AN: Time for the Yule Ball and some very cute HarryxFleur scenes.
Well, I guess I have to ask:
What do you guys think about SOFT! lemons in future chapters?
Is stuff like that necessary, or could you deal without it?
As always, enjoy!
The recognizable sections belong to JKR
Chapter 37
November 30th, 1994
On Monday morning, the entire castle knew that something extraordinary must have happened. Of course, it was quite obvious, since roughly half of the Durmstrangs and many upper-year Slytherins were missing. In addition, somehow... someway, Rita Skeeter had witnessed the entire event last night. Today's edition of the Daily Prophet had a large picture of Harry and Fleur holding hands and walking through Hogsmeade on its front page.
Dueling Duet on the Defense
By Rita Skeeter
I am sure all of my readers are familiar with the tragic and dramatic story of one Harry Potter and Fleur Delacour. They started off as fierce enemies, confronting each other at the opposite end of the dueling platform. Then they became allies in need, fighting against Death Eaters, side by side. Now, fate seems to play a wicked game, matching them against one another as Champions for their respective schools in the Triwizard Tournament.
However, like Tristan and Isolde, like Romeo and Juliet, the former opponents are now finally pursuing a romantic relationship that many of my frequent readers have foreseen for some time.
"The two are simply made for each other. Both are extremely good-looking and talented teenagers. Powerful individuals like that are always drawn to one another." Commented Mafalda Hopkirk, a frequent reader of Witch Weekly.
Indeed, Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter decided to finally give their blossoming romance a try and went on their very first public date in the village of Hogsmeade. As one can see in the photos, the two very much enjoyed their time spent together and were caught exchanging small gestures of affection, frequently.
However, Britain's most flirtatious teenage couple was not prepared for a rather unpleasant surprise at the end of their day. According to our reports, the couple was on its way back from the Hogwarts Owlery in the early evening and ran right into a treacherous ambush by a mix between Hogwarts and Durmstrang students.
The ambush was led by none other than the International Pro-Athlete, Victor Krum, and Slytherin Star-Student, Cassius Warrington. The Slytherin students and guests from Durmstrang started provoking the couple and soon after, started their attack. Rest assured my dear readers, that our knight in shining armor and his more than capable French princess, remained unharmed during the short but deadly confrontation. Albus Dumbledore came to the rescue and immediately stopped the attack.
It is yet unknown what led the Durmstrang delegation and members of House Slytherin to attack Mr. Potter and Ms. Delacour. Many believe it to be jealousy, as just a few hours before the confrontation, the couple agreed to accompany each other to the Triwizard Tournament's Yule Ball. According to Ms. Delacour herself, she had been heavily sought after and asked numerous times to accompany various male students to the legendary Ball. Was it the rejection, linked with the couple's declaration of going together, that led the larger group to attack them?
What reasons did our guests from Durmstrang have to participate in this attack? Only three weeks earlier, Mr. Potter defeated Victor Krum in a spectacular duel, and one week ago, he achieved a better score for his heavily criticized strategy in finishing the first task.
Could envy and revenge have led Victor Krum and his fellow peers to join forces with the Slytherins and carry out the attack together?
In any case, the involved students have been punished harshly. Any Durmstrang, who took part in the attack, has been sent back to their school. Similarly, the members of house Slytherin have been expelled from Hogwarts. The backlash on Albus Dumbledore and his decision will only spread, as many of those students were currently sitting their OWLs and even NEWTs.
We are all eager to further accompany our Dueling Duet on their journey to find love and will keep our readers up to date.
For further exclusive photos of the two champions on their date, turn to page 3
For a detailed discussion of Harry Potter's strategy during the first task, turn to page 5
Wow… again, the article was surprisingly accurate if one ignored the obvious bias. How did Skeeter find out all those details? Did the reporter follow them within Hogsmeade? Harry was usually pretty good at keeping an eye on his surroundings, but with Fleur next to him, it was easy to get distracted, more often than not.
Skeeter couldn't have been with them outside the owlery. When the wards activated, whatever disguise she was using would have failed. But that means that she somehow must have found a way into the Great Hall to watch the entire memory…
Harry had underestimated the woman. If she was capable of that, what else could she do… where else did she have access to?
Fleur slipped in the seat on the bench next to him, giving him a small smile before helping herself to some breakfast. Harry passed the copy of the newspaper over to her:
"How do you think she did it?"
