Frank Conversations and Dangerous Decisions

"I want them both arrested!" Umbridge screamed at the head in Rosmerta's Floo. Rosmerta just cringed. Why she had bothered to let the toad woman in escaped her.

Head Auror Scrimgeour shut his eyes and shook his head. "No."

"What do you mean NO!?"

"N. O. No. Dolores, I may make many mistakes, but I am not incapable of learning from some of them. The fact that you are calling me immediately after the expected end of the Second Task in your thrice damned Tournament means that – yet again – something has gone horribly wrong. The last time I left to arrest someone as soon as you called I nearly lost my job for not checking my facts beforehand," Scrimgeour said scowling. Rosmerta held in her snort. She would have paid good money to have seen that conversation.

"I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic!" Dolores screamed her face going red.

"And your star is falling! Every time this Tournament goes belly-up you get another black eye, Dolores. I have aspirations! I will not let you drag me down with you. What did they even do this time?"

The toad woman stood up straighter and glared. "Potter destroyed Ministry property during his Task. He is to be arrested and fined at minimum. The French abomination mind-controlled the entire audience into her willing slaves. I will see her arrested and Kissed before the evening ends!"

Scrimgeour made a sound somewhere between a sigh and growl. "You idiotic woman…One, those Columns you had imported were insured by the International Committee due to the likelihood of possible destruction – whether intentional or accidental. The very Department you've been overseeing as Interim Head. Two, nothing any of the Champions does while in the performance of a Triwizard Tournament Task can be prosecuted. They all have sovereign immunity, Dolores! It's in the damn rules! Read the blasted things before trying to cite them."

Umbridge's mouth snapped shut and she whipped out her wand. Rosmerta surreptitiously grabbed her own in response though Umbridge seemed to have forgotten she was in the room. "Fine. If you won't do anything get me Dawlish."

Scrimgeour laughed. "If you want him, get him yourself, Dolores. I should warn you though, Amelia has made it perfectly clear to him that one more wrong move and he's fired as well so I doubt he'll come running either. I'll be leaving now to speak with Fudge and see if we can head off another international complaint."

As the head disappeared from the Floo, Umbridge screeched and twirled on her heel walking out of the pub. Rosmerta heaved a sigh and put her wand away. "Last time I ever let that bitch into my pub. I better go find Amelia and Sirius to let them know she's on the warpath."

Fleur sat down next to Harry and Tonks with a sigh. She hesitated for only a moment before leaning over and pulling them both into a rib crushing hug. "Zank you," she whispered blinking away tears. "Zank you both so much. I-I couldn't dodge zat many and zey were starting to climb in…I just…zank you…"

Harry patted her back and murmured soft reassurances while Tonks just nodded and squeezed her in sympathy. Harry pulled back slightly and said, "Daphne and Hermione helped too. They were trying to stun people before they could run inside. I'm sorry we couldn't jump in to help too…"

"Non. It is better zat you did not. I shudder zinking of 'aving to fight both ze harpy and one of your evil doppelgangers as well."

Fleur noticed the wave of revulsion and fear that Harry radiated along with his own full body shudder before he clamped down on it and nodded. Tonks must have taken notice as well because she shifted to make sure she was leaning against Harry again and wrapped one arm around him.

All three looked up as Dumbledore and Madame Maxime walked up to them, both Headmasters wearing contrite expressions and moving slowly. "Miss Delacour, I believe I owe you an apology," Dumbledore said causing Fleur to raise her eyebrows in response. "We expected the Aspect Column battles to be unusual, but we never thought that they would be quite so…extreme. I also wish to apologize personally for being unable to adjust the Ward Anchor and prevent interference from the crowd. I was…quite affected by the Allure of your counterpart and to my embarrassment I was unable to fully overcome it."

Madame Maxime nodded behind him. "As was I. In fact, ze most resistance I saw was a listless stupor. Your aspect was…very strong, Fleur."

Fleur sighed and nodded. "Yes. Zat ze harpy was…I am not surprised zat everyone was so affected."

"I admit I am curious," Dumbledore said slowly and frowned down at Tonks and Harry. "Miss Tonks, Harry, just how were the two of you able to resist?"

Harry snorted. "You missed two, Headmaster." He waved towards the crowd where Hermione and Daphne were hugging Luna and Tracey and speaking with an unnerved Neville, Hannah and Susan. "Hermione and Daphne were able to fight it off somewhat as well."

"That does not answer my question."

"It's because we've practiced, Sir," Harry said sighing. "Fleur has been subjecting the four of us to increasingly powerful blasts of her Allure for over three months now to improve our resistance to it. I was practically immune to start with so while I can feel it, I can also ignore it. Tonks brushes it off through her own method and Daphne and Hermione use some form of mental discipline and Occlumency from what I understand."

Fleur nodded. "A lot of zeir resistance comes down to recognizing the foreign feelings and wanting to fight against it. It takes quite a bit of practice and exposure to reach zat level. Normally only our mates ever bother to try and learn."

"Ah, I see. Well, I am glad they were able to assist before a disaster occurred. Miss Delacour, Harry, if you are both willing, I would like to announce the scores immediately to allow everyone to leave and take stock of themselves," Dumbledore said.

Fleur turned to Harry in silent questioning. Physically, she was mostly unharmed and she would not let the implications or mental stress take hold until she was away from this crowd. The sooner that happened the better. Harry though still looked exhausted and injured from his fight. She could see him still holding his left arm and barely moving it which was worrying. She could hold herself together longer if it meant he could get more medical attention.

Harry just nodded. "Let's get this over with. Viktor is still asleep though…"

Karkaroff came up from behind the other two Headmasters and nodded. "Yes, he is. He granted me permission to give his scores in his absence and inform him of them later."

The three Heads all nodded to each other and started back towards the box while Fleur stood. Harry turned to Tonks before moving. "Nym, do you need help getting back up?"

Tonks smirked at him though Fleur could see the exhaustion and strain in her smile. "Nah, I'm good, Wonder Boy. I'm going to be sore for a week, but now that I can lay off the shifting I can move again. I'll meet you in Common Room afterwards yeah?"

Harry stood and turned away from them both, but not before each caught the grimace on his face. Fleur winced internally. Whatever Harry had faced must have been as mentally tiring as her own harpy clone. "Actually I think I'd rather skip that, Nym. I would like to talk though…"

Tonks nodded and, pushing herself to her feet, she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Sure, Harry. Head up to the Room after?" He nodded. "Want me to grab Hermione too?"

Harry stayed silent for a long moment before turning and considering Fleur. She tried to stay quiet and impassive. He needed his mates. She would make do as she always had. "No. Tell Hermione to keep Fleur company."

Fleur had to fight with everything she had to not drop her mouth open in shock at his words. As it was she could only stammer in reply. "I-I-'arry!"

