Author's Note: Hello one and all. For those of you who read or have read my other stories yes I am starting a new one. No I haven't abandoned the others but a Harry/Fleur story has been in my mind for some time now. This story will most likely be updated quite slowly at least until one of my other stories is completely finished but I do have plans to finish it. It will be the first in four or possibly five stories about Harry and Fleur, beginning in Harry's fourth year and going at least to his seventh year, possibly beyond depending on how my inspiration strikes me. For now it's rated T but eventually will be moved up to M. So without further ado I present to you Feathers and Flesh.

Intro (End of the Road)

Harry Potter sat in his bed at the Burrow, fully clothed and waiting for the sun to come up. He had been awake for nearly a half hour but had just finished preparing for the day a few minutes prior. Though he was excited for the upcoming final match in the Quidditch World Cup it wasn't what roused him from his sleep. The teen had a dream with Peter Pettigrew and a man he didn't know talking with who could only be Lord Voldemort before killing an innocent and defenseless Muggle. The dream greatly troubled the Boy-Who-Lived but there was little he could do about it besides tell Professor Dumbledore. A sudden knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and before he could utter so much as a single syllable, it swung open revealing his best friend Hermione Granger.

"Ha-oh." The bushy-haired brunette clearly hadn't expected him to be awake yet. "Er, how long have you been up?"

"About a half hour."

"Oh, well Mr. Weasley wants to leave soon. Are you alright?" She could tell just by looking at him that something was troubling him.

"Not really but I'll tell you about it later. We don't have time right now. Have you had breakfast yet?" Hermione shook her head. "Go eat and I'll wake Ron." The girl agreed and walked out of the room, leaving Harry to rouse their sleeping friend from his slumber. "Oi Ron, it's time to wake up mate," Harry yelled across the room, climbing out of his bed as he did so. His words had little effect on the redhead.

"Just five more minutes Harry."

"Your dad wants to leave soon." Ron's response this time was to simply roll over, not even bothering to answer. "Krum's gonna be there." The mention of Viktor Krum was apparently the magic word; Ron shot up and was ready to leave in fifteen minutes, his clothes haphazardly thrown into his bag. Harry chuckled at his friend as the redhead walked out of the room and followed with his own bag slung over his shoulder. They walked into the kitchen to find breakfast waiting for them and both began eating. "Morning Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley," Harry was polite enough to say. The elder Weasleys paused long enough to return the greeting, Mrs. Weasley sparing her son a glare before returning to her cooking.

"So when are we leaving Dad?" Ron asked between bites. Hermione scowled at him, causing Harry to smirk.

"As soon as we can m'boy," Mr. Weasley responded. "We're meeting up with Amos and Cedric Diggory and then taking a Portkey to the Tournament."

"What's a Portkey?" Harry asked.

"Magical transportation device. It can be rough if you've never used one before. Word to the wise: act like you never stopped walking." Harry gave the older Wizard a quizzical look. "When the time comes you'll know." Harry shrugged and nodded, deterred from asking further questions by the arrival of Ginny and the twins. Bill and Charlie soon followed and less than a half hour later they were on their way, the sky still a pinkish hue as the sun rose. The group had only been walking for about ten minutes when they were greeted by the Diggorys.

"Good morning Amos," Arthur said, shaking the man's hand.

"Ah morning Arthur. You're earlier than I expected. The Portkey's right over that hill but we should still have plenty of time." Mr. Weasley nodded and the two men began talking about the recent changes in the Ministry. Harry and the twins meanwhile were talking with Cedric. Harry didn't know the seventh year very well but they were both Seekers and got along quite well.

"Hoping to get some tips on playing Seeker Harry?" Cedric queried, a grin on his face. The twins guffawed at the question.

"I think you're the one who needs them mate," Harry responded without pause. "If I recall I was the one who almost had the Snitch before those damn Dementors came onto the pitch." The mood sobered for just a minute until Harry chuckled, immediately easing the tension.

"I think it's about time we got going," Mr. Diggory suddenly called. "Arthur why don't you take the lead."

