A/N: Sorry for the lack of dialogues/socializing on Fleur's part but it was kind of hard to incorporate that while still portraying her as cold.
Chapter 2: Hogwarts & Durmstrang
The beautiful Fleur Delacour slowly woke up to a bright sun ray which collided with her eyes. She lifted herself up slightly and stretched like a cat, hearing a few bones crack as she did. The Veela let out a long sigh of contempt and got up to take a nice hot shower before she would go down to eat breakfast in the dining hall. Today was the day the champions would arrive! She honestly could not wait to see who the three champions would be, despite what she let people think. Krum would be a champion, that much was a given, but she could not recall of anybody she knew going to Hogwarts, so she had no idea of who would be a good guess. For the Beauxbatons champion, Fleur suspected Angélica would be picked as she was a very powerful witch and incredibly athletic. She would just need to wait a few more hours until her curiosity regarding Hogwarts would be satisfied.
The schools were scheduled to arrive at two o'clock, which left plenty of time for Fleur to enjoy her Saturday morning. She had been thinking of reading the Teen Witch Weekly interview of Harry Potter which apparently had some interesting information regarding his sport life, but his refusal to discuss his personal life had left the editors dumbstruck, even when they promised him riches. Fleur couldn't help but smile at this in the shower, most people would gracefully accept any questions that this magazine would ask them, even embarrassing ones if they would give them money or fame. Meanwhile, Harry Potter had refused the offer, which only proved that he wasn't like most people.
She cleaned up and dried off. It wasn't long before she descended down to the dining hall where she spotted Maryse and Clémence eating at the front of the table. She went down the alley and gracefully sat close to her friends.
"Good morning there Fleur" Maryse said with a kind smile while adding more food on her plate. Clémence repeated the kind gesture and turned her attention back to her already stashed plate.
Fleur merely answered with a polite nod and a "You too" that was whispered so quietly that she doubted they had heard anything. Well if they did they certainly didn't do anything to show it.
When she estimated was half the breakfast time, Madame Maxime stood from her astonishing height "Students! Today is quite special as the schools of Hogwarts and Durmstrang will be arriving at two o'clock!" She paused and seemed to be examining the Aragon and Scorpius house tables. A quite disapproving expression sneaked its way on her face "And I expect all of you to be dressed in your finest robes for when they arrive! We want to make a good first impression, correct?" She finished with a questioning glance towards the students in general.
Numerous "Yes Madame Maxime" could be heard in the hall. Fleur giggled as she remembered when she was required to respond in such a way. It had been three years since.
"Now, as you know, we have some very important or famous foreign students coming to assist, or participate in the Tri-Wizard tournament. I know that a lot of you will try and get closer to these exceptional people. I ask that you do it in a fashionable way and to leave them some time to get settled in." She added on a more serious note. It was true, Fleur thought. If someone ran up to her and tried to seduce her all of a sudden, it would seem quite creepy and she would not like to remain in that location.
She heard a curse from the twins who had sat a few seats from her and couldn't help but smile quietly, which brought a questioning look from Clémence. She just shrugged and turned back towards Madame Maxime.
"Now, I wish you a nice morning but remember that attendance to the arrival at two is required" At that, a good number of students got up and proceeded to leave the hall. Fleur determined to go get the Teen Witch magazine from her common room and go down to the lake to read in peace.
The lake wasn't very far, but it was huge. Were you to run around the edge, you would end up running for several miles before you would get back at the school. It was surrounded by trees, various flowers and other vegetation, an especially dense line of trees was between her and the beach. A slow, relaxing sound made its way to her ears as gentle waves hit the banks. Fleur set her back against the nearby blue brick wall from the main Beauxbatons building and enjoyed the fact that there was only a few clouds out, which meant more sun for her. Its closeness to the lake made it the ideal place to rest and enjoy a nice view. She pulled up her magazine and quickly flipped the pages until she reached the one with the Harry Potter interview on it.
An Interview with Harry Potter, the Quidditch Superstar!
