Disclaimer: I own none of the things you already know of.
Harry Potter and the Smallest Change.
Chapter 34. Fourth Year, Part 16. 1995.
Once the dome was complete, James and Dumbledore both conjured plush chairs beside Harry's bed and settled in, while Fleur sat down beside Harry on the bed.
She held his hand as he took a deep breath. He met her gaze, and she smiled down at him.
Harry let out his breath and met the two men's gazes.
'Earlier this year, during the First Task, I confronted two mysterious women. One of them had released Fleur's Dragon from its bindings.' He started and the two men nodded.
They knew that part.
Fleur's hand tightened on his and he squeezed back.
Harry nodded.
'I came across the two women at the beginning of the Second Task as well. The one who had attacked Fleur was the one who released the potion into the Black Lake that sent its inhabitants mad.' He continued, and the two men nodded again.
He wasn't telling them anything new yet.
'The one who helped me in the First Task did so again, telling me to save the Champions while she fought the other woman who the map identified as Elizabeth Creevey.' Harry continued, and James leaned forward in his chair.
'About that. There is no record of an Elizabeth Creevey in the Ministry. Perhaps she's from the continent?' James asked, and Harry shook his head.
'Hold that thought Dad, we'll get there.' Harry said.
James blinked and sat back in his chair with a perplexed expression on his face.
Harry ran a hand through his hair.
'The woman who helped me told me to call her Crocus at the time. After the task, we had our suspicions about who she was, but no evidence.' Harry said, gesturing between himself and Fleur, who frowned.
'But everything came to a head tonight. I knew Elizabeth Creevey would attack Fleur and the other Champions again, so I was watching the map-' he paused, looking at James and Dumbledore who nodded.
They had all been watching the maps.
'- I saw the strangest thing on my map. It had a name on it, Fleur Potter.' Harry finished.
Fleur gasped beside him while the two men stared at her in shock.
A wide grin appeared on James' face.
'You guys eloped? Why?' he asked.
But Harry wasn't paying attention. His eyes stared deep into Fleur's eyes, where he saw a question.
He nodded.
Harry turned back to his father and Dumbledore.
'The mysterious woman who helped me in the first two tasks, Crocus, was Fleur. But it was a Fleur from the future.' Harry explained.
Dumbledore's eyes widened and his wrinkled face paled.
James' eyes twinkled.
'This. Is. Amazing.' He said, his sparkling eyes moved between Harry and Fleur.
'I never thought you two would be the ones pranking me.' James beamed, pride in his voice.
Harry met his gaze and shook his head.
James looked at Fleur, who shook her head and his face fell.
'You're serious?' he asked as the colour drained out of his face.
'But you can only go back in time a few hours with a time turner. You said this, Crocus, was maybe middle-aged?' James asked.
Harry nodded.
He turned to Fleur.
'Crocus was maybe in her fifties, but she looked just like her mother.' Harry said softly and Fleur held her breath, her hands clutched his.
Harry tried to project his feelings of warmth and love to her, and her soft blue eyes were like mirrors.
James coughed and Harry drew himself out of Fleur's eyes and blinked.
'Sorry.' Harry cleared his throat.
'This future Fleur had come back from a time where Voldemort had been reborn and defeated. But it was a separate threat that destroyed the Wizarding World. She was one of the few magicals left alive.' He explained, and ran a hand through his filthy hair.
'I don't know much else about her future.' Harry muttered and Fleur squeezed his hand.
He gave her a weak smile.
Dumbledore cleared his throat.
'Why did this future Fleur come back, what was she trying to achieve?' the Headmaster asked.
Harry closed his eyes and took a ragged breath as in his mind replayed the moments of Crocus' death.
He felt a warm thumb wipe away a tear that slid down his cheek.
Harry opened his eyes and saw Fleur's worried eyes on him. He blinked and turned to Dumbledore.
'She came back to warn me. It was, my death, in the future, that started everything falling apart. She came to change the past, so I would survive, so-' he paused, his breath caught in his throat.
