The Grind (And Helping Heather Potter) [Book 2]

[AN: I'm going with the 'no such thing as a half-Veela' fan theory for this AU. There are only female Veela and any female child of a Veela is also fully Veela. A Veela can still have male children but they won't be Veela. This only applies to their daughters.]

"You are forbidden!" Her father's words echoed in Gabrielle's head.

Upon returning to France after the Quidditch World Cup that summer, Gabrielle Delacour was confronted with the unfortunate reality of her situation. She was a country and a Channel away from her savior, from the Bondmate she'd so selfishly claimed. She didn't even know his name, his occupation, or anything else about him. All she knew was he'd saved her from a fate worse than death and that her soul called out to repay that debt.

The odds seemed to be stacked against her. Along with the mystery of her angel and the distance between the two of them came other complications. Her sister and father were the next of those complications to present themselves.

Fleur made no secret of her painfully stubborn and close-minded view of the events surrounding Gabrielle's angel. She was convinced he was the same as the rest of the British Wizards they'd had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting during their short vacation. No, she was convinced he was worse.

And no matter how much Gabrielle protested and denied, defending her savior since he couldn't defend himself, Fleur's mind would not be changed. Her heels were dug in. Her heart was set. Fleur Delacour would hate Gabrielle's mysterious angel even if he personally saved someone she held dear… Oh, wait…

Unfortunately, Fleur did not see her bullheaded hypocrisy for what it was. In her mind, she was simply looking out for her baby sister. She'd come so close to losing Gabrielle and she would never let it happen again.

To that end, Fleur ushered Gabrielle out of Britain as fast as she could manage. They returned to their home in France and Fleur immediately told their father what happened from her perspective. His reaction was predictably extreme.

Sebastion Delacour was usually quite a reasonable man. That reason went out the window when it came to his family. He was a man surrounded by Veela — a wife and two daughters. He knew what that meant for their safety. They were at the peak of desirability and thus he constantly grappled with any danger that may threaten them.

What Fleur described mirrored his biggest fear for his daughters. A Wizard somehow arranging a scenario to earn the gratitude, debt, and Bond of his pure, innocent angels was something that kept him up at night since Gabrielle and Fleur were born. Just as with Fleur, Sebastion's fear that Gabrielle was being manipulated and taken advantage of blinded him to the reality of the situation from Gabrielle's perspective.

Gabrielle was not allowed to get a word in edgewise. Her father only listened to Fleur's story and Fleur only listened to her own perceived version of events. And so, Gabrielle was forbidden from seeking out her angel and practically forbidden from ever stepping foot in Britain again.

Only her Maman thought to stop for a moment and use her brain instead of paranoia, prejudice, and protectiveness. Only Apolline Delacour thought to listen to her youngest's side of the story. Only Apolline had the life experience and knowledge of their Veela nature to understand what Gabrielle meant when she said "I could offer him nothing less than everything I am".

Because Apolline had been there before. As had Sebastion, though he did not know he'd once been in the same shoes as Gabrielle's mysterious savior. He saved Apolline when they were young strangers. The only difference was that Apolline was not pushed to act on her attraction, debt, and Bond straight away as Gabrielle had been.

After 30 years together, she was finally forced to reveal that secret. She tried to convince her Bonded husband that Gabrielle's situation was not as foreign or worrying as it seemed. Even with that reveal, Sebastion would not be swayed or pacified, not when it came to his daughter.

Gabrielle was grounded, for lack of a better word, for her own safety. Which was Sebastion and Fleur's first mistake. Gabrielle was nowhere near as innocent as her father and sister seemed to think. In her Maman's own words, Gabrielle was a bit of a brat, spoiled almost rotten as the light of their family.

She didn't like being told no. Especially not when it came to something as important as her savior and the debt she owed. After more than two months of restrictions — even during school! — from her father and sister, Gabrielle was thoroughly fed up. She would be getting back to Britain and she would find her angel!