He shrugged and Tonks gave her a small nod. "You need someone to lean on and talk to just like me, Fleur. Don't think I haven't noticed that you don't exactly hang out with anyone in Beauxbatons or that you prefer to be near me or Hermione. I can talk with Tonks while you talk with Hermione." He grinned ruefully. "One really cool aspect of having two partners is that we can multitask like that." He took a breath and started to walk towards the center of the arena. "Come on, let's get our scores."

Fleur just gaped after him frozen. She heard a light chuckled and felt Tonks move beside her and cross her arms. "He's definitely sweet, huh?" Fleur just nodded in agreement. "No wonder he's getting so many girls to fall for him…I know you're aiming for a Consort agreement, Fleur. I was against it originally but…let's just say I'm open to the possibility now. I'm always going to be third though when it comes to these things. You convince Hermione and Harry – I'll go with whatever they decide." She smiled at Fleur before shrugging. "Try not to let the Queen Bitch get to you too bad. That wasn't you anymore than the Runic Physical God was Harry."

"I…zank you, Tonks," Fleur said softly.

Tonks just shrugged again. "Only saying the truth. Go. Get your scores and talk to Hermione. I'll have her meet you at the carriage." Tonks gently pushed Fleur to start walking then headed back to the stands herself.

Fleur joined Harry and Fred in the center of the arena. Fred was still looking a bit confused when he turned to address her. "So Evil Queen version I'm guessing?" Fleur nodded, grimacing. "Eh, it's better than Percy Fred. Anyone know why Krum was so freaked out?" Both Harry and Fleur shrugged. They hadn't exactly had time yet to find out what had happened with the others.

Dumbledore stood and cast a quick sonorous before speaking. "Well, this Task was certainly not as expected. On behalf of the judges I apologize for our oversight in administering this Task without adequate safety measures in place. We will certainly aim to improve to ensure that audience members are not involved in the future. To facilitate recovery of both contestant and non-entrants we will be holding the scoring immediately. Madame Umbridge is unfortunately absent so her scores will be given by fellow Ministry worker Percy Weasley who was in attendance today and works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

Dumbledore paused and looked down into the field. "Fred Weasley, you largely maintained your calm throughout and once the Aspect shifted to a battle, ended the confrontation with a single spell. I give you 9 points."

Maxime, Karkaroff, and Bagman all gave Fred 9's as well. The only judge who broke the mold was Percy who glared at his brother. "Your Aspect asked for a different form of competition where fighting was not necessary. You could have easily taken him up on that offer. I give you a 7 for not even trying to consider the option."

Fred snorted as he stepped back into the group and muttered, "You're just annoyed that I killed a crazed version of me acting like you."

Krum received blanket 6's for seemingly panicking during his Task and continuing to cast spells after his doppelganger had been destroyed.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore said. "Your Aspect was rather disturbing and its skills bordered on topics better left unsaid. However we are here to grade your performance and not your Aspect's. You were resourceful throughout and attempted to act instead of react. Your initial salvo of spells contained many borderline Dark spells and I would caution you against using those in the future. Your attempted use of your animagus form was intriguing despite its lack of effect and induced injury. Ultimately your use of your Aspect's own attack against him was very impressive. 9 points."

Surprisingly, only two judges didn't end up giving Harry nines. Percy scored him 8 for injuring himself, while Karkaroff scored him a 10 for 'impressive quick thinking skills and using your enemy's overconfidence against him.'

Finally it was Fleur's turn and she stepped forwards with her back straight and her head held high. A confidence radiating from her that she did not remotely feel.

"Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore sighed. "Again, we are not grading the actions of your Aspect. Your skill shown in dodging numerous spells and projectiles from outside interference was…exceptional. Your ability to quickly utilize the opening granted when the doppelganger lost her focus was impressive as was the quick ending shortly thereafter. My only concern is that you did not immediately try to end the battle as soon as you realized what she was going to try and do. I score you 8 points."

Fleur blinked in surprise not expecting anything remotely that high. Yet the same sentiments were repeated by the others, with the only exceptions being Maxime giving her a 10 for 'exceptional acrobatics' and Percy giving her a 9 for a 'quick resolution when the opportunity presented itself.' Stepping back she caught Harry flashing her a quick thumbs up.

"That concludes the Second Task. Champions, as you have all successfully completed this challenge here are your keys," Dumbledore said as he waved his wand. Three golden keys floated out from the judges box and into their hands while Karkaroff held a fourth for Viktor. "These keys will allow you to open the golden egg retrieved during the First Task. It contains a clue for your Fourth Task while one final item will be retrieved during the Third Task in early February. Good day to all."

As the three Champions walked out of the arena Harry leaned over to Fleur and whispered, "First and second for us. I suppose that's at least something good considering what we just went through." He smiled at her and gave her a quick one-armed hug before walking back towards the castle. Fleur stayed blushing on the lawn for several seconds before turning to the Beauxbatons carriage.

Harry slowly paced in front of the dancing trolls tapestry, opening up the Room. Tonks had already arrived and was sprawled across a large queen size bed with her boots kicked off. Harry hesitated for a moment before deciding that it wasn't worth asking about and he'd probably be falling asleep here anyway. Lord knew, he could certainly use the comfort of drifting off in one of his girlfriend's arms.

"Hey, Nym," he said shutting the door and shambling forward to sit on the edge of the bed with a sigh.

"Wotcher, Harry," she said. Tonks turned her head and watched him lean down trying to untie his shoes with his right hand and fumbling with the laces. Frowning she picked herself up and got off to help him. "Your hand is still that bad? It's been almost two hours…"

Harry just nodded and let her take his shoes and socks off. Eventually as she slipped back on the bed behind him and wrapped her arms around him he responded. "It's not as bad as it was. I can somewhat feel things with it now, but it's still mostly numb. Pomfrey said there was some nerve damage, but it should be healed with full feeling back by tomorrow afternoon. I deserve it after being so stupid. I should've known the tattoo would've altered with my shape."

Tonks shook her head and kissed his neck. "You were in the middle of a pretty huge battle for your life, Harry. You can't think of everything all the time. I'm just glad it wasn't worse."

"It could've been. I'm actually rather surprised that the Reflector Lenses don't have any issues when I shift."

"I've been meaning to ask about that actually," Tonks said. "You can still see fine when you change?"

Harry nodded. "I think the glasses are included in my eyes during the change. I don't quite get how it works, but Sirius said that the same thing happened with my dad. Cool side benefit is my panther is immune to anything that relies on eye contact to work. Oh what did you and Mione end up naming him by the way?"

Tonks shrugged. "Well the original option was Blackie like you apparently tried to name Sirius at first." They both chuckled slightly at that joke. "I voted Shadow, but Hermione rebutted with Midnight. We ended up agreeing on that. It seemed a bit cliché, but appropriate."

Harry nodded. "I like it. Nym, about the tattoos thing…Did you see all the things that…he had? Some of those should've driven him insane."

