188) Chatting with Delacour

After a day of rest and care at the Delacour house...

"And then he made me eat something. I was scared because I remembered what you always told me about not accepting things from strangers," said Gabrielle, looking at her mother and father. "But then he brought out more food, and more and more, a bit of everything. There were some things I didn't know. In the end, after eating, I felt... strange..."

The little girl paused, and both her parents and her sister squeezed their hands with concern.

"But not in a bad way," Gabrielle continued. "I felt clear-headed, thinking was easier. He tried to communicate with me again, and although I still didn't understand everything, some things were easier. Even though we didn't completely understand each other, we could... talk? And I told him to leave me at the shop I went to with Fleur."

At her daughter's words, Apolline Delacour gave Fleur a gentle tap on the head, scolding her once more for taking Gabrielle out of the house without permission.

"There might have been a wit-sharpening potion or something similar in the food. Did you say he was British? Maybe he was hiding them like that or trafficking them... though it's not a highly regulated product, maybe it's something new... We have to get you checked out, we can't risk that he gave you something dangerous!" exclaimed Monsieur Delacour, ready to take his daughter to the magical hospital.

"Enough, Papa! You already had me checked twice and I'm fine!" protested Gabrielle, pulling away from her father's arms. It was already enough that a group of wizards had examined every little discomfort in her body twice since she returned. "Besides, Mr. Werewolf wouldn't give me anything bad. He's a good person."

"My dear, that man is dangerous. He hurt a lot of people during the altercation. Also, werewolves are very dangerous, I'm grateful that nothing happened to you," her father replied.

"He's not dangerous! He saved me!" Gabrielle reacted strongly to her father's words. "He's a hero, he saved me from the bad guys and took me to Fleur."

"My little one," said Apolline, hugging Gaby. "I'm also grateful to him for bringing you back, whether he's a werewolf or a criminal, he saved my girl."

"Yes, well, he's a very elusive hero," Alain chimed in, with a tone of frustration. "After injuring several Aurors and criminals alike, he disappeared as if he'd never been there. No matter what methods we used, we couldn't find anything about him, and he's caused me many problems."

Monsieur Delacour was very happy that his daughter was safe, but his job as the head of one of the French Auror groups had been chaos since the incident. He wasn't the best in combat, but he had excellent administrative skills, and what had happened had put him under a lot of pressure. A werewolf attacking in the middle of La Cachée, along with a large-scale battle… it had been a long time since something so big and so visible to the public had happened, perhaps not since Grindelwald's time.

"Now everyone anxiously hopes that the silver dust and dittany work," he snorted, recalling the expressions of his colleagues, who hadn't stopped looking at the scars caused by the werewolf with fear since the incident. Although it was strange, despite being difficult to heal, the mediwizards said that the scars could probably fade with time. "If he were a hero or a good citizen, there would be no reason for him to hide. He would have surrendered to be investigated," he added, convinced that this would be the best option, as it would save him a lot of trouble.

"Papa! He saved Gaby, you can't let him go to prison for that," Fleur complained, though the idea of having a werewolf nearby still terrified her.

"I'm not a monster either," her father replied with a sigh. "He saved my little one; I'll make sure he's treated with due care. He should just testify to the facts. Despite the damage he caused, I don't think the Ministry would want to face the Delacour family by mistreating their savior. I just hope for his cooperation, and I would personally ensure he's rewarded for what he did."

While Gabrielle's parents argued with her sister about her strange savior, she seemed to have remembered something. She concentrated for a moment, trying to recall the feeling she had experienced before.

"It worked!" Gabrielle shouted, jumping with joy at the sight of the blue screen in front of her.

"What happened?!" exclaimed Alain, alarmed, with his wand in hand due to his daughter's sudden cry, given her recent kidnapping.

"What is it, my love?" her mother asked with concern.

"It worked! The thing we used to communicate!" Gabrielle explained excitedly. "Don't you see it? The blue crystal or whatever it is, it's right in front of me."

Gabrielle's parents exchanged worried looks and drew their wands, starting to cast every detection spell they knew. As Ron Weasley would say, 'seeing or hearing things that others can't perceive is never a good sign, not even in the magical world.' Fleur became worried, seeing the seriousness of her parents, as did Gaby, who was becoming increasingly confused.

"Where is it, dear? What do you see?" Apolline asked gently.

"It's here… It's like a blue crystal, a floating parchment sheet with writing," Gabrielle replied, taking her mother's hand to guide her toward the space where she saw the object. "Don't you see it?"

"What else is there? What does it look like?" inquired Alain, continuing with his spells.

"Um… it has everything we tried to say to each other, but his part is in English, and I still don't understand it," Gaby said with a bit of frustration.

"Can you read it to us?" Fleur asked, her heart racing.

"From the beginning," said Alain.

Gabrielle realized she could scroll up and down in the conversation, so she went back to the start and tried to relay it as best she could. Despite everything, her lack of knowledge of the language made some things difficult to convey, so she ended up transcribing everything onto a parchment to make it understandable for everyone.

With the messages transcribed, the Delacour family was able to understand a bit more about what had happened. Alain, who knew more English thanks to various international jobs he had done, began to read the written conversation aloud.

It all began normally, with the werewolf trying to communicate with Gabrielle and checking if she understood the writings. Then, there were Gabrielle's attempts to use the same method of communication. Alain deduced that this magical method had not been tested before between people who spoke different languages, if it had ever been used before at all.

They noticed how the werewolf's messages became shorter and simpler, until they were just a group of loose words. Gabrielle also followed that kind of "game." The family could see how both had tried to communicate and imagined the situation they must have faced.

