Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter Franchise or its characters. All characters used are the property of their respective owners.

This story is rated M for violence, language, & sexual themes.

A Special Thanks to my Alpha/Beta on this story.

This story is a Horcrux free zone.

The bolded text in this chapter was taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows written by J.K. Rowling.

If you don't like what you've read, stop reading.

Where the Wild Roses Grow 21

10 August 1995

Narcissa Black tried to swallow down her unease as she stared at the tombstone of her once thought dead lover. She'd never dared visit while married to Lucius, the risk of being discovered was too great. Narcissa was almost certain he'd had spies living in the village, both to monitor Dumbledore but also to see if Harry would ever show up to visit his parents. She wouldn't have to worry anymore; Lucius would die in prison for attacking Apolline Delacour with an unforgivable curse; Narcissa was finally free to pursue a relationship with her first and only love.

"I found it," Skeeter declared from across the graveyard.

Or she would if she ever got rid of Skeeter. Narcissa had briefly weighed the idea of burying her alive in Lily's grave – but immediately dismissed the thought as both in bad taste mostly because she'd have no way of explaining the missing journalist to Harry. Narcissa crossed the graveyard and stopped beside Skeeter, following her line of sight to a pair of graves in front of them. One belonged to Kendra Dumbledore and the other… "Ariana."

Skeeter let out a breath through her nose. "The records didn't lie; Ariana was a member of Dumbledore's family who died in this village almost one hundred years ago."

"Why is there no record of her attending Hogwarts?" Narcissa asked leaning down to brush some of the overgrown weeds away from the tombstone. "According to this, she was fourteen when she passed. Could Ariana have been a squib? Was the shame the reason she was hidden from the world?"

"Whatever the reason I don't think we'll find our answers here," Skeeter explained with a shrug as she walked towards the village. Pulling out her notepad, Skeeter thumbed through it until she arrived at her page of notes about Godric's Hollow. "There is only one resident who might remember something about Dumbledore when he was that age, Bathilda Bagshot."

"The author of 'A History of Magic'?" Narcissa asked raising an eyebrow.

"She's lived here all her life, you'd think a historian would be more well-travelled, but apparently not." Skeeter opined as they walked up the street.

Narcissa pulled her scarf tighter around her face, she was reasonably confident that no one would recognise her, but at the same time, she couldn't be wholly sure. The two stopped outside a run-down little house near the centre of the village and knocked on the door. The woman who answered was a dumpy little witch with thinning white hair and heavy cataracts in her eyes, she peered at them unsteadily, as if she could just make out that they were people but all other physical details escaped her. "Hello dearies, how can I help you?"

"Hello Miss Bagshot, my name is Rita, and this is my friend…" Rita began, throwing a questioning glance back at Narcissa.

"Cissy, we're such huge fans of yours, I hope you don't mind that we came for a visit unannounced."

"Oh, nonsense, come in, come in," The older woman replied beckoning them inside.

Narcissa and Rita followed her inside where they were served cauldron cakes and tea, after almost twenty minutes of banal chatter Rita steered the conversation towards their preferred topic. "Is it true you knew Professor Dumbledore when he was a boy?"

"Hm? Oh yes, what a clever boy he was, he always had a head full of ideas. I knew long before anyone else he would be destined for great things."

"Did you get to know his family too?" Narcissa pressed.

Bathilda paused. "O-only by sight. Albus though, he studied so hard at Hogwarts he set the record for O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's at the school."

Rita and Narcissa glanced at each other frowning, Bathilda knew more than she was letting on, Rita reached into her purse and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid and tipped a few drops into Bathilda's drink. Narcissa wanted to object but knew time was tight and they needed information. After taking another sip of the tea Narcissa tried again. "Did you know Dumbledore's family?"

"Kendra Dumbledore slammed the door in my face when I went around to welcome her with a batch of homemade Cauldron Cakes. The first year they were there I only ever saw the two boys. Wouldn't have known there was a daughter if I hadn't been picking Plangentines by moonlight the winter after they moved in and saw Kendra leading Ariana out into the back garden. Walked her round the lawn once, keeping a firm grip on her, then took her back inside. Didn't know what to make of it."

