Unveiling Destiny: Harry Potter and the Triwizard Revelation

" Homenum revelio " Harry incanted and then watched as the spell located Fleur again.

The beautiful young witch poked her head out of the cloak and was scowling fiercely. "Non, ça ne devrait pas fonctionner comme ça!" She exclaimed, much to Harry's confusion.

"Err, in english please, I don't get french." He knew better than to antagonize her when she was already heavily annoyed with the results of the experiments that they were conducting.

She glowered at him and fully removed the his invisibility cloak. " I said, it shouldn't work this way!"

"Oh, I kind of like it." Harry teased, he knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help himself.

"Of course you do." She said and used her free hand to throw her hair behind her shoulders, sending it sprawling down across her back. "The cloak protects you but not me! Never me! It should be both, or none!" She threw the offending item at Harry, vexxed at even just touching the garment.

Harry snatched it and shrugged. "Could it be because it's a Potter heirloom, like it only works properly for a Potter?" It was his best guess as to why the cloak protected only him from the spell designed to reveal human presence whether they were under invisibility enchantments or not.

Fleur didn't dignify him with a response. She pointed to the second item on her list and had Harry don the cloak again.

"This time I'll listen for your footsteps and if I don't hear you the first time, I'll use an amplitude charm so I hear better." She was determined to figure out the limitations of the cloak and was upset at the baffling results. The cloak acted like a normal invisibility cloak when Harry was not using it, in respect to the revealing charm, for both humans, animals and objects. There were no links or magical bonds between Harry and his cloak, as far as she's been able to discern.

"Amplification charm." Harry corrected, a grin forming on his face.

She glared at him so he ducked his head under the cloak, it was hard to glare at someone you couldn't see.

Fleur loved this kind of thing. She thrived in the academic world and was really glad Harry had asked for help with figuring out his cloak. She kind of hoped that this result would prove it to be normal and, yet, at the same time, she hoped it wouldn't be different, so that the item would be some kind of unique and powerful artifact. That it only worked in amazing ways for Harry would greatly annoy her, however.

"Okay, 'arry, start."

Harry nodded, though his action was unnoticed by his companion as his head was cloaked. He then began pacing back and forth along the line Fleur had just drawn with her wand on the ground.

Fleur watched carefully but saw nothing, as expected. She concentrated hard and couldn't hear anything. She cast the amplification charm on herself and did her best to listen for any noise his movements were making. She heard nothing.

A whole minute passed before Harry stopped and took off the cloak. "Well?" He promoted.

Fleur grimaced, his voice was incredibly loud with the charm, it was similar to a sonorus charm but instead of projecting your voice loudly it did the opposite, projecting all the hearable noises loudly, as if they were all affected by a sonorus.

She took the spell off herself and shook her head. "Nothing. I 'eard nothing!"

Harry gave her a lopsided grin. "Cloak 2, Fleur 0."

Upon hearing his words she whirled her wand on him and shot a stinging hex. The spell flew out of her wand and hit Harry, who was not paying attention, right on his right buttocks.

"Ow!" He grabbed the sore spot on his arse and glowered at Fleur. He took a second to compose himself and then responded in a different tact than he would have employed not too long ago.

"Didn't realize you were so interested in my arse."

Harry enjoyed his comment catching her off guard. She'd not expected it and was momentarily surprised. "C'est toi qui s'intéresse à ma derrière" She responded lifting her chin and looking down her nose at him.

She spun on the spot and moved back to the paper to see the next test. She swayed her hips and suddenly looked back, after taking a few steps, to catch where Harry's line of sight was. "c'est vrai" she said primly, huffing a breath out her nose.

"English Fleur! English! I've only got bonjour in my french vocabulary!"

"If you choose not to learn such a beautiful language zen zat is your fault!" She turned her head back to the paper, ignoring Harry for the moment.

"Mah derriare means ' my arse'? C'est is 'it is'? Interessent is probably 'interesting' so you said my arse is interesting? It's so kind of you to admit that! A guy always appreciates praise from the fairer sex." He said cheerily.

Fleur turned back towards him, her wand levelled at him again. "I said, 'it is you who are interested in my behind'. Then, 'it is true' after your eyes were glued to my behind when I walked away. I am just too irrésistible, non?"

"Are you sure? I could ask someone to translate, you know."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Not wiz your pronunciation you cannot, it's 'intéresse à ma derrière' not whatever 'orrid words you 'appen to butcher."

"Now back to the test. It is my turn with the cloak." She strode up to him and snatched it from him, put it on and told him to count to three and she would start.

"Un, deux, trois." Harry counted and then he listened carefully. He could hear the sound of her footfalls clear as day and abruptly told her so.

