A Godfather's Promise

"Harry Potter" belongs to J.K. Rowling

AN: Here it is, chapter 8. I definitely hope that this chapter speeds up the writing, I'm aware of how slow the story has moved and I hope I can start to make it run quicker with this chapter. We have arrived at the moment of the first task.

As such, there will be a lot more scenes that show more essential parts of the story, I cut down on the minutiae a whole lot.

As for the poll, the votes have been counted, and the results were actually surprising. I thought for sure the Naruto story would end up winning, but the Naruto/Marvel/DC one took the prize, followed by The Conqueror Reborn, and The Legend of Master Senju Naruto in third place. After that, you pervs actually wanted me to write the Batman BDSM story. I guess it will have to come later.

I do think if I do a third story, it will be the Batman one since it'll be far shorter than most of the others.

I didn't expect Heir of the Sage to win, so I will have to get myself reacquainted with Marvel comics… old Marvel comics, not Marvel NOW! and Axel Alonso's social justice reign of suckatude that is modern Marvel. Let's hope that C.B. Cebulski can get the House of Ideas away from politics and back on track with great storylines.

I'm going to begin re-reading Chris Claremont's X-Men run to start with, and I just purchased Daredevil: Born Again (may the holiness that is Frank Miller purge the memories of Axel Alonso forever). If you have any more storylines that you think I should read, I welcome suggestions. I mostly read Ultimate universe ones or 90's X-Men.

I'll still keep this story as my priority, but it's nice to have a side project when I get author's block. As for the status of the story, I now have over 2,000 follows for "A Godfather's Promise". I never truly expected to get this much when I first started to write this on late January, and we are just getting truly started.

Well, negativity over, enjoy the chapter.

Enjoy!

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

"Foreign Language"

Spells

A Godfather's Promise

Chapter VIII: Into the Fire

Harry didn't notice how late it truly was when he first woke up, it was so comfortable that he just decided to shut his eyes once more and drift back to deep slumber. He did not even question why such peace and serenity was washing all over him.

The second time he definitely felt something different than he was normally used to feeling when he woke up. There was a distinctive warmth pressed to his side, a small weight added to his chest and he felt his left legs enveloped as well, the extra heat was welcome in the cold Scottish morning.

This time he looked down and was struck by the loveliest sight he had ever seen. He did not know whether Fleur had gotten cold during the night or if she was simply clingy by nature, but the distance they had before he dozed off was completely gone. Her head was resting on his chest, a small gorgeous smile plastered on her lips. Her silver hair cascading all around her. He could feel that her long legs were wrapped around his own, he realized that she was enveloped around his left arm, feeling with it rest comfortably on the valley of her breasts.

After what felt like an eternity of staring, he started to pull himself away from her so that he could go for his morning exercise. That was until Fleur hugged his arm closer, locking herself to it in a tight grip. Harry would've kept trying but the distressed look and the quiet whine that emitted from the sleeping form of the French beauty prevented him from going any further.

Harry sighed – maybe he didn't feel like working out today?

He once again covered himself and Fleur with the sheets and drifted off to sleep. It was a Sunday, so he didn't have any classes anyway.

It didn't have anything to do with sleeping some more with the dazzling Veela. Well… maybe just a little.

It was already midday by the time that he managed to wake up for the third time. He did not know if the reason for staying in bed for so long was because he was so tired or because of Fleur, who was still breathing lightly in her sleep.

This time, he did need to wake up.

Ignoring the small whine, he managed to pry himself from the grasp of the older girl, standing upright and stretching himself in his morning ritual. He quickly made sure to cover the sleeping form of Fleur with the heavy blankets.

It still proved too little compared to his heat however, if the small murmurs from Fleur were any indications.

"Come back to bed, 'Arry," she begged. "Eet's still too early."

Harry chuckled. "It's past breakfast time."

"Ugh, you Eenglish and your antiquated ideals of working 'ours. We are not eighteenth-century farmers anymore, so why are you still waking up like you are one? Eet's Sunday! Come back to bed!"

"I'm hungry," Harry reasoned. "I'll come back with some food from the kitchens," he said as he started to put on his robes.

"Fine – bring somezing French! And when you come back you are getting back on zis bed!"

Harry snickered before stepping out to the cold castle and quickly going to the kitchens to ask for some food. He could have asked Dobby to bring some to them, but he did not want the elf to go around spreading rumors of 'The Great Harry Potter and the French Veela' sleeping together.

The elves were more than willing to share with him the dishes that they served during the breakfast meal. It was sort of an open secret that you could go to the kitchens anytime for some food, but most people were aloof to the fact and believed that if you missed the meals, the you were out of luck. It was a surprise that he managed to spot Cedric Diggory also asking for two meals.

"Cho sending you for breakfast?" he asked Cedric, causing the older Hufflepuff to sputter a little.

"W-what do you mean?"

Harry smirked. "Having your own room sure is something isn't it. Why – I don't know how I will be able to go back once this Tournament is over."

Cedric smiled. "It sure is. I heard it was your idea, thanks for that."

Harry nodded. "Just do us all a favor and use protection. One Diggory is enough for now."

Cedric glared playfully before looking at Harry's choice of breakfast. "Same goes for you, last thing we want is for Beauxbatons to have to cancel their participation from the Tournament."

Harry cursed himself lightly, he guessed it was kind of obvious considering the plates of French bread that he had ordered.

Once he made his way back to his room, he was struck with the vision of a freshly awakened Fleur.

The rays of sunlight seemed to reflect on her hair, the nightgown clung to her body tightly as she started to stretch out. Despite still sitting on the bed, just barely woken up from her slumber, the platinum tresses did not look tangled in the least.

Harry could not find the words, he simply started to make his way awkwardly towards the bed, breakfast in tow.

"What did you bring?" she finally asked.

"I don't know, I just asked for French," he admitted.

Fleur smiled. "Zen come, eet's time for you to eat some civilized food for once."

Harry smirked before taking off his robes again and sitting on the warm bed besides her. Fleur started to rummage on the bag that contained the meal. Her face brightening even more as she revealed the contents.

"Pain au chocolat! Chausson aux Pommes! See, even you Eenglish are capable of making good food when you really try."

