Breaking Point
Chapter 4
Edited – 19th July, 2019.
A/N: I'd like to thank, Torrhen Stark, daithi4377, hellfire45, Chaos Snow Kitsune, SynBen28, DrizztTeller, magitech, Anon, HarryHermioneEdwardBella, Gold, Damien Nightfall, senpen banka, dcoon, god of all for your reviews they mean a lot.
SynBen28: The Mastery test was left ambiguous because not many knew what they were getting into. Fleur didn't when she first tried and this would be her second so she has a little more knowledge. Hopefully the explanation I give about it here clear up any confusion.
Also just want to thank everyone for letting me know about the mix up and I'd like to apologise for that. Don't know how I managed to mess it up but I did and I'm really sorry for that, but this is the right chapter this time, I made sure of it.
Now then, on with the story we go.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Spells/Translations."
Books/Letters.
Fleur sighed tiredly as she finished revising for her Masters for the day. She was really getting nervous, knowing first hand how difficult it was to even be accepted to be given the chance to gain a Masters. Thousands of people applied and a person had a one in a hundred chance of being accepted. Every year only five people were allowed to take a Masters for a single subject.
People like her that were descended from powerful Purebloods families were given a distinct advantage, but it still didn't change the fact that ones OWLs and NEWTs played a large in the final decision.
Even then, the chance of gaining a Masters was incredibly difficult and only two people every five years managed to gain a Masters due to you having to have in depth knowledge on all theories behind the subject and showing a very large degree of skill in its practical application. Many people passed these two parts, but it was the final part of the exam that was the hardest. Using that single piece of magic to subdue a magical creature of XXXXX Magical Creature.
It was a dangerous task that usually ended in the death of the wizard of the witch that tried. It was very rare for someone to win and many failed the exam due to being unwilling to fight.
She had spent the last six hours studying repeatedly on all the known strengths and weaknesses of each creature in that class. Putting any Charms that would be useful and committing them to memory. She just hoped it would be enough to win.
Getting to her feet, she stretched out her stiff arms and give a satisfied moan when she heard a few pops. Her exam was in a few hours and she really needed to calm her nerves down.
-X- Line Break -X-
Entering the Leaky Cauldron, Fleur looked round to see if Harry was down from his room. It was early morning so he should be down having breakfast, unless he ate up in his room, which sounded exactly like something he would do.
Another quick look told her that Harry wasn't present and so she ordered a drink and sat down at one of the tables. She would just wait, she had plenty of time. It seemed she didn't have to wait long as she felt the presence of someone behind her. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed it to be William Weasley.
Fleur released a sigh as she noticed him smiling down at her. She had being trying to avoid him after it was revealed that the had been bragging about her, it was insulting and offensive. Veela's were always treated as prizes and he treated her in the exact same way.
"Hello Fleur." He greeted smoothly as he took a seat without in asking. She raised one delicate brow at this, but he didn't notice and continued to smile at her. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine, 'zank you for asking?" She replied curtly and either he didn't notice her tone or simply ignored it.
"That's good." There was a pause as he watched her gaze move throughout the room, never once sticking on him for longer than a few seconds. It made him smirk internally that Fleur was far too embarrassed to look at him. That with the fact she had being ignoring him recently probably had something to do with her realising her feelings for him. "I haven't seen you recently, I just wanted to know if you were ok."
Fleur rolled her eyes. "'Zat's nice."
"If there's anything you want to tell me, you know you can? Don't you?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion and annoyance when he rested one hand on her own. Quickly she removed his hand from her own and clasped them together in her lap.
Her eyes looked around to for any sign of Harry. Right now she just wanted William to leave her alone as his constant ogling was beginning to get on her nerves. He had never being like this before, but for some reason he seemed to be unable to stop himself. This was not how she planned to calm her nerves.
"I don't see why I 'ave to tell you anything, William." Her voice was curt once more and William recoiled slightly as if struck and he spluttered slightly.
