You will likely learn more important history by coming here,' Fleur informed him, 'my father took it upon himself to investigate your family.'
'Oh.' Fleur knew that she had captured his curiosity. The stonework behind his head began to move past him more rapidly as he hurried towards the Chamber of Secrets. 'I will see you in a few moments,' he said by way of farewell. She smiled and tucked the locket back into her dress.
'He is coming,' Fleur announced to her parents, returning to the kitchen. There was a soft snap from the entrance hall as she finished speaking. 'He is here,' she corrected, smiling.
They stepped out of the kitchen into the hall to where Harry was standing, adjusting clothes that he had clearly just transfigured from his school robes.
'Nice try, Harry,' she laughed. He shot her a rueful grin, but didn't release the magic.
'Mr and Mrs Delacour,' he greeted cordially. His attitude towards her parents had warmed considerably since they stopped trying to pressure her into considering all the consequences of their relationship. 'Harry,' her mother smiled. Fleur's father inclined his head.
'Fleur told me that you'd been investigating my family?' There was the slightest edge to his curiosity, but she wasn't sure whether it was desire or displeasure.
'My interest got the best of me,' her father admitted. 'I was surprised to learn that you knew so little of your family and I took it upon myself to determine whether or not we might discover some unpleasant surprises when you turn seventeen.'
'Will we?'
'I made some inquiries though the Parisian branch of Gringotts,' he replied a little guiltily, 'they were helpful in some regards, but without your presence I could not discover everything I wanted to.'
'What did you want to learn?' Harry asked, leaning his head slightly to one side to better observe her parents.
'I'm going to have to explain a few things,' her father decided, running one hand over his stubbled chin. 'It might be easier to sit,' he suggested gesturing into the main room. Harry smiled and stepped through, taking a seat on Gabrielle's favourite sofa. The one with chocolate stains.
'Here in Europe things are done a bit differently than in Britain,' her father began taking a seat next to his wife on the sofa next to them. 'The German States, Spain, Italy and most countries have lost the majority of the noble families that ruled in the last two centuries. Traditions and practices have moved on and been modernised. France is split, but every year a few more old laws are overturned by the growing majority.'
pro-modern
'I take it this is not the case in Britain,' Harry realised.
'No,' her mother smiled. 'As my husband is far too fond of mentioning, Britain has been the pre-eminent magical community for three centuries, only growing relatively stronger since Grindelwald massacred his way across the mainland.'
'You are concerned about the pure -blooded mantra of some noble houses?' Harry inquired.
'I am concerned about Britain's Dark Lord, but should he fall then the pure-bloods will fall with him. Britain's revolution has finally come, two centuries after France's, and the effects are still felt in this country.' 'My family is one of the old pure -blood houses,' Harry agreed, 'but not in any way associated with bigoted nonsense Voldemort uses to lure followers.'
'As a noble family in a traditionalist society I was worried about the existence of any agreements your family might have that you were unaware of,' her father explained. 'In France these practises have mostly died out, and those that do occur between the few surviving old pure -blood families are frowned upon. Those families are the ones that fled the disastrous attempts of Robespierre to unite magical and muggle societies under his control, and survived the war that followed. They are unpopular for abandoning their country to shelter in Britain, as most of France's magical families, including mine, were created during or afterwards that chaos and looked down on those that had not suffered as we did.' 'I take it these agreements still exist in Britain,' Harry concluded. 'What kind of agreements?' Fleur was waiting for the angry realisation that would come with her father's inevitably verbose, diplomatic explanation.
'They do, and can often be very specific and still binding even generations after they are created.' He rubbed his chin again and Fleur one he was thinking of a way to try and explain himself without insulting Harry's family.
'It is normal practice in Britain, and not unlikely that such agreements exist,' her mother stepped in, folding her hands in her lap. 'Since you are with Fleur, and my daughter seems quite determined that you are who she wants, we wanted to make sure she wasn't going to suddenly disappointed.'
'I don't understand,' Harry frowned. 'I went looking for several types of agreements,' Fleur's father informed her beau. 'First and foremost on my list was any outstanding, accepted offers of marriage between your family and any others.'
Harry paled, and shifted slightly closer to her.
'Were there any?' He asked eventually.
'I still do not know,' her father grimaced. 'The goblins would not help me on the matter without personally given proof that you were involved with a member of my family.'
A little colour returned to Harry's face. 'How likely exactly are these agreements?'
'Increasingly less, even in Britain, as the number of families decreases the interrelated families of high standing grow too closely related for such agreements to be made, and lesser magical families are rarely considered in them since they have little to offer worth a daughter or son of a powerful family.'
'That's good,' Harry smiled, relieved.
'I did ask the goblins to notify me of your house's political stance on the basis that my family might be drawn into any alliances or conflicts you have, but fortunately there are none still existing.'
'None?' Harry asked. 'You're sure.'
'Very,' her father replied immediately. 'There was an agreement of some kind with the Black family, but it was broken twenty years ago. That was the most recent.'
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