Werewolf's interests

le 30-11 et 2-12-2023

Turned out, him making his Beaux Bâtons Quidditch team lead it to be full of Gryffindor members.

It wasn't even intentional, Harry just wanted to have the twins play with him as he didn't have a lot of occasion outside of trainings during their school year. As even the scrimmage of Ottery St. Chaspole forced the twins to play against each other while the official match played at the end of the year put Harry and the twins in opposite team. Besides, Fred and George were, still, officially Beaux Bâtons students, so if they wanted to play, they had to play for their school.

Then, Harry wanted to play with Ron after seeing how great of keeper he was, this summer.

But with this decision, the twins imposed to have Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet as chasers because they were once teammates and knew their value and also because they owned the girls for leaving them to go to the Frenchies. Funny, how they have had the habit of owing people, as the whole thing happened because they owed Harry for tricking him to attend the delegation.

For the last chaser, it almost created a huge feud between the twins and the girls when Ginny turned up at the tryouts for the position while Gryffindor team always had Katie Bell as third chaser.

"Our sister is hella good chaser, I have you know!"

"She never got to show off because you girls are still there, but she's one hell of a player!"

"Look, we do acknowledge her ability, but us three had played together for a long time -something you would know if you had stayed here!- and we cannot just changed the dynamics because you clones say so!" Angelina snarled fiercely.

"Yeah, and we do know Ginny's great chaser, we trained togethere a few times when those snakes didn't claim the Quidditch pitch right from our booking!"

Harry deemed it was time to interfere when the fight was just dragging about long-time resentment and chanced a quick look to Ginny before making his choice, being the captain of the team.

"OK, as Alicia said, we all know about Ginny's ability as chaser and no one's rejecting her due to inexperience, but the girls are right, playing with long-time team mates is favoured since I don't know any of your plays. Besides, there are still two other teams existing for Gin to apply with Viktor and Cedric amazing leader. And it's not like it's the first time you guys would be playing against your beloved sis. Or do you fear that you unintentionnally beat a bludger to her? Isn't that your job to know who to target?"

Harry expertedly turned the subject of the next quarrel on his slandering words and set up with the configuration of his team without considering of substitutes, trusting his team to do their job without getting injured.

On the other side of the pitch, the other two Seeker were still making students pass trials to chooose which member to play with, Ginny had gone in the line for Viktor's team who already had a chaser and a beater from Durmstrang, and Harry was glad he made the tryouts in the early afternoon because it's going to last for awhile as there were still students arriving. One group called his attention and let his members getting to know each other by starting training without him, since the seeker would do his job only at the end.

"Hey, Blaise, Theodore Nott, are you two here for the tryouts too?"

It was a legitimate question as many people came to the pitch despite not being in age to play Quidditch, or not even player just to see three great players choosing their team among the four houses mixed. Harry was of course talking about this excited muggleborn, Colin Creevey, who was snapping pictures after pictures while chatting as eagerly to his younger brother, Dennis Creevey.

"Actually, no. We'll only here to see how it's going. And since all the seeker position were taken, we were wondering what position Draco was targetting."

"He seemed determinated to be Viktor's chaser. I'd wish him luck if I wasn't rooting for Gin and I know from source sure that they do not get along."

"That would be an euphemism. Draco made it his school life goal in antagonizing the Weasleys siblings just because their father are, like, enemies."

"I mean, I could totally see him being petty like that. Hopefully, Viktor would be smart enough to not take a fan in his team. That won't do him good."

When Harry looked back from the Bulgarian team  in the making up, he was met with a grinning Blaise and sceptical Nott.

"Quite the fanboy you are, huh?"

"Honestly? I'm only part of the delegation just for the oppotunity to play against him. Imagine my surprise and offence when I heard that Quidditch was suspended."

"We heard you very clearly that night when you're talking to Loony Lovegood."

"It's Luna. And yeah, I remember, I was about to chase the twins down for tricking me but thanks to Cedric, the Quidditch inter-school cup was created! And you know how it's even better? All four houses are brought together to play with each other, so no more toxic and unfair play."

"Quite the preconception."

