Disclaimer: HP and FFVIII are not mine. Don't sue me, not a single penny is attached to my name.
A/N: My response to your reviews and questions will always be at the end of each chap. Thanks.
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Chapter 5
"HARRY! IS THAT YOU?" some blurted and others gasped as the rest of the group finally took notice. Harry chuckled as he looked at their expressions. Hermione looked so surprised as if someone announced to her that O.W.L.S will be taken at the start of the term. Fred, George and Ron's jaws were hanging open while Ginny looked flushed. 'I hope her crush on me hasn't returned.' He thought. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked happy and teary-eyed.
Hermione was the first one to recover after just a few seconds. She rushed forward and engulfed him in a hug, the others followed suit. "How are you?" "Where the bloody hell have you been?" "Wow, Harry…" "Had an interesting summer I presume?" were just some of the statements he heard as they all spoke simultaneously. "Whoa, slow down, I'll answer your questions later," he said still chuckling. "Why don't you show Harry to his room then come down and we can proceed with a 'birthday brunch' for him." Mrs. Weasley suggested. They fell silent, embarrassed that it slipped from their minds that today is Harry's birthday although they have prepared for it, which was immediately followed by a series of "Happy Birthday, Harry" and another round of hugs and claps on his back.
"Go on now, help him settle in and you can all ask questions later." Mrs. Weasley ushered them out of the kitchen. The rest of the adults settled back at the table with Dumbledore to update the other order members on Harry's return. (A/N: I didn't include Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emmaline Vance, and others as part of Harry's retrieval team contrary to the book.) As they approached the stairs going up to the bedrooms, the front door opened again. "HARRY JAMES POTTER!" a voice yelled as Harry was tackled to the floor by asilvery-blond blur. "Fleur! What are you doing hermpph." Harry was silenced as she gave him a passionate kiss. He returned the kiss since he missed her so much. It lasted just a moment as Fleur, tears streaming down her cheeks, began to pound her fists on his chest.
"Where were you? You disappeared for three weeks and you didn't even send me a single owl! I swear to you beloved if you do this to me again, Vous-savis-qui (A/N: Is this correct?) will be the least of your worries." Fleur ranted, then proceeded to babble some more in french (A/N: Much like Lindsay Lohan's character Annie in The Parent Trap when her dad told her he's going to get married.), her eyes blazing. 'Uh oh, better resolve this quick?' he thought and quickly gave her another kiss. "Er… We are happy for you mate but would you please stop snogging on the floor in the middle of the hall?" asked Ron, as tactless as ever. The others' jaws were hanging open during the exchange since Harry hasn't mentioned yet that he already have a girlfriend.
Both of them quickly jumped up, blushing furiously as they try to compose themselves. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and looked down at her feet, shyly stealing glances at Harry. 'I can't fancy him, he's my bestfriend, but he became such a hottie now as I knew he would be someday… Oh my, what am I thinking?' She thought. "Come on ickle Harrykins, mate, why don't we all go upstairs and have you settled in," Fred said "and you can tell us everything while we help you unpack." George finished.
'Oh brother. When I thought I was completely safe, here comes two of the most merciless teasers second only to Irvine.' Harry thought. "Alright, lets go." he agreed as he took Fleur's hand and gave it a squeze which was rewarded by her smile. "Oh, Hi, Bill, How are you?" he greeted as he finally noticed the other person that entered the house. "Hello, Harry. If you'll excuse, I have to get to the order's meeting.' Bill said in a monotone voice. "Whoa, what's wrong with him. He sounded as if someone died or something." Ron piped up while Fred and George sniggered. They knew he fancied Fleur and have been trying to get her attention for weeks, even offering to tutor her to improve her English. But by the looks of things, his slim chance has been shot down even before he met Fleur.
Harry just shrugged, wrapped his arm around Fleur's waist and followed Ron who took the lead up the stairs. Ginny was silent and had her head down looking at her feet during the whole time.
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"Alright mate, spill. Where were you have and what have you been up to?" Ron started. "Yeah, but judging from the changes in you I can say whatever it is, it has been good for you." said Fred. "Or was it the amazing effects of love." George teased, whispering to him. Harry sat at the edge of his bed as Ron sat at the other bed besides his while Fred and George were sprawled on beanbag chairs opposite them. Fleur and Hermione volunteered to unpack for him, insisting he must be tired from wherever he came from, and were busy by the closet at the other end of the room.
