Harry Potter Breaking Free

Harry smiled as he shrugged into Fleur's back, but because their current mood felt somber he kept his voice low. "I'm not so concerned about that, Fleur... I like the way you explain your complicated feelings, the whys and hows are of interest to me. I also know that you care in your own way and as often as you can... What's a little bit of dislike between friends?"

Fleur shook with silent laughter into Harry's shoulders and smiled for the first time since coming outside. "There is a reason I'm so honest, 'Arry. I understand the effect that fickle people can have on a person. I have several so-called "friends" at my school, who secretly hate me. They value me as a resource and are respectful because I demand it, but they do not like me. They envy what they do not understand."

Looking up at the sky, Harry took in a very deep breath. "I have one friend that I can count on. She's my sister in every way that counts and without her I'd be all alone in a crowded room. We share another friend named Ron. Once he sees that I've become physically large and magically powerful, he'll inevitably react as if I've done it specifically to make his life harder."

Fleur didn't respond or move this time. Her allure didn't go away either, but Harry hadn't expected it to. It seemed to pulse like a heartbeat and for some reason that made Harry smile.

"Will you duel me at some point this summer?" Fleur asked the question without any warning and her shoulder withdrew from Harry's back while she asked it. Once the question was asked however, she collapsed back into Harry's shoulder again, as if she'd used up all of her energy.

"I will if you'll forgive me something first." Harry was nervous about what he was about to reveal to Fleur, but he wanted to be honest with her.

"Depends," replied Fleur.

"My magic is... nosy. It's been following you around during your training sessions, learning your spells and your movements. I'm not consciously doing it, but I'll admit that I'm not fighting it tooth and nail either. Despite your greater skill, I'd probably have an unfair advantage the first time we duel."

"You ask too much," Fleur declared in an immediate huff. "I am well and truly furious with you, 'Arry..."

"I'm sor…"

"That's enough, 'Arry... Don't apologize." Fleur sighed heavily as she felt all of Harry's muscles tense up at her outburst. "'Arry listen... I think the reason I find you so infuriating is because I am angry at you, but I also realize that I have no real right to be. You are a magical creature, 'Arry… Your magic does what it must both for you and despite you. I don't think calling you a wizard is even the correct term anymore."

As Harry relaxed again, he leaned back against Fleur a little harder for a second. "Now that, Fleur... was a very complex thought, and I enjoyed every single second of it. I have no idea what that means in regards to our deal though. Once again you're describing textbook conflicted emotions. You're a psychologist's wet dream." With that Harry started laughing and Fleur joined him after just a few seconds.

When the two of them were done laughing, they lapsed into silence again because as per the norm there was a disconnect of some kind between the two of them. Harry wondered how two very similar people can have such a gap to cross all the time. Fleur wondered why she couldn't be more straightforward. She had questions she wanted answered. She was compelled to know more about Harry, but she didn't fully understand why, and she couldn't seem to get past her pride.

"My favorite color is green," Harry announced, at great length and for seemingly no reason.

"Royal blue," Fleur replied immediately and in a single gasp of air. She flushed a bright red in the seconds that followed, because her response had revealed exactly how eager she was.

"I like flying," Harry pointed out.

"I like flying... slowly," Fleur replied, in a much more genteel tone of voice.

"My favorite food is treacle tart," Harry tossed out.

"Anything sweet and baked is fine by me. I am blessed with a Veela metabolism... So are you, I suppose." Fleur smiled.

"Up until now, my best course in school has always been Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry declared.

"Charms or Runes," Fleur replied.

"If I can't play Quidditch, I suppose I'll try to be an Auror." At the tail end of those words, Harry sighed when he realized he wasn't being completely honest. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure if that's what I really want to do anymore. I don't like the idea of a career that puts me in dangerous situations. I end up in those naturally and seeking them out on purpose just seems stupid. It's just... Defense used to be my only good subject and I wanted to play to my strengths. There's also the fact that my dad was an Auror back before the war. According to my house elf, at the very least I have a seat on Magical Britain's wizard's council waiting for me."

"I want to work on Wards, Charms or become a Healer," Fleur listed off in an offhand kind of way. "I haven't made up my mind yet, but I have the Masteries to pursue an apprenticeship in any of those careers. I do not see being undecided as a sign of weakness. A person's career should be their passion, so I'm still debating my options." Fleur shrugged into Harry's shoulder.

"Woah. Literally everything you just said was completely inspiring," Harry offered, in as sincere a voice as he could muster.

"Yes, yes I know, I'm amazing..."

"Uhhh yeah, sure," Harry drawled out, as if he'd just lost all of his former enthusiasm. "I'm going to continue with the tit for tat revelations now..."

"Please do."

"Well then here's a juicy one. I've never had a romantic relationship before because all of the girls at my school stare, whisper and giggle, and it freaks me out." Once again, Harry realized that he was only telling a partial truth so he amended his statement. "There's also been a huge obstacle in the form of my legendarily awful self-esteem. I've never felt worthy of anyone's time or care. I've only recently started fixing my poor self-image in my Mindscape... Have you ever had a crush or a romance?"

....

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