The Escape of Lady Luck – Chapter Two: Friday
Harry woke up with a grunt. Smacking his lips together a few times, he finally sat up and scanned his surroundings with blurry eyes. Getting up groggily, he was welcomed to a shiver in his toes by the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. When he came out, he became aware of another presence in the room. A young blonde woman in a tempting French maid outfit gazed up at him invitingly.
He blinked.
She was the same woman from last night, the one who had dubbed herself as his Lady Luck. Harry's eyes began their endeavour by examining her elegant feet, which were clad in a pair of stunning black high heels. Attractive fishnet stockings were found on her long luscious legs leading up to her juicy thighs, the place where her dress began. The black and white one-piece dress clung to her body like paint, highlighting her perfect hourglass body. Further up her alluring body, a small winged Pegasus, expertly crafted out of diamond, was connected to an elegant necklace of white gold. Moving past the jewellery, the mysterious woman's face held just enough make-up, to enhance her natural beauty. Her golden locks of hair were accompanied by a white frill, finishing off the seductive ensemble.
After intently studying this perfect specimen of the female race, Harry gained a blush that would have put a preteen Ginny Weasley to shame. Who knew a simple maid's outfit could be so provocative?
She stood up suddenly, startling Harry out of his wonderings and slowly prowled towards him predatorily. Swaying her hips attractively, she flashed him a sultry smile and put her arms around his neck, making Harry shiver throughout.
With his brain in a state of stasis, Harry lamely began, "So, uh... I didn't quite catch your name last nigh-" but was unable to finish as she secured his lips with her own in a passionate kiss. Caught unawares but extremely satisfied with her advance, he put his arms around her, one around her waist and the other sneaking under her hair to rest at the nape of her smooth and delicate neck, pulling her closer to him in a lover's embrace.
Fuelled on by the flames of their passion, Harry placed butterfly kisses all over her cheeks and trailed kisses along her jaw line. She moaned with pleasure, spurring him to continue, as she simultaneously played with his messy hair. His hands were beginning to wander along the side of her curvaceous body when she suddenly pulled away, leaving him bereft and disoriented.
Gazing into his deep green eyes, she smiled at him once more, settling her arms around his neck. When Harry recovered and opened his mouth to speak, she pressed a finger to his mouth and shook her head lightly. Pulling him slightly down, she gave him a chaste kiss and pulled away, heading towards the door.
"Wait!" Harry called, "What's your name?"
She looked back, eyebrows slightly raised with hands on hips, and responded with amusement sparkling in her eyes, "Riiiiiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiiiiiing!"
Befuddled, he looked on quizzically at her. What did that suspiciously familiar sound have to do with her name? Then he heard the noise again and this time, her mouth was not open. The corners of his vision began giving away to perpetual darkness.
Riiiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiiiing!
Riiiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiiiing!
Harry Potter awoke, extremely sexually frustrated, to the noise of the telephone ringing. Was that all a dream?
Riiiiiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiiing!
He turned over to his side and lifted his upper body to receive the phone, muscles groaning in protest.
"What?" He snapped, unable to calm himself at being interrupted from the highly entertaining dream.
"Sir," answered the feminine voice of the receptionist, "Good morning to you. This is your wake-up call as requested by one Sirius Black at 6 AM."
"S – Six AM?" yelled Harry indignantly. Craning his neck slightly, he glanced towards the clock. It was indeed 6 AM. Bloody hell! He sighed loudly. When he found Sirius, there would be hell to pay.
"Sir? Sir, is everything all right?" the voice asked worriedly.
"Yes, everything's fine." Not for Sirius, thought Harry. With that, he dropped the phone and sat up straight on his bed. All of his internal hormones screamed at him to storm into Sirius's room and hex the older man into oblivion right then and there, but he refrained himself. Barely. There were other ways in which he could exact his revenge. With that, he allowed himself a slight smile and began meditating as was the norm for him every morning. Meditation allowed him to keep his Occlumency shields in place and reinforce them, not that anyone still existed in the world that could penetrate his shields anymore. The last one, Voldemort, had died long ago and the monster would stay that way. For eternity.
Pulling his socks as far up as they would stretch, he released the fabric and then stood up tall. An hour after the ungodly wake-up call, he was now fully dressed, showered and refreshed. Now he needed to find Sirius and enjoy the day before practicing for the upcoming tournament at the casino. Hopefully, he would get a peek of his Lady Luck once more – in flesh, mind. Opening the plain door to the living room, he was greeted with bright light, a sharp contrast to his dark bedroom. Squinting his eyes and blinking several times, he strode across the room without a glance at the gorgeous scenery outside and opened Sirius's door.
There was no sign of life inside the room. The bed looked slept in; the sheets were ruffled and the coating blanket was a mess to one side. The window blinds were closed, letting no light enter the room. Evidently, Sirius had escaped the suite before Harry could lay his hands on the man. Smart. He shrugged and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Sirius was probably down in the lobby, wooing and corrupting innocent young women no doubt.
Harry donned his sparkling black leather HUGO BOSS 'Casey's and exited the suite, not bothering to use a card to lock the door but simply waving a hand dismissively towards it on his way out.
Walking out the revolving door to the lobby, Harry decided to explore the grounds of the grand hotel. The bright sun was still in the process of rising up, entirely cascading the front yard in shadow due to the massive size of the hotel building. He strutted around, following a quiet, clean, cobblestone pathway. It led to a huge open area enclosed with sparkling silver-finished fences that enclosed three brick-red clay tennis courts, a marble-tiled swimming pool, and a path further along which Harry assumed led to the famed beach.
He smiled, inhaling the fresh and salty air of the Mediterranean. The sun shone brightly along this land unlike the front of the hotel and served to brighten Harry's mood. His eyes scanned the premises. There were five people swimming in the pool. The tennis courts were full, occupied by numerous early risers and tennis fanatics. Focusing in, he witnessed a black-haired man chatting with a pair of ladies that were about to leave. Of course.
