The people and places in this story belong to J.K. Rowling. I didn't create them and am not making money from this story. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

As much as he would have liked to go home with the Weasley's for the summer break, he knew that Dumbledore must have his reasons. When Harry arrived at number 4 Privet Drive he was startled to see that he already had a visitor. No, it wasn't a person, more as a message from somebody. As soon as he left the Dursley's vehicle a snowy owl landed on his shoulder and presented him with a note. He didn't recognize the owl, as far as he could remember Hedwig was one of the only snowy owls at Hogwarts.

Before Harry could thank the owl for the delivery it was already gone. This disappointed Hedwig, as she was excited to see another snowy owl. Not that it was a surprise to him or the Dursley's the letter had been for him.

The Dursley's went into the flat leaving him to deal with his trunk by himself. Uncle Vernon muttered something about wizards being a "bunch of freaks" before entering his home.

Harry unrolled the parchment and was surprised to see that it was from the Delacour family. It was from Fleur's father who wanted to thank Harry for saving Gabrielle during the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As a sign of his gratitude he offered for Harry to spend part of his break at their estate in France. Aside from being at his home in England and going to school in Scotland he had never been anywhere else. He would have happily sent Hedwig away with an answer of yes but he thought of what Dumbledore said. Harry then scanned to the bottom of the letter and saw that Dumbledore had granted him permission to go. Harry questioning this sent Hedwig off to Dumbledore right away to see if it was true.

The next couple of days were somewhat peaceful for Harry. The Dursleys had decided to give him his distance since he appeared to be in a bad mood. It was true, Harry found that he was quite angry about what happened with Cedric Diggory. If the Dursley's had done anything to him he wouldn't know if he could control himself. Luckily, his self-misery didn't have to last that long. From downstairs Uncle Vernon's voice bellowed, "Harry get your sorry ass down here." It must have been something pretty bad for Uncle Vernon to swear at him.

Harry went downstairs to find that his Uncle Vernon did in fact look quite angry, following his eyes he soon saw what the problem was. He first saw that Hedwig was perched on somebody's shoulder who had just entered the flat. She was perched on the shoulder of Harry's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

Sure Harry was expecting some kind of a reply to his letter, but not a personal visit.

"Ah, Harry. So good to see that your return trip went okay."

"Er, yeah…what are you doing here?"

"You sent Hedwig with a question and I'm here to answer that question."

"You could have just sent her back with the answer, you didn't have to reply in person."

"Harry, maybe we should adjourn to someplace a little more inviting."

Harry, looking at Uncle Vernon, agreed that this probably wasn't the best place to be having a conversation.

"Come Harry, I know the perfect place for us to talk and it isn't that far of a walk."

Harry was a little confused about this but he was in no place to disagree. Dumbledore had actually come to his house, but why? Sure, Harry had a difficult year and his mortal enemy was on the loose but he was just asking if he could go visit a family for a little while. Oh well, it was a welcome sight to see any wizard…especially the most powerful wizard in the world.

They walked around the neighborhood until they stood in front of a house that Harry immediately recognized. Until a few years ago it was one of the few places the Dursley's took him. Of course, they took him there so that he wouldn't bother them during some of their more enjoyable trips. They stood in front of the home of Arabella Figg, Harry's old sitter.

Much to Harry's surprise Dumbledore walked up to the front door and knocked. "Um, professor I don't think you have the right place. You see this is…" Before Harry could finish the door had already opened.

"Albus, good to see you."

"Harry, I do believe you already know Mrs. Figg."

"Yeah I do, but how do you know her?"

"I'm an old friend of Albus Harry, he is the reason why I live here. Enough of that though, please come in."

It had been more than four years since Harry had been in the house, the first time since learning he was a wizard. Harry had never given Mrs. Figg a second thought after going to Hogwarts, but obviously he should have done so. He looked around the home and recognized several wizarding items. Among the items were a sneakoscope, some spellbooks on the shelves, and a wand on the mantle piece.

"Mrs. Figg, what were you talking about me being the reason why you live here?"

"Why do you think you were always sent home after term ended? I'm here to protect you Harry. Now I have a question for Albus, what are you both doing here? For that matter, why are you here together?"

"Arabella, we both had a feeling that this day would come. Voldemort has risen, Harry is at a greater threat now than he was as a child. He needs to know. We will be needing you at Hogwarts in the fall, your duty here is over."

"Are you sure Harry is ready to handle the power?"

"What power? Will you two please stop talking about me like I'm not even here."

Mrs. Figg then got up and went into the kitchen to give Harry and Dumbledore some privacy.

