A/N: Next chapter! Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. I have quite some strange ones. Whenever Harry is strong, people complain that he is too strong. Then last chapter, when he displays an emotional weakness to the boggart, people flip out. Bah!
Bold French! (Except for Author's notes, obviously…unless you want to imagine this in French)
The morning sun streamed in to the Great Hall, lancing through the large windows. Harry sat with his French contingent at the Hufflepuff table today, talking merrily with Susan, Hannah and Ernie.
"Marie, where is Ari today?" Harry's question was quietly asked in French. The French girl swallowed before she spoke.
"I believe Neville asked to meet her this morning." Her arched eyebrow and mischievous eyes added on to her statement and Harry grinned. His hunch had been correct; there was much more to the meek Gryffindor than originally met the eye.
As if on cue, the Great Hall doors opened and Arielle walked in, her face flushed and her grin wide. Neville followed behind her, his eyes glazed over and stuck on the redhead's form.
"Hello Harry, everyone." Everyone nodded their hellos and Arielle met Harry's smirking gaze. "Just wanted to let you all know that…" The bold French girl lost some of her daring but managed to finish as Neville walked up. "Neville and I have decided to become a couple." The group exploded in congratulations, multitudes of jokes being made at Arielle's formality.
Neville smiled shyly at everyone's congratulations. His face fell when he met Harry's glare. "Longbottom, let's take a walk." The group quieted as Harry led a marching Neville off, Fleur restraining Arielle, who looked fit to burst in to tears.
Harry and Neville left the Great Hall and slipped down an empty hallway. Harry pulled Neville in to an abandoned classroom. Neville backed against the desk in the front of the room as Harry placed charms over the door. The raven-haired wizard turned back to Neville.
"Longbottom, what is this I hear about yourself and Arielle?" Neville gulped and stepped nervously forward.
"Umm…I asked her out...she said yes…" Harry arched an eyebrow. He stepped silently towards Neville, until the two wizards were face to face.
"If you break her heart, I will rend you limb from limb. Do you understand?" Neville, who had been looking at his shoes, looked up and met Harry's eyes.
"I would die for her. Don't you dare say anything different." Harry remained stoic for a moment before a grin spread out on his face.
"Then, Neville my friend, we have nothing to worry about. Marie and I have been wondering when you two would get together. You will be great for her." Neville visibly sagged in relief and Harry chuckled.
"You're a scary bloke sometimes, you know that Harry?" Harry grinned and winked at Neville.
"Yep. Great when dealing with Snape though." Neville laughed and they exited the room happily. Just as they approached the Great Hall doors, Harry grabbed Neville's arm and stopped him.
"Nev, I am happy that you and Ari are together." Neville grinned but Harry's smile faltered for a second. "That being said, if you break her heart, I'll kill you." Harry slapped Neville's shoulder and slipped in to the Hall. Neville stood there, white-faced. Somehow, he felt that Harry wasn't completely joking.
When Neville re-entered the Great Hall, he was treated to the sight of the mighty Harry Potter being verbally destroyed by Arielle. Unfortunately, it was in French so he could only guess at the threats. He got a good idea when Harry winced and grabbed his crotch after a particularly demonstrative barrage by Arielle.
After breakfast, the French group left the hall but was interrupted by a bouncing blonde boy and his equally excited younger brother. "Hello, you're Harry Potter. I'm Colin Creevey and this is my brother Dennis. I can't believe I am talking to Harry Potter!" Harry groaned and hid behind Fleur who laughed and shoved him forward.
"Mr. Potter, can I take a picture of you guys?" Dennis looked to be close to passing out from excitement and Colin bore an expression that made Harry fear that, if rejected, his whole world would come crashing down.
Harry groaned but allowed Fleur to pull him in to the picture. Harry threw his arms around Fleur's shoulders, pulling her back in to his chest. She held his wrists crossed together over her chest. Marie and Arielle went on either side of Harry, Marie hoisting Gabby in her arms. Gabby leaned on Harry's shoulder from Marie's arms. Neville tentatively stood next to Arielle but the French redhead rolled her eyes and pulled him in to the picture and wrapped herself in his arms. He blushed but held on. They smiled and the picture flashed brightly.
