Harry Potter the First Nemea Leonthrope Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter the First Nemea Leonthrope! Time for the Yule Ball! Who will Harry take though? He has a few girlfriends after all! Plus the Golden Egg is a pain in the ear!

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Chapter 24 – Golden Egg and the Yule Ball

“I hate this thing.” Harry grimaced at the Golden Egg he’d retrieved from the First Task. “No matter how I look at it I can’t puzzle out anything.”

“Just don’t open it again, please.” Susan pleaded as she massaged her ears.

“Shrieks close to what I imagine a Banshee would.” Padma nodded, rubbing her own ears.

“Well, aside from the dying from hearing it, I can’t imagine it’s that far off.” Hermione groaned as she stared at the ‘clue’.

Harry and his girlfriends had been trying to figure out the supposed clue that the Golden Egg possessed for almost a week now. They were no closer than when they started unfortunately. Nothing on the outside of the egg gave them any hints. Opening it was a horrible mistake and a vicious assault on the eardrums! It shrieked loudly anytime it was opened and only stopped once closed again.

“This is a pretty horrible clue for being so important to the Tournament.” Parvati huffed as she looked over the offending object.

“Agreed.” Lavender sniffed while leveling a glare at the egg.

“Maybe we should put this to the side for a bit?” Luna offered with a smile. “We can try again later.”

“I’m all for that.” Harry agreed quickly as he shoved the Golden Egg into his bag.

“We do still have until February.” Padma nodded, equally happy to not have to hear the egg shriek again.

“Hurray for procrastination!” Susan giggled. She was quickly joined by Parvati and Lavender. Padma and Hermione grinned even as they shook their heads at ‘procrastinating’. Luna smiled at seeing the happiness on her friend’s faces. Harry gently pulling her into a side hug only made the spacey blonde positively beam in happiness.

“We DO have something more important to talk about after all!” Lavender grinned as she looked between all of the girls and then at Harry. “With the Yule Ball coming up…we need to decide who’s going with Harry. As his official date at least; since I’m sure he’ll be making time for all of us?”

“Of course I will.” Harry instantly promised. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh you know just how to earn those boyfriend points, don’t you Harry?” Padma laughed and the rest of the girls joined her.

“What’re boyfriend points?” Harry blinked confused.

“They’re just being silly, Harry.” Hermione reassured her boyfriend with a smile of her own. “She means that your answer was perfect and that we all appreciate it very much.”

“Oh, alright then.” Harry grinned, happy that his desire to spend time with all of his girlfriends was indeed the correct way to proceed.

“Though we should find some way to decide.” Parvati agreed with Lavender. “Harry do you have any preference for the Ball?”

“No, I want to dance with all of you. Well, after I learn and practice a bit, of course. I don’t really know how to dance.” Harry admitted with a shrug. “Dancing never really came up until now.”

“We can help with that.” Susan smiled at her boyfriend. “A Waltz is simple enough. If we start practicing soon we might even be able to teach you two or three simple dances.”

“Don’t forget the close dancing.” Hermione smiled; a hint of red on her cheeks. “Holding each other close and just swaying to the music.” All of the girls, even Luna, sighed dreamily at the image in their minds.

“Swaying sounds easy enough.” Harry grinned at seeing the looks on his girlfriends’ faces.

“We’ll make sure to do it for every slow song then.” Lavender smiled fondly at Harry.

“I’d like that.” Harry smiled back at her.

“Thinking about it logically,” Padma started with a thoughtful look on her face. “Luna should be Harry’s date so that she can attend. The Ball is for Fourth Years and up. Luna is a Third Year.”

“That does make sense.” Parvati agreed with her twin.

“I agree.” Hermione nodded to the blonde Ravenclaw.

“Hmm, that didn’t take long for us to figure out, did it?” Susan chuckled.

“How about it, Harry? Luna? Do you want to go to the Yule Ball together?” Lavender questioned with a teasing grin.

“Luna,” Harry turned to face his girlfriend. “Would you do me the honor of being my date to the Yule Ball?”

“Yes.” Luna beamed at them all and pulled Harry into a hug. Harry returned the embrace and rubbed Luna’s back gently as she snuggled into him.

