Disclaimer: As mentioned, I only own this fanfic and OC Cynthia. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!

Ch. 21

Fleur's Scheme

While Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and Ginny went over some plans for more politer ways to get Harry back under control, Dobby, Ozzy and Iggy (while invisible) apparated back to the Room of Requirement with the camera Dobby borrowed from the Creevey brothers. Now Dobby knew he had to find Colin and Dennis and give them the roll of film. Back in Hogsmeade, the children who were members of most ancient and most noble houses were in the village square.

"If you don't mind me asking," said Harry to Blaise. "How come it took you so long to tell me that you believe that I've been innocent of my name emerging from the goblet?"

"Oh," said Blaise, turning red a little. "I've been looking for this one girl. Her personality seemed so intriguing."

"What does she look like?" asked Harry, hoping he might help narrow it down.

"Well, she had dirty-blonde hair," said Blaise. "Pale-silvery eyes and white skin, from the looks of it. She had to be in Ravenclaw since she had blue trimmings on her robes and a blue and bronze necktie."

"That must be Luna Lovegood." Harry deduced.

"Luna, that's it," said Blaise with realization. It's like every time I try to find her, she never seems to be anywhere."

"I think she only shows up when one least expects it," Harry guessed. "That's how it happened when I first met her."

"Oh okay," said Blaise. "Maybe it's her past experiences that resulted in her staying out of other peoples' way."

"Yeah, although the few occasions I managed to get a glimpse of her, Luna appears to be doing better," said Harry. "That prank pulled on Cho and her friends must've been a wake-up call for the other Ravenclaws especially not to bully Luna."

"So maybe I should just put the whole thing in the back of my mind then," said Blaise. "Maybe she'll show up if I go along with that."

"Maybe she will," said Harry. "But remember, don't expect it or it won't work. As long as you wait patiently, Luna will eventually come."

"Thank you for the advice, Harry," said Blaise gratefully. "How will I ever repay you?"

"Don't worry about that," said Harry. "Good luck."

"Again, thank you." said Blaise.

"I'll be right back, Harry," said Tori. "Cynthia asked me to help her find a good Christmas gift for her parents."

"Alright, I'll wait here and maybe we can go to the Three Broomsticks or something afterwards." said Harry.

"Sounds good." said Tori, then she walked away.

"Tracey should be coming down to Hogsmeade any minute now." said Daphne.

"Harry, I'm not sure if auntie told you yet," said Susan. "But we'll be having a New Years Day formal at my family manor."

"I don't think she did," said Harry. "Maybe she forgot to tell me."

"Yeah, as a most ancient and most noble house, we take turns hosting these gatherings." said Susan.

"We also have a Christmas formal," said Neville. "Which gran volunteered to host this year."

"Interesting," said Harry. "This is the first time I've heard of these formals."

"Dumbledore declared himself your magical guardian after your parents were murdered," said Susan. "Auntie wasn't very pleased with that, especially when he claimed that you were 'safe' with those relatives of yours. She was ranting about all that after we all saw those memories of yours during the first task."

"Dumbledore should've told you all about your inheritance long ago." said Neville.

"Well, he no longer has any say of where I have to stay," said Harry. "Whether he says so himself or if he talks Granger, Ronald and Ginevra into help…"

"Alright Potter," said Draco, once he approached. "Where is she?"

"Who?" asked Harry, playing dumb.

"You know exactly who," said Draco. "Where is Astoria?"

"Anywhere," said Harry. "Why do you wanna know?"

"You know that she's my girl," claimed Draco. "Father said so."

"Considering that the House of Greengrass is a most ancient and most noble house," said Harry. "Your father has no say in who Tori should marry. Besides, you just want her for her looks, family wealth and power."

"Looks matter, Potter," said Draco with overconfidence in his voice. "In case you're too blind to notice, Astoria has such a curvaceous bottom that any guy would like to squeeze…"

Susan's eyes widened in disbelief at what Draco said. Harry, Neville and Blaise put their hands over their mouths at what escaped Draco's mouth. In fact, Harry, Neville, Blaise and Susan saw Tori and Daphne walking behind Draco with their respective best friends. Daphne glared at Draco while Tori began seething in anger, which resulted in Tracey and Cynthia backing away some.

"Not to mention that Astoria's bottom also makes it ideal for smacking." said Draco, with lust in his voice.

"Personality matters more, ferret." said Harry.

"Astoria also has such a nice pair of titties, that any guys also wanna squeeze," said Draco arrogantly, still unaware that Tori was behind him, and she was outraged. "And the kind of legs that one just can't get enough of looking at."

