Of Veela and Wolves - Part 5

Harry stood with his friends on the front lawn. The other schools were set to arrive at any minute. Practically all of the younger students were perfectly fine sharing space with Harry thanks to Tonks using him as a walking target. The older students had to at least pretend not to be bothered or risk being laughed at. It also helped that it was a chilly evening and he radiated heat.

Everyone watched as the carriages arrived. It wasn't until the foreign students began to approach that Harry started to pay attention. As time went on, he was having a hard time relating to other people. Romantically, at least. It was similar to the feeling of being around werewolves. They just weren't the same.

Tonks was the only one that came close so far.

Now, there was a scent among the visitors that called to him. Something familiar. Someone that was like him. He couldn't pinpoint who it was. The new scent brought by the visitors, along with the smell of the abraxan, and all of the students gathered around him muddied things too much.

"Harry?" Ron cleared his throat.

"What?" He looked at his friend.

"Time to go inside." Ron waved him on.

Harry followed his friend inside. Most of the students had already left.

They made it just in time to see Dumbledore pull the other Headmasters aside to them about the fourth champion. They weren't happy about it, but begrudgingly agreed to continue once the reports from the various tests on the Goblet were read. The Ministry had a lot riding on the tournament. It brought in as much money as hosting the World Cup and opened talks with the international community after a long period of isolation. A team of experts examined the goblet and provided multiple reports to reinforce the claims that it was now fully secure. Something that had been mentioned previously but dismissed due to the cost.

Harry was amused at the variety of food that the elves had prepared. He laughed at how Ron examined the dishes in a state of concern. The sound died in his throat as he felt someone approach.

He turned toward the person that had stopped mid-stride. His nose was faster than his eyes. Her scent was perfect. She was tall with an athletic build. Even caught by surprise she seemed ready to spring into action. There was a lingering scent of sunlight and the fresh breeze about her. He could feel some sort of magic from her wash over him.

Her bright blue eyes met his green. When he first transformed, the moon had its own song. It was a mournful, beautiful song that called to his very being. The magic emanating from her eyes harmonized with that song, enriched the tune with life and promise.

"Hello." Hermione said. It was clear she was repeating herself by how her voice sounded.

"Are… are you done with that?" She asked as she pointed a shaky finger at the dish on the table.

"Oh, sure." Hermione replied. "Enjoy."

The girl took the dish back to the Ravenclaw table with the rest of the French students.

"Really, Harry." His friend groaned. "Not you too."

"Hm?" Harry arced an eyebrow at her.

"You were practically drooling over her." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Harry rolled his eyes right back at her.

"There's something different about her." He shrugged.

"She's a Veela." Hermione stated. "There were a bunch of them at the World Cup."

"I've never heard of them before." Harry cocked his head to the side.

"That's not a surprise." Hermione huffed. "Magical Britain is woefully behind the rest of Europe regarding relations with non-human magical people. Most of their conclaves are in France and parts of Spain where the governments have an open line of communication with them." She paused. "Why?"

"I'm not going to go into a rage and howl at the moon." Harry chuckled. "I've never been around another non-human like that before. Well, aside from Hagrid."

He paused. Now that he thought about it, being around Hagrid was much more comfortable these days. He found himself seeking out his half-giant friend multiple times a week. Being around magical creatures in general was somewhat soothing. Looking back now, he could see why Hagrid had such a soft spot for the more dangerous ones.

"I don't think you're going to spend much out of him now." Ron chuckled.

"Why?" Harry asked.

Ron motioned to the front of the Hall. Hagrid sat at his spot at the staff table. His eyes sparkled as they were locked onto the French Headmistress. Harry smiled. The students dispersed once the feast was complete. Harry followed his friends back toward the Gryffindor Tower for the most part.

"I'm going to go for a run." Harry announced as they got to the stairs.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. One of the benefits of his new status was the fact that he was allowed outside of the castle at night. There wasn't much that could threaten a werewolf. This was after numerous tests of his control and with the strict instructions that he would remain in human form inside the castle.

"Be careful." Hermione cautioned.

"No bird chasing." Ron chuckled.

Hermione reached out and smacked Ron on the back of the head with practiced ease.

"Wow." Fred looked at her with newfound respect. "That was masterful."

Ron grumbled as he headed up the stairs. Harry tried not to smile at the sudden influx of information provided by Hermione and Fred. Their heart rate increased, and their body temperature rose. Instinctively, they both subtly increased the amount of pheromones they released.