Defense was their last class that day. Harry led Fleur, Marie and Arielle in to the classroom and nodded at Lupin. The werewolf nodded back and they began the lesson. Lupin gave them a brief overview of the spell they were studying (A flash of light intended to blind the enemy. It also worked well against vampires. The incantation was Lumos Maxima). One by one, the students performed the spell. The majority of the students produced a flare of dull yellow light that dimmed quickly. Lupin encouraged them, saying that most wizards and witches couldn't get it right in their first try.
Harry stepped forward and raised his wand. He performed the movement and intoned it. "Lumos Maxima." Shrill screeches echoed as a blinding white light burst in to existence. Everyone in the room outside of Harry cowered away, covering their eyes. Harry stared smiling at the light which slowly dimmed. Harry grinned at Fleur who rolled her eyes.
"Very nicely done Mr. Potter." Lupin gestured for the next student to go but grabbed Harry as he walked by. "Harry, I was hoping you could come by the room tomorrow night?" Harry's face grew questioning and Lupin quickly added. "You aren't in trouble, just wanted to talk." Harry nodded, having a somewhat good idea of what the Defense Professor wanted to talk about. Lupin smiled and turned back to the class.
"Remember Ms. Parkinson, emphasis on the 'max.'"
The next morning, Harry glared at Colin the entire breakfast. The Daily Prophet had no articles on the front page, just a blown up picture that looked suspiciously familiar. Apparently the Creevey brothers had sold the picture to the newspaper.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry winked at Neville before plopping down directly across from the Creevey brothers. Both boys opened their mouths to speak but fell silent at Harry's glare. Despite Fleur's and Gabby's best efforts, Harry remained silent and glared at the brothers while methodically eating his breakfast.
The day passed fairly quickly and Harry bade goodbye to his friends and made his way to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. He wove his way through the hallways from the Beauxbatons quarters and turned to go down the final hallway, when he heard a muffled yell and some sniggering.
Following his instincts as he always did, Harry turned and followed the sound to an empty classroom a few doors down. He silently entered the room and looked around. In the far corner, three older boys stood with green crests on their black robes. Harry rolled his eyes, recognizing Malfoy from his performance on the first night. Next to the spoiled Slytherin stood two hulking brutes, probably that Crabbe and Goyle that Ron mentioned.
Between Malfoy and one the brutes, Harry could see a cowering Beauxbatons student. In the partial darkness of the classroom, he couldn't recognize who it was but she looked about the size of a fifth year.
"Look here Frenchie, do you know who I am?" The French girl shook her head, causing her dirty blonde curls to shake. Harry recognized her now, a fifth year named Anne. She was very shy and still had a bit of a crush on Harry. She was also amazingly intelligent, easily one of the smartest girls in Beauxbatons despite being only a fifth year. Harry's musings were interrupted by Draco talking.
"I'm Draco Malfoy. It would be an honor for a filthy immigrant like you to service me and my associates." Draco attempted the silky drawl that his father made famous but fell short. Harry decided to act now; this wasn't just bullying.
Harry strode forward, making no attempt to hide his presence. Crabbe turned in time to catch a fist to his jaw, dropping him to blissful unconsciousness. Malfoy and Goyle turned at the sound of his body hitting the floor.
"Potter! Get out of here before I curse you in to oblivion." Malfoy sneered but Harry ignored him. The raven-haired boy stepped forward and drove a fist in to Goyle's stomach, doubling the boy over. A knee to the face sent him sprawling, groaning.
Malfoy drew his wand. "Expelliarmus." The spell caught Harry full on, but he just smirked.
"Can't disarm me when I am not armed, dumbass." With that, Harry grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it in to Malfoy, clearly shattering the Slytherin's shoulder. Malfoy collapsed to the ground holding his shoulder.
Harry ignored him and approached the crying Beauxbatons girl. "Anne, it's okay. I got them." She smiled at him and leapt in to his arms.
"Thank you Harry. I was so scared, they took my wand." Harry shushed her and kissed her forehead. As she sniffled in to his robes, he waved his hand behind her back, summoned her wand and caught it. She took it thankfully and strode over to Malfoy's shuddering form.
"Damn crass Englishmen." With a well-placed kick, she severely damaged Malfoy's ability to have children in the future. The boy screeched in a high pitch and Harry couldn't hold back his wince.