"Shush the both of you. Come on, mate, tell us, and cool gear by the way. What kind of weapon is that?" Ron continued. 'What? Oh right…' Harry thought as he remembered, due to the excitement, that he hasn't changed yet. "Let's wait for the girls so that I won't have to repeat myself," he said as he undid the clasp of the strap that held the scabbard on his back and showed the gunblade. "Wicked!" said the twins and Ron as the girls finally was done and came over to them and Ginny came in after using the girls bathroom. She had to compose herself since she was still quite flushed over Harry.
"You guys can touch it, it won't hurt you. On the hands of someone with evil intentions or a dark wizard however, the spells and charms on it will burn their hands off." Harry explained. "Now beloved, you have a lot of explaining to do for all those weeks you caused us to lose our peace of mind worrying." Fleur urged him, she sat beside him, rested her head on his shoulders and wrapped her arms around him as if assuring herself that he has returned, afraid that he will disappear once again. "Alright, but all of you have to swear never to tell anyone else know what I will be telling you." he stressed. All of them nodded and he saw their sincerity, as he looked each of them in the eye. Then he recounted everything from the day he disappeared until he returned. He told them about his mentors and the GFs. However, he still told it in a way without stressing just how far is the extent of his powers and training. He's still modest about these things, plus he didn't want Hermione to be insecure if she knew he could perform N.E.W.T. level stuff. He even said that he still needed lots of practice to develop his powers further, for an added effect. He also left the things about his misadventures with the teasing and Irvine's failed mentorship on the "powers" of his now developed physical assets, he certainly didn't want to worry Fleur and worse, be on the receiving end of her bad side. (A/N: He is totally whipped. Hehehe.)
The others were still awestruck as he finished. "Wow! You and Godric Gryffindor descended from an ancient family line that has been kicking evils' ass for a long time. Wicked!" Ron said, practically voicing out the guys sentiments. "Wow, may I see that gun-thingy," Hermione said. When she heard Harry mention that Godric Gryffindor himself placed the charms, jewels, and runes that adorned his weapon, she was giddy with excitement. Her eyes were twinkling as she examined the runes, their symbols and the intricate pattern how they were placed. Trust Hermione to find a new subject to study no matter how much knowledge she already acquired over the years of reading.
"I am just glad that you are safe beloved," Fleur said. "But I'm also not one to complain about your physical change," she added, whispering in his ear to tease him. It caused him to blush once more. Fleur already proved she loved him regardless of his fame or his skinny frame months before. The statement was still overheard by Hermione and Ginny. They couldn't help but silently agree, Harry grew more muscular whichcomplmented his height as he wasalmost as tall as the twinsandtaller thanRon by a few more inches.And then both blushed lightly from their thoughts.
"Is this were you load bullets like on muggle firearms?" Hermione asked, trying to change the topic. "Oh yeah," Harry said as he opened his trunk and retrieved some "fast" ammo. He hadn't yet loaded any ammo since the blade was modified. "What the…" he exclaimed a bit surprised. All the ammo flew into the six chambers. He then retrieved the other types and all flew into the chambers. "I guess this is the way it works." he told the group who were also amazed like him, as the six pieces of "pulse" ammo (A/N: These are really rare, a bit hard to come by in the game. Has anyone been able to get a max 100 of this ammo?) flew and now fills the six chambers. Harry reached out with one hand and touched the gunblade's handle and focused on different ammo. They watched as the bullet casings changed colors indicating the switch in ammo type. "Well, I think its safe to say that the runes and charms works." Harry joked.
They spent the next moments catching up on what the others have been doing while he was away which only stopped when Mrs. Weasley called them down for the brunch. "Lets go down, I'm starving." Harry said cheerfully. With a wave of his hand, he changed from his battle gear to his normal clothes. The rest gasped again and looked at him with awe. "When did you learn wandless magic, Harry?" Hermione asked. 'Ooops, didn't mean to let that one slip.' he thought. 'I guess with the training I went through, it all felt normal'
"Er… It was part of my training, but I can't do any major spells yet, just simple stuff." he replied, grinning sheepishly, hoping she would drop the issue. "Have you told Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione pushed. "Er… I just told them I went away for a little "training", not much of the details I told all of you. Stop giving me that look 'Mione. I promise to tell Professor Dumbledore and Sirius later in private. I just didn't want other order members that I barely trust to know the things that I told you. I only want people who I trust with my life to know about it." They were all touched by this statement and continued to go downstairs, their cheerful banter returning.