By: Romilda Vane
V: Vane
P: Potter
V: In one word, how would you describe your team?
P: United.
V: Who in your opinion is the worst player amongst your teammates?
P: None, we rely on each other to be the best.
V: What are your current objectives regarding your sports career?
P: I'm hoping to be signed with a European Cup contender soon. Although I still lack any official offers.
V: Anything regarding your duelling career?
P: I'll be participating in the European Duelling Championships next summer. I'm also going somewhere that could be of interest to you, but I'll leave it at that for now.
V: Mr. Potter, why is it that you are so mysterious?
P: I'm here to discuss my sports career, not my personal life.
V: Well thank you for your time, hopefully we can do this again sometime.
Here at Teen Witch Weekly, we wish all the best for Mr. Potter and his next endeavor, whatever it may be. We also hope that he will triumph in the European Cup and his duelling tournaments!
Until next time folks,
Romilda Vane
Fleur lifted her eyes from the magazine and stared in the horizon, examining the edges of the lake. That was a relatively short interview, something told her that Harry Potter had put a premature end to it after the interviewer had started going into the personal questions. Starting off with topic-related questions and then moving on to personal questions was a popular tactic to use amongst reporters. It seemed that the Quidditch prodigy had seen right through it though. She smiled sadly; she wished that she could meet him. He seemed like someone worth talking to; after all, he had reached eternal glory in a few months and yet kept his feet down on earth, which was quite impressive. Yet, she knew that she would likely never see him outside the important games that her father was invited to.
The Delacour heiress was contempt by simply looking at the horizon, enjoying the sun as it brought warmth to her face while watching the water sparkle from the sun's reflection.
Time flew by. She remained in her comfortable position, occasionally shifting to keep the sun shining on her skin. As she looked up to the bright fireball in the sky, she could tell that it was around one o'clock by now. She had taken lessons on reading the time using the sun's position from her father in the summer. She reluctantly stood and started walking towards the dining hall; she hoped to eat a little something, despite her being terribly late for lunch.
As she walked in, she was stopped by two black-haired youths "You know, despite you being decent and all, we meant what we said when we told you that we didn't want a Veela stealing the guys, alright?" Alison Dufour said seriously.
Fleur was stunned; she thought that this issue was behind them as they had found common interest in a certain sports legend. It seemed that she had been wrong as an unknown boy stood between them yet again. She sighed and gently pushed Helen aside, allowing herself to proceed into the dining hall. In truth, she felt like dropping down and crying, but in reality, her Ice Queen mask prevented her from doing so. She was grateful for it too; breaking down in the middle of the hall couldn't be good for reputation. Her eyes looked up to the diamond chandelier hanging from the arc ceiling so that she could dry off a small tear that was forming without anyone noticing.
She settled down in her usual spot in the Wrothbard table and started filling her plate with leftovers, looking as cold as she had been in the past.
By the time she was done, it was almost time for her to go down and greet the arriving schools. She left the hall and exited the school using the main gate. They would be greeting them in a large clearing in front of the lake. The land was free of any kind of tree, but it was rather over-supplied in tall grass. The sky was starting to overflow with grey or black clouds, announcing some rain or lightning to come. As she looked upon the designated area, she noticed the abundance of students that had already arrived, all in flashy blue robes and matching hats.
Madame Maxime and the teachers stood out as they were all dressed in fancy black furs. Fleur made her way next to Clémence and Maryse as they stood on the outer edge of the massive student circle. Being in this spot meant that they would be the first to see who was coming, depending on what angle the school's transports arrived on.
"When do you think they will arrive?" Maryse asked her two years older friends. Both simply shrugged unknowingly.
"Anytime now." Fleur answered, trying to keep her face as emotionless as possible.
It seemed that most students were interested in the arriving as she realized the volume of the talking that was going on. It felt louder than it was in the dining hall during the busy hours, perhaps due to the fact that the students had a pressing topic to discuss.
