Chapter 49: Tonks' Plowing
Chapter Text
A/N: Tonks submits again and loves every last second of it~
-x-X-x-
As she kneels there, bobbing up and down on Harry's sizable cock with gusto, Tonks can't help but wonder when he'll finally ask her to transform into someone else. It hadn't happened during their previous interactions, but that didn't mean she wasn't ready for it. It was how pretty much all of her relationships had always wound up, in the end. Every boy who had ever expressed interest in her wasn't actually interested in HER at all… they were far more interested in her ability to shapeshift into other women.
Oh sure, they might start off small with asking her to just alter things about her own body. Like her tit size, or her hips, or a longer tongue to wrap around their cock. Speaking of which, Tonks makes sure to elongate her tongue now, doing so without even having to be asked. She knows it'll make Harry feel better, so of course she does it.
Regardless, eventually it always wound up the same. Even the 'nicest' and 'kindest' of her boyfriends wound up broaching the subject of her turning into other women for them. As if that wasn't a huge hit to her ego. As if that didn't destroy her sense of self-worth and leave her constantly comparing herself to the women they wanted her to shapeshift into.
She still did it, admittedly. But the shame and guilt over using another witch's likeness without their permission, combined with the insecurities and self-loathing… it always led to a breakup in the end. She just wasn't allowed to be happy in that way. When it came to romance, her metamorphmagus abilities were more of a curse than a blessing.
But that was just it! Tonks wasn't fooling herself when it came to Harry. There was no romance here. Just pure, honest domination and submission. It was hot even back when she thought it was just the two of them, and it's hotter now that she knows he's dominating her boss as well.
She wouldn't mind transforming into other women for him, Tonks thinks to herself. She wouldn't mind doing whatever he told her to do. She wants to make him happy. She wants to pleasure him with all her heart and all her magic. Bobbing up and down his cock even more swiftly, she gurgles as she stares up at him, swirling her elongated tongue around his shaft and removing her gag reflex so she can take him all the way down the back of her clenching throat without fail.
And yet… he doesn't say a word about her turning into others. He doesn't even tell her to use her shapeshifting for his pleasure. She does it anyways of course. Longer tongue, pillowy lips, bigger tits. She does it all. All the while, Harry stares down at her with a strange sort of knowing smile on his face and a hand gripping down on her constantly color-changing hair.
Until finally, he lets out a low sigh.
"Here it comes, Tonks."
That's all the warning that the shapeshifting witch gets, but to be fair… that's also all she needs. As his cum pours down the back of her throat, Tonks doesn't struggle to swallow it at all. She really is the perfect cocksucker, the perfect fuck doll, the perfect whore. Maybe that's why she feels like she really resonates with Harry's particular brand of domination in such a big way.
He doesn't pretend. He doesn't act like he loves her, or like she's the only one for him. He doesn't say he likes her just the way she is one moment, and then turn around and tell her to transform into someone else the next. Sure, maybe he's a little young for her… but if he's not too young for Madam Bones, then Tonks really can't bring herself to feel guilty about that anymore.
As he pulls his cock out of her mouth and looks down at her, Tonks looks up at him, licking her lips and grinning raunchily.
"How do you want me next, Harry? You know, we could wake Madam Bones back up and I could transform into her if you wanted to fuck twins…"
"No. Up on the desk."
Tonks flushes at his denial, even as she's pulled to her feet. She's still dressed, but that doesn't last long as Harry removes her clothes without a wand and subsequently lifts up so she's sitting on the edge of her boss' desk. She'd half-expected Harry to bend her over it, just like he did the DMLE Director. But no, instead she's free to wrap her arms and legs around his body, hugging him tightly even as she comes to terms with that startling display of magic.
He'd just stripped her naked not just wandlessly, but wordlessly. Silent magic wasn't the sort of thing they even taught at Hogwarts until Sixth and Seventh Year. Some people never managed it at all, while some could only do the most basic spells with it. Tonks had a minor knack for it, and could cast some basic magic without saying a word. But she definitely couldn't do it without her wand.
Tonks' breath hitches as Harry's cock, still throbbing and rock hard, presses against her slit. Then, tightening her leg lock around his waist, she pulls him in deeper, filling herself with him. At the same time, her enlarged breasts finally come into play as she pulls his head down into her bosom and arches her back, pushing her tits up into his face.
Harry responds by lavishing her sensitive chest with attention, even as he fucks her savagely. Tonks' wanton moans and squealing cries fill the room, and she has to admit, Harry definitely knows how to not only fuck a woman, but also please a woman too. He's got that perfect mixture of rough and pleasurable going on, and she can sort of get why Madam Bones fell for him just like she did.
