CHAPTER 14: Our

Hogwarts

Any student would tell you, Monday mornings were the worst. But a Monday after two months of summer, a week of extended holidays and the excitement of the night of champions? Almost every face that made its way in to the Great Hall looked like their pet had died.

Harry had awoken much later than had become the norm. He would have slept in had the Hat not shouted him awake saying it didn't want to spend it's very first day of freedom cooped up inside Harry's workroom. And so, he had painstakingly dragged himself out of the bed and into the small bathroom.

Turns out, being a champion, school, the threat of unbearable pain in duelling by two other champions and a press conference where he had no idea what he was about to say were not his only problems. When Harry had entered the Great Hall, he was besieged by congratulations and questions from fellow Gryffindors asking him where he had been last night. They had apparently thrown a party and the guest of honor did not show.

Cursing that this was going to make his "late-nighters", as Hermione put them, that much harder to get away with, Harry briefly wondered if he should just announce to people he was planning to stay somewhere else this year to focus on the tournament, before tossing the idea out of his head. That would just lead to more questions he didn't want to answer.

Breakfast at least was a cheery affair. He had been surrounded by his schoolmates asking him about his plans. Harry was surprised by how much people's perception of him seemed to have changed overnight. Not only was he a champion, but he was the only one from Hogwarts to be representing the school in all three main tournaments. Most seemed to believe that this put him on par with Krum and Juan. Even some older Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, whom he had never spoken to, abruptly just dropped by to greet him like an old friend. Harry had to admit, all this respect and attention was giving him quite the heady feeling.

His new class timetable had been interesting, to say the least. First and foremost were the new classes that included "Mind Arts" instead of Divination and "Dark Arts, Defense and Duelling" instead of Defense against the Dark Arts. And although it didn't affect him, he was told Arithmancy and Muggle studies had been replaced with subjects from the other schools as well. Oh, and there was the fact that there were going to be three different teachers from each school in every class.

Normally, the average Hogwarts classes consisted of around twenty five students. Most classrooms had the capacity to take twice that without any problems. And that was exactly what had been done. Harry noted that the Gryffindors had all their classes with other houses or students from another school or sometimes even a combination of the two. But no single class seemed to average more than sixty students.

Nothing could stop the smile spreading on his face when Harry saw he had double Care of Magical creatures with Beauxbatons in the afternoon. He hadn't seen either Fleur or Jasmin since being chosen champion.

Harry shovelled down the last of his food and bolted for the Gryffindor tower. He still had to get his bag, the Hat and make a strap for the Hat so he could have it on his person at all time. The Hat had agreed not to disrupt Harry's daily life in return for being able to ride around with him and a future trip to the Veela spa in Tuscany. Harry had no idea what the Hat was planning with veelas in a spa, but it had been worth making the promise just to have something over the Hat.

The first two hours of Transfiguration had been nothing short of a communication disaster. Prof. McGonagall, not one to make alterations in the way she ran her class, was having a hard time including the other two professors' input. She finally settled for hovering around her precious Gryffindors while the other two dealt with the Durmstrang fourth-years. Except for a few curious looks his way, Harry hadn't been approached by any of them, something he was only too happy about. Next to him, Hermione had spent forty minutes to finish her class work and the next hour and twenty minutes fretting about Harry being in the tournament. Ron never even cast a glance in his direction.

It was only at lunch, when he still had not caught sight of them, that Harry started to worry about Fleur and Jasmin. Wondering what he'd do if he didn't find them there, Harry made his way towards Hagrid's. The Beauxbatons students were already standing in front of the half-giant's garden.

Harry didn't know whether it was because of the way their hair moved in the wind, their allure that always seemed to surround them or maybe just because he knew them well, but he recognized Fleur and Jasmin from afar, standing a little way away from the other students.

As he walked towards them, a multitude of thoughts went through Harry's mind. Why hadn't they tried to find him? Had he done something wrong yesterday? Was it because he was champion and Fleur wasn't? Harry was at least hoping to get a congrats and one of her heart-stopping smiles from Jasmin.

Deciding his fellow Gryffindors and the Slytherins who had joined them were moving too slowly for his taste, Harry sped up. The girls had moved forward, Fleur at the back with her arms folded and Jasmin charging ahead.