All of a sudden, the entire school turned perfectly quiet. Fleur looked around, trying to figure out why the students had stopped gossiping so suddenly. She found her answer in the lake, as she saw massive bubbles erupting from the depts while massive waves hit the sandy banks. Moments later, a mast with clear-white sails appeared, making younger students gasp with their mouths opened. Slowly, the ship itself same into view. It seemed quite robust, as if every plank had been placed for a reason while powerful candles brightly lit the windows from the inside. The front of the boat was easily recognizable, a silver ram, the sigil of Durmstrang, was spotted by the students.
The professors quickly conjured a cement dock for the boat to stop to. Dramatically, a boarding plank made its way down.
A single small, yet imposing man came off the boat and walked towards Madame Maxime, who stood at the edge of the dock "Hello Igor, welcome to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic" she said in English.
The man smiled oddly at her and caressed his short black beard "Well it certainly does not outshine my fair Durmstrang, but it will do" he drawled, and followed it up with an arrogant smirk. If the Headmistress was surprised at the lack of manners of this Igor, she certainly didn't show it as she deliberately ignored his comment.
"Where are your pupils, Igor?" She asked while watching the boarding plank which remained empty.
Igor Karkaroff merely smiled at her before curving his fingers into his mouth and whistling loudly. Immediately, a somewhat large host of Durmstrang students flowed out of the boat using the plank. They were all wearing blood –red robes with slightly furry shoulder padding, an obvious attempt at intimidation. They stopped in two straight columns on the cement dock.
The Beauxbatons students looked around nervously, not knowing what they were waiting for until they heard a loud yell "KRUM!" the Bulgarians yelled in unison, startling some students and a few professors. They started pounding their muscular fists on their chests, creating a repetitive beat.
Most people looked on in interest as they heard the name of their favorite seeker. A pair of furry boots hit the floor of the dock; the man wearing them was impressive, if nothing else. He wore the traditional Durmstrang red robes, but had a more pronounced shoulder padding, which made the figure of Viktor Krum all the more imposing. As he walked in between his classmates, he started pounding his own chest. The now-complete set of students now yelled, "DURMSTRANG!" Karkaroff twisted his head in a proud smile towards the Headmistress of Beauxbatons.
There were numerous reasons to be afraid of the Durmstrang delegation. For one, they actually learned dark arts in their school, making them deadly when duelling a lesser-wizard. They also followed an extensive training program, forcing them to endure things that typical human beings would never see or hear of in their entire life.
After a few moments, the pounding stopped and Krum led his fellow students to his Headmaster's side, "Igor, will you meet Albus or would you want to go inside and warm up?" Madame Maxime asked politely, despite the lack of respect the man showed for her earlier.
To all of their surprise, it was not Karkaroff who answered, "Ve vill vait for the Hogvarts delegation" answered a mild Bulgarian accent. His words held power to his mates as Karkaroff looked at his star pupil and nodded quietly before releasing the tension in his shoulders by letting out a sigh.
The northern school settled besides the unorganized mass of Beauxbatons students, after seeing how well Durmstrang was organized, most local pupils started forming several columns, as to try and impress the next school which would be Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Around fifteen minutes passed without the northerners uttering a single word, they were simply staring at the horizon, unblinking. This only caused further unease for the Frenchmen and women which were already a little confused by their rival's entry.
Igor Karkaroff turned towards the Beauxbatons mass and announced in an emotionless voice, "Hogwarts arrives," he gently smiled at Madame Maxime, "You might want to move your students towards the high ground" he continued as his students started moving towards the high balconies near the entry to the Beauxbatons grounds.
With a confused look, Maxime ordered the teachers to follow Karkaroff's counsel as they started following the path led by the red-robed students.
The balconies were easily spottable from the bottom of the road leading up to them as they were of beige stone color with massive vine-covered pillars supporting them from the ground up. The northerners settled in the one farthest from the main gate while the blue-robed students took place in every single remaining ones, barely fitting.