Though, even amidst all the pleasure, her mind is still nagging at her about how strange it is that Harry hasn't taken advantage of her skills further. That's why, when he finally pulls away from her breasts and looks her in the eye while continuing to fuck her silly, Tonks pops the question.
"Is there… any other woman you might want me to turn into, H-Harry?"
Harry raises an eyebrow at her.
"And why would I want that?"
Blinking rapidly, Tonks is taken aback by his dry response for a long moment. Almost like he couldn't believe she would even ask him that. Seriously?!
"B-Because I'm a shapeshifter, Harry! I'm a metamorphmagus! It's sort of the most interesting thing about m-me!"
Harry pauses in fucking her and just peers at her for a moment wordlessly. Tonks gets more and more self-conscious the longer he does so, but it's not like she can really get away. Finally, he breaks the awkward silence.
"You really don't think much of yourself, do you Tonks?"
Tonks squawks, even as he goes back to fucking her. Her face goes red despite her abilities, and she flushes hard as she sputters in denial. Harry just grins at her roguishly, cutting off any sort of proper response.
"You have more value to me than as just some body-changing, shapeshifting fuck doll, Tonks. I like you for who you are. I like you as you are. If you want to alter your body to please me of your own volition, I won't stop you… but I also have no need for you to pretend to be other women just to make me happy. I'm quite happy with the woman I have right here in front of me, right now."
That… t-that…! Tonks doesn't know how to respond. In the end, she doesn't bother responding, she just leans in and buries her face in the crook of Harry's neck so she doesn't have to look him in the eye anymore. He chuckles in response and then lifts her off of the desk entirely, his hands groping at her ass and squeezing her buttocks while he proceeds to bounce her up and down on his cock nonstop.
Moaning up a storm right into his ear, Tonks cums over and over again on Harry's member. She squeals and climaxes her way through orgasm after orgasm, until she's barely able to keep holding onto Harry. He holds her up though, even as she gets weaker and weaker. Until finally, he cums with a grunt, finishing inside of her.
By the time they're done, Tonks isn't sure she can feel her legs. But as Harry pulls her off of his cock and sets her down, she's surprised as a fresh strength enters her, revitalizing her and filling her with an energy she didn't know she still had. It only takes Tonks a moment to realize she DIDN'T have that energy… until Harry gave it to her.
Another bout of wandless, silent magic. He was capable of so much more than she was at his age, it's not even funny. Despite being able to easily stand on her own two feet, Tonks nevertheless collapses back to her knees… so she can proceed to clean Harry's messy cock with her mouth and tongue once again.
Looking down at her as she does so, Harry gives Tonks a smile.
"There is one thing you'll have to do for me though, Tonks."
At this point, she's ready to do just about anything, honestly.
"You are not to talk to Director Bones about this, or about me. She's under quite a lot of stress right now, and finding out that things between her and I are no longer private will only add to that stress. Your peeping, along with our relationship, needs to remain secret for the foreseeable future. Am I understood?"
Blinking up at him, Tonks wants to protest at first. She totally gets that her boss is under a ton of pressure at the moment. She even gets why it might upset Madam Bones if she found out Tonks had watched them go at it. But on the other hand, maybe she could be an additional confidant for Amelia! Someone else for her to lean on, so to speak!
However… thinking about it for just a moment longer, Tonks realizes that keeping this a secret benefits her just as much as it benefits everyone else. Who knows how her boss would react to one of her subordinates spying on her while she was naked in her own office? Tonks really didn't want to get on Amelia's bad side, truth be told.
Pulling off of Harry's pristine cock with a pop, Tonks looks up at him and nods, grinning.
"Of course, Harry. Your secret is safe with me."
Sometimes, secrets were to protect the people who didn't know about them. This was one of those secrets, Tonks figured. And even if Amelia was as much of a submissive bitch in bed as Tonks herself was… she was still an amazing leader, an awesome boss, and their best shot for a brighter future if she became the next Minister of Magic.
So Tonks wouldn't say a word unless Harry told her otherwise. That said…
"Although, I do hope we can see each other more often too… now that I know you're making routine visits to the Department, Harry."
Looking up at him, Tonks bites her lower lip suggestively as she gives him her very best 'sexy puppy eyes'. Harry looks down at her and snorts in amusement before letting out a sigh.
"I'll see what I can do."
-x-X-x-
February 24th. The Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament had honestly snuck up on Harry just a little bit. But it was here now. After that… eventful meeting with Amelia in her office and the subsequent 'talk' with Tonks, the last several weeks had mostly been a whole lot of 'hurry up and wait'.