Harry got his heart-stopping smile alright. Jasmin also followed it up with a tight frontal hug, squealing, "Congrats, Harry. I know how badly you wanted it. I was so happy for you last night." The Beauxbatons students had gone wide-eyed watching the most reserved person in their school throw herself at a boy. Behind them, Hermione just smirked while Malfoy looked like he wanted to punch something. Harry noticed none of this though. His mind had gone blissfully blank as soon as her soft, large mounds had made contact with him.

She pulled away, beaming, and Harry almost wanted to groan at the loss of contact. Sheesh, Harry thought, veelas! Fleur though, hadn't even cracked a smile, but was standing with her hands still folded, almost as if appraising him. Just then, Hagrid walked out of his cabin carrying a crate half his size. As the two girls moved away, Fleur whispered, "I want to talk to you when possible, 'arry."

It took a while. Hagrid had found his new Norbert in what looked like deformed, slimy-looking, shell-less lobsters with legs sticking out and no visible head. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of one of them, propelling them forward.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts! On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid to the class proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project out of it."

Knowing Hagrid, Harry realized nothing good was going to come out of this. He briefly wondered where the other two professors were and if they would save them from Hagrid's new project.

"And why would we want to raise them," Malfoy sneered, from next to Daphne. He had positioned himself as close to the Beauxbatons students as possible too.

"Maybe we can replace you with one of them," Harry muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear, "It would be an improvement all around."

Malfoy's hatred for Harry was as plain as ever in his face, "Fuck you, Potter!"

"That'll be ten points, Malfoy. Keep goin' if yeh wanna make it worse." Ever since Malfoy had tried to get Buckbeak murdered, Hagrid had been more than a little harsh on the Slytherin ponce.

After the students had moved to feed their Skrewts and the class had devolved into chaos, as Care of Magical creatures inevitably did, Harry edged closer to Fleur. She seemed to notice his approach and disengaged herself, handing over the care of her Skrewt to Jasmin.

"Something happened this morning," Fleur said, as soon as they were out of everybody's earshot. "That pig Juan made a scene before breakfast. In front of everyone. About how I was hanging out with "the enemy." A lot of people didn't bother with it but some of the boys started supporting Juan."

She paused, waiting for Harry's reaction. For his part, Harry was trying not to focus on exactly how much he wanted to get his hands on Juan right now. But there was a cold feeling settling over him. Like he knew what was coming. Fleur and Jasmin hadn't tried to see him all day because Fleur hadn't wanted to. And now, she was about to make it abundantly clear and he wasn't sure he could take it.

"It's okay," Harry said quietly, "It's not worth going up against your school for me. I understand."

Fleur just stepped forward and pinched his hand hard. "How do you always jump to the worst conclusion? And don't tell me what you are worth. I'll decide that."

She took another step forward until she was right in front of him. It struck Harry that this was the closest she'd ever been to him. He could smell the flowery scent emanating from her, making him light-headed. Her blue orbs looked like they were trying to reel him in and resistance was the last thing on his mind. "'arry, will you promise to do something for me?"

"Name it."

Fleur placed her hand on Harry's cheek, unconsciously caressing it, eyes still locked deeply, her breath was almost a whisper, "Win."

A loud clearing of throat interrupted them before anything more could be done or said. They turned to see the class watching them, some with their mouths open. Jasmin stood in front, her folded hands and tapping foot showing sternness that was in sharp contrast to her grinning face.

With no small amount of chagrin, they walked back to the rest of the class. Harry thought he saw Hagrid slip him a wink. As they returned to their "project", it struck Harry he hadn't heard the full story.

"Wait, so what happened in the morning? What'd you tell Juan?" he asked Fleur.

She actually started laughing, looking more beautiful for it, "Nothing. I didn't have to. Adri charged in there with a fire I've never seen in her before and told everyone off. She said it was nobody's business who was friends with whom and that this whole tournament is about meeting new people anyway. All the boys just sat there dumbfounded. I don't think a lot of them had ever even seen her talk before and there she was scolding them like their mother."

Fleur gave Harry a grateful look, "You've been a good influence on her. The Jasmin I knew from a month ago would never have done that."

Harry wished he'd stop blushing like a little girl. He couldn't even remember how many times that had been in the last hour.

The rest of the class finished without any kind of incident, provided you didn't count the minor burns suffered by half the class. After promising to meet them at the Beauxbatons tower later, Harry left the girls and headed for the Gryffindor tower with Hermione who had finally been officially introduced. As it turned out, Jasmin and her were opponents in a lot of the academic tournaments coming up. That hadn't stopped them from getting along well, however. Harry briefly wondered what it would be like if opponents in Quidditch were nice to each other too, before tossing that idea in the garbage where it belonged. Sport wouldn't be sport if everyone got along all the time.

