Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any such franchises. The only ideas that I own are my own that I write down here for you all to enjoy. And unfortunately, I've yet to make any money off of these ideas of mine. (T.T)

-A Tale of Wings and Fangs-

Chapter 24

Gabrielle wasn't sure how long the kiss she and Harry shared lasted for. To the Veela it felt like it had gone on for an eternity, an eternity she was happy to enjoy for as long as it lasted.

In reality, the kiss had only lasted a few seconds. But those few seconds were more than long enough for Harry and Gabby to feel something special. As the two separated, almost hesitantly, blue eyes met green and both teens smiled.

"Wow." Harry mumbled, nearly speechless after the kiss.

"Wow sounds about right." Gabby giggled.

The two slowly leaned in again, kissing once more under the moonlight. The second kiss they shared was longer, lasting until both teens felt the need to breathe and had to pull away.

Harry was grinning like a fool and Gabby held a matching grin herself. Their hearts were pounding, and everything just seemed perfect.

"So... What now?" Harry asked after a few minutes.

The two were still flying hundreds of feet up in the air, simply enjoying each other's presence after the emotional kisses that they had just shared.

"Well first." Gabby said with a laugh. "I think you should probably bring us back down to the ground."

"Ah... Yea, that's probably a good point." Harry sheepishly replied.

Slowly the two began to head back towards the grounds below. Harry had definitely learned quite a bit. Showing a great deal of focus, he managed to control their descent and make it a smooth, if slow, ride.

"It would also be nice to have my boyfriend walk me to my room." Gabby added.

Harry's surprise nearly made him fall out of the sky, losing focus for a moment before he managed to regain it and keep his flight steady.

"Boyfriend?"

"Oh? If you don't want to be my boyfriend, I'm sure I could find someone else who would want to be." Gabby replied cheekily.

"No, no, no." Harry quickly said. "No need to do anything like that. I'd love to be your boyfriend."

Gabby giggled once more, finding it amusing seeing Harry get so flustered. She leaned in and gave the dark haired wizard a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Harry."

The kisses were new for Harry, but it was something that he was quite happy to realize he enjoyed. The affection from Gabby warmed his body in a way that the warming charm couldn't. And even if he had wanted to, Harry was pretty certain that he wasn't able to stop smiling.

Staying focused so that the two wouldn't fall to the cold, snow covered dirt below and hurt themselves, Harry and Gabby soon found their feet once more on solid ground. Hesitantly, Harry removed his arms from around Gabrielle, though the younger Veela kept her arms around the dark haired wizard for a few more seconds.

"While I would have preferred that you told me what you were going to do before you did it." Gabby began chidingly. "I did really enjoy flying with you, Harry. Maybe... Maybe we can do it more often?"

"I'd like that." Harry happily replied.

Gabby's smile at Harry's response got the wizard's heart pounding. It took him a moment to realize that his date for the evening was holding out her hand towards him.

The two made their way back to the Beauxbatons carriage hand in hand, both teens looking happier than they'd ever been.

The pair never noticed that multiple pairs of eyes had seen them since they had left the castle.

The walk was rather quiet for the most part, the new couple simply enjoying each other's presence and the sound of freshly fallen snow crunching underfoot. But as they got closer to the carriage, Gabby chose to speak up.

"So I'm now the girlfriend of the famous Harry Potter. The number of dreams that I've surely crushed must be immense." She joked.

While the joke did get a small laugh out of Harry, it also got the boy-who-lived to groan audibly.

"Likely yes. But they all only ever cared about the boy-who-lived, not Harry Potter. Really, I hate that I'm famous for that night. And I hate that people only see me as the boy-who-lived. You know, one of the first things Ron ever said to me was mentioning how he had been looking for Harry Potter. Can't believe I was dumb enough to believe someone like that would actually be a friend."

By the time that he'd finished his ranting, Harry was breathing heavily. His breath coalescing into mist in front of him in the cool night air.

Gabrielle was silent at first, standing at Harry's side as she listened to his rant. She felt horrible as she was one of those very same people at first. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt like she needed to say something to Harry.

"What if... What if I was one of those people too?" She asked quietly.