Sirius Black seemed relaxed and content as he flirted shamelessly with the two women, who from the outfits they wore, looked rather wealthy. They were dressed in full white, starting from their tennis sweaters and matching skirts, to the low-cut blank socks and white pair of sneakers. One of them turned slightly to face the general direction where Harry stood, and suddenly the latter understood his godfather's motivation. The woman looked positively stunning, with a fair, unblemished face to the long, silky sandy-brown hair.
Harry strode purposefully at the trio, fully intent on exacting his revenge. When he arrived at the fence gate, one of the women was in the process of handing a piece of paper to Sirius. Probably the suite number or the phone number, Harry sighed. Pushed gently, the door creaked open and all three heads swivelled towards him. He flashed Sirius a wide grin that spoke volumes as Harry's godfather suddenly paled and only managed to give a weak smile in return.
The older man's eyes seemed to plead with Harry, begging him to not pull any mischief at the moment. This only served to make Harry alter his grin to a smirk.
"Hello," he began suavely towards the ladies, watching Sirius glare from the corner of his eye.
"Oh, hi! Are you here to play tennis?" spoke the woman whose face Harry had earlier glimpsed. She had a gentle British accent.
"Of course. Couldn't pass up the chance to play a few rounds two gorgeous ladies," he beamed in reply.
The woman blushed slightly. "My name is Elizabeth and my partner here is Marie," she introduced, linking her arms with the other woman so that both women were facing him completely. Marie was a tall brunette who, dressed entirely in white like Elizabeth, was quite a stunning lady herself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Harry." Grasping a hand from each lady, Harry applied a gentle kiss to the backs of each hand, generating a healthy blush on their faces.
Then Elizabeth's smile faltered slightly and she said, "I'm sorry, Harry. We can't play tennis at the moment. The two of us were just finishing up. We've got to leave the premises in a few minutes."
Harry schooled his features so that the girls thought his face fell. "Oh," he responded softly, then attempted to brighten up, "Well, I suppose I can make do with Sirius for the day."
"You two know each other?" Elizabeth seemed surprised and so did Marie.
"Of course we –" Sirius was cut off and his face started turning red.
"Know him? Do I know him? Are you serious?" Harry interrupted indignantly in a snobby pure-blood tone.
"Yes, I am!" Sirius replied cheekily, once again trying to gain the favour of the ladies.
Elizabeth giggled slightly and Harry waved his hand slightly at Sirius, irritated. How many times have I warned him?
"Why ma'am, I do hope you're not mocking me," Harry said playfully, flashing a chiding smile. "Sirius here," he paused to slap the petrified Sirius on the shoulder, "Well, you see, he's my butler."
Both the women's jaws dropped. "You – you mean," Marie fumbled, unable to put into words her astonishment.
"This man," Elizabeth started eloquently but angrily, "is your servant?"
"Sadly, yes," Harry answered, nodding his head meaningfully. Sirius's face was completely red at this point and he rather looked like an overgrown tomato. "I'd asked him to scout the area and repo –"
"Enough!" cried Marie.
"C'mon Marie, we're leaving," Elizabeth said coldly.
"Good day to you, sir," she nodded at Harry. Both girls glared icily at Sirius for a moment before stalking off.
As Harry watched them walk off, he could hear them muttering furiously, cursing each other for their stupidity in flirting back to a 'butler'. Harry chuckled and turned towards Sirius. He flicked his wrist and Sirius dropped to the ground suddenly with a loud grunt.
The older man quickly picked himself up and, without a glance at Harry, sprinted off to try and mend his newly formed and broken relationship. However, the girls were already too far gone by the time he got past the fence and so he turned around and stomped back, glaring at Harry furiously. Harry gave him an innocent shrug though his still held a sparkle of mischief.
"You!" Sirius began, and finished, "How could – I can't believe you'd – Damn it, Harry! What did I do to deserve this?"
"Oh please, Sirius. You're nowhere near as innocent as make yourself out to be. Setting up a wake-up call at 6AM in the bloody morning when we arrived back at 1AM the night before ring any bells in your thick head?"
"It was only a – oh," Sirius said, feeling abashed. The older man rubbed his neck nervously. "Well, you see, I thought –"
"—save it!" Harry interrupted, losing his cool exterior and beginning to show his anger. "I don't want to hear excuses when clearly, you're not sorry for pulling such a mindless, insensitive prank."
"I – you – well – you still shouldn't have done what you did! Did you see how gorgeous they were?" Sirius vented loudly, his eyes flashing in what Harry judged was misguided anger.
"Sirius, shut up," Harry said with finality. He really was not in the mood to argue. There were plenty interesting activities he would rather be doing than having a silly argument with his godfather over the brilliant retaliation he had just dished out.
Sirius, however, was not finished. "No, I will not. Now, you listen to me, you brat! You will never ever and I mean nev –"
"I'm serious!" Harry interrupted pointedly.
"Would you stop – interrupting," Sirius started bellowing, evidently flustered at having his godson cut him off routinely. Then, processing Harry's last words, he suddenly grinned. "No you're not, I am!"
Harry's eyes flashed dangerously and he groaned. Not again. "Don't make me hex you! Do you remember what happened the last time you used that joke before today?" he asked with a pointed glare.
"Sorry, couldn't resist," Sirius replied, wincing and instinctually placing his hands over his crotch defensively as he reminisced unpleasantly.
"Much better."
Silence reigned for a few seconds between the two of them. Then, Sirius broke the peace by asking, "Hey Harry, do you think you can teach me this tennis?"
"What?" Harry responded dazedly. During the silence, he had been thinking of the Lady Luck once more and had been entranced by her beauty within his mind. "Oh, yeah sure. Do you have a wand?"
"I've got two," Sirius stated slyly, then amended, "Yeah, I always carry mine with me."
"Okay, good. Just watch me conjure one and then you can do yours." With that, Harry flicked his finger and waved his hand exaggeratedly, looking as though he were going to bow. A shiny tennis racquet appeared out of thin air and Harry grasped it firmly with his left and performed a little flourish.
Sirius conjured an imitation of Harry's racquet and then stowed his wand away again. Not knowing how to hold it properly, he held the grip tightly and gave a few test swings.
"Are you ready to learn? First, we'll start with hand grips."
