Harry Potter and the Delightful Dilemma
By: Sheltie
I don't own Harry Potter
Chapter 7
Dumbledore sighed as he looked at the parchment in front of him. It was his dismissal from the ICW. They had booted him as Supreme Mugwump and he was being investigated too. He had lost control of the world position and he was lucky to keep his head of the Wizengamot position. Since he only held the chair of headmaster though the position held no power. He had no strength to pull from now.
He needed to get back in the game, but was unsure how. He had tried to talk to Snape, but he was blocked each time. He even tried to sneak in and was almost caught. He needed to get Snape out and put him somewhere safe. But right now he needed to find a foothold to regain some power.
/Scene Break/
Voldemort had remained silent through all this going on. He was going to let the wizarding world weaken enough so he could gain control of it with ease. He was pleased as to what was going on and never in his wildest most insane dreams had he thought this would happen. Dumbledore was falling and Potter thinks he could tangle with him. He had to laugh at that. Potter was just a whelp and he could get rid of him easily. The one trouble he had was the prophecy. He needed to know what was in it.
According to one of his Death Eaters is that only he or Potter could get it. Now he couldn't risk himself from being spotted and knew that the Department of Mysteries was very well protected. No, he needed to lure Potter in and get him to get it for him. Yes, but how was the question. It seemed the boy had great mental shields and he was unable to break through them.
That and Snape was no longer in the castle. He didn't know what was going on and he needed to. That meant he had to use one of his follower's kids to do it for him. He sighed. A Dark Lord's job is never done.
/Scene Break/
"Lavender, can I talk to you?" Neville asked.
Lavender turned from her chat to see Neville looking at her with a serious look. She had never seen Neville look so serious so she nodded and went with Neville. Soon they were in an empty classroom.
"What can I do for you Neville?" she asked.
"I need your help Lavender" Neville said.
Lavender arched one of her finely sculpted eyebrows.
"With what?" she asked.
"Look, before we start you need to know this is serious Lavender. You can go spreading this around" Neville said seriously.
Lavender sat up straight in the chair she was sitting in.
"I can keep a secret Neville" she said not liking what Neville was saying.
"Sorry, but you are the gossip queen of Hogwarts, you know" Neville said.
"I know, I know, but I also know when to keep my mouth shut too" Lavender said with a bit of heat.
Neville nodded.
"So what is you need Neville?" Lavender asked now calmed a bit.
"I need your help with something that only you can do" Neville said.
Lavender's eyes widen. She had never heard these words coming from any of her housemates' mouths before, especially to her.
"What do you need Neville?" she asked.
"I need you to spy on Ginny. She is up to something and since I can't go up to the girl's dorms I'm hoping you could do this for me" Neville said.
Lavender knew right a way what Neville was asking. She wasn't a blond ditz with big boobs like most everyone in the school saw her. She was quite smart though she never really showed it off. She conformed to be liked by others. But here was a chance for her to take off the mask she was wearing.
"I'll do it" she said.
"Thanks Lav" Neville said then kissed the girl on the cheek.
Lavender couldn't hold back the blush that spread across her cheeks.
/Scene Break/
Ron was munching away trying to think of a plan to get Hermione. He needed a good plan, but right now was drawing a blank. He frowned as bits of food fell onto the book he was trying to read. He needed help. That's when he saw his sister and he leapt up and went for her.
"Neefd your helfp Ginny" Ron said with his mouthful.
Ginny had to brush off the food particles that flew from her brother's mouth. She looked at him with disgust.
"What do you need help with Ron?" she asked coolly.
Ron, doing the smart thing looked around and saw the common room was empty. He then turned back to Ginny.
"Need you to help me grab Hermione from Potter" Ron said.
Ginny tilted her bead to the side and thought. Then she nodded. This could work. Her brother could be used as a distraction for her plan. Yes, this could work well.
"Alright, but we can't plan here" she said.
Ron nodded.
The two redheads left the common room. Once they were gone Lavender pulled off her Invisibility cloak her brother had given her last summer. She had news for Neville and hoped she'd get another kiss for it.
/Scene Break/
Harry couldn't help tossing and turning. He was very tired and had forgotten to raise his Occlumency shields. He had a vision of a long corridor. He wasn't sure what was in there, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He tried to go for it, but before he could reach it he awoke.
"Harry, are you alright?"
Harry blinked in the dark then pulled his wand out from under his pillow and lit it. He found Luna lying in bed with him. Her nightgown was cotton and ended at the knees.
"Just a strange dream Luna" Harry said.
"I thought you didn't have those anymore" Luna said.
"I guess I forgot to put up my shields tonight" Harry said frowning.
"He must be up to something" Luna said.
Harry just nodded now with his brain trying to figure out what Voldemort was up to and why he wanted to involve him.