Harry snickered at her attitude. "Coffee or tea?" he asked, pulling out instant versions of the two.

"Tea?" scoffed Fleur. "What sort of uncultured barbarian drinks tea wiz pain au chocolat?"

Harry had to admit, the French pastries really were delicious. The coffee – which Fleur insisted on preparing herself – was equally as good. He'll give this to the French, they did manage to be outstanding when it comes to culinary arts.

'And girls,' he quickly added, looking at the satisfied Veela as she finished her breakfast.

It was only when she had finished that Fleur seemed to realize the time it was.

"Mon dieu! Eet's late! Madame Maxime will be looking for moi. I need to go 'Arry," she said before smiling. "When will we be… doing zis again?"

Harry sighed a little before telling her what neither of them truly wanted to hear.

"It will take some time. The task is in less than two weeks and I'm going to be training as hard as I can. Besides, Dumbledore is closing in on leads on who placed my name on the Goblet. I will be very busy. We will be having three long months until the second task, we'll have plenty of time for another… session."

Fleur looked at him with some sadness but quickly kissed his lips and gave him a saucy smile.

"Zen I will be waiting… Maître."

That night found Harry, Remus, and Sirius once again summoned by Professor Dumbledore to his office. Harry decided to speak his mind once again about what they had been discussing before. The Slytherin seventh-year gang that had assaulted Fleur.

"Professor, I know that you cannot expel the students that attacked Fleur – "

"So... it's "Fleur" now, is it Harry?" teased Sirius.

" – without evidence," continued Harry while he glared at his godfather. "However, there must simply be a way to get justice. If Fleur were to testify…"

"Even if you both testify, you will still be outnumbered almost eight to one. The teachers cannot get involved since they were not at the scene of the crime. Malfoy's party hast the second most seats in parliament, who do you think they will support?" informed Dumbledore.

"But if Lord Greengrass could be convinced?" replied Harry.

Dumbledore looked at him with his twinkling blue eyes. "Cygnus Greengrass is the leader of the largest party, to be sure. But the Wela party is known for not taking a side in these issues, they only care about one thing, the thing that has made sure they've won every election since the war…"

"Money," finished Sirius.

Dumbledore nodded. "Cygnus Greengrass came from a humble family, much like the Weasley family. The only thing he had was his name and his blood status. Sorted into Slytherin, he was ambitious from the moment he arrived. He did not take a side during the war, neither did his family, he watched the war unfurl around him and waited for the moment to strike. War is an expensive affair, and he made sure he knew exactly who to sell to. Protective runes here, portkeys there. By the age of eighteen he was a self-made man with great wealth."

Sirius then picked up the story. "By the end of the war. Nobody wanted to even remember it, they wanted to forget the very idea that someone like Voldemort had once existed. Cygnus saw this and made his greatest move, the formation of the Wela party."

Dumbledore continued once again. "The Wela party have been considered to be neutrals, but that is far from what made them popular. They were focused on economics, on prosperity, on abundance. They won in a landslide, Cygnus' wealth now surpasses the Lestrange family's, the Black's, even the Malfoy's. He even followed the Potter example and opened businesses in the Muggle world. House Greengrass' riches are now second only to your family's."

Harry took a moment to protest. "Professor, I know Daphne. If I could convince her, then maybe she can get through to him."

Dumbledore sighed. "You may try Harry but Cygnus is a man who is more cautious than anyone, he doesn't do favors, he does deals. His image is the most important for Wela. His family's blood status satisfies the traditionalists, and his business side is popular with half-bloods and muggleborns. He will not tarnish his reputation."

Dumbledore coughed. "Now, is there anything else?"

Harry and Sirius shook their heads.

"Very well, because I have found some more disturbing occurrences while I was at the Ministry."

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"Walden Macnair has gone missing," revealed Dumbledore.

Sirius frowned. "That psychopath? The one that chopped Alistaire with an axe?"

"The very same," replied Dumbledore. "The interesting thing is, he went away just at the moment that Lord Crabbe returned from a vacation, and his vacation started just after Lord Goyle returned from a business trip."

"All members of the Protectionist Party," noted Harry, "where have they been going to?"

"Unknown, but it is strange," replied Dumbledore.

"Think they're organizing an attack? Retaliation for what happened with their children?"

"Without Rookwood? Suicide," stated Remus, who had been silent throughout their conversation.

Harry's questioning look was enough for Sirius to respond.

"Augustus Rookwood, chief strategist and top spy of the Death Eaters during the war. His tactics were responsible for more than a few of my dead comrades. He was crafty, we wouldn't have caught him if Karkaroff didn't rat him out. Thankfully, he's locked up in Azkaban. Lucius may have wealth and political savvy, but his tactics were shite. There's no way Voldemort's supporters could go against Amelia and succeed under his leadership."

Remus nodded sagely. "You-Know-Who's cream of the crop is behind bars. They're no match for Amelia's Aurors stationed in the castle."

"For now," replied Harry.

"For now," agreed Dumbledore.

"Do you think any of this has to do with Bertha Jorkins?" asked Remus.

"I do not know. She went missing in Albania, but I have no evidence to suggest that Crabbe and Goyle also went there," answered Dumbledore. "I will keep my ear to the ground to see what else there may be. Until then, I leave young Harry in your capable hands, prepare him for the first task. You have less than two weeks now."

Once Dumbledore gave them leave, Harry, Sirius, and Remus made their way to the Room of Requirement once again so they could continue training for the upcoming tasks. Not only for the Tournament, but for the trials they were beginning to fear would come in the future.

Fleur didn't know why, but it was almost as if the complications she had been having with several advanced spells was completely gone. The Patronus charm she'd had so much trouble with almost seemed simple now, the heavy weight and stress from previous days dissipated, leaving only a sense of peace and confidence.

"That was amazing Fleur!" congratulated Clemence, Monique and Amelie clapping behind her as well.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. It did not feel forced like it had been the last time they practiced together.

"You have gotten a lot better," commented Amelie. "Have you been doing anything that we don't know of?" she teased.

It took all the effort in the world not to blush at the implications.

"W-well, I've been sleeping better," it wasn't a lie, but neither was it the whole truth.