"Do I have to remind you that I was there for the seven years Charlie Weasley studied there? I saw how Marcus Flint, who then became your team captain, and some other Slytherin players played."

"Point. I guess they will have to change that if Warrington and Pucey will be playing with Diggory, though the latter was quite the fair player."

"I'll believe you once I see it."

"Forgive me for interrupting your little exchange, but do you two perhaps knew each other before being introduced by Malfoy?"

Both Harry and Blaise turned to Theodore Nott, as if remembering there was a third person, because their conversation certainly was only two ways. Harry blinked a few times and, without concerting with the black boy, nodded with a cheeky smile.

"We do, in fact. We met three years ago, during summer, in Italy. Although my guardians liked to take me in other countries for vacation, we would always go back to Italy for some reason and everytime, we managed to run into each other. Sometimes, I think we only manage so because Sirius' enamored with Mrs. Zabini."

"And despite you introducing yourself as Harry Lupin, I knew your true identity right away. Mother too, I'll have you know."

"You used Lupin as your last name? Blaise, how could you not have known Potter's a werewolf?"

"We didn't usually meet around full moon, alright?"

"I didn't know you were student at Hogwarts. I actually thought you were home raised and already somehow a well-known member of the high society."

"Thanks to mother, I think I kind of am. I could not have guessed that you actually enrolled in Beaux Bâtons with all that knowledges you had. Maybe Castelobruxo with how tan you were."

"As I said, vacations all around the world, which include really sunny places. We went to the Bahamas right after our little meeting in Florence."

"Right, to cheer you up after your tragic break up."

"Don't mock! It was my first heartbreak."

"She was literally older than you, what did you expect? She'll wait for you? As bat?"

"Please, stop. My guardians kept on pestering about being groomed, I don't need your input too."

"You kind of were, I would have stopped you if you had thought of telling me."

"Well, I don't like to shout out about my dating life to whoever that wants to hear it. Fred and George knew and didn't make a big deal out of it."

"Knowing them, they were probably finding the whole thing funny and just waiting to for you to realize."

"Har, har, I laughed so much when Manon broke up before definitely turning into a bat permanently."

"If you never tried to hide you being a werewolf, maybe she dated you only to show that werewolves and vampires, because bat, antagonizing relationship weren't true?"

"Mate, Theodore, you're might be into something! So she didn't even date me for my name but because I'm a werewolf? Wait, but she never actually hang with me during my transformation!"

"Maybe she did, as bat, and you being into your beast form didn't recognize her, because for some obscure reason Beaux Bâtons got tons of them."

"You have no idea of how mane, they all lovely, really!"

The two Slytherin exchanged a disbelieving look before Theodore shook his head, as if realizing the depth of Harry's craziness.

"I wouldn't believe you when you said that the savior of the wizarding world was an all loving hero, but guess I was wrong. Thanks to his half-giant father, I assume?"

"Do you see any other reason? You're the one who said Harry had a field day during Care of Magical Creature."

"Hey, don't talk about me in front of me as if I'm not there!"

Anyway, fun day, before training start at dawn for the whole of next week. They chose the location in the Hogwarts park, close to the Whomping Willow just so it could stay discreet and not full of spectators before the real event and leaving the Durmstrang and Hogwarts team at the pitch because the professor that gave them permission was Snape and saw how the other two teams got Slytherin students.

It's not Harry's fault if his school team became the alternative Gryffindor team.

 

The first match put Beaux Bâtons against Durmstrang, because honour to the guests.

Harry was bouncing like a battery that week-end, and the twins let him easy because they were busy teasing their brother instead, under the girls dark look promising of thousand torture if Ron's nerves ever let go because of that.

Despite being an unformal competition, madam Hooch was there to referee the match, and the Quidditch stands were full of students and staffs. Lee Jordan, the twins and Angelina and Alicia's age mate and house mate, was the one commenting the match. The whole thing looked really official, especially when both head of foreign school showed with their school banner brought along by the delegation.

