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Chapter Seventeen

Goodbye and Hello

The following morning, Harry walked into Fleur's bedroom and found her fighting to close the lid of a medium-sized trunk. He leaned against the wall and watched as she bit her bottom lip and crinkled her nose in concentration. It was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. It was also quite amusing.

"Why don't you shrink the jumpers? I think it'd be easier."

She slammed the lid down and hit the latches, letting out a breathy "Yes!" in victory, then turned to him. "What were you saying to me . . . love?"

The single raised eyebrow warned of coming danger, but the humor in her eyes encouraged him to provoke it. "I said, 'a talented witch would have shrunk the jumpers and cloak so it would have been easier.'" He shrugged. "Or maybe logic is just an English thing."

"Barbarians," she sneered. "You don't double-shrink wool. Make yourself useful and take this to the front door, then shrink it down for traveling."

Harry knew where this was headed, and tried not to grin in anticipation. "No."

"Fine, then be useless." She reached for something on the shelf behind her and he had just enough time—

Clunk! Clunk!

The latches flipped up and the lid sprung open. Clothing tumbled to the floor. Harry sprinted for the safety of the hallway, but a flash of light caught him from behind. He slammed face-first into the wall next to the door and slid down to a sitting position, the hem of his shirt catching on a hook half way down. The just-healed bones in his face throbbed with anger at the abuse.

Fleur rushed to him and dropped to her knees. "I'm sorry! My God, I'm so sorry!"

He took a steadying breath and blinked a few times. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

"No you're not! Move your 'ands and let me see!"

"It's okay, I promise."

"'Arry!"

He huffed, but obeyed, then looked up into a pair of fear-filled maya blue eyes inches away from his. She barely spoke above a whisper. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I—I was just . . . after last summer—I would never . . . not again."

Harry tried to fathom the meaning of her words, but came up blank until he remembered how much of a prat he'd been that first morning after she struck him. There was no way he was going to make that mistake again. He forced a smile. "I know you didn't. It just stings a little."

A new throbbing sensation picked that moment to make itself known and Harry grimaced.

"You're lying to me." She brushed her fingertips lightly across his face, tracing contours of his eyebrow and cheek over and over again. Harry relaxed into the touch and was almost mesmerized by the time she slipped two fingers under his chin and lifted it up to look him in the eyes. "Please don't."

The pain had already subsided for the most part, but if she wanted to know. . . "Fine, I'm in so much pain that I can't think about anything else. Oh! Ow! Help me!"

Her eyes narrowed, and Harry sensed that her mood had already changed. There was nothing like a little teasing to get a Veela—

He gasped, then gritted his teeth as Fleur dragged her fingernails lightly up the side of his chest, then back down to his waist. He squirmed from the tingling her touched caused. The hooked shirt kept him from escaping and the way she was straddling him made for an entirely new level of sensations.

Fleur leaned forward and her lips tickled his ear as she spoke. "I love it when you move that way."

His eyes flared. "Merlin's blue balls, that's just not right!"

"What's not right?" she purred, and changed directions, now drawing her fingers lightly across his stomach. "This?"

He shivered involuntarily. "Enough!"

"Hmm, I'm not sure I've helped enough. Maybe if I. . ." Both hands touched his sides this time, fingernails teasing and tickling their way up past his chest. He bucked against her.

"Feeling better now?" she asked.

"Oh bugger off!"

She giggled and pecked him on the lips, then slid a hand across his cheek one more time. "'Onestly, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, it's just a little sore."

"I really am sorry."

"I know, but I've done worse to myself many times. It's not really that big of a deal."

She shook her head. "That's not . . . I mean . . . Huh, I can't really argue with that, can I?"

He chuckled. "See? English logic overcomes French beauty once again."

"English pig!" she teased. "Sit up so I can unhook your shirt."

"I'll just take it off." He reached for the hem, but Fleur put her hands on his arms.

"Please don't, or we'll miss the Portkey."

"That's four hours from now!" he protested.

She blushed, then freed him from the hook and changed the subject. "So did you come to my bedroom just to torment me, or did you have a reason?"

"Not really." He twisted his shirt back into place. "I wanted to say that breakfast was ready."

"In that case . . . wait . . ." She blinked, then blinked again. "That was it?"

"Yeah," he answered.

She closed her eyes and let her forehead lightly thunk against his. An amused smile played on her lips. "Only you . . ."

~ . ~ . ~

Early that afternoon, they walked out to the Apparation point with Mrs. Delacour and Gabrielle. He sat his trunk down and rested his brand new Firebolt II (Thunder Series) against it, then called out for Hedwig. A few seconds later, she soared out of the Owlery.

"Would you rather fly or Apparate?" he asked when she landed on the trunk.

She looked at Fleur, then back at him and hooted.

"It's okay. We've made up. She's even coming to Durmstrang for a few days."

Hedwig fluttered her wings in approval, then expanded them fully and hooted one more time.

"You want to fly then?"

Another flutter answered his question.

"Alright, but be safe, you're still my favorite bird."

Three Veela groaned in unison and Hedwig slowly turned to stare at Fleur and Gabrielle.

"I know," Gabrielle answered the unspoken question. "We're working on him."