While it would have been nice to have Amelia installed as Minister of Magic as soon as humanly possible, there was no accounting for bureaucracy. At the end of the day, the Ministry of Magic was still a Ministry, regardless of the Magic part. And that meant it was fucking slow. Slow as goddamn molasses.
It almost made Harry regret his decision to not just take over by force and conquer the British Isles as a Dark Lord in his own right. But alas, he was trying to do things the 'right' way… which mostly meant having Rita Skeeter write a whole lot of articles, some directed towards bolstering Amelia's image, and many more directed at tearing down her would-be competitors and enemies.
All in all, they were doing quite well… it was just going to take more time. Meanwhile, Harry's decision to stay in the Triwizard Tournament instead of cutting the connection between him and the Goblet of Fire all those months ago meant that he was now heading for the Black Lake, where he and the other Champions (including poor Cedric Diggory) would all be diving down to retrieve 'what was most precious to them'.
This time around, Harry was well aware that Hermione had been taken and put in the Merman Village after being his date to the Yule Ball. He wasn't worried though, retrieving her would be a walk in the park with how much power he now had at his fingertips. He just had to-
Harry blinks, his thoughts derailed as Fleur Delacour suddenly appears in front of him, cutting him off before he can make it outside the castle.
"Monsieur Potter."
She grabs him by the hand and drags him into a nearby alcove, looking flushed and… fidgety. Harry just raises an eyebrow, watching her in interest.
"What is it, Miss Delacour?"
Fleur hesitates for a moment longer before finally biting the bullet.
"We both know where we have to go today. My… kind are not well-suited for water, let alone deep water."
Yes, that was true. Harry recalled just how poorly Fleur had done the first time he'd lived through these events. She'd tried her best, but her veela nature put her at far too much of a disadvantage underwater. The end result was him having to save her sister for her, though whether he actually had to or whether that was just his 'Saving People' thing acting up, he never had known for sure.
Still, her bringing it up was certainly new…
"Please let me suck your cock."
Wait, what?
"My magic was amplified in the days following the Yule Ball. Amplified… by your magic. Until eventually, it was out of my system. I just know that if I had something similar today, I could tackle even a body of water that would normally sap me of my strength without fail."
Biting her lower lip, Fleur looks him in the eye.
"I know that you will not be inclined to help your competition for free, so I promise I will make it worth your while. You will be able to ask anything of me, once the Second Task is complete."
Wow. There was something deeply amusing about Fleur offering to make it worth his while to allow her to suck his cock. Fleur Delacour of all people, easily one of the most beautiful women in his life, wanted to pay him for the privilege of giving him a blowjob. But then to be fair… she was getting something substantial out of it.
Harry hums consideringly for a long moment, before opening his mouth to respond.
Chapter 50: Fleur's Pick-Me-Up!
Chapter Text
A/N: Harry gives Fleur what she wants... 'no strings attached'.
-x-X-x-
"You don't have to 'repay' me for the privilege of sucking my cock, Fleur. Even if my magic empowers you… it's not like it takes anything on my end. Go ahead and do what you need to do and put all these thoughts about 'making it worth my while' out of that pretty head of yours."
Fleur Delacour flushes a deep crimson at Harry's teasing, amused tone. Even as she slowly sinks to her knees right there in the alcove, she knows what the wizard is doing. How can she not? She's not an idiot. Still, at this point… it's far too late. She's already an addict.
Not that she was lying or anything like that. She really did need the boost that his magical cum could provide if she wanted to have any shot at doing well in this Second Task, which would seem to be taking place entirely underwater in the infamous Black Lake located just outside of the Hogwarts Castle.
If Fleur didn't know that this whole tournament had been planned out months in advance, long before the Year even began and they ever could have known she would be Beauxbatons' Champion, she would honestly have thought they were trying to sabotage her. Veela and bodies of water simply did not mix. Baths were fine, showers were better but being submerged in anything larger than a tub made a veela as weak as a damn kitten.
Fleur wasn't a full veela of course, so the effects were diminished, but her magic was still greatly weakened, and though she'd become a strong swimmer despite her aversion to water, she knew she wouldn't be at her best down there in the dark.
That was where Harry's magical semen came into play. Deftly extracting his cock from the confines of his robes, she quickly begins to bob up and down on him. They both know they don't have time for more than a quick blowjob, otherwise Fleur might make more of a show of things. As it is, she's too desperate to do anything but positively inhale his cock right now, choking and gagging all the while.
