Hello my awesome readers, and welcome to the latest chapter! As always, still no sponsors, still don't own anything other than Madison and Jesse (If i owned Harry Potter do you really think I'd have let Sirius die?) and of course, I'm broke as hell. Anyway, I'd like to extend a warm and very grateful thank you to all the readers who offered to help me with translations, it's an enormous help for an enormous dream. Also, my mistake, the Buggles did not do 'Turning Japanese' it was the Vapours, i was looking at the wrong bit in my playlist, my mistake all.
Still looking for French translators if anybody is interested and actually I'll be in Paris on the 11th to the 13th, so if anybody wants to show me around or tell me how to get to the Arc de Triomphe, that would be excellent :)
Moonlight is brought to you by the following, blag blah blah, we get the drill xD
enjoy the new chapter entitled 'Yule Ball part 3: Friendship Lost, Love Gained' (Alternately called 'The Red-head Rage Fest') lame titles, I know.
"I thought we were friends Harry!" yelled Ron as soon as he was in hearing distance.
"What are you talking about Ron?" asked Harry, tensing as though preparing for a fight.
"Where to bloody start!" he yelled angrily. "First, you don't set me up with a date for the dance, and then you ditch me to spend the night with the Veela! Then, you ignore me all night while you have fun with everybody else and dance to stupid Muggle music! Finally, all this tournament business, you claim you didn't enter yourself, yet you seem to be doing fine in it! I'll bet you planned all this to get a shot with the Veela chick!" Ron's rant finished his face red in exertion and anger, as Harry stood there calmly, attempting to hold back on punching the redhead in the face.
"Ron, none of us ditched you; you could have joined in with the dancing anytime you wanted. And you know full well that Harry didn't enter himself, and he certainly wouldn't ever do it to impress a girl," stated Hermione coldly, having had just about enough of Ron, already upset at him for trying to ruin the night.
"And you! You're fraternising with the enemy!" spat Ron at Hermione, who raised an eyebrow.
"Fraternising with the enemy?" she repeated.
"He's a Ravenclaw! Gryffindor's make friends with other Gryffindor's! You could have spared yourself some embarrassment if you'd just admitted you wanted to go with me in the first place, but instead you make off with some Ravenclaw who's way too old for you anyway!" yelled Ron, his face turning red from anger. Hermione was looking absolutely furious at this point.
"How dare you?! First of all, who ever said it was illegal to make friends with people outside of Gryffindor? Secondly, his name is Jesse, and he's only a year older than me. Thirdly, I have never wanted to go to the ball with you, ever Ronald, and right now I'm seriously considering if I want to even be friends with you anymore! You belittle everything that is important to me, you insult me, you abandon Harry and call him a cheat without even listening to him, and then you have the gall to accuse Harry of entering to get closer to Fleur! Harry could get a girlfriend without entering himself in some stupid tournament, because Harry is a nice person who isn't a selfish, stupid arse like you!" screamed Hermione, her anger apparent by the magic flaring up all around her, causing Ron to take a step back in fear of Hermione's wrath. "Jesse is nice, caring, funny and sweet. At least I'm not an inbred Pureblood whose family tree is more twisted than a slinky!" and with that, Hermione stalked away. Jesse gave Ron a cold look before going after Hermione. Harry just stared at Ron like he was an idiot.
"Ron, don't talk to me again until you apologise. For what you said to Hermione and for what you said about Fleur. Until you can get that stick removed from your arse and apologise, I can't consider you my friend," said Harry coldly, before also walking off towards the gardens outside. Fleur had to hold herself back from frying the stupid boy, settling for glaring at him angrily for ruining the night, before taking after Harry. Ron was stewing in his anger at his former friends, when he heard the ominous cracking of knuckles. Ron turned around, only to find Alicia, Angelina and Katie towering over him, their eyes seemed to have turned red and glowing, as they cracked their knuckles.
