A/N Here is the fourth chapter.
Big note: In this AU, Voldemort never acquired the Elder Wand from Dumbledore. Big change, but isn't that what an alternate universe is for?
Read on, dear reader. Reviews mean the world to me, so please review!
Chapter 4
Headmistress' Office, Beauxbatons, Pyrenees, France 8:30 PM
Harry sat down on the daybed near the windowsill where Madame Maxime stood. He recounted everything, starting with his destruction of the Horcruxes, and ending with his friends asking him to leave for their sake.
After he had finished, Madame Maxime nodded, saying, "It would make sense that he would use your friends for leverage. Otherwise, he has no way to get to you at all." Harry continued, "And I came here because I need to better my magic in order to defeat Voldemort. If my friends asked me to leave, then they obviously thought I was no match for him and his forces." Maxime nodded again, and said, "We would be happy to help you."
Harry continued, "I mean, the way I see it, I can't do anything right now. I'm not strong enough to defeat Voldemort on my own, and I can't just gather a team of French Aurors and attack Hogwarts! He's got my friends in there, and an army of well-trained Death Eaters. I don't think that any attack on Hogwarts would succeed, especially now that he has the Elder Wand. I'm just not sure what to do." Madam Maxime replied, "I think that we can rest assured that something will be worked out. I'll have the French Minister of Magic here within the week, Mr. Potter."
In the awkward silence that followed, Maxime looked Harry up and down, and commented, "You look like you could use some rest. I'll have some clean robes for you to wear delivered to your room, but I'm afraid we only have Beauxbatons colors."
"That's alright," Harry replied. As he got up to leave, Madam Maxime asked him, "Why do you have a Disillusionment Charm on your hand?"
Harry replied, "Oh." He turned around to face the headmistress, removing the Charm from his hand. He held out the mark on his hand to her, and she gasped in amazement. "A veela mark!" she exclaimed. "Gabrielle, I presume?" Harry nodded. "I would like to see both of you tomorrow, please, and I'm sure her father, the Minister of Magic will have a fun time explaining that mark to you. Any time will do for meeting me tomorrow. Now, get off to bed, please." He left the room, recasting the Disillusionment Charm and descending the spiral staircase, leaving the pristine office to madam Maxime.
After reaching his guest quarters, he stood in the room for a while, and inspected what was left of his worldly belongings. He had laid everything that he had out on his bed. He had his Invisibility Cloak, his new wand, and that was mostly it. He put his things on the desk in his room, and noticed a set of clean Beauxbatons robes on his desk. He was thankful that there were at least some male teachers on the staff at Beauxbatons, or else he would have had to wear something else. He laid on his bed, and thought a bit.
He couldn't just straight-out attack Voldemort, any frontal attack would surely fail. Voldemort was growing in power the longer he remained undefeated. Eventually, the darkness inside of what was now Tom Riddle would corrupt his body entirely, and would turn Voldemort into a dark creature, devoid of human emotion and mercy. He had to strike before that happened.
As Harry's mind became increasingly muddled after a long day, he eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, he awoke to the muffled sounds of giggles and chattering as the Beauxbatons students made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The light streamed in through his window, and he saw that it was snowing outside. He changed into his blue Beauxbatons robes, the only clean clothes he had, and opened the door, almost hitting some young witches who had been too close, eliciting giggles from their whole group. He walked to the Great Hall, and looked for Gabrielle, who beckoned him to her table. He sat down next to Gabrielle. She commented, "I think you look a lot more handsome in those blue robes, Harry." Harry blushed, and the girls at the table giggled some more. He noticed, after checking the clock in the Great Hall, that it was 6:45 in the morning.
"Blimey, Gabby, you wake up this early here?" She laughed sweetly, and replied, "Of course. Do you not wake up at this time at Hogwarts?" He replied, "No, we usually get up at around 8:30." Gabrielle laughed again, exclaiming, "Paresseux Anglais!(A/N: Translation: "Lazy English")" to yet another round of giggling from the table. Damn, if Harry had remembered how much the Beauxbatons girls giggled, he probably would've chosen to seek help from Durmstrang or maybe from one of the American schools. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he thought, thinking in particular about the blonde veela sitting next to him.
At any rate, he was somewhat worried. He only knew one person at the school, and he had no clue what was – a sharp pain shot through his scar. He was confused, seeing as his connection with Voldemort should be weak, almost non-existent.
All of a sudden, he was in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. He saw Voldemort sitting in the chair, screaming in agony. A black substance was growing on his arm, and that seemed to be the source of Voldemort's agony. Harry could feel the pain that Voldemort was enduring, as the unknown darkness began to corrupt the soul of what was now Tom Riddle.
And then, quick as it had come, the vision was gone. He awoke to find himself in what he assumed to be the Beauxbatons infirmary. He turned his head to look to the other side, and he saw Gabrielle, her back to him, talking to a man who he didn't recognize. The man saw Harry turn his head, and exclaimed, in French, "Enfin! Il reveille!," which Harry took to mean something along the lines of, "He's awake!"