Harry turned to Fleur and looked deep into her watery eyes.
'-So our children would survive.' He whispered.
Fleur's free hand covered her mouth as she gasped. Her other hand crushed his in her grip.
Harry choked down his emotions and turned to Dumbledore.
'Crocus and I worked together to fight Elizabeth Creevey, who identified herself as a follower of a Dark Lord in the future. She said she was the daughter of Colin Creevey, a Gryffindor currently in his Third Year. She'd followed Fleur back and tried to kill the present day Fleur to avert anything she planned to do. ' Harry paused and squeezed Fleur's hand.
Harry frowned.
'Here's where I get confused about the possibilities sir.' Harry admitted.
James blinked and turned to Dumbledore.
'Yeah, what would have happened if this Elizabeth succeeded?' James asked and Dumbledore sighed.
'To be honest, I wasn't aware anyone could travel back in time further than a few hours. We're talking a matter of years, decades even. It's well beyond my experience.' The Headmaster admitted.
Harry took another breath as the two men turned their attention back to him.
'During the fight, I obtained most of my injuries. But together we defeated her, but not without cost.' Harry closed his eyes as visions of the future Fleur's death rushed through his mind again.
A hand brushed his filthy hair away from his brow and he opened his eyes to see Fleur's eyes searching his.
'You died.' Harry whispered.
Fleur didn't pull away; she just closed her eyes tight as tears escaped from her long lashes and dropped on his face.
'We both fired spells at Elizabeth together. Elizabeth deflected my Piercing Hex and got hit with Crocus' spell. It was Crocus' Expulso Curse which sent Elizabeth into a wall that then collapsed on top of her.' Harry whispered.
Tears fell down his face unheeded as he watched Fleur's pained face with a desperate longing.
'It was my Piercing Hex that Creevey deflected, which hit you. I'm so sorry Fleur, I killed you.' Harry croaked.
Fleur's eyes shot open in panic and she descended on him. Their lips came together with crushing force.
She pulled back a few seconds later, her eyes flashing.
'You didn't kill me 'Arry. It was that Creevey woman.' She threw her arms around him and he held back the pained hiss as best he could as she crushed him into her chest before she covered his face with kisses.
A cough from a conflicted James behind her forced the two apart.
Harry looked at his father, who seemed unsure whether to be amused at their public display of affection, or horrified at Harry's story.
Dumbledore stroked his beard.
'What happened after that? Are the… bodies… still where they fell?' the Headmaster said, hesitation clear in his tone.
Harry took a steadying breath and met the Headmaster's gaze before he took two dolls out from his robes.
The adorable angel doll, and the somewhat bland doll that looked like any other.
James blinked, then pointed at the bland doll.
'Isn't that one of Holly's?' he asked.
Harry closed his eyes and lay the bland doll on his lap, toward Dumbledore as far as he could reach before pain flared across his body.
Three pairs of eyes rested upon the doll he held in his hands; Harry stared down at the crisp white bed sheets.
Fleur's hands closed around his, holding the angel doll.
''Arry, is this my future self?' she whispered, and he nodded.
Fleur's red-rimmed eyes blinked away tears as she gently took the angel doll out of his hands and placed it beside the other doll. She turned back to Harry and buried herself in his shoulder.
The four remained silent for a few minutes. Harry and Fleur both lost in their thoughts while the two men watched.
Harry finally looked up from Fleur to his father and Dumbledore.
'What should we do with the bodies? One doesn't exist yet and the other's past self is in this room.' Harry croaked as he tried to bury the emotions roiling inside him.
Dumbledore's gaze went from the dolls to James, and back to the dolls.
'I suggest we cremate the bodies tonight, after everyone goes to bed. That way we can minimise the amount of potential damage the bodies could still do to our timeline.' The Headmaster sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose.
'But Mister Potter, there's something else that has happened while you had your own excitement.' Dumbledore said and Harry looked up at the tall man as Fleur buried even deeper into his shoulder.
