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

Number 72 and the beginning of the next year, though there will be chapters all through the summer this time. I'm reliably informed that should you google the phrase I've adopted as a title for this story my fanfiction now appears above the Wikipedia page, which is quite cool and a little flattering even if "A Cadmean Victory" isn't the most frequently searched phrase on Wikipedia.

Chapter 72

It was cold. It was wet. Her feet and legs were drenched from walking through the grass of the meadows before the dew had dried, and Fleur was rather coming to regret accompanying Harry on his exploration of the meadows past the elm trees.

He seemed unaffected by the discomfort, despite his obviously soaked clothing, leading her along the bank of the small stream by the hand with a cheerful smile.

'That is as far as it goes?' He asked, raising their linked hands to point at the edge of the woods.

'Yes,' Fleur nodded, his smile drew her mind away from thoughts of freezing feet and damp hair.

'It's quite a lot of meadow,' he grinned, looking back to the distant elm trees and their house. The building was at least a thousand metres away, the pale, white-washed stone just visible though the leaves.

'More wet grass than I would ever care to walk through,' Fleur replied archly. Harry squeezed her fingers gently. 'At least we can apparate back,' she smiled, looking down at her grass-stained robes.

'I was going to suggest creating wards,' Harry mentioned lightly.

'Across the whole area?' Fleur considered the idea. She could probably manage it, provided he only meant basic wards to prevent the more obvious methods of access or detection.

'Of course,' Harry said, 'it is all ours.'

'I can do it,' Fleur decided, resigning herself to being very tired for the rest of the day. 'If you watch you might learn something new.'

'I thought you did not like being watched?' Harry teased, eying her playfully.

'I make an exception for you,' Fleur smirked, angling herself suggestively and watching the desire smoulder briefly in Harry's eyes before he closed them and kissed her. His lips met hers just hard enough to steal her breath away.

'What will you show me?' He asked, pulling away.

'Warding,' Fleur answered. 'In its most common form.'

'Oh?' He looked curious. She knew that he had little knowledge of wards beyond the fraction she had shown him, and the little he had learned from his ancestor's painting to produce blood magic bound protections. Fleur suspected that the blood magic he had used was very different to the warding she had understood.

'We don't want any unexpected visitors,' she mused, 'so anti-apparition wards and anti-portkey wards, are a must, and then we'll need actual protections as well.'

'Anything I can help with?' Harry inquired.

'Not unless you've managed to learn a great deal about enchanting and warding in the last few months?'

'I can't say that I have,' Harry conceded, his eyes sparkling with amusement. 'I suppose I shall just have to watch you.'

'Are you complaining?' Fleur countered wryly.

'Not even a little bit,' Harry grinned, stepping back to openly look her up and down. A slight heat rose to her cheeks at his obvious appraisal, embarrassed, despite knowing what wizards thought of her, that he thought she was attractive. She'd known already, of course, he'd let it slip for the first time in the Room of Requirement, but it was pleasing to hear it.

Very pleasing, Fleur's toes curled despite the damp.

Drawing her wand she strode several paces further towards the edge of their meadow, stopping only a few paces from the edge of the trees.

'Fianto Duri,' she murmured, casting the strongest protective enchantment she knew. Harry watched, from a safe distance she noted, as she thrust her wand into the air, unleashing a crackling, glowing beam of bright light into the sky.

The torrent of magic rose almost a hundred feet into the air before tendrils spread away from its tip like the petals of some vast flower. They arced upwards, feeding the spreading, translucent barrier that grew above their heads.

'That's quite impressive,' Harry grinned.

'The Unyielding Shield Charm, but I'll have to do it again on the other side,' Fleur told him, watching the barrier's expanding edge begin to slow just before it reached the copse of elm trees.

'Will you be ok?'

'I'll be fine,' she assured him. 'Very tired, especially after adding the other enchantments, but fine.'