Fortunately for her, the perfect opportunity soon presented itself. The school she and Fleur attended — Beauxbatons — would be participating in the Triwizard Tournament which was being revived in Britain. Gabrielle was not interested in the silly Tournament, but she was interested in using this opportunity to vigorously search the whole of Wizarding Britain for her angel! She would start at Hogwarts and was even determined to go door to door if necessary.

She knew Fleur would be nominated as a potential champion and get to go to Hogwarts along with a select few others. But even if Gabrielle was nominated to accompany her and the rest of the school's best students, her father would certainly prevent her from going. Gabrielle easily decided that her only option was to sneak along with Beauxbatons' delegation.

Fleur and Papa were none the wiser to Gabrielle's plan. They never caught these types of things from her, seemingly willfully ignorant of how mischievous she could be. But then a letter from Maman arrived and with it, Gabrielle's blood nearly froze in her veins. Apolline did not have the same blindspot that the rest of their family did when it came to Gabrielle…

"Gabby. My dear youngest feather. I am sure by now that you are plotting ways to run off to Britain to find your Bondmate. If you are smart, you will be thinking of joining Beauxbatons and your sister when they leave on the 30th.

"While I don't necessarily approve of your likely plan, I can understand and accept that you feel the need to do this. I also know that nothing I can say will dissuade you. If I can't stop you, I shall offer you my help.

"Attached to this letter is an artifact. It should allow you to sneak aboard the Beauxbatons carriage with your sister and father none the wiser. What you do when you get to Britain is up to you. All I ask is that you keep yourself safe through any means necessary. And yes, that does mean you are allowed to use the most vicious curses your grandmother and I taught you.

"I love you, Gabrielle. I hope you find happiness and satisfaction with your savior. I expect you to bring him to visit once you win him over. If he cannot stand up to the anger of your sister and father, he was never worth your time in the first place."

Gabrielle gaped at the letter, reading it again and again. A silly little smile grew across her face as she did. Her Maman would never cease to surprise and amaze her.

Then a small broach fell out of the envelope that the letter came in. Gabrielle inspected it curiously before putting it on. It was in the shape of a small, red feather and clipped naturally onto her hair as if it was meant to be there.

To Gabrielle, the broach felt like any other accessory. She could only vaguely feel the enchanting magic and Allure literally pouring off it. Pure magic had never been her strength. Gabrielle Delacour was much more of a Social kind of girl.

Though she could only vaguely feel it, the magic of the broach radiated through her whole body, and went to work. As an heirloom passed down through the coven of Apolline's birth, the broach would have been easily recognizable to any coven-raised Veela. Many like it were in use and they were only used for one purpose. They would have seen the broach and recognized that Gabrielle was a young Veela on the traditional quest for her Bondmate.

For a Human, the broach would have done nothing. For a Veela, it was an essential and traditional tool. It masked a young Veela's Allure, leaving it only tangible to the one she had rightfully bonded with. It kept the dangers of the world away and was only meant to be used when a Veela was searching for or pursuing their Bondmate.

Gabrielle, though, only felt her Allure fade into the background. She felt her features change, becoming more mundane and hard to focus on. She did not feel the protections other than anonymity that the broach granted. Yet still, Gabrielle giggled maniacally as she practically faded into the background, unable to be noticed by any other than her Bondmate until she did something to draw attention to them both…

IIIII

"Weeeeee~! Higher! Higher!" Luna cheered, bouncing from her place on my shoulders.

"We're literally standing still, Luna," I deadpanned, hiding my amusement. "And I don't think I can just magically grow taller."

"Not with that attitude you can't!" Luna shot back. "Maybe if I pull on your ears enough, I can stretch you out!"

She did as she said she was going to, tugging on my ears. Thankfully, she didn't put much force behind it so I just rolled my eyes and left her to her fun.

I thanked the Grind and my daily Body quest for the gains I'd made over the past couple of months. One point a week wasn't much but it added up relatively quickly. I made sure to never skip out on the required exercises and I thought I'd gotten to a pretty respectable Body stat by now.