"You just ruined not only our night, but our little brother's night with your petulant moaning and bitching. Here comes the pain!" said the girls in eerie unison, before they pounced. Fred, George and Neville looked on, wondering what the girls were doing, as their forms blocked out the screaming boy, though for some reason they found that they weren't particularly worried for his safety, since they all felt like pounding him for what he had said. When the girls stepped back, Fred, George, Neville and all the onlookers almost died of laughter, putting a temporary halt to the dancing as the students all fell to the floor laughing. Had McGonagall not heard what the redhead had said to his friends, she might have gone to sort it out, but found she was having trouble breathing from trying not to laugh.
"Should I go and sort it out, Headmaster?" asked McGonagall, trying not to crack a smile.
"I've gone temporary blind and haven't the foggiest what everybody is laughing at Minerva," said Dumbledore, staring straight ahead, twiddling his thumbs, though the Transfiguration professor could tell that he was grinning like a loon under his beard. "But for some reason I suddenly find an insane urge to laugh, an urge I think many others are feeling, so if you too feel that urge, do follow it, you might break a rib trying not to," finished Dumbledore, as Flitwick rolled across the floor laughing, while Sprout was slumped across a table wheezing with some Hufflepuffs. The imposter Moody was on the floor, clutching his chest as he laughed silently, struggling to breathe. Even Snape had cracked a smirk at the redhead's misfortune.
Harry was leaning his head on his hand as he sat on a bench in the gardens. The gardens had been fitted with warming charms, so that the students could walk together without being hindered by the cold, but Harry had barely taken notice, and was instead trying not to blow things up. Suddenly, a warm pair of slender arms encircled Harry on his right, causing him to look up into Alicia's face.
"Hey Harry, what's wrong" she asked gently, sitting down next to him.
"It's Ron. He was my first friend, and now it's like I don't even know who he is anymore," said Harry glumly.
"That's not what's bothering you though, is it?" said Alicia softly, causing Harry to look at her in confusion.
"How did you know that" he asked.
"Come on Harry," she replied, grinning at him. "Give big sis Alicia some credit," she said cheekily. Harry gave her a weak smile, before it dropped and he looked down at the ground.
"It's Fleur. I... I really like her, and... Well, with what Ron said about her, I..." Harry couldn't get the words out. Alicia pulled Harry to her chest, enveloping him in a warm hug.
"Oh Harry, nobody will blame you for what Ron said. And if she does, then she's obviously not worth my cute little brother," said Alicia gently, kissing is forehead. Harry smiled at her, hugging her back.
"Thank you Alicia. I don't know what I did to be blessed with a big sister like you," he said. Alicia smiled, as she got up to leave, having noticed Fleur approaching quietly.
"I'll see you back in there later Harry," she said, smiling once more before she started heading back. She put her arm out to stop the Beauxbatons champion momentarily, said champion raising her eyebrow in question.
"That boy is very dear to not just me, but a select few who are lucky enough to be called 'sister' by Harry. I love Harry, and if you break his heart, I'll break your face, fire throwing Veela or not," said Alicia with passion. Fleur smiled brightly at the girl.
"I would never do anyzing to urt Arry, but eet is good to see e has a caring and loving big sister to elp im," said Fleur, getting a satisfied smile from Alicia.
"Damn straight," she said simply, before walking back into the hall. Fleur walked over to where Alicia had sat, wrapping her arms around Harry, who looked up in surprise.
"Arry, do not blame yourself for Ronald's words, I do not care what e says, only what you say," said Fleur gently. "I ave ad a wonderful night wiz you Arry, you made it so much better zan ze last time, I only wish I had gone wiz you the first time," she said, smiling softly at him.
"You really mean that?" said Harry uncertainly, a spark of hope in his eyes. Fleur knew that Harry's relatives had never loved him as a family should, and that he would always be sensitive and doubtful of the word love.
"Yes Arry, I truly do," replied Fleur, gazing into his emerald green eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment, green eyes gazing into sky blue eyes, before both sets of eyes closed slowly, as the two champions moved closer together, their lips finally touching in a gentle, yet heartfelt kiss.
As the two champions kissed, Alicia, Katie and Angelina cooed softly from behind the rosebush.
