Chapter 9: Certain Decisions

At the Dursley residence, everyone was a little worried. They could feel that the temperature had dropped a little, they could even see through the window that it seemed to have gotten a little dark outside.

The three of them were silent for a long while, until Vernon got fed up and was about to say something, though he couldn't really. At that very moment, Harry's voice came from outside, causing Dudley to run and open the door.

Petunia had stood up and watched in surprise as Harry was carrying a beautiful girl.

"She's so..."

"Dudley," Harry glared at him for a moment, knowing what his first was about to say.

"Oh, right, sorry. Was she attacked by this Demenkor thing?"

"Dementor, and yes, she was attacked. Can you share some chocolate, please?" Harry walked in and left Fleur on the couch.

 "Chocolate?" Petunia asked.

"It's good for feeling better after a Dementor attack. The chemicals within chocolate stimulate the release of endorphins, which are chemicals produced by the body to combat stress and pain; it often leads to a feeling of greater happiness."

"When you're feeling fear and pain from Dementor exposure, it's good to eat chocolate to help you recover a bit."

Petunia felt a little foolish at the detailed explanation, but she started to reach for some chocolate anyway."

Harry looked at Fleur who had intertwined their fingers and was tightly clenching their hands. She seemed to be trying to stop shaking, but it wasn't working. Harry put his hands on Fleur's and looked at her carefully.

"You're okay now. "Those damn things are gone."

"Yes... Yes... Thank you."

Harry slowly shook his head and said, "Don't thank me, those things were probably sent to me."

Sighing a little, Harry looked at Vernon.

"Vernon, the wards should be working by now. There's no need for me to go back. Plus it's better this way, they won't send such dangerous things anymore."

Grumbling a little, Vernon nodded as he crossed his arms.

"Here, here you go," Petunia came over with a chocolate bar and Harry took it.

"Thanks, Petunia."

"Here, Fleur. "Eat some, it'll help," Harry opened the chocolate bar and broke off a bit before Fleur took it and took a bite. She ate slowly before she sighed a little.

"Thank you ma'am."

"You're welcome..."

Harry hesitated for a few moments before he decided to say something.

"Fleur, I can help you more. Will you let me?"

Fleur looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.

"Okay, look at my eyes. Don't move away from them," Harry moved a little closer and gently cupped Fleur's face. She looked into the green eyes that seemed to shine brightly before she felt her mind sink and then her best memories appeared around her. The moment she received her wand made from her grandmother's hair, the pride of attending Beauxbaton, the birth of her sister, her birthdays and so much more.

Every happy memory that caused positive things appeared in front of her before her back hit the back of the couch with a little force. Her eyes shone brighter and she realized that the trembling in her body had disappeared and she was staring into Harry's bright green eyes.

"You... how did you do that?"

"Legilimency," Harry replied.

"So... you saw..."

"Just a little. I used Legilimency to see which memories were happy and bring them to the surface of your mind. I actually only saw the beginning of each memory."

"I see... thank you, Harry. I feel much better."

"Did you see into his mind?! It's just so cool!" Dudley said in surprise. "You can do something like the Jedi?"

"I..." Harry looked at his cousin, dumbfounded by the apparent excitement and respect Dudley showed for magic, albeit in a slightly misguided way.

He finally sighed and nodded.

"Amazing..."

"By the way, did any letters arrive?" Harry asked.

"No, nothing has," Petunia immediately replied.

"Good. That might be good."

"Can you move, Fleur? Would it be okay for me to use Apparition?"

Fleur nodded immediately.

"Then we'll see you another time... perhaps," Harry looked at the Dursley family one by one before taking Fleur's hand and causing their figures to blur and move to a point before disappearing.

...

"Where are we?" Fleur asked, looking at the living room with white walls and red sofas. There was a lit fireplace right in front of the two sofas and a coffee table in the middle.

"My house. My real house," Harry replied. "Keep it a secret, please. Dumbledore and his order think I still live in my uncle's house, as do the goblins."

