A/N: Hello people and welcome to a fun, light-hearted fic with Harry, Fleur and friends! Part 10 with still another 10~ on the way!
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Harry blinked as he ran those words through his mind once more… Maybe he was an idiot, or maybe he was just tired after the day they'd had, but it sounded like Fleur had changed her mind regarding the age gap, as she'd called it. He reckoned he'd sit and wait to hear what she had to say instead of guessing, and so he fixed her with a silent look, holding the gaze she sent his way.
When Fleur saw him do as such, an expectant look on his face as he waited for her answer, she felt her smile widen. Any other boy would've been unable to form words at the merest thought of her liking them, but Harry wasn't like other boys — he didn't sit in a puddle of drool, he didn't find himself unable to function, he could touch her… there was so much about him that was better than all others.
"Eet ees as I 'ad said, no?" Fleur's eyes captivated him as she responded. "I 'ad zought us togezzer would be too strange. I am a few years your elder, but I see zat was not a zeeng I needed to worry about."
"Because I saved you?" Harry wasn't sure if that's what caused it, or if… no, no it had to be what caused the shift betwixt them. What else could it be? "That's what changed things?"
Fleur scoffed at the questions. "I am not a prize to be 'ad. Gabby eesn't eizzer," she leaned against him. "If zat were ze case, you would 'ave 'ad us already too, no? You 'ave saved us earlier, and zat was not a deed zat we weel ever forget, but zat ees not why I 'ave wanted you."
Harry swallowed. The conversation had to be the most serious he'd ever had with Fleur, and it was regarding something he hadn't even dared to dream about. "Why then?"
"Why do we like you eef not for you rescuing us when we were damsels?" Fleur laughed, the sound as melodious as ever it'd been. One arm moved around him then, wrapping around his person so that she might pull herself closer still. "Zere are many reasons why we would 'ave you… but I would be lying eef I said zat what you 'ave done for us 'as not 'elped to make us see you as more zan a leetle weezard."
"Little wizard?" Harry hadn't recalled Fleur saying as much to him before.
"You 'ad saved us, but zat was all we'd seen of you early on, no?" Fleur giggled lightly, the sound almost breathy before she righted herself. "Zat was a meestake, but one zat ees settled now — een ze future, I know you now to be capable of being a proper 'usband, and fazzer."
Husband. Father.
Those two words sent a shiver down Harry's spine at the thought of what they implied alone.
"Oh."
Fleur laughed. "Oh," she mimicked, teasing.
A little, awkward — to Harry — silence fell then. One in which he sat beside Fleur, looking at her. After the conversation they'd had, he didn't know what to say, much less what to think. He was going over it all on repeat in his mind when, whilst he was still reeling, she dropped another sentence that nearly saw him lose his mind altogether.
"I 'ave decided," Fleur said that as if it was a revelation, going so far as to nod to herself. "I shall be your mate."
And with nary a word more, she rose from her seat, cast a lingering glance his way over her shoulder, and strutted off to the door that'd see her to Gabby's adjoining room. Fleur hadn't given him so much as a chance to respond to those words of hers before she'd vanished from sight.
When the door she'd gone through closed shut with an audible click, he shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. He felt like he had when first he'd come up and out of the lake. Fleur's words had left him winded, confused; very confused. He reckoned following the comment about husband and father too, that she wasn't implying mate as in friend, but as in the more animalistic meaning.
Hermione would have blushed just as he nearly had on account of the meaning alone.
Harry summoned his bag to him as the start of a headache that Fleur's presence alone had fought off, made its return. As he pushed open the door and made to leave, thoroughly stuck in his thoughts, one more struck him that left him standing still.
Why had Fleur been saying 'we' and 'us' and the like?
Why had she said they liked him?
He thought back to the kiss Gabrielle and Fleur had each given him for all to see back on the docks as they'd been. Suddenly, everything became more confusing than it had already been before, and one sudden realization came to him; he didn't understand witches in the slightest.
The next morning saw Harry rise later in the morning than was usual. That worked out well enough for him, given it was the weekend, meaning food would be served for longer and he'd be missing little, if anything. After the second task too, he thought he deserved a good, long rest.
As he stretched his arms over his head, his muscles feeling rejuvenated, he reckoned a nice, peaceful day sounded good to him. He'd survived, after all. Everybody had. That was as good as it could possibly be even with the failings of the charms placed over the hostages.
