Disclaimer: Nothing is mine; everything is J K Rowling's.

Unfortunately my schedule has shifted so my free time has moved and I can't post a new chapter until later on in the day at the moment, but here's the next one regardless.

Chapter 52

'When is Harry arriving, Fleur?' Gabrielle asked, bouncing down into the kitchen in search of her morning, and first hot chocolate.

'Soon,' she answered nonchalantly, trying her best to ignore the look her parents exchanged at the other end of the kitchen. Fleur had spoken with Harry through the locket a couple of times, but her mother had insisted that she help out at the shop in Carcassonne while she was suspended, which left her too busy to be able to meet him.

Neither of them had mentioned the last article in the Daily Prophet, but her parents had done it enough for both of them. Always bringing it up, always slipping little, unnecessary remarks into their conversations.

'In ten minutes,' their mother specified. 'It will be nice to talk with him a little more, it's hard to really get to know someone in such a short period of time.'

And another.

'Not for me,' Gabby chirped happily, wielding hot chocolate powder, milk, cream and spoon to a disastrously messy affect nearby.

'That's true,' Fleur smiled, taking more cunning approach like Harry would. 'Gabrielle would be able know a little about what he was like just from touching his magic.'

Her mother gave her a stern look. 'Gabrielle's empathetic magic is not something that should be used lightly, just as your stronger allure should not be either. I don't want to hear of either of you using them on anyone who doesn't understand what it means and hasn't given permission.'

'Harry's magic is really powerful.' Naturally her baby sister chose that moment to speak up. 'His wand felt completely different to any of yours,' she finished whimsically.

A series of expressions ran across her mother's face, ranging from outrage to curiosity. Eventually her need to know won over her anger at Gabrielle betraying the existence of her ability without consulting her mother first.

'What did it feel like?' She asked stiffly, still disapproving. In the background Fleur's father listened in with interest.

'Not telling,' Gabby declared, stirring her spoon and sending small waves of hot chocolate froth over the sides of the mug. Fleur tried and failed to hide her smile. Gabrielle was fond of Harry. She didn't say it outright, but her little sister gave off enough signs for Fleur to know that she definitely approved of her choice.

Harry had given her Clafoutis, after all, and that was certainly going to win him points with her sugar addicted younger sibling. Fleur was a little put out that he had never bought her something so tasty, but then they'd only really managed a few dates, it was risky to go anywhere with Harry being so well known.

'Gabrielle,' her mother sighed. 'We just want some assurance that what the papers are saying about him is not true.'

'And obviously my word wasn't enough,' Fleur commented.

'Harry is perfect for Fleur,' Gabrielle agreed. 'If she didn't love him then I would steal him instead; he saved me from the lake. If he'd kissed me and woken me up it would have been the perfect moment.' Fleur scrunched her face up in disgust at the idea of Gabby kissing her Harry. They might be the same age, but Harry was hers, and Gabrielle was her baby sister, she shouldn't be kissing anyone, let alone Fleur's beau.

'You know you weren't in any danger,' Fleur admonished, burying her distaste.

'But you didn't, did you,' Gabby giggled, mischief bright in her eyes. 'You told me what happened, your enchanted veil got torn and you couldn't get to me, so you sent one pleading look at Harry and he went and saved me as well. He was coughing up blood from straining himself to swim with me and the other girl.'

Fleur turned away from her sister and her mother, both of whom were watching her, one gleefully the other thoughtfully.

'Is that true?' Her mother asked, her tone far less sharp, but still slightly disbelieving.

'What does it matter,' Fleur snapped, feeling her face partially shift. 'I chose him, that is the first and last statement you need on the subject.'

Her mother flinched and recoiled instinctively from the sharp spike of Fleur's veela magic. Gabrielle shivered slightly and took a sip of her hot chocolate, she was attuned to the magic of those she spent a long time with and could no doubt feel Fleur's anger.

