15 Matters of the Heart

Fleur Delacour was annoyed. This state appeared to her whenever something incomprehensible happened. Everyone around her knew exactly what was going on, leaving her in the dark! On purpose! Everyone except Gabrielle, of course. She hardly noticed anything unusual, and even if she did, she didn't pay much attention to it. Fleur, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling that Harry and her parents were collectively mocking her!

She had been silent when Harry had greeted her father by the hand like an old mate, and had been familiar with him from the start. She was silent when her father paid no attention and responded to the greeting as if nothing unusual had happened. She had even remained silent when Potter had kissed her mother on the cheek and she had returned the favour! But now, as the three of them calmly began their meal and chatted amiably about nothing, pretending that nothing had happened, Fleur realised that her patience was wearing thin. She'd never been particularly calm or patient, her fiery nature was making itself known, but what this boy was doing was out of line!

It seems that after that horrible incident with the dementor's kiss and his stay in Azkaban, Harry has a new superpower - to make Fleur Delacourt mad! You can't say she doesn't like it. He had changed a lot, he was more mature, more mature, he definitely had something he didn't have before - he didn't blush at every conversation and acted more relaxed, which for an eighteen year old Veela looked very attractive. His appearance had changed, too, somehow subtly, his face now often showing expressions she'd never seen before.

And those looks he sometimes threw at her... If before she couldn't even think of any intimacy with Harry, as he obviously didn't allow such thoughts, now Fleur wasn't sure which of them thought about it more often. Even with her naked eyes she could see that he was trying to restrain himself from crossing a certain line, but the reasons for his behaviour were a mystery to her. Does he have doubts? Maybe he doesn't really love her? No, that would be silly. It was enough to notice the way he looked at her once. That look sometimes even makes him uncomfortable, as if he thinks she's so much better than she really is. But now that he's gotten rid of his glasses, it's harder and harder to look away from his green eyes. And that smile that appears on his face every time he sees her... So open... Gentle.....

But what is it then? Maybe he, like a true Englishman, thinks he's a gentleman and plans to wait until marriage? How long would that be? He may not look fifteen, and his behaviour is not so childish, but what if he is going to wait for several years?

Fleur shuddered mentally, and tried to push them away, but just in case, she remembered to talk about it as soon as possible. However, as soon as she looked at Harry again, all bad thoughts immediately left her. Seriously, what was she thinking? Harry had come back to her! Back even though the dementor had kissed him! He came straight to her to confess his feelings! And now he was sitting with her and her parents at the same table, celebrating Christmas with her family, which Fleur hoped would one day become family for him too.

By the way! - Fleur shook her head unhappily. - Potter was distracting her again! Now was not the time to think about how nice he was. Now was the time to think about how he was bullying her! Look at her: she's sitting here, bored, cloudy, confused, and he's not paying any attention to it, still chatting with her parents. When she listened to the conversation and heard Harry praising the next dish he tasted, saying that Apolline must have added some of her beauty to it to make it even more delicious, Fleur realised that her patience was wearing thin.

- What's going on here?! - She asked demandingly. It was a little louder than she'd intended, causing Harry to freeze with his mouth open before he could get a bite of meat out of it.

- What are you talking about, love? - The three of them asked at the same time.

- Yeah, what are you talking about?" said Gaby, quietly pulling the most appetising bits out of Harry's plate.

- That's exactly what it's about! - Fleur pointed accusingly, first at her parents and then at Harry. - What are you doing here?!

- Nothing. - And again with glee! Even the surprised tone no one forgot to add. Fleur felt the spoon she had been unconsciously clutching in her hand all this time begin to bend. She didn't seem to be the only one who noticed it.

- I need to talk to Harry about something," her father rose from the table and Harry followed him, glancing warily at the spoon in her hand. - Don't be sad girls, we'll be back soon.

- I'm coming with you! - Fleur wasn't about to let them go without finding out what was going on and jumped up from her seat.

- Calm down, Fleur, they'll be back soon," Mum put her hand on her shoulder reassuringly, while Dad and Harry tried to run away as quickly as possible towards the Head of Household's office. Fleur only had to sit back down, continuing to glare angrily at their backs.

- Mum! Can you at least tell me what you've done? I was worried, I'd arranged it with you, I'd brought Harry, I thought you were going to interrogate him as usual, talk to him in a strictly formal way, I was worried that Harry was very bad at etiquette and would make himself look bad. And what do I see? Cooing like old friends! You don't even behave like that with our relatives! Remember when Uncle Pierre came to visit? You didn't even let him sleep over by getting the elf to block all the bedroom doors!

- You're exaggerating, sweetheart. - Apolline remained completely calm. - 'We treated Harry exactly the same way as our other guests. It's nothing unusual, because your father and I are very happy that he's been able to get his life back to normal and you two are together. Do you think I've forgotten what's been happening to you for the last six months? - Fleur couldn't answer straight away, but her mother didn't seem to need to. - So there's no need to suspect us of anything. Go and help Ricky get your bedrooms ready. You'll be sleeping in separate rooms, I hope?

Fleur was well aware that her mum was trying to divert her attention, but she blushed anyway at such a statement, involuntarily recalling her recent thoughts. Gabrielle didn't ignore her embarrassment and laughed happily, as if something had happened that she had been waiting for.

- Of course it's different," Fleur murmured, and she could tell from her tone that she was upset by the fact. Apolline reacted with a puzzled look, to which Fleur only shook her head. - Nothing. I'll go and help Ricky, but don't think you'll be able to get away from me that easily!

