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January 3, 1995
"You know," Lucretia began, her eyes narrowed and hands on her hips as she stared at him. "I think you're enjoying the view of Alice and me in our bathing suits too much, that's the reason you consistently fail in your attempts at casting this particular spell."
Harry instantly felt himself going red with embarrassment on two accounts. The first and most obvious one was the slight hit to his abilities, as there hadn't yet been a spell that he'd failed to cast. They'd called him one of the brightest they'd met for a reason, especially after the first task. As for the second reason, it wasn't true, but he really had developed some sort of crush on the two older girls. It wasn't solely because of how fit they were — though that was definitely a reason — it was because of a myriad of things.
Alice was soft and reassuring, Lucretia could give him a good kick in the arse when he needed it. The latter girl would fuel the competitive side in him too, especially since she was older and far more experienced in every type of combat or magic, but it didn't matter so long as he gave it his best shot. When he would do just that and inevitably lose, it was Alice that would pick him up, dust him off and ruffle his hair all the while with a happy look on her face. There was always next time, that's what she'd say to him.
No defeat was ever permanent, not unless it killed you and if that happened, you'd start on another journey so they said.
"You tease him too much. The spell is hard, even for us, no?" Alice joined in, a second layer of bathing attire on over her smaller bathing suit. "Come, Harry, to me. You are only in need of inspiration or a watchful eye in close detail to determine what is wrong with your casting. The power, it is definitely with you, which makes me think the error is mechanical."
"Mechanical and as I've said a hundred times, I've watched him. The error isn't in his posture, the wand motion or anything else that I can see. It's all in his head, a mental block. You're good at dealing with those things, right fish?" Lucretia snickered when she finished, but the look she sent Harry shortly thereafter was equal parts polite, at least by her standards, as it was firm.
She expects me to get it right before too much longer and I should. It's taken close to a week already and there's been no progress. I may as well be a potato with arms and legs at this rate, Harry finished his thought with a frown on his face, but it didn't sit in place for more than a few seconds before Alice was beside him.
"There is no need to frown, you are handsome, with two pretty witches in a secluded lake and a member of a storied family," Alice brushed one of her hands through his hair, the music on the wind and her aura in full force, perhaps even forcibly targeting him, such was the strength of it at this moment. "Relax, take in a breath, clear your mind and, like the Patronus you have shown to us, think a happy thought. It is not necessary, no, but the happy thought and a focus towards what you would like to happen can always help when something is proving troublesome."
Lucretia shrugged from her spot nearer to the shore. "She can't be too wrong, now can she? Nothing else has worked anyhow, so get to it — the worst that can happen is you fail, at which point I'll test that electric spell on you. That was supposed to be next, but we can move to it for the rest of the day."
Harry swallowed at her form of 'inspiration' and pressed ever so slightly closer to Alice. They weren't touching, but he liked the slightly stronger effect of her Aura as he drew even inches closer as well as the sense of protection he'd felt from her since they'd been friends. It was comforting and incredibly relaxing despite the stress weighing down on him.
"Don't worry, I will not let her elec- no, shock my favourite wizard," Alice whispered to him conspiratorially, the older girl pulling back to smile brightly at him with a small twitch of her upper lip in amusement. "The other word was too big, now succeed so I will not have to say it, please?"
Harry took in her slightly pouty, very exaggerated and like always, beautiful face in awe. She was prettier than Fleur, more outgoing and without a doubt, an excellent source of motivation. Nobody, not one person, could better encourage him than the girl he was currently looking at. Lucretia's competitive, slightly rough but still enjoyable nature came close, but she wasn't quite there.
"Whenever you're ready," Lucretia called from where she was, her arms folded as she watched the pair of them. "Let me rephrase that, actually. Whenever you're ready so long as it's soon, I don't enjoy sitting in the lake like the two of you do. It's cold, dirty and incredibly boring."
It was time to cast the spell before Lucretia lost her mind, Harry figured. Besides, if he made her stay out any longer, she'd likely curse him for it later. There wasn't any other person he could think of that hated the outdoors more than she did and Alice couldn't have been more of her opposite in that regard, especially when it involved the lake.
Breathe in… check. Clear my mind…
Harry took Alice's words literally, to the point that he was focused solely on his breathing and what he wanted to happen. Anything, that was all he demanded of the spell and the magic that flowed through him. Any form of a square block, circle, wall even, so long as it worked he didn't care how large or useful the item was.
He cast the spell, he heard a snort and from Alice, the softest of coos. In response to her small noise, one that typically indicated a positive happening, he opened his eyes with the expectation of witnessing a large, impressive wall or makeshift dock. As was often the case, what he saw most certainly did not meet the expectations he'd laid out for it.
Before him in the water was a circle, a jagged one with many spines that shot off into every which way, barely the size of an American Baseball. It wasn't what he'd expected and didn't come close to what he'd hoped for, but he supposed it was a result even if it made him feel a bit more like shite.
"How about that shocking spell then, yeah?" Harry asked, clapping his hands together as he huffed and moved to get out of the water, eager to learn something that he'd be far more apt to understand and cast well.
"You have done it, why give up now?" Alice called from behind him, not a sound indicative of her moving but her voice far more close-sounding than it should be with how many steps away from her that he'd taken.
Harry turned to face her and at the same time, that meant looking away from the sight Lucretia made whilst she shook her head. What he saw was surprisingly shocking, until it dawned on him that Alice was indeed part fish. Her lower half was like that of a fish with vibrant, beautiful colours and her face was framed with these two gills as well as larger, sharp ears that looked vaguely reminiscent of humans.
"Careful, if you stare at her too long she's likely to eat you as her ancestors did," Lucretia said from behind him, snickering as she darted the last few feet out of the water and away from the girl who owned it.
"That was only one group of them, I have told you that more than a dozen times, cow," Alice said, her nose raised and her voice sounding the same as it always did, if only a bit more sing-songy. "Harry, you were close, no? Nearly a week later and you have made progress, there is plenty of time before your task too, so why not spend the extra time to master this?"
