"You look annoyed".
Fleur looked up from her bowl of thick porridge, its contents proving unappetising for the Veela. The French witch's eyes found the source of disturbance in front of her, it was the young Hogwarts girl she had spoken to during her first night within the grand hall. Fleur eyed the girl critically, noticing a painful looking knot in the midst of her shabby pale golden hair and the lack of a tie around her neck.
"And you are missing a part of your uniform" Fleur replied coldly, she was in no mood to play entertainer for the sleepy voiced girl.
"I don't think its missing, it got lost, though I wouldn't be surprised if some people from my house helped with that" Luna defended, though the way she spoke made it impossible to tell if she was offended by Fleur's comment.
"Why would they take your possessions? Is that not frowned upon?" the Veela inquired, if only because the conversation with the young girl was more entertaining than drawing shapes in her porridge with her spoon.
"It probably is, but it can't be that house-friendly to tell on them. They already call me names, I don't want to give them an actual reason to not like me" Luna explained.
"They already don't like you Luna, there is no point trying to win them over" Fleur told her, "if they take your things again you should curse them, send a message".
"Do you get bullied? You sound like you know what you're talking about" Luna questioned, her fascination in the French witch obvious from the shine in her blue eyes.
Fleur chuckled haughtily at the girl's question, "you think I get bullied? No silly girl, no one would dare commit such an act against me".
Luna's head tilted at Fleur remark, "you sound confident, how do you know they don't talk behind your back".
"I..." Fleur began before she stopped. As she thought about it the Veela realised she hadn't considered such a possibility, mostly because she didn't think other people would. She was perfect, powerful in magic and beautiful, why would anyone want to criticise her?
"I mean they probably don't, you seem nice, if a bit rude" Luna then said, her hands fidgeting with her robe cuffs.
"Um… thank you?" Fleur said in a confused manner, taken aback by the strange girl's behaviour.
"Your welcome" Luna beamed, her smile taking longer than it should have to fade, "though you didn't tell me why you look so annoyed".
Thoughts of a green eyed boy, her headmistress and the mysterious task that Fleur would be facing came to the forefront of her mind. The only good thing that seemed to have happened last night was her success in being chosen as champion, yet if felt ignored, out matched by the addition of a fourth champion.
"Are you always so blunt with your questions?" Fleur asked.
"Dad says honesty is better than lying" the pale blonde answered.
The Veela merely sighed with frustration at Luna's naivety, yet the French Witch felt compelled to spit out what had been biting away at her mind, if only to alleviate the irritation.
"That boy, Harry Potter, he is the reason I am so annoyed" Fleur admitted, her voice blunt, "he is a mystery wrapped in a skinny body, I can't pin what is wrong with him. His stunt last night only makes it worse".
"What do you mean stunt, are you talking about Harry becoming the fourth champion?" Luna questioned.
"Of course, it was planned, he wanted to compete in the tournament" Fleur replied passionately.
"But what if he doesn't?"
Fleur looked at the younger blonde as though she has just sprouted a second head. "What do you mean, of course he would want to compete, the money, the glory, all of it outshines the risks" the Veela retorted.
"But Harry wasn't even in the hall last night" Luna told her, "we all saw Professor Dumbledore calling out for him, but in the end he had to get Professor McGonagall to fetch him".
"So he was hiding, he probably did it to make himself look convincing" Fleur said dismissively.
"If you think Harry wanted to be the centre of attention, then I don't think you've judged his character very well" Luna stated, her expression slowly shifting away from the dreamlike trance to a hardening frown.
"What ever could you mean little girl?" the Veela asked in an overbearing manner.
"You don't actually know what he's been through the last few years, you're just making assumptions because he got into the tournament as well" Luna argued, "you don't know that he's had to fight dementors or deal with a serial murderer coming after him. I think he just wanted a normal year that didn't involve him at the centre of it all".
It took a moment for Fleur to take in what Luna had said. Dementors and a serial murderer? What was going on at this school? Though the Veela quickly shook her head, the crazy girl in front of her couldn't possibly be speaking the truth. Besides, Luna had only begun to speak up when the subject fell onto the green eyed boy, she was probably being protective over the boy due to some delusional crush.
"That doesn't change the fact that he didn't protest about his entry into the tournament, he didn't say much at all" Fleur remarked victoriously.
"I think you're just being petty" Luna told her in a blunt fashion, "you seem hell-bent on winning this tournament, the way your eyes shone when you talked about it says enough. But now you've got another champion to compete against and I think you're worried by him".
