Chapter Four
Harry could hear the excited chatter from the garden even from his spot in the attic of The Burrow, but he couldn't find it in himself to join the revelry just yet. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Dumbledore's lifeless body falling from the Astronomy Tower, over and over again. Shaking his head and deciding he couldn't hide away from everyone any longer, he stood and started to make his way to the door just as it slowly and cautiously began to open.
Poking her head through the door, Gabrielle smiled when she spotted Harry standing in the middle of the room, a look of shock on his face at the sight of her dressed in her elegant, wrap round lilac bridesmaid dress. He was so distracted at seeing her again in person for the first time in two years that he didn't realise she'd walked into the room and was stood in front of him, straightening his tie for him with an amused smile.
"'Arry, shouldn't have you learnt to tie one of these properly by now?" she asked him with a soft smile, smoothing her hands down over his lapels.
"When did you arrive?" Harry asked her, trying hard not to stare at the beauty that was before him. When he last saw her two years ago, she was a cute kid, but now she'd truly grown into a natural beauty.
"About an hour ago," she told him with a smile, her hands still resting gently on his chest. "Mama and I have been trying to keep Fleur calm so I've only just been able to sneak away. I wanted to see you before the ceremony," she told him softly.
"Wh-why did you want to see me?" he gulped as he stumbled over his words, embarrassed that he appeared to have lost the ability to speak in front of her.
"Monsieur Weasley mentioned that you would not look like yourself during the ceremony," Gabrielle admitted with a small smile. "'e told us so that we would not be suspicious of a stranger with the family, but I wanted to see you while you were still you," she told him, looking up into his eyes. "I wanted to see the forests of your eyes before you changed them to someone else," she added in a whisper.
"I'm glad you did," he told her, his arms snaking around her waist, pulling her closer to him as her own arms wrapped around his neck. "I don't know who they're going to make me look like, but I'll be sure to ask for a dance," he told her, gently stroking his thumb up and down her side where he held her.
"Here, take this," she told him, reaching up into her hair and removing one of the delicate diamond clips from her hair and pushing through the button hole of Harry's jacket the sparkling diamonds just about visible beneath his boutineer. "There, now I'll know it's you when you ask me to dance," she told him with a smile, before reaching up and gently pressing a kiss against his cheek. "I should go before I'm missed," she told him, giving him one last soft smile before stepping out of his arms and towards the door, leaving them both eager for the dancing they would enjoy that afternoon.
The wedding was a beautiful affair, the bride and groom both looked magnificent but the looks on their faces when they saw each other for the first time was something Harry would hold in his heart in the coming months of the war. This was what he was fighting for, who he was fighting for. And looking over at Gabrielle, seeing the beaming grin on her face as she watched her older sister marry the man of her dreams, he vowed to fight for her to have this chance too, he wouldn't let war take that away her future.
When the vows were spoken, the bonds sealed and everyone had laughed until tears ran down their faces at the twins' speeches, it was finally time to dance and enjoy the celebration. Harry had tried to make his way over to Gabrielle numerous times, but he was always waylaid by someone or another wanting to talk to him, something he'd hoped he would be able to avoid once he looked nothing like himself. But a strange red-head amongst a see of Weasley's didn't provide him with enough anonymity as he'd hoped. In the end, it was Hermione who helped him escape, pulling him away from another nosey guest with a smile, dragging him across the tent to where he could see Gabrielle standing on the side of the dancefloor waiting for him.
"Go and ask for her to dance for heavens sake," Hermione told him, nodding towards Gabrielle. "She's not danced with anyone yet and it'll be a shame to waist that beautiful dress," she added with a grin, gently shoving him in the right direction.
Making his way around the dance floor, Harry soon found himself stood behind the beautiful French girl, taking note of the gentle swaying back and forth as she moved to the music, as though her spirit was already dancing and her body was just waiting for a partner to join her. Reaching out he placed one hand on her shoulder and leaned forward to whisper, "Dance with me?"
Startling slightly, Gabrielle spun around to tell him no, but the glinting light of his lapel caught her eye. It was the diamond hairclip she'd given him earlier, hidden underneath his rose boutineer. Beneath the bright red hair and light brown eyes, was Harry. He looked nothing like himself which she supposed was the point, though she still found it unnerving. There was still a comforting familiarity to him though which she was happy about. "I thought you'd never ask," she told him, taking his hand as he led her onto the dance floor.
