Chapter 23

Fleur woke up at the crack of dawn as usual but didn't open her eyes yet, choosing instead to smile into Harry's chest and enjoy the moment.

She felt his manhood stirring shortly afterwards and knew that he was also awake. Her smile widened as he questing hand found it and started fondling it to full readiness.

Harry stiffened under her and she knew why. They weren't alone in the bed, Luna having joined them shortly after they were finished having sex. He was uncomfortable with her doing this while Luna was in bed with them.

But she didn't stop, smiling cheekily at him as she shimmied under the sheets. His attempts to stop her while also not waking up the other girl were entirely ineffectual and she had him in her mouth in short order.

Fleur relished the sense of power as she worked towards getting her morning treat. Harry liked to take control most of the time, so having him helpless like this was something that she was determined to enjoy.

A few minutes later, his hips made an involuntary jerk as he discharged into her mouth and Fleur held back a guttural moan as she swallowed his sweet tasting and potent sperm. Her body flushed with energy and her magic bloated in strength as if it had been given the mystical version of an adrenaline shot.

"What the hell?" Harry demanded quietly when she crawled back up to cuddle him.

"Ze third task eez today and I will need ze boost to compete against you." Fleur justified with a smirk. Doing that always made her horny, but she knew that he wouldn't want to do it with Luna in bed with them, so she would wait.

"Won't that wear off before it starts?" Harry questioned wryly.

Fleur's smirk widened. "I will 'ave to do eet again later zen."

"I suppose I could allow it, in the interest of international magical cooperation of course."

"That sounded like it was fun." Luna suddenly commented, her eyes still closed.

"Good morning, Luna." Harry said with a sigh. He'd felt her wake up just as Fleur was finishing.

"Good morning, Harry." Luna said, sitting up and yawning. She paid no heed to the fact that she was nude and displaying her small breasts for all to see.

" Bonjour ." Fleur used the all purpose French greeting, also sitting up and paying just as little heed to her nudity as Luna.

"What was it like having Harry's penis in your mouth?" Luna asked out of the blue, making the wizard in question palm his face in exasperation.

"Tasty." Fleur knew that being a veela made the experience different for her, but he really didn't taste at all bad even without factoring in the magic surge.

"I'm going to take a bath." Harry said before the two of them could start any weird conversations. They got along far too well.

"We will join you." Fleur said brightly.

"Give me ten minutes." He said as he got out of bed.

"Alright." The veela said, only slightly put out. She knew that Harry needed his space or else he got grouchy and irritable.

"Are you going to play with your penis, Harry?" Luna asked, cocking her head to the side like a curious puppy.

"No, I am not going to play with my penis." Harry sighed.

"Was it something I said?" Luna asked Fleur cluelessly as the bathroom door closed.

" Non, I zink 'Arry was just uncomfortable. 'E does not know what to do about your interest in sex." Fleur explained.

"Oh." Luna said, blinking dreamily as she considered that. "But he doesn't have to do anything if he doesn't want to."

Fleur had to chuckle at the way the other girl's mind worked. Even if she asked for things, she never got upset if someone didn't want to do them. To her it was simply common sense that you couldn't make other people do anything if they didn't want to, so it followed that it was ridiculous to get upset over it. What a lovely place the world would be if everyone was like her.

"Don't worry, Luna, everyzzing will turn out fine." She reassured.

"Okay." Luna chirped. "Can we practice kissing while we wait for Harry's ten minutes to be over?"

" Oui ." Fleur said with a smile and scooted closer to the younger girl that she was sure she would one day be sharing Harry with. They had become good friends over the past month so the prospect was far from unpleasant.

In one of those feats of perfect timing that only happened in anime and ill-considered fiction, Harry's basilisk hide coat was delivered shortly before the third task was set to begin.

This feat of unbelievable timing was mostly due to Sirius convincing Penny that it would be a nice surprise to spring on Harry. And also because Sirius was a big man-child and wanted to keep the coat for himself for a few days, despite the fact that it was too big for him.

Harry couldn't really blame him for that as it really did look cool. Bryanna and Tiana had outdone themselves with the design and the hide worker had been able to turn it into reality perfectly.

It was a very dark grey color and didn't reflect light quite as much as normal snake skin, though the scales unmistakably came from a snake. The nearly fist sized scales would probably baffle anyone who didn't know about the size of the basilisk that had donated them however.

The coat itself hung down to his ankles and was quite a bit thicker and heavier than Harry had expected it to be, but maybe he should have expected it since it was primarily armor. It wasn't unbearable, but it wasn't something that he'd want to wear just for the sake of wearing it either. The acromantula silk lining the inside felt very pleasant on the skin though, especially with the temperature regulating charms on it.

It had several pockets both on the inside and outside, all of them enchanted to be much bigger than they should be. A similar pocket-like slit on the inner side of his back hid a deep hood that was enchanted to cast most of his face into shadow when worn.

A pair of comfortable basilisk hide boots completed the outfit.

"How do I look?" He asked.

"Intimidating." Luna said dreamily, staring up at his shadowed face. Aside from his lower jaw, the only thing that was visible about him was his eyes. "But you would have to grow a goatee if you ever plan on going evil."

"I'll keep it in mind." Harry grinned wryly and took the hood off. "Now let's see how this closing thing works…"

He took hold of the open front end of the coat and peered at the strip of acromantula silk that was sown into it. It was a bit harder to decipher the enchantment since the silk was already innately magical and muddled up the signature a bit, but it didn't take too much effort to make it out since the enchantment was rigidly structured and the innate magic was more 'freeform'.

"A Severing Charm? Self-targeted too and… conditional? Ah, I see. It activates when you pull on it hard enough. Clever." He muttered. It would act a lot like a zipper or velcro strap.

"There's another bit of acromantula silk hidden here." Luna pointed out, dragging her finger horizontally across the coat where a small, almost unnoticeable flap was.

"Probably to attach it on the other side." Harry said with a nod. That would not only keep one end of the coat from hanging limply and looking silly, but also cover his chest with two layers of basilisk hide. That was probably overkill, but he wasn't going to complain.

He went ahead and closed the coat and tied it off at the waist with the strap of basilisk hide. Then he proceeded to stretch his arms, roll his shoulders, pace up and down the room, squat and generally test what it was like to move in his new armor.

"Not bad." He declared at length. It was a little bit restrictive, but nothing he couldn't get used to easily enough. The high magic resistance of the garment was well worth the minor discomfort.

Harry's arrival to the remodeled quidditch pitch started up a lot of whispering, pointing and staring as people tried to figure out what was with the new look. Nothing new there really. Harry had become such a rare sight to the Hogwarts general population that his presence was almost inevitably remarked upon.

