Harry was in a surprising glee an understatement, he was ecstatic as tomorrow he has a date with Fleur.
He was still replaying the moment he asked her out in his mind. He didn't know what came over him at that moment, he was utterly shocked and next second horrified dreading her answer. He asked Fleur Delacour out on a date! It was a fact he couldn't get over and even surprising was she said Yes!
Ever since he could remember he never liked anyone touching him he was always too afraid and flinched every time some did, all thanks to his life with Dursley's. The impact made him a very closed-up and introverted person. He never was one to be forthcoming about his feelings and even less about how much wanted something he was never once selfish but all of that was hidden behind the mask of indifference, he perfected it at a very young age living with his relatives. He always had his guard up as he didn't want to give his tormentor's sadistic pleasure by showing them how in pain he was.
He faced everything head on putting a brave front while crying in the lonely darkness of his cupboard.
The only people to ever penetrate that facade of bravery till this day were Hermione and Fleur. Hermione cause he shared multiple life and death situations over the last three years of his schooling. Their bond was more than friendship but not in a romantic way, No. She was his sister and he would give or take any life to protect her.
While Fleur was still a mystery to him! How was able she to see through his mask? It was like he was transparent to her! Asking him the very questions he was trying to avoid, he knew one thing if Hermione was someone he could trust with his life then Fleur was someone to who he wanted to trust with his heart to.
So after 4 days of steeling himself, he decided to trust Fleur with everything he held in till now. He planned to tell her everything from his relatives to his run-ins with Voldemort, he was not particularly keen about that part but was determined nonetheless.
The main reason for this decision of his was he always knew that he was moving with a Hogwarts-sized target on his back and he refused to make anyone target by being in a relationship.
That was until he saw two 2 women he was attracted towards, one was a crush and the other was Fleur. She was special to him cause until he met her at World Cup, he never felt things that he felt now. He was uncertain of everything in his future but one thing he wanted to be sure of was he wasn't going to live a life of regret.
And this decision of him was the part of the resolve.
He only wanted for once in his life for someone to love him more than just a friend and for him that one person was Fleur. Tomorrow was the day he will ask her if she felt the same as him after laying his heart bare in front of her.
With that determination, he slept with trepidation of what is to come in the morning
Beauxbatons Carriage: Fleur's Room
'Too soon! Too soon! Too soon!'
'It happened sooner than expected, much sooner! No, No, I wanted Harry to ask me out but not now in fact much much later like around Yule Ball and not in short few days of me arriving! I am not sure neither am I ready!'
All these thoughts were swirling in her mind as she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling about what she was going to do when Harry asked her if she loves him tomorrow. She wasn't sure but she didn't, didn't love him either. Her emotions were wrecked and she was nowhere near finding answers.
Taking a deep breath she cleared her mind sitting straight up thinking 'Okay let's take it one at a time'
'Do I feel attracted towards him? Yes I do Oh I love those Emerald eyes of his and his messy black hair, hee-hee I love when he gets irritated when I ruffle them, he looks so adorable when he pouts which he denies he does but that only makes him much cuter' a smile formed on her face
'Do I desire him? Merlin Yes! From the moment he held me in those big strong arms of his when I returned. I remember my veela side going wild at that moment, I wanted to rip his clothes in front of everyone in the great hall to snog and ride him right there on the table. It didn't make it easy when he groped my bosoms albeit unintentionally, it only intensified her fantasies. Oh, how I controlled my veela side which was screaming to pull him in the corner to snog him senseless and much more. Oh, I don't only desire him I carve him!' She felt heat rising as she thought about what she would do to him.
Shaking her head out of her lewd thought she refocused herself continuing
'Do I trust him?' she snorted thinking 'That's a rhetorical question! He is always around me but he was immune to my veela allure. Even when there was an opportunity for him to take advantage of me he never does instead he becomes flustered, unlike his red-haired ex-friend who drools in her presence' she had an expression of disgust.
'So what is the issue? Is it because he is younger than me? No, it's not that much of an age gap and in our world age is not a matter of concern when it comes to relationships.
'Is it cause he was not forthcoming in his emotions towards me? No that's not it cause she was not either'
That's when her eyes widened as she struck the heart of her internal conflict.
She was afraid!
She was afraid of him abandoning her after hearing people's taunts and jibes on how she was a creature. Society was not accepting of veela or any other half-breed magical.
In the veela culture, it was well known that a veela can only find one mate in her lifetime, if she was accepted then she would be able to live happily with her mate. But in the case that she was rejected by the chosen mate she would… Die!
Veela's were beings of pure magic they need magic to live. Their magic is bound by their emotions just like every magical in the world. But what makes them different is for them is much more. Veela had allure which was a curse and blessing rolled into one.
