Uncomfortable

Fleur wondered if Harry would ever stop surprising her. He'd surpassed all of her expectations for him in the Triwizard tournament, surprised her with his nobility in the second task, and surprised her by being resistant to her allure, but by the end of the tournament she thought she had cracked the enigma that was Harry Potter.

She was wrong. The revelation that he was having sex, no, in a relationship with multiple women threw into doubt everything she knew about him. Was he really as sweet and noble as she had thought? How talented a lover, and how much stamina he must have to please so many…

When she spotted Harry at King's Cross, she paid close attention to how he interacted with the people around him… the women around him. She saw him hug each of them goodbye, and her heart twinged when he brought a particularly crestfallen girl into a second hug. Even though she couldn't hear the words exchanged she could see their meaning well enough. 'I'll miss you.' 'Take care of yourself'.

'I love you.'

He was being genuine, 100% purely genuine with them. This wasn't just a randy bloke sleeping around, he cared for each of them. He treated each of them like he cherished them. She'd underestimated him again. Somehow, Harry always found a way to exceed whatever expectations she had for him without even realizing it.

She was so wrapped up in unravelling the mystery that was Harry Potter that Fleur almost missed the nearly malevolent expression on Bill's face. There was no other explanation, he knew about Harry's… relationships. Fleur was willing to take advantage of Bill's recalcitrance; she'd have words with him later but for now she was happy for the excuse to spend more time with Harry. She wanted to learn more about him, he was remarkable, and she wanted to know him like Ginny and Hermione and the rest seemed to.

Her body seemed magnetically attracted to his, she hadn't even noticed how much they were touching until after she'd apparated him and she saw the growing blush on Harry's face. She hadn't intended to wind her arm around his, or sidle up to him, it just happened. It felt nice, it was easy to let her guard down around him without having to worry about how he'd react to her allure, or how he'd judge her. His good-natured teasing was a breath of fresh air compared to how nearly everyone, even Bill, treated her.

If it were only that, Fleur wouldn't feel guilty. But it wasn't. She loathed to admit it to herself, but she was attracted to him. She wanted him. Part of it was the Veela side of her, Harry would be far from the first man who Fleur had secretly, shamefully, desired. An instinctual part of her wanted nothing more than to bed the stud that had fucked so many women. But she couldn't say it was entirely that. She'd never given in with any other man as much as she had with Harry, no one else had been able to get overpower her rational mind, and he wasn't even trying.

All of that, the battle raging on inside of her, her desires and self-flagellation, was set aside when she saw the horrible state of Harry's room. And it was all completely forgotten when Harry had revealed that his bedroom had used to be a cupboard.

Her Veela nature was raging at her and for once her human nature was in complete agreement. She wanted to curse and gnash her teeth; she was sure if she let out even a shred of the rage she was feeling in that moment she'd be burning this fucking place to the ground.

But Fleur was used to masking her emotions, and so appeared utterly calm as she descended back down the stairs. Yet anyone, even a muggle, would be able to feel the magic pouring off her- an aura of rage. Generally, only very powerful witches or wizards could project her magic, and it was true that she was quite powerful in her own right, but her Veela heritage amplified this effect.

She stopped herself at the foot of the stairs, her eyes drawn to that cupboard. Inside, there was cleaning supplies, nothing that would indicate that a small child had once called it his bedroom.

"What are you doing! We let you into our house and now you-" Petunia's irate voice died in her throat as Fleur turned to her, and she took an involuntary step backwards when she saw the fire in Fleur's eyes.

"I was just taking a look at Harry's old bedroom." Fleur smiled unnervingly as she spoke, each word deliberately laced with poison. "Odd." She slammed the door shut with inhuman force "I count four bedrooms in this house. Very odd."

By now Vernon Dursley had ambled over, but he could only choke on his tongue at the sight of her, beautiful and ferocious. "Vernon." Fleur commanded "What don't you tell me more of what you've done to Harry."

Vernon Dursley was not a strong-willed man, quite the opposite, and he obliged her even as Petunia stammered at him to stop. Vernon told her everything. 'His kind' had invaded his life and forced 'the boy' on him. They were unnatural, bad apples every one of them. 'That brat' didn't deserve the same treatment as his flesh and blood son and he refused to let 'that freak's' presence interfere with his son's happiness. So they locked him away, deprived him of food, and put him to work. But no matter what they did to him, his unnaturalness came through. That freak would misbehave, talk back, and even do magic.

Finally, Fleur had enough. She silenced Vernon by putting the tip of her wand to his lips. "I want you to understand something." She said, her voice infused with quiet fury "One day something horrible will happen to you. Your lives will fall apart without warning, you will lose everything important to you- your money, your home, your status, and your 'dignity'." Both Dursley's faces paled in horror, paralyzed by Fleur's overwhelming aura. "When that happens, you will have experience only a fraction of the misery that you inflicted on Harry. When it happens, you will know who did it to you, and you will know why."

Fleur turned away, her hand releasing the railing of the stairs, revealing char marks where her fingers had been. "It is far too kind a fate for people like you, but it is the most that Harry would allow. You better pray that Harry survives this war, because if he doesn't, I may not be so charitable."

-----

Ginny's temper was being tested. Bill had been very attentive to her since meeting at King's Cross, and she was trying to play along, but damn was it difficult. She couldn't stand that cutesy pet name, or how he treated her like she was twelve. And then there was how he had treated Harry, his dismissiveness and hostility towards him grated on her, even if it was to be expected.

So perhaps she hadn't gone into this conversation with the right mindset, but with her Mum busying herself in the kitchen, Ron strategically leaving them to 'go for a fly', and the two of them alone in the hallway outside of her room, she saw her chance. "Bill, we need to talk." She said seriously.

Bill smiled and ruffled her hair "What about, firebug?"