"Worried by that boy? Your head has been stuck in the clouds too long" Fleur laughed cruelly, "if anything I am glad that he is competing, he is weak, it will be easy to beat him".
The frown that had begun to form on Luna's face only deepened after Fleur's latest insult. The younger girl stood abruptly, her bag being brought over her shoulder, "I thought you were different" she told the seated Veela, "but you're just shallow like everyone else, you don't look beyond the surface".
"And you were naive to think otherwise" Fleur offered, the girl's words didn't even faze her, she had heard it all from jealous girls whose boyfriends couldn't keep their eyes from her.
"You know if you wanted to know more about Harry you could just ask him, he's over there" Luna offered, a finger pointing past the French Veela and towards the bench behind her. Fleur craned her neck to see where the crazy blonde was gesturing at. Yet true to her word, the manic haired wizard was there, walking from the entrance towards the table emblazoned with red and gold.
Even with the distance between them, Fleur could see a marked difference in the wizard's appearance. Some colour had been injected into his pale skin and this by itself brought a measure of life into the wizard's actions, he held himself a little bit higher. Though like a nail, affixed in place, forcing anyone looking at him to know he wasn't well, the bandage that was wrapped on his arm the previous day was still present. The gauze had been reapplied, this most recent attempt wasn't done by the same person that much was obvious. The fabric covered Harry's arm in a neat fashion, concealing whatever lay below it flawlessly without any overshoots or any apparent flimsy rips or hanging threads.
This boost in Harry's health seemed to be only good thing in store for the young wizard.
As soon as Harry arrived at the table the redhead boy who had drooled at Fleur's presence looked over to blacked hair wizard. His stare was soon joined by several other schoolboys. Fleur watched curiously, no words were spoken, however the meaning was clear. Harry's shoulders drooped considerably and he turned and walked back the way he went, his hands shoved into his trouser pockets, his bag being thrown as he stormed away. What had caused such hostile tensions?
"He doesn't look very talkative at the moment" Fleur stated, her head turning back, only to find Luna had left. The Veela shrugged off the strange girl's departure, the conversation was turning stale anyway.
"You want me to do what?" Fleur questioned in French, the proposal was outlandish at best.
"Did you hit your head Fleur? My plan is nothing strange" Madame Maxime replied in the same tongue, a touch of confusion colouring her words.
The Veela resisted the urge to swear at her headmistress with all of the expletives her native tongue allowed for her. The damned woman had dragged Fleur into a large room within the carriage, the walls covered in a faded padding, as soon as she had returned from her breakfast. When the pain in Fleur's wrist had subsided from Maxime's relentless pulling the headmistress had her that her training would begin today.
"You want me to cast two separate spells… at the same time" Fleur repeated angrily.
"Wordlessly as well" Maxime added, a large smile affixed to her haughty face.
"Madame, what you ask of me… that is impossible, I struggle casting non-verbally at the best of times" Fleur fumed.
"Ah but you are the best Fleur, you promised me you would succeeded" Maxime dismissed with a wave of her hand, "in these challenges you will faced with the unknown, I need you to be prepared, casting multiple spells at the same time will be the basics".
"And how will you test me?" Fleur remarked, unamused by what her headmistress had concocted.
"With some assistance of course, Julien come here" Maxime called, a door to the side of the large woman opening. Coming out from the door was a middle aged man, his hair slicked back with what Fleur could only assume was several dozen pots of grease. He wore a pair of creased suit trousers and a stained white shirt, a horrendously bad attempt of a black thin tie had also been added as though to add insult to injury.
"Julien is one of the best duellist France has to offer, and he has given his services willingly to help you improve for the Tournament" Maxime explained.
"A pleasure" Julien said, his voice as slimy as his hair looked, even the way he spoke in French sounded disgusting.
"I'm sure it is" Fleur remarked, she had no desire to complete this training regime that Maxime had created, though from the knowing gaze the headmistress was giving her, Fleur knew her opinion didn't matter at this point.
"So what am I to do?" The Veela sighed in resignation as she pulled her wand from her pocket.
"It is quite simple" Julien stated, "you will cast the protego shield charm to block my curse, and at the same time you will shoot this vase out of Madame Maxime's hand". As to indicate what Julien was saying was true, the headmistress produced a plain vase from the room Julien had walked in from.
"I am sure you will pick this up in no time Fleur" Maxime told her, though from the way she spoke it sounded more like a threat.
