Friends of a Friend
28th of July, 1995.
Dear Dora Tonks,
I hope that your summer so far has been good.
I know you are working and that it is unlikely
that you have had loads of fun. I still feel horrible
about the way I acted towards you.
As I'm writing this I'm lying on a beach in the
south of France. The ocean is blue and inviting.
I know you might not want to hear this but I feel
the need to let you know that you are not the only
woman who makes me uncomfortable the morning after.
As much as I loathe to say it this is a
scenario of, it is not you, it's me.
I hope to be able to be your friend someday, but I
understand if you feel uncomfortable about it.
I wish you the best,
Ray Moody
Tonks ran her fingers over the letter. She wasn't sure what to think or do. Part of her wanted to never see Ray again and part of her would love to be his friend. She guessed she felt better knowing that he wasn't ready for a relationship period, but it still felt rather mean of him to try again so soon.
She threw the letter into a drawer. Maybe she would respond.
Maybe.
…
"You have been quiet for the past few days," Fleur said.
Kato nodded slowly. "I know," he said. He buried his face in his hands and sighed heavily.
"How do you feel?" Fleur asked.
Kato shrugged. His thoughts had been dark. He hadn't felt great since Gabrielle's party, but he didn't want her to worry about him.
"You know you can talk to me," Fleur said softly. She reached out and placed a hand on his knee.
"I know," Kato said. He smiled brightly at Gabrielle as she threw herself at him. "How about I try teaching you some magic my Master taught me," he said.
"Really?" Gabrielle asked. "But I don't have a wand yet."
"This magic doesn't need a wand," Kato said. "We'll start with something simple." He held his hand out and summoned a ball of light. "This is a spell called candlelight. It is a lot like a simple Lumos, but you don't need a wand and it easily floats above your shoulder when you first learn to cast it."
Gabrielle smiled brightly and looked at Fleur.
"I'm sure it is fine," Fleur said. "Kato won't teach you anything dangerous so I'm sure mother and father won't mind."
Kato took a deep breath before he started instructing Gabrielle on how to work the magic.
"This is hard," Gabrielle said after a while.
"I know," Kato said. "How about we take a swim and try some more later?"
Gabrielle looked uncertain. She wanted to learn how to cast magic wandlessly, but she also liked playing in the water with Kato and Fleur.
"It is hard for me too," Fleur said. "I think a break sounds like a good idea."
Gabrielle squealed as Kato picked her up. "At least I can tell that you can use this type of magic," he said.
"It feels different?" Fleur asked.
"Sort of. I can tell that you are tapping into a different way of utilising your magic than when you use a wand. I don't think that just about anyone can do it, but I could be wrong."
"So what you are saying is that Gabrielle and I have an ancestor that came from Nirn," Fleur said.
"I think so," Kato said.
"That's cool I guess," Fleur said. She took Gabrielle's hand and together she and Kato threw Gabrielle out in the rolling waves before following closely behind her.
They spent several days like this swimming, training magic and going to dance lessons.
3rd of July, 1995.
"Kato! Kato! Kato! I did it… look. Look I did it, Kato!" Gabrielle was bouncing excitedly as a ball of light floated next to her.
"That is great," Kato said. He hugged her and laughed as she ran off to show her mother. He grabbed his guitar and started playing. It was the easiest way for him to deal with his emotions lately. That of course meant that he played a lot of sad songs, but at least he was expressing himself somehow.
Tomorrow would be Gabrielle's last ballet lesson for the season. Her Madam had already said she would love to continue teaching Gabrielle so they knew she would continue. Apolline would come with them for the last lesson, but there was no performance. The girls hadn't been dancing long enough for that.
Fleur hummed a melody as she headed to her room. Her parents were leaving and would be gone for three weeks. One of those Gabrielle would be with a friend and one she would spend with an aunt and cousins before coming home. Fleur walked to her owl and gave her letters to her friends inviting them to stay over for a week. She already knew Bill couldn't come until after that so she wanted some time with her friends first. "Hey, 'Edwig," she said as Kato's snowy owl landed next to the family owl. "Do you have something for Kato?"
