now we are free | • m a i a

Diagon Alley was pretty drab, as far as shopping went. There were better shopping streets in Paris, especially for the sort of shopping that Gabby liked doing. She’d been pulled out of Summer school early because of a death in the family, but her great-uncle’s-second-cousin’s-daughter’s death wasn’t terribly impacting on the girl. Her family had come all the way to London for a funeral. The only good part about this, she supposed, was spending more time with her sister and the Weasley bunch. Today her family was spending some time in the city, so Gabby was browsing the shops by herself, with a little silk purse her father had slipped her. She was sure there were a few galleons in there.

Dressed in a powder blue summer dress, pearl earrings and little kitten heels, Gabrielle looked a few years older than she was. The blonde had stopped in a clothing store, and was enjoying the attention of the young male shop assistant who was working there, but she was pretty bored. The blonde was gazing at the price tags of some brown boots when a girl walking past the shop caught her attention. The flash of red hair wasn’t what had caught her eye though: Gabrielle couldn’t describe the feeling. Did she know this woman?

With a slight frown, the part-veela handed the shoe she’d been looking at to the shop assistant and cautiously stepped outside the shop, following this woman with her light grey eyes. The redhead had stopped outside a shop and was looking in a window. She didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t easy to explain. There was just… something about this woman that made Gabrielle feel… something. It was a funny feeling. Was it familiarity? Gabrielle chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment, a light frown creasing her pretty face, before she decided to just go and find out for herself. She crossed the alley, hesitating only briefly before saying, in English, “Excuse me, do I know you?” after a second’s pause, she added, “Do you speak French?”

Maia laughed as she stepped out of Gregoire’s shop, staring up at the taller man. “Non. I will return with the pastries. Just…go back to work.” She petted his arm, an amused grin lighting up her features. “I will be back soon!” She pushed him back into the shoppe, and turned her back on him, skirts whirling around her as she began to slide through the crowds. She was excited that she was spending time with her friend after traveling to Greece and helping renew the wards for this little summer camp that she’d never been able to attend.

Her light purple abaya swished in the bright sun which she was surprised to see. Gregoire told her that it was only dull and grey in England, and she was seeing the sun. Maybe he was playing tricks on her, oh well. She darted into the bakery for 20 minutes, only to leave with more than just the cake, but an array of pastries and some chocolate drink concoction that the shopkeeper had sworn was amazing. Not one to back away from new things, Maia had jumped at the chance to try the new thing.

She was walking backwards Gregoire’s shoppe when she saw something beautiful in a window. There was a beautiful little furniture shop that she’d never paid attention to, and she saw the biggest fluffiest pillows she’d ever seen. Maia was just about to go in and impulse shop when she felt something niggling at her senses. She blinked, and brown eyes turned a bright blue for a short moment as she tried to figure out where it came from. It disappeared for a moment and she shook it off, figuring it for a fluke. Forgetting about her excitement over the pillows, she continued walking along her path. Then something blonde was in her path, and she froze.

Brown eyes turned electric blue for another moment as she stared at the girl, and Maia let out a little soft mew of fright. The blonde had appeared out of nowhere. Tilting her head, she stared at the blonde. She felt like fire and magic and allure, and Maia sneezed. “…I don’t think we’ve met, little fire bird..” She began with her thick Spanish accented English before the next question had her switching to swift French. “I do speak French. Graduating from Beauxbatons would make sure of that.” She smiled kindly, still trying to figure out this odd feeling coming from the girl. “I’m guessing you’re from my alma mater?” Shifting the basket on her shoulder. “You are a long way from home…What makes you think we have met before?”

The small woman was beautiful. She had a very strange air around her, and seemed almost a little out of place here. Gabrielle didn’t know why. It made her feel a little strange, but not in a bad way. She almost had the same buzz that Gabrielle’s veela family gave off.

“Oh.”

The sound slipped out of Gabrielle’s pretty lips as she noticed Maia’s eyes change colour. By now, with the sort of extended family she had, Gabrielle had met a lot of different people; many with weird and wonderful talents. She’d met Nymphadora Tonks once, and there was Bill, of course. The willowy girl had spent summers with her maternal grandmother and her great aunts, all of whom were exceptionally beautiful despite their ages… And all of whom turned into hideous fire breathing birds when they were angry. She had a pretty weird family, so seeing people who were different didn’t shake her.

Rather than being unsettled, Gabrielle was curious.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” The veela gave an unsure smile. Fire-bird was the sort of strange nickname that her grandmother’s family might give her. They spoke with that sort of strangeness. Like they didn’t fit in the wizarding world. “I just thought you looked… well, felt familiar.” A small frown creased above her pretty eyes and she tilted her head to the side slightly. “But you don’t have any veela blood, do you?” she asked. No, it was something else. Something magical. “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head and casting her eyes downward, a little abashed, “I don’t mean to be rude.”