He tracked Luna's progress across the stands and smiled in satisfaction when she sat down next to Sirius and Penny.

His gaze swung over to the side where he caught sight of Adrastia sitting by herself. She gave him a little wave that he didn't return. No need to be giving the woman(or anyone else for that matter) any ideas.

Fleur wasn't there yet, but there was still time left before the third task started.

Lacking anything better to do, Harry decided to take a look at the maze that the Ministry had set up. He knew that there had been a lot of moaning about the cancellation of quidditch this year, which had baffled him considerably. It wasn't as if the pitch was occupied the whole year, nor did the tournament really take up that much time. It was almost like people couldn't focus on two things happening in the same year.

Well it wasn't like it affected him, but Harry did find himself curious about something Herbology related for the first time in quite a while. This giant hedge had been grown rather quickly. He wondered if that was unique to this particular plant species, or if it could be done with anything. Maybe it only worked on non-magical species? The hedge didn't look especially magical to his eyes. Maybe dragon shit was really just that good as fertilizer.

The only other interesting thing going on at the moment was the heavy auror presence. Aurors patrolling on foot and aurors flying above the maze on brooms. Bones was apparently not willing to chance any repeats of the second task debacle. He could already hear the conversation that the DMLE director must have had with Fudge; 'just think of the public reaction to the Boy-Who-Lived being killed in the third task, Minister'. Fudge would have folded like a deck of cards.

A smile grew on his face when he saw that one of the flying aurors had pink hair and he waved at her. She noticed and flew towards him.

"Cool outfit." Tonks complimented as she stopped next to him.

"Thanks." Harry replied with a smile, patting his chest. "All basilisk hide and acromantula silk."

The Metamorphmagus gave an impressed whistle. "Fancy. And probably worth more than what I make in a year. Or maybe a decade."

"If you tried to buy the hide, then yeah, probably." Harry admitted. "Fortunately I already had it, so all I had to pay for was the silk and the work."

"You know, I've always wanted a pair of basilisk hide boots." Tonks hinted blatantly, starting up an old running gag.

"They are pretty comfortable." Harry said obtusely, lifting one leg to show off his own basilisk hide boots.

"Christmas will be coming up in a few months." Tonks continued hinting.

"I'm not sure if six counts as 'a few'." He dryly noted.

"It does." She said authoritatively.

"It does not." Harry argued. "Two is a couple, three or four is a few and five is five. Six is half a dozen, which is half of a dozen, which is already quite a lot."

"Don't fight me on this Harry, I'm the auror, that means that I get to make the rules." Tonks retorted, feigning aggravation.

"No, it means you get to push the rules that some higher up imagined into being on everyone else. Fortunately for me, I'm an individualist and thus disdainful of authority."

Tonks narrowed her eyes. "Resisting the commands of an auror is illegal."

"Are you going to arrest me, Nymphadora? " He grinned cheekily.

"Just for that one, I actually might." She glowered.

"On what charge?" He asked curiously.

"Hoarding illegal goods." She stated with certainty. "You're obviously guilty, just look at all that sexy hide that you're refusing to share."

"Ah, so now we come to the crux of the matter." Harry nodded sagely. "Greed, envy and abuse of power, all the usual things for the Ministry of Magic."

"I wouldn't have to abuse my auror authority if you would just agree to give me a pair of snazzy basilisk hide boots." Tonks pouted, her eyes shifting in size until they were big and shining.

"You look like something out of Sailor Moon." Harry said dryly. "All you need is a foofy little skirt."

Tonks huffed and continued pouting, though with normal eyes. "Fine, be that way."

"How've you been, Dora?" Harry asked after a few seconds, seeing that the playful bickering had come to a stop.

"Not bad." She shrugged. "I didn't pull the crap assignment for once, so I'll get to watch you compete from the air instead of walking circles around the pitch."

"Bones expecting trouble?" He asked.

"I don't think so, but it's been bugging her that we weren't able to identify that second assassin and she doesn't want any repeats." She said with a shake of her head. "We'll be there at the award ceremony tomorrow too."

Harry gave a non-committal humm. The auror presence for this event would probably keep Malfoy's hands tied and by this time tomorrow, Harry intended for the man to be dead. Having aurors see it happen hadn't been part of the plan, but it didn't really change anything. The whole thing would be nice and legal… technically.

"You nervous?" Tonks asked when he didn't say anything in response.

"Not really." Harry shrugged. "This tournament hasn't been all that challenging so far, discounting the assassination attempts obviously."

"Just be careful, will you?" The Metamorphmagus cautioned. "Some of the stuff I've seen them put in there is pretty dangerous."

"I'm sure you'll swoop in to save me if I get in over my head." He joked.

"And then I'll hold it over you until you give me a pair of basilisk hide boots." She agreed and looked over his shoulder. "Here comes your competition."

Harry turned around and saw the Fleur was indeed approaching. Ooh boy, this may or may not be interesting.

" Bonjour, 'Arry." The veela greeted when she arrived. "'Oo eez your friend?"

"Fleur, meet Nymphadora Tonks. Dora, Fleur Delacour." Harry introduced, feeling that nebulous sense of doom that always gripped the hearts of men when they ended up stuck between two strong-willed women.

" Enchanté ." Fleur said, smiling at the auror as she stepped up to Harry in a subtly possessive manner. It wasn't a deliberate gesture really, but she felt somewhat threatened by the older witch who was more powerful than her and quite beautiful in her own right. She could see why Harry had liked her.

That Harry liked her wasn't the problem. Fleur was sure that she would like her too given what she had heard about her. The problem was that Harry had been in a real relationship with the older witch while Fleur herself was being kept at the friend stage. This Nymphadora still had every chance of coming back and neatly ruining all of her plans.

The worst part was that she couldn't even do anything about it. The multiple Joinings and conversations with Harry had imparted to Fleur a certain understanding of him. He was more careful now and approached love and relationships as if they were a venomous snake. His introverted nature did not allow him to simply shrug off the failure of his first relationship and he was unwilling to commit to anything new until it ceased to weigh on his mind. Any woman would experience the same arm's length treatment right now.

Except perhaps the auror in front of her, who had a backdoor past his defences.

"A pleasure." Tonks replied, feeling her body rearrange itself in all sorts of subtle ways to be more attractive in response to the veela's presence. In spite of - or perhaps because of - her shapeshifting ability, Tonks had always been a bit self-conscious about her appearance and seeing the supernaturally beautiful French girl make her subtle claim on Harry was not helping. It wasn't hard to guess that the two had started sleeping together since the last time that she'd spoken to him.

