"Alright Harry, let's see if you can't manage it this time." Tracey's voice was supportive, but this was far from the first try. It was getting frustrating.
"Sure. Fifteenth time's the charm, right?" he muttered under his breath and Tracey mock-scowled at him.
He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "Let's do this."
His laurel wand in his right hand he silently levitated the magazine a few feet into the air. So far so easy – it was a first year spell after all. Doing two of them at the same time however was an entirely different matter.
He repeated the same motion with the wand in his left hand, but nothing happened except a slight waver in the already floating magazine.
"You're thinking too hard Harry. It has to be instinctual."
"Because you know so much about it?" The frustration was clear in his voice.
Tracey just shot a grin at him. "I'm just telling you what the book says. But since you haven't really made much progress since we started, maybe you should try to follow the instructions?"
He wanted to say something but stopped himself. No sense in that. Tracey had been nothing but helpful. He sighed. "Alright, one more time. If I don't get it right now I'm going back to the runes project."
Tracey grimaced in her seat. "Ugh, don't remind me. I still don't know how you and Daphne managed to convince me of your idea."
Now it was Harry's turn to grin. "Why, it's a fantastic idea. I have no idea what you possibly couldn't like about it."
"Don't try to distract me Harry. Now try it again."
He took a deep breath and tried to clean his head of any stray thoughts. To wield two wands at the same time and use both to cast spells simultaneously was far harder than it sounded. It had to be done silently, and even the normal ways of silent casting – to think your spell – didn't work. It had to be purely instinctual and subconsciously. At least he had never had problems with the wand movements.
And this wasn't even the real deal, just the first step to that eventual goal. The first step was to learn how to have two spells be active at the same time. Only then would one proceed to cast two spells at the same time.
Just as he felt his magic flow through his arm into the wand the door to the common room flew open and one of the third year students – Colby Spencer if he wasn't mistaken – came running towards him.
"Potter!" he shouted, panting heavily.
Harry scowled. "What is it?" he almost snapped.
The boy's face paled a bit at his tone, but he quickly regained his courage. "It's Malfoy! One of the French champions, the one you duelled, he insulted you and Malfoy looked like he was ready to hex him! There weren't any other prefects so I ran as quickly as I could!"
"Smart move. Take me there!"
The boy nodded and set off again. Harry looked at Tracey. "You coming or do you want to prepare the runes project?"
She laughed, high and trilling, and got up from her seat. "Are you kidding? I'll take seeing Draco getting trounced over runes every time!"
They followed Spencer who led them to the Third Floor, near an abandoned classroom far too close to the library for Harry's liking. He could already hear the crowd of people around the next corner and slowed down to a more dignified pace. Appearance mattered after all.
Striding around the corner with Tracey behind him he saw that the scene could have been worse. Perhaps not by a lot, but Sirius always reminded him to see the positive side of things.
Sprawled against one of the many statues lining the corridor lay Draco Malfoy, wandless. Unsteadily he tried to get up but failed and slipped onto the cold floor again. Crabbe moved to help him but the wand pointed in his direction dissuaded him from it quite quickly. For a second Harry wondered where Draco's wand was but he didn't have to look long, it lay snugly in Plantier's hand.
Behind him stood several students from Beauxbatons. Opposite to them a small crowd of Hogwarts students had gathered. Most of them were Slytherins, but there was a sprinkle of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. Thankfully it looked like it hadn't come to blows outside the fight between Draco and Plantier yet. If it did it would mean multiple injuries which would mean attention from the teachers, which would lead to an unpleasant time for everyone involved.
"Potter," Plantier spat. "Do your friends always need your help?"
Merlin how he disliked that boy. He was a capable dueller, yes, but ever since Harry had beaten him last year in Paris the boy had reputedly developed an intense dislike for him. It had been apparent at their duel a few days ago, but even more so now.
"No Plantier," he replied smoothly. "Here at Hogwarts we simply value loyalty."