He shrugged, still a bit put out on account of the tiny object he'd managed after such a long time; the other spells could be difficult too, so it was best that he split his time among the lot of them. The bubblehead charm, in particular, was said to be a bit hard and finicky, requiring a mastery or at least a high level of proficiency if you wanted to dive deep without too high a risk level.
"We can come back to this unless you both think it's something we should stick with… I trust your judgement way more than my own, you're the reasons I'm still here. The dragon wouldn't have been possible without the two of you just like I wouldn't know the second task if it weren't for your friends and the pair of you," Harry responded, halting his movement as he looked between the two older girls. "What do you both think?"
Lucretia seized the initiative and with a sigh, one heavily indicative of defeat just as much as affection, she spoke. "Go on, get back into the deeper part of the water with your siren. I'll wait where it's warm, sunny and far more relaxing. Let me know when you're done and don't get water on me. I'm not above some fried fish and some Harry chips."
January 7, 1995
He'd given up on the water to solid material spell and in the past few days, he'd already come a long way with his bubblehead charm in addition to practising the electrocution spell. The former was strong enough to withstand brushes against sharp vines, small and medium-sized rocks and finally, when he lost his concentration should he get surprised; that was the most important factor, both girls agreed on that.
The latter spell that zapped nearby creatures, effectively stunning them, was a good deal trickier and far more worth it should it work. Harry wouldn't lie and say he was entirely confident in the spell, but there weren't many that seemed half as useful as it did. When he learned thanks to Alice that there were these tiny, sharp-clawed creatures that ambushed you deep in the lake, he decided that something to deal with a bunch of them at once was the way to go.
Merlin knows I won't out-swim anything, not if Lucretia of all people can beat me in a race, Harry shook his head and turned to look at the aforementioned girl. She wouldn't be happy if she heard him say that, but she was deadly slow in comparison to most other people and he was a bit worse than her, so what'd that say?
He had good lungs and proper form though, so at least he had that going for him.
"Do you really think we should be doing this?" Harry questioned nervously, his eyes going up and down the hall warily. "What if somebody sees or hears us?"
Lucretia shot him a deadpan look. "You face a dragon, but you're scared of some potions professor? That doesn't seem like the same Harry Potter I hear all these stories and praise about, nor the one who beat a dragon."
In response to those words, he scrunched up his nose and shot her the very same look she'd so often send to him when Alice said something she didn't like. The snort to cover laughter was enough to make him snicker himself, but then he remembered very shortly thereafter that they shouldn't linger. The longer they were in the area, the more likely it was that they'd be caught and if that happened, it'd be quite the issue.
"I'm going first," he said, quickly and determined. As soon as she had challenged him, his mind had been made up and really, it was Professor Snape's storeroom, so in Harry's mind, the liberation of a few items was more than justifiable. "Stay close, I'm pretty sure we already got past the wards but Professor Snape always seems like he has a few tricks up his sleeve."
Lucretia had done the heavy lifting on account of her being much further along in her education than he was, but that was fine. So long as he knew the ways around Hogwarts, secret and public knowledge, he had a purpose for being her equal on this little journey. He also liked to think he'd done a good bit of growing since they'd begun helping him too, but he couldn't accurately judge that without at least a bit of bias.
Harry pushed open the door lightly, then harder when it was too slow-moving and heavier than expected. When he did so, it was with the assumption that something, anything, would happen and that the two of them would have to react to it. Fortunately for them, that wasn't the case. Professor Snape in his arrogance had figured that the wards he'd left were sufficient or that all within Hogwarts would not attempt to steal from him. He was wrong, Harry had seen Malfoy and a few others take stuff out of the classroom, but that was most likely some form of nepotism unless the man was far less perceptive than he presented himself to be.
It's a good tactic to put on a show that you're stronger or better than you really are, so I've heard, Harry thought to himself, those words being ones that he'd heard from his two older friends.
They didn't seem incredibly wrong, though he did recognise them as situational. It wouldn't do if you presented yourself as all-powerful and didn't have at least a way or two to back that up. Weakness, on the other hand, was a tactic he very nearly feigned at their incessance. The only reason they ultimately went against that course of action was because of his legendary status at Hogwarts in his three and a half years.
Some people would say it was exaggerated and a few such as Draco would say it was all fabricated, but the bulk of his peers believed or put some manner of stock into the stories. Enough that it made his life harder when they turned against him and when they tried to make themselves out as his best friend — best friend, that phrase still stung when he recalled Hermione and Ron. Merlin, even Professor Dumbledore had lost some semblance of credit in Harry's mind.
Hermione had spoken with the Headmaster about Harry's new friends from Durmstrang and it was very likely that she was meeting with him as Harry once had. Nobody had made mention of his darker spells utilised in the first task just yet, perhaps out of nervousness, respect or some other emotion, but it would likely happen before the year was up. The second task, if it were truly underwater, would provide him with a great deal of privacy when compared to the first and if that were the case, maybe — just maybe — he could use some of the most heinous but most powerful.
He wouldn't do so against the other Champions, especially not Cedric or Fleur on account of the former's manners and latter's neutral attitude. Krum was a different beast though, respectfully. The older, much more muscular boy was used to being constantly followed around by beautiful witches, confident in his abilities on account of numerous accolades and in every sense of the word, aggressive when anything was on the line.
Harry would do well to watch out for him and he knew that even a bit before the two girls had talked about their schoolmate.
"I've found it," Lucretia said quietly, bringing his attention from searching the various shelves over to her.
"How many are there? Should we risk grabbing half of one?" Harry asked two questions as he joined her, the older girl's age letting her stand a few inches taller and because of that, making it a good bit easier for her to reach the ingredients they were after whilst seeing how much there was.
