1 Beach

Harry was stretched on a tanning bed on the Mediterranean beach in southern France, watching the other occupants of the beach, mainly the multitude of young women and teen girls who were moving around, not bothering with the top part of their bikinis. He could barely believe he was there, as only a few days earlier he had been in a very different situation.

–..–

Since the end of the third task, Harry had been deep in thought. His friends assumed he was still thinking of Cedric being killed and of Voldemort's resurrection. He couldn't say these assumptions were totally wrong, yet most of the time he was thinking of something else, namely — how to escape the Dursleys. After having duelled Voldemort to stand still, Uncle Vernon didn't seem too intimidating. Yet he knew he couldn't just go away. Dumbledore was sure to search for him and force him back, once found. There was also the question of protection. Dumbledore wanted him at the Dursleys mainly to have him "protected", despite Harry being abused there. He assumed that the supposed protection was against Voldemort and his minions. He also didn't want to make his friends and Sirius worry. Harry spent most of his time thinking about that, trying to find the optimal solution. In a way, he felt thankful that his friends thought he was still contemplating the third task and were giving him some space, so he could come to terms with the events on his own.

Despite spending so much time on the subject, he only reached a decision while on the train, going back to London. He rummaged in his trunk and took a quill and some parchment, scribbling a short note on it. Then, just before reaching King's Cross station, he made a scene of trying to put his quill back and dropping out most of the contents of the trunk. The other students were in a hurry to leave the train. "Don't wait for me," Harry told his friends. "It will take me more than a few minutes to pack this back, and you're anxious to meet your families." He then turned to Hermione. "Can you please tell my uncle not to wait for me? You know he can hardly bear being here. I have a bit of money and I can find my way back on my own, although I may arrive quite late, as I'm going to use Muggle transportation. Give him this note as well, will you?"

Hermione smiled sadly at him, knowing how he felt about his relatives. "I'll do as you say. Do be careful, though. I don't want you to head into any trouble again. Not without me at your side, at least."

Harry smiled back, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry. I'll call for you as soon as I sense trouble. I'm already missing you."

She smiled for real now. "I'll try to write to you at least once a week until we can meet again." She hugged him tightly, grabbed her trunk and moved swiftly out. Ron just grumbled and followed her.

Harry waited for another minute until the corridor turned empty. He then used his wand to levitate everything back into the trunk and shrank it so it could fit in his pocket. He next turned to Hedwig. "I'm going away, girl. Please look for me in a few days, after I find a place to settle down for the summer."

The owl hooted once and bobbed her head. Harry hoped she understood and let her fly away. He then shrank her cage as well and put it in his pocket, along with his shrunken trunk. He then waited a few more minutes, until he could see nobody on the platform, before leaving the train.

He felt thankful that there were a few Floo connections on the platform. He used one of them to go to Diagon Alley, and quickly reached Gringotts. "I'd like to convert some of the money in my trust vault into Muggle money," he told the teller.

"Your key," the teller said, extending his hand forward without even looking at him.

"I'm sorry, I don't have it," Harry said. "I'm not even sure who's keeping it."

"Your name?" The teller still didn't lift his eyes from the desk.

"Harry Potter."

That finally made the teller lose his indifference. "Excuse me, Lord Potter. Your account manager was wondering why you haven't come to claim your rights yet."

"I know nothing about that. Can you explain?"

The goblin seemed nervous. "I think your account manager can explain everything to your satisfaction, Lord Potter. Please follow me." He climbed down off his stool and waddled to a side door, motioning for Harry to follow. They walked through a few corridors, passing through some more doors until the teller knocked on a door. After hearing a response, he opened the door and announced, "Lord Potter is here!"

Harry stepped through the door and it closed behind him. He looked and noticed that he was standing in an ornate office, quite large at that. A richly dressed Goblin seemed to stand up from his place at the large desk, looking at him. "Welcome, Lord Potter. I've been expecting you to come here for several months already."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea anybody was waiting for me, or I would have tried to comply," Harry said.

The goblin waved his hand in dismissal. "It doesn't matter now. Please sit down, so we can continue." He still waited until Harry sat down on one of the chairs facing the desk before sitting back.

"I don't know what you need to discuss with me, but I need to finish all my businesses here and be on my way in less than two hours," Harry said hurriedly. "You see, the Headmaster has forced me to stay with my relatives each summer, despite them loathing me and treating me badly. The only way I can escape is by leaving the country before he can stop me."

The goblin nodded understandingly. "Well, Mr. Dumbledore has no legal authority over you, Lord Potter, although legality has never stopped him from acting one way or the other. I'll do what I can to make this as brief as possible and make sure you can be on your way in two hours at most."

Two hours later, Harry arrived at Nice, using a Gringotts portkey, with his new British passport, according to which he was eighteen years old, and with his bottomless money bag, courtesy of Gringotts. A middle-aged man was waiting for him there.

"Welcome, Lord Potter. We thought that as an Englishman, you'd appreciate some help at initially settling for your vacation here. You don't have a hotel reservation, if my information is correct. Where would you like to stay?"

Harry felt surprised but welcomed the help. "I'd like somewhere near the beach. I heard there are very nice beaches in France."

The man nodded. "Indeed, there are. Unfortunately, the ones nearby are mostly pebbly. I suppose you'd prefer sandy ones. Won't you?"

Harry nodded and the man continued. "There are some small nice beaches a bit north of here, but I doubt we can find any hotel vacancies there. You may have better chances a bit to the south, at St. Tropez or even farther away. We can supply a portkey to save the travel time, if you like."

It didn't take long to decide on the proper location and find the hotel. The man was fluent in the use of telephones and even fax machines, making it all easier.

