AN: Enjoy. Tell me what you like, what you are, and what you would like to see done.
Neville sat at the Gryffindor table, quietly eating his morning porridge as he mulled over the last week of his life. He ignored everyone around him, blocking them out as he considered the changes in school since the miraculous events of the First Task.
Over night, the Potter triplets had become celebrities. Neville had read many articles in the Daily Prophet about their survival as 'experts' theorized over how and why they had survived the dragonfire. No one really knew for sure, so naturally everyone was having a grand time making up their own truths.
A few people were even convinced that the Potters were secretly dragon animagus which was ridiculous to say the least. No one had ever been a magical animagus, not even Merlin. The Potter Trio were strong, yes, but they weren't THAT powerful. Anyone with that kind of magic would not need to become a dragon, they'd be so insanely powerful that they wouldn't even need a wand to do the sort of magic that would exhaust even Albus Dumbledore.
There were a bunch of other theories: the Potters were the heirs of Merlin, the Potters were the Founders reborn, the Potters were actually Fire Salamanders under a clever glamour, and so on. It was pretty crazy stuff and that was just the general talk.
Some people actually believed that the Potters were dark, believe it or not. Now, thinking Ivy was dark, Neville could understand, and maybe Harry in a long shot, but Rose? Really? Rose Potter was one of the nicest people Neville knew. A bit flirty, but that didn't make her evil. If Rose flirted, it was for two reasons: she felt comfortable around you and wanted to embarrass you a little.
Neville honestly felt sorry for her. Poor Rose had lost all of her hair in the dragonfire incident and now had to grow it back. Neville didn't know much about girls, but he knew that both Rose and Ivy had been very proud of their hair. To make it worse, he had overheard more than one girl laughing about the Potter girls' lack of hair. He really hoped none of them were stupid enough to say anything to Ivy. Be it on their head if they did.
Still, something had changed in them. Each of their eyes were now purple in color, a shade of amethyst to be more precise. What hair had grown back so far had changed color. Harry's hair seemed to be silver in color now, the sisters' hair on the other hand had become an otherworldly silvery blonde not unlike Fleur Delacour. The reason for such a change was anybody's guess.
Harry was a bit different now, Neville had noticed. He was more standoffish, more apart from the crowd than ever before. He didn't speak as much and didn't look as though he had been getting much sleep, either. A good bit of the time, no one even knew where Harry was. He just disappeared for hours on end. It was a little suspicious to the rest of Gryffindor House.
Finishing his breakfast, Neville stood up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall in search of his friend. As it was an early Saturday morning, Ron was still asleep in the tower and Hermione had disappeared into the library before Neville woke up. Knowing Harry as well as he did, Neville made for the abandoned third highest tower to the west side of the castle.
He ignored the whispers of other students when he saw them and took several secret passages to avoid any more notice, choosing one of the more roundabout paths to the favorite hangout of the Potter siblings. As far as he was aware, only Neville knew where the triplets liked to roost when away from their dormitories.
Early in first year, Harry had discovered a way into the forgotten part of the school while exploring Hogwarts or so he said. Neville believed that it was more likely that Sirius had told him how to get around the various enchantments meant to keep students out of the unused sections of the prestigious school. Either way, Harry had claimed portion of it for his own.
Later, he and Neville had added protective charms of their own to the corridors leading up to the top most room; casting the spells together so as to make them more effective and longer lasting than they would otherwise be. He suspected that Ivy and Rose had made their own contributions to the sanctity of the hang out at a later date.
Neville knocked lightly on the ancient oak door, smiling faintly when he noticed the initials carved near the bottom. HP, IP, RP, and finally his own NL. He remembered when they had done that in second year, back when everyone in the school had thought Neville was the Heir of Slytherin. The Tower, as they called it, had been a godsend for Neville when everything just became too much and he needed a quiet place to relax.
"Come on in, Neville." Harry's muffled voice called out. Well, it was good to know that the proximity charms were holding up nicely. He made a mental note that Harry and he needed to redo those charms before the year was out or else they would fade during the summer break.