Harry pulled at the black string around his neck, that now acted as the strap for the Sorting Hat, and popped it on.

"How are you liking your day out so far, Hat?"

"Kid?"

"Hat?"

"When were you going to tell me that you practically have two Highborne veelas secreting pheromones like mad when they are in your presence?"

"They don... Wait, what?"

"Dull, aren't you?"

"Even Fleur?"

"Especially silver princess. Though big-titties wasn't that far off... So?"

"Ummm..."

"Don't hold back information from me, dingleberry! I'll rape your mind if I have to."

"That's a comforting thought."

"Spill!"

"Spill what? You know what I know about them. More, apparently."

"Not them, nitwit. You! What do you want with them? More importantly, with which one?"

"Ummm..."

"I'm losing my patience! Time to open up your mind like a whore's anus."

"Okay, okay... Fleur was stand-offish at first, but we have a real connection now, I think. I trust her more than I like to admit and even when she's yelling at me, it's like she's expressing...affection. She's like a volcano, you know? Hot and fiery. Passionate. And oh yeah, I'm crazy about her eyes... and lips… Then there's Adri. She's just so soft... and gentle and kind and good and sweet and her smile is just...ooof. I don't think I've ever felt this comfortable with anyone, even though we've only spoken properly for a few hours. She makes me feel like a king whenever I'm with her."

"I'm sorry, at what point did I ask you for your feelings?"

"What the hell else do you wanna know?"

"Which one?"

"Which one what?"

"WHICH ONE ARE YOU GOING AFTER, YOU PILLOCK?"

"I DON'T KNOW!... I don't know...I...like them both."

"And?"

"And I guess...I want to go after both, okay? So what?"

"So, I'm bloody proud of you, that's all."

And that became the norm. The girls would run back to their tower after classes to shower. And later, Harry would pick them up right in front of tower ignoring the death-glares that came his way. He was starting to get used to them now. Almost every boy in Gryffindor tower and most from other houses had come to him with the same questions. Was he dating either of the veela sisters? How had they become friends? How to get either Fleur or Jasmin to date one of them?

The ridiculousness of it all didn't escape Harry either. So much interest on two people who clearly wanted nothing to do with it was just stupid. But then again, natural instincts were a powerful motivator.

Of course, not all the boys were too intimidated or nervous to approach the girls by themselves. The very first day, after Care of Magical creatures, Harry had been walking around the lake with the girls and explaining how the Giant squid and Merpeople co-existed. He had been interrupted by Roger Davis confidently strutting up to Fleur and asking her to Hogsmeade the coming weekend. By the time he was finished though, his eyes had already gone glassy, unable to handle her allure. It wasn't an one off either. The very same day, during dinner, two Durmstrang boys who had plucked up the courage to ask her out, were subjected to the same treatment by Jasmin. The end result of all this was that the number of boys who considered Harry an enemy steadily increased throughout the week.

Harry couldn't have cared less. These were the brightest days of his life so far. Even though classes, training and school kept them busy all day, neither of the girls had missed meeting him in the evening. It was an unspoken agreement now. Finish school. Meet up.

They spent their time the first week, exploring the castle. Well, the girls did. There wasn't a secret in the castle Harry wasn't aware of and the girls would always be in awe of how much he knew about the castle. They had slowly come to realize that he hadn't been joking when he called Hogwarts his home.

Friday evening presented an interesting dilemma to Harry. Hogsmeade had been thrown open to all the students every weekend. While the rest of the school was worried about what to wear and who they might run into at Hogsmeade, Harry trudged towards the Beauxbatons tower wondering whether Jasmin and Fleur wanted to spend as much time with him as he did with them.

They were already waiting for him near the edge of the lake and waved when he was spotted. Harry took a deep breath and charged forward. He'd never really asked anyone out, per se.

Wordlessly, they fell into step with one another, taking the long path around the lake before entering the castle. It was really the only place outside of the Room of Requirements where they could have a proper conversation. Mind still wondering how he was going to approach the task at hand, Harry didn't hear what Jasmin was saying until she pinched his arm.

"Ouch, what?"