Gabby turned and smiled at him, pointing first to the mark on her hand, and then to the man, saying, "I told him about the mark." Harry assumed that it was her father to whom she was gesturing. Monsieur Delacour exclaimed, "At last, you are awake." Harry asked, groggily, "How long was I out for?"
"About a half an hour," the nurse replied. Gabby continued, "You passed out in the Great Hall during breakfast. What happened?"
"My scar – I saw Voldemort in Hogwarts."
Madam Maxime entered the room, and asked, "What did you see?"
"Well, I saw Voldemort in the chair in Dumbledore's office, you see, and he was screaming as a black decay consumed his skin. I don't know what it was, though."
"Well, we should take you to the professor of Divination here. Perhaps she can tell you what this black decay is."
"Madam," the nurse interrupted, "Madam Dupont is on vacation, and she will return tomorrow."
"Well, Mr. Potter, it looks like you'll be staying for a little while longer. Besides, the Minister of Magic is here to see you," the headmistress said, indicating Gabby's father. I don't think you two will need to see me later, as we discussed last night. Good day." Maxime left the Infirmary.
Harry was surprised that he hadn't already found out that Gabby's father was the Minister of Magic, considering the time that Harry had spent conversing with him at Bill and Fleur's wedding.
Harry sat up on his bed, and Monsieur Delacour came over to shake his hand. Harry acknowledged his handshake, then sat back down, head spinning. Monsieur Delacour asked, "Do you know the significance of that mark on your hand?" Harry dispelled the Disillusionment Charm, and shook his head.
"Let me put it like this. Do you know what a veela is?"
Harry replied, "Yes, a kind of magical creature that forms bonds with humans."
"More specifically, do you know how powerful these bonds are?"
Harry shook his head again. "Well," Delacour continued, "The veela bond is incredibly powerful. Essentially, what happens is that the soul of the veela attaches itself to the soul of the bondmate, allowing for empathy links, and that kind of stuff."
"Are you saying Gabrielle bonded with me?" Harry asked.
"Well, yes, considering you both have the mark."
"So what does that mean?"
"Because the bonding only happened yesterday, not much for about another three days. In about three days, bondmates usually begin to feel the emotions of each other, and things like that. Two days after, the bondmates can communicate over the bond. I know from personal experience with Gabrielle's mom, my wife Apolline, that communication anywhere, anytime, is very useful."
Gabrielle reminded her dad, "Dad, you haven't told him about the death part."
"Oh, yes. Now, Mr. Potter, before you get too worried, it's not serious –"
"Dad!" Gabrielle interrupted, "It is serious." She turned to Harry, "If one of us dies, so does the other."
"Oh," Harry replied.
Gabrielle turned back to her dad, angrily, "And stop referring to it like a tool or a curse, Dad! The veela bond is an irreversible blessing that transforms the lives of the bonded forever!"
Monsieur Delacour smiled, and hugged her tightly, "You sound so much like your mother."
Gabrielle pushed him away. "Whatever."
"Anyway, Mr. Potter, when you feel better please come to the headmistress's office. We have much to discuss." He walked out of the Infirmary.
"About what?" Gabrielle inquired. "Me?"
"About Hogwarts. I came here because Voldemort has taken over all of Britain. He has my friends captive, he has Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic under his control. This was the last place I had contacts."
"Oh my God. Why didn't you me about this?"
"I didn't want to worry you, but since you asked, I couldn't lie. I told Maxime, and she asked your father to come here to discuss plans with me. I will likely end up before the International Ministry of Magic to discuss a plan of action. But, I passed out just now from the vision I told you guys about."
"My god. This is terrible."
"I know," said Harry. "Worst of all, I can't do anything on my own to help. I personally need to be stronger, and that's why I came to another school, to learn."
"Speaking of learning, Maxime told me to tell you that you can come to any of my classes, I'll help you translate from French."
"What time is it?"
"About 7:45. Classes start at 8."
"Well, we had better get going, then."
Harry sat up, and followed Gabrielle out the door.
As they were walking to the class, he asked, "Have you ever had a veela bond before?"
She replied, "No, Harry. You ask that like it's something you can have multiple times. A veela bond is a one-time thing, irreversible and powerful."
"Oh."
"Any other questions?"
"Yeah, what class do you have next?"
"Charms, with Professor Renaud."
When they arrived at the classroom, Harry wasn't in the least surprised to find that the class was as organized and clean as the rest of the school. A few students had already arrived, and the class appeared to seat about 30 or so. Gabby sat them down in the front, and introduced themselves to the Professor, who was portly and pompous.
Harry was bored for the duration of the class, as it seemed that curriculum was different at Beauxbatons, and they were so far ahead that Harry was lost. He only picked up a few things, just about making a custom spell, or how to use your wand to control air currents. Basic things, really, for Harry, but he had a lot on his mind. The bells of the school tolled to indicate the next period, and the girls (and Harry) walked out of the classroom.