A.N.- Really, really sorry about the long hiatus, university has taken most of my time and to add insult to injury I've been in a car accident…luckily it was just a broken arm. Had to get it in a cast, which made having an itch suck a lot :p. Thank you for all the pm's and reviews, I once again reiterate that I do not plan on abandoning this story and many others so have no worries. Also university has been draining and what's left of my time was spent on gaming and 'socialising.'

Are there any games that any of you are particularly looking forward to?

And if you are angry or disappointed, I understand that too as I prostrate myself in front of you all.

Chapter 24: A Winter Affair

Lying motionlessly in his bed in the Ravenclaw Boys Dormitory was a dark haired young man, deep in sleep with his body curled up in a relaxing position. However, the image was only the calm in contrast to the machinations that were occurring inside his mind.

"Where am I?" Harry muttered to himself as he surveyed his surroundings, he was standing on what to seem to be a roof of a muggle skyscraper. It seemed to be nighttime as the dark skies above him suggested as he noted the mist around him.

"Oh, it's you…strange, you're not suppose to be here." A small voice made him jump as he quickly turned around to see a boy, no older than six or seven, peering at him with wide, green eyes. His hair was dark and messy and Harry saw that he was dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks.

"Who…who are you?...and what's this place?" Harry asked as the boy tilted his head, as if he were asked a preposterous question.

"You don't know?" The boy seemed surprise for a moment, making him…it more childlike.

"This is your mind or if more accurately, the depths below your consciousness." The child said with a hint of amusement as he gestured to their surrounding.

"Seriously?" Harry spoke as he peered down the edge of the skyscraper they were standing on, it was a long way down.

"Do you see me laughing?" The boy retorted, a serious expression on his face.

"Fair enough…but you still haven't answered my question." Harry turned back to face the child.

"If this is my mind…who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked. The child frowned and was on the process of answering when he turned his head to the dark mist that was gathering between them. Before Harry could register what was happening, his head started to ached with immense pain and before he knew it, he felt a shove and he was sent over the edge of the skyscraper and was plummeting.

"Awwhhh…why did you have to do that?" A chillingly cold voice protested as a figure formed from the dark mist.

"I was planning to introduce myself." A tall young man, clad in dark trousers, shirt and a long coat said.

"You and I both know you intend to do more than that." The young boy stared stonily into the newcomer's lightly red tinted emerald eyes.

"Am I that transparent? Tch...Though you do know that you can't keep me away forever." The young man clad in all black laughed, the air surrounding him grew colder.

"Only one can live."

Harry shot up from his bed, as if he were being electrocuted. Noting that he did not literally fall to his death was a small measure of comfort for the young man as he held his throbbing head in his hands. However, it was disconcerting on how real the dream was.

Such as the surroundings in his dream, the young boy that appeared to be older than he actually was and the dreaded sensation that made the hair on the back of his neck snap straight just before he fell.

Since the beginning of this year, he had not been feeling at his best as he would have liked but had chalked it up to physical and mental fatigue. With a sigh, he got up from bed and changed into his uniform. The common room was void of people, as he had expected as it was still early.

Plopping to one of the armed chairs near the flickering fire, Harry could only hold his head and hope that the jabbing pain would subside. Gradually and to his credit, the headache subsided as he leaned back.

"Harry?" Elena's voice made him open his eyes as he saw the concerned look on the young woman's face.

"Morning, Elena…" Harry replied with a small smile as she approached him.

"Are you alright?" Before he could respond, she had placed a hand on his forehead.

"Hmm…seems normal." Elena muttered as Harry stood up.

"Where are you going? There's still time till classes start." She said.

"A stroll…" Harry said before turning his head to the young woman that had undeniably wormed herself into his heart. Even in her current state, the look that gave away the fact that she had just woken up, she was stunning.

"Give me five minutes…I'm coming with you." Elena had a determined expression on her face.

"Oh? Getting protective are we?" He jested good naturedly.

"We wouldn't want the representative of Hogwarts to miss his step and tumbled down the Ravenclaw Tower now could we?" Elena bit back before heading back to the Girl's dorm to change though Harry did catch the not so subtle teasing smile she had sent him.

