FicWad

Stolen Magic


A/N: First off, I'd like to thank you guys for the overwhelmingly positive responses. It's always nice to have readers, especially ones that actually like what I'm writing . On that note, I'm going to shamelessly plug a fic that I recently started reading here on ficwad, one that hasn't been read by nearly enough people. I love ficwad, don't get me wrong, but a lot of readers here pretty much go for NC-17 only. I can't blame you, but I'd really like to recommend this story anyway. It's called Blind Faith, and it's by xyvortex. Search it, please. It's a superb story and deserves about a thousand more reviews than it gets. It's complete, but he's also got seven chapters of a sequel up. Hell, it might be more by now...I'm too lazy to check. For those of you that are curious, it's AU in which Harry was blinded at the age of four. Features Dead!Vernon (hooray!) and Nice!PetuniaAndDudley (surprisingly believable). In case you didn't get the point, I really like this fic.

Enough shameless plugs. For all of you ficwad readers, as soon as I figure out how to keep the proper dimensions in HTML format, I'll switch to that instead of text only, meaning I'll hopefully be able to include fun things like italics for emphasis. Don't get your hopes up, though, I'm about as technologically savvy as a mountain goat, plus I'm on a Mac.

This chapter, as you may notice, is considerably shorter than the last one. The fact of the matter is, I'm not too happy with it at this point. It's more of a transition chapter than anything else. Just give me time...I promise some serious smut is coming soon!

One last thing: Anonymous reviews. At the recommendation of a reviewer, I enabled that function on fanfiction(dot)net. I'm not exactly sure what it entails, but I know that I don't really like it. I've received a few anonymous reviews on ficwad (one was accidental, though), and I'm frustrated that I can't reply to a couple of them. If you're going to flame me, feel free to go anonymous, because I won't dignify flames with a response anyway. If you're going to give a short review that you don't expect a response to, again, feel free to go anonymous if that's what you want. For all of you in-depth reviewers out there, PLEASE don't review anonymously. I really like to be able to reply to good reviews. If I have to, I guess I'll respond to those excellent anonymous reviewers in my future author's notes. However, anonymous reviews that request spoilers MUST LEAVE CONTACT INFORMATION! I'm not, for example, going to put which girls I plan on including in the harem in this author's note. Without further adieu, I present you with...the next chapter!

Thanks to Patrick, my beta for this chapter.


Chapter 2: I Have to WHAT?


"Sirius!" Harry called.

"Harry?" came the predictable response from the hallway. A moment later the door was flung open. Sirius swiftly walked in and pulled Harry into a tight embrace.

"Good to see you too, Sirius," Harry wheezed.

"Sorry," Sirius said as the Weasleys burst into laughter at Harry's tone. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

"Or maybe Harry's just fragile today," Ron offered, still chuckling.

"Ouch, I really am sorry now," Sirius said, his tone suddenly somber. "You can't have fully recovered from that growth spurt already." He looked Harry over as if sizing him up. "And what a growth spurt it was!"

"That's what Madam Pomfrey said," Harry replied, blushing slightly. He suddenly grinned. "I felt great until you bloody mauled me."

"Speaking of mauling," George began.

"We should be getting back to the Burrow," Fred continued, somehow knowing just what his brother was going to say.

"Or Mum'll have our skins!" George finished.

"Right, you lot go ahead," Sirius said, waving them away, "I want to catch Harry up on our current living quarters." Ginny was out the door before he had finished speaking, and the others followed suit, though Ron waited in the doorway until Sirius gave him a "hurry up" gesture.

"Can't I go with them?" Harry asked after Ron had finally gone, his smile fading slightly.

Sirius studiously avoided looking at Harry while searching for a response. "Sorry, Harry. Dumbledore called a meeting as soon as you were safely at Hogwarts and gave us new orders concerning you."

"Orders where I'm tra-wait a minute." Harry's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by 'new', were there old orders?"

"Dumbledore had an Order member watching you at Privet Drive every day."

"What? Why?"

"I would assume to protect you from what happened," Sirius said, a smile threatening to emerge.

"I figured that, I meant why not tell me? It would've been nice to have some decent company for a change."