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The day went smoothly and everyone seemed more relaxed. He was surprised that Mrs. Weasley managed to set up a small birthday party for him at such short notice. Everyone had a great time and he received more gifts. He got another sweater from Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. Hermione gave him a book on all curses, counter-curses, hexes and jinxes evermade. Ron gave him, surprisingly, a book on Famous Seekers of the Century. The twins gave him a bag of sweets and chocolate frogs, but hidden beneath the bag is a pair of extendable ears and some pranks. "Teach you later how to use it, mate" they whispered. Ginny also gave him a book, the newest edition on Seeker Tactics. Remus and Sirius pooled their money together and presented him with a small box. "Your Dad had one way back when we were still in Hogwarts." Lupin said. When he opened the box, he saw a golden snitch, this one looks like it was custom made since embossed on top between its wings is a silver lightning bolt. He was surprised when Moody also handed him a gift. He got a sneakoscope and a book on Auror training year 1. "You got potential to become a great Auror someday." Moody said gruffly. "I'll give you my other gift later." Fleur whispered. The rest of the day was spent on merry making, playing games and chatting.
Later that evening he approached Professor Dumbledore, who arrived at dinnertime, to tell him the details of his disappearance. The professor merely said, "I perfectly understand why you chose to keep silent about the details of your training. If you really want to tell me or if you want to ask for my advice, you are always welcome in my office. We'll talk there when you feel it is the right time, no need to rush." He patted Harry's shoulder in a grandfatherly but not condescending way and bid his good bye. Harry then approached Sirius to tell him about it but he was surprised again when he said. "Now is not the time for such serious matters. Its your birthday, go and enjoy it with your friends. You can come and talk to me anytime you wish." he said, then waved him off. "Oh, Harry, before I forget," Sirius added quickly. "Seeing that you have grown up in a short period of time and have a girlfriend and all that. There is one "talk" that you, Remus, and I must have soon," he said, his face set in mock stern, taking every bit of control not to laugh as he teased. Harry's face blushed brightly as it dawned on him what kind of "talk" Sirius was referring to; it is at that moment that his godfather let out his laughter.
Now, he is up on his room, lying in bed with Fleur. Mrs. Weasley sent them up, instructing them to take a rest and that he understands they need a bit of some private time to catch up with each other. She insisted that she and the others would take care of cleaning up. Fleur's head rests comfortably on his chest. "Do you like my gift?" she asked, "I love it" he responded as he took another look at the necklace and silver pendant Fleur gave him. It's a small oriental looking cross with the yinyang symbol at its hub. The pendant itself is the center of Fleur's round pendant, also oriental in design. "According to some Chinese beliefs a person's life and being is not whole unless they have found their center. I know that I found my center when I've fallen for you Harry." Fleur explained to him earlier. (A/N: This is not my original idea, I borrowed the pendant and saying's concept from Jet Li's Hollywood movie "The One". Disclaimer: I do not claim any Intellectual Property Rights, Copy Rights, TMs etc. to this movie.)
"You now I've been meaning to ask you how you knew I was missing and when did you arrive at this house?" Harry asked, his hand slowly stroking Fleur's silvery blond hair. "Remember when I told you I accepted a part-time job at Gringott's, I was working as a charms/curse breaker, well it was there when I saw Dumbledore three days after you're disappearance. He was there to see Bill Weasley to ask him to join the order. Afterwards, he approached me and said that as one of the person's you deeply care for that I should be informed that you were missing. I was so distraught with the news he offered me to stay here so that I can receive news about you immediately and here I am." Fleur finished. "Wow, and to think I haven't told anyone yet except today that we are officially together. Well, nothing seems to escape the professor's attention." Harry chuckled a bit.
