A/N
Welcome back one and all! Thank you for reading along so far and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I also appreciate all the reviews so thank you for those!
Let's get into it…
Chapter 2 - The Blossoming Bond
Fleur was lying on her bed, engrossed in a book on advanced arithmancy when a tapping on her window caught her attention. Looking up she saw a gorgeous, snowy white owl staring intently at her with large, orange eyes. "Now who could this be?" She thought, captivated by the keen attention the owl was paying her.
Marking her place in the book, she got up, her legs carrying her over to the window which she promptly opened. The owl hopped in and offered her a leg with a letter on it. Looking the letter over Fleur absently noticed the owl flying across to a perch she left atop her furniture for when her family owl called on her.
The letter was addressed to her in a slanted script that wasn't untidy but was decidedly male in origin. Opening it she read the contents, a wide smile gracing her lips as she tucked her legs under her in an armchair. Fleur sat, happily taking in each word and mentally scripting her own reply.
Placing it down she moved across to Hedwig, who was currently helping herself to some water. "Aren't you just gorgeous! 'Arry is so lucky to have a friend like you," she complimented the owl who had her eyes closed, enjoying the ministrations of Fleur's hand upon her head. She fed Hedwig some owl treats before going back to the letter.
Reading it twice through she danced across the room airily, side stepping the chaise-lounge in the middle of the room before settling into the high-backed chair at her desk. She took down a blank piece of light brown parchment and an eagle owl feathered quill from the writing station to her right and set it before her.
"Dear Harry,
I'm so glad to hear from you and that you and your friends got away from that trouble unscathed. Gabrielle will also be delighted to hear from you and despite being terrified at the time is no worse for wear. We managed to escape the campsite fairly quickly. My Papa's connections at work got us an emergency portkey before we left France.
I go back to Beauxbatons around the same time you do for Hogwarts, so I've been gathering what I need for heading back. I'm going to miss my family a lot, Gabrielle especially. She has become so precocious over this summer, and I'll miss her innocent view on things.
I hope that you've been brushing up on your French, Harry. I'll be testing you the next time we meet… Which will be sooner than we thought! Papa has told me of a tournament taking place this year, the Triwizard Tournament. It's to be held at Hogwarts and will involve students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang attending for the majority of the school year. One champion will be chosen from each of the schools to represent their peers and compete in a series of challenges. That's what I know anyway, except that we shall be departing Beauxbatons in October. You simply must give me a tour of your school when I arrive. You will, won't you, Harry?
I'm very excited for this year anyway as it'll be my final year. I'm taking Charms, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Potions and having both the teachers that come with us from Beauxbatons and those at Hogwarts available for help will be amazing! Papa brought back an interesting object from work today as well. It was a white veil enchanted to project calming and soothing thoughts upon the user. There's rune work in the stitching and I can practically feel the magic imbued within it. I must show you it when I see you.
And finally, I had no idea that your owl was so gorgeous, Harry! I will treat her like the princess she clearly is, so do not worry.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Love from,
Fleur x
The next week passes fairly quietly
Being back at Hogwarts was a blessing in disguise for Harry. The leeway afforded to the twins after Mrs. Weasley was so worried about them all at the World Cup had transformed into a gauntlet of pranks at seemingly every turn. Between avoiding that and finding the peace and quiet to study ahead in his subjects Harry was keen to get back to Hogwarts.
His steps echoed back down the twisting staircase as he pulled his jacket tighter around himself, climbing higher. "Thank Mother Magic that I convinced Mrs. Weasley to let me come to Diagon Alley this year," Harry thought, grateful for the slight spending spree he allowed himself in updating his wardrobe and personal library. He had finally gotten rid of the rags the Dursleys allowed him so that he could have respectable clothes outside of his robes. "It's a shame Ron still can't see past his jealousy for me having money to burn."
His friend's jealousy had continued to build over the summer and seeing Harry arriving back with a new wardrobe, trunk and books had sent him into a long funk which made it seem like it was Harry's fault for having any wealth. Ron's ears could have served as a lighthouse, they were that bright.
