What do I want?
"My Sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane"
- My November Guest, Robert Frost
Then I did something that even surprised me. For all my planning and thinking I did something that went completely against my rules. I did something so foolishly Gryffindor.
I slipped passed her wand.
And I kissed her.
Then the pulsating sensation in my chest returned. Yet time did not speed up. Or that's what I thought, because she was as still as a statue. Her blue eyes were wide opened and didn't even move a little bit.
Then she blinked.
And I realized what I had done.
I just kissed Fleur Delacour.
My bloody brain just froze; I mean I just kissed Fleur Delacour.
The same Fleur who's glaring at me now.
Have I told you guys how alluring she looks when she is angry?
"'Arry Potter" She grunted. If I thought she looked angry before, it was nothing compared to now.
'Sweet heavens, why am I still grinning? I should run. Move legs, move'
Apple, my lips taste like apple.
Of all the things that I thought Fleur could do, I never thought she could do a perfect mean right hook.
"You, I'll graaah" she stamped her foot in anger, turned on her heel and stampeded towards the carriage all the while swearing at top speed in French.
Now, I could lie and say that I had a charming smile on my face as I watched her leave.
But the truth was that I was on the ground, trying to reboot my stupid brain.
Why the fuck did I kiss her?
HER?
I just signed my death warrant. There's a reason why her classmates won't even dare to look at her. Yet I was not a bit fazed.
She is a Delacour.
'So?'
I just kissed a Delacour.
But why was I still grinning like a loon?
Oh, I was so fucked.
" Harry" Cedric was waving his hands in front of me.
"Yeah"
"Harry"
"mmhm"
"Why are you bleeding?" He asked, not much concerned.
"I am bleeding?"
'Huh, must have been one hell of a right hook'
We were in the room of requirement. He was half way into doing some crazy experiments.
"Did you duel with Flitwick?"
He thinks that I had another dueling session with Flitwick. After dueling with Flitwick I usually look like crap.
'Tel him something, you moron'
"What did you do this time?" Cedric sighed. He was missing half an eyebrow.
'Fuck, come on brain, make up some lie.'
I shook my head. Cedric suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"What are you hiding?"
"Me? Nothing" I squeaked. My bloody brain was still rebooting, because I just lied to one guy that I can't.
"You didn't" He gasped.
"Didn't do what?" I countered.
"You smell like her." He accused.
"I just had a talk with her, like I usually do." I hastily replied.
"Except that you are flustered up now, What. Did. You. Do?" He asked, suspiciously.
"I kissed her"
"What?" It was his turn to squeak.
"And she knocked me off my feet" I continued in a small voice looking at the floor.
"So she liked it?" He asked, looking relieved.
"No, She punched me and knocked me off my feet, literally" I said quietly.
Silence, I looked up.
He was stunned; he looked at me with open mouth for sometime before,
"What the fuck were you thinking?" He shouted incredulously.
"I wasn't thinking. It just sort of happened" I shrugged apologetically.
"Yeah, no shit. You just kissed a Delacour, Harry. And you call me an adrenaline junkie."
"Look, I just had to" I tried to explain.
"You had to? What, did she feed you amortentia? Is it not enough that we have enough enemies? You just had to bring the Delacours in too" He looked on the verge of breaking down.
"Look, Cedric. Calm down"
"Calm down? Why are you so calm, Harry? Didn't you tell me that Apoline Delacour like to burn people alive?"
"It's only a rumor, Ced" I spoke calmly, as if trying to calm down a child.
"You are off your bonkers, Harry. When you told me that we would get to fight dark lords daily, I didn't realize that you meant that literally" He exasperated.
"Hey," I shouted indignantly. "You were the one that told me that she liked me" I pointed out.
"And you told me that she could fool even me. " He countered.
Er, I did say that, didn't I?
"But you planted that idea in me" I said weakly.
"What is-
"This?
"Lover's spat?"
Perfect, just what I needed.
"He kissed her" Cedric sold me out without a moment's hesitation.
"Yes" Twin on my left shouted just as the twin on my right cried"No"
"Cough up, George" Fred demanded.
George pouted at me as he handed Fred a galleon over.
"You guys bet on me kissing Fleur?" I cried indignantly.
"If it's any consolation, Cedric did too" Fred shrugged.
"What?" What is this? Pick on Potter day?
"Hey, I lost," Cedric exclaimed."I thought you would not be foolish so as to actually kiss her"
"Brutus's, the lot of you" I shook my head.
