Chapter 61: Love or power?

Fleur tried to suppress her giggle as she saw William Weasley standing alone in a muggle cemetery even after the sky had turned dark. She shook her head and leaned back against the wall by the window side of a bell tower.

"He is quite persistent, isn't he?" Tonks chuckled, eyeing the elder Weasley brother from a good vantage point.

"You were the one who told me he'd leave me alone." said Fleur.

"My mistake. I think this will settle things for William. After tonight, I doubt William will bother you again with job offers in Gringotts or inviting you to dinner." Tonks said confidently.

Fleur hoped this was the case. While she was flattered by the lengths to which William Weasley was trying to get a date, she found it creepy, especially after she repeatedly turned down the redhead wizard.

"Oh, look. It is starting." Tonks excitedly said, immediately using a pair of Omnioculars to track better what was going on down in the cemetery.

Fleur did the same as she brandished her own pair of Omnioculars she received from Harry when they went on a date during the summer to watch a Quidditch game. She looked through the Omnioculars and nearly dissolved into a fit of giggles. She had to clamp down hard on the urge as she watched Winky, dressed in a tiny pink flowery summer dress and a pink straw hat, carry a square cardboard box wrapped in bright pink paper towards William Weasley. When Weasley took the box, Winky quietly escaped, leaving William looking around the cemetery like a scared child.

Fleur exchanged a smile with Tonks before going back to watching what was coming next. Just as William Weasley opened the box, a red-gloved hand delivered a swift full punch straight on the nose, which took the redhead wizard off his feet. Fleur and Tonks broke into peals of laughter as William Weasley landed on his back, groaning in pain, holding his bright red nose.

But it was not over.

The red-gloved hand turned into a flock of birds and began attacking the downed Weasley. The redhead wizard screamed like a little girl seeing a ghost and tried to take out his wand, but one of the birds captured the wand in its talons and flew away.

"No!" William screamed, somehow managing to climb to his feet, holding his bleeding nose and chasing after the bird, only to stumble on a grave and fall face-first into the ground with the birds once again surrounding the wizard and making quick work of him.

Fleur was holding her stomach as she laughed heartily at the scene down below. This was far more fun than she imagined when Tonks first floated the plan after she complained William was once again bothering her.

"Thank you, Nym. The drinks are on me." said Fleur, hugging her best friend in Britain.

"Yay!" Tonks let out a whoop of joy before they apparated away from the muggle cemetery.

An hour later, Fleur stumbled into her apartment with Tonks, who was giggling spontaneously while wobbling on her feet.

"Ow!" Tonks cried as her head struck the door as Fleur tried to close it behind her.

"Oops! Sorry." Fleur winced, seeing a small red cut on Tonks's forehead. "Let me take care of that."

Fleur immediately helped her friend to a couch and pressed the tip of her wand against the Metamorphmagus' head using a simple healing charm. The skin knitted itself back together hastily, leaving no sign of the wound.

"There. As good as new." said Fleur, patting Tonks on her head.

She giggled when Tonks' hair turned neon pink with a few yellow streaks. She had to admit she was a little jealous of Tonks' shape-shifting ability. It'd have been quite comfortable if she could change the colour of her hair whenever she wished. She could adjust her height or even her nails if she so desired. Maybe longer eyelashes could've also been an option for her if she was gifted like Tonks.

Her musings were cut short when she felt the long smooth fingers of Tonks trace a fine line over her right cheek.

"You know… you are so beautiful. It's like seeing a fairy." Tonks said, her words slurred a bit towards the end thanks to the amount of whisky the older witch consumed that night. "Are you a fairy?"

"Umm… no, I'm not a fairy. I'm Fleur." she said, rolling her eyes at the attitude of Tonks.

It was so British of the older witch to drink well beyond her limits and simply incapable of holding herself together. She had to pull Tonks out of the muggle bar they hit off right after the prank because Tonks was losing her control over her shape-shifting ability.

"Come on. Let's get you into bed." Fleur stood up and tried to pull Tonks to her feet.

But the older witch had other plans.