Harry led the girl out of the room and brought her back to the Beauxbatons quarters. He briefly told Fleur what happened and the Veela immediately nodded and shooed off Harry. She took Anne in to her private rooms, accompanied by Anne's friends and Marie. Harry smiled and headed back to the Defense classroom, jogging slightly.
He reached the door and knocked. The door swung open after a moment and Harry smiled apologetically at Remus. He entered and nodded at Sirius who sat behind the desk.
"Sorry Professors. Had a bit of an unintended detour." Remus and Sirius arched an eyebrow simultaneously. Both waited for Harry to continue but he just sat down across from Sirius while Remus perched on the desk.
"Perhaps you can elaborate on that. And please, Remus and Sirius." Harry nodded reluctantly. He sighed before he began.
"I stumbled upon Malfoy and his two brutes accosting a fifth year Beauxbatons girl named Anne." At the professor's somewhat resigned look, Harry continued. "Yes well apparently Malfoy felt that Anne should have no qualms over 'servicing' him as he put it. I smacked them around, Malfoy's testicles took a beating from Anne and I returned her to our quarters." Sirius looked as if he would go find Malfoy and permanently castrate him. Remus sighed and wiped his eyes tiredly.
"Yes, well young Draco has had the run of the school these past six years. The combination of his father's influence and the lack of another dominant student has allowed him to take certain powers." Harry snorted and crossed his arms.
"If you pardon my language professors, that's bullshit. Why hasn't Dumbledore done anything? Surely the Supreme Mugwump, Order of Merlin winner and overall English deity that is Albus Dumbledore can handle an egotistical Junior Death Eater and his bodyguards? I incapacitated all three without a single spell."
Remus and Sirius shared a glance before Sirius spoke. "We have had this argument many a time. The Headmaster believed that if we restricted Draco, we would increase his leanings towards the Dark. Utter bollocks but what can we do? Both of us owe the Headmaster too much." Harry cocked his head and peered at them.
"I can understand Remus. He had allowed you to teach here with your condition." At Remus' shocked glance, Harry smiled. "Anyone with half a brain could put it together. Teacher disappears once a month, coinciding with the Full Moon, and his boggart, until recently, took the form of a moon. Must be a werewolf. Don't worry, nothing against them." Harry chuckled to himself before winking at Remus. "Except for the full moon. Forgive me if I avoid you then."
Remus smiled and relaxed. For a second, his mind had been overturned with fear that Harry would irrationally hate him as the rest of the world seemed to. But once again, James and Lily's traits had borne through to their son. Harry turned to Sirius and gazed him intently. "But Sirius…what could you owe him? Pureblood, rich family, no dark marks or special conditions."
Sirius sighed and gazed out the window. "After your parents died Harry, I attempted to kill that rat Peter but he framed me. Had me thrown in Azkaban for a month. Dumbledore testified that I wasn't the Secret Keeper and it was Peter." Harry's mouth made an O shape; the terrible stories of Azkaban prison made their way across the channel to France. "I lost my chance to raise you because of my anger and stupidity. But I would still be rotting away in that prison if Albus hadn't gotten me out."
Harry leaned back in thought. Something wasn't clicking right in his mind. Remus and Sirius sat silently, observing Harry in thought. Suddenly Harry's face changed and he leaned forward. "You're my Godfather?" Sirius nodded. "So why the fuck was I sent to the Dursleys?" Harry's voice dropped at the name of his relatives, his eyes flashing a venomous green.
Sirius and Remus cringed at the anger and rage pouring off the young wizard. Remus tried to placate him. "Harry, you have to understand. By the time everything was fixed with Sirius, you had already been there for a few months and Albus assured us that you were safe and happy. He said that you should grow up without the crush and fame of the Wizarding World. We both owed him, and we needed his support." Remus and Sirius surreptitiously backed away as Harry was shaking as he tried to control his anger.
"Safe? HAPPY!? They beat me you fucking idiots. Vernon refused to feed me if I wasn't up at 4 to cook breakfast and clean. Never mind that I had been cleaning until 2 the day before. They were monsters, the very reason why Voldemort does what he does." Harry was hovering off his chair and continued to shout obscenities for a minute, unaware of the classroom around him.