With their arms wrapped around each other, they began to move back and forth to the gentle beat of the music, their eyes locked on one another as they forgot the world around them. Slowly, Gabrielle reached up and placed her hand against Harry's cheek, her thumb stroking delicately back and forth and Harry felt a warm rush of her magic flow over him. He had no idea what she'd done, but when she grinned up at him and told him that was better, he guessed that she'd removed the glamour on his eyes. She'd remarked in the past that she loved the colour of his eyes, it made sense she'd want to look into them while they danced.
"When do you go back to France?" Harry asked as they slowly moved around the dancefloor. He could see Hermione out the corner of his eye giving him a knowing grin, no doubting knowing something he himself only suspected. That he cared for the beautiful young woman in his arms.
"Are you that eager to get rid of me 'arry?" she asked him with a smile, tightening her arms around him as though she were scared, he'd let her go. Or push her away.
"Not at all," he reassured her, smiling wider when he felt her arms tighten around him. "I'd happily stay dancing with you all day and night. I jus want to make sure your safe that's all."
"It's isn't your job to keep me safe 'arry, that is a task even my Papa finds difficult to do sometimes," Gabrielle told him with a laugh. "We will be returning home in a couple of days. Mama wishes to spend more time with Fleur, help her settle her into her new home. They've got a cottage in Cornwall, Shell Cottage. I've heard it looks lovely," she told him. "Where are you going after the wedding? Will you be returning to Hogwarts?"
"No, it won't be safe. Not for me, not for Hermione and Ron either. We've got to finish our mission from Dumbledore. I don't know where it'll take us, but we have to go," he told her look despondent at the thought, though she didn't know if it was at the mission, he had ahead of him, or the thought of leaving here and now. She was just about to tell him that she would be there with him when the party was interrupted by the arrival of a Patronus.
The ethereal creature danced around the gathered party before stopping in the middle of the dance floor, the silvery Lynx opened its mouth and spoke the words that they'd all been dreading. 'The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.'
Time seemed to freeze as everyone stood in shock before all hell broke loose. It was bedlam as people ran around trying to find their loved ones before apparating away as quickly as they could. Harry grabbed Gabrielle's hand and pulled her towards where he could see her parents looking frantically for her. They were steps away from them when Harry felt another hand grab his, he looked to the side to see Hermione and Ron next to him, their wands drawn ready to apparate away. Turning back to Gabrielle, he raised her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles before pushing her away from him and towards her parents, winking at her before disappearing with a crack and she couldn't help but smile at the cheek of him, before drawing her wand and preparing to defend herself and those she loved.
It had been eight weeks since they'd left England. Left Fleur with her new family. Left Harry to fight the devil himself for everyone's freedom. She'd not received any letters, not that she was really expecting any. She was lucky enough that he'd sent his Patronus to her to let her know he was alive. He wasn't able to make it speak more than her name, but it was enough to reassure her he'd gotten away safely at least. It would have to do for now.
Life a Beauxbatons carried on as normal. The war didn't seem to touch the lives of anyone their but her own, she had no one she could go to, to reassure her that everything and everyone would make it. There were no warm words of comfort to be had, just whispers slowly sneaking there way into the hallways as tales found their way into people newspapers and letters from friend abroad. It seemed the Ministére was content to let Britain fight on their own, closing their borders to their neighbours in their time of need. She knew that some people had managed to escape, the she received from Fleur told her as much. But the Weasley's wouldn't be one of the one's to flee, they'd continue to fight in anyway they could, no matter how small.
It was something Gabrielle wanted to do. She knew her Papa would never let her leave the safety of Beauxbatons, but she couldn't continue to attend her classes and do nothing. She refused to let others fight for her, for her freedom. Beauxbatons had the largest magical library on continental Europe, there had to be something in there that could help her. So, every night when she should be sleeping, Gabrielle snuck out the dorms and down to the library to try and find something that would help. Pouring over tome after tome she searched for spells and hexes, she hoped would allow her to help, whether it was in person or by sending them to her friends abroad, though she didn't know how.