"I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to presume. I just assumed we were friends." This made her anger rise and she couldn't stop herself from responding in a crueler fashion than was necessary.
"Really? From what I've 'eard, you seem to 'zink we are more 'zan friends." Once again William spluttered as he tried to defend himself, yet failed miserably and it made her smirk. "Oh yes, I've 'eard it all." She continued and William struggled to form a sentence.
"Fleur, I." It was at this moment that she finally saw the door that led from the Leaky Cauldron to the Muggle World opened revealing Harry walking in dressed in his workout clothes. Due to the weather he was wearing a pair of shorts that revealed his tone legs and a short sleeved, white top that showed off his muscles perfectly.
William stopped his spluttering almost as soon as Fleur turned to look at the door and noticed her gazing intently at the young man that walked through the door and he felt a spike of jealousy shoot through him.
"'Arry!" Fleur called out and the young mans head turned to stare at Fleur with wide eyes. His face was flushed and sweaty due to his workout though that wasn't what stood out to William the most. No, it was the emerald eyes that seemed to glow lightly with barely restrained power.
Instantly his mind connected the dotes as he watched the young man walk towards them. Black hair, emerald eyes and called Harry. This looked like an older, more mature version of Harry Potter, but without glasses.
"Morning Fleur." Harry greeted with a smile on his face, one that was returned brightly by the French beauty. He had see the happiness in her eyes when she saw him, but also the silent plea for help and company and just like always, he could never deny her and it was starting become a nasty habit. But at the same time, it made him feel happy, happy to be wanted by someone as smart and beautiful as Fleur.
"Harry?" The emerald eyes wizards gaze flickered to Fleur's companion as he took a seat besides the woman in question.
"Hello Bill. It's good to see you." He greeted and shook hands with Bill, though he noticed that the Weasley tried to apply a lot of pressure into the grip. If he was any normal wizard he would have winced slightly in pain, but then again, when had he being a normal wizard?
Harry knew why he was doing it, Bill had feelings for Fleur and he felt threatened so he was trying to assert dominance. He didn't like that one bit, Fleur wasn't a prize to be won, she was a grown woman that could make her own decisions. So in response, Harry gripped Bill's hand even tighter and took pleasure in watching the Weasley's face grimace in pain.
With that done, the two males broke apart with Fleur none the wiser on what had transpired.
"So, Bill, what have you been up to recently?" Harry asked, trying to strike up a conversation all the while the redhead rubbed his sore hand underneath the table.
"Ah, nothing much." He said with a strained smile that made Fleur look between the two in confusion. "Just the usual, you know. Breaking powerful wards and curses on artefacts." Harry watched in a amusement as Bill puffed out his chest as he bragged. It reminded him so much of Malfoy that it was almost laughable. "Oh yea, I heard you're taking your Mastery exam again today. Good luck."
Fleur watched in bemusement as William turned to Harry with a cocky grin on his face and Harry simply ignored the look completely and turned to face her. "Is that so? I knew you were taking one, but I didn't know it was today."
"Yes." Fleur answered with a smile on her face. "I actually came 'ere to tell you and to also get some input on what you 'zought about some of my strategies for the final part of it." She pulled out a roll of parchment that had writing neatly organised into sections. Harry took it and she shivered when his fingers brushed against hers lightly.
"I'm guessing you have to fight one of these XXXXX Class Magical Creatures using only the magic of your chosen subject?" A nod was his answer and then he turned back to the parchment.
Bill watched the two talk animatedly, their bodies mere inches apart as they shared ideas on what they thought would and wouldn't work. His grip on his chair tightened when he watched Fleur's hand and arm repeatedly brush against Harrys, watched as her eyes always lingered on Harry's lips when he talked as if she wanted nothing more than to kiss him, watched as she continually moved closer to him until there was no space left between and watched as she completely forgot that he was even present. To them two, it was as if they were in their own little world with only each other as company and it drove him mad with jealousy.
