I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm doing this for fun, not profit. Please let that be a sufficient disclaimer!
...
"The judges have conferred and are ready to announce the scores", Dumbledore announced.
"Pauline: for failing to perform any notable magic, but still completing your task, you scored one point. As you opted for one additional troll, that gives you an additional five points, for a total of six", Dumbledore announced, to a few polite claps and many grumbles from the crowd.
"Ana: for excellent use of an agility charm, strength charm, Bloodmoon Sword conjuration, rock transfiguration, as well as completing your task, you scored nine points. As you opted for one additional troll, and you... incapacitated... both, that gives you fifteen additional points, for a total of twenty-four", Dumbledore announced, to several cheers from the crowd.
"Fred and George Weasley: we cannot give any points for magic performed before the task, no matter how advanced. For precision use of the levitation charm, as well as completing your task, you are awarded four points. As you opted for seven additional trolls, all of whom were incapacitated, you gain..." Dumbledore had to take a deep breath: only afterwards did he realise how broken the first task's points system was! Then again, who would have expected anyone to challenge eight trolls?! "Seventy-five additional points, for a total of seventy-nine", Dumbledore finished, attempting to hide his resignation. The crowd, as expected, went wild with cheers.
Then with laughter, as Fred and George's hair turned bright yellow, and started growing and growing until it pooled around their feet.
"Well, this is not one of our products... but I look forward to finding out the culprit and repaying the favour!" Fred announced.
In the crowd, Daphne stopped herself from showing how smug she felt.
...
Most of the students were staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. The temptation of the Yule ball, plus the buzz of the competition, was too much for most to resist. Two students, however, were not staying at Hogwarts for the holidays.
"I can't believe you're going to miss the ball!" Katie groused. Next to her, Neville and Ron were nodding.
Harry gave an apologetic look. "I know we're missing the fun, but Gabrielle would be distraught if we didn't see her for the holidays."
Fleur smiled and rolled her eyes affectionately. "'arry only tells 'alf the story. 'e would miss 'is sister terribly if 'e didn't see 'er over Christmas!" Fleur corrected.
Harry tried to look outraged at the suggestion, but after a couple of seconds gave it up as a bad job and merely shrugged helplessly. Fleur was completely right – he did miss Gabrielle terribly, and couldn't wait to pick her up, spin her around, and hug her tightly. Not to mention he missed Appoline and Sebastian, and was eager to see them, too.
Hermione fidgeted. "I really miss my parents too, but the ball sounds so exciting, and I've already bought dress robes, and I was hoping that..." Hermione stopped suddenly, blushed, and wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.
Fleur suspected she knew the gist of where Hermione's sentence would end, if not the specifics. "I understand that. But 'arry and I are planning to 'ave an evening dressed up and dancing over the 'olidays, so it will be like our own ball."
Harry gave Fleur a quizzical look. "Are we?"
Fleur nodded confidently. "Oui. We don't want our dress robes to be a wasted purchase, do we?"
Harry did not look convinced. "But I've never danced before, and I won't be any good at it, and..."
Harry's friends would never know exactly what Fleur whispered in Harry's ear. Katie, who was a little nearer, caught the words, "... dance... taste... together...". But Harry's reaction was instant – a blush formed on his cheeks, with an awed look in his eyes.
Harry turned to his friends, and stated matter-of-factly, "Fleur and I are planning an evening dancing over the holidays."
"What did she say? How did she convince you?" Ron asked, before getting lightly elbowed by Hermione.
Fleur ignored him, turning to Harry and adding just loud enough for the others to hear, "I 'ad wanted to try that over the 'olidays regardless, my heart." In that moment, Harry knew the holidays would just not come quick enough.
...
The twins were delighted: over the summer they hadn't dreamed their products would be so popular so quickly, but the performance of the first task was potent advertising indeed! Twice they had run out of products and ingredients and so had to buy more, which meant they had made plenty of gold. In fact, it looked as though they would make more money selling their pranks this year than they would gain if they won the tournament!
This did mean they hadn't spent much time figuring out their egg clue yet. It was easy enough to translate the message, but they would need magic just to reach their objective this time – they could hardly just walk there! There were several options, but it would be better if they used something they could sell; and it would need to be better than the obvious alternative that a witch or wizard could already buy!