Then one cold November night, after weeks of searching, Gabrielle finally found what she was looking for. It wasn't a spell of offence or even defence, but rather an enchantment that seemed to mimic the magic of a Patronus charm. A long-forgotten charm designed by and for Veela and their particular type magic. Knowing she could be caught at any moment; Gabrielle wrote down the words of the charm along with the movements before banishing the book back to the shelves with a wave of her hand, quickly leaving the library and returning to her room for the night.
Over the coming weeks Gabrielle practiced and practiced until her hand ached from the movements and her voice was soar from repeating the words again and again. But eventually, a couple of days before Christmas, her hand work finally paid off and she was finally able to perform the charm to perfection.
She sat there on her bed, watching her hard work dance around her and felt pride and hope swell within her. Now all she had to do was figure out exactly what it was she wanted to say.
"Hermione, it's fine honestly. You need to get some sleep, you've been awake for too long, we need you focused, especially now," Harry told his best friend, smiling at his best friend as she went back inside the tent, leaving him alone outside with the camp fire.
Harry couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd felt so miserable, which given his life, was saying something. It didn't help that despite the fire flickering in front of him, he was still freezing, but Hermione had warned him against using too much magic with a wand that wasn't his own. He knew that he was lucky that this wand worked for him at all, he didn't want to tax it with too much complicated magic in case it happened to go wrong.
He still couldn't believe that his wand had snapped. Of all the adventure's he'd had, he couldn't believe that he'd broken his wand in a fight with a snake masquerading as an old woman. And now, he was stuck alternating between using Hermione's wand and some random Death Eater's trying to make it work to the best he could, but he couldn't help but be frustrated at the entire situation. He was just placing another twig on the bonfire when a flash of light out the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Fluttering around the edge of the magical barrier they'd erected around their camp ground, was a blue light. Not the blue light of Hermione's blue-bell fire, this was a bright blue, like a firework going off at midnight. Making his way over to the light, his borrowed wand gripped tightly in his hand as he investigated what the light was and it started to flutter more, moving around as though it were trying to get closer to him.
Getting as close as he could without moving over the magical barrier at the risk of losing their camp sight, Harry just stood there transfixed as the blue light fluttered around in front of him. Soon, it came towards him and began to float around his head before coming to a stop in front of his face. Slowly, the glowing blue light began to dim, revealing a beautiful bright blue butterfly.
Harry was amazed; its delicate wings starting out a bright sky blue before deepening into an ocean blue at the edges. It was absolutely beautiful, definitely the most beautiful thing he'd seen in months. They reminded him of Gabrielle's enchanting eyes; he could get lost in butterfly as easily as those eyes. He was so focused on his memories of staring into her beautiful eyes as they danced at her sister's wedding that he didn't realise there was sound coming from the butterfly.
"Harry? Harry? I hope you can 'ear me. That this works and you can 'ear my voice. I'm stuck at Beauxbatons and desperately want to help you but Papa won't let me leave. It's so frustrating not being able to do anything, I feel so helpless. You're out there fighting for everyone and I'm stuck in France. I'm sorry, I'm rambling and I'm not even certain that my little butterfly found you while you're alone. It should have, the enchantment was designed to find you while you were alone, but I haven't sent it so far so I wasn't sure. And I'm rambling again, aren't I," Gabrielle's voice said from the fluttering butterfly.
Harry couldn't help but smile at Gabrielle's nervous rambling, she never acted like this with him in person, it was cute she was like this while she was a hundred miles away. He wished he could speak to her to try and calm her nerves.
"Anyway, I just wanted to try and help you in some small way. I don't know if you realise what day it is, but it's Christmas. I hope that you're well. Sorry, I should have said that at the beginning, shouldn't I? I can't believe it's been nearly five months since I saw you last. Since I finally got to dance with you. Hopefully it won't be long before we can dance again, perhaps when this horrible war is over, we can dance again to celebrate. Please, please be careful out there Harry, I'd hate for anything to happen to you. I'll try and send another butterfly to you some time, I hope it made you smile, even just a little bit. Au revoir my darling, and Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas Gabrielle," Harry whispered with a smile before turning to return to his spot at the now dying camp fire. Poking the dying embers with a stick, trying to bring the fire back to life without having to risk using his new wand so close to the tent. Once the fire was blazing again, Harry sat back and watched as the flames danced about in the darkness and contemplated how he could possibly get a message back to Gabrielle, twirling the wand between his fingers when it began to gently glow as he thought of swirling Gabrielle around the dance floor and he realised the perfect way he could send a message to her and if his glowing wand was any indication, he was certain he could make it work.