Fleur snorted. "Yeah, but there's only so much that we can do."

"Hey!"

Hedwig hooted again. If Harry didn't know better, he would have sworn that she sounded amused. He pointed over the olive trees that lined this part of the property to the soft blue sky above. "Get out of here!"

She hopped up on his shoulder, nipped him affectionately on the ear, then spread her wings and took to the air. Harry watched her fly away, then turned to Gabrielle. "We're working on him?"

"Don't you even start with me," she warned. "After what you did to Locum, I still owe you!"

He spread out his arms and adopted a look of innocence. "What?"

She glared at him, then snickered and embraced him in a way that felt too much like last summer's goodbye. It bothered him enough that he stepped back and raised an eyebrow. "You know you're still not losing me, right?"

"I know," she said. "But I'm headed to Beauxbatons this semester and won't be able to come see you. And on top of it, you're headed back with some Veela slut—"

"You little . . . !" Fleur interjected.

Gabrielle stuck her tongue out at Fleur and snickered again.

"Come here, you hen!" Fleur grabbed her little sister and tickled her until she begged for mercy. The proper respect for older sisters now reestablished, Fleur kissed her goodbye. "Don't worry about Beauxbatons, you'll do fine. Danielle is transferring in this semester as well."

Gabrielle snorted. "Speaking of Veela sluts, I'm going to get a first hand education living with her—"

"You better not!" Mrs. Delacour said.

"I agree," Harry added. "If you do, I'll have to have another talk with Locum."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, don't worry about that. He's headed back to the states in a couple of days."

That caught Harry by surprise. "He is?"

Gabrielle nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I really liked him. You okay with it?"

She smiled. "Yeah, he told me his family was moving back to the states before we started dating. So it's not that big of a deal, though I am going to miss him—"

"Wait," Fleur interrupted. "If you knew he was leaving then why . . ."

"Why did I agree to date him?" Gabrielle's smile morphed into one of those wicked little grins she had perfected. "I thought it'd be fun: double-date with the two of you, get kissed for the first time, cause some problems, and all of that without the relationship drama you always go through for a good tonguing." She looked at Harry. "Speaking of which, did she ever tell you about Tavian?"

"Gabrielle!" Fleur's cheeks turned pink.

The wicked grin wasn't so little anymore. "Don't worry; I don't think he got into her knickers, so you're still exploring virgin territory—hey! I made a pun!"

"Keep it up and watch what happens," Fleur warned.

"How often do you say that to 'Arry?"

Fleur's jaw dropped. "GABRIELLE!"

"FLEUR!"

"CHILDREN!" Mrs. Delacour looked back and forth at her two daughters. "I'm sure 'Arry doesn't want to hear the two of you discussing Fleur's supposed virginity."

"MAMAN! 'Supposed?'" Fleur blushed. "Enough! Please!"

Mrs. Delacour laughed. "All right, all right; don't the two of you have to be at the way-station by a certain time?"

"Five minutes," Harry answered, still a little red in the face from the implications of supposed.

"Then get out of here before Gabrielle really gets wound up." Mrs. Delacour turned serious. "And 'Arry, stay away from the mountains on that damn broom. I wasn't kidding before, if you get hurt again . . ."

"Sure, mum," he joked, but he was surprised at how good and how right it felt as the words passed over his lips.

She blinked twice, then her eyes softened. Something passed between the two of them and the next thing he knew, she was holding and kissing him like a beloved son.

Fleur cleared her throat. "If you're done molesting my boyfriend, can we go now?

Mrs. Delacour growled at her daughter, then stepped back. "I know you were kidding, but if you ever wish to call me Maman, or Mum, please do, though I'll understand if you're uncomfortable with it."

"Thanks," Harry said. Then a few seconds later, he added, "Mum."

She practically glowed.

Harry pulled a shoelace from his pocket and offered the other end to Fleur, then grabbed his trunk and broom in the other hand.

"Have everything?" he asked.

"Think so," Fleur answered.

He spoke the activation charm. The Portkey glowed for a moment before he felt a slight tug behind his navel.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X

"This is absolutely gorgeous!" Fleur said later that afternoon, thankful that her avian heritage afforded her the ability to deal with heights. The cliff they were on dropped straight down over two thousand feet. "How often did you come up here last term?"

"A few times. I think I wrote most of my letters to Gabrielle from here."

She snuggled in closer and gazed out over his shoulder to the southwest and the sunset that illuminated the mountain peaks. The eastern face of each mountain was cast in a deep shadow. It all looked so inhospitable, and yet, so beautiful. How could anyone get used to living in a place like this? Then again, how could anyone forget about these mountains when flying next to them on a broom?

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"That night you were chasing the Snitch, what really happened?"

The snow crunched under Harry's feet. "Nothing, really. I just didn't see the mountain. My teammates thought that it was daring, of course my Veela-chicks thought it was stupid"—Fleur snorted her agreement—"but I was just too focused to notice anything else."

The wind picked up and little eddies of snow swirled into the air. She laid her head on his chest. "Is that what's going to happen when you go after Voldemort?"

"What?" he asked.

"You, getting so focused that you don't notice anything else."

"I don't want it to be," he admitted. "But I can't avoid the prophecy."

