Gabriel dreamed, as always, since his very first night, of blue.
The soft, endless blue of his beginning. The warmth and quiet cradle of liquid that had held him when he was not yet truly alive.
But then, as never before, it shifted.
He was no longer floating. He was standing, naked on the peak of a mountain, air sharp and thin, the sky darkened in rumbling clouds so encompassing that he could not even begin to wonder if above them it was day or night. The almost constant lightning was the only source of light, and the punishing winds striking against his body drowned all other senses. And suddenly, without warning, the whole mountain around him went up in flames - but not red or orange. Pearly, brilliant, glittering silvery blue fire. It roared and spread quickly over all of the mountain, and soon it covered all he could see, well into the horizon.
And Gabriel… he sat down. Cross-legged, quiet, watching the world burn with something between awe and apathy. The flames licked against his skin with no heat. It was different from the previous dream, but soothing all the same.
When he finally closed his eyes, he fell asleep.
And woke up.
The stone ceiling was white, which he found humorous for a reason he couldn't name. The air smelled of salts and healing herbs. He was on a bed, soft and warm sheets tucked tight, and his entire body felt like someone had pounded it with rocks. His mouth ached, raw and sore.
He sat up slightly, grimacing, and looked down. He expected bloody clothes, even though he shouldn't, and instead jus saw layers of fresh white bandages wrapped tightly around his arms.
They itched maddeningly.
He reached to scratch-
"Best not to do that."
The voice was old, but not weak. A warm hum, carrying both amusement and warning. Gabriel looked up.
At the side of the bed stood Albus Dumbledore. His robes were a clash of bright pumpkin orange and canary yellow, embroidered with cartoonish twinkling stars with the faces of Jack o' Lanterns that smiled and winked at Gabriel. On his nose perched half-moon spectacles, and his long silver beard trailed nearly to his belt. He looked at Gabriel with eyes that sparkled with a private joke.
"Madam Pomfrey has only just seen to you," Dumbledore went on lightly. "And speaking from personal experience, she can be quite frightening when a patient interferes with her work."
Gabriel rasped, voice dry in more than one way, "Scarier than a troll?"
The words came out oddly. His tongue hit against something in his mouth. Not just teeth- obstructions. Sharp ones.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brighter. "Infinitely scarier than any troll, my boy. And yes…" He tilted his head knowingly. "I believe you've noticed at least one of the changes."
Gabriel raised a hand to his mouth, then went still. Mutely, he whispered, "I have fangs."
"Indeed you do. They are also quite fearsome if I may say so"
Silence hung a moment before Gabriel's lips curled. "That's wicked."
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed with a chuckle.
Gabriel hesitated, then flexed his bandaged hands. "My hands…?"
"Yes. Your nails have darkened, black as obsidian, and the skin of your knuckles has hardened into something rather tougher than flesh. Not unlike leather, scarred over."
Gabriel gave a humorless little huff. "That tracks."
Gabriel took a breath, trying to... he couldn't even say.
"What else?"
Dumbledore reached into his robes and, with a small flourish, produced a hand-mirror. Gabriel took it gingerly and stared.
Grey eyes looked back at him. Grey - where once they had been brown, and they almost shone in the low light. But worse, the sclera had turned black, leaving him with something that looked a few steps over predatory. His hair, too, had grown—thicker, heavier, spilling down toward his shoulders. And it had darkened, brown overtaken by a sheen of pure, metallic black.
Gabriel scowled at his reflection, tugging a handful back. "Still not long enough for a ponytail."
Dumbledore laughed softly. "You're taking this remarkably well."
Gabriel set the mirror down. "Am I in shock?"
"That is always a possibility," the old wizard said mildly.
Gabriel was quiet for a moment, then asked, voice low, "Did I kill it?" Even as he said it, the answer was there. He knew.
"You did," Dumbledore said gently.
'I did', Gabriel thought.
Dumbledore leaned a little closer, his expression softened. "And how do you feel about that?"
Gabriel stared at his bandaged hands. "Right now? I don't feel much of anything, to be honest. Just… relief. That neither of us died. That Hermione's okay. But-" he swallowed- "I think if you asked me tomorrow, it'd be different."
"I concur." Dumbledore inclined his head. "Coincidentally, Madam Pomfrey tells me more… expressive changes appear to be reverting. By tomorrow, she expects it to reach an equilibrium."
"Ah," Gabriel said simply.
That earned him a warm chuckle. Then Dumbledore's voice deepened, more serious. "Even if it doesn't mean that much to you right now, I want you to remember those words tomorrow when you wake up," the steel in the old man's voice had Gabriel looking up at him.
'His eyes are blue', he noticed idly.
"You are not a monster." The words were said with so much certainty that Gabriel almost thought them to be a spell. "What happened tonight was most definitely a regrettable loss of innocence, yes - but you acted to save yourself and a friend. Miss Granger explained what transpired. I cannot, and will not, condemn you for bravery. My disappointment lies only in myself, for letting such danger enter these halls. Toward you, I couldn't possibly feel anything but pride. You did credit to Hogwarts and your house. Even Godric Gryffindor himself, I think, would have applauded."
Something hot slipped down Gabriel's cheek. A tear. He caught it with his finger, frowning at the tiny drop, before he smirked and gave Dumbledore a side eye. "…Do I get points for it, then?" he asked dryly.
Dumbledore's laugh rang through the infirmary, full of mischief. "But of course! One hundred points to Ravenclaw - for courage in the defense of a fellow student!"
Gabriel blinked, not expecting the joke to land. Then he thought of something else "…Can I give half of that to Hermione? I don't think I'd have been very brave without her there. She also saved my life. She definitely cares a lot more about those things than I do, and… I think she'll need it after what she saw."