"Did you see Ariana again after that?"

"Only at night when her mother would lead her around the garden, then after her mother died when Albus took over. They never let her out of that house, the only time the poor thing saw the outside was when she was led around the garden. I tried to offer Kendra some books for the girl to read but she was never interested."

Narcissa stood and walked away from the two other women as Rita pressed on. "What caused Kendra Dumbledore's death?"

Bathilda shook her head. "I don't know, it could have been an explosion, the house was damaged by something I remember. I was away the day Kendra died."

As Narcissa walked around the room she paused at a framed photo, despite the age of the photo she recognised at least one of the subjects, the other one though caused something to niggle at the back of her mind. She brought the picture over and sat down again, showing the frame to Skeeter before moving it into Bathilda's field of view, pointing at the boy in the vest and long sleeves. "Who is the boy in the picture?"

"That's Albus, he must have been no more than eighteen or nineteen at the time," Bathilda responded with a smile, despite having very poor eyesight due to her age and cataracts she'd had that picture for almost one hundred years.

"And the boy with him?"

"That's dear Gellert…" Bathilda replied.

Both women froze and slowly glanced at each other, a ball of ice forming in their stomachs. "Bathilda, are you sure? The boy in the photo with Albus Dumbledore is Gellert Grindelwald?"

"That's right, they met after Kendra died, Gellert came to stay with me, he was on a study tour he said. That boy was always ravenous for knowledge, I think that's why he and Albus got on so well…"

"Obliviate!" Rita yelled pointing her wand at Bathilda, the woman's face went slack as Rita began to pack up her things.

"Rita! We need more information." Narcissa hissed.

"No, dear Narcissa, we don't," Skeeter replied making a copy of the photo and putting it in her bag. "Dumbledore and Grindelwald knew each other; we don't need any more information on Dumbledore's sister. For now, at least. I suspect the Dumbledore-Grindelwald connection will yield far more information about why he's obsessed with Potter than researching why his sister died."

Narcissa nodded. "You're probably right…"

Chateau Delacour, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

Harry heard a groan and thump of something being dropped onto the ground from a nearby room, as he walked towards the library of the Chateau. Sticking his head in Harry saw his mom shifting file boxes into piles against the far wall, while other boxes were stacked on the table, along with large stacks of paper and parchment. "Uh, hi, Mom."

Lily looked up from her organising to give Harry a tired smile beckoning him inside. "Hello sweetheart, what are you up to?"

"Not much, I was going to get something to read when I heard a noise coming from in here," Harry replied as his gaze wandered over the boxes. "What are you doing?"

Lily cleaned her hands with a rag as she sat tiredly at the table, throwing a contemptible look over at the boxes. "The Goblins did a good job of managing the Potter fortune while I was… away, but as regent of the house I need to review all the records that were kept and decide if the work done was in the best interests of House Potter and in keeping with what your father and grandfather would have wanted."

Harry nodded. "So, one day this will be my job?"

Lily smiled getting up and walking over to Harry, ruffling his hair. "It won't be quite this bad, the family has significant investments, yes, but this is ten years' worth of records. Apolline has kindly let me borrow a room for this."

Harry nodded and looked away shyly. "I feel like we're taking advantage of her hospitality sometimes…"

Lily pulled Harry in close and kissed his forehead. "I said that exact thing to Apolline a few days ago and she dismissed the notion immediately."

"Really?" Harry asked.

Lily nodded. "She said we're family now, she insisted we think of the Chateau as our home in France."

"O-oh, t-that's nice…" Harry stuttered as a blush crept up his cheeks.

Lily laughed and shook her head. "I can only imagine what your father would have said if he knew you have two girlfriends, not only that but they're a muggleborn and a Veela. I bet wherever pranksters go when they die, he's filling the sky with laughter."