Neville stepped into the room and almost immediately broke out in a sweat. It was as hot as a furnace in the Tower, the fireplace was blazing red hot and putting out an immense amount of heat into the round room. After the coolness and draftiness of the passages, the room felt stiflings and made it difficult to breath. Neville tossed off his winter cloak and loosened his collar, seeking relief from the heat.
Harry sat in his usual armchair by the fire, though how he could possibly stand to be next to the fireplace was beyond Neville's comprehension. His old mate wasn't even sweating, instead looking as comfortable as could be in his winter clothes. Looking around, he noticed that the sisters weren't present in the room which was rather strange, but his attention was drawn to the three large oval objects sitting in the midst of the fireplace's inferno.
"Harry, why do you have three dragon eggs in the Tower?" Neville questioned hesitantly, warily eyeing the eggs as he recalled his latest experience with dragons. He shuddered at the memory of the gigantic beast.
"The Headmaster was kind enough to let me have them." Harry stated, smiling briefly as his violet eyes turned back to the eggs. "Without their mother, they would probably die. I couldn't let that happen, Nev."
"Mate, this is illegal." The Longbottom Heir pointed out worriedly, not wanting his friend to get into trouble. "And dangerous. You can't hatch three dragons inside of a school. What if they get out? What if they set fire to the Tower? You know what dragonfire can do."
"Don't worry, Mum has already applied for a dragon breeding license. Once the paperwork goes through, I'll transport them home to Skye." Harry replied unconcernedly, watching the eggs with a frightening intensity. "It'll be fine."
"If you say so." Neville nodded, swallowing his protests and warnings. He knew full well that Harry wouldn't listen to him. Harry never listened to anyone once he made up his mind. Walking over to the couch, Neville sat down and asked, "How's Rose and Ivy doing?"
"Scared. Confused. Depressed." Harry murmured in answer, the only hint of concern and sadness that he showed was in his eyes. "Fortunately, Madame Pomfrey has Snape brewing up a batch of hair stimulation tonic for them. In a few weeks, they'll have hair that will be as long as they want it."
"That's good." Neville smiled, glad to hear it. He wiped away the sweat that threatened to fall into his eyes with his sleeve. "I know much they love their hair, but, well, I guess it won't be the same, will it?"
"No, it won't. Ivy went a little mad for a while. Madame Pomfrey had to restrain her to the bed until she calmed down." He recalled, then gave Neville a small grin, "I don't think she likes how her hair resembles Delacour's now. She ranted for quite some time. Rose didn't take it quite as badly, but it still wasn't pretty."
"I'd imagine not." Neville admitted, nodding. "I'm surprised that they aren't here with you. Where are they?"
"Rose is probably either in the library or off making Su blush. Poor girl has the biggest crush on her." Harry smiled briefly, thinking of the pretty Japanese girl who was painfully shy and hopelessly in lust with his sister. "I have no idea where Ivy is. Probably visiting Hagrid. You know how close those two are."
"How are you doing, mate?" Neville asked him, concerned for his friend. Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Neville cut him off pointedly, "Really."
"I don't know. Different." Harry said quietly, staring down at his hands and rubbing them together lightly as if exploring them. "I can't describe it. It's just this feeling I have, like a part of me has slid into place. I'm more myself, but I still feel different. It doesn't make any sense."
"Few emotions do." Nevile advised, showing surprising wisdom for someone so young. "I'm here if you need me, mate. I don't know how I could help, but I'll try my best."
"Thanks, Neville, but you have your own problems to worry about." Harry told him, turning back to stare into the fire. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for now. I really need to think over everything."
"Sure. Take care of yourself, Harry." Neville stood up and headed for the door, pausing to shoot more one look of concern toward his friend then reluctantly he exited the room and headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
Harry waited a few moments, then stood up from his chair and made his way over to kneel beside the hearth. The dragon eggs were as large as an ostrich egg, each one a mix of muddy red and earthy brown. He took a deep breath, focusing on the urge he felt. It was a curious thing, as if he had once known exactly what to do, but had forgotten it, when he knew for sure that he hadn't ever read anything like this.
