3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not in any way or form own anything in the Harry Potter universe aside from my original characters and plot.

**Chapter 2:**

The halls of the castle were always pleasantly warm.

She had to admit that the halls were less pleasant and secure to walk now that the Slytherins knew she was no longer residing in their House, though it would probably be a few days till they were completely sure. She doubted any of the Slytherin actually meant her any harm, and she was pretty confident she could handle anything they could throw at her, however there were always an idiot or two that had to try, which meant she would have to be extra wary, more so than being a Slytherin warranted.

The Slytherins had of course not revealed this little fact yet, as odds were that they would be saving it for blackmail. Most of those halfwits should be capable of coming up with such a plan, and despite her ally, it wouldn't take long for them to run over her protest and take it to the next level. If they tried to use it as blackmail they would be in for a big surprise though, as they would not only gain nothing from it, but also action they took against he would equal to taking it against her Harry, and despite his current lack of influence within the school halls, he would probably would not let such a thing lie idle.

Truth be told, Daphne couldn't be more pleased with how things had turned out. However she was rather puzzled with her behavior towards him, and while she had indeed meant to entice him, she had instead found herself the one wrapped around _finger_. The loss of restraint had been acute, but it had merely felt as an extension of her own wants, and to a point still did. Despite her unease at her own loss of control, the fact was that everything had overall happened as she expected, and now things were out of her hands.

That she would go to the end of the earth and back, walk through fire and even die for his sake didn't feel weird at all. She assumed her magic was changing her, to be able to better fulfill her Unbreakable Vow. She had come across the vow she had pledged by a long time ago, and it had originally been used to pledge a slave to a master, and the only real information she had discovered was that it would abolish any link between her and her family, which was more than she could say for any other she knew of. That the text didn't mention the side-effects were a minor nuisance, but a nuisance nonetheless. However, even though she knew she was changing she didn't care. Looking out for Harry's best had quickly become her main priority, and these changes would just make it easier for her to do so.

Harry… Her Master, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to think of him so, knew so many secret things about this school. The most amazing yet had to be the Room of Requirement. Amazing was the only word capable of describing it. It delivered what its name promised; anything she had required, though she hadn't had much time to explore at her discretion.

However grudgingly, she had to admit that it would only work temporarily as a place to stay, because someone would sooner or later happen upon this room as it was readily accessible by anyone who could find it.

So spending time to find more permanent rooms was becoming rather high on her immediate list of necessities. Perhaps she would even have to contact this house elf 'Dobby' which had been mentioned, as he might be useful. She could always obliviate him afterwards so that the location would remain secret. It was better if only the strictly necessary people knew of it.

With purposeful strides she walked down the halls towards the Transfiguration classroom. To complete the assignment from her Master she would need McGonagall's help. Although the request seemed odd, she felt not the slightest inclination to disobey, another detour from her usual self.

She enjoyed the fruits that her reputation rewarded her. People might glare at her, but they would usually not try to do anything more. She had proven what would happen to anyone who attempted to harm her, and most of the time everyone walked on eggshells around her.

It felt as wonderful as ever to think about it, so at least the Vow had not changed her completely.

Several students got out of her way, Gryffindor and Slytherin alike, as she walked into the classroom. She took a seat at the front of the class as per usual and ignored the others except to send frosty stares when they got too noisy, which said students summarily attempted to ignore. A couple of minutes later McGonagall walked into the classroom, and everyone instantly quieted down. She was known as a strict professor, and when she was present all unwelcome noise resulted in loss of house points, equally for all houses.

That was not to say that she didn't play favorites, with the Gryffindors to be exact, which mostly showed in the amount of attention she paid to certain houses during class hours. But Daphne was quite certain she would not rebut her when approached her later. So with that in hand, she would need to find ways to keep tabs on Diggory and Krum. She had a contact, albeit a reluctant one, in Hufflepuff that would be able to give her sufficient running updates about the progress of the 'Puff Champion.

The Bulgarian however would prove a bit more difficult. She was reasonably certain that their ship was well-warded, protected with various spells and nasty surprises. She could of course just disregard this and try to sneak in despite that. But that would just be stupid and unbecoming.

No, the only possible way to do it, and still do it her way, was to get a mole on the inside, and that could also yield unexpected rewards later on. That route, though, also had its own set of pitfalls. The process of luring one of the Bulgarians away from their tightly packed groups would most likely be long and arduous, but still doable.

The means of turning that person into a mole would be a problem as well, as she doubted she could bribe them and she would not be able to dig up any blackmail material in such short time. She didn't want to risk some of the less practiced spells in her repertoire that might obtain the results, but that would too easy to discover if it failed. The best way would probably be to simply place a set of memories in that persons mind, along with a compulsion charm so the person in question would send running comments on Krum's progress. However, as she had never done such a thing before, she was fairly certain that it would be a slow and dreary task, though she was confident it could be done.

The only question was who.

It would obviously have to be someone close to him, someone who would be privy to his progress in the tournament, but not someone close enough to be discovered to be under the influence of any sort of manipulation. This particular matter would take a fair bit of time and consideration, as she would have to research the all the members of the Bulgarian group. Besides, she had been allowed her to use any means she deemed necessary, and she believed that to obey the order she would probably have to use underhanded means, which meant that she would have to capture a Bulgarian and interrogate him.

Luckily for her, she was by now quite an expert at the Obliviation spell, so simply erasing the memory of her interrogation and whatever 'for fun' torment she also included that person should be quite easy. He might be a bit twitchy for a few days, but since he was a school student she didn't expect him to put up to great a fight; after all, many of her spells were out of the league of practically all normal students.

However, she was not a normal student. She had been bred to ambition, learned to manipulate and distance herself from others while learning how to walk.

"Listen up", the prim tone of the vice-headmistress drew her out of her thoughts. She would set the matter aside temporarily, but she would need to compile a list of people. McGonagall waved her hand at a bunch of stools in the corner of the room. "Today we will continue on working with transforming these footstools into mice. Please approach in an orderly fashion and get one each".

People massed up there, despite the warnings of the Transfiguration professor, and everyone was quickly set with a footstool each. She deliberately strolled up last to get her footstool, and passed Granger and that Weasley kid. The muggleborn was once again busy admonishing her companion about something or other. It wasn't as if it a new event, nor even remotely unfamiliar, actually it happened almost too often. During the years she had learned to tune them out, but for some reason she didn't seem to be able to do so today, and every word of the bushy-haired girl seemed to grate on her nerves, and the whiny voice of the ginger kid didn't do any better. It required a tremendous effort to simply just ignore them and move on.

Back in her seat she was staring at the footstool in front of her, with definite annoyance. Truth be told, she had already cast this spell before, and normally she would hold back, but today she had another spell to learn, one potentially much more difficult, so she should approach the professor as soon as possible.

She pointed her wand at the stool in front of her, and quickly jerked her hand left and the straight up while saying the incantation clearly. "Scamnum Mus".

As expected the footstool turned into a mouse, which proceeded to skitter about on her table.

McGonagall's voice again resounded in the classroom. "Ah, very good Miss Greengrass, fifteen points to Slytherin for excellent performance", she said, and Daphne was a bit surprised at the hint of a smile at the edge of older woman's mouth. In return she just inclined her head in acceptance, while inwardly she was grinning to herself. This was sure to get on that muggleborns nerves, and sure enough, as she turned around to look around the class, no one had managed to successfully transform their object yet. Granger was just staring at her in disbelief, though when she noticed Daphne looking at her she quickly averted her eyes, with an angry blush on her face. It seemed she had not forgotten the conversation they had a few days ago.

Good, because she was going to enjoy taunting and provoking her for as long as possible. When she, during one of their talks, had asked about his friends, he had bluntly and without remorse said that he was cutting ties with them. This surely meant he would have no problems with her making a sport out of taunting Granger and that Weasel. Though honestly, in his case it would probably have to be outright insults for him to pick up on it. Granger, however, should be smart enough to figure out her veiled insults, or else she had seriously misjudged the girl.

She smirked at the flustered Granger, and was inwardly a bit saddened that she had to put it on hold for now, but she had more important matters to tend to right now. It would probably prove to be a fun hobby though.

As the class started working on their footstools again, she slid out of her seat and walked to the front of the class, and faced McGonagall. She deliberately kept her voice low, though not suspiciously so, so as not to draw unwanted attention.

"Excuse me professor", she said politely, drawing the attention of said person, drawing the attention of McGonagall.

"What can I do for you Miss Greengrass?", was the prim reply, the eyes hard and boring into hers.

"I was wondering if you could help me, it is regarding a transfiguration spell I am looking for", she answered politely while still attempting to retain her aloof manner. It would not do make an enemy out of her, McGonagall could easily make the remainder of her time here at Hogwarts dreadful, but backing down wasn't an option either.

McGonagall seemed to consider her for a moment. "Might I enquire as to what spell this might be about?"

"You certainly may", she said. "Last year you showed us a spell to conjure up various musical instruments, and told us about how some people used a variant of it transfigure multiple things into an orchestra so they could hear life-like music in their own home. As I already know several senior students know it, and I was wondering if you would teach it to me."

All she could do now was to wait and hope for the best, or else she would actually have to go to one of those senior students, and she would rather not have to resort to that.

As she waited for McGonagall to study her, she got the distinct feeling of being weighed, and she found that feeling uncomfortable. It infuriated her that she anyone even indirectly implied that she might not be adequate. However, she quickly calmed herself down again, and no emotions showed on her face at all. The professor had done nothing to even hint at having such a disposal, and granted, McGonagall choosing to mull this over was not in the least unusual, what with her normally keeping her knowledge and capabilities hidden, and normally only show the skills needed to be at the top of the mediocrity in any class.

McGonagall seemed to have reached a decision, as she gave a tiny nod mostly to herself. "Yes Miss Greengrass I know of the spell you are talking about, and you might understand why I am hesitating to teach it to you, when normally only seventh years are assumed to have the skill and finesse necessary to learn such a spell, and even then it is not a spell on the normal Transfiguration curriculum."

Daphne refrained from saying anything as she could feel a 'but' coming up.

"But, I see no reason not to allow you to try your hands at this. As you are actually trying to transfigure objects within the harmless branch of Transfiguration magic it should be safe enough", McGonagall rose and gestured for her to follow her. The eyes of a few students were locked onto the two of them, or probably mostly her, as she followed the professor. Most notable were that of Granger, who looked outright confused, while Professor McGonagall walked to the side of the classroom to a door leading to an adjoining room.

"This room is normally used for large scale transfiguration such as the one you are insisting on attempting", she explained as she swept into the, until now, unexplored classroom. Daphne nodded curtly in understanding, as she followed her in and instantly realized why this room was used exactly for that.

This room was like being outside, on a barren rocky patch of land, and the place stretched as far as the eye could see. She suspected that it was an optical illusion, just like the roof of the Great Hall, which it appeared had also been applied to this room. The reason the room was perfect for large scale transfiguration was because of all the rocks scattered across the place, all differed from small pebbles to large boulders, and though not the easiest matter to transform, it was also not the most difficult, and therefore provided with better training possibilities, as well as making it actually easier to progress.

She was more than confident that she could manage the spell without too much trouble. She already knew that large scale spells, as opposed to focused spells, needed more focus, and she had no real problem in that department.

She turned to regard the professor, who in turn was also regarding her.