"'Arry, what eez this coat and where did you get eet?" Fleur asked, squeezing his biceps, both to subtly flirt and to get a feel for the material.

"Basilisk hide, it just arrived today." He shrugged.

"A basilisk?" Fleur repeated in shock.

Tonks watched as Harry gave the impressed veela the cliff notes version of his second year at Hogwarts, the unpleasant burn of jealousy forming in her gut. It had been so much easier to accept that Harry would be with other women when it was just words. Seeing it was harder than she thought it would be.

"I should get back to my post." She said, keeping her tone neutral. She had been the one to end it between her and Harry, so she had no business being jealous. That didn't mean she wanted to watch this though.

"Oh." Harry said, disappointed. "It was nice talking to you again, Dora. I guess I'll see you again after the task or tomorrow?"

"Sure." Tonks nodded and started rising into the air on her broom. "Good luck!"

"Thanks." Harry called after her, his shoulders slumping a fraction after she was gone. He had been able to sense the discomfort in his ex-girlfriend and suspected that their vacation time would not be all smooth sailing. Damn but he hated all this emotional crap, it was just so exhausting.

"She seemed nice." Fleur offered. Her instincts urged her to try turning Harry against a possible rival, but that could only backfire with him. Harry was not some average wizard that could easily be manipulated and compromises had to be made. Veela were used to making compromises where love was concerned. Monogamy was not in their nature, more mates meaning more magic, but they confined themselves for the sake of fitting in with the humans. In recent times, now that mates were true partners instead of concubines, many disliked the way their Allure affected them, but they sucked it up because the alternative was to stay alone or content themselves with fellow veela, neither of which was anywhere near as good as a proper mate.

In comparison, being nice to Harry's ex-girlfriend and staying patient was a small price to pay. His magic was powerful and his stamina great enough to satisfy even a veela's appetites. Moreover, he was someone that she genuinely liked as a man. To keep what she had now and perhaps build on it in the future, she could be patient.

"She is nice." Harry agreed.

"Come, I zink ze task eez about to start." Fleur said, gently bumping his shoulder with her own.

They made their way to the entrance of the maze where an excited Ludo Bagman looked as if he was about to wet himself. That's the impression he was giving with his hopping from one leg to another at any rate.

"Alright there, Harry?" The former professional quidditch player asked brightly, ignoring Fleur entirely.

"Fine." Harry grunted shortly, his dislike of the man clear to anyone with a brain. Ludo was unfortunately not one of these people.

"Great!" Bagman beamed. "We'll be starting in just a few minutes." And with that he toddled off.

"Wanker." Harry muttered once he was gone.

" Branleur ." Fleur agreed.

Harry snorted in amusement and decided to move on to something more interesting than insulting an idiot in multiple languages. "Ready to lose, Fleur?"

"Hmph, we will zee 'oo loses." The veela said haugtily with a toss of her silver-blonde hair.

"Confident are we?" He teased. "Would you care to make a bet on the outcome then?"

Fleur raised an elegant eyebrow, intrigued. "Ze stakes?"

"Hmmmm, if I win… you have to wear a sexy French maid outfit and stay in character for three days. You will do everything I say and speak in a perpetually breathy tone of voice." He had already agreed to have her move in with him and received a few off color jokes from Sirius about it, the maid thing being one of them.

Fleur stared at him in shock for a few seconds before smirking evilly. "Zen if I win, you will 'ave to dress as an English butler and stay in character for a week. You will also of course do everyzzing I say."

"That seems a bit unbalanced." Harry pointed out.

"You 'ave a 'eadstart." Fleur countered. She was slightly behind in points and would start later because of it.

"True." He admitted. "I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. It's not like you're going to win."

"Hmph, your British arrogance will be ze end of you."

"It's not arrogance if it's the truth."

Further bickering was interrupted as Bagman's voice echoed loudly across the area. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the third and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament! Soon, the two remaining champions will compete against each other for the honor of their respective schools!…"

Bagman's tedius speech only went on for another blessedly short minute before he got to the point. "So… on my whistle, Harry!" He cried, starting the obligatory countdown.

"May the best man win!" Harry said to Fleur just before the whistle sounded.

He could almost feel the heat of her indignant glower against his back.

Harry walked into the maze and quickly hit a fork in the road.

"To go left or to go right? Truly, t'was a conundrum that hath plagued Mankind for eons beyond reckoning." He intoned to himself with solemn sarcasm.

The answer was of course neither, because allowing your perceptions to become mired in the restrictions of the physical world was a trap of the mind that limited a wizard's potential. So instead of going left or right, Harry cast a powerful Cutting Curse into the hedge and then cast another spell to wedge it open. Then he stepped through and let it close behind him.

Seeing that the path forward was now open, he continued his walk.

Up in the sky.

Tonks was laughing herself silly as she saw Harry going literally through the maze.

"That's just cheating." Shacklebolt grumbled from next to her. He had bet on the veela to win.

Fleur jogged into the maze at a steady pace, knowing that she'd need to hurry if she wanted to win. She turned right at the first fork without really thinking about it. It probably didn't matter in the end anyway.

Less than half a minute into the maze and she ran into a group pixies. The annoying little pests made a bee-line towards her only to get scared off by a blast of flame.

Fleur huffed and continued onwards. She had to assume that there would be more dangerous things waiting up ahead, or else this was going to be a fairly ridiculous task.

Harry's feet stopped moving when he saw the dementor and his head cocked to the side. No, not a dementor. It had only a tiny speck of Dark. A boggart. How cute.

"The Dark holds no more terrors for me." He told the shapeshifting non-being and walked past it.

Apparently miffed by the dismissal, the boggart grabbed his shoulder as he passed it, forcing him to stop. Harry turned to look at it and stared at its now unhooded face.

A few tufts of long black hair still clung to the skull and empty eyesockets peered out of a hollowed, beef jerky version of his own face. It probably wasn't an accurate depiction of a dementor since the soul harvesters were only partially physical, but it was the image that Harry's mind had conjured up.

"Alright, so maybe the Dark holds one more terror for me." Harry conceded, his eyes starting to glow as he pulled on what Light he could reach now that the Sun had set.

Fortunately, he didn't need much. Once he had it, he slammed his palm against the boggart's chest and released it, banishing the speck of Dark that lay at its core. The boggart dispersed out of existence without a sound.

"You should have stuck to jump scares."

Up in the sky.

"Did he just kill a boggart with a punch ?" Shacklebolt goggled.