Despite that, the updated library trunk he had bought was an absolute blessing. The battered trunk he had bought in his first year had finally given up after arriving at the Weasley's. The enchantments simply spat out his belongings until only the amount to fill a muggle trunk remained within. His growth spurt since finally seeing Madam Pomfrey for nutrient potions after last Christmas meant new robes were in order and he had decided to just get an entire wardrobe with some new sizing enchantments from Madam Malkin's added in. "Surely I'll still grow this year?"
He rounded the last twist of the staircase, the creaking door announcing his arrival to the parliament of owls. The stench of owl droppings greeted him as many small heads bobbed and weaved, getting a good look at who had entered the draughty room. A white blur swooped down from the rafters, landing gently in front of Harry, and preening under the immediate attention he gave to her.
After spending a few minutes with one of his oldest friends he tied the letter he had to her leg. "Get this to Fleur, okay girl? Be careful and make sure to harass her for some treats!" Lots of people would have thought Harry had lost it but Hedwig bobbed her head in a nodding motion, chirped positively and then flew up to his shoulder. She nuzzled the side of his head before taking off once more, winging her way out of the open stone archway and into the morning sky.
"Dear Fleur,
I'm sorry for the delay in sending this but I wanted to let Hedwig rest and come back to Hogwarts with me. Thanks for the reminder about my clearly amazing French! We also got an announcement about the tournament last night at the welcome feast. It'll be amazing to see you again! You can, of course, have a tour around the castle when you arrive.
Despite how good it'll be to see you, I can't help but worry about the tournament. Every year since I've started at Hogwarts something has happened and I've ended up in the infirmary at the end of the year. I have no intention of even trying to enter but with my luck I might not have a choice.
On the positive side of things, I've been cleared to sit all my OWLs and I should have sat the last of them the week before you arrive. Hermione has been really weird about it though, I thought she would have been supportive but oh well. Ron has been… off? For lack of a better word, for a few months. More and more he just seems to cast strange looks at me when he thinks I'm not looking…
Although this now (fingers crossed) means I'll be onto NEWT level material officially when I see you next! I'm going to drop Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Astronomy so that should leave me with the same subjects as you, I think. That veil sounded really cool by the way, please bring it with you? Hopefully the runes are in a language I've covered already. If not, would you mind going through it with me?
Anyway, how is being back at Beauxbatons for you? Has the workload changed much now you're in your final year? I hope Gabrielle and your mother and father are doing okay!
Yours,
Harry
Time skip to mid October
Harry and Fleur had continued to exchange letters with each other over the last month to Harry's delight, each one never failing to boost his mood. His thoughts went back to one of her most recent letters, which was accompanied with a photograph.
Fleur was animated within the photo, dancing with a small black kitten around the room. She had explained that the kitten was named Calliope, or Callie for short. Harry thought the kitten was adorable, but he couldn't stop looking at the joy that was present on Fleur's face. He knew that people didn't usually become as close as he and Fleur had in such a small space of time, but he couldn't bring himself to bother. Her letters brightened his day and he often found himself looking at the photograph, eagerly awaiting her arrival at Hogwarts where they could spend much more time together. He'd even sent a photo back. It was of him holding the quidditch cup after their victory last year. "I hope she liked the photograph," Harry thought, moving his thoughts towards the current, quidditch-free year.
With the cancellation of quidditch this year (and a strop from Angelina over said cancellation) Harry found he had lots of free time. It was just as well as his prep work for OWLs ate up much of it.
He had tried to include Hermione by asking her questions about different subjects, but she seemed to have drifted slightly from him. There were little things that she did that gave Harry a little cause for concern. Like whenever he got something before her in class, the corners of her mouth creeped upwards as she congratulated him for his efforts, but her eyes remained stony. He'd also caught her with a look of disbelief since he'd told her about his OWL dates, as if she couldn't actually believe he would be allowed to sit them early.
Ron, meanwhile, had started to drift not only from him but also from Hermione, spending his time with Seamus and Dean playing chess or gobstones in the common room and avoiding homework. It seemed more to Harry that he was the glue in the trio and without him constantly around, the group might start to drift apart.
"Oh well," thought Harry, "These things can happen and I'm certainly not putting my ambitions to rest if they don't want to support me through them."