"Why are you hiding? I mean, I don't think Dumbledore is bad."

"And you think right. But up until a few days ago I didn't get along that well with my relatives. They don't like magic, at least my uncles don't. And Dudley just listened to them, only now he seemed to change his mind."

"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed and a 'pop' resounded in the room.

"Mr. Harry Potter, sir. Do you need something from Dobby?"

"Yes, can you bring two cups of hot chocolate?"

 "Dobby will do that."

"Thanks, mate."

Fleur looked at the scene a little strangely, especially when the elf left whispering about serving the Great Harry Potter.

"Ignore him, Dobby is a bit of a fan..."

"Even the house elves. Your fame reaches everywhere, Harry Potter," Fleur smiled a little as she said and sat down on one of the sofas. Harry huffed a little as he sat across from her, carefully watching Fleur, who seemed much better, but Harry knew she was still feeling a little shaken by the attack.

Harry sighed a little, knowing that things would get a little worse. Because while he could find the rest of the Horcrux and destroy Voldemort, he didn't want people to take him as a hero who would solve all the problems of the magical community in this country.

It might be cruel of him, but Harry would just let them suffer a little.

 "Fleur, I think it would be a good idea for you to go back to France."

"What? Why?" Fleur asked as she frowned. "I mean, I understand that this attack was dangerous, but..."

Harry cut her off by raising his hand and leaning forward a little, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Fleur, things could really take a turn for the worse. I haven't just been living here and enjoying the freedom I have now. As you could see before, I can use magic without attracting the attention of the Ministry, and I did it because it was necessary."

"I knew that some people in the Ministry have a certain hatred for me. And the Dementors this time were sent by them."

"What?! Are they really crazy enough to release Dementors out in the open? Are you sure it wasn't Voldemort?"

 Harry shook his head and said, "Voldemort has been staying in Malfoy Manor since he returned. He hasn't left that place, not even the bloody courtyard of the manor."

"The person who caused this attack is Dolores Umbride, Minister Fudge's undersecretary. That woman embodies the worst traits of a pureblood and would not hesitate to cause damage when she doesn't like a person."

"But... how do you know all this? You seemed as surprised as I was."

"I knew they would attack me, Fleur. Unfortunately, I completely forgot that some people in the Ministry are crazy enough to release dementors. That's why I was surprised. Not by the attack itself, but rather by what they used for the attack."

Fleur looked at her hands as she frowned, thinking about Harry's words. Unfortunately, she didn't think she could leave the country, not just yet.

"Thank you for being so worried about me, Harry. But I'm sorry, I agreed to join the Order of the Phoenix."

"What?! When?" Harry asked surprised. Of course he knew Fleur would join, but not when.

"Just today. I saw William Weasley at Gringotts and he invited me to join. He says I might have a chance to request the help of the goblins in a better way because of my work, although I doubt it a little, I want to help in all this."

Harry ran a hand over his face as he leaned back on the couch.

"I don't know what to think, Fleur. The decision you've made could change your life forever, do you understand that?"

 "Harry, people might be afraid to stand up against Voldemort, but I think it's necessary for some to do so. I may not be able to offer much help, but I can definitely contribute something, even if it's just a small thing," Fleur said seriously as she looked at a shocked Harry.

"I don't understand you, Fleur. You haven't lived in England or any country within this huge, cursed island. Why would you be so determined to help people who aren't even part of your country, your home?"

 "Voldemort doesn't just affect Britain, Harry. The Dark Lord recruits allies from all over, especially if they are extreme people who are dissatisfied with the community they live in."

"France is much more peaceful, but it still has many dissatisfied Purebloods. And I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to join the Dark Lord."

"And tell me, if the Dark Lord wins, what comes next? With the support he would have from certain people in Europe, I'm sure he would target other countries."

"That won't happen," Harry said in a hard voice.

"You don't know, Harry. He could..."

"No, you're not understanding me," Harry interrupted as he leaned forward again. His eyes flashed green for a moment.