"I love you, Mom," Harry said as he pulled her into a hug while Lily had a wistful smile on her face.

"I love you too, Harry," Lily replied looking up and around. "Speaking of which, where are Hermione and Fleur?"

"Hm? Oh, they dragged Tonks out to do something… they wouldn't tell me what, only giggling amongst themselves as they left."

"And Gabrielle is still at the enclave?"

Harry nodded. "Fleur said she'll be there until the end of holidays. She left the day after I got here so I've barely interacted with her."

"That's not a nice way to treat your future sister-in-law," Lily observed with a teasing grin, which grew wider when Harry's blush returned in full force.

"S-so, do you want help with this stuff?" Harry asked, fighting away the thoughts Lily had put in his head.

Lily nodded. "That would be great."

Potter Family Apartment

Queen's Gate, London, England

Narcissa collapsed into a chair as Rita paced the apartment, the two had hurriedly tidied Bagshot's house to leave as few clues as possible of being there. Rita had modified Bathilda's memory for her to recall two young women arriving at her home and then leaving shortly after. She would have no memory of them asking about the Dumbledore's or about the picture, a copy of which sat on the coffee table between Rita and Narcissa. Rita glanced at Narcissa with a question on her lips. "Did you know who was in that photo?"

Narcissa shook her head. "I didn't know, I suspected. Lucius… my ex-husband had a portrait of Grindelwald in his office. He's older in the portrait with a bleached goatee, but you could hardly miss the similarities between the portrait and the picture of the boy standing with Dumbledore."

"It's thoroughly unsurprising that your hus…" Rita paused when she caught the glare from Narcissa. "Ex-husband would be a fan of his."

"Yes, but that doesn't answer my question, how will the Dumbledore/Grindelwald connection help us?"

Rita crossed the room and sat down in front of Narcissa. "Grindelwald's favourite phrase was 'the greater good', who does that sound like to you?"

"Dumbledore," Narcissa replied without thinking.

"Exactly, we both know that Dumbledore was never on the light side, despite what he claimed," Rita explained. "There were always rumours, but my editor warned me off looking too deeply into Dumbledore's dealings, he claimed it would be bad for my career, but I think it would have been just as bad for my health, knowing what I know now."

"Grindelwald and Dumbledore may have shared the same philosophy when they were young, that doesn't explain why they duelled in nineteen forty-five or how it relates to Harry?"

Rita sighed. "I don't know, but I still think we'll have more luck with that than figuring out why Dumbledore's sister died."

Narcissa nodded. "Let's keep researching both, even if one is a dead-end, the other might provide answers."

Les Boutiques Du Palais, Paris, France

Fleur grinned as she picked a bra off the rack and held it up. "Hermione, what do you think about this?"

Hermione turned her head away from the bathing suits she was considering and looked over at Fleur who was further down the aisle. Hermione's face turned a bright shade of crimson when she spotted the lacy see-through bra Fleur was holding. "I-I don't think that's appropriate?"

"Oh? I was simply considering buying something to wear during summer, perhaps you had some other situation in mind?"

Hermione groaned in frustration as Fleur and Tonks shared a teasing grin. Fleur put the bra in her basket with a flourish. "I think I will buy this."

"Just to annoy me?" Hermione asked.

"Non, not strictly for that reason," Fleur explained. "Sometimes I get uncomfortable wearing pyjamas to bed in summer, I need something that breathes better. I do not want to sleep naked, at least not alone." Fleur added with a lustful grin to Hermione.

Tonks shot a glare towards a man standing nearby with his wife, he'd been ogling Fleur for the entire time they'd been in the clothing store while his wife haggled the price of a dress with an employee. His eyes widened when Fleur talked about sleeping naked and Tonks had, had enough. "We should finish up; we're drawing unwanted attention."

"Oui, I saw him as well, he is old enough to be my father," Fleur replied in disgust.

The three women paid for the purchases and exited the store, Hermione glanced down at the bag they'd brought with them from the electronics store nearby. "Do you think he'll like it?"