Very tired was an understatement. The piece of magic she had used would take an incredibly powerful piece of magic to break. It was the sort of enchantment that would stop squads of aurors in their tracks, and consequently the drain on her magic was vast. Fleur doubted that she could cast it three times without passing out or dying from exhaustion.

Fortunately I only have to cast it twice.

'Shall I apparate you across?' Harry offered, taking her hand again.

'Not yet,' Fleur shook her head. 'I'll do the other wards while I'm here.'

'Will you tell me how they work?'

'That's a good idea,' Fleur agreed. If nothing else it meant that next time he could do the simple ones and save her having to do them on top of casting Fianto Duri.

She twirled her wand thoughtfully, its polished surface reflecting the towering column of light above them. Were the location not under the Fidelius half of Britain might have seen it.

'Anti-apparation wards are easy enough,' Fleur told him. 'Do you know what apparition is?'

'Probably not in enough detail to understand your explanation of the ward,' Harry confessed. He was wearing the same attentive smile he always wore when listening to her talk, whether she was explaining something or speaking about the most insignificant events.

'Madame Maxime,' Fleur began, pondering the best way to phrase things, 'told me that apparition was like travelling from one edge of a piece of paper to the other by magically folding up all the paper in between until the distance between the two edges was single step.'

'Salazar told me that it was like spinning the distance past me as I stepped,' Harry mused.

'Perhaps there are different ways to apparate,' Fleur shrugged, 'but both methods involve using magic to manipulate the space in between the beginning and end of the journey.'

'So how can you prevent that?' Harry inquired.

'The ward I am about to cast prevents any manipulation of space or distance around its edge. Nobody can apparate across the border because of it.'

'That's quite simple,' Harry smiled.

'It is one of the most basic wards,' Fleur agreed, flicking her wand gently. A brief shimmer fell where she had placed the ward, but it quickly faded leaving the air clear. 'It can be overpowered by compressing the space either side of it until the ward itself covers so little space it is ineffective, but that is no easy feat and beyond most wizards or witches.'

'Voldemort did that,' Harry told her absently. 'He broke the anti-apparition wards over the Ministry.'

'He is a powerful wizard,' Fleur nodded, 'these wards, even my Fianti Duri, will not keep a wizard like him out if he really wanted to get in, but I'm sure it will tire even Voldemort.'

'Could you break through?' Harry asked.

Fleur considered it. She had several advantages over most, her magic was soft, more refined and suited to such subtle manipulations of magic. The anti-apparition ward would not bar her progress, but her first and strongest protection would likely cost her dearly to overpower.

'Yes,' she answered, 'but I would be tired enough to be at a serious disadvantage afterwards.' Fleur flipped her hair back over her shoulder and out of the way. 'Now I shall create anti-portkey wards, they are only a little more complex than anti-apparition wards.'

'How do they work?' Harry asked eagerly.

'If you imagine the same piece of paper as before then instead of folding it many times, the portkey bends the paper so that the points are next to each other on opposite sides of the paper. It then pokes a small, temporary hole the surface of the paper to join the points, and that is what the user travels through.'

It took Harry a little longer to grasp the concept of portkeys than apparition, and Fleur felt a touch of pride that there was still something she was better than him at. He had surpassed her so quickly in so many schools of magic that she had begun to feel slightly useless. How could she ever be considered his equal when she hid away, knew less, and did less than Harry?

'So how can you prevent that?' He wondered aloud. 'You can't create a boundary like with apparition.'

'It takes a bit more magic,' Fleur nodded, raising her wand that now hummed with turquoise light. 'It is like making the paper tough so the hole cannot be made, the more magic, the harder it is for the portkey to make the hole.'

There was a brief flash of turquoise and for a few seconds everything had an odd, cyan tint to it, then the colour dispelled and Fleur exhaled shakily, glad Harry was here to help. She was likely to collapse after she cast the Unyielding Shield Charm again.

'Apparate me?' She asked coyly, favouring him with a tired smirk.

