A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands
A/N: I have updated my profile to contain a whole bunch of information. Go check it out if you have time, and if you want to see a specific story, feel free to PM me. If I get a bunch of messages for a certain story, I may start posting that concertedly with Harry Kicks Ass
Creature Classification-XXXXX These creatures are known wizard killers and are impossible to train or domesticate.
Chapter 39: Little Boy 2.0
New Year's Day, 1995
Even the weather couldn't ruin Fleur's new mood. She had intended to spend some time on reflection after the "New Year's Party," but the world had conspired against her. Even if she wasn't upset by the results.
The last few days had been incredibly hard for Fleur, for a variety of reasons. That last moment at the ball when Harry took her in his arms and kissed her had her head in the clouds. She had been upset that Susan had stolen "her Harry," but she was convinced they would get a chance to talk before the break was over, to confirm his feelings and to solidify new relationship. But her thrill over the feeling of Harry's lips on her made her lose all control of her allure, and her return to the ball without Harry on her arm was disastrous.
It had started with a few boys and Fleur had tried to reign in her allure. Some had returned to their dates, but the weaker ones remained. Some of them were just drooling as they stared at her, others were convinced that she was there to tell them she loved them. Fleur spent 10 minutes fending them off with her words, but eventually had to use her wand on her retreat to the carriage. The most stubborn suitors had to be stunned.
The commotion led to the blonde boy who had taken part in her assault coming by with his cadre of friends swinging by. With Maxime leading her away, his biting comments about her inability to have a real boy interested in her without her allure cut her to the core. Of course Harry had been busy the next few days and Fleur had not been able to have a word with him. Only a discussion with her mother had roused from a downwards spiral.
The discussion had quick and to the point. Harry had kissed her back. He had been able to hold a rational conversation. Despite Fleur's attempt to engage him physically, he was able to keep hold of his emotions and try and have a discussion. Apolline Delacour did caution Fleur against trying to coerce Harry into physical intimacy, despite Fleur's desires. It took a few firm words to remind Fleur that the man she was in love with was indeed a boy, despite his increased maturity. She certainty did not see him as a little boy anymore, both through her actions and the thoughts she kept hidden in her mind involving the two of them and a scarcity of clothes.
It would have been much easier if Harry was even a year older at 15. Fleur knew girls who had a promise ring at age 15, even if they often did not go on to stay in that relationship. Her mother moved quickly to cut off that line of thinking. She knew that if Fleur was to get some kind of commitment to the future from Harry, nothing would stop her from dragging him back to her carriage and ensuring their feelings were mutual without words and making a mistake she might be unable to take back.
It had taken until New Year's to get her emotions under any semblance of control. Then Harry had to go and get her the most perfect present. He seemed to understand how hard it was to hold onto her allure, keep herself pinned in. But now there was no worry. Hopefully it would be easier to make friends now.
There was really not a point. She needed to see Harry, talk to him, feel his lips on hers, make sure that no one else would dare steal the boy from her. Age difference was something that mattered less and less the older you got. There was a small part of her that wished she could ensnare him with her allure on full blast, although that would be entirely incongruous with the Harry she was head over heels for.
The rational part of her mind knew that she needed to move slowly. She left the carriage with every intent of speaking to Susan and maybe Hermione, to investigate the best way to approach Harry to make sure she didn't scare him away. It was a good plan, and now that her allure was under some form of control, Fleur suspected that if Hermione and Susan couldn't provide the necessary information, his dormmates might provide the information somewhat unwittingly.
The well-thought out plan went out the window the moment she saw Harry sitting alone on a rock overlooking the lake. The meeting at Gringotts must have been hard for him, enough for Neville and Krum to leave him alone to his thoughts. But they were his friends, and Fleur would be more than a friend. She wouldn't accept anything less.
Fleur walked over to the rock and sat next to him. Harry was completely motionless and when Fleur flicked her glance to him, she saw his eyes were closed. He almost looked asleep, and for a moment, Fleur wasn't sure if he was indeed asleep. His chest moved up and down slowly as if to indicate steady breathing.
"Hello Fleur," Harry said softly, without opening his eyes.
"How did you know it was me?" Fleur asked.
"I guess I just do. I don't know many women who glide so effortlessly when they walk." Fleur couldn't hold back her blush. Harry said stuff like this occasionally, and since he was unaffected by the allure, it made Fleur feel beautiful in a way that she had never felt before: like she couldn't breathe.
"Thank you." Harry inclined his head slightly. "So why are you sitting on this freezing cold rock?"
