Harry stumbled through the floo back into the parlor at the ambassador's manor. Sirius and Sebastian followed behind, both men easily stepping through the green flames.
"Well?" Apolline asked, rising to her feet as she spoke, Fleur and Gabrielle rising alongside her from their seats on the couch. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, the tendons standing out on the back of each hand. Fleur stood behind her mother, her hair pulled over her shoulder and just slightly curled at the ends. She absently twisted the tips of her hair around her hand, her features mimicking Apolline's question.
Sebastian let out a relieved sigh as a giant grin bloomed on his face, the lines at the corners of his eyes deepening as he smiled.
"We did it. It's over."
Apolline let out a squeal of delight and leaped into Sebastian's arms, pulling him into an excited kiss.
Fleur stepped forward her arms raised partially, a question clear in her expression. Harry nodded, wrapping his arms around Fleur's waist as she bounded forward, an excited noise of her own escaping as she pulled him into her warm embrace.
"Good work," she whispered to him as he tapped her back, asking to be let go. She smiled warmly at him as he pulled away. "I am so happy for you."
"We all are, Harry," Sirius said, stepping through the group, pulling everyone's attention towards himself. "And that's why we have planned a small surprise party."
"Surprise!" Apolline said, leaning against Sebastian. "It's not much of a party, per se, but it'll be the six of us eating pies that you taught me how to bake. We didn't think you would really like a huge to-do, but you deserve a celebration for seeing things through to the end."
Harry could only nod as he felt a smile pull at his lips. He looked from face to face, each beaming in their own way at him. Apolline and Sebastian each held one arm around one another, both slightly misty-eyed as they smiled at him. Gabrielle stood next to her parents, her head rested against her mother's shoulder. Sirius grinned wildly at him, his infectious excitement lifting the heavy years from his features, his grey eyes alight with happiness. Harry's gaze shifted to Fleur, and he could feel his threadbare control over his emotions stretch near to breaking. He felt a flood of warmth and affection suffuse his body as he stared at his friend, the one who had helped give him a life worth living. How had a family he first met just a few months prior come to mean so much to him?
A small gasp from Fleur broke him from his reverie as she drew her hands to cover her mouth as tears began to leak from her sky blue eyes, her head tilted slightly to the side. Harry's eyes widened as he realized what caused her sudden surprise, and he felt his ears begin to burn in embarrassment.
"Well, let's move to the dining room and get started!" Sirius said, turning on his heel, and leading the small group from the parlor, into the formal dining room. On the table rested a number of small, snack-type foods, as well as a soup Harry recognized as Bouillabaisse, and at the end of the table sat three fruit pies.
The party was relatively quiet, the only outbursts being from Sirius during a particularly lively story from either his time as a dog or elaborating on stories from his time at Hogwarts he had told during his first visit to the Delacours. Harry smiled and laughed along with everyone else, though he did far more listening than talking, content to enjoy his time with the people he so deeply cared for.
He glanced over to Fleur, who, to his surprise, had seemed to find it necessary to continue her vigilant post by his side as she had done during his entire residence in their home. He felt the warm feelings bubbling up inside him as he stared, and quickly looked back to Sirius, who was in the middle of his favorite story about his time in the Mediterranian.
"-and she just took me home and started feeding me!" said Sirius. "I was that old woman's dog for weeks. We would go to the beach most days or just walk around the small coastal town. She fed me pretty well too…" he added, trailing off wistfully.
"Sounds like a dream come true," Sebastian said, laughing. "What a way to retire. I'm surprised you gave it up."
"Some things are more important," Sirius replied with a shrug. "Plus, there was this butcher that had it out for me, almost got me once or twice too, so I doubt I'd have lasted long."
"Harry?"
Harry jumped in surprise at the voice behind him and spun around to find Gabrielle smiling awkwardly up at him.
"I...wanted to say…" she paused, frowning a little as she mouthed the unfamiliar word. "Con...congratulations," she finished, looking up at him hopefully.
"Thank you," said Harry.
"I am tired," Gabrielle explained, her pale blue eyes scanning quickly across the room before settling back on Harry, "but I wanted to tell you zat...before leaving."
Harry nodded as Gabrielle excused herself, giving her parents a quick hug, and waving to Sirius as she turned the corner and left the small party. Harry saw Fleur's gaze follow her sister from the room, a pensive expression on her face.
