Chapter Three - Independence

A faint yelping sound from across the dorm drew Gabi's attention away from her book with a start. She frowned for a moment and strained her ears against the ensuing quiet to try and work out what the sound a few moments, she heard it again. It was louder this time and followed by a strangled, distressed moan. Closing her eyes with a sad grimace, she marked her place in the book with a bookmark and slipped from beneath the warm covers of her bed.

This hadn't happened for a while now - in fact, the last time she remembered hearing these sounds of upset had been all the way back in February. Perhaps a touch optimistically, she had hoped that this would be a thing of the past, but evidently that hope had been held in vain.

She grabbed her flannel dressing gown from where it hung on the back of her bedroom door and wrapped it around herself as she made her way across the dormitory lounge and towards Harry's room. The whimpering grew louder to her ears as she approached and she knocked lightly on the door to his room. As expected, the sounds just continued. Harry was far too deep inside his nightmare to be roused by such a meagre disturbance.

Slowly, she tried the door handle and sighed in relief when the door clicked open easily. With it having been so long since she had last come to his side, Gabi was afraid that he might have adjusted the wards on his room so that she couldn't enter without his permission, as was the case with the rest of their dormmates. Thankfully he hadn't and for a moment that implicit trust made her feel quite warm inside.

As she opened the door wider, she took stock of Harry's situation. She could see fairly clearly thanks to the gentle moonlight streaming in from his window. He was fidgeting restlessly on his bed and his covers were lying crumpled on the floor. A light sheen of sweat shone on his forehead and it looked as though tear-tracks were running down his face. Her heart broke for him a little, but she didn't allow herself the time to dwell on it and instead made her way to the side of his bed.

When this usually happened, Gabi preferred to try and wake him naturally and let him come around on his own, but right now his torment was so plain to see that she didn't want to leave him in it for any longer than necessary. She'd left her wand in her own room, so she instead picked up Harry's from its place on his bedside table.

Using Harry's wand without his permission honestly made her feel uncomfortable, but as she adjusted her grip, it thrummed slightly in her hand. It almost felt like it was trying to tell her something - that it accepted her use of it. Or maybe she was just imagining it. She'd heard people talking about wandlore in much more depth than they'd ever covered in classes but she had never really understood any of it.

She pointed Harry's wand at him as he fidgeted and took a deep breath.

'Rennervate,' she whispered, and the bright blue trail of the reviving spell shot forth and struck Harry in the abdomen. Within an instant, he took a gasping breath and sat bolt upright as though he was given an electric shock. His eyes were wide and panicked, darting around the room, trying to adjust to his perceived sudden change of location and his hands shook in his lap.

Gabi quickly returned Harry's wand to its rightful place and climbed onto the bed next to him, gathering him in her arms.

'Je suis là,' she whispered as he tensed at the sudden contact. 'It's me, I'm here, I have you.' She felt him relax slightly in her arms as he recognised her.

'Rhi,' he said tremulously and she felt his hands shaking even more violently than when he had woken up.

'Oui, it's me. I have you, Harry, you're okay. Ce n'était qu'un cauchemar. It was just a nightmare.'

He raised his hands to grab onto her arm which was wrapped around his chest. 'Jesus,' he whispered in a choked voice, then coughed and sniffled.

Gabi held him tighter as he calmed down, rocking slightly as she shushed him under her breath. Eventually his shaking slowed and his grip on her arm loosened. She released her embrace of him slowly, and used the sleeve of her dressing gown to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

'What was it tonight?' she asked him quietly as he rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair.

He released a slow, shaky breath. 'Privet Drive,' he whispered and wiped his damp eyes. 'Only this time they found where I was hiding and made me watch.'

'Oh chéri, I'm sorry.'

He gave her a sad smile. 'Not your fault.'

'Still,' she replied with uncertainty, because she rather thought it might have been. The conversation they'd had on the evening of their arrival still rang fresh in her mind, and she wasn't entirely convinced that her reminder to him of his treatment before being adopted by Monsieur wasn't the cause of those old memories resurfacing in his nightmares tonight. However, she quickly shook off that thought in favour of looking after him - she could worry herself about reflection and regret once Harry was settled and she returned to the privacy of her own room. 'Do you want me to stay until you get back to sleep?'

He bit his lip for a moment before shaking his head. 'I'll be fine,' he whispered. He'd certainly told better lies before,though, and that made Gabi's mind up more than his response had.

'I'll stay,' she said decisively, before climbing off of the bed and picking his cover up from where he'd kicked it onto the floor.

Harry made no protests. Instead, he reached over to pick his wand up from the bedside table and tapped the rim of the empty water glass beside it. In an instant it was filled with fresh, cold water and he took a long swig from it. He settled down into his bed as Gabi lay the covers back over him and climbed in beside him, sitting up against the headboard.

