"Take off your pants."
"What?!"
Did I hear that right? Was I just asked to strip?
A frown surface between Fleur eyebrows.
"Is there any question?" She asked, daring him to disagree.
"Just didn't think you'd be the lustful type." Lucas shrugged, but his eyes were judgmental.
Fleur blushed. "You bastard! I need to check my powers! What are you thinking?!"
Lucas wasn't really the shy type, and the size was also nothing to be shy about.
"Here."
He opened the breaches and let them fall, revealing the imprint of the python constrained in his underwear.
Fleur's eyes strayed downwards, her breathing getting slightly disordered.
A light blush had quietly crept up her cheeks, and her impressive natural bust rose and fell with her breathing, making her lethally alluring even without allure.
"Take it off as well," she commanded.
As Lucas did so, Fleur's eyes widened. She murmured something to herself in rapid French that sounded like 'so much bigger'.
But she quickly snapped out of her daze and raised her wand. Lucas was enjoying the Veela's reaction but suddenly, his smirk vanished as he felt a peculiar sensation.
It was the feeling right before the volcanic eruption.
'What in the–?'
He immediately understood what Fleur was doing. It was some kind of Veela sex magic.
"Do you feel anything? Is it working?" She asked, noticing the twitch.
"Not at all." Lucas, being a normal man, wouldn't want to admit it.
"Alright then–" Fleur gritted her teeth and suddenly increased her power.
"Wait–"
Lucas had no time to warn her.
The volcano, which was aimed directly at her, erupted without warning and the unsuspecting Fleur completely caught up in it, the first shot landing right on her face.
Without a word, Fleur ran away from the room while wiping her face, even forgetting that she could use magic.
Left with the task of cleaning this mess, Lucas sighed. It seems this body needs more training.
But looking at Fleur who ran away completely embarrassed, he felt rather amused.
Having the skill of reading people, honed through years of hustling, he could tell that Fleur was not a threat at all.
Adding all the details in his mind, a 'capture plan' formed in his mind.
How did he survive 7 years with a chronic illness in his life when he had no high value skill, degree, or the ability to do strenuous work?
Heck, how did he even manage to protect himself in a country like the US, where the security is drastically different for those with low income?
And why was he not scared of Ruby and Violet?
It's related to this talent he has developed. He can read people and predict their thoughts based on their past actions and behaviour. Through further analysis, he can also make a plan on how to break them, or win them over.
….
Lucas sat with Miss Fontaine for another class, his body still slightly sore from practice.
Today, she was teaching him more about the Wizarding World. So basically, General Wizarding Knowledge and Social Studies.
"You know, I had just accepted that you would never change. And you don't have to force yourself, Luci. I love you the way you are," Miss Fontaine said, repeating her earlier words.
Lucas shook his head, putting on a determined expression. "No, Miss Fontaine, I am the only man of the house. I have to be more responsible."
"Oh Luci," Miss Fontaine was touched as she hugged him, burying his face in her cleavage. "I am so happy for you."
To Miss Fontaine, who knew the previous owner really well, Lucas is revealing the change in his personality as a gradual process.
The old Lucas was too much of a coward to even go out of the house, kinda like a shut-in. So, his knowledge had also been limited to homely things.
But now that Lucas has expressed his desire for more, they were slowly going to cover outside knowledge and even magical subjects.
"I will start with the Delacours. House Delacour is an old matriarchal family with a long history. It is the leading family of the French Veela Community, having a Royal Veela lineage."
"Royal Veela lineage? What does that mean?" Right off the bat, Lucas heard something he didn't know.
"It means that the Delacour Veela have the strongest magic, whether it be allure, fire attribute magic, or all magic in general. They also tend to have a greater control over it."
"And what about Fleur and Gabrielle being only quarter Veela?"
"Good question. Veela genes are very dominant, so the child of a Veela is also always a Veela. And if having a child with Wizard is a half veela then how you do you a race with only female members continue its existence?"
"Oh..." Lucas realized that he had been led astray by the original series again.
Miss Fontain continued, "Fleur and Gabriel are recognised as Quarter Veela in order to have an easier time blending in with the Magical Society, just like how Madame Apolline is called a half veela."
