Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, yada yada yada.

 

Chapter 24

 

Harry and Fleur managed to go out several times during the next months.  However, the problem with veela is that they are all used to guys falling all over themselves for them.  Harry quickly learned that that can result in an unpleasant dating experience.  And it makes it almost impossible to get them to put out.

 

Still, Harry was determined, and he knew that even Fleur would not be immune to the natural tendency girls have to swoon at a ball.  He was right.

 

The next day.

 

"Harry, there you are.  What time did you come in last night?" Hermione asked.  Before Harry could answer, Hermione had gotten a look at his shirt.  It was a t-shirt, where-on an image of Fleur was holding a sign that said "I had sex with Harry Potter".  She was holding it in such a way that it covered up her apparent nakedness.  "Harry!  That shirt is completely inappropriate!  Is it even true?"

 

"Of course it's true.  You didn't expect me to give up on my vow, did you?"

 

Hermione sighed.  "Harry, it is completely callous and classless to parade the fact that you seduced a girl like some kind of trophy."

 

"I know that Hermione.  I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't completely aware that I'm as much a trophy for her as she is for me.  In fact, it is mostly for that reason that we broke up just moments ago."

 

"You dumped her as soon as you got dressed, didn't you?"

 

"Pretty much.  It's kind of annoying going out with someone who refuses to put any effort into making you happy, just because she's used to being waited on."

 

"Yeah, I'm sure you know all about that."

 

"Yes.  I do."

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Over the course of the next couple of months, Headmaster Dumbledore searched to countryside for what he finally confided into Harry were horcruxes.  Finally, in the beginning of February, he found one in the ruins of what he told Harry was once the Gaunt house.  When he picked up the ring, however, he noticed a specific design on the stone.  Almost without thinking about it, he started to put it on.

 

Only to have it fly out of his hand and into Harry's.  Alarmed, Dumbledore nearly shouted, "No!  Harry, return that to me.  You have no idea what it means!"

 

Without even looking up, Harry just said, "In a minute."  He then was careful to only drain Voldemort's magic from the thing, while leaving the intense, but odd magic that he could tell was much older.  When that was done, he tossed it back to Dumbledore who caught it almost reverently.  The headmaster seemed to be in a rush to return after that.

 

///////////////////

 

Two weeks later was the second task.  Harry had figured out the clue the very night he first opened the egg.  Even though he hadn't yet gotten to mermish in his language class, he did at least recognize it.

 

He was slightly put off when Hermione never showed up to wish him luck, nor did he even see her in the stands.  His hurt feelings turned into slight anger as the champions were informed that hostages had been taken.

 

When the whistle sounded, Harry watched as Krum failed to transfigure himself into a shark, and Fleur crafted a bubble around her head.  Once they were both in the water, Harry flicked his wand and a beam rose out of the water near the middle, Harry knew it to come from Hermione.

 

Holding both of his arms in front of himself, Harry slowly moved them apart.  As they parted, so did the water.  With the audience in awe, Harry levitated himself down to the end of the narrow corridor and reached into the water, pulling out Hermione.  As they floated up to the judges’ area, the water filled in behind them, and Hermione was warmed by the drying and heating charms Harry had cast.

 

Back at the shore, there was a small incedint.  The judges approached Harry and Dumbledore asked, “Mr. Potter, why did you chose to rescue Ms. Granger, rather than your own hostage?”

 

“If Hermione wasn’t my hostage, then who was?”

 

“Ronald Weasley.  He confided in Professor McGonnagall that he was your best friend.”

 

“Headmaster, if I had to choose between saving Ron and anyone else in the world, I’d choose the other person.”

 

“I see.  Well, I hope Mr. Krum saves Ron then.”  Krun did not, in fact.  Fleur returned having saved no one, and Krun decided to save the little girl rather than the dude he didn’t know.

 

No one saved Ron.

 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

 

One month later, after a particularly exciting night with Cho Chang (which she made his swear not to tell her boyfriend Cedric about), Harry was on his way to Gringotts with Sirius.

 

Once seated in an account manager's office, Sirius said, "I'd like to officially make Harry Potter my heir."