"Yes follow me everyone," Mr. Weasley responded, walking in the indicated direction. Mr. Diggory stepped to the side, allowing the youngsters to pass. Harry was the last one to walk by him.

"Harry Potter!" the older man exclaimed as he grasped Harry's hand. "A pleasure to meet you lad."

"A pleasure to meet you too sir," Harry replied as Mr. Diggory clapped him on the back with a warm chuckle. The two talked as they walked behind the others and Harry found that, while he was somewhat overbearing, he liked the elder Diggory just as much as he did Cedric.

"It's just up there!" Mr. Diggory suddenly called out as Ginny started running up the hill. Harry too quickened his pace, anxious to see what a Portkey was. The disappointment was visible on his face when all he saw was an old boot.

"Er, what's that?" he asked aloud.

"That's our Portkey mate," Fred responded. Harry looked at him in surprise.

"Okay so what am I supposed to do with it?"

"Touch it." This time it was George who answered.

"Touch it?" Harry had a look of disbelief on his face, causing the twins to smirk.

"Touch it." Harry reached out and put a finger on the boot, noticing the others doing the same thing. It made him feel better knowing this wasn't a prank by the twins.

"Everyone ready?" Mr. Weasley asked. "Right then, here we go in three...two...one." Harry felt a jerk behind his navel and suddenly the ground disappeared. The world was rapidly spinning around him and Harry was trying his best to keep his eyes pointed in front of him. "Alright kids, let go!"

"What?" Before anyone could answer Hermione's incredulous question she flew backwards and was flailing through the air almost comically. Harry felt himself pulled away from the Portkey as well and immediately was reminded of falling from his broom the previous year. Remembering Mr. Weasley's earlier words, Harry started moving his legs and found himself upright and falling much slower. The ground suddenly appeared and while everyone else slammed into the earth, Harry continued his comfortably slow decent. He landed just before Bill, Charlie, Mr. Weasley, and the Diggorys.

"Why didn't you land on your arse?" Ron asked, taking the hand Harry offered him.

"Act like you never stopped walking," Harry responded, repeating Mr. Weasley's words as he helped the redhead to his feet. The group moved off to find their campsite, Cedric and Mr. Diggory soon breaking off to go their own way, amazed at the festivities around them. It seemed that everyone had come out to watch the finals of the Quidditch World Cup and with the varying cultures came many strange, exotic, and wonderful things for the teens. They had no time to explore at the moment however as they tried not to get lost following Mr. Weasley.

It took nearly twenty minutes for them to find their designated area and another ten to set up the tents (they were doing it all without magic). With the tents set up, Harry was sent to fetch water with Hermione and Ron while the rest set up everything else. He saw a few of his classmates and even his former Quidditch captain Oliver Wood but the trip was otherwise uneventful. His return to the tent saw Mr. Weasley comically struggling to light a fight with matches; Hermione immediately took pity on the man and showed him what to do. Realizing that there was nothing else for him to do at the moment, Harry went into the tent, pulled out his sleeping bag, and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Harry awoke several hours later, all the exhaustion seemingly having vanished from his body. He lay in his sleeping bag for several minutes contemplating his dream earlier while he had a moment of privacy. It had only been a dream but it felt too realistic to ignore. There was something about it that made the teen believe there was at least some possibility that it had actually happened and he knew he needed to tell Professor Dumbledore as soon as he could. Today was no good of course, he didn't even have access to Hedwig, but he would definitely let the older man know when he returned to the Burrow. The sudden sound of voices broke the teen out of his thoughts. One was the unmistakable voice of Mr. Weasley and the other was a voice that Harry had only heard a few times but that he would recognize almost anywhere. Without pause he struggled out of his sleeping bag and bounded into the kitchen.

"I've been working on it the past few weeks. It's almost finished now."

"So how much longer will it be before it's ready?"

"Oh it's ready now Arthur it's just not quite finished. There's not much left to do really."

"Sirius!" Sirius Black was cut off by Harry's cry of surprise and the teen rushed up his godfather, nearly knocking the older man over with the hug he gave him.

