Disclaimer :

I am not the owner of Harry Potter nor I make any money off this story.

Summary: In which Bill and Fleur wants to follow a Veela tradition... How will it impact the future of the Wizarding World ?

The story is set during the seventh book. Canon until the Malfoy Manor, which happens earlier then in the original book.

Warning : implied sex, but no description of it. A few curse words across the chapters, and as it is war time there is of course mention of violence.

Initiation

"Harry" Bill approached the young man. They were refugees at their house for a while now, and probably planning to move out soon. Dean, Luna, Mr Ollivander and Griphook had already been relocated to other safe houses weeks ago, their little cottage too small to house so many. They had healers there, to take care of them. Harry and Hermione couldn't be seen unfortunately, so they had to do with whatever first aid the curse breakers knew. Ron was gone, this time kicked out by his own brother who was more than fed up with the prick. Picking on Harry's cooking when he did absolutely none had been the final straw, after a myriad of entitled remarks from the younger red head.

"Harry" Bill said again, the green-eyed boy still focused on his crème brûlée.

"Oh, hi, I didn't see you!" Harry answered with a smile. "How was work?" he asked.

Harry looked good, happier than ever. When he appeared with Hermione in February, he looked like he was about to break. He was so thin that his veins were protruding, his hair whitened with worry, his eyes shallow, jumping at every sound. Hermione wasn't much better. She had been tortured by Bellatrix for hours. She still had some tremors after a particularly bad nightmare.

Eating four meals a day, and having friends with them to talk had done wonders to them. Because slowly, but surely, they all became friends. Three days ago, after weeks of tergiversations, they had finally told them the mission Dumbledore gave them. Hopefully, they headed Bill's warning against breaking in Gringotts and gave up that insane project pretty quickly.

Horcruxes. The old man must have been insane to keep that secret. Goblins were treasure hunters and grave robbers! Of course, they knew about horcruxes. Voldemort wasn't, and by far, the first one to seek immortality. Bill informed them that they could just pay the Goblins to retrieve them and clean the tainted vessels.

Harry had laughed, hysterically laughed at the news. A contract had been drawn between him and the Goblins and the hunt had started. Choosing to trust Bill, he gave every information he knew about Tom Marvolo Riddle, every memories Dumbledore made him see. He gave them the cursed locket. Tonight, they would be celebrating its cleansing. Hence why Harry had been cooking all day long, learning on the fly how to cook french cuisine from some memories Fleur gave him. She was a gourmet, but hadn't any particular talent about producing cuisine.

Fleur and Bill had thought hard about what they were about to offer the two teenagers. They were ready to honour some Veela tradition, and what better people do to it with than those two?

"Work was fine. I actually had the honour to be moved to a new office. I can stand in this one. The Goblins must be very happy with you, they even offered me a pay raise. I think they are eager to end this war. It is very bad for business after all. Did you really offer them to choose any twenty items in the Black vault in payment for their service?" Bill smiled at the young man.

"Yeah. Plus two hundred thousand galleons." Harry shrugged.

Bill whistled. No wonder why they seemed so happy.

"Seemed fair at the time. Plus, it's the Black's money. Sirius would be proud of me to squander it so spectacularly, and the rest of his family are spinning in their tombs, I'm sure. Everybody wins." Harry smirked.

"I was actually not coming to you to talk about work, even if I'm very thankful of you. My work there will be way more comfortable now. An office where I can stand! I didn't even think they had one." Bill sat at the kitchen table. "Can you sit please? Thanks. Fleur and I have a proposition for you. And Hermione too, but separately. First of all, please listen to me 'til the end. It's just an offer, you can say yes and no and it won't impact anything either way, ok?"

Harry was looking at him with a frown. Bill sighted. He was making a mess of things. Why didn't he started as he rehearsed it with his wife? Oh yeah, he got waylaid by his question about work.

"Let me start over. What do you know about Veelas?"

"Er... not much. Fleur is the only one I know. Why?"

