AN: The last scene of the last chapter will make sense in the future. Don't worry. One reviewer wondered why Marcus just didn't jump out of the car. It was because he knew that by 'when you stop', Boss meant 'when you release the accelerator'. He knew his Boss well.

Again, thank you everyone for your support. This chapter is much longer than the rest. Keep it up. :)

Ch 6: A Crash Course In...

It was past the time of dinner when Harry turned on his side and realized there was something, or rather, someone sleeping beside him. He stretched lazily and wrapped his arms around whoever it was. He hadn't had such great fun in his dreams lately. They were normally full of evil grotesque babies, big bad snakes and whimpering rats but it wasn't anything like that as of then.

It was nice.

A yawn escaped him and he pulled his company a little closer, a little tighter, burying his head in the hollow of that someone's neck. Taking a deep breath, he moaned as the smell of fresh flowers hit his senses. He rubbed his cheeks along the smooth skin he could feel against him. He hadn't felt anything like that before, perhaps except the fabric of his father's invisibility cloak. There wasn't a trace of roughness there.

He was just about to kiss that perfect smooth skin when…

"Keep it up, 'arry. Shall I remove our clothz az well?"

His eyes flew open and he looked at Fleur with an expression ranging from a mixture of bewilderment, shame, fear and mortification.

Fleur was looking at him with thin lips, though her eyes were filled with amusement.

"S-s-sorry F-fleur. I d-didn't know…" he stuttered.

Fleur gave him a look and asked, "You do know now, don't you?"

He could feel her breath on him as she spoke and he himself unwittingly took a rather deep breath, jumbling up her words in his mind. He didn't understand what she said at all.

"Sorry. Could you repeat that please?" he whispered. "I missed it."

Fleur's cheeks turned red as if she was trying to control either a lot of anger or a lot of laughter. When she spoke this time, each word was spoken very slowly and deliberately. "You do know now, don't you?"

Harry's expression turned confused. "Er…what?"

Fleur tilted her head a little, as much as she could, and pointedly looked at his hands which were still wrapped around her pulling her into him as much as he could.

Harry's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he realized his mistake and jumped apart as if he had touched burning coal. He quickly sat up and crawled to the nearest tree, putting as much distance between them as possible for the time being.

Fleur, meanwhile, too sat up and stretched herself to her heart's content. Yawning widely, she muttered something about hormone controlled boys and Harry flushed.

"Sorry Fleur. I was asleep and…I didn't know it was you. Sorry."

Fleur waved her hand carelessly. "Don't worry 'arry. Eet 'Appens. Eet felt good sleeping with you."

Harry looked down, wondering whether he should take it as a compliment or ram his head on the trunk of the tree behind him.

"Eet is late, non?" asked Fleur.

Harry nodded without looking up.

"Oh 'arry. I said eet iz alright, no? Calm down."

Harry finally looked up and gave her a small smile. "Yeah. Sorry again. We can eat here if you wish."

Fleur looked at him oddly and then shrugged. "'Ow?"

Harry grinned. "Dobby."

Dobby did not take any time in appearing with a full fledged dinner. "Dobby bring food for Master Harry Potter Sir and his frenchie friend."

"Thank you Dobby." said Harry. "Fleur, meet Dobby. My friend. Dobby, meet Fleur."

Fleur looked at the small creature and gave him a smile. "'ello Dobby."

Dobby answered, bouncing on his footsteps. " 'ello Miss. Dobby hopes Miss will like Dobby's frenchie cooking."

"I 'ope so too Dobby. 'Arry isn't your Master, iz he?"

"Dobby's a free elf, Miss. Great Master Harry Potter Sir helped Dobby in being a free elf."

Fleur looked at Harry once before returning her attention to Dobby. "That iz nice. You still come at his call?"

"Dobby likes to help Great Master Harry Potter Sir."

Fleur's smile widened. "Zank you Dobby. You can go now."

Bowing once to both of them, Dobby vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Shall we eat, 'arry?"

Harry nodded and started pulling the various food assortments from the basket Dobby had delivered.