Fleur watched hopelessly as Julien moved a few steps away, his wand being produced from his sleeve. Maxime stood to the side, the vase being held out. The Veela waited for some signal, a callout or some sign that Julien would begin. The Frenchman stood perfectly still, leading the Veela to fall out of her stance, and just as she was about to question the inaction a bolt of violet was shot at her.
"Too slow" Julien dismissed, his head shaking with disappointment as Fleur struggled to stand back up, the confusion curse ridding her of her sense of balance.
"I was given no warning!" Fleur cried out, falling over again as the curse took hold once more.
"And you think the opponents you face will give you warning, or perhaps you believe that they will be too enraptured by your Veela charm?" Julien questioned, his voice filling Fleur with unease.
The not so subtle jab at her heritage sparked a determined fire within Fleur's chest. As soon as the curse's effects had died away she stood back up, her blazer being tossed aside as she rolled up her sleeves.
"Again" she told the instructor, her attention now solely focused on proving the slimy worm in front of her wrong.
The next few hours raced passed Fleur, the sensations of different curses and stunners filled her body with aches and sores. She hadn't completed the exercise, not even once. Every time the Veela had been able to cast the shield charm wordlessly Julien would just fire off a powerful spell and shatter it. The vase in Maxime's hand hadn't been touched by Fleur's magic. Fleur left the sparring room with her blazer swung over her shoulder, the Veela feeling humiliated and tired as she retreated to her room.
Fleur's stay in her room was brief, she went about grabbing a change of clothes, a pale jumper and faded jeans. With these in hand Fleur went for a badly needed bath. The wash room wasn't too far away from Fleur's room, though they were annoyingly public. Thankfully Fleur's locking charm was still as effective. The idea that she would be told off for such a miss-use of magic flew past Fleur's mind as she settled into the heavenly warm water.
When Fleur had soaked long enough for the tips of her fingers to prune she quickly left the bath and dried herself, her long wavy hair being put up in a simple ponytail. Now that she was clean the Veela's stomach drew Fleur's attention. Disposing of her smelly uniform in her room Fleur went off in search of the kitchen once more. Winding through the corridors the French Witch eventually came about the small area, the room filled with sofas and old chairs that grandmothers would feel the most comfortable in. Though when Fleur turned to the actual kitchen area she was greeted by a sight that hadn't been there the previous day.
"Hello misses Witchy!" an exuberant House-Elf called out in broken English. The Elf was standing on top the kitchen surface. It was wearing quite a wide variety of clothes, an odd trait for a House-Elf, though the pair of ill fitting socks took the cake for the Veela.
"What are you doing here?" Fleur replied, not bothering to offer a similar greeting.
"Professor Dumbledore asked Dobby to cook for the French school, he said it was a very important task!" the house-elf said.
"So you are to be our cook?" Fleur questioned with a healthy amount of scepticism, "surely you will need help?"
"Ah well… I have help from the other elves, and I can use Hogwarts kitchens, they are very big, I can make anything!" the house-elf called Dobby stated with pride.
"Hmm" Fleur hummed as she pondered this latest development, "then perhaps you can make me lunch?"
The house-elf nodded eagerly and listened to Fleur's lengthy request, his face falling slightly at her specifications and instructions.
After only ten minutes Fleur was sat on one of the high stools facing the kitchen desk, her meal sat atop it. The Veela munched away, pleasantly surprised by the quality at which the house-elf had made her meal.
"This is good" Fleur admitted honestly as she took another bite from her sandwich.
"Thank you misses" Dobby said with a large smile that seemed ready to fall off his face.
"Do all students at Hogwarts have access to house-elves?" the Veela asked as she threw a grape into her mouth, the green berry went with a crunch and exploded into ever so slightly bitter juices.
"They aren't supposed to know we are there" the house-elf told her, "we are meant to stay in the kitchen and make food, and clean, and do whatever Professor Dumbledore asks".
"So the students don't even know it is house-elves that make their food?" Fleur stated with confusion.
"No, not at all. Many of the students know we make their food, a few even come to the kitchen for seconds and thirds. The weasels twins like to come for sweets and chocolates" Dobby said gleefully, as though he had helped in some way to fulfil the 'weasel twins' request.
"Oh, and Professor Dumbledore lets you wear such… creative clothes?" Fleur then asked, her choice of words kept tame in hopes of continued answers.