But Harry couldn't care less, when after two weeks of trying to avoid the Quidditch star, he's finally talking to him. First, apologizing for the scene he caused, then about how admirative he's to his flight ability. Which was really not the best time as referee Hooch commented, whistle in hand. She pressed them to shake hand before throwing the quaffle for the chasers, at the same time the two bludgers threw themselves out of their binds and right after the flying figures. 

Miles Bletchey got unfortunately distracted by the first bludger and let the quaffle thrown by Katie pass, according the opening point for Beaux Bâtons. But Ginny retaliated, despite having a terrible combination with one Draco Malfoy, the play only saved thanks to Alois Lingtren, third chaser and actual student from Durmstrang. Ron got fortunately reassured by Alicia and encouraged by Angelina, who made an obscene gesture to the twins when they both pulled faces and making their own unadvisable gestures. That made professor McGonagall look murderous in the stands, not that she could say anything because the whole thing wasn't supposed to appear that official, since the headmaster and the entire staff were the ones who agreed to suspend Quidditch.

A huge shame and lost for them, really. Fortunately, students only got to enjoy themsleves when not following the rules by calling the whole thing Quidditch friendly, as Harry heard that one chaser captain Orion Amari during his childhood there.

Fred, George, Lucian Bole of Slytherin but currently of Durmstrang team and Niels Didrikson from Durmstrang were having an internal competition to who was throwing the most bludgers and having the best aim.

Harry was, really, just following Viktor Krum around because the star player was just amazing flyer up close.

When the golden snitch appeared, Harry could have kissed Sirius for buying him the Fire Bolt, lastest new era broom, that was so incredible it reacted to Harry's every and any little move to the perfection. And Harry only lost the race because he had shorter arm, still growing up, than Viktor, who was still growing too. But his defences hold true, as even the rivale seeker said so, saying he certainly felt threatened for a hot seconds when they were racing side by side.

Harry's heart almost burst out of his ribs when they shook hand again, but with more firmness this time. The compliment was a huge accomplishment coming from his star and Malfoy getting ignored when he tried to hug the star was a bonus.

As Ron and his brothers were laughing maniacally at the blond's dejected face after such embarrassing rejection, his only excuse of being in poor state didn't help much. Sure, his Durmstrang robe uniform got bloodied after he received a really nasty bludger on the face, courtesy of Didrikson who was blocking another bludger thrown by the twins, and their team had to request a change of player in the middle of match, which actually made the ending combination of Ginny, Dean Thomas of Gryffindor house and Alois even better match, but the assistant mediwizard from Beaux Bâtons had fix him up quite quickly. So, it couldn't be this reason to be rejected but because of his annoying personality that even Dumb Krum, dixit the twins, couldn't deal with.

Next match would be in mid-January, so to not interfere with the task of the triwizard tournament. Speaking of, the first task will be next week-end and Harry had to talk to Fleur, like right at this instance.

 

First, to apologize of his outburst that must looked like a kid tantrum, but he should and had to be excused as it was a ploy against his security, and second, to prepare his school champion of the danger she could face off. And maybe eventually made her win, because of school's dignity, you know.

He found her in the training ground, absolutly not taken by the Quidditch fever like most of Beaux Bâtons students who didn't brandish the school banner with their head of school. She was training, as the name said, in casting all kind of spell, mostly offensive because that's why she was selectioned by the cup, she had the stature of a great champion among all of Beaux Bâtons delegation.

Also, because after the weighing of wand with wandmaker Ollivander, followed by the interview with Skeeter who published another polemical article that somehow got the info of Harry being almost champion, Fleur had to show how she was meant to be a champion and not just of her magical school.

"Salut, Fleur, t'aurais du temps à m'accorder, des fois?"

Harry didn't mean to insult Fleur's English but if she was going to speak with accent and struggle to find vocabularies, they better just spoke in French as Harry was fluent since 10.

"Si tu me promets que cela vaut le coup et que ce n'est pas pour montrer un côté vraiment pas mignon."

"Maintenant tu mets le sujet sur le tapis, je tenais à m'excuser de m'être emporté ce soir-là. Je pense que tu as pu le comprendre dans mon éclat que j'ai été victime de complot et que les adultes travaillant dans le ministère britannique n'aidaient vraiment pas à la situation. Mais laissons ça de côté et parlons de chose plus pertinent."