"Hulghk! Glughk! Gagkh!"
Harry watches her quietly, his emerald eyes almost seeming to glow in the shadowed alcove she's dragged him off to. Oh how far they've come since her initial assumptions about him, the kiss in the classroom, and then their interactions on the night of the Yule Ball.
If she didn't want more of his cum so badly, Fleur probably would have avoided him entirely for the rest of her stay at Hogwarts. She'd never managed to come out ahead with him. Never managed to get one over on him. Even his inexperienced muggleborn friend had wound up subjugating Fleur, albeit with Harry's assistance.
The humiliation she felt over being constantly put in her place by the handsome, powerful young wizard was thoroughly overshadowed by the pleasure and the rush that came with imbibing his magical seed, however. Fuck, she honestly wanted to know how good he would feel inside of her, and how long the boost from his magic would last if he came in her womb instead of her belly.
… But Fleur knows better than to ask for that, especially right now on a time crunch. If he was going to leap at the first chance to fuck her, he would have done so back on the night of the Yule Ball. That he hadn't meant he was saving proper intercourse for something special. That was why she'd offered to make it worth his while… so he'd have an excuse to finally fuck her properly once all was said and done. However, he'd shut that down too, hadn't he?
Harry could say he didn't want anything from her in return for this, but Fleur knew better. She was a fish on a line, hooked and slowly but surely being reeled in at Harry's leisure. He was toying with her, teasing her, and playing her like a fiddle. But just because she knew exactly what he was doing didn't make it any less effective. Fuck, she wanted him. She needed him. She-
"Here it comes, Fleur."
"Glrk!"
Fleur's eyes widen as Harry suddenly starts to come with barely any warning. She rushes to focus on swallowing down his seed, guzzling every last drop of his cum like there's no tomorrow. She gulps and gulps and gulps until there's nothing left, before quickly pulling back and wiping at the corner of her mouth for a moment.
Then, she hurriedly tucks Harry's cock back away for him and rises to her feet, smoothing out her dress. Not that she'd be wearing it much longer anyways before she had to take it off to reveal her swimsuit. But… appearances were everything, in the end.
Already, she can feel it. The extra power coursing through her. Already, she feels strong again. It feels good.
"T-Thank you, Harry. You've helped more than you could know."
At that, the young wizard gives her a mysterious smirk and a wink.
"Oh… I think I know more than you just how helpful I've been, Fleur. Not to worry though… it was my pleasure."
Fleur blushes, not quite understanding what he's saying. But it doesn't matter. Not wanting them to be seen together, she rushes out of the alcove before he can, making her way towards the Black Lake and the Second Task.
-x-X-x-
As they all gather on the docks for the Second Task, Fleur finds herself reveling in the sense of fresh magical power filling every bit of her body. At the same time, she can't help but look to the stands. Her mother and sister were visiting for this task, and Fleur had to admit that at least a small portion of why she wanted the boost from Harry was so she could impress them. She didn't want her mother and little sister to see her fumble around weakly and fail the task, not if she could help it. Even if they would understand most of all given their shared heritage, it wasn't something she was inclined to let happen.
… However, while Fleur easily locates her mother in the stands, finding the impossibly gorgeous Apolline Delacour standing amidst a crowd of mundane and average witches and wizards… she doesn't seen Gabrielle. Fleur's brow furrows as she makes eye contact with her mother, the Matriarch of House Delacour. Where is Gabrielle? Their mother would never allow her sister to miss this, would she?
Rather than give any indication one way or the other, Apolline's face is expressionless. She looks at Fleur without giving a single thing away. But then… that in and of itself gives the game away, especially when Ludo Bagman speaks up a moment later.
"Alright, everyone! All of our Champions are ready to begin the Second Task, which will start on my whistle! They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them!"
Fleur's eyes dart among the crowd… and she doesn't see Harry's muggleborn friend either. As well, Viktor Krum and Cedric Diggory's dates are also nowhere to be seen, even though Cedric is in attendance in spite of his still healing injuries.
"On the count of three, then!"
No… it wasn't possible. The last two lines from the song that blasted golden egg let out echo through Fleur's mind.
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.
"One!"
There was just no way. They wouldn't do something so… so ghastly!
"Two!"
And yet, the proof was right in front of her, wasn't it?
"Three!"
They'd taken what they'd sorely miss the most. No, not WHAT… but WHO.
As Bagman's shrill whistle sounds through the air, Fleur doesn't even spend the time to check out what her competitors are doing like she originally planned. She shucks her dress over her head, revealing her one piece swimsuit, and turns around, sprinting for the edge of the dock and jumping into the ice cold water of the Black Lake.