Hedwig held her leg out and Fleur grabbed several letters from her. "Why don't you rest some dear," she said. "I'm sure Kato will need some time to respond to these."
Hedwig hooted tiredly and jumped over to the water bowl so she could drink a little. Fleur smiled and headed back to the living room where Kato sat and pulled at the strings of his guitar. "You have letters," she said as she handed him the small stack.
Kato thanked her and looked through the envelopes. Nothing from Dora. He sighed. He guessed he had blown that one. Oh, well. He opened Hermione's letter and smiled. She was having a nice summer it seemed. She was done with her homework. He chuckled. It was probably best that he let her know he was done as well so she could relax. She had been in contact with Viktor, and he wanted her to come to Bulgaria. Kato hummed. He wouldn't mind coming along next summer if she wanted to go. Her parents were having some trouble believing that he had spent six years on another planet within the blink of an eye, but they humoured her at least. Knowing Hermione she would convince them it was true soon enough.
"Something funny?" Fleur asked.
"Hermione is very homework-fixated, but I think she writes more about other things this time around. Like boys and parents who just don't get it," Kato said while rolling his eyes.
"She is still talking to Viktor?" Fleur asked.
"It would seem that way," Kato said. "He wants her to visit."
"But her parents won't allow it?" Fleur assumed.
Kato shook his head. "If we can get them to know me, then maybe I can chaperone her next summer," he said.
Fleur nodded. "Well my parents certainly trust you to do a good job," she said.
"Your parents trust you to do a good job, Fleur," Kato said. He opened Neville's letter and read through it with a soft smile playing on his face. Neville had cultivated flowers over the summer. He was hoping to be able to bring some to his parents soon. Kato would need to bring him by before Hogwarts started up again. Their plans to bring him before the trip to France had fallen apart. He sighed as he opened the letter from Sirius. It was short and more inquisitive than anything else. He chuckled. Maybe he better let Sirius know he was doing just fine and that he had started figuring out his animagus form since Sirius was the one who had helped them start that up. He opened the next letter and blinked a few times. Fred and George had quite different handwriting and they had written their letter the same way they spoke.
Hey Harry!
Hope you are having a good summer.
We're knee-deep in research and need
new ingredients if you know some good
way of getting them. Ron and Ginny are
hiding from us. We think they might
fear that we'll use them as guinea pigs
or something. We have some awesome ideas
ready for autumn and boy do we hope you can
figure out some new goodies to put them in.
We have been having strange dreams lately,
maybe it is our animagus forms poking at us.
We hope so. We want to show you everything we
have made, but it will have to wait till we are back
at Hogwarts so Mother does not find out.
Constant Vigilance and all you know.
We hope you are having a good summer
and that you can relax and have fun.
We'll see you again on September 1st,
Gred and Forge
Remus had also written and he seemed to be doing well with Lana. She was suffering from morning sickness, but their healer had given her something that seemed to help. Kato sighed. "I need to respond to these," he told Fleur.
"You do that," Fleur said. "I'll go play with Gabrielle. Why don't you come and join us when you are done?"
"Will do," Kato said as he headed to his room. He sat down by the desk and looked at all the letters his friends and family had sent. It was easy to respond to Hermione. He let her know that he was done with homework and that he would be happy to accompany her to Bulgaria next summer if her parents were alright with that.
He responded to Neville and Remus then he tapped his chin. How was he going to handle Sirius? He wasn't sure. Sirius was one of the hardest people to deal with now that things had changed as much as they had. He didn't trust the man to not run to Dumbledore if he told him about Nirn. He wasn't sure how he felt about Sirius knowing that he had already picked revenge over his safety once, but he didn't want to push him away and not give him a chance either. In the end, he told Sirius about his summer with the Delacour family and left it at that. Sirius would be happy enough knowing that he was lying on a sunny beach surrounded by beautiful women.