The icing on the cake so to say was the fact that he and Fleur had achieved the highest marks for jointly rescuing three of the four hostages on account of Cedric falling prey when he made to follow after Harry and Fleur. Had the other boy joined them, everything would've gone differently.
Harry jumped from out of his bed and wiggled his toes when he felt the softness of the rugs. Birds sang outside as they flew by the tower, a gentle breeze seemed prevalent based on the trees and flags, and the sun was out in force with nary a cloud in sight. Not only was it shaping up to be a good day post-task, it was also later than he'd thought.
And so he rushed off to the showers.
Ten minutes later, washed, dressed and ready for the day, Harry raced down the stairs of the boys' dorms, out of Gryffindor Tower all the way to the Great Hall. He reckoned just about everybody else would be there or thereround, and he did want to eat with Hermione and Ron after everything that had happened the day before; Fleur and Gabrielle too, if they'd be coming up as well.
As he entered the aforementioned space with one hand rubbing at his eyes, he sought out the Gryffindor table without preamble, and it was there that he saw Hermione, Ron, Fleur and Gabrielle. The four were sitting together near the extreme end of the table, the bit that was near to the door and far from the Professors. Based on the food looking depleted as it did, they'd been there for a good bit — Ron had somehow managed to eat without choking to death in the presence of the Delacour girls.
Harry snickered to himself at the teasing thought as he made his way to them. In truth, he was proud that his friend had been able to push down the feelings so many others couldn't.
"Morning," Such was Harry's greeting upon getting close enough to speak.
Fleur reached out a hand once he grew near enough for her to grab, and from there, she pulled him into the empty space beside her. "Good morning, 'Arry," she pressed a kiss to his lips, swift and gentle, and then leaned back as if nothing unusual had happened. "You were late to wake today."
For his part, he nodded, simply agreeing with her words as he blinked to himself. She had just kissed him, right?
"Oh," Hermione's little gasp of surprise and exclamation showed that she'd noticed the kiss.
As for Gabby, who was sitting on Fleur's other side, she giggled — Ron was still content to be tucked away at the far side of the table, quite removed from the Veela whilst eating his fill.
Harry swallowed, moving past the 'good morning' kiss he'd been given. "You feeling alright now 'Mione?" He reckoned he could get the attention away from himself, to the others that'd been taken; he hadn't previously had the chance to speak with them anyhow, so it wasn't like his concern wasn't genuine.
"I'm feeling much better now. Krum was the one that was worst off out of everybody," Hermione looked past him for a moment, towards the Slytherin table where the aforementioned one was likely seated. That look lasted for a second before she shook her head and focused back on Harry. "I don't think I'll ever be volunteering again for anything the Ministry or Hogwarts wants me to."
He snorted. "Can't blame you for that — Gabby? You feeling alright too?"
Gabrielle had to lean forward to get around Fleur's figure that was separating her from Harry, and after doing so, she nodded. Not a second after doing so, her long hair fell forward and made her sputter as she leaned back. "I feel fine, zank you." The words came after a little more sputtering.
"Ron, alright?"
The grunted response was all he'd get by way of an answer as the other boy continued feasting as if it were his last day left to live, just like always. Harry reckoned all the food he packed away was what kept the other boy looking solid as he did; come Quidditch, he'd be right deadly in goal.
Harry set into smalltalk thereafter confirming the others were fine, and as he bantered with the witches, he filled his plate full-up. After yesterday, he reckoned a heaping helping of breakfast, perhaps even two, were just what he needed to get any lingering soreness done away with.
Bacon, sausages, eggs, toast, muffins and just about anything else one could imagine, Harry loaded atop his plate or placed thereby.
The conversation continued, light-hearted and fun on a morning with little that needed doing.
But naturally, something had to occur, and it happened not long after Harry took a bite of raspberry muffin. With a bit of the fruit sticking to his lip, he made to wipe it off with a napkin until he felt a hand turn his chin. The hand was soft, and it moved his face carefully, until it reached the destination Fleur had for it.
With his eyes meeting hers as she too turned, he watched, captivated, as she leaned in and licked the little bit of raspberry from the corner of his mouth. Fleur made a show of nibbling on it for a second's time before she swallowed it and turned her face back to her plate, her lips rising into a smile.