She took a deep breath, wondering if she was pushing too far. "Promise me something. Promise me that you won't get so focused on your task that you end up getting yourself killed."

His body tensed against her. "I'm a Horcrux, you know I can't make that promise, and you also know why."

She pulled away and glared at him. "And I told you I'm working on that!"

The sun continued to descend in the silence that followed. Fleur turned her back to Harry and leaned in to him, then pulled his arms around her. They watched as the mountains in the east were set ablaze by the remaining sunlight

"Is that why you came here, so you could do research?" He finally asked.

"Partly, but I didn't want to say goodbye so soon, either."

She couldn't see his smile, but she heard his chuckle just before he asked, "So, what's this about . . . Taven? Taben?"

She spun around and swatted him playfully on the chest. "Tavian! And it's nothing. I'm so going to hex my sister when I get to Beauxbatons."

He let out a bark of laughter. "Is that where you're headed next?"

She nodded. "I need to see what I can find in the library there, then I'm going to the Veela repositories, and maybe even a few private libraries if I have to. I'm going find a way to get that damned thing out of your head without you having to kill yourself."

He wrapped his arms around her again and they watched in silence when the distant tip of a mountain pierced the sun. The sky grew purple, green, and if Fleur could believe her eyes, even fuchsia. She pressed mitted hands against her cold nose as nature painted a portrait of beauty until the shadows grew so long that they swallowed the valleys whole.

"I've wanted to share that with you since the first time I saw it," Harry said, breaking the silence.

But his voice was different, almost resigned somehow. She tried to read his expression in the last remnants of the light, but couldn't. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, why?"

"It just sounded like something was . . . off." Fleur thought back over the last few weeks and realized it wasn't the first time. Matter of fact, whatever it was, it'd been bothering him since New Years. And that was when—

"What did you and Sirius talk about?"

Harry scrunched his eyebrows together. "Nothing much, why?"

"Because ever since you've talked to him . . . I don't know, but something's different."

Harry scratched at his scar. The sun dipped fully behind the mountains and the temperature began to plummet. He stopped in mid-stoke. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Sirius told me that the Order destroyed all the Horcruxes. I'm the only thing left binding Voldemort to this world now, so if someone manages to kill him, I'm out of time."

"You're what!" She was thankful that he couldn't see her look of horror in the darkness, and forced a strength that she didn't feel into her voice. "Listen to me! The prophecy says you're the only one that can kill him, and that means it'll be time when we decide it's time. And we're not going to decide that until I've had enough time to do my research and we get that thing out of your head, do you understand me!"

"I guess."

Fleur grabbed him by the front of his robes. "'I guess?' Don't give me 'I guess!' I'm not losing you again."

The howling wind stole Harry's words from his lips and all Fleur heard was ". . . lose you either." But she could guess the rest.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. "Speaking of which, I think it's time to go. I can't see a bloody thing and it's colder than a witch's tit up here."

"A what?" she asked.

Harry laughed. "It's a Muggle saying. 'Colder than a witch's tit in a brass brassiere.' And it's probably worse than that at this point."

She took his hand and placed it on the right spot of her heavy cloak. "It's not in a brass brassiere, but do you want to check?"

"I don't know," he said. "Is it virgin territory?"

She gasped, then launched at him, hoping to take him down in the waist deep snow, weather and frostbite be damned. But instead, she felt pressed and stretched, then blinked and found herself standing inside the ward-free Apparation circle. For some reason, the rule on Apparation and momentum loss flashed through her mind. "the further the Apparation, the less likely any momentum will carry through to the other side." She shook the random thought away, took in her surroundings, and launched at him again. They fell into the knee-deep snow on the valley floor.

A minute later and on the losing end of the ensuing wrestling match, Fleur caught sight of a school-elf as it approached them.

"It being too cold for Harry Potter and pretty Veela. I take you back by elf magic," it said.

That caught Fleur by surprise. "How did you know I'm a Veela?"

"You be with Harry Potter. He only be with pretty Veela. All Durmstrang elfs know this."

Fleur guffawed, but she didn't miss the chance to shove a handful of snow into Harry's slack-jawed expression.

~ . ~ . ~

"It's . . . so . . . cold!" Fleur pulled the blankets up to her chin and glared at Harry for moving. He had been sitting under the covers with her in the small upstairs common room for most of the night. "Come on, you'll be warmer in your bed. I'll walk you there, but I don't think I can get in to your room."

She wrapped Harry's half of the blanket around herself, still confused that the roaring fire just a few feet away didn't seem to make that much difference in the temperature of the room.

"But you said your Veela-chicks could get into your dorm.""They can. It was the same way at Hogwarts. Witches could go up into the boy's rooms, but we couldn't get into theirs. Didn't really make sense to me, but . . ." He shrugged.

Fleur gave a short, derisive laugh. "Of course it didn't make sense. All teenage wizards are models of virtue and purity, right?"

"Was Rodger Davies?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Do all the English like to live as dangerously as you?"

Harry grinned. "I don't know. Do all Veela enjoy snogging in rose gardens?"