"I'm so happy for him," sniffed Angelina, while Katie nodded earnestly as she and Alicia hugged each other.
"Couldn't be prouder of him, he's a real champion now," agreed Fred, as George proudly nodded. Hermione was crying tears of joy, happy for her friend, while Jesse smiled. Neville was happy for his friend, who had suffered far too much, now finding love for the first time, while Madison was also cooing with the Chasers, saying how cute they were together. Cedric and Krum were both proud of their fellow champions, and happy for both of them, though it didn't stop them from taking a picture of the two for in case they ever needed it. Luna and Cho were both smiling too, evidently happy for the young man. Most of the women then blushed and looked away, after the kiss turned much more passionate, evident by several moans from the new couple. Other than Fred and George, who were smirking and whooping, Alicia who was grinning like a loon, and Jesse who looked torn between fascination and looking awkward.
"Jeez, it's lucky we put up Silencing Charms so they wouldn't know we were here, right Gred?" said George, still grinning at the passionate couple.
"Too right uglier brother, if they had caught us, no telling where the lovely lady may have put her fireballs," replied Fred, as both twins winced at the thought of fire on such a sensitive area.
"They're so sweet together, I can almost hear wedding bells!" squealed Alicia, which made the rest of the girls squeal in excitement.
"You go little bro!" cheered Katie, as Neville pointed at the two.
"If they don't stop soon, they may have a kid before they have a marriage," Neville pointed out, seeing where their hands were, making all the girls blush once more, with Hermione putting her hands over her eyes in embarrassment.
"As they say, 'safety first, wear a helmet'," said Luna dreamily. A long, awkward silence followed this.
The two champion's lips seemed to match perfectly, as they put all their feelings into the one kiss. Slowly, their lips moved together against one another, as Harry put his arms around Fleur's waist and in her long, silvery hair, while Fleur looped her arms around his neck. Soon, Fleur licked Harry's lips, asking permission to enter his mouth, which opened immediately, causing a wave of physical pleasure to hit both teens. They moved together in rhythm, holding each other close as their tongues rubbed against one another, causing Harry and Fleur to moan against each other's lips. Fleur twisted her hand in Harry's hair, pushing him as close to her as he could go, as Harry started kissing and suckling Fleur's beautiful neck, making her moan.
"I think that everybody has forgotten that while a Silencing Charm makes us unable to hear them, they aren't doing a very good job of hiding themselves from sight," whispered Harry to Fleur, having seen their friends in the bushes.
"Zen why don't we show zem somezing more exciting?" breathed Fleur, pulling Harry back to her lips, as the kiss became even more passionate. Fleur inwardly grinned, as she heard several 'eeps' from the girls, though outwardly she was moaning at the work of Harry's lips. She trailed a hand from his neck down to his chest, opening his robes enough to run her fingers along his bare chest, which made Harry gasp in pleasure. Fleur gasped as well, when Harry cupped her rear softly, giving it a gentle squeeze. They broke apart for air, breathing heavily; they're eyes never leaving one another. Fleur softly leaned her head against Harry's chest, her eyes closing and a smile forming on her face.
"I love you Arry, I know zis now, and I never want to let you go," she whispered to him, as his arms wrapped around him gently.
"Fleur, if you can put up with me, I'm all yours," Said Harry, kissing her forehead gently. Fleur kissed him tenderly on the lips, before standing and pulling him up as well.
"Come on, I zink that out friends will be wondering where we ave gone," said Fleur overly loud, making Harry grin as he heard the soft footsteps of a large group of people hurrying back to the hall. Harry wrapped his arm around Fleur's slim waist, while she wrapped her arms around his free arm, as they walked back into the hall together.