"Tu penses que le fait d'être forcé à entrer dans la compétition malgré la limite d'âge n'est pas pertinent?"

"Oh, bien sûr que si, car cela voudrait dire que quelqu'un veut ma mort, mais je voulais surtout dire que je ne voulais pas m'éterniser sur un sujet où l'on pourrait croire que je voulais voler ton titre de championne, car il te revient assurément de droit."

"Ne te chagrine point, cela fait longtemps que j'ai mis ce genre de situation te concernant dans la catégorie 'Un truc juste pour Harry Potter'."

Well, one thing for sure was that Fleur could do a really well British impression with his name, not that she would bother with that in the daily as Harry noted that French people usually disliked the aspirated H and the somehow disappearing T in the middle of a British word.

"Content de savoir que tu ne m'en veux pas plus que ça, donc, je disais : plus pertinent comme les créatures magiques."

Fleur furrowed her brows expectandly, which was fair, after being quite the particular student of their school, he was also known as the creature lover. He would come to defend all living creatures, mostly because he was a werewolf himself and because as Theodore put it, he acted like a all-(magical creatures)-loving hero by spending his free time tending after their needs despite the palace already having hired the staff for those exact applications.

"Notamment les dragons, entre autres, puis je pense qu'il serait bon pour toi de connaître les résidents du Lac de l'école et de la Forêt Interdite puisqu'on y est."

"Notamment ou entre autres? C'est soit l'un, soit l'autre."

Harry's gotta applaud Fleur's nerves of steel for not panicking at the mentions of dragons, or maybe because it was from him that made her so calm about it?

"Eh bien, le tournois des Trois sorciers est connu pour avoir un taux de décès non négligeable et je doute que cela soit uniquement due à la féroce compétition entre les concurrents mais plus à cause des circonstances externes, comme la participation des créatures magiques en plus de nombreux obstacles comme des énigmes irrésolvables."

"Dont les dragons."

"Dont les dragons! N'est-ce pas génial?!" Harry cleared his throat, trying to vanish his big smile when Fleur didn't share his excitment. 

"Tu sais quelque chose de plus que nous autres champion."

"Eh bien, j'ai un ami dragonologiste qui a dit qu'il serait présent prochainement en Angleterre alors qu'il était parti étudier les dragons en Roumanie et la seule raison de sa présence ne peut que signifier que les dragons seront impliqués dans une des trois tâches du tournoi. Bien que j'ignore lequel, mais mieux vaut prévenir que soigner, hein?"

"À qui le dis-tu. Très bien, parles-moi donc de tes précieux amis."

As fast as light, Harry's smile split his face in two and he started talking about all the creatures he grew up with, thanks to his dad's noble and amazing education.

"Donc, le sort de confusion ne peut fonctionner sur un dragon que si l'on est plusieurs à le jeter en même temps car sinon cela rebondit sur sa peau immunisée. La plupart des dragons ne se montrent violent que si on s'attaque aux siens, les femelles encore plus. Il est possible de les distraire avec soit une proie qui se trouve dans le chaîne alimentaire, bien que je doute d'aucune créature ne le soit pas, ou encore de les plonger dans un mirage avec la bonne technique."

"Ça, c'est pour les dragons! Passons maintenant sur les créatures maritimes, dont les êtres de l'eau! Alors, il faut savoir qu'ils ont leur propre leur langage mais ils peuvent très bien comprendre les intentions humaines si l'on les ressentons très fort, ce qui est logique vu qu'une fois sous l'eau on ne peut que se montrer des plus intentionnels! Les diverses moyens de respirer sous l'eau : la métamorphose comme être un animagus, le sortilège têtenbulle qui crée une bulle autour de la tête pour respirer, comme les casques des cosmonautes, et la plante magique de la Branchiflore!"

"Pourquoi tu connais la dernière technique? Oh, et puis tu sais quoi, je crois connaître la réponse..."

