A.N/ Some T finally got around to writing this chapter again. In my defense I have been busy and I had writers block that made it impossible to write anything on thos story.
Chapter 12: The Third Task
The tour of Hogwarts had taken up most of the morning as there was a lot that Harry and Fleur wanted to show Sebastian, Apolline and Gabrielle Delacour which included the classroom that they had been using to train Fleur for the Third task in along with Cedric and Viktor. They also made a point to show them the Room of Requirement on their tour as they felt that they should show off the incredible room as it held such powerful memories for both Harry and Fleur, although the same could be said for Sirius when he saw the Room he got a rather covert grin on his face that when questioned about he would simply chuckle and change topics. Harry was certain that Sirius had done either the planning for some amazing prank in this room or he had been adding to his reputation as a ladies' man in this room, but that was not something that Harry particularly wanted to think about, ever.
At lunchtime the group headed back down towards the Great Hall as Gabrielle was complaining about being hungry and her feet hurt from walking so much, so Sebastian picked her up and carried her downstairs. Fleur broke off from the main group in order to visit the bathroom before she to would go down for lunch, however as she was walking down the corridor after visiting the bathroom she almost walked into a tall, red haired man who had not been entirely paying that much attention to where he was going.
"Ah my apologies madam, I wasn't looking where I was going." Came from the red haired man as he realised he had almost walked into her.
"Apology accepted monsieur, now if you'll excuse me I am late for lunch." Fleur replied politely.
"Ah seems we were of a similar mind Miss..?" He replied looking questioningly at her. "Delacour. Fleur Delacour." Fleur told him simply.
"Enchante, Madam Delacour. My name is William Weasley or Bill for short. I heard that you are the champion for Beauxbatons and that you are doing quite well." Bill Weasley replied rather earnestly.
"Zank you Monsieur Weasley I am simply doing my best and I 'ope to win, but both Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum are strong competition so it is difficult to say." Fleur said with some pride in her voice when she spoke of her own accomplishments and respect when speaking about Viktor and Cedric.
"You are too modest Madam Delacour, however it is good to see that you are both attractive inside and out."
It was at this point that Fleur realised that despite Bill Weasley being rather less susceptible to her passive allure than the average male specimen, he was still being somewhat affected by it as he was being slightly more forward than most men would be with his flirting than most men would be. It was also this flirting that continued for several more minutes as they drew closer to the Great Hall with Fleur still trying to be polite, but firm in her answers.
"After the tournament has concluded, would you like to go somewhere for dinner say in Hogsmeade?" Bill asked after several more minutes of flirting with Fleur.
"No zank you Bill, I am already seeing someone so zat would be rather inappropriate." Fleur replied in a polite tone, but with a hint of steel in it to try and get him to stop trying to flirt with her.
However it didn't produce the desired effect of Bill apologising and ceasing his attempts to flirt with her, instead he formed a rather knowing grin on his face that seemed to say that he didn't believe her about Fleur being in a relationship already and that she was just playing hard to get so that she could gauge whether or Bill would be worthy of her if he would put the effort in to chase her.
"If you say so, Miss Delacour, but if you change your mind then I will be around for at least the next few days." Bill responded with as much charm as he could muster being placed into his words as he broke off from her as they entered the Great Hall with him heading for the Gryffindor table and Fleur heading for the Ravenclaw table.
Fleur could still feel his eyes on her as she looked for her parents and Harry, who she spotted roughly half way down the table engaged in conversation whilst they ate their lunch. Fleur had already made up her mind that she needed to prove to Bill Weasley that she was already taken and that she was not just deflecting him. However she did feel like being slightly vindictive with how she proved to him that she was in a relationship as he had been flirting with her incessantly even though she was giving off no signs that she was more receptive to his flirting than to accept compliments. Fleur could see that Harry wasn't eating currently and he had looked up to see her making her way down to where they were seated and his face lit up in a smile at seeing her and in that instant she made her decision about what to do.
As Fleur drew level with Harry she placed a hand on his shoulder that made him turn round and start to stand up which was when Fleur put her plan into action. As Harry was half way up she linked her arms around his waist and pulled him in for a kiss that would make people start to question if either of the pair was going to die from lack of oxygen soon. After breaking the kiss with a rather dazed, but grinning Harry and ignoring the whistles and cat calls that were coming from around them, Fleur covertly glanced over at where Bill Weasley was sitting with what looked like most of his siblings with a look of crushed disappointment at finding out that Fleur had been telling the truth and possibly some anger at Harry that he was in a relationship already with the young woman that he himself wanted to date.