Gabrielle had just finished hanging up her new white and blue floral-print georgette mini dress in her closet, fingering the smooth silk between her fingers as she dreamed of the day, she would one day wear it, hopefully to celebrate something special with someone special. Sighing wistfully, she turned to grab another gift to put away when she saw the bright white light outside her bedroom window growing bigger and bigger and before she knew it the light flew into the room and came to a stop in front of her and slowly morphed into the shape of a mighty stag.
"Gabrielle? Thank you for the butterfly, please know that it was a lovely light in what has been some of the darkest days I've had. You are a light in my life that I don't want to lose, so I'm glad you're safe in France. Please stay safe, Gabrielle. I couldn't bear for anything to happen to you. Please stay safe and Merry Christmas," Harry's voice spoke from the stag, much to her surprise. The stag stood around a moment more, as though Harry himself wanted to stay in the room with her a little longer before it slowly began to fade, leaving a gentle warm glow in the room that made her feel so happy and peaceful, she didn't know if it was just because of the Patronus Charm or because she knew, after months of not knowing, that Harry was if not safe, he was alive.
As she picked up her wand and centred herself to cast the enchantment once more, she gave a little thank you to Merlin that he was alive. Knowing that, it was the most perfect gift she'd ever gotten.
There was so much screaming.
They'd been fighting for what felt like days, although he supposed the reality of it was, they'd been fighting for seven years and this was just the culmination of all those encounters. The Final Battle. Everything he'd trained and prepared for was coming down to this moment.
He'd been reunited with his classmates, Neville and Ginny had been keeping the fight going inside the halls of Hogwarts, raising hell for Snape and the other new professors that Hogwarts had welcomed this year. His second family had joined the fight, the entire Weasley clan infiltrating every corner of the school and fighting the Death Eaters to the ultimate end. Remus and Tonks were there, despite their new born son, and was fighting for all they'd lost and the lives they'd never got to lead. They were fighting for their son's future. Even Gabrielle had snuck into the country and was fighting, throwing her might and magic around with charms and enchantments no one had ever heard of, both dazzling and scaring everyone that came across her.
He knew he should be angry that she'd found a way to join the battle, he wanted her to stay safe after all, but a part of him was thrilled to see her nevertheless. He knew she was a formidable dueller; she'd hinted as such in her letters and he'd heard Fleur's stories of her cutting down her opponents in minutes during school competitions, but to see it first hand was something else. They'd barely had a moment together since the battle began, the fleeting glances across the battlefield was just enough to reassure him that she was alive, even if she did appear more bruised than he would have liked. She was holding her own and showing them that Veela's were not just pretty faces.
Voldemort had made his grand announcement over the school and the fighting had ceased momentarily. It had given them the chance to gather up their fallen, for families to mourn and take stock of what they'd lost in the fight. The Weasley's, although they'd welcomed Percy back into the fold with open arms, George was now one half without the other as Fred now lay on the floor of the Great Hall as his family cried in anguish above him.
Remus and Tonks were laid out a few people down, even in death they held each other's hands in support, loving each other forever, even in death. Harry had no idea how he was going to tell Teddy that his parent's we're going to see him grow up because of the war, because of him. He vowed then and there though to always be there for his Godson. Life could have been so much different if he'd always had Sirius with him from the start, but he'd only had a couple of years and they were already the happiest of his life, he wanted Teddy to have more than a few, he wanted him to have a lifetime and that was exactly what he was going to give him. For Tonks. For Remus.
Lavender Brown and Colin Creevey were also laid out, surrounded by their families and friends, all of them weeping over their lost ones. Their story would be the same as many families within the Great Hall. Brave students and adults who fought for not only their future but for the future of everyone they'd ever know and even for those they didn't. For friends and even for people they thought were their foes.