"Risk is a perfect word for such an idea and the answer is most assuredly in the negative. We shouldn't play with your life, try as you do when you go against me in our dueling lessons instead of gill-girl," Lucretia pulled one from the jar and slipped it into a smaller vial that was promptly forced into her left pocket. "He had three, now he has two. Come on, if he's half as observant and horrible as you say he is, he could stop by without warning."
Harry nodded, she was definitely right. "I'm right behind you, I'll lock it back up," he answered as he slipped something else into his pocket, an ingredient that was common and at the same time, highly sought after by the Durmstrang girls.
It was dangerous to get, very dangerous, and not at all easily gatherable where they lived. Even at Hogwarts, it was still a hard-found item despite the common prevalence of the animal the ingredient came from.
They'll love it, I'm certain of it, Harry thought as he quietly shut the door and went about looking around the immediate area while Lucretia did her best to restore the wards previously on the door. As soon as she was done, the two were well on their back to the Durmstrang boat and with wide, happy smiles on their faces.
"We'll have to have a practice fight if we're to avoid getting caught," Lucretia said after nearly ten minutes of walking when the halls of Hogwarts were well out of sight and nature had become their companion once more. "Never forget about the spell that allows others to see what you last cast. It's a small list that's kept trackable, but one that should be expunged as quickly as possible, especially if we're to use this exact item in a month or near enough."
"You really think he could come to me about this today? I know I've told you all about him and all, but that'd be a pretty qui- no, who am I kidding? Of course, Professor Snape would come to me as the number one suspect… what do you think of giving this to Alice and then having a quick ten-minute session?" Harry grinned at Lucretia as the boat came into view and beside it, Alice was present, hands on her hips and a nervous look about her.
She was, evidently, nervous that they'd gotten caught. He didn't know why, not since Lucretia was with him, but he took the worry as a sign of genuine friendship from the girl. Alice wasn't like most of the others who called him friend, at least she didn't seem to be when he got to witness genuine worry and her constant affection.
"Everything is well?" She called out to them, her feet already taking her towards the other two.
Harry nodded, that grin morphing into a wide smile as they neared one another. "It went great, perfect actually, and now we'll be off for a short duel to clear our, uh, minds."
Lucretia turned to shoot him a sideways glance as she slid the vial into Alice's hands. "That was very smooth Harry, perhaps even worthy of an espionage accolade. Your code is an enigma that not even our Muggle counterparts could break," her voice oozed sarcasm before turning more serious when she looked over at Alice. "Take it somewhere good, maybe your habitat, until the task. We could store it near his task as soon as we find out the exact location, it'd certainly make it easy — now, as Harry said, we have to go polish our wands off. It won't take long and as we discussed the night prior, it's best to have our affairs in order should the law come knocking."
Alice nodded, not one sign of a scowl on her pretty face despite Lucretia's 'habitat' reminder or the innuendo… maybe what he assumed was one, was said. "Perfect," Alice responded, patting Lucretia on the cheek as she pocketed the item, her attention switching to Harry as her friend moved past her quite quickly, not once turning to look at the two of them. "You too, Harry. Lucretia and you, the job was done perfectly to get this. Be proud, it will help and before too long, the spell you seek will be learned to a better degree, I can see it."
He wanted to tell her he wasn't going to ever figure out how that spell in particular worked, but he shrugged doing such a thing off. It was pointless and would serve neither of them any good. At the most, it'd cause a longer conversation to happen that he couldn't afford at this moment in time, so he nodded and moved to follow Lucretia closer to the ship, near an area they'd used quite frequently that lay only a bit beyond it.
Obviously, he wouldn't learn the spell and the chance that he defeated her was minuscule, but he'd gotten a lot better. If only he could be the best already — the darker spells, the ones meant for hurting or that could be interpreted as horrible, they'd definitely helped close the skill gap considerably on viciousness and usefulness alone.
It was pretty wicked.
January 12, 1995
"You sure Krum is the only one that knows about the task?" Harry asked curiously from his spot beside Alice at one of the larger desks.
Lucretia raised an eyebrow at him but responded nonetheless. "Quite certain, yes," she answered. "Think of it this way, if you could — Fleur and Cedric are preparing for another task that would pit them up against a dragon. Our bird friend has even gone so far as to study ways to enhance her inherent affinity for fire magic as well as the potency therein. She wouldn't be doing that if she understood her next task was underwater as we know it to be."
"Bird friend and gill-girl," Harry snickered, stowing his amusement when Lucretia narrowed her eyes at him. "It was funny, that's all. Anyways, I think… I think it'd be good if we told them, eventually."
"Eventually?" Alice asked, one of her hands finding its way to his closer shoulder and kneading the muscle once it did so, her presence as relaxing as it always was. "The Harry I met would have jumped at the chance to aid the others, what has changed?"
Harry scrunched up his face at her words, as the remark was very true. Had he not met these two girls, many things would be different, most of all his status amongst the land of the living — possibly — and his stance on magic that others would consider dark. He understood that the way of classifying magic in the United Kingdom was outdated and put them on their back foot thanks to these two girls, and they'd even eased him in slowly, so as to avoid overloading him.
Really, he owed them a great deal for doing so. Merlin's the only one who would know where he'd truly be if they hadn't jumped into his life when they had.
"Well, it's still more than a month out, right?" He asked, not needing the answer but getting nods from both of the girls regardless of that fact. "The way I see it, they'll probably figure it out before too much longer. If they don't once we hit that month timeline and they still don't know, then we could tell them. We'd have a pretty big head start on getting everything we need and they'd still stand a chance."
Lucretia looked past him, her eyes locking onto Alice's and together, the two girls seemed to exchange many words in silence. He couldn't interpret much of anything in those brief few seconds, but the one thing that he did know when the two were finished, was that they agreed with him… at least Alice did… to some extent.
