Thank you to all people supporting my creativity over on Pat re on. with special too: Jimmy Adams, Rafał Badera, Jo Daviz, Antar Das, LegendaryWasabi, Ibuki Mioda, SvenGTX, Optimum Prime, Jack Schriner. I love all my readers you really motivate me to keep going with my writing.

As always chapters 42 and 43 are already available for early access. And you can find a free link to my discord server there as well. there is a post on the discord that is a bit of a teaser to my upcoming fic 'A Stich in Time' that I will start posting once I finish with my fic 'phoenix wand.'

Chapter 41

Fleur had a beaming smile on her face as she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. She was having a great week, her relationship with Harry and Hermione was finally starting to take off. The two of them had been switching off with each other to spend time with her, going for walks around the castle and grounds, as well as taking her to some more private spaces where things had heated up a little, leading to some rather intense kissing.

She considered the differences between her two paramours in the kissing department. Considering she knew that they had only ever kissed each other before her, Fleur was a little surprised at how different they were. Harry started out hesitantly, as though he was half expecting to be beaten for doing something wrong, but after their first few times he seemed to grow in confidence as he understood that this was something Fleur truly wanted; he then became rougher and more assertive. Hermione on the other hand was consistent throughout, the girl knew what she wanted and once they progressed to kissing she wasn't shy about communicating it either. Fleur didn't want to use the word needy, as it had bad connotations, but it seriously fit the way the cat girl would constantly moan in pleasure, encouraging you to keep going.

Fleur had gotten a little concerned that Harry and Hermione had not spent any quality time with each other over the week, but it appeared that the two of them were on top of that as they had claimed last night for just the two of them. And while Fleur would have loved to be there with them, she understood that the two of them needed their time as well. She sat down at the Gryffindor table where Harry and Hermione were waiting for her. Ever since they had reached their current part in the process of becoming Animagi, they had been getting up really early to do some ritual that Hermione had explained held their bodies in a ready state until they could drink the potion that was currently maturing. The result was that the two of them were up every day at the crack of dawn and among the first in the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Good morning Fleur. Sleep well?" Hermione asked.

"Morning Hermione. Oui, I slept fine. How was your ritual this morning?" Fleur replied as she looked over the breakfast offerings.

"Cold. I really wish we didn't need to be barefoot. The sooner a storm comes the better." Hermione was buttering herself some toast as she spoke.

Harry nodded. "I had a conversation with Parvati, one of the Gryffindor girls in our year." He added for Fleur's benefit as she didn't know a lot of the Hogwarts students, though Fleur actually remembered this one because she is a twin. "She takes Divination, so I asked her when the next storm would be, and according to her it's the day of the final task."

Hermione scoffed "I wouldn't put much stock in that if I were you Harry. Divination is the least accurate of the magical arts. I read somewhere that a first generation wizard did an experiment about a hundred years ago and wrote to all the top diviners in his country. He gave each of them a random date and location and said he was planning to hold a large outdoor event in the area and wanted to know what the weather would be like. Only 20% of the predictions he got were right. That's hardly something to base your decisions off."

"There are true prophecies though," Fleur added. "I know the French ministry has a system to record when a true prophecy is given in our country, and they go take a copy of the memory from the person who the prophecy was given to. I would guess your ministry does something similar, though I hear those prophecies can be really confusing and often only make sense in... oh what's the English word? Sagesse rétrospective." Fleur struggled with the second language.

"Hindsight?" Hermione offered, not completely sure herself.

"That sounds right." Fleur shrugged. "Pretty much the only thing that you can guarantee is that a real prophecy will involve magical people in some way. At least that's what almost every person who studies prophecies agrees on. It might not be the main focus, but in some way the subject of a prophecy will have a large impact on at least one magical person."

Harry let out a sigh. "That's interesting and all, but I'm kinda glad that we don't have to worry about a storm that day. The last thing we need is to be dodging lightning strikes as we deal with whatever craziness that the tournament organisers have cooked up."

After the three of them were finished with breakfast, they started heading up to the room they were using to train. Being the weekend, they had a whole day of sweating and execution ahead of them. Fleur had never really appreciated how physical this tournament would be when she put her name in the Goblet. She really wasn't looking forward to this today, as Harry had come up with a new training idea for them to try. He had gotten a practice Snitch and enlarged it to the size of a Quaffle, and they were expected to try and hit it with spells as it flew around. Simple, right? But Harry had some curveballs. One, every time the Snitch was hit it would get a little smaller and more agile, making it harder to hit. He also had a bunch of practice Bludgers that they were expected to dodge at the same time. The Bludgers were charmed not to do too much damage, so they weren't going to break any bones, but the large cauldron of bruise paste that she had helped Hermione brew was telling enough. Fleur could see Harry's plan; his goal was to make it so that they could make the shot when they needed to. She was even sure it would work, she just wasn't looking forward to the training. Who would look forward to that much exercise?

