AN: I do not own any part of this franchise, nor do I make a profit from writing about it. With that being said please enjoy chapter 2.
Aberforth had a new spring in his step as he levitated three trays of breakfast behind him to his son's room. A rare smile formed on his lips at seeing his boy up on his feet, looking much healthier than he'd previously expected he would ever see him. He wanted to hold him and weep, but his pride stopped him. Instead, he approached the boy, who seemed to be trying to gently rouse his guest and placed a loving hand firmly on his shoulder.
"How are you feeling son," he asked.
"Better than I've felt in as long as I can remember," he smiled, "I drew her a bath. She was sweating in her sleep, and she's still covered in blood."
The girl seemed to be awake and listening because she pushed herself up onto her elbows, "Thank ye. A bath will do me some good," she started to push herself up onto her knees and then cried out, laying back down and clutching her hands.
The men reacted instantly. Aurelius sat beside her to examine her palms. Aberforth directed the trays to settle on the table and turned to watch. Concern mixed with confusion as he noted that his son looked as if he had seen an unexpected ghost. Both of her palms were bruised and blistered with harsh lines of welts like stripes.
"Did the obscurus do this to you," Aurelius asked in a broken voice.
She nodded, "It uses yer memories and yer pain ta make me let go. When thoughts and emotions aren't enough it starts manifestin yer wounds. Me mam trained me ta endure the pain ta save the victim. Yer alive. It's worth it."
"Is there anything I can do to help," he asked in a desperate whisper.
She tilted her head with a sympathetic smile, "Yer already doin it," she reached out and wiped a tear from his cheek, holding it for him to see as the wounds that stretched to her fingers began to heal rapidly under the moisture.
After a moment of comprehension, he took both of her hands and buried his face in them, somehow forcing tears on willpower alone. Aberforth was watching with a look of horror.
"What did you do to my son," he growled.
"I did wha Sunwing ordered me ta do. Nothin more," she replied calmly.
"Ordered? Since when can a fairy be ordered rather than simply asked," he didn't fully believe her, which wasn't surprising.
"Each fairy has an affinity. Those of us who have an animal affinity can be claimed by one of our charges when the need is dire. The precise methods I had to apply to save his life are forbidden by the Seelie Court. I explained all of it ta Sunwing, includin tha my life would be forfeit. I was willin ta die but Sunwing didn't want tha on his friend's conscience. So, he claimed me. As long as the phoenix is me master, they'll naht charge me fer the crime but they'll naht offer protection anymore either."
Aurelius had finished healing her hands and was now watching the conversation. Only now did it occur to him that he could feel Sunwing's presence, but the ancient bird was nowhere to be seen.
Aberforth noticed the phoenix's absence as well because he asked, "Where is Sunwing now?"
"In him," she indicated the younger wizard, "His core was nearly gone. Sunwing agreed ta replace it."
"So, what does that mean for you," Aurelius asked before his father could berate her for not finding something other than his son's best friend to sacrifice.
"Wha is done cannot be undone. Ye and Sunwing are now one and the same. Tha means yer me master now," she said calmly in spite of Aberforth clearly seething at her in the background.
The younger thought that over for a moment as this new reality sunk in. Finally, he stood and backed up a little, "Come here."
Slowly she crawled off the bed and stood up. Her tender movements showed that she was in a lot of pain. He had her stand with her back to him and gently loosened the laces of her bloodstained emerald gown until he could slide it carefully off her shoulders. Her back and bottom were swollen and dark with bruises peeking out from under angry white welts. As he feared, her body bore the evidence of every time Mary Lou Barebone had ever beaten him. Tears stung his eyes. He recalled the pain of taking these beatings one at a time, several times a week, for years. He couldn't imagine how much she must be hurting to feel them all at once.
"Who did this," his father asked in a horrified whisper.
"My adoptive mother, Mary Lou Barebone," he answered, catching a tear off his cheek and tracing one of the welts with it.