Harry filed that bit of interaction away for later. Fred was a much better Weasley to have a crush on than Ron. Harry loved his friends, but the two of them would drive each other insane in a relationship. Now he just needed to find a girl to distract Ron.

It was a shame Lavender had become so interested in him now that he was a werewolf. Her and Ron would be a decent match in the short term. He would have to ask Parvati if there were any girls interested in his friend.

One thing that Harry had realized was how clueless people were when it came to their own bodily reactions. Ron thought he was attracted to Hermione, but his biological signs didn't change from when he was around his other friends. Hermione, on the other hand, treated both Ron and him like a sibling.

This reaction to Fred was something new.

He made it out to the obstacle course and stripped down to his shorts. It sprang to life once he activated the rune. The course was something the seventh-year students were constantly working on. It had started out as a project for the transfiguration class but quickly grew to include the Rune, Charms, and Arithmancy students as well. They hadn't incorporated Potions and Herbology, but it was only a matter of time. There was now a set of Runes that could be activated to adjust multiple aspects of the course.

Harry set all of the options to random. He closed his eyes and shifted to his werewolf form. The world around him blurred as he raced through the course. It was a wonderful way to allow his brain to just drift away into a meandering train of thought. Honestly, it was almost as refreshing as a nice nap. Another thing he had some to appreciate in his new form. He could curl up in a patch of sunlight and just bask. Professor McGonagall had subtly mentioned some of the better places for such a task. Mrs. Norris had taken to sleeping on him, much to Filch's consternation. They had agreed for it to only be during the daytime and only when he was in wolf form.

He came to an immediate stop when he caught a scent on the breeze. The large wooden beam that smacked into his ribs told him that his stillness was a bad idea. Harry crawled out of the course to avoid further lessons. He found the girl from before watching him from nearby.

The air around her shifted from the heat as an orb of fire appeared in each of her taloned hands. Her blue eyes shifted from that of a human to those of a bird of prey. Silver feathers sprang from the skin on her forearms. They tore through the fabric of her uniform as they spread up to her shoulder. Luminescent wings erupted from her back. Oddly enough, her torso and lower body didn't appear to have changed at all.

Harry stood and dusted himself off. She let out an ear-piercing screech and launched toward him with her talons stretched out before her. Harry sighed then lunged toward her. The look of confusion in her eyes was enough to make him smile. He slid along the ground beneath her. His hands latched onto her feet as she passed. He yanked her down, causing her to land flat on her face. The fireballs in her hands snuffed out as she caught herself.

She screamed at him, a human one this time, rather than whatever she had done before, as she sprang back to her feet. The girl crouched before launching herself up back into the air. She launched a volley of fireballs at him as fast as she could summon them.

Harry dodged back to gain some space. He kept himself close to the ground. His dark fur helped cover his movement against the ground in the night. Her attacks slowed as she had to take more time to find him.

He slid to a stop before the course controls. All of the obstacles jolted back into their resting position as he deactivated the runes. The girl shifted her attention to the sudden movement, ready for an attack. In the brief moment it took for here to realize that there wasn't a new threat, Harry transformed.

"Arresto Momentum." Harry shouted.

The girl stilled and dropped to the ground once more.

"Are we done?" Harry asked as he approached with his wand trained on her.

"Je n'ai mem pas commence, enfoire." The girl snapped at him.

"That didn't sound very nice." Harry teased as he held her in the spell. "Let's start over. My name is Harry. One of my favorite things is not being set on fire."

She glared at him.

"This is the part where you tell me your name." He prompted.

"Fleur." She practically growled at him.

"It's nice to meet you, Fleur." Harry inclined his head. "Care to tell me why you tried to roast me?"

"You know why." She hissed.

"No, I don't." Harry shrugged.

"At the feast, you tried to charm me." Her eyes sharpened once more.

"Charm you?" Harry asked.

"Don't pretend you don't know." She glared at him. "I heard the song of the moon when you looked into my eyes."

"You heard that too?" Harry asked.

His wand dipped a just a bit. It gave her enough room to spring to her feet. She snarled at him as she charged. Their eyes met once more. Her stride began to falter. She stumbled to a stop as her wings withdrew, throwing off her sense of balance.

Fleur stared at him for a long moment. She sent him one last glare before she turned away and stomped back to her carriage. The flash of her bare back in the moonlight was a beautiful sight.

~~

AN:
Apologies for the lateness. This chapter did not want to come easy.
I also apologize to anyone who reads this & speaks French.