She's submerged entirely a moment later, but the weakness she's come to associate with being in large bodies of water is absent. She feels strong, in fact… stronger than she ever has before. Without missing a beat, she quickly casts a Bubble Head Charm. And then, hoping against hope that she's wrong, Fleur casts a piece of familial magic, a simple spell that gives the location of any who share her blood in a certain radius from her.
Truth be told, this spell would never have worked underwater in normal circumstances. But thanks to Harry's seed settling in her belly, Fleur encounters no difficulties. She quickly ascertains that her mother is behind her and up, back in the stands. Meanwhile, Gabrielle… Gabrielle is down and forward. The merpeople have her.
Letting out an angry hiss, Fleur jettisons herself forward, heading straight for her sister's magical signature. She blasts her way through the Black Lake, not letting even the smallest whiff of movement go without throwing some sort of spell in its direction.
She's somewhat aware that they might have some way of watching her up top, and she should probably focus more on her performance and looking good to the judges… but truthfully, Fleur just doesn't care. Only one thing matters in that moment. Getting to her sister.
The French Veela makes good time to the mermen village, in the end. And fortunately, they don't try to bar her passage either. In fact, upon seeing the wrathful expression on her face and the glowing wand in her hand, they immediately scatter in wide-eyed fear, allowing her to advance to the center of the village alone.
… Except not quite. When she gets to the center of the village, she finds the hostages all unconscious and dangling from ropes tied around their ankles, keeping them anchored to the lakebed. But not just them… Harry is already there, standing on the bottom of the Black Lake with his arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on his face.
He'd beaten her here? How? Then again… did it really matter? He smiles when he sees her, before gesturing to Gabrielle. Blushing a bit, Fleur hastily reaches for her sister, casting a severing charm to remove the rope around her ankle. It seems that Gabriel is in some form of suspended animation. There was probably never any danger of her drowning, Fleur belatedly realizes.
And yet, even as she hugs Gabrielle close and prepares to return to the surface, Harry stays right where he is. When she looks between him and his muggleborn friend curiously, he just waves her off with a shake of his head and a meaningful glance at the other hostages.
In the end, Fleur lets him shoo her away, caring more about getting her little sister out of this horrid, frigid water more than anything else. Even if Gabrielle was in no immediate danger, extended stays in large bodies of water were not good for veela constitution! She didn't know what her mother was thinking, allowing this to take place!
Making her way up to the surface is as easy as the descent, especially since she still has the spell that allows her to see her mother's magical signature active. She also passes Viktor Krum on her way out of the village… but sees no sign of Cedric Diggory either coming or going.
When she breaks the surface of the water with Gabrielle in hand, her sister immediately wakes up with a gasping sputter. Fleur quickly gets them both out of the lake and onto the dock, and casts drying and warming charms by the boatload, even as Gabrielle blinks up at her and smiles.
"Did I do good, sister? They said you would fight all the harder to retrieve me!"
Fleur purses her lips tightly at that, only to jump when their mother suddenly arrives at their sides, kneeling and hugging them both. Her next words, despite Gabrielle's close proximity, are clearly only meant for Fleur's ears.
"They caught your sister alone and talked her into this hare-brained scheme without consulting me first. Then, they relied on her to beg me to let her participate. Well done, my daughter. Well done."
Ah. Her mother was furious. That was never good. Though Fleur couldn't blame her. She was starting to feel rather livid as well. Only, before they can speak any further there's a massive geyser from the water that has all three Delacour women looking over.
There, Harry Potter comes down to gently land on the churning surface of the Black Lake, walking across it like it's cobble stone floor and not liquid. Behind him float three people… Hermione Granger, his hostage, Cho Chang, Cedric's hostage… and Cedric himself, who looks like he's definitely seen better days.
"Ah, Harry! You only needed to retrieve your hostage, haha! Went a little overboard there, don't you think? The hostages were never in any danger after all, Dumbledore and the Merfolk are quite close!
When Harry steps onto the dock, he does so with a scowl directed at the School Heads and the Ministry Officials, and especially at Ludo Bagman for his words.
"The hostages might have been fine, but what about us Champions. Cedric wasn't ready for this. He nearly died down there because you pushed him into continuing this damn contest!"
Dumbledore clears his throat at that.
"Harry, my boy. Cedric's choice to continue was his own. And besides, the Goblet of Fire is a magical contract, as you well know."
"Then he should have just dipped a toe in and then forfeited or something! He should never have been down there with dragonfire injuries!"