“What will the rest of you do though?” Harry wondered. He didn’t want them to miss out on the Ball. Though the instinctive part of him didn’t really want them to go with other guys either. Therian instincts could be quite powerful.

“Why not shake things up a bit?” Parvati had her mischievous grin on her pretty face.

“Parv…what’re you planning?” Padma questioned her twin with suspicious eyes.

“What?” Parvati grinned unrepentantly. “I just had a fun idea.”

“Do tell.” Susan looked rather interested already.

“As long as it doesn’t get us in trouble.” Hermione left her statement hanging; though the curiosity in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“What if we went with each other?” Parvati questioned.

“Like we took each other as dates?” Lavender asked with a tilt of her head.

“Yep!” Parvati grinned. “I’m not overly interested in taking some other guy and having to worry about them wanting to get handsy.”

“Oh my…” Hermione and Susan both breathed out in almost perfect unison.

“It’s not the worst idea.” Susan considered. “I know I’ve gotten some ‘looks’ already. This would be a good way to have a lovely evening.”

“We still have some time to think about it.” Hermione spoke up after a moment. “If we decide to do this then we can figure out who goes with whom.” Her cheeks were just slightly flushed while speaking. This was an idea she hadn’t considered at first, though the reasoning was sound. So she didn’t have any real objections to the idea. The brunette Gryffindor knew she’d spend a good amount of the evening in Harry’s arms with Parvati’s idea. That would make for a wonderful evening already in her opinion.

Later that same day Harry was approached by one of his competitors in the Tournament. The better one, in his eyes, since Fleur Delacour greeted him politely at least. The young Veela woman was smiling and pleasant.

“Bonne après-midi, Harry Potter, might I speak with you?” Fleur asked politely.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Delacour, I’d enjoy speaking with you as well.” Harry replied with the same level of politeness.

“Might I inquire as to who you are taking to the Yule Ball?” Fleur questioned curiously.

“Luna Lovegood, my youngest girlfriend.” Harry replied with a fond smile.

“Ah, it seems appropriate that you’d go with one of your lovely young ladies.” Fleur nodded, though Harry could tell the older teen was a bit put out.

“Still being hounded and accosted at all hours?” Harry commiserated with the beautiful young woman.

“As soon as I step foot in the castle each morning.” Fleur sighed exasperatedly. “I was hoping you might be able to help me with that. But you have quite a few girlfriends, so I guess it was a bit foolish.”

“Well, they’re planning to go with each other, they don’t want to worry about their date trying to get handsy or pushy with them.” Harry told the French Champion. “Everybody in Hogwarts knows about our relationship, because why wouldn’t they right? So most of the guys won’t ask them to the Ball anyway. The ones that do are usually older guys and the girls seem to think they have, less than honorable intentions.”

“It is possible they do.” Fleur nodded. “Many boys and young men would see a night like this as a chance to…get lucky, as they say.”

“They’re of the same opinion.” Harry replied since it was what the girls had been discussing earlier. “Though, we might be able to help you still.”

“How is that?” Fleur asked curiously.

“Well I’m taking Luna to the Ball. But that leaves five of my girlfriends to go with each other. As you can tell this leaves one of them out, which I refuse to do. So you’d also be helping us if you’d agree to have one of them as your date.” Harry explained to the silvery blonde.

“I would not mind.” Fleur looked thoughtful. “They are all lovely young women.”

“Would you like to meet them tonight? You could sit with us at dinner and start getting to know them.” Harry offered with a smile.

“I’d like that very much, Harry. I accept your invitation and look forward to dinner tonight.” Fleur agreed politely.

“We look forward to having you.” Harry returned, equally politely. Both Veela and Leonthrope cracked a grin before chuckling at going through such a trivial formality. “Thankfully we won’t have to talk like that anymore. I’m not much for formality and stuffiness. I’d rather talk comfortably with my friends.”

“Oh? Am I a friend already?” Fleur teased lightly.

“I’d like to think we’re friends.” Harry shrugged. “I know my girlfriends would all like to meet you and chat. As a man I’m not versed in ‘girl talk’, at least not according to every woman in my life, at any rate.”

“Most men are not, Harry, don’t take it personally.” Fleur giggled softly. “I’ll see you all at dinner.”

“See you then, Fleur.” Harry smiled and the two Champions parted ways.

