EAD – A Veela Effective Solution

Title: A Veela EffectiveSolution
Author: Saydria Wolfe
Pairing: Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini
Warning: Implied Sexual situations? Girl!Harry
Summary: When Harry Potter’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, she and an unlikely partner come up with a, well, a Veela Effective Solution.

“What did you need to see me for?” A male voice asks after the door to her hiding place opens and closes softly.

Dobby found her the place, called it the Come and Go Room, and promised her she could hide here whenever she needs to.  She figures she’s going to need it a lot between Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ron, and this stupid Tournament.

She didn’t expect anyone else to use it though.

“It’s about Harry Potter,” A familiar voice says. She peeks around the edge of her chair to see Blaise Zabini standing with a man that is probably his father. “Someone entered her in the Tournament, obviously against her will, and none of the school owls would take my letter. Mephistophiles couldn’t leave with it at all.”

“If I weren’t suspended I’d take it to the Board,” The older man starts and then stops with a frown.

“They wouldn’t have gotten the Tournament in place if they hadn’t suspended you.” Blaise says in the tone of an oft-repeated reminder. “But you can document the current ward structure and take it to the DMLE. There are enough young Lords and Heirs here to make interfering with their House business like that a crime, even for the Chief Warlock.”

“That’s true,” Lord Zabini agrees. “Though an anonymous tip would be better for my future placement on the Bo-” The man catches sight of her and goes still.

It’s not like she was hiding, curled up on a chair by the fire. Regardless, she stands even as Blaise whips around, wand in hand. She holds her hands up as she steps closer, “Why wouldn’t they have gotten this Tournament have happened if you were on the Board of Governors?”

“Our house is the reason it was canceled in the first place,” Blaise says evenly, lowering his wand. “During the last one a Lord lost both his sister and his betrothed in a single Tournament. The Durmstrang Champion won by default because he was the only one breathing on the day of the Third Task and even he didn’t survive the month. The Tournament is heinous. Disgustingly irresponsible, even if the participants were all of age.”

“Is there a way to get me out of it?” She asks. “I didn’t put my name forward. I don’t see how I should be bound to a promise someone else made on my behalf.”

“You swear you didn’t put your own name in the Goblet of Fire?” Lord Zabini asks.

“Of course.” She holds her wand up, tip to the stars. “I, Harriet Iolanthe Potter, swear on my magic that I did not put my name in the Goblet of Fire and I do not want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament in any way other than the required spectation. So mote it be.” Magic sweeps over her and she slashes a cutting curse at a nearby chair. The leg severs and the chair wobbles but the magic of the room disappears the chair entirely before it can hit the floor.

“You need an advocate.”

“I’ve never had an advocate,” She scoffs. “Unless you’re volunteering? Or do you mean like a real advocate, like a lawyer?”

“I mean an adult with legal standing to stand up for you.”

“And we’re back to never having one. So you want to do it?” She asks again.

“If I were on the Board, I could but I was suspended for the school year. You need someone that’s family.”

Harry blows out a breath and then asks cheekily, “Do you need a wife?”

He scoffs. “Pretty sure my husband would object,” and then he raises an eyebrow at Blaise.

Her yearmate raises an eyebrow right back at his father? Uncle? She has no idea. And holds out his hand to her.

She hesitates because Slytherin, half his house would love to murder her. But it’s pretty stupid to be willing to trust Lord Zabini and then turn around and not trust the boy he’s clearly raised. She puts her hand in his.

His skin is warm, smooth, and his magic makes something tingle in her belly. He closes his hand around hers and she can barely breathe for how good it feels.

“Yeah,” He croaks, and has to clear his throat before he continues. “Yes, Uncle, we’re compatible. Very compatible.”

“I can’t know your decision,” He tells them both. “But I can tell you that while you can’t legally marry without your guardian’s permission, even for a nobleman taking a noblewoman’s virginity will legally force the issue of your marriage between the two of you. And if you become my niece, I can definitely stand as your advocate.”