"The visit to Gringotts," Harry said. "It was tougher than I expected. It's good I made friends this year before the visit. I feel like I owe all of you a summation of the visit. I wouldn't expect Neville to keep it from Hannah. He already knows some of my secrets, and to ask him to keep more would be unfair to their relationship. And if Hannah knows, everyone will know soon enough. I like her, but she is a pretty bad gossip. If I take the chance to explain to our little group, I can at least ask for it to stay a secret."
"Much like the basilisk?" Fleur asked. Harry had told the champions the story about the basilisk. She could tell he had left something out, as could Krum and Cedric. After Harry had left for his next class, the remaining champions had discussed the clear omission of yet unknown knowledge and decided the remarkable story about slaying a massive XXXXX creature was enough.
"Something like that," Harry replied. "Enough information for everyone to have some understanding, but keeping some things back."
"So many secrets," Fleur remarked. "Does anyone know them all? Is there someone you confide in completely? Perhaps Hermione?"
"Trust me Fleur, I have this discussion with Akira many times," Harry told her with a slightly bigger smile. "I love Hermione. I would jump in front of a killing curse for her, and I know that she would do the same for me." At this Fleur had to hide a grimace. It hurt to hear Harry describe another woman like this, even if he was convinced it was platonic and the girl in question currently had a boyfriend. Cedric had confided in her and Krum that if Harry and Hermione ever decided to act on what he was convinced were hidden romantic feelings, he wouldn't stand a chance. "But even she cannot know everything."
"Why not?"
"It would be an unfair burden to her." Harry heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back on the rock until he was supine and looked up at her. "It would be an unfair burden to anyone."
"I would take your secrets," Fleur blurted out. "I would be happy to help you bear the burdens."
"That's sweet," Harry said with the smile that Fleur's heart do somersaults. "Maybe in time. But we do not know each other all that well. Even though at times, it feels like…" Harry trailed off, his eyes becoming unfocused.
"Feels like?" Fleur prompted.
"Feels like we will become an important part of each others lives," Harry finished after allowing the silence to stretch out." Fleur took a deep breath, steadying herself. If there was ever a time to try and understand Harry's feelings, this was the perfect opening. She could tell from his lopsided grin and the fact that he ran his hand over his hair, trying to straighten it, that he was well aware of the opening he had given her.
The house of Gryffindor, according to her new Hogwarts friends, was the house of the brave. Harry was referred to as being the metaphorical poster boy of those actions, not to mention the literal posters many young witches had plastered to their wall. There were many stories of his bravery, not to mention the hundreds of unconfirmed rumors of his many actions that flew through the castle. For some unknown reason, Fleur realized that facing a dragon or a basilisk was par for the course for Harry. But the courage to be emotionally vulnerable and honest was not a tool he had. She would have to take the first step.
"Harry I feel the same way," Fleur told him. "You give me all these compliments and there is no hint that you are being pulled in by my allure. It is hard for me to stay level headed around you. I desperately don't want to scare you off, but I want to be honest about my feelings."
"I don't think you can scare me off if I can remain cool in the presence of a dragon," Harry asserted.
"No, that is normal for you. Dragons, basilisks, dementors, those are things you take care of with a simple flick of your wand," Fleur snapped. "But emotions are different. I can tell, Harry. If I told you I am falling in love with you, you would flee faster than a unicorn from-" Fleur gasped, throwing her hands over her mouth. Harry's eyes went wide and he instantly levered herself off the ground.
"You are falling in love with me?"
"No, Harry." Harry's body seemed to sag in relief. "I fell in love a long time ago. With Veela, we can tell. I am completely and totally in love with you. Now and forever."
"Ok, hold on back up," Harry's eyes now held panic in them. "Uh, what? Now and forever, love?" He looked unsteady on his feet. Fleur reached out to try and settle him but Harry knocked her hand away. Fleur felt tears fill her eyes. If Harry rejected her without hearing her out, she didn't know what she would do, but it wouldn't be good.
Harry was reeling. Of all the things that had happened today, this was the most unexpected. He tried to rationalize what Fleur was saying and realized that if she had told him this on a different day, once where he hadn't learned about the Potter Wealth and his family's history with Gringotts, he would be able to deal with revelation with more poise. Apparently, he had an account manager, something that was new to him. He also had taken the opportunity when Krum and Neville were exploring the Peverell vault to talk to Kurlok about the possibility of getting a copy of his parent's will, and the goblin had said he would work on attempting to get it soon.