The boy bristled at that, as did several of the students behind him. Ah, how easy it was to rile up the French. Despite how fun it was, it wasn't his goal however. Some looked ready to draw their wands, and he couldn't have that.
"Now, why don't we end this little get-together? I'm sure whatever words have been said are already forgotten."
Plantier's eyes narrowed at him. "This dog insulted my family! I won't leave until he apologises for that!"
Draco and his mouth … He might be a loyal friend, but he also was trouble more often than not.
"You have already beaten him Plantier. I see no reason to continue this any further. We can solve this quietly among ourselves, but if we draw this on for much longer the teachers will get involved, and that will end in nothing but frustration for everyone."
Plantier openly sneered at him. "Maybe I want to involve the teachers. Make him," he spat in front of Malfoy, "apologise in front of everybody. What do you say Malfoy, you want to do it in your Great Hall? Tomorrow at breakfast while everyone is watching?"
Voices on both sides were rising and Harry could feel the anger of the Hogwarts students behind him. He wanted to hex Plantier for that himself, but knew he really shouldn't. Had he miscalculated the situation so badly? If this turned into an actual fight between the two groups … the newspapers would have a field day. And he just knew how disappointed his dad would be.
"Plantier, there is absolutely no reason for something that drastic. Let's-"
He was interrupted when a new voice entered the fray. "Sébastien, stop this foolishness. You've beaten Malfoy, but now you're behaving like a child. You think your father will be pleased to hear about this? How his son and heir embarrasses not just his school but his entire country by acting like a spoiled brat?"
He'd heard the voice before, everyone in Hogwarts did, but it never failed to amaze him simply how sensuous it could be. Just as a precaution he brought his mental shields to their lowest level. The voice was merely beautiful now.
Her allure was far from full blast, but he disliked the possibility of him being influenced by it in principle.
Plantier's face was red in embarrassment and he spluttered something in denial, but barely anyone was listening to him anymore. Several were even trying to hold back their laughter.
Fleur Delacour continued unabashed. "You speak of insults and yet you start fights in the corridors. Is that the way to behave towards our gracious hosts? Madame Maxine would be ashamed if she found out! Go back to your quarters Sébastien. And take your gaggle of fans with you."
With that she turned towards him, flashing him a polite smile that she somehow managed to combine with a quite demanding look. "Mister Potter, I hope that we can leave matters as they are? I think both parties would hate to continue this any further. Not to mention the potential involvement of other parties."
Harry gave her a smile in return. A shame not all students from the French delegation were as intelligent as her. "I fully agree, Miss Delacour. Let bygones be bygones, and tomorrow we'll all have forgotten about it."
Fleur shot him another smile, considerably brighter than before and Harry turned to the Hogwarts students behind him. Crabbe and Goyle were already helping Malfoy up, but they were absolutely unsuited for the task at hand. "Theo, Gideon, bring Malfoy to the common room. Discreetly. Tracey, would you mind giving him a look over when he's there? I don't want to involve Madam Pomfrey unless absolutely necessary and you're far better at healing than I am."
Tracey pouted at him but he didn't need any of that right now and gave her a hard stare in return. After a few seconds she relented. "Fine, I'll fix whatever I can. But you owe me Harry."
He grinned. "I'll make it up to you, no worries." He turned to the rest of the Hogwarts students who were still mingling around while the French were already breaking up.
"Alright, this party is over, you can go back to what you were doing before. And if I hear one word of this …" he regarded them with a cold stare.
A few looked away, but Hannah Abbott spoke up. "We're not that stupid Potter. Do have some faith in us."
He smiled at that. "Well, everything is in order then, is it not?" Nobody spoke up. "Brilliant."
Thankfully they took the cue and began to leave. Theo was levitating Malfoy after casting a handful of charms on them while Gideon was going ahead making sure nobody would see them.
Harry was about to leave himself when he heard Delacour speak again. "Mister Potter, a word please?"