Apolline didn't react to that, turning her attention back to Gabrielle, who had stopped eating and was only picking at her plate.

Fleur went to the first floor, thinking about why she should help the House elf at all, and what kind of punishments she would bring down on Potter's head when they were alone together.

***

- I think Fleur's onto something," Sebastian said as soon as we were in his office.

- Oh, you think so? I thought bending spoons was just something she did. I think she bent a couple at breakfast today. - I couldn't resist a barb, but then I mentally shamed myself for such insolent behaviour. - I'm sorry, I'm getting a little carried away. Of course she knows, Fleur's not stupid, and it's not like we've been secretive. It's all right, she won't have long to be in the dark.

- It's all right, Harry, I know you're nervous and it's normal. I'd be more likely to suspect something wrong if you stayed calm. You're 15 years old and you're about to propose to a girl. I'm sorry, but that's just hard to get my head round. When I was your age, I never thought of anything like that, but when I met Apolline, it took one look to make up my mind. By the way, would you like to hear a story?

- Sure, I'd love to hear it.

Sebastian leaned back in his chair and stared unfocused at the wall, a smile appearing on his lips.

- I met Apolline when I was nineteen. I'd just started working at the Ministry then, and during one of my breaks I happened to bump into her in the corridor. She wasn't working there-she was just dropping by on business. When I stared at her, she thought I was just another weak-willed admirer who would silently devour her with his eyes, and suddenly, not only for her but for myself, I asked her out. You see, it didn't even occur to me then that she might be married, that I didn't even know her name, such questions didn't interest me. One look was enough to realise that I was lost.

Sebastian smiled easily, reliving one of the best moments of his life, and I felt a warmth settle somewhere in my chest. My first encounter with Fleur hadn't been so pleasant, but the fact that I was also missing had been clear for a long time.

- And what, she agreed? - I brought Sebastian back down to earth.

- What? He looked at me. - Oh, no, of course. She laughed at me, called me stupid and left. It took me four months to persuade her just to see me. And then it took just as long until she finally admitted she was in love with me. I won't go into details, but when I proposed to her, I was so nervous that my hands were shaking. Apolline even wanted to call a doctor. When I took out the ring, she smiled so big that I knew everything was going to be all right.

Sebastian was silent, and I decided not to interrupt his reminiscences. For a second, I thought I saw the insecure guy he'd just told me about sitting in Fleur's father's seat. My own worries evaporated, leaving behind only confidence and calm. Really, what could happen? She wouldn't kill me after all, would she? I'd rather have her kill me than refuse.

When I noticed that Sebastian wasn't coming back, I decided to hurry him up, because the longer we sat here, the angrier this young woman was getting.

- Sebastian," I called out to him. He flinched, as if he'd forgotten there was someone else here. I bet he doesn't often get to tell stories so pleasing to his own heart. - Your story deserves its own novel. I'd love to hear all the details you can give, but unfortunately, I'm afraid we're going to have to postpone this conversation for a while, because if we keep this up, my story will be written in blood. My own blood, at that.

Sebastian laughed and nodded.

- You're right, Harry, we shouldn't keep Fleur waiting too long. - He pulled some papers from his desk and placed them in front of me. - 'Here, I've prepared everything I need here. It's just an engagement contract, confirming that you're planning to get married. It's just the usual. - He glanced at me and corrected himself. - I'm sorry, I forgot there's nothing customary here for you. In a nutshell, it doesn't impose any additional duties on you, just that I'll be able to, for example, officially refuse anyone who approaches me with any matrimonial plans for Fleur. I've done that before, but now I can keep them off my doorstep. If anything goes wrong," he trailed off, "both parties have the right to terminate the agreement. Though I really hope nothing like that happens.

Look, Harry, Fleur has told us a lot about your life, but I realise it's not all of it. It's hard for me to imagine what you've been through, and it's even harder to imagine it all falling on you at such a young age. I can see that you are a good person and you love my daughter as much as she loves you. However, I am still a caring father, so I must warn you that if you hurt her, I will have to remember that in this country I am called one of the strongest wizards. Do you understand?

I smiled, and even exhaled relaxed in my heart. Seriously, it was starting to stress me out that everything was so easy and simple. Parents give their daughter to a man they don't really know, who should be preparing for his first serious school exams and not thinking about anything like that. And they didn't even say a word against it. Fortunately, Sebastian had not forgotten his father's traditional admonition, which showed me that he realised the seriousness of this step.

- As you've pointed out, I've been through a lot. Thanks to that, I do not seek to make rash decisions concerning my fate and the fate of those close to me. - That's a weak excuse, considering my entire life is made up of rash decisions. - I give you my word I'll do whatever it takes to make Fleur happy.

- I appreciate that, Harry. - Sebastian looked at me seriously, his face no shadow of the dreamy smile it had been a moment ago. Then he held out his hand to me, which I shook immediately.

Without another word to each other, we left the office and headed back to the desk. I was pleased, and so was Fleur's father, but the end of the conversation didn't go unnoticed by me. Yes, Fleur and I love each other and live together, so I'm responsible for her anyway, but keeping her out of the loop around me isn't going to work. The only solution to such a problem is separation, with tears and pathos phrases, which, of course, I will not do. An engagement would cut off all avenues of retreat, and I'd be happy to take that step. I wasn't lying when I spoke to Sebastian, for I would do everything in my power, and even a little more. Even if it sounds a bit presumptuous coming from a fifteen year old boy.