Lal's boredom was obvious, though she really couldn't help it. She had plans to keep the imposter from putting her name in the goblet this time around and outside of keeping Cedric or any other champion from dying she had no idea what to do with her year.
Honestly, she found school dead boring without the yearly adventures hanging over her head.
Out of her friends, only Luna seemed to notice the new addition around Lal's neck. Though she kept quiet about it, because she wanted to spring the fact she was wearing it at the perfect time.
For the first few months, all anyone could talk about was the tournament. It had gotten to the point Lal wore her headphones to drown it out.
Considering she knew exactly what was going to happen, she wanted nothing to do with it. And if anyone asked her if she wanted in, she would tell them the honest truth.
She was already famous for something she hated, she didn't need the thousand galleons, and so long as Hogwarts won who cared who the actual champion was?
Fortunately Sirius had been cleared to take up the role as her "magical/legal" guardian, and her "loving" family had been quick to sign the papers when Remus visited.
Which meant she might actually have a reason to enjoy the Christmas holiday for once.
Sirius had already gotten her a new Firebolt, mostly because he had noticed what an adrenaline junkie she was on a broom. At least Lal had mostly forgiven him for putting his revenge before his duties as her godfather.
Sighing, Lal patiently waited for the other schools to arrive. She just hoped she wouldn't be bored to tears by the end of the year.
At least Flitwick was keeping things interesting by having her study with the seventh year Ravenclaws. Being given a free pass to the Restricted Section...barring the genuinely dark books that should have been placed under far more restricted spells... was about the only thing keeping her from going insane from boredom.
And then...the big night arrived.
She just had no idea the massive shock she was about to get from it.
If there was one thing Colonello hated, it was the fact that he had been roped into acting as his cousin Fleur's chaperon for the duration of the Tri-Wizard tournament.
Sometimes it really, really sucked being a Veela.
At least he could mask his allure so that it didn't effect everyone around him, unlike Fleur.
It was an unspoken secret among the Veela Sisterhood that there were in fact male Veela born. Male Veela were somewhat different from their 'sisters', and treated with far more respect among the Sisterhood.
A male Veela was either born with the allure of a full-blooded Veela...or none at all. And if they did inherit the allure, it was guarateed they would be magically powerful and more than a match for any wizard.
However the reason males were treasured by the Sisterhood was for one simple fact.
They were responsible for tracking down and eliminating any of the Veela that went 'rogue' and started causing trouble using their allure to ensnare men to do their bidding. It didn't happen often as the blood thinned and more humanity was added into it, but every so often a bad seed would show up and give the wizards all the reason they needed to treat Veela collectively as 'beasts' or worse, as little more than sex slaves.
Male Veela were completely immune to the female's allure. And as they were Veela, they were naturally born with inhuman beauty that would attract the attention of a female.
Another interesting fact was that male Veela were able to instinctively use the animagus transformation, and more often than not took the form of predatory birds. Colonello could take the form of a peregrine falcon, to his delight.
Colonello sighed. It sucked he had gotten roped into babysitting Fleur because this stupid contest was taking place in England, which was openly known for it's intolerance to those with 'creature inheritance' like Veela.
Because he wanted to date a woman outside the Sisterhood who happened to be a muggle, he had to earn a lot of brownie points with the Matriarch of the branch he belonged to.
Muggle women were especially susceptible to the allure, and they didn't want to expose magic without making very, very sure that the girl in question wouldn't turn on them. Or worse, attack him for being something other than human.
Which lead to him being shipped off to a country he wasn't particularly fond of, with a cousin who was something of a bitch when she was around strangers. Sure, he knew it was a self-defense mechanism but it didn't make Fleur any easier to deal with.
"Wishing you were with your fierce angel, cousin?" teased Fleur.
Colonello blushed slightly.
"She really liked the necklace... I have the feeling no one's really taken the time to actually care about her before," said Colonello sheepishly.
"Perhaps one day I can meet this 'angel' of yours," said Fleur. She had never seen her favorite cousin so besotted before. It was rather adorable and the others enjoyed teasing him about it. "Why a ruby though?"
"She was born July 31st, I thought she would like having her birthstone around her neck."
"The same day as the Girl-Who-Lived, which makes it easier to remember I suppose. Too bad you never thought to get a picture of her."
Colonello snorted.
"Like I would be that stupid, cousin. The second any of you girls found out I had a picture of her, you would have sniffed her out and tried to find out whether she was worthy of me or not."
Fleur conceded that point. Males were highly prized and guarded even more closely than the women were because of their duty. If he had taken a picture the older Veela would have tracked the girl down to find out her intentions for him. Never mind picked apart the poor thing's appearance with critical detail, as well as her background.
As the carraige began to descend, Colonello sighed tiredly.
He was not looking forward to fending off the horny English morons from his cousin. Especially the pure bloods who would treat her as a lesser being because she was part Veela.
He stuck close to Madam Maxime, since his age restricted him from actually participating in the contest. Not that he really cared about this whole nonsense.
It was weird though...he would swear he heard his angel's voice a bit farther down the table of the blue and bronze guys.
Which was impossible, because Lilac was a muggle. Why would she attend a non-magical summer camp all the way in France if she was a Hogwarts student?
Colonello was being driven crazy. He was sure he heard Lilac's voice, but he could never pinpoint where it was coming from. Fleur was starting to get worried about him.
