Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
AN: For the purposes of this story Gabrielle Delacour will be Harry's age. Also I will not be attempting to write accents. I may be Canadian but anyone who knows me well can tell you that my French is terrible.
Chapter 1:
Harry followed Hagrid into the small pub which the sign proclaimed to be 'The Leaky Cauldron' and which it appeared only he and Hagrid could see. Harry was still in shock from the events of the last 12 hours; he had not been doing anything to encourage a dramatic change in his life but it had occurred anyway. All of a sudden a giant had stormed into his life, told him that his parents had been murdered, he was famous and that he belonged to a world he hadn't known existed; a world of wizards and witches. Now Hagrid was taking him to get all his school supplies so that he could attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry was drawn out of his thoughts when he felt Hagrid's large hand clamp down on his shoulder and noticed that every patron in the pub was looking at him in stunned silence. Suddenly the bartender rushed around his bar to come vigorously shake Harry's hand. "Mr. Potter, welcome. You are most welcome here; anything you need is on the house."
This simple action unleashed the floodgates and suddenly it felt to Harry like he had shaken every hand in the place. He had met many individuals who were all ecstatic to meet him just for a moment; these people included someone who Hagrid informed him would be his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher named Professor Quirrell.
As Hagrid was preparing to usher them through to the back so that they could enter the alley Harry noticed one man sitting alone in the corner; he had seen the man look his way sporadically but he was the one person in the pub who had not risen to greet Harry. For some reason when Harry looked at his face he felt a tingle of recognition that always occurred after he had awoken from certain dreams.
"Hagrid?" Harry spoke before Hagrid could get him out the back door. "Would it be possible for me to use the bathroom here before we go?"
Hagrid smiled good naturedly and nodded before pointing Harry in the right direction and heading to the bar. Harry headed to the washroom but turned at the last minute and approached the man sitting in the corner. As Harry got closer he was overcome by a memory, something he had had no recollection of up until that point.
Harry was sitting on someone's lap, facing away from them, as he watched three of the four men in front of him donned robes. One of the men had hair and glasses very similar to Harry's own (This was the man that wasn't wearing a robe), another had long black hair and was laughing wildly. The third man was slightly shorter and heavier than the other three with beady eyes which were nervously looking around the room. The fourth man was the first to speak of any of them; he had sandy hair and scars on his face. "Come on Padfoot, Wormtail, we have to go!"
The man with long black hair smiled. "Fine Moony we're going already, just keep your hair on." The other men chuckled. "Bye Prongs, bye Lily, Bye Harry."
The memory ended as Harry continued to approach the table in the corner. He realized that sitting at this table was the man from his memory, the one with sandy hair who had been called Moony.
Harry stopped about 2 feet from the table and spoke the name just above a whisper, "Moony."
** The Cub & The Veela **
Remus Lupin was used to drinking alone. He did it almost every day, ever since that fateful Halloween that had destroyed all he had to live for. He had been left a relatively large sum of money by James and Lily. He couldn't get hired to do much in the wizarding world due to his affliction; he worked occasionally in the muggle world but mostly his life consisted of wallowing in grief, so many of his friends had died in the war.
James and Lily. Dead.
Peter. Dead.
Marlene. Dead.
Gideon and Fabian. Dead.
Frank and Alice. Worse than dead.
Sirius. Sirius didn't deserve death; it was too good for him. Sirius deserved to suffer in Azkaban for the rest of his life; luckily that is exactly what was happening.
Really the only close friend of Remus's that had survived the war was Emmeline Vance. She and Remus had clung to their friendship for years after the war ended and they still met up often for lunch.
So Remus found himself himself sitting alone on one Wednesday in the heat of July for a cold drink in the Leaky Cauldron. Looking down at his muggle watch Remus noticed the date for the first time that day; it was July 31st, a day that always held sadness for Remus. Today was Harry's 11th birthday; Remus always sent Harry a card but since it was against the law for any adult witch or wizard to visit Harry that was all he could do.