'Of course,' Harry agreed easily. He had never let go of her hand all the while she had been talking and casting.

The world spun dizzyingly back past them and, now that she was looking for it, she noticed the differences between how they both apparated. If she had to guess she would say that Harry whirled the world to meet him, compressing his destination to him for an instant whereas she, and every other wizard to witch she knew, crumpled the points together.

Something to study when I have the time, she decided.

They alighted on the far side of the elm trees in line with the outermost part of their house. Fleur almost fell, her numb toes unable to preserve her balance as she swayed, but Harry caught her and guided her to lean against his chest instead.

'You will have to take me back to the house after this,' Fleur warned him. 'I may not even be able to stay awake.'

'Do you want me to cast it?' Harry offered, glancing up at the pillar of white energy that rose over the trees behind them.

'I do not have time to teach you it,' Fleur disagreed gently. 'The protection will be better when completely cast from my own magic. The two halves will be more compatible. Besides,' she pulled herself upright to stand unaided, 'I am better at wards than you are and this is my part to play.'

Harry looked down at her fondly, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth as he inclined his head in acceptance. His accord did not stop him from stepping back next to her and wrapping his arms around her waist abdomen.

'In case you fall,' he murmured into her hair.

'Fianto Duri,' she intoned, thrusting her wand skywards once more.

A second torrent of magic erupted from the tip of her wand, crackling loudly as it ascended towards the sun and unfolded to complete the barrier over their home.

'It is done,' she breathed, replacing her wand and sagging back against Harry's chest. The translucent shield stretched all the way across the Meadow, its shimmer eventually fading as the bright columns fed their way into it and vanished.

'Back to the house with you,' Harry decided, gently lifting her off her feet and apparating them inside immediately.

He laid her down carefully on the sofa then disappeared into the kitchen. Fleur listened, closing her eyes to rest them, as he searched his way through still unfamiliar cupboards and caught the distinct clink of cutlery on china.

Harry returned a moment later carrying a piece of the religeuse Fleur had bought on a small plate. Somehow he had known just how hungry she was, and just how much she wanted something sweet.

'Can you sit up?' Harry asked lightly, 'or shall I feed you?'

Fleur was very tempted to tell him that he should feed her, her stomach squirmed pleasantly at the image, but for her pride rebelled and she hauled herself upright. Harry could playfully feed her when she was less tired and more appreciative.

She took the proffered plate, stealing the raspberry off the top and dipping it into the cream that overflowed from the sides of the dessert.

'Thank you,' she smiled.

He took a seat beside her, slipping an arm around her waist.

'We should have warned Sirius about the wards,' he said after a short while, he's likely to come soon now that I've openly flouted Dumbledore's advice.

'He'll be fine,' Fleur smirked, taking another mouthful, letting the sugar melt on her tongue. 'Once he's bounced off he'll know to floo here, or apparate into the square and walk to our edge of the village.'

'I suppose it will be funny,' Harry grinned at her. His eyes strayed to her dessert, obviously contemplating stealing some of it.

'Don't you dare,' Fleur warned, tilting the plate away from him. 'Ask Gabby what happens when people steal my sweets.'

'Foot stamping,' Harry guessed, a teasing glint in his eyes, 'or maybe just a scorching.' The fingers of the hand not around her slid over her legs towards the plate.

'You don't want to find out,' she said, placing her free hand over his. 'This is mine.'

'You're so sharing and generous,' he laughed, giving up.

'Here,' she relented, offering him the raspberry she had set aside.

'It's yours really,' he told her softly, directing her fingers back to her own mouth. 'I already ate all the others anyway.'

'What?!' Fleur demanded. There had been enough to last her the rest of the week and she had been looking forward to them since she bought them. Harry burst into laughter and she realised immediately that he had not been serious.

'I wouldn't dare,' he admitted, still laughing. 'You haven't looked so angry with me since I pretended to have that contract with Katie.'