Harry, Neville, Blaise and Susan backed away some when they saw Tori whip her wand out and cast a spell on Draco. Ropes were conjured and tied around the Malfoy scion's ankles, resulting in him dangling upside down. Then Tori stepped over into Draco's plain view, giving him a vicious glare while doing so. Due to Draco being upside down, it looked like (from his point of view) that she was smiling. After a minute of glaring at the Malfoy scion, Tori raised a hand and smacked him hard, across the face. This left a handprint on Draco's right cheek and he closed his eyes tightly due to the stinging on his cheek. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Tori was still glaring at him.

"If I ever, and I mean ever hear you say any of that again," warned Tori in a dangerous voice. "And I'll personally see to it that you can't produce any children, or maybe I'll feed you to the hippogriffs or something."

Draco was so frightened that he ended up relieving himself. Since he was still upside down, Draco felt the urine hitting his shirt and making it's way onto his face, making the Malfoy scion splutter a bit. Some students passing by snickered at having witnessed Draco's little accident. Then Susan approached the still frightened Draco.

"On second thought," said Tori while smirking. "That little accident of yours is good enough!"

"You're lucky auntie Amelia didn't hear that," said Susan. "Otherwise, she would've hauled you over to a ministry holding cell so fast, you won't believe it. If she heard you saying that stuff about me, oh you won't wanna see her at all, ferret."

"Let that little accident be a lesson to you, ferret," said Tori. "And I think Ginevra Weasley would be more than willing to help you get that problem fixed."

This resulted in more snickers from the other passing students. Some of them began making a beeline for the castle to tell Ginny about it. Then Harry, Neville, Blaise, Daphne, Tori, Tracey, Susan and Cynthia began walking to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer, leaving Draco dangling in the conjured ropes. It was five to ten minutes later when Professor McGonagall strolled by and saw the Malfoy scion still in his dangling position.

"Mr. Malfoy, haven't you heard of using the restroom when you need to go?" scolded the deputy headmistress.

"But, I…" Draco started coming up with an excuse.

"No buts, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor McGonagall sternly. "Ten points from Slytherin for your lack of good manners."

She released him, causing Draco to land on his back. Meanwhile, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were going to Hogsmeade, knowing that Harry was bound to be there. Just before walking outside, they ran into several random students.

"Hey Ginevra," said one of the random students. "Your boyfriend has a bladder problem he wants you to help fix."

"I don't recall Harry ever having one." said Ginny.

"No, Draco Malfoy has the bladder problem," said another random student. "We all heard that he asked you to be his girlfriend."

"I WOULD NEVER GO OUT WITH THAT IDIOT!" screamed Ginny at the top of her lungs.

"Come on now," said a third random student. "No need to deny it. I'm pretty sure you agreed to be the ferret's girlfriend. You both have way more in common than either of you like to admit."

"NOOOO! I WOULDN'T EVEN THINK OF AGREEING WITH THAT!" Ginny whined.

"Who started that rumour?" Hermione demanded.

"Hard to pinpoint exactly," said a fourth random student. "Except the rumours are true. Don't you remember when Ginevra announced that she loved Draco, in front of all those people in the Great Hall?"

Ginny buried her face into her hands and ran off, in tears. Ron and Hermione glared at the random students before they ran after Ginny. The random students looked at one another and decided that Ginny was upset that she still couldn't see Draco. Meanwhile at the Three Broomsticks, Harry, Neville, Blaise, Tori, Daphne, Tracey, Susan and Cynthia were just getting ready to gulp down their respective glasses of butterbeer. Harry and Tori pointed to the booth where Ron had snogged Pansy the other day, resulting in their friends laughing hard. This also made them wonder if the unlikely pair were going to be forced into a marriage eventually. Tori got up to go use the loo, but at just that moment, the Beauxbatons champion walked inside. Fleur was looking for a place to sit when she saw Harry sitting about four tables away from the entrance.

'Now that is one, handsome man,' thought Fleur, with an arrogant smile on her face. 'Monsieur Potter is just a hunk of burning love!'

So she made her way to the table Harry was at and sat down in Tori's seat. Harry just looked at Fleur like she had stepped in something gross.

"What can I do for you?" asked Harry neutrally, remembering when Fleur called him a little boy after his name emerged from the goblet of fire.

"Some time to know each other," said Fleur, giving Harry one of her most flirtatious smiles. "It appeared that you were all alone, so I thought I'd save the day."

"I'm already here with someone," said Harry. "She just went to use the loo and she'll be back momentarily."

"But you're Harry Potter," said Fleur. "Clearly you can have any girl you want. Are you sure you wouldn't want to have the prettiest girl? In other words, me?"

