A Much Deadlier Tournament16: 0ff the Run : On the Run

A Much Deadlier Tournament

Chapter 16:

0ff the Run : On the Run

Harry sat, quietly, on a stone bench overlooking the Black Lake. It was a somewhat secluded area, a circular patio on the large, cliffside staircase leading down to the boating house. Which made it all the stranger that he was getting so much company.

"Bonne après-midi, monsieur Potter." Fleur greeted as she finally arrived at his spot.

He had watched her boredly approach down the stairs. The flash of silver and blue along the bridge connecting the eastern side of the castle to the grounds where the Bauxbatons carriage sat was hard to miss. That the unusually warm and sunny December had her without her usually heavy jacket that he would have sworn was Madame Maxine's made her even more noticeable.

"Let me guess. " Harry said. "You've been sent to fetch me for yet ANOTHER Triwizard event nobody saw fit to tell me about."

The frown she gave him at his less than warm welcome make her look EXACTLY like the fully-transformed Veela on he had seen at the world cup. Easily-offended little things, Veela. Thankful her nose didn't turn into an actual beak, but the resemblance was uncanny.

"Non! I came here to talk to you as Fleur. I am allowed to zat, no?" She scolded him.

He felt a distinct lack of burns from her scolding and continued with his aloof "fuck you" attitude towards the huffy French bitch.

"As imprisoned as you seem to be, it may be hard to believe, but I am allowed to move freely and associate with whom I wish." Fleur said, nose still scrunched in offense. And I wish to associate with the Hogwarts Champion. Look! I even dressed in my best, despite the Scottland cold making doing so difficult. Best I can tell, you have never put such effort into your appearance!"

He looked at her. Just, looked at her. The same, flat, bored look he would give to an insect, and he held his gaze. His eyes didn't leave hers. He could tell she was trying to show off her chest by cut of her dress and that her stockings were just this side of appropriate in terms of fit. But he could not care less.

"Well then, I don't know what you're doing here. Cerdic is elsewhere." Harry deflected.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You said you wish to associate with the Hogwarts Champion? That's Cedric." Harry said. "I am the campion of Mahouka... maho... Makankosa..."

"Mahoutokoro?" She offered amusedly.

"Right." Harry said.

"Well then. I think I would like to get to know Mahoutoko's first ever champion." She said demurely, clasping her hands behind her back in what could be described as a shy gesture.

Harry looked at her calmly as he measured his words.

"Mad mwa Zell Delacour. You seem to have missed out on this revelation, so let me help you in realizing." Harry said, almost dismissively. "I do not desire you, nor lust for you. I don't even particularly like you. I also don't hate you, but I do hate the way you and other Veela, or part Veela, make me feel. The way to try to grab hold of my emotions and twist them towards your desires. It does not fill me with admiration nor infatuation, but instead rage. Ever since the first time I felt this allure your species inspires in men, I have felt only anger and disgust. Which I realize is a bit unfair towards you, since I barely know you. But there it is."

She did not flinch as if smacked by any of his words, but did make an increasingly angry face as he went on. She instead seemed quite pleased.

"Zis makes you quite resistant and able to hold a conversation, if you could get past your physical discomfort and see ze charming lady beneath, I zink we could be good friends." She said.

Boy was she persistent!

"If I were in a better head space, I think I would like that." He said. "But also I already have a date for the Yule Ball."

"Damnit!" She huffed, stomping a foot and crossing her arms. Seemingly more out of surrender to the cold than frustration.

"Let me guess, your besto ption so far doesn't do well under your allure?" He asked.

"Non." She said.

"Glazed eyes?" He clarified.

"Drool too." She groaned.

"Yikes!" He offered sympathetically.

"Indeed. So, what haz you in such a peesee mood anyways?" She asked.

Peesee? He had to try and translate her accent into a form of English more recognizable. When he figured out what she meant he snorted in amusement.

"I'm pissy today because I just watched a man get executed by a dementor's kiss." He said with a pained sigh.

That one did make her flinch as if smacked in the face. He could see on her face the process she was going through, translating what he'd just said into French, then translating again as it was obvious she must have misheard him. She eventually decided that she had not, in fact, misheard him and deflated in a mix of disgust and horror.