"We will tell both of them on the twenty-fourth of the month if they still do not know. They would owe you a large deal for doing so and should they need to be reminded of that fact later on, it would not be hard to do, no?" Alice's hand went to his hair and she messed it up. "You are a good forward thinker, favours from both could prove decisive and if you paint it in such a way that only recently did you find out yourself, it could be even better."
"Krum definitely wouldn't tell them shite," Lucretia added, crossing her arms and reclining in her chair, her eyes still narrowed.
"You don't think he'd help? Not even a hint?" Harry asked curiously.
"Not one bit. He's out to win this whole tournament and he's got quite the chip on his shoulder to do just that. All of those girls who throw themselves at him and his numerous winnings thanks to incompetence by many of his Quidditch opponents have gone to his head — I'm not saying he's a bad person by any means, simply that he's arrogant and in for his win. If push came to shove, I do think he'd choose to save somebody's life," Lucretia winked at him with a smirk. "I think being the key preface to that sentence."
Alice, evidently, wanted to move the conversation along. "Wards are not helpful to you and neither will Runes or other magic that requires too much preparation, but there is one thing we have left out and now, we have the time to teach you."
"Not this again," Lucretia groaned, her head finally flopping back to rest on the back of her chair.
Is it more water magic? Or, err, magic that takes place in the water? Harry wasn't sure, but he knew he wouldn't have to wait long and the latter half of his thinking was definitely proven right not more than a second or so later.
"If you are hurt under the water, in a field, deep in the forest, will you send the spell up to be saved or would you rather heal yourself so that you could continue on?" Alice asked him, poking at his arm where he'd gotten stabbed; the story had been shared one evening when he'd been particularly tired and Alice's reaction to his potential death had been far stronger than he'd thought, the girl had nearly cuddled him to death herself, such was the worry she'd had.
Harry knew what answer he should pick, which one he wanted to pick and which one he was incredibly reluctant to pick on account of how badly they could go if done incorrectly. Still, it was Alice and if he couldn't trust her after such a long amount of time nearly alone, who could he trust?
Evidently not his old friends or Professor Dumbledore, not if they only began to pay attention to him when he'd made new friends that taught him magic they didn't approve of. Merlin, even now, Harry still couldn't believe the audacity of Hermione, despite how friendly she'd remained throughout the conversation.
"I'll learn the healing magic if it's simple and I can't mess it up all that horrible if that's alright — there's something I'd like to ask you both in return for this though," Harry could feel his nerves getting the better of him, but he quickly felt that same emotion get squashed on account of his own willpower and the renewed sense of calm that Alice sent his way.
Alice seemed curious, gentle and welcoming while Lucretia poked at him with her sock-covered feet. The latter witch was the one who urged him to ask for what he'd like, unsurprisingly. "Go on then," Lucretia said, "What do you want in return, Harry?"
"I'd like it if you both went to Hogsmeade with me this coming weekend. We could have some nice food, see if there's anything we've missed and just enjoy a day off. I know it's probably not the best idea but you two have done so much for me that I'd just like to do something in return for you," Harry finished with as best a smile as he could manage despite his tired, fried state.
"You're asking us both out to Hogsmeade?" Lucretia asked, snorting when she finished as her eyes traced him up and down. "I have to ask, Alice, did you do something or has he gotten a bit bolder by himself?"
"I have done nothing to him but ease his stress and brush away those negative feelings in which so easily rise to his surface. Harry is Harry and Harry, we will always be — it is a good thing too, the sweetness is adorable and his nightly sounds cuter than anything else," Alice hugged him then, smiling and pressing many a kiss to the top of his head, her answer obviously in favour of the excursion.
Lucretia took a bit longer, but she eventually nodded and leaned forward to pat him a couple of times on the back. "It's very nice of you and incredibly bold of you, I like it. Since you asked, you'll be responsible for picking what we do and where we go, we'll just look beautiful like we always do and I will keep an eye out for those books you mentioned. I do appreciate your ability to work and play at the same time."
Harry grinned. He'd learned a lot from them and most recently, something he had become incredibly thankful for, was the new sense of boldness that attached itself to his typical courage. Together, those two traits would see him to new lengths, of that, he was absolutely certain.
January 15, 1995
By the time the Hogsmeade trip had come around a few days later, Harry had found himself in a better situation… as was usual. He was stronger in the passing of those three days, his bubblehead charm even better in the many hours he'd trained it and it alone. The Gillyweed could be useful, all the more so should his charm pop or his concentration get pulled away, but it was something he'd like to hold onto until he knew that it was necessary.
If he used it early and the effects began to lessen whilst he was still at the bottom of the lake, well, he wouldn't be in a very good position for all that long, now would he?
At least in tandem with his knowledge of the bubblehead charm, his odds of survival and winning grew far larger. That other spell, the one to turn liquid of all sorts — primarily water — into solid materials had all but been given up. It was far too difficult and his results regardless of how hard he tried were nearly non-existent. He may as well try and transfigure some sand or vines that snaked up from the bottom of the ocean. His luck and proficiency in doing that would be far, far better than the ever-changing composition and flow of lake water.
Harry made a sour face and knocked on the door to the girls' room. They'd been preparing for nearly half an hour now and while he'd come to be more patient on account of their lessons, he still wouldn't describe himself as a patient person to begin with. He wasn't meant to be, his personality was rash, his actions bold and his luck ever-present.
"Everything alright?" He called to them, his hand that still lay at his side now tapping idly on his thigh.
"Yes!" Alice very quickly responded, her voice making it sound as if she were right beside the door. "Lucretia had wanted to change her dress, so I have helped her — hair, as you'll learn, has to match how you dress. Different styles for different colours and types of dress. It is important, you will see."
Uhuh, I bet it is, Harry thought with a wince as he thought about fashion and his very noticeable lack of it… he reckoned it was a good thing that the girls had picked what they thought looked good on him. At the very least, he couldn't blame himself for looking like a numpty.
