Chapter 23

The students of Hogwarts knew there was something different about the Harry Potter that was walking the halls upon the return from the holidays. Very few would know the reason for the changes in the Potter Heir, but his power seemed to exude from his presence more than before. Now more than ever the students of Hogwarts, and its guests, knew Harry Potter was a dangerous wizard.

Harry had been taking time out of his evenings since his return to Hogwarts to see Fleur, and bring her various gifts and trinkets as a sign of his affection. The girl was amused at first, and she quickly began returning the favour with her lines of enchanted jewellery she had been working on. It started with a watch that had lasted about a week. When the enchantments broke down Harry gave her a few ideas to make them last, left it with her for a day, and then retrieved it again where it would last nearly twice as long. The oldest Potter son loved working on magic with the girl he was starting to see as his girlfriend, and looked forward to working on something new every day with her. It brought him a content sort of feeling that he hadn't really ever experienced before, and tried his best not to question what it might represent.

In the young man's experience. magic didn't often harmonize in the way his did with Fleur's. In the countless hours of training with Justin in the morning he realized that Justin's magic was near submissive to his own. In a way that was from their relationship. The older brother, and now magical mentor meant that Justin had a deep understanding that his brother was the superior wizard, and didn't dare to challenge him in a way that would put the two at odds. Harry knew his magic was likely similar with Grindelwald's when he was younger, but now they seemed to bow to each other, more as equals than master and apprentice.

Fleur's magic seemed to glow when they worked on things together. Grindelwald reminded him that iron sharpens iron, and perhaps the two of them worked well together, because they wished to prove themselves to one another. Their magic pushed the bounds of their capability eager to impress the other. It was a sweet gesture, and Harry found himself looking forward to their second date that was rapidly approaching in the form of the Valentine's Hogsmeade visit.

Part of him had wanted to just take the girl far away, and do something extravagant, or show her some great feat of magic far away, but for once his confidant, Sirius Black, had come to the rescue. He explained that it was often a rite of passage to have normal dates around their peers. He also told Harry that it was a great way to show the witches and wizards of all three schools that the pair had intentions with each other. It would be a good way to send a message to more intelligent students that they were off limits to outside parties, and while Harry wasn't worried about witches coming after him, he knew that Fleur's allure would always affect some men's minds. Besides he could always impress her on a third date if one was to come to pass.

Other than Valentine's weekend the second round of duels was coming up between Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. This would be the final round for Durmstrang, and the first for Beauxbatons, and Harry had to admit to Fleur and Aimee that he looked forward to watching the two handle Viktor and Alexia.

Justin and Harry were training on an early February morning. They had been working numerous charms that would work with impressive effects under water, and Harry had to admit that Justin had taken to them like a fish to water. The spells were not only powerful, but they had some serious range when Justin cast them. Harry himself had not figured out just how he would captivate the audience in the next round, but after slaying a dragon in the first task, he knew he would need to at least equal that spectacle to maintain his standard of performance. He felt anything less would only disappoint himself and those watching him.

Part of his problem was that he was unsure who they would take as a hostage. If Grindelwald or Justin were options he was certain it would be one of them. Even Fleur might have been a possibility, but with two of them being fellow champions, and the other long believed to be dead that left him in a bit of a dilemma on who to be looking for. He suspected Penny could be the choice, or even Cedric. If the family was captured it could be either of his parents or Sirius as well. As he thought about the other champions he wondered if their selections would be easier. For Justin, Susan was a certainty, which made his preparation for the task an easier venture than Harry's. A combination of dozens of tracking charms, and the bubble head charm with the spell repertoire he had now should work out nicely. It might even see him in second place behind whatever Harry came up with.

As the brothers wrapped up their training for the day, they talked about the upcoming Valentine's day weekend, and their plans before the second round of the dueling tournament. This conversation was interrupted by a short, dark-haired young woman standing in their path back to the castle. She was alone, and staring at the two young men with an expectant look. Harry wanted to frown at the girl, but motioned for his brother to follow him, as they made their way towards the young woman.

Alexia Volkoff had her hands in her jacket, and her all black outfit was tight to her that made Harry briefly appreciate the attractive young woman. When he approached, the girl started the greetings, "Potter and Potter. I have come for the challenge."

