Somewhere Safe - Chapter 48

After breakfast the next morning the official Opening Ceremony happened. The exchanging of the banners was a little photo-op while this was over an hour long. Each event was introduced, along with their rules, and then all of the teams were introduced. All three schools had a trio of full Quidditch teams with relief players. Every one of them was introduced and presented with a personalized jersey with their name and school. That portion ended with photos of the teams, the captains, and finally one big group shot.  Then came the racers, thankfully there weren't nearly as many people to introduce. They were also presented with personalized jerseys and made to stand in a group photo. Finally, it was the duelist's time in front of the cameras.

Harry shouldn't have been surprised when his family was in the crowd, but he was. They cheered for each of the coven members when they were introduced and were extra loud when it was his turn. Charles and Gerry did their level best to make him crack, making silly faces and pestering each other. He was more than happy to reward their efforts with a laugh that he hid with his new jersey.

He kind of zoned out while they introduced the Durmstrang duelists and most of the French ones as well. It wasn't until a familiar name popped up that his attention snapped back to the ceremony.

"Fleur Delacour," Madam Maxine announced.

Harry watched as a girl with blonde, curly hair and glasses held her head high as she took the jersey. He wanted to write it off as a simple coincidence. Two people sharing a name across a dimension really wasn't that alarming. What made her interesting were the similar features to the other Fleur Delacour. She masked it well, but he could recognize the little details of her face and the subtle grace in the way she moved. It was too close to the Veela he had met in the other dimension. The other version had been more attractive physically. It was her personality that was the deal breaker for him.

He stole a quick look to Hermione. She gave him a shrug, not seeming to really care, which made him even more suspicious. Hermione was not one to let a mystery drop. There had to be something about this version of Fleur that had the ability to push people away. An anti-allure. It would be helpful in a world that was outright hostile toward her people.

Harry carefully watched as the girl moved back to join her team. They were polite, but rather cold to her. There was something about her, a feeling that made people give her space. It was small, but he knew how to identify someone being shunned.

"Harry," Lavender whispered.

"Hm?" He looked over at her.

"We're supposed to leave now," Lavender motioned to the mostly clear stage.

Harry blushed and followed after her. The rest of today was going to be even shorter Opening Ceremonies with one for each event. They needed some time to set everything up which gave them about an hour of time to kill. Aside from the Quidditch teams. They hurried off to their locker rooms to go over last-minute strategies and get their new gear on. Honestly, the Ministry was milking this for all it was worth.

"Come on," Lavender pulled him along. "I want you to meet my parents."

Harry suddenly felt like he would rather be back on stage.

~§~

The group finally dispersed after a long line of introductions. Most of the coven members were lucky enough to have their parents attend. They wouldn't be able to attend single event. It wasn't nearly as bad as Harry had thought it would be. The families were actually rather pleasant to him. He didn't think that it would have went so well if it had been the other dimension. Meeting the young man who had charmed multiple women would have made parents less than cordial.

It took longer than expected to slip away from the impromptu family gathering. The parents from the other coven members were also introduced to the various others in the same position. They were basically going to be one big family once everything was settled.

Harry found the Beauxbatons carriages easily enough. They were hard to miss. It was getting inside without an escort that was the problem. A lone wizard entering without someone their to maintain propriety was rather scandalous. The fact that no one wanted to join him was another clue that something was going on.

He didn't want to have to sneak into the carriages, or charm some poor witch, but he was running out of time. Thankfully, it was that same issue that brought the solution. The Beauxbatons students emerged from their carriages with warmer clothes and made their way to the stadium. Fleur was one of the last. It didn't escape his gaze that she was alone. There were a couple of polite smiles from her classmates. Not one of them walked beside or talked to her.

There were some giggles directed his way as the witches passed. He didn't speak French, but he understood the tone the ladies used when speaking to him. It still took some adjusting for him to be so popular with the fairer sex. The coven had comfortably slipped into a cohesive group that felt like it had been established for years rather than days.

"Excuse me," Harry called as he approached Fleur.

She studied him as he neared. Her hand just happened to rest on the grip of her wand that she had slipped from her wrist holster.

"You're Fleur Delacour, right?" Harry asked.

Up close he was absolutely certain this was the same witch. Well, same as the same kind of person. A Veela. Jumping dimensions made his head hurt.

She nodded but didn't say anything. Harry slowly drew his wand. He made sure she saw the wand movements and heard the spell as he assured their privacy. The grip on her wand tightened. It didn't relax even when he returned the wand to the holster. He could almost see the wave of magic rolling off of her. It originated from her left ear and stretched along her body in a tight bubble. No wonder people left her alone, she was a walking 'Notice Me Not' charm. It was just powerful enough to make other not notice that extra shine of her hair or the aethereal sparkle in her eyes.

"My name is Harry Potter," he said with a small nod of his head. "You're a Veela, right?"

"Pardon?" Fleur asked with a chill in her voice.

"Listen," Harry held up his hands out to show her they were empty. "I'm not going to expose you or anything. I just want to know."

"Why?" Fleur practically growled.

"I know what it's like to be treated as lesser," Harry whispered. "I met a Veela before. That's how I was able to recognize you. She was isolated too. Not in the same way, but still."