Ginny bristled, but pushed onward. "It's about Harry."

Bill's expression turned sour. "Ah, him."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Bill. What's your problem with him? What has he ever done to warrant you acting like a total prat to him?"

Bill seemed a bit reluctant to go on, drawing his wand and casting a silencing charm around them. "Do I really need to spell it out for you, Ginny?" Bill bit out, and Ginny was satisfied that he was actually using her name "We both know what he's done. What he's doing. What I don't get is why you're letting him take advantage of you like this!"

Now they were getting somewhere. Susan had prepared the game plan for this conversation. She couldn't just accuse Bill of being in league with Dumbledore without blowing Ron's cover, so she had to get him to volunteer that information himself. This was close enough.

"You've been talking to Dumbledore, then." She said coolly.

"Yeah, I have. And I'm bloody grateful that he came to me." Bill knelt down to address her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Gin, please listen to me." He entreated, and Ginny felt another spike of frustration. Harry was the only one allowed to call her that. "You can still get out. I know you've wanted to be with him all your life, but can't you see how awful he's being? You should be able to have a boyfriend who doesn't have sex with six other girls. I get it, he's probably heaped tons of guilt on you over this, but you know what he's doing isn't right."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. Indignation on Harry's behalf simmered and rose in her chest before turning to fury, and all thoughts of Susan's carefully laid out plan to pull on Bill's heartstrings and win him over evaporated. "Don't talk about him like that." She spat "You have no idea who he is. He's the kindest, most stupidly noble person I know." She ripped herself away from him "He was going to do it. He was going to just walk to his death at Dumbledore's word. Hermione was the one who figured out the ritual, and I was the one who convinced him to do it."

"Ginny…" Bill tried to interrupt, but she was having none of it.

"There's nothing wrong with what we're doing, Bill! We aren't hurting anyone, and you know what? I love it." She felt a spike of vicious satisfaction at Bill's dumbstruck expression, is image of her being an innocent little girl shattering before his eyes "I enjoy sharing him. I love fucking him and watching him fuck other women. You can take this sanctimonious, condescending crap and stuff it!"

Uh, Gin?

The uncertainty from Harry brought Ginny to her senses, and she realized she might have just blown it. "He's really gotten to you." Bill murmured.

"Bill… what?"

"Dumbledore told me about Harry's connection with You-Know-Who, how it might be influencing him, changing him. He said… he said, I didn't want to believe it, but…"

Ginny shook her head vehemently "You can't believe everything he tells you. Yes, Harry has a connection to Voldemort, but-"

"No! No buts, Ginny! You've become obsessed with him, following his whim at the expense of everything else. It's just like the diary all over again! How else do you explain all of these girls falling over themselves to share him? I know you can't see it now, but once I save you, you will."

Save me? Ginny felt a frisson of dread, what did 'saving' her entail?

"You're so wrong Bill. I can't even begin to tell you how wrong you are. You say that you care about me but you don't actually bother to listen. I'm happy. I love him and he loves me. Don't do something that I'll never be able to forgive you for."

Bill's determined expression told her that he wasn't phased, but his response was forestalled by Fleur flouncing into the hall, beside herself in rage. "Those pigs." She muttered to herself "I'll need to-" She looked up and noticed the tension in the room. "Ah, was I interrupting something?"

Ginny let out a frustrated huff. She might have just completely cocked everything up by blowing her lid so easily, or he might have just been a lost cause the entire time. Either way, she had no clue what to do.

It's okay Ginny. We'll figure something out.

"Yeah, I'm done." She finally conceded.

I don't like how he was talking to you. Harry admitted. I hate to even think it, but what if he like, tried to put you on house arrest or something?

Ginny snorted. I'd hex his bits off first, trace be damned.

-----

The short trip back to the Burrow did little to dampen Fleur's fury. Truthfully, the Burrow was far from a calming place- the passive aggressiveness from her future mother in law was becoming beyond tiresome. Nothing was ever good enough for Molly Weasley, Fleur's cooking apparently wasn't up to snuff, never mind that she was a far better cook than Bill. Her outfit was too brazen one day and too stuffy the next. She couldn't fault Bill's brothers tripping over themselves because of her allure, but she wished she wasn't close proximity to them so much of the time. It was getting to the point where she was looking forward to her wedding just because it meant she could get away from Bill's family.

The most recent Order meeting had offered an unexpected respite from the tense Burrow atmosphere. Guarding Privet Drive- protecting Harry- was not the most interesting assignment, but Fleur now found herself very grateful that she had volunteered. Not only was it an opportunity to get away from the Burrow, she could get to know Harry better, and she could make sure those pigs stayed on the straight and narrow.

Fleur was also grateful that that she and Ginny had worked out an understanding. Last summer had been difficult, with Ginny's constant sniping. But at least so far, Ginny had been downright cordial with her. At the same time, her newest dose of frustration was coming from an unexpected source, her fiancé.

Fleur could see the conflict coming from a mile away, but she didn't know how to stop it. She wasn't an idiot. She knew that Bill must have discovered Harry and Ginny's unorthodox relationship. Whatever argument she had just interrupted between the two siblings must have been related, and it seemed that Ginny hadn't gotten through to him.

If it were just an argument between Ginny and Bill, Fleur would write it off as a family matter and just stay out of it. But it wasn't. Fleur knew that when called upon, she would defend Harry's virtue, and that meant that sooner or later she would get dragged into the gathering maelstrom.

Bill looked tired, and frankly she was as well. While she could bring this up now, Fleur knew it wasn't the right time. After learning about what the Dursleys had done to him, she was far too defensive of Harry to have a productive conversation.

So instead of saying anything, Fleur just smiled wanly and leaned in to kiss her fiancé. They would work out whatever issues they had. Later.