“But I’m not a noblewoman.”

Lord Zabini boggles at her but Blaise is the one that speaks. “Everyone knows that the Potters are the last of the Magical Line of Gryffindor, that makes you Lady Gryffindor once you’re considered an adult. That makes you a noblewoman. In Slytherin, there’s the theory you’re the future Lady Slytherin too. Through conquest, because you beat Voldemort three times.”

“Marriage would make me an adult?” She guesses.

“Legally, yes.”

Lord Zabini makes a noise. “Yes and no. You have no parents and your guardian has obviously done a criminally shite job, so yes. But you’re in school, so no.”

“But wouldn’t that force me into the Tournament?” She asks. “As an adult I’d be considered qualified.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t volunteer.” He reminds.

Marriage. To a boy she barely knows. It’s a lot to think about. It’s one thing to be a cheeky little shit about. It’s another to do. He has a number of valuable virtues though.

“You’re second in our year after Hermione.”

Blaise raises an eyebrow at her. “You’re fourth after Draco.”

“I could do better if people weren’t constantly trying to kill me.” She say, knowing it’s defensive even as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“And without Ron Weasley in your life.”

She wants to be offended but seriously, he’s turned on her again. He did it so many times before she stopped showing him her grades first year but it was minor. Small and petty. Then Second Year was a complete mess once she was outed as a parselmouth. Third, he’d refused to stand with her in public, as if Sirius Black might kill him on accident if he got too close.

She’s not actually an idiot so she should really stop acting like one where her first so-called ‘friend’ is concerned. Hermione at least would honor the title.

“Why would you want to marry me?” She asks rather than poke more at her quickly dying friendship.

Blaise’s uncle takes that as his cue to leave and does so with nods to them both. Blaise moves to sit in front of the fireplace and in a fit of purely Gryffindor recklessness she joins him on the love seat.

“When I’m an adult,” He tells her with all due seriousness. “I will become Lord Ravenclaw. I was sorted to Slytherin because it is my ambition to fix the school. Hogwarts offers half the classes it should. The intelligence and magical standards for admission have fallen horrifically. This manufactured rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor is detrimental to our education and bullying is an unrestrained problem -student-on-student and teacher-on-student bullying, alike. The standards teachers are supposed to meet and keep to earn employment vanished. And I don’t need to tell you, of all people, that the school is physically and magically unsafe.”

She nods. Nobody knows how dangerous this school is more intimately than she does. “I figured all that nonsense was part of how magicals fail at logic.”

“That’s part of it.” He agrees, “But if we fix the school, we can teach future generations to use logic and our society will begin improve.”

“And you want Lady Gryffindor-and-maybe-Slytherin to help you out.”

“It wasn’t part of my original plans but I wouldn’t say no.” He tells her easily, openly. “I would be a fool to say no. Especially after feeling how compatible we are.”

“Okay,” She nods. “Okay.” It’s impulsive and possibly stupid but if it doesn’t get her out of the Tournament at least she won’t die a virgin. “I have conditions though.”

“Fair.”

“If I die –only if I die- you take my titles. The school needs to be better and if I die I will give you the power to do that. If you swear to me you’ll do that.”

He points his wand at the stars. “I swear on my magic I will do everything I can to fix this school, to make is safe for students of all genders, ages, and blood statuses, and to restore it’s previous exceptional educational standards. So mote it be.”

“I also,” She hesitates. It’s an ugly thing to ask but if she can’t ask it, is he really worth marrying? Worth giving her virginity to? “I can’t take Draco’s mouth on this matter. Not our marriage, not the Tournament. I know he’s your friend but between Ron and the Hufflepuffs I am done. I can’t take any more”

“He will never say another hateful thing to you again.” He promises and he’s so solemn about it she’s actually afraid.