Dumbledore looked to Fleur before he turned back to meet Harry's gaze.
'Miss Delacour won the Triwizard Cup, but the cup was a trap.' The Headmaster said and Fleur pulled away from Harry's shoulder and met his gaze.
'The cup took me to a graveyard. Some dark wizards were in wait, but I fought my way through them and escaped.' She explained, and Harry let out a breath.
Dumbledore nodded.
'I think Voldemort was trying to obtain a new body and we will discuss that very topic with young Barty and Bertha over the next few days.' Dumbledore ended; his face unnaturally grim.
Harry ran a hand through his hair and looked at Fleur.
'The future is happening faster than I expected.' He admitted, and she held his hands in hers.
'Then we will face it together my 'Arry.' She declared.
James smiled, then turned away from the teens. He made a show of inspecting the dome around them.
'You should get some rest. We'll have the cremation at some stage before dawn, we'll get one of the House-Elves to wake you.' James said before he turned to Dumbledore.
The old man nodded and scooped the two dolls off the bed and into his robes. With a wave of his knobbly wand, the dome fell away to reveal Madame Pomphrey, who glared at Dumbledore before she bustled over to Harry's side.
She waved her wand over him and huffed, then turned to Fleur.
'Miss Delacour, Champion or not, I want you in bed for observation tonight.' She ordered, and looked down at Harry.
'You, Mister Potter, need to rest. All those potions need time to heal you.' The matron said before she turned back to Dumbledore.
'What are you two still doing here?' she barked and shooed Dumbledore and James away and out of her domain.
Harry turned to look at Fleur, who gave him a smile and blew him a kiss.
Minutes later he was asleep, memories of that night plaguing his dreams.
It was dark in the Hospital Wing when Harry woke to the gentle insistence of tiny hands.
A House-Elf shook him.
Harry blinked and smiled at the small creature who moved over to wake Fleur in the bed beside his. He climbed out of bed and moved over to hers. Harry smiled down at her as she woke up at the House-Elf's insistent shaking.
'Good morning.' Harry whispered.
She turned red-rimmed eyes to him, a small smile on her face as she saw him.
Harry sat beside her on her bed and took her hand.
Gently, he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckle.
'I don't blame you, what happened was not your fault 'Arry.' She whispered, and placed a finger on his lips.
'The future she must have endured must have been horrible to even consider coming back in time this far. There must have been nothing left for her.' Fleur whispered, her eyes never leaving Harry's.
Fleur took a deep breath.
'You said she had tears in her eyes during the First Task as she looked at you. I don't think she wanted to live past delivering her message. Unless I change completely in the time between now and then, I don't think she would have wanted to keep living.' She paused; tears welled in her eyes as they remained locked with his.
'I would have wanted to change the past, but not be involved in reliving it.' She stopped and blinked as tears trailed down her cheeks.
'I wouldn't have wanted to watch a younger version of the two of us while knowing I would never feel your love again, knowing that I had only misery in life to look back on.' She sobbed, breaking eye contact.
Harry gathered her into his chest and rubbed her back.
'It's okay.' He whispered.
She shook her head and pulled out of his embrace.
''Arry, there's one thing about Veela that I haven't told you. Once we decide on a mate, there will never be another. Knowing this, I think she would be happy that she died in that battle, having delivered her message.' She said.
Harry let out a breath and nodded.
He reached into his robes and withdrew the vial of memories Crocus had given him.
Harry placed it in her hands.
'She wanted us to watch these memories. Something in there might help us change the horrible future she'd come back from.' He whispered.
Fleur stared at the vial in her hands, her face pale in the moonlight.
She pushed the vial back into his hands.
'We should make our way down to the grounds.' Fleur said, and Harry tucked the vial of memories back in his robes.
Fleur stood from her bed and ran her fingers through her long silver hair.
'Do you know where on the grounds they'll do it?' she asked, and Harry shook his head.