A growl escaped her lips. It was low, threatening, and completely human, but from the immediate smell of pheromones, she could tell that Harry thought it sexy as hell, and she knew that meant she was about to get exactly what she wanted as well. Wicked? Absolutely, but there had to be some benefit in being a Veela, didn't there? It was even better if she could mix it with her human side.

She knew that tonight, outside of the house elves and a professor or two, there was no one else at the school. Azzurra and Marcus had sent an owl saying that they been held up for some reason and wouldn't be there until noon tomorrow. The rest of the students were to arrive in the afternoon.

Fleur gave Harry her best doe-eyed expression, framed by pink cheeks. "I didn't enjoy it, it was too cold, speaking of which . . ." She faked a shiver.

He took off his cloak and held it open for her. "Put this on. It'll keep you warm until you get under your covers."

Moments like these made Fleur fall in love with him all over again. She widened her eyes and spoke in a voice that sounded like she was ten. "But I don't want to go to my room. It's dark and scary." Fleur pulled the blanket up and hid the grin that she couldn't hold back. It was both adorable and a bit sad that he was falling for it so easily.

"Do you want to sleep here? I'll have one of the elves get you a set—"

"Someplace warmer, with body heat." She lowered the blanket and flashed him a coy little grin.

"You're serious?" he asked. "If we get caught . . ."

"What, they'll kick you out?" she asked. "I doubt it, and if they did, you'd have an excuse to come home. And don't forget,"—she affected the little girl voice again—"I'm so scared. Please protect me, 'Arry."

It was surprisingly warm under the covers. Fleur surmised they were charmed to keep in heat, well, that or it had something to do with Harry sleeping next to her. She rolled over and in the faint light of the room, her eyes fell on the man who changed her life.

He was so cute tonight, and such the dichotomy, even more so now than last summer. After seeing him practice with Marcus over break, there was no doubt that he was dangerous to anyone that crossed him, and that predatory look that came over him? Sure, it frightened her, but it also made Fleur quiver in want. The desire to lose her innocence to him grew stronger every day, and she knew that if he asked, she probably wouldn't be able to resist.

And then, that dichotomy: he wouldn't ask, and wouldn't push. She was thankful for that, not because she didn't want to, but after pushing her love and magic out to him, if she was with him physically and then he died . . . no, she refused even to think about the emotional devastation it would cause. She'd heal, eventually. They all did. But it would be a journey through the very depths of Veela hell; one that often times required the help of the Zekānōt to make it through.

She looked at him again. What if someone had told her that first evening she stepped off the Beauxbatons carriage that she'd be lying in bed with Harry Potter? What would she have thought? That night she asked for the Bouillabaisse, he looked so small, so young, and so cute—too young for her, but still so cute.

Then, the night the Goblet chose the four of them, he walked into that room looking utterly dumbfounded. She thought he had succumbed to her Veela magic. Fleur cringed as she remembered the things she said in that room, and cringed even more when she remembered lying in bed talking with Paige about it later.

And now he was so much more to her, to everyone. The sad thing was that generations of wizards would only know the public persona that built up over time. They'd never get to see the man that was Harry Potter, never see that he was more than a symbol, more than Britain's or even the Wizarding world's hope. He was . . . what? A savior? A martyr? Kind of and yet, even more. He was a good wizard, he was her wizard, and she loved her wizard.

Fleur snuggled in closer and in his sleep, Harry draped an arm around her. She tucked her head under his chin and closed her eyes, content for the moment.

~ . ~ . ~

"I wonder who seduced who last night?" a somewhat familiar voice asked.

"And 'ow many times?'" Another voice added.

Fleur could feel Harry's lips smiling against her forehead. "Go away before my girlfriend hexes the Veela out of the both of you."

"Girlfriend?" the first voice asked. "I take it Christmas went well?" Fleur opened her eyes and saw Azzurra sporting a lopsided grin.

"No, it was horrible," he answered.

Azzurra snorted. "I suggest you get up before Marcus sees you, or you'll never hear the end of it. We'll uh, give you some privacy, just in case you need to put something on." She walked out of the room, but Médeé stayed behind, leaning against the other bed.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked.

"I was just wondering if she liked your opening position."

Harry reached under the pillow and snagged his wand, but by the time he turned back around, she was already running out of the room.

He turned back to Fleur. "Sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"For that." He gestured towards the doorway, then laughed. "They do keep my life interesting, though."

She felt a tinge of jealousy. It was foolish, but how often did emotion and logic ever agree? She saw the way Harry looked at the both of them. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he loved them. And from what she saw last fall, there was no doubt that they loved him back.

Then again, why wouldn't he love them? They were there for him when she wasn't—when she was still acting like a spoiled child. It was her fault that they were in his life in the first place. How dare she be jealous about something she caused? It also wouldn't be good for him. He needed people to love him, even if he didn't see it.

Then again, if he didn't see it, then what good would their love serve? Harry needed to know that he was worthy of being loved. She blinked, surprised by her own thoughts. It did make sense though. After all, the more he was loved, and understood what it meant to love others, the more he could fight against being sucked into the Dark Arts. Someone had to open his eyes, and that someone might as well be her.

She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. "'Arry, can we talk about your Veela-chicks?"