Harry's head snapped around to look at Gabby. Even without feeling out Harry's emotions Gabby could tell what he was feeling just from looking at his expression. The worry and fear were understandable after meeting Ginny Weasley.

But Gabby didn't let Harry's hand go, looking the wizard dead in the eyes as she kept explaining herself.

"I grew up reading the stories that had been written about Harry Potter, 'The boy-who-lived'. I became enamored by the stories and how they wrote about the famous slayer of the dark lord. And when I found out I'd be coming with my sister to Hogwarts where you were, I was ecstatic."

Gabby's words weren't doing her many favors and she could see Harry's face falling as she spoke. But she kept going even if she hated saying it. She had to be honest and explain herself fully.

"And then I met you. And everything changed. Harry Potter was nothing like the stories had told. I was surprised how different you were, but I wasn't really scared away. I wanted to learn more about you and get to know you.

And then you got hurt... And we met properly. And you were so much more than I ever had expected. Harry Potter is nothing like the boy-who-lived. But I found myself crushing on the real Harry Potter more than I ever had the fictional character from those silly stories."

Gabby's last few words seemed to have done the job of calming Harry down. And he didn't look like he was ready to flee at any moment anymore.

"I was stupid to believe those silly stories. I know that and I'm sorry I was ever like that. But I promise that what I feel for you I only feel because I got to know you, the real you."

Just to prove her point Gabby stepped in closer, pressing her lips to Harry's cheek once more with a chaste kiss. Reassuringly, Harry didn't pull away or flinch. Instead he squeezed Gabby's hand that was still holding his own.

"You know you didn't have to tell me that. It wasn't something you had to ever tell me." He finally spoke.

"I didn't have to, but then I'd feel like I was lying to you. I was stupid and silly when I first met you. I was still listening to childish, fake stories but I'm not anymore. Besides, the real thing is much better."

The effort was made to break the stifling atmosphere and it succeeded, drawing a smile from the dark haired wizard.

"You know... I thought at first the only reason I had a crush on you was because of your Veela allure." Harry admitted sheepishly.

"What? Why?" Gabby asked with surprise evident on her face.

"Well I still didn't know a lot about Veela, and I thought that the way I felt every time I saw you was because I was being affected by your allure like everyone else." Harry explained.

"That's just silly. I may not be as good with my allure as my sister, but I'm able to keep it reigned in rather well for the most part. And even if I couldn't, you wouldn't be talking to me like this, Harry." Gabby chided.

"I know, I know. Professor Flitwick helped explain it to me. He made me realize that your allure wouldn't be making me feel the things I was if I was really being affected by it. But I had always been worried about it until then."

Gabby was silent for a minute after that, her gaze directed towards the ground.

"Would you want to try?" She suddenly asked.

"Try what?"

"I could try using my allure on you. Like, actively trying to use it. If you're worried about it." She proposed.

"Are you sure? What if I make a fool of myself?" Harry asked.

"Well it would be nice to do it now instead of later. Most serious relationships with a Veela are usually between a Veela and a partner who has a strong will. We um... We're not as good at keeping our allure restrained during... Certain activities so it's good to know if our partners can handle the allure. In a way, it's used to tell when we find a proper partner."

The more she spoke, the redder Gabby's face became. And it didn't take long for Harry to understand what she was talking about and his cheeks to gain that same rosy hue.

"Ah that... Makes sense I guess." Harry mumbled. "You can try. If you really want to." He added.

Gabby shot Harry a surprised look, not having actually expected him to want to go through with the idea after hearing the rather embarrassing reasoning.

"I want to know how it feels." He admitted.

"Ok."

There wasn't really any physical change or sign that Gabby was using her allure, which was part of the true danger of a Veela. But for Harry, after a few seconds things changed.

He noticed everything about his new girlfriend, things that he'd seen but not paid as much attention to were suddenly oh so clear to see. The moon shone and lit up Gabby's hair, making it shine with an almost ethereal light. Her eyes glittered as she looked at him. Just looking at her lips brought Harry's mind back to the incredible kiss the two had shared and made him want to kiss her more. Even the snowflakes landing in her hair only increased the younger Veela's beauty to an almost inhuman level in Harry's eyes.

