AN: This chapter was really fun to write.
I hope you guys enjoy it just as much!
Chapter 33
Harry left Dumbledore's office feeling relieved. The headmaster had granted his two requests and tomorrow he would be visiting Gringotts and the Ministry. Now, he had Sirius to inform and a ritual to complete.
He pulled out the Marauder's map to check the empty halls. Apparently, things just got better and better. Down in the Great Hall, all the teachers stood together, apart from Moody, who was still in his office, meaning Crouch had been using Polyjuice again.
Harry frowned, how was that possible? Moody and Crouch had just been in the same room together, next to the Great Hall, together with him, and the other champions.
Harry's question was answered when he noticed something on the map. No… it couldn't be? But he remembered Sirius' words: The Map never lies…
The name Bartemius Crouch appeared twice... very close, next to each other… Father and son… Mr. Crouch had not been impersonating Moody, but his son, who the wizarding world thought dead… How did his son escape Azkaban?
Things just kept getting more and more complicated… but at least he had another clue now. Barty Crouch Junior had been a Death Eater. This entire plot just screamed Voldemort…
What was the goal? If Voldemort wanted him dead, he could have easily tasked Crouch junior to kill him in a DADA session. Did he need Harry for something?
Harry arrived in Salazar Quarters and briefed the Founder on everything that had just happened.
"Very well, the Confundo of the imposter worked and you are officially competing. Being emancipated and losing the trace is another added bonus. I am glad you put this Karkaroff in his place. You are my heir and you don't let anyone call you a liar. How did things with the Veela turn out?"
Harry cringed at the memory of Fleur and her hurt look: "I wasn't shot at with fireballs, so that's good, but it also could have gone a lot better. I will try to mend the bridge over the next couple of days. Perhaps she just needs some time right now."
"Well, you have more than enough to do, anyways. Start the ritual and brief your godfather as soon as you are done."
Harry nodded, gathered up all the materials and ingredients, and started carving the runes. Everything went smoothly and Harry mitigated the loss of blood with a blood replenishment potion right after. Let's see if Sirius was still awake:
"Sirius Black?" Harry spoke into the mirror.
"Harry? How are you and how did the announcement of the Champions go? I hope Hogwarts will be represented well."
Harry couldn't help himself… he started laughing.
"Oh no… this can't be good. Tell me what happened." Sirius frowned, so Harry started telling him everything.
From how he caught the imposter Crouch putting his name in the Goblet… him being chosen as the fourth Champion, to his confrontation with Karkaroff and the final talk with Dumbledore.
"Well, Harry… I was impressed after the prank you pulled on the Slytherins, but pranking the entire magical European community?" Don't you think that went a little too far?" Sirius laughed.
"But jokes aside… it's good that we know who put your name in. You are right, the immediate goal is not to kill you, therefore, we will have to be even more careful. How about I join you at Gringotts tomorrow and then we get the removal of the Trace confirmed at the Ministry together? I can't imagine Hogwarts being the most pleasant place for you right now, anyways…"
"Sounds good to me. Meet me at the steps in front of the Bank tomorrow at 10:00 sharp." Harry says.
"How will you get there? Is a teacher taking you?"
Harry just grinned: "Curiosity killed the cat… or the dog, I should say. You will see it tomorrow, Sirius. Good night."
November 1st, 1994
Harry felt great. He had a full night of sleep after using the time turner and had just finished his workout in the ROR. He started adding some muscle-hypertrophy exercises to his already athletic workout and really enjoyed the progress he had made with the weights so far.
After taking a quick shower, he made his way downstairs to the Great Hall for some breakfast. The Great Hall was silent when he entered. Every eye was on him. At this point, Harry was so used to the attention that he simply ignored the other students and sat down at his usual seat.
A couple of upper-year Ravenclaws walked up to him, led by Roger Davies:
"House Ravenclaw doesn't cheat, Potter. Not in academics and not in a tournament."
"I did not steal your spot, Davies. If you want to complain that you have not been made Hogwarts Champion, complain to Diggory. My name was not put in under any school." Harry rolled his eyes and continued eating.