"Before I begin I would like you to know, that while single transfiguration might seem easy, large scale spells are significantly more difficult. The missing link between a spell such as this and the one with a single focus you have been taught, is concentration. School students such as you by default are not considered able to muster enough concentration to actually perform such spell. That is why we usually wait with teaching spells that effects multiple targets till the final year, most students are only able concentrate to that extent at that point, and still then some are not able, so it is not part of the curriculum."

"I understand, but I still wish to attempt", Daphne replied politely, she would have to learn it; it was an order after all.

"Very well Miss Greengrass, since you seem to be so insistent on learning this, I see no reason not to allow it, as it is a harmless spell. But you should know that this is the only time I will be able to teach it to you, so I expect you to pay attention as I demonstrate it."

"Thank you ma'am", she said dutifully. She was after all expected to be a respectful good girl. "I'm very grateful."

"Good now watch closely", the strict professor said and pulled out her own wand. "The movements are simple and you should easily get the hang of it. They are like this", she said and swirled her wand counter-clockwise and jabbed upwards. "The incantation is 'Multimodus Organum Converto', now watch me do the spell."

McGonagall turned away from her and faced the bare plain littered with rocks. She did the wands movements and muttered the spell and the rocks in front of her transformed into a dozen various instruments.

Daphne couldn't help but be impressed, though she also knew that the elderly woman in front of her had had many decades to perfect her skills, but skill was to be reognized.

"Remember the way to properly employ this spell is concentration and also keep a firm image of the instruments you want conjured in your mind", she said and walked towards the door they had entered. It was standing out in the middle of nowhere. Strange how she hadn't noticed it before.

"That reminds me", the professor said and turned around again. "I had planned several lessons for the spell the rest of the class is learning now. Since you already seem to be able to cast it without any problem I see no problem if you spend your time in here working on this spell, or help out your housemates."

If Daphne had been more naive, she might have thought the elderly woman was trying to be friendly with her, but she knew that she wanted her out of her hair. She figured it was because she suspected she was holding back, and her performance today didn't exactly alleviate the problem or maybe it was because she was so unlike other students, more cool and detached. Truth be told, she couldn't call up the will to care, as she truly didn't care for the woman.

"Thank you professor", she said. "For both the time and a place to work as well. I am sure it will prove to be important."

The prim woman gave a curt nod and exited the room, leaving her alone with in the seemingly never ending plains. It was a pleasantly quiet place and she was sure she would enjoy it here, if she would have needed more time to learn this spell. She had spells in her repertoire that made this one seem like child's play, and they packed a mean punch, and she was no stranger to large scale spells, she had after all been performing them for almost two years.

She drew forth her own wand, swirled it and jabbed upwards, as demonstrated by McGonagall, and muttered 'Multimodus Organum Converto' as well, while only focusing on picturing the instruments she wanted conjured forth.

A light shot out of her wand, and spread out and hit a wide area, and she was not surprised to see several instruments was the result of her first time using the spell. Though she frowned at the remaining rocks that were caught halfway between their previous state and the one they were meant to be.

Annoyance started bubbling inside her when it took another two tries before she had the spell down, but she was confident it could be taught to her Master without too much hassle.

However, she had no intention of helping her fellow students. 'Why spend all that time and effort helping competition?' So she might as well get back out there to the rest of them, and pretend she had been unable to perform the spell. She needed to keep a close watch on the students. These last couple of weeks the enmity of the student body towards her Master had increased and she wanted to know if any had any malignant intentions towards him, and in case there was, how to stop it before it came to be.

Though they would not have gone to such measures as violence before, he had also become more prone to face confrontations, and she had discovered on several occasions these last couple of weeks how confrontational he had become.

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, it didn't matter to him. Part of it she had deducted from watching him for some time. She knew he no longer cared about the different houses. He knew of the alienation between the houses, and she suspected that he would capitalize on that, and the most brilliant part of it all was that no one would expect it. No one would expect the golden boy to use such underhanded tricks, and therefore they would never see it coming.

She credited this knowledge as another effect of the vow she had taken.

She couldn't help but grin as she stepped out of the room, and surveyed the students, all split up in small groups, attempting to transfigure the footstool with varying degrees of success. They wouldn't know what hit them. She had once read that the most efficient tactic of warfare was not to face your opponents directly but play them against one another, and this applied to real life as well. Right now her Master was still too naïve to even think of doing such a thing, but that didn't mean she was.

She would be the snake that poured sugarcoated venom in their ears and directed their frustrations. She would line up the players, like domino pieces, and when she had them, she would give that tiny nudge that would cause a chain reaction. Beforehand she had not seen any need to actively influence the on goings in school, but she had a strange feeling that he would find amusement in the mayhem she could cause, and it was not as if she actually was against pitting friends against each other.

Quickly painting on a somber smile, she walked back to her seat, again noticing the stares following her, sat down and pulled out a book, at first glance it was just their 4th year Charms book, and no one but her would notice the difference, but that was because she had charmed it to only show that any else but her. In truth it was one of the books she expected to be tutoring Harry in soon enough, and though she had already learned what she found useful in them, she was brushing up on the content for the sake of being better equipped at teaching it.

Unfortunately for her, despite her reputation and her frigid exterior, some still didn't get the hints that she wanted to be left by herself and one such as those would be Draco Malfoy, who despite all signs, still had the gall to approach her, although admittedly she didn't know if it was truly just sheer stupidity.

"What did McGonagall want with you Greengrass?", Draco asked, for all the world as if he expected her to actually answer him. The boy wouldn't know finesse if it struck him with a chair.

She turned her icy stare on him, and was happy to see him actually gulp, though he didn't back down. She would show him at some point that the money and influence of his father wasn't everything, though it did get him the two stupid goons flanking him.

"What is it to you Malfoy?", she asked coolly. "As far as I know I know, this is nothing that concerns you."

"I decide what concerns me or not Greengrass", he snapped. Clearly patience was another virtue he had never possessed.

She narrowed her eyes. This miserable excuse for a Slytherin was actually trying to bully her. She had at least thought that he would at least have some common sense. But she knew playing the coolheaded persona would be far more infuriating for him, than a heated discussion, and she wouldn't do that until she could inflict some serious damage to him.

"Oh really, when did that become official?", she asked in as laidback a tone as she could while still maintaining her image. "Or maybe I have not been very observant lately."

"You should learn to pick your enemies better Greengrass", he hissed at her. "Some you are better off not having."

"Oh, whatever do you mean Malfoy?", she replied innocently.

His eyes narrowed in anger. "You will not be happy when my father learns of…"

"When you father learns of this?", she cut him off. "You truly are an idiot Malfoy. Even if your father chose to actively take a part of your petty little power play, which I doubt, then do you really think I am scared of him? Your father might have the ear of the minister, but my family could bankrupt yours in a matter of weeks." She put a finger on her chin in mock-thought. "Though it is true that your father helps you a lot, as evidenced by him buying you a spot on the Slytherin Quidditch team."

Draco's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, to Daphne's endless amusement.

"Daphne you should beware of whom you anger, you would not want the wrong people to know that you have not been staying in the house dorm the last couple of days. Besides who knows what could happen to you wandering these dark corridors at night."

"Draco", she said in a dangerously low tone. "You really should be careful of what you say, the dark corridors of this castle is equally dangerous for anyone. All the places to hide something, places people will never find."

He huffed and turned away. "Whatever."

Her voice remained low, but she was sure he heard it, though he showed no sign of it. "You are the one who should be careful about making an enemy of me."

The rest of the classes were fairly boring, and nothing of interest occurred.

DB -

The Ravenclaw common room seemed both more lively and yet more depressing, a strange ambivalent feeling, but nonetheless it was there.

The entire day since she had awoken, which was not more than an hour ago at max, she had assaulted by enquiry after enquiry about the progress of the egg, and she once again found herself cornered, this time by one of her own schoolmates.

All before breakfast.

"How far have you gotten with that egg", she asked. "I hear that Krum has already figured out the secret."

Fleur couldn't help but be surprised at the straightforwardness of this girl, though almost every single one of her schoolmates had at one point or another told her in no uncertain terms that she was their representative, so she had better act like it.

Although Maxine had shown her the dragons and told her of the objective of the first task beforehand, she was sure the other competitors had received similar treatments, and they were probably sure to know of the other tasks beforehand as well, but she doubted she would now, as she was now on less than friendly terms with her headmistress. But luckily for her she already had a clue as to the second task, and she would devote some time to figuring it out.

"I have a clue as to what this task is about, and I am confident that I will be ready for the next task when it comes."

Her answer was the same she had given to the others who had asked during the morning, luckily most had already left for breakfast, so despite the remaining girls, Beauxbaton and Ravenclaw alike, she could set out at her own pace.

"Of course you will. You represent Beauxbaton, so you have to be ready. You carry the pride of our school, so don't disappoint us", the girl said and left the room.

Fleur shook her head. Everyone from Beauxbaton who had approached today had left with that same message, albeit with varying attitudes, though she was not really surprised as everyone was acting as she had expected them to. Louise was the only one who openly voiced her belief that she would shame the school, though she had her usual bunch of yes-sayers wandering around with her. Besides it was not as if she really cared about their opinion, and Louise knew she should refrain from doing anything to hinder her progress, lest she wanted Maxine to swoop down on her.

She grabbed her book on magical languages and left the few remaining Ravenclaw and Beauxbaton behind.

Today promised to be a good day and from what she could see of the sky, through one of the passing windows, the weather was sunny and even now she could see a few students wandering the grounds.

She would need to find a place away from prying eyes where she in peace and quiet could sit down and go over the magical languages, the only question was where.

The crowd grew denser as she got to the Great Hall, and so did the attention piled on her. But she hardly noticed it on this wonderful day, made even better by how great the one yesterday had been. It had gone better than she could have imagined.

So joyfully she strode into the Great Hall, to partake in the disgusting but tasty feast that was known as breakfast at Hogwarts. Again she sat at the Ravenclaw table with her fellow Beauxbaton students and, completely disregarded the glare from Louise, ate merrily.

As with many of the other mornings the day's topic of discussion was the Tri-Wizard tournament, and by association the contestants.

"I heard that Harry will be doing his task in about a week", the melodious voice of Louise began, and shot a brief glance at Fleur, who was a bit suspicious of how she knew such a thing. Such details were, after all, only to be released to the student body a couple of days before the actual event. But she kept silent.

Another tall willowy girl, with short cropped black hair, quickly picked up the conversation however.

"Harry is it now?", she said in a teasing tone to Louise, who just gave her a warning glance causing the girl to hold up her hands in surrender. "Just kidding."

"I heard he is being released from the hospital wing today. I might go and greet him", Louise said in a faraway voice, as she gazed listlessly into space.

"Why?", another brunette asked, and was backed by a small choir of voices.

"None of your business", Louise responded in that faraway voice.

Though most students were a bit wary of Louise, none actually feared her, so naturally none would back down. Besides Louise appeared unnaturally docile today.

"Trying to mark you territory, are you?", the girl then shuddered. "Not that I can blame you for trying. He has a certain thing about him that just makes you believe he will sweep you off your feet."

Another girl nodded her agreement. "Yes, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on him. That roguish look is delightful."

A short brown-haired witch smiled. "And I bet with a bit of working out he would be unfairly hot", she then sighed. "Though some English girl probably already has her claws in him."