"No misses, Dobby is a free elf, what I wear is what I bought with my earnings that Professor Dumbledore gives me" Dobby explained, his eyes becoming teary as he mentioned the Hogwarts headmaster, "such a kind man, such a good man, he wanted to give Dobby a higher wage but Dobby threatened to punish himself if he did".
"Ah" Fleur said with surprise, she had for that moment forgotten the eagerness instilled in some elves when it came to beatings, "so… who freed you Dobby?"
"Mister Harry Potter!" the house-elf exclaimed happily which almost made the Veela choke on her food, "he tricked my old master into giving me clothes. Mister Potter is kind as well, he helps teach the young-uns".
"And why does he do that?" Fleur questioned at this latest piece of information about the source of her intrigue.
"Mister Potter has a lot of free time Misses, but he likes helping, he's teaching the first years flying today" Dobby told her.
"Why does he have a lot of free time Dobby? I know he doesn't go to lessons, but there must be a reason for it" Fleur said, pushing further, her plate of food now abandoned.
"Umm, Mister Potter is very poorly but Dobby cannot say any more Misses, Dobby is a good Elf and he would keep Harry Potter's secrets" the Elf said to the Veela, the small creature trying its best to look determined and sure faced.
The expectant eyes of Fleur quickly dropped to cold, chilling orbs. Why was it so hard to figure out what was wrong with this stupid boy? Pressing her eyes closed, the Veela massaged her temples, what had started a mere curiosity had rapidly begun to shift. If Fleur knew what was wrong with Harry then she could possibly use it to her advantage. She wasn't above blackmail. There was also the chance that one of the challenges would pit the champions against one and other. Knowing of a weakness could be a crucial game changer, even if it was against a fourth year.
"Dobby, you said that Harry was helping to teach some first years, could you show me where he is, please?" Fleur said as she put on her very best hopeful expression. The Veela charm had less of an effect on magical creatures and monsters, but it still could grab their attention if Fleur desired it, and she was putting her full effort into it.
The house-elf seemed to ponder Fleur's request for a moment, Fleur feared that if the elf thought any harder she would hear the cogs whirring in his head. To the Veela's delight this didn't occur and Dobby nodded slowly.
"I will show you misses" the house-elf pipped, "let me get another Elf to help with your friend's lunch".
Fleur frowned at what Dobby had said, what friends? Before she could ask what the Elf meant, he clicked his fingers and snapped out of existence.
Feeling a crawl on the back of her neck that signalled someone was staring at the back of her head, Fleur looked back and found several Beauxbaton students stand about impatiently, some of them even tapping their feet in annoyance. Fleur merely rolled her eyes and went back to eating the remainder of her meal.
It took only a few minutes for Dobby to return, alongside him stood another Elf whose clothing was less erratic to say the least. The Elf went about taking the other student's requests whilst Dobby jumped down from the kitchen table and gestured for Fleur to follow.
"What is your name misses?" Dobby asked as he led the Veela out of the expanded carriage.
Fleur wondered whether she should give her name, though she did note that the house-elf had answered most of her questions and he was leading the Veela to the boy-who-annoyed-her.
"Fleur Delacour" she told the Elf.
Dobby hadn't been lying when he stated that Harry had been helping the first years. The house-elf had led the Veela back onto the castle grounds and towards one of its bigger courtyards. The Veela's image was also protected by the lack of any students roaming the halls, something that had only popped into her mind as she followed the house-elf.
When they arrived in the courtyard, Fleur grabbed hold of the house-elf, stopping it from running into the small field of green grass full of first years and their brooms.
"Stop" she whispered to the elf as she ducked behind the low stone wall.
"But I thought misses Flower wanted to speak to Harry Potter?" Dobby questioned.
"No, I merely want to watch him" Fleur replied quietly, shaking her head at the Elf's bad English, "you can go now Dobby, you've done enough".
The Elf looked at the Veela with a suspicious eye but in the end he raised his left hand and apparated away with a snap of his fingers. Fleur waited for a moment to allow for the audible sound to fade away before she peeked over the small cover she was hiding behind. When she looked over the crumbling wall she saw the familiar black haired wizard walking between two rows of first year students, his own broom held firmly in his hand whilst everyone else's brooms lay on the floor.
Fleur listened as an older witch with grey spiked up hair called out instructions to the young wizards and witches. The Veela noticed that this older witch had no broom of her own, leading Fleur to believe that Harry's reason for being there was to help supervise the students after they had taken to the sky.