While this had been happening both Fleur's parents and Sirius had been busy covertly looking over at Bill Weasley who they had noticed had entered the hall at the same time as Fleur with a rather pleased expression on his face. They then noted that as soon as Fleur pulled Harry into a kiss his expression changed first to shock followed by sadness which was then replaced briefly with anger that was directed towards Harry even though Harry had no idea who Bill Weasley was.
It was Sirius who first broke the silence between their group; "So Fleur is there any particular reason you decided to molest my Godson in public or did the need just overwhelm you?" He asked with mirth in both his tone and eyes at the spectacle that Fleur had knowingly created in her wake.
Fleur did blush slightly at Sirius' words but she answered him anyway. "Oui Sirius, It did serve a purpose. It was to show Monsieur Bill Weasley zat I am not just playing 'ard to get. I needed to show 'im zat I am already in a relationship and zat I am 'appy in my relationship."
During this conversation Harry had been grinning rather goofily with a rather dazed expression on his face and it took several times of Sirius calling his name for him to snap back out of his stupor.
"Ah now that you are back with us Harry, Do you by any chance know who it was that was hitting on your girlfriend?" Sirius asked.
Harry frowned briefly at the thought of someone flirting with Fleur even when she made it clear to them that she was not interested. He hated that about people that seemed to believe that her heritage made it ok for them to make advances on her even when she had previously said no as they would just claim that she was leading them on or had ensnared them with her allure.
"Well if the red hair is anything to go by and his age, I remember Michael mentioning something about the eldest Weasley sibling's name was William or Bill as he liked to be called. He also mentioned that he was in his late twenties and worked as a curse breaker for Gringotts bank which explains his rather different clothes to the rest of the adults here."
"Hmm" Sirius mused as he took in what Harry had just told him about the eldest Weasley sibling "It would make a lot of sense that he works as a curse breaker as they aren't exactly know for their subtlety when it comes to broadcasting who they are and who they work for. Most curse breakers are somewhat eccentric with how they dress and a lot of them believe themselves to be Merlin's gift to witches simply because they work in a dangerous environment which they believe makes them appear more exotic. If anything from what my cousin Nymphadora has told me it just makes them come off as conceited and arrogant."
"So he would get on well with my brother then?" Harry quipped once Sirius was done explaining what he knew about curse breakers.
Sirius gave Harry a pointed look but he didn't correct him about Bill Weasley getting on well with Michael Potter as he would be lying to himself if he didn't see the similarities between the two rather arrogant wizards.
"Well let's just hope that Fleur has sent a strong enough message to him with her actions earlier." Sebastian Delacour chose this moment to re-enter the conversation as he saw Harry and Sirius' conversation winding down somewhat.
"If not then I'm sure that Harry would be up for a repeat performance if Bill Weasley is rather slow on the uptake. Then again if Bill Weasley is slow on the uptake it might well be Harry's dream scenario as Fleur might have to get even more extreme each time with how she goes about showing him her relationship. I wonder if she might make it extra pleasurable so that wherever Bill Weasley was at the time he would be able to hear them." Sirius finished with a rather dog like grin on his face as he looked on at the heavily red faces of both Harry and Fleur.
Their faces were red for different reasons though as Harry's face was red due to what Sirius had been implying and Harry was fairly sure that Sirius had been implying that he and Fleur would be having sex and like all boys he had thought about what it might be like. Fleur was blushing as she had been planning to take that step with Harry later on during the summer if possible after Harry had turned fifteen assuming that they were both ready for that next step as due to the rather outdated laws in the wizarding world that still heavily favoured wizards over witches, it would be completely legal for Harry to have sex once he was over the age of fifteen.
Once both Harry and Fleur had regained enough composure they led the group back to the Room of Requirement in order to have a private space in order for them to spend time together so that Harry could get to know Sebastian and Apolline Delacour better than what he had learnt about them from Fleur. Towards the end of the afternoon they were joined by Aurelia and Cedric as well as Viktor and his girlfriend Sophie who wanted to have one last gathering as friends before the third task took place.