He couldn't think about his next, more egregious thought, before the door to the girls' room was opened to reveal the two older beauties. Alice and Lucretia, as always, looked as perfect as they always did, only the dresses and hairstyles worn were far more formal. It didn't take an ettiquitte class to make that observation; the dresses they wore were casual when compared to the Yule Ball, but still classy in their colours and design. When it came to jewellery and make-up, the latter of which was ignored as always by Alice, he figured they looked a bit more… human?
Harry wasn't the brightest when it came to words that worked, that was more Hermione's forte, but something about a ton of make-up made him nervous. Lucretia typically used darker hues like purple and even just regular black that stood out especially well on her paleness. Alice, the girl a good deal more tan and beautiful in the American-coastal girl sort of way, opted to look like herself and only herself.
"You going to admire us for the next half an hour or are we going to get a move on?" Lucretia snarked, her arms folded under her chest and her nose raised at him.
"Oh relax, let him think of us as beautiful, no? It is a compliment that he looks and remains silent," Alice pulled him over to herself then, her arms going to their usual spots while that typical happy, relaxed expression sat on her face. "You look like the perfect gentleman in your robes. I would say the witch you picked that particular one did a very favourable job."
"It was you, huh?" Harry grinned, openly laughing a few seconds later when her hand found its way to his side and began to tickle him.
Alice's expression mirrored his own with bits of giggling escaping. "It was, it was, and I am very good at taking advantage of your natural looks. Beauty is my profession, no? The bird girl may act confident and strut like the ones with feathers always do, but have you ever seen something more beautiful than a fish with all of its colours put on display?"
Harry… wasn't sure how to answer that since he didn't know all that much about fish or birds, but he'd agree with the point he thought she was trying to make. Fleur, she beautiful, obviously, but her personality wasn't half as friendly as Alice's. When it came to such a comparison between them, between anybody really, beauty could only weigh so much while personality and the traits therein were far more important.
"Yeah, great," Lucretia said with a clap of her hands, those very same hands taking hold of one of his and one of Alice's each. "Harry, you'll lead your two beautiful dates to the restaurant you picked now. Otherwise, I'm thinking Alice will talk your ear off and we won't get the chance to eat — an unacceptable worst-case scenario."
Alice snorted, looked over at him, and then nodded towards the door. He smiled back at her, shook his head, and moved to swap places with Lucretia, which earned him a queer look from the older, more assertive girl. She was curious as to what it was that he was doing, but when he made it clearer, she relented, albeit with more reluctance than he figured.
It didn't matter, she still pushed him towards the door with her expectant look and it was his turn to surprise them for a change. All that he hoped now, was that it went well. If it didn't… no, it was best not to think that way.
"You know, this place is usually meant for older couples or romantic partners you're hoping to impress, right? I guess family or very close friends work too, but seriously, this place is expensive, Harry. We should pick somewhere a bit less pricey, you don't need to show off for us," Lucretia said, shocking him and earning a glance even from Alice, the other older girl having looked as if she were on the cusp of saying the very same thing.
He knew they'd be a bit reluctant with his choice of establishment, especially when he went to the place late one night with his cloak to set up the reservation, but he hadn't thought they'd be quite so hesitant. It had some of the best food and it was the least, truly the very least, he could do to show them that he was thankful beyond measure. Sure, maybe a bit of him hoped that one would get the message and move on it since they were older, but that was just the fantasy of a teenage bloke.
"Nah, we'll go here. I've already got our table by the window reserved. Unless you really don't want to, there's no point in wasting the time… right?" He looked to Alice for some level of reassurance since it still felt a bit weird taking the lead in their company and when he saw her nod, he nearly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was close, but it would have definitely been enough cause for teasing from Lucretia.
"Ever the gentleman, Mister Potter," Lucretia said after a good few seconds of silent contemplation, her decision coming when she smirked at him and did a cursory once-over. "Keep going at this rate and I'll have to write home to my mum as well as our family here and I'll have to tell them I've taken a liking to Harry Potter. You'd have a lot of my family coming to meet you then."
Alice's hand softly rubbed at his which was holding it so that she could temporarily steal some of his attention away from the other girl. "You would not have to worry about my family. I have many aunts and uncles, dozens of cousins, half-siblings and full ones. All would like you, but most are too busy with life or their pursuit of a desirable partner that won't shun them."
Harry wanted to scoff and adamantly shake his head at the thought of somebody shunning Alice. It wasn't because of her beauty, of which she lacked for nothing and usually received many a compliment for as well as a hint of nepotism, but who she was at the root of her person. Kind, passionate, sweet — any number of similar words could be used to describe her and so if one person, perhaps a group of them, would see her as unworthy of themselves… well, he figured all the better for his odds of dating her!
It'd be a cheap way, but one he could definitely live with if people were simply too ignorant to give her or those like her, a chance.
Alice smiled, teeth on display at the same time that melodic wind encircled him, louder than usual. She was happy or having a fit when that usually happened, rarely would it be forced as a response to something too, but he was intuitive enough to know that she liked what he thoug- Merlin, she was perceptive and could read him just as well a—
"Harry?" Came the voice of Hermione from behind him and his companions, she was joined by another person or two based on the crunching of snow. He hoped it wasn't Ron, the boy was heavily opinionated when it came to Slytherins so Harry could only imagine what he'd think of two girls from Durmstrang who'd helped train him with 'dark' magic.
"Hey, Hermione," He said, lest his mind delves into the topic of magical classifications for the fiftieth time. "Everything alright?"
"I'm good, thank you. You seem to be getting on well too… I'm glad, and I'm a bit sorry. I was a, a prat, and Ronald's still being one," Hermione eyed the two girls warily, but stepped forward nonetheless, her guard still up based on the way she moved but it was far weaker than was usual in the presence of those who typically despised her. "I hope you both don't think too poorly of me, but I'll understand if you do. Harry's been my friend for years, I should've done better to keep that up on my side. Thank you both for sticking with him and if I could, I'd like to help you."
