from Appoline's other shoulder. "You're an odd mixture of wise and insane Harry, as I don't think I've ever seen the likes of what I just saw down on that platform, and while you've clearly demonstrated that you're a powerful and resourceful wizard, I somehow doubt that chaos is what the judges had in mind for this Task..."
Harry grinned, shrugged and then waved his hand as if he was throwing away something unimportant. "I suppose we'll see what the judges think once Fleur finishes destroying the bell curve."
They all laughed at that point because yes, yes, Fleur would most definitely be doing exactly that.
As if on cue, Fleur walked out onto the newly rebuilt platform, all poise, grace and dignity. Then she saw Harry sitting with her family (as no mere spell could conceal him from her perception) and she beamed a wide and happy smile.
"I like the effect you have on Fleur," Appoline cheered, as she bounced in her seat with a brilliant smile on her face and waved back at her daughter with both of her hands.
Adrien just nodded because there was no use denying it. Fleur was positively glowing with happiness.
Over their bond, Harry conveyed to Fleur how grateful he was that the hickey she was currently sporting was completely covered by her wyvern hide uniform.
Down on the platform, Fleur's smile widened, but she also empathically hushed her mate. "I am about to teach you some-zing, mon amour. Eet ees time to watch closely."
Harry returned a quick, "yes mistress," over the bond, and Fleur grinned wolfishly as she shook out her arms and stretched her neck right and left. The woman was quickly becoming all business, as the audience's cheering slowly came to an end...
"Fleur and I are good for each other," Harry finally responded, with his eyes locked on Adrien in order to convey his good intentions and sincerity. "She and I have an exceptionally strong bond, it began forming well over half a day before we took part in the process, and I have embraced its formation with all of the gravity and seriousness that full-blooded Veela do on the reserve…"
Adrien stared at Harry's slightly nervous but determined expression for several moments in a row, before turning away to stare down at his daughter instead. After those two moments ended however, he finally nodded, smiled, and allowed his wife to softly hug him from the side... It did appear the man had come to some conclusion or understanding, which Appoline sensed in the man's mind, and she was providing her husband some TLC in what was probably a moment of rare vulnerability.
And from some unknown location in the Great(er than usual) Hall, the so-far unnamed announcer started introducing Fleur to the newly settled audience…
"Our next Champion, hailing from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, is an increasingly famous femme fatale by the name of Fleur Delacour! Those of us with a subscription to Britain's Daily Prophet newspaper will all have read the article about a full squad of hit-wizards attacking a local pub, and how Fleur helped fellow Champions Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter disable their aggressors in a flurry of superbly-executed spell-fire! While I am indeed impressed, I can't say I'm all that surprised, as I have it on good authority that Fleur here trained with world renowned duelist and instructor Mr. Alex Garner of France all summer long, and has been judged worthy of joining the circuit as soon as she comes of age…"
As the announcer continued talking Fleur up almost to an embarrassing degree, she stoically walked up onto the platform, entered into the cube-shaped-barrier, stared her unveiled contempt at the newly pepper-upped Proctors, and then nodded her readiness in the direction of the judges.
The announcer's spiel came to an end as the judges nodded their understanding, and gestured for the task to begin…
After a pair of sullen looking Beauxbatons girls walked up to act as Fleur's stunning adversaries, the Proctors cast a similar variety of AOE spell as they'd used against Harry, before hurling it into the barrier. The difference this time was that Fleur Delacour is an expert at countering spells, and she was quite 'eager' to demonstrate her skills…
Up in the stands, Harry started feeling very minor pulls on his magic and at first he didn't understand why, as Fleur had more than enough magic to rely purely on her own… That's when he felt his magic being manipulated to create precise, exact, powerful, counter curses, long before the proctor's spells could even begin activating, and he realized what his wife was up to...
Fleur was using Harry's magic, so that he'd have a much easier time learning what she was doing… She was also expediting the process because she had something in mind.
Depending on how its done, having a curse countered in the air can hurt the castor directly, as their magic is brutally torn away from their control, and Fleur was going out of her way to cause that exact sensation to the Proctors by having her counters meet their curses directly at the barrier with juuuuust the right amount of violence and punishing intent.
And just as the Proctors' first curse was halfway through the barrier, Fleur's magic intercepted it, causing it to change into a deep blue color before dispersing into sparks that moved back from whence they came, and all of the proctors flinched with their hands gripping their heads… This situation was particularly damaging and painful for them, because they had no choice but to continue controlling the spell as it flew towards its target, so that their different magics would continue working together to achieve a specific goal…
And everybody watching knew what they were seeing. Fleur Delacour was punishing these men. They didn't know just who told Fleur that these men just attacked her intended (likely one of the administrators out in the Entry Hall), but the woman was pissed, and she was punishing them in a way that was very… French.
And a minute later, the Bulgarians cast another curse with similar results, leaving their faces green and their heads ringing as their magic was violently ripped away from their control.
They would repeat this act another eight times. They had no choice in the matter if they wished to obey the magical contract they signed…
Needless to say, Harry was forced to Occlude the bulk of the love, pride and appreciation that he was feeling from his wife, because he didn't want to distract her away from her efforts, but he also smiled like a loon, because in the end, he was right…
While Harry took part in a high drama showdown with the proctors, and his exploits were probably thrilling to the audience, Fleur was so brilliant, she took the task right outside of the barrier... The woman flowed around the odd stunning spells sent her way as if they didn't even exist, as she negated the heavy A.O.E. spells directly against the barrier again and again and again, casting powerful negative feedback towards their casters in a way that had their noses bleeding.
And yet, even then, with Fleur delivering a harsh and painful punishment for thousands of people to witness, she was beautiful... The spells that she intoned (when they needed to be intoned at all), sounded musical in the smooth dulcet French that she used, her wand movements looked smooth, light and upbeat like a conductor's baton, and she waltzed to and fro across the platform to hit the incoming spells from the most devastating angles.
At exactly the same time, Fleur stared at the Proctors as if they were boring her in a most unforgivable fashion, causing them to cast much larger, much more powerful spells, which caused them even more damage when countered.
It was perfection… It was art….
The Delacours, Harry, and indeed everyone in the audience, all just stared spellbound, as Fleur magically tortured the proctors again and again, during which time, she even gave Harry an ongoing empathic commentary on how the process of countering spells normally works, and he learned a great deal.
Then, at the ten minute mark, the proctors were finally allowed to collapse to their knees with their heads in their hands, the gong went off, and the Mini-Task came to an end…
And the Great Hall filled with clapping and cheering that was just as sincere as it had been for Harry, if not with the same manic enthusiasm… Fleur was so good, so scary, so graceful, the people in the audience had been completely mesmerized for the duration of the task, but after shaking out their heads, they bounced to their feet, and they made a lot of noise. They celebrated Fleur's justice, and the gorgeous way that she delivered it.
Rising to his feet, Harry turned towards the family and gave them a smile. "I'm heading down to hug my wife.. for more than one reason."
Both Appoline and Adrien nodded their understanding, as they could both guess the impulses and instincts that would lead Harry and Fleur to stake a claim on each other in an extremely public forum… Gabby, on the other hand, simply pressed her hands to her chest in response to the sweetness of their relationship, and started bouncing in her seat in anticipation…
So, so very cute…
With a knee-jerk pat to Gabby's head and one more parting smile, Harry started bounding down the steps, dropping the notice-me-not charm that he'd created in the process. Of course, several people in the audience immediately started pointing in his direction, but by that point he was already leaving the stands, and was walking along the edge of the platform in the direction of his wife.
After turning in the direction of the judges, Fleur acted as if she just caught sight of Harry, at which point she glided to his side, leaned against his side with his arm curled around her waist, and 'allowed' him to kiss her temple as they waited for the judges to begin doing their thing.