"Fleur's Grandmother, Marceline Delacour, made this decision when she realized that common wizarding folk know next to nothing about veela. She is the current head of the French Veela coven."
"Due to this and the support of Madame Marceline's allies, Madame Apolline was able to enter French Politics, becoming the Head DMRA."
"DMRA?"
"Department Of Magical Races Administration. It mainly deals with the management of the Magical Races like the Veela, Goblins, Vampires, Werewolves, Giants, and the like."
"Oh? Then our family seems pretty powerful right now."
Lucas was quite surprised. There wasn't much exploration on the Delacours or the Veela race in the original series.
Now that he knows, he was quite impressed by the power of the Delacours, be it political or magical.
He was now a bit more serious about making a place for himself in this place instead of just winging it.
Miss Fontain nodded in agreement.
"The Delacour Family can indeed be said to be at its strongest. But…" she paused, as if choosing her words.
"At the same time, some people have emerged who seem to be intent on taking our power."
Lucas frowned. "...Who are they?"
"They're called… Death Eaters. Don't be scared by their childish term," Miss Fontaine hurriedly added, mistaking his startled look for fear.
"They are narrow minded people who think anyone other than pureblooded wizarding families don't deserve to have any rights."
"Wait, Death Eaters are in France too?" Lucas couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, they're in many of the major wizarding countries. Their numbers have been growing rapidly. But I can assure you. They're like a minor nuisance," said Miss Fontaine, trying not to scare him.
But Lucas was anything but assured.
What in the world? I thought Death Eaters were supposed to be limited to Britain?!
When he asked her that, Miss Fontaine gave him a 'you're such a dork' look.
"No, Luci. You've got it wrong. Britain is the only country with little to no Death Eaters. After all, it has the most powerful Sorcerer guarding it."
"Most powerful Sorcerer?"
"Ariana Dumbledore. I've already told you about her before. Didn't she vanquish Gellert Grindlewald? Of course she is considered the strongest.
While being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, she indirectly rules the whole Wizarding Britain. Nothing as nonsensical as blood supremacy can exist in her domain."
"So, the Death Eaters… who created them? Do they have a leader?" Lucas quickly asked.
"They do have one. They call him… Lord Voldemort. He's really illusive and powerful. And he's cruel. Most of the Death Eaters are. So, steer clear of them. That's all you need to know."
Miss Fontaine carefully observed Lucas's reaction, seemingly trying to ascertain this wasn't too much for him.
Lucas's face had gone pale, but not because he was scared.
The dream of the utopic life he had pictured in this world of magic was crumbling the more he thought of the implications.
Even after he had found out about Ariana Dumbledore replacing Albus Dumbledore, he hadn't bothered to think about the full extent of its impact on this world.
But now, everything was clear:
Albus Dumbledore, being the strongest wizard, was a central figure in the whole series, even after his death. And now that he has been replaced by Ariana Dumbledore, who bears similarity in terms of power but not in terms of how to use it, of course a lot of things would be different.
"Damn it…"
Lucas realized that his life in this world might not be as smooth sailing as he had thought.
….
–Time-skip–
A week has passed since then.
Lucas lay on the ground, panting, while Fleur stood above him, wand in one hand and his sword in another.
In just a week, Lucas had made remarkable progress in all fields. He is still quite thin but with the right clothes he at least no longer looks like a patient.
His combat ability has also skyrocketed, but of course, he is still no match for Fleur.
Speaking of Fleur, she is still angry about the facial she got the last time. But even then, she still hasn't even tried to use her leverage of knowing about the knowledge of him not taking the impotence potion anymore.
Lucas had already anticipated this. Fleur has a rather honorable personality. And of course, she still hates him to the bone.
It's just that the veela sometimes seems to forget she's supposed to hate him, though best believe those moments are brief.
"Not enough." Fleur stook her head, throwing away his sword. "I'm still not strong enough!"
Lucas, who had just been beaten to a pulp multiple times despite his best attempts: '…Excusez-moi?'
"How are you not?" He couldn't help but ask. "I don't think any of the schools can have someone who can best you."
He was no kidding. This Fleur was leagues ahead of the Fleur he knew in the series.
