Chapter 19 Happy times.

What time did I previously call the happiest? I don't remember. This time, now, was the happiest. It seems like an orphan, as it was, but still there was a sense of kinship with the Beauxbatons and not even with specific people, namely with the academy. At Hogwarts, I had "friends" and pals, but no sense of home, no kinship.

I've been thinking for a while, why do wizards get this feeling at all? Yes, yes, Dumbledore spoke about these feelings when he talked like a nightingale about how the faculty would become a second family, and Hogwarts would become a second home for its students. Apparently, for wizards, the magical richness of such educational institutions plays a big role, and what is noteworthy is that for pure-blooded wizards, this factor is more significant, either because of the traditions of magic, or because of greater sensitivity…

I shared my inner feelings with Fleur. She didn't say anything, just hugged me.

"I want to invite you to my house for the Christmas holidays," Fleur said. — I've already told my father and mother about you, and they'll be happy to meet you."

What could I say? Of course, I agreed and pretended joy on my face. After all, I was trusted and I can't refuse in any way. But the jitters in the shower appeared. How will I be received? We need to buy gifts! Well, and other similar thoughts. However, there was still time before the holidays to take care of gifts and other nuances.

Bringing the speed potion to mind was almost entirely Fleur's responsibility. It was necessary to determine the limits of safe use of the potion and the best proportions of the different ingredients. Increase the duration of the action or the degree of acceleration. In the end, Fleur got two potions. The Triple Acceleration potion gave a safe effect for 30 seconds, and the double acceleration potion gave a result for one minute. The degree of acceleration, of course, was determined approximately, experimentally, just doing a simple job of shifting objects. For the subject, his internal time did not change, only at the beginning, immediately after taking the potion, the person experienced a slight dizziness. According to the inner feelings of the potion taker, the world was slowing down, and not he himself was speeding up.

The experiments were carried out carefully, first without load, then with a small load, for example, just to walk. Gradually, the load in the experiments increased to heavy. Thus, we have identified a perfectly safe double-acceleration potion and a moderately harmful triple-acceleration potion.

It should be noted that we conducted experiments only on ourselves and by the end of the potion tests, we were somewhat accustomed to the loads. It was calculated that using the potion more than once a day could be harmful, but we were so used to it that we could use two double-acceleration potions in a row without any consequences.

I was completely dry during the tests, I did not have any fat left on me. Fleur was shrunken, too. A month after the start of the tests, we came to the general opinion that the potion is safe and it can be used according to the developed method without consequences, even tested it for the possibility of using it under the wrapper and, together, with the main medical potions.

But all this messing around with the speed potion only made Fleur want to keep doing something like this. If Fleur had previously been more interested in duels and various combat spells and curses, now she wanted science. Right now, her psychological profile would be more suited to the Florizels than to her hometown club.

Taking advantage of Fleur's enthusiasm, I gave her my flying motorcycle experience. In addition, I gave her some ideas for modifying and improving these developments. I myself could not improve anything, and I do not know what was the reason for this, the incompatibility of my magical gifts with magical creativity, or my skepticism and pathological disbelief.

Fleur gave me a couple of modifications for each of my developments, which eventually worked for her. You would think that my work was flawed, but the fact is that when my theoretical work was used by Fleur, they worked even without modifications. Moreover, after testing these developments of Fleur, they began to work for me, even if not so well, but still. I couldn't help but think of the "potion-makers" in the potion-making classes at Hogwarts, who were constantly having something explode. Fleur would have been surprised at my inability to carry out my own theoretical work without her help, because it was her magic that carried the characteristic Vail color, and mine was more versatile and mobile. But, I decided not to reveal such nuances to the Frenchwoman, suddenly skepticism is contagious?

I was no longer thinking about magic science, but about Fleur. She was already turning from a girl to a girl, and our romp in the nooks and crannies of the academy did not give me relief, but only increased my longing. For Fleur, the effect was similar, but neither of us was ready to take more drastic steps, because we were still young, right?

