Harry Potter: The Unchained Flower
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the items and such that is not and will never be used by J.K.R.
A/N: If it would be possible, could the readers leave responses to my writing? So I would know if I am doing everything right or not. No worries if you guys don't want to though, I don't live by Reviews but I do want to know if I am doing thing right. Thanks!
Chapter Eight: Battle of the Chesapeake
-House of Lords
Lord Williamson looked towards the young man, now just a husk of his former self.
Ever since the return of the Lady Delacour to France, Lord Potter had withdrawn more and more into his own world. And, to top it off, France still declared war when they discovered of the Lady Delacour's unlawful affairs with the Lord Potter. They had contacted a few after that they had discovered the Lady Delacour's innocence is not intact anymore and had blamed the young Lord Potter of deflowering their maiden.
This resulted to a new front opening for them with little soldiers to spare. And yet, the French are using the Americans as their scapegoat and had sent troops there to aid them, instead of attacking Britain directly.
Williamson sighed as he remembered his discussion with his King earlier about how they were to help the young Duke.
-Flashback
Lord Williamson bowed as he saw his King enter the throne room. He had been summoned here two hours before the House of Lord's meeting and he still was not sure as to why.
The King, himself, sat down and sighed loudly before speaking, "Rise, Lord Williamson."
"Thank you, your Majesty." Replied Williamson as he rose from his position.
The King looked at the stoic Lord Williamson before continuing, "I am sure you are wondering as to why you were summoned here?"
Williamson only nodded which prompted the King to continue, "I am here to discuss the help we mean to send to Lord Cornwallis."
"He has been blockaded, has he not?" Asked a worried Lord Williamson.
The King nodded before gesturing towards the map laid out in the middle of the room, "As you can see, we plan to send ships to try and aid the ailing Lord."
Lord Williamson started walking around the huge map before asking, "We are to engage French ship, you Majesty?"
"Yes." Replied the King curtly.
After staring at the map for a few more minutes, Lord Williamson looked towards the King before asking tentatively, "You mean to send your nephew?"
King George looked towards the map before replying, "Yes. He proved to be a great tactician and I hope that seeing the French killing our men would lessen his yearning for that French Duchess."
"But, your Majesty! You know of his love for the Lady Delaco-"
"No! Do not utter that name under this palace! She is the reason for our losses! If it were not for her, the French would never have helped the Americans and we would not be losing!" Shouted a very angered King.
Lord Williamson recoiled before replying, "Sire, the French would still have allied with them even if the Lady Delacour was not robbed of her innocence by the Lord Potter. We could not blame her or him for this mess."
"Nevertheless." Started the King, "I must punish my nephew for his actions and what better way to do it than to send him once more into the battlefield and experience the consequences that he has wrought upon his own country!"
"If you will it." Answered a sad Lord Williamson before bowing out of the room.
-End Flashback
"We must send quick aid to the General Cornwallis or we risk losing this war!" Shouted a very frustrated Lord Howe.
Lord Bones stood up from his musing and relied back, "Is this about your son, Lord Howe?"
"My Son? MY SON? He is busy with his censure! Do not drag my son into this Lord Bones!" Spat Lord Howe as he was being held back by his own friends.
"ORDER!" Shouted Lord Williamson as he slammed his hammer down.
He looked towards the Lord Bones before saying, "The King has already planned a unit to help the ailing Lord Cornwallis."
Mutterings started once more before Lord Black spoke up, "Who is leading this charge?"
Everyone stared the Lord Speaker before he answered, "The King has planned for Lord Potter to head this charge. Due to his experience with the American campaign, he is the best man to send."
"I DECLINE!" Shouted Harry as he stood up from his seat.
Shouts started once more as shouts of "FOOL!" and "TRAITOR!" were lashed out uncontrollably. Harry just stood there, glaring at the Lord Speaker.
Lord Williamson sighed before hammering down his gavel and shouting, "ORDER! ORDER!"
Everyone settled down as he gestured for Lord Potter to take up the stand.
Harry stood in the middle before speaking, "I am not fit to direct troops into battle. As you all can see, I am ailing."
"Ailing because of that French harlot!" Shouted a member.
Harry ignored this and gestured towards the Lords and Ladies present, "We have allot of Generals to do battle, why send a young Duke?"
Lord Williamson saw this move and replied, "The King has already foreseen you declining and so made you only a the Rear Admiral to Sir Francis Samuel Drake."