"What would you know?" Fleur rolled her eyes, stepping off of him. "Hogwarts has Aiden Dumbledore. He's already a professional Duelist. Even in Beauxbatons, there's a psychopath in Durmstrang who is really dangerous."
Lucas paused.
"This Aiden Dumbledore. Is he related to the British Minister?"
"Yeah, that's his son."
Lucas was no longer surprised about the small changes of this world anymore. He recalled the time Miss Fontain had told him about this.
Who was Britain's previous Minister of Magic? Aberforth Dumbledore, brother of Ariana Dumbledore.
Who is the current Minister of Magic? His son Aberanth Albus Dumbledore, Aberforth's son, and now also, Aiden Dumbledore's father.
Clearly, Aberforth did not remain a lonely ghost in this timeline, whatever the reason.
And becoming the Minister of Magic?
Ariana clearly seems to have more common sense compared to Dumbledore, using her power to control the mindless wizarding sheep rather than letting a darklord control it.
Lucas knew all this information through Miss Fontain on her lesson about the British Ministry.
When another young Dumbledore was mentioned, he instantly made the connection.
"So, how good is this Aiden Dumbledore?" He asked, getting up.
"Much better than you," came Fleur's disdainful reply. But then, she seemed to really think about it. "He is… powerful. A simple spell from him is much more powerful than in his hands compared to ordinary wizards.
If that's not enough, he's extremely skillful, especially in Transfiguration. And his duels are like artwork. Some of the spell chains I've used on you were actually from his previous duels.
He is also the captain of his House Quidditch Team and the Head boy of Hogwarts. He has shown himself to be a perfect student without any significant flaw."
'What the hell?'
Lucas was stunned. Is this guy the protagonist of this world?
"Alright, he does seem to be a threat. But who is the psycho in Durmstrang that you mentioned?" He asked, wondering if Krum had had a head injury or something.
"Malachor Lestrange, British origins. His mother is a known Death Eater from Britain but she fled to Scandinavia where she has complete immunity. He's extremely proficient in dark magic, also extremely powerful, just like Aiden.
He usually pretends to have a charming and aloof persona but he loses it whenever he fights. He also seems to enjoy bullying weaklings." Fleur seemed to have done thorough research on her competitors as she knew everything about Malachor Lestrange as well.
But listening to her, Lucas felt a headache coming. Turns out, in this timeline, Bellatrix, that madwoman had a son who is also a psycho like her.
And there's Aiden Dumbledore.
"I can see why you are working so hard," said Lucas, scratching his forehead.
"Now you know," Fleur scoffed, but she did seem to be in a better mood after sharing this as she left without making any sarcastic remarks this time.
Leaving the training room, Lucas saw Ruby and Violet doing chores while glaring at him. He shrugged. It was not his fault. They dug dig their own pit.
Just 3 days after the last incident, the twins had once again cornered him again and started firing spells, spouting all the things they have done to him before and the things they were going to do in future, only to be seen by Fleur.
For whatever the reason Fleur was quite mad. Maybe she was feeling similar to having her prey stolen. So, she dealt with them.
Of course, Lucas wouldn't admit he had already predicted their actions and Fleur's reaction and deliberately arranged this.
Anyways, this will hold off the twin for now.
After finding out more about this world, he realized that he didn't have time for childish squabbles with them which would result in continuous back and forth. He might as well wait till he's stronger and put them in their place once and for all.
"Lucas!"
At this moment, a slender figure ambushed him from behind, jumping on his back.
"Gabby, you scared me!" Lucas smiled, looking back at the girl clinging to him. In just a few days, Gabrielle has 'convinced' him into calling her Gabby instead of Miss Gabrielle.
"Are you finally free now?" She asked, shaking him back and forth.
"Yeah, there's still time before your mother arrives."
"Then let's go!"
Lucas played with Gabrielle for a while before he talked her into helping him out instead.
They cleared the area and Gabrielle handed him her wand. (willow wood 9 and a quarter inches, with hair core)
That's right, along with training his basic combat with Fleur, he has also been practicing casting magic using a wand.
This posed a significant hurdle at the beginning: where to get a wand?
When he had tried Gabrielle's wand, there was a violent reject reaction from it.
