Author's Note: So this chapter didn't take nearly as long to write as I originally anticipated. Once I started writing everything just flowed and I was halfway through before I realized it. In fact this chapter was originally supposed to be longer but I decided to end it where I did instead of drawing it out. Before we get onto the chapter though I have a review to respond to. A guest asked if Harry has been made "Heir Black" yet and I can only assume they're talking about "Heir Black" the way it's normally portrayed in fanfiction. As I said at the beginning of the story, I'm going to try to stick close to canon and in the book Harry being named as Sirius' heir simply meant that he inherited Grimmauld Place and got more money added to his vault. There was nothing overly special about it and it'll be the same in this story. Harry won't suddenly have an overabundance of influence and political power or anything like that. So with that out of the way, onto the story.


Tonight We Ride

Hermione and Ron had already left the Great Hall, leaving Harry leaning against a wall in the corridor as he waited for Fleur. There was no trace of their duel in the Hall but Harry had been thinking about it ever since. Not because of the duel itself but rather because of the events that happened after it was over. He had enjoyed the little time he spent with Fleur and her friends but her request to learn the spell he had used caught him by surprise, not least of which was because of the deliberate flirting she had done. Up until that point he had thought of Fleur as another friend, not believing that someone like her could see him as anything more, but after that he couldn't be sure any more. At face value it seemed rather obvious that she may want more than friendship but Harry couldn't be sure if she actually did or if that was just her personality. While it was true that they had been exchanging letters ever since meeting at the World Cup it wasn't exactly feasible to learn someone's nature through letters.

Having Fleur interested in him was by no means the worst thing that could ever happen to him but Harry couldn't bring himself to believe it. Not that he didn't think any girl could be interested in him (he was fairly certain that Ginny Weasley had been interested in him since her first vear and Hermione had told him of some of the things the other girls were whispering in the bathrooms this year), he just couldn't see someone like Fleur wanting to be with him. Not only was she three years older than him, she lived in a different country. Any relationship they might form during the school year would be difficult to maintain when she returned home, not to mention them being at different points in their lives; him being at school would undoubtedly cause them problems. The Boy-Who-Lived was sure that that alone would be more than enough for her to not want anything more than a friendship with him, which he had to admit was a logical decision even if he was somewhat disheartened by it. Lost as he was in his thoughts, Harry almost didn't see Fleur come out of the Hall until she was nearly right in front of him, obvious anger written all over her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, clearly concerned for her. She huffed and glared at him for an instant, her features softened when she realized what she was doing.

"Zat blonde boy from earlier approached me again as I tried to leave ze 'All," she explained, causing Harry to frown. He knew that Malfoy didn't like to be made a fool of but it was unusual for him to push this much in a single day. The only reason he could think of for the other boy's behavior was that he was genuinely trying to win Fleur's affection, though judging by her current state he was still going about it the wrong way. A surge of jealousy rushed through the young Gryffindor but he quickly squashed it down, reasoning that Fleur could do what she wanted and it wasn't his place to have those kinds of feelings for her.

"'E got upset again when I turned 'im down but your Deputy 'Eadmistress handled it." Harry nodded, not really knowing what to say. He knew that Fleur was more than capable of handling her own problems but he also didn't want her to have to deal with Malfoy and resolved that if things escalated he would be sure to step in. "Anyway I don't want to zink about zat any more right now," the young woman continued, a dazzling smile appearing on her face as she faced Harry proper. "I am 'ere to spend time wiz you and zat is what I want to focus on. Shall we go?"

"Yeah there's an empty room we can use on the third floor. I think it used to be used for Muggle Studies but that's not important, the point is there's plenty of room for us to work on the spell. I wasn't sure how late we'd be so I brought a couple things to help us out if it's after curfew." To prove his point he pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag just enough for her to see it.

"Is zat an Invisibility Cloak?" the young woman exclaimed, though fortunately no one was around to hear her.

"Not so loud!" Harry hissed, resisting the urge to cover her mouth with his hand. "Yes it is. I use it whenever I have to be out after curfew."

"So you are a breaker of ze rules," Fleur purred in his ear.

"You could say that."

"Good, I like a man 'oo is a bit of a bad boy." This time Harry couldn't suppress the shudder that ran throughout his body from her flirting, though he still refused to believe that she saw him as anything more than a friend. Truthfully a part of him could accept that she had feelings for him (due more to her brazen attitude than anything else) but another, much bigger, part of him didn't want to presume anything and risk being hurt if he was wrong. Deciding it was best to change the subject, the two spent the rest of their admittedly short walk discussing their duel.