Neither Harry nor Fleur could accurately parse the mixed sigh, moan, groan, growl mixture that seemed to fill the entire Hall in the wake of their PDA, but they did know that the audience was currently feeling… stuff. Harry forced himself not to grin as he watched a very nervous squad of test proctor's get ushered out of the Great Hall by a quad of government officials.
"You were everything I said you'd be and more," Harry whispered, into Fleur's ear."
In defiance to the beatifically happy and serene smile that Fleur was currently maintaining, her inner emotions were a riot of purely sadistic glee, giddy pride, extreme happiness, manic enthusiasm, and a near explosive drive to keep up the momentum. In fact, Fleur's inner emotions were so intense, she was Occluding a lot of them to maintain her composure, which Harry could feel because her Occlusions felt very…. warm… within his magical senses.
As Harry investigated Fleur's fully activated Mind Occlusions in the bond, finding that they were quite powerful (in a very 'the best defense is a good offense' kind of way), the rest of the Champions started returning to the platform and lining up to Harry's right… with one exception.
Francine Petit was noticeably absent…
Harry and Fleur kept their amusement in the bond.
Standing directly to Harry's right was Cedric, who currently looked impeccable as if he'd just gone for a walk through the park rather than magic his way through a complicated task... Of course, what this meant to Harry was that he was the only one of the three of them who was visibly mussed up, at which point he started mourning the death of his cool t-shirt again…
As if sensing Harry's emotions, Cedric glanced aside at him before looking back at the judges with a somewhat sly expression on his face… "I had the opportunity to watch the two of you perform just now, and you were amazing, albeit for entirely different reasons..." After pausing for a moment, Cedric continued speaking while visibly struggling not to break into laughter… "Harry... The lightning bolts are going to be a problem again..."
In the wake of Cedric's words, as both Harry and Fleur groan/moaned in long suffering, Cedric covered his mouth with a hand and his shoulders shook with poorly suppressed laughter (Cedric not so secretly loved eavesdropping on the Hufflepuff chapter lightning bolts, and all of the absurd things they think and get up to…)
Harry was spared having to respond to Cedric's amusement when the judges suddenly cast sparklers into the air from their wands, as they gestured for quiet from the overexcited audience. The spectators stilled, slowly at first and then more rapidly, as the judges stood up to award their points.
The mystery announcer began speaking again and the milling crowds of people quieted. "It is now time for the judges to award the Champions the points they will receive for this Mini Task."
If you listened carefully, you could hear hundreds of people whispering about how this hadn't been a "Mini Task". The announcer cut through the din of incredulous murmuring… "First to face judgment is Durmstrang Champion Chadwick Harden. While he did manage to counter several spells with medium levels of success, he was unable to counter an intense fatigue spell which sapped his physical strength. He was quickly incapacitated after becoming unable to dodge the stunning spells that followed. The judges will now award a point value."
The three Headmasters, Ludo and Crouch all raised their wands in sync with each other, where they created a luminescent floating number in the air, like a firework, and then the Champion's official score emerged moments later when all of their numbers combined. Dumbledore released a six, Madam Maxine did as well, Karkaroff created an eight, Ludo shot off a five, Crouch cast a four. The median number ended up being a six.
The spectators weren't impressed with Karkaroff's biased judging, but the end result was fair so they didn't cause a ruckus about it
"Up next is another Durmstrang Champion, Victor Krum," the announcer continued in a much more enthusiastic voice. "This international superstar countered most of the spells sent his way but only had partial success with the quicksand effect spell. He was somehow able to leap extremely high into the air and freeze himself a patch of land to stand on. The reduced spell ended quickly, and he had no trouble avoiding the stunning spells that were cast his way. He completed the remaining four minutes without any further mishaps."
Once again, the judges raised their wands and began casting their numbers up into the air. Dumbledore shot out a nine, as did Maxine, Karkaroff created a massive glowing ten, Ludo cast a nine, and Crouch produced an eight. The median number ended up being a nine. Once again the crowd was mollified about Karkaroff's visibly biased judging.
"Next up is Champion Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts," the announcer declared with his usual enthusiasm. "This fan favorite was able to block all of the spells except for the dizzying charm and a cutting wind charm, which he was only able to reduce, but he was able to shake off the dizziness AOE in time to avoid the stunners that followed. He was also able to avoid being seriously hurt by the cutting wind AOE spell, when he erected an excellent rock dome defense. He managed to finish the task with only very minor scratches on his arms and his legs. Judges, please?"
Once again, most of the judges were fair, giving Cedric a medley of sevens and eights, except Karkaroff, who gave Cedric a six. Cedric's median number was basically unaffected, so he ended up with an eight.
The crowd started muttering mutinously at Karkaroff, but he didn't appear to care or even notice.
"Next up is Beauxbatons's Champion Francine Petit, who is currently in the Hospital Wing. For a few minutes, she did well negating most of the spell effects being sent her way, but it did appear to me she was having to do a little more scrambling around than she anticipated. She eventually failed to stop the Insecturmae Summoning spell, which brought forth a swarm of conjured insects onto the platform. Ms. Petit was disqualified, when she desperately leapt out of the Barrier, and slammed head first into the stands."
Needless to say, both Harry and Fleur almost lost it in that moment, forcing them to take their reaction into the bond to retain their dignity in the face of the audience. Outwardly they both looked stoic and calm, but in the bond they unraveled into fits of very childish giggles…
For the fourth time, the judges raised their wands, and at the end Francine was given a four. Madam Maxine did try to give the young woman a six… but it didn't help.
"Our next Champion created quite a stir today, and I've got to say it was one of the most exciting events that I have ever seen," the announcer began with a manic variety of glee in his voice. "It goes without saying that Harry Potter is completely ignorant to all things spell countering, but good lords can that boy rumble! What I'm interested in finding out is what the judges think of Harry's brand of resourcefulness and spell variety. We all witnessed Lord Potter use an extremely wide array of spells, powerfully and in unheard of ways. I can't say for sure because it happened so fast, but I could've sworn he pulled off a wandless in there. Also, as far as the healers can see, he's completely uninjured. Seriously though, Gods only know how he isn't three quarters dead right about now. He was flying around the platform like a circus tumbler for most of the event and was the target of every lethal spell imaginable. Anyway... Judges, if you could please. What will young Lord Potter be going home with?"
The scores that Harry received were all over the map. Not one of the judges agreed on how to score him and that much was obvious. Dumbledore put up an eight, Madam Maxine gave him a seven, Karkaroff gave him a three, Ludo a nine, and Crouch gave a six. The median number came to a seven.
The audience was pissed, their catcalls and jeers pouring down on the judges like a hailstorm of scorn and derision… Karkaroff had infuriated thousands of people with his poor judging, and by this point even he knew it. The man looked distinctly nervous as he sidled closer to Dumbledore's side.
Fleur, who experienced her mate's actions as if they were her own, found herself rolling her eyes even as she turned to hug the man tightly from the side. She was well-aware that Harry knew she was impressed as all hell about his triumph over the Mini-Task, but then, she decided to say something out loud merely to make her feelings on the matter perfectly clear... "'Arry... Zis event pressed on your biggest weakness, your lack of raw knowledge, with ze worst possible timing… and yet you still persevered."
Off to Harry's right, Cedric nodded his agreement, as Fleur's words were right on the money.
After smiling at his wife and close friend, Harry returned his attention to the judges, staring fixedly at them in a similar fashion to the night they all stood within the Great Hall's adjoining office. He locked eyes with each of the judges in turn, his eyes burned with magic, his shroud billowed out of his body, he allowed his anger, as well as his expectations, to leak into his magic… While Harry didn't believe that the tournament committee arranged for the proctors to try to murder him in broad daylight, the murder attempt happened under their watch, and Harry expected the convenors to actually do something about it…
Ludo looked confused, Crouch looked indifferent, Karkaroff looked indignant, and Maxine looked to Dumbledore… Dumbledore merely nodded his head, and then glanced aside at the proctors that were just then being drawn from the room.
