AN: I forgot to mention before but Gabrielle is thirteen in this fic, the same age as Ginny.
AN2: Something I always had a problem with in the books was that after Harry killed Quirrell he didn't seem to show that much of a reaction to it. He had known, trusted, and even liked Quirrell after seeing the man as his defense professor for a year and when he find out the man's betrays him and that he killed him within the same thirty minutes…that would really mess up the mind of any twelve year old. He should have gotten counselling or something.
Fate's Hero: The Dawn of Power
Chapter 3
-Harry-
While it had taken ten minutes walking the flight back only took three and even then it was because of the bleeding hole in his leg as he shakily rose and fell through the air, Gabrielle holding on to him terrified before she pointed down and yelled over the wind "There's my house!".
Nodding weakly he began his descent before his strength gave out and he began to drop, the ground shooting towards him as Gabrielle screamed in fear. Focusing on his power he opened up a portal beneath them that dropped them off onto the ground, him landing first to cushion the fall for the thirteen year old girl with him.
Groaning in pain he felt Gabrielle roll of him before she began trying to hold his gash closed, yelling for help from the Manor House they landed in front of. As his vision began to go black he saw the blurry outline of another woman appear before his world was consumed by darkness.
With a gasp he jolted awake as he found himself in a bedroom he didn't recognize before he groaned, the memories of what happened before he passed out from blood-loss coming back to him. "I see you're awake," a voice said causing him to turn in a panic only to see the woman he assumed was the one who saved him "maybe now my daughter can stop panicking. She hasn't slept since you came here injured.".
Wincing he glanced to the side, noticing Gabrielle in a chair next to his bed, tear stains on her cheeks "How long have I been out?" he asked confused.
"You've been unconscious for about twenty-four hours," the woman said as she began waving her wand over him "I closed up the wound and gave you a blood replenishing potion but doing as much magic as you did while bleeding out drained your core and I had a hard time treating your wings.".
"My…oh yeah," he blushed as he remembered that he hadn't retracted his wings before focusing and drawing them back inside him "forgot about those.".
"H-h-how?!" the woman gasped as his wings seemingly melted into his skin "Who…what are you?".
"Your daughter didn't tell you?" he asked confused.
"All she has said since you blacked out was that you saved her before she began pleading with you to not be dead…not the most enlightening conversation." The woman said with a slight frown. As he listened he thought over the events as what he did finally caught back up with him as he bent over the bed and emptied his stomach "What the hell?!" the woman gasped as she rushed over to him "What's going on?!".
"Not again," he muttered, not hearing her as he clutched his hair "not again…please not again.".
Too far gone to see what was going on he didn't hear the woman scream "Legilimens!" nor did he feel her enter his mind as she inadvertently witnessed every single moment that ran through his shattering mind, from the abuse from his relatives to the previously repressed memory of him killing Quirrell and the fresh memory of killing the man that had been trying to kidnap Gabrielle. He did feel it though when the woman pulled him into a hug, he felt her tears as she cried at what she had witnessed, and he could feel the waves of magic she was pouring out, her very being trying to reassure him that he would be alright, her power calming him.
"You aren't a murderer," the woman said as she stroked his hair gently, "you are a protector, a guardian. What those people did to you was inhuman, they are the Freaks, not you. And as for that man, Quirrell, he practically sold his soul to the devil by making a deal with the spirit of that monster, he was already dying anyway as no living body can play host to a spirit for long. And as for the man yesterday…he was trying to kidnap Gabrielle, either to use her as his own sex slave or to sell her as one to someone else. You saved her from a fate worse than death. You…are…a…hero Harry Potter, you fight because you want to protect not only those you care about, but all those who you know need protection. Now sleep my hero, sleep and let your dreams begin to heal your soul.".
As her words flowed around him like a warm blanket he slowly closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, hoping that his dreams would for once be Happy.
-Appoline Delacour-
Sighing she lay the boy back down onto his bed before picking her daughter up and taking her downstairs, waking Gabrielle up when they were far enough from the room. "Gabrielle," she said shaking her daughter's shoulder "wake up.".
"Wha…" Gabrielle asked blearily as she tried to come to only for her eyes to snap open "'Arry! Where is he?!".