"Hey kid," Sirius responded hugging Harry back. After the events of just a few months ago Dumbledore had shown Minister Fudge the memories of Harry, Hermione, and Ron, which had been enough to cast doubt on Sirius' guilt. The Minister had grudgingly released a statement just a few days later announcing that Sirius would be given a fair trial if he would turn himself in. Sirius came to the Ministry the same day the announcement was made and, under the influence of Veritaserum, relayed everything that had led up to the Potters' deaths and his arrest. Less than twenty-four hours later, Sirius Black was named a free man. He and Harry had written to each other every day since then but Sirius hadn't told the teen when they would see each other again or where he was staying.

"Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be here?" Harry asked as he pulled away.

"And ruin the surprise? You should know better than that."

"Well where are you staying now?"

"I'm living in my ancestral home, the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black." Sirius said the last part with unhidden contempt. "I can't tell you exactly where it is right now, for reasons I'll explain later, but I thought I'd take you after we leave here. You can stay as long as you want."

"So you mean I can live with you?" Harry clarified. "I never have to go back to the Dursleys?"

"Yes Dumbledore agreed that now that I'm free it's the best place for you." The wide smile that had engulfed Harry's face faltered when Ron and Hermione walked into the tent.

"What about Ron and Hermione?"

"They'd be welcome to come over whenever they want of course. Remus is also living with me if that makes any difference." Harry's smile returned and he wasted no time in sharing the news with his two best friends. The rest of the day flew by for the teen as he spent some much needed time with his godfather and the Weasleys. Before anyone realized, it was time for them to leave for the match. Somewhere in the back of his mind Harry knew that something was bound to happen before they reached their seats and sure enough as they were walking up the stairs he heard the voice of Draco Malfoy, the bane of his existence.

"If it isn't Potty and the Weasel. How did someone like you afford tickets to this game?"

"Shove off Malfoy," Ron spat, his ears scarlet at the insult. Malfoy just smirked.

"I'm in the Minister's box of course. Father pays for nothing but the best."

"It's a shame your father can't buy your victories when you play at Hogwarts," Hermione quipped, instantly silencing the blonde.

"Shut up you filthy Mudblood!" The insult caught the attention of many surrounding them, including a beautiful older girl with hair that was almost silver. Harry didn't notice any of them however, his attention being solely focused on Malfoy.

"Be careful what you say Draco," he warned. "There's no one to protect you here and none of us like when you call Hermione that." Indeed the look on Ron's face was murderous and the twins' eyes had lost their usual mirth. Even Sirius, who was talking to Mr. Weasley and not following the exchange, seemed to look angry. Realizing his current position and deciding it would be better to bow out, Malfoy sneered at Harry.

"You should enjoy the match while you can Potter," he said before turning and walking off. Harry watched him go and noticed the girl for the first time when Malfoy nearly bumped into her. She rolled her eyes at the arrogant boy and turned back to talk to a man who was no doubt her father. Harry regarded her for a second, captivated by her beauty, before realizing that he probably would never see her again and moved on with the Weasleys, Hermione, and Sirius.

Arriving at their seats caused everyone, including the two oldest Wizards, to gasp in amazement. They were high enough to see everything but not so high that the players were all dots flying around. The ten of them settled down and continued to talk amongst themselves as they waited. Finally the match was announced and the teams flew out onto the field. The Bulgarians were the first, being accompanied by women whose beauty took Harry's breath away. He wanted desperately to impress these women and suddenly thought that jumping out of the skybox would accomplish that.

"Why though?" a voice in the back of his mind said. "That's a stupid thing to do really." The voice sounded suspiciously like Hermione and grew stronger with every word, causing Harry to pause as he rose from his chair. "What's the point of jumping to your death? Do you really think that'll impress anyone? Why don't you sit back down." Heeding the voice's advice, Harry dropped into his seat and looked at Ron and the twins, who were all trying various ways to impress the women, with sympathy. He heard Sirius clear his throat and the teen looked at his godfather, who gave him a questioning look; Harry's response was to simply shrug his shoulders, unsure how he was able to resist the effects that Ron, Fred, and George clearly couldn't.