In a moment of excellent timing, the announcer chose that moment to move on from Harry's scoring, after allowing a few dissatisfied mutters to leak through the increased volume spell. "Ahem," he said, while coughing at his own faux pas. "Last but certainly not least, is the very capable Ms. Fleur Delacour. She absolutely destroyed today's event, flawlessly finishing it with not one missed spell or botched execution, and what's more, she was the reckoning that everybody in here was hoping for! Truly she made it look like a first year student could complete the event, and for that I imagine she'll score well, right Headmaster Karkaroff?"
Three thousand plus people stared daggers at the Durmstrang Headmaster…
"Judges if you please?"
When the judges raised their wands, not even Karkaroff could give Fleur anything but a perfect ten. Karkaroff may have tried, if the audience wasn't prepared to rip him to shreds, but they were, and they were watching, and he was surrounded on every side… Fleur left the event the clear winner, and took the twenty-five extra points to lead into the tournament.
Harry was in fourth place for the day, but had trouble being angry because well... damn right... He sucked at countering. If the judges had scored him better than Cedric, it would've been blatant crowd appeal judging. In the wake of the event, Harry, Fleur and Cedric walked out of the Great Hall, with wide and happy smiles upon all three of their faces. Of course, Cedric did wish he hadn't botched two of his counters, but they were all happy to be safe and not publicly shamed like Francine…
In the hours following the end of the Triwizard Tournament's first Mini-Task, the team of Bulgarian proctors were arrested, they were charged with attempted murder of an English Most Ancient and Noble Lord (a charge that came with a life sentence in Azkaban) and they were interrogated by both Dumbledore and Magical Britain's Law Enforcement.
The tournament committee didn't want to make a big show of it, but Harry's task really had been completely over the top in terms of lethality. Several of the spells that the Bulgarians cast at Harry had most certainly not been on the approved list of spells, and were of several magnitudes more dangerous than could ever have been allowed. Specifically the freezing spell directly into a barrier filled full of water and the fire prison spell could have had no other purpose but to immediately kill Harry.
The Bulgarians were eventually questioned under Veratiserum, because they claimed a Mr. Harkenen was the person who paid for their services... Auror pursuit of Harkenen picked up once again, and was taking up huge amounts of their resources.
Reginald Harkenen's local contact did, in the end, manage to free him from the clutches of Magical Britain's criminal underbelly, but not without first paying out over eight hundred thousand galleons to the various cretins that he owed money to…
In one fell swoop, Reginald discredited himself in the eyes of his Dark Wizard peers, making himself a laughing stock both because of the lost bet and the absurd amount of cash that he paid the proctors for no good reason.
Then, of course, there was the fact that the proctors would definitely end up revealing his involvement, which meant he needed to hunker down deep within his contact's deepest sub-lair until the heat died down and the coast was clear.
Thirty meters underground, in a cave-turned apparition-proof bunker, Reginald sat within an old, cast-off armchair in front of an illusory fire, a bottle of cheap wine in hand and a certain famous boy on the mind…
After fighting free from all the tumult and congestion left behind in the wake of the Mini-Task, Fleur and Harry met up with the Delacours in the Entry Hall of the school, where Harry once again cast a notice-me-not spell around the four of them.
"So, you have something in mind for us tourists," Adrien asked, even as he and his wife hugged their eldest daughter and watched a thick mass of people part around the five of them as if there was an invisible dome around their bodies.
"Top to bottom tour with yours truly as a guide," Harry responded with a smile at how the Delacour parents were fussing over Fleur, whispering positive feedback and affection into her ears from both sides… The visiting families have all been granted two hours of leeway to roam around, which should juuust be enough time to visit all of the most notable locations."
With the news that they'd get to explore the gigantic old castle before they left, Gabrielle immediately bounced to Harry's side, and scrambled up his back like a squirrel.
Over the next hour and a half, Harry and the fam hit all the most prominent landmarks that Hogwarts had to offer, including but not limited to the north tower, the dungeons, the classrooms, the lake, the Hospital Wing (it was verified that Harry does indeed have a plaque above a bed and they saw an unconscious Francine), and finally they all arrived in the Gryffindor common room. A stop that turned out to be quite the spectacle, as there was a very loud, very alcohol fueled party happening in Harry's common room, and it looked like Fred and George had gone all out.
There were Potter banners floating to and fro overhead, lightning bolt symbols covered every conceivable surface, and a manic sounding cheer exploded out of everyone's mouths as soon as they saw Harry enter the scene.
Fleur, Appoline and Adrien were amused by the two Pm rager that was happening in the Gryffindor common room… Gabrielle excitedly clapped her hands along with everybody else before picking up a vast amount of lightning bolt stickers on a nearby table and stuffing them into her pockets.
One by one, Harry's closest friends emerged from the crowd to hug or backslap Harry and then exchange friendly greetings with the Delacours.
"Mr. and Mrs. Delacour," Hermione acknowledged, politely. "I love what you did with Harry this summer, even if he's still a little bit… unhinged." Hermione gave Harry the stink eye, because he'd almost given her a heart attack earlier.
After laughing out loud, Adrien nodded his understanding. "You must be Hermione. I've heard a lot about you, as Harry never once stopped talking about you."
Hermione blushed, but then she smiled and nodded.
"WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN HERE!"
The bellow had come from an angry looking redhead, who was sitting next to a large platter of food, across the room. Music stopped, and conversations were interrupted, by the extreme volume of the outburst. Ron appeared completely undaunted. "THIS IS THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM, NOT SOME TOURIST ATTRACTION!"
After sending a single withering look upon Ron, Harry instead turned his attention to the room at large. "The Delacours came here today to watch Fleur and I compete. They're family friends of mine and we're very close. Does anyone have any issues with them seeing where I live while I'm here?"
Ron instantly put up his hand… but he was quite literally the only one.
"It does appear you've been outvoted," Harry pointed out, in as casual a voice as he could muster. "Now, we discussed this Mr. Weasley. If you have any problems with me, bring them up with my legal representation, because I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Once a week you scream in my general direction, and I've reached the end of my patience. Also, I'm pretty sure this is a party to celebrate my successful completion of the first Mini-Task… Are you sure you even want to take part?"
In the wake of Harry's words, it became clear that Ron hadn't expected him to ask such an inconvenient question… After throwing the food he was holding down on the table and clenching his fists tight at his sides, Ron gave Harry an extremely hateful look and then stormed out of the room.
Harry simply sighed as he turned back towards his friends and family.
Appoline looked a little bit bemused and a little bit sad at exactly the same time. "I suppose zat ees Ron, ze jealous friend?"
It was interesting how everyone standing around the room nodded in response to Appoline's question, because it WAS actually everyone that responded in a similar fashion. Seamus, Dean, Parvati, Lavender and dozens of other people all throughout the room, all nodded in perfect unison, right along with Harry's closest friends.
By this point, it looked like Ron had alienated himself pretty thoroughly….
With the drama at an end, and in a desire to end the awkward silence it left behind, someone at the back of the room turned the wizarding wireless back on, unleashing some truly awful music to echo about the room. The music was ethereal and atmospheric, which suits a magical culture just fine, but when all was said and done, it wasn't all that pleasant to the ears, nor was it easy to dance to.
As if the discordant noises in the background had summoned her, Katie suddenly ran up, and foisted a CD player into Harry's hands. "Okay wonderboy. Do the impossible magic already, so that I can listen to something decent for once."
After smiling at Katie's enthusiasm, Harry turned his attention back towards Appoline, stepped closer to his mother in law, and then lowered the volume of his voice so that only she and Adrien could hear him speak. "Are you ready for another big Runes slash Arithmancy project?"