"..."
"..."
"It would be a bit flashy"
"Almost too flashy"
"Some might think the customers were showing off"
"Sounds perfect, doesn't it?"
"Absolutely, dear twin"
"...So how do we make it?"
...
"It's a friend of mine you've not met yet", Harry replied, not really answering the question.
Fleur giggled and squeezed Harry's hand affectionately. "Yes, but who?" she asked, again trying to solve the mystery.
Harry smiled broadly and stopped in front of a gargoyle. "You're about to find out", Harry promised.
Fleur noted where they were, and blinked. "You don't mean...? But I've already met your Headmaster."
Harry shook his head, grinning. "No, not the Headmaster. Dumbledore's friendly, but I don't know him that well. You'll see!"
"Hello! I was hoping to introduce Fleur to my friend", Harry said to the gargoyle. Fleur wondered what was going on until the gargoyle moved out of the way and Harry led her up a spiral staircase.
The door was open before Harry knocked. "Come in, Mr. Potter, Miss. Delacour! May I interest you in a lemon drop before I bring him in?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes please, Sir", Harry answered.
"Yes please 'eadmaster Dumbledore. I remember the times my Papa brought me some 'ome after visiting you", Fleur reminisced.
Dumbledore smiled indulgently, and indicated the jar whilst he went to fetch Harry's friend. Harry and Fleur helped themselves, and Fleur was just starting to enjoy the sweet, lemony taste when Dumbledore came in carrying... one of his old wizard hats.
"Hello Mr. Hat!" Harry greeted.
Fleur wondered if this was some prank. Not that Harry had done so before, though she guessed some of their tickle fights as kids might be viewed as similarly intentioned. Oh, but that gave her an interesting idea – what if she got some feathers to tickle Harry with, then...
Her thoughts were interrupted when the hat opened its... mouth?... and replied to Harry. Actually replied!
"Why hello there Harry! It's been a while since you came to see me; busy with a friend this term?" the sorting hat teased.
Harry blushed and nodded. "Mr. Sorting Hat, meet Fleur, my girlfriend. Fleur, meet the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, created by the school's founders and a friend of mine."
The sorting hat beamed at Fleur. "Finally convinced him, did you? You know, Fleur, I know a lot about you from Harry here"
"'arry 'as spoken about me?" Fleur asked, smiling happily.
"Hmmm... Not quite. It's probably easier to show you though. Pop me on your head", the hat instructed.
Fleur did so, then was amazed when she heard the hat's voice in her head. "I can read your thoughts as you wear this. It's how Harry and I usually communicate. There have been a lot of thoughts about you that have strayed in over the years!" the Hat began.
"But the fun thing is that no-one else can hear the conversation, not even young Albus – oh good, he's leaving – so you can be completely honest", the hat assured.
"You can read all my thoughts?" asked Fleur, a little nervous.
"Oh, just the ones you're concentrating on. Just don't think about anything you don't want me to know", the hat said, nonchalantly. Of course, the hat knew what would happen at those words, and he was interested to see what thoughts would surface – hopefully nothing too terrible.
What the hat got was unexpected – he was usually reading the thoughts of eleven-year-olds, after all, not seventeen-year-olds! "Fleur, you little terror! Did you really...? Well, yes, I can see he did enjoy it; I assume it was just a heat of the moment thing, and... ah – no, that one was planned. So was that one. Goodness, you even... And over Christmas you're planning to..."
Fleur had never blushed so hard in her life. She hadn't meant to keep thinking those things, but they were such satisfying memories. She glanced at Harry; thankfully he couldn't hear what she had thought. Well, not that it mattered really.
The hat sighed. "Well, at least you're not yet sleeping together. But enough, perhaps you could think about something else? Like chocolate, or the pastry shop Harry drools over? Yes, that's the one!"
Several minutes later, Fleur was laughing at a story she had just been told. Harry would ask about it later; whilst he wanted to join in the conversation, he wouldn't interrupt Fleur's first time with the hat.
The Sorting Hat, however, had the perfect way to bring Harry into the conversation.
