CHAPTER 3:

THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP

Before the game began, Fleur changed back into her everyday robes. And as they walked to the stadium, she gently held Harry's hand in her own. Along the way, Fleur warned Harry, and the others, about the Veela cheerleaders for the Bulgarian team. "When they come on," she said, "place your fingers in your ears. They use their singing to enhance their allure. From a distance, though, the allure will not affect you, as long as your fingers are in your ears."

"I know, Miss Delacour," Arthur said. "I've had to deal with Veela before. But thanks for the warning."

Sirius merely smiled. "And I like to live dangerously, Fleur."

"Besides," Remus said with an amused snort, "the allure merely turns you into a drooling, lust-filled idiot, right? Well, no change there, then."

"Hey!" Sirius snapped half-heartedly at the good-natured jibe. Fleur and Harry laughed, and so too did the others.

"Maybe we should have brought some earplugs or something," Dr Dan Granger muttered.

"Not a bad idea," Remus said.

"You don't do that to people, do you, Fleur?" Ginny asked. She had been somewhat subdued since learning about Harry and Fleur's relationship, but surprisingly had managed to accept that. Harry still saw a faint air of jealousy in the Weasley daughter's gaze, but she was hiding it well. It helped that Fleur and Ginny had had something of a talk earlier, with the French girl offering to help counsel Ginny with any relationship troubles.

"Of course not, Ginevra," Fleur said. "I am not…what do you say in English? A scarlet woman?"

Ginny seemed to disagree, but kept it to herself. Eventually, she began asking what Beauxbatons was like, and it carried on until they were climbing the stairs in the stadium.

The group made it to the Top Box, and found their seats (the Grangers and Harry breathing in awe at how massive the stadium was). They were amongst the first to arrive, save for Madam Baum, who was sitting at a seat of her own, pinching the bridge of her nose. Harry and Fleur got seats next to her. She looked up when they did so, before nodding. "Percy Weasley's with Bagman, putting the finishing touches on this. He's very competent, and not afraid of doing the boring work," she said.

"Must be hard on you," Harry said sympathetically.

A bitter chuckle wormed its way from her throat. "I've got big shoes to fill. Crouch was a hard son of a bitch, if you would excuse my language, but he was also hard-working and extremely competent. And at least for a Pureblood, he didn't give a damn about the purity of your blood, just that you did your job well. Whereas Bagman…" She shook her head. "And he still doesn't care about Jorkins. She's a ditz, at least nowadays, but even so…" Baum looked at Harry, pityingly. "Must be hard on you, too. I mean, 'the Boy Who Lived'. All that nonsense. Famous before you were out of nappies. All for something your parents probably did." She sighed, turning back to look across the stadium, and at the blackboard which advertisements wrote themselves across. "See that blackboard? All you'd have to do is say something like 'I Use Comet Brooms' or something like that, and people would snap it up by the truckload. Not that you'd do that. I can see that you hate it. The fame, I mean. I can't claim to be famous, but I know it's a double-edged sword." Another bitter chuckle came from her throat. "I'd bet if that would-be wizard Nazi ever did come back, they'd all shove you out in front of them and expect you to defeat him. Again."

"Do you mean Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"Well, I didn't mean Morgoth," Baum remarked. Noticing his look of confusion, she said, "From JRR Tolkien. Anyway, that's what they'll expect of you. The question is, are you ready?"

"I don't know," Harry said. Baum's quiet diatribe had the air of a confession.

"Hmm. Better answer than I thought," Baum said. She straightened, though, when the dignitaries began arriving. The mask of the competent Ministry employee was put back on.

Over the next little while, VIPs trickled in, with Arthur shaking the hand of each and every one, and Percy, who had arrived later, standing up and sitting down so fast, it was as if he was on a spring. Harry recognised the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, of course. And Draco Malfoy and his father, when they came in, accompanied by a rather haughty woman who could only be his mother. She did look mildly amused and annoyed when Sirius greeted her as 'Cissy': Sirius and Narcissa Malfoy were cousins. Some snide remarks were exchanged that Harry and Fleur endeavoured to ignore. Thankfully, unlike Diagon Alley in second year, Arthur and Lucius Malfoy didn't come to blows. And he certainly didn't make remarks about Hermione and her parents being there, despite the fact that he looked like he badly wanted to. Ditto for Fleur and her family.

Shortly afterwards, Bagman blundered into the box. With Fudge's approval, he began his announcing duties. Harry and Fleur had to admit, now he was in his element. And then, he announced the Bulgarian mascots.

Harry didn't need the prompting from Fleur to stick his fingers in his ears. And most of the men from their little party, save for Sirius (who wanted to live dangerously), did so. He watched as the hundred or so inhumanly beautiful women with the blonde hair and pale skin that shone like moonlight began singing and dancing. He looked around, and saw the entranced looks on some of the others present, like Bagman and Fudge. Draco and Lucius had their own fingers in their ears, and for a moment, the look Harry shared with them was not one of loathing. Instead, it was a sense of reluctant camaraderie, in that they had at least the sense to avoid the Veela mascots' allure(1).