The willowy black-haired girl clicked her tongue in exasperation. "Do you ever read? According to Teen Witch's Weekly he is the single most eligible bachelor in England right now", the girl grinned deviously. "Besides even if some poor English trollop has her hands on him now, we would just have to apply some of our adorable French charm."

She laughed delightfully and adopted a seemingly innocent pose, which turned quite a few male heads.

The group of French girls giggled, and Fleur couldn't help but grimace at the fickle minds of these girls, and when she shook her head she didn't see Louise make the same face.

This would however prove to be annoying. She could imagine how they would act when they face the now-awakened male Veela.

Though he would probably enjoy the attention; after all he was a red blooded male. They were hardly any competition for her usually, Harry was not prey, he was a predator, and these girls would be surprised when they found the tables turned on them.

But in that regard where did she stand? Her Veela aura was barely efficient against him, though she would never be as foolish to let that be her only asset. She could still play this game as well as the next, so this more or less just evened the playing field, or it at least would have. But she had yet to find a way to tap into that fount of Veela power that she had wielded when Harry had started his awakening.

If she could access that again at will she would almost assuredly win. Though she would undoubtedly have to make a trip to visit her Veela core, but as of right now her main focus had to be this school tournament. That, however, didn't exclude the possibility of tinkering with her abilities. She had, after all, told Harry just a couple of days ago to make use of everything he could, so she might as well follow her own advice.

The excited and somewhat lewd chatter raged on throughout breakfast, skimming over not only Harry, but a series of guys from Hogwarts.

She truly was amazed at how fickle these girls were, but then again they were teenage girls still.

A few minutes later found her sitting at the edge of the lake, amazingly enough without anyone at all to bother her. This was a rarity since she arrived at Hogwarts, it was like rain after a long drought, and it was very much needed.

It seemed the day just got better.

She soon found a seat in the group of a small crop of trees close to the lake, and put down both the egg as well as the book.

Putting the egg aside for now, she opened the book and skimmed to the part of magical languages. Each and every language had a small box describing how the language would sound to human ears, as well as a sort of 'play' function, that played a set sentence in that language. It was by doing this that she set about trying to identify the language spoken when the egg was opened. She knew without a doubt that it was a language, though not which one.

A good thirty minutes later, filled with everything from sounds that felt like a caress to keening, probably reminiscent of a banshee shriek, she still hadn't found her answer and she sighed in annoyance. Maybe it was just too much to expect that she would be able to keep her attention on the work in front of her, especially after she had just spent so many hours staring at pages in her own private research. Or maybe the day just wasn't meant to be spent with her nose in a book.

She idly flipped the page hoping the answer might be on the next one, but alas, she had no such luck. Folding the corner of the page, marking where she had come to, she closed the book, picked up her egg and walked back to the school.

She might as well keep her eyes on Louise. Because it was while the playing field was even that she would need to be careful, and keep an eye on her, and there was no time like the present. From what she knew the others would be having Defense against the Dark Arts right now.

She shuddered at the image of that extremely weird and paranoid professor; furthermore his magical whizzing eye gave her the creeps. She had heard of such magical items before, they could be spelled to do a magnitude of things, from having night vision and heat vision, to only picking up movements and looking through things, like walls and clothing. There were even rumors that some could be spelled to view magical residue left after spells.

As she reentered the castle she noted the absence of activity in the halls, which would probably have to be credited to classes having just started. She hurried her steps, hoping to get to the classroom before the class got truly started, not that she really had any need for it. As she had explained to Harry the students of Beauxbaton actually had their final exams at the end of their sixth year, and they had what equaled to seven years of Hogwarts knowledge compiled into six years in their own school.

So it was not as if she was really missing out on anything important, sure they might not have completely corresponding curriculums, but the differences should be minimal.

If her memory served her correctly, then the classroom should be right around the corner, and sure enough as she turned the corner she spotted that weird professor as he strode into a classroom. She quickly closed the distance between her and the door, and slid it open as silently as possible, and crept into the room.

"No need for sneaking Miss Delacour", she jumped a bit at being noticed, but much more so at the rough unrefined voice of Alastor Moody as well as the fact that the entire classroom was now staring openly at her. "Find a seat."

She didn't wait to find a seat, and unfortunately for her, or probably fortunately, considering why she was there in the first place, the only available seat was next to Louise. As she walked towards her seat, she allowed her gaze to wander across the classroom; it was far bigger than the last time she had been here, and from she could tell, there was eight times the normal number of students present, seemed everyone from Harry's age and up to seventh years were there, including a few teachers besides Moody. She could even see his friends here, the bushy haired girl and the red haired boy, both looking at her. The somewhat beseeching look on the girls face intrigued her slightly, but not enough to actually approach her about it.

It was almost funny how radically different people could be and still be friends. These were a perfect example, one a busybody, meddling in everything she could get her hands on, smartest witch in her year and absolutely annoying to spend any time around, the other a slop, prone to bouts of jealousy, mediocre in most subjects at best, but equally annoying. They had no common ground, at least none but Harry, but still she could see how they would balance each other out.

Harry had told her many things about his life and who he associated with, but then again not really anything at all. However, it had quickly become apparent that he harbored no feelings for his past at all.

In some way she envied him, he had had his slate wiped clean. He had been born anew, twice over, by embracing his true self and by the awakening of his instincts. He was going to be who he wanted to be, though it might take some time for him to embrace it, no one could deny their instincts. Of course for this to be true, he would have to shed his old life, though from what she had observed that had not really been that awfully hard. The redhead and bushy haired girl had seemed to be silently receding from his life over the course of a couple of months, and the announcement of him as a Tri-Wizard champion merely seemed to have been the latest push.

She like any other person in Hogwarts, despite only having been there a limited amount of time, had seen and heard of the Golden Trio, though she had been severely disappointed when she saw them. She could see that they had been using each other as crutches, but she like anyone else could also see the cracks forming.

"ATTENTION", professor Moody suddenly screamed causing all students to jump to attention. His presence had a sort of fear-inducing feeling, his personality screamed; paranoid, delusional maniac and his actions spoke the exact same words. But it was like he was forcing himself every time he was teaching, and she knew this despite having only attended a few of his other lectures.

However she, like everyone else, stood straight when Moody stared at her.

"You might wonder why we have gathered all of you here today. Well the answer is simple. MERRINGTON, GRIDER", he suddenly yelled at a pair of young boys, who had been gossiping among themselves. Only his normal eyes focused on the two boys, his magical one was still spinning around wildly only briefly focusing on a student only to continue spinning a second later. "YOU WILL PAY ATTENTION."

The two boys quickly sat up straight, and stared at the professor with slightly fearful looks.

"Good, now that I have your attention", he said and fixed his eyes on the class again. "This year, in correspondence with the Tri-Wizard tournament, we will also be hosting a cross school Dueling Tournament."

Immediately the class broke down into excited chatter and for a few seconds chaos reigned supreme, as students talked among themselves. Though there were some that just kept their cool, and just seemed to be thinking the entire situation through.

"SILENCE", Moody shouted again, and once again earned the attention of everyone in the room, though he seemed to be at the end of his ropes. Clearly he was not used this sort of atmosphere, which made Fleur wonder why he was even chosen as a teacher to begin with.

He sent a glance at a diminutive professor, this school Charms teacher, who quickly stood up in front of the class as Moody withdrew to the back of the room with a mutter of 'stupid brats'.

"Right", the little professor squeaked. "As Professor Moody said we will be hosting a dueling tournament as well, but as this tournament is set to be held in sometime in the immediate start of the new year we have decided we will restart the dueling club we had two years ago. Though kindly note that this will only affect this class period, and anyone who is further interested in the tournament or formal dueling has to sign up for the club which will be headed by me, professor Snape and professor Moody."

Flitwick cleared his throat. "Furthermore this tournament will also be split up into two categories; fourth and fifth years will be participating in the Second Rank, whereas the sixth and seventh years will be in the First Rank. This is not to discriminate between our students, but we acknowledge that due to their level of education that some will be on another level than the others."

He looked around for a second. "Will everyone please move to the sides of the room?"

Fleur, like the rest of the students, did as instructed and quickly filed to the sides of the room. It didn't take anyone with half a brain to figure out what the professor intended, and she wasn't very surprised when he transfigured all the chairs and desks in the middle of the room into a dueling platform. It was actually a fairly easy transfiguration when one had been in the business of magic as long as Flitwick had, but somehow one would never expect him to do it. Not that she believed him unable to, but it just wouldn't have occurred to her until now.

The students all looked awed, but that quickly died down, as they were all herded closer to the dueling platform. Both professor Snape and Flitwick got onto the dueling podium, and turned to face the students.

"Also in addition to the two brackets for this dueling tournament, we will also be dividing you into four separate ladders; this is due to the amount of students we expect will be willing to compete in this cross school dueling tournament. Every student will be randomly divided in each ladder to ensure that there is no undue interference", professor Flitwick said.

"This podium and several other similar to this will be used in other classrooms as well after we have divided you into the ladders I mentioned before. They will be used as a means to demonstrate as well as practice on. But it will not only be practical lessons, because as most of you know there is a strict set of rules for professional dueling which must be upheld, which means we will dedicate a few lessons to this end", he explained. "Beyond that, it is simply just dueling and bettering your performance. Remember, we expect fair play, and any using curses that have been deemed illegal or extremely dark in nature will result in an instant ban from the tournament, and possibly further ramifications."

Then the little professor suddenly lit up in a big smile. "So let's all have as much fun as we can."

The greasy professor coughed sharply to gain the attention of the students, and it cut clear through any noise that had sprung up. "Now that I have your attention", he said sharply. "Will all 6th and 7th years follow professor Flitwick, he will take you to another classroom where you will be given the last information about this tournament. The 4th and 5th will all remain here."

Fleur could help the quiet laugh that escaped her, she almost felt sorry for Harry's friends. To have to put up with both the greasy professor and the paranoid one was just plain bad luck, not that it mattered much to her. She couldn't find it in herself to summon any sort of pity for them. They had almost all too willingly thrown Harry's friendship aside, and that, more than anything else, spurned any sort of compassion she might have felt.

She along with the remaining 6th and 7th year students filed out the door, following after the small professor, winding through the corridors. She could see Louise's hair a little further up, closer to the front of this little procession, and she was occasionally exchanging words with her friends, as well as trying to look inconspicuous as she looked around the place.

She was clearly up to something, but what is was she didn't know, though she could hazard a guess, though if it did come to that, then she would be ready for it.

The professor was actually surprisingly fast for such a little fellow, and within minutes they had entered another classroom, almost a complete copy of the first room, where another dueling strip was already set up. Flitwick ushered them all to the edge of the platform and somehow managed to get up on it, as well and turned to the mass of people.

"Is everyone here?", he asked, but didn't seem genuinely interested in the answer as he almost immediately continued. "Great. As I mentioned before, this tournament will be held in two separate levels First Rank and Second Rank, with four ladders in each rank. Now, before we begin I would like to stress that this tournament is completely voluntary, and you don't have to feel forced into this. If you don't want to attend, you may leave now and bring me a note one of the following days telling me who you are and so on. Understood?"

Upon saying this several students broke out from the larger group and proceeded towards the door, but surprisingly many still remained.

She herself knew she didn't have time to attend this tournament as well as the Tri-Wizard tournament and still have a pleasant schedule, and it was easy to see which tournament would benefit her the most in the longer run. The publicity of being the Tri-Wizard winner would boost whatever career she wanted in the future, and she doubted this tournament even yielded any sort of reward.