Ron stood up then and said that he had to go fly with Seamus and Dean, and without so much as a chance for anybody else to respond, he rushed off. Harry simply watched in silence as his friend rushed off out the doors whence Harry himself had entered only five or so minutes earlier.
When the other boy was gone altogether, Harry fixed Fleur with a curious look. She'd been acting like a girlfriend since he'd seen her… which was strange, since they hadn't actually agreed on anything. She'd just sort of declared herself his mate and thought that was that.
Merlin, he was even more confused now than he'd been last night. He needed clarifications to be made.
"Fleur?" He tapped her thigh for good measure.
She turned his way, setting down a muffin and licking the crumbs thereof from off her lips. When she caught him looking, she grinned, then raised a brow. "Yes, 'Arry?"
"You know," he looked around, lowering his voice a bit. "I — we never actually agreed to anything."
Fleur's initial response was a look of surprise flashing across her face. In her mind, she hadn't thought that there was so much as a one per cent chance that Harry would turn her down. He'd been enraptured by her beauty before, so she'd assumed he would do the logical thing and simply agree; who else could make for as good a mate as her?
In her mind, the matter was rather cut and dry.
"Zat ees easy to resolve, no?" Fleur clutched a hand of his, interlacing her fingers as her eyes caught his. "I weel do anyzeeng zat you ask of me, eef you but agree — eet would not be so bad to 'ave me as yours. I can guarantee zat."
Harry swallowed.
She seemed more serious than he'd thought — this wasn't at all like when she'd tease him.
"Why don't we talk about that later… we should focus on having a nice breakfast with our fri—"
"Ze matter eesn't settled," Fleur cocked her head at him, her long, golden hair flowing down and down… he swallowed as more words sprang forth from her.
"What?"
Gabrielle giggled into her drink, nearly spilling it down her dress as Fleur spoke again. "You 'ave not agreed yet, 'ow can we move on from ze matter?"
Harry snorted. Fleur was acting… different. It was hard to describe, but this wasn't how she usually was.
"It's not that simple."
"Eet ees very seemple, all you 'ave to do ees say 'yes' or say why you zeenk eet ees a bad zeeng, so zat I can show you 'ow eet ees good eenstead," Fleur said it so matter-of-factly, as if everything was a done deal and he simply needed to agree with her.
But, to Harry, Fleur would be his first girlfriend; she'd already been… well, Gabrielle had already been his first kiss, but Fleur had been his second, and right after her sister. She'd lingered longer too, so in his opinion, they'd both been his first kiss in a different manner of speaking.
Harry shook his head. He was getting distracted. "Anything I want?"
Fleur dipped her head. "Zat ees what I said."
"But that's a bad idea," Harry paused. This would be better to discuss in private. Not at the far-end of the Gryffindor table. There might not be many others nearby, but there were still dozens upon dozens of people in the room with them. All it took was one nosy Lavender-like witch for the castle to hear everything. "And you don't want to talk about this later?"
This time, Fleur shook her head. "Not when eet ees so easy to remedy now, no?"
Harry huffed. She was adamant, he'd give her that. A thought enters his mind then, one he reckoned most blokes would've thought of far earlier, likely the moment Fleur's offer left her mouth. "What if I said strip right now? Don't you see h—"
Before Harry could so much as say the rest of his sentence, Fleur's hands rose to the top of her jacket as she made to shrug that off. He wasn't sure if she was bluffing, teasing him, or truly starting to disrobe, but before it could get serious in any capacity, Hermione interjected from across the table.
"Fleur," the scandalised tone of voice conveyed that Hermione thought it was the lattermost option.
And so if she did, Harry reckoned that might just be the case. Thus, as Hermione let out a breath after having stopped Fleur from continuing, he apologised. He did so quite profusely too, at which point Hermione shook her head and Fleur rose a brow at him.
An awkward — to him — silence fell then, and after nearly thirty seconds passing, he cleared his throat and rose from his seat. "I reckon I need a bit of time to think, yeah?" Harry nodded Fleur's way. "I'll find you for lunch."
Fleur looked as if she wished to speak as he made to go, but Hermione spoke first, and to her, thus preventing her from doing so.
As for Harry, as he made his way away from the trio, his mind a mess, he thought about just how attached Fleur now seemed to be.
But she had to know it wasn't a good idea. There would be so many problems for her, and he wasn't referencing the age gap that seemed to bother her — what bloke didn't want a fit witch a few years older than them, after all?