"He seemed pretty off-kilter to me, Wonder Boy," Tonks said frowning.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. A little. I don't know. Nym," Harry said in a voice barely above a whisper. Tonks had to strain to hear him and she was right behind him. "Nym, I think I can understand why he did what he did. Why he went so far. I…if you guys all started to die because I hesitated to act…I'm scared I might…that I might…"

She squeezed him tighter and lifted one hand to turn his face to hers. "Harry, you are not that twisted version. All of us know that you would never go that far – that you wouldn't start trying to kill us just because we disagree with you. We know you better than that."

"But…"

"But nothing! Harry, you are at your core a good person. If you weren't you would've killed the Dursleys long before Shiva took you in. You're probably a better person than me because I almost definitely would've killed them. That thing in the arena was not you. It was every one of your darkest thoughts and desires given form. It was not you. Everyone has some evil little urges once in awhile. Dumbledore and the others were right bastards to make you look right into your own with thousands of people watching," Tonks said. She saw Harry nod though he didn't seem to fully believe her. "That thing was a phantom Harry. It said so itself, it wasn't even drawn from a parallel world. It was just an imaginary construct."

"A construct that tried to eat my soul," Harry muttered with a snort.

Tonks chuckled. "True. And you certainly gave it what for! You should probably send a strongly worded letter or something to the manufacturers by the way about that. Bit of a safety hazard that."

"Yeah," Harry actually cracked a bit of a smile at that. "You could say that. That's what happens when you include Soul runes in things though. Damn unpredictable results those give, huh?"

"Right you are, Wonder Boy." Tonks shifted back slightly and wiggled her eyebrows. "So are we going to tease Hermione for apparently being a Dark Lady? Or maybe Daphne for somehow becoming your Dark Mistress?"

Harry full on laughed at that. "You tease Daphne with the Dark Mistress title and she'll try and hex your lady bits off."

"Let her try!" Tonks grinned and cocked her head in thought. "Hey, did you get a good look at any of your Evil Double's runes? Some of those seemed right useful."

Harry shrugged. "A few. I'm pretty sure I can remake his Yamato Cannon without any issues. I think I might try to do that thing with the lava too – the one that was spread over the back of both hands. That could be useful. I wish I hadn't been in shock when he showed off a bit of the Fortress cluster…I've been trying to get that to work since I was 11."

"Would a pensieve help? We could try borrowing one from Bonesy's department."

He shook her head. "I doubt it. He didn't lift his shirt very far so I don't think we'd be able to see much that was too useful. Maybe it'd help for some of the others but…honestly I don't want to include a lot of that anymore. Some of it had been idle thoughts for the future yeah, but now I just don't want to have anything to do with something that could do…that. He killed you, Nym. He killed Shiva and Nev and Hermione and god knows how many others…I don't want to put things on my body that are going to constantly remind me of him."

Tonks nodded and pulled him into a short kiss. "I understand, Wonder Boy. Was there anything else you wanted to try and steal though?"

Harry gave a scary little grin. "Oh yeah. I am going to figure out what he did to make the Sword not work on him. That's half the reason I don't use it. One wrong swipe I kill myself or any allies because I accidentally nicked you. Now that I know it's possible to safeguard against it I'm going to reverse engineer it and tattoo it on me, you, Mione and everyone else I care about."

Tonks shook her head good naturedly. "You sure don't aim small, Harry." She winced as her neck cracked and reached up to rub a hand over it.

*Start of adult content*

Harry twisted and narrowed his eyes slightly. "How are you, Nym? You looked, err, pretty bad after the thing with Queen Fleur."

"Like I said, earlier, I'm going to be seriously sore for a while. Normal shifting doesn't do a thing but I basically had to stay in a constant flux during that. It…hurt. A lot. It doesn't hurt anymore now that I can stop shifting, but my body still remembers the strain and magically I'm a bit exhausted."

Harry considered that for a long moment before nodding. "Lie down on your stomach."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to give you a massage to see if I can't make you feel a bit better, that's why. Now lie down," Harry said rolling his eyes.

"Oh, a massage eh? Well let me just get a bit more comfortable then," she said smirking. Reaching down, Tonks pulled her shirt over her head leaving her in just a pair of trousers and a bright blue bra. She was mildly disappointed when Harry didn't even blush.

"Don't look at me like that, Nym," Harry said chuckling. "I have seen breasts before you know."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, I detect a challenge there…" She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting it slip off her shoulders. Smirking in triumph she saw Harry finally start to blush a bit. She'd made sure that her breasts were just as tanned as the rest of her body before slipping her shirt off so she knew it was probably a bit different for him already without the tan lines that Hermione likely had. What had almost definitely been the deciding factor though would be her piercings. There was no way the brainy beauty had nipple piercings. Granted they made it a bit hard to play around with her nipples generally, but it was totally worth it sometimes. Especially today with seeing Harry's reaction. Deciding to tease him a tad she increased her chest size from a C to DD and her grin widened even more as Harry's blush spread to his ears.

"You cheat," he murmured glancing at his feet before looking back up at her body.

"Proudly!" she said straightening up and striking a sultry pose. "Though don't expect these to stay this size. Big is far more annoying than it's worth. Tried it for a while when I was 16. Sucks to run in, sucks to exercise in, too many girls envy you despite not realizing how frustrating they are, all guys want to do is see you undressed. Big sucks. I much prefer a B to C."

Harry's face lost a bit of its redness and he shifted closer to her. "What's your normal size?"

"You mean default?" He nodded at her question. Tonks hesitated for a long moment before sighing and letting every usual change she made to herself fade away. Her hair shifted to a dark brown extending to just above her shoulders, her breasts reduced to a small C cup, her face subtly shifted from heart-shaped to a bit more angular and her body slightly extended to become overall more sinewy and muscular. "This is my default. My complete default," she said quietly avoiding looking at him.

Harry nodded and reached out to grab her chin lifting Tonks' face like she had done to him earlier. "Nymphadora, you are beautiful no matter what form you are in."

Tonks gave a sad smile and a slight lift of her shoulders. "If you say so, Harry. I don't like my natural form very much. It has too many hard edges to feel comfortable in and it looks too much like my crazy aunt. Plus I hate my hair. Completely and totally hate my hair. It has no personality like this."

Harry shrugged. "Tonks, you can be whoever you want when you're with me. Thank you for showing me your default state, but if you don't want to you don't have to take that form ever again you know."

Tonks smiled and pulled him into her so that they were crushed together and laid back on the bed with Harry over her and their mouths pressed together. Several long minutes later they broke the snog and Tonks brushed some of his hair out his eyes. "I think I love you, Harry."

"I think I love you too, Nym," Harry responded softly leaning his head down on her chest. "Promise you won't leave?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Wonder Boy," she said softly.

"Good." Harry stayed like that for several minutes both of them just relaxing and taking comfort in the other. After a while Harry had an idle thought and said, "Can I ask you a question about your shifting, Nym?"

"Shoot."

"How drastic can you make the changes?" he asked. "Like can you look like a obese senior citizen or a scrawny child or does it have to be at least somewhat close to you actual body-mass?"