'They are crimes of equal measure and similar punishment,' Fleur responded archly. She still hadn't really got an appropriate level of vengeance for that little heart-stopping escapade, even if he had intended it as a joke.

'Oh?' Harry eyed her warily.

'Very grave transgressions,' Fleur continued, wiping cream from the corner of her mouth and licking it off her forefinger. Harry watched her in helpless fascination and she felt quite a thrill from enrapturing him so easily.

'I don't suppose you'd consider pardoning my offences?' Harry dragged his eyes away from her lips with flattering reluctance.

'No,' Fleur smirked, then leant forwards to kiss him softly. If she were not so tired she would have done more, but teasing him like this would count as some retribution for his little marriage contract joke.

A dull, echoing thud rang out, interrupting their moment and Fleur frowned.

'That,' she said, answering Harry's unspoken question, 'is the sound of someone failing to apparate past the wards.'

'Sirius or Gabrielle,' Harry realised.

'Sirius,' Fleur corrected. 'The ward I made will recognise and not oppose the magic of either myself or you and Gabby's magic is similar enough for such a simple design to be unable to distinguish the difference. She can't apparate yet either,' Fleur noted. Teaching Gabrielle to apparate had seemed like a bad idea. She caused enough trouble confined to one place.

'You did not tell me you had made a cleverer ward than what you described,' Harry groused.

'I'll show you how sometime,' Fleur promised, 'but we should let Sirius in, he's probably feeling a little bruised, bouncing of anti-apparition wards can hurt.'

'I know,' Harry grinned.

A sharp, irritated knock came from the door. Sirius didn't sound at all happy about the abrupt nature of his arrival.

'I suppose I should let him in,' Harry sighed, shifting off the sofa in the direction of the door at the sound of a second, terse knock. His reluctance to move away from her was endearing, more than that if she really considered it. Having him next to her made everything else seem unimportant.

The door creaked open.

'Decided to put up some wards did we?' Harry's godfather commented tetchily, growing louder as he grew closer.

'Just this morning, actually,' she heard Harry answer, amused.

'Thanks for the warning,' Sirius grumbled. There was a bright red smear on his upper lip and chin, still wet and glistening under his bent, broken nose.

'Episkey,' Harry grinned, watching the nose straighten with a soft crunch. Sirius winced and blinked hard.

'Thank you,' he said dryly.

'We can't leave you with a crooked nose,' Harry chuckled, 'think of the outcry when the world hears Sirius Black's face has been marred.'

'Witches everywhere will be devastated,' Harry's godfather agreed, completely serious.

'The wanted posters will not be half so attractive,' Fleur added sarcastically, not moving from her spot on the sofa.

'Don't joke, Fleur,' Harry smirked, 'I've had to use magic to stop hundreds of attempts to kiss Sirius.'

'Really?' Fleur asked. Sirius had gone rather pale.

'Oh, yes,' Harry smiled innocently, 'dementors can be such persistent creatures.'

That explains the pale complexion.

'No witches?' Fleur inquired, matching Harry's innocent expression.

'Not even one,' Harry's godfather sighed, recovering his composure. 'I should consider myself fortunate really, my mother is lining up candidate after candidate to continue the most pure bloodline of the Blacks.'

'Your mother is still alive?' Fleur had never heard Harry mention the woman.

'No,' Sirius grinned. 'She's a maddeningly annoying life-size portrait.'

'So she can't actually arrange you a marriage then,' Fleur deduced.

'Not for lack of trying,' Harry smirked.

'You laugh at my misfortune now, Harry,' the dark-haired wizard commented, 'but you're the only other possible heir to the family that my dear mother will consider now you've convinced of the Dark Lord's unworthiness.'

'So?'

'Her attempts to direct the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black might soon be your problem rather than mine.' Fleur sniffed quietly. No portrait would ever be able to control Harry. One day they would be free from everyone who tried to dictate their fate, and she pitied anyone foolish enough to stand in their way.

'Speaking of your mother's painting and it's picturesque placing, how has everyone been?' Harry's question carried the faintest touch of malice.

