Unveiling Secrets

"I've decided that I'm going to need some form of leverage over her." said Harry, "She wrote articles like this after my name came out of the goblet as well, although those weren't nearly as bad."

"Ah, just like a true Slytherin!" exclaimed Salazar happily, "Well, a Slytherin in Gryffindor robes. I believe the term 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' would suffice?"

"Enough with the sheep jokes," reprimanded Harry, "There's a Hogsmeade trip today, I was planning on tailing her. I heard her telling her camera man she would be tailing Bagman the next time he went to Hogsmeade, which should be today - he only ever goes when the students do, same with Mr. Crouch. Anyway, Skeeter said something about Bagman owing goblins some money. I want to know how she keeps finding out secrets."

"If she's the kind of witch I think she is, she's definitely hiding something." Salazar told him.

"I was going to ask Fleur if she wanted to join me, to try and find out something about Skeeter."

Salazar's expression turned to one of confusion.

"The Veela girl?" he asked, "Is she not one of your opponents in the task? The one who was rude to you?"

"She is." answered Harry, "But she's not that bad. We're acquaintances, or something - well, I don't really know. Either way, she was attacked by the article too. I reckon she'd like to help."

Salazar nodded slowly.

"Very well, but do not let your guard down. She may simply try and learn more about her competition."

"Don't worry, I know." replied Harry, "But there's still a chance she might want to be friends. She seems fairly lonely."

"You describe her to be an incredibly powerful Veela." said Salazar, "Of course she is lonely."

....

Fleur angrily threw her copy of Rita Skeeter's article on the first task across the room, watching as it crashed against the wall opposite her. Seven days had passed since she had participated in the first task. She had received a letter from Gabrielle and her mother, praising her on her performance - something which pleased her greatly. But the British reporter just couldn't let Fleur enjoy her accomplishment.

Her father had initially tried to do something about the article, but it was in vain. Had it been 'Presse Magique', the most prominent French wizarding newspaper, her father could have all copies retracted within the hour. But this was not in France, and Fleur was therefore forced to suffer.

Even if she were to ignore all of that, the past few weeks had not been overly spectacular. She had encountered Eloise, Clara, and Juliette far more often than she would have liked, for starters. Each time always seemed to end with them insulting her in one way or another.

Technically, they begin that way as well.

The three of them, along with all of the other Beauxbatons students, had been incredibly disappointed to see Fleur emerge from the task entirely unscathed. They had, however, been very pleased to discover the article the Skeeter woman had written. Fleur was fairly certain that it was them that were placing so many copies of the article around the Beauxbatons Carriage.

To make matters worse, she was now more lonely than ever. It was true that she had never had a friend of any kind before, but this was worse; she was without her family, and without the comforts of Beauxbatons castle.

There was also the Yule Ball, an event Fleur was not at all looking forward to. She had asked Madame Maxime if she would have to attend, and received the answer she had feared. She was likely to spend the entire night with some boy who was drooling from his mouth; it was not an appealing image.

Frustrated by her misfortune, Fleur had spent most of the last few weeks attempting to figure out what the clue of the golden egg meant. Whenever opened, the golden egg unleashed a scream that nearly tore her eardrums in two. Many of the other students had threatened her because of it, claiming that it could be heard throughout the entire carriage.

Fleur had done quite a bit of research on creatures with horrible voices. The most commonly mentioned creature was the Banshee, yet Fleur suspected that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

She made her way out of her room, heading towards the carriage doors. She was planning to go sit by the lakeside, to ponder better on the clue. It was a new favourite pastime of hers; she had always found shores to be aesthetically pleasing (despite her dislike of water), and was capable of keeping warm, both with magic and her gifts as a Veela.

Besides that, the cold weather had prevented people from visiting the lake. When she had initially arrived at Hogwarts, many males would often visit the lake in swimming trunks, trying to impress her. There were also the Durmstrang delegations, who would often swim in the lake during those warmer months. Fleur was pleased to report there was nobody else by the lakeside or within it - the few idiots who had tried were not in a hurry to do so again.

Perhaps they have all gone to Hogsmeade.

She had heard that the students were allowed to visit the village today. A part of her wanted to go; it seemed like a lovely place. Unfortunately, Fleur would likely not be able to enjoy herself due to the number of stares she would receive.

She could not use the Disillusionment Charm either, as she suspected it would be much harder to enjoy herself if she did. She would constantly have to move out of people's way (which she had practice with, thanks to her use of the charm in Beauxbatons), but was still not preferable.

She could wear a hood, of course - people were not affected by her allure when they could not see her - but it would also mean she could not interact with anyone.

Not that I have anyone to interact with . . .

Still, this would make it so she could not even speak to the clerks and cashiers, which would obviously be a problem. That, combined with Rita Skeeter's article would create a problem Fleur had no interest in dealing with.

She quietly pulled out a book, entitled 'Sounds of Magic: A Collection of Peculiar Noises', and began to read. It was a vastly boring tome, but she would have to get through it if she hoped to succeed in the next task.

'The two most deadly sounds produced by magical creatures are the screams of the Banshee and the Mandrake.

The Banshee is a creature that originates in Ireland. They are humanoid creatures with hair that reaches the floor, green tinged skin that gives off a pale glow, and skeletal facial features. Their screams can reach - '

"So why are you reading the most boring book in the Hogwarts Library?" asked an amused voice from behind.

Fleur recognized the voice instantly.

She slowly turned around, and sure enough, Harry Potter stood before her. He was wearing his normal Gryffindor robes, though he clearly wasn't cold; he had likely used a warming charm as she had.

"How would you know it is the most dull book in your library?" Fleur asked, her voice cold and superior as usual.

"Back in my second year, I kept hearing someone whispering things." said Harry, "One of my old friends gave me the book to read, she thought I had gone mad. Anyway, it ended up being a snake that I was hearing."

Fleur nodded slightly. She didn't particularly think it wise to give such information to an opponent, but said nothing. It was not like it was anything of importance, and nothing she didn't already know. Besides, she truthfully didn't care at the moment.

Harry motioned to her, clearly asking for permission to sit down. When she nodded her head, he sat upon the snow covered floor beside her.

"You said 'one of my old friends'." noted Fleur.

"I listened to your advice." Harry informed her, "They should have had my back, but they didn't."

Fleur nodded, having fully expected the outcome. Her expectations were proven reality the evening after the first task, when she heard the redheaded boy spreading rumours about him.

.....

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