“He’s clever,” She tells him hastily. “So it might be fun to sass each other. In a few months. If we manage to become proper friends.”

“Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of. You?”

“It depends on which vows we take. Missy!” A little female elf pops into place before him. “The family book of rites, please, Missy.”

The elf snaps and a book appears in her hands. She hands it over and disappears with a pop.

“We need to decide our vows now?” She questions. “I thought we were just having sex.”

He smirks at her blush. “Yes, we’ll need to have sex to put the plan in motion but I’d like to pick our vows now. We hardly know each other, having something we’re both invested in to discuss will teach us a great deal about each other.”

“Okay,” She nods. “I’m not vowing to obey you. If I’m keeping my titles, I need to be able to do my own thing.” She tilts her head with a frown. “I get to keep my own titles, don’t I?”

“Yes, we’ll put it in our marriage contract, or as the muggles call it our prenuptial agreement. I believe?”

“Yes,” And then because she has to ask. “How do you even know that?”

“My favorite cousin is a muggle in America. I spent most of my summers with his family before Hogwarts.”

“So you can pass?”

“Yes. A rare but useful skill among purebloods.” He hesitates. “You should know I am a quarter Veela. Do you know what that is?”

“The bird women that made all the blokes go crazy at the World Cup?”

“Yes. We’re more than that, obviously. My grandmother is a full Veela. She’ll be very interested in my mating. In us. But that’s a good thing because Veela and their mates have a number of rights that no one can take away. If they try its a crime against magic and the ICW will see them executed.”

“This marriage thing is sounding more like a favor to me than a mutual kind of thing.”

He throws his head back and laughs. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I know you don’t get it because you haven’t been taught, but having three of our four Hogwarts Heirs on my side is huge for me and my future plans. Having three of the five Dukes of Magical Britain -huge.”

“Five?” She asks.

“Black, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The five magical dukes.”

“Oh. Four out of five then.”

“Four?” He tips his head. “You know who Hufflepuff is?”

“No but Sirius Black is my godfather and he’s the rightful Lord of Black, I heard the Weasely’s talking about it. I’m pretty sure he’d do anything for me, if I asked. I mean, he broke out of Azkaban fo me, that seems like a good indicator. If your Uncle helped us get him a trial, that’d pretty much guarantee it.”

“Get him- He hasn’t had a trial?”

“Nope. Dumbledore said he’d work on it but how long does that take? Its been 6 months.”

“The legislative powers of the Chief Warlock are rather limited but the judicial powers are ridiculous. He could just declare that he’s holding a trial for Sirius Black, designate defense and prosecution, and a date and there would be no getting around him. They couldn’t even remove him from office until after the trial was complete.”

“That doesn’t take six months.”

“No. Six months is the length of time usually given for each side to prepare. But there has been no announcement in the Daily Prophet so he hasn’t even started to process.”

“Why?!? Dementors are still hunting for him, does he want Sirius to get murdered?”

Blaise frowns and thinks about it for a moment so Harry waits. “I’d have to say yes, he does. I don’t honestly know why he would do such a thing. How would that benefit him? But what else fits?”

“Dumbledore should be put in Azkaban.” She grumbles, flopping back onto the couch. “They should put him in Sirius’s old cell. See how he likes it.”

He looks at her and she’s seen that look, usually aimed at Draco. It means ‘we can make that happen‘ but she doesn’t know if she really wants that. If he’s a earned it, of course. Obviously, he should go to Azkaban but not just because she’s mad at him.

“Okay so you’re getting all the backup you need to make your dreams happen and I’m getting the protection no one else can give me. Does that sound right?”

He nods to her. Just once, infinitely solemn and sort of endearingly earnest.

“So how do we do this?”

-*-

“Blaise!” Draco calls out, his best put upon tone in full effect as he pushes into his best friend’s room. “What is wrong with you? You never sleep this late, it’s almost lunch! If we’re going to Hogsmeade-” And he stops. He can only blink at what he sees on the bed. It doesn’t make sense. Blaise is there, obviously, but there’s something on his chest.