Harry sighed at this before replying; "My esteemed uncle has already planned for this since the start, am I right?"
Lord Williamson just nodded without giving a reply. He knew of how the young lad was feeling and he wholeheartedly disagrees with this move. But it was the King's orders ad he could not do anything about it.
"Very well." Answered Harry before he swept out of the room.
Shouts of disagreement still rang out in the House of Lords but Harry did not care. He would do what his uncle wanted him to do for now. For now.
-Potter Manor
He donned his military uniform before grabbing a few papers to write on.
Harry sat down on his office before scribbling down some messages then rolled them but and attached it onto his owl that was perched outside his window.
"Take this to France. To the Comte de Toulouse. To Draco Malfoy." Whispered Harry to his trusty snow-white owl before he let her fly away.
Watching his owl fly away, he started walking towards the direction of the door before the floo started to spew flames and a woman with blonde hair walked out the fireplace.
The blonde haired woman who was shorted than Harry by a few inches, looked towards the said Duke and ran towards him and hugged him before behind, saying, "Lord Potter! Don't leave for war! I fear you are in great danger!"
Harry looked at the woman who was wrapped around his waist and patted her head, "Do not worry, Lady Lovegood. I am certain I am capable of protecting myself!"
The Lady Lovegood, who looked more like an elf that was brimming with beauty, tried to use her puppy-dog eyes and pleaded, "Please, My Lord. Stay with me! Do not risk your life and leave me alone!"
Harry pried the Lady Lovegood from his waist and replied somberly, "Do not attach yourself on to me, My Lady. You now I can never return your love. Better to find yourself a man worthy of your love."
Luna cried onto Harry's arms, "No! You are the one for me, and I for you!"
Sighing, Harry took her face to his and whispered, "I cannot love you, My Lady. Someone has already stolen my heart and it is still with her till this day."
"B-but you have stolen mine!" Pleaded Luna as she tightened her grip on Harry.
Harry stood up before walking away from her crying form, "Then I give it back to you, My Lady. I am not worthy of your love."
Luna just sobbed at her place and watched as Harry walked out the door, into a carriage that was waiting for him to leave. She could never just stop loving the Duke that saved her from her misery when her mother had died. She would wait for him until he is ready, for now, she must live on.
-HMS Terrible
Harry looked onwards at the vast expanse of sea that he was gazing at. He never thought of actually trying to cross the oceans just for leisure, it had always been for war. It was a sad thought, and yet, it fueled his determination to one day achieve the peace he was yearning for.
As he was reminiscing, he did not notice that one of his knights had stepped forward and had stood beside him. The knight, Sir Weasley, was looking curiously at his Duke before asking, "What is troubling you, My Lord?"
Harry looked towards his knights before replying, "I feel something is going to go wrong."
Sir Weasley laughed at this before replying, "Do not worry, My Lord. There is a reason why I am here. And that is to protect you from any dangers that may pass!"
"Indeed!" Answered back Harry as he continued staring at the vast expanse.
For a minute or so, he could see silhouettes of ships in the horizon and squinted harder to try discerning which type of ships they were. He grabbed his scope before placing it on his eye.
"FRENCH! FRENCH! TO YOUR STATIONS!" Shouted harry when he saw the standard of the Comte de Grasse on the mast of the ships.
Sir Weasley looked on gravely before grabbing his musket and saying, "How could have the French mustered up that kind of force in such a short time?"
"When we deliberated in the House, we concluded they were already planning on helping the Americans." Replied Harry as he directed some of his men into their stations and relaying the message to the other ships that were in the same Rear fleet that he was in.
"In a way, it was all pre-planned." Continued Harry.
Before Sir Weasley could have replied, another gunshot from the Center fleet resounded which officially started the mobilization of all the ships.
Weasley looked on towards the standards as they were pulled up onto the tall masts. Looking around, he could see the guns being loaded and the soldiers loading their muskets.
"Bloodshed once more. When will this ever end?" Asked Harry to himself, "Sir Weasley! Prepare the men for an impending attack. They will surely harbor a grudge towards me and since my standard is now visible, we will be attacked first."
"Agreed, My Lord. We must be ready." Replied Sir Weasley as he moved towards the company assigned to his Lord and instruct them to be ready for boarding of the enemy and bombardment from the French fleet.
Harry picked up his scope once more and sighed lightly, "So it begins."