Tonks smiled. "I think he'll like it more because it's from you and Fleur than what it is."

"Have you heard back from everyone?" Fleur asked.

The three sat down in the food court and Hermione brought out her planner, flicking to the appropriate page. "Yes, Cedric, Cho, Neville, Daphne, and Luna are all coming. I thought about inviting the Weasley twins, but I figured that would be awkward for everyone."

Fleur nodded. "Oui, this is supposed to be a happy day for Arry, I don't want him dwelling on Dumbledore and his lot."

"What about food?" Tonks asked.

"I'm paying Dobby three Galleons to make food; I gave him a list and some money to go get all the food we need."

Fleur glanced at Tonks and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She loved her soulmate, but the obsession with House-Elf freedom without understanding the feelings and wishes of House-Elves was infuriating. Fleur had already decided she and her mother needed to sit down with Hermione and explain House-Elf rights before the start of the school year.

"Shall we have some lunch before going back to the Chateau?" Fleur asked.

Hermione and Tonks nodded with Tonks and Fleur walking away to order while she stayed to watch their stuff and mind the table. As she waited a blonde boy about Fleur's age approached the table. "Bonjour Mademoiselle."

Hermione looked up and her cheeks turned slightly pink. "Bonjour."

"Oh, you are English?"

"Oui, but I can speak French," Hermione replied.

"It is okay, may I sit?"

"Oh, um, I'm waiting for my friends," Hermione replied hesitantly.

"I'll vacate the seat before they return," The boy assured her as he sat down in Fleur's seat.

"O-ok, my name is Hermione."

"I am Gaston," he replied, scooping up Hermione's hand and gently pressing his lips against her knuckles.

Hermione frowned and snatched her hand back from him, wiping the back of his hand on her pants leg. "Excuse me, I have a boyfriend."

"Apologies, I should have known a beautiful girl like you would have a boyfriend," Gaston replied making Hermione's blush deepen.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked glaring at the boy in front of her. She could tell he was a smooth talker and didn't care she had a boyfriend. If anything, she was reminded of Seamus Finnigan who had cultivated a reputation as a womaniser and other less flattering names as he worked or tried to work through the four Hogwarts dorms. He'd never tried it on with her, both preferring older girls and fearful of upsetting Harry, which in turn would have upset the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Not a situation anyone would have wished for.

"A beautiful girl should never sit alone at a table if a gentleman is nearby," Gaston replied.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "As I said I'm with my friends, and I don't need someone I don't know trying to chat me up while I'm alone. Please leave."

Gaston raised his hands and stood, giving Hermione a small bow. "Apologies, I didn't realise I had offended you. I see one of your friends is hovering, I will take my leave."

As Gaston walked away Hermione felt Tonks's hand rest on her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, that guy was a creep," Hermione muttered darkly.

"I thought about stepping in, but you seemed to have the situation under control."

Hermione smiled up at the older woman. "Thank you."

"You go get some food; I'll wait with our stuff."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, but get it to go, ok?"

Hermione nodded. "I suppose we should get something for Harry in that case."

Tonks grinned. "Make sure it's greasy and completely unhealthy, he'll like that."

Gaston watched as Hermione laughed and walked away and grinned to himself, as soon as he saw Hermione palling around with Delacour he knew he had to ingratiate himself with her. That hadn't worked as planned but it had yielded a key piece of information. He was now confident Fleur would be his plaything once again. It was just a matter of time.

The Peninsula Paris, Paris, France

After safely seeing Hermione and Fleur back to the Chateau, Tonks returned to her room at the hotel. It had been agreed that Tonks would keep Harry's presents with her to not spoil the surprise. When Tonks stepped inside, she immediately felt something off, the door to her balcony was open and someone was sitting outside. Tonks quietly placed the bags on the floor and drew her wand. Tonks manipulated her body to make her steps as light as possible as she approached the balcony, when she was directly behind the brown-haired man, who was sitting smoking a cigarette, she pressed her wand against the base of his skull and spoke. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The brown-haired man took the cigarette out of his mouth and took a sip of whiskey. "I'm impressed Tonks, you've become much better at stealth than when you were trying to pull pranks on me at school."