"I don't care how your name came out of the Goblet, Potter. The fact that it did come out, even though you're only 14, is proof enough for us. House Ravenclaw does not want you sitting at its table." Roger Davies replied angrily.
Harry looked up at him: "What are you gonna do, Davies? Make me leave? I'd love to see you try…"
"One day you will get what's coming for you, Potter. Icarus flew too close to the sun… just like you." The sixth-year prophecies.
"Thanks for the poetry lesson, now piss off, please. I've got better things to do."
Roger sneered and went back to his seat. Just then Fleur Delacour entered the Great Hall and saw Harry sitting at the Ravenclaw table. Her gaze hardened and she took a seat next to a drooling Davies instead of Harry.
"Mr. Davies… I can call you Roger, non? Would you mind giving moi a tour of 'ogwarts, today? I received a brief tour yesterday already, but it was not satisfactory, qui?"
Davies had not stopped staring at Fleur's décolleté, but the Veela did not seem to mind. Harry had heard enough. That was low… even for Fleur:
"Dobby!"
The elf appeared with a POP.
"I'd like to finish my meal in the kitchen, please."
The elf nodded, grabbed Harry's hand and the two disapparated from the Great Hall. After his meal, Harry went down into the Chamber to wait until it was time to meet Sirius.
"Stupid, stuck-up French witch. What is she thinking? Trying to make me jealous with an idiot like Davies…" Harry busted into the Founder's Quarters. "The idiot could not even exchange two words with her… let alone give a tour."
"Are you okay, Harry? You seem a bit uhh... stressed." Salazar raised an eyebrow.
"It's nothing I should actually worry about, Sal… just unnecessary drama. Let me release some built-up energy in the main chamber, really quick. I will see you later, today."
The portrait just shook its head and chuckled. Harry went back into the main Chamber and cast spell after spell against one of the large stone walls until he felt better. That was exactly what he needed. He checked his watch. 9.59 am... Now it was time for the first long-distance apparation of his life.
He focused and imagined the cobblestone street of Diagon Alley, the chatter of customers, and the bright white marble building… Then he took a step forward.
He vanished in an instant and experienced the familiar feeling of being pressed through a tight tube. Then he reappeared with POP in front of the Wizarding Bank.
Sirius let out a yelp and dropped his Muggle coffee-to-go at the sight of his godson appearing out of thin air:
"Since when can you apparate, holy shit… that's amazing!"
"A couple of weeks, actually," Harry replied before leading his Godfather into the Bank.
"I would like to speak to my Account Manager, Raknok, please." Harry approached the teller and waited for a minute before a goblin guided them to the familiar office. After exchanging greetings Raknok spoke up.
"I expected a visit from you over the next couple of days, Mr. Potter. The most interesting thing happened last night, as I am sure you know. For some reason, you have been emancipated. Care to enlighten me?"
Harry explained the situation to the Goblin, who gave him a grin as soon as he was finished:
"Well, this changes a couple of things, Mr. Potter. First of all, you now have access to your family vault and all its contents. You also have the option to fuse your two faults, to mitigate any future complications regarding transactions and investments.
In addition, I am now allowed to tell you the monetary value of the assets in your family vault. Unfortunately, I must tell you, that the majority of your assets have been spent during the last war. You still hold a minority share in a couple of wizarding businesses. The total amount of Galleons in your family fault as of now is around 10.000."
Harry and Sirius gulped simultaneously. Maybe winning the Triwizard tournament and adding another 1000 Galleons wouldn't be such a bad idea. When converted into Muggle currency, he still owed over half a million pounds of cash in total. However, he had hoped it might be a bit more.
The goblin continued: "Combining all your assets from both vaults and adding the current value of any investment, you are currently in possession of roughly 20.000 Galleons."
"Very well, take another 5000 Galleons from the family fault and invest it in additional muggle businesses. The same criteria apply as previously. I will visit the Potter Vault at another time. That will be all for today."
Harry and Sirius took their leave. And made their way out of the bank.