'You caused panic,' Sirius laughed. 'Your disappearing act was a good prank.'

'Panic?' Fleur set aside her plate. The cake long since gone.

'Oh yes,' Sirius laughed. 'You instigated the largest meeting of the Order of the Phoenix since Voldemort returned. There was outright alarm until Snape promised us that Voldemort knows nothing about this .'

'What did Dumbledore say?' Harry's malice intensified slightly, and Fleur curled her toes angrily at the name of the wizard who would dare presume to throw her Harry's life away.

'He sent a letter to the meeting that expressed grave disappointment in you,' Harry's godfather answered evenly.

'Only a letter?' Fleur voiced her confusion.

'Albus Dumbledore has disappeared somewhere on his own agenda. He only told us that it was very important.'

Off hunting horcruxes, Fleur guessed.

Harry had implied that there must be other anchors when he had explained the situation to her. Of course he had not told her everything. He'd kept the last, most crucial detail to himself and not shared it with her until it was necessary, and even though she knew it was to keep her from hurting his secrecy rankled. Fleur would not allow it to continue.

'Mad-Eye Moody wanted to drag you back to headquarters and imprison you until the summer ended,' Sirius continued drily, 'but Dumbledore assured is that you would have to be returned to your relatives.'

'There's a small snag with that,' Harry pointed out.

'Your memory charm,' Harry's godfather nodded. 'Dumbledore mentioned it in his letter. It will be left as you made it until you're found, then he intends to undo it and return you to your relatives under stricter rules.'

'Rules,' Fleur ground out from between clenched teeth. 'Albus Dumbledore has no authority over Harry save that which Harry gives him.' It occurred to her that Dumbledore had not tried to protect the Dursleys at all. They were just as expendable to him as they were to Harry.

'Try telling him that,' Harry remarked. 'What did the rest of the Order think?'

'The Weasley's were angry,' Sirius sighed. 'I know that you and Ron have drifted apart, but they took your disappearance as irresponsible and were furious. Molly fears your actions will cause more members of the Order to be put in danger.'

'They volunteered to put in danger when they joined,' Harry shrugged. 'The Weasley's are angry because of Arthur's death, they can blame Dumbledore or me, and their choice is obvious.'

Petty, Fleur decided.

Harry was not at fault.

'Insensitive,' Harry's godfather admonished, 'even if it is true.'

'The Weasleys are not the only members, despite their number,' Harry reminded Sirius calmly.

'No,' his godfather nodded. 'Moony panicked, he was on the verge of taking off to hunt for you, and when Moody suggested imprisoning you,' Sirius chuckled, 'we got a glimpse of the wolf within. The others, they all follow Dumbledore blindly, and he has suggested they look for you whenever and wherever they can.'

'Even Snape?' Harry's voice was cool, more than cool. Fleur could sense the icy anger stirring within and place a hand gently on his arm.

'He seemed,' Sirius struggled with himself for a moment, 'impressed. Snivellus is a sneaky sort himself. He probably admires your ability to disappear as much as he envies it.'

'Envy?' Fleur knew only that Snape was an unpleasant man, a potions teacher that loathed Harry and was hated by Harry in turn.

'If Snivelly could disappear and escape both his masters he would,' Sirius explained. A flicker of disagreement crossed Harry's face, and Fleur made careful note of it. He had said nothing in front of Sirius, but he would tell her once his godfather was gone.

'So Dumbledore is off secretly doing something important. Neither Voldemort nor he know where I am, and the Order searches for me fruitlessly instead of fighting.' Harry seemed none too impressed.

'Be careful if you leave the Meadow,' Sirius warned. 'My cousin, Tonks, is adept at tracking down fugitives and is capable of altering her appearance.'

'I'll be careful,' Harry dismissed. Fleur hid a smile. Harry didn't sound like he was all too concerned about being found by anyone except Dumbledore or Voldemort in person.