Harry and Fleur walked back into the hall, confused to see that everybody was pointing and laughing at something. They made their way to the point of interest and their jaws dropped. A crib was sitting in the middle of the space with several toys and rattles sitting in it, alongside a fat redhead baby with a dummy in his mouth. The child in question looked severely angry and was waving a rattle furiously at people. A note was stuck to his crib that said 'I'm a petulant whiny baby, hear me roar'. One look was easily enough to tell Harry that Ron had been taken care of for the night. He mentally went through everything they had done together, as well as everything he had said about both him and Hermione tonight, before making his decision, bursting into hysterical laughter alongside Fleur, who was already on the ground holding her ribs. Harry and Fleur eventually pulled each other up off the ground and headed back to their table, where their friends sat, trying to look innocent. Deciding to ignore it for now, Harry grinned at the twins.
"Your work?" he asked, gesturing to the crib where Ron the baby sat, still being laughed at by the entire student body. Harry was surprised when the twins grinned and shook their heads.
"Behold, the masters of this ingenious payback!" announced the twins, gesturing to Alicia, Angelina and Katie, before getting down on their hands and knees and bowing repeatedly to the girls as though they were gods.
"Thank you, thank you," said Katie, taking a bow as a mass of cheering shot up from the onlookers. Alicia and Angelina also followed suit, bowing to the crowd as well.
"It was worth the detention we're bound to get," smirked Angelina, who got nods from the other two girls.
"I didn't hear any sort of confessions," squeaked a gasping Flitwick, smirking as the crowd grinned.
The dance was slowly finishing up now, as more and more people left. Ron had been eventually changed back, though he had been immediately sent back to his dorm for attempting to disturb the night and making a fool of himself in front of the guests. Harry and Fleur sat together, talking to Krum and Cedric, as Krum explained why he went with Luna.
"I saw her valking down the hallvay and she said something about Nargles hanging above me. Ve got to talking, since so many of the creatures she described I had never heard of before. Eventually I asked her to the dance, since I had not yet asked anybody i liked," explained Krum, who looked fondly over at Luna, who was talking to Hermione, who was smiling as the girl talked about Aquavirus Maggots that apparently hid in the Black Lake in the grounds.
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting that, but good on you Viktor," said Harry, as everybody came over to the table.
"Harrikins, I do believe the dance is wrapping up-" started Fred.
"So if you have anything else you wanted to do tonight-"continued George.
"You should probably share now," they ended together.
"Merlin stop, I'm getting whiplash!" said Cedric, while everybody else laughed.
"Actually, Cedric, Viktor and I have one last surprise, but we'll have to get somewhere high to see it," said Harry, eliciting interested looks from everybody, though Krum smirked.
"Have you been getting high vithout us Harry?" he teased, getting laughs from everybody, Harry included.
"Nope, we're saving that for the Third Task, imagine how cool the stuff in the maze would look after some pot," grinned Cedric, causing everybody to imagine the scenarios, before they all burst out laughing again.
"Ok then, shall we go up to the Astronomy Tower then?" asked Angelina, getting nods from everybody, as they set off for a walk up to the tower. Along the way, Harry spied Malfoy having an argument with Pansy Parkinson, and decided to have just a little more fun. After whispering his plans to the twins, they began working their magic.
"Why weren't you paying attention to me tonight Draco? You spent more time glaring at Potter and drooling over that French witch than you did dancing with me!" shouted Pansy, feeling like her night had been ruined.
"It's not like you didn't have fun dancing with those boys from Durmstrang, at least I didn't dance with other women!" yelled Draco.
"Don't even try lying to me Draco Malfoy!" screamed Pansy. "I saw you dance with at least six other women, so don't even try and lie to me!" Both were red in the face and panting, before they noticed the hallway was deserted, and there was an eerie fog creeping around them. Suddenly, they both jumped when there was the sound of moaning coming from all around them. Malfoy however, rolled his eyes when he saw one of the Inferi creatures that Potter and his friends had danced as at the ball. Malfoy would never admit that he had also danced with the other zombies.
