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Percy hummed deep in his throat, feeling the warmth spread from their joined lips. When they finally pulled apart, needing air, he smiled down at her, his green eyes sparkling. "What was that amazing kiss for?"
Fleur smiled back, her own blue eyes soft and bright. "For zaving my little Gabby," she whispered.
Percy chuckled, a low, happy sound. "Well, you are very welcome. Although," he leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping to a playful whisper, "is just one kiss all I get for zat? Because I am pretty sure I just saved the only little sister you 'ave got."
Fleur raised one perfect blonde eyebrow, a teasing look in her eyes. "Oh? And w'at else did you perhaps 'ave in mind, Mr. 'ero?"
Percy's smile turned into a cheeky smirk. "Well," he drawled, glancing towards the dark trees nearby, "ze Forbidden Forest looks very warm and cozy right now... and I am sure nobody important will miss us for just a few little hours..."
Fleur did not say a word. Instead, she reached up, tangled her fingers in his messy black hair, and kissed him again, deeply this time.
It was answer enough. Percy grinned against her lips, then wrapped an arm tight around her waist. Using a bit of hidden magic woven into his cloak, he lifted them both silently off the ground.
They flew quickly and unseen, like shadows, away from the lake and towards a quiet, hidden part of the castle grounds they knew well their own private little sanctuary.
They slipped inside, hidden from view, and were not seen again for at least the next few very pleasant hours.
Much later, when they were quite finished enjoying their private time, Percy gently dropped Fleur off near her shiny, horse-drawn carriage.
Then, careful not to be seen, he snuck back into the Hogwarts castle and down towards the Hufflepuff common room entrance.
Inside his dorm, he quickly pulled on a clean shirt, a warm hoodie, and some comfortable pants.
A quick look in the mirror showed he looked mostly normal, maybe just a bit too happy. Feeling hungry after... well, everything... he made his way up to the Great Hall. It was time for dinner.
He spotted his friends Harry, Ron, Hermione, the French Hufflepuffs like Juan and Camille, and some others all sitting together at the Hufflepuff table.
They were busy talking about something, heads close together, occasionally glancing towards the Beauxbatons table where other French students sat.
Percy put on a big, confident smile and swaggered over to them, plopping down in an empty spot. "Ello there, lads and lasses," he greeted cheerfully. "What is new? What did I miss?"
"And look who finally returns," Juan said, raising an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. "Ze conquering 'ero. So, tell us, Percy, where did you and your lovely Fleur get off to for so long?"
Percy just shrugged casually, already reaching for the platters of food piled high on the table roast chicken, potatoes, peas, gravy. "Oh, you know," he said vaguely, starting to load up his plate with a mountain of food. "We were just... around."
"Around?" Camille leaned forward, her eyes narrowed playfully, a smug little smile on her face. "And what exactly were you both doing while you were...'around'?"
Percy stopped piling food for a second. He looked Camille straight in the eyes, his own face completely serious, without even a hint of a smile. In a perfectly flat, calm voice, he said, "Each other."
Absolute silence fell over that part of the table. Everyone just stopped talking, stopped eating, stopped moving.
Several faces, including Camille's and Juan's, turned bright red with sudden embarrassment. Harry choked on his pumpkin juice, and Ron dropped his fork with a clatter.
Just at that awkward moment, the doors to the Great Hall opened again, and Fleur walked in gracefully. Everyone at Percy's end of the table stiffened up immediately, looking guilty or flustered.
Automatically, they shuffled sideways, making a space right next to Percy for her to sit down. The veela slid onto the bench beside him, looking beautiful as always, but she glanced around curiously at her friends, noticing the very strange, wide-eyed looks they were all giving her.
As she started putting some salad onto her own plate, she leaned close to Percy and whispered quietly, only for him to hear, "W'y are t'ey all ztaring at uz like zat, Perzy? Did I miss zomezing?"
"Probably because you are covered neck-to-collarbone with hickeys," Percy replied bluntly, taking a large bite of chicken.
