26 It’s a date then
"Parseltongue/Dragon tongue"
"Normal talk"
'Thoughts/Soul channel'
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"What do you mean?" came Fleur's singsong voice.
Why was the boy angry at her? Had she unknowingly wronged him or caused a misunderstanding?
'Wait, he said bewitcher, then that means…'
Fleur's soft features became sharper as she realised what she was being accused of.
"So you learn that I'm a Veela and the first zing zat you do is find me and accuse me of seducing you? You are pathetic if your will is so little zat you can't even stay unbozered by the allure I passively exude," she said with a scowl.
It was Harry's turn to feel insulted as the French girl gracefully got up from the ground, standing a tad taller than him.
That was annoying.
"That little will you are talking about, recently went against the Abyssal Reaver's dragon fear and didn't even flinch. There's no way that your passive allure could ever bother this little boy," he said sarcastically and pointed at himself.
"Then why did you come 'ere and start throwing your accusations if you are so mighty? And do you honestly zink I am so vain as to use my heritage to seduce a schoolboy of all zings? I was planning to keep my word and invite you to Pré-au-Lard since, despite your score, you definitely earned the first place in the task. 'owever, I'm so glad zat I didn't."
With that, the French reached for her wand and cast a few wordless spells, tidily packing her belongings on the fine towel she was previously relaxing on.
With one last swish, the towel started folding on itself until it shrank down to a pebble one might find on a road.
Fleur then bent down and picked it up, stashing her belongings inside her jeans' right pocket. Harry's heartbeat slightly sped up as the girl's many assets got accentuated from the action.
"I'm so disappointed in you, 'arry Potter. I thought zat because you didn't droll over me and didn't try your best to impress me like all the other male buffoons in existence, you would be different. I was wrong," she said swiftly, shaking her head.
To say that Harry was surprised by Fleur's words would be an understatement. The conversation wasn't going at all how he imagined it.
"Wait, did you really not use your allure on me?" he asked perplexed.
Why was he feeling the warm and fuzzy feeling when she was around then?
"You still don't get it? Need I spell it out for you? No, I never used my charm on you, nor on anyone else for zat matter!" she shouted angrily and cutely, in Harry's opinion, stomped her foot.
Was the boy thick in the head?
'She's serious,' he belatedly realised, 'then what's the feeling?' he questioned baffled.
Thankfully, for both of the parties, Fawkes chose that moment to announce his presence and join the fun.
Trill, trill.
Harry felt the tension on his shoulders burn away and Fleur calmed down considerably.
'Merde. How did I not notice the phoenix sitting on his head?' she wondered incredulously, eyeing the magnificent avian.
The song was imbued with a radiant warmth that stirred Fleur's heart and soul.
Fawkes was trilling a song of hope, of endless possibility, trying to lift both of the teen's spirits.
'I must have been more angry that I realised…' she mused as she visibly relaxed.
'Though to be fair, it's not every day that I find someone who can see me for who I am and has the potential to be friends with me. Come to think of it, the last time someone met both of those criteria was when little Gabby was born…'
Both boy and girl stood unmoving in the clearing as the phoenix kept trilling to its heart's content.
After some time, Fawkes had reluctantly taken off from his comfortable nest and flew around in circles, allowing the champions to continue their talk.
He was still letting out some musical cries here and there.
"Sigh. I'm sorry for my outburst Fleur… It's just, as soon as I learned that you are a Veela, I immediately assumed the worst of you, which is pretty ironic as I hate when people act in the exact same way towards me," he said in a low tone.
Thinking back on both his actions and thoughts, Harry couldn't understand why he acted the way he did.
'No tact or research. I simply got something in my head and I acted without thinking… Salazar just left for fuck's sake and my Gryffindor brashness wants to come out and play?' he mused disappointedly.
Fleur, who was now sporting a smile and was considerably calmed down due to the still-going phoenix, narrowed her eyes at him.
"Sigh. One last chance. Next weekend, we'll go to 'ogsmead and see 'ow it goes. I'll wait for you by the castle's entrance," she replied, her voice taking back in its angelic tone.
"Thank your majestic phoenix," she added when she noticed Harry's pleased expression.
With that said, the Veela turned around and left, though not before throwing a mildly flirtatious wink at Harry.
"Woah," he gasped when she walked far away to not hear him, his eyes were still on her leaving form.
'Your ability to constantly pull miracles off your arse never ceases to amaze,' Ash barbed through their bond; Fawkes was keeping the snake updated.
'I don't remember you ever mentioning a snake lass. Are you just jealous? I suppose your charms that you keep babbling about are all talk,' Harry mocked the snake
Did snakes even flirt?
'You'll find that my charming skills are second to none. If you need proof, simply ask this master for guidance and you shall know the correct way of flirting,' he said, prompting both Harry and Fawkes to do the mind equivalent of a palm.
'Oh, and speaking of jealous people, your pal Malfoy is heading towards your direction. You may want to know that he was close enough to have seen your encounter with the human girl you are so fond of,' Ash supplied.
Harry wistfully ignored the snake's remarks and briefly considered pulling out his cloak and disappearing as he felt a weak magical signature grow closer to him.
"Hey, Scarhead! I just saw you begging the French champion about something, though I didn't quite catch it. Were you trying your luck for the yule ball?" Malfoy inquired with his ever-present scowl marring his features.
'It's been a while since I had some fun with Draco,' he mused.
As expected, Harry soon felt two more magical signatures, that were even weaker than the previous one, coming in his magic sense range.
Crabbe and Goyle, the ferret's two bodyguards.
"Why, do you perhaps want to try your own luck instead?" Harry asked calmly, making Draco let out a mirthless laugh.
"What, with that half-human? No, I'll leave her to your filthy half-blood hands. Although I doubt you can achieve anything, she's way out of your league," he sneered.
"Whatever you say, though you wouldn't stand a chance either. She did call you a buffoon after all," Harry said unbothered and mixing the truth.
Sadly, Malfoy didn't seem to share his control of emotions and became beet red.
"You dare?" he threatened.
"Dare what? Call you a buffoon, you overgrown ferret?" Harry mocked, enjoying himself.
"I'll tell my father about this, you monster-loving fool," Malfoy announced with a smug look on his face.
"Please do, and you know, it's funny how you mentioned love. After all, your parents wouldn't know anything about it. See, I learned that Auntie Narcissa had a prearranged marriage to dear old Lucius and that she also wasn't the biggest fan of the idea at the time. I also doubt that her thoughts changed over the years. Luckily for her though, my godfather, Sirius Black as you no doubt know, is the current Lord Black, meaning he can annul and update all contracts with his family. It also doesn't surprise me that you don't actually know anything about Veelas," Harry informed his cousin benevolently.
"Shut up!" cried the blond, glaring daggers at him.
"Oh? You want me to shut up, you inbred piece of shit? With a single letter, I can make it so that Narcissa Malfoy is no more. I can make you motherless," he threatened the boy, making him pale.
"You wouldn't dare," he eventually whispered.
"Try me, cousin. You may just end up like the dragon," Harry challenged, ready to take out his wand at a moment's notice.
'Aww, unlucky,' Harry thought as Malfoy threw him an angry glare before turning around and leaving.
'Wasn't expecting that,' he said amusedly to his two familiars.
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I forgot about the snowy owl's existence…
I'm back to writing, probably...!
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