"Are you sure we are allowed to be in 'ere 'Arry?" Fleur asked when they walked into the empty room.

"No idea," Harry responded, locking the door with a tap of his wand and turning to her. "Probably not but as long as we don't make a lot of noise and draw attention to ourselves no one should bother us. And if they do that's what the cloak is for."

"So tell me more about zis spell."

"Basically you use your magic to push yourself about three meters forward."

"I meant ze incantation and wand movement," Fleur replied.

"Er, there isn't really a wand movement. I just lean into the direction I wanna go." Fleur rolled her eyes, wondering how Harry and Sirius came up with the spell if they didn't have a wand movement for it.

"What about ze incantation?"

"There's not really an incantation either. When I first started using it I thought the word 'juncurius' but I don't know if that's even necessary."

"So then 'ow am I supposed to learn ze spell eef zere eez no wand movement or incantation?!" Harry couldn't help but think how cute her accent was when she was frustrated but he knew the most important thing at the moment was to placate her.

"It's really not as complicated as you think it is Fleur. Just think of your magic shoving you forward and will it to happen. It literally feels like someone is pushing you as hard as they can." Taking his advice, the young woman leaned forward and nothing happened. She tried again and again only to remain in the same spot every time, her frustration growing with each failed attempt.

"Zere eez somezing zat you are doing zat I am not," she announced after her tenth try, striving to keep the irritation from her voice. She knew that Harry wasn't intentionally keeping anything from her and was determined not to snap at him, but it was aggravating nonetheless.

"I don't know what it could be. At this point I don't think about what I'm doing, I just do it and know that it'll work. Why don't you watch me a few times and see if you can figure it out." At Fleur's nod of agreement, the young man leaned forward and appeared across the classroom before appearing right back where he had originally been standing. He was about to do it again but the other occupant of the room stopped him.

"You swipe your wand down to your 'ip like a sword as you lean forward with ze tip of it pointing behind you. It is almost like your magic is pushing against a wall, which is what pushes you forward so 'ard." All of her frustration seemed to vanish when she realized what she was doing wrong and she tried again, this time successful in her attempt. "I zink I might know 'ow to go in ozzer directions now. Since it seems like your magic is pushing in the direction of ze wand it should be as simple as pointing in a different direction." She tried to test out her theory but didn't go anywhere at first, succeeding on the second try when she leaned forward at an angle. Unfortunately, while her theory was correct, she misjudged how far away Harry was and instead of coming to a stop directly in front of him like she wanted, she stopped almost right on top of him, resulting in him being knocked to the ground and her falling on top of him when she lost her balance. Her immediate reaction was to apologize and get off of him but the words caught in her mouth and her body froze when she found herself lost in his eyes.

"You are letting your 'air grow out," she said instead, never breaking eye contact.

"Sirius' idea. He said the extra weight would keep it from being so messy."

"I razzer like ze messy look." Harry closed his eyes in content as she started running her fingers through his hair.

"If you had to look at it every day for fourteen years you might feel different."

"I would not mind zat." The words left her mouth before she could stop them, causing Harry's eyes to snap back open and both teens to turn red at the implication. Without another word, the young woman separated herself from the younger teen and stood up, holding out her hand to help pull him to his feet as well. Neither said anything at first, both choosing to merely stand there awkwardly while avoiding the other's gaze.

"I zink zat ze leaning in your chosen direction is part of ze movement for ze spell," Fleur said softly after nearly an entire minute of silence. "It is similar to pushing off ze ground when you fly. But I zink zat it is possible to go any direction you want by leaning into zat direction and pointing your wand in ze opposite direction." Harry nodded his understanding and tried it, leaning back while pointing his wand in front of him. At first he felt like he was going to fall but he was astonished to suddenly find himself further away from his companion than he had been a second ago.

They spent over an hour practicing the spell now that Fleur had figured out the solution to one of their problems until it was second nature to them. Harry wasn't satisfied until he could seamlessly dash again as soon as he came to a stop, seeming to never actually stop moving. It gave him the same giddy feeling that he got from flying and Fleur couldn't help but smile as his laughter rang out around the room. When they were finally satisfied that they could do the spell without having to devote so much as an inkling of a thought to it, they started working on the other issue. Try as they might though they couldn't figure out how to control how far they traveled. Unlike before, Fleur had nothing she could go by to try to pinpoint the root of the issue so they spent nearly another hour trying in vain to fix the problem, only to end up frustrated and dismayed.