Tonks considered, shaking her head. "It has to be close my actual mass though I can stretch it pretty far. I can actually turn into a guy also."

Harry's eyes widened. He was very thankful she couldn't see his face at that point. "Really?" he squeaked.

"Yeah. Somewhat functional too. I have to keep concentrating to make the dick work, but it's doable. Bloody weird though so I don't really like doing that unless a job calls for me to be a man. I'm only fertile as a girl though so don't worry about me eventually knocking Hermione up."

"Err…right…can we talk about that some other time maybe?"

Tonks chuckled. "Sure, Wonder Boy. Kinky play saved for later aye!"

"Your concept of kinky and my concept of kinky seem somewhat far off," he muttered. "You're as bad as Fleur and Daphne."

Tonks raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh that's right! I heard they dragged you into the sex shop in Hogsmeade! Spill, Wonder Boy! How was it? Everything you dreamed about?"

Harry shuddered trying to block out the memory of the two girls gushing over some of the toys and trying on the lingerie. "It was…educational."

"Oh come on, you can't leave it at that!" Tonks whined.

Harry sighed, "What do you want me to say, Nym? That I had no idea that girls had so many options to keep themselves entertained without a guy around? That lingerie is apparently far more attractive when there is slightly more material than less despite it covering more than regular underwear? That it was rather exceedingly awkward for them both to be teasing me for practically an hour while I'm not dating either?" He snorted. "I'll give you this, some of the stuff in there was kinda cool and maybe one day I'll work up the courage to suggest something to you and Mione, but it's going to be a long while away most likely."

Tonks laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll leave it alone! I might have to ask Fleur though which styles you gravitated towards."

Harry just groaned. Eventually he realized something and picked his head up, smirking at her. "We got distracted. Turn over, woman. I still owe you a massage."

Tonks lifted an eyebrow but did as he commanded. "Seems like it would be difficult to massage someone with only one good hand."

"I'll manage," he said squatting on her legs and digging his right hand into her back.

"Yeah and how are you going to, oooohhh, damn, Wonder Boy, arrrggg right there," she moaned into the pillow as Harry moved his pressure up her spine and over her shoulder blades. "Morgana's tits, that's amazing, aaaaahhhh, where the hell did you learn that?"

Harry chuckled. "It's amazing what some of the books Hermione finds have in them. A little bit of magic correctly channeled through the fingertips and," he demonstrated, pushing ever so slightly into her back and eliciting another small moan from his girlfriend, "it's a wonder the results you can get."

"I am going to thank that girl so badly tomorrow…" Tonks mumbled.

*End of adult content*

Hermione casually walked through the doors to the Beauxbatons carriage ignoring the gaping expressions from some of the girls hanging out in the front entrance. "Où se trouve la chambre de Fleur Delacour?" she asked. One of the people blinked and pointed down the hall to the left. "Merci." Grinning to herself slightly at their reaction Hermione turned and walked down a little ways. The carriage was intriguing. She'd expected space enlarging charms, but this certainly seemed to stretch the limits of that spell.

Finding the door labeled 'Delacour' Hermione took a deep, steadying breath and reached out to knock. It opened a moment later and Fleur blinked out at her in surprise. Stepping back, the Veela girl waved Hermione inside and shut the door casting silencing, locking and privacy spells at it. Hermione took in the modest decorations in the room during a slow turn and eventually ended up looking back at Fleur and raising her eyebrows at the older girl's shocked expression.

Fleur shook her head and smiled at Hermione. "I did not actually expect you to come, Hermione."

"Why not?" Hermione asked moving forward to give her a short hug before sitting on one of the chairs. "You are my friend, Fleur. Tonks and Harry were right. You should have someone you trust to talk to after that disaster earlier."

Fleur shrugged sitting on her bed. "It is certainly nice, oui. But, zis does not change zat I did not expect you to leave 'arry's side tonight."

Hermione sighed. "I admit it was a bit hard not to rush to him, but I don't want to be that clingy girl who dissolves into tears every time he gets hurt. I comforted him after the First Task; Tonks should be allowed her own time to make him feel better. This is complicated enough and we all need to have time alone with each other to ensure that none of us develop any feelings of jealousy or entitlement."

Fleur frowned. "Hermione, relationships should not be approached in such a clinical fashion…"

"I know," Hermione said with a shrug. "It's…hard to explain. I don't mean it quite like that and certainly not as detached as it sounds, but I find it easier to talk about it in those types of terms."

"Well, as long as you all are 'appy," Fleur said sighing. She turned at looked out her window with a slight frown. "I am 'appy for you, Hermione."

Hermione considered the older girl and examined her own feelings on the matter. Finally heaving an internal groan of defeat she moved from the chair to the bed and hugged Fleur. Fleur stiffened for a moment before melting back into the brunette witch. "Zis is nice."

Hermione nodded. "Fleur," she said slowly, "what do you want?"

"I don't zink I understand ze question, Hermione," Fleur responded just as slowly while pulling Hermione's arms tighter around her.

"I mean this," Hermione moved her arms slightly. "What do you want from me? From Harry? He's as dense as board when it comes to the fairer sex, but even he's noticed something. So what are you looking for from us? We are involved Tonks after all and I really don't see that ending anytime soon…"

"I had meant to speak with you after ze Task about zis anyway," Fleur said trailing off in a sigh. "Ze harpy razer distracted me."

Hermione nodded. "We can talk about her first if you want."

Fleur stayed silent for almost a minute before nodding. "I would like zat, Hermione. I…I have always been slightly afraid of my heritage. It is…not always ze shining example of love and honor. Ze Veela of old were quite different from today. Zey were angry and forceful. Ze first Veela were created to be toys for the rich and powerful. Experiments for zeir creators to enjoy at zeir whim."

"I'm sorry, Fleur. I didn't know," Hermione said softly.

"We do not speak of it often," Fleur said shrugging. "It all happened very long ago. Zis is ancient history. Ze point is zat when my ancestors broke free, ze decided to take whatever ze wanted from whoever ze wanted in repayment. It was a dark time in ze Veela history. It took us many, many years to recover from zat time and zat image. In some ways, we still have not succeeded in ze effort. Ze harpy's beliefs and actions were a reflection of zose expressed long ago."

Hermione considered that in silence. Eventually she asked, "Would you really be able to take control of an entire stadium full of people like that?"

Fleur shook her head and leaned back. "Non. I am not zat strong. Zere are perhaps zree or four elders who could, but I am not one of zem. I could…perhaps control ze men like zat. But certainly not ze majority of ze women."

"You know you're nothing like that Queen Bee version of your fears right, Fleur? You're a far better person. You would never do what she did."

"I would certainly like to zink so," Fleur said shrugging. "I have never truly tested my limits to such an extent anyways. I do not like being reminded zat many of ze people I interact with could easily fall under my sway should I let my control slip. It makes it very difficult to care for someone when you are wondering if zey are only interested in you because you are unconsciously seducing zem."

"That does sound very difficult," Hermione said. "Is that why you're interested in Harry?"