'Sorry,' Fleur apologised guiltily, letting her face slide back into its usual shape. For all her attempts to be a good, strict mother her magic was unexceptional for a veela. Her mother's strength sat in the middle of the spectrum, her allure, form and empathy were unremarkable. Fleur was stronger. Her allure and her shifted form were much more powerful than her mother's.

'I don't like the way you constantly question Harry. You do not understand him like I do. Nobody does.'

'We don't like you being with someone so dangerous,' her father finally spoke up. 'We have discussed this before, whether the rumours are true or not does not matter, either way you will be targeted by someone who could hurt you.'

'Veela are always targets and I am more than powerful enough to look out for myself,' Fleur told them proudly. 'I am a stronger and better dueller than either of you, maman, papa.'

'Better than the Death Eaters of Britain? Harry Potter is not the enemy of ordinary wizards.'

'Harry is not an ordinary wizard and I am not an ordinary witch,' Fleur retorted. Her father gave her the look she had once given Harry.

He is fifteen, it said.

'I am going to meet him now,' she decided, striding angrily from the room.

'Fleur is right,' she heard Gabrielle say in one of her rare, serious moods. 'Harry is going to be very powerful, and he's nothing like what the papers say. Fleur chose well.' She felt a rush of gratitude towards her younger sister who never openly risked defying their parents over many things.

'We hope she's right,' Fleur caught from her mother, as she paused near the door to put on shoes. 'We're just afraid of what might happen if she's wrong.'

She apparated away, not caring about the rest of what they said. The same conversation came around again and again. Her parents would make their little comments to try and make sure she was always watching for things that might show her Harry was lying, then they would argue, saying they only wanted to know that he would not get her hurt, but never accepting her word on the matter.

Harry was already at the willow, dressed in normal, muggle clothing as the wizards and witches of more forward thinking magical countries often did. He looked very nervous.

The article, Fleur remembered suddenly, and then he was babbling.

'I'm sorry,' he apologised, the words rushing over his lips so fast they disappeared into one another. 'I wanted to talk about it, but I kept being afraid that you would be angry with me. None of it's true, I would never do that, I could never-'

Fleur stepped close and kissed him to stop him from talking. She knew that Harry was hers. Any doubts she had ever had about his loyalty wavering had disappeared the moment he had told what he would do for the one person who understood him.

'Idiot,' she told him fondly in French. 'I know you, Harry Potter,' she reminded him. 'You never even mentioned this Ginny Weasley to me, and you already promised that you and Katie were friends. I do not like the article,' she chuckled at the understatement, every copy she had found had been burnt, 'but I certainly do not believe any of it.'

'That's good,' Harry decided, not looking at all comforted. 'I would never do something like that to you,' he told her, shaking his head angrily at the idea.

'Not if you wanted to live,' Fleur smirked, raising a fire-coated hand. 'I would turn you to ashes if you ever did anything to hurt me like that.'

'As long as you bury me under our willow tree I'll die happy,' Harry grinned, but Fleur received the distressing impression that he was only half-joking. The thought of never being able to touch him again made her all cold inside.

'Don't say things like that,' she frowned unhappily. 'It's not at all funny.' He looked briefly guilty and fell silent for a few moment, tracing his fingers over the back of her hand.

'What about your family?' Harry asked, anxious again. 'Do they believe anything about the article?'

'Gabrielle has decided that you are perfect for me, she read the article and laughed at the idea of anyone being able to steal you away from me,' Fleur smiled, trying not to enjoy his blush too openly.

If all my allure can't even tempt him to step away from you, then nothing else will either, had been her sister's exact words.

'My parents are still worried about me being hurt,' she told him apologetically. 'They don't really believe the articles, but they don't want me to ignore them, just in case.'

'Ah,' he responded disconsolately. 'They won't ever approve of me will they,' he said. 'I'll either be a dangerous dark wizard, or Voldemort will be coming after me and anyone close to me.'