He was still shaking slightly, she realised as he curled into her side. Back in sixième, the thought of relaxing into this sort of intimate embrace with him would have shocked her deeply, but after several years of helping him deal with his nightmares, it wasn't an extraordinary situation at all any more. If anything, it was another hint at how much he trusted her. Harry wasn't very physically affectionate with anybody except Monsieur, and he hadn't been for as long as she'd known him, but the barriers that he threw up around other people didn't really seem to apply to her either. The warm, fuzzy feeling she'd felt when she discovered his door unlocked to her returned with force once more.

As they lay together, the laboured breathing that he'd woken up with started to calm, but he still didn't sound completely relaxed. Gabi adjusted her arm so that she could run her fingers through his hair, and she felt him melt against her as she gently massaged his scalp. Quietly, she started to hum to him a melody that her maman used to sing to her as a child when she slept restlessly. It was its own kind of magic, she thought, probably due to their ancestry.

Gabi's mémère had been a Veela, and some of that unique magic had been passed down through the family. All of Memère's children and grandchildren sported fair hair and light blue-grey eyes, and the natural beauty of the Veela was apparent in them all. A part of her had always resented the unwanted attention that her appearance garnered, and she wasn't entirely convinced that she'd ever feel entirely comfortable with it, but as Harry started lightly snoring beside her after just a few minutes, she recognised that her ancestry wasn't purely to her detriment. There was nothing like a Veela lullaby.

As carefully as she could, Gabi extracted herself from Harry's side and slid out of his bed before tucking him into the covers.

He stirred as she walked towards the door. 'Merci, Rhi. Je t'aime beaucoup,' he mumbled sleepily, and she smiled softly.

She whispered in response, 'Je t'aime beaucoup aussi,' as he shifted to get more comfortable in his bed, and she quietly withdrew from his room, closing the door behind her.

'How is he?' a lilting, Irish voice asked from the lounge behind her and Gabi jumped slightly, having not realised that their roommate Annie was in the room. The girl snorted, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.'

'It's okay,' Gabi said as she moved to sit on the sofa opposite Annie. 'And he's fine now. Sleeping again. Did you forget to set the silencing charm on your room?'

Annie shook her head. 'I haven't set it in months, since he's been sleeping soundly. I prefer to be able to hear if anything's going on.'

Gabi nodded, feeling the same way. 'I wouldn't tell him that he woke you up,' she suggested. 'He'll only feel guilty about it.'

'I'm not daft, I know what he's like.'

'No, I know, but I wanted to say it anyway.'

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments as Gabi unwound from the last half hour. Annie was pleasant company, even if there wasn't any conversation to be had, and she was particularly good at reading people and understanding what they needed at any particular moment. Eventually, she spoke up again.

'What did Harry call you when he woke up?' she asked. 'I don't think I've ever heard him call you anything other than Gabi.'

Gabi lifted her head from where she'd rested it on the back of the sofa and smiled. 'He called me Rhi,' she said, emphasising the French pronunciation of the letter R. 'It's what he used to call me before we came to Beauxbâtons. When we first met, he couldn't get the R right no matter how much I tried to teach him. I'd sit with him and repeat my name over and over. Gab-RHI-elle. After a little while he just called me Rhi, I think as a way to prove that he was getting better at it. He started calling me Gabi at the start of sixième though, and now he only really says it when he's tired or upset.'

Annie pouted at the story. 'That's kind of adorable,' she whispered like she was imparting a great secret.

'I know,' Gabi laughed. 'I actually miss it sometimes, but I'd never tell him. Besides,' she added with a smirk, 'it feels more special now when he does say it.'

Annie laughed too and shook her head. 'You're so soft.'

'Tell anybody and I'll burn you,' Gabi replied, pointing a finger at Annie, but the barely contained laughter in her voice gave away that she was joking.

Regardless, Annie threw her hands up in surrender, then made a mime of zipping her lips shut and locking them. Gabi shook her head in amusement before yawning and rising from the sofa.

'I need to go to bed,' she said. 'I was halfway through my chapter when he started.'

'It'll still be there in the morning,' Annie said flippantly. 'You could come and sing me to sleep too if you like. I haven't had that sort of treatment in months.'

Gabi rolled her eyes and smiled coyly at the girl. 'Maybe tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight.'

'I'll hold you to that,' Annie shot back as Gabi started walking towards her bedroom.

'I know you will. Bonne nuit, Annie. Faites de beaux rêves.'

'Codladh sámh a stór.'

-oOo-

It seemed quite foolish to Harry how much his heart was racing as he stepped into the Floo and called out the name of his home. It had been years since he'd actually been nervous to speak to Papa, but over the last 24 hours he had been dragged down off of his high horse of frustration and humbled to the point that he was still feeling really rather guilty about his momentary tantrum, despite the fact that Papa didn't even know it had happened. That guilt, combined with his disrupted sleep last night, had left him feeling completely out of sorts.