Gathering his Gryffindor courage, Harry reached into the flames and took hold of the center most dragon egg then carefully withdrew it from the fire. Something squirmed inside of him, a twisting feeling of anticipation and growing desire. He studied the egg, caressing the fine scale-like ridges in an almost loving manner then he closed his eyes.
He focused on channeling his magic to his hands, feeling them warm and grow heavier as the magic increased in density. Breathing in through his nose, Harry guided his magic into leaking from his palms as he began to slowly rub the egg as if polishing it. Everywhere that his hands went, the egg darkened in color until finally he held an egg in his palms that was as black as a moonless night.
Amethyst eyes glowed faintly as Harry began to pour the magic from his hands, pushing it past the shell into the barely formed dragon fetus inside. So slowly that it was almost unnoticeable, the egg grew in size and the luster of it's shell increased until it shined. Slowly, Harry placed the dragon egg back into the flames then withdrew his hands from the fire.
He stood up and swayed, feeling absolutely exhausted as he staggered over to his favorite armchair to sit. Nearly as soon as he was seated, Harry was out cold.
Ivy Potter kept her chin up as she strode down the hall, ignoring the pointing fingers and hushed conversations all around her. Groups of girls giggled as she passed, making her grit her teeth in anger.
Her hair, her beautiful black hair, was gone. Madam Pomfrey had assured Ivy that her hair would grow back as soon as Snape finished the potion, but for the moment she was embarrassingly bald, the long wild locks that she had been so proud of was replaced by smooth skin. Where once other girls had envied her and shot her looks of jealousy, now they giggled as she passed and whispered about her behind her back.
None had thus far been stupid enough to say anything to her face, although she longed for even the slightest hint of confrontation. Humiliation burned at her and she ached to return their whispers with pain, so that she could have some sort of release. Her fingers lightly caressed the Hawthorn wand sheathed at her waist, longing for some distraction; watchful for any excuse to unleash her emotions.
"Nice hair, Potter!" Marietta Edgecomb, one of Chang's little sycophants, called out mockingly as the group of girls surrounding her began to snicker. A mean smile was on the little bitch's face and she looked very pleased by her own wit.
"Alligans Funis!" Ivy snarled as she whipped around, stabbing her wand in Edgecomb's direction. A thin length of rope flew from the tip of the wand, wrapping around the Ravenclaw's neck. She ignored the startled screams from the other girls and pulled back on her wand harshly, causing Edgecomb to fall to her knees on the cold stone floor of the corridor.
Edgecomb's hands scrambled for her wand, but Ivy twisted her own Hawthorn wand, tightening the rope until the girl was gasping for breathe. She approached the downed older teen with slow predatory steps, relishing in the moment. Ivy gave a snap of the wrist, forcing the girl to roll onto her back so that she could glare down into her eyes.
"What was that, Edgecomb?" Ivy questioned lightly, her voice soft and attentive. It was ruined by the cruel smirk on her lips. Edgecomb's face was beginning to purple from the lack of air, but Ivy was having far too much fun to stop now. "Were you admiring my new hairstyle? It is rather bold, I admit. I bet that you wish you could do something similar with that ugly rug that you call 'hair', isn't that right?"
Ivy loosened the rope enough so that Edgecomb could breathe a bit easier and stared down at her, violet eyes daring the Ravenclaw to deny her words. None of her friends tried to come to her aid, they were too afraid of what Ivy would do to them if they did. Slowly, Edgecomb nodded and gasped, "Yes."
"'Yes', what Edgecomb?" The bald girl mocked, tightening the rope again threateningly. "Yes, that you are jealous of me? That you love my new look? That I am much prettier bald than you could ever hope to be?"
"Yes, I love your hair?!" Edgecomb screamed out, wheezing as she desperately tried to inhale oxygen into her lungs. She wished that she hadn't said a word. Marietta had hoped to win some approval from the group, but instead was publicly humiliated.
"Why, thank you, Marietta. I'm flattered." Ivy purred dangerously, her amethyst eyes dancing sadistically as she stared the girl down. "It takes a lot of courage to speak the truth. How can I repay your compliment? I know! Radet Capillum!"