"Perzy!" Fleur gasped, her eyes flying wide. Her hands flew up to her neck, quickly fumbling to fasten the top button of her silk blouse, trying to cover the small, dark love bites that clearly marked her pale skin.
Percy just shrugged again, chewing his food calmly. "What? It is not like zey do not all understand what zey are for... well," he added, glancing pointedly at Juan, "except maybe for Juan over zere. Still a virgin, are we?"
"Bite me, you stupid Yankee bastard!" the French Hufflepuff, Juan, cried out, his face now an even deeper shade of red.
Percy snorted, amused. "I would much rather bite my girlfriend," he said, nodding towards Fleur's covered neck with a grin. "As you can clearly see, I already did."
Smack!
Fleur hit him squarely on the top of his head with her empty plate (luckily, it was not the heavy ceramic kind). "Will you ztop zat?!" she hissed, her whole face blushing furiously now, right up to her ears.
Percy just shrugged, rubbing his head but still grinning. "Not really. Am too 'appy right now to care much."
"ARGH! You are completely impozzible!" Fleur groaned, burying her blushing face in her hands for a moment before finally starting to eat her dinner, trying hard to ignore the continued snickers and awkward glances from everyone else nearby.
The week that followed felt incredibly boring in Percy's opinion. It seemed like everyone in the school was either talking non-stop about the scary Second Task in the Black Lake or constantly asking him if he could please, please, please give them a ride in his pegasus form.
He really could have done without the second part. It got old fast. The only good thing brightening up the dull days was looking forward to the next weekend it was going to be another Hogsmeade visit, and he and Fleur had a proper date planned, just the two of them.
So, on the bright, slightly chilly morning of the 6th of March, Percy and Fleur found themselves stumbling out of the warm, bustling Three Broomsticks pub.
They were both holding their stomachs, doubled over with helpless laughter. Tears streamed down their faces.
"Oh, zat was perfect! Absolutely perfect!" Fleur cried out between gasps for air.
"Did you see the look on Malfoy's stupid face?!" Percy managed to ask, wiping a tear from his eye with the back of his hand. "Him and his 'superior pure blood'! Superior blood my arse!"
"I cannot believe 'e fell for ze pie in ze face trick again!" Fleur chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "Zat ztupid, arrogant moron."
Their date had started off wonderfully. Percy had taken her straight to Honeydukes sweet shop first and bought her practically every kind of chocolate she pointed at frogs, bars, cauldron cakes.
Then, loaded with sweets, they went browsing in some shops, looking at books and other interesting things. That was when they had unfortunately run into Draco Malfoy and his usual Slytherin sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle.
Percy had kind of hoped they might have learned their lesson by now mainly, that it was a really bad idea to try and piss off a protective veela and her boyfriend who loved pranks.
But apparently, over the past few days, they had gotten bold again. They had cornered them near the bookshop and started insulting Fleur once more, calling her nasty names like 'half-breed' and asking loudly why a 'talented, proper wizard' like Percy would ever waste his time hanging around with 'her sort'.
Obviously, after that, no one should have been shocked at all when the fancy dessert pies the three Slytherins later ordered inside the Three Broomsticks turned out to be filled not with cream, but with something much, much grosser. Percy really hoped this time they would finally learn to keep their stupid mouths shut.
"Zo, my darling," Fleur asked, linking her arm through Percy's and holding his hand tightly as they walked down the main street, still chuckling softly. "Where are we off to next on zis lovely date?"
Percy leaned closer to Fleur, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Well," he whispered, "I was thinking... maybe you and I could go find a nice, quiet spot? Spend some time alone down by the lake, maybe? Look at the still waters, enjoy the peace... stuff like that."
"Zat zounds like a wonderful plan, let us-" Fleur started to agree, but then she suddenly stopped walking, her eyes catching something further down the path. "Wait. Iz zat not 'Arry Potter over zere?" she asked, her tone changing completely.
Percy was caught off guard by the sudden switch. He looked where she was pointing and, sure enough, he spotted Harry walking away from the main part of Hogsmeade village.