Harry could tell the girls English was not the best, but nodded in acceptance, "You have the matches coming up. You set the date."

Justin tensed beside him, but Harry put a hand around his shoulder trying to keep him steady. The match had started here and now, and the young man knew she would be looking for weakness. Alexia studied the youngest Potter for a moment before saying, "I would like a good warm up before the matches on Sunday. Let's meet on Saturday afternoon."

Harry frowned knowing that it may interfere with his plans with Fleur, but he agreed nonetheless, "Very well. I will have the wards up and ready just outside of Hogsmeade. You may, of course, bring any you wish to spectate, but I suggest keeping it small unless you wish to draw a crowd, and possible attention from the Castle's staff that may not approve."

"This is acceptable. Good day, gentlemen." The young woman said with the shortest of head tilts in their direction, effectively ending the conversation when she walked off.

Justin whistled quietly through a long exhale, "Well, she is a ray of sunshine."

"She is your first real test. She is fast, and crafty. She will hurt you if you're not careful." Harry said with a warning in his tone.

The young man sighed, "It will be good to know what I can do. Besides after watching you and...him duel I have been kind of craving a new challenge."

The memory of his brother's face after the duel with Grindelwald came to mind immediately, and he chuckled, "Yes, I was often that way too. He would show me memories of his more challenging rivals in the Great War, and then I would always be anxious to weigh my own against someone new. That was why I had Sirius put me in those dueling competitions when I was thirteen. I wanted to see if I could be like him."

"He still isn't what I thought he would be. I expected a snake-faced, red-eyed, monster of a man. Instead he looks like a grandpa, and even acts like one until a wand reaches his hand."

This made Harry openly laugh, "I think a lot of people would be thrown off by just how much he can be like Dumbledore in his age. I can certainly see how the two became friends in their youth."

Justin shook his head, "When I hear his name it still makes an uneasy chill go up my spine, but then I see him and it's not like anything I would have guessed."

"I told you, Justin, time changed him, but the world will never see it that way. When the truth comes to light many people will seek him out, or me, to challenge him. As you have now seen that won't go over well. He may be older, but he would still destroy anyone short of a centennial wizard." Harry said thoughtfully as they crossed into the courtyard where he had been threatened by the ICW Investigator several weeks prior.

The two didn't say many words until it came time for them to go their separate ways for the evening, "Do you think I can beat her, Harry?"

Harry grinned at the concern in his brother's voice as he began walking up to Ravenclaw Tower he called out over his shoulder, "Doesn't matter what I believe. It matters what you do."

Inwardly the young man chuckled as he threw Grindelwald's training at his brother, and continued towards his common room to prepare for his classes that day.

Scene Break

The rest of the week went by quickly. Harry had explained to Fleur that Alexia and Justin were going to be taking up a small portion of their time on Saturday to have a duel, and instead of being upset like most women might be she beamed at him in excitement, "Bonne! Now I get a chance to study two future opponents."

This had made Harry grin, and thank Merlin that the girl he was interested in didn't get upset when plans became unhinged a little. It was almost an inevitability with Harry that things would be constantly evolving, so he was happy to know the girl was flexible, and that she held an interest in magic so deep a little change of plans was nothing to her.

Saturday morning, Fleur and Harry had gone to a coffee shop in Hogsmeade and had a light breakfast, just enjoying their time together. Of course, every shop was busy, so privacy was certainly scarce. Fleur admitted she was happy to have some time for just the two of them in the public eye, as most of their meetings were in secluded corners of the castle where their studying would be undisturbed. Judging by the whispers that followed the two on that Valentine's Day morning, the occupants of Hogsmeade seemed surprised to see them on a date.

Fleur was wearing a very modest outfit that morning due to the frigid weather and heavy snowfall. She was smiling at Harry as they discussed her progress with enchanting, "The watch seems to be holding well this time. It has been almost a month. Nothing I have created has lasted this long so far."

