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Chapter Text

It was a cool Saturday morning of November 5, 1994; and fourteen-year-old Harry Potter was taking a walk in the woods as a temporary safe haven away from the cheating and attention-seeking accusations thrown his way from most of the Hogwarts student body. Even his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, believed Harry to have put his name into the goblet of fire and refused to listen to his side of the story. Ron’s sister, Ginny (who was a bratty Boy-Who-Lived fangirl), naturally believed Harry to be an attention-seeking cheater because she just kept her distance from Harry (like she would 95% of the time) while blushing madly in his presence. Harry still had some supporters such as his quidditch teammates, Lee Jordan, Neville Longbottom, and Dean Thomas. Aside from Cedric Diggory (the true Hogwarts champion), the only Hufflepuff students who supported Harry were Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. The only Ravenclaws who were on Harry’s side were Cho Chang, Sue Li, and Luna Lovegood. Sirius Black (who was Harry’s godfather) also believed him to be innocent, which he mentioned in a letter he sent to him a couple days ago. Even Hagrid, the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher, believed Harry to be innocent. Naturally, Harry didn’t have any Slytherins supporting him because of his many encounters with Draco Malfoy. Harry also didn’t expect any Beauxbatons or Durmstrang students to be on his side since they were guests and naturally had no idea about his past misadventures.

“Am I really destined for rotten luck?” Harry asked himself, as he continued strolling through the woods.

“Not at all, Monsieur Potter!” a somewhat familiar voice blurted out.

Harry jumped in surprise since he was so lost in his musings that he didn’t notice that he had approached a bench that was close by. Harry turned his attention to the source and saw that it was the Beauxbatons champion, Fleur Delacour. She was wearing a dark-gray coat, navy-blue jeans, and gray trainers. Fleur had her chest-length platinum-blonde hair in a mid-ponytail and her bright-blue eyes were filled with friendliness rather than neutrality that he saw on Halloween night, when Harry remembered her saying that he was ‘just a leetle boy and too young to be a Triwizard competitor.’ Fleur also had her hands clasped and resting on her lap as she gave Harry a smile. Harry knew that he needed to be careful because of all the times he saw Ginny smiling at him, since she was only interested in the Boy-Who-Lived and her smile was rather creepy. But Fleur’s smile appeared to be genuinely friendly. But Harry couldn’t entirely shake off the worry that her presence may be a setup or something.

“I’m not… destined… for rotten luck?!” asked Harry in confusion.

“Of course not, Monsieur Potter!” assured Fleur. Then she offered, “You can join me if you’d like.”

Harry was taken aback by that, as he didn’t think he would ever get a chance to interact with Fleur (much less being allowed to sit next to her). Any boy would kill to be in Harry’s shoes at the moment, since Fleur was one of the most beautiful women to set foot inside the castle. Harry even remembered when Ron drooled when he saw her for the first time, but Harry didn’t react that way at all since he knew that personality should always come first. But still, he couldn’t turn down the chance to sit next to Fleur since this moment appeared to be a good one in promoting inter-school friendships, so he walked over and took a seat next to Fleur. The two made their proper introductions despite Harry knowing that Fleur knew his name, but Harry was just showing good manners with proper introduction etiquette. Fleur also apologized to Harry about the ‘leetle boy’ comment the other night, with Harry accepting it (remembering that Fleur’s voice wasn’t malicious, but rather neutral).

“So Harry, what has you all blue?” asked Fleur, her voice filled with concern.

“Just my life in general,” Harry replied. “As it seems like I attract bad luck, or rather rotten luck, and trouble. It’s like no matter what I do, trouble just seems to be lurking around the corner so it can find me. Near the end of every year ever since I walked through the castle doors for the first time, I found myself in danger and the lack of help from most of the teachers and staff just proves that they don’t give a damn about me. If you remember on Halloween night that Barty Crouch stated that I have no choice but to compete due to that magical binding contract, but I don’t see how that applies to me because I never gave a written agreement. That just seems like another case of me being thrust into yet another dangerous situation. Most of my school just keeps accusing me of cheating for more fame and glory and yet they should know me better than that by now. What cut me real deep was that my best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, believed me to have cheated my way in despite all that I’ve been through with them. Even though I do have some supporters, it still doesn’t change the fact that most of my fellow students are against me. I haven’t seen any of the teachers dealing with those degrading buttons that change from ‘Support Cedric Diggory’ to ‘Potter stinks’ and vice versa when it gets pushed. Even Professor McGonagall just allows that to happen despite her being deputy headmistress, head of Gryffindor House, and the transfiguration teacher.”