Sirius sighed and sat down on a bed, opposite Harry. "Dumbledore thought it was possible that Voldemort was having you watched. He assumed that if whatever Death Eater he was using to tail you saw you with a wizard, he'd probably get cockier. He might think he knew all of the defenses around you, which would give him reason to attack you, which we didn't want. If he had no idea what Dumbledore was guarding you with, on the other hand, he'd be more cautious."

"Well that worked out well," Harry said sarcastically.

"I'm not too happy with Dumbledore's decision-making myself," Sirius admitted.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"I'm in the same situation as you, except I'm not allowed, under any circumstances, to leave this house."

"I'm guessing you don't like it here," Harry said.

"My family lived here," Sirius spat. "If you knew them, you'd understand. They were all the worst kind of purebloods. Like that Malfoy kid you told me about last year. His mother, Narcissa, is actually my cousin."

"You're kidding!" Harry exclaimed.

"Nope," Sirius replied. "C'mon, there's a family tapestry in the next room over. I'll show you just how horrible the Black family really is."

Harry followed Sirius as he walked into the next room, immediately making his way to the far wall, which held a massive black tapestry that went all the way from the floor to the ceiling. It was in pristine condition, obviously due to magic, and stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of the dusty room. As he moved closer, Harry noticed the thin gold lines on the tapestry tying various names together.

"You're not on here," Harry said a minute later, having thoroughly searched the bottom levels of the tapestry for his godfather's name.

"Yeah, Mum removed me," Sirius said, pointing out a round burn mark and sneering at the mere mention of his mother. Harry noticed that there were a couple other similar marks nearby.

"Who else -"

"That one that's a row up from me, that one on the left, that's Uncle Alphard. He left me a decent bit of gold when he died, that's probably why she took him off."

"Why do they hate you so much?" Harry asked.

"I'll put it this way, my brother, Regulus, was a Death Eater, and my parents were quite proud of him."

"Your brother was a Death Eater?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't a very good one," Sirius said with a snort. "Got in too deep and tried to back out. Voldemort didn't like that too much, needless to say, and that's why he's dead."

"Voldemort killed him?"

Sirius snorted again. "I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort himself. Probably some low-level Death Eater got the orders."

"Right..." Harry muttered, looking back at the tapestry. "So who's that one next to Narcissa Malfoy?"

"The other black sheep of the family, so to speak," Sirius said, smirking. "My dear cousin Andromeda married a Muggle-born by the name of Ted Tonks, while her sisters both wed lovely Death Eater poufs."

"Tonks...the girl in the Order, is that Andromeda's daughter?" Harry asked.

"Yep, her spot, as you can tell from the burn mark, is below Andromeda's. So, have you seen enough of my family to understand just how evil we all are?" Sirius kept his tone light, but Harry could practically smell the worry coming off of the man. 'He's afraid I won't accept him because of his stupid family,' Harry realized.

"Don't go calling yourself evil, Sirius. Sure, you might have almost gotten Snape killed, but you should remember that I'm one of the people who only regrets that you didn't succeed."

Sirius grinned broadly at that and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Glad you and I agree on that. I think that's enough really depressing stuff for one day. Now we can move on to the vaguely depressing subject matter I know you've been just dying to get to."

Harry rolled his eyes. "All right, let's start with the easy stuff. What's Voldemort been up to?"

"Technically," Sirius began, raising a finger, "I'm not supposed to tell you any of this, but bugger that! Just keep it to yourself." Harry nodded his acquiescence. "From what we've been able to find out, recruiting. He's only got a small percentage of the followers that he had last time, and he wants to fix that. Next question."

"That can't be all he's after," Harry pressed.

"Well, followers and you," Sirius amended.

"All I ask is for a little recognition," Harry said, sweeping his hand to his forehead in a dramatic gesture. "I won't even bother asking what the Order's doing about it," he said in a more serious tone. "Basically, I just want to know what's in store for me this summer. I'm going to be here with you, I know, but what are we going to do?"

"Molly's been using her kids to help her in the war against this house."

Harry frowned. "What war?"

"She's trying to clean the place up, make it habitable, but it's fighting tooth and nail to stay utterly disgusting," Sirius said.

"All right," Harry said, now grinning mischievously, "so what are we up against?"

Sirius straightened in a laughable attempt at military discipline. "Our main problem is my mother."