A thin ball of purple light leaped from Ivy's wand, hitting Edgecomb in face. The jinx caused her entire head to glow purple for a few seconds, then the jinx's purpose became clear. Marietta Edgecomb's long brown curls fell off in large clumps. Her hand reached up shakily, tears filling up her doe-like eyes as she realized what Ivy had done. She let out a choked sob, embarrassed beyond belief as she stared at the clump of hair in her hand.
"There you go. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Now you look just like me only, well, much uglier." Ivy smirked smugly, banishing the rope and slowly levitating Edgecomb up then propping her up against the corridor's wall. "Petrificus Totalus. This way, everyone can see your fabulous new haircut, Edgecomb."
Ivy then turned and continued down the corridor on her way to Potions Class, sauntering with every step. As soon as she had turned the corner, Edgecomb's friends quickly freed her, but the damage was done.
It didn't take long for a certain bushy haired muggleborn to catch up to her, but Ivy ignored the know it all as best as she could, disliking the girl. Of course, Hermione Granger couldn't keep her opinions to herself for long.
"That was cruel, Potter." Granger spat out as Ivy neared the Potions Classroom, causing Ivy's face to tighten in annoyance. "You should be ashamed of yourself, using magic in the corridors and attacking another student on top of that. You'll be in detention for a month when Professor McGonagol finds out."
"Leave it alone, Granger. " Ivy snapped grumpily, having been enjoying her moment of victory until the muggleborn spoke to her. "I was just having a bit of fun. You don't approve? Go and squeal to McGonagol like I know you want to, then see what happens. I promise it won't be as nice as what I did to Edgecomb."
"Are you threatening me?" Granger demanded, her hair fluffing out like an angry cat. Ivy rolled her violet eyes in annoyance, then grabbed Granger's pale throat and slammed her against the moist dungeon wall.
"Shut up!" Ivy said sharply, noticing Hermione beginning to open her mouth. She brandished her Hawthorn wand, pointing the tip at the muggleborn's left eye. "I don't make threats, Granger. I explain consequences. Don't test me."
"If you think that you can bully me like some First Year then-" Hermione began to snap, but paused as the sound of footsteps neared them. Both girls turned as one to the left as Professor Snape walked around the corner.
"Am I interrupting a private moment?" The Potions Master drawled sarcastically, looking pointedly at the position the two girls were in as he crossed his arms over his chest. It only enhanced his bat-like look.
"No!" Ivy quickly denied, letting go of Granger as if she was poisonous while the muggleborn blushed at the insinuation. Snape's black eyes lingered on Ivy's wand, then slowly rose up to meet Ivy's violet eyes.
"I see." He said softly, then turned to Granger. "Ms. Granger, class will begin shortly so perhaps it would be prudent for you to leave. It seems I must have a conversation with my student concerning inappropriate behavior in the corridors."
"Yes, Professor." Granger nodded, gathering up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. She shot Ivy a victorious look as she headed on to class. Ivy glared at her turned back until the muggleborn was out of sight.
"I really hate her." Ivy murmured disdainfully, turning to face her Head of House only to find that Snape was glaring at her. "What?"
"Your family has caught the public's eye, Ms. Potter. Your actions will reflect back on Slytherin, in addition to your family." Snape lectured, sneering the word 'family' when he spoke. "While I understand your frustration, for the time being it would be wise to restrain yourself. Upsetting the student populace will only make things more difficult for you and your siblings. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Professor." Ivy gritted out, gnashing her teeth. Snape had never given her a lecture before, he had never needed to. It was humiliating for her of all people to be scolded by her Head of House as if she was an ignorant Firstie.
"I hope so, Ms. Potter. I would hate to punish one of Slytherin's brightest students, particularly one slated to make Prefect next year." Snape stated disapprovingly, a hint of warning in his tone. "If you must, ah, deal with Ms. Granger, do so in a manner befitting your high standing within our House. Off with you, now."
"Yes, Professor." Ivy said plainly, swiftly walking down the corridor to class. With any luck, the potion today would be a finicky one. Maybe she could distract Granger somehow and toss a bit of rat intestine into the muggleborn's potion.