After the Irish and their mascots, leprechauns this time, took to the field the long anticipated match finally began. Harry nearly shouted himself hoarse at the excitement and was saved from losing his voice completely when Viktor Krum of the Bulgarian team captured the Snitch. While it was a spectacular catch it wasn't enough to earn them the win and Ireland walked away with the cup. As anyone could have predicted Ron nearly fainted when Krum and the other Bulgarians walked by the skybox they were in to present Ireland with the trophy.

The trip back to their tent didn't seem as long and they all, including Hermione, spent the rest of the night discussing the match. They were just beginning to grow tired when screaming could suddenly be heard in the distance. No one paid much attention at first, thinking it was someone celebrating too hard, until there was another scream, this one sounding closer. Everyone rushed outside to see people running from a large group of people wearing black robes and masks that was holding a Muggle family suspended in the air and blasting anything and everything out of their way.

"Get out of here," Mr. Weasley ordered his youngest children as Bill and Charlie ran off to help. "Fred, George, you two stay with Ginny."

"Go on Harry," Sirius told his godson in a firm voice. "If we don't find you later then meet us back here at the tent." Harry nodded and Sirius and Mr. Weasley followed Bill and Charlie. Harry, Ron, and Hermione fled, doing their best to stick with Ginny and the twins but it proved to be impossible with the massive amount of other people running. They managed to stay together for a while longer before Harry was knocked to the ground and Ron and Hermione were swept away with the crowd.

Harry heard Hermione's cry of panic but he was powerless to do anything except roll away from the throng of people and push himself back to his feet. He looked around and noticed that there were suddenly fewer people around, which would have been a positive were it not for the fact that the masked men were growing closer. Without thinking he sped off towards the woods, hoping that if anyone pursued him he would be able to lose them in the trees. On and on Harry ran, his legs beginning to scream at him in agony but he didn't slow down until the screams and voices of panic could barely be heard. Ahead of him he noticed an opening in the trees and decided to head that way, thinking that it might be easier for Sirius or someone to find him once everything was over. Walking into the clearing he noticed the same girl with silvery blonde hair from earlier and was relieved to see what he hoped was a friendly face. That hope was defeated when he found her suddenly pointing her wand at him.

Fleur Delacour was not having a good night. It had all started with that blonde boy at the Quidditch match who called that poor girl a Mudblood. Though his comment obviously wasn't directed at the French Witch she was still disgusted by him. He had an air of superiority about him and obviously believed anyone who wasn't a pureblood, or at the very least a halfblood, was beneath him. She could only imagine what his reaction would have been if he knew she was part Veela.

The Veela at the Quidditch match were another source of her irritation. It angered her that they would agree to be exploited like they had been, though it pleased her that they didn't end up being the distractions they were obviously meant to be. Ireland winning the cup had bolstered her mood and she was fairly happy for the next few hours; that was instantly brought down when her father told her what was going on. He ordered her to run with everyone else and that he would find her after everything was taken care of. Fleur had fled with the crowd but eventually found herself lost in the woods. She wasn't worried about her father finding her, she knew that he had his ways to do so, but she couldn't help but wonder what might happen if one of the men found her. As a result she was on edge and turned without thinking when she heard someone come up behind her, pointing her wand directly at the unknown person.

Whatever she expected to see, this wasn't it. Standing before her was a young teen with shoulder length black hair and glasses, hastily pulling out his wand to match her. He was a couple inches shorter than her and looked rather thin and wiry but his face showed no hint of fear.

"You can lower your wand," he told her. "I'm not gonna attack you."

"'Ow do I know you are not one of zose men?" Fleur asked, her wand never lower a fraction.

"Well since I'm running from them too and I'm not wearing a mask and black robes I'm pretty sure I'm not." Fleur scoffed and slowly began lowering her wand, though she continued to glare at Harry. The sudden appearance of six unknown men immediately ended the tense situation and the two teens turned and slammed their backs against each other almost on instinct. "You take those three and I'll take these." Fleur rolled her eyes, wondering how long it would be before Harry needed her help and silently fired off her first spell just as Harry yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

The men, who obviously thought this would be an easy victory, were overwhelmed by the teen's tenacious assault. Despite being very inexperienced, Harry used his limited knowledge to force his opponents on the defensive and essentially attack him one at a time, letting him focus his attention on one person. Fleur, who was a champion duelist at Beauxbatons, was able to fight on a more equal footing and had the three men reeling. Unfortunately her partner was the source of a headache for her.