Snape's memories had proved enlightening to him. He long since reconciled that his father wasn't the best of men like he'd always assumed, but at least now he saw the bigger picture. He understood some of the reasons he did what he did, although some things he'd never understand. And that was okay. Maybe one day he could forgive Snape for all he'd done and how he'd treated him over the years. But for now, it was time for him to fulfil his final destiny. Seeing the memories and realising what Dumbledore had planned out meticulously from the moment his parents had announced they were having him, he'd just clearly never planned for him not to be alive to push him into this moment. Or maybe he'd planned that too, he'd never know. It didn't matter at this moment as he stood in the courtyard of his beloved Hogwarts, trying to summon some of that famous Gryffindor courage that had been the root of nearly all his misadventures during his years here. It was how he'd met his best friends; his godfather; the girl he'd dreamed of having a life with one day if he were so lucky. Him, Teddy and Gabrielle, a happy little family just the three of them.
So why was he finding it so hard to walk into the forest so that he could start living this life he'd only ever dreamed of. Taking a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart, Harry hadn't even taken two steps towards the forest when a blue light out the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Turning to the side he couldn't help but grin at the little blue butterfly that was fluttering around in front of him. It didn't say anything this time, but as he continued to make his way towards the forest it continued to flutter around next to him, keeping him company and giving him strength as he faced his destiny, hopefully for the final time.
Gabrielle stood in the Great Hall, surrounded by people but feeling very alone. She couldn't see another family pour their hearts out over their loved and lost ones. It hurt her heart to witness it, there was just too much loss today.
When she found out from Fleur that the final battle was taking place, she knew she had to be there, despite what her father told her and what she'd said to Harry, she couldn't just sit on the side-lines while those she loved fought. She was a formidable dueller, not to mention her abilities as a Veela would give her an advantage over almost anyone she came across. It turns out there are some advantages to most people assuming she was nothing more than a pretty trinket to hang off some wizards or witches' arm and this was one of those moments. She'd used her entire knowledge of Veela magic and enchantments while fighting and had come away with a few scratches but thankfully nothing more serious, her opponents couldn't say the same fortunately.
In the fleeting moments she'd seen him, Harry looked equal parts exhausted and determined. They hadn't been able to talk properly for months, after the initial first Patronus he'd sent her on Christmas, he'd not been able to send another, though she'd been able to send at least a couple of butterflies and messages to him, letting him know what news she'd managed to gather; offering him some hope and light during the darkest days. When she found out that he was staying with Fleur at Shell cottage because he was recovering from being captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, she had to hold herself back from returning to England and seeing him in person again. Instead, she'd reassured herself that her sister would look after him and heal whatever wounds he had.
She knew he'd be disappointed that she'd broken her promise to stay away from the fight, but she hoped that he would understand why she couldn't just stay away. This fight was so much bigger than just Voldemort and his Death Eaters, it was for their future and she had to fight for that.
Looking around the Great Hall, Gabrielle began to feel her throat closing up when she realised Harry wasn't anywhere to be found. It was getting close to the end of the time frame Voldemort had given them to hand Harry over and she knew deep down that Harry would do the selfless thing and give himself up, especially when he saw how many people had died already. His housemates Lavender and Colin; his adoptive brother Fred; his last connection to his parents, Remus. All of them and so many more were now gone. She knew he'd feel guilt for their lost lives, for the lives that would have to go on without them. For his godson, Teddy, who would now grow up with a life like his own, without his parents there to love him and watch him grow up.
She knew he'd sacrifice himself if he thought it would save those he loved. He was brave and stupid like that, but it was one of the reasons she like him; one of the reasons she'd been drawn to him all those years ago. Saving her during the Triwizard Tournament even though she wasn't his to save and it cost him first place in the task. He did it anyway. Because, that's just who he was, their brave courageous Harry. But just in case he needed a little extra courage for whatever he was about to do, Gabrielle closed her eyes and willed her magic up within her, moving her wand in the now familiar intricate pattern, all the heightened emotions within her meaning she could only whisper the enchantment and conjured what she hoped would be the last butterfly of the war.
So, that was chapter four! I hope you enjoyed it, only one left to go and it's the epilogue. Until next time.