Fleur can't help but be a little mesmerized by Harry in this moment. Maybe it's the fact that his magic still suffuses every part of her being, or maybe it's just seeing him launch into a righteous tirade that not even Viktor Krum's own arrival in last place stops… but honestly he's just so much more impressive than she'd ever thought possible when he'd first wound up in the tournament.
Suddenly, her mother's hand grips tightly on her arm, forcing Fleur to tear her gaze away from Harry and look to the older woman. The Delacour Matriarch looks frozen in place as she too stares at Harry in disbelief and… arousal?
"Fleur… who is that young man?"
Shifting a bit, Fleur swallows thickly.
"That… that is Harry Potter, mother. The Boy-Who-Lived. And… he is as powerful as all of the stories say he is. I confess, I understand now how he might have defeated a Dark Lord at one year of age."
"C'est n'importe quoi. I highly doubt he always had the power he now holds, my darling daughter."
Apolline's voice has dropped again so only Fleur hears her words. It helps that Gabrielle is also watching Harry's tirade with a certain fascination, uncaring of the conversation between her mother and sister.
"That boy… is the center of a Wizard's Coven."
Fleur blinks rapidly at that, not recognizing the term. A normal coven was a gathering of witches, an all-female group that bound their magic to one another in order to enact spells of a power that hadn't been seen in centuries. Veela Covens were similar in nature, but without the binding part and more of a community thing.
But…
"What is a Wizard's Coven, mama?"
Apolline hesitates for a moment, before giving Fleur a look.
"It is exactly what it sounds like, my dear. A Wizard's Coven is a group of witches bound to a single wizard, their magic willingly given over to empower him, allowing him to do whatever he likes with it… and them. That boy… that wizard has bound at least six witches to him."
… Oh.
Chapter 51: Second Task's End
Chapter Text
A/N: Harry makes a move and Fleur and her mother have a chat.
-x-X-x-
As her mother's words regarding precisely what a Wizard's Coven sink into Fleur's mind, things over with Harry and the tournament organizers finally reach a fever pitch as the young man's Headmaster tries to talk him down.
"Harry, I understand that you're upset. But injuries caused by dragonfire are not so easily healed. Cedric knew the risks of all his options and made the choice he made. While I'm sure he will be very grateful for your assistance, his actions were his own, for better or worse."
There's a pause at that, and everyone seems to be watching as Harry mulls over Dumbledore's admittedly very reasonable words. Fleur herself isn't sure what she would have done in Cedric's situation. On the one hand, if her beauty was marred by dragonfire in the same way his handsome looks had been, she probably would have wanted to flee the country and never be seen in public ever again.
… On the other hand, the Goblet of Fire wouldn't have allowed that, at least not without the price of her magic. The contract was draconian like that. Still, maybe Harry was right. Maybe Cedric could have made a token effort. Probably not sticking his toe in, but swimming out to the middle of the lake and then back again the moment he felt fatigued?
But even then, Fleur isn't sure she would have chosen that option. Her competitive side wouldn't have allowed it, not really. And maybe Cedric was the exact same way… or had it even worse than her, who knew.
Either way, Harry doesn't seem to have a comeback to Dumbledore's words for a moment… before his jaw sets all of the sudden, and he gets this glint in his eye.
"Not so easily healed, huh?"
Everyone can only watch as Harry stomps over to where Cedric is laid out unconscious, being prepared for transport back to St. Mungo's. Before anyone can stop him, the green-eyed wizard whips out his wand and points it at the official Hogwarts Champion.
"Episkey."
There's shuffling and murmuring at that, and a few small smiles from the crowd of onlookers. After all… Episkey is a minor healing charm at best, meant for minor injuries. Cuts, bruises, broken noses, split lips. That kind of thing.
It wasn't the sort of spell that could heal the magical damage and scarring left behind by dragonfire of all things.
That said… not everyone is smiling. Some, like the Hogwarts Potions Master and the Durmstrang Headmaster, are scowling at their time being wasted. And others, such as Headmaster Dumbledore, are staring on intently, their faces studiously blank.
Fleur herself… doesn't feel a lick of doubt in Harry's abilities. There's no incredulity, no derisiveness. Instead, she's filled with this strange sort of reverent confidence… a certainty that if Harry Potter wants magic to succeed, it WILL succeed, always.
That's why, she's not even slightly surprised when it works. It just… works. The super-charged Episkey washes over Cedric, causing him to actually glow with power and those prepping him for transport to pull back with wide eyes. When the glow finally dies down, when the spell has finally done it's work, Cedric Diggory is revealed… and looks completely untouched.
