FIC: Guiding Harry Chapter 14: Future Traditions

Summary: Harry and Fleur find a new Easter tradition with her family and close out their holiday with a relaxing and intimate afternoon in her favorite spot.

“The lamb was delicious, maman,” Fleur said after swallowing the last bite on her plate.

“I’ll second that,” her father said, dabbing at his lips with his napkin. “You outdid yourself this year, mon doux.”

“It’s the same recipe every Easter,” Fleur’s mother said, though her smile betrayed her pleasure at the praise.

After taking a drink, Harry put his glass back down on the table. “Your family’s lucky if they get to have this every Easter, then. It’s great, Apolline.”

“I’m very glad that you like it, Harry, since I imagine this won’t be the last time you join us for our Easter dinner,” Fleur’s mother said, grinning at both of them. “Though I must say that I have been looking forward to the silk pie that you two prepared together. I was pleasantly surprised when you offered to handle the dessert, Fleur. I’ve never known you to volunteer to do any cooking or baking.”

Fleur shrugged. “You were right all along, maman.” As she had done during every meal at the dining table during their Easter holiday, she had already been sitting close enough to Harry that she could press her leg against his, keeping physical contact with him while they ate. Now that she’d finished her lamb, though, she put her fork down and grabbed Harry’s free hand, lifting it off of the table and drawing attention to their interlocked fingers. “Cooking and baking is so much more enjoyable when you’re doing it for the one you love.” She swung Harry’s hand in hers. “Your mate offering to help you prepare it does not hurt, either.” She hadn’t known that Harry would volunteer to join her in preparing a dessert for their Easter meal, but had been delighted to accept his help once he did. She already knew that preparing something that she hoped he would enjoy was fulfilling for her, but now she’d learned how much fun she could have working side-by-side with Harry in the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t know much about that last benefit, I’m afraid,” her mother said, narrowing her eyes playfully at the man sitting next to her. Fleur’s father sighed and shook his head.

“Yes, the kitchen has never been my area of expertise, I am afraid.” He looked down at his empty plate sorrowfully. “Despite my best efforts, I succeeded only in getting in your way any time I tried to help.”

“Don’t forget all the trouble you caused for maman, too,” Fleur’s mother said, smirking. “Remember when you ruined her special soup on your first Christmas with us?”

“Don’t remind me.” He visibly shuddered, and even if Fleur believed that he was exaggerating his reaction slightly, she didn’t think it was entirely fake. “I was afraid she was about to give me a painful demonstration of a veela’s fire.” Fleur laughed into her hand. It wasn’t her first time hearing this story, but the image of her father trying to make a good

“She knew I liked you too much to allow that,” she said. “But if you had dared set foot in her kitchen again after that, I don’t know if even my love would have been enough to save you had you been fool enough to try.”

“Nothing could have dragged me back into that kitchen,” Fleur’s father said seriously. “From that day on, I knew my place, and that place was not in the kitchen. Not until it was time to help with the cleaning afterward, at least.”

“What are maman and papa talking about?” Gabrielle asked. “They look like they’re being silly.” She’d been silent while eating her dinner, but now that she was done, she was not content to be left out of a conversation in a language she was still in the early stages of learning.

“I am teasing your papa about the last time he tried to help me in the kitchen,” their mother answered while beginning to gather the dirty plates to be cleaned, a task that Fleur’s father joined her in. Gabrielle laughed. She knew the story as well as Fleur did and probably loved it even more. That their grandmother looked at and treated Gabrielle like she could do no wrong probably made it even funnier for Gabi to imagine her grandmother's veela death glare being used on her father.

“Do you think Harry will get kicked out of the kitchen, too?” Gabi asked, looking at Fleur’s boyfriend, who fidgeted in his chair. He probably hadn't understood every word, but he would have picked up some of it and certainly couldn't have missed Gabi using his name and looking right at him.

“I don’t think so, princess,” their father said lightly “I will never forget your grandmother’s fury, or your mother’s poorly-hidden frustration when I made a mess of things in the kitchen. I did not hear any of that anger or frustration coming from the kitchen today while Harry and your sister worked on their dessert.”

Gabrielle stared at Harry as if trying to decide if her father was right or wrong. “They kept kissing each other while they were baking the pie,” she said eventually. “Maybe that kept Fleur from getting annoyed.” Fleur giggled and whispered a translation of her sister’s words into Harry’s ear, which quickly got red once he heard what Gabi had said.