"Is she okay?" Harry asked, leaning over to whisper to Fleur.
"She is probably nervous about returning to Beauxbatons," Fleur explained. "She will be staying in the private quarters this year." A sad smile flitted across her lips "The quarters I vacated at the end of last year."
"Because of being Veela?" Harry hazarded, the memory of a conversation climbing up from his mind. "You said she would be experiencing it soon."
Fleur turned to him with a warm smile.
"Well remembered. Yes, that is precisely it...though…" she trailed off, tapping a finger to her chin in thought. "It might be a little easier for her than it was for me. I hope it will be. She will have me to commiserate with, and you to talk to as well if she can improve her English."
"Or if I learn French," Harry said, putting voice to a desire he had felt since arriving at the Delacour's. He hadn't quite been able to shake the feeling of being an inconvenience by forcing the Delacour family to speak outside of their native language just to include him.
"I could help you!" Fleur said excitedly. "We could work on it during our Hogsmeade visits! And if you write to me in French on our papers, it would be good practice!"
Harry smiled at Fleur's enthusiasm, wishing he'd thought to say something earlier. He wondered if she'd find his accent in French as charming as he found hers…
"Harry, Fleur," Sebastian said, walking up to them. "I have one more surprise." He stepped out of the room, returning soon after holding a small pouch in each hand. "Dumbledore gave these to me to give to you. He asked your forgiveness for making you wait so long, but in the madness surrounding the end of the tournament, and the long hours he's been working to sort out his case about Voldemort...it sort of fell by the wayside."
He thrust his hands out, placing the sacks in their outstretched hands.
"Your Triwizard winnings. Half to each of you for simultaneously reaching the end, and becoming the champions."
Harry stared at the weighty pouch in his hand, before turning to Fleur, his hand extended.
"You should-"
"I am not listening," she interrupted, tucking the money into a pocket of her large trousers and stepping forward to embrace her father. "Thank you, Papa."
"I'm just glad he remembered when he did," Sebastian said as Fleur pulled back. "It should come in handy rather soon, won't it?"
Fleur stilled, her eyes wide in surprise.
"J'avais oublié," she muttered, before nervously smiling up at her father. "You are right. It is quite fortunate."
"Fortune has nothing to do with it," he replied, beaming as he squared his shoulders proudly. "It was because of your skill that you two won, not luck."
Fleur turned quickly to Harry, one eyebrow raised dangerously. Harry swallowed his automatic response to the praise and did his best to adopt a look of innocent confusion. Fleur laughed as she turned back to her parents and Sirius, who had stepped forward, a curious glint in his eye.
"What was that blasted tournament like?" he asked, nodding his head toward Harry, grinning. "I'll never get an accurate recounting from him."
"Probably not," Fleur replied, offering Harry her own warm, but slightly apologetic smile. "The whole thing was...unbelievable."
Fleur recounted the events of the tournament to her enraptured audience in surprising detail, from Harry's unusual addition, and her subsequent and significant anger at the organizers, to Madame Maxime's less-than-subtle interest in a new book "Dragons and Their Varied Habitats: An In-Depth Comparison of Four Different Breeds."
Harry sat and fought against the blush he could feel warming his face as her story progressed. She made him sound like a hero at the bottom of the Black Lake, and again when giving up her life-debt. Sirius turned to Harry with a mix of shock and pride on his face as she finished detailing his quick refusal of the strange magical bond.
Harry got a glimpse into the training she'd done for the third task, though compared to his extensive time with Moody, he almost envied her disciplined, but sane, regimen. His embarrassment fell away as she continued beyond the final task, his mood falling as she gave a truncated version of the graveyard events, though Harry noticed the omission of Karkaroff's crude suggestion of capture, and Voldemort's mention of reward. Despite her bare mention of the Cruciatus and quick shift to the rescue, Harry could hear the phantom of her screams crawling up from where they lived in his nightmares.
Harry was pulled from his thoughts as Fleur stepped close to him as she finished her story, bumping his elbow with hers as she spoke. "After that, we slept in the hospital wing for nearly a day, and the rest you already know."
Sirius whistled through his teeth and shook his head. He raised a glass of wine Sebastian had provided him and Apolline.