Remus was about to take another sip of his firewhiskey when he heard the loud booming voice of the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid had always been friendly with Remus and and his group of friends and so he looked up wondering if he should greet the large man. Hagrid and Remus had often happened upon one another here or at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade and enjoyed catching up.
Just as he was deciding he would go and greet Hagrid, it dawned on Remus what Hagrid was saying. He had proclaimed for the entire pub to hear that he was accompanying 'Harry' to get his supplies. Remus immediately looked and beside Hagrid, there was sure enough a small boy with messy black hair and bright green eyes, features that Remus would recognize anywhere. He drew in a shuddering breath and took a long sip of his drink.
Harry was here. Harry, whom he had wanted to meet again since he had last seen him almost 10 years previously, was across the room. Remus sighed and continued to sip on his drink as he watched countless people in the pub approach Harry and Hagrid to shake their hero's hand. Observing them, Remus noticed that while Hagrid stood back smiling eagerly as everyone greeted them; Harry, himself, grew more uncomfortable with each person who approached him. Remus frowned, none of these people knew Harry. They didn't want to know the boy; they just wanted to be able to say that they met their saviour. He made up his mind several times that he was going to approach Harry but each time he stopped himself, why he wasn't sure.
Finally Remus saw Hagrid start to guide Harry to the back, through which they could venture into Diagon Alley. He looked back at his drink and sighed, thinking he had lost his chance to meet the boy who should have been raised looking to Remus as a honourary uncle. He had just decided that he was going to go pay and then leave when he heard a small voice coming from beside him speaking a name that Remus thought he would never hear again.
"Moony."
** The Cub & The Veela **
Harry watched as the man's head jerked up to look at him with glistening eyes. "That's your name, right?" Harry continued, still not quite sure how he remembered this or when the memory that had sprung to mind was from.
In a shaky voice the man sitting in front of Harry responded to the question. "That is what I was called once." Remus broke off for a moment, reminiscing about those times. "A long time ago that is what my best friends called me, it has been a long time since anyone has called me Moony, Harry."
"How do you know my name?" Asked Harry, confused momentarily, forgetting that he had know that this man was called Moony. Remus started to open his mouth to answer when Harry cut him off. "Oh, right. Everyone in this world knows who I am. Sorry, I'm not used to that. I'm just used to being plain Harry."
Remus smiled slightly, glad he would be able to ease some of Harry's concerns. "Well, Harry, to answer your question I knew who you were because I recognized you not from your scar but you messy black hair and green eyes. You are the perfect combination of your parents."
Harry looked up shocked before a huge smile broke onto his face, he had heard so little about his parents in his life that to have anyone tell him anything was amazing. "You knew my parents?"
Remus smiled. "Yes, Harry. I did, how else would you know the name Moony." Here he paused briefly. "Come to think of it, how did you know the name Moony?"
Harry smiled, glad to be talking with someone who could tell him more about his parents. "When I saw you just now I remembered something. I was sitting on someone's lap and there were four men, you were there. One of the other men called you Moony."
"Well Harry, my real name is Remus Lupin. Your father was one of my best friends at Hogwarts and afterwards, he and our other friends gave me the name Moony in our fourth year." Remus smiled. "When you were little you used to call me Uncle Moony. I have been wanting to see you again for a long time."
Harry was surprised, no one had ever come to see him. "Why didn't you?"
"I couldn't. For your safety it was made criminal behaviour to attempt to see you." Remus's smile turned sad, "I did send you birthday presents. Didn't you get them?"
Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I never got anything in the mail until my Hogwarts letter came." He saw Remus's eyes narrow slightly and grew nervous, normally when adults got angry it did not go well for him. Remus noticed Harry's flinch at his anger and worked to control his facial expression. Harry asked another question that had been bothering him. "Who were the other people in my memory?"
Remus hesitated for half a second before responding with part of the truth. "Well, I'm assuming one of them men was your father and it is likely you were sitting on your mother's lap." Harry noticed Remus did not say who the others were and Harry did not ask him, he saw some pain in Remus's eyes.