True to her word, the young woman reappeared five minutes later, dressed in her uniform with her hair smoothed out and was that lipstick and eyeliner? Harry did not dare prod his companion on quickly she was done but merely accept it as one of those things about woman that he would never comprehend.

Not much was said between them as Harry's legs led them to wherever they were heading but Elena's companionship had a calming effect as they stopped at the Astronomy Tower. The fresh, cold air did wonders to his throbbing head as Harry breathed and exhaled deeply. The snow was always so beautiful and mystical to him, even though he had seen it literally every year. There was a sense of purity to the white blankets covering everywhere it fell.

"Feeling better?" Elena asked.

"Much…thank you Elena." Harry responded, leaning on the railing.

"Anytime." The brunette witch replied as the two savored the rare time they had together. The day went on smoothly afterwards as Harry returned to his normal state of mind though Roger did inquiry brashly why he was smiling a lot more during lunch as suppose to his usual nonchalant attitude. Cho promptly told Harry to ignore him as it was a healthy thing to do which caused a subsequent mouth off as the two bantered against each other.

"What are we even doing here?" Roger whispered to his best friend's ear as Professor Flitwick had ushered all the Ravenclaw students to an empty classroom.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this." Harry shrugged as the brunette shifted tirelessly next to him with a groan in response.

Sometimes, his friend could be a little childish, scratch that, it should be very childish and it was not just sometimes.

"Is everyone here?" Little Flitwick squeaked before clapping his hands together.

"Good, now as some of you may know, the Triwizard Tournament has always included a Yule Ball since the tournament's inception…"

At this point, pretty much everyone got the general gist of what was going on and the reactions were divided between the excited giggles coming from the girls side and the exasperated groans from the guy's side.

Although Harry knew what was going to happen, the sight of so many girls eyeing him in a not so innocent manner were still a bit hard to take in. Damn Sirius for making him pose in those shirtless adverts for those Gossip Magazines and the Daily Prophet.

Immediately, miles away from Hogwarts

In the newly refurnished kitchen of No. 12 Grimmauld Place, one Sirius Black had the urge to laugh and sneeze at the same time as Kreacher could only shake his head at the obscurities his master was displaying.

"That was fun." Roger commented as he, Harry and Elena walked out of the rowdy classroom.

"That's because you're a manwhore." Harry muttered as his friend made it his point to show off his quote "sexy dance moves."

"Agreed." Elena said in a deadpanned voice.

Harry had to roll his eyes as Roger then pretended that he was shot as he clutched in chest in agony, which caused Elena to kick him, hard at his shin.

"Elan! They're bullying me again." The brunette cried as he hurled himself into the oncoming blonde young man's arms.

"There, there…it'll be okay soon." The older Malfoy shushed him.

"I assume Flitwick's told you about the Yule Ball?" He then asked the two Ravenclaws.

"Yep. Though I am curious how Snape addressed the news to you all." Harry nodded.

"It was strange." Draco Malfoy piped in before he walked past the four older students.

"Yeah, I would rather not talk about how that went." Elan said, still stroking Roger's hair as he garnered the giggles of many girls around them from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang all the same.

Harry had to facepalm as Elan flashed his brilliant smile and caused his fangirls around them to squeal. Luckily, his rescue came in the form of his favorite silver blonde haired woman as an obviously elated Fleur Delacour floated towards them. The Beauxbatons champion was wearing her usual blue school uniform.

"Bonjour 'arry" The quarter Veela kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Ah, Fleur…excuse me gentlemen, Elena." Harry grabbed his girlfriend's hand and rushed off.

"What's with ze rush?" Fleur asked with a laugh.

"Wanted to get away…I love my friends but they are too much sometimes." Harry responded as gave her a quick, chaste kiss.

"Non, zat would not do." Fleur responded and before Harry could reacted, she grabbed him by his tie and gave him the equivalent of a Dementor's kiss except instead of having his soul being sucked out it was the opposite as Harry felt he was floating with euphoria.

Fleur giggled as she noted the smile on Harry's face as she pulled back.