As Fleur took place in the balcony next to the Durmstrang one, she caught most northern boys looking at her with greedy expressions; even Krum had a look in his eyes which gave away his emotions. They remained fixated on her until Karkaroff, which was an occlumency master, slapped each of them on the back of the head. They seemed confused for a second before understanding came to them.
The Veela did not even give them a look. She just kept looking at the area that they had been waiting at around five minutes ago. The sun was now completely gone and was replaced by dangerously dark clouds, making the world seem terribly grim as the color faded from the vegetation. Only then did Fleur notice that nobody was talking, perfect silence reigned, only betrayed by the wind whistling in her ears.
She was leaning on the fence boarding the balcony when she noticed a slight trembling in it The ground is shaking she thought before turning to her fellow classmates and yelling it out loud "The ground is shaking!"
A few younger students yelled in panic and tried piercing the human wall that had formed between them and the warmth of their dormitories. Fleur merely looked on interestingly as the shaking became more pronounced, causing her own feet to feel the unease in the ground.
"The hell is going on?!" Clémence asked from behind her.
Fleur turned and looked towards her best friend "It's them, they're almost here" she replied with an apprehensive smile.
As she turned back, she noticed a big circle of rocks bouncing up and down where they had been standing while waiting for Durmstrang. The earthquake hit its power peak as Fleur saw some first years stumble to the ground under the force of the shake. Most people stood, but were quite misbalanced by this odd factor.
The ground of the clearing suddenly collapsed with a large Thud! Sound as the rocky surface hit the bottom of the hole it was now in.
"Holy crap!" Maryse yelled as she observed the breath-taking sight.
Then, the most unnatural thing came out of the ground. First, all they could see was a huge silver-colored metal drill. As it came out with loud buzzy noises, she saw it. The Hogwarts transport was huge, towering above the Durmstrang ship by a least a dozen feet. She saw the square living quarters which were also mounted on large continuous tracks, as a tank would be mounted. It seemed to be built out of pure steel, but painted in a nice dark color. Numerous huge bolts could be seen poking out of the behemoth as it left the hole and settled a few feet next to it.
There were some windows, in which Fleur saw some light appearing, and then fading, and then back. The students were moving from within. The drill-tank finally pulled to a stop as the students realized what they were looking at and immediately started gasping and screaming impressively. Building something this big was not an easy task in any way.
A small door opened from the side pointing towards the school and a boarding plank very similar to the one used by Durmstrang came down to the ground.
Madame Maxime gestured for the students to follow her as she started walking back down towards the Hogwarts delegation which were her guests by every law and rule in the wizarding world.
"They sure know how to make a flashy entrance!" ranted Clémence as she and Maryse walked up to Fleur's side. Being a nature-lover, she did not like the fact that Hogwarts had just taken out a big portion of the tall grass that usually filled this area.
"I'm sure that will get fixed, for now let's just go meet the Englishmen" Maryse said while grinning slyly.
Both she and Clémence nodded at that "Hopefully, there's a few good ones in there" Angélica said as she joined them.
The quartet giggled and looked on towards the massive drill where they could see an old white-bearded man standing with his wand out "That's Albus Dumbledore!" Maryse nearly screamed into Clémence's ears who grunted in complaint.
"Who's that?" Fleur asked.
"It's the man in front of you dummy" Her friend answered with a playful smirk.
"Oh sure, I mean why he's special" she replied with an awkwardly muffled giggle.
"He's supreme mugwump of the ICW, chief warlock of the British Wizengamot and holder of the order of Merlin, first class" Maryse answered with a sparkle of admiration in her eyes.
"Sounds like someone's quite the fan-girl!" Angélica said and laughed loudly at her friend's angry look.
"I just admire him, okay?" she replied through her clenched teeth. Her opponent lifted her hands in the air in defeat.
"Hey now I didn't say anything about a crush!"
Maryse rolled her eyes and brought them back upon the bearded figure, this Albus Dumbledore seemed to be quite a powerful wizard. As the mass of students came to a stop, the man twisted his wand and the hole, well, it was gone. The terrain was back to what it had looked like a few minutes ago. The Hogwarts headmaster disembarked.
