TATTOOS AND LUNCHEON

After a long, bloodily gruesome session of butchery, Harry had shown off his new skills besides his magic use. The three were back in the office, sitting comfortably in the armchairs therein.

"Well, Harry. I think it is time. You already showed me your designs, are you ready to implement them?" Jacques raised an eyebrow, fully aware of the possible complications this could bring- If Harry took too much of a concentrated amount at once, he'd burn up.

"I think so. I did some reading, and it turns out that that triangle one, with the line and the circle in it- it stands for the Deathly Hallows. Supposedly, an Invisibility Cloak, a Resurrection Stone, and an Elder Wand. These three would make one the Master of Death. Strange that I feel such an attachment to them… But, yes, I think it is time too."

Fleur was looking slightly confused- what were they on about? Before her question could be voiced, however, Harry spoke up again.

"Fleur, it was decided that a power boost may be needed, one that… would last forever. The Philosopher's Stone that I saved in First Year, well, Jacques saved the dust from anyone else finding it, and came up with the idea of putting it in my blood- immortality, and power from a righteous, pure source. I have just one question- will you take my mark too?"

"If it means being with you forever, ma Cherie, I would say oui if it meant cutting off my own hands! How do I do it?"

Jacques was surprised- maybe she didn't understand.

"Petal, you would live forever- everyone but Harry would die, leaving you alone time and again- could you face that? And Harry didn't say- the way we're going to make the marks, is by tattooing. A muggle thing. They implant ink into the skin, so it doesn't come out. You're comfortable with that, darling?"

Fleur did look at least slightly troubled at that- even she held some small vestiges of vanity in her heart. She looked at Harry, and saw his hopeful face. She knew she could not leave him alone with the ages- who knew what kind of trouble he'd into?!

"Oui. I understand fazzer. What kind of mark is it?"

Harry sat back, thoughtful for a second as he pondered what kind of mark she should have- something personal, he decided.

"Well, how about something that means something to you? A symbol, perhaps?"

Fleur thought carefully. She spotted something on her father's desk that caught her eye. She picked up a sheet of pure white paper, simultaneously marvelling at the smoothness of the paper, while staring at the design on it. A pure black phoenix, with glowing green eyes held its wings skywards; the bird held its beak open, swallowing a bolt of pure gold lightning. A rather two-dimensional design, but one that was simple enough to convey meaning. The phoenix itself was wreathed in ruby-red flames. The detail of the image was astounding- the swirling of the flames were almost lifelike, and Fleur almost expected the phoenix to suddenly flap its wings.

Looking up, she smiled at Harry and said, "This one. This… sings to me, like no other. 'Arry?"

Harry smiled. His coat of arms, upon his soon-to-be eternal partner's body? Hell, why not?

While Dinky retrieved the tools- a pestle, magical tattoo inks that acted like the liquid magical photographs were developed in, and several other intricate needle-holders, colouring stones and towels- Harry prepared to lie down on Jacques' cleared off desk. He'd tried to say he'd conjure a bed or something, but the man blatantly refused. So, there he was, with the images copied onto his own skin with a transcription spell, waiting for the trial to begin. He knew it would be painful- the magic of the Philosopher's Stone bonding with his own.

Pop!

"Here's we are, Master Jacques, sir! Dinky gots extra bandages in case sir!"

"Well done, Dinky. Now, you will probably be upset by the sounds coming out of here, so kindly go to Apolline, and wait on her please. She no doubt would love some company."

The little elf looked kind of weirded out by the statement, but in true House Elf fashion, said nothing, and left.

Jacques picked up the potions he'd made for this- one to steady his hand, one to improve his artistic skills, and one to dull pain. He rubbed the pain-relieving potion into the skin around the designs, and then poured the Stone dust into the magical tattoo ink. He set it stirring with a flick of his wand, making sure there were no lumps. Harry suddenly had a thought-

"Wait! Jacques, do you reckon vampire venom will make it more powerful?"

"Funnily enough, I'd had the same idea- but you would need a very old, powerful bloodline, and I don't think this can wait now."

"Not to worry- bring the bowl here."