Fleur frowned as she started reading. Harry could see her thoughts racing behind her deep blue eyes. She finished the article:
"I honestly don't know, Harry. But we have to be careful with her. At least she did not stray too far from the truth this time. She also did not make me look like a total damsel in distress…" Fleur laughed.
Harry looked over to the Slytherin table. What did this mean for the hierarchy within the house of the snakes? With Warrington gone, there would definitely be another upper-year pureblood leading the Slytherins… but who?
Malfoy might have the name, family influence, and galleons, but he was not a natural leader. Any of the remaining Slytherins were careful enough not to involve themselves in Warrington's scheme and attacks. Would house Slytherin remain aggressive towards him, or could they make some sort of peace? Only time would tell...
December 14th, 1994
Two weeks after the attack, the expulsion of the Slytherins was pushed back and became the second hottest topic at Hogwarts. The approaching Yule Ball had everyone excited and stood at the center of many discussions in the castle. Harry was very glad that he had taken care of his affairs early on and did not need to worry about it.
Despite their very public declaration of going together, thanks to the Prophet, Fleur was still asked numerous times each day. At least now she had a very valid excuse and simply stated that she was already attending with someone. Harry could finally relax. None of the Hogwarts girls were naive enough to believe that he would ditch a bombshell Veela just to take them as a date. They avoided any possible humiliation and did not ask him out any further.
Fleur and Harry were both incredibly busy. Still, Fleur managed to join him for a workout every other morning and the teenagers sometimes found an hour or so to talk in the afternoon. Fleur was busy with preparations for her OWLs, training for the other tasks, and, most importantly, solving the riddle of the golden egg.
Harry spent his time with his usual routine of working out every day, attending the classes he felt like, and his own studies, including solving the golden egg. He, however, had the advantage of eight additional hours per day. Those were much needed since Harry also delved deeper into finishing his dragonfly spell.
"I think the ratio between wingspan and body weight is now optimized," Salazar says, watching Harry's latest attempt at conjuring his heavily manipulated dragonflies.
"I agree," Harry says, as he vanishes his conjuration. "We were able to further decrease the size of the body and reduce a lot of weight. At the same time, the wingspan now covers almost 50% more area and remains fully transparent. The dragonfly still dies to the killing curse, so the next step will be implementing the duplication charm to increase the conjured quantity. For the beginning, I will simply start doubling them, until I find an appropriate size. We are making good progress."
"What about the egg? Did you get any further?"
Harry had grown frustrated at his lack of progress with the riddle: "No I still don't have a clue. No matter what charm I try, it still screams like a banshee, whenever I open it. However, I had an idea earlier…
The ROR has something of a consciousness. It also detects the user's desire, if expressed strongly enough. What if the ROR detects my desire to solve the riddle and provides a solution for me. After all, it has seen and witnessed magic for almost a millennia and learned from it."
Salazar seemed deep in thought. "It can't hurt to give it a try. If the room has ever encountered magic similar to the egg's it will know what to do and how to help you."
"Alright," Harry agrees, as he cleans up the desk with the rolls of parchments and complicated arithmetic calculations. "I will head up there right now and try it. Dobby!"
"Harry Potter, sir?" The elf appeared.
"Hi, Dobby. How are Kreacher and you doing with harvesting the dragon?"
"Dobby and the nasty elf have been working very hard. The dragon is fully skinned and we started harvesting the organs, now, Harry Potter, sir!"
"Very good, Dobby. Could you take me up to the seventh floor, please?"
A minute later, Harry was walking up and down in front of the ROR, clutching the egg to his chest.
"I need you to show me a way to solve this riddle... I need you to show me a way to solve this riddle... I need you to show me a way to solve this riddle... "
After the last turn, the door opened and Harry entered the room. He was greeted by a miniature version of the Hogwarts lake…maybe 50 feet in width and length.
"What the hell is this?" Harry walked over to the lakeshore and dipped his hands into the dark water. It was ice cold. He frowned and pulled out the egg. 'Let's try opening above the water first, I guess.'
Still fully dressed, he stepped into the lake and let the egg swim at the surface before opening it. To his disappointment, nothing happened besides the usual nerve-racking screaming.
'Maybe under the water?'