"My apologies for the terrain Madame Maxime" he said in English as he brushed his lips against the knuckles of her headmistress who had lifted her hand towards the man.
"'Eet is nothing my dear Dumbee'dore" She replied in a strong French accent. Fleur wondered how such a difference between two persons was possible. Karkaroff was arrogant and proud while Dumbledore was polite and humble.
"Ah yes, now let me introduce you to my students!" He said with a confident smile, bringing a roar of gossip coming from the students but they were quickly silenced by a glare from their Headmistress.
A wave of students ranging from fifth year to seventh year started disembarking from the drill; most of the guys stared at her, but were soon brought back to reality when a Hogwarts girl spotted them acting oddly. They were all wearing black robes with different insignias on their left torso area. She could see multiple lions, snakes and other animals as they walked down in a disorganized fashion, teasing and playing with each other.
After this odd little show Fleur wondered how Dumbledore's proud smile persisted, but she guessed it was just what made Hogwarts' charm. A few students stood out from the rest, one which had a queer smile of his face had his arm held by a cute Asian girl with dark eyes. Another had odd blue eyes and an arrogant, yet confident and charming smirk, but there was one that caught the attention of the blue-robed students more than every other.
This boy had a roaring lion on his torso and had flat black hair hiding a lightning-shaped scar. His brown eyes seemed nonchalant behind those ridiculous circular glasses. Normally, such features would not attract the attention of many women, but there was something special about this boy, he was the Boy-Who-Lived, Aidan Potter.
"It's the Boy-Who-Lived!" Fleur heard someone screaming from behind her. The boy in question stopped next to Dumbledore, smirked a smile that seemed to say I'm-Better-Than-You-Will-Ever-Be and bowed in a way that made the Veela want to vomit, the urge only got stronger when the boy looked her way and winked.
Dumbledore simply laughed quietly before addressing the boy "Aidan, where is your brother?" Some students gasped in disbelief. The youngest Potter simply snorted and walked to the back of the line of Hogwarts students.
A silhouette appeared in the door of the drill, attracting loud screams of amazement. Fleur looked around and saw that most girls were looking at the man open-mouthed.
He was wearing his black robe, except his had a blue eagle instead of the lion his brother had. They seemed to hug his body perfectly, showing just how well-toned his muscles were. Broad shoulders, piercing green eyes and messy jet-black hair. All in all, he was hot. Most girls seemed to realize this as they started screaming in a very high-pitched fan-girly way, making the man grunt in annoyance.
As Fleur examined him closely, her knees nearly buckled. Right there, standing right in front of her, was the boy she had spent countless hours admiring in the magazines she was subscribed to. Right here, standing right in front of her, stood Harry Potter, the Quidditch superstar. Her mouth dropped open as she tried mentally slapping herself to no result. She simply stood there, knees trembling and mouth wide open.
"Hole…Lee… Crap!" was all she could say before looking around towards Maryse and the girls who all seemed to be having a similar reaction that she was.
The man had walked down to the ground by now; obviously annoyed at the staring he was receiving. Gosh he's even sexy when he walks… Fleur thought. Well there was something about the way he advanced that made the girls drool. He seemed Confident. Proud. Dominant. He walked towards Dumbledore and exchanged a few words in a small whisper, making the older man nod in denial. Harry Potter's shoulders slumped as a frown crept his way to his face. Until he spotted a certain Quidditch player wearing blood-red robes.
The rivalry between Viktor Krum and Harry Potter was legendary, and vicious. When they met in the pitch, both of them held nothing back and used anything at their disposal to win. "Someone needs to intervene; they're going to tear each other's heads off!" Fleur yelled towards her friends who were still dazed by the sudden appearance of their favorite chaser. That seemed to be the general feeling as most girls were still yelling uncontrollably.
