I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm doing this for fun, not profit. Please let that be a sufficient disclaimer!

...

It was the summer. Fleur had turned ten, Harry had turned eight, and Gabrielle's second birthday was tomorrow.

Fleur and Harry were enjoying their potion lessons with Sebastian and Appoline, and could now brew several first year potions unaided... although still very much under close observation, in case anything went wrong.

Fleur had some friends at school, though her allure had long since ended any friendships with boys, as they struggled to hold a conversation with her. The only exception, of course, was Harry. Speaking of which, Gabrielle's birthday was on a Saturday this year, and so Harry would be staying for the weekend. In fact, Harry was due to arrive later that evening. But for only the second time ever, Fleur was nervous about his visit; and this time she really didn't want to talk to her Mama and Papa about the reason why.

"Something is bothering her, my love", Appoline commented.

Sebastian nodded his agreement. "She's normally so happy before an 'arry visit. Now she seems almost skittish. I can't think of what could be wrong."

"You don't suppose there's been an argument, do you? They certainly looked as happy together as usual last visit." That was certainly true – the last visit was Harry's eighth birthday, and they were glued to each other's sides just like always.

Sebastian thought about it. "No, I don't think there has been a disagreement. We would have seen something. Maybe we need to just ask her."

Appoline sighed. "You're right. I'll speak to her now, see if I can discover the problem."

Fleur was currently sat with a book, though given the page hadn't been turned for a few minutes, she clearly wasn't reading it. "Hello, angel"

Fleur jumped, dropping the book. She gave an unconvincing smile to Appoline, picking the book back up. "Hello Mama. Fed up with Papa?"

Appoline smiled gently. "Perhaps. Though I also wanted to see how my eldest was doing."

Fleur gave a big, albeit unconvincing, smile. "I'm doing well, of course. It's the weekend!"

Appoline gently prodded, still careful to smile. "and an 'arry weekend at that, no?"

Fleur's smile faltered for a second, before it was back. "Yes of course Mama, the best kind of weekend"

Appoline gave a concerned look, and Fleur knew she had been discovered. "Fleur?"

A pause, and then "... Yes, Mama?". Fleur had hesitated for a moment too long, she knew.

"What's wrong, my angel?"

Fleur wore the expression of a trapped animal. She looked around, seeking a way out, but none was forthcoming. And before she could even answer, Appoline cut right to the heart of the problem. "Is there a problem with 'arry?"

Fleur sighed in defeat. She realised it was better to get this awful, embarrassing conversation over with as soon as possible. But where to start? "Yes!... No!... I don't know, Mama!"

Appoline gave Fleur another concerned look. "What's bothering you about 'arry, my angel?"

Fleur's mouth started rambling before she could stop herself. "'arry's cute! I never thought about it before, but then last visit I realised that he's cute! And not 'Gabrielle' cute, but cute cute! And now I'm all nervous! Mama, I'm never nervous about 'arry visiting, but now I'm scared – what if he notices? Will he want to stop cuddling, or holding my hand? What if he'd rather spend time with Gabrielle? Does he think I'm cute? Should I just ask him? Should I try to wear something nice? Do you think he'd like it if I plaited my hair?"

A look of realisation hit Fleur mid-ramble, and so another stream of consciousness began. "Mama, we share a room! I'm sharing a room with a cute boy! Mama, what if 'arry hates how I look in the morning? Or if my breath smells? Do I need to get up first, and brush my teeth before he wakes up?"

Appoline, valiantly, managed not to laugh. Honestly, she was feeling both relieved and pleased - relieved that there wasn't anything she would consider to be a real problem, and pleased that Fleur's apparent first crush was someone like Harry. Appoline wasn't naive enough to think this guaranteed her a son-in-law down the line, but it was a pleasant thought!

Whatever her inward thoughts, outwardly Appoline managed to wear a mask of concern. "Fleur, angel, breathe! I don't think you need to be worried, my angel."