"Looks like it." Tonks agreed, only slight less shocked.

That wasn't supposed to be possible.

Harry stared.

He'd cheesed his way through several more hedges and apparently avoided most of the obstacles that the maze had to offer, only to run into a sphinx of all things at what was probably the final stretch.

The female face on it was quite beautiful, with deeply tanned skin and almond shaped eyes, though much larger than a normal woman's head would be. It was mounted on a similarly oversized lion body. The fusion of these features brought to mind uncomfortable questions.

"Hello." He ventured cautiously. She may be placid right now, but he could sense a powerful magic emanating from the sphinx and would not take her lightly.

"Greetings." The sphinx responded, her voice jarringly deep and hoarse coming from such a feminine face. "Your progress has been swift and you are very near now to your goal, the quickest way is past me."

"What's the catch?" Harry asked.

"You must unravel my riddle. Guess correctly and you may pass, answer wrongly and I attack, decline to answer and you may go unscathed."

"Ah, that cliché." Harry nodded. "For a second there I thought it would actually be something more original."

The sphinx quirked an eyebrow at the strange reaction but remained silent.

"Before we begin, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" It wasn't every day that you got to talk to a sphinx and he should still have plenty of time to get the cup before Fleur stumbled her way through the maze.

She cocked her head sideways at the odd request. "You may ask, but I may not answer."

"Could you tell me how your kind came into being? I can't imagine that yours is a natural evolution." He inquired, conjuring a stool for himself to sit on.

Up in the sky.

"Is he chatting up the sphinx?" Shacklebolt asked, once again baffled.

"He's probably curious about something." Tonks replied despairingly. Damn it Harry, I've got money on you. Go win the bloody tournament already!

The sphinx remained silent long enough for Harry to start wondering whether it had been altogether wise to ask that question. The Ministry of Magic almost definitely classified sphinxes as beasts, but her eyes held a vast intelligence that made him even more wary of crossing her than her size and obvious power.

"You ask questions that few have bothered to ask in recent times, Spellweaver." She finally said.

"I'm a curious guy." Harry shrugged unapologetically. He wondered about the strange form of address, but put it aside for now.

"So you are." She agreed. "Very well, I shall answer."

"As you have surmised, we were not born of natural means. Pharaoh Djoser wished for powerful magical guardians and commanded his sorcerers to provide them. We were made to fulfill this command, though Pharaoh Djoser did not live to see it done."

"But how?" Harry asked, unsatisfied with the answer.

"You ask what you already know." The sphinx told him with a humorless smile. "Lions were made to breed with slave women and powerful magic was weaved into the resulting offspring."

"I see." Harry said, pursing his lips. It wasn't the first time that he'd heard of magic allowing crossbreeding between species that had no business crossbreeding. Just like she had said, he had known the origins of the sphinxes the moment he had laid eyes on her. The slave women had probably been untrained witches, as he didn't think it would have worked otherwise. He'd been hoping that he was wrong, hoping that the truth wouldn't be as cruel as usual. "I'm sorry."

"Do not mourn for us, young one. We were made to guard, not to feel. So we guard, and do not feel."

"It's still a shitty thing to do." He muttered. Some sick fucker had probably done something similar to make the centaurs for whatever reason. No wonder they had such a poor opinion of wizards.

"Are you prepared to answer my riddle?" The sphinx asked, clearly closing the topic.

"Sure, let's hear it." Harry nodded, shaking off the pity he felt for her.

" It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills.

It comes first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter. " The sphinx recited.

Harry nearly toppled from his conjured stool in shock. The riddle was familiar and the answer close to his heart, but that wasn't important. The important part was that he strongly doubted that the sphinx had picked a riddle like this by accident. It simply couldn't be a coincidence.

"What do you know?" He demanded more harshly than he intended.

"Answer my riddle or I must attack." The sphinx warned.

Harry took a deep breath to calm down. Freaking out wouldn't do any good. "Darkness."

The sphinx smiled and moved aside to let him pass, but Harry didn't move from his stool.

"Why did you ask me that riddle?" He asked.

"I bar the way until my riddle is answered." She answered unhelpfully.

"But why that riddle?"

The sphinx smiled, but said nothing.

Harry sighed and stood up. Apparently she was going to leave him in the dark, no pun intended. "It was nice talking to you."

"May the Sun light your way, Spellweaver." The sphinx replied as he moved past her.

Harry instantly turned back to look at her. That couldn't have been a coincidence either. She met his gaze with the calm of a Buddhist monk, waiting. He wanted to ask what the hell she meant by that, but if past experience was any judge then direct questions were useless.

"Why do you call me that?" He asked instead. He had sometimes thought of casting spells as weaving them, largely due to the D&D concept of 'the Weave', but she couldn't possibly know that. This was something else.

"I cannot say." The sphinx replied with an enigmatic smile. She seemed… pleased? He couldn't tell.

"Why not?"

"My lips are sewn shut."

"By spells?" He guessed. She had mentioned something about magic being weaved into the sphinxes when they were born…

She smiled again, but did not speak.

Harry had the sense that the sphinx was trying to tell him something without actually telling him, a secret that she wanted to share but was compelled to guard. She was using this conversation to hint at something, might have only deigned to humor his curiousity for that exact purpose, but to what end he couldn't perceive.

He opened his mouth to ask another question but she cut him off.

"We speak no more."

Harry's mouth snapped shut with an audible click and he nodded. He knew a warning when he heard one and surmised that any further attempts to pry would have unfavorable consequences. He would need to figure the rest out on his own, if he could. Well, he'd been planning to go to Egypt eventually anyway so this was just extra incentive.

"Thank you and goodbye." He said instead and made his way further into the maze, his mind already chewing over the words of the sphinx in an attempt to divine what she had been trying to tell him.

Up in the sky.

"Why is that acromantula running away ?" Shacklebolt grumbled.

"Must be the basilisk hide." Tonks replied, grinning.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Spiders are terrified of basilisks." She explained, having learned this when Harry had explained his second year to her.

"That kid has the most ridiculous luck." Shacklebolt grumbled some more.

"Cheer up, Shack." Tonks tried. "Harry wasted so much time with that sphinx that Delacour actually still has a chance to… wait, nevermind. The acromantula is heading right at her."

Shacklebolt sighed in resignation and consoled himself with the knowledge that he didn't really need those galleons he'd bet on this. Would have been nice though.

The Tri-Wizard Cup was a Portkey.

Harry figured that it would probably deposit him to the front of the maze if he touched it, but he was far too distrustful to ever touch a portkey that he didn't know the destination of with 100% certainty.