"Now, do you want to play a trick on Harry?" the hat asked Fleur.
Fleur inwardly smiled. "What do you 'ave in mind?"
"Well, you know of the Hogwarts houses, and their reputations, yes?" the hat checked.
"Oui, 'arry 'as described them", Fleur answered.
"And you know what normally happens during the school sorting?" the hat continued.
"Yes...", Fleur replied, smiling at where this seemed to be going.
Less than a minute later, and the hat called out, in a loud voice, "SLYTHERIN!"
Harry almost fell off the chair he was on in shock, then looked at Fleur in disbelief! Not that there was anything wrong with Slytherin per se, but this was Fleur – she wasn't cunning and ambitious beyond other traits, was she?
Harry's mind was put at ease as both the hat and Fleur burst out laughing.
"Oh, my cherished, the look on your face!" Fleur giggled.
...
It was near the end of term, and everyone seemed to be talking about the Yule Ball. And the main topic of conversation was who was going with who.
"I'm going with Ginny", Neville happily shared.
Ron nodded sulkily. "Yeah, congratulations on going to the ball with my sister."
"Oh, don't be silly, Ron. Would you rather she go with someone you didn't know and trust?" Hermione asked.
Ron looked panicked for a second, then dropped his head in surrender. "I hope you have a great time with Ginny", Ron mumbled.
"Who is everyone else going with?" Fleur asked.
"Well, Jean and I are going together", Katie answered. Jean nodded, smiling. Then, as she saw Fleur open her mouth concerned, Katie added, 'Yes, I know. But I was getting asked by a bunch of weirdos I didn't want to go with..."
"...and I'm not aware of anyone suitable as a romantic date, so we thought it would be fun to go as friends." Jean finished.
Harry nodded, though he thought Katie would be able to get anyone (or almost anyone) she wanted, if she did want a romantic date.
"I'm going with Lee, one of the twins' friends", Marjorie stated, sensing it was her turn.
"Oh, he's funny, and a decent guy", Neville stated, smiling.
Marjorie smirked. "'opefully not too decent."
Poor Neville didn't know how to react. He was saved from having to, by Amelie. "I'm going with Stephen, one of the Ravenclaws."
There wasn't much response to that, other than some polite remarks; he must be one of the 'claws who kept to himself, as none of the group really knew anything about him.
"And what about you two? Ron, Hermione?" Harry asked the pair, who were sat quite close together.
Ron looked trapped, and Hermione blushed a little. "We're going together", Hermione announced, a little nervously.
Fleur smiled broadly. "Just as friends, or as a date?" she asked, both to clarify and to tease.
Ron, steeling his courage, walked towards judgement. "As a date", he replied, then waited for the verdict.
"Awww, congratulations! You've liked each other for a little while, haven't you?" Neville commented.
Ron and Hermione both nodded shyly, then looked at each other, surprised but pleased at each other's answer.
...
The Hogwarts express was practically empty on the journey to London. Harry and Fleur had an entire carriage to themselves; in fact, they had half the train to themselves.
They spent a while softly kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other ("I adore you, Fleur" "I love you more than anything, my heart" "You make everything so much better" "I love your nose, my cherished"), revelling in the hours they had together uninterrupted. They also swapped massages, with Harry spending time working the knots out of Fleur's shoulders, and Fleur gently massaging Harry's hands. But more than anything, they cuddled, sharing little anecdotes and thoughts they hadn't managed to swap yet. Both of them were joyfully wallowing in the love the other shared so generously.
...
"Gabrielle!" "Sister!"
"'arry! Fleur!"
Less than five seconds after being apparated to the Delacours, Harry and Fleur practically mobbed their little sister. Gabrielle was giggling with delight – it was rare that she got Harry's attention first, and the way her big brother span her around, held her tightly, kissed the crown of her head... and then Fleur playfully pushed Harry away so that she could hug her sister, and spin her around.
Of course, all good things come to an end, though sometimes they are replaced by better ones. "Have you eaten yet, my little fly?" Harry asked.
"I had lunch two hours ago", Gabrielle replied, hoping this conversation was going to go where she hoped it would. It did.