Fleur gave her Mama a look which suggested Fleur believed there to be every reason to be worried.

Appoline smiled gently. "'arry is your best friend, and has been for years. He's already seen you in the morning, and he hasn't abandoned you yet, has he?"

Fleur shook her head; her Mama had a point. Appoline continued. "Besides, he is a little younger and a boy, and they are terrible at noticing things like that. Your Papa definitely is!"

Fleur gave a small chuckle at the joke, and thought about it some more. After a minute, she frowned. "So 'arry probably won't be interested in kissing for a while?"

Appoline couldn't help it – it was Sebastian's influence she was sure – the words just charged out if her mouth before she could stop them. "Kissing, Fleur?"

Fleur blushed red and snapped her mouth shut, glaring at her Mama for unearthing such an important secret. She had thought a lot about kissing Harry over the last couple of weeks, but she would not talk to her Mama about that!

Fleur's silence meant that Appoline could make a related point, and honestly it may be difficult for Fleur to accept. "Fleur, my angel?"

Fleur wore a guarded expression. "Mama?"

"Even when 'arry is interested in kissing, you may want to wait a while before doing anything."

Fleur gave a sceptical look. That sounded like a terrible idea.

"Fleur, relationships are much easier when you're at the same school, or living near each other. Besides, you might meet someone at Beauxbatons who is even cuter." A less preferable outcome, but perhaps more likely.

Fleur, however, looked scandalised. "No, that's not going to happen Mama!"

...

"Fleur!" "'arry!"

Seconds later, the two were embracing, holding onto each other as if nothing in the world could be more important. As Harry eventually let go, Fleur placed a kiss on each of his cheeks, blushing a little as she did so.

Then it was to the sofa, for cuddles and conversation. And if Fleur's hands were more liable to caress Harry's arm, or squeeze his hand, Harry didn't appear to mind.

From their vantage point, Appoline and Sebastian grinned. "Has she stopped controlling her allure already?" Sebastian asked.

Appoline smirked and nodded. "Oh, she has it bad!"

Far sooner than Fleur wanted, it was time for Gabrielle to see Harry. "'ARRY! 'arry here! 'arry time! My turn!"

Harry smiled, gave Fleur's hand one last squeeze, then sat up just in time for Gabrielle to charge into his legs. Harry dutifully lifted her up onto his lap, and looked at the book she was holding. 'The Boy Who Lived'.

Putting on his cheeriest voice – which was hard, given how he disliked that particular book! – Harry gave Gabrielle his full attention. "Hello Gabrielle! How is my wonderful little sister?"

"I good! It my turn now? You read me story?" Asked Gabrielle, hopefully.

Harry chuckled affectionately. "Of course it is. Are you sure this is the story you want?"

Gabrielle nodded, confident. "This one first. Then next one. You read more stories."

Harry's chuckle became a laugh. He checked the time – it was not long before Gabrielle's bedtime. "I'll read you stories all the way to bedtime."

Gabrielle looked like Christmas had come early.

...

After Gabrielle had gone to bed, Fleur and Harry were inseparable, as expected. But this time, Fleur's allure was pouring out of her. At bedtime, Harry commented on it. "I really liked feeling your allure this evening, Fleur. It's been really nice."

Fleur smiled, then asked a question a little nervously. "Tell me again how it feels?"

Harry smiled, looking at Fleur from across the metre or so between their beds. "It just feels so nice! It's warm, and relaxing, and it just feels like you, and I really like it!"

Fleur smiled; she was glad Harry enjoyed it, and that it didn't stop him from talking to her. Though she might've preferred it if Harry had wanted to kiss her. But her Mama was probably right – Harry was only eight, and it would probably be a long while before he thought about any girl in that way.

Sighing, Fleur saw they still had a little longer before Mama and Papa would expect them to be asleep, so Fleur moved the conversation to one of their favourite topics – their future house together.