Jacques took the bowl in hand, and around to Harry's face. He was lying down on the desk ready for the first tattoo. He suddenly hawked and spat into the bowl, a vivid red globule of saliva and venom. Recognising it for what it was, Jacques raised his eyebrows. He wasn't told which bloodline Harry was from- just that he was in some way related to the Sanguinius Assassins. The ink bubbled, and turned a dark, smoky red.

He then dipped the smallest ink needle into the concoction, and began his work.

An hour later, and Harry had not uttered a single cry in pain. He could feel his arm wishing to twitch away from the slight pinpricks of pain, but he forced himself to remain as a statue. He was nearly done with the tattooing now, just one more design left. On the backs of his hands, Harry had rune sets of his own device, conjoined into one large set, wrapping up his arms and tapering into points meeting at his spine, like the temple-points of the Mask. On his elbows were two seven-pointed stars, which represented his connection to the night. On the nape of his neck, where his hair ended and his neck began was the Deathly Hallows symbol, with intricate runic arrays making each line. Over his heart was the Potter Crest- the phoenix swallowing the lightning bolt. On his left cheek was a small Ouroboros- a dragon eating its own tail. Stylised to look like Jupiter, there was a lightning bolt in the centre of the eternal circle. The last adornment was to be an Ankh, on his lower abdomen, with the borders made of Egyptian runic arrays powering its symbology. In between, were light tribal swirls that stemmed from the hypnotic/ artistic effect of the potions Jacques had taken beforehand.

Finally finished, Jacques sat back and allowed exhaustion to wash over him. He'd had to draw on Harry's magic himself to cement the Stone dust in his blood, and channelling the vast currents of energy that boy- man- had was draining!

Harry sat up, rolling his shoulders, and looked over Fleur. She'd sat down looking at him, not taking her eyes off of his perfect, lithe, jaguar-like physique. She could see in her mind's eye how different Harry was from just two or three months ago from her perspective. Not including the tattoos, of course. Her eyes raked his form, taking in the varying designs. Around the Ankh, the random lines had grown more angular, and straight. Nearer the runic arrays of his arms, they were more pointy and rigid. Although different to anything she had ever seen, she thought it beautiful to look at.

"Fleur. Would you like it done now, or later?" Harry was looking deep into her eyes, and could without a doubt see her vestiges of personal vanity clawing her mind.

"Yes. But… I would like it, 'Arry, if you did it… In the same place as yours. Fazzer is asleep, and I won't wake him. Please?"

Harry smirked. He knew what she was asking. He had to rub the pain potion into her Veela (and therefore, perfectly endowed) breasts.

He looked at Jacques. Perfectly asleep.

"I don't see why not!"

Harry sat at the desk, with Fleur sitting on it, a leg on either side of his chest. He was lathering up his hands in readiness for something that he didn't think he'd get to do for a long time yet. He made sure his hands had an even covering of the pain-relieving potion. Then, he looked up to Fleur's eyes. She nodded.

He raised his left hand, and gently cupped her right breast. Fleur's lips parted slightly as she felt the electrical pleasure race through her to her core. Harry gently rubbed the salve-like potion into her smooth globe, ensuring an even coverage. The pads of his fingers brushed over her stiff nipple, bringing out a low moan. He felt her push her chest out, increasing the pressure on her breast. His right hand came up, rubbing the potion into her left breast this time. Harry was quick to flick his fingers over the nipple, to which Fleur bit her lip.

His hand made its way around every side of the fleshy orbs, pushing them into Fleur's outward-thrust chest, eliciting yet another low moan, longer this time. The potion was covering the surface of her chest, leaving behind a glowing oily residue. Harry reluctantly withdrew his hands, trailing them along the edges.

He quickly rinsed his hands, and then picked up the tattoo needle and bowl. He dipped the old-style needle into the venom and Stone-dust infused magical ink. Then, he placed the needle on her left breast, near her sternum, and started the long process of tapping in the ink.

The final design was similar to Harry's, in a way. The burning phoenix, swallowing a bolt of lightning, but with small vine-like lines stretching out from it across her chest. A fleur-de-lis was tattooed at the base of her throat, which had a green tinge that shimmered yellow when it caught the light. Fleur could feel the power of the Stone rushing through her, empowering her.