Tonks stowed her wand and scowled, snatching the cigarette out of Nick's hand, and stamping on it with her heel. "Damn it, Nick, how did you get into my room?!"

"I flew," Nick replied offhandedly, when Tonks's scowl didn't let up, he sighed and put down his glass. "I asked your mother to let me in, I said I wanted to surprise you."

"You almost surprised me into blowing your fucking head off. I didn't think you'd be back for weeks." Tonks replied in a huff snatching Nick's drink out of his hand and downing it herself.

"I wasn't supposed to be, but the mission ended sooner than anticipated… we found our rogue scientist… and I finally killed the bitch." Nick explained as his voice grew quiet.

"The…" Tonks paused, and her eyes widened. "Oh."

"It wasn't me exactly, except that's what it will say on the report, I let Merula do it, I owed her that much," Nick said pouring another glass of whiskey. "I'm glad Rakepick is dead, Rowan can rest in peace now, and I can move on."

"Move on?"

Nick took a sip of his beverage and leaned back in his chair, staring out at the Parisian sky. "I've spent six years hunting dark wizards and putting the bastards in the ground. I'm tired Tonks, seeing you again made me realise how tired I was."

"I…" Tonks began.

"No, I'm glad, seeing you made me remember the good times at Hogwarts, being with my friends, having an adventure. After Alistor left and I began training, all I could think about was how much I hated Rakepick and Dumbledore. I couldn't escape that cycle…" Nick reached out and scooped up Tonks's hand. "Being with you made me remember that I promised Rowan I would honour his memory by living my life. I quit the Unspeakables today, I want my life back. I'd like you to be a part of it."

Tonks grinned at him and leaned in to kiss him on the lips, ignoring the smell of tobacco and whiskey on his breath. "I want that too."

Tonks sat in his lap, stealing another sip of his whiskey. "So, what are your plans now you're free of your obligations?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead actually, going back to England is out of the question… I could ask Madame Delacour for a job but I'm sort of over being anyone's cop or assassin."

"How about being someone's bodyguard?" Tonks asked.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "You're fishing, spill."

"Lily Potter offered me a job and I'm thinking hard about taking it. How would you feel about protecting the Potter family?"

Chateau Delacour, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

Harry, Hermione, and Fleur sat on the floor of the former's room in a triangle, Fleur sat opposite Harry and Hermione sat between them. "Are you ready, Arry?"

Harry nodded and let his body relax as Fleur focused her magical energy and gently slipped inside his mind. "Can you hear me, Arry?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell what language I am speaking?"

"Eng… no, French?"

"Yes, very good Arry, what language are you speaking?"

Harry's eyes widened and the connection was suddenly broken, Fleur winced and brought her hand to her head. Harry slid over and placed a hand on Fleur's shoulder. "Fleur, tu vas bien?" (Fleur, are you ok?)

"Oui Arry, je vais bien, merci, ma tête est un peu douloureuse." (Yes Arry, I am fine, thank you, my head is a little sore.)

"Harry, tu réalises que tu parles français en ce moment?" (Harry, you do realise you're speaking French right now?) Hermione asked.

"Je le suis? Oh wow, je le suis vraiment!" (I am? Oh wow, I really am!) Harry replied excitedly.

"La question est de savoir si vous pouvez arrêter et démarrer sur commande?" (Question is, can you stop and start on command?) Hermione pondered.

"Hum, je pense que oui?" (Um, I think so?)

Harry concentrated for a moment before returning his attention to Fleur. "Feeling any better?"

Fleur smiled and nodded. "Oui, you pulled a tad roughly, you should work on that Arry, you won't impress girls that way."

Harry blushed but grinned. "There are only two girls I'm worried about impressing."

