Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Gabrielle Delacour
| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Gabrielle Delacour | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Blonde |
| Eye color | Unknown |
| Related Family | Fleur Delacour |
| Loyalty | Fleur Delacour |
Overview
[edit | edit source]Gabrielle Delacour is Fleur Delacour's younger sister.
Role in the Books
[edit | edit source]We first see Gabrielle when she is one of the hostages for the Four Champions in the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament. Each of the Champions is given one hour to rescue that which is most dear to them from the bottom of the lake. Gabrielle is what is most precious to Fleur. Fleur fails in her attempt to reach Gabrielle, and is so relieved when Harry surfaces with her that she runs over and kisses him, and also Ron who had some incidental role in her return.
Gabrielle is present in the audience for the Third Task, though she plays very little part. She does wave to Harry, who waves back at her.
Gabrielle is mentioned in passing by Fleur as part of her planning for her wedding to Bill Weasley along with the fact that she never stops talking about Harry.
Gabrielle is one of the bridesmaids at the wedding of Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley. She arrives two days before the ceremony, with Monsieur and Madame (Apolline) Delacour, and follows Fleur around, prattling away at her in French and trying to help out. She flirts with Harry by batting her eyelashes at him, much to Ginny's annoyance. She served as a bridesmaid, alongside Ginny.
Strengths
[edit | edit source]Gabrielle is described as being Fleur "in miniature", so the reader can envision her appearance as being a smaller Fleur. Due to this, and her shared Veela ancestry, it is very likely hat she shares her sister's incredible beauty.
Weaknesses
[edit | edit source]Despite her best of intentions, Gabrielle does seem to suffer from some of the common pitfalls of a little sisterː talking too much, following people around, and getting in the way while trying to help out.
Relationships with Other Characters
[edit | edit source]Gabrielle clearly has a strong connection to her sister. Her status as "the thing that Fleur will miss the most" is a clear indication of this.
Gabrielle also developed a crush on Harry after he saved her from the lake, given that she never stopped talking about him afterwards, along with batting her eyelashes when the two met again at Bill and Fleur's wedding. However, the crush went nowhere.
Analysis
[edit | edit source]When reading all seven books, Gabrielle appears to share similarities with Ginny Weasley:
- Both were the youngest sisters and members of the family.
- Both are also younger than Harry. Ginny is a year younger than him while Gabrielle is six years younger than Harry.
- Both of their first names start with 'G'.
- Both were selected as bridesmaids for Bill and Fleur's wedding.
- Both were saved by Harry from a perilous water-filled location: Chamber of Secrets for Ginny, the Black Lake for Gabrielle.
- Both had a crush on Harry and were mentioned to have talked non-stop about him from their older siblings (Ron mentioned Ginny and Fleur mentioned Gabrielle).
- Both became relatives of Harry. Ginny married Harry while Gabrielle became a distant relative of Harry since Gabrielle's older sister, Fleur, married Bill, Ginny's oldest brother.
There were also differences:
- Gabrielle only had one older sister, while Ginny had six older brothers.
- Ginny's last name starts with 'W' which is the fourth to last letter in the English alphabet, while Gabrielle's last name starts with 'D' which is the fourth letter in the English alphabet.
- Ginny has red hair while Gabrielle has blonde hair.
- Gabrielle is French while Ginny is British.
- Ginny first met Harry when he arrived at Platform 9 and 3/4 to start his first year at Hogwarts, while Gabrielle first met Harry when he was in his fourth year as a Triwizard Champion.
Questions
[edit | edit source]
- What colour might Gabrielle's eyes be, considering Fleur's?
- Gabrielle has the same Veela ancestry as her sister. Might she have the same sort of affect on boys?
- How might Gabrielle feel about now having the Weasley family as in-laws?
Greater Picture
[edit | edit source]Gabrielle is a character introduced to us mainly as a plot device; her importance to Fleur and eventual rescue by Harry (and Ron) throw some light on Fleur, and some on Harry too, highlighting her affection and his heroism.
Her re-appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, while she should be expected to attend her own sister's wedding, may slightly surprise the casual reader, who may have forgotten her by this point.