Fleur sat there with a hand over her mouth and her eyes as wide as saucers, finding it hard to believe that anybody would treat Harry like trash while ignoring his hatred for the Boy-Who-Lived fame. She did hear about that from the rumour mill since those stories weren’t as widely known in other parts of the country. It even made her realize that Harry’s life mirrored hers in multiple ways, since she knew what it was like being treated as an object, outcast, and a prize to be won. Fleur scooted closer to Harry and wrapped her arms around his torso to embrace him. Harry flinched when he felt Fleur’s arms wrapping around him, but it didn’t take him very long to return the hug because of how soft and gentle it was. It was very different from Hermione’s hugs where she would just charge at him before throwing her arms around him, whereas Molly Weasley’s hugs were so smothering that it felt as though Harry’s spine would’ve been snapped in two at any time. Harry’s flinching didn’t go unnoticed by Fleur, but she stayed quiet so as not to ruin the moment. Even though she appeared calm and collected on the outside, she was boiling with pure anger because she immediately knew that Harry had been abused.

“I’m so sorry to hear about all of this, Harry!” Fleur whispered into his ear in a soothing manner. “You really deserve better, and it’s so unfair for you to have to deal with the problems that should be left to adults.”

“All that is really tempting me to just up and leave,” Harry replied. “Since the school’s disciplinary system is a total joke. The only teachers and staff I see primarily patrolling the castle are McGonagall, the caretaker Mr. Filch, and Professor Snape. Snape is a sadistic bully who picks on many non-Slytherin students, but Neville Longbottom and myself are his favourite targets. Professor Dumbledore refuses to do something about it on the pretense of ‘sometimes you just have to deal with strict teachers,’ and yet he doesn’t know the real meaning behind it. McGonagall would’ve just dismissed me and sent me back to my house common room whether or not danger is lurking around the corner. So maybe leaving this hellhole is the only true option, since Hogwarts is practically a breeding ground for bullying and bigotry.”

“Where will you go, Harry?” asked Fleur, as soon as she and Harry pulled away.

“Probably back to the muggle world,” stated Harry. “Since I’ve ‘grown up’ there and can just blend in. It’ll be a really effective way to teach the sheeple here that I’ve had enough of being treated like a hero one day and despised the next, and getting almost nothing in return. I’ll probably need to resume my muggle studies, but it’s better than being in a place where I’m practically unwanted.”

“Will you be leaving soonish or at the end of the year?” asked Fleur.

“Probably at the end of the year,” said Harry. “To at least reduce the odds of my enemies getting suspicious.”

“That’s a good idea, so as to take the time and plan out what you intend to do.” said Fleur. “This is my last year at Beauxbatons, so if you need someone to help you out when the time comes, I'd be happy to step up to the plate.”

“You’re willing to do that?” asked Harry, flabbergasted.

“Positive, Harry!” assured Fleur with a smile on her face. Then she explained, “We do have some common ground, and I’ll tell you about it if you’d like.”

“Well, alright.” Harry replied.

So Fleur relayed everything to Harry about her life. She told him how she was seen as a potential trophy wife just because she was extremely beautiful and how she inherited it from her mother. Fleur also revealed that she was quarter-veela, how her mother was half-veela, and how her mother (Fleur’s maternal grandmother) was full-veela. Fleur also told Harry that she had a little sister named Gabrielle (or Gabby, for short), who would be turning eight on Valentine’s Day, and how she was also quarter-veela. Fleur also explained that there were male variants called veelo and how they had movie-star handsome looks and muscular bodies that made most ladies drool when they saw them while most guys would get jealous and flash glares to make it clear.

Fleur even explained that the allure that comes with veela and veelo traits is what led them to being shunned, and how the stress from that combined with loneliness would stunt their physical growth a bit. Fleur also told Harry that full-veela and full-veelo had the ability to turn into bird-like creatures when angered, with the feathers on the veelo being a darker brown colour while the veela feathers were light-brown. Now it was Harry’s turn to be surprised, now that he finally realized that he and Fleur really had some common ground. He reached out and grabbed a hold of her hand to give it a comforting squeeze, resulting in Fleur looking down at that hand and then over to Harry.

“I never knew you were a natural in providing someone comfort, Harry!” said Fleur in an amazed voice.

“I’m not sure how I did it,” Harry replied. “I was just trying to help, it’s like I have this ‘saving people’ thing.”

“You did a wonderful job, Harry!” Fleur praised.

“Well thanks!” Harry replied in gratitude. Then he asked, “Would you like to join me in walking in the woods?”

“I’d love to, Harry,” Fleur replied with another smile. “This can be another moment where we can get to know each other better.”

So Harry held a hand out, with Fleur grabbing a hold of it as she got onto her feet and Harry gently pulled her towards him. Then the two continued down the woods and used the time to enjoy nature before it got colder (and for Harry to plan out what he was going to do at the end of the year after the tournament). Naturally, he was unsure about coming clean to Fleur about his life with the Dursleys before Hogwarts and during the first half of each summer holiday. Maybe he could do that in the future once the two were more comfortable with each other and they knew each other better. But Harry knew the importance of one step at a time, plus it was time that the majority of Hogwarts who were against Harry get taught their lesson in what treating someone like trash would result in. He was done playing the hero, and there wasn’t going to be any more chances for any of the ungrateful sheeple.