"It's probably best to call it a night," Harry announced, looking at his watch. "It's past ten so that means that curfew was over an hour ago. I'm not sure if you'll get in trouble like I will but I wanna help get you back to the carriage without incident." He pulled out the Marauder's Map and activated it to show Filch and Mrs. Norris at the end of the corridor. After a few moments the two left and Harry used the opportunity to throw the Invisibility Cloak over him and Fleur and leave the room before anyone else showed up.

The trip to the Beauxbatons carriage was strange, at least that was Harry's definition for it. While he kept his eye on the map in his hands, trying to ensure they didn't run into anyone who could cause them problems, Fleur seemed more interested in their close proximity to each other. She had to stifle her giggling as she pressed herself up against him, doing her best to distract him only for him to swat at her and continue to concentrate on the map. It was humorous to her that he was treating a nighttime excursion like a heist, though she could understand that he would be in more trouble if they were caught. She would only get a talking-to from Madame Maxine but he would likely get detention at the very least, so she didn't try to disturb as much as she normally would, her actions limited to short, light contact. She had to admit though, it was cute watching him attempt to keep his concentration.

The Boy-Who-Lived breathed a sigh of relief when they finally made it out of the castle and onto the grounds, knowing that as long as they kept the cloak on they most likely wouldn't be caught at this point. This meant that he was now free to enjoy Fleur's antics, or would be if she hadn't stopped though he wasn't entirely sure why. Even with the absence of her touches and pressing against him, Harry enjoyed the short trek, almost feeling like it was an afternoon walk through the grounds. Hopefully he would get the chance to actually do so some time, though he still was unsure of the girl's feelings for him. He knew for certain what his feelings for her were though, despite every rational part of his body telling him to not feel that way.

"Zank you for teaching me your spell tonight 'Arry," Fleur told him when they reached the carriage. "I 'ad a wonderful night. Maybe next time we can figure out ze problem wiz ze distance." Before Harry could respond, the older Witch leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, smiling as he turned red and touched the spot on his cheek where her lips had been. "Goodnight 'Arry," she continued, slipping into the carriage without waiting for a response.

Harry had no idea how long he stood there like a statue but he finally snapped out of his stupor when he noticed the air seemed to get colder. He began making his way back to Gryffindor Tower as if in a daze, not paying any attention to the map and only noticing the cloak was still on because he could feel it. He dodged Peeves by nothing more than dumb luck and only noticed he was standing outside of the common room when he saw the portrait of the Fat Lady. After what just happened he just couldn't think straight but he did have the wherewithal to take off the cloak and give the password. All signs were pointing to the French Witch having feelings for him but he still refused to outright believe it, though his resolve was starting to wear thin.

"Hey you're finally back mate," Ron greeted when Harry clambered through the portrait, still looking unsure of himself. He and Hermione were just a few of the students who were still in the common room, the rest having retired to their dorm room. "We expected you sooner. Everything alright?" Harry plopped down into one of the armchairs with little more than a shrug for an answer.

"Harry what is it?" Hermione asked, putting aside her book with a concerned look on her face. She had instantly picked up on something being off with her friend as soon as he had walked in but brushed it off at first, believing it was because of him and Fleur working on the spell all night. She had wanted to join them naturally but realized that she had absolutely no experience with creating spells and thus would probably be more of a hindrance than a help. Now seeing the state of shock he was, she desperately wished that she had insisted on joining them, despite Fleur obviously wanting to be alone with Harry. At first the young woman thought the request was innocent enough but now she wasn't so sure.

"I think Fleur likes me," Harry managed to blurt out, causing both Ron and Hermione to look at each in surprise, neither clearly expecting that answer. "She was flirting with me most of the time we were together and she kissed me before she went back into the carriage. It was only on the cheek but still."

"I'm not sure that means a lot," Hermione carefully responded, not wanting to hurt her best friend's feelings. "Fleur seems like a very flirtatious girl and a kiss on the cheek isn't exactly uncommon between friends, especially in France."