Harry stepped back, admiring his work. While he shifted position slightly, the colours shifted with him. First yellow, then green, then a bright scarlet. He smiled as Fleur blushed at his admiration. Harry's eyes drew towards her rock-hard nipples, poking out at him from her perfect chest.

"Excited, are we, Fleur?" Harry winked.

"Oui! How can I not be? That potion! It felt amazing! We must do that again, Harry!"

"Sure. For now, though, I have an errand to run in Hogsmeade. Coming?"

"Of course! What for?"

"Wait and see!"

With that, Harry took her hand, and pulled to a standing position, and walking out of Jacques' office without waking him. Down the halls, to Fleur's room.

"Have a shower, Fleur. As soon as you're done, we'll go to Hogsmeade. OK?"

Fleur bolted into her room, ripping off clothes as she went. The last thing Harry saw before her door closed of its own accord was a goddess-given rump disappearing into her bathroom.

Not twenty minutes later, Fleur appeared, fresh-faced and hair still wet from her room. She'd decided to put a shirt back on, despite Harry's admiration from earlier. It read 'Too Hot for You', and was black, with purple lace sides.

To be frank, Harry was impressed. He didn't think she was the kind of witch to wear muggle clothing!

"Well then, shall we go? I've got a portkey to the Hog's Head. Ready? And… Go!"

Harry and Fleur disappeared in a swirl of jumbled body parts.

The two landed on their feet outside Aberforth Dumbledore's pub. The pair didn't spare a glance to the run-down establishment, as Harry led Fleur up the road leading out of town towards the cave that Sirius hid in nearly six months ago. They had a pleasant time of it, walking and talking, learning small things about one another and exchanging sweet nothings.

The cave mouth was covered in ivy, hiding the entrance from the slope and the town. Harry slipped in first, making sure nothing was there.

"Come on, Fleur! There's nothing here now."

Slipping through the gap in the ivy, Fleur found herself in a small, round cave that seemed to hold the skeleton of a chicken, and a few rats that were scuttling about. Lying in the middle of the floor was a wand. Not just any wand, but Dumbledore's wand!

"Harry, what is that doing here? Isn't that Dumbledore's wand?"

"Yup. The Old Man's wand. I told you of my dream, the one I had on my first night of the Magia Mutatio? Well in that dream, I was wearing the Mask of Dark Souls. And for some reason, I was brought here. On the wall over there is a snake symbol. Parseltongue will give someone entrance to the school. But first…"

Harry withdrew his Invisibility Cloak from his pocket, and the two gauntlets from his trunk. Laying them on the ground, Harry folded the Cloak until it held a perfect, equilateral, triangular shape. Then, he placed the two gauntlets on their bases, and the Elder Wand in their grasp. The pile faded from view immediately, leaving a small pile of ash. Harry picked up a pinch of ash, and smeared it on his arms, up to his shoulders. He took the rest of the ash, and smeared it across the rest of his body, making Fleur blush as he gradually took off more and more clothes. Standing naked in the pile of ash, Harry felt his magic surge, until the black glow of the ash jumped up a notch, and his entire body was covered in a tight-fitting body glove, like a diver's suit. On the stony ground in front of him lay two gauntlets, slightly different to the pair he'd found after the Gaunt Ring ritual. The wand was gone, replaced by a clasp in the shape of his Coat of Arms, and the Cloak was now a proper cloak- a hooded cape of sorts that held the shimmer of the smoke held in the metal amour pieces.

Harry replaced his clothes on his body, and then swung the cloak into place. As he pulled up the hood, Fleur could've sworn that she saw skeletal wings wink in and out of view. Harry pulled the hood down again, once he was sure that he still had that old invisibility edge.

"Right. Fleur, how would you like lunch in Hogwarts' kitchens?"

"Really? Isn't it impossible to get past the wards?"

"Nope. You can just walk out of the Forbidden Forest into the surrounding countryside, and there are at least three working secret passages. I'm going to show you one that I haven't used yet… Open!"

The little snake-make he'd noticed in his dream glowed green, and, with a slight grinding of stone on stone, a section of the wall slid back, revealing a well-kept tunnel wide enough for both to walk side by side.

Holding out his hand, Harry led Fleur into the depths.

A/N: I know, I know, it's been too long. Well, I'm going to publish everything I have written, and then I may or may not be able to drag myself into some form of motivation... maybe.