The blonde was clearly excited about how far her enchanting was coming with some subtle direction from Harry. She had the power, and she had the spells right, but what Harry taught her was a level of finesse and control that followed intent deeply into enchantments, "This might last another few weeks by my guess too. The shield charm inlay in the runes may not hold as well, but if someone tried to surprise me I still think it would hold, and that second of saving grace would likely be the difference between victory and defeat."

Fleur looked very pleased by his words as she pushed some hair behind her ear, "We will keep working. If I can make everything last a month I will have a possible business line. Three to six months, and I could be at mastery level."

Harry raised his glass slightly to the girl as he sipped at the hot tea, "You are capable. I have a feeling by the end of the year you will have watches down to a science. Just keep working on it."

Words of encouragement were the only ones that ever left his mouth in terms of Fleur's talents in enchanting. There was no doubt she had a gift and patience few could match, and Harry wanted to nurse her ability. The way she looked at him when he encouraged her always made it worth it too.

She put a hand on top of the one he had laying on the table, and she played with the back of it with her thumb, "Thank you for helping me. It seems unfair that I can't help you with anything in return."

"Teaching is a great help to it. I have studied these things for years, and been able to do it myself for a while, but being able to teach it shows a sign of mastery that I would one day like to display to the world. Besides, enchanting is only a starting point for what I would like to do with my future inventions. You want a career out of it, and a little fine tuning was all you needed to be at that level. Don't think my help did anything but speed up the process. You were always capable."

She clenched his hand in thanks, and said nonchalantly, "You know my father will be arriving for the second task, and I imagine that regardless of the outcome there will be some celebrations after. I believe he will also be seeking you out to ask your intentions."

Harry nodded, not allowing his confident demeanor to shift even though he felt a little anxiety at the thought. He wasn't afraid of Sebastian Delacour, but he also wanted the man's approval. Having known his background, Harry worried the man may discourage his daughter from further pursuing a relationship with him. He did not wish to hurt Fleur, nor cause a rift in their family. He felt his odds were decent, but still a small part of doubt lingered in the back of his mind, "I guess it is good you brought it up. I would hate for us to misunderstand each other."

Fleur looked surprised at his words, "You think we are misunderstanding each other?"

Shaking his head the young man grinned at the edge of worry in her voice, "I don't think so, but I will be the first to admit you would be the first girl I have actively pursued, and the whole 'talking about your feelings' thing sounds immensely painful to me, so I am happy we can talk about it. Without being awkward."

Nodding her head slowly she offered him a soft smile. "I admit to not having much experience in this category either. For obvious reasons I am sure you can guess."

Accepting her comment with a nod of understanding he replied, "Of course. I will be honest and say I told my mother and father that I had every intention of entering a formal courtship with you at the end of the year."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, "A formal courtship? May I ask why? Aren't those a little outdated, and...English?"

The question might have insulted others, but Harry only grinned, "A formal courtship offers you a certain level of protection as you pass through this country. Anyone attacking or insulting you would risk the full wrath of House Potter. If you were just my girlfriend, or my significant other, then the people of my country and others may not take it very seriously. It could make you an easy target for those who would wish to hurt me, and when the truth comes out about who practically raised me, then the number of attempts on my life may increase exponentially. With that being said I realize I have come to really enjoy your company. You relax me in a way that no one has ever been able to do before, not even my master. There is no other way for me to say we mesh very well together in my opinion."

The bluntness seemed to surprise Fleur, and she gave him a sly grin, "It doesn't hurt that I am a French Veela though does it?"

Harry returned the playful grin with his own, "No, that certainly doesn't hurt. Pretty faces, however, are a dime a dozen, and you are so much more than that."

The two looked each other in the eyes for a long moment, and Harry felt the girls allure slip a little making him chuckle, breaking their moment up before it could gain any heat. Fleur heaved a breath, "Then I will expect papa to be inquiring if I would be interested in a formal courtship with House Potter."

"We will make the Purebloods head spin with the possibility that the next Lady Potter will be a Veela." Harry joked.

"Just another filthy half breed in the ranks of English society." Fleur joked back.

The two shared a smile and Harry glanced at his watch before dropping a galleon on the table, "Come on, we should go meet up with Justin, and make sure he is ready for his duel. I set up the ward scheme last night, and they just need to be powered up when we arrive."