To Harry Potter, family was everything. It had always been this way, even going back to childhood. Neville had been his friend, yes, but there had been a distance between them that could not be breached, certain secrets and thoughts that could never be shared. Neville was friend, not family; even if Harry wished he was at times.
Live for the family, die with the family. Those had always been his thoughts on the matter. Everyone needed something to believe in, something to devote themselves wholly and be loyal to. For Harry, that was his family. Everyone else didn't seem real to him. He couldn't understand them, couldn't empathize with them, and as such they could not be trusted.
Besides Neville, Harry didn't have a friend in the world and held no desire to change that. He had no need in his life for people whom he couldn't trust. One needed close bonds, a foundation that would never betray or usurp him and for him that was family. He would die for them, he would kill for them, there was absolutely nothing that he would not do for his family's sake.
However, such close bonds did lead to awkward and confusing emotions. He loved his sisters and his mother, but sometimes he did not feel as he should towards them. Impure thoughts slithered their way into his mind, a serpent of temptation that whispered terrible things to him that set his blood on fire. He felt wicked things for his family and it made him angry, angry that he did not have the strength to keep those feelings pure as they should be.
"Hey, you okay?" Rose asked with concern in her voice. Harry shook himself out of his thoughts, putting a reassuring smile on his face for her sake. By the curious tilt of her head, he supposed that he wasn't as convincing as he had hoped.
"I'm fine." He answered as casually as possible, reaching up to run a hand through his hair only to feel the short bristles where once a head of messy hair had been. It was an ever present reminder of why he was being treated to freaked out looks and cruel gossip by those who considered themselves his peers.
"You're lying again." Rose pointed out. Harry felt his cheeks heat up slightly at being caught, even as more lies came to the tip of his tongue. "Stop it. You don't have to lie to me. We share everything, remember?"
"I remember." He nodded, giving her a brief smile. She returned it, a tender look on her pretty face that caused guilt to churn inside of him. She looked so innocent. "Just ask me again sometime."
"Alright." She accepted, still eyeing him speculatively. The siblings were quiet, walking down one of the many forgotten halls of Hogwarts Castle as they enjoyed doing. "Did you hear about Ivy?"
"What did she do this time?" Harry wondered, a small smile of amusement tugging on the corners of his mouth. "Wait, let me guess. Curse Filch again? No, too droll. Bewitch Hagrid's pumpkins to scare the Puffs? Hmm, no, too Weasley-ish. Finally tell Snape where to shove his mandrake root?"
"None of the above. Ivy's in detention for the next two weeks for assaulting Marietta Edgecomb." Rose giggled a bit mean spiritedly, having no love for the Ravenclaw or the clique she belonged to. "Shaved her bald and stuck her to the wall of the Charms Corridor for the whole school to see."
"That was her?" Harry raised his eyebrows, having seen the sight in question when he was climbing the staircases up to the Ancient Runes classroom. "What did Edgecomb do to piss her off so badly?"
"No idea, but you'd think she would know better. Ivy's temper has been short fused ever since, you know, the First Task." Rose said delicately, not sure what to call it. The dragonfire had changed them all and they were still trying to come to terms with what had happened. "Anyway, apparently someone from Gryffindor squealed to McGonagol about the whole thing."
"Three guesses who." Harry offered wryly, rolling his violet eyes. "I swear, Granger is obsessed with getting Ivy into trouble. She must be a masochist or something."
"Eww." Rose wrinkled her nose up cutely, having seen that image in her mind's eye. "Okay, let's change the subject from Granger's kinks to, well, anything else. You've heard about the Yule Ball, I presume?"
"I read about it when I was researching the Tournament. As far as I know, they haven't officially announced it yet." He shrugged uncaringly. Harry had no interest in such things, he was far too busy devouring every book on dragons that he could get his hands. Craig the Crispy's book on dragon breeding had been particularly in depth.
"And?" Rose pressed, watching him carefully. Idly, she re-adjusted her book satchel to her other shoulder.
"'And', what?" He wondered, trying to figure out what his sister was getting at. She sighed heavily, as if disappointed or annoyed by his ignorance.