"Are you hungry now, my little cabbage?" Fleur asked, hinting at wonderful things.
Gabrielle nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with hope. "A little, yes!"
"..."
"..."
"Shall we go to Celeste's?" Harry and Fleur asked together, almost as if they had practiced (which, in fairness, they had).
"YES PLEASE!" Gabrielle loudly excitedly answered.
...
Gabrielle was in heaven. She couldn't imagine anything better than this. The thick, calorific hot chocolate was even better than she remembered, and the macarons she was half-way through were just divine! But the best part was when Harry and Fleur began playing with her hair together – she could almost melt in relaxed pleasure!
It had started when her ponytail had fallen out, which her sister declared was Harry's fault – it was his idea to give her a piggy back ride, and that was how, somehow, the hair tie had gotten loose. Gabrielle then had to admit that with spin-around hugs, skipping hand-in-hand down the street, and an overall excessive level of excitement, her hair had gotten a little wild.
Fleur's answer to this was to plait Gabrielle's hair once they had sat down and ordered at Celeste's. Of course, this was an unreasonable plan... as far as Harry was concerned. He wanted to be able to plait Gabrielle's hair, and so in the middle of the patisserie Fleur was trying to teach him how.
The plaiting was not going particularly well, but having both Harry and Fleur run their fingers through her hair was bliss! And Harry, determined to learn, wanted to keep practicing, and practising... Gabrielle, in a state utterly incapable of higher thought, had even forgotten about her hot chocolate and her macarons until Fleur pointed them out and asked if she was planning to eat them or share them.
...
It was a few days later; Appoline and Sebastian had taken Gabrielle out for dinner, and Fleur and Harry had their ball. Fleur was dressed in midnight blue robes that made her look, somehow, even more gorgeous than usual, hugging her figure in all the places she could wish. Harry wore bottle green robes that matched his eyes, which Fleur had chosen with him.
With slow, beautiful, French music playing through a radio, Fleur and Harry didn't so much dance together as hold each other and sway in time. Harry delighted in Fleur: the feel of her cuddled up against him, her hand in his; the sound of her relaxed sighs in his ear; the sight of her stunningly beautiful face, gazing up adoringly into his; the taste of her lips, occasionally pressing against his; the scent of her, wrapped around him like a loving, sensual blanket; and her allure, soaking into him, tantalising his desire.
Fleur could feel Harry's love for her. She could feel it pouring out of him in waves, a wonderful storm of affection that could, and would, sweep her away. She was in awe of how much love he had for her, how much love he always had for her. And she knew how she wanted to partly repay some of that love tonight.
It wouldn't be sex – they were taking their time trying new things together, and slowly building towards their inevitable conclusion was so utterly delicious – but they would both be more than satisfied this evening.
Slowly, after the last song ended, Fleur pulled away from Harry, took his hand, led him up to their bedroom, and then eagerly began the intimacy she had planned.
...
Later, after both teens were sated, cuddled together and basking in their shared joy, Fleur had a question. "'arry, my heart?"
"Yes, my love?" Harry replied, gazing into Fleur's gorgeous blue eyes, which were a mere few inches from his own.
"Why have you been so determined to learn to plait Gabrielle's hair?" Fleur asked, curious.
Harry blushed, then looked away. "Erm... I..." Harry stalled.
Fleur smiled adoringly; he was so cute when he was shy, and she was now very curious about the answer. "You can tell me, 'arry. You can tell me anything."
Harry swallowed then nodded, recognising the truth of her words; he was sure she wouldn't find the reason too weird. Drawing together his courage, Harry looked nervously into Fleur's eyes and answered. "I.. I wanted to learn. Both for Gabrielle now, but also for... well... I was hoping one day for little Potter-Delacour girls", Harry admitted.
Fleur looked wide-eyed at Harry. Was he talking about...?
"I'm not talking about soon!" Harry quickly continued, to reassure his girlfriend. "But I thought that maybe one day we'd want a family together, and I know we'd have girls because of your heritage, and MMMPF"
Fleur very effectively silenced Harry by passionately kissing him. She had thought many times about a family with Harry but hadn't wanted to scare him, but now he had raised it first, and he was so sweet, and she loved him so much... Fleur decided then and there that she would test how quickly her utterly perfect boyfriend could be ready for a second round of... satiation.