All that noise suddenly died down when Harry Potter stopped right in front of Viktor Krum with Karkaroff next to him, a worried look on his face. Both Quidditch players had unreadable facial expressions on their faces as they stared straight into the other's eyes. Potter suddenly held out a hand towards Krum who quickly took it and shaked before engaging in a bro-hug. Fleur's eyes widened once again at the sight before her.
It took a while for the Headmasters to control the student population, but they all followed Harry Potter towards the dining hall. The other schools waited outside the door while the local students entered and sat at their respectable table. Once everyone was seated comfortably, the Beauxbatons staff did the same and moved towards the long table. Surprising everyone, the Hogwarts and Durmstrang delegations entered the hall without an authorisation from their headmasters.
After adding a fair length to each table, Madame Maxime informed them "Zhe Hogwarts students may sit with Aragon or Wrothbard while Zurmstrang may sit with Scorpius or Dezobry"
"Excuse me Headmistress," everyone turned horrified at who would dare to talk back on Madame Maxime. Although, there was no arrogance in his voice, it was filled with respect and neutrality. Harry Potter continued, "Would it be possible for us to sit with Durmstrang students as well? I need to catch up with some friends" He said with a look towards Viktor Krum.
"If zat is what you wish" Maxime said with a smile.
The star nodded in thanks and made a short hand gesture towards his classmates, instructing them to go sit in Worthbard and Aragon tables while he turned right and sat in the Scorpius table next to some girl to his right that looked like she was going to have a heart-attack. Krum and some other red wizard sat in front of Harry while some Hogwarts student sat to his left.
From her seat in Wrothbard, Fleur couldn't help but feel disappointed that Harry Potter was not sitting on her table, but figured that there were still many meals for them to meet up. In front of her sat Angélica while Clémence and Maryse sat to her sides.
"Can you believe it?!" Angélica started, "Harry Potter, the Quidditch Legend, in our school, sitting a few tables away!"
"I know! He's so hot!" said Helen Dufour as she and her twin sister sat on either side of Angélica.
Fleur giggled "You're all pathetic" she said playfully.
"Says the one with the allure to help her out!" Clémence said with a smirk.
Only after her best friend had mentioned it, understanding finally dawned on her. Harry Potter had not even looked at her since he had arrived, and most men would at least pause for a second or two to stare before they moved on to their daily activities. The superstar had not even noticed her yet. She did not know if she should feel offended or extremely happy that someone could resist her allure.
Noticing her obvious discomfort, Clémence said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that…" Fleur shaked her head before turning to her friend again.
"No, no it's just that… Well Potter was immune to my allure" She said with a dangerously wide smile.
The twins looked surprised and pleased at the same time "Does that mean you're going to compete?" they said cryptically.
"Compete in what? The Tri-Wizard tournament?" Fleur asked.
"No, the war for Harry Potter" Alison replied with a smirk.
"Well if it's going to turn into a war then I'm not sure I want to participate" The Veela said with a sad smile.
"Look around you, every single girl in the hall is looking at him dreamily; of course it's a war!" Maryse shouted with a growing grin.
"Honestly Fleur, you finally find someone that can resist your allure and you talk about giving up? I thought your Veela instincts prevented that!" Angélica humored.
Despite the unserious tone used by Angélica, Fleur realised that she was right. She couldn't drop off because of a little competition; she could at least try and get to know him before deciding on something.
"Attention students!" Madame Maxime yelled in English, attracting an immediate attentive silence "As you know, the reason you are here today is the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This," She pointed towards a large cup that had appeared in front of the staff table, it had brightly colored flames erupting out of it.
"…Is the Goblet of Fire."
- The feast started as soon as the Headmistress had explained everything regarding participating in the Tournament. Students would need to write their names on a piece of parchment and drop it in the cup. She had also set up an age limit, stopping anyone under the age of seventeen to drop his name in the cup. Fleur had spotted an identical spark in both Harry Potter's and Viktor Krum's eyes, meaning that would likely participate. The duo joining the competition would likely mean the end of whoever would champion for Beauxbatons, they were both high-league athletes and duelers after all.