Harry could see why Fleur didn't think highly of them. These Veela had little shame to them. Of course, not all Veela were as shameless as these ones, according to Fleur. It's just that the Bulgarians used them partly to help them get their own way in Quidditch. That, and they didn't seem to care about restraint. And once you made sure you weren't under their allure, they certainly didn't hold a candle to Fleur. Fleur didn't need to flirt or flaunt her beauty. She just was, an elegant angel who saw no reason to make herself more attractive than she already was. It didn't mean that she didn't flirt on occasion, she was just more subtle about it than this lot.

Sirius was grinning rather stupidly, the only one of the men in their little party not to have fingers in his ears. Hermione would later say he was like Odysseus, wanting to hear the Siren's song(2). Sirius nodded happily. It was entirely what he was going for, and he said that, having only recently gotten out of Azkaban, he deserved to indulge a little.

Once the Veela had finished their performance (the dancing was quite excellent and elegant, and if it weren't for them shamelessly using their allure, he would have been more impressed), and made their way to the side of the stage, the Irish mascots had their rebuttal. A green comet seemed to fly through the air, before splitting in two, with the two halves heading to the goalposts and creating a rainbow that arced over the entire pitch. The two comets then merged, and became a shamrock (Harry saw through the Omnioculars the tiny little men in green waistcoats, Leprechauns), which began to rain gold coins upon the stands.

Fleur hissed at Ron, who was sitting nearby, "Remember, this gold vanishes within hours."

Ron looked rather disappointed. "I was going to pay Harry back for the Omnioculars he got me."

"It's a gift, Ron," Harry retorted.

Soon, the Bulgarian team began flying out, announced by Bagman. Ron was excited to see Krum. Harry peered at the sullen teenager through his Omnioculars. Fleur had told him about how he had intervened when the Bulgarian Beater Volkov had made unwanted advances. There was a slight pang of jealousy, but it also went to show you couldn't tell by appearances, given how he looked. He was glad of Krum's chivalry.

The Irish team soon flew out, along with commentary from Bagman. And then, the referee, Hassan Mostafa, came out, with the chest holding the Quidditch balls. "Who do you think will win?" Harry asked Fleur in a quiet murmur.

"Ireland," she said quietly. "They are both good teams, but matched up against each other, the Bulgarians only have two advantages: their mascots, and Krum. I have been talking to Fred and George about this. They think that Ireland will win, but Krum will get the Golden Snitch. I would not be surprised if they are right."

Lucius Malfoy overheard their conversation, and remarked, "An interesting outcome, Miss Delacour. We shall see then how it turns out."

The match was very hectic, and the twins' assessment of the situation was pretty spot-on. Ireland was trouncing Bulgaria, with only one goal to their name. After that goal, Harry had to hurriedly stuff his fingers in his ears to avoid the allure when they started dancing.

Harry was impressed, even as he winced from the impact, when Krum and the Irish Seeker, Aidan Lynch, went into a dive, only for Krum to pull out at the last second, and having Lynch crash to the ground. According to his Omnioculars, which could actually name moves it was viewing, it was called a Wronski Feint, a high-risk Seeker manoeuvre that could take out a rival Seeker…if done correctly. If he remembered correctly, he had done something similar during a Quidditch game against Ravenclaw last year.

As the game progressed, it got dirtier and dirtier. The Leprechauns' taunting didn't help matters, and eventually, the Veela began dancing again. This time, though, they targeted only Mostafa, the referee. Harry and Fleur groaned in unison, and Harry was sure that the words Fleur was saying was not very complimentary French. He needed to step up his learning of the language.

A Mediwizard brought Mostafa to his senses, and he then tried to send the Veela off, much to their fury and that of the Bulgarian team. The Beaters tried to protest, but when they refused to accede to Mostafa's demands, he awarded a couple of penalty shots to Ireland.

After yet another penalty shot was awarded shortly thereafter, the Leprechauns formed themselves into a hand giving the opposing mascots the finger. Harry was far from surprised that the Veela took offense to that, transforming into their harpy-like forms. He remembered Fleur's own transformation, when she showed it to him shortly after his Horcrux was removed. She was still attractive, at least, whereas the Veela on the pitch were ugly, flame-throwing harpies, quite literally. It was utter bedlam in the stadium below as wizards tried to stop the pitched battle.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Baum groaned from where she was seated, putting her face in her hands.

"Is it always this bad?" he asked Fleur.

"No, not always. And sometimes, it can be worse," Fleur remarked, looking at the battle in disgust.

Shortly thereafter, Lynch began diving, and Krum, his nose bleeding from a blow from a Bludger, followed. Ironically, the end result was the same as the Wronski Feint: Lynch ended up crashing, and Krum, despite his bleeding nose, was triumphant, now holding up the Snitch. Lynch was soon swarmed by Veela, who were pretty sore losers, to say the least.

The final score was Ireland: 170, and Bulgaria: 160. As the twins had predicted, Ireland won, but Krum managed to get the Snitch. Harry heard Ron's growled protest, that Krum should have let it go on for longer, but ignored it.