"Well, whatever you've been doing, it's certainly working," Monique said with a grin.

Fleur thought back on exactly what she had been doing yesterday. A wave of happiness filled her as she remembered the magnificent night she spent with Harry.

'Was it that? I know I relieved stress when I was under his control but… did I actually get stronger by submitting to him?'

"So… you think you are ready for the first task? It's in less than two weeks after all," reminded Clemence.

"I don't even know what the task will imply but right now I feel like I can take anything they can throw at me," answered Fleur.

"That's great! I know you can do it, Fleur. You are the best, it's time to show everyone just what you can be," cheered Monique.

Fleur thanked her friends before entering her room for the night. After her nightly ablutions, she crawled unto her bed and immediately noted that even with all her covers, she could not get warm enough to sleep.

After the night she had before, she doubted she would ever be able to sleep comfortably again when she was alone. She grabbed one of the pillows and embraced it like she had done so to Harry the previous night, only to find that it did not bring the same level of comfort as being wrapped around her dominant. It took her sometime to give in to a restless sleep.

The next week was challenging, she did not have the time to interact with Harry as much as she wanted to, given that she needed to prepare for the upcoming task. The few times that she did see him were the rare times that Harry took his meals in the Great Hall, and he was usually done really fast so that he may return to his training. She made sure to give him a smile every time she saw him though, which the emerald-eyed wizard always returned.

Fleur now waited for the first task with anticipation. Not because of the competition itself, rather because Harry would spend more time with her. They'd be able to have another one of their sessions, an excuse to be able to sleep besides him again.

Until then, she was training. She had not forgotten her purpose since the year started. She was to compete, she was to win, and she needed to beat all her opposition – even if Harry was counted as one of her rivals. Fleur Delacour would be the pride of Beauxbatons and France, to let the whole world see what she could truly do.

Harry had been having a similarly vexing week, when he was not in class or eating, he was training physically on the Hogwarts grounds, the Gryffindor was learning how to fight with his godfather and Remus, leaving him with very little time to do anything else.

Not that it mattered, the interactions with his house had become as minimal as possible now that he was no longer sleeping in the same part of the castle as them, reducing the time he spent with them to class or the usual meals. He mostly interacted with Neville and some of his Quidditch teammates like Katie or Alicia, but they could be reduced mostly to small talk and side comments.

The warmest interactions were not even done with words. Let it not be said that Fleur didn't know how to warm up a person with just one single smile, they were enough to give him the motivation to continue forwards with his training.

Even so, human communication is a must for everyday humans, as such, Harry shared one of the most uncomfortable ones during Charms class with the Hufflepuffs and Potions class with the Slytherins. Surprisingly, they were troublesome not because of the houses themselves like it usually was with Malfoy and his Death Eater Youth, but rather because of two girls.

"Hey Susan, how are you today?" he remembered saying to the crimson haired Hufflepuff.

"Umm – I guess I'm okay," she responded softly, the usual cheer that she regularly sported gone the moment that she had set her eyes one him for some reason or another.

"You sure, you sound a little down," Harry responded with a small amount of concern. He knew that her kind nature often drew in the kind of crowd she was better off without.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Hannah seemed to shooting him dirty looks when she wasn't talking to Neville. It was strange, while not as approachable as her buxom friend, he had never seen the pigtailed blond send him such looks before.

"I'm fine, Harry. No need to worry about it, it's nothing," Susan murmured sadly, her grey eyes fixed somewhere else. She didn't look at him during the entire class.

There was definitely something wrong with her and he was adamant to find out what it was. After the class ended he intended to keep talking, but Hannah separated from Neville in order to talk to him.

"Go on Sue, I'll meet you later at the Common Room," she said before sending a look to Neville, making the shy Gryffindor nod before leaving both of them alone.

Hannah regarded him for a moment, neither of them saying a word until she finally broke the silence.

"Stop talking to Susan," she finally demanded, a little bit of anger evident in her tone.

"What?" he demanded. "Why?"

"Really? You don't know?" she asked incredulously.

"Know what? I don't know what I've done that could hurt her. She's my friend – both of you are," Harry responded.

"You know… for being the brightest wizard of our year, you sure are more than a little dense," the blonde said with an annoyed tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Hannah sighed. "Look… just don't talk to her for some time please. She's been having some trouble recently."

Harry was concerned at that point, wanting to protect the gentle redhead from any problem she may be having.

"If she's having any problems then let me help you with them. Just tell me what's been going on."

Hannah looked at him sadly. "You'll just be making it worse. Please… leave her alone."

The pigtailed girl then left him quickly to catch up with the girl that had been the topic of their conversation, leaving him alone and confused as to why the rift between him and the Hufflepuff girls had formed from one day to the next.

But if his encounter with the Susan and Hannah was cold, then the one with Daphne Greengrass was marred with thinly veiled hostility.

"Well, if it isn't the golden boy himself. Come to bother us once again, haven't you Potter?" she said once he took his now habitual seat by her side during Transfiguration classes.

"And here I was thinking that we were beginning to become friends. Why so angry this day, Princess?" he responded.

Daphne sighed. "Just shut up and don't talk to me Potter. Don't be a Gryffindor for one hour and try not to be the center of attention."

"I'm not talking to anyone else – only you, Daph."

"Then don't!" Daphne snapped, her composed demeanor breaking for a second. "I want to interact with you less than I usually do – and stop addressing me so familiarly! It's Greengrass or Ms. Greengrass to you, Potter."

"Hey – if you don't want me here, then I'll go. Look – there's Malfoy over there! I'm sure he'd love to trade places. I just know that you want to continue your courtship… be sure to invite me to the wedding when it happens!" said Harry.

Daphne finally looked over to him with an angry face.

"Fine, Potter! You are absolutely infuriating, you know that?!"

Harry chuckled. "I have been known to cause more than a few gray hairs over time. But seriously, you are even more bitchy than your normal self, what happened?"

Tracey decided to pipe in.

"Yeah, Daph. You've been very irritable ever since that French – "

Daphne immediately sent the most menacing glare Harry had ever seen to half-blood Slytherin. It was enough to make the witch recoil with frightened amusement. For once, the Gryffindor was glad he was not on the receiving end of one of the pureblood princess' practiced scowls.