"Parce que je l'ai utilisé plus jeune pour chevaucher le Kelpy qui vit dans le lac! J'ai aussi rencontré quelques êtres de l'eau qui m'ont aidé à garder les Strangulots loin de moi pendant ce petit tour aquatique. Et ce qui est bien avec la Branchiflore, c'est que ça te donne les même propriété qu'un résident de l'eau, tu es alors doté des palmes aux mains et pieds et des branchies te poussent au cou pour pouvoir continuer de respirer, tu ne ressens même pas le froid une fois submergé et ce, pendant une heure tout rond!"

"Cela ne doit pas être physiquement attirant, j'imagines."

"Je suis sûre que tu seras toujours aussi attrayante même avec des caractéristiques d'êtres aquatiques."

"La flatterie n'est pas assez pour me pousser à consommer de l'herbe avec de telle propriété. Et je doute sincèrement qu'on aura à plonger dans ce lac infesté d'un poulpe géant."

"La rumeur dit qu'il s'agirait d'un des fondateurs de Hogwarts qui a élu domicile dans le lac dans sa forme animagus au lieu de se faire enterrer comme tout le monde."

"Pourquoi je ne suis pas étonnée?"

"OK. Les résidents de la forêt, que j'espère bien que tu n'auras pas à la affronter, vu que son nom l'indique, elle est interdite d'accès. Mais on sait jamais avec le ministère, un mineur a bien faillit participer au tournoi malgré l'interdiction juste parce que chaque nom est sous un contrat magique scellé. Bref, il y a des centaures, mais personne ne les approche car le troupeau ne veut pas être dérangé, des acromantules mais les membres de la colonie sont géniaux mais peut-être pas avec des étrangers autres que mon père et moi, des veaudelunes qui n'apparaissent qu'à la pleine lune donc sans crainte, des chaporouges qui aiment le sang plus que tout donc fais attention à ne pas saigner, des licornes, hippogryffes, des botrucs et des sombrals pas que tu pourras les voir, pas de loup-garous bien que la rumeur dit que l'un d'eux m'a mordu et des trolls qui descendent de leur montagnes tous les 36 du mois."

"Mais tu as bien été mordu dans la forêt?"

"Oui, mais par un loug-garou errant qui venait aussi d'être transformé en loug-garou il n'y a pas longtemps. ll se trouvait dans la forêt à la recherche d'ingrédient pour prépare la potion tue-loup, mais sans succès et a perdu son contrôle lors de sa troisième transformation quand j'ai été hypnotisé à rôder dans la forêt. Longue histoire et on n'est pas là pour ça."

"Pourquoi? As-tu d'autre créatures à me parler?"

"Eh bien, il s'agit d'un tournoi qui n'a plus vu le jour depuis trois siècles. Si les trois communautés magiques ont, auparavant, jugé bon de ne plus remettre l'événement en place pour quelque raison que ce soit, il n'est pas irraisonnable de penser que les dangers mortels étaient très nombreuses et, eh bien, fatals."

Fleur crossed daintily her arms on her chest, took a breathe before nodding in permission for him to continue. So Harry did and would have talked her to dusk if Ron didn't come to interrupted them, asking for his assistance. 

"Right now?"

"I mean, it's not urgent, but I think it's about time you're done, right?"

Fleur actually cast a grateful look to Ron, whose ears turned red as an expected reaction around the beautiful and amazing French girl, before pushing Harry to join his friend with a dismissing wave of hand before pulling out her wand and facing those training dummies again as she still needed to train a little more for the big day.

"So, what did you need me for?"

Ron's face twisted in embarrassement, which was weird because he wasn't that upset in front of Fleur.

"Well, I need you to not take it wrongly."

"Sure, I doubt I could react badly to anything you say. Except maybe that Gin's somehow mad at me for whatever somber reason that I could not grasp."

"Nothing to do with my sis. And it's disturbing you bring her up at this moment."

"Alright, spit it out, your phrasing and words are confusing and worrying me now."

Ron played with his hands, twisting his fingers for awhile before taking a long breath and looking Harry straight in the eyes.

"I need you to kiss me."

Huh. Certainly not anything Harry expected.

Also. What?