'They do not dislike you,' Fleur shrugged helplessly. 'It isn't personal,' there wasn't really much she could say, 'and they aren't really trying to separate us either. They just don't want me to forget about the consequences of choosing you.'

'It feels personal,' Harry admitted, smiling slightly. 'I had this faint hope that I could just step in at your side and find myself part of a family,' his smile turned bitter, 'but nothing is ever as easy as we dream.'

'Gabrielle considers you family,' Fleur reassured him. 'I don't,' she smirked, 'I consider you mine.'

'There's nobody else I'd rather belong to,' he told her dryly, but his eyes shone happily again, no longer hidden behind his glasses.

'Good,' she told him imperiously, 'now we must head inside and deal with the more important things, like what you bought Gabby for Christmas.'

'I think she will like it,' Harry smiled, 'I don't really know what anyone expects so I tried to get something I felt fitted.'

'I wouldn't worry too much about your present for Gabrielle, she loves being given things more than the things themselves. If you gave her pebbles from the river she would keep them and treasure them. Her room is full of things she has horded and I've never seen her throw away anything, not even her shoes.' Fleur smiled, taking his arm to apparate them back. 'If anything we should be more concerned about what she might have bought us, her present to us is for both of us together.' Harry did look faintly nervous about that, no doubt remembering some of Gabby's more embarrassing questions about their romance.

There was a soft snap as Fleur whisked them both back into the entrance hall.

'I finally understand the shoes,' Harry commented.

'They are almost all Gabrielle's,' Fleur smiled, 'she is incorrigible, and maman has given up trying to get rid them, I think Gabby has bribed Binky to make sure that they don't get thrown away.'

'How sneaky,' Harry grinned approvingly.

'Harry is here,' Fleur's little sister, stepped into the other end of the hall and spotted them talking while Harry removed his shoes.

'Nice socks,' Gabby complimented, seeing Harry's orange and green striped feet.

'Thanks,' he replied, straight-faced, 'nice shoes.'

'They are all Fleur's,' Gabrielle lied, giggling. Her short, serious conversation with their mother was likely the only sober moment she would have today. Christmas was Gabrielle's favourite day.

'And you lied to me and told me that they all belonged to your innocent baby sister,' Harry pulled a shocked face.

'I wanted you to buy me more,' Fleur responded wryly, 'but I suppose it really is time I threw away all my old shoes.'

She pulled her wand from her waist and Gabby gasped in horror, stepping in between Fleur's wand and one of her precious collections.

'You seem very attached to your sister's shoes,' Harry remarked.

'You shouldn't just throw things away,' Gabrielle pouted. 'It's not right.' She reached out with the hand that wasn't clutching a half-full mug of hot chocolate and led them firmly into the main room by Fleur's wrist.

'Harry,' both of her parents smiled the same tolerant, polite smile, and Fleur's father stepped forward to shake his hand.

'How has your first term back at Hogwarts been?' Her mother inquired in French.

'Not the best,' Harry smiled ruefully, replying in his own, much improved second language. Fleur glanced at him, surprised. She had not been expecting him to be so open with her parents. Harry would not lie, not to her or anyone she cared about, not unless he really had to, but she'd anticipated bright smiles, and deflective humour rather than simple, candid honesty.

Her father opened her mouth to say something further, but was fortunately interrupted by Gabrielle. 'Are we giving gifts now?' She asked, sprawling across one of the more comfortable sofas and pushing her feet up against the pale stonework of the wall.

'You already gave us your gifts,' their mother reminded her. 'You could not wait until lunch and Harry's arrival and you pestered Fleur for an hour about her present for you.'

'Harry doesn't know anyone of the other people who gave us things,' Gabby protested, 'I still have my present for him and Fleur.' The mischief was gleaming in her eyes again.

It's going to be something horribly embarrassing, Fleur realised, stifling a groan.

Harry seemed to have come to the same conclusion, but he was smiling good-naturedly, her beau genuinely seemed to enjoy her baby sister's antics, even at their most mortifying.