He could feel the desire to sweep Gabby off her feet. The desire to pull her into his arms and kiss her. It was strong but it also felt... Off. While he had experienced those thoughts before, they felt almost artificial. And like with the Imperious, Harry was able to push aside the compulsions to do something that wasn't his own choice.

"Harry? Harry are you ok?" Gabby's concerned voice reached his ears.

With a smile, Harry smiled and squeezed the hand that he was still holding.

"I'm alright. It feels... Odd, but I don't think I have to worry about it. I was able to ignore it after a bit."

"You really don't know how impressive that was, do you?" Gabby asked as she moved in and hugged Harry. She was pleased to note that he didn't pull away or flinch.

"It is?" Harry asked, wrapping his arms around Gabby once more.

"Harry it's hard for Veela to find a partner who is resistant to their allure. For you, it looked like you barely even feel it." She pointed out.

"I mean, while you were using it on me it was kind of hard to focus on anything but you. But I should be able to handle it if I feel it again." Harry replied.

"Harry... I never tried to pull back my allure. I'm still letting it wash over you." Gabby explained as she looked up into his eyes.

"Oh... Oh." Harry mumbled.

"Like I said, it's really rare for someone to be as resistant to a Veela's allure like you."

"I'm just special I guess." Harry joked.

"Yes, yes you are." Gabby agreed as she buried her head into Harry's chest. "And I'm really not letting you go now."

Harry was silent for a moment as the two stood together in each other's arms. But eventually he started to chuckle a bit.

"I think you're going to have to if you want to go back to your bed." Harry pointed out.

It was only at that point that Gabby realized their walk had brought them all the way to the Beauxbatons carriage. They were only a few feet away from the door. It was lucky that most other students were already inside and asleep.

Hesitantly Gabby unwound her arms from around Harry's waist. The blonde smiled up at her boyfriend and made to leave. But before she left, she made sure to give Harry one last kiss on the lips.

"I'll see you in the morning Harry. Good night."

"Good night, Gabby."

Harry watched as his new girlfriend walked into the carriage, standing and staring for a few seconds as he played back the kiss over and over again. After a solid minute he finally turned and walked back towards the castle. And towards his own bed.

He could have sworn he could feel a sort of amusement and pride that wasn't his own as he walked. It seemed that Asmodeus was amused at least.

-A Tale of Wings and Fangs-

The next morning found the group of friends sitting together at the Ravenclaw table for a rather late breakfast. Everyone had ended up sleeping in after the long night of dancing and partying.

A few older students were even nursing some hangovers after the Weasley twins had managed to sneak in some firewhiskey without any of the professors noticing.

Harry was the one of the last members of the group to arrive. It seemed like only Luna hadn't shown up yet. Finding that Gabby had saved him a seat, he sat next to the younger Veela. As he sat down, Gabby leaned in and kissed Harry quickly on the cheek.

"So do you two have something to tell the group?" Fleur asked with a wide grin.

"Is it wrong for me to want to greet my boyfriend in the morning?" Gabby shot back while Harry's cheeks gained a tinge of pink.

"Well it certainly took long enough." Fleur complained.

"And what about you? Did that kiss last night mean you have a new boyfriend too?" Gabby replied as she looked over towards where Cedric sat at the Hufflepuff table.

The blush on Fleur's cheeks, faint as it was, proved to be enough of a sign of victory for Gabby to be satisfied.

"Cedric and I decided to try dating. He's... Very nice, actually." She admitted.

"I have nothing against Cedric, and I don't think anybody else here does. If he wants to sit here in the future, you can ask him to join us." Harry pointed out.

Luna chose that moment to rush into the room, nearly bowling over another student in the process. The entire group took notice of her as she jumped into her seat at the table.

"Everything ok, Luna?" Fleur asked.

"It's a bit late, but daddy got me the perfect gift for you two." She said quickly.

Before the rest of the group could question the youngest amongst them, Luna handed over a slip of paper to Harry and Fleur.

"Mermaids?" Harry asked as he read the single word on the paper.

"Daddy got back to me about the egg. The screaming that we heard was actually mermish!"

