Chapter 20

(Hogwarts)

Dumbledore was angry and was pacing his office trying to think of how to get back into headquarters. For the last half hour he had tried everything he could think of, but the place was locked down tight and no longer responded to his magic. Clearly the change of ownership to the Harris' was total and had removed the secret entryways and control spells he had put down. He cursed Bill Weasley's impulsive nature.

Harry was now unreachable and probably would be until he returned to Hogwarts. He had tried to find and call Fawkes, but his familiar was missing, which surprised him. He needed to regain control of the situation and quickly, but more and more it all seemed to be slipping out of his control since Sirius's will.

The man just had to throw a huge wench into his plans, one last big joke before he helpfully removed himself from the game. Had he not died at the Ministry he had intended to enlist Severus's help in removing him later on, certain that he could use the hatred the man had for Sirius to aide him.

He finally let out a frustrated growl as he slumped into his seat and idly rubbed his beard. What could he do? He wondered. Then another part of the problem came back to him and he wondered what Delacour would do in response to Bill's actions. He had to be ready to refute any claims of an attack in the International Confederation of Wizards. If he could not stop such a thing it would be a heavy set back. It would also cause him great trouble in keeping the support of the Weasley family as a whole. He would have to tread carefully and do his best to portray what happened as him been under the imperious curse, just as he had planned to say to Harry.

(Riddle Manor)

Voldemort looked at his troops who were growing somewhat more competent under Bellatrix's control. He found it strangely amusing, not something he usually felt, that the only female Death Eater was a better fighter and killer than the men. Her insanity just made her that much more of an asset. Lucius was looking more in shape as he did in the first war and less like a plump rich moron. He considered that maybe that was the problem. It had been too long since the last war and the majority of his followers were out of shape and lacking in skills. They had let slip things while he was away. The rich members of the group had clearly spent more time on their arses gaining more money than keeping up with their skills. He should have started this program when he first came back.

But he had mistakenly believed they would have kept themselves prepared for his return. He was angered by what they had done so far and that their skills had degraded so much that they could be held off by six teenagers with the bare minimum of training. It was a sad state of affairs which explained why they were deadlocked at the moment in a stalemate. During the first war they had easily trampled the enemy and he had to admit he missed those times. He had to give credit to his nemesis Harry Potter though. The boy had managed to train his friends to survive above what he expected when first told of the group he had formed. He had begun to break out of the shell he had kept himself in the last couple of years, pushed to take a leading hand by his friends no doubt.

He turned and headed back to his throne room, wondering if there was even the slightest chance of winning the boy's trust. If he could win Potter to his side then this war was as good as won. However he knew the chance was slim to none, but still he decided to give it some thought whilst also deciding which target to hit in his planned attack to see how far along his followers had come.

(12 Grimmauld Place)

Harry awoke covered in sweat to find it still dark. He had a terrible nightmare, but thankfully not one inspired by Voldemort. He ran his hand over his forehead, then got up quietly and headed to the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his face.

Staring at himself in the mirror he saw how tired he looked and yet he also noticed how vivid his scar looked. Maybe Voldemort had been trying to get inside his mind, but he had clearly failed. Damn nightmares he thought bitterly, he wondered if he would ever have a night when he did not suffer from them. Since Voldemort's return it was almost a constant event at night, he was tired of them and tired of seeing things that gave him new nightmares to suffer from.

A small scream from one of the other rooms quickly had him running into it with his wand out, turning on the light he was shocked to see Fleur crying her eyes out and rocking back and forth in what was clear to him pure terror. For a minute he was going to wake Xander and Jenny, but then forgot that and quickly made his way to the bed and pulled her into what he hoped was a comforting hug. Fawkes quickly reappeared in the room and began singing a soft tune that calmed both teenagers. Harry ran his hand through Fleur's hair as softly as he could, trying to ensure he did not hurt her, this was not something he would usually do but Fleur needed him right now.

"You okay Fleur?" he asked after about ten minutes of just holding her quietly.