"You OK Fleur?" Hermione asked.

Fleur flashed Hermione a smile. "I'm fine, just not looking forward to the training today. It's going to, as you English say, suck."

Hermione got a little knowing smile but just said. "Oh it won't be as bad as you think, come on."

Resigned to her fate, Fleur followed her two teammates as they walked ahead of her. She might be down on all the Hogwarts stairs but she had to admit that walking up them behind Harry and Hermione had its benefits, and as much as she didn't like the physical training she had to admit she enjoyed its results in regard to her current view. When they arrived on the seventh floor, Fleur was surprised when Harry stepped right into the room without having to set it up. She followed Harry and Hermione into the room and found herself not in the training room she had expected but in the function hall they had used for Ali's birthday.

"We know it's a few days early,, but seeing as it will be during the week we thought it better to do this today," Harry said as both he and Hermione sandwiched Fleur between them, each kissing a cheek before saying in unison. "Happy Birthday Fleur!" The birthday girl was completely surprised, she hadn't told Harry and Hermione that her birthday was coming up. They had enough to get on with at the moment with the tournament, so she didn't want to distract them, but they must have found out from one of the other Beauxbatons students, probably Alison.

The trio spent their morning taking advantage of the Room's abilities to create a spa day. Harry was pretty much lost for the morning not understanding any of the things Fleur wanted to do, but as it was making both Fleur and Hermione happy he just went along with it. When lunch came around the three of them were joined by others and the celebration became an actual party, including presents. Most of them were pleasant but forgettable (chocolate and other sweets mostly), but some were rather thoughtful. Ali got her a cashmere scarf, Harry had gotten her a nice pair of dangling blue crystal earrings that matched her eyes, and Hermione had gotten her a bottle of perfume that smelled amazing.

However, the best came from her parents. According to the letter they had sent, Harry and Hermione had written them to inform them of the slightly earlier celebration, so they had sent her gift to her partners so that she could have it the same time as she got everything else. Her parents also informed her that they would be coming to watch the final task and wished her well in her studying. They had sent her a necklace, a teardrop blue diamond on a chain delicate enough that only unbreakable charms kept it from breaking. The necklace had been her mother's and her grandmother's before her, passed down from mother to eldest daughter when the daughter came of age. Fleur had forgotten all about the necklace, as she had been focusing on the tournament and her relationship with the two Hogwarts students; there was just so much going on that it drove most other things out of her head.

Fleur had Hermione help her put on the necklace and then conjured a mirror, checking her reflection and smiled. The chain was so fine it looked more like one of her blond hairs than a gold chain, and the diamond hung between the tops of her breasts, easily drawing the eye there with the right outfit. Suddenly, there was a table full of food and a gramophone started playing music by the Weird Sisters. The party had now officially started!

Harry and Hermione both smiled as they watched Fleur enjoying herself, though the two had to toss a coin to see who would get the first slow dance with the birthday girl. Hermione called tails when Harry flipped the coin and won, so she got the first slow dance. As his two girls danced together, Harry mused over the whole "who goes first?" problem. A lot of the time the situation would dictate who goes first for a given activity, and flipping a coin was all well and good in the short run, but they needed to come up with something better or one day someone will be hurt when the toss goes against them ten times in a row.

Maybe keeping track of who is ahead on getting to do something first? But keeping lists like that wasn't exactly romantic. Harry then realised what was going to happen over the next few years. Fleur would be back at Beauxbatons next year, and they would only see her during the holidays. Then, for two years after that Hermione and himself would still be in Hogwarts, so even if Fleur moved into the Hogsmeade house they would only see her on holidays and Hogsmeade weekends. With Hermione and himself free to be together inside Hogwarts, it would be natural for them to focus on Fleur when they could, so perhaps it was too early to worry and flipping a coin would be fine for now. He got the next slow dance and was happy to see Fleur smiling so much. The songs were now by a band of vampires who called themselves 'The Neck Romancers', as the Weird Sisters' album had finished and someone (probably Daphne) had switched the record. Harry wrapped his arms around the beautiful young lady that he was lucky enough to be facing spending the rest of his life with.