Hey Gred and Forge!
I'm doing quite well all things considered.
Sunny beaches, naked beautiful women.
You know, just a lovely time. No need to worry
about me this summer.
When it comes to new ingredients I can't
promise you anything now, but I'll have stock
ready for our return to school. I'm thinking
we should have you guys go out with a bang,
but any further ideas should probably be
discussed in person.
I have also been having dreams. I can fly,
but I don't know what I am yet. You should keep
a log of everything you can figure out about
your form so we can research it back in school.
Maybe you should lay off Ron and Ginny so your
mom doesn't blow a fuse. We can experiment
when we get back to school.
I hope that your future endeavours work out
and that you do something more than just sit and
figure out pranks. You did bring these lovely
ladies to the ball that might enjoy some attention.
Wink, wink!
Have a continued mischievous summer.
Harry
Kato looked the letters over and started on the last one. He didn't know what to say to Remus. He let him know how he was doing and expressed his worry for Sirius. His only comment about the pregnancy was that he hoped Lana would feel better soon. He wished he could write about his depression and talk about the bad things, but he would need to tell Remus so much more to do so. He had expressed himself to Hermione since he knew she would be worried otherwise. Apart from that Fleur was the best person to talk to, but he didn't want to bury her in his misery. He sighed and finished the letter before placing them all in envelopes and putting them aside. He would let Hedwig rest a day or two before sending them out with her.
Now he just needed to find Gabrielle and Fleur.
5th of August, 1995.
Kato was humming happily as he walked around the kitchen. Apolline, Marceau and Gabrielle had left that morning and wouldn't be back for weeks. Fleur had taken that chance to invite all her best friends over for a get-together. He wasn't sure what to cook for them. It had to be vegetarian because Céline did not eat meat.
"Just let Winky take care of food," Fleur said. "I want to show you Beauxbatons today."
Kato raised an eyebrow as he met her gaze. "It's the weekend," he stated.
"Yes and they are open all year round to offer summer courses," Fleur said. "It is nicer to come by for just a look on the weekend anyway since they don't have as much to do then."
"If you say so dear," Kato said. "I guess we could head over just let me change into something a little more appropriate first."
"I should do the same," Fleur said. "I could just imagine the look on the professors' faces if we showed up at school in beachwear."
Kato headed into his room and called Winky to let her know she was in charge of dinner for eight people. Winky was ecstatic to have something to do and loved the vegetarian challenge. Then he went and got changed. He headed back to the hallway so he could join Fleur in going to her former school.
"We can go through the fireplace together," Fleur said.
Kato nodded and took her arm. "Lead the way, Yuvondun," he said.
Fleur giggled as she threw floo-powder into the fire. They stepped into the green flames, and Fleur called out their destination before the spinning started.
The fireplace that they stepped out of was massive with beautiful gilded ivy softly flowing along the polished marble of the mantelpiece. Fleur drew her wand and spelled away the soot. "This is the arrival hall," she said.
Kato nodded. It was a big room with several large fireplaces and quite a lot of space for both port-keys and apparaters to land in. He briefly wondered why Hogwarts didn't have anything like it. It would be so much more convenient for students who lived up north. He still found it strange that they were forced to travel by train from London for all students no matter where they lived.
"Mademoiselle Delacour, welcome back," a man with well-kept grey hair said as he came walking up to them. He looked official. Not quite like a security guard, but he could probably defend this place if the need arose.
"Monsieur Barteau, bonjour," Fleur said with a small bow.
"What brings you here?" Mr Barteau asked.
"I would like to show my good friend Kato Peverell here our beautiful school," Fleur said.
Kato bowed. "Fleur has told me so much about it and while I have laid my eyes upon Hogwarts in Britain once or twice. She tells me it is nowhere near as beautiful as the Palace," he said.
"British are you, Monsieur Peverell?" Mr Barteau asked.