"…"Harry flashed her one of his rarer smiles as she grabbed his hand and dragged him to wherever she had in mind.

"Hey Fleur…" He started as the silver haired beauty turned her head to face him with a curious expression on her face. Well, wasn't he romantic?

To be fair to the raven haired boy's credit, they were walking into an empty courtyard. Fleur steered the both of them towards a bench and she sighed when she was able to rest her head on his shoulder while she watched their entwined hands.

"What iz eet zat you wanted to say, mon cher?" Fleur said softly.

"Would you do me the honor of being my partner at the Yule Ball?" Harry asked simply. Looking up to meet the emerald eyes that she loved so much, Fleur gave him a smile that could lit up a whole room.

"Oui." Touching his cheek with her right gloved hand, she gave him a light kiss.

"You're not unhappy the way I asked you?" Harry asked as Fleur shook her head.

"Eet wouldn't be you eef you did eet any ozzer way…besides, when did I say zis isn't romantic?" Just as she finished her sentence, snow began to descend on the pair.

"Touché…" Harry whispered as he looked up in wonderment. After a moment Fleur got up and Harry could swear he had never seen anything more beautiful as the quarter-Veela spun herself in a rare carefree manner as snow slowly drifted down around her.

"'Arry?" Harry then looked wearily at his girlfriend as he recognized that tone.

His instinct was correct as a snowball promptly smashed into his face.

"Really Fleur?...But I suppose someone in this relationship has to be the mature one…" The Quidditch star muttered to himself as he wiped the snow off his face. As a response, Fleur stuck out her tongue at him. However her victory was short lived as her boyfriend stood up, his dark hair covering his eyes while a ball of snow formed in his right hand.

"Holy hell…what in the…" Roger's eyes nearly shot out of their sockets as his best friend emerged back in the Common Room, body covered in thick snow in a manner that made him look like a snowman save his face.

"I don't want to talk about it." Harry murmured. Luckily for him, the rest of their house were still on their quest to find dates for the Yule Ball therefore the Common Room was empty.

"Oh no you don't…come talk to Dr. Davies." Roger stood in front of the 'snowman' and each time Harry wanted to move in one way, Roger would do the same and it was causing a migraine to form in Harry's head.

"Faster you tell me, faster you can go hide…unless you want to end up on the cover of the the next issue of Gossip Weekly. Harry's face paled and knew he was beat as he sighed. He mumbled something incoherent and Roger's smile widened.

"What? I couldn't hear you." He said obnoxiously causing Harry to glare at him.

"Fleur used a sticking charm and freezing charm on her snowballs! I can't reach for my wand!" It was too much as Roger started to laugh as he fell to the ground, tears running down his cheeks.

Harry had to close his eyes and count to ten to avoid swearing. Waddling with much difficulty, the dark haired reached his sanctuary.

"Having fun…aren't we?" Harry gave his familiar a fake glare as he met the eyes of Rina.

"No thanks to you, you could have teleported me back without me having to explain myself to that clown." Harry vented with displeasure.

"Where's the fun in that? Besides…you made it up here without anyone seeing you… well almost." His familiar chuckled.

"I got lucky…that's all there is to it, now can you please get rid of this?" Harry said tersely as his familiar leapt from her perch to his shoulder. Instantly, his shoulders were free from the burden he was carrying as the snow melted from his body. With a scowl, he flicked his wand and the pool of water at his feet disappeared.

Tossing his robe on his bed, leaving him in dark slacks, white shirt, tie and vest, Harry sat down behind his desk and pulled out the assignment given out by good ol' Snape. Little did anyone know, despite the embarrassment he had suffered, Harry smiled at the ridiculousness at his ordeal.

Meanwhile in her room from within the Beauxbatons Carriage, Fleur was laying on her back from her bed as she kicked the air absently with her legs. She was clad only in a set of white bra and panties as she had turned up the heating in her room. Additionally, her hair was out of its bun as the silver haired young woman let it flow down he back.

The clearly disgruntled expression on her boyfriend's face while he was in his snowman form brought a smile to her face. It was his punishment for not trying against her as he purposely allowed her to hit him. He did change his attitude half-way through but alas, her veela abilities made her impervious, to which he called foul play.