"Ok. Did Hermione explain to you what a Veela is?" Bill tried. Ron wouldn't have told anything, not that he knew much to start with. Hermione would probably have read all that she could find at Hogwarts.

"Hermione?" Harry smiled a bit guiltily. "She said some stuff after the world cup. They can enthral the men who'll do anything to please them. I was ready to jump off the balcony then" he confessed, ashamed.

"Well, it's almost accurate. They emit magic that enthral people already attracted to them. It wouldn't have worked if you were gay, for exemple" Bill explained to Harry. "some women are affected too. You can feel it with Fleur, am I right?"

"Yes" the boy answered, not meeting his eyes.

"Harry, look at me. It's fine. It is normal. You are actually a real gentleman with her, not many people are able to control themselves like you do." Bill smiled at him.

Ron's image hung around in the kitchen for a while. Even after months living with them, in between his time after he abandoned his friends and the aftermath of the Malfoy's Manor, he still was making an arse of himself in Fleur's presence. Well, more of an arse than usual, Harry thought sadly. This year had opened his eyes on the kind of man his former best friend was becoming. Very different than the kind he was trying so hard to be.

"It is why we, Fleur and I, want to offer you the Initiation." Bill broke the silence. "It is a Veela's tradition. Veelas are more than the Allure. They are often reduced to sexual object by people who don't, or don't want to, understand them. The Allure is a gift, that can have amazing healing properties when given freely. That is what we want to do. We want to offer to you the Initiation."

Bill breathed deeply. How could he present it to Harry? The sweet, very innocent Harry? Everything they discussed with his wife had gone out the window the minute he opened his mouth. Now, he had to wing it.

"The initiation?" Harry asked. "What is that?"

"It's... Ok, please don't freak out. The way I see it, the Initiation is a gift. When a wizard, or a witch, has his first time, a Veela and her partner can call on a ritual that will benefit said wizard – or witch. There are some conditions to it, the most important is that the Veela and her partner are willing to do it freely, and the recipient is willing to receive it." Bill found it hard to find the right words.

"First time? What does that mean?" Harry looked puzzled.

"Harry, are you a virgin?" Bill decided to ask without detour.

"Er... Yeah, I am."

"Alright. So the first time would be... your first time having sex."

Harry's eyes widened. Bill almost chuckled. He didn't think a seventeen years old could be so dense. Merlin knows he wasn't then. He decided right there to be the most explicit he could.

"Fleur and I would like you to have your first time with us. Then, Fleur's magic can express itself upon you and do its, er, magic. It would only work if you are willing too, and ready to let her magic mingle with yours and affect you. It is an act of trust and love. Not love like romantic love, more like a deep friendship. It's hard to explain." he finished lamely. Merlin, this was hard to do.

"Both of you?" Harry reddened.

Well, he wasn't panicking or leaving the room, that must be good, right? Bill thought to reassure himself.

"Yes, both of us." He answered simply. Then he added, because Harry seemed... off. "Before I met Fleur, I had a lot of experiences. I was a sexy young man, happy to explore all the world had to offer. You're cute, Harry, even if your almost ten years younger than me. You are of age, and if I hadn't been married, I would probably had propositioned you anyway."

"Me?" The boy said in disbelief. Then, as if he just caught on. "You now I dated your sister, right?"

"Yes. Ron told me everything. Well, everything he thought he knew. More complained about it in length, I'd say." Bill huffed.

"Oh."

"But you broke up, right?" Bill added when he was sure Harry wouldn't say more.

"Yes!" Harry hurriedly answered. Then he reddened. "It was nice but... I couldn't let her come with us to hunt the... we didn't know what we were doing... and I think I was glad for the excuse." Harry mumbled, his eyes firmly on the table.