The End!

Chapter Text

Harry stormed out of the Great Hall and began wandering the corridors, clearly furious because he was gritting his teeth and the way he marched out made his anger even more clear. The reason for that was that Harry was put into yet another tug-of-war moment between Ron and Hermione, when the former accused the latter of fraternizing with the enemy while ignoring the moment he tried asking Fleur Delacour to the ball and ran off without an answer. Plus, Hermione had been demanding to know who Harry and Ron had as dates while claiming that she hated secrets being kept from her, and yet she kept it secret that she was Viktor’s date until tonight (since it was the night of the Yule Ball). Upon spotting Harry, Hermione demanded to know what he had to say before telling him to head off to bed, but Harry went off on a well-justified tirade at his now former best friends for pressuring him to take sides and telling Hermione off for trying to act like his mother. Then he stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving everyone (his former best friends included) rather dumbstruck to see the end of the unofficial Golden Trio.

‘Why did I forgive Ron so easily?’ Harry mused to himself, as he strolled through the corridors. ‘I should’ve known that the jealous prat didn’t mean his lame-arse apology. If I’d known from the start that Hermione has a nasty personality, I wouldn’t have bothered being friends with her. The way she treats others is an irrefutable sign that she’s just very nasty. Being so hypocritical and having a tendency to have all these double standards as if it’s alright when she treats others like utter shit, but the same can’t be said if the roles were reversed.’

As Harry strolled on, he spotted Neville Longbottom sitting on a bench close by with his date, Susan Bones (a Hufflepuff girl in their year, who had her shoulder-length bright-copper hair in a french braid and pink dress robes), sitting next to him while they held hands. The two even spotted Harry and gave him thumbs ups while smiling, and he returned them before continuing on. Harry and Parvati went as dates, and the two mutually parted ways after the champions’ waltz concluded. Harry made it to the third floor and took the corridor on the left-hand side and came across someone sitting on one of the benches. It was Fleur Delacour, since her platinum-blonde hair was too easy to miss and Harry had already seen her before the start of the ball to know that she had on a silver satin dress. Even though he remembered her ‘leetle boy' comment on Halloween, Harry couldn’t blame her for her reaction because both foreign schools would naturally have no idea of his misadventures within Hogwarts. Plus, it never sounded malicious and she hadn’t been a problem to him. She appeared to be angry for some reason since she was all stiff and her fists clenched tightly.

‘I’d better back away,’ Harry mused as he started doing just that. ‘Since I haven’t taken the time to get to know Fleur, I have no idea what she’s capable of doing while angry.’

But as usual, luck wasn’t on his side there because at that moment, Harry ended up backing into a nearby wall because he forgot to do a spot check. That made him give off an ‘oof’ response as he stopped in his tracks, resulting in Fleur perking up and turning her head in the direction of the source. Fleur’s angry expression turned into a surprised one when she saw who it was that was close by. She hadn’t expected Harry Potter, of all people, to stroll by where she wandered off to when she couldn’t take any of the leering from the lustful boys any longer. Fleur felt herself relaxing when she saw that Harry was not only keeping his distance, but that he was also making no attempts to give into any temptations while leering. She had learned early on to recognize when someone was being lustful, and Harry showed no signs of such.

“Monsieur Potter,” Fleur greeted in a polite tone of voice. “This is a surprise, seeing you close by that is!”

“Yeah, it’s a surprise having crossed paths with you, too!” Harry replied in surprise, also trying his hardest to be polite.

“So what brings you this way, Monsieur Potter?” asked Fleur in curiosity.

“Just trying to put as much distance between my former best friends,” Harry explained. “If you hadn’t heard yet, they got into yet another fight and tried pressuring me to take sides and I ripped them a new one before declaring my friendship with them over. Ron claimed that Hermione was fraternizing with the enemy by being Viktor’s date and yet ignored the fact that he tried asking you to be his date and that he ran off without waiting for an answer. On the other hand, Hermione claimed that she hated it when people kept secrets and she kept the fact that she was Viktor’s date a secret and apparently only told her best friend, Ron’s sister Ginevra.”

“No, I haven’t heard of that because I left before it did,” stated Fleur. “That was because my date, Roger Davies, kept leering at me and I left before something horrendous could happen. That Weasley boy didn’t show proper manners when he tried asking me to be his date, not just his running off before I could respond but he also stared at my chest with his tongue out and drooling. It was like he showed a lady terrible manners, and given his age he should’ve learned them long ago.”

“Too bad he refuses to learn his lesson,” Harry replied. “He was even among the most vocal of students to believe me to have cheated my way in for more fame and glory. But what he and Hermione did moments earlier was the final straw.”