Fleur sighed and nodded. "It was certainly one of ze zings zat drew me to you both in ze beginning. Both of you are resistant so I know I am not swaying either of you. It is…wonderful to know zat you two are accepting of me, both knowing what I am and without being consumed by ze Allure."

"You said one of the things?" Hermione asked softly.

"Oui. Ze more time I spend with you both, ze more attractive you both are. You are kind and caring, thoughtful and critical. You work hard, but you know your limits. You are not afraid to buck ze system. And most importantly of all…I see a reflection of my own struggles in you both. I don't have many friends outside my family due my heritage. Ze women are jealous and ze men succumb to ze Allure. 'arry has few close friends due to his Boy-Who-Lived curse. You were isolated due to your intelligence. Even Tonks had few truly close associates because of her abilities." Fleur sighed and leaned her head back against Hermione. "I find it hard to express just how good it feels to be able to enjoy ze company of zose familiar with ze same type of isolation."

Hermione stayed quiet for a long time just holding Fleur and thinking. The older girl for her part just shut her eyes and enjoyed the embrace while it lasted. Finally Hermione said, "Fleur, I can truly understand where you are coming from and I want you to know that we will all always, always be there for you if you need us. But I…I really don't think Harry is going to be leaving Tonks…"

Fleur smiled slightly and stroked Hermione's hand. "You have not done all your research, Hermione."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked frowning.

"Hermione, once I realized zat you and 'arry were togezer, I did not expect nor hope to be his wife," Fleur said chuckling softly while Hermione just looked on even more confused. "I have been hoping to eventually be a Consort to you both."

"A consort?"

"Oui. With a capital 'C'. It is, what is ze expression in English…akin to having my cake and eating it to."

"Fleur, can you please explain just what a Consort is?" Hermione said exasperatedly. "Obviously you're implying more than the simple Muggle term denotes."

Fleur nodded. "Ze Consort is a position not often used zese days. Ze only ones who truly need it are ze Purebloods and in ze countries where it would matter zey tend to be too arrogant to accept ze arrangement most times. Hannah, Susan and Neville all appear to be more open in zat manner zan the majority of zeir counterparts." She shrugged. "In essence ze Consort is a wife without ze title of 'wife'. Ze Consort has many of the ze same privileges zough their authority over ze husband's estate does not extend as far. Most importantly ze Consort does not carry on ze husband's line. She carries on her own."

Hermione drew in a sharp breath understanding finally what Fleur had been hinting at. "Oh. There aren't any other Delacours besides your father, mother and sister are there?"

Fleur shook her head. "Non. My fazzer's uncle died several years ago wizout an Heir. My fazzer's line is expected to die with Gabi and me. He of course is accepting of zis as he cares far more for his daughters zen he ever did for his name but…" She paused for a long moment before continuing. "I want to marry for love, but if I can ensure zat my fazzer's name does not die out zen I would like to do so as well. Zat was why I was happy zat you are Muggle-born. You could carry on Harry's line while I could carry on my own. Zat I am quickly falling for you both means I also get to enjoy ze relationship rather zan just ze duty. Ze cake and ze eating, no?"

"I suppose I could see that…" Hermione said slowly. "But your parents are still somewhat young aren't they? Couldn't they have another child?"

"Even if ze did, it would likely be anozer girl," Fleur said. "Zere are no male Veela, Hermione. Ze Veela, we breed true. Any daughter of a Veela will be a Veela. Male births are very rare among my people since ze male does not carry ze Veela traits beyond being handsome."

"Oh," Hermione whispered. "We really need better books on these things in this country," she muttered to herself causing Fleur to chuckle lightly.

"Zat is adorable when you do zat."

Hermione blushed. "And what about Tonks? You'd really be okay with her too?"

Fleur nodded. "We would need to speak quite a bit more I zink. She did not like me very much at ze beginning. We spoke shortly after ze Task zough and she informed me zat she had withdrawn her objections. She also said zat she would go with whatever you and 'arry decided."

Hermione frowned and thought about that for a minute. "Tonks has been deferring to one of us rather a lot with those types of things…I hadn't noticed before…" She shook her head and focused back on the French girl. "Fleur, I can promise that I'll talk with Harry and Tonks. I…don't think I can promise any more than that though. It was hard enough to convince him to start dating her and for her to accept that we were actually okay with it."

"Of course," Fleur said agreeably. "I have no interest in driving a wedge between any of you. I am not ze harpy. If you would accept me into ze fold I would have it be because you truly wanted me. Please don't zink zat I will be condemned to a life of misery or loneliness should you all decide zat it is too much. I will accept your decision and adapt as I always have."

Hermione snorted. "Well considering I haven't had you move from my lap since we sat down I'd advise you not to give up hope yet, Fleur."

Fleur raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Don't, 'oh' me. You know perfectly well that you've done rather exceptional on the seduction front with both me and with Harry." Hermione sighed and squeezed Fleur slightly, feeling the older girl's heart racing under her arms. "Fleur, do you really think I'd be sitting in your room embracing you if I didn't feel at least something for you?"

"Well…I had hoped…" Fleur admitted.

"I am not going to betray Harry or Tonks though no matter what," Hermione said quietly. "So please don't try to kiss me or anything until I've had a long talk with my partners about this. I…do think Harry will be open to it though."

"Why?"

"Because," Hermione sighed, "he told me to come to you. He might be dense with women, but he's been getting a lot better and I think he pretends to miss a lot more than he actually does. I can virtually guarantee you that he knew you were basically on a date with him at Hogsmeade and I am somewhat certain that he fully expected us to be having this talk when he asked me to look after you tonight."

"Oh," Fleur said in a very quiet voice. "Hermione," she asked a bit louder, "would you stay with me tonight? I promise I will behave. I just…don't want to wake up remembering ze harpy and not have someone nearby to remind me zat she was simply a nightmare."

Hermione nodded. "I will, Fleur. I will."

While Hermione, Fleur, Harry and Tonks were enjoying their evening, Luna, Daphne and Tracey were hard at work in the Gryffindor Common Room. Luna tapped the parchment with her quill and quirked her mouth in concentration. "I'm not sure about the title."

Tracey shook her head. "No, it's good Luna. The Dark Mirror and the Queen Bee hits everything we want to address without implying any sort of wrongdoing at all. It'll grab people's attention too whether they're expecting either a real story about the Tournament or just one of the typical Quibbler pieces."

Luna slowly nodded. "I suppose you're right. It does have a bit of the Quibbler flare to it. Daphne, what did you want to add to the section detailing Harry?"

Daphne finished reading over their current version and pointed at a part near the beginning. "I think this should say something more along the lines of: 'heroically facing off against a callous, unfeeling Evil Doppelganger driven insane through the loss of friends and loved ones.' And we might want to switch the end to read: 'tricked his overconfident, self-consumed Aspect into killing itself using its own attack.' We want to avoid humanizing Evil Overlord Harry. It should help distance the evil version from our friend."