"Fear not," Dumbledore said, eyes gleaming. "Miss Granger will be rewarded as well. She was rather modest in describing her actions, but I've made my own assessment."
The headmaster straightened, patting the bedpost. "Now. Rest, Mr. Moretti. That is the best thing you can do for yourself this evening."
Gabriel hummed, letting his head fall back against the pillow. He was already halfway to closing his eyes when Dumbledore's voice came once more, firm this time, from the doorway.
"This will not happen again."
The words pressed into the air like a vow.
Gabriel lifted both bandaged hands, thumbs raised. "Got it."
Dumbledore's shoulders softened, his face creasing with a smile as he gave a quiet chuckle. Then he slipped out, leaving Gabriel alone in the quiet infirmary.
=======================================================
Gabriel had not really fallen asleep. He certainly felt tired - his body ached, the bandages itched, and his head was heavy - but at the same time it felt as if there was something almost electric crawling under his skin. Energy, awareness, like every little nerve was screaming and trying to make itself noticed.
That's why when a quiet voice called his name from the nearby bed, he answered almost immediately.
"Gabriel?"
"I'm awake," he murmured, turning his head toward her.
Hermione's face peeked out from behind the curtains of the next bed. Her hair was even more of a frizzed halo than usual, eyes wide and cautious.
"You're not asleep?" she asked softly.
He blinked at her, then chuckled, voice low and still just as rough as moments before. "Did you think I was?"
She huffed, crossing her arms on the blankets. "That's only to be expected."
His chuckle trailed into a comfortable silence. The infirmary was dim, only a few enchanted lamps glowing blue at the far end. The medicinal smell was strangely soothing.
"Hey, Granger," he said quietly. "Thank you. For saving my life. Turns out I like being alive."
"That should be obvious already," she muttered, but then her face softened. "I'm the one who should be saying thanks. If you hadn't come to the bathroom looking for me-"
He shook his head against the pillow. "If I hadn't gone, the troll wouldn't even have gone there. It was smelling me out."
"You don't know that!" she hissed, berating him.
"True," he conceded, "but I have a feeling it would have turned out alright anyway."
Hermione grumbled, cheeks pink. "Are all boys so hardheaded and difficult when receiving thanks, or is that only with the Brazilian ones?"
Gabriel grinned faintly. "I think it's just me."
Another comfortable silence fell. It was heavier this time.
"What did you see?" he asked finally.
Hermione hesitated, her voice faltering when she spoke. "I… didn't see much. I closed my eyes when the troll smashed the stalls. I could only really hear the thuds. And you screaming."
He blinked. "I was screaming?"
"Quite loudly, in fact." She worried her lip. "You sounded… angry." Then, quietly, she completed, "And happy."
"Huh," Gabriel said after a moment. "I don't remember that."
"What then?" he asked.
"I only got the courage to open my eyes when the professors arrived," she said, staring at her hands. "Professor McGonagall was blocking the view, but I saw the others shooting a red spell at you - the stunner, I think -, I got worried and tried to tell them to stop. And then I saw you. All covered in blood. You were crying."
He looked at his bandaged arms. "I don't remember that either," he murmured. With a smirk he turned to her, "Don't worry, most of that blood wasn't mine," He tilted his head in consideration, shrugging, "Probably."
"Your jokes are awful," she muttered, but her voice shook.
"They brought us here after that?"
She nodded. "I fell asleep. Woke up when you started talking to Professor Dumbledore."
Gabriel smiled faintly. "Sneaky Granger, eavesdropping into other's conversations."
"I wasn't eavesdropping!" she whined, blushing. "I just… couldn't possibly interrupt Professor Dumbledore and - and - ask him to talk quieter, could I?"
Gabriel's laugh rolled low and warm. "I'm joking, Hermione."
She huffed. "I already told you what I think of your jokes."
He clutched at his chest dramatically. "You wound me, truly." Then he chuckled again, and this time she did too, the sound small but real.
Another quiet pause. Hermione took a breath, whispering "Alright" under her breath as if steeling herself.
Then, in a small, formal voice, she said, "My name is Hermione Granger. My parents are dentists. I may be just a bit bossy sometimes. And I like it when I'm praised for knowing something. I'm also awful at the whole making-friends thing… but I really want to change that."
Gabriel chuckled softly. "Nice to meet you, Hermione Granger."
Her smile was small but genuine. "Nice to meet you too, Gabriel Moretti."
He closed his eyes with a smile - then suddenly sat bolt upright. "Hermione!"
She jerked upright too, hair flying. "What happened?"
"That spell!"
"What?"
"The spell you cast on the troll."
"The Bluebell Flames Charm?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yes, that one! Teach me!"
Hermione stared at him, incredulous. One eye began to twitch. Mentally, Gabriel noted that couldn't be healthy.
A pillow whizzed across the gap and smacked him squarely in the head. He caught it on instinct, thinking idly she'd make a great Chaser.
"Honestly!" she huffed as he laughed.
"But you will, won't you?" he asked half-pleadingly.
She glowered, then rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright - but not tonight. Professor Dumbledore told you to sleep!"
"Aye, aye, ma'am. You're the boss."
She sniffed but she was smiling now, a little less guarded.
Gabriel closed his eyes, and this time, finally, sleep caught him.
The next morning, his first thought as he blinked awake was that he'd been right. His feelings about last night had in fact changed. His second thought came a second later, as his stomach lurched violently.
Which was why, moments after waking, Gabriel was rushing for the nearest bathroom to puke.