Sebastian and Apolline Delacour were happy to meet Cedric as they had heard from Fleur that Aurelia had suffered almost as much as Fleur herself had for many years due to boys and sometimes even men wanting to get close to her for their own selfish reasons that did not factor in what Aurelia might want at all. However within minutes of meeting Cedric they knew that Aurelia and Cedric shared an almost unique bond due to her previous troubles and his past girlfriend not being who he thought she was that meant they both wanted to try and be open and honest with the other as otherwise it would just lead to a similar situation that they had encountered before. Both the elder Delacours could see that Aurelia and Cedric loved each other deeply despite the fact that they had only met several months previously, but they felt as if they had known each other for years before they started dating.
However in contrast to this they were surprised that all of the true champions were friendly with each other as they had suspected that Viktor Krum might be rather anti-social towards the other champions if not downright hostile so they were pleasantly surprised to see Fleur, Cedric and Aurelia greet Viktor as a close friend as well as greeting his girlfriend Sophie who they learnt had been an friend of Cedric's before he introduced them to each other. Some of the anxiety over their daughter's status as what many believed to be a part Veela were lifted when they saw her conversing so freely with other young men her own age and girls who weren't Aurelia. This made them feel truly happy as they had always feared that due to the prejudice that many in the wizarding world had against Veela, that their eldest daughter would have little to no social interaction or friends, but their fears were cast down by what they saw in front of their very eyes.
Harry and Fleur reconvened with the other Delacours and Sirius for dinner, even if Fleur was feeling rather anxious, she knew that she would need her strength for what would most likely be the toughest of all the tasks. This being said Fleur was only able to stomach a light meal as was Harry who was obviously concerned as to what Fleur would be facing that evening. All too soon Professor Dumbledore stood to announce that all champions should make their way down to the starting arena for the first task to which all four champions stood to thunderous applause from the surrounding students, staff and others who had showed up for the final task.
Fleur pulled Harry up with her as she left so that they could have a few minutes of solitude without anyone else potentially interrupting them as they walked slowly towards the arena. Fleur noticed that Harry was exceptionally quiet on the walk down and she called him out on it.
"What is it 'Arry, you 'ave barely said a word since we left the great 'all?"
Harry stopped and turned to face her with worry showing up as his dominant expression; "I'm just worried Fleur about this task. We have no idea what sort of creatures or magic you'll need to overcome, but I heard Hagrid has supplied some of the creatures and that means they're unlikely to be nifflers. Then there's the fact that you will be in there with only the other champions for human company and whilst I know that neither Cedric nor Viktor would hurt anyone else to win the cup, I don't trust Michael to not try cursing you in the back to win, even if it put you in harm's way."
Fleur felt a pang in her heart as she heard Harry pour out his feelings and worries for her safety, something she was still unused to after so many years of men and boys not caring about her safety except for her father , but she still felt a warmth that she had never felt before at his concern. Fleur pulled Harry into a close embrace and they stayed there silent for a few moments before she started to speak.
"You 'ave no idea 'ow much it means to me for you to be worried about my safety. For years boys and men were only interested in one thing even if meant putting me in danger, but we trained for zis and I am ready."
Harry looked slightly surprised at her words and some amount of empathy at her never having had any males care about her safety other than her father and now him, but he knew that Fleur was right. She was ready and she now needed people to believe in her so that she could claim victory. So they walked in a comfortable silence just enjoying the close proximity of the other's presence. At the entrance to the arena they parted with one final toe curling kiss and Harry went to find the Delacours and Sirius in the stands. It was a mark of how much Sirius knew that Harry was worried for Fleur that he didn't make any sort of joke or innuendo at how long it had taken for Harry to leave Fleur's side.
The arena slowly started to populate, but soon all of Hogwarts was down in the stands chatting noisily about the task that was about to unfold, but they were all suddenly silenced when the judges made their way into the centre of the arena in front of the entrance to the maze.
"Welcome to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Came the magically enhanced voice of Ludo Bagman who still as ever seemed over excited, but Harry thought that it looked a little forced as the man seemed to be nervous about something.