"Well, here's to a much more normal year!"
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Harry and Fleur sat in companionable silence in the sitting room, a slow game of chess progressing between them. Fleur had disabled the enchantments on the pieces, instead opting for a much quieter version of the game. Sirius had left rather early in the evening, with Fleur's parents retiring similarly early, leaving Harry and Fleur to spend some time alone together. Harry was glad for it, with the start of term barely over a week away, for the first time he felt reluctant to return to Hogwarts. He loved learning magic and spending time with Hermione and Ron, but the four years previous had done little to make him feel safe there...not like he did with the Delacours.
"What are you thinking of?" Fleur asked quietly, capturing a pawn with her knight.
"Going back to school," Harry answered truthfully. Before departing through the Floo, Sirius had promised Harry a trip to Diagon Alley the following day to pick up his supplies for the coming year, and the topic had stayed on Harry's mind.
Fleur said nothing as she watched Harry trap her knight with a bishop, and sat back in her seat with a small sigh of frustration.
"While you are in Diagon Alley with your godfather tomorrow...I will be searching for an apartment, or a flat, as you might say," said Fleur, her nervousness clear in her furrowed brow and small frown.
"Oh...wow," Harry said, wishing he had something more intelligent to offer. "You're nervous?"
"Extremely," Fleur admitted quietly. "My home has always been a place of such comfort, where I could be myself around others without fear of how the strangers I am near will react. But Maman and Papa are correct...I need to learn to be on my own now that I am out of school."
Harry moved a piece, unsure of how to respond. Fleur had always responded brilliantly to any setback he had seen her overcome, and he knew she would thrive no matter what she did. But he felt as though a large chasm was sitting between them. He was about to go school shopping, how could he possibly relate? A thought struck him as he pondered her upcoming situation.
"How are you going to find a flat?" Harry asked. "Won't it be hard to get one if the person is all...affected...by you?"
Fleur nodded.
"It will be more challenging for me than a normal person," she answered. "Papa will help me, and it will not be an issue if the person renting the apartment is not interested in women."
"That's true," Harry said. "Having your own place might be kind of neat." He moved his bishop from the trap and placed it down. "Check. I've never thought of it before...it seems very...adult-y," he finished with a shrug, unable to fully vocalize his thoughts.
"I do not feel like an adult," Fleur muttered as she surveyed her options. "Merde," she grumbled, blocking the bishop with her rook.
"I know at least that much French," Harry said with a smile, moving his queen instead of capturing the rook. "Checkmate."
Fleur sat back with a sigh, her eyes trained on Harry.
"How do you feel?" she asked after a moment's silence. "About everything that happened today? I mean...I could tell, but I guess I was wondering what you thought about it? It is a rather big deal."
Harry sat back in the large chair as well, a frown creasing his brow as he thought. He'd expected so much more of a reaction whenever he'd imagined finally being free from the Dursleys, now that it had happened it felt so...mundane.
"It seems so…" he trailed off, unsure how to put words to his feelings. "I don't know...Sirius might be right, and it just hasn't hit me yet."
Fleur smiled in understanding.
"I am not surprised. It is such a big change, I would be shocked if you acclimated so quickly. You have been through a lot this summer, not to mention the entire year. It takes a lot of work and fortitude to go through what you have, and to accept help as you have needed it." She paused and took a deep breath. "I am...extremely proud of you, Harry, and impressed. Few have the resilience you do…" She trailed off, her head cocked slightly to the side as his sense shifted dramatically.
Harry swallowed thickly, and looked to the ceiling, unable to look into Fleur's gentle blue eyes any longer. Someone as incredible as she was proud of him? Nobody...had ever said that before. He glanced back down to her face to find only open honesty written in her attractive features.
"Thanks," he managed, trying to will his voice steady.
Fleur leaned forward, and squeezed his knee around the chess table, her hand as warm and comforting as always. She leaned back and began putting the chess pieces away, allowing Harry time to master himself before speaking again.
"It is getting late," she said, glancing out the nearby window, "and I want to talk to Gabrielle before she goes to sleep."
Harry nodded, the safer topic helping him to calm down.
"She's seemed...distant?" he hazarded.