Fleur took his offered arm when he rose and prepared to depart, "Sneaking off into the night again?"

"I had a meeting with him last night. He wanted to discuss my strategy for the second task. Making sure I don't disappoint him too much." Harry said as he walked her towards the end of the village that would take them to the path that led towards the shrieking shack.

Fleur snuggled closely to him as the frosty conditions hit her, but he pushed a wandless warming charm into her, easily making her sigh with content relief, "I guess I should be working on my strategy to assure I get second, non?"

Offering her a grin and kissing her on the side of the head he whispered quietly in her ear, "Don't worry, I will let you take pictures with the cup when I win."

Feeling her magic swirl in indignation, Harry just smirked as they walked in the direction he knew they would find his little brother. They hadn't been walking long when they found Susan and Justin sitting curled up by the fire. When Harry and Fleur arrived Justin jumped to his feet, "Harry! We don't have much time to get ready."

Nodding his head in agreement Harry smiled, "Well, let's get you warmed up."

With a flick of his wrist, a wand was in his hand, and a wave over his head caused a vibration to shake the ground slightly as the ward scheme he planted last night rose to full power. The temperature rose instantly several degrees making the biting cold much more bearable, and though the snow continued to fall it seemed to come down at a much softer rate. Justin and Susan looked around the dome-like area that had surrounded them in awe, while Fleur looked calculating. It was immediately clear to Harry that she wanted to know every spell that went into his creation.

Not allowing his brother more time to stare. he tossed a stunner at the boy without warning. Luckily the boy was good enough to block it with a bit of a fumble. Without words, Harry began tossing more spells at him. A wide variety of hexes, curses, jinxes, and shield breakers were tossed at Justin who began dismantling each of his brother's attacks. After a few minutes Harry picked up his speed, but kept the crazy stuff out. This was after all just warm up. At five minutes Harry canceled his brother's retaliation spell that followed the moment he stopped casting with a grin, "You're ready."

"Last minute advice?" Justin said as he walked over to his brother.

"You do some of your best work on your back foot and in a panic. Your instinctual magic is amazing. Trust it. Trust your magic from beginning to end, and you will do well." Harry said wisely.

Justin nodded thoughtfully at his brother's advice before taking a deep breath, "How do I let you talk me into these things?"

As he said this he noticed a group of a half dozen Durmstrang students approaching the wards. Among them were Viktor Krum and Alexia Volkoff. With a wave of his hand the wards lifted in a small area allowing the group to enter. Alexia was wearing a similar outfit to what she wore the other day. All black athletic clothing that hugged her body well. The difference this time was the symbol of Dumstrang proudly emblazoned on her shirt. The double eagle shield was a little bold for Harry's taste, but he waited for them to come closer before he offered them a smile, "Ms Volkoff, thank you for agreeing to meet for this duel."

She gave a sharp head nod, "I haf to know if we could haf won this had you not been involved. Viktor and I are very different duelists, and have gone back and forth a few times over the years, but I believe this will be good for us both."

Harry offered a short bow, "Still, this is an excellent training opportunity for both of you. Are there any rules you want to follow?"

She shook her head, "First to lose consciousness or their wand loses."

"I like it when they make it easy." Harry said with a grin looking at his brother, "Do you agree?"

Justin nodded his head sharply, and Alexia looked over to Fleur, "Why is she here?"

"You issued a challenge on Valentine's Day, Ms Volkoff. I could not very well abandon my date to meet with another girl on a day like this. It wouldn't have looked very gentlemanly of me."

This caused the boys who had come with her to grin, but she shook her head, "A poor insight on my own judgement. Very well."

Harry offered another bow, and said, "Fleur is also here to be an impartial referee. Just in case things get out of hand. She is more than capable of putting a stop to the duel if necessary."

Fleur squeezed Harry's arm at this last second revelation, but he knew her occlumency was good enough to show no outward emotions. With a final nod from Alexia, the other Durmstrang boys backed up to exit the ward scheme. Harry did the same, offering Fleur a wink as he moved towards Susan, gesturing to her to follow him to safety.