So he sighed and began unraveling the Portkey enchantment. He'd just have to lug it back on foot, or maybe Apparate. It wasn't like people would be able to tell the difference. Or maybe he could make his own Portkey, that would probably be for the best.

"Step away from ze cup." Came a sexy growl from behind.

"Hello, Fleur." Harry greeted, turning around and taking in the bedraggled veela. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were dirty and torn in places and she looked thoroughly annoyed. "Did you have fun in the maze?"

Fleur glared at the amused wizard. Where did he get off looking fresh as a daisy?

" Non, I did not 'ave fun in ze maze!" She growled.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Harry said sincerely.

Fleur was not listening though and wanted to vent. "Eet waz not zo difficult at first, but zen some fils de salope zought that a giant scorpion with magic deflecting armure and a rocket boost growing out of eet's cul would make a good challenge."

Ah, Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts. I remember Luna telling me about those. Yet another example of crossbreeding that should never have happened. Honestly, who wakes up in the morning and goes 'hmm, I think I'll crossbreed a manticore and a fire-crab, yup, yup.' Harry thought to himself, but wisely didn't speak. Given how often Fleur was slipping into French, she probably wasn't in the mood to listen to anyone.

"And zen, just as I zink that eet eez over, ze biggest, ugliest araignée I 'ave ever zeen nearly eats me!"

That would probably be the scuttling noise I heard earlier. It must have gotten spooked by the basilisk hide. Heh.

"And zen I find you 'ere, looking as eef you 'ave done nothing 'arder zan taking a walk." The veela finished with a growl.

Which is pretty much exactly what I did.

"Do you want a hug?" He asked, lips twitching into a smile.

"What I want eez zat cup, and to 'ave you waiting on me 'and and foot for ze next week." Fler growled once more.

"I'm sorry, but that's just not going to happen." Harry replied with false regret. "I will make sure that your maid uniform is extra sexy though."

Fleur didn't reply with any witty banter, but with a stunner.

Harry had honestly not been expecting such a dirty trick and could only instinctively cross his arms over his face in a warding gesture, by now automatically calling on his magic to block the spell. It may have been enough to protect him, but it was a moot point anyway since the spell splashed harmlessly against his basilisk hide covered chest.

He rocked back on his heels and patted the point of impact with his right hand, blinking.

"Sweet." Harry said with a grin.

" Merde ." Fleur whispered. She'd forgotten about the basilisk hide in her frustration.

She reflexively cast a shield to block the expected retaliation, only to cry out in dismay as her footing turned into thick mud. The conjured ropes that followed afterwards she managed to cut before they could bind her, but the Disarming Hex hit her dead on and tore the wand from her hand.

"That was damned cheeky of you." Harry said, smiling slightly.

Fleur said nothing and kept her head high as she pulled herself out of the transfigured quagmire that her feet were trapped in, ignoring the undignified sucking noises the mud made with every step. She knew perfectly well that what she'd done hadn't been especially honorable, but she was already tired from the maze whereas Harry was still fresh and he wasn't handicapping himself by refusing to use a wand this time. A cheap shot had been her only real chance of getting that cup.

"Well played, 'Arry." She said calmly once she was out of the mud. She may have lost, but she would be gracious about it. She may have to dress and act like a maid in a bad porno for three days, but a bet was a bet and she wouldn't chicken out of it. Nobody was going to say that Fleur Delacour was a sore loser.

Hogwarts grounds, the next day. Champion award ceremony.

"Congratulations on your victory, Mr. Potter!"

"Thank you." Harry smiled fakely at the smarmy man whose name he'd already forgotten.

People had been tripping over themselves to congratulate him ever since yesterday, most of them so obviously sucking up that they may as well have replaced their mouths with toilet plungers. Some had been genuine, others had wanted something. All had been annoying.

But despite all that, Harry was still in a grimly good mood, because this was the day that Lucius Malfoy died and that was worth shaking hands with a few of these witless morons.

He cast his eyes around the impromptu outdoor ball, noting people of interest.

Fudge was flittering all over the place, trying to talk to as many people as possible. No doubt this whole shebang was his idea of raising his own popularity, the twit.

Ludo Bagman was doing pretty much the same thing as Fudge, but with more bouncing. Those two were like a pair of retarded dumplings.

Amelia Bones was standing off to the side, looking as if she was about to crush her monocle with her eye socket given how pronounced her frown was. She was probably about as amused by this as him. Standing next to her was a man with a lion's mane of tawny hair and who appeared about as happy to be here as Bones. That was Rufus Scrimgeour no doubt, the humorless bastard as Dora called him.

The reason for their sour expressions were no doubt the multitude of free roaming Death Eaters pretending to be civilized. Of those he could recognize, Crabbe and Goyle senior were destroying the buffet, Malfoy and Parkinson were talking some distance away while their wives gossiped or whatever it was that stuck up bitches did when they got together. There were probably more, but he couldn't identify them by sight. Their various brats were also present and trying to look dignified. Except for Draco, who was shooting glares in his direction every few minutes.

Wait just a little longer, you little shit. I'll give you something to glare about. Harry thought darkly.

Sirius was chatting with what looked to be some old friends. Or perhaps flirting with some new ones.

Percy was present as well, hovering at the side of a nervous looking man that might be the most recent appointment to the post of DIMC Director. He didn't look too happy, probably already missing the illusion of power he'd had while temporarily running the department. The rest of the Weasleys were spread out like a ginger net across the area.

Karkaroff was sulking in a corner.

Dora was making rounds with her fellow aurors. He hadn't been able to exchange more than a few words with her because she didn't want to look like she was slacking off in front of her boss.

Fleur was present too of course, looking beautiful as ever in a pale blue dress as she talked to her family and Madam Maxime.

Luna was currently spending some time with Ginny, knowing that they wouldn't be coming back to Hogwarts next year.

Dumbledore and the rest of Hogwarts staff was miling about. Well… most of them. Harry could see Septima shifting in her seat as she talked to what was probably the mother of one of her students. The light flush on her face could be atributted to the summer heat(as hot as it ever got this far north that was), but Harry was quite sure that it was due to something else entirely. He was going to miss the subby Arithmancy professor.

"I should hope you'll be more cheerful on our Christmas date." A familiar voice sounded from a familiar presence.

Of course the party wouldn't be complete without Adrastia showing up.

"Cheerfulness wasn't part of our deal." Harry retorted, turning to look at the woman.

Apparently she had felt like wearing red today, not that she didn't look amazing in that tight dress and plunging neckline.