Tracey emphatically nodded. "Agreed. We definitely should call the Overlord by 'it' instead of 'him'. Good idea, Daph."

"Okay," Luna said making the corrections. "Are you two happy with what I put for the end with Fleur?"

Tracey leaned over. "Read it again?"

Luna held up the paper and read her notes, " 'The French Champion stood tall and denounced her Evil Counterpart's beliefs. Triumphing over the horrid, underhanded control forced upon others, she clearly stated that a Veela would have to be insane to even think of performing such actions. Fleur Delacour showed in no uncertain terms that any Veela that tried to exert their will on others would be destroyed by their own people thus proving herself to be an exemplary representative of her species. Miss Delacour's outstanding moral code was the prime component in forcing her Doppelganger off guard enough to ensure the Aspect's defeat.' "

The two Slytherins nodded. "I like it, Luna," Tracey said throwing an arm over the former Ravenclaw. "I think we have a winner there." Luna blushed and her smile lit up the room at the praise.

"Yes. This should be more than enough to combat whatever drivel the Prophet puts out as long as we're first. The first opinion is always the one most will believe the strongest," Daphne said.

"Oh we'll be first," Luna said with a confident grin and a chuckle that would send waves of fear at her enemies. Coco gave an odd little sound that the girls swore sounded like the little snorkack was laughing along with her master. "Daddy already has the printing press fired up and Shiva has agreed to let me use her Floo to give the article to him personally rather than wait on an owl. The Prophet writers think they have until the morning since they're only doing the one issue. Ours will run tonight and tomorrow. By the time the Prophet hits homes, everyone will be decrying it as absurdly biased!"

Tracey looked at her younger friend in awe. "Luna, do me a favor. If I ever well and truly piss you off, give me a heads up so I can try to run until you cool off for a bit okay?"

Luna shrugged. "Okay. I doubt it would help much in the long run, but I promise to give you a head start."

Daphne cocked her head. "Why wouldn't it help much?"

"I am quite determined when I set my mind to something. Also," Luna shrugged, "Coco is apparently very good at tracking someone she knows."

Daphne and Tracey both looked to the snorkack which turned her head to them and gave a little grin. Both Slytherins calmly turned to each other and silently agreed to never cross Luna.

Madame Maxime sighed as she set aside her final piece of paperwork. This Tournament was becoming far more trouble than it was worth. She was quite thankful that neither Apolline nor Sébastien Delacour had been present to watch this latest mess. The British disliked Veela on principle so the true extent of the horror could be avoided and France could likely still maintain some semblance of trade with this country. Had Apolline been there though…the entire Veela Enclave would have gotten involved and that would have been an unmitigated disaster.

A knock sounded on her door and Maxime waved her wand letting her visitors in. Her eyes widening in shock she quickly stood to curtsy and greet the two as they walked in. "Monsieur and Madame Fulcanelli, it is an honor."

The man rolled his eyes and waved her to sit back down as he and his wife took their own seats. "It's Newton, please," he said amicably. His smile was easy and his demeanor quite relaxed. He had on a nice brown tweed suit cut in a style that, when coupled with his mannerisms, seemed carefully designed to blend in with a crowd whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle one.

"And please call me Paracela as well," the woman said. While her dress was also cut to blend in, her expression was a bit harsher than Newton's. Her smile promised danger should Maxime not tread very carefully.

"Of course, of course. I honestly did not expect you to come," she said with a hint of nervousness. That these two had deigned to answer her request in person was worrying indeed.

"We've been following the news quite closely," Paracela said. She sighed and the danger inherent in her posture bled out leaving the woman just looking very tired. "We agree it's quite…odd."

Newton nodded his agreement. "We were glad you called Olympe. We were starting to worry that you might be involved in whatever is going on behind the scenes here."

Maxime's eyes widened in shock and she pulled back. "Me? Involved in attempted murder on my own students?!"

Paracela shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time." Maxime just fumbled for words though Paracela continued before she could find any. "So obviously the toad bitch is trying something. Any ideas or guesses as to who's pulling the imbecile's strings?"

Maxime sighed and rubbed her forehead. "No. I wish I did have one. I wouldn't have had to call you. I know how you both hate to be disturbed."

Newton shrugged. "True, but sometimes the situation warrants it. I warn you, Olympe, we have no intention of getting personally involved in whatever this is. We'll see if we can find anything and let you know but that's it. We're curious and a little worried, but we're not that curious." He paused and sighed. "Mostly we're annoyed that someone from our school is getting caught up in whatever ploy these idiots have concerning the Potter boy."

Maxime nodded. "He is doing remarkably well for himself despite the…issues."

Paracela laughed. "Oh that he is indeed. We've been watching things surrounding him for a while now. If he survives we might even meet him in person one day!"

Maxime almost laughed until she realized the woman was serious then she just goggled. "Truly?"

"Stranger things have happened," Newton chuckled. "Anyway, Olympe, we just wanted to give you notice that we're in the area now. If we see anything we'll keep you posted." He stood and his wife joined him.

Maxime nodded still shocked. "Of course. Thank you for stopping in. It's been a pleasure." Paracela waved goodbye as both stepped out. Shaking her head to herself Maxime laughed softly. "Potter has no idea the waves he causes."

Dumbledore took another long drink from his bottle of firewhiskey as he stared morosely at the pensieve sitting in front of him with the memory from Harry's Task still swirling around inside it. "How could I have been so blind to let it get this far?" he whispered. On his perch to the side, Fawkes perked up and crooned a happy little trill. "Harry has been nearly completely consumed now."

Fawkes song abruptly cut off, but Dumbledore paid it no mind. "Those spells used in his original attack were all extremely lethal and many very painful. He did not even try to talk to the Aspect!" Dumbledore moaned. "He simply started attacking immediately! And that Aspect itself! It was completely mad, totally consumed with the need for power and control. That Harry has the potential to sink to such depths…where did I go so wrong?! He was supposed to want to sacrifice himself! He was supposed to want to help others! How did I force him into becoming such an unfeeling monster?!"

Dumbledore held his head in his hands as Fawkes sang a sad song. Looking over at his familiar Dumbledore tried to smile in appreciation. "Thank you old friend, but it won't help much. I doubt the next Task will put him in much danger. It is far too simple thanks to everything that has already occurred. Perhaps we will be able to correctly maneuver things for the 4th though…yes. Yes I will have to see how I can use that one to force the issue. At minimum, if he won't die during it I can at least show the world his true colors."

Dumbledore pulled a long drink from the bottle and nodded to himself ignoring the angry look from his phoenix. "If this Task doesn't expose the boy's darkness than the Fourth Task certainly will."

"Umm, Fred, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ron asked as he walked up to Fred and shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

Fred glared at his youngest brother for a long few seconds before sighing and waving to the chair across from him. "Yes, Ronald?" Beside him, George turned to listen in while Ginny wandered over from the corner of the room where she had been talking with Dean.