Maia examined the girl curiously, her head tilted to the side like a little bird. The little one began to speak, and Maia let out a trill of pleased laughter. She didn’t notice how eyes turned to her, and how people seemed to drift towards her, because all of her attention was on the young one in front of her. “You are a little fire bird!” She chirruped happily, clapping her hands together. “Hello darling~!”

Shifting her basket to her other hand, she shook her head from side to side, red locks sliding from her impromptu up-do. “Non, I do not have Veela blood, little cousin.” She began, thinking about how that would even be possible. A siren and a veela? Blood mixing? It’d be all fire and water and confusion. She’d have to ask her maman about it. “I am a Siren. More like your watery cousin. We shall be friends, yes?”

She cupped the girl’s cheek gently, peering into her eyes. “…It is not rude to ask however…why are you alone?” Maia peered around the alley, and her eyes seemed to flash fiercely at the people who seemed to drift closer. This was not the place for them to be at, it seemed. “It is not…safe for you to be alone.” She murmured, shaking her head. “You are a darling thing, but humans are monsters at their worst, and I…do you have more shopping? Will you allow me to drop off these things and escort you?” She petted the basket in her arms.

“I do have treats as well…we will have fun together, yes?” Then something occurred to her, and Maia laughed again. “Pardon me…My name is Maialen Etxegarai. You may call me Maia…who are you, darling little firebird?”

Gabrielle usually didn’t like being touched by people she didn’t know. She’d had uncomfortable experiences in the past with men touching her hair or putting their arm around her when she was out with her family or shopping alone; sometimes they made inappropriate comments. This was entirely something else, though. It felt nice. Like Maia was an older sister or aunt or something. Someone to trust.

“My sister’s busy at the bank,” she told her new friend obediently, “I had some free time, so I thought I’d wander around…” She did understand what Maia meant, though. “A potioneer tried to pluck out some of my hair once,” The blonde agreed with a nod. It had practically scarred her for life. Her parents didn’t like her wandering off by herself, but Fleur was much more lax about the whole thing. Gabrielle figured her older sister knew what it was like to be babied by their parents; their father in particular was very protective of his girls.

She was curious about Maia’s comment about humans, and her mind turned, once again, to her family and extended family members. There were plenty of humans in there. Gabrielle herself was mostly human, technically speaking. Her veela heritage was a strong part of her identity though. Gabrielle thought about holding her hand out to shake, but it seemed too formal considering that they were standing so close and Maia was already touching her in such an intimate way. “I’m Gabrielle. Gabrielle Delacour.” She nodded, a hesitant but pleased smile on her face as she accepted Maia’s invitation to walk together, dropping off whatever thing the woman needed to drop off. There was no danger here, Gabrielle could tell.

As they began to walk, Gabrielle started to notice the way that people were looking at them. The two looked nothing alike – Gabby was much taller, shapeless and willowy and Maia was smaller, curvier and had a much more forward presence. Still, the pair drew gazes from quite a few people. Gabrielle was used to it. When she was with her mother and sister, or her cousins, it was like this. She always felt some level of cognitive dissonance when she was the center of attention in this way. On one hand, the curious and admiring gazes made her feel special and important, and on the other, they reminded her of the ways which she was so very different to the norm.

“Your sister works at the bank?” Maia blinked, trying to see if she could remember another Veela girl working at the bank. Thinking on it! “AH!” She clapped happily. “Fleur? I work at the bank too! That is all I know if her, her name. I did not know one of us was working there. I recover artifacts for the bank, so I don’t often sit in the office long. I may make myself known to her.” Wrinkling up her nose, she peered up at the taller girl. “Potioneers can find many things to do with you hair or your blood, so I will escort you.” This was no longer a request, but a stated fact.

“Bonjour Gabrielle. I am pleased to meet you…” She bowed her head slightly, before standing up straight and waving her arms around the alley. “We will have great fun here. Do you shop at that store?” She pointed at a small clothing boutique. “We will visit there, but come…” She began to lead the other girl towards ‘Grafitti is Art Too’. “I am visiting a friend. He has a shop here, and he lets me loiter and paint in his waiting room. He is also French and very very kind, so if you find yourself overwhelmed you may stop here…” Pushing open the door, she peeked in. “Halo, Gregoire…here are the treats. I will be back soon. I have met a friend. Adios, amor~!” She then passed the goods off to the tall Frenchman, and proceeded to lead Gabrielle back to the small shop.

Looking up at the girl, she twinned her arm in hers. “Ah, I hope I did not frighten you earlier. Mi mama es una full siren. And my father’s mother is one too. When I went to Beauxbatons, it was different than when you probably went. They were not too kind to me. And that has shaded my experience with people who are…more human than I am.” She shook her head. “People are not that bad. But with a gift like yours, they have no chance if they are weak.”

She pressed open the door of the shop, and trilled out a greeting to the cheery shop owner before peering at the gleam of the goods collected from all over. “This place has many beautiful things…” She picked up a shell painted with a tiny sea scene dancing on the pearl finish. “My people are fond of shiny, almost as fond of it as your people are to fire…” She laughed sweetly, placing the shell down. “Come we will find you something beautiful. Perhaps something for your hair…?”