She threw off the cloak, letting it pool on the ground, and walked back to the paper noting the results. "Fine, then it is time to test with light, to see if you cast a shadow."

Harry nodded and donned the cloak once more.

"Invisibility cloaks normally don't cast shadows right?" Honestly Harry was surprised by all these tests, especially that his cloak was special. He was muggle raised and had assumed all invisibility cloaks functioned as his did. It wasn't until he'd read up on the revealing spells, when he was trying to figure out just what Cuddles was, that he'd stumbled across the information that his cloak shouldn't have hidden him from that charm.

"Non, they do not."

Harry nodded, "So just one test then."

"Oui."

"I'm ready when you are." Harry let her know. The testing was a bit tedious and he didn't want to hide away all day in this abandoned classroom, one that was importantly derelict of portraits.

Fleur cast a spell that created a bright orb of light and had it at a forty-five degree angle above Harry and off to his right. With the cloak not fully on there was a partial shadow. With the cloak there was no shadow, as expected.

Fleur marked her paper down, crossing off another test and then was ready to move onto the next one. "That's soul detection, sight, and sound. Physical touch we already know it doesn't protect from," she shot him a dark look for previously bumping into her, "I don't think it matters if someone can taste and I already know I cannot smell you under the cloak."

"You do?" One of Harry's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Of course, I tested it earlier and I'm sure you would be able to smell me just like you could hear me." She told him.

"Alrighty then, anything left you wanted to test?" They'd covered the five senses already.

"Of course." She rejoined. "Wards and spells still need to be tested."

Right, he wasn't a muggle. They had to test magic too.

Fleur delicately worked with her rosewood wand and began building a simple ward. Harry watched, fascinated. He wasn't quite up to this level of proficiency. He had a ways to go with runes and building schemes of them. He'd just started runes this year and couldn't be expected to be anywhere close to Fleur if she was a 7th year and had been studying for four years.

"Bon, the ward is ready. Cross it with your cloak on." She instructed him after breaking her intense concentration on her task.

Harry did as asked, slipping the cloak back on fully and he strode across the ward and took it off. "What was it supposed to do?" He was puzzled and although he had felt something he wasn't able to discern what that something was.

FLeur's mouth was wide open. "Merde!" She exclaimed when he reappeared. "C'est impossible!"

"It's impossible? Don't think so, Fleur." Harry said sarcastically.

"You walked over the ward? You didn't go around it?" She asked quickly, ignoring his remark.

"Of course." He said, slightly offended.

"Do it again." She instructed.

Harry just decided to listen. This was something impossible so why not indulge her. He repeated his earlier actions and Fleur was no less shocked, her one arm was crossed, holding her opposing arm's elbow while her other hand was covering her open mouth.

"I must try." She declared and Harry handed her the cloak.

Harry watched her disappear and then reappear. As she got to the ward it blasted her back, toppling her backwards and causing her to land on her arse heavily.

Harry had no idea what she was saying but given the anger she was expressing he assumed she was swearing and saying unpleasant things in french. Oddly enough it didn't sound all that bad, maybe Fleur was right and French was a beautiful language.

"And here I was wondering what the ward did." He gaily commented as he offered her a hand up, he couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle he'd just seen. He'd certainly never had expected to see a proper lady like Fleur go flying backwards and land painfully on her arse, especially when in her school skirt.

"That was supposed to be you, not me." Fleur grumped. She accepted Harry's hand up and stood up. The hand not holding her wand rubbed her rump as it had taken quite a bump. "I was so excited your cloak ignored the ward I forgot it probably wouldn't work for me." She pouted with her bottom lip protruding. "But this is so amazing!" She breathed the comment out. "Do you know how special this is?" She gestured the his family heirloom.

Harry was half listening as he was trying to recall what the ward had felt like so he could try and connect what he had felt with what he now knew. Harry had read about feeling the magic around him and how to train it. Apparently through a lot of experience. Exposure to foreign magic was highly recommended as it would subconsciously train your magic to recognize the foreign magic and thus your ability to detect magic that wasn't your own.

"Err, not really?" He responded. It wasn't quite a true statement. If his cloak was allowed him to waltz through wards and not allow his soul to be detected, it was an amazing tool for theft and espionage.

"Wards are the primary, and often the sole, form of defense and protection in the wizarding world! Goblins ward their vaults, families ward their homes, and the ministry will ward anything of value. Our whole society uses magical wards because they are so effective at defense and protection! Nobody lives in castles or has enchanted guardians because they aren't needed!" Fleur narrowed her eyes and poked him now. "And here you are, with this cloak that only works for you and it allows you to waltz through wards!"