“I’ve heard of a fair number of your fellow students discussing Miss Granger,” said Fleur. “They like discussing how much of a hypocrite she is combined with a superior attitude. The same people even talk about that She-Weasley going on and on about marrying the Boy-Who-Lived and how she’d been planning her wedding with him since she was five.”

“That’s why she’ll never have a chance to date me,” stated Harry. “She always sees me as the Boy-Who-Lived. Even if she eventually stopped, which is incredibly unlikely, it’ll still creep me out because I’ve learned the importance of first impressions a long time ago. But I also know that last impressions are the ones that really stick.”

“Would you like to dance with me, Monsieur Potter?” Fleur offered with a smile. “It would be a wonderful chance for me to make it up to you for my ‘leetle boy’ comment, since actions speak louder than words and for us to get to know each other better. If it makes you feel better, we can dance somewhere where we won’t have to worry too much about prying eyes.”

“Okay!” Harry replied, returning the smile.

Then he approached her and offered a hand, which the Beauxbatons champion happily grabbed a hold of. With that done, Harry politely pulled Fleur up onto her feet and began leading her down the corridor to find an empty classroom where they could have their alone time. Harry checked his surroundings a couple times to make sure he and Fleur weren’t being followed by someone, especially someone suspicious. Once they found one, Harry opened the door for Fleur and waited until she was inside due to being strictly adamant on the ladies first policy. Then they took turns casting locking charms and privacy wards surrounding the classroom, with Fleur spotting a nearby phonograph and approaching it to tap it twice with her wand.

That turned on some classical music, then Harry gently placed a hand on Fleur’s waist and grasped a free hand with his other one, with Fleur putting her other free hand on Harry’s waist. Then the two began dancing to the music. Strangely, Harry felt more at ease dancing with Fleur than he did earlier with Parvati (not that she was a bad choice, but because Harry had a difficult time when doing something out in public except quidditch). He kept his gaze on Fleur’s bright-blue eyes while resisting the temptation to look down at his feet, and she kept hers on Harry’s emerald-green eyes. No moments of Harry accidentally stepping on Fleur’s toes occurred, allowing him to relax even more.

“You look more relaxed here than earlier during the champions’ waltz, Monsieur Potter,” Fleur told him in an elated voice. “And I’m feeling more relaxed since you haven’t drooled at the sight of me. You’ve been treating me like a person instead of an object, and it’s not very often I come across someone like you.”

“I’ve always heard that personality should always come first,” Harry replied. “Since there are plenty of women who may look pretty on the outside and use that to lure victims into their clutches. I’ve learned early on that looks can be deceiving.”

“That is correct, Monsieur Potter,” stated Fleur. “I also know what it’s like being judged just because of my extreme outer beauty. One should also never judge someone before they know them.”

“I’ve been judged in the past, and it seems like it hasn’t waned.” stated Harry. “You can call me Harry if you’d like, you’ve earned it.”

“And you’ve earned the privilege of calling me ‘Fleur,’ Harry.” said Fleur.

The two resumed their dancing, and they didn’t want the night to come to an end because of how much they were enjoying each others’ company. One thing Harry knew was that he was going to have to keep this moment under wraps, knowing that certain people weren’t going to be too happy with him for ‘dancing with a rival champion.’ But Harry decided that inter-school friendships were more important than winning, and if anybody hated him for interacting with Fleur, then it was their problem.

The End!

Chapter Text

It was evening and Harry was heading to the prefects’ bathroom to work out the clue for the next task of the tournament, which was why he brought the golden egg with him. He had to wait until he felt certain that his fellow Gryffindor lions went to bed to ensure that the wrong people wouldn’t follow him. He had dealt with his former best mate, Ron Weasley, turning his back on him on Halloween just because Harry’s name emerged from the goblet. Shortly after the first task ended, Ron pathetically tried to patch his friendship with Harry up by halfheartedly admitting that someone was out to kill him. Harry told Ron off for waiting too long and not meaning his apology. What made it worse was that Hermione stabbed him in the back by defending Ron over him in the form of ordering Harry to apologize to Ron instead of acknowledging that Ron was the one in the wrong. Then Harry told Hermione off for defending the wrong people over him and refusing to show him sympathy. Harry even caught a glimpse of Ron’s sister, Ginny, eyeing him intently with a heavy blush on her face, but he ignored it due to knowing what Ginny’s intentions were. Plus, she believed him to be a cheater since she never provided him comfort and instead kept her distance from him, which was as good as saying that she took Ron and Hermione’s side. But at least Neville Longbottom stepped up to the plate, and now he was Harry’s best mate.

‘At least I won’t have to worry about anybody potentially keeping watch over me,’ thought Harry. ‘I’ve had enough being treated like a five-year-old. I’ve had to grow up faster than the average kid.’