The "worm" in the pants turned into a snake, and the snake in turn promised to turn into a dragon. I had to straighten the "worm", or distort it, to be more precise, to throw off the accumulated dope. Plus, my ability to dream revelations from the past gave me the appropriate dreams. If it was very difficult to get something useful from my distant ancestors, then erotic pornographic revelations fell easily and naturally. I had to deliberately invoke dreams of useful content, so as not to see all sorts of different things every night.

Probably any other teenager in my place would have been happy with the content of dreams, but I had experience and prudence. In such an influx of frivolous dreams, I preferred to see a negative moment, so that the situation would give me an incentive to mobilize my will, encourage me to look for other topics for attention. And I was looking for other topics, finding other interests for my attention, plunging into my studies with my head.

Moreover, seeing Fleur's obsession, I tried to throw up new topics for her as well. If my obsession was understandable to me, it was an escape from the hypersexuality of adolescence, then the French woman's obsession went beyond all limits and imaginable boundaries. On the other hand, maybe she had the same reasons for being obsessed?

My fear of falling into the friend zone in my relationship with Fleur disappeared before it even started. Yes, yes, the structure of the world is such that women just use good-natured guys in love. All this is true not only in the relationship of girls to boys in love, but also in the opposite direction. In my memory, there were cases when guys bred a natural friend zone for their fans, albeit with some changes. For example, guys can sometimes use their girlfriends sexually, while the friend zone loses its "classic" look. But my relationship with Fleur has skipped all those hurdles. The half-hearted social roles and surrogate relationships that sly girls allow their unlucky suitors to take on were not even considered for me.

During the Christmas holidays I went to visit Fleur. I haven't prepared any fancy or special gifts. Ordinary useful fairly representative-looking little things that a person will not buy for himself, but will be happy to use if they are presented to him. A leather-bound diary with gold lettering, self-writing pens, a set of Parker fountain pens with gold quills — these are the gifts for Henry Delacour. For my friend's little sister, I prepared some Muggle dolls that I had previously enchanted for a small animation, and many different sweets from the Muggle world. I hope you like Gabrielle. For Apollin Delacour, preparing a gift was the hardest part. I had to seriously worry about this topic. As a result, I made a gift for her with my own hands, it was a perfume with the smell of lime color, almonds and apricots, and with a small addition of amortensia. The main thing was the smell of lime color, the nut has a too masculine smell, so it was a shade. Amortentia was added quite a bit to give a greater range of shades of scent. So there were other shades. What happened to me was intoxicating and maddening, like the cat valerian. The smell was not very strong, but steady, constantly elusive and changing shades, while also pleasant, the poet wanted to catch it and recognize it, and it slipped away and again subtly changed. It is difficult to explain how stability is combined with variability. I gave the same bottle of perfume to Fleur, who was delighted. Fleur used to have a perfume with a similar fragrance, but their lime-colored smell did not change shades and was immediately recognizable.

What was special about these perfumes was their effect on women, too. They did not provoke aggression or activity towards Fleur. Rather, they forced the attention of everyone who smelled their fragrance to shift in the direction of dreams. I called the perfume "Magie de Fleur" (Magie de Fleur) and gave the recipe for their preparation to my Frenchwoman.

I was quite nervous going to visit Devikulam, seems to be nothing to worry about all the nuances of etiquette I know some Aristo in dunno what generation to eat lobster portioning it according to all rules of etiquette, while maintaining a conversation about the weather at least three hours, but still nervous. Fleur gave me the last instructions and scolded me for not being serious, and I settled down and placed my head on her lap, then plunged into the excitement that was gripped by the girl herself, then plunged into dreams inspired by spirits, then moved on to thoughts of new magical developments.

I had experienced something like empathy before, or rather, I had mistakenly attributed it to empathy. Yet it was rather to read people and matching their emotions "prilagatelnye" to the situation. And, of course, there was the notorious feeling of understanding the differences between lies and the truth. In fact, even ordinary people are able to feel the difference between truth and falsehood, it's just that a wizard has a clearer sense of it, and for me this feeling was almost natural because of the animal's sense and the reactions of the obscura. Now, if someone lies to me, I will know it for sure.