"Why in the world were you allowed to see that?" She asked.

"Because he was a death eater and was the one to put my name in the Goblet of Fire. In addition to many other crimes, he was already doomed to the dementor's kiss." Harry explained. "I was offered the chance to be present for his execution along with one other student whom he wronged significantly worse than me. I thought I was ready to see that kind of thing. I wasn't. And I don't think he was either. He got sent home early for the holidays."

That left were blowing air out through her lips in what seemed like a combination of frustration, confusion and empathy. Eventually she just shrugged and plopped down on the bench next to him, crosses her legs and staring off at the forbidden forest with him. She leaned forward and propped her head on her hand, tapping her cheek with a slender finger. It was a very attractive thinking pose.

He was uncomfortable with the closeness of gorgeous girl but waited patiently for her to work through the shared trauma he just dropped on her.

"I'll go get you some food." She decided with a confident nod.

"Um... What?" He asked.

"You are a boy, no?" She asked. "Well, when boys are sad, you get them food, and they stop being sad! So, I am getting you food."

The matter of factness and childish simplicity with which she made the blatantly obvious, and divinely true, statement left Harry speechless. So blindsided by the simple offer he didn't even remember to refuse her offer until she already got up, dusted herself off, and went on her way. She climbed back up the stone steps then across the bridge to the grounds he knew contained the Bauxbatons carriage. So she was grabbing him French food? Joy.

He had been expecting her to ask what it looked like when a dementor kissed a man. He was happy not to have had described the mandibles and proboscis, but surprised all the same at her lack of morbid curiosity.

He went back to glaring at the planet now that his solitude was returned to him. He almost hoped she wouldn't come back.

That peace was broken mere moments later when footsteps too strong to be Fleur's came up from behind him. He prepared his venemous quip for when whoever they were decided to start a conversation.

"You are shockingly good at hiding in plain sight." Sirius said, almost approvingly.

"And yet assholes keep finding me." Harry retorted.

A second went by. Then another. For three seconds more he continued to stare off angrily at the skyline.

"Sirius!" He yelled, pouncing on his godfather.

"That's more like it!" Sirius said happily as he caught Harry in the pouncing hug.

A lot of back patting and ribcage crushing ensued, and Harry marveled at the smell of the clean, properly-clothed man in his arms. Last time he had embraced him has smelled of every month heh ad spent on the run without a shower. Much of it as Padfoot in trashy. literally, back alleys or worse. Now he smelled of soap and shampoo and his brand-new clothes. When they parted Harry looked him up and down and marveled at how he looked human again.

A glance around to find nobody in range to see them later, and he turned back to look Sirius in the eyes. All the evidence of hte last few moments already told him teh answer, but he had to ask the question anyways.

"So... are you?.." Harry couldn't finish the question.

"Free? Almost." He said. "Name is effectively cleared. On 'probation' but it more resembles protective custody. My ankle monitor is over there."

He pointed up to one of the parapets overlooking them and Harry noted, with some surprise, a red-robed Auror who looked like he could be Zabini's dad. He looked pretty beat up too, with an arm in one sling and a bandage over the eye on the other side. Must make aiming with his good arm somewhat challenging. Harry'd have to try aiming with his right arm and left eye sometime. Just for the challenge of it.

"Trials, plural, are still upcoming. And I didn't exactly behave appropriately while on the run and have multiple cases of breaking and entering into Hogwarts to fight, but I have been declared innocent of Pettigrew's crimes." Sirius explained. "Probably gonna lose most of those cases if it goes to court, so I'll have to declare myself guilty, get let off for time served already for crimes I didn't commit. Might have to pay a fine, but that's it."

Harry didn't share his now reflexive doubt at Sirius' optimistic forecast, but he thought it really hard. Then again, with his recent war on the legal system, maybe they were sore enough that they didn't want to incite another volley and were, for once, doing the right thing? It must be getting mighty chilly in the ninth layer about now. He'd believe it when he saw it.

Sirius took him by the shoulder and gently led him back to the bench, where they both sat back down.

"So, I've been following your antics, and it might shock you to hear this, but I strongly approve!" Sirius told him with a wicked grin. "Though I am a little worried for your wellbeing, spiritually. Your actions are just, but the feelings underlying them can't be good for you. Want to talk about it?"