No, Harry was referencing Voldemort. The man was crazed and demented, and would stop at nothing to harm Harry.
Another problem he oft thought about when he sat near to Fleur, was his inexperience with witches… save for her, Gabby or Hermione.
Merlin.
There was too much to think about.
Harry let out a deep, calming breath.
He'd gone very near to Hagrid's Hut on the walk he'd taken post-breakfast. The walk there had been pleasant and calm, the warmth of the sun above doing much to ease his mind and slow the racing thereof. Hagrid, or rather, conversing with Hagrid would've helped him a good deal too; he, like Dumbledore, seemed to know what to say to fill you with confidence.
Unfortunately for him, the man had been entertaining Madame Maxime from Fleur's school — love was in the air after that Yule-Ball, apparently. Krum, Gabrielle and Hermione — though Krum had shared a dance as well as nothing more than friends by way of the words shared betwixt the two —, Hagrid and Madame Maxime… him and Fleur.
Harry hadn't known until after the fourth task, but it seemed whilst he was away with Fleur and Gabrielle, Hermione had split her time between Ron, Krum and, on occasion, a study group. Hagrid had, likewise, seemed to use much of his spare time to woo Madame Maxime.
With a shake of his head and a thought back to him and Fleur, Harry finished his recollection and pushed back inside the castle. It was just about time for lunch, and during that walk he'd taken, he'd thought a great deal about what he'd say to Fleur.
So naturally with those words on his mind, he reached the entrance to the Great Hall and pushed through, finding her in less than a second given she, Hermione and Gabrielle were very nearly still at where they'd last sat. The trio were discussing something amongst themselves as he neared the table, and so he gave them a little word of greeting to alert them that he'd returned; strangely enough, Ron hadn't.
As she'd done before, Fleur sought him out with a hand which he readily allowed to find purchase in his robes and pull him to the space that she seemed to save beside herself for him alone — the one on her other side was Gabby's. Only Gabby's.
"You 'ave come back," Fleur said with a smile as she scooched a tiny bit closer to him. "Eet ees lunch. Am I correct to assume you 'ave made up your mind?"
Harry took in a breath. He'd prepared for this; the list in his mind was not lost.
"I've sort of made up my mind. You'll just have to hear what I have to say first, yeah?" Harry reckoned she'd give him the utmost attention, and when she straightened her back and folded her hands whilst looking at him, he figured he'd thought right, and so he spoke. "I came up with some reasons why it'd be a bad idea, at least right now."
Fleur opened her mouth, but then she promptly closed it shortly thereafter. It seemed like, after a flicker of doubt, she was content to let him say his piece; she swung one leg over to straddle the bench and look solely at Harry as if to prove how attentive she was being.
He swallowed. With the beauty before him almost willing him to say 'yes' after everything he'd thought about earlier with nought but a smile upon her angelic features, he reckoned his decision had grown harder. "I… I've never dated anybody before — my only experience with witches is with you, Gabby and 'Mione, really."
"Zat ees perfect. I 'ave not 'ad a boyfriend before eezzer," One of Fleur's hands shifted lower, to snag one of his own; she intertwined their fingers and kept them wiggling amidst one another with her perfect smile growing. When Harry looked down at their hands, Fleur gave a pointed look thereat. "Zere 'as been nobody else I could touch save for Gabby. Ze kees we shared was ze only one I've ever 'ad not weez my leetle Gabby, and would you believe she scrunches up 'er nose and tries to push me away when I do so?"
"Oh." Harry should've known that, all things considered — then he blinked and nearly snickered when he registered her latter words; the first she'd said had been a touch too sad for those that followed to immediately make sense to him. Perhaps her confliction simply hadn't sunk in just yet. Not until she'd just gone and said it outright. He was too used to her touch. "So we're both inexperienced, I guess."
Fleur's visage grew more winning, and happy upon hearing such words. "Zat means all zat we weel do would be a feerst for ze ozzer."
He swallowed, clutching at another thought that he reckoned was true in some regard. "You mentioned my age too, didn't you? I'm three years behind you. Won't that be… you know, tough? Weird?"
"Eet ees only a few years, no? What would zey matter een ze future?" Fleur cocked her head at him, a perfectly kept brow arched as she tutted. "Zat excuse was one I 'ave already zought of for very long, yes? Eet ees somezeeng zat grows less and less a problem as each day passes."