Harry completely dipped the egg and opened it, but remained above the surface himself. To his immense surprise, he did not hear anything. He would have expected the screams to be slightly dampened, but the fact that not a single sound broke through the surface left him speechless.
'Only one way to find out then…'
Harry closed the egg below the surface, took a couple of deep breaths, and submerged his head in the ice-cold water, before opening the egg back up again. The screaming was all but gone, instead, a very pleasant chorus of eerie voices sang to him from the open egg in his hands:
"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour-long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took,
But past an hour — the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."
Harry went back up for some air before repeating the process once more. Now the entire song was safely stored in his memory.
"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground,
The first verse was quite obvious. Whoever these people were, their voices could not be understood above the ground. It must be some sort of tribe of semi-humans living in the water. Harry knew that there was a merpeople colony in the Black Lake… was that why the room showed him a small replica of it? To give him another hint?
It must be… but this was perfect. If the task was truly held in the Black Lake, then he could use the remaining time to do some reconnaissance and get a better picture of what's in the lake. If it would not be held in the lake, he would still gain experience in a new environment…
And while you're searching ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
So he had to find something that was taken from him. Something valuable… Harry frowned… none of his valuables were accessible for the judges to take from him. Everything he owned was down in the Chamber. His Cloak, the Marauder's Map, the Parselmagic Book… and they could hardly take his wand… it must be something else then.
Harry remembered that in previous tournaments, a hostage treasure hunt had been popular. Would they take a living hostage? It would be difficult in his case, the only people he cared about, were not accessible for them. Fleur was a competitor herself and Sirius was a judge. The next closed person would probably be Terry… the boy had stood with him, even after the chaos at the World Cup and the Slytherins' Declaration.
An hour-long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took,
This was in line with the previous verses. However, an additional piece of information was given. The time span was one hour. Meaning he had to survive under the water for one hour… He would think about solutions for that later.
But past an hour — the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."
Harry chuckled. No new information in this line. Just a friendly reminder to keep to the time limit. It was obvious, that whatever they will be taking won't actually be 'gone'... It was simply a way to increase the pressure on the competitors…
Well, his next steps were pretty clear… He needed to scout the lake and find out everything about different methods to breathe underwater. He already knew about the Bubble-head charm… but it would limit his mobility. The bubble was always at a risk to burst, due to outside interference… he needed something better than that.
December 25th, 1994
Harry took a couple of deep calming breaths. It was 7.45 pm and he stood in front of the Beauxbaton Carriage to pick up Fleur for the date at the Yule Ball. He had been nervous about this moment the whole day.
The morning was spent with Sirius, in the man's private quarters at Hogwarts, exchanging presents. The two had not stopped laughing after simultaneously unwrapping their gifts. Harry received a book from Sirius, called:
"So, you like a certain witch?" which consisted of dating advice by Gilderoy Lockhart.
In return, Sirius had unwrapped a muggle book, called "Dating over the age of 30, What to watch out for."
In addition, Harry gave Sirius a pair of fine dragonhide gloves with the Black Family Crest engraved on them. He himself received a Breitling wrist watch that Sirius had taken to a magical jeweler to enhance with a couple of charms.
They decided to have a workout and a practice duel together, before having lunch at the Three Broomsticks and taking a walk around the grounds in the afternoon. Around 7 pm, both retreated to their rooms.
Harry took a last glance at the red rose he held in his hands. It had taken a day for him to fully enchant it, but he was more than satisfied with his work. The rose would most likely stay blooming for almost an entire year and was water and dust repellent. In addition, it would never lose its unique scent.
He took a look around him. A few other students were waiting to pick up their dates. One by one, they each stepped out of the carriage and greeted their escort. Each time, Harry caught his breath, expecting to see Fleur any moment.
Around five to eight, an unmistakable motion caught Harry's eye. Fleur Delacour descended the stairs of the carriage in a gown of shimmering silver. The material clung to her body like a second skin, highlighting her curves while still preserving a sort of royal elegance.
Her hair was done in an aristocratic pinned-up hairstyle, exposing her delicate neck. Some jewelry, including pearl earrings, a necklace, and silvery bracelets enhanced the entire look. Harry could not tell if she wore any makeup at all. She definitely would not need it… it was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen and certainly something he would never forget in his life.