"Don't worry, Harry with the Black fortune and my compensation for Azkaban, you will still be able to live a comfortable life," Sirius joked.
"I am not worried about that, Sirius. I still have some hidden reserves that I have not touched upon yet." Harry replied, thinking about the dead Basilisk.
"Alright then, let's go to the Leaky Cauldron and take the Floo to the ministry," Sirius suggested.
A couple of minutes later, the two stood in the large foyer of the British Ministry of Magic and searched their way to the office of Improper use of Magic. A Mafalda Hopkirk greeted them and after explaining the situation and letting her check her own records, Harry's status was updated to a magical and legal adult.
Apparently, the trace had been removed automatically as soon as Harry's name came out of the Goblet last night. However, an Unspeakable was quickly called to confirm it. Finally, Harry could do magic outside of school.
November 13th, 1994
The last two weeks had been just like his second year. People had started whispering wherever he went and calling him names. After two seventh-year Slytherins needed to stay in the Hospital-Wing, due to some serious injuries, the open name-calling stopped. Instead, Draco Malfoy had invented some fancy badges in support of Cedric Diggory, the 'True Hogwarts Champion'.
Harry simply replied that he agreed with Malfoy, he was not a Hogwarts Champion, apparently, he was not even a student here anymore. The Ravenclaws had voted him out of their house. And demanded that Harry would no longer eat at the Ravenclaw table. They tried to break into his trunk and destroy some of his personal items, but the Parseltongue wards on it quickly stopped their attempt.
They confronted Harry in the Great Hall and announced that Harry was officially no longer a member of their House. Harry simply ripped the House Crest from his school uniform and transfigured the robes into a deep ethereal black, making him look like Snape.
Flitwick was outraged, took 200 points from his own house, and assigned detention to everyone that voted to kick Harry out. Only two people had been spared. His mate Terry and Luna Lovegood, a third-year.
As he was no longer welcome at the Ravenclaw Table, Harry took his meals in the Chamber or the ROR. As a Champion, he was allowed to skip his classes and he used that privilege for Potions, Astronomy, and History of Magic. At least the teachers stopped the other students from harassing Harry in the classes he now still attended.
The time in the ROR was spent practicing for the first task. With the help of Dobby and Sirius, Harry analyzed the past tasks in order to find a pattern. He was successful... Usually, the champions had to face a dangerous magical beast and either beat it or finish a task that involved it.
Harry told Dobby to keep an eye open around Hogwarts and immediately tell him, as soon as he found anything that involved dangerous magical beasts. He was confident that the elf would not let him down.
Fleur Delacour had not spoken to him at all over the last two weeks. She now ate the majority of her meals in her carriage. At least she had stopped her petty attempts at angering Harry and making him jealous, but Harry still missed her. He had been looking forward to finally spending time with her and now, when they could actually get to know one another better, they were not talking.
Today was the weighting of the wands. An integral tradition of the Triwizard Tournament and Harry's first public outing as the last Peverell. His outfit was prepared. It was heavily influenced by what his reflection in the Mirror of Erised had worn. The dark grey robes looked formal, yet stylish and athletic. His dragonhide boots were freshly polished by Dobby. He had also tasked the elf with crafting the Peverell emblem and knitting it to his chest.
The black triangle representing the Stone, with the straight vertical line in the middle, representing the Wand, and the surrounding circle, representing the Cloak were beautifully knitted into a light grey background.
Now, he was ready for the Ceremony. Since he had skipped potions, he made his way straight to the unoccupied classroom room, where it would take place. He was the first to enter and conjured himself a squishy armchair to rest in. After a minute the first people arrived, starting with Diggory, Dumbledore, Bagman, and Crouch.
The latter two simply greeted Harry, whereas Dumbledore stared at the crest on Harry's chest. Harry gave the headmaster a challenging look. Dumbledore seemed to snap out of his trance and stood next to the other judges, keeping an eye on Harry.
Soon after Sirius arrived, followed by a reporter and her cameraman: "Merlin, Pup, you keep on growing, soon you will be taller than me," Sirius laughed, as he pulled Harry into a tight hug.
