The wild twirling sensation of floo travel slowed its manic spin until a single fireplace righted itself in Harry's vision. He stepped through and into the sitting room where Fleur, Apolline, and Gabrielle waited for him. Before any words could be exchanged, the fireplace flared behind him and he jumped to the side just in time to allow Sebastian and Sirius through unimpeded.
"How did it go?" Apolline asked, rising from her chair and looking between her husband and Harry.
Fleur followed suit, her head tilted to the side, expression distant.
Harry glanced up at Sebastian, not trusting his voice.
The older man smiled broadly. "We did it. It's over!"
Apolline let out a squeal of delight and leaped into Sebastian's arms, pulling him into an excited kiss.
Fleur's vision snapped into focus and she took a hesitant step forward, arms partially raised in a question. He nodded and she bounded forward, an excited noise of her own escaping as she pulled him into her warm embrace.
He held on to her for only a moment, her back warm against his palms, comforting.
Too comforting. The last thing he wanted was to come apart in front of a room full of people.
She let go when he tapped her back and stepped back with a smile. "Good work," she said. "I am happy for you."
"We all are," Apolline said from where she stood to the side, an arm wrapped around Sebastian's waist. "While you three were gone, we put together a little party and Gabrielle even helped me with the pie."
"Eet iz a good thing too," Gabrielle said. "Fleur iz bad at eet."
To Harry's surprise, Fleur only nodded.
"It's not much of a party," Apolline continued. "But we have a bit of food and the pie. You deserve a celebration for seeing things through to the end."
His automatic denial never had the opportunity to leave his lips, as he was ushered into the informal dining room where an array of breads, snacks, and a steaming pie waited for them.
Sirius picked up where he had left off the evening before, starting a detailed retelling of an escapade into the forbidden forest during their time learning to be animagi.
Harry dished up a piece of pie first, allowing his curiosity to dictate his decision. A perfect flaky crust surrounded the sweet filling. He took a second quick bite. Treacle tart would always be his favorite, but the fruit pies were coming in at a close second.
"'Ow iz eet?" Gabrielle asked. "Maman 'ad me knead ze dough."
"It's great," he said after swallowing his bite. "Couldn't have done it better myself."
"Ze wildberry pie was very good."
"Baking is fun," he said with a shrug. "I've always enjoyed it."
She hesitated, then peered up at him. "Even wiz your...problems?"
A chill rolled through him at the mention of his old home life. He had agreed to Fleur telling Gabrielle what had happened. No matter how much he wanted to never mention it again, it wasn't fair to Gabrielle to keep her in the dark about a secret everybody else knew.
"Cooking was always enjoyable," he answered. "It's...relaxing."
Gabrielle nodded, glancing up as Fleur sidled over.
"Maman can be...intense, at times," Fleur said, earning a knowing smile from her sister, "especially in the kitchen."
Harry could only shrug, his own experience being a pleasant one.
Sirius finished his story with gusto and a passable impression of Professor McGonagall. Harry smiled appropriately when his godfather looked over with an expectant cast to his features. The friendly laughter pulled years from Sirius's visage and for an instant, Harry could see only an affable man in his mid-thirties, instead of the perpetually haunted man he had come to know.
He pulled a piece of bread from the table, taking care not to bump Fleur, who hadn't left her spot by his side. Once, a very short time ago, he would have balked at such constant close proximity. How strange.
Sirius picked up another story about his adventures in the Mediterranean to the delight of Mr. and Mrs. Delacour. Harry chewed his bread, mostly listening to the animated retelling of a butcher's cleaver whizzing past a dog's head.
"-got a few hairs, but I got the lambchop," he said, miming the thrown knife.
Harry watched them talk, content to just stand in comfortable silence. He found it to be the perfect size for a party. Too many people got too noisy and crowded. A room full of people he cared about was all he needed.
He stole a glance over at Fleur, who was watching Sirius's story, her head tilted to the side. Were her sky-blue eyes misty?
A tug on his sleeve pulled his attention along with it and he turned to find Gabrielle looking at him.
