She didn't dare to pick up anything and only sat back while moving closer to the window so she could look out.
"Are you planning to go to Hogwarts for the exchange program, Celine?" Harry asked as he let his Veela girlfriend feed him bites from whatever she was eating.
"N-no," She shook her head, "O-only the n-ninth and t-tenth years are allowed to go there…" She had a slight tone of longing shine through her stutters. She had missed an opportunity of a lifetime by a single year.
"Calm down, will you?" Fleur's voice sent Celine into another daze as the Veela pouted, "Give her that Occlumency amulet if you're bringing her with us. I'm not going to act like a mute…" She complained, "Nor am I restraining all of my allure when I'm with you…" She mumbled.
"Shh…" Harry gently rubbed her hair and gave her a kiss on the side of her lips to wipe away some butter that had gotten on her lips, "You never need to act like a mute." He said, "If they can't handle your voice, then that's their problem. You never have to restrain yourself when you're with me. I'll take care of everything."
Fleur looked at Harry with a light smile before feeding him another bite. She snapped her fingers and Celine came back to reality feeling as light as a feather. Her previously frayed nerves that made her all tense and stuttery were all calm now.
"Feel better?" Harry asked.
"Mhm…" She nodded while panicking inwardly about the unreal methods of the duo in front of her. Even that panic disappeared a few seconds later as if it was never there in the first place, 'What kind of calming spell is this overpowered?' She was in disbelief.
"Eat. And tell me, do you want to go to Hogwarts this year?" Harry offered casually.
"Hu?" She'd just eaten a bite when she almost choked and started coughing. Recovering after a few seconds, she said, "C-can I?" She asked with excitement shining through her eyes.
"Sure." Harry shrugged, "You just need to be our assistant for the trip and we'll bring you with us." He said.
That made her hesitate for a second. Her senior's words of advice were still ringing through her head, telling her that this duo was dangerous, 'But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity…' She hyped herself up.
"B-but I don't have the kind of money that would allow me to go for such an expensive exchange program." She hesitated, "My family can only pay for my tuition…"
"That's all fine. Since you're coming with us as our assistant, we'll sponsor you," Harry said. Neither he nor Fleur had any kind of money problems. Fleur had the Delacour fortune along with the fortune that her grandmother left. As for Harry, he was the only child of the ancient house of Potter. With his mother making sound financial decisions, the money in the Potter vault was only increasing, despite their spending habits being lavish to say the least.
"S-sponsor me?" She was surprised, "But it's such an expensive program, almost equivalent to the school fees for two years combined…"
"It's all about perspective." Harry shrugged her concerns off, "What's a lot to you, might be nothing for me."
Seeing that she was still silent. Harry decided to give her a little push, "So?" He asked, "Decide quickly. You have five seconds. 5…" He looked into her eyes as she panicked, "…4…" Her panic automatically dispelled as she registered his words, "…3…" Harry continued his countdown as she was stuck in indecision, "…2—" Just as he said two, she almost shouted her agreement.
"Yes!" She felt embarrassed and shrunk in her seat before repeating, "Y-yes. I'll work as your assistant."
"Good. You will refer to me as sir, and to Fleur as madam. Got it?" Harry seemed to already be treating her as their employee.
She blushed before nodding, "O-okay."
"Hm?" Harry gave her a sharp-eyed glare and she understood.
"Okay, sir." She looked down embarrassedly.
"Good. Make yourself comfortable for now. We have a long journey. Another occupant should be arriving soon enough." Harry said as Celine just nodded before absently grabbing a croissant and leaning back in her seat before pulling her legs up and resting them on the seat. She was lost in thoughts about one of the finest magical schools in the world.
'They don't seem that bad…' She thought as she saw Fleur and Harry mingling with each other. It seemed to her that they had cast a silencing charm to prevent her from being affected by Fleur's voice, 'Maybe he had exaggerated things…' She thought about her senior's words, not knowing what the future held in store for her.
…
After they had finished their lunch, Celine leaned against the window and pulled her legs up before closing her eyes to take a nap.
As for Harry and Fleur, they resumed making out, not caring that there was another person in the room. Considering that Fleur treated the seats as low-quality garbage — only sitting on Harry's lap for the past few hours — it was clear that neither she nor Harry cared about Celine's presence.
However, much to Fleur's annoyance, their door was slammed open after a while. It not only made Harry and Fleur separate from each other, but it also startled Celine and woke her up.
"'Arry~" A younger version of Fleur entered the compartment and jumped on Harry.
'Not again…' Celine realized that she was getting hit by the newcomer's allure. She tried her best to resist the encroaching influence that would put her in a daze, but after her experience with Fleur, she knew that it was hopeless, 'Wait…' She realized that she was able to resist the influence, 'Maybe it's because she's younger…' She thought as she looked at the newcomer who had the same locks of hair as Fleur but hers were tied up in pigtails.
Harry could only smile wryly and open his arm to catch Gabrielle so that she didn't collide with Fleur. He controlled her momentum such that she ended up sitting beside him.
"Why are you here so early?" Fleur said with an annoyed tone, "And where's your necklace? Look what you did to our new assistant." Fleur said destroying all the resistance that Celine had and she could only look in Fleur's direction in a daze.
"I didn't do it," Gabrielle said, "She resisted my allure. It's your fault." She said in a childish voice, "'Arry, tell her…" She looked up to Harry as if he was her savior and tried to turn him on Fleur.
"Shh…" Harry put one hand on both girls' heads, "Calm down and stop fighting. Where's your necklace, Gabi?" He asked gently while continuing to rub both girls' hair.
Fleur felt his comforting touch and felt herself calming down. However, she still pouted and looked away as he talked to Gabrielle.
The younger Delacour was much more receptive to his affection and closed her eyes while comfortably enjoying his caresses, "Here…" She took it out of her pocket.
"Why did you take it off?" Harry asked her, "You know it's difficult for you to restrain your allure, right?"
"I don't like it," She pouted while leaning on Harry's side, "It's suffocating."
"Is that so," Harry said, "But without it, you won't be able to make any friends your age. You don't want to be an antisocial Veela like your sister, right?" He asked.
"Hey!" Fleur protested, "I'm not antisocial."
"Tell me the name of one person that you consider your friend other than me." Harry looked at her dead in the eyes, making Fleur shrink back.
"Um…" She thought for a few moments, "Celine." She looked at their new assistant with a proud look in her eyes, "She's my friend."
Harry ignored her, "See, Gabi?" He pointed to Fleur, "We're paying Celine to be Fleur's friend. You Don't want to be like that, do you?"
"'Arry, I will drop all pretenses, I swear…" Fleur threatened.
"She's your sister, Fleur." Harry gave her a light peck on her lips, "Let me make her understand the important things."
His words made Fleur pout as she rested her face on his shoulder, ignoring him and her little sister.
"I did talk to them for a while. But they were all talking about boring things. I only took off the necklace when I was coming here." She explained while shooting Fleur an envious glance.
"Well, then you deserve some praise, huh?" He smiled before giving her forehead a kiss, "You did very well."
"'Arry…" Gabrielle called him while looking up into his eyes without blinking.
"What is it?" He asked.
"You always kiss Fleur on her lips, but only kiss me on the forehead. Why is that?" She asked innocently, "Do you love me less?"
***
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