Dinner that evening was a good time for all involved. Fleur had met all of his Hogwarts girlfriends and hit it off with them swimmingly. Hermione was a fount of questions about Beauxbatons. Fleur was all too happy to extol the virtues of her school; be it the curriculum, the grounds, the holidays and various school events. Hermione was almost bouncing at having her curiosity fed so well! Padma had asked about the differences between British and French Magical Education and Fleur had gone into the basics of the topic. Lavender and Parvati had both been interested in Magical France’s Fashion Scene and Fleur showed quite an amazing understanding of the subject. To put it simply, the Veela could easily ‘talk shop’ with the two aspiring Fashionistas which made her an instant friend with Lavender and Parvati.

Luna had asked about various Magical Creatures native to France. She also asked about some of the creatures that she and her father searched for during their summer trips. Much to the little blonde’s joy Fleur mentioned that a Magical Scholar in France very much believed that Heliopaths, or similar Fire Spirits, did exist. Though like most other Spirits only very specific Magics could interact with them. Luna had beamed at the older blonde and Fleur had smiled back instinctively. The spacey girl was too cute and reminder Fleur a bit of her little sister Gabrielle.

Susan had wondered about Fleur’s spell repertoire and the differences between the French and British Ministry; most particularly about the differences in the Auror Offices. Susan was adamant about following in her Aunt Amelia’s footsteps and becoming an Auror. Fleur couldn’t help but admire the redhead’s drive. She answered what she knew of the other girl’s questions.

For a first meeting it went amazingly well. The girls happily made plans to meet up and chat or study together. Harry was happy that his girlfriends were happy. The inclusion of a new friend to their social circle was always a good thing.

Time seemed to flow by for Harry. He studied and practiced Magic for the Tournament, went on dates with his girlfriends, chatted with Fleur and sent letters to Tonks. The bubbly Metamorph’s first response to him becoming friends with Fleur was full of her playful teasing. He was NOT trying to ‘grow his Pride’, no matter what it looked like! Eventually the Yule Break was upon them and Harry prepared himself for the Yule Ball.

-Yule Ball-

“Harry, stop fussing with your collar.” Lavender admonished him as she took his hand away from his neck. “It looks good, but you’re going to ruffle it if you keep touching it.”

“I don’t like this thing, it’s so stiff.” Harry grumbled as he shifted in his dress robes.

“But it looks good on you, Harry.” Parvati complimented again. The dark black dress robes were stylish and really brought out the green of Harry’s eyes.

“I think so too.” Luna smiled up at her boyfriend with a grin. Her pretty silvery blue dress was flowing and sparkled slightly when she moved. A Charm of some kind weaved into the fabric. Harry had complimented her on how beautiful she looked as soon as he’d seen her in it.

“Thank you, Luna.” Harry smiled as he pulled her into a hug.

“I’m glad our plan worked out.” Hermione smiled in her own dress. A lovely periwinkle gown that went well with Padma’s turquoise dress robes, the Ravenclaw looking absolutely stunning this evening. Likewise Parvati’s shocking pink dress robes complimented Lavender’s deep purple gown, the buxom blonde looking beautiful and refined. She’d happily joked about needing to match her date’s beauty and Parvati had giggled at her friend’s antics.

“Oh, here comes Susan and Fleur.” Padma announced and the group turned to look at the last of their party. Fleur looked resplendent in her silver gown, the tailoring showing off her waist and hips while only giving a glimpse at her cleavage. Susan likewise looked amazing, the busty Hufflepuff smiling in a gold dress that showed the briefest glimpse of her cleavage while flattering her figure. The two made for quite the sight together and Harry smiled brightly at the two.

“You two look lovely this evening.” Harry kissed Susan’s cheek softly.

“You’re looking handsome yourself, Harry.” Susan giggled as she looked him up and down.

“Thank you, Harry.” Fleur smiled at him. “We went for a bit of a Sun and Moon theme.” The Veela motioned between the gold of Susan’s dress and the silver of her own. Harry nodded, understanding what they were going for, even if he was much more interested in looking over his girlfriends in their formal wear. They all looked so lovely tonight.