He's still unconscious, his eyes shut and his breathing slow. But his face is completely relaxed and blemish free. The scarring from the dragonfire is absent from his flesh, and Fleur has no doubt that the damage internally is also completely healed at this point.
Of course, not everyone is in agreement with her. Until the Mediwitch standing next to Harry and Cedric casts a diagnostic spell on the unconscious wizard and speaks the results out loud into the ensuing silence.
"He… he's healed. Entirely healed."
There's a brief pause as everyone just stares in disbelief and shock. And then the loudest, most raucous cheering of Fleur's life picks up in the stadium.
"HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!"
Fleur bites her lower lip as Harry, far from simply enjoying the adulation of his fans, looks to Dumbledore directly, a defiance in his eyes as he stands over Cedric's unconscious body. It's a good look on the young wizard. A very… dashing look. But she still can't forget what her mother told her. About Harry being the center of a Wizard's Coven. And truthfully, Fleur didn't know what that meant for her.
-x-X-x-
The points for the Second Task end up being awarded rather hastily in Fleur's opinion. She comes in first, even if she doesn't feel like she deserves it. Yes, she made it back to the docks first, but still, Harry… well, he'd done what he'd done, hadn't he?
Ultimately though, Harry is robbed of his first place finish by, once again, the Durmstrang Headmaster. While everyone else agrees to give Harry full marks for astounding acts of courage and bravery, Karkaroff goes the opposite direction, deeming Harry worthy of practically no points for 'disrupting the competition' and 'flagrant disregard for authority'.
The end result was that Harry had tied with Krum again, this time for second place, while Cedric unfortunately had only gotten minimal points for 'trying his best' and 'showing strong courage in the face of adversity'. But since he hadn't actually managed to get his hostage or even himself back up to the surface, there was really only so much to be done.
The end result is that Fleur is actually in the lead by a hair's breadth, while Harry and Krum are tied for second in the overall competition as well. But… honestly, Fleur doesn't feel like a winner. And she definitely doesn't feel like she deserves to be in First for the whole tournament. Not that it's likely to matter in the end. Things are close enough that she has no doubt whatever the Third Task entails, Harry will knock it out of the park and win it all… if that's what he wants.
A shiver runs down Fleur's spine, even as her mother's voice pulls her out of her thoughts.
"He really hasn't made any overtures to you yet, Fleur?"
They're alone now, ensconced in one of Hogwarts' sets of guest quarters. Gabrielle has been left to her own devices, something that Fleur's younger sister was so delighted by, she didn't even question why. The reason is obvious… their mother needed to talk to Fleur in private, to grill her on everything that had happened between her and Harry since she arrived at Hogwarts.
Blushing, Fleur shakes her head and looks down at her hands.
"Any overtures have been mine, mama. In fact… at every turn, he has turned down my advances, or downplayed them in some way…"
Apolline's eyes narrow at that, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Oh?"
Fleur's blush intensifies and she nods.
"I… initially I was quite dismissive of Harry Potter. I thought he was just a boy, and I was aggravated that someone like him was allowed to cheat and enter the Triwizard Tournament when it was so obvious he didn't belong. I allowed him to goad me into making an ill-advised bet ahead of the First Task. Whoever did the best would be able to demand something of the loser."
She can feel her mother's disappointed stare practically burning a hole in the side of her head, so Fleur doesn't look up. Instead, she continues on.
"Afterwards… after he won, I feared what he would demand of me. But he didn't do anything at first. In the end, I had to drag him off to make him tell me what he wanted. And ultimately… all he wanted was a kiss."
Apolline's incredulity is laced in her voice, even if Fleur isn't looking her in the eye.
"… A kiss…"
Nodding, Fleur finally looks up again.
"It was the best kiss I've ever had, mama. It tasted of his magic, of his power… and it left me tingling for days afterwards."
Eyes widening, Apolline's breath hitches.
"He's capable of projecting his magic in such a focused and concentrated way? That's… that should be beyond someone of his age, Wizard's Coven or no."
Fleur nods, her blush only growing hotter on her face and neck.
"Yes. And then on the night of the Yule Ball… I made a move, thinking I might be able to tame him and his date. I inserted myself into their sexual encounter… and was promptly smacked down. Harry had every opportunity to bind me then and there if he wanted, mama. I wouldn't have put up any resistance either… I DIDN'T put up any resistance. But instead… he did not even deflower me. He took his date for the evening and had me watch."
Bringing a hand to her abdomen, where even now she feels Harry's seed still resting in her gut, giving her power, Fleur whimpers.
