23

It was a depressed Amelia and Xander that informed the rest of the family about the news regarding Malfoy and the other Death Eaters. Luna and Hermione immediately began drafting the following days issue of the Quibbler. Ginny would have stayed to help but Molly was highly distressed over the horrors of the World Cup and wanted her children at home.

The edition was sent out the following morning in time for parents to read it with their children before they were escorted to Platform 9 ¾. Needless to say that Draco and Lucius were on the receiving end of various glares and venomous looks.

Lucius never realised he left the station with pink hair and a fluffy tail.

On his return home he discovered his house being bombarded with owls. Luna had taken it upon herself to remind her readers that any howlers would simply be destroyed before they could be opened. She left instructions on how to have the owls deliver the howlers to just outside the property line. The owl would land, the howler fall off and seconds after the owl leaves the howler erupts.

Lucius had to walk through hundreds of howlers screaming abuse at him. What was worse was the thunderous look on his wife's face. She tore off her ring and threw it at him before storming out declaring she would have the lawyers contact him. He was beginning to regret his need to indulge in a little bit of fun.

They had finally made it through a whole train journey without Dobby, Draco or Dementors. It was a bloody miracle. It was fairly unusual, but Xander stood before the sorting began to make some announcements.

"This year, we will be playing host to some special guests for a special event. Rather than keep them waiting I will introduce them now." He announced with a huge grin.

"A round of applause for the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons Academy in France." Xander declared as he began clapping, the staff and some of the students joining them.

The attractive troupe of ladies dressed in blue practically flowed into the room causing males to drool and females to growl. Harry instantly went on edge as he felt a hint of what affected him at the World Cup: Veela.

"Harry, maybe you should leave." Neville suggested.

"No, I need to fight it… I need to control it." Harry growled.

"Neville, make some room, for someone to sit between you and Harry." Hermione ordered. Neville frowned but started to shuffle everyone along.

As soon as a space was cleared Sal teleported into the space.

"Thanks Nev, and good call Hermione." Sal said approvingly. "How's it going Harry?"

"Headache." Harry grunted.

"Just try to focus on the dragon being calm and protective. Think of it as a separate entity just sitting in your mind and doing all the work for you whilst you sit here and enjoy yourself. We can always go out for a fly and hunt later."

Harry closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He looked inward and imagined the dragon as Sal had said. He imagined it patrolling the perimeter of his mind and fending off pink waves of Veela allure. It worked for him.

Harry opened his eyes and was confused to see several new faces at the Gryffindor table, including three boys from Durmstrang and three girls from Beauxbatons.

"How long was I out and what's with the new faces?" He asked Sal.

"About twenty minutes." Sal chuckled. "The sorting is over, our guests have been sorted by Rick and these fine people are in your house. Xander will give more info after the feast, so tuck in. I'm heading back to my seat… Ron Weasley! Stop drooling!" Sal snapped. "Would someone slap him round the back of the head."

"OW!"

"Thank you Fred."

"I'm George."

Sal just stared at the twin.

"Fine… but you have to tell us how you know." Fred sulked.

Sal just smirked and vanished.

Ron, unfortunately, had gone back to staring at one of the Beauxbaton's students. She was clearly very uncomfortable and regretted sitting next to the young red headed boy on her left.

Fred, who was on her right with George decided to try and save her. "George, swap places with our orally challenged younger brother." He snapped.

George quickly stood and dragged his dazed brother out of his chair. Ginny had been watching the show and snickering away at the end of the table. "George, stick him in my seat and I'll take his."

Several minutes of musical chairs later and Ron was trying to figure out why he was seated with a bunch of third years.

"Where did Krum wind up?" Harry asked.

"Hufflepuff." Hermione smirked. "I don't know who was more upset, Ron or Draco."

"If he wound up in Hufflepuff then I definitely wouldn't mind meeting him, you find the best sort there."

The food appeared and they engaged in light conversation. "So, introductions." Fred declared. "The Drooling Wonder we just threw down the end is our youngest brother, Ron. The red head to your left is our baby sister, Ginny. I'm Fred, this is my twin George, we're the Weasleys.

"Across the way we have Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger and the one with the eye contact problem is Harry Potter."