Appoline immediately grinned and nodded with an almost manic gleam in her eyes.
"Over the weekend, I plan to create a CD player that works in magical settings using magical components..." Harry didn't miss the way Appoline and Adrien's mouths hung open in response to his words, but since he didn't have the time to explain, he just shrugged and continued his proposal... "If you're interested, I'll send you one of the two finished products that I create, and we'll strike the same deal that we did with the bracelets. "I won't be able to explain how the product can be recreated, like… at all… so I need a gifted Artificer to design, streamline and staff a workshop for me…"
By the time Harry finished his explanation, Appoline was vibrating and bouncing on her toes in a way that had all of the Delacours smiling warmly at the woman's boundless enthusiasm. "Oooooh, 'Aarriee, you are so much fun! Because of you, I am a CEO, 'eenventor, 'ousewife. Eet ees a dream come true for me..."
""I'm really happy to hear that, Appoline, as I'll admit, I haven't been focusing my attention on Arithmancy at all, and I'm grateful I can work with someone that I trust…" At the tail end of his words, Harry allowed himself to be squeezed within one of Appoline's tightest, warmest hugs.
Within the bond, Harry felt a bonfire of love and lust being channeled in his direction, but when he glanced aside at his wife, Fleur's face was completely composed (if a little pink). Suffice it to say, he'd won some major brownie points with his wife and she felt an intense desire to act on her feelings right then and there, but since her father was standing just a meter away, she grabbed up Gabrielle instead, and she hugged the little girl like a teddy bear…
Two Hours Later…
Harry Potter was currently playing goalkeeper, as an honest to Gods football (soccer) game was happening at Hogwarts. It was being done in style too, with a near perfect half sized pitch that they brought into being within the RoR.
Cedric was good at football, the twins weren't bad, the flying foxes and Cho were athletic enough to do just about anything, while Neville, Hannah and Hermione tried their best, but Fleur could really move that ball. Case in point, she was having a grand old time pummeling Harry with high speed shots that he had no chance of predicting, let alone stopping. He'd stopped one or two using his supernatural speed and agility, and he'd have to be satisfied with that because his wife was good and she wasn't letting him look into her mind…
As the game came to an end, a beach scene appeared complete with a pool, and everyone collapsed into some deck chairs with satisfied smiles upon their faces. Of course, Harry found his lap occupied by Fleur, and he smiled into her perfectly smooth, silvery blonde hair as she wiggled down into his body.
With a mental command, Harry made the RoR's illusionary sun track faster than reality, and they began to see it dropping closer towards the horizon in a sunset that would take a couple minutes at most. At the same time, off to the side, a fire-pit instantly appeared, with wood and kindling ready to be set aflame.
Harry felt Fleur's hands running along his thighs in silent appreciation. He'd remembered her desire to have a campfire, and she was riding high on having what she considered to be the perfect mate…
As the sun disappeared beyond the watery horizon, Harry's friends moved closer to the fire-pit, and he showed the twins how you would use matches and crumpled up newspaper to start a normal campfire. Everyone sitting around all ooohhd and awed way more than necessary when Harry got a fire started, after about a minute, despite the fact that any one of them could've started a fire using magic, in less than a second.
POP
With a stylish bow, Dobby was standing nearby, with bags of hotdogs and buns. He also pulled out all of the fixings necessary to make proper smores (marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker heated up over a fire).
Fleur looked like she'd squeal in excitement, but there were also some clueless looks coming his way from the magically raised.
Harry gestured for Fleur to help him by being his beautiful assistant, which she did by demonstrating how to make the sugary treet with exaggerated game show movements while he explained with words. By the time Fleur ate the smore that she'd crafted, Fred and George were sold on the idea and wanted to chow down.
Over the next two hours spent sitting around the fire, everyone shared stories and anecdotes and jokes about their lives. At some point, Alicia told them all about her very first accidental magic when she was a little kid, followed by some of the other accidental magics that she'd experienced as she grew. The first time she performed magic, she was locked in a closet by her older brother, and left there for a long time. She'd eventually started freaking out, and then all of the sudden, the door blew off its hinges...
Hermione went next, describing how she'd kept floating books down from her father's library from an early age.
Everyone laughed at that, because it was just so typical. Hermione just shrugged and deadpanned the words "I like books."
Selene animated a stuffed animal, which followed her around for a few days before it lost its magical charge (cute).
Angelina kept Vanishing her vegetables until her parents caught on, and started watching her eat.
Katie made all of the clothing in her vicinity fluffy like a bunny, until there were no smooth materials left in the entire house.
Cedric turned everything blue until nearly every surface in his bedroom was the exact same color.
Cho magically grew her hair until it was like five feet long when she was only five years old. She laughingly explained that it had freaked out her parents, because she'd looked like a Japanese demon of some kind (Everyone had a really good laugh at that image).
Bella screamed in fright while watching a horror movie at a young age, and released a shockwave of sound that broke every window in her home.
Hannah shrank Susan Bones's favorite pink dress until she could no longer move an inch. It'd happened while they were playing tag, when they were kids.
Fred and George both made themselves invisible, and then got up to mayhem when they realized it had happened.
Fleur also made herself invisible, during an occasion when she was young and separated from her family in a muggle town. She explained that she'd been very afraid of being seen by muggle men, even as a little kid.
Harry ran his hands along his wife's waist, but since she seemed to have made peace with the memory, he didn't make a fuss in the bond.
Neville went next, explaining how he was held out of a third story window by his ankles when he was eight. His uncle Algie did it on the behest of his Grams. Unsurprisingly, by the time Nev had finished telling his story all laughter around the fire had come to a stop, and Harry was visibly pissed...
"I hadn't shown any signs of having magic yet, and my Gram was afraid I was a squib." Neville stated, seemingly without any resentment whatsoever. "Algie was asked to try to scare me into a reaction, but he dropped me out of the window by accident. As it turns out, I'm a wizard, because I bounced like a rubber ball when I hit the ground.
Once again there wasn't any laughter being shared at the end of the story. Harry turned towards Neville, giving him a very serious look. Neville... That kind of crazily negligent behavior should've landed your family jail time. I don't like how you're the opposite end of the spectrum from me. My relatives treated me poorly to keep me from developing magic, while you were put at risk so that you would…"
At first Neville just nodded thoughtfully, but then he smiled. "While I won't defend my grams, who is completely unapologetic, I want you to try not to judge my uncle too harshly. Algie's never gotten over what he did, and I really wish he would because he does himself damage. Algie and I have kept a rather close correspondence ever since that day, and he's always been there for me. He's expressed an interest in you lately Harry. He works in the Department of Mysteries, so he can't tell me why…"
"Harry probably has a closet full of documents with them, because of all the mystery surrounding him, and the impossible things that he does," Angelina immediately pointed out.
Everyone turned towards Harry at Angelina's words, and he understood that he was next up explaining his accidental magic. With eyes that slid up and to the left, Harry tried to remember the first time he'd used accidental magic in his normal memories. He was, of course, a product of accidental magic and had been using it just to live and develop since he was a baby, but he wouldn't get into that one.
Finally, Harry settled on the three events that he could remember that weren't a matter of survival... "My aunt shaved my head once except for the fringe on the front so that it would hide my scar. By the time I woke up the next day I had a full head of hair again. I also Apparated once at my muggle primary school and freaked out a bunch of people. My favorite one though, was a conversation I had with a snake at a zoo. It was a profound event for me because it wasn't just a mere moment, but ongoing. I was amazed that I was taking part in something magical in real time. Imagine my surprise in second year, finding out that the most amazing experience of my pre Hogwarts life happened because of a skill most wizards consider evil…" Harry began chuckling and shaking his head.
