Hey, everyone! Mystery Critic here, back at you with another chapter of Ma Fleur! Wow, holy freaking hell! This story hit one thousand followers, and I am so ecstatic that it did, I have never been more proud of myself than I have now. You all made it possible, you all allowed me to feel this happy. I am so grateful to all of you, and I hope we can keep going with even more followers and favorites! As a note to the latest attempt at a flame, if you're going to try and flame someone, don't hide behind a guest review like a coward. Also, try and come up with something original. Sometimes, cliches are wonderful things. If you can't see that, oh well. Also, if you were going to flame me, why wait until chapter ten to do it? Why read so far into the story if you're just going to flame it. Methinks someone is hiding a secret appreciation for the story and did the only thing they could do to get attention. Now that the lashing is out of the way, here's the cookies for all my loyal followers, baked in the flames of a coward's attempt at bashing a story. Feast, my friends! As for the disclaimer, I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the rights affiliated with it. Now, I want you all to sit back, snuggle up in some nice Hogwarts robes, and snog in Madame Rosmerta's place while enjoying chapter fifteen of Ma Fleur. Here we come, Hogwarts!

Chapter 15

Italics - French

Turning around to face his family, Harry smiles up at them.

"Well, this is it..." Harry says, looking down, unsure of what to do. "Um, I guess I'll see you during Christmas?"

"Of course, 'Arry." Apolline responds, walking forward to wrap Harry in a tight hug. "Don't forget, you can owl us any time you want. Keep yourself out of trouble, and stay out of the girl's lavatory."

"Hey, I'm not a peeping Tom!" Harry replies indignantly, blushing bright red at the implication. "Besides, how would I even do that?"

"If I recall, mon amour, you do 'ave an invisibility cloak," Fleur teases, winking at him. "Alzough, I wouldn't mind you using zat to peek on me in ze shower."

"Fleur Isabelle Delacour!" Jacques shouts, glaring at her. "You are boz much too young for zat kind of zing!"

"You know, Jacques, you really shouldn't talk." Apolline smiles wickedly, wrapping her arm around her husband's shoulder. "I do recall you sneaking into my room several times when we were at Beauxbatons."

"Well, zat's... I..." Jacques sputters, turning red as a tomato at the reminder. "Dammit, woman. You are going to be ze deaz of me someday."

"I would 'ave it no ozzer way, mon amour." She giggles, turning back to Harry before wrapping him up in another hug and placing a kiss softly upon his forehead. "Be good, my beloved son. I love you so much, and I can't wait to see you again."

"I... I love you, too, maman..." It felt so right to say it, Harry decides, tears flowing down his eyes. He makes a mental note to say it more often before hugging his adoptive mother back and mumbling something under his breath.

"What was zat, my love?"

"Please don't forget about me. Any of you..." The silence that permeated from the four Delacour's blocked out the rest of the noise on the platform. "I'm still scared that this is still all a dream, and I'll wake up in that bedroom at that... Place."

"'Arry, zis is not a dream. You are 'ere, you are wiz us." Jacques says, breaking out of his stupor and placing his hands firmly on his son's shoulders. "You are ze son I never 'ad, and I could not be 'appier to 'ave you in our family. You are our son, no questions about it, and our son you will always remain. We will always be 'ere for you, and you will never see zose evil monsters again. You're stuck wiz us, remember?"

Wrapping his arms around Harry, Gabrielle, Fleur, and Apolline follow suit and wrap their arms around each other, trying to fill Harry with as much love as they could possibly muster. After a few moments, the train whistle blows and the family looks up to see the clock reads five to eleven. Stepping back, Jacques places an arm around his wife's shoulders as she clutches her hands to her chest, tears flowing freely down her smiling face. Gabrielle dashes forward and wraps her arms around Harry's legs before looking up, tears sparkling in the eyes of her pouting face.

"Harry, don't go? Please?" She begs, sniffling as she tries not to cry. "Who will be my big brother if you're gone?"

"Oh, my little bird..." Harry says, kneeling down to wrap his arms around his little sister. "You'll see me again soon enough. Christmas isn't that far away. I promise that I'll owl you every week, just a special note that only you can read. How does that sound?"

"Only if you send chocolates twice a month." She sniffles, perking up a bit.

"Why you blackmailing little..."

Giggling, Gabrielle hugs Harry one last time before kissing him on his cheek softly. "I love you, big brother!"

"I love you, too, little bird." He says, his heart fluttering as he hears his beloved little sister saying the words. Fleur walks up to him, a sad smile on her face. "Fleur, I... I'm really going to miss you..."