"That is my fault," Fleur said, wincing as she spoke. "Not only did I tell her the reason why you are staying with us, as you said I should, but also of what happened in the graveyard. She is struggling with what it all means for the future, as well as what she is about to experience as Veela. It will be a very difficult year for her. She is at an age of rapid maturation as Veela, so I am not surprised that she is a little withdrawn."
"Well...tell her she can write to me if she wants. We can practice language together," Harry offered, the feeling of powerlessness to help sitting uncomfortably in his stomach.
"I will," Fleur said, rising. "Bonne nuit, Harry."
"Bonne nuit," he replied, trying his best to mimic the cadence of her speech.
Fleur smiled brilliantly at him, before leaving him alone in the large empty room.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Come in," Gabrielle said, the knock at her door not surprising her in the least. Though she had expected it much earlier.
Fleur opened the door and shut it gently behind her before plopping down next to Gabrielle on her bed. Gabrielle could see the minor anxiety on her sister's face, and let out a silent sigh. She missed the days when Fleur would excitedly burst into her room and tell her exciting stories about new magic she was learning, or read to her from her newest adventure novel. All that seemed to remain was important talks and anxiety about the future...how was she supposed to navigate all that she'd been fearing in a world about to be at war against an immortal dark wizard?
"You're worried," said Fleur, cutting into her thoughts.
"No, I'm not," Gabrielle replied automatically, before flopping dramatically backward on the bed. "Yes, I am."
"What about?"
"Everything. Going back to school and having things change. I've been here all summer with people who are immune to all the Veela stuff. What if I floo to Beauxbatons and my abilities grew stronger over the summer, and I can't control it? What if people run up and act all crazy like they do when your allure is at its strongest? How can I be worried about something to stupid when Harry just got away from his horrible family, and the two of you were tortured by Voldemort?"
Fleur dropped back onto the bed next to her sister with a grunt.
"It wasn't all that bad that night," Fleur said lightly, gazing up at the ceiling. She heard Gabrielle's head shift on the bed to stare at her incredulously.
"That thing that has you up screaming most nights 'wasn't that bad'?"
"The pain was...significant," Fleur said quietly, feeling her sister shift uncomfortably next to her. "But being so powerless was worse."
"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" Gabrielle asked sarcastically, rolling over onto her side. "You're terrible at this."
Fleur smiled, opting to take the bait. Gabrielle would ask about it when she was ready.
"Maybe I came to make myself feel better," said Fleur, smiling. She studiously ignored the glare from her sister.
Gabrielle flopped over onto her back, unwilling to glare at Fleur's smug smile any longer.
"I'm just...nervous. About everything," Gabrielle admitted, her voice quiet.
"Me too," Fleur answered. Her mind filled with the multitudes of scenarios she had concocted during sleepless nights worrying about living alone.
Silence hung in the air as the sisters lay side by side, their thoughts whirling with anxiety about the days ahead.
Gabrielle sniffed loudly before rolling over, throwing an arm across Fleur and burying her face in her shoulder.
"And you're leaving me," she wailed, her voice muffled as she pressed her forehead harder into Fleur's shoulder. "You won't be at school anymore, and you won't be here either."
Fleur rolled over to embrace her sister, wrapping an arm around her. She rubbed small circles across Gabrielle's back as she cried, trying to fight back her own anxious tears. Fleur held Gabrielle tight as she sobbed until eventually, even the small hiccoughs had stopped.
"I'm going to miss you," Gabrielle murmured, her energy spent.
"I'm going to miss you too."
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Harry squinted in the bright noonday light, a stark contrast to the cloudy day he and Sirius had left behind in France. Sirius looked around at the crowd, grinning at those who did a double-take as they passed by.
"It's been a long time since I've been here," he said, his eyes darting from building to building. "It feels good to be back."
Harry smiled up at his godfather, almost sure he was in a dream. Sirius had shown up a half-hour early to the ambassador's manor, almost vibrating with the excitement Harry had been trying so hard to repress. Sirius' infectious grin had pulled Harry along, and they had apparated away after a quick goodbye to the Delacours.
"Do you have my list?" Harry asked when it was clear Sirius likely wouldn't be done marveling at any point in the near future.