"What happened?" asked Harry, feeling a little déjà vu when he remembered the meeting with the Hufflepuff girls the previous day.

"Nothing!" snapped Daphne. "Let's just get to work. I don't want to lose track of the class thanks to you, Potter!" she admonished. The red hue that tinted her cheeks made her suddenly lose all threat that she might've possessed initially.

By the end of the week, Harry Potter was completely confused as to how his newfound relationships had gone so sour so quickly.

Hermione seemed to be wanting to talk to him, but not being able to find the courage or the time in order to approach him. Every time he managed to stop glancing at Fleur and look over to his brown-haired friend, she would return the gaze with sadness in her eyes. As much as he wanted to go over to her and talk like they used to, Harry knew that she was the one who needed to come to him if she truly wanted to apologize.

Ron, on the other hand, had become completely unbearable. With the newfound rumors of him and Fleur – fueled further by their interaction in the middle of the Great Hall that led to their relationship – the youngest Weasley male's jealousy seemed to have exploded to proportions Harry didn't even think were possible. His favorite pastime during meals seemed to be a combination of shoveling as much food down his gullet as possible, drooling at the sight of Fleur, and glaring at Harry from his place.

Susan had gone from cheerfully greeting him every time she had the chance, to looking over with sadness and barely saying a word to him. Daphne had become even more bitchy than before, now even refusing to look or say something to him. The violet-eyed Slytherin now ignoring Harry completely.

The highlight of his week didn't actually come from anyone on his year, but from Luna Lovegood.

He thanked whatever deity was watching over him that the pale-blond girl had approached him when there was no one within earshot. The dreamy and innocent look plastered on her face were a complete juxtaposition to the words that eventually came from her lips.

"Hello, Harry," she said after skipping over to him in the abandoned hallway.

"Hey Luna, how are you today? Find your shoes?" asked Harry.

Luna nodded with wide eyes. "I did find them," the blonde said as she showed him her usual brown footwear. "Unfortunately, the Nargles were tricky. They seemed to have separated them form my socks. Those are still lost," the younger Ravenclaw then slipped off one of the shoes to show the bare foot. The sight made Harry feel a sympathy for the silver-eyed girl now that he knew what it was to be a complete social outcast.

'Sorry Luna, I'm a little busy right now but once I'm done with the task, I will go ahead and help you deal with the people doing this to you,' Harry promised to himself.

"I'm sorry for troubling you with this, but I've been researching about the disease you talked about," said Luna.

'Oh crap, she's still on that?!'

"R-really, what did you find?" asked Harry carefully.

"Nothing really. That's why I'm asking you. Do you think I can do an article about it on the Quibbler?" she asked innocently. "If it's such a dangerous disease, then people should know!"

"Look Luna, I don't think you should worry too much about it. It's very rare, I mean – have you ever seen someone get spanked because they needed punishment?"

"I remember when I saw Daddy spank Mummy, but it did not seem like punishment. After that, Mummy got on her knees and pulled out Daddy's pe – "

"Luna!" gasped Harry. "Too much information!"

"Oh, I am sorry Harry. Will you spank me then?" she asked softly with innocuous eyes.

Harry almost did a spit take. "L-luna, I don't see why you need to be spanked!"

Luna put a finger at the side of her head, as if she was deep in thought until she finally answered.

"I told Megan today that she was being really mean because she did not believe in Blibbering Humdingers' plan to take over our bodies," said Luna softly. "She called me a crazy bitch, so I think I might have the bitch-flu. I asked Madam Pomfrey to give me the fast treatment but she just turned red and sent me away. She said that she wants to ask you later for the details of the flu."

'Sweet Merlin, Pomfrey's going to skin me alive. Why didn't I listen to Fleur?'

Harry took a few seconds to think about the response she could possibly give to the shorter girl.

"Luna… you don't have the bitch-flu, you have none of the symptoms. You're a good girl aren't you Luna?"

Luna nodded uncertainly. "I think I am a good girl… should you be spanking Megan then? Are you spanking that Beauxbatons girl?"

"No!" gasped Harry, mentally getting excited about the small fantasy of Fleur strewn across his lap and turning her shapely arse red with the palm of his hand.

"Alright then. Before I go, I want to ask you something else," she said. "Do you think you could put one of those necklaces on me?"

'Christ, what have I created?' Harry thought before responding. "No! Luna, why would you want a collar on your neck?!"

Luna looked around conspiratorially before whispering. "I woke up today in the middle of the Ravenclaw Tower. I think the Nargles were taking me away – but I woke up just in time!" she finished triumphantly.

"What does that have to do with anything? How would a collar help you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well, if they see that I'm your property, they won't take me away," she said with a small amount of satisfaction.

"Why would you want to be my property?"

"Well – you seem nice, and you have that nice French student with you, so you already have experience with taking care of girls."

Harry sighed. "Luna, that girl… well… you could say that she's my girlfriend."

Luna nodded in understanding before smiling again. "Then I'll be your girlfriend too!"

The raven-haired wizard began to cough a little at the statement. On what kind of logic did this girl operate?

"I can't have two girlfriends!"

"Why not?" asked Luna sincerely.

Harry took a deep breath. "Because that's not how it works. One boy and one girl… or, if you're open minded it can be two girls together or – "

"And not one boy and two girls? That seems unfair." She interrupted.

Harry shrugged. "That's just the way it is. Look, if you are having trouble with anything – just tell me. I'll help you with anything. We're friends, right? Friends help each other."

Luna looked a little sad. "Okay Harry. I'll tell you if I need help. If you see a pair of socks around, do you think you could return them to me?"

"I will," Harry responded with a nod.

The one thing that he did learn about from Sirius was about the first task.

'Dragons,'

He immediately went over to find Fleur so that she might be informed of what the task would entail. She appreciated the gesture and gave him a small kiss, but his submissive told him that she had already been informed by Madame Maxime.

Since Karkaroff was also looking at the dragons, Harry imagined that Krum would also be informed of the dragons already, that left only one person that to his knowledge was still not informed.

Cedric.

