Gabrielle woke up alone, groggily wiping sleep from her eyes as she slowly sat up, looking around, 'Harry?" she called softly, the sun hadn't even risen yet, the sky barely lightening with the first light of the day. Slowly, she stood and began walking out of the room and down the dark stairway.
"So if I were to sell this stock here, and put it into Firebolt-"
"-you'd be seeing a large return within the first few months."
Gabby peaked around the doorway that led into one of the parlors, smiling a bit when she saw Harry sitting with Sirius, going over the Potter holdings with the older man. The two were in deep conversation as Harry asked question after question and Sirius did his best to answer.
Quietly, Gabby walked away from the doorway, instead entering the kitchen.
"Morning," Andromeda greeted sleepily from her spot beside the coffee machine, "how'd you sleep?"
"Well, thank you," Gabby said looking around the kitchen, "would it be alright if I made breakfast?"
"Go ahead," she said with a smile, "truthfully I'm not too good in the kitchen. Ted usually does all the cooking."
"Well then he can have a day off," she said with a smile as she began working, within an hour the house was full of the mouth watering smell of cooking food. A smell that caught Harry's and Sirius's attention.
"Something smells delicious." Sirius said as they walked into the kitchen.
"Eggs and sausage are ready, potatoes will take a little longer." Gabby said, giving harry a kiss when he walked over, "Good morning mi amore." she said softly.
"Morning love," Harry hummed as he helped her serve the plates.
"You two ready for the day?" Sirius asked, quietly thanking Andy when she handed him a cup of coffee, which he added a generous helping of whiskey too.
"It'll all turn out alright...right?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Lily's dad punched James out when he caught them snogging," Sirius shrugged, "and I can't tell you how many birds' fathers tried to off me after they found out I was with their daughters."
"Not helping his confidence Siri," Andromeda said as she sipped on her coffee. Harry looked nervous as he carefully set plates in front of the adults.
"Honestly, It won't be so bad, after all, you two have had a set relationship going haven't you?" Sirius asked, taking a couple bites of the eggs.
"That was before Gabrielle was pregnant." Harry sighed, "who knows how they'll react to this."
"They shouldn't overreact…" Gabby mumbled, chewing on her lip, "I hope…"
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Harry looked down at the new blue jeans and collared shirt he was wearing, they were pressed and ironed and fit perfectly on him, something he wasn't used to after years of wearing baggy clothes.
Gabby was wearing a soft green sundress, her hair had been braided by andy and she looked stunning, in Harry's opinion, but he couldn't focus much on her as he was waiting for her parents to arrive.
Finally the fireplace roared an emerald green and out stepped Fleur, who wasted no time going straight to her sister and enveloping her in a hug.
"We were so worried about you!" Fleur cried as Gabby returned the hug, "Papa was ready to call the Aurors before Harry sent his letter!"
"I'm sorry…" Gabby mumbled, "I just wanted to be with Harry...before I was locked in my room…"
"You might still be locked in there."
Fleur pulled away from her sister as her parents stepped out of the fireplace, her father was a stern looking man, with salt and pepper hair, shorter than his wife, but obviously fit. His wife Apolline was a slender woman who could've been Fleur's sister in appearance, with her blonde hair leaning more towards silver.
"papa...Maman…" Gabby started, unconsciously taking harry's hand, steeling her resolve as he squeezed her hand in a show of comfort, "I'm sorry for running away from home, but I don't regret it."
Monsieur Delacour narrowed his eyes at his daughter as he stepped forward, without thinking Harry stepped forward, protectively standing in front of Gabby and making her father pause in his movement.
"Antony," Apolline said softly, placing a comforting hand on her husband's shoulders.
He mulled his words over in his head before he spoke, "we were worried about you Gabrielle." he said sternly, "we thought you had been abducted or worse!"
"I'm sorry Papa…" she whispered, tears in her eyes, Harry stepped back as Gabby rushed forward and hugged her father, who gladly returned the hug.
"My little flower, you didn't have to rush off like that," he sighed, looking at Harry, "I remember you from when we met back at Hogwarts, My daughter was quite taken with you."
"And I her…" Harry said quietly, "I promise Monsieur, I will do everything in my power to care for Gabby and our unborn child."
"I ask more from you, Mr. Potter." he said, slowly letting his daughter go and letting his wife fuss over the younger girl as he approached Harry, "I ask that you love and cherish them."
"Of course I will." Harry said, holding the older man's gaze steadily.
Antony sighed and put his arms around the boy, an awkward hug for both of them, "children, you'll give me gray hairs before I'm old enough for them." He griped as he stepped away from harry and rejoined his wife, Gabby likewise moving to stand with Harry, "forgive the rudeness," he said as he turned to Andromeda, who had watched all of this with cool eyes, "I am Antony Delacour, this is my wife Apolline and my daughter Fleur."