"Now, where is Hagrid? I saw that you were with him." Remus inquired of Harry.
"Umm, I think he went over to the bar. I wasn't sure whether I really knew you or not and wanted to find out so I told him I had to use the washroom." Harry confessed.
Remus smiled and patted Harry's shoulder; what had began as a difficult day for him had gotten immeasurably better. "Well, let's go see if we can find him and then if it is alright with you I could accompany you two on your shopping?" Harry nodded and so Remus stood and began walking with Harry to the bar; just before they got within hearing distance of Hagrid he turned and looked at Harry. "Happy Birthday by the way." Harry's face broke into a large smile and he thought that it was indeed a truly happy birthday.
** The Cub & The Veela **
It was a relaxed group of three that exited Gringotts bank roughly 45 minutes later. Hagrid had been happy to see Remus and was eager to have him come along with them. At Gringotts they had visited Harry's trust vault but they had also visited a vault from which Hagrid had taken a gruff package; Harry and Remus had exchanged curious glances but remained silent. There next stop was Madame Malkin's.
When they entered the shop it became clear that Hagrid would not properly fit inside and so he waited outside by the door, allowing Remus and Harry to enter alone. Harry's first thought upon entering the shop was that it was his idea of hell; clothing and accessories lined the walls and although they were not the type of clothes he was used to seeing, as they were all wizarding clothes it didn't mean he enjoyed it anymore.
"Hogwarts?" The woman at the front of the shop asked, her voice indifferent to the answer. Harry simply nodded and waited to be told what to do; eventually after his measurements were taken he and Remus were lead through the back curtain and into the fitting room.
On one side of the room was a group of chairs, obviously meant for family and friends to sit when waiting; only one of these chairs was occupied when they entered and Remus moved to sit next to the short wizard with cropped dark hair and a mousy goatee. Harry was guided to the opposite end of the room from Remus where he was instructed to stand on one of the stools in a long line of them facing a mirror as the worker put different robes on him and began to adjust them.
Looking to the one other occupied stool, one that was next to his, Harry felt his voice catch in his throat. There standing next to him and looking directly at him was a very pretty girl who appeared about his age. She had long silvery blond hair, which was currently tied back in a ponytail, a cherub face, silvery blue eyes and plump, pink lips. Harry couldn't take his eyes off her and it was apparent by her gaze she couldn't take her eyes off him either.
Remus watched from across the room as Harry and the girl standing next to him, also being fit in Hogwarts robes, staring into each other's eyes. He turned to look at the man next to him, whom he assumed to be the girl's father, to make a statement about the two 11 year olds when he saw the man was looking at his daughter in shock. Remus moved to look back at the girl who had reached out and placed her hand on Harry's shoulder; he was just about to make a comment as he witnessed the girl place her suddenly sharp looking lips on Harry's neck when the man next to him silenced him.
Remus was about to draw his wand and blast the girl off of Harry silently when the man looked at him. "My daughter is a part veela, you must not interfere. I had hoped this wouldn't happen so soon but now neither of us can interfere." Remus flinched at the revelation; he was an expert in magical creatures and knew exactly what was occurring across the room. The shopkeepers were too stunned to do anything and it appeared that Harry and the girl were too much in their own world to notice anything.
Harry was entranced. He felt as the young girls lips sharpened as she pressed them to skin on his neck and cut into it. He heard her softly whisper in a language he recognized as not English, it sounded almost otherworldly to him and yet he understood it perfectly. "I, Gabrielle Delacour, daughter of Appolline Delacour and descendent of the first one declare this one as my chosen mate."
Harry felt the vibrations of her words as her lips were still embedded about an inch deep in the skin of his neck. Slowly he felt Gabrielle remove her lips from him. He watched as she looked at him and blinked, appearing to come out of some sort of trance. Harry watched as she blushed prettily before burying her head in her hands; he reached out and patted her on the back as she shook slightly.