"I'll kill him before he can even think of such things. And if those Death Eaters start flitting around too much, they'll have nothing left but to die under my wand," Harry stood up as Fleur stared at him in shock.

"Follow me," Harry said as he opened the door to the living room.

"Dobby, I'm sorry, but take the hot chocolate down to the basement."

"Basement?" Fleur asked confused.

"This house has a big basement underneath it. And if you're really going to take part in all this shit, I'll teach you some useful spells."

"Can you even teach?"

"I know more than I let on, Fleur. I think I've proven that."

"By the way, you do know what happened years ago, right?"

 Fleur looked at him as she walked beside him and nodded, understanding that the conversation had not changed subject.

"Voldemort"

"Yes. Voldemort," Harry nodded before continuing, "Years ago, the people of Britain knew pain. All thanks to Voldemort."

"But the people didn't really do much. You have to give the Order of the Phoenix a medal in this case, because they were a group of people who decided to rise up against all odds. But if more people had stood up, things could have ended quicker."

"Sadly, the moment they saw others rising up, they decided to wait and see what would happen."

"People are afraid of Voldemort."

"People are afraid of his Death Eaters."

"People are afraid of using magic because of their stupid prejudices and preconceived ideas."

Harry shook his head in exasperation.

 "At this point, most of the wizarding society in the world is in a big hole. A fucking hole that they don't seem to want to get out of."

"And you want to change that?" Fleur asked doubtfully.

"Of course not," Harry laughed a little. "There's no way I can change that."

"When this whole Voldemort thing is over, maybe I'll set up a shop or maybe a small academy to teach spells, I don't know yet. But I definitely won't be working for the Ministry, nor Hogwarts."

"Or I might end up traveling around the world before settling down somewhere."

"Why? You'd have so many opportunities just by asking."

"Because I know for a hundred percent that, when Voldemort is no more, someone else will show up to bother you. It's just a matter of time."

"After all this shit, there's no way I'm going to live stopping dark lords."

Fleur fell silent, thinking about Harry's words. They didn't stop though and reached the basement. It was large, perhaps larger than the plot of land the house used alone. There were lights illuminating the place from above, practice dummies on the sides and some completely destroyed, there were also targets on the other side of the room, waiting to be hit.

"What do you want to teach me?"

"Besides the Patronus Charm? A variation of it, a useful spell for all occasions, attack spells and also protection spells."

"I know quite a few attack spells."

"Maybe," Harry nodded and pulled out his wand before pointing it at a practice dummy. "But you have to know how to stop the enemy without getting up."

"Pugio," no light or beam came out of Harry's wand, just a sound was heard and the doll now had a deep cut on one leg, as if a knife had been stuck in it.

"That was a spell that creates wounds like a dagger. You can use it to simply create a simple, shallow cut, all the way to creating a deeper wound, as if you had pierced yourself with a dagger."

"Of course, you can also increase the damage," Harry pointed again.

"Pugio Tria," three sounds were heard this time, and Fleur saw that three wounds similar to the first one were created. She also thought that this was too lethal. If someone with experience in silent magic learned it, then you wouldn't know where an attack would come from. In the end, the sound created was because the doll seemed to be made of wood, cloth, and other things.

"Where did you get the spell from?" Fleur asked with a little doubt.

 "... He does. Anyway, it's not magic that needs negative feelings to use. In the end, magic is magic, only you can decide if it's good or bad."

"And having this can save your life if you get into combat with Death Eaters. With just this I can damage anyone's legs and impede their movements."

"What else?" Fleur decided to ask.

"Oh, I think you'll like this one," Harry smiled before starting to teach Fleur, who seemed much more serious than before. Perhaps only now was she realizing the dangers she had gotten herself into. When she saw Harry use such lethal magic or say that he would kill Voldemort with such verbal ease and without fear, then she thought of what the dark lord could really do.

They weren't as kind as Harry. They wouldn't hesitate to torment their victims until they begged for death.

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