"Oh! Yes...right…" Sirius patted the sides of his trousers, before pulling a crumpled sheet from his back pocket. "Right here. Knew I'd grabbed it. Let's see...first is…" he trailed off, mumbling as he scanned the list.
"Well, the list isn't very long. Just the basics, and an awful defense book. I'll send you along with a better one from the library at the house, that way you'll actually learn something in defense this year." He turned to look at Harry and sized him up. "You'll probably need some new robes too. You're quite a bit taller than you were when we met a couple of years ago. Have you bought any new robes since then?"
"Only dress robes," answered Harry.
"We'll go there first, maybe grab something to eat at the Cauldron, then we'll pick up this travesty of a book. Do you think you'll get in trouble if you show up without it? I'd hate to pay royalties to the author."
Harry laughed. "Depends on who the new professor is, though Hermione would probably do me in. Is it really that bad?"
"Your mom tried to read it once. She gave up about halfway through, then she bet us each five Galleons if we could get further than she did."
"Did you?"
"Remus got close," Sirius said, a wry smile on his face, "James didn't even try, he just paid up a few days later."
"Why not? Is it that bad?"
"It is that bad," Sirius said, "but by that point, your dad had completely fallen for Lily. He'd have paid a fortune just to see her smile."
Harry smiled sadly, the stories of his parents always bringing melancholy happiness along with them.
"Now I'll be paying for this book twice," Sirius griped. "Come on, let's get to Malkin's before we eat, the musty smell in there always did turn my stomach."
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Come in, come in!" Madam Malkin called from the back of her shop.
Harry shut the door behind them, the small bell at the top ringing softly as it closed. There was a low murmur from the handful of patrons browsing the shop as they realized who had just entered. Harry's burst of irritation was stalled when he noticed the majority of sideways glances and whispers were directed at Sirius, who jauntily waved and smiled as they passed.
"Oh!" Madam Malkin exclaimed as Harry and Sirius rounded the corner. "Well, it is good to see you both. School robes for Mr. Potter I assume, and set for you as well Mr. Black? I'll make you the finest set you've ever seen for your return to the Wizengamot, really knock them off their feet!"
"Ah, no, not yet," Sirius said, gesturing to Harry. "Just school robes for him, please. And a set of silver accented dress robes, with some light embroidery, if you've got it."
"I will make some for you if I don't," Madam Malkin said, bustling away to the back rooms.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked. "I already have dress robes."
"Yes, yes," said Sirius with a wave of his hand. "Dashing green ones that probably don't fit anymore. I read all about it in the article about the Yule Ball. We'll get you ones that tailor themselves to fit you, so you only have to buy them once. Trust me."
Harry simply nodded, allowing himself to be measured by the flying tape-measures that preceded Madame Malkin from the back room. They flew about his body, lifting his arms and running up his leg while a floating quill scratched away nearby.
"The dress robes will take some time," Madame Malkin said, scanning the parchment that held his measurements. "The tailoring charms are the tricky part. They've got to be done right if they're going to last you." She walked over to a shelf and pulled two sets of robes from the shelf. "Here you go, Mr. Potter. One for now, and one for later on in the school year. That second set is on the house. If my guess is right, you'll outgrow the first rather quickly. I've robed enough young witches and wizards to recognize a growth spurt when I see one."
Harry accepted the robes with a thank you and reached into his pocket for his pouch of Galleons.
"Just invoice the Black accounts," Sirius said, placing a hand on Harry's back and ushering him out of the store.
"I can pay," Harry protested as they emerged back out into the busy street.
"What's the point of being the last member of an incredibly wealthy pureblood family if you can't spend their money on whatever you want?" Sirius said, grinning. "Pay for next year's stuff if you want. I've got lost time to make up with you. One Firebolt doesn't make up for the years I missed."
Harry stopped dead, his face paling. "Sirius, the Firebolt…"
"I know, Harry. It's okay. Hell, it might've saved your life," Sirius replied, shrugging.
"But it was the first gift you ever got me," Harry mumbled, feeling foolish for forgetting about his broom. How was he going to play Quidditch without it? He doubted the Triwizard winnings would cover a brand new Firebolt.
"Money well spent if it got you through that dragon's fire as fast as you needed. Come on, let's go get you another."
"Sirius!" Harry said, mortified. "You don't have to do that. I can probably afford my own Nimbus Two Thousand and One."