"Good answer," Fleur replied leaning in for a kiss.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How do you turn everything into innuendoflirting?"

Fleur grinned across at Hermione before leaning in to plant a kiss on the brown-haired girl's lips. "Practice, cherie."

11 August 1995

It was about lunchtime when Harry, Lily, and Tonks returned from a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Lily had somewhat suspiciously sprung an impromptu visit to the monolith that morning. Harry asked if Fleur and/or Hermione wanted to go as well but the two had begged off – Hermione and Fleur agreed that this was the perfect time to have some mother/son bonding. Harry pointed out that with Tonks shadowing them the entire time it wouldn't be much of a bonding experience. Tonks agreed to keep a respectful distance.

When Harry entered the house, it was dark and quiet, he immediately palmed his wand when the lights burst on and there was a shout of "SURPRISE!"

Harry just about stopped himself firing off a stunning spell in the direction of his friends, as it dawned on him what was happening. Harry managed a smile as he hid his wand behind his back. His eyes spotted the Happy Birthday Harry banner against the far wall and the party hats on everyone's heads. Harry turned to his girlfriends. "It's not my birthday."

"That's true, but you were ill on your birthday, and we couldn't properly celebrate while you were in the hospital," Hermione explained walking up to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Harry asked.

"Oui, although I've come up with several more inventive names, Hermione doesn't want me giving you ideas about swearing in French," Fleur replied kissing him on his other cheek.

Cho poked Cedric in the side playfully. "Don't get any ideas."

"About what?" Cedric asked innocently.

"You know what," Cho muttered as she walked up to Harry and hugged him. "You've had us worried, Cedric's dad kept sending letters about you with all these crazy stories… we didn't know what to believe."

As Cho stepped back Cedric stepped in for a hug, followed by Neville, Luna and finally Daphne, who smacked Harry on the head in addition to the brief hug. "You had Neville worried, Potter, I expect you to take better care of yourself in future."

"Yeah, yeah…" Harry muttered with a bashful grin. Daphne's cheeks turned slightly pink, and Fleur and Hermione's eyes narrowed a fraction. It seemed not even the Slytherin ice queen was immune from the Potter charm.

"Neville?" A voice from behind Harry asked, he and the two girls stepped aside to let Lily in. She stepped to the front of the group and ran her eyes over them each individually. Lily's eyes stopped on the sandy-haired boy and became tearful as she pulled him in for a hug. "Neville Longbottom, I haven't seen you since you were a baby!"

Neville blushed and awkwardly returned the hug. "M-Missus Potter?!"

Lily pulled back and flicked Neville on the nose. "None of that, it's Lily or Aunty Lily if you feel comfortable." Lily's face brightened as she gave Neville another once over with her eyes. "Alice would be so proud of the handsome man her son is growing up to be. You look so much like your father when he was your age."

"D-do I?" Neville stuttered.

Lily nodded vigorously turning to the young woman standing beside him. "And you are every bit the statuesque beauty your mother Isabella was when she was at school."

"Oh, thank you, Lady Potter," Daphne replied giving Lily a small curtsy as she did.

"You're welcome, Daphne, so…" Lily began turning to the last three people in the group of visitors. "You're Xeno and Pandora's little girl." She finished turning this time to Luna.

Luna nodded, not able to find anything to say as she gawked in awe of one of her heroes. Lily gave the girl a kind smile and opened her arms, allowing Luna to rush in for a bone-breaking hug. Lily smiled down at the girl and gave her a gentle kiss on the head. "It's nice to meet you too."

Luna blushed and stepped back, wiping her eyes. "My father told me lots of wonderful things about you Missus Potter, he said you looked out for Mum when she was at school, and now you're here."

"Yes, I am, and I'm not going anywhere."

"And what do you remember about me from when you were in school Missus Potter?" A man asked playfully as he stepped between Luna and Cho.

Lily rolled her eyes and smacked Sirius on the nose with her fingers as Harry's eyes widened. "Sirius! What are you doing here?!"