"I'll miss you too, my love." She wraps her arms around him, holding him close before leaning back and placing a searing kiss on his lips. She holds his face in her hands, reveling in the happiness she feels in this moment, unconsciously letting her allure flare out wildly. Harry wraps his arms around the blonde beauty's waist, holding her as close as possible. After a few moments, the two separate, breathing heavily as they stare into each other's eyes. "If that's what I have to look forward to next time I see you, Christmas will come soon or I will kick Father Time's wrinkled old ass."

Turning to see the male population on the platform drooling and the female population glaring or giggling, Fleur looks away with a blush before taking a deep breath and reigning her allure in.

"What are you all looking at?" Harry shouts, giving a glare that could freeze fire. "Haven't you ever seen a tongue wrestling match? It's quite enjoyable, ya know."

As the crowd goes back to their previous tasks, Fleur stares into Harry's eyes one last time, smiling contentedly before letting him go and stepping back to join the rest of her family.

"I'll see you soon, Fleur." He says, picking up his luggage before taking one last look at his family and boarding the train.

Fleur freezes as tears pool at the corners of her eyes. After a few moments she sniffles and wipes away the forming tears before blowing a kiss at him. "I love you..." She whispers under her breath.

With a smile, Harry turns towards the train and takes a deep breath before saying; "Well, back to Hogwarts, then."

Walking towards the large red and black train, Harry turns back on more time to wave to his family before turning back, taking another deep breath and planting a convincing smile on his face. Trudging towards the entrance of one of the cars, he stepped up onto the train and dragging his trunk with him. After finding an empty car, Harry steps in and closes it behind him before placing his trunk up on the luggage rack. Settling down, he pulls a book out from the scholar's satchel he got for his birthday and settles down to read.

After a few minutes, the door to the compartment slides open and Ron and Hermione shuffle in. "Blimey, Harry!" Ron says, moving up to clap Harry on the back before sitting down next to him. "It took us forever to find you, mate. Why didn't you wait for us on the platform?"

"Um, It's kind of embarrassing, Ron..." He answers, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Come on, mate." Ron says, egging Harry on. "If you can't tell your best friends in the whole world, who can you tell?"

"Well, it was because I never really had a family to say goodbye to before..." Harry whispers, afraid to seem weak. "At the same time, I just had to say goodbye to my new family, and it was hard..."

"Oh wow..." Ron says, looking down, appearing pensive. "I'm really sorry, mate. I didn't think about it like that."

"It's okay, Ron." Harry says, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder comfortingly. "I don't blame you. This is something I'm still not even used to yet."

"Right..." As Ron looks out the window, an awkward silence ensues, the Golden Trio delving deep into thought. After a few minutes, the compartment door slides open.

"Well, what do we have here?" The aggravating drawl of Draco Malfoy permeating the peaceful silence in the compartment. "The orphan, the blood-traitor, and the mudbl-"

"Finish uttering that, Malfoy, and they'll never find your corpse." Harry snarls, his eyes glowing as he turns towards Malfoy in anger. "I'm done letting you think you can walk all over us. You hear me?"

"What could you possibly do, Potter?" He snaps back, Crabbe and Goyle moving closer to guard the Malfoy heir if necessary. Harry stands up slowly and walks up to Draco and and grabs him by the collar of his robes. He lifts him up off the ground and his bulky bodyguards react after a moment of shock, only to have Harry toss Malfoy into the two as if he weighed nothing. The blonde Slytherin slams into the two fourth-year eating champions and they all fall back into a heap against the wall of the compartment.

"I meant what I said, Malfoy. Stay away from us, and everything will be hunky dory." Slamming the compartment door closed, Harry waves his hand, a blue glow covering the door before fading away. Sitting back down, Harry begins to regulate his breathing to calm down. After a few moments, Harry looks back up at his two best friends looking at him with shocked faces. "What? He got what he deserved."

"I mean, yeah, Harry, but..." Ron began nervously, looking towards Hermione. "Don't you think you went a bit overboard? Also, how'd you get that strong?"

"Forget all of that!" Hermione shrieks out, standing up and pointing at the door. "That was wandless magic! How in the name of Merlin were you able to do that?!"

"Well, to put it simply... Merlin." Harry says softly.

"What?!" The young girl shrieks, threatening to shatter glass and eardrums if her voice goes any higher. "What do you mean Merlin?"

"Well, it started after I got the blocks and stuff removed by the goblins..."