The raven-haired Gryffindor continued strolling towards the prefects’ bathroom, stopping occasionally to check the Marauder’s Map so he wouldn’t cross paths with the wrong person. He did have his invisibility cloak on over himself, but it didn’t stop him from remaining solid nor did it prevent him from being audible. He wondered what Cedric meant to bring the egg with him and take a bath with it. Nevertheless, Harry decided to bite the bullet and give it a try, Cedric did give him advice as a way of returning the favour of Harry informing him about the dragons shortly before the first task. As soon as he made it to the statue of Boris the Bewildered, Harry gave it the password (which was ‘pinefresh’) and it moved to the side to grant him access. Then Harry walked down the small passageway and turned the corner to finally get a peek. He saw a bathtub the size of a swimming pool, different taps which was strange to Harry (as he wondered if the bathtub needed that many), different stained-glass windows, and two doors leading to changing rooms. Just as Harry set his stuff on the other end of a long counter because someone else’s stuff was at the other end, one of the doors to the changing room opened and out stepped someone who Harry least expected: Fleur Delacour.

‘What is Fleur doing here?’ thought Harry in surprise. ‘I didn’t see her name on the map, even if the name were to disappear when she walked into a changing room.’

Fleur not only had her chest-length platinum blonde hair hanging down, but she was wearing a sky-blue bikini that showed off her nice-looking legs. She even had a nice-looking tummy with the belly-button adding more niceness to it. From the looks of it, she stood at a height of five-foot-eight. It wasn’t long before Fleur spotted Harry out in the corner of her eyes and turned her attention to him with a neutral expression on her face while her bright-blue eyes were full of curiosity. Harry tried turning around to leave, but his legs didn’t seem to want to work, so he closed his eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable (believing that Fleur was going to clobber him to kingdom come).

“Come join me, Monsieur Potter!” Fleur told him, her voice filled with every bit of friendliness that Harry wasn’t expecting.

The sudden voice sounding so friendly resulted in Harry snapping his eyes open and spotting a smile on Fleur’s face. It looked like the smile had a combination of relief and elation for some reason. So Harry quickly headed for the other changing room and changed into a pair of green swim shorts. As soon as he stepped back out, he saw Fleur descending into the water holding her golden egg. He managed to get a good look at Fleur’s butt (since it was also nice looking). But Harry quickly shook his head a couple times as a means of coming to his senses. As soon as Fleur took a seat on one of the underwater ledges, she looked over at Harry and smiled again.

“No need to get your egg, Monsieur Potter,” assured Fleur. “I’ve got mine, so there’s no point in having two out here.”

Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement before heading back to the counter to put his clothes back by his stuff. Then he descended into the water and slowly strolled his way towards the Beauxbatons champion, but he was reluctant to take a seat next to her. After all, any boy his age would kill to be in his footsteps at this moment.

“Aren’t you going to take a seat next to me, Monsieur Potter?!” asked Fleur, sounding amused.

“A-As long as y-you’re alright with it, M-Miss Delacour!” Harry replied, trying to keep his nervous state concealed with little use.

“I’m more than alright with it!” assured Fleur, a smirk on her face.

Harry felt his legs wobble in nervousness as he walked closer to take a seat next to Fleur. He may have had to grow up faster than the average kid because of the Dursleys, but Harry was still a teenager with the hormones going crazy. Harry felt his throat constricting due to his nervous state refusing to let up, and he swallowed in an attempt to curb some of it.

“Everything alright, Monsieur Potter?” asked Fleur.

“Yeah!” Harry replied a little too quickly. Taking a deep breath, he continued on at a smoother pace, “Yeah, I’m alright, everything’s alright. Just haven’t counted on being this close to… a pretty lady, or rather another pretty lady.”

“And yet, you never gave into any temptations,” stated Fleur. “I’ve already had to deal with those idiots who drool at the sight of me with their tongues hanging out. My smile was not only in elation, but relief because you showed some decency by staying in your spot instead of giving into your ego by advancing towards me with lust.”

“Well, I know the importance of personality coming first,” Harry explained. “Since looks can be deceiving. I couldn’t find it in myself to give in and do something potentially heinous to you, and tempting fate naturally would’ve been a bad idea since there’s the possibility that you could’ve taken martial arts in the past and use the opportunity to retaliate viciously.”

“That proves how considerate you really are, Monsieur Potter!” Fleur replied in elation. Then she went on in an apologetic tone, “I’m sorry for my ‘leetle boy’ comment on Halloween, if it offended you.”

“Not at all, Miss Delacour!” assured Harry. “It didn’t sound malicious, but I accept your apology.”

“Yeah, but still,” said Fleur. “I was even conflicted because your headmaster didn’t say anything, so it was easy to think that he thought of you as a liar when you tried assuring that you never put your name in that goblet.”

“That I can understand,” said Harry. “Since the headmaster has never shown any real concern for me. That explains why I’ve found myself in danger near the end of every year ever since I walked through the front doors for the first time. He’s been more concerned with keeping this school’s reputation as high as possible than the safety of the student population.”