“You have a point, princess,” their father said while struggling not to laugh. “I suppose we won’t know if Harry truly earned his place in the kitchen until we taste the pie he and your sister baked in between all of that kissing.”

“Then we will answer that question at once,” Fleur said. She rose from her seat at the dining table, walked over to the counter, and cut off a small slice of the dessert to put onto a plate. The Delacours preferred to wait for at least an hour or two after dinner before starting on their dessert, but they could cheat slightly in the name of proving her point. “Everyone take a bite.”

Gabrielle didn’t need to be asked twice to take a bite out of something sweet. She hurried over, picked up a clean fork, and took the first bite from the pie Fleur and her mate baked for Easter. They couldn’t have asked for a better critic in the house, at least if they wanted an honest opinion. Her parents might have pretended that it wasn’t bad even if the pie was actually a disaster, but Gabi wouldn’t spare her or Harry’s feelings. She was going to let everyone know what she really thought of the pie.

It did not take long for Gabi to make her reaction known. Her eyes widened as she bit into the pie, and she made a little coo of delight.

“That good, Gabi?” their mother asked her. Rather than answering, Gabrielle's fork moved and quickly speared a second bite of the pie, which she bit into with even greater enthusiasm now that she knew what to expect.

“We had better get our bites before she devours the entire piece,” Fleur’s father said, chuckling. Her parents picked up forks and took their bites at the same time. Her mother was not as demonstrative as Gabi had been, but Fleur could tell that she was impressed all the same as she chewed and nodded her head in approval. As for her father, he chewed his bite, nodded slowly, and let his fork drop onto the plate.

“Congratulations, Harry,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t think you have to worry about any veela chasing you out of the kitchen.” Harry, who by that point had come over to stand next to Fleur, grinned.

“Sounds good to me,” he said. “Baking with Fleur was actually fun. I’m happy to help anytime.”

Fleur was already savoring her bite of the pie with its airy chocolate filling, not to mention her family’s approval of the taste, but she savored Harry’s enthusiasm about baking with her even more. She could picture many more holidays with her family, cooking and baking with Harry, stealing kisses at every possible moment. It was not a grandiose vision of the future, but it was a future that Fleur would train to the point of exhaustion and fight until her last breath to protect.

Her fork claimed another bite of the slice, but this one she brought to Harry’s lips so she could feed him directly. “Happy Easter, mon amour,” she said, smiling as Harry opened his mouth and took a bite straight from her fork, sampling the result of their pleasant early afternoon spent baking and kissing.

--

“This really is a nice spot,” Harry said. “I can see why you like coming here so much.”

“Mmm.” Fleur was already sitting against his side as they sat together on the bench in the woods, feeling all the usual comfort that came with consistent physical contact with him. Now, she leaned against him, putting an arm around his waist and nuzzling her head against his side. “It has always been a special place for me. But it is even more special now that I can share it with you.”

This wasn’t the first time she and Harry had visited her special spot in the woods during their Easter holiday, but it was the first time that they’d visited it alone. As much as Fleur loved her little sister, she’d been craving a private afternoon with Harry in this spot all along. On this, their last afternoon in France before they returned to Hogwarts in the morning, Fleur’s mother was spending time with Gabrielle so she and Harry could take their last afternoon in France to enjoy one of her favorite spots. Sitting on this bench and snuggling against Harry as she gazed at the trees and listened to the birds chirping ranked among the most peaceful moments of Fleur’s life.

If she could, she would have happily frozen time and remained in this moment for as long as she could. That was not an option, of course. Time would not stand still for them, and tomorrow, they would be back at Hogwarts, once again committing themselves to preparing for the Third Task. Fleur didn't let herself feel sad that this was her final day in France, and she wouldn't see her family again until they came to Hogwarts for the Third Task over two months from now. She focused on enjoying the time that she had left here and welcoming the love of her life into this place that had always been so special to her.

Harry made the treasured moment even better by putting his arm around her shoulders and hugging her closer to his side. Fleur sighed and rested the side of her face against his chest, feeling its steady rise and fall. That comfortable feeling might have lulled her into an afternoon nap if Harry hadn't chosen that moment to speak.

