Chapter 2: The best friend…
Gabriel lay helplessly on the ground, stunned by the surprise of being caught and thrown to the floor. The red shape on top of him was reaching for his neck. The hands grabbed him by the collar and… she started shaking poor Gabriel's head around furiously.
"You meanie! Trying to escape while I go through all the trouble to visit you."
The red haze turned out to be the red hair of a girl. Her face was accentuated by her freckles and her piercing green eyes. She was wearing blue, faded jeans and a short, yellow tanktop which showed off her flat stomach. Another thing that was noticeable about her was a big scar on her side, which went from the right side of her stomach all the way to her back, vanishing under her tanktop.
"Meanie! Meanie! Meanie! Meanie! Mea… Hey, you've got a visitor."
Dumbledore just sat quietly at the table, smiling widely and his eyes twinkling as he looked at the pair on the ground. Rachel just held her head in one hand and gave a groan. The redheaded girl let go of Gabriel, who by now was still stunned by her sudden appearance. She stood up, dusted her jeans a bit with her hands and walked to Dumbledore.
"Hello, pleased to meet you. My name is Julia Connor." She said in a neat, courteous voice.
Dumbledore was pleased with the good manners and took her hand to give it a polite shake. "And I'm pleased to meet you as well, Julia. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm here to talk to Gabriel and his mother about his admission to Hogwarts."
"Eh? Gabriel's finally going to Hogwarts then?" It took a little while for Julia to grasp the fact. Her eyes widened and she suddenly sounded a lot more elated. "That's great! He's been wanting to go to Hogwarts for years now."
"Indeed. But the decision is still his to make. But it seems that he won't be able to give an answer right now, seeing as he's still lying on the floor in shock."
"Gah!" Julia sped over to Gabriel and began to shake him around again. "Hey, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!..." Both Gabriel and Julia were too busy to notice Dumbledore get up.
He turned to Rachel and said: "Well, I'm still very busy, Rachel, so I must depart now. I'll be expecting an owl from Gabriel soon and I'll be hoping that it will be a positive response." Rachel began walking with him towards the front door, leaving the nutty kids to maiming each other.
"He'll have to think it through. He's been trying to get my permission for years now and I don't think it really seeped in yet. But Julia will be a big help, she always is." Rachel showed a small smile at the thought of those two being friends.
Dumbledore looked a bit more serious when she said that. He was now standing by the front door, ready to depart. "Julia… she's the one from the incident, the reason he wasn't allowed to go the previous years, isn't she?"
"Yes," said Rachel sadly. "it's a welcome miracle that she and Gabriel still get along so well. I mean, that scar alone is enough to tear people apart forever. I'm glad Gabi has such a good friend to rely on."
"That is indeed a blessing. And now, I must go. Goodbye, Rachel. And give Daniel my fondest regards."
"Goodbye to you as well, Albus. But you know I'm still not really convinced that this is a good thing for him."
Dumbledore nodded and opened the door. He walked outside for a few steps, when suddenly there was a loud crackling sound and Dumbledore had vanished, Apparating to his next destination. Rachel closed the door and went back to the kitchen, where Julia finally managed to get Gabriel to his feet.
"Eh, Mum. Albus already left?" He said, wiping some dust off his sleeve.
"Yup, but he'll be expecting a reply from you soon. Now why don't you think about it for awhile?"
Gabriel stayed still in thought about what he should do, even though he knew what his decision would be already. Julia sensed his discomfort, though, and gave a soft pull on his sleeve.
"Come, let's go outside for awhile," she said. "Okay, Gabi?"
"Right. Mom, I'll be out with Julia for awhile, okay?"
Rachel merely nodded and shooed them away. Julia pulled Gabriel with him to the kitchen door and opened it. Before Gabriel went out, he turned around to his mother.
"Thanks mom. I appreciate you letting me decide on my own about this."
"What can I say? It's your decision now, Gabi. We've made it three times already, it's your turn I guess."
Gabriel nodded and with that stepped out with Julia. They walked over to the spot where Gabriel was lying earlier. They both sat down next to each other. The evening was already progressing and it was getting chilly. Julia shivered, not being dressed for the sudden drop in temperature. She hadn't expected to be out of the house when visiting. Gabriel gave a slight smirk.
"That's so like you, Jules. Seeing that it's a bit warm and then going out without any warm clothes at all. Aw hell, I can't stand you shivering like that. Here, put this on."