Fleur on the other hand was more than supportive in her letters to him. They constantly switched between French and English within the letters, leaving Harry's anxiety about his French skills placed solely on his accent when speaking it. He smiled happily to himself as he placed his transfiguration textbook in front of him, the thought of his budding friendship enough to switch his downcast mood to one of happy contentment.
His last OWL exam, Transfiguration, was tomorrow afternoon and he thought it best to do some last-minute revising. Fleur had given him helpful study and exam tips from her own experiences too which helped put him at ease. "The practical charms exam was a cakewalk, Harry, from what you've told me of your time at Hogwarts you will sail through."
She had said something similar about his Transfiguration exam and as he answered the questions the following afternoon he couldn't help but agree. Some were simple one-line answers while others had him weighing theories and opinions in longer responses.
"Give the incantation and wand movement required to transfigure an animal into a water goblet."
"Discuss the ethical considerations and responsibilities of being an Animagus, particularly regarding the preservation of magical balance and secrecy."
"Discuss the basic theory surrounding what classifies a transfiguration as conjuration or transformation."
Harry had set his quill aside and was examining his surroundings. The Transfiguration classroom had been emptied of all teaching aids on the walls and all desks bar his own and his examiners were missing also. Griselda Marchbanks was behind the other desk, swathed in that much clothing she would have been warm in Siberia but that was probably due to her age rather than the heat in the Castle.
"Finished are you, Potter?" She rasped at him, from behind the desk, "Well hurry up boy, bring it over here."
Harry hastened to bring his exam paper over to her, learning in his first exam that this wasn't a witch to cross. He had taken liberties in his DADA practical when showcasing his spells and although she was certainly impressed with his corporeal Patronus, the tongue lashing she had given him for almost giving her a heart attack, although funny, didn't bode well for being in her good graces.
"Just like your bloody father and grandfather! You Potters can never resist showing off!" Harry had thought she sounded just like Snape, but he unsurprisingly found he much preferred the elderly witch to the dungeon bat. "If you don't just do what I tell you throughout the rest of these exams you can sit them with the rest of your year!"
The last threat was one that Harry didn't take lightly and so he had dutifully stayed to task since. Madam Marchbanks had taken his exam script from him and after casting a sharp eye over it she gave an approving nod before sitting forward, setting aside his script.
"Right, Potter, this is your last practical. You know how this goes by now, I'll ask you to perform certain pieces of transfiguration and you give it your best go. Fine?"
"Absolutely, ma'am," Harry nodded, confident in his abilities.
She then placed a rock and a square box in front of him. The box had an intricate gold and silver gilding surrounding a singular lock in the centre of it.
"Using any transfiguration that you deem necessary, you must open this lock using what is in front of you. You will be assessed on the practicality and finesse of your approach."
Harry took the last sentence to heart and assessed what he could do with what was available. The most obvious answer was to transfigure the stone into a key. "But how will I know if the key would open the lock?" Harry thought.
He decided on his approach. First he cut a small piece off the end of the stone with a cutting charm. He then transfigured the larger piece of stone into a small key. The smaller piece of stone he transfigured into an impressionable wax which he moulded around the end of the key. He then fit the key into the lock and gently turned the key once backwards and once forwards. Drawing it back out, trying to avoid touching it on the sides of the lock, he saw that the pins had left a gentle impression on the wax. He murmured a simple cutting charm to remove the excess wax before transfiguring the left-over wax into the same pewter as the rest of the key, melding it flawlessly together with the existing metal on the key.
When he opened the box, it melted away silently to reveal a jigsaw puzzle of Hogwarts and a small square of white parchment. There was one piece missing which Harry recognized should have been the stained-glass window at the end of the Great Hall.
"Excellent Potter, good show," Madam Marchbanks praised, "Next, I want you to finish the jigsaw. You'll get points for matching the shape, thickness, and material of the missing piece to the jigsaw. If you manage that then I will provide you with an image of what should be on the missing piece, and you can then attempt to switch it with the blank piece."
Nodding his understanding, Harry first began by gently lifting the edge of the jigsaw to get a feel for the thickness and material. He began his attempt by shaping the jigsaw piece simultaneously with changing the material and thickness of the piece. The fluidity of the transfiguration raised Madam Marchbanks' eyebrows, especially at the silent nature of his spells, but she kept silent and watched on eagerly. The piece slotted neatly into place, and he was then provided with the missing picture by his examiner. A simple first-year switching spell later and the jigsaw was complete.
