FicWad

Just like last time, I'm jamming two smaller Chapters together to make one larger one.





In his office in the Headmaster's Tower at the famed Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore glanced down curiously at the source of the sudden surge of magic he'd just felt...


*BOOOM!*


...his desk drawer. His now shattered, smoking desk drawer. Banishing the smoke and extinguishing a few smouldering embers, the elderly Headmaster checked off and indentified the damaged contents of the drawer one by one on a mental list. His eyes narrowed almost unnoticably when he discovered that several key items were missing.





A similar - if less intense - explosion occured at exactly the same time in Diagon Alley. The shoppers wandering the commercial center of Wizarding Britain could have been excused for missing it, muffled as it was, but they would have no such excuse for missing the following scream of pain.


The admittedly brief agonised wailing drew the attention of many wizards and witches to one Severus Snape, who was at this moment curled on the ground in the middle of the alley, gritting his teeth and cradling his severely wounded and still-smoking left hand.


A few considerate shoppers, ie; those shoppers unaware of just how much of a bastard the Potions Master was, moved to help. Despite his hissed curses, the helpful magic users subdued the near-helpless spy (for his own good) and rolled up his billowing black sleeve to get a clear shot at healing his wounds. The unveiling of the ugly, blackened flesh forming the Dark Mark on his otherwise pale skin drew quite a few screams, and in less than a minute the whole alley was aware of Snape's little tattoo...





Eyeing the smoking mass of metal in the reinforced steel tray, a dark-skinned goblin nodded approvingly. "And that takes care of all of your keys." Looking up, the cunning being adopted a look that might have been apologetic. "On behalf of Gringotts, I must apologise for this gross oversight; when your family was killed and their current residence destroyed, we were led to believe that the keys had been recovered and left with you. If we had known, or even suspected that Dumbledore may have kept them himself-"


Harry held up a hand, silencing the shorter creature. "I would be happy to accept your apology, if you would be so kind as to tell me if anybody has been taking money from my accounts, and if so, why nobody ever noticed that it wasn't me."


The goblin nodded. "Of course, Mr Potter; I shall have our most thorough Inquisitors scour our records for the answer. It will take some time, however, so if you would like, I can have you and your companion escorted to one of our guest lounges for the duration." At Harry's appreciative nod, the banker snapped his long fingers twice and barked an order in gobbledegook to the younger goblin 'go-fer' who skurried to his side. "Gragnack will take you to the lounge, so if you would follow him..."


Nodding, Harry waved for Tonks to join him as he followed the junior goblin out a side door, and she spoke up curiously once she had caught up to the spliced wizard. "What was that flash of light about just then?"


"Hmm? Oh, I was just having all of my keys remotely destroyed so I could have new ones forged."


The metamorph blinked. "What, did you lose one of them?"


Harry frowned. "No. I was only ever given the one key to the trust vault my parents left for me. Apparently, there are three other keys to two other vaults belonging to my family, and somehow Dumbledore convinced the goblins that all of the keys were left with me when I was a baby."


Tonks winced. "Ouch. This isn't going to end well for the Headmaster, is it?"


"Not really, no."


The goblin escorting the two humans paused in front of an ornate silver door and swiped his bony finger across the polished surface. The door swung open smoothly, and the minor employee waved the duo into the room. "Help yourselves to the complimentary refreshments. Someone will return to collect you once your request has been fulfilled. Have a good day." After rattling off those few words in a bland, disinterested voice, the young goblin turned and marched back down the hall toward the foyer.


"Ooooh. That is a LOT of food!" Tonks all but ran over to the heavily-laden table and snatched up a plate, rapidly piling a wide variety of tasty treats onto it.


Harry was a little slower to cross the room, and as a result, he noticed that the duo weren't the only ones in the waiting room. Apparently, just as Tonks had failed to notice the third person, the third person was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she missed their entrance as well. Sneaking quietly across the room, Harry settled himself behind where the silvery-blonde haired witch was seated and began quietly singing. "I've paid my dues...time after time...I've done my sentence...but commited no crime."