"Harry, there is a room in the Department of Mysteries. The room is called the Hall of Prophecies. It holds every prophecy ever spoken by a true seer" Luna said.
That made it all snap into focus.
"Wake the girls, we need a meeting" Harry said getting up.
Luna nodded and skipped out of the room.
In the common room all of Harry's girls were there. Some were rubbing their eyes while others were trying to keep from falling asleep. They were all in their bedclothes, which varied from witch to witch. Harry had to control himself since he was seeing his girls in clothing he had never seen them in.
"See something you like Harry?" Penny asked cheekily.
"Yes, and I must be the luckiest wizard on this earth" Harry said smiling.
This made all the girls happy and they smiled though some were sleepy ones.
"What's this all about?" Susan asked in a yawn.
Harry told them of his odd dream and how he had it. They scolded him lightly about his shields, but then Harry told them about what Luna had told him and they got them all awake.
"He's after the prophecy" Daphne said.
"He is. My guess he wants me to get it since he doesn't want to reveal himself yet" Harry said.
"Why's that?" Parvati asked.
"Why do it yourself when you have servants and your enemy who could do it for you" Susan said.
"So what do we do?" Padma asked.
"We get the prophecy out of there without him knowing and set a trap" Harry said. He was thinking on the fly.
"And how do we do that?" Hermione asked.
"Um, not sure about that" Harry said scratching his head.
Hermione sighed. Leave it to Harry to come with up an idea, but have no plan for it.
"Luna, how do you know about the department of Mysteries. It's supposed to be the most secretive sector in the Ministry?" Susan asked.
"Oh, daddy used to work there and told me" Luna said.
/Scene Break/
The next night Harry was on another date. This one was with Fleur. They went to a nice Mexican restaurant since neither have tried it and Hermione told them it was good.
Fleur Delacour grew up in France. Her father was a high ranking Ministry official in the French Ministry. She grew up having everything, but being half Veela thanks to her mother's side was not always a good thing. Other girls didn't like her since she was so pretty and got the all the boys' attention. Fleur grew up never having a close female friend other than her mom than her sister when she was old enough. It was a lonely childhood for her.
When she started to attend Beauxbatons she placed an air of haughtiness around herself to repel boys who only looked at her for her looks and body. Even at that young age she had a great body. It was when she transformed into her adult form did she had to really crank up her snobbishness. She made it through school with no friends at all and that bothered her a lot even though she acted like it didn't. She buried those feelings by working on hard and studying. She wasn't going to let anyone see her weak. She just couldn't. So no one at school really saw the real Fleur Delacour at all except her family and the headmistress.
Her final year and she was told that they'd be going to some English school to compete in some tournament. She researched it before leaving and found that the tournament had been canceled due to too many deaths. That didn't help her too much, but she was told she should enter and compete for the honor of the school. So she agreed no matter the danger. When she arrived she complained about everything. She did this because all the boys were staring at her and drooling. It disgusted her immensely.
At dinner the first night she went over to another table for some food since their table didn't have any. There she found probably the first person since her father to be immune to her Allure. She was a bit shocked, but hid it. She was curious to who this person was. She made some inquires and found it was Harry Potter. She was shocked, but figured that since this was the Boy-Who-Lived he must have some great power to repel her Allure. She kept an eye on Harry from a distance since he interested her. He didn't seem like any of the other boys his age. He hung around with two others and she saw a strong connection he had with the girl in the trio.
As a Veela, even a half-Veela she could tell if there a connection of some kind between people. She learned this when she went through the change. She could tell Harry and the girl were close, very close to one another. As for Harry's other friend. Well, she found him disgusting when he ate. It nauseated her since the boy sat close to Harry she had to endure that to watch Harry. When her name came out of the goblet she stood proudly and walked with confidence even though inside there were butterflies in her stomach.
When she found out Harry was also in the tournament she was shocked. She didn't think the boy could handle it. He was so small. Yes, she did make a comment about him being a little boy, which she kind of regretted later when she saw into those green eyes. Those eyes weren't of a naïve child, but a young man that has gone through trials before and ready to go through them again even if he had no choice. It made her stomach flip-flop.
The first task scared her. Dragons. She didn't know many spells that could pierce dragon hide. So her plan that she came up with help from her headmistress was to charm it to sleep. It worked until the dragon breathed fire. Luckily she wasn't hurt that bad and it was mainly her skirt. She sat and watched Harry's try and when she saw them standing there doing nothing she thought the boy had a death wish. Then she saw him fly and it amazed her. She'd seen some professional Quidditch matches and saw how they flew. They had nothing on Harry. Harry flew around recklessly, but with purpose. It was the most amazing flying she had ever witnessed. She was on her feet cheering like the rest when Harry snatched the egg.