"It's alright, you know. You weren't her first boyfriend, and you won't be the last one for sure. I don't think you two would have worked anyway. I don't know what's with us, Weasleys, but we have the constant need to prove ourselves. Show that we are our own, you know. With you, she never would have that. She would have always felt like she was in your shadow, always been compared to you. You're quite attractive, you know. No, not just your looks. You have a charisma when you stop trying to be invisible, something that draw people towards you. You remember the D.A.? Why do you think people followed you? Why do you think Hermione insisted you be the leader? Fred and George told me about it, you could have formed an army right there if you had wanted it. I know it's not your trip, and that's one of the reasons why Fleur and I want to give you the Initiation. You will not use it in a selfish way, you will not squander it. You will benefit from it, and with the ripple effect it will benefit others. It would be an honour, and a pleasure, to Initiate you." Bill ended with a smile.

"What are the effects of the Initiation?" Harry asked, curiosity and wariness in his eyes.

"We don't really know until we do it. It is quite mysterious, and not done a lot. We never did it before, and Fleur's parents either. You have to have a strong connection between the, er, participants, and a lot of trust."

"And you think we fit those criteria?"

"Yes."

"Wah. Can I think about it?" Harry asked shyly.

"Of course!"

/

Meanwhile, in the guest room upstairs. The conversation seemed very different. Hermione had already agreed to the Initiation. She was eager to do it, even.

"So, when was your first time?" Fleur asked the bushy haired woman in front of her.

"Oh, two years ago. Summer between fourth and fifth year."

"Viktor?"

"No. I didn't see him until later in the summer. Max. My parents were out for the day, I told them I wanted to finish my homework. I spent the day with him and during the afternoon..."

"Was it good?" Fleur asked gently. Her first had been a disaster.

"I thought I knew what to expect, I read everything I could about it, but..." Hermione started, blushing.

"Nothing beats experience." Fleur smiled.

"Yeah, I guess. It's actually nice you ask. Everyone just assume I'm a stuck up now-it-all and don't even realize I have a vagina like every other girl."

"Kind of the opposite of me, in a way" Fleur related. "Most people forget I have a brain too. But Bill... he made sure I had one even before he asked me on a date."

"Oh nice!"

"Was he your first?"

"Merlin no! The third, actually. Romain was the first. A disaster. He lasted ten seconds. Kissed me once, spurted, and ran away. I was sixteen. The second one was a professor. She thought she could harness my powers, I guess, or something. I didn't realize it until she almost killed me trying to do that. That's why I volunteered to the Triwizard tournament. I couldn't stand staying at Beauxbâtons anymore. I felt... I couldn't tell it to my parents, I was so ashamed. They warned me about this you know. But she was my professor! She seduced me, promised me the world. It was hell. I almost killed her when I realized what she was doing. I run away, and made sure I never was alone in the school anymore. It was... I was so exhausted. Nobody knew why I was surrounding myself with boys all of a sudden. The girls in my dorm started to hate me. They never left me alone either. They were protecting me, in a sense, without knowing it but my days were filled with hate and drooling fools. I almost killed myself that year."

Fleur cried silently. She perfected this at Beauxbâtons, so much that she couldn't make any noise when she was crying any more. Hermione, not knowing what to say, hugged her.

"You know, that's exactly why I want to Initiate you." Fleur spoke after a while. "Because you try to understand. You don't just assume. You tried to meet me last summer, not just follow Molly's and Ginny's disdain. I saw you trying to talk to them too. You tried. I can count the ones who tried on my left hand alone."

"But why were you so..."

"I knew they wouldn't change their minds. I didn't want to give them real ammunitions so I just played the part, I guess." Fleur shrugged. Maybe it wasn't the best method, but Molly would never find anyone good enough for her precious little baby and Ginny was so used to be the princess of the house that she couldn't make space for another woman. For all that she was pretending to be independent, she was very childish too.

"Fred and George saw it through, and offered me pointers to make them mad." Fleur smiled as she remembered. "It was very funny when I tried them. Bill didn't like it at first, but then he started to bet with Arthur and Charlie and I couldn't back out. Arthur seems very cowardly in front of his wife, but at the end of the day, he does whatever he wants behind her back. Like everyone else in the family, I guess. I don't understand this woman, not at all. She's so..."