"My family is though I have spent many years travelling and have only recently returned to my country of birth, Monsieur Barteau," Kato said while smiling charmingly.
"Ah, now that would explain the accent then I would presume. If you will only sign a few documents I shall open the doors for you. We do not wish to have uninvited guests on our grounds," Mr Barteau said.
"Certainly," Kato agreed. He read through the different documents that Mr Barteau laid before him on a desk. They would prevent him from bringing someone with him here without an invitation for them. And would also make it impossible for him to speak of the location of the Palace. Kato didn't mind. He signed everything and Mr Barteau opened the big double doors for them.
A vast green field spread out before them. The path leading from the arrival house slithered like a blue band over the soft hills. The sky was cloudy but it didn't look like it would rain.
To their left at the end of the blue road lay a gorgeous grand palace in all its glory. The bright grey walls looked like velvet and gold decorated the battlements and towers tastefully.
"You certainly are correct that this palace is very beautiful though I think comparing it to Hogwarts is a little like comparing lilies with dahlias; both are beautiful in their own way, and I think Hogwarts would look aesthetically better if someone would just take their time and clean the place up," Kato said.
Fleur nodded slowly. "Oh, you are certainly right, my dear," she said. She smiled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you see it that way."
Kato saw several winged horses like the ones that had flown the Beauxbatons' carriage. "Would you mind if we went there to say hello?" he asked Fleur.
"No, I like Madame Maxine's horses," Fleur said.
The blue road split just below the next hill to go both to the winged horses and to the palace so they took the right road.
Kato smiled as he walked up to one of the great winged steeds and petted it. He could smell the whisky that they preferred to drink and applied a spell over his nose and mouth so he wouldn't have to inhale it. He knelt as a small foal walked on unsteady legs through the herd up to him. "Curious aren't you," he said softly in Tamrielic. "Do not worry I will not harm you."
The foal bounced forward and knocked straight into Kato before falling in a heap next to him.
Fleur giggled as she watched Kato pick the little one up and helped him steady himself. "That is just so cute," she said. She took Kato's hand as he stood up. They watched the foal bounce back to his mother.
"Shall we go see the palace now?" Kato asked. "As much as I could stay here all day we do have guests arriving and need to be home before then."
"Let's head to the palace then, monsieur," Fleur said.
"Fleur, what are you doing here?" a man in his thirties asked as he saw them coming out of the paddock.
"Oh, Monsieur Martell," Fleur said. "I'm showing a friend of mine around. This is Kato Peverell. Kato this is Monsieur Martell our Professor in Care of Magical Creatures."
"Ah, an interesting subject indeed," Kato said. He held his hand out and Mr Martell shook it. As he did so Qozul stuck his nose out from Kato's collar and looked around.
Mr Martell blinked. "Is that a dragon?" he asked as he pointed to Kato's collar.
"He is a crystalback," Kato said as he lifted Qozul forward. "Currently the only known member of his species. I have all the necessary paperwork to keep him. He is quite attached to me."
"Magnifique!" Mr Martell exclaimed. "Oh, I would love to show this one to my students."
"I'll see what we can do about that. Currently, my schedule is rather packed," Kato said. "I cannot promise anything."
"Oh, that is certainly understandable Monsieur Peverell. Now I remember where I heard your name before. Your cure helped a cousin of mine," Mr Martell said.
"I'm glad they feel better," Kato said. "My late fiancé would be very pleased."
Mr Martell looked like he wanted to apologise, but they were spared any awkward conversations by one of the winged horses. Mr Martell bid them adieu and headed into the paddock to see what was going on.
Kato and Fleur didn't hurry as they headed to the palace. It was a nice day and several students were outside sitting on the grass. In their blue uniforms, they looked like bluebells on the flowing hills. Fleur waved to some and a few girls came up to hug her before they continued to find a nice spot to sit down. Kato recognised most of those girls as Fleur's cousins.
