Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: If you didn't notice from the change in title and summary, this is the chapter where Fleur comes into Harry's life. Also, I have briefly glossed over the events taking place up to this task.

Harry Potter and the Veela Life Debts

By Jojobevco

Chapter 8

The Third Task

The next Hogsmeade weekend, Gabrielle got to meet Sirius Black. Sirius liked her right away. Harry hated that Sirius kept making jokes about their relationship. He didn't like this because he took his relationship with Gabrielle very seriously. Yet, the mood was lightened when Gabrielle suggested he commit a petty crime in France so they could try him and clear his name (except for the petty crime he would be guilty of.)

However, this brightened mood was ruined by the increasingly darker events surrounding them. First the mysterious reappearance and disappearance of Barty Crouch was an issue that worried Harry and Gabrielle. Then, of course there was everything he found out in the pensieve, which only gave him more questions than answers.

What worried them the most was the dream that Harry had of Voldemort, and Wormtail. They knew something was going to happen, and soon. But there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

Hermione and Ron were supposed to be studying for exams; however, they and Gabrielle found themselves spending almost every free moment helping Harry train for the third task. Practicing spells wasn't difficult for Harry. He had a walking expert in everything (Hermione) and two guinea pigs (one of whom was very willing, the other, not so much.) However they discovered a problem when Hermione had suggested Harry practice dodging spells

"Ok, Harry, I'm going to throw some stunners at you and you are going to dodge them. Got it?"

"Yep."

"Stupefy!"

As Harry was getting ready to dodge the spell he suddenly felt someone body slam him to the ground. The spell impacted harmlessly behind him. Harry groaned and lifted himself off the hard stone floor finding Gabrielle next to him.

"Gabrielle, what the heck was that about?"

He saw Gabrielle prostrate herself before him, a habit she continued to have when she thought she had displeased Harry. As much as he tried to stop her from doing it, she wouldn't.

"You were in danger; I was supposed to get you out of danger. I'm sorry, Master."

Harry sighed and pinched his forehead, sometimes this bond could be a real pain in the butt.

"Fine, Gabrielle, I expressly order you to not dive in front of, throw me out of the way of, or interfere with any spells, enchantments, hexes, jinxes, or curses in any way that could put yourself in danger. Well I think that covers it. So let's try this again, shall we?"

The morning of the Third Task led to a visit by the Weasleys where Mrs. Weasley acted quite cold toward Gabrielle until Harry verified the French account of their bonding. Mrs. Weasley then started acting a lot nicer toward Gabrielle.

What was more interesting was the visit by the Delacour family, during which Mr. Delacour shared some very good news.

"Harry, Gabrielle, Fleur, I wanted to tell you this in person because it was so important. I won the election!"

Fleur and Gabrielle squealed for joy and ran over to hug their father. Harry responded with a much more subdued congratulatory handshake. "Congratulations, sir."

"Thank you, Harry, and thank you for helping me win as well."

"What do you mean?"

"You are just as famous in France as you are here. Your bonding with Gabrielle helped me win. It pains me to admit it, but it's true."

Harry spent the rest of the day trying to enjoy himself, but the Third Task loomed over him like a dark cloud. Finally, the dreaded task arrived. Harry and Cedric entered the maze first. Fifty yards in they came to a fork in the path. Harry took the path on the left, while Cedric went right. Harry continued through the maze, meeting Cedric again after the champion was attacked by a Blast-Ended-Skrewts, encountered a Boggart-Dementor, and some strange mist that turned you upside down. Then suddenly he heard a scream, a female scream, Fleur. It was coming from ahead of the mist. So he just ran through the mist without any cause for himself, his mind was solely focused on saving Fleur.

He righted himself and ran ahead, where he could see lights flashing, followed by another scream, from Fleur. He was shocked by what he saw. Fleur was on the ground, her wand at Harry's feet, she looked tired, exhausted, very disheveled, and in pain. Standing above her was Krum with a glazed appearance in his eyes. He was Imperiused. As Harry was steps away from Fleur, Krum began his next curse.

"Av-"

Harry jumped into the air.

"a."

Harry landed on top of Fleur whose cheeks started expanding."

"da."
Harry whipped his wand out and started a spell, "Stu-"

"(space between words)"

"-pi-"

"Ke-"

"-fy."

The spell left Harry's wand, and headed toward Krum. Fleur started expelling the wind that got knocked out of her. By the time Krum reached "-vad-," the spell had already hit him, knocking him out cold.

Harry rolled off Fleur and to his feet, while Fleur crawled around. Harry was too busy disarming Krum to notice that Fleur was kneeling on all fours, her head almost touching the ground. By the time he turned around she was already in the position that Gabrielle had used so many times out of force of habit. All he could think was, oh, no, not again, with a mental groan added for good measure.