"Good work, Potter, that was excellent spell chaining there, it's been a while since I've seen it done with such fluid wand work," Marchbanks praised, her head nodding approvingly. She pulled out her own wand, a long piece of dark wood, vines twisted up the length of it. Conjuring a plain wooden chair between them both, she spoke once more.
"I want you to now transfigure this into something else that must have an altered property to the chair. It should still be made of wood and must be smaller than the chair," she paused, sucking in a deep breath as if speaking so much ailed her. "Keep the size of the chair in mind as I want you to then re-transfigure your chosen object into something bigger than the chair."
Once more Harry set to work, immediately transfiguring the chair into a serving spoon. Marchbanks halted him to inspect the spoon, picking it up and testing its strength, trying to flex it between her stout, gnarled fingers. Placing it back and motioning for him to continue, he acquiesced, transfiguring the spoon into a large coffee table, stepping back as he did so. He added a flourish at the end with a twist of his wand and the Hogwarts crest appeared, neatly imprinted in the wood.
"Excellent again," the aged Professor said, excited. She then began conjuring weights over the area of the table, "and good use of weight distribution. Excellent, excellent…"
She shuffled back behind her desk, easing herself into the chair. "Well, that's the end of it, Potter. You will hear of your results directly from Professor McGonagall in a few weeks," she said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.
Harry nodded in thanks and left the room, the door closing softly, a quiet squeak following him into the corridor as he strode purposefully towards the Great Hall, feeling starved after his exam. "Well, that's the last of them," He thought happily, intent on treating himself to some treacle tart.
Two weeks later
"Ah, excellent. Come in, Potter, come in," McGonagall motioned for him to enter, "shut the door too if you please."
Harry did so, murmuring his greetings as he sat in the chair his Head of House motioned to in front of her desk. She shuffled a few papers into order before placing them in one of her drawers. A small, animated cat pounced after a ball of yarn next to a biscuit tin on the other side of her desk. Harry brought his attention back to his professor as she brought out an envelope, offering it to him. A shiny, red wax stamp sealed the envelope, a large 'M' embellished in the middle.
He opened it and took out a crisply folded letter. It read:
"Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations
Harry James Potter has achieved the following:
Ancient Runes – O
Arithmancy – O
Astronomy – E
Care of Magical Creatures - O
Charms – O+
Defence Against the Dark Arts – O+
Herbology – E
History of Magic – E
Potions – O-
Transfiguration – O+
The Department of Magical Education would like to congratulate you on achieving TEN O. . We wish you the best for your future pursuits at N.E.W.T level."
A wave of relief swept through Harry, he set the letter down, swiping his hand through his hair and he sank back into his seat. He really had to thank all the partial history he had learnt reading into Arithmancy for scraping his grade up in History of Magic. Professor McGonagall looked appraisingly over the results too before offering him a genuine smile. "I don't think I've ever seen her smile," Harry remarked to himself absently, still utterly relieved with his results to think too much.
"Very well done, Potter," The older witch congratulated him, "these are excellent results and will surely see you to whichever NEWTs you wish to pursue." Her tone lifted at the end of her sentence questioningly.
"I'll continue with Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, Potions, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy please, ma'am."
McGonagall noted his choices down, nodding and tapped her wand to the parchment she wrote on. It changed before their eyes into a series of lines depicting a timetable which soon filled itself in with his classes. She went to hand it over to him before stopping short, offering him some words instead.
"Just because you have now passed your OWLs, Potter, do not think that we teachers will lighten our workload for you. You'll now have to catch up with the first month and a half of classes your new peers have already sat. Each of your teachers will have a list of subjects they have taught upon and assignments for you. I expect you to be caught up by Christmas, am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied, "and here I thought I'd get at least a day off…"
"Good, I do not want to have to apologise to Professor Snape after overriding his recommendation that you do not sit your OWL in potions early, ridiculous considering your O average over the years…" The last part said just above a whisper. "Anyway, here are the details you will need to catch up in my class."