'Here, Gabby,' she reached behind the nearest sofa, releasing Harry who promptly took a seat, and handed her sibling a small thin wooden box.

Gabrielle inspected it cheerfully, gently turning it over in her hands before sliding off the lid. The sparkling, white camellia she had sculpted from ice and enchanted lay within.

'You always ask me to make them for you, so I thought you might want a more permanent one,' Fleur smiled.

'It's so pretty,' Gabby chirped, carefully taking it out of the box and twirling it in the light. 'It won't melt, will it?' She asked, her eyebrows momentarily pinching together.

'Not for a long time,' Fleur reassured her sister, 'and never if one of us keeps replacing the enchantments on it.'

'Thank you, Fleur.' Gabrielle carefully placed her ice flower back into the box and turned expectantly to a smiling Harry.

He reached inside his pockets, pulling out a small handful of tiny presents, evidently he had shrunk them to bring them to France, and placing them on the sofa in between the two of them. There was a glimmer of light as his forearm passed over them, and Fleur glimpsed the tip of his wand against the pale skin of his palm. All of the restored presents were vague, rectangular shapes and Fleur found it hard to guess at what they might contain. She hazarded a guess at books for two of them, likely the ones for her parents. Harry knew better than to buy her a book.

'This one is yours, Gabrielle,' he told her softly, leaning across and offering the second smallest to her.

She unwrapped it carefully, while Harry waited, doing his best to pretend he wasn't nervous.

It was a mug, a very colourful, bright, china mug, that was filled with packets of sugar quills.

'After what happened to the last one I thought you might want a new one,' Harry grinned. Fleur chuckled, recalling their hex deflecting practise and its porcelain victim. 'It's enchanted to be unbreakable, to keep your drink warm, and the colours will disappear if something suspicious finds its way into your drink.'

'It's perfect,' Gabby beamed, subtly pocketing the sweets before their mother could intervene. Harry flushed slightly, and Fleur slid her hand across the sofa to cover his encouragingly.

'These are for you, Monsieur Delacour, Madam Delacour.' Harry got up to pass over the two Fleur suspected of being books. 'I thought that you might appreciate these.'

Her father unwrapped his with interest, very delicately opening the cover of what was clearly a very old book. 'This is one of the oldest book on wizarding heraldry in the British Isles, France and Spain I've ever had the privilege of touching,' he murmured reverently. 'This isn't something to give away lightly, Harry, there can't be more than a handful of copies of this left in existence.'

Harry looked somewhat surprised by that and Fleur made a note to ask him where he found such a rare book without somehow realising what it was.

'I know you like history, heraldry and the like,' he explained. 'It caught my eye and the previous owner was willing to part with it, for a price.'

'I shudder to think what that price was,' her father chuckled, still turning the pages.

'That was a terrible present, Harry,' Gabrielle piped up, 'we're not going to see papa for weeks now. He'll lock himself in his study with your book and won't come out for anything but meals.'

'I'm sure Binky wouldn't mind bringing my food to my study,' their father mused, tracing his fingers over the old pages. 'This is quite fascinating.' Gabby scowled, and their mother hid a smile behind her hand.

'I'm not going to open this and find some incredibly rare potions ingredient am I?' Her mother asked warmly, undoing the string that kept the paper in place.

'Would you have preferred something like that?' Harry bit his lip anxiously.

'Obscure Potions and Unique Ingredients,' her mother read from the front, 'I have never heard of it.' Fleur hadn't either, but it looked every bit as old as the book on heraldry her father had still not managed to put down.

There was a moment of silence as her mother read through the contents and then she gasped.

'Do you know who this was written by?' She demanded, closing the book to re-read the cover disbelievingly.

'Helga Hufflepuff,' Harry smiled faintly. 'I don't think it's the original, but it's handwritten and autographed.'

That did manage to drag her father's attention from his own book.