The beauty started stacking some high-quality food on her silver plate as her friends stole a quick glance towards the residential superstars before mimicking her. The conversations in the hall became louder than the regular jabber.
"At least the chefs made some better food to welcome our guests" Maryse stated before grabbing some sort of exotic fruit from a far-away tray.
"We couldn't have these Englishmen think us barbarians now, could we?" Angélica said with a smirk towards the Hogwarts students that sat on their table.
"Not all Englishmen are barbarians, just look at Potter!" Alison Dufour replied quickly, making her friends giggle and her ears turn a bright red color.
They all looked down the Wrothbard table to see the same chubby fifth year that they had seemed too arrogant at the arrival. Aidan Potter was eating like a half-starved pig, his eyes were narrowed and concentrated, making eating look like a sport as he grabbed some food from nearby trays with one hand, and while the other shoved some more in his already filled mouth. He did not seem interested in talking to anybody as a few students near him were imitating his eating methods, a certain red-head and an odd looking youth.
After being elbowed by the red-head, the youngest Potter swallowed hard and wiped the food that was leaking around his mouth. He turned his head to see Fleur looking straight at him with a disgusted impression. He did not seem to notice as he winked and sent her a sly smile. The Wrothbard chaser snorted in disgust and quickly turned her head away.
"Not THAT Potter you idiots!" Helen yelled in outrage before standing up and leaving the hall, her sister hot on her heels.
A wide grin made its way on most of their faces as they replied in unison "Oh well." And resumed feasting.
Fleur's friends quickly left and skipped dessert as they needed time to prepare for their Quidditch practice. Normally, she would follow along with them but she felt like she needed some sugar after everything that had happened today. The most disturbing event undoubtedly being seeing her idol in the flesh and the idea of seeing him on a daily basis for months.
She cleaned her plate before eyeing some rich-looking chocolate cake. She meant to grab a piece but interrupted her gesture abruptly as two figures sat on each side of her while another rested in front.
The one in front of her, who seemed to be the leader, eyed her with his light brown eyes, "Hello Fleur" She stiffened at being called by her first name, nobody would call each other by their first names before even meeting. This boy obviously had no idea of how the French socialized "Yes I know your name" Aidan Potter said, trying to look smarter than he was by guessing what she was thinking, and yet he failed miserably.
The veela remained quiet.
The Boy-Who-Lived seemed a little offended that she did not talk to him "I'm the Boy-Who-Lived" he said proudly before looking at his friends whom were straightening their torsos in response to the statement. It was a known fact that men liked to boast when in presence of a Veela.
When he still didn't receive an answer, frustration obviously started controlling him.
"I've seen you staring, you can't get enough of me," he tried with an arrogant smirk "You can talk to me, I promise I won't let my super powers out of control"
Fleur chuckled, which only seemed to further infuriate the boy whom likely had no powers at all.
The red-head next to her grabbed her arm violently and started shacking "Answer him!" he practically shouted.
Aidan Potter had a sly grin on his face that made Fleur want to hex his lights out. Although, in this position, she wasn't really going to make threats. The three boys together could easily overpower her. For a moment she thought about yelling for help but her pride stood in her way, she wouldn't give in to this rat.
"Fleur my dear," she seriously dismissed the twitch that had erupted in her fists, "I always get what I want" he announced, his grin still plainly visible.
The brown-haired boy next to her grabbed her shoulder and started squeezing, softly at first, but it became harder as she resisted the Boy-Who-Lived. She was about to give in and talk to the boy, but she heard a loud squeak of fear coming from Aidan Potter. The hold on her shoulder suddenly released as her captor looked on, horrified.
The eldest, Harry Potter, stood close to her, holding the boy off the floor by his collar. This scene attracted a lot of attention as numerous faces, female and male alike, twisted towards the superstar. He pierced through the brown-haired boy's soul with his deep green eyes before asking in a loud bitter voice "Bullying more girls now, are we?"
