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"You know what, Fleur?" Harry asked smiling at the girl next to him. "This is turning out to be a very interesting year." If her answering smile was in anyway indicative, she agreed.
Harry spent the remainder of the feast catching up with Fleur. Apparently, the girl had decided to enter the Triwizard Tournament the very moment she heard about it, on her first day back to Beauxbatons. She had been overjoyed on competing and, as she mentioned to Harry in hushed French, she wanted to prove to everybody that there was more to her than a beautiful face.
"S'ils ne peuvent pas voir ça, ils sont aveugles. Ou stupides. Peut-être tous les deux." Harry had assured her, being certain of that fact himself; those who couldn't see Fleur as something more than a pretty face were undoubtedly both blind and stupid. His admission had earned him a wide smile and a swift peck on the lips that didn't go unnoticed from his fellow Gryffindors.
"What's wrong with the world?" Fred asked dramatically, his hands wide open, his eyes turned towards the enchanted ceiling.
"Never mind him." Harry said, smiling fondly as Fleur cast a critical glance towards the twin in question.
"Anyway," she said, turning her attention to the green eyed wizard once more, "what do you think of the tournament? Exciting, non?"
"Exciting would be understating things." Harry agreed; he shared a look with Neville who smirked widely at his words, before looking back at Fleur. "I'm actually planning on competing." Her eyes widened.
"Vraiment?" She asked, looking at him carefully. "But you are not an adult?"
"Technically, you see, I am." Her smile widened to match her eyes.
"An adult, you say?" Fleur's blue eyes twinkled as she leaned towards Harry, her smile turning into a smirk. "Do tell more, monsieur."
"You're going to compete?" Adrian asked bewildered, snapping out of his confusion. His gaze turned accusatory at his nonchalant twin. Harry simply shrugged; the more the days passed, the more he could see how Neville might have been right with his assessment. Adrian was jealous. Harry had spoken to Severus too and the potions master had simply reached the same conclusion. Still, in the past month since their talk on the subject, Harry had followed his father's advice to the letter; he hadn't tried to approach Adrian regarding his feelings towards him. Harry well knew, the hazel eyed Potter twin had trouble expressing his feelings on the best of days. Approaching him for a conversation of the sort would only be viewed as goading on his part; it was ridiculous for certain, but Adrian had a notoriously short fuse.
"I don't see why I shouldn't." Harry stated, cocking an eyebrow, trying to appear amused. "I certainly can." And here we go again, he thought, the little voice in his head equal parts annoyed and sarcastic, as he watched Adrian's face turning red.
"But you… you… You can't!" Adrian spluttered, his gaze accusatory. The table had fallen silent around them, following the argument. Fleur was still expecting to hear an explanation as to how Harry was now an adult along with the rest of the Gryffindors around. Harry had kept his emancipation ritual private; he knew that people that knew of the latest requirement to be considered eligible for the Triwizard Tournament would put two and two together sooner or later and that the word would inevitably reach his parents; James and Lily would do anything for him to be excepted from the competition and -if one counted in their influence with the Ministry- they would, in all probability, succeed.
"He can, actually." Neville stated, taking a small bite from his cheesecake and chewing at a leisurely pace before further elaborating. "He's emancipated, remember? For all intents and purposes, Harry is an adult. His age is no longer relevant." The startled gasps and whispers around the table betrayed the surprise of his fellow students.
"Is that so, Mr. Potter?" Fleur asked mischievously. "You should have told me sooner!"
"I'm telling you now." Harry deadpanned, his answering smirk impish.
"Ruddy hell!" Ron exclaimed from his seat somewhere to the left, jaw hanging open, his face bright red. Ginny snickered audibly at the display -a dire contrast to Lavender and Parvati who just stood there looking half scandalized, half murderous- earning herself a surprised glance from Hermione.
"What?" She asked the older girl. "Ron can be quite amusing sometimes!"
"Well, as I was saying," Harry offered shaking his head in amusement, "I'm thinking of entering the Tournament myself. No harm in trying, I suppose." Fleur smiled back at him but, before she could manage to make a comment, the plates in front of them emptied and Dumbledore called for their attention; the Tournament would finally commence. Fleur pecked his cheek once and returned to her schoolmates in a hurry, while the green eyed teen turned his attention towards the staff table, a soft smile still lingering on his face.
The first thing he noticed was Severus; his father had obviously noticed his and Fleur's reunion and was smiling brightly at him, chuckling a little as he took note of the startled Gryffindors. The second thing was the professors had been joined by Mr. Crouch and Luddo Bagman; they would have to have been involved with the planning for the Tournament, that was certain. Maybe they would serve as judges too?
Dumbledore cut his pondering short as he started explaining what was about to follow; he greeted the two newcomers and then proceeded explaining about the age line he would create -that wasn't that much based on age, Harry inwardly commented- the number of the contestants and finally asked Filch to bring forth the casket that contained the Goblet of Fire.
The goblet itself would have been nothing special, Harry thought, carved from wood and slightly decorated as it was, if it wasn't filled to the brim with white and blue flames. That did, sort of, stand out.
HI GUYS IF YOU WANT READ 300 + CHAPTERS THEN VISIT
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