"Fleur, um, are you okay?"

Fleur responded, "oui, mon maître."

Harry thought several unmentionable words, it's happened again.

"Fleur, did we just form a Veela Life Debt?"

"Yes, my Master."

Bugger.

Harry wanted to stay with Fleur and figure this out, but he felt strongly compelled to go on.

"Okay, Fleur, here's your wand, and Victor's, he was Imperiused by the way, I'm going to send up red sparks and someone will come to get you, understand?"

"Yes, my Master."

Harry groaned, he had finally almost got Gabrielle to stop that. He quickly sent up red sparks and kept moving, before encountering a Blast Ended Skrewts, briefly seeing Cedric again and filling him in on the Krum situation (only the Krum part, not the whole Veela Life Debt part.) He then encountered a sphinx, where he really wished he had Hermione, before encountering a huge spider with Cedric, which they both barely managed to defeat, although Harry's leg was injured. They both agreed to take the Triwizard Cup together and got sucked away by a portkey

To say that Gabrielle Potter was nervous would be an understatement. She was terrified for Harry. As the whistle blew and Harry ran into the maze, she discovered that she was more worried for Harry than her own sister. She reflected on the fact that this was the first time Harry was alone, in a stressful situation, since the bond was formed. The bond seemed to compensate for this by linking his emotions to her. She felt Harry's nervousness compounding her own. She felt how cool and collect he was as he took on a Boggart, and the humorous reaction that followed (of course, she had no idea it was a Boggart, she just felt his emotions.) Gabrielle felt the shock of fear that went through his already terrified body as he heard Fleur scream, followed by sheer determination. Then she felt nothing, until she felt another person enter their bond, someone she quickly identified as Fleur. This terrified her more than Harry's fear, which was now some sort of abject resignation. What in the name of Merlin was going on in that maze? Why did Harry have to save Fleur, and from what, or whom? Then she saw red sparks.

Gabrielle ran over to meet Fleur as she was taken out of the maze by Professors McGonagall and Snape. Gabrielle asked her, "Fleur, what happened?"

"Krum, 'e was Imperiused, 'e Crucioed, moi! Then Our Master came and saved me, just as 'e was about to kill me!"

Snape at this point muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "bloody freaking good for you, Potter." McGonagall just groaned.

"Well, what happened next?"

"He sent up red sparks before going on."

"Well, Miss Delacour, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey, I'll have to break the news to your Headmistress and Albus."

"Merci, Professor."

Gabrielle and Fleur then hissed in pain, for a moment. This worried McGonagall, "what is it? What happened?"

"Harry, he's been hurt, his leg, he hurt his leg."

"Well, I'm sure he's fine ladies, let's get to Madame Pomfrey."

Just as they got to Madame Pomfrey, Fleur started sobbing inconsolably, while Gabrielle started whimpering and becoming nervous.

"What is it now?"

"Harry, he's gone."

"Gone, what do you mean, gone?"

"He's no longer on Hogwarts Grounds. Fleur is acting like that because her bond hasn't been cemented yet. To her impression Harry abandoned her, rejected her, she will quickly start to go insane and die, unless Harry gets back to Hogwarts soon."

"How long-"

"Two or three hours until it becomes irreversible."

"Oh, my."

Meanwhile in a Little Hangleton Cemetery

"Wands out, d'you reckon," Cedric asked.

"Yeah."

Then, without warning, both girls started crying even more, if that was possible, and hugging each other in an attempt to console themselves. This worried Madam Pomfrey.

"What is it?"

"Harry, something horrible happens, he feels so horrible he feels, almost, dead, inside."

A few minutes later they were hissing and grabbing their forearms.

"What now?"

"His arm, something hurt his arm."

In Little Hangleton, Voldemort emerged from a cauldron.

In a medical tent on the Quidditch Pitch at Hogwarts, two Veela felt Harry's terror.

In Little Hangleton, Voldemort finished his monologue.

In a medical tent on the Quidditch Pitch at Hogwarts, two Veela felt a muted version of the Cruciatus curse, for one it was the second time that evening.

Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey looked on in horror.

"Are you sure Poppy, they both now have Cruciatus exposure?"

"I'm sure, I double checked, I have no idea how this could be happening."

"I presume Mr. Potter is not in a good way right now."

The next few minutes passed with the girls continuing to feel Harry's emotions: fear, bravery, nobility, wonder, happiness, determination, and fear again. Then Gabrielle turned to the professors.

"Harry's back."

Moments later, Harry Potter reappeared, with a Triwizard Cup and a dead Cedric Diggory.

AN: Please Review, Thanks to those who have.