The Veela's Champion
Chapter 5
He woke up to the sight of blonde hair filling his vision. Fleur's head rested comfortably against his chest, one arm draped over his body, while her hair seemed to go every which way. He was still in the French Champion's bedroom, onboard the Beauxbatons magical carriage, and laying with her in a very compromising position.
'I wonder what the others would say if they saw me like this? ' Harry couldn't help but strangely think. He imagined Ron and his roommates going ballistic if they found out, and he even thought of what Aunt Petunia or even Dudley's reaction would be. His eyes darted to the door then. 'Hopefully no one walks in and sees us.'
Fleur's head moved then, looking up at him with pouty lips while her long hair remained a beautiful mess. The sight momentarily took his breath away, and Harry really wanted to kiss her then and there. "Bonjour, mon amour."
"M-Morning." He stuttered out, as Fleur elegantly rose from the bed and made her way to get dressed. He watched her beautiful bum sway from side to side as she walked away, and her messy long blonde hair that had just covered him moments earlier.
Harry sat there breathlessly for a moment, before he too began the process of getting dressed. He had slept in Fleur's bed with only some of his clothes still on, and began putting his cloak, shoes, and tie back in place.
Fleur eventually made her way out of the bathroom, barefoot with her long legs exposed as she sat down on the bed. It was an almost mesmerizing sight to watch her put on stockings, covering up her beautiful tan legs before she slipped on a pair of heels. After that she pulled her hair back and used her wand to magically put it in a French braid.
He followed Fleur out of her room as they left the carriage together then, not even remembering to use his invisibility cloak to sneak out. It was only once they made their way into the castle courtyard and began the trek to the Great Hall that he finally found his voice.
"Thanks for letting me stay with you." He said.
Fleur nodded, giving him a slight grin. "Oui, it was a pleasure to have you keep me company in bed."
Harry's blushed, desperately trying not to think of what her words implied. "W-What do you plan to do about the dragons?"
She frowned thoughtfully. "I am skilled with enchanting and charms, and will look into what I can come up with on that front. And you?"
"I'm sure I can come up with something." Harry pondered the past dangers he had faced, especially with the basilisk in his second year. He had killed the giant snake with a sword, after all, and he wondered if he could do that again. "Are we allowed to use anything other than our wands?"
"Non." Fleur shook her head. "We must go in with our wands only. But there is a loophole in ze rules about summoning objects from outside to help."
'So I could always summon the Sword of Gryffindor during the task, but facing a dragon with a sword doesn't sound like a great idea.' Harry discarded that plan. 'Maybe I could summon my broom to use? '
"I doubt that we will have to kill ze dragons to succeed." Fleur said then, looking lost in her own thoughts. "They will probably be part of ze task itself, but more like an obstacle than anything else."
"That would make more sense." Harry took a sigh of relief. He remembered his first year when he had to get past Fluffy, and how the three-headed dog was simply in the way and not his enemy. It would almost make sense that the dragons would simply be an obstacle for the participants to get past, forcing them to be creative in how they did so. It would certainly be a way for the tournament organizers to force the champions to showcase their magical ingenuity and creativeness.
It happened that him and Fleur both walked into the Great Hall then, shoulder to shoulder, right as most of the student body was busy with breakfast. The pair of them attracted quite a lot of attention for some reason, with whispered and hushed conversations breaking out all across the hall. Quite a few students pointed and gestured in their direction, and both he and Fleur were getting nasty looks sent their way.
'I wonder what their deal is.' Harry grimaced, deciding it was time for him and Fleur to split up."I guess I'll see you around."
Fleur stiffly nodded at his words, an icy look on her face as she seemed to not give anyone in the room the slightest bit of attention. Fleur marched over to her own seat then, as if all the attention didn't bother her in the slightest, and Harry belatedly made his way to the edge of the Gryffindor table.
"Harry!" Hermione hissed at him as he drew near. "Where have you been? And what were you doing with her of all people?"
"Good morning to you too, Hermione." He replied blandly, taking a look seat across from her.
He went to grab some food to fill his plate, only for Hermione to suddenly shove the morning paper in front of him. His photograph was on the front page, but he wasn't alone in it, as Fleur was standing to his side and chatting amicably with him in the moving photo.
He recognized photo as being taken from the wand weighing ceremony, and to the outside observer, it would appear that he and Fleur were something more than just friends as they chatted amicably together. 'The paper's headline certainly doesn't help.'