While Harry had Fleur distracted on the dance floor, Hermione took the opportunity to get the cake ready. Dobby had outdone himself with five layers of chocolate cake separated by layers of chocolate buttercream and brandy smoked cherries. Hermione made sure there were seventeen candles, but she switched three of muggle joke candles that would relight themselves after being blown out. When it was time to bring out the cake, everyone sang 'Joyeux Anniversaire', the French version of the "Happy Birthday" song, as there were more French people there than British. Everyone had a chuckle at the relighting candles and went on to enjoy the rest of the party that went on until just before curfew.

-ϟϟϟ-

Harry, Hermione, and Fleur were called down to the Quidditch pitch with all nine of the other champions exactly one month before the third task, where they found that the pitch had been turned into a construction site. The consensus among the male champions was that this was desecrating the pitch, but that opinion was split among the female champions. Hermione, Fleur, and the female DeVilliers twin barely cared at all, while the woman on Krum's team (who Harry could never remember the name of) was with the boys on this one.

At the edge of the pitch, Ludo Bagman was waiting for them. "Hello there!" He called a cheery voice, totally missing the mood of the majority of the champions. "I'm here to brief you on the third task, which is basically an obstacle course with a twist. We will be constructing four identical towers and each one will have twelve floors. Each floor will have a challenge of some type that is ment to test you. However, remember the keys you got in the second task? Each key will let you bypass one floor, advancing you to the next level. At the top of the towers, there will be a platform where the Triwizard cup is waiting. The first person to touch the trophy will win the tournament for their team. Any questions?

"What kind of obstacles will we be facing?" Alison asked.

"Well, Miss Tucker, there will be levels where you need to solve puzzles of both magical and critical thinking, levels containing magical creatures, and a few surprises. Should be entertaining, yes?" Bagman said while still wearing a grin that made a lot of people think he had taken a few too many bludgers to the head when he was still a professional beater.

"How will people see anything if we are in the towers?" asked Hermione.

"The towers will be enchanted so that you can see into them from the outside, so anyone with binoculars or Omnioculars will have a great view." Bagman explained. "Any other questions? No? OK, then I will see you back here at sundown on June 24th." The dismissal was obvious in his voice, and the champions were more than happy to leave.

As they were walking back up to the castle, Hermione turned to Harry and said, "We might have a problem."

Harry nodded. "The time we need to be on the pitch, right?" he asked, and Hermione nodded back.

Fleur didn't get what they were talking about. "What's the problem?"

Harry sighed before answering. "We need to perform our ritual at sunset. If we miss one before we drink the potion during a thunderstorm, then we will need to start all over again. If we have to be at the tournament at the wrong time, then months worth of work could end up just vanishing."

"Well I don't think that we need to start right at sunset, they normally have us arrive early so if you are a few minutes late or need to step out for a few minutes, it should be OK, right?" Harry and Hermione both conceded the point, hoping that Fleur was right. They didn't have much time to think about it anyway as they needed to perform the ritual for that evening. Both of them were glad that the weather had turned warmer recently, as it meant that they weren't freezing their toes off all the time any more.

-ϟϟϟ-

Almost two weeks after Bagman had told them about the third task, Harry and Hermione were happy to see Professor McGonagall waiting for them when they entered the common room ready for the morning ritual. They weren't completely surprised, as a cold front had come from the north fighting against the approaching summer weather, and according to Hermione and Professor McGonagall that was the perfect recipe for a thunderstorm.

Professor McGonagall stood up from where she had been sat by the fire, the cold front necessitating it be lit in the evenings and mornings even this late in the school year. "There is a storm brewing just off the coast. It will make landfall in a couple of hours, and the eye of the storm will pass through an uninhabited part of the country about two hours after that. Once the two of you have completed your ritual for the morning, join me in my office and we will set off." The two of them quickly ran back up to their dorms, dropped off their school books, and collected their cloaks.

A little behind because of the change in plans, the two of them rushed down the stairs and out into the grounds. There was too much cloud cover for them to see when the sun was rising, but they had long become accustomed to checking what time sunrise was in case they couldn't see it. This time, when they said the spell, the grass entangling their bare toes, something felt different. It was hard to explain, but it was almost like electricity flowing through their veins. It was easy to understand they were charged and ready.

A few minutes later they were up at McGonagall's office. "Here's how this is going to work. I will take you to the spot where the eye of the storm will pass over you and pitch a magical tent for you, but then I will leave you and come back to the school. I would have preferred to wait with you, but as it's a school day I have classes to attend to. Mr Potter, you have a house elf?" When Harry answered in the affirmative, she continued. "Then have them monitor you, that way if there is a problem they can come and tell me and I'll come help. I don't expect anything to go wrong, the two of you have done everything perfectly, but an overabundance of caution can't hurt."

