Three Hallows, Two Weasleys and One Broken Girl

Chapter 41: Tempered Glass

A free elf.

———

Unsurprisingly Delphi woke up from nightmares a lot over the month following her rescue on the 15th of March. What was unexpected was how often the twins experienced the same.
George would wake up in bed, feeling miserable only to register that the warm body beside him was too small to be Fred's and feel that relief and pain all over again.
Delphi often woke up to Fred and George squeezing her against them in the middle of the night and crying softly. She didn't want them to feel guilty for waking her, so she didn't comment on it, and struggled to resist the urge to curl into them closer as well.

Touch became central to their world, physical contact with each other was near constant, and though she'd hate to admit it, Delphi knew she really needed it. Even though the sound of the ocean nearby helped ground her, it was very easy without her sight to forget that she was safe, to dip into panic attacks, and regress. Fred and George's voices helped but nothing was more effective than the gentle touches they'd offer, the hugs and soft kisses. Being treated like she might break at any moment could be frustrating, but mostly because she knew it was true.

The day after they were reunited was their rawest.
Waking up in together made her cry which set them all off and witty as they were neither Fred nor George could find it within themselves to make jokes that morning, as Delphi had her first bath. They let her wash in relative privacy, but when it came to her bloodied knotted hair she needed help, and the quiet twenty minutes where Fred and George sat beside her gently cleaning and combing it was probably the most intimate and vulnerable they'd ever been with each other.
It felt like silk by the time they were done.
Fred had dried her hair with a spell and braided it himself. She could feel his hands tremble as he had done so, and felt as he stopped to run his hands over the braid, whether in reassurance or something else Delphi didn't know.
They'd spent most of that afternoon bundled up in the living room talking quietly while Delphi rested her head on Fred's chest and listened to his heart beat. She fell in and out of sleep too, did a lot in the early days after such an exhausting ordeal.

Two weeks after her escape, the golden trio arrived.

She'd stood out on the beach to wait for them for two hours, mediwitch supplies in hand, and teeth gritted in determination.

The moment she heard Harry's incredulous "Delphi?"
She was running forward into the waves, letting her instincts guide her to the little house elf who was not dying.
She caught Dobby before his knees could give out and pressed a vial to where she guessed his lips were.
"M-Mistress Fortune?" Dobby's reedy voice was so weak already.
"Drink Dobby." She whispered softly. "Drink now. Master Harry Potter still has need of you."

He was so light and frail in her arms, but she kept her calm as she rose to her feet and hurried back toward the house, toward Fleur with her healing NEWT, ignoring the confused shouts of Ron, Harry and Hermione.
Every second counted.

A knarled worn hand clasped her bare upper arm as Garrick Olivander came to her aid, moving quickly on old legs to get her through the garden gate and up to the front door.
She met no resistance there either and was only three paces inside when Fleur reached her.
"He's been stabbed in the gut, probably over extended his magical core pulling wizards through antiapparition wards, and the dagger he was stabbed with might be poisoned. Fleur, please save him."
"I shall."
The Frenchwoman took the limp but still breathing body from Delphi, and released, she spun around only to collide with a taller frame than her own, but too wiry to be one of her twins.
"Delphi." Harry whispered into her shoulder.
"Hello Harry." Delphi murmured softly, raising a hand to ruffle his hair.

She could hear that Bill had reached Olivander, the frail man had used the last of his strength to aid her and she'd have to thank him, but that was for later.
Fred and George had made their way down the stairs. She'd woken them before leaving so they wouldn't panic at her absence but asked them not to crowd the group who would have panicked to be met with so many people at once on the shoreline. Things were complicated enough.

"Will he make it?" Harry asked her low and tentative.
"He wasn't supposed to." She admitted, as George thudded back up the stairs to find Hermione some dittany. "May the gods be merciful."
"Gods?"
"Another time Harry. See to your friend, Bellatrix is not a gentle torturer."

It was several hours of rush and chaos, fury, fear and food, before Harry sought her out alone.
"We haven't seen each other in a while." He said, joining her out in the garden where she'd gone to listen to the waves and wait. She missed being able to read.
"And I didn't get to help you was much as I'd have liked."
"I shouldn't have gone to Godric's Hollow."
"You were meant to."
"I shouldn't have ignored Hermione's warnings." He clarified.
"You were meant to."
Harry paused and she knew his face was scrunched with inner conflict, there was a tremulous undertone to his voice. "I shouldn't have argued with Ron."
"You were meant to."
He sighed, "I should forgive him."
"Only when you are ready to."
"We're in a war, there's more important things!"
"Not to you." Delphi answered quietly. "It doesn't matter how logical it is, how it compares against other problems or experiences. What matters is how you feel. We have to set aside such things in war, but Harry...this war won't last forever and once it is over, you do not need to abandon your grievances. They will only fester if you try."

The troubled teen was quiet for a long time, so long she wondered if he'd slipped back inside. She could hear Ron regaling his brother's with the story of their rescue, many details she hadn't seen included.
She could almost taste the twins' anticipation of making him look a fool as they boast to him about her escape, unassisted by house elves.
Dobby's life still hung in the balance, but with every minute his own magical core gained strength.

"What happened to your eyes?"
"A gremlin stole them."
"Delphi...we visited your father."
"I had a terrible vacation, always pays to read the reviews before booking holiday. Snakes everywhere and completely devoid of gernumblies, the owner could have really benefitted from a bite or ten, and the guests were loopier than I am. Must have been something in the food."
Harry barked a surprised laugh, and it calmed her a bit to hear it.
"I'll be alright Mr Chosen One." She assured gently, "Few people are safer with the Weasley Twins as my body guards."
"That's true. Wait- I am the chosen one? Could you tell Hermione?"
"No."
"Bugger."

She heard Harry shift in the grass, a short huff of breath no doubt fogging the evening air.
"Have you any advice for me?"
"In your next adventure?" Delphi couldn't help a smile. "Well...there's a phrase that always served me well and seems quite appropriate. Harry, when a door closes, never forget windows are easier to break, especially with a dragon."