"I was asking how you managed to resist the Imperius curse? I didn't know anyone could do it even with training and you did it almost... naturally. Howww?" Jasmin eyes were round and wide, giving him a look that just made him feel like he was the greatest man in the world.

Harry pointed to where his scar was and joked, "Maybe I'm immune to all the Unforgivables. We'll have Fleur attempt the Cruciatus on me later. I know she'll love it."

"Don't tempt me," Fleur scowled good-naturedly before adding, "It really was an impressive display of will power. It actually got me thinking..."

"Go on."

Fleur came to a stop, causing the other two to do the same. She considered her words for a moment, "Well, I've noticed you're completely immune to our passive allure as well. So I was wondering how much of the full allure you could take before breaking."

Harry blurted out without thinking, "Let's find out. Go all out on me."

Fleur laughed her tinkling laugh, "Silly boy. The allure is not a play thing to be tested. As Highborne, our other allure is meant only for finding a mate and actual mating purposes. A male who has been exposed to a full blast of our allure and doesn't get to... mate... will inevitably go mad from longing."

That was news to Harry. They had told him about his lineage and he had pretended to be unaware of it until then. But this was new. It wasn't hard to imagine though. "Makes sense," Harry replied, "Some of the guys here are going mad from longing without you guys using your other allure."

Fleur rolled her eyes, "Weak-willed Chieur. They would never even make it on to the list of mates being considered by a Highborne veela."

"Where on that list do you think I'd be?" Harry asked out of genuine curiousity, more than anything.

At that, Fleur went a brilliant shade of pink and looked away quickly. But before she could say anything, Jasmin had offered earnestly, "Right at the top, Harry. You have a good heart."

It was now Harry's turn to go pink and avoid eye contact. They walked in silence for a bit, replaying what had just been said, each lost in their own thoughts. As they neared the castle entrance, Harry decided now was as good a time as any.

"So, what're your plans for tomorrow?"

Jasmin shrugged, "Study."

"Not going to Hogsmeade?"

"Non, too much trouble."

"There may not be as much trouble if I'm escorting you." Harry hoped it had come off as nonchalant. Jasmin however was eyeing him suspiciously.

"You mean both of us, oui?" she asked.

Of course there was no getting away from a direct question. "Um... Yeah."

"Then it's okay," Jasmin said brightly, "Right, Bell?"

Fleur shook her head, "You two should go," and muttered something inaudible that sounded like "alone time".

"Don't be silly, Bell. Harry is strong enough to protect us both," Jasmin said innocently, tugging at Fleurs clothes, "Let's gooooo. I wanna explore. I know you're getting cooped up too."

Fleur seemed unsure for a moment and looked at Harry, "Is it okay?"

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why she'd feel so unsure about him wanting her around. "Of course," he blurted out honestly, "It wouldn't be the same without you."

Some of his sincerity must have shown on his face because he was rewarded with a radiant smile, "Tomorrow then, 'arry. Are you sure you want to spend your whole day being dragged around by us?"

Harry was about to say there was nothing he'd like better when another thought occurred to him, "Umm... I might have to come back for Quidditch practice a little earlier, but yeah, I'll be free for the most part."

Fleur sighed dramatically. "Well, I suppose we'll have to make good use of Monsieur Potter's precious time." It was a weak joke, but Jasmin still giggled. As they entered the Great Hall, Harry didn't care who saw him skipping with a goofy grin on his face.

Malfoy saw the skip and the goofy grin, and seared. It was all he could do these days from cursing Potter to oblivion. The way the dark-haired veela always hung out with him was repulsive.

That led to another train of thought. Until a week ago, he had no idea there was such a thing as a dark-haired veela. But boy did they look good. He had brief dreams of taking on the wizarding world, flaunting her on his arm. A one of a kind woman for the heir of the Malfoy dynasty. And then, the same thing that always came in his way had intervened. Potter.

Malfoy had written to his father, of course. He had detailed the many benefits of having such a fine woman in the family, despite her... heritage. But his father had stomped on those dreams immediately telling him, in no uncertain terms, that he was to stay away from the veelas. As always, he hadn't told him any of the details but he was given to understand that there was some kind of danger surrounding them that might strike when they were at school. Good, maybe Potter will die doing something stupid like trying to save them.