Next up, Fleur arrived, followed by Madame Maxime and Mr. Ollivander. Harry gave the old Wandmaker a genuine smile. Fleur still avoided eye contact with him, making Harry experience an unfamiliar pain… he would try to talk to her today, no matter what...
Finally, Karkaroff arrived followed by Krum. The former simply shot Harry a nasty glare, but when Krum eyed the occupants of the room and found Harry, his gaze moved down to his chest and he pulled out his wand.
Harry instantly flicked his own wand into his hand, as Krum approached him, his face distorted in anger:
"How dare you wear dat sign! Take eet of right now!"
"Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this?" Bagman tried to interfere, but Harry stopped the man:
"Stay out of this, Bagman. Let Mr. Krum speak his mind." Harry gave the Bulgarian a cold smile.
"Mr. Krum, Mr. Potter, please lower your wands, right now. There is no need for violence." Dumbledore spoke up.
"Take off ze Crest, Potter. Or zings will get ugly for you!" The Bulgarian spat.
Harry shook his head: " I don't think I will, you can always try to make me…"
Krum raised his wand higher, a spell on his lips when a bright silver shield was conjured between the two. Dumbledore had pulled his wand and separated the two Champions the only way possible:
"Igor, please calm your Champion, otherwise I am afraid I can't allow him to remain in the room."
"Potter iz wearing ze Crest of a murderer!" Krum growled. "Zat iz the sign of Grindelwald… he carved it magically into a wall at Durmstrang! Ze man murdered my grandfazzer. I want him to remove ze crest!" Krum spat enraged.
Harry noticed Dumbledore frown at the mention between Grindelwald and the sign of the Hallows… What was that all about? He smiled coldly: "I will never put down this Crest, not for you and not for anyone else. Stop acting like a rabbit dog and behave yourself already, you are a guest here."
Krum's eyes almost bulged out of his head: "I challenge you to an honor duel!"
"Harry, no!" Dumbledore yelled to stop him.
"I accept your challenge! After dinner... on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, wands only, and every course is allowed." Harry calmly accepted.
"You are way out of your league, little boy" Krum gave a cold laugh.
"Go ask your fellow school mates, how it felt after I wiped the floor with them… this isn't some Quidditch game, where the worst that could happen is a few broken bones… this will be a painful experience for you." Harry smiled at the older boy.
"Is that really necessary? You both have a Task to prepare for. Mr. Krum, can you please pull back the challenge," Dumbledore almost begged.
"Never! Ze boy will learn a lesson, da."
"We will see about that," Harry replied neutrally before turning to Sirius.
"From what I have heard, he is not a bad dueler, but nothing compared to what you have faced already. He is all talk and was hoping you would not accept. Teach him and that slimy headmaster of his, a lesson." Sirius whispered in his ear.
Harry took in the people in the room once more. Krum was still seething and talking to Kaarkaroff in quick Russian. It seemed as if even his headmaster was not in favor of their upcoming duel. Fleur was eyeing him and the Crest on his chest with a look of curiosity. As soon as Harry met her gaze, she quickly looked back to Dumbledore.
The reporter, who Harry could now identify as Rita Skita, had been taking notes during his and Krum's small confrontation and seemed like she couldn't wait to publish her article about it.
Meanwhile, Dumbeldore had introduced Ollivander to the assembled witches and wizards.
"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room. Fleur swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand.
"Hmmm... " he said. He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
"Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches... inflexible... rosewood... and containing... dear me..."
"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's."
"Yes," said Mr. Ollivander, "yes, I've never used Veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands... however, to each his own, and if this suits you . . ."
Harry had to grin at that. 'Temperamental'... luckily, Fleur did not catch him doing so. He was trying to mend bridges after all. Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps; then he muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.
"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," said Mr. Olli-vander, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand.
"Mr. Diggory, you next."
Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her. Harry rolled his eyes… really, Fleur?
"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" said Mr. Ollivander, with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed over his wand.
"Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn... must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quar-ter inches... ash... pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition... You treat it regularly?"