The big doors leading into the palace opened on their own as they approached them. Inside the floor was polished marble with intricately patterned blue rugs and a gigantic chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It looked like it was lit up by thousands of tiny crystals. If Kato were to describe Beauxbatons Palace in one word it would be delicate. The Palace might be huge, but every detail was exquisitely designed.
Fleur showed Kato all her favourite places from her spot in the library to her dorm where she had stayed for the seven years that she had attended school. She introduced him to several teachers. Some knew who he was and others he spoke to about their subjects. It was interesting to hear things from other professors than his own.
They ate in the dining hall with several of Fleur's cousins before heading outside once more to look over the grounds. Beauxbatons's grounds did not have a forest on them, but there was a lake and a small river that cut through fields of wildflowers. If Beauxbatons was anything that Hogwarts wasn't it was colourful. Not in a gaudy way though. It had natural colour but a lot of it in a way that seemed fitting somehow.
"Fleur, my dear it is wonderful to have you back here."
Fleur stiffened slightly where she stood. "Let's go Kato. I don't want to talk to him," she said.
"Is he a problem?" Kato asked as he placed his arm around her and they started heading back towards the palace.
"He has never done anything, but the way he talks makes me uncomfortable. Since he has never done anything he hasn't been removed. He is the apprentice of our current defence Professor Monsieur Napoli," Fleur said. "He has been with us the past three years."
"Don't you walk away from me, Fleur," the man called out.
"Without knowing more he seems somewhat obsessed," Kato said.
Fleur nodded. That was the feeling she had gotten too and she didn't like it. It wasn't her allure that drew this man in, it had to be something else.
Kato threw up a shield as he felt a spell head straight for him. He turned around to face the man. "You will walk away now or you will regret it," he said. "Fleur is not interested in you." His tone was calm with a hint of steel to it that didn't seem to deter the other man at all.
The defence apprentice laughed. "I'm a duelling master, whelp. You don't stand a chance against me," he said.
Kato sighed. "And I have fought dragons and won. I highly doubt it matters," he said. "Fighting me is not as easy as you might think."
The man smirked. "Fleur will be mine. No little runt can stand in the way of our love," he said.
"You are delusional," Fleur said. "I certainly don't love you." She followed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, Fleur this man must have done something horrible to you, my dear," the apprentice said. "Our love for each other is strong enough to break it though, my love. I will show you." He lifted his wand and pointed it at Kato. "You will die for what you have done to Fleur you fiend."
"How do you want me to handle this?" Kato asked Fleur.
"Try to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone. Just keep him contained until the Aurors get here. I have already seen students leave and one of them was Selene, her father is an Auror," Fleur said. "Right now his focus is on you and that is probably good considering what you are capable of."
Kato nodded. He stepped forward and drew his own wand. "You want to fight me fine. You hurt anyone else and it won't be fun for you," he said. Then he waited. He wasn't going to attack first or at all really. He didn't want to fight this idiot, but he didn't want anyone to get hurt either.
Kato raised one shield after another once the apprentice started casting at him. Some he cast with his wand other shields he raised with Nirn magic to keep up with the onslaught.
"Afraid to fight me?" the apprentice called. He was starting to breathe heavily as he kept up his barrage of spells.
"No, I just don't see the point," Kato said. He could hear people moving behind him now as he did his best to not let any spells pass him.
"Cease this behaviour at once!" Professor Napoli roared as he came walking up to them.
Kato was still just defending and didn't see a reason to stop doing that.
"Master Napoli, this man has charmed Mademoiselle Delacour," the apprentice said. "He must be stopped."
"I said stop casting!" Professor Napoli demanded. He did not look happy with his apprentice. When the young man still did not stop he drew his own wand and disarmed the man. He looked at Kato. "You couldn't have just done that, to begin with, Master Peverell?" he asked.
"I felt that there needed to be a certain amount of evidence that I did not instigate this fight, Master Napoli," Kato said. "Considering the Aurors have now seen that I did not raise my wand in anything but defence and there are plenty of witnesses to say the same."
