Of Veela and Wolves - Chapter 10

Harry felt the air around him shift. There was an unpleasant charge to it. Without truly knowing why, he rushed out into the courtyard. He found Fleur and Daphne locked in a heated argument that was dangerously close to turning violent. Even worse, they had drawn quite a crowd.

They spoke in rapid-fire French that he didn't understand. It was so fast that he wasn't sure he could have caught up even if he did speak the language. Fortunately, that was not his only way to interpret their conversation. Harry didn't meticulously keep track of Daphne and Astoria, but he was pretty sure this was the first time he had seen Fleur interact with either of them.

The air around Fleur shimmered from the heat she was producing. Daphne had her feet positioned to be ready to pounce. Neither had changed their form yet, but it was close. The barrage of scents provided the clearest picture. Right now, both girls were surrounded in a veritable cloud of spice. Their usual scents were masked by the raw anger they were broadcasting.

He had come to know Daphne's normal scent. Fresh wind, the earth after rain, and an underlying hint of sweetness. Fleur was another that he knew well, the scent of honey, sunlight, and cinnamon. He had gotten better at reading a person through the changes as well. Anger, for instance, had a spice to it, almost like a roasted pepper.

"What is going on?" Harry yelled as he entered the courtyard.

Both young women looked over to him. The sharp scent in the air began to ease. Fleur gave him a sly smile and began to cross the courtyard over to him. He didn't miss the quick glare she tossed at Daphne was she passed her by. The Veela came to a stop before him.

"Daphne and I were having a small disagreement." She waved off his concern.

"Small?" Harry rolled his eyes. "I could feel you two from the other side of the Great Hall."

"Oh." Fleur purred. "You did?"

"We're pack." Daphne practically growled as she strode over to them. "We are connected."

"Is that so?" Fleur arced a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

The honey and sunshine scent that he had come to realize was her allure began to increase in strength. Daphne actually did growl at her this time.

"Fleur." Harry shook his head. "You know that won't work. Stop trying to make Daphne mad."

Fleur put on a mock-hurt expression.

"Daphne." Harry turned his attention to the other girl. "What's going on?"

"He doesn't know?" Fleur giggled. "Mon doux petit chiot."

"He is not yours." Daphne glared at her.

"Pas encore." Fleur took a step closer to Harry.

She kissed him gently on the cheek. The Veela shot Daphne a wink before she walked away.

"Fais attention à toi, alouette." Daphne took a step toward her.

"Mieux vaut une alouette qu'une chienne en chaleur, Fifi." Fleur called over her shoulder.

Daphne radiated barely contained rage as she watched Fleur leave. Harry didn't need whatever bond was between them to see that.

"What is going on?" Harry moved to block her view of Fleur.

"Nothing." Daphne said through grit teeth.

"You were going to shift and fight her in the courtyard." Harry sighed. "That is obviously something."

Astoria bounded over to them. She slid to a stop beside her sister and wrapped her in a hug.

"Don't let that French bird get under your skin." Astoria squeezed her. "She's just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Harry turned his attention to the younger girl.

Astoria smiled brightly but didn't answer.

"I'm not telling." Astoria teased.

Astoria pulled her sister away. She led her out of the courtyard in the opposite direction from the one Fleur had gone. Astoria had figured out the perfect distance needed to be able to whisper so he couldn't understand it even with his enhanced hearing. Today, she didn't bother whispering. Instead, she spoke in another language.

"I really need to learn how to speak French." Harry grumbled.

Hermione and Ron waited for him in the doorway of the Great Hall. Both of them looked rather worried.

"What happened?" Ron said through deep breathes. "You just took off."

"I've never seen you move so fast." Hermione added.

"Daphne was in trouble." Harry shrugged.

"How did you know?" Hermione asked, all sense of tiredness vanished. "Did she release some sort of pheromone to alert you? Was it a mental link between pack members?"

"It was just a feeling." Harry chuckled. "If I knew, I would tell you."