Feeling a bit sorry for her poor boyfriend, she did cast a not-notice-me charm on him as he complained about how he couldn't do it himself as his arms were cast solid. She had struggled to not laugh as the figure of her boyfriend waddling away, cursing under his breath replayed itself in her mind.

She loved Harry very much, all of him but he could be rather serious at times…too serious.

Fleur knew Harry did not choose to enter the Triwizard Tournament out of his own will which was made very clear and he still refused to talk to her with regards to the subject, claiming that he knew what he had to do. Fleur did not like that one bit but swore she would get it out of him. She would not allow anything, anyone to take him from her.

"I see…thank you Sirius." Harry said to his godfather through a small pocket mirror.

"No problem, pup…if it hadn't been for my naiveté, you wouldn't have to suffer so much." Sirius Black was not his usual jesting self.

"On a lighter note…" Sirius raised a charred, ruined barely recognizable green locket. "I found the damned thing…had to make a call to get rid of it properly…but it's gone now."

"The diary, the locket…that's two." Harry muttered quietly to himself, he felt bad that he had left his godfather on his own to deal with his matter.

"We have time Harry…keep it up with the tournament, stall and we'll work on it from our side." Sirius responded as Harry nodded as the call ended.

"Ready to roll, laddie?" Sirius said at the tall slender figure leaning by the kitchen door.

"It would seem that there are only two things is infinite, the universe…and your immaturity" Amber eyes shined sarcastically from under his dark hood as Sirius started to protest.

Nine years ago

"This'll be your new home, my dearest lad…what do you think?" Sirius Black made a dramatic pose as he displayed #12 Grimmauld Place to the young boy who stared at it with curious amber colored eyes.

"Do be careful, hag incoming." Sirius pointed dramatically at the veiled curtain as the boy smiled.

"Kreacher!" Sirius bellowed as the house elf appeared before the two with a pop.

"The master calls?" Kreacher muttered but quickly turned its attention to the boy who was staring at it with interest and the elf returned the gaze. Sirius grinned as his charge looked up at him with a glare before his eyes softened as he turned to the elf, "I'm Yuri, Yuri Dolohov…please to meet you."…

"What school are you planning to go to?" Sirius said as he chewed his food with reckless abandon as his cousin sat across from him with a small wistful smile on his face.

"Salem…I hear magic is quite progressive there compared to Hogwarts and I will be able to reach my highest potential with no distractions." The dark haired boy responded, neatly cutting his steak. Sirius stopped chewing as he observed his charge, there was absolutely no emotion on the kid's face but Sirius felt as if the temperature in the kitchen had suddenly dropped below zero.

"Sure, no problem...I'll get it sorted out." He said.

"Just like that?" Yuri responded.

"Why not? I'm not gonna be like my parents and tell you have to do things my way…your mother entrust you to me so you could become your own person." Sirius said with a hint of bitterness and anger as he was reminded of how his parents, uncle and aunt had torn apart the relationships he had with Regulus, Andromeda and…Bella.

"Thank you…uncle." Sirius smiled as he ruffled the hair of the boy who acted more like his nephew than anything else. They were then interrupted when the fireplace of Grimmauld Place blazed alight and a dark haired, green eyed boy stepped out.

"Ah, Harry…what brings you to my humble abode?" Sirius asked as he beckoned his godson over.

"Felt like leaving the house for a bit…they won't notice anyways." Harry said with a shrug as he took a seat and found himself at the gaze of a boy with amber eyes and aristocratic facial features, sitting across from him. The two merely stared at each other, neither knew exactly what to do in this rather alien situation.

That was, until, Sirius cleared his breath and broke the ice for them.

"Hadrian Potter, meet my 'nephew', Yuri Dolohov…Yuri, meet my godson, Hadrian." Sirius said with a wave of his hand.

"Ah, nice to meet you." Harry said as he stuck out a hand.

"You're an odd one..." Yuri shook the offered hand with perfectly accent-less English.