"Stop lying down," Fleur said sternly, realizing that I was barely listening to her, only basking in her scent and sinking deeper into my thoughts, " it's time to go." With the last words, she lifted my head from her lap and, with no offensive little thrusts of her hands, brought me out of my reverie, simply shook me awake.

Going through the fireplace net and through the portal and I found myself visiting the Delacours.

He greeted me, handed me gifts, congratulated me on the upcoming holidays, smiled and was friendly.

Monsieur Delacour's confidence was the easiest to win, although I thought it would be more difficult. It was enough for him that Fleur herself looked at me with loving eyes, for a start, and then, when the conversation turned to magic, I was able to impress him with the breadth of my knowledge.

"I offered Fleur a recipe for developing a mana potion," I told Henry. - The calculations have already been carried out, and the first experiments were successful. But for now, the potion turns out to be quite complex.

Fleur was trying to give me some signs that were probably meant to let me know that the topic was undesirable. I must have said something wrong. Although, Henry was quite interested.

"Experiments?" "What is it?" he asked. — And who are you experimenting on?"

- First on mice, to determine the safety of the potion — - I did not feel the trick, I began to give out information — - and then on myself.

"Fleur," Henry said to his daughter, " I forbid you to try the potions on yourself. I can't forbid you anything, young man, but I still advise you to be careful.

Well, yes, now I understand what kind of signs Fleur gave me. To me, all the rules and established tests from the potions guild seemed somewhat redundant. We were in a hurry and did not run our inventions through all the chains and did not register our inventions. However, our mana potion could already be registered and given to the general tests, as Monsieur Delacour said, praising me and Fleur.

"No, no —" I said, " I'm giving this potion to Fleur. It's too early for me to become a celebrity, and it's even harmful to flash in such developments. This may attract unwanted attention from various political figures.

"That's a very generous gesture on your part," Henry said, switching to you, — and you'll have to be careful, but won't you regret it later?"

"Why should I be sorry?" — I was surprised to hear such a form of putting the question. — The mana potion is too complicated right now. I wouldn't be surprised if Fleur gets the title of master for this potion. I also have plans to bring out a magical plant that can replace the potion in its properties of hardy, salvia (sage) and delphinium, which will immediately simplify the recipe for cooking, and possibly improve this potion.

Monsieur Delacour's attitude towards me sometimes dropped to irritation, I sometimes seemed too presumptuous and careless to him, then soared to rapturously enthusiastic for the same reasons, only now I seemed bold and incredibly lucky in my assumptions and conclusions. Still, he feared for Fleur's health, and managed to get me to promise not to test new potions on myself and Fleur without permission from the Potion Makers ' Guild.

Getting a better relationship with Apollin Delacour turned out to be a little more difficult and at the same time easier. On the one hand, she didn't really care how smart and educated I was. I could have spouted all sorts of rare terms used among potion makers and herbalists, but none of that would have mattered to her. What really mattered to Fleur's mother was her ability to stay sane under Vail's charm.

It's just that at some point, while I was deep in conversation with Henry, I felt a wave of Vail's magic. Not that I could completely ignore the impact, but a smile crept over my face. But I quickly pulled myself together, nodded to Apollin, letting her know that I noticed the move and appreciated it, and continued the conversation with Henry. Or rather, I tried to continue, but Henry was completely ignoring me and looking at his wife with adoration.

I sighed.

"Madame Delacour —" I said to my probable mother — in-law, "may I be frank with you —

" "No," said Apollinus, not at a loss.