"Yeah." Hermione said, still hugging the veela. "Harry dodged a bullet, breaking up with Ginny. Having her as an in-law..." The teenager shuddered.

"Hey! I have her as an in-law!" Fleur exclaimed playfully.

"I know. You have my condolences. At least, you dodge the Sunday lunch at the Burrow. Not that any of her children does it, but Fred told me she kept pestering them with it."

"Oh, she pesters Bill with it. She doesn't invite me along, that's all. His latest excuse is that I need to have sex on Sundays every hour, so he can't come. She didn't ask after that. I think he shocked her into silence that day. It was very funny, seeing him yell that in the living room. He send her a howler. Fred and Georges gave him a dragon hide combat suit in thanks. Apparently, it came in the middle of an Order meeting with Mad-eye, Tonks, Figgs and themselves. They said they kept the memory for the time they'd find a pensieve. I so want to see it."

Fleur was grinning. She was so beautiful when she was smiling, Hermione thought. She had this aura, like her happiness was contagious.

"So, Max is the only one?" Fleur asked, breaking Hermione's musing.

"Hu? Ah. No." Hermione answered, shaking her head. She'd been lost in Fleur's eyes for a moment.

"What, the stuck-up know-it-all really knows it all after all?" Fleur joked.

"Far from it!" The girl defended herself. "Please, don't call me that. I get it enough at Hogwarts. It's a bit my fault, I know. I was like that for a long time, but I grew up, you know. People didn't see it. It's hard to change when people always put you back in the same position. You have a question about your homework? Go to Hermione! You want to have fun? Run from Hermione. But when I am on holidays, it's like... no expectations anymore. I can be whoever I want to be with whomever. I will never see them again, it doesn't matter if they like me, if they find me interesting, if they judge me... I can just try whatever, who cares? It had always been freedom from me. The Yule ball in my fourth year had been a breaking point for me. Ron was such a jerk, Harry so clueless, and there was no one else. Viktor did ask me out, more because he thought I was a safe bet more than by real interest. He was a perfect gentleman, don't get me wrong. He tried to get to know me better that night, and during the year. At first, it was an effort and soon he was happy to see me. Seeing that a boy could have an interest in me, and not just because I was useful was a revelation. When he asked me to come to see him in the summer after the second task, I was happy. Ron tried to ruin it, again. So, when we holidayed in France and my mum bought me a bikini... I said to myself, why not? Max happened. Two weeks later, we were at Viktor's and he was so nice. I told him I didn't want a boyfriend. He said it didn't matter. I was there for him and that was all that mattered. I was his first. We stole every moment we could. Then I had to come back to England. I came to the Order headquarters, and it was hell again. Harry needed me, I couldn't abandon him. Fred and George run so much interference with Ron, Molly and Ginny on my behalf, those two are so great. By the time it was mid-August, I was ready to hex everyone and everything that crossed my path. I couldn't leave Harry alone in that madhouse. Sirius was in such a state, he couldn't help even himself. Harry was so mad, all the time..." Hermione got lost in her memories.

Fleur let her have her moment. She was glad that Hermione opened up. She was trusting her, and she was honoured.

"So, how many in total?" Fleur broke the silence a few minutes later. She didn't want her friend to lose herself in sorrow, and this was the only topic that came to her mind.

"Five. Max, Viktor, Fred, Camille and er... Ahmed I think." The young woman counted.

"So, when did Fred happened?"

"I rather not say" Hermione blushed.

"Wait! Fred, Fred ?" The blond caught on.

"Yes." Hermione finally admitted.

"You slept with Fred?" Fleur wanted it to be absolutely clear. Her friend nodded. "And I didn't notice it." Fleur mused. "When was it?"

"During fifth year. From October to when they left. I knew I could trust him to not babble to anyone. It was fun." The teenager smiled.

"But I thought you had a crush on Ron? He said you send birds after him." The blond was puzzled.

"Oh no. Ron talked to you?"

"I might have overheard a few conversations." Fleur explained with a grimace.