Off to Harry's right, Selene looked to Fleur who was staring at her boyfriend in cow eyed, open adoration, at which point a mischievous smile slid across her face and she leaned in Harry's direction... "But 'Arry... I'm confused zat you find eet so surprising..." Selene gave Fleur an extremely evil smile… "From what Fleur 'as told me, 'Arry…. you do very, very naughty zings wiz zat parseltongue of yours…"
Harry and Fleur blushed bright red, as absolutely everyone else in the room roared with out of control laughter.
It was a good afternoon.
Harry and Fleur were both tired from such a long day and had many plans for their day off tomorrow. For that reason and because the RoR was in heavy use today, they decided to head to bed early… They suffered through all of the usual catcalls with as much class as possible, and then made their escape to the lawns outside. Harry Disillusioned himself and then followed behind Fleur, hand securely affixed to her thigh.
The Beauxbatons Champion entered her carriage to the scattered congratulations of her female peers because Fleur was, in fact, in the midst of a rather dramatic upswing of popularity. While Harry hadn't initially understood why his wife's school was treating her so differently, Selene had explained that it was a mixture of two different things. The first change was the fact that Fleur was happier nowadays, thus she was smiling at people far more often... The second change was that she was officially off the market. The various women who comprised Fleur's school had less reason to fear Fleur's influence on their men, because she was very obviously entirely devoted to Harry.
But not everyone was so happy that Fleur was off the market…
When Harry and Fleur arrived at the hallway containing her bedroom, there was a man leaning against a nearby wall who looked like he'd been waiting for some time. As Fleur moved to pass the man, he stepped in front of her and to her visible surprise, offered for her to celebrate with him in his rooms.
Personally, Harry had never tried to proposition a woman for sex, but he didn't think this guy was doing a very good job of it at all. The man/boy stood there with his arms crossed, all pompous and condescending, while telling Fleur how he could show her a good time, and what a man is supposed to feel like...
Of course, Harry wasn't all that concerned about the man's insults because his sex life with Fleur was so far beyond good it was laughable. On the other hand, he was pissed at the disrespect that this guy was showing to the both of them, and he wasn't the slightest bit surprised to feel boiling anger from Fleur in the bond... but he also felt her frustration, which made him seek out the context in her mind.
Within Fleur's memories, Harry found the so-called complication… This boy, Claude, was one of her school's most notorious bullies as well as a member of their Quidditch team despite his lack of skill. A state of affairs that couldn't be helped because the boy's father was quite the rich and powerful noble in France, as well as a work peer of her fathers…
Claude was also the boy who continued to show up at Fleur's home with his father, demanding that she be offered to him as his second wife…
Needless to say, Fleur wasn't the slightest bit afraid to hurt the idiot regardless of his privileged upbringing, but she would only do so if he didn't back off, because she didn't want to cause her father increased drama at the French Ministry… "I have zero interest in you and even less patience for your disrespect, Francois," she announced in a crystal clear and contempt-filled French. "As you well know, I have entered into a serious courtship with Lord Potter, with the intention of getting married."
"Ah yes... The young Mr. Potter..." Claude said with a sneer that made it clear he thought Harry's existence was completely irrelevant. "I am not stupid, Fleur. I know what you hope to achieve by stringing that boy along. I know what you really want from me… and I shall give it to you… I promise, on my family name, if you end your farcical Courtship with that boy, and begin showing me the proper respect, I shall take you on as my first wife, rather than my second… I will elevate you to the matriarch of my family, only taking on a second wife for line continuation purposes, and I shall show you off at all of France's grandest events."
As this Claude guy prattled on and on, pissing Fleur off more and more with his every spoken word, Harry studied the French boy's looks for the very first time. The teen was tall, blond, classically handsome and only vaguely effeminate, but he was also kind of soft, as if he disdained physical effort. He was also making a sneer similar to the one that Malfoy uses, as his monologue returned to the topic of Harry. "…Potter has some power, yes, but he's obviously nothing but an ignorant muggle raised. He isn't suitable for a proper French Lady such as yourself. Never fear though... I have spoken to my father about approaching yours once again."
Up until now, Fleur had only been keeping her temper under control for the sake of her father and to a lesser extent, her Headmistress. She knew very well that Madam Maxine was somehow beholden to this boy's family, so she didn't want to cause an incident. However…
This needed to end here.
Claude could no longer be allowed to believe he had a single hope in hell of garnering her attention.
After slowly shaking her head, Fleur crossed her arms and scowled at the boy. Since he was a special brand of arrogant, she would need her disapproval to be as obvious as possible. Listen well Claude… I'm not interested in you in the slightest. I find you physically repellent, like a flobberworm with limbs, and your character is even worse. I would suggest you leave me alone in the future, or we will have... problems."
Miraculously, Claude seemed completely unfazed by Fleur's remarks, and although he didn't stop her as she walked by, he did continue to speak. "I will be interested to see if this Potter boy has any grace in the air when we play him. He spent a lot of time falling like a fool today, but I didn't see any flying." Francois paused at that point and leaned an elbow against the wall to follow Fleur's movement down the hall. "I'm going to beat him, Fleur. I'm going to embarrass him in front of thousands of people… A beauty like you should be spending your time with a man of real talent… and I am going to prove it to you..."
Fleur didn't even look back at the infuriating boy, as she replied in an absolutely frigid tone of voice. "I won't waste my time defending 'Arry to the likes of you. It's a waste of time. There is no comparison that can possibly be made between the two of you, so there is no way you will ever understand. Instead, I will say this... If you attempt your usual brand of harassment on 'Arry Potter, my wrath will be the very least of your concerns."
With that said, Fleur walked away, without waiting for a response.
All of the sudden, Francois surged off of the wall, moving as if to grab Fleur's forearm.
Oh thank the Gods!… Harry was extremely relieved that he had a legitimate reason to act. With a sound dampening spell in effect on his Disillusioned body, Harry front kicked the boy in the chest, launching him over three meters through the air, and sending him ragdolling down the hallway like a sack of rancid garbage.
Fleur didn't want to look back in Claude's direction and ruin the effectiveness of her mate's actions, so she entered the bond to see through his eyes, and take in the boy's newly curled up form, gasping desperately for air. Then, as she unlocked the door to her room, she projected to her husband her appreciation, along with a large amount of amusement. What her husband just did on her behalf would make Claude think she'd mastered telekinesis.
The thought amused Fleur to no end.
As soon as the two of them were in Fleur's room with the door locked, Harry dropped his Disillusionment spell and collected his wife into a tight hug against the door, as she'd already begun raining kisses all over his neck and ear, making him shiver all over. Apparently, she'd already forgotten that they'd ever even met another boy, and Harry was just as happy to let it go.
"I was eenside of you watching zis afternoon, and yet I still 'ad trouble keeping up wiz your thoughts," Fleur breathed, into her mate's ear. "You were making eet all up as you went along, but at such 'igh speeds eet looked like you planned eet all a-'ead of time. I ended up just experiencing ze Task from your point of view like a movie, because I was of limited 'elp to you, and I was captivated. Gods and Goddesses, 'Arry, you are so fast, so strong."
Fleur was wrapping herself around her mate by this point and she was heating up the bond in a big way. "You were seconds away from death zat entire Task, 'Arry, and yet you were making witty banter een your 'ead, as eef eet was no big deal... Mon amour... So sexy, so mine, all mine..."
Fleur's legs were wrapped so tightly around Harry's waist he didn't even have to carry her as he walked them both towards the bed.
Harry Potter: Unleashed: Uncensored - Morning In Fleur's Bedroom - Chapter 23
After a fantastic night's sleep, and an equally relaxing morning, Harry and Fleur walked into the Great Hall for lunch, looking like a million bucks.