TRIWIZARD TEMPTRESS: ENSNARED BY THE VEELA
By Rita Skeeter
It seems that the Boy Who Lived has become the Boy Who Fell—head over heels, that is, for a certain enchanting competitor in the Triwizard Tournament. Sources at Hogwarts report that Fleur Delacour, the breathtakingly beautiful champion from Beauxbatons, has been spending a suspicious amount of time in the company of none other than Harry Potter.
But is this newfound closeness a blossoming friendship, or something far more nefarious?
Fleur Delacour, as many now know, is part Veela, a heritage famous for its unnatural ability to captivate, mesmerize, and control the hearts and minds of unsuspecting men. Could she be using her mystical allure to bend poor Harry Potter to her will? Could her charms be working on the Goblet of Fire itself-
He swallowed thickly, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. The writer of the article had plainly spelled out that something was going on between him and Fleur, even when they weren't even in a relationship. And not only that, but they even went as far as to imply that Fleur had used her allure to cheat her way into the tournament, with him as an accomplice.
It now made sense why he and Fleur attracted so much attention when they entered the Great Hall, coincidentally right after everyone got the chance to read the scandalous article. He could feel glares from boys all over the hall, and Harry could just tell that his male roommates were stirring in rage over the article. Ron had accused him of being in the tournament because of Fleur, and now the papers were saying just that.
"Where were you last night?" Hermione hissed quietly. "I waited in the common room to talk to you, but you never showed up. And then this morning you walked in with herof all people."
"Just drop it, Hermione." He said tiredly.
"Y-You didn't spend the night with her, did you?" She asked hesitantly.
Harry looked around to make sure no one was listening in before he slowly nodded. Hermione's hands went to her face as she stifled a gasp, her eyes wide.
"You two aren't seeing each other, are you?" Hermione asked, her voice strange. "I-I mean it's none of my buisiness—just know that she's not exactly nice. Ginny said she was quite mean actually, and she wasn't kind to me in the library the other day."
"I know." Harry grimaced, choosing not to answer Hermione's earlier question about their relationship status. He didn't even know the status of his and Fleur's… relationship, or even if they were together to begin with. "She apologized to me for that, and we were able to make some progress on the first task last night."
"Anything you can share?"
Harry leaned in, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "The first task has dragons in it."
"W-What? " Hermione's voice came out squeaky and weak, her face going pale as her hand shook.
"I saw them last night." He continued. "Hagrid showed them to me out in the forest. There's four of them, one for each champion."
"Dragons are extremely dangerous, Harry." Hermione looked downright terrified. "It takes teams of wizards just to subdue one. I read that their scales are magically resistant a-and that-"
"We can talk later, Hermione." Harry cut her off as she started to ramble, as right then he saw Diggory leaving the Great Hall. He needed to tell to Cedric about the dragons, and there was no point in putting it off.
He got up from the Gryffindor table and quickly left the Great Hall then, following the older Hufflepuff and his friends down several hallways and towards the transfiguration courtyard. He couldn't help but notice how loud and supportive Cedric's friends were, all the while each one wore their own 'Potter Stinks' badge. Eventually, Cedric split off from the rest of them then, climbing a set of stairs that would lead him in the direction of the transfiguration classroom.
"Cedric!" Harry called out towards the older boy once it was just the two of them alone in the hall.
Diggory spun around, facing him with a surprised look. "Potter?"
"I've been meaning to talk to you." Harry said as he approached, his voice getting quieter. "The first task—it's dragons."
"D-Dragons?" Cedric stumbled over the words, his eyes widening in terror. "A-Are you sure?"
Harry nodded, and Cedric shut his eyes closed as a stressed expression overcame him. He eventually calmed down after a moment, reopening his eyes and studying Harry. "Why tell me?"
"What?"
"We're competitors, why tell me?" Cedric repeated harshly.
Harry felt his stomach sink then, his opinion of Cedric diminishing quite substantially. He would never lie about something like this, but Cedric almost seemed to think he was doing exactly that.
It almost made sense, Harry bitterly thought. So many Hufflepuffs—many of which being Cedric's friends—were wearing those stupid badges, and it wasn't like Diggory was telling them not to.
"I don't care about the tournament, but I know it's important to you." Harry stated, and Cedric's eyes widened. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that Krum and Fle-Delacour already know."