"Is my allure too much for him?" Fleur asked. "I can try and move away." She offered.

"No… I'm fine." Harry said with a slight strain as he looked her in the eyes.

"Harry, this is Fleur Delacour." Hermione introduced as she realised that Harry was not aware during the sorting.

"Nice to meet you."

"And you. Are you sure you would not like me to move… I seem to be causing you pain."

"Harry is a Dragon Shifter." Neville explained ignoring the look of shock on Fleur's face. "He is fighting both your allure and the urge to assume his dragon form."

"Best to just ignore him and let him focus." Hermione offered. "Your English accent is very good."

"Thank you." Fleur smiled, she decided she would investigate the claims of the Boy-Who-Lived being a Dragon Shifter later. "I have spent time in Canada, it was primarily to help my English."

"Are you ok?" Ginny asked. She noticed that Fleur was hugging herself.

"I am just cold. My school and home are in the south of France."

"Hmm… how about a warming charm?" Ginny suggested. It was one of those things she instinctively knew how to cast having been on the receiving end from her parents when they went out in the winter.

"I did not want to be rude and draw my wand at the table." Fleur admitted sheepishly.

"Bah!" George said dismissively. "What kind of hosts would we be if we let you freeze?"

"George is right."

"How do you know who I am?" He demanded of Hermione.

"Because Sal pointed you out." She grinned. "Neville, would you help me let the other guests know?"

Neville just nodded and rose with Hermione.

"Should I help?" Ginny asked.

"Better not, little sis. We should probably stay put and maintain the barrier around Fleur."

So far Fleur was surprised by the treatment she had received. She had been warned by her family to be ready to defend herself from possible physical advances. She was also warned that she may receive other forms of abuse as she was considered a mere 'magical-creature' practically sub-human in Great Britain. If her father wasn't the Deputy Minister of Magic in France, she never would have been allowed on this trip, as it was she was on a diplomatic visa.

"Why does my allure not affect the two of you and Neville?" Fleur asked curiously.

"Not really sure, the Veela at the World Cup affected us, but that was a lot of Veela, maybe it's 'cause there is only one of you." George offered.

"As for Nev, not much is gonna affect a Phoenix." Fred chuckled.

"What does Headmaster Harris' Phoenix have to do with Neville?" She asked.

"Headmaster Ha- Oh! Xander." George just laughed. "We're so used to him being Xander as we knew him when he arrived here, and then he was just Harry's bodyguard."

"Neville is an magimagus Phoenix." Harry explained, the allure was a mere mild annoyance by now. He decided to ask Fleur to spend more time around them so he could get used to it.

"A ma… a what?"

"Neville can turn into a Phoenix." Hermione said as she and Neville rejoined the table.

"That's it Hermione, tell all my secrets." Neville groused.

"Exactly how is that a secret?" Ginny demanded. "The whole population of the World Cup campsite saw you flying around."

"You- You're not joking?" Fleur asked as her already pale face paled even further.

"No, and we weren't joking about Harry being a Dragon Shifter. Sal is one too." George confirmed.

"Sal and I will be going out to fly and hunt later tonight, if you can't make it then look out your window, there will be three dragons flying around." Harry chuckled.

"Three?"

"Norbert, or Norberta, she's a normal dragon and how we realised that Harry was a Parselmouth." Hermione explained.

Fleur's new friends continued to feed her useful information about themselves and Hogwarts. She knew Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived, it had been international news when the British Civil War, as it was known to the rest of the world, came to an end at the hands of a fifteen month old baby boy. She was surprised to find out that Headmaster Harris was Harry's adopted father and that both Headmistresses were his adopted mothers. She had a blinding headache by the time the twins and Neville had finished attempting to explain Harry's immediate family tree.

The British were so weird.

As the empty plates were cleared away, she watched as Headmaster Harris stood to address the student body.

"Right my little minions and minionettes." He declared as he rubbed his hands together evilly. "Basic rules apply as always, no malicious magic. If you don't know what malicious magic is, then consider the spell you wish to cast and whether you would appreciate it being cast on you. If you wouldn't, it's malicious.

"No practical jokes! Mr. Filch has a full list of banned items, see him for a copy if you are not sure, it is currently two feet long!"