"No," Fleur admitted freely. "But I will be in time Harry," she added, enjoying been held by someone she actually trusts, especially right at this moment in time.

"I know how it is with nightmares Fleur," Harry told her, somewhat surprised he admitted to someone he does not know so well, things he did not even discuss with Hermione. "They haunt me often, more so since Voldemort returned," he continued. "The best you can do is try and hold on to your good memories and hope they keep the bad ones away," he told her with a small smile for her sake.

Fleur did not answer and just buried herself closer to Harry, leaning her head on his chest and trying to ignore the images she had seen in her nightmare. She had never believed Bill would go so far that he could be so evil. When her father arrived in the morning he was going to be very angry indeed, her mother too, whilst Gabrielle would be worried and scared.

"How could I have missed the darkness in him?" she finally asked. "How could I have not see that he was not a good person? Why did I let him get so close when all he wanted was my money?" she continued to ask.

"You're not alone in being blindsided by this event Fleur, believe me," Harry responded. "Had it not been for Sirius I would still trust Dumbledore and the Order. I never saw how he was manipulating me and I never saw how the Weasley's planned to do the same to me, using Ginny as they planned to use Bill with you," he explained. "Sometimes evil is well hidden, sometimes it can creep up on people without us seeing it and sometimes we are simply just blind to it, because we do not truly look for it," he told her, after thinking her questions over.

Fleur listened and saw the truth of what Harry was saying. It brought things a little more into perspective for her. She would never again blindly trust anyone again. She would look deep into their hearts to see what kind of person they were. The only people she believed she did not have to fear or mistrust were her parents, sister and Harry. She felt a connection to Harry that was hard to understand.

When she had first met him during the tournament she had considered him nothing more than a young man who found himself in a situation above his head. She did not truly believe he had entered the tournament by cheating, no his shock and anger had been genuine. After the first task she had found herself admiring his skill on a broom and the way he had beaten his dragon. Then the second task had come and he had saved her sister against all logic. That had cemented her respect for him and the beginning of their friendship. He had also saved her in the third task after she had been attacked by Krum, who had been under the imperious curse and gotten her help.

She remembered seeing him return bloody and beaten, clinging to the dead body of Cedric Diggory, clearly in pain and yet refusing to be dragged away, until he knew he was safe and he had indeed returned Cedric to his devastated father. It had never entered her mind that he could had harmed the older boy, it was not in Harry's nature and dismissed the few who dared suggest such a thing. When he announced Voldemort had returned she was somewhat unsure, until Dumbledore had believed him as had Madam Maxine. After returning to France her father had confirmed the facts through his own sources and the fact that French Purebloods were joining the Dark Lords banner.

"I will do better in the future," Fleur said, finally beginning to relax thanks to Harry's presence and Fawkes song, which continued behind them.

"We all will," Harry assured her, before being surprised by Fleur pulling his face closer and kissing him.

"Thank you for been here Harry," Fleur told him, when she pulled away and was smiling at the surprised look on his face as well as a slight blush appearing on it.

She settled against him and pushed him onto the bed. He resisted a little until she insisted he should stay with her the night. It was nothing sexual she told him just that she needed to feel close to someone. He gave in and within a few minutes with the aid of Fawkes song and the presence of one another, they both were sound asleep.

Fawkes was confident that this was the beginning of a relationship forming between the two. They would be good for each other and help keep the other safe. He settled down for the rest of the night and decided to keep an eye on the two, just in case they had anymore nightmares, they would need their rest for the things to come.

(The Burrow)

Ron sat on his bed angered and frustrated by the fact that they had been kicked out of headquarters and that things were slowly slipping out of control concerning Harry. Why couldn't the stupid idiot see that what Dumbledore was doing was for the best? That the headmaster knew what had to be done to save the world from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Why couldn't he just do as he was told? Trying to finally go to sleep he hoped he would get a chance at revenge for being forced out of headquarters and being made to look weak in front of the headmaster. He hoped he would see Harry and Hermione soon and then he would make them pay.