But then he used canon logic and had Gabrielle cast a disarming spell on him, which he absorbed and returned, disarming her and winning the wand's allegiance.
It's still not suited to him, but it's perfect for practice.
Lucas first held out the wand and chanted: "Lumos."
Immediately, a bright light lit up the tip of the wand.
Yep, he was not a squib. But, it was also an undeniable fact that he didn't have any magic talent when he was checked at 11.
It seems that previously, he used to be able to absorb magic but there was no pathway to release it.
Slowly, that magic kept building up inside previous Lucas, which explains his growing discomfort after practice classes with Fleur.
But after the explosion, it's as if the blockage has been cleared, finally unlocking his full ability.
Now, he can absorb magic and return it wandlessly within a few minute window. After that, it is converted into his own magic, moldable into any spell. But of course, he now needs a wand to cast the spells in this case.
But his ability is not limited to this. The rapid growth of his body is also abnormal, showing visible changes in just a week.
Overall, he's still trying to explore the full extent of this physique.
Looking at the bright light, Gabrielle clapped her hands excitedly.
"You have improved again! I can't believe you couldn't even produce a spark the first time you tried it."
That is indeed true. For now, Lucas needs repeated casting to master a spell by creating muscle memory. At least in this regard, he might not be so different compared to ordinary wizards, who also need a ton of practice.
It's just that Gabrielle is an actual genius able to learn any spell easily, which caused her to be surprised when she compared herself with him.
But Lucas can sense that his sensitivity to magic and the ease of casting new spells has been gradually increasing. So the future is brighter than this lumos.
Right now, he has only learnt three spells within the span of this week: Lumos, Petrificus Totallus, and Incendio.
Lucas has found these three spells to be the most practical and easy. The spells which are better than this are all above third year difficulty, meaning they are going to need much higher proficiency.
But still, using his high visualisation and intent, he has made minor progress in the summoning, stunning, and the cutting spell, meaning he now needs repeated casting to develop the muscle memory.
Lucas started practicing the spells while making idle talk with Gabrielle. The little veela does not necessarily want to always play with him. She is just extremely social, always finding joy in simple companionship and has a aversion to being alone.
There's also the fact that before 11, she had to stay at home alone while Fleur was at school year-round and Apolline was always working. So when Lucas arrived when she was 8, she developed a special dependence on him.
So, he doesn't really need to do anything to satisfy Gabrielle. Just being with her and listening to her is enough, which fits perfectly with his practice with her wand.
Even then, he still takes some time out to play with her. Why? He has taken away her wand's allegiance, can't he even do this much in return?
Any kind of relationship needs give and take, no matter how close.
After practicing continuously for a few hours, he left the room, leaving Gabrielle who had fallen asleep at some point.
Feeling that the muscle fatigue of the morning's exercise had already eased, he decided to do a quick work out again.
His body's recovery ability would drive long-term body builders and athletes mad with jealousy.
Physical training is basically a process of repeatedly breaking your muscles and letting them reform stronger each time.
Breaking the muscles is easy, but recovery takes a long time which is mainly why every top athlete has at least a decade of training behind his success.
But Lucas, having much better recovery ability, can make rapid progress in the initial stage.
He can now do 10 push ups (2-3 with bad form previously), 15 squats (5-6 with trembling legs previously) and 3 pull ups (zero previously).
It was 11:00 pm. Everyone had already had dinner, except Apolline, who had to attend a social event today and would return even later than usual.
He washed up and made his way over to the Kitchen to prepare dinner for her but ran into Miss Fontain who had the same purpose.
Miss Fontain, who was already in her nightgown, smiled, patting his head. "I'll do it, Luci. You should sleep."
"Miss Fontain, you can go to sleep. I'll do it. You also have to wake lady Apolline tomorrow morning so she's not late for her meeting."
That was a solid reason, so Miss Fontain left after keeping him company for a while.
Alone in the kitchen, Lucas set up a separate cauldron and began experimenting.
Being in-charge of cooking means he can cook whatever he wants for himself at any time. And with his predecessor's knowledge, Miss Fontain's help, and the deep repertoire of potion books, he has also begun experimenting different food recipes involving magical ingredients that can help in his physical and magical development.