"How's that?" The green eyed boy asked as Kreacher placed a plate of mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and steak in front of him.

"Most people either flinch, wet their pants or give me looks of disgus-." The amber eyed boy responded.

"Wait, someone really pissed themselves, you're joking?" Harry eyes wide with amazement.

"I kid you not." Yuri replied, not knowing what to make out of the younger kid sitting across him.

"You have to tell me who and where." Harry laughed.

"Very well, it was…"

Sirius had to smile, the two had got along well much to his surprise but he guessed that for children it was different when it came to not judging a person by their family name. A crash brought him back to the present as his baby cousin slamming the door open, her hair a vibrant pink as ever.

"Stunning entrance as ever, Nymphadora…" Sirius's guest said with his back turned towards the junior auror, eyes gazed on a worn parchment depicting a small golden cup with two finely-wrought handles with a badger engraved on the side and a few jewels.

"You!" Nymphadora Tonks recognized the teasing voice and immediately shot a red beam of light at him who blocked it with a swish of his right arm and immediately shot a silver beam of light that caused the metamorphagus to yelp as she suddenly found herself hanging upside down.

"Too slow…I'll give you a 4/10 for that dismal effort." Sirius was now laughing as her cousin was unleashing a string of curses at her opponent. Deciding to not completely take her dignity away, Yuri flicked his wand and Nymphadora Tonks crashed to the floor in a heap.

Tonks had a genuine blush as her long time rival pulled her up effortlessly, well it was more of her declaring him as her rival due to the sentiment not being returned.

"When did you get back?" The pink haired, bubbly girl asked as Yuri picked up the parchment once again.

"Last night." He said simply, Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, they were all lost historical artifacts that belonged to the four houses of Hogwarts. Therefore, following this logic, something of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor must have been used too as an anchor.

"Are you even listening to me?" Tonks asked with narrowed eyes as she poked his side, breaking his train of thought.

"What?" He asked again, glaring down at her.

"I asked what's all this." Tonks huffed, this man was just impossible, just like the way it was when she was still in school and they met in this very house in one particular hot summer.

"Nothing that concerns you." Yuri responded as he tucked the parchment into his breast pocket.

"What brings you here Nymp- Ack" Sirius fell backwards from his chair as Tonks grabbed a book on the table and threw it straight into his face, hitting the intended target and causing him to fall back from his chair.

"Not bad…I see you took my advice on increasing your physical training." Yuri observed as Sirius groaned painfully as he pulled himself up.

"That was mean…" Sirius pouted as Tonks smirked at his expression.

"To answer your question, Dumbledore has invited me to join the Order of the Phoenix-"

"Decline it." To both the shock of Tonks and Sirius, Yuri was the one to interrupt her.

"Why?" Tonks asked, eyes wide at the taller man staring down at her.

"Your talents merit something more greater than being a member of an unorganized and unskilled organization." He said.

"Like what…" Tonks was nearly rendered speechless at the conviction in his tone.

"Join me with Forces Sans Frontier." Silence then engulfed the kitchen as the only noise came from the ticking of an old grandfather clock.

"FSF…" Tonks whispered. FSF was only a rumor, a phantom organization that had influences on all five continents in the world and was above governmental laws. They specialized in Sabotage, Intelligence and Assassination, the world was shaped due to their will.

"Nice joke, you almost had me there for a minute that you were part of a shadow organization that is rumored to have eyes and ears in every single corner of the world…" Tonks laughed but it quickly disappeared when Yuri said nothing but stare deeply into her eyes.

"Why me? You've always said my skills were dismal." She asked slowly.

"You still haven't learned, Great Britain is but a small fraction of the world…if you wish to fulfill your full potential and inner desire, then you must conquer the vast ocean that lies before you."

"And how would you know my goals, maybe being an auror is all that I want?" Tonks shot back.

"You're lying."

"No I'm not!" Tonks felt her cheeks reddening as this irritable pest leaned closer to her, her nose catching his scent of mint.

"Then why are you so obsessed about wanting me to acknowledge you as my equal?"

Damn him! Why was he able to read her like a book and she couldn't?

"…" She could only swallow.

