Fleur De Lis

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The students of Hogwarts knew there was something different about the Harry Potter that was walking the halls upon the return from the holidays. Very few would know the reason for the changes in the Potter Heir, but his power seemed to exude from his presence more than before. Now more than ever the students of Hogwarts, and its guests, knew Harry Potter was a dangerous wizard.

Harry had been taking time out of his evenings since his return to Hogwarts to see Fleur, and bring her various gifts and trinkets as a sign of his affection. The girl was amused at first, and she quickly began returning the favour with her lines of enchanted jewellery she had been working on. It started with a watch that had lasted about a week. When the enchantments broke down Harry gave her a few ideas to make them last, left it with her for a day, and then retrieved it again where it would last nearly twice as long. The oldest Potter son loved working on magic with the girl he was starting to see as his girlfriend, and looked forward to working on something new every day with her. It brought him a content sort of feeling that he hadn't really ever experienced before, and tried his best not to question what it might represent.

In the young man's experience. magic didn't often harmonize in the way his did with Fleur's. In the countless hours of training with Justin in the morning he realized that Justin's magic was near submissive to his own. In a way that was from their relationship. The older brother, and now magical mentor meant that Justin had a deep understanding that his brother was the superior wizard, and didn't dare to challenge him in a way that would put the two at odds. Harry knew his magic was likely similar with Grindelwald's when he was younger, but now they seemed to bow to each other, more as equals than master and apprentice.

Fleur's magic seemed to glow when they worked on things together. Grindelwald reminded him that iron sharpens iron, and perhaps the two of them worked well together, because they wished to prove themselves to one another. Their magic pushed the bounds of their capability eager to impress the other. It was a sweet gesture, and Harry found himself looking forward to their second date that was rapidly approaching in the form of the Valentine's Hogsmeade visit.

Part of him had wanted to just take the girl far away, and do something extravagant, or show her some great feat of magic far away, but for once his confidant, Sirius Black, had come to the rescue. He explained that it was often a rite of passage to have normal dates around their peers. He also told Harry that it was a great way to show the witches and wizards of all three schools that the pair had intentions with each other. It would be a good way to send a message to more intelligent students that they were off limits to outside parties, and while Harry wasn't worried about witches coming after him, he knew that Fleur's allure would always affect some men's minds. Besides he could always impress her on a third date if one was to come to pass.

Other than Valentine's weekend the second round of duels was coming up between Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. This would be the final round for Durmstrang, and the first for Beauxbatons, and Harry had to admit to Fleur and Aimee that he looked forward to watching the two handle Viktor and Alexia.

Justin and Harry were training on an early February morning. They had been working numerous charms that would work with impressive effects under water, and Harry had to admit that Justin had taken to them like a fish to water. The spells were not only powerful, but they had some serious range when Justin cast them. Harry himself had not figured out just how he would captivate the audience in the next round, but after slaying a dragon in the first task, he knew he would need to at least equal that spectacle to maintain his standard of performance. He felt anything less would only disappoint himself and those watching him.

Part of his problem was that he was unsure who they would take as a hostage. If Grindelwald or Justin were options he was certain it would be one of them. Even Fleur might have been a possibility, but with two of them being fellow champions, and the other long believed to be dead that left him in a bit of a dilemma on who to be looking for. He suspected Penny could be the choice, or even Cedric. If the family was captured it could be either of his parents or Sirius as well. As he thought about the other champions he wondered if their selections would be easier. For Justin, Susan was a certainty, which made his preparation for the task an easier venture than Harry's. A combination of dozens of tracking charms, and the bubble head charm with the spell repertoire he had now should work out nicely. It might even see him in second place behind whatever Harry came up with.