I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm doing this for fun, not profit. Please let that be a sufficient disclaimer!
...
Narcissa Malfoy was smart. She had always been disgusted by the idiocy of others, especially the moronic general wizarding public that had let Purebloods get away with literal murder – albeit of muggles – for centuries, and hadn't done anything about it.
Of course, she didn't rely on other's idiocy... unlike her husband. He was normally clever, but to have been caught like he was after the Dark Lord's defeat was just embarrassing. Of course he was in Voldemort's inner circle, so would always have been doomed as soon as Veritaserum was used. Narcissa, however, had worked hard to maintain plausible deniability. She never knew what crimes her husband committed, only heavily suspected (and of course applauded), and could give a careful magical oath accordingly.
As such, she had escaped Azkaban, and had even been able to arrange for Draco to see his father occasionally. Speaking of which, she suspected Lucius had told Draco about a plan to terrorise the mudbloods and blood traitors at Hogwarts, and she suspected it had something to do with the diary she had let Draco take from their vault. She even suspected it involved the opening of the chamber of secrets and setting a basilisk upon the unworthy... but she didn't know.
Draco, for his part, was murderously excited. He had been trusted by his father with a glorious mission, one that could start wreaking vengeance upon his family's enemies – something which his mother had brought him up knowing. But she had also taught him how to be smart, and so the son of a convicted Death Eater did not show his true colours, especially not in his first year! He had kept his head down – something which had turned out well, given Marcus Flint's actions – so he should now be well-placed to bring righteous Pureblood judgement to Hogwarts!
As he boarded the train to Hogwarts, he was careful to let none of his excitement show. This year there would be a reckoning, he was sure, but no-one must suspect him yet!
...
Fleur kissed Harry goodbye, her lips lingering just next to his mouth, technically still on his cheek. Harry kissed her cheek in return, blushing a little, though he wasn't sure why.
A brief moment later, and Harry had been apparated to Platform 9 ¾, where he hugged Sebastian goodbye and boarded the train.
After waving goodbye to his Godson, Sebastian apparated to Hogwarts; he had an appointment with the Headmaster.
A brief walk across the castle grounds, then Dumbledore met him at the entrance hall.
"Sebastian! So good to see you, old friend. How are you?", welcomed Dumbledore.
"Very well, Albus, very well. And you?", asked Sebastian, smiling.
"Looking forward to welcoming a new batch of students, and welcoming the old batches back!", replied Dumbledore cheerfully. Sebastian was glad to see his old friend so cheerful.
"Anyway, I'm sure you'd like to finish in time to see Fleur off to Beauxbatons, so shall we?", asked Dumbledore.
At Sebastian's nod, they walked through to school towards the Headmaster's office. Once they had arrived and sat – with Sebastian taking a lemon drop for himself and an extra for Gabrielle – Dumbledore and Sebastian got down to business.
"The basilisk is clearly no threat to the school any longer. But there is the question of what to do about the student who seeks its release", began Dumbledore. "Whilst I have some ideas, I've found your input to be invaluable several times before, and I would be very interested in your ideas before I possibly influence them with mine."
Sebastian nodded. That much was covered in a brief floo conversation a few weeks ago, after Harry had told Sebastian about the house elf and Sebastian had informed Dumbledore. "'aving considered the matter, I believe we should watch and wait", he answered.
Dumbledore smiled at the answer. "Oh? Why wait?" He had thought similarly, though wanted to see how much their reasoning aligned.
Sebastian frowned. "We don't know 'ow someone could break into Salazar's chamber. It shouldn't be possible for a student. And that's without even thinking about controlling the Basilisk. If someone does access the chamber, I can only assume it would be under curse, compulsion, or with the aid of another. Given all the dark witches and wizards in your country are meant to be in Azkaban, we should move carefully to trap the culprit, then try them under Veritaserum to reveal all that they know."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "And how to monitor and trap the culprit?"
Sebastian smiled at the easy question. "Disillusioned 'ogwarts painting? Ghost? Listening charm? Guards? Personally, I would use several options, with one fairly obvious to discover, just in case the culprit has any sense."
Dumbledore nodded cheerfully. Sebastian was, as always, full of good ideas.
...