"Help us?" Lucretia questioned immediately, her tone slightly accusatory and her posture turning vaguely defensive.
Hermione picked up on it and mirrored it, at least near enough with her few steps back. "I read a lot in my spare time," she blurted out, blushing and adding more to that a second or so later. "I mean, I've read many of the books in the Hogwarts library and a lot of the ones you could have access to here. I'm not sure what the next task is, I haven't had the chance or reason to learn about it, but I'd like to help with it if you'd let me."
Do I still trust her?
Harry wasn't sure of the answer to his self-imposed question and it had to be evident by his silence. That silence lingered for second after second, Hermione's face falling all the while until she looked ready to speak, but couldn't — Alice had beaten her to it.
"We would love your help," Alice said simply, charming and sing-songy as she took one tentative step towards the other girl. "Harry spoke highly of you many times when he told us of his past ventures. If you were to join us for lessons from time to time, your insight could be very helpful. You agree, no?"
Hermione would be relaxed, putty-like, just as Lucretia often was when Alice tried that tone and soft persona of hers on her. She had to because Harry knew for a fact that Lucretia's will was stronger than Hermione's and that wasn't the fault of the latter girl. Lucretia had gone through a lot more in her life based on the small snippets he'd gotten and when you added in her last name, well, it was pretty obvious. He wasn't judgemental, but her family name gave it away that she'd seen quite a few interesting things that Hermione would likely never lay eyes on.
Thus, he was entirely caught off guard when Hermione shook her head vehemently and stepped back. "That… what did you just try? It was like… it was like Fleur Delacour and Ronald," Hermione paused and looked over at Harry, an idea visually forming on her face at the same time she moved further away. "I'll see you around, Harry."
That was it. Hermione said those few words after practically staggering away from Alice and he was left in suspense. Why hadn't it worked, what had Alice done wrong and most of all, why had Hermione changed her mind after fighting off what was usually always an incredibly pleasant feeling?
"Losing your touch, gills?" Lucretia snarked, her arms folded as she watched Hermione continue on down the road at a quick pace.
Alice turned to regard Lucretia with a darker look than almost any other he'd seen on her face; she was still beautiful, unsurprisingly. "We can talk about why it works on you later if you would like that. As for Harry's friend, she is not so different then many of the others I have encountered. My only worry is if I have hurt his friendship or the potential of it recovering."
Harry shook his head and motioned towards the door again, the three of them still directly in front of it and blocking the small thing should anybody else hope to use it. "We can worry about that later. This day's for you both as a thank you and believe me, all of my brain-power is going to go towards not dying on the inside thanks to Lucretia's teasing."
Lucretia snorted and came over to him, their height difference more pronounced as she looked down into his eyes with her arms finally by her sides. "I'm glad you're not as comfortable around me as you are with Alice. You only need one softie in your life and my role here is to make sure you try your best at all times, regardless of whatever it is that you're doing — I have to admit, an element of surprise makes everything all the more fun."
I never know if she's going to pat me on the cheek or kiss me on the forehead, well, maybe curse me too. It's never bad, but she definitely enjoys testing how ready I am a little too much, Harry thought, maintaining eye contact and only moving when she brushed against him on her way to the door.
His confidence after that task and the dance with the two girls had grown tenfold, in his opinion.
"I am glad you are my cuddle-bug and not hers. Fish have schools for a reason and you are my whole one while I am here," Alice said, putting both hands on his cheeks and kissing the tip of his nose with her usual gentle, assuring nature. "Thank you again, Harry, for taking us today. You are kind despite your power, I wish all would be like you and see the truth of everything."
"I do too," he said back almost instantly, agreeing with her words with his mind focused on those with whom he'd used to call friends.
Alice stepped back, put her arm around his waist and started them towards the door, their entry was very awkward with how close together they were. "To good food and a wonderful day of rest. You have deserved it for some time."
February 2, 1995
Harry had just finished a lengthy practice with Lucretia whilst Alice continued the search for additional books or spells, this time utilising her ancestry for his benefit. He had told her not to for the first few weeks they'd known it would be underwater, but she'd eventually done so regardless of his wishes with her reason being that she cared for his safety more than his feelings. She was right, he wanted to feel a bit more confident in his own abilities without being beholden to either girl, but it was a bit late for that now, wasn't it?
They were vital parts of his tournament and without them, he wouldn't be half as prepared as he already was. It was stupid and at the same time, there was a small traitorous part of his mind that said they too would eventually turn or abandon him. Everybody would leave him, be it by death or choice, so why shouldn't he begin to get a bit more independent while he could?
That portion of his mind scared him. It was dark, hateful and invasive, especially during his more restless nights. Alice's presence would scare it away, soothe it perhaps, but the effects would never last in perpetuity. They'd only gotten stronger as he continued his life.
"Taking a bath or do you have some special errand to run?" Lucretia asked at the same time she poked his side, tickling him as a side-effect of such a touch.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked back at her, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair to get some of the sweat that'd built up in it dealt with.
Lucretia snorted. "Come on, do you really think you can get any of your shite by me? My family lies in every sentence with much of it being a game that we play, it'll take more than your half-arsed attempt while you purposefully avoid eye contact to trick me," she elbowed him lightly then, drawing his attention visually now. "You don't have to tell me what it is if you really don't want to, I was just curious. It looked like it troubles you, whatever it was that you were thinking about."
Harry scrunched up his lips and pushed them to the side of his face. "It does trouble me. You said that Cedric only recently found out, Krum's known for a good long while but what about Fleur? As far as we know, she doesn't know what this next task is. I said I'd give her a month of time, but I haven't done that."
"We haven't. It's your choice, but we could've done so too. Don't feel like you have to think you're the only one who'd bear some form of responsibility if something happened to the Frenchie," Lucretia said, one of her hands grabbing hold of his for all of a second before she snapped it away. "Your hand is sweaty and to be honest, I'm not all that fond of affectionate touching. We both know you'll fall asleep against me tonight while Alice does more of her reading anyhow."