Fleur was pulled onto the couch right over Tonks, who smashed her lips against hers in quick order to give her a wet sloppy kiss. For a moment, Fleur was so shocked she just sat there like a petrified Unicorn. When she finally came out of the shock, Tonks gasped and pulled back, looking mortified.

"I… umm… It was…" Tonks searched for words, her eyes darting around the room, too embarrassed to look at Fleur.

"Well, I suppose I can cross that off my bucket list." Fleur shrugged.

"You… you're okay with it. You're not mad?" Tonks asked, looking thoroughly surprised and with a hint of relief on her face.

"I admit I was a little taken back at first, but…" Fleur shrugged, "It was enjoyable."

"Oh!" Tonks looked thoughtful for a moment before pulling Fleur down with her onto the couch, once again smashing her lips against hers.

This time it was not just their lips that were engaged but their limbs as well. They fell on the floor in a tangle of limbs, tearing away each other's clothes while their lips were engaged in a heated battle. Fleur could feel her grip on the allure slacken just as she could see Nym's hair cycle through colours at a fast pace.

"Mhmm." Fleur groaned as Tonks pulled back slightly and began leaving a trail of kisses from her lips to her neck.

She belatedly realised this night she wouldn't be alone in her bed.

The following day, Fleur slowly blinked awake. She was surprisingly in her bed underneath a warm sheet. She tried to stretch herself in the bed, and that was when she noticed an unfamiliar weight that was on her body. She slowly parted the bedcover to see a Nym sleeping soundly, using her upper body as a pillow.

"Oh! That happened." Fleur muttered, noting that they were stark naked under the cover.

The memories of last night came back, even if most of her memories were hazy and lacking much detail.

"Nym. You need to wake up." Fleur shook Tonks, trying to wake her.

"Just a little more." Tonks groaned and snuggled herself closer to Fleur, which garnered certain interesting reactions from her body.

"Tonks!" Fleur yelled a little more forcefully while shaking her again.

Tonks was wide awake now and looked around in panic. When Tonks' onyx eyes settled on her, she could see the light of realisation enter Tonks' eyes.

"So… that happened, huh." Tonks said awkwardly, trying in vain to cover her body with the edge of the bedcover.

Fleur slowly sat up, not at all minding the way the covers slipped down her body, giving an eyeful to Tonks. Going by the appreciative eyes that were raking over her body, she was sure Tonks appreciated the gesture.

"Yes. That happened." Fleur giggled.

"So… what will we do now?" Tonks asked, shamelessly eyeing Fleur's nubile body.

Fleur thought for a bit before reaching forward and pulling the sheet that was covering Tonks' body, making the older witch let out an embarrassed squeak.

"Now, we continue where we left off last night." said Fleur before jumping on Tonks and kissing her soundly on the lips.

They didn't leave the bed for quite a while, and when they did, they continued to enjoy each other in the shower as well before they went their separate ways. What they didn't realise, however, was there was another pair of eyes watching all that happened in Fleur's apartment.

XXXXXXX

"Thank you for informing me, Winky." Harry patted the little elf appreciatively on the shoulder.

"Should Winky have the bad auror chased away from Mistress Fleur's home, Master Harry?" Winky asked, her big green eyes holding an edge in them that was lacking when she first came into his service.

It was to be expected, of course. Winky had mowed down a handful of Death Eaters like wheat in the field just two months back. That experience would not get wiped away so soon, especially since they pulled off that stunt with none the wiser.

"No. Nothing of that sort is needed, Winky. Fleur is…" Harry pursed his lips for a moment before sighing, "Fleur is entitled to live her life as she sees fit."

"If there is nothing else, you may leave."

He went back to going over the scroll he was reading while Winky teleported away with the customary popping sound. Letting out a sigh, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He found himself a bit confused at the moment. He was sort of expecting Fleur would get tired of their arrangement at some point, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon and with Tonks of all people. Taking a deep breath, he forcibly expunged all emotions from his mind slowly and carefully. He regulated his breathing for nearly half an hour and just submerged in occluding his mind from everything around him.