"I can teach you all the things I have learned while traveling abroad…including the power I have acquired in another dimension...you would be so much more than just a mere Metamorphmagus."

"Checkmate" Yuri thought with a hidden smirk as he could sense the desire and wanting that was winning the brawl within her body.

He could only imagine what being a Metamorphmagus as a young woman growing up would experience. None of it pleasant he could only deduct, it was an easy angle for him to exploit and one that people might call him a bastard for using but Nymphadora was essential in his plan.

The fact that she was a former Hufflepuff was only an added bonus for him. They say a Hufflepuff is the embodiment of loyalty and fairness however, few would notice the other side within them, the more uglier side that they try futilely to get it to leave their mind from the very day they are sorted into the house. The feeling of constant inferiority compared to other houses, the put-downs, the insults although some might attempt to deny this, no one would be unaffected by what is a light manner of prejudice.

There is only so much a person could refuse to accept as the truth placed in front of them until they burst, one must only find the right trigger.

He had never failed in recruiting an individual before and he certainly wouldn't now.

Christmas was soon upon the world as Harry watched his housemates scramble for their presents, reaching for his own under his bed, Harry smiled.

Roger had gotten him a high quality brand broom service kit. From Elan, he received several rare books on dueling. Sirius had gotten him a new arm wand holster while Elena had gotten him a bottle of men's fragrance as well as a set of formal, stylish black colored wizard's robes. Cho had given him a t-shirt from a very popular muggle brand. He was surprised as he received a brown colored leather belt from the super model Ashley Taylor, they were on friendly terms despite Fleur's immense dislike of the girl.

And speaking of Fleur, his roguish girlfriend had gave him a book containing photographs of the two of them that were neatly placed on each page. It was nice to see Rose and Gabrielle included in some of them.

Thinking of Rose brought a smile on his face as he held the rectangular package sent by his little sister. Carefully unwrapping it, he was amazed by what he saw. It was a vivid and detailed painting of himself with Rose giggling in his arms as he struggled to keep her from falling and reaching for his hair at the same time. Though anyone could see the boy was happy despite having to deal with his mischievous sister. He remembered, the picture was taken on a Christmas Party over at Elan's manor by Narcissa, Sirius was also there…being a grade A clown as he attempted to flirt with the ladies there but was eventually send to a 'time out' by his younger cousin.

Gently wrapping the painting as carefully as he could and setting it down, Harry spotted his final present.

Ripping the note attached to the parcel, Harry read the well calligraphic writing with ease.

Hadrian,

Congratulations on your recent Quidditch endeavors, I look forward to seeing your career unravel. I heard from Padfoot that you've found yourself roped into the Triwizard Tournament? I have every faith that even if it wasn't your intention to participate that you'll win. Padfoot and Nymphadora has been singing nonstop praises with regards to the manner in which you dealt with the 1st task, I can see why. You don't need another person to ask you to be careful so I won't do that. Hopefully these will assist you in the next two tasks and beyond.

Best of luck,

YD

Harry smiled as he set the note down, he hadn't been expecting mail from Yuri, ever since their last meeting when he had been informed to not expect frequent communication as Yuri had stated that he would be going away for a while. Last time he heard anything from his quiet and observant friend was that he was heading to India.

Therefore, this unexpected gesture had no doubt surprised him. Opening the parcel, Harry found a set of fitting black colored wizard combat robes with pale gold trim along with a gold raven stitched to the right lapel. Feeling the material, Harry could only suspect that it was made from high grade Dragonhide, most likely A+ or higher.

"How does he know my size?" Harry thought as he pulled on the robe and found it to be neither too constricting nor baggy. The sleeves were fitting just how he liked it and the portion covering his torso was pressed fittingly against his body.

"Not bad." He pulled over the hood over his head and looked into his full body mirror. Yes, this would come in handy indeed.

Snow slowly drifted down from the cloudy skies as a Black Audi pulled by the entrance of a cemetery.

A hooded figure then stepped out of the vehicle with a bouquet of fresh white roses in his hand. Trudging the barren grey path with ice cracking slightly beneath his every step, alert amber eyes effortlessly spotted a hunched over figure that grew bigger every step he took forward.

