Chapter - 7

"Oh."

She looked very surprised. Her eyes searched his face as if she was looking for any sign of lies and deceit.

Harry stared back at her, looking calm, and readied himself for her response, be it good or bad.

But unexpectedly, she grinned at him moments later. "You're funny. Zhat waz a joke, right?"

"Err..."

"Zhat waz a joke," Fleur gave her conclusion as she looked away from him, still smiling and shaking her head.

"Yeah, it was," said Harry, his heart was beating fast. He decided that it was probably a good idea to play along with her. He wasn't joking, of course. He was simply telling her the truth about what he truly felt about her. "It's-... it's just hypothetical. I just want to know what your reaction will be if I am serious."

She paused to think. "Iz it? Well, if you put it zhat way. You know, papa complained zhe ozher day about me judging every other man against Bill. 'E said it isn't fair. 'E said I'll run zhe risk of being alone for zhe rest of my life if I continue doing zhat," she said, rolling her eyes. "It iz not like I'm worried about dying alone or anyzhing like zhat. I am comfortable at where I am right now."

"So you have been going on dates for the last five or six years," stated Harry.

She nodded. "Mm-hmm. Zhe last two to three years to be exact," she admitted. "I wazn't ready to reenter zhe dating scene before zhat. Unfortunately, none of zhe men I dated deserves a second chance. Zhey're greedy, manipulative and undignified - zhey couldn't wait to see what iz underneath my clothes. Zhey are rubbish, zhose men, and zhey are very shallow. I'm lucky I 'ave Cassy. She never fails to pull me out of tight situations."

Cassandra Cadieux or Cassy was Fleur's closest friend. She and her family were survivors of the war when Voldemort's war spilled into France.

"I wonder in what category I fit in," said Harry.

Fleur chuckled. "I wouldn't know. We never date. We were just, what do you call it, 'anging out as friends. But I zhink you are okay. At least you never talk about how warm and comfortable your bed iz two minutes into our meetings."

"All of them treated you like that? I mean, you made me feel embarrassed with my gender," said Harry.

Fleur laughed at this. Shaking her head, she replied, "Not all of zhem. One or two 'ad potential."

"So why didn't you grant them a second date?" asked Harry.

"Because I don't want to," came the reply.

"That seems unfair," Harry pondered. "I mean, you never know until you try."

Fleur snorted at this. "Now you sounded like Papa."

"He has a point. You can't blame him for being the father he always has been. You're his daughter and his heir after all," Harry reasoned. "He only wanted the best for you and Gabby."

Fleur went silent at this. She then looked away towards a gaggle of geese basking within the soft, afternoon sun at the riverbank nearby.

"I apologize. I don't intend to make you feel uncomfortable. You know what? Let us forget about what is just being said. I'm here because I missed you, not to make you unhappy."

Fleur crossed her hand to her chest. She was still not looking at Harry. Sighing, she said, "At zhe very least, 'e could 'ave understand what I want rather zhan forcing what 'e zhinks iz best for me down my throat."

"Did he ask you?"

"Yes. 'E didn't like my reply."

"I see."

Fleur glanced at Harry who at that time was also looking at the flock of geese. "My father wants zhe best for me and Gabby. What do you want from me, 'Arry Potter?" she asked.

Harry turned to look at Fleur. Apparently surprised at Fleur's question, he replied, "Er,... nothing. I really don't want anything from you, Fleur."

Fleur raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

The sudden change of the tone of her voice was unnerving. She no longer sounded as playful as before. Her smile disappeared from her face and was replaced by a deep frown.

"Yes," Harry replied. For some reason, he felt unsure about his answer.

Unfortunately, for Harry, Fleur seemed to be able to sense his uncertainty at that point.

"Zhere iz no point in 'iding your true intention," she called him out. "I learned a lot about you during zhe course of our friendship, 'Arry. You are a man of your word. You're not zhe kind of person who plays wiz, what should I say, words and sentences. When you speak, you mean every single one of zhem. You also tend to keep quiet about zhings you zhink people shouldn't know about. I know you were confessing your feelings for me. But-." At this point, she looked away once again and couldn't continue.

"Go on," Harry egged her on. He was deeply surprised to hear what Fleur just said.

There was a pause.

Still facing away from him, she continued, "But I don't zhink we are meant to be."

"I see."

"Zhose men's shortcomings weren't zhe only zhing zhat caused me to reject zhem. Zhose dates, I only agreed to zhem just to appease papa. Zhe truth iz, I'm not ready to love anozher and I don't zhink I want to. My 'eart belongs to Bill. 'E will always be my one and only. I do like you, but only as a friend. I cherish our friendship and I truly enjoy your company. I want our friendship to last. I'm just not into you romantically. I just couldn't and I am sorry. You probably wouldn't understand just like zhose men."

Harry however shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. I do understand. Thank you for telling me this, Fleur."

