With a sigh Dumbledore sank into his chair, his good mood dissipating slightly. When had he taken to plotting the death of a child? A boy the same age as Ariana had been? Was this truly the correct course? His eyes fell onto the books secreted away on his private shelves, the ones detailing Horcruxes. Yes. Yes, this was the only way. Harry's scar contained a Horcrux and it had already started to corrupt him. Ensuring the boy stayed at the Dursleys' despite the many required Obliviations, bribes and subtle threats over the years hadn't been enough. Harry's will had never hardened sufficiently to resist the Dark Lord's whispers. His actions since arriving at Hogwarts were proof enough of that. Harry had to die. Both to ensure that Voldemort was mortal and that another Dark Lord was removed from the board before he could ascend. The Tournament would accomplish that, one way or another.
Nodding to himself, Dumbledore took solace in the fact that his mind was still sharp enough to deduce the truth of matters. That he was still strong enough to make the hard choices.
{But, mama I want to go watch the game too!} Gabrielle pouted her arms crossed and her lip puffed out.
Apolline Delacour shook her head. {No, Gabrielle. We are not taking you on an international portkey for a game. You can come to the next one.}
{But Fleur gets to go!}
{Fleur is nearly 17. She will be in England anyway during most of the year so she can use this chance to brush up on her English a bit,} Apolline said. She had been having this same argument with her daughter for nearly a month now.
{You don't even like Quidditch that much, Gabi,} Fleur commented from the couch.
{Neither do you, Fleur,} Gabrielle shot back.
{No, but I want to visit with Celeste. It's been ages since I've seen our cousin. She moved to Bulgaria and basically dropped off the map!}
{Fleur, you know very well that Celeste travels quite extensively as one of the team's cheerleaders. That certainly doesn't count as dropping off the map.}
{She could at least send something more than a postcard,} Fleur said rolling her eyes.
{I am not having this argument again,} Apolline said throwing up her hands. {Fleur go finish your packing. Gabi, Marcel will be over at 8 tomorrow morning. Please, don't try to use your Allure to get him to let you stay up late again.}
{I was five! That was practically eight years ago!}
Fleur snorted as her sister and mother kept arguing and she headed upstairs. Despite seeming indifferent to the trip she was actually looking forward to it. She was just trying to keep Gabi from getting too jealous. She loved her sister, but until the girl went through the Change Gabi really shouldn't be around as many people as would be present at the stadium. There was far too much chance that she could lose her tentative control and attract the wrong sort of attention. Granted that'd happen anyway afterward but at least then Gabi would be able to protect herself if she was separated from her family. Fleur shivered slightly remembering what had happened to her when she had snuck out and lost control.
Brushing off that bad memory, Fleur thought instead of Victor Krum. The Seeker wasn't that attractive, but his skills were amazing and she loved to watch him fly. She did also look forward to getting to see a bit of the country she'd be spending months in. Not all of her attitude concerning the trip had been faked though. She figured most of the trip would end up being a bit boring. It wasn't like anything truly exciting was going to happen at the game anyway was it?
XXX
"Hey, Hermione," Harry said giving her a quick kiss as she came into the apartment. "Thanks for coming early. I have something I need to tell you." He ran a hand through his hair and moved to the couch.
"Wotcher, Hermione!" Tonks called from the kitchen. "I'm making the popcorn and apparently I got drafted to play bodyguard. So no harming the guy, yeah?"
"I promise, Tonks," Hermione said rolling her eyes. She got a little gleam in her eyes and continued playfully, "Though if he tries to start bragging about his accomplishments or discusses his latest scheme to defy death I make no promises!"
"I can understand that. Yell if you two need anything," Tonks finished and the teens heard the microwave start.
"She got here early as well?" Hermione asked sitting down next to Harry.
He shrugged. "I think she got annoyed with Kreacher and Sirius mostly. She came storming through the Floo muttering something about a horrible painting that refused to properly burn, an annoying house elf that seemed far too eager to get his head chopped off and a dog that kept making inappropriate comments." Harry paused and laughed slightly. "Which must have been pretty bad if they got Tonks riled up."
"Yes, well it is Sirius," Hermione said shaking her head and grinning slightly. "So what did you want to talk to me about? I actually have something to tell you as well." She shifted so that she was looking at him instead of leaning against his side.
"Oh, what?" Harry asked.
"You first, Mister Potter," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow. "You were the initial one to say something after all."
"Right," Harry gulped and shifted his eyes so that he was staring above Hermione instead of at her. "Err, this is kinda awkward. Well, more than kinda. I um, I stopped by Gringotts a while ago and um…well the thing with being Sirius' Heir is a tad bit more complicated than I had expected. And err…I kinda…havetomarryatleasttwopeoplenow," he finished in a rush.
Hermione blinked. "I'm not going to pretend I understood that last bit, but from the beginning of it I take it that you already know you need to have a second girlfriend for House Black now?"
Harry nodded dejectedly. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I understand that you want to break – " He cut off midsentence as her words caught up to his thoughts. Then he gaped and stared at her. Stared at her very amused expression. "You knew too, Mione?!"
"That was actually what I was going to talk to you about as well today, Harry." Hermione said with a slight laugh. She patted his cheek. "Harry, you're sweet, but you really need to look more closely at politics in the wizarding world. Did you ever bother to read those books that Neville, Daphne and I gave you? As soon as Sirius proclaimed that you were his Heir I knew immediately that you'd have to have a second girlfriend and eventual wife. Everyone present did. We all just assumed that you knew already so we didn't bring it up."
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