'No, but let's just go down. We can ask a House-Elf for help if we can't find them.' Harry said as he held out his hand for her.
Harry opened the door and jerked back, there was someone in the doorway.
Both he and Fleur drew their wands at the shadowed figure. The figure put their hands up above their head.
It was James.
'It's only me. I came to get you two for the cremation.' He whispered, and they quickly tucked away their wands into holsters once more.
Harry smiled at his father and took Fleur's hand.
Together, the three moved on silent feet through the castle's corridors and out onto the grounds.
Harry followed James into the Forbidden Forest, and still his father didn't slow down. Fleur squeezed his hand, and they shared a glance before each drew their wands.
After another twenty minutes of walking, James led them to a clearing where a pyre of wood stood in the centre.
Harry blinked as he noticed a Centaur that stood and watched them from the edge of the clearing, half hidden by shadow.
On top of the pyre lay Fleur Potter and Elizabeth Creevey, both returned to their original bodies. Both time-traveling women were covered in white shrouds and Fleur's hand gripped his like a vice.
Dumbledore nodded to James and turned to Harry.
'Is there anything you wanted to say before we continue?' the Headmaster asked, and Harry nodded.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
His gaze rested on Fleur Potter's form.
'I promise to protect our family, I will make it so our children will be safe. I promise.' He vowed and Fleur's hand held his in a tight grip.
Harry nodded to Dumbledore, who flicked his wand once, and the pyre caught aflame in an instant.
The three humans and a Veela around the pyre stepped back to the edge of the clearing as the flames grew thicker and more intense, obscuring everything within.
Earlier that night, Harry had smelt the stench of burning flesh in the clock-tower and he'd expected the same here. But instead, he could only smell burning pine and various herbs, it filled the clearing with a pleasant scent.
Together, the three humans, a Veela and a Centaur, watched in silence as the pyre burnt down to a pile of ashes.
As the sun rose, it filled the glade with the day's first light.
The Centaur moved to stand before Harry.
Harry blinked at the creature, who stared at him with impassive black eyes before the Centaur nodded at him.
'Mars is bright, young Potter. You have been warned and the stars will not give you another. You have but one chance to avert disaster, use it well young wizard.' The Centaur said, its voice deep and grave.
It's warning given; the Centaur left the clearing and into the retreating shadows of the forest.
James moved beside Harry.
'Harry, that conversation was less ambiguous than any other time they have spoken to us.' He explained
Harry nodded, his gaze lingered on where the Centaur had disappeared.
'Yeah, I didn't expect it to talk to us, let alone give a clear warning.' Harry admitted.
Dumbledore waved his knobbly wand, and a strong breeze struck the remaining ashes of the pyre. It blew them into the air, leaving no trace of the pyre, except the charred ground beneath where the pyre had been.
The Headmaster turned from the charred patch of earth and moved to the others.
'We should all return to the castle now, lest we garner any unwanted attention.' The old man said before he fixed his gaze on both Fleur and Harry.
'Poppy would be distraught if two of her patients disappeared from her ward without her noticing.' He added, and Harry groaned.
James laughed.
'I'll guide them back and deal with Poppy if she finds out.' He said as he ruffled Harry's hair, earning a soft giggle from Fleur from Harry's expression.
(A/N: Thanks to a Confused Guest review, I realised that a few details escaped my proof reading, my apologies.
Firstly, Orion is seven years old, as of 1995, making him 6 years old in 1994. [I had him down at 4 years old in Ch18, a leftover from a previous rewrite.]
Secondly, Aftermath of the Quidditch World Cup, Harry killed two of the Death Eaters in self defence, the third, Avery, was captured by James Potter and sent to Azkaban after being interrogated. [This has been added to Ch18.]
Thirdly, Harry won the couch conjuring contest as we saw his yellow couch still in the room in Ch27. [A short scene about this has been added to Ch27 now as well.]
Hopefully, these have resolved any confusion my mistakes had caused.)