"If you are angry wiz me and if you zhink zhat I 'ave wasted your time, I deeply apologize. I never intended to lead you on like zhis. I lost many of my dearest ones to zhe war and zhat made me want to cling even more to whoever I got left, including you. If you feel cheated and want to end our friendship right away, I understand. It iz my fault and I deserve zhe punishment."

"Now don't you say that," said Harry as he grabbed Fleur's arm and turned her to face him. "There was never any question about you wasting my time. For what it's worth, you made me happy. All the bad memories I had in the past were made insignificant because of you. For the last five years, finishing the job was the only thing that I know of. You showed me that there is more that I could look forward to, that there is more to life than just being an Auror. You rekindled my hope and you helped keep the hope alive. You know, we may not share the same destiny but again for what it's worth, I am very grateful that on my way there, our paths crossed."

She stared at him, once again looking for any sign of lies and deceit. "Do you really mean zhat?"

Harry nodded. "I do and I'm glad that we both can be honest with each other. Before I came here, I told myself that I have to be ready to accept whatever it is you're going to say. I'm glad that it went far better than I expected. Love shouldn't be forced and life is too short to make enemies. Our friendship will last through our lifetime unless you think otherwise. I'm ready to walk the other way if and when that happens."

Fleur raised her eyebrows. Placing her hand on his arm, she said, "Why are you saying zhat? I don't want our friendship to end, 'Arry. I told you zhat. No matter what 'appens, it won't end. Promise me zhat it will never end."

"Okay."

"Say you promise."

"I promise."

"Zhank you."

He gave her the test and she gave him her answer. It wasn't the answer he was looking for but at the very least, her reaction wasn't as bad as he expected. Although she closed the door on him, they remained friends. That was more than he hoped for. The time had come for him to move on. He could only pray that luck would be on his side the very next time. As for Fleur, he did not doubt that she would meet the man who could change her mind soon. He wouldn't worry about her.

Harry and Fleur didn't speak much on their way back to Harry's hotel after dinner. She gave him her customary kiss, this time her lips rested on his cheek a bit longer than usual, right before he disembarked from her car. Standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, he watched silently as Fleur's car disappeared into Grenoble's traffic.

He was supposed to spend another night in Grenoble but back in his hotel room later that night, he received an urgent Patronus from Kingsley requesting him to return to England right away. Fleur was surprised when she learned about it. She immediately called him right after she received his text message.

"You're going back tonight? But why? I waz zhinking of inviting you to lunch before you return to England tomorrow," she said.

"Maybe some other time. Sorry," said Harry as he continued packing his belongings.

"Zhat-... zhat iz highly unexpected. Are you sure zhis izn't about what we talked about earlier today at zhe park?" she asked.

"No, it is not. This has nothing to do with that," he assured her. "Sorry, I have to go. Duty calls. We'll talk later. Bye."

"'Arry, wait! I've been zhinking a lot about what you said. I-... what?!"

But Harry never heard any of those for he disconnected the call right after he said his goodbyes. He then grabbed his luggage and headed out towards the lobby.

For now, only duty matters.

He arrived at the Ministry of Magic establishment at near midnight. Kingsley was waiting for him at the deserted atrium.

"I'm sorry for ending your vacation so abruptly, Harry," said Kingsley as he shook Harry's hand.

But Harry waived off the Minister's apology. "Don't worry about it, Kingsley. I was ready to return early anyway. So what's the emergency?" said Harry. He pulled out his wand and waved it at his luggage. It immediately vanished.

"We have a crisis," said Kingsley as they both made their way into the elevator. "Or rather someone else is having a crisis. I'll let them do the talking."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Them?"

"You'll see."

A group of men was waiting for them inside Kingsley's office. One of them stood up and went to shake Harry's hand.

"Harry, this is Dmitri Nikolayev," said Kingsley. "He is my counterpart from Russia's Ministry of Magic."

"You are very vell known in Russia, Mr. Potter," said Russia's Minister of Magic as he continued to shake Harry's hand. "It is an honor but I must apologize. I vished that our first meeting happens in more favorable circumstances but alas."

"It is perfectly understandable, Minister," said Harry as he let go of Nikolayev's hand. "The circumstance is certainly very unusual." Harry turned to look at the men who accompanied Nikolayev. They all nodded at him. Turning back to the Russian Minister, he said, "What is it that you need our help with? That is I assume that you need our help."

"Let us all take a seat first," Kingsley suddenly interrupted.

Nikolayev voiced his thanks as he sat on the chair nearest to Harry. He then signaled one of his men to hand over a briefcase to him. The man obliged. Nikolayev took a thick brown folder out of the briefcase and handed it over to Harry.

Harry began examining the content of the folder. His eyebrows furrowed as he ran through the documents. He glanced at Nikolayev upon finishing.