"Your mother lives here? From the way you spoke about her, I assumed she was dead. Wouldn't she kick all of us out, or at least betray us to Voldemort?"

"Don't worry, she is dead. It's her portrait that's the problem. It's behind those disgusting curtains, I'm sure you've seen them." Harry nodded. "Well, whenever we make too much noise, the curtains fly open and she starts screaming her head off. I'm pretty sure the portrait is equipped with a weak Sonorus Charm, among other things."

"She's just in a painting? Can't you...I dunno, take her down? Set her on fire?"

"She's got a Permanent Sticking Charm in place. Besides, she's only part of the problem."

"What else is there?"

"Kreacher."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not. Kreacher is a house-elf, the most despicable, evil, loathsome house-elf in existence."

"Let me guess, he belongs to the family?"

"As if it wasn't obvious from my description. He's difficult to describe, you'll just have to see for yourself when he finally pops in to say hello."

"Sirius, can't we just have the Hogwarts house-elves come here and fix the place up? No offence to Mrs. Weasley, but I don't think she can pull it off, even if we all pitch in."

Sirius shrugged and looked away. "It's Dumbledore's decision, like everything else seems to be. I'll owl him about it first thing tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Harry said bracingly, trying to keep Sirius in a good mood. "You might want to request the help of a specific elf. He goes by the name of Dobby, and he's completely mental."

"Kreacher's mental," Sirius said. "This Dobby of yours can't be nearly as bad."

"Oh, he's not," Harry said quickly. "He's the good kind of mental. You'll like him a lot. He used to work for the Malfoys before I tricked Lucius into freeing him. Dobby threw him down a staircase when he realized it and tried to throttle me."

"Why haven't I heard this story?" Sirius demanded, laughing.

"I suppose it's because no one's told it to you," Harry said cheekily.

Sirius sighed in exasperation. "Walked right into that one, I guess. I can tell you're feeling better when you're so bloody obnoxious, but just to make me feel better why don't you take a bit of a nap before anything else."

"Yeah, all right," Harry said, "but can I have something to eat first?"


+~+~+~+~+


Harry was awakened several hours later by Mrs. Weasley, who informed him that dinner was ready. As she led him downstairs, she commented on how thin he looked, proving that she really would say that to him no matter what, as he now looked like the epitome of health. Still, he just smiled and told her that she'd have plenty of time to fatten him up because he'd never have to go back to Privet Drive again.

"That's absolutely wonderful, dear," she exclaimed. "I never quite approved of..." she trailed off, unwilling to speak her mind on the subject of the Dursleys out of proper etiquette. Harry didn't realize that she had begun addressing him again until she was already mid-sentence. "...matter any longer, I suppose. You'll enjoy meeting a few of the Order members, although certain people..." once again, she trailed off. This time, Harry found himself a bit curious about who in the Order had managed to get on her bad side.

When they arrived in the kitchen downstairs, Harry saw that everyone was already seated. Ginny saw him before anyone else, and Harry was pleased to see that she didn't blush when their eyes met, but she did look down almost immediately. A moment later, every other face in the room was on his.

"Er, hello," Harry said, meeting Fleur's eyes and managing a smile.

She played the part of an old friend perfectly, squealing his name before rising and kissing him on each cheek, then crushing him in a hug. Harry inwardly sighed in relief when he didn't blush, not even at the catcalls that came from Sirius and the twins. He had to fight back a groan when he saw how jealous Ron looked. Fleur's hand dipped lower to squeeze his bum just before she pulled back, her smile widening.

"It's great to see you, Fleur," Harry said with very real enthusiasm. "So you joined the Order, then?"

She winked at him before replying in the affirmative, and then sitting back down. Professor Lupin, who now insisted on being called Remus, stood up and shook Harry's hand next, followed by the man Dumbledore had identified as Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry was then introduced to several others, including Emmeline Vance, an elegant witch who seemed to be unable to take her eyes off of Remus for more than a few seconds at a time. Harry noticed the werewolf studiously avoiding chancing even a peek in her direction.

Harry sat down between Ginny and Fred, across from Fleur. The Weasley family was well represented, with only Bill, Charlie and Percy being absent. Harry was about to ask about Percy, but decided that he wasn't really interested in the answer. He contented himself by piling food onto his plate and fighting back the urge to blush when he felt Fleur's foot brush against his leg under the table.