"Introducing our four champions in case some present tonight do not know who they are will be in ascending order from fourth place through to first. Currently in fourth place and representing Hogwarts we have Cedric Diggory!" This was met with thunderous applause from the stands that contained the Hufflepuff students with less extreme reactions coming from the remaining three houses, although Amos Diggory, Cedric's father, could be heard yelling proudly; 'That's my son!'.
"In third place and representing Beauxbatons we have Fleur Delacour!" Fleur entered the arena to a less exuberant welcome than Cedric but she was pleased to note that a large majority of the cheering was coming from where her family, Sirius and Aurelia were. However she did note that a number of boys and men were cheering for her which she had expected as they were the types that would do anything for her attention, even when she had made it clear she was not interested in them at all.
"In second place and representing Durmstrang we have the renowned seeker Viktor Krum!" Viktor's entrance was again met with thunderous applause and cheering, with some of the crowd resurrecting that tribal chant of his surname that they had used to cheer him on in the first task.
"And now last but not least we have our champion in first place and representing Hogwarts as well Michael Potter!" Unlike all the other champions when Michael Potter emerged he was greeted by cheers from most of the Gryffindors and some of the Ravenclaws, but he was also met with booing from the Slytherin students and the Hufflepuffs who still felt that Michael Potter had cheated his way into first place.
"Now the champions shall enter the maze in their order of points placement with the next entering after two minutes as the champions as so close in points that only two minutes will pass between each champion entering the maze. The task will end when a champion reaches the Triwizard cup in the centre of the maze which will transport them back here where they will be crowned Triwizard champion. Whilst the task is underway several staff members will be patrolling the perimeter of the maze to make sure that everything is running as smoothly as possible. If any of the champions should find themselves in a situation that they deem to dangerous, or if they become too injured to continue with the task then they need only send up red sparks and they will be rescued from the task. However this will mean that you will have forfeited from the task and you will be disqualified."
At the sound of the first whistle Michael Potter set off at a run into the maze so that he could try and get as much lead as possible before the older and physically stronger champions were inside the maze. It was an agonizingly slow four minutes for Fleur, but she eventually heard the whistle that signalled she could start the task and she broke into a run as she entered the maze. Fleur soon cmae to a fork on the path and opting to take the right hand path she walked at a brisk pace, as she wanted to move quickly, but not tire too quickly.
As Fleur rounded a corner she heard the whistle being blown a fourth time and knew that now all four of the champions were inside the maze and competing. Another few corners later and she came across a strange looking creature that seemed to be a hybrid between a fire crab and a scorpion as it had pincers and a tail ending in a rather dangerous looking stinger. The creature also appeared to be armoured over most of its body which would make hitting it with offensive spells difficult, but Fleur was nothing if not intelligent as she wordlessly levitated the creature high enough for its un-armoured under body to become exposed before she hit it with a high powered stunner that knocked the creature out.
Fleur made haste to pass the strange creature before it might wake up as she had no idea if it had any form of magical resistance that might mean it would only be stunned for a short time. It was several corners and a few dead ends that had Fleur retracing her steps later when she rounded a corner to see two raven haired boys locked in a fierce duel. Fleur could see that one had green eyes and the other hazel and realised that she was seeing Harry and his brother Michael, but this didn't make any sense as Harry should have been outside the maze with her family not in here duelling with his brother.
Fleur was ripped from her thoughts as she heard Michael Potter speak words she never wanted to face head on.
"Avada Kedavra!" He spat at his brother with a cruel smirk twisting on his lips.
Fleur screamed out trying to summon up some sort of barrier to protect Harry but she was too late and the sickly green light slammed into Harry knocking him off his feet and causing him to slam into the ground face up with a glassy look in his know dead eyes. Fleur's brain refused to accept what had just happened as she lost the strength in her legs and was forced to kneel next to the body of Harry Potter.
"You thought I'd just let you go did you? You belong to me Veela!" Came a voice from behind Fleur and she turned round to see Michael Potter still standing there with an insane smile on his face and his wand pointed right at her.
"Non, I'd rather die zan be with you!" Fleur shouted at Michael Potter through her tears.
The insane smile on Michael Potter's face became if possible even more twisted as he walked slowly towards her. "You might think that Veela, but even you're parents know that you're not anything more than a plaything for my entertainment. They signed a slave contract with my father that allows me to do anything to you and it will be completely legal!"