Harry supposed it might be a little strange at first, but she was right. A few years was nothing, especially given that Magicals lived a fair deal longer than Muggles and seemed to age a good bit slower than them too — somebody that looked twenty, albeit late in their twenties, could be thirty or even forty.
So that led Harry to one final, important issue. One that he'd saved for last if the other two hadn't convinced Fleur that he was a bad romance prospect. "What about the danger of dating me then?" he looked around, and seeing as nobody seemed to be listening in, he inched forward and got out the rest. "Voldemort's after me, you know that, don't you? I'll be constantly in danger of death, anybody close to me will be too. It wouldn't be safe for you with all that heat trailing me, and that's not even mentioning the wrong sort of attention I always seem to attract even outside of him and his followers."
From Witch Weekly to the Prophet to random issues with the Ministry, he was a magnet of misfortune. At least, that was what it felt like.
"I 'ave known from when we learned of who you are zat trouble comes weez you, but zat 'as not been a problem for Gabby or I yet, 'as eet?" Fleur shook her head before he could answer. "Zat was not a question zat you were meant to answer, seely — eef you are followed by zose who would do Gabby 'arm, or me, or zose seemply zat are as we are, 'ow could I 'ave you go off alone to battle zem? No. You 'ave need of somebody to keep an eye on you when you rush eento battle as ze 'ero. Zat weel be me."
"Bu—"
Fleur shook her head quickly, her long, golden hair snapping about with violence, such was the quickness with which she did so. "Zere ees no point to contend weez zere. Even eef you do not weesh to 'ave me, I would battle zem togezzer weez you and ze ozzers. People like zem 'ave to be put away, or put to rest."
Merlin.
He was surprised with how vehement she was regarding every point he'd made. Maybe he'd thought her counter-arguments — if she'd even have any — would be half-baked and lazy, but Fleur had most definitely proved that wrong. If anything, she'd proved even more a companion worth having with her final words.
Harry shook his head as a fond smile began to appear. Their little discussion, debate… whatever one might call it, had certainly enlightened him enough to reach a decision he reckoned they'd both like.
"Fine."
"Fine?" Fleur almost seemed confused.
He huffed. Now that he'd given in and seen things from her perspective, it was only natural she would tease him; he doubted the confusion would be anything but a jest.
"I like you," he nearly felt the need to look away from her, but given everything the pair had done together, admitting the feelings to her face didn't seem that embarrassing. That wasn't to say it didn't make certain feelings pool in his stomach, it most certainly did, but they were manageable. "I figure you already know that though, huh?"
"Eet ees good to 'ear you say eet." Fleur shifted a smidge closer still, the space between them upon that Gryffindor bench shrinking again. It was almost small enough for her to rest her head atop his shoulder.
That made him feel a bit warm, and the closeness seemed to tickle him too. He was almost content to sit in silence before her, but Harry focused, the smell of her perfume and the beautiful, deep blue of her eyes that so nearly stole him away, pushed back. "If you like me to—"
"Eef?"
He huffed at her interruption, at which point Fleur raised her hands with a mischievous, almost relieved smile on her face.
Harry continued after narrowing his eyes at her in faux suspicion. "I wanna give us a try."
Fleur's answer?
A kiss on the lips, as she'd done before.
Fl— no, his girlfriend, had kissed him again.
He wished for hundreds more.
A few days after the official status of their relationship saw Harry back in the Beauxbatons carriage, and more specifically, back in Fleur's room. The pair were spending time together sans studying for a change, each simply happy to be in the presence of their new girlfriend or boyfriend respectively. Harry had hopped over early in the morn upon her invitation for breakfast near the carriage, atop a bunch so as to watch the sunrise and hear the morning birdsong.
It was far more peaceful than Harry had felt in a very long time, especially when Fleur perched atop his lap and pulled him into as good a hug as could be managed in such a position. Had he not been sitting up so as to keep the both of them upright, he reckoned he could've fallen asleep thanks to the softness and coolness of her.
He heard a rattling then. One that shook him from going over the rather fond memory he'd just made earlier that day. A second or so later, the adjoining door to Gabby's room opened, and she stepped through.
When her eyes found Harry, she giggled and without so much as a second wasted, bound over to where he and Fleur were laying; naturally, from there, she dove betwixt the pair, the giggling growing louder as the bed wiggled from the force of her jump. After it settled, and as he and Fleur were sitting up, she greeted the pair with her voice full of the same giggles since she'd seen them.
