The standard disclaimers to fanfiction apply, though given JKR's attitude towards fanfiction writers I think it's safe to assume that this is more a formality than anything. More notes in the afterword.

A Flash of Brilliance

Chapter 1

On a rainy September morning, far into the future…

Beware the love of the ones called fair
The beings born of the fire and air
For when you leave your heart in their care
That love will now be twined with despair

Harry whispered the little poem over the grave as the country rain ran down in rivulets onto freshly turned earth. He mused on the truth in those couplets, thinking of what he had given up for that very love. Love that came at almost too high a price.

"Almost." He muttered the thought aloud.

Yes, he was alone now; the only visitor to a grave that only wanted one visitor. In truth, there should have been more, so many more. But as in life, Harry knew that he was the only one that needed to be there, no matter what they had thrown away and sacrificed. And there was enough to be sacrificed again. Again and again, forever and everything. That was the curse and the joy between the two of them.

Harry chuckled darkly, thinking again of the poem. How true it was, and how much despair this new choice had brought him. For a moment he wondered what she would have thought if she had known about his plan. Would she have urged him forward? Would she have stayed his hand? Those were questions that he would never know the answers to, now. But if he managed to do this right, well, he never would have had to ask them at all.

"... For when you leave your heart in their care..." He began, reaching into his coat to pull out the thin, silvery chain that held a curious glass orb swirling with sand. "...that love will now be twined with..."

Harry let the sentence hang as he dug through another pocket to produce a lock of ivory hair. He carefully wrapped the tress around the tiny hourglass and stooped down to bury it into the soft, wet ground.

"Fleur, I always hated the ending of that poem. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for changing it."

Harry brought up his fingers to his lips, even as they were covered in dirt, and pressed the kiss back down into the earth. Then, standing back up, he drew out a familiar rosewood wand and traced graceful circles in the wind and the rain. The magic hummed in the air and a white light began to shine from where he had planted the items.

"No going back now…" Harry mused, his plan already set in motion, unstoppable and undeniable as the glow began to engulf him and beyond. "Oh…" Harry laughed, realizing what he had just said. Before he could dwell on the irony of his statement, his ears were assaulted by a roar akin to crashing surf, and everything was lost in the spell's brilliance…

"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"

Fleur let out a heavy sigh as the boy with the ginger hair made a fair impression of an eggplant. Another speechless idiot, she thought to herself. Fleur was already tired of how so many of the English boys had wrapped themselves uninvited around her finger. She waited patiently for the girl seated next to the lout to reply and for the other young man to turn into an equally blubbering mess. Instead, Fleur was pleasantly surprised when the rakish lad just turned and slid his own stew over without as much as a batted eyelash.

"Yeah, have it." He said, and Fleur felt the relief of being treated like a normal person flow through her. She had almost forgotten what that felt like since she stepped into the grounds of the castle.

"You 'ave finished wiz it?" she replied, smiling back at him. The redhead muttered some words that sounded a bit like English in her direction, but Fleur kept her eyes trained on the one that was treating her civilly. A little nod from the boy was enough and Fleur graciously reached for the dish with her practiced ease. At least, that was what she had intended.

The crashing of waves filled her senses and she felt the blood rushing to her ears. For a moment the world turned brilliantly white and she felt herself being taken away by a tide. The world began to spin as the beautiful light filled Fleur's eyes and, in the distance, she heard shouting voices and the tinkling of broken glass.

"Miss… miss? Are you alright?" Fleur heard a voice saying as the world slowly came back into focus. Strange… why was she staring up into the enchanted ceiling? Wasn't she just, a moment before…

And that's when she saw him. Whatever thoughts she had being down on the Great Hall's floor were washed away when she saw his face and looked into the endless green of his eyes. Fleur's mind went completely and blissfully blank as she gazed up at the perfect creature, from his handsome features and dark, brown hair, to his roguish little scar that added a dash of manliness to his countenance. She felt the need to be near him, to be with him. The stirrings in her heart cried out that she had to do something, anything, to keep this man's attention. To impress him.