Fleur tried to deny that her parents would ever do such a thing, but the words died in her mouth as she saw her parents along with Gabrielle come round the corner and look at her with the utmost loathing and displeasure in their expressions.
"Why do you think we sent you to Beauxbatons at all Fleur? Did you really think that we cared about your education? No we simply wanted you to find someone to take you off our hands even if it was to be a pureblood in a slave contract as we knew that any pureblood lord would pay handsomely for a Veela plaything lie you." Came the icy cold tone of Fleur's father that seemed to make Fleur shrink in size until she was nothing but a small girl once more.
"Did you ever realise how boring and whiny you were year after year at that school?" This came from her mother who was looking down at the tearful girl disdainfully; "Oh poor Fleur can't make any real friends because of her allure. Poor princess Fleur has young men vying for her attentions, but she shuts all them down and she wonders why they call her a frigid bitch. Little flower fears that she will never find true love. So pathetic you are Fleur, I am ashamed to have to call you my daughter!"
Fleur was trying to make sense of what was happening but the onslaught of her family and the hated other Potter boy who had killed her Harry made it impossible for Fleur to think clearly and she was just about ready to send up red sparks when she heard a shouted spell behind her and what she thought was her family and Michael Potter suddenly burst into wisps of smoke and disappeared. Looking round to where Harry's body had been she saw nothing but the grass that wasn't even disturbed.
"It was a Boggart Fleur, nothing more. What you saw wasn't real!" Fleur realised that it was Cedric who had crouched down next to her and was trying to console her. Fleur just felt silly that such a low level creature had almost bested her.
"Some champion I am if a simple Boggart can beat me!" Fleur bit out without any real venom as she was just happy that what she had seen wasn't real.
"Hey the primary function of a Boggart is to make you see what you fear most of all. From what I could see of the scene before I banished it I can imagine that it was something horrifying that you fear most. It lured you in and played your darkest fears in front of you, you shouldn't be ashamed that you felt some weakness, you're only human after all."
"Zank you Cedric, I zink that I will be able to continue for a while longer."
"That's the spirit!"
The two champions continued on down the path for a few minutes before they came to a fork and with one final nod to each other they went in separate directions. Fleur encountered nothing along this path which was making her paranoid that the maze was lulling her into a false sense of security that would make her lower her guard before something attempted to attack her. It turned out that she was right to keep up her guard as suddenly she was knocked off her feet by a blasting curse. Fleur shielded herself so that she could regain her feet and was shocked to see Viktor bearing down on her with his wand pointing straight at her. However she could also see that his eyes were rather cloudy and he was also moving rather awkwardly like he was under an Imperius curse. Fleur didn't get long to study this though as Viktor sent red sparks into the air before he broke her shield with an exceptionally powerful stunner that caught her off guard.
It was an unknown amount of time later that Fleur awoke to the sights of the medical tent before she saw the Hogwarts matron Madam Pomfrey came into view with a potion vial.
"Here you go Miss Delacour this is a mild calming draught along with a pain numbing potion. You hit the ground rather hard when you fell."
"Is the task over, why did Viktor stun me?" Fleur asked hurriedly looking around for her family or Harry.
"No the task is not over yet Miss Delacour and I don't know why Mr Krum would have stunned you. You were found by Professor McGonagall under red sparks so one of your fellow champions must have found you. Now you will be fine once you have drunk the potion so do so and then you may go and find your family."
Fleur did as she was told by the healer and she felt almost immediately better as she felt a sense of calm and relief wash over her as she began to metabolise the potion. It seemed to be that there had been an announcement that she had been eliminated from the task as in the next compartment of the medical tent she found Harry, Sirius and her parents who had Gabrielle asleep next to them.
Harry was the first of them to notice that Fleur had entered their compartment of the tent and as such he was up and moving towards her long before the others had time to process and react to her presence. Harry stepped right up to Fleur and pulled her into a tight embrace in which Fleur could feel that he was shaking slightly but he seemed to become peaceful as he held her. It meant so much to Fleur that Harry had been so worried about her safety as it was something that was still quite unusual in her experience. However as her memories of the task were still rushing back she remembered the pain she had felt when she thought that Michael Potter had murdered Harry in order to take her as a slave and to see that Harry was alive and well let her mind rest at ease, even if she would now forever in some way be on guard around Michael Potter so that he never tried to do what she feared most.