"Morning~" it was the most sing-song voice he'd heard coming from her.
Harry returned the 'Morning' and stretched his arms over his head. Were it not for her, he reckoned there was a chance he'd have just found himself taking an accidental nap after such a delicious breakfast.
As for Fleur, she was decidedly less pleased with the interruption… and so she pulled her sister close and started tickling the smaller girl something fierce. There was a rapid exchange in French between the two, one that Harry was hopeless to understand, at least until Gabrielle shot him a pleading look.
"Save me, 'Arry," Gabby pleaded, her giggling louder and constant as Fleur tickled her flanks.
With a shake of his head, slowly, he started towards the sisters. Fleur relented once he drew close enough, and sat back atop her legs, peering at her sister through narrowed eyes. "You 'ave messed up ze order of my sheets."
Gabrielle pouted out her bottom lip as she moved a smidge closer to Harry. "I weel feex zat nest of yours later."
"You better." Fleur folded her arms, but after a few seconds of faux anger at her little sister, she withdrew her wand and checked the time. "We 'ave used two 'ours 'ere. We should go near to zat 'ut you were talking about — ze one Madame Maxime goes to."
"Hagrid's hut," Harry said with a nod before an involuntary shiver ran down his spine. The thought of what his friend and the Headmistress of Beauxbatons got up to therein was far from pleasant. "The wards near there are amongst the safest the boundary can be."
"Ahh, you are going on a date togezzer?" Gabrielle interrupted their planning with her question, one that Fleur very quickly answered.
"We are. Eet would be good to separate ze 'ours we spend een zees room studying from zose we should spend togezzer for fun," Fleur pulled Harry a touch closer, interlocking the fingers of one of their hands each in that fashion she seemed so fascinated with; it was her go-to for contact.
Gabrielle caught Harry's attention with a gesture — she already had Fleur's — and waggled her eyebrows at him. "You should take me on a date too. I am ze same age as you, after all. Eet would not be strange to get lost in a shop of candy or chocolate, no?"
Before Harry could so much as respond, Fleur wrapped her arms around his torso, and pulled him until he was flush against her. The comment from her little sister had been made much to Fleur's annoyance; her little sister wasn't supposed to be the one teasing her, or poking at her.
Maybe Fleur would have to tickle the smaller girl into submission again. The squeaks and giggle-fits were always music to her ears.
Gabrielle took advantage of Fleur's silence and pointed out one more thing for Harry; her hair. She ran her fingers through the long golden hair that matched Fleur's, and brought it up in her hands, pooling it to show off the length thereof. "Eet ees great, no?" she continued raising it with a playful smile"I 'ave let my 'air grow as much as eet 'as wanted to — I zeenk eet reaches my bottom now. Eet's ze longest I 'ave ever 'ad eet."
Harry blinked at Gabrielle's comment. It almost sounded like she was making a point to something he'd said earlier to Fleur… as he felt the latter girl's hands tighten around him. He wondered, confused in her grasp as he was, if Fleur had shared that with her little sister.
If so, that begged the question; why?
Nearly a week later, Harry was milling about upon the grounds of Hogwarts after spending an afternoon with Ron, Seamus and Dean on the pitch when he was found by Fleur. Without so much as a word of greeting, she'd ran to him, grabbing hold of his hand as she pulled him towards the Beauxbatons carriage; the serious expression she wore and the lack of words added thereto worried him immediately.
Enough so that he too avoided any words of greetings and spoke straight to the point. "What's wrong?" he knew something had to be.
Fleur's pace — and his own as a result of her hold of him — quickened as soon as the question came free from the confines of his mouth. He thought that was all that'd happen too, until she took in a breath and responded, all the while looking around to ensure no others heard what she'd say next. "Gabby," the pause made his heart drop, but when she continued, it was little better. "She 'as awakened ze same curse zat I 'ave."
Harry took a second, but he understood what she meant soon enough; Gabrielle had awakened ice powers of her own. With how badly Fleur had spoken of it in the time he'd come to know her, he could only imagine how she or Gabby felt towards this revelation.
"Is she in her room? Yours?" Harry imagined it was one or the other.
