Heart and Soull

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Fleur watched her betrothed very carefully, wondering how he would react to her father's admonition. He was a very modest young man, to be certain, but beyond that, Fleur was certain that his upbringing was a major contributor to his self-effacing attitude and inability to take praise. Her father was right—the ability to be proud of one's accomplishments without being overly arrogant was an important life skill, and Harry's inability to see any good in his experiences bespoke a disturbing lack of confidence, especially if, as rumored, he was to be at the forefront of the struggle against the dark lord.

At length, Harry gave a tentative smile back at his new guardian. "I will try, J.S."

"Good. Now, please tell us about your adventures, and there will be no holding back."

The next two hours were incredible in the description of the sheer number of dangerous escapades in which Harry Potter had been embroiled throughout the course of his first four years at Hogwarts. The family listened as he described his experiences with the Philosopher's Stone in his first year, shuddered in stunned disbelief when he told them about fighting the huge basilisk, and were awed by the story of the rescue of Sirius and the pure power of Harry's Patronus which had driven off dozens of the foul Dementors. And although Fleur herself had lived through much of his fourth year herself—bar the duel in the cemetery, of course—hearing Harry detail the events from his own perspective brought Fleur new understanding, giving her an even greater respect for the young man. He had truly undergone an incredible number of challenges in his short life, and with the dark lord's unhealthy interest in him, Fleur felt certain it was only a matter of time until his next escapade. Her future with him, at least in the short term, would be anything but boring.

"That is a truly remarkable story, Harry," Jean-Sebastian said at length, once Harry had finished his narration. "I do not know that I have ever heard of such heroism in an adult, let alone a teen such as you."

Harry blushed in response but had the presence of mind to murmur a quiet thank you to his host. "I had the help of my friends."

"I am sure you did, Harry, but you were obviously the catalyst for these events as well as the main participant. There are a few things I would like to clarify, though."

At Harry's nod, he continued. "In your second year, you say you fought a basilisk under the castle. Just how large was this basilisk?"

"I was a little too busy to take measurements," Harry responded cheekily.

Sirius let out a guffaw among the Delacours' laughter and slapped his godson on the back. "Spoken like a true Marauder!"

When the laughter had died down, her father said nothing—he just raised his eyebrow at Harry and waited for him to continue.

"My guess would be about fifty to sixty feet," Harry finally responded after a moment's thought. "At the end, I was standing about twenty feet up on Slytherin's statue when the basilisk reared up and faced me, and I'm guessing that as much or more of it was still on the ground."

A stunned silence met Harry's declaration. Fleur did not know much about basilisks—they were incredibly rare and illegal to breed, after all—but she did know that the bigger they became, the older and more deadly they were. One over fifty feet long would have to have been several centuries old. It was obvious, though, that Harry himself did not know anything of them beyond that which he had experienced first hand—that was probably enough for him. It would be enough for anyone.

Sirius whistled in awe. "I knew it had been a nasty piece of work there, Pup, but I didn't know the full extent. You really don't know what you have done, do you?"

At Harry's blank look, Jean-Sebastian took up the discussion. "Harry, not much is known about basilisks beyond the obvious and their abilities. They are illegal to breed, and as the circumstances of their birth are specific, it is almost impossible for one to have been born naturally. You are aware of how they are bred?"

"Hermione researched in second year," Harry confirmed.

"Of course. Then you must realize that in order for a basilisk to exist, they almost had to have been created specifically by one with the knowledge, the will, and the reason to do so. They are truly foul creatures and are illegal to breed—it is one of the tenets agreed to by all member states of the ICW. Therefore, the fact that you not only killed a basilisk but also one of that size underneath the castle is astonishing."

"Not only that, but you did it as a twelve-year-old, without any training," Sirius added. "I don't doubt there are few fully trained adults who could accomplish such a feat."

When Harry was about to protest, Sirius waved him off. "I know, Harry—you had help, and without the Headmaster's trusty phoenix, you would likely not be here to talk about it today. But it still is a marvelous feat, whether you did it yourself or not."

"And that brings us to another point," Jean-Sebastian interjected. "Given the dark lord's interest in you, I think it is high time you receive some training to combat him. Has Dumbledore provided any additional training for you?"

Harry shook his head no.

"I am not surprised," Jean-Sebastian responded, stroking his chin absently. "You are still young and just coming into the age of being able to handle some of the more powerful spells."

"Don't forget the fact that he mastered the Patronus in his third year," Sirius interrupted.

"Indeed. Maybe you have been there for a while. But the point is that it is generally about fifteen when a young person's magic is deemed stable and powerful enough to handle truly powerful curses and hexes, and you will start learning them during this school year. Still, I think we need to accelerate your learning so you can be ready for Voldemort the next time he comes after you—you may not be able to defeat him yet, but knowing some spells and having some dueling skills may just be enough to keep you alive until you can escape.

"I think we will bring someone in to tutor you for the rest of the summer, and Fleur can join you in your sessions."

Harry glanced over at Fleur with a questioning look in his eyes.

"It would certainly help, Harry," she told him. "The dark lord has shown many times that he takes a specific interest in you, and I would feel much better if my betrothed knew how to defend himself."

The shy smile on Harry's face completely disarmed Fleur, and she responded with one of her own. At this moment, she felt better about the whole situation—sitting with Harry and her family, listening to him talk about his adventures, all in his modest and self-effacing manner, had given her further insight into his character. She had to admit that she was impressed with what she had seen.

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