Finally, he took a few deep breaths and slumped down in his seat. He looked around and blushed slightly at the classroom. All the desks and chairs in a ten foot radius surrounding him had been blown across the room. All the windows had shattered and books were strewn around on the floor. Sirius had transformed in to a large black dog and was cowering in the corner, partially hidden by a bookshelf. Remus stood in the opposite corner, his wand out and a barely visible shield protecting him. He waved his wand and the shield vanished as Sirius reassumed his human form and both started cleaning up the room somewhat.
Harry sighed and dropped his face in to his palms. "Sorry guys, it isn't your fault. You were just listening to that bumbling old fool. Senile, that one is." Sirius barked out a quick laugh.
"You know Harry; I was worried that you might have been converted by these French girls. Glad to see that you still are a Brit at heart." Harry whitened and shook his head.
"Unfortunately." He said, as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. Sirius and Remus both laughed and sat down in two chairs across from Harry. The three spoke for some time, Harry learning all about his mother and father. He learned about the Animagus forms of each of his friends, and discovered that Lily had later gained the ability, taking the form of a red fox. He smiled at that, glad to hear about his parents. He had learned a bit about them from some former acquaintances but hearing it from their best friends was something that he treasured.
Harry grinned. "I find it hard to believe that two such strapping men as you two hung out with their friend and his girlfriend all day. Any Mrs. Moonys and Padfoots I should meet?" Both laughed briefly before growing reminiscent.
Sirius sighed. "We both had girlfriends. But none seemed to work out." The elder man struggled with the words for a second. "The same way that the older girls in Beauxbatons all are a little in love with you Harry…that was us with Lily. Everyone loved her." Harry's face grew serious and he arched an eyebrow at Sirius threateningly.
Remus interpreted it correctly. "No Harry, we never did anything. She was James' girl through and through. But everyone else seemed to pale in comparison compared to Lily. She was beautiful, fun, smart. Most of all, she was kind. She was the perfect balance to James, since he was a bit of an ass sometimes. She was sweet to everyone, unless you drew her wrath in which case, it was nice knowing you." Harry laughed. But Remus' face grew tight and he sighed painfully. "Then your parents died, Padfoot went to Azkaban and suddenly girls didn't seem so important anymore."
Harry remained quiet, allowing both men to recover from the likely onslaught of memories. The mention of the war had brought back thoughts he had pushed away after the Malfoy encounter. He stood and went to the window. He spoke quietly, but with strength. "The fight is coming. I aim to avenge my parents' deaths and free this world from the fear that is Voldemort." Harry started slightly as he felt both men place a hand on his shoulder.
Remus' voice was low. "We're with you Harry. You're James and Lily's son and for nothing else, you have our loyalties. But you have proven yourself kind and courageous. Truly a perfect combination of your parents best qualities." Harry dropped his head, awed by the complete vow of allegiance.
Harry continued after he gathered himself. "The problem is…I don't trust Dumbledore. He stuck me with the Dursleys and his philosophy of second chances allowed Snape in this school, allowed Lucius to come back to where he is now and allowed Malfoy to terrorize the denizens of this school. When the fight comes, I won't follow Dumbledore. This is my fight and I will fight it my way." Unseen by Harry, Remus and Sirius shared a look and nodded.
"We're still with you Harry. And we need to tell you something. Dumbledore didn't want us to but we have to anyway." Remus took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Harry, your parents weren't attacked because they were Potters. There was a prophecy concerning you." Sirius recited the prophecy to Harry and the younger man's face grew tight.
"Basically, it's you or him since he marked you. And you have an unknown power that Voldemort doesn't know." Harry remained silent, gazing out the window at the Forbidden Forest.
"Thank you both. I am honored that both of you have that much faith in me. I should get back to my room. Lots to process, you know?" Sirius and Remus nodded. Harry walked to the door and placed his hand on the knob. He hesitatingly patted it twice in thought before turning and giving both men a tight hug. Both men returned it with fervor. Harry nodded again and left the room.
October passed in a blur of falling leaves. Malfoy sneered at Harry and his friends whenever he saw them but avoided them mostly. Snape had originally attempted to get Harry in trouble for attacking a student but, with Remus' and Sirius' backing, Dumbledore decided to claim self-defense. Not surprisingly for Harry, Anne's report of attempted rape by Malfoy went mysteriously missing. The Beauxbatons girls made a point of traveling in packs to ensure safety.
