A/N: Inspired by Deprived by 'The Crimson Lord'

Have fun!

Chapter 1: A Contract is forged

Sebastian Delacour prided himself on being a level-headed, intelligent wizard. One does not simply rise within the ranks of the French wizarding ministry without possessing patience and intellect. Very few people could boast about the ability to get under his skin, on the top of that list would be his wife, Appoline. However, as he sat watching his eldest daughter ranting about freedom and free will, he was dearly tempted to reorganise said list.

"Papa you cannot take this away from me! This is my only chance to show the world that I am more than just a pretty face."

"Fleur, my sweet, please be reasonable and look at the viewing glass from my eyes," surely the narcissistic spawns of the ministry would have a field day at the sound of him, Sebastian Delacour, even using the word please, people begged Sebastian, he was never the one begging, though for his family, he would get down and beg, "The English do not possess a semblance of dependability as we all saw the mockery they made of the security at the world cup."

"Hogwarts is the safest place in Europe if not, the whole world. Madame Maxime will be on hand if anything goes wrong, not to mention Albus Dumbledore himself will be in the castle."

He almost snorted in derision, make no mistake, the power Albus Dumbledore wielded commanded respect, even from him, but he very much doubted that one man could pay attention to a single student when he had hundreds of others to look out for.

"I do not just have the uncouth imbeciles from England to worry about, I have made plenty of enemies for myself here in France and make no mistake, they will seize this opportunity to get back at me!"

As he watched the azure eyes of his daughter mist over with the beginnings of unshed tears, in his heart, he knew the battle was lost. Shouting at him he could take, screaming he could handle but his glass chin was waterworks. He refused to be the reason his daughter lost the twinkle in her eyes and Fleur did not possess the ability to cry for fatuous reasons.

"Maman has given me permission and if you do not then, then, I shall-"

"Do not finish that sentence!" Family is the one thing he cherished above all else and he refused to allow his eldest to speak words that she would later regret.

"Please Papa, this is the one thing I want above all else and I promise to always be wary of my surroundings!"

"I do not understand why you have to prove anything to anyone; you are exquisite in every way. If you wish this so badly, then so be it" heaving a great sigh, he slumped into his chair, various strategies accumulating in his mind on the next cause of action. The battle was lost but the war had just begun after all.

"Thank you, papa, thank you! I promise I will not let you down, I have to go tell Gabrielle the good news!"

The twinkle blossoming into her blue eyes warranted a smile of his own, only for it to vanish as soon as his daughter skipped out of his office. Early workings of a plan situated itself inside his brain, his daughter, the immensely talented witch that she was, would last mere seconds in an altercation with a dark wizard and with him being the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement he could not be by her side every moment. He would need to arrange a meeting with the goblins.

"So, Fleur had some exciting news to tell me."

Lounging on their bed, he marvelled at how even after all these years together, he couldn't comprehend the beauty his wife exuded.

"Do not start me on something that we both know will raise my hackles." Annoyance he figured, would be a greater façade than actually whining like a toddler to his wife.

"Oh? But dear husband, I do love raising your hackles."

The sweet temptation of her voice was enough to send the hairs on the back of his neck on end. It was simply unfair, he reasoned to himself, her voice was as equally appetising as her visage.

"We know, she would have eventually got her way."

"Of that, I have no doubt. However, I also know that my husband will simply not let it be. It goes against your very nature. So, tell me, what manner of plan have you concocted to keep her safe?"

"I will take that as a compliment rather than the slight that, I'm sure, it was meant to be."

"The reason I have not already tattled to her is because I am aware of the actual dangers going to England will evoke and do not be crass with me, we both know, your need to protect everything that you cherish, is just one of the things that made me fall in love with you"

"I thought it was my silver tongue and my unmatched good looks." He would never tire of the flirting that lined their conversation, even after all their time together.

"I know that you're playing coy with me, it will not work this time. I would like to know more about this plan of yours."

"Very well, I have arranged an early meeting with the goblins tomorrow, regarding the protection service of our daughter."

"I did not realise you were familiar in the matters of hiring goblin bodyguards."

"Give me credit, my dear," here he let a grin cover his face as he thought to the interactions he had with the species; goblins, fickle creatures they were, mindless they were anything but, "my position in the ministry has necessitated the use of bodyguards, if not for myself, then for the minister himself, the goblins keep an active list of the best and the best is the only option to trust with our daughter."

The smile that bloomed on her beautiful face deserved to be captured and stored to keep him warm during the long winter nights in the ministry.