"Harry you should know that what I did to you was for your own good."

"Professor you're scaring me."

"It is nothing to be afraid about, you have already been through so much that I would not want you to experience any more pain. No, what I am about to tell you will be for your benefit and for the benefit of thousands of wizards."

"Okay, then go ahead and tell me instead of telling me you're going to tell me."

"Harry, you are one of the greatest wizards alive. At least, you would be if I hadn't impaired your learning."

"Now you're really confusing me, I barely got away from Voldemort with my life. And what do you mean that you impaired me? I feel fine."

"Of course you feel fine. There is nothing really wrong with you. You are an average wizard of your age. The problem is that you should be a lot more powerful right now. In fact, you are most likely a more highly skilled wizard than some of the teachers at school."

"Are you joking or something professor? If I'm so powerful then why do I have to spend so long working on spells? Without Ron and Hermione I don't think I could have got through classes or the tournament."

"I'm not joking Harry, however if you want to hear a good one I can tell you about this muggle who…um, maybe another time. Harry, what do you know about what happened to you after Voldemort killed your parents?"

"I know that Hagrid found me and that Sirius showed up. He wanted to take me but Hagrid instructions from you to take me to the Dursley's. I never thought about that, how did Hagrid have instructions from you to take me to the Dursley's?"

"Hagrid didn't find you Harry, I did. I learned of Voldemort's plans too late. I arrived at the house just seconds after it collapsed. I was a close friend of your parents. So close that they only trusted me with the knowledge of your true power. There have been very few wizards like us Harry. True, there are many gifted wizards with gifted minds such as Hermione, but you belong to a group of wizards that have the ability to understand and perform magic with almost no effort. After your parents died I made a decision to make your life as normal as possible. Infused in your scar is an incantation of my own that clouded your advanced mind."

"Why would you do something like that?"

"If you would have grown up with that kind of power in the muggle world there's no telling what you could have done. You might have harmed somebody accidentally. It was for your own good."

"Why did you leave with the Dursley's? If you were so close to my parents then why couldn't I go live with you?"

"There would have been too many of Voldemort's people seeking you out. That and you would have been a celebrity among the wizarding world. With your powers along with the potential of your ego growing out of control I feared you would crave power. I decided that you should grow up with muggles, the Dursley's fit nicely."

"So, you had Hagrid bring me to the Dursley's? How would you know that Voldemort's supporters wouldn't come looking for me here?"

"Mrs. Figg. If any of the Death Eater's had discovered your location she would have been notified right away by her sneakoscope. She may not look it but Arabella was one of the finest Auror's in the ministry. I could trust her to look after you."

"Okay, I guess I can understand what you did. So, why are you telling all of this to me now?"

"Voldemort has risen, you need all of the protection you can get. When I said that there were very few like us, I meant it. As far as I know there are only three of us alive."

"Let me guess, us two and Voldemort?"

"Clever boy. With Voldemort once again loose I need you to be prepared. Even Arabella wouldn't be able to protect from Voldemort. Once I lift the cloud on your mind you will be able to protect yourself from everyone save Voldemort himself."

With these words Dumbledore went over to Harry and said a few words under his breath. At that moment a wave of clarity washed over Harry. All of the things that had brought so much difficulty to him over the last four years finally maid sense.

"You shouldn't have much trouble with many things at school now. Go ahead and try to transfigure that sofa."

With these words Harry raised his wand and turned the sofa into a perfect representation of Fang.

"This seems almost impossible. I had no idea it could be this easy."

"It could have always been this easy for you but my incantation made you a normal student. I hope you understand why I did it to you."

"I understand, with all of the times Dudley attacked me I probably would have killed him."

Dumbledore got up and went into the kitchen. A minute later he came out with Mrs. Figg and they sat down.

"Harry, Moody will not be joining us in the Fall as I'm sure you guessed, he was more on edge than I could possibly have imagined. Mrs. Figg will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Harry was somewhat delighted. Mrs. Figg did seem to care about him but he also remembered how boring it was at her place.

"Um, your not going to be talking about cats are you?"

"Oh heavens no child. I was quite an accomplished Auror. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

"Now about your letter to me Harry. Yes, you have my permission to the Delacour's in France. I'm also guessing that you will be wanting to visit the Weasley's?"

"Yeah, know any other places I can go?"

"Very amusing Mr. Potter. You will enjoy France, I may even be stopping in for dinner one night."

"Do you know Fleur's parents?"