Sirius pulled Harry to the side of the street, just outside a large, empty shop for sale.
"The Black family fortune has been sitting idle since my parents died, and before that, it was used to push a radical pureblood agenda and support Voldemort. Don't you think it'd be better served for winning Gryffindor another season, rather than all that?"
"It's just...they cost so much," Harry argued weakly.
"My family has basically been career politicians since the formal beginning of wizarding Britain. I could buy you ten of them and not lose a wink of sleep."
Harry nodded slowly, unable to suppress the surge of excitement that came along with the mention of a new Quidditch season.
"I'll order it later, and have it shipped to McGonagall. That way you don't have to haul it to school. Now come on, I'm starving."
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Harry returned to the Delacours late that evening to be greeted by Fleur, who was reading in the large bay window of the parlor.
"How did it go?" Harry asked, setting his robes and textbook on the nearest table.
"It was exhausting," she said, folding the edge of her page over and shutting the book. "We almost exclusively met with people who were unable to resist my abilities. The two who were unaffected had apartments that were well out of the range of the stipend I receive for housing from the Ministry. Going back out after a summer at home is always a bit of a shock. Despite how used to the attention I think I am, I always seem to forget how...draining it is."
"I'm sorry," was all Harry could say. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Fleur shook her head, brushing the hair that fell across her face behind her ear.
"Not unless you somehow know of a place to rent. I will find something. I doubted I would have any luck on the first day." She turned, and stood slowly, stretching her back as she did so, her arms clasped behind her. She stifled a yawn behind her hand before smiling apologetically to Harry. "To be perfectly honest, I am about to fall asleep where I stand. I just wanted to be sure you made it back okay."
Harry nodded, fighting the blush trying to color his ears as he purposefully kept his gaze focused out the window behind Fleur.
"Bonne nuit, Harry," Fleur said as she passed him, her accent again running pleasant chills up his back as it crossed his name.
"Bonne nuit, Fleur," He replied, savoring the warm but tired smile she offered in return.
Harry stared at her as she left, a feeling of strange disappointment settling over him as she vanished from sight. His time with her was coming to an end. Soon he would only have enchanted parchment and Hogsmeade weekends to visit her, instead of the informal and personal way they were able to spend time together while he was staying in her home. He would never have thought he'd be less than ecstatic to leave for Hogwarts, but he found himself wishing he had just a little longer, before returning to the magical school.
He pondered his odd change all the way up to bed, and well into the night before mercifully pleasant dreams carried him away from his weighty thoughts.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
The final week of Summer passed far too quickly for Harry, filled with days of baking with Apolline, small talks with Gabrielle over chess, and pleasant walks and conversations through the woods with Fleur, when she wasn't out searching for an apartment. Sebastian had barely been present, his time torn between his work at the ministry, helping Dumbledore prepare, and going with Fleur to find a place to live. Despite his wildly hectic schedule, and the importance of his work, Sebastian stood next to Apolline, an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders as they prepared to bid Harry goodbye.
Sirius had come early to take Harry to Platform 9 ¾, his promised replacement defense book in hand. He chatted with the Delacours as Fleur helped Harry gather his things from his room. Harry had barely opened his trunk while staying with them, instead choosing to wear the clothes he had been offered his first night there. He had been initially hesitant, but a compliment from Fleur when he finally tried on the charmed clothes made his mind up for him.
"Papa said you can take some if you would like," Fleur said quietly pointing to the armoire, managing to once again accidentally intrude into his thoughts. "They will likely be more comfortable than…" she gestured to his trunk with her chin. "We can still burn those clothes," she offered with a mischievous smile. "My offer still stands."
Harry smiled back, though he found it falling away just as quickly. He could almost feel the passage of time on his body like a physical presence. No matter how they both stalled, the summer was over.
"I might take you up on it," He said, opening the latch on his trunk and inspecting the inside. "I think I have room for a little more. I...could take some of those clothes...they were pretty comfortable."
Fleur smiled and whirled back to the armoire, pulling a handful of shirts and trousers from inside.
"I always liked these the best," she said, stepping around him and setting them into his trunk. She paused as she set the bundle of clothes in his trunk, a glint of silver fabric catching her attention. Harry leaned over to see what she was staring at and straightened.