But this however meant that she would be unable to keep an eye on Louise, and Harry was about to be released right about now. But the problem was however, that she had already lost sight of her quarry. She should be standing out in this crowd, and therefore it was with frustration that Fleur had to admit that she must have slipped past her when the other students chose not to participate. Odds were that she had hidden herself among that group.

She took one last quick scan of the people around, and was annoyed to realize that she had been fooled, and even more annoyed at the dirty smirks Louise's friends threw at her, apparently she had been planning this, and she felt foolish for being taken by surprise by this.

So since she had already decided that she wasn't going to participate she strode purposefully out the door, making her way to the infirmary, as that was most definitely where Louise was going. She knew that Louise wasn't just playing a game, mostly because she had never shown any interest in men at all, and for her to show any now just proved that either she thought she could somehow beat her in that regard or she was genuinely interested in him.

If it was the latter then she would be willing to go further than she had done so far, and it would only be fueled by their rivalry.

The corridors were void of any people, and the only sound she heard were the sound of students when she passed classrooms that were in use. Nothing disturbed her trek to the Hospital Wing.

As she crossed through the door to the wing she saw Madam Pomfrey sitting at her desk, so with some effort she plastered a sweet smile on her face and approached the nurse.

"Excuse me Madame Pomfrey. But is 'Arry still here?", Fleur asked in a friendly tone.

Madam Pomfrey looked up at her with unreadable eyes, as though weighing her, but she nonetheless answered. "No Miss Delacour, he left a couple of minutes ago. I'm surprised you didn't run into him while you were on your way here."

Fleur felt a shudder run down her spine, and she ran across the hall to Harry's bed, bypassing several beds with sick students, and stopped abruptly when she could see his bed.

It was empty.

He had left already.

DB -

Daphne watched all the older students file out of the room, following behind Flitwick, and she was honestly annoyed at having to be left behind with Snape and Moody, arguably the two worst professors in this school. She would have much preferred to be taught by Flitwick, he was after all a renowned professional duelist, albeit his demeanor probably made teaching a little harder.

Though she doubted he could add anything much to her style, at least spell wise, and she was confident she could beat all the people in this Rank without too much trouble. If they hadn't been split into ranks she might have some exploited this to allow her to gain a mole on the Bulgarian ship, but that chance was all but shot now, and would continue to be unless she could be enrolled in the First Rank, and she doubted the professors would allow that.

As it was now the trouble with Krum still remained unresolved, and it annoyed her to no end, but grudgingly she had to admit that the Bulgarians did look after their own, and more so their country's number one seeker.

She could see Granger talking the Weasley's ear off, probably explaining all the different aspects of professional dueling without a doubt. But he seemed awfully pouty and grumpy, not responding to anything she said with anything but a few shrugs of his shoulder. But he couldn't disguise the excitement he felt, as she could see it in the way he raptly paid attention to everything the two professors did despite him despising one of them and probably not being very fond of the other one.

"Okay. Today we will go over the more common jinxes and harmless curses used in dueling", Moody barked. "But before that…"

His beady eye looked out over the mass of students as he took a swig of the small metal container he carried with him. "Those who do not feel like participating can leave right away and bring me a note at our next class", he commanded.

Daphne almost snorted as he watched the lack of people leaving, though there were a few that simply couldn't muster the enthusiasm about this tournament to actually leave versus the dread of dealing with both Snape and Moody. Granted both were great at what they were doing, but quite a few didn't like the way they taught. So more lesson with them didn't that much appeal.

Of course as she joined the selfsame group that was about to depart the room she was not surprised to see a few key people still remaining. Of course, despite Snape still being there only a minimal amount of Gryffindors that left the place, and even though Ravenclaw were said to be the smartest, they still had an urge to prove themselves, just like everyone else, though maybe not as pronounced as the Gryffindors did. Draco was standing around looking smug as he snuck glances at their head of house Snape, as if he would get preferential treatment, and he probably would, though the presence of Moody would stop it from going over the top.

The Weasley was already throwing dirty glances at Malfoy. It seemed some things never changed.

The group that left mainly consisted of Hufflepuffs, and only a few from the other houses were actually present. It wasn't that Hufflepuff were spineless people, they just tended to avoid confrontation, which as such were a smart enough move of them, but unfortunately it also made them seem weak, and therefore increased the chances of being picked upon. But luckily for them, their house was built on the belief of teamwork and friendship.

Not that she wouldn't take advantage of them if the need arose, because she would, that sort of reliance was just like begging to be exploited.

Quickly leaving the others behind, it seemed only a few other Slytherin had chosen to leave the tournament as well besides her, which wasn't that surprising.

One of them being her 'friend', who had finally decided to man up and pull her aside, which was why she a few seconds after breaking away from the main group found herself pulled into an empty classroom and confronted by an annoyed redhead, who seemed to be more than partially angry.

It was quite understandable, as she had probably been working overtime to ensure that the Slytherin wouldn't do anything uncalled for.

"Hello Daphne", she said evenly.

"Why hello Tracey", she replied cheerfully. After all, she had no reason to be down, all had gone according to her plan, and she had nothing to fear anymore, and she no longer needed this girl as an ally, but not needing and not wanting was different. She might find a use for her later, or her Master might. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to know why you haven't been in the Slytherin dorm these last couple of days", she snapped. "Do you know how hard it was to cover for you? Parkinson has been itching to take this to the Head of House, and I've done everything I could so far to stop her. But I won't do this anymore, not if I don't know what's going on."

She smiled at her. "Of course Parkinson would do that, but we both know that she doesn't have the guts to try me. She's only hoping to cause some trouble for me. But you already know this, so you're just interested in knowing _why_ I'm not there."

Tracey seemed momentarily put off, but Daphne gave her no time to reply. "You know all you had to do was ask. Of course, I might not tell the truth, but how would you know without first asking me?"

Tracey huffed. "So why aren't you in the dorm anymore? I know that you are aware of the consequences if you were discovered, and I also know that you wouldn't risk this if you didn't have a reason. So why?"

"Oh, but I would be a fool to tell you everything wouldn't I? But I think you deserve to know a bit at least", she said as she walked to an empty seat in the classroom, and waved to the chair in front of her to indicate for Tracey to sit as well, which she did grudgingly.

"So spill it, why is it you are taking all these risks right now?", she said with a calm she hadn't possessed only seconds prior.

"Well, I can only tell you so much. But I think you deserve to know that I'm no longer part of the Greengrass family, and I will no longer have the same influence as I used to from that side anymore. I however have gained access to an almost literal fount of power, above that of the Greengrass' and it is only days until the entire world will know the truth. So you'll have to wait for the full story until then", she said, ignoring the gob smacked face of Tracey.

"But you should also know that selling me out would be a very bad move, and I will know if you do since only you and one other person knows of this", she said and sent her acquaintance a sharp glance. She would not underestimate Tracey, but she also needed to put her in place. She wouldn't give her the impression that she could somehow gain from this situation.

Tracey however wasn't scared that easily and simply returned her stare with an inquisitive one of her own. "So I assume that this other person that knows is the reason that you have come into such a 'position' of power. I assume it must be someone in this school and for some reason I hardly doubt it could be any of the professors, since none can hope to match up the influence that the Greengrass family have, official or not. So that really only leaves two choices…"

Daphne couldn't help but smile, as it really didn't matter if she knew or not. "So care to tell me what conclusion you've reached?"

"Either you have struck some sort of deal with Dumbledore, though I hardly doubt that to be the case, since he would be more than suspicious of you suddenly turning to him for help, even to the point of giving up your family in all but blood", she said, understanding dawning on her face.

"However, as I said I highly doubt that's the case. So the only other way to gain influence to the point that you speak of would be through the Golden Boy wouldn't it? But his opinion is not really what people are interested in right now", she said with a frown.

"But now you're not looking beyond this school, because I am, and you should know that this is only a phase the school is going through. In the world outside he is still the Boy-Who-Lived, and people look to him for hope. But as for the school… Well, when enough time has gone by, they will look to him again, but I quite confident they will be shocked when they do…", she trailed off with a devious smile.

"What? Have you done anything to him?", she asked, not outraged at the thought, merely intrigued.

"Oh, that's the beauty of it all. I haven't done anything. He has the potential to be more devious beyond our imaginations, I can _feel_ it. When the time comes and the world turns to him for help, he will make them eat each and every word and he _will_ milk the situation for all it's worth. Because in the outside world he still holds as much sway now as he did the day he defeated Voldemort."

Daphne smiled wistfully at Tracey, despite said girl shuddering at the mention of the dreaded wizard's name. "His potential is unreal Tracey, it's seems almost beyond comprehension. He will sweep the floor with any competition he gets; all he needs is a little training, and guess where I come in, in this little plan?"

"Do you really think this will work? Sure he has potential, all can see that. But that pacifist nature of his hinders him, keeps him from progressing, do you really think you can take Dumbledore's Golden Boy away from that path? For all intents and purposes you've just become a tool of Dumbledore."

Daphne smile grew absolutely demonic. "You don't understand, because you haven't seen it. You haven't seen him, not truly. He is not in Dumbledore's grasp, he is possibly as far from it as one could ever get", she said with an intent look in her eyes. "He goes his own ways and I doubt anyone could truly control him. It's true that he might have been clouded by the foolish ideals of a Gryffindor at one point, but that is no longer the case. He no longer cares. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Huffelpuff and Ravenclaw alike, he will tear them all down if they oppose him. All he needs is just a little nudge in the right direction."

Tracey looked doubtfully at her. "That doesn't really sound like him, if he had the potential to be like that wouldn't we have noticed it, and wouldn't the Sorting Hat also have noticed it? I doubt he would put anyone into Gryffindor who had an ounce of such a nature?"

Daphne got a thoughtful look on her face. "You've seen how he's been changing lately, how his entire attitude and demeanor have gradually changed after he was chosen as champion. I know you have seen the change in him, everyone has."

Daphne got up and went to the one window in the classroom, and looked out over the grounds. Several of the students who had been let go from the dueling tournament introduction had made their way to the grounds, and she could see the Giant Squid lazing around on the shore of the lake.

She sighed.

For Hogwarts it was a perfect day, however they no idea what was coming, but something definitely was. Even she had no idea as to what was truly happening, all she knew was that former Death Eaters had been making contact with each other again, of course discretely. But something was brewing and this was partially what had spurred her on and made her make her move at that point. It was also due to the fact that she needed to contact him early for her offer to seem most viable.

"I have spent many hours these last couple of days talking with him, getting to know him and his past. Do you know anything about how he lived before he came here?", she asked, back turned to the Slytherin.

"No, nobody does really, though I suspect he didn't live a sheltered and pampered life, I think his attitude shows that. Actually he seemed absolutely starved for attention when he first came here, but I guess that Granger girl and the Weasel helped fix that, as well as Dumbledore taking him under his wings. Whoever he was sent to after his parents' death surely didn't pay much attention to him, which makes me wonder which witch and wizard actually took care of him", Tracey responded.

"He never lived with any witch or wizard. Harry didn't know about the magical world until he turned eleven and got his Hogwarts letter. He actually did live with family, his aunt and uncle, as well as his cousin, who're all muggles. That only partially explains his ignorance about magic at the time. You see, his aunt knew about magic, she would, what with her sister being a witch and all", she explained. "What we, the magical world, don't know is that his family despised magic. Hated it from the bottom of their hearts, and of course they let this frustration out on him as a constant reminder how much they despised it."