He caught himself in time before he said Fleur's name, trying not to show how familiar he was with her. Cedric seemed to believe his own explanation, looking almost embarrassed as he scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Cedric said, looking abashed. "I shouldn't have implied you would lie to me about something about this. I guess that I let everything people were saying about you get to my head."
"It's fine." Harry waved his apology off, even though it did bother him.
"If I may ask, are the rumors true about you and Delacour?" Cedric suddenly asked.
"What? N-No." He was caught off guard by the question, his face going red as he stumbled over his words.
"I see." Cedric laughed, giving his shoulder a pat. "Congratulations, she's quite the catch, Potter. For a brief moment I thought the two of you were working against me. I guess I'll see you around."
The older Hufflepuff left then, leaving Harry alone and confused in the hall, before another voice called out and got his attention. He spun around to see the last group of people he wanted to talk to.
"Being friendly with the other champions, Potter?" Malfoy sneered at him, walking down the hall towards him with Crabbe and Goyle at his back. The blond wasn't alone, as Ron, Seamus, and Dean were also with him. 'Just my luck that my roommates would team up with Malfoy.'
"He's too good to associate with the likes of us, all high and mighty on his eternal glory. Someone ought to brim him down a peg. Or ten." Seamus spat.
"So you all sided with Malfoy now?" Harry glared at his roommates. "You wear his stupid badges and now side with him against me?"
"Don't say it like it's our fault!" Ron said with his face red. "You forced us to do this, cheating the Goblet and abandoning all your friends! And then you go ahead and prance around with Fleur Delacour. "
He said Fleur's name with a wistful, dreamy expression on his face, as if the very thought of her was heaven itself. It only served to make Harry more angry, and he palmed his wand as he angled his body against the group of them. "Just remember, you asked for this."
Ron moved first, his face red in anger as he raised his wand. "Slugulus Eructo!"
Harry easily sidestepped the spell, watching as Crabbe and Goyle didn't even bother bringing out their wands as they simply charged him with thier fists raised. Seamus and Dean sent their own hexes his way, and Harry spun his wand in a circle. "Protego."
It was a sixth-year spell, one he had learned in preparation for the tournament. Harry had always been better at learning new spells and actually performing magic than doing theoretical work, and since his involvement in the tournament he had begun secretly practicing as much as possible.
A clear shield formed in front of him, deflecting the spells away from him. The group of boys gaped at the advanced use of magic, and Harry used that opportunity to stun Crabbe and Goyle as they charged him.
"Depulso." Harry chanted as he cast his next spell, launching both Dean and Seamus away as the two boys violently landed further down the hall.
It left just Ron and Malfoy, and the two were both backing away from him with angry yet horrified expressions on their faces. That was until Malfoy seemed to get some courage and pointed his wand at him. "Serpensortia!"
A boa constrictor was conjured at the end of his wand, and began moving in Harry's direction. It reminded him a bit too much of second year, and Harry developed a cruel idea right then.
"I am not your enemy. Subdue the one who conjured you." Harry hissed in parseltongue, causing both Ron and Malfoy to drastically pale.
The large snake followed his command, and spun around before leaping straight at Malfoy. The blond fell to the floor with the boa constrictor wrapped tightly around him, his wand falling out of his grasp.
That only left Ron standing there, and the redhead stared at Malfoy's restrained form with horror before looking back at him. Harry only stared back, feeling a part of him wither and die inside as Ron turned and ran down the hall and away from him.
The day of the first task dawned on a misty Scottish morning that went along with a chilly breeze. Harry trekked across the castle grounds towards the newly constructed stadium built purposefully for holding the first task of the tournament.
His custom Champion robes fluttered around him, colored red, black, and gold to symbolize Gryffindor House. McGonagall had handed them to him earlier, with an aged look on her face and an order to "Make Hogwarts proud.". He could feel the weight of the wand in his hand, the preparations and newly-learned spells running through his mind as he planned to do exactly that.
Harry never wanted to participate in this tournament. Nor did he want the fame, gold, and glory that came with victory. And he certainly didn't want his closest friends to turn into bitter enemies because of it. But it was never about what he wanted in life, and only about moving forward without a care for his own needs.
In the distance, he noticed a flash of blonde hair as Fleur entered the champion's tent which was connected to the arena. A realization arose in his mind then, being that he could still find his own happiness while participating in this tournament. Harry still wasn't sure what his relationship with Fleur Delacour was, but he knew for certain that he wanted to spend as much time together with her.
A/N:
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