An hour later, both players panted as they laboriously ran the width of the court in the nick of time to respond to a swift swat the other player had made. Sirius had been very dismal at first, considering he had never played tennis before. However, it was not long before he picked up the concept and really started engaging with the game. He would later explain to Harry that tennis was a lot like beating bludgers, a sport which Sirius had been very accustomed to during his Hogwarts years.
Despite Sirius's adaptability, his lack of experience ensured that he truly did not stand a chance against Harry, who was both athletically and experientially superior to him in terms of the sport. Over the course of the hour, they had played four sets, in which Harry had dominated and sent Sirius to the gallows three sets in a row. Sirius started to show competence beginning the fourth set where he managed to claim a frustrated win. As they edged closer to finishing their last set, Sirius proved that he was a quick learner as the score rested at Sirius's two sets to Harry's three sets.
Harry served the last ball with the game score tied at forty with an Advantage to him. His serve curved dangerously to the left, and Sirius was hard pressed to run diagonally and maintain power in his reply. The receive went straight, just past the net and managed to stay inbounds, forcing Harry to sprint across the width of the court to lightly swing in time. The ball barely managed to cross the net and when it did so, it was met with a powerful smash from Sirius, which sent Harry running once more in an effort to keep up.
With the ball high in the air, Harry dashed underneath and readied himself for a receiving smash. It was flawless. In the smash, Harry managed to tilt his body just enough so that the ball rocketed past the net and just nicked the outbound line before veering out, rendering Sirius incapable of responding.
"Nice one," Sirius panted as he ambled to center court to meet Harry.
Harry simply nodded, out of breath, as sweat ran down his face and stuck his clothes to his body.
"We need to play this more often. Definitely helps with the stamina," Sirius said conversationally as he whipped out his wand and cast a quick cooling charm on himself. He did the same for Harry and received a 'thanks' in return.
"So, do you want to go to the beach?" Sirius asked. "It's only a short walk from here and a good place to relax."
"Yeah, sure," Harry said. "But I've got to go back to the suite first. I want to take a shower first and make myself presentable once more."
"You know, I've always wondered about how you and Albus had a falling out of sorts," said Sirius conversationally as he and Harry ambled along the clean, empty cobblestone pathway that presumably lead to the local beach. Tall hedges, well over eight feet in height, isolated the pathway. "I've never understood why you suddenly refused to talk to him, hell, even look at him in the eye."
"Sirius," Harry warned, not wanting to discuss anything about the past. His years in Hogwarts following the fourth held many troubling memories for him, most of which he did not want to ever reminisce about. "You know I don't like it when anyone mention's the old coot's name."
"Yeah, but – " A loud shriek interrupted Sirius's reply and both of them attempted to guess the direction from where the sound had emanated.
"What the bloody," Harry paused, swearing silently, "was that?"
Another loud shriek pierced the air. There was a pause. Then another shriek filled the air. And another. Harry and Sirius looked at each other for a moment, then snapped their wrists and whipped out their wands as they sprinted towards the beach, where they were sure the distressing sounds had come from.
They could hear the sea now as the waves crashed onto the shore and could smell the salt from the path they ran on. Then, there was laughter.
"... but wow that was fun!" laughed a woman's voice.
"Yeah, it was! Too bad we've got to head in." Another woman.
"Oh please, give me a break. I've had enough beach volleyball to last me months!" cried a third voice, also female.
"Only because you're terrible at it, Anne," replied the first voice.
Harry and Sirius halted, immediately and stowed their wands away. The voices seemed to be really close by, meaning that the beach could not be far away. They glanced at each other in bewilderment. They had been so sure of misconduct that they had not given thought to the possibility of any mischief. Harry sighed, Sirius shrugged and the duo continued walking along.
"So, same time tomorrow, ladies?" intoned a deep voice, definitely male.
"You bet!" squealed the voice of the second woman.
The voices closed in around Harry and Sirius rapidly and a second later, the two glimpsed a golden-blonde head turning the corner ahead. Shimmering in the sunlight, her hair immediately captured the eyes of Harry and Sirius. Unable to look away, the two men cast their gaze over the rest of the unknown beauty's backside. Despite wearing a modest and conservative baby-blue two-piece swimsuit, the curves of her body were accentuated, allowing the male imagination to wonder with rapt attention what delectable treasures hid underneath her swimsuit. Animatedly chatting with her friends, she kept on walking backwards with a natural sway in her hips.
"Gosh, why are you two so obsessed over volleyball? Beaches are supposed to be for – oof!" She crashed headlong into Sirius, who seemed frozen to the spot, still mesmerized by her sparkling hair. As she started toppling over, Sirius grabbed her arm firmly with his left hand and snaked his right arm around her back to support her. Chocolate brown eyes met grey.
"Oh!" she cried in surprise. She shook herself from his gaze and stood up. "I'm so sorry, sir. I wasn't loo—" Her frantic apology halted when Sirius latched a finger onto her mouth, interrupting her.
"Don't be," he said.
Harry smirked from beside the duo as the woman's friends raced around the corner, with concerned faces.
"Anne, are you okay?"
"What happened?"
"This man didn't do anything inappropriate, did he?" a male voice asked menacingly, pointing a large finger at Sirius. It was the same voice they had heard earlier. He was a tall, dark-skinned, and handsome looking man, wearing a casual shirt, sun shades and a pair of beige shorts.
"Uh," Harry started, attempting to pacify the dark scowl on the man's face. However, Harry's efforts were in vain.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Sirius had left the woman's side and was now glaring up at the man, who stood at least a head taller than him. The recipient glared back in an intimidating manner and if Sirius had been a lesser man than he was, that is to say not a wizard, he would have backed away.
"Steve, stop it," Anne ordered. Then she continued in a softer tone, "It was really all my fault. I should have looked where I was going."
Steve glanced at her for a second but again glared back at Sirius, who did the same.
Harry rubbed his nape uncomfortably and let out a nervous chuckle. "So..."
The three women immediately turned to him as if they were noticing him for the first time. Anne turned back without a second glance while the two girls standing near Steve glided towards Harry and flashed him bright smiles, which he returned tentatively.