'You're idea of normal Christmas presents are two virtually priceless books.' He shook his head at Harry's apparent generosity. 'Where did you find them? Once might be a coincidence, but to find two rare books so well suited for us can't be.'

'I stumbled across a collection actually,' Harry admitted. 'I chose two that I thought you would appreciate, and I doubt I will ever value them as highly as you will, so they're better off with someone who will truly be interested in them.'

Her father laughed weakly. 'We might have to improve the wards on the chateau if someone finds out about this,' he tapped the pages of his book. 'This is the sort of indisputable evidence of blood relations that some British wizarding families would do a great deal to own.'

'It's not too much, is it?' Harry asked, frowning again. 'I've never really done this before.' Fleur squeezed his hand, realising the effort he was making to be open with her family rather than hide all the parts of himself he was insecure or ashamed of.

Gabrielle, who had been sitting quietly for once, suddenly remembered her voice. 'If that's what he bought for you, I don't want to imagine what he bought Fleur.'

'I think I'll give you my present first,' Fleur joked, hoping he hadn't given her something that eclipsed her own gift to him by too much.

'It's a little more than we expected,' her mother replied diplomatically, 'it makes our present for you seem very inadequate.' Her mother passed him a soft package. 'Fleur mentioned that you don't actually own any dress robes, so we took the liberty of choosing you some suitably stylish ones. She said that black, dark greens or blues and silver suited you, so I hope you like them.'

Harry raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed. 'I am veela,' Fleur reminded him. 'I can feel magic, not as well as Gabby, but I know when you're wearing transfigured clothing, it's saturated with your magic.'

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the small cloth bag that she had discovered and used to keep Harry's present in.

'Here, this is my gift for you,' she smiled, opening it and presenting him with the thin circle of wood within. She hoped he liked the ring, it hadn't been at all easy to get right, there were half a hundred failed attempts in her room she hadn't managed to convince herself to throw away because they might have been for Harry.

'I made it from one of the branches of the willow tree,' she explained, letting him take the smooth, pale ring from her fingers.

'Fleur!' Gabby exclaimed in mock surprise, craning her neck to see what Harry was now holding. 'It's too early for you to get engaged, and Harry's meant to be the one who proposes to you,' she finished cheekily.

They both ignored her, though Fleur had no doubt that the heat on her cheeks was clearly visible.

I will strangle Gabby later, she decided vengefully.

'It's beautiful,' Harry smiled, admiring the patterns in the wood. 'What did you enchant it to do?' He asked curiously.

'It will help keep you safe,' Fleur told him, blushing slightly. 'Wear it on your wand hand,' she instructed him. 'It should prevent you being easily disarmed or injured. I cast the protective spells on it many times, but please don't try and test them.'

'Thank you,' he smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist to squeeze her tightly. Fleur leant in to his touch ever so slightly, aware that her parents were watching.

'My turn,' Gabrielle decided, dispelling the disillusionment on a large portrait in the corner. Turning around to hold it up in the light it covered Fleur's little sister from shin to head.

She had to admit that it was a beautiful picture, the willow and the river in the autumn sun, with Harry and her kissing against the trunk of their tree. It was a little concerning that Gabrielle had managed to get that image, though. Fleur remembered that day, and Gabrielle had not been nearby.

'I snuck down after you one day a while back and then sent the memory to a portrait maker in Paris,' Gabby explained. Her sister was so very proud of herself and Harry, despite the faint red tinge to his cheeks, seemed to like the image as well.

'You are the worst sister,' Fleur told Gabrielle fondly, 'but thank you, it is beautiful.'

'I'm your only sister,' Gabby declared cheerfully. 'Now let's see what Harry got for you,' she enthused, bouncing across to sit on the arm next to him.

'I couldn't think of anything that I could make, or create that would be anywhere near as good as something you could make yourself,' Harry admitted, 'so I thought I would give you these instead. I'm told they are useful for holding all sorts of things.'

He passed her the remaining present which clinked softly when he deposited it in her palm.