"Thank the gods that brought you to me all those years back, though I can't help but pity you, when Gabby reaches of age, I assume you will have no hair left on your head. She already has you wrapped around her fingers."

Horror filled his entire being at the thought of his youngest, his princess, ever reaching the list of people who could annoy him. Surely, the gods would not be as cruel to do such a thing. Surely.

The guileful grin, that settled onto his wife's face as she hugged him and drifted off into the peaceful embrace of nothingness, would welcome him into a dreamscape of fear and panic.

Favouritism was a word that did not exist in the goblin dictionary; prince or pauper, you will be treated equally, unless of course there were galleons to be made on their behalf, in which case you were treated an ounce better.

"How can I be of assistance, Mr. Delacour?"

"You have my thanks for arranging this meeting on such a short notice Sugartooth. I will not waste both of our times beating around the bush," the head of the DMLE watched as his account manager gave him a begrudging nod of respect; time is money, "I find myself in the need of a bodyguard for my daughter, I was hoping you would be able to help me in this endeavour. You will, of course, be compensated for this service."

"Very well, I assume you have a set of requirements for a potential bodyguard."

Dealing with goblins was a much more pleasant venture, sentences were not lined with double meanings, they simply did not care for your reasons as to why you were doing what you were doing. Every word was a statement, every promise, a transaction. A much-needed reprieve from the pseudo aristocracy of the ministry, he mused, sliding the hastily written document to Sugartooth.

The usual stoic features of his account manager were offset by the slight raising of his non-existent eyebrows as he took in the requirements.

"I see, I will get Gragnar to match the requirements to the wizards we have at once, this shouldn't take too long. Meanwhile, I shall update you on the current standings of your investments thus far."

Sebastian barely noticed as the goblin, Gragnar, he presumed, hobbled into and out of the room. Let it be known that the goblins were not the only species easily distracted by their wealth.

As promised Gragnar returned with a file in no time at all.

"Interesting, you are a very lucky man, Mr. Delacour."

"Is-," if he was honest with himself, the sight of a grin on the impish face of the goblin unnerved him slightly, "that so?"

"Indeed, the man who is best suited for you comes with a long list of recommendations and accolades, he is of the same age as your daughter and is an expert in dealing with unwanted attention. You will find none better, his failure rate is non-existent."

If the statement had come from anyone apart from a goblin, he would've scoffed at the absurdity of it. A competent hit wizard the same age as his daughter? Surely that was an exaggeration, he thought. However, the goblins did not, if ever, praise an individual so there had to be truth to Sugartooth's words.

"I trust your words Sugartooth, please arrange a meeting with this young man at the earliest opportunity."

"It will be done."

A muggle café was not the first place he had in mind when he thought of a meeting place, it wasn't even the fifth place that came to his mind to be honest.

Absentmindedly skimming through the sparse documents of the bodyguard for what felt like the hundredth time, he regarded the picture in front of him. Combed over dirty blonde hair, with blue almost green eyes stared back at him, the picture offered him a view of an average, nondescript young man. A man who would not stand out in a room full of people let alone a crow-

"I'm flattered that you find my appearance to your taste, though I feel I must warn you, I, unfortunately, do not swing that way."

Grabbing his chest in shock, Sebastian looked up from the picture to the real thing in front of him. Being the Head of the DMLE, he was not used to people having the drop on him, so to say he was surprised would be like saying the earth was flat.

"I did not even hear you enter." He gestured to the chimes hanging above the door.

"Most do not hear me leave either, arguably they're no longer in this plane of existence to do so."

Instantly on edge, Sebastian scanned the individual in front of him. A slender build accompanied by average height; hair combed over exactly like in the picture. Average. If he were to describe him, the best word would have been average.

"Your glamours are impeccable," only a fool would assume that someone with a working background of a hit wizard would show their real identity, "I cannot even see the tell-tale signs of fuzziness around your form."

"Oh? What gave it away?"

"I am no fool, someone in your line of work will, of course, take such precautions. Also, your eyes, they cannot be natural. The natural green of your eyes is overpowering whatever spell you have cast to make them blue."

"Damn! It's always my eyes that give it away, on the small chance someone does realise the glamour. This particular magic is of the muggle variety, contacts? I think that's what they call them."

"Sebastian Delacour, head of the French DMLE," he raised his hand for a shake, "but you knew that of course."

After a little scrutiny, the young man raised his hand to give him a firm handshake.

"I think I'll call myself Jools. Yes, Jools Henderson."

"Shall we get on with the matter at hand?"

"Of course, of course."