Harry checked in at a beach-front hotel facing a sandy beach for the night. After a generous dinner and a long luxurious bath, he settled on the bed and fell asleep, finally free.

–..–

As the sun was rising higher, Harry moved under a beach umbrella. He was still too pale to risk exposing his skin for long, fearing sunburns, yet seeing all those topless girls was not something he would willingly give up. He was just getting up from his beach bed when he heard a surprised voice, "'Arry?!"

He turned around, finding Fleur Delacour, clad in a minimalist bikini, looking at him. He had to force his eyes to stay on her face as he responded. "Fleur? I didn't expect to see you here."

She smiled and came closer. "That's really you, 'Arry. Didn't you know that I live in France?" The teasing in her voice was evident.

He blushed, as he had to force his eyes back up. "I knew, but this is a muggle area, so…"

She laughed sweetly. "'ere in France, we're not as strict as you, Brits. I was actually on my way to that clothing-optional beach which is a bit farther in that direction. Care to come along? My whole family is there, and Gabbi would be delighted to see you."

Harry wasn't sure he understood correctly. It was unclear if it was her mild accent or the fact that his eyes were glued to her breasts, which were barely covered by the bikini top and were wiggling as she moved. He still nodded. Wherever this sexy goddess was going, he was sure to follow. With some difficulty, he tore his eyes from her breasts and collected his stuff — just a small plastic bag with his shirt, his sandals, some sun lotion and sunglasses.

Fleur was quite aware of the effect her body was having on the younger boy. She considered his reaction a compliment for her sex-appeal. She kept chatting while they walked for a few minutes. Harry barely noticed the sign at the edge of the nudist beach, yet he couldn't overlook the fact that most people were completely naked, once they passed that sign. "My family is over there, at the blue-white tent," Fleur said, after walking a bit farther.

She barely finished talking when Harry was attacked by a blonde missile. "'Arry Potter! You come to see me!"

Harry could recognize the voice and the enthusiasm as Gabbi's, yet the naked body pressed tightly at his was not that of a small girl. It was a very womanly body, about the same as Fleur's. "Gabbi?" he asked, feeling confused and embarrassed by the way his body was responding to the hug.

"Oui, c'est moi!" she answered, tightening the hug.

"May I look at you?" he asked, not quite sure how to make her stop hugging him.

"Certainment!" she said, releasing the hug, taking a step back and then turning a full circle, allowing him to see her from all directions, then stopping facing him with a big smile. "Like what you see?"

Harry was certainly fascinated. Gone was the little girl. Instead, he was looking at a younger version of Fleur, with a fully womanly body, nice curves and full breasts. Only the face was still retaining some childish attributes. "I like it very much," he reassured her. "You changed quite a bit since I've last seen you."

"Oui! I reached twelve! Come, let's sit in the shade!"

She practically dragged him after her, with a giggling Fleur following them to the large tent, similar to the tents other families were using on that beach. It seemed large enough for four to sleep in and had a front flap that served as an additional shade, providing more than enough protection from the sun for the two adults who were sitting on beach chairs, totally naked.

"Papa, Maman, this is 'Arry Potter. 'Arry — my parents: Claude and Appoline Delacour," Gabbi handled the introductions.

Both parents stood up. Harry took Appoline's hand and kissed her knuckles, as expected, although his eyes were wandering from her face to her full breasts and down to her crotch, his face turning bright red. "Enchanted," he managed to blurt.

"That's quite evident," she said in an amused tone, making him even redder.

At least he had no problem shaking hands with Claude, who invited him to sit on the adjacent chair. "You may just as well take off your bathing suit," Claude advised him. "You'd feel freer and more comfortable."

Harry did so quite reluctantly. He was relieved to notice that Claude also had a slight erection. By the time he sat down, Fleur had already removed her bikini, fully exposing her exquisite body. She then lay on her back on a beach towel, spread on the sand. Harry could barely take his eyes off her body.

"She's doing this on purpose," Claude told him. "She enjoys teasing you, feeling quite sure that you'd do nothing about it."

"Why?" Harry couldn't form a more elaborate sentence.

"She knows you're noble. She also knows she can't entice you with her allure, as you seem to resist it, or maybe even ignore it."

Gabrielle joined her sister on the adjacent spot, looking just as enticing as her older sister and exposing her assets just as prominently. Harry had to use all his willpower to take his eyes off the naked beauties and turn his head to Claude. "No matter what, I won't knowingly do anything to harm any of your daughters or to even upset them."

Claude laughed. "That's why they feel so safe teasing you, Lord Potter. Now, do you mind telling me how you ended up on this beach, of all places?"

Harry wasn't sure how much he should tell. Could he trust Claude and his family not to pass the information to Dumbledore? Yet he needed allies, if only for some advice, and he remembered how furious Fleur and her mother had been when finding that Gabrielle had been taken as a hostage for the second task. He started telling, quite reluctantly.

"…and I thought this was an unlikely place for the headmaster to look for me and force me back."

Claude frowned. "I don't think he can force you now; not legally, at least. Being chosen as a champion emancipated you, so you could take your lordship immediately. As a lord, your social and political position is much higher than his, disregarding your financial position. If he tries anything, you could easily remove him from any position of power. Just the threat of doing this should keep him in line."

Harry had already known a bit of this due to his visit to Gringotts, but not enough. "Can you elaborate? I had no time to learn all I needed about my position before coming here. I'll appreciate learning some more."

Claude smiled at the young man. "For that, I would suggest you come to visit us, so we can discuss these matters in a more private and secure location. Actually, I think you can even live with us for as long as we stay here. Where do you currently reside?"