Harry was content. He had met up with his closest Hogwarts friends on the train – he shared a carriage with Neville, Hermione and Ron, and then Katie and Cheveu dropped by to say hi and dispense hugs. He had enjoyed the sorting and the Hogwarts feast (though he was a little overwhelmed by how eager the first year Colin was to meet him). He had managed to at least say hello to some of his less-close friends. And he had swapped plenty of stories about his summer.
The only downside was that Oliver Wood had smiled a little manically when talking about an "improved Quidditch regime" he had thought up over the summer, but Harry politely smiled and said that as long as it still kept to their deal, he was looking forward to it. If Oliver had looked slightly constipated after that reply, Harry hadn't mentioned it.
Harry had then gone up to his room to talk to Fleur, as if he hadn't spent the last two weeks with her. And after a brief conversation (at least, for them), Harry settled down, ready for the term ahead.
...
There was a few surprises that term for Harry, and the first happened in his first Potion lesson.
"Welcome students. Now, allow me to introduce myself. Many of you may think you know who I am, and perhaps a couple of you do, but most of you will be mistaken. I am Professor Hestia Jones, your new and fully-qualified Potions Professor", their previously-Assistant Professor explained.
Harry was the first to react. "Congratulations, Professor Jones!", Harry exclaimed, smiling. The rest of the class then added their congratulations, some only a half-second behind.
Jones smiled happily. "Thank you, thank you! Now, we have some interesting potions this year – second year has one of my personal favourite potions to learn, which we'll come to after Christmas... unless you get as far ahead as Harry.
"We'll also start using some more dangerous ingredients, so when we do I'll explain how to stay safe and what to watch out for. Any questions before we start some theory? No? Harry, if you're already familiar with the theory of what anticlockwise stirring does, go raid my stores and brew something interesting. Otherwise, sit and listen." Jones hoped it was the former – it would be good to see where Harry was now up to, and any potion he would brew would have anticlockwise stirring in it, providing a prime example for the theory part of the day.
...
Draco Malfoy knew what his father had instructed – that he should find some gullible mudblood or blood-traitor first year and slip the diary into their possession; that he should only use it himself as a last resort – but he couldn't resist! He wanted at least to see the chamber, and the great Salazar's creature, himself first!
So, within a few days of returning to Hogwarts, he carefully made his way to the chamber entrance. After conversing a little with the diary he blacked out for a few minutes – as expected – then found himself within the main chamber. This was it! The time of reckoning!
But as he looked around, there was no Basilisk. Something was very wrong! Panicking, Draco picked up the diary to write, but before he had, words began to fill the screen. "The Basilisk is missing! It's gone! Search the chamber, there must be clues somewhere!"
Draco swore, panicking even more. After a moment, he was speaking aloud to himself. "No, no, NO! It can't be gone! I will make my father proud! I will bring judgement onto the filth that Dumbledore allows into the school!"
Draco spent a few minutes searching the chamber, but there was no sign a basilisk had ever lived here – not even any shed skin!
A bright flash of light appeared in the corner of Draco's vision, and Draco turned towards it. If Draco had been panicking before, that was nothing compared to how he felt as he saw who stood before him. "NO! MY LORD POSSESS ME, DUMBLEDORE'S HERE!"
...
By the end of the day, Draco had been force-fed Veritaserum and the whole plan was known. A day later, and the malevolent diary had been disposed of by the goblins. By the end of the week, Narcissa and Lucius had also been force-fed Veritaserum, and now the Wizengamot was unsure how to proceed.
The members of the Wizengamot were horrified that a convicted prisoner was able to mastermind such a dangerous plot; the fact that it was only due to Dumbledore (aided by the goblins and an unnamed Parselmouth) that it had been foiled years ago was a mercy that shouldn't have been needed.
However, what else could they do? And what about other convicted Death Eaters who may pose a similar risk?
The Wizengamot session ended without a decision being made, with each member tasked with considering potential solutions to the problem. Dumbledore knew he would need to consult Sebastian again; he did not want to overburden his friend again so soon, but his insights were invaluable and may just be what the Wizengamot needed.
...
"...and that is the situation as it stands. I was hoping I might request your valuable suggestions once again, Sebastian."
Sebastian nodded outwardly, though inwardly he was amazed the Wizengamot hadn't thought of the obvious. "I may 'ave some suggestions, but first tell me – 'ow are the convicted Death Eaters currently guarded?"