A lot of pale skin, a waterfall of inky black hair. Draco doesn’t understand until she raises her head and bright emerald eyes meet his. From where he’s standing he can see enough of her back and side to confidently conclude she’s naked.

Harry bleeding Potter.

In bed.

With his best friend.

Awareness flashes into her eyes like lightning even as he lets out a horrified scream.

“No!” She shouts and throws a hand out in his direction.

Something invisible -magic, obviously- pushes him out the door and slams it after him. The ghost of a shield forms in the air before the door with a very real metallic clink. The shield itself as a Gryffin charging forward, wings spread and looking furious, across the red top half and a bright green basilisk coiled and rearing with its crest spread on the bottom black half.

“Draco?” Theo grabs him as he and the Seventh Year Prefect skid to a stop.

“Get Snape,” He tells them and glances again at the door. “And McGonagall. Something happened. I- I don’t even know.”

By the time McGonagall storms the dorms with her wand drawn, Snape has tried a half dozen counter curses but nothing has affected the shield one whit. If anything it’s gotten stronger.

“Which of my students is behind that door?” She asks evenly as one part of her clenches but a different one eases.

“Harry Potter,” Her fellow Head growls.

She glares at him until he shifts back a step in silent apology. “Put your wand away.” She orders. “All of you. Anything any single one of you casts will be doubled upon your Head of House, I swear it on my magic.”

Severus’s mouth tightens and he nods before silently dismissing everyone but Malfoy and Nott.

“Who’s room is this?” She asks the three Slytherins that remain.

“Blaise Zabini’s, ma’am,” Nott says, more or less respectfully.

“The quarter Veela,” she rounds on Severus. “You attacked the quarters of a Veela -a male Veela- while they contain a possible mate? Are you out of your bleeding mind?”

All three of their mouths drop open and she barely refrains from rolling her eyes. Instead she turns and gently places her fist on the rather lovely and suitably heroic shield and knocks.

-*-

“What was that?” Blaise asks sleepily as he rubs at his face.

“Uh,” Harry blushes as she sits up. She’s never woken up with somebody before, it’s. Nice. It’s something she could come to want. “McGonagall taught all the girls in my year ways to protect ourselves and our space back in First Year. She said even magical men need lines very clearly drawn before they’ll respect them. That was a combination charm and ward she invented. It’s surprisingly simple, designed to be cast wandlessly.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Pretty sure she invented it,” Harry agrees. “No one knows how to get through it but her. And the other Gryffindor girls, of course.”

Blaise tenses.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s casting offensive magic out there. At us.”

Harry frowns. “Probably Snape. He hates me, the bastard.”

“Put on some clothes,” He orders as he slips bare ass out of bed.

Yesterday’s clothes are on the floor waiting for her but they’re wrinkled and kind of gross. “Dobby?” She tries.

The elf pops in front of her, “My Harry Potter needs her Dobby?”

“Can you get me a uniform skirt and some clean knickers? And take yesterday’s uniform away, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes, My Harry Potter. Dobby does it right away.”

“No shirt?” Blaise questions, glancing over his shoulder. “Brave choice.”

“I thought I’d steal a jumper from you, actually. That green one with the gold and black bands across the chest and biceps? Its my favorite of the ones I’ve seen you in.”

He just smirks at her, obviously pleased, and reaches back into his wardrobe for the jumper in question. She’s pulled it on and refreshed her Support Charm when Dobby pops back into place with the requested skirt and a pair of lacey green panties Harry has never seen before in her life.

“Dobby?” They’re cute but she’s not wearing someone else’s panties. No way.

The elf has the grace to blush and look away. “Head Elf Deedee be teaching Dobby lace making. They match yous sweater.”