Daphne could hear her companion gulp slightly. "Yes, Harry's childhood has been far from a fairytale. But he says he's put it all behind him now, and doesn't seem to be lying. I don't know if I could, but he has. But his childhood has hardened him beyond anything the wizarding world could have hoped to do. I don't know if Dumbledore did it intentionally, or if it was just a fluke, but we both know that he has his reasons for doing it."

Calling her Master by his true name left a sour taste in her mouth, but it was his command, so she would follow it, and it was getting increasingly harder to think of his by his name.

She turned back to her companion. "The 'him' you see now is the true him, or the shadow of him. He is letting it all hang out now, and I get the impression that Hogwarts is not the place for him. To be frank then I don't know if he will even stay to finish his education, only time will tell."

Tracey stared evenly at her. "You say that as if you don't have any say in the matter. Surely you are more than capable of influencing him, and make him pick what you want."

Daphne smiled indulgently at her. "You are drawing conclusions now. Sure I have access to his political influence now. But that doesn't mean I can control him, I never will. He won't allow himself to be controlled by anyone", she then grazed Tracey with a warning glare. "And I won't allow anyone to take advantage of him, nor try to trick him."

Tracey just gazed warily at her, but didn't reply to the remark, but simply put forth the question Daphne knew she had been dying to ask. "So are you going to tell me how you did this?"

"No. This is the part that not even you will be allowed to know. Odds are that the truth will be out soon enough so, so you just have to wait like everyone else. So…"

Daphne walked to the door and looked back at Tracey. "If you'll excuse me, I have things I need to do. See you around."

As she left Tracey behind, she couldn't help but be cheerful, though none of it showed on her face. She knew that this would come eventually, but it still felt good to get it out of the way. It felt like she now truly had cut any ties to her previous life, and she could now fully devote herself to her Master.

Of course there was still the minor issue with her family, but one way or another that would be resolved soon and she would be willing to bet that they would be less than pleased with the current situation, but the end was already determined. But regardless, they were sure to throw a fit over this. They might even bring the headmaster into the matter, actually if she knew her father well; he would almost assuredly bring the headmaster into the entire deal.

Not that it would change anything, but it would be a less than pleasant ride.

She had actually been lying to Tracey; she didn't have much to do, at least not anything immediate. The deal with the Bulgarian champion was of course still important, but not so much that it couldn't wait until she found the person best suited for the task.

Actually her schedule was quite packed as of right now. She had several essays that she needed to turn in and finding the time to do them was proving increasingly frustrating. Not because the time wasn't there, but because most of the time she actually had to herself was spent dealing with various assignments that Harry had given her and keeping a watchful eye on the students. Also much of her free-time was spent with Harry nowadays, leaving her with little time to do what was needed.

Luckily they were not at a crucial point in their education yet, and some slacking on certain essays was easy to pass of as lacking knowledge, which would only make her seem the average student all the more.

Besides she did need to help Harry get ready for his task, because no matter how you looked at it, trying to overcome a dragon or outwit one was hard. Though admittedly dragons were, according to even handlers, still beasts, they were more cunning than most, almost frighteningly so, and that combined with their superior size, raw strength and hardiness made them hard to take down and get around.

This was why she had introduced him to the bypassing spell she had explained to him and if he managed to learn it by the time of the task it would certainly help him if his other plans turned on him, or otherwise didn't work as expected. But she had faith that he knew what he was doing, but it wasn't in her nature not to have a contingency plan, which was why she had urged him to also create at least one back-up plan.

The corridors were pleasantly quiet, and the only noise she could hear were the chatting of students far away. Though she by all means was far from a peaceful person, she could also enjoy quiet tranquil moments, like any other, and she found the time went much faster as she walked to the Hospital Wing, and soon she found herself standing inside the hospital, in front of Madam Pomfrey's desk.

"Excuse me", she said loftily as she looked down at the woman scribbling something on a piece of paper, causing said woman to look up at her briefly. "Could you tell me if Harry Potter is still here?"

The only reason she bothered asking was because it would be much easier to get her to answer than wade into the place, and look at his bed. Besides, this woman could make it much harder for Harry should she choose to. But then again, she doubted she would want to because she seemed to be somewhat smitten by him. Though how she could be at all interested in him was beyond her.

She shot Daphne an annoyed look. "What is it, 'Ask for Potter'-day?", she asked exasperatedly, and elaborated upon seeing the undoubtedly confused look on her face. "You're the third one here to ask for him. The second girl got here just before you did, and she still in there."

"The second girl?", she enquired.

"Oh yes, they seem to be milling to him. The first one here today got here just as Harry was about to leave. He left with her wrapped around his arm", she grumbled. "Then that Beauxbaton girl came by a less than a minute ago. She's still in there."

So the French Tri-Wizard champion was here. It might do well to talk to her, since her Master seemed to have taken an unusual interest in her, and though it pained her to admit it, she knew she was just the tiniest bit jealous. But she wasn't some foolhardy Gryffindor acting on her every emotion.

Besides, if her Master wanted her, she would never stand in his way. But his interest in her warranted her own, and getting to know her would probably prove to be beneficial.

She nodded to Madam Pomfrey who was still grumbling to herself, and went to locate his bed.

She found the French girl standing in front of an empty bed, frowning at the empty sheets, as if they might jump up and explain some great mystery to her. Though Daphne could honestly admit that she understood why the male population swooned whenever they saw her and though they would all deny it, that's truly what they did. Though drooling was often part of that equation as well.

Actually the only one who didn't seem head over heels for her was Harry, though he had expressed an interest in her. She was unsure of whether he was generally interested in her or merely intrigued.

She cleared her throat to gain the attention of the Delacour girl, and it worked perfectly, as those deep almost glowing blue eyes settled on her.

"What can I do for you?", Fleur asked her.

"Well, I was just wondering if you knew where Harry was", she responded. "I was looking for him."

Fleur seemed to be weighing her, looking her up and down. She was sizing her up, and she couldn't help but inwardly grin. It seemed the interest Harry felt for her were mutual, if the look was anything to judge by. She had been the focus of several such stares before she made it clear that none in this place caught her eye, and only necessity had forced her to go to Harry.

However, it honestly did feel weird being on the receiving end of such a look by one such as Fleur. Truly, what did a Veela have to fear from a human? Daphne was absolutely sure that Harry could somehow resist the Veela allure, and she was almost absolutely certain that he must have a similar skill. Nothing else could explain how she lost control so completely when around him.

Fleur smiled at her, though it somehow seemed to her as if she was not sincere. But this only reinforced her suspicion of why she might look at her like a threat for Harry.

"No, unfortunately not. I had hoped to catch him before he left, but it seems I was not so lucky", she said. "Though from what Madame Pomfrey told me, I just missed him by a few minutes."

"Seems we're both disappointed then", she smiled back at Fleur. "Seems like he's trying to run away from me."

" Oh, and why would he do that?", she asked good-naturedly, though Daphne sensed the underlying question.

"I am helping him prepare for the first task, and since he got so brutally put right by that dragon he decided he needed some help. So I thought I was going to give him a practical lesson today. Let him try out some of that theoretical stuff."

Fleur looked at her with a strange expression. "You do know that helping him is against the rules right?"

Daphne grinned. "It's illegal for any of the staff to help, but another student… Well that's another thing entirely. Apparently they didn't think the average student would be of any help to the contestants, or maybe they want to promote teamwork or something. All I know is that, intentional or not, that is a loophole, and Harry took advantage of it."

"Do you think the teachers would think like that as well if they discovered you had been helping him?", Fleur asked.

"Whether they like it or not doesn't matter", she shrugged. "But if they feel like it, they will try to stop it. But even they can't change the laws of this tournament, so until Harry asks me not to, I'm going to help him."

"You really think he can't win this tournament without your help?", Fleur asked with a hint of sharpness in her tone. That at least won her some points with Daphne.

"It isn't about what I think, it's about what he thinks, and he thinks he needs help. But between the two of us, I actually believe he has as big a chance as the rest of you. But you got to admit, you all have three years of experience on him; it makes the race a little uneven", she said. "I'm only trying to even the odds a little."

"But do we not also have three years of experience on you?", Fleur asked offhandedly, though she knew she was paying sharp attention. This was her way of learning more about her.

"You're of course correct", she conceded. "But despite that it would still be unwise to believe that he can't hold his own. Challenges aren't overcome with spells; they're overcome with the brain, and I fully confident that when it's his time to stand in front of that dragon that he will stand as great a chance as you and the other's. If not even greater."

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks he can do it", Fleur replied after staring at her for a bit, a smile now on her lips again, a marginally warmer one. "It seems everyone from your school hates him, and all because of this tournament."

She returned the smile. "Don't take this the wrong way, but do you mind asking me how you got to know Harry? It just seems weird that one of the Tri-Wizard competitors wants to befriend him when everyone else just looks at him in contempt."

"No offense taken", Fleur replied. "Actually it was after he saved me during the first task. I was also in this Hospital Wing for a short while, and decided to simply wait until he woke up, and well we started talking and became friends. Not much more too it", she said, though Daphne suspected there was more to it than that.

Besides she highly doubted it was actually the entire reason she became interested in her Master, but it would have to wait. She wasn't lying when she said she wanted to go over some of the theoretical work, but first she needed to find him.

"Oh, well I'm glad to see he got another friend. He seems to lack them of late", Daphne said with a bad taste in her mouth as she thought about the Granger and the Weasley.

Fleur just smiled at her.

"Well I'm going to find him", Daphne said and turned around and walked to the door. "You're more than welcome to join me if you want, since we both seem to be looking for him."

"If you don't mind I think I will", Fleur said curtly and followed her out of the room.

They fell into friendly chatting as they walked through the castle, though both girls kept throwing hints and subtle enquiries.

DB -

Harry couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at his current situation.

He was hardly out of the hospital, actually he hadn't even gotten out of the bed, before an extremely beautiful girl had approached him, and judging from her get-up she was from Beauxbaton. The fun thing was that he had never met her before, though he probably had seen her around, as she was hardly one to be overlooked.

Her raven black hair went to just above her waist, and seemed to almost shine, and he couldn't help but be slightly captivated by it. Though he wasn't the only one who seemed just a little bit lost in the moment it seemed, at least that was what he could derive from the look she was directing at him.

She wasn't as tall as Fleur, though that did not in any way detract from her. As it was now, she was just about his height, and as they walked arm in arm he could look straight into her eyes. Her build was athletic, and he could feel strength in her grip, although it was gentle.

Since he had awoken a couple of days ago, after recovering from his injury, he had been different. It was apparent even to him, the attitude, the interest, the daring. It was all new to him; he was never one to flirt. He had actually been one to easily be embarrassed before, but now the emotion seemed so distant he could hardly even recall the feelings. He had also become emotionally different from his earlier self; the most obvious proof was the annoyance he felt for the general population of Hogwarts, it was as if he was more aggressively sensitive to any ill-will or scorn directed towards him.

One of the most immediately noticeable changes had been his sudden leap in the interest of the fairer sex, as was evidenced by his near entrancement by Fleur which had awoken a more carnal desire, and his peculiar way of greeting Daphne a bit later on. Another proof of this was the girl walking besides him now, Louise as she had introduced herself, and his eyes seemed to be inevitably drawn to her figure.