In some ways, this was very bizarre. Gabrielle hadn’t expected to run into someone like Maia, right here in the middle of Diagon Alley. For some reason, her guard was down and she felt comfortable being here with the woman. It was probably the whole half-human thing. It wasn’t something that came up a lot at school – in fact, the girl actively avoided it to the best of her ability – but Gabrielle always felt a sense of umbrella identity when it came to part-humans, despite the differences between vily and sirens.

Her thoughts turned to potioneers and the various things they could do with her blood or hair. In potions class at school, the girl always felt a little strange when parts of intelligent creatures – veela, sirens, centaurs, mermaids – were discussed in a strangely objective way, as if their magical properties were the only important thing about them. She always felt uncomfortable about it, but had trouble putting it into words.

The blonde kept in line with her new friend as they entered a shop. The part-veela wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but she nodded politely and smiled; before she even had time to work out whether the place was a tattoo parlour or some sort of hipster art gallery, she was whisked right out of there. “Oh,” she replied politely when Maia started talking about her blood heritage. So she was three-quarters siren? That explained the pull.

No chance if they are weak.

Gabrielle’s thoughts lingered on this sentence as she was lead into a shop. “Is that a problem for you?” she asked, trying not to convey the weight this sentence held for her. The blonde tentatively picked up a small hair piece adorned with little glittering gems and held it up to her hair, looking at herself in a mirror on the opposite side of the room.

“Do you find yourself… just sort of charming people by accident?” The blonde hadn’t really talked about this with her sister or her mother, though both of them would be great people to talk to about these things. Gabrielle hadn’t been as close with Fleur in the past couple of years as she had been when she was younger. The older girl didn’t visit as much, and last Christmas she’d been in England with the Weasleys. She placed the piece back on its shelf.

A problem? Maia screwed up her nose and thought. She hadn’t lived all her life with the allure at the forefront of her being. When she was younger, she’d been charming at least for a little girl, but nothing like what people thought of her now. Her fingers stilled on a bejewled piece, and she studied the taller blonde. Before she even opened her mouth to speak, she would have to formulate the words so she wouldn’t scare her young friend.

“I wouldn’t consider it a problem. Not exactly.” When the allure had finally hit full force like a steam train, Maia had been in school, surrounded by hormone ridden teenagers who were as confused about life as she was. One mistake, and she was surrounded by a horde of people, too tiny to escape. More often than not someone had to come save her, and she would hide in a empty room until the fuss was all gone. “I was a distraction. I am sure many mamas and papas tried to get me removed from school until they found a charm to…dampen my allure.”

She rubbed her hands against her arms, feeling the almost invisible feeling of tiny scales that sat here and there on her flesh. “I try to be very intentional on what I do. Be careful of what I say. People will believe that I coerce them out of things whether I try or not, and I must do what I can be be safe.” Maia shrugged, picking up a gorgeous hair pin and placed it against Gabrielle’s hair. It was delicate and lovely, like the other woman.

“There are many people who are susceptible to manipulation, whether magical or not. But when it’s magical, they are…lost. So yes, I find little bees drawn to me, but I do my best to push them aside.” She deftly dug through the little displays, before looking upwards. “Come, this is much to serious of a discussion. You attend Beauxbatons. How do you enjoy it? I would like to get to know you so we may chat. There are not many of…our kind around, and I would…enjoy the company.”

Many mamas and papas? Gabrielle nodded; her thoughts cast instantly back to the time she’d been called to Professor Tannenbaum’s office. She’d been summoned by her head of house so that he could inform her about concerns some parents had raised with him. People had actually been sending letters in about her and her charm and how distracting it was for their sons. If she could pinpoint a moment that had made her feel most freakish during her time at Beauxbatons, that was it. “They have charms that can do that?” she asked, her voicing her thoughts aloud without even thinking about it.

The Papillonlisse held still as Maia held a hair pin up to her silvery hair, ducking her chin slightly in deference. It was delicate and not as elaborately decorated as some of the other pieces here, but Gabrielle’s usual hair adornments were usually plainer still. In fact, most of her clothes and accessories were quite simple. For a moment, the blonde imagined herself adorned with all of the jewels and gemstones in this place. In the picture, she was by the sea. Maybe this version of her was a siren too. How would her life be different? “That’s pretty,” she offered tentatively.

She was disappointed to drop the subject. Her mother was always very flippant about these things, and they didn’t really talk about it at home. Her father wouldn’t know anything about it, so naturally Gabrielle had never spoken to him about anything like this before. “I do like it,” she answered, but that answer was the polite one, not the honest one. She continued, in an attempt to cover her disappointment about not continuing their earlier discussion. “It’s… boring. I can’t wait to graduate.” She wondered if Maia had felt the same when she’d been in school.