< Body: 19+14=33/100+ >

Ten of those Stat increases were from the weekly Body Grind quest. The other four were from various activities I did outside of that quest. I had the strangest feeling that all of those additional increases came from sexual acts. I was certainly getting plenty of exercise in that area nowadays…

My other Stats also increased but less dramatically. I didn't have a consistent way of training either Soul or Mind like I did Body. Those increases kind of just happened as they happened and the initial lead they had was beginning to dwindle.

< Mind: 33+9=42/100+ >

< Soul: 28+7=35/100+ >

[AN: These Stat increases were happening throughout the other chapters and as time naturally progressed through the story. They're just only getting mentioned now.]

As for my Disciplines, progress was steady but again, not dramatic. I hadn't completed any other quests and had only been increasing them through training and hard work.

< +3 to Focus, +1 to Wanded Magic, +3 to Occlumency, +10 to Wandless Magic, +9 to Speech, +5 to Persuasion, +4 to Teaching, +2 to Notoriety, +3 to Influence >

< Focus 23+3=26, Wanded Magic 50+1=51/100, Occlumency 30+3=33/100, Wandless Magic 17+10=27/100, Speech 21+9=30/100, Persuasion 12+5=17/100, Teaching 38+4=42/100, Notoriety 7+2=9/100, Influence 5+3=8/100 >

[AN: A lot of 'number go up', I know. It's mostly because there was a small time skip (~September 1-7th to October 30th) between this chapter and the last. All of the increases are stuff he'd naturally be training as a Hogwarts teacher.]

It'd been almost two months since school began on September 1st and the other schools participating in the Triwizard Tournament were scheduled to arrive today. To that end, most of the Hogwarts staff and students had gathered in front of the Castle to watch them arrive. Dumbledore promised we were in for a show and I couldn't resist Luna's puppy dog eyes as she begged me to come watch with her.

This whole thing could have been organized better though. As it was, we were just standing around in the autumn Scottish chill, waiting for something to happen. Couldn't someone have thought to conjure a set of bleachers or something? I'm sure this was supposed to make some kind of statement of the dignity or unity of Hogwarts but to me, the effect fell short of the trouble we were going through to make it.

Luna was the only one with a seat and that was only because I was willing to indulge her slightly silly request for a piggyback ride. She was getting glances of what looked to be jealousy from some of the other female students but most ignored us. The fact that the jealous glances came from the students I'd tutored the most wasn't lost on me.

Even Heather and Hermione were getting in on that bit of 'fun'. They'd interacted with Luna a little bit but only through me. Luna's eccentricity seemed to mess with Hermione's sanity something fierce. She only calmed enough to try and get along with Luna after I vouched for the Fae-like girl's Sight.

"Look! Ship ahoy!" Luna's exclamation drew my attention and the attention of the impatient students around us. We looked out onto the Black Lake where she was pointing.

"I don't see anything," I said, absently adding a bit of praise at the end. "Good vocabulary though, Luna."

"Just wait for it," Luna giggled.

Sure enough, a moment or two later, something breached the surface of the Black Lake. Long poles with sails attached stretched out of the water. They were followed rather quickly by a grand sailing Galleon. As the whole ship surfaced not unlike a submarine, I was once more left in awe of magic.

"How in Merlin's name did they get that thing into the Black Lake? The charms alone on that thing must be immense…" I wondered aloud.

"Can I have a pirate's ship, Atlas?" Luna asked innocently.

"So long as you let me help build and enchant it," I agreed without realizing, my mind still caught up with theorizing how such a vessel was possible even with magic.

Luna did a little movement atop my shoulders that jostled her around slightly. I'm sure if I looked up, I would have seen her happily pumping her fists in a little jig.

"And there!" Luna exclaimed again, not long after the magical ship surfaced. "It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Carriage-Man!"

Again, Luna proved her Sight by spotting the next school to arrive before anyone else. Drawn by a score of what looked to be Pegasus, a carriage that seemed much too small on the outside compared to the ship soon came into view. It came close to the Castle before circling and coming to land in a clearing by Hagrid's Hutt.