By now the young woman had taken notice, as Harry's singing had derailed her train of thought. She spun in her seat, glaring over the low back of the couch, but then blinking in surprised recognition of the teen behind her.


"And bad mistakes...I've made a few...I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through!" Harry burst into flames, reappearing next to the startled French woman and wrapping an arm around her shoulders before continuing in a much louder voice. "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEND! AND WE'LL...KEEP ON FIGHTING...TILL THE END! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO TIME FOR LOSERS 'CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...OF THE WORLD!"


Any further singing was cut off as the blonde grabbed Harry in a remarkably powerful hug and kissed both of his cheeks in a friendly greeting. "'Arry! It is so good to zee you!"


Harry chuckled, squeezing his fellow Triwizard Tournament champion once before sitting back a little. "Good to see you too, Fleur. How is your job search going?"


Fleur frowned prettily, tucking a stray length of shimmering hair behind her ear. "The 'ead goblins, they will be 'aving a meeting to decide weather or not to 'ire me. To be completely 'onest, they 'ave good reason not to, despite my qu...qualifick...grades."


Shifting in his seat to get his wings in a comfortable position, Harry took a second to answer. "What makes you think that?"


"'Arry, do you recall what I said at the wand-weighing ceremony?"


"Uh, you said that your grandmother was a veela, right?"


Fleur nodded. "Precisely." After several seconds of Harry staring at her curiously, the French woman sniffed and shook her head. "What are they teaching at that school? There is no such thing as an 'alf veela or a quarter veela; any child of a veela is born with only a fraction of the power, but that fraction grows as the veela ages. By the time a veela girl is my sister's age, they are incredibly cute, by their teens they are beautiful in the extreme, with the power of fire at their disposal, and by their early twenties, the fully-matured, unnaturally-beautiful veela is capable of changing into a vicious, bird-like form when enraged." Fleur sighed once her lecture was finished. "The goblins are worried that my presence will disrupt buisness, particularly with male customers and human staff."


"Hey, you're a Triwizard champion; they'd be nuts not to hire you!"


The blue-eyed woman eyed him flatly. "I came last."


Harry waved off the comment as unimportant. "You got taken down by a mind-controlled Krum, who almost got Cedric, while behind the scenes Barty Junior was manipulating events so that I got to the cup and got transported to Voldemort's little birthday party. If it had been a fair fight, I wouldn't have been there, and you would've kicked everyone's ass."


Fleur smiled, blushing slightly at the honest praise. "Perhaps."


"Perhaps nothing. How is Gabrielle doing, anyway?"


Fleur was a little thrown by the sudden change in subject, but quickly recovered with a flawless grin. "She is doing very well. In fact, not too long ago she declared that she was going to marry you once she 'ad graduated." She giggled at Harry's groan. "No doubt she will become even more determined once I tell 'er 'ow much you've grown. This is, if I don't claim you for myself..."


Harry's eyes widened comically. "...what?"


Grinning impishly, Fleur blatantly ran her eyes up and down his body. "Like I said; you 'ave grown. Quite a lot, in fact. And your singing..." The blonde shivered. "...it was fantastique."


"What!?"


With an unusually gracefully move, a certain metamorphmagus vaulted over the back of the couch and flopped into the space on Harry's other side. "Oh, definitely. Where did you learn to sing like that, lover boy?"


Fleur jumped, slightly surprised by the new arrival, and Harry hurriedley introduced the two women to each other. "Tonks, this is Fleur Delacour, fellow Triwizard Champion. Fleur, this is Tonks, my fashion consultant."


The blonde arched an eyebrow. "Fashion consultant?"


Tonks nodded. "Yep. You could say he had a bit of a growth spurt, so once we pick up some muggle cash, we're going to go out into London and buy him a whole new wardrobe."


Fleur eyed Harry again, this time with an eye for clothing. "He'll need robes, too. I know some very fine boutiques back in France we could visit."