Harry looked at his godfather, long and hard.

"Not particularly." He said honestly. "Not with anybody."

"Fair enough!" Sirius said cheerfully, leaning back and releasing the tension. "I won't make you. As if I could! hah!"

On the short list of people Harry thought could convince him to stop being such a dick, Sirius was at the top of it. And that he had no inclination to do so made him all the more endearing.

"I would help with your shenanigans but I'm trying to be a good boy for now, so all I can do is offer you emotional and spiritual support. You have my blessing, but not my significant wealth or madness." Sirius rambled on, not joking as much as he seemed to be pretending to be.

Aaaand the endearment rose.

They sat in silence together for some time after that, just letting the world go on revolving around them without a care in the world. Harry didn't feel much like talking, and Sirius didn't intrude with any conversation of his own. And so, they were at peace. Until the familiar sound of the Bauxbaton's princess and her clacking shoes came down the stair towards them.

"Salut 'arry! I got you a good spread, as you say. Meaty croissants, a nice variety of Danishes and I took you for a fan of ze treacle tart so I grabbed one of... MERDE C'EST VRAI SIRIUS BLACK!"

Harry hadn't really been paying attention to the nuisance, hoping she'd go away if he ignored her, but the change from friendliness to matter-of-life-and-death panic in her voice got his attention pretty quickly. As did the platter of perfectly good food falling to the ground. He and Sirius leapt up at the scream in time to back away from the woman.

She was scrambling for her wand, somehow having lost it in the large, fur jacket she was wearing now that she wasn't trying to entice Harry to the dance. No she seemed more intent on saving his life from the big, bad mass-murdering Azkaban escapee and Harry needed to stop it. Too late though, she already had her wand in her hand and was aiming it at Sirius. And then it wasn't.

One second her wand was in her hand and readying a likely deadly curse at his godfather, the next it was gone.

"Madame Delacour, I would thank you not to murder my charges." Came the sexiest voice Harry Potter had ever heard in his life.

As one, they looked up to see the Black Auror had somehow climbed over the parapet and climbed along the rocky outcropping to stand over them. Must have been quite the trial hobbling on that cane. but Harry was thankful for his efficiency.

"Mister Black is a free man now and is under my protection." The man said. "He is also unarmed, and Harry Potter's godfather. He is deserving of significantly more courtesy than you have just shown him.

She looked between him, the Auror and Sirius, and all of their raised hands, but seemed unconvinced.

"Honestly miss, I'm one of the good guys." Sirius pleaded with mock cheer.

He was putting up a good poker face, a convincing nonchalance and harmlessness, but Fleur was champion for a reason. Even unarmed she might be dangerous. Veela and all. Harry, being the asshole that he was, decided to instigate things first.

"Look at this face." Harry pleaded, waving his hands around Sirius's face as if presenting a fine dish. "These exquisite, prison cell tattoos and immaculate smile are the marks of an honest man, I tell you."

Sirius grinned wide enough to show all of his teeth, in a way that reminded Harry of that American animated movie with the Harry beast trying to woo a girl that looked and sounded just like Hermione. The bad guy who was covered in hair, as opposed to the good guy who was covered in hair. Shockingly enough, instead of the poorly cared for and rotten teeth Harry remembered from last year the smile revealed rows of pearly whites.

"When did you have time to get your teeth fixed?" Harry asked.

"Poppy fixed me up this morning. As much as she could. Current worries are nutritional deficiencies and muscle mass, which are to be my focus as of tomorrow." Sirius explained. "But she was able to put my teeth back in order. She offered some tattoo removal too, but I'm keeping em. I earned em, after all."

Harry didn't [resume to know what any of the tattoos represented, or how a prisoner in Azkaban went about earning them. Nor did he wish to know.

"You know, monsieur Black, if you are trying to impress me you are failing miserably." Fleur said, rather haughtily and with crossed arms.

Sirius blinked at her in confusion.

"Why in the world would I want to impress you? You are a teenage girl. Even when I was a teenage boy the only use I saw in teenaged girls was teasing them." Sirius said. "Which is what we are doing know. Picking on you. Because you're a teenage girl and deserve it."

"What little experience I have with her justifies out right bullying." Harry said.