Dumbledore nodded his approval of the question. "In our highest security prison, guarded by an Auror taskforce and a much larger contingent of dementors."
Sebastian blinked. Surely Dumbledore was joking? "You 'ave dementors guarding Voldemort's supporters?", he asked incredulously.
"Yes?" Dumbledore replied carefully.
Sebastian took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "In the war, whose side were the dementors on?", he asked.
Dumbledore blanched. Whilst it was never proven, there were suspicions that some of the dementors had joined Voldemort's cause.
Sebastian continued through Dumbledore's silence. "If 'e were to return, or another Dark Lord arose to take 'is place, what do you think would 'appen?"
Dumbledore now had his head in his hands; why hadn't he thought of this?! "Sebastian, this makes the problem far worse than I had initially thought. What do you suggest?" A brief pause, and then, "You can't mean...?"
Sebastian nodded grimly. "I suspect it is your only option, especially as you've proved that 'is supporters continue to champion 'is cause, even from gaol.
"Besides", Sebastian continued, "some would consider it a mercy."
...
The Wizengamot had initially baulked at the idea. Dumbledore had resorted to questioning Lucius again under Veritaserum, where he had revealed that Voldemort had almost convinced the dementors to join him before his downfall.
That had swayed a clear majority in the Wizengamot, so Dumbledore's proposal was accepted: the majority of the Death Eaters – those who, under Veritaserum, held no remorse for horrifying crimes – were thrown through the veil.
Others, who showed remorse or whose crimes were lesser - including the newly incarcerated Narcissa and Draco – were still held in Azkaban for now, until an alternative could be found.
Separately, research would begin on how to permanently deal with Dementors – the thought that the next Dark Lord or Lady might recruit them to their cause was sufficient motivation.
The only remaining question was what to do with estates of those like the Lestranges, where there were no surviving family members. Dumbledore suggested first that the goblins be commissioned to remove and destroy any dark artefacts in their vaults or property that could be particularly dangerous, which the Wizengamot readily agreed to. As for the rest, it was agreed a third would go to magical orphans from the first wizarding war, a third would go to other magical families who were bereaved due to Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and the final third would fund a new wizarding prison and ways to permanently deal with Dementors.
...
Harry's second surprise that term came via an announcement in the third week of term, at dinner. Harry had been in a good mood, having spoken to the sorting hat earlier and hearing one of the hat's favourite stories about Rowena Ravenclaw, and her magically-enlarged pet hamster.
That good mood turned to confusion and curiosity during the meal. Dumbledore had stood up, his face grave, and announced that Draco Malfoy had been found guilty of planning to attack another student; that he had been expelled, had his wand snapped, and would never be seen again at Hogwarts. The similarities to Marcus Flint from only a year ago were not lost on the second years and above.
The Slytherin table looked shocked; Draco had disappeared towards the end of the first week of term, and the students were understandably worried about one of their own. But to hear that someone like Draco – who hadn't shown the same worrying signs as Marcus – had tried to attack another student was shocking. It also made the upper year students seriously rethink any plans for troublemaking they might have had; that is, if their head of house, Kingsley Shacklebolt, hadn't already done so.
As for the rest of the student body, including Harry, there was confusion and curiosity – who had Draco tried to attack? Once again there was no-one injured, so no indication of who the target might have been.
...
By the mid-point of the term, it was unknown which first year idolised Harry more – Colin or Ginny. Colin was more obvious, regularly (and excitedly) asking Harry anything and everything he could think of; but Ginny would often just stare longingly at Harry for a few seconds, then seem to snap out if it and get on with something else.
Hermione and Neville had both noticed Ginny's actions, but didn't really know what, if anything, they should do about it. Harry had no idea, of course; Hermione and Neville had discussed Harry's cluelessness about girls together a couple of times. Ron also had no idea, but that may have been because he was unwilling to admit his younger sister had crushes... or maybe he was just too busy studiously avoiding his homework for as long as possible.
But there was one person who had noticed and decided to try and help – however unwanted that help may be.
"Hi Ginny", came a soft voice.
Ginny turned to see who had interrupted her Harry-watching. Ah. It was Miss. Fierce Competition. "Hello Katie. How are you?", Ginny replied politely.