Tonks checked her watch. "We don't have enough time to do shopping for both worlds today. How about we get the wizard stuff tomorrow?"


Considering the possibilities, Fleur soon nodded. "Alright, so long as we find a store that sells leather pants today."


Tonks grinned. "Deal!"


Harry took exception to this little clause. "Hey! I am not wearing leather pants!"


The metamorph pounced, getting a tight grip on one of Harry's wrists while straddling a leg. "Quick, grab him so he can't flame away!"


Laughing, Fleur copied Tonks' actions, though she was hampered somewhat by her floor-length, deep crimson robes.


"Now, you asked me for help to buy clothes, and we are going to help you. Have you ever worn leather before? Besides shoes and gloves and pads for Quidditch, I mean."


Harry frowned. "...no."


The two women rolled their eyes. "Then why are you so against it?"


"..."


Tonks smirked. "That's what I thought." Her smirk grew even more wicked, if that were even possible, and she leaned over to whisper into Fleur's ear before repeating the suggestion so Harry could hear. "If you're a good boy, Fleur and I will model a couple of leather outfits for you. How does that sound?"





It was a quiet group of people who were gathered in the lounge room of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.


...mostly because those who were in the room had kicked out Sirius and the Twins for trying to liven the place up one too many times. Remus and Arthur were reading newspapers while seated on recliners, Molly was knitting on the couch, Hermione was seated on the floor, rolls of parchment surrounding her as she double-checked her Summer Homework for the seventh time, and Ginny and Ron were playing a game of chess in the corner on a small table built for just such a purpose.


The sudden sound of the front door opening froze everybody in their place, breathless in the total silence, until two distinct pairs of feet where heard marching up the stairs; one set of feet light, the other wearing heavier boots and stumbling occasionally. Molly sniffed and went back to her knitting, and Arthur followed her example and returned to his reading.


Ron and Ginny glanced at each other, then abandoned their game, Hermione following the redheads only after she'd gathered up her homework. The trio snuck past the snoring portraits and mounted house-elf heads, then bounded up the stairs as quickly and quietly as they could. The Weasleys skipped the first floor bedrooms, where Ginny, Hermione, Molly and Arthur slept, and went straight to the second floor. Ron threw open the door to his room and stepped in, but stopped, confused, when he was met with an unoccupied bedroom. "Hey, where'd he go?"


Ginny rolled her eyes and swatted her brother across the back of the head. "Use your brain! He stayed in Sirius' room last night, remember?"


Hermione finally caught up to the pair after having dumped her homework carefully onto her bed. "I don't think anyone had the chance to tell him where he was going to be sleeping, so I guess we'll just have to check all of the rooms, one by one."


Grumbling, Ron wandered over to Remus' bedroom and threw that door open, too. "...nope, not here."


The group made their way to the third floor and opened the first door, revealing Sirius and the Twins, lounging around and innocently discussing the recent Harpy-Tornado match.


Hermione crossed her arms and pinned the trio with a look that would have done McGonagall proud. "What are you three up to?" Judging by the looks on their faces, Ginny and Ron weren't buying it either.


To their credit, the younger of the mischief-makers managed to look almost convincingly slighted by the muggle-born's accusation, where the obvious master was the very model of a falsely accused man of class and culture. "My dear woman, I'm afraid you've gotten us mixed up with some ill-intentioned hooligans of no-doubt ill repute! In all honesty, my fine companions and myself were merely discussing the most recent of professional Quidditch matches."


"Yeah!"


"What he said!"


Looking from one fervently nodding twin to the other, then the animagus in between, Hermione eventually just sighed and shook her head resignedly. "Have you seen Harry?"


Sirius grinned charmingly and pointed to the ceiling. "One floor up, second door on the right once you get off the stairs."


Ginny frowned curiously. "How do you-"


The animagus waved her off. "Good ears. Dog ears, almost. Now, if you'll excuse us..."