"People really only use wards to protect things?" He asked, even muggles used things like a safe, wouldn't those in the magical world?

She scoffed at him, "Of course they use more than just that for valuables but you could break into almost anywhere without being caught! The Ministry, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and probably even Gringotts! Almost nowhere would be safe from you!" Fleur was talking quickly and almost rambling as she spoke the thoughts that came into her head. She was trying to get her mind around this discovery but it was just so unprecedented. It shouldn't be possible!

"You can't tell anyone about this. If people learned about it you'd never get peace! You'd be hunted for the cloak and its secrets!"

"What?! You're exaggerating things now." He told her, trying to add some levity back as this had gotten very serious very quickly.

"Non! I'm not explaining the danger enough! You must swear everyone to secrecy who knows about your cloak! You can't reveal it's abilities to anyone . If it gets out that your cloak can do this ministries will try and seize it, criminals will do anything to possess it and powerful people will hire people to steal it from you, probably murder you too." She was glaring at him, doing her best to make sure he understood this was life and death type information.

"It's worse than your last Dark Lord. It won't just be madmen from England that come after you, every unsavory person in the entire magical world will be after it, if word ever leaked out."

Fleur whipped out her wand. "I, Fleur Delacour, swear by magic, on my life, that I will never voluntarily release any information about your family's invisibility cloak. I will keep its secrets to the best of my ability. So mote it be." A flash of magic came from the tip of her wand as the oath was accepted by magic.

"No! Why would you do that!" Harry demanded to know.

"Why? It's obvious!" She rounded back at him, "For your protection and for mine! I'm even debating asking you to obliviate this from my mind!" She was firm in her resolve on this. No security precaution could be enough.

"For mine and yours? You didn't have to do that Fleur." Harry had his hand on the back of his neck and it was running up and down the back of his neck and head.

"I did." She wouldn't be convinced otherwise. "That cloak is literally priceless. It's invaluable. No fortune could be worth it. You must keep it secret, keep it safe and let nobody know about it. Anyone else who knows, you must swear to secrecy. Who else knows?"

"Well, nobody knows it can walk through wards that I'm aware of." He told her and she let out a breath at that. "But there's quite a few people that probably know about the cloak, that it's a normal invisibility cloak anyways."

"Who?" Fleur demanded to know right away.

"Err, well, my friends Ron and Hermione. Hagrid knows of it too. Dumbledore for sure, my dad's friends Moony and Padfoot, Pettigrew too, a not-dead Death Eater. That's all I can think of off the top of my head?" He lifted his eyes up as high as they could go and then shut his eyes trying to concentrate and see if he'd forgotten anyone else. He had, "Oh, Fred and George and probably Snape too." He added sheepishly.

"Merde." Fleur swore again. "None of them know about the ward walking though?" She asked tentatively hopeful.

"Not that I know of." Harry responded confidently. "Well, maybe Dumbledore?"

Fleur sighed and raised her eyebrow in expectancy of an explanation.

"He gave it back to me when I was eleven, at Christmas. It's from him I even knew that it is a family heirloom. He would have had it at least as long as my parents were dead. He might have just had it but he's Dumbledore. He probably knows but I have no way of knowing without asking him."

Fleur nodded, agreeing with his line of thought.

Things got quite as Harry wondered what Fleur would recommend. She was deep in thought he could easily tell.

"You need to discreetly get a hold of a top quality invisibility cloak. It would be your decoy while your heirloom is kept secret from everyone." She nodded firmly. "It's the best idea. You cannot contain the knowledge that you have a cloak of invisibility. So, just make sure you have one and if anyone ever wants to see it you can show them a normal one."

"That should work… but, where do I get a cloak?" He doubted you could get one at Diagon Alley, at least from the shops he knew about. He almost snorted at the mental image of going into Madame Malkins and asking for one as he picked up his school robes.

Fleur frowned as she tried to figure out a plan, then she got an idea. "I'll ask Papa. We owe you thirteen years of birthday and Yule presents. An invisibility cloak so you can avoid being harassed in public would make a great gift don't you think?" She was proud of the idea she'd come up with.

"And if he finds out that I already have an heirloom cloak?" He asked, thinking it an obvious flaw in her plan.

Fleur's confidence seemed to disagree with him as she answered that query. "Cloaks only last a couple decades and I'll explain yours is fading and needs to be replaced. I'll tell him I'll pull the same trick he did on Gabrielle with her Pygmy Puffs." She grinned.

"What trick?" Harry frowned wanting to understand why she thought it was so funny.

"Gabrielle doesn't understand that Pygmy Puffs have a rather short life span. When hers dies, Papa tells her it is just sleeping and that day he buys her a new one that looks the same. When Maman distracts her he switches them out and because she doesn't understand, she thinks she's had the same Pygmy Puff since she was trois." Fleur smiled evilly at him.