— I'm more of a pureblood by blood, " I said, giving an introduction to the topic, and paused for a moment, sipping from my glass of juice. Apollinus nodded, accepting the subject, but not letting go of the pressure of her magic. — My mother was a squib. She is the second generation from the union of the two newfound ones! - I gave more information to think about. - It would seem that the second generation and already squib magic has turned away from them. But such a judgment would be wrong. There are two types of Squibs, burnt out and accumulated curses. My mother is burned out. Magical and psychological trauma from the use of very strong magic in childhood — so she became a squib.

As for my father — "I continued," he's a full-blooded wizard in Merlin knows what generation.

— Do you know who your father is?" asked she joined.

- I know! I said firmly. — And I'm not talking about probability, I know that for a fact, and I can swear by my magic that my father is Sirius Black.

"You don't have to swear," Apollin said, and released the pressure of her magic, " I believe you, but I'd like to know where you got that confidence from."

— I have magical gifts that give me this knowledge — " I partially revealed one of my secrets. — But, I will not disclose the essence of my gift, this is very personal information.

After talking about the magical gifts, Apollin removed the pressure with her charm. Even if it's a personal gift, which it probably is, it still shows that I'm a powerful wizard.

It was enough for Apollin to know that I was strong enough to resist Vail's charms, and the magical gifts were just a confirmation and a complement. From that moment on, for Fleur's mother, I became worthy, passed the test.

Then there was the solemn burning of the Christmas log. I didn't feel anything special, except gratitude that I was allowed to attend such a family ritual.

The most difficult and at the same time the easiest thing for me was to gain Gabrielle's appreciation and trust. She wasn't impressed by my gifts. She already had a lot of dolls, and candy, it's just candy. I have repeatedly caught her unreadable gaze on me. Sometimes she pursed her lips as if in annoyance, sometimes she narrowed her eyes angrily, sometimes she smiled strangely. My attempts to talk to her, to find out her interests, were not successful. I was a fiasco, and I was quite upset by the result.

I was lucky in some ways that Fleur's interest in me was determined initially. I was not a womanizer or a seducer, as my father had been. Yes, I could make a nice compliment to a lady and present myself from the best side, but nevertheless, all my actions were... no, not clumsy, just straightforward. There was no mystery or mystery in me that attracts women so much, no intrigue, I was simple. Well, yes, in fact, I had both secrets and intrigues, and various secret magic in me is "twisted", and the origin is not easy. But, I never touched on all this in conversations, did not make any hints, outwardly I was always open and simple.

On the second day of the festival, while visiting the Delacours, I started talking about the stones with my soul. This topic became interesting to me because some of my developments required a strong source of magical energy.

Once, just talking to Fleur, I shared with her the idea of creating a training golem. He told me about his search at Hogwarts for the help-out room, hoping that there would be something similar in the training hall. Fleur was then doubly excited about the idea. Well, what about it? After all, this is to combine two of her passions at once, an old almost forgotten passion for dueling and a new, fresh passion for science and development.

Henry said that he did not know of any magical family in Britain that could boast of owning a stone with a soul. If there is such a genus, then such information is kept secret from everyone. Too much advantage is given by such a stone, in fact, it is another self-replenishing magical reserve for the magician, a portable natural source. It may not be as big as the origins that the magic schools stand on, but it still has its advantages.

Henry said that he only knew for certain about the three soul stones. One of them belongs to the goblins and is called "Grimlock". I don't know what it means in the language of goblins, I never was interested in gobbledegook. According to the descriptions, it is the size of a large plum, has an attractive glow of a slightly greenish color. The second known stone is called "Heart of the Mountain", and belongs to the dwarves. According to the descriptions, it is larger than the goblin stone, has a pale blue glow, and is kept by these people as the greatest relic. The third stone I know is the one with the soul "Kami no okokoro", which seems to mean"The Will of God". It belongs to the only public archmage that now exists in the world, the headmaster of the Mahoutokoro School. The size and color of the glow are unknown.

The conversation about the stones with the soul upset me somewhat.

"Mde-e-e," I mentally scratched my head, " I will not see these stones."

However, Monsieur Delacour gave me some immediate reassurance, saying that he did not know about all the stones, and no one could know. Some such stone may be in the possession of magicians or vampires. The same goblins and dwarves may have other soul stones other than those named, which are more modest in size and are not relics of their peoples.