...
The holidays ended all too quickly. January, too, flew past in a wave of study, potions, Quidditch practise, mirror conversations with family, and time with friends. The Quidditch practise in particular paid off, as the Hogwarts Team managed to beat the Beauxbatons Team by 370 to 200 – Harry's catching of the snitch securing the otherwise close game.
The potion competition was also going well; Harry and Fleur were both feeling confident, though they were trying to make different potions – Fleur something that Harry had never seen before, going by her ingredients, and Harry something beyond seventh year that Jones has been teaching him on the side. Both potions needed all of the time allotted, and so would be ready just before Easter.
And the twins seemed to pick up a new hobby – or at least someone else did – as they often found their hair bursting into many colours (often a suspiciously familiar shade of blonde), or their voices changing into a nasal twang, or their eyebrows vanishing. The twins seemed to be enjoying it, somehow.
Then it was into February, and a day that three schools had been waiting for – the second task of the tri-wizard tournament.
The twins were again excited, Ana looked determined, and Pauline looked nervous.
Harry and Fleur, Katie, Marjorie, Jean, Neville and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione all walked out towards the task together, then stopped as they saw odd looking... cabins?... scattered across the field, in a loose circle surrounding a central platform.
"Students, these cabanas are to enable you to view the task. They will sit eight to ten, so please find one, preferably with students from other schools, and get comfortable!" one of the tri-wizard organisers explained.
Harry and Fleur's group climbed into one of the cabanas, sitting patiently to see what would happen. Once all the cabanas were filled, the champions were brought forward to the central platform and Madame Maxime announced the second task.
"Good evening students! As the Champions will 'opefully 'ave worked out, the second task is to rescue a lost possession of 'igh value, and return it to this platform. The possessions can be found..." Maxime paused dramatically. "...up there!" she exclaimed, pointing high into the sky.
"No brooms or carpets are allowed – that would be too easy! And the skies are filled with dangers today – 'arpies, pixies, doxies, and some other surprises – so our Champions will need to be ready!" Maxime happily continued.
"Your cabanas are magical, and will levitate to provide you with the best of views", Maxime added. "Champions: Three! Two! One! Go!"
Ana transfigured herself with large, red Wings, and then summoned her Bloodmoon Sword again. Pauline took out a potion and drank it, then growled in pain as wings sprouted from her back. And George? Well...
"Good morning, wonderful professors, wonderful students, and Ron. Fred Weasley here, narrating this time so my twin can have the fun. Now, we mentioned fireworks last time right?" Fred began, in his magically-enhanced voice.
"'arry, 'e's not...?" Fleur asked in disbelief.
Harry pulled out his popcorn. Oh wow.
"Well, what would no sane, sensible Champion try? Tying a large firework to your back and lighting it! Fortunately for us all, neither George or I are sane or sensible. Introducing Weasleys' Wand-Controlled Fireworks!" Fred announced with excitement... then jumped on top of Harry's cabana.
Ana was flying upwards, and had already encountered some pixies... which were now falling in pieces from the sky. Pauline had recovered from her pain, and was chasing after Ana desperately.
Then the firework went off, and George shot into the air, the pyrotechnic device following the path his wand pointed, racing him past Pauline and then Ana in just a mere few seconds. Pixies and Doxies were left thinking a vertical tornado had torn past, and the harpies could only watch in frustration as George easily avoided them.
The cabanas raced upwards, trying to keep in view of all Champions; the more thrill-seeking students were delighted, and Harry noted that this would be a dream for Gabrielle.
"I think George might have missed some of the obstacles there; never mind, maybe he'll see them on the way back down?" Fred openly laughed.
Then came the surprise, and the main challenge – a dozen witches and wizards, flying on brooms, wands at the ready.
"Well, that's not particularly fair, is it?" Fred began, feigning outrage. "They get brooms and we don't? If only someone had found out about this. Then they could have snuck around last night and replaced those wands with..."
Only one witch managed to fire a spell, and that one missed George and his firework accomplice by several meters. The other witches and wizards found themselves holding...