"So Papa will think you don't know your cloak is dying and my replacing it will give you a gift you didn't realize you received from us, one that is practical and helpful. You just need to act ignorant, shouldn't be very difficult for you, should it?" She batted her eyelashes at him and giggled at his offended expression.

Harry had to admit it was a decent idea. He still doubted Monsieur Delacour wouldn't see through it eventually but it was probably a decent enough idea. Plus, it wasn't his money that would be wasted. A second invisibility cloak might be downright useful. He was getting too big to share his cloak and it didn't work right if it wasn't just him under the cloak anyways. Not seeing any downside he agreed.

"Is that all for testing then?" Harry asked, hoping it was. He was getting hungry.

"No, we have one more set of tests to do." She grinned ferally at him and Harry had some healthy fear enter into his mind. "We need to test direct spellcasting." The malicious look in her eyes didn't bode well for him. She probably wanted pay back for him laughing at her when the ward caught her.

Harry prepared himself to get hit by spells, he hoped Fleur wasn't going to be too unkind. If she was, he'd just start dodging and shielding.

"I would think that the wards do not affect you because they are trying to keep out or affect magicals. Muggle repelling wards are a part of every standard set so wards are normally used to keep out magicals. As you are undetectable by magic under your cloak, they don't react to your presence."

"That makes sense, I guess." Wards hadn't been an area of study for him yet. He'd intended to add it to his list though. "Do you know much about wards? Aren't they a post NEWT topic?" He knew it was but he was being kind and acknowledging that if she had studied it she was quite advanced for her age.

"I've studied it some and, yes, it is a post NEWT field of magic." Some of that veela arrogance colored her tone as she responded.

"Impressive." It really was as she'd already demonstrated a basic knowledge of the magic and was capable of producing a basic ward. "Was there any particular reason for your study in that field?"

Most people didn't study it. They usually hired professionals and had a binding contract to not give away their ward scheme or any vulnerabilities they can think of to anyone who's not a party to the contract. It had worked for the majority of the populace for centuries.

"Oui, I had thought about trying to be a curse breaker. I'd started studying for the entrance examinations this past summer."

"You were up to studying wards even before you were a seventh year?" She was actually even more impressive than he'd thought.

"Oui, you didn't think I was all just exotic beautiful looks, did you?" She gave him a teasing twirl. "I told you, 'arry, you won't find a better match than me. You should just give up and be mine, you won't regret it." She said in sultry voice.

Hormones be damned! Harry couldn't help blushing and reacting to that. "How bout we get on with the next test?" Harry quickly changed subjects. He was tempted to bring up the idea Daphne had planted in his head but didn't think transitioning onto the topic of children would send a message he wanted to do, at this time at least.

"Okay, I expect the spells to still 'arm you when you are under the cloak. Stand ten feet away under the 'X' on the ground." She'd used her wand to paint an 'X' on the ground while she had spoken.

Harry dutifully did as he was told and stood where he was instructed to and slipped on the cloak.

"A stinging jinx to start then." Fleur casted silently and hit Harry in the abdomen.

"Ouch." Harry said, throwing off the cloak and rubbing the spot he had been struck.

"So physical spells can hit you." Fleur smirked and said a little too happy with hurting him, not that it actually hurt.

"Why'd you think it would work?" Harry had an idea, especially after what Fleur had reminded him of for wards but he'd like to hear her thoughts, she was intelligent.

"Isn't it obvious? Your cloak protects your soul from magical detection. The spell continues until it physically hits something. So, any spell I cast that affects a target physically won't be blocked by your cloak. Only magic that is based off of detecting the soul will fail to work." She bit her lip and was nervous to add something. She puckered her lips then opened and closed her mouth.

Harry kept silent and waited to see if she would say anything else.

"I'm hesitant to speak it because I fear you may one day try it." Fleur's confident demeanor had fallen away. She had one arm dangling down her left side and the other was holding her elbow. She was swaying slightly and had a nervous quiver in lower lip. "I- I think you could survive another killing curse if it hit you while you wore the cloak."

Harry sucked in a breath. That made some sense. "Because it's not physical?"

Fleur ducked her head in acknowledgement. "It's soul magic. There is never a physical mark because it removes the soul from the body. Their life on earth ends and their soul departs."

Harry frowned, he wasn't sure he wanted to bring it up with her but this was too good an opportunity to not ask. He didn't want to have another major avenue of research to be assisted by the Delacour family but he couldn't resist the opening, plus she'd given him an unasked for vow…

"Do you know much about soul magic?" Harry asked quietly, for some reason he didn't want to speak about anything.