Fleur is the most supportive of this, being in urgent need of any improvement with the Triwizard Tournament looming ever so close.
She even praised him in front of Apolline.
By the time he was done eating, the fireplace lit up and Apolline stepped out, stumbling a little. From that, Lucas could tell that lady Delacour was probably a bit drunk.
"Vivienne?" She called out immediately. "Vivienne?"
Lucas stepped out of the kitchen, holding a tray. "Madame, I just sent Miss Fontain to sleep. I have prepared dinner along with a sobering potion."
Apolline was wearing a deep blue evening dress right that exposed her shoulders, dipping lower at the chest to reveal slight cleavage. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyes were dazed, a clear sign of drinking.
Seeing him, Apolline's expression cooled and the allure radiating from her also vanished.
She nodded slightly, taking the sobering soup and shuffled over to the master bedroom to change.
The lady emerged wearing a bathrobe to see dinner already set on the dining table, not even glancing at Lucas. Dinner consisted of Herb-crusted trout with lemon beurre blanc, roasted root vegetables, and a light fennel salad.
Taking a small bite, she chewed slowly, carefully tasting the food, as if to find faults in it. Unfortunately, she found none. Lucas, having already been called out a few times on minor things when he had recently transmigrated, had taken it as a challenge.
Finding nothing to criticize, Apolline started eating much faster.
"Miss Fleur and Gabrielle had eaten timely. Though, Miss Gabrielle had tried to insist upon waiting for you."
Apolline nodded slightly, not speaking, but the sound of her cutlery lessened. Lucas could tell she wanted to hear more.
"Today, Miss Gabrielle learnt 3 new OWL spells under Miss Fontain's guidance and she also blew up the target dummy. She seems to have been spurred on by her sister's hard work (it was actually because of me). Now that she's actively trying, Miss Fontain was once again surprised by her talent. She said that Miss Gabrielle should be able to practice NEWT level spells soon with her talent."
Hearing this, Apolline actually smiled, even turning in his direction and pausing her eating.
"Miss Fleur started the morning with physical workout, then she buried herself in books in the library, trying to absorb any knowledge useful for the tournament. Then she practised her spell work for 2 hours straight, followed by light sparring with me. She also shared information about her opponents from Hogwarts and Durmstrang: Aiden Dumbledore and Malachor Lestrange."
Apolline frowned ever so slightly. It seems that Fleur's participation in the Tri-wizard tournament is still not confirmed. With her daughter working so hard, she would naturally feel guilty for keeping her from participating, hence her reaction.
Lucas switched back to Gabrielle channel and the lady's mood lightened. She finished her dinner while having a doting smile on her lips the whole time.
Lucas has also switched from simply reporting facts to a slightly narrative style with slight embellishments, even making Apolline laugh from time to time.
Since the dinner was complete, he stopped and cleared the plates. When he emerged after washing the utensils, Apolline was still sitting at the table. Ignoring her, he headed for his room.
"Lucas?" Apolline called out behind him.
"Yes, Madame?"
She hesitated. "... Nothing. Don't be late tomorrow." But her tone was the softest Lucas had heard yet.
Turning around, he smiled. He knew it was either a thank you or a subscription of Fleur and Gabrielle channel.
'It seems that investing is feasible,' he noted.
Lucas naturally wouldn't want to be so nice to Apolline when she usually treats him so badly. Heck, he wouldn't even want to live here with that treatment.
With the potioneering and cooking skills he was developing, he could survive independently on his own very soon.
But, he saw a big investment opportunity here.
Apolline Delacour, single, strict with herself and others, but has a soft heart. Loved her husband dearly and is now lonely. Holds considerable power in ministry and the Future matriarch of the French Veela community which controls huge assets.
Special information: Judging from all the data acquired, getting close to her and eliminating her hatred is highly probable with consistent input.
That's right, he's putting in effort because the RoI is insanely high risk is low.
With such an investment opportunity here, why wouldn't he invest?
....
A.N.:4k word chapter.
We got to #4 on collection ranking and popular ranking with just 5 chapters. I wanted to try going for quality over quantity. Hope you see it.
If you like so far you can give power stones.