RP: Dog Walkers

[shh_harry]

Date: June 3, 2005
Characters: Harry and Cocoa and Fleur and Napoleon
Location: by the south bank of the river
Status: Semi-Private
Summary: A chance meeting of two former Champions
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[shh_fleur]

The events of the night before made Fleur smile to herself as she and Napoleon crossed the river bridge to the southern bank. She did not know what had possessed her to traverse the bridge. Perhaps somewhere deep inside she missed the cozy charm of this part of Stoatshead now that she was no longer a part of it. She also thought about checking on Bill as she assumed he would be injured in some capacity after Friday's Full Moon. Maybe she would walk by the house at Lovegood and South, knock on the door to see if anyone was inside. She hoped he did not have to be taken to the hospital this month...

For now she would walk along the river with her new companion, a gentleman who completely adored her. Napoleon proudly strutted alongside Fleur, snout-like nose held high. She loved him already.

But that was the way Fleur was with the men she loved...falling head-over-heels for them from the first second she laid eyes on them. So far it had happened to her with Bill, Little Napoleon, and perhaps...

"No, not yet," she thought with a

[shh_harry]

Harry saw the woman and squat, black dog making their way towards him at the same time Cocoa did, and he firmed up his hold on Cocoa's leash. With good reason, because his puppy was already straining to run ahead and meet the newcomers, yipping and whining.

"Steady!" Harry laughed. "Heel, boy." Cocoa promptly didn't, nearly ripping the leash out of Harry's hands. Laughing, he sped up to keep pace.

"Sorry, he's very young and-- Fleur?" He'd been so intent on keeping his dog from knocking the dogwalker down that he hadn't actually looked at her until now.

[shh_fleur]

When Napoleon realized that the dog approaching at such great speed was perhaps three times his size, the Frenchie stood still and dug down his front paws almost akimbo and rooted his back feet in a ridiculous act of posturing that made Fleur laugh out loud.

"My little hero," she smiled down, "Are you going to protect me from the big bad doggie?"

The man coming toward them sped up as he wrestled his dog back, it was still a puppy, and then Fleur heard her name spoken by a familiar voice.

"Harry!" she cried out, "Bonjour Harry! I did not know you had a doggie of your own. What a sweet little boy! Awwww, he even looks like you with his dark hair and long legs."

[shh_harry]

Cocoa came skidding to a halt and yipped twice at the new dog. His bark was becoming deeper now, though he still sounded like a happy puppy than a big bad predator. He proceeded to circle around the smaller dog at a crazy speed, tail wagging so hard it looked as if it might come flying off.

Pleased that she recognized him, Harry held his free hand out to her. "Bonjour to you, Fleur. It's been ages!" He laughed at her description. "No one's compared me to him before, though they say it's not uncommon for pets and owners to look alike." He took an exaggerated moment to glance back and forth between Fleur and her dog. "Sorry to say I don't see a resemblance between the two of you at all."

[shh_harry]

Harry frowned, looking at Fleur intensely. All right, she was beautiful, that was evident. More than beautiful, in fact. She was stunning. Harry knew that he used to get tongue-tied around her all the time. Then again, he'd never been as tongue-tied as Ron used to get. And he'd never been as bad as Ron around Veela in general. He remembered Ron in the forest at the Quidditch World Cup the night the Death Eaters marched. Ron had had to be physically pulled back from the group of lost Veela, but Harry had just found it amusing.

"Do you think I could be immune, somehow?" Harry asked. "I mean, you're as lovely as always, don't get me wrong, I just have a completely clear head right now. Does that come with maturity, being able to function around Veela?"

[shh_fleur]

"Oui, partly," Fleur observed, "When ze boys are young much can be attributed to raging 'ormones for the silliness they show in ze presence of Veela. With age and ze stabilization of ze male physical make up comes a sense of control, but the feeling of desire, it is always zere, underlying a man's encounter with a Veela. It is complicated, having to do with pheromone and hormone levels and ze Veela's ability to intuit the needs and desires of others. Put zese things together and you have what you so lovingly call Veela mojo. It is not so much magic as a kind of sensitivity."

She wondered what might keep Harry calm and unmuddled in her presence. It could be attributed to any number of things.

"Many reasons could contribute to your immunity," she speculated as she gave him a good looking over, "You are not neutered or castrated, like a dog...," both Cocoa and Napoleon seemed to squirm a bit at this statement. "Gay men," she began as she glanced at him sideways, "Zey feel an affinity to us, zough it is not based on sexual desire

[shh_harry]

Somehow, Harry's cheeks managed to deepen by a shade of red with each comment she made, until he was the exact hue of a proudly Gryffindor banner.

"I'm not neutered!" he spluttered, and then realised that by saying that, it sounded like tacit agreement to the other options. "Or gay! I've only ever dated girls, honestly. And I can't be in love, since my last couple of dates have been totally disastrous." He transferred Cocoa's leash from one hand to the other, then back again, distracting himself for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. He wasn't gay. He couldn't be in love. So there were no other alternatives.

"I guess I must be really mature," he said, sounding like he was thirteen years old, proclaiming his independence. "Honestly, it turns out I'm the worst dater in the world and will likely be alone forever."