Veela's were women of extreme beauty which naturally attracted men it was only amplified by allure it was the curse but the blessing of the allure was that it helps a veela to find her mate.
It was such because when a veela loves a man their magic forms a Veela bond, born purely out of the love between them. A Veela who finds her mate is the happiest one and also one in the most dangerous situation. It was such cause if a man abandoned the veela she would die of heartbreak as her magic and in essence, her life is sapped out of her killing her slowly and painfully.
It didn't help that powerful men in the past used Veela's as slaves only to fulfill their lust. It was the black age of her race as they were hunted and enslaved like animals.
But in the hearts of her heart, she knew Harry was not one of them as he was not a bigot and certainly not a vile man yet she was afraid as the stories of horror told to her by her mother were plaguing her mind.
"Let's see how it goes" she sighed saying before turning in.
Next Morning
Harry woke up and did his workout as usual with anxious energy building inside him, today Dora was busy all day so he had no training session which was not a complete coincidence as they were told by Dora during one of their training sessions. He just asked Fleur afterward and it all lined up easily
Back in the Dorm, he was struck with by an idea as he called "Dobby!" with a pop the most energetic house-elf appeared "Great Harry Potter sir called Dobby, what can Dobby do for Great Harry Potter sir?"
Harry shook his head "Yes Dobby but can you please just call me Harry and drop the 'great', sir fine but not 'great" ok?"
Dobby looked at him for a second "Okay as you wish Harry Potter, sir, Dobby will call you Harry Potter sir and not Great Harry Potter sir"
Harry smiled saying "Thank you Dobby I would like to ask you if you could bring food to Shrieking shack today at lunch?"
Dobby smiled "Yes sir Dobby can bring food to screamy place If sir wants Dobby to bring it"
Harry beamed at him "Excellent! Thank you, Dobby"
Dobby shook his head exclaiming "Harry Potter sir is too kind to thank Dobby" and with a snap of his fingers Elf disappeared
Harry pulled out his best muggle outfit which was…..decent for lack of words but it was the best he had. Getting ready and walking toward the common room, he saw Hermione who was chatting with Ginny only to turn to him. Former gave him a knowing look with a smirk while latter glared at him.
Not paying attention to glare and flashing a smile at his best friend he turned heading out of the common room. Making his way to the entrance hall he was surprised to see Fleur waiting for him. His breath hitched seeing just how beautiful she looked. There she was standing waiting for him wearing a wear a green knitted top with high waist black jeans which was snuck at her backside, he took a moment to remember this moment and her look before moving towards her
"Bonjour Fleur" greeting her nervously as he felt more self-conscious seeing how well dressed she was.
"Bonjour 'Arry" Fleur turned greeting her date before wincing slightly taking his outfit in from a somewhat clean oversized gray shirt with jeans. Harry caught this but didn't mention anything about it he simply smiled saying "Let's get to our date shall we or we will miss the carriage" extending his hand for her to take. He was taken a little back seeing Fleur hesitate even if it was for a second. Both made a short trip to carriages.
The whole journey was quiet none of them uttering a word and as they reached the town Harry helped Fleur get off and they started to explore the town
Harry quickly found that Fleur had a sweet tooth that was the size of Basilisk fang he was bitten by if not bigger cause they spent almost an hour in Honey Dukes as she bought every candy in the store from Lemon drops to Blood-Pops, once she was done they headed to zonks just to see as she was intrigued by the joke shop after 15 minutes in the shop she has a wicked grin as if she was planning something and that scared Harry
"So where to next 'Arry?" Fleur asked as so far enjoying her first date ever as it was obvious by the smile she had on her face.
Harry looked at her saying as his expression turned from one of joy to determination "Now Fleur I want to show you a place and then I want to tell you somethings" hearing this her smile flattened but she nodded as she wanted to hear what he had to say to her thinking it would clear all her doubts.
Harry dragged her out of the Town onto the off-road path as they came near an old looking house Fleur looked at him questioningly, Harry took a deep breath pointing at the old worn down house saying "That Fleur is the most haunted place in Europe, the Shrieking Shack"
Fleur's eyes widened and looked at him in horror "What are we doing 'ere 'Arry? If this is a joke eet is not a good one"
Chuckled at her shaking his head he said "No Fleur I brought you here cause it being haunted is a Myth. It was used by my Honorary Uncle Remus Lupin who is a werewolf for his transformations when he was at school, the noises led local people to believe it was haunted, its perfectly safe no danger what so ever"
Fleur was still reluctant about it so she asked "Okay but why are we here?"
Looking in her eyes he said "We are here because I want to tell you some things and this is the second closest place to me after Castle, so what better place than this"
Seeing her still somewhat reluctant he brought her hand up "Do you trust me Fleur that I will never harm you?" the answer was instant as she gave him a nod.