"What do you mean?" Fleur asked.

Harry sighed. He tried to gather his thoughts. After a moment he decided that the truth, while hard to believe, was the best approach.

"I'm from another dimension," Harry spoke fast before she could interrupt. "In my world, the population is about even for witches and wizards. Veela are welcomed in France. Elsewhere, not so much. The other you visited Hogwarts and had the wizards drooling after her and the witches hating the very thought of her."

"Another dimension?" Fleur raised her eyebrows.

"You could ask anyone," Harry replied. "I just kind of appeared during the welcome feast. It was after Halloween where I was before. We. She and I were both chosen to be champions in the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"The tournament has been outlawed since before you were born," Fleur narrowed her eyes at him.

"Here," Harry agreed with a nod. "Back there, it was the first year back." He sighed. "It's a long story."

"Say I believe you," Fleur said. "Now what?"

"I didn't think that far," Harry gave her a crooked smile. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy."

"You are not," Fleur rolled her eyes. "Tell anyone who I am, and you will regret it."

"Fair enough," Harry nodded. "Did you want to come meet my coven?"

"You have a coven?" Fleur said. "Of course you have a coven. Am I to be your token creature then?"

"No," Harry scrunched his brow in confusion. "Token creature? You're a witch, not a kelpie."

"Veela are considered creatures," Fleur replied flatly.

"That's stupid," Harry shook his head. "I thought they'd be better here." He turned his full attention back to her. "The invitation is open if you want."

It wasn't until he dropped the privacy charms and was walking away that he realized she didn't have an accent.

~§~

Harry made it back in time for the first Opening Ceremony for the Quidditch Tournament. He was quickly absorbed into the horde that was his coven and the attached families. Both Sirius' had arrived while he was busy.

"Pup!" His Sirius called. "Come here."

"Harry," the Sirius from this dimension greeted him. "Let me introduce my wives Lucinda Black and Marlene McKinnon. Our daughters, Lyra and Alya."

Lucinda looked like a female version of Lucius, which was more attractive than expected. The caring smile on her face did wonders as well. Marlene looked familiar, but he couldn't place her. She was a cute brunette with a grown girl next door air about her. They introduced themselves while the girls blushed and hid behind their mothers. Both daughters had black hair and the same nose shape. The two instantly forgot their shyness once they saw Charles and Gerry.

A handsome thin man stood beside the other Sirius. There was a resemblance, but Harry didn't know the wizard.

"Harry," his Sirius motioned for him to come closer. "This is my brother, Reggie."

"It's Regulus," the man sighed, his smile said that he really didn't mine. "It's nice to meet you Harry. Not every day a nephew spontaneously appears."

"I live an interesting life," Harry replied with a shrug. "It's nice to meet you. Everyone is here?"

"Of course," Reggie replied with a broad smile. "My nieces and new nephew are competing. I wouldn't miss it, neither would anyone else."

Harry felt a warmth bloom in his chest. Family was a wonderful thing. He settled in beside his parents and his little brothers as the Opening Ceremony started. There were three games today, one for each league. Thankfully, this was the only time there would be an Opening Ceremony before them. The one for the dueling tournament and racing would be held at the start rather than for every event. Today was dedicated to the money maker, Quidditch. Tomorrow was the first round of dueling. The events were each given a day for each bracket. Friday was Quidditch, Saturday was Dueling, and Sunday was Racing while the rest of the week was set aside for classes.

Now all he had to do was survive watching two witches he cared for perform death defying stunts for the next hour. Karma was a funny thing.

~§~

Hogwarts faced off against Beauxbatons for all three games. Iris was brought in to play the second half of her game after the French Seeker caught the Snitch in the first half. Lily squeezed his hand tightly as Iris pulled off a corkscrew dive, barely avoiding the other players, and catching the snitch two minutes after she got on the field. The display was inspiration enough for the Hogwarts team to pull it together for a win. Iris was the hero of the hour.

The second game was Katie's time to shine. She was doing amazing things and was on the way to a hat-trick before a foul knocked her off her broom. The ground was loose sand had a cushioning charm, but it still made Harry wince. She was replaced after that and taken to the Healing Tent. Harry knew what a concussion looked like. Beauxbatons continued their rough approach, toning it down enough to avoid any more fouls, but only just. Hogwarts lost the game. Beauxbatons lost the respect of the crowd.

A giddy, freshly showered Iris arrived in time to watch the third game. She brought news of Katie's recovery. As expected, the Chaser had a concussion and would be on rest for the remainder of the day. Iris took a seat between Lily and Harry which meant that she was basically sitting in his lap. Lily chuckled at her daughters' antics, but no one seemed to mind.

The third Quidditch game wasn't as good as the World Cup, but it was close. Both schools were giving their all. Unlike the Beauxbatons Mid team, these ones played it clean. It was a close contest down to the last moment. Hogwarts pulled out a win with a lead of one goal.

Katie was going to be annoyed when she missed the third game. They were being recorded by the Ministry, as well as by the school, and various students, but there was just something about watching it live. Still, a concussion wasn't something to ignore even in the magical world.