"We should test this." Hermione practically hopped over to him. "You said that you can communicate when you are wolves. We should see if you can in your human form as well."

"Obviously they can." Ron shook his head. "They speak to each other all the time."

"Not like that, Ron." Hermione groaned. "Mentally. They can speak to each other with their thoughts."

"You've got two girls in your head?" Ron winced. "That's rough."

Harry chuckled.

"We'll talk more after class." Hermione grabbed Ron and started to lead him away.

"You're lucky you're in the tournament." Ron called as he was manhandled down the hall. "I'd rather face death again to another hour of Potions."

"Chin up, Ron." Harry called after him. "I can look around for a giant chess board for you."

"You're a true friend." Ron laughed.

Harry smiled as he watched his friends leave. Thankfully, Hermione had drifted away from her romantic delusions with Ron. The extra time the two spent together without him around had solved that problem. It became clear that Harry was the thing that held their friendship together. Now that he was a werewolf, as well as a TriWizard Champion, their schedules didn't line up as much. He was happy to see that they hadn't killed each other yet. In fact, the two had started to make friends beyond just the original trio.

He sighed. His next tutoring session was with Hagrid. He strolled through the expanse of open ground over to the hut. The half-giant waited outside. Hagrid currently wore a thick leather pair of gloves.

"Hagrid!" Harry called as he got closer.

"Hello, Harry!" Hagrid called back. "Is it that time already?"

"Why are you wearing gloves?" He asked.

"Can't tell you." The half-giant smiled brightly at him. "Tournament business."

Harry nodded. He paused as the wind shifted. Hagrid always smelled of woodsmoke, fresh soil, and stone. Today, there was something minty mingled among his scent.

"Are you wearing cologne?" Harry asked.

"It's not too much, is it?" Hagrid blushed. "I've got a… meeting later tonight. I wanted to make a good impression."

"A meeting or a date." Harry teased.

Hagrid blustered and blushed as he tried to look anywhere but at Harry.

"That reminds me." Hagrid cleared his throat. "Wanted to have you meet me here tonight as well. With that cloak of yours. Need to stay out of sight."

"Ok." Harry shrugged. "What are we working on today?"

"Magically Altered Mundane Animals." Hagrid answered. "Most call them Manas."

Harry cocked his head to the side. He tried to recall anything he could about the subject.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Harry said after a moment.

"Not a problem." Hagrid laughed. "I'm a professor after all."

Harry smiled at him.

"Magically Altered Mundane Animals." Hagrid said each word carefully. "Are animals you'd find in the muggle world that have been touched by magic. This can change them in odd ways. They can be bigger, smaller, smarter, or have changed bit about them. Those six-legged deer are one of them."

"Smarter how?" Harry asked.

"Think about Hedwig." He said. "Even before she bonded with your magic, she was a special bird. Smarter than the average owl, more personality too. Mrs. Norris is another. I know it doesn't look like it, but she talks to Filch like you do to your lady wolves."

"That's amazing." Harry said.

"It is, isn't it." Hagrid flashed a bright smile. "Most happen when they are in a place with a lot of magic for a long time. Diagon Alley for Hedwig and Hogwarts for Mrs. Norris. The dangerous ones are the ones that happen out in the wild. Wizards like to think they've got magic under their control, but it's not something that can be tamed. Not fully at least. Animals get caught up in it when these wild pockets of magic appear. If they're lucky, some wizard finds them and brings them somewhere safe."

"And if they aren't lucky?" Harry asked.

"Then you get those stories out in the muggle world." Hagrid shook his head sadly. "That Bigfoot critter, for one. Think they were bears long ago."

"Bigfoot is real?" Harry shook his head. "Really?"

Hagrid nodded. "Got a book on them somewhere around here."

"Wow." Harry chuckled. "That's amazing."

"It's not just dragons and hippogriffs that are worth studying." Hagrid said with a smile. "Lots of amazing creatures out there."

~~~
AN:
It's chapters now :)
It has become obvious that my lemons need time to ripen. Lately it's only the one-shots that have smut within the first chapter