"Then come with me and let me show how much I trust you" saying so he led her towards the old house.
Fleur noticed hope in his eyes and equal fear that she would crush his hurt due to her fear. It broke seeing him like this but she couldn't help her fear was too great at this moment.
Entering into the shack she noticed various marks of battle and claw marks proving that he is saying the truth. They headed upstairs where there was a dusty old couch turning to her he nervously asked her "Fleur could you clean this so we can sit?" only making her chuckle as cast cleaning charm to make the couch somewhat clean.
As they both took the seats, the silence was there for a long time it seemed years before she impatiently started " 'Arry…" but was cut off by Harry who started staring into nothingness
"1980 July 31, I was born to my Parents James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans, one year after they were killed by Voldemort killed them and I became the Boy-who-lived" he turned her who was looking questioningly at him saying "I am going to answer anything and everything but please wait as I won't be able to stop once I start and It is really hard for me to start again, Okay?"
At this point, she is eager to know what he wanted to tell her so she nodded for him to continue and so he did "After that my godfather arrived seeing my parent's dead body he was enraged, so he went to find one who betrayed them, Peter Petiegrew as result of that he was framed and sent to Azkaban. I was picked up by Professor Dumbledore who left me at my mother's sisters house where I grew up, my aunt and her husband hated all things magical reason is unknown to me" he paused only to take a deep breath "The earliest memory I remember is when I was 4 years old and I took my cousins to toy to play with which got me a beating from my uncle and I was left without food for 1 week locked into my cupboard that whole time!"
She was expecting him to confess his feelings to her but not this. He was telling her what she knew was hard for him to even remember from the pained expression on his face. Right now at this moment, he is opening up to her and she couldn't comprehend how could anyone treat the savior of the wizarding Britain? No how could anyone treat a child like that?
Then she remembered the alarms that went off multiple times when he flinched when others tried to touch him or come closer to him, only exceptions being his close friends, Hermione and… herself. She was brought out of her stupor by his voice making her pay attention.
"By the time I turned 5, I was made to cook the breakfast for my uncle. Anytime I was late, didn't make it good enough, or spilled some of it, I was beaten. On my 6th birthday as a present I received a broken arm no thanks to my uncle cause according to him freaks don't go to the amusement park" chuckling mirthlessly continuing "it was 4 days before they took me to the hospital that was only cause I wouldn't stop crying from pain, after returning I have beaten again for crying that's when I learned crying is bad" as he said it a single tear fell from his right eye which was seen by Fleur and it broke her heart even more.
"Now it was time for me to go to primary school there I had no friends because every time I tried to make a friend my cousin either scared them or beat them for trying to befriend me as he was told by my uncle 'freaks doesn't need a friend' also I was beaten when I got more marks than him and starved for weeks on the end" his voice was cracking and she was still looking in disbelief while her tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.
"Same cousin had a favorite game of his it was 'Harry Hunting' where I used to run while he and his gang used to chase me catch me and beat me, he was always praised by his father as it was an accomplishment in his eye. By the time I was 8 I was doing every chore of the house from cooking to watering the plants. That's when I started having suicidal thoughts as I wanted to be with my parents more than anything in this world. I always questioned what have I done to them that they hate me so much?" by now Harry to had his tears flow freely and Fleur had taken his hand in hers while sobbing and sniffing
"It was then my cousin's 11th birthday and to celebrate we went to the zoo, I was only taken to keep the facade of them caring for me. There I accidentally let out a python from its holding and trapped my cousin into it. That day I was beaten till unconscious and thrown into my cupboard I was not given food until 3 weeks and I had to make them every meal of the day while doing other chores"
Fleur was a wreck as she was sobbing uncontrollably that's when Harry turned to her "Than at my eleventh birthday I got my Hogwarts letter, I was introduced to the Wizarding world by Hagrid, who came to take me as my relatives didn't want me to attend but they had no say in it and for the first time I was happy in my life" he said his voice trembling and a sad smile on his face which made Fleur hug him tightly but she didn't say a word as they parted
"At train ride from King Cross Station to Hogsmeade I met my First friend Ron Weasley and my sister in all but blood Hermione granger, we were not so close in instant it was after I saved her from Mountain troll with some help from Ron did we become what we are today after that we faced the wraith of Voldemort who was possessing one of the Professors and saved the Philosopher stone which he planned to use and resurrect himself" the nonchalant recounting of his adventure left her, watching him gobsmacked.