"Hi, I'm Andrea!" The first woman introduced herself and held out her hand. She had blonde hair and brown eyes like Anne.
"And I'm Amelia," chimed in the second woman, reciprocating Andrea's actions. She looked identical to Andrea.
"I'm Harry," he replied, shaking both the women's hands. "Are you three sisters?"
"Yes, we are," gushed Amelia excitedly.
"And this is my boyfriend, Steve," followed Andrea. "Steve, stop glaring at poor Anne's saviour and come meet Harry."
That broke the ice between Steve and Sirius as the former gave a sneer before turning away to greet Harry with a handshake. "I'm Steve, as you've heard." With that, he marched away and coolly turned towards Andrea and Amelia. "We really should get going now."
Harry watched Andrea closely as she looked at her boyfriend, bit her lower lip gently, gave a quick glance towards Harry, and nodded her head. "Yes, we really should be going now."
She and Amelia walked a few paces towards the hotel with Steve before turning back towards Anne, who still stood near Sirius.
Eyes locked together, Sirius and Anne's intimate moment was interrupted with a call from Andrea, "Come along then, Anne. We haven't got much time." Then turning to harry, she said, "We'll see you around!"
Harry put a hand on his godfather's shoulder, snapping the older man out of his reverie. Sirius stared at Harry for a long moment. The younger man grinned and said nonchalantly, "So, is there anything you'd like to tell me about Miss Anne?"
"Shut up," Sirius retorted as he ruffled his godson's hair, making Harry scowl. The two then proceeded quietly towards the beach.
Having only been to the beach once before in his life, and that too while defending a Muggle community from a death eater raid in Dover, Harry was completely unprepared for the spectacular scene this beach provided. All around him, voices buzzed with excitement, relaxation and laughter. The sun shone brilliantly, heating the sand and making it enjoyable to walk on the sand barefooted. The smell of salt was not overwhelming, giving a pleasant scent around the beach. The breeze rippled lightly, ascertaining that tourists did not feel too warm.
The coast seemed to stretch on for miles, and all Harry could see to the distance was sand and the clear blue color reflecting on the water from the sky. Simply put, the beach was brilliant.
Harry looked sideways at his godfather as they walked along the shore silently. Sirius still had a long face, and Harry guessed that his godfather was still upset over the deal with Steve. Harry could not really blame Sirius. From the short time they have met, Steve had been a presumptive jerk who assumed he was god's gift to Earth.
"It's 2 PM, Sirius," Harry said, "I think your brooding time is over. You need to enjoy the beach. After all, it was your idea to come here."
Sirius halted. "You know what, Harry? You're right. Let's go have some fun. I'm not going to let a couple of pricks bring my mood down." He winked.
"Well well well, look who we have here! Really Severus, you couldn't have picked a better resort. Not only do we get to harass scarhead but his mutt of a godfather too," sneered a nasty voice behind Harry and Sirius.
Harry sighed, he could recognize that ferrety voice anywhere in the world. He cocked his head sideways towards Sirius without a single glance behind him. "Don't tell me you knew they'd be here. I really didn't come here to deal with this."
"I had no idea, Harry." Sirius looked at Harry apologetically.
"But hey," Sirius exclaimed theatrically, "Today, I've had my fair share of the good," he clapped Harry's shoulder, "the bad," he glanced at Draco Malfoy behind them, "and the ugly," he sneered at the greasy-haired stature of Severus Snape.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry asked with gritted teeth.
"Aw Potter, miss me much? It pains my heart to see Dumbledore's pawn getting angry," Malfoy laughed uproariously.
"Don't you dare associate me with Dumbledore ever again!" Harry strode forward menacingly and hissed.
Malfoy flinched back involuntarily in fear but recovered immediately. "Oh, that's right! You two hate each other, don't you? Why Potter, I didn't know you had the backbone in you to go against the old idiot. Perhaps..." he trailed off with a smirk, "Perhaps it had something to do with the, ah, debacle involving the death of the retarded Longbottoms?" Snape snickered behind him.
Harry eyes flashed dangerously and his face turned pale. He faltered back unconsciously. Around him, the sound had suddenly slowed down and the color turned grey. He felt Sirius move beside him and yell something at Malfoy but it did nothing to quell the icy dread in his heart. He could remember that day as clearly as he remembered the day of Voldemort's defeat. It had been the day he had lost all respect for Dumbledore as a leader and as a compassionate man.
The crouching of gravel underneath his shoes was all he could hear as Harry sprinted towards the mighty fortress of Hogwarts. Its imposing shadow grew larger with every passing moment as the sun was gracefully setting, allowing the world to be entranced and lulled to sleep by the night. Silently cursing himself for neglecting to bring his treasured Firebolt with him, Harry kept on rushing towards Hogwarts.
Climbing up the weather worn marble staircase, Harry finally entered the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. Not pausing to take in the exceptional sights of the great hall, he immediately took off for Dumbledore's office in a race against the clock that he was losing.
Eventually, Harry reached the familiar gargoyle that guards Dumbledore's office. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he muttered the password, "Fuzzy Peaches", and began his ascent up the spiralling stairs.
"Professor Dumbledore! Professor! Neville, he's been caught!" shouted Harry as he reached the top of the staircase.
As calm as ever, Dumbledore digested this strand of information and began to move his imaginary chess pieces around. Looking at Harry with his genial grandfatherly visage, he started, "That is most unfortunate, Harry. How did this happen?"
"Look, we don't have enough time to discuss how I found out. In short, I showed up at his flat, saw signs of a tussle and scorch marks from spells, then immediately came running over here. Now let's assemble the Order and get him out of Voldemort's grasps," Harry urgently stated.
"I understand your distress towards your missing friend, but we must do what is for the greater good at this moment," replied Dumbledore, trying to placate his 'weapon'.
"Voldemort is almost done assembling his forces. Are you saying that we should abandon Neville and lose a powerful fighter – that I should lose a good friend?"
"Harry, we are not abandoning Neville, he is simply carrying out his duty as a warrior for the light-"
"Bollocks! Neville is not a sacrificial pawn you can just throw away so that your own plans can progress. If he's someone disposable, then what the fuck am I to you?" accused Harry.