"And if someone would have gotten hurt?" Professor Napoli asked.
"I would have disarmed him at once," Kato said calmly. "And then I would have healed whoever got hurt. I am a Master Healer too."
Professor Napoli shook his head in irritation. He understood why Kato had done what he had done, but he didn't like it. He could clearly see when he walked up that Kato was capable of stopping all spells that his apprentice cast so there was no trouble there. He just didn't like it and the man had been a somewhat promising apprentice. What a shame.
The Aurors took Kato and Fleur's statements and then they were free to go.
"At least he can't go after some other poor girl now," Fleur said as they stepped into the apparition hall.
"That is certainly one good thing to come from this," Kato said. "I'm glad to have seen Beauxbatons. It truly is a beautiful school and well worth seeing at least once in your life if you can get the opportunity."
"I know Professor Martell would love it if you would come back with your dragon someday," Fleur said.
"Oh, I will once I don't have so much to do," Kato promised.
"Maybe while Gabrielle still attends?" Fleur said with a smile.
"I will certainly try," Kato said.
They landed back in the house and Kato was first into the shower. He was walking around the house after the shower when a knock sounded on the front door. He walked over to it and opened it up. A man and a woman were standing there. By Fleur's description, Kato knew the woman to be Céline. He guessed the man was her boyfriend.
"Bonjour my name is Kato. Fleur is in the shower right now, but we can head out on the patio. Would you like anything to drink," Kato said as he stepped out of the way so they could enter the house.
"Water would be nice," Céline said. She watched Kato. "So you are the friend that Fleur made in Britain while she was there. I must say you are not what I expected."
Kato shrugged. "I don't really know what to say to that," he said.
Céline giggled. "Oh, don't worry," she said. "It's all on me." She leaned against her boyfriend. "I'm Céline by the way and this is my boyfriend Louie."
"Nice to meet you," Kato said as he offered his hand to Louie. He saw how Louie's eyes glassed over suddenly. "Oh, Fleur hasn't reigned her allure in," he said. He stood up and headed inside.
Céline grabbed her boyfriend so he wouldn't embarrass himself. Suddenly he shook his head and blinked several times. "What was that?" he asked.
"Fleur was probably in full allure. She does that when there is no one around who can be affected. It is relaxing for her," Céline said. "I'm surprised Kato isn't affected. I guess he might be gay. Alistar isn't affected by Fleur at all."
"Kato isn't gay," Fleur said as she came walking outside. "I'm sorry I didn't know you had arrived."
"No harm done," Louie said.
Fleur sat down. "You are early," she said.
"We had some things to do in Paris. It went faster than we expected, and I figured you wouldn't mind us showing up a little early," Céline said.
"I don't mind at all, I just wasn't prepared," Fleur said.
"You have someone else at the door, Fleur," Kato said as he brought out some cut fruit for people to snack on.
Fleur bounced out of her chair and headed to the door. She opened it and was quickly enveloped in a hug. "Hello, Adeline! Hi Renée!" she said as she hugged two of her oldest friends.
"Oh, Fleur, it has been far too long," Adeline said. She looked Fleur over. "You look amazing. Britain must have done you some good."
They walked out on the patio. Renée sat down next to Céline.
"Oh, is this Bill?" Adeline asked as she saw Kato.
"Non, this is Kato. I told you about him, Adeline," Fleur said.
"Oui the mysterious one with the tragic love story, non," Adeline said.
Kato sighed softly and looked out towards the ocean. He didn't want to talk about it. He knew Fleur had told her friends in her letters but did they have to bring it up? He could hear Fleur berate Adeline and the apology that followed. He smiled at her. "I just don't feel like talking about it," he said. He had known they were coming, but it was a bit much after the calm that he had come to grow accustomed to in the Delacour home. Eventually, he went to fetch his guitar just so it wouldn't be so awkward that he didn't feel like talking.