He set up the plates in silence and Fleur looked at him as he worked. He was a small child, she decided, but on his way to be a great man. That night, in the antechamber, Fleur had seen his desperateness hidden behind the surface of boiling anger. He was afraid. Well and truly afraid. And who wouldn't be, really? Fleur herself deemed this silly competition as an insanity termed as sport in the name of fun and enjoyment at the expanse of some of the most worthy lives of the magical world.

To be honest, Fleur had expected Harry to be a pampered spoiled child, much like herself. That thought went out the window when she had laid her eyes on him for the first time. He neither had the air nor the superiority complex such children suffered from. No, he was a good down-to-earth leetle boy. Fleur had seen the taunts and jabs aimed at him after that night and how he tried to control his shimmering anger.

She knew he would burst soon. It was only a matter of time before he did something to let out his frustration, likely on a teacher. She was actually proud of herself when he proved her assessment to be correct that morning.

Now what though? Harry needed help. That much was clear. Otherwise he would be dead in the first task itself. Huh…

Food.

Well, that was as good a start as any.

She quickly took her plate and started filling up her mouth without an ounce of grace or propriety. Harry had really expected better from her, seeing she actually had some table manners when she ate in the Great Hall. Right now, she could give Ron a run for his money.

Fleur did not talk while eating. Not once. Even when Harry tried to start a conversation by saying "Nice food, yeah?", she nodded once followed by pointing a finger at her plate, and then placing the same finger on her lips as the universal sign of silence.

Harry took the hint and himself returned to his food as well.

When she was full up to the brim, she finally gave a loud burp and put her plate down. Harry was already done by that point and was watching her eat for quite some time.

Dobby immediately appeared out of nowhere and popped out with the dishes without disturbing them once.

"So 'arry, what were you saying?" she finally asked.

Harry looked at her wondering where he should start from. Better be to the point, he decided. "I need your help."

"Go on. I am listening." said Fleur when he stopped at that.

"Er…with the tournament, I mean…I want your help…I know you are a competitor but I don't have anyone else here who isn't after my blood or who isn't a teacher or both in a few cases. You already helped me once by making me realize how underprepared I really am and that there is a real chance that I won't be alive at the end of this year. Please. I need your help. I don't wanna die." He finished with a sigh.

Fleur nodded knowingly with a sad smile. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Harry looked at her and tried to come up with an answer. Then he just shrugged. "I don't know. My Godfather said he would have trained me if it was possible for him to be here. Teach me something. Anything. Just…just do anything. Anything which allows me a chance at life. I just don't wanna die. Please."

Harry wasn't aware of the moisture in his eyes when he said this until Fleur passed him a hanky. "Don't cry, 'Arry. I don't like children who cry. And you aren't so small eizer."

He quickly pulled his emotions under control and dabbed at his tears with the offered cloth. "S-Sorry."

Fleur nodded. "I will 'elp you but not for free."

Harry looked up in an instant. "What do you want?"

"Promisez." Fleur answered cryptically.

"What?"

"I want two promisez. One for the future. You will do one thing I ask of you in the future, no matter what eet iz, 'ow wrong eet iz, 'owever much you 'ate me for it. You will still do it."

Harry shifted a little. Fleur was suddenly taking it into uncomfortable territory. "I won't kill anyone." He said.

Fleur snorted. "I can kill someone by myself. Eet won't be something heinous. That I promise."

Harry nodded. "Okay. What about the other promise?"

Fleur smiled. "Zat is for your benefit. I do not normally teach anyone except my sister who 'ates me at ze time. You 'ave to promise me to do as I say when I am acting as your teacher. No questions asked. My methods will not be…conventional."

"Are you saying you are going to be like Snape?" asked Harry.

Fleur grinned. "Worse."

"All right. You want me to take an oath or something?" he asked.

"You are a good boy, 'arry Potter. I believe you."

With that, she stood up and her features shifted into a business like stance. "Do you have a way out of 'Owarts?"

Harry was understandably surprised by this question. "What?"

Fleur scowled. He hadn't seen that expression on her face up until that point. "When I ask a question, answer with an answer. Not questions. Rule one."