"Polished it last night," said Cedric, grinning, which made Sirius and Harry chuckle. Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said,
"Mr. Krum, if you please." Viktor Krum got up and slouched, round-shouldered and duck-footed, toward Mr. Ollivander. He thrust out his wand and stood scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes. He looked like an overgrown child who did not get what he wanted.
"Hmm," said Mr. Ollivander, "this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken?"
At that, Harry paid close attention. Gregorovitch was the wandmaker that had found the Elder Wand over half a century ago and studied its features.
"A fine wandmaker, though the styling is never quite what I... however..." He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes. "Yes... hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded.
"Rather thicker than one usually sees... quite rigid... ten and a quarter inches... Avis!"
The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight. "Good," said Mr. Ollivander, handing Krum back his wand.
"Which leaves . . . Mr. Potter."
Harry smiled at the wandmaker, as he flicked his wand back into his palm and spun it around his fingers. To the surprise of everyone else, Ollivander pulled out a pair of dragonhide gloves:
"Just a precaution, everyone… no need to worry. Let's just say that Mr. Potter has some very special ingredients in his wand."
He gave Harry a knowing grin and Harry was glad that the wandmaker did not reveal the exact ingredients to anyone in the room. He could already feel the eyes of every champion, their headmasters, and the jury on him.
"Yes… how well I remember. Quite a difficult customer, a handcrafted wand, therefore. Ancient Elder and Redwood, a volatile combination… but with the right core... Hairs of Thestral and of course some rather complex runes work to stabilize the combination... A wand, unlike anything I have ever crafted before. Powerful..."
"Is a wand like dat even allowed in the tournament, Dumbly-dorr?" Madame Maxime frowned.
"It is a wand, like any other. Although I am sure Harry holds it in very high regards." Dumbledore replied while Mr. Crouch simply nodded his approval.
"It is in excellent condition, Mr. Potter. Its bond to you is stronger than ever before." Ollivander added.
"Thank you all," said Dumbledore, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now — or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end —"
Harry got up to leave, but the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.
"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"
"Er — yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon Harry again. "And then perhaps some individual shots."
The photographs took a long time. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow wherever she stood, and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame; eventually, she had to sit while everyone else stood around her.
Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it an extra curl; Krum, whom Harry would have thought would have been used to this sort of thing, skulked, half-hidden, at the back of the group.
The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur at the front, but Rita preferred Harry. Then she insisted on separate shots of all the champions. And a couple of very awkward shots with only Harry and Fleur. At last, they were free to go.
Madame Maxime and Fleur were about to leave when Harry called her:
"Fleur… a word, please," Harry asked in French.
Fleur turned around and looked him deep into the eyes. Madame Maxime tried to pull her away, but Fleur stood still and gave him a short nod:
"Fine. Follow me."
"Remember Krum.. after dinner," Harry told the Bulgarian and nodded to Sirius. Then he did as he was told and followed the Veela out of the room. They walked down a corridor.
"Do you have a place where we can talk?" Fleur asked him.
"I do," Harry replied, this was his chance to show her something he had not shown anyone before. His chance to share at least one of his secrets.
He led her up to the seventh floor in front of the blank wall of the ROR:
"This is going to sound weird, but please just trust me okay?"
At Fleur's nod, he continued: "Walk along this wall three times and imagine a room you would like to talk in. Clearly imagine as many details as you can remember and ask for that specific room three times while walking up and down this piece of wall… can you do that for me?"
Fleur eyed Harry suspiciously, but could not detect any bad intentions in his demeanor. She approached the wall, closed her eyes, and began walking up and down. After the last turn, a door appeared.
"Open it." Harry smiled and gestured for the door. Fleur grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. The inside was a very well decorated room, with tall white painted walls. A large bed and wardrobe stood at one side and a long window that led to a small balcony. From the balcony, one could oversee a beautiful garden and the faint outline of the sea or lake. Was this Fleur's room in France?
Fleur looked like she couldn't believe her eyes. She walked around the room and touched the wooden frame of the bed, her desk, chair, and even opened the glass door to the balcony. She turned back to Harry with bright gleaming eyes:
"What kind of magic is this?" She whispered.