The paper unfolded to reveal a handful of very small, crystal bottles, stoppered with tiny, rune-engraved corks and filled with a swirling, silver nebula.

'Those are memories,' Fleur realised.

'I didn't just want you to have an empty set of vials, even if they are enchanted to be all but indestructible, so I put something important inside.' His voice had lowered to a very embarrassed whisper. Fleur knew without asking that they would be his memories of their times together.

She didn't press him on the subject, but leant across to kiss him gently on the cheek in thanks.

'The Yule Ball night is there,' he told her quietly, 'the Room of Requirement, and our meetings at the willow too.'

'Can I see?' Gabby asked, her eyes widening pleadingly.

'No,' Fleur childishly stuck her tongue out at her baby sister. 'They're mine.' She wasn't going to be sharing Harry's memories of their time together with anyone.

'Lunch will be in an hour,' her mother told her softly. 'If you want go watch the memories don't linger here, we'll keep Gabrielle out of mischief for a while.'

Fleur smiled gratefully at her mother, shot a smug look a her sulking sister and motioned to Harry, leading him down towards the basement.

'The basement?' Harry asked, confused.

'I'm not going to watch the memories now, they're the next best thing to having you here, so I won't waste my time watching them when I already have you.'

'So what are we up to?'

'Where did you really get those books from?' Fleur asked, halfway down the stairs and out of earshot. 'I know you didn't realise how rare they were.'

'I didn't lie,' he replied quickly. 'I stumbled across them at Hogwarts. I'll show you where one day, but not yet. You're right I didn't realise how rare they were, I had three copies of the one I gave your mother, and five of the book I gave your father.'

'I don't like it that you have secrets from me,' Fleur scowled.

'I still worry that eventually I will share a secret with you that will make you turn away from me,' Harry confessed.

'You are still an idiot,' Fleur told him softly.

'I know,' he smiled ruefully, 'you've told me three times today now.'

'Are there any secrets you do want to share with me?' She asked curiously.

'I want to share them all with you,' he told her honestly, as they drew to a stop in the wine cellar.

'One of my housemates parents, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's followers, was killed guarding something in the Department of Mysteries,' he told her grimly. 'Voldemort is after the prophecy too, and Dumbledore is willing to let people die protecting it rather than actually acting.'

'You're going to get it,' Fleur realised, a cold chill tracing its way down her spine. 'You're going to break into one of the most heavily guarded departments of your ministry, that is guarded by this Order, and being watched by Voldemort.'

'I have to,' he shrugged helplessly. 'I need to know, and the longer I wait, the more likely Riddle will get it, and the more people will die needlessly defending it.'

'You have a plan?'

'I always have a plan,' Harry grinned. 'I can get Dumbledore thrown out of the school, then I can remove Umbridge, who will undoubtedly take his place, and my godfather should be able to get me in to the department just like the Order are doing.'

'No,' Fleur shook her head. 'You're not glossing over the details and missing things out, tell me everything. I'm not sitting around here in France waiting for you if I don't know exactly what you're doing and the risks entailed.'

Harry frowned and pinched the brow of his nose. 'If I tell you, then you have to promise that you'll stay here and act as normal. Please, Fleur.'

'Fine,' she scowled, not at all happy with having to let him go on his own. 'I promise, but you better tell me everything.'

'The British Ministry is under the delusion that Dumbledore is trying to usurp their power,' Harry began. Fleur got the impression this was a long story, and her scowl deepened. He had been keeping this to himself for a while. 'There is an illicit group at Hogwarts, one which Umbridge is currently still searching for, and when it is discovered its name will lead to Dumbledore being ousted from his position as headmaster.'

'Why?' Fleur demanded, sensing he was leaving something out.

'I indirectly suggested the group name itself Dumbledore's Army, the Ministry won't waste the opportunity. I will make sure the group is discovered, so the headmaster can't check the school wards to see if I'm away.' He paused in his telling to consider something. 'I can't leave Umbridge as headmistress, not knowing what she's capable of, so I have to get rid of her as well.'