"I wanted to say…" She paused, mouthing out an unfamiliar word. "Con…congratulations."
"Thank you."
"I am tired," she said, scanning the room with her pale blue gaze. "I wanted to tell you zat…before leaving."
He nodded and she excused herself, giving her parents a quick hug and Sirius a wave before vanishing upstairs. Fleur stared after her sister.
"Is she okay?" he asked, leaning over slightly to whisper.
"She is probably nervous about returning to Beauxbatons," she explained. "She will be staying in the private, sequestered rooms this year." A sad smile darted across her lips. "The quarters I vacated at the end of last year."
"Because of…being Veela?" he guessed, the old conversation bubbling up in his memory. "You said she would experience it soon."
Fleur nodded and favored him with a warm smile.
"Well remembered. Yes, that is precisely it." She let out a sigh. "I hope she will have it easier than I did. She will have me to commiserate with, and you to talk to as well, if she can improve her English enough to write letters."
"Or if I learn French," he said, finally putting voice to a desire he had felt since arriving at their home. It must be burdensome to speak your non-native language most of the time in your own home, just to include one person.
He had been expecting, at the least, a quick smile. He hadn't expected her to light up, blue eyes shining with poorly suppressed joy.
"I could teach you! We could work on it during my Hogsmeade visits! And if you write to me sometimes in French on our papers, it would be good practice! I have gotten much better at my English from talking to you. It comes much more naturally now. Oh, this is exciting!"
He could do nothing more than grin at her babbling enthusiasm. He should have said something earlier.
Would his accent in French be as attr- as charming as he found hers in English?
"Harry, Fleur," Mr. Delacour said, stepping into the dining room from the hall. Harry hadn't even noticed him leaving. "I have a surprise for you both."
He produced two identical cloth pouches of purple fabric with golden drawstrings.
"Dumbledore asked me to give these to you. Normally it would have been done with a lot more pomp and circumstance, but considering everything that happened…well, it fell by the wayside."
Harry and Fleur both held out their hands to accept the odd gift. The sack clinked as a heavy weight pressed into his palm.
"Your Triwizard winnings. Half to each of you for simultaneously reaching the end."
Harry stared at the five-hundred galleons in his hand for a moment, before turning to Fleur, his hand still extended.
"You should-"
"I am not listening," she said over his words. "Thank you, Papa."
"You are quite welcome. We're lucky he gave it to me when he did. It should come in handy rather soon, won't it?"
Fleur stilled, her eyes wide.
" J'avais oublié ," she muttered. "You are right. It is quite fortunate."
"Fortune had nothing to do with it," he said, pride thick in his voice. "It was because of your skill that you two won, not luck."
Fleur turned to look at Harry, a single eyebrow raised in warning. He swallowed back the denial that had already taken up residence on his tongue and tried his best to adopt a look of innocent confusion.
"What was that blasted tournament like?" Sirius asked, popping a piece of fruit into his mouth. "I'll never get an accurate recounting from him."
"Probably not," Fleur replied, offering Harry a somewhat apologetic smile. "The whole thing was…unbelievable, even if you exclude the end."
She recounted the events of the tournament to her enraptured audience with surprising detail. She started with Harry's unusual addition, following with Madame Maxime's less-than-subtle interest in a new book; "Dragons and Their Varied Habitats: An In-Depth Comparison of Four Different Breeds."
He shifted uncomfortably as her story progressed into the lake, where her retelling made him sound every inch a hero. Sirius gaped when she told of the refused life-debt. He got a glimpse into her training up to the Third Task. Compared to his extensive time with Moody, he almost envied her disciplined but sane regimen.
She finished her story prior to the Third Task with a shrug and a quiet, "And you know the rest."
Sirius whistled through his teeth, then raised his glass of water Sebastian had provided him.
"Here's to hoping next year is a normal one! For all of us!"
XxX
Once the party wound down and Sirius left for Grimmauld Place, Harry and Fleur wandered over to the sitting room and started a game of chess. Harry wasn't quite ready for the evening to be over, despite the mental exhaustion he felt weighing on him. Apolline had pulled Sebastian upstairs with an admonitive talk of another school year sneaking up on them without supplies. Her words had lingered in his mind, a reminder that he would be returning to Hogwarts soon.