X ~ X ~ X ~ X

Fleur sat in the library later that afternoon. The conversation with Harry went well, or as well as could be expected. Lunch however, was a humorous scene. She had never seen him so flustered. More than once she had to cover her mouth or pretend to sneeze in order not to be caught laughing. Even more so, when they took to teasing him about it after Fleur explained what was going on. Since then, however, her day had grown considerably darker. Durmstrang had a few books that mentioned Horcruxes, and each one she read was worse than the previous.

And this one is the worst so far! she thought, and slammed the book down on the table. It echoed around the Dining Hall-sized room, making it feel empty. Well, not exactly empty. Every bookshelf there came just short of the two-story ceiling and held a ton of books, and except for the wide center aisle, there were bookshelves everywhere. No, it felt empty because she was the only one in there . . . except for one of Harry's Veela-chicks that Fleur just realized was walking towards her.

"Sorry to interrupt."

The German Veela was the most disconcerting of the three, Fleur thought. Part of it was her empathetic ability, but part of it also was the tenderness that she exuded towards Harry, coupled with a beauty and eyes that were breathtaking, even by Veela standards.

"It's Jaleena, in case you don't remember. It's almost dinnertime and I told Harry that I'd come get you in case you couldn't find the Dining Hall."

She put down her quill and stretched, then cast a measuring eye on the other Veela. "Thanks, but it's still a bit early, and the Dining Hall is the easiest room to find."

Jaleena grinned. "True, but we also wanted to hear about Christmas break without Harry around. Médeé's hoping to get enough on him to tease him the entire semester."

Fleur almost smiled. After all the teasing he had done to her over the last couple of weeks, it might serve him right. She gathered the books from the table and stacked the ones that held any information about Horcruxes next to her. "If you're that interested, you should owl my maman. She put the memory of 'Arry's entrance into the Christmas party in a Pensieve and showed it to half of France."

"Is it worth seeing?" Jaleena asked.

She chuckled. "Everyone else thought so."

"Maybe I can get Gabrielle to send it up here then," the other Veela mused. She levitated a stack of rejected books to the return cart. "What are you working on, by the way?"

"A few personal things." Her stomach soured at the change of subject.

Jaleena caught the emotional shift immediately and pierced her with a gaze. "Whatever it is, you're not happy about it, are you?"

"No." Fleur tried to hold the emotions back, knowing that the German Veela could sense every one of them: love, loyalty, fear, desperation, loss; they were all there.

Jaleena laid a hand on her arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not unless you promise you won't tell 'Arry."

Jaleena shook her head. "If it's something that he needs to know, I won't keep it from him, and neither should you."

Fleur glared at her. "You have no idea what you're talking about!" She picked up one of the books and shook it in Jaleena's face. "No clue at all, so don't you dare lecture me about him!" She tried to force the books into her old school bag, and then tried again, but it was too small. She gave up, picked up the entire bag, and hurled it down the center aisle. It hit the floor and split wide open. Books slid along the marble until they crashed against the wall on the other side of the library.

"Thank the gods our librarian isn't here," Jaleena muttered, then turned back to Fleur. "Then educate me. What has you so upset?"

"Why the hell should I tell you?" Fleur spat back. "A few months from now and 'Arry will be just another sad memory for you, just another Viktor. It won't be so easy for me."

"'Another sad memory?'" Jaleena repeated, she gripped the edge of the table with both hands. "You think Viktor is just a 'sad memory'? You ignorant hen! He was my best friend! So help me if you ever hint that he's just a 'sad memory' again, we will be doing a whole lot more than having words."

Fleur grimaced, then rested her forehead in her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that. Viktor . . . that night in the graveyard, if it wasn't for him . . . he was adamant about saving 'Arry. The way he fought, if he wasn't with us, I don't know if we would have made it out alive." She looked back at Jaleena. "I didn't intend to demean the way you felt about him."

Jaleena searched Fleur's eyes, and then glanced down at the table. "Maybe I overreacted a little myself. I hear Veela do that once in a while." She chuckled at her own joke. "So what did you mean by 'another sad memory'?"

She stared into those wide blue eyes and somehow, she knew that she'd be safe telling Jaleena the truth. She gathered the courage necessary to voice that her greatest fear was going to come true. "I'm going to lose him." Then the dam burst.

Jaleena summoned the books and Fleur's bag from the floor, took the sobbing Veela by the hand, and then led her up to the dorm that she shared with Azzurra and Médeé. Two other girls used to share it with them, but they had been at Hogwarts the previous year for the tournament.

The door opened to a cozy room with a fireplace and five beds, desks, and a single larger table with chairs in the center of the room. Fleur noticed her own trunk at the end of one of the beds.

"We thought that you'd be more comfortable with us than in the guest quarters, so we had the elves move you in." They sat down on Jaleena's bed. "Why are you going to lose Harry?"

"I can't say. If 'Arry finds out . . ."

She began to tremble and Jaleena draped a comforter around her, then lit the fireplace before sitting back down. "You may not want him to know, but there's no way you're going to be able to hide it from him unless you talk to someone, not when it's affecting you this much."

She was right, too, Fleur thought. Harry was getting too good at reading her emotions. She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "Fine, but he can't know. If he finds out, he'll march off to that damn island with a death wish."