"A pleasure to meet you." She said graciously, "I am Andromeda Tonks, Harry's second Cousin."
"Where are his aunt and uncle?" he asked, "Gabrielle told us he lived with them."
"There were...extenuating circumstances." Andy said with a sigh, "everything will be explained when Harry's Godfather joins us."
"His Godfather? The serial killer?" Anthony asked gravely.
"Falsely accused actually." Sirius drawled as he walked in, holding his hands up in surrender when Antony whirled around and aimed his wand at the man, ushering his wife and eldest daughter behind him as he did.
"Papa no!" Gabby shouted as Harry aslo pulled his wand, but kept it lowered.
"You expect me to believe two different administrations were wrong about your charges?" Antony asked angrily.
"Rest assured they were wrong," Andromeda said, her own wand likewise out as she watched Apolline, who had her wand out as well, standing in a position to help her husband if need be, Fleur was simply standing back against the wall, watching everything. "We have proof, and are planning on pushing the courts for a true trial."
Antony hesitated, then lowered his wand, "I think we're owed an explanation now." he said stiffly, looking to Andromeda as Sirius grinned.
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"I need a drink." Antony muttered, giving a quiet 'thank you' to Sirius when the man poured him a cup of firewhiskey, "do they truly believe they can get away with this?"
"They have been," Andromeda said with a sigh, "it's been a bitch and a half trying to get Sirius a trial, only Nymphadora and a few other Order member are willing to testify for Sirius, Including Dumbledore himself, but the Wizengamot doesn't want to acknowledge it...guess it's easier to bury the past."
"Well, if you need any more witnesses, I will happily contribute. Mr. Potter has shown himself to be a good judge of character, while I don't condone his actions with my daughter; I would gladly put my name on the line for an innocent man."
"Thank you Tony, that means so much to me." Sirius sniffled, throwing an arm around the man, only to be shoved off.
"That doesn't make us friends black." he said pointedly, only for Sirius to shrug off his words.
"I consider anyone who helps me out of the goodness of their hearts friends." he said dismissively.
"Hmm...well, while this helps shed some light on Mr. Potter's situation, I still don't know if I trust him with my daughter's safety; he's a wanted man by the dark lord AND the Wizengamot after all."
"We've taken care of that," Andy said, making Harry and Gabby stand up, "we worked through the night to make sure the two will be safely protected, if you will follow me."
où nous emmènent-ils?*" Anthony asked his daughter warily.
"Faites-leur confiance, père." Gabby responded quietly, leaning against Harry for support as they all followed Andromeda into the backyard towards an unassuming old boot.
"It leaves at one, everyone grabs on." Andromeda instructed, touching the top of the boot while Sirius touched the tip.
Harry and Gabby both grabbed the boot near the shoelaces, while Anthony grabbed the boot at the base, his wife and elder daughter holding onto the boot near his hands.
"Three...two...one!" Sirius counted down as the boot grabbed onto their navels, the portkey lifting them out of the backyard of the Tonks residence.
A few moments later they were landing in an unknown field, Harry and Gabrielle leaning on each other as they touched down while the rest simply strolled down to the field.
"You two okay?" Sirius asked worriedly, checking over his grandson and his girlfriend.
"I might throw up…' Gabby mumbled, doing her best to keep her breakfast down as Harry did his best to comfort her.
"Pregnancy never makes travelling easier." Apolline said in sympathy, rubbing her daughters back as Anthony looked about.
"Where are we?" Anthony asked as Sirius approached him once more, holding a piece of paper out, Anthony took the paper and read it
"The Potter House is located at Number 32 Mainstreet Dores, Scotland.
Anthony blinked a few times before he looked up, eyes widening as he handed the paper to his wife.
Harry looked up, surprised to see a three story building in front of him. The house was made of pale gray stone, well kept with a red brick chimney sticking out of the roof. The front garden was well maintained, offering an inviting front for any visitors.
"Go ahead," Sirius said, smiling at his godson as he handed over a simple silver key.
Harry took it and approached the front door-painted a dark green-carefully inserting the key and unlocking the door; it swung open showing hard wood mahogany floors, white paneled walls with generic paintings lining the wall.
"The first floor has two parlors, a living room, full kitchen, and library." Sirius began conversationally as they all looked about, "Second floor is bedrooms, about six in all, with another parlor that we've set aside as the babies nursery/playroom, third floor has a potions lab and training room." he grinned at the shocked faces surrounding him; "begin basking in my awesome glory at any time."