Fleur's body moved by itself, though her thoughts were in complete agreement once she felt the press of his lips on hers. She kissed wildly, achingly, with a need that she had never felt before but that she knew had always been there inside of her. Again the world shifted, but this time Fleur was distantly aware she that had turned it herself, sitting up and then pushing her affection down onto the floor in a reversal of positions. Finally, she felt her lungs burning for a breath she didn't know she had been holding and released his lips as she sat up again, panting and feeling incredibly satisfied.

"Whur…?"

And with the little gasp coming from the man beneath her, reality came careening back down onto Fleur. Suddenly she wasn't in that bright, white paradise with her true love, caught in the throes of passion. She was, instead, in a stone-silent Great Hall as shocked onlookers stared at her straddling the young Harry Potter while a thread of saliva still linked her lips with his. All around her, scandalized witches looked white as sheets at her display while the boys of any age that crossed a hair into puberty were visibly sweating, licking their chops as if they were thirsting men in the desert.

Fleur tried to scream but not a single sound escaped from her lips. Her body tensed and before she knew it she was running through the castle grounds, willing her legs to go faster towards the Beauxbatons carriage. And even as she ran, as mortified and completely embarrassed as she was, Fleur couldn't stop her thoughts from running back to the young man that she kissed so hungrily. She couldn't help but see young man with the enchanting, emerald eyes.

"Harry!"

It was Harry's turn to wake up from the daze, though whoever was shaking and slapping him was entirely less gentle than he had been with the Beauxbatons girl moments before.

"… urmayne?" Harry slurred, sitting back up after the stinging in his cheek knocked some sense right into him.

"Finally!" the witch exclaimed, helping Harry to his seat while the Great Hall exploded with shouts and exclamations as soon as the steps of Fleur's blue heels stopped echoing across the walls.

"Harry, you dog!"

"Did you see her throw herself all over him?"

"That's the old Potter charm."

"късмет копеле!"

It wasn't anything new for Harry, though the circumstances this time around were decidedly a different experience. Harry himself couldn't believe what had just happened, feeling as if he were in some strange dream where nice things actually occurred to him. Next to him Hermione was babbling on like a nagging bee into his ear, echoing a few of the more inquisitive questions that were being tossed around them in the air.

"Harry! What was that all about? Why did she? How did? Oh!" Hermione tripped over herself with her questions but one look at Harry's face told her he was just as clueless by the sudden display of public affection. As Harry came back down to Earth, he finally began to realize that it truly did happen.

All the boys in the table were shouting over each other, trying to figure out how he had managed such a feat. The girls around them were buzzing with more fury than Hermione's inquisition, and Harry could see Ginny openly weeping into a bowl of pudding. The patter of heels clicking brought Harry's attention to the entryway where a handful of Beauxbatons girls were following their schoolmate's Cinderella trail. And finally, Harry's eyes rested on Ron.

Ron with an eerie, almost beatific smile on his face. Ron that was peacefully pushing himself up off his seat. Ron, reaching for the big serving bowl of bouillabaisse. Ron, lifting up the bowl over Harry's head and dumping the entire contents over him while Hermione shrieked and the Great Hall was shocked to silence yet again. Harry sputtered as the stew ran down his robes and soaked him with a meaty smell.

"Harry, you're my best mate and all, and I'm sure we'll get over this in the morning, but you have to know. Sometimes I just hate it when you have to be all 'Harry Potter'ing in front of me." Ron said, grin still on his face as he dusted off his hands and turned heel. Hermione spent a good few seconds craning her neck back and forth to Harry's drenched form and Ron's retreating one. Finally, she shrugged apologetically to Harry and stood as well, chasing after the Weasley with a half-hearted 'Ron, wait!' trailing behind.

The Great Hall exploded into cries for a second time that night, and this time the teachers finally had enough as they clambered down from their seats and began to bring order back to the feast. Harry could already hear McGonagall's stern voice calling his name above the clamor. He sighed, slumping down and running a finger across his cheek and the slurping up the soup from his thumb. It really was good bouillabaisse.

Author's Notes: This is an idea I've had for a while now, seeing my two favorite genres of HP fiction are AU, soul-bond, and time shenanigans. I decided to add a dash in of each and sprinkle it into my favorite pairing. Hopefully I'll be sticking with this and that you guys will help motivate me with follow, faves, watches, and the all-powerful review. Always looking forward to C&C.