Flashback, after Harry returns home from saving the Delacour family

Walking into the bedroom with Fleur, Harry and his beloved lie down on their bed and breath a sigh of relief.

"We should get some sleep, Fleur." Harry says, wrapping his arms around Fleur. "It's been a really rough day."

"I agree, my love." She says, snuggling up close to Harry. "Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." She looks up at him and smiles with tears in her eyes, placing her palm against his cheek softly. "If you hadn't come..."

"Hey, there's no need to think about that anymore." He says quickly, putting a hand on the back of her head to pull her closer in a comforting hug. "You're all safe now, and that's all that matters now."

"Do you need to talk about anything?"

"Eventually, I think I should." He answers hesitantly, sighing as he looks down at her smiling face, a smile spreading across his. "But right now, all I need is to cuddle and sleep with the most beautiful girlfriend on the planet."

Giggling, Fleur nods and snuggles back up into Harry's chest, taking comfort in his arms wrapping around her protectively, the pair drifts to sleep blissfully. Opening his eyes, Harry realizes he's not where he went to sleep. Reaching for his wand, Harry suddenly realizes he can't find it. Standing up slowly, Harry stays in a slight crouch, trying his best to be ready for anything.

"You need not be afraid, my son." A voice calls out, and Harry turns towards the source. A tall man, looking several decades old. A long grey beard flows down from his face, only to be dwarfed by the length of his hair, cascading down his back to behind his knees. A green robe adorns his body as he smiles at the young wizard. He walks towards Harry, his staff clunking against the ground with every other step he takes. Stopping in front of Harry, the ancient man places a hand upon Harry's shoulder. "I am not here to harm you. My name is Merlin, and I'm here to train you."

"Wait, what?" Harry asks, staring up at the fabled sorcerer in shock. "Why would you train me?"

"Mostly because Fate demands it."

"Mostly?"

"Well, the other reason is because it would be fun." Merlin says, a smirk appearing on his face. "I haven't had an apprentice in so long, and fucking over Tommy boy will make Death quite happy."

"Wait, you know about Voldemort?"

"Of course!" He shouts, looking offended. "A wizard that Dark? Why wouldn't I know abut him?!"

"Um... You're dead?" Harry says hesitantly, looking away. After a moment, he hears a booming laugh and looks back at the legendary warlock. "What's so funny?"

"Do you really think that someone as strong as me wouldn't be able to see the wizard who could bring about the destruction of the entire world?" He chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. "I've been watching every Dark Wizard come to fruition, and this is practically the worst one we've ever seen, and Fate said I can intervene just this once, so I will. For the next year, every night you go to bed, we'll spend about a week training in your mind, and you will retain all of the knowledge and power I bestow upon you in these dreams. However, you'll have to build up your body outside of this realm. I think that should be easy, don't you?"

"Why now, though?" Harry asks, getting a little upset. "Why wait until now to help me?"

"Well, the blocks that the goblins removed somehow prevented me from interfering any sooner." Sighing Merlin waves his hand and two large recliners pop up out of nowhere, and Merlin gestures for Harry to sit with him. After accepting the chair, Merlin sits down. "I have only been able to give one or two bits of assistance before now, such as being able to allow you to let loose a massive amount of power to ward off those Dementors last year to save your godfather."

"Wait, that was you?" Harry asks, looking even more upset. "I wasn't able to pull that off on my own?"

"No, no!" Merlin says quickly. "That was absolutely all your own power. It was just being blocked, remember? All I did was allow it to slip through briefly."

"Where does all this power in me come from?"

"Well, it comes from your blood. You're my descendant, after all. The Emrys family has always been extremely powerful."

"I thought the line died out years ago."

"Not dead, just dormant." Merlin explains. "Now, it's awoken within you, and I can help make you as powerful as you could possibly become over the next year. Well, seven years, technically."

"Okay." Harry says, smiling up at him. "I'll do it. I need all the help I can get if Voldemort comes back."

"Attaboy!"

End Flashback

"Anyway, after that, Merlin spent every night training me for a week in my dreams." Harry finished explaining. "Some kind of time dilation, or something. After the first night, I started doing more physical work around Delacour Villa to build up my body, and I'll be running around the Quidditch pitch every day to keep myself in good shape."

Hermione and Ron look at Harry in complete disbelief. "Harry, mate," Ron begins slowly, glancing at Hermione before directing his gaze back at Harry. "But you gotta admit, that sounds a bit far-fetched."

"Was the wandless locking charm not enough?" Harry jokes, raising an eyebrow with an amused smile on his face. "How about some wandless elemental conjuration?"