Her slender shoulders had that air of confidence about them that he had not seen many match, she held her head high and he knew she was a proud girl. However his eyes only lingered there shortly before they drew further down, to her seemingly perfect bust. Her breasts weren't too big, and they weren't too small, they actually looked to be a perfect match for his hands, though he was sure he would barely be able to contain them.

His gaze traveled further down, past her slim waist to her hips. They were just yelling at him to grip them and pull her to him, which led him to the last sight, her legs, though unfortunately he couldn't see too much of them due to the French school uniform.

He still had trouble believing he was a male Veela, but Fleur had been adamant about it, and truly the ability he had discovered yesterday seemed similar to the one the Veela had. The thought of using it along with his fame to worm his way into the panties of several of the female students at school, and some of those not from his school, had been unavoidable. He was running _his_ Veela allure at six percent, which still proved to yield astounding results in the girl currently grabbing into him.

When he had been using his powers at a similar level on Fleur she had just held a slight affectionate glint in her eyes, nothing in vicinity of what he was getting from this girl. Sure Fleur might have a greater restraint than Louise, seeing as she carried Veela blood, but the difference shouldn't be this great. Though admittedly, Louise might have had something for him before, which might have only served to increase the effects of his aura, or maybe it was the other way around, but he had no way of knowing.

Either way, regardless if she was a fan girl or just simply had a crush on him, she was surprisingly easy to be around, which was why he had agreed to show her around Hogwarts. However odds were that he would have said yes just to spend some time, and possibly attempt to test his powers.

"So Harry, you promised you'd show me Hogwarts. Where should we start?", Louise purred with her arms wrapped around one of his.

"Well, I don't know what you've actually seen of this place, so I'm just going to give you the all-around tour, and the first one is right around the corner here", he said as he turned the corner with her at his arm as well.

Louise had trouble keeping the skepticism out of her voice as she looked at the door of a classroom. "Isn't it just a classroom?"

"Is it? Or is it something more?", he said in a mock-mysterious voice, as he opened the door and entered the classroom.

They had switched the classroom for the Defense against the Dark Arts between his second and third year, so the one they were currently in was actually the one they had been using beforehand.

"It just looks like an ordinary classroom", Louise said with a frown as she looked about, then the corners of her lips quirked upwards in a smile. "Unless you had some other reason for bringing me here, that is."

"Now why would I want to do anything like that, with a girl as gorgeous as you?", he exclaimed as if shocked. "But you're right."

Her eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help the small grin on his face as he walked to one of the tables. "This is a simple classroom, the former Defense against the Dark Arts classroom to be exact. But that's not why I brought you", he said as he turned back to Louise after sitting down on one of the desks. "Did you know that there are all sorts of stories connected to this room?"

"Stories? You mean like ghost stories?", she asked, deliberately taking his bait.

He laughed. "Ghost stories don't really count for much in our world", he said, which caused Louise to pout slightly. "But don't worry; there is a sort-of ghost involved. Trust me this is better than any superficial tour, besides, you'll only have the tour in stock for some other time. That is unless you mind being out after curfew, then I might be able to show you all the sights", he said. "So why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable, this might take a while."

He raised his brow slightly when she transfigured one of the desks into a divan and laid down languorously on it, and he only then and there swore to the gods that every French girl he had met had some way of making even the simplest movement enticing. In the back of his mind he noted that Daphne had a way of measuring up to this as well.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable", he said cheerfully. "So where should I start? Hmm."

"How about the beginning", she supplied.

"Yea, I guess that's as good a place as any. Well, I suppose it all started when I was a little child, you know of Voldemort I suppose", he asked, and was happy to see her nod, and not cringe at the word. "Well, when I was little he came to my home. Both my parents had been living in hiding for several years, but he somehow found them again", he said. He after all couldn't reveal everything, but what he did have to say seemed to be enough to gain her rapt attention. "Voldemort killed my father, and my own mother is said to have sacrificed herself for me, which apparently led to some ancient magic being cast on me. I honestly don't know exactly how it works."

"Do you ever wish they were still alive?", she asked, though her voice was awfully timid. He knew people must think this was a sore subject, and it had been until recently. But it truly did not matter to him anymore, it might have been different had he gotten to know them, but the thing was that he hadn't.

"I used to when I was smaller, I used to wish they would appear like by magic and take me away from my uncle and aunt", he chuckled. "But it never happened. In the end I came to the realization that it would never happen, and so I stopped hoping. I don't mean to sound insensitive or like a jackass, but they actually don't mean anything to me anymore."

He shook himself. "I grew up without parents, and I survived. I acknowledge that they were my parents. But I won't attach myself to someone that's not even alive and I can live my life without them, and their values."

He smiled at her again. "But that isn't what I wanted to tell you. I brought you here to tell you about my two first Defense against the Dark Arts teachers. So don't worry about me, I won't get sad about my parents."

"As I said, when my mother died it resulted in the casting of an ancient protective charm on me, which when Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on me, caused it to rebound back to him", he said and smiled at her awestruck look. "Follow me so far?"

"Yes", she said breathlessly with an intense stare. "Not one of the books we were told to study about the history of dark arts tells anything like this. Nothing about how it ha…"

"What?", Harry interrupted with incredulity in his voice. "You've been studying me?"

She giggled. "Yes, actually across the world your life is seen as phenomenon, however it's always been one of the mysteries about you. I suppose. It's possible Dumbledore didn't want to teach about a student still attending Hogwarts."

"Well, I'm sure he had his reason", he deliberated, and then he put on a smile again and waggled his eyebrows. "So did any of those books mention anything about my exceptional handsomeness, astonishing charm, and my dashing smile?"

"No they did not, but I was lucky enough to get the chance to see so for myself", she said, and batted her eyelashes at him, and laughed lightly.

"I guess you did, lucky you. But shouldn't we get back to the story?", he replied with a smile. "Well as I said, when the Killing Curse rebounded, it hit Voldemort…"

"And he was killed", she concluded.

He lifted his finger. "Ahh, but that's where you're wrong. Despite every story ending happily, this one didn't. He wasn't called one of the most powerful Dark Lords ever without reason. He somehow managed to stay on the edge of death as a spirit."

She gasped. "He's alive?"

"Well, not so much alive, but yes, he's still out there. Though Dumbledore has been trying to keep it under wraps."

He got more comfortable. "So the first story is about my first DADA teacher Quirrel, a sketchy and edgy guy. He seemed like the completely wrong guy from the get go now that I look back at it. However, what was a first year student to do? It had only been a week or so since I had been introduced to magic, and since then I had met all sorts of… enigmatic characters."

"Well, during my first year, I was still the naïve little kid, so one day I ended getting tricked by a student, and end up getting detention with our grounds keeper. So I was sent into the Forbidden Forest, to look for something that was hurting the unicorns in there."

"Wait, they sent a first year after something that could harm a unicorn… Wait, wait, wait… you have unicorns out there?", she asked.

"Yes, we do have unicorns", he chuckled. "Though I can understand it's hard to believe they would be in that creepy and not at all nice forest. But we're getting sidetracked again. As I said we went into the forest to discover what was hunting the unicorns. A few had been turning up wounded the last couple of weeks apparently."

"So did you find what was doing it?", she asked.

"Yes, I found him crouched over a unicorn. It was Quirrel, but apparently he got scared when I interrupted him, and so fled. However we didn't know it was him at the time. So, during the year, I fought a troll, bypassed a dangerous Devil's Snare, got chased by a bunch flying keys, had to play some weird chess and jumped through everlasting fire."

"Back up a sec, don't some of those things deserve an explanation", she asked, a frown on her face.

"I suppose they do", he said and shrugged. "But you're going to have to wait for those. I'm saving them for points later on."

"But guess what waited for me at the end?", he said, and grinned at the expectation on her face. "Nah, it would be sad if I spoiled it all now, why not wait? You know to build up suspense."

"Aww, come on", she pouted.

"No, no", he said. "What kind of storyteller would I be if I spoiled it all now?"

"Not that much better than you are now", she giggled.

"Ow, you wound me", he said, holding a hand to his heart. "But it still won't work. I will at least stick to the basics of storytelling."

She sat up on the divan, and patted the seat beside her. "Isn't there any way I can persuade you to talk?"

He sighed, and went over and plopped down beside her. "No, I'm like the Fort Knox when it comes to this stuff."

A tinkling laugh escaped her. "I highly doubt that is the case, but I will let you keep your secrets, for now that is."

"I do so appreciate that", Harry responded, for all intents and purposes as if he really meant it. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Louise looked askew at him. "I don't see why not."

"What do you see yourself doing in five years?", he asked. "I'm asking because, things some things have changed a lot for me lately, more than I ever could have guessed. You see, I used to want to become an auror."

"You don't anymore then?"

"To be honest, right now I can't even see myself being an auror", he said and let out a sigh. So many things had changed lately, him included, that he had no idea where he was actually going. "I've changed since then."

"It's not unusual to change your mind", she responded with a smile on her lips. "It just means you're growing up. Some people know from they're little and hold to that, but others take some time. I mean, I don't have a clear clue yet."

"You mean you don't have the slightest about what you want to be?", he asked incredulously.

She fidgeted slightly with an embarrassed look in her eyes and he wondered at how much a change the Veela Allure actually caused in her and it should surprise him even more that he had changed so much, but he didn't. He also knew that girls, or rather young women, like Louise and Fleur would have been intimidating to him before, but for some reason that was no longer the case. The gap in experience was clear, and probably would remain so for some time, but he was not that person anymore.

"Come now", he coaxed. "Surely you have pictured your dreamjob, so spill it."

"Well, there is this thing, but it's rather silly", she said with a bit uncertainty. "I want to work in Spell Creation, but they only take the best and the brightest, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up."

"Spell Creation", he said wonderingly. "I can imagine it would be a difficult line of work."

She sighed, with an air of hopelessness. "Yes, it's nearly impossible to get accepted."

He put on a comforting smile. "You know, you shouldn't be so pessimistic, after all the race is not over yet."

"Heh, you don't even know me yet", she snorted with a small laugh. "But I thank you anyway."

He smirked and offered his arm to her which she like previous also wrapped her own two around it. "So what do you say we go grab a bite to eat? And if you're still up to it afterwards I'll continue the tour, though we're going to have to postpone the storytelling to another time."

She arched a brow. "So I earned the right to hear the ending of your first year tale?"

"Of course, I thought that would be obvious by now. Information for information, after all. However you're going to have to wait. As I said before I want to build up suspense", he said, as he led her out the classroom and down her hall and idly chitchatted as they made their way to the great hall.

On the way they passed several students who all took immediate notice of the couple walking the down the halls, and as it was nearing dinner time it was not surprising when several students quickly turned into a crowd of people muttering behind their backs and throwing glares in his direction. Though it was not that hard figuring out what they were talking about even had they been unable to hear what they were whispering, and they were not really that discreet.

Though to both their credit, they were actually not that affected by it all. Harry was used to this by now, and it really didn't bother him at all, actually he had come to enjoy this far more. It gave him more chances to enjoy the peace and quiet. Louise, though not accustomed to this at all, seemed like she couldn't care less as she smiled dazzlingly and hummed a tune under her breath when they walked through the crowds. It truly seemed like she didn't give a rat's ass about these things, and she totally disregarded the glares that were also sent her way.