"Do you 'ave to be so loud?" she demanded.

"I'm so sorry princess, I haven't learned to cast my spells silently yet," Harry quipped back. "Relashio." The spell cut off the wand hand of one of the unfortunate men and left him with a deep laceration in his side, effectively taking him out of the fight. The teen followed that with the Stunning Spell he had read about but had yet to use, resulting in one of the men being simply dazed. While the spell didn't work exactly as it should have, it did give Harry the opportunity to follow up with yet another spell that incapacitated the man.

For her part Fleur had managed to eliminate two of her opponents as well, causing the remaining two men to pause. It was unthinkable to them but these two teens had taken out over half of them without suffering any kind of injuries. Everything they had thrown at them had either missed or, in Fleur's case, dissipated against her Shield. It was humiliating to do so but they knew that retreat was the best option. Almost in tandem they turned on the spot and Disapparated, leaving their four fallen comrades.

"I did not expect you to be so skilled," Fleur admitted, turning to Harry. "I thought for sure I would 'ave to rescue you."

"I think they were stupid and surprised more than I was skilled," Harry admitted, looking at the four unconscious men before facing Fleur. The blonde shook her head.

"Non, eet was impressive. I'm Fleur Delacour by the way."

"Harry Potter," Harry responded, taking her outstretched hand. As predicted Fleur's eyes immediately went to Harry's forehead, though his infamous scar was currently covered by his hair. She wasn't sure she believed him but before she could voice her disbelief they both heard the sound of twigs snapping nearby. They turned and raised their wands at the noise and saw a man in a long black cloak. Unlike the others he wasn't wearing a mask and he seemed to observe everything with disinterest. Instead of pointing his wand at them he pointed it at the sky.

"Morsmordre," he called out. A skull with a snake coming out of its mouth suddenly appeared in the clouds, the snake slithering out of the skull. The man looked at Harry and Fleur, though it was too dark for either of them to see much of his face, and Disapparated. Harry heard a soft pop after the man disappeared and, following his instincts, dropped to the ground, pulling Fleur with him.

"Get down!" His words proved prophetic as no less than a dozen Stunning Spells were suddenly fired off above them, dissipating against trees and flying off into the night.

"They didn't do it!" a voice Harry recognized as Mr. Weasley's exclaimed. Harry cautiously made his way back to his feet, helping Fleur up as well, before he was almost knocked over again by Hermione's hug. He looked at Fleur in almost desperation (making the older girl lightly giggle) and she noticed that his hair was no longer covering his forehead, showing everyone his trademark scar.

"One of them had to conjure it," an older man declared as he advanced on them with his wand drawn. Harry and Fleur, both still on an adrenaline rush, tightened their grip on their own wand but were smart enough not to raise them.

"They're just kids Crouch," Sirius said gruffly as he walked up to Harry too. Crouch grunted and continued to point his wand at them.

"We fought them," Harry announced coldly, "or do you not pay attention to what's around you?" He gestured at the men still on the ground, causing the adults to look at the fallen men. "What is that anyway?"

"It's the Dark Mark Harry," Sirius responded. "That's Voldemort's mark."

"So zese men were his followers?" Fleur questioned.

"That's right, Death Eaters." Sirius didn't know this girl but she was with Harry so he quickly decided she couldn't be that bad. Harry and Fleur looked at each other, both silently thankful that they ran into each other. A soft pop alerted them to the presence of someone new.

"Zere you are Fleur," her father said as he walked up to her. "I was worried. What 'appened?"

"I believe that's a question for both her and Harry Monsieur Delacour," Sirius answered, apparently knowing the man. Together and separately Fleur and Harry gave their accounts of what happened, starting with their own separate flight from the Death Eaters and ending with the Ministry officials attempting to Stun them. Hermione's grip on Harry's arm tightened as he spoke and Ron's face went became more ashen with every word. He looked ashamed that he hadn't been there, though there was really no way for him to have been.