His steps slowed as he spotted the hunched figure grasping his left forearm as if in intense pain as the two individuals slowly walked past each other, shoulders perfectly aligned for a split second, as time seemed to stop in its entirety.

As Yuri halted, the other figure seemed to have picked up his pace as he was now hobbling forward. Turning his head around, Yuri saw the retreating figure wearing the worn out brown coat getting smaller. It would be so easy, the wand secured on his right wrist was singing for blood.

He had a good inkling who he had just crossed shoulders with, as much as he would like to, it would have to wait as this was a place of respect for those who have passed.

He waited this long, he could wait a little longer. After all, the best things happen to those who wait.

Turning his head back to his objective, he proceeded on the icy trail.

Here lies Alexandra Dolohov

Loving daughter, wife, mother

1962-1979

As he had suspected, the snow surrounding the head stone and grave was devoid of snow, as if someone had thoroughly cleaned it.

Bending on knee and reaching out with his left hand, he detected the magical residue of the individual he loathed more than any.

Gently placing the bouquet of white roses next to the bouquet of purple orchids. His eyes narrowed as snow that was dropping down on his white coat was suspended as he noticed the sudden presence next to him.

"How did you know where I was?" He asked tersely.

"I might have twisted it out from a certain mutt's tongue." Nymphadora Tonks shrugged and smiled as she heard him snort.

"Hmmph, that's the last time I'm telling him anything worthwhile." Yuri muttered.

"And you," He added in a low tone, "Why did you come here, Nymphadora?"

For once, Tonks did not have the heart to reprimand him for calling her first name due to the setting.

"No one should be alone on Christmas day." She shrugged.

"I could care less of what is expected out of me on a muggle holiday developed to incentivize people to buy various merchandise." Yuri responded as he slowly stood up to his full height while Tonks rolled her eyes. "

However," He looked her right in the eye, "your consideration is noted."

With that he grabbed the umbrella from her hand with one hand while dragging the stunned witch by the back of her coat. Unknowingly to both himself and the obviously struggling Metamorphagus, Yuri left the cemetery in higher spirits than he had when he entered as he noted the sunlight gradually piercing through the thick grey clouds.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, one Hadrian Potter laid lazily on Fleur's lap as she stroked his cheeks with a smile on her face as she gazed at the gorgeous view of the frozen lake before her.

Harry then opened one eye as he then smiled before rising up to a seating position. Maneuvering himself behind the silver haired blonde young woman, he then wrapped his arms around her stomach and rested his chin on her right shoulder. "I wish time would stop." He thought as he heard Fleur hum an unfamiliar yet alluring melody under her breath.

Yes, if only time could pause for an eternity.

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Sneak Peak

"Merlin…it is you…Antonin." Lucius Malfoy stared wide eye at the intruder who was sitting in the guest chair across from the desk of his master study, back facing him.

"You can feel it too can't you Lu…" The hunched figure clad in a brown coat grasped his covered left arm replied in a raspy tone without turning around, "You know what this means…don't you?"

Harry had long knew that it was unseemly to show signs of agitation in a formal setting like the ball he was about to attend but he still felt it. He had asked what Fleur was going to wear so he could plan his apparel accordingly but received no reply, it would be easier to draw blood from a stone. Girls and their surprises…

"Brother…I miss you, I wish I could see you again soon." Rose Potter sighed to herself as she surveyed the streets down below from her window.

"It's me…" Yuri whispered into his cellular phone, eyeing Tonks who had fallen asleep on his couch before walking out the living room and out to the backyard, "Phase A complete...request authorization to initiate Phase B."

"You're playing a rather dangerous game." An aristocratic looking man dressed in a meticulous gentlemen's suit commented as his white bishop was taken by a black knight.

He and his opponent were sitting on a opulently furnished patio that was surrounded by flowers of all types.

"What's that muggle saying, Nicholas? With great risk comes great reward?" A woman with ashen grey hair held up the white bishop to her shiny blue eye.

"I would never reckon one such as you would indulge in such trivialities…Arianna."