The Harry-hunters got the hint and left the room, closing the door securely behind them. They hadn't taken more than five steps towards the stairs when a muffled explosion was heard and a flash of light could be seen from under the door to the room they'd just left.


Ronald shivered at the muffled laughter coming from the room. "I REALLY don't want to know."


His younger sister smirked. "Are you sure you don't want to poke your head in? See what that bang was?"


"BLOODY HELL, NO!"


The bushy-haired brunette shushed him before leading the way up the stairs to the room Sirius indicated. When she got there she grabbed the door handle, then shook her head and chose to knock on the door. "Harry?"


There was muffled cursing, a soft popping sound, then footsteps before the door swung open, revealing the recently upgraded Potter in all of his winged glory. "Hi Hermione, Ron, Ginny. What's up?"


Hermione spoke for the group. "Can we come in?"


"Ah...sure." The spliced wizard stepped away from the door, opening it wider to allow his friends through before closing it and weaving through the minefield of shopping bags to the bed.


Despite herself, Hermione's eyes were drawn to the black-clad backside Harry presented as he walked away from her. "Are those pants LEATHER!?"


Dropping onto the vast bed, Harry chuckled at the gob-smacked look on his oldest female friend's face. "Yep. Like `em? Fleur convinced me to buy them...and wear them for the rest of the night."


It was Ron's turn. "FLEUR DELACOUR!?"


Cringing slightly, Harry rubbed his ears. "...is all of this shouting really necessary?"


Ginny shrugged, sitting herself down on the only chair in the room and eyeing the two or three dozen bags. "You have to admit, you are dropping quite a few spells on us in a short time."


"I guess. And yes, Ron, it was Fleur Delacour. Tonks and I met her in Gringotts."


As Ron sputtered, Ginny studied the winged wonder. "And she just decided to help you out of the goodness of her heart?"


Harry frowned at her sceptical look. "Exactly. Fleur really is a very caring and intelligent woman, you know. In fact, she reminds me of Hermione in quite a few ways."


The muggle-born witch in question blushed a little, while the former host to Tom Riddle's Diary rolled her eyes and snorted. "I'm sure she's just wonderful. I doubt we'll be seeing her again anytime soon, so it doesn't matter, does it?"


Harry stared at Ginny curiously. "Actually, I'll be seeing her again tomorrow when we go shopping for more formal clothes."


Ron had recovered by now, only to be shocked again. "What, more clothes? Isn't there enough here?"


Turning away from the frowning red-head to face her brother, Harry shrugged. "Apparently not; Tonks and Fleur both agreed on that point."


Hermione blinked. "Where is Tonks, anyway? We heard her come up here with you just a little while ago."


Harry waved at the bags, fighting back a grin unsuccessfully. "I needed her to unshrink all of these, and she left a little while after; said something about getting to bed early." The Boy-Who-Lived checked his gleaming new watch. "Which is a good idea, now that I think about it. Big day tomorrow and all that." He stood and herded his friends towards the door. "Go on, out you get."


Ronald allowed himself to be led out, but spoke up over his shoulder. "Hey, you're supposed to be sharing a room with me!"


"And I picked this room. Hey, nobody else is using it, are they? Didn't think so. Now out!"


"But I've got so many questions!" Guess who?


Chuckling, Harry cradled Hermione in a wing and nudged the brunette out the door. "I'm sure you do, but they can all wait until tomorrow." By now they were all out, but Harry caught Hermione's arm before she could follow the siblings down the hall. "Oh, one other thing you and Fleur have in common; the two of you really are very attractive. Good night!"


Closing the door and cutting off his view of a very red muggle-born witch, Harry whistled an unearthly tune to himself as he stripped himself down to his boxers and dropped onto the bed. Clapping his hands to turn out the lights, Harry got himself comfortable lying on his stomach, and in no time at all was fast asleep, his dreams filled with images of two stunning women asking the same question, one woman with a French accent, the other without...


"Are you sure these pants aren't too tight?"





Cypher3au