Fleur could hardly believe it; her idol had arrived in the nick of time. Saving her as a knight in shining armor would have. It was almost too good to be true, so many good things had happened to her in the last twenty-four hours.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the boy flying over her head and slamming roughly against the younger Potter who screamed in fright. The hall had grown silent by this point.
"I'll tell mother!" Aidan yelled towards his brother before lifting his friend up and leaving the hall in disgrace.
Harry Potter simply grunted, obviously disgusted by his sibling's behaviour. He turned to look at her, she felt his gaze pierce into her as a knife would, making her fingers tremble. "I must extend an apology for my sibling's behaviour," He started through clenched teeth, "He did not receive the proper… Education" he said with an angry glare towards Dumbledore who was watching the scene with interest.
He then did the unexpected as he sat next to Fleur and offered her his hand "Harry Potter" he presented himself.
"Fleur Delacour, but I l'ready know who zhou are" She said with a nervous giggle as she shook his hand.
"I find it only proper to present myself to strangers Miss Delacour," he said with a charming smile showing his clear-white teeth "Your father works for the ministry does he not?" he asked.
"He does, zhou are well informed Mr. Potter, and more so on the french customs" she replied and returned his smile.
He nodded "Would you do me the honor of letting me escort you to your dormitory? I wouldn't want my rat of a brother to come sneaking around you again" He proposed intently.
She considered the request for a moment, judging the intent hidden behind the words and determined that they were nothing but kind. Fleur nodded quietly and got up. Harry lifted himself up and blinked a few times before ignoring the jealous gazes Fleur was receiving and followed her out the hall.
He looked up when he reached the garden, the rain was now pouring from the sky and a few flashes of light could be seen now and then, interrupting the grim mood that was set in. Fleur squeaked silently as she was hit by cold rain, which then stopped suddenly. She looked over to her escort and saw a smile, which immediately gave him away. "Silent and wandless casting?" she looked at him impressed "Very impressive"
"Takes practice, not too hard afterwards" He answered modestly, but Fleur knew better. Silent casting was, perhaps a little easier than wandless magic as more people mastered it. Though casting a charm without a wand was quite rare and extremely difficult to achieve while this man made it look like child's play.
They walked alone for a while, the rain still pouring around them, making the tree leaves drenched and the flowers all the more beautiful.
"You were at the World Cup correct?" He asked quietly.
"Indeed I was, you played most brilliantly Mr. Potter" she answered with a kind smile. In truth, Potter had played a lot better than brilliantly, if not for him, England would have rolled over and died before the match even started.
He nodded in thanks "Do zhou plan on participating in the tournament?" Fleur asked.
"Indeed I do, and yet it's not like I have much of a choice in the matter," Harry pointed out, "What about you?" He questioned, changing the subject.
"What do zhou mean? I am not allowed to participate, I am too young" She stated, quite confused, she had assumed that Potter would know that.
He laughed quietly "Being too young to pass the line doesn't mean you can't participate" he winked at her.
Fleur dismissed Potter's cryptic words "Well it seems we 'ave reached our destination" she said and turned to look at him. The huge building behind her, lights coming from the different windows making it seem like a night dance.
"Indeed milady, I would like to once again extend my sincere apologies for my brother's behaviour" He looked downwards in shame.
"All forgiven Mr. Potter," Fleur said with a quick smile which lifted his chin up "Do try and keep
'im under control please"
Harry laughed happily "Not sure about that, but if he bothers you again, make sure to advise me so I can… Take care of the problem" he said with a sly smirk.
Fleur gave him one last smile before entering her dorm quickly, intending to tell her friends everything about Mr. Potter.
A/N: R&R! Constructive criticism always appreciated! I'm also looking for some suggestions, so if there is anything you would like to see in this story, feel free to drop me a PM or leave the idea in a review. I've actually written up until chapter 4, and I'm halfway through chapter 5. As for the tasks, I was thinking of keeping dragons in the story, not in the same form (As in, what you need to do to succeed).
Until next time,
GoldenShade