For the most part, Harry had his advanced healing factor to thank for his current good health, because he'd been bruised from head to toe when he'd fallen asleep last night. He also had to thank the relaxing effects of cuddling with Fleur all morning, and the fact that she'd combed out his long hair while they soaked in a bath. While Harry had no idea how she did it, there was no denying that his hair was almost (but not quite) under control for the first time in… ever.
When they walked into the Great Hall, it was with arms linked at their sides, mostly as a preventative measure against Harry's fanbase. Fleur had witnessed her husband's actions from the day before, so she knew very well that there would be an upswing of lightning bolts embroidered on the girl's sleeves. They were once again prepared for a massive PDA assault, if it was necessary, but they were cautiously optimistic that it wouldn't need to be done (not that Harry minded).
The occupants of the Great Hall all stared as Harry and Fleur crossed the room, but they'd known to expect that so for the most part, they were unaffected. After pulling out a chair for Fleur, Harry smiled at his friends, and sat down next to Neville. As per the norm, Fleur grabbed up his hand and deposited it in her lap.
"I kinda figured you'd have a lie in after yesterday's excitement." Neville grinned at Harry meaningfully. "How's your body holding up?"
Harry couldn't be sure if Neville was asking about his wounds or Fleur's particular brand of tender loving care, so he took the question at face value. "I've never felt better in my entire life, thanks."
Truth be told, Harry was dancing in the streets happy, and very little could make him upset today. A situation that only improved when Fleur picked up on his feelings, hugged him hard empathically, and squeezed his hand in her lap.
Neville leaned back in his chair with a very contented smile upon his face. "Me neither, Harry..."
It only took one look at his friend's expression for Harry to know there was a story there. He nodded, grinned and patted his friend on the shoulder in a very subtle congratulations. "Weight room tomorrow Nev..."
All of the sudden, Neville looked a little bit nervous. He must not have expected Harry to notice and demand details. Moments later, his face smoothed out and it was obvious he'd become resigned to the idea. Finally, he smiled back at Harry, and sat a little easier in his seat. "Will you have time to teach me to Disillusion sometime this week?"
"Of course Nev. Just let me know when you have the time." Harry was excited, because this felt like the crowning achievement in his 'build up Neville's daring' project.
Suddenly raising her hand, Hermione flagged down both Harry and Neville's attention. "Harry... Can you teach me as well?"
At that point, and in perfect unison, both Harry and Neville gave Hermione twin shit eating grins, before Harry leaned in towards his closest female friend with a very fake conspiratorial expression upon his face. "Oh my dear, Mione... What kind of naughtiness are you looking to get up to?"
While Hermione did indeed blush, she also crossed her arms with an all business demeanor. "I like learning new spells, Harry." Next she adopted an expression that very clearly conveyed the words "tread carefully or lose a limb".
While Harry did raise his hands in surrender, the satisfied smile never left his face as he leaned back in his chair. "Okay, okay, moving on. Today I have an invention to create and tomorrow I'm gallivanting across the countryside with Fleur. I can pull you two aside two nights from now and teach you."
"Oh yeah the CD Player," Hermione whispered to herself, all of the sudden very deep in thought. When her eyes swiveled back to Harry's, she appeared determined to ask something. "Harry... Can I watch you work this time, or will it be intensely magical and secret?"
Harry didn't even know how to respond now that Hermione had asked that question. He turned to Fleur and shrugged, in a way that said Gods if I know... "How do you think our friends will take it all, love? I imagine it'll look pretty extraordinary, but I'm pretty sure the cats out of the bag at this point anyway."
Fleur smiled and patted her mate's arm in encouragement. "I suggest you get over your stage fright, and bring along the people you trust."
By the end of lunch, there were eleven people that wanted to watch him make the working CD player.
For the lion's share of the afternoon, Harry focused on preparing the rune script that would carry out the CD player's hardware swap, while Dobby moved through Diagon Alley picking up the necessary materials. Apparently there was a wizarding store called Morton's Merch that fronted as a pawn shop but sold a full line of Muggle tech on the side. Apparently, even in staunchly conservative Magical Britain, there were a few wizards to be found that'll buy Muggle media on the sly.
While Harry didn't understand all of the secrecy, he did understand the fascination, so he refrained from casting any judgments. Either way, Dobby wasn't going to have any trouble getting his hands on a second CD player for Appoline, two sets of decent headphones, a large muggle speaker set, some headphones, a huge pile of CD's with a mixture of classics and top sellers, and many different varieties of magical foci.
When a witch or wizard refers to Magical foci, what they're really talking about are materials that can efficiently contain and channel magic. These materials come in many different forms, but some examples of cores are; unicorn hair, unicorn horn, dragon heartstring, kneazle whisker, phoenix feather, and horned serpent horn. Examples of magically conductive woods are holly, vine, hornbeam, hawthorn, ash, willow, cherry, rosewood, cypress, yew, mahogany, walnut, cedar and many others. Most metals are notoriously bad conductors for magic, which is why it's really no surprise that muggle devices break in magical settings.
The foci that Harry especially wanted to make sure he had on hand, were actually almost never used in wands, but were perfect for what he was about to try. Crystals don't contain or imbue any effects on magic. They just allow magic to flow right through them with no loss of power. Harry was hoping to use many shaved off crystal shards fused together, in lieu of silicone and copper wire.
At the sound of people frolicking behind him, Harry smiled and turned to take a look... As he diligently worked at his project, everyone else was enjoying a magically perfect Sunday in the Delacour backyard.
Team Mione, Selene, Hannah and Cho, were squared up against team Neville, Cedric, Fred and George, and team Fleur, Alicia, Katie and Angelina. They were playing a pretty rough game of human pyramid in the pool. Three people on each team would carry their chosen fighter and the winners were the last team standing. For this round, Bella was standing in the water officiating. Harry looked at the fun with just a tad bit of longing, but he'd made some promises and it was time to keep his word. He did have his shirt off to get some sun, but otherwise he was hard at work.
Kind of…
At this point, Harry had basically finished the Rune script he had in mind, but he was taking his time with the little things involved. Actually using the script on the CD player would be magically draining in the extreme. For that reason, it wouldn't be wise to neglect the smaller details, and then have to pay for his carelessness with even more power.
POP!
With a large smile on his face, Dobby carefully laid out a very large array of different items and components atop the nearby table. "The items you wanted are all here, Harry. Tell me though. You are about to change the entire magical world, aren't you?"
"There's a strong possibility," Harry replied, with a shrug. "I'll definitely need to control the release of this technology to the wizarding world as a whole. While I'm aware that wizards have been contemptuous of muggle tech up until now, chances are pretty good their attitudes will change when It becomes convenient and available. Hell… If I'm not careful, the government of Magical Britain will probably want to dive right into developing nuclear weapons..."
Dobby nodded and lowered his voice to within secret keeping range. "Have you written into the Rune script something to keep the tech from being recreated by third parties?"
Harry grinned at his close friend slash magical butler, and tipped an imaginary hat to his intelligence. "Way ahead of you, you genius you. First of all, I've managed to write all of my Runes in Parseltongue so that they're safe from ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of the general population. I've also added security script into my Runes on top of that because well... why not. If you aren't a Potter the runes will be encoded and impossible to read. As for the products created by this script, I've thought of that security too. Every product this script adapts will be closed case technology. As soon as you attempt a diagnostic spell of any kind or pry open the product to scrutinize it, the components will permanently Transfigure into water. I will be very up front about this security function so that the customers know in advance not to even try. My items are a proprietary technology and I will not allow them to be recreated by any Joe blow with Arithmancy skills. I also have Appoline working on a strong copyright to protect my rights to these secrets. She'll approach Andromeda as soon as she receives a working product."
"Sounds like you've covered your bases," Dobby agreed with a smile. "It's nice that you have a fully functioning brain now, rather than that Swiss cheese brain from before."
