Power, Freedom and a French Flower

Dancing with a flower

AN: Welcome to the next chapter.

Finally, we get some interaction between Fleur and Harry.

Enjoy!

Chapter 25

November 2nd, 1993

Harry was sitting in his DADA class, listening to Professor Lupin explain the dangers of Grindylows. Admittedly, the man was a good teacher, but Harry wished they would cover something else besides dark magical creatures in class.

He was more likely to encounter a dark wizard than a dark creature. Defending against dark spells was therefore far more useful to him.

Although right now, he was glad that the lesson was a theoretical one. His entire body was still aching from the effects of the ritual he performed last night. The ritual had been extremely painful and taxing.

It also put quite a dent in his Gringotts account. For the Body-Ritual that he performed, he needed all sorts of magical ingredients from powerful creatures and those were expensive...

In total, he spent over 1000 galleons on dragon heartstrings and fangs, the raw muscle tissue of a griffin, the tung of a Nundu, and a couple of other weird ingredients he had never heard of. And of course quite a lot of his own blood to round things off.

Harry had also sacrificed the liver of the dead basilisk that was still laying in the main Chamber. Luckily, the magical beast does not rot, so Harry had all the time in the world to cut off something whenever he needed to.

The ritual, if performed correctly, would improve his human body, including his physical condition, bone density, remove any hidden disabilities, and even improve his blood flow.

Salazar had explained that the ritual would not instantly change him into a seven-foot giant that could hardly move due to his muscle mass. However, it would make it easier for Harry to put on and retain muscle mass, once he focuses his workouts on muscle hypertrophy instead of his current cardio routine. The ritual might also add an inch or two to his potential physical height, once he is fully grown.

The most significant benefit, however, would be his increased stamina and strength repertoire. Harry will not tire as quickly while dueling and could probably dodge spells for a lot longer now, before feeling any taxing effects on his body. He couldn't wait to test it during the next couple of practice duels with Flitwick.

It seems as if the class was finally over and Harry was about to exit the classroom when he heard Lupin call him back:

"Mr. Potter, a word please."

Great, the man probably noticed that he hadn't paid attention during his lecture and would assign extra homework.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Harry, I was wondering if you would like to learn the Patronus charm from me? I don't believe you'd be on good terms with the Dementors after the events a month ago and I was hoping in exchange you might tell me a bit about the spell you had used yourself. I was there that night and I have never seen something like that before..." Lupin says.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I will not share Potter family magic with anyone outside the family," Harry replied firmly.

"Harry, James had never told us about any family magic and certainly never performed spells like that. You can tell me the truth." Lupin tried again.

"How would you know what kind of magic my father ever performed? Oh wait, yes, you were one of his best friends, right? A best friend that let me rot with filthy muggles and never even visited his other best friend in prison?" Harry replied angrily.