“Champions over here please!” McGonagall called out by the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry and Luna moved towards the Transfiguration Professor along with Fleur and Susan. Viktor and his date, an upper year girl that Harry didn’t recognize, followed just behind. “When the doors open you’ll all enter the Hall first. Please make your way to the head table. We’ll be having dinner before the first dance of the evening.” The Scottish Witch explained the order that things would be done in.

“Yes, ma’am.” The Champions and their dates all acknowledged.

The Great Hall doors opened shortly after that. Harry and Luna entered, followed by Krum and his date, and then Fleur and Susan. As the group reached the head table Harry pulled out a chair for Luna. The small blonde smiled happily as she sat down and Harry pushed her chair in. Fleur had happily done the same for Susan who giggled slightly. Krum had settled his date before taking his own seat as well. The group exchanged pleasantries as Dumbledore and Reginald Crestwood took seats at their table. Ludo Bagman was the last to sit at their table. The former Pro Quidditch player apologizing for his near lateness citing a last minute conversation running long.

Everyone perused the menus on the table but no one seemed sure how to order. It wasn’t until Dumbledore looked at his plate and announced ‘pork chops’ that the food appeared. Now knowing what to do everyone quickly placed their own orders. Dinner was a lovely affair, the House Elves had gone all out for the evening and everything was delicious. Conversation started up and the tone of the meal maintained levity and fun. Stories were shared and everyone got to see a less surly side of Viktor Krum. The young Professional Quidditch player shared a story of an ‘overly enthusiastic’ fan trying to hide in the Bulgarian Team’s locker room to meet him. After the laughter had calmed down Ludo had told a similar story of his own Professional days.

“Champions the Opening Dance is about to start.” Dumbledore spoke up. “Please make your way down to the dance floor please. Harry offered his hand to Luna and the two happily made their way to the floor. The Weird Sisters band took up instruments on the stage, much to the shocked and delighted whispers of the crowd. A slow tune began to play and the Champions began to dance with their dates.

Harry and Luna kept to a simple waltz. The small blonde smiling brightly and making Harry’s heart fill with warmth at seeing her so happy. When the first dance finished the rest of the students began to fill the floor. Harry let Luna go and dance with Padma while he took Hermione into his arms.

“You’ve become a rather good dancer, Harry.” Hermione complimented her boyfriend with a smile.

“I had some good teachers.” Harry grinned back as they twirled around their section of the dance floor. When his dance with Hermione finished he found Parvati in his arms next.

“Lovely evening, isn’t it?” Parvati giggled as they danced together.

“How could it not be with my lovely girlfriends in attendance?” Harry replied as he kissed her cheek.

“Such a smooth talker.” Parvati ‘swooned’ and Harry couldn’t help but chuckle. Their dance ended only for Lavender to swipe him next.

“Hey Love.” Harry greeted as he twirled Lavender around.

“Hello to you too, darling.” Lavender batted her eyelashes playfully at her boyfriend. “Having fun?”

“With you around, always.” Harry teased back making Lavender giggle at him. The buxom blonde left him with a kiss on the cheek as Padma took her place.

“Getting tired yet?” Padma asked softly as she draped her arms over Harry’s shoulders.

“I’ve got a few more dances in me.” Harry reassured her with a smile. “I still have to slow dance with my lovely ladies.”

“Mmm, that you do.” Padma sighed happily as she moved with him to the music.

“Susan, how are you this evening?” Harry asked with a chuckle as Padma and Susan had switched during a twirl of the dance. Padma was now with Lavender as they danced a bit away from Susan and Harry.

“It’s been wonderful so far, Harry.” Susan smiled at him. “Several people are mumbling about so many girls going together though. It seems to agitate some of the more ‘traditional’ boys especially.”

“Well they’ll just have to get over, won’t they?” Harry grinned as he pecked Susan’s lips and the Hufflepuff giggled while they danced. The dancing slowed for a moment and Susan went to scoop Luna into her arms for a dance while Fleur joined Harry.

“It seems my partner has been taken, Harry, I hope you don’t mind?” Fleur smiled softly at him.

“As if I would mind a dance with a lovely young lady.” Harry replied in a, poorly, fake ‘high class’ tone.

“I’m glad.” Fleur laughed as they spun to the slightly faster beat. “It’s been a lovely night so far. Your girlfriends have kept the drooling masses away.”