Harry avoided any contact with the Headmaster, still stewing over his now-unnecessary stay at the Dursleys residence. The few times when the Headmaster formally requested Harry's presence in his office, Harry brought Madame Maxime and Fleur with him. He showed no more memories to the Headmaster, taking pleasure in the lack of twinkle in the old codger's eyes.
As Harry fell asleep early on Halloween, his mind recalled the triumphant sneer worn by Malfoy as they passed in the hallway that night. Dismissing it as empty arrogance, Harry allowed himself to fall in to slumber with Fleur's soft breathing coming from his chest.
As the French contingent entered the Great Hall, nothing was amiss. Harry again took note of Malfoy's smirk and frowned as they sat at the Ravenclaw table. Fleur and Marie fell in to conversation with Padma while Arielle sat with Neville at the Gryffindor table.
A fluttering of wings announced the incoming owls. Silence fell as leading the pack was a corpse of an eagle, skin hanging off it and bones visible. It descended in front of Harry and released an envelope on to Harry's (thankfully) empty plate before disappearing out of the window.
After a wave of his wand revealed the letter to be non-magical, Harry opened it and removed the single thing inside. He recognized it as Colin's ill-fated picture from earlier in the month. He frowned and shared a worried glance with Fleur as they noticed that Marie, on the right side, had been torn off, leaving Gabby seemingly suspended in mid-air. Harry frowned and shook his head. What would Voldemort hope to achieve with this?
Harry noticed that no one had opened their mail yet, so he waved them on. Padma unfurled her Daily Prophet and gazed at the front page. She whitened before looking at Harry. "Harry…maybe you should look at this."
Harry, sitting between Marie and Fleur, took the paper and all three French seventh years looked at the large bold headlines.
SLAUGHTER IN FRANCE: DEATH EATERS MURDER ROSSEAU FAMILY! DAUGHTER AT HOGWARTS ORPHANED!
An attack late last night in France left the Rousseau family
dead. Three bodies were found, Mr. and Mrs. Rousseau and
their young son Claude. Their elder daughter Marie is
a student at Beauxbatons which is currently in England
while their school is repaired. This is the first major Death Eater
attack in France since the First War ended.
Marie screamed and burst in to tears. Heads swiveled to the noise and Harry threw the paper down and wrapped Marie in his arms. She screamed in to Harry's shoulder, soaking his robes in tears. Fleur came around him and held her from the other side. She whispered in to her friend's ear through her tears. "My god, I am so sorry Marie. It's going to be okay. Don't worry, we got you." Marie sobbed between Harry and Fleur, the rest of the French students crowding around her.
Dumbledore rose and sparked his wand, attracting the attention of the students. "Quiet. Everyone remain calm. Ms. Rousseau, you are excused from classes today." Madame Maxime rolled her eyes but helped the girl up and, with Fleur, led her away. Soon, Harry was left alone in the hall, the Hogwarts students watching him carefully. His head was lowered, his hands in fists on his lap.
His head slowly rose up and everyone shrunk back from the rage in his eyes. He was quivering with anger and his eyes centered on Malfoy's smirking form at the Slytherin table. Malfoy met Harry's eyes slowly but couldn't resist. He raised his cup in a mock salute and sneered at Harry.
In a flash, Harry was up. He grabbed the knife on the table that had been slicing the sausages magically and flung it at Malfoy. Before anyone could move, Malfoy screamed and blood sprouted from his hand, the cup impaled on his palm. Harry glared at him before standing straight.
Harry shuddered as he tried to regain control of his magic. He looked down at the table and his eyes caught on the torn picture. Understanding dawned on his face and he grabbed the picture. He looked at all the different faces smiling at him, his eyes locking on Fleur and Gabby. He couldn't bear to lose them.
He looked up and saw Remus and Sirius watching him. They nodded in support, and he nodded briefly back. He pocketed the picture as Dumbledore walked towards him, a benevolent smile on his face. With a sneer on his face, Harry shocked the students by turning his back on the approaching Headmaster and stalked out of the hall, leaving it silent in his wake.
A/N: Figured I would end it there. A little shorter than you all are used to but whatever. Review please!!