…
Later that evening Kato was standing a bit away from the teens as he looked out at the beautiful sunset.
"I get it you know," Louie said. "You don't have to talk about her, I just want you to know that I've been there. I lost my fiance three years ago. Céline is my second girlfriend since. It is rough, but you will heal eventually. You know if you want to talk about it I don't mind."
"I'll take your offer under consideration," Kato said.
"That's all I'm asking for. It isn't healthy to hold it in," Louie said.
"I know," Kato said calmly. Maybe he should get professional help. It wasn't fair to put his problems on the shoulders of Fleur's friends. He would ask around to get someone he could pay to help him once he was back in Britain.
8th of August, 1995.
Music flowed over the Delacour private beach. Kato was playing his guitar. He smiled as Alistar and his boyfriend Felipe were singing together. They were part of a band and loved to sing. "You need to come over to band practice someday," Felipe said.
"I would rather not," Kato said. "I play for fun. I don't really want to be part of a band."
"Okay," Alistar said with a shrug. If Kato didn't want to then he didn't need to, and they wouldn't force him.
"So Kato, how come you aren't affected by Fleur's allure?" Adeline asked. "I mean you have been quite clear about the fact that you like both men and women so are you immune? I know some people are."
"I'm not immune," Kato said. "I am the Master of my Mind. I can sense Fleur's allure, but I can ignore it just fine."
"That is cool," Adeline said. "I wonder what the allure feels like really. It would be kind of cool to know."
"I can copy it," Kato said. "I have been around Fleur enough to know what it feels like even if I don't let it affect me."
"Really? That is awesome," Adeline said. "Can you do it to me now?"
"Are you sure you want that?" Kato asked.
"Yes! I wanna know what it feels like," Adeline said.
Kato placed his guitar in its case so it wouldn't get damaged. "I will only do this to one of you at a time. Who wants a go?" he asked.
Everyone but Louie put their hands up. He already knew what it felt like, thank you very much, and he didn't feel like having that response to a man. Not that Kato was bad-looking, it just wasn't his preference.
Kato focused on Adeline and focused his power on her. Her eyes glassed over and she licked her lips seductively. "Did you know I can deepthroat a banana without gagging," she said.
"That is not something I needed to know," Kato said as he pulled his magic back from her.
Adeline blushed as she threw her hair back. "Whatever," she said. "I can understand why guys can't control themselves though. That was intense."
"Who wants to go next?" Kato asked.
Céline held her hand up. "I'll go next," she said. She moved forward very quickly without saying anything and Louise grabbed her as Kato pulled the allure back. He turned to Felipe and Alistar and sent the allure out towards them. He hadn't expected to get grabbed. He was sure they would have nearly molested him if he hadn't pulled back the allure.
"Sorry," Felipe said while blushing as he moved off Harry while Alistar let go of him. "That was intense," he said. "I get why some guys just can't control themselves. It still doesn't forgive their behaviour, but I get it."
Harry reached out to Fleur and her eyes glassed over for a moment before she managed to push through it. Her heart was beating quickly and she was surprised just how affected she was. "Well, that was something else," she said. It actually felt good knowing what her allure did to guys by actually feeling it herself. She now understood why they acted so desperate at times. "I think mama would like to go through that too," she told Kato. "It is very informative."
"I'll ask her when she gets back home," Kato said.
"We should go shopping tomorrow," Renée said.
"Yes!" Adeline exclaimed. "I have seen this really pretty dress that I want to show you, Céline. You would look lovely in it."
Céline smiled. Adeline was most often right, but she didn't always pick clothes that others were comfortable wearing.
9th of August, 1995.
The group had split up so Adeline could drag Céline off to show her the dress she had seen. They wandered around window shopping at first. Kato stopped as they reached the fountain on Avenue de Lavande. Lavender grew in the large flower pots around the square.
Fleur moved around him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Kato what's wrong?" she asked.