With him were Hermione, Ron, and surprisingly, Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. And trotting along happily beside them was a big, scruffy-looking black dog.
Percy frowned, watching them head towards the rocky hills outside the village. "Huh. Yeah, it is. What are zey doing going that way?"
"Probably getting up to some kind of mischief, knowing zem," Fleur shrugged, but her eyes glinted with sudden curiosity.
Percy nodded slowly. "Yeah... probably." He paused for a beat. "...You want to follow zem and see what it is?"
"Oh, Merlin, yes!" Fleur smiled widely, a spark of adventure lighting up her face. It was this side of her the curious, slightly mischievous side hidden beneath the sometimes-snobbish princess act she had to put on for show that Percy realized he really, truly cared for.
The couple quickly and quietly changed direction, forgetting about the lake for now. They followed the group of fourth-year students at a safe distance, keeping out of sight behind buildings and bushes.
They tracked them easily as they left the village path and started climbing up a rocky slope, finally disappearing into the dark mouth of a small cave hidden among the boulders. Percy blinked in surprise, stopping just outside.
"Okay, what do you think zey are possibly doing in zere?"
Fleur shrugged, peering into the darkness. "I am not zure at all. Per'aps... per'aps we z'ould just go find out for ourselves?"
Percy nodded grimly. Taking a deep breath, he and Fleur cautiously walked up to the mouth of the cave. Peeking inside, they saw the kids Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Susan standing in a small, dimly lit cavern.
Before them stood a man. He was shockingly, terribly skinny, almost like a skeleton covered in pale skin. His dark hair was long, tangled, and matted.
He wore old, ragged clothes that looked like black and white striped prison uniforms, torn in several places. He was greedily munching on a cooked chicken leg, tearing the meat off and cleaning it right down to the bare bone with desperate hunger.
"Okay," Percy called out loudly into the cave, unable to stop himself. "This is officially weird, even for Hogwarts standard weird."
The kids all gasped loudly and spun around as one, their eyes wide with shock and panic as they spotted Percy and Fleur standing silhouetted against the bright light at the entrance of the cave.
"Get back! Stay away!" the skinny man suddenly yelled, dropping the chicken bone. He scrambled quickly to stand in front of the kids, protectively, and whipped out a wand, holding it out with a trembling but determined hand.
"Woah there! Easy now!" Percy said quickly, he and Fleur both drawing their own wands instantly, holding them ready but not pointing them directly.
"Expelli-" the man started to yell the spell.
"-Sirius, stop! Don't!" Harry cried out urgently, lunging forward and grabbing the man's wand arm, pulling it down. "That is Percy! He is okay! He is a friend!"
The man, Sirius, stopped struggling. He looked sharply from Percy, then down at Harry, blinking in confusion. He narrowed his suspicious eyes, studying Percy carefully, then flicked his gaze to the blonde girl standing beside him.
"And 'er?" he rasped, his voice rough from disuse. "Who is she?"
"That is his girlfriend," Hermione informed the man quickly, stepping forward slightly. "Fleur Delacour. She is okay too."
Sirius's eyes kept darting around the cave nervously, like he expected danger to jump out from any shadow. He looked back at Harry, his gaze intense. "Do you trust 'im, Harry? Really trust 'im?"
"With my life," Harry responded instantly, without a second of hesitation. Percy felt a swell of pride hearing that.
Sirius seemed to consider this for a moment, his eyes still wary. Then he gave a short, sharp nod. "Well... alright then," he muttered.
He gently took his wand back from Harry's grasp and turned back to face Percy and Fleur, though he still looked tense. "One wrong move," he warned, his voice low and gravelly, "just one... and you will seriously regret it."
Percy and Fleur looked at each other for a long moment, silently agreeing. Then, slowly, cautiously, they both lowered their wands. Percy tucked his away inside his cloak but kept his hand near it.
He turned his attention back to Harry, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern. "Harry," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Buddy. Mate. Pal. What the bloody Hades is going on 'ere?"
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If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters you could take a visit on my patreon Or check it out.
http://patreon.com/SageOf016