"That doesn't seem very subtle," I heard Hermione say to Heather from my position near them. "Surely, a flying carriage pulled by winged horses is a violation of the Statute of Secrecy, right? At least the ship seemed to travel by magic."

That… was a good point. Assuming the carriage belonged to Beauxbatons, they couldn't possibly have flown across the Channel without attracting the attention of Muggles. Flying horses and a carriage didn't exactly scream 'slim radar profile' to me.

We didn't get to linger on that possible breach of the Statute for long. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall quickly ushered us back into the Castle and to the Great Hall to await the other schools' inevitably dramatic entrances. 'What was the point of having us line up out front then?' I wondered. This whole event was already starting to seem rather silly.

Instead of going straight there, I made a quick stop at my quarters to pick up the book of Wards I was currently working my way through. I sent Luna on ahead of me, promising to catch up with her quickly. As I entered my room, I was greeted by an unexpected visitor.

"Taking after me, eh, Shadow?" I asked rhetorically.

My familiar ignored me, preferring to spend her attention licking her paw and grooming herself.

"I get it, I get it," I said as if she'd verbally responded to me. "I brought home a stray first with Luna. I guess it's only fair for you to adopt your own."

Another black cat sat next to Shadow, watching me intensely with vibrant violet eyes that seemed oddly haunted. She (I was pretty sure at least but it wasn't like I explicitly checked) was slimmer than Shadow, almost gaunt enough that I could see her little kitty ribs.

"Had a hard time of it, kitty?" I asked the new cat, unable to shake a strange feeling of familiarity with her. Well, I guess she did resemble Shadow quite a bit.

She obviously said nothing. I wasn't expecting her to. Still, I made sure to put out an extra food and water dish for her before grabbing the book I came for. I gave her a little scratch on the head and was almost startled by the loud purr she emitted despite her slim stature.

"Right, Shadow, you can keep her as long as you promise to clean up after her and take her for walks. You two behave, yeah? I'll be back later," I joked as I got up to leave.

The new cat looked like she wanted to follow me but kept sending glances at the full food dish I'd just put down. Eventually, food seemed to win out over whatever attracted her to me. Good, she was worryingly skinny. Satisfied and putting the issue of a new cat off to deal with later, I made my way back to the Great Hall and up to my spot at the staff table, shooting Luna a smile as I opened my book to read while we waited.

Chatter abounded in the Great Hall as we waited, only ceasing when Dumbledore stood seemingly abruptly to announce the other schools. I wonder if they set up some sort of signal or other method to communicate discreetly. They must have. The entrances were too well-timed for Dumbledore to be simply guessing.

The Durmstrang was the first school to make its entrance. Clad in all-black uniforms, they marched into the Great Hall, slamming staffs against the floor and kicking up sparks as they went. Then ended the entrance with an unnecessary gymnastics routine that I thought only took away from their initial intimidation factor. Someone famous seemed to be with them if the reaction from our students was anything to go off of. I heard a lot of "Something, something, 'Krum'" at the very least.

Then Beauxbatons made their entrance and I couldn't help but blink. Huh… they were really playing into the stereotype of French sensuality. Was it normal for the Beauxbatons delegation to be entirely female? They honestly reminded me more of the cheerleaders from the World Cup than students who had come here to potentially compete in a tournament.

And for good reason too. Beauxbatons seemed to have decided that it was a good idea to put their Veela students at the front of their entrance. Allure poured off of the forward-most Beauxbatons students as they all 'Oohed' and 'Ahhed' in a borderline sexual manner designed to leave a lasting impression. I even recognized the girl in the center as the testy older sister of Gabrielle, the young Veela I'd saved.

Her eyes caught mine for a moment and the pleasant, performative facade she was putting on cracked. Her Allure roiled and I quickly decided it was best if I looked somewhere else. That decision didn't seem to help much. I could still feel her gaze burning a hole in me and her Allure on the edge of running wild with rage. No idea what I did to make her so angry with me.