But then again, Potter had an uncanny knack for surviving, just like a cockroach. He looked down the table where Potter was seated next to the silver-haired veela. As he watched, Jasmin, he had found out her name was, reached out and pinched Potter's arm, who just smirked like it was a daily occurrence. Malfoy felt pain and realized he had clenched his nails on his knees a little too hard. No, he'd have to do something about Potter himself. But the bastard had changed over the years from the kid he'd seen on the train.

There was no shame in recruiting help. It was all fair in love and war and this was both. Two tables away from his, sat the French hick who had been chosen as champion. He was giving Potter a look that said nothing but loathing. He knew the feeling. Yeah... Maybe...

Saturday morning saw a freshly showered, rather hurried Harry Potter stumble out of the bathroom/toilet in the Room of Requirements. He had laid out his attire for the day on the bed and was now looking at it wistfully, hoping he had something a bit more... distinctive. He was looking at a neat green shirt, black jeans and a black coat to match. They fit him just fine, but they wouldn't really make him stand out or anything. He had a plan though.

"Look all you want, kid. It's not the clothes that make a man, it's the body." The Hat sat on its throne above the headboard, surveying Harry with the two pouches that were supposed to be its eyes.

Harry had introduced Jasmin and Fleur to the Sorting hat and they'd both found it funny, of course, but too vulgar to put up with constantly. It was an acquired taste, he told them.

The Hat seemed least bothered and thankfully kept quiet for the most part, at Harry's behest. Most people in the castle didn't even know it was the Sorting Hat he was carrying around, since it had shrunk itself to fit Harry's head and looked like a normal wizards hat. That suited him just fine. This was not the time to be showing off his trump card for the future.

"Seriously?"

"Well, dick-size, really."

"Your pearls of wisdom will last me a lifetime."

"Where're we going today, kid? Tuscany time yet?"

"No, I told you that's not until summer break next year. Now listen, I'm wearing muggle clothes so I'll just look silly with a wizards hat hanging on my back," Harry said, putting everything on but his coat.

"If something is going to make you look silly, it won't be me."

"Be that as it may, I was thinking of transfiguring you into a hoodie attaching you to my coat. It's what we'll have to do when we're out in the muggle world together."

The Hat actually looked taken aback. "When in blazes is this happening? There's so much I haven't seen in their world, you know."

"Let's just say I have a lot of plans, Hat. Now, you good to get transfigured?"

"In for a knut..."

Fleur felt the knot in her chest tighten as she watched Jasmin happily get ready for "their date", as she had started calling it now. Sometimes, just sometimes, her sister made no sense to her whatsoever. And those instances had been steadily on the raise since coming to Hogwarts.

Anyone with any sense would know this was a date. Sure, exploring and hanging out was part of it and all, but given how things had progressed this past week...

"Bell, if you don't start getting ready now, you'll keep Harry waiting on our first date."

Fleur turned to face her sister with an annoyed expression. "There you go, saying it again, Adri. What do you mean our date? Three people cannot go on a date."

Jasmin twirled around, her calf length, beige swing skirt turning with her. It matched her white blouse quite well. Even Fleur couldn't suppress a twinge of jealousy at how well her sister filled out the blouse. "Why not, Bell? Everyone likes everyone, non?"

Fleur just spluttered, "W-what're you talking about? I like you and Harry in very different ways. I-i mean... I like you as a sister and Harry as a friend."

Jasmin pranced towards her, took her hand and drew her away from where she had been sitting. "Then let's go have a good time on our date."

This was one of those times Fleur could make no sense of her sister. Whether she was actually this naïve or if she was just being... frustrating. She sighed. She would've liked to have argued. Or maybe tickled. Yes, that always worked better on Adri anyway. But when all was said and done, she didn't want to keep Harry waiting.

Hogsmeade

Harry watched, what could only be described as two angels, glide towards him. Fleur looked simply stunning in her lavender half-sleeves and matching skirt while Jasmin's similar, but, lighter outfit made her eyes and hair sparkle. He closed his mouth as they neared.

The moment she got close enough, Jasmin took one of his hands in hers and leaned into him, her bosom slightly brushing him, "You look nice, Harry."

"Y-yeah," Harry stuttered out. "You too."

He was sure the Hat would deride him for that lame response later. Fleur paused, seemingly unsure of what to do, then just came and stood at Harry's other side, arms tightly folded.

And so they set off, drawing eyes like moths to a flame. But for once, it didn't really seem to bother any of them. Harry had finished giving them a brief description of Hogsmeade's history and places of interest when they reached it.