"You've been talking to Hermione again have you?" Harry grinned across the room at the bushy haired girl.
"Oh yes sir," Dobby admitted with a smile that was half amused half bemused. "Young Ms. Granger is endlessly interested in house elves, so I'm happy to explain what other elves would be too… polite… to say."
Harry laughed even as he nodded his understanding. "She was very impressed with you, Dobby. You helped her out quite a bit."
"I was happy to save my less capable brethren from the endless hats and socks that she was preparing to lay around." Dobby grinned and dramatically wiped off his right shoulder. "Did you know that's what she had in mind before I spoke to her?"
Harry shook his head, horrified. "She was going to terrorize you guys while trying to help."
"Exactly sir," Dobby asserted with a sigh of relief. "We would've ended up calling her she-who-must-not-be-named."
Both Harry and Dobby snickered at that, as Hermione was the most well-intentioned of them all…
Dobby looked at his watch and then back at Harry. "Well, I need to check on the factory now, so I'll pop by later to see this music player.
"I'll see you later, Dobby," Harry agreed with his attention back on the CD players.
POP
Looking at the nearby table, Harry scanned all of the components laying across its surface. After sorting everything into orderly piles, he put aside the second CD player for now so that he could focus on a speaker set instead. He wanted to have a sound system fixed up along with everything else, so that Alicia's music selection could be heard all throughout the RoR.
After poking at the assorted objects one more time, Harry realized that he was just dragging his feet.
It was time...
Catching on to her husband's thought process in the bond, Fleur motioned for everyone to get out of the water and follow her lead. Without needing to be told twice, everyone bounced in Harry's direction, while looking intensely curious and excited.
While dramatically turning towards everyone, Harry grandly gestured towards the table at his side, where all of his components were laying around in neatly organized piles. "Okay guys, here's the deal. While you guys have expressed an interest in seeing me create something, I'm not sure how much of this will even make sense to you. It's true I'm good at Runes and I'm getting better every day, but my magic is even better. As a consequence of that, I often rely on my instincts far more than I'd like to during these situations. What that means is I might not be able to answer any extremely technical questions you might end up having. Feel free to ask however, because despite what I just said I am pretty well informed. One thing I will tell you in advance is that this room is about to become quite warm. It's a Harry Potter style secret why, but over in the distance, I'm about to set up a very large vat of liquid lava. Seriously... I'd have trouble explaining so please just don't ask."
While the rest of the wizards and witches standing around the table all nodded in understanding, Katie pumped her fists in the air instead because she'd seen the speaker system and the CD's sitting on the table. "Oh Harry! Are you going to provide us all with music now? This'll be absolutely amazing if it all works. Make with the crazy Harry Potter style world breaking magic already!"
Katie's enthusiasm for this project was literally through the roof.
As Fleur moved closer to look at the Rune script, Harry conveyed to her what the parseltongue meant. She could read through the encoding as the Potter family matriarch, but that didn't make her a parseltongue, so she needed his assistance. Eventually, she just shook her head at how endlessly complex it was, and how much power it would need. Turning towards the rest of their friends, she expressively waved her arms for their attention. "Okay everyone. Let's give ze man some room, zis will be powerfully magic eentensive."
Everyone took a few steps back, as Harry Conjured himself a darkly lit room and a large vat of lava in the background.
Alicia waved her arms like an eager schoolgirl with a question. "Why the dark room, Harry?"
While smiling at Alicia's enthusiasm, Harry pointed at the engraved tablet on the table. "My Rune inscription technique actually glows with a green light and I want to be able to activate it all as it powers up. For the best results, I need to see these Runes as clearly as possible. I don't need a dark room per se, but it'll be easier to make out what I'm doing this way."
Alicia nodded her understanding, and they all just stood there waiting.
Harry took a deep breath as he placed both the CD player and speaker system on the stone tablet. He then pressed the Rune inscribed activator.
On the other side of the table with their friends, Fleur grinned. Since she'd seen her mate do something infinitely more dangerous with the Peverel vault just a few weeks earlier, she knew that Harry would be okay. She also knew that this was going to be, bar none, the strongest magic that any of their friends had ever seen in their lives. Of course Harry was cheating by draining the lava of its various energies, but none of the people watching knew that now did they? All they'd know is that her mate was of Merlin caliber powerful.
Case and point, Fleur knew the exact moment her husband activated the rune script, because immediately after, the hairs on the back of her neck began standing on end. Even as it activated, Harry was unleashing truly fantastical amounts of power into his Rune matrix, aiding it along.
Looking to the side at the rest of their friends, Fleur's grin widened, as she saw them all staring at Harry as if he was completely insane. Despite her amusement, Fleur could understand exactly how they felt. Under normal circumstances, using this much magic would've already knocked a witch or wizard right off their feet, if not rendered them completely unconscious. Harry was just getting started however, so they were all going to be completely stunned by the time he was done. As if to underscore that point, Harry's hands suddenly became a blur, as he activated and funneled power into the different Runes on the tablet.
After a short amount of time, the Runes that Harry was manipulating began turning a radiant green, before completely detaching from the stone and rising into the air. Every once in a while, Harry would alter the Runes as he worked, showcasing the fact that he can try his best to prepare but his magic still knows best. Soon enough, he was creating a green dome around both the muggle tech and all of the magical foci available. He was running his hands along the dome made of Runes, tapping at its surface as fast as a musician would a piano. Of course no sound was being generated by his movements, but the artistry was the same.
Harry Potter was a genius of magic, and you could see it in his rapidly moving hands.
Over time, Harry created a second layer of Runes on top of the first. This second dome was circling in the opposite direction of the first one, creating an intricate web of green lines whirling below Harry's hands. Magic was crackling around the room and Fleur could see that at least Mione and Bella were thinking about backing up. Fred and George, on the other hand, looked like they wanted to move closer if anything, which spoke volumes about both their faith in Harry as well as their insanity.
Looking back at Harry's work, a wall of green Runes was coming into being above the dome, and after a few more moments passed, everyone came to realize that the wall of Runes was displaying a full schematic of the CD player, as well as what changes were taking place. What was being shown was waaay too complex for any of them to truly understand, but they were picking up the gist and just that information was a shock. What the schematic was showing was that the original components were being switched out, even as different Rune configurations and foci were getting tested, in a rapid process of elimination. Several times a second, the schematic would display a large green X across the board, and then the script would try again. Over and over this happened, as the Runic script looked for the right combination of Runes and materials to achieve the desired effect. The permutations were endless and yet Harry was performing several hundred a minute.
The efficiency of Harry's Rune script was especially impressive to the wizards around. They had no idea how an assembly line or a computer would function, thus they couldn't truly understand the kind of efficiency that Harry had designed into this process. They did, however, pick up on the fact that he was working extraordinarily fast.
Fleur felt the moment Harry grew impatient, and then decided that he wanted to speed up the process even more. Over about a minute's time, he added yet another dome layer to the mix, so that even more options could be explored at exactly the same time. The schematic screen started working in a blur of exes and partially successful Rune configurations. This was especially useful, because as Harry found Rune segments that worked, he'd quickly add them to a list to be used first in all of the attempts that followed.
Everyone watching just stood where they were, mesmerized, as the Runic images in front of them suddenly became nothing but a frenetic and dizzying blur of movement. Several minutes went by and not one word was spoken by anyone at all.
And then it started happening…
Above everything else, a final completed match of components started emerging together like puzzle pieces fitting. Green magic was radiating out from the overpowered Rune Script, because of the extra layer and additional power that Harry was injecting into it. Fleur grinned because Harry wasn't even sweating yet and yet everyone else looked like they'd pass out from a mixture of shock, awe and hyperventilation.
