Draco paused, his hand clenching the white, marble banister of one of the many moving staircases. She was talking to him. Of all people - Potter? He was a Gryffindor! An enemy! What did she think she was doing?
"Alright, well, I guess I'll see you later Harry. Thanks for the advice." Celeste smiled at her friend, receiving a mischevious grin in return.
As she strode through the tall archway that promised a route to the classrooms that occupied the dungeons, Celeste remarked upon Harry's recent behaviour. Although she was a Slytherin and Harry a Gryffindor, the pair had always been close friends, since they had been next door neighbours back on Privet Drive in Little Whinging. She had been Harry's only friend, and she knew him like the back of her hand. They'd always managed to keep their friendship low-key whilst at Hogwarts, as both of them feared the opinion's of their other, more ignorant house-mates - in particular, Draco Malfoy, a student in Slytherin whom Harry wholly insisted was "Mildly infatuated" with Celeste. Of this fact, Celeste was not bothered; the Slytherin Prince had never been particularly unpleasant towards her, and she had gained quite the reputation from being the "Object of the Snakes Affection." In all honesty, Celeste refused to even acknowledge Draco having any feelings towards her other than those of friendship.
Celeste wondered what had been bothering her friend so. Recently, he had become quiet, reserved; as though, when they spoke, a part of him was far away, in a place that she could not reach. She supposed it was something to do with the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. Fred and George Weasley, close friends of both Harry and herself, intended on participating in the tournament. Harry was probably just worried about them, she contended. What other reason would he have to be worrying?
"Cel! Hey!" A voice as rich and sweet as honey called to her from down the hall - Poppy.
"Poppy, I was wondering where you'd gotten to. You weren't at breakfast." Celeste smiled at her Ravenclaw friend, who appeared to have dyed her hair electric blue in honour of her house and the upcoming festivities.
"Overslept a bit... was up late reading about 17th century muggle pirates. Oh! That reminds me! I need to return my book to the library -"
"We'll go later," Celeste interrupted, straightening her emerald and silver striped Slytherin tie. "I'm going to the library anyway. I told Luna that I'd meet her. We have things to discuss."
"Oh, yeah! She mentioned something about that this morning before she went to breakfast. I guess I'll just go with Neville instead - he wanted help with his charms work anyway." Poppy beamed one of her contagious smiles as the pair made their way to advanced potions with Professor Snape.
"Late again, Miss Warwick." Snape said as Poppy and Celeste attempted to sneak into the potions classroom. Evidently, they had failed at doing so. "Five points from Ravenclaw. Ah, Miss Starborne, I see you have joined Miss Warwick in her antics. How... disappointing. Let this be your first warning."
Celeste watched as Poppy rolled her eyes at Professor Snape's blatant house discrimination. They turned to take their regular seats in the back row near the ingredients cupboard - only to find they had been occupied by other students. The only other seats available were next to either Luna Lovegood or Draco Malfoy. Poppy looked to her best friend in panic.
"Where do we sit?" she mouthed. Celeste shrugged as Snape looked up over his paperwork boredly.
"Starborne, Warwick, I would suggest that the pair of you take a seat. We wouldn't want detention the night that we are all due to meet the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, now, would we?"
Celeste sighed and motioned for Poppy to take the seat next to Luna. She couldn't bring herself to deny her friend the oppurtunity to sit with her crush. As for Draco... well, Celeste just prayed that she would make it through the lesson unscathed.
Malfoy smirked as Celeste begrudgingly perched herself beside him. Just one glance at his smug expression gave Celeste a strong urge to hex him.
"Looks like today, we're going to be partners, Starborne. I'm sure we will make an excellent team."
Celeste had never particularly seen the romatic allure of Draco Malfoy. Sure, he was handsome - especially that day. His usually slicked back, white-blonde hair was tousled and messy; his eyes gleamed a sly silver, the dimming fire of the lanterns that lit the room dancing in his irises; his jaw-line looked sharp enough to slice bread. He looked tired, the skin around his eyes unnaturally dark in comparison with his ghostly pale complexion. If Celeste had to describe his appearance that day in one word, she would say restless.
Despite his good looks, Draco had a reputation for dropping his love interests rather quickly. He was so childish that Celeste doubted that he'd ever be able to take a relationship seriously.
She noticed that he had already made a start on concocting the love potion that they had been instructed to brew. Sneaking a glace at Luna and Poppy's potion, she observed a thick, creamy pink liquid. Her's and Draco's brew, however, was an acid green, and smelled strongly of vomit.
"Draco... I think we ought to start again."
Malfoy shrugged, leaning back in his chair, already bored. "Fine. I'll observe."
Celeste groaned at Malfoys laziness, tipping away the lumpy green potion and putting her own couldron in its place. She got to work, gently chopping up roots and crushing dirigible plums, adding them all to the mix. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Draco raise an eyebrow as he watched her work.