He did owe him for taking that bullet with Skeeter after all. The Hufflepuff champion was still very grateful for the knowledge, promising to return the favor someday. It seemed that he was giving up a valuable advantage over one of his rivals, but it was not a true contest unless all champions were given a fair shot.

He spent the rest of his available time planning a strategy so that he might beat his dragon. He just hoped that neither him nor Fleur were going anywhere near that vicious Hungarian Horntail.

It was the day. Finally.

The day of the first task.

The day when he would be apparently going up against a dragon.

While Harry was now confident that his plan would work, it was still very difficult to sleep the previous night. He could not shake off the thoughts of being engulfed by dragonflames. For once, the Gryffindor's nightmares were not filled with hate, murder, and pain, but with the giant reptiles that were his own family's insignia.

'Were my ancestors' enemies afraid of my family as much as they were afraid about true dragons. If so, then House Potter was truly a force of pure dread.'

He was not alone. While taking his breakfast – which he was treating almost as a last meal – Harry let his eyes wander towards the other champions. There was Cedric, who was ignoring the tender caress of Cho Chang, seemingly unable to eat the hearty breakfast offered to him.

Krum on the other hand was still in his usual stony demeanor, but Harry could spy small rivulets of nervous sweat rolling down his head. He very much doubted it was because of the comparatively warm weather.

Then there was Fleur. His confident and beautiful Fleur.

She looked pale and clammy, so unlike the young woman that he had seen before. Even with a collar around her neck, she still carried on with pride. That seemed to be gone, staring off into space and giving only small bites to her meal.

It was only after they were done that their gazes finally met together, a look was enough for both of them to understand that they needed to talk to one another.

Harry signaled with the number four on his hand, a clear indication for her to go to the fourth floor and into his room. Then promptly went ahead to prepare himself for the upcoming task.

He was interrupted by the opening of the door. Fleur knew the password by this point, he trusted her with the contents of this room by now.

She was trembling when she finally entered his room, seemingly unable to calm down.

"Are you okay?" asked Harry once he managed to lead her to the sofa.

"O-oui, I guess I am alright. I 'ave several strategies zat I've been practicing. Eef all ees well, zen I should be able to win zis."

Harry smiled with amusement. "So… 'win' is it."

Fleur managed to smile as well. "Zat ees right, Maître. Even if you are my dominant, zere ees no way zat I'll give up. Eef you wish to beat me, zen you 'ave to earn it. Beauxbatons will win zis Tournament. I will make sure of eet."

"I guess I'll have to give it my all."

Fleur nodded before the look of nervousness once again crossed her facial features. She was biting her lip now, like she wanted to say something but was rendered completely mute by some unseen force.

"Put ze collar on moi," she finally breathed out. Harry's eyes widened at her demand.

"What?! Fleur, you're going in front of the whole school out there!" whispered Harry.

Fleur pulled quickly conjured a blue scarf and showed it to him. "I will hide eet, 'Arry. S'il te plaît. Please, I need eet!"

Harry sighed, and finally went to his trunk and rummaged around it before pulling out the simple leather collar they had used their first night together. The Potter heir proceeded to head back to the French beauty and started to fasten the symbol of submission on her neck.

He immediately noticed a change in Fleur. Whereas before she had been tense, it seemed as all nervousness had been washed away the moment the leather closed around her slender throat, her body now radiated calm and confidence. When the silver-haired Veela turned around, he noticed a smile was now sported on her lips instead of worrisome eyes.

They stared at each other eyes before she suddenly wrapped her arms behind his and pulled him for a quick kiss. Her eyes shining once she pulled away.

"Merci!" she said, before wrapping the scarf around her neck and leaving the room quickly in order to get ready.

After standing for a couple of minutes, Harry suddenly remembered that he also had to compete today.

He went back to his trunk and pulled out the outfit that he had designed for the tournament. He made sure that this particular outfit was well made, both in its visual appearance and its efficacy. Red and black, with the symbol of the Iceni Black with gladius swords crossed behind it as the centerpiece.

'I'll wear this with pride today.'

Once completely fitted, he took a few extra bites of fresh bread for added energy and made his way to the grounds where he would be facing the Tournament's First Task.

It was a chilly day, apt for the month of November. A testament of the cold to come but not yet suffering from the frigid winds that winter would bring upon the British school. He knew that Fleur would be especially bad-tempered when the snows began to fall down.

The giant tent was a dead giveaway of where he should present himself. As he walked over it he noticed that there were four banners in the air. One was for Durmstrang, another for Beauxbatons, the third was for Hogwarts.

He noted with satisfaction that the fourth and final one was not for any of the schools. The same symbol plastered on the front of his attire was portrayed in the flapping banner. The symbol of dragons, of conquerors.

And now he would be facing one of them.

Harry went inside, immediately taking in the situation he was seeing. The first thing he noticed was the most beautiful thing in the tent, he had never seen Fleur so confident as she was now. When they locked eyes with each other, he saw her smile as she traced her scarf, lightly touching the collar secured underneath.

Cedric and Krum did not look nearly as composed as she was. The Bulgarian champion appeared to portray the same emotionless posture he was always used to favor, but the agitation was noticeable, if only slightly. The seventh-year Hufflepuff's uneasiness was a lot more evident, so much so that there seemed to be small rivulets of sweat trailing down his hair. He did manage to give Harry a small smile.

As soon as Bagman saw him step into the tent, he jumped enthusiastically from his seat and mad e his way to the Potter heir.

"Harry! Good-o!" he exclaimed happily. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Even if Fleur was feeling confident, Harry doubted that any of the champions, including him, were as enthusiastic about the events to come as the yellow clad older man was currently. Like a king's buffoon before an execution, Bagman proceeded to explain the rules for the upcoming task.

"Well, now we're all here — time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" — he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them — "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different — er — varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too . . . ah, yes . . . your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Bagman the opened the purple silk bag and offered it to Fleur. "Ladies first."

Harry saw the French beauty take a small breath before she put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew a small model of a green dragon with a number two around its neck.

A Welsh Green. Harry felt a wave of relief overcome him. 'At least she doesn't have to take one of the harder ones'.