"I'll kill her, the manky toe rag," the man's angry reply had his son giving him a concerned look.
He didn't know what a manky toe rag was but given the context he could assume it was an insult, "I already did."
"Actually, tha was the obscurus. Yer emotions only triggered it but ye had every right ta feel the way ye did," she corrected.
He paused a second and then continued to wipe tears on her wounds, "Did you get all my memories?"
"I did, and yer thoughts, and yer feelins," she admitted, "Me apologies. I know ye hate feelin like someone is in yer head."
He shook his head, "You only did what you had to do. Queenie's deliberate spying is what got on my nerves," he paused again, deciding what to say next, "I was hoping you could offer a fresh perspective."
"Most wizards won't ask a fairy's opinion on anythin'," she stated in surprise.
"Why not," he didn't know as much about the wizarding world as he seemed to need to right now. He was sure she must've known that and hoped she'd be patient with him about it.
"Fairies and wizards don't get along. Wizards are raised ta believe all fairies are tricksters and most fairies are old enough ta remember how wizard kind nearly slaughtered us ta extinction. There are laws in place now but poachers don't care. We have vital organs with magical properties tha fetch well on the black market," she explained.
"Does that mean you're unwilling to give your opinion to me," he asked gently. He wanted to respect her and it was best to figure out the boundaries right away. Although if she didn't want him asking her questions it may be a difficult one to get used to.
She gave a bemused scoff and pulled her hair over her shoulder as he moved further up her back, "Do ya still want it?"
"Yes but only if you're willing," he replied.
"I am," she confirmed.
He tried to decide how to word it but he wasn't sure what the correct terms were, "The day Ma died I...I felt something. I don't know if I was imagining it or..."
She took the opportunity at one of his hesitations to interrupt before he could confuse himself, "Tha family ya mean? I know the name Barebone. Was once a Scottish wizardin family. Tried too hard ta keep their blood pure. Came ta me on occasion to restrengthen new generations. Had ta use trickery fer it ta work. Magic fades without a balance. Starve it of the mundane and it becomes the mundane."
"Ma was a squib?"
She gave a nod, "She was and Chastity too. Bitter lot most of them. Born ta a world they can never fully be a part of. Makes them do horrible things ta those tha can. Ye recall thinkin ye were one fer a moment there? Ye felt bitter about it too. Let the obscurus take over fully and nearly destroyed New York City."
"She knew about me?"
"Said she did. Insulted yer mam didn't she?"
"What about Modesty?"
"Witch. Wand was real too although it hadn't chosen her. Probably lonely right about now. Ye did naht think of it at the time but there was a great deal of blood soaked into the first floor of her family home. Doubt they're even alive."
He was quiet for a moment as he took that information in. He finally said, "I have to find her."
"Ye'll be needin help. She was afraid of ye last time ye saw her."
They heard a whispered "accio" from Aberforth before the man rejoined the conversation, "Take her to Queenie's wedding as your plus one. Tell her sister what you're up to. If this girl is really alone and means that much to you as your adoptive sister then I will adopt here myself. She can live with us if she'll come."
Aurelius nodded gratefully, "Thank you. Although she'll need something better to wear on short notice. There isn't time to clean and repair that dress."
"That's going to stay here. She can do whatever she wants with it when you return. As a show of appreciation for saving your life I am willing to give her one of your grandmother's old gowns," he handed her the dress he had summoned. It was a simple 19th century gown. The base color was gold with scarlet red lining the seams at the square neckline, sleeves that stopped mid bicep, and the floor-length bottom hem. Another red ribbon separated the looser top from the slim fitting bottom half of the gown at the under bust.
"It's lovely. Yer mam was a Gryffindor I take it," she smiled at the gift.
He wasn't sure whether to smile at the complement or frown at her knowledge, "It is and she was. What do you know about Hogwarts?"
"I was once a student," she replied quietly.
He glanced down at her tattered dress on the floor. In the places that were not hidden by dried blood he could see that the green fabric was decorated with silver flowers, stems embroidered with scales and wound down to the bottom hem like snakes, "Slytherin," he observed.