Hearing movement on the other side of the room, Harry looked up and saw Remus talking quietly to a short man whom was sitting next to him. He watched as slowly both men rose, going to speak to the shopkeepers. Harry watched as the man whom he could only assume was Gabrielle's father showed them some sort of identification. He then spoke softly pointing to the curtain and both workers left, casting furtive glances back over their shoulders.
Harry watched as Remus and Gabrielle's father waited for the workers to be gone before Remus took out his wand and cast a silencing spell. Gabrielle's father then moved over to them and Gabrielle rushed into his open arms. Harry looked over at Remus confused. "What is going on?" He asked.
Gabrielle's father whispered something in her ear to which Harry and Remus could both clear hear her answer back by quietly saying, "Yes Papa."
"Good. Now, Harry, can I call you Harry?" Asked the man who currently was holding the girl that Harry wished he could help.
"Um, sure. Can you just tell me what is going on?" Harry asked hesitantly, still not used to being allowed to ask questions. He saw Gabrielle look up at him questioningly and he just smiled back at her.
"Do you remember what my daughter said a moment ago when you were standing together on the stools?" The short man asked Harry.
Harry blushed at the question. He knew what she had said but not what it meant. "She said that her name was Gabrielle Delacour and she took me as her mate."
"Yes Harry, that is correct." The man smiled at Harry, his eyes crinkling just like Hagrid's did. "Now Remus tells me that you were not raised in wizarding society so let me explain." Harry looked briefly at Remus who nodded encouragingly before turning back to the man who still had his daughter wrapped in his arms. "My daughter is a part veela, I will leave it to her to tell you more about what that means but suffice it to say that it is a magical creature that often mates with human males. My own wife is a half veela which makes my two daughters quarter veela. Now veela and part veela have a sixth sense which detects their ideal mate when they are close, it drives them to claim them. That is what Gabrielle just did to you, she was not in control of her actions at the time and I hope you will not think badly of her."
Harry's mind was whirring, he was so overwhelmed. Almost without thinking about it his hand trailed down to the already faint pink scar left by Gabrielle's lips. "What exactly does this mean?" He asked.
Gabrielle's father sighed. "Well, the magical governments of both our countries will see it as a binding betrothal. One day you will marry." Harry gasped slightly and Gabrielle shook again. "Trust me when I say you will be very happy to do so. The mating of a Veela automatically spreads a sense of caring and love between the mated, this might not be immediate and likely won't be given your ages. For now it will most likely manifest as a close friendship or innocent relationship and over time will develop into more."
Remus and Gabrielle's father, who introduced himself to Harry as Louis when he stood, left the room smiling, insisting that Harry and Gabrielle have a moment to speak in private.
Harry slowly made his way over to Gabrielle and knelt in front of her. "I'm sorry Harry." She said in a sweet French accent. "I couldn't control myself."
Harry smiled, he could already feel himself drawn to this young woman. "It's okay." He told her, "I'm happy with this."
Gabrielle looked up at him with shock in her face. "Really?"
"Yes," Harry said innocently. "I've umm, never really had a friend before."
Gabrielle threw her arms around Harry and smiled. "Well you have one now." She told him and then she surprised them both by kissing him on the cheek. Harry smiled and hugged her back.
"Are you going to Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked as he pulled back and then offered her his hand to help her up.
"Yes, I'm kind of nervous. My sister goes to Beauxbatons in France, but because Papa had two children and is the Foreign Minister for the French Ministry of Magic I have to go to an international school." Harry smiled at that, glad that despite her hesitance they would be going to school together.
Slowly, still holding hands they walked through the curtain and back into the main shop.
AN: So just to clarify this story will be Harry/Gabrielle only. I love this pairing and don't think it is done enough with just the two of them. This won't be a story where just because they are already together, and yes they are already together, they will be snogging all over Hogwarts. That is kind of sick, remember they are still only 11. When I was 11 we used to say we were boyfriend/girlfriend but all we would really do is hold hands and hug and maybe exchange kisses to each other's cheek or at the most a very chaste peck on the lips, expect that to be all that Harry and Gabrielle do for at least the first year and probably longer.
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