"Uh, I was kind of hoping this could be private…"

"Ron," Fred said with a sigh. "You said you hoped I'd be maimed and a friend killed in the middle of the Great Hall. I think if you're going to try and apologize you should at least be able to do so in the Common Room."

Ron winced. "I deserve that I guess." He wrung his hands and looked at his feet for awhile before eventually saying softly, "I'm really, really sorry about that, Fred."

Fred raised an eyebrow. "Sorry about what, Ron?"

"You're really not making this easy," Ron muttered as his ears went red.

"Of course I'm not making it easy you bloody arse!" Fred growled. "I fought a freaking dragon and you didn't say shite! One of my friends was almost killed twice! Another of my friends almost died today too! If you're going to apologize for losing your temper than you're going to actually have to apologize for once in your life!"

George took over while Fred got his breathing back under control. "Ron, we understand you are making a big gesture for you. But if you're going to grow up then you need to learn how to well and truly say you are sorry. The half-arsed things you used to give Mum aren't going to cut it. Now what are you sorry for?"

Ron opened his mouth to say something with a scowl on his face but bit it back and took a few deep breaths instead. Finally he said softly, "I am sorry for being a git. I'm sorry that I said I wished Harry dead and you hurt, Fred. I was jealous and angry and I should never have said that to you or to him. I tore things apart time and time again and the way I've acted over the past few years has brought a lot of shame on the Weasley family when all I wanted to do was to do something big and important."

Ron looked down at his feet again. "Harry said that I was as bad as Malfoy and I think he may have been right. I've been acting spoiled and entitled and when things don't go the way they should in my head I throw a fit just like he does. I can't promise I'm going to change overnight. I can't promise I'll change this year. I can however promise that I'm going to at least try to get better. I'm going to try and think before I speak. I know I screwed up majorly and I know we'll never be as good as we were. But I do miss my brothers and my sister. I am sorry. I'll probably still be a git at times, but I will try to make sure it doesn't happen often and that when it does, I apologize for it immediately after."

Fred leaned back into the sofa with a grumbling sigh. He looked at George and Ginny who both shrugged and stared back at him. Fred grumbled louder and nodded to Ron. "Alright, Ron. I accept your apology. It's good that you're acknowledging the problem and are trying to improve. But seriously, Ron, don't do this again. Getting angry is one thing, but you went way too far earlier."

Ron shrugged. "I know. You guys aren't completely innocent either you know! I still have nightmares about that spider thing!"

George sighed. "And have we ever pranked you remotely as bad as that since then, Ron?" Ron opened his mouth to reply before frowning, thinking about it and shaking his head. "Exactly. We didn't realize just how terrified of the little beasties you were and we apologized for that, Ron – like you are doing now. And like we did afterwards, with toning down our pranks, we expect you to tone down your outbursts."

Fred laid a hand on Ron's leg. "Keep yourself under control little brother and keep growing up. Think before you act or speak and we'll be fine. Have a nice night, Ron."

Voldemort stared at the darkened mirror in front of him as he stroked Nagini. Barty's latest report was both exciting and worrying. The fact that Harry Potter was shaping up to be a true worthy opponent was unexpected, and somewhat welcome. It allowed him to make a stronger claim as to why he was disembodied in the first attempt on the boy's life if Potter was actually an impressive combatant. Yet…the phantom version of him claimed to have essentially taken over on a whim.

Voldemort shook his head. The phantom was obviously an exaggeration. Potter himself did not have such power. One day perhaps – if everything went perfectly right – the boy might gain a bit of that ability. Though if he had even a tenth of the strength displayed…

No. Recruiting Potter would certainly be entertaining and would likely be one of the single strongest blows he could deliver to the morale of the fools in the Light but it was far too risky. Voldemort was not the only one who could play a long game. If Potter had gotten any ideas from his doppelganger then he could pretend to follow Voldemort and bide his time. When Voldemort had shared enough knowledge and power then Potter would strike and remove him. He might be immortal but as evidenced by the last decade, this version of immortality had its downsides.

Potter needed to die. And Voldemort had to be the one to kill him to validate his claim to being the strongest. The boy deserved more than to die like a dog in the night though. Yes. He'd duel Potter after the ritual. It would clearly show his followers just how powerful he was even newly reborn. And Potter could die a warrior's death.

A death the boy's mother should have been granted as well.

"That's all for class today," McGonagall said as she lowered her wand. Before the students could start to get up and head out she smiled and kept going. "However, one announcement before dinner. This winter holiday, on December 24th, there will a Yule Ball held at Hogwarts. We will be hosting all three schools and there will be dinner, dancing and music. I have it on good authority that we will be hearing the talents of the Weird Sisters." A small cheer greeted this remark and she waited for it to die down before finishing. "You are all welcome to stay and attend if you wish. If so I recommend you find a date. In addition, the Ball is open to fourth years and up. Younger students may attend if invited by one of the upper years. I hope you all look forward this as much as I do!"

A small chorus of conversation started as everyone started filing out and talking about the dance. Harry had already turned to Hermione when McGonagall called for him. Hermione rolled her eyes and waved him back towards their teacher. "Yes, Professor?"

"Mr. Potter, while I imagine this isn't going to come as a large surprise to you, as a Champion you are expected to open the dancing segment with a partner. This means you should expect to attend the Ball and if you don't have experience dancing you should probably start practicing. Somehow I doubt finding a date will be much of an issue." Her eyes were smiling even if her mouth wasn't and she surreptitiously cast a glance at Hermione waiting by the door.

Harry laughed. "Yeah this doesn't surprise me at all, Ma'am. Daphne had mentioned it was tradition a while ago so I've been taking some lessons with her and Tracey for the past week when we needed a break from regular training. Do I sense I wager on my date again?"

"Again, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked with a hint of amusement.

"I heard you might have come into some money when I started dating Hermione last year…" Harry said smirking.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Mr. Potter." McGonagall turned back to her desk and shifted some papers. As Harry laughed and walked back to Hermione McGonagall called over her shoulder, "Though I would appreciate it if you take Miss Granger or Miss Tonks."

After dinner, Shiva had grabbed Harry and practically marched him back to her quarters. "Sit down, kid," she said gesturing to an armchair near her fireplace. Harry grabbed a cup of pumpkin juice from the bar and sat as indicated shifting nervously. He had been avoiding talking to her for most of the day. The looks she had given him immediately following his duel with the doppelganger had worried him somewhat and if she was going to be kicking him out of her life he wanted to push that conversation as long as possible. So far, he'd managed to avoid even thinking about it but now…now that worry was rearing up again.

It certainly wasn't helping that Shiva had grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey and poured a small amount into two glasses, handing one to him.

"Umm…"

"You might need it, kid," Shiva said staring into the fire and looking determined. "That's about equivalent to a single drink so you're not going to get drunk and you're not getting anymore. So if you want to drink just sip that way it lasts."

Harry cringed. "I'll pack my things after the Yule Ball," he said softly.