Well, he supposed he should thank her for her cooperation. Who knows how it would have turned out without her. "Of course Miss Delacour. But please call me Harry."
"Only if you call me Fleur in return," she answered with a smile.
He dipped his neck in thanks. "Of course Fleur. What did you want to discuss?"
"I wanted to thank you for handling this. I shudder to think of what would have happened without your timely intervention."
"Please, if anyone I think you saved the situation here. You handled him remarkably well."
"Oh, I have a little bit of experience in that. He can be quite annoying at times unfortunately." She paused briefly. "Would you take a short walk with me? I promised to see my sister after her ballet class, but it is ending quite soon I fear."
Harry glanced at his watch, the one that Daphne had given to him for his birthday last year. She was right, it was later than he thought it was. He hadn't planned for it, but he definitely wouldn't mind seeing Daphne. "Gladly. Daphne, my betrothed, has spoken highly of her skill."
As they made their way to the class, the smile that graced her face appeared to be truly genuine for the first time. "I believe my sister has said much the same about your betrothed. I cannot wait to see their performance at the end of the year. Gabrielle has refused to tell me what they are planning every time I asked, so it must be something special."
Harry smiled lightly. His experience had been similar. "I haven't been successful in that regard either I'm afraid. But their previous performances were simply stunning, so I'm confident they are only going to eclipse themselves this year."
"From what I've seen so far I have no doubt it will. Our time here has simply been amazing. Except for the weather maybe, I fear it does not agree to me that well."
They laughed at her joke, but Fleur's face soon turned more serious. "I'm afraid I have more serious matters to discuss however. Would you mind some privacy?"
She took out a small shard of wood and pressed her wand against it when he nodded. Rowan most likely if he had to take a guess; it was a very useful material for temporary protective wards.
Just to be on the safe side he had his wrist at the right angle to release his wand in the blink of an eye. It never hurt to be on the safe side, though he had to admit he was intrigued. This was more blunt than he would have expected from her.
An array of runes lit up when the tip of her wand touched them, creating an eerie glow around her hand. He felt the familiar tingle of privacy wards wash over his body and Fleur turned towards him. "I'm incredibly sorry to be this upfront, but my father instructed me to seek you out. You know who he is, I trust?"
Of course he knew who Francois Delacour was. The French Foreign Minister was a well-known man in Europe. His ambition to become Prime Minister was quite well known too.
"I briefly spoke with him last year at the Yule ball. A most charming man, though I must confess I'm not quite sure what he would want from me." That was a lie. He had a good idea of what he wanted, but he wanted as much information out of this as possible.
"He was quite impressed by you as well and wanted to invite you and your betrothed to dinner at our chateau once the tournament is over."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Only me and Daphne?"
At least she had the decency to look abashed at his words. "I'm terribly sorry Harry, but I'm only relaying my father's words. I assure you, he meant no offence."
He waved her off. "It is fine, no offense was taken." He continued, his voice more bitter. "I guess he's just quite future-oriented." It was no secret that Harry would become Head of the family at an early age. He had gotten used to it, but that didn't mean he liked it one bit. If he ever got that Lestrange bitch into his fingers …
"I apologize once again if my words caused any offence, but my father was quite insistent I do this as soon as possible."
"No, it is fine. Tell your father that I accept and am eager to speak with him."
She smiled again and Harry thought there was some relief in it as well. "Thank you Harry, I am glad. I shall tell him that you accepted as soon as possible."
They fell into an awkward silence after that, but thankfully the classroom used to teach ballet wasn't far. Class had just ended when they got there and students were leaving in all directions. It was late afternoon so most were headed to their common rooms, the library or out to the grounds.
Near the door he spotted Daphne, deep in conversation with the ancient form of Avdotia Titova, premier maître de ballet en chef of Durmstrang. The aged woman had taken over ballet at Hogwarts for the year, just as this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was Stefan Dănești from Romania. The European School Championship did not only bring students together after all, it also exchanged teachers throughout the competing schools and nations.