And why should he, Fleur thought proudly, they are the only two strong enough to challenge him now.

'I need to return,' Sirius decided. 'The Order is at Headquarters more frequently now and my presence will be missed if I'm away long.'

'Bye, Sirius.' Harry wrapped the arm Fleur wasn't holding around his godfather in a brief but strong hug.

'I'll let you know as things change,' Harry's godfather promised, 'but for now the Order is simply trying to combat the rising wave of attacks as best as possible however we can.'

He leant forwards, then smiled ruefully and straightened up. 'I'm going to have to walk past the wards, aren't I?'

'Yes,' Fleur answered. ' Walk to the road, that's far enough to be beyond them.'

'If I break my face again you'll be hated by hundreds of witches,' Sirius warned playfully.

'I'm sure,' Harry grinned. 'Take care,' he added, more seriously.

'You know me,' Sirius grinned back, stepping out into the hall. 'I never do anything rash.'

The door creaked open and shut, closing with a soft thud and Sirius footsteps faded away down the path.

'You have things you wish to share?' Fleur asked pointedly, sure that Harry's godfather was now out of earshot. 'You did not agree with him about Snape.'

'With you?' Harry smiled warmly down at her before taking his seat beside her again. 'Always.'

There was a moment of silence and his expression grew dark, his eyes gleaming cold.

'Snape was the one who passed the prophecy to Voldemort and condemned my parents, he was fond of my mother, and I have little doubt that his true loyalty is really to his quest for revenge rather than either of Dumbledore or Voldemort.' Harry's voice was far colder than she had heard it in a long time, as cold as when he had rebuffed her by the lake after the second task.

'He's not the only one who wants vengeance for what happened, is he?' Fleur realised quietly.

'No,' Harry admitted. The look in his eyes when he glanced up at her was anxious, but determined. 'Snape will suffer what he deserves.'

'Don't let your anger blind you,' Fleur warned, wrapping her arms about him. 'Be careful, be cunning, don't kill him while he might still be useful, and most importantly don't get caught. I will do it myself if you aren't able to avoid suspicion.'

'I can't ask you to do that,' Harry shook his head.

'Severus Snape is nothing to me,' Fleur dismissed. 'Worse than nothing, he is responsible for your hurt. If he dies, by my wand or yours, it will not matter to me in the slightest.' She was not lying. Fleur cared nothing for those that did not care for her, and Harry's happiness meant more to her than the life of one treacherous teacher.

'Thank you,' Harry smiled gently, immediately understanding the unspoken sentiment.

'So what will you be doing while the Order and Voldemort search?' Fleur asked, directing the conversation back to less emotional, but no less important matters. She needed to know what Harry planned, what Harry knew. Fleur wouldn't be able to help him if she didn't, and she certainly wasn't waiting on the sidelines for him to risk everything alone.

'Dumbledore is going after horcruxes,' Harry stated. 'I'd wager almost anything on it. He will not trust me now, but he will try to get me to trust him. If he knows about the other horcruxes then it's worth risking his influence and close proximity after the summer.'

'And during it?' Fleur pressed. He had not yet answered her question.

'I wish to leave Hogwarts as soon as possible,' Harry told her. 'I'll study to take my NEWTs early, this winter if I can, and do whatever research of my own about the horcruxes I can manage. Anything I can do make myself stronger and more ready.'

'There were a lot of pronouns in that sentence that should have been we,' Fleur commented firmly. Harry gave her a wry smile, softly kissing the hand she had placed on his arm. 'The war is only just beginning, Harry, and both sides want you to die. You can't afford to keep the few you can implicitly trust away from it.'

'I won't. We will survive this,' Harry promised. 'We'll be free of Dumbledore and Voldemort both.'

'and free of this miserable weather,' Fleur agreed, frowning at the British Summer. Her feet were still cold.

AN: Please read and review. Thanks to everyone who does! I haven't written a Fleur chapter in a while, so I felt it was overdue before she got left out of the limelight again.