That explanation made both Fleur and Harry freeze. Suddenly the golden egg didn't seem like such an issue if they knew what the language was.

"All we have to do to be able to properly understand it is listen to it underwater." Fleur confirmed.

"And then we'll know what we need to about the second task." Harry continued with visible excitement.

"We should tell Cedric." Harry suggested, getting a nod from Fleur.

Finishing up their breakfasts quickly, the two champions made their way over to Cedric and pulled him aside.

"Is everything ok?" The Hufflepuff asked.

"Luna figured out the golden eggs. The screaming is really a message in mermish. We were going to go open our eggs and we figured we should tell you as well." Harry explained.

"Mermish? Guess that makes a bit of sense then. And if we need to listen to it underwater, you guys can follow me. We can use the prefects' baths. They're big enough that we should be able to submerge the eggs and listen without having to go out into the lake." Cedric suggested. "You weren't actually planning to go to go take a dip in the lake, right?"

Harry had the decency to look sheepish at the older student's pointed look.

"I was going to use a warming charm. It was the quickest thing I could think of." He argued.

"Well now we have a better option. Go grab your eggs and meet me at the baths. I'll let you two in." Cedric ordered.

With a quick explanation given to Luna, Neville, and Gabby, the three champions rushed to grab their eggs and figure out the clue within. The sooner they knew about the second task, the more time they would have to prepare.

-A Tale of Wings and Fangs-

A furious Harry Potter clad in a pair of dark grey swim trunks emerged from the warm waters of the prefects bath. Swimming over to the edge and pulling himself out, Harry sitting on the edge of the large pool of water.

To say that Harry wasn't happy was an understatement. And his expression was mirrored to a lesser extent by Fleur and Cedric as they both emerged from the water as well wearing similar clothing. A blue swimsuit for Fleur and a pair of yellow swim trunks for Cedric.

"So the second task is underwater." Fleur said with a scowl.

"Likely the merfolk village down in the Black Lake." Cedric pointed out.

"And they're going to take something from us? Do they really expect that we'll be ok with them taking something we cherish?" Harry angrily added.

"It sounds like it'll be something valuable to us. And if we don't get it in time, it's gone." Cedric agreed.

"Well the only things I really value a lot are my Firebolt or one of my books. And if the headmaster thinks he can steal my things, then he's very wrong." Harry responded.

"What do you think they'll do if we hide our things from them?" Fleur asked.

"I don't know if we can." Cedric replied. "The headmasters are part of this. I doubt we can hide something from them if they truly plan to look for it."

The group of three was quiet for a moment, sitting together at the edge of the pool and staring into the waters.

"We know what to expect, though." Harry began. "And we can be prepared for it."

The other two champions nodded their heads in agreement.

"I don't care much about this competition. Especially if they're willing to try and steal from us. I think it's time we all work together." Harry suggested.

He got firm nods of agreement from both Fleur and Cedric. And while the judges of the tournament didn't know it, the path of the tournament had now drastically shifted as three of the four champions had banded together.

Things certainly wouldn't be the same as they had gone in previous iterations.

"Then let's get to work."

-A Tale of Wings and Fangs-

Hey all. I'm really sorry that this update is so much later than I had planned for it to be. College has been kicking my ass and I've quickly discovered that I have a deep, intense, burning hatred for calculus. I also planned for this chapter to be a fair bit longer than this, but once I got to this point I decided it was better to end the chapter here and give you all something a bit smaller to read. Writing was taking far too long, and I wanted to give you all something to prove that I'm still around.

With winter coming soon, the progress on this story is probably going to slow for a bit and after December is over, I'll probably not be posting much in this one until spring starts to roll around. In the meantime, though, I am writing a DC/Young Justice fanfiction as well in my spare time that I've found a way to write during work hours. Of course, doing so means I have to do it by hand so that will also likely have slow updates.

Even if the updates may get a bit further apart, I don't plan to abandon this story so don't worry about that.

I appreciated all of the awesome comments and can't thank you lot enough for giving me the motivation to keep writing. Hopefully I'll see you all again when the next chapter eventually comes around. Within the next few chapters, it'll be the Second Task and I have some fun plans for that.

Until next time everybody! Stay tuned for more!