“I’ve liked being here so much,” he said quietly. “You and your family really made me feel at home.”

“You are at home,” Fleur said, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “You are my mate. You are mine, and I am yours. Do I need to remind you of this yet again, Harry?”

“You don’t,” Harry said. “Crazy as it still feels to me sometimes, I know that you mean it.” Harry kissed the top of her head, and Fleur sighed. “This was the best holiday I’ve ever had.”

"It is just the first of many," Fleur said. If there was any topic that Harry talked about as little as possible with her, it was his home life with the Dursley family. He would tell her about stabbing a basilisk with a sword and saving his godfather and his past self from a Dementor's Kiss far more readily than he would talk about his home life with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. But Fleur had gotten enough out of him to understand that they were not proper family to him and had never treated him the way he deserved to be treated. Any time Fleur thought about her mate spending a holiday with those people, neglected and ignored, she felt a strong desire to find them and make them regret being so vile to such an amazing man.

She closed her eyes, banishing any and all thought of payback, however deserved it might be. Harry didn't need her to exact vengeance against the Dursleys on his behalf. He needed her to be there for him, protect him, and love him. Rather than repaying his awful relatives for making Harry suffer through so many unhappy holidays, she would focus on making all of his holidays as wonderful as they could be from now on.

“Yes, Apolline already made it very clear that they’re going to throw a birthday party for me this year, even if they have to come to London for it,” he said, chuckling.

“Naturally,” Fleur said, smiling. “And I believe that silk pie we baked together yesterday could become a new annual tradition. We may never be allowed to miss another Easter with my parents from now on.”

"Sounds good to me." Fleur had been teasing; she didn't know where their future would take them or where they would settle down one day. It wasn't as if their family saw her grandmother every Easter or every holiday. They'd formed their own traditions as a family, some of them without Fleur's grandparents involved, and she could see her and Harry doing the same. But Harry seemed quite serious.

“I know how much you love it here,” Harry said. He rested his chin on top of her head and rubbed her back as they snuggled on the bench. “And I loved it here, too.” He went quiet after that, but Fleur didn’t say anything. She could tell that he had something on his mind, and she was going to give him time to get it out without any prodding. “I wouldn’t mind moving here. To France, I mean. You know, after I’m finished at Hogwarts. And there’s Voldemort and everything else to deal with, too. But after all that’s done, well—”

“You would move here?” Fleur interrupted. He was starting to ramble, and Fleur couldn’t wait for him to reach the end. They’d never talked about where they would live once everything was through, but Fleur had somewhat assumed that being with her mate would require her to move to England once the tournament was done and her final year at Beauxbatons officially ended. She would still need to do that, at least for a few years, if Harry wanted to finish out his final three years at Hogwarts. But his unprompted suggestion about being willing to move to France with her one day got her to pull back on the bench so she could look into his eyes.

“Yeah,” Harry said, nodding. “I mean, like I said, I wouldn’t be able to do it until I finished at Hogwarts, and I don’t think I’ll ever really be free to live my life however I want until Voldemort’s gone for good, anyway.” Harry adjusted his glasses and swallowed deeply. “But when it’s all over, I wouldn’t mind moving here with you, yeah. Like I said before, Fleur: for me, home is wherever you are. I want you to be happy—and I think I’d be happy here, too. Maybe we could look for a place somewhere close by; close enough to walk or fly here on a broom.”

He broke eye contact to glance over her shoulder. She could hear birds chirping from the trees in that direction. “Somewhere with plenty of trees, where we could set up a chair or a bench kind of like this one.” He took another look around at the picturesque clearing in the woods before meeting her eyes again and reaching up to brush his hair back, probably without even realizing he was doing it. “I didn’t have views like this to enjoy when I was growing up, but I’m glad you did. And if we have kids someday, I’d like them to have a view like this one, too.”

Fleur had to blink back happy tears, not wanting Harry to see them and mistake their meaning. From the morning after the Yule Ball, when he woke up in her bed, she'd stressed to him that when a veela found her mate, she knew he was the one for her, the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and nothing would change that. She knew he'd accepted the reality of her feelings for him, but this was the first time he'd ever brought up having children with her. She knew that part of him still struggled to picture a time when he would be free from Voldemort, who had changed the course of Harry's life when he was still a toddler and continued to cast a shadow over his present and his immediate future. But he was picturing that future now—a future with her and the family they would one day create together. Of all the wonderful moments they'd shared over their holiday in France, this had to be her favorite.