With it came the stark realization that he found himself…reluctant to leave.
He loved learning magic and spending time with Hermione and Ron, but the previous four years had done little to make him feel safe there. Not like he did here.
"What are you thinking of?" Fleur asked, capturing one of his pawns with her knight. She had disabled the enchantments that made the pieces move, citing a distaste for being pelted with tiny rocks every time one piece smashed another to bits. Her head was tilted, though she focused on the game in front of her, rather than up at him.
"Going back to school."
She didn't answer as she watched him trap her knight with a bishop. She leaned back with a sigh of frustration.
"Tomorrow I will be searching for an apartment," she said, voice quiet and pensive. "Or a flat, as you might say."
"Oh. Wow." He winced, glad she wasn't looking at him. Surely he could come up with something more intelligent than that. "Are you nervous?"
"Extremely," she admitted, driving a rook to his backline. "My home has always been a place of such comfort. Somewhere I can be myself around others without fear of how the strangers I am near will react. But…I need to learn to be on my own now that I am out of school."
Harry captured her knight and declared a check, though he barely paid attention. He felt a sort of chasm open between them. He needed to go pick up school supplies soon. She needed to go house shopping. How was he supposed to relate to that?
A sudden thought struck him.
"How are you going to get a flat if people are…affected by you?"
She nodded, grimacing. "It will be more challenging for me than a normal person. Papa will help me if I find I cannot get one, but it will only be an issue if the person renting the apartment is interested in women."
He nodded, finally responding to Fleur's rook. "Having your own place might be kind of neat. I've thought about it some…but not really in-depth. It seems very…adult-y," he finished with a shrug. It was a good thing she could sense him since he could barely speak his mind half the time.
"I do not feel like an adult," she muttered, surveying her options. " Merde ."
"I know at least that much French," he said with a smile, moving his queen from her attempted capture. "Checkmate."
She leaned back, though he read no irritation in her perfect features, just contemplative curiosity.
"How do you feel about today?" she asked, head tilted. "I mean…I can tell, to an extent. I suppose I was wondering what you think about it all. It is a rather big deal."
He leaned back as well, a frown tugging at his lips.
He had expected…elation. Bliss. Freedom.
Instead, he felt…
Kinda sad that he had to go back to school? Why did it feel like it was any other day?
Sirius's voice filtered through his thoughts with a nugget of advice he had given as they were leaving the Ministry.
' It'll hit you one day that you're free of it. It'll come in stages, and probably pretty far apart, but it'll come. Take your time with it.'
"I guess…" he began, again unsure how to phrase his feelings. "I guess it's just hard to believe."
She smiled her warm, comforting smile.
"I am not surprised. It is a rather big change." She paused, eyes narrowing as she mulled something over.
"What?" he asked when a slow smile crept across her face.
She leaned forward, pinning him with her gaze.
"I am extremely proud of you, 'Arry. It takes a great deal of resilience…"
She trailed off as he looked up at the ceiling, scrabbling for the runaway reins of his self-control. She was-He had never…
What on earth would she be feeling from him right now?
Someone as amazing as she was proud of him?
But he just…wrote a letter.
"Thanks," he finally managed, still looking to some point over her head. For safety.
She leaned forward and squeezed his knee around the chess table, her hand as warm and comforting as ever. He was desperate to indulge in its presence while wanting to recoil from the emotional edge he teetered upon.
She drew away, allowing him time to recover himself.
"It is getting late," she said, glancing out the window. "I want to talk to Gabrielle before she goes to sleep."
He nodded, diving into the much safer topic. "She seemed…distant."
"I told her about why you came and about what happened in the graveyard. It is a lot to process. She is struggling with that, as well as what she is about to experience as a Veela. It will be a difficult year for her in that regard. I am unsurprised she is withdrawn."