Somewhat anticlimactically, the blur of images on the schematic screen suddenly stopped on a dime, displaying the green tracery design of a completed CD player and speaker set, but with very little fanfare. It floated stationary above the green dome for a few moments longer, before it began flashing in a bright green light over and over again. The radiating light started speeding up, until finally it broke apart into thousands of Runes that trailed down into the dome. The dome became a solid green color that you couldn't see through. What you could see, was that off to the side Harry was smiling in triumph, as if he'd hit the game winning home run.
"When the dome disappears, the inside of your CD player will be composed of magical foci components and Runes," Harry announced in as casual a voice as he was capable of making. "This is the hardest I'll ever find it to build one of these, as I had to check like ten thousand different mixtures of foci and Rune formula before I found a set that would work. My Rune script just recorded the set that worked, and will use that configuration first from this point forward."
As if on cue, the dome of green magic on the table flashed a bright light, and was gone. Once again a little bit anticlimactically, there was a CD player and speaker set sitting on the table that looked completely ordinary. Resting beside the two devices however, was a pile of copper wires and chips that had been discarded as useless during the hardware swap.
"Go ahead and give it a try... I promise it's safe." Harry smiled at Katie in encouragement. "Inside of Hogwarts, both of those items won't ever need new batteries. I've made them absorb ambient magic exactly like a wizarding wireless does. At home, all you need to do is hold the CD player and it'll charge itself using trace amounts of your magical power. Oh! You'll like this next part! Both the CD player and headphones are magical devices now Katie. The fact that they don't run on electricity anymore means they've become completely waterproof. I've also added some runes to make them extremely durable. The CD player will never allow water to leak inside, so your CD's are safe. Swim with them, shower with them, water won't affect them in the slightest."
Not so surprisingly, Katie squealed in delight before hugging Harry hard. Following that, she quickly grabbed her CD player, and connected it to the speaker set up. Everyone watched in anticipation as she put in her favorite CD, turned it on, pressed play and... Backstreet Boys started blasting out of the speakers...
As the boyband music began spilling throughout the room, Fleur gave her husband a look of adoration, mixed perfectly with a shit eating grin. She liked the Backstreet Boys… and he couldn't stand them.
"Oh good lord," Harry muttered to himself in low, rueful tones. "What have I unleashed upon the wizarding world…"
Cedric, Mione and Fleur howled with laughter because Harry had truly created a monster.
Over the course of the afternoon, Harry Potter and his friends swam, had a barbecue and listened to a wide variety of muggle music. Camps were formed about what music was best, but it was all kept to banter and there were no real arguments.
Harry snuck off for ten minutes before the afternoon ended, to create a second CD player, which he had Dobby take to Appoline. He sent her a Rune script that was essentially a key to open the case to the CD player without destroying it. The script was already charged so all she'd have to do is put the CD player on top and wait for it to work. After the Rune script stopped working, she could open up the CD player and scrutinize it all she wanted. He did caution her to destroy the key script as soon as it was used, because he didn't want the technology falling into other peoples' hands. It went without saying that the opened CD player would need to be secured from public eyes, because at that point anyone could look inside and see the components.
Approaching Harry as he was packing up his notes, Fleur wrapped herself around her man in an all-encompassing hug. "Mon amour… you are going to make my mozzer one of ze richest people een ze world, right along wiz you."
"All part of the plan, wife," Harry replied, directly into Fleur's neck. "The Delacours are my family, so I'll provide where I can."
"Potter men are good providers, zat ees for certain," Fleur purred, into Harry's ear. "I will 'aave to become a Merlin in my chosen field eef I don't want to become an accessory to your genius."
While smiling softly at his wife, Harry slowly shook his head. "Fleur... No one knows it's Appoline and I that are inventing these products. We only recently released them to a global market under a pseudonym arranged through Gringotts."
"I know that you've… wait…" Fleur hadn't thought about who was doing all of the distributing for Harry's company. "Ze Goblins, 'Arry? Can you make a profit wiz zem? Zey're business acumen is frightening, but zey see accruing wealth as a battlefield of some kind."
After nodding along with Fleur's words, Harry pointed a finger back at his wife. "Actually it's you that made this possible. I don't know what exactly you said to Silverclaw while I was in the Peverel vault, but the Goblins have become both eager to work with us and almost obsessively fair. Up until that day at Gringotts, Appoline and I had been struggling to keep up with demand, while preserving our anonymity. Now we don't have to worry about it because the Goblin nation is hiding our tracks. I obviously don't hate money. I want us to be extremely comfortable. What I don't want is people knowing that I have absurd wealth. I've seen what greed can do to people. I also don't like the idea of being a tempting target for every crook in the country. You'll never have my corporate shadow looming over your achievements."
Fleur canted her head at her husband. This wasn't a new theme of course, but she couldn't figure out why her mate didn't want any of the recognition that he deserved. If she had it her way the entire world would know exactly how amazing her mate was, because she loved him and was proud of him. That's where Fleur's line of thinking came to an end however, because she knew why. Her husband cared about the opinions of less than fifteen people. He couldn't care less about what the masses think, and he had very little patience for the slings and arrows that come with great renown.
In the wake of that thought, Fleur's face burned a bright red as her blood coursed red hot through her veins. Goddesses... She had the perfect mate... and he needed to know it. "'Arry..." Pausing for a moment, Fleur nibbled on the skin of Harry's neck, as she composed her next words. "'Arry, you are truly one of a kind and far, far more zan I deserve."
Immediately, Fleur was forced to shush her husband, by putting her fingers on his lips. "'Arry listen... Every seengle day I fall for you 'arder. I know you zink eet ees nozzing, but you are unlocking ze doors to every 'appiness een ze world for me. Tell me you do not see zis? I am een love wiz my very best friend, I am free of fear regarding my children wiz you, you make me magically stronger by several magnitudes, you banished my fear of water, My family loves you, my seester adores you, and now because of you I am financially secure even zough we 'aven't even graduated yet... Tell me, 'Arry... What am I missing? How does anyone get so lucky?"
Harry smiled at Fleur, but he also shook his head at the same time. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "Fleur... Since the day we met, you've made me a happier, healthier, better person. Asking how WE got so lucky is fine, but I won't allow you to believe you don't deserve me. You've given me everything I've given you with no exceptions. Before you bring up the financial security point again, ask yourself this. Do you truly believe that you need my help to support yourself? You're a powerful, ingenious witch, and the answer is of course no. You're more than capable of supporting a family, Fleur, so any money that I make will be nice to have but ultimately irrelevant."
Fleur was wrapped tightly around Harry's body by the time he was finished talking. "Last night, Selene accused me of making cow eyes at you. I laughed 'er off, but now I get eet. I am so een love wiz you, I sometimes 'aave trouble seeing where I fit eento zis peecture. You are right of course... You really were a mess wizout me."
Harry pouted at Fleur then and she grinned at him in return. After a few moments they both started laughing and Harry wrapped up her waist. "Care to rejoin our friends?"
"Oui, yes. We 'aave been out of sight for five whole meenutes now. Zey will surely zink we are sexing each ozzer by now." Fleur rolled her eyes.
"You knoowwww...," Harry began.
"Tonight," Fleur replied, while backing up and waving her hands. "I will 'aave you een my bed where you belong, 'Arry."
Harry pouted again, but it was clearly a token effort. Not once had Harry's pouting ever been successful. Apparently, It just wasn't his skill.
Harry and Fleur held hands while reentering the pool area, and were just in time to see Katie introduce the twins to Mc Hammer and the song Hammer time. After listening to the song, came explaining the dance. Things got hilarious really, really quickly, after that.
To Be Continued
Author's Note:
If you like my writing, want to check on my release schedule + want to help support me, consider visiting my P-a-t-r-e-o-n page
[h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-w-w-w-.-P-a-t-r-e-o-n-.-c-o-m-/-k-a-r-m-e-a-l-i-o-n]
Thanks