"You must be joking..." Hermione whispers. "Even with a wand, that's incredibly difficult magic. Not even Dumbledore is able to do it without a wand!"

Smirking, Harry raises both of his hands and a brilliant purple flame sprouts from his hand, filling the compartment with smoldering heat as it dances in his palm. From his other hand, white lightning shoots from his hand and begins to pool around his feet, swirling around him, but not damaging the compartment in any way. After a few moments, Harry closes his hands and tilts his head and raises his eyebrow expectantly.

"Unbelievable..." Hermione whispers, her eyes widening almost comically. "That was amazing, Harry..."

"Thanks, Hermione." Harry says, grinning widely. "Merlin actually says there's some things I can teach you, if you want to learn some basic things."

"That'd be wicked, mate!" Ron says enthusiastically, practically jumping out of his seat.

"Alright, what I'm going to do is teach you the basics of Occlumency." Harry explains, pulling a book out of his bag and opening it. "Occlumency is the art of closing your mind to Legilimency."

-Fleur-

After a few hours, Ron and Hermione were the proud owners of the ability to manifest a minor barrier against surface Legilimency. Coming out of her meditative trance shortly after Ron, Hermione smiled ecstatically before wrapping Harry in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you so much, Harry!" Hermione squeals, tightening her hug around him. "I never even knew about this branch of magic, and it's going to be so useful for information recall! Just think about all of the extra credit I'll be able to succesfully complete!"

"Leave it to Hermione to think of school with a defensive mind magic." Ron says, chuckling before receiving a swift smack to the back of the head. "Blimey, Hermione, it was a joke!"

Huffing hotly to hide a smile, Hermione turns away from Ron and starts to read some of the book Harry offers to her.

"So, Ron." Harry says, pulling out a deck of cards. "Up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

"You're on, Harry!"

AS they pull the deck out of the box, Ron shuffles it and deals the cards out to Harry and himself. They reach out to pck up their cards when Neville walks in.

"Hey, guys!" The young wizard says, waving happily at his three fellow Gryffindors. "How'd your summers go?"

"It was great, Neville!" Ron says, turning to greet his dorm mate. "The Cup was amazing, and Krum was so incredible!"

"I still say you have a crush on Krum, Ron." Harry teases, motioning for Neville to sit down.

"I do not!" Ron retorts defiantly, puffing up as he blushes bright red at the insinuation. "I just see talent where it is! Like the Cannons! As great as Krum is, one day they're going to beat Krum and the rest of the world, too!"

"Ron, the Cannons have about as much chance at winning the World Cup as Harry has to walk up to Malfoy and kiss him in front of everyone." Neville says, poking fun at the redhead.

"Thanks for that image, Neville." Harry says, gagging and holding back the urge to vomit.

"No problem, Harry." Neville ribs, grinning madly before everyone breaks down into fits of giggles and laughter. "Anyway, I hear that you have a family again. Congratulations, Harry. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks, Neville." Harry says, wrapping Neville in a one-armed hug. "That really means a lot to hear. That actually reminds me. There's going to be a surprise waiting for you at Hogwarts after dinner."

"A present?" Neville asks, confusion plastered on his face. "What are you talking about, Harry?"

"If I told you now, it wouldn't be a present, now would it?" Harry says, grinning mischievously.

"I suppose not." Neville mumbles.

"Trust me, you'll love it." Harry says. Neville nods and turns towards the cards. "Wanna play, Nev?"

"I'd love to, thanks."

Ron deals out another hand and they proceed to spend the next hour playing the game, and it ended with all three boys covered in ash. Dusting their clothes off, they laugh and stand up with Hermione muttering in the window seat about boys and explosions. After a few moments of laughter, a voice sounds out throughout the train.

"We will be arriving at Hogwarts in fifteen minutes. Please change into your robes and make sure your belongings are returned to your trunks. Thank you."

"Well, boys, get out for a moment so I may change." Hermione commanded, the boys knowing better than to disobey her. They close the door behind them and wait for a minute, and Hermione opens the door and gestures for them to go inside to change. After doing so, the boys knock on the door and Hermione walks back in. "Well, we're almost back. I'm so excited to begin fourth year!"

"Careful, Hermione." Harry teases the young witch with a grin. "Keep smiling like that and your face will get stuck that way."