The meal passed remarkably quickly. Harry spent most of the time speculating with Fred and George about Gryffindor's chances at the Quidditch Cup in the next year, with Sirius and Kingsley joining in for part of it. Fleur even inserted a comment of her own, assuring the others that she didn't see how any other team could beat them with Harry as Seeker. This comment caused Fred, George, and Sirius to snicker. Harry was just happy that Ron was too busy eating his third helping to hear her.

After the conversation had shifted, Harry grinned at Fleur before rising out of his seat and picking up his plate. "I think I'm going to go unpack," he said as he left his dishes on the counter. Walking out, he didn't notice Sirius and Remus exchange knowing looks.

Once at the top of the stairs, Harry leaned against the wall and looked expectantly at the kitchen door. Sure enough, Fleur emerged less than a minute later. She caught his eye and beamed, making Harry wonder if her veela powers really were all gone.

When she was close enough to whisper, she addressed him. "Are you ready for your first lesson, 'Arry?"

"Let's go," Harry whispered back, offering his arm, which she took. "Let's not let things get too out of hand, though."

"Why not?" Fleur asked, looking a little hurt.

"I...er...I've never done...well, anything with a girl before you. Can we just take it a little slower?"

"But what about what you said earlier?" Fleur asked. "You remember, ze part about assuming we would be 'aving sex anyway."

"Well, I dunno how to describe it," Harry said slowly. "It was like my instincts were telling me to shag you right there in the hospital wing, and when I didn't, it seemed like it was only a temporary concession, as if to say, 'Well, you'll have to shag her sooner or later.' I'm not going to take it back, because I meant it, but I don't think I'm ready quite yet."

"Very well," Fleur said, pouting. "It matters not, for today we will be focusing on ze theory behind our magic. Your magic, I suppose," she amended, looking up at Harry adoringly.

With a smile, Harry guided Fleur into his room. She sat on his bed while he knelt down and opened his trunk. "Mind if I unpack while we talk?" he asked, turning his head over his shoulder to look at her.

"It is all right with me," Fleur replied. "Just be careful not to miss anything."

"Don't worry," Harry said, turning back to his trunk, "I'll pay attention."

"Very well, zen," Fleur said, lying back on his bed and looking at the ceiling. Harry noticed that her tone had changed slightly to become more clinical, more like the tone one would expect from a teacher. "As long as zere 'ave been wizards, zere 'ave been veela. No one knows ze true origins of ze first veela, but zat 'as not stopped many arrogant wizards from pretending to. Veela cannot use magic ze way wizards can. Zeir true forms are avian, but most prefer to remain in zeir 'uman form for as much time as possible. Zey generally keep to zemselves, preferring the company of uzzer veela to zat of wizards and Muggles."

Harry turned around for a moment. "If most prefer to stay around other veela, then how do they reproduce? The only veela I've ever seen are female..."

"By uzzer veela, I meant both female veela and males 'oo carry veela blood," Fleur said quickly. "I must explain. Zere are wizards, always wizards 'oo are strikingly 'andsome, 'oo 'ave veela blood in zem. Zey are considered male veela, and are immune to veela powers. Zey must be at least 'alf veela for zis to apply, and a veela can instantly tell when a man 'as ze required blood."

"So is that what I have?" Harry asked.

"No, zere are a small number of wizards without veela blood in zem, or with less zan half, 'oo are resistant as well. You fall under zat category. Do you understand enough about zose zat are sometimes called male veela?"

"Yes. I understand well enough to know that it doesn't apply to me," Harry said. "What about female veela? You're a quarter-veela, right? So the blood must work differently for females."

"Very good!" Fleur exclaimed, sitting up and smiling at him, though she lay back down once she saw that he wasn't facing her. "It is slightly different for females. Like ze males, 'alfblooded females possess ze exact same powers as a pure veela. 'Owever, a quarterblood such as myself 'as both veela attraction and ze abilities of a witch. I was incapable of transforming into an avian form, so I expect zat you will find it impossible as well."

"Good," Harry said, tossing a pair of Dudley's old jeans onto a growing pile of clothes that would never fit him. "I'd really rather not have to turn into a giant flame-wielding bird every time Snape speaks."