Shiva frowned and turned to look at him in complete confusion. "I haven't even mentioned my idea yet, Har – oh for fuck's sake! No! Harry, that is not what I meant!" She surged off her chair and pulled him into a rib-cracking hug. "Jeez, kid, I'm sorry. I suck at these things. Seriously freaking suck. I am not kicking you out. This conversation is going to be bad, but do not think for a second that I am even considering kicking you out! I meant what I said when I took you in, Harry. We are family now and you are not getting away from me that easily, kid." She pulled back and ruffled his hair, studiously ignoring the watery sheen over his eyes.

"You don't want me to leave?" Harry asked, his hands shaking slightly. "Even after what he said?"

Shiva slowly and deliberately shook her head. "That was a version of you so far removed from anything I've seen, Harry, that it might as well have been Tom Riddle. That was not you. That was your darkest fear manifest. A boggart on steroids with its dial cranked to 100 on a 1 to 10 scale. That was not you. I am not going to abandon you, kid. Especially not because some hyped up pillar decided that you were scared of a callous, broken version of yourself." She smirked and said, "Hell, at this point I probably would end up being all alone with Daphne as your final follower if you did decide to take over the world."

Harry snorted and wiped at his eyes. "That's really not funny."

She heaved a huge, dramatic sigh. "You're right. I wouldn't be a lowly follower; I'd be the Dark Vizier. Daphne would still be your Dark Mistress, but Hermione and Tonks would definitely still be the prime Dark Ladies. Do you think Fleur would be there as a Dark Mistress too or would it be appropriate for her to be a Dark Courtesan?" Harry groaned and Shiva just kept going. "Sirius could be the Dark Dog though he might have to share that post with Remus. Hehe, share the post. Neville would probably be your Darth Vader if we could find a nice helmet for him. I'm not quite sure what titles Susan, Hannah or Amelia would go for…"

"And Luna would be Dark Cryptozoologist?" Harry asked shaking his head and swallowing down his pumpkin juice.

"Seems like the best job for her. I'd say she'd fit as the Dark Jester too, but a court jester just isn't truly respected enough these days for her to have that job."

"It would be if I took over everything and gave her the job." Harry finally cracked a bit of a smile.

Shiva rubbed her chin and nodded. "True. True. Well we'll leave it up to her I suppose. She could probably handle both jobs or foist one off onto Tracey. I was going to suggest Tracey fit well into the Dark Announcer but she'd probably do better as Luna's assistant."

"Probably," Harry said shrugging. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her. "Thanks, Shiva."

"No problem, kid," she said standing up and moving back to her chair. "No more of this 'I'm leaving' thing. I started this thing off awfully wrong sure, but you should know better than to think I was kicking you to the curb after dealing with me for 3 and-a-half years."

"I should. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing!" She said rolling her eyes. "Alright now that that misunderstanding is over with let's get onto the real reason why this is going to suck." Harry frowned, but nodded. "Okay, here goes…" Shiva took a deep breath and grimaced. "Harry, I think…what would you say if I asked you to leave after the Yule Ball."

"Like to go see the Manor?" Harry asked confused.

"No," she said softly staring into the fire again and fingering her drink. "Like leave as in leave Britain. Leave as in disappear to Australia or – you know what not Australia. If those idiots are making more of those columns we're staying the hell away. We could go to Canada or Brazil or the United States or Japan or something."

"But what about your job?"

"Screw my job. I can get a new job. I did like four things for Bill over the summer and raked in nearly a third of what I make here."

"Okay…well we'd have to come back for the Tournament events…I guess Fleur could tell us when they were coming up but…" Harry trailed off as he saw Shiva shaking her head. "That's not what you're talking about is it?" he asked with dawning comprehension and a bit of fear.

"Yeah it's not," she said clutching her glass like a lifeline. "Harry, this Tournament is getting more and more dangerous. I'm scared, kid. I don't want you competing in this thing. I don't want to have to bury you by the end of the year. I never planned on having a kid before I hit 30 – and I sure as hell never figured that kid would be as mature as you before I even met him – but now that you are part of my family, Harry, I don't want to let you get taken away by this twisted blood sport. I would much prefer to have us both living a Muggle life somewhere far away than to have to visit your grave once a year."

"Shiva…" Harry took a sip of the firewhiskey, gagged for a moment and then left his seat to hug her.

Shiva leaned into the embrace and let out a soft sob. "I don't want to lose you to this, Harry. Dying because Voldemort is targeting you is bad enough, but dying because some Ministry bitch has hate-on for you and someone else is taking advantage of it is something completely different! If I ask, Harry, will you leave? Will you give up magic and live as a Muggle?"

Harry stayed quiet for a long while just holding her and thinking carefully. Finally he said softly, "I would, Shiva. But I don't think I really have that option."

"You do. You always have a choice, Harry," she said shaking her head.

He pulled back. "Not yet I don't," he said slowly. "It's not a real choice. We know that Voldemort is still out there. We know that he's somewhat obsessed with me. We know that Pettigrew escaped and probably went running to him now that the rat doesn't have anywhere else to go. Eventually he's going to come back and when he does the first thing he's going to do is try to find and kill me. We could run, Shiva, but I'm willing to bet he'd find us eventually. And then we'd die because as much as I love you, you're not a match for him. If Dumbledore can't beat him, then you can't either."

"Neither can you, kid," Shiva said defiantly. "You beat a shadow and a memory. The real thing with real spells and a real body is a completely different Quidditch game."

"We'd certainly stand a better chance though if we both had magic."

"The others could come too. I wasn't completely kidding earlier, Harry. You're magnetic. We'll all follow you if you need us."

"I don't think it'd be enough," he said running a hand through his hair. "I think there's something bigger happening that we don't know enough about. If it was just when I was a baby and first year I could ignore it as ridiculous coincidence, but running into Memorymort second year…there's something bigger Shiva. It's going to end up being him and me. I hate that and it scares the hell out of me, but I can't really ignore it. Even if you don't believe that, you can't think that whoever is rigging this Tournament through The Umbitch is just going to give up and let us run."

Shiva scowled and turned away from him. She took a long pull from her drink and set it down scowling deeper. "Why do you have to make sense? Why can't you just beg to not leave your friends or give up your magic? I had counterarguments for those! I had plans and ideas! I can't argue against Goddess-be-damned fate!"

Harry shrugged. "I'm just cursed that way," he said chuckling somewhat to try and lighten the mood. "If it helps, I have kicked the arsehole to curb three times in a row now so I think I've got a good chance. And this Tournament hasn't killed me yet. I'll be okay, Shiva. I survive. It's kind of my thing: worst good luck ever remember? Well that and saving people."

Shiva stayed silent and stared into the fire. After several minutes of silence she turned to him. "You promise me you are going to survive this year, kid. You promise me no matter how bad this gets or who we end up fighting against, that you will keep going. That you use the messed-up luck and come out the other side."

"I promise, Shiva." He smiled at her and shrugged. "Like you said, you're not getting rid of me that easily."