He then saw as Krum also put his hand inside the bag and drew out a scarlet Chinese Fireball. His lack of surprise confirmed the theory that Karkaroff had informed the Bulgarian seeker about the dragons.

The next one was Cedric, who pulled out the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, with a number one tied around its throat. Harry had assumed that the reason Bagman had left him for last was because he didn't want the Potter heir to face against the most aggressive of the dragons.

Well, if that had been the yellow-clad man's intentions, they had backfired spectacularly. Harry saw Fleur shoot him a look of fear. They both knew what was coming.

Harry introduce his hand inside the silk bag and pulled out the menacing little figure of the black Hungarian Horntail with a number four tied around its neck. The second most dangerous breed of dragon after the Iceni Black. Only difference was that the Iceni Black was meant to be extinct, the Hungarian Horntail was still very much alive, and waiting for him.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now . . . Harry . . . could I have a quick word? Outside?

Harry followed Bagman outside the tent. He offered help with the dragon but he denied it. He already had a strategy in place; he just wanted to go back inside and see Fleur again, before she went against her own dragon.

"Good lord, I've got to run!" exclaimed Bagman as soon as he heard a whistle being blown, he then scurried off.

Harry took a deep breath before going back inside the tent just as Cedric was coming out, he reminded the Gryffindor of a song where a man was going to a gallows pole of his own execution.

"Hallowed be thy name," he told the Hufflepuff.

"What?!" croaked Cedric.

"Nothing. Good luck out there," he told the Hufflepuff, watching him nod before going over to the enclosure where the dragon where the dragon awaited.

As soon as he entered the tent once again, he went over to the seated form of Fleur, completely ignoring Krum's surly form. They sat side by side in one of the corners of the tent, they didn't say a word to each other but they held each other's hands as they heard the commotion outside, finding mutual comfort in their presence.

After fifteen minutes, they heard the deafening roars of the crowd. Cedric had finished the Task. The loud whistle blew once again.

Fleur looked at Harry in the eyes before she stood up shakily. She was trembling as she walked over to leave the tent. The last thing he saw before she left was her wand in one hand, the other touching beneath the scarf measuredly as she stepped outside to meet her challenge.

Fleur stepped into the enclosure, immediately taken aback by the sight of the green dragon huddling protectively around the glinting golden egg. She was so stuck by the sight of her challenge that she barely noticed the extremely loud roars of the crowd around her. They were even noisier than Cedric's were.

It seemed as if the confidence she had accumulated before suddenly dissipated at the sight of the large reptile. She could feel herself trembling, cold sweat trailing down her body at the sight. She wanted to leave, to go back to the tent, to go back to Harry's arms.

Harry…

That's right… she had a piece of Harry with her right now. Her hand immediately went underneath her scarf, feeling the touch of the leather that encircled her neck, touching the black material that went unseen by the crowd. She felt the uneasiness wash away as she remembered that she did not need to control herself. She was collared, under the control of Harry, even if he was away from her at the moment.

She did not need to hold back.

She let go of all control. Remembering her time with her emerald-eyed dominant, she felt her allure radiate like she had done so during that night almost two weeks ago, how the ropes dug into her skin, the tugging of the collar as she was led around, the feeling of being helplessly carried off unto his bed.

Sleeping together with him…

The dragon seemed to notice her in that moment, but she simply let her allure do the work. The winged creature seemed to be vulnerable to the charms, if the perceived relaxed posture was any indication. To add to the spectacle, she started to hum with a melodious voice.

Slowly but surely, the dragon seemed as though it was falling in a trance. Hazed eyes barely seemed to care about the platinum-haired witch slowly walking over to the eggs under its wings.

The entranced look gave way to a sleepy as the large reptile started to droop its eyes and neck down to the floor, finally closing them and drifting off to a deep slumber. It went even better than she had expected, she did not even need to go to her contingency plan if the allure failed to captivate the green creature.

Carefully, she went over to the eggs and quickly grasped the golden egg, leaving the rest of her eggs behind. If Apolline's protective attitude around her and Gabrielle was any evidence, then she knew better than to meddle with a mother's young ones.

She started to make her way back, but her senses made her jump as the dragon suddenly snorted, a flame escaping from its maw. She was almost caught by it but she managed to jump out on time to prevent it from catching the back of her skirt. It would have burned away the protection of her rear if she hadn't done so. She did notice some embers sticking to her legs, which she quickly put out with a wordless water spell.

She imagined that the male audience would have loved to see the spectacle.

'I am sorry, but only Harry gets to see that,' she thought before leaving the enclosure.

Fleur quickly looked over at the judges. They were the three headmasters: Madame Maxime, Dumbledore, and Karkaroff, along with Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch, she silently waited for her score.

Madame Maxime was the first. The giantess raised her hand into the air and shot out a silver ribbon that formed into the figure nine. Cheers exploded from the audience, especially from Beauxbatons, she saw her friends were the loudest screamers in the crowd.

She watched as Mr. Crouch shot his score out next, an eight. Dumbledore eyes twinkled as he revealed his own score – nine. Cheers once again rang out.

Ludo Bagman shot his score into the air – eight. Loud claps filled the makeshift stadium. The only one left was the mean-looking Karkaroff. With a look of contempt, he raised his wand and the ribbon formed a number five. Fleur heard boos erupt from the audience that were jeering the Durmstrang headmaster.

She didn't reduce herself to the crowd's level, she simply bowed and made her way back to the medical tent. Thirty-nine points, it was a good score.

Cheers exploded as soon as she managed to leave, she imagined that they had also been entranced by the sight of her particularly strong and unrestrained allure. She was immediately taken back to where the woman who had examined her after her ordeal with the Slytherin students. Harry had called her Madam Pomfrey.

"Eet's fine, Madame. I did not get 'urt during ze task," she assured the mothering woman but she was adamant.

"Be that as it may, Ms. Delacour, I am in charge here and champions do not leave until I am satisfied with their condition," she stated, her wand waving around her body, running diagnosis spells to test any anomalies that Fleur might be suffering.

Fleur soon heard the whistle again, meaning that Krum would be taking the task next. She was a little anxious, she wanted to be on time to see Harry perform his task. The young Veela was greatly worried about how he would perform against the most dangerous of all the dragons.