"You got all of this done in one night?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Yep," sirius said with a smile as the delacours began touring the house, "this is actually my uncle's house, when I escaped I had Remus meet me here and we began renovating it; can never have too many safe houses after all...we abandoned the project when Albus sent the call out, but when I got your letter I knew this would be the perfect house for you and Gabrielle." he let out a surprised gasp as Harry suddenly turned around and hugged him.
"Thank you...thank you so much…' he said softly.
Sirius chuckled, patting his back, "Don't worry about it pup, now, lets go mingle with the in-laws!"
Later that night.
Harry and Gabby cuddled against each other on the love seat, absentmindedly listening to Antony and Sirius talk about the upcoming trials, Fleur and Apolline had already retired to bed, and Andromeda had gone home.
"So they expect to be able to convict Harry for underage magic and assault on a muggle." Antony muttered, shaking his head, "even without knowing what kind of evidence they have, I can safely say they'll be losing this."
"Agreed," Sirius said, taking a sip of his whiskey, "they don't even have any evidence save for the trace, but with Gabby's testimony, as well as Dungs, things should easily sway into our favor."
"Hmm...just in case I believe it would be in our best interests to allow me to represent Harry, I've won my fair share of cases, and am well known in the wizengamot."
"It's up to you," Sirius said with a shrug, "but just know, doing this could very well send your career down the shitter for a bit."
"In Britain maybe," he scoffed, knocking his drink back, "there's more countries than the UK, a black mark from here doesn't change much in the grander scheme."
Sirius chuckled, "our reputation precedes us it seems." he mused, "Still, thank you for taking the risk...Harry's the last bit of family I have other than Andy, and I don't want to lose him."
"I'll do everything I can to keep this family together." he said solemnly, looking to where his daughter and her boyfriend lay, half asleep, "I pray that it is enough."
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Remus returned the next day, Tonks at his heels.
"It's a madhouse at Headquarters." Remus sighed as he sat down at the table after greeting everyone, "Molly went ballistic when Dung gave his report, Arthur had to practically restrain her from heading to Surrey and dealing with the Dursleys; once she calmed down it was another fight stopping her from coming to look for you Harry, she's under the impression you're in grave danger despite being with Sirius and Andromeda."
"Glad she has confidence in us." Sirius drawled, sluggishly drinking his coffee as he did, "how did Dumbledore take the news?"
Remus hesitated, prompting Tonks to speak up, "he was worried that Harry had attacked his relatives for no reason before Dung gave his report." She said, "apparently he was informed of what happened by the Ministry before Dung could get to us."
"He believed those horrible people!?" Gabbi asked angrily, the palms of her hands smoking and making Sirius scoot away from her while Harry rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Only until Dung told them the truth." Tonks said quickly, "after that he was more worried about you two being protected from both Muggle and Mundane law enforcement."
"The muggles are after us too?" Harry asked incredulously.
"They do believe you just assaulted your aunt and uncle." Antony pointed out, "Muggle Law Enforcement cannot be impeded, though even if they caught you first, the Ministry would still take custody of you and prosecute."
"He won't be prosecuted." Gabbi said vehemently, "we defended ourselves from two crazy individuals, and I was the one to use magic first, Not harry, why aren't they trying to charge me?"
"The official report is, you weren't there." Tonks said gravely, "despite Vernon Dursleys...verbose words regarding you, the Aurors have only been informed that Harry is the one they're looking for, no one else."
"That's ridiculous!" Gabbi cried angrily, "Why?"
"They want Harry out of the way." Remus explained grimly, "he and Dumbledore are currently under fire by the Daily Prophet, making Harry out like an unstable liar, and Dumbledore as a senile old wizard who needs to retire."
"He does need to retire, but not for senility." Sirius drawled, "he's been in the game too long, I don't think Dumbledore sees individuals anymore, just chess pieces."
"In any case." Remus began again, "our main concern right now is making sure Harry is kept out of Azkaban, there has already been a court date set for next week and summons have been dispersed; Ted will be defending you Harry, so you have a good chance of being acquitted."
"And if I don't?" Harry asked quietly, "if I lose the case?"
"Then we bust you out of Azkaban." Tonks said with a grin, "we have someone who's done it once before."
"I'd rather my boyfriend not be taken to Azkaban in the first place." Gabrielle said icily.
"Quite right." Apolline said, "which is why we should all have faith that Harry will get out of this with nary a scratch."
"His broken arm is already more than a scratch." Gabrielle muttered bitterly, letting the tension fall out of her shoulders as Harry intertwined their hands.
"Luckily we will have Madam Pomphrey as a witness," Tonks said, "since she's the one who came to heal Harry."
"All we can really do is hope for the best." Sirius said grimly, then perked up, "and when the best comes, we're throwing a party here, no buts."
*Where are they taking us?
Trust them, Father.