He was heading to the courtyard, with Fleur next to him when he heard it again. Except this time it was close enough that he could figure out where it was coming from.
"You know you never did say where you got that necklace," said a blond dreamily.
"Necklace? Since when do you even care for jewelry?" said another girl baffled.
The raven-haired one, who's back was to him, spoke up. His heart skipped a beat, because there was no way it was...
"A certain blond idiot, who shall remain nameless, gave it to me. He said it was a promise he'd come find me after he graduated no matter how long it took," said the raven-haired girl.
"Sounds like someone has a crush," sing-songed the blond.
"Shut up! Besides, why would I date any of these losers here when they're all such children who merely parrot back what their parents, or worse, Dumbledore tells them? Hardly anyone in this school even bothers to properly think for themselves, and those that do are punished or beaten down until they fall under peer pressure!" said the raven-haired girl. "Not a single one of the boys here would ever qualify for what I consider boyfriend material."
"What about the other schools?" asked the brunette.
"Please, what are the odds of finding someone I could ever actually tolerate and not want to hex within a week?" scoffed the raven-haired girl.
"You never know...love might be closer than you think," said the blond impishly.
Colonello nearly had a heart attack when the blond looked right at him. Still he had heard enough to believe that the raven-haired girl was his Lilac. Especially after that comment about the necklace.
To the bewildered shock of his cousin, Colonello grinned. He walked right up to the raven haired girl and scooped her up in a princess carry.
The girl sputtered in shock, and her mind reacted before she realized properly who was holding her.
"Cole, you ass! Put me down this instant or I swear to god I will hex you until your balls fall off!" she shouted in Italian. Then her brain caught up to who was holding her, as complete shock filled her features. "Cole? What are you doing here?"
Colonello laughed.
"I did say I'd come and find you... I just never expected it to be so soon!"
"Put me down you idiot!" she snapped.
"Nope. A princess needs to be swept off her feet, otherwise who knows who will snatch her up!"
She pinched his cheek, hard, but he still didn't put her down.
"I swear to god if you think of dropping me in the lake again I will find a way to make your life hell."
"Oh come on, you know you had fun!"
"This is Scotland, and the Black Lake is filled with mountain run-off! Besides, I refuse to give the Durmstrang boys a show, which will happen if I get water logged, you ass!"
"...Is anyone else confused?" asked the brunette.
Fleur, however, took one look at the necklace around the girl's neck and her mouth dropped.
"No way...this is the 'fierce angel' you kept going on and on about?" said Fleur.
Colonello laughed.
"Lilac, do you want me to get a teacher?"
"I'm fine Hermione. While Cole is an idiot, he wouldn't actually do anything inappropriate. He knows I would make it known in spades via a very long session of me kicking him in the balls if he tried," said Lilac annoyed.
"Colonello, put her down. You're making an embarassment of yourself," said Fleur, once she got her wits about her.
She didn't notice the widening of Lal's eyes when she said that name. There was no way this was actually...
Colonello reluctantly put her down, but he still had that stupid grin on his face.
To say he got an earful from Madame Maxime for his behavior was putting it very mildly.
Throughout the lecture, Colonello was still grinning unrepentant.
Then again, who could blame him? Most of the worries he had about dating the girl he had fallen for had died with the newfound knowledge she was a witch, and thus already knew about magic. Now the only question was how she would take the fact he was considered a 'full' Veela, complete with allure.
He had the distinct impression she wouldn't care one bit... considering her 'uncle' that had come to pick her up was a werewolf anyway.
Colonello knew the signs, and that Remus guy had given him enough of them for him to peg the man as a werewolf. He couldn't tell if the guy was a magical one or not, but it made little difference when they transformed all the same in the end anyway. If she could handle having a werewolf for an uncle, odds were she wouldn't give a damn about having a Veela for a boyfriend.
Lal POV
Oh gods...Cole was actually Colonello, the idiot student she had loved, but was too cowardly to admit it.
Fate was either being a bigger bitch than usual, or something was finally going her way for once.
She never saw the fact he was a full Veela coming though. Not in a million years.
Oh well, things like that had never concerned her in the slightest. So what if Colonello wasn't entirely human? She had gotten along with Fleur the last time, Gabrielle had been like a little sister to her, and she still cared for Remus, who was a werewolf.
On the plus side, she didn't have to worry about his feelings towards magic since he had it himself.
She lightly touched the necklace he gave her, and blushed.
He had said that he would find her...and now he had fulfilled that promise, although it was far sooner than either of them had ever anticipated. She didn't mind though...maybe this way she could avoid being bothered by the arrogant pure bloods who wanted to get into her pants once it became known she already had a boyfriend.
If there was one thing faster than spells in Hogwarts, it was the rumor mill. Two days after Colonello found out his beloved 'angel' was in Hogwarts and made his presence known, everyone knew that Lilac Potter had an Italian boyfriend.
A very handsome, charming boyfriend who seemed to draw out the vulnerable side of a girl everyone knew to be a total hard ass.
All the Hogwarts students who had regular contact with Lilac had to do doubletakes, repeatedly, seeing her act like a normal girl. And it wasn't just the students who were concerned.
Upon learning Colonello was a 'full' Veela, Flitwick took Madame Maxime aside and asked for her assurances the older boy wasn't using his allure on his favorite student.
They had no idea the chaos that would spawn when Colonello actually let some of his allure slip, just to prove a point.