He grinned and didn't say anything to contradict her, but after a few seconds, his face fell back to where it'd previously been. "Should I tell her? What would you do if you were in my shoes?"
Lucretia took in a deep breath and slowed their walking pace. "If I were you, I'd wait until there were two weeks, maybe three. We have to understand that Delacour is a Veela — a fire creature — and that water type stuff isn't exactly her forte, much less something she'll naturally feel comfortable in."
Harry's eyes widened at the same time he realised he was an idiot. They'd seldom gone over Veela's and he'd learned a near paragraph about them from Hermione when first the girl had come to Hogwarts on her carriage, but he hadn't exactly done a deep-dive on Veela lore. At the risk of sounding willfully ignorant, he didn't care all that much about her heritage. He cared about her actions, her personality and her safety, but not where she came from.
"I'll tell her whenever I see her then. I wouldn't want… you know, I wouldn't want anything to happen to her and if she's not going to do good in the water in the first place, I want to help. She's in last place anyway, it won't make that big of a difference how she does unless I fail horribly, right?" Harry nodded as if he was answering his own question. "Yeah, Yeah I think I'll help her. It's the right thing to do and she'll warm up a bit to me, maybe even help out in the next task if I bail her out."
Lucretia grinned at him, her look more vicious than he usually saw despite her colourful personality and perfect way with soft, friendly words. "Now you're thinking as you should, Harry. There's always a price even if it isn't readily visible. Mine is your company, your friendship. It goes against what most would think of me and makes my life easier while giving me a friend that truly is the definition of the word."
There wasn't much to say to that revelation and think deeply as he usually did, he couldn't find it within him to care. She got a friend out of his company and he could say the same, he was certain that it made her life easier like she said too, at least with the people outside of Hogwarts and in the adult world. Adult wizards and witches, they had to be brighter and less judgemental… he hoped.
"I'm going to take a quick detour to the carriage and path that we've seen her on. If I run into her or one of her friends, I'll get the message out. If she knows already, then I won't feel bad and if not, we'll have a new friend — thank you, Lucretia," Harry smiled at the older girl and brushed her hand with his, not yet ready to commit to physical contact with the more volatile of the two, especially when her blood was still pumping from their mock fight no more than ten minutes earlier.
In response to his thanks, Lucretia raised an eyebrow and swiped at him with one of her arms towards the path that he mentioned. "You're welcome, now get a move on. I'll expect you back in our usual room, clean and dressed appropriately within the next half an hour. Our lessons wait for nobody."
He gave one last smile to the older girl and tore off in the direction of where he hoped Fleur would be. Undoubtedly the conversation would be awkward and perhaps even a bit tough on account of Fleur's attitude and arrogance, but he would work around that so long as she didn't outright attack him.
Harry very much doubted she would do so, but the many boys that followed her around were a different case so far as he was concerned.
The Beauxbaton Carriage had proved useless. Fleur was not inside nor was she loitering nearby, neither of the two girls he typically saw in her company were visible either, though he didn't know their names to ask if they were in the carriage. If he had, that would have made things a bit too easy he reckoned. Life was meant to be hard and with a maniac dark lord after you, at least that was his lot in life.
As for the trail that she would often take on account of its beauty and the vicinity of her temporary home, that too was empty of the older girl or her two friends. When he failed to find her there, he took more drastic measures and ran up to Hogwarts for a peek in the Great Hall, one that wouldn't expose him to the hundreds of glances he'd receive if he just sauntered in on his lonesome; Hermione would all but attack him if she saw that his typical two companions were absent.
Fleur, unfortunately, was not inside the Great Hall either, and thus there he was, headed back on the very same trail for one last glance before he continued further down it for the Durmstrang ship. He would probably be cutting it close, which meant Lucretia would poke or tease him while Alice took his side as she naturally did… he was a lucky lad now that he'd come to understand them both as well as any bloke could understand a witch.
Lucretia used to be deadly scary, especially when I first met her and overheard that conversation about be favouring Alice. I thought she'd use potions on me, maybe fiddle with my mind, but that wasn't the case now was it?
Harry grinned as he tutted at himself whilst walking along that path. He had bought into all of the anti-Pureblood propaganda that he'd heard people spew. No one group of people as broad as that could be lumped together. He'd learned that you had to take people one person at a time and that lesson would stick with him for a very long time.
"C'est tres bien!"
Harry heard, the French instinctively making him think of Alice and her soft Swiss accent until he came around the bend to see the owner of the voice. It was a girl from Fleur's school, pretty as they all were and speaking with two others that he didn't recognise. They were laughing, gesturing around and smiling as wide as Alice always would.
"Uh, excuze-mwah?" Harry tried, cringing at his French attempt, especially when the girls all turned towards him with various expressions of amusement and offence on their faces.
"We can speak your language, English boy," One of them, Fleur's typical companion, said as she eyed him up and down. "You are without your guards. Did they trust you to come back to them?"
He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly and stopped moving towards them. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, a protectiveness towards Alice and Lucretia's reputations forming in him stronger than he'd realised.
Fleur's friend furrowed her brows and raised one hand. "No no," she said, shaking her head. "Not offence meant, no. The two girls, if we were them you would not leave us. You are wantable… what do you want from us?"
Fleur's friend had paused when she said 'wantable', a light blush on her cheeks before she cocked her head at him curiously and asked her question. He was caught off guard and eased himself down from the tension that'd begun to rise. She hadn't meant to be rude and so he'd allow her, he chalked it up to bad English, not that he could complain since he didn't speak a lick of French.
"Fleur. I have something for her, something that can help her with the next task and I haven't been able to find her. I was hoping you could help me out with that?" Harry looked over the three girls' shoulders and further down the path, hoping Fleur would pop into existence; she didn't.