"And, who are you going to take to the Yule Ball?" Rose asked plainly, figuring that beating around the bush was going to get her nowhere fast. When it comes to subtlety, well, her brother simply didn't have it or even notice it.
"Don't know." He replied, giving her an odd look. "It's still two months away. Besides, if you've noticed, we aren't exactly the most sought after people in school right now."
"Oh come on, Harry. Our hair will be back in less than a month. By that time, we'll still be famous, but they won't be as freaked out by us." Rose stated confidently, a side she only showed a select few. "We'll be exotic to them, I'd wager."
"Maybe." He said doubtfully, not believing it. People feared what they didn't understand and three people surviving dragonfire was quite the mystery. "It's still two months away. Who really cares about some silly dance?"
"Oh, just every girl in the castle." She deadpanned, pausing to inspect the painting of a young Catherine the Great. The gorgeous Czarina in the painting smiled beautifully at Rose, giving her a nod of acknowledgement before returning to her book. "So, no one has caught your eye?"
"Been a little busy, Rose." Harry answered as an excuse, honestly having not thought about romance among his peers. Most girls were so plain to him and the ones who weren't plain were simply boring. If they weren't interesting, then they weren't worth his time.
"Uh huh, not even that Delacour girl?" Rose wheedled, banishing the small amount of dust on the frame of Catherine's painting with a wave of her wand. "She's quite pretty, you know."
"That could be a interesting date, if only to see Ivy's reaction." Harry chuckled, easily able to imagine that particular melt down. "Ivy's never been sociable, but I haven't seen her hate someone like she does Delacour before. It's pretty intense."
"Maybe they're too much alike." Rose proposed lightly, smirking mischievously at her next thought. "Or maybe Ivy likes her. Like 'likes' her."
"Are you kidding me?" Harry asked incredulously, giving his sister a look that said he was clearly questioning her sanity. "The only interest Ivy has in Fleur Delacour is homocide."
"Maybe, but have you ever known Ivy to like a boy? Really like one?" Rose questioned pointedly, before glancing over at the portrait and idly debating whisking the painting of her personal heroine away from the forgotten halls to her dormitory. "Because as far as I know, she's only hated them."
"That's because there are no boys in this castle worth her notice." He replied stiffly, trying to ignore the flash of possessiveness in his gut. As if he would allow one of those walking hard on's near either of his sisters.
"All the more reason for Ivy to have an interest in the fairer sex." Rose added, observing her brother closely. "Maybe she likes Delacour, but isn't sure how to feel about it, so she falls back on the tried and true method of hostility. She isn't exactly the type to show her interest with flowers and chocolates."
"C'mon, Rose, do you really think Ivy has the hots for Delacour?" Harry questioned doubtfully, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm decently sure Ivy is straight."
"Why, because of the games we played as children?" Rose asked bluntly, watching as her brother froze at the mention. "You remember them. Medi-wizard. Sleeping Beauty. Ivy never could play that last one right; she kept returning the kiss."
"Rose, that was a long time ago." He murmured defensively, turning to study Catherine of Russia who in turn was watching the conversation with great interest. "We were just kids playing around."
"Before Mum found out, we were always playing." Rose gave a bittersweet smile. "Ivy and I always tried to see who could sneak in the most kisses. Mum was so mad at us, but we kept playing our games until she threatened to send you to live with Uncle Sirius. That was when the kisses stopped."
"Stop it, Rose." Harry warned with a glare, the memories of their old games together brought a feeling of heart sickness to his chest. He longed for those simpler times, before they discovered how wrong it all was, before their Mum found out. They were happy, then.
"You still miss those days. Back when it was just you and us." Rose accused softly, creeping closer to her brother. He refused to back away from her, allowing her to get close. "Did you ever stop wanting us, brother?"
"Enough." The words were spoken quietly, yet held no less of a commanding tone. His entire demeanor had turned icy, every locked muscle filled with barely restrained anger. "This conversation is over."