Fleur's eyes shot up to his. They were sharp and totally focused, any lack of confidence or clarity was now missing. "Non. I only know the human soul is pure and to tamper with it is beyond foul. It is devilry, the blackest of magics. Never research it 'arrry. Not only is it illegal across the whole ICW, it is wrong, vile and as dark as dark gets." There was a sincerity and a vehement longing for him to heed her advice.

"Oh, I didn't know." Harry said trying to keep his response as innocent and natural as he could. Despite the warnings he knew he had to research soul magic. There was something more to the diary than just an enchantment. The more he thought about it the more he knew it.

The memory of Riddle was leeching the life out of Ginny. There was no wound, there was no transfer of magic or anything discernable. It was as if she was losing her essence, her soul, to the diary. A diary that was able to think, possess, and manipulate those around them. It was soul magic, Voldemort wouldn't care how black the art was. He was depraved, evil and anything that could help him achieve power he would have done his best to learn. If soul magic was 'wrong', like Fleur said, there was no doubt he had to learn more about it.

"'Arry, it's not something to mess with. If your tutor tries to teach you anything about it, run. Don't even wait, just get up and leave. No matter the benefit, it's not worth it. The truly Dark Arts are all like them. They promise power and prestige but they are treacherous. For every power they grant, they take from you. It takes and takes until you aren't you . You're a twisted shell of a human and unredeemable."

She moved close to him and cupped his cheek with his right hand. "That's not you 'arry. You're a chevalier, a knight. Brave, noble, courageous and pure of heart, you are all those things and so much more. Stay so."

Harry was surprised by how earnest she was. Somehow she seemed to know he had no intention of staying away from Soul Magic. She was trying to warn him and ardently accede for him to not fall to the Dark Arts.

If someone walked in on them just then they may have thought she was about to kiss him, or him her. That wasn't the case at all. There was nothing sexual about the actions. It was deep, emotional and completely wholesome.

Fleur removed her hand from his cheek and walked back to her paper.

Harry looked after her blankly. He was collecting himself. Fleur was so different than he'd really ever thought before. She'd been so open and helpful. Her family had been straightforward and honest since they'd became acquainted. He still didn't know exactly how he felt about them but he'd felt comfortable there. Instead of having leverage over him, by helping with the cloak, she'd sworn herself to secrecy and come up with an idea on how to keep people from knowing about his special cloak.

He wasn't really sure about his own feelings. He liked the time he spent with Natalia but she hadn't put him at ease like Fleur had. She'd shown interest and spent time with him whenever she could. She teased but never pushed him or tried to force anything. He wasn't sure what this all meant…

"It is lunch time, 'arry. Did you want to accompany me to the Great Hall?" She asked him.

"Sure, I need to eat and don't' have other plans."

"One more thing, 'arry. Did you figure out your egg?"

"You mean our upcoming late February dip in the lake?" Harry wasn't completely sure that she knew what it was until he saw her reaction.

A grin tugged at her lips. "Are you not looking forward to seeing moi in a swimsuit? I thought you liked my derrière." She stated with faux innocence, a finger touching her chin, "It would look good in one non?" Her cheeks lifted as she smiled at Harry's slight blush and obvious quick thought about what she'd said.

Harry shook his head. "You keep asking me trap questions. If I say no, you follow up questioning if I'm a red-blooded man, or why ever not, and if I say yes… well, let's not go there…"

"Why not? Is it so hard to admit you like me?" Fleur asked coyly, taking a step toward him.

"No, it's really not." Harry told her bluntly. "But liking and dating are two different things."

"I know 'arry." She brushed a the few strands of hair that had fallen into her face. "Know I cannot wait forever; I'm of age and Papa has been turning down suitors for years. I've not yet dated… but, soon I must." Already heading off Harry's worry she continued before he did any more than open his mouth. "Papa would never force me to marry, but we all 'ave our lot in life. I'm a Delacour and continuing our line is something I must do." There wasn't a grimace or any tone of sadness. Harry thought it was acceptance and understanding with, perhaps, a dash of resignation.

"I get it." Harry shared a small smile with her. "I'll keep it in mind."

"I understand it seems so far away… To be truthful fourteen is a little young for me right now. By the time we are twenty and seventeen? It will not be so. I've chosen not lose you as a potential suitor over such a silly thing." She closed the distance between them and left a lingering kiss on his cheek, just off the side of his mouth.

"Are you coming for lunch, 'arry?" She asked as she sashayed out the door.

Harry stuffed his invisibility cloak into his bag and followed her.