"Please calm down, Harry. You of all people should know that I treasure everyone in the Order. If we dispatch our troops to rescue Mr. Longbottom, we'll be putting two of our undercover agents in jeopardy. Understand that I am just acting in accordance to the bigger picture, for the greater good," Dumbledore placated, inwardly seething.
The office suddenly became deathly silent except for the haggardly breathing from Harry's side. Slightly trembling, Harry lifted up his head, allowing his intense green eyes to be shrouded in darkness as he projected his basilisk like stare into the timeworn eyes of Dumbledore.
With a calm voice that seemed to cut into the air seamlessly, Harry stated, "I see. It appears that we have a slight difference in opinion. I want to rescue my friend Neville while you want to take him away from me and protect scum like Snivellus. I've no more to say to you old man. Good bye."
And on that word, Harry turned his back and descended the stairs; never looking back on the man he once called a friend, mentor, and family.
"... do you mean?" Harry heard Sirius cry outrageously. The dazed young man shook himself to clear his head of the not-so-fond memory.
"Oh for crying out loud Black, use that minuscule brain stuffed inside your thick skull for once," sneered Snape.
Sirius's eyes glazed over in anger and he pulled out his wand in plain sight of the entire beach populace, though there was nobody interested in the heated argument he was having with Malfoy and Snape. "Give me one reason, Snape. Just one reason as to why I shouldn't hex you where you stand. Merlin knows you deserve it. I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking during the war when he sacrificed dozens of innocents to protect the life of a snivelling bastard like you!"
"How dare you accuse me with such preposterous things!" Snape had drawn out his wand too and was now aiming it between Sirius's eyes.
"Yeah, is that how you back off from claiming responsibility for taking Neville's life?"
"Longbottom?" Malfoy interjected with a laugh. "Oh... but what a sight it was!"
"Draco!" Snape attempted to silence his younger companion but it was of no use. Malfoy was already speaking once more.
"You should have arrived earlier, Potter," he addressed Harry, "and perhaps you would have witnessed how pathetically weak your friend was. He had not the strength to resist Aunty Bella's Imperious Curse and the consequences, as usual, were disastrous..."
"What?" Harry choked. Not now. He could not – would not – listen to Malfoy as the prat started to gloat about the demise of Neville Longbottom. He had long attempted to bury his emotions over that depressing memory and the fact that he had reminisced just now did not help. And listening to Malfoy as the arse slanders my friend's name isn't on the top of my list right now.
Malfoy was not deterred. Looking directly into Harry's apprehensive eyes, the blond smirked evilly. He slapped the side of his head mockingly. "Silly me. I forgot to mention that you yourself witnessed the effects of my dear Aunty's Cruciatus curse. You did, didn't you? Tsk tsk, poor Potter. If you only knew the full story –"
Snape gripped Malfoy's shoulder tightly and shook his head disapprovingly with a pointed stare. Malfoy shrugged him off and continued smirking as the blood drained from Harry's face at a rapid rate, leaving it entirely pale, gaunt, and... murderous.
"That's enough," spoke Sirius, attempting to cut the tension in the air. He could feel the suffocating wave of energy surrounding Harry. He knew that Harry was beyond angry at this point. Only extreme anger ever evoked such an aura around his godson and Sirius could only remember perhaps two or three times in the past that he had witnessed such a spectacle. Never a good sign. "I suggest you leave, Snivellus, and take that snivelly twat along with you. You've seen the consequences of this before," he said gravely and motioned with his head towards Harry.
Malfoy was oblivious and Harry was in his own little world, only able to hear and process Malfoy's words. "The way he twitched," Malfoy gestured and flailed his arms wildy, as if to imitate a victim of the Cruciatus curse, "Longbottom knew he was dead. He begged her – even me – to end his suffering. But no," he paused hollowly, "no, there was to be no end. She tortured and tortured and tortured him until his mind was completely incoherent and fragmented, and then she tortured him some more." He shuddered, recalling the images of that evening vividly.
Harry once again saw Neville's face, blank and haunted as if his eyes had witnessed things that they ought to never see. He blinked off the tears that threatened to overwhelm him and listened to Malfoy, albeit unwillingly, once more.
"...ve thought that Longbottom, being an Order member, could at least fend off the Imperious curse. But no, even that was too much to ask. The things she made him do... and to his parents no less."
"No," Harry whispered in horror. The elderly couple he had seen slumped over in one of the cells. Of course. Had they been killed? No, he thought suddenly, no it can't be. Not Neville. Lestrange, you bloody horrible bitch!
Malfoy watched Harry intently with a smug look on his face. "Ah, caught on, have you? Well, you can't say it wasn't expected. After all, it's widely known that Aunty Bella had an unhealthy obsession regarding the health of the Longbottom family. At least take solace in the fact that she had complete vaporized his mind by the time she decided to be crueler and make him... ah, perhaps I'll leave that to your imagination, Potter."
Harry did not know what to think. The horrific information to which he had just been exposed gave him startling insight on how much Dumbledore's inaction had cost the war effort. He stayed silent, seething inside and unconsciously rubbed his right forearm, where his wand lay hidden.
Basking in the look of pure horror in Harry's face, Malfoy let out a nasty grin, then drawled, "Suffice to say, Potter, that before their deaths, the elder Longbottoms were in a world of pa –"
"Enough!" Harry roared. He would listen no more. In his mighty rage, he flicked his wrist violently and his wand shot forth onto his palm. He whipped his wand at Malfoy's torso and yelled in a tortured voice, "Expelliarmus!"
"No, Harry!" cried Sirius in alarm.
"Potter!" roared Snape accusatorily.
Draco Malfoy had no chance. He had no time to process Harry's quick, fluid movements when he was suddenly blasted away. In the process of pulling out his wand, he flew backwards against the wind at high speeds, flailing his arms in panic, and landed unceremoniously against the coarse sand a hundred metres away from Harry with a loud thud. His wand sailed away but before it could be caught by Harry, Snape intervened, summoning Malfoy's wand. He was effectively buried a foot into the sand and his back seared with unexpected pain when he tried to move.