"Thank you, Professor," he took a quick look at the parchment before pausing in his motions to leave. "Professor? Can I ask about the tournament? When are the other schools due to arrive?"
Harry's last letter from Fleur arrived yesterday and she indicated that was going to need to start packing in the next couple of days.
"Hmm? Yes, they will be arriving on Friday. Please make sure you are wearing your best, Potter. I'll be checking everyone's uniform that day!" She said warningly.
"No problem, ma'am. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
Taking his leave he had another glance over the parchment of tasks he was given, pleased to note that he had covered some of the things on the list already. His silent casting would definitely be his biggest time sink for the next while but at least he even had a head start in that too. It was difficult but he had managed to get results with silent casting of his first to fourth year spells so far. Professor Flitwick was a font of knowledge on the subject and Fleur had even given him some different tips passed onto her from her own Charms teacher.
His thoughts drifted towards Friday though as he swiftly descended the grand staircase towards the library. He was really looking forward to seeing Fleur again, their friendship had only gotten better, even if only in written form. She now knew of everything that had happened to him over his years at Hogwarts, practically demanding answers after he had tried to sidestep the issue. She had replied that she would cuff him round the head when she saw him next before berating him for his lack of self-preservation.
It had warmed him deeply to know he had someone genuinely just worried about him in his life. He hadn't really heard from Sirius much except that he was "somewhere safe", but he did hope to hear more from him, desperately wishing to build a relationship with his parents' best friend. Hopefully, he would be seeing him more this summer anyway. The biggest boon from taking his OWLs was that he could petition for early emancipation. The thought of not going back to the Dursleys was brilliant and he had spoken to the goblins about it when asking about his estate back in his first year. "That's part of what it was all for after all," Harry thought, keen to see the back of his supposed 'family.'
The large door to the library swung open silently, the smell of old books smacking him in the face. Wandering down the aisle labelled 'Q – T' he searched for the transfiguration texts he needed to catch up on the sixth years he would be joining tomorrow.
Later that week, Friday
Harry stood outside the Castle in a line of Gryffindors, his heavy winter cloak shielding him from the worst of the October chill. Hermione blew a piece of her hair out of her face beside him, huffing as she did so. Harry was lined up with his year mates despite having moved into the sixth-year classes a few days ago.
The wind howled once more, making him wince as he wished the other schools would arrive already, both so he could see Fleur and also get back into the warmth of the Castle. Professor McGonagall had almost reached their contingent for uniform checks if the sound of her telling off of Lavender was any indication. She soon arrived in front of Harry and his friends.
"Mr Weasley, straighten your tie and tuck in your shirt! I will not be having Gryffindor looking like uncultured slobs in front of our guests."
"Potter! Can you not do anything with that hair?" She added, exasperated as she motioned to the wild, wavy hair on his head.
"Sorry, ma'am. I'm going to get it seen to next time I'm in Hogsmeade."
"See that you do, then. Stebbins! Can't you stand still for 5 more minutes…" His Head of House continued down the line of students.
After what seemed like an age a low grumble from the lake alerted the Hogwarts students that at least some of their guests were approaching. A slender pole rose from the still surface, sending waves breaking as it continued to rise. Rigging and two other masts followed it and soon the top deck of an ancient looking sailing ship erupted from the water. Drawing up to the shore the occupants of the ship loaded slowly into smaller rowing boats and made their way ashore, beginning the winding walk up to the entrance courtyard, where the Hogwarts students stood waiting.
Coming closer, he took in the dark , fur-lined cloaks they wore, each student kitted in the same dark grey sturdy winter boots, ready for harsh weather. At the head of the contingent, a taller man in a fur-lined hat shouted out:
"Albus! It has been so long." The man looked weather beaten, many wrinkles adorning his face and his teeth yellowing. Despite that it was clear to see he was still much younger than Professor Dumbledore.
"Igor, welcome! Please do carry on inside to the warm," Dumbledore offered congenially although his eyes were missing their trademark sparkle.
"Ah, excellent, excellent. Come Viktor, inside now so you don't get sick," Igor motioned for aflat-footedd young man with a hooked nose to go inside ahead of him.