They'd used a third floor classroom and didn't have too far to go to get back to the main level. They chatted amicably until Harry realized he really should ask Fleur about the pregnancy issue. He was going to have to make some plans on the romantic front and he needed reliable information to make it.

Harry told her he wished to ask about one more thing and directed them to the antechamber off the Entrance Hall. Harry locked the door with a colloportus charm and quickly snapped off his privacy charms.

Fleur looked at him expectantly, an eyebrow raised. "What did you want to speak with me about that we hadn't covered?"

Harry had a moue expression on his face. "I was told there are difficulties between veela and wizards for bearing children. Instead of believing them at face value I thought I'd ask you."

Fleur scowled, "Natalia told you this?" She asked sharply.

"No, it wasn't her."

Her black look hadn't left yet, but she answered. "There are. It is very difficult to get with child, most wizards and veela coupling do not bother with birth control."

"Oh." Harry said not sure how he should follow up.

"My grand-mère did not expect to have ma mère. It happened and my mother is a true half-breed, half witch half veela. She and Papa have not used contraceptives and have a healthy relationship." She blinked quickly and squeezed her eyes shut for a second, wishing it would keep torturous memories she'd seen to away, "But they have only had us two."

Harry was wide-eyed as he listened, trying to be empathetic, but he didn't fully understand what she was saying. He thought she was leading to something by her delivery. He bit his tongue to keep from asking any questions until she had made it clear she was done explaining.

This is not known to those without veela heritage and I trust it will not be blabbed about." She shot him a stern look even though she knew it wasn't necessary. Harry wasn't one to run his mouth and if she asked him for a favor she knew he'd agree unless she was totally unreasonable in her request.

"A full veela will not have more than one half-breed child. A half-veela will have two daughters at most, never any male offspring. A quarter-veela will have, at most, two daughters and a son. My son, if I have one, will not have enough veela magic to have any reproductive restrictions. My daughters, and theirs, will each be able to have one more child than the previous generation with no further gender restrictions beyond four children, their restriction being two females and two males."

If she wasn't so deadly resolute in her delivery, he'd almost think she was joking. Adding to her words Daphne's families issues with having children it made it far more believable.

"How do full-veela reproduce then? Are there male veela?" Harry asked knowing full well no book he could source had even mentioned a hin at there being male veela.

Fleur laughed, "There are no male veela. To be a veela is to be a woman."

"And full-veela?" He prompted, he really wanted to know! Several of ridiculous theories for how veela repopulate have been proposed throughout the centuries. They ranged from laying their eggs and heating them with their own fire until they hatch to stealing male muggles for sex orgies and since the muggles had no magic, the veela magic overrides their sperm to only make veela women with few characteristics which resembled the father.

"Sorry 'arry, you must be a veela to know or married to one." She shot him a cheeky look, "If you must know there is always that option."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I don't need to know that badly."

"Would it be such a bad thing to marry moi?" Her lower lip protruded in a sulky pout.

"No, I'm not playing into this! It's time for lunch." He quickly removed his privacy spells and removed the locking spell on the door.

He got outside the door and waited for her. He wasn't actually running away from her, he was just hungry and wanted to do a couple things after lunch.

"Are you going to sit with me 'arry?" Fleur asked audaciously.

"Do you want to sit with me at the Gryffindor table?" He asked and then added his reasoning,"I should really say hi to my quidditch teammates."

Fleur was walking level with Harry but she grabbed his forearm to stop him. Harry felt the spell she cast. It felt private yet void as well. He assumed it was a privacy spell but he asked her before she could say why she'd stopped him from entering into the Great Hall. Seriously, if these delays kept happening, they'd never get to eat!

"What was that spell, what are its functions?" Ha abruptly spoke while Fleur was opening her mouth.

Fleur's neck dipped back, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed, she was obviously annoyed at the interruption. "It's a privacy charm, it keeps our voices from carrying out past a three feet radius."

Perfect! That made sense why he felt a void then. Beyond the circle's circumference, there was a barrier that killed sound waves, like a void. He wouldn't have been able to pick that up but it was so important he kept tuning his magical sense every chance he got.

"What I wanted to say, 'arry, was that if you do decide not to date me there will be no 'ard feelings. I will be your friend and confidant whether we date or not. The Delacours are friends with the Potters; that will not change." Harry could tell she was adamant with the meaning of her words.

"Thanks Fleur, really, thanks."

"You don't need to thank a friend for being a friend. Besides, there is no one better than me, you will see that." She patted his cheek twice. She dispelled the charm and then asked "Are we not getting food wiz your friends?" She winked at him in mirth.

Head ducked his head and escorted her into the hall leading her to sit beside him right next to his teammates. Harry sat to the right of Fred, or George, and across from Alicia, she was between Angelina, to her left, from Harry's perspective, and Katie.