Fleur wasn't sure if she should be worried at the glint that appeared in Harry's eye.

"The Forbidden Forest… is no longer forbidden! It has been cleansed of dark creatures. The Acromantula colony has been eradicated. If you go in and get lost then send up red sparks and a Centaur or Werewolf will come and guide you back to the castle."

Fleur was shocked at that entire statement. Firstly, Acromantula usually required armies to deal with, and usually ended with many dead wizards and witches.

Secondly, Centaurs were known to help and aid children freely, but they hated doing anything for wizards, she wondered what had happened to make them cooperate, she hoped it wasn't anything sinister.

Thirdly, the werewolves being in the forest and allowed near children was horrifyingly irresponsible. They were considered highly dangerous in nearly every country and some countries required mandatory sterilisation. There was no evidence to suggest they could give birth to a werewolf, but for one night a month the baby would be at great risk from it's parents. She would have to write her father about this. Her baby sister was coming to watch the tasks.

"Now, the big news! The Tri-Wizard Tournament is being held here this year. Hence our honoured guests. The age limit for entry is seventeen, sorry, but I didn't even want the damned tournament, I was outvoted… I'm smart enough to know not to argue with my mother." Xander received a few chuckles.

"Quidditch will continue, but… if a player is selected as a Champion for the Tournament, they will not be able to play Quidditch.

"There will be one Champion for each school. We will be explaining how to enter your names later and the Champions will be selected on Halloween. Hermione has promised not to go looking for Trolls, Harry has promised not to play with large snakes in the castle and Sirius has promised not to storm said castle." Xander declared causing more snickers.

Fleur listened with interest as Headmaster Harris continued with his explanations. He was intriguing. He had yellow eyes, almost… wolf like. He was the Headmaster of a British school, but he had an American accent and he appeared quite young. He was relaxed in his mannerisms, speaking to the student body as though they were close friends who he teased and needled everyday.

He also seemed to exude a sense of power. No one else seemed to be affected by it so she wondered if it was something to do with her being Veela. She was seated some twenty meters from him, she worried what would happen if they were closer.

Fleur was dragged from her musings by all the students standing and starting to make their way out of the Great Hall.

"Fleur, why don't you grab your other school mates and I'll lead you to the Hospital Wing." Hermione offered.

"Hospital Wing?" She asked in befuddlement.

Ginny snickered. "I believe our young Veela was slightly distracted by our dashing Headmaster."

"I- I- I-" Fleur just stuttered embarrassedly.

"You should talk to Nym. She is expecting you." Said a dreamy voice from behind Harry.

"What do you know Luna?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"A little of this, a little of that." She said with an evasive smile. "Oh, and I will help spread the plan for your prank. It is devilishly sublime!" She grinned evilly as she waltzed off.

"Harry! You have a prank planned and didn't invite us?" Fred demanded with mock effrontery.

Harry looked flustered and defensive. "I only came up with the idea during Dad's announcements!" He whispered harshly.

"Fine." Fred shrugged.

"But we want in!" George added firmly.

"The plan requires most of the school!"

Fleur's attention was split between Harry, Neville and the twins and Ginny and Hermione who were gathering her fellow Beauxbatons students and leading them out of the Great Hall.

Fleur found herself seated in a row of chairs along with her schoolmates and the new female first years of Hogwarts. She had been unable to extract the reason for their visit to the Hospital Wing from Ginny or Hermione. The school nurse, Professor Summers and Madame Maxine were standing in front of the female students.

"Ladies, approximately two years ago one of our own was attacked." Joyce began as Luna stepped forward and leaned into Joyce's arms. "Luna, my adopted daughter, was kidnapped from her dorm room, stripped naked and left to the devices of several older boys."

There were gasps of shock and fear. Fleur and the older Beauxbatons students were beginning to question the sense of coming to live in a mixed environment for a year if this was the result. But Madame Maxine seemed, relatively unconcerned, clearly not happy about what happened to Luna, but not worried about her students.

"I am happy to tell you that she was saved before anything could happen thanks to the security setup in the school."

"And Harry." Luna chirped proudly.

Joyce chuckled. "Yes, and my adopted son Harry.