"One of the incidents occurred in a village near Zhigulyovsk about three months ago. The latest one happened in a village near Krasnokamsk just four days ago," explained Nikolayev rather grimly. "Very few survive. Ve put every available man on the case. I sent two teams to investigate. Only one Auror returned alive. Unfortunately, he is, vhat should I say, not vell. He is being treated as ve speak. Ve tried to extract information from him. So far ve have no luck."

Harry said nothing. His hand once again dived into the folder, pulled out a picture of a bearded man looking not unlike Tsar Nicholas II, and began examining it.

"Is this him?" Harry asked, showing the picture to Nikolayev.

Nikolayev nodded. "Vladimir Alexander Kruschev. It is the only picture of him that ve have. That picture is already twenty years old. Ve have no idea vhat he looks like nowadays."

Harry put down the picture and leaned against the back of his chair. "Nearly fifteen thousand people died and that just from the attack on those two villages alone. Why haven't we heard about it until now?"

"Ve need to keep the people calm, Mr. Potter. The social stability must be preserved. Russia and her neighboring countries vill fall into deep chaos if this news ever leaks out," said Nikolayev firmly.

"Does it work?"

"I beg your pardon?" said Nikolayev.

"Whatever it is you are doing, something about avoiding social unrest, does it work?" Harry repeated his question.

"Ve are doing vhatever we can," replied Nikolayev rather defiantly.

From Nikolayev's tone, it was clear to Harry that the Russian Minister didn't like his attempt to prod into his Ministry's conduct regarding their current crisis. That could only mean one thing - they failed. He deduced that the only way for them to hide it from the rest of the world was to put a clamp on news coverage. He hated to think what he would find the moment he set foot on Russian soil.

"Yes, of course," he said upon deciding not to stoke the anger of the Minister. "I figure that you manage to bring the situation (Nikolayev was fidgeting at this point) under control. What kind of help do you need from us?"

"Ve need your help to hunt him down. Vhether he is alive or dead in the end von't matter. If you catch him alive, ve'll bring him to justice. If he ends up dead, justice is served. Ve'll let you be the judge and the jury," said Nikolayev.

Harry said nothing at first. He glanced at Khrushchev's portrait lying on the desk beside him. "Many people died," he muttered. Turning back to Nikolayev, he said, "I'll help."

Nikolayev sighed with relief. He smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. You don't know how much this means to us. For your record, Khrushchev sent me a letter a month ago. He varned me about seeking your help. I am putting my men's lives and my own at stake by coming here. Nobody else outside of this room knows that ve are here. I hope that it vould be vorth it," he said.

Harry nodded in understanding. "Then it is imperative that you return to Moscow tonight. They need to see that you're there. I shall follow."

"That vas the plan," said Nikolayev. "Ve shall wait for you at Moscow. Thank you again, Mr. Potter."

"I need to speak to Minister Kingsley before we depart if you don't mind," said Harry.

"Of course. Ve vill wait for you outside," Nikolayev replied.

A short discussion followed after that. Nikolayev and his entourage then made their exit.

Harry watched as the door closed. Turning to Kingsley, he said, "You know, I haven't had a shower tonight."

"You still smell good," Kingsley remarked. "Must be the perfume then."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Perfume?" He proceeded to smell his shirt. "Oh, this is not me. This must be hers," he said, recognizing the smell.

It was Kingsley's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Hers?"

"Forget it. Look, this needs to be in secret. You know why. You won't be seeing me for a while, Kingsley."

Kingsley somehow understood what Harry was planning to do. "For how long are you planning on disappearing?" he asked.

"I wouldn't know, would I? You know what to do," said Harry as they both headed towards the door. But before they let themselves out, Harry turned to Kingsley and said, "Only Hermione. I trust that she'll know what to do."

Kingsley nodded.

At the atrium, Harry, Kingsley, and Nikolayev watched silently as the Russian Aurors disappeared one after another into the green flame. Nikolayev was about to step into the fire when Harry held him back.

"Wait," he said. He stared intently into the green flame.

"Vhat is it, Mr. Potter?" asked Nikolayev, apparently puzzled by Harry's behavior.

Harry didn't answer at first. For some reason, his instinct kicked in. He felt something was happening on the other side of the fireplace but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Harry?" said Kingsley.

Harry whipped out his wand. "Guard the Minister, Kingsley. I'll send a signal once everything is clear," he said.

Without waiting for Kingsley's reply, he stepped into the fire.

After what felt like an eternity, he jumped out of the green flame and landed cleanly on the floor, only to find a wand pointed straight at his face.

"He should not have brought you into this, Mr. Potter."

To be continued...

A/n: Just a very short one this time. For the past few weeks, things have been super hectic on my side. I'm also having trouble accessing a PC, my one and only one is currently being used by my significant other for her job. She had to bring work home and she worked up until midnight for many days now.

This chapter was supposed to represent a major shift in the story. There were huge changes that I made to the draft. I posted this chapter anyway just to ensure the readers that this story isn't dead. I am hoping that I can publish chapter 8 within a week or two.