So before they even reached the great hall they had managed to piss off a number of people, though said people never did more than glare at them. So as they calmly walked into the great hall and Louise dragged him to sit with her at the Ravenclaw table among the other Beauxbaton. It seemed that there weren't many of the students from that school present currently. Actually now that he looked about he did notice a suspicious lack of higher years.

Actually counting him and Louise there were only about thirty other higher year students and that was from all three schools combined, and most of them were from Hufflepuff, which was a bit weird.

"Hey Louise", he prodded his companion as she sat beside him. The two other Beauxbaton that were present were sending him veiled looks but else did nothing to gain his attention. "Do you know what's up with all the students missing?"

"Oh, it's just a dueling tournament that Hogwarts had decided to host. It will be running alongside the Tri-Wizard tournament. It's only for the older students, students from the fourth year and upwards", she explained, while grazing him with yet another dazzling smile.

He was actually a little put out by this; he wouldn't have minded actually being a part of this tournament instead of this Tri-Wizard nonsense, though he supposed he would gain more honor or whatever by doing the Tri-Wizard.

"So I assume you're not going to be part of it, seeing as you've spent most of the day with me and not in whatever class the others are doing."

She just waved it off. "No I will be participating, I just told my friend to sign me on. But I have some experience in formal dueling from back home, so I reckoned I wouldn't need to be there for the introduction."

"Cocky aren't we?", he replied with a raised brow.

"I'm not cocky, just confident", she shot back with a smile. "It's one of my skills"

"I will be looking forward to seeing that", he responded, and looked about the great hall.

During the meal they chatted about many different subjects, though it was all light subjects, and they actually didn't learn much about each other. But they did manage to have some fun and that was the point of it all.

They spent most of the meal laughing about silly things and having a good time, and when they were done Louise picked a piece of cake, and speared part of it on a fork and teasingly held it towards him clearly waiting for him to open his mouth.

"Say 'ahh'", she cooed as she held the cake piece forth. Obviously he normally wouldn't sink to such a level as to take such humiliating bait, but it was a damn delicious piece of cake, as he knew from experience. Though he did wonder at the sudden familiarity the girl exhibited,

He opened his mouth omitting the 'ahh' part, though Louise took the opportunity before it slipped away to slip the piece of cake into his mouth, and he found that it was definitely worth the sacrifice, though vengeance would still be in order. However his thoughts were interrupted when a large bustle was heard from the double doors and he looked up to see a large group of students wander into the great all excitedly chatting with each other.

To think a dueling competition could cause such uproar, but then again that was to be expected. None of these children had ever truly learned how to duel, never been in a life and death situation, and though he would probably be equally eager to enter the tournament it was only because he would choose these fights and they would be on his terms, not those of Voldemort or his lackeys.

All the students quickly settled down to eat, and the excited chatter continued. Surprisingly few students actually noticed that he was even sitting there at the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons sat, and amongst those were mostly other Beauxbaton, who seemed quite interested in why Louise was sitting with him. However the few Hogwarts students who actually saw him quickly turned to their friends to point him out, who in turn also stared at him.

Honestly, one would think they had seen enough of him over the years, but apparently he became doubly interesting when he was out in the cold. It was actually quite hilarious.

Again he looked out over the crowds, searching for his two lady friends who had kept him occupied in the school infirmary. He hadn't planned to spend the day as he did, but he wasn't making a fuss about how it had turned out. Originally he had planned to spend the day practicing the magical armor penetration spells. Daphne hadn't really informed him how they were pulled off, only just vaguely outlined it. So he'd meant to have her spend some of the day showing him. But there was no point in rushing, since he still had some and four days until he had to face the Norwegian Horntail.

He was however a bit rattled at finding neither Fleur nor Daphne anywhere within sight. Fleur he had no control over whatsoever, but he had expected Daphne to be here, and was a bit surprised not to find her there.

He turned back to Louise to find said girl staring at him with a puzzled look.

"What were you looking for?", she innocently asked.

"Nothing", he said. "What do you say I give you the rest of the tour?"

Louise nodded with a smile on her lips. "I would love that", she said delightedly, and many of the French girls either glared at him or tittered in laughter.

He got up and she followed his example and took a hold of his arm and he was quite a bit surprised to see the jealous looks that were sent her way, especially those coming from the Hogwarts students. He almost snorted at that. Honestly after the way they had been treating him could the even be considering they had any claim to him at all, it was almost beyond ridiculous.

"So what would you like to see?", he said upon exiting the great hall. "We have many exciting things; we have the Dungeons, though it's dangerous to go there as rumors has it that a great git is stalking the halls, the Astronomy Tower, which has a great view, the lake though I think you've already seen that. Then there is the Chamber of Secrets, but that's a no go, the tunnel is collapsed I think."

He shrugged. "Actually when I think about it there's not really that much to show you. I have this one place that would probably surprise you, though I need you to swear to keep it a secret, as I don't exactly want everyone knowing."

"I think I can promise that", she said. "So lead the way to this wonderful place."

He nodded and a while later they were walking down a deserted hallway on the seventh floor. Louise seemed a little puzzled at his sudden stop, in a hallway where there were no doors, and nothing whatsoever.

Harry however chose to ignore that in favor of simply showing her. So concentrating on a room where he could relax, he walked back and forth in front of the tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy thrice before the soft gasp Louise let out proved that his intention had worked.

He turned his head and sure enough, there was the door he needed and as he opened it and bid Louise inside he studied the room, and it was exactly like he had imagined it, large with a see through wall in one side of the room showing the Hogwarts grounds, though he was smart enough to let it only be one way. Else it was pretty much bare, with some comfortable chairs and a couch, with a small fire going in a fireplace off to the side.

"This, Louise, is the Room of Requirement I believe it's called, and it's my little getaway", he said, and looked around the room. "This place is beyond words. For example, if I need a book on cooking", he said and instantly a cooking book was laying on one of the chairs. "The room provides it. I think this room could provide anything you could think of, or should I say have need of, hence the Room of Requirement."

"This is amazing", she trilled and looked around the room. A second later a table with a small glass of water appeared in front of her. But she was seemingly not surprised as she just grabbed the glass and took a sip from it. "Do you come here all the time?"

"When I need time to think or relax I do. This place can be anything I require from silent to noisy, however I want it", he said wistfully and sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs. He was not joking this place had actually helped him a lot. "It's the best place in this school if you ask me."

"I can see why you would say that", she breathed in awe. "I wish we had something like this at Beauxbaton. It's amazing; I would probably spend hours in here."

"Well, you're more than welcome to, as long you keep it a secret", he said and carefully examined her.

The reason for the scrutiny this time was significantly less motivated by hormones and more motivated by a need to understand what he'd become. The timing at which she presented herself was impeccable and she presented a perfect test subject.

The fact that he could even think like that and not have any qualms about it only served to emphasize the magnitude of the changes that had been wrought upon him. That he could so easily see a person as a test subject rather than a person would have been repulsive to him only weeks ago. Despite this ability to detach himself, he still felt fondness for some people, most prominently now was Fleur, who he had somehow zero'ed in on as soon as he awake in the Hospital Wing, and to a lesser degree Daphen as well, and he probably would be able to come to care for Louise as well. He also felt some lingering affection for both Hermione and Ron, though he with his slightly more cynical view couldn't care less.

Being able to control to his powers, he had quickly realized, would be paramount. The warning that Fleur had given him had taken root and he was knew that people would soon become aware of the changes in him if he didn't take the proper precautions to control them, and he'd rather fancy not becoming a lab rat for the government, which he undoubtedly would become.

So sacrifices would have to be made, and Louise here would be the first of undoubtedly many. Luckily for her, it was not like the process would be unpleasant as his Allure had quite the pleasurable effect on the fairer sex.

So without much further ado he simply focused his attention on Louise, who was still immersed himself in his Allure, and simply released the constraints he had put on it. It wasn't the power at full, because he was quite sure he would pass out from using that, if the amount he had used on Fleur earlier was any indication. The power was simply allowed free pass in his body and he felt a strange, alien but still familiar rush that came with it.

The moment the restraint dropped it felt like he was somehow more free than he was before, like he was no longer encumbered by unknown burdens, and he felt energy suffuse every part of his body. The action likewise had an immediate effect, as an immediate heat grew in her cheeks and her eyes caught his form, immediately turning dropping her attention to the room in favor of focusing on him. Special regard was in particular paid to his body, as his eyes were only just met initially before the hungry eyes of Louise visually devoured him.

He was inwardly pleased at the reaction Louise exhibited, despite his more academic intents at this point in time.

"Why don't you take a seat Louise", he inquired gently, knowing that she would comply with just about anything he asked of her now, and he was not unsurprised at her instant compliance. "Would you please remain there?"

"Okay Harry", she answered with a brilliant smile.

So far he had only allowed his Allure to run free, and only control the level of exposure, the thing he wanted to attempt right now was to focus it, and since he had no precedence he simply had to wing it. So since he was aware that the Veela Allure affected emotions, it should be possible for them to read emotions as well, or so was his theory at least.

So far he had only been focused on the physical aspects of his life, in the sense that he had been much more affected physically by the young women surrounding him, and therefore he suspected he had also equally been focused on affecting them in a likewise manner. So he supposed it simply resided in his 'wanting' to affect other emotions, such as joy, anger and trust.

He imagined his power as a sphere which enshrouded Louise, and as he did so he focused on picking up any emotions she gave off, and he felt a small pulse throughout his body and soul. The pulsing became so insistent and incessant that it almost bordered on pain, but with the increasing pressure also came an inkling of something foreign and soon his ambition overpowered his carefulness and with the last greatest pulse he felt awash in a swirl of emotions, in a ball intensity that took him by surprise.

However, with that new sensation also came a lance of pain in his head that had no comparison. With a hoarse cry, his hands flew to his head, but as soon as the pain had made itself know, as soon was it but a distant memory, though it did leave change in its wake, as he could acutely 'feel' the emotions of Louise, who was still sitting in the chair as he had told her to, though he could now recognize through that small ball of emotions that he had quickly come to realize was her emotions that she was scared for him.

The sensation of reading her emotions was both foreign and familiar, like his Allure, and it felt like a natural extension of him, just as much as his arm did. But however familiar it felt, it was still a foreign ability and he felt like exploring it as much as he had wanted to fly when he originally learned of that.

But that revelation of a new skill had been more consuming than he had thought it would, and right now, more than anything he would rather sleep than do anything too strenuous. But he felt like he at least deserved some trophy for remembrance of his recent victory, so with a wicked smirk he got up and approached her, and whispered something in her ear, which caused her to go bright red, but as he expected she nodded nonetheless.

He turned and walked over to the see through wall and stared out at the school grounds, which were by now shrouded in darkness, deliberating over the newest facet of his powers, but was broken out of his respite by the feel of something soft being pressed into his hands, and he smelt a strong, heady scent permeating the air.

He turned with a smile, while slipping the present into his pocket, to see the bright blushing face of Louise. Who to his surprise actually looked perhaps even more spent than he did.

"So let's get going, I should probably get you back to the Ravenclaw tower, before they get worried", he said, and exited the room followed by Louise. The trek back towards the Great Hall was fairly uneventful, as was to be expected so close to curfew, with only a small hour till every student was expected to be in their dorms, and preferably their beds.

They had been traveling in comfortable silence when they reached their destination, and it seemed luck was on his side today, because just outside the Great Hall stood a small group of Beauxbatons, chatting with each other quietly.