She brought her hand up to Harry’s jaw and stroked it with her fingers while leaning in to kiss his lips. Harry responded almost immediately, turning his body as best he could so he could kiss her back and put his arms around her. Fleur had always intended for their afternoon in her special spot to eventually turn sexual but hadn't been sure exactly how she would get there or what form it would take. She still didn't know what direction it would take even now, but she wasn't concerned. As Harry turned and spread his legs across either side of the bench so he could face her directly, Fleur mimicked his move, but instead of straddling the bench, she straddled Harry's lap.

Their kissing got more impassioned now that Fleur was sitting in her lover’s lap. Both of Harry’s hands ran up and down her back, touching her through the soft fabric of her light green dress. Fleur’s fingers threaded through his hair as their kiss continued, getting hotter and heavier the longer their mouths remained joined. Fleur no longer felt the sun and no longer heard the birds or any of the other creatures who lived in these woods. All of her senses were fixated on the man she loved, who had just voiced his hopes for their long-term future together, the same hopes she shared.

Fleur did not consciously choose to start rocking her hips back and forth in Harry’s lap, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Harry’s hands also had a mind of their own when they slid up her body and cupped her breasts through her dress. They were both allowing the passion of the moment to guide them. If that meant that it guided them to Fleur rubbing her derriere against his groin and Harry fondling her chest while they kissed on the bench, so be it.

She still wasn't sure what she wanted to do with him or with the erection that soon started poking her as she rocked in his lap. Fleur continued to let her passion guide her without conscious thought, and it guided her all the way to kissing him with such passion that he wound up moving down onto his back on the bench. It was cushioned, so he was perfectly comfortable like this. Fleur could attest to his comfort, having slept on this very bench many times when she was younger. She would often curl up on it and read a book until she closed her eyes, lulled to sleep by the beautiful scenery and the comfort that she drew from this place.

Sleep was the last thing on Fleur's mind as she broke the kiss, sat up, and looked at Harry, flat on his back on her bench. She'd already known that she would enjoy sharing this special place with her lover, but now he'd given her the very best memory she'd ever created in these woods by expressing his hopes for their future.

“I love you so much, Harry,” she whispered. Fleur pulled the straps of her dress off her shoulders and stood up so she could slide the dress down her body. As she pulled it off, Harry could see that she was not wearing anything beneath it. He didn’t look surprised. He’d probably noticed that she wasn’t wearing a bra even before he started fondling her breasts through her dress. His lack of surprise didn’t cause him to look any less excited as his eyes ran up and down her naked body, though.

“I love you more,” he replied in slow, accented, and adorable French. Fleur laughed while unzipping his trousers.

“It is not a competition, mon amour,” she said. “And if it was, I’m afraid you would lose.” Fleur pulled his trousers and underwear halfway down his legs, not bothering to get them any lower.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Harry said, smiling up at her. “So, what’s next, love? Are you about to get on top?”

“Yes,” Fleur said, “but not in the way you might be thinking.” She hadn’t planned out how she wanted to do this, but it suddenly felt very important to her that they stay on the bench for what came next. She wasn’t sure that the bench would give them enough room to have regular sex, or at least not good sex. But she believed that the bench would work just fine for what she had in mind.

Fleur climbed back on top of Harry, but this time, she turned around and straddled his head rather than his lap. Her knees were nearly at the edges of the bench on either side of his head, but she had just enough room to feel even more confident that this was going to work. Before she lowered her hips, she decided to check in and make sure that Harry approved of her decision. This was their special moment in this special place, after all, and she wanted him to enjoy it, too.

“What do you think, Harry?” she asked. “Care to share this bench with me?” By way of answering, Harry grabbed her butt with both hands and squeezed her cheeks while turning his head to the side and kissing her left leg, making Fleur giggle. “I will take that as a yes.” Harry just gave her derriere another squeeze and turned his head straight again, inviting her to claim her place.

Fleur lowered her hips, wiggling slightly and moving her knees around on the bench until she found the position that felt most comfortable for her. Once she was situated, she stretched her body out into a 69 on top of him, bringing her head toward his groin. She had to do some more wiggling now, adjusting her body as she tried to work out how best to pull this off while on her bench.