"So eez zis 'ow ze Ministry does zings 'ere?" Monsieur Delacour questioned, looking directly at Crouch. "My daughter and zis young man fought bravely and you accuse zem of being ze ones 'oo put zat in ze sky?"

"They're the only ones here!" Crouch insisted. "One of them had to do it."

"Did you not listen to their story Crouch?" Sirius demanded. "They both gave the same description of the man who did it." To the surprise of everyone there Harry suddenly burst into laughter.

"Are you really that stupid? Voldemort killed my parents when I was a year old and Fleur was still a toddler living in France when he was defeated. Who the hell would we learn that spell from? Or are you suggesting that we regularly associate with Death Eaters?" Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder and gave him a mirthful smile. Hermione looked shocked that Harry would talk to a Ministry employee like that while Ron was clearly trying not to laugh. Fleur was watching the whole scene with interest, impressed at Harry's reasoning and willingness to stand up for both of them, especially against a government official.

"You can always bring us in for questioning but think how people would respond to that. How many people would demand that you find who really did this instead of wasting time and effort questioning two teens who obviously had nothing to do with it? Is that something you really wanna deal with?" Crouch glared at Harry but the teen could see the hesitation in his eye, the hesitation that told the Boy-Who-Lived that his words had the desired effect.

"Spread out and see what you can find," Crouch ordered the Ministry officials. "Maybe we'll get lucky and our man was sloppy. Make sure none of the others get away either. We might be able to learn something from them." Crouch looked at Harry and gave a slight jerk of his head. "Do you remember anything about this man Mr. Potter?" Harry shook his head but Fleur spoke up.

"Eet seemed like 'e flicked 'is tongue out, almost like a snake." The older man looked at her in disbelief, muttered a quick thanks, and rushed off, barking out orders even as he was leaving.

"I wonder what that was all about," Ron commented, causing Harry to shrug in indifference.

"So what's gonna happen now Sirius?"

"We'll be staying at the Burrow tonight and then going to my house tomorrow. What happened here wasn't an isolated incident. Something's coming and I'm gonna do what I can to help you prepare for it." Harry nodded, unsure how Sirius was going to accomplish that but he wasn't going to say that. He noticed Fleur walking up to him again out the corner of his eye and turned his head to face her.

"It was nice to meet you 'Arry Potter, though I wish eet 'ad been under better circumstances." She gave him a piece of parchment with her address on it. "Feel free to write to me anytime you want."

"Thanks Fleur. It was good to meet you too. I'm glad you were by my side tonight." Fleur smiled at him and walked back over to her father, leaving the teen with Hermione and Ron.

Author's Note: I want to quickly clarify four things. First of all the reason that Harry was able to resist the Veela is because of his strength of will. Just as he's able to throw off the Imperious Curse he's also able to resist other things that affect his mind, he just has more of a natural affinity for it in this story. Second the reason that Sirius knows Fleur's father will be revealed later so don't assume that I'm blowing it off. Third this will not have any Ron bashing in it. I understand why many people dislike Ron but I don't see him as a terrible friend who wants everything that Harry has. I see him as a teenager who grew up in a family that had nothing and felt that his parents overlooked him in favor of his siblings yet was also able to grow at his own pace and never had anything incredibly terrible happen to him, which makes him rather immature compared to Harry and Hermione. Harry has everything that Ron wants, fortune, fame, and notoriety, and in his immaturity often forgets why Harry has these things. I don't believe that Ron is a bed person or a terrible friend, I believe he's simply an immature teenager who too often doesn't look at what he doesn't really want to see. That being said, Ron will take several hits this story. I'm not going to let him simply act like he does in canon and have Harry simply forgive him. Finally, and most important, Fleur will not be the same as she in most other fanfiction stories. I'm going to attempt to keep her much closer to canon. Yes she has the allure that Veela are known for but it's not uncontrollable for her. She will attract the attention of many men but because of her natural beauty, not because of any outside influence. For those of you wondering this is why Ron didn't lose his mind when he saw her. She also won't be able to change like the full blooded Veela can. If this disappoints anyone then I truly apologize but I'm trying my best to not turn this into a cliche.