Gabriel took off his blue and white striped sweater and handed it to Julia. She sighed a bit before putting the sweater on over her head.
"Never thought that I might just do that because I know that you'll offer your sweater anyway?" countered Julia.
She wasn't exactly lying either. She mostly refuses to put on sweaters or jackets, since she believes they're not flattering and they get too hot when she's not outside. But still, wearing Gabriel's sweater is always a nice thing. Somehow Gabriel managed to almost radiate warmth by himself. This made the sweater really comfortable, it still being warm from his body.
"So, are you going to Hogwarts?" asked Julia. "Seems odd to suddenly think twice over it. You've been dreaming about going ever since you got your first admission letter."
Gabriel gave a look at Julia. She looked cute in his sweater and she always smelled very nice. She usually wore no scents whatsoever, but her hair always had the lingering smell of the flower shampoo that she used daily.
"I already made up my mind about going to Hogwarts," said Gabriel, but he let out a sigh after, starting to gaze at the stars that now illuminated the sky.
"But?"
"But I'm wondering if it's the right thing to do. It'll all be new and weird and now that I'm actually going, I keep being afraid that at one point or another I'll lose control again."
Gabriel's striking blue eyes went back to Julia and rested on her stomach. Julia noticed what he was thinking about and she knew how it hurt him still what he had done. Nothing she said or did removed the guilt from Gabriel completely, even though she knew it wasn't his fault or intention.
She unconsciously placed her hand over her scar, making Gabriel look away sadly. Julia shuffled over to him and placed an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, you couldn't do anything about that. Besides, it's only happened once and it's not like you killed me."
Immediately after she said that, she regretted it. She should've remembered that Gabriel was real sensitive about it and mentioning the fact that she could've died didn't do any good. She bit her lip as she could see the tears forming in his eyes. She came closer to him and enveloped him in a protective hug.
"Come on. You shouldn't beat yourself up over that incident. You stopped. You regained control, that's what matters. Besides, you're a black belt now. You've improved your control a lot," said Julia
"I know, Jules. It's just the thought of losing you is enough already, not to mention it being my fault. And what if it happens when others are around?" Even though Gabriel was still worried, Julia's words comforted him, calmed him down.
"Then you'll stop again." Julia knew that Gabriel would be strong and resist. But seeing him with tears in his eyes just wouldn't do. She smirked a bit and then gave Gabriel a kiss on his cheeks where the solitary tears where staining his face. Almost immediately Gabriel perked up and grinned. Julia let him go, a wide grin covering her face.
"Meanie, you know that being kissed by a beautiful girl will improve my mood." Gabriel changed the subject, all being said that needed to be said. "How's someone supposed to be all angsty if you do that?"
"Well, I'm flattered. You know, if you were always such a smooth talker, you'd have a girlfriend already."
"Feh, I thought I had one already?"
"Dream on, Gabi. I'm just here for moral support and to keep you on your toes."
"Ah well, good thing that I'm not going to try either. Being called Gabi is annoying. I probably couldn't live with a girlfriend that would call me that."
"Oh yes, you could. Though I doubt the unlucky lady will be able to stomach you for long. But hey, you're going to Hogwarts now. Lots of new people to befriend and girls to be looked at by you."
"Yeah, right. I bet you'd like to go with me, don't you. Looking at all the pretty witches in their flowing robes. Plus, I bet the only reason you hang out with me is because I almost look like a girl anyway."
"Drats, found out again. I guess I'll have to go back to bed and think up a new scheme."
Julia got up from the grass and stretched. She was feeling tired, since she didn't have her usual amount of sugar in her system. Gabriel did the same, but when he stood up, he gazed at the stars for awhile, taking in all the scents that came with the evening.
"Hey, Jules?"
"Yes?"
"Could you take my clothes back to my place? I feel like having a run."
Julia smirked. She'd seen this coming, since Gabriel liked running a lot, especially when he just cleared some thoughts. She turned away from Gabriel in mock disgust, averting her eyes from him.
"Oh sure, leave the girl to carry you clothes around while you run around naked. People will start to talk, you know?"
She already could hear him removing his clothes, by the falling of the material on the ground. Then there was a faint sound which meant that Gabriel was transforming.
"Thanks Jules. I knew you were my best friend."
Julia heard the familiar sounds of Gabriel completing his transformation. "And you're my best friend as well, Gabi."