Once Madame Maxime was satisfied, she let her go. Fleur quickly made her way to see the enclosure, just in time to see Krum strike his dragon with the Conjunctivitis Curse right into its eye. She grimaced at the savage brutality that the Bulgarian champion had chosen as a strategy, especially when the pain caused the scarlet reptile to stomp on half of her eggs.

The task done, Krum waited to receive his score from the judges.

In the end he gained forty points, largely due to the bias of Igor Karkaroff, who had granted his student with a perfect ten. Not even Madame Maxime had shown such blatant favoritism. Cedric Diggory had scored thirty-eight points, the lowest yet. She herself had thirty-nine. Krum had the lead in the Tournament, she just had to wait for Harry to finish his test.

It did not take long for the nervousness to appear in her stomach, the sight alone of the mean looking dragon was enough for her breath to start quickening. It took every single dragon keeper to even be able to force the violent reptile into the enclosure. Fire was already spewing from her mouth, hatred shining in her bright yellow eyes.

With barely bated anticipation she heard the loud whistle scream, signaling that it was time for her dominant to enter the enclosure for his task. He saw the black dragon Potter banner flying where Harry was meant to appear, the boos from the crowd mocking the final champion. The champion that she was now so worried about.

All she could do was sit down and wait. Her hand once again tracing under her scarf, touching the collar like a holy object, wishing for the best.

Harry closed his eyes and gave one final breath before he too stepped away from the tent, and slowly started to make his way to the enclosure.

The Hungarian Horntail was massive, she seemed even larger than when he saw her a few days ago. Hesitation coursed through his veins momentarily, but it was quashed almost immediately as he started to remember the relaxation techniques from Master Zheng.

He raised his wand in the air.

"Accio Firebolt!" he proclaimed and waited for his trusty broom to appear. In the meantime, he started to gather enough magical power to cast the next crucial spell for his plan.

"Expecto Patronum!" he said a lot louder, so much that he imagined that all the crowd managed to hear.

From the tip of his wand came the light that would eventually form into his corporeal Patronus. This time, however, it was big – a lot bigger than before.

"Look at the size of that thing! In all my years ladies and gentlemen, I have never seen such a corporeal Patronus that big! Why it's almost as big as the Horntail! Cast by a fourth year no less!" he heard Bagman yell out loudly.

Indeed, his Patronus was now as big as the Horntail. The Iceni Black was known to be bigger, but he doubted he had the magical power in him to fully recreate what that breed of dragon looked like. It was still enough to satisfy him.

He quickly saw the Firebolt quickly flying towards him. By now the Horntail was fuming at the rival, fire spewing from it's mouth in hate, almost ready to let forth a stream of blazing inferno at him. He quickly mounted the broom and made his way into the air, right behind the Patronus' mouth.

"By Merlin, he can fly! What does Mr. Potter have planned next?!" exclaimed Bagman excitedly.

Harry's plan was simple yet elaborate enough so that he may have little chance of failure. Now that a rival dragon had appeared, he needed to make sure the Horntail was more interested in the bright Iceni Black, rather than him. In order to do so, he needed to provoke it.

Now that he was behind the ethereal apparition, the emerald-eyed wizard was able to put his plan into action. Raising his wand, he put a large amount of his magical power into the Stinging Hex he proceeded to cast straight into the Horntail's gaping maw.

It had the effect he reluctantly desired. She was pissed alright – mighty pissed. So much that she barely restrained herself and let loose a blazing red torrent to the direction of the Patronus much sooner than he had anticipated. Without thinking, he raised his wand again and cast another spell.

"Aguamenti Maxima!"

A large amount of water sprouted from his wand, in the eyes of the Horntail, it would have looked as though the water had come out from Iceni Black's jaws. The water clashed with the fire, canceling each other out in a surge of hot steam.

There was one key difference aside from size that made the Iceni Black the most dangerous of the dragon breeds, that being its intelligence. The Horntail was strong, aggressive, and powerful, but it did not have the cunning and resourcefulness of the Iceni Black. Such a flaw was now demonstrated, as the Horntail fully launched itself against the fake dragon with abandon, it's chains straining against

The raven-haired wizard took this chance. Harry quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and made his way past the now distracted Horntail, heading directly for the now ignored nest of eggs. He quickly spotted the golden egg and snatched it thanks to his finely-honed seeker abilities.

The crowd that had been booing him before was now exploding in deafening cheers. Even Fleur had not elicited such a response.

Speaking of which…

His eyes suddenly found Fleur's, she was also clapping. There were tears of worry trailing down her cheeks but sported a large smile.

"I cannot believe it! Such magical prowess! Such flying ability! By Merlin, I don't think I have ever seen something like this in all my years! Did you watch him, Mr. Krum?!" yelled Bagman as the cheers started to get louder.

The Horntail was still not calming down. Suddenly, every keeper made their way over to the dragon, the Patronus was thankfully still distracting it enough so that they might start to control it. It took them about five full minutes for them to subdue the raging black dragon. Harry made sure to release the giant Patronus as they finished, panting heavily at the amount of magic he had used.

He finally landed to safety, several figures made their way to him.

"Mr. Potter, that was excellent!" cried Professor McGonagall. "What were you thinking?! Provoking such a beast in that way. It's a miracle you were not burned to a crisp! Now go over to Madam Pomfrey," she reprimanded once her initial enthusiasm died down.

"Yeh did it, Harry!" said Hagrid hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Charlie said that was the wors' – "

"Thanks, Hagrid," said Harry loudly, so that Hagrid wouldn't blunder on and reveal that he had shown Harry the dragons beforehand.

Sirius went over to give him a bone crushing hug.

"Amazing! Amazing! James would be so proud!"

McGonagall led him away to the medical tent, where Cedric was still being attended by Pomfrey.

"Dragons!" said Pomfrey in a disgusted tone. "What were they thinking, bringing dragons into this school? Sit down, Mr. Potter – you'll get your score after I'm done and not a moment later!"

Entering the tent however, he found out he did not wish to sit down. He wanted to go immediately to Fleur. Before he had the chance to leave however, a brown-haired missile came crashing towards him in a bone-breaking hug – Hermione.

