"Harry?" repeated the voice, the 'h' barely pronounced. For all he cared right now, she could just delete it at will.

It was hard to maintain composure at the sight; the Gryffindor had to summon his full willpower just to keep the jaw in place and eyes focused.

It was Fleur. One hand casually touching the wall at nearly shoulder height by the end of the corridor, the graceful arm relaxed, her whole body wrapped in such a perfect stance that it was hard to believe she had ever spent a moment in her life that wasn't solely dedicated to the study and practice of how to look devilishly appealing. Graceful and provocative in a singular moment.

"Okay, I knew she was beautiful, but… damn…"

He didn't consider himself a shallow person (although the appeal that a certain Ravenclaw had over him, he knew, certainly had much to do with her being gorgeous in his eyes), but right now he didn't feel any better than all the boys who eyed Fleur daily, and the thought made him instantly sick. "I'm better than this," he told himself, straightening up to greet her with a friendly grin.

She closed in on him, her heels clicking softly against the stone floor, smiling, the dress flowing and molding as if the fabric was air and the girl was but a breeze. But the smile on her face wasn't altogether relaxed…

"Hey there."

"Bonjour, mon ami," she said simply, trusting him to understand some basic French by now. On the few occasions they crossed paths during the last few days she always insisted on some form or another of introducing her language (luckily for him, Hermione wasn't far most of these times).

The light around them seemed to bend and head towards her, somehow. Harry blinked his way into focus again. "Bonjour, mademoiselle," he risked. She laughed, amused.

"Almost there! A very nice effort, nevertheless, thank you," she beamed, visibly more at ease. "Are you lost?" Fleur asked, eying both sides of the corridor to verify that they were, in fact, alone.

"You do realize I actually study here and you are the foreign student, don't you?" he teased. Dodging the not-so playful tap with the tip of her purse she aimed at him, he added, still leaning against the wall: "I'm just waiting for my date, we agreed on meeting here. Are you lost?"

"Please… much like you, I was heading to meet my escort. I saw you from there," she pointed the way she came from, "and decided to say hello before we actually met at the event. And who knew?" she added, grabbing one of his hands to twist him on the spot, before he could react, "English boys actually know how to dress for a party." She laughed gently of his awkwardness as he mumbled something under his breath.

"Good enough for French standards?" he couldn't help but quip.

"Oh, I'd have done a better job on you, no doubt," she frowned in mocking analysis, "but good enough, definitely. Just about enough." He just sighed, in temporary defeat.

"I'd best be going… my date is probably waiting for me and I pride myself on being punctual."

To Harry's apparent puzzlement, she sighed theatrically. "Why is it that the girl is always supposed to wait for the boy? I'm perfectly content to take a few steps and make my way to see him, if I must. And I like my walks," she added as an afterthought.

"Even in cold, dull Hogwarts?" he smiled defiantly. He'd get her to admit she liked something about that place if it was the last thing he'd do in his life.

"A walk is a walk anywhere in the world, Harry," she shrugged elegantly.

"Right… so it's safe to gather your escort is a Ravenclaw, then?" he asked after a small silence. Seeing that they were both in the same general area it wasn't exactly a stretch. Draco could have added that up.

"Right you are. None other than Roger, actually… decided he deserved a chance, after all," she added simply, seeing some confusion in Harry's eyes. His judgment seemed to matter a bit more to her, it seemed... although she wouldn't admit it openly just yet.

"Well… I trust you make a fair assessment of people. He's an envied man within these walls tonight, that's for sure," he said playfully, seeing that quieter and genuine smile of hers suddenly back.

"I'll be sure to remind him you said so," she beamed. "Make sure you're not late," she said, putting a quick peck on his cheek, "and that you are a perfect gentleman to your dame," Fleur added, winking. "À bientôt!" she said aloud, halfway down the corridor already.

"Âh… bienow, what?"

She laughed, footsteps echoing soft as snowflakes. "See you soon, Harry!"

"Oh. Right."

AUTHOR NOTES: just so you don't say I'm not cruel… consider this and the last a single chapter if you must. Thanks for the reviews so far, people, appreciate them (by the way, does anyone know why I stopped receiving e-mail notifications about reviews and favorite alerts in general? I didn't really change anything in my profile.. I think…), specially those I notice that have been following me for a while now. Stick around, I'll try to keep up. And remember.. I'm building a relationship here… will try to speed it up as I can, teenagers hardly need much incentive as it is, hahaha! By the way, werewolf007, should I need some help with a few French lines, the offer still stands?

Read and review when possible. Thanks for the faith, hope to hear from you soon.

Intervigilium