Harry takes them. They’re softer than she expected and they’re woven through with privacy spells so she shrugs and pulls them on. She can feel cute and wear something pretty and no one will ever know. Well, no one other than Blaise but she’s pretty okay with his knowledge. “Thank you, Dobby.”

She pulls on the skirt which looks just like a fringe on her thighs thanks to the excessively large size of her, well, future husband’s jumper.

He comes to her and pulls her around the bed.

In short order she’s in the corner, along the wall where the door is but with as much distance between them as possible. Blaise sets himself firmly between herself and the door. She has no idea what he’s feeling but he keeps getting tenser. Drawing his wand and pretty quickly forming a fireball in his free hand.

It’s stupid really. The ward is rather easy to get through just not with magic.

Any magic cast on it actually makes it stronger.

Harry puts her hand on Blaise’s lower back to calm him. She’s seen Mr. Weasley do it to Mrs. Weasley and hopefully it will work now for Blaise as well.

He leans back into her hand gently but doesn’t take his eyes off the door.

Another thing to get used to. Someone that actually moves between her and danger. Whether he wants to or its just Veela instinct, he still did it. Is still doing it, actually, and it’s so weird.

Blaise’s rising fury gives way to confusion, she thinks. It’s hard to tell. She doesn’t know him personally well enough to judge just by the line of his shoulders but she has a lot of experience reading emotional states from the tiniest cues. The ability saved her a lot of grief at the Dursleys.

Harry makes a face at herself. That’s really not a good thing to contemplate while being pressed against a wall by her husband.

Then she loses it on a laugh as he tilts his head, like a curious dog.

Well. More like a bird, probably.

A soft knock echoes through the room. Gentle, questioning. Not a demand, no anger.

“That should be Professor McGonagall.” She tells him. “Can she come in?”

Blaise looks over his shoulder and frowns at her, “It’s your ward.”

“It’s your room.”

He quirks an eyebrow at her, “As long as they don’t mean either of us any harm, she and anyone with her can come in.”

The door immediately swings open and McGonagall marches right through the transparent shield still covering the doorway. Snape, Malfoy, and Nott immediately move to follow. Snape walks face first into the thing and staggers back, clutching his hopefully-broken nose and giving both boys time to put their hands up find the surprisingly solid surface that way.

McGonagall scowls at the three of them then focuses on Harry. “Miss Potter, what are you doing in the Slytherin dorms?”

“I decided I didn’t want to die a virgin,” Okay she decided that after the fact but it’s still true. Mostly. “So I asked someone I trust for a favor.”

McGonagall’s eyebrows raise in some emotion Harry’s never seen on her before. She knows her shenanigans have pissed the woman off before but that’s not what this is. Harry doesn’t really know what this is. “And you, Mr. Zabini?”

“My mate asked something of me. I could do nothing less than what she wanted.”

The older woman’s shoulders ease and for a moment she looks pleased, then she nods. “And do either of you know why the new Slytherin password is ‘Severus Snape is an utter arsehole’?”

Harry meets Blaise’s eyes and fights a laugh that would get her in so much trouble. Luckily Blaise is just as amused as she is.

“The old password was ‘mudblood’.” Harry tells her Head of House as evenly as she can and the woman lets out an outraged gasp. “Obviously neither of us wanted to say the word. When the sentry serpents asked what was wrong I informed them that whoever set their password was an utter arsehole. Neither of us could change the password but is it really a surprise that they gave such credence to the word of the Heir to two Founders?”

McGonagall smiles at her, “So you know.”

“Snakes are very helpful creatures.” Harry returns evenly. “As long as you respect their pride. I don’t know fully what my heir-status means but I will be educating myself as quickly as possible.”

“And I’m going to help,” Blaise says, moving closer to her.  “Since no one else seems interested in helping.”

McGonagall nods and calls a house elf. “Deedee, please fetch Lord Dorian Zabini. Inform he’s needed at Hogwarts immediately. Inform him to come directly to the Headmaster’s office.”

 

 

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