When he finally came out of the exercise, he was much calmer and collected, enabling him to approach the recent development with a fresh perspective. He thought from Fleur's perspective and saw the damage he could inflict on her should she continue their current arrangement. He realised that his selfishness would only hurt her sooner or later.

However, there was one more option.

He could let go of his ambitions of accumulating vast political power in the short term and focus on living a comparatively mundane life. He could focus on starting a business and not bother with politics too much, which would free him up to focus on his relationship with Fleur. He was confident he could restore the relationship with Fleur even now. He'd have to publicly declare their relationship, and he could apologise to Fleur for the position he put her, no matter her initial blessings.

So, two options stood before him.

Love or Power. Fleur or Daphne. An unimpressive life of obscurity or the cutthroat dance of politics that'd pit him against an endless wave of enemies.

If he was to choose love, then he knew where he'd end up in a few years. He'd start a business of his own, invest in a few businesses along the way, marry and then have children. He'd only have to worry about the usual family drama that plagues most people, provided he survives Voldemort and his pack of sycophants. But if he were to pursue power…

Harry found the scope of that future with endless possibilities. He could fail spectacularly, but if he were to scale the mountain and reach the peak of political power in Britain alone, the possibilities were immense. He could rise to great heights, far greater than any wizard had dared to tread. But such ambition always comes at a price. The 'price' in this particular context was the sacrifice of any notion of normalcy or even an illusion of normal life in his future.

His eyes strayed to the scroll on his table, and his mind went to the secrets of Salazar Slytherin. He had only scratched the surface, but what he unearthed so far in this Chamber was more than his petty life or even the entire wizarding Britain could ever amount to.

"Power it is, then. Love is for children." Harry muttered, going back to reading the scroll and putting other issues out of his mind.

XXXXXXX

"Sorry for not visiting you sooner, Hedwig." Harry muttered, stroking Hedwig's feathers as she picked on the treats he brought for her.

The owl gave him a searching look before turning up its beak in a snotty manner and focusing on the treats.

"What is this? The silent treatment? You could come to the Great Hall and say hello instead of hanging around here with your…" Harry looked around the tower and sighed. "…owlish friends. Even as I speak, I realise how lame I'm sounding, so I'll just shut up."

"Yeah, you do that, Harry."

A new voice chirped, making him nearly jump. When he turned around with wand in hand, he was faced with the unimpressed stare of one Astoria Greengrass.

"Oh, it's you." Harry sighed in relief.

"What does that mean?" Astoria scrunched up her nose, and her eyes narrowed at him.

"I mean… um…"

A sharp kick on his shin made him scream and hold his leg in pain.

"What the fuck was that for?" he cried, holding his leg as pain flared up right below the knee of his right leg.

When he saw Astoria was about to execute another deathly kick on his one good leg, he put up an honest-to-good shield, silently making the young Slytherin witch halt.

"Oh! A shield charm this fast and silently too." Astoria looked impressed.

Then she looked at him amusedly. "Don't you know magic should not be used outside the classroom, Harry? A prefect ought to know better."

"Would you prefer that I defend myself by punching you unconscious? Just give the word. I'll gladly knock you out." Harry sniped, rubbing his poor leg that had got pulverised by what appeared to be a dragonhide boot.

"You won't. Your reputation as a good white knight will get tarnished if word spreads that you beat up a girl." Astoria smirked at him, her blue eyes alight with victory.

"Hmm. I respectfully disagree. Who'd believe the story concocted by a budding evil Slytherin like you?" Harry smugly pointed out, snuffing out the smile from Astoria's face.

"Drat." Astoria muttered.

He smiled indulgently. 'Harry -1, Astoria -0'

"So, what brings you here?"

"What else?" she looked at him as if he was mentally challenged to ask such a silly question. "I'm here for my owl."

Harry got the urge to pinch the girl on her ear for the sass, but he reined in that urge. Daphne had often told him Astoria tends to be an annoying firecracker that refuses to settle down once she gets in a mood.

"All right. I'll just leave you to it." Harry said, cancelling the shield charm and continued petting Hedwig, who looked strangely satisfied for some reason.

"Osiris. Come down here. I've got a letter for you." Astoria yelled.