"Very well then. If you are so determined to sulk, then I shan't stop you." Adrastia replied with a smile. "Is today going to be more exciting than yesterday?"

Harry knew this wasn't just a dig at the Ministry's lack of foresight with the organization of the last two tasks. "Yep, as soon as Fudge hands over that trophy."

Adrastia hummed in acknowledgement and leaned closer so that her next words wouldn't be overheard. "I would advise you not to cast Narcissa out of the family just yet, only threaten to do it."

"Why?" Harry asked, equally quietly.

"There is no time to explain fully right now, but it may bring unexpected benefits to you in the future." Was her unhelpful answer.

"And you couldn't have mentioned these 'unexpected benefits' the last time we spoke?" Harry spoke through gritted teeth, deeply annoyed.

"But then what excuse would I have to visit your lovely manor again?" Adrastia riposted with a big smile.

"I hate you so much, you manipulative bitch." He muttered.

"I am not usually impressed by flattery, but I will make an exception in your case." She said magnanimously.

"You're so kind." Harry retorted sarcastically.

"I know, but I must leave you now." Adrastia nodded her head at Fleur and her family, who had begun making their way towards them. "Your newest plaything apparently wants to introduce you to her parents."

She turned and left before Harry could reply, leaving him muttering to himself. "Bitch."

"'Arry." Fleur greeted once she came into speaking range, wondering who the dark skinned witch he'd been talking to earlier was but deciding not to mention it.

"Fleur." He nodded back.

"I would like you to meet my parents, Sebastien and Apolline Delacour and of course my sister Gabrielle."

" Enchanté, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Apolline said as she extended her hand for him to kiss, the purr of her French accented English considerably smoother than Fleur's.

"Likewise." Harry said as he kissed her knuckles, inwardly amused by how similar this was to his first meeting with Fleur.

It wasn't quite the same though. Apolline Delacour's aura was both more and less controlled than her daughter's. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it was more restrained, but less… satisfied. He could easily guess at the reason thanks to regularly having sex with Fleur. The elder veela's husband couldn't keep up with her sexual appetite. No surprise there really, he would probably have problems keeping up with Fleur without his runes too.

Apolline smiled at the man her daughter had chosen for herself, hiding her surprise at just how powerful his magic was. No wonder her daughter was so attracted to him, added to his good looks it would have been strange if she wasn't. She was still worried about what exactly the dynamic between them was, but had a good impression so far. She could find out more later, when there were less people around.

Harry was unaware of Apolline's thoughts as he shook hands with Sebastien, deeply amused when he felt the stronger-than-necessary squeeze. Fleur's father was apparently trying to intimidate him, which was doomed to failure from the start. Harry's height had topped off at just under 6'3" and he could tell that the 5'11" or so Sebastien Delacour was not even close to him as far as magical power went. Intimidation only worked if you weren't patently weaker than the person you were trying to intimidate and Harry wasn't impressed by his status as Fleur's father either.

Amusingly enough, the beaming eight year old next to the man was far more intimidating for Harry. He had no idea what to do with children this young and felt terribly awkward having to interact with them.

"And you I've already met, haven't I?" He asked, hiding his uncertainty.

Harry had been getting a feel for French thanks to Fleur, but he had no hope of understanding the babbled sentence the young veela spoke before she launched herself at him and hugged his leg.

Harry blinked in surprise and helplessly turned to Fleur for help. "Err, is this normal?"

"I apologise for my daughter, Mr. Potter. She has been excited to meet you." Apolline said, dragging her pouting daughter away. While what she said was true, she had neglected to mention that veela were a very touchy people and the draw of Harry's magic had likely been too much for the young Gabrielle to resist. She wasn't old enough yet to get the predatory sexual urges associated with her nature, but that part was present from birth.

"Quite alright, and please call me Harry." He said, giving a smile towards the young veela that was happily returned. The little one's aura was notably lacking in any kind of restraint, but it was also much closer to human than her sister's or mother's. Did that change during puberty? How interesting.

They spent the next several minutes talking of largely inconsequential things that never got the chance to go anywhere because Fudge took that time to climb up on the temporary stage and get to the point.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've had quite the exciting year, haven't we?" Fudge tried for a joke. It fell rather flat. "Yes, well anyway, despite experiencing certain difficulties over the course of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, we do at last have a champion! Harry Potter of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Come up here, Harry!"

Harry quirked a sardonic eyebrow at Fudge's pussyfooting around the death of Krum in the first task and the assassination attempt during the second, but joined the fat idiot without comment.

"It is my pleasure to present to you the Tri-Wizard Cup, to be held by Hogwarts until the next tournament!" Fudge said loudly, presenting him with the admittedly beautiful trophy.

There was a loud applause from the spectators and Harry somewhat awkwardly raised the damn thing in a victorious gesture, inwardly scoffing at the notion that there would be another tournament. This one was supposed to foster international magical cooperation, but had probably ended up being a diplomatic disaster. Unless you counted him and Fleur, that had certainly been some successful international relations right there.

"And of course, the thousand galleon prize!" Fudge went on, now handing over a money pouch with the aforementioned prize.

Harry idly wondered how much of an insult it would be if he started counting it.

"Now let's have a word from our champion!"

We'll have a word alright, you greedy bastard. Harry thought maliciously, annoyed by Fudge's none too subtle attempt to associate himself with some good press.

"I'm afraid I'm a man of few words, so I'll keep this short." Harry began. "It has been, as Minister has said, quite an exciting year. I've made some good friends." He gave Fleur a nod at this, just to give the papers something to talk about, though it probably wouldn't even be remembered given what else he had planned. "And I've learned some interesting things. One of these interesting things is the knowledge that participation in the Tri-Wizard Tournament was once considered a rite of adulthood and that has never been repealed, so I have effectively become Lord Potter as of today."

A ripples of shock complete with gasps went through the crowd at this. Most people were excited about this unexpected development like the gossips they were, but some suddenly looked worried.

"Another thing I've learned is that there isn't much left for me in Hogwarts, so I will not be returning next year."

The shock was more pronounced this time, as was the worry.

"But, Harry, what about your OWLS and your NEWTS?" Dumbledore asked, looking uncommonly flustered.

"Hold your questions until the end please, Headmaster." Harry said firmly. Not that anyone would think him leaving Hogwarts was important in a few minutes.

More shocked staring ensued. None of those present could recall ever seeing Albus Dumbledore receving a verbal slap like that, even if it had been warranted.

"Luna Lovegood will also not be returning in September."

"But, Harry-!" Dumbledore tried again, looking even more off-kilter. This was all wrong! Harry was supposed to stay in Hogwarts!