My attention roamed the Great Hall, trying to find something to distract me from unexplainable Veela rage. It landed on the Beauxbatons Headmistress for a moment, wondering if her stature could be attributed to something magical in her genetics. But ultimately, what held my attention was a familiar figure slipping through the still-open Great Hall doors as if she was trying to sneak inside.

Gabrielle Delacour was just as captivating as when I rescued her during the World Cup Riot. Maybe even more now that she wasn't coming off the back of such a traumatic experience. And yet, despite her unearthly beauty, she attracted no attention aside from mine as she slipped into the Great Hall. Not even her sister seemed to recognize her.

Considering the amount of Allure pouring off of Gabrielle, going unnoticed as she was should have been impossible. She had to be doing something to conceal herself. But why could I see her then?

Answers weren't forthcoming. After their dramatic entrances, the delegations of the other schools took their seats. Two of the House tables in the Great Hall stretched and grew, making room for Beauxbatons at Ravenclaw and Durmstrang at Slytherin. Through it all, even sitting at my old House table, Gabrielle's older sister glared at me.

Gabrielle herself didn't seem to have noticed me yet. She appeared to be searching for something though… or someone considering she was walking up and down the Great Hall between the tables, examining students and paying special attention to the older years. With how strikingly attractive Gabrielle was, it was odd being the only one able to clearly see her and even feel her Allure. Well, I think Luna noticed her too but she didn't count.

Dumbledore made some announcements, formally introducing the heads of the other schools and the way the Triwizard champions would be chosen. I think, at least. Some fancy artifact that would have normally held my attention. But right now, my focus was stolen by Gabrielle's angelic figure and the way her search seemed to come closer and closer to me without resolution.

After examining each of the House tables, Gabrielle stopped to pout. Her arms crossed, her brows furrowed, and her foot tapped against the stone floor. It was adorable in a way that called for my heart to say something. Surely, I could at least say hello to her after saving her life, right?

I didn't get to do anything though. As if she sensed me about to do something to get her attention, Gabrielle looked up at the staff table. Her eyes roamed over the figures sitting there, over a still-speaking Dumbledore, over the visiting school heads, until they landed on me.

In an instant, Gabrielle's eyes lit up with recognition and it was like her whole world changed. Her pout disappeared into a beaming, joyous smile. Her Allure became visible and almost palpable and I could have sworn I saw colors that shouldn't have existed in her aura. And still, no one else noticed her.

They didn't notice her pout bloom and blossom like a flower that could have rivaled the most spectacular works of art. They didn't notice her Allure rippling through the air of the Great Hall. They didn't notice as she began to move — sprint, really — toward the staff table. And they somehow didn't notice her throwing herself bodily over the table and into my arms.

I hurried to catch her, my body reacting while my mind was still processing. Her arms wound themselves around my neck as she pulled herself up and practically slammed her lips against mine.

I'd never been a big believer in the 'fireworks when they kissed' trope. Gabrielle's lips against mine changed that. It was like our surroundings exploded into a cacophony of lights, sounds, and emotions. I felt Gabrielle's relief, exaltation, and a small bit of mischievous anticipation of what was bound to come next. I'm sure she felt my utter confusion about the current situation in the same way.

I felt a twinge of something inside me as Gabrielle pulled away. Almost like a promise for a debt to be repaid. I was still too stunned for it to be anything more than an absent thought. Her lips were so soft…

I hadn't even noticed the world had seemingly frozen around us until it started moving again. And with the restart and Gabrielle's startling action, the spell concealing her had been broken. Every eye in the Great Hall was directed at us as Gabrielle's Allure continued to run wild, now plainly visible for all who could see magic.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with mad amusement as he watched me unconsciously hold Gabrielle and try to get my bearings back, "Mr. White, you seem to have interrupted my speech. Where did you find such a powerful and charming young Veela? I am quite sure you did not have her just a moment ago…"

"White?" Gabrielle asked, her accent sending shivers down my spine. "Is that your name, Mon Ange?"