"Well…tell her she can write to me if she wants. I don't know if it'll help, but we can practice language together," he offered, the feeling of powerlessness sitting heavy in his stomach.
"I will," she promised. " Bonne nuit , 'Arry."
" Bonne nuit, " he replied, doing his best to mimic her cadence.
Her brilliant smile illuminated the room long after she was gone.
XxX
"Come in."
The knock had been expected, it was just…earlier than she had thought it would be.
Her older sister came in and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least it wasn't their mother. More and more frequently their conversations just devolved into shouting.
As Fleur neared, Gabrielle could see the anxiety written plainly across her features. She hoped she wasn't quite so open a book when she got a bit older.
She missed the days when Fleur would burst into her room to demonstrate some new magic she had learned or to share a newfound favorite book. Now it was only talks of Harry or immortal dark wizards.
"You're worried," Fleur said, dropping down on the bed next to her, pushing aside some long discarded sheet music.
"No," she answered. "Maybe."
"What about?"
What a dumb question.
"Everything," she answered instead. "School is going to be different. Plus, I've spent the whole summer with people who can't be affected by me. What if I get to school and it's stronger and I can't control it? What if people go crazy like they do when yours is at its strongest?" She sucked in a deep shaking breath. "And how can I be worried about something so dumb when Harry just got away from his horrible family and you were both tortured?!"
She flopped onto her back, her sister following suit next to her.
"It wasn't that bad," Fleur said to the ceiling.
"The thing that has you up screaming most nights 'wasn't that bad?'"
"The pain was…" she trailed off and Gabrielle could feel her shudder next to her. "The powerlessness was worse."
"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" she found herself saying through the knot in her chest. "You're terrible at this."
"Maybe I came to make myself feel better."
Gabrielle huffed as she knew she should, but the knot constricted, driving the breath from her lungs.
It was all so much.
It was all so much and the two of them somehow walked through the woods every day like they didn't have a care in the world. Why couldn't she handle it as easily as them?
She wanted to ask Fleur how she did it, to beg her to show her how. To keep watching so maybe she could figure it out. But now she…she-
"And you're leaving me," she wailed, rolling over and throwing her arms around her sister and buried her face in her shoulder.
Fleur's strong arms embraced her, pulling her tight. The small circles she traced on her back only served to spur the tears faster. She didn't say anything. She simply waited for Gabrielle's tears to stop while she held her.
"I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too, not-so-baby sister."
XxX
Harry stepped through the floo into the sitting room at Delacour Manor late in the evening. Shopping in Diagon Alley with Sirius had been fun but exhausting. At least the majority of the shop patrons had been staring at his newly-acquitted godfather, rather than at him.
Fleur looked up from where she was reading, nestled into one of the large bay windows to either side of the fireplace.
"How did it go?" he asked as she shifted so her feet dangled over the edge of the high sill. The mottled scars around her ankles peeked out each time an idle kick reached its zenith.
"It was exhausting," she said, shaking her head. "Almost every person we met today was unable to resist my allure. The one who wasn't was renting an apartment far more expensive than I was comfortable with. Our winnings are substantial but not so much that I can afford to be frivolous with my choices." She paused, then let out a long sigh, her silvery hair falling to either side of her face, framing her exhaustion. "I had forgotten how tiring it can be. Going out after a summer at home is always a shock but it was so…draining."
"I wish I could help," he said.
"I did not expect to find anything on the first day. There is something out there that will work, I just have to find it." She slid off the window bench and stood. She clasped her hands behind her back and stretched, pulling rigid arms away from her body. She let out a sharp breath as she relaxed and stifled a yawn with her hand. "I am sorry but I am about to fall asleep where I stand," she said with a smile. "I just wanted to be sure you made it home okay."
He nodded his reply, fighting against the heat he felt rising up his neck. He kept his wandering eyes focused out the window in the starry night sky beyond.
" Bonne nuit , 'Arry," she said as she passed him, her accent again trailing pleasant chills across his name.
" Bonne nuit ," he replied, savoring the tired but warm smile she offered in return.