"I can see why you would not want zat," Fleur said, her lips twitching. "What I 'ave just told you is what all veela tell wizards 'oo are curious about us. While all of it is true, it is not the 'ole truth. Few understand ze true nature of ze veela attraction, but you must learn as much as you can; it will 'elp you control it.

"We will begin with ze range of zose affected by your abilities, starting with ze female 'alf of ze population."

"Wait a minute, it affects males?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes, but not in ze same way," Fleur replied impatiently. "I will get to zat, please allow me to explain females first."

"Er, sorry, go ahead," Harry said, abashed.

"It is all right," she said sagely, "you 'ave done nothing wrong. Females fall under several general categories if taken from a male's perspective. First, ze older generation, meaning zose zat you would never become attracted to simply because zey are so much older zan you. Because you are not attracted to zem, zey are immune to your abilities. A good example of zis group is Madam Pomfrey, I believe."

"Yeah, she wasn't affected at all," Harry agreed.

"Ze next group is blood relatives. Not zat you are likely to ever see any again, but zey will be completely unaffected as well." Harry snorted. Fleur continued as though she hadn't heard him. "With girls closer to your own age, if you view zem as sisters, or as uzzer family members, zen zey will not be affected as much as some uzzers. They will, however, feel some pull. If zey already were attracted to you, zey are still only hit with a reduced level of attraction, but it will add to ze attraction zat zey naturally felt for you."

"So for someone like Ginny, she's had a crush on me in the past, so my powers will amplify those feelings slightly if they're still around, but no more than that because I think of her like a sister?" Harry asked

"Precisely," Fleur confirmed. "I believe zat your uzzer friend, 'Ermione, falls under zis category as well. I believe zat she thinks of you as a sibling as well, so her attraction will be no stronger zan a schoolgirl crush."

"And I bet it'll grow weaker with time. She'll probably learn to fight it pretty quickly," Harry mused.

"Yes, if nothing 'appens between ze two of you, she will eventually become as immune as a biological sister would be."

"Can that happen with every girl that's affected?" Harry asked.

Fleur shook her head. "No. Zat can only happen with ze girls least affected. It may weaken for ze uzzers, but it will never truly disappear. Zat reminds me, I 'ad moved on to ze girls zat are affected, but I forgot one group zat is immune. If a girl is truly in love with anuzzer, zen you will 'ave no affect on zem."

"That's something, at least," Harry grumbled. "I'd really rather not have every lovesick guy in Hogwarts after my blood."

"You most likely will anyway," Fleur said calmly. "It only doesn't work if ze girl is in love."

"Oh," Harry said with as much intelligence as he could muster.

"Indeed," Fleur said primly from the bed. The slightly spoiled girl he had taken her for during the previous year wasn't a complete facade, it seemed. "Uzzer girls, ze ones your age 'oo you 'ave no real feelings towards, will feel it, but you will not feel anything different about zem."

"Why would I?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I am getting zere," Fleur said, sitting up once again to look him in the eye. 'She may be a bit haughty, but it's comforting to know that she can do something besides fawn over me when it's just the two of us,' Harry thought to himself.

"Now, zere is only one uzzer group. Zey get a slightly different version of ze attraction. In addition to ze normal effects, zeir in'ibitions are lowered and zeir courage is bolstered, making zem more likely to seek contact with you."

"So they're more likely to do what you did in the hospital wing?" Harry asked, grinning cheekily.

Fleur flushed, but grinned back. "Indeed," she repeated, imitating Harry's joking tone. "Simply put, ze girls zat you desire are far more likely to desire you as well."

"Fleur, you're acting as if we aren't going to be getting involved," Harry said, his tone betraying his worry.

"Oh, believe me, we will be very involved," she promised, meeting his eyes. "'Owever, once you get to 'Ogwarts, you will 'ave to seek new companionship."

"Why?!" Harry asked incredulously.

Fleur put her head in her hands, her magnificent hair hanging inches above the floor. "I 'ave neglected to mention a couple of things," she began, looking up at him. "Veela are different in many ways from 'umans, and one is in terms of ze sex drive. Veela 'ave to 'ave sex often to maintain zeir mental stability. By ze time you are at 'Ogwarts, I will be a full member of ze Order, and unable to see you often enough to fulfill your needs. Actually, I doubt zat I am able to completely satiate you now."