Fleur's large blue eyes softened when they flickered to him and she gave him a small smile. Harry shook himself out of his trance and walked towards her. She held out her hand expectantly, a small grin tucking the corner of her mouth.
He gave her a small bow and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles, before standing at his full height and saying in all earnestness: "You simply look breathtaking, Fleur."
Fleur managed to hide her blush fairly well: "You look very handsome yourself, Harry. I am sure we will leave an exceptional impression tonight."
Harry gave her grin and offered the small rose to the Veela, who now stood in front of him:
"A small token of my appreciation for you. It has multiple charms on it. Hopefully, it may serve you as a reminder of the night ahead of us."
Fleur took the flower from him with her delicate long finger and held it up to her nose to give it a quick sniff.
"It is magnificent and quite some nice charms work, Harry. Thank you very much. Do you mind?" Fleur gestures for him to place the rose behind her right ear.
Harry took it and was more than glad that he had removed any thorns from it. He stepped closer to Fleur and tried to ignore the overpowering scent of her that filled his nostrils. Careful, not to ruin her impressive hairstyle, he placed the small flower behind her ear and took a step back to observe his creation.
"Undoubtedly better." He smiled while offering his arm to the girl. Fleur hooked herself in and together they walked up the path to the castle and to the Great Hall. The champions, their dates, and Professor McGonagall would meet in the same room attached to the Great Hall, in which the champions had walked after the Goblet spit out their name.
"Ms. Delacour, Mr. Potter, you are late." McGonagall greeted them, as Harry held open the door for Fleur and entered the room.
"I'd say we are fashionably on time, Professor," Harry replied and shot Fleur, who had looped her arm in his, a small wink. He surveyed the room. Diggory and Krum were indeed present with their dates. None of the other champions acknowledged Fleur's and Harry's arrival, besides staring open-mouthed at Fleur, before being shaken out of it by their respective dates.
Diggory was accompanied by an admittedly cute brown-haired Hufflepuff girl, a sixth year if Harry was not mistaken. Krum's choice of a date left Harry and Fleur with a raised eyebrow. Hermione 'Know-It-All' Granger clung to his arm. She finally fixed her teeth and did not look like a bushy beaver anymore. Did she know that she clung to the arm of someone, who had attempted rape, only a few weeks ago? Still, Krum's and Diggory's dates had nothing on Fleur's radiant beauty, something the envious looks on both girls' faces only confirmed.
McGonagall told them to get in line and prepare for their grand entrance. Harry and Fleur would enter the hall first, as the Champions with the most points. Krum and Granger would be second and Diggory and his date third.
Finally, McGonagall gave the signal for the doors to open. Fleur and Harry exchanged a brief smile before raising their chins simultaneously and entering the hall side by side. As they did so, everyone in the Great Hall applauded and the couple started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.
The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.
Sirius was sitting at the judges' table and gestured for Fleur and Harry to take a seat beside him. Apparently, Mr. Crouch could not attend the Ball. Percy Weasley was here on his behalf and shot Harry a glare, as the latter pulled back the chair for his date.
Small talk was held around the table, but Fleur and Harry seemed in their own little world. They ignored the chatter all around them and whispered privately while exchanging deep looks into each other's eyes and small hand squeezes under the table.
Apparently, Dumbledore felt like demonstrating how to order the meals, because soon after, the entire table had ordered theirs. Harry decided that Pork Chops did not sound so bad and ordered the same, earning him a grandfatherly smile from his headmaster.
Fleur favored the trout with some vegetables, all the while looking at the decorations in the Great Hall.
"Are they not up to your standards?" Harry noticed her looks and chuckled.
"This is nothing," she said dismissively, looking around at the sparkling walls of the Great Hall. "At the Palace of Beauxbatons, we have ice sculptures all around the dining chamber at Christmas. They do not melt, of course… They are like huge statues of diamond, glittering around the place."
"I'd love to see it one day." Harry acknowledged.
"Perhaps I will invite you to France for the summer?" Fleur shot him a small grin.
Harry hid his frown behind a fake smile and turned back to his food. Of course, summer was still a couple of months away, but what would they do once the tournament was over and Fleur had to go back to France? They have not talked about it yet. In fact, they haven't really talked about what they actually were at this point.
The Prophet called them a couple, but they have only been on one official date and haven't even properly kissed yet. Of course, they spent a lot of time together and publicly displayed their affection. But they haven't really taken another step yet, ever since their first date in Hogsmeade. Perhaps tonight would change things, Harry thought and grinned inwardly.