Harry gulped. She was serious when she said 'worse'. "Um…Sorry. Yes, I know a way out."

Fleur gave a curt nod. "Good. Lead the way."

"Now? After curfew? If someone notices-"

She raised a hand. "You 'ave already slept enough. No point in wasting the night. Now. Lead."

Harry sighed and nodded. He had no clue what she was doing but he had to trust her if he had given her the job to save him this year.

He got up and made his way towards the Whomping Willow with Fleur following him from behind. It was pitch dark by this point and most of the students were probably sleeping in their dormitories. Since Harry was at odds with practically everyone in the school, including his 'best friends', he was pretty sure that no one was going to miss him.

They reached the tree and Harry used his wand to pull the knot that would keep them in a single piece.

He motioned for Fleur to enter before him and then followed her inside. They were quiet the entire way before Fleur suddenly stopped and whispered, "You felt eet?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Extend your 'and outwards." He did as he was told. "Bring it back. Do it again. Again. Now, felt eet?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Umm…it was tingly as if…" he trailed off.

"Yes. Zat tingly feeling are wards. We are outside the 'ogwarts wards now."

Harry nodded in wonder. "I never noticed before."

"Keep coming back 'ere when you are free and feel them. You will get better wiz experience and understanding. For now though…"

She suddenly grabbed his hand and twisted. And Harry saw stars.

~X~X~X~X~

His hands were bending at an odd angle, his legs were being twisted, his skin was tearing apart and his organs were lurching inside him. He was being compressed and expanded all at the same time.

In a scant second, he was somewhere, and puking his guts out. All his dinner, courtesy to Dobby, was now a sick pile of white and yellow mucus lying in front of him. And he was still not done. It seemed his stomach would come next.

"W-what the h-hell was that?" he wheezed as he again puked something resembling fish.

Fleur looked at him with disgust plainly written on her face and vanished his dinner with a wave of her wand.

"Apparition. Instant mode of travel for wizards and witches. It might 'elp you in ze future." she answered his query.

"Merlin. Why can't they invent something remotely bearable? They teach this to sixth years, right?"

Fleur nodded once.

"Why didn't you warn me beforehand?" he asked angrily.

Fleur shrugged. "It's all about feel 'arry. Zis way you will remember the feeling more clearly and for a longer time."

Harry gritted his teeth and reluctantly nodded his acceptance. "Where are we?"

"Tower of London."

Harry's eyes widened and he looked around. "Really? Wow."

Though before he could actually do anything more than take a look of the historic castle, Fleur grabbed his arm again and twisted.

This time, he went into a fit of coughs and wheezes. "What the hell?"

"Feel 'arry. Feel. See. You did not puke anything this time."

"Because there was nothing left!" he shouted.

"No problem. You will get used to it soon enough."

"I won't get used to this in a lifetime." he groaned.

"Tonight 'arry Tonight. Do not worry. Now look around. See zat Clock Tower. It's called Big Ben."

Harry looked around warily with one eye resting on Fleur. She seemed to be content to let him take a look this time. Harry had heard about the place before but never had he visited any of the attractions. The tower was huge, standing at more than three hundred feet, and the clock was showing ten past one at the time.

"You want to see the inside machinery?" Fleur asked from behind him.

Harry nodded eagerly and she grabbed his hand once more.

This time, they arrived inside the clock. It looked much more complicated from here. Harry didn't know if this part was accessible by general public. He could not make heads or tails of the circular disks which were moving on their own accord somehow. And then there was the Bell. Harry hadn't seen that big of a bell, well…ever.

"Next stop?" Fleur asked and took his arm before he could answer.

"Buckingham Palace." Harry marveled.

Fleur kept this up for an hour before she finally stopped. They visited nearly everything London had for show. Museums, bridges, gardens and tall beautiful buildings which attracted tourists from all over the world. She would sometimes let Harry wander across and sometimes just a look would suffice. Fleur even made a return trip to Big Ben at Harry's request of hearing the Bell chime once. By the end of his impromptu tour of London though, Harry had a huge smile on his face.

