Harry stood with the other Gryffindors waiting for the visitor's arrival. Ron stood beside him, the twins were behind them, pressed against his other side was Lavender and Parvati. Somehow the two of them had managed to wiggle close enough. Katie bell was with Angela and Alicia, every now and then they'd look over at him.
Everyone around was buzzing with excitement. Harry couldn't join in. The closer it got to the carriage arriving, the deep a sense of sorrow seeped into his being. He was running through ideas on how to approach Fleur, none of them seemed like they would actually work.
She was always cold when she was here last time. He could offer his cloak. Which would come off as another allure drunk idiot trying to impress her. He could approach her as a fan of dueling, but he knew how uncomfortable dealing with fans could be. Harry could let her know about Professor Flitwick and his past as a champion duelist. Considering last time through she was in talks about apprenticing with him for charms she probably already knew that.
The only thing he could think of that brought them together was the tournament.
"What is that?" Ron asked pointing to the sky.
Harry followed his motion to see the approaching carriage. He smiled at the reaction of the students around him. The ground shook as the carriage landed. Harry had to admit it was still quite an impressive entrance. He shook his head at the sudden rush of whispers as the half-giant headmistress stepped out of the lead carriage. Three lines of students followed in formation behind her. They tried to hide it, but quite a few of them shivered in the evening air.
He caught a glimpse of silver-blonde hair. Harry forced himself to look away, focusing on the other students. The group walked in a matching rhythm, much too elegant to be marching. Harry was curious to see that there were quite a few young men with them as well. He hadn't paid attention all that much last time. There were more girls, but the guys were there.
He heard Lavender and Parvati whispering about a couple of them. Lavender blushed when he looked at them.
"You're free to flirt and ogle as you please, Lav." Harry whispered. "I'm not going to be mad. Pretty sure we're not dating."
"I'd hope not." Parvati laughed. "Bell has been bragging all afternoon."
Harry blushed. That got the duo giggling.
"You and Katie?" Ron asked leaning closer to him.
"You'd have to ask her." Harry shrugged.
"Good on you, Harrykins." George said.
"A gentleman never tells." Fred added.
"Harry Potter, gentleman of the broom closets." George continued.
"Harry Potter, Hogwarts Heartthrob." Fred said.
Harry hid his face in his hands.
"Something's in the lake!" Someone shouted.
"Thank merlin." Harry muttered.
The crowd turned to watch the pirate ship breech the water. Harry still had no idea how they did that. The lake was a self-contained body of water. Not only that, but there were also a couple of villages of aquatic people, and a giant squid to take into account.
"It's Krum!" Ron yelled. "That's Victor Krum!"
"Calm down, Weasley." Hermione said flatly. "He's just a quidditch player."
"Just a…" Ron looked over at his former friend. "Victor Krum is one of the youngest professional quidditch players in the world. He's broken records that have been held for years and he's still a rookie!"
"Let it go, Ron." Harry patted the ginger on the shoulder. "She doesn't understand."
"You got to see him play, right?" Ron asked. "Was it everything you hoped for?"
The usual jealousy was gone from his voice. Harry had to smile.
"He was ok." Harry shrugged.
Ron's eyes went wide. Harry tried to hold out as long as he could.
"He was brilliant!" Harry laughed. "I swear he knew exactly where the snitch was from the moment the game started."
"I wish I could have been there." Ron sighed. "We were going to go, but then…"
The smile on his face dropped. Harry bumped Ron with his shoulder.
"I'm living with Sirius now." Harry said softly. "He's a quidditch fanatic. I bet we could rope him into a couple of games this summer." He sighed. "Not the Cannons though. They're horrid."
"Hey!" Ron glared at Harry.
"Be nice to Ronny." Fred shook his head.
"He might have horrible taste in teams." George added.
"But he's still our little brother." They said as one.
"They're a good team!" Ron protested.
The group filed into the Great Hall. Dumbledore made his welcomes speech. The Goblet of Fire was unveiled as well as the twenty-four-hour time limit to enter. Harry sat facing away from the Ravenclaw table to avoid looking at Fleur.
"Pardon." A familiar voice that sent a shiver down his spine and a knife to his heart said.
He turned to see Fleur.
"Are you finished with that?" She asked, motioning to the dish of food on the table.
"Go ahead." Harry scooted out of the way. "A word of advice." He continued. "The house elves aren't the best at French cuisine. If you're looking for quality, you will be disappointed. They are rather adept at Italian food."
"And 'ow would I go about asking them?" Fleur raised an eyebrow at him.
Harry pulled out his wand. He tapped the table three time and waited. A moment later a house elf appeared next to him.
"Young master calls?" The house elf asked.
"Would I be able to have a dish prepared?" Harry asked.
"Of course, young master." The house elf smiled at him. "What you be liking?"
Harry looked to Fleur.
"Cacio e Pepe." Fleur said.
"Cacui e Pepe." Harry repeated. "For her, if you please."
The house elf disappeared with a pop.
"Merci." Fleur nodded to him before returning to her table.
"How did you do that?" Ron asked.
"Hm?" Harry looked at his friend.
"You summoned a house elf." Ron waved his hand to where the elf had been.
"Hogwarts a History." Harry smiled at him. "Tap the table three times with your wand and wait. If there is an available house elf, then they will see what you need."
"Pretty sure she's a veela." Lavender whispered.
Harry nodded. "Wouldn't be surprised."
"You aren't drooling." Lavender said. "Unlike some."
Harry looked to Ron, but he seemed fine. It was Dean and Seamus that were had drunk-like smiles on their faces. He turned to Ron. The ginger wasn't even flushed.
He looked back to Lavender and shrugged. That seemed to satisfy her. She turned her attention back to the food on the table. It seemed everyone around them was rather skeptical about this new menu. The 'French' dishes were all but untouched in favor of the common selections. Even the choices that were meant to be Bulgarian were more popular.
Harry waited until those around him were distracted.
"Ron." Harry whispered.
His friend looked up at him.
"You didn't have any reaction either." Harry kept his voice low.
Ron shook his head. Now there was a slight blush on his cheeks. Considering how hard the ambient allure had hit him last time, that raised some questions.
"Have you been feeling any…different, since you had the potions and stuff cleared?" Harry asked.
Ron looked around to make sure no one was paying attention. He nodded. Judging from the multiple adjustments in Ron's attitude it looked like Molly hadn't just been dosing Arthur. Harry leaned in closer.
"Blokes not birds?" His voice was barely loud enough for Ron to hear.
Ron's eyes went wide. He stared at Harry for a long, tense moment. Ron nodded. Harry's vision went white. Molly Weasley, or whatever her name was going to be, deserved to be punished. Changing a person to that extent required multiple potions that were incredibly powerful and dangerous. Now that he thought about it, Ron's legendary appetite was a symptom of overexposure.
"Anyone gives you trouble, you let me know." Harry said.
Ron sighed. His entire body relaxed as he smiled at Harry and nodded.
"Please tell me that's why you like the Cannons." Harry grinned.
"Hey!" Ron yelled.
"Mister Weasley." Professor McGonagall snapped.
"My fault professor." Harry spoke up. "I insulted his team."
McGonagall shifted her glare to Harry. If there was one thing that she could understand that bridged generations, it was team loyalty.
"Five points from Gryffindor."