 

Kashyyyk, the account manager replied, "Of course, you realize that the only reason you are currently in command of the Black family gold is because you are the only one from the immediate family left.  Due to your status as a Black cast out, to define an heir would automatically pass everything to said heir."  They did know this, and it was for that reason exactly that they were doing this.  For some reason, cast out status did not pass on to the heirs of the cast out.  Which meant that doing this would make Harry head of the Black family.

 

"Yes, I am aware."

 

When everything was taken care of, and Harry was head of the family, he immediately said, "I am now reinstating Sirius Black, Andromeda Tonks, and Nymphadora Tonks into the family."  (Harry actually had no idea who the last two were, but Sirius apparently liked them.)  "I am also setting up trust accounts for each with a ten thousand galleon allowance per year."

 

When that was done Harry brought up the next order of business.  "I'd like to claim ownership of a subfamily account that has no legal owner."

 

Kashyyyk had expected this and just asked, "Which one?"

 

"The LeStrange account.  Being that Bellatrix LeStrange was a Black, we have first rights now that every member of that family is serving a lifetime sentence."

 

Once the goblins confirmed that that was indeed the case, Harry and Sirius were lead to the vault.  Once there, Harry noticed another instance where a bit of the dark lord's soul was stuck inside an object.  Harry collected the cup, noticing its Hufflepuffness, and drained Voldemort's magic.

 

He later told the Headmaster all about it.

 

00000000000000

 

A week before the third task, Harry was sitting with Hermione in the Room of Requirements.

 

"So there are supposedly seven horcruxes?" asked Hermione.

 

"Yep.  Riddle himself, Nagini, Hufflepuff Cup, Slytherin locket, Gaunt ring, diary, and Ravenclaw...something."  (They had seen the snake in one of Harry's visions.)

 

"Well, how are we supposed to find the last thing if we don't even know what it is?  We need that horcrux."  Just as Hermione said that last sentence, Ravenclaw's diadem appeared on the table between the two.

 

Harry, after draining the horcrux out of the diadem, loudly said, "We need a million galleons."  Nothing happened.  "Damnit."

 

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

 

Finally it was time for the third task.  Everyone was excited, though there was nary a doubt in anyone's mind who'd win.

 

Harry, being the first to get to enter the maze, decided that walking was too slow.  So he conjured a lion and rode in, much to the audience’s enjoyment.  The audience was, in fact, enjoying watching Harry throughout the entire maze as he defeated one obstacle after another (there were three big screens above the maze; one to show each champion).  He had to turn around more than once, but he had such a head start and was moving so quickly that it didn't matter.

 

Finally he got to a sphinx, but rather than try to figure out the riddle, he jumped off the lion and sent it to fight.  Running ahead he reached the final corridor, at the end of which was the Cup.  He was a little winded, so he chose to walk, rather than run.  With each step, though he was leaving a foot-print of fire.  After a few steps, he could see an acromantula climb over the hedge to escape the flames.  Just as he was about ten steps away from the cup, he heard both Fleur and Krum cast the extinguishing charms, but they were too late.

 

He grabbed the cup and was immediately transported to a graveyard.  He was able to deflect the stunning and immobilizing curses that had been sent at him, and blew up the snake he could see near one of the tombs.

 

"No!  Give me that wand you useless puppet!"  Voldemort was struggling to take the wand from the caretaker that Karkaroff had provided.

 

Just as the imperioused fellow was going to hand the wand to the Dark Lord, he heard Harry shout, "Devil Baby!"  The caretaker could certainly understand that sentiment considering how Voldemort looked.  However, just then the "devil baby" began to squirm so feverishly that the caretaker accidently dropped him.  Right in time to receive the killing curse where Voldemort used to be.

 

Harry, seeing that he missed yelled again, "Die, Devil Baby!"  Just as Voldemort was about to grab the caretaker's dropped wand, it went up in flames.  As did everything in the immediate vicinity.  Within moments the dark lord was again a mere shade.  Seeing that, Harry tried one of the exorcism spells he had learned back when he thought the Shrieking Shack was haunted.  Though Voldemort screamed in pain, he didn't disperse.  However, Harry did feel a pull at the scar on his forehead.  Realizing that there was one more horcrux, Harry did the only thing that made sense.  He absorbed the foreign magic into his own core, and exorcised the dark lord.

 

Picking up the Triwizard cup, Harry was transported to the winner’s circle of the tournament.  He had been gone so shortly that most people hardly noticed.