"I'll see you both later." Fleur simply gave him a wave of her hand as she wrote down some new ideas onto the parchment, while Harry gave him a nod.
"See ya, Bill." Not even acknowledging the goodbye, Bill stormed out of the Leaky Cauldron, unwilling to watch Fleur not so subtly flirt with someone younger than her. It annoyed him yes, but what should he have expected. Bragging about Fleur being with him when she wasn't and it was stupid and it had cost him any chance of getting with Fleur. He'd just have to accept that and move on.
While walking he noticed a pair of young woman talking as they occasionally looked back at him. Smirking, He strode towards them with calm and confident steps. It would take him a while to get over Fleur, some distractions would help in that endeavour.
-X- Line Break -X-
As soon as William had stormed out in a fit of jealous rage, Fleur had to bit her lip as to stop herself from laughing. It was hilarious to watch him act in such a way and took vindictive pleasure in doing so. You reap what you sow was the saying and William incurred the anger of a Veela.
"Well…" Harry drawled and Fleur felt herself cracking up at the deadpan tone in which he spoke. "That was fun." That did it, and she laughed. It wasn't even funny, but to her it was one of the most hilarious things in the world.
Harry himself, chuckled alongside her and it took them a good few minutes to calm down. "Oh dear, you 'ave no idea 'ow glad I am 'zat you came along when you did." Fleur said as added the finishing touches to her parchment. "'E was really starting to anger me."
"Jesus, what'd he do? I haven't ever seen you angry."
"Just started acting like I should feel 'onoured to be in 'is presence, grabbed my 'and." That part made Harry clench his fist in anger. "'Zen when I brought up 'im bragging about us dating when we weren't, 'e tried to defend 'imself." She threw her hands up in exasperation and Harry smirked, his anger slowly diminishing.
"Well, I think he got the message that you weren't interested." He said and Fleur nodded in agreement. It was then Harry noticed how close they were, his comfortable he felt with her pressed up against him and the way he wanted nothing more to kiss her as he stared at her lips. "I'm going to go up to my room and get changed, it was nice seeing you Fleur and good luck on your exams."
"If you don't mind, 'Arry, I would like to come up to your room with you as I still 'ace a few 'ours until my exam." Harry took a few moments to answer as he stared into her blue eyes that practically begged him to give in, he could feel her allure pressing on him, but he ignored it and continued to stare into her blue eyes.
"Okay." He whispered as he gave in. 'What the fuck are you doing, Potter?! You're meant to be pushing her away and you're inviting her to your room! Grow a pair of balls and say no!' Yet just seeing the smile he got in response made that line of thought crumble away into nothing.
"Don't act so nervous, 'Arry. I don't bite, not unless you want me too." She whispered into his ear, her voice low and seductive and Harry coughed nervously, his face a deep shade of red. It was official, she knew exactly what she did to him and continued to do it anyway.
"Erm, yea. L-lets just, erm go." Harry all but shot out his chair and tried to regain his dignity as he walked up the stairs to his room, Fleur giggling as she followed behind him.
Tapping his hand against the door, his magic keyed in and there a clicking noise before he pushed open the door. Fleur walked past Harry as he held upon the door to him and she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"So, 'zis is your room." She looked round and noticed how bare it was. A bed, a cupboard, a perch with a beautiful owl on it and a bedside table. "She's beautiful." Fleur whispered as she walked towards the majestic owl. "What's 'er name?"
"Hedwig." Harry answered as Fleur stroked the Owls feathers. "And don't say things like that, she's already quite vein and doesn't need anymore reason to be so." Fleur laughed shortly and slowly made her way back towards the bed and watched Harry open the cupboard and pull out a fresh pair of clothing. "I'll be back in a minute."