Harry was a bit dazed, but ploughed on with the discussion. "Temporarily ignoring the fact that you just told me to shag other girls, why can't you, er, 'completely satiate' me?" He feigned disgust at the thought of multiple lovers, but the idea had a definite appeal to him. With a guilty conscience, Harry looked back up at Fleur and awaited her answer.

"You 'ave too much stamina. I would 'ave been able to keep up as a veela, but as a simple witch..." Just when Harry thought she was going to let the implications speak for themselves, she burst out with something even more unexpected. "Tonks will 'ave to 'elp!"

"Tonks?" Harry said weakly. "Your friend from the Order, Tonks?"

"Yes, she will be most eager to 'elp. It is a pity she is on assignment for ze next week," Fleur said, shaking her head in evident frustration.

"Wait a minute, let's backtrack here," Harry said, patting the air in front of him with both hands. "Surely you don't want me to sleep with other women!"

Fleur sighed again. "'Arry, you are so na-ve. It would be endearing were it not so frustrating. Veela always take multiple lovers. Typically, one female veela 'as up to eight different lovers."

"And the male veela are all ok with sharing?" Harry asked in a slightly less hysterical tone.

"I must clarify," Fleur said, shaking her head again. "Zere are far more female veela zan zere are males. Every female takes multiple lovers including one male and a multitude of females. Each male 'as multiple female lovers, zough he is incapable of fully satisfying even one female in a day. Ze females help each uzzer out, it is 'ow I was raised."

"So you've done all of this too?" Harry asked.

"No, I 'ave taken several different lovers, most male, but some female. Tonks is ze latest of zese lovers. 'Er abilities give 'er enhanced stamina. She came closer zan anyone else 'as, but was still unable to keep up in ze end," Fleur said sadly. "Luckily, she will 'ave no trouble keeping up with me now!"

"Ok, so let's say for a minute that, hypothetically speaking, I join you and Tonks. Why couldn't I just take up massive amounts of, er, pleasing myself at Hogwarts while you're not around?"

"Zat only makes ze desire stronger," Fleur warned. "A veela should never masturbate; it will cause pain and increase ze urges."

"Then what?" Harry asked. "I'm supposed to shag every girl I see?"

"I 'ope you will be more selective zan zat," Fleur said with a wink. "You do not need to pretend with me, I know zat ze idea appeals to you."

"How did you know?" Harry asked. He saw it in her eyes, there was no use in pretending.

"Because veela are sexual creatures. We desire a great deal of it with a variety of partners. Your veela nature is fighting your sense of propriety. It will win eventually, so you may as well give in now. If you do not, zen I will not tell you about ze final way zat your powers will affect your everyday life."

Harry glared at her, but her only response was a smile. "Fleur, you can't just expect me to accept this in one sitting. Yeah, the idea had appeal, but I still don't like it."

"You will," Fleur promised. "If you are unwilling to accept it, to even give it a trial run, zen we will never speak again about zis subject, and you will never fully understand why you act ze way you do now."

Harry glared at her, eliciting the same response as before. Right when he was about to give in, an idea occurred. "Fine, then I guess we won't be shagging after all."

Fleur grinned triumphantly. "You already said zat we would not 'ave sex tonight!"

"I meant ever."

The smile slid off her face with alarming speed. It was replaced with a dejected look. "Very well," she said, looking at the floor. Harry felt the urge to give in, but reminded himself that she had blackmailed him first. He compromised by walking over to the bed and sitting next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

"I'm sorry, Fleur, but I need to know," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her temple.

"It is all right," Fleur replied quietly, putting her arms around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder. "I should not 'ave threatened you. Now zat I think of it, zere are two things we must address. I 'ad completely forgotten about ze first, which involves 'ow your powers will affect men."

"I completely forgot about that as well," Harry said, shocked that he could forget something so important.

"Men will be intimidated by you. If you are feeling extremely emotional, zen your aura of intimidation will increase. It is 'igher for zose zat you do not like, and almost nonexistent for zose zat you truly care for. For zem, it will be more of a feeling of respect for you, while your enemies may find zemselves fearing you."

"I just hope all that 'respect' doesn't scare any of my friends off," Harry said. No one he'd seen that day had acted any different so far, so he wasn't particularly worried.