"How dare you attack Draco, Potter?" Snape asked murderously, whipping out his own wand. "I'll make sure you learn your lesson." With that, he flicked his wand, sending a dark yellow jet of light at Harry.
"He's not in school anymore, Snivellus," Sirius answered as he waved his own wand to intercept the curse headed for Harry.
Snape fired off another spell, this time deep red, and so began the battle, if one could call it that. In truth, all the participants knew that Harry would have no problem dispatching Snape and Malfoy together if the need arose. And it did. Harry's fury was beyond the threshold following Snape's curse and suddenly, an eerie silence befell the beach.
Sirius could sense the impending doom, or rather in Harry's case, the explosion of magical energy. "Harry, no!" he whispered desperately, disregarding the futility of his warning.
Harry's wand moved inhumanly fast and aimed at Snape's heart. Stupefy!
Snape barely managed to erect a shield in time. He immediately ducked and shifted to the side as two more spells flashed past overhead.
Harry was relentless. Using the experience gained from training to defeat Lord Voldemort and from the Auror Academy, he swung his wand in complicated patterns as though he were practicing being a conductor for an orchestra. Stupefy! Incarcerous! Diffindo!
Sirius also joined in, attempting to incapacitate Snape before Harry could truly let loose any deadly spells. "Deprimo!"
Snape panted from the amount of energy he had to expend simply avoiding the rapid torrent of curses, hexes and jinxes hurled at him. He had always been a superb dueller but truly, fending off the most powerful wizard in Britain and a former Auror could hardly count as fair in a fight. Between dodging and deflecting spells, he was hard pressed to answer with his own repertoire of curses. He dropped Malfoy's useless wand. Attempting to fire spells with two wands would be pointless when he did not have the practice nor the finesse.
"Sectumsempra!" he bellowed as he slashed, sidestepping a nasty bludgeoning hex from Harry.
"Confringo!" rasped a voice from his side. Snape exhaled in relief, Malfoy had recovered.
Harry narrowed his eyes. He silently berated himself. Should have rendered Malfoy ineffective when I had the chance. He dived out of the way of the dark spell, siderolled up and immediately summoned a nearby beachball, transfiguring it into a solid block of wood, which exploded in the process of absorbing Malfoy's spell, spraying the battle zone with splinters.
Harry winced. Stupid idea. Some of the splinters lanced towards him, making him raise a hasty shield. This gave Snape the break he so needed from Harry's onslaught and the potions master sent a string of spells against Sirius, double-teaming with Malfoy. Oh no, you don't! Depulso!
Harry's banishing charm sent Malfoy sailing once again but the blond recovered faster this time and was on his feet in seconds. This cost him dearly however as a second later, a well-aimed Diffindo from Harry cut a line right across his knee, causing him to fall down and cry out in pain.
Harry summoned Malfoy's wand and pocketed it quickly before turning to Snape who was holding his own against Sirius, the two of them trading spells back and forth with neither having a clear advantage.
"Expulso!" Harry sent at Snape, who easily deflected the spell, causing a large portion of water nearby to shoot up into the air as the expelling spell came into contact with it.
Petrificus Totalus! Expelliarmus! Deprimo! Confringo! He sent volleys of spells towards his greasy-haired opponent but the latter ably dodged all four while managing to keep Sirius at bay. Analyzing closely, Harry could see that Snape was tiring fast and without the help of the injured and bleeding Malfoy, whose wails served only as a distraction, he could not last long.
With this in mind, Harry tracked the movements of Snape's wand and aiming carefully, thought, Flagrate!
His aim was dead on and Snape's wand glowed briefly, making him yelp sharply and drop his wand hastily. He grasped his wand hand with his left but before he could do anything, he was sent back with a well placed stunner from Sirius.
"About time," muttered Harry darkly, as he and Sirius walked cautiously towards Malfoy.
"Hey," defended Sirius in outrage, "It's not my fault the greasy git knows how to fight."
A series of cracks filled the air suddenly and over a dozen people appeared, dressed in navy blue robes.
"Oh fuck," stated Sirius eloquently.
One man, tall and bald, strode confidently towards Harry and Sirius with a frown on his face while the rest of his team went about, obliviating muggles who had witnessed the battle. "Harry, Sirius, would either of you care to explain to me what the hell just happened here?"
"Er," Harry started nervously but Sirius interjected.
"Look Kingsley, we aren't at fault here. If anything, arrest Malfoy and Snape. They instigated this whole mess by dredging up old, painful topics," Sirius explained frantically.
Kingsley Shacklebolt stared at him for a moment, then pulled out his wand and casted, "Ferula!"
Malfoy's irritable cry stopped as bandages strapped around his knee, halting the loss of blood and diminishing the pain.
"That does not explain why you two felt the need to fire spells. In a muggle area, no less! What exactly were you thinking?" Kingsley ranted at Sirius.
"He brought up Neville," Harry quietly responded, ducking his head shamefully. The black Auror immediately paled in comprehension.
"Oh. Look, I'm sorry, Harry," Kingsley apologized. "You, Malfoy," he started, turning around towards the blond man lying on the sand, "are in some deep shite. You'd better hope your money can lessen the sentence you'll be receiving for instigating a duel in front of muggles, and thereby breaking the International Statute of Secrecy."
Kingsley tilted his head towards Harry and Sirius and continued softly in his deep voice, "You're free to leave. My counterparts from the French Ministry of Magic will take care of this mess."
"Bloody hell, it's already 7 o' clock!" exclaimed Sirius, jumping up from the sofa where he and Harry were lounging inside their penthouse suite. "Harry, we have to get a move on! C'mon, I want to get in a few more rounds of poker practice before it begins tomorrow at midnight!"
Meanwhile, Harry stared intently at the glass table in front of him. He had been in a sour mood following the scruffle involving Malfoy and Snape and rightly so. Malfoy's taunting words had brought to the surface memories and emotions of a past he had locked away in his mind to forget over time. Now, he felt guilty again at his inadequate abilities during those times to prevent casualties such as Neville and from what he could understand from Malfoy, Neville's parents.
His depressed musings paused when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Sirius scrutinizing him with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Come Harry, let's be off," he said. Swallowing dryly and blinking thrice, Harry nodded and rose.