When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it. Some band Harry never heard of stormed on the platform and was greeted by cheers from the students.
"May I ask for this dance, Mademoiselle?" Harry asked his partner, offering her his hand.
"I thought you'd never ask, Monsieur," Fleur replied and allowed Harry to guide her to the middle of the hall, the other two couples shortly behind them. The first slow song began and Harry expertly led Fleur into the first couple of steps.
The Veela's eyes started beaming brightly and she took her steps with equal enthusiasm. Harry knew that Fleur loved to dance. Unfortunately, she rarely had the opportunity to enjoy herself on balls like these, due to her previous dancing partners.
Even with Fleur's heels on, she and Harry were now almost the same height. Harry kept himself from dropping his gaze down to Fleur's décolleté and instead focused on her memorizing blue eyes and the soft smile on her lips.
He lost any feeling for how much time had passed, all he knew was that during the last couple of dances, he and Fleur had gotten closer and closer together. They now danced a slow waltz, with Fleur's head almost leaning against his shoulders. His right hand had ever so slowly dipped towards the middle of her back to pull her closer towards his body.
He felt Fleur inhale deeply against his chest and sigh contently.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Harry asked her.
"I feel great with you, Harry. This has been even better than dancing with you at the New-Years-Eve Ball in Berlin. Perhaps because you are finally taller than me." She chuckled.
"I'll have you know, that I am exceptionally tall for my age." Harry grinned back.
"For a fourteen-year-old, you certainly are… but then again… you have not told me how old you truly are yet… and you are probably still growing, non? In any case, I enjoy dancing with you… those robes make you look very masculine…"
She trailed off and ran a finger up to his biceps, over his shoulder, and down his chest, eying the result of his frequent workouts appreciatively. Harry could not help staring at her, as a shiver ran down his spine: "Having fun?"
Fleur was shaken out of her trance and a faint blush rose on her cheeks:
"Certainly, but I could use some refreshments."
"As mademoiselle wishes:" Harry complied and led her over to a table with drinks. They passed Roger Davies who was snogging Cho Chang in the middle of the dance floor. As Fleur passed him, the boy pulled his lips off Chang and stared wide-eyed at the Veela. He was not the only one… Now that he and Fleur had stopped dancing, many boys from all three schools started approaching the two.
"I don't want to dance with anyone else tonight, Harry. How about you act a bit protective, now?" Fleur leaned in and whispered in his ear, as Harry filled two glasses with some punch.
"Who says I am not protective of you, already?" Harry grinned and pulled her a bit closer at her waist. Fleur almost snuggled up at his side while downing her drink. Harry couldn't help but wish it was for other reasons than simply to discourage other boys from asking her.
They returned to their table and held a light conversation while the band played some faster songs. At some point Sirius joined them:
"There is my favorite godson and his incredible date for the night. How are you two enjoying yourself?"
Fleur laughed: "Zank you, we are 'aving a good time, Lord Black."
"Please call me Sirius, Ms. Delacour. Lord Black reminds me too much of those cockroaches in the Wizengamot." The man laughed.
Sirius remained with them for a couple of minutes before spotting McGonagall in the crowd and quickly getting up to ask her for a dance. Apparently, Fleur and Harry sitting together did not enough to discourage some boys from walking over to their table. Most just remained in front of Fleur, drooling too much to even ask her for a dance. Both champions quickly got annoyed by it.
"How about we retreat for the night and hold our own little ball," Harry whispered in her ear.
"That eager to get me in your dormitory, Harry? I am afraid, I am not that kind of girl…" Fleur replied coldly.
"What… no," Harry spluttered. "I just meant going to the Room of Requirements and having some private dances." He tried to save himself.
Fleur let out a peal of musical laughter: "Relax, Harry. I knew what you meant. Very well, let's take our leave."
Harry held out his hand and together they left the Great Hall, followed by the envious stares of many students. It was only then that they realized what the situation might look like from the outside.
"I think that was a mistake." Fleur frowned.
"Don't worry, I have an idea," Harry replied. Instead of taking the staircase up, they remained in clear sight of other students and walked outside the castle into the gardens. Fleur cast a couple of warming chams on them.
"Now people will simply think we are taking a stroll. How good is your disillusionment charm?" Harry asked the Veela.