"If it does, zen zey were probably not your friends anyway. Zat is something you probably could 'ave figured out on your own. Ze uzzer thing you should know is a bit more subtle."

"Gonna tell me?" Harry playfully asked, giving her a soft squeeze.

"It is fairly simple," Fleur said, now smiling slightly. "Your emotions are no longer ze same. You are more likely to experience one particular emotion more zan any uzzer. All veela are inclined towards a specific feeling. It is completely random, so zere is no telling what it will be. Mine was annoyance. You may 'ave noticed me complaining quite a lot during ze Tournament."

"Maybe a little," Harry admitted, eliciting a knowing smile from the beautiful blonde. "How d'you know I haven't just absorbed the your dominant feeling like I absorbed your powers?"

"Because you 'ave not yet become annoyed, to my knowledge. 'Ave you behaved in an unusual manner at all since waking up zis morning?"

"Aside from my time with you in the hospital wing?"

"Yes, aside from zat," Fleur said. "Due to ze sexual nature of a veela, lust is automatically a dominant feeling, but zere should be one uzzer."

"Well, I s'pose I was a bit...carefree while I was talking to Sirius," Harry said slowly. "You think my dominant feeling could be my sense of humor?"

"Zat is likely," Fleur said. "Since we 'ave met, I suppose we 'ave joked around more zan I would 'ave expected. You were certainly much more serious zan anyone else your age during ze year."

"Well, given what happened..." Harry let the statement hang, but he was smiling.

"I believe zat our lesson for today is over," Fleur said after a minute's silence. "I know zat you do not wish to do anything zat you would regret. You are not ready, and if I am to respect zat, zen I do not think it would be wise for me to stay here anymore tonight. You are very difficult to resist."

"I'm not the only one," Harry replied, standing up and offering her his hand.

"Merci," she said, allowing him to pull her to her feet She gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Tomorrow evening after dinner I will teach you to control your powers, zough I think zat you may be a natural. In ze meantime, try to stay calm." With one last kiss, she left the room, leaving the door open behind her.

'Bugger,' was Harry's initial thought after she had left. With Fleur gone, he was finally able to think about what she had told him without the constant barrage of still more information. He now literally had to do what many men wanted to be able do more than anything: take multiple lovers. He'd be lying if he said that the idea disgusted him.

'It's all different now,' he thought. 'There's no going back, so I might as well stop whining about it. As long as I'm honest, the thing I'm most worried about is how Ron and the other guys will react to me having more than one girl. I can't just go after every good-looking girl at Hogwarts, not if I want to survive the year. If everything Fleur said is true, then it's going to be her, Tonks and me for the summer. I'll have to see how the next couple of months go before deciding anything about Hogwarts. Good thing I'll be in such good humor...'

"So." Harry spun around to see Ron leaning against the doorframe. 'Speak of the devil.'

"How was the Burrow?" Harry asked, not quite sure what to expect after the redhead's less than friendly greeting.

"Fine," Ron said, his eyes boring into Harry's.

Harry stared back for a moment before responding, hoping that Ron wasn't letting his jealousy rule him again. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not really," Ron spat, his tone suggesting the opposite.

"So you've just come to leer at me, then?" Harry asked innocently.

Ron turned red and seemed unable to reply.

"What's the deal between you and Fleur?" he finally asked. "You weren't that close the last time you saw her."

"Don't tell me you're jealous again!" Harry exclaimed in mock-surprise.

"I'm not-Just answer the bloody question!" Ron shouted, oblivious to the open door.

"Well," Harry said icily, "I'd say it's none of your business. Maybe if you weren't so busy wishing your parents had died so you could get a fucking scar on your head, you would me more focused on Hermione, who you actually have feelings for, rather than on Fleur, who you only want because you think I've got her."

Ron did a remarkable imitation of a fish out of water for a while, unable to find an adequate response to Harry's words.

"Just get out," Harry said impatiently. "If you can get over your jealousy, I might not tell Hermione about this. You've got two weeks until she gets here. I'd recommend using them to do some serious thinking. Oh, and in case you wondered, you won't be using my Firebolt for a while, so I'd like it back."

"It's in my room," Ron said quietly, obviously ashamed of himself.

"Give it to me tomorrow, then," Harry said.