"Well, did it work?" Fred asked, excitedly.
"Did what work?"
"Did time stop when you kissed her?" George clarified.
"Actually, it was the other way around" I stood up and replied as I started walking out.
"What do you mea-"
I closed the door before he could complete the question. I walked lazily towards the Gryffindor tower, perfect place to brood about brash and foolish choices.
Now I don't need people to lecture me about the ramifications of my action. Was it stupid of me to kiss her?
'Hell, yeah'
Will it possibly come back to bite me in my ass?
'Yep'
I was not afraid of the Delacours, No I was afraid because she was able to get past my walls so easily.
"Harry, you're scaring the firsties"
I noticed that the fire in the fire place was burning a bright green color. The common room was empty except for a few first years who sat as far and still as possible to avoid being detected by me, and Katie Bell.
"Yeah, Sorry" I apologized as I reined in my aura. The flames turned back to their original crimson red color.
"He says he needs the common room for himself" She shouted and the firsties scrambled out.
I arched an eyebrow.
She shrank a little bit seeing the serious look on my face.
"Gee, Harry, now you're scaring me." She said in a small voice.
"It was meant to scare you." I replied coldly.
I was not in a mood to talk. And even if I was I wouldn't do it with Katie. Not when she could be a possible spy.
"Good night, Katie" I said dismissively.
"Good night, Harry"
I noticed that she was blushing when she left.
Just what I needed, I sighed as I climbed the steps to fourth year dorms. I was not in a mood to walk all the way over to the chamber, so I decided to spend the night in the tower.
"I'm telling you, Lavender really did say that" Seamus was recounting yet another of his conquest to my dorm mates.
"So did you?" Ron asked, excitedly.
"What do you think?" He asked, grinning lecherously.
"No way" Dean exclaimed.
'That could have been you sitting there and chatting' a stray thought drifted in.
My fellow classmates were having conversations about girls and here I was, trying to defeat a dark lord. What would normal life feel like?
If I ever find fate, we are going to have one hell of a conversation. I disillusioned myself and made a ward line around my bed. On a whim added a notice-me-not charm on my bed before climbing on to it. The warm cozy feeling was soon lulled me slowly into sleep.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked curiously.
"What? I need a reason to study transfiguration?" I countered.
She merely raised an eyebrow.
"I just wanted some time to think" I explained.
"So, you decided to come to transfiguration class all of a sudden after three weeks?" She asked incredulously.
"Duh"
I replied as if it was obvious. Why can't she see the logic?
I need to do something to keep my mind off her, to think about other things.
'Don't think about the fact that you kissed Fleur'
Oh, come on. There it was again. Fleur. No matter what I do I end up thinking about her.
"Mr. Potter, What a pleasant surprise" professor kitty greeted me. But I can see she's amused.
"Oh, I'm happy to see you too, Minnie" I flashed a charming smile. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Hermione was looking gob smacked.
"Detention, Again" Said McGonagall sharply, but I saw her lips twitching. These detentions are in fact advance transfiguration tuition. She was a cool gal once you get close to her. I know my father used to call her Minnie because she told us that during our last detention. Frankly, I like these detentions because she has these chocolate cookies imported directly from France and let me tell you, they taste simply awesome.
'Hmm, France, awesome, Fleur'
'Not again'
I whined internally.
And then a knock on the dungeon door burst in on my thoughts.
It was Colin Creevey; he edged into the room, beaming at me, and walked up to Minnie's desk at the front of the room.
"Yes?" said she curtly.
"Please, professor, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs."
"Are you now?" Minnie was using her tough routine.
Colin went pink.
"Prof-Professor, Mr. Bagman wants him," he said nervously. "All the champions have got to go, I think it's about the next task. …"
"Very well, you are excused Mr. Potter. Don't be late for your detention" Said McGonagall brusquely.
I got up, and headed for the door. As I walked past Minnie's table she gave me a quick wink.
Honestly, I don't know why people are scared of her. She's pure awesome.
"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry?" said Colin, starting to speak the moment I closed the dungeon door. "Isn't it, though? You being champion?"
"Yeah, really amazing," I said with a fake enthusiasm.
If I were a dark lord, Colin would have been a minion by now. Still, it won't hurt to have a few faithful followers.
"I heard your brother is in Gryffindor" I said conversationally. He perked up and started blabbering on and on about something.
I just nodded and hummed occasionally.