"'arry? Do you know how much we have saved for our house?"

Harry shook his head. "I haven't checked since Easter. I think we had about a hundred galleons, though!"

"Did Papa say you got some pocket money from the secret place in Hogwarts?"

"Oh yeah! I'd forgotten about that. I don't think it's a lot, but I wanted it to go towards our house. I didn't ask how much: your Papa said it was just some pocket money, so if it's a few galleons that would be nice."

...

It was just after Christmas when Harry and Fleur next checked their vault – they had wanted to sooner, but there was always something more fun to do... and unbeknownst to them, Sebastian and Appoline had tried to delay them finding out the vault's new value as long as possible.

But Harry and Fleur had made a pact over Christmas that half the money they received from now on would go into the shared vault; since they had both received some money over Christmas, they were eager to put half in and count the new total.

Sebastian and Appoline knew they had done well keeping the children unaware for as long as they had, so with a sense of resignation the Delacours, plus Harry, visited the French branch of Gringotts.

Fleur and Harry approached the stern goblin at the teller station. "Hello Mr. Goblin. We wanted to put some money into our vault."

Smashface looked up, irritated. Wizard children barely had enough gold to be counted, so this would certainly be a waste of his time. "Name?" He asked, gruffly.

"Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter"

Smashface's expression changed to one of eagerness. Well well well! These might be worthwhile customers after all!

"Do you have your key?" he asked, a little less gruffly.

Harry and Fleur nodded, holding out their keys.

"Just one will suffice", stated Smashface, then took Fleur's. After a moment... "Follow me. I will show you to your new vault, and then we can get you new keys".

Harry and Fleur looked at each other confused. New vault? Fleur asked the question. "Erm, Mr. Goblin? What do you mean, 'new vault'? Was there a problem with the old one?"

Smashface nodded. "Of course. Your old one ran out of space."

Harry and Fleur were now very confused! Their old vault – no bigger than a locker, really – could hold hundreds, maybe even a thousand galleons! Had someone filled their vault with Knuts?

But they weren't even going near their old vault. They were going in a completely different direction, towards the grown up vaults. What was going on?

After a cart ride – which Harry and Fleur both enjoyed, even if it was a bit frightening – they stopped outside vault number 562.

"Your new vault" stated Smashface. And then he opened it, and Fleur and Harry almost fell over in shock.

Fleur and Harry knew there must be some mistake! Their vault had a hundred or so Galleons in it, but this one had thousands!

Before Fleur and Harry could say anything, Sebastian stepped in to explain. "'arry, you know how I mentioned the 'pocket money' from opening the hidden chamber in 'ogwarts?"

Harry nodded dumbly, unable to speak.

"Well, before you arrived I agreed with Albus, the headmaster, that you were to get 5% of the value of anything in the chamber. It turns out the Basilisk was worth a lot of money - as parts for potion ingredients, and for it's skin. Your 5% was about 50,000 galleons."

Slowly, realisation rose in Harry, as did the big smile on his face. "This is really all mine and Fleur's?"

"No!", interjected Fleur. "'arry, that's your money, you can't put it all in our shared vault!"

Harry sighed. "Ok, Fleur." Going in, Harry picked up one Galleon. Then, turning to Fleur with a cheeky smile, Harry held up the Galleon. "There. Now it hasn't all gone in."

Fleur was half amused, half exasperated. "'arry, that's your money!"

Harry nodded. "And now it's yours too. Besides, we must have enough for a house now!"

Sebastian decided to ruin the moment. "Honestly, it depends what size house you want. For a small house or flat, yes. For something as big as our house? Nearly, but not quite."

Harry and Fleur wore matching expressions at that – eyes wide, mouths open. Houses were expensive! But both were determined: a small house was good – enough for sleepovers! – but if they could save for a big house, with enough space for Gabrielle and Fleur's Mama and Papa to visit, then they would.