He still did desperately wish to go to Britain and Hogwarts with the Beauxbâtons contingent, though he was much more prepared to have a mature conversation about it and hear what Papa had to say now. Even so, he wasn't sure what he'd do if his guardian came down firmly on the side of rejection.

His feet slammed into the floor of the Floo in the foyer of his home and he stumbled forwards, toppling into quite a dramatic sprawl on the tiled floor. Without his bag to steady him this time, he had had no hope of keeping his balance. Floo travel was an element of magical life that he was almost certain he would never master.

'Tergeo,' he heard Monsieur cast at him from a few feet mess of soot and Floo powder disappeared from his clothes and the floor around him as he hauled himself into a much more sensible position. 'Harry,' he greeted warmly as he stepped forward and leaned in to kiss Harry's cheeks.

La bise was a French custom that Harry had never warmed up to with anybody but Papa, regardless of the fact that he'd lived in the country for nearly half of his life. In fact, the memory of the first time that Gabi leaned in to faire la bise with him still made him blush to this day - nine year old Harry hadn't known what to make of that situation at all and had handled it terribly. Naturally, Gabi still found the story utterly hilarious and had told it countless times to their friends, but it remained the case that after so many years of friendship, they still greeted one another with a hug rather than a kiss.

'Papa,' Harry greeted in response as he wrapped his arms around the man in a familiar embrace. As Papa's arms reached around him in kind, Harry felt his anxieties almost tangibly melt away.

'I've missed you,' Papa said as he pulled away. 'It's been dreadfully quiet with you back at school.'

Harry rolled his eyes at the dramatics. 'It's been two days.'

'Merlin, is that all?' Papa's eyes went wide with shock and Harry actually laughed aloud. The older man grinned before ushering Harry into the kitchen. 'Come, I was just finishing making dinner when I heard the Floo.'

'You're cooking?' Harry asked incredulously, following Papa through the house.

Papa huffed impetuously in response. 'Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of making my own food.'

'Maître should know that lying be unbecoming of him,' came the teasing voice of Dalia as she bustled out of the pantry and into the kitchen. Papa's expression rapidly morphed from impetuous to scandalised as Harry walked over and ruffled the little elf's ears.

'Hello, Dalia. This smells delicious. What are you cooking for us this evening?'

Dalia's ears twitched with irritation. 'If you be patient, you'll be finding out soon.'

'Merde,' Harry exclaimed, 'the attitude in this house is unbelievable today.'

'Language,' chorused Papa and Dalia, though it was much more of a token reprimand than an actual telling off. Merlin knew that both of their vocabularies were much less appropriate than his. Harry settled at the kitchen table opposite Papa, who took that as his cue to begin his regular inquisition.

'How have you settled in then?'

'Same as always,' Harry replied, as Dalia floated two plates of roast dinner over to the table and set them down in front of them. 'As expected, Lydie wasted no time in teasing me about my punctuality this year, though I reckon Gabi probably got it worse. She ended up getting into the dorm about three hours late.'

'What was it this year?'

'She couldn't find her new formal cloak. Turns out she left it at the bottom of the trunk that she'd packed the day before.'

Papa chuckled between bites of food. 'Why am I not surprised?'

'Because you've met her more than once,' Harry quipped with a grin. Papa acknowledged the truth of that with a nod.

'And how are the Delacours?'

Harry shrugged. 'Yeah, they're fine.' He pushed his chicken around his plate with his fork as he battled with himself as to whether he wanted to make his next comment. Ultimately, his curiosity and impatience won out. 'Fleur seems a bit conflicted between her exams and signing up to go to Britain.'

A brief moment of silence settled over the room which felt stiflingly awkward. Immediately, Harry regretted bringing the Tournament up, but eventually Papa sighed and settled his cutlery down on the sides of his plate.

'I should have known that you'd have been upset with the way I worded my letter,' he said quietly and Harry immediately sat up and caught Papa's gaze.

'I wasn't,' he protested defensively, but deflated in an instant as Papa simply raised an eyebrow at him. 'Well okay, I was when I first read it, but I'm not any more.' Then he added sheepishly, 'Gabi kind of talked me down.'

Papa smiled at that. 'That girl should go into therapy.'

Harry couldn't help but think that Papa didn't know just how true that comment was. Gabi had an almost preternatural ability to calm people down from pretty much any kind of upset. Last night was a poignant example.

Papa sighed again. 'Though in hindsight I certainly could have phrased it better, I think it's important that we speak about the Tournament and the opportunity for you to go to Britain before I give my consent.' Harry perked up at that comment, and Papa nodded. 'Because I am willing to give you my consent, Harry, but there needs to be a discussion first.