Jaleena thought about that for a second. "I thought that's why he was training here in the first place?"

"Not like this," she said between sniffles. "If he finds this out, he'll probably be dead by spring holidays."

Jaleena paled. "Why . . . how?"

"Because he thinks he has to die."

"Who put that stupid thought in his head?" she demanded.

"He did, after he found out he was a Horcrux."

Jaleena grew even paler. "Stay here. I need to get the others—Damn it, Harry; why didn't you tell us!" she raged.

Fleur's laugh was thin and lacked humor. "Because he wouldn't want you to worry. That's just the way he is."

Jaleena stopped at the door and glared back at her. "Yeah well, if we save him, I'm going to kill him for this!"

"You'll have to stand in line," Fleur said as the door closed. She lay down on the bed and waited. Ten minutes later, Jaleena pushed it back open, and she, Médeé, Azzurra, and the Headmaster walked into the room. Fleur was surprised to see that a full Veela followed them in.

"This is Professor Sorina," the Headmaster said. "She teaches Veela studies for us." He and the Veela professor both found a seat at the table, and Harry's Veela chicks sat on the bed with Fleur. "So what's going on?" the Headmaster asked.

"It's about Harry," Jaleena answered. "Fleur's been doing some research and she's found something that's really upset her. I thought we should all hear it."

"Fleur?" The Headmaster inquired.

She swallowed. Harry already knew the basics, so there was no harm in starting there. "Last summer, I found out that he's a 'Orcrux."

The odd thing about sitting in a room full of Veela and a Headmaster with a somewhat dark reputation was that she didn't have to explain what a Horcrux was. The conversation with her father and adopted Uncles in the Ministry didn't go so well. They had no idea what the word even meant.

"How sure of this are you?" Professor Sorina asked in perfect French.

"As sure as I'm a Veela. Before Professor Dumbledore died, he shared his memories with 'Arry. I've seen the way the 'Orcrux works between him and Voldemort when he's been asleep."

The room exploded in a cacophony of shouts. Fleur had forgotten that she hadn't told them exactly whose Horcrux it was, though it shouldn't have been all that hard to figure out.

"Quiet!" Professor Sorina demanded. "Now, Ms. Delacour, you're telling us that Voldemort used Harry as a Horcrux?"

"I am."

The Headmaster leaned forward. "When did this happen? I watched the entire memory of that night in the graveyard and saw nothing that would indicate . . . wait, you said Dumbledore knew?"

She nodded.

"Then—of course; the Killing Curse and blood magic, it's an accidental Horcrux, and it happened the first time Voldemort attacked, am I right?"

She nodded again.

"And that means you're looking for ways to destroy the Horcrux without him having to die."

She nodded one more time.

The Headmaster leaned back in his chair and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. "So what did you find out?"

"I don't want to say."

"Nobody will tell him unless it's absolutely necessary."

Fleur looked around the room and every head nodded in agreement, even Jaleena. She had to admit, at some point Harry would need to know, so as long as they waited until then . . . "They share a link. According to what I read this afternoon, if either of them becomes aware of that link, they can attack the other through it at the primeval level. No curses, no spells, just magic against magic."

"That's not so bad," Azzurra said, speaking up for the first time. "I mean, that's what happened when they were in wand-lock last summer. It's about the same thing, just more intimate, right?"

"Not quite," the Headmaster answered. "If they're sharing a link through a Horcrux, then the battle doesn't happen across twenty feet of open space. It happens in Harry's head. If he's strong enough, he can push out of it and enter Voldemort's mind, but that'd be an iffy proposition at best. How much of this does Harry already know?"

"Some of it," Fleur said. "But that's not what has me worried the most."

"It's not?" Professor Sorina asked.

Fleur closed her eyes. "No, it's not. In all the books I've read, very few people were ever used as a 'Orcrux. But in every case, they either became Dark Lords, or died trying."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X

A week later, Harry and Ilija, another seventh year Zashtitnik, were completing their last round of combat training for the day. Harry spun to the right and a curse sailed past him into the wall. He let loose a Reducto Curse and followed it up with a couple darker ones, working on bending the latter two at the same time.

It worked perfectly.

"Mother of God! What was that?" Ilija asked, flat on his back and rubbing his chest.

Harry laughed out loud "Payback."

"For what?"

"For yelling Allons-y! at four thirty in the bloody morning when you woke me up."

"That's not what I meant," Ilija protested.

"I know, but I thought I'd make the point anyway since it seems to be your favorite early morning activity."

The seventh year Zashtitnik stuck a middle finger in the air. "If you don't want to tell me, fine, but I'm setting my alarm half an hour earlier tomorrow morning."

"Do it and you'll end up face down in the snow bare-arsed," Harry warned. "And I'm sure Marcus'll help."

"I guarantee it," Marcus chimed in from the lockers against the far wall.

Ilija smirked. "Well then, that's not a problem."

Harry shook his head and walked over to Fleur and Azzurra, who were watching from the side of the room. "So, what do you think? Have I improved any since last summer?" He asked Fleur.

She took his hand and held it against her lips for a second. "Watching you just makes it too real."

"I know," he said. "I felt the same way when you and your father were practicing over the holidays while you thought I was studying."