"- I thought so too, but-"
"Mmhm"
I was going to see Fleur any minute now. I would rather fight a dragon again.
"-Wants an autograph-
'She won't kill me in a room full of witnesses, will she?'
"-And then he was all like, no way he killed a zombie-"
'I mean, on the positive side, I destroyed all plans involving me with that move. But on the other hand,'
"-But Filch didn't believe me-"
'I mean, she did like me and enjoyed my company,'
"Then, Mrs. Norris died, and my brother said that you conjured a dragon which ate-"
"Yeah" I said offhandedly.
'But she hit me. Perhaps she was on PMS and was confused because of her hormones?'
"WOW" Collin shouted excitedly and I jumped.
"What?" I asked, annoyed.
"I totally knew it, you are way too awesome, Harry" He exclaimed.
'What did I just tell him?'
"Anyway, this is the room, See ya later" He shouted as he ran, possibly off to spread news about my awesomeness.
Krum was leaning against the wall on the far side of the small room, staring at nothing in a rather broody fashion. Vladimir was not present. Karakaroff glared at me, as if he knew that I had a hand in Vladimir's accident.
Maxime stood close-mouthed and rigid, next to her champion, Nicole, warily eyeing anyone in the room that passed too near to either of them.
'Where is Fleur?'
Cedric was standing opposite to Maxime. Oddly, he was not looking at me, but a point over my shoulder.
I felt a hand slip in to my pocket.
I turned and saw the beautiful face of Fleur.
She crossed the room without saying anything and stood at her place besides Madame Maxime. Her face was obscured by a mass of silver hair.
I shrugged and walked towards Cedric, who looked relieved.
Bagman walked in whistling jovially followed by Dumbledore who looked rather sour. Crouch was missing.
"Good to see you all," Bagman began. "After the first two tasks I know there's some tension between the schools," He paused and looked pointedly towards Krum who was glaring at me.
"So, this next task will be giving you a chance to resolve those issues." He chuckled at his own joke.
Apparently we missed the joke.
"The next task will be Dueling" He shouted the last bit out.
"Dueling?" Krum grunted, somehow he looked happier than just a minute ago.
"Yes. This will be an individual task. Each of you will have to face champions from other school individually. The school with most wins will win the task." He replied jovially.
Cedric glanced back and forth between Fleur and me.
"What are ze rules?" Nicole asked.
"Anything bar unforgivable curses are allowed" He gave a brilliant smile.
"You want a blood bath" Cedric said, when he realized the truth.
"Oh, come on. You all knew what you were signing up for. Don't be a joy kill." Bagman shook his head, disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm from Cedric.
I would have said something. But I was focused on Fleur. She hasn't moved a bit at the news. In fact her face was still obscured by a curtain of her silvery hair.
"Now, the task will be held precisely one week from now. That's it. Now off you all go"
Fleur was the first one to leave the class. Cedric looked at me curiously, but I mouthed 'later' . He shrugged and went back to his class.
I searched my pocket and found a parchment.
'Meet me at the spot at midnight'
Well, that makes thing much easier.
"Hello, Harry Potter" A dreamy voice came from behind me. I don't need to turn around to know who called me.
"Hello, Luna. Don't you have a class to attend?"
"Yes, charms" She replied merrily. I waited for an explanation, but after a few awkward second for me I decided to ask,
"So, why are you here?"
"To speak with you, " She looked confused.
'Duh,'
"About?" I asked tentatively.
" Girls" She replied.
Now, considering all the strange things that happened in my life, on a scale from one to ten, ten being Voldemort possessing Quirell and one being seeing Ron eating, this rates a five.
"Can you elaborate a bit?"
Her entire posture changed, her eyes were not dreamy anymore but sharp and cold. She stood straight up, her wand was midway raised.
But I had my wand pointing in between her eyes.
She smiled appreciatively. It unnerved me. That feral look on her normal dreamy face seemed unnatural.
"You are playing a dangerous game, Harry. You gained a lot of attention from places you should not have." She said calmly, completely ignoring my wand.
"I know." I was not surprised to find occlumency shields preventing my legilimency scan.
"Oh, they know that you know. That's the reason why they are so interested in you. You know many things that you shouldn't know, Harry. Things that are kept secrets at the cost of many lives" She grinned, a truly sadistic smile spreading across her face. The not so subtle threat was not missed by me.
"Is that what you are trying to do, eliminate the threat?" I pressed my wand more into her forehead.