Harry noted a lot of new shops that had never been there before, or even when he had last arrived a week ago. The part of Hogsmeade that contained these tiny, makeshift shops reminded him of a fair. All sort of trinkets and souvenirs hung from lines, homemade jewelry, potion ingredients, and the food shops that were already open had Harry's stomach grumbling. They decided to start by having breakfast, true to their theme of not exploring on an empty stomach.

It was still early in the morning and the Three Broomsticks was thankfully without students. Some of the tables were filled with people Harry was sure weren't from Hogsmeade either. In one of those tables, sat Auror Tonks with what seemed to be Auror Shacklebolt.

Heads turned as they made their way to a table at the back of the tavern. Luckily, the adults seemed to have a greater degree of self-control and a little polite staring was as worse as it got.

Jasmin kicked back in her seat, tying up her hair into a long bun so she could eat. It exposed the smooth skin on the side of her neck and Harry had the briefest of desires to kiss her there.

"If you're done gawking at my sister, maybe we can place our order," Fleur said, beckoning to Madam Rosmerta. Jasmin giggled and said, "Yeah, Harry. Stop ignoring Bell." Fleur shot her a sideways glare.

Harry wasn't sure he was the one doing the ignoring. Fleur had barely said a few words the entire time and was now avoiding eye contact. Wondering if it was something he did, did little to help. As if she had heard his innermost thoughts, Fleur suddenly looked up, straight into Harry's eyes, "'arry? Is this a date?"

That caught him so completely off guard, he didn't know what to say. Everything until now, the walks on the lake, the smiles, the little brushes on the arm, all of it had been unspoken. Like they had agreed not to talk about anything and just... be. But now, faced with a direct question that affected everything, Harry was left speechless.

To his surprise, Jasmin interceded, "Non, Harry. It's okay. You don't have to answer that now," and rounded on her sister, speaking rapidly in French. "Bell, will you stop bothering about what everything means and just try to relax? Why can't we have a good day without it having to mean anything?"

"Because it does mean something?" Fleur hissed, "I have no idea what to do here and I want to know exactly what this is."

For the first time since knowing her, Jasmin looked something close to angry. "You want to do this now, Bell? Why couldn't you ha... Oh for Merlin's sake, come with me," she caught hold of Fleur hand and nothing short of dragged her into the girls bathroom with a "We'll be right back, Harry."

When they were gone, ever so casually, Harry popped on his hoodie.

"Hat, what the heck just happened?"

That veelas were fiery was a well-known wizarding fact. What was not well known was that since Highborne veela couldn't transform when emotional, they protected themselves with the only defense mechanism they had- their superior allure. Any man that walked into the Girls bathroom of The Three Broomsticks on that day would have been left a blubbering mess on the floor for quite a while. Possibly women too. Fleur and Jasmin seldom fought in their life, but when they did, the adults in the Delacour mansion knew better than to interfere and would just give them a wide berth until they sorted it out themselves.

Fleur stood with her fist clenched, eyes blazing and her silky smooth hair was almost levitating with a force of its own. "Whyyy?" she asked in a strained voice, "I'm happy for you and all I want is for you two to have a chance with each other."

Jasmin looked equally furious and disheveled, being one of the few who could match both Fleur's allure and temper, if it came down to it. "Really, Bell?" she shot back hotly. "Then why did you come? You could've just excused yourself saying you were sick."

Fleur was actually a little startled, "You want me to leave?"

"NON!" Jasmin screamed, her anger building. "I want you to be honest with yourself. I know you like him."

"I respect him. But that's not the same. Why do you even care?"

She had spoken without thinking. The suddenness with which Jasmin's eyes filled with tears was sobering. As loud as her voice had been moments ago, Jasmin almost asked in a whisper, hair covering her eyes, "How could you say that?

Fleur, almost immediately, felt the fight leave her. She took a step forward, " Adri, I only mean-"

"I will always care. Always. Y-"

"Adri, I kno-"

"You mean everything to me, Isabelle." Fleur stopped talking. "You want us to have a chance with each other and I want the same chance for you. So stop trying to push Harry towards me."

Jasmin's tears were freely flowing now, "I don't want you to ever resent me, Bell. I couldn't live with it." Fleur had her hands around her sister before she completely broke down too, all traces of anger gone.

"Adri, how can you... No... I could never..."

They stood there, clutching at each other like their lives depended on it. "So what now?" Fleur whispered into her sister's hair.