Before Fleur could answer, the doors opened and Professor Sirko walked in. "If you're name isn't Harry Potter, I want you over here. That includes you, Fleur."

Everyone else made their way over to him, and a minute or so later, they spread out, with Azzurra standing right behind Fleur. The hairs stood up on the back of Harry's neck and he took a few steps from the wall. "What's this about?"

"This," the Professor answered, "is about surviving a lopsided battle." His wand blurred in motion and emitted an endless stream of curses. Markus and Ilija jumped in from either side and rained down spells, catching Harry in a three-way crossfire.

He had no choice but to conjure a shield, but as soon as he did, he recognized the Killing Curse in the middle of Professor Sirko's salvo. He countered it by flicking his off hand. The Accio Charm already in place directed a chair into the path of the Curse. Then Harry reached out with his magic and bent his shield, forcing the spells to ricochet at strange angles, which caused the others to break off their attack and protect themselves.

"'Arry!"

His head snapped to the right. Azzurra had a wand at Fleur's back and an arm around her neck. He conjured a wall, sealing him on one side with Azzurra and Fleur, and Ilija further to the right. It solidified just in time to stop another hailstorm of curses from the Professor and Markus, who were caught on the other side.

He shot a Curse at Ilija and then focused on saving Fleur, and let loose a Stunner that hit her square in the chest. She dropped to the floor and a second stunner smashed into a shocked Azzurra, sending her sprawling backwards into the wall. Ilija let loose two semi-dark Pain Curses and a Tripping Jinx. Harry used the bench against the near wall to his right to shield from the darker curses and jumped the Tripping Jinx, then let loose another Stunner.

Ilija blocked it with a shield charm. Harry grinned. He vastly overpowered another Stunner, then reached out with his magic and narrowed the spell stream to the size of a pinhead. It penetrated the shield with a loud screech before he released it, letting the spell expand as it hit Ilija. The wards in the room flashed to protect the Zashtitnik against its brutal strength, but they didn't attenuate the massive backpressure.

At the same time, the wall came crashing down behind Harry. Reacting to the situation, he concentrated on the backpressure and cast another Accio Charm, then sidestepped and flipped the point of his wand at Markus, who was coming up behind him. The backpressure wave collided with Markus, and flung him backwards into the air. He hit the floor with a thud and his wand bounced across the marble into the corner of the room.

Harry turned to find the Professor and instead, was lit up with curses like a fairy on a wizard's Christmas tree.

"So," Professor Sirko asked a few minutes. "What did we learn?"

Azzurra rubbed her chest and then thumped Harry on the side of the head. "Don't get rescued by this idiot—especially if he's your boyfriend."

"I had a great plan!" Harry countered. "It almost worked, too."

Fleur sniffed. "I'm sure. My sister you save from the bottom of a lake. Me? Naa, let's just hex the Veela-hen! I think the plan isn't looking so good."

Marcus leaned over to Harry. "I'll get a Portkey for you later. I'm thinking you need to take her someplace special to make up for this one."

"I'm thinking you're right," Harry agreed.

"So, what was this 'Great Plan'?" Azzurra asked. She was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Fleur and frankly, they both looked unbelievably scary, which, for some reason, made Harry laugh.

"Because it was the last thing you expected," he said. "She went down in a heap and was safe from your wand. You were so surprised that I knocked you out of the fight and could focus on Ilija before the wall came down. If I had another couple of seconds, I was going to Enervate Fleur and surprise Marcus and the Professor with a two-person attack."

"And that," Professor Sirko cut in, "was good thinking on the fly." He turned to Marcus. "How did he get you?"

"I have no idea. It wasn't any spell I've ever seen, the air roiled and then bam! I was on my back."

"Harry?" The Professor turned to him.

"I summoned the backpressure from the spell I used to pierce Ilija's shield, then stepped out of the way and directed it at Markus."

The professor chuckled. "Impressive, though I wouldn't ever count on it working again, overall your instincts were dead on, until you got to me that is, then you were just dead."

"I noticed," Harry said. "I have never seen anyone cast that fast in my life."

"Yeah well, that's something I'm about to teach you."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X

"I wish I could stay," Fleur said that evening.

"So do I," Harry agreed. Technically, they had already left, and were sitting inside Holbein's, an expensive but excellent restaurant situated alongside a museum in Frankfurt. Harry reminded himself to thank Jaleena for the advice. "Sorry about this afternoon and the um, strategy."

The corner of Fleur's lip pulled up. "Just don't do it again, or I may have to come up with my own strategy."

"Sounds like fun." Harry took another sip of his coffee and marveled at the taste while Fleur got over the blush that appeared out of nowhere. He wondered why she was doing that more often lately, but let it go. He was more interested in something else at the moment. The relationship between his Veela-chicks and Fleur had changed a couple of days ago. From Markus, he got that Fleur and they had some type of Veela moment, but what it was, Markus had no idea.

"Not meaning to change the subject, but, can I ask what happened between you and the other Veela the day before yesterday?"

Fleur's breath caught. "Um, it was just Veela stuff. Kind of like establishing a pecking order I guess . . . well, that's almost exactly what it was."