“Looks like your headmaster is grossly incompetent,” stated Fleur. “If he’s going to just sit back and watch everything from afar. I’ve seen some of your fellow students getting bullied and it seems like nothing has been done about it.”

“Dumbledore has a tendency to defend the wrongdoers while harping on the victims for retaliating,” Harry explained. “He even lets one of the teachers bully many of the non-Slytherin students. But myself and Neville Longbottom are his favourite targets. Professor Snape is said teacher, he ‘teaches’ potions if one were to call it that. All he does is write half-arse instructions on a blackboard and even allows some of his Slytherin students to sabotage others’ assignments. He’s the head of Slytherin as well.”

“Well, I would like to introduce him to Madame Maxime,” stated Fleur with a smirk on her face. “So he could get a better understanding of why bullying is unacceptable. She doesn’t allow that to happen, and she takes the teacher bullies part even more seriously.”

“That would be gold for many Hogwarts students!” Harry replied, laughter breaking out. “And I have a hunch that many parents write complaint letters to Dumbledore about Snape, but he just ignores that while harping on them for ‘failure to give second chances.’ Dumbledore is just the kind of person who gives the wrongdoers infinite chances, since his definition of giving second chances means that there’s unlimited chances. He doesn’t know how to dish out proper punishments.”

“And that makes him unfit to be headmaster!” Fleur concurred, still smirking. Then she suggested, “How about we get to working on that clue from the egg? It’ll also help distract you from your troubles.”

Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement just as Fleur picked her golden egg up and dunked it under the water’s surface. Then she opened the egg underwater, which surprised Harry because he didn’t hear the ear-splitting wail that came from it anytime he opened it. Instead, it sounded like some kind of singing, so Harry dunked under the surface of the water and Fleur followed suit. The song went:

Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground.

And while you’re searching ponder this;

We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss.

An hour long you’ll have to look,

And recover what we took.

But past an hour, the prospect’s black,

Too late, it’s gone. It won’t come back.

Harry and Fleur stayed underwater as long as they could to try and memorize what the song meant. After a couple minutes or so, Harry and Fleur realized that the thing that one would sorely miss would be a special person that they would hold dearly in their hearts (since they ruled out anything that was a material possession). The moment he saw Fleur’s nice-looking tummy and legs (especially her thighs), Harry widened his eyes as a funny feeling was felt near his stomach, resulting in him blowing some air underwater as he tried to resurface. When he did, he began coughing and sputtering before taking a seat and taking some deep breaths. Fleur resurfaced not long after that with another smirk on her face, with Harry giving her a ‘for real?’ kind of look, since it made him realize that she intended for that to happen for some reason.

“What was all that about, F-Fleur?” asked Harry, as soon as she sat back down next to him.

“Another idea to help distract you from your troubles,” stated Fleur. “Since I don’t think you got to have any real excitement in your life, Harry. You don’t have anything against seeing a lady in her bikini, do you?”

“No,” assured Harry. “I was just surprised because I hadn’t counted on anything wonderful happening.”

“Well, tonight ought to be an excellent start for that, Harry,” Fleur told him, rather enthusiastically. “I’d like to see you loosen up a little and not be so tense.”

“Well, uh… as long as you’re alright with being around me,” Harry replied. “Since I’ve gotten to the point of expecting the worst to happen any moment.”

“I’m positive, Harry,” assured Fleur. “If I have to go through misfortunes myself just to spend time with you, then so be it. You don’t have to do all this alone, Harry.”

Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement, with his body relaxing as Fleur’s words sank in. Then she gently picked up one of his hands and placed it over her tummy. Harry’s heart fluttered when that happened, with Fleur giggling because she saw Harry’s face turning red. After a minute or so, Fleur moved Harry’s hand onto one of her thighs. Harry felt his heart rate increasing more, especially when Fleur gently moved Harry’s hand up and down her thigh, his face radiating heat as it happened. As much as Harry was enjoying the moment, he knew that he needed to keep this between himself and Fleur to make sure the wrong people didn’t get wind of it. As much as Harry wanted the moment to not end, he knew that all good moments had to come to an end, especially with the fact that he and Fleur could always find another moment to spend time with each other. It was also tempting for him and Fleur to be a team given that he was an unwilling competitor and he wasn’t interested in winning. But with Fleur there, maybe the remainder of the tournament would be easier to handle.

The End!

