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.

Harry Potter and the Veela Life Debts

By Jojobevco

Chapter 9

Task Aftermath and Fleur's Tale

Gabrielle and Fleur raced from the medical tent (conveniently located at the mid-point of the maze and therefore quite a distance away from the judges) with Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall following. By the time they reached the cup, however, Harry was gone. The two Veelas looked around, but couldn't see him in the chaotic scene. The Diggory's were crying over their son's body. Dumbledore was dealing with the Minister, the crowd was pushing and shoving. The spotted their father running down from the families near the top where he had been. The girls went up to Dumbledore who had just finished with the minister.

"Headmaster, where's Harry?"

"What do you mean? He was right with Alastor over there?" Dumbledore's eyes widened and a very serious expression took over his face. "Minerva, Severus, Minister Delacour, please follow me." The headmaster took off at a speed that should not have been attainable by a 114 year-old man. The group, plus Gabrielle and Fleur, arrived at the Defense office and promptly blew the doors off. Moody was standing over Harry, who was tied t a chair and looking quite nervous.

"Professor, what's—"

"Harry, that man, is not Alastor Moody. The real one would have never taken you out of my sight tonight." Jean-Pierre grabbed Moody's flask and poured it out.

"Polyjuice potion."

"Severus, get me your strongest bottle of veritaserum, Minerva, get the dog in Hagrid's pumpkin patch and bring him to my office please."

Both nodded and left.

Harry recognized the reference right away, "Sirius?"

"Yes, he was waiting to hear the outcome of the third task."

"Ah, yes, I have to speak to him about clearing his name," the Minister of Magic for France remarked.

"You can? Really?"

"Yes I just need for him to do something on French soil, like public drunkenness, get him arrested, bring up the other issue, get those charges dropped, have him pay a fine for the drunkenness bit (which he certainly can afford), and boom, he's out."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously, Sirius will be out."

The small chuckle helped to alleviate everyone's stress by just a little bit. Until, the man turned into Barty Crouch Junior.

"Well, that answers a few questions," Dumbledore muttered.

Severus poured the veritaserum down Crouch's throat. After which the issues of the Quidditch World Cup, Barty Crouch's disappearance and death, Bertha Jorkins disappearance, Juniors escape from Azkaban, the travesty known as the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and instructions on "How to Bring a Dark Lord Back to Life, for Dummies."

By the time they were done, everyone had expressions of horror, loathing, anger, hatred, surprise, and one that could only be described as "so that's how the puzzle fits together." Afterward, Snape took the real Moody up to the hospital wing, and Minerva stood guard over Crouch Jr. Harry, Fleur, Gabrielle, Albus, and Jean-Pierre adjourned to the Headmaster's office.

Jean-Pierre threw some floo powder into the fireplace and speed off, while Harry was comforted by his two bound companions, who were in turn, comforted by Harry. Albus was filling Sirius in on the interrogation that had just taken place downstairs. Jean-Pierre returned moments later with a quill and scroll, and a little bottle of clear liquid with some sort of seal on it, more Veritaserum. Dumbledore answered the quizzical look on Harry's face.

"Harry, we need to take an official account of what happened tonight. Jean-Pierre and I would like to administer Veritaserum. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes."

Jean-Pierre dropped three drops of the liquid into Harry's mouth, before tapping the legal-grade dictaquill with his wand. He pointed Sirius out of the room before they started, there was no need for the record to show an escaped felon in the room.

"This is an official deposition of Harry James Potter, resident of 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England, United Kingdom starting at 1:05 AM, June 25, 1996. Questioners are Jean-Pierre Delacour, Minister for Magic of the French Republic and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Supreme Mugwump International Confederation of Wizards. Witnesses are Gabrielle Ange Potter, recognized Bonded Companion of Harry Potter, and Fleur Isabelle Delacour, currently unrecognized Bonded Companion of Harry Potter. Deposition taken at the Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogsmeade, Scotland, United Kingdom. Veritaserum has been administered to the witness." Finally he started asking the questions.

"Mr. Potter please describe, what happened after entering the maze tonight?"

Harry did, up to Victor Krum.