Kato looked down at her. "We grew lavender back home," he said. "Rashall-dar would use them to make soap. I haven't found anything that can even remotely hold up to what he makes." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad you are here," he said as he hugged her. He sighed. "I want to grow lavender at my house. Home is supposed to smell like lavender," he said.
"I know a shop you might want to go to," Fleur told him. "It is this way." She led them down several streets over to a shop that seemed to be selling handmade soap and candles.
A smile spread over Kato's lips as he walked inside. The shop smelled nice. He gravitated towards a nice lilac block of soap that smelled like lavender. He'd finally found lavender soap that held up to his demands. He wandered around for a bit and found a vanilla soap that smelled really good.
Kato walked up to the counter. "Excuse me, madam?" he said.
"Oui monsieur?" the shop keeper said.
"I would like to buy a year's supply of soap. How many bars should I buy?" he asked.
"One per month," the shopkeeper said.
Kato nodded. "I would like eight bars of lavender soap and four bars of vanilla soap. Do you have a gift basket or something similar? A friend of mine's birthday is coming up and I think she might like something like this."
"We do have a gift set. You can pick twelve minibars. The whole box lasts about six months of daily use," the shopkeeper said.
Kato nodded. He was handed a list of the scents they carried and walked around a bit to smell them. He picked several different scents so Hermione could figure out which ones she liked herself. Then he went back to the shopkeeper and let her know what scents he would like and she disappeared into the back room. She returned with a very nice wooden box branded with their logo and filled with little wrapped bars of soap.
Kato paid for his soap and they headed back out. Felipe had stayed outside since he had some issues with strong scents. "Done now?" he asked.
"I think Alistar wanted to get something too," Fleur said.
They waited for Alistar to join them before continuing down the street. Once in a while, someone would enter a shop. Fleur dragged Kato into a few clothing stores to get him some things.
They headed home once everyone was happy with their purchases.
Everyone collected outside. They wanted to cook together. Halloumi and vegetables were spread over the table. Renée was handling the grill. Kato was making dressings and marinades while Adeline was in charge of drinks. She had bought alcohol and made sure everyone had something to drink. They all had water too just for the sake of hydration.
Adeline was talking constantly.
Renée's boyfriend Antonin had showed up and everyone was having fun talking and laughing. Kato made sure that the food got done and they cleaned up together. Once they had eaten they walked out on the beach and threw their clothes off before diving into the golden-lined waves.
"Hey Fleur look," Céline said. She was pointing towards a pod of dolphins. "Aren't they cute?"
Fleur nodded. "Yes they are," she said.
Kato watched as the dolphins moved closer to the girls. He reached out with his magic and made the dolphins go away. They were mostly harmless sure, but he still didn't want them too close to Fleur and her friends. They were wild animals after all.
Fleur swam up to Kato.
"You look tired," Kato said.
"It's holding the allure," Fleur said. "It gets straining after a while."
"Is your room warded so you can relax in there?" Kato asked.
Fleur shook her head.
"Then I will fix that," Kato said. He swam to shore and headed inside. He ran a hand along Fleur's doorframe. He should be able to keep her allure in the room. He wondered if they had any paint. He didn't want to carve in her doorframe. It wouldn't look very nice. Using clairvoyance he found some hobby paint. He picked a jar of pearlescent pain. It wouldn't show that well, but it wouldn't completely disappear against the white of the door frame either. Slowly, he painted the words that he would need. It didn't take long for him to finish and head back outside.
He felt better. Having decided to get help meant that he could put his problems aside until he had a professional to help him. "Thank you, Louie," he said as he stopped next to Céline's boyfriend.
"No problem. Whatever it now is I have actually done," Louie said.
"You made me realise that I need professional help," Kato said.
"Then I'm glad you have decided to do that. It will help as long as you are willing to listen," Louie said. "I had a mind-healer after Jackie died. He helped me a lot."
Fleur slept better than she had done since her friends showed up that night knowing that her allure wouldn't affect anyone even if she let it roam free. It felt great.