Ron spoke up from Harry's side. "Blimey!" his voice quivered with excitement, "that's Viktor Krum!"
Ron continued to practically vibrate long after the crowd of foreign students entered the Castle. "Do you think he'd sign an autograph for me?"
"As long as you don't want it on your arse, Ronnikins," one of the twins snarked from further down the line causing Harry to stifle a laugh as Ron spluttered indignantly.
The lines of students only had to wait a few minutes more for a large carriage drawn by enormous palomino Abraxan horses, easily bigger than Buckbeak and similar in height to Hagrid. The carriage drew to a halt much closer to the Hogwarts contingent than the ship from Durmstrang. The door of the powder blue carriage was thrown open with a clang as a boy in robes of the same powder blue rushed out to roll out a carpet of fine, deep pile. An enormous, heeled foot exited the carriage ahead of the largest woman Harry had ever seen. Dressed in a fine silk robe with a blue feather trimmed cloak the woman must have been employing warming charms as the air drew misty from her breath. She approached the congregation, greeting Dumbledore.
Some of her students must not have taken the same approach as they shivered behind her in the courtyard, shooting apprehensive looks at the Castle and shifting from foot to foot. Harry felt a warm pull on his mind that could only have belonged to Fleur but he didn't want to call out to her in front of everyone. Shifting his weight from foot to foot he instead watched the group of blue robed students depart inside to warmer halls, led by their Headmistress and Professor Dumbledore.
The group of Hogwarts students soon followed, making their way to their respective house tables, parting around the blue-robed French students in the entranceway like the sea around a rock. The Beauxbatons students couldn't seem to decide where to sit until one moved apart from the group and lowered a scarf that had been obscuring her face.
The pristine, beaming smile of Fleur Delacour was being shot straight at Harry and he felt himself beaming right on back. With the entire Great Hall watching them, he drew closer to her as she gracefully moved up the aisle opening her arms to embrace him just as they reached each other. Within the tight hug, Harry felt so light that he could float off the ground if it weren't for Fleur holding him down to Earth. As he took in her warm cinnamon scent for the first time in two months he opened his eyes, realising for the first time that they were making quite the spectacle. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall was staring at them, some with eyes wide open, others with faces just short of drooling. He even spotted Dumbledore smiling happily as he shot Harry a wink from his position at the front of the Hall.
Unwilling to care about what the others thought he still nevertheless released Fleur to arm's length as he took in the rest of her. Her hair was half up and framed her face elegantly, her sparkling eyes shining happily at him. Around them the world restarted, and people stopped staring, instead taking seats at the house tables whilst muttering loudly to each other. Ignoring the whispers Harry spoke:
"I've –," was as far as he got as at the exact same time Fleur spoke as well, "It iz-"
They laughed at each other, Harry unable to get the smile off his face at how easy he found it being around Fleur, even in the spotlight he so ardently avoided. He motioned for Fleur to speak first.
"I 'ave missed you, 'Arry," she said simply.
"I have missed you too, Fleur," Harry replied, smiling softly, "How was the journey?"
"It was fine. The carriage is expanded inside and I 'ave my own room. Come, shall we sit with your friends?" Fleur motioned over his shoulder to where his friends had sat, not far along the Gryffindor table from the Beauxbatons students. She reached for his hand, softly pulling him in that direction.
"Sure, and you can tell me more about your trip here, you must have seen some amazing views on the journey, no?" Harry sat down next to Hermione, who greeted Fleur albeit in a lukewarm manner. Harry couldn't bring himself to care as all felt right to him. He was reunited with someone becoming one of his closest friends and sat with the rest of his friend group. Maybe Halloween wouldn't be so bad this year? Or maybe he should have resisted tempting fate once more…
Fin
Hopefully, this chapter allowed you to learn a bit more about my version of Harry and his time at Hogwarts.
I am aware that Harry skipping so many years might ring alarm bells. That said, he will not be completely overpowered; he is simply really clever and proficient in his work. He's gotten to where he is so far through a lot of hard work and that won't change moving forward.
Lastly, please bear in mind that I do want to indulge what I like seeing in the fics I've read over the years and that will reflect here. :D
Please review and drop a follow/favourite if you feel so inclined!
Take care,
SOB