Sirius chuckled enveloping his godson. "I'm here for your birthday! Andi is making me go back after the party is over, but there was nothing she could do to stop me from coming to your party."

"I'm glad you're here, I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Pup," Sirius replied, leaning down to kiss Harry on the top of the head.

"I want cake." Luna declared suddenly, the group laughed. Fleur and Hermione herded them into the dining room.

After lunch and cake, everyone gathered to watch Harry open his presents. From Luna he got three sets of butterbeer cork necklaces, she claimed it would keep Harry, Fleur, and Hermione safe from the nargles Dumbledore controlled. Harry beamed at the younger girl and immediately put his on. Fleur quickly followed suit with a slightly reluctant Hermione a step behind her soulmates. Daphne and Neville gave Harry a broom maintenance kit, as Harry examined it Sirius leaned forward and plucked a small bottle out of one of the pouches. "Broom polish? I thought polishing Harry's broom was Fleur and Hermione's job?"

Both girls glared at the older man as he gave them a wicked grin, which was curtailed somewhat by Lily smacking him over the head with a copy of Le Monde. Harry cleared his throat and moved on to the present from Cho and Cedric. The present had Hermione squeezing painfully hard on Harry's shoulder as her eyes almost consumed what was on Harry's lap. This time Sirius wisely kept his mouth shut. "Father sends his good wishes Harry," Cho began. "He was happy you kept my boyfriend alive long enough for him to try and intimidate Cedric. So, when I asked if he could send away a copy of 'The History of Magic in China' he was eager to comply. I hope you enjoy it."

"So do I, if I ever learn to speak…?" Harry began glancing at Hermione.

"Mandarin," Hermione answered glancing at Cho for confirmation.

"There are translation spells I can teach you…" Cho added, flinching slightly when four pairs of eyes shot up in her direction, hungry for knowledge.

"I think that's a yes," Harry replied sounding bemused.

Next was the present from Emma and Apolline. "Emma apologises for not being here Arry, she's arranging the sale of her practice and packing her house. She did want me to mention that she's very proud of you and she's looking forward to being your mother-in-law someday, but not too soon." Apolline explained with a cheeky grin.

Harry and Hermione blushed as he accepted the present, carefully unwrapping a leather-bound photo album. "Hermione told us Hagrid gave you a photo album filled with pictures of your parents and their friends. We thought this one could be for the new family you're building with Hermione and Fleur."

Harry wiped his eyes and smiled up at the older woman. "Thank you both."

"Nymmie and… OW!" Sirius began, yowling in pain as a stinging hex was fired at his ass. "Come on Tonksie, what was that for?!"

Tonks glared at her cousin. "You know the rules Black, we do not use that name in this house."

Sirius groaned and rubbed his sore ass as he gave Harry his present. "Tonks and I had the same idea, so we decided to split the difference. Happy birthday, Pup."

Harry quickly tore off the wrapping paper to reveal three wand holsters, rightly assuming the other two were for Hermione and Fleur he passed them out. Sirius grinned as he watched his godson examine them. "Strap it to your arm, it comes with a neat party trick."

Harry glanced at Fleur and Hermione and with their silent agreement stared at Sirius for a long moment. Sirius grinned and raised his hands. "I didn't charm them for a prank I swear."

"I can vouch for that, Harry," Tonks added.

Harry's eyes shifted from Sirius to Tonks. "Weren't you a known prankster at school?"

"Me? Never…" Tonks replied innocently.

"Liar," Cedric said, grinning.

Tonks groaned. "Damn it… I keep forgetting we were at school together…"

"Not just at school together, in the same house," Cedric explained. "I never got into half as much trouble as you and Nick did, and he was prefect."

Tonks adopted a fond smile. "Good times…"

"Ahem, getting back on topic…" Hermione announced dryly.

Apolline walked forward and ran her wand over all three wand holsters. "I can detect no anomalous charms; they should be safe to wear."