"You named your owl Osiris?" Harry asked amusedly.

"Yeah. What's your owl's name?" Astoria challenged, making him shut up immediately.

'Harry -1, Astoria -1' he thought morosely.

"So, Harry. Who's going to be Gryffindor's keeper?" Astoria suddenly asked out of the blue.

Harry looked at the younger Greengrass curiously. "What is it to you?"

"Just curious. It's well-known Gryffindor is searching for a keeper. So, who is it?"

"I don't discuss the strategies of the Gryffindor quidditch team with outsiders." said Harry.

Astoria looked at him funnily before saying, "You have no clue, huh."

Harry didn't respond to that statement, although Astoria was spot on. He had no idea who Angelina would go for at this point. All their quidditch practice sessions as of late had been 'keeper trials' as she called it.

"You know, I hope you guys find that keeper real fast. I'd hate it if Slytherin ends up winning the Quidditch cup." said Astoria.

"Why wouldn't you want your House to win the cup?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Ever since Malfoy got into the team, he decides everything, no matter who ends up being the captain. I had hoped to get into the team, but Malfoy didn't even allow me into the tryouts, thanks to you."

"Me?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows.

"You are courting my sister, are you not?" she asked as a matter of factly.

"I see." he muttered, eyeing the girl.

"Don't pity me, Harry," Astoria said.

"I'm not. I'm just wondering why you'd lie. Cause I happen to know you dislike Quidditch."

He saw the way Astoria froze, confirming the young witch was just pulling his leg.

"Darn."

He heard her mutter under her breath.

"I suppose you've some grudge against Malfoy, and you want me to beat him up, right?"

"Well…" Astoria shrugged her shoulders. "It'd have been nice if you did that for me."

"Tell that to your sister or learn a few good jinxes if you are itching to see Malfoy suffer." Harry suggested.

"Will you teach me then? I'll be a good and dutiful student." Astoria said, looking at him with wide doe eyes.

"Yeah, right." Harry scoffed, walking away from the tower.

"Wait! I'll be a good student. I promise." Astoria followed him out of the owlery.

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, come on, Harry. What can go wrong? Besides, that horrible woman cannot teach us even a colour-changing charm if she tried."

"Find someone else to play your games, little Greengrass." Harry shot back as he made his escape.

Somehow, he managed to evade the Slytherin witch only to run headfirst into Daphne as he rushed to tune into a corridor

"Ow!" Daphne cried, holding her forehead.

She nearly fell, but he caught her arm and pulled her against him, catching her by her waist.

"Phew. You nearly fell." Harry said, helping Daphne steady herself.

"Nearly fell? You nearly killed me." Daphne frowned, "Why were you running like that? Filch, or is it Peeves?"

"Oh, no. This is much worse. Your sister."

"That's not good." Daphne mumbled, looking over his shoulder. "Where is the little devil?"

"On her way." Harry mumbled as he could hear footsteps closing in on their position.

Harry quickly pulled himself and Daphne against the opposite wall and covered themselves under his invisibility cloak.

"What are you…?" Daphne began to ask, but he covered her mouth with his hand cutting her off.

He adjusted the cloak a little bit so that their feet were not left open to be seen. They stayed inside the cloak, looking into each other's eyes, clamping down on even their breathing. Just a moment later, Astoria came running into the corridor.

"Drat." Astoria pouted, seeing an empty corridor.

Thankfully, she didn't wait for long and ran away, possibly chasing after Harry.

"Well, that was a close… mphh." Harry was cut off midsentence thanks to Daphne's lips smashing into his.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself." she said hastily once they pulled back, Daphne's cheeks flushed red like a tomato.

"Oh, don't stop now." said Harry, pulling her against him and kissing her soundly.

He made a choice, and he was sticking with it to the end. The only thing left to do was to mitigate any fallout that could happen. If he was lucky and were to plan ahead accordingly, there might not be any fallout. But first, he had to speak with Fleur and see how much she shared with Tonks. After all, Fleur knew some of his secrets that most people don't. He'd have to plug those gaps before anything untoward happens.