Across the house Bill also remained awake, finishing off his bottle of firewhisky. He was still smarting from being beaten by a damn teenager, no matter that it was the same teenager who had fought and survived He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named so many times. He knew he had lost any chance of not only bedding Fleur, but also gaining access to her fortune. He wanted to kill Potter for this setback and humiliation and he hoped he got his chance soon enough for payback. As he finished off the last bit of firewhisky he collapsed onto his bed and just barely managed to use his wand to shut the light off. His last thought before falling into a troubled sleep was how much he wished Potter had never survived his first encounter with Voldemort.

(Delacour Manor, France next day)

Vincent Delacour prepared himself to leave for England to first see his daughter at the hidden headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, then he intended to go to the Ministry and demand justice for the attack on his daughter and he did not intend to leave until Bill Weasley was brought up on charges. He would not accept any double dealing or stone walling from the English and especially from Dumbledore, now he knew the truth of what was going on he worried more and more how far this war with the Dark Lord would spread.

Apolline Delacour, his wife, was already ready with Gabrielle, their youngest daughter, beside her. Apolline had a bag with her with a few of Fleur's clothes and the potions she requested. He could see now that she had not been exaggerating on how bad things were. Finally finished with his own preparations he ordered his two bodyguards to enter the floo to the address Jenny Harris had given him. One quickly returned to give the all clear and he and his family, plus his lawyer stepped into the floo. He hoped these people were truly good people, because if they were not, he would be taking his daughter home, no matter what.

(Ministry)

Dumbledore walked into the Minister's office to find Fudge looking slightly drunk, he sighed and cast a sobering charm on the man who quickly looked much more awake. He sat down and waited for Fudge to collect himself, he wondered what had happened.

"What do you want this time Albus?" Fudge asked. His tone was tense and angry. "I've already signed the orders for the new laws we agreed on," he added.

"Good good," Dumbledore responded. "That should aide us in our struggle Cornelius," he assured him. "I'm afraid I am here to warn you of some trouble that is sure to come to your attention soon enough," he told him.

"Oh what now?" Fudge snapped, wishing the war was not happening and everything was back to being nice and easy.

"I am afraid there was an attack on Vincent Delacour's daughter yesterday. One Bill Weasley was placed under the imperious curse and tried to force her sexual cooperation," Dumbledore informed him. "Infact the entire family was placed under the curse, bar the twins. They attacked Harry Potter and his new guardians, as well as some of my own people," he continued. "However due to how shall I say it... a difference of opinion, as well as a small falling out I fear they may blow this out of proportion," he added with a good chuckle, as if the falling out was nothing big.

"Are you sure they were under the Imperious curse Albus?" Fudge demanded to know, already seeing the trouble this could bring him at such a bad time. "Delacour will be after blood and he will demand justice. If I don't handle this properly it could damage our relationship with France, considering how high he is in their Ministry," he argued with worry.

"Calm yourself Cornelius. I am sure they were under the curse as I tested them myself," Dumbledore cut in. "All we need to do is ensure it stops here, before Delacour can attempt to bring this to light to the ICW. That is not something we need right now," he pointed out. "Be firm and keep control of the meeting. If you need help, I will be awaiting your call," he stated before getting up and leaving again, before Fudge could utter another word.

Fudge slumped into his chair and began to fear he might one day go insane from the stress his position of Minster gave him right now. He desperately wanted to have another drink, but he needed to be clear headed for this meeting.

The only reason he had hit the bottle so hard was his torture at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. Something he could not even tell anyone about due to her curse. All he could do was suffer the memories of it in silence and pray he never saw her again, unless of course it was to see her dead body.