Harry rested his hands on Hermione and Fleur's and smiled at them. "Ready?"

The two nodded and secured the holsters to their arms. As soon as they did, they disappeared, Apolline frowned and turned around to face Sirius. "Invisible wand holsters are strictly regulated Mister Black, where did you procure those items from?"

Sirius continued smiling at the older woman. "The Black family vault milady, the holster Harry is wearing belonged to his Grandmother Dorea, who was a Black by birth."

Harry's smile became even wider when he heard that. He stared down at his arm, running his fingers over the invisible holster, he felt proud knowing it once belonged to his grandmother. "That's so cool, Sirius. Thank you, both."

Apolline sighed and shook her head. "I suppose given they're family heirlooms there's not much I can do about it. I would have preferred to have been forewarned about this, but I can arrange the paperwork later. You will not pull stunts like this again, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sirius responded, getting another wack over the head from Lily as a reward.

"Okay Harry, it's our turn. Your Mum, Fleur, and I put in for this," Hermione announced proudly, shuffling forward, and placing a big box on his lap.

Harry nodded and hurriedly ripped the wrapping and opened the box, his eyes widened as he looked up and they darted from Hermione to Fleur, to Lily and then back again. "I… um, thanks…"

"What is it Pup, show us," Sirius asked eagerly.

Harry put the box on the ground and lifted a smaller box out, showing the group of pureblood Magicals a Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Peaking over the box Harry had to bite his lip to stop from smiling. "Um, Madame Delacour, do you have a TV we can plug this into?"

Apolline nodded and led the group to another room and with some minor assistance from Hermione, Harry was able to hook the console up to the TV. He decided out of the three games the girls bought, Mega Man X2, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Kart that the last one would be best in a party setting. The group of purebloods stared in stupefied amazement as the digital avatars raced around the track, Daphne was the first to shake herself out of her stupor and grabbed the second controller after studying Harry's hand movements for a minute or two. "Okay Potter, it's time to knock you off your perch."

Harry returned her grin. "You're on Greengrass."

The party ran till late, with the English contingent having to use a portkey to the French Embassy to return home. Harry stood outside his room with Fleur and Hermione standing in front of him, his hands held in theirs. "This was the best birthday I've ever had… thank you."

The two girls smiled back at him. "We love you Arry, we will make every day special."

Harry blushed and looked away. "I don't know what I've done to deserve the two of you…"

"You've been wonderful, never doubt you deserve this, Harry. It's not because you're the Boy-Who-Lived, it's because you're Harry Potter, a kind, sweet, somewhat perverted boy who won my heart by being a supportive and heroic best friend."

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know how to respond to that…"

"You don't need to. We can feel your love through the link."

Harry looked up at them shyly. "Bonne nuit mes amours." (Goodnight my loves.)

"Goodnight ,Arry," Fleur replied to kissing Harry on the lips.

"Goodnight, we love you," Hermione added giving Harry her kiss.

Harry watched them walk back to the room with a huge smile, which faltered slightly when Hermione spoke again from her bedroom door. "I better not hear you playing video games tonight, you need to sleep!"

Harry groaned. "Yes, dear."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him before entering her bedroom. Harry heard a giggle from Fleur and caught a glimpse of her shaking her ass in his direction before closing her door. Harry cleared his throat. "Right… time for a cold shower…"

To Be Continued…

When I was writing the birthday scene, I almost wrote that Luna gives Harry, cock necklaces… that's a very different kind of story, when I noticed the error, I burst out laughing, I had to take several deep breathes to get myself back under control. I debated leaving it in to see if anyone noticed, but that wouldn't be very professional of me, would it?

I would love to say that I will have the next chapter out soon, but I have no idea, I hope I will but no promises. I don't want this story to stretch very far into 2022, there are so many other stories I want to tell. I can say with a moderate amount of certainty that this is about five chapters away from being done. Fair warning the story is going to skip forward about 20 days to the start of the new school year, the bit in between is Harry having many cold showers and homework, poor guy.