'From the very night you arrived here, I've tried my absolute hardest to allow you to have agency over your own life and not to make decisions for you, and I don't intend to break that trend now. However, it has always been important for me to make sure that you're fully aware of any decision ahead of you so you don't just march on blindly into situations that might not be to your benefit.'

His mouth grew tight as he considered how to continue.

'The fact of the matter is that Britain today is significantly safer than it was even ten years ago, but we still don't know the full truth of the matter. There were points at which the war in Britain grew truly ugly - on both sides - and although it seems to be largely peaceful, you know that there's every possibility that you will remain a person of interest to a number of people.

'For every one family that came out of the war relatively unscathed, three families lost relatives, or were nearly made extinct, or indeed were entirely wiped out. There aren't many families for whom the children made it out alive - those animals didn't have a single ounce of compassion, not even for infants - and that makes your situation quite unique. Though the events of that Halloween night remain just as much of a mystery to you as they do the people of Britain, people speculate and stir rumour, and whatever you've heard people saying about you here in France may well be nothing compared to the tales told about the boy who lived over in Britain.'

Both of their dinners lay unfinished on the table, the conversation having caused both of them to lose their appetite. Papa rubbed his eyes tiredly before continuing.

'That said, you may face none of that. I truthfully don't know very much about the general attitude of Britain, or quite how bad the impact was over there, and it may be that you're one of many young people in a very similar situation. I also recognise that finally being able to go and see the school that your parents attended, and the country in which you were born, could finally shed some light on your own history. You may very well be able to meet some peers who can better understand and empathise with you in a way that many here cannot. I want to give you that opportunity, and provide you with some level of independence and control in your life, but I hope you understand why I'm conflicted.'

Harry nodded silently. While Gabi had helped him to start to consider both sides of the situation, Papa laying down his thoughts far more frankly than he ever had before had shocked him more than he'd expected it would.

'So after a bit of thought, I have developed something of a compromise. I am willing to consent to you joining the contingent and spending the year in Britain, on the condition that I am able to join you. I will speak to Madame Pelissier and explain that I will take up residence somewhere close to Hogwarts and expect to be informed of any concerns that may be had. I will also add the caveat that I will personally remove you from the country if I feel that it becomes too dangerous for you to remain, though in that event I will endeavour to discuss such a situation with you first.

'How does that sound?'

Harry swallowed loudly. Whichever way he'd expected this conversation to go this evening, it hadn't been like this. It actually hurt a bit to hear just how much Papa had thought about this, how much he had considered in order to make this a possibility purely for him. It was a good kind of hurt though, if such a thing existed, and Harry couldn't figure out what to make of it.

Papa's compromise was the most oblique display of how much he cared and it was entirely overwhelming. Harry couldn't possibly argue with that proposal - an opportunity for Harry to actually go to Hogwarts and connect with his parents and other people who might understand him, all the while being kept as safe as possible and protected without being constantly monitored. Papa leaned back and ran his hand through his hair, an action usually reserved for when he was stressed or nervous about something, and Harry realised that he'd been sitting in silence for quite a while and Papa was very much waiting for a response.

'Fair,' he croaked and then cleared his throat to try to speak a little more clearly. 'That sounds completely fair. Brilliant, even.'

Harry watched as the tension visibly drained from Papa and a large smile grew on his face. 'Are you sure you're happy with that?'

'Yes. Absolutely,' Harry grinned suddenly. 'Not only will I get to go but I'll get to do it with you. I can't think of anything better.'

Papa's smile grew even larger at that sentiment and he let out a little laugh. 'Well then, I'll go and speak to Madame Pelissier tomorrow morning. Wouldn't want to waste any time.'

'We might need to grovel with Dalia first,' Harry said lightly. 'Her roasts aren't nearly as good cold.'

Looking down at his own plate, Papa screwed his nose up. 'No, quite,' he agreed, and then shot Harry a mischievous smirk. 'I suppose we could just skip straight to dessert.'

A tut from behind the other side of the kitchen had them both turning to face Dalia, who was looking at them with her hand on her hips. After a moment, she huffed and set off in the direction of the pantry with a snarky little, 'Fine,' as she left.

A/N: A huge thank you to you all for the lovely feedback I've received on the story so far. This story has become much more of a challenge than I had expected it would, and hearing that people are enjoying it is doing wonders to keep me chipping away at it.

An even huger thank you to TedtheTud/Loquatorious for beta reading this chapter for me. It was honestly in a far worse state than I realised before I sent it off to them, and you would all thank them for their work if you'd seen my draft.

If you happen to have any corrections/comments on the foreign language sections of this chapter, or indeed any others, please do let me know. I'm not at all fluent in either French or Irish, but I do endeavour to make sure that it's as correct as possible.

Take care, amidland.