"I'm sure you know, my daughter has decided to enter the upcoming Triwizard tournament; she has got it into her mind, that she must prove the world wrong," the head of the DMLE paused to breathe out in frustration, "with the state England is in currently, I do not feel comfortable letting her go unsupervised, this is not taking into consideration the numerous enemies I have made for myself within the French ministry."

"The daughter of the future French minister would be a great bargaining chip, I imagine."

"I see you've done your research-"

"You live at 11 Rue Poussin, 75016 Paris, situated between a letting agency and some luxury apartments. You are not a man to boast his wealth but neither do you have a problem basking in such wealth. You married a half veela by the name of Appoline, who birthed two children; Gabrielle and Fleur. Gabrielle is 10 and not yet of age to attend Beauxbatons academy of magic. Fleur is in her last year of studies, she has friends but only two best friends; Dominique who suffers from an incurable blood curse and Emile who is her second cousin twice removed. Fleur has plans of going to England after her year in France to take an apprenticeship with the goblins"

"Excuse me? She plans on what?! How do you know of this?!"

"As you said Mr. Delacour, research, lots of research. I may have also received requests from a couple of parties to kidnap your daughter."

Sebastian felt his face lose its colour, abruptly adopting a deathlike pallor. There was no way anyone could have found out so quickly, he inferred the school year has not started yet, she has been home most of the summer, who could have known?

"Who?! Who are these people?!"

"Unfortunately, they didn't leave any details in regard to themselves. The assignment was left anonymously. What I do know, is that they were offering a pretty galleon for your daughter."

"I did not expect something of this nature so soon." He didn't realise his inner monologue was spewing out his mouth.

"Rest assured, as long as she has me, no harm will come to your daughter."

"How are you certain of this?"

"Simple, I am the best. If any harm comes to her then it will be over the unbreathing form of my cold corpse. Even in my demise, I am sure I can at least get her out of harm's way, before I leave for the netherworld."

"Why did you not take the contract?," The minister to be, looked into the eyes of the man who would be the person standing between his daughter and her demise, "Please do not mistake me, I am very much glad that you did not."

"Even as a hit wizard, we have morals and values, well the decent ones do. Kidnapping someone's daughter goes against a few of those morals."

"Then you have my respect, how do you plan on protecting my daughter?"

"I have already sent a transfer request under the alias of Jools Henderson, to Hogwarts."

"I thought you made the name up on the spot, how could you have sent a request, whilst you are here? I did not see your hand moving, let alone reach for your wand."

"Magic is a truly wonderful sensation, is it not? The things you can do with it, beggars' belief."

"You lied about making the name up on the spot, did you not?" Here he rolled his eyes.

"My lips are sealed."

"Why Hogwarts, why not Beauxbatons? Will she be unprotected whilst she is in Beauxbatons?" Sebastian could not hide the worry from his voice, some of his worst opposers' spawn attended Beauxbatons after all.

"I do not think they will attack her whilst she is at Beauxbatons, they have ample opportunity to do so in England, where she will not have the backing of her father; the head of the DMLE. I shall be scoping the students in Hogwarts to see who is most likely to prove troublesome. Don't fret Mr. Delacour, she'll be safe even if they try anything in Beauxbatons."

"I find myself questioning you more and more," It was all well and good talking the talk but when did confidence turn to arrogance, "you are making all these claims but I find myself having trouble distinguishing between what is true and what is drivel."

The young man had the audacity to smirk at his worries as he reached into the pockets of his peacoat, instinctively Sebastian reached for his wand, only stopping when he realised the man in front of him was not reaching for his own wand.

The future minister of France, once again, found his eyes enlarging as in front of him sat a ring. Not just any ring. Fleur's ring. The ring he had gotten her on a whim after the meeting with the goblins about the very person sitting in front of him.

"Surely, you did not believe this glamour had no purpose, Mr. Delacour? Please return this ring to your daughter, I will know if she is in any danger."

"What if she forgets to wear it?" His daughter's safety cannot be guaranteed with a ring.

"She will not. The ring is also not the only thing guaranteeing your daughter's safety, I assure you."

Sebastian blinked before he checked himself, there had been no invasive attacks on his mental shields. As far as he was aware his occlumency shields were near impenetrable, there was no way this youngster could have got in, especially without him knowing. How did he just read my mind?

"I did not read your mind; it was easy to deduce."

Sebastian nodded to himself, there was no way he could-, his musings were cut short, at once, he regarded the young man again, who sported another smirk. He read my mind again!

"How?" he barely managed to keep himself from sputtering.

"Magic is a truly wonderful sensation, is it not? The things you can do with it, beggars' belief."