Smacking Harry on the back of the head with an annoyed 'humph,' Hermione turns away and walks out of the compartment towards the exit of the car. After a few minutes of waiting, the train lurches to a stop in Hogsmede Station, letting out a loud hiss as it does so. Students file out of the cars hurridly, anxious to get to the school. Harry hears Hagrid gesturing for the first years to follow him and gives a small wave towards the half-giant. Giving one back, Hagrid starts leading the young students away from the rest as the others walk towards the carriages. Walking up to the carriages, the four Gryffindor students step up into it and are carried down the path towards the castle.

-Fleur-

After the welcoming feast, Professor Dumbledore stands up and holds his hands up for silence. The Great Hall falls silent in short order, a smile gracing the Headmaster's face.

"Now that we have had our fills, I have several announcements to make. First, Mr. Filch has reminded me that the list of banned items has risen to a remarkable 437." He begins, raising an eyebrow as he smirks at the Weasley twins. "Furthermore, to our new students and our returning ones, the Forbidden Forest is still just that, forbidden. If you have any questions, please speak to your head of house. Finally, there will be no Quidditch Cup this year."

The noise of the jeering and boos roaring throughout the hall is deafening. Raising his wand after a few moments, Professor Dumbledore sent out a cannon blast from his wand, effectively silencing the noise. "Thank you." he says calmly, slipping his wand back up his sleeve. "Now, the reason for this is because there is an age-old competition being... Rekindled, so to speak. At six o'clock in the evening of Friday, the thirtieth of October, delegations from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute will be arriving for the Triwizard Tournament!"

The boos are replaced with cheers of joy, however, Harry heard none of it. When he heard that Beauxbatons was coming, there was only one thought on his mind. His beloved Fleur would be coming! Harry joins in with the uproarious cacophony of sound, cheering as loud as possible.

"Yes, we are all rather excited." Dumbledore says after the cheering dies down. "However, there will be some changes. To help explain these changes, I have here Mr. Barty Crouch, the Head of The Department for International Magical Cooperation."

Taking the Headmaster's place at the podium, Barty looks out at the crowd of students. "Due to the great risks of the tournament, the Ministry of Magic has decided that for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen as of October 30th will be allowed to put forth their names for the Triwizard Tournament." Roars of anger sounds out from the student body, and Crouch tries his best to speak out over the noise. "This is for your own safety, and this decision is final!"

"Silence!" Dumbledore sends out another cannon blast from his wand, causing the cries of disarray to quiet down. "Thank you. Now, I will be taking measures to ensure that no underage witches or wizards may put forth their name for consideration, so please refrain from trying if you are underage. I can guarantee, you will not enjoy the consequences. With that, I bid you all a good night's rest!"

As the students begin to disperse, Harry taps Neville on his shoulder and jerks his head in the direction of the Head Table. Walking up with him, Harry looks up at the Headmaster before speaking; "Headmaster, I would like to request that you join Neville and I to the Hospital Wing, as I'm sure that you will have many questions."

"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore begins, a confused expression on his face. "Whatever would you both need me to accompany you to the Hospital Wing for?"

"Please trust me, sir." Harry says, trying his best not to be annoyed with the old man. "I will explain everything when the time comes."

Nodding to the young wizard, Dumbledore follows the two young boys to the Hospital Wing. As they reach the door, Harry turns around with a smile to face Neville. "Harry, what's going on?" Neville asks, looking towards the doors. "Why are we at the Hospital Wing?"

"Are you ready for your surprise?" Without waiting for an answer, Harry turns back towards the doors and pushes them open, standing to the side as he ushers Neville inside. Upon walking in, Neville and Dumbledore stop dead in their tracks at the sight before them. Neville's mouth opens and closes before he whispers out two words.

"Mum? Dad?"

Yet another cliffhanger! If you don't think I'm evil by now, something is wrong with you. This is also my longest chapter, filling out at a massive (for me) 4,718 words! I hope you will all be happy to see chapters this long from here on out. Anywho, that's chapter fifteen! I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed it! It's rather difficult for me to write longer chapters, so updates will be happening every two weeks instead of weekly. I hope you all continue to enjoy, and I have an announcement. At the ushering of a family member, I will be posting chapters every week, starting at chapter one and going one by one on Archive of Our Own. I will try my best to catch all mistakes, and the first chapter will be posted tomorrow. Now, if you don't like my story, move along. Don't start bashing on it, because you just make yourself look like an ass. Like I said before, any flames will be used to bake cookies for all of my followers. If you do like the story, I hope to see your continued support. Constructive criticism is always welcome, however. With that out of the way, I will see you all in the next chapter. This is Mystery Critic, signing off.