"And Mr. Potter, what happened after stepping through the gravity reversal cloud?"

"I was righted on the ground and saw Krum pointing his wand at Fleur. It appeared to me that he was Imperiused at the time. Krum then started casting the Avada Kedavra at Fleur. I threw myself between them and snapped of a stupefy."

"Was a Veela Life Debt Bond formed between you and Fleur at this time?"

"To the best of my knowledge, yes."

"What happened next?"

"I wanted to stay with Fleur and help her. But for some reason I felt compelled to move on."

"Compelled?"

"Yes, compelled."

"Then what?"

Harry covered the remainder of the events up to when he returned to Hogwarts. He gave a list of all Death Eaters present and a very accurate description of what Voldemort said. Minister Delacour administered the antidote to the serum.

"Thank you for that, Harry, it should help to convince a lot of people. On a less related note I think that there was a Compulsion Charm on either you or the Cup to make you want to go on, and leave Fleur. That is not your fault."

Albus decided to speak up next, "we can leave the form filing on the new bond until tomorrow and Harry, you should get to the Hospital Wing." Harry nodded and he and the girls left, with Padfoot bringing up the rear. The group's reactions were mixed. Harry was dead tired on his feet and wanted nothing more to do with anything that night. Gabrielle was looking at Harry with quite a bit of pity and sadness, wishing that she could take the horrible pain from him. Fleur was nervous, very nervous. Sirius was serious, he had to think about what was to come, and do the best for Harry.

When they arrived, Madam Pomfrey took one glance at them, sighed and handed Harry a bottle of dreamless sleep. Apparently a house-elf had popped by with their bed clothes, Gabrielle and Harry got changed in some changing cubicles near the rear of the wing. While they were gone, Fleur obtained a bottle of dreamless sleep from Madame Pomfrey and preformed a quick cleaning spell on her clothes and herself.

Harry came out and cast a mild enlargement charm on the bed, before laying down in the middle. Gabrielle exited and sat at the foot. Gabrielle was speaking to Fleur in rather fast and angry French (Harry could only pick up a few words.) Fleur was turning as white as a sheet and becoming almost hysterical. Harry was about to get up to comfort her when Gabrielle motioned him back down, with a pleading look in her eyes. After a few more minutes, Fleur seemed to calm down and took slow unsteady steps to sit next to Harry on the opposite side of the bed. Gabrielle had curled up in her usual place under Harry's arm. Fleur drank her potion and lay down on the bed next to Harry. She was as stiff as a board. Slowly she reached and took Harry's hand in her own. With his other hand, Harry reached over to the bedside and took the potion that Madame Pomfrey had given him. He listened to the girls breathing as it evened out. First Gabrielle, then Fleur, who slowly relaxed just as Harry was falling into unconsciousness himself.

Harry and Gabrielle woke up a few hours later, to quite a bit of shouting. First Minerva, then Fudge, then Minerva again. From what they could get from the gist of the conversation, Fudge brought a Dementor in, and it Kissed Crouch Jr. Fudge saw it as no particular loss, while Dumbledore was annoyed that Crouch could no longer give testimony about the return of Voldemort.

Fudge didn't believe it.

When Dumbledore mentioned that Harry was the only witness Fudge turned to him.

"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who…well…"

Ah, so he did see it, Harry though. Rita Skeeter had written a second article about him, after the one on Gabrielle. Said article was going to be published in the Daily Prophet, until of course, certain threats came down and they story was killed, but not after the advance copies went out.

"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge"

"So what, you've covered up a lot about him Dumbledore, a Parselmouth, Headaches, Nightmares, Hallucinations. The boy's crazy."

"I saw Voldemort come back Mr. Fudge. I can give you the names of Death Eaters."

"And he already has," a serious Minister Delacour handed Fudge a copy of the deposition, "testimony given under Veritaserum earlier today."

"Just proves that he's more insane, he actually believes what he is saying is the truth."

"Minister Fudge, that report was compiled by myself and the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. A copy has already been sent to my Ministry and an emergency session will be called in three days to discuss the threat. I suggest you do the same. Tomorrow copies will be sent to all other magical ministries, and the Muggles leaders will be briefed by the end of the week."