He tried to push all of that out of his mind. Fleur looked deadly serious, and he could see she was upset by his apparent rejection. Regardless of how he felt about Fleur, at the very least she was his friend, and deserved as much attention as he could muster at the moment. He took a few deep breaths, finding the lake in his mind but the ripples on the lake from Fleur's confession didn't help him regain his center. Nevertheless, he was a little more composed now.
"Look… I can only promise I will listen," Harry said. He was still standing, and he had trouble looking straight at Fleur and meeting her eyes. "Nothing more."
"Well, as I am sure you are well aware of, it is tough for Veela to find men who can resists our allure completely. Both Victor and Cedric, who you must agree are quite impressive can not resist my full power the way you can."
"I've seen them resist your allure, even if it is not at full blast," Harry told her.
"And you have seen it more recently?" Fleur asked. Harry took a moment to think, and then realized Fleur was right. He could resist the allure with no problem, but he could still sense the subtle pull.
"You are right," Harry admitted. "Now that I think about it, your allure seems to be getting weaker."
"There are only two things that makes a Veela's allure weaker Harry." Fleur explained. "One is pregnancy, and trust me, I would know if I was pregnant."
"Yeah, that would be an interesting surprise."
"The other thing can only happen when we find someone who is a suitable… for lack of a better word, mate." Fleur grimaced at the last word. "I know that using mate makes Veelas sound like beasts, so maybe partner?"
"No I understand what you are saying," Harry told her. "And you are saying I am that acceptable partner?"
"Yes," Fleur said. "You being able to resist my allure that first day in the hall, the moment our eyes met when my name came out of the cup was my first sign. At that moment my Veela magic latched onto you and when I started to get to know you, my magic accelerated my feelings. It happens for all Veela. When they start to have romantic feelings for someone, their feelings accelerate, and their allure becomes weaker until the relationship becomes more formal."
"I guess I'm honored, but Fleur I don't feel the same way as you," Harry told her.
"I don't expect you too," Fleur said. "You barely know me, like you said. The fact that you even feel some form of connection and that you were willing to kiss me back at the ball was all I needed to know. As long as you don't have a secret girlfriend?"
"No secret girlfriend," Harry confirmed.
"Ok, then it's my turn."
"Your turn to what?"
"Make you fall in love with me," Fleur said with a careless flick of her hair. Harry couldn't stop himself from taking a step back in surprise, but Fleur looked unaffected by his rejection. "It will be fun."
"Fun?"
"I've never had to make someone fall in love with me before. I'm sure it will be an adventure." Fleur stood and with a speed that surprised Harry she leaned in and kissed him gently. She withdrew after a few seconds and gave him a smile that left him totally immobile, nearly flooring him before walking away.
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Harry walked back to the Gryffindor tower in what could only be described as a fugue state. His legs moved and he managed to say the password, but his mind was otherwise occupied. Rather than bother with explanations, he grabbed Hermione's arm, hauled her up from the couch in the common room and effectively dragged her back up to the room of requirement, which he remodeled into a room where he and Hermione could talk privately.
"Ok, what is so important?" Hermione asked, plopping down on the couch the room had provided for Harry. Harry sat next to her, trying to find the words. "Are you ok Harry?"
"I think so," Harry said. "Just a lot to deal with the last few hours."
"Start from the beginning," Hermione suggested. So Harry did, starting with the visit to Gringotts. This led to the revelation that Dumbledore had been hiding his Gringotts communications from him. Harry then told Hermione about his massive wealth, which barely affected her. Harry was reminded of how wonderful of a friend Hermione was when the thing that had the biggest effect on her was the fact that he might get a copy of his parent's will soon.
"Well, that is a lot to handle," Hermione said.
"Oh, that is part one of the weirdness that has been my day. Most of things I just told you I will tell the rest of our friends. Probably not the extent of the wealth or the fact I am getting my parent's will, but most of it. This next thing you have to promise you will keep a secret."
"Of course Harry," Hermione said, and Harry saw she was a little hurt at that. "I know I said I was sorry about the letting out the truth about the basilisk earlier this year-"
"Already forgotten," Harry cut her off, realizing his mistake. "I trust you completely Hermione. Don't worry about it. I just wanted to distinguish this new information from my bank records."
"Oh. That makes sense. So what is this new information?"
"Believe it or not, apparently I have an admirer." Harry told her the entire conversation with Fleur verbatim, and also let her in on most of the discussion he had with Fleur after they had left the public eyes of the ball. Harry expected her to jump in at some point, but she listened attentively. When he was done, Hermione looked at him with curiosity.
"Harry, I have to say I'm a little confused," Hermione admitted.
"Was something unclear?" Harry asked.