"Thank you. I live here but I had never visited these places." he said.

"No problem. You got the feel?" she asked.

"What feel? Oh…yeah. I almost forgot. Yeah, I got it. I think."

Fleur smiled and sat down. They were currently in Hyde Park and Fleur looked a little tired. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. "Now 'arry. Sit down and listen to the theory."

Harry sat down near her and tried to concentrate on her voice rather than how cute she looked with her eyes closed and a soft smile playing on her lips. There was a little wind in the air as well that completed her looks by making her silvery hair flow in all the directions. She looked like an angel.

Merlin.

"-ly explain once because zis iz a crash course and we don't have time. Listen closely." she was saying when he finally started filtering her voice to his brain as well.

"Apparition iz simply the power of removing your existence from one plane and depositing it on another on a globe. Zis iz completely instinctual and can be perfected with practice. Just like riding a bike, once you do it, you do not forget. Ze more magically powerful you are, the more people you can carry wiz you. I can carry four. Your 'eadmaster probably eight."

Harry nodded though Fleur still had her eyes closed.

"Zere are three ways to Apparate. Easiest iz to think of ze place itself. Which means you must 'ave visited ze place at least once. Next is to know ze coordinates of ze place. This requires proper and intimate knowledge of Geography and iz not always accurate. But you don't need to have visited ze place beforehand. Last and most difficult iz to think of a person and apparate to him or her directly. This requires an intense emotional bond with ze person to work properly. Got it?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Hmm…now. Pick up a point in zis garden. Try to apparate ten meters ahead. Wake me up when you succeed."

And Fleur laid all the way down on the grass. "But…how?" asked Harry, thinking it shouldn't be that simple.

"Feel 'arry. Try to bring ze feeling to the front. Now go. You 'ave to learn eet tonight."

Harry dutifully nodded and went a little farther away than his starting point. He then concentrated and tried to bring the 'feeling' outside. He squinted at his initial point near Fleur and wished to be there with her. It was very difficult to concentrate at night.

He closed his eyes and imagined himself sitting near her. He tried to will himself on that spot beside her. He tried to bring forth his magic and just be there in a squeeze.

Nothing worked.

He concentrated and thought of how it felt when Fleur did it. The multi-sensations of expansion and contraction his body suffered from. Still nothing worked.

Fleur opened an eye and looked at him making faces in her direction with his eyes closed. She sighed and closed her eye back.

Harry continuously tried to apparate for two whole hours but nothing seemed to work. He was frustrated, agitated, and a whole lot angry at Fleur. She was sleeping there for God's sake. He finally marched towards her sullenly.

"It's not working, Fleur." he announced.

"Eet will. Give eet time." she said and turned on her side.

Harry wanted to cry again. It was much better than standing there like a loon.

He had lost his patience. "The Sun is about to rise Fleur. You said we have only tonight."

Fleur finally sat up and scowled at him, irritation marring her face. "Fine." she said with an angry huff.

She then advanced towards him angrily and Harry had no choice but to step backwards. She was scary when she made that particular face. Looked more like a Dark Angel as of that moment.

She finally reached him and grabbed his arm tightly. She had entirely too much strength for such a soft looking girl. "You will learn it tonight, 'arry Potter. Just in a few minutes."

And she twisted.

The first thing Harry realized was that there was no floor below him this time. The next thing he realized was that there was wind rushing through him in a vertical motion, unlike the horizontal motion in quidditch. Then, he realized that there seemed to be white clouds of vapour all around him. As he looked down, he finally realized that he was freely FALLING from sky.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…." The scream tore from his lungs as he fell towards certain death with the speed of a rocket.

Someone yanked at his arm and he remembered Fleur had gotten him in this position. And she was grinning at him. "APPARATE" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

And then she was gone.

"BBIIIITTTTTCHHHHHH" yelled Harry. "COME BACK AND SAVE ME."

But she wasn't anywhere to be seen now.

