End of year testing was still ongoing for Hermione and Gabrielle. Though reluctant to leave Harry, they finally departed for their classes; Transfiguration for Hermione while Gabrielle left for Charms. Fleur was studying for the French Equivalent of the NEWTs but she grabbed a couple of her textbooks from her room and sat next to Harry in the shade of a large tree near the lake.
Harry didn't want to think about the prophecy and what it meant, so he kept his mind off of it by staring at his oldest bondmate. Her magic had already made the scratches that had adorned her face the previous evening disappear. He watched as her blue eyes moved as she read her text, occasionally marking a passage with her quill. Every so often she'd look up only to find Harry's eyes on her.
"Ow am I supposed to study with you staring at me?" She asked smiling.
"How can I not stare when you're there in front of me?" He returned.
Their eyes stayed locked together. They didn't need to verbalize or even think what they each needed to say; it was clear what the eyes of the other was communicating; love, respect and other many things that had no words, but were clearly felt. As the experience with the Troll in the first year cemented a relationship with Hermione, the previous night meant something to Harry and Fleur.
"Maybe we could go to my room?" Fleur suggested.
Harry wanted nothing more than to kiss her and to hold her but it was not to be for now. "Hermione would kill us. If she were to miss a question because we distracted her..."
Fleur laughed. A sound Harry loved to hear; a sound that washed away the pain and fears of the past day. It was a contagious laugh as well, and soon the two of them couldn't help but start the other giggling by just looking at them. Soon a shadow fell over them and the laughter stopped immediately with both of them having their hands on their wands before even turning around. Cedric stood there, a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands.
"Sorry," He said. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I can come back if you want me too."
"Zat's fine Cedric. 'Ave a seat," Fleur replied as she waved her hand at a spot of grass.
Cedric settled down on the ground across from them and the three of them sat in silence for a short time until Cedric nodded at the paper and asked. "Did it all happen? I mean, I know what Professor Dumbledore tried to tell the Minister but..."
Harry looked at the older Hogwart's Champion and shrugged. "Yeah, mostly like that."
Cedric looked at Fleur, "I'm glad you made it to him," He turned his gaze to Harry. "She was ready to fight her way back out of the maze to get to you. If Dumbledore's phoenix hadn't shown up..."
Cedric watched the two look at each other as if they were talking. Finally he remembered what Fleur had said the night before. "So... you two can really...eh I mean talk in your heads?"
Harry's eyebrow went up in question as he queried Fleur. She spoke out loud when she replied. "I was nervous and rambling about you love. I 'ad to explain 'ow I knew what was 'appening to you."
"When she first started I thought she was losing it," Cedric admitted. "Had me believing we were the ones in danger."
Harry looked over at Cedric. "Yeah we can. Good thing too or who knows what might have happened last night."
Cedric took a few seconds to digest the information before asking the obvious question. "So if you two are... what did you call it last night?"
"Bondmates," Fleur replied.
"So if you are bondmates or married or whatever it is with Fleur, then why are you pretending to date her sister Harry?"
Harry looked at Fleur. "Maybe we should just announce it now. It's becoming pretty widely known anyway."
"Non, no one knows we don't trust," Fleur replied. "Think about ze next week if ze people you don't like find out."
"True," Harry agreed and then turned to Cedric. "Okay, it's a secret until later in the summer. If you can agree to that, we can tell you."
"Sure Harry," Cedric replied. "I hope you know I'd never go behind you."
"Not even Cho can know Cedric," Fleur stated.
"Why?"
"I like Cho, but she likes to...to gossip. Especially wiz 'er friend," Fleur explained.
Cedric nodded to show he understood. He had heard Cho and Marietta Edgecombe chatting a few times about various people, some of it not so flattering.
Harry looked at Fleur and smiled before bringing his eyes back to Cedric. "Do you remember after the second task when none of us were around?"
"Yeah I heard later you were magically exhausted from everything."
"I was but while I was recovering, we, I mean Fleur, Gabrielle and I, spent a lot of time together," Harry explained. "I fell in love with both of them," Harry looked at Fleur as he said the little lie. "And they did the same with me. Veela have something called bondmates. It's...It's a bond that connects the people in love by their love. To a Veela it seems it's very much like a marriage or at least a permanent connection. Well they both bonded their love to me."
Cedric was just looking at Harry and Fleur. Finally he asked. "So you're married to both of them?"
"It's not a real marriage," Fleur replied. "But to Gabrielle and I, it's ze same. Someday maybe zey'll be a real wedding."
"Wow, I don't know what to say besides I wish you two or I guess I should say three, the best then," Cedric said. "So you've been hiding it because..."
"Skeeter, Slytherins, bunches of reasons," Harry replied. "We originally had planned to announce it over the summer to let people get it out of their system before the next school year but now..." Harry shrugged. "Hopefully they have a lot more things to be worried about besides my love life."
Cedric nodded at the paper lying in front of him. "Can you tell me anything about that? I will understand if you don't want to talk about it."
Harry again shrugged. "Nothing else really to tell actually. The cup was a trap," He looked at Cedric with an extremely serious look. "Can't help but think what might have happened if you had taken the cup while we were arguing."
"Guess it pays to be a Hufflepuff," Cedric replied with a grin. "Though I wouldn't have minded helping you."
"Thanks. I wished I'd had help," Harry replied. He looked at Fleur. "But Fleur saved me. She risked her life to help me get free."
"You actually fought You-Know-Who?"
"I tried," Harry replied. "I got lucky when he... well he wasn't expecting me to be alive."
"So you really did survive..." Cedric nodded at the paper again to finish the sentence for him.
Harry looked again at Fleur. He could feel her emotions. He knew she was thinking about him dying again. He turned back to Cedric and again shrugged his shoulders. "I'm alive, but I'd prefer not to talk about that. It's..." He looked again at Fleur, "still not something we want to share."
Cedric smiled at the two of them as he got to his feet. "I understand. Look, if you ever need anything..." He held out his hand to Harry.
"Thanks Cedric," Harry replied and shook the older boy's hand.
Cedric turned to walk away and then stopped and turned back. "Hey, you'll invite me to the wedding when it does happen won't you?"
Fleur smiled. "Of course."
Harry thought about what he didn't tell Cedric, specifically about Hermione. "Cedric, when the story does come out, there'll be one other detail we didn't tell you. I hope you'll understand."
"Of course Harry. It's your life."
....
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