"Atlas White, yeah," I answered her distractedly. "Sorry, Albus, I don't know what's come over her."

"So you know the young lady?" Professor McGonagall asked, sniffing imperiously. "I must say, it is rather rude to bring a guest to the staff table without even announcing her invitation to the rest of us."

"Yeah, her name is Gabrielle Delacour. I may have saved her life a little bit," I said.

"Not just ma life, but ma purity as well," Gabrielle added 'helpfully'.

Gabrielle's words caused murmurs to spread through the intently listening crowd of the Great Hall. It seemed the implications of saving a Veela's purity were well-known. Knowing Hogwarts, I was sure the rumors would grow out of hand soon enough.

The Beauxbatons Headmistress looked confused, exasperated, but almost accepting of Gabrielle's presence. Like she was well used to the young Veela's antics. Did that mean Gabrielle didn't come to Hogwarts with them?

Gleeful clapping briefly drew my attention to a happy Luna who looked over the moon at how events were playing out. She could probably see the bond between me and Gabrielle and knowing Luna, she was probably just happy with the chaos and the prospect of another coven sister. Looking out at the students also allowed me to see the next storm as it quickly approached the staff table.

Gabrielle's older sister stomped up to the staff table and started ranting in vicious, hurried French to her sister. Even without speaking French, I was sure that most of those words shouldn't be used in pleasant company. Most of her vitriol seemed to be directed at me and I shifted uncomfortably under the unintelligible tirade. Gabrielle just giggled at her raging sister and snuggled closer into my arms.

"A quoi pensais-tu?! Gabby, écarte-toi de lui!" Fleur demanded.

[What were you thinking?! Gabby, get away from him!]

"Non," Gabrielle denied nonchalantly, still giggling in a way that was almost bratty now.

"What seems to be the problem, mademoiselle?" Dumbledore tried to mediate.

"This…! This scheming English pig-dog! He tricks my sister!" She spat.

"I what?" I exclaimed, confused and slightly offended. "I did nothing of the sort! I saved her life!"

"To trick her! You… You take advantage of young Veela! I have seen through your lies, Devil! Please, leave my sister! Take me instead!" Her growl transitioned into a plea at the end as her Allure flared with angry, flustered heat and arousal.

Gabrielle defended me, "Fleur, I have already told you and Papa that you are wrong. I shall not be separated from my Bondmate."

Her younger sister's words did nothing to pacify Fleur's intensity, "You don't speak for yourself anymore, Gabby! You have been seduced! Hypnotized! Led astray! Your mind is not your own! He already tries to control you! It-… It should have been me!"

I was very quickly beginning to grow absolutely fed up with this woman's baseless accusations, "Right, listen here, you French tart! I interacted with her for maybe five minutes! You are being unreasonable, prejudiced, and downright disrespectful to the man who, by her own admission, saved your little sister's life! As far as I'm concerned, your anger can shove right off, you damnable Witch of a woman! And what the bloody hell do you mean it should have been you?!"

"I think that's quite enough," Dumbledore cut me off before either Fleur or I could say anything more we might come to regret. "I believe we should all take a step back to cool down. Separate the opposing parties and whatnot."

"Fine," Fleur sniffed haughtily, trying to act as if my explosion of frustration didn't affect her. "Gabby shall come with me. I do not trust her with him. Come, Gabby, Papa will hear of this. We shall fix this together."

Fleur had already started turning around as if Gabrielle obeying her was a guarantee when Gabrielle refused, "Non. You do not understand, Fleur. I am already here. The Bond is established. You won't separate us again."

"Gabrielle!" Fleur hissed, still glaring at me as if Gabrielle's refusal was somehow my fault. "Do not be silly! Will I have to get Maman for you to listen to reason?! W-Will I have to take your place?!"

Gabrielle laughed, "Maman already knows. How did you think I was able to sneak to England alongside you?"

Gabrielle's latest reveal put Fleur in a state of almost open-mouthed shock. This was just going in circles. The only way for this situation to be resolved was for one of us to be the bigger person. And Fleur certainly wasn't going to change her mind any time soon.