She left the room, taking with her the comfortable sense of belonging and familiarity he felt in their home. His time in this idyllic house, much like Fleur's, was coming to a swift end. Something indescribable lingered after the thought had wandered away, an uncomfortable weight resting on his chest. Soon he would have only their notepaper and the occasional Hogsmeade visit to talk to one another.
That idea sat even worse.
He knew he wasn't the most…expressive…of individuals, but her constant and reassuring presence did wonders for his ability to figure out just what he was feeling.
He followed after her, the weighty thoughts dragged reluctantly behind him as he climbed the stairs.
Shopping for school supplies with Sirius had been fun but he'd had to ignore the persistent needle that wormed its way into his light mood with each purchase.
He wasn't really looking forward to returning to Hogwarts.
The thought kept him up deep into the night before he, at last, surrendered to a fitful sleep.
XxX
The final week of summer break, in a fit of pique and haste, vanished in a blink.
Yet it somehow contained bread and pies with Apolline, small chats with Gabrielle over chess, and the rejuvenating walks through the woods with Fleur. Sebastian had barely been present though, his time co-opted by the Ministry and Dumbledore's fledgling bid to declare war against Voldemort. The few times Harry had seen him had been in passing when he had gone with Fleur to help search — fruitlessly thus far — for an apartment.
So it was he stood in the sitting room, surrounded by the family he had come to both envy and care for. Sirius had come early to bring him to Platform 9 3/4, punctuality which Harry silently cursed.
Fleur had joined him up in his room, helping him pack his few possessions back into his trunk. She rummaged through the armoire and pulled out a light purple shirt. "Papa said you can take some of these clothes if you would like," she said, lifting the shirt as an example. "I think this one would look good on you."
He nodded, the thrill of the compliment muted by the oppressive passage of each solitary minute.
"I can burn the clothes those…horrible people gave you," she said, glaring down at the open trunk. "My offer still stands."
He smiled at the familiar conversation. It was one she brought up from time to time. Most often, she was talking about burning the clothes, rather than the 'horrible people,' as she insisted on calling them.
Most often, she was joking.
"I might take you up on it," he said, smiling when her eyes lit up. "On taking the clothes. Not the other part."
She deflated.
"They were…pretty comfortable. I was surprised."
"The benefit to good tailoring charms," she said, her voice muffled as she dug through the armoire again. She produced two pairs of trousers and another shirt. "I liked these the best."
"Toss 'em in."
Instead, she placed them carefully inside his trunk. She paused as she withdrew, her hands still partway inside.
He leaned over to find the shimmering fabric of his invisibility cloak poking out from its hiding place at the bottom.
"Would it help you find a place to stay?" he asked, breaking her fixation on the cloak.
She looked over at him and smiled fondly, then shook her head. "Perhaps, but it would not work in the long term. Would you rent to a disembodied voice?"
"I suppose not. It's dead useful, but that would be a bit strange. And you could never meet them without it…"
She nodded and closed his trunk, the latches securing with a loud click. "I appreciate the offer, 'Arry."
A shout from the stairs interrupted his reply.
"Sorry, but we have to get going!" Sirius called up to them. "I'm not apparating you and all your stuff all the way to Hogwarts!"
Harry looked over to find Fleur glaring at the door, her eyebrows drawn together. "I will miss you," she said, her gentle voice at odds with her fierce glare. "You have become a welcome fixture in my life, and I am sad to see this end."
"We've still got the notepaper…and Hogsmeade."
He couldn't swallow back the lump that surrounded the words 'I'll miss you too'.
"I know. It is good to move forward, rather than to always stay where it is comfortable. But still…"
She produced her wand from a pocket in her loose trousers and tapped it on the trunk, muttering a spell. It floated into the air and hovered patiently.
"Have you given any more thought to what I said?" she asked as she stepped out of the room. "About telling Hermione about what happened this summer?"
The corners of his mouth quirked up of their own accord at her obvious omission of Ron. It had taken convincing but she had eventually come around. She had instead taken to merely teasing Harry that she and Hermione were the 'good' friends.
"I don't know…" he muttered, his fledgling smile falling away. "What if they get mad at me? I basically lied to them for years."