After witnessing the entire conversation, they understood that the werewolf's intentions did not seem bad; on the contrary, he had tried to help Gabrielle on several occasions. This made them lower their guard a bit, although the presence of this figure remained a mystery.

"Too bad there's no information about him... but, as my daughter's savior, he has my sincerest gratitude," said Alain , sighing.

"The Delacour family owes him a lot," added Apolline, who had heard some details from her husband obtained during the interrogations. If Gabrielle hadn't been rescued by that stranger, the consequences would have been terrible.

"Couldn't you send him another message with that thing?" Fleur suggested, causing everyone to turn towards her. "I'm just saying..."

"That's why I tried using this mail magic," Gabrielle explained, excited as she remembered why she had started all this. "I want to thank him... and hope he understands me." She knew she hadn't been able to express herself correctly at the time, and she was truly grateful.

"This could be our chance to contact him and bring him to the Ministry," said Alain enthusiastically.

"Dear, we're not going to lure our friend into a trap," his wife reprimanded him, who now also had a more positive image of the werewolf, or at least a more acceptable one. "We know very well how the Ministry treats beings like werewolves. He helped us; we shouldn't send him to a place where they will surely try to accuse him of attacking the Aurors, among other things."

Now, with the information obtained, they knew that the werewolf had attacked both the Aurors and the criminals to create a distraction. Apolline could no longer blame him; after all, he had saved her daughter through those means. Being half-veela herself, she knew very well how political power and pureblood families treated hybrids and others like them. Even though she was on the more favorable side — seen more as an object of desire than of disdain — she understood very well how different the treatment towards them could be.

"If you bring him there, the Ministry will try to blame him for everything to wash their hands clean and improve their public image. They make things a bit complicated for you, but they don't do anything extreme because you belong to the Delacour family and have some influence. But he... as a werewolf, he's already the perfect scapegoat to blame for the chaos, in addition to all those he hurt, who won't see him as we do," Apolline explained firmly.

"Dad, don't hurt my friend," Gabrielle pleaded, understanding that something bad could happen to her savior if her father went ahead with his plan.

"Yes, it wouldn't be fair. At the very least, we owe him that," added Fleur, hugging her sister and joining the serious looks now directed at the only man in the family.

"Alright, alright, calm down... We're not going to do anything just yet," Alain tried to reassure them. "First, let's see if we can communicate with him."

"Yes!" Gabrielle exclaimed excitedly. "But... what do I say to him?"

The family discussed for a while about what they should say to him, how to formulate the message, whether there would be a response, and whether this method of communication was safe for Gabrielle. Despite all their efforts, they hadn't detected anything with their spells and could only rely on the word of the little girl.

Finally, Gabrielle, with her family's help to write in English, sent her first message:

[Hello?](G)

The family waited anxiously, their eyes fixed on Gabrielle, who was the only one able to see this strange method of communication. A few moments passed, and a response appeared.

[Hello?](R)

"He replied!" Gabrielle exclaimed excitedly.

"What did he say?" Fleur asked.

"The same thing I did," Gabrielle replied.

"Hmm... maybe he doesn't recognize you," Fleur suggested.

"Yes, perhaps he doesn't know who is speaking to him," Apolline added.

"Write this," Alain suggested.

[I'm the girl you rescued. Do you remember me, Monsieur loup-garou?] (G)

[Of course, I remember you, but I didn't recall you speaking English... That's why I was a bit confused. It would have been much easier at that time if you had.] (R)

[My family is helping me.] (G)

[Oh... that makes more sense than having learned a new language in such a short time. I'm glad to know you're safe with your family. I know you told me, but it reassures me to confirm it.] (R)

[I wanted to thank you for saving me. My family too.] (G)

[You're welcome. I couldn't leave you in the hands of those idiots; that would weigh on my conscience.] (R)

[Thank you... I also wanted to ask you if we could meet again?] (G)

[Sure, I think it would be good to see each other again.] (R)

[Really? I mean, could it be soon? At my house. My family wants to thank you in person.] (G)

[Sure, but... do you think your family can keep my identity a secret...? Wait, they are there helping you. Well, can you keep my identity if I come? If not, maybe it's better if I don't go.] (R)

The Delacour family debated for a bit before responding, which made Gabrielle impatient.

[Yes, we can. Although we would like to meet the person who saved me. We don't mind that you're a werewolf.] (G)

[Ah, yes, it's not that I don't want to introduce myself to you. It's just that I can't allow anyone to know I was in France.] (R)

[Why?] — Gabrielle asked, encouraged by her father.

[Well... let's say I ran away from home, and it's not convenient for my parents to find out.] (R)

Reading this, the family began to imagine a different story, moving away from the idea of a fugitive criminal and leaning more toward that of a teenager who had had to leave his home after becoming a werewolf or something similar. Though there were still some doubts.

[Did you run away from your parents' house? Do you have somewhere to stay?] — Gabrielle asked, prompted by her mother, who felt compassion, despite the look from her husband clearly showing he disagreed with the direction those words were taking.

[What? No, wait, you misunderstood me. I ran away from home, but not forever. I wanted to visit France, but I couldn't let my parents find out. Once I made sure you were okay, I returned home. The problem is, if I show up to you with my true identity and you mention it to anyone, my parents will know I left the country without permission... besides the mess I caused. And believe me, I'm very recognizable by my appearance.] (R)

[...]

The Delacour family fell silent; each new revelation changed their perception and left them more confused about what to think or whether they should keep speculating and wait for the werewolf to appear and reveal everything.

[So, you can't visit us without your parents' permission?]

[I can sneak out again... as long as you keep my secret, of course.]

[Yes, we can do that,] the family responded, although with some reservations about fulfilling the promise depending on the situation.

[Alright. I think I can come tomorrow morning. Does that work for you? If not, you can suggest another date.]