-Five Hours Later
The battle was raging on as Harry cut another man down with his rapier. He looked onto his ship, which had been boarded at once and sighed at the bodies that were scattered throughout the deck.
"FIGHT ON!" Shouted Harry at his remaining forces.
His men shouted in agreement and resumed once more with their close-quarter combat.
Taking a chance and glancing towards the other ships of the fleet, he could see the Center taking damage as well while the Van has not been touched.
He cursed himself when he was almost hit with a stray bullet as he spun around. Looking towards the enemy ship, he jumped towards one of the planks and smashed it with his boot.
"Destroy the planks! We have to stop them from boarding!" Commanded Harry just as he was destroying the second of the ten planks that were connecting his ship with the French ship, Auguste.
At once, his men started smashing the planks and after a few minutes, the two ships were separated once more.
Harry sighed in relief and looked towards the ship, Princessa, who was coming in and covering them from the onslaught.
"My Lord! The ship of Captain Charles Knatchbull is covering us for our retreat!" Announced Sir Weasley as he rallied the remaining forces and lining them up so they would be more effective if they were boarded once more.
Harry risked a smile and replied, "Good fortune on us then!"
Sir Weasley was about to reply but when he saw the Princessa move away, he quickly shouted, "THE PRINCESSA IS MOVING AWAY! TAKE COVER!"
Indeed, when the Princessa moved away, a barrage of cannon balls hit the Terrible and destroyed its mast and created holes on the deck.
Harry, himself, started weaving through the ship to get to the steering wheel. He needed to steer the ship out of the way before they were sunk. He knew lives were at stake here and he would be caught dead first before he did nothing.
Reaching the wheel, he jerked it to the right to expose the rear to the Auguste, thus saving most of his men's life. And yet, he never thought of his as a canon ball hit the wheel and Harry was blown off the ship.
Sir Weasley, seeing the event happen, shouted "MY LORD! MY LORD!"
He was about to jump towards the place where his Lord had been hit but his comrades pulled him back from the onslaught of the canons.
One of his soldiers told him quietly, "We saw it to, Sir. He was blown of the ship. He could never have survived that."
Sir Weasley, not believing what had happened, still struggled and was able to get out of the hold of his comrades and grabbed a canon and aiming it towards the mast of the Auguste.
Blinded with rage, he quickly lit the fuse before screaming, "FILTHY FRENCH! DIE!"
The canon exploded and headed towards the mast but due to the waves crashing and the wind howling with rage, the ball missed the mast and instead, hit the musketeers that were lined up at the ship rails.
Cheers were heard on the Terrible as they saw a chunk of the Auguste blow away. But was cut short when the winds suddenly changed to their disadvantage.
The British knew they were at a bad position but rejoiced once more when they saw the French fleet moving away. Cheers started as the afternoon sky shimmered and made a beautiful reflection on the Bay.
Sir Weasley looked around as the men aboard the Terrible danced around and celebrated and growled in frustration. He had failed in protecting his Lord and now he was dead. What would he tell his fellow knights? What would he tell the House of Lords? What would he tell the King?
He stumbled onto one of the railing and puked his lunch out before picking up his musket and firing twenty-one successive shots before falling down, unconscious.
His vision was fading due to fatigue but he could still hear the background noises. He tried to crawl up, but instead, he fell down. At this point, people saw his struggle and had tried to help.
People started to carry him towards one of the cabins but before they could lie him down, he whispered to them, saying; "I have failed."
Overview of Major Characters:
Lord Harrison Evans Potter: Duke of Clarence
Lady Fleur Delacour: Heiress to the Duchy of Brittany
Lord Draco Malfoy: Comte de Toulouse, Married to the Duchess of Valentinois
Master Neville Longbottom: Confidant and Right-hand man of Lord Harrison Potter
King George the Third: King of England, Husband of Queen Charlotte
King Louis the Sixteenth: King of France, Husband of Queen Marie
Sir Weasley: Knight under Lord Potter
Lady Longbottom: Mother of Neville
Lord Black, Lord Bones: Magical Blooded Lords in the House of Lords
William Pitt: Prime Minister of England
Lord Howe, Lord Williamson: Non-Magical Blooded Lords in the House of Lords
Lady Hermione Granger: First born Magical in the House of Granger
The Statue of Secrecy: Still in effect but very light in terms of Magical Use in front of Muggles.
A/N: Historical inaccuracies and accuracies are solely for the purpose of this story. Although "most" of the Historical References I am making are true, just not the timeline and the way they are arranged.