"Your English is better now, not to mention your french accent just making your voice sound sexier. I'll be having a harder time now fending off guys trying to date you." he teased. "Well, Bill Weasley was kind enough to tutor me these past few weeks and I learned some quick language learning spells back home." She said. "And speaking about fending off, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? I think I will be having a harder time than you." she countered, with a hint of insecurity in her tone. Harry pulled her to kiss to wipe away any doubt he might have indirectly caused her. Fleur hugged him tightly and sighed contently. "I think Bill fancies you," he teased her once more. "I guess so, but my heart already belongs to you and refuses to settle anywhere else." she stated and brushes her lips lightly on his then settled backed down to where she was comfortable. "I love you!" Harry said a bit sleepy. "Jet'aime, beloved" she said softly as they both succumbed to sleep. This is how the others found them and decided to leave them be. Ron slept at the other room occupied by the twins.
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"Wormtail!" hissed a cold voice. "Yes, m-m-my lo-r-rd." stuttered the man called. "Any news from the agents I sent to stake out that room?" he drawled. "They were unable to go more nearer, I-I-I-t seems that there are others guarding the place and our agents doesn't want to risk alerting them about our presence." came the reply from the man who's head is bowed down low to the ground.
"And what of those researchers you hired? You personally guaranteed that they know where to look for information for what I have been looking for. What have they accomplished?" asked the voice, tone dripping with evil and vileness. "T-t-t-they have yet to discover where it is imprisoned and they have j-j-j-just translated the first layer of runes that and wards that were supposed to keep it locked." he replied fearfully. "WHAT! I need to acquire it soon to achieve my greatest victory and to ensure that I will rule for all eternity. Incompetent fools!" The dark creature bellowed. "We need to distract our enemies from our true plans until I have acquired both." he said, frowning in comtemplation. "Gather 25 dementors, I have a plan. Fail me in this and you shall be punished." He threatened the frightened man.
"Y-y-y-yes master. I shall do your bidding." Wormtail agreed quickly, repetitively bowing and slowly retreating out of the creature's private chambers. "And before you go, Wormtail," he said before the man was completely out of his chamber. "For the incompetence of your 'researchers', Crucio" he shouted.
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Harry woke up in a cold sweat. 'Damn, in all of the excitement I forgot to clear my mind and meditate.' he thought. 'I better practice with my Occlumency and that Zen meditation Zell taught me.' He was still deep in thought when Fleur stirred and woke up. "Good morning, beloved," she greeted as she stretched languidly and snuggled closer to Harry. "You're up early, is something bothering you?"
"Nope, I'm fine, I just… er… had a bad dream." he replied. "What was it? You know you can tell me right?" she prodded. "Yes, I know. I dreamed about Voldemort, he was furious." Harry said and he recounted the dream to Fleur. "I try not to worry though. Godric taught me Occlumency and Legilimency before I returned, he thought it would be invaluable to me and Zell taught me meditation as part of the martial arts training. I guess it worked wonders since my scar barely hurts; it just feels like little pinpricks now." He babbled, as he was slightly concerned. 'What is in that room that Voldemort wants badly. And what kind of prisoner does he want to release. We better find out soon.'
"Whatever it is, we'll find out at the right time and we will stop Vous-savis-qui." Fleur said to him as if she read his mind. Then she drew him close and gave him a comforting kiss. It is at this exact moment that the door opened.
"Ooops… er… sorry about that." Ron said, quickly turning away from them. "Mum said to get both of you, breakfast is ready. And Professor Dumbledore wants to speak to you Fleur. See you both downstairs." And he immediately went out. "Well let's get ready then beloved. See you in a few minutes." Fleur got up, blew him a kiss, and went to the room she shared with Hermione and Ginny. Harry went to the boys' bathroom, took a quick shower and changed into some muggle clothes. 'I got to get new clothes. Dudley's hand me downs are no longer appropriate.' He went out to fetch Fleur and together they went to get breakfast.
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"Good morning, dears." Mrs. Weasley greeted as they passed by her in the hall. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting in the stateroom, Fleur. He also told me that you come as well Harry. I'll be finished setting the table and we can all have breakfast, your school letters have also arrived." She said and went back to the kitchen. "Your school term starts soon beloved. I'll miss you terribly, promise to owl me often." Fleur whispered with sadness. "I promise you and I'll try to convince Professor Dumbledore to let me stay here during the holidays so we can be together sooner." Harry assured her as they entered the stateroom.