Katie smiled. "Good thanks. How about you? How are you settling in?"
"I'm good, thank you. And I'm settling in well, Hogwarts is a good school", Ginny replied, again politely.
Katie smiled an encouraging smile. "And it has some interesting students attending?"
Ginny's guard immediately came up then. "I don't know what you mean, Katie."
Katie gave a wistful smile, then continued gently. "I've seen you watching him, Ginny. And I thought you should know that he's pretty much already taken."
Ginny scowled, all politeness gone. In a quiet but fierce tone, she replied, "If you think you can just claim him like that, then you're wrong! I already know he's not dating anyone, who knows why, but whilst Harry's still single I won't let anyone tell me..."
Katie held her hands up in surrender. "Woah now, Ginny, I'm not here to try to get rid of the competition." Katie sighed heavily. "I'm here to suggest you do what I'm trying to do: give up on a hopeless cause."
Ginny's eyes were still narrow as she replied, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Katie sighed again. "You might think of me as your main competition for his affection, but if you do then you're wrong. The girl you should be wary of is his best friend."
Ginny looked incredulous. "His best friend? Who, Hermione?! Wait, do you mean that older Hufflepuff he spends so much time with? But she's like his big sister, isn't she?!" A look of horror came across Ginny's face. "She's a Metamorphmagus, Katie, that's not even fair!", Ginny finished with a whine.
Katie shook her head sadly. "No Ginny, it's not Cheveu. It's much, much worse. Tell me, have you ever heard Harry talk about Fleur?"
Ginny looked overwhelmed. Who were all these girls?! "No? Maybe? Who is she?"
Katie's head dropped sadly. "Harry's best friend. His gorgeous, sweet, flirty, French, fourteen-year-old, Veela best friend. And, by all accounts, she wants him desperately."
Ginny's heart plummeted. "But then why aren't they...?"
Katie gave a wan smile. "Honestly, to hear him talk about her you might think they are. But Harry seemingly hasn't hit puberty yet – he doesn't seem to fancy anyone at the moment – but I guarantee you that once he does, it'll be Fleur."
Ginny looked heartbroken, but Katie knew false hope wouldn't help the girl. On that note, she tried to remove any doubt. "Don't just take my word for it; ask Ron, or Hermione, or Cheveu – the older Hufflepuff – about her."
Ginny nodded morosely, thanked Katie, then dashed off to her dorm. She needed a bit of time to be alone.
...
Harry's third surprise of the term came just before the Christmas holidays. Harry had been reflecting on how positive the term had been – another Quidditch victory, classes going well, time spent with friends and talking with family, no rampaging monsters – when he received a letter at breakfast. That in itself was odd, as most of the people who might contact him would do so via the mirrors. But when he saw the Gringotts seal on the letter, he was very curious.
As he opened the letter and read its contents, his mouth fell open. This... it couldn't be right, could it? He glanced across the Gryffindor table to Neville, who also had a letter in hand and a shocked look on his face.
"Neville... Did you...?" Harry croaked.
Neville nodded dumbly, then showed Harry the figure; it matched his.
Hermione, from her seat next to Neville, asked the question that Ron and Katie, sat either side of Harry, were wondering. "What is it? What do those letters say?"
Neville still looked shell-shocked, so Harry opened his mouth to reply. But before he could, Susan Bones, one of the Hufflepuffs that Harry had befriended, came over with her own letter. "Harry? Neville? Did you...?"
Neville and Harry nodded.
"But it's... I mean, if you got as much as I did...", Susan stated, still in a state of disbelief.
Harry showed Susan his figure. She nodded, then sat down at the Gryffindor table in shock.
Hermione tried again. "What do those letters say? It must be really terrible if you're all so stunned!", she stated.
Neville let out a high-pitched laugh. "Terrible?! No, it's just..."
Susan cleared her throat, then answered carefully. "We're getting compensation from convicted Death Eaters for the death of our parents. I only knew this was coming because of my aunt, but the amount... I'm just a bit surprised."
Hermione looked saddened by the reply and Ron looked like he was about to put his foot in it, but Katie inadvertently saved him by replying first. "We're sorry for your loss, all of you. I know it won't replace your mums and dads, but I'm glad something good has come from it, no matter how small."