"When I returned to my relatives for holidays I kept them at bay by threatening them to use magic at them, it was all okay but I got no letter from my friends which made me sad as I thought that I didn't deserve any friends but as it turned out my mail was intercepted by certain house-elf who didn't want me to return to Hogwarts as according to him I was in danger. So he went out of his way to make sure that I can't get to school as a result my uncle bolted my room and put bars on my window so I couldn't escape. It was thanks to Twins that I was able to attend a school that year. In my second year, I fought basilisk and killed it to save Ron's sister Ginny from memory of young Voldemort whose real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, it was in the chamber which I will show you as I know it is hard to believe me right now" She didn't know what to say she was still processing what he said about him killing a Basilisk
"And that brings us to the Ththirdear when I blew up my uncle's sister like a balloon in a bout of accidental magic in anger as she was insulting my mother. That night I left the house knowing I would be in trouble and staying at Leaky cauldron. After that, I was warned that my godfather was out of Azkaban and was looking for me to kill me which during my year I learned was not true. He was innocent, this is where we and by that I mean, me, my godfather, and Remus who was DADA professor last year captured Petiegrew, proving that my godfather is innocent" he gave a first genuine smile as he said "the day of his trail was happiest as I got one person who I can call my family, back" this brought a smile on her face.
"I know you need some time to digest everything and it's lunchtime so let's eat," he said wiping his tears.
Still processing everything she learned, she absentmindedly asked in confusion "I-I … but 'ow? we can't eat the candies can we?" with an innocent child-like face which told him 'I won't share my candy' it made him snicker a little as he thought she looked adorable like that.
"No we can't can we now, Dobby!"
Dobby appeared with a basket of food "Harry Potter sir Dobby brings food as you asked sir"
Harry nodded taking the basket with a smile saying "Thank you Dobby I want you to meet someone" turning to Fleur introducing "This is my friend Dobby he is the house-elf I told you about" and turning back to Dobby he said "Dobby this is my…this is Fleur"
She flinched as he didn't introduce her as a friend but before she could ask, Dobby cur her saying "It is nice to meet you Harry Potter sir's Miss Flowery you can call Dobby any time if you want anything" before disappearing with pop and leaving in his wake a confused French veela and green-eyed teen with a crimson face.
They ate Lunch in silence as Harry wanted to give her time to digest and process everything he told her. As they finished their food without wasting a second she asked "Why did you tell me all zis 'Arry" looking for the answer in his eyes.
Sighing and taking both of her hands in his hand he said "Fleur I didn't know what love was" she knew what he was going to say it was after all that she was expecting all this time "and I didn't think I ever will ever know. That was until I met you" looking in baby blue eyes of her's continuing "in some corner of my being I felt a spark of something I don't know what it is but one thing I am sure of is that I see my future with you in it or I don't see future at all. I am not yet convinced of what I am feeling but as you can see I am living on borrowed time since after my first birthday and I don't want to die before telling you everything I feel for you" this caused her to breathe hitching in her chest as she braced herself for what was to come her way.
Harry took a deep breath before saying "From the moment I saw you I was in awe of your beautiful sapphire eyes, I was then pleased by the fact that you saw me as me and not The Boy Who Lived, you saw me as Harry. I was terrified that night thinking what happened to you in all the mayhem, I was beyond enraged when I saw those men trying to do what they want to you, I was relieved when I saw you were out of danger, I was sad when I saw that you were not there when I woke up, I was hopeful when I read your letter and that you will come back, I was disappointed when I didn't see you exiting the carriage at first, I was complete when I held you in my arms seeing you after two months, I was ashamed of myself for touching you wrongly, I am angered when people leer at you it makes me want to hide you from the world and its pain, finally I was beyond happy when you agreed to come here with me, so that is all I feel from the moment I saw you till now" this was not what she expected she thought he would simply confess but he told her every feeling he ever had for her and if all can be summarized it was Love at its purest form she was overwhelmed by this barrage of emotions
"I don't know what to ask you except one thing, will you be in my future, will you let me protect and care for you, will you let me make you the happiest you, will you let me" Harry paused and took a deep breath continuing with a slight stammer "L-L-Love you Fleur for as long as I live?" he finished with the look of hope in his eyes
Fleur was perplexed this boy in front of her asked her if he can care for her, protect her make her happiest version of herself and ask her for permission to love her! Permission to love her? Merlin, how am I supposed to say anything to that? How can someone who has been through a life which was hell be so kind and sweet? Her mind denied such possibility she tried to find a hint of deception or lie in his but all she found was a thirst to love and desire to care for her
Receiving no answer Harry simply smiled saying "I know it is a lot to take in you can take as much time as you want to answer I promise I will not ask again and if you say no I will always be your friend" even as he was saying it, he felt pain worst then when he was under Cruciatus curse in his heart
Nodding silently she stood up and taking it as a sign to leave Harry stood up too making their way out of the shack and toward the town. Neither of them uttered a single word and they returned to their respective dorms. Harry slept in anticipation on the other side Fleur was trying to make sense of everything that she learned today and deciding to tell him her answer after the first task is finished.