"Harry is important as to why you are here. Harry was the one who rescued Luna, since then he became very protective of her and adopted her as his sister even before myself and Headmaster Harris adopted her.

"Harry was far more traumatised than Luna over the situation. Harry has many social issues as a result of those that raised him." Joyce practically spat causing the young ladies to flinch.

"Tell them the good part!" Luna insisted.

Joyce smiled at Luna indulgently. "Harry worked very hard for several months. He nearly made himself ill, causing great worry for his family.

"Eventually, he emerged triumphantly from his room. He had developed a protection charm that could prevent sexual assault of various types."

The younger girls perked up at this, they had been warned and instructed to be careful around boys. The older girls, including Fleur were sceptical.

"Haaaarrrrryyyy!" Luna sang with a grin.

"Hey Luna, what's u-" Harry froze as he noticed he was in the Hospital Wing with lots of girls staring at him. "You promised you wouldn't make me do this again!" He whined at Luna.

"They need proof, so unless you intend for one of us to strip down, your hands are best." Joyce said, backing Luna up.

Harry just grumbled under his breath and turned his back for a few minutes before turning around again. The girls started to giggle at his antics.

"Fine, you talk. I magic."

"Such eloquence." Joyce said sarcastically, Xander was a terrible influence.

Over the next few minutes Fleur and the other girls were shocked as Harry went from being a normal boy with one hand to a normal boy with two hands. Joyce and Poppy elaborated on the function and procedures to create and use the charm properly.

"Harry named this the 'Lily Charm' after his mother who sacrificed herself to save Harry as a baby." Joyce explained. "Any questions?"

One of the older Beauxbatons students raised her hand.

"Will 'Arry be applying the charm 'imself?" She asked with a saucy smirk.

Harry paled. Turned to Joyce and said. "Goodbye!" Before vanishing with a dark scowl.

"I believe that answers your question." Luna grinned.

Once all the ladies had had the charm applied and tested, Luna and Joyce led them up to the top of the Astronomy Tower. Being the beginning of September it was still relatively warm and the sky was clear. That would soon change in the coming days as autumn arrived in full.

The sight that met their eyes was incredible. The sun was beginning to dip beyond the horizon, turning the sky orange and bleeding into red and purple. The stars were beginning to peak through the late day.

But that was not what held their attention. Flying in circles and cavorting in the air were three dragons and two Phoenixes and a snowy owl. It was a sight that could only be found in one place in the whole world, here at Hogwarts.

They suddenly started to fly higher and blasting each other with small gouts of flame. Occasionally one would get hit and would drop to the ground before spreading wings and landing gently. Only one of the dragons seemed to be able to hit a Phoenix. The owl would fly amongst them but never get hit, why, was a big mystery.

"Oh Lord." Joyce groaned.

Luna giggled. "Dobby?"

"Yes Missy Luna?" The elf asked as it popped in.

"The boys are playing with fire again." She grinned as she indicated the fire fight occurring in the skies.

"Dobby will prepare the soaps and scrubbing brushes." He sighed before popping out again.

All this was missed by the other girls as they stood transfixed by the aerial display above them.

Eventually the dragons and phoenixes tumbled to the ground lightly. The girls were surprised to find themselves suddenly standing on the grass not twenty feet from the fierce and majestic creatures as opposed to on the tower.

They started to back away fearfully.

"Alright boys, change back." Joyce ordered sternly.

The girls froze as one of the Phoenixes and two of the dragons became bi-pedal humans. Humans that were covered from head to toe in soot and ash.

"C-c-can we d-d-do that?" One of the new first years asked hopefully as she struggled to overcome her nerves.

Joyce smiled at the young girl. "You won't be able to become magical animals like these three, but you will be given the option to try and become a normal animal, but there is no way to choose your animal. We will be giving instructions and details later.

"You three, Dobby is waiting for you with soap and scrubbing brushes. Do not go traipsing through my castle!" She warned the three former combatants.

They had a distinct look of horror before they vanished, Sal was heard to mutter "Bloody sadist" as he went.

"Can't they be cleaned with magic?" A new Ravenclaw asked.

"Unfortunately no. Magical fire creates magical soot and ash which is fairly resistant to magical cleaning." Joyce answered.