"Right...I'll just..." he trailed off and left the room. Harry smirked when Sirius and Remus entered as soon as he'd gone.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

"All of it," Remus replied.

"So when did Ron become such a git?" Sirius asked.

"Since dinner, apparently," Harry said, shrugging.

"Ah, and speaking of dinner, that was quite a show you and Fleur put on," Remus said with a wink. "Misguided though he may be, Ron had a point. Anything we should know about you and her?"

"Tell you what, I'll tell you about her if you tell me about Emmeline Vance," Harry suggested, a devilish grin on his face.

"Not you too!" Remus exclaimed, sitting down on the bed.

"Ha!" Sirius crowed. "I told you she had a thing for you, Moony!"

"I'm well aware of her feelings," Remus muttered. "I just don't think someone with my condition-"

"Oh shut up!" Sirius interrupted. "It's already been proven that you can't pass on your affliction to any children you may have, and Emmeline's a big girl. She's nearly as old as we are, and is mature enough to make her own decisions."

"When did this suddenly become about me?" Remus asked. "Let's go back to pestering Harry about Fleur!"

'Damn,' Harry thought as both men turned to him, identical evil grins on their faces. He got up and shut the door. "Er, have you two ever heard of Legilimency?"

"Yes," Remus said simply. "Why do you ask?"

"How are you at resisting it?"

"Occlumency?" Sirius asked.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Occlumency, it's the polar opposite of Legilimency," Remus explained. "Where Legilimency attacks, Occlumency defends."

"Whatever it's called," Harry said impatiently. "Are you any good at it?"

"It's the only good thing that came out of my time in Azkaban. You learn to keep your thoughts to yourself pretty quick in there," Sirius said, shuddering in response to the unwelcome memories.

"It's one of the few positive side effects of being a werewolf," Remus added when Harry turned to him. "Most people know not to even try to enter a werewolf's mind. I've been told it's...unpleasant."

"Good," Harry said. "I'm about to tell you what really happened to me when Voldemort tried to steal my magic. This conversation never leaves this room, though, got it? Not even Dumbledore can know, at least not yet."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other before nodding in agreement.

Once again, Harry summarized the events that led to his gaining veela powers, but he included everything since, even Fleur's explanation. When he was finished, both Marauders were dumbfounded.

"So you get to shag multiple girls?" Sirius asked.

"More like have to," Harry said, allowing himself a smirk.

"Lucky sod," Sirius said, smiling and clapping Harry on the shoulder. "You'd better have enough fun for the both of us with this!"

"Not exactly the best example for Harry to follow," Remus said, but his smile made it difficult to take him seriously.

"Actually, he is," Harry insisted. "I really do have to do this, and Sirius is helping me look at it from a positive perspective. Plus, he's being a bigger man than Ron, who was horribly jealous when he thought I had one girl. He'll be a complete nightmare if he ever finds out the whole truth."

"We'll just have to keep him from finding out, then," Remus said.

"Agreed!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "So when do you learn to control your powers?"

"Fleur suggested tomorrow after dinner," Harry replied. "It might not work out, though, something could always get in the way. We'll find a different time if that happens."

"More like someone could get in the way," Sirius corrected.

"Thinking of Ron?" Harry asked.

"Actually, I was thinking that Ginny might try to have her wicked way with you," Sirius said.

"Weren't you listening, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"Apparently not well enough, what did I miss?"

"Harry thinks of her as a sister, meaning her attraction will be minimal. Besides, didn't you say she has a boyfriend?" Remus inquired, turning to Harry.

"That's what she said to Ron," Harry replied. "Merlin, I hope she gets better. I don't want to deal with him getting angry over her blushing whenever I'm around."

"Any idea who the guy is?" Sirius asked.

"Nah, but I think it's better if I don't know," Harry said.

"Why's that?"

"Because if I knew I'd have to tell Ron," Harry explained. "And he'd send the poor kid a Howler, which is downright tame compared to what'd happen at Hogwarts."

"Ron's that overprotective?" Remus asked skeptically.

"Yeah, he seems to have inherited it from his mum," Harry said. "One of the reasons I'm glad Ginny's not my type. He's being an arse now, imagine how bad it'd be if it was his sister who was groping me in front of everyone."

All three shuddered at the mere thought of Ron's volatile reaction.