I sighed, "Gabrielle, go with your sister for now. I won't send you back home — mostly because I doubt it will do much to stop you — but you should probably talk to Fleur before she decides to try and claw my eyes out. And Fleur? How about trying to actually listen to your sister, yeah?"

From how furious and flustered Fleur looked at me even talking to her, I knew this would be an uphill battle. It was probably best to let Gabrielle do most of the talking and for me to see if I could get their mother on my side. For some reason, I instantly figured that their father was a lost cause.

Gabrielle pouted as I set her down but obeyed my request when I gave her a look. Fleur began to storm off, this time with Gabrielle actually following her. I couldn't understand their conversation as it lapsed back into French but it was pretty obvious that Gabrielle was teasing her sister and driving her even crazier.

Sighing again, I looked around the rest of the Great Hall. As expected, nearly everyone was watching the drama that just finished unfolding. At the staff table, Septima and Flitwick looked amused, McGonagall looked sternly disapproving, Dumbledore's eyes hadn't stopped twinkling for a moment, and the rest of the staff alternated between interested and trying to act like they weren't.

The students — both visiting and Hogwarts natives — weren't much better. Judging by the looks I was receiving from the rest of the Beauxbatons girls, not many of them thought Fleur was in the right. The Durmstrang students were mostly apathetic, though some did seem interested in the man who earned a Veela Bond.

The Hogwarts students already knew about me. Some of them were visibly struggling to reconcile their Assistant Professor with the drama they'd just witnessed. Others openly directed their jealous envy my way. The more Socially-inclined students like Lavender and Parvati looked like Christmas had come early, bearing heavy presents of juicy gossip.

Luna, of course, was still ecstatic. I'm sure nothing could dampen her excitement for having a new potential sister. The strangest reactions, to me at least, came from Heather and Hermione. I heavily suspected that Hermione had developed something of a crush on me, but when I looked at her, I didn't see the jealousy I expected. Instead, it was replaced with an odd look of consideration as if she had plans that now needed to be moved up due to this new information. Heather shot me a reassuring grin as well.

I was about to sit back down in my spot, content to try futilely to fade into the background when Dumbledore addressed me, "Atlas? Would you mind dining with us tonight? Minerva is terribly interested in your side of the story and I would like to pick your brain for suggestions on how to protect the Goblet from the younger students entering their names."

"Aye, lad, come sit. Ah refuse ta believe a teacher at our school could be guilty of the things that French girlie was accusing ye of. Give us tha hail story," Thankfully, McGonagall's anger seemed to be on my behalf because everyone knew that when her brogue came out, someone was going to feel her disappointment.

I glanced at Septima and got a shrug and a shooing hand motion in return.

"Yer lass'll be fine. All tha good ones save a Veela at some point. Long as ye properly talk to 'er, yer relationship will be fine," McGonagall reassured.

"I already told her," I absently commented as I sat down in a chair Dumbledore conjured between them.

"Good oan ye, laddie," McGonagall nodded approvingly. "Noo, spill."

"It happened at the World Cup Riot this summer. Albus here asked me to chaperone for Heather Potter and Hermione Granger. Everything was going well until the screaming started-…"

IIIII

Brief Omake by Pope Yoda 1 on my Patreon

~ The following day ~

"Atlas, please remember to use silencing charms in the future. The portraits on the 3rd Floor have been yelling, 'Spank me harder, daddy,' in both English and French all morning.

~ Dumbledore hits blunt, blowing out a dragon like Gandalf ~

"That said, excellent stamina. I'm to understand Mr. Filch received noise complaints until 4 am."

~ Blows out a trio of trolls dancing in a ballet line ~

"I had to tell him that the hallway was haunted. So now you have two options: Make sure that hallway stays haunted or look Mr. Filch in the eye and explain what happened."

"… I'll take Option 1, Headmaster."

"Very good, then. Might I recommend you gain proficiency in French? Gellert was always getting on my ass about German, and I've since found speaking the same language is an excellent bonding experience."