With that said, Harry entered into his trunk as Fleur once again took in the room. Like she had noticed before, it was very bare, but there was something distinctly…Harry about it. She leaned back and took in a deep breath and she realised that it was not only the way the room was filled with left over magic from Harry, but also smelled like him.
The same windy, outdoor and musky smell that made her want to snuggle up to him and just breath it all in.
Stepping out of his trunk and Harry instantly regretted doing so as his pants tightened taking in Fleur laid out on his bed. Her jeans were skintight, almost as if they had been painted on and her white blouse was tight around her curvaceous and brought attention to her breasts due to her black lace bra worn underneath.
Fleur noticed his presence and looked up with a smile on her face, a smile that became coy and mischievous. "Is now 'ze time where you 'ave your wicked way with me? I'll 'ave to ask you to be gentle, it'll be my first time."
He snorted in amusement as he tried to cover up the blush on his face. "No, I'm afraid it's not." He moved over and sat down on the bed and allowed his face to hover mere inches over hers. "Though if we do get to that stage I can guarantee that it will not be gentle, and you'll love every second of it." He whispered the last part into her ear and pulled back to see her face blush in embarrassment.
"Oh really. Someone's getting a little cocky, aren't they?" Fleur's eyes racked over his body as she nibbled gently on her bottom lip electing a groan from Harry. As the two continued to try and out tease each other, Hedwig watched in amusement from her perch, happy to see her human finally acting like a teenager.
-X- Line Break -X-
Nymphadora Tonks would be the first to admit that when she joined the Order of the Phoenix that she had expected to be fighting battles against Lord Voldemort. It was the same expectations she had when she joined the Auror's department, but like before, she was left disappointed.
Acting as a lookout/bodyguard for Harry Potter had not been exactly what she had hoped. With him being Voldemort's prime target she had expected to be involved in a few duels with Death Eaters, but no. It had being quiet, leaving her bored.
That was until Harry miraculously disappeared from Privet Drive and it was about damn time in her opinion. The Dursleys were at the top of the pyramid of assholes in her books. On numerous occasions she had felt the need to break cover and curse the life out of them all as they looked at Harry with disdain and disgust. She had hexed people for less and yet, Harry continued on with life as if it was nothing
It made her respect the boy a lot, to be able to take all that and ignore, it took a level of mental fortitude that she quite frankly, lacked.
After that, things really hit the fan. Death Eater activity rose exponentially and many Order members wondered if this rise in activity had anything to do with Harry's disappearance. As a result, she had been tasked with finding Harry. Due to her status as a Metamorphmagus, she was able to follow leads on anyone looking like Harry without being discovered.
It took her a week after his disappearance to finally discover where Harry was and it was so simple it was painful. Right in Diagon Alley, hiding in plain sight a place she never would have thought to look due to it been so stupid. However at the same time, it was ingenious.
Her first task after finding him had been to take him to a secure location, but watching Harry showed her how much he had changed. She felt a form of kinship in him because like her, he had changed after the death of someone close to them. To her it had been her father to Dragon Pox and for him it had been his father figure at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.
So she had ignored her first order and simply watched him closely and she found his dedication to improving himself astounding. Gone was the skinny boy, replaced by a fit and healthy young man that looked ready for war.
The most amusing aspect of her bodyguard mission, was his interactions with the Veela witch. It was so obvious that he was attracted to her and that attraction had turned into romantic feelings somewhere between the fourth and fifth week. Feelings that were quite obviously returned.
This also turned out to be where it became frustrating. Just like his feelings were obvious, it was obvious that Harry was trying to keep her at a distance. It was admirable, placing his own happiness to one side as to stop Fleur from becoming a target.
If it was a pureblood or half blood girl in Hogwarts, she had no doubt that Harry might have gone for her. But Fleur was not only in a house with minor protections, she also didn't go to Hogwarts and therefore didn't have the protection it provided. It made her pity both of them because the feelings were there, but the circumstances prevented one of them from pursuing the other.