Professor McGonagall put stasis charms on the two little cupboards she had transfigured into her Welsh dresser and then transfigured them out of the piece of furniture into little carrying boxes. "The potion does not take well to being jostled around, so if you need to move it it's best to do it while the potion is under stasis. Now each of you grab your own box and let's go."

As they walked through the castle Harry called on Dobby. The normally energetic elf popped in next to them, but he looked like he was still half asleep. The elf let out a yawn and then greeted them. "Morning Master Harry Potter sir, Mistress Grangy, whats can Dobby be doing for you this morning?"

"First, I'm sorry I woke you Dobby, you're normally up by now." Harry apologised

The little elf shrugged. "Dobby was helping Sassy with some things last night and went to bed late. It's no worry sir."

"Still, I'm sorry. I need you to deliver a message to Fleur when she wakes up. Tell her that a storm has come, so Hermione and I will be out of the castle most of the day and won't see her at breakfast."

Dobby nodded in understanding "Dobby can be doing this for Master and Mistress. Will there be anything else?"

"We will need someone to monitor us as we take the Animagus potion later, and to come tell Professor McGonagall if something goes wrong." Hermione answered Dobby, and with a nod of understanding the little guy disappeared. "Since when does Dobby call me Mistress?" Hermione asked Harry once Dobby was gone.

Harry thought about it a second before answering. "Probably since your parents signed the betrothal contract," he theorised. "Probably sees you as his family now."

"I'm not exactly comfortable with him calling me Mistress like that," Hermione admitted.

Harry snorted. "Like I'm comfortable with him calling me Master, but that elf has a stubborn streak a mile wide, you know that. Nothing I can do will get him to call you Hermione, anymore than I can get him to call me Harry."

They made their way through the castle and over the school grounds until they passed through the gate and were beyond the wards. Once they were outside the anti-Apparition wards, Professor McGonagall took them by side-along Apparition to a valley between two towering Highland mountains. As expected, Harry couldn't stomach normal Apparition and it left him a little queasy. It only took a few flicks of the professor's wand and the magical tent came flying out of her handbag, grew to its normal size, and set itself up ready for them.

Once they stepped inside, the professor had them set down the boxes that contained the potions on a table and removed the stasis charms. It was easy to see that this was Professor McGonagall's personnel tent, the Scottish pride and love of Quidditch was on full display. Harry wasn't surprised to see his own face looking back at him from a few photos of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. As he looked over the photos, there was one for every year from the present back to when Harry assumed Professor McGonagall had become the Head of Gryffindor. He walked down the line of pictures that lined one wall and stopped when he found what he was looking for. Seventeen pictures back from the latest picture was a Quidditch team with a familiar face grinning back at him: his dad.

"I wouldn't smirk if I were you, young lady. Considering your animagus form, you're probably seeing what you're going to get for yourself over the next few years." Professor McGonagall scolded Hermione, lacking any anger. When Harry turned around to see what was happening, Hermione was blushing a little in embarrassment and their Professor looked a little amused. He shifted so he could see what Hermione was looking at and had to hold back a grin of his own when he saw a fancy scratching post and a collection of cat toys.

He decided to tease her a little. "As long as it keeps the claws out of the furniture. Fleur would be upset if you destroyed the sofa."

Hermione's response was swift and appropriate. She grabbed a cushion and hit Harry over the head with it as he laughed.

"Laugh while you can, Mr. Potter, but soon you'll be fighting with your owl for the best perch," The professor said, obviously deciding to spread out the embarrassment. "Now I need to get back to the castle. The two of you know what you need to do. Good luck." After a look at the two teens, Professor McGonagall turned and left the tent, turning on the spot and disappearing once she was about six feet from the tent. Harry and Hermione collapsed onto the sofa and got ready to do some waiting.

As much as it was a little more risky for the two of them to be alone for the final part of becoming Animagi, Harry was glad that Professor McGonagall wasn't here. Not that her experience wasn't welcome, but considering he and Hermione had to be as naked as the day they were born, it would be just awkward. Once they mastered the transformation, then transforming their clothes with them would come naturally, but the first potion-induced transformation would only affect their bodies. When the eye of the storm was over the tent, they both walked out completely naked. Unlike the other times they had been naked together, this was nowhere near as fun, just cold. Harry glanced over at Hermione, who had her arms wrapped around herself, though it was more to preserve her body heat than her modesty.