The two lined up across from each other with the standard fifteen metres apart, and Fleur looked at Harry for a signal to get it started, which he gave with a subtle nod.

Fleur called the opponents together, and Susan gripped one of his folded arms hard, "Harry, I know you and Justin train really hard together, but what if he gets hurt?"

Patting the girl's hand gently when Fleur started the countdown he responded with, "We need to know where his skill level is. I am sure your grandmother has told you there are some dark things going on in the background of our society, and with recent events this is the safest way to really gauge his abilities. I won't let anything happen to him here no matter what the Durmstrang contingent may try. This is as close to a battle test as we can get without actually throwing him in a battle."

Spells were being traded the moment the final numbers were called, and Alexia was on Justin in a snap. When Justin had duelled Krum there was a lot of power being thrown around. That day Justin proved himself to be capable of standing in a power contest, but this was a battle of finesse and speed. Harry had to admit the boy struggled to get his rhythm in the beginning, but when he did it became a beautiful show of ability.

Justin was transfiguring things around him in a way that would've made James Potter, and even Albus Dumbledore proud. As the array of magic increased from the Durmstrang champion, Justin matched her. The danger of the spells used also increased, and Harry watched in pride when Alexia hurled a black curse that would've undoubtedly caused serious harm to younger Potter, only for the young man to spin around it and blast the girl with a spell of pure white lightning that sent her flying backwards and into unconsciousness.

The five Durmstrang students rushed to her side in an instant, and Fleur immediately called the duel with victory to Justin. The young man was heaving for breath as Susan crossed the wards and threw herself into his arms happily, nearly knocking the boy over. Harry strode over grinning at the boy while Fleur came to his side, "He is quite talented."

"He has come a long way in six months. Give me another four before he has to face you or Aimee in finals, and he will make you work for it." Harry said with a grin.

Fleur looked like she was going to rise to that comment, when Harry's senses flared in alarm, and spun around raising a head to toe purple shield without even summoning his wand. Whatever the orange spell was, it sizzled violently off to the sides, clearly intending to take all four of them out, and Harry immediately lashed out with his other hand towards the wand that was pointed at him.

The holder of the wand was hoisted in the air by an invisible hand, as Harry held the quickly suffocating boy in place, "You threw a curse at me and my intended while our backs are turned? I should string you up from one of these trees, and wait for the acromantulas to get you."

Harry could feel the anger and power rolling off him as the four other Durmstrang students nervously went for their wands. With a flick of his wrist, Harry's wand shot into his hand and sent a wave of force that launched all four of them backwards. With his non-wand hand he pulled the suffocating boy over to him as he turned blue in the face, "If you ever attack anyone in this group again I will gouge your eyes out and drop you in the middle of the forest with no hope of ever finding your way out. Do I make myself clear?"

The boy was holding his throat desperately nodding trying to show he understood, and Harry reared back and punched the suffocating boy in the face while dropping him with his magic. With a dramatic of his wand the ward scheme around the group was disassembled, and Harry motioned for Justin and Susan to get moving. Susan looked frightened by the look on Harry's face, but his brother just nodded severely and began walking back towards the village.

Harry stared at the six downed students, and knew no good would come from it. Perhaps six months ago he would've wiped all their memories and left them to be drooling messes, but instead he turned to the beautiful French girl beside him and offered his arm. Without hesitation she took it while planting a kiss on his cheek as the two began walking away from the moaning and groaning Durmstrang students. Fleur shook her head, "What a fool. You wiped the floor with both of their champions, yet he still attacked you."

"Power often befuddles the ignorant and stupid. A year ago that boy might've been a headless corpse." Harry admitted.

Fleur shivered slightly, "Your show of mercy was for the best. Even if you were within your rights."

Harry nodded in agreement, and a sigh, "Well, only one person has tried to kill me so far on our second date. Shall we treat my brother and his girlfriend to dinner?"

Fleur offered him a smile as she leaned over whispering in his ear, "Only if you are planning on introducing me to everyone else we meet today as your intended."

This made Harry wear a legitimate blush making the girl laugh. Despite the attack on his own he was happy with his brother's performance, and hoped no more troubling consequences would come from what happened in the forest.