"Meh! James and I always preferred to straddle the line. If you go too far you might accidentally turn them on, and that's always a bad time." Sirius joked back. "Nothing more dangerous than a girl you outright dislike having the hots for you. Or worse! A girl you care for deeply as a friend getting it in her head to bed you. Bad times Harry, bad times."

Based on the deep red anger decorating Fleur's face, they were definitely straddling the line now. And when the Auror behind them cleared his throat to get their attention Harry realized it was definitely time to stop.

"Now, while I am within my rights to arrest you for attempted assault and possibly murder of my charge, and doubly entitled to do so for the destruction of perfectly good pastries, I think we should start this interaction over again, shall we?" Said the Auror. "I am senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, and this is my charge, Sirius Orion Black. I am in a great deal of pain from overexerting myself and would like help down."

Only at his prompting did they all recall that Kingsley, obviously injured and recovering, and rock climbed/sprinted towards them in order to de-escalate the situation and was still standing on the stone outcropping above them. Harry and Sirius got their act together and reached up to help him down. Many pained grunts on Kingsley's part later and they managed to coax him onto the same stone bench they had been sitting on just minutes before.

"Ahhh, that's much better. You know, I was given this assignment as an alternative to medical leave because they figured protecting you from reactionary teenagers and preteens ought to be easy." Auror Kingsley said.

"That, and because you have better social skills than all the other Auror's qualified to do the job." Sirius joked.

Herry kept his attention on Fleur throughout all this, knowing she was incensed and confused by all of this. Imagine his surprise when, instead of anger or confusion, he saw on her face a distinct showing of curiosity and interest.

"None of you seem bothered by my presence." She said conspiratorially.

Harry sat back and watched.

"I mean, you're not THAT annoying." Sirius said as if it were a compliment. "No moreso than the usual teenager."

"Indeed. Should you take our offer of starting this conversation over again, we may even find you less annoying than that" Kingsley chimed in

Harry bit his tongue, literally, as Fleur collected herself with deep breaths at their genuine obliviousness at what she meant.

"Gentleman. I am Veela." She said simply. "And your rudeness, crassness or genuine antagonism is a breath of fresh air compared to the glazy-eyed and moronic conversation I usually suffer." She explained. "And I would very much enjoy a more serious, and polite, conversation with gentleman capable of having such conversations with me."

Harry was flabbergasted by the directness and honesty of the girl. It was a nice change of pace. Sirius and Kinsley looked at each other, and something seemed to click.

"Actually." Said serious. "I think that explained my misbehavior. I've always had an unpleasant reaction to Veela, the pull on my emotions only ever made me violently angry, made me want to punch them more than impress them, but being the gentleman that I am I never had. But being the passive aggressive asshat I am, I've always been more than happy enough to make such Veela feel the same anger they made me feel. I apologize mademoiselle Delacour, for my attitude brought about by my barely controllable desire to punch you in the face due to no fault of your own."

Harry was barely managing to keep a straight face through all of this. Sirius had a way of putting into words exactly what he felt but lacked the vocabulary to express. Kinsley was losing it over Sirius' words.

They were said in jest, sure, but the honesty behind Sirius' words was blatant. And Harry agreed with them. And Fleur clearly recognized that.

She pressed on like nothing untoward had just happened.

"How old were you when you went to prison?" She asked.

"Twenty One?" Sirius said, obviously confused.

"And you war in Azkaban for twelve years after that?" Fleur confirmed. " I am told zat time in Azkaban feels like a coma. As if they are in an ageless trance. Dementors, and all zat."

Harry got what she was getting at, and it was a frightening accusation in terms of mental concerning indeed.

"It... did go by in a flash, yes." Sirius confirmed.

"So, would you say zat, mentally, you are in your early twenties? And that it would be completely appropriate for you to escort a newly of age woman to a dance?" She egged on.

Boy did Sirius look uncomfortable or what? It was what he said next to shut her down that finally broke Harry into full blown laughter.

"I already have a date to the Yule Ball." He said, almost boredly.

"Damnit!" Fleur cursed again, barely loud enough to be heard over Harry's laughter.

But then Sirius's words registered for Harry too and his laughter stopped.