"Excuse me", he said, and pumped his allure up to a whooping eight percent, after having once more put it under restraints, and more than enough to coerce someone into doing him a small favor. So he smiled charmingly at them as they turned to stare at him with almost glittering eyes. "You all look like wonderfully responsible young women, and I was wondering if you could help my friend here back to the Ravenclaw tower. She is a bit tired."

They all quickly assured him that they could do so, and he graced them with another smile. "Thank you, I appreciate this."

Leaving Louise and her schoolmates with a few kind words, he ventured back towards the Gryffindor common room, while turning his allure down to zero. He really didn't want to draw any more attention to himself in Gryffindor, because as it was now he was liable to do something he would regret, or maybe not to the degree of regret, but odds were that it would give him no end of trouble.

Entering the common room he found not many people about, and he groaned when he discovered just who was there. Two of the last three people he'd want to meet right now. But apparently groaning wasn't the smart thing to do, as he might have had a chance to sneak by them otherwise.

"Where have you been Harry?", Hermione raged, storming up to him. "We don't see you for three days, and you don't come see any of us now that you're out?"

The second person, Ginny, stood just a bit behind Hermione, nodding her assent. "Yes, you could have at least told us."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't have to tell you anything. If you were so interested in knowing how I was doing, you could have visited me in the infirmary", he spat angrily, before turning his eyes on Ginny. "And why are you interfering?"

"Don't take that tone with us Harry James Potter", Hermione snapped briskly, a fire in her eyes. "We were just worried about you."

"No you weren't. You just want to know every little thing that I do, and the only reason Ginny is worried is because she still has a childish crush on me", he said with scorn. This was what he had been hoping to avoid, this would only spur on the rumors of the house ban, and maybe make it a reality. Not that he cared much for it, but it would cause problems between him and probably the entire school.

Ginny let out a little surprised squeak, at hearing his exclamation, and he looked at her with annoyance. "Yes I know about your silly little crush, and no there is no chance of anything ever happening between us." It wasn't so much that he hated her, but he needed to put a wall between him and the Weasley's, and besides she wasn't his kind of girl.

"Harry," Hermione burst out. "How can you say that?"

He turned back to her. "Because it's the truth, and there was no point in sugarcoating it. I honestly couldn't care less about what you think. So why don't you just be good little girls and leave me alone, like you've been doing these last couple of weeks. Because I'm really not in the mood for you right now."

His words seemed to shake both of them, and it was a long time since he had been so honest with them. However Hermione's face scrunched up and she sniffed at him. "What is that smell?"

Harry laughed. "Nothing that concerns you."

"I know that smell", Hermione persisted, her eyes betraying the conflict raging within. "Who was it Harry?"

He laughed. "It's none of your business with who I have spent some quality time with. So butt out of it."

He shook his head and walked past them towards the stairwell to the boys' dormitories.

"You stay right there Harry. I'm not done with you yet", Hermione yelled in an unusual display of temper.

"Yea, yea" he said and ignored the people from both the boy's and girl's dormitories coming down the stairs to see what the ruckus was about. Apparently their interlude, however brief, had drawn a crowd, but he really wasn't in the mood for another great discussion from the Gryffindor house. Right now he'd rather laze in bed and recall the events of the evening.

Today had been a great day, and he wouldn't let his house ruin it for him. So ignoring any further outbursts from Hermione and angry muttering from Ginny and the rest of the house, he climbed the stairs to his floor and entered the room.

The inside were surprisingly enough full of people, more so than one would have thought. Both boys and girls and the like were gathered in the room. If he didn't know any better he would say that they were having a party, if not for the lack of music, booze, and generally a good mood. However what really tipped him to the true nature of this 'congregation' was that the second he set foot inside he found at least a dozen eyes glued to him.

It seemed to him that he was not lucky enough to get his wish granted just yet, and from the faces of those in the room, both male and female, it seemed he wouldn't unless he put an end to it now. Problem was that he had no idea what they wanted.

He put on a fake cheerful smile. However his will to tolerate these people had dropped drastically these last couple of months, and things were not exactly turning around.

He walked to his bed and sat down, emptied his pockets on the sheets. Some galleons, knuts and sickles fell on the bed, accompanied with the shrunken books Fleur hand lent him, as well as the present from Louise, which was the source of the smell that Hermione had detected. He wished he had thought about this before doing it, but the damage was done, if the looks on the faces of the people in the room were anything to base it on.

Ron looked at the article in question with a confused look, as did the three Gryffindor chasers and quite a few others. However Neville was the one to start the almost literal inquisition.

"What are that Harry?", he asked.

"It's panties Neville. Usually you get these from a girl Neville", he sighed, and placed the books he'd borrowed from Fleur into his drawer, and pocketed the wizarding coins again.

"Yea, but _why_ do you have them?", Angelina piped in.

He sent an annoyed look at the Gryffindor chaser. "As I said, usually a girl gives these to a guy."

"So a girl gave them to you?", Parvati enquired.

"I would think that was obvious by now", he snorted.

"Who was it?", Angelina asked, eyes strangely intent on the piece of clothing.

"You know what; even if I slept with all the girls of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin combined it still wouldn't be any of your business", he growled at the lot of them. "So unless you have a bloody good reason for being here I suggest you shove off, because I am about to tuck in."

He threw his shirt on a nearby footstool, before he turned back to the crowd all nervously staring at the Boy-Who-Lived throwing off his clothes in front of them. "Unless of course you want a show. Naturally this offer only extends to the females in here, but you should know it goes both ways, if you see me I see you."

He put on a look of fake-sadness. "No takers? Damn, well, better luck for me next time. Now would you either please get out or get to the point?"

A small symphony of voices spoke up at the same time, until Dean coughed loudly enough to gain the attention of all in there. "Harry, we have something important to talk about. We know you are aware of the treatment you've been receiving in this school, as well as from us because of you dishonoring our house."

Harry snorted, but otherwise kept quiet, he figured letting them get it out of their system would make them disappear sooner, and trying to interrupt them would only make this take longer. That of course didn't mean he would just let it all lie, but now was not the time for a confrontation.

"But we think we've made our point clear by now, and we've decided that if you're willing to extend a public apology regarding the incident with the Tri-Wizard tournament. Then we would be willing to back you up in public again. Of course we can't guarantee that the other houses will support our decision. If you chose to ignore it…", Angelina said, trying to keep an impassive mask up.

He almost burst out in laughter at that. Sure the situation was absurd, but to think they would really take it this far, but they had and that left him with only one option.

"'Dishonoring our house'? 'Willing to back you up in public again'?", this time he did laugh, and he actually had to hold his stomach in laughter. "You make it sound like I should care. You've been holding this threat of a house ban over my head since this entire thing started, and to be honest I tire of it. So why not take that little list of signatures you've probably already cooked up by now and turn it in to whoever you want. Then I don't have to wear these ridiculous colors anymore."

Many of their faces turned red in anger, he honestly couldn't remember ever being this blunt, and neither could he remember anything about his house being this hot headed and prideful. It was going to be so fun pushing their buttons, and despite this being opposite of what he had hoped for, he felt oddly satisfied.

"You're forcing us to place the house ban on you. Why make it so hard on yourself? Just apologize and restore the honor of the house, and everything will be back to normal", Angelina replied.

"Who says I want it to go back to normal?", he said, arching a brow. "I am actually happy this finally happened. Takes that load of my shoulder. So if that was all, could you all please leave? I kind of want to sleep."

The entire brigade glared, before purposely walking slowly to the door, as if in protest.

"Oh, by the way Angelina, I assume you will let Wood know that you're in the need of a new seeker, I seem to have lost the enthusiasm in regards to dealing with Gryffindors", he said wittily.

A few begun funneling out of the room, before he halted them again. He might as well begin the fun now.

"Wait! Could you please turn in the form within the next couple of days? I have my eyes on some wonderful robes. The sooner I get rid of those red and gold atrocities the better", he said offhandedly as he fingered the black lace panties he'd gotten from Louise.

Parvati and Angelina just sniffed, along with a few angry outbursts from the remaining before they filed out. He caught a glimpse of Lavender's rear on the way, and he had to say that girl had some deliciously luscious curves. He might have to get closer to that girl, despite her not being the smartest; she definitely had a form that a girl her age shouldn't be capable of.

He had no idea if this would work, but focusing solely Lavender he picked her bundle of feelings out from the rest, and somehow _willed_ his allure to focus on her, though only at twelve, but surely enough to affect her. The rest of the people just filed out the room, however Lavender suddenly stood stock-still.

Harry pretended to only superficially notice her, while he kept playing with the panties, twirling them around his fingers. Lavender turned around to look at him, and he could feel the confusion swirling around inside her, however he could also feel adoration blooming, reverence growing, with a good deal of need mixed in as well.

"Harry…", she started timidly.

"Hmm, Lavender, why are you still here?", he asked in a detached tone, and Lavender flinched as if struck. But it was all part of how he wanted this to play out, as she was the next part of his experiement.

"Harry", she said slowly, as if picking her words carefully. "You know that I don't support what they're doing to you right?"

"Really?", he asked in sarcasm. "Because you seemed to agree with them just as much a few seconds ago."

"Harry", she said, her hand trembling slightly. "I didn't mean that, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I don't know if I believe that", he shot back, enjoying seeing her eyes tear up. It was fortunate that they were the only ones in there right now. Everyone had left the room, even the ever timid Neville had left with the crowd, leaving behind only him and Lavender.

"You have to", she begged.

"So if I were to go down right now and demand to see the written list of people who have approved of me getting a house ban, I wouldn't see your name on it?", he said bitterly. It was a gamble, but he honestly believed she had signed it. "And don't you lie to me."

She trembled visibly now, leaning on the door frame. "No…", she said sounding pathetic.

"I told you not to lie", he said coldly, once again causing her to flinch. "Tell me the truth."

"I-I did sign it", she said, turning frantic. "But I regret it. I don't know why I did it, but I'm so sorry. Forgive me."

"Give me one good reason I should", he said scathingly. "Everyone in this house has been treating me like dirt the last two months, and you think a simple 'I'm sorry' is going to change anything?"

"Believe me, please. Let me prove it", she pleaded with him, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "Forgive me please."

"I don't know", he said suspiciously.

"Please, I will do anything."

Her eyes brightened at the possible light at the end of the tunnel, and he knew he had her. This was exactly the way he had wanted it to go. Now he just had to let her stew in it for a bit.

"Okay. But I will only give you one chance", he said, severity in his voice. "One chance only, understand?"

She nodded frantically. "Yes, please. I will prove that I'm worth it."

"Good", he said with a finger on his bottom lip. "I want you to try to become the best student at transfiguration in our year, understood?"

"Yes, I will do anything. I promise. I will be anything you want."

"Someday I might believe you when you said you were sorry", he replied. "But until then just try your best, okay?"

She nodded fervently.

"Good, now get going. I don't think I'll be staying here after the weeks up, so don't go spouting all kinds of stuff in my defense, that would only get you in trouble, okay?"

She nodded again, no longer crying but having a happy smile on her face, and she left quickly, hips swaying unconsciously. He could feel she was anxious, probably about disappointing him, as she should be.

He plumped down on his side in bed, after divesting himself of his pants. Hopefully they would at least not drag this out; their hotheadedness would probably spur them on, making them submit this house ban as soon as possible.

He smiled to himself as he fell asleep.

Today had been a good day.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this installment