"Oh. No, I wasn't crushing on Ron. The time I send the birds... I get why people think I had a crush on him. He was kissing Lavender in the common room. It was disgusting. I wouldn't care usually, but I knew why he was doing it. It was to show off. To show me that he was better than me, or some twisted thing he came up at the time. I knew it was to hurt me. And it worked. I wanted to hurt him, to slap him so bad his eyes would snap out of their sockets. When Harry came to see me that night, he was so lost, didn't know what to say. He just wanted to be my friend, and it almost worked. But Ron showed up with her and she looked at me like she had one up me. And Ron not only let her, but he giggled. I was so pissed off at all those people who were looking at me like I was a pity party, all those times someone ever laughed at me, the rumours that Skeeter started in fourth year, all of it suddenly came back and he was there, giggling like an idiot, so full of himself. I snapped."

It was Fleur turn to hug her friend.

"Camille, was he good?" She continued later.

"Er... Camille is a girl, actually."

"Oh great! And Ahmed?"

"Both in France, summer holiday. Helped me forget about Dumbledore's death, and all the shit in England for a while. I celebrated her twentieth birthday with Camille actually. She thought I was her age, I think. She was touring Europe in a van with a friend who left her after only two weeks. We spent about ten days together before she went to Spain. I slept only one time with Ahmed. I realized, pass the abs, I didn't like him. He was a jerk, actually."

"So, not your first time with a guy, nor with a girl, or with a wizard." Fleur resumed an hour later, after sharing a bit more about herself. "So, what first time will it be for you?" She asked, curious of Hermione's answer.

"It could be my first time with you? Or my first threesome?" The girl answered questioningly.

"You decide. It has to have meaning for you." Fleur declared. "I'm starving, do you think Harry is done with the diner?"

/

Harry was decorating the living room with Bill. They had fun hanging a banner proclaiming the end of Dorkemort and his Breath Shitters. Maybe they could convince Fred and George to write a book with this title.

The earlier conversation with Bill was running though his head. He had never been happier than since he lived here. Why not trusting them with this too?

Oh, who was he kidding! He chided himself. He didn't need any excuse to say yes.

"Ok." He said to the air.

"What?" Bill turned around.

Harry locked eyes with him.

"Ok." He repeated, louder.

"Yes!" Bill jumped and danced around the room. Then, in a swift motion, he kissed Harry, right on the lips.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he apologized when he realized what he was doing. "I was so happy, I didn't think. I'm sorry."

"No, that's fine" Harry gave him a tentative smile. "We'd kiss at some point anyway."

"So, You Said Yes Too?" a bouncing Hermione barged in the room, followed by an amused Fleur. "What is on the menu for tonight? I'm famished!"

Apparently, her conversation with the Veela had gone well. Harry chuckled and invited them to set the table.

/

"You know, Harry, that could very well be the way to defeat Riddle. Didn't Dumbledore say it would be love?" Hermione suddenly said in the middle of the diner.

Harry spit his drink all over Fleur who was seated in front of him. Hermione got some too. The four of them looked at each other and they giggled madly.

"Imagine Skeeter interviewing him?" Bill said when their cheeks hurt.

"Harry, how did you vanquish You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked with a good imitation of the reporter's irritating tone.

"I fucked a lot." Harry answered very seriously, bursting into laugh a split second later.

He wasn't the only one though, and the cottage resonated with joy for many hours.

They ended up dancing in the living room. Fleur was appalled that Harry never experienced a night out dancing beside the Yule Ball, who had been, to be honest, a disaster for him. She offered him a lesson in salsa. Naturally, Hermione danced with Bill and it spiralled into craziness when disco music appeared.

As the first rays of sun shone through the windows, the Initiation began.

/

As it is so special, mere muggles like ourselves couldn't begin to comprehend the Initiation. I now I don't. So, I'll let it to your imagination and hope you enjoyed the first chapter of what started as a one shot and ended up as a full story.

Don't hesitate to review ! :-)