Harry, Neville and Susan all gave small smiles in thanks.
...
Three days later, an excited Harry was getting onto the Hogwarts express, looking forward to another two weeks with the Delacours. Neville, Hermione and Ron joined him in the carriage initially, and soon into the journey Cheveu opened the carriage door.
Harry patted the seat next to him, excitedly. "Hey sis! Come join us!"
Cheveu smiled affectionately. "Well, if you insist! What are you all up to, anyway?"
Harry smiled, then leaned into Cheveu as she sat down. Cheveu put an arm around her little brother in response. "Well, Ron's trying to find his next chess victim but neither Hermione or Neville want to lose again."
"I might win!", Hermione stated indignantly, though internally recognised the probable outcome.
Cheveu gave a calculating look. "Why not both? You could put up a localised silencing charm so that you could talk in private when you need to, and maybe together you might challenge Ron?"
Hermione and Neville shared a look. With a shrug from Neville and a determined nod from Hermione, it was agreed.
Whilst they were playing, Cheveu and Harry caught up.
"I feel like sometimes I don't see you enough during the term. It's silly that we have separate common rooms", complained Harry.
"Well, if you'd been sorted into Hufflepuff..." hinted Cheveu, not for the first time.
Harry rolled his eyes, though it was with affection. "Yes, but what can we do about it now. It just seems silly, that's all."
Cheveu thought, then smiled. Grinned, really. "Well, why not come visit?"
"What, over the holidays? We've already planned that", stated Harry.
Cheveu shook her head, still grinning. "No, I mean the Hufflepuff common room!"
Harry, who had still been leaning against Cheveu up until that point, turned to face her. Spotting her grin, one of his own grew on his face. "Well... What's the worst that could happen?"
...
After several close chess games – with both sides believing they were one game ahead – and after several friends popped by to say hello – including Katie, Daphne and Susan – the train finally arrived in London.
The students got off the train, then Harry grinned as he spotted Sebastian. Straight away, Harry ran up to his Godfather and then threw his arms around him. Cheveu followed, keen to say hello, then said goodbye to Harry and went to find her mum.
After Harry had said goodbye to his friends – including getting hugs from Hermione and Katie – he had a request of Sebastian.
"Uncle Sebastian, can we visit Diagon Alley quickly before we go home?", Harry asked hopefully.
"We could. What do you need from there?", Sebastian asked, curious.
"I want to visit Gringotts. I want to transfer some money to their French branch", Harry explained, a hint of a blush on his face.
Sebastian chuckled. "Oh? Still honouring your deal with Fleur?"
Harry looked affronted. Like his honour had been besmirched in the most appalling way. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?!"
Sebastian smiled disarmingly. "No, I shouldn't have doubted you. But does that mean you received a little money somehow this term?"
Harry grinned and shook his head. "Not 'a little' money, no", he replied cheekily.
"You can find out after Fleur finds out", Harry added with certainty.
...
Author notes:
I am, as ever, delighted by the response to Delacour Godparents. Thank you so much to all who follow or favourite this story. And a special thanks to those who spur me on the most by reviewing: rishi547, bahnannah, insanecoop, SvenHPotterFan, amortentiate, Qhaq, kjtrack, PhantomKnightPercival and MasterYoda379. And a huge thanks to the colossal Spider of Dreams, SKFF, Alix33, FrostyTheDopeMan, Magitech, Urgazhi, Arnie1701, Jok3r425, LorenzoRLima, SoulNightshade, Magnus Whitlock and spicyanimechick.
Alix33 – thanks as always! In answer to your question: Harry doesn't, but Fleur does. Oh, she knows it very well.
Jok3r425 – I will. Eventually. :-p
Insanecoop – maybe in another story; I'm trying to keep the tone consistent, and I can't think how to implement that without it having an effect.
Amortentiate – I was actually writing to explain your first question pretty much as your review came through! For the second point, canon Harry didn't seem to notice girls until the end of 3rd year; Fleur in this story is definitely feeling the brunt of his delayed puberty. For the third point, I guess many characters and aspects are getting sidelined in a sense, but only as I'd prefer to write about the relationships and characters I'm changing; so neither Hermione, Ron or Neville get much screen time, but then neither do Flitwick, Quidditch, etc. either.
Spicyanimechick – answered via scene :-)