| The next day |
"Are you excited about the Yule ball" Simon asked Aaric during breakfast, with Christmas just a day away.
"Well, yes Dad. I think it will be fun" Aaric nodded.
"Hm, at least the dance lessons we got you will pay off" Simon muttered with a smile.
"What is that supposed to mean" Aaric asked with raised eyebrows.
"You never dance at parties and stay in the corner with your friends" Simon answered with a shrug.
"Well" Aaric muttered, unable to refute it, as he did feel embarrassed when dancing at parties so he would just chat with his friends.
"You will be great, Love. Just enjoy your time with the girls and make them both feel special" Edwina said, giving Aaric a pat on the cheek.
Aaric nodded. He would try his best.
After breakfast, Aaric practiced his dancing for a bit when he received a ping in his mind.
When he had given Fleur her bracelet as a gift, he had told her that calling his name through it would instantly alert him.
It seemed Fleur had called for him.
Aaric used clairvoyance to confirm she was alone and found her sitting beside the Black Lake at Hogwarts.
Aaric formed a portal and stepped through, appearing beside her a moment later.
"What's up" Aaric asked as he exited the portal.
Fleur jolted from her thoughts, then gave him a wave and a small smile.
"Merci for coming, Aaric" Fleur said, patting the space beside her as an invitation to sit.
"Welcome. Is everything alright" Aaric asked as he settled beside her.
"Yes... maybe? I wanted to ask you something" Fleur said, her accent softening the words.
"Sorry, I already have a date for the ball" Aaric said, waving his hand.
Fleur chuckled and smacked his shoulder.
"I am not asking zat. I am going with Alice Marwood already" Fleur said and smacked him again since the first hit was not enough.
Alice was a Ravenclaw girl from Aaric's class, the same girl he had stood up for in Snape's first lesson.
"Oh. Nice. No judgement here" Aaric said with a shrug.
"Espèce d'idiot, va" Fleur muttered, calling him an idiot in French.
"Watch your language, Miss. I will not tolerate this disrespect." Aaric said with mock indignation and a wrinkled nose.
Fleur giggled and squished his cheeks as much as she could.
"I am going with her as a friend because I did not want a romantic partner for ze evening" Fleur said, amused by his squished face.
"Okay, you can stop now" Aaric mumbled in a muffled voice because of the squished state of his face, raising his arms in surrender.
Fleur released his cheeks but immediately grabbed his ear in retaliation for his earlier comments.
"Will you leave my ear and tell me why you called me" Aaric asked, tilting his head as she continued tugging.
"No and yes" Fleur answered both questions at once.
"Well, you remember when we were in ze dreamlands" Fleur whispered, lowering her voice when she mentioned dreamlands as she leaned in. "You found me in a realm wiz a perpetual moon and night"
"Yes, I remember, and my ear hurts" Aaric said making a pitiful expression.
"I met a goddess zere last night when I was in ze dreamlands. She is called Eilistraee" Fleur whispered into the same ear she was pulling.
"Fascinating. My ear is red" Aaric said and used magic to make it look swollen.
"Oh. Désolée" (Sorry) Fleur released his ear and immediately rubbed it, thinking she had hurt him.
But the redness vanished instantly, and Fleur caught the smirk on his face. She shook her head.
"Well, I wanted to ask if you know of her and if she would hurt me. I feel... a connection to 'er" Fleur said, her voice dipping at the end.
"Good question. It is good you do not trust even gods blindly" Aaric nodded approvingly, getting a shrug from her.
"And yes, I know of her. I do not think she intends to hurt you" Aaric said.
He knew Eilistraee from his previous life, form dnd as a goddess of beauty, song, dance, freedom, moonlight, redemption and some other things.
But he did not trust her based solely on old knowledge.
He had asked Vasuki about the Eilistraee watching Fleur and learned that this dreamlands version could be trusted.
There were countless versions of same gods throughout the dreamlands, each with different personalities. Aaric never took chances.
"Hm. Zat is good" Fleur hummed happily.
"It seems you like her" Aaric observed, noting her relief and happiness.
"Yes, I told you I felt a connection to her. And she taught me how to dance and how to use a sword when I met her" Fleur said, still smiling brightly.
Eilistraee had been kind to Fleur, forming a bond during their meeting. Fleur had enjoyed the time learning dance and swordplay but feared it had been a trap as it seemed too good to be true.
That was why she called Aaric before trusting it fully.
"She is powerful as well. You will be on Luna and Daphne's level if she chooses you" Aaric told her with a bright smile.
"Really" Fleur asked, leaning closer, with a spark in her eyes.
"Well, yes" Aaric said with a shrug, wondering why the idea of power excited her. The veela seemed to pick up on that thought instantly.
"You will not need to worry about me if she chooses me" Fleur said gently, answering the unspoken question on Aaric's mind.
"Hm. That is a nice assurance of your safety in the dreamlands" Aaric nodded.
Fleur leaned back. She had another reason for wishing to grow stronger beside Aaric, but she was not ready to voice it.
"Well, I was wondering. How powerful are you all in ze waking world" Fleur asked.
She knew their power could be considered god-like in the waking-realms , but she could not imagine the scale of what that meant.
"Let me show you to give you an idea" Aaric said, extending his hand.
Fleur took it, and the next moment she was suspended in the void of space.
Below them spun a solar system with seven planets orbiting a sun.
Fleur inhaled sharply. The fact she could breathe surprised her. She clutched Aaric's arm tightly as the infinite emptiness pressed around her.
"You see those planets All of them have life now, created with a wave of Daphne's hand" Aaric told her, pointing at the system.
They were the planets Daphne had given life to when demonstrating her powers to her parents and sister.
Fleur stared at the glowing star and the spinning worlds below her, holding onto Aaric's hand as she was still hugging his arm.
"Can we visit one" Fleur whispered, glancing sideways to find his face near hers.
"Choose one" Aaric whispered back.
"Ze third one from ze sun" Fleur said, anticipation bright in her eyes.
A/n: Give me your thought on the chapter and reviews on the fic.
And.. you got any power stones? Well, hand em over then.