"Surely, you can't be serious!" said Harry dryly.

"But we'd make a dashingly handsome couple, methinks!" said Fleur.

"It's personality that I aim for," stated Harry. "I've already been dealing with one girl already wanting me, but for my Boy-Who-Lived fame. I'd rather be with someone who appreciates me for the person I am."

Fleur was taken aback by Harry's statement. Nevertheless, she tried to coax Harry into asking her out on a date. When Harry stayed where he was, Fleur unzipped her coat and pulled it open, assuming Harry needed another form of convincing.

"It's just a polo shirt." said Harry, trying to avoid what Fleur actually had in mind.

"It's what my shirt is covering, Harry." said Fleur while giving Harry a sly wink.

Then she tapped her breasts with her hands, hoping this would convince Harry. Still, Harry refused to budge, making Fleur wonder what was going on with him. Neville and Daphne were looking at the Beauxbatons champion incredulously, knowing that Tori was going to flip when she came back from using the loo. Fleur didn't pay heed to the fact that Harry wouldn't give her a chance, so she went with the last resort and started using her veela allure at maximum power. Many of the boys inside the Three Broomsticks started walking toward Fleur with their tongues hanging out of their mouths. But Harry was somehow unaffected by the veela allure, which Fleur was unaware of. Neville and Blaise also seemed to be immune to the veela allure as well.

'Tori is the one you love,' Harry's mind told him. 'She loves you for who you are. Fleur only wants you for your fame!'

Daphne, Tracey, Cynthia and Susan weren't pleased to see Fleur trying to ensnare Harry. Madam Rosmerta could already anticipate the chaos escalating, since she had already seen Harry and Tori having their date here at the tavern several times. Clear enough, Tori had just finished using the loo and was heading back to the table she and Harry were using. Upon witnessing Fleur trying to ensnare Harry with the veela allure, Tori got angry.

'Oh no she doesn't!' thought Tori, seething in anger. 'The weaselette has already been trying devious tricks on Harry, and he doesn't need that piece of garbage doing the same."

As Tori started jogging up to Fleur to confront her, the tables and chairs magically moved aside. Then she tackled the Beauxbatons champion to the ground, which resulted in Fleur fighting back.

"You two-faced bimbo," growled Tori. "How dare you try that on Harry?"

"You're such a little girl," Fleur responded with a sneer. "Harry is way outta your league."

"At least I didn't have to use that allure of yours," Tori retorted. "True love can't be produced by artificial means, you know!"

"A little girl such as yourself doesn't have a chance," said Fleur arrogantly. "Harry will have the prettiest gal in no time flat."

Tori was outraged that she was labelled as a little girl. She may be five foot two, but that didn't stop her from teaching Draco a lesson, as well as teaching Ginny a lesson on a few occasions. Tori knew that Fleur stood at five foot eight, but she wasn't afraid to fight the much taller Beauxbatons champion. Determined to win Harry's heart, Tori felt the adrenaline flowing as she and Fleur continued their fight. Inevitably, word about the fight reached Professor McGonagall and Madame Maxime (since they were also in Hogsmeade), forcing the two adults into making a beeline for the Three Broomsticks. Everybody in the tavern (Harry included) were cheering for Tori, much to Fleur's dismay (as she thought that she was going to get the cheers). Fleur initially had the upper hand, but she underestimated Tori once more. Tori felt the adrenaline return and managed to punch Fleur in the face several times. The final one knocked the Beauxbatons champion out, resulting in her falling backward, knocking over a spare keg of butterbeer overhead and breaking some of it. This resulted in Fleur (while knocked unconscious) getting drenched in the butterbeer, enough to engulf her upper body and dribble down to her trousers. Just then, Professor McGonagall and Madam Maxime walked into the tavern and saw that the fight was over. Fleur regained consciousness a few minutes later and saw that the butterbeer that soaked her was sticky by then.

"Miss Delacour, did you bite off more than you could chew?" scolded the Beauxbatons headmistress.

Fleur didn't answer the question, instead she glared at Tori (who glared right back). Professor McGonagall and Madame Maxime started wondering what caused the fight to break out. After asking some of the students, it became clear to the Beauxbatons headmistress and the Hogwarts deputy headmistress of what Fleur tried to do.

"You'd better get cleaned up, Miss Delacour." said Madame Maxime.

Fleur got up to leave with her headmistress, but not before shooting another glare at Tori (who glared back once more). Now Fleur needed to hope she could make it back to the Beauxbatons carriage without attracting attention from the animals in the forest, knowing the smell of butterbeer all over herself would make that extremely likely. Then Professor McGonagall started scolding Tori.