I still had the hope that Hogwarts could create an imitation of a soul stone in the rescue room, which would allow me to practice making a training golem. Without a good autonomous power source, the golems will work for too short a time. Yes, you can power the construct from Hogwarts, if you have access, you can use runes and constantly replenish the weak golem reserve as soon as it is used up. But to feed the golem from its source is not recommended, so you can kill yourself.

Henry liked the idea of a training golem, and even offered some ideas on how to make a golem self-learning. The "mechanical death eater" theme was starting to take shape in my head. However, I decided to start running all the developments on a simpler version, for the help of Hoag, and this will do.

I did not assure the Delacours that Sirius would recognize me as his son and heir; on the contrary, I suggested as the most likely option: his rejection of his son. Unwillingness to accept responsibility and shifting all claims to Iris seemed to me the most likely. I knew Sirius, saw his desires, emotions, and thoughts from the inside out. Speaking about some people who cover their own irresponsibility with logical constructions, I tried not to cross the boundaries. To some extent, I would even understand such justifications, if they did not concern me.

I have only one wife, the others are just entertainment, temporary friends, etc. Or another option: They did not take care of themselves, they decided so themselves, let them solve their own problems now.

A lot of conventions to justify themselves. There is only today and now and what is important today and now. Understanding and not understanding tomorrow's values and the values of the past day. That's what I saw behind all those words.

Back at the academy, I complained to Fleur that I hadn't been able to make friends with Gabrielle.

"I don't think she liked me," I said, sighing.

"Stupid Arrakis," Fleur smiled. — On the contrary, she liked you very much. It was just that she felt too much jealousy and envy. Mom promised to talk to Gaby. You'll see, the next time you meet her, she'll be more welcoming. As much as I don't have to worry about you running away from me to her.

Fleur was joking, of course, but there was some truth in every joke.

The remaining half of the school year in Sarbacane flew by for me in one breath. I spent most of my free time with Fleur. I didn't have much to do with Cortez, but the feeling of friendship was still there.

I mentioned Potter to him once, the boy who survived, and I noticed how Cortez had changed. Not that Carlos was up to anything, but he had become somewhat snide and slightly mysterious. Strange? Yes, indeed! I promised myself I'd sort it out, but I forgot.

It wasn't long before I had to go back to Hogwarts, and there was so much I'd forgotten or hadn't had time to do. There were thoughts to buy an owl and write to Cedric. Now it already seemed untimely, soon I will come myself and it will be possible to talk in person.

Summing up my time at Beauxbatons, I would say that I learned a lot more at the academy than at Hogwarts. But this is not about the superiority of the education system or any other aspect. A warmer attitude towards me only accelerated the natural process, but did not define it. There was an accumulation of knowledge up to a certain limit. It seems like you can draw parallels with such a concept as"critical mass". I don't know how true this term will be in relation to knowledge. I now had a deeper understanding of magic and the world around me.

I began to understand much more in what I read, namely, to understand myself, and not to read in the blood of my ancestors. I saw a lot of new things where I couldn't see anything useful before. Speaking of books - it's like reading more and more books, you start to see more nuances of the behavior of the characters, especially if the book has these nuances. Then you begin to see a new layer of actions in seemingly unambiguous acts of action, and then you notice the author's attitude to a particular moment behind the lines. Of course, this was interesting for fiction, but in the educational literature, such a multi-layered approach was rather annoying.

Farewell to Shabbatonim (read: with Fleur), it was very sad. Fleur was crying, trying to hide the moment of weakness, which made her tears flow even more. Kisses and hugs…

I knew she was coming to the Triwizard Tournament. But for her, the goodbye was almost forever. On the other hand, at this age, parting for more than a year is almost an eternity. A lot can happen in a year. Fleur will find a new candidate for a husband, or me at Hogwarts some kind of whore going to start Dating? It was sad.