Chapter Text

Ten going-on eleven-year-old Harry Potter was trying to avoid his cousin Dudley and his gang, which was the norm for him, as the five enjoyed playing their favourite game called ‘Harry Hunting.’ They found him and now Harry was running for dear life. Even though he was fast enough, Harry knew that it was only a matter of time before Dudley, Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon found a way to surround him. It was already the summer holidays and Harry and the five bullies had already graduated from St. Grogery’s Primary School. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia naturally disallowed ‘the freak’ to walk up to get his diploma, not that Harry had anything against it because he was friendless during his primary school years since Dudley and his gang made sure of it. Dudley and his gang would be going to Smeltings Academy for their secondary education while Harry would be going to Stonewall High, which happened to be a local state school (whereas Smeltings was a boarding school). Dudley claimed that his cousin needed to be prepared ahead of time to attend because (according to Dudley) older kids stuffed the new kids’ heads down toilets as part of a hazing ritual. Whether or not those rumours were true was unclear, especially since Dudley and his gang were highly unintelligent.

‘I wish I could be so far away from this place!’ thought Harry desperately, as Dudley and his gang were beginning to close in.

That was all Harry could think of the closer his cousin and his gang got, his heart beating increasing in fright by the second since he knew he was highly outnumbered. The moment Dudley and his gang were close enough to Harry, he somehow disappeared with a pop before their very eyes. Dudley and his gang stopped dead in the tracks with their eyes as wide as saucers in fright when they remembered the same thing happening several weeks before Dudley’s birthday when they chased ‘the freak’ behind a trash can and he somehow teleported to the roof of the school. Naturally, Harry got busted for ‘climbing the building’ no matter how hard he tried defending himself. Harry had no idea that his life was going to be taking a shocking turn, but whether or not it was for the better was unknown.

Meanwhile at a marble-constructed manor out in the sticks close to Bordeaux, France, was a young woman of age fourteen laying down in a hammock close to the backyard where a swimming pool was located. The young lady had chest-length platinum-blonde hair hanging down, bright-blue eyes, and was tall at a height of five-foot-eight. Her name was Fleur Delacour and was wearing a sky-blue short-sleeve t-shirt, a pair of gray lounging shorts, and was barefoot. She was laying in the hammock while reading a book and listening to the waves of the Atlantic Ocean since the manor was on a cliff overlooking said ocean. The sound of a pop brought Fleur back to reality because she jumped in surprise and almost immediately, she saw a mop of untidy black hair in overly-large rags appearing right before her and landed on her (which was enough for two sounds of ‘oomf’ to be let out of their mouths).

Naturally, Fleur was struggling to get out of the hammock as much as the strange being before her (her heart beating faster because she didn't know who or what the strange being was). It got to the point where the hammock flipped over and the two fell off onto the dirt-covered ground, with Fleur and the strange being giving off another ‘oomf’ when they hit the ground. Upon crawling away from underneath the hammock, Fleur eyed the strange being and discovered that it was a boy who was either age ten or eleven with untidy black hair. His full-moon glasses fell off and showed a pair of emerald-green eyes, and he was dressed in rags that were four or five sizes too big. He also crawled away from under the hammock and immediately crawled away in fear when he spotted Fleur. When the boy made it towards a tree a reasonable distance away, he curled up into a ball and began shaking uncontrollably as though he was scared that something awful would happen, enough for Fleur to feel her heart breaking (since the heart beating didn’t slow down).

“Are you okay?!” Fleur asked the frightened boy, her voice filled with worry.

The boy remained curled up into the ball while shaking so violently, he even kept his face hidden so Fleur couldn’t get a good look. She didn’t have a good look when she struggled to get out of the hammock moments earlier because of the sudden shock of the unexpected visitor somehow appearing before her. Fleur felt her heart breaking even more, worried as to what might have been frightening the boy so much to have him shake like that. She couldn’t get up and alert her parents out of concerns that he would’ve been left in a vulnerable position. So Fleur continued staying there keeping an eye on the frightened boy. She refrained from touching him just in case he had injuries that she didn’t know about.

“Is everything alright?” Fleur asked the boy, making sure to keep her voice soft.

The boy didn’t move from his spot, continuing to shake uncontrollably in fright. After a few minutes, the boy’s shaking started easing up because he wasn’t getting what he expected. Fleur gradually felt herself slowly relaxing as the boy slowly got the trembling under control. He slowly uncurled himself, with Fleur still eyeing him intently. She knew that she needed to be patient because the boy had no idea where he was or what happened just now. When the boy was fully uncurled, he looked over at Fleur with a confused expression on his face. Fleur got a good look and was taken aback to see that it was Harry Potter. She had some familiarity with the Boy-Who-Lived stories, but they weren’t as widely known outside of Magical England since it was the breeding ground for those stories. She began questioning as to how Harry ended up here and why he was wearing overly-large rags with a stick-skinny frame from the looks of it. The Boy-Who-Lived stories said that he was living in a castle living a life full of privilege, and even rescuing different girls and riding with them on unicorns or something off into the sunset. Fleur knew that they were stories, but Harry’s current condition was making her question just where he had been staying the whole time.

“Uh… where am I?” Harry asked, some fear leaking out into his voice.