"This is the Room of Requirements. It was created by Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of my… well... my former house. It projects an illusion of exactly the kind of room you imagine. It can provide almost everything, you only have to wish for it. Right now, you are in control… just imagine any item you would like to see." Harry explained from the door.
Fleur closed her eyes briefly and held out her hands expectantly. Out of thin air, a picture frame appeared in her hands, showing two platinum blonde girls eating ice cream in front of the Eiffel Tower… Fleur and Gabby. She stared at the picture in amazement before placing it on her night table. Then she turned around and slowly walked to Harry.
She threw her arms around him and Harry pulled her into an impossibly tight hug, feeling her entire body pressed against his. Fleur let out a deep sight and Harry knew exactly that she had missed him just as much as he had missed her.
"Thank you, Harry… for sharing this room with me." She whispered in his ear and loosened her hold on him.
She took a couple of steps backward and took another look at her surroundings:
"How many people know about this room? It must be a well-kept secret, otherwise, it would be constantly occupied." Fleur guessed.
"Most people just stumble upon it once, but never find it again. I had a little help myself when finding it... I wanted to share something special with you." Harry added.
Fleur sat down on her bed and gestured for Harry to join her. At his raised eyebrow, she simply hushed and started blushing. She looked incredibly cute.
"Thank you, Harry. But I am still very disappointed in you for not telling me that you entered yourself." Fleur began the inevitable talk.
Harry sighed: "Fleur, I know this sounds unbelievable, but I promise you that I did not enter my name myself."
"So someone entered your name against your wishes?" Fleur asked him.
"Yes… actually no, not really... I kind of let him enter my name… urghh it is just so complicated and I really wish I could tell you, but I don't know how much I can trust you, yet…
I wanted to enter myself and I was about to, but then someone interfered… but he did not enter my name for good reasons...there are people in this castle that want to see me dead."
Fleur looked at him for almost a minute: "I wish you could tell me everything, Harry, but I understand your position. You don't know who to trust and the entire castle is against you right now."
"Exactly!" Harry nodded: "I am so glad you understand."
Fleur held a finger to his lips to silence him: "But that does not mean that my anger at you simply disappears. I was looking forward to coming here… to compete and to see you again. And you not entering, meant that I could finally spend time with you without being competitors and facing each other in some arena…
It looked like you simply lied to me and betrayed our tentative friendship. I was so hurt and angry at you…"
"I know… I am really sorry, Fleur. I will try to keep fewer secrets from you and allow you to get to know the real me, but it's not going to be easy… there is so much stuff that you don't know yet… things you could not even imagine…" Harry whispered.
"Like you wand… or that Crest on your chest?" Fleur whispered and a shiver went through Harry's spine as she trailed the sign of the Hallow's with a long slender finger.
Harry chuckled: "Yes, those two, for example."
"It's okay… we can take things slowly… The fact that you showed me this room is a huge improvement already, non? What do you usually use it for?" Fleur asked curiously.
"I can show you," Harry explained: "Just give me command."
Fleur seemed to understand, as she closed her eyes. A couple of seconds later, Harry felt the room starting to obey his wishes and he imagined the gym he had built together, including the dueling area. He also imagined his small library, the table for his meals, and the separate showers.
Fleur opened her eyes and turned around herself once, taking in the entire room: "This is where you train?" She asked.
Harry nodded: "Pretty much every morning."
Fleur let her eyes roam over his body from head to toe: "I noticed… you are certainly not a little boy anymore, Harry… sometimes I can't believe you are only 14… you certainly look older."
Harry visibly cringed: "Yeah, about that…"
Fleur rolled her eyes and let out her melodic laughter: "Let me guess ... another secret"
"A couple, actually… but let's head down for dinner. I still have a match to win tonight." Harry grinned.
"You seem very confident that you can take him, Harry… Anything I should know about?" Fleur smirked at him.
Harry flashed her a smile and helped her up from the chair she was sitting in: "Let's just say that I experienced a sudden spike in motivation and I have an amazing cheerleader."