"A pecking order?" His eyes widened. "You gotta explain it now."

"Don't know if I can. Something happened . . . a Veela thing that shouldn't have, not to me, at least."

He noticed that she was actually trembling a bit. Whatever it was had really upset her, so he reached across the table for her hand. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugged. "Nothing much to say. Médeé was going on about you and your shopping trip to Milan and I got jealous. When she told me about teasing you in the clothing store by palming your derriere, I decided enough was enough."

"You know you don't have—" he started, only for her to squeeze his hand and cut him off.

"I know. I was just being stupid. But a provoked Veela doesn't back down easily, so Azzurra grabbed me from behind and I immediately transformed. I wasn't even thinking about it. That hasn't happened since my first transformation. Then, Médeé grabbed my arm, thinking I was going to attack Azzurra. The next thing I know, I'm hammering both of them with my Veela magic. Médeé was driven straight to her knees in submission, begging me to stop. Jaleena stepped in and the same thing happened to her. That was when . . ."

"When what?" Harry asked. He saw them all laughing and joking yesterday, so whatever it was, it was over, but this was not like Fleur. She had a temper, but she didn't go around attacking people, at least not that Harry knew of.

"That was when I felt something else trying to come out—like a second form. Veela only have one form unless you're part of the Zekānōt. Maybe we all have that second form, I don't know. Whatever it was, Azzurra responded and shifted into her warrior form for the first time . . . I'm glad you weren't there."

"Why's that?" he asked, wide-eyed.

Fleur giggled, despite herself. "Have you ever seen a Veela Elder in her warrior form?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Good, because they're stark naked, with massive wings and blazing white eyes."

"And Azzurra . . .?"

"Yeah, it was the most beautiful, most awful thing I've ever seen associated with a Veela."

Harry's mind went blank for a second and when it started back up, he said the first thing that came to mind. "Veela go to war naked? No wonder they always win!"

Fleur tilted her head and pierced Harry with a look. "Under everything else, you're still a teenage boy with teenage hormones, aren't you?"

He lifted his hands, palms out. "Sorry, it's just . . . never mind. Anything I say would just dig me deeper."

She laughed. "You're learning. And no, Veela warriors don't fight naked. Anyway, Azzurra's instincts as a future Flock Leader kicked in and she hit me with her magic to force my submission."

"And?"

"I don't know. A full Veela usually submits within a minute, a part Veela submits in a few seconds."

"And you?" he prompted when she fell silent.

"Almost a full minute."

Across the room, a dish shattered on the floor. The server, a cute German girl with black hair, apologized to her table and bent down to clean up the mess. Harry averted his eyes and hoped that Fleur didn't notice when he did a double-take on her rear-end before catching himself, but luck wasn't with him.

"Like the view?" she asked.

"I looked away. I promise I did!"

She shook her head and grinned. "What am I going to do with you? Let's get out of here before any other temptations bend over."

"It wasn't that bad!" he protested.

She laughed. "Keep telling yourself that. Maybe I need to give you a little show so you can make a comparison."

He rolled his eyes and paid the bill, then walked her out of the restaurant and across the street. A tree-lined walkway next to the Main River led to the Straße der Zauberer, and the Floo center.

"I wish . . ." his voice faded in the cold night air.

She stopped and pulled him gently toward her. "Wish what, love?"

"I wish that we had more time together, that I didn't have to go back to Durmstrang, that you didn't have to leave."

She put her arms around him. "At least you'll have your Veela-chicks to keep you company."

"Maybe, but they're not you. I already told you that."

"That's what I want to hear, especially after that waitress in there." She gave him another lesson in the kissing style named for her homeland. "Hopefully that's enough to remember me by." She leaned forward and kissed him on the tip of the nose, then took his hand and led him up the street.

"So where's your next stop?" he asked a couple of minutes later, after sidestepping a garbage can.

"Home; I need to get some clean clothes and talk to Maman about what happened. Then I think I'll go directly to the Veela archives in a few days. Professor Sorina has someone there meeting me. After that, I'll stop by Beauxbatons and see how Gabrielle is doing."

"Beauxbatons? Anyone else you're planning on seeing there?" he teased.

"You caught me; I'm in love with a first year."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Harry sprinted for safety, and was shocked that Fleur could almost keep up with him. He relished the toll she exacted in punishment. A few minutes later, they walked to the Floo and he kissed her one last time, and then watched as she disappeared into the green flames. The sense of loss was almost overwhelming, like a part of himself had disappeared, and he found himself moving toward the Floo.

"To byłoby nierozważne, Harry."

There was only one person he knew that spoke Polish, the Seeker that had saved his life. It wasn't that surprising to find him here, since this was one of the few cities approved by Durmstrang for visits by sixth and seventh years. "Hey, Stan."

"Were you about to head somewhere other than the way-station?" He smiled knowingly. "I'd hate for the Headmaster to find out that you skipped off to France. He'd have to punish you before our next match."

Harry snorted. "Our match isn't for another month—oh, you wouldn't! You'd wait to tell him, wouldn't you?"

Stan nodded. "Yep. It's the only way to beat you. Of course I'd wait."

Harry laughed and tapped his Portkey. "You're a prat, I'll race you to the way-station."