(12 Grimmauld Place)

Harry stood at Fleur's side as her family arrived, still feeling somewhat between embarrassed and happy about waking up that morning holding Fleur close to himself. The night before had quickly come back to him and when he had tried to move away, Fleur had held on and asked to just continue holding her for a small bit. Of course twenty minutes later Tara and Faith had walked into the room having been searching for him, when it was discovered he was not in his own bedroom. Fleur had just smiled and finally released him.

Faith had teased him all the way back to his room about getting cosy with the girl. Tara had just smiled and patted him on the shoulder before dragging Faith away so he could change. When he had come down Xander had grinned and winked at him, which had caused him to blush as he realised Faith must have told him what she had seen. Jenny however did not look so amused and he was sure he would be having a talk with her at some point today. One he did not look forward to in the least.

"Welcome Mr. Delacour," Xander's greeting broke him out of his thoughts and he turned his attention back to what was going on.

"Mr. Harris," Vincent responded, shaking the offered hand. "Allow me to introduce my wife Apolline and my youngest daughter Gabrielle," he said, indicating his companions. "As well as William Styles, my Lawyer. I am sure he will be needed when I meet Dumbledore and Fudge," he stated with a cold smile.

"I understand, I am sure you remember my wife Jenny from her talk with you yesterday and our ward Harry Potter," Xander replied with his own smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last Mr. Potter," Vincent said, turning his attention to the young teenager. "Both my daughters hold you in high regard. I hope we have time to talk after we sort out this mess?" he requested.

"I am pleased to meet you sir and I would like such a meeting," Harry replied, as best he could, feeling slightly intimidated by the tall man for reasons he did his best to ignore.

Fleur finally stepped forward and hugged her family and it was to the amusement of all that once she had hugged Gabrielle that the young girl quickly went and hugged Harry rather hard.

Harry did his best not to look embarrassed.

"We have much to discuss, but first I would like to introduce some of our friends," Jenny said, still smiling as Gabrielle refused to let go of Harry, much to Fleur's amusement who took Harry's other side, making her want to laugh even more at the look on Harry's face.

One by one she introduced Tara, Faith, Remus, Tonks, Hermione and finally Daphne. Kingsley was at work and Astoria was still asleep. A little history was given on each of them, so the Delacour's would know they could be trusted.

"An interesting group you have brought together and I am pleased at least to see that not everyone in the Order is corrupt," Apolline finally spoke up. "I have feared, since our daughter told us what was truly going on, how much more dangerous this would be for her once she refused to leave," she admitted.

"I can understand your worry but believe me we will do everything we can to ensure her safety just as we do for everyone else involved in this," Jenny assured the other woman.

"Now I suggest we sit down and get down to business. I need to know exactly what went on before I meet Fudge and Dumbledore," Vincent said, bringing the meeting back to its intended purpose. "I will need pensive memories from both Fleur and Harry as well, they will useful even if not allowed as evidence in the English Ministry," he continued. "The ICW will accept them and that is where I am sure this will have to go if we are to get the justice we want. I know how tricky the English Ministry can be," he stated. "No offense," he added.

"None taken," Harry said with a smile "We all have our own bones to pick with the Ministry as it is," he explained.

"I'll say," Daphne put in "They are so corrupt it is surprising it can even keep this country running. All it takes is a few galleons to the right person and they will do what you want," she told them with a disgusted look in her eyes. "There are few decent people left in the Ministry these days," she stated.

"Yeah it needs to be torn down and rebuilt with new rules and laws in place, including some magical oaths to stop the corruption," Tonks agreed. "But it ain't going to happen now, maybe once the war is over we can do something," she suggested.

"Something to think about for the future," Remus cut in, before anyone else could say anything. "Now I suggest we get down to business so we can prepare Mr. Delacour for his meeting with Fudge and Dumbledore, which I assure you will not be easy," he warned them.

"I agree," Xander said with a frown. "The old man will clearly try and stop this from getting to big of a problem, he may already have started to put his own plans into action," he mused.

"We'll deal with it," Fleur stated. "I have complete faith in my father to handle this," she added with a smile, before the others nodded and they began to tell the tale of what had happened the day before.