The second task had her nervous since she had no idea what they'd take. Once at the lake and she found out what they had taken she was a bit frantic. She dove in using the bubble-head charm. She was making good progress until the Grindylow attacked her. She had to forfeit. Since she was a Veela her some her magical power is derived from fire, which in water made her weaker. She sat waiting and waiting. It felt like hours, days. Soon Cedric came out of the water with his hostage. It was the girl he took to the Yule Ball. Next came Krum and his date, though Fleur questioned this choice since anyone with eyes could see who Harry would miss the most and she was someone else's hostage. Her nerves began working on her when the time limit passed. Then Harry arose with not only his hostage, but hers as well.
Fleur did her best to rush to them, but her headmistress was holding her back. She was able to break free and hold her sister, the only one she care for as much as her parents. She thanked Harry for saving her sister with a kiss and saw the angry look she got from his friend for that. Her opinion for the boy had grown much and she could honestly say that she fancied him. But knew he was taken by another. It hurt, but she wasn't going to be what those idiot writers say Veela do. She wasn't going to steal Harry away with her Allure. Besides, Harry could fight it anyway. No, she'd accept what had happened and wish them the best.
The final task was a maze. She raced in last and made it through fine until Krum attacked her. He used the torture curse on her and she was out. What happened after was shocking and she knew she had to do something. So she stayed in Britain. She packed all of her things and found a nice flat. She then got a letter from Hermione asking for a meeting. This made her curious and decided to meet with the girl. She met Hermione and she told Fleur of her basic plan. She wasn't going to tell her the whole thing until everyone was gathered. Fleur talked to her father and got a house thanks to him. It was warded quite fast.
After that she met with other girls all either Hogwarts students or former. Hermione laid out her plan and it was bold and unusual. Fleur was all for it. She wanted to do something to help Harry and this would do it. So after that she, Hermione and a girl named Penny went off to get Harry.
/Scene Break/
Snape was healed, but now was awaiting trial. He was transferred from his hospital bed to a jail cell. This angered the potion master as he stalked his cell like a caged lion. He was furious at what has happened as he also prepared his defense. He had a few tricks up his sleeve that he could play. Thankfully they allowed him the paper after the guards were done so he was able to catch up with things. He read about how Umbridge was taken down and Snape sneered at the picture. The Creevey boy was the one who took the photo. Not only Potter was there with his tramps, but the Longbottom squib was named as Potter's champion. This made his blood boil. He had to get out and get his revenge on Potter.
/Scene Break/
Harry along with Susan, Luna, and Hermione made their way into the Ministry where they were met by Amelia Bones.
"Lord Potter, welcome to the Ministry of Magic" Amelia said.
"Thanks you madam Bones" Harry said.
They went through the checkpoint and then head to the lifts and then took them down to the DoM. They made their way following Amelia to the Hall of Prophecies. The girls and Harry looked around trying to see everything, but that was hard since there was no time to dilly-dally. Soon they got to their destination and with the help of one of the Unspeakables they were led to the aisle where the prophecy was held.
"So this is it" Susan said staring at the glass orb.
"I guess" Harry said taking the orb from the shelf.
He then put it in a pouch he had ready and they left.
Back in Hogwarts the girls sat around with Harry in the middle trying to figure out how to open it.
"Do I just smash it?" he asked out loud.
"NO!" all the girls shouted.
Harry jumped at the volume.
"Sorry" he said sheepishly.
"It's alright Harry, but I think we need to study it first" Padma said.
"Research time girls!" Hermione shouted like a battle cry.
/Scene Break/
Lavender had taken notes on her targets and even was able to follow them and heard a bit of their plans. She never felt such a thrill in her life. She was doing something meaningful, not just plain gossip about who is dating who and who is cheating on who. No, this would help people that she had grown to care for. People she believed in.
Lavender Brown always thought life revolved around fashion, boys and make-up. She always thought that until Parvati left her. She missed her friend and even though they chatted now and again she saw a changing in her friend. No longer was Parvati interested in boys and fashion. Well, Parvati still liked fashion, but it didn't dominate her life like before. This made Lavender rethink a few things her life. She got to think about things that were outside her comfort zone and at first it was scary, but then she understood that there were things that were more important than boys and fashion.
When Neville approached her about being a spy she had found her chance and grabbed it. She was going to prove to not only herself, but others that she wasn't just the gossip queen of Hogwarts. Also there was something different about Neville that she couldn't put her finger on, but she liked what she had seen so far.
End of Chapter
A/N: okay that's the end of this one. Sorry if it is a bit shorter than the last, but couldn't write anymore to it. Yes, I am going to have Neville and Lavender get together. Since I took the usual girls I match with Neville away I needed to be creative. Thanks for reading and please review.