"I was so scared when they announced that you were found unconscious and had been disqualified from the task. They refused to give us any information about if you were injured or not and they would not let any of us even your parents in to see you."
It took Fleur a few seconds to realise that it had been Harry who was talking as his voice was so quiet and slightly strained in a way that suggested that Harry had been either crying or had been close to when Fleur had arrived.
"Shh, no more talk of zat 'Arry. I am fine and I don't care about the tournament, it was proved to me in the second task zat it is no longer important to me, you are!"
Harry noticed that Sirius had given him a look and a leaving gesture as he left with the other Delacours to give Harry and Fleur some privacy in a moment when they just wanted to be close to each other.
"Ok Fleur, what do you want to do now?" Harry asked softly.
Fleur lead Harry over to the sofa that was in the room and pulled him into a half sitting down half lying down embrace.
"Just 'old me 'Arry, and stay here."
"Of course, whatever you want Fleur. I love you."
It took a few beats for Fleur to realise what Harry had just said, but she was filled with joy despite the events that had made him say the words she had longed to hear from a man all her life that wasn't shallow words. Harry realised what he had said and was just opening his mouth to try and salvage the situation, as he believed that it was too soon to be saying such things but it had just slipped out, so he was surprised when Fleur pressed a finger against his lips before kissing him softly on the lips.
"I love you to 'Arry."
Currently far away from Harry and Fleur was Cedric Diggory who had just been forced to stun Viktor Krum who had attempted to curse him in the back but had missed. Initially Cedric was horrified taht someone who he counted as a close friend who do such a thing, but he saw that Viktor's eyes were rather glassy and he didn't walk in his usual manner which screamed Imperius curse at Cedric. Using this information Cedric was able to dodge around Viktor due to his less heightened reaction times due to the curses side effects. Cedric then stunned Viktor before sending red sparks into the air so that Viktor could be rescued by one of the patrolling staff members.
As Cedric advanced towards what he hoped was the centre of the maze and the Triwizard cup he heard shouted spells coming from the last champion standing other than himself; Michael Potter. Running at full speed towards the sounds of spells and an odd clicking noise that Cedric couldn't place its origins he started to formulate a plan to get past whatever creature his fellow champion was fighting and potentially save Michael Potter from being injured. Cedric may have had a strong dislike for the younger boy, but he would not stoop so low to allow him to be grievously injured if he could have stopped it.
Coming round the final corner the sounds were amplified by ten as Cedric saw Michael Potter throwing spells at a vast Acromantula that appeared to be toying with Michael Potter as it didn't seem to be all that affected by the spells being cast at it, but it was walking very slowly towards the boy with its pincers clicking menacingly.
Assessing the situation quickly Cedric realised that they didn't have to kill the creature, just subdue it for long enough that they could bith get away from it safely. With a goal in mind Cedric started to fire blasting curses at the giant spider to get it to start retreating, the creature did but it made high pitched screaming sounds that sent a shiver down both champion's spines at its sound. Quickly though Michael Potter caught on to the spells that Cedric was casting at the Acromantula and between them they were able to drive the monstrous spider back and rush past it before it could recover enough to come after them.
Michael Potter nodded at Cedric as a way of thanking him for saving him from the Acromantula which Cedric didn't protest against as he knew that he was probably one of very few people that had ever received a thank you in any form from the arrogant 'Boy-Who-Lived'. They proceeded down the single path in front of them until they came into a clearing where they could clearly see the trophy in front of them.
Cedric turned to Michael Potter with an idea so that they could both get out of the maze and still both win; "Since we are both here and I'm fairly sure that you don't want to fight me to take the cup, why don't we both take it so that we tie and its a joint victory for Hogwarts?"
Michael Potter nodded silently which made Cedric relax slightly that after everything they would have an easy end to the most draining of all the tasks so Cedric started to walk towards the cup when suddenly he heard Michael Potter speak behind him.
"Hogwarts only has one champion."
We that Cedric heard the words 'Petrificus Totalus' being spoken and before he could react his arms and legs snapped together immobilising him. As Cedric fell over he saw Michael Potter shoot red sparks into the air above them before smirking smugly at Cedric before he grabbed the Triwizard cup that activated immediately vanishing both Michael Potter and the Triwizard cup.