The only response she got was a growl as she turned around to look at her friend. Before her eyes stood a wolf. Well, it would have been a wolf if it wasn't for some differences. But the wolf's fur was a light blond color and it was white by his belly. The wolf had striking blue eyes, but if those weren't enough differences, there was another one. The wolf had two long, blond tails, both swishing lazily, their tips ending in the same white fur he had at his stomach.
"You be careful to let no one see you like that, okay?"
Gabriel gave a happy nod and ran two circles around Julia, before taking off in the direction of the forest, his two tails flowing behind him like a golden trail. Julia let a chuckle escape her lips, wondering why her friend was still so childish at some times. But then again, they were both still children. Even though they had to grow up just a little faster because of what happened between them.
Julia was one of the very few people that knew about Gabriel's other form. She had known it ever since the day that Gabriel still dreaded. That day was what caused him to view his other form as a curse, despite all the perks it had and the fun he had with it. Of course, the fact that his parents were partial to sending him to a public school because of that accident didn't help his view either.
-=*=-
Julia and Gabriel were around eight years old that day. There was an eclipse that day, even though it was a partial one and didn't take long. Therefore it wasn't really noticeable. They were playing around the forest and Gabriel boasted that he would be able to climb up to a particularly high branch that was difficult to reach. Julia took him up on that claim and he tried.
Gabriel even succeeded, reaching the branch with little trouble. But that particular branch was already dead, even though it wasn't noticeable yet from the ground. The moment Gabriel leaned on it, the branch broke, letting him fall all the way down.
He heard Julia scream, even though all the sounds were hazed because of the rush of the air in his ears. He felt his back hit a branch and he toppled over in midair. Then he came across another branch, which this time hit him on the head, cutting a gash in his forehead. In what seemed to him like an eternity he then hit the ground stomach first. The blood from his gash covered his face, making his vision blurry and red.
Red…
Red…
"Gabi! Gabi! Are you alright?"
Gabriel could faintly hear Julia run up to him, frightened and yelling if he was alright. But he wasn't. He could feel something alien slip up from his mind, his body… from his very soul.
Red…
Blood…
…
MORE…
"Gabi! You okay? Are yo…" Julia gasped.
There, before her eyes, Gabriel changed rapidly. His features became canine-like and his clothes became torn. His body was changing right through them and he was developing two grand tails. But the thing that gripped her heart in fear most was the look in Gabriel's eyes. Not their ordinary striking blue, but a bright crimson red, burning with rage.
Before she knew what had happened, Gabriel lashed out at her with a clawed hand, giving her a great gash in her right side. She was thrown against the ground, the force of the fall being enough to knock her out.
More blood…
What she didn't see then was that Gabriel had stood over her and raised his clawed hand in a fashion as to give a deadly strike across the neck.
Mo… What?
What am I doing? Jules?
Gabriel's eyes slowly turned back to their blue selves, looking at the poor Julia, her clothes covered in her blood. He looked at his hands, noticing the claws he didn't know he had and seeing them slowly go away. He could feel his body reverting back to normal, shreds of his clothing still hanging from his body.
Then he forgot all about himself and ran to his house, screaming at his mother to come and help Julia, before she'd be dead. Rachel managed to get to Julia in time and it was luck that Daniel had a free day then. He managed to magically patch Julia up enough so that her life wouldn't be in danger and then took her to the hospital.
Gabriel stayed with her all the time she was out. The moment she regained consciousness, he started crying and saying he was sorry. Julia was a bit fuzzy on what happened, but she realized it wasn't his fault and forgave him for it.
Gabriel and Julia never told any others, except for Gabriel's parents, what really happened that day. Rachel and Daniel told Julia's parents that she was the one that fell from the tree to explain the wound she got while out playing with Gabriel.
Afterwards they found out that the time that Gabriel transformed, was around the same time as the partial eclipse, but Gabriel wasn't really concerned with that. All that mattered for him is that he wouldn't let that happen again, ever.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Author's Notes:
Another big thank you to my proofreaders, Orthogon and [50-50]. They're both still valuable sources for improvement, even though they sometimes don't have the chance to proofread my chapters before I put them up.
Reviewers Thanks!
· RubeeTabs: Well, I didn't say what his curse was yet. It is somewhat explained in this chapter though. And I'll continue. Please put up with me some more.
· lapis Lazuli3, Fireblade K'Chona: Thanks for the encouragement. Hope you liked this chapter. ^-^
Well, please continue to review. It's weird how these lift my spirits up to write more.