"I thought that too at first but it wasn't just her flirting, it was the way she was if that makes sense." To prove his point, Harry launched into an explanation of how the older teen had acted the entire night, causing his two friends to relent that he may indeed be correct in his presumption. "I just don't understand why she likes me of all people. Anything we might have would be doomed from the start. Right?" Hermione looked at Ron who shrugged and gave Harry a sympathetic smile, not willing to tell him that if Fleur truly liked him nothing would stand in her way.


Fleur was laid on her back in her bed, a pillow held to her mouth as she squealed into it in happiness. She usually wasn't as brazen with her flirting, choosing to let the guy approach her, but Harry was a special case. Despite trying to hide it, she was quite certain that Harry had feelings for her, he just needed a push to make the first move. She was sure that she was the first girl he had feelings for, which was rather sweet and made it even more understandable that he was having difficulties making the first move. A sudden knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts but she didn't get up from the bed, not that it deterred the person on the other side.

"Are you alright Fleur?" her best friend Aimee asked in French. "I can hear you squealing in my room." While not quite as impressive as it sounded (the girls' rooms were right next to each other and the walls were rather thin), the point she was making was still obvious. The young woman's immediate response, instead of verbally replying, was to look at her friend before burying her face back into the pillow and squealing some more.

"I like him Aimee, I really like him." The other girl didn't need to be told who Fleur was talking about, though she still looked skeptical.

"I seem to recall you saying that before and it didn't end well for you."

"This is different though." Fleur told her friend how she had acted towards Harry and his reaction, or lack thereof for the most part.

"This is wonderful!" Aimee exclaimed, now sitting on the bed as well. "But he's only fourteen. He still has three years of school left after this year and do you really think this will be something serious to him? The same way it will be serious to you? I'm not trying to bring you down, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"'Arry may only be fourteen physically but he's so much more emotionally and mentally mature. Yes he still does need to mature in some areas." Aimee gave her friend a pointed look. "Not that! I've never even seen it Aimee! I just mean that there are some parts of him that do need to grow up but that's to be expected and I would be remiss to throw this away just because of a few flaws. And if this does actually work out then we can worry about what's going to happen after I leave school."

While Aimee still wasn't entirely convinced, believing that Fleur's excitement was possibly clouding her judgment, she decided against voicing her concerns anymore and settled for nodding in understanding. And she did understand, even if she was unsure if Fleur should pursue this. They had been friends even before Beauxbatons and she had seen everything the other girl had been through. She watched all the heartache and pain that her friend had to endure and saw it turn her into someone who vowed not to let anyone in like that again, swallowing her emotions instead of risking being used yet again. If she thought that she could be happy with Harry, then who was Aimee to try to deny her friend the happiness she finally deserved. She would need to have her own talk with Harry though, just to be sure that he was indeed everything Fleur said he was.


Author's Note: I wanna clarify a couple things about Fleur and Harry and the way they're acting. For starters, Fleur will not be some boy-crazy, love-struck, puppy. She's still rather stoic and mature but she's also a seventeen-year-old girl who is excited. For the first time in her life she likes someone who genuinely likes her back for who she is instead of what she is so, for right now at least, her maturity kind of takes a backseat to her emotions. Harry on the other hand is wrestling with the idea that someone who he believes to be out of his league could actually like him. I know that guys especially know what I'm talking about when I say this. His instincts tell him that Fleur does indeed like him but his logical side is telling him that there's no way someone like her could feel that way so he's doing everything to convince himself that she doesn't, that it's too good to be true. One of the things I'm really trying to focus on with this is their emotions and how that affects them so I want things to be believable. This will be a rather slow burn relationship between the two of them and they will be in the "talking" stage for a while but there is a reason for it.

Now I also have some slightly bad news. One of the reasons I ended this chapter where I did is because I want to add a couple of chapters before the champions are decided and I'm not entirely sure what they should be. In canon Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived the day before the Goblet of Fire was revealed which was the end of October however, since I wanted Harry and Fleur to have more time together I moved the other schools' arrival up by a month. Since I did that for a reason I feel like I should actually show some of their interactions during that month but I don't want that to be the only thing shown. There's more to this story than just romance so I don't every chapter, or even an entire chapter, to be focused on fluff. I have some ideas, for example I do wanna show a DADA class with Moody, but right now it's just bits and pieces. I plan to do what I did with this chapter and just start writing with a general idea of what I want to accomplish and go from there. Hopefully it'll work out the same but I'm not gonna try to force anything like I originally did with the last chapter. So it may take a little longer for the next chapter to come out but I promise that I'll be working on it and post it as soon as it's finished.