“You’re in France, Monsieur Potter,” Fleur replied. “Just outside of Delacour Manor. How did you manage to get all the way out here from England?”

“I-I’m wondering that myself, Miss Delacour,” Harry replied. “All I know was the moments earlier I was running away from my cousin and his gang, claiming that I need to be prepared for some kind of hazing ritual at Stonewall High where younger kids get their heads stuffed down toilets. I wished to get so far away from them that I suddenly found myself… here, in front of you. I don’t know what it was, but at least I’m not with my cousin and his gang, or with my aunt and uncle.”

Fleur was blood-boiling with anger inwardly because she had a hunch that Harry was being abused, since she knew the importance of reading between the lines. But she stayed silent because she didn’t want to accidentally spook him and have that cause him to curl up into a ball again. However, Harry’s curiosity piqued when the girl before him somehow knew who he was, and he was considering asking how. He knew the Dursleys forbade him to ask questions, but he wasn’t anywhere close to them and he realized he was free to ask any questions he had on his mind.

“I’m Fleur Delacour, by the way!” Fleur properly introduced herself, holding a hand out while smiling.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Fleur, I’m Harry Potter!” Harry replied, slowly moving his hand towards Fleur’s and eventually grabbing a hold of it to shake it. When they were finished, Harry asked, “So how did you know my name?”

“Well, in the magical world,” Fleur explained. “You’re known as the Boy-Who-Lived, though those stories are primary in Magical England because that’s where the breeding ground is. They’re not as widely known in other magical parts of the world.”

“But magic can’t exist,” Harry professed. “There’s no such thing as magic.”

“Well, you proved that one wrong when you somehow teleported here, Harry.” stated Fleur. “But let me ask you this: did you ever make anything strange happen when you were angry or scared?”

Harry thought about that for a minute, then he remembered some incidents in the past where he made weird things happen. He remembered that one time he turned a teacher’s wig blue in retaliation for the insults, how his hair grew back overnight to how it was before it was sheared to almost bald (except for the bangs to keep the scar hidden), how he managed to shrink one of Dudley’s old sweaters to hand puppet size (which Petunia decided shrunk in the wash and didn’t punish her nephew), and then somehow teleport to Delacour Manor in France from the neighborhood around Privet Drive in Little Whinging. That had to have been what Uncle Vernon meant when he said ‘funny business’ all those times in the past when he told ‘the freak’ not to show any of it. After he explained all of that to Fleur, Harry felt alot of weight having been lifted off of his shoulders. Fleur even laughed at the blue wig and the hand-puppet sweater parts, since those were pretty funny.

“Well, if Magical England is the breeding ground for this Boy-Who-Lived who looks like me,” Harry told Fleur. “Then I don’t think I’d be safe there, since if I return to that world I didn't know existed that it would allow fangirls and fanboys to surround me and gawk at me like a zoo animal.”

“Well, let’s speak with my maman and papa,” Fleur suggested in a soft voice. “They’ll be able to help you out better than I can. My papa works in the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, while my maman works as a healer at St. Mungo’s Hospital For Magical Maladies & Injuries, where in this country it’s called the Hôpital Sainte-Mangouste pour les maladies et blessures magiques. Maman is French for mum, mother, mummy, or any other variants of mother.”

“Oh, okay,” Harry replied. “If I’m going to eventually live here, I’ll need to learn how to be fluent in French.”

“Well, let’s go over to the back door so I can inform my parents,” said Fleur in a soft voice. “Though you’ll need to wait outside because I’ll have to go in and actually let them know because my little sister Gabrielle is taking a nap. She is four years old and often goes by Gabby when it comes to friends and family.”

“Will… will they be fine with… looking after me?” asked Harry with uncertainty.

“I’m positive, Harry,” assured Fleur. “They’ll be surprised when they see you, but I don’t think they’ll have a problem looking after you until they can figure out what to do with you. Your teleportation was actually called apparition, where a wizard or witch vanishes and reappears somewhere else. Since you somehow managed to apparate such a long distance away even accidentally, I feel certain that the ministry workers in your country are going to go on a massive manhunt to search for you.”

“That can’t be good,” said Harry, fear leaking into his voice. “Especially if most of them expect me to play the hero or something given those Boy-Who-Lived stories that I’ve yet to learn more about.”

“Let’s not worry about that right now, Harry,” said Fleur in a soft voice. “Let’s get you checked over for any injuries you may have and get to know my parents and sister when she wakes up.”

Harry nodded his head before following Fleur over to the back door to her family manor. He couldn’t help but wonder how anyone working for his country’s ministry of magic found out about him apparating away such a long distance, since they likely had to have somehow found out by now. Harry even started wondering if someone in the same ministry dumped him with the Dursleys when he was a baby because he had been with the Dursleys for as long as he could remember. Whoever did put him with the Dursleys, Harry wasn’t going to trust the one or ones responsible.

The End!