"Good morning, Harry, Miss Delaceour." Dumbledore greeted and ushered them to sit down. "Good morning, professor. Is something wrong?" Fleur began. She felt it was something important for Dumbledore to meet her personally. "On the contrary, I just have a proposal for you which you would find to be beneficial for both of you should you wish to accept," he replied, eyes twinkling. "You see all of the teachers in Hogwarts are members of the order and it is often that I ask them to perform certain tasks. It is because of this that we decided to give assistants to certain professors that are called upon more often than others, just to ensure classes wouldn't be too far behind. Therefore, I ask if you would like to become an assistant for our Charms class. You come highly recommended by Madame Maxime for your excellent Charms work in Beauxbatons. You will not only assist Professor Flitwick during classes but also in certain tasks around the castle. Should you accept, you will be given full benefits and privileges as part of the faculty." he finished, smiling as he addressed Fleur.
The couple was surprised. This way they will never have to bother with being apart for too long. The proposal's timing is impeccable as if the professor already anticipated it. Judging by the twinkle in his eyes, you would say he did it on purpose. "I'd love to accept, professor, this is a rare opportunity for me. However I am still under contract with Gringotts." Fleur said. "It has been taken cared of. I spoke with their chief goblin and he agreed, as it seems we need your skills more than they do. You just need to finish this month and on Sept. 1st, you can take the express to Hogwarts. So, it is settled then?" he said. "Thank you, professor." Fleur replied, there's nothing else to say. Harry was speechless the whole time.
"Well, lets get to breakfast then. I can already smell Molly's exquisite cooking." Before he stood up, Harry spoke. "Oh, there is one more thing, professor." He said and told him about the dream. Dumbledore was silent, mumbling a bit in contemplation. "Thank you for alerting me, Harry," he spoke, his eyes returning to their normal manner. "No need to worry, I will have the order look into this matter post haste. Now lets go to the kitchen, I am sure your friends are already waiting." And they went out of the room.
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Breakfast was excellent. After the table has been cleared, they went back to the stateroom to open their Hogwarts letters, which basically says the same thing and includes their book list for the year. However, it seems Hermione got something extra as she let out an over joyous scream. "I've been made prefect!" she gasped and was almost bouncing on her feet with excitement. "Congratulations, 'Mione." They said. As Harry got up and gave her a hug, his letter fell to the floor with a soft clunk. "What the? I didn't even notice there was something else in there?" he said. 'I guess I just got used to the heavy weight lifting Zell put me through.'
"Oh, Harry, you've been made prefect. Congratulations, beloved." Fleur said as the badge slip when she picked up the letter. Another round of congratulations ensued.
"Wow mate, prefect huh? Good for you!" Ron said in an overly cheerful manner. 'Why do all the good things happen to him? Now I would just be one of his shadows again.' He thought, a bit of his jealousy slowly returning. Harry failed to notice and just clapped Ron's back in thanks. "Well then you lot. Since we don't have anything else to do for today, why don't we take you to Diagon Alley. Go on now and get ready." Mrs. Weasley announced. They all excitedly went to their rooms and changed.
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A/N: This is it for now. I didn't expect to post it this soon, hope you all enjoy. Sorry for the bad cliffie, I decided to cut it here as I thought the chapter is longer than the previous ones and nothing much is happening. I still plan to post two more by Friday. Next chapter will be more exciting and have more action… I hope. Keep on reviewing.
To DragonMaster51: Thanks. Hope you like this one too.
To Shinigami's Shadow: Another good idea but I won't be using other descendants in this fic. Harry was actually referring to other GFs since he still needs to search were they are in this world that's why he was so adamant on leaving and even considered to fight his way out, he was only stopped by Shiva and Griever's advice. /The others will test you soon when the time is right/ Shiva said or something to the effect.
To Yenom: Thanks for the compliment. He was bluffing. Harry trained with Occlumency and Legilimency, Godric trained him extensively, I just was lazy to write about it in detail. Plus, Dumbledore couldn't really read Harry's mind if he wanted to since the GFs were guarding it as well. He just felt their strong presence and Harry's strong magical level that's why he gave that look. I would still be putting little side quests in later chapters after all, Harry wouldn't be The Harry Potter without his adventures and sneaking around past curfew.
To gaul1: Thanks for the review. Hope you liked Fleur's reaction.
To jollander: Cool, you got FF8 Xover too. Hope you post, I would like to read it. Thanks for the review.