"Now we wash our faces, fix our dresses and carry on with the rest of our date."

Fleur looked at her inquiringly, "Our date?"

Jasmin nodded, letting go of her, "Yes, Bell. It's not like we're doing anything but getting to know one another. No reason we can't both do that. Let the better veela win, right?" she asked playfully, but Fleur knew full well she was serious. She shook her head. Only her sister would have loved her enough to do something like this.

She walked up behind Jasmin, who was fixing her looks in the mirror, and smiled slyly, "But, Adri. Now you're going to end up resenting me."

Jasmin smiled at the mirror coquettishly, fluffing her hair, "Don't be so sure, Bell. You're already a week behind." She walked towards the door, before turning and smirking, "Besides, I always make sure to hug him tiiightly to my chest," and ran off.

Fleur stood there in silence, mind processing everything that had happened, but her mouth forming her most prominent thought, "Y-You... You... Minx!"

"What the heck just happened?" Harry asked the Hat.

"Good news we can talk about later. I do believe that's the French slick walking towards you. He doesn't look happy. And he even brought his lackeys. How quaint?"

"Oh damn. That's not good. This maniac smiles even when he's pissed. Wonder what's got him all riled up?"

Juan was indeed looking like thunder as he approached Harry. His eyes had that feral glint to them already and Harry found himself making sure his wand was at the ready. Behind him, his little entourage, Malfoy and his goons took seats around theirs. Harry was certain none of them were going to try anything violent at Hogsmeade, surrounded by aurors. This was something else. Juan slammed his hand down on the table and sat in the chair Fleur had just vacated. "Want to tell me why you're out here with her?"

"Not particularly," Harry replied unfazed, "You know, you're starting to become desperate and erratic. Should I be worried for you?"

"Oh, you should be worried alright," he snarled, "Carry on hanging around with them and I'll have to do a lot more than hurt and humiliate you in the duel."

Harry looked around. The others were all trying to give him the stink-eye. It was comical enough for him to chuckle, "I'm sorry, Juan, but I think I gave you more credit than you deserved. Is this really the best you can do? Try and intimidate me while your lackeys try to stare me down? In a public place?"

Juan's grinned, feral enough to match his eyes. "No, Harry Potter. This is about one champion challenging another to take a bet. If you refuse, there needs to be enough witnesses, non? To spread the word? About how you're nothing more than a phoney, scared, little coward."

"Ah, the old "if you dare" tactic. Go on then. I'm intrigued. What're we betting on?"

"The upcoming duel, of course," Juan replied, "I wanted to discuss the stakes."

"Go on."

"I want you to leave Fleur alone and never approach her again," then added after a glance from Malfoy, "and Jasmin too. If you think for a second that a kid like you stands even a chance with either one of them, you are sorely mistaken."

Harry had so many questions, quips and insults all churning around his head in reply. He wasn't even sure whether to laugh or to rage. Before he could say anything though, Fleur's melodious voice reached them, "Oui, 'arry accepts." Everyone turned to look at the silver-haired veela, who was standing with Jasmin, in shock, including Harry. Juan stood up to face her, a mixture of emotions on his face. Fleur looked directly into his eyes and continued, "and after he crushes you, I don't ever want to see your face or hear you talk again. Yes...in fact, that'll be the stakes. You have to cover your face and shut your mouth whenever you're in my presence or leave. Do you accept?"

Harry would've liked to have made a better deal, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to get Fleur what she wanted. Juan barely nodded, looking like he had been struck repeatedly in the gut, but there was one more strike coming. Fleur gave Harry, what could only be described as a lascivious smile, and said in her flirtiest voice, "Let's take our date outside, 'arry. I think I've lost my appetite."

The effect was instantaneous. Jaws dropped, including Juan's. He just sat back down on the chair, staring wordlessly at her face, as if hoping it was a joke. The other French students couldn't believe that the "Belle of Beauxbatons" was finally dating, and it wasn't one of them. But the true highlight of the day came when Malfoy, still shocked that someone like Fleur would date Potter, asked in a tone that did not hide a note of hope, "So you two are actually dating?"

Jasmin forestalled either of them. "Don't be silly," she said, smiling her bright smile and starting to drag Harry and Fleur to the door by their hands, "can you not see there are three of us?" The door closed behind them immediately. The stunned silence of the students left in the Three Broomsticks lasted quite a while.

A/N: Once again, thank you all for reading and reviewing.