"Headmaster." Harry snapped, cutting the old man off. "I am not finished."

Dumbledore could only stare in shock at the much younger wizard at being so harshly shut down. Everything was all wrong. How could this possibly be happening?

"Now for the next important bit of information, I must temporarily give the word to my godfather, as this is his to say more than mine. Come up here, Sirius."

The dog Animagus trotted up to the stage, grinning widely at all the slack jaws he was seeing. His godson sure had pulled one hell of a prank on people.

"Those of you familiar with me will know that I'm not the most serious individual, even though I've been Sirius since I was born."

Groans sounded from several throats at the horrible pun, though it also reinforced his point.

"Ask anyone you want and they'll tell you that I'm barely fit to take care of myself, much less anyone else. Which is why I'm gleefully abdicating my position and letting my godson deal with the baggage of being Lord Black. Good riddance to it."

There were quite a few family heads present, and every last one of them was outraged at the casual disregard Sirius was showing, even those who had never liked the Blacks. The outrage was easier to digest than the knowledge that Harry Potter was now the head of two families at least.

Harry took over once again, just as they had practiced. Though Sirius didn't know that he was planning to do this last part. "Being more serious than Sirius, I'll be taking my new position more seriously."

More groans, one of them sounding like it belonged to a certain Metamorphmagus.

"Looking at recent history, I've noticed that there are some… disreputable people connected to the Black family in one way or another. That's something I mean to address here and now."

Lucius Malfoy wasn't the only one that got a bad feeling at those words, but he was the most worried. If that half-blood mongrel was about to do what it looked like he was about to do…

Still on the stage next to Harry, Fudge was having a panic attack. He'd never been good at dealing with unexpected things happening and wanted desperately for all these new events and problems to go away.

He was just about to start blustering when Sirius grabbed him by the shoulders and led him away, just as Harry had said he'd need to. Sirius didn't really know what Harry was up to since his godson had gone off script, but he was enjoying the chaos nonetheless.

"First, Bellatrix Lestrange." Harry ignored the gasps and mutters the name produced. "She's a disgrace and the family she married into is a disgrace, so as per the contract signed between the Black and Lestrange families I hereby dissolve the marriage between Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus Lestrange and cast her out of the family."

The crowd was now dead silent and simply observed avidly. The wizard raised in the crowd knew that this kind of thing was usually done privately so as to preserve the family's dignity. This public airing of dirty laundry was practically unheard of.

"And finally Narcissa." Harry said coldly, staring at the white faced witch. "I don't know you and won't make any decisions just yet, but your husband and son are another matter. Draco has been nothing but an annoying, petulant child for the entire time I've known him and is unworthy of being called my family. He is no longer a Black."

Narcissa brokenly whispered 'no' while her husband kept a white-knuckled grip on his cane at seeing all his ambitions go down the drain. Draco himself was flushed a lobster red in anger.

"As for your husband, he's just as much a disgrace as Bellatrix, if a more slippery disgrace. As per the contract signed between the Black and Malfoy families, I hereby dissolve the marriage between Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black."

"On what grounds?" Lucius demanded, struggling hard to keep his rage in check. The stupid boy was ruining decades of work! He could still have another child with Narcissa and put things back on track, but not if their marriage was dissolved.

"Being a Death Eater." Harry replied flatly.

"I was under the Imperious!" Lucius retorted angrily.

"I don't believe you, but we can settle it with an honor duel if you want."

The more knowledgeable people in the crowd gasped. An honor duel over a matter like this was to the death. It was an archaic means of solving disputes that had fallen out of favor centuries ago, but it was still legal since nobody had bothered to overhaul the laws.

Lucius knew it was a trap. It was blindingly obvious. However, he was far too enraged and desperate to give the matter much thought. All his ambitions now dangled by a thread and would be washed down the drain if he refused to accept the duel. Killing Potter also appealed a great deal and made his decision for him.

"I accept."

Dumbledore on the other hand was horrified at this turn of events. Harry would either die duelling Malfoy or commit what was essentially premeditated murder. He wasn't even sure which was worse.

"Harry, you can't-" He tried to say, but was once again cut off, this time even more harshly.

"Shut the fuck up already, Dumbledore!" Harry yelled at the ancient wizard, well and truly fed up by his attempts to take control of the situation. "This has nothing to do with you, so kindly keep your crooked beak out of it!" The old meddler would definitely showing up again soon because of that one, but for now he should be too stunned to say anymore.

Dumbledore stared at Harry as if he'd never seen him before. He thought that he'd understood the young wizard. He thought that Harry just didn't respond well to authority figures. This sudden hostility had a personal feel to it and left him floundering. How had he missed this?

Some distance away Fudge had gotten some of his wits back and gone running to the first person he could think of to stop this disaster from happening.

"Amelia, you have to stop this from happening!" He cried, desperately wringing his hands.

"The DMLE doesn't have the authority to interfere in internal family matters." Amelia said dispassionately. She would have liked for the DMLE to have that authority, as it would have helped put quite a few people in prison, but in this case she was content to sit back and watch. Death Eaters had a wonderful habit of dying around Potter and having a front row seat to Malfoy's execution would be like an early birthday present.

Sirius meanwhile had jogged back up to his godson and started hissing into his ear. "Harry, what the hell are you doing?"

"Lucius was the one who sent the other assassin." Harry explained flatly. "I'm going to kill him."

Sirius spluttered briefly at the short explanation. "How'd you know that?!"

"I'll tell you later."

The shock of seeing Dumbledore get yelled at by the Boy-Who-Lived had not come even close to dissipating in the minds of the spectators, so they just shuffled sheep-like out of the way while a few aurors marked off a large duelling arena and put up a ward to safeguard the audience.

Harry stood on one side, shaking out his limbs to prepare. Malfoy had been one of Voldemort's top minions, so he was presumably better with a wand than most. Care would have to be taken. He had a plan for how he wanted this to play out, but was willing to abandon it if it was too risky.

On the other side, Lucius was similarly preparing himself and assessing his opponent. Potter looked far too old for his years, and the muggle shirt and pants he was wearing exposed a strong physique, not that muscle mattered in a wizard's duel. He was confident that he would win. Potter was still just a boy and Lucius had been putting people in the ground before he'd even been born

"I'm going to enjoy this, Potter." Lucius drawled, drawing his wand and getting into a proper duelling stance.

"Oh, I doubt that." Harry smirked back, his own stance much looser.

"Duelists, ready!" Amelia Bones, who had somehow gotten roped into officiating, began. "Begin!"

Harry immediately dodged to the side to avoid the Gouging Hex and returned fire with an Expelliarmus.

