Maman doesn't wish to come,' she announced. 'I can side-long apparate Harry,' she added, smirking slightly at the opportunity to make blush in front of her father.
'It's fine,' Harry assured her calmly, but the mild panic in his eyes gave away that he had guessed her plan.
'I insist,' she laughed, stepping close to him and wrapping her arms around his chest.
There was a quiet crack and they disapparated in front of Fleur's father's shocked face. 'Did you have to do that?' Harry complained.
'Yes,' she smiled. 'It was funny, and I wanted to ask you a question.'
'Ask away,' Harry sighed. 'I'm sure we have a moment while your father recovers from watching you throw yourself at me anyway.'
'I did not throw myself at you,' Fleur disagreed, despite knowing that was only one small set beyond what she had done. 'I like side-long apparating like that, don't you?'
'It is quite nice,' he conceded, smiling fondly at her.
'I wanted to ask if your patronus has ever changed,' Fleur told him.
He flushed ever so slightly and glanced around the street before answering. 'It might have,' he said eventually. 'It used to be a stag.'
There was a long pause where she stared at him, trying to figure out what her mother meant. 'Fine,' he sighed, the flush creeping further up his face, 'it changed in the last few months of last year and over the summer.'
Emotional upheaval, Fleur mused. Oh.
There wasn't anything she could say in response to his roundabout, indisputable confession, so she kissed him instead. Hard, dragging him close to her by the collar of his transfigured robes.
Her father, of course, chose that moment to apparate in next to him.
'Am I interrupting?' He inquired, taking every single iota of amusement he could from their embarrassment. 'I think she was about to let go of me,' Harry replied, touching his fingers to lips that were likely tingling just as much as hers.
'I was not,' Fleur disagreed, brushing his hand out the way and kissing him again, more softly. She didn't want to bruise her mouth too badly, not when she could keep him with her for the rest of the day.
Her father sighed, but he seemed much happier about them being together than he had before.
Mother told him, Fleur realised. She only wanted Harry to have to admit it to me.
There was some more evidence that Gabrielle's obsession with romance had not come from their father. She supposed that as long as her mother did not start demanding they kiss in the rain, and her help went as well as this, then Fleur didn't really mind.
'Shall we go,' her father suggested lightly once Fleur had realised a distinctly red-faced Harry.
They strolled across the street and into the marble-floored, slim-pillared colonnade of the Parisian branch of Gringotts. It was not as large as the main branch in London. Britain's Empire, trade dominance and magical superiority made them the centre of the global economy for long enough to have a permanent impact.
'Mr Delacour.' One of the older, more gnarled looking goblins stepped our from behind his desk to greet her father.
'I've returned with the aforementioned third party,' her father responded quietly.
'Ah,' the goblin smiled, displaying a rather impressively sharp seeming set of teeth. 'Step this way please.'
The goblin picked up a thin, black brief case and led them into a private meeting room a few paces along the corridor from his desk and closed the door.
'I am Nagnok, Mr Potter,' the goblin introduced himself, not offering a hand. Goblins did not particularly like wizards and disliked to be overly familiar with them, but then goblins disliked other goblins and anything that wasn't gold, silver, ancient, or valuable.
'A pleasure,' Harry answered coolly, not at all put off by the staring goblin.
'I assume that you are here to verify Mr Delacour's questions are legitimate inquiries,' the goblin said snapping open the case he had brought with him. 'I am.'
'I take that this is the daughter with which you are involved,' the goblin glanced dismissively at her. Harry's eyes narrowed but he nodded.
'Don't ask her to prove it,' she heard her father murmur under his breath. Harry chuckled, obviously overhearing as well.
'Then I can conclusively answer your questions,' Nagnok announced. 'Here is a list of the current accepted marriage offers for the Potter family.'
He passed it to Harry who scanned it tentatively.
'What does it say?' Fleur asked nervously. If she needed to go and immolate some British witch then she needed her name.
'Katie Bell,' Harry said solemnly. Fleur's heart plummeted.
Harry burst out laughing. 'The look on your face,' he turned the piece of parchment over, 'it's blank.'
For a long moment Fleur was torn between the equally strong urge to burn him to cinders for making her worry and joking about something so important, or kissing him repeatedly just because he was still hers.
'You can set fire to him later,' her father commented, trying and failing to conceal his own smile.
'Can I enquire about the current status of my family's assets?' Harry asked Nagnok.
'You may,' the goblin smiled.
'Will you tell me when I do?' Harry continued, unfazed.
'I will,' Nagnok's smile grew.
'Then consider that my enquiry,' Harry responded firmly.
Nagnok turned back to his case and the pile of documents within, shuffling through them, before nodding and turning back to face Harry.
'As I am not the account manager for your family, and not authorised to share the explicit details without their express permission I can only tell you that the majority of the assets your family held were liquidated by Charles Potter to try and limit losses in the escalating wizarding war, but after his death James Potter spent all but a small fraction of it. Since then there have been a multitude of wills bequeathing small amounts to you and no further action other than to maintain your trust fund.' 'Are there any further details you could share?' Harry asked. Fleur had to agree with him. Without knowing the size of the fraction or how wealthy Harry's family had been he could have anywhere from a fortune to a pittance.
'I can tell you that your trust fund cannot possibly be exhausted under any circumstances, but if you truly tried you would come close to wiping out half your family's remaining fortune.' Nagnok smirked, clearly not expecting Harry to be able to do anything with the information.
'Thank you,' Harry responded politely. 'I would ask that you investigate any claim I might have to these vaults.' Her father passed him a handwritten list from under his arm. Harry frowned and added a single name to the bottom. Fleur didn't need to guess to know which.
Nagnok looked faintly surprised, but scanned the list of names. 'I can say with almost utter certainty that any claim you have to the assets of theses family will avail you nothing. I know the names of most of Gringotts oldest clients, whom these families would definitely be among, and only the last has anything stored within our walls. In accordance with your request I can inform you that the vault in question is little more than the remnants of an unpaid dowry.'
'That is more than I hoped for,' Harry replied earnestly. 'Make sure that inquiry remains discreet,' he instructed. 'I would prefer that nobody outside of ourselves learnt of it.'
'I understand, Mr Potter,' the goblin smirked nastily. 'It might cause a bit of a stir.'
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