When the two finally exited the hotel and strode towards the awaiting limousine, thirty minutes had passed. They sat silently during the ride, both still bothered by the day's events, Harry moreso than Sirius.
Finally, the limousine came to a halt and through the tinted windows, Harry could make out the architectural elegance of the Monte Carlo Casino. Their chauffer opened the door and as they exited, he expressed, "Au revoir, messieurs."
Gazing up at the building as the pair walked, Harry let out a sigh. He was not in the proper state of mind today to gamble. He could feel Sirius's stare upon him but he did not respond by making eye contact. Instead, his eyes scanned the grounds. He was momentarily blinded by a flash of yellow at the corner of his right eye. Turning fractionally, he caught sight of a pair of blue eyes surrounded by long, flowing blond hair looking at him intently, with a mischievous twinkle. No way, it's her!
"You go on, Sirius. I don't really feel up to playing poker today." With that, Harry started jogging towards the woman.
"What?" Sirius inquired incredulously, turning to Harry. Then he caught sight of the cause of Harry's sudden flight and flashed an all-knowing grin. "I'll see you back at the hotel then!" he called before continuing towards the casino.
As Harry started making his way past a number of couples walking towards the casino, the blond woman began retreating too, her back facing him as she walked away. Frowning, he sped up further. I'm not losing her today, he thought fiercely.
"Hey," he called loudly as he neared her, "hey, come back!"
He stretched forward and grabbed her left elbow. As he pulled to swing her around, he was struck by the contrast between her smooth skin and his callused hand. When she faced him, he was once again mesmerized by her deep blue eyes that was complementing her short, shimmering blue dress.
Noticing that Harry's mind was currently vacant, she decided to start the conversation by asking innocently, "Oui?"
Shaken out of his stupor, Harry started incoherently, "I – um – well – I – erm," clearing his throat thoroughly before he finished lamely, "we've met."
She nodded slowly, as if she was talking to a child, and the corners of her mouth twitched showing her amusement.
"Yesterday," he supplied, horrifically thinking for a moment that she had perhaps forgotten about him and the events of the day before.
She nodded again, her smile growing wider, encouraging Harry to finish articulating his thoughts.
"And erm..." he rubbed his neck nervously, debating whether or not to broach the subject, "You're my Lady Luck."
She beamed at him. He was mortified; from the look on her face, she looked as though she would burst out laughing any moment at his inability to put together a proper sentence.
After a long pause, the beautiful blonde stated, "Walk with me."
"Oh – I – well – of course."
Harry brought his hands to his collar and attempted to loosen a tie that did not exist. He fell into stride with his Lady Luck as she strolled along the beach walkway. It was dark now and a slight breeze passed through, causing nearby trees to rustle slightly.
Trying to break the awkward silence between the two, Harry committed the cardinal sin of conversations, by stating the obvious. "So... you play poker, huh?"
"Oui."
"Are you competing in tomorrow's tournament?"
"It remains to be seen," Lady Luck replied airily.
Still walking in tandem along the wooden path, Harry looked at her oddly. "Shouldn't you know by now if you are going to be competing in the grand tournament?" he asked, quoting Sirius's term for the poker competition.
She stopped walking. Turning to him sharply with a Mona-Lisa smile, she cocked her head to one side; she asked adorably asked, "Are you hungry?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at the abrupt topic change, trying to ignore that cute pout of hers. "Not particularly. I'm assuming you are?"
She nodded.
"Well in that case," Harry said, "I suppose we'd better find a diner."
It did not take too long to find a good restaurant with his Lady Luck leading the way. Together, they entered the packed La Rose des Vents. Harry was bedazzled by the spectacular design of the restaurant. Nice and cozy, the place held an air of comfort as the expansive windows was wide open, allowing the pale moonlight enter and light up tables in a romantic manner. The smooth sounds of the ocean waves further enhanced the charm of the local restaurant.
"Bon soir, madame et monsieur. Comment peux-je être d'assistance à vous?" welcomed a waiter dressed in black and white.
"Un table près de la fenêtre," replied Lady Luck in fluent French.
The tall man bowed. "Ah oui, suivez-moi, s'il vous plait." He led Harry and Lady Luck to a luxurious table by the window, giving the duo a fantastic view of the lit-up beach.
Once they were seated opposite the table, he smiled knowingly. "Je prendrai vos ordres momentainement." With a nod, he left, leaving Harry fidgeting with the napkin set on the table while Lady Luck looked on impassively.
Harry took a moment to compose himself. He had handled women before and now should be no different. He should not have felt nervous or terrified of the woman sitting in front of him, no matter how gorgeous her exquisite hair was, or how magnificent her pale skin seemed to glow under the pale moonlight. Shaking his head to rid of those thoughts, Harry took a deep breath and asked, "You're uh – French, I take it."
She smirked, as if understand his obvious mental distress. "But of course, Harry Potter. Please tell me what I may do for you. After all, you did call for me to halt."
He rubbed the nape of his neck, grinning abashedly. "Yeah, about that... I just wanted to get to know you better after the events of last night. I mean, I hadn't even won a single hand until you came along and all of a sudden, my worst loss turned into my biggest victory for the night."
"Oui."
"And I – well I just can't see the connection. How is it possible that when you're around, I get lucky?"
She giggled cutely. "It's all part of the charm," she said with a small flourish.
He grinned despite himself. "Of that, I'm certain."
"But you are not very happy today, Harry – may I call you Harry?"
He flinched in surprise. How does she know? "I've had a rather rough afternoon," he admitted quietly, averting his eyes around the restaurant so that he would not look at her face.
Her face dropped and she frowned. "You know, it's not good to bottle your emotions up. They only serve to bring hurt later."
He looked up suddenly and met her warm, blue eyes intensely. He let out a bitter laugh. "How many times have I heard that before?"
In spite of his gaze, she did not relent. "Then perhaps you should listen to what you hear," she said softly. "Let the pain out, it's only destroying you from the inside."
"And who am I supposed to let it out to? You, whom I had never even met until yesterday?" he asked fiercely.