"I can bring you to Fleur. She is in her bath, cleaning — you would have to wait, yes?" Fleur's friend took a few steps towards him and formed a loop at her side with her arm, her eyes darting to him and back to the hole she'd just made at her side. "Come, please."
Harry swallowed down all the nervousness that your typical teenage boy would have at the prospect of contact with a pretty girl in front of her friends and did as she requested. Not more than two minutes later, he was waiting in a beautiful common room that all of the French students saw every day. It was far warmer, far more ornate and definitely a lot more pleasant smelling than Durmstrang or Hogwarts both.
In other words, it was typical French stuff that you'd see in Muggle films.
His wait hadn't been all that long either, though the company had been a bit lacking. As it turned out, their grasp of English made it hard to hold conversations that didn't revolve around basic 'you' or 'me', places and the like. Quidditch, what their homes were like, how they were doing, all of it seemed a lot harder to discuss.
He thanked Merlin when Fleur came out, her nose held high and eyes sharp as ever.
"You wanted to see me, 'Arry?" Fleur asked him, hands on her hips and hair dry as ever for somebody who'd only just left a bath.
"Yeah," he said, standing up and brushing at himself as he did so. "I, you — it's about the task."
He felt intimidated speaking with her about something so secretive whilst in a group of nearly half a dozen people. Her beauty was a factor too, but thanks to Alice, pretty looks and the subtle beckoning of something directed towards his mind weren't that hard to get around. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Fleur's aura that made all the other blokes stupid just seemed to make him a bit sleepy and ever so slightly more wishful of Alice and Lucretia's presence both.
"Come, we will go to my room," Fleur said after a few seconds of looking at him with a curious, unreadable expression on her face.
Well, that's that sorted then, isn't it? Harry thought as he very quickly moved to follow after the older girl, thankful that all of the others would stay behind. Their teasing looks, the little wave that the one he spoke with gave to him, it was all entirely suspicious. He wasn't at the point of regret quite yet, but it was certainly a close thing.
"You are not alert for somebody in a place so unfamiliar," Fleur said from in-front of him, her eyes peering at him languidly over her shoulder. "Is it not nerve causing, being near me with no others around?"
Harry swallowed and shook his head, maintaining eye contact with the older girl. In his mind, if he could face down Lucretia in their earlier days, when she was far more abbrasive and intimidating, the thinner, smaller French girl wasn't worse. Fleur was only intimidating in her beauty while he didn't doubt Lucretia would trounce her in a fight.
"Not really," he said when Fleur raised an eyebrow, expecting more of a response and sniffing at him once with how small his was.
"You are curious — most boys would have fallen to my feet or been unable to speak, but you are very different, non?" Fleur gestured to a nearby door and stood beside it after opening it. "I will let you go first, a boy not nervous around me is cause for concern, especially one as pretty and storied as you~."
Fleur's final word was practically sung, such was the tone she used and the beauty of her accent. It sounded a bit more forced and her grasp of English seemed better than he had recalled when first he heard her speak, but he reckoned she did something similar to Alice; if you used a heavier accent in public, enough of one that it made conversations harder, not too many people would be apt to approach you, right?
I reckon that's the case, but I'm going to stay on my guard. Alice told me how her family uses their beauty against people and Fleur could be doing the same.
"Do you really think it's cause for concern, or are you just teasing me?" Harry asked, forcing all of his confidence to the forefront of his body as he slowly approached the door. "I thought I was too young?"
He made sure to grin when he asked his second question so that she didn't think he was being confrontational. The last thing he needed was her thinking he was getting too smart or even vaguely rude while he was this deep in their carriage, surrounded by people that probably didn't like him all that much for multiple reasons — it was okay too, the frogs were mortal enemies and sometimes good friends that knew their cheeses.
"I was stupid," Fleur said, blinking at him and cocking her head. "I tease, too. I do not know your quality of person aside from the company you are currently keeping, no? What should I think of you with Durmstrang girls always around you, one of them an opposite and historical competitor?"
"Competitor?" Harry asked as he finally entered and stopped right inside, close enough to the door to put his foot in it if he needed to.
"It is 'istoire that is not necessary. You are here in my room now, you will tell me why you came and I will see if the reason is important. Others will spread word of this, you know that, yes? They will say we help each other and the other champions, perhaps they will do the same." Fleur closed the door and stepped in, stopping right beside him whilst remaining close enough that one step would have them practically right against each other. "Tell me."
This time when she spoke, her voice was more forcefully sweet and deeper. It was like she'd changed personalities now that they were alone, her posture seemed all the more confident and he felt that tingle in his mind like earlier, only a good deal stronger. Alice's was softer, more fluid… which he supposed made sense for a fish. Fleur's, on the other hand, felt more forceful and less uplifting, it was like a fog came over his mind that forced him to see how beautiful she was.
He'd give it to her too, with or without her allure that Alice had made mention of, Fleur really was gorgeous. Alice and Lucretia were still better though, and that was the thought he had when he shook his head.
"Can you stop trying to do that?" He asked, blinking at Fleur as he rubbed at his eyes.
Fleur cocked her head at him and stayed rooted where she was. "You take no affect from it?"
"You've made me go a bit brain dizzy but I don't think that's what you were after," Harry answered dryly, more wary of Fleur and nearly at the point where he'd leave without sharing anything. "Are you going to try it again, or can I just say why I came here and leave? We didn't need to come here in this room either, I could've just told you in the main room."
"Non, that would not work. I do not need the others thinking you must help if I am to get out of my current position. It would be a… a… what is the fraze — slap in your face, ouais?" Fleur shook her head, nose raised and eyes staring into his. "I will not try again and you will say why you came. That works for both of us well enough, I think."
Harry rolled his tongue around his upper lip, mulling over her words before ultimately shaking his head. "I'll tell you this, but you need to keep it a secret and you won't use it against me," he nearly added more, but he stopped himself short. He wanted her to know she owed him and that he could call that in later. "Deal?"
He hoped it worked.