"I will not! I will not start a panic and ruin the peace that has ruled this land for…"

"Fourteen and a half years, or since Harry last defeated Voldemort."

"Exactly," (the reference to Harry went straight over Fudge's bowler hat,) "why would I want to ruin that?"

Dumbledore interjected, "because if you don't the world will end as we know it. Cornelius, we have a very limited time to act, we need to arrest known death eaters, interrogate them, send envoys to the giants, repeal the so called 'Werewolf Protection Act,' get the Dementors away from Azkaban. Cornelius, you have an opportunity to become one of the greatest ministers sine Artemis Luftkin, but only if you act now, otherwise you're as good as signing your own no confidence vote."

"Send envoys to the giants, repeal the WPA, get rid of the dementors? Are you mad Dumbledore, I'll get laughed out of office for just simply suggesting it."

"Then we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit, and I will act as I see fit."

Fudge made a little spiel about controlling Dumbledore. Threw Harry's winnings at him, and slammed the door. Dumbledore then had Minerva get Hagrid and Madame Maxine in his office, got Sirius and Snape to, "reconcile," sent him to alert the, "old crowd," sent Snape back to Voldemort, two hours late. Dumbledore left telling Harry to take his potion. Harry sighed, and took the rest of the potion and went to sleep.

The next morning Harry awoke still covered by his two Veela. He gently nudged them awake. Gabrielle greeted him with a, "Good Morning, Harry," and one of those small kisses on his cheek that made the entire world light up. Fleur sprang awake and practically flew to the bathroom. This reminded Harry about her strange reaction last night, and compounded his interest in her.

"Gabrielle, what's wrong with Fleur?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she seems awfully, flighty."

"That's actually good for her; usually she'd just avoid you like the plague."

"What do you mean, she seemed to get along with me fine, before, the uh."

"Which is very unusual for her."

"What do you mean, I've seen her interact with other people just fine, certainly Roger Davies," he muttered.

"Perhaps I should explain everything. Fleur has suffered from anthropophobia for the past four or so years."

"Anthro-what?"

"Anthropophobia, fear of humans. Harry you are the first human that she has willingly touched except for our father in the past four years."

"But I see her hanging around people all the time. She went to the Yule Ball with Roger Davies."

"No she didn't, you have never seen Fleur Delacour as Fleur Delacour, except for on the days of the tasks, otherwise, the role of Fleur Delacour has been played on a rotational basis by Veelas working for the French Auror department, under heavy glamour charms."

"Then who has Fleur been?"

"Either under heavy Notice-me-Not charms or random students, mostly second or third years, Polyjuice potion is wonderful."

"What happened to Fleur to make her become this way?" Harry had his suspicions, but he had to be sure.

"When Fleur was fourteen she started expressing certain Veela characteristics early, she was heading in to my dad's work one day at the Ministry and was kidnapped about a block from the entrance, by one of my Father's rivals who was later revealed to be a minor dark wizard and was rather anti-veela rights. He wanted to use her to get back at Father and for his own uses." She shuddered at the thought

"Oh, my."

"She was recovered within 72 hours, but by that time the damage had been done. Fleur has permanent scarring to her body, usually covered by glamours, caused by an attempt to increase their powers with the sacrifice of a veela. It took the best mind healers in the world six months to get her out of the perpetual catatonic and fearful state she was in."

"They must have been good."

"Harry, magical mind healers are not like muggle therapists. They can usually work through the most severe cases within a week."

"What can I do to help?"

"Be patient with her, and give her direction either directly or through the bond. The bond should, through helping her serve you, help her with the rest of her mental issues."

"Okay, I'll do my best. By the way, what happened to the rival?"

"He and his colleagues were found at the bottom of the Seine River a year later. Their deaths were ruled a suicide." Otherwise meaning that Jean-Pierre Delacour had killed them, and the French Government judiciously decided not to investigate.

At this point Fleur stepped out of the Bathroom, fully dressed. Harry realized that he now had more on his plate than ever before, and wasn't sure if he could handle it.

AN: I have no intention of including Hermione in the paring of Harry/Fleur/Gabrielle.

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