Malfoy blocked it with a shield and then grunted when a Bone-Breaker followed right after and nearly shattered it. He remembered the need to dodge after that .

It quickly became obvious to the audience that Harry was simply the better fighter. He was quicker on his feet, his shields easily blocked what he couldn't dodge and his spells came faster and stronger.

Harry could have ended it already. He had long since come upon the idea of depriving his enemy of solid footing as a means of crippling their combat ability, just like he'd done to Fleur in the maze. He could have done the same here, but didn't because he wanted to make a spectacle of this.

Lucius had sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled to keep up with the much younger wizard. Too late had he realized that he had been overconfident. He hadn't used any kind of serious magic since Voldemort's downfall, much less been in a fight. His body wasn't as fast as it used to be and neither was his mind. Spells came slower and with less certainty than they once had. Some spells eluded him altogether, forgotten by disuse.

The crowd could see it too and had quickly started cheering for Harry, getting swept up in the excitement of the whole thing and forgetting that it was a fight to the death.

All except Narcissa and Draco, who watched with terrified eyes as their husband/father steadily lost ground.

And then in a shocking reversal, Harry seemed to miss a step and walked right into a Disarming Hex, causing his wand to go flying towards the Malfoy patriarch.

"It seems you've bitten off more than you can chew, Potter." Lucius sneered, covering up his own surprise. He'd almost thought that he was a goner for a second there.

"Oh no, you have my wand. Whatever shall I do?" Harry said sarcastically, surprising most of the watchers.

Then he thrust out his hand and sent out a powerful Disarming Hex of his own.

Lucius was too shocked to even think of responding and had both his own wand and Potter's go flying out of his hands.

"Did you really think you had a chance to win, Malfoy?" Harry sneered back. "You, who can't even use magic without this stupid stick ."

His last word was punctuated by the snapping of Malfoy's wand. That was a horrible insult, tantamount to telling someone they weren't worthy of their magic, but everyone was far too shocked by the feat of wandless casting to really notice.

Lucius himself was so pale that he was nearly translucent and in no fit state to reply. The only thing he could think of was the memory of an angry Dark Lord disciplining Death Eaters who had failed him, sometimes using wandless magic to send them flying into walls.

"How much did it cost you to send that assassin after me in the second task, Malfoy? Was it worth your life?" Harry demanded, his eyes taking on a very slight glow as he prepared for the finishing move.

"I-I didn't." Lucius stammered, trying to back away and falling flat on his arse.

"Yes you did!" Harry snapped, taking a menacing step forward. Then he reached out with his fingers in a claw shape, as if grabbing hold of something and the Malfoy patriarch floated into the air as if clenched in a giant fist.

Normally, this would be impossible to do as the innate magic of the victim would fight off the grip, but these wand dependent wizards had a critical psychological weakness. They truly believed that they couldn't use magic without a wand and belief became reality. Take away their wand and their confidence broke, their magic weakened and they left themselves open for attacks that would have otherwise failed outright.

"You didn't leave enough evidence behind for any fingers to be pointed at you of course, but you did do it. Had it all plotted out, didn't you? Kill me and Sirius so that Draco inherits the Black family and the Malfoys finally get that much vaunted noble title you're so desperate to have?"

Done with his little rant, Harry dropped the defeated wizard to the ground, already feeling the onset of a headache from forcing his will on the world like that.

Lucius didn't even try to deny it this time, too frightened of the young wizard who had turned out to be so much more powerful than expected. He didn't even get back on his feet and just held out a hand as if to ward off any further attack.

"I yield! Please, I yield." He tried, a note of desperation entering his tone.

"It's a duel to the death, remember?" Harry said uncompromisingly with eyes now glowing a bright green, hands held in front of him as if he was holding a ball, a bright yellow glow already manifesting between them. It quickly grew in size until it was as large as a basketball, a blazing yellow basketball with an angry red core. "You should be happy, Lucius. You get to help me try out my Forbidden Sun! "

Lucius had just enough time to scream before the spell hit him and exploded violently.

When people were able to blink the spots out of their eyes and look back at the impact site, all they could see was a badly burned corpse slowly sinking into a pool of lava. More than one spectator went as pale as a sheet at the raw power of the spell that had been cast wandlessly .

Harry took a deep breath as he felt the excess Light leave him, taking his fury with it. The Dark Souls II inspired spell had perhaps been a bit much, but he had wanted to make a flashy entrance into adulthood and there was nothing quite as flashy as the Forbidden Sun. Too volatile and complex to ever be combat worthy without someone protecting him while he formed it, but flashy as fuck.

The moment of terrified silence was broken by the wordless rage of Draco Malfoy as he rushed towards his father's killer, intent on revenge.

" Bombarda ." He yelled furiously, nearly blinded by the tears streaming from his eyes.

Harry smacked the spell away, his hand protected by a localized shielding spell. That particular blasting curse was fortunately a fairly low power variety and Draco's mental state was so messed up that it was barely holding together, so the danger was minimal.

Harry was still pretty annoyed by the attempt though, so he mimed a pull that sent Draco's wand flying into his hand. Draco's aura was so much weaker than his own and his focus so disrupted that there was no resistance to his basic summoning. Then he snapped it just like he'd done to the elder Malfoy's.

As a finishing touch, he sent thrust out his arm and sent the Slytherin flying through the air with a mid-level Banishing Charm.

With his arm still outstretched, her turned towards the paralyzed audience, seeking a particular person. The witches and wizards flinched, cowered and screamed as if it was a loaded shotgun.

Finally his pointing finger settled on the nearly catatonic and newly widowed Narcissa. "Keep that little shit in line."

The woman automatically nodded, not even thinking about it.

Harry took another deep breath and started walking towards the edge of the ward line, making a two-fingered beckoning gesture that had Luna happily skipping over to him and tucking herself into his side so that he could put his arm around her shoulders. The elves had already moved all of their stuff back to the manor, so there was no need to stick around Hogwarts anymore.

To the people watching, the gentleness of the image was incredibly jarring in light of the earlier execution, but Harry and Luna paid no attention to that, though Harry did wonder how many home visits aside from Dumbledore he could expect from people in the next few days.

After a few stunned moments, Sirius got his wits about him and trotted after his godson, his mind burning with questions. Penny followed only a moment later.

That was the trigger that snapped Fleur out of her stupor and she remembered that she was supposed to be going with Harry too, though there was now a distinct note of caution in her movement.

Even more worried, Fleur's parents followed after their firstborn daughter, Sebastien carrying a terrified Gabrielle.