"Would it help you find a place to stay?" Harry asked, breaking Fleur's fixation on his cloak as she turned to look at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "It seemed to help you before, couldn't it help with all the landlords being affected by you?"
She smiled fondly at him, before slowly shaking her head.
"It would, but it would defeat the purpose. Besides, would you rent to a disembodied voice? I expect people would find it a little jarring."
"That's true, I suppose," Harry acquiesced. "It's dead useful, but I guess that would be a little strange, and you'd never be able to meet them without it…"
Fleur nodded, closing Harry's trunk. "I truly appreciate the offer, but I do not think it would be much use this time. Thank you though."
A shout from the end of the hallway interrupted Harry's reply.
"Sorry Harry, but we have to get going. I'm not apparating you and all your stuff to Hogwarts!" Sirius called.
Fleur frowned at the doorway, her eyebrows drawing together as she glared.
"I will miss you, Harry," she said quietly. "You have become a welcome fixture in my life, and I am sad to see this end."
"We'll still see each other at Hogsmeade, and I've got my gift too…" he said, trying to swallow back the lump surrounding the words 'I'll miss you too.'
"I know," Fleur said, "and it is good to move forward, rather than to stay where we are comfortable."
She turned to Harry, a sad smile across her lips.
"We had better get your trunk downstairs before your godfather has to call again," she said, producing her wand from the large pocket of her trousers. She levitated his trunk with a mumble and a flick of her wand. She slid her wand back in her pocket and opened the door.
"Have you given any more thought to what I said?" Fleur asked quietly as they walked side by side through the hall. "About telling Hermione about what happened this summer?"
Harry smiled at Fleur's obvious omission of Ron. She had come a long way towards warming to Harry's friend as the summer ended, and Harry had the opportunity to detail his other 'adventures' at Hogwarts, and Ron's role in them. She'd taken to merely teasing Harry that she and Hermione were the 'good' friends. Both Harry and Fleur had tried to think of ways to properly introduce her to Ron, without him losing his wits, but they had so far come up dry.
"I don't know if I'm ready," Harry replied, his small grin falling into a thoughtful frown. "And what if they get mad at me? I basically lied to them for years."
"They will understand," Fleur said confidently. "I am sure of it." She turned to him with a dangerous grin. "And if they do not, I can be persuasive."
Their conversation carried them to the stairs where Sirius, Apolline, and Sebastian stood chatting at the bottom. Gabrielle sat atop her own trunk, a slightly larger version of Harry's. She waved in greeting, a forced smile quickly flitting across her features.
Harry tried to smile reassuringly, but Sirius cut in, putting a hand on Harry's floating trunk as it reached the bottom.
"I'm sorry, Harry," he said sympathetically, "but we really do need to hurry if you're going to make the train. Say your goodbyes quickly."
Harry nodded, turning to the Delacours. Sebastian smiled, the corners of his tired eyes wrinkling as he grinned. Apolline stepped forward, her blue eyes misty.
"You are, of course, welcome back whenever you would like. And I still expect to see you for Christmas."
"Yes, Mrs. Delacour," Harry replied weakly.
"Can I hug you goodbye?" she asked, holding her arms up.
Harry nodded, stepping forward into the embrace. Apolline hugged him gently, a far cry from Mrs. Weasley's intense version, and even less than Fleur, who pulled him tight against her, though not uncomfortably.
"Thank you, Mrs. Delacour," Harry said as he pulled out of the embrace. He shifted his gaze over to Sebastian, who smiled fondly at him. "For everything."
"Anytime, Harry," Sebastian said, offering his hand to shake. Harry hesitated only a moment, before gripping the offered hand. "Now get going before Sirius has kittens."
"How am I supposed to be a good Godfather if you're late the very first time I'm supposed to get you somewhere," Sirius griped. He grinned down at Harry before looking up to the Delacours. "I'll see you soon, I expect."
"Talk to you soon, 'Arry?" Gabrielle asked from her seat on the trunk.
Harry nodded with a smile. "I'll apologize in advance for the horrible French you'll have to read."
Gabrielle grinned back, some of the anxiety leaving her features.
With a final goodbye and a sad wave from Fleur that tugged at Harry's heart, Sirius spun on the spot and pulled him along into the crushing darkness.