With some amusement Fleur watched as the students tried and failed to lift their respective brooms into their hands, her smile only grew when one girl with a yellow tie seemed on the cusp of crying due to her broom not having moved an inch, only for Harry to have appeared by her side and summoned her broom for her, the black haired wizard handing her the broom as quickly as he could before he re-assumed his slow patrol across the two lines of students. It looked as though Dobby had been right when he said Harry was kind.
The time eventually came when all of the first years held brooms in their hands and were preparing to take flight. Harry was the first to go, his movement effortless as he shot into the sky several feet. Gradually the first years joined him in a one by one fashion, the white haired instructor sending them off personally. Fleur watched with a small amount of nostalgia as she saw the faces of students for whom it was their first time flying, her own memories of flying coming back warmly.
Harry's role as helper soon came to a head when he started to fly upwards with each student following after him, some appearing to be shaky though no one fell. Fleur noted with some curiosity that Harry's attention wasn't on his own flying, but rather his focus was on the students, he acted as though he didn't need to pay attention to his own broom.
Though as quickly as the students had been sent skyward it was time for them to return, which looked to be the harder part for several of the first years. Harry was forced to intervene and physically steer a few of the more rebellious brooms, and in some cases students, towards the courtyard green. It eventually came down to one student, his broom proving particularly troublesome as he kept slowly rising, even as the Ravenclaw student adamantly pushed downwards.
A heavy shove however was the wrong move by the first year, who only agitated the broom that held a life of its own. The enchanted broomstick bucked violently, sending the student flying off and tumbling down.
A streak of black swiped the first year from the air before Fleur could get her wand out from her pocket. Fleur looked on with begrudging respect as Harry deposited the student onto the ground before zooming off to retrieve the misbehaving broom. He was a natural on a broom, the only thing Fleur could compare him to were professional quidditch players.
"Thanks for the help Mr Potter" the grey haired witch said to Harry as the last of the brooms were place into a large trunk.
"It was as eventful as usual Madam Hooch" Harry replied, his back to the Veela as he spoke.
"Hmm, don't think I didn't see you helping out Miss Smith Mr Potter, you've got to let them stand on their own two feet" the teacher added as she produced her wand and shot a levitating charm at the now closed trunk.
"I would have preferred to not have to comfort a crying witch Madam Hooch, and we both know that you wouldn't have done anything to help her" Harry jabbed, his tone a pitch higher, he was joking with a teacher.
"Hah! Got me there Potter" the witch laughed sharply, "now why don't you go talk to your admirer? She's been watching for quite a while".
Fleur's blood ran cold as she ducked under the stone wall, the teacher hadn't seen her, they didn't even make eye contact.
"What do you mean admirer?" Harry questioned, his words coloured with curiosity mixed with confusion.
"Go see for yourself, she's behind that wall" Hooch told him, the sound of grass being crushed filled the Veela's ears as it grew louder and louder.
Rather than be caught hiding Fleur decided she would rather stand dignified than be found cowering behind a stone wall. Rising to her full height, Fleur found a wand pointed at her chest, the wizard that had caught her attention was holding the piece of wood with a determined expression, only for it to melt away when he took in her face, a look of recognition blooming forth.
"Fleur?" Harry questioned, his posture remaining guarded, though to his credit he lowered his wand.
"Oui" Fleur replied calmly, even though her heart had begun to pound against her chest, "you look better".
"Why are you here?" the green eyed wizard said, his features hardening at the mention of his appearance.
Fleur breathed in, she decided there and then that she would find the answer to the question that had been steadily gnawing at the edge of her mind, and she wasn't going to allow any of Harry's objections get in the way of her pursuit.
"I came to talk" She told him, a friendly smile beaming from her face, "I think I said some very mean things to you last night, I want to make amends".
Harry eyed the Veela with guarded curiosity, but Fleur could tell he wasn't going to deny her, which only made her smile grow.
No one could resist her after all.
A/N:
I think I'll leave the story there for today.
I tried to make sure Fleur seemed as unlikable as possible, it was my intention with earlier chapters but I hope I've gotten that point across clearly now. I'm not going for that nice Fleur arc that's popular in other fics, I want to write her a bit differently.
With regards to updates for this story, obviously this chapter has taken a lot longer to come out. All I can say is that I'll try to upload at least every two weeks, I know that isn't great but it's what works for me. This will mean that sometimes I'll publish sooner though I might need the full two weeks in other cases. This time allows me to write to my standard, and to allow me to rewrite parts I don't like or just rewrite the whole chapter.
I hope this is a good enough explanation for why I may sometimes take a long while to publish new chapters.
Bye.