"Gabrielle," she whispered softly, shushing her daughter with a tender smile "your savior is fine. He is merely asleep right now. He…the memory of what he did pained him. Not the act of saving you," she quickly explained at her daughter's hurt look "at the knowledge that he ended the life of another human being.".
Suddenly Gabrielle got a wicked gleam in her eye "I can't wait to see how Fleur reacts to our new guest.".
Sighing she pinched the bridge of her nose "Honestly, I don't know where you two picked up your habit for pranking. I certainly don't have it and my ex-husband didn't either.".
Gabrielle's only response was to shrug as she sighed before going to her study, working on drawing out plans for helping the boy, no the man, who had saved her daughter escape the hell hole he was forced to live in. Finally though her oldest daughter appeared outside the mansion with a crack of apparition and, a few moments later, she heard a splash as Fleur went for a quick late night swim.
Shaking her head she walked downstairs and stood next to a giggling Gabrielle in the entrance hall as they waited for Fleur to step in. "Hello mother," Fleur said smiling as the girl walked in without a stitch of clothing, her bag floating in behind her "what are you doing down here?".
"I wanted to warn you about the guest we have." She said, hoping that Harry wouldn't wake up until after Fleur had gotten dressed again.
"What guest?" Fleur asked in surprise before a loud yelp drew their attention and, turning, she saw Harry standing in the doorway, his hands over his eyes, his head turned away, and, if the lines on his forehead were anything to go by, his eyes clenched tightly shut while his face turned cherry red.
"That guest." she sighed before casting a silencing charm upon a giggling Gabrielle. Conjuring a towel she tossed it at her eldest daughter who quickly covered up before she turned back to the still blushing Harry, "You can open your eyes Harry, my daughter is now covered.".
Hesitantly the hands dropped and the eyes opened although the tomato red coloring remained as Harry tried to look anywhere but at Fleur. "Before we begin Harry I wish to apologize," she said softly causing both Harry and her daughters to look at her confused "when you were having your…episode earlier I didn't know what was going on and entered your mind through a spell. I saw what your Aunt and Uncle did to you as well as what happened with Quirrell that piece of scum from earlier.".
"Y-you saw all of that?" he asked in horror as he took a step backwards.
"You don't have to be afraid Harry," she said softly as she once again pulled him into a hug, feeling his body stiffen at the contact "you aren't a murderer, you aren't a freak. And I will do whatever I can to help you escape those relatives of yours. For now though why don't you go wash up for dinner, you haven't truly been able to eat for over a day now after all.".
"Oh shit Hedwig!" he yelped in fear.
"Who's Hedwig?" she asked in confusion.
"My owl," he groaned "oh she's going to kill me…and that cobra is probably going to help.".
"Harry," she said causing the panicking teenager to turn towards her again "I was going to offer to let you stay here for the rest of your vacation. You can go collect your owl and your snake and bring them back if you wish to.".
Nodding gratefully, even if there was a hint of wariness in his eyes, Harry vanished in a flash of violet light causing her to gape before turning to her confused daughter and explaining the story of how Gabrielle had been saved from slavery by a black haired stranger with wings.
-Harry-
Teleporting into his room at the leaky cauldron he was immediately set upon by an irate Hedwig "Where have you been!?" Hedwig demanded from her perch "You've been gone for over a day!".
"I was unconscious," he groaned as he explained what happened to Hedwig and Erebus who had slithered out from under the bed "I went swimming before finding out I was on a magical family's private property. They showed me the ward line after finding out my being there was an accident but we got attacked by a man planning on kidnapping the girl. I saved her but took a piercer to the leg. I managed to fly myself and the girl back to her home before passing out from blood loss. Her family treated me and I woke up only to have a panic attack a few hours ago and the woman made me go back to sleep through some sort of calming magic. We've been invited to spend the summer at their house.".
"And you trust them?" Hedwig asked curious.
"More than I trust the Dursleys," he said shrugging "And they did save my life.".
His two familiars nodded as he quickly gathered up his possessions and packed them up in his trunk before Hedwig perched on his shoulder and Erebus wrapped around his leg before summoning another portal and vanishing.
