Damaged Raven

chapter 10

The next few days at the Delacour house were a bit odd in Harry's opinion. Harry wasn't one to brag but he was intelligent and observational, he observed the people he was staying with but he still wasn't very sure about the,. Harry could understand the father, he was simple enough. He was disturbed by Harry's face and clearly didn't want him spending too much time with his daughters. The looks that he sent and tried to hide were what gave it away.

Then there was the youngest girl, a child with a childlike curiosity, she usually looked at him with confusion. It appeared like she couldn't quite understand why Harry looked the way he did. Again, that like her father was understandable. The mother wasn't as simple as her husband, Harry got the sense that she seemed much accepting of Harry and appeared to be trying to mother him. She would always offer him food or drinks or do little things like asking if he was alright or checking up on him every few hours. He wasn't sure what he did to warrant such care but until he figured it out he would remain polite.

The eldest daughter was the centre of Harry's confusion, the girl was...for lack of a better term, weird. She always seemed unrealistically happy when he saw her, she would spend as much time with him as possible though she seemed to be worrying about bothering him by spending too much time with him. On the one hand, yes she was bothering him, but on the other she was at least smart enough to realise it or at least consider it. Putting her higher in Harry's opinion then the majority of Hogwarts.

Shadow had returned the second day of Harry's stay at the Delacour's, Harry expected them to look at him like he was weird because he owned a Raven. He wasn't sure why but apparently that was weird according to normal people. Anyway, the dad did look at him like he was weird. The youngest girl seemed to not understand why he had a raven instead of an owl, the mother looked surprise but Fleur's reaction was what had surprised him. After seeing Shadow land on his shoulder she just smiled and asked if she could touch him, Shadow had seemed to approve of her after that.

Harry briefly considered that this was like one of those crappy romance stories that Delphi liked, 'nah, what would she want with someone like me?'

"So Harry, Delphi, tell us about your school" Appoline said one evening during dinner, she had chosen to speak in English to benefit Delphi who couldn't understand French. Harry translated Appolline's request to Fleur who sat next to him. Harry had also reluctantly not worn a hood or mask today.

"Well, I think it's fun" Delphi smiled "the people are nice and the classes are interesting"

"And you Harry?" Appolline asked Harry in French

"I don't like it" Harry said simply as he continued eating

"Why not?" Appolline frowned whilst Fleur and everyone else paid close attention, Bellatrix had began translating for Delphi

"As of the moment I like only two teachers, the rest I have no feelings about or consider them idiots."

"Surely it can't be that bad" Jacques said

"In my first potions class the potions master, who was a death eater by the way, immediately began insulting my father then tried to mind rape me in front of the whole class"

"He what?!" Fleur's outburst beat her parents by a millisecond, Gabrielle was just shocked by her family's reactions as she didn't really understand what mind rape is

"The headmaster then tried to tell me off for attacking him" Harry added "I believe that if a complaint hadn't been made to law enforcement then the idiot would've continued teaching, fortunately he is now in an Azkaban cell. In my history subject, the lesson is taught by a ghost who does nothing beyond repeating the same lecture. Defence against the dark arts is ruined because the teacher is a stuttering mess that jumps at his own shadow. Transfigurations was acceptable at the start as the teacher seemed to know what she was doing, however she refused to give me more challenging work and the last time I saw her she tried to blackmail me into behaving by using the names of my dead parents"