"Someone you know better then. What about your godfather?"
Arriving at the crux of the problem, Harry finally admitted, "I," faltering slightly, "I don't want to burden anyone."
"You're not burdening anyone by expressing how you feel, Harry," she explained softly, reaching her hand across the table and resting it atop his.
The gentle feeling of her delicate hands rubbing over his ignited a strong feeling within Harry as he said, "Yes, I am! It's – it's complicated. You wouldn't understand. My best friends don't understand for Merlin's sake!"
"I am not your best friend," she pointed out, leaving a hint of a blush across her features.
Harry sighed, distracted by her soft touch and not noticing her blush. He found himself calming down despite his best efforts to glare at her petulantly. "How is it that you know exactly how to make me feel better?" he asked with a wry smile.
"That's just the way I am, part of my lovely charm, non?" she beamed. "Let us choose our meals, maintenant. Oui?"
He put his free hand over her wrist in a gesture of thanks before retracting both and grabbing the menu.
Within a few minutes, another waiter came around to their table. "Are your orders ready, monsieur et madame?" he asked in broken English.
"I'll take the Poisson Scirocu, thanks," Harry answered, training his eyes towards the waiter.
"Et for ze madame?"
"Je veux le Poisson Mistrau," Lady Luck replied.
"Magnifique. It will be ready momentainement." The waiter left, having written down both orders.
The awkward silence turned into a comfortable silence as the two understood each other better. Taking a sip from his glass of water, Harry said conversationally, "So, tell me about yourself."
"I was born in my family home around the outskirts of Lyon. It was such a wonderful place because the weather is always bright and sunny. To top that off, Beauxbatons, the school I went to, was near to my home," she began.
"Really? I know someone who went to that school."
"Yes, I'm sure you do."
"Tell me, do you happen to know Fleur Delacour?"
Lady Luck opened her mouth to answer but could not speak. She closed her mouth and stared at Harry calculatingly for a moment. He looked at her expectantly. Then she spoke, "Yes, I believe I do know her. She is the one who competed in the Triwizard Tournament held at Hogwarts a decade ago, is she not?"
Astonished, Harry replied, "Yes." Then he paused. "Hmm, speaking of her, you do bear some sort of resemblence to her. Are you by any chance rel - "
"Monsieur, your Scirocu meal has arrived," announced a female voice. Shifting his gaze from his Lady Luck, he saw a pretty waiter waiting beside the table patiently, with his meal held firmly on her right hand.
"Ah, merci," he told her as she placed the dish on the table. He flashed her a smile, making her blush as she went away. Looking back at his blonde companion, he was received with a set of raised eyebrows. He shrugged his shoulder playfully and smiled lopsidedly.
Soon after, Lady Luck's meal arrived as well and the two began to dine.
Once Harry gulped down the last bite of his finely grilled swordfish, Lady Luck spoke, "Now that you know a little about me, why don't you share a little of yourself? Other than the fact that you're the Man-Who-Lived and that you attended Hogwarts."
Harry did not speak for a while. He contemplated how much he should tell her. "Well," he began, "I play Quidditch on my free time and I work as an Auror now, or will anyway. I just graduated from the Auror Academy."
"How fascinating! I've heard quite a lot about your Quidditch exploits at Hogwarts, Mr. I-never-lost-a-match," she grinned mischievously. "Where do you play Quidditch now?"
"Oh, I hang out at my friend's place when I have the time. He just graduated too, you see. His family's got a decent clearing where we all play Quidditch for fun."
"That sounds fun. I played Quidditch at Beauxbatons too. I thought I would follow in your footsteps and be a seeker. I don't really have many siblings so even though my family owns a large castle, we don't really have enough people to play," she informed sadly.
"Do you have a particular league team you favour or do you just play?"
"France, sadly, does not truly have a standard Quidditch team like England. Our national players lack the finesse and motivation that your and other players display. The English Longbows would far outstrip the French Knights in a match."
Harry nodded. Although he knew that the French national team was lacking, he had not known that the small league teams were dismal too. He winced slightly in sympathy. He could only imagine how the French wizards and witches could bear with teams that only equalled the calibre of the Chudley Cannons.
"Well, Sirius, my godfather, and I are going to a Quidditch game tomorrow at 10 in the morning. If you're not doing anything, perhaps you would like to come with me? I'm sure I can scrounge an extra ticket from somewhere."
"Mr. Potter, are you asking me on a dat- "
"Excuse moi, monsieur. Here is your receipt. Have a pleasant evening!" declared the female waiter, setting a notebook on the table before giving the blonde a victorious look and turned away.
Noticing the fierce interchange of glares, Harry glanced at the blonde goddess sitting across from him, staring at him expectantly with a familiar pout. He rolled his eyes. "I'll pay of course," he said.
She flashed him a smile, warming his heart. Seeing that jealous waitress approaching their table, she quickly marked her territory. "Well then, thank you for a magnificent evening Harry. And of course, I would love to accompany you to tomorrow's game. How about we meet at the casino entrance in the morning at nine?" And with that, she stood up, leaned over the table and intensely kissed Harry, then fixed her clothes swiftly and walked away, leaving Harry gaping.
"Wait! You didn't tell me your name! What's your name?" he asked desperately but it was to no avail. She had exited the restaurant door and disappeared. Stupid stupid stupid! He had been in her presence for such a long time and yet had forgotten to ask her name... again. He could not stay in a sour mood though.
Setting the amount written on the receipt with a twenty percent tip, he rose from the table, completely oblivious to the female waiter's attraction and exited the restaurant. He could not wait for tomorrow. Watching the Quidditch match with his Lady Luck would be most delightful. He felt a swooping sensation inside his stomach and he knew exactly what that meant. He was falling for this woman... hard.
A/N: Hey all, sorry for this huge delay but we've been soooo busy with our work. Trust us; with us having parents screaming that 95 is not good enough, we're up to our necks with homework/projects/tests/etc, et al. We're working as fast as we can dear readers so please enjoy our piece of literature! Read and review! Thanks
DISCLAIMER: We do not own in any shape or form the realm or characters of Harry Potter. Please don't sue us because we're poor enough as it is :D