The Bulgarian Minister for Magic muttered, albeit in a thickly-accented voice, "Well, we fought bravely."

"You can speak English?!" Fudge yelped accusingly. "But…why did you let me do all the miming and…"

"It was very funny," the Bulgarian Minister said with a shrug. Harry couldn't argue with the man, or begrudge him his fun. Fudge, from what he knew, was something of an idiot. Good at shaking hands and getting things done, but not very good at executive decisions. After all, he was the one to post Dementors at Hogwarts. And put Hagrid into Azkaban in order to be seen as doing something during that whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco. And given what Sirius and Hercule Delacour told him about Azkaban, combined with his own experience with the Dementors, it seemed like overkill.

The Bulgarian team came up first. Harry didn't fail to notice the way Volkov shot him a jealous glance when he saw how close he was to Fleur. Krum, who looked a right mess (two black eyes and a still-bleeding nose), noticed both Fleur and Harry, and gave them a curt nod. Harry gave what he felt was a reassuring smile back.

The Irish team, having finished a lap of honour, came up, with Lynch being supported by two of his comrades. He looked concussed, but happy despite that, given that his team won.

It had been an enjoyable occasion, the chaos and antics notwithstanding. Harry and Fleur looked at each other, and smiled. "Does this count as a first date?" Harry asked, on something of an impulse.

After a moment's contemplation, Fleur said, "I will think about it, mon ami."

Even as they left the stadium, Harry thought about whether he would do well in such an event. Not long ago, it would have been his most prominent dream, to be a champion Seeker. But now, after the events of last year, and the revelations of so many things about his life, he wasn't so sure anymore. A Quidditch player? An Unspeakable? An Auror? A teacher at Hogwarts?

Well, whatever path he chose, there was one thing he hoped would be consistent. He hoped he would share the rest of his life with the girl he was holding hands with, Fleur Delacour.

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

Sorry about the wait. Anyway, here's the Quidditch World Cup finals, albeit with some tweaks and changes. I actually forgot Ginny was meant to be here, so I decided to put a little thing in here about her shortly after finishing this chapter. She is jealous of Fleur for snagging Harry, but I think Arthur had a long talk with her, and Fleur's talk has helped mollify Ginny (as oppose to Molly-fying, ha ha). Ginny's still jealous, but because Fleur has reached out to her and tried to be nice, they have a less antagonistic relationship than they could have had. And Ginny's certainly not calling Fleur 'Phlegm'. Well, except maybe in the privacy of her own head. Ginny will come around.

I'm astonished. At the time of publishing this chapter, this story has already hit 8.5K views, while In Spite of Obstinate Men has passed the 200K mark. This story has already gotten 300 favourites, too.

Review-answering time! NarutoKushina: Fleur will be shocked and angered, but she will also hold her tongue. Harry, meanwhile, will be able to clear up a lot of the rancour by using a magical vow, and even offering to use Veritaserum. Unfortunately, his participation and his closeness to Fleur may potentially alienate more of Hogwarts than it did in canon, which will put further strain on the relationship.

IronWolfe: Unfortunately, I'm not sure whether Baum will go the same way as Barty Crouch Senior did in canon.

coduss: It is an actual French term. It basically means an unruly child. The phrase existed long before Metal Gear Solid.

Guest: Hermione nearly took her O-Levels. This is different to OWLs. She probably had enough Muggle education to consider doing so before she learned of Hogwarts. I'd like to think she and her parents had this as an alternative.

spectre4hire: The Grangers are always good fanfic fodder. In recent fanfics, I've tried to include them a bit more. And it is a shame Rowling didn't elaborate on them. Given the little bits and bobs she's been giving the story's background on Pottermore, she has no excuse on not giving them some more backstory.

Dovahkin1503: Yes, Baum is an OC. I thought that this was perfectly clear. Thanks for your praise for her.

ossifrage: I get where you're coming from. Some typos do get left in, but mine are kept to a minimum partly through my own vigilance and partly through the magic of doing my chapters in a Word document beforehand (thus, using spellcheck). And there's some interesting stories out there that have some egregious errors of both spelling and grammar. Some still slip through, as do occasional continuity errors. I'm glad you appreciate the effort I put into these things.

1. I see a lot of fanfics where the Malfoys make idiots of themselves while under the Veelas' allure. And while they're bastards, I did want to show that they also had, on occasion, a bit of a brain in their skulls. Hence this little bit. It's also why I added that bit where Lucius comments on the twins' theory without getting nasty, to show a man who is not just a sneering pantomime villain, but also having surprising, if small, touches of humanity. He's still a dick, of course.

2. For those of you not in the know, during the events of The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men have to sail close to the island of the Sirens. Although his men stop up their ears with wax, Odysseus wants to hear the Siren's song, and so orders his men to tie him to the mast, and not cut him loose until they were away from the island. Sirius is taking a leaf out of Odysseus' book, and I reckon Hermione would know enough to draw the comparison.