Teenage Troubles Pt. 1
Gabrielle was surrounded by all the little animals, smiling as she rolled across the ground. The tiny creatures seemed to be playing with her… though, in reality, it was obvious they had all joined forces to defeat her under the command of their supreme leader, Red, who stood not too far away, nodding with absurd confidence.
Harry remained seated on the grass, surrounded by small hippogriffs no bigger than a head. They pecked at his legs and hands, trying to overpower him with all their might to prove they were strong too.
Though their beaks could barely do any real damage.
Harry caught one of them, and it immediately began nibbling at his hand, shaking its head with a strangely adorable persistence. That made Harry let out a soft laugh.
"Ahh… looks like it's too late to save them from Red's nonsense," Harry said, watching the baby magical creatures behave so ridiculously.
Red seemed to hear that, because he immediately turned toward Harry. Seeing the little hippogriffs attacking him, he hurried over and let out a short roar at them, making them all stop at once. The tiny creatures tilted their heads to the side, confused.
Then Red walked up to Harry and flopped down in front of him, belly up. The little ones didn't hesitate for even a second; they instantly copied him.
Harry let out a small laugh and rubbed each of their bellies before they stood up again. As if they had just been scolded for trying to attack their master, they shook their heads and looked toward Gabrielle. The next second, they all ran toward her and joined the assault, jumping on top of her while flapping their tiny wings that still couldn't fly.
Unaware of any of that, Gabrielle thought they had simply joined the game, not realizing that all the little ones were trying to destroy her according to Red's wise teachings.
"Hahaha!" Gabrielle laughed as she felt the ticklish little pecks.
Harry watched her for a moment while gently petting Red, his ridiculous dragon.
"Looks like, for once, one of your crazy ideas actually did something good for the animals," Harry said, glancing around.
Even the first time he had come to this place, after Red had "kidnapped" Newt Scamander's creatures, he couldn't help but be amazed by this small oasis of magical beings.
Fluffy was sleeping peacefully. Meanwhile, Destructora sat like a true queen, surrounded by other unicorns. Buckbeak was playing with a few hippogriff hatchlings. Even Fawkes was perched on a branch alongside other birds, and Harry could make out Hedwig among them.
The three dragons the champions were supposed to face were in another corner, a bit farther away, gently guarding their eggs while occasionally releasing small bursts of flame. They didn't show even a fraction of the aggression Harry had seen when they were locked in cages.
Noticing Harry's approving gaze, Red looked at him for a moment with shining eyes, as if he were proud that his master liked what he had done.
Which, of course, the foolish dragon interpreted as his master being proud of the army he was building to conquer the world.
That only encouraged the dragon even more in his plans for domination… though, for now, he settled for enjoying the approving pats.
The sound of the little animals, the soft wind, and Gabrielle's laughter made everything feel… too peaceful.
And then…
As if that balance was never meant to last, a red portal opened a few meters away. Fleur stepped out with a serious expression, looking around until she found him… and then Gabrielle. She let out a sigh as the portal closed behind her.
For a brief instant, Harry caught a glimpse of his mother peeking through, her eyes narrowed and her gaze clearly threatening. That made Harry sit up straight for a moment. Thankfully, Wanda's portal closed before she said anything.
"HARRY POTTER!" Fleur roared as soon as she got closer.
Gabrielle, who had been distracted by the animals, jumped to her feet at the sound and, upon seeing her sister's furious expression, shrank slightly, hiding among the little creatures.
"Wow, you went and told my mother… that's pretty snitch-like," Harry said calmly, completely unfazed by Fleur's anger.
"And what exactly did you expect me to do after receiving a note like that?" Fleur shot back, pulling a small note from her pocket; the same one Harry had sent when he took Gabrielle to avoid "worrying" her sister and cousin.
Fleur unfolded the note and read it out loud:
"I have taken the liberty of kidnapping your sister and bringing her into the Forbidden Forest, where the most dangerous beasts lurk… likely awaiting their next meal.
If you wish to see her alive again, present yourself at sunset with a picnic basket. Preferably with something sweet. The creatures are quite demanding… and so are we.
Do not be late. It would be a shame if someone… or something… got there first.
Sincerely,
The Villain"
"Hahaha… when you read it like that, it really does sound evil," Harry said, clearly amused. "By the way, the one I sent to Luciel just said I took your cousin to see the magical animals in the forest and that I'd bring her back later. So if you had run into him, you wouldn't be this worried," he added casually.
Fleur gave him a truly deadly look, frowning in clear irritation. Even so, the most ironic part was that she was, in fact, holding a picnic basket.
The moment the scent drifted out of it, several of the magical creatures surrounding Gabrielle ran toward Fleur and gathered around her, bouncing lightly.
The sheer cuteness of the little animals made it impossible for Fleur to stay angry. She crouched slightly and began petting them while taking out some food and offering it to them.
Gabrielle quickly moved closer and grabbed some as well to feed the little ones, while Harry watched with interest.
…
Fleur walked over to Harry after leaving the basket for Gabrielle to feed the little ones, and watched him for a moment.
"So, why did you bring me here?" she asked, fixing her gaze on him. For a brief instant, there was a faint trace of expectation in her expression.
"Oh… not really for anything. I just felt like it would be fun to mess with you," Harry said with a calm smile.
Fleur's emotions flickered for a moment before settling into a composed smile.
"Is that so? Weren't you trying to lure me here to ask me for something?" she asked again.
Harry looked at her intently, resting his hand under his chin as if calmly studying her. Fleur hadn't expected him to look at her like that, and for a second, she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed.
"Hmm… no, not really," Harry replied, completely casual.
That seemed to throw Fleur off, and she frowned slightly.
"Didn't you invite me here to ask me to be your partner for the ball?" she asked directly.
"Oh. That never even crossed my mind… so that's what you wanted," Harry said, looking at her with a clearly amused expression. "But honestly, I don't think we'd make a good pair. I mean, there's a pretty noticeable age gap… and it would break my heart if you ended up in prison," he added calmly.
"What?" Fleur said, her eyes widening in surprise. "Wait… are you rejecting me when I didn't even ask you anything?" She stared at him, caught somewhere between disbelief and annoyance.
"It breaks my heart, but yes," Harry replied with a smile that almost turned mischievous before he calmly stood up.
"Wait… is this your revenge for earlier?" Fleur asked, beginning to piece things together.
Harry stopped and turned around. He didn't answer right away; he just gave her a teasing smile.
"Miss Delacour, please have the decency to behave and accept rejection like a lady," he said lightly, clearly enjoying her reaction.
She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, unable to form a proper response.
"Fine," she said at last, her expression slightly tense. "Don't even think about asking me out again, or asking me to be your partner, or anything like that."
There was pride in her words… but also something wounded. Especially because, in truth, she had never actually confessed anything.
Even so, she could feel her blood starting to boil slightly with anger.
And that was what bothered her the most.
Not the rejection.
But the feeling that he was enjoying all of this far too much.
And deep down, she knew she wasn't wrong.
And then his next words made it worse.
"Oh, I'm not too worried about that," Harry replied calmly, which only irritated her further, making her simmer inside. A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes slowly formed on his face, and the faint sound of his soft chuckle seemed to send a slight chill through the air.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle watched the scene, looking back and forth between her sister's dangerous smile and Harry's amused one, with a clear expression of confusion. The only thing she seemed to understand was that, once again, the villain Harry had managed to make her sister angry.