"Harrykins! So lovely to see you ol' chap!" The twin Harry believed to be Fred greeted him with enthusiasm.

"And with the enchanting Miss Delacour in tow again, always a pleasure my lady." George cheerily added his mischievous greeting to his brother's. "I'd bow but then my face would be in my food and we don't have table manners as atrocious as our youngest brother." Though the comment was tongue-in-cheek, it was still true.

"Hey! You don't even greet your own girlfriend that nice!" Angelina jumped in with an upset remark. She threw a bun, and like the great chaser she was, it hit him square in the face.

"Girlfriend?" Harry questioned immediately. "Didn't Fred take you to the Yule Ball?"

"I did." The twin sitting right next to him told him simply.

"But as I'm obviously the better looking twin," he had to dodge the under-the-table gut punch from his twin, "she chose to date me." He stated smugly, though it was ruined by his arms working to keep his brother from hitting him.

"Or maybe it was because you didn't ask me to the ball with an 'Oi! Angelina! Do you want to come to the ball, with me?' in the middle of the common room."

"Hey! You accepted that!" Fred interjected in his own defense, his arms finally free from his brother.

"What else was she to do?" Alicia spoke up for her friend. "Reject her teammate when she didn't even have a date yet and we were waiting for the two of you to get off your sorry arses and ask us?"

"Besides, neither of them would be dating you two louts if you'd kept that up." Katie added, patting Alicia's arm supportively. "I still say they should dump you two hooligans. They could share Harry, at least he has some class and escorts his lady in by the arm." She'd continued with a wicked grin.

"'Arry is quite the gentleman, I might even be open to sharing 'im if the terms are right." She added a wink for extra effect at the two stunned chasers.

Harry had piled food while his teammates bantered back and forth. He'd paid attention enough to learn Alicia was dating Fred and Angelina was with George but the rest of the banter he'd ignored like the good natured chatter they always had whenever they were all together. That was until Katie and Fleur joined their teasing. Katie had commented that they should all share him to annoy Fred, George and Lee. Katie had a thing for the twin's good friend, but he'd not expected Fleur to join in.

"Oooooh I like her! You don't play Keeper and plan to transfer do you? Olly's gone and we'd love to have you." Alicia commented after she'd realized Fleur was joining in with their fun.

"Sadly non. I'm a fair flyer but nothing like what I 'ear about 'arry."

"Too bad. But you might be good enough for the spot. Nobody can fly like Harry, we all suspect he was born on a broom. His poor mom birthed him and his dad, a famous Gryffindor Chaser himself, swept him away and onto the back of a broom." This time it was Angelina that responded, the assumed next captain of the quidditch team.

"We all know the true story of the Boy-Who-Lived." Katie said in a hushed tone with her voice still loud enough the whole group could hear.

Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Two hands, Harry assumed one from each twin, gave him conciliatory back pats.

"You see, when You-Know-Who came after him Harry, they claim he reflected a killing curse and defeated the monster. For those of us who have seen the cottage home, we know how blasted apart it became and we all know killing curses don't leave marks." Angelina started out seriously. She conspicuously elbowed Alica to continue.

"It was an obvious coverup. Harry's dad had him on a broom from the moment he was born, it's totally obvious. So the night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came after them, Harry didn't reflect a killing curse, he flew away from it!" She exclaimed the last part as if it was the most evident fact ever. "He flew out the open window to escape the evil man."

Katie grinned now, she loved telling their little team joke of a story to new people. "The mad man was sooooo angry! The not-even two-year old had outsmarted him and escaped! Such a bad man couldn't let that stand, so he shot killing curse after killing curse after him. But our little seeker, even so wee and chubby cheeked, he was untouchable. As if they were green bludgers, he dodged all the spells that would have ended his life. He dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged like a pro."

Alicia snorted. "You said dodge twice. Olly's five D's were dodge, duck, dip, dive and dance."

"I never understood the dance one." Fred stated quickly.

"Ya, I still never understood how you dance on a broom." George built off of his twin's remark.

"And that's why neither of you halfwits will do more than smack balls around with your bats!" Angelina insulted them.

"You dance around the pitch by working in harmony with your partners, following formations and flying circles around your opponents. Did you two dunderheads never listened when Oliver explained it?" Katie asked incredulously. "You played with him a year longer and he always explained it at the start of every year." She shook her head. "It's why we can all quote him word for word."

"Was that what he was yammering about?" George questioned while scratching the top of his head. "We always tuned him out after he said what the five D's were, didn't we brother mine?"

"Too right we did. It's a simple concept innit? Hit the balls, don't get hit by them."