"Perfect, of course," Fleur replied proudly.
Harry repressed his grin. "Cast it and follow me up to the ROR."
The two teenagers quickly disillusioned themselves and sneaked past the students back into the castle and up the giant staircase. Not taking any risk, they remained invisibly until they reached the ROR.
"Well, you seemed so proud of those Beauxbaton decorations… how about you show me already?" Harry asked curiously.
Fleur strode past him and gracefully walked past the wall three times:
"See for yourself, then." She replied proudly.
Harry opened the room and it was just as Fleur had told. The decorations were definitely more impressive than what they had just witnessed down in the Great Hall. Huge glittering Ice sculptures stood all around the walls and the ceiling was decorated with various Christmas-related items. A huge Christmas tree stood in a corner next to a table.
Fleur pulled Harry into the middle of the room, where she closed her eyes briefly. The next second, slow muggle Christmas music chimed from the walls and ceiling. Harry placed both his hands on Fleur's slim waist and pulled her closer. She in return wrapped her arms around his neck, took off her heels, and looked up at him with her impossibly large blue eyes.
"This was a good idea." Fleur sighed and rested her head on Harry's shoulder for a couple of seconds.
"I agree," Harry replied, inhaling the flowery scent of her hair, mixed with her cinnamon and vanilla cologne.
Fleur turned her head back towards him. Her face was incredibly close, now. Harry could almost count every single one of her long eyelashes. The sorting Hat had once mentioned that there was also a Gryffindor somewhere within him. Harry gathered every bit of courage he could find and slowly leaned down the last couple of inches closer to her. Fleur closed her eyes as their lips met halfway in between them.
Harry swore there was a fire burning in him as his lips met Fleur's. It was their first real kiss. His hands were still placed at either side of her, but they had dipped from her waist down to her hips. Her hands had traveled up from his neck and were now playing with his unruly hair.
He wasn't sure how long they had been here. All he knew was that Fleur had pressed herself against him as hard as she could. It had started chaste until he realized how fun it could be to use his tongue after she had licked his lips.
When she finally pulled away, his breath was coming in short bursts as much from the heady kiss he had just given her as it was the feel of her body. Fleur felt incredibly soft and he could feel her curves through his clothes. He put his forehead against hers.
"Brilliant," he said breathlessly.
"Incredible," Fleur agreed.
"Wanna try that again?"
Fleur nodded and pressed her lips back against Harry's. Their second kiss was more demanding and aggressive. Both teenagers experimented, reacting to each other's body language and the soft moans that escaped their lips during the short breaks they took.
Fleur had moved one of her arms to Harry's front and was now roaming over his chest and upper abs through his dress robes. Her second hand was still deeply entangled in his hair pressing his head closer to hers. Harry's hands had started wandering by themselves and one was now gently squeezing her butt, eliciting a soft moan from Fleur.
Suddenly Fleur pulled back: "We should stop for tonight, Harry."
Harry was momentarily confused and carefully checked for any signs that he did something wrong. But Fleur's heated gaze and blushed cheeks told him that it can't have been the case. She gave him a small peck on the lips:
"I really like you, Harry and I just don't want to rush things between us," Fleur explained, as she noticed his confusion.
Harry nodded eagerly and cleared his throat: "You're right, of course, after all, we have time. And I really like you too, Fleur," He added with a lopsided grin.
Fleur thanked him with another chaste kiss: "Walk me back to the carriage?"
"Of course, let's disillusion ourselves again. If the ball is still going on, we could pop in really quick, just so people don't get suspicious." Harry suggested.
Fleur agreed and together they made their way down the giant staircase and back to the Great Hall. They arrived just in time for the final dance of the night and turned towards one another.
Both had a large grin on their faces and couldn't help but blush in between their dance. Finally, Harry offered his arm and led the French Champion back to the carriage.
Fleur turned back towards him as they stood in front of the entrance to the carriage: "Thank you, for what will probably be the best ball I'll ever attend, Harry. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Fleur," Harry replied with a smile and decided to give the Veela one last kiss, irrespective of the other students that were surrounding them. Fleur's eyes widened momentarily in surprise before she closed them and returned the kiss.
Only a few seconds later they broke apart. The random chatter around them had stopped and was replaced by exciting whispers.
"Good Night, Harry."