'That sounds a lot more permanent than the way you referred to ousting Dumbledore,' Fleur noted quietly.

'Sorry,' he murmured, looking worried, but not guilty.

'I don't care,' she reminded him. 'That woman deserves worse from what you have told me, and if removing her means you see this prophecy and makes it more likely that you survive Voldemort then I will get rid of her myself if I have to.'

'You would?' Harry's eyes widened.

'I may live in a chateau, but I am not a princess,' Fleur warned him. 'When she is dead, what then?'

Harry blinked, taken aback by her bluntness, but continued eventually.

'Umbridge is the sort to take any chance to further themselves, she'll leap at the chance of being the one to deliver conclusive proof against Dumbledore and will take my bait without thinking twice. My map, the one that you helped me create, will lead her to a particularly deadly area of the Forbidden Forest. I need to talk to my godfather about actually getting into the department, but getting to the door itself will be easy with my cloak.'

'And once you're inside?'

'Find the prophecy, hear it, then break it so Voldemort can't see it and so Dumbledore's followers don't have to die defending it.'

'I don't like the idea of you in the Ministry alone,' Fleur decided. It was a gross understatement, the image of him alone and vulnerable surrounded by hostile wizards and dangerous artefacts was all but pushing her to shift.

'I can try and convince Sirius to accompany me, if that will make you feel better?'

'How do you know he won't just tell Dumbledore?' Fleur demanded. His godfather was part of the Order of the Phoenix and might just tell Dumbledore.

'He disagrees with Dumbledore's approach, but as long as he tells him after we're done it doesn't matter, the majority of my scheme cannot be traced back to me.'

'I would still rather you freed me of my promise and let me come with you.' She swallowed her pride. 'I will beg if it will make you reconsider it.'

'I can't.' He shook his head almost desperately. 'I can't let you come with me. I need to know that you're safe and waiting for me. I'm sorry, I know you must hate it, I would if I were in your place.'

'When are you going to try and sneak in to the department?' Fleur asked, feigning innocent curiosity.

'I haven't decided, ' Harry told her, smiling faintly, 'and I won't tell you when I have, I know that you will try to come with me.'

'If I keep my promise then I want one from you,' Fleur pressed, determined to stop this from happening again. She did not like not knowing what he was doing, and she hated being left behind to hope he came back even more.

'Name it,' Harry responded instantly.

'No more secrets from me,' she told him fiercely. 'There is nothing you can do that would make me change my mind about you, Harry Potter. Blood magic, rituals,' she steeled herself for what she was about to say, hoping he would not judge her, 'murder, even torture, as long as you remain mine, I will not care.'

'What would stop me from being yours?' Harry asked, an odd light in his eyes.

'Nothing,' Fleur replied firmly. 'You told me you would do anything to achieve your dream, and I believe you. I already know how far you are prepared to go to get what you want, and the only thing I object to is not being able to come with you!'

'It seems I am stuck with you,' Harry grinned.

'You look so unhappy about it,' she replied archly, trailing her fingertips along his jaw and teasingly down his chest. 'But you didn't promise.' Her fingers came to rest on his abdomen.

'I promise,' he shivered, 'no more secrets, everything I do I will share with you... Except for Christmas presents, birthday presents and happy surprises,' he amended, capturing her hand and kissing her hard. His eyes were smouldering from her teasing.

'Then is there anything else you would like to tell me?' Fleur whispered into his lips.

'Yes,' he smiled, 'but not here, and not now.'

'Where, then? And when?' Fleur demanded.

'Soon, somewhere very appropriate for sharing secrets,' he smiled wryly. 'I'm going to take you to meet my only real family.'

AN: Please read and keep on reviewing, thanks to everyone who does.

P.S. I apologise for this being predominantly fluff and only containing a couple of important things, but sadly not every chapter can be spell-slinging or scheming if they are to preserve their effect.