She nodded, "Expect anythin else from a fairy?"
He shrugged, "I expect fairies vary as much in personality as any other being. Of course that also tells me you're a half fae. Only a witch could get into Hogwarts as a student.
She offered a bitter smile, "Most fae are only half. Though normally pure fae target muggles fer matin. Even I am naht allowed ta carry a wand. They let me use one ta learn and once I could do magic well enough without it the Seelie Court took it and snapped it."
"That's terrible. You're as much a witch as you are a fairy. Anyway, you don't answer to them anymore. I'll take you both to Ollivander's for proper wands when you return," the man decided, giving a look of distaste to the wand his son had been given as a gift from Grindelwald where it was sitting on the bedside table.
She was about to protest when her master changed the subject, "This is no longer working."
"Down ta just bruises are ya," she asked.
"Yes. They don't seem to be responding to this treatment," he gave her back a troubled look. The only areas of her skin that looked normal were places that had been healed from being stabbed the night before or where the belt had cut through the skin and left him bleeding. The rest was varying shades of black, blue, purple, and green.
"Phoenix tears can't heal wounds hidden beneath sealed skin. Ye've done what ye can. I'll be fine," she started to move towards the bathroom.
Aberforth only had to glance at his son's troubled face to know that he was blaming himself for all of her pain, "Wait," he called out and she stopped, "Let me heal the rest. I know the spell."
She shook her head, "I don't need healin. I'll be fine."
"What's your name," Aurelius inquired immediately.
"Salarah, Master," she replied and took another step.
"Salarah, come here," he commanded, glad his voice sounded as firm as he felt nervous. Using the unblemished gown to cover her front she turned and walked to him, her eyes begging him to let it go, "Let him heal you," he ordered. For a moment she stared, hoping he would change his mind. He stared back intently trying to will her into submission. Finally, he spoke again to break what was dangerously close to becoming an awkward silence, "Let him do for you what he failed to do for me. He wants me to forgive him for abandoning me. He's not going to make it worse by hurting you."
She glanced sideways at the older man. He looked genuinely hurt by his son's words. Her jaw set into visible irritation as she forcefully shoved her fear down and took pity on him. Turning her back to him she stood still and silent, glaring at her master as his father gently spelled away the bruises.
"Thank ye," she whispered over her shoulder, "Now," she addressed Aurelius firmly, "Apologize ta yer da."
His eyes narrowed in confusion, "Why?"
She rolled her eyes, "Oh please. He may have bought tha load of shite but I didn't. Ye haven't been angry with him since he asked ye ta come home and ye forgave him moments before tha when he said he always thought of ye. I ever tried ta guilt me da like tha he'd have given me a hidin fer it. In fact he did and he made sure he only had ta do it once."
His jaw set, "It's not your place to tell me..."
"Don't give me tha," she interrupted, "I'll put up with a lot Master. Beat me like yer mam did ye. I don't care. Yer da has only tried ta be here fer ye since he met ye. Ye knew how hard it is fer a wizard ta trust a fairy with their child's life ye'd know that but ye weren't raised ta know. He went against all he was taught fer a small hope ta save ye. He didn't deserve wha ye said."
shame took the place of confusion and anger as he realized what his father was likely feeling, "I'm sorry Dad. I didn't mean it. She was being stubborn and I handled it wrong."
The man nodded, "I'm alright. Just keep in mind that you're dealing with an ancient being, estranged from her witch heritage. If she's disobeying you, she probably has a good reason."
Aurelius looked to her, "I am sorry. I'll listen to your reasons and try to learn. Go take your bath and we'll talk over breakfast."
She nodded and went into the bathroom. Aberforth had a small panic moment, "Come help me get some more bacon ready. I didn't know she was half fae. Pure Seelie don't eat meat so I didn't give her any," Aurelius glanced at the tray of fruit, milk, and honey cakes as he followed his father.
TBC...