It was unfair on them both and to see Harry and Fleur struggle with this made her want to hex them both repeatedly, mainly Harry.
Sighing, Tonks watched in her disguise of a busty blonde witch as Harry and Fleur talked animatedly with one another, completely ignoring the existence of William. They were lost in their own little world and all that seemed to exist was one another. Another adorable aspect about the two as they seemed to forget everything, but each other when they were together.
Her mirth skyrocketed when William left and Fleur took a leap and asked to come to Harry's room. As soon as they left, Tonks followed behind them quietly and as soon as she reached the door to his room, she pulled on her invisibility cloak.
At least two hours passed before Fleur exited the room with a smile on her face as she left. Just as the door closed she could hear a groan of frustration from Harry followed by the sound of him hitting something.
Tonks shook her head as she the door closed and silence filled the corridor, the privacy Wards activating. Looks like Harry had once again been unable to distance himself from Fleur. To be honest, she didn't know why he continued to try, he might as well just give in and have some form of happiness while he could. With Voldemort back and stronger than before, Harry was at even greater risk.
'Oh well, it's not my life.' She thought as she prepared herself for a long period of boredom until Fleur showed up and made Harry start acting like a teenager again.
-X- Line Break -X-
Harry panted heavily as he collapsed to the floor, his legs sprawled out and his back hunched over as he leaned against the wall in a seated position that conveyed his exhaustion.
It was an accurate representation of how he felt.
He was tired of being alone but at the same time, was tired of losing everyone he cared for. All he wanted was to have a happy life and it seemed Fleur was put here by fate as to taunt him. To show him that this is what he could have, yet he knew that the moment he grasped it, eventually she would be stripped away from him.
He couldn't bare the thought of losing anyone else.
Releasing a growl of anger at the unfairness of the world, Harry rubbed his eyes as he stared down at Hedwig who had landed on his thigh mere moments ago. "You won't leave me, will you?" He asked and Hedwig gave a hoot that made him smile as he slowly stroked her feathers. "Thank god."
There was silence as the two basked in silence before Hedwig began hooting once more. He smiled down at her bitterly.
"You're right, she is very beautiful." Hedwig precked his finger affectionately. "It's not like that Hedwig." He defended weakly before she swatted him with her wing. "Alright, alright." Harry took a few moments as his hand once again stroked her feathers as he stared up at the ceiling. "You're right, I do like her. But it could never work. She'd be in constant danger."
Hedwig responded with numerous hoots that made Harry tense up before he relaxed with a sound of defeat escaping leaps. "I know she's already in danger by being seen with me, but think about how much more danger she would be in if she was actually with me. Voldemort would stop at nothing to kill me and there's more than one way to kill a man."
His neutral features shifted in a tired grin as Hedwig finished one more rant. "I'll think about it." He leaned down and pressed his lips gently against the top of Hedwig's head as she nuzzled against him. "What would I do without you girl?" He snorted before bursting out into laughter. "That's true, I would be lost."
Harry watched with a gentle smile on his face as Hedwig preened under his praise and it made his heart feel lighter. Hedwig had always been there for him when he needed her most, his constant companion and his first friend, his beloved family member. Without her, he would truly be lost.
And so the wizard and the owl sat in a comfortable silence as the seconds passed into minutes.
-X- Line Break -X-
The moon was high in the sky, shining its light onto the ground below. Many inhabitants of the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley were asleep in preparation for the next day that would involve more work.
Harry Potter on the other hand, was not one such person.
Ever since he had started learning Wandless magic and fully testing the scope of his abilities with magic in general, Harry had noticed a sharp difference in his physicality. His mind was sharper and clearer, his body fitter and healthier and above all, he no longer required as much sleep as he normally would. Whereas before he required a good eight to nine hours of sleep to properLy function, he now only required four hours.
Something he had discovered by accident when reading up on rituals late one night. He would admit that they fascinated him, yet at the same time he had realised that the human body had a limit. Go beyond that limit and well, Tom's snake-like features were an example of what happened to those that went through too many rituals.