"Mine. 'Ermione 'ad come to spend a beet of time weez us and exchange books, but when Gabby woke from a nap, she 'ad found zat she felt deeferent. 'Ermione nearly touched 'er, unteel she felt ze cold," Fleur's nose wrinkled at the thought of what could've happened had Hermione actually touched her sister; even if the ice powers weren't as strong yet given how new they were, it wouldn't have been pleasant. "Come see 'er? Please? Eet would be good to tell eef you are unaffected by 'er as you are by me."
Even if she wouldn't have thought of a test, Harry would've gone to Gabby to see how she was handling this new emergence of powers; he hoped with Fleur having experienced it, she'd do better than Fleur had in the early days. Harry remembered the stories she'd told him when her powers had first emerged.
"Didn't even have to ask."
Fleur increased their pace one last time, the pair practically running at this point, and thanks to that, they reached the carriage right fast. The clique that oft hung around the front, gossiping in rapidly-spoken French picked up the pace of their speaking upon noticing the pair running, but Harry didn't care. He'd never given them much thought, and the only interactions were those in which he'd ask them to move from the door so he could get to Fleur; he had the feeling it would be them who would leak anything that happened betwixt him and Fleur to the public before all others.
The pair swiftly navigated through the carriage, past the others walking aimlessly in the midst of their own conversations and through a hall till they reached the one which housed the Delacours. Before the pair had even reached Fleur's room therein, she had it opened for them, her wand in hand.
It shut as soon as Harry had squeezed in after Fleur, and as soon as he did so, he found Gabby laying in Fleur's bed and Hermione on a nearby chair, reading; neither seemed nearly as panicked or nervous as Fleur seemed to be… which was good, he figured.
"Hi Gabby, 'Mione," Harry approached the former tentatively, seeing if he felt a noticeable shift in the air. Unlike with Fleur, who, even to him, lowered the temperature a degree or so, there was nothing.
"Hi Harry." Hermione only looked up to greet him, before her eyes returned to the book in her lap.
As for Gabby, her greeting was a wide, toothy smile that struck him as adorable; she pushed down the covers just enough to hold out her hands, and then she beckoned. "Come lay weez me — you're warm," upon seeing Harry's initial quirked brow of confusion, Gabrielle pouted and beckoned him forth, "Don't zeenk I don't know why Fleur always cuddles weez you — she wants to keep zat warmz for 'erself. Zees country ees too cold for 'er not to share eet."
Harry snickered, and as he did so, he caught Fleur's attention by tapping his thumb upon the back of their still held hands. When he saw her eyes were on him, he shook his head subtly as he drew a bit closer to Gabby.
He still felt nothing.
"I don't steal 'ees warmz, he lets me 'ave eet," Fleur sounded smug as she held aloft her nose. "But I suppose I weel allow you to 'ave 'eem for a moment, no? As ze great, generous beeg seester zat I am."
Gabrielle stuck her tongue out at Fleur, but didn't say anything as her hands found purchase in grabbing Harry's arm. From there, she pulled him forth, into her grasp with a giggle, her cheek pressing against his; it felt cooler than he remembered, but he reckoned she could just be cold.
"So warm," Gabrielle said, batting her eyes up at Harry. "I knew I could steel cuddle weez you."
Hermione cleared her throat from beside them. "You have Fleur and Harry."
Gabrielle shot a look past him to the aforementioned Hermione. "Zat ees why I am not as worried as I was when I found out zey had appeared zees morn — I was scared, but I 'ave Fleur and 'Arry, and you," her eyes returned to him for her next words. "Zere ees not a zeeng to be worried about when I 'ave all of you 'ere weez me."
Those words made a fond smile come to Harry's face. Gabrielle was sweet as ever, the ice hadn't soured her mood, and she hadn't seemed worried to him since the moment he'd arrived; she seemed calm as ever; Gabby-like, if he had to liken it to anything.
As for Fleur, well, she came right over to the pair of them and wrapped her arms around the pair, hugging and pulling them both closer to her. Gabby sputtered, but ultimately let Fleur envelop her; Harry did so without the sputtering, more than pleased to let Fleur take him in her arms.
Hermione wasn't forgotten either, even if she couldn't be included in the embrace. Gabrielle wouldn't allow the other witch to be left to the side sans a comment. "You 'ave me as well, no? Eet ees not only I zat 'aves you."
'Has', Harry reckoned Gabrielle had meant, but he liked that too. It went hand-in-hand with the trait 'adorable' he oft attributed to her.