"Oh, yes. I've known of their family for a while now and have become more acquainted with them more recently. Mrs. Figg will not be the only new teacher this upcoming year. Fleur will also be coming up to Hogwarts in the Fall, she will be Mrs. Figg's assistant."

"Since when did Hogwarts have assistant teachers?"

It was Mrs. Figg who replied. "I will only be there for a year while Fleur learns the ropes. After the year I will finally get to enjoy my retirement, it hasn't been easy looking after you."

"Enjoy France Harry, I look forward to seeing you again."

"Um professor, how am I supposed to get there?"

"Maybe you aren't as clever as I thought. How do you think most wizards travel?"

"I know that most wizards apparate but how am I supposed to get there?"

"Why don't you just apparate, I'm sure you will have no difficulty figuring it out."

"Don't you have to take a test and be licensed? Besides I wouldn't even know how to start doing it."

"Okay Harry, this should be very simple for you. Just picture yourself someplace or with someone. Picture your body leaving where you currently are and going to that place. Try it Harry. Try going back to the Dursley's and then returning here."

Harry pictured his room at the Dursley's. He pictured himself leaving Mrs. Figg's and going to his room. The next thing Harry knew he was standing in his bedroom. Surprised at how easy it was for him he immediately went back.

"Congratulations Mr. Potter you are now licensed." With that Harry was presented with a card that certified he was now legal to apparate. "This is a special permission case for you Harry, in case you ever need to get away from someplace undesirable."

"What about my things? I can't bring them with me when I apparate can I?"

"Unfortunately, nobody has ever successfully done that. I will give you the number of a delivery company for your needs. They are owned by the same people who run the Knight Bus."

"Well, I better send off an owl so that people know where I am. Thank you professor for all of your help. I want to get out of here as soon as possible so do you think that you could arrange my luggage for me?"

"Don't worry about it, send your owl and get to France. Enjoy yourself. After the year you had you need the rest."

"I'm off, see you in the Fall Mrs. Figg."

"Bye Harry, I hope we can get more acquainted now that you know about me."

With that, Harry returned to his room.

"Hello Hedwig, feel like a trip to the Burrow?"

Hedwig hooted and nibbled Harry's finger. He scribbled down a quick note to Ron and his family about where he would be and that Hedwig should stay with him. He also told Ron to pass along the message to Hermione. Harry then tied the note to Hedwig's leg and saw her off. After a quick goodbye to the Dursley's he disapparated.

***

Fleur was startled to see Harry appear right next to her in her room. "'Arry!"

"Oh, I am so sorry." Harry felt really embarrassed because Fleur had just exited the shower and was standing in front of Harry naked and dripping wet.

She started yelling at Harry in French, almost all of it he couldn't understand. He quickly rushed out of the room into the hallway. He looked around and saw that this was a very nice house. Either Fleur's parents were from an important wizarding family or her parents were of some importance.

Fleur was still yelling even though Harry was out in the hallway and she was still in the bathroom. Not wanting to miss out on what Fleur was yelling about Harry recalled a spell that he had attempted when trying to figure out the clue of the golden egg.

"I can't believe he saw me naked. What the hell is he doing here? I know he was supposed to come here to visit but wouldn't he have sent an owl?"

"Woops, guess I got a little over excited." Harry meant to say this to himself but apparently he didn't.

"Harry, was that you?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be listening in on you but I am sorry about not sending an owl."

"Harry, you're speaking French!"

"Yeah, I just did a little spell so you would feel more comfortable talking."

"That is a very complicated and dangerous spell. How did you do it?" With that Fleur came out of the bathroom wearing a terrycloth robe.

"That can wait, first let me apologize. I'm sorry, I didn't know where your place was so I focused on you when I apparated."

"Harry, you are underage. You aren't supposed to be apparating without having passed the test."

Harry showed Fleur his certification and told her about his passing the test a half-hour earlier. "How were you able to pass the test? I don't even have mine for another month."

"Um, we can talk about that later as well. Maybe you should get dressed so I don't feel so uncomfortable talking with you."

"Of course, hold on. Father! Father, Harry is here!"

At these words a rather attractive man of about forty came up the stairs. He was much taller than Harry and actually reminded him of Gildroy Lockhart. He didn't appear to have the veela blood that runs through Fleur's veins, which must have come from her mother. "'Arry, good to see you."

"Don't worry Mr. Delacour, you can speak French if you choose to do so."

"I'm impressed, Fleur didn't tell me that you could speak French. Come, Gabrielle has been wanting to see you since your bags arrived."

"My bags are already here? I just apparated, how could they already be here?"