One they were a little away from the tent, they unstopped their potions and quickly drank them down. The potion was deep red and looked exactly like blood, and as Harry swallowed it tasted like blood as well. A part of Harry wondered if they tested the potion if it would actually be blood, possibly blood of the animal form they were unlocking?

Suddenly the sound of Hermione screaming cut though the air, and both of them doubled over in pain. While they had been warned the first transformation was painful, it didn't exactly convey the scale of what they were expecting. Harry wouldn't say this was anywhere near the worst pain he had ever experienced, but it was still bad. It almost felt like every bone in his body was being crushed into a new shape.

The change only took a couple of minutes, though the pain made it feel longer. When it finally passed, Harry found himself lying sprawled out on the floor. He tried to roll onto his back so he could sit up, only nothing seemed to work right. When he was finally able to roll onto his back, for some reason his legs and feet were pointed at the sky. That was also how he first saw the feet of his new form; yellow raptor feet with dark black claws. Harry realised that the normal moves a person did every day, such as sitting up in bed, were going to be useless in this new body.

He rolled back over onto his front, making sure his feet were underneath him as he did. Then he was able to stand up, at least for a few seconds until he toppled over again. He just wasn't used to the new centre of gravity. He tried again and was able to get up and keep his feet this time. He looked around and saw a large long haired tabby cat trying to come over to him; obviously Hermione, because she kept forgetting to use her front legs. She would move her back legs like she was walking in her human form, but forgot to move her front legs until her back arched and the uncomfortable position reminded her that she needed to walk her front legs as well.

Harry started to walk over to Hermione, and any amusement he had from her not being able to walk properly was soon replaced by embarrassment as he was worse. While his Peregrine Falcon form had two legs like a human, this body was built to fly, not walk, and he promptly fell on his face. He got back to his feet relatively quickly, and the two clumsily made their way to each other. Harry considered trying to fly, but Hermione was uphill from him and falcons were built more for gliding. He was also mindful of the storm; he didn't want to risk being caught by a strong wind until he knew better what he was doing.

The two finally reached each other, Hermione in her cat form easily covering three times the distance Harry was able to travel on foot. When they reached each other, she tried to say something but all that came out was a couple of very short meows. Harry did the only thing he could think of and rubbed his head against hers in the closest thing to a hug he could do at the moment. He felt Hermione press her head back into him and the two of them stayed that way for a few minutes, before breaking apart and making for the tent.

Getting to the tent was easier the further they went as they got used to their new bodies. Hermione was still faster than him, but she purposely went slower so he could walk next to her. Once they were in the tent, it was a lot clearer just how much smaller they were now. Harry wasn't sure he could even climb up onto the sofa until he learned to use his wings. Almost as if Hermione could read his mind, she walked up to the sofa and jumped up while he decided he would just stay where he was.

The next few hours were spent trying to regain their human forms. This was easier said than done, as there wasn't exactly a spell for this. According to the books, you had to remember what it felt like to be human and let your magic make it a reality. It was the same for transforming the other way. There was a spell that could force the change, but considering that Professor McGonagall would be the one to cast it and the first transformation is done without clothes, both Harry and Hermione were keen to do the first return to their human form without help.

Almost an hour later, Harry heard a shout from where Hermione was curled up trying to morph back to her human body. "Yes, I did it! Oh my god! Harry! Harry, look at me!" For an instant Harry felt his heart freeze in fear, but Hermione sounded excited, not scared. She came over to him and stood over him. For a moment, Harry was distracted by the sight of what appeared to him to be a Gryffindor Tower-sized version of his very naked girlfriend, especially as their size difference put a very specific part of her anatomy in very prominent view. He soon regained his composure and looked at her. There was something missing, though. Hermione was completely human again.

Hermione picked Harry up and hugged him into her naked chest as she danced around excitedly as she giggled and laughed in joy. After a few minutes of joy infused dizzying dancing around, she calmed down and set him on the back of one of the high backed wooden chairs that their Professor had around her small dining table. Harry found the back of the chair much more comfortable to stand on than the floor, and when he thought about it it made sense; the feet he had now were made for gripping tree branches, not for running along the floor. He watched as Hermione got dressed, then returned to trying to get back to his human form.

After about 45 minutes of Harry trying to regain his human form and Hermione entertaining herself, Hermione collapsed onto the floor seemingly for no reason. Harry reacted on pure instinct, jumping off the chair, spreading his wings, and gliding over to Hermione. He grabbed her arm and called on his Potter heritage, Apparating the two of them directly into the hospital wing back at Hogwarts, and let out a screech summoning Madam Pomfrey.

A/N

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