Harry continued screaming for some time as he felt his stomach float all the way up to his throat. Soon though, the feeling dispersed and he found himself lying face down on…wind. It felt as if he was lying on the floor…just not. The wind was still howling in his years, blowing him up from all directions. But suddenly, that feeling of weightlessness was gone and replaced with sheer euphoria. He felt like he was flying.

Just without a broom this time.

"Woooooooohoooooooooooo…" This time he screamed in pleasure. He was a bird gliding towards his destination. He extended his arms downwards in the position of a dive and felt a huge grin on his face.

Why couldn't he just live in space?

It was wonderful. Amazing. Stupendous. What he felt at that moment just couldn't be described in words. Harry knew this would be there all the way up with his best patronus memories.

It was difficult to breathe when you were being bombarded with air at such a velocity but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was exhilarating. There were no doubts here, no pain, no fear. It was so very loud, hearing the wind screaming back at you with such intensity as if it was a long lost friend.

It was magic. Better than magic.

Some things just aren't meant to last though. This became pretty clear to Harry when he remembered that he was still going downwards at a tremendous speed towards the suddenly clear ground which was getting bigger and bigger as seconds went by.

Fear returned.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. How do I stop? How do I stop? How do I stop?" he muttered as a mantra.

The ground was getting closer still.

"Apparate. Fleur had said. But How? It wasn't working before. Damn Fleur. What weren't you doing Harry? Try. Try. Try. Feel the feeling. Bring it forth. Yes. Yes. Like that. It should squeeze you. It isn't working damn it."

The ground was approaching faster.

"Merlin save me. FLEUR. IF I DIE…Oh gosh. I bloody never twisted."

Just as he was about to meet Death, Harry Potter finally twisted.

And fell back on the floor beside Fleur Delacour in Hyde Park.

"Ah. You did it 'arry. Congratulations." she said from her prone position.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?" He shouted at her as he took great gulps of air to satisfy his burning lungs.

Fleur did not answer and kept her eyes closed.

"I could have died! Were you trying to kill me? Were you trying to be merciful to spare me some horrific death in that bloody tournament? How could you have done that? Answer me."

"Do not question my methods 'arry. I told you beforehand." she finally said. "It was a crash course. And now you 'ave learnt Apparition."

"I am done with you. You will kill me faster than the tournament. Tata." He said, standing up.

"STOP." She too stood up and glared at him. "Don't come from tomorrow. I don't care. For today, you will do as I say or I will 'ex you so bad zat you would start thinking of the tournament as a mercy."

Harry glared at her. "Are you threatening me?"

"Yessss." she hissed.

"Fine." he said, gritting his teeth. "What do you want me to do? And don't show me your face from tomorrow."

Fleur snorted. "Az eef. Apparate as fast as you can towards all the buildings I 'ad shown you today. Do not wait for sight seeing. Sun 'as already risen. We 'ave to move fast."

Harry nodded tightly and twisted on his position, disappearing with a pop.

Fleur sighed and sat down to wait for the angry boy.

~X~X~X~X~

Harry apparated them both at the same point near the wards where they had disapparated from. They walked back towards the Whomping Willow in an uncomfortable silence.

As they neared the Beauxbatons carriage, he started to say something before Fleur cut him off. "Go and take some sleep. Meet me near the same tree after lunch."

Harry gaped at her. "I told you I won't be coming back."

Fleur smiled sweetly. "You will 'arry. If you want to live, you will. Now go."

Harry shook his head and turned towards the castle but stopped at a distance. Fleur was waiting for him in the same position, already knowing what he would ask. "What would have happened if I had failed to apparate in mid air? What would have been your response if my neck had snapped?"

Fleur suddenly laughed and Harry turned to look at her. "I take my responsibilities seriously 'arry Potter. If you 'ad fallen, you would 'ave bounced back as a ball and so on. I 'ad put an overpowered cushioning charm on you. Funny, no?"

Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to believe the meaning of Fleur's words.

She looked at his steadily. "Now go and rest 'arry. And bring your books wiz you after lunch. I am tired for now."

With that, she went inside the carriage and closed the door leaving Harry with his thoughts out in the open.

~X~X~X~X~

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