"The Knight Delivery Service is very fast. There was also a note from Dumbledore, he will be joining us in about a month to bring you to the Weasley's."

"You're actually letting me stay for a month? That is very kind of you, I've never been away from Great Britain. I must also say that judging from this hallway you have a very nice house."

"Now it is you who is being kind. Come let us go down and see Gabrielle so Fleur can change. She has just been working on the lesson plan for the fall and got a little messy dealing with a Grindylow. Isn't that what gave you trouble at the tournament?"

"Father! If you will excuse me." She went down the hall into what was obviously her bedroom.

"Sorry you saw that. I like having fun with her. She feels bad about not saving Gabrielle but there was no harm done thanks to you. Come, let's go downstairs."

Harry and Mr. Delacour walked down a very nice spiraling staircase down into the main hallway of the home. It was even nicer on the main floor than it was upstairs. It was no wonder Fleur wasn't impressed with Hogwarts if this is where she was used to staying.

"Mr. Delacour, may I ask you what you do?"

"Sure you can, I'm an author. I have written many cookbooks in my lifetime. I have always loved to cook, when I'm in my kitchen I'm content with the world."

"So, cookbooks paid for this house?"

"Oh heavens no, this home has been passed down through my wife's family."

"Where is your wife?"

"She is out of town on family business. Her mother has come down with an illness related to her kind."

"I'm sorry to hear that, what kind of an illness to veelas get?"

"You know about Fleur's grandmother?"

"I was at the wand weighing, she mentioned that her wand contained the hair of her veela grandmother."

"Ah, of course. Anyway, it is nothing serious. It's a mental illness among veelas where they think they are no longer beautiful. My wife just went to calm her down. If you ask me, her mother is more beautiful today than she ever was."

"I didn't see you at the tournament when the families came to visit. How come you weren't there?"

Passing through the halls of the home Harry saw painting after painting of a very beautiful silver blonde woman who Harry could only assume was Fleur's grandmother. He couldn't ever guess that this woman would ever think she was ugly.

"I was on a promotional tour in Africa at the time. I felt really bad about missing the tournament but I knew she would do the best she could."

They had finally arrived in what appeared to be a very extensive library. Harry knew that Hermione would have given her left tit just to be in here for just a few hours. Harry saw that Gabrielle was in an overstuffed chair by the fire reading a book that was almost as big as her.

When she saw Harry she quickly ran over to him and gave him a big hug. Then she started talking to her father, wanting him to tell Harry thank you for saving her from the lake. Of course, Harry understood everything she said.

"Your welcome."

"You speak French?"

"Just learned a few minutes ago. Nice book." Harry saw that it was a book with many beautiful women on the cover. Wait, not women. Harry recognized them as veelas.

"I was just reading about what is happening to Grandma. She is being incredibly silly according to this book."

Mr. Delacour interrupted the conversation. "Harry, please sit. Those chairs aren't just for decoration."

They all sat around the fire and Harry told them about what happened during the tournament and about Hogwarts. He realized that he had been talking a while now, where was Fleur? It had been almost two hours since Harry and Mr. Delacour had come downstairs.

"Mr. Delacour…"

"Please, call me Jean Luc."

"Okay, Jean Luc, did something happen to Fleur?"

"No, she usually takes this long to get ready. Besides, I think she wants to impress you."

"Because I'm a student and she's a teacher?"

"Something like that. Ah, here she is."

Fleur came into the library looking very stunning. She was wearing silk pajamas of the same deep blue color as her eyes. Harry couldn't deny that Fleur was one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen but his thoughts of Cho kept his hormones in check. It was because of her clothes that Harry realized just how late it was getting.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get ready. Harry, would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Yes, I think I probably should get some rest. It was nice to meet you Jean Luc and to see you again Gabrielle."

Gabrielle ran up and gave Harry another hug. There was no denying that she would break a lot of hearts when she was older. "I'll see you in the morning Harry."

Mr. Delacour picked up Gabrielle. "You are going to let that boy sleep as late as he wants. No waking him up early, you hear me?"

"Yes father. Goodnight Harry." She ran up stairs almost as fast as if she were on a Firebolt.

"Goodnight to you too Gabrielle!" said Fleur. "You've already replaced me Harry, thanks."

"Er, sorry."

"I'm only kidding, let's get you situated upstairs. Coming up too father?"

"No, I'll do a little writing while I have some peace and quiet."

Both Fleur and Harry said "Goodnight" and headed upstairs.

Fleur brought Harry to a very nice bedroom, almost too nice. There was even a bathroom adjoining the bedroom.