"Not at all," Hermione countered. "I understood all of it, but I'm not sure you do. After realizing Fleur was a Veela I did some research, and while most of this is news to me, it seems to line up. But that's not why I'm confused."
"Mind letting the rest of the class in?"
"Why is this bothering you?" Hermione replied. Harry stopped for a second. Of all of the possible ways Hermione might have responded, this was not what he expected.
"Because I barley know her!" Harry retorted. "Isn't saying she is in love a little crazy?"
"Maybe a little, but since you can't read her mind I would suggest taking her words at face value. It's not like she is going to slip you a love potion. She said she is going to make you fall in love with her? What's so bad about that?"
"It just seems a little crazy," Harry said. "I mean, we are 14."
"She is 17, and marriage seems to happy early in the magical community. I mean, even Sirius might have gotten married young if not for his imprisonment." Harry glared at her. "Sorry, not helping. Continue."
"Thank you." Harry took a few breaths, steadying himself. "Love is a big deal. I thought I loved Daphne, but after we broke up, I realized love is more than just initial attraction. I liked Daphne an awful lot, but the jump from like to love is massive. You need a lot more from your partner."
"While this is all fascinating and I'm happy you trusted me with this, I'm curious why you brought this to me," Hermione added.
"Hermione, you are the only person I can really talk to. I suppose Sirius or Neville could be that way too, but I don't know them like I know you."
"Harry," Hermione responded, "that isn't true. You talked to Ron all the time before this year."
"Correction," Harry said. "I talk with Ron. It's not the same as when you and I talk. I don't tell him my problems or concerns or talk about the future in an abstract sense. I never have. You have always been the voice of reason and all the best advice comes from you."
"If it's advice you want, then I'd say be open to letting Fleur win you over," Hermione said. "She is clearly a powerful and smart witch, or the cup would not have chosen her. I may not know her well, but I like Susan, and Susan knows and likes her. I suspect that from what I see you like her too." Harry tried to hide a small blush, but Hermione saw it and crowded in triumph. "I knew it!"
"It's not that," Harry tried to protest. "I do like her. She is funny, compassionate, and she doesn't want a man to take charge or run roughshod over her. If we did start anything and I treated her as anything less than an equal, she'd probably beat me senseless, which I think is awesome. But I don't know how I feel about being hunted." Hermione stared at Harry in shock for a moment, and then started laughing. "Hermione, this isn't funny."
"You are right, it is hysterical," Hermione told him. "Harry, you have been hunted ever since the end of first year. The number of girls who have come up to me asking to be introduced to you is staggering." Harry gave her a skeptical look. "I'm being serious. At least every girl in our year at one time or another, and I think almost every girl in the year above or below. Including Slytherins. Fleur is just the first one to be up front about it and talk to you rather than Ron or I. After everything I have heard about her, trying to fall for her isn't all that crazy."
"And breaking my godfather out of custody twice is totally sane? I'm not the poster boy for not acting insane" Hermione swatted him on the arm. "It worked out, didn't it?"
"That's not the point!" Hermione yelled but now it was Harry's turn to laugh. "Fine. So, are you going to?"
"Going to let her try and convince me to fall in love?" Harry shook his head. "Absolutely not."
"What?" Hermione was surprised her argument had failed. If she was being honest with herself, she preferred Harry with Fleur a lot more than the likely alternatives, which in her mind would be getting back together with Daphne or potentially Susan Bones if her red-head friend ever got the courage to tell Harry she had a crush on him. She couldn't put a finger on why, but something about the idea of Harry with Fleur sounded right to her.
"If Fleur wants now and forever, she will have to drag me over the line all on her own fighting and screaming the whole time," Harry explained.
"Oh, I get it. You want to be won over, but you won't make it easy," Hermione clarified for herself.
"Well, that's close enough to the reasoning," Harry told her.
"This is going to be fun," Hermione said. "When I stand up next to you as your best man when you marry Fleur, I am going to tell this story." Harry's eyes got wide at that statement and Hermione left him there stunned, happy that she had actually gotten the last word in with Harry. As much as she would love to stay there talking to him, Hermione had places to go and people to talk to before nighttime. In particular one place with one person.
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After being guided inside the carrage and left outside Fleur's room Hermione almost abandoned her mission. Talking to Fleur was unnecessary and would certainly not get her anything personally. But Hermione knew she was doing this for Harry's sake. He could just never know. Hermione pulled together all her Gryffindor courage and knocked.
"One moment," Fleur's voice called, and Hermione gathered herself. The door swung open and Hermione saw Fleur with the new necklace around her neck. "Hermione?"
"May I come in?" Fleur opened the door wider and Hermione strode into the room. "Nice place you have here."