Madam Titova was old enough to have danced for the Imperial Russian court and was one of the few Russians still alive from before the curtain dropped – one of the few who had actually lived in Russia before the curtain dropped. From what Daphne had told him she was fair, but harsh enough to make McGonagall look like a mewling kitten in comparison. He certainly heard enough bitching about her from the other students who took the class to make that seem true.
He smiled when he briefly made eye contact with Daphne. Even in school robes – which had been improved by all students with liberal applications of charms – she was still the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. How did he get this lucky?
A shout from a young girl brought him back to reality and he saw Fleur being hugged by what was essentially a smaller version of the French student. The two disentangled after a while and exchanged a few sentences in French which he barely could follow. He'd need to brush up his French before the dinner with their father it seemed.
"Harry, this is Gabrielle, my little sister." Fleur introduced the younger girl after a short while.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle Delacour." He took her hand and breathed a kiss over her knuckles while bowing at the waist, ever the perfect gentleman.
Fleur laughed softly while Gabrielle blushed a bright crimson and retreated behind her sister.
Behind him, a new voice asked full of amusement, "Charming French girls now Harry? Have you already forgotten about little old me?"
He turned around where Daphne now stood, one eyebrow raised in question. Amusement shimmered in her blue eyes and he kissed her hand while bowing even lower.
"You wound me with your accusations, my fair lady. My eyes only see you, everything else pales in comparison."
Now she laughed openly and Fleur quickly joined as well. "You have a remarkably well trained betrothed, Miss Greengrass," she remarked much to the amusement of Daphne.
"We've been together for some time now, it would be a shame if I didn't, wouldn't it?"
Fleur laughed again and this time even Gabrielle joined in. Harry bore it good-naturedly.
"I'm afraid that we'll have to cut this short however, both my sister and I have quite a lot of homework in front of us unfortunately," Fleur said. "Once again, many thanks for accepting our invitation."
Daphne turned to him with a questioning look. "Their father has invited us for dinner at their chateau after this tournament is done," Harry explained.
Daphne shot a beaming smile at Fleur. "I'd love to! I haven't been to France for ages."
"I'm glad to hear it. Maybe a visit to Paris the day after, if you would be interested?"
"That sounds lovely, thank you for the invitation. I'm sure we have the time."
They bid each other farewell and after a short walk Daphne and Harry entered an unused classroom where they quickly put a locking charm on the door.
She was in his arms almost immediately after he had cast the spell, their lips pressed together in a heated kiss.
"I've missed you," he told her as they stood there, their foreheads pressed together.
"I can tell," she smiled and kissed him again. When he tried to kiss her back she pulled back however, but not without a flustered grin on her face.
"Not here Harry. Not when everyone saw us leave together."
He sighed but managed to sneak a quick kiss against her lips. "You know that we have that little retreat in the Verdon Gorge in France, right? I'm sure the Delacours wouldn't mind if we stay in France for a couple days after our trip to Paris."
She laughed. "Mother would kill us."
"Not that I would mind it," she added a second later with a slight blush on her beautiful pale face, almost too quiet to hear.
Harry grinned and moved to kiss her again, but she leaned out of the way and put a flat hand against his chest. "I'm serious Harry, not here. Who knows who could stand outside the door right now."
"I'd obliviate them," he boasted and she laughed.
"And then we'd have the Aurors after us. Where would we flee?"
"There is that island in the Caribbean …"
"As if I could ever forget that! Your eyes were practically glued to me," she giggled.
"How could they not have been? You in that bikini do things to a man!" What a scandal that would be if the public ever found out. Thankfully the privacy charms were extremely thorough, though his ancestors had likely put them there for different reasons.
"No Harry," she continued after she shook her head. "You won't obliviate anyone. We'll leave this classroom, act as society demands we do and then maybe, maybe, we can start talking about a vacation in France."
He was at the door before she could blink.
"Shall we, my Lady?" he asked and held the door open.
She laughed at his antics and his smile couldn't have been bigger.