...

The next several months passed quickly, and before they knew it Fleur had turned eleven, Harry had turned nine, and Gabrielle had turned three. And in the Delacour home, Harry and Fleur were cuddled up on their favourite sofa, feeling very sad.

"I'm going to miss you, Fleur".

Fleur nodded, sadly. "I'm excited about Beauxbatons, but I'm sad that I won't see you until Christmas, 'arry".

Harry squeezed Fleur's hand. "Do you think you'll get an owl? Then we could write to each other."

Fleur nodded, then kissed Harry's cheek; she'd been doing that a lot more over the last year. "Of course. Though I wish there was a way we could talk whilst we were at school."

"Well, it just so happens that everyone's favourite uncle might be able to help", came a familiar voice from the hallway.

"Uncle Siri!" "Uncle Woof!"

"Hey Pups. So yeah, Uncle Woof is awesome, and has a present for you"

Fleur and Harry looked curious, their sadness temporarily forgotten. "What is it, Uncle Woof?"

Sirius handed them a wrapped present each. Harry and Fleur eagerly opened them, to find they each had a mirror.

"Uncle Siri?"

Sirius smiled. "These are magic mirrors, and they're connected. Simply say the other person's name, and you can see them in the mirror and speak to them." Turning to Harry, he then added, "Your dad and I used them all the time when we were in different detentions at school. Hopefully you can enjoy them as much as we did."

Fleur and Harry nodded, eyes wet, then hug-attacked their uncle.

...

Later, after all the children were asleep, Appoline had a question for Sirius. "Sirius, that was very kind of you. I know you had planned to use them to talk to 'arry when he goes to 'ogwarts."

Sirius gave a rueful smile. "I know it's silly, but I still feel I owe him, Appoline."

Appoline looked confused. "How do you mean?"

"The night James and Lily..." It was still such a painful memory. "The night they died, I was a fool. We loved baby Harry, and were all meant to be there for him, but I was just distraught, and angry, and everyone was celebrating even though James and Lily had..."

Another pause. "And all I could think of was revenge. Honestly, I knew the aurors would be after me, but instead of setting things straight I went for revenge. I let Harry down, and it was only because of you and Sebastian that I got another chance."

Sebastian's voice joined the conversation. "You were an idiot. Had we not been there, it would have been a disaster. But because we love 'arry, we were there."

Sirius nodded glumly.

"But...", Sebastian continued, "I think you've more than made up for it over the past eight years, Sirius. You made a mistake, and suffered a few days in Azkaban for it, but then you went right back to being the Godfather you should have been."

Sirius gave Sebastian and Appoline thankful smiles. He had been the best Godfather he could be since his trial, and would continue to be. Thinking back to how the conversation started he smiled a little wider – he could always make more mirrors.

...

Author notes:

As always, I want to take a moment to thank those who favourite or follow this story – it's such a motivation to know a couple of hundred people have favourited this, and over 300 people are following it.

I also want to take a moment to give a special mention of thank those who have reviewed: Althyrios, Cleddyf and james mattson; and to the wonderful Arnie1701, Spider of Dreams, Urgazhi, spicyanimechick and SKFF for re-reviewing since last chapter.

Althyrios – with a guilty look, I'll admit I hoped I would somehow get away with that... apologies for butchering your language in that way, but glad you're still enjoying the story!

Spider of Dreams – we're getting closer to Hogwarts, but not there yet. There's a few scenes I want to cover first, so we might have another one or two chapters before then. As for Geoff and Barry... Something I might include near the end of the fic.

Elder Sibling – a few chapters ago you asked why the Delacours care so much. The simple answer is that they loved James and Lily, and they loved Baby Harry... and have grown to love him more over the years. Yes, they have sacrificed quite a lot for him, but that's what real love is. Honestly, I think Sirius screwed up by seeking revenge first – something we also see in canon during book 3.