"I imbibed his semen though that night. It was delicious, but more than that… it conveyed his power to me. He made me stronger, and so when the Second Task arrived… I asked him to allow me to do so again, knowing I would be going underwater. I told him he could have anything he wanted from me, hoping he would demand my virginity in trade, but even then… even today, he told me he would ask for nothing in return."
Looking at her mother imploringly, Fleur is almost whining as she beseeches the older woman.
"Surely… surely he would have been more aggressive if he wanted to bind me, right mama? Would he really be so generous and so selfless, passing up opportunity after opportunity if he wanted to make me part of his Wizard's Coven?"
"Yes."
Apolline's decisive, no-nonsense tone cuts through Fleur's hope like a knife. Her mother doesn't mince words.
"He has you on a hook, my dear darling daughter. He has had you on a hook since that kiss after the First Task. This young man is wise beyond his years, unnaturally so. Just because he has not yet reeled you in does not mean he's never going to. And in truth… it sounds like you've been reeling yourself in just fine. How much longer would you have lasted, if I had not been here to warn you of his true nature? How much longer would it have been before you offered yourself up on a silver platter?"
Fleur bites her lower lip at that, knowing full well that her mother is right, especially about that last part. If not for the Delacour Matriarch's knowledge, Fleur probably would have gotten more and more desperate for Harry, until she finally just threw herself at his feet and begged or demanded for him to ravish her already.
From there, she likely would have done anything he told her to, including being talked into binding her magic to him, possibly. And yet… even with Apolline's warnings, Fleur wasn't entirely convinced she needed to stay away from Harry.
"… Would it really be so bad, mama? To become a part of his Coven?"
Apolline freezes, looking at Fleur with wide eyes.
"Fleur!"
But Fleur refuses to be deterred.
"I do not disbelieve you, mama. Harry Potter has a Witch's Coven. According to you, he has already bound as many as six witches to him. But… does that necessarily make him evil? You said the ritual had to be willing, after all."
That causes her mother to hesitate.
"… It does, yes…"
Fleur leaps on that answer.
"And today… we both saw his heroics today. Saving Cedric and his hostage along with his own was one thing… one might call that a publicity stunt. But then he revealed his power to everyone in order to heal one of his competitors. Surely that has to count for something! Surely that shows the strength of his character, mama!"
Maybe she's grasping at straws. Even Fleur can hear the desperation in her voice. Still, her mother doesn't immediately smack her down. Perhaps Apolline sees how much Fleur wants this. Or perhaps she's actually being persuaded by Fleur's words.
"… It is true that so far he has shown no sign of great evil or abuse. But at the same time Fleur, joining a Wizard's Coven is a permanent affair. You do not just get to change your mind later on. The Wizard at the center of the Coven owns your magic forevermore. The only way out… is death."
Fleur swallows nervously and has to wet her dry lips, but before she can respond, her mother continues.
"I might be willing to accept that this Harry Potter is a good man now. Good men are vanishingly hard to find these days, so if this were a normal courtship you wished to pursue, I would be a lot happier giving it my blessing, Fleur. But… can you safe beyond a shadow of a doubt that Harry Potter will continue to be a good man for the rest of his life? People change. And time makes fools of us all. In ten years, or twenty years, if he becomes a monster in human form, you will have no recourse. You will be stuck in a Hell of your own choosing, along with the other women he has bound to him."
Her mother's words wash over her like waves crashing against the shore, slowly eroding her confidence. Apolline has a point, after all. Harry seems like a good, honorable man now. And he might even be what he seems. But will he always be what he seems?
"… There has not been a Wizard's Coven since Merlin himself, daughter of mine. Our veela ancestor was a member, and though the blood has thinned considerably, we can trace our lineage back to him as a result… and so can many others across the entirety of the Wizarding World. And yet, there is a reason that Merlin kept his Wizard's Coven a secret, and a reason he destroyed all knowledge of how to create one when he finally passed from this world. Power can corrupt even the purest of intentions and the kindest of hearts."
Fleur slowly breathes out. Everything her mother has said so far is perfectly logical. It makes a lot of sense too. And yet… the heart wants what the heart wants.
"You are still considering pursuing him, aren't you?"
Fleur flinches at the accusation, her mother's tone sounding quite… resigned.
"I… yes mama."
She wouldn't lie to her. Not that she could have successfully lied to her mother even if she wanted to.
For a long moment, silence reigns between the two of them. Fleur fidgets as she waits for her mother's inevitable condemnation. It doesn't seem likely that anything else will come out of Apolline Delacour's mouth at this point…