"Oh, you got it all wrong. We are the one's keeping you alive, Harry. Which is why I am warning you, stay away from Fleur."
Oh, she slipped. She said Fleur, not Delacour. That implies a close relationship. She knows more than one Delacour.
"So, you work for Apoline," I smirked and her smile faltered.
'Strike one'
I lowered my wand which unsettled her further.
"Tell her that Harry Potter welcomes her personally in to the game. Don't look so surprised, dearie. I know much more than I should. I even know what happened to your mom, oh, that's a sore spot, isn't it?"
She looked on the verge of an explosion.
'Strike two'
" I know what Lovegoods are,dear Luna. In fact, I knew from the moment you approached me. Why do you think I asked for a subscription of Quibbler? A tracking charm on the owl and voila, I got the address of all of your subscribers in a month. It was a complex charm, pretty hard to detect and was working perfectly till a week ago. Apparently, someone in France found my tracking charm. But then again, that's Delacours for you. A pity, don't you think?"
I mused as she paled.
'Strike three, kiddo'
"So, Tell Apoline that I don't want to waste my time speaking with servants. I am way above your league, dear. I saw right through you the moment I saw you. Learn to lie better, sweetie."
The first time she came to me she played the part of a bullied kid. I almost missed the signs. A bullied child never opens up that soon with strangers. She could have gotten away with it, If not for Cedric's eidetic memory picking up the oddities in her behavior. It's nigh impossible to fool Cedric with acting. No matter how good you are you will always leave small clues behind. A slight twitch of an eye, a trembling hand. She was on my list of people to watch out from day one. Add that to the fact that I met her mere hours before Fleur made contact with me; she was set up to fail from the beginning. So, I did what I do. I made a noose and tied it around her neck without even letting her know.
Now I know who reads Quibbler.
Why is that important?
Coded messages.
Hit orders, supplies, dealers, smuggled items up for sales, all published in a news paper. Hidden behind all those silly news about crumple horned things and what not. Visible for only those who are meant to see them. I haven't yet decoded all of them, but I don't need to. I know who all reads the messages. They have been running this for so long without a glitch, they became arrogant. Arrogance leads to carelessness. Which, I exploited freely. Miss a single step and you will fall. The higher you are on the ladder, greater shall be the fall.
I now know all of Lovegood's associates in Britain. And since Lovegood's apparently works for Delacours, I know their allies in Britain. And it was quite a list too. I have the upper hand now. Information is everything. She just gave me a golden goose.
"Now, off you go" I patted her shoulder.
'I will not bow down'
"You have no idea what you-"
"Spare me the threats, dear. You just gave me exactly what I wanted," I smirked.
"Now, Leave" I ordered, forcing my magic in to my voice. She all but ran away.
'Cedric's going to like this one' I chuckled as I imagined his reaction.
It was midnight and I was waiting for Fleur. Silver colored flowers shone brightly under the moon light.
The moon light caressed the green grassland.
Earth and sky, Lovers, forever cursed to not embrace one another.
I had not told anyone about coming to here. Why?
Why, indeed.
"You came" The musical voice of Fleur came from behind me.
"You came too" I said quietly, not looking back.
I sat down gazing at the moon.
She sat down close to me. Very close.
"You are stupid, 'Arry" She stated. I glanced at her. She looked simply ethereal under the moon light. I again felt the sudden urge to kiss her.
"Why did you kiss me?" She asked, curiously.
"Why did you hit me?" I countered.
"You stole my first kiss right after you purposefully riled me up"
'oh'
"Why did you kiss me?" She asked, again. She tilted her head, looking at me as if I were something alien.
I kept quiet.
"You know about my maman, you know about Luna. You know you are playing a dangerous game. Yet, you kissed me. Why?" She pressed on.
"Because you are dangerous" I replied.
It was the truth. She fascinates me, her laziness, fierceness, skills, intelligence, everything about her fascinates me.
"May be that's what I want you to do. To pursue me"
"That makes it much more alluring" I mused.
"You puzzle me 'Arry" Said Fleur as she stood up. Then she ruffled my hair and kissed me lightly on my cheek. Her sweet aroma and soft lips, a tingle of electricity ran down my spine.
"Good night, 'Arry"
"Good night, Fleur"
I knew that I was in for one hell of a ride as I watched her leave.
I knew exactly what I wanted.
I wanted the forbidden fruit.
I wanted Fleur.