Chuckles broke out between them, it was something the twins always joked about after Oliver had given them speeches and told them how to do their job.

When the light laughter settled down Fleur spoke up. "But how does the story end?" She looked at the three chasers excited to hear the end of their tale.

"No, no, no. We really don't need to hear it." Harry added in, he was glad they never let this story get out there, that they'd just kept it between them. He didn't need someone like Colin Creevey to overhear it and spread this ridiculousness. If the school believed he could be the Heir of Slytherin that set a monster after muggleborns when his mother and best friend were muggleborns, he had no hope that this story would not propagate and find its way into the Daily Prophet.

"You don't think she deserves to know the truth Harry? For shame!" Harry didn't dignify Katie's words with a response. He buried his head and focused on eating his food. They were going to tell Fleur no matter what he responded with.

"Where were we at?" Alicia asked Fleur.

"'Arry using the five D's to 'eroicially avoid killing curses."

"Right, right." Katie said realizing where she needed to continue from. "The young Potter wouldn't be touched by the curses, he'd dodged all the ones at close range and was getting further away." She stopped and looked at Alicia.

"You-Know-Who wouldn't be defeated so easily though. He blasted his way out of the house and shot off even more killing curses." Alicia added ominously and let Angelina pick it up from there, a well rehearsed series of parts for the three girls.

"By this time, the little guy was almost out of eyesight on his broom. He was tearing away at top speed but he had a problem. The evil man could apparate! With a crack, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named apparated to catch up. This began a whole new game of cat and mouse. Poor Harry flying as if his life depended upon it, and it really did!"

Angelina forked some food and leaned forward. She made eye contact with Katie. "Harry was too good, even so young. He outflew every spell and could not be touched. It was that night his winning streak truly began. He'd always practiced with his family but this was his first real opponent. If we know anything about our green eyed wizard, it's that he's not lost a game on his broom." She paused and waited for Harry to pay attention to her. "Even a dragon would learn you cannot outfly Harry Potter." She descended into giggles at the annoyed look on Harry's face. That line was a new one, one that embellished things even further. He shook his head in good humor.

Angelina picked up the story as Alicia was too busy giggling with Katie over the new line. Harry purposefully didn't listen to all the terrible puns and lines they were trying to come up with. "If only the mad man had any idea of who he was challenging…" She said, pitying the Dark Lord who tried to murder Harry on his broom in the fanciful tale.

"He was doomed from the second he engaged Harry while he was on his broom. The little tyke had a plan. He feinted, he misled his opponent. You-Know-Who saw exactly what Harry wanted him to see. He apparated to a spot where he knew he couldn't miss. Just as he was about to cast the spell, Harry pulled up from his death defying dive. You-Know-Who screamed and wailed as behind Harry came one of his own killing curses! But it was too late to use any of the five D's! Harry tricked him and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed himself with his own curse!"

Fleur clapped her hands over her mouth. "How did I not see it before?! Incroyable, it's so obviously true!" Her body shaking to hold in the laughter was the only thing that gave away her wonderful acting. It only took a few seconds of false seriousness before the dam burst and all four girls were lost in their own dissolution of laughter and fits of giggles.

While they were incapacitated, Harry was accosted by the twins.

"Any hints on the Second Task? We're setting the betting lines and don't have a clue what it is yet." Fred told him.

"Hard to set the odds when you're as clueless as anyone else." George said clearly hoping to entice Harry to tell them what the task might be.

Harry had no issue with telling them. "The Champions will swim in the Black Lake and rescue something, or someone, from the depths. They must do so within an hour time limit."

"Swimming in the Black Lake in winter? Are they mad?!"

Harry wasn't sure which twin had said that but he just shrugged and swallowed another bite of food down. "This is from the same people that considered stealing an egg from the nest of a mother dragon was suitable."

He looked up from his food and saw both twins nodded and quickly whispering back and forth to each other, too quiet for Harry to make out.

"You have a plan?" George asked far more serious than he normally ever would be, it reminded Harry of the time they gave him the Marauders Map.

"Three or four workable ideas." He said, he felt some warm fuzzies when they were so serious about his safety. If there were two guys he could ever count on, it was them. They'd saved him when he had bars on his windows with a flying car. He'd never forget that. Giving them little bits of advice here and there was just a way to repay that, he, of course, humbly forgot the fact he'd saved their little sister, and if there was any debt owing it was them to him, not that Harry saw it that way.

"If you need a hand refining them, we're around." Fred told him, the solemn look further solidified the genuine offer.

Harry smiled. It was nice when people had his back. There was a lot of intrigue and politics going on but these simple moments were worth everything he had to put up with to be in the magical world.