"Oh god Harry, you were brilliant!" she exclaimed. Tears were still coming out from her eyes, a sign of how worried she had been. "I am sorry! Sorry I for whatever I did to you! Please, I want to be your friend again, Harry! I don't care about anything else!"

Harry simply returned the hug, watching behind her as Ron also appeared, looking like he was also about to say something. He even watched as he opened his mouth to speak but before any words could come out, he was distracted by Fleur making her way inside the tent.

Hermione pulled away from the hug to see the French beauty standing beside her. Harry saw her mouth plop open a little as Fleur suddenly embraced him. Her hug was far softer than Hermione's, he took in a moment to inhale her flowery scent.

He was so entranced by her that he barely noticed Ron give out a small glare before storming off. Hermione looked at the scene with amazement, but she still stayed in her place rather than leave like the male Weasley had.

"Hermione," Harry said once he and Fleur stopped embracing each other. "Um – this is Fleur, Fleur Delacour. Fleur, this is Hermione Granger"

Hermione finally snapped from her tranced state. "Oh – well, uhh… nice to meet you Fleur," she finally managed to get out.

"Nice to meet you, 'Ermione," answered Fleur, her hand still placed on top of Harry's shoulder.

"Umm – I don't mean to pry but are you two… you know?" she asked with trepidation.

"Yes," he said, drawing a smile form Fleur.

"I see… that's great, Harry – "

"I accept," he finally told her, drawing a confused look from the brown-haired witch. "Your apology – I accept. It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to my best friend."

Harry saw a smile finally reach Hermione. She nodded happily. "Thank you, Harry! Don't forget to go for your score, you were brilliant – better than the re – uhh," she then looked over at Fleur with anxiety.

The French champion simply smiled. "She is right 'Arry, you were ze best. Eet was magnificent! You deserve ze biggest score."

After Madam Pomfrey was done with him, he went with Fleur over to see the judges. He noticed that the crowd, who had been jeering him earlier, was now letting out a deafening roar at his sight, Fleur and Hermione besides him.

He waited first for Madame Maxime, who raised her wand and shot out her silver ribbon – nine. Harry was surprised at the high score and nodded towards the giantess. He noticed that she had a smile, something that Fleur also seemed to have.

Mr. Crouch came up next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"You're doing great Harry," said Hermione, who was suddenly behind him.

Next came Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. Harry listened to the cheers of the crowd, he could barely listen to the congratulations from Fleur besides him.

Ludo Bagman almost jumped from his seat when he shot out a number ten from his wand. The cheers threatened to make him deaf at the score. Finally, there was Karkaroff, who raised his wand and revealed a number four.

"What!?" cried Hermione indignantly. "Can that man even give a fair score? He also gave Fleur and Cedric bad scores and gave Krum a ten!"

"Eet doesn't matter, 'Arry – you 'ave forty-one points! You are in first place!" revealed Fleur.

"First place?!" exclaimed Harry.

Fleur giggled. "You are number one. Cedric 'as thirty-eight points. Zen zere is moi, wiz thirty-nine points. Krum 'as forty, you 'ave forty-one."

Harry saw Charlie Weasley come over to him. "Congratulations Harry… first place! Merlin, I have to tell Mum. See you later mate. Oh yeah – I forgot to tell the both of you… Bagman wants a word; you and Fleur need to go back to the champion's tent."

Harry said his goodbye to Hermione before he and Fleur made their way back to the large tent. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Ron looking over in jealousy and hatred. There was little hiding it now. Hermione knew that he and Fleur were at least going out together. He imagined that he would be getting a lot of hate from some of the older guys back at the castle.

Not to mention what he was doing to her in private.

Entering the tent. Harry saw Krum and Cedric already were inside, the Hufflepuff had the left side of his face plastered with thick orange paste, presumably because of his burn. He smiled at both Harry and Fleur as they entered.

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth — but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open . . . see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg — because it will tell you what the second task is and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

Harry and Fleur said their goodbyes to Cedric and Krum before stepping out of the tent. Noticing that it was now empty outside. They were alone.

"So… I am wiz you now?" asked Fleur coyly.

Harry smiled. "I guess you are – that is, if you want to."

Fleur smiled. "I am yours already 'Arry. Of course, I want to be wiz you," she said before both their lips met.

Harry had kissed Fleur before, but they had been quick and unexpected. This was something completely different, the Potter heir embraced the silver-haired witch, closing his eyes as they both parted their lips to explore each other. There was no way to express how he felt, no way to put into words how soft her lips were, how wonderfully she tasted. It was simply magnificent.

Fleur finally ended the kiss. "Will you do me a favor, mon chéri?" she asked. Harry felt his heart melt upon hearing those words.

"Anything."

"Can I sleep wiz you tonight? Eet's so cold when I am in bed alone now."

Harry smiled. "Whenever you want, beautiful."

AN: Song recommendation for the chapter is "Into the Fire" by Sabaton, from their 2005 debut album "Primo Victoria". This chapter is not about napalm strikes in 'Nam, but it'll do.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the fast update, because the next one will be taking some time. I will be going to a metal festival and will be away from my city the whole week. So, I will be unable to write anything during that time. I hope I can do the Yule Ball the next chapter, but I will have to see what I come up with. It will probably end up being a long chapter since I plan for another "session" as well.

I will admit to the fact that some of you might be thinking that Harry is a little overpowered in this chapter, but I really want him to be a lot more adept at magic than he was in canon. Fleur is not someone that will go out with anyone, especially not someone as mediocre as canon Harry.

Even then, Harry is still not as powerful as Voldemort, so it isn't like he's going to destroy the Dark Lord as soon as he's brought back but he's definitely a lot more powerful that canon.

Very little BDSM stuff this chapter, except for Fleur willingly wearing her collar and realizing that she relaxes immensely and becomes more powerful when she is submitting to Harry. I do have some plans cooked up for next chapter. Not to tease but… punishment time. She's been a naughty girl and she still hasn't had a lesson taught to her.

Well then, how did you like the chapter? Did you like how the First Task turned out? Review away.

Until next time.

The Metal Sage.