"Nice try Potter, you're not scaring anyone!" drawled Malfoy, striding forward to teach 'Potter' a lesson. Meanwhile, Pansy had looked behind her and had seen the Weasley twins and a heap of Gryffindors with their fingers pressed to their lips. Getting the signal, Pansy shrugged, deciding to see how it turned out. Malfoy strode up, before punching the zombie squarely in the nose, causing its entire head to snap back, shocking the Malfoy scion. The zombie groped about for its head before pulling it back into position. The zombie gave the horrified Malfoy a grin, before raising its hand, which had a cluster of black hair in it, the head of Harry Potter attached to it. The head suddenly looked in his direction, giving him a feral grin, causing the Malfoy heir to let out a girlish shriek of terror. He turned around, only to see Pansy's body being dragged away, her head removed as well. Malfoy was shaking in fright, before he gave a scream and tried to run for it, only to be blocked by another cluster of zombies.
"BOO!" they all shouted, causing Malfoy to scream and faint. The group fell to the floor laughing; Pansy included who seemed to be crying in mirth, the ugly look on her face gone. She was actually a rather pretty girl, now that the pug look was gone.
"Ok, ok, ok, who bet he would scream?" Cedric choked out, still grinning ear to ear.
"I had my money on 'pissed himself'' giggle Alicia, while Katie and Angelina picked themselves up off the floor.
"Hang on," said Harry, looking over Malfoy. "Looks like everyone's a winner," he announced, getting cheers from everybody. Even Pansy hadn't bet that he wouldn't be scared by it.
"Thanks guys that was actually hilarious!" smiled Pansy gratefully, while the rest smiled back. "It really cheered me up for the night."
"Come with us, maybe it'll make the night?" offered Harry. Pansy smiled and shook her head.
"Thanks Harry, but I should be getting back, it's late. And I can't be hanging out with Gryffindor's, I have a reputation to uphold you know," she grinned, before writing something on a piece of parchment, sticking it to the unconscious Draco's forehead and skipping off down the hallway.
"I didn't know you two got along," said Hermione, surprised that Harry seemed to have befriended Pansy Parkinson of all people.
"Met her in the library a few weeks ago, helped her out with Defence homework, we got talking, found we had a few things in common," Harry shrugged.
"What's the note say?" asked the twins. Everybody peered at the note on Draco's forehead, before falling apart laughing once more, setting off for the Astronomy Tower once more.
"Grocery List:
One Brain: Current one appears to be faulty"
Harry and the others eventually reached the Astronomy Tower, where he conjured couches and armchairs for everybody, before sending clicking the small device he had brought with him to the dance, and shouting out a spell.
"Hoshi Furu Yoru Ni!" intoned Harry, sending a shower of bright, white lights into the sky, reminiscent of shooting stars. The lights split into well over a hundred and began changing colours, before suddenly, several of them burst into bright, colourful explosions, lighting up the sky.
"Fireworks!" squealed the Chasers excitedly.
"They'll keep going for about ten minutes. My gift to everybody," smiled Harry, as everybody sat back, watching the fireworks display. Hermione was cuddled up to Jesse, the rest of the Quidditch team huddled up together, Neville and Madison watching it with their arms around each other, Luna watching the bright lights happily with a smiling Krum, Cedric and Cho watching together with soft smiles of contentment on their faces, and finally Harry himself, his arms around Fleur as they sat together, watching the night of falling stars together.
"Merry Christmas Arry," whispered Fleur, as she kissed him softly on the lips making Harry smile.
"Merry Christmas Fleur," he whispered back, his fingers entwined with hers, as they watched the display together. Yes, it truly was a very merry Christmas.
Woohoo! Another chapter down and Harry and Fleur's first kiss! Hope it was done well enough, not much practice myself, I'm quite the ugly bloke, so I had to guess more or less. Next chapter, not actually very sure, but possibly the prelude to, AND the Second Task: Take Two, though don't hold me to that. Please give some of your praise to Katzztar, the author who gave me the idea of turning Ron into a baby, hopefully you enjoyed that my friend, that idea i give all credit to Katzztar, thank you sir.
Will be enjoying myself in Paris soon, won't be posting again till I'm back home, which i expect will be early November, so no updates till then I'm afraid. Hope everybody enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again to all the willing translators, you guys are the best!
Ciao for now