“They want you to enjoy the Ball just as much as they are, Fleur.” Harry replied as he twirled them around. “You’re our friend and you deserve to enjoy the night instead of keeping hands from wandering or avoiding drool.”

“Thank you, Harry.” Fleur smiled warmly at him and the Leonthrope felt a warmth bloom in his chest. He liked that smile quite a lot. The two separated and Harry took a break from dancing to get the girl’s some drinks. The group of eight sat together and sipped pumpkin juice from glasses. Harry smiled and laughed with his girlfriends while they all took a break. A slow song started up and Harry and Luna were practically forced onto the dance floor by the rest of the girls.

“I hope you’re having a wonderful night, Luna.” Harry murmured softly to the blonde Ravenclaw. The two were gently swaying back and forth, holding each other close.

“Mmm. It’s been amazing, Harry.” Luna snuggled into his arms and Harry could practically feel the joy radiating from her. He smiled as he gently ran his hand up and down her back.

The slow dancing continued for the rest of the Ball. Harry enjoyed the closeness with his girlfriends. Swaying to the soft music as he held them close, murmuring words of affection back and forth. It was a tender moment for them and wonderful memories were made. The Ball ended with Harry taking each of the girls on an evening stroll through the garden that had been made just for the night. They’d walked Fleur to the Beauxbatons Carriage as a group. The French Witch had surprised them all by kissing Susan on the lips and thanking her for a wonderful night. Susan was left with red cheeks and a grin that wouldn’t go away. Harry had playfully accused Fleur of trying to seduce his girlfriend only to get a warm kiss on the cheek himself. Fleur had bid them all a good night and closed the carriage door while Harry was still trying to get his thoughts straight from the kiss.

“Come on, Harry.” Lavender grinned at her stunned boyfriend. “We all want goodnight kisses too.” Harry happily let himself be led back into the castle for that!

-First Week of January-

“Are you sure?” Harry whispered to Fleur as they met in an out of the way corridor.

“Yes, Harry, I saw him myself.” Fleur assured her friend. “Krum had his Golden Egg in hand and submerged himself in the Lake. When he came up a minute or two later he had a look of understanding on his face.”

“So we need to what, listen to that horrible shrieking underwater?” Harry guessed and Fleur nodded to him.

“I believe so.” Fleur sighed. “I hope the Second Task is not in the Lake. It’ll be February! I don’t wish to swim in a Scottish Lake in winter.” The Veela girl shivered at the mere thought.

“Thank you for telling me this, Fleur. It means a lot.” Harry thanked his friend with a smile.

“Of course, Harry.” Fleur smiled back. “I know that you would tell me if you had discovered this.”

“Of course I would.” Harry nodded. “I wouldn’t let you go into any of these Tasks blind. They’re already dangerous enough as is.”

“Thank you, Harry.” Fleur grinned and the two friends parted ways for now.

“Where the hell am I going to listen to this Egg underwater?” Harry mused as he headed for the Gryffindor Common Room. “The showers probably aren’t going to cut it. Maybe the girls will know something?” With that Harry hurried off to the tower. Hopefully one of them would know a way besides jumping into the Black Lake in the middle of winter. At least he hoped they would. He had no desire to freeze and he wasn’t the strongest of swimmers anyway. He’d learned a bit last summer, but that had only been to learn and enjoy a pool date with Lavender on occasion. The thought of his buxom blonde girlfriend in her bikini made Harry’s teenage brain try to picture what Fleur would look like in a bikini.

‘Stop it brain!’ Harry shook his head.

‘She desires us, mate her!’ Harry deciphered his Therian instincts easily now days.

‘Shush!’ Harry yelled in his own head. Now was NOT the time for such thoughts! He had a clue to finally decipher.

-End Chapter-

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Yule Ball is warm and fuzzy! Fleur seems to be working her way into Harry’s Pride! Where will that end up? The Egg is about to be deciphered! What happens if you take a Leonthrope’s loved one and put them at the bottom of a frigid lake? Well SOMEONE is going to find out come the second task! Also a certain ‘Queen’ comes for the Family Visit during the Second Task! How will she react to the lovely Fleur? Besides the obvious teasing, of course!

Until I get your reviews, later!