Before she knew it, her potion was completed. It had a deep red colouration, and upon looking into the couldron, Celeste noticed smoke beginning rise, forming into the shape of a love heart. She sat back in her seat, proud of her work, enjoying the smell of summer bonfires and ocean spray that flooded her nostrils.
"Ah, Miss Starborne. Redeemed yourself, have you?" Snape inquired, leaning over her work. "This looks... beyond adequate. Well done Starborne, Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin."
Celeste stifled a giggle at the collective moan from the students of the other houses. She met Hermiones playful glare from across the room, offering her a wide, toothy grin in response. Hermione sighed, rolled her eyes, and gave her friend an exhausted smile.
"Well done, Celeste!" a high pitched, Irish voice spoke as Celeste cleared her things, ready to go to the Great Hall for lunch. "Surprising you managed to focus, you have so many nargles in that head of yours. Daddy wrote an article about them in the Quibbler, I was just telling Poppy about it actually." Luna smiled, pushing what appeared to be a pair of bright pink, horn-rimmed muggle three-D glasses further up her nose.
"It seems very interesting," Poppy chimed in, appearing next to Luna. Celeste stifled a laugh at her friends awkwardness.
"Well, thank you Luna. I'll pick up the Quibbler when I can - but I best be off now. See you in the library."
The cool, dark, glass-like surface of the Black Lake was calm and still, entirely unaffected by the light snow that had began to settle on the Hogwarts grounds. Hogwarts looked like an icy palace, and all of its towers appeared to have been bleached white. Lessons for the rest of the day had been cancelled, leavings students to do whatever they pleased until dinner, when they would finally be acquainted with the ladies of Beauxbatons and the brave students of Durmstrang.
Celeste huddled in her usual thinking spot, a branch high up in a tall tree near the Shrieking Shack. From there, she had a clear view of the grounds; Hagrids Hut, The Forbidden Forest, the Black Lake, the entrance to Hogsmeade, and of course, the castle itself. The best part about her little hiding place was that none of her friends (though she loved them all dearly) knew where it was. The old tree was in such close proximity with the Shrieking Shack that students rarely came by - making it perfect for when she needed some alone time.
Sighing, Celeste brushed a dusting of snow from her soft, winter cloak. She loved her home at Hogwarts, but sometimes, things just got a little too tiring. Repetitive. Tedious. She supposed that this Triwizard Tournament would provide a nice change in atmosphere... although she, like most Slytherins, tended to become bored of things rather easily. She hoped that this would be the start of something exciting.
"Ah hem."
Celeste almost fell out of her tree in surprise when she saw Draco Malfoy sat on a rock below, motioning for her to climb down and meet him. His hair was strewn about his face in the bitter scottish wind, though most of it was covered by an emerald coloured hat that had the Slytherin crest emblazoned on the front. Celeste cocked an eyebrow, slightly peeved that he had intruded upon her sacred place.
"How did you know I'd be here?" She called down to him, trying to mask the anger in her voice.
Malfoy bit his lip, unsure whether to tell her the truth. No; telling her that Crabbe and Goyle had been stalking her for the past month just sounded creepy. He decided he would play it cool.
"A magician never reveals his secrets." Malfoy grinned lopsidedly, twirling his wand in a circular motion and conjuring a bouqet of white roses. Hesitantly, Celeste climbed down from her perch.
"What are these for?" She asked, slightly awestruck. The flowers smelled of white chocolate and Christmas morning.
"A token." Malfoy said simply.
"Well, they're beautiful. Thank you Draco." Celeste smiled, giving Malfoy's hand a quick squeeze before checking her watch. She was due to meet Luna in less than ten minutes.
"Oh, god, look at the time. I'm sorry Draco... I have to go..."
"Where to?" Malfoy asked, his usual, sly façade back in place.
"The library. I'm meeting Luna."
"I'm walking you." Malfoy stated.
Celeste couldn't help but admire the beauty of Hogwarts in the winter months. Christmas decorations had already began to be hung about the school and grounds; Celeste watched as Hagrid, the school's groundskeeper, dragged a Christmas tree double his size across the snowy lawn, Fang bounding along behind him. Draco looked at Celeste with admiration. Only she could find beauty in something so demure as a flurry of snow. He wondered, momentarily, if she would be able to find beauty in someone as arrogant as him. He pushed the thought from his mind; he was Draco Malfoy, prestiged pureblood. A simple half-blood girl like her ought to count herself lucky to have him.
"What are you thinking about?" Celeste narrowed her eyes at Draco, who seemed to have acquired a permanent scowl on his face as they approached the castles main entrance.
"Nothing that concerns you." He snapped.
Celeste raised her eyebrows as they stepped over the threshold, before gesturing to a nearby staircase.
"I'll be off then. Thanks for the flowers, I guess."
Draco watched as she ascended the steps, a feeling of regret bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He needed to learn how to control himself around her.