"It's ok," Fleur said. "How do you like my new necklace?"
"The necklace is gorgeous, and Harry is wonderful at getting presents, that is not why I am here." Hermione indicated two of the chairs in Fleur's room. "Can we sit down?" Fleur took the seat across from Hermione and looked at her curiously. "Well, first I have to be honest."
"Honest?"
"Harry told me everything." Fleur looked at her with suspicion. "Everything you two talked about the night of the ball, and everything you said to him today. Don't worry, I have no intention of meddling in your quest to get Harry." At that Fleur's suspicion faded and was replaced with the blush of embarrassment. "I actually think that being forward and honest about your feelings might be the best way to make Harry think about you romantically."
"He told you everything?" Fleur was clearly mortified.
"Harry and I don't really have secrets from each other. Well," Hermione stopped, correcting herself, "that's not true. We have secrets. I should say there is nothing that we can't share with each other. Everyone thinks we are destined to be together forever, and they are not wrong. But I don't want to snog Harry," Hermione explained. It was a lie, but in her opinion a necessary one.
"I think I understand," Fleur acknowledged cautiously. "But that is not the reason you came here, no?"
"It is not," Hermione said. Fleur leaned forward and Hermione saw anticipation sparkling in the French woman's eyes. "Now and Forever? How can you promise that?"
"Hermione, what do you know of Veela?" Fleur asked. Hermione racked her brain but could not come up with a lot. "Probably not all that much, which is not a knock on your intelligence. There is not a lot of real information on us. There are many books and articles calling us nasty things, from man-stealer to beasts whose job it is to please men. When you are Veela, you get used to that."
"You shouldn't have to," Hermione protested. Fleur gave her a patient smile. "It's wrong."
"It is, but that will not change overnight," Fleur informed her. "At the moment, I do not care about public perception. That is not important at the moment. Right now my attention is much more focused. I can promise Harry now and forever because that is how Veela are. My magic will draw me to him. Every admirable quality that might attract other girls is even more attractive to me."
"So is he ensnaring you? Almost like a reverse allure?"
"Not in the slightest," Fleur said. "If I wanted to fight my feelings, I could and they would go away in time. But I don't want to fight them. I simply want Harry to feel the same way as I do about them." Fleur could see from the look on Hermione's face that Harry's best friend was far from convinced. "Hermione, you are dating Cedric, correct?"
"Something like that," Hermione replied, looking down to hide a small blush.
"When he enters the room you feel a little happier? When he looks at you like you are the only girl in the world your heart does flips? The small things he does like holding the door or just asking how your day is every time you see him? It makes you happy, right?"
"Yes, of course I am happy that he takes an interest in me and my life," Hermione snapped back. "Is that wrong?"
"Of course not," Fleur said. "What I am trying to say is that Harry makes me feel like that even if he doesn't share the depth of my feelings. Pretend for a moment that Veela magic had nothing to do with this. Would you be averse to me pursuing my feelings for Harry?"
"I guess not," Hermione managed to stammer.
"I think that perhaps you are worried because in all the time you have been around Harry you see girls fawning over him but never taking action," Fleur commented. Hermione didn't say anything, so Fleur continued on. "You look out for Harry as his best friend, as you should. You saw as much as any of us how after he and Daphne split up how he was hurt."
"Harry was fine after Daphne ended things," Hermione protested.
"You do not truly believe that," Fleur claimed. "He threw himself into other things to keep busy, but if I can tell, you could as well. Only now is he starting to truly come to terms with it. He was hurt and it makes you nervous to see another relationship developing. You don't want to see him be hurt again, because when he is hurt it affects you just as much as him." Hermione could only listen as Fleur's comments drove home like nails. "There is nothing I want less than to hurt Harry."
"I get it, but it's hard," Hermione tried to explain.
"I cannot begin to understand the depth of your friendship with Harry," Fleur agreed. "I have never had a friend as close as you are, neither boy or girl. I have no interest in trying to take him away from you, even if his feelings someday mirror mine. But I hope that I can be a big part of making him happy in the future. In fact, I was hoping I could get some advice from you as to how to best approach Harry."
"Well, no harm in giving you advice I guess," Hermione muttered to herself. "I would suggest thinking through every action. While I appreciate you wanted to be up front about your feelings, you forced Harry into a corner. What he did is pure Harry. When you put him in a corner, he does the one thing you don't expect: turn down a Veela. So always give him an out but be persistent."
"I think I can do that." Hermione and Fleur smiled at each other, having come to a tentative accord. Maybe, just maybe, Fleur would be good for Harry.