Harry stormed down the hallway, not seeing his sister smiling victoriously to herself in his haste to get away from her. The castle walls felt stifling to him, like they were closing in on him with each passing second. He stopped near a suit of armor, twisting the hilt of the sword clasped in the gauntlets which caused the stone wall to part; revealing a secret passage that would lead him to the outside wall of the Divination tower.
The cool, stale air of the passage way was normally soothing to him, but today it offered no such comfort, instead it only added to his frustration. He didn't want to think on his sister's accusations or how true they were, not right now. What he really wanted was the release that came from violence, but in his current state, he doubted his ability to stop himself from going too far. That was always a danger for him.
Soon, he reached the end of the passage and pressed the round stone at waist height that would open the door to the outside. It opened, causing a cool autumn breeze to caress his face as he exited onto the springy green grass. He inhaled the fresh air, then turned right with the intention of heading to Hagrid's for a soothing cup of tea.
Instead, he came face to face with four surprised girls clad in the blue dresses of the Bauxbatons Academy of silk uniforms weren't buttoned up properly, giving him tantalizing glimpses of cleavage. Three were brunettes, all rather attractive in their own way with differing figures that went from voluptuous to petite, but all three paled in comparison to the otherworldly Fleur Delacour who stood in the center.
"I didn't mean to startle you, ladies." Harry said apologetically, his face still tense from the earlier conversation. They glanced between one another uncertainly, seeming to communicate without words. He felt a flare of irritation, wanting to get the niceties over with in a hurry so that he could find some peace.
"Non, it is fine." Fleur waved off, giving him a curious look. Her blue eyes trailed from the striking young man to the now sealed entrance of the passage way. "Interesting way to get around. Was that a, how do you say, secret passakay?"
"Secret passageway and, yes, it was." He corrected absently, frowning at the French Champion's three friends who kept smirking and whispering to one another. He wondered what they were talking about.
"Are their more of these passages?" Fleur questioned with interest, quieting the girls next to her with a quick glare. He was mildly impressed by her control of them. It was obvious she was the leader of the little gang.
"Hogwarts has many secrets." Harry smirked, glancing up at the castle fondly. Despite all the dangers of the past several years, he was very proud of his school. Sure, he was certain that there were other schools with a more comprehensive education or more elegant architecture, but there was only one Hogwarts.
"And you know these secrets?" Fleur asked, her lovely hair moving in an unseen wind. The French witch's blue eyes seemed to glow mysteriously, drawing him in. She looked so pretty, like one of the Fae straight from a childhood story. Those perfect, kissable lips slowly formed words, "Tell me of them."
"Only the Founders knew all of the castle's secrets." Harry replied as a bolt of lust for the blond struck him. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the sudden desire. "But I don't have the time to play tour guide, right now. Maybe another day."
A stunned look appeared on Fleur's face, one that Harry noted as he walked around the group to continue on his way. So...it was an enchantment of some sort. Delacour had tried to charm him, but he didn't recall seeing a wand. It had felt eerily similar to the Imperius and he found himself suddenly grateful to Professor Moody's lessons on the Unforgivables. Whatever magic the French Champion had tried to use, it could be resisted by willpower.
"Wait!" Fleur called out, making him turn around as she jogged lightly over to him. His gaze was briefly drawn to wonderful effects jogging had on her pert breasts. "If you are free, perhaps you could give us that tour on Saturday. Say...five in the evening?"
Harry mentally weighed the benefits against the drawbacks. On the one hand, she was very beautiful and had quite the devious streak which would keep things interesting. It was also entirely possible he would be able to learn useful information about the Tournament from her or her friends that he could pass on to Neville.
On the other hand: there was no doubt that Fleur's offer was to her benefit. Not only would she learn more about the actual layout of the school, she would also try to use him in order to gather information on Neville and Cedric. After her surprise at his resistance to her charm, he was curious as to which way she would play the game. He had to consider Ivy's reaction as well, something that could prove very amusing.
"I think that I would enjoy that, Ms. Delacour." Harry said with a devilish grin, fully intending to milk this opportunity for all it was worth. He gave a brief bow to the ladies a bit behind Fleur, whispering among one another again, "I'll see you all on Saturday. Be sure to dress warmly."