However, that's not the point.
What is, is that after spending most of the night reading he had gone to sleep at two in the morning the next day. When he woke up, he found that he was not lethargic and was actually full of energy like he normally was.
Of course this was strange and so he tried it again the next night and the night after that, until it just became routine for him. Whereas before he would go to sleep at ten, he was now going to bed at two every night giving him more time to practise magic.
His daily routine in most cases was exactly the same, expect these extra few hours were spent simply practising what ever he fancied.
Taking in a deep breath, Harry calmed his breathing and stared at the duelling dummy stood across from him. It was an expensive piece of craftsmanship that could alter between simply standing still and threw out curses while simultaneously moving around like a normal opponent would.
Currently he had it on a standby as he practised his elemental magic.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Harry narrowed his eyes in concentration and raised one hand, the palm pointing towards the dummy. There was no incantation and yet, a bright wave of red flames rushed out and encompassed the room in a brilliant glow.
Yet, just as quickly as the flames appeared, they disappeared, sucked into numerous glowing runes engraved into the walls of the room. These little runes had been his own additions to his training room of his trunk and they were extremely helpful in dealing with any mess he created.
"Still not good enough." He clenched his fingers tightly, feeling how skin was slightly warms than normal. "It's too wide."
The main thing Harry was aiming for was condensing his flames into a single focal point. This did one of two things. The first was it helped to increase his control of flames itself, by being able to condense it and keep its shape to that of a beam required far more control than a wave of flames did. The second, it also helped to get him one step closer to advance his flame magic to that of lightning.
Already he could utilise lightning with a wand, there were numerous spells out there that incorporated lighting magic, but wandlessly using lighting was far more difficult.
Still, he didn't let this get him down and slammed one hand on to the ground. From it the earth rippled and two pillars of earth shot up from the ground. One directly underneath the dummy send it up into the air and another from behind it, smacking the dummy towards Harry.
With a shout, he thrust his free hand forwards and released another wave of condensed flames that struck the dummy with such force it flung it backwards into the wall.
Panting heavily, Harry rose to his feet and let the room return to normal. "That's enough for tonight." He was getting there, slowly. However, Harry would accomplish his ambition of achieving full mastery over all four elements. It was only a matter of time.
-X- Line Break -X-
Voldemort's eyes panned over the members of his Inner Circle, he could see the nervousness and fear on their face as they sat in an uncomfortable silence in Malfoy Manor. None dared speak as their Lord studied them all closely, judging them with blood red eyes.
Finally, he broke the silence. "Bellatrix, is everything ready?" He asked his most trusted follower, the second most powerful member in his forces.
"Yes, my Lord." Her tone was filled with awe and reverence as she spoke to him, her loyalty absolute. "The Vanishing Cabinet is in Borgin and Burkes, just like you said." Voldemort smirked as he turned to face the rest of his Inner Circle.
"Our recruits are in their positions and tomorrow, we bring about Magical Britain's entry into a new age." Voldemort spoke loudly, his voice inspiring those around him. "Fenrir, Dolohov." The two members in question rose up. "You shall lead the raid, kill as many as you can while we retrieve the Vanishing Cabinet."
They bowed and sat back in their seats, their chests puffed up with pride as they were selected by their Lord to carry out this task.
"Do not fail me." He warned dangerously and the two men flinched slightly as Nagini hissed at them from his side.
"We shall not, my lord. None shall realise that is only a distraction." Dolohov answered with a bow of his head while Fenrir grinned savagely, the bloodlust in his eyes unmistakeable.
"Good." Voldemort drawled as he sank back into his chair. 'Tomorrow, Magical Britain shall be reminded of my power.'
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did please let me know and don't forget to ask me any questions you need answering, give me any suggestions or point out anything wrong with my story. All is greatly appreciated.