"I won't condone fighting, Miss Greengrass," said the transfiguration teacher. "But I'm proud of you for coming to defend Lord Potter's honour. I'm only going to give you two nights of detention, for tomorrow night and the next night after dinner."

"I understand, professor." said Tori, then she turned to Madam Rosmerta. "Want me to help you clean up?"

"No thank you, Miss Greengrass," said Madam Rosmerta. "It was only one keg, so I think I got it."

Harry and Tori eventually finished their butterbeer and left the tavern to take a walk in the woods, to pass the time before lunch. As they were talking, Harry saw a beetle on Tori's shoulder.

"Tori, a beetle landed on your shoulder." said Harry.

Tori jumped in surprise and grabbed the beetle. Then she and Harry saw markings over it's eyes, resembling red glasses. Realizing who that could be, Tori pointed her wand at the beetle when Harry set it down on a nearby boulder.

"Finite Incantatem!" said Tori.

The beetle transformed into Rita Skeeter, Harry's least favourite journalist for the Daily Prophet.

"Rita Skeeter, to what do I owe the pleasure?" asked Harry in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"And how long have you been on my shoulders?" asked Tori with contempt in her voice.

"Not very long," said Rita, though she looked nervous. "I was just looking for a story."

"We don't have one." said Harry.

"With you and Miss Greengrass, there has to be a good one, Mr. Potter." claimed Rita.

"It's Lord Potter," said Harry, showing the ring to Rita. "Are you even a registered animagus?"

Rita couldn't answer the question right away, making Harry and Tori suspicious.

"So you're not registered, hmm?" said Harry.

"Alright, I admit it," said Rita, reluctantly giving in. "I'm not registered. I'll do anything if you keep this a secret. Name it, it's yours."

"We actually have something that would greatly interest you." said Harry and Tori in unison.

Then Tori handed the picture of Draco and Ginny dancing enthusiastically in their swimsuits, with Draco then twirling Ginny around. Then it showed Ginny leaning back as Draco grabbed ahold of her before she could fall backward, with Ginny's left leg sticking up in the air. Then the picture would play on repeat (like the other pictures in the wizarding world). Rita's eyes widened in amusement when she saw the picture.

"Wow, so does this mean that they're boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked Rita.

"Yes," said Tori. "Ginevra even announced that she loved Draco in the Great Hall the other day."

"I did hear of them being boyfriend and girlfriend a while ago in Hogsmeade." said Rita.

"They won't even admit it," said Harry. "Even though nobody else is fooled."

"I see," said Rita. "When do you want the article to get released?"

"Probably tomorrow at breakfast would be the best," said Tori. "Those lovebirds especially need to be least expecting it."

"Reading about that in the Daily Prophet will be something like a goldmine for many of the students." said Harry.

"Of course," said Rita. "I'll get this taken care of as soon as possible."

Then she pocketed the picture, transformed back into her beetle and flew off. Harry and Tori were giggling pretty hard as they imagined what else Rita could come up with for the article. A few minutes later, they ran into the Creevey brothers again.

"Oh, Harry," said Colin, handing him another picture. "You have to see this."

Harry grabbed it and showed Tori. It was the mess in Dumbledore's office caused by the decoy. It also showed Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and Ginny splattered by the fake blood.

"Dobby, he helped out again by snapping these pictures" said Dennis.

"I see," said Harry. "You're not gonna believe what happened a few minutes ago."

"What?" asked the Creevey brothers eagerly.

"That picture of the ferret and the weaselette dancing," said Tori. "I gave it to Rita Skeeter. She even offered to write an article about it, which will show up at breakfast time tomorrow morning."

"No way!" exclaimed the Creevey brothers.

"But don't tell anyone, okay," said Harry. "Tori and I wanna make sure the ferret and the weaselette aren't expecting it, not even a smidgeon."

"Don't worry, Harry," said Colin and Dennis in unison. "Our lips are sealed. What should we do if anyone asks?"

"Well, find an activity to distract you," Harry advised. "But do come up with some cover stories, just in case they're needed."

"Okay," said the Creevey brothers simultaneously. "It's gonna be too funny to see what the article says."

"Maybe we'll keep our copy of the picture," said Colin. "Maybe some of our fellow students will want a personal copy."

"Great idea." said Tori.

Then Colin and Dennis walked away to allow Harry and Tori some alone time. Harry and Tori kept giggling, no matter how hard they tried to stifle it. It was going to be too good and too funny to see what the article will read on the Daily Prophet.

To be continued!

Author's note: I'd like to thank 'setokayba2n' for suggesting the picture of Draco and Ginny dancing enthusiastically in their swimsuits make the Daily Prophet.