"...Weasleys' Fake Wands! They look like wands until you use them – which clearly only one challenger did this morning! You can see several varieties, including ones that turn into a rubber chicken, a biting racoon – oh, that man doesn't seem to be enjoying that – a pair of underpants, and even a creeping sense of dread: see the bald wizard? What did his wand turn into?" Fred asked with delight.
"Argh! Get it off me! Get it off!" shouted the man after a moment, audible to the crowd.
"Wow, and he didn't even cast Sonorus first!" Fred noted, impressed.
George had now landed on a floating platform high in the sky, having managed masterful control of his firework... and a last-second unsticking charm. He grabbed a suitcase that was clearly familiar to him, then looked over the edge, with a pondering expression.
"How will my dear brother get down? Another firework? Some delicious treat that will make him grow wings? Or will he just jump like a madman? Well, given how much time we still have..." Fred began.
Ana and Pauline were far behind – Ana attacking anything that got close, and Pauline avoiding as much as possible. Neither had reached the single armed witch yet. George had plenty of time.
"...I say we pick the obvious option!" Fred merrily announced, and the crowd gasped in shock as George dived off the platform, grinning, and plummeted towards the ground.
The cabanas dove to track George, whilst Fred merrily narrated. "He's about to pass Ana – hopefully not too close to that sword! – oh, and now he's about to pass Pauline. He's getting quite close to the ground! Well, here's hoping my twin doesn't just go splat!"
Less than one hundred feet from the ground, George sprouted huge, magnificent, twelve-feet wide angel's wings, which easily arrested his momentum... and looked damn cool.
"Introducing Weasleys' Angel Drops! About the only angelic thing we sell!" Fred cheerfully announced. Then, still about seventy foot in the air, George stopped beating his new wings and dropped the remaining distance.
"Oh no! Are the wings broken?!" Fred asked, in a convincingly panicked tone.
Dumbledore even rushed to fire a spell at George... Until George winked at him and stuck his tongue out. George hit the ground heavily, with a force that would normally kill a person... but cheerfully waved and then flew onto the platform with his wings, suitcase in hand.
"Also introducing Weasleys' Boneless Boots – no matter how high you fall from, your bones won't break! Now tested from as high as seventy-two feet!" Fred again cheerfully announced.
"Merde! Those two are insane!" Fleur declared, half relieved, half entertained.
The crowd were again giving a standing ovation, and many students planned further purchases. Even Dumbledore had to admit the... Boneless Boots? Did that name even make sense? ...would be a wise purchase – imagine the injuries it could prevent in Quidditch practise and games, for example!
After another twenty minutes, Ana landed, closely flowed by Pauline. Pauline had made use of Ana's aggressive tactics to distract the obstacles, and so had managed to avoid most of the conflict – though that did necessitate she was slightly behind her competitor.
With cheers for both Champions, the second task was complete.
...
Author notes:
For all those who thought the second task was going to involve a lake – surprise! Maybe the third task will still be a maze?
Thank you so much to all those who have favourited or followed this story. The reaction to this story really motivates me to write faster.
Special thanks to those who motivate me most by reviewing: usatraveller, TheGreenBlueHunter, MicroscopicMammoth, annette-ella, and Drengr93. And extra-special thanks to the daredevils who are bahnannah, Ronin Kenshin, SKFF, Spider of Dreams, Mando-Vet, dclark04, mike3308, Urgazhi, PhantomKnightPercival, magitech, MauserTeleri, Arnie1701, amortentiate, Mitkon2001, alix33, sh777, SvenHPotterFan, Qhaq, Earth Guardian 28, kjtrack, Red Renera and autumngold.
Mitkon2001 – I think this chapter shows there are much safer ways to play with fireworks with your brother. (Disclaimer: I don't advise this unless you have patented Weasleys' Wand-Controlled Fireworks)
MicroscopicMammoth – thanks for the review, and for the feedback! I think it's a little too late for me to change it in this story, but I'll bear that in mind for anything in future. In my head, Fred and George are indistinguishable – it's why they even call themselves Gred and Forge in canon – but I always appreciate constructive feedback. Thanks again!