Eventually, she did find her desired spot, and then she was able to focus on Harry. Fleur did not immediately move to take him into her mouth and bob her head, however. She wanted to make him feel good, but she also wanted to enjoy her private afternoon with him for as long as she could. This was not an appropriate time for her to pour the full extent of her oral skills into her performance. Fleur wanted to take her time and let the pleasure come naturally and gradually. With that goal in mind, rather than parting her lips and taking Harry’s cock in for some firm suckling, she started him off with light, slow licks around his cockhead and down his shaft. She didn’t want to pay too much attention to his tip right at the start, knowing how quickly his pleasure could mount if she targeted his sensitive head. Soft licks and slow kisses; that was the way to go if she wanted this to last.

Harry either felt the same way she did or was following her lead, because his mouth avoided her sex altogether for the time being. He teased her with kisses and touches along her inner thighs, and when his mouth did get close to her pussy, it was to tease her with contact, not unlike how he might have done near her clit if he was getting her to want his mouth there. If they were pressed for time, or she was feeling less patient, Fleur may have barked at him to get on with it. His lips and fingers moving leisurely along her inner thighs matched Fleur’s mood perfectly, though. She was content to relax on top of him, take her time licking his cock and kissing his tip without any hurry, and enjoy Harry’s attention along her thighs. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend a pleasantly mild April afternoon in one of her favorite places.

When they did progress to actual stimulation, their pace remained deliberate, and they did not force anything or get impatient. Fleur lightly suckled Harry’s cockhead while giving his shaft a squeeze, and his tongue ran up and down her sex with licks that were both slower and softer than she’d initially taught him to open with. Fleur sighed around his cockhead, enjoying the light licks that brought her pleasure without making her feel desperate for more. She started to bob her head on him, taking her time and giving every bit of him a lick and a suckle during her descent.

Harry matched her gradual escalation, moving his tongue with a bit more pressure and also incorporating his fingers. She could feel her body begin to respond once his tongue started moving for real, and her blowjob intensified to match. Her sucking had been fairly quiet so far, but she could now hear her own slurps as she went lower and swallowed more of his cock. It still couldn’t be compared to how she got when she was truly putting her all into trying to get him off, but things were definitely picking up.

Fleur tensed up on top of Harry when she felt his mouth approach her clit. Any time he got close, the possibility of him using his parseltongue to drive her wild entered the equation. That hissing felt lovely every time he used it, but she was conflicted about him potentially making his tongue vibrate like that today. Harry’s hissing tongue invariably drove her to sudden explosive orgasms, and as amazing as those always felt, she didn’t know if something that intense would fit in the relaxing afternoon they were currently sharing.

Maybe Harry reached the same conclusion because he did not pull out his wonderful vibrating tongue trick this time. Instead, he treated her clit to light, fleeting licks, matching her head bobs and slow yet firm sucking perfectly. Fleur relaxed, settling in to enjoy their afternoon on the bench for a bit longer.

Their licking and sucking brought them both along naturally. With neither of them pulling off any fancy tricks, they were able to savor the journey and reach the finish in due course. But when they did feel that finish approaching, they did not try to back away from it. Fleur continued to suck, and when she sensed that Harry was close, she moved her lips back until just the tip of his cock was in her mouth so she could suckle it for real and move her tongue around it with focused swipes. At the same time, she stroked the base of his cock with one hand and rubbed the underside of his balls with the other. For his part, though he still avoided his parseltongue skill and the powerful burst of pleasure it was capable of bringing her, Harry knew how to get her off just fine without it. His fingers rubbed her pussy, giving her a bit more pressure than they had earlier, and he took her clit in his mouth and gently sucked on it.

Fleur came not with the blinding, bucking onslaught of pleasure that she was used to feeling when Harry's hissing tongue got her off but with more of a calm wave of release. It was far from the most intense orgasm he'd given her, but she appreciated it all the more for that difference which fit just right into this perfect day she and her lover were sharing. As she rode that wave against Harry's face and felt the first shot of semen on her tongue, she decided that she could not have asked for a better way to spend her final afternoon in France with her mate—at least for now.

They would return one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, and make more memories in this magical spot. But for now, Fleur was happy to return to Hogwarts with new traditions to look forward to, and a future to fight for.