"I hope this is to your liking, it is our guestroom."

"This is a million times better then the cabinet."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind, yes this is very nice. Thank you for your hospitality."

"It is our family that has to thank you, for what you did for Gabrielle."

"She would have been fine even if I didn't save her."

"But you did save her when you didn't need to, and for that we thank you." With that she gave a peck on Harry's cheek and said goodnight.

Harry didn't have a nightmare that night, in fact it was quite the opposite. Harry had a dream that involved himself, Cho, Fleur, and some whipped cream. He was glad that Jean Luc told Gabrielle not to wake Harry in the morning. Harry awoke to find that his stomach was covered in a sticky residue. He quickly got up and showered before anyone came to check on him.

Harry went downstairs to find that everyone was already awake. Gabrielle once again came over to Harry and gave him a hug. She had obviously become very attached to him. Fleur came over and tore her sister away.

"So Harry, what would you like to do after breakfast?"

"Can we see the sights? I've always wanted to see Paris."

"Unfortunately we are in the countryside and it is almost a days travel to Paris by train. If I only knew how to apparate then we could be there in no time."

"Okay, then we'll work on that."

"Really, that would be great…are you sure that you are only fifteen?"

"Fourteen, my birthday is at the end of July."

"Well, I think you are a very mature fourteen then." At these words Harry blushed.

They had a very delightful breakfast. Obviously, having a father who wrote cookbooks had its benefits. Harry had never tasted food like that before and he thought that he never would after he left here.

Harry and Fleur excused themselves and went back into the library. Before starting on Fleur apparating practice Harry told her about his conversation with Dumbledore. He figured that she would be told about it anyway when she became a teacher.

"No wonder you seemed so much more confident. So, how easy is it for you to learn a new spell."

"I would have to say that it is very easy. All I need to do pretty much is understand the theory. I've been wanting to try it out more, would you mind if I did something quick?"

"Go ahead, I would love to see the process."

Harry walked over to the shelves and found just the book he was looking for, a book on removing stains. Of course there was an ulterior motive to this. He didn't want anyone to see the stains he had left from the night before. Glancing through the pages he found the spell he was looking for and read over the process. He got up and walked over to one of the chairs in front of the fire. The night before he noticed that there was a stain on the arm of the chair.

"That has been there for years, nobody can get it out."

The stain disappeared. Fleur was astonished. "I'm very impressed Harry, my father has been working on that spell for years and has never perfected it."

"Alright, I've found my career. 'Harry Potter, battler of dark forces destroyer of problematic stains."

Fleur gave a chuckle, Harry liked the laugh very much. "Okay, now can we work on me?"

"I don't think you need much work…oh, that apparating thing."

"Flattery will get you everywhere. Seriously, how do I do it? I've read everything I could in the instruction booklet but I can't get it right."

"Okay, I've never really had to teach before so I'll give it my best effort. Picture yourself where you are in your mind. Now, picture another place or with another person. Just to let you know it is a lot easier if you have been to the place before, so that is how I suggest we start. With those two images in your head, picture yourself leaving from where you are and going to where you want to be. Let's start by having you go across the room, onto your father's desk."

"I think I understand. What you say is much easier to understand than the book that they hand out."

After a few hours of Fleur having little success they did have a breakthrough. Fleur did end up on top of her father's desk, a few feet above it at least. She crashed into the desk and hurt her ankle. Harry quickly ran over to the bookshelves and scanned a medical book. He flipped through some pages and read up on any spells that might help him. Harry read about sprains, bruises, breaks, and just incase a spell that would repair a splinch. He quickly healed her bruised ankle and hoped that this would be the only accident.

They took a break for lunch and told Jean Luc and Gabrielle about their progress. Once again the food was superb. Harry couldn't help complementing Mr. Delacour throughout the entire meal. With the smile that he gave it wouldn't have surprised Harry if he didn't have some veela blood in him after all. As far as Harry could tell, the only difference between him and a veela was that he had blonde hair instead of silvery-blonde.

Harry and Fleur went back into the library and started working on the apparating again. This time Gabrielle, who wanted to see her big sister do it, joined them. It was almost like watching a child taking their first steps. However, this time the child was three years older than the parent.

After a few days Fleur had appeared to get the hang of apparating to the desk with ease. They soon worked on other parts of the room and then to other parts of the house. After a couple weeks she could do it perfectly. On the fourteenth day of Harry's visit she and Harry finally decided to go to Paris to pass her test. Fleur and Harry said their good-byes to Gabrielle and Jean Luc and disapparated.