"You've been free for all of one day, when did you have the time to ask somebody to the ball?" Harry asked. "Was it Pomphrey? Tell me it was Pomphrey!"

"No!" I could never! I respect the old gal too much." Sirius deflected. "It's an old classmate who has ALSO been here all of one day. And who I think you have a date with tomorrow."

Really? Arakawa had attended Hogwarts? And said yes to Sirius asking her to the ball? Wait, did that make her yet another classmate of his parents? Interesting. No wonder they hired her for the job if she spent seven years contending with the Marauders. And yet still said yes to going with one to a school dance? She must be truly dangerous.

"I was supposed to have my first date with Arikawa today, but the whole Crouch situation reared its ugly head and it was postponed." Harry said.

Sirius and Kingsley gave him sympathetic nods, but Fleur seemed to be zoned out. Deep in thought, with her eyes glued to Kingsley. Harry recognized something in them. Something resembling hunger. he was inexorably reminded of Sue, and in a very fun way.

"Auror Shacklebolt, was eet?" She asked, almost purred.

"Hah! You are so barking up the wrong tree." Kingsley turned her down cruelly. "I'm still considering arresting you for ruining such perfectly good treacle tart."

"Oh! That's right!" Harry said. "She had mentioned treacle tart. Damn. I would have enjoyed that."

"I could go for some treacle tart." Sirius said.

"Well then! Good thing we're all adults here and are allowed to legally leave the premise to a Hogsmeade restaurant at our pleasure.:" Kinsley suggested conspiratorially.

"Oh really? And let me guess, there's another Hogwarts alumni waiting there to help cheer me up?" Harry asked.

"You know me so well, Harry." Sirius said, grasping him at the shoulder and bringing him in for a side hug.

Sirius led him up the stairs towards the path to Hogwarts, but stopped at the top to wait for Kingsley's crippled arse to catch up. They had to wait extra long for him to return Fleur's wand to her before he hobbledu p to them on his cane.

And like that, the three men left the jilted Veela standing on the stares with an expression resembling shellshock. Harry suspected that he had been the first boy to ever reject her. To have the first rejection ever followed by two significantly crueler rejections was probably traumatic to any young woman, let alone a gorgeous youn woman, let alone a Veela.

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Lucius ran. He ran and he ran and he ran. Then he apparated. Then he ran some more. Thus had transpired the last few days of his life. No money. No help. Forsaken by every single business partner and relative as the criminal he wasn't, as opposed to the criminal he was.

He slid into a hollowed out tree and forced far-too-large lungs of breath into his body. Just a moment, a moment to catch his breath was all he needed, then he could outrun them. Then he could outfight them. He had his wands and his wits, what Auror or army of Aurors could match that? None.

More cracks of apparition echoed through the words and amplified he pain and taste of blood in his chest.

"We're sure he reappeared here?" An Auror asked.

Lucius peeked out through the hollow and saw at least twenty of them, their red cloaks illuminated by the light of the full moon.

Twenty Aurors armed with apparition trackers? No wonder they kept on his trail for this long. Every time he vanished, they just had to walk near where he vanished from and follow the micro-wormhole left behind. And with apparition making such loud cracks, it was easy for them to deduce the general area he had vanished from.

He felt the fight and flight leaving his body and he slumped against the wooden walls of the hollowed out trunk. He was going to be captured. He was so very tempted to commit suicide, but such a thing was out of the question. Back when he served Voldemort? Sure. His life was his own to destroy. But these days he had a wife, he had a son. He was a family man. He had already dishonored them by going on the run for such stupid charges. Could he also dishonor them by taking the cowards way out?

They would surely understand how preferable it was to life in Azkaban, but as a dead man he would have no means of defending himself, and his assets, legally. Alive, he could make sure it at least stayed in their hands. They deserved that much.

That was it then. His decision made, he pocketed his wand and took a deep breath, ready to exit his position and accept his own capture peacefully.

Before he could finish that deep breath, however, he noted a particularly greyed and particularly fat rat climbing onto his leg. That wasn't odd, but the medallion it carried by the chain and lifted with its clawed hands was. Even stranger was the familiar feeling of a hook behind his naval as he was portkeyed away.

Notes:

It never occurred to me that FleurXSirius might be a pairing out there in the interwebs. And now I'm terrified of searching for it.