"They will understand. I am sure of it." Her eyes flashed dangerously. "And if they do not, I can be persuasive."
She let their conversation drop as they joined the others in the sitting room. Gabrielle sat nearest the fireplace on a trunk of her own, a sturdy wooden one that was slightly larger than his. She waved in greeting, a forced smile plastered on her face.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Sirius said, placing a hand on his trunk, "but we really need to hurry if you're going to make the train. Say your goodbyes quickly."
He felt as though he should be annoyed by the lack of adequate time to tell Fleur and her family how much he appreciated their help but didn't relish the idea of becoming a blubbering mess.
Sebastian had made it home to see him and Gabrielle off to school. Dark circles sat heavy beneath his eyes and his hair was unkempt. Apolline slid her hand from her husband's and took a step towards Harry, eyes misty.
"You are, of course, always welcome. And I still expect to see you for Christmas."
"Yes, Mrs. Delacour," he answered weakly.
She hesitated, then raised her arms. "Could I hug you goodbye?" she asked.
He nodded. She hugged him gently, and while warm, she somehow didn't possess the…warmth that Fleur did.
She hugged him next, arms wrapped tight around his shoulders. As she always did, she helped to steady his tumultuous feelings with her embrace. He waited an extra moment to tap her on the back, relishing the heat and lingering scent of cinnamon.
"Thank you all," he said once she pulled away. "For…everything, I suppose."
"Anytime, Harry," Sebastian said, a smile lifting his tired eyes. "Now you should go before Sirius has kittens."
"How am I supposed to be a good Godfather if you're late the first time we have to be somewhere?" he griped.
"Talk to you soon?" Gabrielle asked from her seat on her trunk.
"I apologize in advance for my French," he said.
Her faux-smile shifted and she grinned at him, some of the anxiety leaving her features.
With a final goodbye and a sad wave from Fleur that gripped Harry's heart, Sirius spun them both into the cold crushing darkness.
XxX
Harry patted himself when they appeared on the platform, the bright red engine of the Express whistling in front of them.
He was sure he had been splinched. How else could it feel like he had left such a large part of himself behind in France?
His hand brushed the enchanted parchment in his pocket and his thoughts settled.
The station was bustling with people, parents and students alike rushing towards the train. He found himself happy that Hedwig insisted on flying herself to Hogwarts as a cage holding a now very upset owl clattered to the ground. Another whistle blew from the train and a plume of steam rose from the smokestack, the telltale scent bringing with it his long-dormant excitement for the school year. He'd miss his friend but maybe he really could have a normal year at Hogwarts.
Sirius grunted from beside him. "Even the Weasleys beat us here," he said, pointing to a crowd of red hair near to one of the train cars. "Let's pretend we've been here for ages.
"What took you so long?" Sirius said as he approached the Weasleys, grinning from ear to ear.
"Sirius!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed, extending a hand. "Been here long, have you?"
"We just got here, Sir," Harry answered, greeting Ron with a wave.
Sirius glanced down at Harry, a look of only partially feigned betrayal shining in his eyes.
Mrs. Weasley shooed them all towards the train, patting Harry hard on the back. "It's wonderful to see you, dear, but if you don't hurry you'll miss the Express!"
"Hopefully Hermione saved us a seat," Ron huffed as he lugged his trunk up the small metal steps into the car.
No sooner had they both hopped on, than the train began to roll. Harry turned to wave to Sirius, finding his godfather already waving his arm madly in the air.
"See you at Christmas!" Sirius shouted just before they were out of earshot.
Ron and Harry slipped into the small corridor, bumping up against a gaggle of second-years that were checking the cabins.
"How'd you manage to get Sirius to bring you to the station?" Ron asked as they followed behind the younger students, checking for Hermione. "I'm surprised your relatives let someone as famous as him anywhere near your house, considering how much you said they don't like magic."
"It's been a long summer," Harry muttered.
The parchment in his pocket burned with a reminder of Fleur's words.
They will understand. I am sure of it.
"I'll tell you later."