Hermione's reaction was a blush as she raised the book a smidge more, blocking the view of her face as she pointedly tucked into whatever it was that she was reading. Harry hadn't exactly taken the time to take a peek at what that was, and he couldn't exactly twist himself around so as to look with Fleur and Gabby trapping him betwixt them in a group hug.
When the trio finally parted from their hug, and Hermione made mention of taking a break for the loo, Gabrielle sat back on her legs and looked Harry over appraisingly. He wasn't sure exactly why that was, but he recognised the look as one Fleur had given him earlier on.
Fleur seemed to see it too, given the words she spoke. "Yes, Gabby?"
What remained of any doubt, appraisal or worry on her face was completely gone, and her visage shifted to something more playful, as a small smile formed whilst mirth danced behind her eyes. "I 'ave made a choice."
Harry was all ears.
"And what ees zat?" Fleur seemed to have a clue as her hands fell to her lips and her look turned knowing.
Gabrielle grinned. "I weel play ze long game for 'Arry. You 'ave been too aggresseeve een your chase of 'eem. I weel be subtle, and you weel see 'ow eet works."
Harry's reaction was complete and utter befuddlement. He felt like he'd missed something, but Fleur, well, her reaction was very different to his — she seemed annoyed, but then she nodded. "My leetle seester 'as grown up. I zeenk my leetle Gabby ees good, but we weel see, no?" and without anymore words spoken, Fleur flicked down, summoning her wand as Gabrielle squealed and hopped from the bed.
He watched, amused and fascinated, as Gabrielle made to race away from Fleur's underpowered stinging hexes.
As she made it to her door to take cover in her room, she called back to Fleur in as teasing a voice as ever.
"He may 'ave been your feerst kees, but I was 'ees."
And with those words, the door was closed… and Fleur huffed, fixing him with an arched brow. "Anozzer kees," she tapped her lips. "Please?"
Confused as he might be, how could he refuse?
Harry narrowed his eyes, his elbow resting on the table as he glared out at the table before him. It wasn't looking good for him. Ron had already taken half his pieces whilst he'd barely managed two, and now, Ron was in a position to win in two moves… unless Harry could find the way to beat him back and turn the tide of their game.
He knew it was possible, but Chess, be it Wizarding or Muggle, had never exactly been Harry's forte. Checkers or the like was more his speed.
And so he took his turn.
And so he lost. It was his fifth loss in a row, much to Harry's annoyance, and he reckoned with that, he was done. There was no point in further annoying himself by losing time and time against his chess-titan of a friend Ron. Even Fleur and Gabrielle, near as the two were, didn't seem to distract him from the game.
"Hey, 'Mione, you're up," Harry said, nodding to her as he rose from the seat opposite of Ron; he sought out the chair she'd been occupying, until Fleur and Gabby beckoned for him to sit in the space between them.
When he saw that, he changed course right as Hermione plopped down in the chair he'd previously occupied. Immediately, she switched her focus from the tome she'd been reading, to the Chess board — Harry reckoned if anybody could beat Ron, it was her… or Fleur, if the latter could make him wait long enough to wear down his resistance, but he wasn't sure that counted.
Fleur wrapped an arm around him as he slid into the seat, and funnily enough, it was right then as he did so, that Gabby rose up. She looked disgruntled, though she didn't sound annoyed, not like Hermione did. The latter was muttering after losing in less than eight moves as she sought out her former seat, but not before shooting Harry a glare at having summoned her to face Ron in Chess.
Gabrielle and Fleur each tried their luck shortly thereafter, but the result was much the same for them; Ron won. With Gabrielle, the match was over even quicker than Hermione's. She hadn't the experience, liking or time for Wizarding Chess. Fleur, meanwhile, was able to go longer than even Harry had in her bout with him, but in the end, even with the allure striking Ron given the closeness of the two, he prevailed.
Harry found it believable given he'd played Ron through the years, but Fleur, she was completely and utterly shocked, Gabrielle seemed much the same as the former witch spoke up.
"You beat me even weez the allure so close to you," Fleur's words conveyed she couldn't believe it. "Tell me, 'ow were you able to focus?"
Ron's response was a grin as he looked down at the board, his fingers meddling with the pieces. "Gotta focus on Chess, yeah? Can't get distracted by nothing. Not if it means I could lose."
Hermione, Fleur and Gabrielle exchanged looks while Harry simply shrugged.
It made sense to him.